Roundtable Discussion; The Future of Mineral Sands. Watch the video here.
If I might proffer my investment case for CSFS? Don't touch it with a bargepole! Sorry to be flippant, but JW has misled us all and for that alone I would steer clear. But an even more glaring issue is the specter of a fundraise "in the coming months". This is just plain unacceptable because the wound that is the financing problem is being allowed to fester for God knows how long. This happened quite recently over at RMM and PUR, and both times resulted in a drip, drip erosion of the SP. This is clearly the plan - destroy shareholder value now so as to allow JW and his buddies to buy in cheaper when the price of the fundraise is finally revealed (and you can bet your bottom dollar JW will buy in big when that opportunity arises). I'm expecting a raise at around 5p, but wouldn't be shocked to see even lower than that. Current shareholders are going to be diluted to oblivion. The only possible way to salvage anything is to buy in when the SP reaches the issue price and try to average down. But who has the money to do that these days? No, we've been royally shafted and I don't trust JW as far as I could throw his fat behind. Rant over. Apologies in advance if I've overstepped the mark, but just calling it as I see it.
Connections to GSK? TM for sure, but also Dr Owen: "He is the co-founder and first CSO of Kymab Ltd, a biopharmaceutical company based in Cambridge, UK, prior to which he worked for GSK where he was SVP and Head of Research for Biopharmaceuticals R&D". Extremely close ties, I would have thought, or at least former colleagues at GSK who might well be taking a keen interest in what Sareum are developing.
...is uncertainty, and Thursday's RNS delivered that in spades: "The cash flow forecasts assume that further equity fundraising will be necessary over the coming months in order to implement Cornerstone's growth strategy and for the Group to continue to operate as a going concern." Not good, especially since no timelines were mentioned or any idea given as to the extent of future dilution.
Furthermore: "Although the Group has had past success in fundraising and continues to attract interest from investors, making the Board confident of fundraising success, there can be no guarantee that such fundraising will be available", especially, in my opinion, within an environment of high inflation, increasing interest rates, and markets around the world nose-diving!!
And then we get this: "These circumstances indicate the existence of a material uncertainty, related to going concern. The financial statements do not include any adjustments that would result if the Company or Group was unable to continue as a going concern." A material uncertainty (ffs), and one wonders why the SP tanked!
The CEO has well and truly shafted the shareholders and created a huge element of doubt as to Cornerstone's ability to continue operating. A fundraise is now certain, but at what price, and when? The longer this drags on, the more we will see the SP being eroded. Finally, that interview that JW gave on Proactive was a complete whitewash. Again, no mention of how on earth the company could get into such a dire financial situation that even they have to question their own ability to continue as a going concern. What worries me is that, for a financial services company, they seem unable to manage their own finances, let alone manage the financial transactions of other businesses and HNWIs. It would be laughable if it wasn't actually real. Do people really think high net worth individuals are going to trust these clowns with their money after this? Would you? In short, that fat cat JW has to go. Simples. Then we can maybe start to rebuild confidence in the brand.
"The strong trading momentum of 2021 has been sustained into the current year and through the first half. In the first quarter of 2022, the Group achieved its highest ever quarterly revenue - reflecting underlying growth across the business as well as the first contribution from Capital Currencies. The investments made last year into enhancing Cornerstone's product offering and strengthening the team are continuing to drive an increase in trading volumes and expansion of the Group's customer base. As a result, the Board continues to expect to achieve significant revenue growth for full year 2022, in line with market expectations.
The Group continues to pursue acquisition opportunities and is actively progressing its organic growth strategy - including plans to launch a new e-wallet solution this year and secure further integrations with accounting platforms. With a strong team and highly scalable platform, the Group continues to believe it is well-placed to take advantage of the meaningful opportunities to build a significant business offering technology-enabled international payment services.
Accordingly, the Board remains confident in Cornerstone's prospects and looks forward to reporting on its progress."
So, the RNS was very disappointing in terms of the obvious uncertainty it has created. But it's clear the Board see a future here. I believe the market has overreacted, as usual, and we should see a gradual recovery in the SP. It would be welcomed if the Board agreed to receive shares in lieu of their salaries. That would be a good start to restoring confidence here.
Fax, don't you mean lovely bubbly? Shampoo all round, and only the feckin' good stuff 'n' all!
