A short analysis of Kalobios Pharmaceuticals $KBIO liquidation value

Disclosure: I am short KBIO and I intend to actively trade the stock after this post is published. See full disclaimer below.

Here is my back of the envelope calculation of the value of Kalobios Pharmaceuticals (KBIO). This was first posted in the TimAlerts chat, where I am and have been a moderator for years.

Nov 16, 2:37 PM MichaelGoode okay here is my analysis of KBIO — using very optimistic assumptions (as a short, to make the analysis more conservative for shorting): $10m in net quick assets as of June 30th. Assume cash [burn] until today equal to same rate as last quarter. […] They burned $5.8m in Q2. So that is $1.93m per month. Four full months since then and one half month so estimated cash burn of $8.7m. Even assuming no extra shutdown expenses that would leave them with $1.3m to distribute to shareholder

Nov 16, 2:37 PM MichaelGoode KBIO With 4.12m shares outstanding that equates to a liquidation value per share of $0.32 per share

Nov 16, 2:39 PM MichaelGoode KBIO caveats — this assumes no costs after today, no fees to the liquidator and no severance fees to employees. However, this also assumes the same compensation expense each month up until now and the company has laid off workers prior to today

Nov 16, 2:43 PM MichaelGoode KBIO and another caveat (this is negative for the stock) – the PR Friday mentions “As a part of its wind down and handing over management of the wind down to The Brenner Group, the company expects to phase out the remaining employees over the next thirty to sixty days.” — so there will be significant compensation expense over the next two months (no clue how large).

I looked up the company’s restructuring / termination expenses and at least for the first series of layoffs:

The Company expects to substantially complete the restructuring efforts in, and related charges will be incurred through, the fourth quarter of 2015. The Company estimates that it will incur total restructuring charges consisting of cash expenses for one-time termination benefits of between $400,000 and $500,000.

The above is from the November 9th 8-K filing. It would be reasonable to estimate another $300,000 in one-time payments to the remainder of the workforce.

I welcome feedback on my analysis. The relevant news can be found here:

Kalobios to wind down operations (November 13)
KaloBios to Reduce Workforce, Explore Strategic Alternatives (November 5)
10-Q for quarter ended June 30th

 

Disclaimer: I am short KBIO and I intend to trade this stock frequently after this is posted. I have a close business relationship with Tim Sykes (see Terms of Use for details). I have no relationship with any other 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.

 

 

 

 

 

A Short blog post of much importance

If you come across a bear and decide to run, what matters is that you run faster than the slowest person you are with, not that you be able to outrun everyone you are with or outrun the bear. This same sort of logic applies to trading, too. You don’t need to be the smartest (or fastest) trader around, just smarter (of faster) than enough people with enough buying power to move stocks.

 

Disclosure: 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.

New Wall Street Report pump and dump: Petroterra Corp $PTRA

Starting after the market close last Friday, WallStreetReport.org started sending emails promoting Petroterra Corp (PTRA). The emails continues yesterday (Monday) and today. The emails linked to a video at http://wallstreetreport.org/wrp1/ptsv34332.php and to a landing page promoting PTRA here: http://wallstreetreport.org/wrp1/ptsw34332.php

WallStreetReport.org is a relatively new stock promotion website and I have only been subscribed to them since August. The only other stock they have promoted to me was BLKG, starting on August 11th and continuing off and on until September 3rd.

Petroterra was previously pumped via a different online landing page back in late March of this year. That first landing page is still online and it looks like the new landing page copies many of the elements of the first one. The volume so far this time is much higher than the volume back in March. In July PTRA shares had a 1 for 2.5 reverse split, so the current price of 1.20 is equivalent to a price back in March of $0.48.

Disclosed budget: $150,000
Promoter:  WallStreetReports.org / Herwick Ltd.
Paying party: Mass Peak Ltd.
Shares outstanding: 26,888,850
Previous closing price: $1.12
Market capitalization: $30 million

ptra_header_graphic

 

Excerpt from disclaimer:

The Wall Street Report is published by Herwick Ltd. In an effort to enhance public awareness of PetroTerra Corp. (“PTRA”) and its securities through the distribution of this advertisement, Mass Peak Ltd. has provided the publisher with a weekly budget of approximately $150,000 to cover the costs associated with creating, printing and distribution of this advertisement. The publisher will retain any excess sums after expenses as its compensation. The publisher has not undertaken to determine if Mass Peak Ltd. is, or intends to be in the future, directly or indirectly, a PTRA shareholder as it has no meaningful way to verify such facts. Readers should take this into consideration in evaluating bias. The name Chris Porter is a pseudonym for the writer who was paid $5,000 for his/her contributions to the report.

