Stockwinners Market Radar for May 12, 2021 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:02 EDT Bitcoin extending decline to 2-month low below $48,000

19:49 EDT Cathie Wood's ARK Investment discloses 47.2K shares of Coinbase bought today

19:47 EDT Cathie Wood's ARK Investment discloses 441.8K shares of Skillz bought today

19:19 EDT Alphabet director Sergey Brin sells $163M of class C shares - In a series of regulatory filings in recent days, Alphabet director Sergey Brin disclosed the sale of roughly $163M worth of class C shares of the company.

18:31 EDT BioAtla reports Q1 net loss $18.7M vs. $1.6M a year ago - Cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2021 were $221.2M. The company expects current cash and cash equivalents will be sufficient to fund planned operations into 2023. "BioAtla is rapidly advancing potentially registration-enabling Phase 2 clinical trials for our two lead CAB product candidates. With strong financial resources, we are also broadening our development pipeline to include several additional ADC and bispecific CAB candidates," stated CEO Jay Short. "Our clinical objectives in 2021 include providing Phase 2 interim data readouts by year-end for CAB-AXL-ADC and CAB-ROR2-ADC. Our Phase 1 trials for these product candidates demonstrated encouraging results in hard to treat cancer indications, particularly in patients with late-stage disease refractory to other lines of therapy," added Scott Smith, President.

18:14 EDT Bitcoin price slips after Tesla suspends purchases with currency - Bitcoin's price extended its drop, slipping to $53,072.40 after Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that the car maker has suspended purchases using the cryptocurrency.

18:09 EDT Xenon Pharmaceuticals' flunarizine granted FDA orphan designation - According to a post on the FDA's website, Xenon Pharmaceuticals' treatment of childhood Absence Epilepsy, flunarizine, was granted FDA orphan designation. Reference Link

17:37 EDT FleetCor, Pilot Flying J extend fuel card acceptance agreements - FleetCor announced that it has renewed its card acceptance agreement with Pilot Flying J, a network of travel centers in North America. "Extending our agreement with Pilot Flying J is a testament to a mutually-beneficial relationship that dates back nearly four decades. By offering multiple fuel solutions we're able to accommodate the needs of nearly any size and type of commercial fleet. As a result, we anticipate many more prosperous years alongside Pilot Flying J as a partner," said Ron Clarke, FleetCor Chairman and CEO.

17:28 EDT BOK Financial CEO sells 10,000 common shares - In a regulatory filing, BOK Financial president and CEO Steven Bradshaw disclosed the sale of 10,000 common shares of the company on May 10 at a price of $92.0156 per share.

17:18 EDT Turquoise Hill sees 2021 production 150K-180K tons copper, 400K-480K gold - The reduction from previous guidance reflects both the modification of the mine design in Phase 4B to resolve geotechnical concerns related to a multi-bench failure in December 2020 and the impact on productivity and increased uncertainty resulting from COVID-19 related controls now in place at site. The increase in gold production in 2021 compared with 2020 is the result of transitioning lower into the higher grade areas of Phase 4B. Operations continue to be impacted by precautionary COVID-19 control measures including reduced numbers on shift due to extended quarantine periods, longer rosters and movement restrictions. Operating cash costs for 2021 are expected to be $800M-$850M.

17:11 EDT Huntington Ingalls exec Green sells 5,776 common shares - In a regulatory filing, Huntington Ingalls executive VP Edgar Green III disclosed the sale of 5,776 common shares of the company on May 10 at a price of $223.465 per share.

17:00 EDT Acutus Medical announces CE Mark approval for suite of EP products - Acutus Medical announced CE Mark Approval for a suite of EP products that includes the AcQCross family of universal transseptal crossing devices, the next generation AcQGuide MAX and VUE large bore delivery sheaths and the next generation AcQMap mapping catheter.

16:57 EDT Vroom jumps 12% to $39.60 after Q1 results beat estimates

16:52 EDT Poshmark drops 11% to $38.80 after reporting Q1 results, Q2 guidance

16:46 EDT Hyster-Yale Materials raises quarterly dividend to 32.25c from 31.75c per share - The dividend is payable on both the Class A and Class B Common Stock, and will be paid June 15 to stockholders of record at the close of business on June 1.

16:31 EDT Peapack-Gladstone to acquire Princeton Portfolio Strategies Group - Peapack-Gladstone announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Princeton, NJ-based Princeton Portfolio Strategies Group, with assets under management of approximately $550M. The company anticipates the purchase will be immediately accretive to earnings. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to the receipt of regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions.

16:29 EDT Ascendis files Phase 3 clinical trial notification for TransCon PTH in Japan - Ascendis Pharma A/S announced that it has filed a Clinical Trial Notification, CTN, with the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency, PDMA, in Japan to initiate the company's phase 3 clinical trial of TransCon PTH in adult subjects with hypoparathyroidism, HP, the PaTHway Japan Trial.

16:26 EDT Diem announces partnership with Silvergate Capital, strategic shift to U.S. - The Diem Association is pleased to announce a partnership between its wholly-owned subsidiary, Diem Networks US, and Silvergate Capital. Under this partnership, Silvergate Bank will become the exclusive issuer of the Diem USD stablecoin. The Association is also announcing a strategic shift to the United States, resulting in a move of Diem's primary operations from Switzerland to the United States. Diem has built a blockchain-based payment system to support financial inclusion and responsible financial services innovation. Silvergate will become the exclusive issuer of the Diem USD stablecoin and will manage the Diem USD reserve. Diem Networks US will run the Diem Payment Network, a permissioned blockchain-based payment system that facilitates the real-time transfer of Diem stablecoins among approved network participants. The formation of this partnership is an important step in preparation for a Diem USD pilot.

16:26 EDT The Bancorp exec Leto sells nearly 45,000 common shares - In a regulatory filing, The Bancorp executive vice president John Leto disclosed the sale of 44,820 common shares of the company on May 11 at a price of $24.5993 per share.

16:23 EDT CVS Health: COVID-19 vaccine appointments now available for ages 12-15 - CVS Health (CVS) announced that COVID-19 vaccine appointments for adolescents ages 12 to 15 are now available for scheduling at more than 5,600 CVS Pharmacy locations nationwide, following FDA Emergency Use Authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for this age group. Starting tomorrow, May 13, participating CVS Pharmacy locations will begin administering the Pfizer (PFE)-BioNTech (BNTX) vaccine to this newly eligible population. Parental or legal guardian consent is required, and children must be accompanied by an adult.

16:21 EDT AllianceBernstein reports preliminary AUM $724B as of April 30 - Up from $697 B at the end of March. Firm wide net inflows into all three distribution channels - Institutions, Retail, and Private Wealth, coupled with market appreciation, drove the 3.9% increase.

16:19 EDT CPSI acquires TruCode, terms not disclosed - CPSI announced that it has acquired TruCode LLC. TruCode is a provider of software solutions that enable health providers, consultants, and payors to code more accurately and efficiently and help improve revenue cycle performance. The acquisition was consummated pursuant to a definitive purchase agreement signed on May 12, 2021 and was funded by a combination of cash on hand and additional borrowing capacity under CPSI's revolving credit facility. "From a financial standpoint, TruCode's 99% recurring revenue model, customer retention rates in excess of 95%, and Adjusted EBITDA margins in excess of 45% support our strategy of growing a more diverse recurring revenue base and driving margin expansion," stated Matt Chambless, chief financial officer of CPSI. "The impressive margins that TruCode brings to the CPSI family of companies is expected to expand our consolidated EBITDA margins by roughly 130 bps, with the potential for another $1.0 million of adjusted EBITDA from capitalization of software development costs."

16:18 EDT Manning & Napier reports preliminary AUM $21.9B as of April 30 - Compared with $21.1B at March 31.

16:16 EDT Alexion, Caelum announce CAEL-101 data presentations at EHA 2021 - Caelum Biosciences and Alexion Pharmaceuticals announced that two abstracts on CAEL-101, a potentially first-in-class amyloid fibril targeted therapy, have been accepted for e-poster presentation at the European Hematology Association Congress 2021, taking place virtually from June 9 to 17, 2021. Both presentations will include new data from the Phase 2 open-label dose escalation study evaluating the safety and tolerability of CAEL-101 in combination with standard-of-care therapy in AL amyloidosis. One will feature data studying safety and tolerability in AL amyloidosis patients treated with 1000 mg/m2 CAEL-101 in combination with cyclophosphamide-bortezomib-dexamethasone plus daratumumab. The second will include new data further supporting the selection of the 1000 mg/m2 dose for the ongoing Phase 3 study and demonstrating the possible stabilization of cardiac disease as assessed by Mayo staging. As was previously announced, the Cardiac Amyloid Reaching for Extended Survival (CARES) Phase 3 clinical program to evaluate CAEL-101 in combination with SoC therapy in AL amyloidosis has begun. Enrollment is underway in two parallel Phase 3 studies - one in patients with Mayo stage IIIa disease and one in patients with Mayo stage IIIb disease - and will collectively enroll approximately 370 patients globally. The Phase 2 program continues with the ongoing evaluation of CAEL-101 in combination with SoC therapy plus daratumumab.

16:12 EDT ContextLogic names Jacqueline Reses executive chair - ContextLogic announced that the company has appointed veteran technology executive and current Wish board director Jacqueline Reses as Executive Chair. Wish Founder and CEO Piotr Szulczewski will continue to serve as Chief Executive Officer. Ms. Reses was most recently the Executive Chairperson of Square Financial Services LLC and Capital Lead at Square Inc. This new leadership structure, which separates the roles of chair and chief executive officer, will support the business in its next phase of global growth. In this newly created role, Ms. Reses will remain on Wish's Board of Directors as well as lead the company's critical commercial functions including customer experience, brand communications, strategic partnerships and Wish's organizational growth. "Jackie has an incredible track record of driving commercial success while creating highly engaged, culture-driven work environments," said Wish Founder and CEO Piotr Szulczewski. "We decided to split the chair and CEO roles to both strengthen our senior leadership as well as to accelerate our long-term growth strategies."

16:10 EDT Vroom reports Q1 ecommerce units sold of 15,504, up 96% y/y - Paul Hennessy, CEO of Vroom, commented: "Vroom delivered record results in the first quarter of 2021, with total gross profit nearly doubling versus the same period in the prior year as we delivered exceptional growth and improving unit economics. Our strong results were led by robust Ecommerce unit growth of 96%, coupled with accelerating Ecommerce Gross Profit Per Unit through the quarter. Demand for our convenient, online used vehicle shopping experience remains strong in a dynamic environment, and we continue to reap benefits from scaling our hybrid, asset-light model. As we look ahead, we will continue to execute against our plan to increase the velocity of our flywheel by growing inventory, expanding reconditioning capacity, and investing in logistics and our end-to-end ecommerce experience, among other initiatives, to deliver an attractive offering for our customers and demonstrate improvement in our unit economics over time."

16:07 EDT Jack in the Box board increases quarterly dividend 10% to 44c per share - The company announced that on May 7, 2021, its Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of 44c per share on the company's common stock, representing a 10% increase from the prior dividend rate. The dividend is payable on June 11, 2021, to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 26, 2021.

16:02 EDT Blue Bird sees FY21 net revenue $750M-$975M, consensus $808.5M - Sees FY adjusted EBITDA $40M-$65M, adjusted free cash flow ($5M)-$20M.

15:26 EDT Embraer announces order from SkyWest for eight new E175 aircraft - Embraer (ERJ) has agreed to the sale of eight new E175 jets to SkyWest (SKYW) for operation with Alaska Airlines (ALK), adding to the 32 SkyWest E175 jets SkyWest already flies for Alaska. The E175 aircraft will fly exclusively with Alaska Airlines under a Capacity Purchase Agreement, Embraer said. The value of the contract, which will be included in Embraer's second-quarter backlog, is $399.2M, based on list price, the company stated.

