JPMorgan thinks EVgo’s business model of both owning and operating its fast electric vehicle chargers can send the stock soaring. The firm upgraded shares to overweight from neutral on Thursday. Its $7 per share price target implies more than 78% upside from Wednesday’s close. EVgo stock has climbed roughly 10% in 2024, but it’s been a choppy ride higher. Electric vehicle-related stocks have been under pressure for most of the year thanks to dimming consumer demand for EVs. At one point, EVgo was down as much as 52.2% year to date. However, shares have recovered, and analyst Bill Peterson doesn’t see a slowdown anytime soon. EVGO YTD mountain EVgo has advanced about 10% in 2024. “Unlike hardware-software peers, EVgo’s fast charging owner-operator model has been scaling well with higher utilization and charge rates in the current muted EV environment,” Peterson said. The company’s growth could be supercharged in the near-term thanks to a Department of Education conditional loan commitment that will help the company speed up its network buildout, Peterson added. “EVGO, which generates revenue on every kW of electricity dispensed to an EV driver, is expected to continue benefitting from higher utilization on every charger on its network, especially if competitor charging networks are unable to deploy chargers due to lack of demand,” Peterson said. Analysts overall are split on EVgo. LSEG data shows that, of the 12 analysts covering the stock, seven have a buy or strong buy rating, while the rest rate it as a hold.
