I don't think FTMR is a lost cause.
Someone pointed out the trendline of FTMR's stock price. It's pretty sad and as I mentioned, it's been pretty grueling. Fortunately, graphs only record what has happened in the past and don't really provide a reliable picture of what might happen in the future. I think most of us buy shares because we think they will appreciate in value in the future. If everything had gone well and we had hit the desired milestones, we would certainly not be the 25 cent stock we've become. Who knows what's going to happen in the future?
I guess I'm a contrarian when it comes to companies like this. I believe Fortem still has a future. Is that a judgment call? Sure. Is that hope unfounded? I don't think so.
Here's what I see:
1. Fortem Resources continues to retain control of some pretty expansive and potentially valuable properties.
2. Billionaire Marc A. Bruner put a number of his own properties into FTMR. A couple of others (Angela Mainardi and Jaime Melo) also put their properties into Fortem Resources. The owners of these properties hold almost 60% of the outstanding shares. Add management and this total rises to 70%. I remember hearing claims that if these properties could be tested and proven they could potentially be worth billions. I don't think the potential value of these properties has changed.
3. The Cease Trade Order (CTO) was transparently reported and explained. Up until that point, they had been fully reporting and up to date. I remember hearing that uplisting was to the OTCQX and perhaps higher was a possibility.
A fellow investor said to me as far as he could tell, the company has done nothing wrong. They had fully audited filings and were changing from one accounting firm to another, but the former auditor wouldn't sign off on their work. Yes, THEY WOULDN'T SIGN OFF ON THEIR OWN WORK. Crazy.
Despite the failure of their former accounting firm, in an effort to get the CTO lifted, FTMR had their new accounting firm review, reaudit, and then refile their prior quarterly and annual filings. They've pretty much done all they can do.
4. The Alberta Stock Exchange, I suppose in part due to COVID, has not been very helpful. So far as I know, they have not taken any action or made the decision to lift the CTO. I've heard FTMR hired attorneys to try and resolve the matter, but it has been slow going. I believe at some point there has to be some resolution to the matter.
5 Encouragingly, the Outstanding Shares have not increased significantly in the last 4 years.
"As of July 20, 2020, there were 122,571,156."
"As of October 15, 2019, there were 122,571,156 shares of common stock outstanding."
"As of August 31, 2018 120,771,156 common shares (117,872,458 at February 28, 2018).
6. From what I can tell, current and past management have not been receiving much for wages but have mostly been working for the future value and eventual success of the company. I think the resignation of the board members and officers of the company was a demonstration to the Alberta Stock Exchange of the negative impact their inaction is having on the company.
7. And lastly, there have been some surprisingly large bids lately. Over the last month, it's not been unusual to see bids for 50K or even a $100K. However, last Friday there were bids for 701K shares (one for 400K and another for 301K) and today there's been a persistent bid for 350K shares. I'm not sure why, but it makes me wonder.
(FWIW, I placed a bid at 25 cents and caught some shares.)
Watch for opportunities with those you trust.
