Guardforce AI plummets on pricing stock deal at steep discount

Guardforce AI

03/05/2023 12:16

** Guardforce AI Co's  GFAI.O  shares plummet ~60% to $4.70
premarket after security firm's follow-on prices
    ** Thailand-based co late Tues announced 1.7 mln shares at
$4.65 for $8 mln raise with EF Hutton as lead bookrunner
    ** Offering price represents 60% discount to last sale
    ** Co plans to use net offering proceeds for R&D to further
advance AI (artificial intelligence) and robotic business and
technology capabilities, among other uses, per the SEC filing
    ** Co has ~1.94 mln shares outstanding as of May 2
    ** Last month, co reported 2% rev decline to $34.5 mln and
wider loss of ~$19 mln in 2022
    ** Stock has seen big swings this year and has traded in
range of $3.81 (Mar) to $36.90 (Apr) amid retail investor
interest in AI-related names, sparked by Microsoft's  MSFT.O 
multi-billion investment in OpenAI

 (Lance Tupper is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed
are his own)
 ((lance.tupper@thomsonreuters.com
lance.tupper@tr.com 1-646-279-6380))