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hmm x3,022,312,500 on the bid...
Sure is... It's equivalent to taking the door off of a public bathroom stall. We're putting the MM's on "public" display with their pants down for if & when the stock runs.
SG mentioned that the OTC.BB could be our destination. Although, according to the details of the new OTC.QB requirements, it appears that we may have been rejected to the "pinks" in error.
Technically, according to these details below, SEEK should have until 120 days after our fiscal year end.
http://www.securitieslawyer101.com/otcqb/
Each issuer will be required to comply with the new OTCQB procedures 120 days after its fiscal year end. Issuers not complying with the new procedures within the required timeframe will be downgraded to OTC Pink Sheets. Companies with a March 31 fiscal year end will be the first companies subject to the new requirements and will be required to comply with the new OTCQB standards by July 31, 2014.
The phase in of all issuers will be complete when the last group of current OTCQB companies with a fiscal year end of March 30 are required to comply on July 30, 2015.
Here is supportive information as to why my belief that the CEO of TheDirectory.com doesn't feel it's safe to stay on the OTC.QB and pay the $2,500.00 registration fee and annual $10,000.00 fee with no protection to show for it.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aEOpTqmLZB7A
Right, and I have a champion, thoroughbred horse to sell you.
I see that the TheDirectory.com website incurred some more tweaks today. Stepping stones until we receive the final PRs.
Long SEEK
I'll be happy to purchase every one of your shares for $0.0015 Your best bet is to sell and move on.
The issue isn't paying the $10,000. The concern is paying $10,000 to OTC.QB and following all the guidelines, but then getting hammered by trading manipulation called naked short selling via phantom shares to suppress the share price of SEEK below $0.01. As you know OTC markets are not enforced, and it's not an equal playing field. These illegal share attacks are real and it's happening every day to companies trading on all OTC levels.
Long SEEK
Straight from tommyedwards:
Minimum bid price test of $0.01 will create a slippery slope for all micro cap companies that are abiding by each and every SEC filing requirement, but is unable to maintain a minimum share price due to manipulated trading tactics used to suppress the price per share value below $0.01 As a result sending valid companies to the pink sheets after the OTC.QB collects all registration and the $10,000.00 annual fee requirements.
If utilized properly, that would be a very effective way to buy back shares and retire them. Without paying a premium by having them run up on the open market.
Likely, part of house cleaning to get ready for the national advertising campaign.
Historical Short Selling Data For SEEK
http://otcshortreport.com/index.php?index=seek#.U06Bz8vjh2t
Date......Short....Short-Vol.........Regular-Vol.
29-Apr....29.58%...14,767,487........49,922,106
28-Apr....54.68%...19,160,211........35,043,456
25-Apr....31.41%...41,856,319.......133,259,402
24-Apr....14.85%...10,717,774........72,151,265
23-Apr.....8.29%....2,814,091........33,959,507
22-Apr....27.81%....5,949,085........21,390,558
21-Apr....21.90%....5,671,221........25,893,752
18-Apr.....0.00%....Holiday...................
17-Apr....13.28%....6,342,001........47,754,278
16-Apr....28.26%....8,536,921........30,206,695
15-Apr....30.34%...36,267,128.......119,552,555
14-Apr....45.17%...27,613,969........61,138,757
11-Apr....27.80%....3,272,451........11,773,461
10-Apr....36.40%....8,422,196........23,141,070
9-Apr.....8.44%.....1,253,144........14,844,417
8-Apr.....39.96%....8,569,476........21,446,002
7-Apr.....23.37%....5,689,173........24,348,475
4-Apr.....39.09%....4,953,564........12,672,083
3-Apr.....8.79%.....1,503,917........17,115,371
2-Apr.....17.90%....3,664,000........20,469,641
1-Apr.....23.21%....3,344,222........14,408,598
31-Mar....6.08%.....1,000,000........16,439,562
28-Mar....25.54%....8,305,473........32,523,394
27-Mar....42.16%...12,978,200........30,785,251
26-Mar....32.43%....6,200,617........19,117,693
25-Mar....39.57%....4,880,373........12,333,056
24-Mar....34.61%...12,659,789........36,582,740
21-Mar....19.97%....7,702,340........38,562,850
20-Mar....14.41%....6,990,280........48,521,260
19-Mar....30.37%...42,319,106.......139,367,434
18-Mar....40.48%...10,780,119........26,629,829
17-Mar....17.57%....2,476,099........14,088,905
I agree with your statement in its entirety. If you look at my posting history, you'll see that I am a strong advocate in the belief that there is HEAVY manipulation occurring in the day to day trading of SEEK.
