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Player: You are right on the mark. This company has treated shareholders shabbily from the get-go, with little lip service treats sprinkled in to make shareholders think mgt cared about them as anything other than wool-bearing beasts to be sheared early and often.
Of course the die-hard supporters were claiming the precipitous fall of the company was actually signs of progress, that the great underground movement, protected by NDAs and stealth would suddenly roar into life, making all the shareholders rich.
These same people are still perpetuating the myth Wave is just in a temporary bit of difficulty and will soon rise to slay all the dragons in the world. Sure, tomorrow?
Reality is apparently a bitter pill to choke down. None more bitter than for the shareholders who thought until v recently, Wave was finally going to deliver on its promise.
But the only promise delivered and kept was the big bonus check Mr. Windbag Willie got and cashed--for lying his military moon-cheeks off to shareholders.
There is a huge suit waiting to be filed against Wave, the BoD, and all the company officers for their consistent lies about prosperity, progress and deals.
But, it won't be me involved in any lawsuit. I'm out.
Blue
3 & 27: Perhaps it was a bad metaphor--steam. My latest theory on what is happening is the plan is to do nothing, let Wave decline and then shut the doors.
A few weeks later, a new company opens its doors. Wave shareholders are left lolling about the lollipop without a lick at it. But what would the new company do or sell? Wave can't sell squat, so it is not a valuable product going to waste.
Therefore, I conclude the plan now is to simply let her deflate without anything to hold her up. And then simply announce how sad they are to close the doors after 27-28 years of over-harvesting its own shareholders.
To tell the truth, I see nothing good at all happening for Wave shareholders. There are no real prospects, money is about out, even at half staff, Wave can not make enough money to support itself. No funds in sight I can see. Perhaps soon, an exile to the pink sheets--IMO--the absolute kiss of death.
Wave would be thrown into a pit teeming with carnivores all far more experienced at extracting money and the reek of corruption and manipulation in the pit....hardly the glorious end so many saw for so long. Success was always in Wave's 'immediate future'--but just as often, receding into the distance.
Some of the same self-professed seers have fingers crossed and are expressing faint hope for a last-chance, lightning-strike miracle. But the reality is, no miracle is at hand or even in the foreseeable future. Wave is about to run out of money with virtually no more funding available in any form.
We are two-thirds through Q3--no announcements, just more silence. There is a sense of surrender in some of the staunchest believers who held on until it became obvious and inevitable the end is near.
If I still had my original 1996 shares, bought at a dollar each, they would be worth a smigeon over a penny each now. But if we consider the time value of that money--it is far less. 19 years of waiting for a pay-off that never came and I am convinced, was never meant to come at all--except for the principals.
IMO, the shareholders have been ill-served by three successive regimes. The BoD badly breached its supposed duty to shareholder interests, IMO.
So sad, yet so predictable.
Blue
Three: What's your theory as to what is going on? Do you think Solms is just letting her run out of steam, and then what?
Best--Blue
Alternate theory. Speculation about what is happening. Say for once, the paranoids were right about Wave being taken private under a plan, featuring, what else? Skullduggery.
Maybe Mgt has a big contract anytime they want it. So, under this alternate theory, they clam up and let the SP drift down--just what they appear to be doing now. No sales, one bad quarter after another of declining revenue.
When it is low enough, they take the company private. Then, after a reasonable amount of time, the new, private Wave signs a big contract and there is almost no one to share it with, certainly not tens of thousands of shareholders.
It does seem a bit far-fetched, but who would have thought right after Solms pumped Wave up as a big winner soon, someone popped the balloon and down came humpty dumpty.
Trying hard to understand what is going on. Best I can tell, nothing at all.
Blue
Three: That is exactly the major problem for Wave right now. They can't borrow. A shelfie is no-no. PP? What's the discount, Kenneth? Sales are not happening, so sooner or later a vendor or landlord is going to not only use the F word, but actually Foreclose on Wave and that will be it.
That appears to be the arc of this thing currently, unless there is some serious finagling going on behind the curtain. Buyers? What would they be buying? A company in business more than a quarter century without a penny's profit, ever. Not exactly a diamond in the rough.
So, it seems the window is going to close hard and soon on Wave's neck.
Blue
Player: You are getting the Wave Dogma down perfectly. That is the first step, reading the BS from BS. Final step is believing it.
Somehow, I think you may not mount that final step.
Isn't it ironic those with the harshest, most critical views of Wave, were the ones closest to the truth all along? It was these harsh and true views the supporters desperately tried to suppress or filter--with some success, yet it came at a terrible price.
