Member Info for lordloadsoflolly

Awise - think you’ll find it’s not the first time IMM has gone to this JPM event though. So not sure it tells us anything much.

Translation: We ended slightly lower today. Tomorrow might be better. Or worse.

Odd, given the apparent ease with which SOH falls out with other employees that those two remain in post. Surely they must have sales & profit performance targets they’re judged against?

Perhaps a case of out of sight out of mind?

Cheapsharesboy - that's why I apologised for it being off topic (but in direct response to winnings1's request) if you bothered reading the post.

From that latest interview, I sense they'll end up drilling another well at Flathead further west. Possibly in Q3. Rather than acidising the existing one with hydrofluoric.

The costs of a new well would presumably be much higher. Which could explain why they want to prioritise Rudyard production & Clink acidisation. Generate enough cashflow to fund further drilling without additional shareholder dilution.

Winnings1 - as I said before, without knowing your investment goal, time horizon & risk appetite, it's hard to know what to suggest.

And apologies in advance to IQE holders for the following off topic post, but winnings1 DID ask!

Whilst it may not be suitable for your circumstances, one share I've a decent holding in - & which is somewhat unloved at the moment - is H&T (ticker = HAT).

It's the UK's leading pawnbroker & has generally grown revenue & profit year-on-year since Covid (when it temporarily had to close all its physical stores).

Its latest trading update was generally positive and most of the growth in its pledge book (i.e. what it lends to customers, secured against items they pawn, such as watches, jewellery etc) came towards the end of the latest financial year. This should further boost profits for the current financial year, as the benefits of a larger pledge book increasingly come through (a larger pledge book means more loans, means more interest generated, means more profit).

Potential headwinds are the increased cost of NI (which all UK businesses will face from April). And possibly, its ability to increase retail margins / interest loan rates whilst the cost of living remains high. That said, the high cost of living is why people generally turn to pawnbrokers in the first place. Which should mean it has a ready supply of customers, at least for the next year or two. Added to which, H&T has a pretty good reputation amongst its users, many of whom are repeats - https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/handt.co.uk.

It's hard to pinpoint why H&T is at the lower end of its 12 month share price right now, though many small caps are out of favour currently - possibly perceived as too high risk?

I've traded H&T several times over the years and have generally benefitted from buying on the dips then waiting a while & reducing when the price struck me as getting a bit toppy again. Right now, the price looks a good entry point to me, especially given the c. 5% yield. That's not to say it won't go lower. But it has been considerably higher over the past year and the outlook has, if anything, only improved since then. I'm not adding, as it's already one of my largest holdings. But my hunch - and it IS just that - tells me the SP is likely to move closer to £4 or more at some point over the next year. I could be wrong though!

Winnings1 - I'm reluctant to recommend individual shares, as so much depends on what you're investing for (growth v. income) & how much risk you're prepared to take.

Though there are a few shares I feel are currently undervalued, I'd probably be looking more at index trackers or diversified global funds rather than individual companies right now. Simply because they spread risk better, which I favour when markets - and certain world "leaders" - start behaving increasingly irrationally.

In terms of IQE, I suspect its diversified manufacturing base will cushion it to some extent against any trade war escalation. But I fear it still needs to win some large new contracts (without underpricing them) before we're likely to see any sustained share price increase.

Cheapsharesboy - few would deny IQE can produce a useful, high quality product.

But it clearly has strong competition & has always been very poor at marketing itself.

Despite consistently claiming to be “the leading global supplier of compound semiconductor wafer products”, it’s hard to make this stand up when its revenues have been declining - or at best stagnant - for the best part of a decade and it’s currently heavily loss-making.

Unless/until it can show it’s indispensable to some big new players out there, the share price will continue to languish.

MysticMike - agreed.

Fifipharma - goes to show the dangers of relying entirely on ChatGPT.

The last P3 trial failed to meet any of its endpoints, as its results weren’t statistically significant compared to a placebo. Having a good safety profile is totally irrelevant if the drug can’t deliver better results than the control group. IMM has learnt from this & is massively increasing dosage this time around (assuming the second P3 ever happens). But ChatGPT’s version of history is misleading to say the least.

