Stockwinners Market Radar for May 18, 2021 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:27 EDT Dynatrace CEO sells 133.9K shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, Dynatrace disclosed that its CEO John Van Siclen sold 133.9K shares of common stock on May 17th in a total transaction size of $6.29M, reducing his stake by about 11%.

19:06 EDT Activision Blizzard COO sells nearly 22,000 common shares - In a regulatory filing, Activision Blizzard president and COO Daniel Alegre disclosed the sale of 21,722 common shares of the company on May 14 at a price of $93.68 per share.

18:24 EDT Raytheon Technologies CEO: We operate in resilient markets - In an interview on CNBC's Mad Money, Greg Hayes said the company's backlog of about $150B gives him confidence in the near term. He is "highly confident" in the technology the company can bring to bear. Hayes said traffic is about 70% back on the commercial aerospace side. "We knew we would be a cash generating machine once we integrated the businesses," he added. His goal is to get rid of 25% of the office space across the company. He plans to give employees flexibility on working from home once the pandemic ends.

18:13 EDT Glaukos expands PRESERFLO MicroShunt relationship with Santen - The company states: "Glaukos announced that it has entered into a new development and commercialization license agreement with Santen Pharmaceutical for the PRESERFLO MicroShunt, superseding the previous collaboration and distribution agreements between the two parties. Under the new agreement, Glaukos obtains exclusive commercialization rights for the MicroShunt in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Brazil, Mexico and the remainder of Latin America. The new agreement also provides Glaukos with full control over all development activities for the MicroShunt in these same territories, including over all clinical development and regulatory affairs activities in the United States following a transition period. Santen submitted a premarket approval application to the FDA in June 2020 and discussions with the FDA remain ongoing."

18:12 EDT Vera Therapeutics holder Abingworth LLP buys 772K shares of common stock

18:00 EDT AltaBancorp trading resumes

17:47 EDT Hudson Capital receives non compliance letter from Nasdaq - Hudson Capital announced that it received written notification on May 13 from The Nasdaq Stock that it no longer meets Listing Rule 5550. Listing Rule 5550 requires Hudson Capital to maintain a minimum $2.5M in stockholders' equity for continued listing. The Company reported in its last annual report Form 20-F for the period ended December 31 that its stockholders' equity was $631,145. Under the Nasdaq Rules, the Company has 45 calendar days to submit a plan to regain compliance. If its plan is accepted, the Company will be granted an extension of up to 180 calendar days from the date of this letter to evidence compliance.

17:28 EDT Container Store sees gross margin, operating margin contraction in FY21 - Sees Q1 gross margins improving over last year. Says in a scenario where sales increases are in the low single digits compared to last year, company would expect 150-200 basis points of operating margin contraction in FY21 compared to FY20. Says seeing freight and shipping cost headwinds along with higher commodity prices affecting FY21 gross margin. Says gross margin and SG&A pressures to be "evident" in Q2 and will build through remainder of the year. Sees FY21 CapEx returning to historical levels. Sees FY21 CapEx roughly $47M. Comments taken from Q4 earnings conference call.

17:21 EDT Take-Two sees console supply shortages being resolved - Says Take-Two (TTWO) not hurt by PS5 (SONY) and Microsoft (MSFT) next-generation console shortages.

16:59 EDT Take-Two rises after discussing future games slate on quarterly call - Shares of Take-Two (TTWO) were on the rise in after-hours trading after initially trading down following the release of the company's fourth quarter earnings results, in which the game maker also provided conservative guidance for fiscal 2022. The share price reversal from negative to positive occurred during the company's quarterly conference call, as Take-Two said it is "highly optimistic" about its growth trajectory and expects to deliver 40 games between fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2024, including 19 "immersive core" releases. Shares of Take-Two are up roughly 3% in after-hours trading to $172.68.

16:43 EDT Chairman of Radian Group Wender sells over $439K in company shares - Chairman of Radian Group Herbert Wender sold 19,158 shares of company stock on May 14 at $22.93 per share for a total transaction amount of $439,260.

16:41 EDT Take-Two sees moderation of industry trends post-pandemic - Says "WWE Supercard" remains 2K's best-selling mobile title. Says pandemic initiated "transformational" shift in entertainment, with interactive entertainment becoming number one entertainment vertical. Says as world returns to new normal, company expects moderation of trends.

16:40 EDT Take-Two says consumer engagement with 'NBA 2K' remains strong - Says nearly all titles performed well in Q4. Says "NBA 2K21" has already exceeded expectations. Says consumer engagement with "NBA 2K" remains strong with over 2M users playing the game daily. Sees opportunities to grow "NBA 2K" franchise further. Says "GTA" series exceeded expectations in FY21. Says "GTAV" has sold over 145M units worldwide since initial launch. Says "Red Dead Online" performing above expectations since standalone release. Says "Red Dead Redemption 2" has sold over 37M units worldwide. Comments taken from Q4 earnings conference call.

16:34 EDT Sealed Air raises quarterly dividend to 20c from 16c per share - The dividend is payable on June 18, 2021 to stockholders of record at the close of business on June 4, 2021.

16:30 EDT Cenovus Energy sells Marten Hills royalties interest to Topaz Energy - Cenovus Energy has sold its gross overriding royalty in the Marten Hills area of Alberta to Topaz Energy for gross cash proceeds of $102M The sale successfully closed today with a May 1 effective date. Cenovus will use the sale proceeds to reduce net debt, consistent with its commitment to use non-core asset sales to accelerate deleveraging to achieve the company's interim net debt target of $10B. Cenovus retained the GORR as part of the sale of its Marten Hills oil assets to Headwater Exploration in December 2020 which also included cash, common shares and purchase warrants of Headwater.

16:28 EDT Tilray to close High Park Farms site in Petrolia, Ontario, impacting 200 jobs - In a regulatory 8-K filing, the company "announced that, as part of its plan to combine operations with Aphria and enhance operational efficiencies following the consummation of the Arrangement, it will be closing its High Park Farms facility in Petrolia, Ontario. The closure is expected to be completed by September 2021. There are approximately 200 employees at High Park Farms in Petrolia, and the company is encouraging employees to seek opportunities at its nearby cultivation and manufacturing operations in Leamington and London, Ontario, where the Company expects to concentrate local cultivation and local manufacturing, respectively."

16:22 EDT LightPath appoints Louis Leeburg as Chairman - LightPath Technologies announced that Mr. Louis Leeburg has been appointed as Chairman of the Board of Directors of LightPath, succeeding Mr. Robert Ripp who retired, effectiveMay 11. "I am honored to be appointed as Chairman of the Board ofLightPath Technologies," said Louis Leeburg. "On behalf of the entire Board and executive management team, we thank Bob for his 22 years of service as Chairman and his dedicated stewardship of the Company.

16:18 EDT Edwards Lifesciences announced results from Sapien 3 study - Edwards Lifesciences announced the results of a real-world study comparing outcomes for patients with bicuspid aortic stenosis, or AS, who were treated with SAPIEN 3 and SAPIEN 3 Ultra Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement, or TAVR, and at low risk of death from surgery. The data show excellent outcomes at one year, with low rates of death and stroke, and no significant differences in the primary outcomes compared with the overall cohort, or those with tricuspid aortic valve disease. The propensity-matched analysis comparing real-world data of bicuspid and tricuspid AS patients collected from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and American College of Cardiology Transcatheter Valve Therapy Registry was presented today during the EuroPCR 2021 late-breaking clinical trials hotline session by Raj Makkar, Director, Interventional Cardiology, Associate Director, Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars Sinai Medical Center. In a propensity-matched, real-world registry analysis of more than 6,000 patients treated with SAPIEN 3 TAVR at low surgical risk, the all-cause mortality rate for bicuspid valves was low and similar at 1 year when compared to those with tricuspid valve disease as were stroke rates at 1 year. In addition to the excellent survival and stroke rates, outcomes data from the TVT Registry also demonstrated a low rate of significant paravalvular leak, as well as significant and similar improvements in functional status and quality of life measures.

16:17 EDT Transcat sees FY22 CapEx roughly $7.5M-$8.5M - Rudow concluded, "I am incredibly proud of the performance and dedication of the entire Transcat team in the fourth quarter and throughout fiscal 2021 as we navigated the most challenging operating environment in recent history. We enter fiscal 2022 with a strong balance sheet, sustainable Service segment gross margins and an active M&A pipeline. We are confident that our disciplined focus on highly-regulated end markets and our new customer pipeline positions us well for continued strong organic growth. For the first quarter of fiscal 2022, we expect Service organic growth to be similar to what we achieved in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021. We expect improvement in Service gross margin, but not to the same degree we experienced in fiscal 2021, largely due to more difficult technician productivity comparisons and the recent anniversary of our acquisition of pipettes.com, which occurred in February 2020. Distribution is expected to achieve high double-digit growth in the first quarter on modestly improving trends and a prior-year comparison that includes low levels of demand due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Total operating expenses are expected to be similar to the trailing fourth quarter of 2021." Transcat expects its income tax rate to range between 20% and 22% in fiscal 2022. This estimate includes Federal, various state, and Canadian income taxes and reflects discrete tax accounting associated with share-based payment awards. The Company anticipates total capital expenditures to be approximately $7.5 million to $8.5 million in fiscal 2022, with the majority of the capital expenditures planned for growth-oriented opportunities within both of its operating segments.

16:13 EDT SP Plus elects Diana Sands to serve as 'newest member of its Board' - SP Plus announced membership changes to its Board of Directors. The stockholders of SP+ elected Diana Sands to serve as the newest member of its Board of Directors. Ms. Sands brings more than 30 years of business experience having held senior finance and governance positions across multiple industries. She retired from The Boeing Company in 2020, after nearly two decades, where she most recently served as Senior Vice President of the Office of Internal Governance and Administration. In that role, she oversaw internal audit, ethics & investigations, compliance risk management, security and internal services. In addition to her appointment to the SP+ Board of Directors where she will also serve on the Company's Audit Committee, Ms. Sands is an Advisor to New Vista Acquisition Corporation and serves on the Board of Directors for PDC Energy, Inc. She has an MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management, and a BBA from the University of Michigan Ross Business School.

16:09 EDT Century Aluminum announces John DeZee as General Counsel - Century Aluminum announced that it has elected two new officers of the Company: John DeZee will assume the role of Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary and Matt Aboud will assume the role of Senior Vice President, Strategy and Business Development, both effective immediately. EVP, General Counsel & Secretary Michael Bless, Century's President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, "Our Board and I are delighted to announce John's promotion to this critically important position. John has the firm respect of his colleagues and of the Company's key partners in the U.S. and in Iceland. He has played a significant role in Century's growth and development. I am confident that John's skills as an attorney and businessperson will add great value for our shareholders, employees and customers and that he will serve as a key advisor for Jesse and our Board moving forward." Mr. DeZee joined Century in 2008 as Associate General Counsel and has taken on roles of increasing responsibility at the company ever since. Mr. DeZee received his B.A. from Whitman College and his J.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. Mr. DeZee assumes the General Counsel and Secretary roles from Jesse Gary, who will continue in his role as Chief Operating Officer until the effective date of his promotion to become the Company's President and Chief Executive Officer on July 1, 2021.

