Stockwinners Market Radar for May 24, 2021 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

19:12 EDT Ageagle Aerial Systems names Brandon Torres as new CEO - AgEagle Aerial Systems announced that its board has named Brandon Torres Declet, current COO of the company, as its new CEO effective immediately. He is succeeding J. Michael Drozd who has elected to leave AgEagle to pursue new career opportunities.

18:53 EDT CyrusOne director Ferdman sells 10,000 common shares - In a regulatory filing, CyrusOne director David Ferdman disclosed the sale of 10,000 common shares of the company on May 21 at a price of $73.15 per share.

18:22 EDT Martin Marietta CEO says Lehigh West Region deal gives us base in CA - In an interview on Mad Money, CEO Howard Nye says can bring some operating excellence to Lehigh Hanson's West. Says in Texas, cement is now basically sold out, which suggests the economy is "pretty good".

18:06 EDT Newmark directs sale of office complex in NJ for $88M - The company states: "KBS announced the sale of Woodbridge Corporate Plaza, a six-building Class A office complex in Iselin, New Jersey. The property was sold to Ramapo, New York based Northeast Capital Group for $88 million. Newmark, a global commercial real estate services firm, directed the sale on behalf of KBS."

17:53 EDT Lindblad Expeditions CEO buys 22K shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, Lindblad Expeditions disclosed that its CEO Dolf Berle bought 22K shares of common stock on May 20th in a total transaction size of $362K. Shares of Lindblad Expeditions are up over 4% at $17.19 in after-hours trading.

17:49 EDT Google News Showcase, now on desktop, says Google - Earlier today, on The Keyword Blog, Google's Alex Cox, Product Manager, News, wrote in part: "Today, we're announcing a few new features for News Showcase. First, we're rolling out News Showcase for desktop users of Google News (via news.google.com/showcase). Now every user of Google News, regardless of what device they're using, can see enhanced story panels from our News Showcase partners. This feature is available in the eight countries where we've currently launched News Showcase. Here's how readers and publishers will see News Showcase panels working on desktop: Most people will see News Showcase panels right on their Top Stories page, the first page they land on in Google News. Here, right below the top stories of the day, we've added a new carousel containing the latest News Showcase panels from publishers they already follow, as well from publishers they might b e interested in. Reference Link

17:36 EDT Lamb Weston CFO Robert McNutt to retire - Lamb Weston Holdings announced that Robert McNutt has shared his intent to retire from his position as senior VP and CFO of the company effective August 6. Bernadette Madarieta, VP and Controller, will succeed McNutt as senior VP and CFO, effective August 6.

17:21 EDT Joint Corp. to replace Cubic in the S&P 600 at open on 5/27 - The Joint Corp. (JYNT) will replace Cubic Corp. (CUB) in the S&P SmallCap 600 effective prior to the opening of trading on Thursday, May 27. Veritas Capital is acquiring Cubic in a deal expected to be completed soon pending final closing conditions.

17:01 EDT Camber Energy receives notice from NYSE American - Camber Energy announced that on May 21, 2021, it was notified by the NYSE American that the company was not in compliance with the Exchange's continued listing standards as set forth in set forth in Section 1007 of the NYSE American Company Guide given the company failed to timely file its Form 10-K for the 9-month period ended December 31, 2020. The delinquency will be cured via the filing of the Report. The company previously filed a Form 12b-25 with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 6, 2021, to extend the due date for the Report. The Form 12b-25 disclosed that the Report was unable to be filed on time due to delays in assembling the financial information required to be reviewed by the company's independent auditor, and in completing the accounting of certain transactions affecting the company. Such further delay in filing the Report past the deadline set forth in the Form 12b-25 is due to issues that have arisen in connection with finalizing the determination of the fair values of both assets and liabilities associated with the company's acquisition of a controlling interest in Viking Energy Group, Inc. in December of 2020, and key personnel changes at the company's independent auditing firm. The company is taking steps to complete the required accounting and plans to file the Report as soon as practicable.

16:46 EDT Riot Blockchain names Benjamin Yi executive chairman - Riot Blockchain announced the appointment of Benjamin Yi as Executive Chairman, and that Lance D'Ambrosio has been appointed to the company's Board of Directors, as an independent director. Benjamin Yi has served as an independent director on the Riot's Board of Directors since October 2018 and as Chairman of the Board since November 2020.

16:37 EDT Lordstown Motors falls over 9% to 8.77 after Q1 earnings miss

16:33 EDT KKR acquires three building industrial portfolio in Phoenix - KKR announced the acquisition of a three building industrial portfolio totaling approximately 419,350 square feet located in highly infill locations in Phoenix, Arizona. The Seller was a Joint Venture between PCCP, LLC and Hopewell Development LP. All three assets were built in 2020 and are located approximately twenty to thirty minutes' driving distance from Phoenix's Central Business District. The buildings feature state-of-the-art physical characteristics, including 28' to 32' clear heights and offer flexible configurations for both single and multi-tenant occupancy. The newly delivered portfolio is currently in lease-up with a rent roll that is approximately 70% leased at acquisition. The acquisition expands KKR's industrial real estate footprint in the greater Phoenix market to nearly 2.6M square feet. "Phoenix has been one of the fastest growing major markets in the US over the past several years and we're very excited to add these high quality assets which are complementary to our footprint in the market," said Ben Brudney, a Director in the Real Estate group at KKR. "These newly built assets offer us the opportunity to take advantage of strong leasing momentum in the Phoenix market with near term upside through the lease up of the remaining vacancy."

16:24 EDT LSI Industries buys JSI from RFE Investment Partners for $90M - LSI Industries announced the acquisition of privately held JSI Store Fixtures from RFE Investment Partners for a cash purchase price of $90M. Maine-based JSI is a market-leading provider of retail commercial display solutions throughout North America. For more than 30 years, JSI has supplied major supermarket, convenience and specialty store chains with branded display solutions focused on enhancing the customer experience and driving store revenue. Multi-year growth in demand for fresh foods, prepared "grab-and-go" meals and evolving consumer purchasing habits have led to increased demand for JSI's display fixtures across a deep base of established national accounts. JSI's solutions are designed, engineered, manufactured and marketed from four facilities located throughout the United States and Canada. "JSI is an established market leader within the retail display solutions industry, one whose history of growth and innovation, attractive margin profile and loyal customer following within the supermarket, convenience and specialty store verticals are highly complementary to LSI's existing portfolio of lighting and graphics solutions," stated James A. Clark, President and Chief Executive Officer. "This acquisition will significantly increase LSI's total addressable markets within the grocery and convenience store verticals, while driving meaningful revenue synergies across our combined product portfolio, consistent with our long-term strategic focus," continued Clark. "At a commercial level, the combination of LSI's graphics signage and JSI's display fixtures businesses, together with our deep portfolio of lighting and program management solutions, will provide a compelling, one-stop value proposition for both new and existing customers."

16:20 EDT GWG Holdings receives noncompliance letter from Nasdaq - GWG Holdings announced that it received a letter from the Listing Qualifications Department of Nasdaq notifying the company that it was not in compliance with requirements of Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250 as a result of not having timely filed its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31 and because the company has not yet filed its annual report on Form 10-K for FY20.

16:17 EDT QCR Holdings announces Marie Ziegler as Board Chair - QCR Holdings Announced Marie Z. Ziegler, a member of the Board of Directors since 2008, was elected Chair of the Board of Directors. Ziegler replaces former Chair Patrick S. Baird, who will remain on the Board.Additionally, on May 19, 2021, the Company's Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.06 per share payable on July 7, 2021, to holders of common stock of the Company of record on June 18, 2021

16:17 EDT ATSG, DHL agree to four additional 767 leases - Air Transport Services Group, Inc. (ATSG) announced that its leasing subsidiary Cargo Aircraft Management has committed to provide four additional Boeing (BA) 767-300 converted freighters to DHL Network Operations (DPSGY), Inc. under the terms of stand-alone dry lease agreements. The leases are each for a term of seven years. Three of the four are to be delivered during the second half of 2021, with the fourth lease delivery in early 2022. The leased freighters will bring additional support to the DHL Express global network, with the four Boeing 767 aircraft extending the longstanding relationship between DHL and ATSG. Once these additional four aircraft start flying, DHL Express will have 17 Boeing 767 aircraft under lease from CAM in their global network. "The shipment volume growth that we continue experiencing requires the expansion of our global aviation network," said Rob Hyslop, executive vice president, global aviation for DHL Express. "We are pleased to further our relationship with ATSG. The freighter market is very competitive right now, so securing this additional capacity is critical to meet customer demand."

16:13 EDT Hydrofarm to acquire House & Garden for $125M - Hydrofarm announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire House & Garden, a Humboldt County, California-based producer of quality nutrients under the House & Garden and Mad Farmer brands. Hydrofarm will fund the purchase price of approximately $125M using its existing cash resources and under the terms of the transaction agreement, House & Garden will become a wholly owned indirect subsidiary of Hydrofarm Holdings. Subject to customary closing conditions, the transaction is expected to be completed over the next 40 days. The combination is expected to drive growth across the combined company's global customer base. Hydrofarm expects House & Garden to generate approximately $55M in net sales across the full calendar year 2021, representing growth from the prior year. House & Garden's profit margin profile will be accretive to Hydrofarm and as a result, the company expects the acquisition will enhance the company's adjusted EBITDA margin for the FY21. The transaction represents an acquisition multiple of less than 7x House & Garden's estimated 2021 Adjusted EBITDA, excluding synergies.

16:12 EDT Dun & Bradstreet names Virginia Gomez CPO, Michael Manos CTO - Dun & Bradstreet announced the appointments of Virginia Gomez as Chief Product Officer and Michael Manos as Chief Technology Officer. Gomez joins Dun & Bradstreet from TransUnion, where she was Executive Vice President of Product & Portfolio Management. Mano joins the company from Fiserv where he was Chief Technology Officer. "The impressive experience Ginny and Mike each bring will help us to advance our strategy to provide our best-in-class data and analytics in new, modern solutions that will give our clients a competitive advantage and position our company for long-term growth," said Anthony Jabbour, Chief Executive Officer for Dun & Bradstreet. "The combination of Ginny's track record of creating new offerings that meet clients' ever-evolving needs and Mike's proven ability to deliver those solutions through a modern, cloud-based architecture, will create immense value for us. Capitalizing on the foundational efforts we have made over the past two years, we are excited to add these two talented individuals to continue on our journey of growth and innovation."

16:09 EDT Liquidia announces availability of Sandoz Treprostinil Injection for PAH - Liquidia announced that Sandoz Treprostinil Injection, a generic form of Remodulin, is now also available for subcutaneous, or SC, administration to treat patients diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension, or PAH. Sandoz Treprostinil Injection was the first fully-substitutable AP rated generic version of Remodulin. Both options for intravenous and SC administration of Sandoz generic Treprostinil Injection are now available at the same specialty pharmacy that dispenses the brand name medicine. On May 21, Liquidia PAH's manufacturing partner, Chengdu began selling the RG 3ml Medication Cartridge, which may be used to supply medications to PAH patients.

16:07 EDT Scholar Rock's Apitegromab gets FDA fast track in Spinal Muscular Atrophy - The company states: "Scholar Rock announced that the FDA has granted Fast Track designation for apitegromab, a selective inhibitor of myostatin activation, for the treatment of patients with Spinal Muscular Atrophy. Through Fast Track, Scholar Rock is eligible to submit a rolling Biologic License Application (BLA) for apitegromab if relevant criteria are met." Tony Kingsley, CEO, states: "We believe the recently announced top-line data from the TOPAZ Phase 2 trial showed the transformative potential of apitegromab for patients with SMA."

16:04 EDT Lordstown Motors sees FY21 capital expenditures $250M-$270M - The company said expected Endurance production in 2021 will be limited and would at best be 50% of prior expectations. Sees FY21 operating expenses $55M-$60M.

15:49 EDT Micron CEO says investing because demand for memory to continue to grow - Semiconductor supply chain investments in the U.S. for "the next decade" will "need to be started now," Mehrotra said. Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra is being interviewed on CNBC.

