It makes about as much sense to invest in a stock just because you like the company's product(s) as it does to short a stock just because you don't like their product(s). The general public might not share your likes or dislikes. While I believe that Zicam Cold Remedy works as advertised in most cases, and my belief is supported by the company's clinical data and countless testimonials from people who have no financial interest in the company's stock, that isn't the reason that I own it. I own the stock because I believe that this little company will grow into a much larger, and profitable company, and that its stock price will eventually follow.
So sales haven't grown as fast as I first believed. A lot of that is due to Swedish Match jacking the company around (in my opinion), which played a big role in the company's decision to sell their gum manufacturing business to Wrigley. Additionally, they haven't started selling internationally, which reduced the growth of Zicam products, albeit it is still growing at a very good rate. While the price that they received was fair given the market conditions at the time, I still believe that the company would have fared better over the long term had Swedish Match followed through with nicotine gum. They could have sold the gum business for a much higher price after they realized some value from the nicotine gum assets. That's all water under the bridge now, and the new management is doing an excellent job with the proceeds from the sale to Wrigley, as evidenced by revenue growth, profitability, and new product introductions.
Even though you might not care for Zicam Cold Remedy, Matrixx has several other product offerings now. Do you have a beef with them as well? Zicam Allergy is supported with the company's own clinical study as well as previous studies conducted on the active ingredients by others dating back to the 1960s if memory serves me correctly. I posted citations to those studies somewhere on this thread around the time that the Allergy product was released, and you immediately yelled "scam" before even knowing anything about the product. It will be interesting to see how well Zicam Allergy does this year as it is the first allergy season that Claritin has been available over the counter. This could help sales of Zicam Allergy because people that previously obtained Claritin through a prescription will now be shopping on the OTC aisle. Some may compare Zicam Allergy to Claritin and decide to give it a try. Claritin isn't cheap, and Zicam Allergy definitely has them beat on price per dose. Or, it could hurt sales of Zicam Allergy as people opt for Claritin. I don't think that the latter is probable given the low penetration to date of Zicam Allergy.
The Extreme Congestion product contains the same active ingredient found in Afrin. Is that a scam too? Of course you can use a negative buzz word and call it a "me too" product, but it is possible that consumers will prefer the Zicam product to Afrin because of the gel carrier or growing brand name recognition. Regardless, the market for this product is sufficiently large even if Matrixx doesn't overtake Afrin in sales. The Nasal Moisturizer product competes with many other products on the market, most of which are saline sprays. I think that the Zicam offering is superior in quality to saline products because of the addition of Aloe Vera, nine moisturizers, and the gel carrier. However, the company doesn't have sufficient distribution of the product to judge how well it might do in the marketplace. I doubt that it will do very well if the retail price is in the same price range as Zicam Cold Remedy and Zicam Allergy Relief ($8 to $10), but I don't know how much it retails for and haven't seen it in any stores. Zicam Sinus Relief contains menthol and eucalyptus. I don't know of any product of its kind, and distribution is too low to come to any conclusion about how well it will do. Regardless, the product isn't a scam, and the active ingredients are well known to relieve sinus pressure. Aren't these the active ingredients in Vicks Vapor Rub? The company said that they would introduce new products this year, and hinted that they would target markets outside the cough and cold area. If the products are successful, it could alleviate some of the seasonality that currently exists in sales.
You infer that the majority of sales of Zicam Cold Remedy are to first time users. I don't know if that is true or not, and there isn't enough data available to come to that conclusion. The only data points are testimonials which indicate users are happy with the product, and would use it again. It would be interesting if the company conducted a survey to measure what percentage of users are new customers, but perhaps sales need to increase more before the data would be useful. If the company's sales and earnings keep increasing, the stock price will catch up with the fundamentals. I just don't think that it will go the way that you think.
I agree with Mike's comments regarding short selling. While short selling can temporarily depress a stock price, it won't have a sustained effect if the company's sales and profits keep increasing. Eventually the stock price will go up whether shorts cover or not. Nobody can manipulate a stock over the long term, whether it is longs or shorts. And Mad2, you skirted around the issues, but thanks anyway for trying to respond. If you look back on this thread and the Dog Pound thread, you will find that nearly all of my posts are replies to posts that I felt provided inaccurate information or falsely attacked the company and its products. If you take out the replies to those posts, you will find that I said very little about this company. How long was this thread dormant before Floyd posted bogus information about an irrelevant 144 filing from 1997 that brought me here again? I would be content just to sit on my position and see where it goes without posting at all. You all just don't know when to leave well enough alone. |