In hindsight, might have been better to allow the full spectrum of Wave arguments pro and con. Of course, if the the real truth about Wave came out, it would have busted a cap in its head long ago.
At Wave, The misbehavior was monumental and is still continuing and (gasp!) is still being defended--by the same people.
Recent outright lies by the Wave CEO at official and public Wave events get transformed into "opinions,"which of course may respectably differ from your own.
The ones who suffered financially from this disaster, are the very ones who most stridently defended Wave and most fiercely attacked the critics who were telling it like it was.
All the while, the supporters were saying what was true, was not true and those telling the truth had a vested (unstated) interest to portray Wave in the worst possible light.
Critics were accused of sowing dissent, fear and doubt--and of being the tools of shorts or co-conspirators in the grand international plan to keep Wave down, so the other tech companies could steal Wave's most valuable lead time and catch up before the Wave juggernaut steamrolled everything in its path.
In the end, it was the lies about the lies that did Wave and its supporters in.
The sales were never there, except a few exceptions to prove the rule. And those exceptions were rarely repeated, i.e., GM.
Sales were all that could save Wave and sales have been elusive for Wave since the inception with just enough "saltings" of the mine to draw shareholders in. IBM, Intel & Dell, for instance. PwC is another. [no revenue to speak of, but a big name.]
All those big announcements of partnerships with huge tech companies that strangely netted not a dime in revenue....all part of the Wave strip tease to get the shareholders in the tent where the pickpockets could go to work.
This company has run on hopes and fumes for a long time. Hope is just about exhausted and the fumes are running out too, with little expectation of replenishment.
Best wishes--Blue
Looks like Wave mgt is letting her yaw in the slight wind. Slow action on Wall St. and no action here on the boards. It is almost as if a stifling yawn has descended upon all those interested in Wave.
Perhaps that is due to Solms letting the air out of the bag, revealing at the Q2 CC all he had in that bag was air--that and the empty pipeline filled with imaginary huge deals he inherited from the previous CEO.
Looks like they are either maneuvering for a sale, or are simply awaiting the end. Hard to figure.
Benign neglect of the shareholders. What's new?
Blue
Money: It is not as if Wave is a threat to any business, other than its own. So, IMO, strike that avenue from the list.
Blue
Snackman: Once you realized Steven Sprague had been lying all along, and as I recall, you and he had a few intimate dinners. You always came back to tell us of wondrous things soon happening we couldn't see. It was always nothing but clear and blue skies ahead, according to SKS, as reported by you.
Once you realized he fed you a complete line, so you would go back and repeat his optimistic statements to your followers, once you realized he had been completely dishonest with you, did you report him to the SEC for criminal activity?
Come to your senses, please. Solms has told one whopper after another. The phantom turnaround, the hundreds of pilots ripening into nice deals, the big fat contracts in the pipeline barely containing them. Breakeven by 2014, repeated and given Solms's imprimatur just three weeks before the truth was revealed.
Yes, we were finally taking off. Only it was a guy behind a cardboard rocket ship making launch noises with his mouth. The rocket never left the ground--how could it? No engine.
So, Steven lied to you and you denied it at the time. Is history repeating itself? Will you realize you've been sold down the river when you are just feet from the waterfall, or perhaps in the air on the watery way down to the rocks?
Player is exactly right. Solms lied and got paid for it. Case closed. The deception of Wave shareholders is finally out in the open and in the clear. Lie to the ones who finance you, and you will be rewarded.
Wave has a long history of deception. It comes naturally and is usually the first weapon of choice. Remember the cricketcricket episode, when a rapturous Wavoid working for Papa Ginos pizzas claimed he had searched the world over before settling on this fine Wave product to protect 15 of Papa G's 1500 lappies--on those 15 machines, no one could steal their sauce recipe.
Remember the arguments over the deception involved--and how arguments were made by supporters that "everyone did it in business."
Remember the phony awards Wave "won" after BSing a national security rag?
If it was real, it wasn't Wave. But mendacity money? That's a bit over the top, doncha think?
Blue
Before the sun crossed the yardarm this morning, Wave hit a dime--an all time low, if memory serves. Soooooo, split-adjusted, Wave was at that moment worth less than a penny.
What an ignominious fall for the stock that once was going to be worth more than Microsoft, Google, Intel, AMD, GM--combined.
Wonder who rushed in to buy at that price and knocked the SP all the way back up to 15 cents? Seems like 14-15 cents is where they want to keep the share price. But, why? And who? Coinkydink? Not likely.
