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Rewalk stock is WAY OVERHYPED after they sold something like 30-50 devices to the VA. People way overreacted to that news, and they will have a hard time keeping up that hype wave. Plus they don't have active assist or smart assist, which is HUGE to the stroke market. The VA and Spinal Cord Injury markets are actually pretty saturate, but the stroke market is open and much bigger. Ekso is going to shine in the stroke market b/c of smart assist. Plus FDA approval will likely be theirs first because they have the most data and steps.
BIG NEWS! 3 NEW PATENT APPLICATIONS THIS MONTH: http://stks.freshpatents.com/Ekso-Bionics-nm1.php
5 20160030201 02/04/16 new patent Powered orthotic system for cooperative overground rehabilitation
6 20160030272 02/04/16 new patent Gait orthotic device and protecting gait orthotic device and user from damage
7 20160031076 02/04/16 new patent Non-anthropomorphic hip joint locations for exoskeletons
Oh it may take 10 years. If EKSO stock is $100 at that time, I'll have plenty of money for a hedge fund. That being said, I expect to have doubled my money by the time the TALOS suit is revealed in 2018. Long live EKSO
If my EKSO stock does well enough, I will start my own hedge fund based on ergonomics and efficiency. That or I will try to become a ranked analyst. My dad got his series 7 and he told me that because he was in the top 50 brokers, the brokerage he worked for would take him on cruises. That sounded nice to me.
A little background on why I'm so interested in EKSO: In addition to being a financial planner, my father also ran a publicly traded technology company making ergonomic keyboards after getting his JD and running one of the first firms doing strictly legal research (why I like reading patents).
All my life I've grown up seeing technology advance. My dad has more than 5 patents just himself, proof of innovation to me. Just last year Apple's new mac book pro just came out with a 'Force Touch' touchpad that uses magnets instead of springs. My fathers keyboards used very similar magnetic switches over 20 years ago.
So ergonomic keyboards and ergonomic exoskeletons are a little bit different, but a lot of things about it are actually very similar.
I really just like physics and efficiency, and the physics I read in Ekso Bionics patents makes me very happy.
Look at the physics right under the first claim in this patent
http://www.google.com/patents/US8945028
"(M TRUNK L 2+I){umlaut over (ß)}1-(LM TRUNK +RM L)g Sin(ß1+a)+T F"
----- that's not beginner level stuff, even for me - and I know how to do Lorentz Transformations in 2 frames...
It could come sooner I believe. I'm not sure whether or not the FDA will give the decision if EKSO gives them them more information sooner than March 7th (ekso's current deadline).
My guess is that Ekso actually will use the time between now and March to gather more step count and information so that the FDA is more likely to give them approval.
So realistically I'd guess early April would be when FDA approval would happen. From anecdotal experience it seems like both parties tend to use up almost all the time they are allowed to before sending responses to each other.
I may be wrong and FDA approval could come tomorrow for all I know, so don't take what I say for fact.
Duke, the latest update is this:
After the latest (non disclosed) December 3rd meeting with the FDA things are looking positive according to CEO, Nathan Harding.
Nathan said something like 'we see the light at the end of the tunnel and it is a good light'.
Here's the critical timeline:
Ekso Bionics is required to send more information by March 7th and the FDA has 30 days to respond. The FDA does have the option to delay if they choose. Ekso Bionics is seeking a special label at the FDA that includes both spinal cord injury and stroke. (Nathan said that this FDA label will be a unique industry first if approved).
I personally believe it's very important Ekso did not disclose the latest meeting with the FDA formally. Trying to keep it a secret from competitors is smart and it may mean that the approval is coming soon.
This is all from their development day event sourced here:
Price if Ekso Bionics gets FDA approval? 7$ is what I'm predicting. It would be much more significant than ReWalk's latest VA buy, which sent the stock up over 100%
Seeking Alpha short attack was with out merit:
"The assertion of this exemption should not be construed as an indication by the Commission or its staff that any violations of law have occurred..."
basically the SEC is claiming EKSO has done nothing wrong in the very article accusing of fraud.
The longer it goes on, the more it becomes blatant this article was nothing more than a short attack.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/3229696-ekso-bionics-strong-sell-with-minus-92_3-percent-downside-on-fraud-arrest-product-failure-and-paid-stock-promotion
https://www.linkedin.com/in/juancorsillo
here's the linked in page for Ekso's new adviser
Bought more just now. 214 shares filled at .875 cents ; Not that much disposable income (currently) to be honest, but it's something.
