Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) Shares Gap Up – What’s Next?

Plug Power, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG) shares 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on PLUG. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $5.00 price objective on shares of Plug Power in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $5.00 target price (up from $3.50) on shares of Plug Power in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $7.00 target price on shares of Plug Power in a research report on Tuesday, September 29th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Plug Power from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Plug Power from $2.50 to $1.75 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $3.40.

Plug Power Stock Up 4.1%

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $1.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $2.37. 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 firm has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a PE ratio of -1.12 and a beta of 2.13.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) last released its 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. Plug Power had a negative net margin of 220.59% and a negative return on equity of 56.01%. The firm had revenue of $178.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $169.11 million. The firm’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Plug Power, Inc. will post -0.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Benjamin Haycraft sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.14, for a total transaction of $428,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 101,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $216,672.86. The trade was a 66.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 241,935 shares of company stock worth $509,397. 1.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Plug Power

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Plug Power during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Greenleaf Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Plug Power in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Alta Advisers Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Plug Power in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. 71 West Capital Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Plug Power in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new position in Plug Power during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. 43.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Plug Power

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.