Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) Stock Price Up 3.3% – Should You Buy?

Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG)’s share price rose 3.3% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $1.72 and last traded at $1.71. Approximately 14,453,743 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 70,357,977 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.65.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PLUG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Plug Power from $2.00 to $2.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded Plug Power from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Plug Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and set a $18.00 price objective on shares of Plug Power in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Plug Power from $3.00 to $2.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $4.12.

Plug Power Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day moving average is $2.28 and its 200-day moving average is $2.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a PE ratio of -0.82 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The electronics maker reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $173.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $207.25 million. Plug Power had a negative return on equity of 46.99% and a negative net margin of 214.05%. The company’s revenue was down 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.47) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Plug Power Inc. will post -1.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Plug Power

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PLUG. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Plug Power during the fourth quarter worth approximately $146,465,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Plug Power by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 87,438,503 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $186,244,000 after buying an additional 4,491,114 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Plug Power by 23.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 19,194,629 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $43,388,000 after acquiring an additional 3,662,456 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Plug Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,235,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Plug Power by 25.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,637,039 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $15,000,000 after purchasing an additional 1,354,500 shares during the last quarter. 43.48% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.