What happened
Shares of hydrogen fuel cell company Bloom Energy (BE -11.70%) jumped as much as 10% in trading on Wednesday after getting a positive note from an analyst. Shares were up 5.7% at 3:30 p.m. EST.
So what
Bernstein analyst Neil Beveridge initiated coverage on Bloom Energy's stock with a market perform rating and a $41 price target, a level the stock traded above briefly today. The call may be a little underwhelming, but it's the $2.1 trillion opportunity that was a big number to investors.
Bloom's management has talked about a multi-trillion dollar market opportunity before, but coming from a third-party, there's a little more weight behind the number. And with investment in grid services and renewable energy, this could be a top-performing, renewable energy stock for long-term investors.
Now what
As nice as it is to get a bounce after an analyst report, investors should be more focused on the fundamentals from Bloom Energy. The company reports earnings a week from today on Feb. 10, 2021, and that's when the rubber will really hit the road. Not only should investors be looking at the company's revenue and backlog for existing products, but these metrics will be key to understanding how the electrolyzer and hydrogen fuel cell businesses are shaping up. That's where the real growth opportunity for Bloom Energy can be found.