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Non-Tech : Bill Wexler's Dog Pound -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Hank who wrote (4258)	10/8/1999 2:01:00 PM
From: DanZ	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 10293

<I guess the fact that you can't borrow GUMM anymore means there are an awful lot of people out there that lack the "intellectual capacity" that you and Howie have for understanding the "value" of GUMM.> Nope, we just have a different opinion. You can't conclude that short sellers will be right just because there are many of them. If the company continues to do well, the short interest will provide more buying power for the inevitable rally. You might review the short interest figures since the middle of 1997. It has averaged about 850,000 shares since then. People may have had a good reason to short GUMM two years ago, but the company has moved forward with new management and new products, and the stock has not done well for them. The short interest has fallen the past two months, so it looks like some of them wised up and started covering. One short in particular has posted on the Yahoo board since November 1997. He has professed not to buy GUMM since it was at 5 and below. Statements such as "Don't catch the falling knife" and "I'll buy your stock for $2" when GUMM was at 5, make him a laughing stock, not to mention holding a losing short position for 2 years. He epitomizes falling in love with one's position. Many people speculate that he represents a large short seller in the stock. Little good he has done. The stock has almost tripled since he started shilling. <In fact, I have NEVER come across a stock whose short interest was so large that it became impossible to borrow where the stock didn't eventually collapse. Strange coincidence?> I haven't done the research to verify this, but even if it is true, there's always a first. Out of curiosity, did you analyze every stock that has ever traded or are you only including stocks that you happened to hear about or follow? I seriously doubt if what you say is true for every stock that ever had a high short interest. Here's an example of the risk that short sellers are taking in GUMM. You and others can try to convince yourselves that "I have zero risk", but that's pure baloney. The risk of substantial loss, and even financial ruin, is far greater to those who are short than to those who are long. Even for the person that is only short 1,000 shares of GUMM, what will happen to him if the clinical study soon to be announced determines that Zicam effectively prevents the common cold. Where will the stock trade? How much does that person stand to lose? $50,000, $75,000? It just isn't worth the risk. There are far less risky shorts in the market. messages.yahoo.com