Bloom Energy, Benton Resources, Alibaba – Exceptional performance

Bloom Energy – Outperformer in a crisis market

At the beginning of the 2020s, or more precisely after the Corona crash in March, shares of hydrogen and fuel cell companies were still among the high flyers on the world's stock markets. Companies like Plug Power and Nel ASA skyrocketed to astronomical heights without even having the prospect of scaling profits in the next few years. The bill for the excessive overvaluation followed the next year. Since then, most companies that predicted a glorious future due to the energy transition have seen a loss of over 90%, with no bottom in sight yet.

One exception is Bloom Energy, which specializes in the production of solid oxide fuel cells. This technology enables energy to be generated by chemically reacting oxygen from the air with a fuel such as natural gas, biogas, or hydrogen. As soon as the announcement of a major order from American Electric Power was made in the fourth quarter of last year, the share price began to rebound, more than tripling from USD 8.90 to USD 30 by the end of January.

Since then, the price has consolidated at a high level in the USD 24 range and could start another upward momentum after the announcement of the quarterly figures last week. Bloom Energy reported fourth-quarter revenue of USD 572.4 million, an increase of 60.4% over the same period of the previous year, and significantly exceeded analysts' estimates of just USD 508.3 million. The US company also exceeded analyst consensus, which predicted USD 0.30, with adjusted earnings per share of USD 0.43. Operating cash flow amounted to USD 484.20 million, and cash and cash equivalents totaled USD 803 million on the reporting date.

Benton Resources – Significant upside potential

A similar chart pattern to that of Bloom Energy can also be seen in the copper and gold exploration company Benton Resources. After lows in October 2023 at CAD 0.04, Benton shares were able to rise to CAD 0.24 within a few weeks and are currently in the bottoming phase in the range of CAD 0.09. A break of the established downward trend since November 2023 at CAD 0.095 would generate a fresh buy signal with a first interim target of CAD 0.125.

From a fundamental perspective, the upside potential is enormous. In addition to the fact that the Company, with a market capitalization of CAD 17.48 million, owns an extremely promising portfolio of multi-mineral properties and large stakes in other mining companies that are developing high-quality assets, the 70% owned high-grade Great Burnt copper-gold project in central Newfoundland offers opportunities for exceptional returns.

The property, which is equipped with first-class infrastructure, has a mineral resource estimate of 667,000 tons at 3.21% copper indicated and 482,000 tons at 2.35% copper inferred. The exploration target, which extends over a strike length of 25 km, includes 6 copper-silver-gold zones, all of which are open for expansion.

The exploration plan currently includes the investigation of new target areas such as the North Stringer/Footwall, various near-surface magnetic and geophysical anomalies, and areas where strongly anomalous copper and gold mineralization has been discovered at surface.

In the currently ongoing 2,370-meter drilling program, Benton Resources successfully extended the Great Burnt Main zone to a strike length of 950 meters. Drilling of up to 15,000 meters is planned for the year.

Stephen Stares, President and CEO, states: "This project continues to show amazing potential with every drill hole we complete. I am confident that we will make many more discoveries as we continue to explore our vast 25-kilometre-long land package."

Alibaba – The stock of the hour

After investors had long avoided the online giant, with the Baba stock losing nearly 80% of its value from the all-time high in October 2020 at USD 319.32 to the interim low in January 2024 at USD 66.63, the Chinese digital company is now on a strong upward trajectory again. At USD 132.51, Alibaba shares reached a new three-year high and were able to sustainably break through the last resistance levels on its way to the USD 175 mark.

The reasons for the upswing are complex. In addition to the fact that company founder Jack Ma is once again appearing in public after a long absence and has even been rehabilitated with a reception by China's President Xi Jinping, Alibaba is also at the forefront of the battle for the best AI models.

To achieve this market leadership, Alibaba plans investments of around USD 53 billion in artificial intelligence and cloud computing over the next three years. The aim is to further expand its infrastructure in these areas, the Company announced on Monday, according to "AWP".

Bernstein analysts remain optimistic and expect the positive sentiment around AI to continue to generate growth for Alibaba. This assessment comes on the heels of the Company's recently reported fourth-quarter results. The analyst firm raised the stock from "Market Perform" to "Outperform" and raised the price target by USD 61 to currently USD 165.

Fuel cell specialist Bloom Energy reports better-than-expected quarterly figures and could continue its upward trend. Alibaba plans to make considerable investments in artificial intelligence. Benton Resources has published outstanding results from the current drilling program at its flagship project.