The Bear Cave #76
New Activist Reports, Recent Resignations, Tweets of the Week
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New Activist Reports
Kerrisdale Capital published bullishly on Maxar Technologies (NYSE: MAXR — $2.63 billion), a space technology company. Kerrisdale highlighted that, after repeated delays, the company’s Legion satellite will be able to launch in Q4 and “will expand on Maxar’s already market-dominating high-resolution imaging capacity.” Kerrisdale wrote,
“We estimate the combination of higher growth and the conclusion of capital spending associated with Legion will drive free cash flow from a little over breakeven currently, to $360m by 2023… When positive news flow hits regarding constellation launch, we see a stock no longer rooted to the ground, and Legion marching shares upward to our $85 price target (+142%).”
Culper Research published on Aemetis (NASDAQ: AMTX — $277 million), a renewable energy and biochemicals company. Culper Research alleged that “Aemetis has promoted a string of pipe dream projections to investors.” For example, in December 2020 Aemetis acquired a 20% stake in Nevo Motors, a “stealth mode” EV truck company. Culper alleged Nevo Motors is a shell entity created by Aemetis management and that the company’s electric truck is actually a normal truck with the Nevo Motors logo added with photoshop:
Culper Research also highlighted that Eric McAfee, Aemetis’s Chairman & CEO, is connected to five bankrupt or near-bankrupt public companies and was previously charged by the SEC for “making inaccurate disclosures regarding revenues and expenses.”
Mostly Borrowed Shorts published on Triterras (NASDAQ: TRIT — $457 million), a Singapore-based “blockchain-enabled” trade finance lending platform that went public through a SPAC in November of 2020. Mostly Borrowed Shorts highlighted numerous undisclosed related-party ties between Triterras and its SPAC sponsor and that the CEO’s previous companies have been embroiled in lawsuits and tied to SEC actions.
In December, The Bear Cave published on Triterras and wrote,
“The company’s executives may have ties to numerous bankruptcies and stock promotions. In addition, the company may derive a large portion of its revenue directly or indirectly from related-party entities.”
Since then, Triterras’s auditor, KPMG, resigned and Triterras disclosed that its sister company Rhodium received “a statutory demand for payment” and was looking to “restructure its debts.” In addition, in May two board members resigned. One board member wrote that the “Chairman and the company’s interim general counsel’s office have very different views to my own as to the optimal path forward.”
Recent Resignations and Departures
Notable executive departures disclosed in the last week include:
CEO of ProPetro Holdings (NYSE: PUMP — $772 million) resigned after one and a half years on the job. The company has had two different CEOs and four different CFOs over the last two years. ProPetro was also previously accused of self-dealing and undisclosed related-party transactions by Culper Research.
CFO of CBRE Group (NYSE: CBRE — $32.4 billion) resigned after a little over two years.
CFO of T. Rowe Price Group (NASDAQ: TROW — $46.3 billion) resigned after three and a half years “to assume a leadership position with a fintech company.”
CEO of CyrusOne (NASDAQ: CONE — $8.73 billion) resigned after a little over a year.
CFO of XPO Logistics (NYSE: XPO — $15.5 billion) resigned after a year and a half.
Data for this section is provided by InsiderScore.com
What to Read
“Super Stonks! Beyond Meat” (Doomberg)
“Beyond Meat commands a truly stunning EV/revenue ratio of almost 20, at least a full order-of-magnitude higher than other comparable food companies. The only problem? The story is mostly nonsense…”
“Succession Drama Grips Scholastic: CEO’s Sudden Death, an Office Romance and a Surprise Will” (WSJ)
“He didn’t give control of the $1.2 billion publisher to either of his two sons, or his siblings, or his ex-wife, with whom he had rekindled a friendship during the pandemic. Instead, control went to Iole Lucchese, Scholastic’s chief strategy officer. She also inherited all his personal possessions…”
“A Space Company’s Wall Street Launch Misfires” (WSJ)
“A space-transportation company trying to go public didn’t tell potential investors that its satellite-hauling technology failed, that it lost contact with a satellite in space and that its Russian founder had been deemed a national-security risk by the U.S. government, the Securities and Exchange Commission said.”
Tweets of the Week
Until Thursday,
The Bear Cave