Seeking Alpha

Private Trader's  Instablog

Private Trader or "PT" (a pseudonym) is a contributor to Seeking Alpha who, at this time, values privacy almost as much as money therefore only Seeking Alpha editors have contact information for PT. PT's first investment in the market was airline company "People's Express".... More
  • Small Article on the Small But Growing IMGG 9 comments
    Sep 15, 2009 11:01 PM | about stocks: PNNT, GE
    I just published this article accidentally as a comment under Seeking Alpha's penny stock article.  Still new investors might want to read the Seeking Alpha article before reading mine. 

    seekingalpha.com/article/108879-reconsid...

    To sum it up, the writer (Mick Weinstein) makes a great point:  because penny stocks are extremely volatile and more subject to manipulation one must exercise more caution trading them.  Disclaimer:  While I hold IMGG today I might not tomorrow.  If you review my past articles, you will see that I trade in all kinds of stocks at all times, including shorts, and including risky ones with little coverage such as PNNT.  Do your own due dilligence.

    Here is my article:

    This is a small note about a small company that could get big. About 3 years ago I researched and invested in IMGG. It is only traded on the OTC market. I thought I knew one of the people whose names was associated with the company - but since penny stocks can be easily manipulated, I visited the company - unannounced. Those present would not let me see their device up close (they frankly told me that they were worried I might be a spy from a competitor or then buyout company GE!). Since that time GE (another current holding of mine) has gone down to less than half what it was and this company has gone down and now might go up to almost twice what it was.

    "What do you mean, gone down?" you might ask. As I recall, for several months that I began to take nibbles, this stock was at trading at approximately .13-.20/share. It was coming down from around .35/share. As I recall, it had hit around .35/share in 2006 after CEO Janes had made a presentation of his product to small cap investors in NYC. He also had gotten a nice write up in a magazine as a stock to watch. As you can imagine, CEO Dean Janes told me that since that event he was upset that the share price had continued to go down -- even though he was doing everything he reasonably could and should be doing to advance his company and product.

    Since I had approached him as an investor, he asked me how I could explain why several "hot" companies were trading at $1 or more per share and they did not even have a physical warehouse or headquarters - which I could see that IMGG had. I agreed that it did not make sense that the share price of IMGG was going down from .35/share and not up.

    CEO Dean Janes and I did disagree on two things though: in 2006, he sincerely believed that his company would likely be getting FDA approval by the end of 2007. Then he believed investors would flock to his company and GE, Siemens, or some other Buyoutco would probably make him seem crazy not to sell his device. He was thinking that even if IMGG sold the device, IMGG might still have a huge profitable operation going by continuing to develop, upgrade, and repair it.

    I told him that I did not believe 2007 would be his year. I thought it would take until at least 2008. I must admit, when 2008 came and the entire stock market seemed upside down, I realized that IMGG might not have the great year that I thought it would in 2008.

    However, IMGG is a company that has weathered a severe fire and other set-backs. So when a family member (whom I had advised to buy IMGG in 2006) asked whether he should sell, I said hell NO! I pointed out that to IMGG this storm was business as usual. To GE, this storm was far more life threatening.

    Now IMGG's stock has "rushed" up to .24/share. According to yahoo (as of 091509) IMGG has a $63.73M market cap. However, I have seen their warehouse. It is a relatively NEW building. When I visited, it had a LOT of empty space (even though they were using some space for C-arm re-manufacturing).

    My argument with CEO Janes was that they should manufacture the Dominion device themselves. At that time he did not like that idea as much because GE could bring a lot of cash to the manufacturing operation that IMGG did not have. - But that was 3 years ago. Now it is not clear to me whether GE, Siemens or any of the potential suitors Janes thought might arrive are in any position to be buying anything.

    Furthermore, the Dominion device is not that big. It did not, for example take up much space inside their facility. Plus, for each one of these devices they are able to make and sell, it is my understanding that they would generate approximately $500k in revenue. I do not know how much of that would be profit, but I would imagine that with each device produced, they could make it cheaper and cheaper.