15:01 EDT Brooklyn ImmunoTherapeutics completes $20M financing - Brooklyn ImmunoTherapeutics announced it has completed a $20M financing to progress the development of the mRNA gene editing and cell therapies technology recently licensed from Factor Biosciences and Novellus Therapeutics. The company intends to utilize the funds to commence translation of the gene editing, cellular therapy and nanolipid particle platform into its emerging clinical programs with a focus on orphan diseases, such as sickle cell anemia, familial amyloidosis and cell therapies for cancer. "Our exclusive license of Factor Biosciences and Novellus Therapeutics platform technology represents a key component in our overall corporate strategy, and each progressive step toward the development of new therapeutics from this license brings us one step closer to realizing our vision of becoming a platform company with multiple products in a pipeline of next-generation immunotherapeutics and cellular therapies," said Howard Federoff, M.D., Ph.D., Brooklyn ImmunoTherapeutics' CEO and President.

14:45 EDT Creatd says Vocal platform passes 1M creators 'ahead of schedule' - Creatd announced that its Vocal platform has reached 1 million creators "ahead of schedule." The company added: "The announcement comes just one week after the company announced that it achieved a new record of over 25,000 premium subscribers and reaffirmed its projection of reaching over 100,000 Vocal+ subscribers by year-end 2021. To support its freemium and premium subscriber growth, the Company intends to continue to invest across multiple areas of its business, including a series of product enhancements and infrastructure updates anticipated to be rolled out on Vocal this year."

13:34 EDT Deutsche Telekom enters forward purchase contract for up to 20M T-Mobile shares - In a regulatory filing, it was disclosed that on May 21, Deutsche Telekom (DTEGY) entered into a forward purchase contract with "an unaffiliated counterparty" covering up to a maximum of 20M shares of T-Mobile US's common stock. "The exact number of shares that may be covered by the forward contract will equal the number of shares purchased by the counterparty to establish its initial hedge. The forward contract provides for cash settlement at its expiration on June 21, 2024... The forward contract provides for a settlement period of 20 trading days, or 45 trading days if DT so elects and the relevant conditions are satisfied... Under the terms of the forward contract, DT will be obligated to make quarterly payments to the counterparty equal to the sum of the daily interest amounts for each day in the preceding period calculated on the basis of a fixed rate times the purchase price for the shares. The purchase price for the shares will be determined based on a weighted average of the daily volume weighted average price for each eligible trading day on which the counterparty purchases shares to establish its initial hedge," the filing stated.

12:35 EDT Airbnb says new release includes '100+ innovations and upgrades' - Airbnb announced its 2021 release, which it said "adds features to give guests even more flexibility when planning their travel and to make it simple for anyone to become a Host" and includes "more than 100 upgrades to refine and improve every aspect of the Airbnb service, from our website and app to our community support and policies." Brian Chesky, Co-Founder and CEO of Airbnb, stated: "We are seeing three fundamental shifts in travel as people become less tethered and more flexible. People can travel anytime, they are traveling to more places and they are staying longer. The lines between travel, living and working are blurring and we are upgrading our service to make it easier for people to integrate travel into their lives, and for more people to become Hosts." Reference Link

12:00 EDT TAL Education falls -13.5% - TAL Education is down -13.5%, or -$5.79 to $37.14.

12:00 EDT China Green falls -14.5% - China Green is down -14.5%, or -$2.17 to $12.81.

12:00 EDT Veritiv rises 17.0% - Veritiv is up 17.0%, or $8.53 to $58.72.

11:57 EDT Peloton to build first U.S. factory in Ohio - Peloton Interactive announced plans to build its first U.S. factory. After a rigorous selection process, Peloton selected Troy Township in Wood County, Ohio for the site of Peloton Output Par, a factory that will be dedicated to producing Peloton's Peloton Bike, Bike+ and Peloton Tread starting in 2023. Peloton expects to break ground on the site later this summer. Throughout the multi-year development, Peloton will commit approximately $400M to the facility. "We are thrilled to bring a good portion of our manufacturing to United States soil and proud that it will be in the great state of Ohio," said Peloton's CEO and co-founder John Foley. "While we will continue to invest in our Asian manufacturing footprint as well as our existing facilities in the U.S. via our Precor sites, the new Peloton Output Park gives us a massive strategic lever to make sure we have capacity, quality, and economies of scale in our bike and tread product lines, to support our continued growth for years and years to come. We are incredibly excited to meet and welcome the Troy Township community into the Peloton family fold." Over the next few years, Peloton expects to add over 2,000 jobs to the Troy Township area across executive, managerial, and entry-level opportunities.

11:46 EDT Steel Dynamics names CEO Mark Millett as chairman, effective immediately - Steel Dynamics announced that Mark D. Millett, a company founder and its President and CEO, will also serve as the Chairman of the Board, effective immediately. Pursuant to the company's corporate governance policies, Keith E. Busse, also a company founder, has stepped down as the Chairman of the Board to ensure an orderly transition of board leadership, and remains a director based on the results of the company's 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders held May 19, 2021. James C. Marcuccilli will remain the company's lead independent director. "Mark has done a tremendous job leading the Company," stated Busse. "He has a clear strategic vision for Steel Dynamics and has demonstrated effective execution of this strategy. I believe Mark and the Steel Dynamics team will propel the Company forward through the next stage of growth. I am pleased to remain a director of the Board and to continue to participate in the great strides and opportunities we expect for the future."

11:40 EDT Power REIT trading resumes

10:53 EDT Utz Brands, Ferrara partner to create new snack food variety packs - Utz Brands, Inc. is pleased to announce a partnership with Ferrara, a related company of the Ferrero Group, to create new snack food variety packs. "Responding to the growing consumer demand for variety packs, this partnership aligns category leaders with iconic brand portfolios and significant retail reach capabilities, a powerful combination," the company said. In January of 2022, the Ferrara and Utz partnership will launch a diverse portfolio of different sized snack variety packs, competitively priced with suggested retail prices ranging from $4.99-$12.99. The variety packs will include a range of sweet and salty snack foods, such as cookies, pretzels, cheeseballs, popcorn and more.

10:27 EDT Intel: Q1 was 'bottom' for data center business, on 'solid' path of recovery

10:21 EDT Engine No. 1 issues statement in response to Exxon Mobil board announcement - Engine No. 1, which has nominated four independent director candidates to the Exxon Mobil Corporation Board of Directors in connection with the 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, issued a statement in response to ExxonMobil's statement this morning. The statement said in part: "You may have seen ExxonMobil's announcement this morning - 48 hours before the vote - that the Board intends to add 2 new directors over the next 12 months, 1 with energy experience and 1 with climate experience. We encourage all shareholders not to let this last-minute tactic influence your vote at Wednesday's annual meeting. We ask you to consider the following factors: This is a Board that continues to only be open to new directors that it approves, rather than trusting the shareholder vote. This is the same Board that refused to even meet with any of our nominees, instead only offering us the chance to approve its own 3 new directors, none of whom bring successful and transformative energy experience, all for the sake of avoiding simply giving shareholders a choice. The last time the Board picked its own director with energy experience, it was only in response to investor pressure and it picked someone whom ISS called the "wrong choice" and who came from a state owned company with no history of successful energy industry transformation, no public shareholders, and deep ties to ExxonMobil. The Board already has someone with "climate" experience, and an understanding of climate risk should be required of every Board member in any case. What the Board needs are directors with experience in successful and profitable energy industry transformations who can help turn aspirations of addressing the risks of climate change into a long-term business plan, not talking points... If ExxonMobil's Board is sincere in its desire to add more relevant experience, then it can wait to see what the outcome of this election is. If the Board after this election decides it needs more relevant experience it should of course consider doing so. We hope however that this last-minute attempt to avoid the outcome of an election in which all shareholders are given the opportunity to make their voice heard will not sway your decision. This vote is too important to be influenced by this type of cynical, last minute maneuvering, and business as usual is not going to better position ExxonMobil for long-term value creation."

10:15 EDT Honda says some North American operations to adjust production due to shortages - Honda stated in an update posted to its corporate website: "Honda continues to manage supply chain issues related to a number of factors including the impact from COVID-19, congestion at various ports and the microchip shortage. Our purchasing and production teams are working to limit the impact of this situation and carefully manage the available supply of parts to run production and meet the needs of our customers. For the week of May 24, some of our North American operations will adjust production based on parts supply. This is a fluid situation so we will not be providing plant or model specific information." Reference Link

10:01 EDT Argan's Gemma Power Systems enters EPC contract, receives Notice to Proceed - Argan announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Gemma Power Systems, recently entered into an engineering, procurement and construction services contract with CPV Maple Hill Solar, LLC, an affiliate of Competitive Power Ventures, to construct the Maple Hill Solar facility, which will be among the largest solar-powered energy plants in Pennsylvania. Gemma also received Notice to Proceed with project activities immediately. Project completion is scheduled to occur during the second half of 2022.

10:00 EDT GSX Techedu falls -8.7% - GSX Techedu is down -8.7%, or -$1.88 to $19.78.

10:00 EDT Natuzzi rises 9.9% - Natuzzi is up 9.9%, or $1.59 to $17.60.

10:00 EDT Virgin Galactic rises 13.5% - Virgin Galactic is up 13.5%, or $2.84 to $23.91.

09:47 EDT Cimarex Energy falls -8.6% - Cimarex Energy is down -8.6%, or -$6.12 to $65.07.

09:47 EDT Stem rises 7.6% - Stem is up 7.6%, or $1.67 to $23.76.

09:47 EDT Virgin Galactic rises 16.6% - Virgin Galactic is up 16.6%, or $3.50 to $24.57.

09:33 EDT DSS acquires 24.9% of Sentinel Brokers Company, terms not disclosed - Document Security Systems announced the further expansion of its DSS Securities, Inc. business through an acquisition of 24.9% of Sentinel Brokers Company, a FINRA-registered broker-dealer. Terms of the agreement include the option to acquire an additional 50.1% of Sentinel. Founded in 1996 by Joseph Lawless, Sentinel primarily operates as a financial intermediary, facilitating institutional trading of municipal and corporate bonds as well as preferred stock. DSS Securities completed its acquisition of 24.9% of Sentinel through its wholly owned subsidiary, Sentinel Brokers, LLC.

09:28 EDT Omnicom names Chris Foster as CEO of Omnicom Public Relations Group - Omnicom announced the appointment of Chris Foster as CEO of Omnicom Public Relations Group effective June 28. "Foster will oversee the public relations portfolio within Omnicom, focusing on talent, innovation and cross-agency collaboration to drive growth," the company said. Current interim CEO, John Doolittle, will become the chairman of OPRG. Foster has over two and a half decades of communications experience within agencies and consulting firms. Foster serves on the board of directors for The LAGRANT Foundation, The Institute for Public Relations, 4A's, Public Relations Counsel and the University of Virginia's School of Continuing and Professional Studies.

09:24 EDT Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment closes on Sonar acquisiton - Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment announced the closing of the previously announced acquisition of the film and television assets of Sonar Entertainment. Acquiring the Sonar assets accelerates Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment's strategy to build the leading independent AVOD streaming service in four key ways: expanding its original television content development pipeline; improving margins by increasing its IP rights ownership; accelerating the company's ability to launch the Chicken Soup for the Soul branded AVOD network; and providing a faster path to growing its international television production and distribution activities. As previously announced, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment will form a new television studio to be called Halcyon, which will be headed by David Ellender. The new Halcyon studio will continue developing and producing the current and future high-caliber content for all platforms across a broad spectrum in the U.S. and internationally. Screen Media will distribute Sonar's extensive film and television library after the closing. The library of over 1,000 titles, over 4,000 hours of programming, ranges from classic shorts of Little Rascals, Laurel & Hardy and Blondie to acclaimed epic event mini-series such as Lonesome Dove and Dinotopia. In connection with the closing, the company received a $20M secured credit facility, agented by MidCap Financial, the proceeds of which were used to fund part of the purchase price provided for in the acquisition agreement.

