CHPT Stock Soars As EV Charging Network Called ‘Best-In-Class’ Ahead Of Earnings – EQ Mag
ChargePoint (CHPT) earned an upgrade as a “best-in-class way” to play the EV charging space. CHPT stock rocketed off a low base, with ChargePoint earnings due late Thursday.
“The reason for our upgrade is simple — CHPT has proof of execution (and) line of sight to profitability,” Bank of America analyst Alex Vrabel wrote in a Tuesday note to clients.
ChargePoint is a leading provider of EV charging networks in the U.S. and Europe. It faces competition as the global shift to electric vehicles from fossil-fuel cars speeds up.
On May 26, Tesla (TSLA) and Ford (F) announced an EV charging partnership, in which Ford will use Tesla’s Superchargers and adopt its charging standard.
ChargePoint Earnings
Estimates: In Q1, which ended April 30, analysts expect ChargePoint to narrow losses to 19 cents per share vs. 21 cents a year ago, according to FactSet consensus estimates.
Revenue is seen jumping 57%, year over year, to $128.3 million. That is above the midpoint of the company’s guidance for $122 million-$132 million. But it would mark the fourth straight quarter of slowing sales growth.
Results: Check back Thursday after the market close.
Outlook: For the full year, analysts forecast a net loss of 62 cents a share, FactSet shows. That would mark an improvement from a 68-cent loss per share in fiscal 2023, which ended Jan. 31. Analysts project the first annual profit, of seven cents, in fiscal 2026.
CHPT Stock Leaps In Bottoming Base
Shares of ChargePoint soared 14% to 9.69 on the stock market today, bounding above the 50-day moving average.
CHPT stock is working on a 13.75 cup-shaped buy point, the MarketSmith chart shows. But the stock has no prior uptrend and has been trading below the 200-day line.
The charging stock peaked last April and has been trending lower, with the 10-week moving average stuck below the 40-week line since last November. On May 19, shares hit a record low of 7.82.
Among other EV charging stocks, EVgo (EVGO) popped 7.8% Tuesday, snapping a string of down days. Blink Charging (BLNK) added 0.3%, rallying after three down days. Dutch oil major Shell (SHEL), which completed its $169 million purchase of Volta on March 31, lost 2.2% amid tumbling crude oil prices.
F stock popped 4.1% Tuesday. Analysts at Jefferies upgraded Ford shares saying the auto giant’s strong growth plan can help it close the gap vs. rivals.
TSLA stock climbed 4.1%, closing just above its 200-day line. Tesla CEO Elon Musk is in China meeting with senior Chinese officials this week.
Largest EV Charging Network
ChargePoint says it operates the world’s largest network of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. In Tuesday’s note, Bank of America analysts estimated its U.S. share at 70%.
“We emphasize CHPT’s scale and diversity as key to our belief in sustainable growth. Anchor positions in both the U.S. and European EV charging market offer an elegant but unconcentrated way to play electrification trends,” they said.
BofA’s Vrabel also cited valuation and a story “largely unchanged” since the company’s upsized PIPE (private investment in public equity) offering in 2020.
The analyst advised investors to look past headlines about competition. Tesla already sells adapters allowing its electric vehicles to plug into fast-charging stations run by third-party companies, he said. Those companies include ChargePoint, Volta and Electrify America.
In fact, he expects ChargePoint to benefit “from spillover of TSLA’s already congested Supercharger network.”
Vrabel upgraded CHPT stock to buy from neutral, but cut his price target to $14 from $15.50.
With Tuesday’s rally, ChargePoint stock is now up 1.7 year to date. It has rallied nearly 24% from the May 19 low of 7.82.
Source: investors
