Starboard Value (TRIP)
Pitch Summary: Starboard Value presented a detailed activist thesis on Tripadvisor, arguing that the company remains deeply undervalued at only 6.5x FY26E EBITDA compared to peers trading between 12–17x. Tripadvisor’s transformation into an independent, one-share-one-vote entity in April 2025 removed long-standing governance overhangs tied to Liberty and Barry Diller. The presentation highlights that Tripadvisor now […]
13D Activist Fund 2025 Q3 (WK)
Pitch Summary: Workiva Inc. This is another investment by an activist we had not followed before but have known and watched for a while. Irenic Capital was founded in October of 2021 by Adam Katz, a former Portfolio Manager at Elliott Investment Management, and Andy Dodge, a former Investment Partner at Indaba Capital Management. Irenic […]
13D Activist Fund 2025 Q3 (TRIP)
Pitch Summary: Tripadvisor Inc. Tripadvisor, Inc. is the operator of three online platforms designed to enhance the travel planning experience. Its legacy business, Tripadvisor.com, is a large guidance platform in the world, with 300 million monthly unique visitors and more than a billion reviews and $900 million in revenue. Viator, a rapidly scaling booking platform […]
Freedom Holding Corp/NV (FRHC)
Pitch Summary: Price manipulation through multiple related parties; potential violation of sanctions and related party transactions; the CEO continues to circumvent sanctions; 85% of the revenues and 95% of the margin lending is from Russia-related companies; BSD Analysis: Freedom Holding provides brokerage services with heavy exposure to Kazakhstan/Russia. Shorts cite governance, transparency, and regulatory risks.
Carvana Co (CVNA)
Pitch Summary: Poorly run auto retailer with unsustainable $6.5bil debt; shares went up 160% based on misguided optimism; extreme cost-cutting would not alter the company’s insolvency; outdated internal system; the competitive advantage is gone; BSD Analysis: Carvana remains highly leveraged with thin margins and cyclical exposure. Bears highlight governance concerns, high interest burden, and questions […]
Freedom Holding Corp/NV (FRHC)
Pitch Summary: The company neglects AML sanctions and KYC rules (still controls the Russian business and suspended by Ukraine); fake revenue despite losing Russia and Ukraine; bets in highly levered, illiquid market bets; market manipulation; BSD Analysis: Freedom Holding, a Kazakhstan-based brokerage, has expanded aggressively in Eastern Europe and the U.S. Shorts highlight regulatory scrutiny, […]
GigaCloud Technology Inc (GCT)
Pitch Summary: Impossible to run the warehouses profitably at current capacity; using photoshopped photos to portray high-demand business, yet in reality, it is the opposite; making only a fraction of the reported revenue; using the word “AI” to benefit from the hype; China hustle; BSD Analysis: GigaCloud provides a logistics and marketplace platform primarily for […]
EHang Holdings Ltd (EH)
Pitch Summary: Generated net losses since inception; overvalued (TBV x50 vs. competitors’ x4.1 and x5.0); outmatched by competitors in key metrics; minimal R&D expense; running out of cash compared to competitors; undisclosed major restrictions on its recent certifications; the largest deal is dead; photoshopped its logo onto a rented jet; no insider stock purchases since […]
Jin Medical International Ltd (ZJYL)
Pitch Summary: Twitter thread: We are short Jin Medical International Ltd $ZJYL, a China Hustle-style charade. Jin sells wheelchairs and parts in China. In 2022, its revenues fell 8% to just $19M. $ZJYL trades at ~45x revenues. At reasonable “peer” levels of 1-6x sales, $ZJYL shares fall 90% or more. BSD Analysis: Jin Medical designs […]
Renovaro Inc (RENB)
Pitch Summary: The co-founder, who was a magician and faked his entire academic history, was charged by the DOJ with murder and imprisoned; the CEO ignored many red flags related to the co-founder; merged with a 2-month-old ‘AI company’ to pump the stock; the company is a shameless scam; BSD Analysis: Renovaro has a history […]
MicroStrategy Inc (MSTR)
