Want to make shareholders happy? Tell them that you can keep plugging along without diluting their stock. That is working today for engineering product development company Kelso Technologies (TSX:KLS)(NYSE MKT:KIQ). In fact, while the Toronto Composite limps along, shares of KLS are amongst the leading gainers of TSX-listed companies.
The Vancouver-based company has been pretty quiet as it initiated a non-brokered private placement mid-November as it looked to raise $2.5 million by issuing five million "units" at 50 cents each. Each unit consisted of a share of common stock and a warrant to buy another share at 80 cents within the first year of the unit purchase or $1.20 during the subsequent year.
When the raise was announced, shares were looming in the area of 50 cents, but promptly spun lower on the news, touching as low as 31.5 cents November 29 before starting to recover.
In Tuesday trading, shares of KLS have once again topped 50 cents and are printing near a two-month high at 54 cents for a gain of 14.9% as of 1 p.m. EST on news that the private placement has been withdrawn due to volatile market activity.
The company says that it thinks tax loss selling and social media boards being bombarded with negativity caused the stock's big swings. In the meantime, Kelso management says it can continue to operate and conservatively work towards its long-term goals by using existing capital reserves and revenue from Q4 sales.
