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My money is on bankruptcy... IMO. The proof is in the financials. No BS PRs can talk around ARTS' financial situation.
seriously... i thought this guy said ARTS should be traded without emotion.
A lot of hate on this board these days.
LOL, HE, HE, HA, HA... you are most welcome. glad i could help.
Arguing for transparency within ARTS financials is a little bit of a stretch. I don't want to kick a dead horse by listing all the areas i feel they lack transparency.
Anything else you need help understanding, call on the 'stache!!
I was a former employee of that firm and feel they are one of the most reputable firms out there.
A big four firm for a POS company like this... absolutely not. A reputable regional firm or someone with more than 4 years experience, absolutely...not sure if you caught that in Eugene's bio. Apparently, ol' Eugene has been doing this gig for 4 years.
Given the last firm qualified the auditor report due to lack of going concern and Eugene shows up and all is well, this appears more like auditor shopping to me (IMO).
As far as "nit picking" of their financials, this has been happening each and every quarter. i.e.- lack of disclosures, posting of prior quarter's statements (Q3 filing), loose explanations for revenues/losses...
Everything about this company is soup samich...
I would also like to know how their independent auditor feels this company will continue as a going concern (note 3, Going Concern, pg F10).
I find this particularly interesting, given the previous ARTS auditor left the engagement back in 2008 due to a qualification in his audit report regarding his lack of confidence that ARTS would continue as a going concern (10K, page 24, ITEM 8. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS ON ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL DISCLOSURES).
The financial outlook for ARTS has continued to deteriorate since 2008 and is being propped up by cash inflows by the issuance of shares, not day to day business operations.
I tried to research the current audit firm. I couldn’t find much and is definitely not one of the larger firms. It appears it is someone out of Baltimore.
www.manta.com/c/mm0wyl4/eugene-m-egeberg-cpa
If they do not post tonight, then they will have to answer to UNCLE SEC. I believe their notification of not being able to file on time, aka-SEC extension, runs out tonight.
I still feel this is the most unbiased "DD" on this board. Read through this and see if you feel any better about this POS.
investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=53826386
Agreed... we have been down this road before.
There are no shorts on this penny stock... my broker laughed at the idea. The fundamentals of shorting do not work here.
If anyone has found the magic key, please share with the rest of us. When the 3rd RS comes (if not bankruptcy), then i will be primed and ready with my short position.
Very interesting times... check mate on this POS stock, IMHO.
The self-proclaimed "real facts" are links to BS PRs from the past... none of which have come to fruition. EV is running scared and I presume is why none of us have heard from the POS since waking up that one morning to see that Santa EV left a 24,000 to 1 lump of coal in all of our trading accounts.
Good luck to all still believing in this... I only suggest you think real hard about the "DD" that has been presented.
EV can't lie in his financial statements... if EV has been, the uncle SEC will want to know.
I will be the first person to stand corrected if EV turns this thing around... but i am not holding my breath and don't expect to have to pay on that bet.
That is like saying Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny is real.
Until this "DD" makes it onto the financial statements (i.e. - assets, inventory, purchase commitment disclosures, etc), then it isn't real.
If the lack of including such things as the Picasso within the financial statements and notes has been an oversight by EV, then that is just as bad and will have its own consequences.
The game is over. This is a publicly traded company that has a fiduciary duty to provide their investors with insight into where they think ARTs is going and prove it with execution (financial results, disclosures, etc). It is also the company's right not to provide the answers to the questions that all of us have been asking, but they can't then expect to have investors continue throwing their hard earned money at this POS. The track record on this POS is abysmal (2 RS splits in 2 years (the last being 24,000 to 1 – I still can’t fathom how anyone can say 24,00 to 1 without gagging); boarder line no bid in just 4 months after the last RS; loose PRs that never amount to anything; etc.)
EV's silence is deafening....
I don't understand this statement. It is somewhat conflicting and I am curious how you think a company that is trying "build" itself can do so by not making money and not having assets/inventory to optimize?
Do you think Google would be where it is today if it wasn't making money nor had any assets to optimize? Do you think a Google would have the type of investor base it currently has, if it didn't recognize its fiduciary duty to protect that investor base's investment?
I would call these basic business fundamentals. I would also argue, IMO, EV doesn’t understand how to run a business and is why this stock is at the price it is today. You make money by selling a product and optimizing on basic business fundamentals. A business cannot thrive off of printing money alone. A company eventually needs to start firing from all cylinders and making money from its core business. Does ARTs even know what business they are in any longer (i.e. – Picasso, women’s’ football, purchasing human capital shell companies, etc).
EV... your silence is defening.
