Brokerage Firms, OTC Markets, and Dark Companies

Followers of this blog know I've had issues with brokerage companies due to the types of companies I own. I have contacted 40 brokerage companies in the past 6 months in an attempt to find one who'll give me the freedom I want. In this post I discuss findings.

SIMA is the cheapest stock I know

I love 10 minute stock decisions.  Today's question is are you into incredibly cheap, dark stocks or are you not.  Let's start with a game of price that stock.  You tell me what it's worth:

• revenue: $20M in 2015 vs $20.4M in 2014 vs $20.4M in 2013
• cash: $12.5M vs 10.6 vs 8.8
• securities: $1M vs 0.7 vs 0.3
• net income: $2.1M vs 2 vs 2.9
• BV: $21.9M vs 19.8 vs 17.8
• EPS: $0.62 vs 0.59 vs 0.85
• no debt
• 3.4M shares common
• no preferred or warrants

OptionsHouse kicked me out

A few days ago OptionsHouse sent me the following in an email:

After a review of your account, OptionsHouse has determined we will be unable to service your account ending *** going forward.  Your account has been placed in liquidation only trading status, meaning existing positions can be closed out but no new positions can be established. Please make arrangements to transfer your account out of OptionsHouse within thirty (30) calendar days.

They went on to explain the ways I could withdraw cash or transfer my account.  My wife has an account and got the same email.  They give no explanation.  I have been a customer for years.  I am active.  Now I'm given 30 days, don't let the door hit you on the way out.  Why must I leave...we won't tell you.  

EKCS has big potential

Electronic Control Security, Inc (EKCS) is a tiny entry control and perimeter security solution provider.  Arthur Barchenko, 83, founded the company in 1976 and is still CEO; he owns 47% of the company along with his wife.  With a market cap of ~$250k, this is a story of potential.

My Portfolio July 2016

I started this blog with the intention of posting an article about each stock purchase not long after I made it.  Well I have utterly failed.  I would love to blog more, not only for my readers but also myself.  I get to know, and remember, a company much better after writing so it's a big benefit to me personally to go through the blogging exercise.  Unfortunately life gets in the way.  I have a wife, kids, house, dog, full time job unrelated to stocks, '67 Firebird restoration a decade old, etc so I have to just accept my limitations. I've been averaging a little more than a post per month and that'll likely continue

This post is just going to be a list of my current portfolio.  I thought people out there might be interested.  I plan on writing posts on all of these stocks but who knows when I'll get to it.  I do have a post planned this week but 'planned' does not equal 'completed' so we'll see

MRCR update: very cheap and possibly becoming less dark

Quick update on Moro.  I first wrote about MRCR 5 months ago.  They are dark and cheap with an old CEO.  The value will be realized some day, question is when

HEMA is still cheap

It's now been about 10 months since my initial post on Hemacare (HEMA) so let's take a look at where we stand.  The company went dark to transform their business outside the public eye from a money losing blood bank into a growing bio research cell product supply company.  I thought (and still think) their plan is to file again with the SEC once they fully transition and show a couple years of good results.  My original investment was based on two main points.

The SEC allows companies to go dark

There is a rule, Rule 12g, from the SEC which allows companies to deregister if they have less than 300 shareholders "of record".  A good background explanation can be found here.  If you invest in the microcap space this issue should concern you.  If you stay here long enough one of your companies will go dark and the stock price will tank and the company will tell you to go pound sand when you ask for a report...

Here is the SEC rule.  Rule 12g-4 allows a company to deregister if it has less than a certain number of shareholders.  That number is 1200 for a bank or 300 for other companies.

I missed Zoom's big move

I wrote this post from Sept 15 - 17, 2015 when ZMTP was trading at about $0.80.  I placed an order for ZMTP on Sept 11, 2015 for something like $0.75.  It was a limit order for maybe 5 cents below market...man was I stupid.  I was trying to catch a low price rather than buying what I knew was cheap.  Costly mistake on my part but a good lesson to have.  When something fits just buy some then as time goes on you can try to get it cheaper.  Just as I finished my blog post ZMTP woke up and doubled then kept going higher, it now sits at $2.40 and I missed a triple.  I hold no shares.  I have had a limit order in off and on ever since but it has been fruitless.  I'm an idiot

COMX is as cheap as they come

Let's play 'value that company'.  Have a think about what you might pay for this:

• cash $3M
• total liabilities $2M
• debt $750k
• BV $6.3M
• TBV $5.7M
• 1.6M shares out
• no preferred or warrants
• revenue $10.3M
• net income $1M 2015 vs $0.7M 2014 vs $0.4M 2013
• EPS $0.62 vs $0.47 vs $0.24
• catalyst:  Nothing.  Patience is your only hope here.  HA!