    I could be wrong, (I have not had time to keep on on the latest press releases and would look forward to hearing from someone who has) but it seems like the company might now be leaning towards manufacturing Dominions themselves. This is because if they have "luminary sites," then they can force potential buyers to go visit the device, see it in operation, and either special order it, or NOT. This almost eliminates the need for a big marketing team. Instead, IMGG should have someone who simply books orders for the device. Better too many orders than too few orders and lots of extra devices sitting around unsold.

    Again, I would argue that although Janes himself may be tired and in need of cash and/or retirement (after all he has dedicated a significant part of his life to the Dominion), but IMGG does not need a buyout as much as it needs buyers. When I say buyers, I do not mean buyers at .35 or even $1/share. I mean buyers of the device. Also, buyers of the software to run it and upgrade it. Also, buyers of the service technicians and parts to fix it.

    In the meantime, because this company has a new product which offers better and cheaper images than regular X-ray machines, a driven CEO/founder, no direct competitors, and has the ability to manufacture its own product, software and related components, I think that even .35/share it would be undervalued - especially if the FDA approves its product. So, if you are holding it, I would say be patient. Short term traders may be wise to exit at .35/share. So perhaps there will be a dip for awhile after it hits that. But longer term this could be $1/share stock, and longer term this could be worth far more.

    Long IMGG but may sell some shares depending on unknown factors including but not limited to FDA approval or disapproval.
     
    Themes: medical imaging, bio-technology, tech, 3D Stocks: PNNT, GE
Back To Private Trader's Instablog HomePage »

Instablogs are blogs which are instantly set up and networked within the Seeking Alpha community. Instablog posts are not selected, edited or screened by Seeking Alpha editors, in contrast to contributors' articles.

This post has 9 comments:

  •  
    IMGG seems to have met resistance at .40/share, in my opinion this is disappointing, but the market is what it is. Depending on your situation, I would recommend unloading for profits today, and then going in to buy more as the price goes down. I do not know where the price drop will meet resistance, but I would think this stock should not drop much below .20/share if FDA approval remains pending. If FDA approval occurs, I would imagine this stock will rise to over .40 share. While it may slightly drop after that, if the company can book even just a few sales, that will be a tremendous increase in income for this company, and should allow it to no longer be a "going concern" and eventually become profitable.
    Sep 17 03:17 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    IMGG recently hit a 52 week high of .74... Believing this to be worth a dollar or more, I bought a few more shares around this time and thus own some with a basis of .71: not my best timing for purchases on IMGG!

