Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) Shares Down 4.3% After Insider Selling

Key Points

• Shares fell 4.3% to about $2.22 after insider Benjamin Haycraft sold 40,000 shares on Dec. 10 at an average price of $2.20 (≈$88,000), reducing his stake by roughly 9.7%; intraday volume was ~92.9M shares.
• Analysts are mixed: the consensus rating is a “Hold” with an average price target of $2.80, though some firms (HC Wainwright, Canaccord) have $7 targets while others rate the stock a sell.
• Fundamentals remain weak — Plug Power posted a slight EPS beat but missed revenue ($177.1M vs. $185.4M est.), shows deep negative margins and ROE, has a market cap of ~$3.09B, and ~43.5% institutional ownership.

Plug Power, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG - Get Free Report) fell 4.3% during trading on Monday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock traded as low as $2.21 and last traded at $2.22. 92,916,393 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 4% from the average session volume of 96,893,813 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.32.

Specifically, insider Benjamin Haycraft sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.20, for a total transaction of $88,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 373,809 shares of the company's stock, valued at $822,379.80. This represents a 9.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Benjamin Haycraft sold 10,000 shares of Plug Power stock in a transaction on Friday, October 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.80, for a total transaction of $38,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 457,583 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,738,815.40. The trade was a 2.14% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PLUG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $7.00 price objective on shares of Plug Power in a research note on Monday, November 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Plug Power in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Plug Power in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $7.00 price objective on Plug Power in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, HSBC set a $4.40 target price on Plug Power in a report on Thursday, October 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Plug Power has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $2.80.

Plug Power Trading Down 4.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The company has a market capitalization of $3.09 billion, a P/E ratio of -0.94 and a beta of 1.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $2.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $1.98.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The electronics maker reported ($0.12) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.01. The business had revenue of $177.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $185.41 million. Plug Power had a negative return on equity of 105.98% and a negative net margin of 313.69%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Plug Power, Inc. will post -1.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Plug Power

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PLUG. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Plug Power by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 109,631,956 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $255,442,000 after buying an additional 7,789,039 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Plug Power by 14.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,071,904 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $35,872,000 after acquiring an additional 3,125,542 shares in the last quarter. Heights Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Plug Power in the first quarter worth $31,174,000. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Plug Power by 4.2% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 17,695,077 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $41,230,000 after purchasing an additional 714,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Plug Power by 292.1% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 10,830,893 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $25,236,000 after purchasing an additional 8,068,713 shares during the period. 43.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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