14:44 EDT DXP Enterprises authorizes stock repurchase of up to $85M - DXP Enterprises announced that its board of directors authorized a stock repurchase program under which up to $85M or 1.5M shares of its outstanding common stock may be acquired in the open market over the next 24 months at the discretion of management. The shares may be purchased from time to time at prevailing market prices, through open market or unsolicited negotiated transactions, depending upon market conditions. Under the program, the purchases would be funded from available working capital. There is no guarantee as to the exact number of shares that will be repurchased, and DXP may discontinue the program at any time management determines additional purchases are not warranted. As of March 31, 2021, DXP had approximately 20M shares outstanding. David R. Little, Chairman and CEO commented, "The Board's approval of this program reflects confidence in DXP's future and puts us in a position to create additional shareholder value when the opportunities arise. Repurchasing stock is one means of underscoring our commitment to enhancing shareholder value and ensuring we have all the tools available to us as senior management. DXP's board and management believe that the most accretive and beneficial use of cash at times is the repurchase of our shares."

14:13 EDT Dax Shepard's 'Armchair Expert' podcast to be exclusive to Spotify - Spotify announced that the podcast "Armchair Expert," cohosted by actor, filmmaker, and comedian Dax Shepard and producer and personality Monica Padman, is coming exclusively to Spotify. "All past and new episodes, which are produced by Rob Holysz, Monica, and Dax, will remain free and available to stream exclusively on the platform starting July 1. The partnership also includes a first look deal with Armchair Umbrella Network," Spotify stated. Reference Link

14:07 EDT SkyWest announces flying deal for 8 additional E175 aircraft with Alaska Air - SkyWest (SKYW) announced an agreement with Alaska Airlines (ALK) to purchase and operate eight E175 aircraft under a 12-year capacity purchase agreement. These aircraft are scheduled to be placed into service beginning in the first half of 2022, bringing SkyWest's total fleet operating under its Alaska agreement to 40 once complete. The aircraft will be purchased by SkyWest from Embraer (ERJ) and delivered new from the factory. Commenting on the agreement, Chip Childs, President and CEO of SkyWest, said, "The E175 is a great aircraft for customers and has helped provide vital service throughout the pandemic. As we mark 10 years of partnership with Alaska Airlines, we are pleased to add these new E175s as we help lead the recovery and continue strengthening our Alaska partnership."

13:59 EDT Partner Communications board approves appointment of Avi Zvi as CEO - Partner Communications announces, further to the company's report dated April 5, that in accordance with the recommendation of the company's Nominating Committee, the company's board of directors has approved the appointment of Mr. Avi Zvi as the new CEO of the company, effective June 1.

13:56 EDT Teck Resources off lows as Greenlight's Einhorn recommends during Sohn event - Shares of Teck Resources are off earlier lows, but remain down about 1% on the day, after David Einhorn of Greenlight Capital pitched the company as a long idea at today's Sohn Investment Conference. While he likes copper as a way to play the boom in electric vehicles, he recommends Teck Resources (TECK) over Freeport McMoRan (FCX), noting that copper will account for about 50% of Teck's revenues after the company finishes its Chilean mine expansion.

13:44 EDT North American rail traffic rose 23.2% in week ended May 8, AAR says - The Association of American Railroads, AAR,reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending May 8. For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 523,309 carloads and intermodal units, up 26.9% compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending May 8 were 236,019 carloads, up 27.6% compared with the same week in 2020, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 287,290 containers and trailers, up 26.3% compared to 2020. North American rail volume for the week ending May 8, 2021, on 12 reporting U.S., Canadian and Mexican railroads totaled 332,413 carloads, up 24% compared with the same week last year, and 380,465 intermodal units, up 22.6% compared with last year. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 712,878 carloads and intermodal units, up 23.2%. North American rail volume for the first 18 weeks of 2021 was 12,564,561 carloads and intermodal units, up 10.1 percent compared with 2020. Publicly traded companies in the space include CSX (CSX), Canadian National (CNI), Canadian Pacific (CP), Genesee & Wyoming (GWR), Kansas City Southern (KSU), Norfolk Southern (NSC) and Union Pacific (UNP).Reference Link

13:35 EDT Triumph Group announces seven year MRO agreement from Collins Aerospace - Triumph Group announced that its maintenance, repair and overhaul business, Triumph Product Support, was awarded a seven year agreement from Collins Aerospace for repair services on various environmental control system components. Under this agreement, the Triumph Product Support facility in Wellington, Kansas will repair and overhaul original equipment parts including air cycle machines, refrigeration packages, housings, ejectors, and fans across multiple platforms.

13:25 EDT KBR off lows after positive Sohn conference mention - Shares of KBR have rallied into positive territory after Lauren Taylor Wolfe, co-founder and managing partner of Impactive Capital, pitched the company as a long idea at today's Sohn Investment Conference.

13:02 EDT BridgeBio rallies after positive Sohn conference mention - Shares of BridgeBio rallied after Ellen Hukkelhoven of Perceptive Advisors pitched the company as a long idea at today's Sohn Investment Conference. The shares are up 3% to $50.45 in afternoon trading.

12:57 EDT Idex Corp. raises quarterly dividend 8% to 54c per share - Idex Corp. announced that its board of directors has approved an eight percent increase in the company's regular quarterly cash dividend to 54c per common share. This dividend will be paid May 28, 2021 to shareholders of record as of May 24, 2021. This dividend represents the company's 106th consecutive regular quarterly cash dividend payment.

12:32 EDT Service Corp. increases share repurchase authorization to about $500M - Service Corporation International announced that its board of directors has approved a quarterly cash dividend of 21c per share of common stock. The quarterly cash dividend announced today is payable on June 30 to shareholders of record at the close of business on June 15. The company also announced that its board has increased the authorized level of repurchases of its common stock by approximately $414M. When combined with approximately $86M of authority remaining under the existing program, this represents a total of $500M of current share repurchase authority effective today.

12:10 EDT Mr. Cooper names Leonard McLaughlin chief diversity officer - Mr. Cooper Group announced hiring of Leonard McLaughlin as its new Chief Diversity Officer. In this new role for the company, McLaughlin will spearhead Mr. Cooper Group's ongoing efforts to attract, retain and grow diverse talent and drive DEI strategies that enhance the employee experience and ensure inclusivity is embedded in the company's practices as it relates to our customers and vendors. Additionally, McLaughlin will lead the company's community outreach initiatives and Environmental, Social and Governance program, in an effort to ensure Mr. Cooper Group's societal impact and DEI practices are foundational and showcased to team members, customers and investors. "Our team members are our greatest asset at Mr. Cooper Group, and in the last several years we've collectively created a more inclusive culture built on understanding and valuing our differences," said Jay Bray, Chairman and CEO of Mr. Cooper Group. "We are excited to welcome Leonard to our team and know his experience in DEI leadership centered around employee engagement and comprehensive strategy will be valuable to our organization."

12:01 EDT Lemonade falls -16.1% - Lemonade is down -16.1%, or -$11.88 to $61.97.

12:00 EDT SandRidge Energy rises 12.6% - SandRidge Energy is up 12.6%, or 56c to $5.00.

12:00 EDT PHX Minerals rises 13.9% - PHX Minerals is up 13.9%, or 38c to $3.12.

11:16 EDT Protagonist to update on results from Phase 2 Study of rusfertide at EHA 2021 - Protagonist Therapeutics announced that an abstract highlighting updated data from its ongoing Phase 2 clinical study evaluating rusfertide in polycythemia vera has been selected for an oral presentation at the upcoming European Hematology Association 2021 Annual Congress that will take place virtually June 9-17. Sam Saks, M.D., Chief Medical Officer at Protagonist, said, "We look forward to expanding upon our previously reported Phase 2 data in eighteen patients at the American Society of Hematology meeting, which demonstrated almost complete elimination of phlebotomy treatment; reversal of iron deficiency; a decrease of symptom burden; and maintenance of hematocrit levels below 45 percent, per guidelines set by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. We have recently announced completion of the targeted enrollment of fifty patients in this ongoing study."

11:10 EDT Curis trading resumes

11:05 EDT Bridgeline Digital to acquire Hawksearch, terms not disclosed - Bridgeline Digital announced that it entered into an agreement to acquire Hawksearch. The company said, "Hawksearch's AI-powered technology helps online retailers engage customers and convert more sales with personalized site search and intelligent recommendations that connect customers with hyper-relevant products and boost online revenue. Hawksearch's industry-leading capabilities fit perfectly into Bridgeline's eCommerce360 strategy to help its customers increase traffic, conversion and average order size with an intelligent recommendation dashboard and a broad suite of Apps. Hawksearch integrates with multiple ecommerce and content management platforms, including BigCommerce, Salesforce B2B, Sitecore, Optimizely and many others, adding to Bridgeline's large partner network." Located in Chicago, Illinois, with installations world-wide across eCommerce and Content sites of all sizes and industry sectors, Hawksearch strategically adds to Bridgeline's existing product and customer base.

11:02 EDT Crispr, Vertex to present new clinical data on CTX001 at EHA 2021 - Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (VRTX) and CRISPR Therapeutics (CRSP) announced two abstracts detailing updated data from the ongoing CTX001 clinical trials have been accepted for presentation during the European Hematology Association 2021 Virtual Congress. Abstract #EP736 entitled "CTX001 for Sickle Cell Disease: Safety and Efficacy Results from the Ongoing CLIMB SCD-121 Study of Autologous Crispr-Cas9-Modified CD34+ Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells," will be made available on the virtual platform as an e-poster Friday, June 11 at 9:00 CEST. The abstract posted online includes data on patients with severe sickle cell disease with more than 3 months of follow-up, as of the interim data cut on January 28, 2021. Data will be updated and information on additional patients will be included for the congress. Abstract #EP733 entitled "CTX001 for Transfusion-Dependent undefined-Thalassemia: Safety and Efficacy Results from the Ongoing CLIMB Thal-111 Study of Autologous Crispr-Cas9-Modified CD34+ Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells," will be made available on the virtual platform as an e-poster Friday, June 11 at 9:00 CEST. The abstract posted online includes data on patients with transfusion-dependent beta thalassemia with more than 3 months of follow-up, including patients with the most severe genotypes, as of the interim data cut on January 21, 2021. Data will be updated and information on additional patients will be included for the congress.

10:58 EDT Acceleron to present on Reblozyl at EHA2021 - Acceleron Pharma announced that multiple abstracts on Reblozyl will be presented at the upcoming 2021 European Hematology Association, or EHA2021, Virtual Congress, to be held from June 9-17. "Of particular note, results from the BEYOND Phase 2 trial of luspatercept in adults with non-transfusion dependent beta-thalassemia will be presented on Friday, June 11th, during the Presidential Symposium, which honors the top six research papers submitted for presentation at the meeting," Acceleron said.

10:54 EDT Aytu BioPharma announces publication of in vitro study on UV A light - Aytu BioPharma announced that in vitro data related to the ultraviolet A light used in the Healight UVA endotracheal catheter technology was published in BioRxiv, an online archive for health science manuscripts that are not yet peer reviewed. The manuscript titled "Ultraviolet-A light increases mitochondrial anti-viral signaling protein via cell-cell communication" concluded that UVA light increases the expression of mitochondrial antiviral-signaling protein within cells, and the results suggest that this transmission of an increase in intracellular MAVS involves cell-to-cell communication. These findings confirm that an increase of MAVS in response to UVA light can be transmitted from cells directly exposed to UVA light to neighboring cells that have not been directly exposed to UVA light and suggest that cell-to-cell signaling is involved in the process of eliciting UVA light's antiviral effect. In the study, MAVS levels were compared in primary human tracheal epithelial cells exposed to narrow band-UVA light for 20 minutes and in unexposed controls, at 30-40% and at 100% cell culture confluency. MAVS levels were also compared in unexposed HTEpC cells treated with supernatants or lysates from UVA-exposed cells or from unexposed controls, and in cells from different sections of confluent monolayer plates where only one section of the plate was exposed to NB-UVA. This study did not test the use of the actual Healight device to treat COVID-19, the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Normalized MAVS levels, as detected by western blot, were increased in NB-UVA exposed cells when compared to unexposed controls. There were no changes in normalized MAVS levels, when naive 30-40% confluent HTEpC cells were treated with supernatants or cell lysates from NB-UVA exposed 30-40% confluent HTEpC cells. Normalized MAVS levels gradually increased from section 4 through section 1, and there was a significant increase in MAVS levels in section 1 when compared to unexposed section 4.

