February 19, 2009 ndash; Analyst Comments ndash; Think Equityrsquo;s David Woodburn weighed in on Verenium (Nasdaq:VRNM) this morning, rating it at BUY with a $3 price target (stock is trading around $1.02).

Yesterday Verenium announced a 50/50 JV with British Petroleum to develop and commercialize cellulosic ethanol. This is the second phase of the Verenium/BP partnership, and the JV will act as the commercial arm for the distribution of the companiesrsquo; technology being developed. The companies are collectively committing $45 million to the JV, which will build a 36 million gallon-per-year cellulosic ethanol facility in Florida at a total cost of about $250 to $300 million. Production from the plant is slotted to begin in 2012. Woodburn said the announcement of a second agreement with British Petroleum is a strong validation of Vereniumrsquo;s cellulosic ethanol technology and of the cellulosic market in general.

Woodburn anticipates some softness in Vereniumrsquo;s Q4 …