You are right Dan, dead wrong was strong wording on my part and I chose it intentionally. Your post about AMS management being no different from other junior stocks is only the second one I have responded to in the last few months so obviously I strongly objected to it.
Of course, you don't have time to go through all the VSE companies but do take the time to pick a letter at random and look through the next 20 stocks. I estimate that there is a 95% chance that you won't find one that has ripped off their shareholders more than Adamas (measured by % of total shares over the last year). If you find two out of twenty then I will eat my words and issue you an apology. But I am very confident I won't have to do that because Adamas is far from typical.
Your description of them as pigs at a trough was quite fitting. If there was a farmer's market the AMS pig would win the blue ribbon!
Believe me, I don't get pleasure out of bad mouthing stocks I own but with each passing month I have become more disgusted by the way Mr. Doppler has been running this company. In addition to the number of options granted is the issue of price.
If Doppler truly wanted to earn the faith and respect of the public, he would have set the options at a significantly higher price (say 40 cents). This would have sent a message to the market that management was very confident and had a motivation to send the stock price higher. If he had done this we sure wouldn't be looking at a 22 cent stock today.
Another reason for the low price is that Doppler recently brought on board a director, Michael Skopos, who has been dumping his shares (100,000 in September) on the open market. When investors see that management has such a desperate need for quick cash, it understandably erodes confidence.
Finally, is Doppler acting responsibly when he pays someone $60,000 a year (+ options) for public relations? For a company that has no sales?
The bottom line is that a quality public company must earn the trust of its shareholders. If Doppler would be unwilling to spend his own money on something, he shouldn't be using company money on it either. AMS management has been printing up new shares for their gain and at our expense. They consistently violate the trust we have placed in them and it saddens me that so many people on SI prefer to turn a blind eye to their shenanigans rather than confronting them with this fact.
After all of this, I'm sure I'm going to be asked the obvious question, "Why am I still a shareholder?"
The simple answer is that I have no need for a tax loss right now, so I will wait for the VSE's golden months (Jan-May) to arrive. But by the end of that period there is a 0% chance that I will still be holding AMS. It will be a happy day when I no longer have to witness Stephen Doppler and friends ripping me off on a monthly basis. |
