Plug Power Inc. (NASDAQ:PLUG) shares declined 3.4% to $2.55 on Thursday, slipping below the 200-day moving average after the company's announcement of a 5 MW electrolyzer deployment in Denmark failed to ease investor worries about its liquidity. The stock opened at $2.68 and hit a low of $2.54, with volume reaching 33.7 million shares by early afternoon.
The broader market also saw declines, with the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:SPY) down 0.4% to $743.08, the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) falling 1.8% to $711.89, and the iShares Russell 2000 ETF (NYSEARCA:IWM) dropping 0.9% to $296.73. Peer fuel-cell companies fared worse: Bloom Energy Corp. (NYSE:BE) lost 8.5% to $264.98, and FuelCell Energy Inc. (NASDAQ:FCEL) plunged 14.2% to $27.35.
Plug Power had already fallen below its 20- and 50-day moving averages earlier in the week. Benzinga pegged the 200-day moving average at approximately $2.62 on Wednesday, and Thursday’s close of $2.55 pushed the stock beneath that key technical level.
The company’s June 24 announcement of the successful installation, testing, and handover of a 5 MW GenEco PEM electrolyzer at European Energy’s Måde Power-to-X site in Esbjerg, Denmark, was overshadowed by funding concerns. The site is expected to produce about 550 metric tons of green hydrogen annually when fully operational. CEO José Luis Crespo described the milestone as a shift “from one-off deployments to repeatable execution.” Rene Alcaraz Frederiksen of European Energy confirmed the site had begun “producing certified renewable hydrogen.”
However, scale remains a significant challenge. The Måde facility produces roughly 1.5 tons of hydrogen per day, compared to Plug Power’s combined daily capacity of about 40 tons from its liquid hydrogen plants in Georgia, Tennessee, and Louisiana. This means the Danish project represents less than 4% of Plug’s total daily output.
Far more critical to Plug’s near-term financial health is the Project Gateway sale. In February, the company agreed to sell its stake in the New York Project Gateway site to Stream Data Centers for at least $132.5 million, potentially reaching $142 million depending on closing conditions. The agreement set June 30 as the long-stop closing date. Crespo noted the sale would enhance Plug’s “liquidity” and “financial flexibility.”
Plug Power ended the first quarter with $802 million in total cash, of which $223 million was unrestricted and $579 million restricted. Revenue rose 22% year-over-year to $163.5 million, while gross margin improved to negative 13% from negative 55% a year earlier. Adjusted EPS came in at a loss of 8 cents, compared to a loss of 17 cents in the prior-year period. Crespo said these results put the company on track for a “positive EBITDAS target in Q4 2026.”
However, dilution remains a drag. The weighted average common shares outstanding jumped 47% year-over-year to 1.39 billion in Q1, underscoring the importance of raising cash without issuing new equity. On June 2, Plug closed the sale of a federal investment tax credit tied to its St. Gabriel, Louisiana hydrogen liquefaction plant for approximately $39.2 million. CFO Paul Middleton called the transaction part of a “disciplined financial strategy.”