Full disclaimer:

IMPORTANT NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER: This stock profile should be viewed as a paid advertisement. The Wall Street Report is published by Herwick Ltd. In an effort to enhance public awareness of PetroTerra Corp. (“PTRA”) and its securities through the distribution of this advertisement, Mass Peak Ltd. has provided the publisher with a weekly budget of approximately $150,000 to cover the costs associated with creating, printing and distribution of this advertisement. The publisher will retain any excess sums after expenses as its compensation. The publisher has not undertaken to determine if Mass Peak Ltd. is, or intends to be in the future, directly or indirectly, a PTRA shareholder as it has no meaningful way to verify such facts. Readers should take this into consideration in evaluating bias. The name Chris Porter is a pseudonym for the writer who was paid $5,000 for his/her contributions to the report. If successful, this advertisement will increase investor and market awareness, which may result in increased numbers of shareholders owning and trading the common stock of PTRA, increased trading volumes, and possibly increased share price of PTRA’s common stock. This publication is not, and should not be construed to be, an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. This publication, its publisher, and its editor do not purport to provide a complete analysis of any company’s financial position. The publisher and editor are not, and do not purport to be, broker-dealers or registered investment advisors. This publication is not, and should not be construed to be, personalized investment advice directed to or appropriate for any particular investor. Any investment should be made only after consulting a professional investment advisor and only after reviewing the financial statements and other pertinent corporate information about the company. Further, readers are advised to read and carefully consider the Risk Factors identified and discussed in the advertised company’s SEC filings. Investing in securities, particularly micro cap securities such as PTRA, is speculative and carries a high degree of risk. Past performance does not guarantee future results. This publication is based exclusively on information generally available to the public and does not contain any material, non-public information. The information on which it is based is believed to be reliable. Nevertheless, the publisher cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information. This publication contains forward-looking statements, including statements regarding expected continual growth of the featured company and/or industry. The publisher notes that statements contained herein that look forward in time, which include everything 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 the size and growth of the market for the company’s products and services, the ultimate degree of success in the company’s drilling excursions, the company’s ability to fund its capital requirements in the near term and long term, pricing pressures, etc. The Wall Street Report is the publisher’s trademark. All other trademarks used in this publication are the property of their respective trademark holders. The publisher is not affiliated, connected, or associated with, and is not sponsored, approved, or originated by, the trademark holders unless otherwise stated. No claim is made by the publisher to any rights in any third-party trademarks.

PDF copy of pump page

ptra_chart

 

Disclaimer: I am short PTRA and may look to short more in the near future. I may also cover my short. I will not update this disclaimer after trading the stock. I have 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.

Broker/Dealer and OTC Market Maker Delaney Equity Group sued by SEC

Four days ago the SEC announced its suit against Delaney Equity Group LLC, a Florida-based stock broker and OTC market maker (market maker ID: DLNY), for allegedly refusing to hand over documents related to an investigation by the SEC’s microcap fraud task force.

See the SEC litigation release. Excerpt:

 The SEC’s complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, alleges that in April 2015, the SEC Enforcement Division required Delaney to produce to it various categories of documents it was legally required to preserve and produce, upon demand, to the SEC. The complaint further alleges that Delaney, despite being granted several extensions and having made repeated representations through its counsel that the firm would produce documents, has failed to provide any responsive documents to date.1-1 1-2 1-main

The case is 9:15-cv-81384-DMM Securities and Exchange Commission v. Delaney Equity Group LLC. The case is in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida with Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks presiding.

