AVR - Anteris Technologies

[galumay]

I am with you @Country Lad, I should add up all the cap raisings and see how much they have stolen from shareholders over the years, personally it was 10's of 1000's of $'s. Wayne Paterson perfected the transfer of SH wealth to his own pockets - i remember when he was appointed and so many saw him as the saviour of the business, what a joke that turned out to be.

Its always tough to pick fledgling bio-techs, most burn out before they can get to market and prosper. AVR's niche was being able to survive so long by picking the pockets of SH's for so long and then not wasting it on R&D or marketing etc, but rather just burning the cash in wildly excessive management salaries, while constantly pumping the hyped narrative.

 

[Dona Ferentes]

ring that bell (for getting it arse about)

AVR has entered into a short-term facility for the advance of $1,220,000 that provides the Company with immediate funds equivalent to its forecasted research & development (R&D) tax incentive offset for the majority of the 2020 calendar year.
• The advance is equivalent to the expected R&D claim for the 10 months ended 31 October 2020
• Interest rate of 1.15% per month for the period of the facility
• The advance may be repaid by the Company at any time with a minimum three-month effective interest term
• Facility approval fee of 0.75%, being $9,150

 

[Purple XS2]

Another chapter of the long-running saga of how Anteris funds itself without anything substantial in the revenue stream:
Funding Package 6th Jan 2021
Essentially a drawdown facility which offers a slow dilution, instead of the usual instant dilution of previous share issues.
The investor being Mercer Street Global Opportunity Fund. I don't know anything about them, but a quick search indicates they have their fingers in a number of pies in the Aussie biotech space.

So hopefully Merce knows what they're doing.

From here? More of the same, sitting and waiting and hoping for a happy day?

Reassurance of funding pushed the SP above $5.00. Last close $5.12

 

[galumay]

A bit more cash to line the pockets of CEO Paterson and his lackeys. My big mistake was buying shares all those years ago, should have got on the board. I would be a millionaire!!

 

[Purple XS2]

Well, stick a chook on my head and call me a wind-vane: AVR has gone for a trot above $6.60:

No, I have no particular reason to explain. Anteris has been presenting at some surgical formums here and ther, but that is nothing unusual, not to my untrained eye.

Be interesting to see if momentum builds, or if this is just a flash-in-the-pan day.

Regards,
P

 

[Purple XS2]

Anteris' financial position, in their own words:

(I quote from their recent announcement...Preliminary Financial Report 2021-02-18)

FINANCIAL SUMMARY:
•Total revenue for year ended 31 December 2020 of $7.1M, largely generated from manufacturing of the CardioCel® and VascuCel® patches under the LeMaitre Vascular Inc.agreement.
•The Company recognised other income totalling $4.8M, which included $2.2M in licence income relating to contractual obligations from 4C Medical Technologies Inc. associated with the validation of the transfer of the sterilisation method for use with Anteris’ ADAPT®tissue. Other income for 2020 also included $2.3M in government grants related to research and development activities.
•Selling, general and administrative expenses (SG&A) of $22.1M, significantly reduced compared to 2019 ($34.5M) reflecting lower employee costs and reduced travel and conference costs.
•Net loss after tax $15.3M, reflecting the primary focus on development of the DurAVR™ valve.
•Net cash outflow of $4.6M for the year. Year-end cash balance at 31 December 2020 was $4.4M.
•$1.1M raised via a private placement to sophisticated investors, a $1.2m short term facility secured against the Research & Development Refund for 2020 and subsequent to the year end secured a funding package of up to $20M with New York investment fund Mercer Street Global Opportunity Fund, LLC

What that tells the reader about their future prospects, I confess in my case is very little, except that there appears to be a reduced prospect of an imminet capital raising (in light of last paragraph above).

Last few days has seen some widely diverging intra-day high-low marks:

which suggests to my simple mind that there are some people keen to acquire whilst others are keen to dump while the sun shines. Put it this way: it's my tip for the March ASF tip. It is my prognostication, as flawed as it is humble, the recent volatility portends a happy time for holders.

The one to watch, should any serious money turn up, is the AVRO options, strike $8.00, exp 18 December 2021.
(AVRO last traded at $1.45).
There's a lot of AVROs out there - 2.3 million (compared to I think it 6 million AVR heads).

I disclose AVRO.
I also disclose having flipped my AVR heads for a quick profit. Looking to re-enter.

Regards,
P

 

[Purple XS2]

There's been some commentary about Anteris CEO Wayne Paterson on this forum, some of it entirely justifiable .

