In this piece, we will take a look at the 12 most promising green stocks according to analysts. If you want to skip our overview of green stocks, the economy, and other latest news, then you can skip ahead to 5 Most Promising Green Stocks According to Analysts.
Over the past couple of decades, the face of human civilization has changed in ways that people living just a century ago would have thought were impossible. Whether it’s airplanes, cars, hospitals, or computers, the world is powered by petroleum and run by silicon – with the two resources being among the most important ones for global economic stability.
Yet, at the same time, progress has a cost. Fossil fuels as a source of energy are bound to emit greenhouse gasses that end up affecting the global climate. This means that even though humanity might be rapidly progressing, there might not be much left in the future as the Earth shudders under the collective weight of emissions. To counter this, companies focusing on environmentally friendly technologies are surfacing, and as a whole, these are dubbed as green stocks.
Green stocks are not a new phenomenon when it comes to the stock market. In fact, the world’s largest automaker in terms of market capitalization, Tesla, Inc. (NASDAQ:TSLA), is a green company. Tesla is the first company in the world to have successfully mass produced electric vehicles and the stock market has awarded it with a lucrative valuation as a result. Its shares are up by 780% over the past five years, eclipsed only by the stock of NVIDIA Corporation (NASDAQ:NVDA) that soared in 2023 in the wake of Wall Street’s optimism surrounding artificial intelligence.
However, even though they promise a clean, new world, just like all other stocks, green stocks are also vulnerable to market downturns. They are vulnerable to the same set of risks that the broader growth stock category is. This category, made of risky areas such as technology stocks and biotechnology stocks, relies on a sound economy and consumer and business well being to see investor interest. This is simply because green stocks offer the promise of benefiting from their future performance; as a result, investors are vary to invest in them if the current and future economic climate is uncertain.
So naturally, the next thing to look at when it comes to talking about green stocks is the economy. As has been the case for more than a year, most of the debate in the market right now surrounds the actions of the Federal Reserve. The Fed, if you’re out of the loop, has been rapidly raising interest rates for more than a year. However, these have not (yet) led to a recession as many had worried. Subsequently, the U.S. economic outlook is quite rosier in January 2024 than it was in January 2023, when everyone was just waiting for a recession to be the final nail in the coffin of bad economic news since the start of the coronavirus pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
When interest rates are high, green stocks struggle since they require access to generate amounts of capital to fund their growth. As an illustration, consider the performance of the S&P Global Clean Energy Index. The index had last peaked in January 2021 at a reading of 2,113 points and since then it’s been a downward spiral that has seen the index drop by more than half to current sit at 889 points. So what’s changed since January 2021? Well, interest rates were at an all time low back then, and green stocks were dealt a pretty hefty blow by the Ukraine war which exposed the vulnerability of global energy supply chains and led governments and businesses to dump clean energy and focus on ensuring that their petroleum needs were adequately met.
Before we go ahead and see which green stocks are finding favor with analysts, one important thing to remember is that they might have a rosier future this year if the Fed brings forward interest rate cuts and reduces them earlier than markets are expecting. Since the U.S. economy is growing, lower rates would ease business conditions and make investors more comfortable with betting in favor of a green future.
With these details in mind, let’s take a look at the most promising green stocks according to analysts. Some notable analyst green stock picks are Array Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARRY), Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG), and Sunnova Energy International Inc. (NYSE:NOVA).
Wind turbines against a backdrop of the sky, signify the power of renewable energy.
Our Methodology
To make our list of the most promising green stocks according to analysts, we ranked the top 30 holdings of the iShares Global Clean Energy ETF by their average analyst share price upside percentage and chose the top stocks.
For these most promising green stocks according to analysts, we have also mentioned hedge fund sentiment. Hedge funds’ top 10 consensus stock picks outperformed the S&P 500 Index by more than 140 percentage points over the last 10 years (see the details here). That’s why we pay very close attention to this often-ignored indicator.
Most Promising Green Stocks According to Analysts
12. REX American Resources Corporation (NYSE:REX)
Average Analyst Share Price Upside: 27%
REX American Resources Corporation (NYSE:REX) is an ethanol company headquartered in Dayton, Ohio. More than 80% of its shares are held by institutional investors, lending the stock stability but also making it vulnerable to large downswings.
