Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) Trading Up 10.3% After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of Plug Power, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG) rose 10.3% on Monday after Susquehanna raised their price target on the stock from $1.00 to $1.80. Susquehanna currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Plug Power traded as high as $2.03 and last traded at $1.98. Approximately 73,510,346 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 2% from the average daily volume of 71,808,245 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.79.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on PLUG. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Plug Power from $1.25 to $0.50 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Plug Power to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Plug Power from $1.70 to $0.90 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Roth Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Plug Power in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Plug Power from $2.00 to $1.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Plug Power currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $1.87.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Paul B. Middleton acquired 650,000 shares of Plug Power stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $1.03 per share, with a total value of $669,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,558,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,634,805.92. This represents a 34.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.41% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Plug Power

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PLUG. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC bought a new position in Plug Power during the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new position in Plug Power during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft bought a new position in Plug Power during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. O ROURKE & COMPANY Inc bought a new position in Plug Power during the 2nd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL increased its stake in Plug Power by 1,182.4% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL now owns 14,696 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 13,550 shares during the period. 43.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Plug Power Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $1.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.95.

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

About Plug Power

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.