So, while this is 10 weeks old (Mid novemeber 2020), it may add to the picture to hear from the man himself.
Presentation to investors 2020-11-16

Quite persuasive, I must say. Time will tell.

Regards,
P

For the benefit of posterity, AVR closed Friday just gone at $9.40. (AVRO at $2.80). Volume however is pretty low.

 

[galumay]

When the share price gets to $100 I think I would be break even on this dog! Thanks to CEO Wayne Paterson there was enormous destruction of shareholder value - and much of that money was transferred straight into his wallet. He was always good at the pin & hype - shareholders like me saw him as a saviour for the business when he first arrived - if only we had known what lay in wait for us!

I reckon if you are careful you can probably do quite well with this as a short term trade, it gets some pretty hard ramping at times so there is definitely opportunity. You may have found the key in trading the oppies.

 

[Purple XS2]

Exciting times for Anteris: closed today at a very satisfying $12.94, after a morning shakeout on what one would think was a good announcement of ongoing trial results:
anti-calcification study

Pardon if the link doesn't work for everyone - it's off the ASX announcement page, so retrievable from wherever you like to source your announcements from.

So, the heart-valve works on rats, and appears to be 'better' than established brands in this very limited product space.
(They must be using rat-heart-sized valves, one assumes.)

On the face of it, these results support the boosterism of the CEO (Wayne Paterson).

I do keep wondering why, if the product is as rosy as represented, that the Anteris SP doesn't boom along into the stratosphere?

Maybe it will sooner or later, or maybe it's another mirage in the annals of Aussie flakey biotechs.

But I'm pretty happy holding.

Regards,
P

 

[galumay]

Dont forget they have been trying to flog the viability of this business since the shares were effectively over $100 each. So much capital has been destroyed over the many years this business has been mismanaged.

Hopefully by getting in at such a low price you are able to be one of the few to make money on this one @Purple XS2 !

 

[Purple XS2]

AVR been on a downward slide since March. Currently SP about $7.00 - up and down a little around that mark..
Technical data on the heart valve continues to be encouraging, but as always, finance is the achilles heel.
Time is ticking on the AVRO options - expire in December 2021, and are currently under water with a strike price of $8.00.

So, will Anteris pull a rabbit from hat? And if so, will it be before December?
Seems to me there's a consistent sell with the effect of keeping the SP below the AVRO strike price.
So I suppose the $64 dollar question is: will that trend (tactic?) continue? Or will the seller(s) eventually tire and let the SP go for another run?

The World Wonders .. well, some of us wonder at least.

Anything could happen I suppose, including nothing.

 

[Purple XS2]

Annnnddd it's another itsy-bitsy cap-raise from Anteris.
asx announcement 2021-08-02 or from wherever you get your ASX announcements.

Raised $9 mil from Sophs, 1,125,000 shares issued at $8.00, and as many and a few more options. Existing retail shareholders not invited. Not that it would have attacted my interest: no dough.

Enough to keep Anteris afloat until the end of this year. And funding might pick up after that point if AVRO options are in the money and are converted. ($8.00 strike, expires Dec 2021).

No rabbits as yet. My holding is in options (no heads - I sold what few heads I had for cash-flow reasons otherwise known as 'girlfriends').

Nothing much to be retrieved at this point in time in selling any of my AVRO's, so I just sit.

On resumption of trading today, AVR's sank below $8.00 for a bit, recovered gradually to close at $8.28 (down from pre-trading halt / CR at $8.59 last week). Cup half-full as far as shareholder reaction goes. It's possible the share price will get a boost from having secured interim funding, but one can't help noticing the gap between company self-promotion ("what great prospects lie before us etc, etc") and market disinterest.

I shall continue to feign optimism.
Regards,
P

 

[galumay]

Well Wayne had to fill his pockets again, so off to market for another CR.

I wonder has any ASX company raised so often, for so little outcome? (other than management salaries.)

 

[Purple XS2]

Dust has settled after the last cap-raise. AVR rises to $9.20 ish.
A flash in the pan, or a new day dawning?

A modest increase in volume, but not quite a rush on the stalls.
If we see another week of increasing price and volume, the AVR heads might go places.
Meanwhile, in oppies-land, AVRO's also rise, but also on restrained volume. AVRO closed at $1.96 ish - so there's a bit of a premium being paid given that they're $8.00 strike, but their December 2021 expiry steadily looms closer.

