Analysts at UBS have launched coverage on three electric vehicle (EV) charging companies on their view that there are opportunities within the space as EV adoption accelerates.
They initiated coverage on Blink Charging Co (NASDAQ:BLNK), which closed at US$3.06 on Wednesday, and ChargePoint Holdings, which closed at US$5.02, without a rating or price target for either stock.
It has also assumed coverage of Wallbox, on which it has a ‘Buy’ rating and US$5 price target. Wallbox shares finished Wednesday’s trading session at US$2.20.
The analysts wrote that their US public electric vehicle supply equipment (EVSE) model forecasts port demand will grow at a 40% compound annual growth rate through 2030.
This puts 2030 demand at about 2.2 million ports, up from 150,000 EVSE ports installed as of December 2022.
“We believe that ports are more relevant to track versus locations because there are typically multiple chargers and ports installed at each location,” they wrote.
The UBS analysts also noted that General Motors, Ford and other car-makers adopting Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA)'s North American Charging Standard (NACS) is a small fix for EV charging operators.
“For EVSE network equipment manufacturers, this does not appear to be technically demanding issue and should only require simple replacement of charging cables/plugs or the addition of adaptors,” they wrote.
“The most important take away here is that communication protocol for AC and DC charging for both NACS and Combined Charging Standard (CCS) are the same, meaning that EVSE manufacturers only need to provide adaptors or swap charging ports/cables in order for NACS EVs to work.”
Contact the author at emily.jarvie@proactiveinvestors.com
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