16:06 EDT Zebra Technologies launches industrial machine vision and scanning solution - The company states: "Zebra Technologies announced it has entered the fixed industrial scanning and machine vision markets with a new portfolio of solutions that enable track and trace capabilities and quality inspection of manufacturing work in process. Zebra's suite of machine vision smart cameras and fixed industrial scanners is unlocked by Zebra Aurora, a unified software platform that can easily set up, deploy and run both cameras and scanners, meeting businesses' need for simplicity, speed, productivity and efficiency. Zebra's flexible new portfolio includes seven fixed data capture products featuring a unique set of FIS and/or MV capabilities. Businesses can choose the products that meet their needs today and upgrade at any time to add support for new barcode symbologies, increased scanning speeds, or advanced machine vision tools via the simple purchase of a software license. "

15:42 EDT CP says CN's proposed voting trust timetable 'not constructive and not serious' - Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) filed a letter with the Surface Transportation Board in response to CN's (CNI) proposed three-business day comment period on a voting trust, in which the company stated in part: "CN's proposed 'three business day' period for public comment on a 'Renewed Motion' it has not yet prepared or filed is not constructive, and is based on the false premise that members of the public were under an obligation to respond yesterday (i.e., were 'only a few hours from the deadline to do so') to CN's previous motion for voting trust approval. The Board should not be cowed by CN's gamesmanship and aggressive tactics. CN is well aware that there was no filing deadline yesterday on CN's now-denied 'Motion for Approval.' CN was not subject to the 2001 merger rules until yesterday, despite its invitation to have them applied to a CN/KCS transaction. By finding that the KCS waiver from the 2001 rules does not apply to a CN/KCS transaction, the Board's decision yesterday is what invoked the requirement for formal approval of CN's proposed voting trust... CN has pointed to no compelling exigency that requires a more expedited schedule; its proposed Merger Agreement allows a nine-month period in which to obtain "STB Voting Trust Approval."... CP appreciates the Board's attention to this matter."

15:02 EDT Bank of Marin names Tim Myers as COO - Bank of Marin Bancorp, parent company of Bank of Marin, announced that Bancorp's board of directors approved the appointment of Tim Myers as President and Chief Operating Officer of Bancorp and the Bank, effective immediately. In his new role, Myers - who joined Bank of Marin in April 2007 - will continue to report to the CEO and be responsible for the management of Commercial Banking, Retail Banking, Centralized Operations and Technology, Wealth Management & Trust, and Marketing.

14:56 EDT Google unveils 'Project Starline' 3D video call technology - Clay Bavor, VP, Google, said in a corporate blog post: "Through the years, we've built products to help people feel more connected. We've simplified email with Gmail, and made it easier to share what matters with Google Photos and be more productive with Google Meet. But while there have been advances in these and other communications tools over the years, they're all a far cry from actually sitting down and talking face to face... To solve this challenge, we've been working for a few years on Project Starline - a technology project that combines advances in hardware and software to enable friends, families and coworkers to feel together, even when they're cities (or countries) apart... Project Starline is currently available in just a few of our offices and it relies on custom-built hardware and highly specialized equipment. We believe this is where person-to-person communication technology can and should go, and in time, our goal is to make this technology more affordable and accessible, including bringing some of these technical advancements into our suite of communication products... To start that journey, we've spent thousands of hours testing Project Starline within Google as we connected colleagues between the Bay Area, New York and Seattle. We've also been conducting demos with select enterprise partners in areas like healthcare and media to get early feedback on the technology and its applications. We're planning trial deployments with enterprise partners later this year. We're really excited about the progress we're making with Project Starline, and the technology's potential to solve the important problem of wanting to be together with someone even when you physically can't. We look forward to sharing more later this year." Reference Link

14:50 EDT Discovery extends contract for CEO Zaslav through 2027 - Discovery (DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) announced the extension of President and CEO David Zaslav's employment contract through December 31, 2027. Zaslav's previous contract ran through 2023." The extension was made in connection with the definitive agreement between AT&T Inc. (T) and Discovery, Inc. to combine WarnerMedia's premium entertainment, sports and news assets with Discovery's leading nonfiction and international entertainment and sports businesses to create a premier, standalone global entertainment company," the company stated. Reference Link

14:49 EDT Google, Samsung to combine Wear and Tizen into 'single, unified platform' - Bjorn Kilburn, Google's (GOOGL) Director of Product Management, Wear, said in a corporate blog post: "Today, we're sharing the biggest update to Wear ever - built with your preferences in mind. We've been hard at work in three areas: building a unified platform with Samsung, delivering a new consumer experience and providing updates to your favorite Google apps. Samsung and Google have a long history of collaboration. Now, we're bringing the best of Wear and Tizen into a single, unified platform. By working together we have been able to take strengths of each and combine them into an experience that has faster performance, longer battery life and more of the apps you love available for the watch... This isn't just for Google and Samsung. All device makers will be able to add a customized user experience on top of the platform, and developers will be able to use the Android tools they already know and love to build for one platform and ecosystem... Google Maps and Google Assistant are being redesigned and improved. Google Pay will also be redesigned and add support for 26 new countries, beyond the 11 countries currently available. YouTube Music will also arrive on Wear later this year, equipped with features like smart downloads for subscribers to enjoy music while on the go. Health and fitness tracking is essential for wearables. With the latest Wear update, we welcome Fitbit's many years of health expertise to the experience. The best of Fitbit, including features like tracking your health progress throughout your day and on-wrist goal celebrations, will motivate you on your journey to better health." Reference Link

14:44 EDT Seneca Foods trading resumes

14:28 EDT Google announces expanded partnership with Shopify at Google I/O - Bill Ready, President of Commerce and Payments at Google, said in a corporate blog post: "We want to help people discover, learn about and shop for the products they love - whether those products come from a big-box retailer, new direct-to-consumer brands or the mom-and-pop shop down the street. We're supporting an open network of retailers and shoppers to help businesses get discovered and give people more options when they're looking to buy. Two concrete steps we've taken to support discoverability for all merchants are eliminating commission fees and making it free for sellers on Google... Having a deep understanding of the world's products is just one piece of the puzzle. To help more merchants get discovered, it's important that we support like-minded partners who share in Google's mission to democratize e-commerce. That's why today at Google I/O, we announced that we're expanding our partnership with Shopify, introducing a new, simplified process that will let Shopify's 1.7 million merchants feature their products across Google in just a few clicks. This new collaboration with Shopify will enable merchants to become discoverable to high-intent consumers across Google Search, Shopping, YouTube, Google Images and more... We also know that shopping isn't always a linear experience. You may open your browser intending to shop, but switch your focus to an email or news article or you might not be ready to buy yet. That's why, along with other new modules in Chrome that help you pick up where you left off, we're introducing a new feature in Chrome that works locally on your device to let you see your open carts when you open a new tab. So when you step away or browse on other sites, you can pick up your shopping right where you left off." Reference Link

13:25 EDT Intersect ENT says European Notified Body lifted suspensions for CE Marks - In a regulatory filing, Intersect ENT stated: "As previously disclosed on May 10, 2021, on April 26, 2021, Intersect ENT was notified by a European Notified Body of deficiencies in certain policies and processes after an audit at the company's Menlo Park, CA facility. As a result of the deficiencies, the company's CE Marks for PROPEL and PROPEL Mini were suspended while it completed necessary remediation activities and submitted a response. During the suspension, the company remained permitted to sell existing inventory located in the European Union. On May 7, 2021, the company completed its formal response and on May 10, 2021 submitted that response in a filing to the Notified Body. On May 18, 2021, the company received notification from the Notified Body that the suspension was lifted effective May 14, 2021 and that it may continue to use its CE Marks."

13:10 EDT Lufthansa increases flights to, from U.S. amid demand surge - Lufthansa said that, as more and more people across the globe are being vaccinated against COVID-19, demand for Lufthansa airline tickets is increasing "significantly." For example, in the past two weeks there has been much more demand for summer flights to the USA than in previous months, the company said Connections to New York, Miami and Los Angeles have had booking increases of up to 300%. Therefore, the airlines of the Lufthansa Group are further increasing the number of flights to and from the USA as of June and are once again flying to attractive destinations such as Orlando and Atlanta. Harry Hohmeister, member of the Executive Board of Deutsche Lufthansa AG said, "People are craving for vacation and cultural exchange as well as reuniting with their families, friends and business partners - and, in this context, especially for flights between Germany and the USA. Because of the great significance of transatlantic air travel for the global economy, we now need a clear perspective on how travel between the USA and Europe can return on a larger scale. Lower number of infections and a rising rate of vaccinations allow for a cautious increase in transatlantic air travel. Since certain European countries have already made corresponding announcements, Germany also needs a plan for opening up transatlantic air travel." Reference Link

12:00 EDT Renren falls -8.2% - Renren is down -8.2%, or -89c to $9.93.

12:00 EDT Peabody Energy falls -18.4% - Peabody Energy is down -18.4%, or -$1.58 to $7.01.

12:00 EDT California Resources rises 14.0% - California Resources is up 14.0%, or $3.52 to $28.71.

11:53 EDT Teamsters urge Republic Services shareholdres to oppose say-on-pay - The Teamsters join proxy advisory firm, Institutional Shareholder Services, in urging investors to vote against Republic Services's executive pay package at the company's shareholder meeting on May 21. "Having realized more than a $110M in compensation over the past four years, CEO Donald Slager has been well taken care of by Republic, even before the sweetened payoff, something which cannot be said for the thousands of Republic employees working on the frontline amid the pandemic," said Teamsters General Secretary-Treasurer Ken Hall. "Republic talks a good game when it comes to human capital and sustainability, but the brutal truth is that the paltry $500 pandemic bonus paid to its 28,000 employees totals less than half of what it paid to the named executives in 2020, and just 2 percent of the more than $621M it lavished on shareholders this year.

