Finance
If you invested $500 in Plug Power stock five years ago, here’s how much you’d have today
Plug-in power supply (NASDAQ: PLUG) Stock prices were a rollercoaster. Over the past five years, shares have sometimes risen more than 2,400%. At other times, stocks have lost 90% of their value.
If you had bought $500 worth of Plug Power stock five years ago and held on to it, how much would you have today?
Plug Power as an investment
Plug current is one hydrogen stock. Demand for hydrogen fuel is currently quite low, but in the coming decades hydrogen fuel could become a staple of the global economy due to rapidly increasing demand for renewable energy.
This potential outcome remains remote, and the market has gone through a tough cycle of boom and bust with Plug Power stock based on fluctuating expectations of where hydrogen fuel demand will end up. For example, in 2020 and 2021, investor interest in renewable energy stocks has risen sharply, buoyed by major government investments, such as $278 billion set aside in the Inflation Reduction Act for new spending on renewable energy projects. Plug Power’s management team rushed to tighten sales guidance, telling the market it expected to generate $1.7 billion in sales in 2024, up from a previous estimate of $1.2 billion.
The target quickly turned out to be overly aggressive. Last year, for example, sales were just $891 million. The technology, meanwhile, faces fierce competition. Financially, the company is struggling to remain solvent. It appears to be relying on government borrowing to survive, such as this week’s announcement that the U.S. Department of Energy is moving forward with a $1.66 billion loan.
How much would a $500 investment be worth today, after this boom and bust cycle? After five years you would only have €732 left. Investing in the S&P500 By comparison, the index would have grown from $500 to about $1,000. Plug Power is a very volatile stock with high expectations. But so far, long-term shareholders are in control.
Should you invest €1,000 in Plug Power now?
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Ryan Vanzo 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 one disclosure policy.
If you invested $500 in Plug Power stock five years ago, here’s how much you’d have today was originally published by The Motley Fool
