Earnings preview: Plug Power will be looking to maintain momentum

What a year it has been for Plug Power (NASDAQ: PLUG)! The stock has almost doubled since the start of this year and is currently trading 154% above its 52-week low. The hydrogen fuel cell manufacturer is scheduled to report first-quarter 2019 earnings results on Wednesday, May 8, before the regular trading begins, and investors will be looking for signs of continued momentum.

Analysts expect quarterly losses to widen by one cent year-over-year to 8 cents per share. This should not worry investors much as the management had, during the fourth-quarter earnings conference call, expressed their optimism in achieving  “continuous EBITDAS positive performance” from Q3.

For the first quarter, the Latham, New York-based firm is expected to report a 27% jump in the top line to $34.39 million. Consistent revenue growth has been a building block to Plug Power’s recent growth.

And the guidance the company provided in January this year suggests that revenue growth is not likely to weaken soon.  The company projected full-year 2019 revenues in the range of $235 million to $245 million, much higher than Plug Power’s 2018 full year revenue of $174.6 million.

While weakness in China continues to be an area of concern, the company has been trying to offset this by inking deals back home to drive topline growth. Plug Power provides fuel cells to various established firms including Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN).

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As per the agreement with Amazon, the e-commerce major has the warrants to buy 55 million PLUG shares, which if exercised, would make Amazon’s stake in the fuel cell company about 23%. Such deals, besides the insider stock purchases that have been happening for some time, are sending out positive signals about the stock.

PLUG has a 12-month average price target of $3.50, suggesting a 38% upside from the last close.

Listen to on-demand earnings calls and hear how management responds to analysts’ questions