Sunrun (NASDAQ:RUN) Hits New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

Key Points

• Sunrun shares hit a new 52-week low of $6.78 after JPMorgan cut its price target from $14 to $12, though it maintained an overweight rating. The stock later traded near $7.18.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: 12 analysts rate Sunrun a Buy, seven a Hold and two a Sell, producing an overall “Hold” consensus and an average price target of $14.39.
• Sunrun reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with $0.42 in EPS and $869.99 million in revenue, up 52.8% year over year. Institutional investors own 91.69% of the company, while insiders sold shares primarily to cover tax obligations on vested equity awards.

Sunrun Inc. (NASDAQ:RUN - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on the stock from $14.00 to $12.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Sunrun traded as low as $6.78 and last traded at $7.1750, with a volume of 869,646 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $6.89.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Sunrun in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sunrun from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Sunrun from $15.00 to $10.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. Barclays lowered their target price on Sunrun from $14.00 to $12.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $7.00 price target on shares of Sunrun in a report on Friday, October 9th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sunrun presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $14.39.

Insider Activity

In other Sunrun news, CFO Danny Abajian sold 16,734 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.76, for a total value of $129,855.84. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 386,532 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,999,488.32. This represents a 4.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, insider Jeanna Steele sold 10,042 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.76, for a total value of $77,925.92. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 451,673 shares in the company, valued at $3,504,982.48. This trade represents a 2.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders sold 118,719 shares of company stock valued at $1,031,277 over the last quarter. Insiders own 3.55% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sunrun

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Sunrun by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,519,053 shares of the energy company's stock worth $88,375,000 after purchasing an additional 165,196 shares in the last quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sunrun by 23.1% in the second quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 3,694,548 shares of the energy company's stock worth $49,433,000 after buying an additional 692,448 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its holdings in Sunrun by 3.9% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 3,428,504 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $45,845,000 after acquiring an additional 127,878 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Sunrun during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,953,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Sunrun by 12.7% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,065,245 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $28,005,000 after acquiring an additional 232,200 shares during the period. 91.69% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sunrun Trading Up 4.6%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 2.44. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $8.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $11.30. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.34.

Sunrun (NASDAQ:RUN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The energy company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.23 by $0.19. Sunrun had a return on equity of 9.59% and a net margin of 11.59%. The firm had revenue of $869.99 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $746.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.07 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 52.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Sunrun Inc. will post 1.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Sunrun Company Profile

Sunrun Inc is a residential solar energy company that designs, installs, owns and maintains solar energy systems for homeowners. The company typically provides electricity through long-term agreements, including solar leases and power purchase agreements, allowing customers to use electricity generated by rooftop solar systems without purchasing the equipment outright.

Sunrun also offers energy storage solutions, including its BrightBox battery system, which can store electricity for use during outages, periods of high demand or when solar generation is unavailable.

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