10:29 EDT Domino's Pizza growth can continue despite end of pandemic factors, Ackman says - Pershing Square's Bill Ackman disclosed earlier while speaking to WSJ's Jamie Heller at "The Future of Everything Festival" that the firm has taken a roughly 6% stake in the pizza company.

10:19 EDT Ackman discusses long-held long position in Howard Hughes during WSJ event - Pershing Square Capital Management CEO Bill Ackman continues being interviewed during The Wall Street Journal's "The Future of Everything Festival."

10:13 EDT Ackman says Chipotle can offset wage increases with price increases - Pershing Square Capital Management CEO Bill Ackman continues being interviewed during The Wall Street Journal's "The Future of Everything Festival."

10:12 EDT Ackman says Domino's 'a very compelling story' - Pershing Square Capital Management CEO Bill Ackman in being interviewed during The Wall Street Journal's "The Future of Everything Festival."

10:10 EDT Ackman says sold Starbucks stock to swap into Domino's Pizza position - Bill Ackman said he now owns "about 6%" of Domino's Pizza (DPZ) are acquiring shares after selling the firm's position in Starbucks (SBUX). Ackman is speaking during a Wall Street Journal event.

10:06 EDT MEI Pharma, Kyowa Kirin to present data from Phase 1b study of zandelisib combo - MEI Pharma (MEIP) and Kyowa Kirin Co. announced updated clinical data from a Phase 1b study of zandelisib, an investigational selective phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase delta inhibitor in clinical development for the treatment of B-cell malignancies, in combination with zanubrutinib, an inhibitor of Bruton's tyrosine kinase developed by BeiGene (BGNE), in patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell malignancies, will be highlighted in an oral presentation at the European Hematology Association 2021 Virtual Congress to be held June 9-17. All presentations will be made available on the EHA website for on-demand viewing on June 11, the company noted.

10:04 EDT Autoliv reinstates quarterly dividends, declares 62c payout for Q2 - Autoliv announced that its board has decided to reinstate quarterly dividends and declared a quarterly dividend of 62c per share for Q2. "Although the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet behind us, the significant improvement in profitability and free cash flow generation over the recent quarters shows that we have built a solid platform towards our mid-term financial targets", says Jan Carlson, Chairman of the Board of Directors. "It is our ambition to consistently create competitive shareholder value through our purpose-led strategy and operations, and I am happy that we can now reinstate our quarterly dividend," added Carlson. The dividend will be payable on June 14 to shareholders of record on the close of business on May 28.

10:01 EDT Magenta Therapeutics announces $86.4M common stock investment - Magenta Therapeutics announced that it has agreed to sell approximately 9,600,000 shares of its common stock to certain institutional investors in a private placement. Magenta anticipates aggregate gross proceeds from the offering will be $86.4M, before deducting estimated offering expenses payable by the Company, based on the offering price of $9.00 per share. The financing syndicate includes Deep Track Capital, L.P., TCG X, Great Point Partners, LLC, OrbiMed and Janus Henderson Investors. The closing is anticipated to occur on May 14, 2021, subject to customary closing conditions. Magenta intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes and working capital.

10:00 EDT Lemonade falls -14.4% - Lemonade is down -14.4%, or -$10.67 to $63.18.

10:00 EDT SandRidge Energy rises 9.3% - SandRidge Energy is up 9.3%, or 41c to $4.85.

10:00 EDT FuboTV rises 14.4% - FuboTV is up 14.4%, or $2.54 to $20.21.

09:50 EDT Penske Automotive raises quarterly dividend to 44c per share - The dividend is payable June 2 to shareholders of record on May 24.

09:47 EDT Callaway Golf falls -6.9% - Callaway Golf is down -6.9%, or -$2.33 to $31.55.

09:47 EDT SelectQuote falls -13.5% - SelectQuote is down -13.5%, or -$3.69 to $23.71.

09:47 EDT SandRidge Energy rises 12.6% - SandRidge Energy is up 12.6%, or 56c to $5.00.

09:46 EDT Adagene Inc (ADS) trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:41 EDT Autoliv trading halted, news pending

09:35 EDT American Express names Alex Drummond Chief Strategy Officer - American Express announced the appointment of Alex Drummond as Chief Strategy Officer and head of the Strategic Planning Group, effective July 6. Drummond joins the company from the Boston Consulting Group, where he is currently a managing director and partner leading BCG's North American payments practice. Reference Link

09:29 EDT Creatd announces new collaboration with Fiskars - Creatd announced the Create Your Happiness Challenge in partnership with Fiskars, a premium lifestyle brand in the gardening, cooking, and creating categories aimed toward generating human happiness in and around the home. Fiskars is owned by Fiskars Group, a multi-billion dollar Finland-based company and one of the oldest companies in the world. The Create Your Happiness Challenge is a storytelling contest centered around the idea that happiness and creativity go hand in hand. The Challenge prompts Vocal's creators to tell stories featuring their personal hobbies and craft projects as a way to share the unique ways in which they channel creativity in their daily lives. Qualifying stories must reference a pair of scissors - a nod to Fiskars' iconic orange-handled product - but can cover the creator's particular hobby of choice, including clothing designs, origami, home decor projects, and beyond.

09:23 EDT Verizon, Capital Music Group, Motown Records to record VR concerts - "Verizon, Capitol Music Group, or CMG, and Motown Records will explore how 5G and multi-access edge computing can help artists reach fans in new and engaging ways, both digitally and in-person, as people return to venues," the company said. The companies are launching a new Emerging Tech and Emerging Artist program that will pair three rising CMG and Motown recording artists with content production technologies to "bring the artists' creative visions to life in unique and enhanced ways," the company said. Verizon's 5G Lab in Los Angeles will serve as the production facility for the series, giving artists access to a 5G-powered virtual production stage, a volumetric capture studio, game engine technology, and a suite of Extended Reality production tools. The first event in the series launches May 14 and features an immersive VR concert experience with Motown recording artist TheHxliday. The performance will be available in 180-degree live streams on TheHxliday's YouTube and Facebook pages, as well as on Oculus Venues and Verizon's 5G Labs site. The performance was recorded in 4K video on a camera connected to Verizon's 5G Ultra Wideband network in Verizon's 5G Lab in Los Angeles. Verizon 5G Ultra Wideband is available in parts of more than 70 U.S. cities. Verizon 5G Edge is currently available in 10 cities across the U.S.

09:22 EDT Progress Software announces latest release of Progress Kendo UI - Progress announced the latest release of Progress Kendo UI, a collection of JavaScript UI components with libraries for Angular, React, jQuery and Vue. With this release, Progress now delivers more than 100 native UI components for Angular and adds 60 new features and enhancements across all JavaScript libraries.

09:20 EDT Zealand Pharma receives FDA approval for Zegalogue injection - Zegalogue has been approved in pediatric and adult patients with diabetes aged 6 years and above. The approval was based on efficacy results from three randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled multicenter Phase 3 studies of Zegalogue in children aged 6 to 17 and in adults with type 1 diabetes. The primary endpoint was successfully achieved across the adult and pediatric studies with a significantly faster median time to blood glucose recovery of only 10 minutes following Zegalogue administration compared to 30-45 minutes placebo. In the main Phase 3 adult trial 99% of patients recovered within 15 minutes. In these Phase 3 trial results the most common adverse events reported (greater than or equal to2%) were nausea, vomiting, headache, diarrhea and injection site pain in adults; and nausea, vomiting, headache and injection site pain in pediatric patients. The approval was received from the FDA four days ahead of the scheduled PDUFA date. Zealand is planning to launch Zegalogue in the U.S. in late June.

09:19 EDT Curtiss-Wright hikes dividend 6% to 18c per share - Curtiss-Wright announced that the Board of Directors declared a 6% increase in the quarterly dividend to 18c per share, payable July 2 to stockholders of record as of June 18. "This dividend increase reflects our Board of Directors' confidence in the Company's strong financial position and continued ability to deliver solid earnings growth and free cash flow, while also allowing us to provide a consistent return to our shareholders," said Lynn M. Bamford, President and CEO of Curtiss-Wright Corporation. "Curtiss-Wright remains committed to a disciplined and balanced capital allocation strategy that consists of reinvesting in our business to drive organic growth, pursuing strategic acquisitions and returning capital to shareholders through share repurchase and steady dividend distributions to drive long-term shareholder value."

09:16 EDT Neogen approves two-for-one stock split - Neogen has approved a two-for-one stock split. Each stockholder of record at the close of business on May 26 will receive one additional share of common stock for each share held, with new shares expected to be distributed on June 4. Neogen currently has approximately 53,700,000 shares of common stock outstanding. After the split, the company will have approximately 107,400,000 shares of common stock outstanding.

09:16 EDT Amazon upgrades Echo Show 8, Echo Show 5 and new Echo Show 5 Kids - Amazon introduced its newest Echo Show devices-the new Echo Show 8, Echo Show 5, and the first Echo Show 5 Kids. Echo Show is the fastest-growing family of Echo devices, and the new models feature more powerful cameras for better video calling, alongside new ways to enhance your Alexa experience. Customers love using Echo Show to stay in touch and in the past year have made nearly three times the number of video calls than the year prior," said Tom Taylor, Senior Vice President, Amazon Alexa. "With these new Echo Show devices, we focused on communications-bringing a powerful camera and digital pan and zoom capabilities to the new Echo Show 8, upgrading the Echo Show 5 camera, and adding new AR effects to make video calls more fun and engaging."

09:11 EDT Progress announces R2 2021 release of Progress Telerik - Progress announced the R2 2021 release of Progress Telerik, a powerful .NET developer tools collection available. With this release, Progress now provides over 75 native components for Microsoft Blazor, making it the largest UI component library for Blazor available. Progress also announced expansion of its already growing UI library for Microsoft WinUI and support for the newest .NET 6 preview

09:09 EDT NeuBase Therapeutics appoints Gerald McDougall to board of directors - NeuBase Therapeutics announced the appointment of Gerald McDougall to the company's board of directors. McDougall spent almost his entire career as a senior partner at PwC where he built and led the firm's Global Health Science consulting practice before retiring.

09:09 EDT Micro Focus announces expanded strategic collaboration with Microsoft - Micro Focus (MFGP) announced an expanded strategic collaboration with Microsoft (MSFT) to help reduce government clients' infrastructure costs by bridging existing and emerging technologies to transform and modernize. As state and local government agencies work to provide reliable services to their citizens in a cost-effective way, this partnership with Microsoft provides a reliable and scalable strategy for enabling mainframe applications to run on Microsoft Azure.

09:08 EDT Honeywell-led team creating portable device to extract drinking water from air - A Honeywell-led team has been awarded a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, part of the Department of Defense, to develop a lightweight, low-power portable device that extracts drinking water from surrounding air as part of DARPA's Atmospheric Water Extraction program. Honeywell has selected NuMat Technologies and Northwestern University to add to its efforts. The device uses a newly designed metal-organic framework material that extracts water from the surrounding air. NuMat and Northwestern have been selected by Honeywell to develop the new water-absorbing MOF. The two organizations will collaborate over the next four years to design the MOF, with Northwestern performing fundamental research and NuMat scaling up, producing and supporting device integration of the material. Honeywell plans to have an initial prototype built in approximately a year and a half but has already begun work on building parts of the device.

