…is not in my office today. Instead, I am filled with regrets and quick flashes of rage, in between snacks of course. There was no reason to hold Flotek Industries, Inc. [[FTK]] —but I did. I mean, it goes against all of my rules and silly little mantras, holding a stock with poor fundies and in a downtrend, while in a bull run, is more than stupid: it’s downright gay. The premise or thesis behind the trade idea was valid: go long a commodity related stock with financing issues, in the midst of a commodity and credit recovery. It made perfect sense. The stock even had a big short position to boot, which could be used as tinder, at a later date.
However, it did not work out, as some stocks/companies are bound to fail or just mess things up. It was a bet worth taking, considering when it was done (8 months ago) and why (reflation). To be honest, it takes great skill to pick such a loser in this market. For this gift of “loserdom,” I am eternally grateful.
No matter how many times I get hit with losses, they always sting. The gut wrenching feel in my stomach makes me want to punch somebody’s face off. At any rate, it doesn’t serve any purpose crying over an empty milk carton. What to do now?
Well, first of all, I do not believe the company is going out of business, just yet. Once they get another waiver from their creditors (weeks), they will have enough cash to survive another year. Add to that, the burn rate does not take into account the remote possibility of revenue growth. What the company needs, desperately, is for natural gas prices to rise above $5, in order to revive U.S. natural gas drilling operations. If that happens, in my opinion, the stock can recover, big time. If not, unfortunately, it will go by the wayside.
Aside from that, I am focusing on other ideas, like Ciena Corporation [[CIEN]] , W.W. Grainger, Inc. [[GWW]] , Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc. [[BIO]] and U.S. Global Investors, Inc. [[GROW]] .
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