09:22 EDT Kandi Technologies unveils prototypes of K32 Utility Terrain Vehicles - Kandi Technologies unveiled five prototypes of its new K32 Utility Terrain Vehicle, produced at its factory in Hainan, China. The K32 is a premium UTV, featuring pure electric four-wheel-drive propulsion and a fully enclosed cockpit with air conditioning. Kandi intends to begin sales of the K32 in the U.S. in 2021.

09:17 EDT AbbVie analyses show risankizumab achieves clinical remission in study - Late-breaking data analyses presented by AbbVie at Digestive Disease Week Virtual Conference 2021 showed significantly greater proportions of patients with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease treated with both doses of investigational risankizumab met the co-primary endpoints of clinical remission and endoscopic response at week 12 compared to placebo in two Phase 3 induction studies.1 This is the first presentation of data from these two studies, ADVANCE and MOTIVATE, following the announcement of top-line data earlier this year. The ADVANCE study included patients with past intolerance or inadequate response to conventional therapy and/or biologic therapy. The MOTIVATE trial evaluated only bio-IR patients. In the ADVANCE study, risankizumab showed efficacy regardless of prior treatment status by subgroup analysis in patients with moderate to severe Crohn's disease, and non-bio-IR patients had numerically higher rates of efficacy compared to bio-IR patients.

09:16 EDT EZGO Technologies announces preliminary sales results for past six months - EZGO Technologies announced preliminary sales results for Dilang and Cenbird, the two major brands of EZGO e-bicycles for the six months ended March 31. The company reported sales of more than 34,000 e-bicycles for the period, which is an increase of more than 50% from the same period last year. Of these 34,000 e-bicycles, approximately 23,000 were two wheeled e-bicycles and approximately 11,000 were three wheeled e-bicycles. Sales of two wheeled e-bicycles increased by approximately 47%, while sales of three wheeled e-bicycles increased by nearly 600% year over year. As a result, the company anticipates substantial growth in revenue for the period. Jianhui Ye, Chief Executive Officer of EZGO, stated, "We are now fully engaged in the manufacturing and selling of e-bicycles and leisure e-tricycles and attribute the significant sales growth in these first six months to our marketing strategy and product strategy. We have always placed importance on establishing our distribution channels and ongoing development and innovation in our new products. We have integrated new electronic technology applications, such as vehicle monitoring modules and multimedia integrated service terminals, into our products to meet the demands of different customers and look forward to continue attracting dealers and customers with innovative products."

09:14 EDT QCR Holdings announces resumption of stock repurchase program - QCR Holdings announced that its Board of Directors approved resuming share repurchases under its share repurchase program, which was initially authorized on February 13, 2020. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company suspended share repurchases under the repurchase program on March 16, 2020. Under the program, 699,068 shares may still be purchased.

09:12 EDT Alpha Pro Tech announces virtual format for 2021 Annual Meeting - Alpha Pro Tech announced a change in location for the Company's 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders via the filing of additional proxy materials with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In response to the continued public health concerns regarding in-person gatherings as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and to continue to support the health and well-being of its shareholders, directors and employees, the Board of Directors of Alpha Pro Tech has determined to convene and conduct the 2021 Annual Meeting of Shareholders of the Company in a virtual-only format, solely by means of remote communication, instead of an in-person meeting. The Annual Meeting will continue be held at 9:30 a.m., Eastern Time, on Wednesday, June 9, 2021.

09:11 EDT Northwest Indiana Bancorp to change name to Finward Bancorp - NorthWest Indiana Bancorp announced that the company's corporate name has been changed from "NorthWest Indiana Bancorp" to "Finward Bancorp", effective Monday, May 24, 2021. In connection with the name change, the Bancorp's common stock began trading under the new ticker symbol "FNWD" on the OTC Pink Marketplace, effective as of the opening of trading on May 24, 2021. The new CUSIP number for the Bancorp's common stock is 31812F109. The name change was approved by the Bancorp's shareholders on March 3, 2021.

09:10 EDT UPS establishes UPS Cold Chain Solutions - UPS is expanding its specialty pharmaceutical offerings by establishing UPS Cold Chain Solutions, a comprehensive suite of cold chain technologies, best-in-class capabilities, and new and expanded global facilities providing complete, end-to-end temperature-controlled logistics. Chronic and life-threatening diseases, including cancers, respiratory, autoimmune and cardiovascular conditions, are the fastest growing disease categories in the world, creating a rapid acceleration in the development of biologically derived, temperature-controlled drugs and therapies. According to the Biopharma Cold Chain Sourcebook, cold chain trends show 48 percent growth between 2018 and 2024 for drugs that require at least 2 to 8 degrees Celsius storage and shipping. Additionally, the overall market for cold chain services is expected to significantly accelerate growth over the next three years, growing by 24 percent by 2024, after posting a 10 percent increase from 2019 to 2020. UPS Cold Chain Solutions is purpose-built to provide pharmaceutical companies, healthcare providers and laboratories a full, end-to-end cold chain service offering, including storage and distribution, transportation, visibility, and quality assurance capabilities to meet their complex demands for critical products around the world. As part of a continued, aggressive strategy to build sophisticated capabilities in cold chain logistics, UPS Healthcare is expanding and augmenting its temperature-controlled products and services, including: Cold chain GMP storage capacities - roughly 390,000 square feet of coolers and freezers installed at UPS facilities to support the storage of biologics ranging from 2 degrees Celsius to as low as minus-80 degrees Celsius. Packaging customization - recommendations for specific temperature-controlled packaging options to minimize total cost while ensuring safe and efficient transportation of products UPS European cold chain ground network expansion - adding more ground transportation fleets, better connection between gateways and teams of experts to create customizable solutions that fit our customers' needs. Transportation efficiencies - four flexible, temperature-regulated service options via air or ocean freight that can be configured to meet the needs of the pharmaceutical packaging and help keep customer costs down. Precise monitoring with UPS Premier technology - protocols to provide pinpoint visibility into covered pallets, boxes, trailers and packages within 10 feet of their location anywhere in the UPS network. Facility updates - construction of two new GDP-compliant, healthcare-licensed distribution facilities in Italy and Australia, as well expansions and cold chain retrofit projects to facilities in The Netherlands, Czechia, Poland, Hungary and the U.S.

09:08 EDT Seanergy Marine to acquire capesize vessel for $33.7M - Seanergy Maritime Holdings entered into a definitive agreement with an unaffiliated third party to purchase a Capesize vessel. The Vessel was built in 2012 at a reputable shipyard in Japan, has a cargo-carrying capacity of approximately 181,000 deadweight tons and will be renamed M/V Worldship. The Worldship is expected to be delivered within the third quarter of 2021, subject to the satisfaction of certain customary closing conditions. Following her delivery, Seanergy's fleet will increase to 16 Capesize vessels with an aggregate cargo capacity of approximately 2,800,000 dwt. The Vessel is fitted with a scrubber and a ballast water treatment system, while the special survey will be completed by the current owner prior to the delivery and, therefore, the Company does not anticipate incurring any off-hire or capital expenditure for this Vessel at least for the next two years. The purchase price of $33.7 million is expected to be funded with cash on hand and debt financing. In addition, taking advantage of the current strong market conditions, Seanergy has fixed one of its Capesize vessels, the M/V Patriotship, at $31,000 per day for a period employment of 12-18 months with a major European cargo operator. The contract is expected to commence upon the Patriotship's upcoming delivery to the Company, which is anticipated in the beginning of June 2021.

09:07 EDT Landstar System appoints Fred Pensotti as CFO - Landstar System announced that Fred Pensotti has joined the company as CFO. Most recently, he served as CFO of One Call. In his role at Landstar, Pensotti will be responsible for safeguarding the company's assets and managing the entire financial and administrative operation of the multi-billion dollar enterprise.

09:05 EDT Verizon announces Apple Arcade, Google Play Pass with certain plans - The company said, "Starting May 25, new and existing customers get six months of Apple Arcade or Google Play Pass, on us with any unlimited plan or 12 months on us with "Play More" or "Get More" plans. Verizon Mix & Match Unlimited gives you more of what you love - on us - with access to the most popular streaming video services, Apple Music, and now, the best mobile gaming titles available today."

09:02 EDT GSE Systems, ABB Bailey Japan announce first project in collaboration - GSE Systems announced that their strategic collaboration with ABB Bailey Japan has resulted in a significant project to provide process simulation for NIHONKAI LNG Niigata terminal located in Niigata, Japan. This is the first project win resulting from the alliance between GSE and ABB Bailey Japan, established in March of 2020. The project covers software and services scope which will include modelling processes using JPro Tools, a simulation software from GSE, which will then be integrated with ABB's industry-leading automation system.

08:52 EDT BIT Mining Limited to invest in cryptocurrency mining in Kazakhstan - BIT Mining Limited announced that it has entered into a binding investment term sheet with a Kazakhstan-based company to jointly invest in a cryptocurrency mining data center in Kazakhstan. Pursuant to the Term Sheet, the company will invest a total amount of $9.33M to jointly construct and operate the Kazakhstan Mining Data Center. Once constructed, the total power capacity of the Kazakhstan Mining Data Center is expected to be 100MW. The company will hold an 80% equity interest in the Kazakhstan Mining Data Center, with the Local Partner holding 20%. The company also announced that it has entered into two service agreements for its mining machines, one with the Local Partner and one with another Kazakhstan-based company. Pursuant to the Service Agreements, the Operation Managers will provide the company with a comprehensive data center service package in Kazakhstan, including on-site machine hosting, broadband network support, security monitoring, server management and support, as well as assisting the company with maintenance. With the two Service Agreements entered into today, BIT Mining expects that its total power capacity devoted to cryptocurrency mining in Kazakhstan could eventually reach as high as 60MW. The company will have access to total power capacity of 20MW under the Service Agreements starting from July 1, 2021.

08:51 EDT MMA Capital to be acquired by Fundamental Advisors in $161.7M all-cash deal - MMA Capital announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with an affiliate of Fundamental Advisors, under which it will be acquired by Fundamental Advisors in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $161.7M. Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, holders of MMA's common stock will upon the closing of the merger receive $27.77 per share in cash. This represents a 35% premium over the 90-day volume-weighted average share price ending May 21, 2021, and a 62% premium over the May 21, 2021, closing share price. The agreement has been approved by the company's board of directors upon the unanimous recommendation of a Transaction Committee consisting of all disinterested directors. The transaction, which is currently expected to close in the third quarter of 2021, is subject to customary closing conditions, including the approval of MMA's stockholders, who will vote on the transaction at a special meeting on a date to be announced. Closing of the transaction is also contingent on the simultaneous termination of the company's external management agreement and the acquisition by Fundamental of certain platform assets from MMA's external manager pursuant to agreements that were executed concurrently with the Merger Agreement.

08:50 EDT mPhase Technologies Inc appoints Venkat Kodumudi as COO - mPhase Technologies (XDSL) announced that it has appointed industry veteran Venkat Kodumudi as COO. From 2017 through May 2021, Venkat was a Director for CGI, Inc., (GIB) an IT services company, with diverse duties including practice lead for blockchain and intelligent automation technology.

08:47 EDT Supernus announces availability of Qelbree for pediatric patients - Supernus Pharmaceuticals announced that its recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved treatment Qelbree for the treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in pediatric patients 6 to 17 years of age, is now available. In December 2020, the Company announced positive results from a Phase III trial in adult patients with ADHD and plans to submit a supplemental New Drug Application to the FDA for Qelbree in adults in the third quarter of 2021.

08:43 EDT MiX Telematics announces availability of MyMiX Tracking app in the U.S. - MiX Telematics announced that its new MyMiX Tracking app is now available in the U.S. MyMiX Tracking allows companies to drive fleet safety and efficiency without the need for embedded hardware. MyMiX Tracking leverages mobile phone technology to enable real-time tracking of drivers while also recording, measuring and enabling real-time self-correction of risky driving behavior events including speeding, harsh braking, harsh acceleration and mobile phone use while driving. The app-based solution is an extension of MyMiX, a comprehensive driver engagement app that also equips drivers with valuable information and alerts to improve their driving style, including immediate, in-cab audible feedback.

