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You are absolutely right. That would have been an obvious thing to do, a smart thing to do, and a shareholder friendly thing to do.
So since they decided not to include such verbiage, the obvious answer is probably the correct one.
Ardly should be the CEO. He would have VirTra fixed and growing fast in less than 6 months. Having met Mr. Ardly, it was crystal clear he is smart and competent. I am confident he would do the following:
1. Fire Ferris, encourage him to go to work for the competition.
2. Hire a great Sales leader, fire Mulcahy, tell him to follow Ferris.
3. Hire a competent accounting firm.
4. Fire Gateway and bring IR in-house.
5. Put Givens in charge of Fed Gov business.
6. Fire Burlend, he doesn’t even want to own shares.
7. Stop carrying a massive net cash balance and leverage the money to accelerate growth. It is a crime for this tiny company to have $20mil in cash. That is just stupid. It says our CEO, CFO, and BOD are stupid (as it applies to their roles in the company.)
And the reason Activists are circling and salivating is because all the above is easy and obvious.
I just figured Ferris needed something to read today so I figured I would dig deep and post something substantive. It is remarkable to me that no one here has a good enough relationship with Ferris or Givens or another Director to find out exactly when the results will be released.
Remarkable! I just scoured the job openings on VirTra’s website and their is NO LISTING for a CEO. Sort of bizarre given that both Ferris and Givens seem to be missing and derelict in duty based on no Q4, Q1, Q2 results.
Their Nasdaq extension expires on August 12th, only one month from tomorrow. At this point it seems likely to me they will miss this deadline.
July 11, 2022….Why is Ferris still CEO? What a terrible terrible CEO. I say that based on his continued refusal to issue a PR with Q4 2021 results and Q1 2022 results and Q2 2022 results.
That is Q4 202ONE for goodness sake. It ended 6+ months ago.
Looks like the next big step up has begun!
I just wish I knew why Ferris is refusing to release the Q4 and Q1 and Q2 results,
He knows all the numbers and could issue a PR tomorrow with those numbers and put this entire issue to bed. Yet he does not do the wise thing. And the BOD lets him do whatever he wishes. One would think that if Givens is such a force of nature he would get this done. His silence and invisibility suggest the exact opposite of a force of nature. I can't wait until each of them are fired. The day is coming. Perhaps even this year. Oops sorry, I lapsed into a dream coma for those last three grammatically incorrect sentences.
I’m pretty happy! I actually bought more this morning at 20.50 and will hold all through the closing this Fall to get the CVRs. Congrats to you as well!
All I know FOR SURE is someone knows something and that someone aint me. VTSI is a microcap stock. It has failed to file year-end and quarterly reports. It has made a change to CEO. Given the state of the stock market and valuations of other similar sized and similar performing companies…why on Earth is VTSI continuing to trade at $5? Any other company would be at $2 or maybe even $1. It is insane for this to be at $5. Why hasn’t it been punished for no quarterly reports. This completely baffles and amazes me. So like I said….someone knows something…I hope.
What Twitter account?
Bought more today in the low 3.80s!
And I continue to buy!
I formally nominate the chap that bought 70,000 shares late today to be the next VirTra CEO.
Look at the latest Form 4......Ferris would rather have cash than shares. Burlend would rather have cash than shares. What a great message to send to shareholders and potential investors.
However, yet another great bullet point to ensure the election of the new slate of directors!
Yes, it was directed to you. I was crystal clear in responding to each of your points. Your own post makes a strong case for not owning this stock. If Management has little incentive to increase short term stock price then the stock is not worth owning. Every public company CEO and BOD have an obligation to ensure their company stock is correctly priced. There is no stated timeframe, it is implicit in that obligation to mean “at all times”.
I don’t know if you own shares of VTSI or not. I do. I own because I believe the company is worth $6 today and once they are compliant with the SEC filings I believe it will be worth $8. Since the stock is trading below what I believe the company to be worth, I buy it. That is also what I expect of every Company employee. If the company had a competent management team, the company could be worth $20 in a big hurry.
