Plug Power's Two-Day Earnings Release

Plug Power PLUG announced first quarter earnings Wednesday after pre-releasing guidance at a Wedbush conference on Tuesday.

Despite share prices rising almost 17 times over the course of the year, revenue dropped 13.5 percent to $5.6 million year-over-year. Although this figure beat the official estimate, optimistic retail traders were looking for stronger sales and are not liking the figure.

Plug Power lost $0.06 per share, much better than the same period last year when the company lost $0.18 per share. However, investors were looking for a $0.05 drop.

Related: Plug Power and FuelCell Surge Higher On Announcements From Both Companies

Although earnings were below what analysts wanted, compared to a year ago, Plug Power has significantly strengthened its balance sheet. The current ratio for the first quarter is 7.18, up from 1.88. Even more impressive, cash increased from $5 million to $63.2 million. This cash figure is for the quarter ended March 31; a note in the press release says that as of May 14, the company has $174 million cash.

GenKey, the company's technology that has been making headlines this quarter, had deals close during the quarter with Kroger, Walmart, Volkswagen and Central Grocers.

In a presentation at a Wedbush conference Tuesday morning, Plug Power's COO Keith Schmid stated that the company still expects to ship over 3,000 units this year with sales of $70 million. This announcement reduced a significant amount of risk from the stock, allowing investors to add to their positions on Tuesday, per trader reaction.

CEO Andy Marsh commented, “Investments in the sales team, hydrogen generation, hydrogen distribution, geographic expansion and stack technologies are just some of the steps being taken by Plug Power today to build our future. We are targeting over $70 M in revenue for 2014, but these steps are expected to accelerate growth in the upcoming years."

As guidance and earnings were released over a two-day period, it makes sense to look at trader reaction over both days. Shares spiked higher Tuesday and were shot down Wednesday before rebounding. Shares are currently down to $3.79, a 7.3 percent drop from Tuesday’s close.