Stock in hydrogen technology company Plug Power is up because CEO Andy Marsh appeared on CNBC’s Mad Money on Monday. The interview with long-time CNBC anchor Jim Cramer showed that there is a lot going on at the company. Investors are energized.
Plug (ticker: PLUG) stock is up 5% in midday trading on Tuesday. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average are down 0.1% and 0.2%, respectively. Plug shares are on pace for their sixth consecutive daily gain and the eighth gain in the past 10 trading sessions.
Investors are increasingly bullish as they look ahead to the company’s hydrogen symposium coming on October 14. It’s a full day event for analysts, investors, and other stakeholders where the company will outline its plans for the future.
Plug, which is known for hydrogen fuel cell powered materials handling equipment, is commercializing hydrogen technology for heavy duty trucks. Running big-rigs on hydrogen and electric motors doesn’t generate any carbon dioxide tailpipe emissions the way traditional diesel fuel does.
It’s a cleaner option. Carbon dioxide is the main gas blamed for global climate change.
But hydrogen technology is still expensive and scaling up so it can compete with diesel on a cost basis. Marsh’s interview hinted that new partnerships with heavy duty truck makers could be coming Thursday. Marsh also mentioned that Plug was working with General Motors (GM) in the materials handling sector.
GM didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment about that partnership. And Plug didn’t respond to a request for comment about the event.
There is a lot of optimism about hydrogen technology on Wall Street. B. Riley analyst Christopher Souther, for one, expects Plug management to increase its long term sales targets on Thursday at its event. Souther rates Plug shares Buy and has a $45 price target on Plug stock.
Overall, almost 70% of analysts covering the stock rate shares a Buy. The average Buy-rating ratio for stocks in the S&P is about 55%. The average analyst price target is about $40 a share, 38% higher than recent levels of $28.70 a share.
Plug stock is down about 15% year to date. Still, shares are up 63% over the past 12 months. Shares gained almost 1,000% in 2020.
Write to Al Root at [email protected]
