Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) Trading Down 2.7% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Plug Power's stock price declined by 2.7%, closing at $1.62 on Thursday with a significant drop in trading volume, down 84% from the average session.
• Wall Street analysts are divided on the stock, with ratings ranging from “positive” and “neutral” to multiple “sell” ratings, reflecting uncertainty in its future performance.
• An insider purchased 650,000 shares at an average price of $1.03, indicating confidence in the company's stock despite recent challenges.

Plug Power, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG - Get Free Report)'s stock price fell 2.7% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $1.60 and last traded at $1.62. 13,692,637 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 84% from the average session volume of 87,551,992 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.66.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PLUG has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Plug Power in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Plug Power to a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Plug Power from $1.10 to $1.00 and set an "underperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Plug Power from $1.00 to $1.80 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Plug Power from $1.25 to $0.50 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $1.88.

Plug Power Stock Down 1.5%

The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $1.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1.35. The company has a market capitalization of $1.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.71 and a beta of 2.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.59 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG - Get Free Report) last released 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 return on equity of 90.22% and a negative net margin of 292.84%. The firm had revenue of $173.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $157.97 million. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Plug Power, Inc. will post -1.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Plug Power news, insider Paul B. Middleton purchased 650,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 9th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $1.03 per share, with a total value of $669,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,558,064 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,634,805.92. This represents a 34.07% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.41% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Plug Power

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Ardsley Advisory Partners LP acquired a new position in Plug Power during the second quarter valued at approximately $373,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Plug Power by 404.6% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 29,369 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 23,549 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Plug Power during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $552,000. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in shares of Plug Power by 121.0% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 379,117 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $566,000 after purchasing an additional 207,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Plug Power by 21.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 326,113 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $486,000 after purchasing an additional 56,957 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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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