Investment Q&A

Q: How do you see this acquisition by COV. A purchase price of $16.1M CAN for a company which gave you $11.1 CAN seems great but would I be correct that their bottom line margins are much lower then what COV's regular business gives.
Revenue of $11.1M CAN with earnings of $.684 M is much lower than revenue of
$20 M and earnings of $2.2 M (for the first 3 quarters of 2018) on a percentage basis.
Thanks

Q: What do you think about the acquisition they did today?

Q: If the stock dropped to $3.75 would you be interested in picking a few up at that price?
Thanks

Q: hi Peter if the 100 million contact with the Saudi's is lost say TODAY what is the material affect to COV.? ie. 1. what would be the new revised P/E ratio? and. 2. what is your best guess as to the new lower trading price per share ? 3. does your forecast of 35 cents to 40cents per share for 2019 assume a favourable resolution of this issue? 4. what percent of equity is currently owned by executives and insiders? thanks Richard

Q: VMD is up 300% since March while of RHT drop more than 50%. They were supposed to be in the same space and RHT was supposed to be the better company. It makes lower lows every week with no end in sight. Is there any other option that will provide growth in a TFSA account.?

Q: Currently own a 4% position of Dollarama and after the disappointment today was thinking of switching over to Covalon as a replacement. Looking out 3+ years would you look at this as a better long term strategy? Starting to worry the Dollar store space could get crowded in the coming years.

Q: Covalon down about 6% today. Buying opportunity? Your overall thoughts on the company and stock going forward would be appreciated. Thanks

Q: What would you recommend doing with PLI and ITC at this stage given their performance (I'm down materially on both)? Any recommendations for replacements? Thanks.

Q: The Saudi/Canada conflict definitely will have a bearing on the contract with COV. What are your thoughts on this. Is it still a hold or Sell

Q: TFI - TFSA or Unregistered account?

Bought 2.5% position in Cov on spec at $7 based on 5i's recommendation. Hold on or take the money and run?

RHT / TSGI- average down or be patient?

Thanks. Keep up the excellent work.

Best Regards,

KC

Q: Hi, would you have any problems buying more cov to a full position at under $10, or would you wait for it to settle back a bit from it’s big move?
Thanks

Q: All things being neutral, what would your expectations be for Covalon's 2018 and 2019 earnings per share? Also, can you give a brief history of their cash levels (maybe for the previous 3 or 4 quarters?)

Secondly, I know you are not fans of averaging down. However, if you WERE to average down, would you take your initial purchase price in trying to determine your percentage weighting, or would you take the current market price? Example, lets say I take a 2% position in Covalon, which theoretically I would want to be my maximum weighting. Shortly afterwards the share price falls 50% (for the sake of easy math). Would I prohibit myself in buying more Covalon because my initial purchase price represented 2% of my portfolio or would I grant myself the option of averaging down because now my weighting in Covalon represents 1% of my portfolio, assuming my portfolio value remained the same.

Thanks and good luck to the staff's kids for their new school year.

John

Q: Further comment about press releases sent directly to investors from Covalon CEO Jeffrey Mandel: I own that stock. If memory serves, the stock hit a high of 9.15 on August 6 and then appears (in my naive understanding) to have become the victim of a short attack. Trading was halted and IIROC then asked the CEO what material change(s) -- if any -- might account for the abrupt drop -- which hit a low of 6.26 (nearly 40%). As an investor, I took Mandel's first direct emails (which began at that time) as reassurance to investors not to panic and dump the stock. COV has recovered somewhat since then, but I'm assuming that Mandel might be sensitive to the potential of another assault against his company (e.g., SHOP) and may want to inform investors directly of positive progress being made -- which include the last couple of messages that just arrived in my inbox.

Q: Since buying COV, I've started receiving regular emails such as these 2 yesterday:
"Covalon Announces Another Milestone Quarterly Profit on Excellent Third Quarter Financial Results"

"Covalon's excellent earnings listed on Globe and Mail small cap movers list"

I have never received these types of emails on this regular of a basis from other companies that I own. Should I be concerned about the promotional nature here?

Q: Please comment on earnings. Thanks

Q: Covalon has spent just over $700K on R&D for the six months recently reported according to my reading of the financials. This is a small number for a company looking to grow significantly. How can they develop new products with such a low ongoing investment? How do you see this?

Q: I previously asked a question about deploying a lump sum of $100K to $200K. Can you suggest a handful of Companies that you think are the most attractive right now in terms of future growth?

Thank you,
Jason

Q: Hello,
I would like some names to consider (2 or 3) for the healthcare sector.

I already own GUD in Canada (TFSA). This is for my RRSP so I am looking for a more conservative name.

I know you don't cover the US but would like names from the US or even international for geographic diversification. Also, for personal reasons, I do not want any drug companies (pharma or biotech).

Thanks as always for your help.
Dan

Q: Regarding the above companies, do you see any short term catalysts or is a modicum patience required? I know I Just answered the question.

I deployed my available cash on the dips and am hopeful of a return back to the prices before the dips.

While I know averaging down is not the smartest strategy, it was too hard to resist.

I took a chance on ATD on the dip and it went well. Now I think I am brilliant. Will one ever learn not to try and outguess the market?

Thanks for the sage advise over the last two years!

I eagerly await the new selections for the growth portfolio!

Finall, my wife has just retired and has a LIRA setup. The Company that is handling it scrapes off approximately $600 a month to administer it. She is not drawing on it until we are both retired. I would like to invest it based on the recommendations from 5i. We have a 5 year timeline until I am retired with a DB pension. Do you recommend the income portfolio, or a blend of all three folio’s, or to remain in the global balanced fund paying fees?

Beat Regards,

KC

Q: Hi 5i,
I know that speculating on takeovers is not something you advocate but do you think Covalon may be heading for a buyout? The recently announced licensing agreement with “a large global medical company” reminds me of the deal that Pure signed with Xylem, leading to the takeout of Pure less than a year (I think) later. It looks like a ‘test drive’ of marketing COV’s product and services suite. If the larger company becomes convinced it can sell the product, preserve the margins, and scale that across a larger market, a buyout is a likely next step, isn’t it? Plus, the described global medical company is presumably not Canada-based. For a non-Canadian acquirer, the perceived Saudi-Canada relations risk would likely be a non-issue. Thanks!