What happened
Shares of Plug Power (PLUG 1.83%) were falling consistently this year until last month, when they rebounded and gained 24.9%, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The hydrogen stock is maintaining its momentum this month. What triggered the stock's bottoming and reversal in June?
Plug Power is projecting exponential growth ahead, and the prospect fueled buying activity in the stock, especially after its steep fall during the first five months of 2023.
So what
Plug Power hosted its much-awaited Investor Day in mid-June, but anticipation had shot up ahead of the event after the company welcomed visitors to its gigafactory in Rochester, New York. It opened in 2021 and is New York's first and largest fuel cell and electrolyzer plant. CEO Andy Marsh stated that the ramp-up of the gigafactory supports Plug Power's annual revenue goals of $1.4 billion in 2023 and $20 billion by 2030.
Those numbers aren't anything new, as Plug Power had already outlined these targets in the previous quarters. However, many believed it was an ambitious goal, so a reaffirmation from management on Investor Day refueled investors' interest in Plug Power stock.
NASDAQ: PLUG
Key Data Points
Plug Power's sales targets are huge, to say the least, given that it generated only $701 million in revenue in 2022. Put another way, Plug Power expects revenue to double this year and grow by a whopping 30 times between 2022 and 2030. By 2030, the company also expects to generate a gross margin of 35% and an operating margin of 20% on $20 billion in sales. In fact, it believes it can hit a gross margin of 25% as early as next year.
Several analysts have turned bullish on Plug Power since its latest Investor Day, including analysts from Citi, who gave Plug Power stock a buy rating with a price target of $13 a share. Citi believes the company has the potential to capture opportunities through the green hydrogen value chain in the long term.
Now what
Plug Power has been around for more than two decades now. Yet, despite being a frontrunner in green hydrogen and spending billions of dollars on factories, expansions, and acquisitions in recent years, the company has made no money. Not surprisingly, management's confidence in Plug Power's ability to achieve such a high gross margin in the near future, driven primarily by the ongoing ramp-up of its gigafactory, gave investors a good reason to buy the stock in June after it lost 48% value in just the six months through May.
