Not so sure I have a great handle on this one or I'd be a rich man by now; although this is a long-term play for me. I think of LODE as a Barrick or Newmont when they were just starting out.
Currently I believe the key lies in the daily volume; which is paltry compared to McEwen.
Also, McEwen has a much greater short interest than LODE, so some of their
rise may have been short covering. Rob McEwen has also been in the gold community for a much longer time and has had many proven successes.
It wouldn't be too difficult for any one of our institutional investors, to keep
LODE in this tight and depressed trading range given our recent volume numbers. Why would they want to do that?
To get a larger piece of the pie at the lowest possible price. LODE never seems to have trouble
with their public offerings, closing quickly and using the over-allotment each and every time.
Is there manipulation to get the big guys in at a lower and lower price? You decide.
Winfield's ongoing conversion may also have something to do with price, but I quit trying to follow that.
Comstock really isn't helping with any of their PR's, you don't going buying a stock based on safety awards or reclamation goals. You buy on drilling milestones, added reserves and positive increasing cash flow. We haven't had any meaty press releases in a very long time. The POG hasn't helped at all to create any interest until recently.
I'd venture to say that this is a strong bottom we're bouncing along and when our drill program results start coming in, that should be a catalyst for a rise in price. I'm sure there will be some sort of bounce and sell event on the horizon with the upcoming 2nd quarter numbers, if you're playing the short term.
I think the junior miners will be coming back into favor with the investment community over the next few months. Comstock has a strong narrative and really a huge project which will serve this company well into the future.
