When Plug Power (PLUG -11.52%) stock plunged 64% in 2023, many believed it couldn’t go any lower. Few saw what was coming: Shares of the hydrogen fuel cell company have now lost another 46% in value in 2024 so far, thanks to a massive drop in just two days. Plug Power stock slumped by double-digits yesterday, and was down another 14.6% today as of 10:50 a.m. ET.
Fear and panic have gripped the market as Plug Power prepares to provide an “annual business update” on Jan. 23. Its last quarterly earnings release, after all, was nothing short of a disaster as it included a dire warning for investors. And as if the fear of what Plug Power could announce next week wasn’t enough, the company has just announced another stock sale.
The question is, what should investors in Plug Power do now?
Plug Power’s problem is too big to ignore
For a company that’s yet to turn a profit, its top-line growth mostly decides whether the stock is worth investing in or not. Plug Power’s revenue was growing steadily quarter after quarter until things soured up recently. In its last quarter, Plug Power reported only 5% year-over-year growth in revenue. What shocked the market, though, was its gross margin of negative 69%.
The biggest reason the market dumped Plug Power stock, though, was management’s warning: It stated that the company didn’t have enough cash and equity securities to fund its operations for the next 12 months.
In short, Plug Power could well be on the brink of collapsing and may not even survive if it cannot raise more capital to run its operations and growth projects.
That explains the rationale behind the company’s latest stock sale. On Jan. 17, Plug Power announced that it may sell shares of the company worth $1 billion over the next 18 months.
Will $1 billion over the next year and a half be enough for Plug Power? I guess not, as the company is deep in losses — as of Sept. 30, it had accumulated a deficit of $3.8 billion and burned cash rapidly.
Buy, sell, or hold Plug Power stock?
Without mincing words, I’d say Plug Power stock is one you’d want to avoid now. That’s because even if management lays out a roadmap for Plug Power’s revival next week, you’d want to wait until the company takes concrete steps to turn its fortunes around and the same starts reflecting in its numbers. Until then, all of Plug Power’s ambitious plans to build factories, expand capacity significantly, and generate $20 billion in revenue by 2030 with a hefty gross margin of 35% will only look good on paper.
Neha Chamaria has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
