Kodak Stock Down to $5.45

alanrockwood · Nov 29, 2017

A word of warning, not by way of prediction but just for contingency planning, just in case KODK declares bankruptcy. Do not, I say again, DO NOT in that case buy the shares "cheap" hoping to hold them with the idea that they will go up again when the company comes out of bankruptcy. That strategy virtually never works because shares in a bankrupt company end up being cancelled at the end of the bankruptcy. In that case those who held their shares end up with nothing. I don't mean "nothing" as in pennies on the dollar, but nothing as in NOTHING WHATSOEVER, Nodda, zip, zero.

Let me repeat, I am in no way suggesting that KODK will enter bankruptcy. I only mention this as a warning to anyone who might read this post in case that dire consequence should happen.

RattyMouse · Nov 30, 2017

alanrockwood said:
A word of warning, not by way of prediction but just for contingency planning, just in case KODK declares bankruptcy. Do not, I say again, DO NOT in that case buy the shares "cheap" hoping to hold them with the idea that they will go up again when the company comes out of bankruptcy. That strategy virtually never works because shares in a bankrupt company end up being cancelled at the end of the bankruptcy. In that case those who held their shares end up with nothing. I don't mean "nothing" as in pennies on the dollar, but nothing as in NOTHING WHATSOEVER, Nodda, zip, zero.

Let me repeat, I am in no way suggesting that KODK will enter bankruptcy. I only mention this as a warning to anyone who might read this post in case that dire consequence should happen.

Good advice. Kodak shareholders lost out big time during the first bankruptcy. Kodak was recently downgraded by a few market analysts with the express warning that another "restructuring" may be on the way if Kodak's cash flow does not improve. That's a clear warning to stay away from this stock and the market responded by selling off hard, plunging over 40% in just a few days.

Kodak isnt even a good stock for day traders as liquidity has dried up. A typical day's trading for Kodak is only far less than 200,000 shares! It is hard to imagine that this one time Dow component stock would trade so infrequently. Apple by comparison trades 200,000 shares in under 5 minutes.

Nodda Duma · Nov 30, 2017

alanrockwood said:
. I don't mean "nothing" as in pennies on the dollar, but nothing as in NOTHING WHATSOEVER, Nodda, zip, zero.

Just to clarify...you don't end up with me, either.

alanrockwood · Nov 30, 2017

Nodda Duma said:
Just to clarify...you don't end up with me, either.

Thank goodness!

mshchem · Nov 30, 2017

From Post Analyst.com November 28, 2017. Looks to me like there may be a break up coming. I can't see anyway that an individual investor could make money off this. One or two of these guys could take it private, fire a boatload of management, fold the divisions into other companies. Clearly The Eastman Kodak Company name still has some prestige. I hope that it all works out in a way that film and paper is sustainable and grows. I think with the right people running the show it could be a great business. Kodak was down to $3.30 today down 3%

71.8% OF EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY (KODK) IS OWNED BY HEDGE FUNDS

Eastman Kodak Company (KODK) Top Holders

Institutional investors currently hold around $108 million or 71.8% in KODK stock. Look at its top three institutional owners. Blackstone Group L.P. owns $31.51 million in Eastman Kodak Company, which represents roughly 22.41% of the company’s market cap and approximately 29.17% of the institutional ownership. Similar statistics are true for the second largest owner, Southeastern Asset Management Inc/Tn/, which owns 4,960,000 shares of the stock are valued at $17.61 million. The third largest holder is Paradice Investment Management Llc, which currently holds $14.23 million worth of this stock and that ownership represents nearly 10.12% of its market capitalization.

RattyMouse · Dec 1, 2017

mshchem said:
From Post Analyst.com November 28, 2017. Looks to me like there may be a break up coming. I can't see anyway that an individual investor could make money off this. One or two of these guys could take it private, fire a boatload of management, fold the divisions into other companies. Clearly The Eastman Kodak Company name still has some prestige. I hope that it all works out in a way that film and paper is sustainable and grows. I think with the right people running the show it could be a great business. Kodak was down to $3.30 today down 3%

71.8% OF EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY (KODK) IS OWNED BY HEDGE FUNDS

Eastman Kodak Company (KODK) Top Holders

Institutional investors currently hold around $108 million or 71.8% in KODK stock. Look at its top three institutional owners. Blackstone Group L.P. owns $31.51 million in Eastman Kodak Company, which represents roughly 22.41% of the company’s market cap and approximately 29.17% of the institutional ownership. Similar statistics are true for the second largest owner, Southeastern Asset Management Inc/Tn/, which owns 4,960,000 shares of the stock are valued at $17.61 million. The third largest holder is Paradice Investment Management Llc, which currently holds $14.23 million worth of this stock and that ownership represents nearly 10.12% of its market capitalization.

