Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) Trading Up 3.3% – Still a Buy?

Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG)’s share price was up 3.3% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $1.72 and last traded at $1.71. Approximately 14,453,743 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 70,357,977 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.65.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on PLUG shares. StockNews.com upgraded Plug Power to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Plug Power from $3.00 to $2.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Plug Power from $5.00 to $4.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Plug Power from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price target on shares of Plug Power in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.12.

Plug Power Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The company has a 50 day moving average of $2.30 and a 200 day moving average of $2.15. The firm has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.83 and a beta of 1.79.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The electronics maker reported ($0.25) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by ($0.01). Plug Power had a negative return on equity of 46.99% and a negative net margin of 214.05%. The business had revenue of $173.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $207.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($0.47) EPS. The company’s revenue was down 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Plug Power Inc. will post -1.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PLUG. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Plug Power by 25.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,637,039 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $15,000,000 after buying an additional 1,354,500 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Plug Power during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,174,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised its stake in Plug Power by 24.5% during the third quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 2,421,222 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $5,472,000 after buying an additional 476,060 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in Plug Power by 23.4% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,398,398 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $3,160,000 after buying an additional 265,514 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Plug Power by 166.4% during the third quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 424,297 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $959,000 after buying an additional 265,042 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 43.48% of the company’s stock.

Plug Power Company Profile

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.