Update (4:20 p.m.): Updated with one-year high price information.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Plug Power (PLUG) - Get Report surged to a one-year high of $5.83 on Monday after Cowen & Co. noted that the fuel cell manufacturer's deal with Wal-Mart (WMT) - Get Report could be the first of many such partnerships.

The firm stated that the deal with Wal-Mart, in which Plug Power will roll out more than 1,700 hydrogen fuel cell solutions to power electric lift truck fleets at six of Wal-Mart's North American distribution centers, could lead to deals with other customers, including Coca-Cola (KO) - Get Report, Procter & Gamble (PG) - Get Report, Sysco (SYY) - Get Report, Kroger (KR) - Get Report and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG.

"The six-site Wal-Mart order is also a framework contract for future sites," the firm wrote in a research note on Monday. "We expect more deals with customers." Cowen also increased its target price to $5.50 from $5.

Plug Power also announced on Monday that it would reports its fourth-quarter and full-year earnings results on Thursday, March 13.

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TheStreet Ratings team rates PLUG POWER INC as a "sell" with a ratings score of D-. TheStreet Ratings Team has this to say about their recommendation:

"We rate PLUG POWER INC (PLUG) a SELL. This is driven by multiple weaknesses, which we believe should have a greater impact than any strengths, and could make it more difficult for investors to achieve positive results compared to most of the stocks we cover. The company's weaknesses can be seen in multiple areas, such as its deteriorating net income and disappointing return on equity."

Highlights from the analysis by TheStreet Ratings Team goes as follows:

The company, on the basis of change in net income from the same quarter one year ago, has significantly underperformed when compared to that of the S&P 500 and the Electrical Equipment industry. The net income has significantly decreased by 54.0% when compared to the same quarter one year ago, falling from -$10.33 million to -$15.90 million.

Return on equity has greatly decreased when compared to its ROE from the same quarter one year prior. This is a signal of major weakness within the corporation. Compared to other companies in the Electrical Equipment industry and the overall market, PLUG POWER INC's return on equity significantly trails that of both the industry average and the S&P 500.

PLUG, with its decline in revenue, slightly underperformed the industry average of 5.7%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues slightly dropped by 3.1%. The declining revenue has not hurt the company's bottom line, with increasing earnings per share.

PLUG's debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85 is somewhat low overall, but it is high when compared to the industry average, implying that the management of the debt levels should be evaluated further. Regardless of the somewhat mixed results with the debt-to-equity ratio, the company's quick ratio of 1.21 is sturdy.

This stock has increased by 3251.22% over the past year, outperforming the rise in the S&P 500 Index during the same period. Regarding the future course of this stock, we feel that the risks involved in investing in PLUG do not compensate for any future upside potential, despite the fact that it has seen nice gains over the past 12 months.

You can view the full analysis from the report here: PLUG Ratings Report

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