Plug Power (NASDAQ:PLUG) is up 10% today, although shares are still down by by over 60% so far this year. In early November, PLUG stock plunged lower by 40% after reporting its third-quarter earnings and issuing a going concern warning.
In the company’s Q3 shareholder letter, the first statement Plug provided was that it was facing “unprecedented supply challenges in the hydrogen network in North America” due to force majeure events, which resulted in volume constraints. These constraints have directly affected the deployment of Plug’s projects and service margins. A force majeure event is defined as an unpredictable and unstoppable event, such as weather occurrences or government policies.
For the quarter, the hydrogen clean energy company reported revenue of $199 million and a net loss per share of 47 cents, equating to a net loss of $283.47 million. This fell short of the analyst estimate for revenue of $220 million and a loss per share of 31 cents.
On top of that, the company warned that it would need to raise funding in order to support its business operations. It provided options such as a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Fortescue (OTCMKTS:FSUGY), in which Fortescue would receive a 40% stake in Plug’s Texas hydrogen plant, as well as a loan through the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
5 Investors Betting Big on PLUG Stock
Tracking institutional ownership is important, as these large investors provide liquidity and support for stocks. During Q3, 483 13F filers disclosed a stake in PLUG stock, a decline of 32 filers from the previous quarter. Total shares owned by these filers remained steady at 301.39 million compared to 301.04 million during Q2. Among these filers, none own Plug in their top 10 positions.
Hedge funds, which are included in 13F data, were more bearish on the company. While 87 funds owned shares compared to 86 during Q2, total shares owned dropped by 9.35% to 34.97 million from 38.58 million.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at Plug’s top five largest shareholders:
- Grove Energy Capital: 54.96 million shares. Grove’s stake is accurate as of Q1 2022.
- Vanguard: 53.70 million shares. Vanguard sold 658,776 shares during Q3 2023.
- BlackRock (NYSE:BLK): 45.71 million shares. BlackRock sold 3.16 million shares during Q3.
- Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS): 22.28 million shares. Morgan Stanley acquired 10.37 million shares during Q3.
- BNP Paribas (OTCMKTS:BNPQY): 21.82 million shares. BNP sold 349,330 shares during Q3.
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.
