Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) Shares Gap Up Following Insider Buying Activity

Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday following insider buying activity. The stock had previously closed at $1.22, but opened at $1.42. Plug Power shares last traded at $1.40, with a volume of 97,962,114 shares traded.

Specifically, insider Paul B. Middleton purchased 650,000 shares of Plug Power stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 now owns 2,558,064 shares in the company, valued at $2,634,805.92. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Plug Power from $1.25 to $0.50 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $3.00 price objective on shares of Plug Power in a report on Monday, March 24th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on Plug Power from $2.00 to $1.50 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Plug Power to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Plug Power from $1.60 to $1.40 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $1.83.

Plug Power Trading Down 0.8%

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.39 billion, a PE ratio of -0.60 and a beta of 2.17. The company's 50 day moving average price is $0.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The electronics maker reported ($0.21) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.20) by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $133.67 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $130.92 million. Plug Power had a negative return on equity of 46.99% and a negative net margin of 214.05%. As a group, analysts expect that Plug Power Inc. will post -1.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Plug Power

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mariner LLC grew its holdings in Plug Power by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 177,839 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 40,710 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Plug Power in the fourth quarter valued at about $146,465,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN increased its position in Plug Power by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 2,685,413 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $5,720,000 after purchasing an additional 70,187 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Plug Power during the fourth quarter worth about $320,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in Plug Power by 387.7% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 969,327 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $2,065,000 after purchasing an additional 770,564 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 43.48% of the company's stock.

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.