Black_Kira/iStock via Getty Images Fluence Energy ( FLNC ) up 29.1% in Friday's trading as Roth MKM upgraded the seller of energy storage products to Buy from Neutral with a $26 price target, doubled from its previous $13 target, saying it anticipates further upside driven by strengthening order flow, expanding growth opportunities, and improving profitability. Fluence ( FLNC ) shares have nearly ...
Black_Kira/iStock via Getty Images Fluence Energy ( FLNC ) up 29.1% in Friday's trading as Roth MKM upgraded the seller of energy storage products to Buy from Neutral with a $26 price target, doubled from its previous $13 target, saying it anticipates further upside driven by strengthening order flow, expanding growth opportunities, and improving profitability. Fluence ( FLNC ) shares have nearly doubled over the past three trading sessions, which included reporting a slightly narrower than expected FQ2 loss and saying the company signed master supply agreements with two hyperscaler data center customers. FY 2026 YTD orders have jumped to $2B, with roughly half coming from new customers, and Roth analyst Justin Clare said he thinks Fluence ( FLNC ) is well positioned to drive further order growth into FQ3 and FQ4 following the two master supply agreements, with the first related order expected in FQ3 and a broader ramp in data center orders anticipated thereafter. Notably, management indicated in one case the MSA qualification process began with 26 potential suppliers, which Clare saw as a strong validation of Fluence's ( FLNC ) technology and execution capabilities. Additionally, domestic supply uncertainty appears to have been largely resolved following the ownership transition of the cell manufacturing facility in Smyrna, Tennessee, while Fluence ( FLNC ) also secured a second battery cell supply source beginning in FY 2027, the analyst said. Gross margins rebounded in FQ2, which Clare said further supports confidence in Fluence's ( FLNC ) ability to deliver against reiterated FY 2026 margin guidance. More on Fluence Energy Fluence Energy: The Data Center Opportunity Looks Promising, But Other Risks Remain Fluence Energy: The Scalable Solution Powering AI-Driven Data Centers Seeking Alpha's Quant Rating on Fluence Energy
Earnings Call Insights: Oportun Financial Corporation (OPRT) Q1 2026 Management View "I'm honored to be speaking with you for the first time as CEO of Oportun." (CEO & Director Doug Bland) said he joined on April 20 and would not "declare a new strategy" yet, adding: "What I can say from my early assessment is that the team has made real progress strengthening the foundation of the business, parti...
Earnings Call Insights: Oportun Financial Corporation (OPRT) Q1 2026 Management View "I'm honored to be speaking with you for the first time as CEO of Oportun." (CEO & Director Doug Bland) said he joined on April 20 and would not "declare a new strategy" yet, adding: "What I can say from my early assessment is that the team has made real progress strengthening the foundation of the business, particularly profitability, liquidity and funding costs, while important work remains to improve through-cycle credit performance and rebuild a durable growth engine." "We have remained in a tight credit posture, maintaining an emphasis on returning members amid an uncertain macroeconomic outlook for low and moderate income households." (Interim CFO, Treasurer & Head of Capital Markets Paul Appleton) highlighted credit indicators and mix shift, including: "Our annualized net charge-off rate was 12.65% in Q1" and "the proportion of originations to returning members was 79%." "Another important part of our efforts to attain our ROE goal is exploring the launch of risk-based pricing." (Interim CFO Appleton) said the company signed "a letter of intent with a new bank partner" and "continue[s] to expect to roll this initiative out in the second half of the year," alongside a newer product: "Last month, we launched... a payment protection offering." Outlook "Our outlook for the second quarter is total revenue of $227 million to $232 million, annualized net charge-off rate of 12.2%, plus or minus 15 basis points and adjusted EBITDA of $34 million to $39 million." (Interim CFO Appleton) tied the credit view to delinquency expectations: "We expect the second quarter 30-plus delinquency rate to improve further to a range between 4.1% and 4.2%." "We are fully reiterating our full year 2026 guidance, including total revenue of $935 million to $955 million... adjusted EPS of $1.50 to $1.65." (Interim CFO Appleton) reiterated that the outlook "prudently assumes we maintain a tight credit post...
‘Unprecedented operation’ under way to receive MV Hondius off Tenerife to assess and repatriate those onboard • What is hantavirus? • Where did the cruise ship hantavirus come from and what happens next? The evacuation of the hantavirus-stricken MV Hondius cruise ship must be completed within 24 hours of the vessel reaching Tenerife on Sunday or face days or even weeks of delay because of bad weat...
‘Unprecedented operation’ under way to receive MV Hondius off Tenerife to assess and repatriate those onboard • What is hantavirus? • Where did the cruise ship hantavirus come from and what happens next? The evacuation of the hantavirus-stricken MV Hondius cruise ship must be completed within 24 hours of the vessel reaching Tenerife on Sunday or face days or even weeks of delay because of bad weather, authorities in the Canary Islands warned on Friday. The Dutch-flagged vessel, which was sailing from Argentina to Cape Verde, is due to arrive in the Spanish archipelago this weekend, triggering what Spain’s health minister has termed an “unprecedented operation” to receive, assess and repatriate the 149 passengers and crew members onboard. Continue reading...
