The Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEMKT:XLE) is up by about 7% year-to-date, although Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) stock is trailing that return by a wide margin with its loss of 29%.
However, PLUG stock has been up over 15% since it reported its first-quarter earnings on May 9. On March 14, the green hydrogen company announced that it had received a $1.66 billion conditional commitment loan guarantee from the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office.
During the quarter, Plug’s revenue fell by a significant 42.8% to $120.3 million. On top of that, the company remains unprofitable despite being around since 1997. Its net loss was $295.77 million compared to a loss of $206.56 million a year ago. Meanwhile, PLUG stock outstanding increased to 641.25 million from 589.20 million, meaning that shareholder dilution went up.
At the same time, CEO Andy remains upbeat, noting that “Plug is set to retain its leadership role in advancing the hydrogen economy, which is anticipated to experience swift expansion and widespread adoption globally in the future decades.”
His comment echoes the sentiment of previous earnings reports, despite PLUG only returning about 28% during the past five years compared to XLE’s return of 54%.
The 5 Biggest Buyers of PLUG Stock in Q1
Tracking institutional ownership is important, as these large investors provide liquidity and support for stocks. As of Q1, 13F filers owned a total of 270.76 million shares of PLUG, which fell by 8.83% compared to the previous quarter. Hedge funds, a subset of institutional investors, were more optimistic and increased their 13F ownership by 35.8% to 36.04 million shares.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at Plug’s top buyers during Q1:
- Citadel picked up 3.80 million shares, bringing its stake to 3.81 million shares.
- Coatue Management bought 3.43 million shares after previously owning zero shares.
- Swedbank (OTCMKTS:SWDBY) bought 3.10 million shares after previously owning zero shares.
- UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) bought 2.69 million shares, bringing its stake to 3.37 million shares.
- D.E Shaw & Company acquired 2.04 million shares, bringing its stake to 2.58 million shares.
On the date of publication, Eddie Pan did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
