Is Ballard Power Really Back?

Ballard began trading publicly in the mid-1990s and the stock shot up to well over $100 a share in 2000 and posted an all-time low of $0.57 just last month. Shares have more than tripled since then.

In its most recent quarter, ended in September, the company reported revenues of $17 million and a gross margin of 28%. Not much, but so far this year revenues are more than 60% higher than the first nine months of 2012. There are no profits, but the loss in the third quarter of this year was $0.05, half what it was in the third quarter of last year.

Is Ballard back? Shares are trading up more than 22% in the late afternoon on Friday, at $1.75 and more than 12 million shares have traded hands today, about 12 times average daily volume. The stock’s 52-week range is $0.57 to $2.39.

That’s still a long ways from $100 a share, but it is better than the $1.13 share price in December 5 years ago. Back is a relative term, however, and for a stock this close to being declared legally dead to show any life is a positive sign. Just don’t bet the farm that the patient will live.