I recently entered calls in $VSI to capitalize on a possible turnaround that I think is in the very early innings. I'llhave more on $VSI in the weeks ahead. Their upcoming earnings report in early August will shed some light on just how well the turnaround is progressing. While I think there is a good chance the stock could pull a sharp rally on a positive report, I'll probably wait to add to my position.
$VSI was heavily shorted on its way down. Currently there is over 5 million shares still short. $VSI has a very modest 24 million share outstanding, so 5 million is quite a chunk of the outstanding shares. Factor in some recent large stakes taken in the company and it almost seems like there aren't enough shares to go around. And so I decided to dig a little deeper....
Simply taking the most recent ownership data I found there literally aren't enough shares to go around. Go figure.... Not counting the many smaller stakes,insiders, and retail, I went over the o/s by 25k. Interesting....
$VSI I know holdings change, but plugging in last reported holdings, and even leaving out some of the smaller stakes I ran out of shares...hmmm... just confirming my bullish bias - $50 a share in revenue $122m in debt $GNC $33 a share in revenue and $1.3 Billion in debt pic.twitter.com/CWrpgp42YB
— UPBOptionMil (@UPBOptionMil) July 18, 2018
Of course some of these stakes could have already been reduced and not reported yet. Shares sold and not accounted for should show up on the Nasdaq daily threshold report. I looked, and VSI is no where to be found. Perhaps many of these previously reported positions have been reduced?.....
On the other hand, who is to say new stakes haven't been taken in the company, or current stakes increased? Recently Millennium took a brand new 5%+ stake in $VSI.
The recent buyers of $RCII for a 50% premium have taken a keen interest in $VSI amassing a 14%+ stake since late last year. Shah Capital also bought a large 17% stake in the company since late last year. I'd argue positions in $VSI are rising and new ownership documents are more likely to show NEW stakes and larger holdings rather than new stakes. Pure speculation of course, until the numbers are revealed.
While $VSI needs to show progress in turning the ship around, seeing money coming into the stock and not out of it is a good sign. The chart has taken a bullish turn.
The recent price action has been quite choppy, but clearly consolidating. I think the next move will be higher, with the $10.00 level coming into focus. And I'll leave it at that for now....