The event featured five companies across different industries: $ISEYF, a manufacturer of precision timing components; $CVALF, a medical technology company; $CDTI, a catalyst engineering and coating technology provider; $DDOSF, a cybersecurity company; and $CLIR, an industrial combustion technology developer. Soueidan also introduced GeoInvesting analyst Diego La Torre who came with a pitch and guest moderators Ben Brostoff and Jev, explaining that the sessions would focus on business fundamentals, growth opportunities, financial sustainability, and direct discussions with management.
One of the more interesting stories we’re following is a 100-plus-year-old manufacturer of industrial equipment that most investors would probably consider a boring industrial stock. For years, the company traded at a low P/E multiple and below or around book value. Investors had plenty of reasons to overlook it, including legacy liabilities and a complicated corporate structure. When we first highlighted it, our thesis was that management could unlock significant value by simplifying the business. The company had already begun selling noncore subsidiaries and winding down inefficient operations, while taking steps to clean up its balance sheet.
This week, we’re looking at a military semiconductor company returning to profitability with record backlog, alongside a structural-steel fabricator securing new hydroelectric project awards that further strengthen its already record backlog. As usual, we highlight the stocks we want to watch most in our Big Movers and Losers list of the week, included at the end of the post.
During our October Open Forum, we reviewed September’s developments, revisited our model portfolios, and discussed where we’re finding information arbitrage opportunities. One of the main themes was the changing market environment and our increasing focus on quality companies with earnings visibility.
We’ve been following this company for some time now, and it continues to be one of the stranger little companies in our coverage universe. Investors just don’t seem to care. That has been understandable at times. It is tiny, its stock is extremely illiquid, revenue was growing from a very small base, and the big distribution deal we have been waiting for has yet to arrive. But the financial profile we originally hoped would emerge is starting to show itself.