Versarien Share Discussion Threads

[tim3416] 20/2/2019 11:07

Good post hew

[meganxmas] 20/2/2019 11:07

Concur with that wholeheartedly.

[whiteslice] 20/2/2019 11:06

Be a while yet before I can look a banana in the face again..

[hew] 20/2/2019 11:06

Not being involved in the recent turbulence (wholly confident, max invested, sold none) I have followed Neill’s Twitter and the comments regretting it - previously made also. Some from highly respected sources.

Initially (18 months ago) I shared the view that Neill’s use of Twitter - even at all - was surprising, and demeaning for a CEO. However over time, increasingly feeling able to stay close to my growing investment and following the activities of the ‘VRS team’, and several times meeting Neill, I’ve reached the view that to ask or force him to stop using twitter would be unreasonable and even damaging - and if to him, to VRS.

It’s all very well for the "usual" CEOs, well salaried in some “ordinary̶1; company, or perhaps drawing investors into an AIM con-trick - and of course their NOMADS - to hide behind cautious words and the standard formal communications wall with a dispassionate front.

But Neill is not one of them. We investors can only stand in awe of what he has achieved, and goes on achieving. Surely it is not only his abilities that make him, but his passion, his basic nature and his belief in what he is doing - for others apart from investors, too.

When he and ‘his creation’ (and his charitable activities) are subjected to those lying vile attacks by spineless nobodies - which would be made anyway on VRS' if not on his own account - it is that same passion - usually superbly controlled and directed - that just forces him to respond. We all need a safety valve! Your communications are ok with me, Neill.

[spike_1] 20/2/2019 11:04

FYI: Re Neill on IG TV noon tomorrow:
Thanks for the Q's may have been too late, however:
My 2:
Q 1. to Neill: re Aecom, are you able to say whether the 200kg of material was sent to Aecom in January, and are you able to update us on the progress of the final tests for the structures the material is being used in?

Q 2. Related to 1: are you now in a position to provide more colour on your early December statement: the volumes of graphene that are required in these types of structure are significantly larger than for many other applications given the scale of the structures being produced.

And a Q from someone else that was just a little late:
Q There appears - allegedly - to have been a lot of disinformation spread very recently on bulletin boards, therefore: Has any collaboration that has been announced via RNS been suspended or ceased for any reason?. If so, why was a further RNS not issued?

Unfortunately I don't think it's possible to view the interview unless you are an IG client.

Best wishes - Spike

[tim3416] 20/2/2019 11:04

Absolutely criminal what has happened here, but it appears more and more that crime does pay. Hey ho long and strong here! I just feel for those frightened out of their shares. Keep the faith folks :-)

[ridicule] 20/2/2019 11:03

The fact that Neill is planning to give an interview tomorrow is very good news. Just think about it! Would you give an interview if you did not feel you could robustly defend your position? It may well be that he also knows that there is an RNS in the offing. Either way, I would not wish to be short this morning.

[f3rdinand] 20/2/2019 11:03

I fear- due to the sudden silence- the scum bags have closed their shorts at significant profits at the expense of weak hands and panic selling! The advent of social media makes their job a lot easier nowadays!On the plus side I've picked up another thousand!

[nellyb] 20/2/2019 11:01

club works in macdonalds? ;)

[harrysol] 20/2/2019 11:00

A blue day - a great day. The shorters and trolls are being hammered. How on earth did they manage to spook so many pi's! Why would you listen to them - Theyare scum. To date, Neill Ricketts has been nothing but honest. VRS is a great company whose prospects are phenomenal. I am invested because I see the potential. AECOM have already placed a significant order - more will follow. The Chinese want nanene and have confirmed it's qualities. The other collaborations will come through. These are early days for VRS.

[mikebrenner] 20/2/2019 10:58

A very interesting read from the herald annual report and commentary from katie potts - key quotes of interest below



Private investor buying / Internet chat rooms influence

In addition, Elektron, Brave Bison and Versarien rose 145%, 144% and 121% respectively. In terms of materiality Versarien is the most relevant. It appreciated £4.5m during the year. We have significantly reduced the position having started to sell in 2017, and have now realised £9.5m in cash and £8.2m in gains. The company has a graphene product, and an energetic entrepreneurial management team, but again private clients have elevated the price to a level that we could not resist selling.

... in IQE's case there was massive private client buying. Not only did that enable us to sell shares too expensively, but it concerned us that a new phenomenon became more evident - that of private client buying influenced by internet chat boards. This buying was not across the board but very stock specific. But private investor demand of this nature, combined with the disappearance of the institutional investor, had made us cautious for the market overall.

The market has become too dependent on marginal buying from private clients, some of which is speculative and some IHT exemption driven. Liquidity is an issue; fund managers of scale cannot get adequately sized positions, particularly when coping with cash inflows and outflows. This has led to takeovers exceeding new issues, and shrinking the addressable market.

