Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ:BLDP) Shares Up 5.9% After Analyst Upgrade

Ballard Power Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLDP) (TSE:BLD)’s share price was up 5.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Zacks Research upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating. The stock traded as high as $3.17 and last traded at $3.1350. 4,869,130 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 17% from the average session volume of 5,838,225 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.96.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on BLDP. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Ballard Power Systems from $4.25 to $3.50 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Lake Street Capital raised shares of Ballard Power Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $3.00 to $5.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Ballard Power Systems from $2.50 to $4.25 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ballard Power Systems from $3.50 to $4.30 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, National Bank Financial set a $4.75 price objective on Ballard Power Systems and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $3.52.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ballard Power Systems

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Optiver Holding B.V. bought a new stake in shares of Ballard Power Systems in the first quarter valued at approximately $59,000. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Ballard Power Systems by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. now owns 51,000 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $123,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in Ballard Power Systems by 72.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 575,907 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,394,000 after buying an additional 242,132 shares during the period. Amundi boosted its holdings in Ballard Power Systems by 23.8% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 256,544 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $621,000 after buying an additional 49,248 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Ballard Power Systems by 94.0% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 637,068 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,542,000 after buying an additional 308,742 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.02% of the company’s stock.

Ballard Power Systems Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average is $4.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 9.90 and a current ratio of 10.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $898.41 million, a PE ratio of -11.04 and a beta of 2.25.

Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ:BLDP) (TSE:BLD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The technology company reported ($0.04) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.02. Ballard Power Systems had a negative return on equity of 13.48% and a negative net margin of 78.60%.The firm had revenue of $18.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.88 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ballard Power Systems, Inc. will post -0.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ballard Power Systems Company Profile

Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ:BLDP) is a Canadian technology company specializing in the development and manufacture of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell products. Headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Ballard designs and sells fuel cell stacks and modules that enable zero-emission power generation for a variety of applications, including heavy-duty motive systems, backup power, material handling equipment, and portable power solutions.

Since its founding in 1979, Ballard has built a strong intellectual property portfolio and a track record of innovation in PEM fuel cell technology.