Notorious Short-seller labels Ubiquiti Networks $UBNT as FRAUD
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Seeking Alpha has covered Ubiquiti pretty well since then. They aren't fond of the way the CEO has handled the allegations as well as other areas of the company, but ultimately they, like many others, don't see the ultimate fraud that Citron claims to see.
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4109829-baffling-investor-day-ubiquiti-board-needs-take-action
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4111349-ubiquiti-networks-sound-company-unorthodox-business-model
In other news, Citron apparently has chosen their next victim... Shopify. Has made some pretty bold claims against them as the new Herbalife (If you haven't seen the documentary about Herbalife "Betting on Zero" you should). It seems to me like Citron is really trying to capitalize on their 15 secs of fame.
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There are still concerns and questions about the CEO and his commitment and focus, especially as he reportedly is looking to take a majority stake in an NBA team soon. From an investor standpoint, disregarding Citron's fraud accusations, it's a concern, however doesn't ultimately affect the products.
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I found the seekingalpha website, but I've never heard of them before looking into this topic today. It does seem that the CEO is a bit off of his rocker / not ideally suited for the role in which he is in.
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Never heard of Seeking Alpha? They're pretty popular in the finance/investing world. It's just a good place to do/get analysis on different companies. They're definitely reputable.
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@zachary715 said in Notorious Short-seller labels Ubiquiti Networks $UBNT as FRAUD:
Never heard of Seeking Alpha? They're pretty popular in the finance/investing world. It's just a good place to do/get analysis on different companies. They're definitely reputable.
I'm not big into investing / finances.
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@zachary715 said in Notorious Short-seller labels Ubiquiti Networks $UBNT as FRAUD:
There are still concerns and questions about the CEO and his commitment and focus, especially as he reportedly is looking to take a majority stake in an NBA team soon. From an investor standpoint, disregarding Citron's fraud accusations, it's a concern, however doesn't ultimately affect the products.
Didnt he already take a majority stake in the Grizzlies?
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@bigbear I thought he bought into a team as well, but not a majority share of it.
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My memory is alluding me, but I seem to remember reading that he would soon have an opportunity to take a larger stake, whether full ownership or large(r) majority, and that some were waiting to see what he would do. I believe Citron was using this info as justification for part of their accusations but I can't remember the argument.
I know from an investor standpoint, it's not ideal to see a young, growing company with a CEO who may be more focused on signing the next star free-agent player vs developing the next great networking device.
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@zachary715 said in Notorious Short-seller labels Ubiquiti Networks $UBNT as FRAUD:
I know from an investor standpoint, it's not ideal to see a young, growing company with a CEO who may be more focused on signing the next star free-agent player vs developing the next great networking device.
Yeah, but the CEO is just investing, that it is a sports team is irrelevant. Everyone in a CEO role is investing, this is a red herring. Also, CEOs don't develop products.
Basically someone is blowing smoke and pretending that CEO's having lives of their own should not be allowed.
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@zachary715 said in Notorious Short-seller labels Ubiquiti Networks $UBNT as FRAUD:
I know from an investor standpoint, it's not ideal to see a young, growing company with a CEO who may be more focused on signing the next star free-agent player vs developing the next great networking device
You mean like Mark Cuban? (who's a tech billionaire).
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@scottalanmiller So he's not at all involved in the front office decisions of the team that take time away from CEO of Ubiquiti? I'm not saying a man can't spend his time on other endeavors (Elon Musk) I'm just saying for a young company like UBNT many investors would likely like to see him focusing more of his time on the company he's trying to grow.
Yes I'm aware he doesn't actually develop the products himself, but he's also not kicked back in his chair in the corner office strumming a guitar all day. The man is overseeing a $4.5 billion dollar company. If I'm an investor, I'd like to see him more focused on UBNT than the Grizzlies. That's my personal preference and I've seen others who have shared this same sentiment but that's to each investor's choosing.
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@storageninja Is Mark Cuban CEO of a young, public company that's in full growth mode? He may be, I don't know. It seems to me like he's most focused on the Mavs these days and his other business ventures are side projects/investments. Not minimizing his other investments, it just seems like the Mavs is where most of his attention goes. I don't follow every Mark Cuban move though so I could be wrong here.
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@zachary715 said in Notorious Short-seller labels Ubiquiti Networks $UBNT as FRAUD:
@storageninja Is Mark Cuban CEO of a young, public company that's in full growth mode? He may be, I don't know. It seems to me like he's most focused on the Mavs these days and his other business ventures are side projects/investments. Not minimizing his other investments, it just seems like the Mavs is where most of his attention goes. I don't follow every Mark Cuban move though so I could be wrong here.