09:08 EDT MoneyGram, Coinme partner to expand access to Bitcoin - MoneyGram (MGI) and Coinme, the largest licensed cryptocurrency cash exchange in the U.S., announced the launch of a new partnership to enable the cash funding and payout of digital currency purchases and sales. The partnership, which utilizes MoneyGram's modern, mobile and API-driven payments platform and Coinme's proprietary cryptocurrency exchange and custody technology, will bring bitcoin (BTC) to thousands of new point-of-sale locations in the U.S., with plans to expand to select international markets in the second half of 2021.

09:06 EDT Full House Resorts announces management promotions at resorts - Full House Resorts announced several recent management promotions. At Rising Star Casino Resort in Rising Sun, Indiana, the Company has promoted Angelika Truebner-Webb to General Manager, pending customary gaming approvals. Ms. Truebner-Webb currently serves as Rising Star's Executive Director of Finance and Administration, where she oversees the property's information technology, human resources, and finance departments. James McCracken is being promoted to Assistant General Manager of Rising Star, pending gaming approvals, from his current role as Executive Director of Casino Operations. A hometown resident of Rising Sun, Indiana, Mr. McCracken has worked at Rising Star for nearly 25 years. Ashlee Wilkerson is being promoted to Director of Human Resources at Rising Star, pending gaming approvals. Ms. Wilkerson first joined the property as a member of its human resources team in May 2020, when she arrived with 12 years of experience in human resources. At the Company's Nevada segment - which consists of Grand Lodge Casino in Incline Village, Nevada, and Stockman's Casino in Fallon, Nevada - the Company has promoted Cyndy Carter to Assistant General Manager. Ms. Carter most recently served as the Director of Finance for the Nevada segment.

09:06 EDT Syndax says two 'prior responders' in AUGMENT-101 achieved full count recovery - Briggs Morrison, M.D., CEO of Syndax Pharmaceuticals said along with the company's report of financial results for the first quarter last night: "We are excited to provide an update on the positive interim Phase 1 data from the ongoing AUGMENT-101 trial of SNDX-5613 in patients with mixed lineage leukemia rearranged and nucleophosmin mutant acute leukemias. As Dr. Eytan Stein indicated in his presentation, complete eradication of leukemia need not occur simultaneously with complete recovery of blood cell counts, and today we are able to share that two prior responders have advanced from complete response with incomplete platelet recovery to a complete response. The benefit we observe in AUGMENT-101 support our strong conviction that SNDX-5613 has the potential to meaningfully shape the treatment paradigm for these patients who are in desperate need of improved therapeutic options. As previously announced, we have identified a candidate recommended Phase 2 dose and look forward to commencing the pivotal Phase 2 portion of the trial. In addition, we continue to make progress with axatilimab in patients with chronic graft versus host disease. We are pleased to announce today that we have completed enrollment of 23 patients in the Phase 2 expansion portion of the Phase 1/2 trial. We look forward to sharing full updated results from the Phase 1/2 trial later this year, with top-line data from the ongoing pivotal AGAVE-201 trial expected in 2023. Supported by emerging data, we firmly believe that axatilimab has the potential to benefit many of the more than 10,000 patients diagnosed with cGVHD in the U.S. each year." In pre-market trading, Syndax shares were up 36c, or 2%, to $16.40.

09:04 EDT MGM Resorts returning to full gaming floor occupancy at Las Vegas properties - MGM Resorts International announced that the Nevada Gaming Control Board has approved a return to 100% occupancy and no social distancing on the gaming floors located inside the company's Las Vegas Strip properties. The waiver was granted based on MGM Resorts' work to vaccinate its workforce and applies only to gaming floors. Current 80% occupancy restrictions and three-feet social distancing policies remain in effect outside of the gaming floors, including at restaurants, pools and other non-gaming areas and activities. Additional health and safety protocols will continue, including applicable mask mandates, based on regulatory requirements and expert guidance.

09:03 EDT Medicenna Therapeutics appoints Mann Muhsin as Chief Medical Officer - Medicenna Therapeutics (MDNA) announced the appointment of Mann Muhsin, MD, as the company's Chief Medical Officer. Muhsin has more than 20 years of experience in medical practice and drug development. Dr. Muhsin most recently designed and executed early and late stage oncology trials at Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR) where he led the Phase 3 PIVOT-12 trial and global product strategy for NKTR-262.

09:03 EDT GrubHub announces commission-free platform called Grubhub Direct - Grubhub announced Grubhub Direct, a platform to help independent restaurants better compete online through commission-free online ordering and access to their customer data. With nearly 10 years building branded ordering and loyalty experiences for large restaurant chains, Grubhub is leveraging its expertise to help independent restaurants develop their own customized ordering websites, empowering them to market directly to their diners, receive their diner data and manage their branded website-all without any marketing fees. The company said, "Grubhub will not charge any marketing or commissions to restaurants on Grubhub Direct orders. Restaurants will pay standard credit card processing fees and optionally, a highly competitive delivery fee, only if the restaurant chooses to have Grubhub drivers deliver for them. Tens of thousands of Grubhub restaurant partners deliver their own orders and would pay no delivery charge on Grubhub Direct. Additionally, we're waiving setup and monthly hosting fees for Grubhub Direct through April 2022. Access to diner data, loyalty programs and promotions through Grubhub Direct is always free."

08:51 EDT Arthur J. Gallagher to acquire certain Willis Towers Watson operations

08:38 EDT Wendy's sees 10% of sales coming from breakfast by end of 2022

08:37 EDT Arena Pharmaceuticals earns Prime status from rating agency ISS ESG - Arena Pharmaceuticals announced it has been designated Prime in the ISS ESG Corporate Rating, effective as of May 4, 2021. Companies are classified as Prime when their ESG performance exceeds the threshold criteria for companies in its sector, meaning they fulfill ambitious absolute performance requirements.The ISS ESG Corporate Rating sets the industry standard for sustainable investing and is used by international institutional investors and financial service companies to inform their decisions. According to this rating, Arena tradeable bonds and shares will now qualify for responsible investment. "This rating reinforces our far-reaching efforts to build a vibrant, sustainable enterprise with the ultimate goal of delivering our important medicines to patients who need them," said Laurie Stelzer, Chief Financial Officer of Arena Pharmaceuticals. "Our management team, our employees, and our Board of Directors all embrace a long-term commitment to ESG principles for the betterment of our company and the communities we are working in. We are proud to be recognized as not only a sustainable company, but also a sustainable investment." The Prime status follows the release of Arena's second annual ESG report in April 2021, outlining the Company's long-term commitment to the betterment of society, focusing on patients, employees, the community, the environment, and shareholders.

08:36 EDT IntelGenx expands psychedelics collaboration with ATAI Life Sciences - IntelGenx announced that it has entered into a second feasibility agreement with ATAI Life Sciences for the development of novel formulations of Salvinorin A, a naturally occurring psychedelic compound being developed for the treatment of treatment-resistant depression and other indications. The first feasibility agreement between the companies was signed in August 2020. That was followed in March 2021 by IntelGenx and atai announcing a strategic partnership, including a proposed equity investment in IntelGenx by atai, positioning IntelGenx as a leader within the novel therapeutics field of psychedelics and providing additional financial resources to continue to advance its robust portfolio of innovative transmucosal film product candidates towards commercialization. Under the terms of the SFA, IntelGenx will conduct formulation development work to provide a prototype to atai for further clinical investigation.

08:35 EDT Globant acquires European digital marketing consultancy firm Habitant - Globant acquired Habitant, a consulting firm specializing in digital marketing strategy, Paid Media, MAdTech and Digital Sales. Habitant, based in Madrid, Barcelona and Logrono, is a company specialized in solving business challenges through the design of digital marketing strategies, product design, design services and UI / UX experiences, paid media and digital sales, among others, with more than 100 consultants.

08:35 EDT Sonim, Business Mobility Partners announce new distribution agreement in U.S. - Sonim Technologies (SONM) announced a new partnership with Business Mobility Partners, an Authorized Distributor of T-Mobile (YMUS) For Business products and services, which serves transportation, construction, healthcare, logistics and utilities verticals as well as education and the public sector. "We are honored to create the first of its kind joint partnership between Sonim and BMP that will deliver top-of-the-line ruggedized devices to T-Mobile business and government customers," said Jared Deith, BMP president. "As T-Mobile's largest exclusive authorized distributor, this partnership unlocks a tremendous greenfield opportunity for T-Mobile customers."

08:33 EDT Lazydays to acquire B. Young RV dealership in Pacific Northwest - Lazydays has signed a letter of intent to acquire BYRV and BYRV Washington. B. Young RV has two dealerships strategically located in Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington. The acquisition of B. Young RV is expected to be finalized within 90 days. Lazydays currently operates twelve dealerships in Florida, Colorado, Arizona, Minnesota, Tennessee, and Indiana; and operates a dedicated Service Center location near Houston, Texas.

08:32 EDT Ocean Power receives $1M non-dilutive funding through NJEDA program - Ocean Power Technologies announced that it has received $1M of non-dilutive funding through the New Jersey Economic Development Authority's Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer Program. Administered by the NJEDA and the New Jersey Department of the Treasury's Division of Taxation, the Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer Program enables companies to raise funding to finance their growth and operations. Under the program, New Jersey-based technology or biotechnology companies with fewer than 225 US employees may be eligible to sell net operating losses and research and development tax credits to unaffiliated corporations, up to a maximum lifetime benefit of $20M per business.

08:31 EDT Duke Energy's landfill solar project approved by North Carolina regulators - Duke Energy's 5 MW solar project in Buncombe County, North Carolina, was recently approved by North Carolina regulators. It is the company's first that will be located on a retired county landfill. Duke Energy will own and operate the 5-MW solar power plant located on the closed Buncombe County landfill in Woodfin - near Interstate 26 and the French Broad River. The plant is expected to be in service by the end of 2021 and will produce enough energy annually to power about 1,000 homes and businesses.

08:28 EDT Dream Finders Homes sees 5,000-6,000 home closings in 2021 - The company said, "Dream Finders Homes remains focused on providing an affordable product for its entry-level and first-time move-up homebuyers, and while recognizing the challenges created by input costs inflation and supply chain constraints, the Company has been able to successfully deliver on a robust first quarter. Based on the consistent level of elevated sales per community and backlog, the low interest rate environment, and persistent relocation patterns into its core markets, the Company continues to be well positioned to achieve its expected growth in 2021 and maintains its guidance of 5,000 to 6,000 home closings for the full year 2021. In addition, the Company expects an increase in the average sales price of homes closed in future quarters, as the average sales price in backlog as of March 31, 2021 was $375,526."

08:27 EDT Camping World announces acquisition of Boat-N-RV Superstore in South Carolina - Camping World Holdings announced the acquisition of Boat-N-RV Superstore in Ridgeland, South Carolina. The facility recently underwent renovations and will be open for consumers in the next several weeks. "In February, we announced purchases of two Boat-N-RV Superstore locations in Hamburg, PA and Albany, NY," said Marcus Lemonis, CEO and Chairman of Camping World. "I see great value by adding our fifth RV and outdoors location in South Carolina along with our ability to showcase our Overton's brand." The new SuperCenter, located at 401 Sycamore Dr in Ridgeland just off Interstate 95, will transition to the Gander RV and Outdoors brand and include a wide range of new and used RVs from top manufacturers in addition to a full assortment of RV and outdoor products and accessories. The facility will also showcase watersports, marine, fishing and boating products and accessories from the Overton's brand. The Company currently has operating dealerships, agreements to acquire existing RV dealerships, is under new construction or has a land acquisition pending in 45 of the 48 contiguous states.

