Well, we are starting to see a dribbling out of news. Some of the news has been good, but some of it has been nothing short of amatuerish.
First, let's get the bad out of the way. The My Wallst page is nothing short of really bad. Really, really bad. NO public company should result to such low end tactics. I don't know who was responsible for this very poor move, but I would NEVER, EVER allow a client of mine to do such a ridiculous thing. Totally amatuerish and probably one of the absolute worst investor relations tools that I have ever witnessed.
The second set of less than stellar work that they did was not to include a ticker of Quest Diagnostics (NYSE: DGX) in their recent press releases. With the conservative stance that CryoPort has taken to date, it is obvious Quest Diagnostics is on board and I would bet that they even reviewed and approved the press release that included the Quest name in the header of the release. However, CryoPort lost a HUGE opportunity to get their stock in front of several hundred thousand investors by not including the Quest ticker in the release. If the Quest ticker is in the release, everyone who pulls up a quote for DGX would see the CryoPort news. While this requires the approval of Quest, I have confidence that this release received Quest's approval and I think it was just a poor job of public relations for not putting the ticker into the release. Period. End of story.
Now that I have aired what I think was done incorrectly, and those items are not insignificant, let's discuss what is going on that is good.
First, based on the recent release about Quest, I believe that my information has been confirmed and that the program described in a prior post was accurate. In a recent audio interview, the monologue that Peter Berry read to us included the term "partner with FedEx". This is the first time I have heard the company use the word "partnership" instead of "we will be shipping through FedEx". I was glad to hear Mr. Berry say "partner" because since the very beginning of the relationship, that has been the intention. I am also hearing word that the new partner site for FedEx clients to ship via CryoPort Express shippers will be up and running in the very near future. Possibly before the end of April, but I will be happy with May.
The next important piece of news that I am waiting on for confirmation of the various rumors out there is to hear that large-scale manufacturing has begun. When that occurs, the game is on. I heard a long time ago that the manufacturing firm was commiting A MILLION square feet. That seems to have been what a few others have heard as well. A million square feet is a lot of space and provides the location to produce several million shippers per month. At that rate, the numbers get VERY large.
Many people think that I am crazy when I start discussing CryoPort. "Trey has been drinking the CryoPort koolaid!" Well, maybe ... BUT, when this stock demonstrates that the company can ship a hundred million shippers each year around the globe, I think I'll trade in my koolaid for a Corona on the beach.
I don't want to wear this subject out as it will take its time to develop. The program is simply too big to just "turn on overnight". Big players involved. Legal teams to deal with at multiple Fortune 500 Companies.
If I get some helpful information in the interim, I'll keep you posted. Out.
DISCLOSURE: I worked with CryoPort from late 2004 thru August 2007. I assisted them in the process of becoming a public company in 2005 and I am pretty comfortable with the story. On my private equity side, both my clients, and myself personally, own stock in CryoPort and I also personally own some warrants. For the record, I am not consulting to them at this time and have not personally spoken with management about the status or operations of the company since the fall of 2007.
