Stockwinners Market Radar for July 14, 2021 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:21 EDT F45 Training 18.75M share IPO priced at $16 - F45 Training Holdings Inc. announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 20,312,500 shares of its common stock, 18,750,000 of which are being offered by the company and 1,562,500 of which are being offered by the selling stockholder named in the prospectus, at a price of $16.00 per share. The company and the selling stockholder have granted the underwriters a 30 day option to purchase up to an additional 3,046,875 shares of common stock. The shares will begin trading tomorrow on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "FXLV" and the offering is expected to close on July 19, 2021.

20:02 EDT NortonLifeLock confirms deal talks with Avast - NortonLifeLock (NLOK) notes the announcement by Avast (AVASF), released earlier today, and confirms that it is in advanced discussions with the board of Avast regarding a possible combination of NortonLifeLock and Avast. "A combination of NortonLifeLock and Avast would bring together two companies with aligned visions, highly complementary business profiles and a joint commitment to innovation that helps protect and empower people to live their digital lives safely," NortonLifeLock said. "We would draw on the best of both companies to ensure that the combination would benefit our customers, reward our employees and maximise long term value for all shareholders. The possible combination may be implemented by way of a cash and share offer by NortonLifeLock for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Avast but, pursuant to Rule 2.5 of the City Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the "Code"), NortonLifeLock reserves the right to vary the form and/or mix of the consideration. This announcement does not amount to an announcement of a firm intention to make an offer under Rule 2.7 of the Code. There can be no certainty that any firm offer for Avast will be made nor as to the terms on which any firm offer might be made."

19:09 EDT FDA panel votes 12-1-1 that TransMedics' OCS system benefits outweigh risks - The U.S. FDA Gastroenterology and Urology Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee voted "yes" 14-0 that there is reasonable assurance that the TransMedics OrganCare System Liver System is safe for patients who meet the criteria specified in the proposed indication. The panel also voted "yes" 14-0 that there is reasonable assurance that the OCS system is effective for use in patients who meet the criteria specified in the proposed indication. The panel also voted "yes" 12-1-1 that the benefits of the OCS system outweigh the risks for use in patients who meet the criteria specified in the proposed indication.

18:05 EDT LendingClub confirms settlement with FTC - LendingClub announced that it has entered into an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission which, subject to court approval, will conclude the agency's previously disclosed investigation and litigation. "While we have never agreed with the FTC's allegations, we appreciate the important role the FTC plays to protect consumers and are pleased to have reached an agreement that resolves the agency's concerns," said LendingClub Chief Administrative Officer Brandon Pace. "We look forward to continuing our mission to empower our members on their path to financial health." Pursuant to the terms of the Settlement, LendingClub will make an $18M payment for consumer remediation, an amount already accrued for in prior periods. The Settlement does not include any admission of liability, and LendingClub does not expect that the Settlement will impact its current operations or its financial outlook disclosed on April 28.

17:59 EDT Sandbridge Acquisition shareholders approve business combination with Owlet - Sandbridge Acquisition Corporation announced that its stockholders have approved all proposals related to the previously announced business combination with Owlet Baby Care Inc. at a special meeting of stockholders held on July 14, 2021. Approximately 92% of the votes cast at the meeting on the Business Combination proposal, representing approximately 79% of Sandbridge's outstanding shares, voted to approve the Business Combination. The closing of the Business Combination is anticipated to occur on or about July 15, 2021. Following the closing, the combined company will operate as Owlet, Inc. and its shares of Class A common stock and warrants are expected to trade on the New York Stock Exchange beginning July 16, 2021 under the symbols "OWLT" and "OWLT WS," respectively. Sandbridge has received elections to redeem approximately 19.8M of its outstanding shares, which will leave approximately $32.4M in its trust account. Combined with the $130M in expected gross proceeds from a concurrent private placement, there will be approximately $135.7M of cash available to the combined company from the transaction, after deducting transaction fees and expenses. As a result of the redemptions, Owlet has waived the requirement that the total cash proceeds available from the trust account, after redemptions and deducting deferred underwriting fees and Sandbridge's transaction expenses, equal or exceed $140M.

17:56 EDT Gray Television sells ABC affiliate in Flint, Michigan, for $70M - Gray Television (GTN) has reached an agreement to divest WJRT-TV, its ABC affiliate for the Flint-Saginaw, Michigan, television market, to Byron Allen's Allen Media Broadcasting for $70M in cash. Gray's sale of WJRT-TV facilitates regulatory approvals for its pending acquisition of the Local Media Group division of Meredith (MTN) by removing the only market overlap between the respective television station portfolios of Gray and Meredith. The closing for the sale of WJRT-TV is expected to occur in Q3 or Q4 prior to the closing of the Gray/Meredith transaction and is subject to customary closing conditions.

17:38 EDT CPSC sues Amazon to force recall of hazardous products - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission filed an administrative complaint against Amazon.com to force Amazon to accept responsibility for recalling potentially hazardous products sold on Amazon.com. "Today's vote to file an administrative complaint against Amazon was a huge step forward for this small agency," says Acting Chairman Robert Adler. "But it's a huge step across a vast desert-we must grapple with how to deal with these massive third-party platforms more efficiently, and how best to protect the American consumers who rely on them." The complaint charges that the specific products are defective and pose a risk of serious injury or death to consumers and that Amazon is legally responsible to recall them. The named products include 24,000 faulty carbon monoxide detectors that fail to alarm, numerous children's sleepwear garments that are in violation of the flammable fabric safety standard risking burn injuries to children, and nearly 400,000 hair dryers sold without the required immersion protection devices that protect consumers against shock and electrocution. The Commission voted 3-1 to approve the complaint, which seeks to force Amazon, as a distributor of the products, to stop selling these products, work with CPSC staff on a recall of the products and to directly notify consumers who purchased them about the recall and offer them a full refund. Although Amazon has taken certain action with respect to some of the named products, the complaint charges that those actions are insufficient. Reference Link

17:31 EDT Enanta announces retirement of Chief Medical Officer Nathalie Adda - Enanta Pharmaceuticals announced that Nathalie Adda, M.D., senior VP and Chief Medical Officer, will retire from Enanta in February 2022 and continue to serve as a consultant to the company thereafter. Enanta is commencing a search to identify Dr. Adda's successor.

17:20 EDT LendingClub settles FTC charges of misrepresentation, hidden fees for $18M - Online lender LendingClub Corporation agreed to pay $18M to settle Federal Trade Commission charges that the company deceived consumers about hidden fees that it charged and about whether their loan applications were approved. In addition, the settlement bars LendingClub from making misrepresentations to loan applicants and requires that the company clearly and conspicuously disclose the amount of any prepaid, up-front, or origination fee and the total amount of funds that borrowers will receive. "Companies that profit by preying on consumers don't just harm the families they cheated - they also harm their competitors that play by the rules. LendingClub fleeced consumers looking for a loan online, and will pay $18 million for its alleged misconduct," said Samuel Levine, Acting Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. "Moving forward, when it comes to misconduct in the financial services arena, the FTC will bring joint actions with state and federal partners to seek penalties that deter wrongdoing market-wide, before it can harm consumers." Reference Link

17:03 EDT Incyte says 'positive' Phase 3 REACH3 study data published in NEJM - Incyte announced that positive data from the Phase 3 REACH3 study have been published in The New England Journal of Medicine demonstrating that treatment with ruxolitinib resulted in significantly improved outcomes in patients with steroid-refractory or steroid-dependent chronic graft-versus-host disease compared to best available therapy. The study's main findings, previously presented at the 62nd American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting, were published along with new subgroup analyses showing favorable overall response rate at Week 24 for ruxolitinib across all major subgroups, including baseline individual organ involvement. REACH3 is jointly sponsored by Incyte and Novartis. "Results from the REACH3 study published in NEJM are extremely compelling and underscore the potential benefits ruxolitinib can offer appropriate patients facing the serious complications associated with chronic GVHD," said Peter Langmuir, M.D., Group Vice President, Oncology Targeted Therapies, Incyte. "At Incyte, we remain committed to advancing our research and understanding of this complex disease, and will continue to work closely with the FDA to bring this innovative treatment to chronic GVHD patients, who currently have limited treatment options." The study found that treatment with ruxolitinib led to significant improvements in ORR at Week 24, the primary endpoint of the study. Also, best overall response (BOR) rate at any time up to Week 24 was achieved in 76.4% of patients in the ruxolitinib arm compared to 60.4% of patients in the BAT arm. Ruxolitinib also demonstrated statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in key secondary endpoints.

17:01 EDT Halliburton awarded production chemicals and services contract in Oman - Halliburton won a contract to provide Production Chemicals and Associated Services for a large IOC in Oman. Under the seven-year contract, Halliburton will supply a suite of customized products along with specialized services to support the in-field chemical treatments. Halliburton's facilities in Oman will support the project. Additionally, Halliburton will manufacture key raw materials for the contract's portfolio at the new Halliburton Saudi Chemical Reaction Plant. The company also expects to hire and develop local personnel to deliver the contract's scope of work. The plant will have capabilities to manufacture a broad slate of chemicals for stimulation, production, midstream, and downstream engineered treatment programs.

