onewhoknows2much, to answer your questions -
Interviews and presentations are no more than used car salesman pitches to me, in general. Obviously, you are never going to hear anything materially new. Was it early in the year, when some people mentioned that Doug was SO positive in his presentations, that great things are going to happen shortly? :)
I have no idea about upcoming Biomet settlement. I just hope they spent less to get to that settlement, than the actual award.
While not all investments have to be in "Show Me" mode in the short term, MARA is in the position, where they have to show that their model works. Frankly, I don't put big weight on significant wins for MARA. While that would not be a bad thing, of course, as we see very often with NPE's, even big wins can get appealed, reversed, and these processes can take very long time.
Many put upcoming Apple trial as a big catalyst, not sure why. To me, the chances of MARA winning it are extremely small. Would be a nice surprise, if it happens, though.
What I want to see, as an investor, that their model works, as "advertised". Settlements prior to trials are the key for their model. Spending less money to get to these settlements is the proof that their model works. They have to show that they are different from the standard NPE's. So far, it's inconclusive, and, perhaps, they need time to show it. That's why I said earlier, that MARA is dead money for some time.
The only thing that MARA proved so far is that 2014Q3's results were anomaly, but Doug keeps talking about on every presentation, like it's a trend. Prove it! Walk the talk!
