"Its the only way people will respect this stock again."
Please keep in mind that the stock represents an ownership interest in a very profitable business. I know this has been said many times, but I feel like the volatility in the share price has pushed this fact to the backburner. Over time, people will respect the stock based on the profits of the business.
Personally, I have no problem with management's approach/response. I prefer that management is less interested in the daily/weekly stock price movements than we would like. I think the short attack here indicates a flaw in the regulatory system. This, however, is not management's responsibility. They should focus on growing and improving their business for the long term, and it appears that is what they are doing. I do, however, think that a PR firm upgrade is a wise idea.
It's just terribly disappointing that the company cannot take advantage of these manipulated prices to buy back shares.
For us, while is causes tremendous angst seeing the short term price volatility, it really should not matter unless we are looking to sell. As a buyer, sharp dips in price should be welcome events.
GLTA