Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) shares have been ping ponging all over the place for some time, and today they’re up again. The big debate on Wall Street is whether we’re seeing a repeat of the technology bust which happened in 2000. Investors have been betting that fuel cells are the future of clean energy—much like they’re betting that Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) is the future of clean transportation.
Plug Power shares remain volatile
Percentagewise, shares of Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) have been all over the map, bouncing from nearly $12 a share all the way down to around $5 a share. Recently the company’s CEO made some comments about a new deal they had made, which sent shares skyrocketing. The next day, however, he said that investors had misinterpreted the comments.
Benzinga noted that after the CEO’s initial comments, Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) shares climbed to $8.48 a share and that this price level is of technical significance. It’s interesting that $8.48 is the exact price Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) hit on March 13 after finally rallying in the wake of the damaging short thesis from Citron Research, which sent shares diving down to $5.33 a share. In addition, $8.38 a share is a 50% rebound from its March 11 high of $11.72 a share compared to the low of $5.33 a share in March 21.
How technical traders look at Plug Power
As a result, the author believes that technical traders will be focusing on the $8.48 a share price to either cover their shorts or to get back into the stock after it shows signs of upward momentum. The article suggests that bears may be starting to get a bit worried right now though because bulls who missed out on the first rally could be looking to build up a long position. The $7 a share level, which is where Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) has been trading at recently, is of technical importance as well because while the shorts are in control, the balance isn’t entirely leaning in their direction.
The writer predicts that if Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) goes above $8.48 a share, short sellers could start covering, sparking a rally which could take the company “back to being a double-digit stock.”
Plug Power part of a bubble?
Of course where companies like Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) have stock prices which are performing well while their fundamentals are weak, there’s talk of a bubble. Some have suggested that the buzz surrounding fuel cell stocks like Plug Power is merely a repeat of the bubble we saw about 14 years ago.
However, the CEO of Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) supplier Ballard Power Systems Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:BLDP) says this isn’t a repeat of the 2000 bubble. Regulatory filings indicate that Plug Power made up 11% of Ballard’s 2013 revenue. According to the Business News Network though, some analysts disagree with Ballard CEO John Sheridan.
“I remember the big fanfare of it, the cycle it went through and the idea that the world would be taken over by fuel cells,” Greg Eckel, at Morgan Meighen & Associates in Toronto told BNN. “It’s 14 years later and we’re seeing another go at it.”
And he isn’t the only one. Short interest in Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) has been rising steadily for months, according to NASDAQ data. As of the middle of March, interest had risen to nearly 23 million shares, although the number of days to cover was still only one.
