It’s been one winner of a Thursday for Enphase Energy (NASDAQ:ENPH). Not only did it just land a big new accolade, but it also got a hefty surge in its share price. Investors sent Enphase up over 7% at the time of writing as a result.
The accolade in question came from Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) as it declared Enphase its leading pick among solar stocks. Deutsche Bank also classified it a “Short-Term Catalyst Buy,” as Enphase’s first-quarter results will be coming out soon.
It didn’t stop there, though; Deutsche Bank analyst Corrine Blanchard also called Enphase its top long-term buy, giving it a price target of $280 per share. With solid current market positioning and potential gains to be realized from the European market, and a solid valuation, that makes Enphase especially attractive.
In addition, Enphase recently shifted to adding IQ8 microinverters, a move which gives solar power systems a little extra edge. In many cases, solar power systems don’t provide backup power to homes when the main grid is down. The solar systems actually feed the main grid and reduce a user’s power bill accordingly. But, with the new microinverters, Enphase systems can actually provide backup power to individual generating homes, making them that much more valuable to the end user.
The value of Enphase systems likely isn’t lost on analysts, either. Analyst consensus calls Enphase stock a Strong Buy, with Buy ratings outpacing Hold ratings by better than four to one. Plus, Enphase stock offers 37.95% upside potential thanks to its average price target of $290.38.
