Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) Upgraded at Jefferies Financial Group

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on PLUG. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on shares of Plug Power from $2.50 to $4.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Plug Power from $3.75 to $2.50 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Plug Power from $1.50 to $1.65 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Plug Power from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Craig Hallum reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Plug Power in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Plug Power presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $3.59.

Plug Power Price Performance

NASDAQ:PLUG opened at $2.11 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $2.95 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.67 and a beta of 2.21. Plug Power has a one year low of $1.41 and a one year high of $4.58. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $2.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.32.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The electronics maker reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $178.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $169.11 million. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Plug Power will post -0.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLUG. HORAN Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Plug Power in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Amundi raised its holdings in shares of Plug Power by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 3,273,699 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $8,872,000 after buying an additional 172,194 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Plug Power by 22.9% during the 2nd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 110,286 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $299,000 after buying an additional 20,515 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Plug Power during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $918,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Plug Power by 165.4% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,140,829 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $11,222,000 after buying an additional 2,580,524 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.