NoName Annual Performance 2015-2016

What a year it has been.  Ian Cassel of MicroCapClub has a quote which I just love, "Don’t compare yourself to others. Compare yourself to yourself two years ago."  It's hard not to compare to others in something as tangible as investing but I try and this quote really helps.  When I think back to myself as an investor 2 years ago I smile.  In the first year I made some good decisions and mixed in a lot of luck; I wonder if I'd still be doing this if that luck wasn't there.  Things can be fragile when beginning down a new path.  

GIGA's glass is half full

When you look at a company do you see the past or look to the future?  Has the turnaround candidate been struggling or adapting?  Management may be selling off divisions, cutting back on headcount, or selling their building just to lease it back...is this to fund their salaries for another year or develop that new product?  Sometimes there are two valid paths and you have to decide if the company will continue down the old or switch to the new.  Such is the case with Gigatronics.  Maybe they keep losing money and end up in the tank.  Or maybe their new products deliver on all the promise.  Maybe management's excitement bears fruit.

Fidelity blocks dark companies

Well chalk up today to a bad day.  I found out this morning that Fidelity has decided to block companies marked with a stop from otcmarkets.com.  This includes at least the companies on otcmarkets Caveat Emptor list.  Generally for me this means Fidelity is blocking companies that don't file with otcmarkets.

MICT making moves

Often times I'll buy shares in a stock fairly quickly after finding it if it sounds good and fits my style. After reading further and maybe talking to management, etc I'll buy more and write a blog post to capture my research.  Usually there's a theme or overall story with each company and that's the way I like it. To me the best things are simple so I'm always happy to be able to chop down an investment to a single point.  Complication is cluttered and leaves room for error.

What does this have to do with MICT?  Well I bought shares a few months ago and was doing my further research last month. I read a bit more with the intention of finishing (it's never really done but can be done enough for now) and writing a blog post. Problem is no single clear theme jumped out at me so I put it to the side and moved onto another stock. Then today MICT came out with a PR about buying another company... So now it's time to follow through with my blog post.

ADDC on sale for less than cash

Here's another simple one. Let's say we have a dark company with $14 per share in cash, $4 in short term investments, about $10 in real estate, and a BV of $26.  They earn almost $1 per share and pay a 3% dividend.  Legit American company.  They send an annual report each year to shareholders and hold an annual meeting but otherwise report nothing. Don't even post the annual report to their website.  What would you say that's worth?  I'd go with $25 or $30, depending on how much you hate dark companies. 

Well the company is Addmaster Corporation (ADDC) and the latest price is $12.50. Super cheap.  You can stop reading now as you have the most important part of the story.  

Looking for a sale of MRCR

Here is a simple one.  This post could probably be one line long: company selling for 35% of BV with a 77 year old CEO.  It's that simple.  So you can stop reading now if you'd like

WPCS undergoes major restructuring

WPCS International (WPCS) has been in a death spiral for the last decade, falling from around $2000 per share in 2010 to around $1.50 now (split adjusted).  That is about 99.9% of the market cap lost.  Amazing.

I suppose there's two ways to look at that chart.  One view is of a falling knife to avoid.  The other view is of opportunity. 

The (possible) turnaround of FORD

How do you know if a turnaround will turn?  I know there's a Buffett quote about most not turning but some do, and when they do the investor who bought when things looked bad stands to make a lot of money.  Sometimes there may be some pretty good signs one way or the other but many times you are just not sure. Sometimes the best you can do, if you want to invest in this space, is look at the incentives and possibility then give them a chance.  Does the company have a clean share structure?  Do they have assets they could sell if need be?  Is management invested?  Is the whole industry dieing?  How's the debt?  

I'm sure many who read this will call it a falling knife and that's fine. It has been falling but there are positive signs as well. We'll see how it works out.

So let's talk about Forward Industries (FORD).  

Growth at CVV

CVD Corporation (CVV) is a $76M market cap company that manufactures equipment and delivers process solutions for various coatings.  They help take research products to production and sell coating equipment.  A few descriptions from their most recent 10-K:

QDLC at 1x earnings*

Let's say there was a company with the following stats:

What would you pay for this company?  Maybe 10x EPS = $1.60 per share?  If the growth stretched over a longer period of time then maybe 15x EPS = $2.40?  Higher?

What if I told you the company was trading at $0.20 for a PE multiple of 1.25?  P/S = 0.13.  Cheap.