by Travis Johnson, Stock Gumshoe | October 31, 2014 8:01 pm
This teaser pitch started running, and we covered it, in mid-September — this article originally ran on September 18. It has not been updated or revised in the six weeks since then, but the ad is still in heavy enough rotation that many people are asking about it again, so we’re re-posting it for you.
The stock has gone from 81 cents to about 53 cents in those six weeks, I haven’t looked into whether or not there are specific reasons for the drop (the market, of course, is also down, and tiny stocks tend to be more volatile than the overall market).
What follows was published in mid-September and has not been updated:
——-from 9/18/14——-
Nick Hodge[1] consistently finds and recommends (and, at least indirectly, promotes) little tiny companies with cool-sounding and important-sounding technologies for his Early Advantage[2] newsletter. And Angel Publishing[3] teases and advertises his stuff more aggressively than some publishers, so I get asked about it all the time.
These stocks are too small to absorb a lot of new shareholders without going crazy, so they often are quite volatile when they get some newsletter attention (or even attention from our small group here), rising and falling more because of the new investor attention they receive than because of any actual business performance. So that’s your up-front caveat, before I even know what this stock is or whether I’ll end up being interested in it.
Hodge’s teaser pitch today, busking for subscriptions to his $799 Early Advantage, is for a company that he says can make you 86 times your money as it solves the corrosion problems that plague our pipeline networks. Those are real problems, fighting corrosion is a real and very large market that’s been a focus of manufacturers since steel galvanizing was popularized almost 200 years ago. So will this microcap company Hodge is talking about be the big solution and the next leap forward after galvanization?
Well, that I probably can’t tell you. I know very little about the industry. But I can sift through Hodge’s clues and tell you what company he’s talking about, and then you can decide. It is, after all, your money.
Here’s how the ad catches our attention:
“This 80-Cent Company Has Cornered a $1.2 Trillion Empire…
“And is Poised to Pay Out 86 Times Your Money! ….
“… there have been more than 200 pipeline accidents since 2000….
“That’s more than 20 expensive and dangerous disasters each and every year over the past decade.
“It’s a $1.2 TRILLION-per-year problem….
“… corrosion amounts to 7% of the entire U.S. GDP. That’s more than HALF of what we spend on defense each year….
“What if there was an answer to this issue?
“What if one 80-cent company had secured 13 patents, won nine industry awards, received upwards of $70 million in funding, and cornered this $1.2 trillion market all for its very own?”
So that’s the question — what the heck is this 80-cent company? You can check out the ad[4] if you want to see all of the hype and promise, but here are the remaining clues I sifted out of the muck:
“But one tiny company out of Florida has the leading — and patented — technology that could end these issues forever….
“… it’s mastered a new pipe-protection technology that’s 40 times faster, 20% cheaper, and 100 times more environmentally friendly than the antique technology currently in use today….
“… several of the world’s largest oil[5] and gas corporations — and even NASA — are turning to it to protect their pipes….
“The company I’m telling you about today has mastered a process that uses a high-intensity arc lamp — basically a mini-sun — to bond any material known to man onto metal.
“This technology is literally limitless.
Are you getting our free Daily Update
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just click here...“And not only does it protect the metal from corrosion for long periods of time, but it also protects metal piping from other prevalent problems such as wear and heat.
“The best part, though, is that it’s CHEAP. That’s the real key here.
“Put simply, thanks to this company, we could paint the world in stainless steel at a cost competitive with Sherwin-Williams….
“… it’s already been spotted in the top 20 of Inc. Magazine’s fastest-growing manufacturers… and because of this, some major players are taking notice.
“Perhaps it’s why NASA recently agreed to fund a significant portion of what this company does. Remember, this company doesn’t just coat pipes… it can coat any metal to prevent rust, wear, and corrosion… even in space.
“And if that’s not enough, state and federal agencies have jumped on the bandwagon as well, piling $4.6 million into this company’s pockets over the past three months alone.”
So who is it? Thinkolator sez this is definitely a little $50 million market cap company called Abakan (ABKI, trades over the counter). The shares are indeed at about 80 cents right now, they do claim to have received $4.6 million in grants and loans from government agencies over the last three months (though that was in May, when they announced some small business funding from NASA[6]). Their primary businesses are Mesocoat, which is the cladding/coating business that’s being teased here, and Powdermet, which is more of a nano-scale coatings business that looks like it’s earlier in the R&D cycle. That’s from a two-minute look at their website, so I could be misinterpreting.
