What happened
Beginning the abbreviated trading week on a bullish note, shares of ChargePoint (CHPT -1.43%) are racing higher out of the gate this morning. While cautious optimism about a resolution to the debt ceiling crisis is pushing the S&P 500 slightly higher, an analyst's positive take on the EV charging stock is powering investors to pick up shares.
Shares of ChargePoint are up 12.1% as of 11:20 a.m. ET.
So what
Espousing a more bullish outlook on ChargePoint, Alex Vrabel, an analyst at Bank of America, upgraded the stock to buy from neutral. Despite the more favorable outlook, Vrabel reduced the price target to $14 from $15.50. Based on the stock's closing price of $8.25 at the end of Friday's trading session, Vrabel's price target implies upside of 70%.
It's likely that investors aren't solely responding to Vrabel's upgrade in isolation but rather the fact that it's consistent with another analyst's bullish take. Earlier this month, B. Riley analyst Christopher Souther maintained a buy rating on ChargePoint.
Inspired with the positive coverage from Wall Street, investors may also be motivated to pick up shares today on speculation that the company will report a strong start to the new year. ChargePoint is scheduled to report first-quarter 2023 earnings after the market closes on June 1.
Now what
On one hand, it's unsurprising that investors are charging up their portfolios with ChargePoint today after the analyst from Bank of America revealed a positive take on the stock. However, ChargePoint had repeatedly reported disappointing quarterly earnings in 2022.
While speculative investors comfortable with risk may be OK with parking this electric car-related stock in their portfolios, others should wait for more encouraging financial reports to validate that the company is on the right track.
