TSC Ratings' Updates: Whole Foods

The following ratings changes were generated on Thursday, Nov. 6.

We've downgraded Enzon Pharmaceuticals(ENZN Quote) from hold to sell, driven by its deteriorating net income, disappointing return on equity, generally weak debt management, generally disappointing historical performance in the stock itself and feeble growth in its earnings per share.

Net income decreased by 102.3% from the same quarter last year, to -$2.02 million. Return on equity also greatly decreased, a signal of major weakness within the corporation, underperforming both the S&P 500 and the biotechnology industry. The debt-to-equity ratio is very high at 7.20 and currently higher than the industry average, implying very poor management of debt levels within the company. However, the company has managed to keep a very strong quick ratio of 4.18, which shows the ability to cover short-term cash needs.

Earnings per share have experienced a steep decline of 104.06% in the most recent quarter year over year. During the past fiscal year, Enzon increased its bottom line by earning $1.14 vs. $0.49 in the prior year. For the next year, the market is expecting a contraction of 143.0% in earnings to negative 49 cents. Shares are down 51.07% on the year, which is worse than the S&P's performance. Naturally, the overall market trend is bound to be a significant factor, and in one sense, the stock's sharp decline last year is a positive for future investors, making it cheaper (in proportion to its earnings over the past year) than most other stocks in its industry. But due to other concerns, we feel the stock is still not a good buy right now.