Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) Trading 1.7% Higher - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Plug Power's stock price increased by 1.7%, closing at $1.49, with a significant drop in trading volume, dropping 87% from its average daily volume.
• Analyst ratings are mixed, with Roth Capital maintaining a "buy" rating while several other firms issued "sell" or "neutral" ratings, leading to a consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $1.92.
• Insider Paul B. Middleton bought 650,000 shares at an average price of $1.03, increasing his ownership significantly, while institutional investors now hold 43.48% of Plug Power's stock.

Plug Power, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG - Get Free Report)'s stock price was up 1.7% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $1.56 and last traded at $1.49. Approximately 11,204,688 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 88,752,453 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on PLUG shares. Roth Capital restated a "buy" rating on shares of Plug Power in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Plug Power to a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Plug Power from $1.00 to $1.80 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Evercore ISI raised shares of Plug Power to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Plug Power from $2.00 to $1.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1.92.

Plug Power Trading Up 3.4%

The business's 50 day simple moving average is $1.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -0.61 and a beta of 2.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The electronics maker reported ($0.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.20) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $133.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $130.92 million. Plug Power had a negative net margin of 312.29% and a negative return on equity of 82.21%. As a group, analysts forecast that Plug Power, Inc. will post -1.21 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Plug Power news, insider Paul B. Middleton purchased 650,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1.03 per share, with a total value of $669,500.00. Following the purchase, the insider directly owned 2,558,064 shares of the company's stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.41% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Plug Power

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Heights Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Plug Power in the first quarter valued at $31,174,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Plug Power during the 4th quarter worth about $10,370,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Plug Power by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,368,845 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $123,348,000 after purchasing an additional 3,930,342 shares during the period. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Plug Power by 365,934.4% in the 2nd quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,795,777 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $5,656,000 after purchasing an additional 3,794,740 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Plug Power in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,235,000. Institutional investors 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.

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