Pitch Summary: Long Bitcoin and short MSTR, which is trading at 2.5x the spot price of Bitcoin; no justification for excessive premium; BSD Analysis: MicroStrategy began as an enterprise analytics software firm but is now effectively a leveraged Bitcoin proxy. The short thesis emphasizes outsized balance sheet exposure to Bitcoin, reliance on debt-financed purchases, and […]
Mega Matrix Inc (MPU)
Pitch Summary: The company’s all previous businesses failed and are now solely dependent on FlexTV; failed crypto business due to management incompetency; FlexTV is likely to fail again as the management has no experience in any entertainment business; BSD Analysis: Mega Matrix pivots frequently between gaming, digital assets, and crypto ventures. Short reports highlight a […]
GigaCloud Technology Inc (GCT)
Pitch Summary: Contrary to its claim, the website has only 50 visits per month; the company is operating a complex web of undisclosed related parties via shell companies; fake shell companies account for most of the revenue; accounting misclassification of costs; BSD Analysis: GigaCloud runs a B2B e-commerce platform for large-parcel goods like furniture and […]
RCI Hospitality Holdings Inc (RICK)
Pitch Summary: Paywalled (The company’s restaurant concept has struggled, the company’s NFT project has sputtered, the core business has faced rougher regulation, and shares have fallen ~20%.) BSD Analysis: RCI operates adult entertainment clubs and Bombshells sports bars, using a roll-up strategy to expand its portfolio. The BSD short thesis highlights regulatory/licensing risk, reputational overhang, […]
Grifols SA (GRFS)
Pitch Summary: The company fully consolidated Harma and PBC Plasma without proper disclosure even though these companies are material to the company’s financials; actual leverage is ~x12 vs. reported ~x6; manipulated debt & EBITDA numbers; materially deceptive financials; Update 2/20/24 – The short seller asked follow-up questions after management and board changes. Update 5/14/24 – […]
Fitell Corp (FTEL)
Pitch Summary: 57% shareholder is related to stock promotions and scams likely to be related to BYU, which dropped 78% in the last two days; overvalued; Chinese pump & dump; audited by a tiny auditor that is no longer doing an audit; BSD Analysis: Fitell Corp operates in the telecom/networking space with a small-cap profile. […]
Kaspi.KZ JSC (KSPI)
Pitch Summary: Misled investors regarding its exposure to Russia; material effect from Russian business; the only bank opening accounts for Russians in Kazakhstan; former 30% shareholder pled guilty of laundering criminal proceeds via Kaspi bank; wildly overvalued (trading at 11x earnings vs. competitor 3x); BSD Analysis: Kaspi.kz is a Kazakh fintech and e-commerce platform. Bears […]
Gorilla Technology Group Inc (GRRR)
Pitch Summary: Paywalled (Gorilla stock is up ~1,200% over the last six months, largely driven by retail investor enthusiasm around a series of recent deals and partnerships. The Bear Cave believes recent retail investor enthusiasm for the company may be premature). BSD Analysis: Gorilla Technology promotes AI-driven security and surveillance systems, but the short thesis […]
ZJK Industrial Co Ltd (ZJK)
Pitch Summary: ZJK falsely claims a collaboration with Nvidia to produce liquid cooling systems; Nvidia denies any partnership; manufactures simple nuts and bolts, not AI components; Sudden shift into AI to inflate stock value; Over 50% of revenue from related-party transactions, financial manipulation. BSD Analysis: Zhongji Innolight trades as a China-based industrial/engineering firm but is […]
Gorilla Technology Group Inc (GRRR)
Pitch Summary: Claims of massive contracts are unsubstantiated; Undisclosed related party transactions suggest that insiders are funneling money out of the company; Financials feature glaring discrepancies and inflated revenue figures, raising serious doubts about its internal controls. BSD Analysis: Gorilla Technology positions itself as a security and surveillance solutions provider but faces allegations of opaque […]
