For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – June 17, 2026 – Zacks Equity Research shares Bloom Energy BE as the Bull of the Day and M-tron Industries MPT as the Bear of the Day. In addition, Zacks Equity Research provides analysis on Kinder Morgan KMI and Cenovus Energy Inc. CVE.
Here is a synopsis of all four stocks.
Bull of the Day:
Bloom Energy has been a big winner in the AI datacenter buildout because they offer an immediate "BTM" (behind the meter) solution where they can deploy solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) in under 90-days for safe, clean, zero-combustion power.
I just profiled the company and its prospects in this video on Monday. We've owned the stock since the $70s after I learned of their partnership with Oracle and continue to enjoy opportunities to swing trade it above $250, all while holding a core position for higher targets in my TAZR Trader portfolio.
After we bought shares in September, we continued to accumulate as the good news really started to heat up with this October "bloom"...
Brookfield and Bloom Energy announced a $5 billion partnership to build global AI infrastructure facilities, with Bloom Energy serving as the preferred onsite power provider for Brookfield’s new AI factories.
The deal marks Brookfield’s first investment under its AI Infrastructure strategy and will use Bloom’s fuel cell technology to power data centers requiring massive, always-on electricity capacity. The companies said a European site will be announced later this year.
“AI infrastructure must be built like a factory, with purpose, speed, and scale,” said Bloom CEO KR Sridhar, adding that today’s grids “cannot support” the real-time load responsiveness AI factories need.
Brookfield’s Sikander Rashid said “behind-the-meter power” is key to closing the grid gap for AI data centers, which could push U.S. AI-related power demand above 100 GW by 2035, according to industry projections cited in the release.
What was so odd to me afterwards was that major Wall Street i-banks like Bank of America and Jefferies maintained "Sell" ratings and sub-$40 price targets throughout Q4.
Then in January, American Electric Power announced a $2.65B SOFC deal with Bloom. The major fuel cell procurement agreement was tied to the development of a fuel cell power generation facility in Wyoming, underscoring the scale of the planned buildout.
According to AEP, its unregulated subsidiary entered into an agreement with Bloom Energy in November 2025 to acquire 100 megawatts of solid oxide fuel cells, while also securing an option to purchase an additional 900 megawatts. The company said that this option was exercised earlier this week, which could significantly expand the scope of Bloom Energy's involvement in the project and support the planned capacity of the Wyoming facility.
AEP also disclosed that it has signed a 20-year offtake arrangement with an unnamed high investment grade third-party customer for 100% of the facility's output, subject to certain conditions that the company expects could be satisfied by the second quarter of 2026.
My video explains key fundamental pivots like their partnership with Brookfield, how BE could easily exceed the revenue-doubling of Generac, and why nuclear SMRs (small modular reactors) were still a very distant solution (dream?).
I especially enjoyed highlighting my view that Brookfield CEO Bruce Flatt is the "Dan Loeb" of infrastructure investing who you definitely want to have in your corner!
I also go over all the amazing growth metrics on the top and bottom lines which make Bloom Energy a $350 stock in the next 8-12 months if they keep executing the way they have.
Bloom 2026 Data Center Power Report: The New Realities Shaping AI Buildout
Management just updated their fundamental views of the market and here's their executive summary...
Early this year, our 2026 Data Center Power Report identified power availability as the defining constraint on data center growth. This mid-year update finds that power remains the dominant issue. However, other challenges are increasingly affecting the buildout of large-scale projects, hampering the speed of execution.
Our research among 156 data center decision-makers includes hyperscalers, colocation providers, neoclouds, data center developers, and chip developers, and is supplemented by public announcements and conversations with industry leaders.
The findings point to an industry that remains on track for significant growth, but one in which competitive advantage hinges on securing power, navigating permitting, earning community support, managing emissions, and deploying next-generation architectures.
As AI infrastructure scales, leadership will come down to addressing all of these requirements at speed and scale.
1) A prolonged expansion of data center capacity is underway. US data center electricity demand is projected to more than double by 2030, and data center developers are planning an elevated pace of capacity additions through the end of the decade. The composition of AI workloads is changing faster than expected, with inference already accounting for over half of AI compute today. This shift reflects AI’s transition from model building to real-world applications, with inference workloads driving sustained demand for new data center capacity.
2) Power remains the biggest challenge to bringing new capacity online, but other barriers are gaining importance. While access to power is still the dominant issue for data center development, construction costs and community scrutiny have emerged as growing barriers. Developers identify higher local electricity prices, increased water consumption, and strain on grid reliability as the community concerns most likely to influence projects. Solutions that reduce local impacts are becoming increasingly critical to project success.
3) Carbon capture is moving from concept to deployment as developers look to reconcile rapid power growth with emissions reduction goals. By 2030, nearly one-third of US data center sites using onsite power are expected to incorporate carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), reaching more than 40% by 2035. This planned adoption reflects growing pressure to expand power capacity while addressing emissions concerns.
4) The AC-to-DC transition is advancing faster than expected, creating a growing readiness gap. As higher rack densities drive new power delivery requirements, chip developers expect hybrid AC-DC architectures to be adopted in 2028, a full year ahead of data center developers’ plans. DC-native designs will follow quickly, accounting for 36% of new deployments in less
than four years. The architecture that developers choose today will determine whether they can support the next generation of AI chips.
Bottom line on Bloom: If you watch my video, you'll see where I have identified key "buy zones" for Bloom Energy in May and June and these will continue to be "higher-lows" of support as the stock ascends to and sustains above $300 into Q3 and Q4.