Joe, first of all, the spread is not helping the buying action. Also, there are not that many shares available. Any sizable purchase immediately goes NT, which again puts off buyers, since you're very much at the mercy of the MMs. But what you haven't explained is what you meant by "million miles away from profitability especially if they raise on our expense!" I agree, dilution is often bad news, but if it's done to fund acquisitions it can be hugely bullish, no?
Newuncle, I'm not sure what Joe is referring to, but with news out hopefully tomorrow I think I would urge patience. Now is not the time to throw in the towel. Any capital raise in the past has been (a) to acquire Capital Currencies Ltd (which is already contributing to profits), and (b) in lieu of payment for "investor relations services" (123,000 shares, hardly hugely diluting, and at a price of 26.5p). Both raises were good business in my opinion, so quite what Joe is concerned about is beyond me. I think all will be revealed tomorrow, but whatever news we get in the short-term, the long-term prospects here are, I think, solid. GLA.
...will mark a year to the day when Sareum announced the following:
"The results of the [UKRI grant funded Covid-19 research] project found that SDC-1801 reduced the levels of cytokines associated with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) in human lung cells infected with SARS-CoV-2 and demonstrated a profile that was superior to the anti-inflammatory steroid dexamethasone and similar to baricitinib, a JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor." Surely there has been progress on this since then, or am I completely barking?
https://www.lse.co.uk/rns/SAR/update-on-sra737-licensing-agreement-s7o3d08xizlsf83.html
As far as I'm aware, the link above is the latest (amended) licensing agreement.
Just bought 80k in two tranches (50k and 30K), although the first trade not showing yet. A bit weird. Anyway, next week's news I'm anticipating should be positive. Everything crossed! GLA.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/stocks-and-funds-wont-help-you-beat-inflation-this-year-–-but-this-investment-trust-just-might/ar-AAYLAap?ocid=mailsignout&li=BBoPWjQ
Cheers, Chris. As you say, a good read and some compelling reasons as to why one should be invested in the biotech sector right now, especially if you can take a long term view. MrIndia, please take note!
sheltie, I'm a little more bullish than you, but I agree with much of what you say. A couple of points though. First, the Bank of England has, indeed, been slow to act in order to curb the rise of inflation. But early 2021, when you maintain they should have acted more decisively, the world was still in the throes of a global pandemic, with future visibility uncertain at best. Personally, I think their hands were tied and any interest rate rise at that time would have cratered the markets. Secondly, you assert that geopolitics will hinder economic growth, which I totally get. But Russia's (and probably China's) modus operandi to date has been to undermine critical infrastructure through cyber attacks. Assuming this continues, and sad to say in a way, I see companies like Darktrace benefitting enormously from the prospect of warfare in the digital arena. Just my thoughts, but I'm not seeing too much more downside risk here. Blind optimism? Probably!!
I'm seeing $14,000 BTC (which probably translates into at least another 33% drop in ARB's SP) as the bottom here, followed by a lengthy period of consolidation, before the parabolic rise above $100,000. I guess the question is, can ARB survive another "crypto winter"? Discuss.
Colbalt, if (as you state) the retreat is "permanent" (with therefore no chance of a rebound) what on earth are you still doing here? Sell up, and find greener pastures! Surely this would be a better strategy, rather than wasting your time here with your constant snipes?
https://mobile.twitter.com/SharePickers/status/1535514632345071616
[Posted on the HEMO board - thanks to Saint68]
I hadn't realized that, on no less than 3 separate occasions, shares in Berkshire Hathaway had been down around 50%. Just thought I would share, especially for those (like me) who are getting jittery with the direction of the market in general.
Autonomous, totally agree. Shout out to people like JHFH who keep the bulletin board well-informed and positive. Much-appreciated.
Hi Blastoid, good to know you're here as well. Yep, the price action/MM games are very reminiscent of what we experienced over at Sareum two or three years ago. Hemo is arguably just as advanced as Sareum, with their Hemo-Car-T therapy making significant progress towards phase 1 clinical trials (as is of course Sareum's SDC-1801), yet we're valued here at 13m quid and Sareum close to 150m! Go figure! I'm expecting a rapid re-rate once/if positive news drops here. But the waiting can be painful! A huge dollop of patience is required, and a liberal use of the filter option. Good luck!
No problem selling my entire holding, so clearly the MMs happy to buy at these levels. Seen this kind of price action on tiny volumes many times before. The trick is not to be spooked into selling by the "death by a thousand cuts" tactic.
Interview with Jeremy Bernard, essensys' Americas CEO:
https://commercialobserver.com/2022/05/jeremy-bernard-essensys-office/
Apologies if already posted...