Needham Is Pounding the Table on Blink Charging (BLNK) Stock

Blink Charging (NASDAQ:BLNK) ended 2023 on a positive note and its winning streak isn’t slowing down. Indeed, the electric vehicle (EV) charging company is emerging as a likely breakout stock for 2024.

Despite a difficult past year for firms in the EV space, some experts are optimistic about Blink’s growth prospects moving forward. Recently, Needham analyst Chris Pierce issued a bullish prediction on the company, upgrading BLNK stock from a “hold” to a “buy” rating. On top of that, Pierce set a $7 price target for shares, indicating impressive upside potential of more than 125%.

Can Blink really rise by that much? It’s difficult to say, but Pierce isn’t the only expert who views BLNK stock as a 2024 winner. Let’s dive into the other factors that could help supercharge this company as the EV market begins to rebound.

What’s Happening With BLNK Stock?

News of this upgrade has generated enough momentum to send BLNK stock rising today. As of this writing, shares are up more than 7% for the day. Despite dipping last week, the stock is in the green for the month as well and looks poised to keep making up lost ground.

In a recent note to investors, Pierce laid out his bullish thesis for BLNK stock:

BLNK’s revamped leadership team has shown improved execution and crisper investor communication and benefits from low expectations offsetting telegraphed dilution, with a $100M raise in 1H24 marking BLNK’s last capital raise in our mode.”

What’s more, the analyst added that Needham’s confidence in Blink’s revenue trajectory “increases when looking at the company’s positive momentum.”

Institutional Sentiment Is Strong

This prediction also comes after one of Wall Street’s most prominent hedge funds announced a position in Blink Charging. Back in December, Citadel Advisors disclosed that it had purchased 610,671 shares of BLNK stock, amounting to a roughly 0.9% stake. InvestorPlace’s Eddie Pan reports:

“Citadel carries an average holding period of 19.11 quarters, or almost five years, for stocks in its 13F portfolio. As a result, shareholders could estimate that the fund plans on holding BLNK stock for the long haul.”

Of course, as Pan notes, Citadel is a vast fund with positions in many stocks across various sectors. But data from WhaleWisdom shows that institutional sentiment toward Blink is generally positive. During Q3 2023, the last quarter for which data is available, the number of funds holding BLNK stock increased as did the percentage of ownership. On top of that, the number of new positions rose 50% while closed and reduced positions fell significantly. Finally, the put/call ratio dropped 12%, demonstrating that bearish sentiment toward Blink is falling.

In Q3 2023, Blink Charging reported revenue growth of 152% year-over-year (YOY). And, as InvestorPlace contributor Faisal Humayun reports, the company also “contracted, sold, or deployed 5,956 EV charging stations” during the quarter. If that type of growth continues into 2024, Blink should be in an excellent position to grow and help usher in a new bull market for EV charging.