GTAT Commentary

Schloss Golden Rules

GTAT Earnings

GTAT announced their earnings this morning. While it was a "beat"; that was actually meaningless.  The more important component was how upbeat the management appears to be (GT Advanced Technologies Inc. Announces Results for Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2013).  I have to say that there are two things that make me scratch my head about GTAT.

1. The short ratio. As of the end of January, almost 26% of the float was shorted.  That is extraordinarily high. As a bull for GTAT, I just cannot understand why such a large percentage is shorted.  What are they seeing?  It is always important to understand both sides of a position.
2. Sales by insiders. Gutierrez, the CEO, sold 200,000 shares on February 3rd at $10.19.  Now that could be for taxes, or it could be a 10b5 plan he had filed a long time ago.  Or perhaps he needs cash for a house, a divorce or who knows what. Still, it bothers me (a little).

But in their statement, GTAT affirmed that everything is going according to plan: 

"Our results for the December quarter were in line with our guidance and the anticipated growth trajectory of our business remains unchanged," said Tom Gutierrez, president and chief executive officer. "We expect to return to profitability during the second half of 2014.

"Our arrangement to supply sapphire materials to Apple is progressing well and we started to build out the facility in Arizona and staff the operation during the quarter," said Gutierrez. "We are pleased to have Apple as a sapphire customer and to be in a position to leverage our proprietary know-how to enable the supply of this versatile material."

Then they are also bullish on other advanced technologies:

"While our primary focus during the balance of the year is to continue to execute on our commitments in Arizona, our aim is to position GT not only as an exceptional sapphire supplier to Apple but also as an unparalleled world-class supplier of sapphire material and equipment to a variety of customers.

"Although we have significant opportunities in sapphire, the GT story is not only about our emerging sapphire materials business. In fact, our entry into sapphire materials may enable us to expand into other materials segments once we have fully ramped the operation in Arizona. The many diversification and investment seeds we have planted over the last several years in the LED, power electronics, advanced solar and industrial markets are expected to begin to bear fruit over the next 18 months. We are seeing significant interest in our new products and now expect equipment orders from these initiatives to be received during the latter part of 2014, with meaningful revenue recognition beginning in early 2015."

So, it seems pretty exciting to me.  I may hold my shares for many years.  Feeling a little remorse selling 1/3 of position at $11.15.