Bloom Energy’s 18% Plunge: Competition, Short-Sellers, and Insider Warnings Explained

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(SeaPRwire) –   By: Robert Kensington

Bloom Energy (BE) stock took a sharp 18% hit recently. It had soared over 1,300% in a year, but profit-taking kicked off the selloff. Then came key catalysts. Chevron and Microsoft announced a deal to power a Texas AI data center with natural gas turbines, not fuel cells. That’s clear competition for BE’s tech in AI infrastructure. Plus, the DOE’s $17.5 billion nuclear energy financing adds another power source vying for data center demand.

Short-seller Jim Chanos labeled the AI energy space a bubble. His words hit hard as BE was already trading above analyst targets. Barclays set a price target of $276, almost matching the stock’s trading level. The broader market didn’t help; S&P 500 and Nasdaq were flat, so this was all BE-specific. Fuel cell peers like FuelCell Energy and Plug Power also got hit, showing a rotation out of high-momentum AI energy names.

Insider selling was a big deal. Over $83 million net sold in a year. Director John T. Chambers sold 55,000 shares at $297.69. Shawn Marie Soderberg sold 35,000 shares. Yet, institutional ownership was still 77.04%. Fundamentals were strong: EPS $0.44 vs $0.12 estimate, revenue $751M, up 130.4% y-o-y. But Wesbanco Bank reduced its BE position by 43.9%. Analyst average target was $224.36, with UBS at $322. Next earnings due in late July. Author bio: Robert Kensington, overseas entrepreneurial veteran with decades in real-economy industrial investment and expansion.