Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ:BLDP) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Ballard Power Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLDP) (TSE:BLD)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Thursday. The stock had previously closed at $1.52, but opened at $1.6150. Ballard Power Systems shares last traded at $1.5250, with a volume of 508,081 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BLDP has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Ballard Power Systems from $3.00 to $2.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. HSBC raised Ballard Power Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $3.60 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ballard Power Systems in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Ballard Power Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Ballard Power Systems from $6.50 to $2.15 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $3.30.

Ballard Power Systems Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $516.43 million, a P/E ratio of -5.65 and a beta of 2.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a quick ratio of 10.36 and a current ratio of 11.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $2.09 and a 200 day moving average of $3.16.

Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ:BLDP) (TSE:BLD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The technology company reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $20.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $25.24 million. Ballard Power Systems had a negative net margin of 72.78% and a negative return on equity of 13.23%. Equities analysts predict that Ballard Power Systems, Inc. will post -0.17 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ballard Power Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new stake in shares of Ballard Power Systems in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,144,000. Man Group plc acquired a new position in shares of Ballard Power Systems during the second quarter worth $4,629,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Ballard Power Systems in the second quarter valued at $3,392,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in Ballard Power Systems in the second quarter valued at $3,231,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Ballard Power Systems during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,362,000. 28.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ballard Power Systems Company Profile

Ballard Power Systems Inc develops and manufactures proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell products and technology. Its fuel cell systems generate electricity through an electrochemical process using hydrogen, producing water and heat as byproducts and supporting lower-emission power applications.

The company focuses primarily on heavy-duty mobility markets, including buses, commercial trucks, trains, marine vessels and other specialty vehicles. Ballard also provides fuel cell products and related services for stationary power applications, along with engineering support, technology development and after-sales services.

Founded in 1979 and headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, Ballard serves customers and partners internationally, with activity across North America, Europe and Asia.