on tuesday, Semler Scientific Co., Ltd. (Nasdaq: SMLR), a healthcare software company; Announced The company announced that it had purchased 581 bitcoin for approximately $40 million as part of its “Bitcoin Treasury Strategy.”
Following the announcement, some saw the company’s strategy as similar to MicroStrategy’s plan to convert almost all of its assets into Bitcoin.
Got it 👀
Today, Semler Scientific #Bitcoin Financial strategies similar to MicroStrategy Sailor
– Acquired $BTC 8% of the company’s value
– 5x EV/EBITDA
– Price/Earnings Ratio 8x
a #Small Cap version $MSTR and $SMLR Russell 2000 $IWM ?https://t.co/5RGbreCTaj pic.twitter.com/vajSZM4zUz
— Thomas (Tom) Lee (not the drummer) FSInsight.com (@fundstrat) May 28, 2024
“We couldn’t help but take notice of what MicroStrategy has accomplished,” Eric Semler, chairman of Semler Scientific, told Bitcoin Magazine.
“It’s amazing what they’ve been able to do. They have an incredible story of taking a company that was basically trading at market value – its entire value in cash – and turning it into a growth asset through the purchase of Bitcoin,” he added.
“It was a great move by Michael Saylor and he excelled with that strategy.”
While Semler clearly admires Saylor’s bold move, he seems a bit more conservative when it comes to adding Bitcoin to his company’s assets. He said Semler Scientific has no intention of straying from the company’s core mission of producing high-quality medical software by making Bitcoin its primary asset.
“We need to take it slow and figure out what the right approach is as a company,” Semler said.
“We are in the medical device software business and need to weigh the pros and cons of that business versus investing in Bitcoin,” he added.
That said, Semler appears to be a true Bitcoin believer.
“Philosophically speaking, I think there’s merit to the argument that bitcoin is a really great alternative to gold,” he said. “I believe in gold, but I believe bitcoin is like gold with options.”
He further said he appreciates Bitcoin’s complete scarcity, technical durability, and “architecture resilience.”
He also sees it as an omen that while bitcoin is a technology that millennials are embracing, its market cap as an asset is still only about one-tenth of gold’s.
“I became a believer, and consistent with that belief, I thought buying bitcoin might be a really good use of some spare cash.”
And, according to Semler, Semler Scientific has plenty of spare cash because it’s a “highly profitable business.”
After considering options such as buying back shares or investing the cash in the company’s coffers to earn a yield, Semler and the board came up with the idea of using a significant portion of the cash to buy bitcoin.
Capital Markets and Investment Expertise Small and Medium-Sized Businesses — Companies like Semler Scientific Market capitalization is approximately $227 million — Semler knows that SMID-cap companies need to do something if they want to get investor attention.
“SMID-cap companies have to put in a lot of effort to get investors’ attention,” Semler explained.
“Being able to do something dynamic like investing in digital gold at a time when not many others are doing it makes sense and is significant,” he added.
“If I were an investor, I would look at it more closely just because it’s differentiated.”
Semler Scientific shares are currently trading at just over $32, about 50% higher than where they were trading prior to the Bitcoin financial announcement.
