What do you see in the future for Ballard, the fuel cell company? Will they become profitable? More efficient?

Question

Will they be bought? What do you think about their future market value?

http://finance.google.com/finance?q=ballard

Answer 1

I am afraid that I do not know the specific answer to your question but I do know a great deal about the history of start up companies in hot new markets. 90% go bankrupt. The competition is incredible in any new hot emerging market. Only the very nimble and the very well financed survive, maybe.

Answer 2

Ballard is hardly a startup. It has been around since the late 70's. However, it's primary business is fuel cells and it is considered a leader. However, fuel cells are not currently mainstream because the cost of manufacturing is high. They are too costly. Plus there is a tendency to think of fuel cells as energy creators and therefore they should become mainstream with the rise in energy costs. This is false. They are merely a clean way of making electricity from fossils. They simply use catalysts and chemical processes to create electricity rather than by burning. Other than fossil fuels, hydrogen can be used but there is no infrastructure to create hydrogen. There have been many advances recently that may make it possible but it is a slow process. So, in the end I think Ballard will be an important company, but it will take years for them to be profitable. We are not there yet. Another company I place in this group is Energy Conversions (ENER). They are speculative plays and until the processes for carrying and processing energy comes on line they will remain unprofitable and speculative.

Answer 3

I invest a lot of my money in alternative energy companies, and I am sorry to say that I just don't like Ballard. I don't know much about the company, though so don't take my word on this one. I only say that I don't like it, because I think fuel cells are still a long way off. If you want to invest in the "hydrogen" economy, I would strongly suggest Energy Conversion Devices, ENER. They make solar panels, batteries for hybrid cars, a new type of computer memory, and a hydrogen storage system. They have converted a Prius to run on hydrogen (no fuel cell involved). Here is a link on their business:

http://www.top10traders.com/ViewPost.aspx?postID=197

Here is a link on ENER and hydrogen:

http://www.top10traders.com/ViewPost.aspx?postID=210

These links are from http://www.top10traders.com - this is a free site that lets you create a portfolio of stocks with $100,000 in "play" money. Each day the site ranks the best performing portfolios, so you can see how your picks perform compared to other investors.