New York, May 21, 2026, 06:05 (EDT)
- Enphase Energy ended Wednesday at $53.15, up 13.7%. That’s just under the 52-week high from last week.
- Goldman Sachs lifted its price target to $57 from $51 and left its Buy rating in place.
- Nasdaq’s main U.S. stock session runs 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. ET, and regular trading hadn’t started at the dateline.
Enphase Energy is trading just below its 52-week high after rising 13.7%, with the stock getting another lift from a new Goldman Sachs price-target hike. Investors are looking at Enphase again as the U.S. residential solar sector still struggles.
Enphase isn’t trading as a recovery play anymore. Shares closed Wednesday at $53.15, just 1.4% shy of the May 15 high at $53.89. Volume was strong at 11.1 million shares, beating the 50-day average of 6.9 million.
Goldman Sachs has lifted its price target to $57 from $51 and kept a Buy, The Fly wrote, citing TipRanks. The new target implies roughly 7% upside from Wednesday’s close, down from earlier in the run-up.
Solar investors face a tough read on whether the sector’s slump is over. Enphase reported U.S. first-quarter revenue dropped about 23% from the fourth quarter, blaming seasonality and the end of the Section 25D federal tax credit for homeowners. Sell-through demand, meaning goods shipped to end customers, sank 48% from the last quarter.
S&P 500 snapped a three-day drop, climbing 1.1% on Wednesday. On Thursday, U.S. futures barely moved as traders watched Iran talks and Nvidia numbers.
Solar stocks had a mixed session, but most names were higher. First Solar last traded at $237.86 for a gain of 7.3%. SolarEdge Technologies was up 3.0% at $56.22. Enphase moved more, with its business tied closely to residential inverters and batteries. A microinverter turns solar panel power into grid-ready power for each panel.
Enphase is looking to drive attention to product improvements. The company said Monday it expanded its PowerMatch tech in North America for IQ Battery systems. The software lets the battery tune itself to a home’s power needs on the fly and cuts conversion losses. “Software can make the hardware better over time,” said Aaron Gordon, SVP and general manager of systems at Enphase. Enphase Energy
Enphase’s commercial sales effort took another step last week, when the company started taking U.S. pre-orders for its GaN-based IQ9S-3P commercial microinverter. Enphase said the microinverter works with high-wattage solar panels up to 770 watts, and that it expects production shipments in June. GaN, or gallium nitride, is a semiconductor that boosts power-conversion efficiency.
But Wall Street hasn’t rallied to the stock. Investing.com counted 31 analysts sitting at Neutral, with the average 12-month price target at $40.60. That’s under where shares finished on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley held a Sell and a $27 target, and Barclays listed Sell with a $30 price, both marks shown in May.
SolarEdge and Enphase shares have jumped, but GLJ Research put out a note this week saying the move wasn’t backed by earnings news, guidance, new customers or any clear shift in the residential-solar market. The firm called it a positioning play, not a real re-rating. If U.S. residential demand doesn’t pick up or buyers stay cautious on tax-credit rules, the stock could drop back.
Enphase has support from the tape, a Goldman note and its product pipeline, but still lacks a clear demand turn. That’s the gap traders will watch as Nasdaq’s regular session opens.