16:39 EDT Blue Ridge Bankshares sees 16%+ EPS accretion in 2022, 2023 from FVCB merger - On a pro forma basis, the combined company targets delivering top-tier operating performance, with an estimated 2022 ROAA of approximately 1.4% and an ROATCE of approximately 15%+. The transaction is targeted to deliver 16%+ EPS accretion to Blue Ridge in 2022 and 2023, respectively, and 12%+ EPS accretion to FVCB in 2022 and 2023, respectively (shown illustrative for 100% achievement of cost savings). The mid-single digit tangible book value per share dilution to Blue Ridge is expected to be earned back approximately two years from closing. The combined company is expected to have a Common Equity Tier 1 Capital ratio of above 11% at closing. The combined company's targeted strong capital ratios are designed to support growth and capital management strategies. Reflecting the significant contribution both partners bring to the combined company, the board and executive management team will draw from both sides: David W. Pijor, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FVCB, will be the Executive Chairman of the combined company. Brian K. Plum, President and Chief Executive Officer of Blue Ridge, will continue in the role of Chief Executive Officer of the combined company. Patricia A. Ferrick, President of FVCB, will be the President of the combined company and the President and Chief Executive Officer of the combined bank. Jennifer L. Deacon, Chief Financial Officer of FVCB, will be the Chief Financial Officer of the combined company. The Board of Directors of the combined company will consist of 16 directors - eight Blue Ridge Board members and eight FVCB Board members, with an independent Blue Ridge director serving as Lead Director. Pijor, Plum, and Ferrick will all be named directors of the combined company

16:34 EDT AIG rises roughly 5% to nearly $49 after announcing asset sales to Blackstone

16:32 EDT Meten Edtechx receives Nasdaq notification over minimum bid price - Meten EdtechX Education Group Ltd. announced that the company has received a written notification from the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC on July 7, 2021, notifying the company that it is not in compliance with the minimum bid price requirement set forth in Nasdaq Rules for continued listing on the Nasdaq. Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) requires listed securities to maintain a minimum bid price of $1.00 per share, and Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A) provides that a failure to meet the minimum bid price requirement exists if the deficiency continues for a period of 30 consecutive business days. Based on the closing bid price of the company's ordinary shares for the 30 consecutive business days from May 24, 2021 to July 6, 2021, the Company no longer meets the minimum bid price requirement. The Notification Letter does not impact the company's listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market at this time.

16:32 EDT Blue Ridge Bankshares, FVCBankcorp to combine in all-stock merger of equals

16:26 EDT Celanese announces new $1B share repurchase plan - Celanese announced that its board of directors has approved a new $1B share repurchase authorization. The new share repurchase authorization represents approximately 6% of the company's shares outstanding. In the first half of 2021, the company deployed $500M to repurchase shares under the previous $1.5B share repurchase authorization put in place in 2019 and increased by $500M in July 2020. As of June 30, approximately $560M remained under the existing share repurchase authorization which, combined with this new $1B authorization, will support future share repurchases.

16:25 EDT Reliant Bancorp Inc trading halted, news pending

16:24 EDT AIG to sell 9.9% stake in Life & Retirement business to Blackstone for $2.2B - American International Group, Inc. (AIG) and Blackstone (BX) announced that they have reached a definitive agreement for Blackstone to acquire a 9.9% equity stake in AIG's Life & Retirement business for $2.2B in an all cash transaction. As part of this agreement, AIG also agreed to enter into a long-term strategic asset management relationship with Blackstone to manage an initial $50B of Life & Retirement's existing investment portfolio upon closing of the equity investment, with that amount increasing to $92.5B over the next six years. Upon the closing of these transactions, which are expected to occur simultaneously by the end of the third quarter of 2021, Jon Gray, President and Chief Operating Officer of Blackstone, will join the Life & Retirement Board of Directors. These transactions are subject to HSR approval and other customary closing conditions. Separately, AIG and Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust, a long-term, perpetual capital vehicle affiliated with Blackstone, also announced today that they have reached a definitive agreement for BREIT to acquire AIG's interests in a U.S. affordable housing portfolio for approximately $5.1B, in an all cash transaction. This transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021.

16:18 EDT Parsons awarded $2.24B Missile Defense Agency contract - Parsons was awarded a seven-year contract valued up to $2.24B by the Missile Defense Agency, or MDA, for technical, engineering, advisory, and management support, or TEAMS-Next Systems Engineering. This contract has a three-year base with two two-year options. Parsons will provide engineering, analysis, and management support for the development of integrated and layered missile defense systems that defend U.S. and allied forces against ballistic, hypersonic, and cruise missile threats, and advance the agency's integrated air and missile defense, command and control, and battle management communication missions across the all-domain battlespace.

16:12 EDT Sana Biotechnology to develop manufacturing facility in Fremont, CA - Sana Biotechnology announced that it has entered into a lease agreement to develop a 163,000 square foot manufacturing facility in Fremont, California. This facility will support the manufacture of Sana's late-stage clinical development and early commercial product candidates across the multiple technologies in Sana's pipeline. "Manufacturing remains a key bottleneck to the development and broad accessibility of cell- and gene-based medicines. This facility is a key component in enabling our aspirations to rapidly innovate, consistently manufacture, and scale production of these medicines," said Steve Harr, Sana's President and CEO. "Sana is making significant investments to create the scientific insights, supply chain stability, and operational capabilities to transform the potentially disruptive scientific insights of the cell and gene therapy field into important medicines for patients." The facility will be designed to provide manufacturing capabilities across Sana's portfolio, including allogeneic T cell, viral vector, and pluripotent stem cell production. The Fremont location allows close proximity to Sana's existing technical and scientific capabilities and access to a strong biotechnology talent base. As part of the company's holistic manufacturing strategy, Sana also intends to work with contract manufacturing partners to advance its product candidates to the clinic as early as next year.

16:08 EDT ICF International awarded $12M software automation contract by the SSA - ICF has been awarded a $12M re-compete software automation contract by the Social Security Administration - SSA-. The contract has a term of five years, including one base year and four option years. ICF will work with SSA to develop, maintain and support software applications to automate its physical security business processes.

16:06 EDT Galapagos reports results from three studies of GLPG3970 - Galapagos reported topline results with GLPG3970 in three patient studies. GLPG3970, the first product candidate from a broad portfolio of SIK inhibitor compounds, provides clinical data supporting the role of SIK inhibition in inflammation. SIK is a novel target class discovered by Galapagos. Galapagos evaluated GLPG3970, a proprietary salt inducible kinase, or SIK, 2/3 inhibitor, in three randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind studies: a Phase 1b study in patients with moderate to severe psoriasis and two Phase 2a studies in patients with moderate to severely active UC and RA. GLPG3970 or placebo were administered orally once-daily for six weeks. Main objectives were to evaluate the safety and tolerability of GLPG3970 as well as early signs of biologic and clinical effect. Across the three studies, GLPG3970 was generally safe and well tolerated. There were no deaths nor serious adverse events, and the majority of treatment emergent adverse events, or TEAEs, were mild or moderate in nature. This study randomized 26 patients with moderate to severe psoriasis in a 3:2 ratio, GLPG3970 to placebo. Two out of 15 patients discontinued in the treatment arm versus one out of 11 on placebo. At Week 6, four out of 13 patients on GLPG3970 had a PASI1 50 response, defined as at least a 50% improvement of baseline PASI, compared to none on placebo. Specifically, the four responders achieved 50%, 50%, 56%, and 77% improvement in their PASI scores from baseline, reaching statistical significance compared to placebo at Week 6. Signals of clinical effect were also consistently observed for other endpoints, including affected Body Surface Area and physician and patient global assessment, versus placebo at Week 6. This study randomized 31 biologic-naive patients with moderate to severely active UC in a 2:1 ratio, GLPG3970 to placebo. One out of 21 patients discontinued in the active treatment arm versus one out of 10 on placebo. At Week 6, positive signals were observed in patients on GLPG3970 on objective parameters such as endoscopy, histology, and fecal calprotectin. These findings did not translate in a differentiation from placebo on change from baseline total Mayo Clinic Score in this 6-week study. Seven out of 18 patients on GLPG3970 who underwent endoscopy at Week 6 met the criteria for Endoscopic Improvement, defined as a score of 0 or 1 on the endoscopic response score, compared to one out of 9 patients on placebo. The robustness of these signals will be further examined when additional efficacy and biomarker data become available later this year. This study randomized 28 patients with moderate to severely active RA and an inadequate response to methotrexate in a 3:2 ratio, GLPG3970 to placebo. Three out of 16 patients discontinued in the treatment arm versus two out of 12 on placebo. At Week 6, patients on GLPG3970 showed no differentiation from placebo on change from baseline DAS282 response, nor on the majority of other efficacy endpoints.

16:06 EDT Blue Ridge Bankshares raises quarterly dividend 20% to 12c from 10c per share - The cash dividend will be paid to shareholders of record as of July 26 and made payable on July 30.

16:03 EDT Lipocine settles litigation with Clarus Therapeutics - Lipocine has entered into a global settlement and license agreement with Clarus Therapeutics to resolve all outstanding claims in the on-going intellectual property litigation between the two companies as well as the on-going interference proceeding between the two companies. Under the terms of the settlement, Lipocine and Clarus have agreed to dismiss the litigation presently pending in the District Court for the District of Delaware. Additionally, both parties have reached an agreement on the interference proceedings presently pending in the U.S. Patent and Trademark. The terms of the settlement remain confidential.

