The latest Investing Matters Podcast episode featuring Jeremy Skillington, CEO of Poolbeg Pharma has just been released. Listen here.
While the outlook looks dismal - it can help to look at the broader picture. Yesterday's Guardian article on Paragraf mentions Versarien along with the challenges of funding. The UK doesn't fund tech in the way China/US does - and so we risk advanced materials being yet another might have been, in the way so much innovation went to the US during the post war years. While the turnaround strategy isn't focused on semiconductors (and with the daily deluge of naysayers on the other site who turn up day after day to warn people off the rocks - a task they've preoccupied themselves with for years) - for balance, look at Paragraf's figures:
"Paragraf made a pre-tax loss of £11m in 2022, after a £6.4m loss the year before, as an increase in staffing and materials costs outweighed a near sevenfold rise in revenues to almost £230,000."
"However, many graphene companies are struggling to generate revenues and raise funding, and some have gone under. One of the first specialists, Applied Graphene Materials in Durham, sold its main business to a Canadian firm and wound up the rest. Versarien in Gloucestershire has scaled down its research team to cut costs.
In May, the government announced a £1bn investment in the UK semiconductor industry over the next decade, a sum dwarfed by the $52bn being spent by the US."
I don't defend NR's lack of focus, the awful early ventures into the US with painful Mr Crush, or the bizarre activity around quoting charting 'experts' or claiming that a share price can climb back up because it's been at the giddy heights of £1.80 before.
But it's equally important to remember that confidence is a substantial part of price valuation - and no one has a crystal ball. If the continuous vexations of people who aren't invested don't have any sway over market confidence, the question must be asked - why do they turn up, literally every day, year after year, in these selfless acts of cautionary tale-mongery?
Sell up, or don't buy - sit it out and watch. But shares are always valued against future potential and that relies on confidence. Sorry if that's too intangible for some - but human psychology is a tricky beast - and human behaviour is all there is.
Hopefully AI will benefit the advanced materials sector as a whole. Increased awareness and viability a good thing to speed route to commercialisation: https://deepmind.google/discover/blog/millions-of-new-materials-discovered-with-deep-learning/
General context/competition. Amazing to see what Adobe previewed last week. Liquid crystal fabrics programmable with animations from Adobe products. Hopefully there's scope for similar with graphene inks (I've asked). Enormous possibilities for the home furnishings market as well as wearables. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvGquKkSFMM
Can't put enough wind in 4D's sails. With one parent dead from a Parkinsonian form of dementia and another with Parkinson's, the impact of this disease is all too real and this is very welcome news, even if it's unlikely to resonate with the get-rich-quick community. It is staggering that as a nation we do not recognise the impact of degenerative disease and do not support research with substantial state funding equivilent to that of defence spending. Ah well, in a perfect world, eh.
Note the key word :)
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/12/apple-and-google-block-nhs-covid-app-update-over-privacy-breaches
It's very welcome news - but remember that the issue represents 2.2% of issued capital - averaging the prices between the previous close (and average of last few days) and the 45p issue price barely moves the needle. The market knows there is activity in SK - and has already shown a lack of appetite (compared to the heady days of 2017/18 and all the exuberance then) for potential. That's not a comment that there is isn't plenty of pent up energy here - just an observation on the reaction and consequent sluggishness in SP. Yes additional funds for development, but offset against dilution and market nervousness. Everything else being equal 39p is about where the SP may be expected to consolidate until further news. Another opinion in amongst the noise :)
The debate about safety of graphene looks to be a broader debate than that. "any graphene added to any product, stays in there" - do you have data to back that up? Nanomaterials specialists (see previous links) debate this - there is evidence that certain types of graphene look to be safe (though long term data is lacking for the obvious reason it's an emerging science) there is also evidence that greater exposure can lead to toxicity. It does (or should) have some impact to VRS as one would hope Canada is viewed as a potential marketplace. There is no way of knowing whether this will impact the global market. Of course, agreed standards, ISO etc will all help and the Canadians obviously have questions to ask about their procurement process. It will be interesting to see what their conclusions are.
Suggest best is to go through the RNS's. Check proactive investors on youtube for interviews with Duncan. For wider info on the human biome highly recommend reading Missing Microbes (Blaser - ex CDC and authority on microbes).
