Stockwinners Market Radar for August 17, 2020 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

19:42 EDT Poseida Therapeutics' study of P-PSMA-101 placed on hold after patient death - In a regulatory 8-K filing, the company states: "On August 17, Poseida Therapeutics announced that following notification to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration of a pause in enrollment pursuant to the protocol to investigate a patient death, it has received communication from the FDA that the Company's Phase 1 clinical trial for P-PSMA-101 in metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer has been placed on clinical hold. The patient in question had metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer, had failed treatment with multiple anti-cancer agents and was treated with P-PSMA-101 in late July. Through the first 7 days post-treatment, the patient had normal lab results and no clinical symptoms indicating an adverse event. The patient missed both his Day 10 and Day 14 follow up visits, but during this time developed symptoms that subsequently lead to hospitalization and he died of hepatic failure at Day 19 post-treatment. Although the direct cause of the hepatic failure has not yet been confirmed, the patient developed symptoms consistent with macrophage activation syndrome. MAS is a serious and potentially fatal overactivation of the immune system which has been associated with CAR-T therapies, but can have other causes such as infection and autoimmune disease. The patient also developed blurred vision which was diagnosed as uveitis. The clinical investigator has assessed the SAE as possibly related to P-PSMA-101 pending further investigation. To date, there have been no other serious adverse events of decreased vision, uveitis, MAS, or hepatic failure reported in study P-PSMA-101-001. There has also been no cytokine release syndrome or neurotoxicity reported to date. The company's assessment of the event and evaluation of next steps is ongoing, including assessment of protocol changes, if any, as indicated by the findings. The company is awaiting a formal response from the FDA and is preparing recommendations designed to allow resumption of the clinical trial. Once the FDA's questions are answered and a plan submitted, the FDA then has 30 days to notify the Company if the clinical study of P-PSMA-101 may be resumed."

18:39 EDT Golub Capital CEO buys 103K shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, Golub Capital disclosed its CEO David Golub bought 103.4K shares of common stock on August 13th-14th in a total transaction size of $1.3M.

17:32 EDT EV-maker Kandi Technologies spikes almost 11% ahead of August 18 virtual event - Shares of electric vehicle maker Kandi Technologies Group (KNDI) closed up 10.40% or almost $1.00 to $10.19 per share and continue to rise in after-hours trading on Monday in anticipation of Kandi America, the U.S. subsidiary of Kandi Technologies Group live virtual launch event taking place at 10 a.m. CT Tuesday. "We are excited to bring the Auto EVolution to the U.S. market," said Johnny Tai, CEO of Kandi America. "Due to widespread interest, we are streaming the launch on multiple platforms so that anyone, regardless of their location, can tune in." During the event, viewers will have an exclusive look at the sleek design and advanced technology features of the Kandi K23 and K27 electric vehicle, EV, models. Additionally, those who officially registered at DriveKandi.com after Aug. 5 and before 8:30 a.m. CT on Aug. 18 are entered into the "Kandi Auto EVolution For All Giveaway," where one lucky entrant will win a K23. Attendees will hear from a variety of presenters over the course of the 30-minute virtual event, including Michael Satterfield - the man behind one of the country's leading auto blogs, The Gentlemen Racer. Satterfield was one of the first to get behind the wheel of a Kandi and document his experience. Nationwide pre-orders for the K27 and K23 models can be made at Drive.KandiAmerica.com by submitting a fully-refundable $100 deposit to secure the order," said the company in an earlier press release. Other listed companies in the space include Tesla (TSLA), Workhorse Group (WKHS) Nikola (NKLA) and NIO Inc. (NIO).

17:03 EDT Western Copper and Gold announces resignation of Archie Lang from the board - Western Copper and Gold announces resignation of Archie Lang from the Board of Directors of the company, effective August 17th. Executive Chairman Dale Corman stated: "Archie has been a great friend and a key player on our Board of Directors since 2014. We wish him all the best in the future."

17:00 EDT Dolphin Entertainment buys Be Social, terms not stated - Dolphin Entertainment announced an expansion of its entertainment marketing capabilities through its acquisition of influencer marketing leader, Be Social. Founded over 8 years ago by Ali Grant, Be Social is a Los Angeles-based digital communications group representing both brands and "highly-engaged" digital influencers. As part of Dolphin Entertainment, Be Social will continue to operate under its own name out of its existing offices in Los Angeles, with Ms. Grant serving as CEO.

16:49 EDT Penn Virginia names Darrin J. Henke president, CEO - Penn Virginia Corporation announced the concurrent retirement of John A. Brooks and appointment of Darrin J. Henke as President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of the company, effective immediately. "The Board is thankful for John's years of service and leadership. He steadied us during a challenging period in the industry," said Darin G. Holderness, Chairman of the Board of Directors. "Under his leadership, Penn Virginia implemented significantly improved drilling and completions operations and positioned us well for the future. He has been a tremendous asset to Penn Virginia, and we wish him the best in his future endeavors." Prior to joining Penn Virginia, Mr. Henke served nearly five years as the Chief Executive Officer of Gary Petroleum Partners and Gary Permian LLC, a private oil and gas acquisition and development company. He was previously employed by Encana Oil & Gas Inc. for eleven years, most recently as Vice President & General Manager for Southern Operations overseeing, among others, Encana's entrance into the Eagle Ford and Permian Basins.

16:46 EDT Kaman receives $57.3M order under Option 15 of JPF contract with the Air Force - Kaman announced that it received an order under Option 15 of its Joint Programmable Fuze, or JPF, contract with the U.S. Air Force. This order has an expected value of approximately $57.3M for the procurement of JPFs for 25 foreign militaries. Kaman has been the sole provider of the JPF to the USAF since 2002. In addition to the USAF, Kaman provides the JPF to forty other nations. The JPF allows the settings of a weapon to be programmed on wing in flight and is qualified for use on a number of weapons including general purpose bombs, and guided bombs that use JDAM or Paveway kits, on U.S. aircraft such as F-15, F-16, F-22, F-35, A-10, B-1, B-2, B-52 and the MQ-9 UAV as well as on international aircraft such as Mirage 3 and Gripen. Kaman produces the JPF at facilities in Orlando, Florida, and Middletown, Connecticut.

16:31 EDT Deciphera announces publication of Qinlock results in oncology journal - Deciphera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the Journal of Clinical Oncology has published results from its Phase 1 study of QINLOCK, the Company's switch-control tyrosine kinase inhibitor, in patients with second-line through fourth-line plus gastrointestinal stromal tumor. "QINLOCK continues to demonstrate encouraging clinical benefit in earlier lines of treatment following imatinib therapy," said Matthew L. Sherman, MD, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Deciphera. "We believe that these positive results strongly support the ongoing INTRIGUE pivotal Phase 3 study, which is our registration-enabling study in patients with second-line GIST. We are committed to unlocking the full potential of QINLOCK to benefit patients and look forward to completion of enrollment in the INTRIGUE study, expected later this year." The publication highlighted results from the Company's ongoing Phase 1 study of ripretinib in patients with second-line through fourth-line plus GIST. These published results are from 142 GIST patients receiving 150 mg of ripretinib once daily as the starting dose, which is the dose utilized in both of the company's registration-enabling trials, INVICTUS and the ongoing INTRIGUE study, as of an August 31, 2019 data cutoff date. Results were consistent with those previously presented at the 2019 AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics.

16:21 EDT MMA Capital announces departure of CEO Michael Falcone - MMA Capital Holdings announced the resignation of Michael Falcone as CEO. Falcone will remain a member of the company's board. The company's president, Gary Mentesana, will fulfill the duties of the CEO as the company's board and the company's external manager, Hunt Investment Management, work through the selection of a permanent replacement for Falcone as CEO.

16:18 EDT Fabrinet approves additional buyback of up to $58.5M in common stock - Fabrinet announced that its board has approved the repurchase of up to an additional $58.5M of Fabrinet's ordinary shares, bringing the aggregate authorization under Fabrinet's existing share repurchase program to $168.5M, with $100M currently remaining.

16:09 EDT China Natural Resources acquires shares of Feishang Anthracite Resources - China Natural Resources announced that it had entered into a Sale and Purchase Agreement with Feishang Group Limited, pursuant to which the company issued 9.08M shares of the company's common stock, no par value, to Feishang Group, in exchange for 120M shares of Feishang Anthracite Resources Limited, a company that is traded on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, with an approximate aggregate value of HK$87.52M. Feishang Group is the largest stockholder in the company, and is wholly owned by Li Feilie, who also beneficially owns 53.53% of the outstanding equity of 1738.

