Before starting the discussion on eco-friendly stocks, we’ve got to discuss the giant pink gorilla in the room. This sector stinks, badly. According to a recent report by The Globe and Mail, many investors doubt the pace of the broader green energy transition. Because of the ambiguities, many if not most market participants decided that the space is too rich for their blood.
I’m not here to necessarily disagree. Among the possible contrarian opportunities out there, bidding up green energy stocks represents one of the riskiest endeavors. Generally, if a publicly traded enterprise loses 30% or more of equity value, that’s not a great sign. Further, without clear visibility toward a return to robust growth and profitability, it’s tough to be aggressively bullish here.
At the same time, the cat is likely out of the bag. For example, with various geopolitical crises spilling over into military conflict, the stability of global hydrocarbon supply chains is questionable. And such volatility warrants a closer examination for energy diversity and resilience.
On that note, below are eco-friendly stocks for gamblers to consider.
Enphase Energy (ENPH)
We’re going to dive right into the deep end with Enphase Energy (NASDAQ:ENPH). A technology firm focused on developing and manufacturing solar micro-inverters, Enphase also specializes in battery energy storage and electric vehicle charging solutions. ENPH represented one of the darlings of eco-friendly stocks during the post-pandemic period up until December of last year. Since then, circumstances have turned foul.
Now, it’s difficult to call ENPH one of the top green energy stocks although fundamentally it is. After all, since the beginning of this year, the security lost more than 61% of equity value. Ouch. Conspicuously, in the third quarter, Enphase posted revenue of $551 million, down more than 13% from the year-ago quarter. Double ouch.
So, why bother with ENPH? Understandably, market traders have targeted shares for “negative” profits. In Fintel’s options flow screener – which exclusively focuses on big block trades likely made by institutions – traders bought significant volume of pout options.
However, contrarians might be targeting a reversal of fortune, hoping to blow up the bears’ short positions. If so, ENPH could be one of the literally green energy stocks.
Brookfield Renewable Partners (BEP)
On paper, you couldn’t ask for that much better of a candidate for eco-friendly stocks than Brookfield Renewable Partners (NYSE:BEP). Structured as a limited partnership, Brookfield owns and operates renewable power assets. These include over 200 hydroelectric plants, 100 wind farms and over 550 solar facilities. However, due to the troubles of the green energy space, the air seeped out of the security.
Since the January opener, BEP lost almost 5% of market value. In the past 52 weeks, it dipped almost 14%. While that doesn’t seem like that bad of a print, keep in mind that at its peak, BEP enjoyed a weekly average price tag of nearly $50. So, it’s basically lost 50% since the peak.
Now, Brookfield benefits from certain positive stats. For example, in Q3 2023, the company posted revenue of $1.18 billion, up almost 7% from the year-ago period. Unfortunately, the company has been losing money. Since 2019, it has printed red ink on the bottom line every year.
Still, BEP’s options flow data shows that institutional bears have mostly exited out of the trade. So, circumstances could clear up for Brookfield.
Plug Power (PLUG)
In a list of risky but compelling eco-friendly stocks to consider, Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) might be the most dangerous of them all. Frankly, it’s not really an investment but a market gamble. I don’t mean to badmouth the hydrogen fuel-cell systems developer. Unfortunately, the volatility of this bad boy is intense. Worse yet, the recent negative acceleration shows little sign of abating.
Since the start of the year, PLUG tanked more than 68%. That’s already bad enough. However, in the trailing one-month period, the security dropped more than 34% of equity value. Indeed, the financials point to an extremely treacherous backdrop. Sure, the company posted revenue of $198.7 million in Q3, up more than 5% on a year-over-year basis.
Unfortunately, we’re also seeing expansion of red ink on the bottom line. In the latest Q3 report, Plug Power disclosed a net loss of $283.5 million. That’s much worse than the net loss of $170.8 million one year previously.
So, what’s the bull narrative? Recently, contrarians appear to be attempting to blow up institutional sold calls, setting up a possible gamma squeeze. This could get interesting.
On the date of publication, Josh Enomoto did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
