Today: Stellar Bio, Brazil Minerals, Sysorex Global, BioCryst Pharma, Roth Capital, Angkor Gold
This is more overreaching than
'seven in one blow.'* Roth Capital's gathering at Dana Point near Newport Beach, California, sports 9 presenting companies in each track.
That's a record in my book.
"It's going to be a nine-ring circus," says Joseph Ramelli, an investment
writer, former banker and short-sales artist who recently cast his lot with a Brazil-centered diamonds and minerals developer -- Brazil Minerals (
OTO:BMIX,
Stock Forum).
Ted, Byron and Gordon Roth, all members of an Iowa farming clan, run the Roth Capital show, this for the 26th year. Lots, I mean, LOTS of bio-pharma, a few energies, some solar, including the gorilla, SolarCity (
NASDAQ:SCTY,
Stock Forum)... some hot consumer goods makers, audio-centric Skull Candy (
NASDAQ:SKUL,
Stock Forum) ... and a handful of emerging market candidates: among them, Africa banker
Kenya Commercial Bank of Nairobi, Uganda and elsewhere on the continent.
See:
https://www.wsw.com/webcast/roth28/ and
https://www.roth.com/main/Page.aspx?PageID=2020.
More than half of the presenting companies at the growth show are in webcast mode, including multi-drug developer BioCryst Pharmaceuticals (
NASDAQ:BCRX,
Stock Forum). Pick a pavilion, any pavilion. [I own BCRX and have been purchasing more regularly.]
Sysorex Global: As discussed, shares of the computer services company are rising smartly, albeit on light trading in the OTC USA market. Sysorex Global Holdings (
NASDAQ:SYRX,
Stock Forum) is in the process of raising capital, about $18 million via equity, to finance further purchases of technology companies for its portolio. These companies already include cloud computing, cyber-security, telecommunications and data analytics. The stock is now at $4.25.
We began tracking Sysorex Global Nov. 23, 2013, with this:
Quests: I will be at
LD Micro's conference of small companies in Santa Monica, California, in two weeks. Mostly I am going to drop in on three technology companies I know from times of old: Commtouch Software, Inovio Pharmaceuticals and Sysorex. There are 250 companies at
the three-day show.
I know three of the
principals of Silicon Valley's Sysorex, which merged with Geoffrey Lilien's Lilien Systems of Marin County, California, one year ago. I began purchasing shares several months ago in the $2 range. Quarter-closing financials are due from Sysorex Global any day now. Here is the
S-1 filing for Sysorex Global; it was filed in
January 2014.
The idea here is that when it comes to systems integrators, public valuations are all over the place. Whether sales or profit multiples, they can run 3x to 10x or more. Those that demonstrate consistent sales growth in an erratic and fragmented industry, coupled with those looking to sell their own wholly-owned products and services to clients, are candidates for North America domination. Or at least, in this case, central and western USA domination.
SYRX shares are Pink Sheet USA and sport a $100 million market capitalization. If the company can achieve $45 million in yearly sales, and consistent sequential quarterly growth in gross margins and revenues (some of it from state and local government agencies), a doubling of market worth still will keep SYRX's valuation below many of its publicly traded peers.
Stellar Biotechnologies (
TSX:V.KLH,
Stock Forum): The southern California company (near Oxnard, California) cultivates the
keyhole limpet. I own the stock now after hearing more about the company from, among others, David Banister of Active Trading Partners (it is his largest holding) and Jeffrey Phillips, a southern California financier, investor and former newsletter publisher and public relations person (
www.globalmarketdev.com).
The ocean creature is an immune-stimulating protein that is used in the areas of cancer, infectious diseases and immune disorders. The market worth is about $150 million.
Brazil Minerals: More to come. Marc Fogassa's bizarre little company just pre-sold a half-million dollars worth of polished diamonds to a couple of individuals. Mr. Fogassa is a Brazilian banker, medical doctor and engineer. He took over
BMIX (in USA) to accelerate development of the company's Mineração Duas Barras property in Brazil, and to foster, he says, mining of other minerals, including gold. I do not own the shares but have met Marc and his new business development chief, Mr. Ramelli. They both live in southern California.
Cambodia:
Heading back for the second time in three months and fourth in 2 1/2 years: April. I'll be at Angkor Gold's properties in Ratanakiri Province. Also assisting the
ANK Foundation, a non-profit, at its training and teaching center in Ban Lung. Plus: doing business in Phnom Penh, the capital, along with Angkor Gold's CEO, Mike Weeks. Mr. Weeks is in negotiations right now with at least two entities, but I am in the dark on the details. Angkor Gold is one of our TCR 8, and is traded as ANK in Canada and ANKOF in USA.
Part of the Cambodia concentration, on my part, is the desire to become a beneficiary of a relatively little explored nation for minerals: gold, silver, copper, real estate and oil-gas, among other business opportunities. Mr. Weeks and his team have the pedigree (southeast Asia, Australia, northern Africa oil and Alberta, Canada deep pockets) to make this happen. He and his team have what many observers now regard as the best government, ministry and industry contacts in Cambodia, whose growth is accelerating so fast, figures for foreign direct investment and GDP are a moving target.
Another part of this is being part of a community effort, one that Mike's wife, Delayne Weeks, a Canada financier and businesswoman, spearheaded with ANK Foundation. This time, as we did in January and February with board member and friend Dr. Francis Farraye and medical team, I'll be teaching English (I have an English Master's degree to go with the journalism) at two of the ANK Foundation's schools. We will be decorating both locations with Hollywood movie posters and other whacky and colorful material. Accompanying us this time: Gemma Calandra (
no relation to Mike Weeks), who will assist in the teaching, the decorating, the motorbike riding and any required French translation and piano instruction. Any interest in donating posters of any type,
please contact me.
Your friendly,
Thom Calandra
@thomcalandra for Twitter
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