Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) Hits New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Plug Power, Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as low as $1.34 and last traded at $1.3450, with a volume of 24,441,829 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $1.42.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PLUG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna lowered their price target on Plug Power from $2.50 to $1.75 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. Roth Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $5.00 price objective (up from $3.50) on shares of Plug Power in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Plug Power to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised Plug Power from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $1.20 target price on shares of Plug Power in a report on Wednesday, October 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $3.40.

Plug Power Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $1.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.08 and a beta of 2.28. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $1.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $2.39.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The electronics maker reported ($0.07) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by $0.01. Plug Power had a negative return on equity of 56.01% and a negative net margin of 220.59%. The business had revenue of $178.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $169.11 million. Plug Power’s revenue was up 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Plug Power, Inc. will post -0.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Benjamin Haycraft sold 200,000 shares of the 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 sale, the insider owned 101,249 shares in the company, valued at $216,672.86. This represents a 66.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 241,935 shares of company stock valued at $509,397 in the last ninety days. 1.37% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Kestra Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Plug Power by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,007 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $97,000 after acquiring an additional 4,525 shares in the last quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Plug Power by 12.6% in the first quarter. Earned Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 44,061 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $100,000 after purchasing an additional 4,923 shares in the last quarter. GTS Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Plug Power by 18.9% in the second quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 32,330 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 5,135 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC lifted its position in shares of Plug Power by 9.2% in the first quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 62,213 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $141,000 after purchasing an additional 5,223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Plug Power by 8.2% during the first quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 69,709 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $158,000 after purchasing an additional 5,283 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 43.48% of the company’s stock.

Plug Power Company Profile

Plug Power Inc is a clean-energy technology company that develops hydrogen and fuel-cell solutions for commercial and industrial customers. Founded in 1997 and headquartered in Latham, New York, the company focuses on replacing conventional batteries and fossil-fuel-powered equipment with hydrogen-based power systems.

Its product portfolio includes fuel-cell systems for material-handling equipment, backup and stationary power, and commercial vehicles; hydrogen engines and fuel-cell stacks; electrolyzers that produce hydrogen from water; and hydrogen generation, storage, and delivery infrastructure.