Energous (WATT) Stock | Finally Pulling the Plug?
Although Nikola Tesla might deserve credit for inventing wireless power transmission in the 1890s, Energous Corporation seems to be the closest thing we have ever had to making it a commercial reality. Energous is trying to revolutionize the way people charge mobile devices using wireless electricity, albeit baby steps. Their signature product, WattUp, is like a wireless router that transmits power instead of internet signal. Think of a Duracell Powermat, except you can be anywhere within 15 feet of that charging pad. At this point, it seems their story could go one of two ways: Either Energous Corporation could make cell phone cords and plugs a thing of the past or it might be time to pull the plug on Energous stock.
Big Announcement
Yesterday, June 23rd, shares for WATT spiked on a big announcement from their company. In an article on CNN Money, their CEO Stephen Rizzone said they have inked a deal with a “top tier” tech company that promises to build their wireless power receivers right into “millions of devices.” While the CEO could not exactly say what company because of a nondisclosure agreement, he assured everyone that “it’s highly likely that you own some of this company’s products.” Some believe the CEO was hinting at Apple and others believe it could be another major device manufacturer like LG or Samsung. Any of these partners would do just fine really. If Energous actually can get their wireless charge receivers built into millions of top tier devices, they have a huge market advantage on competitors with both feet already in the door. Shares closed the day at $9.58, nearly 30% higher than where they opened at $7.45.
Old News?
Some investors and analysts remain skeptical of the big stock movement after this latest announcement. They claim that we have heard this same announcement before. With a little digging, their suspicions seem to hold water. Energous held their 2014 Q4 conference call on March 9th of this year. On that conference call, the very same CEO Stephen Rizzone seemed to make the very same hint about their “first development and license agreement that was just recently signed with a Tier One consumer electronics company.” WATT stock also spiked on March 9th into March 10th following this announcement, but that may have been due to any number of things from the earnings call to be fair.
Analysts and Projections On WATT
Analysts in general are optimistic about the stock. Although only four currently cover WATT, they all rate it a buy. Ascendiant Capital also reaffirmed their buy rating on June 23rd, the day of the CEO’s big announcement. The lowest target price for the stock right now is $13 dollars, or over 35% higher than its last close. The mean target price is $17.25, 80% higher than its last close and what would be an all-time high! First shares will need to test what has been a ceiling for the past 6-months at $12.44. And even before that, positive momentum needs to carry over more than one day. Besides June 23rd, the stock has generally been in a downward trend since January of this year.
About Energous Corporation
Energous Corporation (WATT) is a hardware, software, and intellectual property technology company. They are currently focused on building their WattUp wireless charging system. Through licensing and partnerships, they aim to bring charge transmitters, charge receivers, and the software that controls them to households and businesses all over the world.
