Investment Q&A

Q: Dear Gentlmen,
On TFSA #3 has AYA (+13%) DHX (+29%) SJ+SJ (+34%)
I want to sell SJ and buy AYA or DHX to lower the number of holding,
Your advice for long term
Thank You
Best Regard

Q: Is there a relationship between the two more recent announcements:
1.share buyback
2. rescinded rake fee hike

and the guidance given awhile back to expect earnings to be at the higher end of expectations?

Further, did the share buyback require special approval from either the board or debt holders? If so, would that too be an indication of how well business is going?

Q: Hello Peter..BMO Price Chart Analysis says as of today (Jan 15/15) that the long term uptrend of AYA MAY be near an end and that long term investors should proceed with caution. Thoughts? Thanks ahead of time!

Q: Peter and Ryan and Team,

Just curious on your thoughts regarding Amaya's announcement of a normal course issuer bid this morning. It seems to me that the management is showing a lot of confidence in their company and signifying (maybe) that the insider trading investigation will not be a problem.

Your thoughts?

Q: I would appreciate your reaction to the press release issued by Amaya this morning. Thank you, Peter

Q: I don't know if you saw the Globe and Mail article in the biz section today. It seems to touch all bases on the rumours that were circulating. i.e. mutual fund involved etc. Seems pretty farfetched and out of all proportion to stock sell off. What would your assessment be?

TIA

Q: Hi, today the OLG announced it is launching its own online gaming site. Amaya is down over 4% today. Does this announcement change your rating at all for this company as I'm guessing it's in direct competition with Amaya. Disregarding the insider trading issue and based solely on the OLG news would you still consider AYA a buy?

Q: I noticed your caveat about AYA with regards the ongoing insider trading investigation. As I recall (never having owned a stock that was under one) these investigations can take a remarkable long time to get to first base (if the "raid" is considered putting the ball in play)even. Surely months if not years. With the growth that AYA has displayed (a good Q4 expected) it seems likely(to me)that a recovery of the share price is a reasonable assumption. Would you comment around these observations for me please?

Q: Peter, referring to your conversations with Bay Street players. If that 'someone' who told the mutual fund about the deal was from inside Amaya, would the company be still liable for the insider trading case? Thanks.

Q: You note in recent news regarding Amaya.
"we advise shareholders to do nothing, unless they have a very big position, and then some caution is warranted. There is not enough information to make a sound decision just yet".

So my question is what would you consider a very big position, is this referring to percentage of a portfolio or cash value of the shares?

Q: Sorry another AYA question. I currently hold a 5% position in the company. When i read your answers to earlier quesitons on AYA I get the since that the potential down side is 50% or more, yet the upside is "slight recovery" to quote your words. The risk reward seems to be unfavorable now. Will you be cutting your weighting in your model portfolio, and would you suggest reducing weighting to 3% considering the risk/reward currently.

Thanks as always
Darcy

Q: Hellot 5i team, This from Bloomberg:

Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. (CF) and its investment bankers aren’t the subject of a probe by regulators into trading of Amaya Inc. (AYA), the Canadian gaming company that acquired PokerStars for $4.9 billion this year, according to Chief Executive Officer Paul Reynolds.

“I can assure you that Canaccord Genuity is not the subject of this investigation, nor is any member of our capital markets group,” Reynolds said today in an internal memo to employees. “This is strictly a request for information related to individual trades in our client accounts.”

Excuse my ignorance...would you pls. explain, specially the last sentence....that would be clients of Cannacord? Is this a reassuring thing, nothing to worry about.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-12-15/canaccord-genuity-bankers-not-target-of-amaya-probe-ceo.html?cmpid=yhoo

Thank you!

Q: I notice that your have recommended that investors do nothing for now.

If, by chance, AYA or senior officers of the company are found to be guilty, what would you expect to happen to the stock?

How badly could the stock be hurt and for how long?

As usual, thanks for shedding light in so many ways.

Q: Comment only - Thank you for your comments re Amaya. As a holder I was panicked but appreciate the facts and insights you provide.
No reply necessary - Just want to say Thanks for a great service. Publish if you like.

Q: Any idea why RCMP and Autorité des Marchés Financiers raided Amaya and others today? Is there any indication if related to insider trading prior to Related acquisition or related to Amaya's business practices?

Q: Hi Peter
Could you shed any light on the recent raids by the RCMP on Amaya and CF and what you expect the impact to be.
Thanks as always.

Q: Hi Peter & 5i Research Team,

This might be of interest to other members also. I just happened to log into my TD Waterhouse account at 11.30 pm on Dec 4 and was surprised to see that my stop loss and buy orders for Amaya were "pending cancellation" and no longer active. I immediately telephoned TDW and was initially told that I must have cancelled them myself! When I said I did not, they put me on hold and then came back to inform me that TDW cancelled these orders because Amaya Gaming has changed its name to Amaya Inc. On my request they then reinstated the orders over the telephone. They also said that if I had not called them these cancelled orders would not have automatically been reinstated! Do you know if other brokers do the same? Because if I had not noticed this by chance I could potentially have lost out monetarily when the markets opened tomorrow.

Q: Canaccord posted this on AYA today: Amaya Gaming Group* (AYA : TSX : $38.03), Net Change: 0.00, % Change: 0.00%, Volume: 525,017
CALIFORNIA'S "BAD ACTOR" PROVISION. California’s first new online poker bill, AB9, has been introduced by
California Assemblyman Mike Gatto. According to Canaccord Genuity Tech Analyst Robert Young, the bill as written (and it
will be contested) is a mild negative for Amaya, as it would exclude PokerStars and Full Tilt from participation in California (a
"bad actor" provision). The bill appears to be much like draft legislation released last year by a coalition of 13 native tribes led
by Pechanga and San Manuel, which have been vocal in opposition to PokerStars. While a negative on the face, it is just an
initial step in the process. As noted recently, this coalition against PokerStars was weakened when San Manuel joined a separate
group aligned with Amaya. A successful passage of this bill will require negotiation for support to get a successful 2/3 vote in
both the California Assembly (which reconvenes January 6) and Senate. Young says we are likely to see competing legislation
introduced given indications from at least one other Assemblyman (Reggie Jones-Sawyer).

And this is an informative article on AYA: http://www.forbes.com/sites/nathanvardi/2014/12/01/the-king-of-online-gambling-is-34/

Q: Hi Team

Which Sector would you fit Amaya into? Consumer Discr. or Info Tech?? Also is it not trading today? My TD accounts show it frozen at a certain price ($37.70 and not moving all day). Also I would just like to say, I have done so well (excepting energy 10% down to 6% due to falling prices), having fun and am learning so much, since I joined in March/14. thank you thank you

Q: Hello,
I did well with amaya thanks to you. I sold some on the way up and although my position is not that big i am thinkng about selling a bit more. My question is do you feel the stock can go much higher based on valuation and growth outlook in the next 2 years or so ? Thank you.