Item 1A. Risk Factors
ITEM
1A. RISK FACTORS
We
may from time to time make written or oral statements that contain forward-looking information. However, our actual results may
differ materially from our expectations, statements or projections. The following risks and uncertainties, together with other
factors not presently determinable, could cause actual results to differ from our expectations, statements or projections.
GENERAL
FACTORS
We
have a history of operating losses and have used significant amounts of cash for operations and to fund our acquisitions and investments.
Although
we had a history of losses from our OmniMetrix subsidiary and corporate overhead and have used significant amounts of cash to
fund our operating activities over the years, we have had several consecutive quarters of profitability at our OmniMetrix subsidiary
and also were able to cover corporate overhead in the fourth quarter of 2020 resulting in consolidated net income For the full
year 2020 and 2019, we had operating losses of approximately $310,000 and $699,000, respectively. Cash provided by operating activities
was approximately $464,000 in 2020 and cash used in operating activities was approximately $1.2 million in 2019.
On
March 11, 2021, we had approximately $1.8 million of consolidated cash and cash equivalents.
During
2019, we provided OmniMetrix $323,000 for the repayment of a loan to a former director, and approximately $234,000 was added to
the intercompany amounts owed to Acorn for accrued interest and dividends, net of repayments of approximately $52,000. Our corporate
overhead has also been significantly reduced and has stabilized. Based on the above, we believe we have sufficient cash to finance
our operations for at least twelve months from the issuance of the consolidated financial statements contained in this Annual
Report. However, we may need to seek additional sources of funding for long-term corporate costs or if OmniMetrix were not to
grow at the rate anticipated and needed additional funds for their operations. Additional sources of funding may include additional
loans from related and/or non-related parties, partial sale of, or finding a strategic partner for, OmniMetrix or equity financings.
There can be no assurance additional funding will be available at acceptable terms or that we will be able to successfully utilize
any of these possible sources to provide additional liquidity.
7
We
depend on key management for the success of our business.
Our
success is largely dependent on the skills, experience and efforts of our senior management team, including Jan Loeb and Tracy
Clifford. The loss of the services of any of these key managers could materially harm our business, financial condition, future
results and cash flow. We do not maintain “key person” life insurance policies on any members of senior management.
We may also not be able to locate or employ on acceptable terms qualified replacements for our senior management if their services
were no longer available.
Loss
of the services of a few key employees could harm our operations.
We
depend on key technical employees and sales personnel. The loss of certain personnel could diminish our ability to develop and
maintain relationships with customers and potential customers. The loss of certain technical personnel could harm our ability
to meet development and implementation schedules. The loss of key sales personnel could have a negative effect on sales to certain
current customers. Although most of our significant employees are bound by confidentiality and non-competition agreements, the
enforceability of such agreements cannot be assured. Our future success also depends on our continuing ability to identify, hire,
train and retain other highly qualified technical and managerial personnel. If we fail to attract or retain highly qualified technical
and managerial personnel in the future, our business could be disrupted.
There
is a limited trading market for our common stock and the price of our common stock may be volatile.
Our
common stock is traded on the OTCQB marketplace under the symbol “ACFN.” The OTCQB is a regulated quotation service
that displays real-time quotes, last-sale prices and volume information in over-the-counter equity securities and provides significantly
less liquidity than a listing on the NASDAQ Stock Markets or other national securities exchanges. The OTCQB securities are traded
by a community of market makers that enter quotes and trade reports. This market is limited in comparison to the national stock
exchanges, and any prices quoted may not be a reliable indication of the value of our common stock. Quotes for stocks included
on the OTCQB are not listed in the financial sections of newspapers as are those for the NASDAQ Stock Market or the NYSE. Therefore,
prices for securities traded solely on the OTCQB may be difficult to obtain.
