What happened
Before this week began, shares of Ameresco(NYSE: AMRC) had limped through 2023, vastly underperforming the S&P 500. Over the past few days, however, shares of the energy-efficiency specialist have turned around. The source of the renewed buying activity can be traced to an analyst's increasingly bullish outlook for the stock.
As of 1:38 p.m. ET today, Ameresco's stock is up 10% since the end of trading last Friday, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
So what
Maintaining an overweight rating, Kashy Harrison, an analyst at PiperSandler, raised the price target on Ameresco's stock to $66 from $62 on Tuesday. Among renewable energy stocks, Harrison recognizes Ameresco as one of his favorite picks right now. Based on the stock's closing price of $55.14 -- the day before Harrison's commentary was reported -- the $66 price target implied an upside of 19.7%.
Harrison's expectation of where Ameresco's stock is headed represents the most bullish outlook of the recent price targets that analysts have shared. In late June, for example, Christopher Souther, an analyst at B. Riley, nominally lowered the price target on Ameresco's stock to $62 from $63, while Bank of America dropped its price target to $53 from $59 in the middle of May.
Now what
While it's worth noting the current thinking among Wall Street analysts, it's similarly important to recognize that their price targets are usually predicated on shorter investing horizons than the long-term holding periods we prefer. Therefore, potential investors would be better served to pay careful attention to what the company reports next week with regard to its second-quarter 2023 financial results instead of the whims of Wall Street.
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Bank of America is an advertising partner of The Ascent, a Motley Fool company. Scott Levine has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bank of America. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
