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Microcap & Penny Stocks : ACRT about to move to new highs -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jean-Philippe Chevalier who wrote (2205)	3/4/1998 8:54:00 PM
From: Goulds	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 7054

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Actrade International Ltd. (ACRT) shares are down 12% Wednesday, continuing a three-month slide that a company spokesman attributed to a bear raid by a short-seller using the Internet to discredit the company. Mitch Menik, a spokesman for New York-based Actrade, said the rumors that the short-seller is spreading are untrue, but nevertheless appear to have caused selling of the Nasdaq-listed stock. "It has caused other people to sell in a panic," Menik said. That has brought momentum players to the stock and triggered margin calls, setting off more selling in the issue. The short-seller, going by the pseudonym Mr. Pink, has been posting messages on Yahoo! Inc.'s (YHOO) finance bulletin boards as well as on Silicon Investor, another financial Web site. The rumors don't specifically address the company's fundamentals. No user profile was available for Mr. Pink on Yahoo! Mr. Pink's messages have prompted other Web users to come to Actrade's defense, but the anonymity of the Internet makes the reliability of this on-line chatter difficult to determine. What is clear is that shares of Actrade are in a slump. The stock, which hit a 52-week high of 30 Nov. 28, recently traded at 10 1/2 - its low for the day - down 1 7/16 on volume of 455,900, well beyond the daily average of 359,400. The issue fell 3% Tuesday. Also clear is that Actrade has posted strong revenues and earnings growth. In the second quarter ended Dec. 31, 1997, the company posted net ncome of 13 cents a share on revenues of $23.1 million, up from net income of 6 cents on revenues of $8.9 million a year earlier. The company has a patent on a new financial instrument that helps U.S. merchandisers realize cash right away while extending short-term credit to their domestic customers. The instrument, a trade acceptance draft, should, help Actrade's capital division triple its revenues to $66 million in 1998, Menik said. But some investors clearly expect Actrade to tumble. The company's short interest at Feb. 13 was 1.3 million, about one-third of Actrade's public float, according to Menik. Menik described what is happening as a bear raid, which would make it a violation of Securities and Exchange Commission rules. In a bear raid, an investor tries to manipulate the price of a stock by selling a large number of shares short - that is, selling borrowed shares. If it works and the price drops, the investor gains the difference between the price at which he sold short and the price at which he buys shares to replace those he borrowed. Menik said Actrade's investors, mostly individuals, have been calling to ask what the company is going to do about this possible bear raid. He said the company is considering using free cash to buy back its stock, but hasn't decided one way or another. (MORE) DOW JONES NEWS 03-04-98