Trading
on the OTCQB marketplace as opposed to a national securities exchange has resulted, and may continue to result, in a reduction
in some or all of the following, each of which could have a material adverse effect on the price of our common stock and our company:
●
the
liquidity of our common stock;
●
the
market price of shares of our common stock;
●
our
ability to obtain financing for the continuation of our operations;
●
the
number of institutional and other investors that will consider investing in shares of our common stock;
●
the
number of market markers in shares of our common stock;
●
the
availability of information concerning the trading prices and volume of shares of our common stock; and
●
the
number of broker-dealers willing to execute trades in shares of our common stock.
In
addition, the market price of our common stock could be subject to wide fluctuations in response to:
●
quarterly
variations in our revenues and operating expenses;
●
announcements
of new products or services by us;
●
fluctuations
in interest rates;
●
significant
sales of our common stock;
●
the
operating and stock price performance of other companies that investors may deem comparable to us; and
●
news
reports relating to trends in our markets or general economic conditions.
8
Penny
stock rules will limit the ability of our stockholders to sell their stock.
The
SEC has adopted regulations which generally define “penny stock” to be any equity security that has a market price
(as defined) less than $5.00 per share or an exercise price of less than $5.00 per share, subject to certain exceptions. Our securities
are covered by the penny stock rules, which impose additional sales practice requirements on broker-dealers who sell to persons
other than established customers and “accredited investors”. The term “accredited investor” refers generally
to institutions with assets in excess of $5,000,000 or individuals with a net worth in excess of $1,000,000 or annual income exceeding
$200,000 or $300,000 jointly with their spouse. The penny stock rules require a broker-dealer, prior to a transaction in a penny
stock not otherwise exempt from the rules, to deliver a standardized risk disclosure document in a form prepared by the SEC which
provides information about penny stocks and the nature and level of risks in the penny stock market. The broker-dealer also must
provide the customer with current bid and offer quotations for the penny stock, the compensation of the broker-dealer and its
salesperson in the transaction and monthly account statements showing the market value of each penny stock held in the customer’s
account. The bid and offer quotations, and the broker-dealer and salesperson compensation information, must be given to the customer
orally or in writing prior to effecting the transaction and must be given to the customer in writing before or with the customer’s
confirmation. In addition, the penny stock rules require that prior to a transaction in a penny stock not otherwise exempt from
these rules, the broker-dealer must make a special written determination that the penny stock is a suitable investment for the
purchaser and receive the purchaser’s written agreement to the transaction. These disclosure requirements may have the effect
of reducing the level of trading activity in the secondary market for the stock that is subject to these penny stock rules. Consequently,
these penny stock rules may affect the ability of broker-dealers to trade our securities. We believe that the penny stock rules
discourage investor interest in and limit the marketability of our common stock; however, we have the option to execute a reverse
split which could mitigate this issue.
Compliance
with changing regulation of corporate governance, public disclosure and financial accounting standards may result in additional
expenses and affect our reported results of operations.
Keeping
informed of, and in compliance with, changing laws, regulations and standards relating to corporate governance, public disclosure
and accounting standards, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Dodd-Frank Act, as well as new and proposed SEC regulations and accounting
standards, has required an increased amount of management attention and external resources. Compliance with such requirements
may result in increased general and administrative expenses and an increased allocation of management time and attention to compliance
activities.
We
may not be able to successfully integrate companies which we may invest in or acquire in the future, which could materially and
adversely affect our business, financial condition, future results and cash flow.
Part
of our business model includes the acquisition of new companies either as new platform companies or complimentary companies. Any
failure to effectively integrate any future acquisition’s management into our controls, systems and procedures could materially
adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flow.
Any
significant acquisition could require substantial use of our capital and may require significant debt or equity financing. We
anticipate the need to closely manage our cash for the foreseeable future and cannot provide any assurance as to the availability
or terms of any such financing or its effect on our liquidity and capital resources.
