GC, I beg to differ with you. You stated: how you (referring to us hypsters) were hyping
it at 5 and 4 and 3...... better be more careful and stop playing games....which i see you did stop at 2....
Excuse me, but I remember (as you put it) hyping it at .56,.75, .81, 87, .5.81, 4.25, 3.50. and every tick for the past two years and continue to champion it today, even at $2.00. My conviction has never waned at any price or in any direction, up or down. Nor do I feel that several others never displayed a change in heart. Ever.
You also stated: i know it wasn't intentional but still it was way premature. Granted in hindsight it was. And yes, unintentional, which would explain why I and many others also purchased shares above $5.00. Remember Gary, the enthusiasm that was expressed in the upper levels above $5 were pre-form 144's, pre-s-1, and pre-quiet period. And also reflected a reaction to a chain of news driven events.
Premature. In hindsight isn't it a wonderful label?
Well let's take a look at another company if you want to judge premature, then tell me it was wrong to be "championing" FTEL.
Ironically this company was also a OTC-BB, it also is in the same business, in fact it is almost a spitting image to Franklin in many ways, Wans, Lans, remote connectivity, satellites, fiber optics, analog, wireless, almost a mirror to Franklins business plan. The company is OSICOM....FIBR is the symbol. Presently trading for $6.18
In the fall of 1994 (Nov) FIBR was chugging along it's merry way like many other OTC-BB's in the high tech sector, all promise, no action, only a dream on a drawing board. Good ideas, promising products scheduled for not to distant future, gaining strategic alliances, establishing a three tiered and complex game plan.
Sound familiar?
Tier 1 was under way, acquisitions.
Application to Nasdaq was accepted on Nov 8th, 1994 and the stock reacted by making a move from the 1.00 level, up to the $2.50 level.
Only to fall back to the $1.25 level. Ahh. Were there hypsters back then touting the stock at the ridiculous price of $2.50 only to be halved in a months time?
I don't know, but I'm sure there was, there always are. Right?
But then a funny thing happened, in late Feb of 95 the stock went from the $1.50 level and tapped on the $4 door. Knock, knock, who's there?
Well actually it was a joint venture alliance in Switzerland, a leader in their industry, with the future promise of supplying network products in Europe.
Ahh, but then poor little FIBR backed off it's high and edged down to the sub $3.00 level, almost 33% off it's recent high, and languished there for almost 6 months, aimlessly looking for a direction.
Nothing coming out of the companies "press release" machine for months on end. Dastardly, just the thought of it makes me shutter. Can you imagine the naysayers reaction? Can you imagine what the poor individuals that bought at the higher prices were thinking? Can you imagine how many were shaken loose of shares by the negativsm that ran rampant during that period? What were they thinking of? How could they have been so foolish to put their faith in a company, all based on promises? Based on what others were saying? Never doing their own homework, never calling a toll free number? Just blindly investing on the say so of others, then just as easily selling at a loss, also on the say so of others. Can you imagine such a thing?
Then one day late in Aug. (8/22/95) the stock soared to 4.44 on news of a record backlog ($3mill) and continued to climb up to the $5.75 level, by Nov's earning report . Mind you the company was only shipping about 1.7 million in reves per quarter at the time. Soon there after the company started to show nice increases in revenues (32%) and earnings started to soar, up 129%, as they reported their 3rd quarter on Nov 16, 1995, and the 9 months revenues were still only $5.5 million.
Ahh, but again the stock fell percipitously from the glory of the upper $5's to sub $4's, another 1/3rd axed off those that bought at the top. Damm, hypsters. Damn company BS press releases! God bless all those Naysayers for setting the record straight. Yes'er rhee! By God, let's just set the record straight! After all, we wouldn't want to be premature. We wouldn't want to base our hard earned money on speculations, promising technology, or a company that was only producing a meager $7 million annualized projections. That's right, let's get real, this isn't GE folks, this is just some little two bit company with a lot of hot air blowing.
Oh, how all those that bought at $5.75 in Nov. must have felt, to have been snookered in by all those hypsters. And there they sit, on Xmas eve, holding a stock that within a month had cratered a whole 33%. Must have been that "premature syndrome" that got them again.
But hark! On Jan 19, 1996 the company announces the acquisition of Rockwell Network Sytems, damn. The stock closes the day before at 3.47 (imagine that) and closes on the 19th at $5.19, two weeks later at $8.00.
Gee, I wonder how many that had gotten shaken out, were able to get back in at lower prices? Or back in at all? Thinking that it was going to drop back. Yep the old, "I'll catch it on the return trip, theory".
I wonder if those that bought back in Feb of 95 at $4.00 still thought they were premature? Or those that bought at $5.75? Etc.
That's okay, all those idiots that are buying here at $8.00 level will be sorry, after all, why would Rockwell be selling a viable division, asked the naysayers. Hummah, Hummmah, Hummah!
Of course at the end of Feb, just 5 weeks later the stock is tickling $9.25, but they will pay dearly for being premature, they always do, say the naysayers.
Whoops, more news, out of a growth company, can you imagine such a thing? How sneaky! "They must be tricking us," says one naysayer, "it's a conspiracy," says another.
02/02/96 Osicom declares a 2-for-1 split
03/27/96 Osicom announces distribution agreement with PSI NET.
03/28/96 Osicom announces 88% net income gain
05/28/96 Osicom announces growing list of OEM's customers
05/29/96 Osicom announces 75% net income growth
05/31/96 Osicom unit named sole supplier of video equipment to GTE
06/03/96 Osicom unit to provide Network interface adapters for EDE
06/05/96 Osicom unit to provide Network interface adapters for Telos.
Oh, did I fail to mention the price appreciation as the naysayers were harping their song of despair.
03/27/96 9.44
03/28/96 9.87
05/28/96 14.25
05/29/96 13.25 whoops
06/03/96 20.00
06/05/96 18.12 whoops again.
Yes, premature, it's all relative. In hindsight was it premature to buy at $4, $6, $8, or even at $20? Well I guess on the surface it was at $20. Oh, did I forget to tell you about the stock splits? The deals with Motorola, MCI (worth millions), several other acquisitons, the leading growth company in California, $115 million in revenues?
Ahh, but the drop in price to the present $6.18, we naysayers knew it would come back down, we were just premature in our predictions.
Gee, I wonder if at $6.18 I would be premature in declaring this a bargain? Or stating that this has tremendous potential to exceed the previous highs?
I'm sure I was also premature with CMVT when I was hyping at .56, or .81, or 1.75, or 21.00 before it fell back to 17, or 14, or 12, but then again, now that it's at $50.00. Or AMD, or STK, or TEAM, MEDRX, UH, etc., etc.
Must be a timing thing! Yeah that's it! You time, I'll invest. See you at the bank.
Oh, but wait a minute. That's right, you are holding onto your warrants, it's only the shares that you sold. Right?
rb
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