Now at 8067 shares of EKSO, average cost basis: .9584
Board of Advisors**** not directors, sorry big difference!! http://www.eksobionics.com/leadership/juan-corsillo
HUGE NEWS: NEW BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEMBER!!! "United Rentals" ($URI) - Outgoing Senior Vice President now signed on the the Ekso Bionics board of directors. (United Rentals is more than 4 billion dollar market cap at United Rentals at the moment). Nathan says he is there to help commercialize the industrial suit.
Source:
Google Trends spiking: https://www.google.com/trends/explore#q=ekso%2C%20exoskeleton%2C%20bionics&cmpt=q&tz=Etc%2FGMT%2B7
Looks good to me, especially very short term.
And to pin it up here ^^^^
Skepticone, The reason he re-posted it is because the title was much more obvious than your link. It's the difference between a long draw out yahoo link and a very clear and concise, "EKSO Kessler Foundation Receives $1 M Grant to Study". Also he's the moderator, so you probably shouldn't tell him what to do.
Sorry not 'donated', I mean 'awarded'* last post.
It's much more than 1million granted to EKSO
It clearly says 2 million donated; 1mil brain and 1mil spinal. My guess is that since they have only received 1.3mil so far, they are just reporting current numbers and not the guaranteed future grant payments (assuming they are stretched out), which is weird but understandable. It's very clearly 2 million total once the study has been completed. I feel like that should have been the headline for the press release for obvious reasons.
Look at this quote from the last release:
"This project is one of five joint projects of Kessler Foundation and the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) recently funded by a $5 million federal grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living and Rehabilitation Research entitled, Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) on Wearable Robots (NIDILRR #90RE5021-01-00). The principal investigator (PI) is Richard Foulds, PhD, associate professor of bioengineering at NJIT. Co-PI is Guang Yue, PhD, director of Human Performance & Engineering Research at Kessler Foundation.
This RERC grant provides $2 million for the application of the Ekso GT in brain injury and spinal cord injury. Since April 2014, Kessler Foundation has received $1.3 million in grants to study the Ekso GT in brain injury."
2 million, not 1 million granted to Ekso Bionics research. Straight from the press release:
"This RERC grant provides $2 million for the application of the Ekso GT in brain injury and spinal cord injury."
My understanding is that it is 1 million for spinal cord injury research, and 1 million for brain injury research
I wonder why the press release wasn't more specific to this fact
I just sent an email investors@eksobionics.com to ask them about this discrepancy
In other news, it seemed like the Kessler Foundation may very well get a grant to do MS research for the Ekso. Also perhaps cerebral palsy grants. Furthermore, Learjet (airplane company) is now a customer of equipoise. If they like what they bought, maybe they will get an Ekso too!
Factors are beginning to stack up. Between the dilution caused by the acquisition and the seeking alpha short attack, this stock his highly undervalued. It may be that it is being held down by manipulation too. Add onto this that the company decides to spend pretty much ever dollar it makes on research and patents. In this way,the top-line of the company may be very high, but very little money is reaching down to the bottom-line earnings per share. While at first glance it seems like spending money is hurting Ekso, I think the research thy are doing is worth it. Ekso may set the bar high enough so that it's very difficult for competitors to reach. They are the only ones doing 'high intensity training' to my knowledge, not just taking the user for a ride. Also think about it from the perspective of the FDA. If you have one company that has by far the most data and recorded steps, it's hard not to approve them first. I do think the FDA is being extraordinary slow to approve given that the technology is physical, and not a drug. On the other hand, if they FDA standards were lower - these really cheap knock off companies will suddenly have a leg up. I think it's to the credit of the FDA and to the benefit of Ekso that they have kept the requirements high.
Once again, I own Ekso stock long. (7853 shares at .9606 cost basis)
Here's the deal. Studies are great for long term, but it's not necessary any new profits in the short term. The next big date is the q4 earnings report and people aren't really looking past that. Bio tech is down in general (thank shkreli in part) over fears that drug prices will be more scrutinized and perhaps regulated. That being said, if you switch out of day trader mode and into long term investment strategy thinking; it's easy to see that now is perhaps the best time to buy Ekso Bionics possible. It's my prediction the stock will be at least $5 by the time the Iron Man TALOS suit is revealed in 2018, even if rehabilitation is basically a failure in the short term (with people picking whatever is cheapest because there aren't enough studies like the one Granted today to set the exoskeletons apart). Having said this, I don't think rehabilitation will be a failure, and the stroke market is theirs for the taking. This is also ignoring the construction suit progress, which might be further delayed.
INCOME STATEMENT EVOLUTION - The Importance of Guidance
http://www.4-traders.com/EKSO-BIONICS-HOLDINGS-INC-15311819/financials/
Let's hope the positive trend continues
NEW AS OF 2/1/15 THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER Erin E. Arvedlund column
http://www.4-traders.com/EKSO-BIONICS-HOLDINGS-INC-15311819/news/Ekso-Bionics-The-Philadelphia-Inquirer-Erin-E-Arvedlund-column-21778568/
I own EKSO stock.