16:07 EDT MasterCraft Boat purchases Florida boat manufacturing plant - MasterCraft Boat Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of MasterCraft Boat, announced that it has entered into an agreement to purchase a boat manufacturing plant located in Merritt Island, Florida. MasterCraft intends to establish a dedicated manufacturing center in this facility to support the long-term growth of its recently introduced Aviara brand. Aviara, a designer, manufacturer and marketer of luxury day boats ranging from 32 to 40-feet in length is a de novo brand which began production in July of 2019 in MasterCraft's Vonore, Tennesee manufacturing facility. The new Merritt Island facility will provide more than 140,000 square feet of dedicated manufacturing space. Situated on 38 acres of land, including water access, the new facility provides ample room to grow the Aviara brand, and will allow the opportunity for additional vertical integration.

16:06 EDT Amira Nature Foods trading halted, news pending

16:04 EDT Krystal Biotech's KB407 granted orphan drug designation by the FDA to treat CF - Krystal Biotech announced that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, FDA, has granted Orphan Drug Designation to KB407, currently in preclinical development for the treatment of cystic fibrosis, CF. "We are pleased to receive Orphan Drug Designation for KB407 to treat cystic fibrosis as this is an important step forward in our efforts to address the continued unmet need in this devastating disease," said Suma M. Krishnan, founder and chief operating officer of Krystal Biotech. "We are excited by the results of the in vitro data thus far, as presented at ASGCT earlier this year, and we look forward to sharing in vivo animal data later this year." The FDA's Office of Orphan Drug Products grants Orphan Drug Designation to support the development of medicines for underserved patient populations, or rare disorders, that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the United States. Orphan Drug Designation may allow Krystal Biotech to be eligible for a seven-year period of U.S. marketing exclusivity upon approval of KB407, tax credits for certain clinical research costs and a waiver of the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, PDUFA, filing fees, subject to certain conditions.

15:37 EDT FDA alerts clinical staff to inaccurate COVID results from Thermo Fisher test - The Food and Drug Administration alerted clinical laboratory staff and health care providers of a risk of false results with Thermo Fisher Scientific TaqPath COVID-19 Combo Kit "based on two issues related to the test kit and the associated Applied Biosystems COVID-19 Interpretive Software." The test is a molecular assay for the detection of COVID-19 from respiratory specimens. The first issue is related to inadequate vortexing and centrifugation of RT-PCR reaction plates, the FDA said in a statement. The second issue is related to the assay Internal Positive Control and requires laboratory staff to upgrade their software to reduce the risk of invalid, potential false negatives, or inconclusive tests and to decrease the potential need to retest, the agency added. The FDA recommends clinical laboratory staff "implement promptly the software updates and updated instructions for use from Thermo Fisher Scientific." Reference Link

15:27 EDT Toyota, AWS collaborate over Toyota's Mobility Services Platform - Toyota (TM) and Amazon Web Services (AMZN) are expanding their global collaboration, applying AWS's vast portfolio of services to expand Toyota's Mobility Services Platform, an ecosystem to help Toyota engineers develop, deploy, and manage the next generation of data-driven mobility services for driver and passenger safety, security, comfort, and convenience in Toyota's cloud-connected vehicles. Toyota's MSPF leverages the reliability and scalability of AWS's global infrastructure, as well as development expertise from AWS Professional Services, to meet the challenge of processing and analyzing data from operations within Toyota's worldwide fleet of connected vehicles. The MSPF and its application programming interfaces will enable Toyota to collect data from connected vehicles and apply it towards vehicle design and development, new contextual services such as car share, rideshare, full-service lease, and new corporate and consumer services such as proactive vehicle maintenance notifications and driving behavior-based insurance. The collaboration between Toyota and AWS extends to Toyota's entire enterprise, and will help build a foundation for streamlined and secure data sharing throughout the company and accelerate its move toward CASE (Connected, Autonomous/Automated, Shared and Electric) mobility technologies.

15:13 EDT Discover reported July charge-off rate 3.42% vs. 3.65% last month - Reported July 30 or more days delinquency rate 2.03% vs. 2.17% last month.

14:22 EDT ZTE Corp. to launch Axon 20 5G 'first smartphone with under-display camera' - ZTE Corporation (ZTCOY) announced that it will launch the ZTE Axon 20 5G in China on September 1. "The device will be the world's first mass-produced 5G smartphone featuring under-display camera, marking another milestone in ZTE's exploration of the true full display smartphone.aiming to continuously provide consumers with unprecedented user experiences, ZTE is committed to accelerating the development of innovative technologies. ZTE has achieved numerous breakthroughs in the field of smartphone displays, including launching the world's first pressure-sensitive display, the world's first naked-eye 3D display smartphone, as well as the world's first foldable dual-screen smartphone...By launching the world's first 5G smartphone with under-display camera, ZTE will further promote the development of display technologies in the smartphone industry, thereby bringing revolutionized experiences to all consumers," said the company in part. Other companies in the smarphone space include Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOG), Samsung (SSNLF). Reference Link

13:36 EDT Verizon now includes Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+1 bundles in some unlimited plans - Earlier on Monday, Verizon (VZ) announced "more value" included in Mix & Match Unlimited plans and an extended agreement with The Walt Disney Company (DIS), "Verizon customers get more movies and shows, more sports, more data and more ways to save. Beginning August 20, Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+1 will be included in select Mix & Match Unlimited wireless plans, along with features like Apple Music and the ultra-fast speeds of 5G Ultra Wideband, giving customers more value at the same price...Mix & Match lets customers pick and choose the 5G unlimited plan that fits their needs, so they only pay for what they want. From the Just Kids plan, now with unlimited data for as low as $35/mo., to the gimme-everything-and-then-some Get More Unlimited plan for as low as $55/mo., everyone can access what they need with Mix & Match. And, all new Mix & Match wireless plans will support our 5G Nationwide network coming this year. Get More offers customers unmatched value and hundreds of dollars in savings each year," said the company in part.

13:01 EDT Investor Froup says board refreshment at Leaf Group is 'long overdue' - Investors owning a majority of the issued and outstanding shares of Leaf Group have publicly called for significant change at the company. A group that owns more than 40% of Leaf Group - including Osmium Partners, PEAK6 Investments, Boyle Capital Opportunity Fund, Oak Management Corp., Generation Capital Partners II, Generation Partners II, Spectrum Equity Investors V and Spectrum V Investment Managers' Fund issued the following joint statement regarding the resignation of Charles "Lanny" Baker from the Company's Board of Directors: "Mr. Baker is now the fourth director to resign since April and the second director since our Investor Group started demanding significant change - a troubling pattern, which is nearly as unprecedented as a Board that ignores the clearly expressed views of a majority of its shareholders. We remind our fellow shareholders and the Board that Mr. Baker served as the Chairman of the Special Committee that was charged with overseeing the Company's recently completed strategic review process. In its May 20th letter to shareholders regarding the conclusion of its strategic review, the Company attempted to demonstrate the integrity of this process by stating that "[t]he strategic review was conducted by a Special Committee of the Board of Directors consisting of independent directors."1 We had already doubted whether the Special Committee could have run a truly independent process, and our doubts only grew as the Board pulled Mr. Baker from its audit committee last month because his service violated bright-line NYSE independence rules. As the Board continues to claim that shareholders should trust the integrity of its strategic review process, Mr. Baker's resignation casts serious doubt on whether the results of the Company's recently completed strategic review process should be trusted. While we acknowledge that Mr. Baker's resignation is a meaningful step toward eliminating some of the Board's troubling conflicts of interest, his resignation cannot cleanse the already-concluded strategic review process, which was tainted by his lack of independence. To make matters worse, the Board and the Company continue to harp on the outcome of that "failed" process as the rationale for their opposition to shareholders' calls for change. That rationale is misguided at best. The remaining directors should ask themselves why they are so confident that more than half of shareholders are wrong about Leaf Group's need for dramatic change. This Board is left fighting a losing battle in opposing a majority of shareholders. Mr. Moriarty will ultimately have to resign or be fired. With that in mind, the directors should seriously evaluate whether maintaining their absolute loyalty to an underperforming CEO is worth the personal risk associated with sacrificing the fiduciary duties the Board owes to the Leaf Group shareholders. We do not believe any responsible professional would join the Board as a new director under these circumstances. Nevertheless, we caution the Board that attempting to reinforce their numbers without input and approval from a majority of shareholders will only make members of their shrinking band more vulnerable to criticism. We urge the Board to engage with us to refresh the Board with objective professionals who are prepared to work on behalf of shareholders."

