Plug Power Inc (PLUG)

[canadajim]

Kudos on a well written post

Andy may seem (to some of us) like the kind of guy we have a beer with on a porch, but he is also the CEO of a company with a $500M market cap.

As a CEO he has a duty to the shareholders to make sure that the company is not only well managed, but that it is also perceived to be well managed.

At this point in time it is evident that during Andy's tenure there have been many areas of both success (company focus, client acquisition and retention, revenue growth) and failure (investor relations, basic financial management, guidance, management accountablilty). For some Andy has done a great job and deserves our support, for others there are no shortage of crosses to which he should be nailed, but for everyone who is an investor (and wishes to be a successful one) we have to be aware of the whole truth and ignore neither the good nor the bad.

It is clear to me that while there could be a long and lively debate about whether Plug is being well managed, in my mind there is absolutely no debate about whether the market perceives the company to be well managed.

That is one of the principle reasons why Plug is the target of shareholder lawsuits and short sellers, and why the share price of Plug languishes where it does. Lately it seems that all a short seller has to do is wait for the next press release, conference call, or reporting deadline and they will be richly rewarded.