"Reconfigurable Exoskeleton" Patent Filed 12/10/15 Lowering introductory price would be huge to EKSO. Eventually people will want the best exoskeleton, but it seems at the moment they will settle for almost any exoskeleton. Ekso will be able to have a simple model that doesn't have active assist features that can be upgraded with these features later. The lower price point will make it much more competitive. I think this may come about as EKSO recently filed a patent for a "Reconfigurable Exoskeleton"on 12/10/15 and also another patent "Interface for adjusting the motion of a powered orthotic device through externally applied forces" on the same day
http://stks.freshpatents.com/Ekso-Bionics-nm1.php
Competitors are dragging their feet, literally and figuratively. A new competitor video has emerged with a company called KickStart. In the video, you can clear see the device is dragging the toes of the user along the ground with every step. While I am very happy that there are competitors popping up left and right, it is important to recognize how much work Ekso Bionics has already done towards fixing inefficiencies such as this (Ever heard of a hip actuator?). It's my understanding EKSO has by far the most clinical studies underway and clinical data available. Maybe this new company is not allowed to use hip actuators due to existing patents, that's my guess.
http://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/living/health-fitness/article56488478.html
A lot more activity on the message board now than in the past it would seem.
"I'm here to announce we're building IronMan" - Obama
and
"This has been a secret project we've been working on for a long time...maybe...not really...it's classified" - Obama
These were the actual quotes, sorry to stretch out the contraction.
OBAMA : "We are building Ironman" "This is a secret project we have been working on for a long time"
Ablu, go watch DARPA Robotics Challenge 2015. The best robotics engineers in the entire world are competing in these challenges. Despite this, they still fall over all the time and are extremely slow and bulky. (
"EKSO BIONICS TO HOST 2ND ANNUAL TECHNOLOGY & DEVELOPMENT DAY"
Btw, I've been watching for long enough to know that under 1$ is an anomaly. If your hoping to invest at 70 cents, hope that the company doesn't create too much of a stir tomorrow in New York.
Lead by:
Joseph Hitt, PhD – Chief Operating Officer, Fitt Scientific; former human systems program manager, DARPA
DARPA doesn't hire anyone, glad to see he is helping EKSO now.
John Allard – CEO of the Allard Nazarian Group, Inc, the former owner of Equipois
(The Nazarian Group does business under the name Granite State Manufacturing)
"GSM has years of successful manufacturing experience with autonomous ASW Targets for the U.S. Navy, Ground Robots used in the disposal of IEDs"
Basically his company is in charge of building bomb disposal robots for the military. Those things aren't cheap or simple.
Dr. Karen Nolan, PhD - Senior Research Scientist in Human Performance and Engineering Research at Kessler Foundation
The Kessler Foundation name speaks for itself.
This is a really great panel of people to be taking questions and backing Ekso Bionics. I think it's going to be a killer presentation and create a lot of new interest.
Here's How: Ekso is going to be receiving a huge increased valuation from crossing over the threshold of negative EPS to positive. The industrial contract will raise shares 20-30% minimum as well. If Ekso manages to stay above $5 for a 6 months, it will be able to be uplifted onto the NYSE, which would rocket shares even higher. All of this is trivial to the release of the T.A.L.O.S. project. I suspect the stock will raise 100% in a single day when this suit is shown off. And look at just today: Trump has announced that he is going to honor wounded soldiers instead of going to the Fox debate. Who knows, he might even bring up exoskeletons. The current moments are the very beginning of a absolutely huge, world changing exoskeleton revolution.
P.S. To the user Ablu: I already told you I was speculating and that I own the stock long. The calculations come second to demand of the stock and the products the company is selling. If the world is convinced exoskeletons and enhanced human operations will be useful for some time to come, there will be a very large demand for the stock that was not there before that will translate into the numbers I predicted. Here's a number for you - I suspect the U.S. Army will buy a minimum of 10,000 exoskeleton super soldier suits after being further upgraded and tested by Special Operations Command
Ekso to reach $10 before June is the price I'm predicting. The exoskeleton they are developing for children using National Institute of Health grants will be huge. I foresee it will be all over the news, way so more than the adult version. People like cute animals, sometimes cute kids, and for the most part hate each other. Seeing a kid regain his ability to walk is going to be huge compared to just adults. Now imagine if they put a simple cover over it to make the kid look like a iron super hero. Combine this with an industrial contract that has been slightly delayed (new product delays are the norm according to my father, who was CEO/Founder of a publicly traded computer tech company) and also add an early showing of the T.A.L.O.S. suit and the stock might reach $25 before year end. I'm holding long EKSO with high hopes for the future.