Why would you be seemingly happy with a deadbeat CEO and AWOL BOD who have failed to report ANY meaningful revenue or eps results for the last 7 1/2 months?
Great company, great results, great outlook….but the stock isn’t going anywhere for a few more months.
If you are willing, I will happily sell you all my shares tomorrow in a private transaction at $7.50. 100% serious. Let me know.
I said $8 and I said “today”. Would I take $8 in a month?, maybe, maybe not. Do I own shares in order to be happy if it hits $8? No. I fully expect this to be a $10 stock within a year and a $20 stock in 2 years. But would I take $8 today? Of course. I would simply take the money and buy back my shares over the next month.
If they don’t release numbers soon and boost share price, they will be replaced. Seems like incentive to me.
On activists…..I like the ones that first accumulate a large number of shares before launching their buyout bid. Mill Road does it this way. They typically own 10 to 20% before trying to buy. They have done it multiple times, most recently with Big Lots and right now are accumulating SUP in the open market. They own 13% and will likely make a bid within a year.
The activists that try to take over a BOD without having skin in the game I do not like or support. Often this is how Starboard operates. They buy literally 100 shares and then start a public battle and put forth a new slate of directors.
That is true but not necessarily a bad thing. They shed sunlight on a companies problems. They often buy out the company for a relatively high share price. Sure, they are opportunistic and hope to make more with a future IPO or private sale but that is ok. They risked their capital or were smart enough to leverage the company itself.
I would be thrilled with an $8 or $9 buyout today. The CEOs and directors refuse to step up and make open market buys of the stock. They are also the reason the stock is now in the 4s. None of them in my opinion care about either the company or it’s shareholders. I base that statement on their actions, not their words.
That is likely the smart way to look at it and I suspect you are correct on your overall take. I had never run across a company with two CEOs before and it still disturbs me.
The other thing I don't like is why it is taking so long to publish Q4 and Q1 results. I was with Honeywell when they implemented Oracle and with Greenheck when they implemented SAP and so I know it is a painful, cumbersome, difficult transition that ALWAYS takes longer than expected for any company, especially if resources are a bit limited. But I also know that for Q4 the audit could have been separated from the ERP implementation. Even for Q1, it could have and should have been separated. VirTra ships a very limited number of "SKUs" and limited volumes and small number of customers. They also have very few physical sites and likely only 1 or 2 main "money in", "money out" accounts. So in terms of scope and difficulty it seems to me that an audit of VirTras numbers should be relatively easy and quick. 2022 is now half over, no real excuses remain.
One silver lining (for me) is that I have been able to buy back in in a significant way at what I believe to be a decent price, another silver lining is that this snafu has elevated VirTra and put the on the radar of several activist firms.
Teeroy….You are one of the smartest investors that posts here. You do your homework, buy smart, and remain patient. What are your thoughts about the current state of VirTra, co-CEOs, and VTSI? Thanks.
Market Cap TODAY same as 6 years ago! Share price TODAY 30% lower than 6 years ago! Think about that.
Is the company better today than then? debatable (certainly bigger but maybe not better since we have no idea about the last 9 months of performance)
Is the forward outlook better today than then? yes
Is the CEO position better today than then? worse (same guy keeps screwing up and now there are two chefs in the kitchen)
Is the balance sheet better today than then? yes (but only thanks to opportunistic/sleezy dilution)
Is the stock more liquid/investable today than then? yes (although recent volume has hit the skids, I wonder why?)
I keep buying shares but can only nibble due to volume. My faith is in the new (future) CEO.
My guess is Ferris AND GIVENS will be OUT as CEOs within 17 months. Just a pure guess. And I do not think it will be necessarily driven by activist shareholders. Over the last 3 months, their actions have exposed each of the Directors to possible legal jeopardy. There are very few CEOs that can survive this sort of unforced error (and I am being incorrectly kind with that characterization).
And right now in my view, Ferris AND Givens are making their own legal situations far worse by being way too cute with trying to "time" the release of the audit results.
