NextEra stock dropped more than 5% after its investor conference, but Goldman Sachs sees a buying opportunity as the power company is forecasting robust growth for the foreseeable future. “We believe the pullback on the day, with NEE shares down 5.5%, represents a buying opportunity, and we attribute the weakness to positioning following strong performance over the last three months, and a resetting of expectations on near-term growth opportunities,” analysts led by Carly Davenport told clients in a note Tuesday. NextEra told investors Tuesday that power demand should increase by 38% over the next two decades in the U.S., which will be a significant shift compared with previous decades. The power company expects much of the demand to be met by renewable generation and battery storage. Goldman increased its price target for NextEra by $7 to $81 per share, implying an 11% upside from Tuesday’s close of $72.74, arguing that the recent pullback has created an attractive entry point for investors. The stock remains up nearly 20% year to date. NEE YTD mountain NextEra shares year to date NextEra is planning 42 gigawatts of renewable development over the next three years. Though the headline number is lower than expected, the midpoint is still at the top of the previous range and represents a doubling of its existing portfolio, according to Goldman. “We believe the long term growth prospects for NEE remain strong and are expanding with the expected inflection in power demand growth, despite the fact that logistically, it will take time for these projects to be built and contribute to earnings,” Davenport and her colleagues said.
