Totally frustrated. So hard to get any information on this stock. No conference calls, no idea of what INDs are being selected/worked on by Merck (or if they have any continued interest at all), no specs of NCI phase 3 trial design, no direction of how we will be financed moving forward (cash thru 1st quarter of 2018), absolutely no news on anything. Only constants are the RJ Kirk smirk, his meaningless, unsubstantiated, open ended aloof statements, WS's obvious disdain for his practices, and the continued oppressively high short interest hedged against this stock. Geez, I wonder what the cause of that is.
If a proven and highly touted pharma exec like Germano could not work with Kirk, how are we as shareholders supposed to? This stock has so much promise yet it is reigned back by Ed Lamphier syndrome (former unqualified, inexperienced SGMO CEO whose company was a front runner in gene editing only to let it slip through his hands because of greed, ego and strategic nonalignment with the market). I am reluctant, almost embarrassed to admit it, but CEO Cooper, has fallen into that same category. Great scientist, ineffective CEO. A Sol Barer or Ed Lamphier comparison easily comes to mind. Everything slips, all excuses, no accountability; innovation on hold as trials are unable to be funded due to depleted access to capital. Frankly, Kirk did not expect to be in today's situation. No matter what partnership they sign in the future now, even a triple of share price at these stages would only make this a passive stock investment. Totally misplayed hand; big pharma is simply waiting them out. Meanwhile, innovation continues in other biotechs. ZIOP's Sleeping Beauty rheo-switch, their primary IP, is slowly being rendered less unique by competitive solutions from more objective, open-minded rivals with responsible management teams. KITE is knocking it out of the park in commercializing immunotherapy even though ZIOP has the better, more cost effective solution. Innovation will negate the Sleeping Beauty (ZIOP's rheoswitch) advantage just as Crispers have done to Zinc Fingers (in SGMO's case while Lamphier was on watch).
I'm done venting, I feel better now. Just ticks me off we have such a fabulous, innovative, proven solution for cancer inflicted patients but management continues to sit on their hands waiting for the phone to ring on that quickly fading mega-deal while shareholders are left to interpret half-witted, open-ended statements from our circumspect, distracted, part-time chairman (excuse me, the self proclaimed ethereal king of biotech) for direction. Was going to sell a large quantity of $6 puts for some income as we wait, but now think I will wait for a couple of weeks and sell $5's instead on all my shares. Kirk's past success is not a validation of this current mess. Just a pathetic demonstration of a mismanaged, completely misplayed hand in the strategic market place; period. This is not a home run stock, do not buy it with that context in mind. This is a text book case of an unstoppable, evolving, innovative biotech industry completely over whelming an outdated, static management strategy of a `one solution approach' in a multi-solution marketplace. Funny how the old axioms are still so fundamental even today. A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush. Our time is quickly coming to an end, management needs to salvage any innovative advantage they have left. |
