What happened
Shares of start-up lithium mining company Sigma Lithium (SGML +8.16%) got rocked to the tune of a 10.1% loss through 10:25 a.m. ET today, after Reuters reported that the company's chief operating officer (COO), Brian Talbot, left the company at the end of last month.
To date, Sigma Lithium itself has not announced the departure.
NASDAQ: SGML
Key Data Points
So what
Maybe Sigma Lithium was just too busy to report the news of its COO exiting the building, though. For the past week, Sigma has battled what it calls "inaccurate media reports" (also from Reuters) that a Brazilian court injunction will prevent it from mining in two Brazilian land plots that the company was hoping to develop.
Sigma insists that it will in fact be able to proceed with its planned expansions in the area using a "waste sharing agreement" with a company called RIX.
At the same time, though, Reuters notes that Sigma Lithium is being plagued by corporate infighting between its two founders, a husband and wife going through a divorce and feuding over control of the company.
Sigma Lithium seems to think everything is still on track and will work out well in the end, but ex-COO Talbot may have a different opinion -- although, as Reuters says, "He did not give a reason for his exit."
Now what
Whatever the reason for Talbot's departure, and however the divorce proceedings between its founders play out, investors might still be best advised to avoid this stock.
Viewed in the most favorable light, Sigma Lithium is a company with zero revenues and nearly $135 million in annual operating costs. Analysts are forecasting an imminent surge to more than $363 million in annual revenue by the end of this year, and positive (non-GAAP) profits to boot. But with less than three months remaining in the year, questions about the company's planned expansion, and now domestic-cum-corporate disputes at the C-level apparently driving high-level executives to depart the company, I honestly don't see how Sigma Lithium will be able to hit those targets.
The best move at this point is probably to wait and see how things play out. There will be plenty of time to invest in the company later on, after it becomes clear whether Sigma Lithium will survive at all.
