Heights Capital Management Inc. Purchases Shares of 23,091,715 Plug Power, Inc. $PLUG

Key Points

• Heights Capital Management Inc. acquired approximately 23.09 million shares of Plug Power, valued at around $31.17 million, making it their second largest position.
• Plug Power's latest earnings report revealed a loss of ($0.16) per share, missing analysts' expectations, but its revenue of $173.97 million exceeded estimates of $157.97 million.
• Insider activity included a purchase of 650,000 shares by Paul B. Middleton, reflecting a 34.07% increase in his position, demonstrating insider confidence in the company's prospects.

Heights Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Plug Power, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 23,091,715 shares of the electronics maker's stock, valued at approximately $31,174,000. Plug Power comprises approximately 15.6% of Heights Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Heights Capital Management Inc. owned about 2.26% of Plug Power at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Plug Power by 4.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Plug Power by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,907,687 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $16,843,000 after acquiring an additional 790,650 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Plug Power by 6.4% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,972,199 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $9,412,000 after acquiring an additional 418,493 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Plug Power by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 5,691,201 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $12,266,000 after acquiring an additional 42,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Plug Power by 32.2% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,236,446 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $7,069,000 after acquiring an additional 1,275,083 shares in the last quarter. 43.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Plug Power

In other news, insider Paul B. Middleton bought 650,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $1.03 per share, with a total value of $669,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 2,558,064 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,634,805.92. This represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.41% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Plug Power Trading Down 3.7%

Plug Power stock traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $1.57. 29,906,605 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 42,607,940. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.68 and a beta of 2.09. The firm's 50 day moving average is $1.55 and its 200-day moving average is $1.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.59. Plug Power, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $0.69 and a fifty-two week high of $3.32.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PLUG has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Plug Power from $1.25 to $0.50 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Plug Power from $1.10 to $0.80 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Plug Power from $1.00 to $1.50 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Plug Power to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Plug Power from $0.90 to $1.60 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Plug Power presently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and an average price target of $1.88.

About Plug Power

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.