SEC complaint (PDF)

Docket listing:

Doc.
No.
Dates Description
10
Filed: 10/09/2015
Entered: 10/13/2015
Docket Text Set/Reset Motion/R&R Deadlines and Hearings
8
Filed & Entered:   10/08/2015
Docket Text Acknowledgment of Service
9
Filed & Entered:   10/08/2015
Docket Text Motion for Preliminary Injunction
7
Filed & Entered:   10/07/2015
Docket Text Order on Motion for Temporary Restraining Order
1
Filed & Entered:   10/06/2015
Docket Text Complaint
2
Filed & Entered:   10/06/2015
Docket Text Judge Assignment
3
Filed & Entered:   10/06/2015
Docket Text Clerk’s Notice of Consent to Proceed Before Magistrate Judge
4
Filed & Entered:   10/06/2015
Docket Text Summons Issued
5
Filed & Entered:   10/06/2015
Terminated: 10/07/2015
Docket Text Motion for Temporary Restraining Order
6
Filed & Entered:   10/06/2015
Docket Text Notice (Other)

 

This is not the first time that Delaney Equity Group LLC has run afoul of regulators. The company and its founder David C. Delaney were censured by and fined a combined $255,000 by FINRA in 2012 for abetting the sale of unregistered shares in microcap stocks.

From the FINRA offer of settlement:

During the period from December 2008 through July 2010, DEG, acting through
Delaney, its President, Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) and Anti-Money Laundering
Compliance Officer (AMLCO), allowed customer B.A. and its numerous affiliated
accounts to sell almost a billion newly issued, unregistered equity shares offive issuers:
Connectyx (CTYX), ProPalms USA, Inc. (PRPM), Shot Spirits (SSPr), Solos Endoscopy
(SNDY) and Green Bridge (GRBG). As a result, DEG and Delaney participated in the
distribution ofalmost a billion shares ofunregistered and non-exempt securities, in
contravention ofSection 5 ofthe Securities Act of 1933 (Securities Act). and in violation
ofFINRA Rule 2010.

Customer “B.A.” is Big Apple Consulting.

Disclaimer: I have 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.

Excel Macro to run trade report on DAS Trader Pro trade log

I have been mucking about with some programming lately and I only just realized that the work I had been doing to get my average price on trades so I can enter it into my trade log was easily automated. The below Excel (2010 is the version I use) macro has made my life a little easier so I am sharing it here. This can be used with the ‘trade’ output of DAS Trader Pro (which I am currently using with Centerpoint Securities) but with slight changes could be used on the output from Sterling Trader Pro or other trading platforms. There are easier ways to get the summaries, but I make sure to record trades I make in my trade log with details including my trade plan and post-trade evaluation — most of the time I’ll put together all the trades in each ticker to save time and because I’m trading the stock with one strategy. So for my purposes I like having the average price (including fees) shown neatly.

First, start with how the data should be formatted prior to the macro working. Go to “Trade” in DAS Trader Pro and then click “Trades”. Select the columns and copy and paste into an Excel worksheet named “scratchpad” (and make sure to paste into column B). Then hit Control + A to select the entire range of data and run the macro (I have it hotkeyed on my computer to Control+P). This will create a new worksheet, run a pivot table, copy the pivot table data, delete the pivot table worksheet, and paste the pivot table data and price per share in an easy to read format in another new worksheet.

Here is how the data should be formatted in your trade report that you paste into Excel (you do not need a header row):

inputdata

And below is how the data will be output:

macro_output

Obviously, you can use this same basic code framework to get lots of other data easily (such as ECN fees, etc). The one thing this code will not do is account for per-trade fees. I don’t have them at Centerpoint (clearing through ETC) so I didn’t program them. Also, make sure you enter your per-share commission into the code. Use this code at your own risk — I provide it without warranty or support.

Warning: if you are a programmer you will find my code ugly. You have been warned.

Below is the code:

Sub DAStraderAvgPrices()

‘ DAStraderAvgPrices Macro
‘ For this to work you need to copy pasta the following columns from DAS into the ‘sheet ‘scratchpad’
‘Time | Ticker | Buy/Sell | Price | Shares | Route | ECN Fees | Amount of trade
‘Those columns all must be there in that order or it will mess lots of things up.
‘The trades must be pasted into column B and then select all the trade info ‘(control+A)

