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Fiat/Chrysler case on patents '927 and '007 is dismissed today with prejudice. I assume the settlement is reached. But we won't know until the quarterly release.
My two cents on the latest volume and stock advance:
There are no newsletters on MARA specifically, and all these stock ratings by various automated services are junk, as someone pointed out, and, even if there were any new REAL analyst recommendations, they are meaningless and would not generate the volume we've seen in the past 2 days.
Based on the timing of the jump in volume for this stock, I believe it's related to the rumor, that started circulating around the same time, and a few articles that came out based on that.
The rumor is that Michelle Lee is no longer the Director of USPTO, and if that is true, there is going to be a significant shift in the patent space, and MARA will be one of the big beneficiaries of this. Traders are just connecting the dots together, and finding MARA to be a possible runner in Patent space.
For those, not familiar with Michelle Lee, she is a big reason Patent sector has suffered in the last few years.
Again, it's just a rumor, as there is no official confirmation either way. In fact, the latest news last week was that she is staying. The rumors started later.
Here are a few articles, you can google the rest:
http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2017/01/24/trumps-pto-michelle-lee-must-go/id=77539/
http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2017/01/24/cruel-unusual-rumors-swirl-pto-director/id=77553/
and the latest from today:
http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2017/01/25/uncertain-status-michelle-lee-patent-system/id=77585/
Besides overpromising, they still chose to report only positive developments. There is still no update from Germany about TLI failure, other than articles from 3rd parties. Even the "Key Court Dates" page has not been updated in a while, and still shows old dates. Signal IP's case with Fiat doesn't appear to be going well, based on proposed sanctions from Fiat. No word on Medtech either. But, part of the reason MARA is not reporting on this, I believe, is because this is old business model. They should probably just move on from these 3 portfolios, but, perhaps, they need to clearly communicate this to shareholders. Unfortunately, Doug is not the right person for clear communication. It was a bad strategy there, and hopefully they realized it, and that's why they modified their model.
So, I would say any bad news from Signal IP, TLI and Medtech will just be ignored. It's back to waiting game from the new business model.
Pm, I may have missed this, but I can't find any info in the filing, where it says there is 1 warrant for every 2 shares. I thought it was 1 to 1. Can you point me to that document?
As far as buying shares, yes, since there was no other filing, it's possible that 1+ million was purchased in the financing as well.
I don't know if the warrants counted in his 2.6m total. It's hard to say, as his previous 13G form in 2013 specifically mentioned that his total number of shares included common and warrants.
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1088219/000152153613001032/q1101364_jfeinberg13g-mara.htm
The new one does not:
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1088219/000091957417000070/d7382905_13-g.htm
In any case, it doesn't appear that he sold anything in the past 4+ years, and his position has increased.
Hi patentminer,
Just wanted to make a small correction.
He didn't purchase a stock. He bought 500k warrants, that will become exercisable on 6/14/2017 at a price of $1.70.
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1088219/000091957417000073/xslF345X02/p442017.xml
I'm not sure how he was able to acquire more shares without reporting it as he is 10% owner, and has been for a while.
Back in 2013, he reported owning 740,326, which included 523,980 shares of common stock and 216,346 shares of common stock underlying warrants, which represented 13.3% of O/S at the time.
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1088219/000152153613001032/q1101364_jfeinberg13g-mara.htm
So, after the split, he would have had 1,480,652. I haven't seen any additional filings from him. It could be that the new amount 2,668,284 indicates there was stock purchase in this December financing, as well (besides the warrants purchase). That is I'm not too sure about.
Interesting enough, in 2013 he entered into consulting agreement, which would have given him 100,000 more shares (200,000 after split), but the agreement was terminated in 2014. Then, in 2015, there was a settlement with him.
Here is the more info:
Original Agreement:
"On November 13, 2013, we entered into a two year consulting agreement with Jeff Feinberg (the “Feinberg Agreement”), pursuant to which we agreed to grant Mr. Feinberg a restricted stock unit (“RSU”) for 100,000 shares of our restricted common stock. The RSU vests in two installments: 50% on the one-year anniversary of the Feinberg Agreement (the “First Vesting”) and the remaining 50% on the second year anniversary of the Feinberg Agreement (the “Second Vesting”). The shares of common stock will be issued upon Mr. Feinberg’s meeting each of the two vesting requirements. During the first six months, the Feinberg Agreement can be terminated without any vesting under certain circumstances described in the Feinberg Agreement. If the Feinberg Agreement is terminated following the First Vesting but prior to the Second Vesting, the RSU is subject to acceleration of the Second Vesting under certain circumstances also described in the Feinberg Agreement. Mr. Feinberg is the trustee of The Feinberg Family Trust and holds voting and dispositive power over the shares held by The Feinberg Family Trust, which is a 10% beneficial owner of our common stock."