11:42 EDT Take-Two says 'GTA V' enhanced for PS5, Xbox Series coming November 11, 2021 - Take-Two's (TTWO) Rockstar Games announced that the expanded and enhanced versions of "Grand Theft Auto V" and "Grand Theft Auto Online" are arriving on PlayStation 5 (SONY) and Xbox Series X S (MSFT) with new features and more, on November 11, 2021. As an added bonus - this summer's updates to "GTA Online" will include special benefits for players to take advantage of in these expanded and enhanced versions when they drop. While the standalone version of "GTA Online" will be available to players on both platforms, this new standalone version of "GTA Online" will be available for free exclusively to PlayStation 5 players during the first three months. Reference Link

11:19 EDT Accenture acquires strategic management consultancy Homburg & Partner - Accenture announced it has acquired Homburg & Partner, a strategic management consulting firm headquartered in Mannheim with specialization in commercial strategy, sales, and pricing. Homburg & Partner's team of 73 professionals have joined Accenture's Customer, Sales & Service team. "The pandemic accelerated the shift for organizations to adopt new digital standards for customer experience and engagement. The addition of Homburg & Partners expands our ability to shape growth and efficiency strategies across the enterprise and will increase our clients' focus on growing their sales and profits, as they pivot to their next generation customer engagement," said Edwin van der Ouderaa, global lead of Customer, Sales & Service at Accenture. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

10:44 EDT Bank of America to increase U.S. minimum hourly wage to $25 by 2025 - Bank of America announced it will raise its U.S. minimum hourly wage to $25 by 2025. In March last year, the company raised its U.S. minimum wage to $20 per hour. In addition, Bank of America announced that all its U.S. vendors are now required to pay their employees dedicated to the bank, at or above $15 per hour. Over 99% of the company's more than 2,000 U.S. vendor firms and 43,000 vendor employees are at or above the $15 per hour rate, as a result of the implementation of this policy.

10:32 EDT Square launches omnichannel solutions for businesses in Ireland - Square launches in Ireland. Following an Early Access Programme, now all merchants and enterprises across Ireland can access Square'secosystem with the tools they need to start, run, grow, and adapt their businesses. Square's suite of products are designed to seamlessly work with each other to save businesses time and money, reduce inefficiencies from managing multiple systems, and help sellers grow their businesses in the future.

10:06 EDT Translate Bio presents preclinical results in PCD at ATS 2021 - Translate Bio presented results from a preclinical study of a novel mRNA-based therapeutic designed to treat the pulmonary component of primary ciliary dyskinesia, a rare genetic disease. Mutations in the genes that cause PCD result in ineffective mucociliary clearance which can lead to lung disease. Study results suggest that delivery of an mRNA-based therapeutic to the lungs can lead to the expression of DNAI1, which could potentially restore mucociliary clearance, the cellular mechanism of the disease. The data are being presented at the American Thoracic Society 2021 International Conference. .PCD is an autosomal recessive disease caused by a genetic mutation that leads to dysfunction of the cilia, which prevents proper mucociliary clearance from the lungs. PCD causes chronic inflammation and pulmonary infection risks which can lead to irreversible lung damage in adulthood including severe impact on quality of life, potential for respiratory failure and, in some cases, the need for lung transplantation. There is no cure for PCD. Disease management is focused on relieving symptoms and slowing the progression of lung damage. While PCD can result from a mutation in one or more of 30+ genes involved in ciliary function, DNAI1 is one of the more frequently mutated genes, accounting for approximately 5-10 percent of diagnosed PCD cases. Translate Bio designed multiple mRNA sequences to produce functional human DNAI1 using a codon optimization algorithm. The mRNA sequences were screened for DNAI1 protein expression and those sequences producing the highest DNAI1 levels were packaged into proprietary lipid nanoparticles designed for delivery to the lung via nebulization. Data presented include preclinical assessments of the level and distribution of protein expression as well as ciliary activity. Key findings from the presentation titled "A messenger RNA-based therapeutic designed to treat primary ciliary dyskinesia,"were as follows: Multiple iterations of codon optimization resulted in the selection of an mRNA sequence that had further improved protein expression by 30%; DNAI1 mRNA packaged in proprietary LNPs and delivered by an intratracheal or nebulized route of administration resulted in DNAI1 expression in multiciliated airway epithelial cells in vivo; In vivo, DNAI1 expression colocalized with a known ciliary protein along the length of the cilia, as required for restoration of function; and Repeat administration showed an increased number of DNAI1-expresssing cells and suggested a steady state of cilia restoration can be achieved.

10:00 EDT San Juan Basin Royalty Trust falls -10.8% - San Juan Basin Royalty Trust is down -10.8%, or -64c to $5.26.

10:00 EDT TPG Pace Beneficial Finance falls -14.4% - TPG Pace Beneficial Finance is down -14.4%, or -$2.02 to $12.02.

10:00 EDT California Resources rises 11.8% - California Resources is up 11.8%, or $2.98 to $28.18.

09:59 EDT Home Depot says housing environment 'remains strong' - Says Q1 SSS performance "stronger than expected." Says Pro business raising average purchases. Says "very happy" with customer portfolio. Expects CapEx to be approximately 2% of sales going forward.

09:54 EDT Chipotle lower with Colorado health department investigating 11 person outbreak - Shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill moved lower after KDRV reported that 11 people said they became ill after eating at a Chipotle restaurant in Colorado. Five were members from a local high school tennis team, the news channel said. Tri-County Health said it is currently investigating the Chipotle restaurant and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment issued the following statement: "CDPHE is partnering with the Tri-County Health Department on a suspected foodborne outbreak at the Chipotle located at 6710 S Cornerstar Way. The investigation is ongoing, and at this time, the cause of the illness has not been identified. Symptoms appear to be consistent with viral gastroenteritis, which is often caused by norovirus. So far, CDPHE has identified a total of 8 ill patrons and employees. Public health officials are working closely with the restaurant, which has implemented disease control measures." Shares of Chipotle are down $11.52 to $1,320.06 in morning trading. Reference Link

09:51 EDT JPMorgan: Jeremy Barnum to succeed Jennifer Piepszak as CFO

09:51 EDT JPMorgan: Daniel Pinto to become sole president, COO of the firm

09:47 EDT Desktop Metal falls -9.1% - Desktop Metal is down -9.1%, or -$1.23 to $12.33.

09:47 EDT San Juan Basin Royalty Trust falls -11.4% - San Juan Basin Royalty Trust is down -11.4%, or -67c to $5.23.

09:47 EDT Party City rises 8.0% - Party City is up 8.0%, or 73c to $9.83.

09:47 EDT Transcontinental Realty Inc rises 11.5% - Transcontinental Realty Inc is up 11.5%, or $3.00 to $29.00.

09:33 EDT Lucid Motors to trade under symbol 'LCID' following merger - Lucid Motors said via Twitter that it will trade under symbol "LCID" following its planned merger with Churchill Capital Corp IV (CCIV). The transaction is expected to close in Q2, the companies said when announcing the merger on February 22.

09:29 EDT Fisker announces partnership with electric car subscription service Onto - Fisker announced a partnership with Onto, the UK-based all-inclusive electric car subscription service for private and business users. The agreement, the first multi-vehicle reservation for Fisker in the UK market, supports the delivery of up to 700 vehicles in 2023. Onto will not only be Fisker's first customer in the UK, but also the exclusive rental/subscription partner for 2023.Onto, founded in 2017, is an innovative technology-driven enterprise that provides easy access to electric vehicles through their all-inclusive subscription service. Through a monthly subscription, customers get the latest EVs with insurance, public charging and servicing all included. With an active fleet of more than 3000 vehicles in operation with both private and business customers across the UK, Onto has pioneered new ways to enable drivers to access electric vehicles without the need for lengthy lease contracts. "We are seeing the rapid growth of innovative companies like Onto that are enabling the transition to electric mobility," commented Fisker Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Henrik Fisker. "Our focus for business-to-business reservations is on high-quality companies that share our commitment to deliver an outstanding customer experience. Our partnership with Onto is a significant step in rapidly building our presence in the UK electric vehicle market."

09:23 EDT Diana Shipping signs sustainability linked loan with ABN AMRO Bank - Diana Shipping announced that on May 14, 2021, it signed a sustainability linked loan facility with ABN AMRO Bank N.V., through six wholly-owned subsidiaries, in the amount of US$91 million. The purpose of the senior secured term loan facility was the refinancing of existing indebtedness on the Borrowers' vessels, m/v Medusa, m/v New Orleans, m/v Los Angeles, m/v Philadelphia, m/v Santa Barbara and m/v Artemis, and for general corporate purposes. Upon completion of the previously announced sale of one Panamax dry bulk vessel, the m/v Naias, Diana Shipping Inc.'s fleet will consist of 36 dry bulk vessels. As of today, the combined carrying capacity of the Company's fleet, including the m/v Naias, is approximately 4.7 million dwt with a weighted average age of 10.24 years.

09:21 EDT Alkaline Water renews partnership with Barstool Sports - The Alkaline Water Company announces the renewal of its partnership with Barstool Sports. This brand partnership includes the Company's A88CBD line being featured on eight network podcasts, including Short Porch and Section 10, along with their respective social media accounts. This partnership, which originally ran on five shows from April 22nd through May 2nd, has been expanded to eight shows for a term running from May 12th until June 17th. "We are thrilled that our A88CBD product line is being featured on a number of the Barstool Sports franchises," stated Ricky Wright, President and CEO of The Alkaline Water Company. "Barstool Sports has a large, engaged audience across their platforms, which is perfect for us to continue to raise brand awareness." You can listen to Short Porch, Section 10, and the other franchises wherever you get your podcasts: Spotify, Apple Podcast App, Google Play Store, and more. A88CBD sources, produces, and refines industry-leading CBD, cannabidiol, commodities to seamlessly enhance the daily wellness routines of their customers with their premium products. The Company is at the forefront of innovation - striving to create hemp-derived CBD products that change the lives of their customers for the better. All of the CBD is sourced from hemp that is lawfully grown and processed within the United States.

09:16 EDT Oxford Immunotec's T-SPOT.COVID Test used in COVID-19 Human Challenge Study - Oxford Immunotec announced that its T-SPOT Discovery SARS-CoV-2 kit is being used for T cell testing in the UK COVID-19 Human Challenge Study, a national collaboration including the UK government, the NHS, academia and the private sector. The study is funded by the Department of Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy through the UK Vaccines Taskforce and is being delivered through a partnership between government, hVIVO, Imperial College London, and The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust. The groundbreaking UK COVID-19 Human Challenge Study has global importance as the first study of its type in the world, and the data generated should help to develop vaccines against COVID-19 much more quickly and efficiently. The first stage of the trial, which commenced in March, will enable identification of the most appropriate dose of the virus needed to cause COVID-19 infection in a safe and controlled environment. The participants will have a complete analysis of their immune response to infection carried out which should lead to a better understanding of the profile, magnitude, and duration of the immune response to SARS-CoV-2. This study will therefore establish an optimised dose and study design that will subsequently be used to evaluate the efficacy of treatment and vaccine candidates, including level and duration of immune protection, in follow-on studies. A custom version of Oxford Immunotec's T-SPOT Discovery SARS-CoV-2 kit will be used in this study. The kit uses the T-SPOT technology platform, a standardized ELISPOT methodology, to detect the T cell immune response in study subjects. Understanding the T cell immune response, in addition to the antibody response, may offer additional insights into how the complete immune system responds to infection and vaccination. As T cells are the first responders of the immune system and are known to be long lived, using T cells to measure immune response may overcome some of the limitations of serology testing. A CE marked IVD version of the kit (the T-SPOT.COVID test) is also available from Oxford Immunotec.

