Nano Dimension Ltd (NASDAQ:NNDM) stock is up in Monday’s premarket deals as the company used its second-quarter earnings report to defend against activist shareholder Murchison, but perhaps only highlighted a value proposition to speculative traders.
Nano, a manufacturer in the 3D printing sector, boasted 47% organic growth for its third quarter and highlighted improving margins – albeit whilst reporting negative earnings.
It reported second-quarter revenue of US$14.74 million, to take its half-year total to US$29.7 million, up 38% year-on-year. It reported an earnings (adjusted EBITDA) loss of US$24 million, including US$13 million of spending on R&D, with the half-year loss reaching US$47 million.
At the same time, chief executive Yoav Stern sought to defend the company against the disruption caused by activist shareholder Murchison, which Nano says has shown “no strategic plan or vision’ and, could drive a reset of the board.
Stern ‘warned’ that the actions of Murchison threaten a potential liquidation event, at US$4.00 per share (as cash holdings are returned to shareholders).
He added that: “most (retail shareholders) have cost-basis which is much higher than that (US$4.00), and they will be deprived of the opportunity to reach value which is much more than $4.00 per share.”
In New York, Nano stock today rallied around 3% in premarket deals to trade at US$2.95 – inviting investors to make of that what they will.
Late in 2022, Murchison attempted to takeover Nano Dimension, offering to buy the shares it didn’t already own for US$4 per share.
Earlier this year, in March, Murchison issued a statement in which it claimed ‘the company has drastically underperformed during Yoav Stern’s chairmanship’, had ‘overseen terrible corporate governance and failed to hold management accountable’, and had seen ‘a series of damaging capital allocation missteps’.
A general meeting of Nano Dimensions shareholders is scheduled to take place on 7 September.