Coatings and corrosion-fighting are big businesses, so it probably won’t come as a huge surprise to you that Abakan is not the only company in the business. Just browsing Google with a variety of searches about corrosion fighting, next generation cladding, and nano protection for steel will get you an almost overwhelming number of products and tiny little private companies to run down. So if you can do that and understand whether Abakan and MesoCoat have any kind of sustainable advantage building, well, you’re a lot smarter than I am and you have a lot more time on your hands.
So I can just tell you how a quick look at their financials comes out: They have extremely inconsistent revenues, with the first revenues booked in 2012 after many years of no incoming business — that’s not necessarily shocking for a company that says it has a new and transformative product. They should have just completed a private placement (they planned for it to close on 9/15) to raise $7.5 million at 40 cents a share (half of the current share price — the stock cratered to 40 cents when the placement was announced last month but then recovered very quickly), so if that did close they will have diluted the share count considerably (increasing it by about 25%). Of course, there are no earnings to dilute, but they have at least had some revenue (they trade at about 88X 2013 sales)… if they continue on the “churn” pace they were at in 2013 (we don’t know much about recent financials, more on that in a moment), then the $7.5 million they just raised would probably get them through about a year.
And on the “future promise” they are focused on the same kind of stuff Nick Hodge is, largely the CermaClad technology from their subsidiary MesoCoat, though it looks like the offshore oil and gas industry is their first target for possible future business. You can get a basic idea from their July CEO “update” here.[7]
As for actual financial information subsequent to February, they’re not saying yet — the latest quarterly reporting is delayed, with the company filing for an extension with the SEC[8] because the acquisition of a larger share of MesoCoat (by selling down or exchanging some of their position in Powdermet) made the filing too difficult to do on time.
I don’t know if that will be reason for concern in the end or not, the business is very speculative and loss-making anyway, and has already diluted shareholders recently, but it is a little difficult to evaluate a small company that hopes to be growing when the latest numbers are eight months old. They checked the box on that form[9] indicating the data would be forthcoming 15 days after the due date, which by my reading (assuming the deadline is really August 29, as indicated) means they’re already past due on the extension. That’s not encouraging, given the lack of information about their financials, but perhaps if you look into it you’ll be impressed with other aspects of the company or stock. It’s your money… let us know what you think with a comment below.
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May I impose on you to give me your opinion on PRAN, Please. Thanks..
I have to say I am impressed with all the stuff about Mairjuana stocks. It might be little early to get excited about these stocks It might be legal in some states but under federal law its still very much Ilegal
Looks like it already got a bump!
I belong to Early Advantage. Mr. Hodge had a 200-300% winner with Stellar Biotech but the 5 other recos I bought are neutral to down. Yet he tells me his picks are up 100%. It may be if they were bought long ago, the low entry point might prove this. If you’re late to the game, you don’t see those gains. — However, his main strategy seems long-term: waiting for the price of uranium to skyrocket; or for a dental device to be bought by more and more dentists. Nonetheless, as Travis suggests, Hodge’s explorations of “quirky” companies with a story do give me hope that they’ll actually grow as predicted!
I have subscribed to early advantage for about 1 1/2 years. I have made 100%-400% on at least 3 of Nick’s recommendations, His stocks are highly volatile and one usually does best with them if you get in early and then not be greedy. I have seen 100%+ profits disappear by hanging on to long. I bought Stellar for $.40, Rode it to $about $1.90 only to see it drop to $.69 .Then I got lucky when Money Map Press started pushing the stock and sold out as $ 2.28. So I advise get in early, take a nice profit and get out!
We have a marginally less hairy stock pick in this business called Pure Technologies, PPEHF
here and PUR in Toronto. It makes systems to inspect pipelines: water, sewage, gas, oil. It just acquired its private company partner in the hydrocarbons inspection business, called Hunter McDonnell, for $8 mn. That tells you something about PPEHF. It is a $400 mn company and also rather conservatively run. But it is also hairy. While it does earn profits they swing all over the place from quarter to quarter (mainly because a lot of these pipelines and also bridge safety inspections are paid for by cash short governments.) That is presumably why it bought the oil and gas inspection firm. It was just raised to buy by Jennings brokerage but we have owned it for years, after it got into (heh heh) hot water for its “Great Man Made River project” in Qaddafi’s Libya. This was for bringing water from oases in the desert to the cities on the Med.
After Qaddafi was deposed it looked really cheap and in fact the new regime paid off the arrears for the pipeline in the end.
Now PPEHF trades at 215x last year’s earnings. That is not a misprint, why it is hairy. You are all welcome to pile in. Note that it has a nearly 76% gross margin on sales although most of the money evaporates or is used for R&D (not for acquisitions given how little it is spending and how most of the payment is in stock and spread over 3 years. It winds up with an operating margin of like 3.5% and a net profit margin of 3.2%. So I am not selling yet because I think maybe the firm will better control its expenses as it grows. It even pays a dividend. It will never rise 486% because Canadians don’t act like Nick Hodges investors.
