Investing.com -- Barclays raised its price target on Bloom Energy (NYSE: BE) to $308 from $276 while maintaining an Equal-Weight rating on the stock, citing a newly acquired manufacturing facility that could double the company’s production capacity alongside a landmark utility filing that opens a substantial new market segment for the fuel cell manufacturer.

Bloom Energy shares rose 3.75% in premarket trading to $287.34 ahead of Thursday’s open, reflecting immediate market reaction to Barclays analyst Christine Cho’s Q3 preview note, along with broader strength in AI-related stocks.

The bullish capacity case centers on Bloom Energy’s acquisition of a second facility in Fremont, California. Measuring approximately 158,000 square feet, the site is comparable in size to the company’s existing 164,000-square-foot cell-manufacturing location.

According to Cho, the expanded footprint provides a clear line of sight toward raising output capacity to roughly 10–12 GW, up from the current 5–6 GW limit of its existing site. Cho noted that "the additional capacity in Fremont should mitigate concerns about BE’s own manufacturing capacity, but we will still need to monitor the supply chain as well to confirm that is also scaling up in tandem."

Alongside manufacturing gains, Barclays highlights a major strategic shift in utility demand. On Monday, September 28, Ameren Missouri filed a 20-year Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) featuring 500 MW of natural gas fuel cells by 2030. Barclays views Bloom Energy as the only supplier currently capable of executing fuel cell deployments at that scale.

While the IRP filing does not explicitly name a vendor, Cho emphasizes that the broader implication matters more than any individual contract: "We believe this inclusion represents an important expansion beyond BE’s traditional behind-the-meter use case and materially broadens its addressable market if we are to now include front-of-the-meter."

A front-of-the-meter framework positions Bloom’s technology as a primary utility generation asset supplying the main power grid, rather than an on-site system powering a single facility—a market segment the company has not previously entered at commercial scale.

Barclays also addressed investor concerns surrounding Project Jupiter—an Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL) data center initiative where fuel cell deliveries face potential disruption due to reported construction delays.

Cho believes Oracle faces a straightforward choice: take delivery on schedule or risk losing its position in line. Because supply agreements are not tied to specific geographic sites, Oracle retains the flexibility to redirect units to alternative projects. Barclays points to Project Lighthouse in Wisconsin as the most logical pivot point. Although Project Lighthouse’s full-power timeline could slip from late 2027 to April 2029, Cho noted she is watching for signals that the project might integrate fuel cells earlier to accelerate power delivery, which would ease financial overhangs on Bloom heading into next year.

Underpinning the constructive rating is a demand environment that continues to outpace production. Bloom Energy’s backlog growth continues to outstrip revenue growth, supported by new orders linked to Project Phoenix and the 500 MW provision in Ameren’s utility filing.

Despite the price target increase, Barclays maintains its Equal-Weight stance, with the $308 target implying an 11% upside from the last closing price (and roughly 7% from its premarket trading level of $287.34).

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