Perhaps it was a bad idea to name a start-up technology firm Tungsten (TUNG:AIM). The metal known for its unusual weight has become an embarrassingly appropriate moniker for a stock which for the past six months has sunk like a stone.
It's all getting a bit too much for co-founder and 16.9% shareholder Edi Truell.
Rumours are swirling, according to the Financial Times, that the private equity baron and highly regarded investor is considering taking the firm private.
Shares in the stock are up 7.5% this morning on the news at 61p.
Shares has been trying to get an interview with Truell for the last three months, to no avail. We have been promised a call after full year results to be published on 22 July.
While we can see the logic in taking Tungsten off the market we think it's important shareholders are treated fairly.
Having raised by our calculations £160 million since listing on AIM, including £17.5 million only a month ago, taking the business private with a low-ball offer would amount to a fairly shoddy treatment of public markets, in our view.
And there is another option: hitting what look like ambitious but plausible mid-term financial targets will mean the share price looks after itself.
Truell might find that by laughing last, he and his shareholders end up laughing loudest.
Earlier this month, on 16 June, house broker Canaccord Genuity cut its price target on Tungsten from 369p to 96p as break-even at the business was pushed back from 2017 to 2018.
Its estimates indicate Tungsten would run out of cash around October 2016 based on current loss rates, indicating another fund raising will be required.
UPDATE: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated Tungsten will report results on 7 July.
