Forward Industries (NASDAQ:FWDI) Shares Gap Up - Here's Why

Key Points

• Forward Industries shares jumped at the open, rising from a prior close of $8.01 to $8.37 before settling near $8.14 on trading volume of about 290,441 shares.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but has improved: Cantor Fitzgerald raised its target to $16 with an overweight rating, while B. Riley lifted its target to $11 and issued a buy rating. The consensus rating remains Hold, with an average price target of $13.50.
• The company’s latest quarter was weak, with an $0.80 per-share loss versus expectations for $0.04 in earnings, $10.78 million in revenue, and sharply negative profitability metrics. Analysts expect a full-year loss of approximately $0.38 per share.

Forward Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:FWDI - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday. The stock had previously closed at $8.01, but opened at $8.37. Forward Industries shares last traded at $8.14, with a volume of 290,441 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded Forward Industries from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Forward Industries from $8.00 to $16.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. B. Riley Financial increased their price objective on Forward Industries from $9.00 to $11.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Forward Industries from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Forward Industries currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $13.50.

Forward Industries Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $579.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.41 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $5.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $4.93.

Forward Industries (NASDAQ:FWDI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 12th. The company reported ($0.80) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.04 by ($0.84). The firm had revenue of $10.78 million for the quarter. Forward Industries had a negative return on equity of 18.05% and a negative net margin of 2,073.82%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Forward Industries, Inc. will post -0.38 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Forward Industries

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. WINTON GROUP Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Forward Industries during the 2nd quarter valued at about $88,000. Aristides Capital LLC acquired a new position in Forward Industries during the 4th quarter worth approximately $180,000. ParaFi Capital LP acquired a new position in Forward Industries during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $684,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in Forward Industries during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $739,000.

Forward Industries Company Profile