Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ:BLDP) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at Zacks Research

Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ:BLDP) (TSE:BLD) was upgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on BLDP. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ballard Power Systems in a research note on Friday, July 17th. National Bank Financial set a $4.75 price target on Ballard Power Systems and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Ballard Power Systems from $1.70 to $2.10 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on Ballard Power Systems from $2.40 to $4.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, TD Cowen upped 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 report on Wednesday, May 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ballard Power Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $3.52.

Ballard Power Systems Stock Performance

Shares of Ballard Power Systems stock opened at $2.98 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 10.70 and a quick ratio of 9.90. The firm has a market cap of $898.41 million, a P/E ratio of -11.04 and a beta of 2.25. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.24. Ballard Power Systems has a fifty-two week low of $1.70 and a fifty-two week high of $6.57.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

About Ballard Power Systems

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.