08:26 EDT Enochian Biosciences announces preliminary data on cell therapy in HIV - Enochian BioSciences announced the release of preliminary data relating to the use of a novel cell therapy approach in controlling human immunodeficiency virus in humans. Dr. Serhat Gumrukcu, co-founder and inventor of Enochian BioSciences and Director of the Seraph Research Institute, presented the findings at the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy. A 54-year-old man, diagnosed with HIV in 1986, had persistent HIV detected in his blood, despite antiretroviral therapy. With approval from an Institutional Review Board, this single patient was treated with a novel cellular therapy of natural killer and gamma delta T-cells - a small subset of immune cells that can be infected with HIV but could also be a key factor in controlling the virus. The NK and GDT cells were collected from a person who does not have HIV. Because the patient stopped antiviral treatment and received some supportive medication before the cellular therapy, the level of HIV initially increased, as expected. However, HIV levels began to decline after approximately three weeks, and after 100 days dropped below the detection level of routinely used blood tests. HIV levels in the patient's blood have remained at or below detection for an additional 255 days, all while the patient has not been taking antiviral medication. This innovative cell therapy could be a potential strategy to achieve a "functional cure" for HIV. This could potentially allow persons living with HIV to stop antiviral treatment for extended periods of time. Dr. Gumrukcu and SRI are currently pursuing a regulatory pathway with the FDA to study the approach in more patients. Enochian BioSciences holds the exclusive license for the proprietary technology.

08:23 EDT Infinity Energy Resources enters research agreement with TORP - Infinity Energy Resources announced it has entered into an agreement with the Tertiary Oil Recovery Program, or TORP, at the University of Kansas to evaluate its prolific reserve potential relative to its recently acquired 11,000-acre oil & gas properties in the Otis/Albert Field located on the Kansas Central Uplift. Under the Agreement, TORP will be evaluating the potential reserves and the use of enhanced recovery methods on the Reagan Sand Zone located on the Acquired Oil & Gas Properties in the Otis & Albert Field at an approximate depth of 3,600 feet including secondary zones, and other potential hydrocarbon deposits, from a report finalized by Schlumberger in 2018. TORP will evaluate both current and new engineering methods of Estimated Ultimate Recovery through modeling and experimental processes, identified by the Schlumberger report and various publicly available databases. Infinity's purchase of the Acquired Oil & Gas Properties included more than 10 square miles of 3D seismic, compiled with multiple logs, drilling data, and reports. The existing datasets will provide valuable information for completion of the TORP evaluation.

08:22 EDT MiMedx urges shareholders to vote for director nominees - MIMEDX Group reminded shareholders to vote at the upcoming 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, which will be held on May 27, 2021. MIMEDX's Board of Directors unanimously recommends that shareholders vote FOR all four of its director nominees and FOR all proposals on the Company's WHITE proxy card. MIMEDX has also confirmed that Prescience Point has voluntarily withdrawn its proxy contest and its proposed director candidates. MIMEDX has four director nominees standing for election - Dr. M. Kathleen Behrens, Mr. Todd Newton, Mr. Timothy R. Wright, and Dr. Phyllis Gardner. MIMEDX has also put forth several key governance enhancement proposals, including declassifying the Board, reducing the ownership threshold for shareholders to be permitted to call a special meeting and adopting proxy access, all of which are consistent with public company corporate governance best practices.

08:20 EDT Iqvia, ProtoKinetix team-up on development of AAGP product - ProtoKinetix announced its collaboration with IQVIA to accelerate development of AAGP, PKX-001, in ocular conditions, specifically Dry Eye Disease and Wet and Dry forms of Age-related Macular Degeneration. The ProtoKinetix-IQVIA collaboration will aim to accelerate the clinical development and regulatory progress of PKX-001. The collaboration is expected to drive directed clinical development as PKX-001 enters Phase 1 testing for the above conditions. This initiative will also serve to optimize these clinical trials to determine safety in these new conditions, drawing from previous experience with PKX-001 in Type 1 diabetes and other conditions.

08:18 EDT II-VI, Coherent transaction on track to close by year-end 2021 - II-VI Incorporated (IIVI) and Coherent, Inc. (COHR) provided an update on their previously announced merger to create a diversified global leader in photonic solutions, compound semiconductors, and laser technology and systems that is well-positioned to take advantage of irreversible megatrends in the industry. The registration statement on Form S-4, which was filed on May 4, 2021 by II-VI and Coherent with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with the proposed combination, was declared effective by the SEC on May 6, 2021. Accordingly, II-VI and Coherent have scheduled special meetings of II-VI's shareholders and Coherent's stockholders, respectively, for June 24, 2021. At the special meetings, II-VI shareholders and Coherent stockholders will be asked to consider and vote on the related proposals to approve II-VI's acquisition of Coherent. Shareholders of record for II-VI and stockholders of record of Coherent, in each case, as of May 17, 2021, will have the right to vote at these respective meetings. II-VI and Coherent also confirmed the expiration of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, in connection with the pending transaction. As previously disclosed, the expiration of the waiting period under the HSR Act is one of the key regulatory conditions necessary for completion of this transaction. The transaction remains on track to close by year-end 2021 subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of required regulatory approvals and approval of II-VI's shareholders and Coherent's stockholders.

08:17 EDT Caladrius receives $1.4M in non-dilutive funding through New Jersey program - Caladrius Biosciences announced that it has received $1.4M in non-dilutive funding as an approved participant of the Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer Program sponsored by the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. The Program enables qualifying New Jersey-based biotechnology or technology companies to sell a percentage of their New Jersey net operating losses and research and development tax credits to unrelated qualifying corporations. "We are extremely grateful to the NJEDA for their continued support under this program, through which we have cumulatively converted NOLs into more than $12M of non-dilutive funding," stated David Mazzo, Ph.D., President and CEO of Caladrius. "This additional capital combined with the $90 million we have raised in the public markets since the beginning of 2021 will, among other things, continue to support the advancement and expansion of our CD34+ cell therapy pipeline."

08:14 EDT scPharmaceuticals sees 2021 net loss $32M-$36M

08:14 EDT Leap Therapeutics and Flagship Biosciences develop image analysis RNAscope assay - Leap Therapeutics and Flagship Biosciences have developed an image analysis RNAscope assay that is being used successfully for prospective patient enrollment in a clinical trial. To the companies' knowledge, this is the first example of an RNAscope assay using a digital image analysis solution for patient enrollment. Leap and Flagship's work centered on the development and validation of a DKK1 RNAscope chromogenic in situ hybridization assay and digital image analysis solution. Leap and Flagship have validated the DKK1 RNAscope assay and accompanying digital image analysis solution as specific, sensitive, accurate, and reproducible according to Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments guidelines, and their work is currently being applied to prospectively identify G/GEJ patients with elevated tumoral expression of DKK1 for treatment with a DKN-01 plus tislelizumab combination. Additionally, the companies are using the DKK1 RNAscope assay and digital image analysis solution for a retrospective analysis of G/GEJ patients treated with DKN-01 in combination with tislelizumab and chemotherapy.

08:13 EDT CSX signs definitive agreement to acquire Quality Carriers - CSX announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Quality Carriers from Quality Distribution. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. James M. Foote, president and CEO of CSX said: "The acquisition of Quality Carriers further demonstrates our commitment to the strategic growth of our business and deepening our relationships with customers. Our new partnership will provide chemical producers and shippers with a first-of-its-kind multimodal solution that capitalizes on the powerful synergies between Quality Carriers' truck transportation fleet and our cost-advantaged rail network. We believe that this new capability will create meaningful long-term value for our company." Quality Carriers' management team, led by President Randy Strutz, will continue to lead the business as part of CSX. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021, subject to regulatory review and certain customary closing conditions.

08:11 EDT Canadian National received 1,000 letters supporting combination with Kansas City - CN (CNI) announced that significant support has continued to grow for its proposed combination with Kansas City Southern (KSU). More than 180 additional letters have been sent to CN and filed with the Surface Transportation Board in favor of CN's proposed combination with KCS, its use of a voting trust, or both, bringing the total number of support letters CN has received to over 1,000. CN will continue to communicate with its customers and stakeholders as it works towards an agreed transaction with KCS.

08:11 EDT Dogness International secures over RMB 2M in new orders - Dogness announced the company secured over RMB 2M in new orders and received two prestigious gold awards for Quality Ingenuity and Brand Quality at the 7th China International Pet Supplies Exhibition trade show. As one of the world's largest pet industry events, the four-day Shenzhen Pet Expo in April 2021 attracted more than an estimated 100,000 attendees to the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center.

08:10 EDT Natural Gas Services closes $20M credit facility with Texas Capital Bank - Natural Gas Services Group announced the closing of a new $20 million senior secured revolving credit facility with Texas Capital Bank, N.A. as lender and administrative agent. NGS may, subject to certain conditions and limitations, increase the revolving credit commitments outstanding under the revolving credit facility in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed an additional $30 million. Together with its existing cash position, the facility provides the Company with a solid liquidity position to meet its working capital needs as well as pursue a wide variety of strategic, value-creating initiatives.

08:09 EDT Paymode-X expands network with Billtrust's Business Payments Network - Billtrust (BTRS) announced that Bottomline Technologies (EPAY) will connect its Paymode-X payers to new card acceptance endpoints via Billtrust's Business Payments Network. Bottomline customers are now able to use BPN's connected platform of suppliers to quickly and efficiently send and receive digital payments through BPN's digital lockbox. Customers also will reduce processing time and costs as they continue their migration from legacy payment types such as checks.

08:07 EDT aTyr Pharma's Pangu BioPharma achieve first year milestones of government grant - aTyr Pharma announced that the company's Hong Kong subsidiary, Pangu BioPharma, together with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, have achieved the milestones set forth for the first year of a $750,000 grant received from the Hong Kong Government's Innovation and Technology Commission. The two-year project, which is in part funded by the ITC's Partnership Research Program, is intended to develop a high-throughput platform for the development of bispecific antibodies with an initial focus on diseases in which Neuropilin-2 overexpression is strongly implicated, including cancer. Key milestones achieved for the first year of the project included building out a research team to establish an innovative antibody discovery platform at HKUST. An integral part of this project was the development and implementation of a novel single-cell antibody discovery approach which has so far yielded numerous candidate high-affinity NRP2/co-receptor antibodies that are currently being screened in functional assays. The second year of the project aims to identify the most productive pairings, optimize mid-scale production/purification and prioritize lead candidate bispecific antibodies based on activity in therapeutically relevant cell-based assays.

08:06 EDT Infinera completes successful trial of XR Optics with NBN Co - Infinera announced that NBN Co, Australia's broadband provider, completed a successful proof of concept of XR optics-based point-to-multipoint coherent optical technology. The trial demonstrated XR optics' compatibility within the nbn Transit Network, a DWDM network spanning over 65,000 km across Australia. The trial highlighted the ability of XR optics to dramatically simplify transport network architecture while reducing CapEx and OpEx across diverse applications. Providing multiple 100 Gb/s of capacity efficiently subdivided into discrete subcarriers, XR optics enables dynamic capacity management and optical capacity optimization.

08:05 EDT Sterling Bancorp announces Skye agent handled over 2M customer inquiries - Sterling National Bank announced that following the June 2020 implementation of Amelia, the Bank's "Skye" product has successfully handled more than two million customer service requests. Since launch, Skye has handled over two million customer requests and now solves close to 50% of the most common customer requests received by Sterling's Contact Center. Sterling plans to incorporate the Amelia technology into a solution that will further enhance the customer experience and increase the number of interactions Skye can support.