Manipulation aside, my point was simply that the current trading patterns aren't a reflection for the future. I've personally taken full advantage of the recent lows.
Long SEEK
SG stated that his ultimate goal is tapping into the niche "video marketing" segment with "local" directories. SEEK is only building its foundation right now. Many investors aren't comprehending the big picture here.
TheDirectory.com is truly an unknown entity up to this point. These trading patterns mean absolutely nothing, but an investment opportunity for your Uncle Sam rebate right now. IMO
Long SEEK
For starters, I can't make this any simpler...
TheDirectory.com "Verified" business listing packages:
http://www.thedirectory.com/compare.php
(one time setup fee $99.99)
#1: $99.99/per month
#2: $299.99/per month
...Perform some simple math for a prospective business listings base. Let's say 65% #1 and 35% #2
Add in: National marketing campaign and two customer call centers.
Add in: (non-listing) business advertising on TheDirectory.com website.
Add in: Hello Metro revised websites
Add in: The new Hello Travel site locations
Add in: Advertising on both Hello Metro & Travel sites.
Add in: Three more partnerships
Add in: Completion of two more acquisitions from their target list, now that they've up-listed and are fully filed w/SEC
Add in: International growth
Add in: The untapped "video" portion of where SG is ultimately going with TheDirectory.com
Time is all that is needed here...
Long SEEK
TheDirectory.com - sample of the updates to a "Verified" listing:
http://www.thedirectory.com/advanced-foot-and-ankle-center.html
TheDirectory.com listing, page layout is continuing to change.
Profile / Reviews / Directions / Email Friend / is now above the map and the page is being tweaked with links for Facebook & Twitter. Verified websites are beginning to look much cleaner and many verified doctors have a section to schedule appointments. A service option that is now carrying over from the other owned websites.
SG may have underestimated the time it takes to tweak thedirectory.com/.net Although, through my conversations, I know he understands that all of the i's must be dotted and all of the t's must be crossed. Certainly the last thing I want as an investor is for SG to rollout the PR campaign on time without having everything presentable or partially so. National advertising will invite praise and criticism, I'm looking for an 85/15 split. You can't put the cart before the horse; especially, if we are striving to be the new "yellow", since "yellow" will be watching. When the directory.com looks complete and each page functions/displays properly that's a hint that the PR campaign is imminent.
BTW, I was just released from "IHUB Jail" on good behavior... Yes, they now have an IHUB Jail and a message board for other jail members. When you're sent to jail you are now restricted from posting on any message board. Not just one...
Loaded!
You're using the wrong logic, this isn't a perfect world. Those that have been trying to bankrupt the company for the past two years are getting more desperate with every positive news release to manipulate their positions and minimize catastrophic losses to the best of their abilities. This is why all the goones showed up this morning while the price per share was orchestrated to drop...
