NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- FuelCell Energy (FCEL) - Get Report shares are up 1.95% to $1.30 per share on Wednesday, following the release of its first quarter results after yesterday's closing bell, after the integrated fuel cell company reported a narrower loss than it had during the same period last year.

The company reported a first quarter net loss of $4.87 million, or 2 cents per diluted share, inching closer to quarterly profitability after reporting a net loss of $11.4 million, or 6 cents per diluted share, during the same period last year. However sales during the period fell to $41.7 million from $44.4 million last year.

Analysts on average were expecting the company to report a net loss of 2 cents per share on revenue of $48 million.

The company was able to cut its research and development expenditures by 29% in the quarter while increasing its gross profit margin to 9.6%. Total operating expenses fell 6.4% to $9.1 million.

TheStreet Ratings team rates FUELCELL ENERGY INC as a Sell with a ratings score of D-. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate FUELCELL ENERGY INC (FCEL) a SELL. This is driven by a number of negative factors, which we believe should have a greater impact than any strengths, and could make it more difficult for investors to achieve positive results compared to most of the stocks we cover. The company's weaknesses can be seen in multiple areas, such as its weak operating cash flow, poor profit margins and generally disappointing historical performance in the stock itself."

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:

• You can view the full analysis from the report here: FCEL Ratings Report

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