Member Info for platoh

Just received a research note from Cavendish via Research Tree. I appreciate this is not unbiased, and doesn't really add much beyond the reported results, but one bit I do like:

Price 30.5p Target price 85.0p Upside 179%

I can dream, can't I?

I sort of agree, although it's a group of wholly-owned small companies, so maybe something to be resolved with one of them. It does look like they are leaving it as long as possible (deadline end of month), and I do wonder why.

The company is EBITDA positive, which is not profit, and has a very slight positive cash flow (as at last results). The direction is towards profitability, but that needs to be confirmed. Meanwhile, if the directors would invest their own money in the company's shares rather than selling their options, that would help.

Fingers crossed there are no nasty surprises when the results are published and the share price might get back to where it was before the 'strategic review' debacle.

The delay in posting results isn’t helping. Too much uncertainty for anyone to want to buy in atm. I’m comforted by the lack of selling from IIs, but still nervous.

Accounts have to be delivered to companies house by end of June. Really hope they post them ASAP.

"IIs panic selling..."

No sign of that. PIs maybe

@izstar it looks like PIs selling, not insiders. No II has reduced their holding significantly - we would have had an RNS - no director trades, and Lombard Odier have increased their stake significantly.

Next month will bring the FY results and hopefully an update on strategic moves. Until then, hold tight or give up in despair.

@Izstar Looks like Lombard Odier soaking up all the small sales and putting a floor under the SP. Their holding has crept up by 1% (of total shares in issue) since the beginning of January.

"I'm pretty convinced this will go private , with management in bed with the buyer"

That's been my feeling for a while now. IIs seem to be putting a floor under the price, not that I'm suggesting any illegal activity, of course ;-)

Presumably at least one 'interested party' is conducting their due diligence.

Lexham had the form 8.3 yesterday. From the other form 8.3 today, IP Group have reduced from 6.25 to 3.35, so that probably went to Lexham. IP Group last reduced their holding, again by ca. 3%, in December.

By my count IIs now have 68% of the shares. I can't help feeling that somehow PIs are going to end up with the short end of the stick.

A mixed bag, I would think. Revenue reports in GBP would be higher, but so would liabilities, aka debt.

Thanks @RN1MLT for that information.

If somebody, as per Friday's RNS, sell ca. 1 million shares, shouldn't somebody else be reporting buying them? There's certainly not been that volume of small trades listed.

IIs have increased their share this year from 58.13% to 64.63% (according to my reckoning/records). Only IP Group have trimmed slightly from 9.25% to 9.15%. Directors have increased from 1.08% to 1.53%.

I try to keep records of the company-announced holdings and RNS announcements, but no guarantees - the above may be wrong.

As have Lombard Odier and Richard Sneller/Inthallo recently, not to mention new kid on the block Stockinvest

A strategic review is something you do when your strategy isn't working, or your major investors have lost patience waiting for it to work.

Any company will always be open to talking about serious offers, but actively soliciting offers is different and a big step away from the strategy as presented at the last results, which was all about fully-funded organic growth. It looks to me like either something has gone wrong or outside pressure has been applied. I hope it's the latter.

I hope this isn’t some kind of stitch up where the IIs who between them control 60% buy out the PIs at a bargain basement price.

😀

CGT was wrong anyway. It’s inheritance tax that may be affected

One uncertainty factor for AIM is the mooted possibility of removing capital gains tax relief in tomorrow’s budget.