Nel ASA’s shares have clawed back more than 23 percent from their March low, closing last week at €0.22 after a 6.5 percent daily gain. The rally, which now puts the stock 15 percent higher on a monthly basis, has been underpinned by a rare show of confidence from the boardroom and mounting anticipation for what management calls the company’s most important product launch in years.
Chairman Arvid Moss purchased 100,000 shares on Friday at an average price of NOK 2.25, spending a total of NOK 226,500 to build his first direct equity stake in the Norwegian hydrogen electrolyser maker. The transaction, which is subject to mandatory disclosure under European and Norwegian market rules, comes after months of share price weakness and signals that the board sees value at current levels. Moss holds no options in the company, according to the filing.
The insider buy adds a layer of support to a stock that has been highly volatile — annualised volatility stands at over 62 percent — but has now pushed decisively above its 50-day moving average. The relative strength index sits at around 45, indicating a neutral market stance with room for further upside.
Mixed First-Quarter Numbers
Nel published its first-quarter results on April 22, presenting a picture of operational progress overshadowed by a thinning order book. Revenue slipped 5 percent year-on-year to approximately NOK 148 million, but the EBITDA loss narrowed by NOK 15 million as project execution improved and standardised container solutions delivered higher margins. The company holds a comfortable liquidity position of NOK 1.44 billion in cash and equivalents.
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The order intake in the first quarter was weak at NOK 85 million, dragging the total order backlog down 24 percent from a year earlier to NOK 1.11 billion — a metric that analysts are watching closely. The alkaline segment proved more resilient than the PEM division, posting a 6 percent increase in revenue.
The Real Catalyst: May Platform Launch
What is driving investor enthusiasm more than the quarterly numbers is the imminent launch of Nel’s new pressurised alkaline platform in May. Management has promised a step-change in cost competitiveness: capital expenditure reductions of 40 to 60 percent and operating cost savings of 10 to 20 percent. If delivered, the technology would make Nel’s electrolysers significantly more competitive in the fast-growing green hydrogen market.
The platform is closely tied to the expansion of the Herøya manufacturing facility to a production capacity of one gigawatt, a project that has secured co-financing from the EU Innovation Fund. Nel booked around NOK 800 million in impairment charges on legacy products last year — a move that analysts interpret as a deliberate clearing of the decks ahead of the new generation.
What to Watch This Week
No further corporate announcements are scheduled for the week starting April 27. The market’s attention is fixed on two questions: the exact date of the official platform launch in May, and whether management will announce final investment decisions on projects in the 50-to-150-megawatt range that have been flagged as potential near-term catalysts. Concrete answers on either front could provide the next directional move for a stock that has found fresh support from both the chart and the boardroom.
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