Plug Power (PLUG) stock is climbing 8% after a federal judge extended the scope of a temporary restraining order against the Trump administration's plan to freeze grants and loans. In the wake of the administration's efforts, there have been some doubts on the Street about whether PLUG will receive a $1.66 billion loan guarantee from the federal government that it had been awarded under the Biden administration.

Additionally, PLUG's CEO indicated in an article published today that he expects the company to obtain the loan guarantee.

A wide-angle view of a team of workers wearing PPE in a large hydrogen plant.

Judge Extends a Pause on the Trump Administration's Funding Freeze 

A federal judge yesterday blocked the administration "from implementing, giving effect to, or reinstating under a different name the" original freeze issued last month. The administration wants to implement the freeze in order to facilitate the elimination of funding that is not in alignment with the President's views.

The judge wrote that the administration had "offered no rational explanation for why they needed to freeze all federal financial assistance."

Plug's CEO Anticipates Building a New Plant in Texas

In an article in the publication Fast Company dated today, PLUG CEO Andy Marsh was quoted as saying that he anticipates being able to build a new hydrogen plant in Texas. The firm has said that it would utilize the $1.666 billion loan guarantee in order to facilitate the launching of the facility.

The CEO also suggested that the Trump administration is not opposed to hydrogen.

Stating that "Hydrogen is liked by oil and gas people.” Marsh asserted "I don’t think hydrogen is as controversial as some other technology."

He added, "Maybe if I was building a wind plant or EV charging stations, I’d be more concerned."

While we acknowledge the potential of PLUG, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than PLUG but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

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Disclosure: The author owns shares of PLUG but has no plans to trade them in the next 48 hours. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.