American Superconductor (NASDAQ:AMSC) Sets New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• American Superconductor's stock reached a new 52-week high of $44.85, reflecting a significant increase in trading volume to 353,502 shares.
• Wall Street analysts upgraded the stock's rating from "hold" to "buy," forecasting continued earnings growth.
• The company reported a revenue increase of 58.6% year-over-year, with Q2 earnings per share at $0.12, surpassing expectations.

American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ:AMSC - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $44.85 and last traded at $44.47, with a volume of 353502 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $43.48.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on AMSC shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of American Superconductor from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of American Superconductor in a report on Thursday.

American Superconductor Trading Down 5.5%

The company has a market capitalization of $2.43 billion, a PE ratio of 137.82 and a beta of 2.95. The stock's 50-day moving average is $36.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $27.47.

American Superconductor (NASDAQ:AMSC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 21st. The technology company reported $0.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.02. American Superconductor had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 9.35%. The company had revenue of $66.66 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $60.27 million. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 58.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that American Superconductor Corporation will post 0.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at American Superconductor

In related news, CFO John W. Kosiba, Jr. sold 4,744 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.83, for a total value of $151,001.52. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 409,532 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,035,403.56. This represents a 1.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Daniel P. Mcgahn sold 7,689 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.82, for a total transaction of $244,663.98. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,296,797 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,264,080.54. This represents a 0.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 185,088 shares of company stock worth $4,952,531 over the last three months. 4.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AMSC. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Superconductor by 104.7% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 954 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 488 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of American Superconductor by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 35,559 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $876,000 after purchasing an additional 709 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in shares of American Superconductor by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 53,070 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $963,000 after purchasing an additional 964 shares in the last quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in American Superconductor by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 59,464 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,079,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sowell Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Superconductor by 9.2% during the first quarter. Sowell Financial Services LLC now owns 16,459 shares of the technology company's stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 1,384 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 52.28% of the company's stock.

About American Superconductor

American Superconductor Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides megawatt-scale power resiliency solutions worldwide. The company operates through Grid and Wind segments. The Grid segment offers products and services that enable electric utilities, industrial facilities, and renewable energy project developers to connect, transmit, and distribute power under the Gridtec Solutions brand.