I am also a foreign shareholder as I live in Northern Wisconsin. There are many reasons for optimism right now with respect to VirTra and VTSI. The first is that there continues to be a rising tide in the USA for increasing/improving/requiring better training for police. Another is that competition has forced VirTra to lower their prices and become more efficient and more ingenious. STEP program was/is smart and a V300 at $200,000 puts it in the same universe as the purchase of a fully outfitted squad car. Another is that the Ferris family is no longer a significant shareholder in the company as they are now way below 10%. And lets not forget the current valuation, an EV of $33million means that the company is likely undervalued right now. Activists are circling. I own shares and keep buying more each week even though I rip endlessly on the stupid things the company and Ferris do....such as "co-CEO", such as failing to build a top performing sales org, the recent accounting/audit/reporting snafu, etc.
VirTra's problems are EASILY identified and more EASILY fixed. A new slate of directors would be step 1.
Ferris makes the same mistake over and over again. Why a “Director”? Why not just hire a great competent IT young aggressive smart person and give them a manager title? If VirTra had $500mil in sales then maybe an IT Director makes sense. Ferris continually tries to structure the company as if it has $1billion in sales, and even worse is he hires sub par people because he has never experienced great employee performance since the only company he knows is VirTra.
And Enterprise Value is only about $33million. So since we touched $12, the value of the company has dropped from $110million to $33million. Great job by the BOD and CEO. And now they have gone mute. No PRs, no update on Audit status, no FY2022 guidance, no accountability from anyone associated with VirTra.
And maybe I can walk on water, have a Victoria Secret wife, a SportsIllustrated bikini model girlfriend, and shoot 200inch deer, and pheasants with 30inch tails.
Survey…Just curious….Is there anyone on this message board that would vote AGAINST a new slate of directors?
(Assume the new slate has the background, track record, credentials, and already own shares of VTSI. Assume they spelled out their objectives and reasoning well in advance. I guess what I’m saying is assume the “activist” went at it in the right way for the right reasons.)
One bright silver lining in this SEC reporting debacle…that being the increased likelihood of the BOD being replaced and the company problems being fixed by a new management team. The extra 3mil shares from the 18mil cap raise also make VirTra a much easier and more attractive target for activists since it diluted the Ferris family shares and because the three buyers of the 3mil shares all bailed out to a new myriad of now underwater shareholders.
Think about CEO Givens. Exactly what has he done to deserve any money he is being paid? Has the company revenue or eps changed since his hire? Any new products released with his name on them? Why on Earth was he promoted to CEO? Ferris called him a force of nature, why? There has not been even one noteworthy accomplishment.
In my opinion, yet another example of Ferris surrounding himself with second or third tier talent.
If Givens was great, by now VirTra would be at a $60mil per year run rate with $100mil just ahead in 2023.
Clownshow
With a stone tablet, chisel, fingers-n-toes, and bullhorn I could complete AND release the audit results faster than the current clowns.
The CEO and the CEO (how stupid is that) both need to be fired. The BOD is ripe for replacement.
Someone needs to start filing lawsuits against each CEO and each BOD member.
Just think what would happen if a credible activist investor came out tomorrow with an alternative slate of directors. It would be a freaking slam dunk, passage ensured. The light at the end of the tunnel….the gold at end of the rainbow…..a chicken in every pot……
I know I’m dreaming.
I’m starting to think that at this point the Q4 and Q1 results do not matter. If the numbers were great, who cares? since it is ancient history. If the numbers stunk, who cares? since ancient history and the stock is already down 60%.
Will the forward outlook matter? Nope, VirTra is too chicken ship to provide one.
Perhaps Q2 on Aug 15th will matter.
It is really depressing to own a stock with so much potential that keeps getting squandered by the mis-steps of an incompetent CEO and do-nothing BOD. What would move the stock is the CEO being replaced by a proven experienced CEO who understands the art of selling product.