Then, termination:
On November 18, 2013, we entered into a consulting agreement with Jeff Feinberg (“Feinberg Agreement”), pursuant to which we agreed to grant Mr. Feinberg 100,000 shares of our restricted Common Stock; 50% of which shall vest on the one-year anniversary of the Feinberg Agreement and the remaining 50% of which shall vest on the second year anniversary of the Feinberg Agreement. Mr. Feinberg is the trustee of The Feinberg Family Trust and holds voting and dispositive power over shares held by The Feinberg Family Trust, which is a 10% beneficial owner of our Common Stock. On September 9, 2014, the company terminated the Feinberg Agreement and no shares vested.
Then, settlement:
On March 13, 2015, the company entered into a settlement and release agreement with Jeff Feinberg related to the termination of the Feinberg Agreement on September 9, 2014.
I wonder if the settlement was due to the termination after 6 month since the agreement has passed? Who knows, who cares :)
You are correct. Issuing more stock seems to be logical and the best case scenario for the small company with big ambitions.
Unfortunately, some of things they've done in the past 2 years are not very logical. Therefore, at this point, I would give 50/50 chance of toxic convertible debt. I'd love to be wrong, but there is just not enough cash to pay the bills.
PM, no, I'm not.
Happy Holidays to you, as well.
Millionairio, not sure what you mean by typical move.
The fact that I don't provide the source of information?
At least I'm providing facts, in contract with the majority of posts on this board, and in contract with no information from the company itself.
If I don't have facts, I see no need for me to post anything.
As far as my thoughts about the company -
Nothing much changed. It's still the same MARA from 2015, when I said it was going to be a dead stock for at least a year or year and a half.
Forget TLI, that's in the past. Any decent settlement from the new direction of the company will validate the new strategy.
If they survive until Summer 2017 without convertible toxic debt deal, you may see a different type of company after that with brighter future.
With that said - Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Stay Positive.
No, sir. It's not an appeal. It's the German one, and as far as injunction, let me just say your info is outdated.
Just checking in with some info, since your MARA is not giving it to you.
There is pretty simple reason why you see a temporary dip (or may be not that temporary). It's a reaction to what company is not telling you.
Hint: EP0814611
While it was pretty obvious that would happen, and it's really not that big of a deal, the loss is still a loss. Surprised they haven't adjusted the "key court dates" page, accordingly.
patentminer, Markman hearing have been moved to 8/3/2016.
Tumblr, Pinterest and Box 1st infringement hearing have been moved to 1/26/2017.
Yes, looks like restrictions are currently in place for both Scottrade and Ameritrade (at least), and no restrictions are in ETrade or Fidelity (confirmed). In any case, it seems to me we are now in consolidation phase at 2.30-2.40 level, as expected earlier. This is a healthy retracement, in my opinion, and bodes well for establishing a new base.
Spacen and lolabean, you are absolutely correct on this. There is no need to focus on the stock price. I would also hope that management uses their share buyback wisely and not rush with it. There are other more important items that cash can be used for.
Last year I've mentioned that I believed MARA stock was going to be dead for 12-18 months until we get a better picture of the company business plan and direction. We are getting very close to this now, especially with the last 3 month developments.
Recurring revenues on licenses should be the highest priority for the company to ensure predictable revenue stream. And that clearly is the latest focus of the company. This will attract real investors, not just daytraders and dreamers.
There is no need to be stressed out about dips in the stock price or buybacks. I've seen tons of examples where company and executives buy stocks at the top and sell at the bottom. Same applies to so-called analysts. These factors are not and should not be used to influence your investments.
Furthermore, stock has been overbought in the near term, as indicated by the charts, and any pullback to anywhere above 2.30-2.40 area (or even overshooting that) is healthy.
Good luck.
redbullpapi, I think every case is unique, but passing the IPR rather than the previous settlements is what gives it more weight now. Obviously, the defendants can continue to delay until the trial, which may be scheduled for in a year or longer, but time is not on their side now. I believe MARA would have settled for less last year, have the defendants decided to settle and not wait for PTAB decision, given MARA's financial condition.
Interesting development with CRFD Research. I believe CRFD settlements (among few others) caused Q2 and Q3 of 2014 to be as good as they were. This is the same patent, which caused settlements with Amazon, Verizon and Time Warner, as well as other defendants, back then. So, with this latest PTAB decision, if all the remaining defendants settle, we may be looking at a number closer to $8-10 mil (again, based on the settlements in 2014).
patentminer, these were dismissed earlier. It's just making it official now.
