Energous Just Lost Its CCO; What You Need To Know (And Why It Is Still A Buy)

• Energous Corp WATT's Chief Commercial Officer George Holmes resigned on Tuesday, to take a similar spot at a private, non-competitive company.
• After the event, Roth Capital reiterated a Buy rating and $15.00 price target on the stock.
• Shares of Energous were slightly down on Tuesday.

Holmes has described himself as a serial entrepreneur who prefers to “define a path to market for companies at their earliest stages, developing a strategy for customer acquisition and building a pipeline of relevant partners,” Roth explained, adding that he has performed this role “admirably” at Energous.

Roth noted that, despite the departure of the CCO, they think the company’s advance towards commercializing its proprietary wire free charging technology remains uninterrupted.

In addition, Holmes will continue to work with Energous as a consultant, and his stock options will continue to vest. The firm sees the opportunity as one of “the double dip sort, the new employer insisting on an immediate association to help prepare for a prospective significant transaction in coming months.”

While Holmes was crucial to the signing of more than 15 joint development agreements in 2014, the analysts believe opportunities will abound going forward. “Choosing the right partners and working with them to develop and commercialize low-power consumer products such as cylindrical batteries, gaming consoles, battery-powered toys and Internet of Things devices is the order of the day,” the report added.

Meanwhile, Neerajj Sahejapl and Gordon Bell will continue to perform their business development roles, but will now report directly to CEO Stephen Rizzone, instead of Holmes. In the meantime, the company is looking for a new head of marketing.

Roth recommends purchasing the stock to “speculative investors willing to assume the risks associated with a development stage company approaching commercialization.”

Disclosure: Javier Hasse holds no positions in any of the securities mentioned above.