Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) Shares Down 1.4% – Here’s What Happened

Plug Power, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG)’s stock price dropped 1.4% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $2.03 and last traded at $2.07. Approximately 54,690,410 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 43% from the average daily volume of 96,640,445 shares. The stock had previously closed at $2.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on PLUG shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Plug Power in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Canaccord Genuity Group set a $7.00 target price on Plug Power in a research report on Monday, November 24th. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Plug Power in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Plug Power from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Sunday, November 16th. Finally, HSBC set a $4.40 price target on shares of Plug Power in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and six have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $2.80.

Plug Power Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $2.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -0.87 and a beta of 1.74. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $2.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.04.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The electronics maker reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.01. Plug Power had a negative net margin of 313.69% and a negative return on equity of 105.98%. The business had revenue of $177.06 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $185.41 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Plug Power, Inc. will post -1.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Plug Power news, insider Benjamin Haycraft sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.20, for a total transaction of $88,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 373,809 shares in the company, valued at $822,379.80. This represents a 9.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Jose Luis Crespo acquired 37,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $2.34 per share, with a total value of $87,282.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 307,332 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $719,156.88. This represents a 13.81% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 60,000 shares of company stock worth $155,200. 0.56% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Plug Power

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Profund Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Plug Power by 24.4% in the third quarter. Profund Advisors LLC now owns 20,188 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 3,961 shares in the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Plug Power by 16.0% in the third quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 29,077 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares in the last quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Plug Power by 33.4% in the third quarter. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC now owns 18,414 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 4,615 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Plug Power by 10.6% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 58,098 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $135,000 after acquiring an additional 5,584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Plug Power by 31.8% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 25,014 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 6,039 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 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.