08:40 EDT Tuesday Morning announces approval to relist on Nasdaq - Tuesday Morning announced that the Nasdaq Stock Market has approved its application for the relisting of the company's common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market. The company's common stock is expected to be relisted and commence trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market at the opening of the market on or about Tuesday, May 25, 2021, under the ticker symbol "TUEM."

08:39 EDT Rave Restaurant's Pie Five Pizza launches Impossible Tuscan Pizza - Pie Five Pizza announces the launch of its new Impossible Tuscan Pizza. Its proprietary meatball recipe uses Impossible Meat Made from Plants. Pie Five's new Impossible meatballs and Tuscan Pizza are available at traditional store locations, and can be enjoyed as a handcrafted personal or large pizza.

08:37 EDT Brainsway announces coverage policy for Deep TMS by Centene - BrainsWay (BWAY) announced that Centene Corporation (CNC) has published a positive coverage policy for Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder using the BrainsWay Deep TMS system. Centene's new policy specifies that coverage will be exclusive for the treatment of OCD utilizing Deep TMS, which is a form of therapy solely associated with BrainsWay's patented H-Coil technology. This decision follows Centene's review of an extensive body of published, clinical evidence demonstrating the safety and effectiveness of Deep TMS for OCD, including both pilot and pivotal placebo-controlled, multicenter trials, as well as real-world, post-marketing data.

08:36 EDT BioMarin granted accelerated assessment of Valoctocogene Roxaparvovec by EMA - BioMarin Pharmaceutical announced that the European Medicines Agency has granted its request for accelerated assessment of valoctocogene roxaparvovec, for adults with severe hemophilia A. Accelerated assessment reduces the time frame for the EMA Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use and Committee for Advanced Therapies to review a MAA for an Advanced Therapy Medicinal Product. A CHMP opinion is expected in the first half of 2022. "BioMarin is pleased that the EMA has granted accelerated assessment for the review of valoctocogene roxaparvovec, which acknowledges its therapeutic innovative potential, and the unmet medical need that exists" said Hank Fuchs, M.D., President, Worldwide Research and Development at BioMarin. "We continue to work closely with the EMA to make valoctocogene roxaparvovec, the potential first gene therapy to treat hemophilia A, available as soon as possible." BioMarin plans to submit a Marketing Authorization Application for valoctocogene roxaparvovec for the treatment of severe hemophilia A in June 2021. The submission will include 52 weeks of data from the Phase 3 GENEr8-1 study, as well as four and three years of follow-up from the respective dose cohorts in the ongoing Phase 1/2 dose escalation study.

08:35 EDT Waitr Holdings announces order, delivery partnership with Potbelly - Waitr Holdings (WTRH) announced a new partnership with Potbelly (PBPB). Customers of Waitr and Bite Squad can now order their food from 46 Potbelly Sandwich Shops across Minneapolis and Texas and have it delivered for the first time using apps. During Q1, Waitr added a multitude of national brands like Potbelly and delivery-only "virtual" restaurant concepts to its platform. Waitr has also expanded its delivery reach in many of its top regions, launching in new underserved cities and towns.

08:33 EDT CLPS announces strategic cooperation with MCT for loan trading software - CLPS Incorporation announced a strategic cooperation with Minshang Creative Technology Holdings Limited to jointly develop a next generation loan trading software and to explore global financial technology services market. On May 18, CLPS, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Growth Ring Ltd., entered into a Capital Increase Agreement with MCT. Pursuant to the Agreement, CLPS will hold 53.33% ownership stake in MSCT Investment Holdings Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of MCT, upon closing of the transaction, while MSCT will in turn own the intellectual property rights of the loan trading software of MCT.

08:33 EDT Air Industries receives $7.4M order for Thrust Struts - Air Industries announced that it has received a $7.4M order for "Thrust Struts," a critical component of the geared turbofan, or GTF jet engine. This release is part of a previously announced long-term agreement, or LTA. Lou Melluzzo, CEO of Air Industries commented: "Military aviation products dominate Air Industries' business. In terms of revenue, the Thrust Strut is our largest commercial aviation product. The pandemic's impact on air travel, and on the commercial aviation business, reduced demand for this product in 2020. This new release supports our sense that a rebound in commercial aviation is occurring sooner than expected. As a component of the Geared Turbofan Engine, our product is used on smaller airliners including the Embraer E2 and, most notably, the Airbus A-220, which has become increasingly popular with the Airline Operators."

08:30 EDT StoneCo enters investment agreement with Banco Inter - StoneCo announces that it has signed a definitive investment agreement with Banco Inter, a leading digital bank in Brazil. Banco Inter has large user base, 10.2 mm users as per March 31, 2021, and proven track record in product and services deployment, offering a complete suite of products and services to individuals. On May 24, 2021, Banco Inter's controlling shareholders and Stone, entered into binding agreements outlining the transaction, whereby Stone will invest up to R$2.5B in newly issued shares issued by Banco Inter, becoming a minority investor (imited to a 4.99% stake of Banco Inter after the transaction. The Investment will be implemented through a Follow-On Public Offering conducted by Banco Inter whereby Stone will act as a cornerstone investor at a fixed price per Share of R$57.84, already taking into consideration the split of Banco Inter's shares as approved on May 20, 2021. As part of the Investment, Stone and the controlling shareholders of Banco Inter will enter into a Shareholders' Agreement whereby Stone will have the right of first refusal in the case of change of control of Banco Inter, for a period of 6 years and according to certain price thresholds. In addition to that, Stone will have the right to join the Board of Directors of Banco Inter with one seat out of 9. StoneCo will fully fund the Investment with cash on hand and committed debt specific for this transaction, not raising additional equity related to this purpose. Inter and Stone teams are working together to explore and engage in partnership opportunities aimed at bringing Inter consumers to Stone merchants, as well as maximize the value proposition for both Inter's consumer and Stone's seller ecosystems. Examples of value creation avenues being explored are: Connect Stone merchants to InterShop, driving the digitization of Stone merchant base and providing an omnichannel journey for Intershop consumers. Enable a seamless mobile payment experience between Inter consumers and Stone merchants, online and offline. Enhance value proposition to Stone and Inter client base, by leveraging product and payment technology capabilities from both companies. Leverage Inter's funding capabilities to drive further efficiency in Stone's working capital offerings as well as giving Inter clients access to new investment opportunities in fixed income, through the offering of FIDCs.

08:26 EDT Assembly Biosciences appoints Lisa Johnson-Pratt to board of directors - Assembly Biosciences (ASMB) announced that Lisa Johnson-Pratt, M.D., has joined the company's board of directors. Dr. Johnson-Pratt currently serves as senior vice president, new product commercial strategy at Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS).

08:25 EDT MMA Capital trading halted, news pending

08:24 EDT AT&T not seeing big uptick in busness spending

08:23 EDT Monopar, NorthStar announce patent filing on radiopharmaceutical discovery - Monopar Therapeutics and NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes announced the filing of a provisional patent with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office titled "Bio-Targeted Radiopharmaceutical Compositions Containing Ac-225 and Methods of Preparation." Radiopharmaceutical therapy is a promising approach to treat cancer and other diseases using radioactive metals bound with proteins/antibodies to target and kill cells. Actinium-225 is emerging as a radioactive isotope of choice for radiopharmaceuticals due to favorable properties such as its long half-life, high potency, and induction of localized cell death. This provisional patent relates to the unexpected observation by Monopar and NorthStar that using the metal binding agent 3,6,9,15-tetraazabicyclo pentadeca-1,11,13-triene-3,6,9-triacetic acid to attach Ac-225 to antibodies resulted in nearly 100% binding of Ac-225 to the PCTA-antibody conjugates. If validated through further evaluation, it could potentially improve efficacy and safety and enhance manufacturing efficiency of Actinium-based radiopharmaceuticals. Based on Monopar and NorthStar's work to date, PCTA-antibody conjugates appear to bind Ac-225 and its daughter ions such as Bi-213 with high affinity. This could be important in the situation of transportation delays resulting in Ac-225 decaying during transport. Furthermore, when compared to DOTA, PCTA-antibody conjugates displayed a significantly higher affinity to Ac-225. This high affinity binding may decrease the amount of Ac-225 and its daughter ions that detach from the antibody, which could potentially increase efficacy and reduce off-target toxicity and enable higher dosing. Monopar and NorthStar plan to explore both internal development and out-licensing opportunities of this promising approach in Actinium-based radiopharmaceuticals.

08:21 EDT Alpine Income Property announces five-year, $60M term loan - Alpine Income Property Trust announced that is has successfully executed a new 5-year, $60M unsecured term loan. The Term Loan will mature in May 2026 and is subject to a pricing grid over LIBOR, determined by the Company's leverage ratio. In conjunction with the Term Loan, the Company has fixed LIBOR over the 5-year period. Based on the Company's current leverage, the interest rate on the Term Loan will be fixed at an initial rate of 2.16%. The Term Loan also includes an accordion option that allows the Company to request additional lender commitments up to a total of $160M.

08:19 EDT Ameriserve Financial, Riverview Financial complete brand purchase transaction - AmeriServ Financial, the parent company of AmeriServ Financial Bank, and Riverview Financial, the parent company of Riverview Bank and its operating divisions, jointly announced the completion of their previously announced transaction providing for AmeriServ's acquisition of Citizens Neighborhood Bank's, an operating division of Riverview Bank, branch and deposit customers in Meyersdale, as well as the deposit customers of CNB's leased branch in the Borough of Somerset. As of the closing date, AmeriServ acquired related deposits of approximately $43.7M for a 3.71% deposit premium. The Meyersdale branch will continue to operate under the AmeriServ name, and Somerset branch customers will be serviced from the neighboring full service AmeriServ office at 108 West Main Street. On a pro forma basis, ASRV will have the fourth largest deposit market share in Somerset County with four branches and $150M in deposits.

08:16 EDT SOC Telemed, SCP Health expand partnership to improve telemedicine services - SCP Health and SOC Telemed are expanding their partnership to "accelerate and strengthen SCP's capabilities and commitment to delivering telemedicine services across the country," the company said. SOC Telemed's acute care telemedicine platform, Telemed IQ, will serve as the engine of SCP's telemedicine practices' expansion. "The platform, purpose-built for optimizing acute care workflows, has enabled on-demand specialty care to more than 800 SOC Telemed partner facilities nationwide. This partnership gives SCP the ability to deliver a hybrid clinical approach between onsite and virtual care that is designed to optimize SCP's clinical workforce, enabling their hospital partners to efficiently provide patient care," the company added.

08:14 EDT First Solar joins Responsible Business Alliance - First Solar announced it has joined the Responsible Business Alliance, the world's largest industry coalition dedicated to supporting the rights and well-being of workers and communities in the global supply chain. It is the first of the world's 10 largest photovoltaic solar manufacturers to join the RBA. As a regular member of the RBA, First Solar has aligned itself with the organization's vision of creating a coalition of companies driving sustainable value for workers, the environment and business throughout the global supply chain.

08:11 EDT Blackstone makes minority investment in Walker Edison - Walker Edison, a supplier of furniture with an exclusive focus on the e-commerce channel, announced today that funds managed by Blackstone Tactical Opportunities have made a significant minority investment in the Company. The Company's Founders, Brad Bonham and Matt Davis, and controlling investor Prospect Hill Growth Partners maintain a majority stake. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Ropes & Gray served as legal advisor and Goldman, Sachs & Co. and Lincoln International, LLC served as financial advisors to Walker Edison. Simpson Thacher Bartlett served as legal advisor to Blackstone.

08:10 EDT FS KKR Capital, FS KKR Capital Corp. II shareholders approve merger agreement - FS/KKR Advisor, LLC, a partnership between FS Investments and KKR Credit Advisors, announced that the shareholders of each of FS KKR Capital Corp. (FSK) and FS KKR Capital Corp. II (FSKR), two publicly traded business development companies advised by FS/KKR, have voted to approve all necessary proposals related to the merger of FSK and FSKR at each company's special meetings of shareholders held on May 21, 2021. Subject to the satisfaction of certain other closing conditions, FS/KKR currently expects the merger to close on or around June 16, 2021. FSK will be the surviving entity and will continue to be managed by FS/KKR and trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "FSK".