12:13 EDT Wolverine World Wide, First Insight form strategic partnership - Through a new global strategic partnership with First Insight, Wolverine Worldwide will be able to further leverage data in its product decision making process, enabling its portfolio of 12 brands to increase speed-to-market, sell-in, sell-through and reduce markdowns. To accomplish this, Wolverine Worldwide has integrated First Insight's Voice of the Customer predictive analytics solution across its portfolio, which includes Merrell, Sperry, Hush Puppies, Saucony, Wolverine, and Keds.

11:45 EDT Planet Fitness rallies after Cuomo says NY gyms can open next week - Shares of Planet Fitness moved higher after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that gyms in the state can open on August 24 at 33% capacity and with a mask requirement. The shares are up 3% to $56.61 in late morning trading.

11:42 EDT Diageo to acquire Aviation Gin, Davos brand for up to $610M - Diageo announced in an earlier filing that it has reached agreement to acquire Aviation American Gin through the acquisition of Aviation Gin and Davos Brands. Aviation American Gin is an American style gin crafted with a blend of botanicals, with subtle juniper notes, delivering a smooth balanced flavour profile. The brand has thrived under the leadership of its majority owner, Davos Brands, and the creative direction of co-owner Ryan Reynolds, who will retain an ongoing ownership interest in Aviation American Gin. Through this acquisition, Diageo is also acquiring the other brands in the Davos Brands' portfolio consisting of Astral Tequila, Sombra Mezcal and TYKU Sake. The total consideration is up to $610M, which includes an initial payment of $335M and a further potential consideration of up to $275M based on the performance of Aviation American Gin over a ten- year period. This reflects the brand's current growth trajectory and expected upside potential. The acquisition will be funded through existing cash and is expected to close before the end of 2020, subject to regulatory clearances.

11:01 EDT Dominion acquires Central Virginia solar project - Dominion Energy (D) announced that it has acquired the 62.5-megawatt Madison Solar generating facility in Orange County, Va., from Cypress Creek Renewables. The project, which will be owned by Dominion Energy's contracted assets arm and which has received all applicable state and local permits, is expected to enter service in the second quarter of 2022. Northrop Grumman (NOC) will take the electricity generated at Madison Solar as well as the renewable energy credits, under long-term agreements. Northrop Grumman anticipates that the facility will provide enough renewable power to the grid to match 100 percent of its Virginia manufacturing and office operations' electricity use.

10:50 EDT TOP Ships management estimates NAV at $180M - Management estimates the company's NAV to be $180M. This translates into an NAV of $4.52 per share based on number of common shares currently outstanding and $3.55 per share on a fully diluted basis. As of August 17, 2020, the company's fleet consisted of ten 50,000 dwt product/chemical tankers, out of which 2 are owned 50%, and two 159,000 dwt suezmax tankers.

10:15 EDT Bank of America reports July default rate 2.09% vs. 2.12% last month - Reports 30-plus day delinquency rate 1.16% vs. 1.30% last month.

10:00 EDT Eastman Kodak sinks 6% after Peter Navarro says 'you can't fix stupid' - "Based on what I'm seeing, what happened at Kodak was probably the dumbest decisions made by executives in corporate history," White House trade advisor Peter Navarro told CNBC earlier in an interview. "You can't fix stupid. You can't even anticipate that degree of stupidity," Navarro added, referring to the potential trading of executives in the company's shares ahead of the announced $765M loan from the government to produce pharmaceuticals at its plant. "We don't know why that happened or what they did. Let the investigation happen. Kodak's doing an internal one as well but we're moving forward. We're not looking in the rear view mirror. I've got 30 projects on my board across the street," Navarro said. Eastman Kodak shares are down 6% to $7.93 in early trading. Reference Link

10:00 EDT Direxion Daily Junior Gold Miners Index Bear 3x Shares falls -8.4% - Direxion Daily Junior Gold Miners Index Bear 3x Shares is down -8.4%, or -94c to $10.24.

10:00 EDT ProShares Ultra Silver rises 7.8% - ProShares Ultra Silver is up 7.8%, or $4.36 to $60.55.

10:00 EDT Barrick Gold rises 10.7% - Barrick Gold is up 10.7%, or $2.89 to $29.88.

09:47 EDT Direxion Daily Junior Gold Miners Index Bear 3x Shares falls -7.2% - Direxion Daily Junior Gold Miners Index Bear 3x Shares is down -7.2%, or -80c to $10.38.

09:47 EDT Revlon falls -8.4% - Revlon is down -8.4%, or -70c to $7.66.

09:47 EDT ProShares Ultra Silver rises 7.3% - ProShares Ultra Silver is up 7.3%, or $4.12 to $60.31.

09:37 EDT IBM reveals next-generation IBM POWER10 processor - IBM revealed the next generation of its IBM POWER central processing unit family: "IBM POWER10. Designed to offer a platform to meet the unique needs of enterprise hybrid cloud computing, the IBM POWER10 processor uses a design focused on energy efficiency and performance in a 7nm form factor with an expected improvement of up to 3x greater processor energy efficiency, workload capacity, and container density than the IBM POWER9 processor." Systems taking advantage of IBM POWER10 are expected to be available in the second half of 2021.

09:27 EDT Criteo appoints Todd Parsons as chief product officer - Criteo announced Todd Parsons' appointment to CPO. In this role, Parsons will lead and oversee Criteo's product design and innovation roadmap, playing a critical role in the transformation of the company's technology platform. Prior to joining Criteo, Parsons served as the CPO at OpenX, a leader in programmatic advertising, where he led a global team in establishing the first people-based programmatic marketplace. Parsons will be based in Paris and will report to CEO Megan Clarken.

09:20 EDT MongoDB appoints Rishi Dave as CMO - MongoDB (MDB) announced the appointment of Rishi Dave as CMO. Dave will oversee the marketing organization including marketing operations, corporate communications, demand generation & field marketing, growth marketing and content marketing and will join MongoDB's executive leadership team. Dave joins from Vonage (VG), where he led the company's global marketing strategy.

09:18 EDT Old Republic declares quarterly dividend of 21c per share - The Board of Directors of Old Republic International Corporation has declared a quarterly cash dividend on the common stock of 21c per share. This dividend is payable September 15, 2020 to shareholders of record on September 4, 2020. Subject to Board approval of each quarter's new rate, the full year's cash dividend will amount to 84c per share compared to 80c paid in 2019.

09:16 EDT Morningstar reports U.S. long-term mutual funds, ETFs collected $43B in July - Morningstar reported estimated U.S. mutual fund and exchange-traded fund flows for July 2020. Overall, long-term mutual funds and ETFs collected $43 billion in July, marking their fourth consecutive month of inflows. Total inflows from April through July were $164 billion, slightly more than half of the $327 billion of outflows that affected those funds in March. Morningstar's report about U.S. fund flows for July 2020 is available here. Highlights from the report include: Taxable-bond funds continue to see strong inflows, gathering $86 billion in July. This is the group's second-highest monthly tally behind June's $92 billion record. In contrast, U.S. equity funds had record outflows of nearly $46 billion in July, and their $147 billion of outflows for the year to date puts the group on track for its worst annual outflows ever, surpassing 2015's record outflows of $63 billion. Sector-equity funds continue to attract investors and collected $3 billion of inflows in July. Investors have targeted sectors such as technology and health that could benefit from social distancing policies, work-from-home arrangements, e-commerce, and the search for a coronavirus vaccine. However, investors dropped out of sectors hit hard by government-imposed lockdowns or weak demand, including real estate and natural resources. Commodities funds posted another strong month in July, drawing in $8 billion and bringing year-to-date total inflows to nearly $39 billion. Investors continued to seek protection in precious-metals funds, pouring $4.0 billion into SPDR Gold Shares and a total of $3.5 billion into iShares Gold Trust and iShares Silver Trust. Morningstar debuted two environmental, social, and governance-related data points to our fund flows analysis in July: the Morningstar Sustainability Rating and Morningstar Low Carbon Designation. U.S. equity funds with 4- or 5-globe ratings and a Low Carbon Designation have had net inflows thus far year-to-date 2020, while most other combinations saw net outflows for the same period. Among fund families, iShares topped the list with $19 billion of inflows in July. Much of that went into taxable-bond funds, including investment-grade and high-yield corporate-bond ETFs. The Federal Reserve continues to be active in those segments, but its purchases do not account for the majority of iShares' flows. Meanwhile, many active managers saw outflows, including Dimensional Fund Advisors, American Funds, Oakmark, and Primecap.

