Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) Trading 10% Higher – Should You Buy?

Shares of Plug Power, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG) traded up 10% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $3.35 and last traded at $3.3320. 72,854,204 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 17% from the average session volume of 87,900,375 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.03.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on PLUG. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Plug Power from $1.50 to $2.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Plug Power in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Plug Power in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $1.00 price objective on shares of Plug Power in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen lowered Plug Power from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Plug Power has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $3.03.

Plug Power Stock Down 1.1%

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 stock has a market cap of $4.31 billion, a PE ratio of -2.29 and a beta of 1.79. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $2.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.39.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) last posted its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The electronics maker reported ($0.06) EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $0.04. Plug Power had a negative return on equity of 45.97% and a negative net margin of 229.83%.The firm had revenue of $225.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $217.38 million. During the same period last year, the company earned ($1.48) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Plug Power, Inc. will post -0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Plug Power

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Plug Power by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 129,599,295 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $255,311,000 after acquiring an additional 19,967,339 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Plug Power during the 4th quarter worth about $27,684,000. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its position in shares of Plug Power by 292.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 8,068,713 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in 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 worth $1,452,000 after purchasing an additional 7,640,212 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in Plug Power by 29.9% in the fourth 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 43.48% of the company’s stock.

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.