    My other bases make up for this, and as I said, this company is real, has a warehouse you can visit, a dedicated founder / CEO, and the potential to produce its own invention. While it may travel through some mountains and valleys, I do believe this stock is worth more than $1 in the intermediate term. Don't forget that many of the investors in this stock are doctors or x-ray techs / professionals. They are likely to hold out at least for FDA approval, and perhaps longer - for buy out or production and sales of the Dominion product. Long term, may be worth even more for those who care for an interesting long position.
    Sep 25 01:05 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    For those of you who follow my articles, I just wanted to let you know that if you also bought some IMGG at .71 (as I mentioned I did earlier) and you're feeling queasy about the purchase, according to yahoo, it's now at .70. Such a small stock is subject to volatility, but if you've had trouble sleeping at night then now might be the best time to get off this ride. As I mentioned, I am currently long and depending on unknown factors, have high hopes that IMGG will eventually be worth more than $1/share. I've read at least one article in which an investor suggested it's worth minimum $2 and even up to $5/share. While such a rise would be wonderful, I think it may be a long time coming unless a buyout or actual sales occur. Again, if IMGG is up to it, I would prefer that they maximize profits by manufacturing and selling their Dominion product, or licensing the Dominion so someone else can manufacture it versus own it outright.
    Oct 07 06:54 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Just for the record, as of today's close (Oct 8, 2009), IMGG was .74 and during the day reached a day high of .81... I'm relieved in that anyone who may have bought based on my article should realize that since I've written the stock has gone down to about .46 (or maybe less) and then shot up to .81... If that's not volatile, I don't know what it is. If you bought based on my article, then I'd sure feel better if you got out now with a gain. Sure I'm long, but I researched this stock years ago. Unless you're willing to lose every penny, then stay away from this one. No matter what, though, with volume up, IMGG is increasingly exciting to watch! Part of the reason I'm letting folks know about it is because I know that some of you want some excitement in your life - and can afford the potential loss. The other reason is because I have seen such poor comments on other sites. The best information on this stock (aside from my own banter of course ;-) is on investorshub.com.
    Oct 09 02:46 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Just bought some more IMGG at .65. >>> Why? 1) I liked CEO Janes' response on investorshub.com to a poster who had criticized him for a PPM which, at that time, valued the stock for only .02/sh.... Folks, this is a small company; I've heard that it ran into coding / software development problem and needed to quickly raise funds to hire coders...I believe that. 2) When I look at the number of outstanding shares (appx 172M) and that the x-ray industry is a multi-billion dollar industry, the shares still seem a bit low. 3) Also, from what I've heard, the CEO has already rebuffed low-ball offers for his company. >>> Anyone else believe this may be worth appx $3/sh?
    Oct 14 11:59 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    Anyone who knows about the FDA process for this class 3 device knows that from the last response from the FDA [one question about intended use/labeling], IMGG is at the "end of the line" in the approval process. Of course no one knows how long the last step could take, it could be a month, maybe six months. But I think its a safe bet the FDA approval is coming. So, I'm riding the stock- with no stops- for the "longer term". The company may either manufacture itself or sell to a big fish. Either case, this stock is going to have tremendous value. Market cap analysis/potential sales has this stock at $3-5/sh.
    Nov 02 06:08 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    What an irony! Seeking Alpha has "buried" my best pick this year as an Instablog rather than making it an article. Oh well! Needless to say, I can't blame anyone, as I myself did not realize how quickly this would move up! The shares I bought in the .70s I sold at about .96/sh figuring that we would see some retracement back towards $1, for a brief period. The current high of 1.22 came quickly, not sure if that's sustainable tomorrow. Nonetheless, as Thisisit said, no one but the FDA knows the timing at this point...
    Nov 13 02:58 AM | Link | Reply
  •  
    I have started analysing the prospects from a physician point of view who has been investing for last 7 years. stockshealthcare.blogs...
    Dec 26 02:07 PM | Link | Reply
  •  
    As of 122909, I am posting this comment on two articles and apologize for any redundancy that may create. Abu I tried that link on 122909 and was told it was dead / could not be found. Please check spelling and/or update it if possible. Regardless, fyi - today I was able to buy 500 sh/IMGG at .75each. I did not buy too many because I believe that, without quick news, and with the possibility of dilution from appx 100M additional private shares being placed on the market, near term the price may drop (and I thank those of you who posted comments the share count more clear). Regardless of additional shares, I do believe that long term the price is likely to rise. For example, look at Dendreon's dilution over the last 6 months and its negligible effect (of course it had the ability to better time it's dilution than such a small company as IMGG, but regardless, the extra shares issues by IMGG's CEO were necessary to get it past a programming roadblock). I do not know when the FDA process will be resolved, whether today or next year, I believe it's likely to be resolved as an approval. If not, I think the FDA will be under intense scrutiny. If no strong evidence is provided for failing to approve this device, I would suspect that GE / Toshiba or some "big boys" are behind the outcome. If you feel strongly either way, and/or have cancer and wish this lower cost and safer technology was available NOW, you might want to write your Congressperson to start to investigate why so this has been delayed. If the President and Congress are concerned about lowering healthcare, they should also be concerned about making this device available.
    Dec 29 04:45 PM | Link | Reply
Full index of posts »
Latest Followers
Posts by Ticker
GE, PNNT

Latest Comments


Most Commented
  1. Small Article on the Small But Growing IMGG (9 Comments)
  2. Why I'm not selling IMGG so quickly this time... (3 Comments)
Posts by Themes
3D, bio-technology, medical imaging, tech
Instablogs are Seeking Alpha's free blogging platform customized for finance, with instant set up and exposure to millions of readers interested in the financial markets. Publish your own instablog in minutes.