Blue
Yes, they have sucked all the blood out and are now down to bare stone. The preliminary steps they are taking seem a bit suspicious to me.
Looks like they are pimping Wave up for sale or acquisition, though I can not fathom why any company would pay a penny for Wave.
We are right to distrust those who have lied to us repeatedly.
Blue
TKC: Have you changed your view that former ranking military officers are Boy Scouts who rarely lie?
IMO, Bill Solms is the poster boy for hoodwinking the last remaining Wavoids in the corral into thinking he was going to turn the company around and soon there would be champagne celebrations galore in Vegas.
Bill Solms has told one lie after another about profits, deals, pipelines, orders, etc. and the BoD has rewarded him by doubling his salary. Same way SKS got "performance" bonuses equaling half his salary--guaranteed, no matter how abysmal the actual performance was--and it was record-breaking, deep-dive abysmal.
If someone doesn't sue the BoD for breach of fiduciary duties, after allowing these two charlatans to plunder the treasury while telling one whopper after another, they are missing a good case.
Each member of the BoD, if memory serves, makes around $100K each for doing nothing but sleeping during their meetings, if they bother to attend. They get paid anyway.
Nothing happening under the Solms regime has persuaded me Wave is not anything more than a money-extraction game operating under the guise of a legit company.
And the Nasdaq is equally as bad, giving these lying, cheating dogs another half year to rope in newbies, and to continue to soak the oldies they keep hanging on with a combination of rumors, head fakes and outright lies.
Is not 99%+ losses enough to catch someone's attention in the maze of regulatory authorities supposedly protecting shareholders?
Half a billion dollars! Small potatoes compared to Enron, AIG, and some other big scammers, but plenty big enough if you were a Wave shareholder hoping Wave would fund your retirement.
If we actually had a real SEC, they should investigate. Of course, if they did, they would pat Bill Solms and the BoD on the head and give them a small fine, while not requiring them to admit any guilt or culpability.
The game is rigged and Wave, IMO, has the crookedest roulette wheel in town. Glad I am not holding any shares at all.
Blue
I was not impressed with Bill, under fire at yesterday's CC. It needed to be one of his strongest performances, and instead, was one of the weakest.
The BS evasive answers he gave to some pretty straight questions about pertinent issues told me a lot. Don't think the Light Colonel has this civilian tech gig down just yet. In fact, I think he is desperately seeking a clue, that and a set of cojones.
Even without his statements, Solms's tenure has been a disaster. Steven's was a slo-mo fail. Solms has compressed the failure timeline so much it looks super sped up, like a shooting star--shooting straight down.
But when you add in his optimistic statements, somehow it magnifies the magnitude of the unfolding disaster--especially if you were one of the ones who believed Solms's BS--coming right on the heels of Steven's train-wreck mgt. Solms the Savior replaced Steven, The Genius, all rejoice, they said. Unfortunately, the joice was exceedingly thin and even more short lived.
If where we are, is not the actual end of Wave, it sure has the look, feel and smell of a carcass in the sun, bloated as the lies that kept it going year after year. Pleasant, no?
Blue
Well, so far they are late...not an auspicious start to a disaster.
Blue
$1.9M in billings is shocking in its disappointment against expectations--even for Wave. Kind of blows away any pretense this company has a chance of survival.
Wow. Talk about being in a self-marinating pickle.
Expenses are $3.5M/Qtr. Revenue is $1.9--a $1.6M shortfall with almost no way of raising the deficit money. SP is in toilet; Shelf is almost exhausted; PP-ers are tapped out and perhaps burned in the past.
Bad place to be, White Fang.
Blue
Worse still than my best lowest estimate. About half of Q2 a year ago. Wow. That is a huge failure to sell.
Wonder if Solms is going to face the firing squad?
Blue
Player: Not to be impatient, but what do you expect out of the CC this afternoon?
I expect excuses, and a plea for patience and a little more time.
Blue
KenMac: It was a great question, I think, satisfactorily answered. In a riff on the old Pogo cartoon, we have met the buffoons, and it is us.
Blue
Alea: Your post is full of perspective and wisdom. All of us one-time longs perhaps neglected that time factor you mentioned--so important. We were so greedy, so cocksure Wave was IT.
But actually, it was that time factor that led me to truth and understanding, away from the Kool-aid.
The goals were always so lofty and big, but the timeline never kept up, and the excuses given for the delays frankly didn't hold water.
We kind of held our noses and swallowed stuff we knew wasn't true about the sliding timelines. Then, when some were trying and succeeding at keeping questions about those slippery timelines off the boards, including my questions--I knew I was on the right track.
