Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ:BLDP) Shares Gap Up to $2.55

Ballard Power Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:BLDP) (TSE:BLD)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $2.55, but opened at $2.62. Ballard Power Systems shares last traded at $2.73, with a volume of 731,423 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on BLDP. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Ballard Power Systems from $3.50 to $3.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. TD Securities lifted their price target on shares of Ballard Power Systems from $2.50 to $2.75 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Ballard Power Systems from $4.50 to $4.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. National Bankshares reduced their price target on shares of Ballard Power Systems from $4.50 to $4.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Ballard Power Systems from $4.50 to $3.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ballard Power Systems has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $3.59.

Ballard Power Systems Stock Up 7.8 %

The company has a current ratio of 11.66, a quick ratio of 10.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $823.32 million, a PE ratio of -4.40 and a beta of 1.79. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.14.

Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ:BLDP) (TSE:BLD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The technology company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $14.50 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.55 million. Ballard Power Systems had a negative return on equity of 15.37% and a negative net margin of 177.82%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.11) earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ballard Power Systems Inc. will post -0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ballard Power Systems

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in BLDP. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Ballard Power Systems by 19.8% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,134,949 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,936,000 after purchasing an additional 353,098 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ballard Power Systems by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,086,570 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,732,000 after purchasing an additional 321,624 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Ballard Power Systems in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,086,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Ballard Power Systems by 49.5% in the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 714,153 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,642,000 after acquiring an additional 236,449 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Ballard Power Systems by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,121,473 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,476,000 after acquiring an additional 148,321 shares during the period. 28.02% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ballard Power Systems Company Profile

Ballard Power Systems Inc engages in the design, development, manufacture, sale, and service of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell products. The company offers its products for power product comprising for bus, truck, rail, marine, stationary, and emerging market, such as material handling, off-road, and other applications.