Dim myRange As Range
Dim i As Long
Dim HeaderRange As Range
Dim HeaderPasteRange As Range
Dim TopLeft As Range
Dim objTable As PivotTable
Dim objField As PivotField
Dim rng As Range
Dim ws1 As Worksheet
Dim pt As PivotTable
Dim rngPT As Range
Dim rngPTa As Range
Dim rngCopy As Range
Dim rngCopy2 As Range
Dim lRowTop As Long
Dim lRowsPT As Long
Dim lRowPage As Long
Dim PivotTableSheet As String
Dim celltxt As String

‘this is my commission rate
commission = 0.0035

Set myRange = Selection

‘sort by column C then D (ticker then buy/sell)
myRange.Sort Key1:=Columns(3), Order1:=xlAscending, Key2:=Columns(4) _
, Order2:=xlAscending, Header:=xlGuess, OrderCustom:=1, MatchCase:= _
False, Orientation:=xlTopToBottom
‘the above works! Yay!

‘this section calculates the cost basis (including ECN fees and commissions) of each fill
For i = myRange.Rows.Count To 1 Step -1
Set BuySell = myRange.Cells(i, 3)
If BuySell.Value = “B” Then
myRange.Cells(i, 8) = (myRange.Cells(i, 4) + commission) * myRange.Cells(i, 5) + myRange.Cells(i, 7)
ElseIf BuySell.Value = “S” Then
myRange.Cells(i, 8) = (myRange.Cells(i, 4) – commission) * myRange.Cells(i, 5) – myRange.Cells(i, 7)
ElseIf BuySell.Value = “SS” Then
myRange.Cells(i, 8) = (myRange.Cells(i, 4) – commission) * myRange.Cells(i, 5) – myRange.Cells(i, 7)
End If
Next i

‘Here we append the header row to the data
myRange.Cells(0, 1) = “Time”
myRange.Cells(0, 2) = “Ticker”
myRange.Cells(0, 3) = “Buy/Sell”
myRange.Cells(0, 4) = “Price”
myRange.Cells(0, 5) = “Shares”
myRange.Cells(0, 6) = “Route”
myRange.Cells(0, 7) = “ECN Fee”
myRange.Cells(0, 8) = “Amount”

‘Pivot table time!

‘only uncomment the following two lines when testing on specific region
‘ActiveWorkbook.Sheets(“scratchpad”).Select
‘Range(“B4”).Select

ActiveWorkbook.Sheets(“scratchpad”).Select
myRange.Cells(0, 1).Select

Set objTable = ActiveSheet.PivotTableWizard

Set objField = objTable.PivotFields(“Ticker”)
objField.Orientation = xlRowField
objField.Position = 1

Set objField = objTable.PivotFields(“Buy/Sell”)
objField.Orientation = xlRowField
objField.Position = 2

Set objField = objTable.PivotFields(“Shares”)
objField.Orientation = xlDataField
objField.Position = 1
objField.Function = xlSum
objField.NumberFormat = “##,###”

Set objField = objTable.PivotFields(“Amount”)
objField.Orientation = xlDataField
objField.Position = 2
objField.Function = xlSum
objField.NumberFormat = “##,###.##”

‘Pivot tables with multiple data fields have hidden field “data” —
‘adding the below line makes it display correctly
objTable.AddFields Array(“Ticker”, “Buy/Sell”), “Data”

‘Copy the Pivot table and paste it into a new worksheet as values
On Error Resume Next
Set pt = ActiveCell.PivotTable
Set rngPTa = pt.PageRange
‘On Error GoTo errHandler

PivotTableSheet = ActiveSheet.Name

‘If pt Is Nothing Then
‘ MsgBox “Could not copy pivot table for active cell”
‘ GoTo exitHandler
‘Else
Set rngPT = pt.TableRange1
lRowTop = rngPT.Rows(1).row
lRowsPT = rngPT.Rows.Count
Set ws1 = Worksheets.Add
Set rngCopy = rngPT.Resize(lRowsPT – 1)
Set rngCopy2 = rngPT.Rows(lRowsPT)

rngCopy.Copy Destination:=ws1.Cells(lRowTop, 1)
rngCopy2.Copy Destination:=ws1.Cells(lRowTop + lRowsPT – 1, 1)
‘End If

