Brokerages Set Ballard Power Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLDP) Target Price at $3.52

Ballard Power Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLDP) (TSE:BLD) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, ten have issued a hold recommendation, one has given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $3.5250.

A number of research firms recently issued reports on BLDP. ATB Cormark Capital Markets increased their target price on Ballard Power Systems from $3.50 to $4.30 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ballard Power Systems in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of Ballard Power Systems from $2.40 to $4.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Ballard Power Systems from $2.50 to $4.25 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Ballard Power Systems from $4.25 to $3.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 10th.

Ballard Power Systems Stock Performance

Shares of Ballard Power Systems stock opened at $2.90 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $4.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.23. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $874.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.74 and a beta of 2.25. Ballard Power Systems has a 52 week low of $1.70 and a 52 week high of $6.57.

Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ:BLDP) (TSE:BLD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The technology company reported ($0.04) earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $19.88 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ballard Power Systems will post -0.16 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ballard Power Systems

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

Key Headlines Impacting Ballard Power Systems

Here are the key news stories impacting Ballard Power Systems this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research upgraded Ballard Power Systems from hold to strong-buy, signaling improved near-term sentiment from a well-followed quantitative research provider.
• Positive Sentiment: Zacks also highlighted BLDP as a stock that could beat upcoming earnings estimates, which can increase speculation ahead of the company’s report. Article: Ballard Power Systems (BLDP) Expected to Beat Earnings Estimates: Should You Buy?
• Positive Sentiment: Ballard Power Systems was added to Zacks’ Rank #1 (Strong Buy) momentum list, suggesting the stock has shown enough trading strength and earnings revision momentum to attract buyers.
• Positive Sentiment: The company was also listed among new Strong Buy stocks for July 23, reinforcing the idea that recent sentiment has shifted more favorably.
• Neutral Sentiment: Ballard Power Systems is projected to report earnings on Friday, keeping the stock in focus as investors wait for results and guidance.
• Neutral Sentiment: Short interest data showed 0 shares reported as of July 24, which makes the release largely uninformative for trading sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Despite the recent upgrades, another report said the average analyst rating remains “Reduce,” indicating Wall Street’s broader stance is still cautious. Article: Ballard Power Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLDP) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

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.