Monday, January 23, 2006

 

Stupid *&%$ MARSA

Up $470 today, no thanks to MARSA (and its equally useless cousin, MARSB). Although I am in the hole by over $5,000 on this position, I still have confidence that a buyout will put this stock out of its misery soon, and I'll be able to recoup my losses, and perhaps even turn them into a profit. Hopefully I won't have to wait long because watching the stock slide 5 percent every day sure isn't fun.

Comments:
when do you think the buyout will take place? It has slid a quite a bit.. maybe it is time for those of us who haven't moved it to consider it.

Hmm.

Smile. Tomorrow will be better!
 
I am really having problems grasping why the stock is falling. I read the annual report and the CEO clearly stated they are looking to sell the company (or some strategic alternative). The executives even took a paycut to make the company more attractive. They also just secured a new loan solving their liquidity problem. The market is weird sometimes.

My only theory is that income investors are fleeing because the company stopped the dividend.

-theo (http://www.stokblogs.com/user/1/blog)
 
MARSA is falling because they lost money in the most recent quarter and they have horrible financials, a debt-to-equity ratio over 2.

If you read the analysis on this company, they have outdated stores and are losing market share. I didn't like it from the moment I saw it posted as a pick here and looked at it.

I would avoid it like the plague, it can fall much much further.
 
I think the following article from January 19, has scared some investors into thinking that Marsh may be considering bankrupty as one of their strategic alternatives:

'JANUARY 19, 2006 -- INDIANAPOLIS --
The chain appears to be delaying plans for a new concept neighborhood grocery store and café in the Geist Pavilion shopping center in Indianapolis, according to published reports.

The delay comes amid ongoing financial challenges and management changes at the company. Marsh, which put itself on the block a month ago, curtailed capital spending while taking steps to further reduce compensation and other expenses in the coming year, all in a bid to enhance shareholder value and presumably polish up as a candidate for acquisition.

The new outlet IndyStar.com reported Marsh has a lease on 19,000 square feet in the new center, built by Indianapolis-based Kite Realty. Construction on the building has been mostly complete since late last year, according to the report, which noted Marsh representatives did not appear for a public hearing last week before the Hamilton County Alcoholic Beverage Commission to request a permit to sell beer and wine in the store. The hearing was continued to next month.

A banner remained on the front of the space announcing the forthcoming store would be named, "Food Expressions Market and Café," next door hangs another banner announcing a future McNamara Florist, another Marsh subsidiary.

According to Marsh's application to the Hamilton County Alcoholic Beverage Commission, the Food Expressions store would include three of Marsh's successful concepts compressed in one location;a McNamara Florist and a neighborhood grocery, plus a restaurant or cafe and possibly a coffee bar.

Marsh, which never officially announced details about the Food Expressions concept store, last year cancelled plans for a neighborhood store on the site of a former Atlas Supermarket in Indy.'
 
If the chain is about to be sold, wouldn't it make sense to suspend the final remodeling of the store since the new owner may want to brand it different from Marsh?
 
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