Shares in Greenidge Generation (NASDAQ:GREE) popped by 6.81% on Wednesday. That’s good news for investors, after GREE stock spent most of the past three weeks in a skid. In fact, GREE made it into Wednesday’s list of biggest pre-market stock movers. Before it began to lose steam, GREE stock gained as much as 17%. What was the catalyst? As InvestorPlace’s William White pointed out, the move was for no apparent reason.
So, with GREE stock making a positive move “for no apparent reason,” is that good enough to consider an investment?
Maybe the momentum has been broken and a recovery will kick off. After all, only a month ago shares closed at $316.43 compared to $25.40 on Wednesday. While a 92% loss of value over the course of one month raises many red flags, keep in mind that GREE is a meme stock. Prior to rocketing to that $316.43 close, shares spent the first 6 months of 2021 at or near current levels.
Here’s a closer look at what to expect from Greenidge stock moving forward.
GREE Stock: Crypto Mining + Tech Support
There’s a lot to unpack when it comes to Greenidge Generation. This is anything but a typical company.
On the one hand, it’s a cryptocurrency mining operation. And not just any crypto miner — this one is promoted as the first publicly traded Bitcoin (CCC:BTC-USD) mining company that operates its own, wholly owned power plant. As of March, it had a modest 19MW of generating capacity, but the company announced plans to expand that to at least 500MW of mining capacity by 2025. For those who are wondering, that’s enough electrical generation capacity to power a city.
After a March announcement, on Sept. 10, Greenidge Generation and tech support company Support.com merged. That merger date was the last big spike for GREE stock. The slide began the next day.
So, as of Sept. 10, Greenidge Generation is a vertically integrated Bitcoin operation with its own power plant, plus a tech support company with a workforce mainly comprised of U.S.-based agents working from their own homes. An investment in this company covers a lot of ground.
What Happens If Zero Emissions Comes for the Greenidge Generation Power Plant?
When considering potential risks to Greenidge Generation, Bitcoin price volatility is an immediate concern. The cryptocurrency has delivered solid returns so far in 2021. Its value is up nearly 42% since the start of the year. However, 2021 has been marked by extreme volatility, including a crash in May that saw Bitcoin lose 40% of its value in just four weeks. GREE stock did go into a minor slump during that period.
There’s another issue that’s unique to Greenidge Generation’s position of operating its own power plant. The rush is on to get to zero greenhouse gas emissions. That power plant used to be a coal-burner. It has been converted to natural gas, which Greenidge Generation promotes as being an environmentally positive move.
Natural gas is definitely less polluting than coal, but there’s a big problem with the company’s logic. According to an article in Grist, the power plant had been decommissioned due to electricity over-capacity in the region. By starting it back up to power its Bitcoin mining operation, Greenidge Generation is pumping CO2 into the air when the region would otherwise have been seeing a significant reduction in emissions. In 2020, that mounted to 220,000 tons of CO2 and the plant wasn’t running anywhere near capacity at that point.
Environmental groups are gunning for Greenidge Generation, and that could turn into a problem. Another concern? Natural gas was at historically low prices last year. Today it has shot up to prices not seen in a decade. Operating that power plant is getting much more expensive.
Bottom Line on GREE Stock
Is GREE stock a worthy investment that is likely to reward you with long-term growth?
The potential is certainly there. Despite its volatility, it’s unlikely Bitcoin is going anywhere. Higher natural gas prices can easily be offset with the kind of growth in value Bitcoin has proven capable of. Environmental groups may not like the Greenidge Generation plant, but that doesn’t necessarily mean the government is going to do anything. Companies always need tech support, and Support.com’s approach of using home-based U.S. workers is popular with both customers and employees. In addition, GREE stock earns a B-rating in Portfolio Grader.
There are many risks here, mostly on the Bitcoin mining side of the operation. However, none that are a huge red flag at the moment. There are more potential issues to be aware of. There’s also the meme stock factor, but at its current prices, GREE seems to have normalized.
If you can wrap your head around the many moving parts — and several completely unrelated businesses — Greenidge Generation could be an interesting portfolio addition.
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.
The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
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