Blink Charging (BLNK) stock forecast: Can Blink regain momentum?
Blink Charging, a $1.37bn electric vehicle (EV) charging company, is in the middle of a market share battle as the industry expands on the back of government stimulus and consumer demand.
Despite stellar stock growth in November following accelerated earnings and wider industry optimism, the company is in the midst of a stock tumble as investors sell charging assets.
Government support supercharging supply
The technology driving tomorrow’s automation market was given a leg-up by US President Joe Biden’s $2tn infrastructure bill, which, in addition to earmarking funding for roads, rail, airports and Internet, promised a revolutionary expansion to the country’s EV charging infrastructure.
The legislation will see $7.5bn invested in building a national network of EV chargers across the US, increasing the number of charging outlets five-fold from nearly 100,000 now to an eventual 500,000, a move welcomed by Blink, which holds 63% of its chargers in the US.
The move appears to be long overdue. According to data from IEA, the US is behind China and Europe in growing its Battery EVs (BEVs) and Plug-in Hybrid EVs (PHEVs) since 2011.
Multiple studies suggest the presence of charging points is a key inhibitor to faster take-up, including a recent call by IEA for infrastructure investment to catch up with private supply proliferation.
In China, where electric vehicle stock has doubled on average each year, infrastructure development has been a top priority.
In a typical month, China, the world’s second largest economy, would install the same number of charging points that the US would install in a year, according to research by BloombergNEF, leaving the US ratio of EVs to charging points four times lower than China’s by 2020.
Indeed, US sales of EVs have closely tracked the installation of charging ports, according to EV Adoption, and the industry appeared close to reaching a natural bottleneck for growth before planned investment in charging ports.
In Europe, where EV growth has been proactive for longer, Blink investors may find more reasons for optimism.
An ambitious forecast by Transport & Environment sees 2.9m charging points installed across Europe by 2030, compared to only 185,000 at the end of 2019. Between the US and Europe, there are hundreds of thousands of installation opportunities that may drive Blink profits over the next decade.
The procession of new charging outlets could help accelerate the growth of EVs on US and European roads, potentially boosting charging suppliers’ revenue streams.
Can Blink break through a competitive market?
Government support is only part of the battle as multiple competitors seek to capitalise on new demand. In the latest Blink Charging stock news, the company appears to be in the middle of a dogfight to achieve dominance in the emerging EV charging sector.
In many metrics, Blink Charging lags behind more established competitors, namely Charge Point, which has four times more charging points in North America and Europe than Blink.
In Europe, petrol behemoths like Royal Dutch Shell and BP are developing a vast network of charging ports on the back of their fueling empires. Shell holds 250,000 charging ports across Europe, while BP already has 7,000 in the UK alone.
Despite competition from all angles, the EV charging company remains ambitious in both the US and European markets. In May, Blink acquired Blue Corner, a European charging operator, expanding its presence into Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and France.
Transport & Environment forecasts France to be the third biggest European country in terms of charging points by 2030, with The Netherlands and Belgium sixth and seventh, respectively.
These ventures are unlikely to bring long-term growth if the public remains unconvinced. In a 2021 survey by JD Power, Blink ranked well below its competitors for consumer satisfaction, a vital metric for a growing brand like Blink.
Nevertheless, there are revenue gains to be made across the board as demand for ports expands. The question for investors will be whether Blink warrants inclusion in their portfolio ahead of, or in tandem with, bigger EV charging hitters.
Blink experiencing an earnings growth spurt
Despite the obstacles in the way of enhancing market share, Blink continues to add revenue at speed, although profitability remains elusive, as with the wider EV industry.
Latest earnings for the third quarter of 2021 show revenues jumped to $6.3m, up 607% from $0.9m a year ago, driven by product sales soaring by 766%.
Services, aligned to use of chargers also saw a strong gain of 425% to $1.4m. Revenues from Blink’s ride-sharing platform generated $269,000 in the last quarter.
In line with its growth phase, costs continue to dwarf revenues. Operating expenses nearly quadrupled in the third quarter against the same period in 2020, reaching $16.7m as a result of new hires and share-based compensation, as well as operating costs from three acquisitions. The rate of growth does show revenues outpacing costs, causing optimism for the company.
