Tim Lento first reported on the Inscor (IOGA) pump on May 30th, 2013 when a landing page promoting the stock went online at IOGAReport.com. It had been promoted by some crappy email stock promoters prior to that point. I am obviously late to post the IOGA pump here. Judging by the short length of the landing page, the high claimed budget, the company’s absurdly high market cap, and the early involvement of very poor pumpers, I believe that IOGA’s budget is a lie and that the stock will do very poorly. I am considering IOGA to be a top potential short. Ideally it gets some more volume first.
Disclosed budget: $2,000,000
Promoter: Arbitrage Wealth Report and Carson Smith
Paying party: Excelsior Partners
Shares outstanding: 272,258,554
Previous closing price: $0.62
Market capitalization: $168 million
IOGA unsurprisingly received a positive report from Goldman SmallCap Research (aka Robert Goldman shills for pumpers) on April 10th, 2013, for which he was paid $8,000 from a “third party”.
As a side note, this seems like the perfect pump and dump for the SEC to litigate based on Lowe v. SEC as Carson Smith and the Arbitrage Wealth Report do not appear to in any way shape or form have a bona-fide publication or regular and general circulation (or even the appearance thereof, as many promoters like Tobin Smith have). Instead it is a one-time tout sheet. From the Supreme Court’s decision in Lowe v. SEC:
The exclusion itself uses extremely broad language that encompasses any newspaper, business publication, or financial publication provided that two conditions are met. The publication must be “bona fide,” and it must be “of regular and general circulation.” Neither of these conditions is defined, but the two qualifications precisely differentiate “hit and run tipsters” and “touts” from genuine publishers. Presumably a “bona fide” publication would be genuine in the sense that it would contain disinterested commentary and analysis, as opposed to promotional material disseminated by a “tout.”
Excerpt from pump website disclosure (emphasis mine):
This paid advertisement by Arbitrage Wealth Report (hereafter “AWR”) does not purport to provide an analysis of any company’s financial position, operations, or prospects and this is not to be construed as a recommendation by AWR, or an offer to sell or solicitation to buy or sell any security. Inscor, Inc. (hereafter “IOGA”), the company featured in this issue, appears as paid advertising, paid by Excelsior Partners $2,000,000 to enhance public awareness for IOGA.
…
Endorsement is expressly limited to the following statement: “Assuming IOGA receives millions of dollars in fresh capital and hires outstanding management, capital gains are possible.” In addition, all references to “analysts” refer to analysis and research undertaken at www.goldmanresearch.com and has not been independently reviewed or verified
Pump website disclosure:
IMPORTANT NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER: This paid advertisement by Arbitrage Wealth Report (hereafter “AWR”) does not purport to provide an analysis of any company’s financial position, operations, or prospects and this is not to be construed as a recommendation by AWR, or an offer to sell or solicitation to buy or sell any security. Inscor, Inc. (hereafter “IOGA”), the company featured in this issue, appears as paid advertising, paid by Excelsior Partners $2,000,000 to enhance public awareness for IOGA. Although the information conAWRned in this advertisement is believed to be reliable, AWR makes no warranties as to the accuracy of any of the content herein and accepts no liability for how readers may choose to utilize it. The information conAWRned herein is based exclusively on information generally available to the public and does not contain any material, non-public information. Readers should perform their own due-diligence before investing in any security including consulting with a qualified investment advisor or analyst. Readers should independently verify all statements made in this advertisement and perform extensive due-diligence on this or any other advertised company. Endorsement is expressly limited to the following statement: “Assuming IOGA receives millions of dollars in fresh capital and hires outstanding management, capital gains are possible.” In addition, all references to “analysts” refer to analysis and research undertaken at www.goldmanresearch.com and has not been independently reviewed or verified. Neither Carson Smith nor AWR has performed independent due diligence on IOGA. AWR may also receive new subscriber revenue and mail list rental, the amount which is unknown at this time, as a result of this advertising effort. AWR nor any of their principals, officers, directors, partners, agents, or affiliates are not, nor do we represent ourselves to be, registered investment advisors, brokers, or dealers in securities. AWR is not offering securities for sale. An offer to buy or sell can be made only with accompanying disclosure documents and only in the states and provinces for which they are approved. Research and any due diligence were conducted by an outside researcher for this advertisement. Further, specific financial information, filings and disclosures as well as general investor information about publicly listed companies and other investor resources can be found at the Securities and Exchange Commission website at www.sec.gov and www.nasd.com. Any investment should be made only after consulting with a qualified investment advisor and only after reviewing the financial statements and other pertinent corporate information about the company. Many states have established rules requiring the approval of a security by a state security administrator. Check with www.nasaa.org or call your state security administrator to determine whether a particular security is licensed for sale in your state. This advertisement is not intended for readers in any jurisdiction where not permissible under local regulations and investors in those jurisdictions should disregard it. Investing in securities is highly speculative and carries a great deal of risk, which may result in investors losing all of their invested capital. Past performance does not guarantee future results. The information contained herein contains forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including statements regarding expected continual growth of the featured company. Forward-looking statements are based upon expectations, estimates and projections at the time the statements are made and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events to differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements may be identified through the use of words such as expects, will, anticipates, estimates, believes, or by statements indicating certain actions may, could, should, or might occur. Any statements that express or involve predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, goals or future events or performance may be forward-looking statements. In accordance with the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the publisher notes that statements contained herein that look forward in time, which include other than historical information, involve risks and uncertainties that may affect the company’s actual results of operations. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to, the size and growth of the market for the company’s products and services, regulatory approvals, the company’s ability to fund its capital requirements in the near term and the long term, pricing pressures and other risks contained in the company’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Arbitrage Wealth Report is a trademark of Carson Smith. All other trademarks used in this publication are the property of their respective trademark holders. AWR and Carson Smith are not affiliated, connected, or associated with, and are not sponsored, approved, or originated by, the trademark holders unless otherwise stated. No claim is made by AWR or Carson Smith to any rights in any third-party trademarks.
PDF copy of pump page.
Disclaimer: I have no position in any stock mentioned above and no relationship with any parties mentioned above. This blog has a terms of use that is incorporated by reference into this post; you can find all my disclaimers and disclosures there as well.
Nice report and analysis!