Author: Anthonette Clerigo

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Article: What’s the Worst Case Scenario for AtriCure’s Federal Investigation?

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What’s the Worst Case Scenario for AtriCure’s Federal Investigation?

Amanda Pedersen, 20 September 2019

Renewed concerns about a Department of Justice (DoJ) investigation involving a key player in the atrial fibrillation space has prompted one medtech analyst to review similar investigations in the industry.

In March 2018, Mason, OH-based AtriCure, disclosed that it received a civil investigative demand from the DoJ over potential off-label marketing of the company’s Deep hybrid procedure products, which account for about 10% of AtriCure’s total sales. AtriCure’s Deep procedure is not FDA approved to treat atrial fibrillation, but the devices that are used in the procedure have FDA clearances for tissue ablation and the company is currently running a trial to support approval for an atrial fibrillation indication.
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Article: Avoid Namaste (TSXV:N) Stock at All Costs

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Avoid Namaste (TSXV:N) Stock at All Costs

Adam Othman, 13 August 13 2019

Namaste Technologies (TSXV:N) seemed like the company to promise an online cannabis platform that could cater to the needs of the increasingly massive cannabis industry. The reality of the situation is far away from the potential the company had.

The cannabis-centred e-commerce technology company fired its CEO, Sean Dollinger, earlier this year, following Citron Research’s report that put a sizable dent in the share price of Namaste. The company was accused of making fake claims of a Nasdaq listing in order to get investors to buy stock. The company’s board sprang into action to form a special committee to investigate the claims.
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Article: Vistra wraps up Crius Energy acquisition

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Vistra wraps up Crius Energy acquisition

Renewables Now, 16 July 2019

Texas-based company Vistra Energy Corp (NYSE:VST) has completed the acquisition of electricity and gas retailer Crius Energy Trust (TSE:KWH.UN), which will be delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange tomorrow.

The parties announced the closing of the transaction on Monday. Crius Energy’s unitholders will receive CAD 8.8 (USD 6.75/EUR 6) per unit this week. In addition, holders of record on March 26, 2019 are also getting a distribution of CAD 0.209 per unit, a previously declared by Crius.

The company is expected to be wound-up following the redemption of the trust units on July 18.

Crius Energy is an independent energy marketer of retail electricity, natural gas and solar products to residential and commercial customers. In its report for the first quarter of 2019, it noted that it was in the advanced stages of winding down its solar installation business known as Verengo. Total revenues for the quarter amounted to USD 296.4 million (EUR 263m), including USD 240 million in electricity revenue, USD 54.5 million from natural gas, and just USD 1.9 million from the solar business.
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Article: Vistra Energy Completes Acquisition of Crius Energy Trust

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Vistra Energy Completes Acquisition of Crius Energy Trust

Crius Energy Trust, 15 July 2019

Vistra Energy (NYSE: VST) and Crius Energy Trust (“Crius Energy”) (TSX: KWH.UN) today announced the successful completion of the previously announced acquisition by Vistra of the business of Crius Energy. The closing of the transaction follows the overwhelming approval of the transaction by Crius Energy unitholders at the special meeting of unitholders held on March 28, 2019, and the receipt of all required regulatory approvals, including approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on July 8, 2019. As a result of the closing today, Crius Energy unitholders are entitled to receive C$8.80 per trust unit upon the redemption of such units. In addition, Crius Energy unitholders that were holders of record on March 26, 2019 will receive C$0.209 per unit for the distribution previously declared by Crius Energy on Jan. 16, 2019. The combination of these amounts results in total cash payable to Crius Energy unitholders of C$9.009 per unit. Crius Energy expects that the distribution of C$0.209 per unit will be payable today, with the transaction consideration of C$8.80 payable within three business days of today’s date. The units of Crius Energy are expected to be delisted from the Toronto Stock Exchange as of the close of markets on July 17, 2019, and Crius Energy is expected to be wound-up following the redemption of the trust units on July 18, 2019.
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Article: Online food delivery comes with a side of fraud

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Online food delivery comes with a side of fraud

Monica Eaton-Cardone, 12 July 2019

Digital payments and remote channels were generally slower to gain traction in the food and beverage sector compared to other retail outlets. Now, though, the industry is making up for that delayed adoption.

Digital channels in the industry now demonstrate rapid YoY growth. Total delivery sales in food service in the U.S. reached $34 billion in 2018, representing a 13% increase compared to the previous year.