These hedge funds have taken an absolute pasting in the last 3 months as Kodak stock has tanked to the tune of -57.7%. Anyone who has held Kodak for all of 2017 has lost almost 80% of their value.

I dont see any "prestige" to the Kodak name with dismal performance like this.

As you mentioned, Kodak took another leg lower yesterday falling over 3% while the rest of the market surged much higher.

EdSawyer · Dec 1, 2017

prestige in the brand is not synonymous with prestige in the stock itself. There's tons of examples of where the brand itself is valuable, but the stock (for various reasons) isn't. Hopefully Kodak makes it through this with film and paper production intact as a viable ongoing concern.

mshchem · Dec 1, 2017

RattyMouse said:
These hedge funds have taken an absolute pasting in the last 3 months as Kodak stock has tanked to the tune of -57.7%. Anyone who has held Kodak for all of 2017 has lost almost 80% of their value.

I dont see any "prestige" to the Kodak name with dismal performance like this.

As you mentioned, Kodak took another leg lower yesterday falling over 3% while the rest of the market surged much higher.

Yes, They has took losses. But, what could happen. A hedge fund takes full ownership, declares Chapter 11. This allows them to screw just about everyone. Retail investors who have held the stock, are forced to sell at the depressed price because the majority of stockholders (2 or 3 hedgefunds) vote to sell. They sell off assets, break up divisions. The companies that buy the former Kodak businesses get to choose between firing their own worker, or the Kodak worker, which ever is faster, better, cheaper to insure etc.

Bottomline debt goes away for pennies on the dollar, massive redundancies allow the elimination of hundreds of jobs. I said "prestige" what I mean to say is brand recognition. In the maketing world it's referred to as "Whoring the Meatball" . You can still buy RCA TVs, Fisher radios, Polaroid branded electronics. You license the brand.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Best Regards, Mike

RattyMouse · Dec 1, 2017

mshchem said:
Yes, They has took losses. But, what could happen. A hedge fund takes full ownership, declares Chapter 11. This allows them to screw just about everyone. Retail investors who have held the stock, are forced to sell at the depressed price because the majority of stockholders (2 or 3 hedgefunds) vote to sell. They sell off assets, break up divisions. The companies that buy the former Kodak businesses get to choose between firing their own worker, or the Kodak worker, which ever is faster, better, cheaper to insure etc.

Bottomline debt goes away for pennies on the dollar, massive redundancies allow the elimination of hundreds of jobs. I said "prestige" what I mean to say is brand recognition. In the maketing world it's referred to as "Whoring the Meatball" . You can still buy RCA TVs, Fisher radios, Polaroid branded electronics. You license the brand.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Best Regards, Mike

If Kodak declares bankruptcy again, then the shareholders lose out. Their stock becomes worthless. Who are holding the shares? As you said, 70% are held by the hedgefunds. So how do they profit from this when their shares become worthless?

faberryman · Dec 1, 2017

RattyMouse said:
If Kodak declares bankruptcy again, then the shareholders lose out. Their stock becomes worthless. Who are holding the shares? As you said, 70% are held by the hedgefunds. So how do they profit from this when their shares become worthless?

Contrary to what read in the hedge fund prospectus, they don't always pick winners.

removed account4 · Dec 1, 2017

RM sorry to bring this up but it is down from $5.45 to $3.15.

mshchem · Dec 1, 2017

RattyMouse said:
If Kodak declares bankruptcy again, then the shareholders lose out. Their stock becomes worthless. Who are holding the shares? As you said, 70% are held by the hedgefunds. So how do they profit from this when their shares become worthless?

