Sometimes words are just superfluous to the picture. cf. NNO.V
Here’s an example:
This time six months ago, a chart like that would have been the darling of the exchange. With oil dying and resources long dead, biotech facing scandals and technology stocks dying on the vine, not to mention lithium not yet into its hive mind outbreak phase, the sort of ongoing rise that Nano One Materials (NNO.V) has seen of late was just about unthinkable in late 2015.
But here we are, watching sector after sector go a little bit crazy, seeing 30% jumps in real estate prices and double after double in the lithium biz and healthcare stocks finally getting off the crazy train and suddenly something just under a double since January 1 isn’t news.
When I talk to people about Nano One, and I do – a lot – I rarely hear back “oh yeah, I’ve been watching that one.” That may be because those who are in on it are buying hard, not promoting it and looking to find a place to unload.
Nano One is not a tomorrow stock, nor a today stock. It’s a ‘next year’ stock. But the fact that it keeps finding new buyers is keeping it out of that place a lot of next year stocks go when the collective decides there’s no rush to be in right now.
There’s a rush for now in NNO, because it just won’t shrink.
It’s tried. You can see in the chart there was a brief crazy train run, followed by a dumping, in April – but if you knock that skin tag off the stock chart, what you’re left with is an almost straight upward line from October of last year to now in which the price of NNO stock tripled.
And tripled on very little news.
Nano One Materials is a company that has a proprietary tech that it says can replace elements from battery production, such as cobalt, which are problematic and more expensive than other options. More interestingly than that, it has broad patents approved that cover the substitution of elements of that process for others, meaning they could have a piece of any revolutionary battery play going forward that replaces costly elements for less so.
A pilot plant is planned and government grants have been flowing to get that happening fast. Resource god Paul Matysek is involved, which is good enough for many to get involved sight unseen. Hi last play, Lithium-X, has not only multipled many times over in the last six months but it has kickstarted the lithium public markets craze that Nano One is riding the back of.
The big knock on lithium stocks right now is, how many will actually get beyond sticking holes in the ground? Water issues, sector bubble issues, the rampant trading of any old piece of dried up desert lake bed regardless of whether anything is beneath it or anyone wants what might be there is making lithium a ‘hold your ankles and hope he’s gentle’ kind of play.
But Nano One rides the coattails of lithium interest, adding the IP potential, the fun of non-dilutive grant money, and the interest from those who like a solid tech play. Nano One doesn’t care if you can’t find brine under your Death Valley trailer park, because wherever brines are found, the need to get lithium batteries made with cheaper, more available, and more productive ingredients will prevail.
Once that pilot plant is up and running, Nano One gets taken out by someone big. At a $31m market cap today, the company makes for an attractive upside option where the bet is almost entirely on Tesla doing what it says it will, rather than on whether or not you can get good drill results.
Lithium-X (LIX.V) is spreading itself about so that it doesn’t have to rely on the Clayton Valley smoosh. Athabasca Nuclear (ASC.V) has more lithium-scented land staked than any six companies put together. I threw in on the recent private placement at Scientific Metals (STM.V) at $0.10, and watched it jump 30% last Friday as it closed in on a new Alberta lithium plot, and have had a nice return on Resolve Ventures (RSV.V) before that, sitting as it does by the hem of Lithium-X’s skirt and despite its lack of news tugging the share price down a tad.
Nano One, tho.
It just keeps going.
–Chris Parry
http://www.twitter.com/chrisparry
FULL DISCLOSURE: As mentioned, the author owns stock in RSV.V, STM.V, and NNO.V. Because, damn Daniel.