15:45 EDT Eaton says 'two important milestones' reached in sale of Hydraulics business - Eaton announces that it has "reached two important milestones" in the closing of the sale of its Hydraulics business to Danfoss A/S. First, the U.S. Department of Justice has filed a proposed settlement in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia today that, if approved by the court, resolves the DOJ's concerns with Danfoss's acquisition of Eaton's Hydraulics business. The settlement requires the sale of certain orbital motor and steering unit assets to Interpump Group S.p.A., or to another entity approved by the DOJ. This sale does not have to be completed, however, prior to the closing of the company's transaction with Danfoss. Eaton and Danfoss have already agreed to the proposed settlement. Second, the European Commission approved Interpump as a suitable purchaser of the orbital motor and steering assets. These assets were required to be divested by the European Commission under the conditional approval granted in March 2021. "We are excited to reach these important milestones and look forward to closing the transaction, which we currently expect to occur in the next several weeks. We appreciate the careful consideration of the Department of Justice and the European Commission, as well as the other regulators who reviewed the transaction," said Craig Arnold, Eaton chairman and CEO.

15:34 EDT GE Renewable Energy to expand wind turbine blade facility in Gaspe, Canada - GE Renewable Energy is partnering with the governments of Canada and Quebec for the expansion of its wind turbine blade facility in Gaspe, Canada. At an event attended by Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, and Quebec Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Jonatan Julien, the parties announced their plans to jointly invest in the expansion of the facility owned by LM Wind Power, a GE Renewable Energy business. The investments will enable the company to expand its existing facility to meet the growing demand for renewable energy across North America. The expansion will result in the creation of 200 skilled jobs. The plant, which started operations in 2005 and was previously expanded in 2017, has manufactured over 10,000 blades, equivalent to approximately 6,000 MW.

15:22 EDT Walgreens Boots Alliance increases quarterly dividend 2.1% - Walgreens Boots Alliance announced that its board has declared a quarterly dividend of 47.75c per share, an increase of 2.1%. The increased dividend is payable September 10 to stockholders of record as of August 20, and raises the annual rate from $1.87 per share to $1.91 per share.

15:03 EDT PSEG reports agreement with New Jersey BPU and Rate Counsel - PSE&G, a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group, announced that it executed an agreement with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities and New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel related to its transmission rates that would save the typical electric residential customer about 3% on their bill, or approximately $3 per month. If approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the agreement would reset the base return on equity for PSE&G's transmission formula rate at 9.9%, reduced from 11.18%. Combined with other elements of the settlement, PSE&G's transmission revenues would be lowered by approximately $140M per year, the company stated.

14:06 EDT Adial Pharmaceuticals gives update adenosine platform potential for pain relief - Adial Pharmaceuticals announced advancements related to its adenosine analog development platform being developed by Purnovate, a division of Adial Pharmaceuticals. Some key highlights include that compounds have now been developed that are potent against specifically targeted adenosine receptors while being selective over the adenosine A1 receptor, which is known to have cardiovascular and central nervous system effects that can be problematic for many therapeutic indications. Historically, when selectivity has been achieved over the A1 receptor, water solubility has decreased, making effective tissue distribution in the human body difficult to achieve and the compounds difficult or impossible to develop as drugs. Solubility more than 50 times greater than other known selective adenosine compounds of the same class has been demonstrated. Testing to date indicates good oral bioavailability so that oral administration is likely to be one of the options for dosing these compounds. "Dr. Robert D. Thompson, Adial's Vice President, Chemistry, commented, "We are highly encouraged by the latest preclinical data related to our adenosine platform as a potential therapy for pain relief. Based on these data, we are proceeding with development of our compounds to determine if they may have broad implications as a replacement therapy for opioids or, when used in combination, as a way to support lower dose administration of opioids. Importantly, our latest solubility data may be the key to unlocking the potential of adenosine analogs as a therapy."

13:28 EDT Twitter says Fleets to no longer be available on August 3 - Twitter said in a blog post: "We built Fleets as a lower-pressure, ephemeral way for people to share their fleeting thoughts. We hoped Fleets would help more people feel comfortable joining the conversation on Twitter. But, in the time since we introduced Fleets to everyone, we haven't seen an increase in the number of new people joining the conversation with Fleets like we hoped. Because of this, on August 3, Fleets will no longer be available on Twitter." Reference Link

13:25 EDT CARB settles with Albertsons for $5.1M over refrigerant management - The California Air Resources Board announced it reached a settlement agreement with The Albertsons Companies for $5.1M for violations of the Refrigerant Management Program that regulates large, stationary industrial refrigerant systems to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Albertsons' settlement includes a $2.55M civil penalty and $2.55M in funding for two Supplemental Environmental Projects. Reference Link

13:15 EDT Exela says customers include five largest U.S. health insurers - Exela Technologies said via Twitter, "FY20 revenue = $1.3Bn. Customers include the 5 largest US #HealthInsurance companies." Reference Link

13:11 EDT Westwood Holdings Group says Americana offer undervalues company - Westwood Holdings Group confirmed that, since May, it has received two unsolicited proposals from Americana Partners, LLC to acquire Westwood. Americana's last proposal, received by the Company on June 14, 2021, offered $25.00 per share in cash. Westwood's Board of Directors, in consultation with its legal and financial advisors and in accordance with its fiduciary duties, previously reviewed Americana's proposal and determined unanimously that it significantly undervalues Westwood relative to the Company's standalone plan. In reaching this determination, the Board also considered that Americana has not provided to Westwood any evidence of Americana's ability to finance its acquisition bid.

12:16 EDT Glaukos 'aware of and extremely disappointed with' CMS' proposed new codes - Earlier, Glaukos commented on the recently released Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Calendar Year 2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule Proposed Rule released on July 13 that updates payment policies, payment rates and other provisions for services furnished under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule on or after January 1, 2022. The Proposed Rule release is followed by a 60-day public comment period closing on September 13, 2021, which will culminate in CMS' release of the Final Rule, which is expected to be announced by November 2021, for implementation on January 1, 2022. The Proposed Rule is therefore subject to change. The Proposed Rule and accompanying Addenda include payment rates for two new Category I Current Procedural Terminology, or CPT, codes, including 669X2 for non-complex cataract extraction in combination with the insertion of an aqueous drainage device and 669X1 for complex cataract extraction in combination with the insertion of an aqueous drainage device. Category I CPT Codes 669X2 and 669X1 will replace Category III codes 0191T and 0376T as the primary codes that physicians will use to seek reimbursement utilizing Glaukos' trabecular micro-bypass technologies - iStent, iStent inject, iStent inject W - when used as approved in combination with cataract surgery. Applying the CMS 2022 Proposed Rule's assigned total facility Relative Value Units, or RVUs, and associated conversion factor, Glaukos estimates a proposed 2022 physician fee for Category I CPT Code 669X2 of approximately $565.23, representing incremental physician fee payment for the insertion of an aqueous draining device of approximately $34.25 versus the proposed 2022 physician fee of approximately $530.98 for Category I CPT Code 66984. "We are aware of and extremely disappointed with CMS' proposed 2022 physician fees for the new Category I codes that cover our sight-saving trabecular micro-bypass technologies used in combination with cataract surgery. While this is unwelcomed and unexpected news that we believe is unjustified, we are eager to engage with our key ophthalmic societies and are committed to exploring every option during the public comment period in hopes that medical providers across our network are paid appropriately for conducting these types of procedures. We remain steadfastly dedicated to transform the treatment of chronic eye diseases for the benefit of patients worldwide," said Thomas Burns, Glaukos president and CEO. The company noted that this announcement does not include the Medicare Outpatient Prospective Payment System Proposed Rule for Calendar Year 2022, which will include proposed facility fee payments for services furnished in both the hospital outpatient department and ambulatory surgical center settings. Glaukos expects the 2022 Medicare OPPS Proposed Rule to be released by CMS over the coming days to weeks.

12:00 EDT Ranger Energy falls -11.6% - Ranger Energy is down -11.6%, or -$1.33 to $10.17.

12:00 EDT Glaukos falls -21.2% - Glaukos is down -21.2%, or -$15.57 to $58.00.

12:00 EDT Westwood Holdings Group rises 19.8% - Westwood Holdings Group is up 19.8%, or $3.88 to $23.44.

11:56 EDT Wells Fargo continuing to target 15% ROTCE over time

11:56 EDT Wells Fargo sees FY21 NII flat to down 4%

11:54 EDT Wells Fargo sees 'significant' return of capital this quarter

11:43 EDT European Commission proposes 55% cut of greenhouse gas emissions until 2030 - European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen released a proposal that aims to combine the reduction of emissions, with measures to preserve nature, and to put jobs and social balance at the heart of a transformation towards a more clean energy economy. "We have the goals, we have the Climate Law, we have it all underpinned by investment," von der Leyen said. "And now, today, it is about the roadmap. The roadmap to our new target of at least -55% of greenhouse gas emissions until 2030. We chose carbon pricing as a clear guiding and market-based instrument with a social compensation. And the principle is simple: Emission of CO2 must have a price - a price on CO2 that incentivises consumers, producers and innovators to choose the clean technologies, to go towards the clean and sustainable products. And we know that carbon pricing works. Our existing Emissions Trading System has already helped significantly to reduce emissions in industry and in power generation. So we will strengthen the existing system in these sectors. And we will make Emissions Trading System applicable to aviation and extend it to the maritime. We need this because we just have to consider that one single cruise ship alone uses as much CO2 per day as 80,000 cars. And then we will build a second ETS on buildings and road transport. Because we all know that buildings today consume 40% of the energy consumption and the road transport emissions have continuously increased - not decreased but increased. And we must reverse this trend. We must reverse this trend and we must do it in a fair and in a social way." Publicly traded companies in the car space include Daimler AG (DDAIF), Ford (F), General Motors (GM), Honda (HMC), Nissan (NSANY), Stellantis (STLA), Tesla (TSLA), Toyota (TM) and Volkswagen (VWAGY). Reference Link

11:42 EDT Westwood Holdings Group trading halted, news pending

11:41 EDT Wells Fargo plans to increase Q3 dividend to 20c per share - Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call.

