FuelCell Energy Inc (NASDAQ:FCEL) has announced that it will release its third quarter earnings report after closing bell on Sept. 8. The fuel cell power plant maker has scheduled a conference call to talk about those results at 10 a.m. Eastern on the following day.
FuelCell Energy Hit by Toyota statement, bearish calls
Shares of FuelCell dropped on Wednesday after a report from Toyota Motor Corp (ADR) (NYSE:TM) (TYO:7203) that said it’s far more expensive to fuel vehicles with hydrogen fuel cells than it is to “fill up” gas-powered or electric vehicles. Toyota Senior VP Bob Carter said at the JPMorgan Auto Conference that at the beginning, it will cost about $50 to fill up a car that runs on hydrogen fuel. Also the initial cost of purchasing a car that runs on hydrogen fuel cells would probably be much higher.
Stocks for companies in the hydrogen fuel cell industry have been highly volatile as investors debate using their wallets just how much potential for growth exists. Slapping a limit on hydrogen fuel cells as a power source for cars means the growth potential for companies like FuelCell and competitor Ballard Power Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:BLDP) is limited. Shares of Ballard Power have also been trending downward since Wednesday.
Other problems for FuelCell
Another big problem for FuelCell Energy is the fact that it stands to lose its largest customer, which is POSCO Energy. POSCO announced early last month that it is working toward independently manufacturing fuel cells, thus leaving FuelCell Energy out in the cold.
The Street’s Jim Cramer also isn’t too thrilled with the idea of investing in the company right now. He said this week on CNBC’s Mad Money that he would just stay away from it. He said he can’t put money in the company because stories about it are “just total rank speculation stories.” He says there are other more solid companies with “really good fundamentals that are inexpensive.”
FuelCell Energy also got a bearish call from TheStreetSweeper. “It’s inconceivable to TheStreetSweeper how a company with an accumulated deficit exceeding $797 million could be worth anything approaching $1 billion,” wrote TheStreetSweeper’s Sonya Colberg in a post on Seeking Alpha.
