The one stop source for breaking news, expert analysis, and podcasts on fast-moving AIM and LSE listed shares
Published 4321 days ago
I have taken Quindell Portfolio (QPP) off my “accident waiting to happen” list as it is now in the slow motion car crash category after a set of prelims that contained some very strange items, followed by two obfuscatory “clarification” statements.
Published 1966 days ago
Shares in PureCircle (PURE) remain suspended as it struggles to publish its June 30 2019 accounts. But we are already warned that there will be restatements of 2018 and possibly 2017. But these restatements, which relate to the carrying value of inventory, were repeatedly predicted by ourselves for many years as you can see HERE. My good friends and keen admirers of my work, The Financial Reporting Council must launch an urgent and full investigation. I have written to the FRC today as you can see below.
Published 3755 days ago
I last wrote about Purecircle (PURE) in March and predicted that 2014 would be the year for the big collapse. I was wrong: the permascam that is Purecircle has remained rock solid while all around it our favourite bear trades have borne fruit. Indeed, for the price of Purecircle (£940 million) you could now buy Quindell. Gulf Keystone Petroleum, and Globo combined and still have change left for Iofina.
Published 4106 days ago
Back in November I suggested that the share price of Purecircle (PURE) might be ready to unravel, citing mainly its whopping inventory levels and its inability to generate cash or profits from a story (natural stevia-based sweeteners) that was beginning to get a bit long in the tooth. Then the shares were 420p.
Published 1971 days ago
We have been warning that Purecircle (PURE), a company once valued at a billion dollars was a disaster waiting to happen for more than six years. The shares were already suspended over the inventory fraud, now other “matters of concern” have emerged and the CEO is stepping aside pro tem. This company is almost certainly toast. City adbisors named below should hang their heads in shame and return fees, directors should go to jail.
Published 4035 days ago
Investors of all types often fall into trap of the following mistaken logic: Thing A is going to be huge. Company B is involved in Thing A, therefore the shares of Company B are a buy. Hence with Tanfield (LSE:TAN) – at 15p worth £20 million, a former stock market darling: Electric vehicles are the thing of the future. Tanfield make electric vehicles. Etc. I warned recently about Tanfield and note that it admitted last week that its investment in Smiths Electric vehicles is probably worthless. It happens all the time. But it’s fun while it lasts.
Published 3180 days ago
Last year Purecircle (PURE) earned $4 million. Since then it has lost its finance director, its chief operating officer, its broker and its auditor. There has also been no shortage of insider selling. Its market capitalization? £555 million. Welcome to the whacky world of Purecircle, purveyors of stevia, a plant-based sugar substitute.
Published 2393 days ago
One of my few vices in life is sugar. I have parlayed this into stock selection via a recommendation on Tate & Lyle (TATE), which I last wrote up HERE. The company held a capital markets day late last week and the one presentation slide that stood out was one which talked about 'sugar replacement is a key market opportunity globally'. Well of course it is. Gluttons like me want to both have our cake and eat it and one way to do this - without becoming significantly obese - is to focus on non conventional sugar options, a market which Tate & Lyle has been active in with its Sucralose product.
Published 2214 days ago
Bears often pigeonhole duff companies as frauds, fads or failures as if they belong in one or other of these distinct categories. The truth is that quite often a fad resorts to fraud when it realises that it is a failure. The most obvious example of this right now is Tesla. But there are others.
Published 2022 days ago
Back in March, I suggested that PWC might like to brush up on the definition of a “Current Asset” with regard to the huge levels of inventory carried by PureCircle (PURE) relative to its annual sales...
Published 3596 days ago
If you want me to analyse a stock for you just drop me a line at sqmir@hotmail.com - Today I look at AO World (AO), Green Dragon (GDG), PureCircle (PURE).
Published 3909 days ago
In the last two years my seven most covered bear selections have been: Gulf Keystone (GKP), Iofina (IOF), Cupid (CUP), Quindell (QPP), Globo (GBO) Avanti(AVN) and Purecircle (PURE). With the exception of Purecircle, the other six are all firm retail favourites and I often wonder what it is that draws the private punter like a flame-bound moth to such eminently shortable stocks. One can highlight various useful themes but all seem to throw up exceptions – modestly I point oiut these have all bar one (so far) been great short calls by my good self.
Published 2378 days ago
Purecircle (PURE), the jam-tomorrow sugar substitute shambles about which I have written in the past is a difficult stock to trade. The share price seems to do nothing for ages and then move violently for no obvious reason in a very short space of time. Late in August it lost 25% of its value, from 400p-300p, in three straight trading days. Since then it has rallied to 375p after publishing dire results for the year to June 2018.
Published 3047 days ago
I have never been a fan of Purecircle (PURE), particularly in 2012/13 when its shares rose six-fold from £1 to £6 on hugely overblown dreams of the potential of its plant based sweetener product to replace sugar and cure America of its obesity problem.
Published 3925 days ago
Anyone who was at UK Investor 2014 knows that the Bears session (HERE) saw some great calls. And so ahead of a long sweaty summer I asked Evil Knievil, Matt Earl (The Dark Destroyer) and Lucian Miers for their top 5 shorts of the summer and for good measure I add in my own. Between us we have thus compiled the top ten stocks to short in London!
Published 3041 days ago
It may surprise you but I have not had an alcoholic drink all week. I have just been too tired to hit the ouzo which will please my GP greatly. It is skimmed milk for me. But last night as I wandered to the kiosk to buy that milk I noticed something else in the fridge: Green Cola. It turns out this is like Cola light but uses Stevia as its sugar substitute. I do not know if this is Purecircle's (PURE) stevia as there are many folks in this game but I thought it was worth a taste test anyway.
Published 1962 days ago
There are no guests in this week's show which is sponsored by Open Orphan PLC (ORPH). It is just me and I start with the tale of Lyin' Chris Cleverley, the lying fraudster cousin of Tory Party chairman James. Lyin' Chris runs listed companies and there is no doubt he is a liar and a fraudster so why has the FCA not acted? Then it is onto PureCircle (PURE) a billion dollar fraud, where after six years, myself and Lucian Miers are utterly vindicated. I invite you to read its 2018 annual report and despair at the woke world of best practice in corporate governance. If you like this and can't wait seven days for more of the same and are tired of being a cheapskate you should listen to my Bearcast every day.
Published 3003 days ago
Purecircle (PURE), the purveyor of stevia products (plant based sugar substitutes) warned on January 5th that first half results for the six months to 31 Dec 2016 were likely to crash into a loss from last years $5 million profit.
Published 3392 days ago
On the long tack, it is congratulations to Tom Winnifrith with OptiBiotix Health (OPTI) soaring by more than 300%. Kudos also to Steve Moore (K3 Business Technology, KBT, +62% and Impellam Group, IPEL, +57%), Malcolm Stacey (Zytronic, ZYT, +43%), Chris Bailey (Coca-Cola HBC, CCH, +25%) and last of the double digit gainers Nigel Somerville (Core VCT, +11%). On the other hand, it is commiserations to…
Published 3354 days ago
Readers may recall that my nap bear for 2014 was Purecircle (PURE), the natural sweetener company, at 610p. It ended the year at 510p and was also my main bear tip for 2015. It finished last year at 410p for a 33% decline in two years. Not bad but nothing spectacular.
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