Versarien (#VRS) – “USA Update”, no financials (natch)
- 2019-05-09 07:47:23
UK 04:38 Sunday, 4 October 2026
Breaking news and expert analysis on fast-moving AIM and LSE listed shares
Lucian Miers and I are the targets of a takented shareholder in Versarien (VRS). Okay the guy is a moron but his cartoons are good. The hero of each picture is piss taking Neil Ricketts. The villains are we bears.
In September 2018, Versarien (VRS) raised £5.3 million at 145p. Ramptastic CEO Neill Ricketts stated that he wanted to take part, to buy shares at 145p but could not do so as he was sitting on inside information. Yesterday, having exercised options at 29p, he flogged 307,970 shares at 136.1p netting him a cool £340,000. But that is not the thing that, perhaps, really stinks.
It has taken taken two weeks since Versarien (VRS) announced the appointment of Patrick Abbott as Vice President North American Operations, for his ongoing criminal case to be disclosed, despite it being widely publicized here and elsewhere. Presumably this has been dragged out of the company by some grown up at NOMAD Canaccord.
Since I last wrote about Versarien (VRS) in November last year the stock had fallen around 20% until yesterday when it ripped 20p on news that it had completed the US-based Graphene Council’s “Verified graphene producer” programme. This gives it a market cap of £187 million. That is a lot of hope value for an enterprise that seems to do little more than announce vague MOUs with various named, and more often unnamed, entities...
It has been pointed out to me recently that an article I wrote last month on Versarien (VRS) has been the subject of some debate on twitter. My offending sentence was:
The country’s, easily, largest and certainly, most exciting, one day event for those who want to make more money from shares, The Global Group UK Investor Show, is still almost six months away but already the all-star main stage speaker line-up is almost finalized. And this week we announced a big new name.
When a share price suffers a setback, often it is the evil cabal of short sellers who are blamed by retail investors. In the case of Versarien (VRS), even CEO Neill Ricketts is at it.
As you know, since Versarien (VRS) supplies the Israeli Defence Forces and thus helps protect the only democracy in the Middle East, it can do no wrong in my eyes. Thus I note, with some concern, the increasingly odd reaction of boss Neil Ricketts as the shares continue to slide.
Versarien (VRS), “the advanced materials engineering group, is pleased to announce that it has signed a collaboration agreement with Advanced Insulation Limited”. Any financials with this one? And any update on how other collaborations are coming along, Neill?...
Neill Ricketts, CEO of Versarien (VRS), the graphene company which is currently the number one pin-up stock on AIM, can be forgiven for thinking that he can walk on water.
Versarien (VRS) is the reason why everyone should sign up with Primary Bid right now. Most Primary Bid offers are ones that I have no hesitation in telling you to avoid like the plague, being trapped in a lift with Emmanuel Macron or both. But just occasionally one comes along that is really worth punting on. I told you on Friday that Versarien was almost certainly in that category HERE. Today I am vindicated.
At 175p Versarien (VRS) is valued at £263 million. I cannot argue with two writers on this site (Lucian and Cynical) that the valuation looks absurd based on historic profits and cashburn or even on some of the more optimistic forecasts. But it has now announced it is raising £2.9 million (or more) at 145p via Primary Bid and I am almost tempted to have a flutter. Here's why...
A couple of months on from the well-received annual results of Versarien (VRS) on 19 July, the share price has risen to even higher levels from when I initiated coverage (HERE), now valuing the graphene part of the business at well over £200 million so I thought I’d pose a simple question to CEO Neill Ricketts – how are those collaborations coming along?
Having stuck my todger in the hornet’s nest as Tom so eloquently put it with my first ever piece on Versarien (VRS) (HERE), I thought I would dig a bit deeper into the products as perhaps one can make a case for a £200 million business after all?
