Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) Sees Large Volume Increase – Should You Buy?

Shares of Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG) saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday . 43,314,927 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 29% from the previous session’s volume of 61,231,658 shares.The stock last traded at $0.84 and had previously closed at $0.79.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on PLUG. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Plug Power from $2.50 to $1.75 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Plug Power from $1.10 to $0.80 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Plug Power from $1.70 to $0.90 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Plug Power to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Plug Power presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $1.83.

Plug Power Trading Up 15.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $989.92 million, a PE ratio of -0.43 and a beta of 2.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $1.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $1.71.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) last announced 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). The business had revenue of $133.67 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $130.92 million. Plug Power had a negative net margin of 214.05% and a negative return on equity of 46.99%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Plug Power Inc. will post -1.21 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Paul B. Middleton purchased 350,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $0.72 per share, with a total value of $252,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,908,064 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,373,806.08. This represents a 22.46% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Plug Power

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of Plug Power in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Pacific Sage Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Plug Power in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in shares of Plug Power by 107.4% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Plug Power in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Ground Swell Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Plug Power in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Institutional investors own 43.48% of the company’s stock.

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.