They will go Chapter 11, or they may not even need to declare anything. Stockholders don't lose their shares they are just forced to sell at a very low price. The majority "Stockholders" vote to sell the company to a private entity for 3 or 4 bucks a share That entity is composed of the original hedge funds. They break up the divisions. This is done all the time. There's no UK pension law to get in the way this time, no health insurance obligations for retirees. Critical data is what is the CEO's golden parachute. I worked for Maytag, when the half wit CEO drove it onto the ground. He had a "change of ownership" parachute in his contract. He actually got paid millions for destroying the value of the company. Whirlpool bought Maytag and started closing plants, fired the entire corporate HQ. Now WP is the last real US owned major appliance company. The Koreans will eventually break Whirlpool, but I suspect that's a way off. I lasted with WP for 6 years, I was ready to go when the Engineering staff in Amana IA got riffed.

We have a President right now that could explain how to negotiate this sort of deal. Bond holders get offers for 60 cents on the dollar, or they can sue and wait 10 years for 20 cents.

Wait and see, the longer the current management goes without acting???

Sirius Glass · Dec 1, 2017

The sky is not falling. The stock is going down at this time. Kodak is not declaring chapter 11. Take a deep breath and step a way from your coffee.

BAC1967 · Dec 1, 2017

The fact that the hedge fund investors had a part in installing a president that is dedicated to film makes me think that someone in one of those hedge funds must like film. If that's the case then it does bode well for the future of Kodak film.

RattyMouse · Dec 2, 2017

Sirius Glass said:
The sky is not falling. The stock is going down at this time. Kodak is not declaring chapter 11. Take a deep breath and step a way from your coffee.

You missed the point. No one is saying that Kodak is declaring bankruptcy now. Did you READ the above mentioned downgrade report? It said that Kodak's cash flow situation is bad now and going to get much, much worse in 2019 (preferred stock MUST be redeemed in cash due to the share price being about 75% too low) and that if things do not drastically improve, bankruptcy is a very real possibility. Kodak has nowhere near the cash on hand to redeem that stock.

Kodak's core businesses are in steep decline. Do you see that changing by 2019? If yes, then please explain.

If your opinion is not based on facts, then yes, the sky is about to fall. Read the report. There's a reason why Kodak's stock price is down EIGHTY percent this year while the overall market is up nearly 20%.

mshchem · Dec 2, 2017

RattyMouse said:
You missed the point. No one is saying that Kodak is declaring bankruptcy now. Did you READ the above mentioned downgrade report? It said that Kodak's cash flow situation is bad now and going to get much, much worse in 2019 (preferred stock MUST be redeemed in cash due to the share price being about 75% too low) and that if things do not drastically improve, bankruptcy is a very real possibility. Kodak has nowhere near the cash on hand to redeem that stock.

Kodak's core businesses are in steep decline. Do you see that changing by 2019? If yes, then please explain.

If your opinion is not based on facts, then yes, the sky is about to fall. Read the report. There's a reason why Kodak's stock price is down EIGHTY percent this year while the overall market is up nearly 20%.

I agree with Mr. R. Mouse on this. The cash bleed is huge, firing 400 people won't be enough. A $3000 super 8 camera isn't going to cut it. Preferred stock and bonds will need to be serviced. Scary situation, need a rich person who is in love with film to come to the rescue. Maybe one of the Walton family? Get one of Sam's great grand kids a Hasselblad for their 10th birthday. Instead of a darkroom made out of cardboard and a Vivitar enlarger, get 'em Eastman Kodak.

Ai Print · Dec 2, 2017

As a means of giving back and keeping top notch photography important, I mentor young photographers one day a week at the photo program listed in my sig.

A couple weeks ago we had some reps from a retailer who is highly respected on here come to the school and do some presentations to faculty and second year students. After that concluded, we all went out to dinner and talked photo biz and geekery for several hours.

One of the things that came out of it was this retailer had the best numbers this year selling film, paper and chemistry in over a decade, by a lot. Top selling products were and are made by Kodak Alaris.

Regardless of Sky is falling things that are out of our control like stock prices and for the good of the future of this fine craft, let’s hope those sales stay that way.