Integrating
acquisitions is often costly, and we may not be able to successfully integrate acquired companies with existing operations without
substantial costs, delays or other adverse operational or financial consequences. Integrating acquired companies involves a number
of risks that could materially and adversely affect our business, including:
●
failure
of the acquired companies to achieve the results we expect;
●
inability
to retain key personnel of the acquired companies;
●
dilution
of existing stockholders;
●
potential
disruption of our ongoing business activities and distraction of our management;
●
difficulties
in retaining business relationships with suppliers and customers of the acquired companies;
●
difficulties
in coordinating and integrating overall business strategies, sales and marketing, and research and development efforts; and
●
difficulties
in establishing and maintaining uniform standards, controls, procedures and policies, including accounting controls and procedures.
9
We
incur substantial costs as a result of being a public company.
As
a public company, we incur significant legal, accounting, and other expenses in connection with our reporting requirements. The
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, Dodd-Frank Act and the rules subsequently implemented by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”)
have required changes in corporate governance practices of public companies. These rules and regulations have already increased
our legal and financial compliance costs and the amount of time and effort we devote to compliance activities. We expect that
as a result of continued compliance with these rules and regulations, we will continue to incur significant legal and financial
compliance costs. We continue to regularly monitor and evaluate developments with respect to these new rules with our legal counsel,
but we cannot predict or estimate the amount of additional costs we may incur or the timing of such costs.
We
may in the future become involved in litigation that may materially adversely affect us.
From
time to time in the ordinary course of our business, we may become involved in various legal proceedings, including commercial,
product liability, employment, class action and other litigation and claims, as well as governmental and other regulatory investigations
and proceedings. Any legal proceedings can be time-consuming, divert management’s attention and resources and cause us to
incur significant expenses. Because litigation is inherently unpredictable, the results of any such actions may have a material
adverse effect on our business, operations or financial condition.
We
have reported material weaknesses in internal controls over financial reporting as of December 31, 2020 and we cannot assure you
that additional material weaknesses will not be identified in the future or that we can effectively remediate our reported weaknesses.
If our internal control over financial reporting or disclosure controls and procedures are not effective, there may be errors
in our consolidated financial statements that could require a restatement, or our filings may not be timely, and investors may
lose confidence in our reported financial information.
Section
404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 requires us to evaluate the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting
as of the end of each year, and to include a management report assessing the effectiveness of our internal control over financial
reporting in each Annual Report on Form 10-K.
Our
management, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, does not expect that our internal control over
financial reporting will prevent all errors and all fraud. A control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide
only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that the control system’s objectives will be met. Further, the design of a control
system must reflect the fact that there are resource constraints, and the benefits of controls must be considered relative to
their costs. Controls can be circumvented by the individual acts of some persons, by collusion of two or more people, or by management
override of the controls. Over time, controls may become inadequate because changes in conditions or deterioration in the degree
of compliance with policies or procedures may occur. Because of the inherent limitations in a cost-effective control system, misstatements
due to error or fraud may occur and not be detected.
As
a result, we cannot assure you that additional significant deficiencies or material weaknesses in our internal control over financial
reporting will not be identified in the future or that we can effectively remediate our reported weaknesses. Any failure to maintain
or implement required new or improved controls, or any difficulties we encounter in their implementation, could result in significant
deficiencies or material weaknesses, cause us to fail to timely meet our periodic reporting obligations, or result in material
misstatements in our financial statements. Any such failure could also adversely affect the results of periodic management evaluations
regarding disclosure controls and the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting required under Section 404
of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules promulgated thereunder. The existence of a material weakness could result in errors
in our consolidated financial statements that could result in a restatement of consolidated financial statements, cause us to
fail to timely meet our reporting obligations and cause investors to lose confidence in our reported financial information.
10
If
we are unable to protect our intellectual property, or our intellectual property protection efforts are unsuccessful, others may
duplicate our technology.
