S.B. My take is much the same as Gary's - that KE has mismanaged the company and either has to take big and immediate steps to enhance shareholder value or has to go. This business of caring nothing about the stock price and shutting out the analyst/WS community should not be tolerated by shareholders. I am appalled that on a day the stock price declined so precipitously after an obviously unexpected earnings miss, even if he was not asked the questions directly, he did not address the price decline, the split, whether or not the company is buying back stock - all issues which are of vital interest to us. I am utterly dismayed that the company did not preannounce or give lower guidance to the investment community as soon as it became obvious to them that the quarter was not going as expected. We now have to deal with analysts who were not communicated with, are no doubt highly irritated, and who will take it out in the form of downgrades and advice to their clients to sell out, as their own credibility is at stake. As much as I am amused by Rocky and his antics and don't take him seriously as a trader/investor, he makes one valid point (as did Judy), that the Street hates the company and that is unlikely to change. Without Wall Street sponsorship vis-a-vis the analyst community and large brokerage houses, this issue must work twice as hard to advance. I believe that the company, after the third quarter report, was on the verge of regaining some respectability in professional investment circles. That has been trashed now, and I seriously doubt it will ever be regained.
IMO, our best hope of recouping some of these losses is for takeover/ buyout rumours to resurface, for KE and the company to reduce the product prices, or for a boardroom coup to replace him. I am and always was utterly dismayed at the prospect of splitting a $28 dollar stock. We all saw in the past two days what it's like to suffer a 4 point loss on a split stock. When it was first announced, I compared the possible effects to those suffered by shareholders after splits in INTC, CPQ, AMAT, NVLS, TXN, etc. I had all of them and suffered from all of them. That concern was dismissed on this board and I allowed myself to be seduced by the arguments.
What we have here now is a stock which is too cheap to be considered by many mutual funds, by their own guidelines or charters - a company which was on the verge of regaining respectability after the craziness of 1996 and which has now returned to that dubious status IMO. I'm not saying at all that a nimble trader cannot make money on IOM - they can - and I will attempt to do that. But as a long term "investment" - no way unless big changes are forthcoming.
I will be going to the shareholder meeting and will express my concerns if I am allowed to do so. The events of the past two days have absolutely devastated my portfolio and shaken my confidence in my ability to evaluate companies (even trades). I don't blame anyone but myself, as I was given a clear sell signal two months ago and ignored it.
Finally, I wish very much that Darrell Smith would come here and make his comments on the recent events. Of all the posters on this forum, he had the best ability to analyze the company and trading in it and I would be very very interested in his opinion on the prospects going forward. Darrell, I know you read this board - please post your take on all of this - I know all of us would appreciate it. |