11:26 EDT Alzamend Neuro Inc trading resumes

11:15 EDT Welbilt trading resumes

11:08 EDT Microsoft unveils cloud service Windows 365 - Microsoft on Wednesday announced Windows 365, a cloud service that introduces a new way to experience Windows 10 or Windows 11 - when it becomes available - to businesses of all sizes. According to the company, "Windows 365 takes the operating system to the Microsoft cloud, streaming the full Windows experience - apps, data and settings - to personal or corporate devices. Secure by design and built with the principles of Zero Trust, Windows 365 secures and stores information in the cloud, not on the device, providing a secure, productive experience for workers from interns and contractors to software developers and industrial designers. Windows 365 also creates a new hybrid personal computing category called Cloud PC, which uses both the power of the cloud and the capabilities of the device to provide a full, personalized Windows experience." With instant-on boot to their personal Cloud PC, users can stream all their applications, tools, data and settings from the cloud across any device. Windows 365 provides the full PC experience in the cloud. The cloud also provides versatility in processing power and storage, enabling IT to scale up or down, based on their needs. With a choice of either Windows 10 or Windows 11, organizations can choose the Cloud PC that works for them with per-user per-month pricing, according to Microsoft. Windows 365 will be generally available to businesses of all sizes starting on Aug. 2, 2021.

10:59 EDT Google launches 'Travel Insights with Google' in the U.S. - In a Google blog post, Gianni Marostica, Managing Director for Travel Partnerships, said that, "Today we're launching Travel Insights with Google in the United States, in partnership with Destinations International and Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI). Together, we'll bring these tools to the travel industry in the U.S. and around the world with training materials customized specifically for destination organizations and hospitality marketing professionals. There are two free tools available within Travel Insights with Google that provide rich data and actionable insights. Destination Insights gives travel businesses, governments, and tourism boards a clear picture of top sources of demand per destination. This can help users understand where potential travelers may be coming from and adjust marketing campaigns accordingly. The second tool, Hotel Insights, helps hoteliers analyze search trends so they can understand where interest is coming from and attract new guests by creating a stronger digital presence... As part of our ongoing global expansion, we recently launched localized versions of Travel Insights with Google in countries across Asia and Europe, including Spain, Greece, France, Italy, Croatia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam." Reference Link

10:55 EDT Marsh McLennan increases quarterly dividend 15% to 53.5c per share - The board of directors of Marsh McLennan declared a 15% increase in the quarterly dividend from 46.5c to 53.5c per share on outstanding common stock, payable on August 13 to stockholders of record on July 29.

10:52 EDT FedEx Logistics launches FedEx Trade Solutions Service - FedEx Logistics, a subsidiary of FedEx, announced the launch of FedEx Trade Solutions, a new team in FedEx Trade Networks Transport & Brokerage that offers customized trade solutions that "enable improved compliance practices - reducing complexity, time, and costs - allowing customers to focus on growing their businesses." Reference Link

10:44 EDT Citi CFO sees capital return skewed toward buybacks given share price

10:40 EDT Citi CFO 'excited' for prospect of continued capital return to shareholders

10:33 EDT Delta Air Lines does not foresee the need for additional pension contributions - Delta co-CFO Gary Chase expects air traffic liability to remain about 2019 levels. Says expects to be profitable in both September/December quarters. Says will see continued levers in key areas. Says airports will see better utilization. Says expects coastal hubs will increase from 70% utilization to ~90% by end of September quarter. Says has a lot of additional optionally in fleet plan. Says using cash to reduce leverage and non-operating expense. Says does not foresee the need to make any additional pension contributions.

10:24 EDT Corteva Agriscience signs multi-year licensing agreement with Andermatt - Corteva Agriscience and Andermatt USA announced a multi-year agreement for two technologies that will benefit U.S. farmers. Andermatt USA is the U.S. subsidiary of Andermatt Biocontrol. As part of the agreement, Corteva receives an exclusive license to a bioinsecticide based on the naturally occurring insecticidal virus, Helicoverpa armigera nucleopolyhedrovirus. Corteva also receives an exclusive license to a biofungicide that helps provide a disease-inhibiting protective shield around plants. Corteva will offer these technologies through its own brands in the U.S. market under the names Hearken bioinsecticide and Bexfond biofungicide, respectively.

10:24 EDT Delta Air Lines expects strong leisure demand to continue through Fall/Winter - President Glen Hauenstein says encouraged by pace of recovery. Says demand returned at an accelerated rate, Says began experiencing strength in demand for European countries as they reopened. Says small/mid-size business travel now 50% recovered. Says beginning to see return of consulting and sales related travel. Says international travel is accelerating. Says Pacific demand remains low. Says widebody fleet renewal will be instrumental to recovery. Says optimizing network for return of travel. Says seeing increase in brand engagement. Says continues to extend commercial and financial lead.

10:15 EDT Citi CEO says 'pleased with progress' on strategy refresh - Jane Fraser, Citi CEO, said on the company's Q2 earnings call: "I'm very pleased with the progress we've made on our strategy refresh. We have moved swiftly to begin the sales process for the 13 consumer markets we plan to exit in Asia and EMEA. The first round of bids was very encouraging and competitive, which isn't a surprise because these are terrific businesses for the right owners." Fraser added: "Our overarching goal is to increase the returns we generate and close the gap with our peers by investing in the franchises that will drive the most growth... As we have done so far, we will share our decisions with you as we make them on the strategy. And we're also looking forward to presenting our plans to you more comprehensively during an Investor Day, which we intend to hold in the first quarter of next year. We're going to put our entire vision for the firm in front of you so you can then hold us accountable for executing against it. As we discussed in the call last quarter, we're also working very hard and diligently on our transformation... And we're working closely with our regulators to meet their expectations, and we intend to submit our plans to them this quarter."

10:12 EDT Seneca Foods trading halted, volatility trading pause

10:05 EDT PNC Financial 'couldn't be more pleased with where we are' with BBVA USA - Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call.

10:00 EDT iHuman falls -9.7% - iHuman is down -9.7%, or -$1.04 to $9.70.

10:00 EDT Compass Minerals rises 17.4% - Compass Minerals is up 17.4%, or $10.49 to $70.95.

10:00 EDT CorePoint Lodging rises 22.2% - CorePoint Lodging is up 22.2%, or $2.45 to $13.49.

09:47 EDT Direxion Daily Junior Gold Miners Index Bear 3x Shares falls -4.7% - Direxion Daily Junior Gold Miners Index Bear 3x Shares is down -4.7%, or -51c to $10.21.

09:47 EDT Independence Holding Co. rises 8.3% - Independence Holding Co. is up 8.3%, or $3.75 to $48.75.

09:47 EDT Compass Minerals rises 17.4% - Compass Minerals is up 17.4%, or $10.51 to $70.97.

09:40 EDT Bank of America sees reserve levels moving lower

09:34 EDT PNC Financial sees Q3 net interest income up mid-teens vs. Q2 - Sees net interest income up in the mid-teens in Q3 vs. Q3, with period-end loans up modestly. Sees fee income up mid-single digits vs. Q2, with noninterest expense ex-integration expense up high single digits. Sees Q3 net charge-offs $150M-$200M. On track for $900M in BBVA USA costs savings to be realized in 2022. Still anticipates $980M of integration costs. CIP target of $300M for 2021. Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call presentation slides.

09:26 EDT 22nd Century enters partnerships with Sawatch Agriculture, Folium Botanical - 22nd Century Group announced that it has added strategic partnerships with commercial-scale plant breeders Sawatch Agriculture and Folium Botanical. The partnerships with these two northern hemisphere breeders add to the breeding capabilities that 22nd Century already has through its close partnership with Aurora Cannabis, and another southern hemisphere-based breeder that will be announced shortly, providing 22nd Century year-round growing capabilities. The company said, "With decades of combined specialized alkaloid plant breeding and plant biotechnology experience, these expert breeders have proven next-generation technologies and innovations on breeding, commercial scale-up, and cultivation, many of which are far beyond those of independent competitive breeders or in-house breeding in consumer product companies. Under 22nd Century's direction, proprietary plants will be developed with optimum levels of cannabinoids that meet high-quality standards when grown at commercial scale."

09:23 EDT Bank of America sees reducing headcount by natural attrition

09:15 EDT Usana named official nutritional supplement supplier of USA Skateboarding - Usana is the Official Nutritional Supplement Supplier of USA Skateboarding, the national governing body for skateboarding in the U.S. As part of a multi-year partnership, USANA will provide USAS Team Members with its NSF Certified for Sport and LGC Informed Choice tested products and collaborate with the team on social driven campaigns. USA Skateboarding announced the first-ever U.S. Olympic Skateboarding Team in conjunction with Go Skateboarding Day. Tokyo will mark the sports Olympic debut.

09:13 EDT O2Micro granted patent for auto-detecting batterydisconnection - O2Micro International announced the grant of a patent granted to O2micro for auto-detecting battery cells disconnection utilizing Resistor/Capacitor Circuit analysis methodology. O2Micro was issued 14 claims under US patent US 11,038,356 B2 on Jun 15, 2021, for the invention of for auto-detecting battery cells disconnection with RC analysis methodology. Dr. Guoxing Li, VP of Advanced Technology, O2Micro, commented, "This invention provides a reliable and effective solution to perform battery cell tap connection checks by reliably and accurately measuring cell voltages in the battery pack. This is essential to prevent both over-charging and over-discharging and can effectively enhance battery package safety in high power applications such as, electric vehicles, bikes and scooters, uninterruptible power supplies, solar and wind storage, cordless power tools, cordless vacuum cleaners and other high capacity, high current battery applications for home and industry."