Several references have been made to regulatory changes. Metaphorically this is what keeps me awake at night, not the quality of the portfolio, not the US/China trade war, not Brexit, not politics, but the trends in public markets.


If recent trends persist then quoted markets, for small companies anyway, will cease to exist. The private investor will be marginalised, and private equity will own everything. We discuss this challenge ad nauseum. Wise elder counsel tells me the darkest hour is always just before dawn.

Valuations

There have been dire predictions in the media about the risks in the technology sector and the high valuations. From our perspective the valuations seem high in the private markets, but we are encouraged that valuations seem more sensible in public markets, particularly following the recent correction. There are no parallels to the TMT sector in 2000, when valuations were universally too high.


China

The most pressing issue today is the trade and tariff war between the US and China. It appears that President Trump's aggressive stance is supported by the US electorate, and even more by the US security departments, so tensions are unlikely to abate. We may be seeing the start of major structural changes with a Western US centric sector diverging from China, and China developing an indigenous self-contained sector. This has already become apparent in the telecoms sector where it appears that Ericsson and Nokia will dominate supply of 5G in the West, versus Huawei and ZTE in China.

The challenge will be for hardware companies dependent on a China supply chain, such as Apple. China is currently a big importer of semiconductors from Taiwan, Korea and the US and is clearly intent on developing indigenous capacity, which will present other challenges.

It is already evident that sub-contract manufacturing is moving out of China at the commodity end for cost reasons, and further up the value chain for tariff and political reasons. Herald focuses on investing in small companies, so we are only marginally exposed to this dynamic: we have a modest weighting in Asian manufacturing and no exposure to the large semiconductor companies.

The only effect will be secondary, if the US/China tensions inhibit global growth. Trump might be an unpredictable mouthpiece to trade negotiations, but it is certain that there is a wider 'US establishment' alarm at the growing strength of the Chinese technology industry, and the US dependency on it as a supplier, for security reasons more than the balance of trade. It seems wise to assume that this will be an evolving issue for months and years to come. If China still has to develop leading edge semiconductor technology, it is already leading edge in many internet technologies.

MIFID 2

The implementation of MiFID II has clearly not helped. Successful institutional small company investment managers tend to move up the size scale ignoring microcaps, and illiquidity is increasing due to market breakdown. This is a greater concern for open-ended funds with unpredictable cash flows.

[f3rdinand] 20/2/2019 10:57

Seems to be moving freely... buys increasing all the time

[festario] 20/2/2019 10:55

I'm genuinely gutted for anyone who lost their shares at 75p earlier. Its happened to me on other shares in the past.Now I'm wondering if its too early to order some bananas?

[spike_1] 20/2/2019 10:54

Re:I suggest you go on some GDPR training. I've been on loads - in fact I did another online course just on Monday, for my new role.

I must admit I never realised customer server personnel at MacDonalds were so well trained.

;0)

[ellissj] 20/2/2019 10:54

Often when the chips are down, you find it's a great test of character. Indeed, a difficult time of late, but neill never wavered for me, and passed my tests with flying colours. Each to their own. Holding here, patiently waiting. Aimo. Glalth. Best ellis

Neill Ricketts @neillricketts

"Yes I am , and I work long hours. It is a way of remaining motivated, transparent and energised. It is a very powerful research tool these days."

Quote Tweet

Egg @lacccaa Replying to @neillricketts

"Curious to know if the actual CEO running this twitter account? How does one ever get any work done?"

10:00 pm · 19 Feb 2019

[nellyb] 20/2/2019 10:51

my old mate used to say "get your facts right before opening thy big mouth".

[robinhood69] 20/2/2019 10:51

GDG EMH SOLO I have seen from other well contacted investors what % people hold. On 2 I have seen the FULL shareholder list. Neill , if he wants can easily see this.
If its in your name and not via HL IG fund holding then you , your misses kids names WILL be on it.
I appeared as the 9th largest holder of EMH at one point. Scared the carp out of me that I had that much lol. Not invested now due to the politics in RussiaCzech Republic.
Good to know scary if you didnt.

[club sandwich] 20/2/2019 10:50

More than enough info to identify you, I would suggest.

[festario] 20/2/2019 10:42

The information was restricted to my name, town , and number of ordinary shares held with that account.

[whiteslice] 20/2/2019 10:42

Glad I didn't dare look at prices first thing - and I certainly aren't going to bother reading all the tripe on here. Pips are being squeaked but still intact.. ;-)

[fireball xl5] 20/2/2019 10:36

It’s legal, you can source details of holders, proves invaluable when wanting to hold a board to account.

[club sandwich] 20/2/2019 10:36

Anway, all this is just a side-show.

The real question, as always, is why SO MANY companies are buying SO LITTLE product, and why Ricketts seems COMPLETELY UNABLE to monetise the business opportunity of the century?