Paul: Yup, I too see no reason to abandon the VLNC ship at this point. In for a penny, in for a pound on this speculative story is my viewpoint. But of course it's to be expected that shorties will try to run their game. Quite frankly, I'm a wee bit surprised it has taken this long for various shortie "rumors" to begin to circulate. Perhaps they were looking for some sort of "top" from which to begin the usual tactics. Of course, when considering this strategy one should also look to the fact that the stock is concentrated in a little over 700 "hands," is 8% owned by institutions with ~33% owned by insiders. One should also consider that the ~1 Million shares shorted so far have only been able to hold VLNC "down" to around $9.75 - $10.25. Bottom Line, their impact has been negligible to date. I will say I find the timing of the shortie rumors to be very interesting....what with analysts visits just gone by. You could say somebody's trying to shake the tree and scare up some shares? In other words, the shortie rumors may be a positive indicator regarding analyst(s) impressions? This is just me opinion, of course.
Ultimately though, IF yer worried about shorties then the best tactic you can employ as an individual, which collectively might make an impact, is to move your shares over to the cash side of your account(or better yet, take possession of 'em), 'cause then your broker cannot use them to facilitate another houses(or buyers) attempt to short. Just some random thoughts before market day commences.
John~ |
