Ballard Power Systems (NASDAQ:BLDP) Shares Down 6.9% – Should You Sell?

Ballard Power Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLDP) (TSE:BLD) shares dropped 6.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $3.78 and last traded at $3.8820. Approximately 2,430,099 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 58% from the average session volume of 5,787,688 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.17.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. National Bank Financial increased their target price on shares of Ballard Power Systems from $3.15 to $4.75 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ballard Power Systems from $1.50 to $2.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. ATB Cormark Capital Markets upped their price target on Ballard Power Systems from $3.50 to $4.30 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Ballard Power Systems in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Raymond James Financial lifted their target price 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ballard Power Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $3.59.

Ballard Power Systems Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $3.14. The company has a market capitalization of $1.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.02 and a beta of 2.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03, a current ratio of 10.70 and a quick ratio of 9.90.

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, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $18.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.88 million. Ballard Power Systems had a negative net margin of 78.60% and a negative return on equity of 13.48%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ballard Power Systems, Inc. will post -0.19 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Ballard Power Systems

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BLDP. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Ballard Power Systems in the first quarter valued at $59,000. J. Derek Lewis & Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ballard Power Systems by 10.9% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,394,000 after buying an additional 242,132 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in Ballard Power Systems by 23.8% during 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 raised 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 buying an additional 308,742 shares during the period. 28.02% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.