Puma, Nordex, and Power Nickel - Potential for a price jump? Analysts see opportunities in these stocks

Power Nickel: Will analysts raise the target price soon?

Power Nickel's shares have already gained around 20% in the new year. This shows that the Canadian exploration company is unfazed by US President Donald Trump's tariff antics.

In 2024, spectacular drilling results turned the Nisk project into a world-class multi-metal project, and Power Nickel's stock soared. However, the start of 2025 shows that there is still a lot more to come from the Company, valued at around CAD 250 million – both in the ground and in the share price. After all, the goal is to develop the high-grade Nisk project into Canada's first CO2-neutral nickel mine. To move towards this, Power Nickel sold off peripheral assets last week. The Golden Ivan property in British Columbia, Canada, and certain Chilean assets were transferred to Chilean Metals. Power Nickel shareholders have had 50% of Chilean Metals shares posted to their accounts. Power Nickel continues to hold the remaining 50%. In the future, Chilean Metals will be developed and financed independently.

The Nisk project is located in Quebec, Canada. In 2024, the project attracted a great deal of attention when drilling results not only revealed large amounts of nickel and copper but also platinum, gold, and silver. Due to the presence of a nickel/copper/cobalt/platinum group element (PGE) deposit (Nisk) and a copper/PGE/gold/silver deposit (Lion), the Company is confident that there are further undiscovered metal deposits on the site.

In December 2024, analysts at Hannam & Partner had seen the fair value of Power Nickel's shares at CAD 1.70. From the current level, the share would thus have another 30% potential. It is likely that the analysts will continue to raise their target price based on further positive drilling results. This is because the drilling program, which runs until April 2025, is regularly producing positive results. Most recently, hole PN-24-070, among others, returned 32 meters of 3.62% copper and high precious metal grades. In hole PN-24-053, the values were even higher, with 12.7% copper and over 20 g palladium per ton. This makes us want to see more drill results.

Nordex: Headwinds in the US and Germany

For Nordex, too, 2024 was quite positive. Although the stock did not perform as strongly as Power Nickel, it did see an increase of more than 50%. However, it lost significantly towards the end of the year, particularly after the US elections. These were likely the harbingers of a challenging year ahead in 2025. However, the wind turbine manufacturer started the year with a bulging order book. A large portion of that comes from the US. Nordex increased its incoming orders in the US by a whopping 350% in 2024. However, with the new US president, the wind industry is facing a strong headwind. Donald Trump would ideally like to completely ban new wind turbine construction. It has not come to that yet, but projects are to be thoroughly reviewed. Accordingly, the uncertainty is significant.

Then, last week, the amendment of the Federal Immission Control Act in Germany caused additional uncertainty. The aim is to improve the controllability of onshore wind turbine construction. According to the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, the amendment of the Federal Immission Control Act is, among other things, about preliminary wind turbine decisions. The aim is to prevent preliminary decisions from being used to secure areas that will no longer be available for wind turbines in the long term. This was done in particular because of NRW. The state parliament there has already decided that there will be a six-month moratorium on approvals for wind turbines outside certain planning zones in North Rhine-Westphalia. It is not yet clear what impact this will have on the wind energy sector. But uncertainty is not something the stock market likes at all.

The Nordex stock is supported by Jefferies. The effects of the amendment to the Federal Imission Control Act should not be overstated, as projects that have already been approved could still be built. The analysts have renewed their price target of EUR 18 and recommend the share as a "Buy". Currently, Nordex shares are trading just below EUR 11.

Puma: Price targets vary widely

Analysts also see upside potential for Puma. However, opinions differ widely. Due to weak operating performance, the stock crashed to around EUR 29 last week. In December 2024, it was still above EUR 46. Puma had met its revenue forecast for 2024 and just missed its operating profit target. However, the decline in profits from EUR 305 million to EUR 282 million was something that stock market traders had not expected. Puma itself emphasized that it was not satisfied with its profitability. In 2025, further cost control measures are to be implemented. Sales growth in the current year is expected to be above the 4.4% achieved in 2024, but even that does not sound overly optimistic.

Most analysts consider the price slide to be exaggerated. However, the recommendations and comments often do not match the recommendation. Warburg Research, for example, emphasized that the conference call following the announcement of the figures did not spark any fresh enthusiasm. Nevertheless, with a target price of EUR 70, they are among the clear Puma bulls.

From the point of view of UBS, Puma is suffering from intense competition and reducing costs is a major challenge. The recommendation for the stock is "Neutral". However, the target price of EUR 43.90 offers more than 40% upside potential. So why not a buy recommendation?

RBC is somewhat more consistent. For them, Puma shares are a "Sector Perform" due to the modest revenue growth, which is also a relatively neutral stance. Consequently, the target price was reduced from EUR 45 to EUR 38.

Of the three stocks discussed, only Power Nickel is a clear buy. The stock is on an upward trend, and further drilling results are expected in the coming weeks. At Nordex, the momentum has dissipated. Instead, the orders in the US could be canceled more quickly than one might think. Why take this risk and buy a stock that has often disappointed in recent years? There will certainly be a turnaround at Puma. There have been enough changes of favorites among sportswear manufacturers in recent years. However, Adidas currently has the momentum (still).