We
rely on a combination of patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secret laws and restrictions on disclosure to protect our intellectual
property rights. Our ability to compete effectively will depend, in part, on our ability to protect our proprietary technology,
systems designs and manufacturing processes. The ability of others to use our intellectual property could allow them to duplicate
the benefits of our products and reduce our competitive advantage. In the future, should we apply for new patents, we do not know
whether any of our pending patent applications will be issued or, in the case of patents issued, that the claims allowed are or
will be sufficiently broad to protect our technology or processes. Further, a patent issued covering one use of our technology
may not be broad enough to cover uses of that technology in other business areas. Even if all our patent applications are issued
and are sufficiently broad, they may be challenged or invalidated, or our competitors may independently develop or patent technologies
or processes that are equivalent or superior to ours. We could incur substantial costs in prosecuting patent and other intellectual
property infringement suits and defending the validity of our patents and other intellectual property. While we have attempted
to safeguard and maintain our property rights, we do not know whether we have been or will be completely successful in doing so.
These actions could place our patents, trademarks and other intellectual property rights at risk and could result in the loss
of patent, trademark or other intellectual property rights protection for the products, systems and services on which our business
strategy partly depends. Furthermore, it is not practical from a cost/benefit perspective to file for patent or trademark protection
in every jurisdiction where we now or in the future may conduct business. In those territories where we do not have the benefit
of patent or trademark protections, our competitors may be able to prevent us from selling our products or otherwise limit our
ability to advertise under our established product names and we may face risks associated with infringement litigation as discussed
below.
We
rely, to a significant degree, on contractual provisions to protect our trade secrets and proprietary knowledge. These trade secrets
either cannot be protected by patent protection or we have determined that seeking a patent is not in our interest. These agreements
may be breached, and we may not have adequate remedies for any breach. Our trade secrets may also be known without breach of such
agreements or may be independently developed by competitors.
It
can be difficult or expensive to obtain the insurance we need for our business operations.
As
part of our business operations, we maintain insurance as a corporate risk management strategy. Insurance products are impacted
by market fluctuations and can become expensive and sometimes very difficult to obtain. There can be no assurance that we can
secure all necessary or appropriate insurance at an affordable price for the required limits. Our failure to obtain such insurance
could lead to uninsured losses that could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations or financial condition or
cause us to be out of compliance with our contractual obligations.
We
may in the future be involved in product liability and product warranty claims relating to the products we manufacture and distribute
that, if adversely determined, could adversely affect our financial condition, results of operations, and cash flows. Product
liability claims can be expensive to defend and can divert the attention of management and other personnel for significant periods,
regardless of the ultimate outcome. Claims of this nature could also have a negative impact on customer confidence in our products
and our company. While insurance can mitigate some of this risk, due to our current size and limited operating history, we have
been unable to obtain product liability insurance with significant coverage. Our customers may not accept the terms we have been
able to procure and seek to terminate our existing contracts or cease to do business with us.
Our
financial instruments could subject us to concentrations of credit risk.
Our
financial instruments, which potentially subject us to concentrations of credit risk, consist principally of cash and trade accounts
receivable. Our cash was deposited with a U.S. bank and amounted to approximately $2.1 million at December 31, 2020. Approximately
32% of the accounts receivable at December 31, 2020 was due from two customers, 20% from one and 12% from another, who pay their
receivables over usual credit periods. Credit risk with respect to the balance of trade receivables is generally diversified due
to the number of entities comprising our customer base. Although we do not believe there is significant risk of non-performance
by these counterparties, any failures or defaults on their part could negatively impact the value of our financial instruments
and could have a material adverse effect on our business, operations or financial condition.
11
The
COVID-19 pandemic could negatively affect various aspects of our business, including our workforce and supply chain, and make
it more difficult and expensive to meet our obligations to our customers, and could result in reduced demand from our customers.