08:05 EDT VBI Vaccines publishes Protect results of company's-antigen Hep B vaccine - VBI Vaccines announced that results from the pivotal Phase 3 study, PROTECT, of VBI's prophylactic 3-antigen hepatitis B (HBV) vaccine candidate in adults were published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. The study was designed to compare the immunogenicity and safety of 10 microgram of VBI's 3-antigen vaccine candidate to 20 microgram of the single-antigen HBV vaccine, Engerix-B Together with results from the second pivotal Phase 3 study, CONSTANT, these results form the basis for the regulatory submissions of VBI's 3-antigen HBV vaccine candidate in the U.S. and Europe, which were submitted in November 2020, and for Canada and the U.K., which are in process. Dr. Timo Vesikari, M.D., Ph.D., Professor Emeritus and Director of the Nordic Vaccine Research Network in Finland, principal investigator of the PROTECT and CONSTANT Phase 3 clinical studies, and author of the manuscript commented, "While HBV immunization programs effectively address infants, large immunization gaps exist in certain adult populations, due in large part to the poor immune response in many risk groups such as older adults, people with diabetes or kidney disease, overweight adults, and those who smoke. The PROTECT study demonstrated that the 3-antigen hepatitis B vaccine may be able to overcome some of the limitations of conventional single-antigen HBV vaccines in adults, particularly in older adults age 45+ where superior immune responses were achieved." Dr. Joanne Langley, M.D., Professor of Pediatrics and Community Health and Epidemiology, CIHR-GSK Chair in Pediatric Vaccinology, Dalhousie University, and Head of the Division of Infectious Disease, IWK Health Centre, principal investigator of the PROTECT study, and author of the manuscript commented, "This pivotal Phase 3 study demonstrates important and differentiating characteristics of VBI's 3-antigen HBV vaccine candidate. Data from this large study shows an ability to elicit robust and rapid onset of seroprotection in adult participants. I believe that this type of innovation is needed to fight this persistent global infectious disease challenge."

08:03 EDT Connect Biopharma announces first patient dosed in phase 2 trial of CBP-201 - Connect Biopharma announced that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase 2 trial evaluating CBP-201 in adults with moderate-to-severe persistent asthma. This multicenter, randomized, double-blind, parallel group, placebo-controlled trial was designed to assess the efficacy and safety of two doses of CBP-201 administered subcutaneously to eligible patients with moderate to severe persistent asthma with Type 2 inflammation. The trial is expected to enroll approximately 300 patients across 80 clinical sites in the United States, China, European Union, the United Kingdom, Ukraine and South Korea and is divided into a treatment period of 24 weeks and a follow-up period of 8 weeks.

08:03 EDT Bird, Switchback II transaction implies pro forma enterprise valuation of $2.3B

08:02 EDT Pipestone Energy on track to deliver 2021 production guidance 24K-26K boe/d - The company said, "Pipestone continues to efficiently grow its highly economic condensate-rich Montney asset. The Company is well on track to deliver its 2021 production guidance of 24,000 to 26,000 boe/d. The increase in natural gas and condensate prices, coupled with improving capital efficiencies and strong well results, positions Pipestone to deliver significant annual free cash flow for shareholders beginning in Q4 2021 and beyond. Pipestone also generated strong returns on invested capital during the quarter, with annualized ROCE and CROIC of 10.9% and 16.5% respectively, demonstrating the high-quality nature of the Company's asset base."

08:02 EDT Bird Rides to go public via merger with Switchback II

07:50 EDT CloudMD closes acquisition of Rxi - CloudMD Software & Services announced that it has closed the previously announced acquisition of Rx Infinity Inc., Rxi Pharmacy Inc., and Rxi Health Solutions Inc, enhancing its specialty health services to patients, providers, insurers, and corporations in Canada. Rxi's pharmaceutical logistic services include drug distribution, patient navigation assistance, a preferred pharmacy network of over 500 pharmacies and real-time universal disease management software. As a proven solution to the currently siloed healthcare system, Rxi's combined offerings provide a one-stop solution and centralized platform that breaks down treatment barriers by offering a team-based, real time, longitudinal approach to patient care and disease management. Rxi oversees several national and provincial patient support programs currently specializing in Oncology, Infectious Diseases and Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Rxi will be expanding its offering, launching a number of additional support programs in the imminent future. The company also provides administrative and drug benefit management services to a large third-party benefits provider, servicing more than 300,000 patients across Canada. Rxi is licensed as a National Wholesaler and is approved by Health Canada. The acquisition of Rxi is synergistic across CloudMD's platform of healthcare technology solutions and its Enterprise Health Solutions division. The addition of Rxi expands CloudMD's pharmacy offering, and distribution and fulfillment channels across Canada. CloudMD has access to Rxi's network of 500 independent pharmacies to provide better, more localized, access to care. Rxi will be integrated with CloudMD's electronic medical records software, educational resources, healthcare navigation, patient portal and enterprise health services. CloudMD can now offer employers access to Rxi's specialty drug and case management platform to better manage the chronic care of employees. These speciality drugs are often very costly and can result in high exposure to employers if not managed correctly. Currently, 50% of new drugs developed are speciality drugs and it is anticipated that this number will continue to grow. Furthermore, 42% of employer drug spend are based on specialty drugs, and employers are faced with an increase in employees needing or accessing specialty drugs. Rxi's patient support and a targeted intervention program help ensure that drugs are effective and are being used appropriately, which results in better employee health outcomes and reduced employer costs

07:47 EDT Bragg Gaming Group to acquire Spin Games for $30M in cash, stock - Bragg Gaming Group has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Spin Games, a Reno, Nevada based B2B gaming technology and content provider currently servicing the U.S. market, subject to regulatory approval. Bragg and Spin announced they have entered into a merger agreement, under which Bragg has agreed to acquire Spin in a cash and stock transaction for a purchase price of approximately $30M. Under the deal the sellers of Spin will receive $10M in cash and $20M in common shares of Bragg of which $5M in common shares will be issued on closing and the balance over the next three years. The transaction will close following final approval from state gaming regulators and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to close in late Q4, subject to customary working capital adjustments, required regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

07:45 EDT Biogen exercises option to acquire TMS-007 from TMS - Biogen and TMS Co., Ltd. announced that Biogen exercised its option to acquire TMS-007, an investigational drug for acute ischemic stroke, from TMS. Biogen's decision to acquire TMS-007 was based on positive data from a Phase 2a study. The study met its primary safety objective with no incidence of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage and demonstrated positive impacts on both blood vessel reopening in the brain as well as patient functional recovery. Patients were dosed up to 12 hours after the onset of stroke symptoms; average time to treatment was 9.5 hours for patients who received TMS-007 and 9.3 hours for those who received placebo. All patients who received TMS-007 were dosed beyond the time window of approved thrombolytic agents. Approved thrombolytic agents are limited in their use due to their benefit-risk profile in later time windows. According to the American Heart Association1, sICH is the most feared complication of the current thrombolytic therapy, tissue Plasminogen Activator, which works by dissolving blood clots that block blood flow to the brain. In time windows up to 9 hours after stroke onset, sICH has occurred in patients receiving tPA at rates as high as six percent in controlled studies. The randomized, placebo-controlled, ascending dose Phase 2a study included 90 participants in Japan. The primary endpoint of the study evaluated safety as assessed by the incidence of sICH with worsening of National Institute of Health Stroke Scale of four points or more. There were no events reported in the patients who received TMS-007 compared to an incidence of three percent in the patients who received placebo. In addition, TMS-007 demonstrated a significant improvement on the secondary endpoint of functional independence at 90 days, with 40 percent of patients who received TMS-007 achieving scores of 0 or 1 on the modified Rankin Scale, a measure of independence in daily living, indicating either no residual symptoms or no significant disability, compared to 18 percent of patients who received placebo. This was supported by objective angiographic evidence of recanalization in the subset of patients with a visible occlusion receiving TMS-007. The recanalization rate, as measured by magnetic resonance angiography, was 58.3 percent for patients who received TMS-007 compared to 26.7 percent for patients who received placebo. Biogen will make a one-time $18 million payment as part of the acquisition of TMS-007. TMS is eligible to receive up to an additional $335 million in potential post-acquisition development and commercial payments should TMS-007 achieve certain developmental milestones and sales thresholds. TMS is also eligible to receive tiered royalties in the high single digits to sub-teen percentages on annual worldwide net sales. Biogen will be solely responsible for the costs and expenses related to the development, manufacturing and commercialization of TMS-007 following the acquisition. Biogen is currently evaluating the next steps for the clinical development of TMS-007, including plans for global studies. Final data results from the Phase 2a study are expected to be communicated at a future scientific forum.

07:42 EDT Lumentum authorizes share buyback program of up to $700M over two years

07:40 EDT Commercial Metals receives air quality permit for third micro mill - Commercial Metals announced that the Maricopa County Air Quality Department on April 23 granted it an operating air permit, enabling the company to begin construction of its third technologically advanced micro mill, the second at its Mesa, Arizona site.

07:37 EDT Ocuphire Pharma completes enrollment in VEGA-1 phase 2 clinical trial of Nyxol - Ocuphire Pharma announced that it has completed enrollment in the VEGA-1 Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of a combination kit of Nyxol and low-dose pilocarpine in presbyopia. VEGA-1 successfully recruited 150 subjects in just under 3 months. "Achieving our enrollment completion target for the VEGA-1 trial is yet another important milestone in our Nyxol program and tracks for top-line results by the end of June," said Mina Sooch, MBA, President and CEO of Ocuphire Pharma. "Nyxol has the potential to address multiple unmet needs initially with the large market opportunity in reversal of mydriasis supported by our recent positive Phase 3 data results and then adding this very large presbyopia market opportunity that is estimated at over $5 billion in the US alone. We are excited to develop Nyxol with low-dose pilocarpine as a potential option for the growing number of presbyopic patients and to also realize commercial synergies if products are approved given the common targeted optometrists and ophthalmologists."

07:36 EDT Strongbridge Biopharma expects cash to fund operations into 1Q23 - Strongbridge reports approximately $73.9 million of cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2021. Assuming the availability and full draw-down of the remaining $10 million from its debt facility, the Company believes that it can fund operations as currently planned into, and potentially beyond, the first quarter of 2023.

07:32 EDT Lexaria strengthens its international patent portfolio to 19 patents granted - Lexaria Bioscience announces further expansion of its intellectual property portfolio with its first-ever patent granted in India. The patent is titled "Stable ready-to-drink beverage compositions comprising lipophilic active agents" and is of particular importance given the size of the Indian population, which is nearly four times as large as the U.S. population. The patent is valid for 20 years from the patent application date of Dec. 1, 2016. This is our 19th patent granted worldwide, allowing us to innovate in the ready-to-drink beverage composition category around the world," said Chris Bunka, CEO of Lexaria. "This new patent complements our existing suite of granted patents spanning the EU, the U.S., and Australia, and provides intellectual property protection to both consumer-packaged goods as well as registered drug applications. We believe these are robust growth categories that add to Lexaria's strategic value."

