Investors should bet on Fluence Energy as storage demand for renewable energy grows with robust interest from asset owners across the country and input costs for battery cells rapidly decline, according to Bank of America. The bank upgraded the stock to buy from neutral and raised its price target to $26 per share from $24, calling a "bright spot" in the renewable energy space. The new forecast implies upside of 42% from Tuesday's close. "The new management team has demonstrated execution on targets, promoting confidence in above-average FLNC growth guidance and reliable structural growth," analyst Julien Dumoulin-Smith wrote. Fluence Energy's loss per share is expected to decline from $1.48 in 2022 to 61 cents in 2023 and then transition to a profit of 9 cents per share in 2024, Dumoulin-Smith said. The analyst also sees the company's earnings growing 633% to 66 cents per share in 2025. High population core states such as California and Texas as well as Maryland, New York and Illinois are all discussing renewable storage buildout to satisfy incremental capacity needs rather than relying on conventional assets, according to Bank of America. California and Texas remain central to Bank of America's thesis, but the bank also sees new states poised to adopt Fluence's technology as they see a "novel angle to both rapidly procure new resources (especially relative to new gas plants) as well as have an avenue to full ratebase ownership (in contrast to only partial opportunity of solar/wind)." Fluence Energy shares are down more than 35% over the past three months. However, they are still up more than 4% for 2023. FLNC YTD mountain FLNC in 2023