GNCP You nailed it with the day to day trading of this company. Indeed, over 11,000 micro caps were snuffed out from 2003 to 2013 because of short and naked short selling manipulation. Naked short selling is when phantom shares are created with such ratios as 1/100 short shares/phantom shares. The phantom shares aren't borrowed. Phony shares that are able to fool the electronic trading system into artificially weighing down the share price. Since the DTCC is a closed loop system it's nearly impossible to track unless they are forced to open the "vault". MMs make big money in the OTC-WW "wild west" and their main incentive is to snuff the company into bankruptcy. No covering ever needed for those phantom shares, but what happens when a company, such as GNCP, has enough support to break those chains? Shorts are in a world of panic at the moment and they are making big moves to turn the lights out on GNCP. IF Ted comes through and we hit gold with Tera then eureka for all the good guys with their hard earned investments in this company.
Nah GNCP isn't being manipulated, there's just a mere x2,000,000,000 on bid.
I agree with his perspective. The GOOGLE model is certainly the template and may also be considered "boring" or too plain white by some, but hell if it's not effective. No confusion, no distractions. Simply go here, type there, hit search and get results....
TheDirectory.com... "Go here, type there, hit search and get results!"
That’s been one of my mantras — focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex. You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains. Steve Jobs
Tell that to Larry Page and Sergey Brin. www.google.com
Greetings,
Indeed. I've counted 11 solid occurrences since SEEK had peaked at $0.0077 that market makers went to great efforts to break momentum and suppress trading value through bid/ask tactics.
I agree that it's concerning for SEEK to be pushing 3.9 billion O/S, but my reference was that if a company like ERBB can run from $0.0013 Dec 27, 2013 to an intraday peak of $0.11 March 25, 2014 (btw, a result of panicked short coverings) Then a company like SEEK with 3.889 billion O/S but solidly building financials is not simply trading in the $0.002's because of its O/S. There is a bigger factor at play here and it's going to take SG to flush it out by continuing financial progress and recognition. Finally, I believe we will experience a similar occurrence (that happened to ERBB) with SEEK. Followed by a typical price decline after the covering peak. Although, the same mm's forced to cover will simply "rinse and repeat" to the best of their abilities. As long as SEEK continues forward momentum it will combat this manipulation until ultimately we sell SEEK to a larger player. This could open additional momentum by merger to the NASDAQ or NYSE. Lots of potential here... especially with future partnerships. SG mentioned that once they've uplisted to the OTCQB/BB they will further solicitations with their list of acquisition targets. As Hello Metro, these targets can potentially sling-shot our revenue expectations by x2 or x3 with a few signatures.
Some people try to be very subtle until they reach a point where their support motives change into their true efforts of instilling fear on shareholders and those prospective...
Why the SEEK price drops on great news?
Short sellers successfully steered many micro caps into bankruptcy between 2006 - 2013. 11,000 companies. Although, what happens to those companies that come out of a dark period with a solid business plan? They catch these market makers by dreaded surprise because what they thought was stealing candy from a baby, now turned into a maturing baby that can stand on its own two feet. The writing is on the wall for 2014. It's only a matter of time until enough solid news hits to break the chains that are illegally holding back this company and it's share price. Quite a year of potential for all irons in the fire. ERBB 3.6 billion shares O/S was a great ride in Q1 this has much greater potential long term. O/S is not the main issue here.
Long SEEK
SEEK trading patterns are all orchestrated to break confidence and trip "stop losses", experienced investors understand that it's always darkest before the dawn.
Historical Short Selling Data For SEEK
http://otcshortreport.com/index.php?index=seek#.U06Bz8vjh2t
Date.....Short.....Short-Vol........Regular-Vol.
