Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) Shares Down 3.5% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Plug Power's stock price dropped by 3.5% to $1.53, with a significant reduction in trading volume, declining by 84% compared to the average.
• Analysts have been lowering their target prices for Plug Power, with BMO Capital Markets setting a target of $1.00 and Piper Sandler at $0.80, while Jefferies raised their target to $1.60.
• The company reported negative earnings of ($0.16) per share, missing estimates, but exceeded revenue expectations with $173.97 million for the quarter.

Plug Power, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG - Get Free Report) traded down 3.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as low as $1.51 and last traded at $1.53. 13,682,274 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 86,551,102 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.58.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Plug Power from $0.90 to $1.60 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Plug Power from $1.00 to $1.80 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Plug Power to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Plug Power from $1.10 to $1.00 and set an "underperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Plug Power to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce" and an average target price of $1.88.

Plug Power Stock Up 9.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.94 billion, a PE ratio of -0.73 and a beta of 2.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.59, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $1.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.33.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Paul B. Middleton purchased 650,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was bought at an average price of $1.03 per share, for a total transaction of $669,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 2,558,064 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,634,805.92. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.41% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Plug Power

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new position in Plug Power during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Sender Co & Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Plug Power in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new stake in Plug Power in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft bought a new stake in Plug Power in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, O ROURKE & COMPANY Inc bought a new position in Plug Power in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. 43.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Plug Power Company Profile

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.