In recent months, after partially jolting back, retail investor enthusiasm has again cooled for Camber Energy (NYSE:CEI). Since March, when it zoomed back above $1 per share thanks to spike in oil and gas prices, CEI stock has slid back to just above where it was right before March.
Yet while retail speculators are looking elsewhere for opportunity, you may want to take a closer look before deciding to follow their lead. Why? There are scores of small-capitalization oil and gas stocks. There are also many small-cap clean energy plays.
But with interest in both “old school” and “new school” energy, Camber is in a unique position. It has exposure to any continued rise in oil prices. Plus, there’s the upside potential from progress with its “green wave” ventures. Either catalyst could be what enables this very volatile stock to make its next big move.
| CEI | Camber Energy | $0.56 |
An Overview of CEI Stock
Given how it went from under-the-radar, to widely talked about, last year, chances are you may know the “story” with Camber Energy quite well. Yet for those not fully familiar, here’s an overview of this company, and its diverse portfolio of energy related holdings.
Most of its assets are held through its majority-owned, publicly traded subsidiary, Viking Energy Group (NASDAQ:VKIN). Previously focused entirely on fossil fuels, Viking still owns a portfolio of oil and gas properties. That’s why CEI stock briefly saw renewed excitement during February and March. This coincided with crude oil prices making their way above $100 per barrel.
However, Viking has been repositioning itself as a diversified clean energy and power solutions provider — mostly, through its Canada-based Simon-Maxwell unit. Although its legacy business is in power solutions products, the company is looking to use it as a vehicle to commercialize carbon capture technology it has licensed from a third-party.
That’s not all. The company has moved into other innovative areas. For example, medical waste ozone technology, as well as open conductor detection technologies. Thanks to a financing deal from earlier this year, Camber has plenty of cash to pursue similar opportunities as they crop up.
High Risk, High Potential Reward
There’s no getting around the fact that CEI stock is risky. Investors who got in before it briefly became very popular last year reaped a handsome profit. Investors who got in near its 52-week high? Not so much.
Still, the fact it’s been highly volatile (with a 52-week range of between 33 cents and $4.85 per share), doesn’t mean, right off the bat, you need to not consider it at all. Again, there are two factors at play that could drive its next big move.
First, it’s not for certain that oil prices, despite the rapid rise, have peaked. Analysts at Goldman Sachs have recently argued that oil could hit $140 per barrel this summer. I won’t try to handicap crude oil’s next move, but between tight supply, and robust demand, crude oil could stay elevated. This could have an outsized impact on this stock, as it likely will on other small-cap oil and gas stocks.
Second, further progress with Camber’s green pivot could move the stock in a big way. With the moves it’s making with carbon capture technology, the prospect of it hitting a major breakthrough isn’t out of the question.
The Takeaway With CEI Stock
Camber Energy currently earns a “B” rating in my Portfolio Grader. Its risk and high volatility notwithstanding, if you are an investor in speculative growth plays, it’s a name to at least put on your watchlist.
Admittedly, many may have entered this stock last year, and early this year, for all the wrong reasons. That is, they may have bought it primarily on its short squeeze appeal, rather than on its fundamentals. With short interest down to just 8% of float, it is no longer a potential short-squeeze play.
There is, though, potential with its move into clean energy ventures. Its efforts in carbon capture could move the needle. It could also move into other clean/renewable energy areas, like through its diversification into green-adjacent technologies like open conductor detection systems.
Bottom line: CEI stock is a name to keep on your radar.
On the date of publication, neither Louis Navellier nor the InvestorPlace Research Staff member primarily responsible for this article held (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.