09:12 EDT INmune Bio announces $40M registered direct offering - INmune Bio announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with one healthcare focused institutional investor and one family office for the purchase and sale of 1,818,182 shares of its common stock at a price of $22.00 per share for gross proceeds of approximately $40 million in a registered direct offering. The closing of the offering is expected to occur on or about July 16, 2021, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. INmune Bio intends to use the net proceeds from this offering for working capital and general corporate purposes and to advance the development of its product candidates and expand its pipeline. This includes the completion and data readout from the Company's planned Phase 2 clinical trial of its lead clinical candidate, XPro1595, in patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease, which is expected to commence by the end of 2021.

09:11 EDT Medicenna Therapeutics announces publication of preclinical data on MDNA109 - Medicenna Therapeutics announced the peer-reviewed publication of preclinical data on MDNA109, the Company's IL-2 Superkine platform that forms the basis for MDNA11. The paper, which was published in Frontiers in Immunology, was independently authored by researchers at the University of Helsinki and other institutions. Preclinical studies presented in the paper evaluated oncolytic adenoviruses that were unarmed or armed to code for MDNA109 or wild-type IL-2 in a hamster pancreatic tumor model. Oncolytic adenoviruses promote selective infection and lysis of cancer cells and can effectively deliver therapeutic levels of cytokines into tumor lesions as well as boosting the host's underlying anti-tumor immunity1. While wild-type IL-2 has been approved for the treatment of metastatic melanoma and kidney cancer, it has several shortcomings that the MDNA109 platform aims to address such as a poor safety profile and a propensity to amplify tumor-protecting Treg cells. Key findings from the paper include: Treatment with MDNA109-virus led to superior tumor growth inhibition by showing a clear tendency towards complete tumor regression and improved survival. Treatment with MDNA109-virus induced efficient T cell receptor signaling and cytotoxic activity of tumor infiltrating immune cells. MDNA109-virus strongly stimulated antigen presenting cells, which activate anti-tumor immune cells, at the tumor site. MDNA-109-virus weakened tumor-protecting myeloid cells in the tumor microenvironment. MDNA109-virus demonstrated the ability to induce anti-tumor immune memory to protect previously treated hamsters against re-challenge with pancreatic tumor cells. Mechanistically, treatment response with MDNA109-virus was associated with substantial repression of genes linked to myeloid cell mediated immunosuppression in the TME. Concurrently, MDNA109 exerted a direct effect on T-cell anchoring and T-cell toxicity, as a strong correlation was observed between expression of these genes and cytotoxicity of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes. Treatment with MDNA109-virus did not result in any histopathological changes in normal tissues. In summary, these results highlight the prospective therapeutic potential of the MDNA109-virus for the treatment of immunosuppressive tumors such as pancreatic cancer. In the paper, which was titled: "Oncolytic Adenovirus Coding for a Variant Interleukin 2 Cytokine Re-Programs the Tumor Microenvironment and Confers Enhanced Tumor Control," MDNA109 is referred to as "variant IL-2," "IL-2 variant," "vIL-2," or "vIL2." Note that MDNA11, Medicenna's lead long-acting IL-2 Superkine candidate that is derived from the MDNA109 platform and expected to treat the first patient in a Phase 1/2 clinical study in the third quarter of 2021, has 2 additional mutations when compared to MDNA109. These mutations further enhance MDNA11's selectivity for tumor killing immune cells.

09:09 EDT EnWave signs royalty-bearing license with New Zealand cannabis company - EnWave announces that it has signed a non-exclusive royalty-bearing commercial license with a New Zealand cannabis company, Medical Kiwi. The License grants Medical Kiwi the right to use EnWave's patented Radiant Energy Vacuum technology for the production of cannabis products in New Zealand. Medical Kiwi has purchased a 10kW REV machine that will be used to dry cannabis flower for use in medicinal products. This REV machine will be built to the standard of Good Manufacturing Practices which will enable Medical Kiwi to export medicinal cannabis products to Europe and around the world.

09:08 EDT Workday selected by RSM to accelerate digital transformation - Workday has been selected by RSM to help scale its rapidly growing business and serve customers with Workday Financial Management, Workday Human Capital Management, and Workday Professional Services Automation. Digital transformation for many organizations includes scaling processes, eliminating information silos, and streamlining on-premise, manual, or ad-hoc systems. "With Workday, RSM will: leverage one system for its global finance, people, and project data to efficiently monitor business performance, engage with its growing workforce, and change at the speed demanded by clients; create an end-to-end project billing process in the cloud, improving efficiency and gaining greater visibility into financial performance; and eliminate silos to streamline time tracking for greater operational visibility and performance across the company's 13,000 employees," the company said

09:06 EDT Save Foods granted Israeli patent for natural disinfecting composition - Save Foods announced that its wholly-owned Israeli subsidiary, Save Foods, was granted a patent by the Israeli Patent Office for its new generation of natural disinfecting composition and method to protect edible matter from decay, which is designed to extend shelf life and reduce waste. This is Save Foods' fourth issued patent in Israel and seventh globally. "Israel is a world-leader in agricultural technologies and a major exporter of fresh produce; our natural disinfecting products significantly extend shelf life and reduce waste, substantially expanding growers' potential market reach," said Dr. Neta Matis, Save Foods Ltd. Company's Israeli subsediary VP of R&D. "Israel is a key jurisdiction for us to protect our proprietary technologies, and this patent is further validation of our technology and an important step in building an IP portfolio that ensures food safety reduce waste globally."

09:05 EDT SunPower's solar and battery storage systems selected by Woodside Homes - SunPower solar and SunVault battery storage systems are being offered by Woodside Homes to owners and buyers in all its Northern California communities. SunPower is Woodside Homes' exclusive solar and storage partner in the region. Woodside Homes will make SunVault a standard feature in every home in its newest subdivision coming soon to Placer County, Calif. All 128 homes in Brady Vineyards will come with rooftop solar and a 13 kWh SunVault storage system installed as a standard feature. New homes at Brady Vineyards are expected to start selling in the spring of 2022.

09:04 EDT Enovix, Rodgers Silicon Valley announce closing of business combination - Enovix (ENVX) announced that it has completed its previously announced business combination with Rodgers Silicon Valley (RSVA, RSVAU), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company or SPAC. RSVAC's shareholders approved the combination at a special meeting held on July 12, 2021. The combined company will retain the name Enovix Corporation and is expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on July 15, under the new ticker symbol "ENVX" for Enovix common stock and "ENVXW" for Enovix warrants. Trading of securities will be remain under the RSVA, RSVAU and RSVAW ticker symbols until the opening of trading of ENVX on July 15. The transaction resulted in approximately $405M of gross cash proceeds, before deducting placement agent commissions and other offering related expenses. This will allow Enovix to build out its first two production facilities to support demand from blue chip customers in the global mobile computing market while continuing to develop cells for Electric Vehicles. As part of the deal, Enovix will retain its experienced management team, led by President and CEO Harrold Rust, while gaining new board members Manny Hernandez and Dan McCranie from the RSVAC team.

09:03 EDT Bank of America: Zelle transactions up 61% y/y in Q2 - Erica interactions were up 115% in Q2, the bank said.

09:02 EDT BofA: Credit card delinquencies remain below pre-pandemic levels - As of the end of 2Q21, most early-stage delinquency categories are at or near historical lows, BofA said on its Q2 earnings conference call.

09:00 EDT New Fortress Energy commences commercial operations at Mexico LNG terminal - New Fortress Energy announced that its liquefied natural gas, or LNG, terminal in the port of Pichilingue, Baja California Sur, Mexico has begun commercial operations and will host an event featuring state and local officials at the Terminal on Friday, July 16.

08:49 EDT AgriFORCE Growing Systems appoints Richard Levychin to board - AgriFORCE Growing Systems announces that it has appointed Richard Levychin to the Company's board of directors. Mr. Levychin will serve on the board's Executive Compensation, Audit and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees. Richard Levychin, CPA, CGMA, is a Partner in Galleros Robinson's Commercial Audit and Assurance practice where he focuses on both privately and publicly held companies.

08:47 EDT Avant Brands appoints Jurgan Schreiber as chairman of the board - Avant Brand is pleased to announce in an effort to strive for best practices and to demonstrate robust corporate governance, the following changes have been made to the Company's Board of Directors: Jurgen Schreiber - Appointed as Chairman of the Board, and Chair of the Compensation Committee; Ruairi Twomey - Appointed as Independent Director; Duane Lo, CPA - Appointed as Independent Director, Chair of the Audit Committee, and Chair of the Nomination and Governance Committee. Jurgen currently serves as the CEO of the Katz Group, one of Canada's leading privately owned enterprises, with operations in sports & entertainment, real estate, restaurants and retail. Ruairi was a Brand Director of Tesco, a British multinational grocery and general merchandise retailer with over 7,000 stores, where he managed an own brand portfolio of $13.7 billion in annual revenue. Duane currently holds positions as Chief Financial Officer and Director of publicly traded companies in the resource sector and he was previously the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Luna Gold Corp. and Corporate Controller for First Quantum Minerals Ltd. Duane was also employed at Deloitte in the assurance and advisory practice.

08:45 EDT Energous announces availability of 5.5W Active Energy Harvesting Developer Kit - Energous announced the availability of its 5.5W Active Energy Harvesting Developer Kit, to enable at-a-distance wireless charging for the growing ecosystem of industrial Internet of Things and other connected devices.