It was sometime later when all the other antics of the SKS regime came into focus--the ineptness and the arrogance--that first employee option plan right about the time (2006)of the first reverse split--exempted all Wave employees in the options plan from the reverse split hammering the longs.
CFO Feeney confessed he made a 'mistake' in the wording, but asked the shareholders to vote it through anyway. No, was the resounding answer. So they re-worked it to make it a bit more palatable and SKS made a series of private phone calls to big longs to keep them in the corral.
The shareholders were sure stirred up because nothing of significance was happening with Wave in terms of sales, but the timelines were elapsing again and again--with excuses like, "what will it matter if we are a quarter late coming into the biggest pay-off anyone has ever seen?" Well, it wouldn't matter, if there was a pay-off. That was the problem then and now.
The only ones in Wave to ever get paid for real, were the principals. One family (Spragues)took over a million bucks a year out of Wave's cash-starved treasury.
The Safend purchase was a model of ineptness. The bad numbers, including the missed DD about the Israeli Govt's due from any profits; the restatement required by auditors and regulators that cancelled a quarterly call minutes before it was to start--only adding to Wave's ineptness perception.
Then there was the $70,000 overpayment of salary made to the CEO, that the auditors caught--more restatement. Funny, in 27 years, the many mistakes in math, etc. never fell the shareholders' way--what are the chances?
It was a scam, IMO, designed to look like a start-up tech company and give fat paychecks and bonuses to complete buffoons. In 27 years, not a penny's profit.
Now Wave is looking at a loaded .45 pointed right between the eyes--no trigger slack and on Thursday, that trigger finger could flinch and BAM! Out with a bang, as they say
Blue
Alea: IMO, there were many reasons why Wave failed so badly. The CEO was the first problem. He was arrogant and entitled and not pleasant to be around.
The product did not distinguish itself in the market, despite the glowing reviews from the self-appointed Wave Technologists--in fact it showed its absolute imperviousness to sales in every category it was entered.
Wave's product did not sell well, but the glowing statements continued as if it were only a matter of time before the world itself saw Wave's singular advantages and started buying it with both hands.
The expectations built each quarter with truly awesome predictions that those uttering them knew could never come true--helped tarnish Wave as a company.
When you are selling trust and your CEO is an insecure, pathological liar, it is an uphill battle at best. And despite the true dearth of sales, we were always buttered up after the crushing results came in, with new rumors of big deals, expansions to China and moving into mobile, etc.
But step one is sales. That is where Wave failed. it was not encryption issues, government keeping Wave down, or any of the other excuses cooked up to present Wave as anything but what it is--a company that blew through almost half a billion and has squat to show for it.
Mismanagement, ineptness, dishonesty, sky-high expectations, nepotism and a failure to come up with a product that companies wanted--each of these factors played starring roles in what has happened.
Solms is a clueless dolt either dishonest as SKS was, or someone who fell in love with their own abilities and raised them in his mind far above what he could execute.
So, the Light Colonel goes down as the second fall guy--big hat, but no cattle--big gun, but no bullets and ultimately he is a big fat coward for hiding in his bunker while Wave craters into nothingness and he can not be found uttering a sound about the loud crashing of all his 'goals.' (Split adjusted, it's now a tad over a penny.)
Next Thursday, I expect to see them state earning and NOT take any questions. Then the Naz will kick them off the Capital Market and Wave will either close or try to make a go of it on the PInkies, where they have deserved to be for many years--based on performance.
Blue
Solms's Sunset Sonnet [Will be sung at the CC]
A week from today, what can he say?
'I'm sorry I misled you, pick-pocketed and bled you.'
As the sun on Wave starts to fade
I confess I drank deep, that Wave Kool-Aid
I left common sense at the door
Made crazy projections and then more
I swung and I missed
You embraced, then you hissed
The half billion you gave me all went up in smoke
You need an explanation of this most rude joke?
We've pulled the same thing on you all along
Blowing you kisses, while milking the throng
Secret kisses from StevenBill's silver tongues
Led you to climb higher to the ladder's top rungs
Precisely where both CEOs deserve to be hung
If Wave's performance is the best measure
We two CEOs bamboozled all of your treasure!
To the big CC, here comes my lorry
I'm off to big things, hey, here's my final "SORRY'
Blue
Alea: I don't think Wave has cash to stay alive long enough to hunt for a new CEO. And if they found him, what fool would take the job with the big guns all aimed at Wave with no trigger slack--the bank acct empty and the shareholders angry enough to grab torches and pitchforks?
