Cadiz (NASDAQ:CDZI) Rating Lowered to "Strong Sell" at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Cadiz (NASDAQ:CDZI) from "sell" to "strong sell", joining Zacks' similar cut; analyst coverage is mixed (two Buys, two Sells) with an average rating of "Hold" and an average $10 price target.
• Cadiz reported Q1 EPS of ($0.13) versus a $0.54 consensus (a $0.67 miss), showing deep unprofitability with a negative ROE of 104.61% and a net margin of -209.35%, and analysts forecast -0.47 EPS for the year.
• The stock trades near $4.96 with a $413.8M market cap, high leverage (debt/equity 4.33) and a 1‑year range of $2.35–$6.96, while institutional investors own about 79.75% after recent purchases by HSBC, Invesco and others.

Cadiz (NASDAQ:CDZI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on CDZI. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of Cadiz in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Maxim Group initiated coverage on Cadiz in a report on Monday, February 2nd. They set a "buy" rating and a $10.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Zacks Research cut Cadiz from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cadiz has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $10.00.

Cadiz Price Performance

Shares of CDZI opened at $4.96 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.33. Cadiz has a 1 year low of $2.35 and a 1 year high of $6.96. The stock has a market cap of $413.76 million, a P/E ratio of -10.33 and a beta of 2.08. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $5.07 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $5.37.

Cadiz (NASDAQ:CDZI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported ($0.13) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.67). Cadiz had a negative return on equity of 104.61% and a negative net margin of 209.35%.The company had revenue of $5.08 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.80 million. On average, equities analysts predict that Cadiz will post -0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cadiz

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hsbc Holdings PLC bought a new position in shares of Cadiz during the 4th quarter valued at about $719,000. Flax Pond Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Cadiz during the 4th quarter valued at about $302,000. Alpine Global Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Cadiz during the 4th quarter valued at about $281,000. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Cadiz during the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Cadiz by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 24,673 shares of the company's stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 5,835 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.75% of the company's stock.

About Cadiz

Cadiz, Inc NASDAQ: CDZI is a Southern California–based water resource management company focused on developing and operating groundwater storage, recovery and conveyance projects. The company holds water rights and mineral rights on approximately 34,000 acres in the Mojave Desert and is chiefly known for advancing the Cadiz Water Project, a planned system to capture, store and distribute groundwater to urban and agricultural users in the region.

The company's primary business activity centers on the development of infrastructure that enables sustainable groundwater banking.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.