Blink added just over 1,300 chargers between Q2 and Q3 2021, a return to normal pace after acquisition-induced expansion in the second quarter, when the amount of charging points increased by nearly 10,000.
Overall Blink lost $15.3m in the third quarter, with earnings per share (EPS) at -$0.36, missing analyst expectations for the ninth quarter in a row since Q2 2019.
Blink stock analysis: Technical view
Blink Charging share price skyrocketed in late 2020, growing 577% between October 2020 and February 2021.
Currently (as of 8 December), the stock is in the midst of a market correction after initial positive investor sentiment supercharged the stock’s growth, peaking at $46.85 on 15 November. What’s happened since appears to have been a reassessment, with the Blink Charging share value falling 28% to date (8 December).
Blink is not alone in this decline. ChargePoint, a Blink rival, is down 26% from its November peak, reflecting wider market sentiment.
Daily technical indicators give little hope for optimism as investors continue to dump Blink stock in the short-term.
One-day oscillators are broadly bearish, with the Relative Strength Index (RSI) at 44.99. An RSI reading of 30 or below indicates an oversold or undervalued condition, with the asset primed for a trend reversal, while a reading of 70 or above reveals a stock that may be overbought or overvalued signalling a potential pullback in price.
Short-term moving averages are set in a sell position, with 10 of the 15 metrics skewed sell, including an Exponential Moving Average of 35.44.
Blink stock prediction for 2022
Blink Charging share price forecasts vary from the low of $20 to the high of $50, with the average price targets sitting at $38.5 based on six analyst views compiled by MarketBeat.
Analysts give Blink a consensus buy rating, with three ‘buy’ recommendations and three ‘hold’.
More recently, Cowen downgraded its Blink stock price prediction, lowering the price target from $41 to $40, a 7.15% downside at the time – the price has fallen considerably below that since.
A week earlier, DA Davidson changed its recommendation from ‘positive’ to ‘neutral’, but boosted its price target from $31 to $35, which still represented a downside at the time.
HC Wainwright and Roth Capital gave bullish Blink Charging stock price targets of $50 and $45, respectively.
Note that analyst predictions can be wrong. Forecasts shouldn’t be used as a substitute for your own research. Always conduct your own due diligence before investing. And never invest or trade money you cannot afford to lose.
Analysts don’t usually give long-term forecasts, yet the algorithm-based forecasting service offers a Blink Charging stock forecast for 2021-2025.
The service sees the price reaching $81.04 by December 2025, a strong upward trend from its current levels, which according to the service are the lowest prices Blink will experience over the next five years.
AI Pickup provides a Blink Charging stock forecast 2025-2030, though much more pessimistic than other algorithm-based forecasts. It projects a price target of $11.68 by 2030, a 64.51% downside.
Note that algorithm-based predictions can be wrong. Forecasts shouldn’t be used as a substitute for your own research. Always conduct your own due diligence before investing. And never invest or trade money you cannot afford to lose.
FAQ
Is Blink Charging stock a buy?
Analysts give Blink a consensus ‘buy’ rating, with three ‘buy’ recommendations and three ‘hold’, according to the data gathered by MarketBeat.
In the long-run, Blink’s fundamentals and wider market growth suggest that the stock could go up over the next few years, although it’s unclear whether Blink Charging stock will be a buy, sell or hold.
Note that predictions can be wrong. Forecasts shouldn’t be used as a substitute for your own research. Always conduct your own due diligence before investing. And never invest or trade money you cannot afford to lose.
Will Blink Charging stock go up or down?
Blink Charging share price forecasts vary from a low of $20 to a high of $50, with the average price targets sitting at $38.5, based on six analysts’ views compiled by MarketBeat.
Note that predictions can be wrong. Forecasts shouldn’t be used as a substitute for your own research. Always conduct your own due diligence before investing. And never invest or trade money you cannot afford to lose.
Why has Blink Charging stock been going down?
Blink Charging stock is in the midst of a market correction after strong growth in early February following government stimulus plans and wider EV sentiment. The stock continues to fall towards its support levels.
Should I buy Blink Charging stock?
Whether to buy, hold or sell Blink Charging stock depends on your own investment objectives and your own research. It’s important to reach your own conclusions of the company’s prospects and the likelihood of achieving analysts’ targets.
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