The past few months have been brutal for PHR, which soared as high as P0.87 per share after announcing talks last December for EEI Corp. to step in as a white knight for its stalled Emerald Bay project in Mactan Island.
It was all downhill from there.
Investors were bracing for another meltdown today as the stock plummeted over 28 percent to P0.09, before a dramatic reversal that saw it surge to P0.18—a 100-percent gain for those lucky enough to catch the bottom.
Because of its history of failed deals, a major concern was that EEI had backed out, just like three past suitors, including tycoon Enrique Razon Jr. and the Okada Group.
Is that the case now?
An industry insider strongly disputed that assumption, saying, “EEI remains in play.”
The selldown, which intensified over the past two weeks, was said to be driven by a couple of investors looking to exit at any price.
We wonder if the sellers included bag holders from PHR's 2020 follow-on offering, where shares were priced at P1.68 apiece.
If so, it was a painful exit.
And while the selling appears to have stopped, there’s little reason to celebrate just yet since the stock remains down about 80 percent over the past 12 months.
For those still holding on, the hope is that the company follows through on its commitment to complete the casino, knowing that investors put their hard-earned money into this business.
Miguel R. Camus has been a reporter covering various domestic business topics since 2009.
