richard: I don't subscribe, but I spoke to Chuck a few months back, and I have a copy of his March 12, 1997 Research Report. When we spoke, Chuck was still bullish about the overall upside potential. He did not seem concerned about recent events in the ongoing civil war, which was the conventional wisdom at the time. [The war rapidly became even more of a concern (sic) once Rebel Razor started riding through the streets of Khartoum shooting up all the government buildings with his "fax" rifle. <vbg>]
On a more serious note, Chuck was actually quite bewildered by the lack of price response to the continually improving fundamentals. For example, here is an excerpt from his March 12, 1997 Research Report:
<<We conclude from the price performance of Arakis stock that the price of the stock has become detached from the expected value of the company's 25% interest in the concession in the Sudan. We will continue to report the developments at the company but are at a loss as when to advise investors to expect the stock to move closer to our estimated minimum break-up or net asset value of $16 per share.>>
If you'd like to read the whole report, give Kristine a call and ask her to fax you a copy. It was part of the standard investor information package handed out at the Howard Weil conference back in April.
Also included in the information package was a reprint of Credifinance Securities Limited Equity Research Note, dated March 26, 1997, which upgraded the company from Speculative Buy to Buy:
<<Pending completion of a new reserve evaluation by Sproule Associates, we continue to estimate Arakis' net asset value at about US$6/share as detailed in our December 9, 1996 comment.>>
Note: Credifinance's report was apparently written just before Sands Petroleum acquired its stake in the company, because there was a <<Stop the press>> note at the bottom summarizing Sands' (IPC's) announcement, along with a quote from Lundin stating he wants the company to "act with a view to maximizing shareholder values."
Hope this helps.
Razor |