And given nothing to work with, what would be the likely results?
does anyone think it is the sales team at fault, here? The Wave security product has been shunned almost universally--at the same time everyone in the world is looking for digital security.
My conclusion would be, it is the product that can not be sold for whatever reason.
If that is the case, Wave is simply finished.
Worst case scenario IMO? Wave makes a single decent sale just before the Naz de-lists Wave. Wave bounces back for a new round of the shearing the shareholders. Is that too cynical, based on the Wave history?
Blue
It was my belief and it is clear I was mistaken. It was based on conversations with people who know. They said no one wanted to be the front guy on this particular CC--but, that no decision had been made.
Obviously, they decided to have a CC--my mistake.
Blue
Let's not forget David Collins's father, Tim, shepherded at least two or three PPs via SRA, if memory serves.
So, to hear David talk so realistically about the drastic situation Wave is in, was surprising and brave, I thought.
Again, I do not believe there will be a Conference Call.
My theory as to what is going on? Wave is waiting and pleading with the Naz, even though it is pretty much a foregone conclusion no extension will be granted.
The co. may simply state earnings and the required numbers--without a call.
The hard decision now, IMO, is whether to go to the Pinkies, or simply close her down--or, possibly accept a low-ball offer from a buying firm.
Either way, I think it is over for Wave as we knew it.
Blue
I would see it as an act of cowardice--if it happens--no CC as I have been led to believe. Imagine having to eat crow like Solms would have to do in public at a CC..
IMO, it serves him right for making irresponsible declarations about big deals, small deals, profitability and all the other BS he spread around.
Can't imagine it would be pleasant facing the loyal longs who suddenly feel betrayed and taken by surprise from behind. They believed profitability and all the mega deals that 'were about to flow.'
Even though Solms said he wanted to be held accountable to shareholders--what statement of his sounds as if he was ever accountable? Ducking down in the bunker, waiting to jump into his spider hole? In this case, his silence speaks bookshelves.
Leadership? Did anyone see any leadership? I didn't.
Now, in the chaos of the end, no leader in the exec. suite wants to put their head above the gunnels for fear it will be shot off.
Player, does it seem to you, Wave mgt may have been caught by surprise? It sure feels they did not have a Plan B or even a contingency, or inclement weather plan in place.
I vote for a dishonorable discharge from Wave for CEO Solms and each of his merry band of military exes.
Blue
No CC in August is my best guess.
That is based on a number of conversations with folks who have good info. No decision has been made yet, but it appears as if no one at Wave wants to face an army of angry investors who totally believed the optimistic, happy talk from the new CEO about profitability and deals in 2014.
If there is no CC, it's either a burial service, or retreat to the pinkies (about the same thing).
If an announcement is made there will be no CC this month--one can only imagine the consequences. I believe the mid-teens, where Wave's SP is now, will look juicy and high, compared to what it may look like, if there is no CC.
I do believe the Fat Lady is tuning up and the Lone Bugler has mounted the hill to play Taps one last time for Wave.
Taps
"Day is done, gone the sun
From the lakes, from the hills, from the sky
All is well, safely rest
God is nigh."
And the light has left Wave--once a shining beacon of hope for tech investors who loved Peter Sprague's brilliant idea of being the meter for the Internet--where one could buy only the Calvin and Hobbes cartoon, without having to buy the entire newspaper that carried it.
Sad.
Blue
Titlewave: Well, Wave did snag the Number 1 slot for worst performing stock--thanks to Mymoneybegone for finding that article.
It is bad news followed by worse news. The company appears to be cratering down into itself as even the loyal longs seem to be unloading, perhaps realizing the jig is finally up.
Could be wrong, but it sure looks like Wave has used up all its future and is in an unstoppable tailspin into some hard rocks from high altitude.
The silence from mgt says it all--nothing to report, no comment on all the missed goals. Wave's newly-'tweaked' marquee product, Virtual Smart Card 2.0 on the market for more than a year has sold squat. It was introduced just as the rest of the enterprise market was moving away from tokens, dongles and smart cards--one more bit of evidence of ineptness and vision failure.
The Wave VSC 2.0 debuted without a partner and has been a wallflower at the Big Security Dance since. Wave's Investor Relations, David Collins, always positive in the past about Wave finally admitted last week Wave was in a "precarious" position. That may be understating it quite a bit.
I agree SKS was an arrogant, inept mgr--but IMO, our new CEO, Lt. Col ret Bill Solms is his equal. He made incredibly (IMO, impossible) optimistic statements, just like SKS. And just like SKS, not a one of his goals has been met. Wave was supposed to hit profitability in 2014's Q3 or Q4 according to Solms--and here we are in 2015's Q3 with the co. making burial arrangements.
