UPDATE: Piper Jaffray Lowers PT on KiOR Following In-Line 4Q Print

In a report published Wednesday, Piper Jaffray analyst Mike J. Ritzenthaler reiterated an Overweight rating on KiOR

, but lowered the price target from $20.00 to $9.00. In the report, Ritzenthaler noted, “We maintain our Overweight rating on shares of KIOR following the company's in-line 4Q print that included ($0.28) in EPS and did not include meaningful product sales. Importantly, the company shipped its first cargo of cellulosic diesel, and expects to produce 3-5 million gallons this year from Columbus. Groundbreaking for Natchez, which was originally slated for 40 million gallons/yr, is planned for 2H13 and could produce closer to 50 million gallons/yr with the latest catalyst technology. In terms of liquidity, management announced that they expanded the agreement with existing creditors for an additional $50 million, which we believe is sufficient to see Columbus through startup and securing additional project capital later this year.” KiOR closed on Tuesday at $5.67.