Pricing, cost reduction crucial for Plug Power to maintain uptrend in Q4

Plug Power Inc. (PLUG) will be holding a conference call on Wednesday to discuss preliminary results for the fourth quarter and fiscal 2018. Analysts expect that the early-stage tech firm, which makes hydrogen fuel cells, will report a loss of $0.06 per share for the fourth quarter, representing a marked improvement from the prior-year quarter.

In the third quarter, the company’s net loss narrowed to $0.07 per share from $0.18 per share in the same quarter of the preceding year, beating estimates by a penny. The improvement was supported by a 54% surge in revenues, which also surpassed analysts’ forecast. Having shipped about 1,400 GenDrive fuel cell units and seven GenFuel hydrogen stations in the third quarter, Plug Energy had a busy delivery schedule in the fourth quarter too.

Though there is an improvement in the company’s performance over the years, it needs to work on pricing and take effective steps to reduce costs for being able to end the ongoing losing streak. In the second half of last year, Plug Power opened its new manufacturing facility in Clifton Park, New York, to meet the growing demand for fuel cell products, mainly GenDrive, GenFuel, and ProGen hydrogen engines. Currently, it has the capacity to manufacture about 20,000 units annually.

Also see: Plug Power Q3 2018 Earnings Conference Call Transcript

Analysts have a consensus price target of $3.13 on the stock. While the general market sentiment about the stock is sluggish, the optimists among the analysts recommend a buy. In fact, there are some positive factors that justify the buy rating. The growing adoption of alternative energy products across all markets, especially in the automobile industry, combined with the positive momentum in the general economy and the tax benefits rolled out by the government will have a favorable impact on the company’s performance this year.

Last month, Plug Power shares dropped to the lowest level in more than a year but recovered soon. The stock gained about 15% in early trading Monday after closing the previous trading session higher.

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