Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Microcap & Penny Stocks : THNS - Technest Holdings (Prev. FNTN) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: James P Anderson who wrote (11455)	3/18/1999 1:42:00 PM
From: Wally	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 15313

James: It's almost not worth arguing with bashers. I am more and more convinced that they seldom make a difference. A good stock will eventually take off - period - whether we all love a stock, or hate it. There are some notable exceptions to my rule. One of which was triggered by old Watcher's co-worker, Mr. "Cliff" some months ago. For those who are new to the thread, Watcher's friend Cliff, as it turned out, worked clandestinely for a competitor. Before he was unearthed, Cliffie very capably instilled fear in the minds of innocent, small investors and I truly believe caused damage to the stock's value. Of course, anybody who held on to their shares through that barrage of garbage would have seen another triple before the latest drop - which brings us to the most ludicrous part of a basher's argument when it comes to FNTN. Here's a stock that has produced somewhere in the neighborhood of 400% profit for many of its stockholders and is only now selling product. Not a bad pre-start for any company. Watcher still wants us to feel sorry for the "job-threatened" Cliff who was just doing his civic duty when fraudulently frightening people out their wits, and wallets. What a guy. What a pair of guys. Golly, Hitler wasn't ALL bad - after all, when he wasn't too busy being the most vile mass murderer in human history, he was kind to his dogs.. and he lost his job, too. So it's hard for me to get too scared anymore. Personally, I know this stock too well and I know the players too well, both in the company and on the threads. For any new lurkers out there: Despite its many lucrative moments, FNTN is still a BB stock and carries with it ALL the inherent risks associated with this type of investment. To paraphrase a recent quote on another thread, in a BB stock, the norm is that there is no norm. It takes off.. or crashes. or both. Those of us who have actually bought FNTN and other BBs do so for the thrill and the potential of enormous gains. There is also the potential for enormous losses. My best advice to anyone new to FNTN is not to take anybody's advice. Don't believe ANYBODY - even nice guys, like me. We're all guessing. Also, keep the investment down to something you can afford to lose. To help the odds, read the company, read the mission, read the sector and time your buys. The rest is in the hands of some higher arbiter than any individual on this or any other thread. regards to all, Wally

To: James P Anderson who wrote (11455)	3/18/1999 2:29:00 PM
From: The Philosopher	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 15313

As to old issues hashed over, I read most posts here and the issue about salaries and benefits has not, to my recollection, been raised before. And while some issues have been discussed before, new members who haven't read through thousands of past posts won't know of these issues, and I don't see any problem in letting them know that the issues exist. As for my agenda, I've stated it several times. 1) I am not yet a stockholder. 2) I think FNTN has the potential to be a good investment if it does some things right. I am here on the thread to monitor it (some would call it DD) to try to identify whether/when it becomes a good buying opportunity for a buy-and-hold investor (it's been great for traders so far, but the stock price over time has more than justified my caution.) 3) I have a strong revulsion to unjustified hype and to the kind of pump-and-dump issues which the SEC is only now starting to address concerning SI. 4) I believe in honest, frank, factual, informative and vigorous discussion of both the opportunities and challenges inherent in investing in a stock. I look for facts and factual information; I pay little attention to "You'd better jump aboard now the train is leaving the station" type posts except where I can help investors who may be taken in by them to slow down and look at some facts. (I believe I am qualified for this since I teach a college stock investment course, and have been the CFO of a high-tech company.) I believe that shining a light into what may be a dark corner is good for investors, and won't hurt an honest company. If all this doesn't make sense to you, sorry; it makes sense to me. Since you note that some new investors may not be familiar with the past issues discussed on this thread, let me just run over a few concerns they may not have come across. 1. The company says it has produced audited financial statements for 1997 (that's a year and a half ago) but has consistently refused to release these statements. I specifically requested them several times, and at least one stockholder I know of specifically requested them. They also refuse to give a reason why they won't release them, but simply say they're not legally required to. They promised to release them in advance of a shareholder's meeting held late in 1998, but in fact released only a few cursory figures. 2. Nearly two years ago the company said it would become fully reporting in the 2nd quarter of 1997. It didn't. It has never stated publicly when (if ever) it now expects to become fully reporting. 3. Much of the information on FNTN comes from posters on this thread who report conversations they have had with company officials. While I appreciate this information, I also have to wonder why the company isn't willing to share this information publicly or for attribution. 4. The company has consistently announced and then missed (in major ways) various targets. I understand that this is not unusual with small (and even large--look at Microsoft software release dates!) tech companies, but it is a concern. I STRONGLY RECOMMEND that anybody looking at putting money into this stock go back and look at the press releases which FNTN has issued over the past two years. They're available on the FNTN web site (if they haven't been removed). 5. Various people on this thread have reported various income figurs which they believe the company has made, or contracts they say company officials have told them they have made, etc. Again, I appreciate this information, but so far I have been unable to get ANY of it verified for attribution by anybody at the company. If the posts are accurate, it would appear that the company is giving different information to different investors, which frankly does concern me. 6. Much is being said of the present "quiet period" as a reason for no news from the company. However, the quiet period does not prohibit them from making announcements which do not affect the present filing, from releasing audited financial reports (and where is the information from 1998? We've heard nothing about that yet, even though it's nearly the end of the first quarter of 1999), etc. All of these concerns can mean something or can mean nothing. There may be good explanations for all of them, or they may indicate some serious problems at the company. I frankly don't know which. I have never visited the company's home office, and have not been able to get through to the principals on the phone as others on this thread report they are able to do on a regular basis. If you consider this bashing, so be it. I consider it responsible investigation and inquiry. If we differ on that, well, then we do. So I will continue to monitor this company and this thread to see when/whether FNTN starts to address some of these questions (I do know that they either monitor this thread or get indirect word of postings here through some on the thread) in order to determine whether/when this becomes a good opportunity for investment and to communicate with others who are also considering future investment or monitoring their present investments in FNTN. That's my agenda, Jim. That my only agenda.