Plug Power Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:PLUG)

Plug Power, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders bought 135,178 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 192% compared to the typical daily volume of 46,267 call options.

Insider Activity at Plug Power

In other Plug Power news, insider Paul B. Middleton purchased 650,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $1.03 per share, for a total transaction of $669,500.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 2,558,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,634,805.92. The trade was a 34.07% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.41% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Plug Power

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PLUG. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Plug Power by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,368,845 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $123,348,000 after purchasing an additional 3,930,342 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Plug Power during the 4th quarter valued at $146,465,000. Heights Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Plug Power during the 1st quarter valued at $31,174,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Plug Power by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,917,268 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $42,434,000 after purchasing an additional 722,639 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Plug Power by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 10,141,849 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $21,602,000 after purchasing an additional 796,774 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 43.48% of the company’s stock.

Plug Power Stock Up 8.5%

Shares of NASDAQ PLUG opened at $1.79 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1.46. The firm has a market cap of $2.05 billion, a PE ratio of -0.72 and a beta of 2.29. Plug Power has a 1 year low of $0.69 and a 1 year high of $3.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 1.95 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The electronics maker reported ($0.21) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.20) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $133.67 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $130.92 million. Plug Power had a negative return on equity of 82.21% and a negative net margin of 312.29%. On average, research analysts forecast that Plug Power will post -1.21 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on PLUG. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Plug Power from $1.25 to $0.50 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Plug Power to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on shares of Plug Power from $1.25 to $1.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. HC Wainwright reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $3.00 price objective on shares of Plug Power in a research report on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Plug Power from $1.10 to $0.80 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1.83.

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.