The
outbreak of the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic has caused governments around the world to implement quarantines of certain geographic
areas and implement significant restrictions on travel. Several governments have also implemented work restrictions that prohibit
many employees from going to work, both around the world as well as in certain jurisdictions in the United States. At this time,
it is unclear if foreign governments or U.S. federal, state or local governments will further extend any of the current restrictions
or if further restrictions will be put into place. In addition, many countries, including the United States, have placed significant
bans on international travel. It is possible that restrictions or bans on domestic travel may be implemented by U.S. federal,
state or local governments. As a result of the pandemic, businesses can be shut down, supply chains can be interrupted, slowed,
or rendered inoperable, and individuals can become ill, quarantined, or otherwise unable to work and/or travel due to health reasons
or governmental restrictions.
Governmental
mandates may require forced shutdowns of our facilities for extended or indefinite periods. In addition, the pandemic could adversely
affect our workforce resulting in serious health issues and absenteeism. The pandemic could also substantially interfere with
general commercial activity related to our supply chain and customer base, which could have a material adverse effect on our financial
condition, results of operations, business, or prospects. Some of the electronic devices and hardware we purchase, like antennas,
radios, and GPS modules are very specific to our application; there are not likely to be practical alternatives. In some cases,
our circuit boards were designed around specific electronic hardware that met our specifications. We are working closely with
our contract manufacturers and suppliers in order to mitigate as much as possible the risks to our supply chain for these critical
devices and hardware, including identifying any lead-time issues and any potential alternate sources. We are also examining all
currently open purchase orders in an effort to identify whether we need to issue additional orders to secure product that is critical,
already has questionable lead times and/or is unique to our requirements.
OmniMetrix,
to date, has been deemed an essential business; however, if this were to change and our operations are curtailed, we may need
to seek alternate sources of supply for services and staff, which may be more expensive. Alternate sources may not be available
or may result in delays in shipments to us from our supply chain and subsequently to our customers, each of which would affect
our results of operations. Further, if our customers’ businesses are similarly affected, they might delay or reduce purchases
from us, which could adversely affect our results of operations.
RISKS
RELATED TO OMNIMETRIX
While
OmniMetrix has reported quarterly net income since the second quarter of 2020, OmniMetrix has had a history of incurring net losses
since it was acquired by us and may never achieve sustained profitability.
Although
OmniMetrix realized an operating profit of approximately $0.6 million in 2020 and $0.2 million in 2019, OmniMetrix has a history
of incurring operating losses since OmniMetrix was acquired by Acorn in 2012. While OmniMetrix has significantly reduced its losses
and its cash needs from us and we expect positive cash flow from its operations in 2021, we can provide no assurance that OmniMetrix
will be able to generate sufficient revenues and cash flow to allow it to become profitable or to eventually sustain profitability
or to have positive cash flows.
An
increase in customer terminations would negatively affect our business by reducing OmniMetrix revenue or requiring us to spend
more money to grow our customer base.
Non-renewals
or other monitoring service terminations could increase in the future due to customer dissatisfaction with our products and services,
increased competition from other providers or alternative technologies.
If
we have an increase in our non-renewal rate, we will have to acquire new customers on an ongoing basis just to maintain our existing
level of customers and revenues. As a result, marketing expenditures are an ongoing requirement of our business. We incur significant
costs to acquire new customers, and those costs are an important factor in determining our net profitability. Therefore, if we
are unsuccessful in retaining customers or are required to spend significant amounts to acquire new customers, our revenue could
decrease and our operating results could be affected.
12
OmniMetrix
is a relatively small company with limited resources compared to some of its current and potential competitors, which may hinder
its ability to compete effectively.
Some
of OmniMetrix’s current and potential competitors have significantly greater resources and broader name recognition than
it does. As a result, these competitors may have greater credibility with OmniMetrix’s existing and potential customers.
They also may be able to adopt more aggressive pricing policies and devote greater resources to the development, promotion and
sale of their products, which would allow them to respond more quickly to new or emerging technologies or changes in customer
requirements. In particular, at the present time we are facing significant competition from generator manufacturers who offer
their own monitoring solutions.
OmniMetrix
may not be able to access sufficient capital to support growth.
