I believe this is a typical shareholder register transition whereby long-term mum & dad holders (retail), fatigued by the longevity of their investment and sparked into action by a spike from recent lows, sell into the hands of fresh institutional investors who recognize the story is de-risked and cash-flow positive. This has yet to play out fully - early days.
The next register "hand-over" will be other insto's - whose mandates only allow them to invest in profitable companies (i.e. reported net profit) - buying at higher levels because the story is even further de-risked. They are happy to accept a lower total return (buying at a higher share price) because their risk appetite is lower than the previous two investor-profiles.
Would love to see the current non-exec Chairman take an executive role (not with a view of disenfranchising the two Davids - they would, and should, be as influential as ever). He would therefore be authorised to market the story to the wise old heads that still manage significant amounts of institutional money - likely the same people he marketed research to when he was #1-ranked resources analyst at Merrill Lynch some time back. He's as honest as the day is long - hence he has their ear as a trusted voice.
The alternative? Status quo - and that will work too, because the money is rolling in and it's only a matter of time before investors wake up to one of the best re-rate stories out there. Given the current geo-political concerns, gold is coming back into vogue as a safe haven, and what better way to play it than invest in a company that will enjoy the re-rating afforded to explorers transitioning into profitable producers.
All I'm saying is that savvy (not to be confused with spivvy!) marketing to the institutional investors will help speed up the stock price re-rate....just saying...
EXG Price at posting:
9.2¢ Sentiment: Buy Disclosure: Held
