Samcat: I, for one, would be glad to hear ANYTHING from Rash. I'm not in a position to know if anything's "up", but I think the lack of activity on the boards is reflective of the lack of activity in the stock. That lack of activity seems very bizarre, as there is obviously a LOT of activity at the company, with some major changes and deals ongoing.
If the Omnifilter is approved and ITI is able to get it to market quickly and effectively, things will be great. If the approval isn't obtained or is delayed for a long time, perhaps for extensive clinical trials, then things don't look so good.
If MRI is able to get the catheter products moving on a substantial basis, then we are again in great shape. If not, then things are not so great.
If Rash is able to do additional deals for the stent, Omnicath, and other products to raise additional cash in the short term, then we are looking good. If not, then we've got problems.
Really, the above issues are hard for us to discuss here, as they are based largely on the performance of ITI and MRI, about whom we know virtually nothing since they are private companies. The next positive news to come from them might be news of Omnifilter prototype completion and beginning of 510K notification with the FDA, as well as signs of royalty revenues from the MRI deal. In either case, that's going to take a few months.
As far as Rash doing additional deals, I really am hoping that he succeeds in doing so and issues news releases to that effect SOON. The problem there is, of course, that if those news releases are as short and un-enthusiastic as the last few, then we may not see any market reaction.
In my opinion, we are back to the SAME OLD PROBLEM we've had with this stock for a long time: management is totally ineffective at inspiring investors to buy the stock. In fact, they really don't even seem to be TRYING. Even Bockler seems pretty silent lately. Bottom line, to me, is that ITI was willing to give us ONE MILLION DOLLARS CASH as a bet on the Omnifilter being approved quickly and marketed successfully. If they are willing to do that, I've GOT to think that there are investors out there who would buy this stock for similar reasons, if they only knew them.
I'm wondering if the delay in the annual meeting is of any significance. Some people have speculated that new shares will have to be authorized at the meeting since we are close to the current limit of 50 million. Maybe Rash is delaying the meeting because he's squeamish about making such a request of shareholders at a time when we are already hurting so badly with this low share price. Such a vote, in itself, doesn't change the situation very much, especially if we never have to actually issue those additional shares, but it does send a potentially negative signal.
Also, I think another reason for the lack of activity on the boards is that there are, with a few exceptions, only three types of active posters: mysterious hypers who want us to think they have inside dope, highly optimistic long-time bulls, and knee-jerk bashers. None of those people really contribute very much of substance to the boards, so there's not much momentum for useful discussion.
What do you think about this all, samcat? |