I would have said the opposite, he seems awfully focused everywhere else. It's the public that knows he owns the Mavs and focuses there.
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@zachary715 said in Notorious Short-seller labels Ubiquiti Networks $UBNT as FRAUD:
Yes I'm aware he doesn't actually develop the products himself, but he's also not kicked back in his chair in the corner office strumming a guitar all day. The man is overseeing a $4.5 billion dollar company. If I'm an investor, I'd like to see him more focused on UBNT than the Grizzlies. That's my personal preference and I've seen others who have shared this same sentiment but that's to each investor's choosing.
As an investor, all I care about are his results, not how he does them.
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@zachary715 said in Notorious Short-seller labels Ubiquiti Networks $UBNT as FRAUD:
@scottalanmiller So he's not at all involved in the front office decisions of the team that take time away from CEO of Ubiquiti? I'm not saying a man can't spend his time on other endeavors (Elon Musk) I'm just saying for a young company like UBNT many investors would likely like to see him focusing more of his time on the company he's trying to grow.
Is he not focused? Where did that idea come from?
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@scottalanmiller Well I referenced Elon Musk, but even Jeff Bezos at Amazon is heavily involved in other side gigs. Nothing wrong with that. I don't know enough about Robert Pera to know if he's the kind of guy who can handle multiple items like this without something suffering or not. Does he have the right people in place? With Ubiquiti, he may be doing fantastic as a CEO and in time this will be a silly suggestion. If he stays CEO and in 5 years the company has grown at a market-beating multiple, then he'll have "earned" that right by many investors that he can juggle multiple tasks or businesses. I don't think it's unfair though for a company this young to ask a CEO to give as much devotion as possible though.
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@scottalanmiller said in Notorious Short-seller labels Ubiquiti Networks $UBNT as FRAUD:
@zachary715 said in Notorious Short-seller labels Ubiquiti Networks $UBNT as FRAUD:
@scottalanmiller So he's not at all involved in the front office decisions of the team that take time away from CEO of Ubiquiti? I'm not saying a man can't spend his time on other endeavors (Elon Musk) I'm just saying for a young company like UBNT many investors would likely like to see him focusing more of his time on the company he's trying to grow.
Is he not focused? Where did that idea come from?
"Would like to see him focusing more" doesn't equate to "not focused", so that idea came from your misinterpretation of what I said. I don't know how focused the guy is. Never met him. Couldn't have even told you who the CEO of UBNT was before all this came out. I've simply thrown around a few thoughts that I've read elsewhere and have somehow found myself defending them, even though I don't even necessarily know that I agree with them. I just wanted to get some conversation going about the topic. I personally am not an investor of the company (Yet) short or long, but would likely consider going long depending on what I see moving forward. I'm a fan of their products, but good products doesn't always equate to successful, profitable business for investors.
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@scottalanmiller said in Notorious Short-seller labels Ubiquiti Networks $UBNT as FRAUD:
I would have said the opposite, he seems awfully focused everywhere else. It's the public that knows he owns the Mavs and focuses there.
Honestly, I forget he owns the mavs. he's got 9 movies, dozens of television appearances (as well as a show) and has sold several tech companies (one Caching one to Akamai, Broadcast.com, something else to AOL).
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Keep in mind UBNT is a 12 year old company. It's not a young company, it's well established. These are experienced people. If investors start making harsh demands without considering the value of the people making the magic happen, those peoplewill cash out and leave the investors to figure stuff out on their own.
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@scottalanmiller said in Notorious Short-seller labels Ubiquiti Networks $UBNT as FRAUD:
Keep in mind UBNT is a 12 year old company. It's not a young company, it's well established. These are experienced people. If investors start making harsh demands without considering the value of the people making the magic happen, those peoplewill cash out and leave the investors to figure stuff out on their own.
Sorry when I say "young company" I'm referring to their public life, which has been around 6 years. They've done excellent in those 6 years as well outpacing the market by a nice-sized amount. It's easy to see where they have more room to grow though so people/potential investors just want to be sure he's still got his eyes on the prize.
What harsh demands are you referring to? I'm not sure I've heard of any. But I agree in theory. As an investor, if I didn't think he was up to snuff I just wouldn't buy in. I'm not looking to get involved in who's the CEO, who's doing this and that, I just want to park my money and watch it grow. Let the company keep doing what it was doing when I invested and reap the benefits.
