Wanted Dead or Alive: Rogue Blogger
Microvision Inc (MVIS-NASDAQ) is relatively obscure technology headquartered in Redmond, Washington. While Microsoft is just across town, Microvision is hardly in the same league, given its market cap is dwarfed by the the daily dollar volume in Microsoft's stock. It is no blue chip, but it is a technology company:
Microvision, Inc. develops miniature display and imaging engines based on integrated photonics module (IPM) in the United States. The IPM utilizes two dimensional micro-electrical mechanical system (MEMS) light scanning technologies, lasers, optics, and electronics to create video or still image from a small form factor. It principally offers Flic Scanner, a hand-held bar code scanner and bar code scanner enabled enterprise solutions. Microvision serves automotive, defense, industrial, military, medical, and consumer markets. The company was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Redmond, Washington.
The stock has witnessed a volatile week of trading, largely because of a blog post on Seeking Alpha:
Microvision stockholders wondering why their shares plunged as much as 20 percent Monday on seemingly no news can probably blame a certain Liam Mulcahy—if he exists.
On Sunday night, a person using the name Mulcahy—who said he worked for a hedge fund that was betting the Redmond company’s stock would fall—wrote an article on the popular SeekingAlpha.com investing Web site. In it, he concluded, after making a number of pronouncements about Microvision’s competitive and cash position, “Investors in Microvision need to see the light and realize that the dream is rapidly becoming a nightmare.” seattlepi.com
A cursory glance at the balance sheet, whose assets at year-end 2007 primarily cash and short term investments, would seem to contradict Mulcahy’s assertion over the cash position, but fleet fingered traders, who care little for forensic accounting, gave the stock a good lashing on the report.
But Mulcahy has not surfaced more than 60 hours after the article was posted, and it would seem he does not exist:
Mulcahy’s article stands out for two reasons: His identity is murky and a number of his assertions are questionable.
On Tuesday morning, Seeking Alpha pulled the piece “pending investigation of claims of material inaccuracies.”
Seeking Alpha says on its site that its “editors have contact information for all contributors to enable ongoing communication regarding articles published.” The site also says it edits articles for “quality and consistency.”
Mulcahy had written only one previous article on the site—in December. Back then, the Web site described him as “a new contributor to Seeking Alpha who will soon submit a bio.” As of Tuesday, no biography had been submitted.
The content on Seeking Alpha can range from terrific to horrific. Apparently now you can add fiction to the mix.
Liam Mulcahy is likely enjoying a drink with DB Cooper or Sam Israel by now, although his IP address might betray his last known whereabouts.
Chances are Seeking Alpha will improve its vetting process going forward; fortunately the financial impact from this episode should be slight, given the stock’s market cap. But hopefully they practice damage control better than Bloomberg, who mishandled a bogus bid for Gold Fields in 2007.
Of course, money managers who are looking to follow questionable advice still have options available. Have you heard of First Call? It is full of jokers, however well intentioned.
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Do you know Liam Mulcahy? 1440 Wall Street is offering a cash reward for him, dead or alive
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Hat Tip
Market Outsider
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Microvision stock tumbles after suspect article on Web
seattle pi.com
Microvision’s No Show Hands the Pico Projector Market to TI
Seeking Alpha-Article Removed
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The content contained in this blog represents the opinions of 1440 Wall Street. This commentary in no way constitutes a solicitation of business or investment advice. It is intended solely for the entertainment of the reader, and the author. No Positions
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