08:09 EDT Veritiv increases stock repurchase program by $50M, total to $100M - Veritiv announced its board of directors has approved an increase in the size of the company's existing stock repurchase program from $50M to $100M. After accounting for shares repurchased to date, the company currently has approximately $71M remaining under the expanded program.

08:09 EDT Spruce Biosciences presents data from tildacerfont trial - Spruce Biosciences presented data from its Phase 2 clinical trial of tildacerfont in adults with classic congenital adrenal hyperplasia, or CAH, at the European Society of Endocrinology. SPR001-202 was an open-label, 12-week Phase 2a clinical trial, which assessed the ability of a daily dose of 400mg of tildacerfont to lower disease-driving hormones such as adrenocorticotropic hormone, or ACTH, 17-hydroxyprogesterone, or 17-OHP, and androstenedione, or A4, over a 12-week dosing period. These hormones are used by physicians as a means of measuring the severity of CAH. Patients were classified into two groups based on disease control using these baseline hormone levels, defined as either poor disease control or good disease control. Patients with poor disease control upon study entry had mean baseline levels of ACTH, 17-OHP and A4 that were significantly above the upper limit of normal. Administration of tildacerfont to these patients resulted in mean maximum reductions of 84% in ACTH, 80% in 17-OHP, and 79% in A4 compared to baseline across the study period. This enabled reduction in the levels of these key hormones to normal or near normal levels, including normalization of ACTH levels in 60% and normalization of A4 levels in 40% of poor disease control patients during month three. Normalization of these highly elevated hormones in classic CAH patients without increases to daily steroid doses has not been reported to date with any other investigational product candidate. Patients with good disease control upon study entry, achieved by supraphysiologic glucocorticoid dosing, had mean baseline levels of ACTH, 17-OHP and A4 that were below the upper limit of normal. Administration of tildacerfont to these patients did not lead to significant changes in these levels. While this study did not evaluate the ability of tildacerfont to reduce the need for high glucocorticoid dosing in patients with good disease control, this objective is an important unmet need due to the long-term and serious side effects associated with chronic use of high doses of glucocorticoids and is currently being evaluated in the CAHmelia-204 study.

08:08 EDT Poly changes ticker symbol to POLY, effective at open of market trading - Poly has changed its ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange from "PLT" to "POLY" effective at the open of market trading today. Poly, formerly Plantronics and Polycom, has traded under the ticker "PLT" since Plantronics' IPO in 1994. "Today, we celebrate the bold new direction of our company, and P-O-L-Y as our updated stock ticker with the New York Stock Exchange," said Dave Shull, President and CEO of Poly. "At Poly, our mission is to offer a comprehensive set of solutions that combine our gear, software, and services to unify the communications ecosystem."

08:06 EDT Aptorum Group provides update on ALS-4 trial, SACT-1 pre-IND preparation - Aptorum Group announced progress in respect of its ongoing Phase I clinical trial for ALS-4, under which two initial cohorts of the single dose ascending dose, or SAD, portion of the trial in healthy male and female adult subjects have been completed with no serious adverse events observed (with in total six cohorts for SAD and 3 cohorts for multiple ascending dose, or MAD, have been planned. The company also announced progress in its ongoing pre-IND preparation for SACT-1, a repurposed small molecule targeting neuroblastoma, under which the Pre-IND meeting with the US FDA has been completed. ALS-4's first-in-human Phase I trial is a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, single and multiple ascending dose study designed to evaluate safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of orally administered ALS-4 in healthy male and female adult volunteers. Dosing and safety reviews of Cohort A and Cohort B have been completed and eight subjects were dosed in each cohort. The company announced that no human subjects were dropped out of the studies and there were no serious adverse events, or SAE, observed. In addition, no relevant clinical changes in respect of vital signs, ECG, clinical laboratory test results and physical examinations were observed compared to the relevant baseline. On this basis, the remaining ALS-4 Phase I study will continue to progress and as of this date, Cohort C studies have been initiated. SACT-1, a repurposed drug candidate for the treatment of neuroblastoma, has completed its pre-IND meeting with the FDA. With the guidance provided by the US FDA, SACT-1 is on track to open an IND to commence clinical studies in Q3 of 2021.

08:06 EDT Sirius XM, TikTok to create exclusive audio experiences across their platforms - TikTok, SiriusXM and Pandora announced they are joining forces on the rollout of new and innovative content across each of their platforms. Creating listener experiences curated specifically for each platform's loyal fans will allow TikTok, SiriusXM, and Pandora to deliver access to programming, exclusive performances, special events, and some of music's top and emerging talent. This summer, SiriusXM will launch TikTok Radio, a full-time music channel. TikTok Radio will be presented by TikTok creators, tastemakers, and DJs. TikTok Radio will be available in vehicles and as a streaming channel on the SiriusXM App, desktop, and all connected devices. Also, beginning today, Pandora is launching a series of exclusive hosted playlists featuring popular TikTok creators who will take listeners through their favorite songs with special commentary about their selections

08:05 EDT BIO-key announces channel alliance partnership with UVS Infotech - BIO-key International announced that its channel alliance partnership with Managed Service Provider UVS Infotech is providing a gateway for BIO-key to expand the company's presence within the higher education community and federal government agencies. UVS Infotech has added the BIO-key PortalGuard IAM solution to the IT Security Services and Solutions Master Contract of the Maryland Education Enterprise Consortium.

08:04 EDT BRP Group launches $100M term loan B add-on - BRP Group announced that its subsidiary Baldwin Risk Partners is seeking to enter into an incremental term loan facility amendment to its existing credit agreement pursuant to which BRP LLC is expected to borrow $100 million of new term B loans under the Credit Agreement, which would increase the aggregate principal amount of its existing senior secured first lien term loan facility maturing in 2027 from $400 million to $500 million. BRP LLC intends to use the net proceeds of the New Term Loan B for general corporate purposes, including acquisitions and investments permitted under the Credit Agreement. The foregoing transaction is subject to market and other conditions.

08:02 EDT Cyberoptics receives $1.3M order for SQ3000 multi-function systems - CyberOptics announced that it has received an order valued at approximately $1.3M for a new customer adopting its SQ3000 multi-function systems for mini LED inspection and metrology. Revenue from the order is expected to be recognized in the second half of 2021.

08:01 EDT Decarbonization Plus Acquisition Corp trading resumes

07:47 EDT EbixCash Indian subsidiary engages Walker Chandiok & Co. as statutory auditors - Ebix announced that its EbixCash Indian subsidiary has engaged Grant Thornton's Indian audit affiliate Walker Chandiok & Co to serve as statutory auditors for its EbixCash group of companies in India. In line with the regulations applicable on all international audit firms in India, Grant Thornton in India carries out audit assignments through its affiliate Walker Chandiok & Co LLP. Grant Thornton in India is the only assurance firm who voluntarily made the decision not to take up any "non-attest" work from listed companies that are being audited by them. Services such as consulting, transaction advisory and valuations are termed as "non-attest" services. EbixCash announced that its statutory audit in India will be carried out jointly by two firms - Grant Thornton India's audit arm WCC and KG Somani & Co., in view of the Company's desire to go into the EbixCash IPO on a solid footing. KGS is one of India's highly respected national audit firms while Grant Thornton is one of the six largest audit fIrms internationally.

07:38 EDT MSA Safety enters agreement to acquire Bacharach - MSA Safety announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Bacharach from FFL Partners. "The acquisition of Bacharach accelerates our long-term growth strategy to expand our addressable market in applications that align with MSA's mission and core technologies," said Nish Vartanian, MSA Chairman, President and CEO. "With a leading detection portfolio and strong brand, Bacharach provides access to attractive end markets while aligning exceptionally well with MSA's product and manufacturing expertise." In connection with the acquisition, MSA amended and extended its credit facilities to increase borrowing capacity and provide enhanced flexibility. With these amendments, MSA's senior revolving credit facility now includes a sustainability-linked pricing structure that is tied to the company's performance on certain ESG metrics. The transaction is expected to close in early July, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals.

07:36 EDT Progenity to present on Targeted Therapeutics program at DDW 2021 - Progenity announced the presentation of two posters related to the company's Targeted Therapeutics program presented at the 2021 Digestive Disease Week Virtual Event. The posters include a preclinical study evaluating treatment of intestinal inflammation with the Company's PGN-600 product candidate and a second preclinical study of its investigational ingestible Drug Delivery System. The presentation titled Targeted Delivery of Soluble Tofacitinib Citrate to the Site of Inflammation to Improve Efficacy and Safety studied the pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, and biodistribution of tofacitinib liquid formulation through local administration to the cecum in animal models. Tofacitinib was the first oral JAK inhibitor approved to treat moderate to severe ulcerative colitis. Targeted local delivery of drugs directly to the colon may increase local tissue concentration to improve efficacy and lower systemic absorption. To test this, animal models were implanted with a cecal cannula to study the direct delivery of drug compared to the oral delivery of tofacitinib citrate. The study found that: Approximately 10- to 15-fold smaller doses of tofacitinib administered via intra-cecal delivery achieved equivalent drug concentrations with lower systemic drug exposure compared to oral delivery. Intra-cecal delivery of tofacitinib to the inflamed mucosa potentiated PD activity at a lower dose. Soluble tofacitinib formulation increased tissue absorption and coverage via intra-cecal administration. These results indicate that targeted delivery of soluble tofacitinib to the site of inflammation increased tissue absorption and coverage, suggesting the potential to achieve greater activity with a lower risk of systemic toxicity compared to oral delivery. In a poster presentation titled Development of a Novel Drug Delivery System for Targeted Treatment of Ulcerative Colitis, a preclinical proof-of-concept study was conducted to evaluate the functionality of the DDS after oral administration in fasted animal models. The DDS is an investigational ingestible electronic capsule that is designed to deliver therapeutic compounds to a defined location in the gastrointestinal tract. It is comprised of a drug reservoir containing a liquid formulation of the therapeutic compound, a removable cap, and an electronic module. In this preclinical study, two marker drugs, acetaminophen and sulfasalazine, were loaded into the capsule's drug reservoir. Acetaminophen absorption was utilized to evaluate drug release and sulfasalazine absorption was utilized to identify colon arrival. In this study, the PK results from both drugs showed that the DDS capsule autonomously identified the colonic entry and delivered the drugs to the colon successfully. The Company believes these results support the potential of the DDS to deliver mucosal targeted therapy for GI disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease.

07:34 EDT BeyondSpring presents Phase 1 data on plinabulin w/ checkpoint inhibitors - BeyondSpring announced a poster presentation of an investigator-initiated Phase 1 study at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting on June 4 - 8, 2021. The company's lead asset plinabulin, a selective immunomodulating microtubule-binding agent, was combined with nivolumab and ipilimumab in the treatment of 2nd and 3rd line small cell lung cancer in a Phase 1 study of 16 patients from 6 U.S. clinical centers. There is a severe unmet medical need in 2nd and 3rd line small cell lung cancer patients, as immune therapies have only demonstrated a 10-23% objective response rate and limited median progression free survival at 1.4 to 2.6 months. The poster, titled "A Phase I Trial of Plinabulin in Combination with Nivolumab and Ipilimumab in Patients with Recurrent Small Cell Lung Cancer," will be presented at 9 a.m. ET on June 4, 2021 at Lung Cancer Poster Session. The poster describes an investigator-initiated clinical trial, led by Jyoti Malhotra, MD, MPH, Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Rutgers University, and conducted within the Big Ten Cancer Research Consortium. It highlights preliminary data demonstrating synergistic anti-cancer effects of the combination of plinabulin, nivolumab and ipilimumab, with an overall 46% ORR in 13 evaluable patients with PD-1/PD-L1 naive or resistant tumors in 2nd and 3rd line SCLC. In the Phase 1 dose escalation study evaluating 20 mg/m2 and 30 mg/m2 doses of plinabulin combined with nivolumab and ipilimumab in 16 patients, the 30 mg/m2 dose was selected for the Phase 2 trial. All 16 patients were evaluated for safety, and 13 patients were evaluated for efficacy. The combination demonstrated favorable safety and tolerability. There were no Grade 4 events in the 16 patients studied, and only 12.5% experienced Grade 3/4 IR-AEs, compared to 37% reported with nivolumab + ipilimumab in SCLC. ORR was 50% for the six patients receiving the triple IO combination as second line therapy after platinum. Three patients had partial responses, with best tumor reduction at target lesions of 100%, 53% and 45%, respectively. ORR was 43% for the seven patients receiving the triple IO combination as third line therapy, who had either failed or had not responded to platinum and PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitors. Three patients had PRs, with best tumor reductions at target lesions of 78%, 75% and 52%, respectively. Duration of therapy for these 3 PR patients was 18 months, five months and three months, respectively.