09:14 EDT Home Depot says Q1 results driven by broad-based strength across geographies - Says ticket and transactions up in Q1. Seeing more customers returning to stores. Says continued to experience "unprecedented levels of demand" in Q1. Says big ticket transactions up about 50% y/y. Saw double digit growth in both Pro and DIY customers in Q1. Says "particularly encouraged" by strong demand from Pro customers. Comments taken from Q1 earnings conference call.

09:13 EDT Telus investing $16M to accelerate deployment of PureFibre, 5G networks - TELUS is investing $16 million in the Lower St. Lawrence region this year to deploy its PureFibre and 5G networks. Thanks to an additional contribution of $1 million from the governments of Quebec and Canada, TELUS completed the deployment of its high-speed services in the Mitis RCM, and 1,800 additional families and businesses can now enjoy lightning-fast symmetrical download speeds with direct access to fibre, the world's fastest and most reliable Internet technology. With private investments, TELUS is continuing the deployment of its 5G technology in six new Lower St. Lawrence communities, which will bridge the digital divide; drive innovation in businesses and grass-roots charities; and support the health, agriculture, and education sectors.

09:11 EDT BAE Systems receives $325.5M Defense Logistics Agency contract - BAE Systems has received a $325.5M contract from the Defense Logistics Agency for advanced Military Code Global Positioning System, or GPS, modules that will provide reliable and secure positioning, navigation, and timing data with anti-jamming and anti-spoofing capabilities. The modules will help warfighters conduct operations in contested electronic warfare environments.

09:10 EDT Light Speed Logistics upgrades fleet with Orbcomm asset management solutions - ORBCOMM announced that Light Speed Logistics, a Canada-based company offering trucking, shipping, hauling, freight and logistics services throughout North America, has begun the retrofit of their refrigerated fleet with ORBCOMM's next generation, cold chain monitoring solution in preparation for the sunsetting of 3G wireless service, which will commence at the end of 2021. Light Speed will also begin using ORBCOMM's latest solar-powered asset management solution for their new dry van trailers.

09:06 EDT Indigo Lavender Farms enrolls in DTE Energy's MIGreenPower Program - Indigo Lavender Farms announced its enrollment in DTE Energy's MIGreenPower program. Located in Imlay City, Indigo Lavender Farms is the first farm to enroll in the program. MIGreenPower allows DTE Electric customers to reduce their carbon footprint by attributing their energy use to Michigan wind and solar projects.

09:05 EDT Verisk Analytics, NFPA collaborate on wildfire risk mitigation - More than 4.5 million U.S. properties are at a high-to-extreme risk of wildfire, with more than 2 million of those in California alone, according to estimates from Verisk. To help promote the importance of building resilient communities to property insurers and their customers, the National Fire Protection Association is providing Verisk with robust data on communities engaging in wildfire mitigation efforts. Verisk will leverage the data from the NFPA Firewise USA recognition program to develop property-level analytics insurers can use to refine their underwriting. This collaboration will help NFPA by promoting the value of community-wide wildfire risk reduction activities to a broader public.

09:04 EDT National Research Corporation appoints two to board of directors - National Research Corporation announced that it has expanded its Board strength with the additions of Allina Health CEO, Penny Wheeler, M.D., and former Sutter Health CMO, Stephen Lockhart, M.D., PhD. Their appointments are effective immediately.

09:02 EDT Fortinet named to Carahsoft ITES-SW2 contract to support U.S. Army - Fortinet announced that Fortinet has been named a manufacturer on the Information Technology Enterprise Solutions - Software 2 contract for the U.S. Army Computer Hardware Enterprise Software and Solutions. This contract is held by Carahsoft Technology Corp., The Trusted Government IT Solutions Provider, and is effective through August 30, 2025. ITES-SW2 is a firm-fixed price, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract vehicle for commercial off-the-shelf software products and related services and hardware. The contract has no fees, and ordering is open to all Army, DoD and Federal agencies and authorized systems integrators on a worldwide basis. Under this contract, Carahsoft provides cybersecurity solutions from Fortinet to support Federal agencies' enterprise infrastructure goals.

08:59 EDT Allegro MicroSystems releases A31315 sensor - Allegro MicroSystems announced the release of the A31315 sensor, the newest member of the 3DMAG family of rotary and linear magnetic position sensor ICs for automotive and industrial applications. 3DMAG sensors combine Allegro's proven planar and vertical Hall-effect technologies to measure magnetic field components along three axes, enabling true 3D sensing capabilities with a wide magnetic dynamic range without saturation.

08:57 EDT Park City Group expands share repurchase program to $6M - Park City Group announced that its board of directors has approved the repurchase of up to $6M of the company's common stock, increasing the buyback from $4M to $6M. To date, the company has repurchased approximately $3M on the original $4M repurchase authorization.

08:46 EDT Sodexo to source as much as 80% of lettuce products from Vertical Harvest Maine - Sodexo announced that it will source as much as 80-percent of its lettuce products from Vertical Harvest Maine, the State's newest hydroponic urban farm, and the first vertical greenhouse in the United States. The produce will be served at all fourteen Sodexo partners, including collegiate campuses from Fort Kent to South Portland. Earlier this year, Sodexo pledged to spend at least $1M at local Maine farms and food producers in 2021. In August 2021, Vertical Harvest Maine will break ground on a 70,000 square foot, four-story farm in downtown Westbrook. Developer TDB LLC says that the master plan integrates residential apartments, commercial space and four-stories of parking. The company plans to grow over 1-million pounds per year of local produce, create 50 jobs, and hire Mainers with physical and intellectual disabilities, in coordination with State and local agencies. This year, Fast Company recognized Vertical Harvest in their annual "World Changing Ideas" awards, which honors businesses that are innovating solutions to world problems.

08:44 EDT Macy's sees FY gross margin improving up to 8 percentage points vs. 2020

08:41 EDT JBG Smith gets approval for two residential buildings in National Landing - JBG SMITH announced the receipt of final entitlement approvals for 2000 and 2001 South Bell Street in National Landing. JBG SMITH began demolition and other enabling work on the vacant building currently on the site earlier this year and will be fully designed and ready to begin construction as soon as the beginning of 2022, subject to market conditions. JBG SMITH's 5.0 million square foot Near-Term Development Pipeline includes the most accretive and strategic development opportunities in its growth pipeline. As a result of the 2000 and 2001 South Bell Street approvals, JBG SMITH has secured entitlements for approximately 50% of its Near-Term Development Pipeline. The approved plan calls for 758 apartments across two buildings with more than 22,000 square feet of ground floor retail, totaling approximately 723,000 square feet of new development. The plans include a 25-story building with 338 units and a 19-story building with 420 units.

08:35 EDT Muscle Maker acquires Pokemoto, terms not disclosed - Muscle Maker announced it has acquired Pokemoto, a thirteen location concept known for its healthier modern culinary twist on a traditional Hawaiian poke classic. The acquisition of Pokemoto is Muscle Maker Grill's second acquisition in 2021; the first being SuperFit Foods, LLC, a fresh-prepared meal prep service that prepares "healthier for you" meals in Jacksonville, FL producing over 220,000 meals in 2020. Pokemoto has thirteen locations in four states - Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Georgia and offers up chef-driven contemporary flavors with fresh delectable and healthy ingredients such as Atlantic salmon, sushi-grade tuna, fresh mango, roasted cashews and black caviar tobiko that appeals to foodies, health enthusiasts, and sushi-lovers everywhere. As reflected in Pokemoto's audited financial statements, Pokemoto generated $3,643,342 in total revenue in 2019 with a positive EBITDA margin of 26.6% of $969,770. In 2020, during the pandemic, Pokemoto was able to increase its total revenue slightly to $3,653,478 and continued positive EBITDA of $506,802 even in the face of temporary cost increases and headwinds caused by the pandemic. The Pokemoto total revenue of $3,653,478 in 2020 represents a significant increase in overall revenue to Muscle Maker. In 2020, Muscle Maker total revenue was $4,473,447. The addition of Pokemoto revenue will increase Muscle Maker, Inc.'s total revenue by 81% to $8,126,925. In addition, we expect the recent acquisition of Superfit Foods, the upcoming opening of four locations at the Northern Virginia Community College system along with the expected economic recovery following the rollout of Covid vaccines to drive additional revenue growth throughout the remainder of 2021. The positive EBITDA generated by Pokemoto, along with the recent acquisition of SuperFit Foods, are instrumental in driving Muscle Maker on a faster path towards our goals.

08:33 EDT IES Holdings acquires Edmonson Electric, terms not disclosed - IES Holdings announced that it has acquired an 80% ownership interest in Edmonson Electric, a Land O' Lakes, FL-based provider of residential electric, low voltage, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning installation services. Kevin Edmonson, Edmonson's President, and Michele Eleyet, Vice President of Edmonson, will together retain the remaining 20% ownership interest. Edmonson, with trailing 12-month revenue through March 2021 of approximately $107M, has locations in several Florida markets, including Tampa, Orlando and Ft. Myers. Edmonson will become part of IES's Residential segment and continue to operate under the Edmonson name.

08:32 EDT Align Technology announces $100M accelerated stock repurchase program - Align Technology announced that it has entered into a new accelerated stock repurchase agreement with Goldman Sachs & Co LLC, to repurchase $100M of Align's common stock under Align's new $1B stock repurchase program announced on May 13, 2021. Under the terms of the ASR, Align will receive an initial delivery of approximately 143,000 shares. The final number of shares to be repurchased will be based on Align's volume-weighted average stock price during the term of the ASR, less an agreed upon discount. The ASR transaction is expected to be completed by August 2021 and will be funded with Align's cash on hand. As of March 31, 2021, Align had approximately 79.1 million shares outstanding and $1.1B in cash and cash equivalents.

08:29 EDT Intertape Polymer launches flame retardant polyethylene tape - Intertape Polymer Group announced the launch of a new flame retardant polyethylene tape called PEFR. IPG's PEFR polyethylene tape is a heavy-duty tape ideal for healthcare facilities, institutional buildings, laboratories, shipyards and construction sites where flame retardant materials are required to add a critical layer of security of fire protection. It is ideal for use in abatement, surface protection, marine and heavy equipment preservation and long-term storage.

08:27 EDT Proofpoint introduces NexusAI for Compliance - Proofpoint announced the launch of NexusAI for Compliance, a new machine learning module for Proofpoint Enterprise Archive customers seeking to enhance supervisory review for regulatory compliance. This scalable artificial intelligence platform significantly reduces the cost and time spent by organizations on manually reviewing electronic communications to comply with government and industry regulations. With a projected 125 percent annual return on investment, NexusAI for Compliance helps these regulated organizations eliminate low-value supervised content, decrease human error, and reduce false positives by up to 65 percent when compared with legacy solutions.

