Marrone Bio Ingredients Gets Nod For Legal Use In California

Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. (NASDAQ:MBII) declared that three MBI active ingredients can now be legally used on cannabis crops in the Californian market. The company is a pioneer in bio-based products used for pest management and plant health in agriculture, water treatments, turf and ornamental markets.

The inclusion of the MBI ingredients, owned and developed by Marrone Bio, on California Department of Pesticide Regulation, has made four MBI products available to growers of cannabis in the state.

The company said that it is presently working with experts to develop cannabis-specific brands for the local needs, in states where it is legal to sell and market these products for medicinal use.

MBI products does not contain active ingredients in the form of live microbes, which significantly reduces chances of crop rejection and help California cannabis growers to produce safe and high quality products. MBI ingredients also help to reduce the use of toxic chemicals and pesticides residues required in cannabis production, which are harmful to both people and environment. These products are also exempted from Maximum Residue Limits (MRL) and can be used flexibly through the point of harvest.

Recent studies show that legal cannabis industry in the U.S. has the potential to grow about $50 billion in the next decade, expanding over eight times the current market size. In California, cannabis production is permitted for medical use. However, legalization for adult use will help the country’s cannabis industry to convert customers from illicit market and help lawful cannabis suppliers gain new customers.

Marrone Bio’s shares have lost around 40.7% over the past three months, underperforming the Zacks categorized Chemicals-Diversified industry’s 4% gain.

Marrone Bio reported a loss of $7.6 million or 31 cents per share in first-quarter 2017, narrower than a loss of $9.3 million or 38 cents per share a year ago. Loss per share for the quarter was in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

The company, in its first-quarter earnings call, said that it is well placed to maintain the healthy momentum and capture technology-driven opportunities to create meaningful value for customers and shareholders. Marrone Bio is looking to leverage its customer relationships and its comprehensive and growing portfolio of bio-based solutions to meet a vast range of unmet pest and disease challenges.

Marrone Bio currently carries a Zacks Rank #4 (Sell).

Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked companies in the basic materials space include The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE:SHW) , Huntsman Corporation (NYSE:HUN) and The Chemours Company (NYSE:CC) . All three stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks Rank #1 stocks here.

Sherwin-Williams has expected long-term earnings growth rate of 11.4%.

Huntsman has expected long-term earnings growth rate of 7%.

Chemours has expected long-term earnings growth rate of 15.5%.

Zacks' 2017 IPO Watch List

Before looking into the stocks mentioned above, you may want to get a head start on potential tech IPOs that are popping up on Zacks' radar. Imagine being in the first wave of investors to jump on a company with almost unlimited growth potential? This Special Report gives you the current scoop on 5 that may go public at any time.

One has driven from 0 to a $68 billion valuation in 8 years. Four others are a little less obvious but already show jaw-dropping growth. Download this IPO Watch List today for free >>