Plug Power Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:PLUG)

Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders bought 81,042 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 125% compared to the average volume of 36,022 call options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Plug Power

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Plug Power by 69.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,530,346 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $5,896,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036,777 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Plug Power by 45.1% during the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 63,780 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $149,000 after buying an additional 19,824 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its position in Plug Power by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 356,973 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $832,000 after acquiring an additional 29,134 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its holdings in Plug Power by 97.2% in the 2nd quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 1,296,047 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $3,020,000 after acquiring an additional 638,761 shares during the period. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Plug Power by 94.0% in the second quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 365,143 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $851,000 after acquiring an additional 176,898 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 43.48% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on PLUG shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Plug Power from $2.20 to $2.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Plug Power from $5.00 to $4.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. BTIG Research lowered Plug Power from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Canaccord Genuity Group cut their target price on shares of Plug Power from $2.50 to $2.25 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Plug Power from $3.00 to $2.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $4.52.

Plug Power Stock Performance

Plug Power stock opened at $2.63 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.23 and a beta of 1.76. Plug Power has a 12 month low of $1.60 and a 12 month high of $5.14. 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 moving average is $2.22 and its 200-day moving average is $2.23.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. 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 46.99%. The business had revenue of $173.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $207.25 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.47) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 12.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Plug Power will post -1.2 earnings per share for the current year.

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.