08:42 EDT Orbcomm upgrades Prime's fleet with refrigerated monitoring solution - ORBCOMM announced that Prime has begun the retrofit of their refrigerated trailers with ORBCOMM's next generation refrigerated monitoring solution in preparation for the sunsetting of 3G wireless service, which will commence at the end of 2021. Prime is utilizing ORBCOMM's latest refrigerated monitoring solution to track the freight's location and temperature, providing knowledge that their loads are compliant with FSMA regulations and meeting customers' standards for quality and service. The critical reefer device and trailer tracking data is integrated with Prime's back-end systems to provide customized business insights for greater visibility and improved business planning and decision making. ORBCOMM's expert team of field support technicians is assisting in the installation and activation for Prime to ensure a seamless deployment, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2021.

08:41 EDT Citi says returned 'maximum permitted' $7B of capital to holders year-to-date - In slides for its Q2 earnings, Citi said its earnings of about $6.2B of net income include about $2.4B reserve release "reflecting a continued improvement in the macro environment and portfolio quality." Citi says it has returned about $7B of capital to common shareholders year-to-date, "representing the maximum amount permitted under Federal Reserve rules." Among its key execution priorities, Citi lists strengthening risk and control environment, continuing work on strategy refresh and investing to build a stronger company for the future, improving returns for shareholders and positioning Citi for increased capital return over time.

08:40 EDT Evoke Pharma launches Gimoti patient, physician experience program - Evoke Pharma announced the start of additional marketing initiatives focusing on the launch of a patient and physician experience program for GIMOTI, the company's nasal spray product for the relief of symptoms in acute and recurrent diabetic gastroparesis. The program will provide samples of GIMOTI primarily to targeted gastroenterologists and advance practice practitioners. "We are pleased to announce the launch of the GIMOTI patient and physician experience program. This is an important opportunity to provide GIMOTI directly to physicians who haven't prescribed GIMOTI and increase trial among patients with DGP who seek an alternative approach to traditional oral medications," commented David Gonyer, R.Ph., Evoke Pharma President and CEO. "We previously reported results from a recent market research study where gastroenterologists indicated a moderate-to-high level of concern about their patients' ability to absorb oral medications, and estimated 20-40% of their patients with DGP may experience this difficulty. Additionally, 90% of targeted gastroenterologists stated they intend to prescribe GIMOTI. We are hopeful that this experience program will widen the network of physicians and patients familiar with GIMOTI and help ensure those who suffer from diabetic gastroparesis have access to our novel treatment."

08:39 EDT 1847 Goedeker to undergo unified rebranding process - 1847 Goedeker has engaged Capsule to lead its strategic organizational rebranding process. Capsule is a boutique firm assisting with branding, company identity, messaging, and overall marketing strategy. Goedekers currently operates under two names, Goedekers and Appliances Connection, and is now undergoing the necessary process to transform into a singular brand. Capsule will work with Goedekers to review the brand name, brand identity, visual identity system, and consumer messaging strategy.

08:36 EDT Bed Bath & Beyond nearly doubles zip codes eligible for Same Day Delivery - Bed Bath & Beyond announced more progress in its transformation to being a digital-first, omni-always retailer. Starting tomorrow, Bed Bath & Beyond and buybuy BABY customers can pick up Buy Online Pickup Curbside purchases at any store before the store has even opened for the day. Ideal for orders placed the previous evening and pickup during the morning commute to work, customers choosing this digital service can choose to pick up their orders curbside as early as 8am -- which is one hour ahead of typical store opening hours. All other Buy Online Pickup In Store and all other Curbside orders will also be ready in one hour from the time the order was placed, faster than the previous two hour "ready for pickup" window. Additionally, the company announced that it has nearly doubled the number of zip codes eligible for Same Day Delivery, thanks to a new strategic U.S. partnership with crowdsourced delivery platform, Roadie. Roadie boasts more than 200,000 verified drivers nationwide and will bring the total zip codes eligible for Same Day Delivery from Bed Bath & Beyond and buybuy BABY to nearly 16,000.

08:34 EDT Neuronetics launches enhanced digital resource center for NeuroStar providers - Neuronetics announced the launch of its newly redesigned My NeuroStar Resource Center, now live on www.MyNeuroStar.com. Created for current NeuroStar providers, the updated digital portal offers physicians the resources and tools they need to grow their practice through marketing and advertising, strengthen referral relationships and help more patients benefit from NeuroStar Advanced Therapy for Mental Health, a non-drug and non-invasive transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment for depression.

08:33 EDT Microchip announces Qi 1.3 wireless charging reference design - To meet the requirements of the specification, Microchip Technology announced a new Qi 1.3 wireless charging reference design providing developers of wireless charging systems for automotive and consumer applications with the necessary tools and support for the seamless integration and certification of new-generation product designs. For wireless charging system developers launching certified Qi 1.3 transmitters under tight timelines, Microchip's three-coil Qi 1.3 reference design provides a head start for product development. The reference design fully integrates secure storage subsystem software with the wireless power microcontroller and is a flexible solution, enabling custom topologies and foreign object detection implementation.

08:32 EDT Caesarstone promotes Nahum Trost to CFO position - Caesarstone announced the promotion of Caesarstone's Director of Finance, Nahum Trost, to the position of Chief Financial Officer, effective September 1. Mr. Trost will succeed Ophir Yakovian, who plans to step down as Chief Financial Officer to pursue an executive role at another company.

08:31 EDT Red Violet announces launch of Identity division - Red Violet announced the formal launch of its Identity division and the appointment of Jim Greenwell as General Manager. Greenwell joins the company with deep experience in the digital identity and mobility space, most recently serving as an executive adviser to Thomson Reuters and AuthenticID, as well as serving on the advisory boards of Prove and Gravy Analytics. J red violet's subsidiary, Interactive Data, presently serves leading identity management solutions providers via its API-driven, consumer identity offerings. Powered by IDI's cloud-native CORE platform, IDI delivers authoritative, real-time identity verification and synthetic identity alerting that are key to fraud capture across the entire customer lifecycle, from account opening to transactions to ongoing account monitoring. Driven by IDI's differentiated, unified data assets, CORE is uniquely positioned to deliver actionable intelligence in support of instant identity verification to disparate industries including financial services, government, retail, online gaming, telco and insurance.

08:27 EDT FuelCell comments on the signing of House Bill 6524 in Connecticut - FuelCell Energy said it "applauds Governor Ned Lamont on the signing of Connecticut House Bill 6524, An Act Concerning the Solicitation of New Fuel Cell Electricity Generation Projects." The bill requires the Connecticut utilities to solicit proposals to acquire new fuel cell electricity generation projects that begin on or after July 1, 2021. Projects submitted under this mandate will be approved by January 1, 2022. House Bill 6524 provides preference for projects that are sited on brownfields as Connecticut demonstrates its commitment to energy equity and for fuel cells that are manufactured in Connecticut. The energy transition, and the forecasted importance of distributed hydrogen, positions Connecticut to continue as a global leader in clean technology essential in achieving global sustainability objectives through fuel cell deployment, the company added. "We believe this bi-partisan bill is a smart investment for Connecticut's electrical grid, environment, and economy, providing Connecticut the opportunity to play a leading role in the energy transition," said Jason Few, President and CEO, FuelCell Energy.

08:25 EDT Foothills evaluating small to mid-sized production, exploration opportunities - Foothills Exploration is pleased to provide an operations and compliance update. On July 13, 2021, the Company filed its Q2 2020 Quarterly Report with OTC Markets and on July 12, 2021, the Company also filed its Q1 2020 Quarterly Report with OTC. Management is diligently working to complete and file all remaining quarterly and annual reports required to become assigned to the OTC Pink Current tier in the near future. While the Company continues to work on the geological delineation of its Wind River Basin properties, management is currently evaluating several small to mid-sized production and exploration opportunities. "We are feeling quite positive about the Company's Wind River Basin program where we are working to unlock significant value as oil prices continue rebounding strongly," said Kevin J. Sylla, the Company's Executive Chairman. "Prospects for our newly formed New Energy Ventures division are also shaping up rather nicely. Today, I am pleased to announce that our Vice President of Business Development, Ms. Tara Roberts, will be taking the helm as CEO of the Company's recently formed New Energy Ventures division, where she will apply her passion for sustainability and renewable energy," continued Sylla. On June 29, 2021, the Company made its third and final payment to Odyssey Capital Funding in the amount of $139,575.48 pursuant to a settlement and mutual release agreement reached on April 12, 2021, and in doing so has now retired all three variable-rate convertible promissory notes with Odyssey for a combined principal amount of $482,500, plus accrued unpaid interest due. As a result of the Company's settlement agreement with Odyssey, no further related conversions will take place.

08:22 EDT AgroFresh Solutions announces global expansion of Control-Tec system - AgroFresh Solutions announced the expanded availability of Control-Tec sustainability technology systems across North America, South America, Europe and Australia/New Zealand following the successful implementation of these technologies in Chile. The customizable, automated post-harvest systems help packinghouse operators reduce water usage and increase efficiency of the disease prevention process. "At AgroFresh, we're on the front lines of developing AgTech solutions, from the fields to the packinghouses, with the goal of reducing food loss and water waste while maximizing harvest and fruit quality," said Clint Lewis, CEO of AgroFresh. "Our line of Control-Tec equipment leverages the best in automation to save packers time, conserve resources and yield more precise results to bring high quality produce all the way to the consumer. We are pleased to bring these innovative technologies to our global customers to help them significantly optimize their water and fungicide use in the post-harvest process." AgroFresh's proprietary Control-Tec Cherry processing system integrates Control-Tec Eco, Control-Tec Dosifier and an upgraded data reporting software capability, all specially designed to enhance environmental benefits and gain operational cost efficiencies for cherry processing.