This sales talk reminds me of a funny story from 30 years ago:
I went up to Roseau, MN to fish Buffalo Bay. Had a good friend living there working for Polaris. It was supper time and there were two Chinese buffet restaurants in town. I said, "which one should we go to?" He said "everyone goes to King Buffet". I say, "oh, they must have the best food." He said,"no, their food is the worst, but their owner is smart. Every year he hires the best looking girls from high school to work there."
Sometimes increasing sales is easy and obvious.
Exactly! There are many easy, obvious, inexpensive, 100% certain, ways to profitably accelerate sales. The thing Ferris has never understood is that selling a $200,000 system requires hands on demo, hand holding for maybe up to a year before an order happens, relentless support from corporate for your sales team in the field.
Mobile Product demos are one easy obvious way. Maybe $1mil up front to own and outfit the truck. Staff with two people. Support with logistics from corporate. Relentless follow up from your local sales people. Likely about $500,000 in annual operating costs.
There are also stellar independent manufacturer's rep firms throughout this country. Not all are great, but some are. Hire the best firms, maybe 1 or 2 per State to sell your product. If VirTra treats those reps like gold, those reps will be worth platinum (I hope platinum is worth more than gold). This does require support, lots of support, from the parent (VirTra) but it is doable and VirTra in house staff can still control pricing on every quote. And this sales model has been proven and polished by other companies selling similar priced products in other industries. Easy to replicate.
All Ferris has to do is hire the best sales leader out there and close his eyes, get out of the way, and let the guy operate and make money. Ferris does not understand that the most important person in any company is the sales guy (and I'm an engineer) and he should be paid appropriately and that means ALOT OF MONEY. Ferris can't stand the thought of a sales guy making 1million or 2 million per year based on his production. And that is a fundamental problem.
BOD....wake up.
Think about the level of incompetence on display at VirTra. It is breathtaking. They sell 50 systems in a quarter and they can’t add up the revenue and costs to the satisfaction of a third party CPA? They have a CEO who refuses, against the advice of IR and shareholders, to issue a PR with preliminary unaudited results? They have two CEOs cuz one cannot do the job? They have a BOD that does not hold anyone accountable, is there any other public company CEO who is not measured against annual performance objectives?
Every one of us here need to make phone calls and send emails to the activist firms that are out there. This would be the lowest hanging fruit ever for an activist firm. Mill Road? Starboard? Apollo? …….help us!
Sharpchicity…..I am invested in VirTra because they sell systems and training to police depts. I wish they would focus 100% of their efforts on doing this. For me, Military and Fed gov is a money pit, a distraction, and keeps the company from growing fast. Even every tiny tiny PD in this country can afford a $200,000 purchase every 5 years. My town is in middle of no where in central WI, population 1600, we have 3 full time officers and an annual PD budget of over $1mil. New F150s, new Harleys, new crossover Squadcars every couple years. No big deal, it’s only money.
If they had stopped pursuing these Military opportunities 10 years ago and had a decent sales Org focused on selling to Police depts they would (easily) already have $300million in revenue and a 1billion market cap.
Having said that, I would like to think VirTra could do both, and they should be able to, however the CEOs are incompetent as CEOs and refuse to build a sales Org cuz they refuse to hire and pay a good sales leader. As the leader of Sales, Mulcahy has proven by his revenue results that he is incompetent as well. Yet he remains as does Ferris.
This company needs an activist to gain control of the BOD, clean house, bring in a big time proven leader. The fixes are obvious and easy and the turnaround would take about one year.
It would be nice to have a meaningful discussion but until VirTra announces Q4 and Q1 it ain’t gonna happen. Sigh
And all I did was make a reasonable suggestion to profit from your own convictions by shorting VTSI. It seemed reasonable based on your views of the future of the company.
Your viewpoints on VirTra do add value to this message board as they make each of us think through the reasons we own the stock. Also, no one here dislikes you, you are likely a great guy, smart, successful, interesting. But many here do disagree with your views on VTSI and investing in general. But so what.....you and I are from the same generation where sticks and stones may break our bones but words can never harm us. So, no harm, no foul.
So, in that spirit I say...."2Mil,,,, huh, I paid more than that in income taxes last year"