Yes, I watched it on the site rather than using Zoom and had constant dropouts also - much worse than last month - but will watch it back now that the recording has been posted under "Meetings" here. Quality of content was great however, and I was particularly impressed by Matt J's thorough knowledge of Cogstate and the value drivers and environment in which they operate. I do hold EVS in RL (and here) and I also used to hold CGS back in 2018 for a few months, but got cold feet, sold out, and stopped following them due to a deliberate decision to reduce my exposure to early stage high risk/reward companies - at that time. They have certainly turned a major corner now however and I agree with Matt that Cogstate are now hitting multiple inflection points at the same time and the future for them looks WAY brighter than it did back in 2018.
Regarding 3DP, I thought they were overhyped when they were above 50 cps, and still too expensive at over 40 cps, however if they keep coming back down to Earth, they could get interesting, particularly in the 20s or low 30s. It was good to hear about the challenges the company faces as well as the blue sky opportunity that is usually the main message that holders are pushing. I like the company, and what they are doing, and their TAM, however there was way too much upside being priced in earlier this year. I mean, they got up to 91 cents per share in February - and they're now less than half of that (at 37.5 cps). Not sure I'll ever be a 3DP shareholder, but they are now heading in the right direction for me - i.e. getting back towards where I could begin to look at them as a viable investment.
I fully concur with Jason Cooper about Envirosuite being so well positioned to benefit from the ever-increasing focus on sustainability and environment (the E & S in ESG) with companies either being forced to address these issues or the smarter ones getting on the front foot and addressing them before they are forced to because it is simply (a) the right thing to do and (b) it is the smart thing to do - after all, the best companies are always striving to achieve world's best practise in everything that they do, and getting ahead of the curve where possible is definitely smart in terms of better positioning your company for growth and success. Apart from reducing environmental impacts, using EVS's software solutions can also save companies substantial money (reduce expenditure, as was discussed with getting chemical dosing more accurate with water and sewerage). It results in less complaints, improving a company's social license to operate, and results in happier clients, employees and shareholders, as well as other stakeholders such as nearby residents, local government authorities, etc. I understand that EVS do have competition, but they are the clear market leaders in most of the segments in which they operate, and in my opionion they have the right management there and staff to build on that position and competitive advantage.
Obviously there is an element of confirmation bias there, as I already held them, and my brain will naturally search for data points and evidence that backs up my already-held strong conviction in the company, however I am also looking for negatives. I can't find many negatives with EVS at this point, but I'm looking for them.
I also hold Zoono, and I admit I was wrong about their potential. They have poor management and more competition than they care to admit; their products are based on a chemical that Dow Corning originally produced in the 1970s ("Dow Corning 5700"), a “siquat” (silicone quaternary ammonium compound) – called 3-(trimethoxysilyl) propyl dimethyl octadecyl ammonium chloride. One Zoono fact sheet calls it “3-trihydroxysilylpropyldimethyloctadecyl ammonium Chloride” and then “3-trihydroxypropyl silyldimethyloctadecyl ammonium chloride” (later on in the same fact sheet), but it’s identical to what was originally called Dow Corning 5700. It is used today by a variety of companies, including Aegis Microbe Shield, as well as Polser’s AMB technology, PreventX 24/7, SPADA, Medicaltex and Saniguard 9000. I read a piece recently that raised a number of concerns about their MD (and founder) Paul Hyslop - see here: Steve Bishop and The Most Dangerous Detective - ASX COVID COMPANY APPEARS TO HAVE MARKETING BUGS -
Mr Hyslop certainly has an interesting past. According to this - Paul Hyslop | Business News - he has also spent time as a commercial flying instructor and Airline pilot, having flown commuter planes for Eagle Air, owned by Air New Zealand. Almost reminds me of "Catch me if you can..."
I have very little conviction in Zoono now, however I think they still look rediculously cheap for what they do (long-lasting and alcohol-free sanitising solutions for surfaces and personal use during the worst global pandemic in over a century), so I'm looking for a higher exit point. I've decided to give them until the end of February (2022). If they've turned the company around by then, in terms of converting some of that potential into actual growing sales and profits (both are shrinking at this point in time), then I'll reasess, otherwise I'll be out, if I haven't sold them already. Management at Zoono has been a huge disappointment.
However, from what I've observed, the management at Envirosuite is all over their own business opportunities and making the right moves to capitalise on those opportunities. The main difference I think is that Jason Cooper isn't overstating the opportunities, and he's not making solid promises in terms of this much revenue by this date, and he's explained why. He knows the opportunity is huge, however he wants the market to have realistic expectations, so he doesn't overpromise with the risk of then underdelivering later.
Paul Hyslop at Zoono does the opposite, always overpromising and underdelivering, something that might have worked back when he was "Car Salesman of the Year" in NZ a few years back, but doesn't work for an ASX-listed company that is trying to build investor confidence. The market can have a long memory sometimes (not all of the time), especially when a company has consistently underperformed against their own guidance, and I think Zoono has a LONG road back if they're going to regain the trust of the market. I'm therefore no longer considering Zoono a buy and hold stock; I'm really just looking for a higher exit point. I'm not anchoring to my buy price or where they've been before. I do not expect to make a profit on Zoono now, certainly not on my original buy price. I admit that buying them when I did was a big mistake. However I'd like to exit at a point at which the share price is not relecting maximum pessimism, i.e. I'd like to see the SP rise to a bit more of a reasonable level. It won't be one that reflects all of their upside potential, but just one that isn't pricing in SO much more downside.
Anyway, don't know why I've ended up talking about Zoono here, seeing as they've never been featured at a SM monthly meeting, although Paul was interviewed by Andrew during the Strawman challenge. I think I was probably trying to paint a picture of two ends of the spectrum in terms of leaders, with Jason Cooper at EVS being at the good end and Paul Hyslop at ZNO being at the bad end. And EVS being a RL investment I'm very happy with, and Zoono being a RL investment I'm not at all happy with, and how their respective management teams do have a huge impact on those two situations. I guess that I originally invested (in RL) in Zoono during a period in which, with the benefit of hindsight, the opportunity was clearly being overhyped, the same situation I felt that 3DP (Pointerra) was in when they were up at 70c to 91c/share, yet I missed that with Zoono. I was too focussed on the upside and not looking hard enough for the downside risks. Lesson learned.
Edit: I've now fixed those links.