If Not rngPTa Is Nothing Then
lRowPage = rngPTa.Rows(1).row
rngPTa.Copy Destination:=ws1.Cells(lRowPage, 1)
End If

ws.Columns.AutoFit

‘Stopping Application Alerts
Application.DisplayAlerts = False

‘delete pivot table sheet
Sheets(PivotTableSheet).Delete

‘Add in some formatting and get price per share for buys/sells

Columns(“C:C”).ColumnWidth = 13.71
Columns(“D:D”).ColumnWidth = 14.86
Range(“G2”).Select
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = “Price”
Columns(“G:G”).Select
Selection.NumberFormat = “0.0000”
Selection.ColumnWidth = 11.43
Range(“F3”).Select
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = “=IF(ISBLANK(RC[-4]),””””,RC[-4])”
Range(“F3”).Select
Selection.AutoFill Destination:=Range(“F3:F197”), Type:=xlFillDefault
Range(“F3:F197”).Select
Range(“G3”).Select
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 = _
“=IF(ISBLANK(RC[-3]),””””,IF(ISBLANK(RC[-5]),””””,RC[-3]/RC[-4]))”
Range(“G3”).Select
Selection.AutoFill Destination:=Range(“G3:G202”), Type:=xlFillDefault

‘Loop through table to clear all rows that contain “Total”
Last = Cells(Rows.Count, “D”).End(xlUp).row
For i = Last To 1 Step -1
celltxt = Cells(i, “A”).Text
If InStr(1, celltxt, “Total”) Then
Cells(i, “A”).EntireRow.ClearContents ‘ USE THIS TO CLEAR CONTENTS BUT NOT DELETE ROW
End If
Next i

ActiveSheet.UsedRange.Select

exitHandler:
Exit Sub
errHandler:
MsgBox “Could not copy pivot table for active cell”
Resume exitHandler
End Sub

 

Disclaimer: I have no position in any stocks mentioned as of this post being published but I may trade them in the future. I am a client of Centerpoint Securities (clearing through ETC). I have no relationship with any other 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.

EMS Find $EMSF promoted via mailer

Get in soon before it is too late! EMS Find Inc (EMSF) is the Uber of ambulances! Ha! Of course it isn’t. It is just a worthless shell being manipulated in a pump and dump. Read more about the company at Promotion Stock Secrets. There is an online landing page at http://emsfreport.com/ and people have been receiving postal mailers since last week. Below is a photo of the front cover of the mailer (from this tweet):emsf_cover

Disclosed budget: $1,200,000
Promoter:  The Moskowitz Report / Charles Moskowitz / Tabius Sway Media Inc
Paying party:  Chesh Medial Ltd.
Shares outstanding: 28,334,535
Previous closing price: $2.34
Market capitalization: $66 million

 

Excerpt from disclaimer (from mailer):

TABIUS SWAY MEDIA INC. HAS PAID ONE MILLION AND TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS INFORMATION TO ENHANCE PUBLIC AWARENESS OF EMSF

Excerpt from disclaimer (from online landing page):

TABIUS SWAY MEDIA INC. PAID ALL OF THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH CREATING, PRINTING AND DISTRIBUTION OF THIS ADVERTISEMENT. CHESH MEDIA LTD HAS PAID EIGHTY THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS INFORMATION TO ENHANCE PUBLIC AWARENESS OF EMSF.

Full disclaimer (from online landing page):