09:13 EDT Ritchie Bros. amends, extends credit facilities - Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers is pleased to announce the closing of an amendment and extension of its credit agreement totaling $630M with a syndicate of lenders comprising: Multicurrency revolving facilities of up to $530M, and, A delayed-draw term loan facility of up to $100M. The maturity date of the Facilities has been extended from October 27, 2021 to October 27, 2023. The Delayed-Draw Facility will continue to amortize in equal quarterly installments in an annual amount of 10%, with the balance payable at maturity. The Facilities continue to be secured by the assets of the Company and certain of its subsidiaries in the United States and Canada.

09:11 EDT Nuance expands availability of Dragon Professional Anywhere solution - Nuance Communications announced the availability of its cloud-based Dragon Professional Anywhere speech recognition solution in the United States across multiple markets including law enforcement, social services, financial services, and legal. This next-generation AI-powered solution enables police officers, social workers, customer service agents, and lawyers to create high-quality documentation more efficiently, securely, and at scale, while reducing cost and boosting productivity. Already available in the U.K., France, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Germany, Dragon Professional Anywhere customers in the U.S. can now use Nuance's speech recognition solutions anywhere, anytime. The continued expansion of Dragon Professional Anywhere is driven by the increasing demand for cloud technology to meet the needs of modern business environments. Forrester Research reports that companies are ramping up investments in cloud-based tools to facilitate extended periods of working from home, a trend that is poised to continue post-pandemic and expected to better prepare organizations for the now dynamic post-COVID economic recovery.

09:10 EDT CIT Group serves as lead arranger on senior secured credit for von Drehle - CIT Group announced that its Asset-Based Lending business, working in conjunction with its Sponsor Finance group, served as lead arranger on senior secured credit facility for von Drehle Corporation, a leading maker of high quality paper towel, tissue and dispensing products. von Drehle, headquartered in Hickory, North Carolina, used the proceeds to refinance debt and for general corporate purposes.

09:09 EDT Autodesk completes acquisition of Pype - Autodesk has completed the acquisition of Pype and its portfolio of cloud-based software solutions for the construction industry. This acquisition and resulting product integrations will provide additional value for Autodesk Construction Cloud users, allowing general contractors, subcontractors and owners to automate workflows such as submittals and project closeout to increase overall productivity and reduce risk throughout the project lifecycle. Pype's solutions use artificial intelligence and machine learning to extract and process data from project plans and specifications. The resulting data provides unprecedented insights on project management workflows, helps teams identify actionable information to close communication gaps between design, construction and operations teams, and ensures a higher level of quality, efficiency and risk management on projects. Autodesk plans to integrate Pype within its Autodesk Construction Cloud portfolio. The transaction was subject to customary closing conditions and occurred during Autodesk's third quarter of fiscal 2021, ending October 31, 2020. The acquisition will have no material impact on fiscal year 2021 guidance presented on June 3, 2020.

09:06 EDT MOBILion closes $35M series B financing round - MOBILion Systems announced a $35M Series B funding round. The oversubscribed round was led by aMoon, with the remaining funds contributed by existing investors, including Agilent Technologies, IP Group, Hostplus and Cultivation Capital. MOBILion intends to use the funds to build the commercial team supporting the launch of the company's first product based on the patented ion mobility separations technology, called Structures for Lossless Ion Manipulation. MOBILion's SLIM technology rapidly and efficiently separates, identifies and analyzes even the most challenging, clinically significant molecules that other instruments fail to detect, enabling earlier disease detection, improved diagnostic accuracy and treatment options, along with reduced healthcare costs. It delivers unprecedented high-resolution, high-throughput analysis for the pharmaceutical industry and clinical researchers, significantly enhancing the characterization of protein-based biotherapeutics and accelerating biomarker discovery. Additionally, the Company plans to expand the development of its product portfolio for pharma QC and diagnostic applications. In a very short time the company achieved all of its Series A milestones and earned a strong market response for its first product, which launched to select beta users in July 2020, and was offered to customers via sample analysis collaborations in MOBILion's applications laboratory. The product will be fully launched in North America in 2021. Pharmaceutical customers are using SLIM to address deficiencies in characterization of biologic therapeutics, specifically for glycan analysis, peptide mapping, intact, and subunit protein analysis, which are critical quality assays that remain challenging or impossible to adequately achieve with existing liquid-chromatography mass spectrometry workflows. MOBILion's patented product is being employed for glycan characterization of the spike protein that decorates the surface of COVID-19 and its interaction with the host cell receptor angiotensin converting enzyme 2. The glycan analysis of COVID-19 could add to the understanding of how the virus binds to its target and provide researchers with valuable insights that are essential for the development of an effective treatment. MOBILion is commercializing SLIM technology-based products that are integrated with several industry-leading mass spectrometry platforms to dramatically advance the capabilities of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry workflows to efficiently reveal previously undetectable molecules. The SLIM technology can be integrated with LC-MS workflows to provide more robust analytical information, and for some applications, can even replace liquid chromatography separations to provide superior resolution, speed, ease of use and greater instrument uptime. MOBILion's first product is integrated with Agilent's high resolution QToF mass spectrometer. MOBILion is also developing an easier to use, operator-simplified stand-alone SLIM product that does not require integration with a mass spectrometer for translation to pharmaceutical quality control and diagnostic laboratories.

09:04 EDT Fitbit Premium reaches over 500,000 paid subscribers - Fitbit announced that Fitbit Premium, its paid membership service that gives you guidance to help you move more, manage stress, sleep better and eat well, has reached more than 500,000 paid subscribers in less than a year since launch. Fitbit Premium will also be expanding to include seven additional languages later this year.

09:03 EDT Assurant acquires Fixt mobile device support, repair provider - Assurant announced it has acquired Fixt, a provider of on-demand mobile device support and repair. Fixt enables consumers to schedule local, onsite repairs of mobile devices via a network of more than 1,500 repair technicians, reducing average repair times and improving customer satisfaction. Integrating Fixt's capabilities into Assurant's end-to-end Dynamic Fulfilment platform will further enhance the experience for mobile device owners.

09:01 EDT Comtech receives $1.9M in funding to continue IT staffing, support to Baltimore - Comtech announced it has been awarded $1.9M of funding to continue to provide Information Technology, or IT, staffing and support to multiple agencies within the City of Baltimore, including, but not limited to, the Baltimore City of Information Technology and the Baltimore City Police Department.

08:59 EDT Myovant Sciences announces relugolix combination tablet NDA accepted for review - Myovant Sciences announced that its new drug application, or NDA, for once-daily, oral relugolix combination tablet for the treatment of women with heavy menstrual bleeding associated with uterine fibroids has been accepted for review by the FDA.

