Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) Shares Down 7.3% – Time to Sell?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PLUG. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Plug Power to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Plug Power from $1.50 to $1.65 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $5.00 target price on shares of Plug Power in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $5.00 target price (up from $3.50) on shares of Plug Power in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Craig Hallum reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Plug Power in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.59.

Plug Power Stock Performance

The stock 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 firm’s 50 day moving average is $2.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $2.62.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The electronics maker reported ($0.07) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.08) by $0.01. The company had revenue of $178.30 million during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research 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 that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 101,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $216,672.86. The trade was a 66.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 232,560 shares of company stock valued at $496,178 in the last three months. 1.37% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Plug Power

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PLUG. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in Plug Power by 21.0% during the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 184,032,469 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $498,728,000 after buying an additional 31,939,194 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of Plug Power by 446.9% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 19,014,270 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $51,529,000 after acquiring an additional 15,537,320 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Plug Power by 97.4% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 27,738,500 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $62,689,000 after acquiring an additional 13,685,900 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Plug Power by 241.2% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Plug Power by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 38,763,529 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $105,049,000 after acquiring an additional 2,214,427 shares during the period. 43.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.