I've read here repeatedly, more so lately, that Leo should've raised a lot of cash at $2 or $3 or $4/share, put his whole wad on a single pony, and pushed one (1!) antibiotic application into Phase 3, that IPIX would be worth a shit-ton today if he had done so and the skies would be blue. Now he's an idiot for raising cash at a fraction of those distant share prices. Of course a savvy IPIX CEO would know in late 2014 that his share price was hugely over-valued, that the price would dive to the $.30's in May and June 2018, and three and a half years ago he would've sold shares like there's no tomorrow and be sitting pretty today.
To my eye there's some problems with that complaint. One is that, in 2014 and up to today, a $2 or $3 or $4/share valuation of IPIX's pipeline is quite reasonable in the biotech landscape. The science and possible revenue streams for IPIX are broad and have had zero rebuttals from the ultimate arbiter, the FDA. The potential benefiting patient base for IPIX's three (3!) candidates is in the 100's of millions. Biotech competitors regularly receive compelling sums for thinly-tested drug assets that are dubious or have a miniscule target population. Leo had then (and continues to have) reason to expect that a SP valuation at least in the high single digits was close at hand. He was in no hurry to dilute the stock. And then some bad press tornadoes came, along with market indifference. The shark bite took out a good hunk of flesh.
Related, I believe that Leo absolutely detests diluting the stock. Diluting his stock. He sold really cheap shares to Aspire with gritted teeth recently, cut costs wherever he could including the aging Menon's salary, and a penny-pinching CEO is usually a shareholder's friend, non? Does he draw a good salary himself? Yes. Will he buy St. Lucia with his salary and spend his days and shareholder cash getting coconut oil rubdowns three times daily under the palms lighting cigars with Franklins? That's absurd. Leo didn't sell shares at $2 or $4 because he didn't think he had to. I didn't think he had to either.
Should I have sold all my IPIX shares in 2014 at $4.50 and hung around until mid-2018 and plunked the whole stash down again and own a whole bunch more shares? Of course. Am I a backwoods rube because I didn't do this? No. But then again I may lack the investing IQ of a typical cellophane-wrapped honey Bun.
The beauty and 20/20 blindness of hindsight.
