Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) Shares Up 5.7% After Insider Buying Activity

Shares of Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG) shot up 5.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday following insider buying activity. The stock traded as high as $0.85 and last traded at $0.83. 74,465,834 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 25% from the average session volume of 59,402,084 shares. The stock had previously closed at $0.79.

Specifically, CFO Paul B. Middleton bought 350,000 shares of Plug Power stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $0.72 per share, with a total value of $252,000.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 1,908,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,373,806.08. This trade represents a 22.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PLUG. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Plug Power from $1.10 to $0.80 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Plug Power from $1.60 to $1.40 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price 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. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Plug Power in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Plug Power to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1.83.

Plug Power Stock Down 7.1%

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

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

Institutional Trading of Plug Power

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Plug Power by 53.2% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 15,410 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 5,348 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA raised its holdings in Plug Power by 12.8% during the 4th quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 49,000 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 5,550 shares during the period. 49 Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Plug Power by 25.0% during the 4th quarter. 49 Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,180 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $62,000 after buying an additional 5,834 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Plug Power by 107.4% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 11,730 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 6,074 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Planning Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Plug Power by 54.0% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Planning Partners Inc. now owns 18,722 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 6,561 shares during the last quarter. 43.48% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.