wescobrk Posted August 2, 2017 Share Posted August 2, 2017 Agreed. I'm waiting on the sidelines for below a dollar and some type of evidence things can stabilize. I admire Munger so much for his patience. That damn bastard waited until, what, March 8th to buy wells fargo, bac, etc, the patience of that man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atbed Posted August 2, 2017 Share Posted August 2, 2017 Berke Bakay has had much success outside the restaurant industry. But running a restaurant is a tough business. Being a good stock picker doesn't set one up to run this business. He had the foresight to bet on KONA. He probably saw rising private valuations and a high growth concept. The growth rate and the white space opportunity drew many to this space after the recession. Fast growth led to extremely crazy EV/EBITDA valuations. I think KONA shareholders and Bakay happened to be in the right place at the right time in 2015. They got lucky and that can be detrimental when things go south. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattone Posted August 9, 2017 Share Posted August 9, 2017 CEO Bakay buys 60K more shares, for his kids this time: https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1265572/000143774917014261/xslF345X03/rdgdoc.xml Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berkshire101 Posted September 13, 2017 Share Posted September 13, 2017 KONA is up 40% today. Does anyone know why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
writser Posted September 13, 2017 Share Posted September 13, 2017 Now back top ~22%. Looks like a pump & dump or short-squeeze of a low-float stock. Nice time to sell (if you have it .. ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atbed Posted September 14, 2017 Share Posted September 14, 2017 Now back top ~22%. Looks like a pump & dump or short-squeeze of a low-float stock. Nice time to sell (if you have it .. ) Well, I clearly know nothing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTEJD1997 Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 Hey all: KONA's results are out...they don't look good. A loss of $.22/share. Part of that is due to hurricanes...but I think only $.02 of that is due to bad weather. KONA's run up appears to be over. Last trade was at $2.20, down $.45/share. I am going to guess that there are going to be some publicly traded restaurants shutting down OR in extreme stress in the upcoming 12 months. This is doubly true if the general economy turns down... I am going to guess that KONA will be one of them... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atbed Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 Hey all: KONA's results are out...they don't look good. A loss of $.22/share. Part of that is due to hurricanes...but I think only $.02 of that is due to bad weather. KONA's run up appears to be over. Last trade was at $2.20, down $.45/share. I am going to guess that there are going to be some publicly traded restaurants shutting down OR in extreme stress in the upcoming 12 months. This is doubly true if the general economy turns down... I am going to guess that KONA will be one of them... wow -7.2% SSS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebdem Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 At least they are making progress on the franchises.... :-[ :-X Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atbed Posted November 10, 2017 Share Posted November 10, 2017 At least they are making progress on the franchises.... :-[ :-X guess there's some silver lining Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peridotcapital Posted November 10, 2017 Author Share Posted November 10, 2017 So much for the margin ramp-up in 2017. With the balance sheet in the state it is and the fact they can't move off of 10-11% margins, the business isn't really viable. Maybe they limp along for a year or two, but without free cash flow they appear dead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTEJD1997 Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 Hey all: Anybody still watching KONA? Stock price has done shockingly well, about $2/share. They came out with earnings (lack thereof) the other day. SSS were down 6.5% for the 4th quarter. Their revolving line of credit has been amended. It will shrink as time progresses. Over the course of this year, it will shrink by 4 million. KONA managed to get rent concessions in 5 of their locations. They are not going to open ANY company owned locations in 2018. I am surprised the stock price is as high as it is. I figure they have a couple of quarters to get things turned around. They have to find about $4mm in free cash flow for their line of credit this year. The lenders are putting the squeeze on these dudes. KONA is tied to malls. Malls are getting squeezed. If KONA is not making money now, I find it hard to see how they will in the future. I think this thing is a zero for shareholders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTEJD1997 Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 hey all: Anybody still watching this? The co-ceo resigned the other day. Mr. Schussler is resigning! He enjoyed his years of service and turning around KONA, “I have enjoyed my years of service as a director of Kona Grill and enjoyed working with Marcus Jundt as co-CEO in helping revitalize the Kona Grill brand.” He did a good job of revitalizing Kona Grill? On the other hand, KONA's stock price is doing shockingly well, at $1.11/share. SSS sales were DOWN 14.1 for the latest quarter, loss is $.39/share. At the risk of repeating myself, hard to see how this is NOT a zero. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foreign Tuffett Posted January 12, 2019 Share Posted January 12, 2019 hey all: Anybody still watching this? The co-ceo resigned the other day. Mr. Schussler is resigning! He enjoyed his years of service and turning around KONA, “I have enjoyed my years of service as a director of Kona Grill and enjoyed working with Marcus Jundt as co-CEO in helping revitalize the Kona Grill brand.” He did a good job of revitalizing Kona Grill? On the other hand, KONA's stock price is doing shockingly well, at $1.11/share. SSS sales were DOWN 14.1 for the latest quarter, loss is $.39/share. At the risk of repeating myself, had to see how this is NOT a zero. Insofar as I can tell, management's basic strategy was to differentiate their concept from the competition by investing heavily in store appearance (fish tanks, etc). That's a tough row to hoe. Excluding the 2 franchised restaurants, they have 44 restaurants in 22 states (including HI) + Puerto Rico. Being so geographically dispersed probably hampers their marketing efforts, while also ensuring that G&A costs stay high as a % of sales. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTEJD1997 Posted January 22, 2019 Share Posted January 22, 2019 Hey all: Here is an interesting article featuring the current CEO of KONA: https://www.nrn.com/casual-dining/kona-grill-ceo-recession-could-mean-bloodbath-restaurants? He is predicting that a LOT of restaurants are going to go under in the next recession. Also, interesting that he thinks too much capital has flowed into the sector. Definitely worth the 2 minutes to read if you have any interest in this name or sector. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awindenberger Posted January 27, 2019 Share Posted January 27, 2019 Hey all: Here is an interesting article featuring the current CEO of KONA: https://www.nrn.com/casual-dining/kona-grill-ceo-recession-could-mean-bloodbath-restaurants? He is predicting that a LOT of restaurants are going to go under in the next recession. Also, interesting that he thinks too much capital has flowed into the sector. Definitely worth the 2 minutes to read if you have any interest in this name or sector. I imagine he thinks he can turn things around at Kona and they can be survivors given his statements? You've been predicting zero for a while and its hard to see how that doesn't happen right now, but I guess Q4 earnings will be interesting to see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTEJD1997 Posted March 29, 2019 Share Posted March 29, 2019 Hey all: Here is an interesting article featuring the current CEO of KONA: https://www.nrn.com/casual-dining/kona-grill-ceo-recession-could-mean-bloodbath-restaurants? He is predicting that a LOT of restaurants are going to go under in the next recession. Also, interesting that he thinks too much capital has flowed into the sector. Definitely worth the 2 minutes to read if you have any interest in this name or sector. I imagine he thinks he can turn things around at Kona and they can be survivors given his statements? You've been predicting zero for a while and its hard to see how that doesn't happen right now, but I guess Q4 earnings will be interesting to see. Looks like it is probably over with. CEO is stepping down, and they are exploring sale of the company. Million dollar question is do the shareholders get anything? I'm going to guess NO or very little as it appears to be a forced sale/liquidation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bsned2 Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 I have been away from this board for a while, just coming back. Still learning. I just read this whole 17pp thread and it is fascinating! Thanks everyone. As a former Hollywood type, the best way for me to understand investments is as stories and this one is a good one, albeit with an unhappy end. But hey in movies I like a downbeat ending! Not so much on Wall Street. Now on to find a few upbeat love stories to invest in. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTEJD1997 Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 hey all: Looks like the end is hear for KONA. Massive losses, closing restaurants, letting employees go, and perhaps most important of all, they are now in violation of their debt covenants. Please see: https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2019/04/17/kona-grill-could-seek-bankruptcy-protection-amid.html?ana=yahoo&yptr=yahoo The article states that common shareholders are likely to get nothing, but yet the stock is up $.02 today. Perhaps short covering & speculators? Unless something tremendous happens, I think that there is no doubt they are now headed for BK. Just a question of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peridotcapital Posted April 17, 2019 Author Share Posted April 17, 2019 hey all: Looks like the end is hear for KONA. Massive losses, closing restaurants, letting employees go, and perhaps most important of all, they are now in violation of their debt covenants. Please see: https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2019/04/17/kona-grill-could-seek-bankruptcy-protection-amid.html?ana=yahoo&yptr=yahoo The article states that common shareholders are likely to get nothing, but yet the stock is up $.02 today. Perhaps short covering & speculators? Unless something tremendous happens, I think that there is no doubt they are now headed for BK. Just a question of time. Can't really short it, and not a lot of liquidity, but buying Sep $2.50 puts for $2 seems interesting... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lnofeisone Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 hey all: Looks like the end is hear for KONA. Massive losses, closing restaurants, letting employees go, and perhaps most important of all, they are now in violation of their debt covenants. Please see: https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2019/04/17/kona-grill-could-seek-bankruptcy-protection-amid.html?ana=yahoo&yptr=yahoo The article states that common shareholders are likely to get nothing, but yet the stock is up $.02 today. Perhaps short covering & speculators? Unless something tremendous happens, I think that there is no doubt they are now headed for BK. Just a question of time. Can't really short it, and not a lot of liquidity, but buying Sep $2.50 puts for $2 seems interesting... I've been trying to shop that all day but nobody is selling those puts :D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nodnub Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 hey all: Looks like the end is hear for KONA. Massive losses, closing restaurants, letting employees go, and perhaps most important of all, they are now in violation of their debt covenants. Please see: https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2019/04/17/kona-grill-could-seek-bankruptcy-protection-amid.html?ana=yahoo&yptr=yahoo The article states that common shareholders are likely to get nothing, but yet the stock is up $.02 today. Perhaps short covering & speculators? Unless something tremendous happens, I think that there is no doubt they are now headed for BK. Just a question of time. Can't really short it, and not a lot of liquidity, but buying Sep $2.50 puts for $2 seems interesting... If the company liquidates and shares stop trading before Sept (wiped out) then what happens with an option like this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lnofeisone Posted April 18, 2019 Share Posted April 18, 2019 hey all: Looks like the end is hear for KONA. Massive losses, closing restaurants, letting employees go, and perhaps most important of all, they are now in violation of their debt covenants. Please see: https://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2019/04/17/kona-grill-could-seek-bankruptcy-protection-amid.html?ana=yahoo&yptr=yahoo The article states that common shareholders are likely to get nothing, but yet the stock is up $.02 today. Perhaps short covering & speculators? Unless something tremendous happens, I think that there is no doubt they are now headed for BK. Just a question of time. Can't really short it, and not a lot of liquidity, but buying Sep $2.50 puts for $2 seems interesting... If the company liquidates and shares stop trading before Sept (wiped out) then what happens with an option like this? If the company liquidates and shares stop trading you can exercise prior to Sept expiration date. The delivery and settlement will be guaranteed by the OCC. If KONA gets delisted and moves to OTC the options will just move to OTC (still backed by OCC) but borrowing/buying shares will be subject to liquidity. Should I get my $2.5 puts AND KONA files for BK, I'd buy shares of KONA and exercise. While I have no doubt that TD Ameritrade knows how to handle OTC options it's a process I'm willing to sit out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
walt373 Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 If the stock gets delisted to OTC, options become closing trades only and get very illiquid. You may need to buy stock and exercise puts to get out. If the stock is cancelled completely, puts pay out full value in cash. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DTEJD1997 Posted May 1, 2019 Share Posted May 1, 2019 Hey all: It is now official, KONA is done. They have closed a few more locations. More importantly, they have declared Ch. 11 bankruptcy. I am going to guess that current shareholders get wiped out OR if they are fortunate, they will get warrants in the newly reorganized entity (if not liquidated). I feel bad for the employees. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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