The world of energy stocks is changing quickly, as the ongoing development and adoption of artificial intelligence create a new need for energy infrastructure to be developed and implemented across the United States. This theme hasn’t been circulated yet in investment communities or the mainstream financial media. Hence, investors have a chance to jump on the wave before it really gets started.
With this in mind, the opportunities likely won’t come from the current energy infrastructure setups, ruled by the traditional names in the space. The opportunity lies in identifying names that can enhance the efficiency and accessibility of this process for the hundreds of new data centers being built across the country, in response to the growing race for artificial intelligence.
In this sense, investors can buy the shovels during a gold rush.
That might be why Wall Street analysts recently decided to boost their views for shares of Bloom Energy Corp. (NYSE: BE). Considering the recent price action and market capitalization of this company, investors need to understand that analysts rarely boost valuations, and they often choose to go with larger, more established names.
Raising the Stakes in Bloom Energy
Being a $5.9 billion company places Bloom Energy out of the radar of most Wall Street analysts and large institutional investors alike. This gives retail investors (who know what to look for) an edge in really squeezing the potential upside in this company’s future before the opportunity gets around to other players in the market.
With this in mind, investors can put more emphasis on the fact that J.P. Morgan analyst Mark Strouse decided to upgrade his view on Bloom Energy stock from a Neutral stance to an Overweight one. Strouse’s sentiment toward the stock changed, and so did his valuation.
Where the previous price target was set for only $18 per share, the current valuation view is set for $33 instead, a significant jump that is as unusual from a big bank analyst as is the choice of a small company. From where Bloom Energy trades today, this target implies that investors can run up to 30% in additional upside potential in the future.
Meeting this price target will require several factors, including recognition and a clear catalyst, one of which is already in place. With the United States investing more capital into the right infrastructure developments to accommodate data center growth, investors can come to expect some benefits from Bloom Energy sooner rather than later.
Once these are made obvious to the rest of the market, recognition will likely follow. Still, by that time, it will be too late, as new investors will be chasing the stock price higher and higher. Understanding that the setup greatly favors the bulls, short sellers decided to decrease their exposure in Bloom Energy stock accordingly.
Over the past month, 1.7% of Bloom Energy’s short interest declined as an initial indication of bearish capitulation, since the recent Wall Street sentiment change could also help the stock close the gap between today’s price and its 52-week high level of $29.8.
If the call by Strouse is proven correct, this would also mean a new 52-week high breakout for Bloom Energy. At that point, it is expected that some institutional buyers (focused mainly on long-only momentum plays) will pour in to keep fueling a new move higher.
The Market Pays Up for Bloom Energy
All told, even the broader market is tagging along with Bloom Energy's future growth story. Because it trades at a price-to-book (P/B) ratio of up to 9.9x today, the stock now calls for a significant premium compared to the average valuation of 3.7x seen in the rest of the energy sector.
Market forces will always be willing to overpay for the names believed to outperform the broader market and the peer group. This time, investors have a clear catalyst in place to have Bloom Energy fulfill those expectations in the future.
When it comes to other factors at play for Bloom Energy, investors can dig into two main developments in the company’s recent financial quarter. Revenue jumped by 38.6% over the year to deliver up to $326 million. As new contracts allow the business to scale, a higher gross profit margin of 27.2% was also achieved, a massive improvement from last year’s 16.2%.
As these two drivers continue to expand, it is reasonable to expect Bloom Energy’s earnings per share (EPS) growth to continue and exceed expectations, which would not only validate this J.P. Morgan analyst's assessment but also attract new potential interest and news coverage.
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The article "The Reason Analysts Are Bullish on Bloom Energy Stock" first appeared on MarketBeat.