07:31 EDT Progenity provides results from studies for Targeted Therapeutics program - Progenity announced preliminary results, subject to final audited study reports by its contract research organization, from two key studies for the Company's Targeted Therapeutics program. The studies involved both the first functional clinical study of the Drug Delivery System, and the first preclinical study of PGN-600, one of the Company's drug/DDS combination products. Progenity's Targeted Therapeutics program consists of drug device combination products that allow the delivery of high concentrations of proprietary drug formulations by a novel, orally ingestible capsule to the precise site of disease along the GI tract. The DDS capsule is designed to maximize the available dose at the site of disease and reduce systemic toxicity. The Company's two lead combination product candidates, PGN-001 and PGN-600, are being developed with an initial priority for ulcerative colitis, part of the estimated $15 billion inflammatory bowel disease market. The company has completed its first clinical study of the fully autonomous DDS device in twelve healthy adults. This study evaluated the capsule's targeting, safety and tolerability within the gastrointestinal tract and collected the first clinical data on the ability of the DDS to auto-locate and accurately deliver a payload to the proximal colon, a key delivery site for the treatment of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. The single administration study used the well-established method of scintigraphic characterization to validate the DDS localization and the drug delivery mechanism by using a saline solution payload that included radioisotopes. Initial analysis of the study results suggests the DDS was well tolerated and the majority of DDS devices functioned as intended and could accurately identify entry into the colon, trigger release of a liquid payload, and achieve pan-colon distribution. Progenity also completed a preclinical study evaluating the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic effects of a seven-day administration of PGN-600 at doses of 10mg or 25mg per day, with direct comparison to a standard orally administered tofacitinib tablet at 10mg per day in 12 canines. This was the first study evaluating PGN-600 as a combination product of the company's proprietary solubilized formulation of tofacitinib delivered with the DDS. Initial analysis of the study results suggests PGN-600 was well tolerated, the DDS functioned as intended in the majority of doses, and resulted in significantly higher tofacitinib concentrations in colon tissue, while also showing much lower systemic blood concentrations than the equivalent 10mg dose delivered by standard oral tablet. Tissue levels and tissue to plasma ratios of tofacitinib levels along the length of the colon were at least 25x and 50x higher respectively with PGN-600 at 10mg and 25mg daily compared to the standard oral tablet formulation of 10mg. These results demonstrate that the proprietary liquid formulation of PGN-600 can achieve pan-colonic distribution and facilitate mucosal penetration. In addition, no evidence of tissue damage was observed by histology at either 10mg or 25mg of PGN-600. The results of this study should help inform the clinical dosing of PGN-600, with data suggesting that a dose lower than currently commercially available tofacitinib formulations may lead to significantly greater tissue drug concentrations and materially reduced systemic exposure, potentially resulting in enhanced efficacy and lower systemic side effects.

07:29 EDT Synairgen expects initial data for SG018 in 2H21 - The company said, "Trial readouts are due over the coming months which we anticipate will add to the growing body of evidence supporting the use of inhaled interferon beta as a potential treatment for patients with COVID-19. These include data from our international SG018 Phase III trial and the US ACTIV-2 Phase II trial in COVID-19 outpatients, with initial data for SG018 expected in H2 2021. Beyond these trials Synairgen is in regular dialogue with government bodies and companies regarding the progress of inhaled interferon beta and its application as an effective treatment in both hospitalized and home-based patients. In the second half of 2021 Synairgen will continue its commercialisation and manufacturing plans in order to scale up manufacturing and supply capacity, with the aim of making the drug readily available internationally and to meet potential commercial demand in the event of a regulatory approval."

07:25 EDT Papa John's to repurchase, convert all Starboard convertible preferred stock - Papa John's announced that it has entered into an agreement with Starboard Value LP and certain of its affiliateselating to the repurchase and conversion of all of the shares of Papa John's Series B Convertible Preferred Stock woned by Starboard. The repurchase and conversion is expected to close on May 13, 2021. The Preferred Shares, which were acquired by Starboard in the first quarter of 2019 as part of a $250 million strategic investment in the Company, carried a preferential cumulative dividend payable in cash at a rate of 3.6% per annum, as well as pass-through common dividends, for a total yield of approximately 5.4%. As of the date of the agreement, the Preferred Shares represented approximately 13.2% of Papa John's outstanding common stock on an as-converted basis, and were convertible at Starboard's option at any time into shares of common stock based on a conversion price of $50.06. Pursuant to the agreement, the Company will repurchase 31% of the outstanding Preferred Shares, representing approximately 1.6 million shares of common stock on an as-converted basis, and Starboard will convert its remaining Preferred Shares into approximately 3.5 million shares of the Company's common stock. Both of these actions will be taken in return for a one-time payment of $183.9 million, with the payment based on a negotiated discount to the estimated fair value of the Preferred Shares owned by Starboard. Following the transaction, Starboard will beneficially own approximately 9.5% of the Company's outstanding shares of common stock, and Starboard CEO Jeff Smith will remain Chair of Papa John's Board. President & CEO Rob Lynch said, "Since Starboard's investment in early 2019, Papa John's has returned to growth, reflecting the strength of our culture, innovation and operations. Starboard and Jeff's support and leadership have been instrumental to this progress and I am thrilled to continue our partnership. Looking ahead, with the foundations of our business stronger than ever, we are now able to use our strong financial position to simplify and optimize our capital structure, supporting our long-term earnings growth and continued value creation for our shareholders." Jeff Smith added, "Two years ago, Starboard invested in Papa John's and I joined the Board because of the tremendous potential of our pizza, our brand and our team members and franchisees. I could not be happier with the progress that the team has made thus far, and I am truly excited for the future. I look forward to continuing to work with this world-class team and fantastic board." As a result of the repurchase and conversion, the Company's fully diluted common stock share count will increase by approximately 3.5 million shares and Starboard's 3.6% preferential dividend on the Preferred Shares, which amounted to $9.0 million in fiscal 2020, will be eliminated. Elimination of Starboard's Preferred Share dividend and the Preferred Share income allocation would have increased the Company's earnings per diluted share by approximately $0.09 or 11%, on a pro forma basis, for the first fiscal quarter of 2021, assuming that the transaction had occurred at the end of 2020.1 Also, in the second quarter of fiscal 2021, the Company will record a reduction to net income attributable to common shareholders of approximately $110 million as a one-time charge to equity. This charge reflects the excess of the one-time cash payment over the carrying value of the Preferred Shares. Assuming no further common shares are issued or repurchased, this would result in a reduction of approximately $3.00 per diluted share in the second fiscal quarter of 2021. The transaction will be financed using cash on hand with the balance coming from the Company's existing revolving credit facility. The repurchase of the Preferred Shares from Starboard is separate from and does not utilize any part of the Company's existing $75 million share repurchase authorization for common stock.

07:25 EDT PolyPid expects cash balance to fund operations into 2022 - As of March 31, 2021, the company had cash and cash equivalents, short-term deposits and long-term deposits in the amount of $61.4M, compared to $66.6M at December 31, 2020. PolyPid continues to expect that this cash balance will be sufficient to fund operations into 2022.

07:22 EDT ADC Therapeutics announces LOTIS-2 trial results published - ADC Therapeutics announced that results of LOTIS-2, a multicenter, open-label, single-arm Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of single-agent Zynlonta in adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, or DLBCL, following two or more systemic treatments, have been published online in The Lancet Oncology. LOTIS-2 enrolled 145 patients, including those with high-risk characteristics for poor prognosis, such as double-/triple-hit, transformed, and primary refractory DLBCL. Key results include: overall response rate, or ORR was 48.3%, including a 24.1% complete response rate and 24.1% partial response rate. Median time to first response, analyzed post-hoc, was 41 days. Median duration of response was 10.3 months. Durable responses in high-risk patient groups included 46.2% ORR in those who had progression after prior CAR-T therapy, 33.3% ORR in double or triple hit and 44.8% ORR in transformed DLBCL. Zynlonta demonstrated an acceptable safety profile. The most common Grade 3 treatment-emergent adverse events were neutropenia, thrombocytopenia and increased gamma-glutamyltransferase.

07:21 EDT Versus to acquire Xcite Interactive for $19M in stock, $2.25M retention pool - Versus Systems announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement with Xcite Interactive to acquire 100% of Xcite's capital stock. The company said, " Xcite is a world leader in interactive audience engagement, having worked with over 150 professional teams across the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB as well as the World Cup, Formula1, and other live events worldwide. Xcite has ongoing relationships with dozens of teams and content partners that will now be able to access Versus patented rewards platform inside their apps, streams, and broadcasts. The newly developed XEO platform will offer fans the ability to interact with their favorite shows, games, and events, winning rewards and prizes from their favorite brands." The definitive agreement calls for Versus to purchase 100% of Xcite for $19M in Versus stock less a net working capital adjustment, as described in the definitive agreement, and a $2.25M retention pool for Xcite employees. Xcite will be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Versus Systems with Matthew Pierce, Versus CEO, and Craig Finster, Versus President and CFO, taking on those same roles at the subsidiary. The Versus Board of Directors will also become the Xcite board. Versus will issue, in exchange for all of the outstanding equity interests in Xcite, an aggregate amount of share consideration of up to 2,011,163 shares of Versus's common stock, valued at $7.9109 based on the volume weighted average price of the Versus Systems shares that trade on Nasdaq with the ticker symbol VS over the 20 consecutive trading days ending on the date two days prior to the date of signing, and cash consideration of up to approximately $130,799, subject to certain adjustments as set forth in the definitive agreement. The closing of the merger is subject to certain material conditions, including the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the parties to the definitive agreement, the performance by the parties with the covenants and agreements contained in the definitive agreement, the absence of any pending or overtly threatened legal proceeding challenging the consummation of the merger or any material adverse effect on the part of Xcite, and, the approval of Xcite's stockholders, the execution of employment offer letters by certain of Xcite's key employees, and the approval of the shares to be issued in the merger for listing on Nasdaq. Clark Hill PLC is serving as legal counsel to Xcite on the transaction.

07:19 EDT Enthusiast Gaming to acquire Tabwire for $11M in cash, stock - Enthusiast Gaming Holdings announced its plans to develop a subscription-based social network for gamers, codenamed Project GG. To facilitate the development of Project GG, Enthusiast Gaming has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Tabwire, which owns TabStats, for $11 million in cash and stock. The Acquisition will provide Enthusiast with a technology and data platform which provides gamers the ability to directly view their game data in real-time. Tabwire is a technology and data platform that enables gamers, by way of a registered user profile, to track their player and game stats. Tabwire has already built game play companion tools for Riot's Valorant and Ubisoft's Rainbow Six Siege with more than 13 million gamers interacting with the platform, collectively generating more than half a billion views in the last year. It has an aggressive roadmap to launch real-time stats for additional game titles in the coming months. The Acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. Closing is expected to occur by the end of the second quarter of 2021.

07:17 EDT Mesa Air reports 26,883 block hours in April - Mesa Air Group reported Mesa Airlines' operating performance for April 2021. Mesa Airlines reported 26,883 block hours in April 2021, a 161.1 percent increase from April 2020 as a result of increased flying due to industry recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The company also reported a controllable completion factor of 99.95 percent and 99.97 percent for its American and United operations, respectively.

07:14 EDT HP Inc. introduces integrated security offering, HP Wolf Security - HP Inc. introduced HP Wolf Security, "a newly integrated portfolio of secure by design PCs and printers, hardware-enforced endpoint security software, and endpoint security services to protect customers from growing cyber threats," the company said. "The integrated HP Wolf Security portfolio is characterized by: HP Wolf Security for Home includes a set of built-in security features for select consumer PCs as well as HP Wolf Essential Security software and services. HP Wolf Essential Security is included on select home printers; HP Wolf Security for Business includes a portfolio of hardware-enforced security features, included with every business PC purchase, designed for businesses of all sizes; HP Wolf Pro Security, devices, software and services for small to mid-sized businesses; and HP Wolf Enterprise Security, devices, software and services for enterprises and government," the company said.

07:13 EDT Wendy's jumps 5% to $23.90 after Q1 results beat estimates, FY21 guidance raised

07:12 EDT Moody's, Team8 invest $25M in VisibleRisk joint venture - Moody's and Team8 announced the completion of a $25M investment in VisibleRisk, a joint venture established by the two companies in 2019 to evaluate enterprise cyber risk. Additionally, VisibleRisk announced the launch of a Cyber Rating product, building on the collaboration between Moody's and Team8 to develop a standard for assessing corporate cyber risk. For Moody's, the investment will be funded with cash on hand, and is not expected to have a material impact on 2021 financial results.