08:20 EDT Danaos acquires six 5,466 TEU container vessels for $260M - Danaos announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire six 5,466 TEU container vessels built at Hanjin Subic Bay shipyard en bloc for $260M. The vessels, which have an average age of 6.8 years, are on time charter contracts to leading liner companies with a weighted average charter duration of approximately 2 years. The Acquisition will increase the Company's contracted revenue by approximately $71M and the Company's contracted EBITDA by approximately $39M in total and will be funded by cash at hand, although the Company is evaluating debt financing alternatives to finance part of the purchase price. The Company's CEO, Dr. John Coustas commented: "We are very pleased to announce an immediately accretive acquisition of a modern fleet at a fraction of the newbuilding cost and considerably lower than its charter free market value. The purchase price and contracted revenue associated with the vessels significantly reduce the residual risk of this transaction. Also, the targeted vessel segment has very favorable supply dynamics, and the vessels' staggered charters with durations between one and three years provide re-chartering upside. Danaos is uniquely positioned to capitalize on the strength of our balance sheet to pursue this type of growth opportunity, and we are firmly committed to continuing to take actions to create value for our shareholders."

08:20 EDT Apollo Global, Figure to collaborate on blockchain-enabled initiatives - Apollo Global Management announced that affiliates of Apollo and Figure have entered into an agreement to collaborate on a series of blockchain-enabled initiatives. As part of the agreement and consistent with Apollo's broader innovation agenda, the Firm has made a strategic decision to work with Figure on practical applications of the Provenance blockchain across the investment lifecycle, through projects such as an on-chain fund listing, asset securitization and digital marketplaces. The collaboration agreement is part of Apollo's larger strategic focus on fintech innovation, which includes studying, testing and applying new technologies across its investment platform to best serve the financial return and retirement income needs of a growing global pool of investors.

08:17 EDT Onto Innovation CFO Steven Roth plans to retire in 2022 - Onto Innovation announced that senior vice president and chief financial officer, Steven R. Roth, plans to retire from the Company in 2022, after the completion of a comprehensive search and successful transition process for his successor. Mr. Roth will remain fully engaged as CFO and actively participate in the process to evaluate a full slate of candidates.

08:17 EDT TiVo announce long-term renewal of patent license with Fox Corp. - TiVo (TIVO), a wholly owned subsidiary of Xperi (XPER), and Fox Corp. (FOX) announced a long-term renewal of their patent license. The renewal provides Fox with continued and expanded coverage under TiVo's patent portfolios.

08:15 EDT Akero Therapeutics appoints Judy Chou to board of directors - Akero Therapeutics announced the appointment of Judy Chou, Ph.D., to its board of directors as an independent director. Chou is currently President & CEO of AltruBio, Inc., a company focused on developing novel therapeutics for immunological diseases.

08:14 EDT Horace Mann to acquire Madison National Life Insurance for $172.5M - Horace Mann (HMN) announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Madison National Life Insurance, a subsidiary of Independence Holding Company (IHC). Madison National is a writer of employer-paid and sponsored benefits provided to educators by K-12 school districts. The transaction is expected to close early in Q1 of 2022, subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions. Headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin, Madison National offers short- and long-term group disability, group life and other products, with K-12 school districts representing 80% of 2020 premiums. Horace Mann has also entered into a long-term distribution agreement with National Insurance Services, or NIS, a distribution partner for Madison National for almost 40 years. NIS is an AssuredPartners company that provides employee benefit solutions exclusively for K-12 schools and other public sector organizations. In 2020, Madison National's net premiums were approximately $108M and statutory earnings were approximately $14M. Under the terms of the transaction, Horace Mann will acquire Madison National for $172.5M. The transaction has been approved by Horace Mann's and IHC's boards of directors and is expected to close early in Q1 of 2022, subject to regulatory approval and other customary closing conditions. After close, Madison National will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Horace Mann Educators. IHC will have a potential earnout of up to $12.5M payable in cash, if specified financial targets are achieved by the end of 2023. In the 12 months after closing, the transaction is expected to contribute approximately $7M-$9M or 15c-20c per share to Horace Mann's earnings, adding approximately 50 basis points to return on equity excluding net unrealized gains and losses on fixed maturity investments. These contributions include the effect of amortization of intangibles and one-time items related to the transaction, as well as modest assumptions regarding repositioning of Madison National's investment portfolio and additional operating expenses. The transaction will be funded with cash on hand and additional borrowings on the company's revolving credit facility, which is being extended to 2026 and expanded by $100M to $325M to provide ample liquidity. At closing, Horace Mann's leverage ratio is expected to be slightly below 25%, which aligns with levels appropriate for the company's current financial strength ratings. The company will target year-end RBCs of 425% for life and retirement subsidiaries and 400% for property and casualty subsidiaries. In addition, Horace Mann has signed a long-term distribution agreement with NIS to take effect concurrent with the closing of the Madison National transaction. NIS is an employee benefit brokerage subsidiary of AssuredPartners.

08:13 EDT Sesen Bio says BLA for Vicineum under FDA priority review - Sesen Bio announced that on July 13 the Company participated in a productive Late-Cycle Meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration FDA regarding the Company's Biologics License Application BLA for Vicineum for the treatment of BCG-unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, NMIBC, currently under Priority Review with a target Prescription Drug User Fee Act PDUFA date of August 18. The Late-Cycle Meeting is held late in the BLA review process between members of the FDA review team and the applicant to discuss the status of the review. The purpose of the meeting is to share information, discuss any substantive review items identified to date and to discuss the objectives for the remainder of the review. The meeting does not address the final regulatory decision for the application. "We are very pleased with the outcome of the Late-Cycle Meeting and continue to feel encouraged by the level of engagement from the FDA in our ongoing discussions regarding the BLA for Vicineum," said Dr. Thomas Cannell, president and chief executive officer of Sesen Bio. "We understand the FDA's position on the remaining review items and anticipate a successful resolution of these matters prior to the target PDUFA date. We remain focused on the patient and bringing a differentiated product to market that has the potential to improve patient outcomes while reducing overall healthcare costs." key review updates include the Company and the FDA. No Discipline Review letters have been issued to date. discussed remaining questions related to manufacturing facilities inspection, product quality information requests

08:12 EDT Catalyst Biosciences announces key leadership changes in ongoing transition - Catalyst Biosciences announced it has promoted Grant Blouse to chief scientific officer and Tom Knudsen to senior vice president, corporate development. Howard Levy, chief medical officer, announced his plan to retire and transition to a senior clinical advisor role to Catalyst.

08:10 EDT Beazley announces enhancements to Virtual Care insurance policy - Beazley has enhanced its pioneering Virtual Care policy, which provides comprehensive protection against the interconnected risks facing digital health and wellness organizations. As the market has matured and expanded, Beazley has introduced greater flexibility of coverage and more straightforward policy language to ensure clients can easily access the insurance they need and know exactly what they are covered for. All Virtual Care policies now also include affirmative bodily injury coverage as standard across all four core modules: Medical Malpractice & Professional Liability; Technology & Media Liability; Cyber Liability & Breach Response; General & Products Liability. In addition, the policy provides more extensive choice over first and third-party cyber coverage and risk services. These include: Breach Response Services to support in the event of an incident; Third-party coverage including information security & privacy, media liability, regulatory defense and payment cards; First-party cyber coverage including business interruption and dependent BI in the event of a security breach or system failure; Cyber extortion loss, data recovery loss, data and network liability; eCrime and criminal reward. Also available for the first time is Clinical Trials Financial Injury liability coverage, which protects against negligence, errors, omissions or failure during a clinical investigation and evaluation work.

08:09 EDT First Citizens, CIT Group merger receives FDIC approval - First Citizens' (FCNCA) and CIT Group's (CIT) proposal to merge the two companies has received regulatory approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC. The merger has already received approval from the Office of the North Carolina Commissioner of Banks. Completion of the proposed merger remains subject to approval from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, and closing is expected in Q3, subject to such approval and the satisfaction or waiver of other customary closing conditions. When completed, the combined company will operate under the First Citizens name and establish a top 20 bank in the U.S. based on assets.

08:08 EDT Quipt Home Medical enters four new states with closings of acquisitions - Quipt Home Medical announces that it has recently acquired three separate entities with combined operations in California, Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi, reporting combined unaudited trailing 12-month annual revenues of approximately $5.5M, and Adjusted EBITDA of $550,000 prior to integration. Quipt will operate each of the newly acquired entities under the Quipt brand name post-integration. The company shares the following updated metrics taking into consideration the three newly acquired entities: 130,000 current active patients; 17,000 unique referrals; and 57 locations across 15 U.S. States. Under the terms of the definitive purchase agreements, Quipt acquired the three combined entities for total consideration of approximately $4.2M in cash. "The closing of three acquisitions with operations spanning over four states represent the beginning of what we anticipate will be a busy second half of the year at Quipt, as we strategically aim to expand our operating footprint into attractive new and existing markets. We are focused on economically scaling the business, with our acquisition strategy, and robust organic growth platform," said Greg Crawford, Chairman and CEO of Quipt. "We are excited to build our brand into local markets, dedicated to exceptional patient care, and expect a smooth integration process that will allow us to move quickly to capture the many synergies available to us. We are able to add six new locations, over 10,000 active patients, and $5.5M in gross revenue through these acquired entities providing us meaningful infrastructure in these new areas of service."

