Insider Buying: Cadiz (NASDAQ:CDZI) Director Acquires 110,865 Shares of Stock

Cadiz, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDZI) Director David Mark O’hara purchased 110,865 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $4.58 per share, with a total value of $507,761.70. Following the purchase, the director owned 117,841 shares in the company, valued at approximately $539,711.78. This trade represents a 1,589.23% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Cadiz Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of Cadiz stock traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $4.38. The stock had a trading volume of 387,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 786,116. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $4.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.26. Cadiz, Inc. has a 12-month low of $2.75 and a 12-month high of $6.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 7.32. The firm has a market cap of $368.31 million, a P/E ratio of -9.52 and a beta of 1.79.

Cadiz (NASDAQ:CDZI) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 14th. The company reported ($0.12) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by ($0.02). Cadiz had a negative return on equity of 129.97% and a negative net margin of 221.43%.The business had revenue of $1.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.48 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Cadiz, Inc. will post -0.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cadiz

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CDZI. AQR Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cadiz in the first quarter valued at $79,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Cadiz by 19.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,262,379 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,775,000 after purchasing an additional 208,830 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Cadiz by 12.9% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 26,889 shares of the company’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 3,074 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in shares of Cadiz by 147.0% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 91,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 54,725 shares in the last quarter. Finally, XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Cadiz during the second quarter worth about $144,000. 79.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CDZI. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Cadiz in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Cadiz from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Cadiz from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Maxim Group began coverage on shares of Cadiz in a report on Monday, February 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $10.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $10.00.

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.