08:38 EDT Elliott proposes operational, strategic review of Crown Castle's fiber business - Elliott Management Corporation sent a letter to the Board of Crown Castle International proposing an immediate operational and strategic review of the Company's fiber business. The letter read, "We are writing to you again on behalf of Elliott Associates, L.P. and Elliott International, regarding our investment in Crown Castle International Corp.. On July 6th, Elliott published a letter and presentation in which we demonstrated with facts and analysis that the Company's fiber strategy was detracting from shareholder returns and would continue to do so unless significant changes were made. We subsequently published a follow-up letter calling on the Company to present a multi-year plan and critical performance metrics to allow investors to judge for themselves whether the current fiber and small cell strategy is value-accretive to shareholders. Since then, Crown Castle has made a number of public statements and announced changes purporting to respond to our findings and analysis: A July 6th press release attempting to justify its long-term underperformance by comparing itself to anything except its direct peers, American Tower and SBA. Noticeably absent was any analysis-driven response to the issues we highlighted with the Company's fiber and small cell strategy. A series of corporate governance changes, including the implementation of a mandatory retirement age, the transition of five directors off the Board and a review of the executive compensation policy. While these changes seemed to acknowledge the accuracy of many shareholders' concerns, these reactive steps were immediately and correctly identified by a well-known REIT investor as a "classic entrenchment maneuver." The move strengthened our conviction that Crown Castle's lax oversight has enabled the pronounced capital allocation issues we see today. A Q2 earnings call in which the Company declined to commit to the kind of transparency in the fiber business that we and many other shareholders and analysts had been calling for, offering only the excuse that a multi-year plan is "obviously very difficult to make happen in a public context." Not only is this mistaken assertion at odds with most leading public companies, but also, more troublingly, when asked directly about what "success" would look like for the fiber business, Crown Castle was unable to define it. An attempt yet again to provide self-selected market data and anecdotal evidence that the fiber strategy is on track, including by highlighting Orlando as a "key market" case study for the success of its strategy and the model going forward. Highlighting a market where less than 1% of fiber capital has been spent is not a credible demonstration that the strategy as a whole is on track, and the Company's reliance on such snapshots is further evidence that Crown Castle either does not have comprehensive data or does not like its conclusion. The announced departure of the COO of the fiber segment, the executive who led the Company's acquisition integration efforts despite having no prior experience in the fiber industry. This departure seems to confirm that Crown Castle shares our belief that its fiber strategy is in urgent need of new leadership with fiber expertise. Taken together, these actions paint a picture of a Company that seems to know there is a problem, but refuses to acknowledge it. The Company's hope appears to be that this series of incremental steps and rear-guard actions will be enough to avoid the kind of real discipline, transparency and accountability in the fiber business and capital allocation broadly that investors are demanding. The problem is that real change must begin by acknowledging that there is a need for it. Today - six weeks since the publication of our first letter and three months since we first began to engage with the Company privately - Crown Castle still has not put forward a credible plan to improve performance in its fiber business. After spending $11 billion on fiber acquisitions, losing all key executive talent from those businesses, repeatedly missing publicly stated fiber targets and now parting ways with the COO of the fiber segment, when will Crown Castle admit there is a problem and begin to engage constructively with shareholders on a path forward that will lead to success? As we have stated numerous times to you, we are bullish on the fiber industry. We have seen how well-run fiber businesses can compound long-term value if operated with prudence and capital discipline - attributes that are sorely needed at Crown Castle. Our "Reclaiming The Crown" plan attempted to reshape the Company's existing strategy into one that can actually create long-term equity value in fiber and provide the necessary Board oversight to ensure performance. However, it is becoming clear that this management team does not understand what they bought (and spent $16 billion building) and does not understand how to run the business better. Comparisons to the tower industry - such as the one made by the CFO last week in yet another attempt to justify subpar returns in the fiber business - underscore this conclusion. The most common question we have received from investors has been the following: "Why did Elliott not advocate for a sale or spin of the fiber business?" Our answer is that, unless Crown Castle can demonstrate that it is the best owner of these assets and can run the segment with greater prudence in capital spending and with ROIs that are value accretive, Crown Castle should also consider alternative paths. In fact, we have received numerous inbounds from highly accomplished fiber executives and credible financial buyers who are confident that they can run the fiber business better than Crown Castle. We believe the Company and its advisors have received this interest as well. As we have consistently stated, our preference is for constructive engagement on a clear and credible path forward for the fiber business that can gain widespread shareholder support. We stand ready to continue that engagement. However, in the absence of any such plan - or even an acknowledgement from Crown Castle that one is needed - we believe that Crown Castle needs to consider the idea that partnering with a capable investor and top-tier fiber operators to manage its fiber assets might be the value-maximizing course of action. As a large shareholder focused on long-term value at the Company, we believe it is imperative that Crown Castle begin an immediate operational and strategic review of the business and subsequently outline the best path to maximize value and position Crown Castle to finally fulfill its significant potential. We look forward to continued engagement with the Company."

08:36 EDT Applied Therapeutics sinks 18% to $24 after FDA puts partial hold on study

08:35 EDT Color Star Technology announces successful testing of mobile application - Color Star Technology announced that after its acquisition of Color China, the online star education mobile application platform "Color Star" has successfully completed its testing phase and many international celebrities have joined the platform in advance to create an all-star lineup of entertainment education network. Upon its official launch, the "Color Star" mobile application is expected to include a big collection of celebrity tutorials and online entertainment education courses. The mobile application will allow the interactions between fans and renowned celebrities and directors. It will also feature courses in music production, songs creation, film performance, scripts creation, professional staging design and engineering.

08:34 EDT Sanmina CEO Hartmut Liebel to depart, Jura Sola to reassume the position - Sanmina Corporation announced Hartmut Liebel its CEO is leaving the company, effective immediately. Jure Sola, the company's co-founder and Executive Chairman, has been appointed to reassume the chairman and CEO position and lead Sanmina through its next strategic phase. To align with Sanmina's vision of maximizing shareholder value, the company plans to organize into three segments - Integrated Manufacturing Solutions, SCI and Components Technology. This new structure will help unlock the total value of Sanmina and provide greater accountability of the organization. The company will provided further details on its fourth quarter earnings call.

08:28 EDT Clovis publishes additional data from TRITON2 study - Clovis announced that data from the Phase 2 TRITON2 study of Rubraca for the treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, or mCRPC, harboring BRCA1/2 mutations were published online in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. These results supported the May FDA accelerated approval of Rubraca for the treatment of mCRPC patients who have a deleterious BRCA mutation and who have previously received androgen receptor-directed therapy and taxane-based chemotherapy.

08:25 EDT XBiotech discovers COVID-19 candidate therapy - XBiotech announced that it has identified true human antibodies that could potentially be used as a therapy against SARS-CoV2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The company discovered these antibodies through a collaboration with BioBridge Global. For the collaboration, BioBridge Global used XBiotech's proprietary COVID-19 screening technology to identify blood donors who had been infected by the novel coronavirus, as part of a program to provide convalescent plasma to treat patients suffering from severe COVID-19 infections. In return, BioBridge Global provided XBiotech with blood samples from patients who had been infected with COVID-19. For its antibody discovery process, XBiotech selected blood samples from patients who had recovered rapidly from the virus without serious illness factors that indicated these donors had antibodies that were highly effective at protecting them against the virus. It was May 21, that XBiotech received its donor blood and launched its discovery program for COVID-19 true human antibodies. XBiotech now has a number of true human antibodies that precisely block the COVID-19 virus' ability to be infectious and at the same time enable the body to naturally clear the virus.

08:21 EDT Immunomedics announces FDA approval of Samsung Biologics as Trodelvy maker - Immunomedics announced that the FDA)has approved the prior approval supplement, or PAS, for Samsung Biologics to produce commercial-scale hRS7, the antibody used in Trodelvy, at its manufacturing facilities in Incheon, South Korea.

08:19 EDT Mustang Bio receives rare pediatric disease designation for MB-107 from FDA - Mustang Bio announced that the FDA has granted rare pediatric disease designation to MB-107, Mustang's lentiviral gene therapy for the treatment of X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency, or XSCID, also known as bubble boy disease, in newly-diagnosed infants. The FDA previously granted regenerative medicine advanced therapy designation to MB-107 for the treatment of XSCID in newly-diagnosed infants in August 2019.

08:17 EDT AzurRx BioPharma initiates European arm of OPTION 2 trial - AzurRx BioPharma announced its initial European trial sites are active and screening patients for its Phase 2b OPTION 2 clinical trial to investigate MS1819 in cystic fibrosis, or CF, patients with exocrine pancreatic insufficiency. A total of nine of the expected fifteen sites globally are now active and recruiting patients. Top line data from the study are anticipated in Q1 2021.

08:16 EDT Chiasma announces publication of CHIASMA OPTIMAL Phase 3 clinical trial results - Chiasma announced the online publication of its CHIASMA OPTIMAL Phase 3 clinical trial results in the endocrinologist-focused Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. The CHIASMA OPTIMAL trial was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, nine-month Phase 3 clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Mycapssa capsules in patients with acromegaly who previously demonstrated biochemical control while receiving injectable somatostatin analogs, or SSA, namely octreotide LAR or lanreotide depot. The trial enrolled 56 adult patients whose disease was biochemically controlled by SSA therapy based upon levels of IGF-1, a byproduct of increased growth hormone, caused by acromegaly. Patients were randomized on a 1:1 basis, to Mycapssa or placebo. Patients were dose titrated from 40 mg per day to up to a maximum of 80 mg per day. Results from the study demonstrated that average IGF-1 levels were within the normal range for all patients receiving Mycapssa at the end of the treatment compared to patients receiving placebo. Growth hormone levels were maintained in 77.7% of the Mycapssa group versus 30.4% in the placebo group. Patients in the Mycapssa group, 75% successfully completed the trial after 36 weeks and did not require reversion to prior injectable treatment. Most patients that reverted to injectable SSA re-established their baseline response levels after a single dose of injectable SSA suggesting that, in the clinical setting, those patients who fail to respond on treatment with Mycapssa may be able to quickly and safely revert to prior therapy, if necessary. The data from the study demonstrated that Mycapssa was well tolerated, and no new or unexpected safety signals were observed.

08:12 EDT Agile Therapeutics announces appointment of Paul Korner as CMO - Agile Therapeutics (AGRX) announced the appointment of Paul Korner to the position of CMO. Korner is a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist with more than 20 years of pharmaceutical and biotech industry experience, including significant experience within women's healthcare. He will be responsible for supporting the commercial launch of Twirla, advancing the company's internal pipeline and evaluating external growth opportunities. Korner will report to Al Altomari, Agile's chairman and CEO. Most recently Korner brought his clinical and development acumen to the gene therapy space as a senior VP of clinical development and medical affairs at Axovant (AXGT).

