Berko throws cold water on Altair Nanotechnologies as an investment
I know jack squat about Malcom Berko. According to this little write up, he's been working in the investments field for 50 years. He currently writes a column where he answer's investor's questions, and he recently took on Altairnano.I also know very little about investing, so I'm not really the best person to try and figure out Berko's hidden reasons (if there are any) for throwing such a wet blanket on the idea of investing in Altiarnano. We've seen financial reporters being skeptical of Altair before, but they've come around.
Anyway, Berko doesn't like some of Altair's non-battery work, and has been hearing CEO Alan Gotcher talk the talk about the nano-batteries for too long to be enamored with them. The person writing in to Berko says they've heard good things about Altair from WR Hambrecht. That might be true, Berko says, but Hambrecht is Altair's underwriter, so tread carefully.
All that said, there's at least one error in the column. The person who asked Berko about making the investment said, "I would like to buy 20,000 shares of Altair at $3.90" and, later, "I would like your thoughts on this stock, which would also give me an added level of comfort before I invest $39,000." That's probably just a typo (20,000 shares at $3.90 would cost $78,000), but when we're looking for people to trust with piles of money, I'd say the fewer mistakes they make the better.
Related:
[Source: NewsOK]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
COINTELPRO 10:00PM (5/28/2007)
I would scrutinize the claims of AltairNano very carefully. It looks like this company was an oil & gas company (many name changes - raises red flags), then made a miraculous transformation to nano-tech only. These batteries will never show up in Tesla since they have an exclusivity agreement for EV use with Phoenix Motorcars. I don’t see the purpose of having this arrangement since it will limit their market, Phoenix Motor is not a huge GM type company that can demand these concessions. Additionally, being a former oil & gas company, you wonder if this is a ploy to patent up this tech and keep it out of the hands of the Big 3 for an EV application. It reminds of the Exxon/Ovionics deal which has been alleged to prevent Toyota from creating a plug-in.
AltairNano has a 16% equity stake in Phoenix Motorcars which is a private company and their only EV customer for these batteries. There is no independent customer (like a Tesla) that is utilizing their technology in an EV application to substantiate their claims. This company could be a pump and dump, where the insiders cash in on all the hype.
There is limited visibility since their only EV customer is a private company that Altair has a substantial stake. Phoenix Motorcars financials are not publicly disclosed. AltairNano financials are poor based on all the technology claims & big name customer AltairNano is alleging to be using their technology.
I could be wrong with my assessment, however, there are many questionable details about the company. Until they suppy a GM, Toyota, or Tesla with their technology (or confirmation from fleet customer like PG&E), I wouldn't buy any stock.
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Joseph 3:38PM (5/29/2007)
@ COINTELPRO
AC Propulsion recently spoke of their tests on the AltairNano batteries; AC Propulsion has so far had good results, consistent with AltairNano's claims.
Unless AC Propulsion is lying, or AltairNano made them lie, or AC propulsion in some extrordinary way has ties to an Oil company, then it would seem that AltairNano is truthful, and that the skeptics have got it wrong.
Check out evworld.com for the story on AC Propulsion revealing thei test results on AltairNano batteries.
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Kent Beuchert 8:59AM (5/29/2007)
I read Berko's comments, which aren't new, as this article implies. What shocked me was the fact that Berko seems to believe there's actually some doubt as to whether the batteries work!!!! Ignorance like this tells me that Berko has no competence to provide an opinion about this company. he also made some silly comments about the Sherwin-Williams pigment connection that also
led me to believe he isn't familiar with either the magnitude nor even the nature of the joint effort. He didn't even mention the connection with Alcoa. I sent Berko an email asking some pertinent questions about curent battery development effiorts at some of the major players : A123 Systems, EEStor, LTC, etc. and he couldn't provide
any facts whasoever. It's impossible to evaluate the stock of a company when you have no knowledge of what products the company makes ,nor knowledge of their competitors. Berko is simply not competent to make any opinions about Altair. Whether Altair is a good stock to buy, I haven't a clue. I know their battery works but am uncertain how the company stands with respect to the other
developing competitors.
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rick 10:12AM (5/29/2007)
Berko doesn't have a clue.
The marekt cap of this company is $215,000,000. That's all it takes to buy the entire company. Pocket change for a big hitter like any of the big battery manufacturers. The stock trades at $3. I'm betting(holding stock)that this company gets bought for >$1Billion in
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susan.kraemer 12:53PM (5/29/2007)
I am not an investor, but I am looking at this from the point of view of:
Is an electric car company (Phoenix)in danger of being put out of comission by an oil/ICE company again:
Is that danger here?
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Darius 11:57AM (5/29/2007)
COINTELPRO "they have an exclusivity agreement for EV use with Phoenix Motorcars"
Thats not entirely correct. The exclusivity is ONLY for one class of vehicles (light pickup I think) and in the US. There is nothing stopping them from selling the battery for use in other types of vehicles.
That said you do raise valid concerns that give me second thought as to investing in it.
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