Orin
CDZINasdaq·Regulated Water

Cadiz Inc. CDZI

Market cap $321.6MP/E no earnings to divide byGross margin 27.1%
$3.82
+0.13 (+3.52%)Wed close 16:00 ET
52-wk $2.87 – $6.96
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Orin's take
0.62conviction · moderate
Refreshed 30 Aug · take v5. A new filing or a print queues the next refresh.

Cadiz remains a speculative water-infrastructure development story where genuine regulatory milestones have not yet translated into financial viability. The BLM's July 2026 approval of the Northern Pipeline right-of-way and subsequent guaranteed-maximum-price construction contracts are meaningful de-risking events, and 2025 revenue grew 70% to $16.3M with gross margin improving to 31.6% — but the company posted a Q2 2026 loss of $0.15 per share versus a $0.10 consensus estimate, net income was -$34.1M in 2025, FCF was -$26.5M, and total debt climbed to $104.2M against just $23.3M of equity.

At 28.3x sales versus a peer median of 4.37x, the stock prices in substantial future success that has not materialized in cash flows, and consistent insider buying (46 acquisitions, $8.0M net over 24 months) is encouraging but insufficient to offset the capital-intensive execution path ahead.

What could go wrong

  • Capital requirements. FCF was -$26.5M in 2025 with total debt at $104.2M against $23.3M equity; the Northern Pipeline construction will require significant additional financing that could dilute equity holders.
  • Valuation stretched. P/S of 28.3x is 548% above the peer median of 4.37x, pricing in execution success that has not yet appeared in cash flows or earnings.
  • Earnings deterioration. Q2 2026 loss of $0.15 per share widened from a $0.11 loss a year ago and missed the $0.10 consensus, signaling cost growth may be outpacing revenue gains.
  • Regulatory and project execution. While BLM ROW approval was secured, pipeline conversion construction, water-supply agreements, and green hydrogen MOUs remain early-stage with uncertain timelines and returns.

What would change my mind

Pipeline revenue commencement. Northern Pipeline begins commercial water conveyance and generates incremental revenue, narrowing operating losses toward breakevenbullish
Dilutive capital raise. Company issues equity or convertible debt to fund construction beyond existing resources, increasing share count or debt load materiallybearish
Margin and cash flow inflection. Quarterly gross margin sustains above 35% and operating cash flow burn narrows toward zero, indicating the revenue scale-up is reaching operating leveragebullish
200-day MA reclaim or breakdown. Stock reclaims the 200-day moving average of $4.76 on volume, or breaks below the 50-day MA of $3.62 with sustained weaknessbullish

Where this comes from: FMP annual fundamentals FY2025 + derived_metrics · FMP annual fundamentals FY2025 · Zacks news article 2026-08-13 · PRNewsWire article 2026-07-10. Orin's read on CDZI; not advice.

Twelve months actual closes to 2026-09-23 · actual filings

Sept 25Nov 25Jan 26Mar 26May 26Jul 26

50-day average 200-day average · volume below

Largest holders · 13F Q2 2026

Money flow
FilerPositionOf fund
Whitefort Capital Management$16.7M4.1% of fund
Bank Of America /De/$14.7M0.0% of fund
Vanguard Capital Management$10.3M0.0% of fund
Geode Capital Management$6.2M0.0% of fund
State Street$5.9M0.0% of fund
Morgan Stanley$4.2M0.0% of fund

36 filers · quarter ended Q2 2026 · positions, not flows

Insiders, last 24 months: 55 Form 4 filings, net $8.0M. Of the 50 on hand, 1 was an open-market purchase and 1 a sale— the rest are grants, option exercises and tax withholding.

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Where it trades

· Utilities
MetricNowOwn medianSector
P/S27.12×
P/B68.9×

What Wall Street published

2 firms · 2026-09-23
Consensus target

$10

$10$10 · +162% against today's price

How they rate it
  • 2 buy or overweight
  • 0 hold
  • 0 underweight or sell

The analysts’ consensus and their own ratings, not Orin’s. A target is a twelve-month opinion published by the firm that wrote it.

Against the companies it is compared to

median P/E 18.6× of 4 peers
CompanyMarket capP/EEV/EBITDAGrossNetROE
CDZICadiz Inc.$321M27.1%-310.9%-207%
GNEGenie Energy Ltd.$418M14.3×6.7×25.3%4.9%10%
GWRSGlobal Water Resources, Inc.$232M73.3×13.3×64.8%5.2%4%
NRGVEnergy Vault Holdings, Inc.$803M21.5%-48.6%-237%
PCYOPure Cycle Corporation$265M18.0×13.6×57.8%43.7%10%
YORWThe York Water Company$501M19.2×18.7×-282.9%401.0%9%

The median is of the 4 peers listed above and nothing else — check it against the column. The peer set is the vendor’s, so a company can appear here that a person would not have chosen.

What it has traded at

P/E by fiscal year

What its sector has traded at

Utilities
FY14 14.0×FY26 27.4×

Two scales, drawn separately on purpose: a sector median and one company’s multiple are not the same number and putting them on one axis invites a comparison neither series supports.

Every estimate on one scale

price $3.82
52-week range$3 – $7
Analyst targets$10 – $10

The vertical rule is the current price. Ranges and point estimates are the backend’s, published as they were calculated; an arrow means the estimate sits beyond this scale, and its number is on the right.