08:10 EDT PTC Therapeutics announces acceptance of MAA for Evrysdi for SMA - PTC Therapeutics (PTCT) announced the acceptance of the Marketing Authorization Application by the European Medicines Agency for Evrysdi for the treatment of spinal muscular atrophy. The EMA previously granted PRIME designation to risdiplam for the treatment of people with SMA, providing a pathway for accelerated evaluation by the agency. The milestone triggers a $15M payment to PTC from Roche (RHHBY). The submission, which was filed by Roche, is based on data from the dose-finding Part 1 and confirmatory Part 2 of the FIREFISH and SUNFISH studies which evaluated the efficacy and safety of Evrysdi in symptomatic infants with type 1 SMA aged 2 to 7 months and in people with types 2 or 3 SMA aged 2 to 25 years, respectively. In addition, the submission incorporates safety data from JEWELFISH, a trial in people with all types of SMA aged 1 to 60 years previously treated with other SMA therapies. The results of an exploratory efficacy analysis from SUNFISH Part 1 showed Evrysdi significantly improved motor function after 24 months of treatment compared to natural history data. Part 2 of the FIREFISH study met its primary endpoint of infants sitting without support for five seconds by month 12, as assessed by the Gross Motor Scale of the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development Third Edition. Part 2 of the SUNFISH trial in non-ambulatory children and adults demonstrated that change from baseline in total Motor Function Measure 32 score was significantly greater at 12 months in people treated with Evrysdi, compared to placebo. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved Evrysdi for the treatment of SMA for adults and children 2 months and older. Evrysdiis based on PTC science and is commercialized in the United States by Genentech, a member of the Roche Group. Evrysdi is a product of the SMA collaboration between PTC, the SMA Foundation, and Roche.

08:04 EDT AngioDynamics enrolls first patient in PATHFINDER I Registry - AngioDynamics announced the enrollment of the first patient in the PATHFINDER I: Post-Market Registry. The PATHFINDER I Registry is a pilot study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the Auryon Atherectomy System in the real-world treatment of de novo, re-stenotic, and in-stent restenosis lesions in infrainguinal arteries of patients with Peripheral Artery Diseases.

08:01 EDT CAI International announces agreement to sell logistics business to NFI - CAI International announces the completion of an agreement to sell substantially all of the assets of its logistics business to NFI, on a debt free, cash free basis. In connection with the sale, substantially all of CAI's employees of the logistics business were hired by NFI. The sale consideration consisted primarily of payment for the estimated net working capital of CAI's logistics business as of the closing date, subject to adjustment 180 days after closing to reconcile to the actual net working capital as of the closing date.

07:53 EDT Jacobs appoints Vincent Brooks to board of directors - Jacobs announced the election of Vincent Brooks to its Board of Directors. A retired four-star general, Brooks was a career officer who served in the U.S. Army for more than 40 years from his entry into the U. S. Military Academy at West Point until his retirement from active duty in 2019. Most recently, he was the commander of the 650,000-strong Korean and United States forces in the Republic of Korea.

07:51 EDT JPMorgan reports July net credit losses 2.03% vs. 2.06% last month - Reports July 30-plus day delinquencies 0.99% vs. 1.07% last month.

07:49 EDT Capital One reports July net charge-offs 3.82% vs. 4.15% last month - Reports July 30-plus day performing delinquencies 2.44% vs. 2.74% last month.

07:42 EDT Precigen doses first patient in Phase I/II study of PRGN-2009 - Precigen announced that the first patient has been dosed with Precigen's PRGN-2009, an off-the-shelf investigational immunotherapy utilizing the AdenoVerse platform designed to activate the immune system to recognize and target HPV+ solid tumors. HPV-associated cancers represent a significant health burden in indications such as head and neck, cervical, vaginal and anal cancer. The Phase I portion of the study will use 3+3 dose escalation to evaluate the safety of PRGN-2009 administered as a monotherapy and to determine the recommended Phase II dose followed by an evaluation of the safety of the combination of PRGN-2009 at the R2PD and bintrafusp alfa, an investigational bifunctional fusion protein, in patients with recurrent or metastatic HPV-associated cancers. The Phase II portion of the study will evaluate PRGN-2009 as a monotherapy or in combination with bintrafusp alfa as a neoadjuvant or induction therapy in patients with newly-diagnosed stage II/III HPV16-positive oropharyngeal cancer. PRGN-2009 leverages Precigen's proprietary UltraVector and AdenoVerse platforms to optimize HPV antigen design. Such design is differentiated from other therapies due to the gorilla adenovector's large payload capacity and potential for repeat administration due to very low to no seroprevalence in the human population. PRGN-2009 is under development through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement, or CRADA, with the laboratory of Dr. Jeffrey Schlom, Chief of the Laboratory of Tumor Immunology and Biology, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute. This CRADA has allowed Precigen to rapidly and cost-effectively advance PRGN-2009. The Phase I/II clinical trial of PRGN-2009 is being conducted at the NIH Clinical Center and will be led by Dr. Julius Strauss, Co-Director of the LTIB's Clinical Trials Group, and Dr. James Gulley, Chief of the Genitourinary Malignancies Branch, CCR, NCI.

07:39 EDT Alliance Data reports July net charge offs 7.2% vs. 7.4% last month - Reports July delinquency ratio 4.7% vs. 4.3% last month.

07:35 EDT Blackstone, Alnylam close $150M R&D financing to advance RNAi therapeutics - Blackstone (BX) and Alnylam (ALNY) announced the closing of the R&D funding component of the companies' previously announced $2B strategic financing collaboration to accelerate the advancement of RNAi therapeutics. Under the terms of the agreement, Alnylam will receive up to $150M from Blackstone Life Sciences for the development of Alnylam's cardiometabolic disease programs vutrisiran and ALN-AGT. The investment includes up to $70M to support the ongoing HELIOS-B Phase 3 study of vutrisiran in ATTR amyloidosis patients with cardiomyopathy, and up to $80M to support Phase 2 and Phase 3 development of ALN-AGT, in development for the treatment of hypertension. In April, Blackstone and Alnylam entered into a broad $2B strategic financing collaboration anchored by Blackstone's purchase of 50% of royalties owed to Alnylam on global sales of inclisiran, an investigational RNAi therapeutic for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia, currently under review by the FDA and other regulatory authorities. The strategic financing collaboration is expected to enable Alnylam's achievement of a self-sustainable financial profile without need for future equity financing, accelerating the commercial potential of Alnylam's rapidly advancing product portfolio.

07:32 EDT Valaris Plc trading halted, news pending

07:29 EDT BioHiTech Global CFO says 'poised to forge a new growth track' - "With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic we have taken extensive measures to manage cash including reducing executive cash compensation and temporarily reducing head count, without sacrificing the ability to forward our business opportunities," said Brian Essman, CFO of BioHiTech. "Now, having completed our financing, and with Carnival resuming its digester deployment coupled with the opportunities presented by our Altapure distribution business, we believe we are poised to forge a new growth track as we head toward 2021. We continue to make progress at our Martinsburg HEBioT facility despite certain business dislocations related to the COVID-19 pandemic and we are confident in our ability to reach planned capacity in the future. With our newly strengthened balance sheet, we believe we are in the best position in our corporate history to capitalize on the opportunities in front of us for the benefit of our company and its stockholders."

07:25 EDT Canadian Solar commences construction on C&I solar rooftop project in Malaysia - Canadian Solar announced that it has commenced construction on one of the largest commercial and industrial rooftop solar projects in Malaysia, in collaboration with Antah Solar Sdn. Bhd. and Eleaps Sdn. Bhd. The 5 MWp project will span an area of over 26,000 m2, and is located in Penang, Malaysia. The 5 MWp power purchase agreement was signed with Muda Paper Mills Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Muda Holdings Berhad, listed on the Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad since November 1984. Muda Paper is the largest industrial-grade paper producer in Malaysia. The project will be powered by 13,000 pieces of Canadian Solar's high-efficiency KuMax modules. Once in operation, the plant is expected to generate approximately 6,700 MWh of clean, reliable solar electricity each year for 25 years. The Company expects the project to reach commercial operation by the end 2020. DEG, or Deutsche Investitions- und Entwicklungsgesellschaft, a subsidiary of Germany's development bank KfW Group and one of the world's largest private sector development financiers, will provide the Company with a $20 million long-term loan facility. This loan matures in 2024 and will be deployed across Canadian Solar's solar pipeline, including the Muda Paper C&I rooftop project, demonstrating the Company's commitment to promote social and environmental goals in its project development activities.