Much of that boost took the form of food delivery apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, or Postmates, as well as merchants’ own individual apps. Overall, food delivery represented roughly 37% of restaurant industry sales.
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Article: Short on Dunkin’ Brands and Burger King’s Parent: Jim Chanos

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Short on Dunkin’ Brands and Burger King’s Parent: Jim Chanos

SHOBHIT SETH, 25 June 2019

Founder and president of Kynikos Associates, Jim Chanos, is betting against two popular fast food stocks. Talking about his short positions in Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc. (DNKN) and Burger King’s parent company, Restaurant Brands International Inc. (QSR), the closely followed short seller told CNBC in an interview on Thursday morning, “We’ve been short these things for about a year.” (See also: The World’s Top 10 Restaurant Companies.)

Providing the justification for his short calls on the stocks, Chanos expressed concerns about the increasing price-to-earnings ratios of the restaurant stocks as the business continues to struggle. An increasing trend in price-to-earnings ratios indicates a higher price of the stock compared to its earnings potential and is considered to be detrimental to sustained positive returns from the stock investments.

Questioning the viability of the “franchisers versus the franchisees” operating model of such businesses, Chanos added that he doesn’t like what he calls “this asset-light idea” of these companies not owning their restaurants while “basically clipping the coupons, collecting royalties” from the franchises.
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Article: Nymox Pharmaceutical: Assessing The Short And Long Ideas

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Nymox Pharmaceutical: Assessing The Short And Long Ideas

Avisol Capital Partners, 13 June 2019

Nymox Pharmaceutical (NYMX) has been accused of being an outright serial scam by well-known biopharma short expert Richard Pearson. This was from August 10, 2016, and he had this headline for his article – “Nymox: This Offshore ‘Biotech’ Promotion Will Go To Zero (Yes, Zero).” In that well-written article, he went on to claim how the company hid details of poor trial data from the public, while senior management continued to dump stock without timely SEC disclosure, how the company’s auditor, legal counsel, bankers are all “closely tied to regulatory violations, stock promotions and/or outright fraud,” and how the author filed an SEC complaint against the company after publishing the article.

That article took the stock down by almost 50%. However, it quickly recovered in the same month to soar back to above where it was before the fall. Couple more short articles followed over the years. Some people, I am sure, made money during that fall and rise.
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Article: Information for Investors Who Lost Money in Village Farms International, Inc. (VFF)

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Information for Investors Who Lost Money in Village Farms International, Inc. (VFF)

Sonn Law Staff, 17 May 2019

Village Farms International, Inc. (VFF) is a Canadian-based greenhouse company.

Beyond growing common vegetables like tomatoes and peppers — a business that this company has been engaged in for many years — Village Farms International also recently become involved in the recreational marijuana industry. In recent years, the VFF stock price is up considerably — as investors consider the company’s potential to create significant revenue in a new business. However, serious questions have been raised about the company’s business model and its actual financial position. Indeed, in April of 2019, Citron Research released a report on Village Farms International arguing that federal regulators should investigate the firm for possible stock manipulation.
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Article: Silver Law Group Investigating Village Farms International, Inc. (VFF) For Potential Securities Laws Violations

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Silver Law Group Investigating Village Farms International, Inc. (VFF) For Potential Securities Laws Violations

Silver Law Group, 07 May 2019

Village Farms International, Inc. (VFF), a publicly-traded vertically-integrated greenhouse grower of produce and cannabis, is being investigated by Silver Law Group concerning potential securities laws violations as well as violations by the selling stockbrokers. If you are an investor and have suffered a loss with this company, you may be able to recover some of your losses. Already publicly-traded in Canada, Village Farms started trading on the Nasdaq under the symbol “VFF” in February, 2019.

On April 16, 2019, Citron Research released a report that stated that the SEC should investigate Village Farms. The report alleged that when Village Farms entered into a joint venture with Emerald Health Therapeutics and Pure Sunfarms to get into the cannabis market, it “moved to the dark side by partnering with shady stock promoters that have a track record of failed businesses and [joint ventures] while insiders at both Village Farms and Emerald Health have dumped stock.”
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Article: Village Farms International Inc (TSX:VFF): This Famous Investor Thinks it’s a Giant Fraud

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Village Farms International Inc (TSX:VFF): This Famous Investor Thinks it’s a Giant Fraud

Ryan Vanzo, 23 April 2019

Village Farms International (TSX:VFF)(NASDAQ:VFF) stock is riding high from all the cannabis hype. Since 2019 began, shares have exploded higher by more than 300%. The run could be over, however. At least that’s what one famous investor is saying. While you may not have heard of Andrew Left, he is one of the most respected short-sellers today. His firm Citron Research has uncovered countless frauds and scams, profiting handsomely after the stocks take a dip. Recently, Left has set his targets on Village Farms. Here’s what he discovered.
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Article: RM LAW Announces an Investigation of Village Farms International, Inc.