By the end of last year’s third quarter, 11 out of the 910 hedge funds covered by Insider Monkey’s research were REX American Resources Corporation (NYSE:REX)’s shareholders. Jim Simons’ Renaissance Technologies was the largest investor among these as it held a $34.6 million stake.
Just like Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG), Array Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARRY), and Sunnova Energy International Inc. (NYSE:NOVA), REX American Resources Corporation (NYSE:REX) is a top analyst green stock pick.
11. ReNew Energy Global Plc (NASDAQ:RNW)
Average Analyst Share Price Upside: 28%
ReNew Energy Global Plc (NASDAQ:RNW) is a British firm that provides renewable power in India, the world’s most populous nation. It’s one of the strongest rated stocks on our list as analysts have set an average share price rating of Strong Buy.
Insider Monkey’s September quarter of 2023 survey covering 910 hedge funds revealed that 13 had held a stake in the company. ReNew Energy Global Plc (NASDAQ:RNW)’s biggest hedge fund shareholder is David Rosen’s Rubric Capital Management due to its $53.7 million investment.
10. SolarEdge Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SEDG)
Average Analyst Share Price Upside: 39%
SolarEdge Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SEDG), as the name suggests, is a solar power company. It sells equipment that is used by solar power generation systems. The firm was out with some bad news for its employees in January 2024 when it announced that it would lay off 16% of its workforce this year.
As of Q3 2023 end, 27 out of the 910 hedge funds profiled by Insider Monkey were SolarEdge Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SEDG)’s investors. Ian Simm’s Impax Asset Management was the largest stakeholder as it owned $121 million worth of shares.
9. Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ:RUN)
Average Analyst Share Price Upside: 50%
Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ:RUN) is another solar energy systems company. It scored a win in December 2023 when Piper Sandler upgraded its shares to Overweight as the Fed’s interest rate cuts started to surface on the horizon. The shares had lost 25% year to date when the upgrade was issued.
During last year’s third quarter, 26 out of the 910 hedge funds covered by Insider Monkey’s database had held a stake in the company. Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ:RUN)’s biggest hedge fund investor is William B. Gray’s Orbis Investment Management as it holds a $175 million stake.
8. Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ)
Average Analyst Share Price Upside: 50%
Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ) makes and sells solar cells and other associated products. The firm expanded its global presence in January 2024 when a subsidiary won a deal to provide an Australian solar company with battery storage solutions.
By the end of 2023’s third quarter, out of the 910 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey, ten had invested in Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ). Israel Englander’s Millennium Management was the largest hedge fund shareholder, owning one million shares that are worth $25.6 million.
7. First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)
Average Analyst Share Price Upside: 54%
First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR) is yet another solar company. It sells solar panels all over the world. Wells Fargo downgraded the shares to Equal Weight from Overweight in January 2024 as it shared that not only was 2023 a good year for the firm, but its cash flows are relatively insensitive to interest rate cuts.
During September 2023, 49 out of the 910 hedge funds covered by Insider Monkey’s research had bought and owned the firm’s shares. First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR)’s biggest investor in our database is Robert Pohly’s Samlyn Capital courtesy of its $293 million investment.
6. Bloom Energy Corporation (NYSE:BE)
Average Analyst Share Price Upside: 61%
Bloom Energy Corporation (NYSE:BE) is a unique green energy company that provides fuel systems to generate electricity without combustion. Baird upgraded the shares to Outperform from Neutral in January 2024 and set a $22 share price target up from an earlier $16, citing a stable business model.
29 out of the 910 hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey had invested in Bloom Energy Corporation (NYSE:BE) as of Q3 2023 end. Philippe Laffont’s Coatue Management was the largest shareholder as it held a $45.8 million stake.
Bloom Energy Corporation (NYSE:BE), Array Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARRY), Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG), and Sunnova Energy International Inc. (NYSE:NOVA) are some promising green stocks according to analysts.
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Disclosure: None. 12 Most Promising Green Stocks According to Analysts is originally published on Insider Monkey.