Codexis (NASDAQ:CDXS) Cut to “Sell” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Codexis (NASDAQ:CDXS) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Saturday morning.

Several other research firms have also commented on CDXS. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Codexis from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Codexis in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Codexis currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $6.50.

Codexis Stock Performance

NASDAQ CDXS opened at $1.59 on Friday. Codexis has a 1 year low of $0.96 and a 1 year high of $3.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 3.06 and a quick ratio of 2.99. The firm has a market cap of $174.12 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.68 and a beta of 2.54. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $2.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $1.98.

Codexis (NASDAQ:CDXS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.13) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.14) by $0.01. Codexis had a negative net margin of 39.55% and a negative return on equity of 74.36%. The company had revenue of $14.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.82 million. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Codexis will post -0.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Codexis

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Opaleye Management Inc. boosted its stake in Codexis by 32.6% in the second quarter. Opaleye Management Inc. now owns 12,600,000 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $30,744,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100,000 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Codexis during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $16,463,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Codexis by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,669,815 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $11,394,000 after purchasing an additional 80,602 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Codexis by 3,376.5% in the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,067,559 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $9,925,000 after purchasing an additional 3,950,557 shares during the period. Finally, Nantahala Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Codexis by 42.4% in the 2nd quarter. Nantahala Capital Management LLC now owns 4,030,619 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $9,835,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.54% of the company’s stock.

About Codexis

Codexis, Inc, headquartered in Redwood City, California, is a leading protein engineering company focused on the development of innovative enzyme solutions for pharmaceutical, food and beverage, and specialty chemical applications. The company’s proprietary directed evolution platform, CodeEvolver®, enables the rapid identification and optimization of enzymes with enhanced activity, selectivity and stability. By leveraging this technology, Codexis provides custom biocatalysts designed to improve manufacturing efficiency and reduce environmental impact.

Since its founding in 2002, Codexis has expanded its capabilities from early-stage research to commercial-scale production.