16-Apr...28.26%....8,536,921........30,206,695
15-Apr...30.34%...36,267,128.......119,552,555
14-Apr...45.17%...27,613,969........61,138,757
11-Apr...27.80%....3,272,451........11,773,461
10-Apr...36.40%....8,422,196........23,141,070
9-Apr....8.44%.....1,253,144........14,844,417
8-Apr....39.96%....8,569,476........21,446,002
7-Apr....23.37%....5,689,173........24,348,475
4-Apr....39.09%....4,953,564........12,672,083
3-Apr....8.79%.....1,503,917........17,115,371
2-Apr....17.90%....3,664,000........20,469,641
1-Apr....23.21%....3,344,222........14,408,598
31-Mar...6.08%.....1,000,000........16,439,562
28-Mar...25.54%....8,305,473........32,523,394
27-Mar...42.16%...12,978,200........30,785,251
26-Mar...32.43%....6,200,617........19,117,693
25-Mar...39.57%....4,880,373........12,333,056
24-Mar...34.61%...12,659,789........36,582,740
21-Mar...19.97%....7,702,340........38,562,850
20-Mar...14.41%....6,990,280........48,521,260
19-Mar...30.37%...42,319,106.......139,367,434
18-Mar...40.48%...10,780,119........26,629,829
17-Mar...17.57%....2,476,099........14,088,905
Historical Short Selling Data For SEEK
http://otcshortreport.com/index.php?index=seek#.U06Bz8vjh2t
Date.....Short.....Short-Vol........Regular-Vol.
15-Apr...30.34%...36,267,128.......119,552,555
14-Apr...45.17%...27,613,969........61,138,757
11-Apr...27.80%....3,272,451........11,773,461
10-Apr...36.40%....8,422,196........23,141,070
9-Apr....8.44%.....1,253,144........14,844,417
8-Apr....39.96%....8,569,476........21,446,002
7-Apr....23.37%....5,689,173........24,348,475
4-Apr....39.09%....4,953,564........12,672,083
3-Apr....8.79%.....1,503,917........17,115,371
2-Apr....17.90%....3,664,000........20,469,641
1-Apr....23.21%....3,344,222........14,408,598
31-Mar...6.08%.....1,000,000........16,439,562
28-Mar...25.54%....8,305,473........32,523,394
27-Mar...42.16%...12,978,200........30,785,251
26-Mar...32.43%....6,200,617........19,117,693
25-Mar...39.57%....4,880,373........12,333,056
24-Mar...34.61%...12,659,789........36,582,740
21-Mar...19.97%....7,702,340........38,562,850
20-Mar...14.41%....6,990,280........48,521,260
19-Mar...30.37%...42,319,106.......139,367,434
18-Mar...40.48%...10,780,119........26,629,829
17-Mar...17.57%....2,476,099........14,088,905
IMO... Today's trading volume isn't about SEEK buying interest right now, it's about those that are trying to cover short positions and are in deep. SEEK is not even on the map yet. The short covering will put us there before the National Media Campaign does. IMO...
Historical Short Selling Data For SEEK
Date.....Short.....Short-Vol........Regular-Vol.
14-Apr...45.17%...27,613,969........61,138,757
11-Apr...27.80%....3,272,451........11,773,461
10-Apr...36.40%....8,422,196........23,141,070
9-Apr....8.44%.....1,253,144........14,844,417
8-Apr....39.96%....8,569,476........21,446,002
7-Apr....23.37%....5,689,173........24,348,475
4-Apr....39.09%....4,953,564........12,672,083
3-Apr....8.79%.....1,503,917........17,115,371
2-Apr....17.90%....3,664,000........20,469,641
1-Apr....23.21%....3,344,222........14,408,598
31-Mar...6.08%.....1,000,000........16,439,562
28-Mar...25.54%....8,305,473........32,523,394
27-Mar...42.16%...12,978,200........30,785,251
26-Mar...32.43%....6,200,617........19,117,693
25-Mar...39.57%....4,880,373........12,333,056
24-Mar...34.61%...12,659,789........36,582,740
21-Mar...19.97%....7,702,340........38,562,850
20-Mar...14.41%....6,990,280........48,521,260
19-Mar...30.37%...42,319,106.......139,367,434
18-Mar...40.48%...10,780,119........26,629,829
17-Mar...17.57%....2,476,099........14,088,905
Questions for TheDirectory.com conference call. For those that have a busy schedule today, feel free to forward or alter and forward these questions to: Questions@TheDirectory.com
1. Please elaborate on the latest OTC up list strategy.
a. Will we up list to the OTC.BB or OTC.QB?
b. Are there any plans for a reverse split?
c. Are there any plans for a share buyback program?
d. Are there plans to further increase the Outstanding and/or Authorized Share count of SEEK?