RattyMouse · Dec 2, 2017

Ai Print said:
As a means of giving back and keeping top notch photography important, I mentor young photographers one day a week at the photo program listed in my sig.

A couple weeks ago we had some reps from a retailer who is highly respected on here come to the school and do some presentations to faculty and second year students. After that concluded, we all went out to dinner and talked photo biz and geekery for several hours.

One of the things that came out of it was this retailer had the best numbers this year selling film, paper and chemistry in over a decade, by a lot. Top selling products were and are made by Kodak Alaris.

Regardless of Sky is falling things that are out of our control like stock prices and for the good of the future of this fine craft, let’s hope those sales stay that way.

In all the recent stock news, neither the CEO of Kodak nor the author of the report that downgraded Kodak's share price outlook ever mentioned Kodak film. The reality of the situation is that film is not Kodak's core business and so gets very little investment. That Ektachrome might see the light of day is truly amazing given that reality. The future of Eastman Kodak is in commercial printing. That is what their fortune is tied to and that is the business that is in severe decline (others are suffering too, not just Kodak).

Film is not Kodak's core business. They have two customers for film, Hollywood, and Alaris. Kodak's film business seems to rely almost exclusively on Hollywood continuing to make movies on film.

Sirius Glass · Dec 2, 2017

RattyMouse said:
You missed the point. No one is saying that Kodak is declaring bankruptcy now. Did you READ the above mentioned downgrade report? It said that Kodak's cash flow situation is bad now and going to get much, much worse in 2019 (preferred stock MUST be redeemed in cash due to the share price being about 75% too low) and that if things do not drastically improve, bankruptcy is a very real possibility. Kodak has nowhere near the cash on hand to redeem that stock.

Kodak's core businesses are in steep decline. Do you see that changing by 2019? If yes, then please explain.

If your opinion is not based on facts, then yes, the sky is about to fall. Read the report. There's a reason why Kodak's stock price is down EIGHTY percent this year while the overall market is up nearly 20%.

Ai Print said:
As a means of giving back and keeping top notch photography important, I mentor young photographers one day a week at the photo program listed in my sig.

A couple weeks ago we had some reps from a retailer who is highly respected on here come to the school and do some presentations to faculty and second year students. After that concluded, we all went out to dinner and talked photo biz and geekery for several hours.

One of the things that came out of it was this retailer had the best numbers this year selling film, paper and chemistry in over a decade, by a lot. Top selling products were and are made by Kodak Alaris.

Regardless of Sky is falling things that are out of our control like stock prices and for the good of the future of this fine craft, let’s hope those sales stay that way.

+1 I agree Ai

mshchem · Dec 2, 2017

Dawns on me. MY worst nightmare would be something happening to Ilford. I could get buy without color film. But B&W paper Yikes. I'm sure that all will be fine with Kodak???? I Hope

Sal Santamaura · Dec 3, 2017

mshchem said:
...MY worst nightmare would be something happening to Ilford. I could get buy without color film. But B&W paper Yikes...

ADOX. As well as others, if your quality standards aren't as high.

RattyMouse · Dec 4, 2017

US markets are surging strongly up today but Kodak is selling off hard, now down -4.8% in early trading.

Just a few ticks more and Kodak shares will fall below the $3/share mark. Really tough times now. Kodak's cash flow situation gets worse and worse as the share price trends lower.

RattyMouse · Dec 4, 2017

RattyMouse said:
US markets are surging strongly up today but Kodak is selling off hard, now down -4.8% in early trading.

Just a few ticks more and Kodak shares will fall below the $3/share mark. Really tough times now. Kodak's cash flow situation gets worse and worse as the share price trends lower.

How things change in just a short time. Now the positive vibe has hit Kodak and it's surging, up +4.7%! A near 10% swing for you brave day traders!

removedacct1 · Dec 4, 2017

Oh deary me - such hand-wringing! If fretting could be transformed into film, we'd all need to buy a new freezer to archive it all!

DWThomas · Dec 4, 2017

I'm sorry, but every time this headline pops up about "Kodak Stock Tanks" an image pops into my mind about large galvanized containers. Well -- could maybe be used for print washing, although non-metallic would no doubt be better.

I'm not sure hanging on every bump in a stock price is good for one's health!

Kodak Stock Down to $5.45

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