Which Companies is Hodge recommending ?
Abki is Abakan. That is the symbol for the above article.
Jon, some of Hodge’s earlier picks are: FCUUF; LEDIF; NGPHF; & NTCX. Good luck if you choose to invest and let’s hope they have a run!
Beware of Nick Hodges. He makes all sorts of outrageous claims, but most are just made-up claims, what would normally be called lies.
The process you describe sounds like a process that was developed in the 70’s or 80′. It used a acetylene torch and any powdered metal and a lathe. You would put your shaft or pipe in the lathe and operate the torch/ metal spray and spray molten metal on to the shaft or pipe. It was great for repairing worn shafts and putting harder metal on top of softer metal to limit wear. Torches run at about 6000 F and electric arc’s are up around 9000 F. Doesn’t really excite me. A ton of people are familiar with the process and it would definitely prevent pipes from corroding. It would be very easy to build a machine to process pipe at high speed and spray almost any metal or ceramic onto a pipe. I don’t believe a Patent would stand up to a challenge. I would need the patent# and a whole lot more info.
Thanks William, glad to hear from someone who understands it far better than I do. They talk quite a bit about it on their website (basics at http://abakaninc.com/port_mesocoat.html), but without the context of what’s going on in the rest of the industry it’s not necessarily very helpful.
My rule: Always hedge Hodge picks.
And btw, Travis, thanks for my prediction come true. As soon as Mr. Hodge’s email hit my inbox, I knew you’d be commenting on it.
I have been getting “Early Advantage” for some time and, I’ve learned that you have to pick and choose which “picks” interest you and follow those. Alsoi, Allen Besen is right – once you’ve decided on a stock, get in fast and either hang on or get out when you’ve got a useful profit. I haven’t done brilliantly, but have received free stock when a company split and there’s some more coming through Azincourt (AAZ.V). Abakan is one of the stocks I didn’t go for as I have no idea re that type of product. One thing I don’t understand …..Is the anticorrosive added inside underground pipelines (e.g. oil pipelines) I.e. is it something that can just be added to whatever is in pipeline and just left to do job?
This is a coating that’s applied in a factory setting — the stuff they mostly talk about, from what I can tell, does nothing for existing corroded pipes, it’s focused on making new pipes better/cheaper.
Thanks, Travis. Sue.
Their technology does have unique advantages. But that’s not to say that they can build a sustainable business on it. The management team seems somewhat shallow and control is too centralized with few institutional investors. I wouldn’t jump on it.
The stock we are looking for could very well be: Niocorp… Pls check out their details. Even if its not the stock we are after, this one looks interesting.
I am looking forward to your opinions
ARNO: I have a small stake in NioCorp. and it is definitely NOT the stock being teased. It is a Moly Corp. discovered deposit spun of f and promoted by ex Moly executives when they got into trouble. This is avery volatile market and you need to be avery nimble trader to make any money.
Found Abakan from the clues in Hodges articles before looking here. The product seems sound but yes it is tied to busking for $799 for Hodges newsletter. If it is such a sure thing why wouldn’t Hodge put in a couple of Mil himself? Will the company run? Not so sure on that one. I might invest a little and follow it for the next little while. Usually you can make 20 or 30 % by just following the stock for a couple of months as long as you buy low.
I’m agreeing now, September 23, with Bal Li’s assertion that Nick Hodge makes outrageous claims. Just today, he spun around his last 9 energy picks with a new title, “Peak Profit Cycles,” claiming at first they will make you rich with 1,000s of percent run-ups, but ending the pitch with you may make some money. I feel deceived and question whether its worth throwing money at a newsletter writer’s”pie-in-the-sky” pipe dreams!
I had asked if you could comment on Nick Hodges End of Rust. Your response was quick and very helpful. Thanks so much.
You do a great service for investors.
So is Abakan the company ?
?
Yes, as noted above I said it’s definitely Abakan. Whenever I’m less than 99 percent certain of a teaser solution I make that uncertainty clear, there’s no uncertainty on this one.
Which doesn’t mean the company is any good, of course, just that it’s being teased by Hodge’s newsletter.
I would buy the product if I could rust proof my home furnace. I had to replace the blower moter last winter when it rusted. It was very cold. I’d like something to make it rust proof to save replaing it and to stay warm in the winter. It is a very practical product if it works. Can the do it yourself homeowner use it? If so , it should do well.