Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) Stock Falls 7.3% – Time to Sell?

Plug Power, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG)’s stock price fell 7.3% during mid-day trading on Monday. The stock traded as low as $1.84 and last traded at $1.8350. Approximately 21,611,983 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 71% from the average session volume of 73,578,938 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.98.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. HC Wainwright reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $7.00 price objective on shares of Plug Power in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $5.00 target price (up from $3.50) on shares of Plug Power in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Plug Power from $1.50 to $1.65 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Plug Power from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Plug Power to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell 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 $3.59.

Plug Power Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $2.62 billion, a PE ratio of -1.49 and a beta of 2.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a current ratio of 2.32. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $2.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $2.62.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The electronics maker reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $178.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $169.11 million. Plug Power had a negative net margin of 220.59% and a negative return on equity of 56.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Plug Power, Inc. will post -0.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Plug Power news, insider Benjamin Haycraft sold 200,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $2.14, for a total value of $428,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 101,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $216,672.86. The trade was a 66.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 232,560 shares of company stock valued at $496,178. Insiders own 1.37% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Plug Power

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Plug Power by 45.7% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 27,568 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $75,000 after buying an additional 8,642 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Plug Power by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,763,529 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $105,049,000 after buying an additional 2,214,427 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of Plug Power by 9.9% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 702,003 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,902,000 after acquiring an additional 63,074 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Plug Power by 79.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 187,591 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $508,000 after acquiring an additional 83,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Plug Power in the second quarter worth approximately $145,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 43.48% of the company’s stock.

About Plug Power

Plug Power Inc is a hydrogen and fuel cell technology company that develops integrated solutions for generating, storing, distributing and using hydrogen. The company serves commercial and industrial customers seeking alternatives to conventional power sources and fossil fuels.

Its product portfolio includes electrolyzers for producing hydrogen from water, hydrogen-generation and storage systems, fuel cell engines, and stationary power systems. Plug Power also provides hydrogen-fueled material-handling equipment, including systems used to power forklifts and other warehouse vehicles, along with related infrastructure, service and maintenance offerings.

Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Latham, New York, Plug Power has focused on expanding hydrogen applications across logistics, material handling, backup and distributed power, transportation, and industrial markets.