Think it was hard to sell Wave's VSC 2.0? Try selling a company without a profit for 27 years with wares no one wants anywhere in the world.
Personally, I think the company was doomed a long time ago. I can not speak to the technology, but the same minds who ruined Wave repeatedly are the ones responsible for the tech. I suspect it was subject to the same lack of future vision, ineptness and faulty work as just about everything else Wave produced.
The Wave self-appointed 'technologists' pronounced Wave's product superior in every way. How strange, then, if the product was so remarkable, no one bought them? Except for the few who did, and then dumped Wave.
Anyone remember the video promoting Wave SKS bragged about years ago? It was worse than amateurish--the audio was almost inaudible. The narrator was not a professional and the editing was complete crap. The writer had no idea how to write to the video (which was subpar, too).
Same for SKS's misspelled and ungrammatical spontaneous babble promoting Wave on social media--all of which helped undermine Wave's well-deserved reputation as bunglers and bumblers.
Furthermore, the repeated lies about profitability, big deals only needing signatures or lawyering, spouted at nearly every CC under SKS, killed any remaining credibility the company might have.
Despite racking up more than 100 consecutive quarters of deficits without a profit, most of the loyal longs truly believed unbelievable success was right around the corner. Well, they were right! It was unbelievable.
What I see happening now is the logical consequences of deception, lies, dishonesty, ineptness and pure greed on the part of both mgt and shareholders who swallowed whole the promises of unlimited wealth for each shareholder--if they only had patience.
Now we see how that patience was rewarded. It is the consistent message from Wave, IMO.
Blue
Yes, exactly. The ship is going down quickly and yet there is talk of success and even of Vegas. It is really Twilight Zone stuff.
I suspect for those sheltered so long in their filtered views about Wave--always positive, by mandate--the hot blast of reality is painful and dizzying, to say the least.
As Wave spins faster and lower in its ever-tightening Death Spiral, I do see some acknowledgement of desperate times. The most outspoken leader of the longs posted "It's over."
Let's see if Wave survives these next two weeks. I say not--not in its present form.
It feels as if the options have narrowed to the choking point. Denouement is near, IMO. It is a massive failure in every possible way.
Blue
MoneyBgone: Do you think there is a best way forward from this point?
What is going on has all the signs of either a shut-down, sale of company, or just a death on the vine.
If the conference call is not scheduled tomorrow, I would guess there won't be one. We can only guess at the significance of that--but it looks like the end of Wave as we knew it.
Out of money, no sales of significance, Naz has them by the jewels for non-performance and if it is thumbs down from the Naz on an extension--I suspect that would be the coup de grace.
By the end of next week, we may finally know the end of the long-running Wave saga--27 years, never a profit and half a billion bucks down a rathole.
Blue
You put your finger on an excellent point--inaccurate info painting Wave in a more favorable light, has been a mainstay of keeping some shareholders around. V true about the alleged tax-loss benefit not worth what many think it is--all based on inaccurate info.
There has been so much misinformation posted by the fervent believers--I believe it was done in good faith--but even if the motive was pure, the info was still dead wrong and it did much damage.
The believers though, IMO, would rather keep on thinking Wave is valuable to an acquiring co.--than to simply check and see if your info is correct.
The Wave myths were always much more sexy than the truth about Wave--that is why there was so much effort expended to keep truth away from certain message boards.
But wrong info is wrong after all, and in this case, has cost Wave shareholders millions.
Even as we watch the death throes of Wave as we know it--there are some still buying and bragging about it--not the momo players.
There was a dead cat bounce and the momo guys saw the huge percentage of that bounce, they pounced. Should be over for the momo guys this week.
I'm wondering if Bill Solms is really going to come out in the next few days to tell us more of his goals were missed and instead of picking up steam, Wave is sliding back fast.
I'm wondering if there is going to be an announcement soon. Maybe it all depends on the Naz decision. If it is not favorable for an extension, I think it is all over, if not before then.
From the pink sheets, it is difficult to raise money the way Wave has been to stay alive. Going to the pinkies is not a step in the right direction, no matter how it is spun.
Heed this description from investopedia.com:
"The companies on the Pink Sheets are usually penny stocks and are often targets of price manipulation. They should only be purchased with extreme caution."
Player, please keep on keeping us straight and thank you for straight shooting.
Blue
Doc: All are welcome here. You called it right, "POS."