07:10 EDT GT Biopharma provides update on Phase 2 TriKE product candidate trial - GT Biopharma provided an update concerning the commencement of the GTB-3550 TriKE monotherapy Phase 2 clinical trial, and certain of its solid tumor targeting TriKE product candidates. Highlights to date from patients treated with GTB-3550 TriKE in the dose escalation Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes and refractory/relapsed acute myeloid leukemia include: up to 63.7% reduction in bone marrow blast levels seen in some patients; restoration of patient's endogenous NK cell function, proliferation and immune surveillance; no progenitor-derived or autologous/allogenic cell therapy required; no cytokine release syndrome observed. Indications of anti-tumor activity during Phase 1 have resulted in a refocusing of the Phase 2 design of the clinical trial towards enhancing efficacy, durability of the clinical response, and overall survival with the goal to seek accelerated approval from FDA. The company is presently advancing three TriKE product candidates in GMP manufacturing and early clinical development. These solid tumor TriKE product candidates will target cancers expressing HER2, PD-L1 and B7H3, and will be evaluated for the treatment of multiple cancers. GT believes GTB-3550 established the importance of incorporating IL-15 directly within the TriKE protein biologic and that the selective expansion and proliferation of the patient's endogenous NK cells coupled with enhanced target-directed infiltration of activated NK cells into the bone marrow resulting in significantly AML cancer blast killing will translate to the solid tumor microenvironment.

07:09 EDT Graybug Vision reports full-data analysis from ALTISSIMO phase 2b trial - Graybug Vision provided full-data analysis from the 12-month treatment phase of its Phase 2b ALTISSIMO trial of GB-102 for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration, Graybug's proprietary formulation of sunitinib malate injected twice-a-year intravitreally. The ALTISSIMO trial is a masked and controlled Phase 2b dose-ranging study of two doses of GB-102 with a single control arm of patients on aflibercept, conducted across 33 study sites in the United States. The primary endpoint is median time to first supportive therapy with a vascular endothelial growth factor inhibitor, and secondary endpoints are safety and pharmacodynamics, measured as mean change of best-corrected visual acuity and mean change of central subfield thickness of the retina. The ALTISSIMO full-data analysis focused on the GB-102 1mg arm as compared to aflibercept and the pre-enrollment period, excluding results from the GB-102 2mg arm. As previously reported, the development of GB-102 2mg was terminated in 2020 following an interim safety analysis. The trial was not powered to assess non-inferiority to aflibercept. Overall, GB-102 1mg was safe and well-tolerated. No drug-related serious adverse events or vision-threatening inflammation were reported. The majority of drug-related adverse events were mild to moderate. Particle migration to the anterior chamber in patients treated with GB-102 1mg was reduced by 79% as compared to GB-102 1mg patients in the ADAGIO Phase 1/2a trial, and no surgical interventions were required. Although ALTISSIMO was not powered to show statistical significance, control of CST in patients treated with twice-a-year GB-102 1mg compared with baseline was similar to bi-monthly aflibercept, while BCVA trended lower in GB-102 1mg patients as compared with aflibercept. This trend in visual acuity was primarily driven by six patients: two patients whose disease was not well-controlled despite frequent anti-VEGF treatment prior to enrollment, two patients who experienced adverse events unrelated to GB-102, and two patients who experienced adverse events related to dispersion of GB-102 microparticles. Graybug expects to report the results from the on-going six-month extension period of ALTISSIMO in the fourth quarter of 2021.

07:07 EDT Moderna announces new COVID-19 vaccine supply agreement with Australia - Moderna announced a new supply agreement with the government of Australia for 25M doses. This includes 10M doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine against the ancestral strain to be delivered in 2021 and 15M doses of Moderna's updated variant booster vaccine candidate to be delivered in 2022. Purchase under this agreement is subject to regulatory approval of mRNA-1273 and booster vaccine candidates by the Therapeutic Goods Administration, or TGA, of Australia. The company expects to submit an application to the TGA shortly. As Moderna has continued to scale its commercial network, the company announced earlier this year that it also plans to open a commercial subsidiary in Australia.

07:03 EDT Wendy's reports Q1 U.S. same-restaurant sales growth 13.5% - Reports Q1 International same-restaurant sales up 7.9%; Global same-restaurant sales up13.0%.

06:53 EDT Genesco names Parag Desai as chief strategy and digital officer - Genesco announced that Parag Desai has been named Genesco's senior VP, chief strategy and digital officer. He previously served as senior vice president, strategy, and shared services since December 2014. In this newly created role, Desai will continue to provide leadership in executing Genesco's footwear focused strategy and building its shared technology, logistics and analytics platforms. Since joining Genesco in 2014, Desai has overseen the continued advancement of Genesco's technology and the acceleration of our supply chain and driven corporate initiatives and business development opportunities. Genesco's past digital and supply chain investments allowed the company to take advantage of the recent accelerated shift to online spending, achieving record digital revenue of nearly $450M in its last fiscal year, an increase of almost 75% year-over-year, while also fueling record profitability for this channel. As chief digital officer, Desai will drive further synergies across the company's portfolio of e-commerce businesses, continue to integrate systems and digital best practices, and expand the company's consumer insights and customer relationship management capabilities. Desai will continue to serve as a member of the company's management committee and work closely with executive management and our board of directors to drive the company's digital strategy.

06:49 EDT Land's End, Draper James announce expanded partnership - Lands' End and Draper James announce the continuation of their partnership. The two brands are introducing a new women's swimwear collection this month and unveiling plans to release home and sleepwear collections in Fall 2021. The two brands initially partnered on a joint swimwear collection in March 2020. The original collection combined Lands' End's classic design, swimwear expertise and its most beloved styles with Draper James' Americana-inspired style and signature magnolia and gingham prints and design details.

06:48 EDT Ormat Technologies signs 15-year PPA with Clean Power Alliance - Ormat Technologies announced that it has signed a 15-year power purchase agreement with the Clean Power Alliance, which is the fifth largest electricity provider in California and the single largest provider of 100% renewable energy to customers in the nation. Under terms of the agreement, effective January 1, 2022, CPA will purchase 14 MW of clean, renewable energy from Ormat's Heber South Geothermal facility located in Imperial Valley, CA. The CPA Board of Directors approved the PPA during its May 6 meeting. This 14 MW of baseload geothermal power is expected to advance CPA's greenhouse gas emission reduction goals while enhancing overall reliability for CPA's more than one million southern California customer accounts. The PPA replaces the original PPA with Southern California Public Power Authority, which had a shorter remaining duration and was subject to an early termination option. This is Ormat's first contract with CPA, creating the potential for additional agreements in the future as CPA pursues aggressive goals to provide renewable energy to southern California.

06:44 EDT U.S. Well Services to restate financial statements in response to SEC guidance - U.S. Well Services announced that as a result of the recent guidance issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 12, 2021 for all SPAC-related companies regarding the accounting and reporting for their warrants , it will restate its previously issued consolidated financial statements as of and for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2019 and 2020, as well as for the quarterly periods in the years ended December 31, 2019 and December 31, 2020. While the company is actively working to correct its financial statements in accordance with the SEC Statement, there has been no adverse change to its operations, liquidity or business prospects as a result of this correction. Demand remains strong for the Company's services, and it believe it continues to possess the highest spec fracturing fleet in the industry with its proprietary Clean Fleet(R) suite of technologies.

06:41 EDT KKR invests $90M in NetSPI - NetSPI announced it has raised $90M in growth funding led by KKR, with participation from Ten Eleven Ventures. The investment will be used to further accelerate NetSPI's rapid growth by expanding the company's cybersecurity and client experience teams, investing in product innovation, and deepening operations across U.S. and international markets.

06:04 EDT Second Sight announces two-year results of Orion study - Second Sight Medical Products announced two-year results of its Early Feasibility Study of the Orion Visual Cortical Prosthesis. The Study is a single arm six subject study at UCLA and Baylor College of Medicine. The Study was paused due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but is now resumed at both centers. All subjects are still enrolled in the Study and recent visual function and functional vision results continue to demonstrate that a majority of participants benefit from Orion. Five out of five of those tested at the two-year mark are able to locate a white square on a dark computer screen significantly better with the Orion System on than with it off. Four out of five of those tested at the two-year mark are able to better identify the direction of motion of a bar moving across a computer screen with the Orion System on. The Functional Low-Vision Observer Rated Assessment has only been performed with two subjects due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, but both were rated as receiving mild positive or positive benefit from the Orion in real-world settings. The remaining 24-month visits are currently being scheduled. There has been only one serious adverse event early in the Study. The event was completely resolved without hospitalization.

06:03 EDT Lucira Health CHECK IT COVID-19 test kit now available on Amazon.com in U.S. - Lucira Health (LHDX) announced that its LUCIRA CHECK IT COVID-19 test kit is now available on Amazon.com (AMZN) in the U.S. Each LUCIRA CHECK IT test kit provides a PCR quality test result at home in 30 minutes or less. After testing, users can also receive a free, text based digital LUCI PASS verified test result on their phone for work or travel. The product costs $55 and includes free standard shipping.

05:35 EDT AerCap shareholders approve GECAS acquisition - AerCap (AER) announced that its shareholders have approved the previously announced acquisition of GE Capital Aviation Services, or GECAS, a General Electric (GE) business, at the annual general meeting of shareholders held earlier. The transaction remains subject to the receipt of necessary regulatory approvals and to the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

05:30 EDT Dr. Reddy's announces U.S. launch of Ertapenem for Injection - Dr. Reddy's Laboratories announced the launch of Ertapenem for Injection, 1 g/vial, a therapeutic equivalent generic version of Invanz for injection, 1 g/vial approved by the FDA.

05:20 EDT Nice announces expansion of operations in Japan - Nice announced the expansion of its operations in Japan, spearheading the launch of CXone. A Contact Center as a Service, or CCaaS, platform, NICE CXone will be supported by a dedicated Japanese support and services team to assist customers with their transition to the cloud to address localization needs. Local cloud providers will be utilized to maintain in-country requirements and provide data security. "A front runner in setting the standard for service excellence and embracing innovation that drives personalized experiences through digital engagement, Japan is the obvious next frontier for expansion," commented Paul Jarman, NICE CXone CEO. "The recent evolution to hybrid working environments underlines the need for cutting-edge technologies that enable customer experience excellence, agility, and robust business continuity. Defining a new CX standard, NICE CXone will allow Japanese organizations to become digitally fluent, transform employees to be brand ambassadors and drive rapid innovation, enabling next-gen CX for their customers. We are pleased to expand our presence and look forward to bringing the world's #1 cloud-native customer experience platform, which has helped thousands of organizations ensure CX transformation, to Japan."

05:14 EDT Ericsson announces settlement with Nokia, to pay EUR 80M - Ericsson (ERIC) has reached an agreement with Nokia (NOK) for settling a damages claim against Ericsson. The settlement relates to events that were the subject of a 2019 resolution with the U.S. Department of Justice, or DOJ, and U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, of investigations into Ericsson's violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, or FCPA. As communicated in 2019, the resolution with DOJ related to criminal charges of books and records and internal controls violations of the FCPA in five countries including in Djibouti and a guilty plea to one instance of bribery in Djibouti. The resolution with the SEC related to allegations of violations of the books and records and internal controls provision of the FCPA in six countries and of the bribery provision of the FCPA in three of these six countries. The agreement with Nokia contemplates the payment by Ericsson of a total settlement amount of EUR 80M. The amount reflects uncertainty, risk, expense, and potential distraction from business focus associated with a potentially lengthy and complex litigation. The settlement will have an impact of EUR 80M on EBIT and EUR 26M on cashflow in Q2. The remainder of the settlement amount will be made in similar installments in 2022 and 2023 respectively, impacting cash-flow. The settlement amount will be recorded as other operating expenses under segment emerging business and other. Further details of the terms of the settlement are confidential.

05:06 EDT Motorola Solutions signs four-year framework agreement with BlueLight Commercial - Motorola Solutions announced that the company has signed a four-year single supplier framework agreement with BlueLight Commercial to deploy integrated 4RE In-Car Video Solutions to all emergency services in the U.K. including police, highways agencies, border security and the U.K. Home Office. The deployment of In-Car Technology is part of the National Police Chiefs Council's Roads Policing Strategy to improve road safety and security, as well as efficiency. The contract is the first to be led by BlueLight Commercial and is immediately available for emergency services to order in-car video technology.