I have seen this post numerous times on this board. What does this mean... and is this your analysis or from an unbiased, independent party?
No one is touching this stock... it is quite obvious when looking at their current stock price of $.0001. I think it is safe to call time of death on this POS... April 2011. Cause of death... EV's poor management.
It should be interesting to see what good ol' EV has been up to since the RS. Based on the last couple of quarterly filings, I would suspect nothing has changed (i.e. - hemorrhaging of cash offset by inflows from financing activities, loose explanations for Revenues (i.e.- Sales from CSD division) and no explanation for its $7.5M and rising deficit to date, etc).
Through the 9/30 10Q, EV's cash hemorrhaging has been greatly offset by financing activities (i.e.- proceeds from the issuance of stock). It will be interesting to see if this phenomenon is still taking place or if people have wised up and have stopped funding this facade.
If there is no mention by the "independent" auditor in regards to his lack of going concern, then this POS is worse off than I thought. The lack of disclosures around this company is horrendous. Not to mention the inability to file their quarterly financials on time.
Based on this track record, there are not many places left for EV to hide.
They should have just let him walk in December. I tune in to Howard every now and then... but i will now boycott his show until Sirius comes out on top. He had his time and Sirius/Howard needed each other in the beginning.
This is unreal. I thought i would never say this, but howard is an overpaid punk.
Slap that 7 and feed EV's pockets... the stock is dead. EV's silence is deafening.
I think the fact that they don't speaks volumes. Transparency and execution are the only options EV has at this point. To date, he has refused to do so (unless you count his BS PRs as transparency... which i don't).
How about quarterly earnings calls; allowing shareholders to vote on things such as proposed RS (both timing/amounts) or at least make shareholders aware of a looming RS.
Seems simple to me and I can provide examples of successful (maybe that is the key word) companies that perform these types of things and more.
Or better yeat Jonah, a little fable called "the emporer's new clothes". The only thing I can say people, is that you have to perform your own due diligence and go with your gut. Often, we refuse to see reality even though it is right in front of our faces.
As in the fable, we will be presented with various opinions and be told what to think. Only time will tell who the swindlers are and who was the child that called out the truth.
For what its worth, I have taken a few excerpts from the fable that I find similarities with ARTS:
"One day swindlers came to the emperor's city. They said that they were weavers, claiming that they knew how to make the finest cloth imaginable. Not only were the colors and the patterns extraordinarily beautiful, but in addition, this material had the amazing property that it was to be invisible to anyone who was incompetent or stupid.
They set up their looms and pretended to go to work, although there was nothing at all on the looms. They asked for the finest silk and the purest gold, all of which they hid away, continuing to work on the empty looms, often late into the night.
The swindlers now asked for more money, more silk, and more gold, all of which they hid away. Then they continued to weave away as before on the empty looms.
"But he doesn't have anything on!" said a small child.
"Good Lord, let us hear the voice of an innocent child!" said the father, and whispered to another what the child had said.
"A small child said that he doesn't have anything on!"
Finally everyone was saying, "He doesn't have anything on!"
Just saying.... IMHO
PRs, PRs, PRs.... who cares.
Where is the execution from management? If things are "on the up and up", then why doesn't ARTS put their money where their mouth is and secure a loan to finance this "start up" company versus using investors as EV's personal ATM?
I presume the condition of ARTS financials explains why securing loans is out of the question. If banks won’t touch this POS, then why should investors?
The only thing EV can do at this point is execute... period. No more BS from EV and his cronies.
How can you say such a thing after the history of this company and its current trend post RS????
If ARTS does not owe its investors a return on their investment (eventually - i still argue this POS is not a start up company) or at least stability, then that would fly in the face of trading anywhere on the market. If this were true, why would anyone want to trade in the open market if they knew there was no upside.
No one... NO ONE lends anyone money for free. That is business.
I get it... investing into companies is always a risk. While I agree any company does not have "direct" control over an investor's actions, it does have control over its business plan/execution of promises and a fiduciary duty to protect the investment made by traders.
I can point out various points within this definition of fiduciary duty where ARTS and EV has fallen flat on their faces.
"An individual in whom another has placed the utmost trust and confidence to manage and protect property or money. The relationship wherein one person has an obligation to act for another's benefit.
A fiduciary relationship encompasses the idea of faith and confidence and is generally established only when the confidence given by one person is actually accepted by the other person. Mere respect for another individual's judgment or general trust in his or her character is ordinarily insufficient for the creation of a fiduciary relationship. The duties of a fiduciary include loyalty and reasonable care of the assets within custody. All of the fiduciary's actions are performed for the advantage of the beneficiary."
paint the close... back down tomorrow?
