While ChargePoint (NYSE:CHPT), which specializes in electric vehicle infrastructure and charging systems, revealed that it just made it easier for Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) drivers out there, it didn’t do much good for ChargePoint’s share price. In fact, ChargePoint shares are down over 2% in Thursday afternoon’s trading session in spite of the change.
ChargePoint basically acknowledged Tesla’s likely superiority in the charging stakes and, as such, announced that it’s bringing North American Charging Station (NACS) connectors to its network of electric vehicle recharging stations. Tesla owners, as well as those driving electric vehicles that used the NACS charging system, could use ChargePoint stations, but they had to bring their own adapters with them as the ChargePoint stations couldn’t accommodate NACS systems. And then, even with the adaptor, customers couldn’t take advantage of fast charging systems.
ChargePoint CEO Pasquale Romano recently offered up some comments on this issue, noting that the change should have happened already. Romano noted, “…it’s a shame the industry has waited this long.” He also noted that “…it’s a travesty that this didn’t go down like it did in Europe, where just by law, you had to have a single connection type. It should not have taken to this point.” Now, with Tesla’s NACS looking like the dominant player, ChargePoint could step in and make its charging stations run similarly.
Is ChargePoint a Buy or Sell?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Strong Buy consensus rating on CHPT stock based on 12 Buys and three Holds assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. Furthermore, the average CHPT price target of $10.84 per share implies 241.96% upside potential.
