Catalyst No matter what one thinks of Claude or of his strategy or lack of (where I place myself), this stock needs a catalyst to bring it higher. I see this catalyst as:
- a quarter (as a minimum, two or three would be better) of profit. For this to happen, they have to control much better the spending and stop what I see as being a random and unproductive growth;
- a bid from a major player - I really do not believe that the business, without some serious reshaping, is an attractive asset. They try to encompass too many sectors (hence the big spending): sport simulators, military simulators, entertainment, VR etc. Each could be made attractive by a specialized CEO - but I fear that nobody would be interested to pay for all.
- the low-hanging fruit: get rid of Claude or at least send him a strong signal - as I was hoping for with a strong vote against him 6-8-10% (which did not happened). It will help in the short and long run - since after the initial market enthusiasm, things will slide back to normal and a new CEO would need 1-2 years to consolidate the business into a less innovative, more productive one.
Unfortunately, for a reason or another, McMaster still has the confidence of the big players and we will have to bear with him. Maybe, just maybe, he is wise enough to feel the noose tightening and brings the company into profit.
Anyway, I think we should drop it and accept what is going on. Miracles happen and we have to be patient. I remember investing in IAMGOLD and loosing heart when the company was valued less on TSX than what it had in the bank (about 660 mil vs 700 mil in the bank). My average was about 1.5 or 1.8 so when the stock recovered to 2.2-2.5 I disposed of everything... just to see it riding higher and higher (it reached 7-7.5$/share). Ofc, I also had situations - such as Breitburn Energy, where I did not take advantage of a temporary breath of air, which I could have done, and lost everything I invested.
My 2c.