Night Market Research has disclosed a short position in International Battery Metals (IBAT), arguing the Canadian lithium extraction company is promoting unproven technology and is run by an executive with a troubling track record.
“Only a handful of new extraction technologies will succeed, and we don’t think IBAT will be among them based on our opinion that it lacks an established partner and a credible management team,” Night Market wrote in a report released Wednesday. “We think the stock’s C$450 million (US$332 million) market capitalization is implying excessive optimism, particularly considering IBAT’s thin balance sheet.”
The short seller noted that the company has less than two quarters of cash, $20 million in debt, and negative working capital of $16m.
It also questioned the track record of Chief Executive John Burba, claiming he was formerly chief technology officer at MolyCorp, which it described as “a mining operation with an oversold mineral extraction technology that ended in an SEC investigation and bankruptcy five years after its IPO.”
IBAT’s U.S. traded stock closed at $2.06 per share Wednesday, down just over 10%.