07:33 EDT PSE&G President David Daly announces retirement, Kim Hanemann to succeed - PSEG announced that David M. Daly, president of Public Service Electric & Gas, will retire at the end of 2021 after 35 years of service. Kim Hanemann, PSE&G's senior vice president and COO, will succeed Daly as president and COO, effective June 30, 2021. Daly has agreed to stay on in an executive advisory role until the end of 2021 to provide expert consultation in areas such as advocacy for transmission, energy efficiency and other strategic projects.

07:33 EDT Truist Financial to acquire Constellation Affiliated Partners, terms undisclosed - Truist Insurance, a subsidiary of Truist Financial, announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with RedBird Capital Partners to acquire Constellation Affiliated Partners. The transaction will add approximately $160M of annual revenue to Truist Insurance Holdings' wholesale division. Financial terms were not disclosed.

07:32 EDT Nielsen announces $1B debt refinancing - Nielsen Holdings announced that its indirect wholly owned subsidiaries, Nielsen Finance LLC and Nielsen Finance Co., are proposing to issue $500 million aggregate principal amount of senior notes due 2029 and $500 million aggregate principal amount of senior notes due 2031 in a private offering that is exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Nielsen intends to apply the net proceeds of the Offering plus cash on hand to (i) prepay all of the Dollar Term B-5 Loans outstanding under that certain credit agreement, dated as of June 4, 2020, by and among Nielsen Finance LLC, Nielsen Holding and Finance B.V., the guarantors party thereto from time to time, the lenders party thereto in their capacities as lenders thereunder and Citibank, N.A., as administrative agent, (ii) prepay all of the Class B-2 Euro Term Loans outstanding under the Sixth Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, dated as of July 21, 2020, by and among Nielsen Finance LLC, TNC US Holdings Inc., Nielsen HF, the guarantors party thereto from time to time, the lenders party thereto in their capacities as lenders thereunder and Citibank, N.A., as administrative agent and (iii) partially prepay the Euro Term B-3 Loans outstanding under the TLB credit agreement, in each case, at a prepayment price equal to par plus accrued and unpaid interest.

07:31 EDT NGM Biopharmaceuticals trading resumes

07:22 EDT Amdocs, Microsoft expand strategic collaboration - Amdocs (DOX) announced the extension of its global business, technology and services collaboration with Microsoft (MSFT), widening the availability of its portfolio on Microsoft Azure and the Azure for Operators initiative. The company said, "This expanded cooperation will accelerate the communications and media industry's journey to the cloud, enabling service providers to offer new and differentiated cloud services to drive growth, customer loyalty and value-add with fast and agile interactions, and a wide ecosystem of third-party partners. The collaboration will enable service providers to accelerate their move to the cloud by using Amdocs' cloud-native BSS/OSS solutions and services and our unique delivery accountability model while benefiting from the cloud capabilities of Azure to build, manage and deploy service provider applications at scale."

07:19 EDT Brady chairman Conrad Goodkind to retire, Bradley Richardson to succeed - Brady Corporation announced that Conrad Goodkind retired effective May 21, 2021. Beginning as securities counsel for Brady's initial public offering in 1984, serving as the Company's outside counsel for many years and ultimately serving as Chairman of the Board, Goodkind's dedicated service played a key role in the Company's success. Brady's Board of Directors elected current director, Bradley Richardson, to replace Goodkind as Chairman upon his retirement. Richardson has been a member of the Company's Board of Directors since 2007.

07:16 EDT KE Holdings appoints new chairman and new director - KE Holdings announced that its board of directors has appointed Mr. PENG Yongdong, the Company's co-founder, chief executive officer and executive director, as the new chairman of the Board to succeed Mr. ZUO Hui who passed away on May 20, 2021. The Company also announced the appointment of Mr. XU Wangang, the Company's chief operating officer, as a new executive director to the Board to fill the vacancy left by Mr. ZUO. Going forward, the audit committee of the Board will consist of Ms. CHEN Xiaohong, Mr. XU Wangang and Ms. CHEN Yu, with Ms. CHEN Xiaohong serving as the chairperson; the compensation committee of the Board will consist of Ms. CHEN Yu, Mr. PENG Yongdong and Ms. CHEN Xiaohong, with Ms. CHEN Yu serving as the chairperson; and the nominating and corporate governance committee of the Board will consist of Mr. SHAN Yigang, Ms. CHEN Xiaohong and Ms. CHEN Yu, with Mr. SHAN Yigang serving as the chairperson. In addition, the Company announced that Mr. ZUO will be the permanent Chairman Emeritus of the Company to commemorate his invaluable contribution and legacy. The Company's executive directors and executive officers, as well as Propitious Global Holdings Limited (together with the family trust administering its shareholding interest), which is the Company's principal shareholder, have also covenanted with the Company that, for a 365-day period from today, they will not sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of any of the Company's ordinary shares or American depositary shares they currently hold.

07:14 EDT 4D pharma to present data on Blautix in patients with IBS - 4D pharma announced that it will present data from its Phase II study of single strain LBP Blautix in patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) subtypes IBS-C and IBS-D in a poster session at Digestive Disease Week ,DDW 2021, taking place virtually May 21-23, 2021.

07:12 EDT Gan Limited adds Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort as fourth client in Michigan - Gan Limited announced that it has entered into a binding agreement with the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan, who own and operate Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort. Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort is the largest casino in the State of Michigan, with a 210,000 square-foot casino facility that offers thousands of slot machines and a variety of floor games. It also possesses a sizeable database of patrons, who the parties anticipate converting into active online players via Gan's patented iBridge loyalty platform. Under the terms of the agreement, Gan will deploy the company's GameSTACK enterprise software platform onto the client's infrastructure deployed on-property. GAN will also collaborate with the client to design and develop their iGaming and sports betting front-end web application together with counterpart native Apple iOS and Android apps. Gan will deploy the company's patented iBridge Framework to optimally monetize the Soaring Eagle patron database and leverage their on-property retail loyalty program. The announcement marks Gan's fourth client in the state of Michigan and adds to the company's growing list of valued tribal clients. This also marks Gan's ninth client for U.S. real money iGaming and online sports betting in the U.S.

07:09 EDT Verastem gets breakthrough therapy designation for VS-6766 with defactinib - Verastem announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted Breakthrough Therapy designation for the combination of its investigational RAF/MEK inhibitor VS-6766, with defactinib, its FAK inhibitor, for the treatment of all patients with recurrent low-grade serous ovarian cancer, LGSOC, regardless of KRAS status after one or more prior lines of therapy, including platinum-based chemotherapy. "Patients with low-grade serous ovarian cancer urgently need better solutions due to low response rates and tolerability issues associated with current therapies," said Melissa Aucoin, CEO of the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition. "A Breakthrough Therapy designation in this disease is a significant step forward for the women who often, at a relatively young age, start a lengthy battle with this highly recurrent and impactful disease." The combination of VS-6766 with defactinib is being evaluated in the ongoing investigator-initiated Phase 1/2 FRAME trial. In the most recent read-out from the FRAME LGSOC cohort (n=24), the overall response rate (ORR) is 52% (11 of 21 response evaluable patients), with KRAS mutant ORR at 70% (7 of 10 response evaluable patients), KRAS wild-type ORR at 44% (4 of 9 response evaluable patients) and KRAS status undetermined ORR at 0% (0 of 2 response evaluable patients). The most common side effects seen in the study were rash, creatine kinase elevation, nausea, hyperbilirubinemia and diarrhea, most being NCI CTC Grade 1/2 and all were reversible. Several patients have been on therapy for more than one year, indicating the potential for a long duration of benefit. "Breakthrough Therapy designation will facilitate our efforts to verify the robust and durable response and compelling safety profile of VS-6766 with defactinib that we have seen in patients with LGSOC and potentially bring a new therapy to these patients as quickly as possible," said Brian Stuglik, CEO of Verastem Oncology. "The majority of LGSOC is RAS pathway-driven, and we are committed to exploring the potential for VS-6766 as a backbone therapy across RAS pathway-driven solid tumors."

07:07 EDT Xeris Pharmaceuticals to acquire Strongbridge Biopharma for $267M in stock, CVRs - Xeris Pharmaceuticals (XERS) and Strongbridge Biopharma (SBBP) announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Xeris will acquire Strongbridge for stock and contingent value rights, or CVRs. The agreement, including the maximum aggregate amount payable under the CVRs, values Strongbridge at approximately $267M based on the closing price of Xeris common stock of $3.47 on May 21, and Strongbridge's fully diluted share capital. The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, with the exception of Jeffrey Sherman, a director in common to both companies, who abstained from the voting, is expected to close early in Q4 of 2021, subject to the satisfaction of closing conditions. Upon close of the transaction, the businesses of Xeris and Strongbridge will be combined under a new entity to be called Xeris Biopharma. Under the terms of the agreement at closing, Strongbridge shareholders will receive a fixed exchange ratio of 0.7840 shares of Xeris Biopharma Holdings common stock for each Strongbridge ordinary share they own. Based on the closing price of Xeris common stock on May 21, this represents approximately $2.72 per Strongbridge ordinary share and a 12.9% premium to the closing price of Strongbridge ordinary shares on May 21. Strongbridge shareholders will also receive one non-tradeable CVR for each Strongbridge ordinary share they own, worth up to an additional $1.00 payable in cash or Xeris Biopharma Holdings common stock upon achievement of the following triggering events: the listing of at least one issued patent for Keveyis in the FDA's Orange Book by the end of 2023 or at least $40M in Keveyis annual net sales in 2023; achievement of at least $40M in Recorlev annual net sales in 2023 and achievement of at least $80M in Recorlev annual net sales in 2024. The minimum payment on the CVR per Strongbridge ordinary share is zero and the maximum payment is $1.00 in cash or Xeris Biopharma Holdings common stock, at Xeris Biopharma Holdings' election. Upon close of the transaction, current Xeris shareholders are expected to own approximately 60% of the combined company, while current Strongbridge shareholders are expected to own approximately 40%. The combined company is expected to generate approximately $50M in pre-tax synergies by the end of 2022 resulting from immediate savings, including redundant general, administrative and other public company costs, and from the avoidance of future costs, most notably within the commercial and medical affairs functions. Upon close of the transaction, the businesses of Xeris and Strongbridge will be combined under Xeris Biopharma Holdings, which will be incorporated in Delaware and will continue to have its principal executive offices in Chicago, Illinois. On close, Xeris shareholders will exchange each share of Xeris common stock they own for one share of Xeris Biopharma Holdings common stock. Xeris Chairman and CEO, Paul Edick, will act as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Xeris Biopharma Holdings. The Xeris Biopharma board will comprise the other existing Xeris directors, together with John Johnson and Garheng Kong, who will join the combined company's board as new independent directors. A director in common to both companies, Jeffrey Sherman, will continue to serve on the Xeris Biopharma Holdings board following the transaction. Xeris Biopharma Holdings' shares of common stock are expected to trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker XERS. The transaction is expected to close early in Q4 of 2021, subject to customary closing conditions and approval by Xeris and Strongbridge shareholders. In addition, certain Strongbridge directors, executive officers, CAM Capital and HealthCap VI, L.P., representing approximately 17% of Strongbridge's outstanding ordinary shares, have entered into irrevocable undertakings to vote in favor of the transaction.

