Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) stock continues to fly high, gaining 9% on Wednesday to $4.36. The stock is up more than 1200% in the last 12 months as the company signed deals with Central Grocers, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) and FedEx Corporation (NYSE:FDX). Plug Power has registered $80 million of bookings this year so far, almost double the total bookings in 2013. With rising fortunes comes higher compensation, at least for Plug Power CEO Andy Marsh.
Plug Power fails on C.H.A.O.S. Meter
In proxy voting materials sent to shareholders, Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) revealed that the company board has increased the compensation of top executives in 2013. CEO Andy Marsh received a total of $752,683 last year, up 65% from $458,000 in 2012. However, it’s still lower than $1.25 million that Marsh received in total compensation in 2011. In 2013, he received $450,000 in the form of salary, $135,667 in stock awards, $58,000 in stock options and another $93,750 in bonus for the year. Another $15,266 was described as other types of compensation.
While Andy Marsh is laughing all the way to bank, Wall Street Daily director of resources Karim Rahemtulla says that Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) is “the purest form of wild, speculative frenzy with little more than a hope and a prayer for success.” Last month, Wall Street Daily technology analyst Marty Biancuzzo put Plug Power through his C.H.A.O.S. Meter, and the company failed miserably. Marty says the Latham, New York-based company is a highly volatile stock with shaky fundamentals and a speculative technology that has failed in the past. And that’s the reason Citron Research calls Plug Power a penny stock.
Cowen remains bullish on Plug Power
However, many other analysts are bullish on the stock. On May 15, Cowen & Co. analyst Robert Stone said in a research note that he has upgraded the stock to Outperform. Stone visited Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG)’s factory where is saw a high level of activity. The $80 million in bookings suggest that revenues will be strong in the current quarter, and the company may turn profitable by the end of 2014. In April, the company raised $116 million in a secondary offering. Stone says it will help Plug Power expand its business.
Plug Power Inc (NASDAQ:PLUG) shares fell 1.61% to $4.29 in pre-market trading Thursday.
