What happened
Shares of fuel cell company Bloom Energy (BE 6.21%) popped as much as 7% in early trading on the NYSE today before subsiding to about a 3.2% gain as of 11:20 a.m. EST.
You can thank investment banker Credit Suisse for the pop -- but I fear the relapse is all on Bloom.
Image source: Getty Images.
So what
This morning, Credit Suisse announced it is upgrading Bloom stock from neutral to outperform (i.e., buy) on the stock's recent pullback in price. Rocked by worries of overvaluation, Bloom shares have shed about 40% of their market capitalization over the past month. That's bad news for those who owned it then -- but the bank thinks it could be good news for anyone who wants into the stock today.
Why would they want to buy Bloom? As the analyst argues, Bloom is cutting the cost of its natural gas fuel cells by 10% to 15% per year, which makes them increasingly attractive not just to buyers who might otherwise have bought fuel cells from rivals Plug Power or FuelCell Energy, but to those who might be considering fuel cells as an alternative to other kinds of energy.
The analyst is further encouraged by Bloom's forays into marine fuel cells, electrolyzers, and hydrogen gas-powered fuel cells, reports TheFly.com.
Now what
And yet, the fact remains: No matter how bright its future may look, Bloom's immediate past was still pretty ugly. Just last month, it reported a surprise $0.08-per-share loss for its fiscal fourth quarter, when analysts had been expecting it to break even, and for all of 2020, Bloom lost $1.14 per share.
Bloom Energy has never earned a profit as a publicly traded company, by the way, and most analysts don't see it turning profitable before 2023, if then. So even if Bloom stock is a bit cheaper this month than it was last month -- there's a reason for that.