08:23 EDT Jowell Global establishes livestreaming training program - Jowell Global announced that the Company has begun to provide free in-person training classes of live-streaming to further advance business growth strategies targeting the "community group-buying + livestreaming" new retail model. The training classes officially commenced on May 11, 2021. These classes are free to students and last for 15 days. They are open to Juhao Best Choice store owners and anyone who is interested in livestreaming and are designed to provide livestreaming training and help students obtain related employment. JWEL plans to offer more of such training programs in the future depending on student demands for this first session. The classes will assist JWEL to train live-streaming talents for Juhao Best Choice stores and to create study and job opportunities for people who are interested in livestreaming-related sectors and e-commerce business. JWEL also provides support in image management and product after-sale services for students who would like to select from all products sold on Juhao Mall when they practice livestreaming sales skills during the classes. The training program has hired mentors who are social media influencers with over one million followers and Mr. Zhiwei Xu, CEO and Chairman of the Company, will also share his business experience and success stories with the students.

08:21 EDT Macy's doesn't see international tourism improving until 2022

08:20 EDT Cathie Wood's ARK Investment discloses 1.01M shares of Twitter bought on Monday

08:19 EDT Cathie Wood's ARK Investment discloses ~260K shares of Coinbase bought on Monday

08:17 EDT E.W. Scripps selects Magnite as preferred CTV SSP - Magnite (MGNI) announced The E.W. Scripps Company (SSP) has selected Magnite to serve as the company's preferred sell-side platform across its connected TV inventory. Scripps also will leverage the Magnite platform to give buyers access to its programmatic inventory across all channels.

08:16 EDT Enlivex Therapeutics awarded second IIA grant to support Allocetra development - Enlivex Therapeutics announced that the Israel Innovation Authority selected Enlivex's ongoing sepsis clinical program to receive a second non-dilutive grant of approximately $1.1M for 2021. To date, Enlivex has received a total of approximately $6.6M in non-dilutive grants from the IIA for clinical trials and product development, excluding this newly approved grant.

08:15 EDT Pacific Mercantile Bancorp provides revolving line of credit to Quality Candy - Pacific Mercantile Bank announced that it has provided a revolving line of credit to Quality Candy Company, a manufacturer and distributor of high quality hard candy and soft sugar candy. Along with the financing, Quality Candy utilizes a full suite of Pacific Mercantile Bank's depository products and treasury management services.

08:14 EDT I-MAB doses first patient in abbreviated study of lemzoparlimab - I-Mab announced that the first patient has been dosed in an abbreviated combination clinical study, NCT04202003, of lemzoparlimab with azacitidine, or AZA, in patients with newly diagnosed Acute Myeloid Leukemia, or AML, or Myelodysplastic Syndrome, or MDS, in China. Lemzoparlimab is a differentiated anti-CD47 monoclonal antibody designed to minimize inherent binding to normal red blood cells while preserving its strong anti-tumor activity. AZA is a chemotherapeutic drug that may synergize with lemzoparlimab to treat hematologic malignancies. This phase 2 combination cohort expansion study builds on the dose escalation monotherapy trial in China and will evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of lemzoparlimab in combination with AZA in patients with newly diagnosed AML who are intolerant to intensive chemotherapy or treatment-naive patients with intermediate and high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome. Patient enrollment is expected to be completed by Q4 2021.

08:12 EDT Facebook introducing Live Shopping Fridays - Facebook announced in a blog post: "Live Shopping on Facebook combines the fun of live video with the convenience of online shopping. And this summer, we're bringing some of the biggest brands together for a showcase of products, tips, demos and more through Live Shopping Fridays. Starting this week and every Friday through July 16, enjoy shoppable live videos from beauty and fashion brands. For shoppers, this means you can discover the latest products from your favorite brands and ask questions about size, fit and tips in real time. And for brands, Live Shopping offers a chance to build relationships with customers, provide new entertaining content, answer questions and streamline the purchase process through convenient checkout with Shops." Reference Link

08:11 EDT Gulfport Energy successfully emerges from Chapter 11 - Gulfport Energy announced that it has successfully completed its restructuring process and emerged from chapter 11 protection. As contemplated by Gulfport's Plan of Reorganization that was confirmed by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas on April 28, 2021, Gulfport has exited bankruptcy with a new Board of Directors; a strengthened balance sheet, with $853 million of total debt representing more than $1.2 billion of deleveraging through the Chapter 11 process; and approximately $135 million of liquidity. At emergence, Gulfport's net-debt-to-EBITDA is approximately 1.5x. Please refer to Gulfport's emergence presentation for more details which will be provided in a Form 8-K and can also be found on the Company's Investor Relations site: https://ir.gulfportenergy.com.

08:10 EDT Medtronic announces clinical data from Symplicity Renal Denervation System study - Medtronic announced new clinical data from the Global SYMPLICITY Registry, or GSR, indicating that renal denervation, or RDN, with the Medtronic Symplicity Renal Denervation System was associated with clinically significant and sustained blood pressure reductions in a real-world hypertensive patient population through three years. Results from the prospective, single-arm, global, observational study are being presented as a Late-Breaking Clinical Trial session at the 2021 EuroPCR Annual Meeting. The study analyzed nearly 3,000 patients with uncontrolled hypertension, or HTN, and other comorbidities typical in HTN patients. The GSR study results demonstrated the Symplicity Renal Denervation System led to significant and clinically meaningful reductions in blood pressure that were sustained out to three years post-procedure. Patients experienced a mean reduction of 16.7 mmHg office systolic blood pressure, or OSBP, at three years compared to baseline.

08:09 EDT Macy's CEO: Consumer is healthy, ready to spend

08:08 EDT Booz Allen announces Jon Munoz joined the firm as VP and DEI officer - Booz Allen Hamilton announced that Jon G. Munoz has joined the firm as vice president and chief diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) officer. Munoz has more than 25 years of DEI, multicultural marketing, community engagement, and human resources experience across a range of industries including hospitality, wireless communications, and financial services. An expert in leading national and global diversity and inclusion management practices, Munoz will work with leaders and teams across the firm to drive a comprehensive approach to Booz Allen's DEI mission - ensuring Booz Allen is an inclusive and equitable workplace where all employees feel that they belong, are valued, and can achieve their full potential.

08:07 EDT Pacira announces notice of allowance of patent for EXPAREL - Pacira BioSciences announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued a Notice of Allowance for U.S. Patent Application Serial Number 17/156,400 related to EXPAREL. The allowed application, "Manufacturing of Bupivacaine Multivesicular Liposomes" claims composition of EXPAREL prepared by the company's 200-liter commercial-scale manufacturing process. A Notice of Allowance is issued after the USPTO determines that the prosecution on the merits of a patent has been completed. The USPTO then grants the patent upon payment of the patent issuance fee. The new patent will have an expiration date of January 22, 2041. Pacira intends to submit the patent for listing in the FDA's Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations after securing FDA approval of its 200-liter manufacturing process. The FDA is currently reviewing the company's supplemental New Drug Application for this manufacturing process, which offers enhanced efficiencies. The FDA has set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act goal date of August 6, 2021 for the sNDA.

08:06 EDT Macy's: Stimulus encouraged customers to use cash, debit vs. credit - Comments taken from Q1 earnings conference call.

08:05 EDT Splunk to acquire TruSTAR, terms undisclosed - Splunk announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire TruSTAR, a San Francisco-based cloud-native security company providing a data-centric intelligence platform. With this acquisition, Splunk will advance its ability to offer the most comprehensive security solutions in the cloud. With TruSTAR, Splunk said it further expands its existing security capabilities, giving customers the ability to access all their data to cut through complexity, drive highly effective detection and respond to threats faster and in an autonomous fashion.

08:04 EDT COMSovereign Holding to acquire SAGUNA Network for $13.1M - COMSovereign Holding announced that it is acquiring SAGUNA Network, the premier Multi-Access Edge Computing, or MEC, cloud software developer, significantly expanding its software technology offerings powering 5G wireless networks. SAGUNA, based in Yokneam, Israel, is the software developer behind the award-winning SAGUNA Edge Cloud which transforms communication networks into powerful cloud-computing infrastructures for applications and services including augmented and virtual reality, IoT, edge analytics, high-definition video, connected cars, autonomous drones and more. Terms of the transaction include total consideration of $13.1M consisting exclusively of shares of restricted common stock. The transaction is expected to close within approximately 15 days subject to traditional closing conditions.

08:02 EDT Aspen Group reports Q4 quarterly enrollments up 23% to 2,182 new students - Aspen Group announced that for the fourth-quarter fiscal year 2021, ending April 30, 2021, new student enrollments increased by 23% year-over-year to 2,182. Aspen Group's rising enrollment in the higher LTV USU MSN-Family Nurse Practitioner degree program and the Aspen University Doctoral unit lifted bookings in the quarter, which increased 21% year-over-year to $32.2 million. Total nursing students comprised 87% of the active student body, up from 85% in the prior-year period. For the full-year fiscal 2021, bookings rose to $143.4 million from $111.3 million in the prior year. "Fourth quarter enrollments finished strong as COVID-19 infection rates rapidly declined during the quarter. As in the prior quarter, we saw solid gains in the USU FNP and the AU online doctoral programs, despite the challenges these students were facing in their work environments," said Chairman & CEO Michael Mathews. "On the last quarter earnings call, I stated that we expected the RN student course starts to return to historical levels by the end of our fourth fiscal quarter. Course starts began improving in late February and returned to normal in March and April, ahead of expectations. Phoenix is a great market for our Aspen University Pre-licensure (PL)-BSN program, where we have experienced high demand for our unique and affordable program. For the second quarter in a row, we made a deliberate decision to avoid future waitlisting of students at our Phoenix campuses, which have full pipelines of first-year online students. This P-L business unit is expected to return to enrollment growth during the upcoming fiscal year given the anticipated enrollment ramp in our three recently launched PL-BSN campuses in Tampa, Austin, and Nashville. In the fourth quarter, we closely managed operating expenses, thereby materially reducing our cash burn from the level seen in the prior quarter. As a result, we ended the fiscal year with unrestricted cash and cash equivalents of $8.5 million and total liquidity of $13.5 million, including our undrawn $5 million credit facility. Our Phoenix pre-licensure campuses, launched in 2018 and 2019, delivered EBITDA of $1.8 million or a 52% margin in the prior quarter. This business unit is expected to continue to be our highest margin business unit for the foreseeable future and is why we continue to prioritize the majority of our growth capital to our pre-licensure business." stated Mathews.

08:01 EDT CVS Health names Shawn Guertin as CFO, succeeding Eva Boratto - CVS Health announced it has appointed Shawn Guertin as Executive Vice President and CFO, effective May 28. Guertin spent eight years at Aetna where he was Executive Vice President, CFO and Chief Enterprise Risk Officer. Guertin succeeds Eva Boratto, who is leaving the company after a successful 11-year career.

