The company delayed revenue recognition of 419 GenDrive units shipped in the March quarter
Plug Power shares fell close to 4% when the company reported its fiscal quarter results on Monday. Investors were disappointed by its revenue growth, which fell short of Wall Street estimates. Plug Power posted Q1 revenue of $9.69 million, much less than analysts’ projection of $18.13 million. Its net loss of 7 cents a share was in line with the Wall Street expectations.
Cowen remains bullish on the stock
The fuel cell maker’s revenue came in below expectations mainly because of “delayed revenue recognition of 419 GenDrive units” shipped in the March quarter, says Cowen & Co analyst Jeffery Osborne. Plug Power recognized revenue on only 265 GenDrive units in Q1. Cowen reaffirmed its Outperform rating on the stock with $3.50 price target, reflecting close to 33% upside.
The research firm said that Plug Power delayed the revenue recognition because of slower-than-expected infrastructure deployed at customers’ sites. The Latham, New York-based company told investors that this revenue will be recognized in the current quarter. Plug Power reiterated its full-year revenue guidance of $100 million. The company added that about 60% to 65% of its full-year revenue will come in the second half of the year.
Plug Power shipped 175 GenDrive units to Home Depot
Plug Power said 175 of the 419 GenDrive units were shipped to a new customer. Jeffrey Osborne believes this new customer could be Home Depot. The company also shipped GenDrive to several large customers including Wal-Mart and Kroger during the quarter. Plug Power said it completed four additional sites for Wal-Mart during the March quarter, taking the total to ten sites.
The fuel cell maker will hold a six-city investor roadshow from May 19 to June 4. Plug Power senior executives including CEO Andy Marsh will travel to six cities to interact with investors and discuss everything from manufacturing to marketing to ‘influential policy.’ The roadshow will cover Latham, New York City, San Francisco, Dallas, Chicago and Washington D.C. Plug Power will hold its annual shareholder meeting in New York on May 21st in the second leg of the roadshow.
Plug Power shares inched up 0.38% to $2.63 at 1:05 PM EDT on Thursday.