07:22 EDT CytoSorbents partners with InvoSurg, Surgical Partners for CytoSorb - CytoSorbents Corporation has entered into separate agreements with InvoSurg Inc. and Surgical Partners to commercialize CytoSorb under its FDA Emergency Use Authorization in adult, critically-ill, COVID-19 patients with imminent or confirmed respiratory failure. Covering 15 states, Surgical Partners and InvoSurg will work with CytoSorbents to sell and distribute CytoSorb in Florida, and the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic United States, from Maine to Virginia, respectively. These agreements follow a very positive initial reception and usage of CytoSorb in the U.S. after FDA Emergency Use Authorization of CytoSorb was granted in April 2020. CytoSorbents is now aggressively expanding CytoSorb availability, marketing, and sales opportunities across the U.S. to help address the current and expected future waves of COVID-19 infection in the country. CytoSorb has been authorized by FDA under an Emergency Use Authorization for use in COVID-19 patients, 18 years of age or older in the intensive care unit with imminent or confirmed respiratory failure. It has neither been approved nor cleared for the indication to treat patients with COVID-19 infection. The CytoSorb device is authorized only for the duration of the declaration that circumstances exist justifying the authorization of the emergency use of the CytoSorb device under Section 564(b)(l) of the Act, 21 U.S.C Section 360bbb-3(b)(1), unless the authorization is terminated or revoked sooner. Financial terms of these agreements have not been disclosed.

07:17 EDT Megaport announces upcoming release of Megaport Virtual Edge - Megaport Limited announces the upcoming release of Megaport Virtual Edge, a product innovation that will enable the hosting of Network Function Virtualization, such as SD-WAN capabilities, directly on Megaport's global Software Defined Network. With MVE, customers will tap into Megaport's extensive platform reach to deploy and extend their network functions closer to the edge, in real time, and without the need to deploy hardware. Megaport and Cisco are collaborating to enable Cisco SD-WAN as the first use case on MVE. The highly-distributed MVE footprint will align with global centres of commerce to support traffic localisation for low-latency networking and will provide an interconnection gateway to securely manage multicloud and multi-location interconnection. MVE includes gateway functionality to connect with Megaport's SDN in a platform-neutral and technology-agnostic manner, allowing customers to move beyond legacy networking models and take a unified approach to managing their network.

07:15 EDT Unity Biotechnology sees cash position sufficient to fund operations into 2022 - Based on current operating plans, Unity believes that current cash, cash equivalents and investments are sufficient to fund operations well into 2022.

07:13 EDT Unity Biotechnology announces 12-week results from UBX0101 study - Unity Biotechnology announced the 12-week results from the Phase 2 study of UBX0101, a p53/MDM2 interaction inhibitor, in patients with moderate-to-severe painful osteoarthritis, or OA, of the knee. There was no statistically significant difference between any arm of UBX0101 and placebo at the 12-week endpoint for change from baseline in WOMAC-A, an established measurement of pain in OA. Given these results, UNITY does not anticipate progressing UBX0101 into pivotal studies and will narrow the company's near-term focus to its ongoing ophthalmologic and neurologic disease programs. The company expects to complete collection of the Phase 2 24-week data, as well as that from the ongoing Phase 1b high-dose, repeat-dose study in the second half of 2020. The full results from the Phase 2 and Phase 1b studies will be presented at a future medical meeting. In the Phase 2 double-blind, placebo-controlled study, 183 patients with moderate to severe painful OA of the knee were randomized to receive placebo, 0.5 mg, 2.0 mg or 4.0 mg of UBX0101 via a single intra-articular injection. The analysis results for the primary endpoint are shown in the table below. UBX0101 was well-tolerated at all dose levels and adverse events, or AEs, were consistent with previously reported data. There were no treatment-related serious AEs and only one patient discontinued because of an AE. The most common treatment emergent AE was procedural pain in the study knee.

07:10 EDT Flower One appoints Salpy Boyajian to board of directors - Flower One Holdings announced the appointment of Ms. Salpy Boyajian to its Board of Directors. Boyajian officially joined Flower One in October of 2018 following the acquisition of NLV Organics, which she co-founded in 2014. She currently serves as Flower One's COO, Nevada Operations.

07:07 EDT Bausch Health launches Bausch + Lomb INFUSE SiHY disposable contact lenses - Bausch + Lomb announced the launch of Bausch + Lomb INFUSE silicone hydrogel daily disposable contact lens, the only SiHy daily disposable with a next generation material infused with ProBalance Technology to help ocular surface homeostasis and help reduce symptoms of contact lens dryness, which is experienced by approximately half1 of the 45 million lens wearers in the United States. Bausch + Lomb INFUSE contact lenses feature a next-generation SiHy daily disposable lens material and ProBalance Technology that work together to help maintain ocular surface homeostasis to help reduce contact lens dryness and discomfort. The ProBalance Technology formula is infused into the lens material during the manufacturing process. These proprietary ingredients are released during lens wear. Bausch + Lomb INFUSE combines exceptional breathability for healthy lens wear with the highest moisture content and lowest modulus among SiHy daily disposables, and it maintains 96% of its moisture for a full 16 hours.

07:05 EDT Fulgent Genetics opens COVID-19 testing lab in Houston - Fulgent Genetics announced that it has opened Fulgent Houston, a CLIA- certified laboratory in Houston, Texas. Fulgent Houston will be focused on COVID-19 testing initially, with capacity for 20,000 tests per day and the ability to expand as demand continues to increase. In addition to COVID-19 testing, Fulgent Houston will serve as a fully operational second site outside California and is expected to be an important factor in the company's expansion, with Fulgent Houston's close proximity to one of the largest medical centers in the United States as well as cancer centers and pediatric hospitals.

07:03 EDT Bristol-Myers granted global exclusive license to IL-12 program, includes DF6002 - Bristol-Myers and Dragonfly Therapeutics announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Bristol Myers Squibb will be granted the global exclusive license to Dragonfly's interleukin-12, or IL-12, investigational immunotherapy program, including its extended half-life cytokine DF6002. DF6002 is a monovalent IL-12 immunoglobulin Fc fusion protein proposed to achieve strong anti-tumor efficacy by establishing an inflammatory tumor microenvironment necessary for productive anti-tumor responses. Under the agreement, Bristol Myers Squibb will become responsible for the development and any subsequent commercialization of DF6002 and its related products worldwide, including strategic decisions, regulatory responsibilities, funding, and manufacturing. Dragonfly will receive $475M in near-term upfronts, and is eligible to receive performance-based development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments. In addition, Dragonfly will receive up to 24% royalties on worldwide net sales. The agreement is subject to clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976. Dragonfly received FDA clearance in May for its investigational new drug application to develop DF6002. In addition, Dragonfly has an ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial for patients with advanced solid tumors, which began in July. Bristol Myers Squibb intends to advance the research and development of DF6002 in oncology and hematology.

06:59 EDT PREIT launches 'sMALL Surprises' curated shopping program - PREIT launched, "sMALL Surprises", a first-of-its-kind curated shopping program from a mall owner/operator for the 2020 back-to-school season. Launching in time for the second busiest shopping season of the year, the curated packs will be customized by a professional stylist - handpicking items from PREIT malls - to help students in grades K-8 prepare for school. With a nod to subscription-based boxes from stand-alone retailers, PREIT is pioneering the curated box concept in the mall industry.

06:55 EDT Lannett enters distribution agreement with Respirent for generic Flovent Diskus - Lannett Company (LCI) announced that it has entered into an exclusive U.S. distribution agreement for the therapeutically equivalent generic of Flovent Diskus of Respirent Pharmaceuticals. According to the Orange Book, all patents covering Flovent Diskus have expired. U.S. sales of Flovent Diskus, which have been increasing in recent years, were $94M for the 12 months ending June, 2020 according to IQVIA, although actual generic market values are expected to be lower. The company also said its previously announced exclusive U.S. distribution agreement with Respirent for the therapeutically equivalent generic of ADVAIR DISKUS has been extended from 10 years to 12 years. The term of the agreement commences upon distribution of the product. The company further noted that the earlier trademark lawsuit between Respirent and the innovator company was recently dismissed, thereby clearing a potential impediment to commercialization. Crew added that early development is underway for the generic Flovent Diskus product and the company will provide updates as clinical milestones are achieved. ADVAIR DISKUS and Flovent Diskus are registered trademarks of GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).

06:47 EDT Brown & Brown acquires substantially all assets of Amity Insurance Agency - Brown & Brown of Massachusetts, a subsidiary of Brown & Brown, has acquired substantially all of the assets of Amity Insurance Agency. Amity Insurance was founded in 1978 and offers a wide spectrum of insurance products and services, specializing in risk management solutions for customers in the legal, parking, transportation and construction industries. The firm also provides a variety of personal lines insurance products and services to individuals throughout New England. Following the transaction, the Amity team will continue operating from their existing office in Quincy, Massachusetts, under the direction of Justin Kesner.

