Plug Power Stock News and Forecast: PLUG corrects over 4% amid competition from Cummins

Update: After a solid start to the week on Monday, PLUG stock price failed to keep up the upbeat momentum and corrected sharply from near four-month highs of $32.03. Plug Power settled Tuesday at $30.44, down 4.13% on the day. Concerns over increased competition from its rival Cummins (CMI) weighed heavily on the stock price. Further, hawkish Fedspeak combined with fresh US and EU sanctions against Russia dented investors’ sentiment, collaborating with the corrective pullback in the price of PLUG. The share price surged 12% on Monday.

PLUG stock was up 12% on Monday in a strong move that led to the green energy stock surging to the top of the usual social media sites. PLUG has always had a strong retail following and last year was a so-called meme stock. PLUG stock surged to over $44 in November before falling back to trade under $18 in January of this year.

Plug Power is a green energy company involved in hydrogen and fuel cell energy production. The electric manufacturer has almost 40,000 fuel cell units already deployed and is hoping to embark on an aggressive growth program as demand for green energy increases sharply. This has been exacerbated by the Ukraine conflict which has seen fossil fuel prices skyrocket.

The US already has plans for more stimulus measures to support the transition to green energy and Germany has recently announced ambitious targets. Recent climate change news from the UN released on Monday further heightens the urgency to transition away from fossil fuels. So, green and clean energy stocks such as PLUG stand to benefit from this transition.

PLUG stock news: Is CMI hydrogen-powered taxi fleet a positive?

The spike on Monday does look a bit confusing. Many pundits on social media are highlighting an announcement by Cummins (CMI). CMI is to sell its 2.5-megawatt cell to produce a hydrogen-powered taxi fleet, partnering with Hysetco. This does further legitimize Plug Power's business model and the company is involved in a similar business area. However, CMI is a major player and its moving into the space would usually be taken as a negative.

PLUG recently unveiled mixed results for Q4 2021. Revenue grew to $162 million and was ahead of estimates but PLUG stock was held back as it reported a loss in earnings per share (EPS). After the results, Wall Street remains positive on the stock, and post the results Susquehanna raised its price target while Cowen stuck with its outperform rating.

PLUG stock forecast: Double bottomed at $18, now pivoting around $28

The stock has bottomed out due largely to geopolitical events in Ukraine which had fueled (excuse the pun) the transition to alternative energy sources. PLUG put in a bullish double bottom at $18 and has been trending steadily higher since. Crucially the double bottom was market with a bullish divergence in the RSI to confirm the turnaround. The move on Monday has now broken above the previous consolidation zone from $28 to $30. This zone is now crucial support to maintain current momentum while also having added importance as the 200-day moving average sits at $28.66. Therefore, this is the medium-term pivot. 

PLUG stock chart, daily