Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Plug Power, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $2.65, but opened at $2.93. Plug Power shares last traded at $2.91, with a volume of 96,947,473 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on PLUG. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Plug Power from $0.90 to $1.60 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Susquehanna lifted their target price on Plug Power from $1.00 to $1.80 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Plug Power from $1.10 to $1.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Plug Power from $1.00 to $1.50 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Plug Power to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and five have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $1.88.

Plug Power Stock Down 2.8%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $1.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $1.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 1.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22. The company has a market capitalization of $2.97 billion, a P/E ratio of -1.11 and a beta of 2.09.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 11th. The electronics maker reported ($0.16) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $173.97 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $157.97 million. Plug Power had a negative return on equity of 90.22% and a negative net margin of 292.84%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Plug Power, Inc. will post -1.21 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Plug Power

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Plug Power by 4.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 91,368,845 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $123,348,000 after buying an additional 3,930,342 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Plug Power by 14.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 24,071,904 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $35,872,000 after buying an additional 3,125,542 shares during the period. Heights Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Plug Power during the first quarter worth $31,174,000. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Plug Power by 59.9% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 16,980,865 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $25,301,000 after buying an additional 6,364,483 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Plug Power by 45.8% during the 2nd quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 8,027,081 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $11,743,000 after purchasing an additional 2,521,348 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.48% of the company’s stock.

Plug Power Company Profile

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.