"Now, with the WWDC less than a week away, LiquidMetal is once again making news, inciting the speculators to once wonder: is LiquidMetal going to show up at the WWDC?"

But a recent story at the stock market opinion site suggests that publicly traded Liquidmetal has been playing this card repeatedly, to spur both sales and its stock price, with rumor sites as willing accomplices.

that the company "has experienced a sharp run-up after rumors surfaced that Apple Inc. would include the technology in the iPhone 5 and future products. But what does that contract mean for Liquidmetal and its shareholders?"

The short answer is: It means whatever Liquidmetal can convince shareholders to believe or hope for. "Liquidmetal's recent run-up in share price may not be fully justified on the surface by rumors that Apple would include the technology in the new iPhone 5," Kuepper says, with masterful understatement. "After all, the $20 million [license] payment was already recorded and gave Apple exclusive rights to the technology, even in the overall consumer electronics industry." And as Kuepper notes, that $20 million is the "only financial upside" to result from the Apple deal.

"Despite this seeming downside, the license deal does provide the company with a great endorsement from one of the world's largest companies," Kuepper writes. "It also increases the company's brand recognition, thanks to the fact that the technology is named after the company. And, this could lead to additional sales by turning the product into a 'household name.'"