By George he doesn’t get it
While many of the MannKind (NASDAQ:MNKD) pump and dumpers have gone noticeably silent, a new supporter has emerged albeit with the same agenda. This time around it’s George Rho from 3Diemnsional Research who is long MannKind buying his stake back on September 10, 2013 when shares were trading at slightly over $6 and based on yesterday’s close are down nearly 13%. What makes George different than our friends Ken and Gomer is the length he goes to blaming Wall Street for the problems associated with MannKind. Yes when all else fails blame the messenger.
In a piece posted on the Seeking Alpha web site George provides a detailed review of the recent sell rating issued by Goldman Sachs. Rather than regurgitate what George wrote let’s simply say this classic CYA for anyone who is long MannKind. Rather than acknowledge he made a mistake and go dancing with Ken and Gomer, George continues to live under the delusion that everyone else is wrong and he alone is correct. A common trait among MannKind zealots who never let the facts or history of the company get in the way of a good delusion.
The one point were the MannKind zealots and Diabetic Investor agree is that it’s still way too early to know how Afrezza is doing. Where we disagree is how we’re interrupting the data that we do know. The MannKind zealots grasp onto anything that is remotely positive and believe it’s just a matter of time, that eventually they will be proven correct. Diabetic Investor on the other hand, with no vested interest in the outcome, looks at the facts and bases our opinion on extensive research combined with experience in the wacky world of diabetes.
Rather than looking just at stock charts, debt held by the company and short interest Diabetic Investor actually talks with the people in the field, those who are on the front lines. This provides what we see as a more comprehensive analysis, providing a clearer picture of how Afrezza is actually doing. To illustrate the differences in our respective approaches take a look at something Diabetic Investor received from one of many sources on the front lines.
“Here is what I want to tell you: Sanofi wasn’t ready to launch Afrezza. Their speaker funds aren’t available yet. Speakers training isn’t until April, although I’m one of their early speakers. Problem is, there is so much logistics that needs to be worked out for docs to do Afrezza and this all takes time. Docs won’t prescribe until they have heard a lecture. Lectures won’t happen till funds have been allotted and speakers trained. So, in this instance, I would give this product 6 months before I would say it is done.
Working out the logistics for PFT’s for those of us who don’t have spirometers in this office will take time, effort and money.
Even learning to write the prescription for this will have to be worked out.”
All along Diabetic Investor has been stating a major issue facing Afrezza was their partnership with that soap opera three ring circus known as Sanofi (NYSE:SNY). Unlike the MannKind zealots we did not ignore previous Sanofi launches which failed. We did not ignore the fact that Sanofi has not had a successful diabetes product since Lantus. Nor did we ignore the ongoing drama that has engulfed the company since Serge and the board beheaded Viehbacher.
Yet most of all we did not have a hidden agenda when it came to MannKind. We do not and have never owned a single share of MannKind. We have never been long or short the stock. The truth is none of these MannKind pump and dumpers known all that much about the wacky world and have only one agenda, to make themselves rich. Now we have nothing against making a buck but the shameful aspect with MannKind pump and dumpers is their hidden agenda, their tainted self-severing analysis and unwavering manipulation of data.
Let’s see if George joins Ken, Gomer and the other MannKind zealots who have gone radio silent after they realized that they just might be wrong.
