Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) Stock Price Up 14.5% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Plug Power, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG) rose 14.5% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $3.43 and last traded at $3.5730. Approximately 20,403,554 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 85,785,586 shares. The stock had previously closed at $3.12.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PLUG has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Plug Power in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Plug Power in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a $1.00 price target on shares of Plug Power in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Plug Power from $2.50 to $2.75 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Plug Power from $1.50 to $2.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and five have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.03.

Plug Power Trading Up 11.7%

The company has a market cap of $4.86 billion, a PE ratio of -2.58 and a beta of 2.06. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $2.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.36.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 2nd. The electronics maker reported ($0.06) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.10) by $0.04. The company had revenue of $225.22 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $217.38 million. Plug Power had a negative return on equity of 45.97% and a negative net margin of 229.83%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($1.48) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Plug Power, Inc. will post -0.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Plug Power

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Plug Power by 75.4% in the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 16,733 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 7,191 shares during the period. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft purchased a new stake in shares of Plug Power during the first quarter worth $65,000. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Plug Power by 12.6% during the first quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 44,061 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $100,000 after acquiring an additional 4,923 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Plug Power by 241.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 18,134,913 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $40,971,000 after acquiring an additional 12,820,616 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of Plug Power by 18.1% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,616,688 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $5,914,000 after acquiring an additional 400,300 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.48% of the company’s stock.

About Plug Power

Plug Power Inc is a U.S.-based company specializing in the design and manufacture of hydrogen fuel cell systems that serve as clean energy replacements for conventional batteries in electric vehicles and material handling equipment. Its core solutions include ProGen fuel cell engines, GenDrive power systems for forklifts and warehouse vehicles, and GenFuel hydrogen refueling infrastructure. These offerings are sold as standalone components or integrated turnkey solutions under the GenKey brand, providing customers with on-site refueling, equipment installation and maintenance services.

In addition to its fuel cell and refueling products, Plug Power develops backup power and off-grid energy solutions through its GenSure line, which targets telecommunications, data centers and utility applications.