Investment Q&A

Q: I am attracted to long term holdings. Been watching WELL hammering on technical support of about $3.65 for weeks now. I'm thinking of pulling the trigger.

Looking at their growing revenue and P/S multiple, those numbers look quite good for a small cap. Is there a better metric for this particular company? What do you think is the biggest negative that investors see in this stock at the moment?

Q: A number of these companies have done very well recently while others have not. Could you rate these as Buy/Hold/Sell and for those you consider a buy, could you provide what you feel is a good entry point.

Thank you
Tim

Q: Hi Peter and 5i,
Who would you favor for growth over the next 5 years between TCS and Well?
Thanks you for your always awesome feedback.

Q: I am thinking of selling my WELL stock for Tax Loss and repurchase after the 30 days. I don't know of a good proxy for WELL so just wondering if you believe this health stock with flat line for a while?

Q: Hi there, I am down 40-80% on BTO, CGX, and WELL (as well as Andrew Peller, which I already know to sell based on your dropping coverage). I am wondering if there is any point on still holding these stocks, or if I should just sell them so I can put the remaining money somewhere else?
Thank you!

Q: Hi Team,
I am debating initiating a position in CTS (Converge). How much confidence do you have in the name? Do you see them being extremely successful in a 10yr time frame? If so; I need to raise funds to buy the name hence trim one or a combination of names. Which of the following would you suggest trimming (or combination of) in order to buy CTS: Well, ATS, TTD,META, CRM. I would only be interested in trimming names in which you think CTS has more potential for SP appreciation. Thanks!

Shane

Q: Are these two in the same space and direct competitors?
Also, I'm trying to understand why VHI stock is performing well, while WELL seems to be flat.
Thanks
John

Q: Hi 5i,
I've owned WELL since the fall of 2020, have bought and sold along the way and I'm now left with a few thousand shares and a net loss of 24% in the name. To some extent due to optimistic forecasts from 5i I've thought that enough of a turnaround might be just around the corner to at least get back to even, and perhaps even make some money - but the longer nothing changes the more my optimism wanes. So, a few questions:
A fella on BNN the other day had VHI as a top pick. Are it and WELL competitors and do their respective addressable markets portend growth?,
If you had to choose one over the other now for a 3 year TFSA hold, which would you go with for some CDN healthcare exposure, and why?
Is there another name that you would choose over both of them?
Thanks 5i, I look forward to your thoughts.
Peter

Q: In a registered account I would like to do some money recycling and choose 2 to depart from and recycle back into the others. HPS.A with 4% weighting and GSY at 6%. WELL is (well below) purchase price and although I still believe in the company the others might do better with a 5 years horizon but maybe not, your take. Could you identify the 2 you would let go and where would you recycle money into with a 1-5 preference, 1 beeing where you would add the most and 5 you would put the least. Having said all of that the total portfolio is much bigger and the position size of all of the above except for HPS and GSY are in the 1-2% range.

Thank you

Q: Can you provide your top 3 small cap picks with the most upside over the next 3-5 years.

Q: I own WELL and like its potential. One comment over the past few quarters that I've heard by analysts is that stock based compensation (SBC) keeps increasing and is concerning. For its growth profile, is WELL's SBC a concern to you guys? Obviously getting heavily diluted impacts us shareholders. Just wondering at what level this becomes a red flag. Thx

Q: Hi 5i, thx again for prompt feedback on my WELL Q's.

Here are a few comments from TD and RBC analysts, both positive, followed by my new Q.

RBC: WELL Health Technologies is well-set to create value, but RBC analyst Douglas Miehm says the market doesn't appreciate it. After a strong 4Q that largely beat expectations, the stock fell about 10% following an unexpected 8% rise on Wednesday in anticipation of 4Q results. In a report, Miehm says that "the market is currently underappreciating the long-term value creation opportunity in "transforming Canadian primary/Dx care, as underscored by our strong forecasted return on invested capital and internal rate metrics for recent acquisitions." He says that there are multiple
tailwinds in Canadian patient services and in diagnostics services to carry it in the longer-term.


TD: WELL Health Technologies shares were down sharply despite reporting better-than-expected earnings in the fourth quarter, but TD Cowen analyst David Kwan says this could be chalked up simply to algorithm trading patterns after the previous day's gains. Shares were down nearly 13% on Thursday to C$3.71 after reporting higher 4Q profit, a revenue beat and upgraded its outlook for the year. On Wednesday, shares rose 8%, and Kwan said Thursday's swing could be trading patterns playing out. "This could be a case of more algo-driven trading patterns," he said.

My Q: please expand on how impactful these "algo-driven" trading patterns are on stocks, especially small caps. Thx.

Q: Down another 17 cents or 4.4% early at 10am. Were basically at a 52 week low. Do you think there should be a time where the regulators look into the trading at some point. Even if there was nothing nefarious I believe they could change or evolve trading in this high tech, AI enviornment. I don't want the general population to develop a feeling deception like the media got branded "fake news".

Business wise during the conference, I don't understand creating shareholder value by possibly selling Wisp or CRH medical. How would they replace all that recurring revenue.

Thanks Steve

Q: I am down 48% with WELL after holding it for it seems like ever. It is time for this stock and me to part ways. Can you please suggest 3 Canadian stocks that are profitable with good cash flow and reasonable debt as a replacement. I already feel better having made this decision. Thank you

Further to my recent request for suggestions to replace WELL, please add a walk out the door valuation to the desired selection criteria. Thank you once again.

Q: Bit confused over 5i responses given on WELL yesterday. 5i initially said results were good and it appeared from answer that there were no negatives. But stock was taking a big hit. Then new questions came in and you responded that there were some negatives (eg decrease in margins, net income and , cash flow). Obviously these are important as sellers stepped in and continue today so far. Usually 5i provide good insight but I think you guys dropped the ball on this one. The initial response should have hi-lited both the good and the bad. And whether the stock had a good run leading up to earnings shouldn't affect your response. Again, I stress usually you give full and fair insight and assessment but not this time.

Q: Is this why the sell off today decrease in the annual numbers comparables?

Adjusted Net Income(1) was $52.4 million, or $0.22 per share in 2023, a decrease of 2% as compared to Adjusted Net Income(1) of $53.7 million, or $0.24 per share in 2022.
Adjusted Free Cashflow was $42.4 million for 2023, a decrease of 13%, as compared to Adjusted Free Cashflow of $48.9 million for 2022. The decrease was mainly due to higher tax and interest payments offsetting the increase in shareholder's EBITDA.
Net Income was $16.6 million or $0.00 per share(2) in 2023, a decrease of 11% as compared to Net Income of $18.7 million or $0.00 per share in 2022.

Q: Hi there, any further insight into WELL after the conference call?

Are they being unduly punished for any particular reasons after good results, and if so, can you explain why the markets are pushing the stock down so hard?

I'm confused as to why this stock keeps being held down with such good growth over the past few years!

Any further help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Q: Here is another take on WELL:

Adjusted gross margin 43.7 % down from 51.3%

Adjusted net income $52.4 million down from
$ 53.7 million

Adjusted free cash flow $42.4 million down from $ 48.9 million.

I am in the camp of Warren Buffet and Charlie Munger who dismiss EBITDA. If you’re going to give a financial number before interest , for instance, you may as well exclude salaries ( or anything else for that matter ) as well.

I own WELL but will keep a closer eye on it. Please shot holes in my thoughts. Thanks. Derek

Q: Well is down following earnings report. Your thoughts please.

Q: WELL has required a lot of patience. I know you still like it, but is there another smallish cap you would select over it? I own TSU, LMN, SIS, and SYZ.