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

Key Points

• Traders purchased 195,542 call options for Plug Power, marking a 66% increase over its average volume, indicating heightened interest in the stock.
• Institutional investors have significantly altered their positions in Plug Power, with 43.48% of the stock now owned by these entities, suggesting growing institutional confidence.
• Analyst ratings vary widely, with a current average rating of "Hold" and a price target ranging from a low of $1.00 to a high of $7.00, reflecting mixed opinions on the stock's potential.

Plug Power, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading on Thursday. Traders purchased 195,542 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 66% compared to the average volume of 118,033 call options.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Plug Power

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new position in Plug Power during the third quarter valued at $452,000. Yousif Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Plug Power during the third quarter valued at $27,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in Plug Power by 261.8% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 49,567 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $115,000 after buying an additional 35,867 shares during the period. Congress Park Capital LLC raised its position in Plug Power by 40.4% during the third quarter. Congress Park Capital LLC now owns 83,350 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $194,000 after buying an additional 24,000 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC acquired a new position in Plug Power during the third quarter valued at $30,000. 43.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on PLUG. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Plug Power to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. HC Wainwright boosted their price target on Plug Power from $3.00 to $7.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, October 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Plug Power from $1.00 to $1.50 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Plug Power from $0.90 to $1.60 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Plug Power in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and six have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $2.47.

Plug Power Trading Down 4.9%

Shares of PLUG stock opened at $3.85 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.59. Plug Power has a 1 year low of $0.69 and a 1 year high of $4.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $2.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $1.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.45 billion, a PE ratio of -1.67 and a beta of 2.23.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The electronics maker reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $173.97 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $157.97 million. Plug Power had a negative net margin of 292.84% and a negative return on equity of 90.22%. As a group, research analysts expect that Plug Power will post -1.21 EPS for the current year.

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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