2. What are the current terms with the TheDirectory.com / TCA Global, credit facility?
a. Did you mention last year that they were issued 150 million shares that can be exercised in 6 months?
b. If so, when will the six month holding period expire?
c. Will there be any additional share issuance to the credit facility?
3. Can you please elaborate on any pending partnerships and acquisitions?
4. Are you able to discuss any updated sales & marketing contracts & outlook for 2014?
5. What is the status of TheDirectory.com mobile site?
6. What is the status of the HelloMetro websites and the new travel site renovations?
7. Can you please elaborate on the national media campaign schedule?
a. What is the anticipated cost of the national media campaign?
8. What are the future plans / timeline of the sales offices:
a. Global office in Tampa, FL?
b. National and Canada office in Red Bank, NJ?
Positioned
Priceless actions here with x1,006,967,100 on the bid
Shorties are desperate and twitter continues to incise a feeding frenzy.
GNCP validates and it's coming...
47,000 sharks are circling and your boat is sinking buddy. I'm hungry.
Indeed! I'm simply saying that we (as common shareholders) need to be notified as transactions occur to the best of managements ability.
My concern is that we are just crossing the up listing finish line. SG mentioned that the SEC annual filing process is costly to the tune of around $200k per yr. There is a lot of plans in our SEEK pipeline for 2014. National advertising is very expensive, and I simply want to be reassured that we are not going to over commit ourselves to advertising and blow our budget out of the water. There is a harmony that needs to be established after the up listing and I believe we will get there. In the interim, I will continue to voice my opinion with SG.
long SEEK
Forwarded this article to SG as a potential strategy for TheDirectory.com to fight market manipulation down the road.
CEO Takes Dead Aim At Naked Short Sellers - Main Street Cheers
Aug. 20, 2013 6:04 AM ET | 51 comments | About: BIOL, Includes: ARNA, VHC by: R.S. Analytics
Disclosure: I am long VHC. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article. (More...)
Federico Pignatelli, Chairman and CEO of Biolase Inc. (BIOL) called out naked short sellers and short-sellers attempting to manipulate shares of BIOL August 19th, in a candid press release. In short Mr. Pignatelli disclosed that Biolase will continue to issue stock dividends on a periodic basis to reward long-term shareholders and thwart the naked short selling of Biolase stock.
"It is widely known in the stock market that shorting and illegal naked shorting are often used to manipulate stocks and cause unjust enrichment of ruthless speculators. I advise management of all small cap companies that are subject to attacks from naked short sellers to uncover such illegal activities and protect their shareholders by issuing stock dividends on a quarterly, or even monthly, basis. This practice results in an automatic audit of issued and outstanding shares and help to keep away naked short sellers."
How exactly does this work? Here's how... When a company issues a stock dividend there must be an audit of all issued and outstanding shares to determine who to issue the stock dividend to and how much stock to issue to them. A legal short seller borrows shares and sells those shares onto the open market and until they buy them back (cover) and return them to the lender they are responsible for interest, margin requirements and any dividend payments (be it monetary or shares of stock) owed to the lender.
Naked short selling is short selling a stock without first arranging a borrow. If the stock is in short supply, finding shares to borrow can be difficult.
If a company declares a stock dividend both the naked short seller and the short seller are on the hook to deliver those shares to the lender. This forces the short seller to "buy to cover" so they can return the shares to the lender. Couple this with the typical price appreciation of a dividend announcement and the fact that short sellers can get caught in a stampede that is self perpetuating because all of the short sellers try to "buy and cover" or exit at once. This phenomena is known as a "short squeeze" and drives the share price higher as shorts rush to the exits to close out part or all of their positions or at least whatever is required to satisfy the stock dividend requirement. Stocks with a high percentage of the float sold short are particularly susceptible to this phenomena.
