Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) Stock Price Up 4.8% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares of Plug Power, Inc. rose 4.8%, reaching a last trading price of $2.64, despite an 8% decline in average trading volume.
• Analysts have mixed opinions on the stock, with one rating it as a Strong Buy, several issuing a Buy and Hold ratings, while one firm has assigned a Strong Sell rating.
• Plug Power reported a negative net margin of 292.84% and a revenue of $173.97 million, exceeding the consensus estimate for the quarter.

Shares of Plug Power, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG - Get Free Report) rose 4.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $2.66 and last traded at $2.64. Approximately 87,132,941 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 8% from the average daily volume of 94,730,930 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on PLUG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Plug Power from $1.00 to $1.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Plug Power to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Plug Power to a "strong sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Plug Power from $1.10 to $1.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Plug Power from $1.80 to $3.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $2.54.

Plug Power Trading Up 4.8%

The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.14 and a beta of 2.23. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $2.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.70.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 11th. The electronics maker reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $157.97 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Plug Power, Inc. will post -1.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Plug Power

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Plug Power by 4.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,368,845 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $123,348,000 after acquiring an additional 3,930,342 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased 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 stake in shares of Plug Power during the first quarter worth about $31,174,000. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Plug Power by 59.9% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 16,980,865 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $25,301,000 after acquiring an additional 6,364,483 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its position in shares of Plug Power by 45.8% during the second quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,027,081 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $11,743,000 after acquiring an additional 2,521,348 shares in the last quarter. 43.48% of the stock is owned by 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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