Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ:BLDP) Upgraded by HSBC to “Buy” Rating

Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ:BLDP) (TSE:BLD) was upgraded by equities researchers at HSBC from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $3.60 price objective on the technology company’s stock. HSBC’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 37.67% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on BLDP. Zacks Research upgraded Ballard Power Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. National Bank Financial set a $4.75 target price on Ballard Power Systems and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ballard Power Systems in a research report on Friday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Ballard Power Systems from $1.70 to $2.10 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Ballard Power Systems from $2.50 to $4.25 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ballard Power Systems has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $3.54.

Ballard Power Systems Price Performance

BLDP traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $2.62. 372,851 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,958,708. The company has a current ratio of 10.70, a quick ratio of 9.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. The company has a market capitalization of $788.45 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.08 and a beta of 2.29. Ballard Power Systems has a 52-week low of $1.70 and a 52-week high of $6.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $4.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $3.23.

Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ:BLDP) (TSE:BLD) last released its earnings results on Friday, July 31st. The technology company reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by ($0.03). Ballard Power Systems had a negative return on equity of 13.06% and a negative net margin of 72.78%.The company had revenue of $20.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.24 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ballard Power Systems will post -0.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ballard Power Systems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Optiver Holding B.V. acquired a new position in shares of Ballard Power Systems in the 1st quarter valued at $59,000. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. raised 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 valued at $123,000 after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised 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 valued at $1,394,000 after buying an additional 242,132 shares during the period. Amundi lifted its position 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 last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.02% of the company’s stock.

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.