Today, investors in Orbital Energy Group (NASDAQ:OEG) are seeing rather impressive gains. Currently, OEG stock is up more than 70% at the time of writing. This move comes on extremely heavy volume. More than 160 million shares have traded hands thus far. This compares with an average daily volume of less than 2 million shares.
Why the increased interest in this small-cap name?
Well, Orbital announced an extremely bullish operational update for one of its core subsidiaries. On April 14, Orbital announced the acquisition of Gibson Technical Services in a deal worth $48 million. Today’s announced awarding of a massive project to Gibson Technical Services could result in Orbital shareholders getting the deal of the year.
Indeed, this deal initially appeared to be essentially a non-news event. It was a relatively small acquisition in size, and didn’t do much to stop the decline in the company’s share price in recent months. Since hitting a high of more than $11 per share earlier this year, OEG stock declined to close last week around $3.50 per share.
However, today, shares of OEG have breached the $6 mark as investors pile into this company. Let’s dive into what this announcement means for investors in OEG stock.
OEG Stock Soaring on Large Project Awarded to Subsidiary
Today’s announcement of a project awarded by TEC of Jackson has spurred the current price action. The deal encompasses approximately 700 miles of engineering and construction turnkey services for TEC.
This multi-year project appears to provide cash flow certainty for investors, something that’s always good. Orbital’s subsidiary already began the first engineering phase of this project in April. However, this expanded scope stands to benefit Orbital shareholders who may have been pricing in a smaller scope of work from the initial acquisition.
It appears that investors in OEG stock can partly thank President Joe Biden for this win. This deal is being privately funded by TEC capital, but with assistance from the federal government. The Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) is partially funding this rural fiber buildout. Accordingly, those bullish on the infrastructure services Orbital provides may be enticed to enter this play on hopes of additional contracts down the road.
CEO Mike McCracken commented on the deal: “The award of this project from such a well-respected telecommunication service provider as TEC confirms GTS’s ability to deliver the highest quality engineering and construction services.”
Indeed, government contracts can be lucrative. And building strong working relationships with infrastructure-focused regimes, more so. Accordingly, this project could be the spring board from which a lot of future work is generated. At least, investors appear to be bullish on this idea today.
On the date of publication, Chris MacDonald did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
