Glj Research Reiterates "Sell" Rating for Sunrun (NASDAQ:RUN)

Key Points

• Glj Research reiterated a "Sell" rating on Sunrun with a $4.63 price target, implying about a 61.7% downside from the stock's prior close.
• Analyst coverage is mixed but leans positive overall — 12 Buys, 9 Holds and 1 Sell yield a MarketBeat consensus of a "Moderate Buy" with a $19.19 target, even as several firms (JPMorgan, Jefferies, Deutsche, Zacks) recently trimmed targets or ratings.
• Operationally Sunrun beat the quarter with $0.38 EPS (vs. -$0.08 est.) and revenue up 123.5% to $1.16B, but investors should note a high debt-to-equity ratio (3.38), wide price volatility (52‑week range $5.38–$22.44) and recent insider selling to cover tax obligations.

Sunrun (NASDAQ:RUN - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "sell" rating reissued by equities research analysts at Glj Research in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $4.63 price target on the energy company's stock. Glj Research's price objective would suggest a potential downside of 61.74% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Sunrun from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Sunrun from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Sunrun from $22.00 to $15.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Sunrun from $19.00 to $16.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Sunrun from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sunrun currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $19.19.

Sunrun Price Performance

NASDAQ RUN opened at $12.10 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $14.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.27. Sunrun has a fifty-two week low of $5.38 and a fifty-two week high of $22.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.84 billion, a PE ratio of 7.08 and a beta of 2.37.

Sunrun (NASDAQ:RUN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The energy company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.46. Sunrun had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.22%.The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $610.29 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 123.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Sunrun will post -0.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Danny Abajian sold 132,953 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.25, for a total value of $1,761,627.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 432,157 shares in the company, valued at $5,726,080.25. This represents a 23.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CAO Maria Barak sold 8,039 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.67, for a total value of $109,893.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 72,963 shares of the company's stock, valued at $997,404.21. The trade was a 9.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 879,894 shares of company stock valued at $13,017,496 over the last ninety days. 3.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sunrun

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its holdings in Sunrun by 49.2% in the fourth quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 1,693 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Sunrun by 59.1% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 1,519 shares of the energy company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 564 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Sunrun by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 17,481 shares of the energy company's stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the period. Sage Rhino Capital LLC grew its holdings in Sunrun by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 11,468 shares of the energy company's stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 572 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Sunrun by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 17,971 shares of the energy company's stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 607 shares during the period. 91.69% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sunrun Company Profile

Sunrun, Inc NASDAQ: RUN is a leading provider of residential solar energy systems in the United States. The company designs, installs and maintains rooftop solar panels and battery storage solutions for homeowners under flexible financing arrangements. Customers can choose from leasing, power purchase agreements or solar ownership models, all of which are supported by Sunrun's network of installation partners and service technicians. Sunrun also offers integrated home energy management services, including its Brightbox battery storage product, which enables customers to store solar energy for use during peak hours or power outages.

Founded in 2007 by Lynn Jurich, Ed Fenster and Nat Kreamer, Sunrun is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

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