Member Info for lordloadsoflolly

ripley94 - methinks you've missed my point. Which is that being third on the table of one week risers (up 7.91%) is little consolation to anyone who's held for more than two weeks. IQE closed on 8 March at 46.75p. Today it's hovering around 27p. That's a drop of over 40%.

DorsetLSE - I think that's the right decision for you, as you've very publically been fretting about your SMT holding for years. Dontshootme - You commented "what's the point in having an active portfolio, it may as well be a tracker". So whilst you "didn't say it was a tracker at any point", you implied it was as good as.

Presumably only a hold as despite the "lowly" PE ratio, they feel the current share price reflects the "healthy increases in revenue and profits". But I'd largely ignore Questor & all other tipsters anyway, as they're far from infallible (whether they're tipping a share as a buy, hold or sell).

That's as maybe. But totally irrelevant for anyone who's held for more than 2 weeks who will have seen the share price plummet on 9 March.

Dontshootme - you say "SMT could be turned into a Semi Conductor, AI driven powerhouse stock". Well yes, anything's possible. But I doubt many investors would be particularly happy with this (or any other) fund focusing so heavily on a single sector. Sure, AI & Semis might look like the way forward right now. Indeed they may well prove to be. But I for one would promptly exit any fund that became that concentrated. In terms of active funds, they don't have to be active in terms of constantly trading their holdings. In fact, few investors would benefit from such an approach, as trading fees soon mount up. Active should really be more about conviction buying - picking your sectors carefully, ensuring sufficient geographical spread, then going in (perhaps heavily in a few cases). I don't think many would suggest SMT looks remotely like a tracker, just because in some instances it opts to buy & hold for several years.

Sadly though, that ain't gonna happen. At least Slater & Burns between them own 265,00 SMT shares, so on the surface they've some skin in the game. Whether they were awarded all of these or decided to dip into their own pockets I wouldn't know.

Bobsto12 - I think we can say in the short term he was definitely right. But investing in SMT is all about the long term. So it'll be interesting (to say the least!) to see who's right in a couple of years' time.

Vbig - as far as Northvolt's concerned, I don't believe it's a quoted company yet, despite what you suggest.

Vbig - I don't think you can justifiably say Tesla is in a "semi-speculative bubble". Sure, its stock may be over-priced still (though it has more than halved from its late 2021 peak). But it did generate over $81 billion sales in 2022. And it does seem to be agile & pragmatic (reducing prices to retain demand & market share as traditional manufacturers start to muscle in more). Either way, SMT was a very early investor in Tesla and made most of its money by seeing the opportunity well before things really got going. It has repeatedly reduced its % holding since, thereby banking significant profits. Hopefully it can eventually do that again with some of its (currently unfashionable) unlisted holdings.

Gotrader - that, as they say, is the $64m question. I normally find it's best to ignore brokers & analysts anyhow. They seem to have discounted any significant sales growth this year or next, which I suspect will prove wrong (as they usually are). I'd have thought if sales were still flatlining in 2 years' time, credibility in Lemos' 5 year 3x plan would be shot to pieces. And I somehow doubt he'd have signed up to it if he felt there was little chance of any significant progress by end 2024. IQE's RNS of 17 10 22 appears to have been overlooked in all this. It stated "IQE ... is pleased to announce the signing of a multi-year strategic agreement with a global consumer electronics leader based in Asia. The agreement is focused on the high-volume production of VCSELs for advanced 3D Sensing applications." Sounds like Sony to me, which could be a bit of a game changer. Not that I think 3x revenues in 5 years is remotely achievable. But even 1.5x, plus an improved margin would shift the dial significantly.

Equally, they've a track record of not selling drugs. Lupuzor for example.

Arthuiretta - I think we can safely assume (particularly with the recent banking debacles) that global interest rates are nearing their peak. Whether we see a prompt transition from value to growth stocks probably depends on whether interest rates start coming down or just remain static.

learner01 - your post has since been overtaken by events. SMT's RNS of 15.54 on 17 March states "the Board can confirm that, at present, Professor A Bhidé remains a director of the Company and has not resigned or been removed."

Arthuretta - the FT DID mess up, in that it didn’t check whether Bhidé’s version of events matched the Board’s. All a bit of a mess, but I doubt it will significantly impact SMT’s price. Other factors at play will determine that.

Arthuretta - For all we know, Bhidé may have been raising concerns for some time. Anyhow, it's now clear he HASN'T been removed from the Board after all: "Contrary to recent press speculation, the Board can confirm that, at present, Professor A Bhidé remains a director of the Company and has not resigned or been removed." hTTps://www.lse.co.uk/rns/SMT/update-hb0bzwfzn5vj8lb.html

Bobsto12 - Is there any actual evidence that "The rest of the directors didn't agree with the one who was let go"? I'm not saying there isn't, just asking if you can corroborate this?

jaskk - I agree with your latest post, but not the one immediately before that - sorry! IMHO, Bhidé has a valid point & SMT's current underperformance IS closely linked to its high level of unlisted holdings. Sure - you can produce accounts for these companies as much as listed ones. But the issue is their valuations, not their accounts. And that's far harder to assess with unlisted firms. Their volatility is often far greater too. You only have to look at Woodford's Patient Capital debacle to appreciate that. So I DO think Bhidé is right to flag his concerns. And I admire him for resigning on principle (assuming he was given any choice). That said, I also think much of the current gloom around SMT is focused on the impact of rising inflation & interest rates, making growth funds less attractive. My hunch is that we're nearing the end of peak interest rates globally. And that we already peaked a few months back on inflation. Both of which, if correct, should boost SMT within the next year or so.

Probably only one or two more interest rate rises at most. And markets will largely already have priced this in. Remember, the ECB started quite a bit later than the UK or US.

Frits - before you claim I'm also not a holder, let's get one thing straight - I am. However, I would argue that anyone needs to "seed doubt" in IMM. The share price speaks for itself in that respect. As for it being "a very stong hold, just be patient, all will come good". You may be right - eventually. But you certainly don't know. So why suggest otherwise.

AustinTexas - ah yes, that 1/3 rule. As in, 1/3 were made up, 1/3 came to nothing & 1/3 produced diddly squat!