Camber Energy (NYSEMKT:CEI) stock bounced on news it will conduct a 1:50 reverse split. The effective date of the split is Dec. 30.
The stock traded early on Dec. 19 at 13.6 cents per share. The reverse split implies a January price of $6.80 per share and a market capitalization of about $100 million. The Friday before the announcement Camber stock fell to a low of 6.17 cents. For most of last week, it traded around 8 cents.
Who Is Camber Again?
Camber stock has been heavily boosted online. It sells its ideas largely through a video blog from CEO James Doris.
Its main unit is Viking Energy, an oil and gas driller of which it owns 62%. It bought into Viking in 2021.
Camber recently issued a press release on behalf of Viking saying it has patented technology to improve the safety and reliability of the electric grid. Viking owns a majority stake in Simson-Maxwell, a maker of power generators, which, it says, are being used by cryptocurrency miners in Canada.
Doris has promised in the past to capture carbon dioxide from natural gas wells for resale. I’ve criticized the company before for offering a lot of talk without a lot of action. The problem is it will cost much more money to operate that business than Camber has.
Analysts say the problem is that the Viking stake is worth just $24.4 million, and Camber had long-term debt of $32.3 million at the end of June. Doris has tried to manage this by issuing preferred stock, which dilutes the stake of other shareholders.
CEI Stock: What Happens Next?
The distance between an entrepreneur and a promoter, or a promoter and a con artist, aren’t nearly as great as you think. All three need enormous confidence and the ability to convince people to buy into a proposition.
We will learn more about which category Doris fits into next year. For now, the threat of delisting has been wished away.
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On the date of publication, Dana Blankenhorn did not hold (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article.. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
