Westport Fuel (WPRT) Down On Rising Raw Material Prices

We issued an updated research report on Westport Fuel Systems Inc. (NASDAQ:WPRT) on Jan 3.

Canada-based Westport Fuel is a developer, manufacturer, and supplier of advanced alternative fuel systems and components. In third-quarter 2018, the company reported adjusted net loss from continuing operations of 9 cents per share, missing the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 5 cents. Net loss per share from continuing operations was 15 cents per share in third-quarter 2017.

Westport Fuel’s margin is strained by rise in raw material prices (majorly aluminum) due to high import tariffs. Further, advancement in technology for adding products in the portfolio is increasing the research development costs for the company. Moreover, it is encountering challenges due to fluctuations in the foreign exchange rate.

Over a month’s time, shares of Westport Fuel have underperformed the industry it belongs to. Shares of the company lost 27.8% compared with the industry’s decline of 9.1%.



However, Westport Fuel’s suite of market-ready alternative fuel products will aid it to benefit from the rising demand for environmentally friendly vehicles. Further, the launch of Westport HPDI 2.0 will attract customers, who manufacture natural gas engine-based trucks.

Westport Fuel currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

A few better-ranked stocks in the auto space are Advance Auto Parts, Inc. (NYSE:AAP) , Fox Factory Holding Corp. (NASDAQ:FOXF) and CarGurus, Inc. (NASDAQ:CARG) , each currently carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Advance Auto Parts has an expected long-term growth rate of 12.1%. Over the past year, shares of the company have increased 19.9%.

Fox Factory has an expected long-term growth rate of 17.9%. Over the past six months, shares of the company have risen 9.5%.

CarGurus has an expected long-term growth rate of 5%. Over the past year, shares of the company have rallied 7.6%.

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