I agree... the true test will be whether or not the price can hold and if people can actually "turn a profit" by selling at $0.0025.
Does ARTS break the hundreth of a penny mark this week or does EV turn off the presses?
As far as scams go, I can’t say for sure, but where there is smoke there is usually fire.
I read this document a couple of nights ago and laughed. I also pointed out the same areas you did. If anyone considers these to be SEC worthy, they are not. These are “unaudited” statements that were provided by management. The CPA performs limited procedures to make sure they are “materially” correct. If they were SEC worthy, then the CPA would have to perform an actual audit and they would have been uploaded to the SEC Edgar website.
Here are a few other areas I found to be interesting:
1. The way I read this, EV wants to remain in pink sheets land so there is less regulation and oversight.
“ …the company became “delisted” as a publically traded company. The Company plans to remain delisted as a publically traded “penny stock” company. The eliminated of the legal and accounting costs associated with being a public traded company will enhance the Company’s ability to operate as a going concern.”
2. Cashflows – there is no cash at the end of 2010.
3. Accumulated DEFICIT in Stockholders’ Equity – not a good start. Based on the lack of cash on hand, I assume PBS Holding won’t be paying ARTS for the fact their business is currently under water.
4. I would like to better understand what makes up their General and Administrative costs.
Good luck... let's compare notes at the end of the second quarter... if ARTS and its new subsidiary PBHG are still afloat.
Check out the trend of ARTS stock since the last reverse split (24000 to 1). ARTS has plummeted 98% since December and we aren't even through February yet.
http://americanbulls.com/StockPage.asp?CompanyTicker=ARTS&MarketTicker=OTC&TYP=S
Tron is too busy lighting up the PBHG board... i feel sorry for those investors as well. Once EV gets his hands on this POS, they too will be sucked dry.
I read back through PBHG'S unaudited financials that were produced this month to qualify for the pink sheet market... i still can't get over the b*lls on EV. This has been a very important (and expensive for my taste) lesson.
I can't help but to reiterate PBHG is in trouble and ARTS will be the final nail in its coffin.
http://www.otcmarkets.com/otciq/ajax/showFinancialReportById.pdf?id=44346
Going Concern Issues (page F-18): This is all i need to read to stay clear from this mess.
"The Company [PBHG] continues suffering significant losses and working capital reflects more current liabilities than current assets. Unless sufficient additional cash flows come into the Company, either through equity financing, profits, or a reduction of cash expenses, the Company could be in jeopardy of continuing operations."
My take on the new PBS HOLDING, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES "opportunity"... this is another EV shell game and do not buy into the hype. Here is my DD and the highlights i pulled from some of their filings.
Before i can take this news seriously, EV needs to address the following:
1. The acquisition of a public company - If PBS Holding is the company they referenced within their last PR, then their wording is very misleading. PBS Holding has not filed with the SEC since 2007.
http://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?company=pbs+holding&match=&CIK=pbhg&filenum=&State=&Country=&SIC=&owner=exclude&Find=Find+Companies&action=getcompany
2. This company is in trouble.
http://www.otcmarkets.com/otciq/ajax/showFinancialReportById.pdf?id=44346
Sounds like another company to hide the poop. Not sure how "human resources outsourcing industries with particular emphasis in the professional employer organization (PEO) industry and the temporary staffing services industry" fits ARTS construct, but hey who am I?
3. Read note 10 - Going Concern Issues (page F-18): This is all i need to read to stay clear from this mess.
"The Company continues suffering significant losses and working capital reflects more current liabilities than current assets. Unless sufficient additional cash flows come into the Company, either through equity financing, profits, or a reduction of cash expenses, the Company could be
in jeopardy of continuing operations."
This sounds great in theory but the way i read it, they want to dabble in the pink sheets so there is less regulation and oversight...
"The Company has also sustained substantial cost related to litigation and corporate administration that has been and will continue to be reduced in going forward. As of June 30, 2007 the company became “delisted” as a publically traded company. The Company plans to remain delisted as a publically traded “penny stock” company. The eliminated of the legal and accounting costs associated with being a public traded company will enhance the Company’s ability to operate as a going concern.
4. Here is an interesting tid-bit i found in PBS's last filing. Sounds like auditor shopping to me.
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1077150/000110465905015411/a05-2064_110ksb.htm
"On February19, 2004, we dismissed Sellers & Andersen, LLC from its position as our independent accountants... The audit reports of Sellers & Andersen, LLC for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2002 and 2001 did not not contain an adverse opinion, disclaimer of opinion or modification of the opinion; however, the reports for each year did include an opinion regarding PBS’s ability to continue as a going concern.
agreed. The shareholders are EV, his sister, his brother in law....
