Bidz.com conference call goes a little off kilter

Posted Nov 28th 2007 4:18PM by Zac Bissonnette
Filed under: Scandals, Stocks to Sell

Rule number one of damage control is, or at least should be, "First do no harm."

After Bidz.com (NASDAQ: BIDZ) found itself on the receiving end of a scathing research report from Citron Research, the company's management decided it had to do something. The stock plunged in the wake of Citron post: -- falling 28.2% Tuesday in addition to a steep drop on Monday. After hitting an all-time high of $22.50 on Monday, the stock closed Tuesday at $11.89.

The conference call that was presumably supposed to stop the bleeding failed miserably: the stock traded down another 21% after hours.

What's all the fuss about? Well Citron Research alleges that "Bidz.com's business model is not sustainable. The large related party transactions, and the background of the individuals involved certainly provide plenty of reason for doubt. It is the opinion of Citron that the recent surge in stock price is completely unwarranted and the company is going to have to start generating real cash under a verifiable and transparent inventory valuation discipline before shareholders can take its earnings seriously."

Citron raised questions about the backgrounds of individuals associated with the company: Saied Aframian, the owner of the company's largest supplier and also one of its major shareholders, was convicted of receiving stolen poperty in 1985 at his Los Angeles jewelry store.

Bidz management appeared confused on the conference call, asserting that it had just found out about Aframian's criminal past. The company responded to a whole host of other questions on this train wreck of a conference call and it's definitely worth tuning into here, even if just for laughs.

I'm sure Citron proprietor Andrew Left will be back soon with a follow-up, and this should be an interesting battle to follow.

Tags: BIDZ, Bidz.com, Saied Aframian, SaiedAframian

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

11-29-2007 @ 9:14AM

Mark Oliver said...

Thought you might be interested in some information about Andrew Left, the founder of Citron Research who published the damaging report on BIDZ. The NFA found him guilty of fraud a few years ago. While you're on the subject of criminal records I encourage you to mention this in your next report on the fiasco. Best regards, Mark Oliver

THE PANEL FOUND THAT LEFT MADE FALSE AND MISLEADING STATEMENTS TO CHEAT, DEFRAUD OR DECEIVE A CUSTOMER IN VIOLATION OF NFA COMPLIANCE RULES 2-2(a) AND 2-29(a)(1). LEFT'S CONDUCT WAS INCONSISTENT WITH JUST AND EQUITABLE PRINCIPLES OF TRADE.

CONSEQUENTLY, THE PANEL BARRED LEFT FROM ASSOCIATION WITH AND FROM ACTING AS A PRINCIPAL OF ANY NFA MEMBER FOR THREE YEARS; ORDERED HIM TO TAKE AN ETHICS TRAINING COURSE; AND PLACED RESTRICTIONS ON HIS ACTIVITIES FOR TWO YEARS WHICH PREVENT HIM FROM SUPERVISING ANY AP AND REQUIRE HIM TO TAPE RECORD AND LOG ALL CONVERSATIONS WITH CURRENT AND POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS.

0253075 LEFT, ANDREW EDWARD ? RESTRICTIONS ON ACTIVITIES 2 YRS
? REQUIRED TO TAPE RECORD 2 YRS
? TEMPORARY BAR FROM NFA MEMBERSHIP 3 YRS
? MAY NOT SUPERVISE 2 YRS
? OTHER--SEE NARRATIVE

http://www.nfa.futures.org/BasicNet/Case.aspx?entityid=0244735&case=95BCC00020&contrib=NFA