Agrios, an agricultural technology, services, and property management company, provides property and equipment on a lease basis, along with agronomy services, drawing on its proprietary technology to enhance the crop yields and quality of cannabis growers.
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I’m Megan Edwards for Investmentpitch Media
Today’s buy recommendation comes from Fundamental Research Corp.
Analyst Sid Rajeev gives Agrios Global Holdings a buy rating and a fair value estimate of $0.65 per share, a premium of 62.5% to the $0.40 closing price on January 15th, the day the report was issued.
Agrios, an agricultural technology, services, and property management company, provides property and equipment on a lease basis, along with agronomy services, drawing on its proprietary technology to enhance the crop yields and quality of cannabis growers.
The company owns a dedicated production facility in Shelton, Washington and has leased the canopy space to a Tier 3
cannabis producer.
The 70,000 square-foot Shelton Facility consists of 30,000 square-feet of canopy growing space, 20,000 square-feet of processing space, with the remaining 20,000 square-feet dedicated to office, storage, mechanical and delivery space.
Agrios uses a unique yield-enhancing cultivation technology known as aeroponics, whereby the plants grow without the use of soil, with their roots exposed, which are sprayed with a nutrient rich mist.
This technology was first used by NASA to produce food in zero-gravity environments.
In addition to the cost effectiveness and yield enhancing benefits of aeroponics, by collecting and analyzing a substantial number of data points per minute, from each cannabis plant, Agrios is able to quantify and measure every stage in the plant’s life-cycle, from seed to sale.
As a result of the integration of data science into its cultivation processes, Agrios reports that its crops exhibit average THC potency of 21.4%, well above the 14 to 15% average currently reported in Washington State.
When fully operational, the Shelton facility has an implied yield of 183 grams per square-foot of growing canopy area, compared to Fundamental’s estimated industry average of 120 grams per square-foot.
Sid Rajeev, Fundamental Research Analyst, stated: “The economic potential of a precision agriculture technology such as aeroponics is vast, and not limited to a single high-value crop such as cannabis. Though the company’s current
operations are in the cannabis space, we expect that success at the company’s current facility may result in expansion to other jurisdictions. We estimate the addressable precision agriculture market that the company could access with their aeroponics technology could be as large as $115 billion globally.”
A 2016 report by Goldman Sachs Investment research found that the total addressable market for precision agriculture was $240 billion, based on a global crop production value of $1.2 trillion, potential yield improvements of 70% implying $800 billion of value generated, and historical value capture rates of 30% for industry players.
The broader precision agriculture market is further broken down into segments.
Agrios does not directly operate the Shelton facility, nor does it derive income directly from the sales of cannabis, generating revenue from the tenant covering leasing fees on property and equipment, management/consulting fees, and royalty fees on its unique aeroponic technology.
The shares are trading at $0.49, a significant discount to Fundamental’s $0.65 fair value target.
For more information please visit the company’s website www.AgriosGlobal.com.
Investor Relations is handled by Bettina Filippone of Renmark Financial, who can be reached at 514-939-3989 or by email at bfilippone@RenmarkFinancial.com.
I’m Megan Edwards for Investmentpitch Media
