Most of the activist letters and proxy documents contain heavy arguments about the management and the board. These arguments range from capital allocation to corporate governance.

Some arguments are distinct and worthy to note. In fact, if added to the “investment checklist”, it could improve the investment research process. #1 Transactions that are favorable to an insider #2 Arguments against a buyback #3 Issuing stock options at a significantly lower exercise price than a recent buyback program

http://thepatientinvestors.blogspot.com/. This blog is run by Avram Fisher, Portfolio Manager at Long Cast Advisers. The blog is updated regularly – most recently he discussed Cynergistek, Quest Resources etc.

Occasionally, I write about a few technical hacks. This article is about the usage of “Pin” in windows.

There are two pin options: (a) Pin to taskbar and (b) Pin to this list

Roumell Capital’s top five stocks account for 57% of the total portfolio. ZAGG accounts for 17% of the total portfolio – Rank #1
Signs of Moat – The company’s screen protection products enjoy a 51% market share in the US market. Moreover, the company enjoys 67% market share of US battery cases; 35% market share of US external power; 23% market share of US wireless charging pods.

When Mr. Martin attended the annual meeting of Tidewater (May 6, 2019), he was handed a “Rules of Conduct” document. Basically, the document provided the rules for asking questions and information regarding “removal from the meeting”. Mr. Martin was clearly not pleased.

Even though securing a board seat is a significant activism milestone, as evident by few activist situations, gaining a minority board seat is not enough. Incumbent directors may not listen to the activist. By tracking companies that underwent “majority” board changes after activist(s) showed up, investors can increase the odds of success.

KEMET is a market leader in polymer tantalum, with an estimated market share of greater than 50.0%. The company claims that over the years it has transformed its product portfolio from a commodity-based approach to a customized, design-in approach.

Activist’s letters and presentations are long, and most of the contents are arguments that highlight mistakes of the management or the board. We extract the sections that provide readers with “insights”.
Two wonderful letters:
1. Laughing Water Capital says Iteris, a micro-cap company, enjoys a huge market share and has the potential to be a $billion+ company
2. Edenbrook Capital applauds the Marchex management for its initiatives over the course of 2018; Believes that the stock is worth $6.25 per share

MAK Capital runs an ultra-concentrated portfolio with just five stocks. Agilysis is the second largest position, and accounts for roughly 25% of its portfolio. Agilysys has been a leader in hospitality software for more than 40 years. The company has shifted from the legacy business model (license and maintenance) to the SaaS model. Generally speaking, SaaS customers face huge switching costs – (a) risk of data loss from migration from one platform to another platform; and (b) the learning curve involved with learning a new platform.