Hamouth and Garratt's C3D, Moll's Skinvisible get thumbs up
CDDD
Shares issued 0 close $
Wednesday Jan 19 2000 Street Wire
See (U:CFMD) Street Wire
by Brent Mudry
CRAB PROMOTERS' C3D CRACKS THE HUNDRED-DOLLAR MARK; PEARL MAN LAGGING
In a bid to enhance the shady image of the over-the-counter market and flush
out dubious operators, United States regulators brought in the new "OTC
Bulletin Board Eligibility Rule" a year ago, forcing companies to provide
enhanced and acceptable disclosure. Those that do not pass muster are given
the hook and banished to the pink sheets.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission and the National
Association of Securities Dealers are concerned that investors might get
false comfort just because a company is electronically quoted. "The NASD has
actively studied the OTC market in an effort to address abuses in the
trading and sales of thinly traded, thinly capitalized (microcap)
securities," stated the SEC in a press release on Jan. 4, 1999, when the new
rule was approved.
"With respect to its examination of the OTC-BB in particular, the NASD noted
the lack of reliable and current financial information about the issuers,
and the perception by the public that the OTC-BB is similar to a highly
regulated market, such as the registered exchanges or Nasdaq," stated the
SEC.
The vetting and scrutiny process is phased in, and the approval deadline for
the current batch of companies is Thursday. During the short review period,
companies have an "E" added to the end of their symbol, as a warning to
investors of the potential delisting peril. Scores of bulletin-board
companies face imminent banishment, based on a Jan. 18 compliance status
report showing numerous "fail" ratings.
While the losers must skulk off and lick their wounds, the winners get to
retain their coveted bulletin-board listings. Among those given the
thumbs-up with "pass" ratings are two penny stocks launched, backed and
promoted by controversial Vancouver promoters well known to Canadian
regulators.
They are C3D and Skinvisible. C3D features such Howe Street notables as Phil
Garratt and Clair Calvert of Cycomm International fame and Rene Hamouth,
most recently of Corsaire fame. Mr. Hamouth, like Mr. Garratt of crab trap
renown, had an odd fondness for crabs, as a Mexican crab plant was once
Corsaire's prime asset.
Skinvisible features self-exiled Vancouver promoter Harry Moll and a number
of close associates of his Pineridge group. The collapse of Mr. Moll's
Pineridge group earlier prompted the Matkin Commission, a provincial inquiry
into the state of securities regulation by the British Columbia Securities
Commission and the former Vancouver Stock Exchange. Mr. Moll's most
memorable promotion was Cross Pacific Pearls, a Californian clam endeavour,
much of whose money was eventually whisked off to Panama.
While Mr. Moll's Skinvisible has some catching up to do, Mr. Garratt and Mr.
Hamouth's C3D has achieved success that few Howe Street promoters can even
dream of. The company, renamed Constellation 3D last Friday, effectively
cracked the magic mark of $100 (U.S.).
C3D shares hit a 1999 peak of $97.87 (U.S.) on Dec. 30, an impressive rise
from the 12.5 U.S. cents paid by Mr. Garratt's group of offshore associates,
who bought 3.12 million shares last spring, which represented the company's
entire free-trading float.
(The company has gone through four symbols in the past month, due to the
eligibility review and the name change. C3D traded as "CDDD" until Dec. 22,
as "CDDDE" until Friday Jan. 14, as "CFMDE" on Tuesday, after the market
holiday on Monday, and finally changed to "CFMD" on Wednesday.)
The company also did a stock split on Tuesday, with three new shares for one
old share. The post-split Constellation debut was strong. The stock closed
at $65.75 (U.S.) on Friday, and $29.50 (U.S.) on Tuesday, up 35 per cent to
an effective pre-split price of $88.50 (U.S.).
On Wednesday, their second post-split day and first eligibility-approved
session, shares of Constellation 3D peaked at $34.75 (U.S.), a pre-split
equivalent of $104.25 (U.S.), and closed at $33.50 (U.S.), or $100.50 (U.S.)
pre-split. The stock has risen more than five-fold from $18.69 (U.S.) since
Nov. 3, when Stockwatch revealed Mr. Garratt, an expatriate Australian, and
his Cycomm sidekick Mr. Calvert, a former Vancouver broker, as C3D's key
stock engineers and initial promoters.
The stellar Constellation performance makes even ANTs Software.com pale by
comparison. ANTs, which features another controversial Howe Street promoter,
Don Hutton, the CHoPP Computer levitator, peaked at $55 (U.S.) in December.
While anyone who has followed Mr. Moll will hardly accuse him of being a
piker or an underachiever, he has some catching up to do. Shares of his
Skinvisible promotion fell 12.5 U.S. cents to $3.37 (U.S.) on Wednesday.
Fortunately, Skinvisible's early backers paid a thousandth-of-a-cent each
for millions of shares.
(Readers wishing more details on C3D may refer to Streetwires dated Nov. 3,
1999, and Jan. 7, under the symbol CDDD. Mr. Hamouth's previous promotion,
Corsaire, is noted in Streetwires dated June 11, 15 and 21, 1999, under the
symbol NCDR. Mr. Moll's Skinvisible is noted in a Streetwire dated Nov. 9,
1999, under the symbols SKVI and VS.)
(c) Copyright 2002 Canjex Publishing Ltd. canada-stockwatch.com
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