May 13, 2009 ndash; Analyst Comments ndash; ThinkEquityrsquo;s David Woodburn commented on Verenium (Nasdaq:VRNM) this morning, rating the stock at BUY with a price target of $3 (the stock closed at $0.61 yesterday). He cited improving enzyme profitability. Verenium reported Q1 financial results on Monday. Financial Results Verenium reported Q1 revenues of $14.4 million, compared with $15.2 million for the same period last year and a net loss of $0.3 million, compared with a $23.1 million net loss last year. Woodburnrsquo;s Takeaways middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Improved profitability in Specialty Enzyme business middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; British Petroleumrsquo;s upfront cash contributions serve as validation of Vereniumrsquo;s technology and commercial prospects middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; New government incentives should facilitates scale-up to commercial levels middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Product gross margin of 45.5% middot;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp; Reconfigured revenue and gross margin forecasts to account for Danisco agreement as well as boosts to production utilization and yield. FY09 revenue forecast declines to $65Mnbsp; from $90M but product GM is increased to ...

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 …