Bear of the Day:
M-tron Industries has been one of the market's standout small-cap stories, with the industrial products company benefiting from strong demand across aerospace, defense, avionics, and space markets.
That said, investors may want to exercise caution as expectations appear to have run well ahead of fundamentals.
MPTI has delivered exceptional gains over the past year, but valuation concerns, execution risks, and elevated expectations could make the stock vulnerable to a sharp pullback.
M-tron’s Dependence on Defense Spending
M-tron's growth story is heavily tied to U.S. defense spending and precision-guided munitions programs. Management has emphasized its relationships with major defense contractors and its exposure to missile systems and radar applications.
Although defense budgets remain favorable, government spending priorities can shift. Program delays, procurement changes, budget negotiations, or geopolitical developments could impact order timing and future revenue growth.
For a company with a relatively concentrated end-market profile, any slowdown in defense orders could have an outsized impact on results, and investor sentiment could begin to fade, especially with the U.S. and Iran reaching a ceasefire deal.
Backlog Growth Doesn't Guarantee Near-Term Revenue
Investors often view backlog growth as a direct indicator of future earnings, but the timing of converting orders into revenue can be unpredictable. While M-tron most recently reported its backlog expanded 38% year over year to $76.8 million, management noted that some of the larger defense opportunities may not contribute to production volumes until late 2027 or even 2028.
That means the market may be assigning value to earnings that remain years away from materializing.
Plus, backlog figures can fluctuate significantly based on the timing of large contract awards and customer purchasing patterns. Of course, any slowdown in new bookings could also alter investor sentiment.
Margin Risks Remain
Although M-tron’s profitability has improved substantially, margin pressure remains a concern. The company has already cited tariff costs and product-mix changes as factors affecting gross margins.
Furthermore, as M-tron invests in capacity expansion, research and development, and potential acquisitions, operating costs could rise. Rapid growth often brings execution challenges, and maintaining current margin levels may become increasingly difficult.
It’s also noteworthy that over the last 60 days, M-tron’s FY26 and FY27 EPS estimates are still down 8% and 13%, respectively, despite a modest uptick in the last month.
Volatility & Valuation Concerns
Another risk investors should consider is MPTI's small size. Small-cap defense names often trade on momentum, making them susceptible to sharp corrections when investor sentiment changes.
With its market capitalization of $426 million being well below the industrial products market average and many of its defense peers amid a limited public float, MPTI can experience significant volatility.
This dynamic can work in both directions, but after a substantial run higher, volatility becomes a greater risk for MPTI shareholders.
Adding to the volatility concerns and margin risks is that MPTI is trading at 43X forward earnings, a notable premium to the industrial products market and the benchmark S&P 500’s average of around 23X, respectively.
Bottom Line
For investors who already have positions in M-tron Industries stock, now may be an ideal time to take profits, while those who are considering MPTI may want to avoid it for now.
To that point, MPTI's impressive performance has raised expectations to lofty levels, as investors are now paying for years of anticipated growth, and the company faces risks tied to defense spending cycles, backlog conversion timing, margin pressure, and small-cap volatility.
With much of the good news seemingly priced in and little room for disappointment, MPTI looks vulnerable to a period of consolidation or multiple compression.
Additional content:
2 Bargain Large-Cap Stocks to Buy Despite Energy's Strong YTD Rally
This year has seen the Iran-War, which culminated in the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, responsible for the passage of significant oil volumes that are consumed across the globe. The resulting supply concerns drove crude prices upward and renewed momentum across the broader energy space.
Against this backdrop, finding attractively priced opportunities in the energy space has become increasingly difficult following the sector’s strong gains this year. In this context, let’s take a closer look at two large-cap energy players — Kinder Morgan and Cenovus Energy Inc. — to see whether they still offer compelling value after the sector’s strong rally.
Energy Sector Rallied Following Oil Price’s Massive Jump
The price of West Texas Intermediate crude has jumped to more than $100 per barrel this year from a little above $70 per barrel a year ago. The Iran war had long been driving up the oil price. But, with the recent development that the United States and Iran have agreed on a framework deal to end the war and eventually reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the price of the commodity has dropped and is hovering around $80 per barrel.
Investors should note that the big rally in oil prices has driven the strong gain of the energy sector. Year to date, the sector as a whole surged 25.2%, marking a robust gain. Using our proprietary stock screener, we have zeroed in on two large-cap undervalued energy stocks.
2 Energy Stocks with Cheap Valuations: KMI, CVE
Kinder Morgan operates an extensive network of pipelines spanning 78,000 miles, transporting natural gas, gasoline, crude oil and carbon dioxide. In addition, the company owns 136 terminals that store a variety of products, including renewable fuels, petroleum products, chemicals and vegetable oils.
As a leading large-cap midstream service provider, Kinder Morgan’s pipeline and storage assets are secured under long-term take-or-pay contracts. These contracts ensure that shippers pay for the capacity reserved, whether they utilize it or not, which provides a steady stream of revenues.
Currently, Kinder Morgan, carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), is undervalued, with a trailing 12-month enterprise value to EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) of 14.00x. This is below the broader industry average of 15.20x.
Cenovus Energy is an integrated energy player with a presence in upstream and downstream businesses. With core operations in Canadian oil sands and North American refining, the company’s business model is relatively stable.
Currently, Cenovus Energy, sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), is undervalued, with a trailing 12-month enterprise value to EBITDA (EV/EBITDA) of 6.75x. This is below the broader industry average of 7.30x. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
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