Stock Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG)

Key Points

• Traders bought an unusually large volume of call options—144,625 calls, a 179% increase over the average daily volume of 51,771.
• Analysts are mixed: the consensus rating is Hold with a consensus price target of $3.03 (2 Strong Buy, 2 Buy, 7 Hold, 5 Sell).
• Institutional investors are heavily involved—Vanguard boosted its stake to 129.6 million shares and hedge funds now own about 43.48% of the company.

Plug Power, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG - Get Free Report) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Traders bought 144,625 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 179% compared to the average daily volume of 51,771 call options.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PLUG. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $1.00 price objective on shares of Plug Power in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Plug Power from $2.00 to $1.80 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 9th. Clear Str upgraded shares of Plug Power from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 31st. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Plug Power from $2.50 to $2.75 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Plug Power in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and five have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $3.03.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Plug Power

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PLUG. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Plug Power by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 129,599,295 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $255,311,000 after purchasing an additional 19,967,339 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Plug Power in the 4th quarter valued at $27,684,000. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Plug Power by 292.1% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 10,830,893 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $25,236,000 after purchasing an additional 8,068,713 shares in the last quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Plug Power by 110.7% in the 4th quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 737,112 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $1,452,000 after purchasing an additional 7,640,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Plug Power by 29.9% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,258,283 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $63,549,000 after purchasing an additional 7,416,943 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.48% of the company's stock.

Plug Power Stock Performance

NASDAQ PLUG opened at $3.22 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day moving average is $2.27 and its 200-day moving average is $2.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $4.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -2.39 and a beta of 1.79. Plug Power has a 12-month low of $0.69 and a 12-month high of $4.58.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The electronics maker reported ($0.06) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of ($0.10) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $225.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $217.38 million. Plug Power had a negative net margin of 229.83% and a negative return on equity of 45.97%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.48) EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Plug Power will post -0.32 earnings per share for the current year.

About Plug Power

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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