07:06 EDT Protagonist Therapeutics announces first subject dose in phase 1 study of PN-232 - Protagonist Therapeutics (PTGX) announced that the first human subject has been dosed in a Phase 1 study of PN-232, a novel oral interleukin-23 receptor, or IL-23R, antagonist peptide. Recruitment for the study is ongoing. This Phase 1 study is designed to determine the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of PN-232 in healthy volunteers. It is a first-in-human study for PN-232 that will be conducted in three parts. Part 1 is a single ascending dose study, Part 2 is multiple ascending dose study, and Part 3 is crossover solid dose comparison and effect-of-food study. Protagonist and Janssen Biotech (JNJ), have a research, co-development and commercialization agreement for IL-23 receptor targeted therapeutics with applications in various disease areas. According to the agreement, Janssen will be responsible for development and commercialization activities of compound candidates beyond Phase 2. Protagonist is eligible to receive research, development, regulatory and sales milestone payments and has an option to co-detail products in the U.S. market.

07:03 EDT RedHill Biopharma presents two analyses of Movantik - RedHill Biopharma announced presentation at Digestive Disease Week 2021 of two new analyses of Movantik Phase 3 study data demonstrating rapid onset of action and sustained and predictable improvement of key symptoms associated with opioid-induced constipation. Both analyses included pooled data from two identically designed Phase 3 studies of Movantik, involving 891 treated patients across two doses, compared to a total of 546 patients in the placebo arms. Poster 1: Naloxegol Achieved Rapid and Sustained Improvement of Opioid-Induced Constipation Symptoms: A Pooled Analysis of Two Global Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trials. Given the clinical importance of rapid and sustained OIC symptom response, this analysis aims to evaluate the efficacy of naloxegol on the key symptoms of OIC. Poster 2: Rapid Onset of Time to First Spontaneous Bowel Movement and Predictable Efficacy of Naloxegol: Pooled Analysis of Two Global Randomized Controlled Trials. Given the clinical importance of rapid and predictable symptom response, this analysis aims to characterize the predictability of the onset of response within 48 hours following the first dose of naloxegol.

07:02 EDT Canadian Solar sign slong-term power purchase agreement with Axpo Italia - Canadian Solar announced it has signed a long-term power purchase agreementwith Axpo Italia for the purchase of energy produced by two solar power plants under development totaling 12 MWp near Ragusa and Enna, in Sicily, Italy. Under the agreement, Axpo Italia will purchase renewable energy and their associated guarantees of origin from the two solar plants. The agreement includes a guaranteed fixed electricity price for ten years starting from April 2022 and will provide stable cash flows to the projects. Construction of the two solar power plants will begin by the end of 2021 and will use Canadian Solar's high-efficiency modules. This PPA is one of the first private PPAs signed in the Italian market. It is also part of a broader framework agreement signed between Canadian Solar and Axpo Italia in November 2020 for the execution of up to 300 MWp of similar PPAs in the country.

07:00 EDT Palantir announces $32.5M contract award with Space Force - Palantir Technologies confirmed it will support the United States Space Force and United States Air Force by providing its software to the critical missions of the Department of the Air Force, Space and Missile Systems Center's Cross-Mission Ground & Communications Enterprise, and NORAD-NORTHCOM. This is a firm-fixed-price award totaling $32.5M. Palantir will deploy and maintain Palantir as Data-as-a-Service platform to support SMC/ECX's Space Command and Control program element, including operational users at both the National Space Defense Center and the Combined Space Operations Center. Department of the Air Force's Project Brown Heron will use Palantir to provide the U.S. Air Force senior leadership with a continuously improving operational readiness analytics platform by integrating disparate data sources from across the Service. This will improve the DAF's readiness in a variety of mission-critical areas, cutting across organizational and functional silos. Additionally, Palantir will support NORAD-NORTHCOM's Joint All Domain Command and Control transformation, ingesting and modeling high-scale data to support comprehensive and collaborative operational planning and execution.

06:58 EDT Xeris Pharmaceuticals to acquire Strongbridge in stock, CVR transaction - Xeris Pharmaceuticals (XERS) and Strongbridge Biopharma (SBBP) announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Xeris will acquire Strongbridge for stock and contingent value rights. The agreement, including the maximum aggregate amount payable under the CVRs, values Strongbridge at approximately $267M based on the closing price of Xeris Shares of $3.47 on May 21, 2021 and Strongbridge's fully diluted share capital. The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, with the exception of Jeffrey W. Sherman, M.D., a director in common to both companies, who abstained from the voting, is expected to close early in the fourth quarter of 2021, subject to the satisfaction of closing conditions. Upon close of the transaction, the businesses of Xeris and Strongbridge will be combined under a new entity to be called Xeris Biopharma Holdings. Under the terms of the agreement, at closing, Strongbridge Shareholders will receive a fixed exchange ratio of 0.7840 Xeris Biopharma Holdings Shares for each Strongbridge Share they own. Based on the closing price of Xeris Shares on May 21, 2021, this represents approximately $2.72 per Strongbridge Share and a 12.9% premium to the closing price of Strongbridge Shares on May 21, 2021. Strongbridge Shareholders will also receive 1 non-tradeable CVR for each Strongbridge Share they own, worth up to an additional $1.00 payable in cash or Xeris Biopharma Holdings Shares upon achievement of the following triggering events: the listing of at least one issued patent for KEVEYIS in the U.S. Food & Drug Administration's Orange Book by the end of 2023 or at least $40 million in KEVEYIS annual net sales in 2023, achievement of at least $40 million in RECORLEV annual net sales in 2023, and achievement of at least $80 million in RECORLEV annual net sales in 2024. The minimum payment on the CVR is zero and the maximum payment is $1.00 in cash or Xeris Biopharma Holdings Shares at Xeris Biopharma Holdings' election. Upon close of the transaction, current Xeris Shareholders are expected to own approximately 60% of the combined company, while current Strongbridge Shareholders are expected to own approximately 40%. The combined company is expected to generate approximately $50 million in pre-tax synergies by the end of 2022 resulting from immediate savings, including redundant general, administrative and other public company costs, and from the avoidance of future costs, most notably within the commercial and medical affairs functions. Shareholders of the combined company are expected to benefit from significant cost avoidance and the potential for more rapid and achievable near-term growth by utilizing Xeris' existing commercial infrastructure to launch RECORLEV soon after product approval. Xeris' management and the Independent Xeris Directors are committed to retaining and incentivizing the most talented individuals in their respective functions between the two companies to ensure continuity and ongoing success. Upon close of the transaction, the businesses of Xeris and Strongbridge will be combined under Xeris Biopharma Holdings, which will be incorporated in Delaware and will continue to have its principal executive offices in Chicago, Il. On close, Xeris shareholders will exchange each Xeris Share they own for 1 Xeris Biopharma Holdings Share. Xeris Chairman and CEO, Paul Edick will act as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Xeris Biopharma Holdings. The Xeris Biopharma Holdings board will comprise the other existing Xeris Directors, together with John Johnson and Garheng Kong, M.D., PhD, MBA who will join the combined company's board as new independent directors. A director in common to both companies, Jeffrey W. Sherman, M.D., will continue to serve on the Xeris Biopharma Holdings board following the transaction. Xeris Biopharma Holdings Shares are expected to trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker XERS. The transaction is expected to close early in the fourth quarter of 2021, subject to the Conditions set out in Appendix III of this announcement, including approval by Xeris Shareholders and Strongbridge Shareholders.

06:56 EDT NGM Biopharmaceuticals trading halted, news pending

06:48 EDT Merck receives positive CHMP opinion for KEYTRUDA w/ chemotherapy - Merck announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency has adopted a positive opinion recommending approval of KEYTRUDA, Merck's anti-PD-1 therapy, in combination with platinum- and fluoropyrimidine-based chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic carcinoma of the esophagus or human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma in adults whose tumors express PD-L1. The CHMP's recommendation will now be reviewed by the European Commission for marketing authorization in the European Union, and a final decision is expected in the second quarter of 2021. The positive CHMP opinion is based on results from the pivotal Phase 3 KEYNOTE-590 trial, in which KEYTRUDA plus 5-fluorouracil and cisplatin demonstrated significant improvements in overall survival and progression-free survival compared with 5-FU and cisplatin alone in patients regardless of histology or PD-L1 expression status. KEYTRUDA plus 5-FU and cisplatin reduced the risk of death by 27% and reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 35% versus 5-FU and cisplatin alone. Merck is studying KEYTRUDA across multiple settings and stages of gastrointestinal cancer - including esophageal, gastric, hepatobiliary, pancreatic, colorectal and anal cancers - through its broad clinical program.

06:37 EDT Cabot Oil & Gas, Cimarex Energy to combine in all-stock merger of equals - Cabot Oil & Gas (COG) and Cimarex Energy (XEC) announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement whereby the companies will combine in an all-stock merger of equals. Under the terms of the agreement, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, Cimarex shareholders will receive 4.0146 shares of Cabot common stock for each share of Cimarex common stock owned. The exchange ratio, together with closing prices for Cabot and Cimarex on May 21, reflects an enterprise value for the combined companies of approximately $17B. Upon completion of the transaction, Cabot shareholders will own approximately 49.5% and Cimarex shareholders will own approximately 50.5% on a fully diluted basis. With Cabot's approximately 173,000 net acres in the Marcellus Shale and Cimarex's approximately 560,000 net acres in the Permian and Anadarko basins, the combined business will have a multi-decade inventory of development locations in the oil and natural gas basins in the United States. The new business is expected to have an annual base dividend of 50c per share, which is paid quarterly, and plans to supplement the base dividend with a quarterly variable dividend to achieve a target capital return of at least 50% of quarterly free cash flow, with the first payment expected in the first quarter of 2022. The combined business also plans to declare and pay a 50c per share special dividend to all common shareholders of the combined business promptly after the closing of the transaction. The companies are targeting annual general and administrative cost synergies of $100M beginning within 18 months to two years following the closing. The combined business, which will operate under a new name, plans to be headquartered in Houston and maintain its regional offices. Upon closing, Dan Dinges will serve as executive chair of the board of directors of the newly combined business and Thomas Jorden will lead the company as CEO and will serve on the board of directors. Scott Schroeder, Cabot's current CFO, will serve as CFO of the combined business. The remainder of the company's leadership team will include executives from both Cabot and Cimarex. The board of directors of the company will be composed of five directors from the current Cabot board of directors, including Dinges, and five directors from the current Cimarex board of directors, including Jorden. The transaction is expected to close in Q4 of 2021, subject to regulatory clearance, the approval of Cabot and Cimarex common shareholders and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. Both Cabot and Cimarex intend to continue paying base quarterly cash dividends through closing.

06:35 EDT Crane to rename Fluid Handling segment as Process Flow Technologies - Mitchell commented, "Today, we announced that we signed an agreement to sell Engineered Materials for $360 million. Engineered Materials is an outstanding business, built through a series of acquisitions over many years with dedicated Crane associates that I am very proud of. Over time, as we have shaped the portfolio, we have reassessed the strategic fit of this business to Crane, and we believe this exceptional team will be better able to pursue both organic and inorganic growth with the new owner. I wish to thank our Engineered Materials team for their support and understanding regarding this decision. Given the continued strength we are seeing across our businesses, we are maintaining our full year adjusted EPS guidance of $5.65 to $5.85 despite the exclusion of approximately $0.44 of EPS contribution from Engineered Materials that had been included in prior guidance." We have also changed the name of our 'Fluid Handling' segment to 'Process Flow Technologies'. The 'Fluid Handling' name is from a legacy era and no longer reflects who we are today, nor where we are strategically focused moving forward. This new name better conveys the key strengths and core competencies of our business: providing proprietary and highly engineered process flow technology. We remain focused on the chemical, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, water and wastewater, and general industrial markets, which include many of the harshest and most hazardous environments, and our products are used in applications with extremely high costs of failure. Both our organic and inorganic growth efforts continue to be concentrated in these areas. Looking ahead across Crane, we have substantial opportunities for growth. As we have discussed repeatedly, through consistent investment in technology and strategic growth initiatives, as well our ongoing focus on driving productivity and operational improvement, Crane is extremely well positioned to outgrow its underlying end markets as we emerge from the COVID-related downturn. I believe that we are at an inflection point for accelerating growth, and at our upcoming investor conference, we will share more details of that growth plan for Aerospace & Electronics, along with our expectation for a core sales CAGR of 7% to 9% at that business from 2021 through 2030." Throughout the May 26 Aerospace & Electronics Investor Conference, management will build upon the four themes introduced at Crane's February 2021 annual investor conference, with a specific focus of how these themes are relevant for the Aerospace & Electronics business: Expectations for a strong, broad-based recovery in key end markets, along with benefits from the portfolio's alignment with certain strengthening secular trends; Accelerating growth from consistent and continued investment in new product development, breakthrough innovations, technology investments, and localization; Growing opportunities for inorganic growth based on a long history and track-record of successful acquisitions; and, The importance of our solid foundation which includes our Crane Business System and its disciplined cadence and execution, as well as our strong culture with its emphasis on ethics, philanthropy, sustainability and equality.

