Jim, Ashton has an extended line of credit for $18 million with private investors. I believe that should appear in the 10Q?
This company is losing money in a big way right now, and I am concerned with that since I am quite long (9k) the stock, but not as long as some of the real fanatics you would find on the Yahoo! thread.
This is not a "safe" investment by any means, but, the world is changing and being in front is where Ashton comes into play. Their relationship with the Philly exchange is a blessing and a curse. A blessing since it has provided them with some legitimacy/publicity and a curse because of the problems at the Philly exchange and mergers with Nasdaq and Amex.
The big date is April 21. This is when Alternate Trading Systems (ATSs) may begin operation under new SEC rules, although, some pilot programs can begin sooner. Ashton may begin to operate their system sooner that 4/21 under the SEC guidelines and that is what everyone who follows this stock is hyped up on right now.
The CEO of the company Fred Ritterieser was a co-founder of Instinet and has excellent political/business connections. William Uchimoto is their General Legal Counsel and is a class act and extremely talented. Their Chief Technology Officer, Fred Weinberg, is more of an unknown, but seems talented and knowledgeable.
There are some fairly high barriers to entry on all of this stuff, so when the system is running, the competition will have to run hard to catch up.
No guarantees on Ashton. It is a lifestyle changer one way or another. Best of luck. Hope you decide to go long.
Regards, Keith |
