If the U.S. is serious about having millions of electric vehicles on the roads, we need many more EV charging stations, which could create big opportunity for some of the top EV charging stocks to buy. At the moment, we’re not even close.
Sure, according to a McKinsey report, the U.S. has a goal of having 50% of all vehicles sold be electric by 2030. But for that to happen, we need a good deal of EV charging stations. In fact, McKinsey adds that if the U.S. wants to reach that 50% goal, it will need about 1.2 million public, and 29 million private charging stations.
“That’s approximately 20 times more charging stations than are currently installed in the United States in 2023,” added Blink Charging.
Instead, according to Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) CEO Elon Musk, the Biden Administration’s allocated $7.5 billion for EV charging stations has resulted in seven operational ones, as of March. That $7.5 billion was allocated to build out about 500,000 charging stations by 2030 more than two years ago. So, either the U.S. gets serious about charging stations, or the 50% goal goes out the window.
With hopes we’ll see more charging stations, here are some of the top EV charging stocks to buy now.
EVgo Inc. (EVGO)
One of the top EV charging stocks to buy now is EVgo (NASDAQ:EVGO), which is showing signs of life again.
After slipping from about $3.25 to $1.70, EVGO just bounced to $1.95. Helping, analysts at RBC Capital recently noted, “The automotive industry is moving towards electrification, and we believe EVgo is well positioned to benefit from this secular trend.”
Even better, the company just said revenue jumped 118% year over year to a record of $55.2 million in the first quarter. All thanks to charging revenues and eXtend revenue. It also added another 109,000 new customer accounts in the quarter, a 63% jump year over year. Gross margins even jumped to 12.4% of sales from 0.2% a year ago.
Adjusted EBITDA came in at a loss of $7.2 million from a year-earlier loss of $20.1 million. Earnings per share came in at a loss of nine cents from a year-earlier loss of 14 cents. Those are significant improvements that should only get better moving forward.
ChargePoint (CHPT)
ChargePoint (NYSE:CHPT) doesn’t have the most attractive long-term chart either, but it’s starting to show signs of life again, too. Since bottoming out at around $1.23, it’s now up to $1.72. Granted, that’s nothing to write home about, but it’s a nice change from watching the CHPT stock slip to lower lows.
The stock was also defended by Needham, which has a buy rating and a price target of $3 on CHPT. The firm noted that it’s enthusiastic about second-half gross margin accretion and OPEX (operating expense) leverage, and is now less concerned about the company’s future.
With a price target of $5, JPMorgan likes CHPT, noting the companystands out as a potential beneficiary of accelerated fleet demand. As noted by Benzinga, “JPMorgan’s Overweight rating on ChargePoint reflects its belief that owner-operators will continue to benefit from higher throughput on existing stalls, provided they can defend and grow market share.”
Blink Charging (BLNK)
Even Blink Charging (NASDAQ:BLNK) is coming back.
Since bottoming out at triple-bottom support around $2.20, BLNK is now back to $3.10. From here, if it can break above resistance at around $3.50, it could potentially retest $4.50.
Helping, the company just posted an EPS loss of 13 cents, which beat by seven cents. Revenue of $37.57 million – up 73.1% year over year – beat by $2.96 million. For the full year, it’s maintaining its revenue guidance of $165 million to $175 million, as compared to expectations for $170.5 million. The company also reiterated its target of achieving positive adjusted EBITDA by December. Better, it’s targeting a gross margin of 33% for the full year, too.
And, according to CEO Brendan Jones, BLNK “sees additional opportunities from companies pulling back or leaving the EV charging space,” as noted by Seeking Alpha.
Needham analysts also reiterated its buy rating on BLNK, but cut its price target to $6 from $7. “The analyst sees the company as the best-positioned as the EV charging business with conservative FY24 gross margin guidance vs first quarter results and levers to pull as they restructure their lines of business and trim operating expenses,” as noted by Benzinga.
On the date of publication, Ian Cooper did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
