RE: Cash machineI agree Bert, this is just dumb but there are some optics at work here, at least what I see.
1) DG who is an insider and would be viewed as a good source of sentiment, had to answer a margin call. Now, if that happens to you or me being on the outside, well, that is just bad timing but if it happens to an insider with supposedly superior knowledge than you or I could get and the stock crashes, it makes him look foolish, incompetent, and market sentiment takes over and thrashes the stock.
So I guess he should have blown out his portfoilo before the crash .......what would everyone have said then ? The fact that he had confidence in the fundamentals of the company to push his position to the edge sends a positive message to me ....he got caught and that sucks but I don't think it will sink him or CLL .
I still think the TSX houses have it in for him and CLL because he has not played the game on their terms but in the end with cash rolling in as a result of setting up the correct business model the stock price will strengthen we are seeing institution ownership increasing fast and they will only put up with a low price for so long until they have filled their boots before they put the wheels in motion to drive the stock price up .
FYI I don't think he is foolish or incompetent.
2) Pushing prices down on good companies does not make sense from an investment standpoint but from a strategic standpoint on behalf of institutions it does. Push prices down, making them more attractive to buy again, and makes them a target.
As a famous publicity agent once said.."it ain't what is, it's what is perceived!"
If insiders are getting burned on their own purchases and being forced to involuntarily sell off their holdings, it creates a really poor picture of the company, even if that picture is not accurate.
Your first comment rings true as well. Before CLL was producing and still exploring, they fluffed this up to over 6.00 bucks a share and a lot of oilsands companies got the same treatment. Once the story was out and the money was in, it was time to sell off and move on to the next story and the story for the oilsands got old pretty quick plus the AB government jacked up royalties, costs went up, public opinion turned negative on the "dirty oil" and all the rest of it so prices got hit bigtime.
I did not like the share dilution DG and crew did but it was either that or go to the banks for the money and this was the cheaper way to do it but maybe not the smartest. Big initial investors saw their interest watered down and took their money off the table.
I just look at it as a setback time wise but over the long long haul, we will be proven to be right. For now, too much stupid stuff going on and we can thank Lonewolf and his countries brokers and bankers for the fiasco everyone is in worldwide.