RBC etcExercising stock options has no tax effect, there is no reason to do it early, and it is not always possible for employees to exercise every option they have, some just do not have the financial means to do it. If they exercise and then sell some or all of their position, that has tax effect, but just exercising does not, as far as I know.
The RBC report has a lot of interesting analysis, especially on Volta and the valuation of it. The analyst also specifically highlights the military application of the Volta cells. He rightly points out the risk and leverage GRA is going to undertake. It looks like he values Volta today at 35 cents per GRA share. That would rise a bit if a completed package is announced. That is consistent with the $20 million MRE sold 50% back to GRA for.
RBC expects GRA to sell 70% of Volta once the funding is complete, and that makes sense.
I certainly hope LEV is not a player in any of this, I do not think the market would like it. With the financial pressure they are under that is not a partner with any more credibility than GRA. Dr SN is pretty risk averse, and I think he will find larger more stable partners.
I believe the RBC report was published because they are involved in part or all of the financings about to be announced. Most companies have a policy that they will not pay substantial IB fees without research coverage, it is a way to ensure the street has a variety of opinions publicly available, and I think GRA has done that. A sound move.
The RBC valuation has a lot of upside left in it, and they are clear about that, but they highlight the risk in the next 2 years of taking on the debt and executing on the basic business plan GRA has. As Volta is almost 2 years late and the graphene expansion is not funded yet, they have a good point.
Regarding the wet versus dry graphene, I think the market is not recognizing yet the additional value here. Cutting manufacturing costs as they expect is huge, and it is incumbent on GRA to explain this better, and to get that expansion locked in as soon as possible. Like the 5 year plan, I think the dry graphene is important, but poorly launched, and not well understood. GRA is looking more and more like an overnight success that took 12 years to do, and will be evident 24 months from now.
best of luck