ESS Tech (NYSE:GWH) Trading Up 6.9% – Still a Buy?

ESS Tech, Inc. (NYSE:GWH) shares traded up 6.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $8.52 and last traded at $8.39. 66,747 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 3% from the average session volume of 64,780 shares. The stock had previously closed at $7.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

GWH has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on ESS Tech from $1.15 to $0.90 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Roth Capital raised shares of ESS Tech to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of ESS Tech from $1.25 to $1.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Roth Mkm initiated coverage on ESS Tech in a research note on Friday, July 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $1.50 price target for the company. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on ESS Tech from $2.00 to $1.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, ESS Tech currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $1.45.

ESS Tech Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -17.78 and a beta of 1.47. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $4.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $2.25.

ESS Tech (NYSE:GWH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 14th. The company reported ($1.80) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.65) by ($0.15). The company had revenue of $0.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 million. ESS Tech had a negative net margin of 982.87% and a negative return on equity of 77.52%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that ESS Tech, Inc. will post -6.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at ESS Tech

In related news, Director Sandeep Nijhawan sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.72, for a total value of $40,040.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 15,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $88,871.64. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ESS Tech

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in GWH. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in ESS Tech by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,263,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,361,000 after acquiring an additional 212,070 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of ESS Tech during the second quarter valued at $148,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of ESS Tech during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. CWM LLC acquired a new stake in ESS Tech in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd bought a new position in ESS Tech in the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. 46.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About ESS Tech

ESS Tech, Inc, an energy storage company, designs and produces iron flow batteries for commercial and utility-scale energy storage applications worldwide. It offers energy storage products, which include Energy Warehouse, a behind-the-meter solution; and Energy Center, a front-of-the-meter solution. The company was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in Wilsonville, Oregon.