IMPORTANT NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER: THIS STOCK PROFILE SHOULD BE VIEWED AS A PAID ADVERTISEMENT. THE PUBLISHER, UNDERSTANDS THAT IN AN EFFORT TO ENHANCE PUBLIC AWARENESS OF EMS FIND INC AND ITS SECURITIES THROUGH THE DISTRIBUTION OF THIS ADVERTISEMENT, TABIUS SWAY MEDIA INC. PAID ALL OF THE COSTS ASSOCIATED WITH CREATING, PRINTING AND DISTRIBUTION OF THIS ADVERTISEMENT. CHESH MEDIA LTD HAS PAID EIGHTY THOUSAND DOLLARS FOR THE DISSEMINATION OF THIS INFORMATION TO ENHANCE PUBLIC AWARENESS OF EMSF. IF SUCCESSFUL, THIS ADVERTISEMENT WILL INCREASE INVESTOR AND MARKET AWARENESS, WHICH MAY RESULT IN INCREASED NUMBERS OF SHAREHOLDERS OWNING AND TRADING THE COMMON STOCK OF EMS FIND INC., INCREASED TRADING VOLUMES, AND POSSIBLY INCREASED SHARE PRICE OF THE COMMON STOCK OF EMS FIND INC. THE PUBLISHER HAS NOT UNDERTAKEN TO DETERMINE IF TABIUS SWAY MEDIA INC. IS, OR INTENDS TO BE IN THE FUTURE, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, A SHAREHOLDER OF EMS FIND INC. THE PUBLISHER MAY RECEIVE REVENUE, THE AMOUNT OF WHICH CANNOT BE DETERMINED TO ANY DEGREE OF CERTAINTY, AS A RESULT OF THIS ADVERTISING EFFORT AND THE ACCOMPANYING SUBSCRIPTION OFFER. THIS PUBLICATION IS NOT, AND SHOULD NOT BE CONSTRUED TO BE, AN OFFER TO SELL OR A SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY ANY SECURITY. THIS PUBLICATION, ITS PUBLISHER, AND ITS EDITOR DO NOT PURPORT TO PROVIDE A COMPLETE ANALYSIS OF ANY COMPANY’S FINANCIAL POSITION. THE PUBLISHER AND EDITOR ARE NOT, AND DO NOT PURPORT TO BE, BROKER-DEALERS OR REGISTERED INVESTMENT ADVISORS. ANY INVESTMENT SHOULD BE MADE ONLY AFTER CONSULTING A PROFESSIONAL INVESTMENT ADVISOR AND ONLY AFTER REVIEWING THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND OTHER PERTINENT CORPORATE INFORMATION ABOUT THE COMPANY. FURTHER, READERS ARE ADVISED TO READ AND CAREFULLY CONSIDER THE RISK FACTORS IDENTIFIED AND DISCUSSED IN THE ADVERTISED COMPANY’S SEC FILINGS. INVESTING IN SECURITIES, PARTICULARLY MICRO CAP SECURITIES SUCH AS EMS FIND INC., IS SPECULATIVE AND CARRIES A HIGH DEGREE OF RISK. PAST PERFORMANCE DOES NOT GUARANTEE FUTURE RESULTS. THIS PUBLICATION IS BASED EXCLUSIVELY ON INFORMATION GENERALLY AVAILABLE TO THE PUBLIC AND DOES NOT CONTAIN ANY MATERIAL, NON-PUBLIC INFORMATION. THE INFORMATION ON WHICH IT IS BASED IS BELIEVED TO BE RELIABLE. NEVERTHELESS, THE PUBLISHER CANNOT GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE INFORMATION. THIS PUBLICATION CONTAINS FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS, INCLUDING STATEMENTS REGARDING EXPECTED CONTINUAL GROWTH OF THE FEATURED COMPANY AND/OR INDUSTRY. THE PUBLISHER NOTES THAT STATEMENTS CONTAINED HEREIN THAT LOOK FORWARD IN TIME, WHICH INCLUDE EVERYTHING 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 THE SIZE AND GROWTH OF THE MARKET FOR THE COMPANY’S PRODUCTS AND SERVICES, THE ULTIMATE DEGREE OF SUCCESS IN THE COMPANY’S DRILLING EXCURSIONS, THE COMPANY’S ABILITY TO FUND ITS CAPITAL REQUIREMENTS IN THE NEAR TERM AND LONG TERM, PRICING PRESSURES, ETC.

 

Disclaimer from mailer (click to see full size):$EMSF Disclaimer

 

PDF copy of landing page

 

Disclaimer: I have no position in EMSF. I have 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.

 

Connect-a-Jet Scammer convicted for stock fraud, conspiracy

Back in September 2007 as I was first getting into shorting pumps and dumps, there was a huge mailer pump of a company that seemed to have a nice business plan — online booking of private jets. This company, Connect-a-Jet, was a complete sham and every press release put out by the company to coincide with the pump was a lie. I either did not short Connect-a-Jet at all or only shorted in very small size because I was scared of that fact that it was a non-SEC reporting company so I couldn’t be sure if they really had assets. That was foolish and a little investigation would have revealed the company to be a complete scam.

It is nice to see criminal convictions in these cases because prison terms are much more of a deterrent than SEC fines.