May be of further interest
https://www.graphene-info.com/companies-respond-graphene-masks-health-hazard-scare?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Anyone have thoughts about actions by the Canadians on restricting graphene masks? Some on the other board are citing KN95 certification but from what I can see the science isn't clear on nanoparticulates in the lungs and KN95 etc deals with what the mask filters, not what the mask might expel - esp over time. The usage has never been clear (i.e. never use for more than a week/month whatever). While the Canadians seem to be making a highly cautious response to anecdotal reports of illness after wearing certain graphene masks it would appear that there's more to this debate than simply (as some on the other board are) stating that these masks contain graphite, not graphene. It appears the science is significantly more nuanced than that.
https://collegeofglobalfutures.asu.edu/blog/2021/04/01/sweating-the-small-stuff-as-we-build-global-futures/
https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC7967850
AECOM noting graphene arch in HS2 presentation - posted by woody on the other board https://twitter.com/AECOMTransport/status/1374780063644811275
never boils - but it doesn't half steam up your specs
I'd almost forgotten about this one - and it just crossed my mind as Vivo sent a customer survey. One of the questions concerned the possibility of 3D printed customised footwear (seems this was something they were planning on doing in 2020 but probably on hold with Covid) As Vivo currently run lines made from recycled plastics I'm wondering if this is something graphene - and VRS's experience with additive/3D printing - will help facilitate. They've had 3 years this month to see what works, after all.
Oh my. I've literally copy pasted from the DCMS policy paper on building a trust framework - so that it's clear for you.
They are not explicitly requesting an app, and the RNS does not suggest this - it does however confirm expertise/status. It is up to the market to decide how to interpret what the practical implications of this mean. It is not the case that 'anyone' can contribute to the framework consultation. See below for the DCMS intro - good to report info accurately and without bias.
1. Introduction
This ‘alpha’ (prototype) of the UK digital identity and attributes trust framework is for organisations that want to provide or consume digital identity and attribute products and services. The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is looking for feedback from these organisations as well as other interested parties, such as civil society groups and academia.
This document explains what requirements organisations will need to meet to be certified against the trust framework in the future. These requirements will be updated after all of the feedback has been analysed.
A couple of weeks ago GWPH was sold to Jazz for $220 per share. The medicinal benefit of cannibidiols is now much more robust and obstructive regulation reduced. (12:1 split on move from Aim to ADR/Nasdaq - bought in around 30p on AIM. I traded too many and held too few - lesson learned!)
An alternative to the manipulation view is that while a stock is stagnant some may choose to leave/return with hopes/gains from things like Blockchain miners. Less MM more FOMO.
Sure - I understand that. But firstly, why put your private life up like that - secondly it's a distraction to what investors are there for. Ultimately we're not investing in a personality, but the application of science. The willingness to engage backfires - and too often just provides detractors with yet more avenues of attack (kind of a 'he doth protest too much' psychology). Ultimately it ends with him posting overly defensive, somewhat passive aggressive missives on 'everyone's a CEO' and similar. I understand his original motivation, but to shift strategy in that regard wouldn't be pandering, it's just changing how you play the game. The business has matured, let the official channel do the talking and keep your kids and hobbies for your actual friends. i.e. - to address misinformation on forums - use a link from the VRS twitter feed to 'remind' rather than answer - put a carousel on the website, have a clear graphic showing what Graphene Council accreditation and put a reference to NPL on there. It needn't be complex (or can point to more detail). It's addressing the issue without getting into one on ones (like he has with 'AGame' on twitter) - VRS is a body of people, it's not just NR (obviously) - using the business in this way isn't hiding, it's just good business (and some personal sanity I would've thought). Sure he might still need to address the more libellous 'backbenchers'. Similarly - just an opinion; ultimately he'll do what he wants and I can change my investment interests, eh!
They've been playing that card for a while now, eh. Again I believe VRS could go further to address these issues by putting facts in plain sight and using better approaches to how they communicate their value proposition/verified science. I just don't get why NR keeps engaging on twitter when he could let the business PR do the talking/statements - but he is determined to try to do an Elon at all cost it seems; the Summit Fever is strong in this one.