Right from the 2010 Q2 10Q. Interesting play on words.
The interesting thing about the increases in authorized shares is that apparently (per the Q page F-7) “the Board of Directors, upon the consent of the shareholders owning a majority of the shares then issued and outstanding, approved a resolution to amend the Articles of Incorporation of the Company to increase the number of authorized shares”
It would be interesting to know who the “majority” shareholders are. I could not find the amended Articles of Incorporation on the SEC EDGARS site. Here is the original Articles of Incorporation: http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1168738/000121478208000137/ex3-1.htm
"It is no use saying, "We are doing our best." You have got to succeed in doing what is necessary." Sir Winston Churchill
I agree... not baseless at all.
Just read through these little gems (K and Q's - focus on the cashflows and continuous Net Losses) and take a look at the charts. I know some feel that "charts don't show the entire picture", but you can't ignore the writing on the wall either.
2009 K
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1168738/000121478210000057/artfest-nt10k123109.htm
2010 Q's
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1168738/000143209310000668/artfest10qa033109.htm
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1168738/000121478210000177/artfest10q063010.htm
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1168738/000143209310000972/artfest10qa2093010.htm
No troubles... good luck
Ok, i will play along...
So then, why would you post this?
http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=59981960
I would agree with you... if this trend was not repeated twice in two years. I would say the current chart shows a trend that is anything other than temporary.
If Arts has the “assets” you speak of, then what is EV doing with them?
http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1168738/000143209310000972/artfest10qa2093010.htm
Balances as of 9/30/10
Inventory $1.3M (i will have to compute an inventory turnover ratio to see if EV is "making" money off of his CSD subsidiary inventory)
Interesting to note, even if EV liquidated his entire inventory of $1.3M and financing cash inflows ceased, this company would be toast and in no way could support an operational cash outflow of $1.9M.
EV has some explaining to do. Stop hiding and give shareholders some visibility. If ARTs is on the up and up, then say so. His silence is deafening.
Trend22... sorry, but i don't have a paid subscription and can't respond to your private message.
To answer your question, if i were a new investor, i would be careful about the folks you choose to follow. Regardless of you who you follow, perform your own DD before taking a shot.
I bought in last year around this time when rumors about "Picasso Statues", "dividends for shareholders on record before a certain date", etc. started to surface. I averaged down twice to finally get my cost down to .0007. $1,500 later, i chose to stop giving EV my hard earned cash. This POS finally went down to no bid and eventually led to a RS. My $1,500 investment is now worth $0.45.
Ask the people that were invested in this company back in 2009/prior. Their investment also ran headfirst into a RS. Twice in two years is not a coincidence... it is abysmal.
I would shy away from the unsubstantiated "PRs" that are produced by ARTs.
I personally would wait until the 2010 10K (~mid April, assuming a delayed filing) is filed.
A couple of areas i would focus on:
1. Better explanation on how they are earning Revenue - Historically their explanation has been very vague and attached to their Charity Sports Distributors, Inc. (“CSD”) subsidiary
2. Positive Income - Through the Q3 filing, Net Income has been negative.
3. Cash Flows - It will be interesting to see if the current trend of using cash inflows from financing activities (primarily our hard earned money) to support our net cash outflows by operating activities continues.
4. Look for any Auditor qualifications regarding going concern - i.e. based on the auditor's procedures, he feels the company has a risk of bankruptcy
5. Authorized vs outstanding share counts
6. Picasso - any subsequent purchase commitment disclosure
This is just my opinion and just saying.
Not really... other than to prove the point that while EV is "building capital", the shareholders are holding the bag.
Using the chart here is how I see it. Assuming EV is dumping shares into the market and shareholders are buying them.
If an investor bought 30,000 shares on 1/28 at a price of $0.0150 (assuming bought at the close - intraday moves should be ignored since this is a "start up company" and people should not be interested in making money too fast. "Instant Coffee spoiled a generation" http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=59914822), then EV gets $450 for building capital and the shareholder now has a $450 investment. Everyone is happy.
Now fast forward to 2/15. The price is now $0.005. EV is still happy... EV has his $450 for "building capital" and the shareholder only has $150 to show for his faith in EV and his "start up company". Said another way, this shareholder lost 67% of his initial investment.
Let's change some dates and assume this shareholder actually bought into the hype after the RS and bought 30,000 shares at $2.00. Again, EV is happy because he has $60,000 for "building capital" while the investor only has $225 to show for his faith in EV and his "start up company". Said another way, this shareholder lost 99.6% of his initial investment.
Please, please, can anyone educate me where this scenario is flawed and how anyone (assuming we should give EV money and hold on tight) is making any money?????
Paint the close??