Although
OmniMetrix is not expected to need funding from us in 2021 to support its growth and working capital needs, OmniMetrix has historically
been dependent on Acorn’s ability and willingness to provide funding to support its business and growth strategy. Since
our acquisition of OmniMetrix in February 2012, we have invested approximately $14.0 million and, as of December 31, 2020, have
lent approximately $2,985,000, net of repayments of approximately $570,000 in the aggregate made in 2019 and 2020, to OmniMetrix,
not including approximately $1,590,000 of accrued interest and expenses advanced to it by Acorn since 2014. The loans included
$323,000 lent in 2019 to repay a loan from a former director. The advances include $114,000 in accrued preferred dividends for
preferred OmniMetrix stock purchased by Acorn from a former director in connection with Acorn’s reacquisition of 19% of
OmniMetrix in 2019.
We
have no assurance that current cash balances plus cash flow from operations will provide sufficient liquidity for OmniMetrix’s
working capital needs in 2021. Additional financing for OmniMetrix may be in the form of a bank line, a new loan or investment
by others, a loan by Acorn, or a combination of the above. The availability and amount of any additional loans from us to OmniMetrix
may be limited by the working capital needs of our corporate activities. Whether Acorn will have the resources necessary to provide
funding, or whether alternative funds, such as third-party loans, will be available at the time and on terms acceptable to Acorn
and OmniMetrix cannot be determined.
OmniMetrix
sells equipment and services which monitor third-party products, thus its revenues are dependent on the continued sales of such
third-party products.
OmniMetrix’s
end-user customer base is comprised exclusively of parties who have chosen to purchase either generators or construct gas pipelines.
OmniMetrix has no ability to control the rate at which new generators or cathodic protection systems are acquired. If purchases
of such products decline, the associated need for OmniMetrix’s products and services is expected to decline as well.
If
OmniMetrix is unable to keep pace with changing market or customer-mandated product and service improvements, OmniMetrix’s
results of operations and financial condition may suffer.
Many
of OmniMetrix’s existing products may require ongoing engineering and upgrades in conjunction with market developments as
well as specific customer needs. There can be no assurance that OmniMetrix will continue to be successful in its engineering efforts
regarding the development of its products, and future technological difficulties could adversely affect its business, results
of operations and financial condition.
The
cellular networks used by OmniMetrix are also subject to periodic technical updates that may require corresponding updates to,
or replacement of, OmniMetrix’s monitoring equipment.
Cellular
networks have evolved over time to offer more robust technical capabilities in both voice and data transmission. At the present
time, the changes from the so-called “2G” to “3G” and “LTE” service have resulted in only
limited service interruptions. OmniMetrix anticipates, however, that as these new capabilities come online, it will be necessary
to have equipment that can readily interface with the newer cellular networks to avoid negative impacts on customer service. Not
all of the costs associated with OmniMetrix’s corresponding equipment upgrades can be passed on to customers, and any increased
expenses are expected to have a negative impact on OmniMetrix’s operating results.
13
A
substantial portion of OmniMetrix’s revenues are expected to be generated not from product sales, but from periodic monitoring
fees and thus it is continually exposed to risks associated with its customers’ financial stability.
OmniMetrix
sells on-going monitoring services to both PG and CP customers. It is therefore dependent on these customers continuing to timely
pay service fees on an on-going basis. If a significant portion of these fees are not renewed from year-to-year, OmniMetrix could
expect to experience deterioration in its financial condition.
OmniMetrix’s
ability to provide, and to collect revenues from, monitoring services is dependent on the reliability of cellular networks not
controlled by OmniMetrix.
OmniMetrix
provides monitoring services through the use of cellular and satellite technology utilizing the networks of third-party providers.
These providers generally do not warrant their services to either OmniMetrix or the end users and any dropped transmissions could
result in the loss of customer renewals and potential claims against OmniMetrix. While OmniMetrix uses contractual measures to
limit its liability to customers, there is no assurance that such limitations will be enforced or that customers will not cancel
monitoring services due to network issues.
