Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) Shares Gap Up - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• Plug Power shares jumped: The stock opened at $1.55 after closing at $1.41 and was last quoted at $1.575, on trading volume of about 24.1 million shares.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: MarketBeat’s consensus rating is “Hold,” with an average price target of $3.40; ratings range from one Strong Buy to three Sell ratings.
• Results beat estimates but profitability remains weak: Plug Power reported quarterly revenue of $178.3 million and a loss of $0.07 per share, both slightly better than forecasts, while its net margin remained deeply negative.

Plug Power, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday. The stock had previously closed at $1.41, but opened at $1.55. Plug Power shares last traded at $1.5750, with a volume of 24,061,772 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on PLUG shares. Weiss Ratings raised Plug Power from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Plug Power to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $5.00 price target (up from $3.50) on shares of Plug Power in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Plug Power in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Plug Power from $2.50 to $1.75 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Plug Power presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $3.40.

Plug Power Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.09 billion, a PE ratio of -1.19 and a beta of 2.13. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $1.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.38.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The electronics maker reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $178.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $169.11 million. Plug Power had a negative return on equity of 56.01% and a negative net margin of 220.59%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Plug Power, Inc. will post -0.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Benjamin Haycraft sold 200,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.14, for a total transaction of $428,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 101,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $216,672.86. This represents a 66.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 241,935 shares of company stock worth $509,397 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PLUG. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of Plug Power by 21.0% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 184,032,469 shares of the electronics maker's stock worth $498,728,000 after buying an additional 31,939,194 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in shares of Plug Power by 446.9% in the second quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 19,014,270 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $51,529,000 after buying an additional 15,537,320 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Plug Power by 97.4% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 27,738,500 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $62,689,000 after buying an additional 13,685,900 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Plug Power by 241.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 18,134,913 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $40,971,000 after buying an additional 12,820,616 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Plug Power during the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,840,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 43.48% of the company's stock.

Plug Power Company Profile

Plug Power Inc is a clean-energy technology company that develops hydrogen and fuel-cell solutions for commercial and industrial customers. Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Latham, New York, the company focuses on replacing conventional batteries and fossil-fuel-powered equipment with hydrogen-based power systems.

Its product portfolio includes fuel-cell systems for material-handling equipment, backup and stationary power, and commercial vehicles; hydrogen engines and fuel-cell stacks; electrolyzers that produce hydrogen from water; and hydrogen generation, storage, and delivery infrastructure.

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