Wave has had 3 CEOs--the last two were (are) given to making really optimistic statements about deals/profitability/won't need any more PPs/etc.
Q: How many publicly stated goals by the last two CEOs (SKS was #2 {his father was CEO #1} and Bill Solms Lt Col US Army ret. is the current CEO)--how many goals were met?
A: Not a one
Rampant nepotism, guaranteed performance bonuses of half his salary, when the SP was in the WC and going 'round the rim. Of course his father, a once great man remained on the payroll, as did brother Michael--Wave paid tens of thousands to Mikey to 'house' Wave Express in his NYC loft.[It was a computer.]
Father Peter, had the use of a $400K+ Manhattan apt.--it was the world headquarters of CharityWave--yet another Wave boondoggle.
Wave Express? Well as guided by Mikey and Daddy, it ate up nearly $50M of Wave money before it was shuttered without making a cent--but wait, the CEO said he guessed WXP could be sold for $30-40M and that's why Mikey & Peter stayed on the payroll, in case anyone came into the showroom looking for a real money-losing company.
At the end, Wave couldn't give WXP away--but the CEO said often, WXP is going to show a profit this year.
You see a pattern? Ineptness? Wave spends a few million to buy an Israel company. First they don't do their due diligence within the time period and somehow missed a requirement if Safend makes a profit, the Israeli govt gets a portion.
Then, they screwed some other critical stuff up and minutes before a quarterly call was supposed to go out with thousand of Wavoids tuning in around the globe--they had to call it off--because they mis-figured something and it had to be re-stated.
Lastly, they wrote off the entire cost of the sale. Ironically, Safend is currently the only subsidiary making any money.
The current CEO said we would be profitable last year. We're past the half way mark of this year and it looks like the end as we have known it. The new CEO's initials are BS.
Any way--the total story is much juicier still and you still haven't heard of the Loop Group and a couple of Wavoids who ran a closed board--no criticism of Wave mgt or the way the co. did biz.
Remember this was at a time when they were missing projections every single quarter and the more they missed, the more the previous CEO lied, telling even bigger lies that never came true. But there was no criticism allowed, even though the Wave Mgt team makes the 3 Stooges look like MIT grads.
Long story here--prolly a Harvard Business School case study. Good luck on your Momo play. Most of us would be happy to see someone make some money on Wave--beside the principals, their family and friends.
Blue
Yes, they are momentum players--they don't do any DD--just look for the rockets up and the lead balloons coming down. Sometimes they are the same stocks. Wave could be one.
Personally, I think they have no understanding of the forces driving Wave's SP up. It is not going to be something nice for longtime shareholders.
I think it is possible a deal to sell Wave is being negotiated and if all you got was a nickel a share over the market price, you could make some money buying huge lots--of course, all of that money would be at risk. If that news leaked, we would have the volume we have seen lately. 4M today!
Of course it could be a PP--but I doubt even a 30% discount to the PPers would lure many in, with this company's history.
I prefer to invest in companies with proven records, not the looped broken promises of prosperity 'soon.'
Blue
Harmsen: If you posted your 40 cent buy accurately, you are already down 50% or a little more--but heck, that's way better than most of us have done with Wave stock. You did it in a few weeks,too, right? Bravo.
July 9th was the last day Wave closed at .40. That was exactly 3 weeks ago. The rest of us took years to lose that much.
I would do some serious DD before I bought more Wave. This company's history is replete with failure--two reverse splits, one de-listing and the Naz is holding a hearing on de-listing Wave currently, because it falls under the min. SP of a buck and under the min. market cap of $35M.
But through it all, the gushing words about Wave constantly painted such a pretty picture. The reality has been nightmare ugly.
Blue
Doc, best read it again--no profit in 27 years of business--despite almost constant calls from the 2nd CEO forecasting profitability that was to start in 2004.
The former Wave CEO & CFO said Wave would hit profitability in that quarter (c. 2010 & 2011) and the new CEO said Wave would be profitable by the last quarter of last year. We're in the 3rd Q of this year and this week's announcement means the end is looming.
They are cutting 60% of the workforce because Wave can't sell security in a white-hot market crying for it. Wave's entire story was based on a fable that could not possibly come true.
Doc. E--do the minimum DD and you will see this stock has been a disaster for shareholders. No inside buy-ins (or relatively few) high pay with 'performance' bonuses for the former CEO and most of his family on the payroll, along with baby-sitters, friends, etc.
This co. raised $122M in 2000 and promptly blew it all in drunken sailor spending on foolish things that had not a chance to bring in revenue.