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RM LAW Announces an Investigation of Village Farms International, Inc.

PRNewswire, 16 April 2019

RM LAW, P.C. announces an investigation on behalf of Village Farms International, Inc. (NASDAQ: VFF) (“Village Farms” or the “Company”) investors concerning the Company and its officers’ possible violations of federal securities laws. On April 16, 2019, Citron Research published a report titled “Citron presents the Red Flag Why the SEC should investigate Village Farms – Price Target $1”. Following the release of this report, Village Farms’ shares dropped more than 10%.
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Article: Village Farms Investigated by Block & Leviton LLP For Violations of Federal Securities Laws

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Village Farms Investigated by Block & Leviton LLP For Violations of Federal Securities Laws

GLOBE NEWSWIRE, 16 April 2019

Block & Leviton LLP (www.blockesq.com), a securities litigation firm representing investors nationwide, is investigating whether Village Farms International, Inc. (“Village Farms” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: VFF) and certain of its officers and directors violated federal securities laws. On April 16, 2019, Citron Research published a report titled “Citron presents the Red Flag Why the SEC should investigate Village Farms – Price Target $1”. Following the release of this report, Village Farms’ shares dropped more than 15%. Block & Leviton LLP was recently ranked 4th among securities litigation firms by ISS for recoveries in 2017. The firm represents many of the nation’s largest institutional investors and numerous individual investors in securities litigation throughout the country. Indeed, its lawyers have recovered billions of dollars for its clients.
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Article: Shopify Shares Fall Fast Following Report From Short Seller

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Shopify Shares Fall Fast Following Report From Short Seller

KEVIN CURRAN, 04 April 2019

Shares fell over 3% after the report’s release, cutting into the Canadian e-commerce company’s 50% gain to kick off 2019. “I still think they are best in class,” Andrew Left, Citron Research’s executive editor, acknowledged in an interview with Real Money. “It’s just that when you have a PE ratio over 300, its being priced like nothing bad can happen.”

He cited the emergence of competition from Square’s (SQ) online store, Facebook’s (FB) Instagram checkout, and the rumored launch of a Microsoft’s (MSFT) shopping competitor, as indicators that could deflate the stock. “This is a company that is priced for hyper growth. If they lose 15% of their base, their multiple is going to get smacked,” Left commented.
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Article: Shopify dives after short-seller Andrew Left of Citron Research shorts the e-commerce stock

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Shopify dives after short-seller Andrew Left of Citron Research shorts the e-commerce stock

Ellen Kelleher, 04 April 2019

Shares of Shopify Inc (NYSE:SHOP) tumbled Thursday after famed short-seller Andrew Left of Citron Research went bearish and urged investors to short the Canadian e-commerce company. In a research note, Left and his team make the case that their newly-adopted short position stems from a “perfect storm” of business setbacks that will knock Shopify “off its high wire to $100 in the next 12 months.”

Growing fearful about Left’s predictions, investors sent Shopify shares down 6% to $192.75 in afternoon trade. In the past month, Citron says a lot has changed for Shopify as Square Inc (NYSE:SQ) announced it is revamping its online store; Mailchimp ended its partnership with the e-commerce site; and news surfaced that Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) is launching a competitive offering to Shopify.
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Article: Cracks Are Forming in Cronos Group Stock

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Cracks Are Forming in Cronos Group Stock

Todd Shriber, 28 March 2019

As has been widely noted since the start of the year, marijuana equities are among 2019’s best-performing issues. Until recently, it would have been accurate to include Cronos Group (NASDAQ:CRON) in that conversation. Although the ides of March recently struck Cronos Group stock, shares of the Canadian cannabis company are still up 94.80% this year (as of March 27). In fact, Wednesday could go down as a day of infamy for Cronos Group stock.

In late trading, CRON stock was down more than 11% on above-average volume after Canaccord Genuity analysts Matt Bottomley and Bobby Burleson downgraded the shares to “sell” from “hold.” Late Wednesday, Cronos Group stock was clinging to the $18 area, well above Canaccord’s price target of $12.68. “While the sales of Canada’s other prominent producers ranged from $15 million to $60 million in the December quarter — the first in which the country allowed recreational sales to adults — Cronos managed just $4 million in sales of both medical and recreational pot,” reports Barron’s. “That even missed the low-bar of Canaccord’s forecast for $5 million.”
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