06:20 EDT United Rentals completes tender offer for General Finance Corp - United Rentals (URI) announced that its indirect wholly-owned subsidiary, UR Merger Sub VI Corporation, has completed its previously announced tender offer to purchase all of the outstanding shares of common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, of General Finance Corporation (GFN) for a price of $19.00 per share, net to the holder thereof in cash, without interest, less any applicable withholding of taxes. At 12:00 midnight, New York time, at the end of the day of Friday, May 21, 2021, the Offer expired as scheduled and was not extended. Merger Sub expects to complete the acquisition of General Finance on Tuesday, May 25, through a merger under Section 251(h) of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware. Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, the depositary for the Offer has advised that, as of the expiration of the Offer, a total of 27,625,450 shares had been tendered into and not validly withdrawn from the Offer, representing approximately 91.4% of General Finance's outstanding shares and a sufficient number of shares such that the minimum tender condition to the Offer was satisfied. Additionally, the Depositary has advised that an additional 156,352 shares had been tendered by notice of guaranteed delivery, representing approximately 0.5% of General Finance's outstanding shares. Accordingly, all shares that were validly tendered and not properly withdrawn were accepted for payment and Merger Sub will promptly pay for all such tendered shares in accordance with the terms of the Offer. As a result of the merger, and following the redemption of General Finance's outstanding preferred stock, General Finance will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Merger Sub. In the merger, each share of General Finance will be cancelled and converted into the right to receive the same $19.00 per share net to the holder thereof in cash, without interest, less any applicable withholding of taxes, that was paid in the Offer. Following the completion of the merger, all of the issued and outstanding shares of General Finance's preferred stock will be redeemed in accordance with their terms, and General Finance's common stock, Series C preferred stock and unsecured senior notes will be delisted from trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market.

06:10 EDT Experian announces Employer Services business, Experian Verify solution - To support the collective recovery of businesses and consumers, Experian announced its expansion into Employer Services and the release of its new suite of real-time income and employment verification products, Experian Verify. Experian Verify is designed to improve borrowing experiences and support consumers with limited credit histories by empowering lenders to verify income and employment status in real-time. Experian's recent acquisitions of Corporate Cost Control, Tax Credit Co. and Emptech, and its growing network of direct payroll access deliver unique and differentiated employee records into Experian Verify and lay the foundation for the company's bold move into employer services. With all three entities now under one roof, Experian is unlocking their collective strength to provide employers, HR, finance and tax professionals with a one-stop-shop to outsource complex and time-consuming tasks more quickly, cost effectively and securely.

06:05 EDT Enveric Biosciences to acquire MagicMed in all-stock transaction - Enveric Biosciences announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire MagicMed Industries, a privately-held biotechnology company focused on creating a library of novel derivative psychedelic molecules such as psilocybin, N,N-dimethyltryptamine, or DMT, and other molecular derivatives with applications across multiple indications, in an all-stock transaction. MagicMed has focused on the discovery and early development of novel drug candidates, structurally related to psychedelics with vastly improved pharmaceutical characteristics and commercial potential for the treatment of neurological and psychological indications. The Psybrary is MagicMed's library of psychedelic derivatives developed through the combination of synthetic biology and traditional chemistry techniques. MagicMed has 13 patent applications filed for derivatives of psilocybin and DMT, 2 patent applications filed for derivatives of mescaline and MDMA with further intellectual property protection for mescaline, MDMA, ibogaine and LSD in process. Enveric intends to continue to develop patient-centric support care therapies in oncology and central nervous system, or CNS, indications. Upon closing, Enveric intends to commence drug discovery and development for treatment of cancer-related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, patients who are currently in treatment for cancer and those who are in remission. It is anticipated that the PTSD drug development program holds the potential to be expanded in the future beyond cancer-related applications to include other patient populations, such as military veterans. Once closing is complete, Joseph Tucker will be appointed CEO of the company and David Johnson, current CEO and chairman, will be appointed executive chairman. The transaction is structured as an amalgamation under the Business Corporations Act. At the closing, a recently formed subsidiary of Enveric will amalgamate with MagicMed, with the resulting corporation being an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Enveric. Under the terms of the amalgamation agreement and other related agreements, Enveric will issue the shareholders of MagicMed an aggregate of 9,946,969 shares of common stock of Enveric, as well as warrants, options, and restricted stock units to acquire an additional 9,039,882 shares of common stock of Enveric. The current Enveric shareholders will own approximately 63.4% of the combined company's common stock, as calculated on a fully diluted basis, and current MagicMed shareholders will own approximately 36.6% of the combined company's common stock, as calculated on a fully diluted basis. The agreement is subject to customary closing conditions and the approval of Enveric's and MagicMed's shareholders and is expected to close during the second half of 2021. Additionally, as part of the closing of the transaction, Enveric will receive approximately C$4M in cash from the MagicMed Treasury.

05:34 EDT UTStarcom CEO Zhaochen Huang to vacate position, Hua Li to succeed - UTStarcom named Hua Li as the company's new CEO, effective June 16 and announced changes to the board of directors, effective May 19. Li, a TDI nominee, brings nearly eight years of business and management experience to the company. He previously served as the GM of Hangzhou Yi Yi Tai Di Information Technology. Zhaochen Huang will vacate the position of CEO on June 15. Huang served as the CEO and a member of the company's board of directors since January 1 and the acting CEO since March 2020. Huang will continue to serve as a member of UTStarcom's board of directors.

05:26 EDT Regeneron, Sanofi receive CHMP recommendation for two Libtayo treatments - Regeneron (REGN) and Sanofi (SNY) announced that the European Medicines Agency's, or EMA, Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, has adopted opinions for Libtayo as monotherapy in two advanced cancers. The CHMP recommended the approval of Libtayo for the first-line treatment of adults with non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC, expressing PD-L1 in 50% of tumor cells with no EGFR, ALK or ROS1 aberrations. Patients must have metastatic disease or locally advanced disease that is not a candidate for definitive chemoradiation. Libtayo was also recommended for approval in adults with locally advanced or metastatic basal cell carcinoma, or BCC, who have progressed on or are intolerant to a hedgehog pathway inhibitor, or HHI. The European Commission is expected to make a decision on both indications in the coming months. The opinion for Libtayo in advanced NSCLC is based on results from a Phase 3 trial, which allowed for the enrollment of patients with disease characteristics frequently underrepresented in advanced NSCLC pivotal trials, including those with pre-treated and clinically stable brain metastases or locally advanced NSCLC and who were not candidates for definitive chemoradiation. Results from the pivotal trial were published in The Lancet in February. The opinion for Libtayo in locally advanced and metastatic BCC is based on results from the largest prospective clinical trial in these patients previously treated with an HHI to date, with data presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology Virtual Congress 2020 and recently published in The Lancet Oncology. Libtayo is the first immunotherapy to receive a CHMP opinion for this indication.

05:19 EDT Ericsson updates risk factors amid trade uncertainty with China - Ericsson announced that there is a risk that the decision by the Post and Telecommunication Authority, or PTS, to exclude Chinese vendors' products from the 5G auction in Sweden may adversely impact the economic interests of Sweden and Swedish industry, including those of Ericsson. This risk has been included in the risk factors in Ericsson's EMTN prospectus. The update coincides with Ericsson's proposed issue under the EMTN program and the change in relation to the risk factor, as shown in the Q4 report. The company said, "Ongoing geopolitical and trade uncertainty from a range of factors may have a material adverse impact on our business, operations, business prospects and consequently on operating results, financial conditions and our ability to meet our targets.There are uncertainties for the future bilateral trading relationship between China and several countries as a result of restrictions towards Chinese vendors in national 5G networks. In Sweden, the Post and Telecommunication Authority (PTS) has taken a decision to exclude Chinese vendors' products from the 5G auction. Of special relevance for Ericsson in this context is the trade relationship between Sweden and China, since Ericsson, even though it is a global company with a presence on all global markets, has its headquarters in Sweden and therefore risks collateral damages from a weakened Swedish-Chinese relationship as a result of this decision. There is a risk that the above lead to measures taken by China that are targeted at the economic interests of Sweden and Swedish industry, including those of Ericsson. While Ericsson is invited to various ongoing tender processes in China, the final outcome remains uncertain and it is the company's current assessment that the risk has increased that Ericsson will in those tenders be allocated a significantly lower market share than its current market share. The geopolitical situation can have consequences on the entire industry, with an increased likelihood of further industry split, separation of global value chains and separation of global standards for mobile telecommunications. This overall development has also led to several countries evaluating how to ensure uninterrupted access to telecommunication network infrastructure, for example through promoting disaggregation of the Radio Access Network and support of national communication network infrastructure champions as alternative to the established global vendors such as Ericsson although the timing and extent of this remains unclear. All of the above may have a material and potentially lasting adverse impact on our business, including sales, market share, market access and supply chain and R&D activities, our financial condition and results of operations."

05:12 EDT NIO announces renewal of manufacturing agreements with JAC, Jianglai - NIO announced that it has entered into manufacturing agreements with Jianghuai Automobile Group, or JAC, and Jianglai Advanced Manufacturing, or Jianglai, regarding the joint manufacturing of NIO vehicles and related fee arrangements. JAC is a state-owned automobile manufacturer in China that currently manufactures the NIO vehicles in delivery, including the ES8, ES6 and EC6, in the Hefei JAC-NIO manufacturing plant designed and constructed for NIO vehicles. Jianglai is a joint venture for operation management established by JAC and NIO where NIO holds 49% equity interests. Pursuant to the joint manufacturing arrangement, from May 2021 to May 2024, JAC will continue to manufacture the ES8, ES6, EC6, ET7 and potentially other NIO models in the pipeline. In addition, JAC will expand its annual production capacity to 240,000 units in order to meet the growing demand for NIO vehicles. NIO will be in charge of vehicle development and engineering, supply chain management, manufacturing techniques, and quality management and assurance. Jianglai will be responsible for parts assembly and operation management. The fee arrangements consist of the following: asset depreciation and amortization with regard to the assets JAC invested and to invest for the manufacture of NIO models as actually incurred, payable monthly and subject to adjustment annually; vehicle production and processing fees recorded on a per-vehicle basis, payable monthly and subject to adjustment annually; certain compensatory arrangement; relevant tax; and purchase amount of certain production materials. The new agreements allow NIO to benefit from economies of scale and manufacturing efficiency improvement in the future.

05:04 EDT Petco announces expansion of same-day delivery for fresh pet food - Petco announced the expansion of its same-day delivery of fresh pet food, now available in most markets nationwide. The expansion builds on last year's same-day delivery service launch accessible through petco.com and the Petco app. Petco is expanding same-day delivery for its entire assortment of fresh and frozen dog and cat food, starting with JustFoodForDogs, whose availability is planned to triple to 560 pet care centers in 2021. Customers across the country can purchase products for same-day delivery with no fee or membership required. The service is free with any eligible purchase over $35.