Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) Stock Price Down 8.5% on Disappointing Earnings

Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG)’s stock price dropped 8.5% during trading on Tuesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as low as $1.79 and last traded at $1.82. Approximately 35,896,563 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 12% from the average daily volume of 40,634,707 shares. The stock had previously closed at $1.99.

The electronics maker reported ($0.25) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.24) by ($0.01). Plug Power had a negative net margin of 214.05% and a negative return on equity of 47.36%. The company had revenue of $173.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $207.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.47) earnings per share. Plug Power’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PLUG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. HC Wainwright reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Plug Power in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Plug Power from $3.50 to $2.50 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. BTIG Research downgraded shares of Plug Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Canaccord Genuity Group dropped their target price on shares of Plug Power from $2.50 to $2.25 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Plug Power from $3.00 to $2.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Plug Power has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.60.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PLUG. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Plug Power by 44.3% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 3,426,354 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $7,744,000 after buying an additional 1,051,400 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its position in Plug Power by 5.9% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 600,188 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $2,065,000 after purchasing an additional 33,311 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Plug Power by 42.9% during the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 250,000 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $860,000 after buying an additional 75,000 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Plug Power by 25.9% during the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,945,162 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $4,532,000 after buying an additional 400,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversified Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Plug Power during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 43.48% of the company’s stock.

Plug Power Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of -0.88 and a beta of 1.81. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $2.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 2.07.

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.