Many have asked what is going on with APTX. Discussion follows:
Lots of buys, but price barely moved, then when buying slowed, MMs
forced price down. This is on good news and rumored 3M buyout. Today's
activity shows buying at 9/32 is strong.
I feel that one of 2 things may be happening. Either a brokerage house
has instructed MMs to get them in near .25 so they can buy shares cheap
before runup or 3M really is buying, but does not want to pay more than
it has to. The idea that this is an extended shakedown for shares or
that MMs are caught short is unlikely, due to length of time passed.
Today's retaliation by First Fidelity Capital was for the nose snubbing
it received by APTX for not handing over the money in the last of
several loans. Apparel Technologies also accused First Fidelity of
conflict of interest [with other apparel companies], leak of
confidential information and breach of contract. Last night, First
Fidelity put out a press release stating they were now going to
"specialize" in apparel manufacturer loans. Yet this morning they denied
any wrongdoing against APTX. They call themselves a "boutique-investment
banking firm with offices in Beverly Hills and London." APTX secured a 2
mil loan elsewhere.
Yesterday's APTX news release stated that the new design centers were a
financial success. The CEO stated, "Our revenues for March and April 1998 exceeded the Company's revenues for the prior six months ended February 28, 1998, as a result of the commencement of digital production activity in March."
Apparel Technologies has set-up design centers in Europe, LA and NY,
where garment makers can bring in art [on disk] to be instantly
digitally printed for review. These are what the CEO is referring to
being successful.
1/4 has historically been the solid floor for APTX. In light of
dramatically increased volume and news, the stock should be rising. It
was stated [by someone] that MM manipulation was verified. MMs don't act
like this without good reason. Could they be anticipating a runup on
impending news or on buyout? It is possible, but I have no information
on this.
They are working with 3M in developing a digital fabric printer to be
used in printing garments, such as T-shirts, fabric, baby-clothes,
signs, etc. This is revolutionary. For many decades signs, fabric,
T-shirts, etc. have been printed using the silk-screen process. This
method is more a craft than a science and is labor intensive. Samples of
the garment are very expensive and take a long time to produce. The
digital printer, designed by APTX with the help of 3M will change all
that.
Ink would be shot onto garment in a fashion similar to the ink-jet
printers. Color separation would be within the computer and would not
require separate screens to be made from expensive separations, as is
currently done. APTX has already agreed to sell printers to some of the
largest producers of T-shirts.
To my knowledge, no other company is working to produce such a printer.
Any idea how many T-shirts are printed in a given day? One good sized
screenprinting company may produce a hundred thousand to a million
shirts in a single day. It is not uncommon to utilize 10 or more presses
at a time and 200 employees. The savings to a typical garment maker by
using the APTX printer would be significant.
Think of how many T-shirts you see in the shopping malls, sports shops,
colleges, events [Olympics], tourist areas, etc, etc, Don't forget that
piece good fabric is also printed before being made into a garment. That
is how they get Barney's image on the baby clothes.
Rande Is
~~NOTE: These are my opinions and nothing herein constitutes a
recommendation to buy or sell any stock. Consult your broker and
it is never a good idea to buy penny stocks as an investment. They are
very risky. I am a private investor and currently hold a small long
position in APTX. |