That was a surprising move by the company. I honestly did not expect that. All patent sector stocks are moving lately. Even SPEX is up 140% today, may spill over to MARA on sector move.
redbullpapi, I have a good feeling you will be gone by Friday. If you are investing in this company, you should care less about L2, shares on ask, and hourly or daily fluctuations.
This is not a play for quick buck. You are obviously not investing, but just hoping for a quick run here.
dolphinsmike, there is absolutely no need to waste cash at this point and buy stock with the company's money. Cash needs to be used for buying a new portfolio and paying down debt. All they need to do is continue showing that their business model is starting to work, show that they are different from other patent NPA's, who rely only on uncertain trial results and lumpy settlements. I'd like to see recurring revenues from licensing. I'm surprised that question never came up during the last conference. That is very important, if they can shed some light on recurring revenues. That will attract investors, not just daytraders, flippers, and bagholders, who can't wait to get out in black.
Recurring revenues and clear business model, that's working and that's different from non-investable NPA's, is what will bring Wall Street back.
EMI, to be honest, I don't think anything really changed, other than it became official. I'm pretty sure Doug was working with Erich all this time. Marathon is essentially Erich's boat, and Doug was there simply to just hold its steering wheel in the rough seas, in my opinion. Keep in mind, Doug is under employment contract until 2017. He got boatload of money out of this (pun intended), and Erich will probably get the captain's position after 2017, "thanking" Doug for his contribution.
yanquitrader - dockets:
https://search.rpxcorp.com/lit/dedce-53223-orthophoenix-v-stryker
STIPULATION of Dismissal With Prejudice by Stryker Corporation.
Now that gets my attention...
EMI, you know better than that, management is not going to provide you with any updates on full revenues up to date. They can't say anything until quarterly results are announced. And no management (not just MARA) will ever provide you information on why and who is selling (question from previous post), even if somebody asks. This will be another non-event conference call with analysts asking to clarify stupid things they saw on blogs, like the status of Signal IP litigation with the 6 autos.
All I personally would like to see is earnings vs expenses ratio. That's my number one metric to see if business plan is working. Everything else is just noise.
And, to the people copying and pasting so-called recommendations, just a word of advise: it's all BS -
1) Zacks is mostly computer automated crap, that nobody cares about.
2) JPM NEVER had MARA covered. So, all that lowered price target from $15 to $9 is just messed up. So is this statement: "Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock". Look, there are only 2 or maybe 3 analysts covering it, and they have all been so wrong since early 2015, that nobody should be even looking at their reports.
So, DFINE got licensed. It appears Wright Medical Technology got settled as well. (It's removed from key court dates calendar).
Apple has been removed, as well. So, the pending litigation was dismissed; therefore, 8k was amended to say "Company will receive a cash payment of $24.9 million". We are supposed to hear the update on the 4/13 SAM infringement hearing in Germany this week I hope. Team should bring an A game to the conf call in May. And, they better be ready with the new portfolios on deck.
EMI, you know I'm all about seeing the model work, and I like what I'm seeing lately. So, it appears they are sticking to the plan - settlements before trials. We've seen this happening recently with Signal IP, and now with Apple. I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised with the settlement, as I thought this was going to be another VHC or VRNG debacle with a long trial and numerous appeals in case of a win, while company keeps struggling with cash. I never put much weight on this Apple trial, so with that said, I consider the settlement to be very efficient, as a lot of money is saved, and it may allow to repay some debt, and purchase additional portfolios. Short term it will provide small breathing room, as MARA earned just enough to pay for the office space and utility bills, but possibility of going after other companies with this patent is promising.
I can't comment much about commercialization project. There is simply not enough information to go by there.
Jalase, if your average price is $6, you should have sold a long time ago. I hope you are doing well with your other investments, but if you are trying to invest in companies and especially in non-transparent companies like this one, you have to use stop losses of 20%, for example. Just giving you advice on how to avoid situation like you are in, especially when your investment thesis changed, based on what you just posted.
I'm sorry to say, but most investors are dumb, even analysts. So, sometimes, movements in stock price don't make any sense. I see analysts asking stupid questions on the call, getting information on the settlements from the BLOGS to make their ridiculous forecasts. What do you expect from investors? Instead of complaining all the time, try doing some research.
Millionairio, anything over $10 mil would be a big chunk for MARA, so I believe Kia settlement, if it happens, would be over $10 mil.
Looks like the remaining disputed issue with the respect to '007 patent is settled with Nissan yesterday. The only patent remaining is '927, and it's in advanced stages of possible settlement. Mazda appears to have reached an agreement with Signal IP, as well. They are finalizing the settlement agreement, according to the dockets. Kia would be the only one standing, but I bet they will settle too, and that might be a good chunk of $$, I think.
msl2008, Mazda and Kia are two remaining, I believe.
