What happened
ChargePoint Holdings (CHPT +0.63%) stock jumped this week, gaining a solid 21.6% through the week as of 1 p.m. ET Friday, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. If ChargePoint impressed investors with its quarterly numbers and outlook last week, an analyst singled out the electric vehicle (EV) charging stock this week as a major potential winner from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
So what
Maheep Mandloi from Credit Suisse initiated coverage on ChargePoint stock midweek with an outperform rating and a price target of $22 per share. For context, even after this week's stunning rally, ChargePoint stock is hovering around $17.55 per share as of this writing.
NYSE: CHPT
Key Data Points
Mandloi is bullish about ChargePoint especially after the IRA was signed into law some weeks ago. The IRA has big spending lined up on clean energy technologies, including EVs, and has brought back tax credits for EV charging stations.
Mandloi sees ChargePoint benefiting under the IRA given its first-mover advantage in the industry and a "capital-light growth model." The analyst also saw the stock attractively valued at the time of his rating. ChargePoint, which sells charging hardware as well as software and service subscriptions, is among the largest EV charging networks in the world with an unbeatable lead in the commercial level-2 chargers in North America. As of Aug. 31, the company had more than 200,000 activated charging ports across North America and Europe.
Now what
Mandloi is among the several analysts who have turned bullish about ChargePoint after the IRA came into effect, followed by a strong set of second-quarter numbers from the company. ChargePoint's quarterly revenue crossed the $100 million mark for the first time in Q2 as its revenue shot up 93% year over year.
ChargePoint's losses widened in the quarter, but its gross margin improved sequentially, and its total installed EV charging ports jumped 70% year over year.
Above all, ChargePoint expects 100% year-over-year growth in its third-quarter revenue and sees a strong second half of the year that should help it generate $450 million to $500 million in revenue for the year.
Long story short, ChargePoint looks perfectly poised to exploit opportunities as EV sales boom and spending under the IRA kicks off, and that's why investors loaded up on the EV stock this week.
