They say a little change will do you good. Former shareholders of MagneGas stock are hoping that a lot of change will do them much better than that.

After rebranding itself as Taronis Technologies (NSDQ: TRNX) in 2019, the company has set out on a new path designed to change its troubled past. The revamped company even shed its old ticker symbol.

Taronis Technologies changed its ticker symbol from “MNGA” to “TRNX.” The ticker symbol change was effective at the Nasdaq open on Wednesday, February 20, 2019.

Despite the change in name and trading symbol, Taronis and MagneGas are essentially the same company operating in the same industry. Taronis uses its proprietary technology to convert sewage into energy to power engines that do not require high octane fuel.

For certain applications, these fuels can be substituted for propane, compressed natural gas (CNG), and liquid natural gas (LNG). It’s a novel idea that makes for captivating sound bites as exemplified in this video:

However, a company needs more than just a cool sounding idea to be successful. Before we consider what 2019 may have in store for Taronis, let’s take a quick look at how MagneGas stock has performed in the past.

See Also: “Natural Gas: The Hottest Fuel for Investors“

How Has Taronis Stock Performed?

Taronis stock has been an unmitigated disaster as an investment. Over the past five years, there have been a few brief periods when an investor could have made money owning Taronis stock. Otherwise, Taronis has performed about as well as the material it converts into energy.

What is Taronis Stock’s Long Term Stock History?

Since March of 2014, Taronis has lost 99.99% of its value (adjusting for stock splits). Over the same period, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) gained 49.9%.

How Has Taronis Stock Performed Recently?

In 2018, Taronis stock declined by 94.8% while the SPY was down 4.6% (including dividends).

Who Are Taronis’ Rivals?

Advancements in fracking technology have greatly reduced the cost of drilling for oil and natural gas. For that reason, in a broad sense just about every energy producer is a competitor to Taronis. In a narrow sense, Taronis has few direct competitors that are publicly traded. That may be due to the widely held belief that the economics behind their technology simply don’t add up.

Renewable Energy Group (NSDQ: REGI)

Renewable Energy Group converts byproducts from industrial producers of feedstock into low-grade diesel and biofuels. Unlike Taronis, REGI is profitable. For the third quarter of 2018, the company reported adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of 43 cents versus a loss of 39 cents the prior year.

However, REGI’s profitability is partly dependent on the federal Biodiesel Mixture Excise Tax Credit (“BTC”). Last year, President Trump signed a one-year extension for the BTC for 2017. If the BTC is not similarly extended into 2018 and beyond, REGI may struggle to remain competitive with conventional energy producers.

Aemetis (NSDQ: AMTX)

Aemetis is based in Cupertino, the same city that Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) calls home. It is Silicon Valley’s entry in the biofuel market, focusing on technologies that improve the efficiency of biorefineries in California and India.

Aemetis is not profitable and does not benefit from California’s 30% investment tax credit for solar and wind energy. For that reason, it has become increasingly reliant on grants and private investment capital to finance its operations.

Enviro Technologies (OTC: EVTN)

With a market cap of only $2 million, this company is less than one-third the value of Taronis. Enviro is pinning its hopes on the “Voraxial Separator,” a device that separates solid and liquid materials dredged up by oil drilling equipment and converted to biofuels.

Given the company’s anemic financial condition, Enviro’s shareholders may be hoping that Taronis buys out Enviro to add to its portfolio. If that doesn’t happen, Enviro may not be around much longer. It is bleeding cash and may not be able to access the capital markets for more equity or debt.

Will Taronis Stock Go Up in 2019 (Should you Buy?)

Taronis has embarked on an aggressive merger and acquisition (M&A) strategy after raising $4.3 million in a secondary stock offering. In January of 2019, Taronis acquired Tyler Welders Supply for $2.5 million. The next month, Taronis bought Cylinder Solutions for $1.5 million. The company expects to reduce its monthly operating expenses by $50,000 as a result. According to Taronis CFO Scott Mahoney:

This latest acquisition has the potential to have a significant impact on our profitability going forward for several reasons. Firstly, this business provides a very high-margin service to a wide range of industrial gas distributors in East Texas and Louisiana that we will now benefit from. Secondly, we can immediately begin eliminating recurring and redundant expenses within our existing East Texas and Louisiana operations.

Lastly, we intend to leverage the acquired employees’ skills and expertise to replicate this service model within our Florida and California operations in the coming quarters, which will enhance our business operations.

Will Taronis Stock Go Down in 2019 (Should you Sell?)

In the same press release, Mahoney also acknowledged “with growth comes added expenses.” Therein lies the rub for Taronis. Growing the business through acquisitions increases the size of its revenue stream, but at the same time it also dilutes the value of its equity.

At some point, either the revenue stream will grow to be larger than the cost of capital or the company will run out of money. After this year’s secondary stock offering, another sale of stock would be difficult to pull off.

Overall Taronis Stock Forecast and Prediction for 2019

Given its recent acquisition strategy, Taronis has effectively become a roll-up of biofuel penny stocks. So the thinking goes, combining all of these businesses into a single entity will reduce competition while improving efficiency. That may be true, but it does not address the salient economic reality that has bedeviled all of these companies in recent years.

The bottom line is this: unless the price of natural gas rises substantially in a very short period of time, Taronis is doomed to fail (barring a bailout from Congress in the form of massive subsidies, which is highly unlikely). Although Mahoney is pursuing the only strategy that has a theoretical chance of succeeding, he has no control over the economics of the energy sector.

Based on the rate Taronis is burning through cash, we believe it may declare bankruptcy within the next 18 months. If that happens, Taronis stock will end up being worthless.

Don’t let your hard-earned cash be converted to garbage by Taronis stock. Take a pass on this company and save your energy for better investment opportunities.