That's exactly why the stock is where it is. Last year I said that the stock is dead money until they can prove their model works. This is exactly what's happening. Let's see if they can keep the momentum with these settlements. Just think about Apple pie-in-the-sky trial as a dessert, that would be nice to have, but will not fill you up as a main course would.
Millionairio, let's just say it's a step in the right direction. These latest settlements are the biggest developments in the company for the past 15 months. I don't think it's a significant amount, but it will help clean up the balance sheet a bit. Don't get too excited, as there are still large expenses associated with these settlements, but at least the model is somewhat working now.
I disagree with this statement. While Apple case is important, I've been stressing this many times, MARA's strategy does not revolve around one big case. I've been analyzing MARA without Apple case, and trying to understand if it can succeed without it. The way the management was presenting its case (if you believe them, that is), the company should succeed without it, so my eyes have always been on that strategy, not on Apple.
In fact, these latest settlements with Signal IP are small proof of at least some success. If they can figure out how to continue with this strategy, but minimizing directs costs of the revenues, then they will succeed. That's what it comes down to, not the Apple case.
If we win, I don't see how $400m cash, you are stating, is achievable. Just take a look at VHC. Even after huge award, stock price is still in $4's. We may not see Apple's money for a long time, even if there is a win.
Looks like Nissan settled with Signal IP yesterday. Two more to go.
My two cents on the conference call:
Not much was said.
msl2008 said it perfect:
I guess what they could've said is, "we're possibly at the end of the road. these next 6 months we will have all our big trials. if we win, then our potential is realized. if we lose, then it's game over. there's really nothing else more to say."
There was no mention of the purchases made at the end of last year, there was nothing said in regards to the failed merger. Not enough explanation was given about the DIRECT cost of revenues for 2015, which was very high. I get all the other expenses, but direct cost of the revenues is really a red flag to me.
I guess I was more annoyed with the analysts on the call. The questions they asked are simply ridiculous. No wonder they make ridiculous forecasts, given they ask these stupid questions on the call. These so called analysts really have no clue, and have no business dealing with the patent sector companies. The analyst from Stifel is a joke. "I just want to make sure somewhere in some blogs that was posted that you’d had four the Signal settlements, is that correct?" Wow, dude...Do some research, don't read blogs.
Anyways, back to MARA - anyone read 10k?
Wondering why MARA had to issue 100k shares to the former CEO from 2012? Also, look like your hated Honig was still around at least in October, when his remaining Series B shares were converted into public shares.
I must say this is by far the best development for Marathon in the last 15 months. Coupled with potentially explosive chart (the best I've seen in a long time) and upcoming trials, this could get really interesting in a short term.
Patentminer,
No, I'm not aware of the IPR Ruling against Uniloc last week.
I stopped looking at Uniloc after the merger was terminated. I'll try to look it up. If you can point me in the right direction, I'd appreciate it.
Whether ACTG takes the deal or not, that would be an interesting development, though. ACTG's CEO resigning in December actually makes sense, as he was possibly pushed out for this deal to go through. But, at the same time, you might be correct, that ACTG shareholders may not accept this offer.
And now we see the real reason the merger was terminated.
Uniloc saw a better opportunity with Acacia, and they didn't even have to pay up much for it.
Remember the last sentence from my post:
Just wanted to add - I think the merger with Uniloc was cancelled after Uniloc saw MARA's books. Why take on so much debt plus added expenses of being public company? A lot easier to continue stay private, until patent sector recovers (if it ever will).
CHM, even if that is "just" $7.75 mil, that is still a lot more than was expected AND promised by the management from the last conference call.
Seriously mods, I have no idea what your purpose here is?
Why do you keep deleting posts that are not all positive???
You think you are helping longs?
There goes another Doug's promise. I'm losing count on Doug's promises this year.
So, we went from promising significantly higher revenues in 2015 -> to higher revenues -> to actually posting revenues less than 2014. Wow! And look at those operating expenses. Didn't they say the last quarter they were done with large operating expenses??? Another failed promise?
You can go ahead and delete my post again, as usual, but I'm asking an intelligent question - where are they are going to get the cash to pay their bills??? I'm not even talking about cash to grow their business, just cash to pay their salaries and electricity bills? And please don't answer - Apple.
I wonder what's the point of releasing unaudited results now?
Two reasons I can think of:
1) They got leaked today, as indicated by significant dip mid-day, and they were forced to release something.
2) They just want to release 10K by the end of the month and avoid doing the disastrous conference call.
Any other comments?
EDIT:
Just wanted to add - I think the merger with Uniloc was cancelled after Uniloc saw MARA's books. Why take on so much debt plus added expenses of being public company? A lot easier to continue stay private, until patent sector recovers (if it ever will).