SlobodanMiljevic/iStock via Getty Images Investment Thesis CoreWeave, Inc. ( CRWV ) reported strong revenue growth in Q1 '26 , and the market is reacting negatively for the wrong reasons. Last quarter's results confirm my expectations of deepening losses, reinforcing my belief that the company is underwriting its cloud contracts at extremely thin margins that don't justify the effort. If anything,...
SlobodanMiljevic/iStock via Getty Images Investment Thesis CoreWeave, Inc. ( CRWV ) reported strong revenue growth in Q1 '26 , and the market is reacting negatively for the wrong reasons. Last quarter's results confirm my expectations of deepening losses, reinforcing my belief that the company is underwriting its cloud contracts at extremely thin margins that don't justify the effort. If anything, the disappointing revenue outlook should be considered positive because it opens the door for speculation that the company is becoming more selective regarding its underwriting. I don't believe this is what happened. Instead, I believe that this is just normal deployment and timing issues tied to construction and operations. This is not in defense of the company, but the truth is there are a lot of moving parts when building a data center, let alone multiple data hubs, each requiring power supply arrangements, GPUs, and networking, many of which are in short supply, subject to delays, and other operational factors. If you believe in the company's business model, Q1 '26 results are not a reason to sell. However, if you're skeptical about core operations and contracts with hyperscalers, this quarter's deepening losses confirm the thesis laid out in the last piece. Recent Results CoreWeave reported spectacular Q1 '26 revenue growth . Sales exceeded the $2 billion mark, more than double Q1 '25 sales. Sales tailwinds are well-known - an AI infrastructure buildout, which I believe is lucrative for almost everyone, except for Neoclouds. Generative AI is profitable for hyperscalers, and I don't believe there is a bubble. I think CoreWeave's losses are a result of bad management and contract underwriting, but I see increasing evidence that it is an exception to the rule in what otherwise is a very profitable industry. CoreWeave Operating losses widened, and loss margin deepened in the quarter, from -3% to -7%, while net loss margin deepened from -32% to -36%. One would have thought...
Venezuela announced emergency measures to stabilize its power grid after electricity consumption hit a nine-year high this week, reviving memories of blackouts and rationing that once crippled the economy. The Electricity Ministry didn’t detail the measures, but urged the private sector to conserve power and reiterated a ban on energy-intensive crypto mining. It said rising temperatures and increa...
Venezuela announced emergency measures to stabilize its power grid after electricity consumption hit a nine-year high this week, reviving memories of blackouts and rationing that once crippled the economy. The Electricity Ministry didn’t detail the measures, but urged the private sector to conserve power and reiterated a ban on energy-intensive crypto mining. It said rising temperatures and increased economic activity were fueling excessive consumption, which it said reached more than 15,500 megawatts on Thursday. The renewed strain on the power system threatens to complicate the government’s push to revitalize the oil, mining and industrial sectors after years of underinvestment in its hydroelectric dams and transmission lines. Much of the country is already subject to rolling blackouts, especially outside the capital Caracas. In the western oil-producing state of Zulia for example, residents face outages lasting six hours a day or more. “We are working hard to recover and stabilize the system. We all need to cooperate,” Electricity Minister Rolando Alcalá said on state TV on Thursday. “The national electrical system is the engine, the core factor, for all development activities in a country.” Recurring ads on state TV use animated characters to ask Venezuelans to unplug home appliances when not in use. The measures recall the worst of Venezuela’s crisis in 2019, when a massive blackout darkened the country for nearly a week, paralyzing hospitals and airports. Outages remain common, with factories outside Caracas frequently disrupted by sudden voltage drops and extended cuts causing some to ask staff to work overnight. The latest warnings cloud investment plans announced since Nicolás Maduro ’s ouster in January, including efforts by acting President Delcy Rodríguez to open Venezuela’s oil industry to foreign operators and revive crude production. Venezuela’s government blamed lingering US sanctions for worsening strains on the power grid, which it says has restric...
Diplomatic efforts continuing despite fighting in and around contested strait of Hormuz in recent days Middle East crisis – live updates The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has said that Washington is expecting a response from Iran on Friday to its proposals for an interim deal to end the conflict in the Middle East, as Iran accused the US of breaching the increasingly fragile ceasefire announ...
Diplomatic efforts continuing despite fighting in and around contested strait of Hormuz in recent days Middle East crisis – live updates The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has said that Washington is expecting a response from Iran on Friday to its proposals for an interim deal to end the conflict in the Middle East, as Iran accused the US of breaching the increasingly fragile ceasefire announced last month. In recent days there have been the biggest flare-ups in fighting in and around the contested strait of Hormuz since the informal truce began. The rise in violence followed Donald Trump’s announcement – then rapid pause – of a new naval mission aimed at opening the strategic waterway. Continue reading...