08:00 EDT Unisys selected to provide Baggage Reconciliation System - Unisys announced that an international airline consortium operating to and from Australia has agreed to a six-year engagement with Unisys to provide an advanced Baggage Reconciliation System, or BRS, at seven international airports at Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Cairns, Perth, Adelaide and the Gold Coast. The contract was signed in the Q1. The Board of Airline Representatives Australia, or BARA, an industry representative organization for airlines, manages the engagement with Unisys on behalf of the group of airlines. Unisys has worked with BARA since 2004 to provide the Baggage Reconciliation System that links passengers with their bags, tracking both as they move through the system. The Unisys Baggage Reconciliation System is also ready to help BARA support end-to-end tracking of bags throughout the journey, in line with IATA's Resolution 753 on baggage tracking.

07:48 EDT Bombardier collaborates with Sterling for customer support of parts shipments - Bombardier announced its collaboration with Sterling Global Aviation Logistics. The collaboration provides Bombardier with access to a network of aircraft, based across five continents, with which to deliver a wide variety of parts to customers quickly and efficiently in the event of an aircraft on ground situation.

07:45 EDT Ocuphire Pharma granted two U.S. patents covering Nyxol - Ocuphire Pharma announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued two patents covering the Company's late-stage product candidate, Nyxol. Both patents are directed to categories of subject matter eligible for listing in the U.S. FDA Orange Book: Nyxol for Treatment of Presbyopia: U.S. Patent No. 10,993,932 issued on May 4, 2021 with claims to methods of treating presbyopia using a combination of phentolamine mesylate and low-dose pilocarpine. The term of this patent is to year 2039. Nyxol for Daily Administration: U.S. Patent No. 11,000,509 issued on May 11, 2021 with claims to methods of improving visual performance by daily administration of phentolamine mesylate at or near bedtime of the patient alone or in combination with one or more additional therapeutic agents. The term of the patent is to year 2034.

07:40 EDT Bristol-Myers,Agenus in pact for Agenus' proprietary bispecific antibody program - Bristol-Myers Squibb Company (BMY) and Agenus (AGEN) announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Bristol Myers Squibb will be granted a global exclusive license to Agenus' proprietary bispecific antibody program, AGEN1777, that blocks TIGIT and a second undisclosed target. AGEN1777 is an Fc-enhanced antibody in late preclinical development designed to target major inhibitory receptors expressed on T and NK cells to improve anti-tumor activity. In preclinical studies this approach has shown significant potential in tumor models where anti-PD-1 or anti-TIGIT monospecific antibodies alone are ineffective. Under the agreement, Bristol Myers Squibb will become solely responsible for the development and any subsequent commercialization of AGEN1777 and its related products worldwide. Agenus will receive a $200 million upfront payment and up to $1.36 billion in development, regulatory and commercial milestones in addition to tiered double-digit royalties on net product sales. Agenus will retain options to conduct clinical studies under the development plan, to conduct combination studies with certain other Agenus pipeline assets, and also, upon commercialization, to co-promote AGEN1777 in the US. The agreement is subject to clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976.

07:37 EDT Oragenics executive chairman Frederick Telling sends letter to shareholders - Oragenics issued the following letter to shareholders from its executive chairman, Frederick Telling: "In light of the recent changes to the executive management team of Oragenics, I would like to affirm to our shareholders the overall direction of our company is unchanged and to express my deep commitment to a speedy yet prudent execution of our business strategy. Following the resignation of Alan Joslyn, PhD as Chief Executive Officer I have taken on a more active role in the day-to-day management of Oragenics under my new title of Executive Chairman. On behalf of the Oragenics Board of Directors and my colleagues, I thank Dr. Joslyn for his service and dedication. He helped put in place several initiatives that management and outside advisors are now advancing in a meaningful way. In particular, we are working quickly to develop the Terra CoV-2 vaccine candidate to address SARS-CoV-2 and its variants, as well as a new class of lantibiotics to address the daunting problem of antibiotic resistance. Rest assured we are committed to the speedy execution of milestones and have the human capital to get it done... In March 2021, we entered into a material transfer agreement with Biodextris Inc. for the use of three intranasal mucosal adjuvants in our Terra CoV-2 vaccine against COVID-19. The three adjuvants - BDX100, BDX300 and BDX301 - are proteosome-based adjuvants comprised of proteins and lipopolysaccharides with improved attributes including enhanced immune response, manufacturing efficiency and the benefits of intranasal vaccine administration. As a reminder, this initial agreement calls for the three intranasal adjuvants to be used in combination with our antigen vaccine candidate as part of the preclinical immunological evaluation of Terra CoV-2, for the prevention of coronavirus disease caused by infection with SARS-CoV-2 virus. Our next steps will be to study Terra CoV-2 plus Biodextris' intranasal mucosal adjuvants in preclinical animal studies, including hamster viral challenge studies, mouse immunogenicity studies and the rodent toxicology study. The information generated from the studies employing the new intranasal vaccine candidate may support our IND application and an application to Health Canada to initiate clinical trials. Importantly, our advisors have deep knowledge of research approaches that we may use to speed up the process. While President Biden's stated goal is to vaccinate 70% of the U.S. population with at least one dose of the currently emergency use authorized vaccines by July 4th, and COVID-19 cases are dropping in the U.S., the pandemic continues to rage unabated elsewhere in the world, most notably in India. We believe our Terra CoV-2 vaccine will play an important role not only in addressing the current COVID-19 pandemic, but also in addressing new variants of concern and other coronaviruses that may come our way... In closing, I am very excited to be undertaking a more active role in advancing the compelling intellectual property we have at Oragenics. We believe our Terra CoV-2 vaccine holds exceptional promise to play an important role in solving what many experts expect will be a continuing, yearly problem as SARS CoV-2 traverses the globe and mutates. In a similar vein, we hope our work with lantibiotics will address the mutations of bacterial organisms as they develop resistance to current drugs..."

07:36 EDT Arrowhead earns $10M option exercise fee - Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (ARWR) announced that Janssen Pharmaceuticals, part of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), has delivered written notice of its intent to exercise its option right for ARO-JNJ1. Receipt of the option notice earns Arrowhead a $10M option exercise fee and grants Janssen all rights, including licenses, and obligations to develop and commercialize ARO-JNJ1, an investigational RNAi therapeutic candidate which utilizes Arrowhead's proprietary Targeted RNAi Molecule TRiM platform. Chris Anzalone, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer at Arrowhead, said: "The collaboration with Janssen, which was executed in 2018, for ARO-HBV against chronic hepatitis B infection, and potentially three additional programs, has been highly productive and collaborative. We are thrilled that Janssen has decided to exercise its option on ARO-JNJ1 and move forward with clinical studies. We look forward to continued collaboration and progress as Janssen advances these potentially important new medicines." Arrowhead entered into a license and collaboration agreement, and into a research collaboration and option agreement, with Janssen in October 2018. Arrowhead is eligible for additional payments when future milestones are met and is also eligible for royalties on commercial sales of ARO-JNJ1.

07:34 EDT Novocure receives FDA approval for LUNAR trial IDE supplement - Novocure announced the FDA has approved the company's Investigational Device Exemption, or IDE, supplement, reducing the enrollment requirement for its LUNAR trial to 276 patients with 12 months follow-up. LUNAR is a phase 3 pivotal trial testing the effectiveness of Tumor Treating Fields in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors or docetaxel versus immune checkpoint inhibitors or docetaxel alone for patients with stage 4 NSCLC who progressed during or after platinum-based therapy. The IDE supplement incorporates recommended changes from the interim analysis of the LUNAR trial conducted by an independent data monitoring committee, or DMC. After review of the interim analysis report earlier this year, the DMC concluded that the LUNAR trial should continue with no evidence of increased systemic toxicity. The DMC also stated that it is likely unnecessary and possibly unethical for patients randomized to the control arm of the trial to continue accrual according to the original protocol. The DMC recommended a reduced sample size of approximately 276 patients with 12 months follow-up which it believes will provide sufficient overall power for both primary and secondary endpoints. The DMC recommended no other changes to the trial design. Novocure remains blinded to all data.

07:32 EDT Cryoport to acquire F-Airgate, terms not disclosed - Cryoport announced the expansion of its global supply chain network with the acquisition of F-Airgate, a provider of innovative temperature-controlled supply chain solutions, headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. F-Airgate will join Cryoport's CRYOPDP business unit and is expected to be accretive to earnings in FY21.

07:25 EDT Agenus trading halted, news pending

07:23 EDT Aravive appoints three to board of directors - Aravive announced the appointments of John Hohneker, M.D., Sigurd Kirk, and Peter Ho, M.D., Ph.D. to its Board of Directors. Mr. Kirk was also appointed to serve on the Audit Committee of the Board. Dr. Hohneker was also appointed to serve on the Compensation Committee of the Board. Hohneker currently serves on the Board of Directors of Evelo Biosciences, a publicly traded company, and on the Board of privately held Trishula Therapeutics, Inc. In his most recent position, Mr. Kirk was Executive Vice President, Corporate Business Development at Allergan, where he was a member of the Executive Leadership Team. Ho currently serves as Senior Scientific and Medical Advisor to Overland Pharmaceuticals, D3 Bio, and M4K Pharma, and is a Scientific Advisory Board member of Accent Therapeutics. Ho is currently an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Division of Chemical Biology and Medicinal Chemistry at the Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina.

07:20 EDT Novartis' Sandoz to invest EUR150M in new antibiotics manufacturing technology - Sandoz, a Novartis division, announces plans to "further strengthen its European antibiotics manufacturing network" by further expanding production capabilities in Kundl, Austria and in Palafolls, Spain. "By modernizing and simplifying its manufacturing setup, Sandoz will improve its ability to consistently deliver high-quality medicines to patients, while remaining cost-competitive on the global market. In line with plans announced with the Austrian government in July 2020, Sandoz confirms that in a first step it will proceed to invest more than EUR 100M to introduce new manufacturing technology for the production of oral amoxicillin, an active pharmaceutical ingredient, or API, for its leading penicillin product. This investment will allow Sandoz to leverage its position in Kundl as the hub and center of the only major end-to-end antibiotics supply chain in Europe, covering all production steps from API to Finished Dosage Forms for many leading antibiotics. In addition to the investment in Kundl, Sandoz announces plans for an expansion of its Palafolls site in Spain, planning to invest around EUR 50M in new production technology and increased capacity for the production of sterile penicillin APIs and sterile API mixtures. As part of this network modernization plan, Sandoz will phase out the current production of oral APIs at the Les Franqueses site in Spain, which it plans to close in 2024. Sterile API production is planned to transfer from Kundl to the new facility at Palafolls in 2025. Sandoz is committed to its people and will offer full support to its associates who might be impacted," said Sandoz.

