The analysis of Iofina (IOF) by Numis Securities (a retained adviser to the AIM Cesspit posterboy) has been woeful. It became marginally less woeful on Friday but let me now explain a corporate hold.
For months Numis has been insisting that Iofina shares were worth 156p despite clear evidence that the company was missing target and running out of cash. Belatedly on Friday with the firm having issued a $5 million bond convertible at just 40p just two days after saying that it did not need any more cash, Numis slashed its target price from 156p to 47p.
It also downgraded its stance from “buy” to “hold”. This is what is known as a corporate hold. I have no idea how the 47p target is arrived at. Presumably it is a bit like the 156p target. Given that the company now has $20 million of debt, cash net of trade payables/receivables of (perhaps) $5.5 million and burned $2 million a month in Q1, it is hard to say.
Iofina has said that it will cut costs which it needed to do. But the point
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