Martin Cantu, 58, a Round Rock [Texas] attorney, was convicted of conspiracy to commit securities fraud and securities fraud after a six-day trial.

He faces up to five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine for conspiracy and 20 years and a $250,000 fine for securities fraud. He will be sentenced on Sept. 9 by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade.

Stock promoter and company founder Jason Wynn, 32, of Lantana, Texas, pleaded guilty to conspiracy on April 30 and is awaiting sentencing.

Courthouse News Article
Dallas Observer article

Disclaimer: I have no position in Connect-a-Jet 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.

 

For the Record: Ecosciences landing page pump $ECEZ

So far this year no landing page pumps have gotten much volume and they have all done poorly, fading slowly for the most part. That is why I am slow to blog about this landing page pump on Ecosciences (ECEZ). If landing page pumps continue to get little volume I may cease blogging about them. I was first emailed the link to the landing page pump on May 14th at 7:00AM but ECEZ had previously been promoted last November by multiple different email promoters.

price-box

 

Disclosed budget: $350,000
Promoter:  Andrew Carpenter / Wall Street Revelator
Paying party:  Not disclosed
Shares outstanding: 101,751,500
Previous closing price: $0.53
Market capitalization: $53 million

 

Excerpt from disclaimer:

The advertiser anticipates managing a total production budget of $350,000 for this online advertising effort and will retain any amounts over and above the cost of production, copywriting services, mailing and other distribution expenses, as a fee for its services. The Wall Street Revelator and/or its publisher, Andrew Carpenter has received a total amount of eleven thousand six hundred and twenty five dollars in cash compensation to assist in the writing of this Advertisement, as well as potential future subscription and advertising revenues, the amount of which is not known at this time with respect to the publication of this

Full disclaimer:

IMPORTANT NOTICE AND DISCLAIMER: This sponsored advertising of Eco Sciences Inc. 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, or an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security. The “Company” featured in this issue, appears as paid advertising, paid by a third party to provide public awareness for ECEZ. This Report has used outside research and writers using public information to create this advertisement. The third party owns no shares of ECEZ. Although the information contained in this advertisement is believed to be reliable, there can be no warranties as to the accuracy of any of the content herein and the publishers accept no liability for how readers may choose to utilize the content. Readers should perform their own due-diligence, including consulting with a licensed, qualified investment professional or analyst. Further, readers are strongly urged to independently verify all statements made in this advertisement and perform extensive due diligence on this or any other advertised company. The publishers are 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. Many states have established rules requiring the approval of a security by a state security administrator. Check with http://www.nasaa.org or call your state security administrator to determine whether a particular security is licensed for sale in your state. Many companies have information filed with state securities regulators and many will supply investors with additional information on request. The advertiser anticipates managing a total production budget of $350,000 for this online advertising effort and will retain any amounts over and above the cost of production, copywriting services, mailing and other distribution expenses, as a fee for its services. The Wall Street Revelator and/or its publisher, Andrew Carpenter has received a total amount of eleven thousand six hundred and twenty five dollars in cash compensation to assist in the writing of this Advertisement, as well as potential future subscription and advertising revenues, the amount of which is not known at this time with respect to the publication of this Advertisement and future publications. Andrew Carpenter has never owned, and never will own, shares, options or warrants in ECEZ. Further, specific financial information, filings, and disclosures as well as general investor information about publicly traded companies like ECEZ, advice to investors and other investor resources are available at the Securities and Exchanges Commission website www.sec.gov and www.nasd.com. Any investment should be made only after consulting with a qualified investment advisor and after reviewing the publicly available financial statements of and any other information about the company and verifying that the investment is appropriate and suitable. Investing in securities is highly speculative and carries a great deal of risk especially as to new companies with limited operations and no history of earnings. The information contained herein contains forward-looking information within the meaning of section 27a of the Securities Act of 1993, as amended, and section 21e of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements regarding expected growth of the featured company. In accordance with the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act, statements contained herein that look forward in time, which include everything other than historical information, involve risks and uncertainties that may affect the Company’s actual results of operations. 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 detailed in the company’s reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

PDF copy of landing page

ecez

 

Disclaimer: I have no position in ECEZ and will not trade it unless it gets significantly higher volume. I have 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.

