24/7 Wall St.

There is a good reality check today for anyone considering whether or not they should be committing capital to invest in Diamond Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ: DMND).  The nuts and snacks company is consistently viewed as a turnaround candidate after its woes in recent months from accounting irregularities.  Many investors have tried to bottom fish here, but this is a situation where bottom fishing was a painful endeavor.

Investors need to recall that Diamond Foods has a Department of Justice investigation after accounting irregularities, shareholder suits, a management shuffle (to put it politely), a suicide by a director, a heavy debt load and a liquidity issue, among other things.  There are literally thousands of potential stocks to choose from for investors.  Taking the risk of companies suffering from accounting irregularities, government investigations, and those under a transitional management team all at once is not exactly an easy way to make money.  The stock charts and the past trading history no longer matter.

One investment manager named Felix Tong keyed in earlier today about why he is avoiding Diamond Foods.  This is truly worth the read for those wondering whether or not they should start to tip-toe back into Diamond Foods because it looks at the financial facts rather than the guesswork that can be clouded by emotion.  Eventually there may be some serious money made here.  The risk versus reward is still too difficult to quantify and it was refreshing to see some financial reality published that was not from a Wall Street analyst hoping to drive commissions.

JON C. OGG