CFO: 'We Will Make DryShips Great Again'

Either the statement or the announcement sent the shares of the company skyrocketing by over 50 percent on Thursday.

The latter involved reaching an agreement with Sifnos to avail a new $200 million loan. The former, positivity moving forward.

Kandylidis said, "[W]e will make DryShips great again." The abounding optimism stems from the fact that Sifnos, an entity owned by the company's founder and chairman Economou, has agreed to refinance the majority of its outstanding debt under a new senior secured revolving facility.

The Agreement

Under the new facility, the company will avail $200 million in new loan from Sifnos, which would be secured by most of its present and future assets. The loan, with a three-year tenure, carries an interest rate of LIBOR, plus 5.5 percent and has been arranged at a cost of 2 percent. The company now has total available liquidity of between $119.0 million and 129.0 million, which will not only give it comfort to fund operations but also the opportunity to evaluate the possible acquisition of assets at distressed values.

Roller-Coaster Ride Post-Election

Immediately after the November 8 U.S. presidential election, DryShips shares began a steep rally, going from around $5 to $73 on a closing level basis. Among the many reasons cited for the breathtaking rally was a short squeeze, as the multiple reverse splits effected in 2016 reduced supply of shares, with the Trump election, a rebound in the Baltic Dry Index and renewed energy oozed by the Chinese economy all serving as positive catalysts.

The gravity-defying climb came to a halt shortly after, as the stock retraced all of its gains and returned to pre-election levels. Subsequently, the stock has seen increasingly activity levels, with short spikes and pullbacks on news flow from the company concerning financing arrangements.

Can the stock, which now has a familiarity with volatility, climb back before the year ends, rewarding investors who stuck through this roller-coaster ride? The next few sessions will provide that answer.

At time of writing, DryShips shares were sliding 3.61 percent to $5.21.