NuGene International $NUGN Mailer pump

I must admit that I have not been following pumps as closely as I used to because so few of them have enough volume to be interesting to me. So I only noticed that NuGene International (NUGN) was being pumped by a 28-page glossy hard mailer when I saw this tweet about it. I checked Twitter and sure enough numerous people reported receiving the mailer promoting the stock over the last two weeks. Below is a shot of the cover of the mailer:

NUGN_mailer

Disclosed budget: $2,287,000 (likely exaggerated)
Promoter:  MicroCap MarketPlace / Casson Media Group Inc
Paying party:  Result Corporation
Shares outstanding: 39,584,673
Previous closing price: $3.24
Market capitalization: $128 million

[Update 6/26/2015: I received a NUGN mailer myself and just scanned it and uploaded it in two parts:

NUGN mailer part 1 (PDF)
NUGN mailer part 2 (PDF)

[I have censored all the images of Kathy Ireland in the above-scanned mailer after receiving a DMCA takedown notice of those images from one of Kathy’s minions].

Excerpt from disclaimer:

Casson Media Group, Inc. (CMG), an affiliated company of MicroCap MarketPlace has received nine thousand dollars in cash compensation from Result Corporation, a third party shareholder of NUGN to assist in the writing of this Advertisement, and anticipates receiving potential future subscription and advertising revenues, the amount of which is not known and cannot be predicted at this time. Result Corporation, besides compensating CMG, paid two million two hundred and eighthy thousand dollars to marketing vendors to cover all the costs of creating and distributing theis Advertisement, including printing and postage, in an effort to build investor and market awareness.

nugn

Full disclaimer:

disclaimer

Disclaimer: I have no position in NUGN as I write this although I have traded it today and intend to trade it in the near future. I have 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.

Riviera Tool Corp $RIVT does a NEST

When people ask why I prefer to trade penny stocks and preferably OTC stocks, my answer is that I prefer to trade against people who are less intelligent and experienced than I am. Considering all the smart people working at hedge funds I would likely be less intelligent and less experienced than the people trading big money on real stocks like Apple and Tesla. But every once in awhile the amount of stupidity I see in the trading of a stock astounds even me. Riviera Tool Corp (RIVT) is a recent example of this.

What happened with Riviera Tool Corp (RIVT)? After the market close on Wednesday, May 6th, the Detroit Free Press reported that Tesla (TSLA) was buying “Riviera Tool” of Grand Rapids, a tool and die supplier to Tesla. After Riviera Tool Corp (RIVT) started spiking Jason Shubnell of Benzinga reported the acquisition and specified that it was Riviera Tool Corp (RIVT) that Tesla was buying, which was wrong — it was Riviera Tool LLC that was acquired. Riviera Tool Corp had all its assets seized by creditors back in 2007 and had been an empty shell since then. For summaries of exactly how there came to be a public zombie shell Riviera Tool Corp and a private Riviera Tool LLC, see this SeekingAlpha article. After the market close on the first day Riviera Tool Corp was halted by FINRA (U3 halt)  and it remains halted as I type this. See the intraday chart of RIVT on the day it spiked.

Back in 2013 a similar situation happened with Nestor Inc. (NEST) after Al Gore talked positively about Nest (maker of the Nest learning thermostat). Dumb investors/traders bought the stock of Nestor, which at the time was essentially a shell company with no assets, thinking it was Nest Inc. Take a look at the intraday charts of NEST over the three days it ran up and then dumped back down (days 1 and 2; day 3). Here is a description of what happened. When Google acquired Nest in early 2014 Nestor Inc stock had another run. The NY Times Dealbook had a nice description of what happened then.

The Nestor / Nest confusion wasn’t even the only time that happened in 2013. In the same month that year there was lots of talk about Twitter (TWTR) going public and the company started filing paperwork for its eventual IPO. Traders then bought stock in bankrupt (and essentially worthless shell) Tweeter Inc (TWTRQ) and the stock shot up from 1 cent to 14 cents. Even after the first run up and a halt to change the ticker to THEGQ so that people would not be confused the stock had a second run up two weeks later and ran from 2 cents to 10 cents.

 

Disclaimer: This article has been edited to show that NEST had two separate dumb runs after news of Nest Inc. I am short 15,000 shares of RIVT at Interactive Brokers that I will look to cover when it reopens for trading. I have 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.