OmniMetrix’s
business is dependent on its ability to reliably store and manage data, but there can be no guarantee that it has sufficient capabilities
to mitigate potential data loss in all cases.
The
efficient operation of OmniMetrix’s business is dependent on its information technology systems. In addition, OmniMetrix’s
ability to assist customers in analyzing data related to the performance of such customers’ power and cathodic protection
monitoring systems is an important component of its customer value proposition. OmniMetrix utilizes off-site data servers, housed
within a commercial data center utilizing accepted data and power monitoring and protection processes, but whether a data loss
can be avoided cannot be assured in every case. OmniMetrix’s information technology systems are vulnerable to damage or
interruption from natural disasters, sabotage (including theft and attacks by computer viruses or hackers), power outages; and
computer systems, Internet, telecommunications or data network failure. Any interruption of OmniMetrix’s information technology
systems could result in decreased revenue, increased expenses, increased capital expenditures, customer dissatisfaction and potential
lawsuits, any of which could have a material adverse effect on its results of operations and financial condition.
RISKS
RELATED TO OUR SECURITIES
Our
stock price is highly volatile and we do not expect to pay dividends on shares of our common stock for the foreseeable future.
Investors may never obtain a return on their investment.
The
market price of our common stock has fluctuated substantially in the past and is likely to continue to be highly volatile and
subject to wide fluctuations. During 2020, our common stock traded at prices as low as $0.11 and as high as $0.50 per share. Fluctuations
in our stock price may continue to occur in response to various factors, many of which we cannot control, including:
●
general
economic and political conditions and specific conditions in the markets we address;
●
quarter-to-quarter
variations in our operating results;
●
strategic
investments or divestments;
●
announcements
of changes in our senior management;
●
the
gain or loss of one or more significant customers or suppliers;
●
announcements
of technological innovations or new products by our competitors, customers or us;
●
the
gain or loss of market share in any of our markets;
●
changes
in accounting rules;
●
changes
in investor perceptions; or
●
changes
in expectations relating to our products, plans and strategic position or those of our competitors or customers.
14
We
do not intend to pay dividends to our stockholders in the foreseeable future. We intend to reinvest earnings, if any, in the development
and expansion of our business. Accordingly, you will need to rely on sales of your common stock after price appreciation, which
may never occur, in order to realize a return on your investment.
Our
share price may decline due to the large number of shares of our common stock eligible for future sale in the public market including
shares underlying warrants and options.
Almost
all of our outstanding shares of common stock are, or could upon exercise of options or warrants become, eligible for sale in
the public market as described below. Sales of a substantial number of shares of our common stock in the public market, or the
possibility of these sales, may adversely affect our stock price.
As
of March 11, 2021, 39,687,589 shares of our common stock were issued and outstanding. As of that date we had 35,000 warrants outstanding
and exercisable with a weighted average exercise price of $0.13 per share and 429,828 options outstanding and exercisable with
a weighted average exercise price of $0.67 per share, which if exercised would result in the issuance of additional shares of
our common stock. In addition to the options noted above, at March 11, 2021, there were 341,418 options are outstanding, but have
not yet vested and are not yet exercisable.
Substantially
all of our currently outstanding shares and shares issuable under our outstanding options and warrants are or would be freely
tradable.
We
may have to offer additional securities for sale in the near future.
As
of March 11, 2021, we had consolidated cash of approximately $1.8 million which we believe is sufficient for at least the
next twelve months. Despite this, we may ultimately not have sufficient cash to allow us to execute our plans, and the occurrence
of one or more unanticipated events may require us to make significant expenditures. Accordingly, we may need to raise additional
amounts to finance our operations. If we were to do so by selling shares of our common stock and/or other securities convertible
into shares of our common stock, current investors may incur additional dilution in the value of their shares.
ITEM
1B. UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS
None.
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