Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Will Precision Ag Take American Vanguard To A New Level?

For what it is, American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD) is a good company. This small agricultural chemicals company does not have the R&D resources to compete with companies like Syngenta (NYSE:SYT), Bayer (OTCPK:BAYRY), or BASF (OTCQX:BASFY) in novel crop protection ingredients, nor the scale to compete with companies like ChemChina in large-scale generic crop protection, but it does have a solid record of acquiring and marketing niche products for an array of row crops, fruits, vegetables, and cotton.

The challenge I have with American Vanguard is when the market runs ahead of itself by overestimating what the company can be, as has happened in the past when investors thought the corn boom established a "new normal" for sales or when Zika would lead to a major sales opportunity for its mosquitocide. Now I have similar concerns about SIMPAS, the company's entry into precision agriculture. While the SIMPAS system seems legit, I think the sales effort will be challenging, and I think the company will always be challenged by its lack of proprietary R&D capabilities. As I think $15 to $17 is a reasonable estimate of fair value, I don't see all that much upside today.

Read the full article here:
Will Precision Ag Take American Vanguard To A New Level?

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