Naked shorting can also effectively be accomplished via an illegal option strategy abusing the market maker exemption for short sales called a "reverse conversion". The SEC has caught onto this scheme and recently put out a "Risk Alert" detailing how to identify this activity but few think this "risk alert" will amount to any additional enforcement. The net result of illegal reverse conversions is a flood of fake shares that the short seller pours onto the open market in an attempt to quash rallies or stifle the stock price. These option pirates would be affected, just like a naked short seller, by a company issuing a stock dividend.
Below are two more of examples of highly shorted high profile stocks that could create shockwaves and significant stress on short sellers if they announced a stock dividend.
"In addition, we believe there has been and may continue to be substantial off-market transactions in derivatives of our stock, including short selling activity or related similar activities, which are beyond our control and which may be beyond the full control of the SEC and Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority ("FINRA"). While SEC and FINRA rules prohibit some forms of short selling and other activities that may result in stock price manipulation, such activity may nonetheless occur without detection or enforcement. We have held conversations with regulators concerning trading activity in our stock; however, there can be no assurance that should there be any illegal manipulation in the trading of our stock it will be detected, prosecuted or successfully eradicated. Significant short selling or other types of market manipulation could cause our stock trading price to decline, to become more volatile, or both."
As a result of the 2010 Microsoft lawsuit settlement, VirnetX announced a $.50 special cash dividend on June 15th, 2010, with a stock price below $6 per share, payable to stock holders of record on July 15th, 2010 and by October 29th the shares traded at $18.55. Is the 300% increase in share price solely attributable to the special cash dividend? Probably not but it certainly caused many short sellers to cover their positions due to the increased carrying costs by "payments in lieu of dividends".
"From time to time, there is a large short interest in our stock. These holders of such stock or positions may seek control of us, support transactions that we or you do not believe are favorable, and have interests that are different from yours. In addition, sales of a large number of shares of our stock by these large stockholders or other stockholders within a short period of time could adversely affect our stock price."
Abusive naked short selling has been well documented in the case of Arena - including complaints to the SEC.
Of course companies still need a solid business, sales, technology, or proof of concept to remain viable - at the end of the day that is the best way to thwart naked short selling - issuing a stock dividend will not change this fact. However when the SEC is not able or willing or capable to make a concerted effort to stop the illegal naked short selling with the intent of tanking of publicly traded stocks - it is refreshing to see a CEO (and board of directors) come out and stand up for the common shareholders by issuing a stock dividend! Way to go Mr. Pignatelli! Main Street applauds the effort!
I suggest that all "longs" send SG an e-mail, as I have this morning, and request transparence for the current "shares outstanding" of 3.763 billion, since it is up from 2.847 billion Q4 last year.
Sure, we can obviously presume that the nearly 1 billion added shares are relative to OTC up listing, Hello-Metro upgrades, the NJ call center, VP of Sales salary, and an extensive advertising campaign, but we need better clarification as these transactions execute. I for one can't sit back comfortably while we increase our "outstanding" by nearly 1 billion every 6 months.
When comparing the float to the shares outstanding, that part is coinciding, since SG told us in a CC / October 2013 that the credit facility will receive around 150 million restricted shares (6-months) as part of their deal to minimize interest costs.
If I recall correctly, the restricted shares were said to be issued in January 2014. (If so, that would mean the restriction would not expire until sometime in June/July 2014)
As for today's trading... This trend is not new, it is fully orchestrated. Market makers have accumulated millions upon millions of shares the first time that SEEK spiked from 0.0002 to 0.001 then daily thereafter. Selling into any potential run. This process will continue to counter the market interest until their time has finally expired. Ultimately, lead to a significant short covering IMO..
long SEEK