06:32 EDT Emergent BioSolutions announces FDA approval for Narcan shelf life extension - Emergent BioSolutions announced that the FDA has approved the extension of the shelf life of Narcan Nasal Spray from 24 months to 36 months. Narcan Nasal Spray was the first intranasal form of naloxone approved by FDA and Health Canada for the emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose. In early July, the company launched the Generation II Narcan Nasal Spray device, which is identified by a red plunger and enhances temperature excursions and storage below 25 degrees Celsius.

06:09 EDT Americas Gold and Silver provides results from drilling from The Galena Complex - Americas Gold and Silver Corporation is pleased to provide an update on its Galena Complex, 60% owned by Americas and 40% owned by Mr. Eric Sprott. Galena Complex Cross Section. Exploration Plan Highlights Initial drilling targeting extensions of three separate systems below known workings which historically contained some of the highest-grade ore and represented the main source of production during the peak years of silver production for the operation yielded impressive results including: 55-124: 739 g/t silver and 1.6% copper over 4.2 meters. Including:1,046 g/t silver and 2.3% copper over 2.4 meters; 55-125:2,381 g/t silver and 1.7% copper over 1.8 meters Including: 8,779 g/t silver and 5.9% copper over 0.2 meters. These results follow the results released on May 4, 2020 which demonstrated impressive silver grades adjacent to current production areas which the Company hopes will add to reserves and resources that can be exploited from existing mine infrastructure including: 52-491:1,430 g/t silver and 0.9% copper over 1.2 meters, Including: 7,544 g/t silver and 4.7% copper over 0.2 meters; 52-493: 3,020 g/t silver and 2.3% copper over 1.4 meters. Including: 4,252 g/t silver and 3.2% copper over 1.0 meters Recapitalization Plan Summary: The Galena Complex recapitalization plan efforts are benefitting from the infusion of capital, exploration success to-date and the significant improvement in the silver price which has increased from lows of US$12/oz in March 2020 to over US$26/oz in August 2020. The Recapitalization Plan was announced in September 2019 with an 18 month time frame focused on purchasing new equipment, increasing development to increase working faces and conducting exploration to increase resources in close proximity to current workings and drill high-grade silver targets below current infrastructure. The goal of the Recapitalization Plan is to position the Galena Complex to significantly increase resources, production, and reduce operating costs at the mine. Initial efforts were directed toward capital development and equipment upgrades to stabilize performance rather than to increase production. While production growth is not the near-term focus and is expected longer term, productivity increases due to the Recapitalization Plan have already had a positive impact. Drift rehabilitation on the 4300 and 5500 levels is substantially complete. Exploration drilling has started from these levels and capital development to establish additional drill stations has commenced. The Recapitalization Plan has budgeted approximately 39,000 meters of exploration drilling with more than 13,000 meters completed. Based on the current drill plan, Americas expects the current phase of drilling to finish in May 2021 with two drills in operation. Drilling is the focus for the remainder of 2020. The exploration plan includes two different strategies drilling extensions of the known veins at depth below current infrastructure as well as targeting extensions of current know reserves and resources in the upper levels of the operation.

06:06 EDT Farmmi's Zheijiang Farmmi Food Co. moves into new production facility - Farmmi announced that its subsidiary, Zhejiang Farmmi Food Co., has moved into to a new production facility on the first floor at Farmmi's No. 888 Tianning Street location in Lishui, Zhejiang Province. The new facility has already passed the important food production license onsite audit and certification. Farmmi Food made the move to the new facility to accommodate the necessary production capacity expansion needed to meet increased demand. The new facility features 1,478,000 square feet of advanced inspection, production, storage and shipping capacity, with a fully automated production line. Farmmi expanded the factory area on the first floor of its No. 888 Tianning Street location, while also continue to keep its facility at No 307 Tianning Industrial Area for storage purposes. The SC License is required by the Chinese government for food production. It provides customers and supply chain partners important validation of Farmmi's facility environment, production standards and process flow, equipment layout and storage conditions, and personnel health management protocols. With the SC License, Farmmi Food has started production in its new facility.

06:05 EDT DouYo forms special committee to consider Tencent proposal - ouYu International Holdings (DOYU) announced that its Board of Directors has formed a special committee of independent directors consisting of Mr. Zhaoming Chen, Mr. Xi Cao, Mr. Xuehai Wang and Mr. Zhi Yan. The Special Committee will review and evaluate a previously-announced preliminary non-binding proposal that the Board received on August 10, 2020 from Tencent Holdings Limited (TCEHY), proposing that DouYu and HUYA Inc. (HUYA) enter into a stock-for-stock merger. Pursuant to the Proposed Transaction, each ordinary share of DouYu held by DouYu shareholders will be exchanged for a to be agreed number of newly issued Class A ordinary shares of Huya. The Special Committee has retained Morgan Stanley Asia Limited as its financial advisor and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP as its U.S. legal counsel in connection with its review and evaluation of the Proposed Transaction.

06:02 EDT G1 Therapeutics announces FDA acceptance of trilaciclib NDA - G1 Therapeutics announced that the FDA has accepted the new drug application, or NDA, for trilaciclib for small cell lung cancer, or SCLC, patients being treated with chemotherapy and granted priority review with a Prescription Drug User Fee Act action date of February 15, 2021. Trilaciclib is an investigational therapy designed to preserve bone marrow and immune system function during chemotherapy and improve patient outcomes.

05:55 EDT Chaparral Energy voluntarily files for relief under Chapter 11 bankruptcy - Chaparral Energy announced that the company has entered into a restructuring support agreement with certain of its funded debtholders to pursue a prepackaged plan of reorganization pursuant to which Chaparral will restructure its balance sheet by equitizing all $300M of its existing unsecured bond obligations and substantially bolster its liquidity position through $175m in lending obligations under a reserves-based exit facility and a fully backstopped $35M new money convertible note rights offering. The company voluntarily filed petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in accordance with the agreement. Chaparral expects the pre-packaged Chapter 11 reorganization to be completed relatively quickly due to the broad support of its creditors. As of August 14, Chaparral had cash on hand of approximately $32M, which, combined with its normal operating cash flow, is expected to be sufficient to allow the company to maintain normal operations and meet its other financial commitments throughout the Chapter 11 restructuring period. To meet these objectives, Chaparral has filed a series of motions with the court that will, upon approval, allow the Company to continue to pay employee wages and benefits without interruption, make royalty and working interest payments when due, and pay suppliers and vendors in full under existing terms for goods and services, among other things. Through the Chapter 11 process, Chaparral expects to significantly delever its balance sheet and strategically position the company for long-term success.

05:48 EDT Clarivate Analytics launches Arabic Citation Index - Clarivate has launched the Arabic Citation Index, or ARCI, the world's first local language citation index for the Arabic world in Egypt. The ARCI is funded by the Egyptian government, and is available across the entire research community in Egypt. It is also open to journal submissions by editors of Arabic-language journals and will be open to researchers and organizations in all 22 nations of the Arab League by the end of 2020. Powered by the Web of Science, the ARCI provides access to bibliographic information and citations to scholarly articles from over 400 expertly curated Arabic journals, with language interface in both English and Arabic. The indexing of Arabic publications will provide local scientific communities with improved routes to collaborating with national, regional and international research efforts.

04:41 EDT Sanofi acquires Principia Biopharma for $100 per share or $3.68B - Sanofi (SNY) and Principia Biopharma (PRNB) entered into a definitive agreement under which Sanofi will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Principia for $100 per share in cash, which represents an aggregate equity value of approximately $3.68B. Principia shares closed Friday down $1.06 to $90.74. The Sanofi and Principia boards unanimously approved the transaction. Following the successful completion of the tender offer, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sanofi will merge with Principia and the outstanding Principia shares not tendered in the tender offer will be converted into the right to receive the same $100 per share in cash paid in the tender offer. The tender offer is expected to commence later this month. Sanofi plans to finance the transaction with cash on hand. Subject to the satisfaction or waiver of customary closing conditions, Sanofi expects to complete the acquisition in the fourth quarter of 2020. "This acquisition advances our ongoing R&D transformation to accelerate development of the most promising medicines that will address significant patient needs," said Paul Hudson, Sanofi CEO. "The addition of multiple BTK inhibitors to our pipeline demonstrates our commitment to strategic product acquisitions in our priority therapeutic areas. Full ownership of our brain-penetrant BTK inhibitor '168 removes complexities for this priority development program and simplifies future commercialization."