Read Player's posts--he knows about this stock. Be forewarned--this stock is not like others.
The founder of Wave, Peter Sprague was quoted in Smart Money mag as saying, "Some people look at this stock and see a pile of gold. Some people look at it and see a pile of shit." [The latter has proven the correct view--considering 99% + of its value has been lost.]
Blue
All you folks buying in, expecting a big upside--Wave hasn't sold squat through two regimes and CEOs.
It won't run unless there is manipulation, a big sale, or a series of smaller sales--none of which has happened.
This stock has a history of mysterious meteoric rises and precipitous falls. Not a penny's profit in 27 years--isn't that a warning?
Blue
Yes, they did set it up so they could always maintain control. The B shares have five times the voting power the A shares have.
Peter Sprague told me they set it up that way to prevent a hostile takeover--and I swallowed that lie right up to the bobber.
It looks like there are few, if any hints and allusions of big wealth to come from Wave. Now, the company is trying to pretend it is a valuable enterprise that will bring top dollar.
That is nearly as ridiculous a proposition as thinking Wave has a straight path to ubiquity because of its special patents and technology. Whatever Wave has, the rest of the world seems to want none of it.
What is the value of a company that can not seem to sell any of its products in quantity anywhere in the world?
The excuses and rationalizations will continue to flow, IMO, until someone pulls the cork on this exercise in futility. Until then, the thrashing and death rattle will distract us from the inevitable--not far off, IMO.
Blue
This feels like the aria before the opera. Wave is being cleaned up and shopped around for buyers, IMO.
My guess is the tab is not going to come to much, so once again, shareholders will be offered the dirty end of the stick--after they waited for years expecting and hoping Wave would do the right thing by them.
I do not know of another company that has treated its shareholders with such disdain for so long.
At this moment, Wave is deficient on two requirements for continued listing on the Capital Market: (1) SP below $1 for more than 30 days--Wave is seeking a 180-day extension from the Naz. (2) Wave has fallen below the $35M min. market cap required. Currently, Wave's market cap is $13.29M--way less than half the minimum requirement at the moment.
Can't see how Wave can survive--a sale seems the last logical alternative before just turning out the lights for good. Nearly out of money, no immediate prospects, about to be de-listed, terrible reputation--what are the good points?
Who wants to buy a company without a profit in 27 years? Wave's products apparently can not be sold to anyone in number at a time when companies and govts are looking for security. What is the value of such a company?
There have been so many mistakes, so many instances of ineptness and rank amateurism--most grievous were the ones we were told to ignore, because when the SP hit $100, it wouldn't matter.
So many empty promises kept piling up, unmet, unaddressed and stacked out back like empty crates--and just as valuable--except you can burn crates to keep warm.
This does feel like the end. Sad.
Blue
Summerblaze: What about Wave's last reverse split--after the extension ran out? It sure looked like a rubber stamp to me, after all the shenanigans the mgt pulled and the lies they told, the incompetence they showed in the Safend purchase and other stinky bits of crapping on shareholders.
On the other hand, Player, to my knowledge strictly sticks to the facts and has correctly called many Wave events beforehand.
Many years ago, I wrote to the Naz, asking them about their policies on extensions, and if Wave's many unmet predictions of profitability counted, or the shabby treatment of shareholders.
I got a form reply, stating someone would be in touch with me. No one ever did, and the issue died. I provided specifics and it looked to me as if the Naz cared more about their protecting equity companies, than protecting shareholders.
I suppose that is their mission, but they are not supposed to tolerate outright deception, which is what we have been given as a steady diet for more than 10 years--continuing without change, under the new regime.
I am betting Player is right and Wave, despite being critically, if not fatally wounded, Wave's undeserving request for more time, IMO should not be granted. They will just use it to fleece more shareholders out of more money. Nevertheless, I expect Wave to get the extension.
When did Wave ever meet a publicly-stated goal or performance target? Answer? Never. Not since inception.
Unless you can state some reason why your statement should be considered over Player's--who has a long history of being right about Wave and regulatory matters--you may find yourself disregarded.
Many have come here claiming dubious authority to tell us Wave was going to the moon in a matter of days or was on the cusp of signing a "huge" contract--but it never happens.
Forgive me if we do you the injustice of requiring a little substantiation for your statements, until you earn the kind of reputation Player has among us Wave watchers.
With all due respect--Blue
Yes, right on every score. While performance always lagged, the secret and seductive, 'don't tell anyone, but Wave's SP is going to scream straight up' talk kept many in when they should have sold and enticed many more in to contribute to the Wave myth..
Blue