Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) Stock Price Up 6.6% After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Plug Power shares jumped 6.6% intraday to $2.825 after Susquehanna raised its price target from $2.50 to $2.75 while keeping a neutral rating; volume was ~45.2M, roughly half the stock's average daily volume.
• The analyst consensus remains a Hold with an average price target of $3.03 (analyst mix: 2 Strong Buy, 2 Buy, 7 Hold, 5 Sell), signaling mixed sentiment despite the upgrade.
• Quarterly results slightly beat estimates—EPS ($0.06) vs. ($0.10) expected and revenue $225.2M vs. $217.4M—but the company remains unprofitable with negative margins and ROE, while institutional investors (notably Vanguard) increased holdings and insiders own 0.56%.

Plug Power, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG - Get Free Report) shares rose 6.6% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Susquehanna raised their price target on the stock from $2.50 to $2.75. Susquehanna currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Plug Power traded as high as $2.84 and last traded at $2.8250. Approximately 45,238,118 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 91,165,078 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.65.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets restated an "underperform" rating and set a $1.00 target price on shares of Plug Power in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Plug Power from $1.50 to $2.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $7.00 price target on shares of Plug Power in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Clear Str raised shares of Plug Power from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Plug Power in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Plug Power presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $3.03.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Plug Power news, insider Benjamin Haycraft sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.17, for a total value of $86,800.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 333,809 shares in the company, valued at approximately $724,365.53. The trade was a 10.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PLUG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Plug Power by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 129,599,295 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $255,311,000 after purchasing an additional 19,967,339 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Plug Power during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,684,000. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position 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 worth $25,236,000 after purchasing an additional 8,068,713 shares during the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Plug Power by 110.7% during the 4th quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 737,112 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $1,452,000 after purchasing an additional 7,640,212 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Plug Power by 29.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,258,283 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $63,549,000 after purchasing an additional 7,416,943 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 43.48% of the company's stock.

Plug Power Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -2.09 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $2.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 2.31.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The electronics maker reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $225.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $217.38 million. Plug Power had a negative return on equity of 45.97% and a negative net margin of 229.83%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.48) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Plug Power, Inc. will post -1.21 EPS for the current year.

Plug Power Company Profile

Plug Power Inc is a U.S.-based company specializing in the design and manufacture of hydrogen fuel cell systems that serve as clean energy replacements for conventional batteries in electric vehicles and material handling equipment. Its core solutions include ProGen fuel cell engines, GenDrive power systems for forklifts and warehouse vehicles, and GenFuel hydrogen refueling infrastructure. These offerings are sold as standalone components or integrated turnkey solutions under the GenKey brand, providing customers with on-site refueling, equipment installation and maintenance services.

In addition to its fuel cell and refueling products, Plug Power develops backup power and off-grid energy solutions through its GenSure line, which targets telecommunications, data centers and utility applications.

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