Here's why: Public attention is reaching new heights. The VA wants to have a positive image and buying exoskeletons looks good, but they don't want to spend the entire bank on it so they chose the cheaper model to cover more people for less cost. Some exoskeletons may be much more effective than others (ekso is 'high intensity' which essentially means it's a workout instead of just being taken for a ride on legs), but the data to distinguish them isn't yet through the scientific study process. Once this data comes out it may very well be that the V.A. made a big mistake and sadly is left with outdated technology. On a more positive note, I'm banking exoskeletons will be the next big trend after 3d printing and Tesla. If not sooner, at least once the T.A.L.O.S. suit is debuted.
I'll remind people that I own EKSO stock long and bought more EKSO stock earlier today.
From an Ekso Bionics Patent
Look at the physics of being efficient for yourself:
"(M TRUNK L 2+I){umlaut over (ß)}1-(LM TRUNK +RM L)g Sin(ß1+a)+T F
wherein:
M TRUNK is a mass of the exoskeleton trunk and any attached load;
ML is a mass of the respective first and second leg support in the stance phase;
I is moment of inertia of the respective first and second leg support in the stance phase;
L is a length of the respective first and second leg support in the stance phase;
R is a distance between a center of mass of the respective first and second leg support in the stance phase and a rotational point;
g is force due to gravity;
ß1 is an angle between a support surface and the normal line of force on the exoskeleton trunk from the person's upper body;
a is a ground slope defined by an angle between a support surface and a horizontal plane;
and TF is a frictional torque opposing the motion of the leg support relative to the exoskeleton trunk."
http://www.google.com/patents/US8945028
Looking forward to:
1) Exoskeleton for children developed on National Institute of Health grants. Not if but when.
2) Phase 4 of the T.A.L.O.S. project beginning, Ekso is likely to be selected for further contracts
3) Sales agreements for Ekso Works construction suit
4) Electrostimulation therapy added to Ekso GT as upsale feature
5) Various studies being finished
6) FDA Approval
Ablu, they have been using the arm technology for years now for testing. It's only recently that they decided it was worth it to buy, with sales prospects looming with the 'Ekso Works' essentially completed. In the last earnings conference, they said they expect sales of this construction unit before the end of the year (2015), which clearly has not happened. That being said, it's very typical to experience some delays for new products. One thing to note is Garrett Brown's previous chain of successful inventions with the Steadicam and wire cams used above stadiums. More importantly, he was willing to be payed in stock rather than cash.
The direct offering price is my theory why the stock is still in decline. ~15 million shares at 1.01$ each, and then 1500 series A preferred stock worth 1000 shares a piece redeemable when the stock reaches $1.25. This is essentially another 15 million shares waiting to be redeemed when the stock goes up again...so basically the buyers payed close to 50 cents a share at the risk of paying 1$ per share if it doesn't go back up. Personally I'm viewing the recent decline as trivial in the course of the next 2 years until the T.A.L.O.S. project is revealed. For me, it's an excuse to add more stake. I could get mad the buyers payed less than me, but buying large quantities of toilet paper is cheaper than a few rolls - so it only makes sense the same occurs for stocks. I'm just happy that overall interest is growing both in the field and for the company.
Exoskeleton donated by SoldierStrong today to a Colorado VA center. I believe this is the 11th of 80 planned donations through the next couple years.
http://markets.financialcontent.com/stocks/news/read?GUID=31368939
New patents were commented on by the company on facebook awhile ago, but without a formal press release I couldn't find them until now: http://www.google.com/patents/WO2014093470A1?cl=en and http://www.freepatentsonline.com/20150351991.pdf
I think the "reconfigurable exoskeleton" patent involving modular joints will be a large benefitial to specific stroke patients who have injuries only on one side of the body. It seems as if ekso is gearing up their efforts in regards to stroke patients in conjunction with the most recent European trial.
Whose*
Pure speculation: Nutter McClennan & Fish, who's lawyers advised Ekso Bionics in the most recent direct acquisition also have the following clients: Johnson & Johnson, and Cigna.
It is a possibility that the person/peoples who are buying EKSO stock now are in communication with one of these larger companies which may have plans to acquire Ekso Bionics.
Perhaps they run into each other in the vestibule outside the office. Better yet, Ekso may have started using this firm on the advice of the buying party. It could even be a group deal so that insurance companies agree to 'subsidize' costs for the buying party with the cost to insurance members.
I think the current situation is a squeeze to force small time investors out while preparing for profit. The company will move forward soon, but it might raise eyebrows about insider trading if they advance too quickly right after a 15m buy in.
To be clear, I have no reason or evidence to believe that any of these things are actually occurring. My only source is the name of the law firm and Wiki for they represent.