Mol - apparently Facebook & Instagram account for over 85% social media use in India.

YouTube just over 7%.

TikTok was top, only to be banned in 2020.

Thanks Walp - interesting to hear about your dad's investment strategy & how that rubbed off on you.

He was clearly a very sensible & successful guy, who thought time rather than timing in the market was key. I also like the fact he attached a value premium to not worrying. We could all do with staying calm a bit more often, particularly with some of the world "leaders" out there currently!

That said, if you follow just a few shares & funds closely, I do think you can sometimes pick up on over-sold/bought patterns, enabling you to average down. I've done this a few times with SMT - and with one other individual share where I've a decent holding. Of course it hasn't worked every time for me. But it has been beneficial overall.

Good luck, keep calm & carry on!

Walp - fair enough. Few would argue with a strategy that works for you & prevents any sleepless nights.

I think the point Resipsa & I make is that this isn't quite what you were saying on 28th Jan, when you posted:

"There are far worse financial decisions, and the very worst would be to sell up as many did only a few days ago.

Absolute madness."

Now you could argue you were right, given how the share price has rebounded - currently exceeding its pre- Deepseek level. But that would be to judge the performance of a long term investment over less than a week.

Our point is that your implied ANYONE selling on 27th Jan was absolutely mad. Which isn't the case, as some may simply have needed capital that day (just as you do monthly with your pension drawdown scheme). And some long term holders may just have wanted to lock in gains, feeling that was a suitable time.

Anyhow, we're all trying to achieve the same end goal, so enough said on this now. Good luck all LTHs - whether you choose to buy, hold or sell going forward.

Winnings1 - never say never.

But "the fact that years have passed without a grab for IQE might (also) just mean" they're simply not interested.

Apple can easily maintain diversity of supply without having to buy out its partners.

I agree with Basscadet though that an eventual merger with GF isn't inconceivable. Unlikely for now though methinks.

Walp - Sorry, but I still think you're missing the point slightly.

By your own admission, your "investments are now around what they were in Nov 21". On that basis, with the benefit of hindsight, rather than "sitting on your hands" you'd clearly have done far better had you sold in October 2021 & bought back in a couple of years later. The share chart doesn't lie.

Now, 20:20 vision is a wonderful thing. Towards the end of 2021, I doubt many of us expected the share price to be almost 60% lower two years on. But it does help illustrate there's multiple routes to profit (or loss) from investing in SMT.

Hold & forget isn't the only option. Nor is it necessarily right for everyone, particularly those who might need to draw on their capital in the medium term (by which I mean 3-5 years). Sure, SMT is - rightly - marketed as a high risk, long term investment. But there's more than one way to skin a cat.

Pebsi - hopefully you're not including me amongst the derampers.

I continue to hold but remain sceptical of Tim, based on past hard evidence - namely:

1. The number of dissolved companies where he's been a Director - some of which have gone into administration:

https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/_wKq_AHsfAEAtVe0e0DcZfIKk8w/appointments

2. The recent antics at Incanthera, where Tim similarly talked up its imminent prospects, only to announce a patent infringement claim, promptly causing the share price to lose around 80% of its value. Though it has recovered a fraction of this since.

3. Tim's interviews shortly before the results of IMM's initial P3 trial came out. Again, very bullish. Again, as it turns out, very wrong.

JohnHenry - hadn’trealised Bo was into stand up.

Look forward to his next comedy show.

Ct10 - LOL

Johnhenry - ever tried an anger management course?

I know the flow rates have been independently assesses & RNS’d.

Just saying that some random Adam guy twiddling a dial then guessing what the daily output would be based on a part-opened valve isn’t terribly instructive. I think we already know the kind of sound gas makes when it escapes under pressure.

GoldGirl - history should have taught you by now it's "IF Tim's deals come...".

Not when.

Winnings1 -

1) because of its collaboration with II-VI

& 2) because it's had ample years to extend its dealings with IQE, yet never has