May 13, 2017
Dear Total Wealth Investor,
For all the success we've had together and the countless recommendations along the way that have given you huge profit potential, we've hit a stinker.
To say I'm disappointed with Ekso Bionics' (NasdaqGS:EKSO) latest numbers would be the understatement of the year.
The company reported financial results for the first three months of 2017 and revenues dropped off a cliff from $8.5 million a year ago to only $1.4 million this year. Granted, last year's figures included recognition of a deferred $6.5 million worth of revenue due to an accounting change, but that doesn't change the fact that sales tanked.
What's happened and why makes sense to me given where they are as a company and the pivot to more commercially-oriented products like the EksoZeroG but, I don't particularly like it. My expectations, like yours, were for substantially higher prices this far into things.
It would be easy to throw in the towel and I wouldn't blame you one bit if you did. But - and I've got to take a deep breath as I type this because I am acutely aware of the trust you place in me - I'm recommending you hang on if at all possible.
Doing so shouldn't be difficult if you've properly controlled risk by keeping your position to 2% of investable capital or used a series of lowball orders to average in, for example. If you're over that limit or losing sleep because of the way Ekso's trading, then think seriously about paring down your position until you're at more comfortable levels.
Looking ahead, the company still has a lot going for it despite some very tough numbers, including an $11.7 million financing that provides much needed working capital and a new director named Howard Palefsky who has valuable experience in the life sciences and wellness industries.
Most importantly, I remain confident in the company's leadership. It's apparent to me based on recent conversations with CEO Thomas Looby and CFO Max Scheder-Bieschin that both men are acutely aware of what they've got to do and how they've got to move the company to do it.
In that sense, the road that they've got to travel is very similar to other big names you know. For instance, investors forget that Apple Inc. (NasdaqGS:AAPL) was on the verge of bankruptcy in 1996 yet has a valuation of nearly $800 billion today. That Texaco went feet up in the 1980s and is now part of Chevron Corp. (NYSE:CVX), which carries a $200 billion price tag. Airbnb's creators lived on cereal and today it's a unicorn with a $25.5 billion valuation.
Sometimes, that's what speculative recommendations like Ekso come down to. Either you believe in what they do or you don't. There is no middle ground.
to us. Please continue to
