BMO Capital Markets Lowers Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) Price Target to $1.00

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets has reduced its price target for Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) from $1.10 to $1.00, indicating a potential downside of 30.31% from the current stock price.
• Plug Power recently reported a loss of ($0.16) earnings per share, slightly below analysts' consensus estimates, despite exceeding revenue expectations with $173.97 million.
• Insider Paul B. Middleton purchased 650,000 shares of Plug Power at $1.03 each, increasing his stake in the company by over 34% and signaling confidence amid recent market shifts.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG - Free Report) had its price target reduced by BMO Capital Markets from $1.10 to $1.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an underperform rating on the electronics maker's stock.

PLUG has been the subject of several other reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded Plug Power to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Plug Power from $0.90 to $1.60 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI upgraded Plug Power to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on Plug Power from $1.25 to $1.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Plug Power in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Plug Power presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1.88.

Plug Power Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PLUG traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $1.70. 59,292,663 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 60,835,976. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $1.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.59. Plug Power has a 12 month low of $0.69 and a 12 month high of $3.32. The firm has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of -0.74 and a beta of 2.35.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The electronics maker reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $173.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $157.97 million. Plug Power had a negative return on equity of 90.22% and a negative net margin of 292.84%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Plug Power will post -1.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Paul B. Middleton acquired 650,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1.03 per share, for a total transaction of $669,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,558,064 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,634,805.92. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Plug Power

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Plug Power by 4.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,368,845 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $123,348,000 after acquiring an additional 3,930,342 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Plug Power by 14.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,071,904 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $35,872,000 after purchasing an additional 3,125,542 shares in the last quarter. Heights Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Plug Power in the first quarter worth approximately $31,174,000. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Plug Power by 59.9% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 16,980,865 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $25,301,000 after purchasing an additional 6,364,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Plug Power by 45.8% in the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,027,081 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $11,743,000 after purchasing an additional 2,521,348 shares in the last quarter. 43.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Plug Power Company Profile

Plug Power Inc develops hydrogen and fuel cell product solutions in North America, Europe, Asia, and internationally. The company offers GenDrive, a hydrogen-fueled proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell system that provides power to material handling electric vehicles; GenSure, a stationary fuel cell solution that offers modular PEM fuel cell power to support the backup and grid-support power requirements of the telecommunications, transportation, and utility sectors; ProGen, a fuel cell stack and engine technology used in mobility and stationary fuel cell systems, and as engines in electric delivery vans; GenFuel, a liquid hydrogen fueling delivery, generation, storage, and dispensing system; GenCare, an ongoing Internet of Things-based maintenance and on-site service program for GenDrive fuel cell systems, GenSure fuel cell systems, GenFuel hydrogen storage and dispensing products, and ProGen fuel cell engines; and GenKey, an integrated turn-key solution for transitioning to fuel cell power.