Should You Buy Nexstar Media Group Inc (NXST) Today? Analysis, Price Targets, and 2026 Outlook.
Conclusion
Hold
Latest Price
206.970
1 Day change
-0.16%
52 Week Range
223.360
Analysis Updated At
2026/01/26
Nexstar Media Group Inc (NXST) is not a strong buy at the moment for a beginner investor with a long-term strategy. The technical indicators show a neutral trend, options data suggests bearish sentiment, and the company's financial performance has significantly deteriorated in the latest quarter. Additionally, there are no recent positive news catalysts or significant insider or hedge fund activity to support a buy decision. A hold is recommended until better entry points or improved fundamentals emerge.
Technical Analysis
The MACD is slightly positive at 0.204 but contracting, indicating weakening momentum. RSI is neutral at 51.145, and moving averages are bullish (SMA_5 > SMA_20 > SMA_200). Key support and resistance levels are Pivot: 212.328, R1: 218.415, S1: 206.241, R2: 222.176, S2: 202.48. Overall, the technical indicators suggest a neutral to slightly bullish trend.
Options Data
Bearish
Open Interest Put-Call Ratio
Bearish
Option Volume Put-Call Ratio
The high Put-Call Ratios indicate bearish sentiment among options traders, with puts significantly outweighing calls in both open interest and daily volume.
Technical Summary
Sell
5
Buy
7
Positive Catalysts
No recent positive news, insider activity, or hedge fund activity. Technical indicators show slight bullishness in moving averages.
Neutral/Negative Catalysts
The company's financial performance in Q3 2025 has significantly declined, with revenue down 12.30% YoY, net income down 61.40% YoY, EPS down 59.20% YoY, and gross margin down 17.05% YoY. Analyst Jason Bazinet from Citi lowered the price target to $204 from $218 and maintained a Neutral rating. Options data suggests bearish sentiment.
Financial Performance
In Q3 2025, Nexstar Media Group's revenue dropped to $1.198 billion (-12.30% YoY), net income fell to $66 million (-61.40% YoY), EPS decreased to 2.15 (-59.20% YoY), and gross margin declined to 37.23 (-17.05% YoY). These results indicate significant financial deterioration.
Growth
Profitability
Efficiency
Analyst Ratings and Price Target Trends
Citi analyst Jason Bazinet recently lowered the price target from $218 to $204 and maintained a Neutral rating, reflecting a lack of confidence in the stock's near-term performance.
Wall Street analysts forecast NXST stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for NXST is 232.25 USD with a low forecast of 204 USD and a high forecast of 250 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
4 Analyst Rating
Wall Street analysts forecast NXST stock price to rise over the next 12 months. According to Wall Street analysts, the average 1-year price target for NXST is 232.25 USD with a low forecast of 204 USD and a high forecast of 250 USD. However, analyst price targets are subjective and often lag stock prices, so investors should focus on the objective reasons behind analyst rating changes, which better reflect the company's fundamentals.
3 Buy
1 Hold
0 Sell
Strong Buy
Current: 207.310
Low
204
Averages
232.25
High
250
Current: 207.310
Low
204
Averages
232.25
High
250
Citi
Jason Bazinet
Neutral
downgrade
$218 -> $204
AI Analysis
2025-11-25
Reason
Citi
Jason Bazinet
Price Target
$218 -> $204
AI Analysis
2025-11-25
downgrade
Neutral
Reason
Citi analyst Jason Bazinet lowered the firm's price target on Nexstar to $204 from $218 and keeps a Neutral rating on the shares.
Wells Fargo
Steven Cahall
Overweight -> Equal Weight
downgrade
$22
2025-10-22
Reason
Wells Fargo
Steven Cahall
Price Target
$22
2025-10-22
downgrade
Overweight -> Equal Weight
Reason
Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall downgraded Tegna (TGNA) to Equal Weight from Overweight with an unchanged price target of $22. The firm cites the pending Nexstar (NXST) for the downgrade. Wells views the acquisition of Tegna as having a high probability of close in the first half of 2026.
Unlock Full Analyst Thesis， Get the complete breakdown of rating reason for NXST