07:17 EDT Oxford Biomedica sees revenues from AstraZeneca in excess of GBP100M - Oxford Biomedica (OXBDF) announced an update on the 18 month supply agreement signed with AstraZeneca UK Ltd (AZN) in September 2020. ollowing successful manufacture of large-scale batches of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 Vaccine, AstraZeneca has today committed to an increase in the number of batches required from Oxford Biomedica in the second half of 2021. As a result of this, the Group is raising revenue guidance for expected cumulative revenues from AstraZeneca by the end of 2021 from in excess of GBP50 million to in excess of GBP100 million, and as a result expects significant growth in Group Operating EBITDA in the year ending 2021. As previously guided, Oxford Biomedica does not expect the commitment to AstraZeneca for vaccine production to have any impact on the Group's current partnerships or ability to secure and support additional new partnerships in the cell and gene therapy field.

07:14 EDT Legion Partners issues presentation for new independent directors at OneSpan - Legion Partners Asset Management which, together with its affiliates beneficially owns 2,790,121 shares of common stock of OneSpan, representing approximately 6.9% of the outstanding stock, today issued a presentation highlighting the need for new independent directors on OneSpan's Board of Directors (the Legion Partners has nominated four highly-qualified independent directors for election to the Company's Board at the Company's 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders Sarika Garg, Sagar Gupta, Michael J. McConnell and Rinki Sethi. Key points from the presentation include: OneSpan's stock has been a serial underperformer: The Company currently trades at ~70% valuation discount to peers and its total shareholder returns has severely underperformed across 1, 3, 5, 10, and 15 year periods.[1] The Company's Board lacks directors with relevant skillsets needed to remedy this issue including improving strategic oversight and corporate governance. The Board's reactive maneuvers have failed to improve total shareholder return: OneSpan is transitioning from Hardware to a cloud-first, recurring revenue Software company, but the Board's skill sets do not appear to have appropriately evolved with this strategy. Despite our significant efforts to collaborate on refreshment to address this issue, the Board has defensively added new directors with questionable qualifications and fit, as well as prior connections to existing directors, and have only made these moves in the face of public pressure.

07:10 EDT Atlas Technical Consultants awarded $3M contract with LA County Public Works - Atlas Technical Consultants announced that it was awarded a $3 million contract to provide on-call special inspection and materials testing in various healthcare facilities for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works. This newly awarded contract will remain in effect for a term of three years, with two one-year renewal options. Atlas will be providing testing and inspections for structural steel, welding, reinforced concrete, structural masonry, prestressed concrete and shoring governed by California's Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development. Facilities include Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center, Martin Luther King Jr. Medical Center and Olive View-UCLA Medical Center.

07:09 EDT Immatics sees cash reach into 2023 - Cash and cash equivalents as well as other financial assets total EUR216.7M as of March 31, 2021. compared to EUR232M as of December 31, 2020.

07:08 EDT Walmart jumps over 2% to $142.20 after Q1 earnings and updated guidance

07:07 EDT Walmart sees Q2 U.S. SSS up low single digits - Raises Q2 operating income view to "decline low to mid single digits" from "decline mid to high single digits". Raises Q2 EPS view to "decline low single digits" from "decline mid to high single digits".

07:07 EDT Rezolute appoints Quan Dong Nguyen to scientific advisory board - Rezolute announced the addition of Quan Dong Nguyen, MD, MSc, FAAO, FARVO to its Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Nguyen is Professor of Ophthalmology at the Byers Eye Institute, Stanford University School of Medicine.

07:06 EDT Macy's cites outperformance in Q1 for improved FY21 outlook - As a result of Macy's outperformance in the first quarter of 2021 and its improved outlook, the company is raising its full year 2021 guidance. "Our achievements in the first quarter, combined with the faster than anticipated economic recovery, give us the confidence to update our full-year 2021 guidance," said Adrian Mitchell, CFO of Macy's. "The momentum and strength of our digital business is reshaping how we engage with customers as an omnichannel retailer. As we execute the Polaris strategy, Macy's, Inc. is well-positioned for long-term, profitable growth."

07:05 EDT Performance Food Group to acquire Core-Mark for $2.5B in cash, stock - Performance Food Group (PFGC) and Core-Mark (CORE) announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which PFG will acquire Core-Mark in a stock and cash transaction. Under the terms of the transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the board of directors of each company, Core-Mark shareholders will receive $23.875 per share in cash and 0.44 PFG shares for each Core-Mark share. The transaction values Core-Mark at approximately $2.5B, including Core-Mark's net debt. Upon closing of the transaction, Core-Mark shareholders will own approximately 13% of the combined company. Core-Mark expects to continue paying its current quarterly dividend through the completion of the transaction. The transaction will create a convenience business within PFG's Vistar segment that will include the Core-Mark and Eby-Brown businesses. The expanded convenience business will operate under the Core-Mark brand and will be headquartered in Westlake, Texas with Eby-Brown maintaining ongoing operations in Naperville, Illinois. Scott McPherson will continue in his role as president and CEO of Core-Mark, following closing of the transaction. Tom Wake will continue as president and CEO of Eby-Brown, reporting to McPherson. Core-Mark is one of the largest wholesale distributors to the convenience retail industry in North America with approximately $17 billion in net sales. The company has approximately 7,500 employees and operates 32 distribution centers across the United States and Canada. Core-Mark services approximately 40,000 customer locations in all 50 states in the U.S., five Canadian provinces and two Canadian territories. Upon closing of the transaction, at least one current Core-Mark director will be added to the PFG Board of Directors. The transaction is expected to be accretive to adjusted diluted EPS in the first full fiscal year following the close. The accretion calculation does not include any of the expected cost synergies. Annual run-rate net cost synergies of approximately $40M are expected to be achieved by the third full year after closing. The transaction is not conditioned on financing. PFG expects to fund the cash portion of the transaction consideration with borrowing from its asset-based revolving credit facility and the issuance of new senior unsecured notes. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of calendar 2022, subject to U.S. federal antitrust clearance, Core-Mark shareholder approval, and other customary closing conditions. The transaction is not subject to PFG shareholder approval.

07:04 EDT CGI selected by State of Michigan for transformation of SIGMA - CGI announced it has been selected earlier this fiscal year by the State of Michigan for the ongoing transformation of SIGMA, or Statewide Integrated Governmental Management Applications, the state's enterprise resource planning, or ERP, system. CGI will continue to enhance SIGMA with capabilities from CGI Advantage, an integrated ERP platform featuring a mobile-first design and hosted on the CGI Advantage Cloud. Under the contract, the SIGMA platform will be transformed with an intuitive and responsive user experience with seamlessly embedded advanced analytics to facilitate data-driven decision making.

07:04 EDT Macy's CEO says 'outperformed sales expectations across all three of our brands' - "In our first quarter we outperformed sales expectations across all three of our brands: Macy's, Bloomingdale's and Bluemercury. We built on our momentum from the fourth quarter and our sales trend continued to improve throughout the first quarter," said Jeff Gennette, chairman and CEO of Macy's, Inc. "These results were driven by the positive effects of the government stimulus program and expanding vaccine rollout, coupled with the accelerated execution of our Polaris strategy, including investments in our digital platforms. Macy's remains a fashion and style source for customers as a digitally led omnichannel retailer." "As consumers seek to re-engage with each other, we are seeing promising signs that our core customers are shopping again, and we continue to attract new customers, who increasingly begin their shopping experience with us online," continued Gennette. "Customers are shopping categories that have been strong throughout the pandemic, including home, fine jewelry and watches, fragrance and luxury items. And we're encouraged by the improvement we're seeing in special occasion categories as customers begin to travel and return to a pre-pandemic lifestyle. We also have emerging opportunities in new categories and brands, including toys, health & wellness, pet and home decor." "As we look to the rest of the year, we are hyper-focused on meeting consumers' demand for speed, convenience and a seamless omnichannel shopping experience. We also continue to evolve our merchandising strategy, and we remain a partner of choice for top brands with more collaborative and profitable vendor relationships," continued Gennette. "With a healthier economy and the reopening of communities as the backdrop to the execution of our Polaris strategy, we are well positioned to deliver sustainable, profitable growth in 2021 and the years beyond."

07:02 EDT Macy's reports Q1 inventory down 23.1% - Inventory was down 23.1% from first quarter 2019. Continued strong inventory management discipline from 2020.

07:02 EDT Macy's reports Q1 gross margin 38.6% - Gross margin for the quarter was 38.6%, up from 17.1% in first quarter 2020 and up 40 basis points from first quarter 2019. Improvement due to increased merchandise margin was largely driven by inventory productivity and the execution of the Polaris strategy. The first quarter 2020 included an approximately $300M inventory write-down from markdowns on fashion merchandise due to the store closures during first quarter 2020. Delivery expense declined approximately 20 basis points from the first quarter of 2020 and increased 230 basis points from first quarter 2019, partially due to the higher penetration of digital sales.

07:01 EDT Bio-Techne announces collaboration with Narayana Nethralay - Bio-Techne announced a collaboration with Narayana Nethralaya to develop a diagnostic solution for ophthalmology disorders on its ProteinSimple branded, multiplexing immunoassay instrument, Ella. The Ella platform, which is currently sold for research use only, allows users to perform high-quality immunoassays with no manual intervention, delivering results in just 90 minutes and requiring only 25 microL of sample. Factory calibration of each Simple Plex assay cartridge minimizes setup time and user error. Setting up an assay simply requires loading diluted samples into the cartridge. Once loaded, Ella performs every step of the immunoassay automatically, from wash steps to final quantification of results. Under the terms of this collaboration, Bio-Techne will provide Ella instruments and Simple Plex assay cartridges, which are run on the Ella platform, for customized ophthalmology related evaluations. Narayana Nethralaya plans to conduct diagnostic clinical trials in India, with the aim of filing for regulatory approval using Ella as a diagnostic device for ophthalmic applications.

06:56 EDT Macy's reports Q1 SSS up 62.5% on an owned basis - In Q1: Comparable sales up 62.5% on an owned basis and up 63.9% on an owned plus licensed basis versus 2020. Comparable sales down 10.5% on an owned basis and down 10.0% on an owned plus licensed basis versus 2019. Trend improvement compared to a 17.1% owned plus licensed comparable sales decline in the fourth quarter of 2020.

06:52 EDT Madrigal Pharmaceuticals names Alex Howarth as CFO - Madrigal Pharmaceuticals announced that Alex Howarth has joined Madrigal as CFO. Howarth brings more than 25 years of biopharmaceutical experience and is recognized for his financial, operational, and transactional achievements. Most recently, Howarth was COO at Akcea Therapeutics.

