Plug Power, Inc. $PLUG Stock Sold by Bank of America Corp DE

Key Points

• Bank of America reduced its Plug Power stake by 31.4% in the second quarter, selling 803,668 shares and retaining 1.75 million shares valued at approximately $4.75 million.
• Other major institutions increased their holdings, including BlackRock, Renaissance Technologies, Handelsbanken Fonder and Dimensional Fund Advisors; institutional investors collectively own 43.48% of Plug Power.
• Plug Power remains unprofitable despite beating quarterly revenue and EPS estimates. Analysts have an average “Hold” rating and a $3.59 price target, compared with the stock’s reported $1.86 opening price.

Bank of America Corp DE cut its stake in shares of Plug Power, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG - Free Report) by 31.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,752,088 shares of the electronics maker's stock after selling 803,668 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.13% of Plug Power worth $4,748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Plug Power by 21.0% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 184,032,469 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $498,728,000 after buying an additional 31,939,194 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Plug Power by 97.4% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 27,738,500 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $62,689,000 after acquiring an additional 13,685,900 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Plug Power by 446.9% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 19,014,270 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $51,529,000 after acquiring an additional 15,537,320 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Plug Power by 241.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 18,134,913 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $40,971,000 after acquiring an additional 12,820,616 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Plug Power by 2.7% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,117,519 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $11,158,000 after acquiring an additional 107,144 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 43.48% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Benjamin Haycraft sold 200,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider owned 101,249 shares of the company's stock, valued at $216,672.86. This represents a 66.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 valued at $496,178 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.37% of the company's stock.

Plug Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ PLUG opened at $1.86 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32. Plug Power, Inc. has a 1-year low of $1.70 and a 1-year high of $4.58. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $2.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a PE ratio of -1.48 and a beta of 2.21.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PLUG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. HC Wainwright reissued a "buy" rating and set a $7.00 target price on shares of Plug Power in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Plug Power in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. 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. Craig Hallum reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Plug Power in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Plug Power to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $3.59.

Plug Power Profile

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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