What happened
Shares of PureCycle Technologies (PCT 1.81%) came out strong from the gate to start the new year, and that progress continued this week. Investors' bullish attitude toward the plastic recycling stock stems from news that the company is planning a European expansion. This news helped protect the stock from the overall market weakness that saw the S&P 500 tumble this week.
As of the end of Thursday's trading session, shares of PureCycle were up 11.4% since last-Friday's close, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
So what
On Tuesday, PureCycle announced that it will be developing its first plastic recycling facility on the other side of the pond. Located at the Port of Antwerp-Bruges in Belgium, the polypropylene recycling facility is expected to have an initial annual production capacity of about 130 million pounds, with the potential for expansion to 500 million pounds in the future.
While the company expects to finalize the project's timeline in mid-2023, management foresees the completion of the permitting process to occur in 2024. After this, construction of the facility will begin.
Suggesting that the facility in Belgium represents the next chapter for the company, Wiebe Schipper, PureCycle's Vice President of European Operations, said:
The announcement of our first location in Europe marks the next phase in executing PureCycle's global growth strategy. We are excited to bring our Ultra-Pure Recycled (UPR) resin to customers in Europe, where companies and policies are at the forefront of the circular economy.
Now what
While news of the company's foray into a European market is exciting, it's critical that investors recognize that PureCycle, a pre-revenue company, is still in the early stages of its development. Besides the risks associated with developing the facility in Belgium, plenty of other risks still surround the stock. Therefore, only investors with a healthy tolerance for risk should consider a position in this growth stock.
