Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) Shares Down 7.8% After Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG) fell 7.8% during trading on Wednesday after Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on the stock from $1.70 to $0.90. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a hold rating on the stock. Plug Power traded as low as $0.75 and last traded at $0.76. 50,051,605 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 16% from the average session volume of 59,822,246 shares. The stock had previously closed at $0.83.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on PLUG. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their price objective on shares of Plug Power from $1.25 to $1.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Plug Power from $2.00 to $1.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Plug Power from $1.60 to $1.40 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. B. Riley cut their price objective on shares of Plug Power from $4.00 to $3.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of Plug Power from $1.10 to $0.80 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $1.83.

Insider Activity at Plug Power

In related news, CFO Paul B. Middleton acquired 350,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $0.72 per share, for a total transaction of $252,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 1,908,064 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,373,806.08. This trade represents a 22.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.70% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Plug Power in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Pacific Sage Partners LLC bought a new position in Plug Power during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in Plug Power by 107.4% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 11,730 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 6,074 shares during the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new position in Plug Power during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Ground Swell Capital LLC bought a new position in Plug Power during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 43.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Plug Power Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 2.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $1.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $826.34 million, a P/E ratio of -0.36 and a beta of 2.19.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 12th. The electronics maker reported ($0.21) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.20) by ($0.01). Plug Power had a negative net margin of 214.05% and a negative return on equity of 46.99%. The business had revenue of $133.67 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $130.92 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Plug Power Inc. will post -1.21 earnings per share for the current 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.