What happened
As of the close of trading yesterday, shares of fuel cell specialist Bloom Energy (BE 4.24%) had tumbled more than 8%. Today, however, the bulls are outnumbering the bears, and shares are rebounding from the decline that had occurred through the better part of the month. It's not an encouraging announcement from the company that's driving the stock up, though; instead, it seems to be the news of a fuel cell peer stoking the stock's rise.
As of 1 p.m. ET, shares of Bloom Energy have risen 5.7%.
So what
Helping to propel Bloom Energy's stock higher today, Plug Power (PLUG 6.22%) announced it has inked a new green hydrogen supply agreement with its longtime customer, Walmart.
Image source: Getty Images.
Lauding the new deal, Andy Marsh, Plug Power's CEO, said, "Walmart has been an early adopter of innovative hydrogen and fuel cell technology for over a decade, and our hydrogen-powered solutions offer a tool to enhance productivity improvements for Walmart's operations."
Plug's deal is motivating hydrogen-focused investors to scoop up shares of Bloom Energy today because it has also demonstrated interest in green hydrogen production. Although Plug Power's interest in producing green hydrogen is more ambitious -- it has set a daily hydrogen production target of 1,000 tons by 2028 -- Bloom Energy announced in November its effort to expand into hydrogen production. With its partner, Heliogen, Bloom Energy demonstrated a successful project where it used a solar energy system with its electrolyzer to produce green hydrogen.
Now what
Oftentimes, positive news from one hydrogen-oriented company inspires investors to grab shares of other familiar fuel cell names. Such is the case today with Bloom Energy. Today's announcement from Plug Power, however, doesn't move the needle for Bloom Energy, and the stock's rise today should be shrugged off by those looking for more material news to indicate the company's success.