06:38 EDT Stem appoints Saul Laureles as Chief Legal Officer - Stem announced the appointment of Saul Laureles as its Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary. In this role, Laureles will lead the Company's global legal function, including corporate governance, securities and mergers & acquisitions, as well as environmental, social, and governance compliance. Laureles brings more than 20 years of legal and strategic business experience including handling complex legal and financial matters and advising executives and board members on corporate governance, securities and M&A, and other general corporate matters. Before joining Stem, Laureles served as Director, Corporate Legal Affairs and Assistant Corporate Secretary at Schlumberger Limited, the world's leading oilfield services company, which he joined in 2007. At Schlumberger, Laureles oversaw the global corporate legal department, where he was responsible for legal matters involving corporate governance, securities law compliance, M&A, corporate finance, executive compensation, benefits employment matters, and risk issues affecting the parent company and its subsidiaries around the world. Prior to Schlumberger, Laureles was a corporate and finance lawyer at Mayer Brown. Laureles earned his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School and B.A. from the University of Chicago.

06:37 EDT Hecla Mining reports Q1 exploration results - Hecla Mining Company released its Q1 exploration results. Highlights include developments at Midas and San Sebastian. Midas exploration at Green Racer Sinter intercepted high-grade gold and silver mineralization over a 1,000-foot strike length and a 1,250-foot dip extent in the Sinter Vein, as well as two new mineralized footwall structures. Significant intercepts include more than 5 oz/ton gold over 13 feet estimated true width. All are open for expansion. Midas' plan of operations amendment expands to allow greater access to multiple targets on the Green Racer Sinter and East Graben Corridor. San Sebastian exploration drilling on the El Bronco Vein expanded mineralization over a strike length of 1,500 feet. While at the El Tigre Vein, vein textures indicate drilling was high in the epithermal system, warranting further deeper drilling. "Our early exploration results, just two miles from the mine portal, validates our thesis that despite its long high-grade production history, there remains significant untouched potential at Midas," said Phillips S. Baker, Jr., President and CEO. "The recent high-grade intercept grading 5.52 oz/ton gold and 8.9 oz/ton silver over 20.3 feet drilled is one of the best exploration drillholes in North America in the past year." Q1 eploration expenditures were $6.0M and are expected to increase to $40M in FY21.

06:34 EDT Chemours achieves MoU with three ice rink venues in Beijing - Chemours has achieved a memorandum of understanding, or MoU, with the Beijing National Aquatics Center, Beijing National Indoor Stadium and Wukesong Sports Centre for use of Opteon lower global warming potential, or GWP, refrigerants at the three venues. This agreement supports the adoption of more sustainable solutions for the ice rink venues to help reduce the overall carbon footprint. Beijing National Aquatics Center, Beijing National Indoor Stadium and Wukesong Sports Centre were main venues for 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games, and will be hosting hockey and curling ice games during the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

06:31 EDT Socket Mobile appoints Dave Holmes as chief business officer - Socket Mobile announced that Dave Holmes has joined the executive management team as chief business officer. Dave Holmes will be responsible for Socket Mobile's worldwide business development and marketing activities.

06:23 EDT Trane, Synexis expand strategic relationship - Synexis announced it is expanding its strategic relationship with Trane. As part of the expanded agreement, Trane has a non-controlling minority financial interest in Synexis and will serve as the exclusive HVAC channel for the Synexis Dry Hydrogen Peroxide systems in the U.S. and Canada. The investment will help support commercial expansion efforts and accelerate product innovation as both companies work to improve indoor air quality across North America.

06:14 EDT Medicago, GlaxoSmithKline report data from COVID-19 vaccine candidate trial - Medicago and GlaxoSmithKline reported interim Phase 2 clinical trial safety and immunogenicity data for Medicago's plant-derived COVID-19 vaccine candidate, which has been tested in combination with GSK's pandemic adjuvant. These results are part of the ongoing Phase 2/3 study and reiterate the profile observed during Phase 1 testing. Immunogenicity, as measured by the neutralizing antibody titer, was high - about 10 times higher than those in a panel of sera from patients recovering from COVID-19. No related severe adverse events were reported and reactogenicity was generally mild to moderate and short in duration. The Phase 3 trial of the vaccine candidate launched on March 16. Trial sites are currently enrolling subjects in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Brazil, with additional sites expected to be added in the coming weeks. The vaccine candidate has received Fast Track designation by the FDA in the United States, and Health Canada has initiated a review of Medicago's COVID-19 rolling submission under the Interim Order. This publication focuses on presenting safety and tolerability results, and immunogenicity, as measured by neutralizing antibody, or NAb, and cell mediated immunity responses, in adults aged 18-64 and older dults aged 65+. Medicago's vaccine candidate with GSK's pandemic adjuvant exhibited an acceptable safety profile and adverse events, or AE, were primarily mild or moderate and of transient duration. AEs in older adults were more limited than those observed in the adult population. Medicago's vaccine candidate with GSK's pandemic adjuvant induced a significant humoral immune response of similar strength in both age cohorts after two doses. The vaccine candidate induced a greater humoral response in adults than older adults after a single dose but after the second dose both age cohorts responded with NAb titers that were about 10 times higher than those in a panel of sera from patients recovering from COVID-19.

06:04 EDT Fat Brands announces top management hires including General Counsel and CFO - FAT Brands (FAT), parent company of Fatburger, Johnny Rockets and seven other restaurant concepts, announced three new hires: Allen Sussman, General Counsel; Ken Kuick, CFO, and Rob Rosen, EVP Capital Markets. Although Allen Sussman is newly appointed as General Counsel, he has worked with FAT Brands for several years and shepherded the company through its IPO and multiple acquisitions. He joins FAT from Loeb & Loeb LLP in Los Angeles, where he was a partner in the Capital Markets and Corporate Practice Groups. CFO, Ken Kuick, most recently served as CFO for Noodles & Company (NDLS). Prior to that, he was Chief Accounting Officer for VICI Properties (VICI), a real estate investment trust. Ken also served as Chief Accounting Officer for Caesars Entertainment (CZR) from 2014 to 2017 and as Vice President, Assistant Controller beginning in 2011. Rob Rosen, EVP Capital Markets, is a Wall Street veteran with over 30 years of experience in structured finance, banking, lending and on the portfolio management buy-side. Rob has worked on the banking side for Fleet Bank, Kidder Peabody and Bank of Tokyo and has spent over 20 years working with Black Diamond Capital Management in a variety of management, board level and advisory capacities.

05:59 EDT UGI Corporation subsidiary, SHV Energy announce intention to start rDME JV - SHV Energy and UGI International, a subsidiary of UGI Corporation, announced the intention to launch a joint venture, or JV, to advance the production and use of Renewable Dimethyl Ether, or rDME, a low-carbon sustainable liquid gas, to accelerate renewable solutions for the LPG industry. By leveraging the expertise, innovation capabilities and distribution power of both companies, the joint venture will aim to develop the full potential of rDME as a sustainable solution. The parties anticipate the development of up to six production plants within the next five years, targeting a total production capacity of 300 kilotons of rDME per year by 2027. The aggregate investment is estimated to be up to $1B which is expected to involve third party investment. The joint venture, in which both parties would have an equal stake, will bring scale and critical mass to the rDME market by developing opportunities for investment in production capacity. Moreover, it will promote the use of rDME by driving efforts geared at broad market acceptance, developing new rDME based technologies to gain traction among users, and supporting the development of infrastructure, regulations and standards for the safe use of rDME in the off-grid energy sector. The joint venture aspires to advance the further de-fossilization of the entire LPG industry by making available approximately 20% of the rDME production to peers in the LPG industry. rDME is a liquid gas that can be produced from multiple renewable feedstocks. Being a safe, cost-effective and clean-burning fuel, rDME is a viable sustainable addition to the energy mix. It has a low greenhouse gas, or GHG, footprint, reducing emissions by up to 85% compared to fossil fuel alternatives. In both pure and blended form, rDME can help the de-fossilization of LPG by becoming a sustainable alternative for off-grid energy uses including heating, cooking and transport. It is compatible with existing infrastructure and equipment.

05:49 EDT Centerra Gold announces Kyrgyzaltyn JSC prohibited from transferring shares - Centerra Gold announced that, as a result of the recent events in the Kyrgyz Republic, Kyrgyzaltyn JSC, together with its affiliates, are prohibited from transferring or encumbering any common shares of the company or exercising any voting rights attached to Centerra shares. In addition, dividends or distributions on Centerra shares that would otherwise be payable to Kyrgyzaltyn or its affiliates will be donated to the company to the extent such dividends or distributions can be attributed reasonably to Kumtor Gold, or KGC, or distributions from KGC. Kyrgyzaltyn JSC and its affiliates are also not entitled to any dissent rights in respect of their Centerra shares should such rights arise. These prohibitions and restrictions are provided for under the 2009 shareholders agreement between Centerra and Kyrgyzaltyn JSC, the state-owned entity through which the Kyrgyz Republic owns approximately 26% of the Centerra shares, and their duration cannot currently be determined. The company does not intend to make any further public comments regarding this matter unless required by law. The company has accepted the resignation of Tengiz Bolturuk as a director of Centerra with immediate effect on the basis that Bolturuk is unable to discharge his fiduciary and similar duties and obligations to the company. Bolturuk joined the Centerra board of directors in December 2020 as a nominee of Kyrgyzaltyn JSC. The company is conducting an investigation into recent statements by Bolturuk regarding his involvement in, and support for, the events ongoing in the Kyrgyz Republic, as well as the involvement of, and coordination with, others.

05:41 EDT Eli Lilly, Innovent announce FDA acceptance for review of sintilimab BLA - Innovent Biologics and Eli Lilly jointly announced that the FDA accepted for review a biologics license application, or BLA, for sintilimab injection in combination with pemetrexed and platinum chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of people with nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC. This is the first U.S. regulatory submission of sintilimab, a PD-1 inhibitor being developed and commercialized under a global collaboration agreement between Innovent and Lilly.

05:37 EDT AstraZeneca to raise number of COVID-19 Vaccine batches from Oxford Biomedica - Oxford Biomedica (OXBDF) announced an update on the 18-month supply agreement signed with AstraZeneca (AZN) in September 2020. Following manufacture of large-scale batches of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 Vaccine, AstraZeneca has committed to an increase in the number of batches required from Oxford Biomedica in the second half of 2021.

05:29 EDT ViaSat obtains operating licenses in Nigeria to deliver satellite internet - Working in partnership with the Nigerian Communications Commission, or NCC, Viasat announced it was granted a full suite of operating licenses in order to bring high-quality satellite internet connectivity to Nigerian communities where limited or no internet service is currently available. The NCC granted Viasat multiple licenses to operate within the 28GHz Ka-band satellite frequency band. The 28GHz Ka-band spectrum has enabled satellite broadband to be the fastest growing segment of satellite communications, and the global broadband solution to connect the estimated 3.6B people in the world left behind by terrestrial infrastructure. With access to the 28GHz Ka-band spectrum, Viasat will be positioned to expand its satellite-based internet connectivity service to more regions and citizens across Africa-ahead of the launch of ViaSat-3, its ultra-high capacity global satellite constellation comprised of three communications satellites. A ViaSat-3 satellite, aimed to serve Africa, as well as Europe and the Middle East, is planned for launch in 2022.