Ballard Spikes On Rumor It Will Obtain 2 Key Fuel Cell Patents

Ballard Power Systems BLDP spiked sharply Tuesday on rumors that it had obtained two key patents for fuel cell technology that may enable it to cut production costs.

If so, that might be a key development for Ballard. For example, Tesla Motors TSLA said recently that its third-generation product will rely heavily on the ability to reduce battery costs.

But apart from Tuesday's rumor, Ballard recently acquired a trove of fuel cell patents from United Technologies UTX.

In what some may see as a "game changer" and others as mere patent trolling, Ballard in April acquired about 800 fuel cell patents for $22 million from UTC.

Separately, the fuel cells technology company announced late Sunday a licensing agreement worth about $1 million to license patents to M-Field Energy for material handling systems to be deployed in Europe.

Earlier in June Ballard signed a $6 million deal it had signed a definitive agreement with Azure Hydrogen in China fortelecom power backup systems.

For the recent quarter ended March 31, Ballard's loss widened to $0.03 per share, from $0.02 per share a year earlier. Revenue fell to $13.9 million from $17.2 million.

Ballard traded recently at $4.32 up 4.86 percent.