Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) Trading 1.5% Higher - Here's Why

Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG - Get Free Report) shares shot up 1.5% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $1.68 and last traded at $1.65. 26,807,690 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 62% from the average session volume of 71,424,367 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on PLUG. HC Wainwright restated a "buy" rating and issued a $18.00 price objective on shares of Plug Power in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Canaccord Genuity Group lowered their price objective on shares of Plug Power from $2.50 to $2.25 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Craig Hallum reduced their target price on shares of Plug Power from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Susquehanna raised their target price on shares of Plug Power from $2.00 to $2.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Plug Power from $5.00 to $4.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $4.12.

Plug Power Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The firm has a market cap of $1.60 billion, a P/E ratio of -0.82 and a beta of 1.79. The firm's 50 day moving average is $2.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.15.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The electronics maker reported ($0.25) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $173.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $207.25 million. Plug Power had a negative return on equity of 46.99% and a negative net margin of 214.05%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.47) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Plug Power Inc. will post -1.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Plug Power

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its holdings in shares of Plug Power by 75.1% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 143,788 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 61,673 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Plug Power by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 47,518 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 8,255 shares during the last quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Plug Power in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Plug Power by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 7,907,687 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $16,843,000 after purchasing an additional 790,650 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Plug Power by 658.0% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 202,343 shares of the electronics maker's stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 175,648 shares during the last quarter. 43.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.