Plug Power, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG) Stock Has Average Price Target of $3.59 According to Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Hold” consensus on Plug Power, with seven hold, five buy, two strong-buy and three sell ratings; the average 12-month price target is $3.59.
• Plug Power shares opened at $1.86 after declining 6.1%, trading near the bottom of their $1.70–$4.58 one-year range. The company recently beat quarterly EPS and revenue estimates, but continues to report steep losses, including a negative 220.59% net margin.
• Insider selling has increased, with executives selling 232,560 shares worth roughly $496,178 over the past three months; institutional investors own 43.48% of the stock.

Plug Power, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the seventeen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation, five have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $3.59.

PLUG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Craig Hallum reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Plug Power in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Plug Power from $1.50 to $1.65 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $5.00 target price (up from $3.50) on shares of Plug Power in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Plug Power from a "sell (d-)" rating to a "sell (e+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $7.00 price target on shares of Plug Power in a report on Tuesday, August 11th.

Plug Power Trading Down 6.1%

PLUG stock opened at $1.86 on Tuesday. Plug Power has a 1-year low of $1.70 and a 1-year high of $4.58. The firm has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.48 and a beta of 2.21. The business's 50 day moving average is $2.13 and its 200-day moving average is $2.61. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The electronics maker reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $178.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $169.11 million. Plug Power had a negative return on equity of 56.01% and a negative net margin of 220.59%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Plug Power will post -0.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Plug Power

In other news, insider Benjamin Haycraft sold 200,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.14, for a total transaction of $428,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 101,249 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $216,672.86. This trade represents a 66.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 232,560 shares of company stock worth $496,178 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Plug Power

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PLUG. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in Plug Power in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Greenleaf Trust bought a new stake in shares of Plug Power during the second quarter worth $29,000. DUTCH ASSET Corp bought a new stake in shares of Plug Power during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Manatuck Hill Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Plug Power in the second quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Sustainable Insight Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Plug Power in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. 43.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Plug Power

Plug Power Inc is a hydrogen and fuel cell technology company that develops integrated solutions for generating, storing, distributing and using hydrogen. The company serves commercial and industrial customers seeking alternatives to conventional power sources and fossil fuels.

Its product portfolio includes electrolyzers for producing hydrogen from water, hydrogen-generation and storage systems, fuel cell engines, and stationary power systems. Plug Power also provides hydrogen-fueled material-handling equipment, including systems used to power forklifts and other warehouse vehicles, along with related infrastructure, service and maintenance offerings.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Latham, New York, Plug Power has focused on expanding hydrogen applications across logistics, material handling, backup and distributed power, transportation, and industrial markets.

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