Talen Energy (NYSE: TLN) shares surged over 25% on Friday, reaching $330.99 in intraday trading and setting a new all-time high before paring slightly.
The rally follows the company’s announcement of a major acquisition involving two natural gas power plants, the Moxie Freedom Energy Center in Pennsylvania and the Guernsey Power Station in Ohio.
The assets are currently owned by Caithness Energy and co-owned by BlackRock in the case of the Guernsey plant.
Talen stated that the acquisition enhances its ability to provide low-carbon, scalable, and regionally diverse power solutions for hyperscale data centers and commercial clients.
The company highlighted that the deal will be “immediately accretive to free cash flow per share by over 40% in 2026, and over 50% through 2029.”
Wall Street Reacts Positively to Acquisition
Analysts welcomed the deal, citing its strategic importance amid rising power demands driven by data center expansion.
Jefferies raised its price target on Talen to $380 from $326, calling it a “highly accretive & strategic acquisition.”
UBS analyst William Appicelli echoed the sentiment, lifting his target from $366 to $399.
Appicelli noted that the move “extends the runway” for Talen to capitalize on the ongoing power demand surge in the PJM Interconnection region and follows last month’s deal with Amazon Web Services (AWS).
Evercore ISI also revised its outlook on Talen, boosting its price target to $372 from $306.
Morgan Stanley joined other firms in raising its projection to $330 from $300.
The stock has gained more than 60% year-to-date, fueled by investor optimism about the company’s positioning in the evolving energy landscape.
National focus on AI and energy infrastructure
The acquisition announcement coincided with heightened national attention on energy infrastructure, particularly related to AI-driven growth.
Earlier in the week, US President Donald Trump visited the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.
During the event, he announced a $92 billion initiative to support AI data centers and the energy systems needed to power them.
The summit featured major commitments from industry leaders, including Alphabet (GOOGL), which pledged $25 billion for data centers and infrastructure, and Blackstone (BX), which committed an additional $25 billion toward data centers and natural gas power generation.
The timing of Talen’s acquisition aligns with broader market and governmental trends emphasizing energy reliability and capacity as foundational pillars for AI expansion.
In this context, Talen’s acquisition is seen as a strategic move to solidify its role in the AI and energy ecosystem, particularly as data center developers seek dependable energy sources.
The deal adds to a string of recent natural-gas-related partnerships across Pennsylvania aimed at powering next-generation infrastructure.
With reinforced analyst support and alignment with national policy initiatives, Talen’s expansion signals increasing momentum in the intersection of energy and artificial intelligence
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