Investors Purchase High Volume of Call Options on Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG)

Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 81,042 call options on the company. This is an increase of 125% compared to the typical volume of 36,022 call options.

Plug Power Trading Up 12.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ PLUG opened at $2.63 on Friday. Plug Power has a 12-month low of $1.60 and a 12-month high of $5.14. The company has a market cap of $2.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.23 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a current ratio of 2.08, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $2.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $2.23.

Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 12th. The electronics maker reported ($0.25) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.24) by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $173.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $207.25 million. Plug Power had a negative net margin of 214.05% and a negative return on equity of 46.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 12.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.47) earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Plug Power will post -1.2 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PLUG. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV grew its stake in shares of Plug Power by 42.3% in the third quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 15,798 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 4,700 shares in the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its position in Plug Power by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 33,020 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 5,075 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Plug Power by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 803,881 shares of the electronics maker’s stock valued at $1,817,000 after buying an additional 5,485 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Plug Power by 79.9% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 12,681 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 5,631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millburn Ridgefield Corp lifted its stake in shares of Plug Power by 79.9% in the 3rd quarter. Millburn Ridgefield Corp now owns 12,681 shares of the electronics maker’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 5,631 shares during the period. 43.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PLUG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Plug Power from $3.00 to $2.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Plug Power from $2.20 to $2.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their target price on Plug Power from $2.50 to $2.25 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. HC Wainwright restated a “buy” rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Plug Power in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Plug Power from $5.00 to $4.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $4.52.

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.