NEW YORK, May 20, 2026, 11:05 (EDT)
- Plug Power shares gained 1.2% to $3.35 in regular Nasdaq trading. The stock opened at $3.38.
- Plug Power has hit final investment decision for a 30-megawatt green hydrogen project in the UK, shifting it from awarded to execution phase.
- The action comes after shares fell for four straight days, capped by Tuesday’s 4.1% slide that left the stock trading far under its 52-week high.
Plug Power Inc. shares were up late Wednesday morning. The move followed a milestone for its UK hydrogen project and firmer U.S. equities.
The Nasdaq-listed stock was last at $3.35, up 4 cents since Tuesday. The shares moved between $3.225 and $3.39. About 17.9 million shares changed hands.
Plug shares were already struggling, falling 4.06% to $3.31 on Tuesday, down for the fourth session in a row. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 0.84% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.65% Tuesday as well.
Plug said it has hit final investment decision for the 30 MW Barrow Green Hydrogen project at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. With FID, investors start putting capital in and the project goes into execution. Plug will deliver six 5 MW GenEco PEM electrolyzers to the site, which use electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen.
Green Hydrogen Energy Company, a joint venture between Schroders Greencoat and Carlton Power, is working on the project. Plug said it should deliver about 100 gigawatt-hours of green hydrogen each year to Kimberly-Clark’s local plant, cutting natural gas use at the site by as much as half.
Plug’s “largest UK project” is moving “from award into execution,” Chief Executive Jose Luis Crespo said. Schroders Greencoat’s Kristian Høeg Madsen, co-head of hydrogen investments, said hydrogen will be “central to the next phase” of the energy transition. Plug Power
Plug got another win in electrolyzers as revenue climbed 22% to $163.5 million in the first quarter. The company posted a negative 13% GAAP gross margin, narrowing from negative 55% last year. Adjusted EPS came in at negative 8 cents.
Liquidity remains a problem. Plug closed the quarter with more than $802 million in cash, of which $223 million was unrestricted. The company said it looks for about $275 million from asset sales tied to hydrogen projects, with the first deal, about $142 million, slated to close in June.
BMO Capital’s Ameet Thakkar bumped his price target on the stock to $1.20 from $1, sticking with an Underperform rating. “Gross margins still remain well negative,” Thakkar said. Analysts are still divided on whether the recent improvement is enough. TipRanks
Peer names were active too. Ballard Power Systems climbed roughly 6.7%. Bloom Energy added 7.0%. Air Products and Chemicals, which is bigger and has hydrogen in its business, fell about 1.2%.
Stocks got a boost from the broader market. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq started the session up, tracking gains in chip stocks before Nvidia earnings. SPDR S&P 500 ETF showed a recent climb of around 0.6%.
The risks are clear. Barrow isn’t built yet, so Plug needs to stick to plan, finish construction, and connect with customers. It will need asset sales, unlock restricted cash, and cut costs to stay on track. Any delays, soft hydrogen prices or a new capital raise could shift focus fast back to cash burn, not project wins.
Plug Power’s move on Wednesday is more a test than a clear breakout. The company put out new project updates and margins have improved lately, but investors haven’t forgotten its track record of losses or the fact the stock is still trading under its 52-week high of $4.58 from October.
