FuelCell Energy Results Won’t Slow Down Buying Frenzy

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By Paul Ausick Updated Apr 27, 2020 at 9:47 PM EDT · Published Mar 10, 2014 at 6:25 PM EDT

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FuelCell Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: FCEL) reported first-quarter fiscal 2014 results after markets closed Monday afternoon. The fuel cell maker reported an adjusted diluted earnings per share (EPS) loss of $0.04 and $44.4 million in revenues. In the same period a year ago, Penney reported an EPS loss of $0.07 on revenue of $36.4 million. First quarter results compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for an EPS loss of $0.04 and $43.44 million in revenue.

The story on FuelCell Energy is not what it did last quarter or even what it’s going to do this quarter, but what it’s going to do, well, someday. Shares are up nearly 180% year to date and nearly 280% for the past 12 months. In the past 11 trading days, shares have gained 130%. This is a momentum play and so far there have been five consecutive days of double-digit gains.

The company did not provide any guidance for its second quarter but presumably will do so during its conference call scheduled for Tuesday morning at 10:00 a.m. ET. The consensus estimates for next quarter call for an EPS loss of $0.03 on sales of $48.83 million. For the full year the consensus estimates are an EPS loss of $0.12 on revenues of $201.16 million.

In some general remarks regarding the FuelCell’s Direct FuelCell power plant the company said that “the market opportunity for on-site hydrogen generation includes both industrial applications as well as transportation fueling.” The firm has a pilot transportation fueling station running in the Los Angeles area and a plant in Wyoming is in the process of commissioning. Both use renewable biogas from a wastewater facility to produce heat and renewable hydrogen.

The company’s CEO said:

We remain on track for closing multiple megawatts of orders and my confidence level is high as we have negotiated contracts for projects where we are waiting on final customer or regulatory approval. Inquiries and activity levels globally remain high as we work to convert pipeline into backlog, supported by the validation from on-time completion of multi-megawatt fuel cell parks on two different continents.

Peers Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ: PLUG), Ballard Power Systems Inc. (NASDAQ: BLDP) and Hydrogenics Corp. (NASDAQ: HYGS) have also shared in the stock price run-up. Any investor expecting more from FuelCell’s results was, perhaps, being irrationally exuberant.

Shares were down about 4% in after-hours trading, at $3.77 in a 52-week range of $0.84 to $4.23, and that high was posted during Monday’s regular trading session. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $1.95 before the results were announced.