Shares of Itron Inc. bounced 6.4% in afternoon trading Friday, after Raymond James analyst Pavel Molchanov suggested it was time to back up the truck on the provider of products to measure energy and water. Molchanov raised his rating to strong buy from outperform, after the stock plunged 26.4% on Thursday — the biggest one-day selloff since July 2002 — in the wake of a big profit miss and slashed full-year outlook, with the company citing supply chain challenges. With the selloff, Molchanov believes the market is “missing the forest for the trees.” He gave “three fundamental reasons” to buy the stock that the market is overlooking: 1) None of the smart meter revenue is disappearing — it will come when supply is available; after some sluggishness, software revenue is finally showing strength; and lowest leverage in 7 years opens the door to acquisitions in software, and perhaps beyond. Itron’s stock had dropped 20.3% year to date, while the S&P 500 has gained 18.1%.

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