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Ten years ago green energy companies were at the fringe of the investment community, with nary a single green play making major headway. That’s changing in a big way, with green companies like Solar City (SCTY) surging over the past year.
Joining them as of late is hydrogen cell manufacturer Plug Power (PLUG) .Since first announcing profitability two quarters ago the company has increased in value nearly four times, and as orders continue to pour in their run up has continued largely unabated.
Like their ideological cousin (and fellow Department of Energy loan recipient) Tesla Motors (TSLA) Plug Power spiked this week on positive developments in the alternative energy battery sector. While Plug Power had for several years strictly supplied to power to heavy machinery like forklifts, they have branched out into small automobiles, singing a major deal with FedEx (FDX) to supply a sizable fleet of FedEx’ trucks with fuel cells.
Plug Power’s latest pop comes on the heels of a major deal with Wal-Mart (WMT) for power fork lifts and other material handling equipment. While the exact size of the deal is not known, Cowen & Co analyst Robert Stone pegs it at approaching $50 million. This Wal-Mart deal had been hinted at two weeks prior, though investors did not expect the mystery “major retailer” to be the world’s largest, nor did they expect Wal-Mart's order to be so substantial.
With all the positive developments, Stone was bullish on Plug Power, saying that "There is plenty of potential in just the existing customer base for more repeat orders. We expect all this activity is going to sell to new customers as well."
On the news Plug Power spiked in early action, notching a 19 percent gain prior to open before correcting at the beginning of the trading day. The company ended the day’s session with a 12.03 percent uptick, settling in at $4.36 a share.