Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Plug Power's shares surged after analyst Susquehanna upgraded its price target from $1.80 to $3.50, leading to a jump from a previous close of $3.42 to an opening of $3.67.
• Multiple analysts have differing opinions on Plug Power, with one rating it a "Strong Buy," while others have assigned ratings ranging from "underperform" to "strong sell."
• The company missed earnings estimates in its last quarterly report, posting a loss of ($0.16) per share against expectations of ($0.15) but exceeded revenue forecasts with $173.97 million.

Shares of Plug Power, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Monday after Susquehanna raised their price target on the stock from $1.80 to $3.50. The stock had previously closed at $3.42, but opened at $3.67. Susquehanna currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Plug Power shares last traded at $3.93, with a volume of 68,623,922 shares.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on PLUG. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Plug Power to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Plug Power from $1.10 to $1.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Plug Power from $0.90 to $1.60 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI upgraded Plug Power to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, HC Wainwright upped their price objective on shares of Plug Power from $3.00 to $7.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $2.47.

Institutional Trading of Plug Power

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLUG. Sender Co & Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Plug Power during the second quarter worth $26,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft purchased a new stake in shares of Plug Power during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. O ROURKE & COMPANY Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Plug Power during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. Abel Hall LLC purchased a new position in Plug Power during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Obermeyer Wealth Partners boosted its position in Plug Power by 100.0% during the second quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 20,000 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. 43.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Plug Power Stock Up 14.8%

The company has a market cap of $4.53 billion, a PE ratio of -1.72 and a beta of 2.23. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG - Get Free Report) last issued 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). Plug Power had a negative net margin of 292.84% and a negative return on equity of 90.22%. The company had revenue of $173.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $157.97 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Plug Power, Inc. will post -1.21 EPS for the current year.

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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