Inelegant Investor is a collection of real-world investing observations, focused on the edge cases that don’t show up in textbooks — restructurings, CVRs, spinoffs, and the strange outcomes that accumulate in actual portfolios. And whatever else interests me about investing. Investing isn't always pretty, it's usually quite inelegant.
Recent Series: The Portfolio Graveyard
Biglari Holdings(BH) CEO Sardar Biglari has launched another insurgency—this time against Jack in the Box(JACK). Through Biglari Capital, he quietly built a 9.9% stake in the fast-food chain and is now pursuing activist tactics aimed at reshaping the company’s future. But if history is any guide, shareholders should beware: Biglari’s interventions tend to center more on consolidating his… Read More »
Windtree Therapeutics (WINT) has made more announcements in the last six months than many companies do in a decade. But for all the flash and forward-looking language—crypto treasuries, waste management acquisitions, real estate deals, and manufacturing partnerships—there’s one glaring omission: not a single one of these strategies appears to have actually closed, and none are related to… Read More »
I have a few shares of a tiny biotech called Biovie(BIVI) that got much tinier this morning after they released results of a phase 3 Alzheimer’s trial for their NE3107 drug candidate. Trial failures are normal, they happen, and it’s why I have for many years bought biotechs in baskets. However, the company’s announcement of trial results is… Read More »
What’s the smallest publicly traded utility in the US? Though it’s dark and expert market only, I believe the answer is Mt. Carmel Public Utility(MCPB). It is a tiny electric and gas utility serving Mr. Carmel, IL. It traded by appointment prior to the ridiculous SEC reg on dark stocks, and now trades only on the expert market.… Read More »
Is it unremarkable for a company’s CEO, COO and a Director to all resign within a two day period? Steven Kiel seems to think so. Kiel is the largest shareholder and once again CEO of the company formerly known as Sitestar, now known as the boringly generic Enterprise Diversified(SYTE). The company changed its name to reflect its disastrous… Read More »
“The stores are creepy,” said shopper Chris Angelos, with few customers, a limited selection and whole sections closed off in the cavernous location near her home in Gurnee, Ill. The 69-year-old said she shops there anyway because it lets her avoid crowds and park near the front door. Articles about the impending death of Sears Holdings(SHLD) are beyond… Read More »
One of the earliest stocks we wrote about here, eleven years ago, was Cadus(KDUS). We spoke about it as an “eighty cent dollar”, trading below cash. Sometimes that works out very well, and sometimes, not so much. This would appear to be a case of the latter. Cadus stock, which was trading at $1.50 back then, is now… Read More »
“Floyd Mayweather Got Knocked Out in Real Estate By Not Taking a Mortgage” screams the headline on this article at the TheStreet.com. The article would have us believe that the billionaire boxer has made a huge mistake by paying for a $26 million Beverly Hills mansion in cash, rather than taking out a mortgage. Some celebrities have chosen… Read More »
If all goes according to plan, in June 2017, Disney(DIS) will take full ownership of Euro Disney(EUDSF) and finally end the embarrassing cycle of public bailouts and recriminations from minority investors. As recently as 2015, Disney owned just 40% of Euro Disney. A bailout that year increased its stake to 77% and led to an outcry from investors… Read More »
For those who thought the Ron Johnson era at J.C. Penney(JCP) was long over, a reminder this week that the results of his disastrous 17 month tenure continue to linger. Johnson was fired in 2013, but, despite strides under new CEO Marvin Ellison, the company remains a shadow of what it was prior to Johnson’s tenure. Incredibly, Johnson… Read More »