Regards,
P

 

[Purple XS2]

An interesting annoncement from Anteris today:
ANTERIS ANNOUNCES PARTNERSHIP WITH LEADING RESERCH ORGANISATIONS
FOR ITS DURAVR™ EARLY FEASIBILITY STUDY AND APPOINTMENT OF
M&A ADVISER
So there's 2 parts to this: an arrangement with a couple of biotech consultancies to guide Anteris through "its plan to conduct an FDA early feasibility study"
and
an engagement with "US investment bank Piper Sandler & Co. as its M&A adviser".

which I read as getting their forthcoming FDA applications in order, and soliciting offers from major players in the heart-valve space to make a bid for Anteris, or partnership.

Maybe.

Or maybe this is an attempt to rally the tired and jaded shareholders to hang in there - especially holders of the AVRO options ($8.00 strike, expire 18 Dec 2021), so as to stump up the conversion price by mid-December, which is rapidly approaching. There's about 2.4 million AVROs out there, and their conversion would add some much needed capital to the company coffers.

Conversely the failure of the oppies by mid-December would be a significant setback, presumably leading to more Cap-Raises, as the Pied Pipers of Anteris tweet their tune again ...

A bit of a glow to the SP today: closed at $8.80, having dipped breifly below $8.00 in recent days.

I disclose holding in AVRO (just oppies, no heads)
I disclose beng tired and jaded.

Regards,
P

 

[Purple XS2]

18th December 2021 looming ever larger on the horizon.

Significance being that is the expiry date for the listed options AVRO - strike price $8.00.
Anteris has almost 2.4 million AVRO options on issue, and it is my assumption that the proceeds from the conversion of all / almost all of these oppies is a much desired thing from the management's point of view, with something like $19 mill at stake.

Current Market-Cap on todays SP ($9.05) is just over $70 mill.

Without that $-input, I can only imagine more Cap-Raises in the near future. All of which may motivate the management to put out more feel-good-about-the-future announcements like the ra-ra of 13th october (see my last posting).

So, will there in fact be more to come over the next few weeks, and will it work? The world wonders. Especially those among us who put their hopes in the oppies in preference to heads.

I disclose holding AVRO.

Regards,
P

 

[Purple XS2]

Finally a bit of movement at the station:
Anteris has announced 5 patients treated with their trans-catheter insertion method, of the AVR heart valve:
Announcement 2021-11-22

Closed at an even $10.00, settling from an intra-day high of $10.90. (daily VWAP of $10.30)

Interesting to see if it will ride on from here? The patients were treated in Georgia - the country, not the US state. So it's still got some way to go to get the much-desired FDA approvals.
But it certainly does the job in providing grounds for optimism that the TAVR project is on track.
I allowed myself to get sufficiently excited, to convert some of my AVRO options - they've only got 4 weeks till expiry.

Regards,
P

 

[Purple XS2]

Anteris Technologies has gone for a bit of a trot this New Year. It seems to me that holders and wannabees haven't decided on its value yet.
With a successful option conversion (AVROs) last month, and with "30-day" results expected any time now from a 5-patient DurAVR study in Georgia a couple of months ago, there's been a rosy glow in the shareholders cheeks.

Being a flakey biotech, said rosy glow could turn pale and wan very easily, or perhaps it could really take off?

Last close $17.80, gives a nominal market cap of about $200 MIllion..

Regards,
P

 

[Purple XS2]

Anteris CEO giving a talk to Proactive Investors
Possibly early rumblings of US corporate mergers, and/or NASDAQ listing.

Last close at $17.35

Veerrrry interesting ...

 

[Purple XS2]

My goodness, how things have progressed in the last 3 months ...

Last close $23.26.
Anteris has 5 1/2 million convertible notes due this year - mainly in August but some in May, and 1/2 million unlisted options maturing next month at $10 strike. So there's further incoming $ from expansion of capital.
There are 11 million + ordinary AVR shares on issue at present.

Will they raise more capital besides, now that the share price is so buoyant? Strike while the iron's hot maybe? No idea.

I suppose it depends on what trials for FDA approval they want to kick off. In-human trials to date are - so far as I understand - one last year in Belgium and a group of 5 late last year in Georgia (the country).

Anteris recently rejected a merger offer from a SPAC - Special Purpose Acquisition Company - on the US NASDAQ.
Just what further events occur in the merger-acquisition sphere, and when, is the $64 dollar question.

Maybe $64 is an omen? ;P

Time to sell or time to buy? As for me, I hold. Might have to sell a few to cover persona debt, but otherwise I'll keep riding the wave.

Regards,
P