08:06 EDT Entasis Therapeutics appoints Anna Diaz Triola as CCO - Entasis Therapeutics (ETTX) announced the appointment of Anna Diaz Triola as Chief Commercial Officer, effective July 19th 2021. Ms. Triola will be responsible for global commercial strategy, including U.S. sales and marketing operations. She previously served as the Vice President, Marketing at Summit Therapeutics (SMMT) where she was instrumental in developing the commercial strategy for the company's first product against C. difficile infections.

08:04 EDT Boeing, SkyNRG partner to scale sustainable aviation fuels globally - Boeing (BA), SkyNRG and SkyNRG Americas announced a partnership focused on scaling the availability and use of sustainable aviation fuels globally. Boeing will also invest in SkyNRG Americas' SAF production project, for which Alaska Airlines (ALK) is a previously announced partner. Boeing, SkyNRG and SkyNRG Americas will work together to accelerate SAF development globally, focusing on scaling production capacity, building awareness and engaging stakeholders throughout the value chain, including airlines, governments and environmental organizations.

08:03 EDT FactSet expands content through acquisition of BTU Analytics - FactSet announced that it has acquired BTU Analytics, a provider of data and analytics in the North American renewables, power, oil, and natural gas sectors. This deal allows FactSet to expand its industry-specific, or deep sector, content for investment professionals. The transaction closed on July 1, 2021 and is not expected to have a material impact on FactSet's fiscal 2021 results. BTU founders Andrew Bradford, Mason Ender, Tony Scott, Kathryn Downey Miller, and their teams have joined FactSet as part of the Company's deep sector content initiative.

08:02 EDT TransUnion public sector business partners with Homeland Security Experts Group - TransUnion's public sector business announced a new partnership with the Homeland Security Experts Group, sponsoring the Sept. 13-14 Homeland Security Enterprise Forum. The inaugural Homeland Security Enterprise Forum will commemorate the 20th anniversary of 9/11 while highlighting the need for cooperation between government leadership, the private sector and civil society to prevent critical homeland security issues.

08:01 EDT EQT Infrastructure to acquire Covanta for $20.25 per share

07:56 EDT Marriott CEO: Has not mandated, but encouraged, Covid vaccinations to associates - CEO Anthony Capuano is speaking on CNBC's "Squawk Box."

07:52 EDT Marriott CEO: Occupancy in China is back to pre-pandemic levels - CEO Anthony Capuano is speaking on CNBC's "Squawk Box."

07:46 EDT Lexagene Holdings retains intellectual property law firm Wolf Greenfield - LexaGene Holdings announced its strategic relationship with Wolf Greenfield, an intellectual property law firm, specializing in patents, licensing and royalty transactions, post-grant proceedings, and trademark and copyrights.

07:38 EDT Delta Air Lines reports Q2 operating cash flow $1.9B - Generated $1.9B of operating cash flow, $1.5B of free cash flow and $195M of free cash flow, adjusted in the June quarter.

07:36 EDT Vitalhub enters multi-year licensing agreement with University Hospitals Dorset - VitalHub announced the closing of a multi-year licensing agreement with University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust in support of the initial deployment of the novel NHS "Thing Big" initiative. Through its subsidiary Intouch with Health, the Company has signed a multi-year licensing contract to support a planned multi-phase NHS initiative to disrupt patient access to elective surgery care. In response to growing wait times for elective surgery across NHS hospitals, which have been all but exacerbated by the pandemic, Dorset has commenced the "Think Big" initiative, to explore innovative ways of reducing procedure wait times, improving overall patient experience and the delivery of care. Dorset is a newly-formed Trust, established through the merger of Poole Hospital Trust and Royal Bournemouth & Christchurch Trust, in October, 2020. Located on the south coast of England, Dorset comprises three hospital locations: the Poole Hospital, the Royal Bournemouth Hospital, and the Christchurch Hospital. The Trust employs more than 9,000 staff and serves a population size that exceeds 800,000 individuals.

07:35 EDT Generation Bio announces plan to scale next-generation RES manufacturing - Generation Bio announced that it plans to deploy next-generation rapid enzymatic synthesis, or RES, for manufacturing of its closed-ended DNA constructs across all portfolio programs. The company has signed a lease agreement to build out a cGMP facility of approximately 104,000 square feet in Waltham, Mass. to scale RES for clinical and initial commercial supply. The facility is expected to be operational in 2023, enabling an Investigational New Drug application and clinical development for the company's lead hemophilia A program. The company is using existing infrastructure for RES production of research material. "We are proud of our pioneering work with our ceDNA construct and cell-targeted lipid nanoparticle delivery system, and we are bringing that same level of innovation to manufacturing with RES. RES represents a step change in the quality, scale and speed of ceDNA production, and with our new manufacturing facility we maintain strong internal quality control while achieving scale and breadth to match the promise of our platform," said Geoff McDonough, M.D., chief executive officer at Generation Bio. "We believe the benefits of RES merit adjusting the timing of the IND submission for our hemophilia A program, and we expect the shift to RES to accelerate overall development timelines across the rest of our pipeline." Generation Bio anticipates incurring net lease costs of $104M over a 12-year period and investing up to $45M in the new manufacturing facility over the next two years. The company plans to continue partnering with contract manufacturing organizations during and after construction to ensure redundancy and secure additional ceDNA supply. Expenditures on the new facility are not expected to impact Generation Bio's cash runway, which is sufficient to fund key milestones into 2024.

07:34 EDT Sundt Air adds third Bombardier Challenger Business Jet to fleet - Bombardier and Sundt Air are pleased to announce the recent delivery of a brand-new Challenger 350 business jet. Sundt Air, an executive charter, aircraft management, and special mission company based in Norway, will manage the Challenger 350 business jet out of Oslo. The aircraft will be available for charter starting in July 2021.

07:31 EDT Qualigen Therapeutics announces submission of IND application for QN-165 - Qualigen Therapeutics announced the submission of an Investigational New Drug, or IND, application to the Food and Drug Administration for Qualigen's QN-165 with an initial target indication for the treatment of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients. QN-165, a DNA aptamer, is a broad-based antiviral drug candidate that has exhibited antiviral activity in multiple in vitro assays against different viruses. "We are excited to have reached this important milestone of submitting our first IND application to the FDA on our most advanced therapeutics program. This submission of the IND application for Phase 1b/2a clinical trials for QN-165 represents another step in our evolution from a globally patented and commercially successful diagnostics company to a clinical-stage therapeutics company with multiple programs," stated Michael Poirier, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Qualigen Therapeutics.

07:29 EDT Delta Air Lines sees Q3 capacity down 28%-30% - Sees Q3: CASM-ex up 11%-14%; CapEx ~$800M; Adjusted net debt ~$19B; Fuel price per gallon $2.05-$2.15.

07:22 EDT Medipharm Labs receives Canadian GMP Drug Establishment Licence - MediPharm announced it has received a Drug Establishment Licence issued by Health Canada in accordance with the Food and Drugs Act and Regulations. The DEL serves to confirm compliance to Good Manufacturing Practice standards. The DEL is a first of its kind licence for cannabis manufacturing in North America. A Canadian GMP DEL complements MediPharm Labs' existing Australian TGA GMP certification. The licence can be used for the manufacturing, testing and sale of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients and pharmaceutical drug products containing cannabis. This includes drugs that have marketing authorizations as either novel or generic pharmaceutical drug products containing cannabis. The DEL allows MediPharm Labs to leverage the Mutual Recognition Agreements established between Canada and other global regulatory authorities including the European Economic Area consisting of all EU member states as well as the three countries of the European Free Trade Association, Australia, the UK and Switzerland. In addition, as a member of the International Pharmaceutical Inspection Co-operation Scheme, the Health Canada DEL can be recognized in over 50 different countries including the US and the majority of the EU. With the DEL, MediPharm Labs would be eligible for a US Food and Drug Administration foreign inspection if a US or other global pharmaceutical customer files a registration application for a pharmaceutical drug product containing MediPharm Labs' API. In 2020, 64% of drugs exported from Canadian Drug Establishment Licence holders were exported to the US with FDA approval. MediPharm Labs will use the DEL in conjunction with its Australian facility TGA GMP to optimize the supply chain via MRAs for export of its products to over five countries in 2021.

07:19 EDT WeedMD, CannTx signs acquisition agreement, confirm name as Entourage Health - WeedMD announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of renowned craft cultivator CannTx Life Sciences in an all-stock transaction. The Acquisition, which is subject to CannTx shareholder approval as well as other customary closing conditions, is expected to close in late August 2021. Upon closing, CannTx, which operates out of its licensed production facility in Guelph, Ontario will continue doing business as a wholly owned subsidiary of Entourage. Entourage is also pleased to announce it has changed its corporate name from "WeedMD Inc." to "Entourage Health Corp." Visit our new website here, expected to be live at market opening on or about July 16, 2021. In connection with the rebranding, the Company's common shares, convertible debentures maturing September 25, 2022, Common Share purchase warrants expiring September 25, 2022 and Common Share purchase warrants expiring March 12, 2023, are expected to commence trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under their respective ticker symbols "ENTG", "ENTG. DB", "ENTG.WT", and "ENTG.WT.A", at market opening on or about July 16, 2021. Upon closing, the Acquisition will create an entity that will house one of the most comprehensive genetic banks in the industry, further strengthening the Company's already robust cultivation and high-margin processing operations for new strain and product expansion, which now includes hash and rosin production. In addition to its tissue culture, micropropagation and craft cultivation specialties, CannTx will fold in its B2B Steadystem Solutions and adult-use craft brand Royal City Cannabis Co. to the brand portfolio that includes Color Cannabis, Saturday Cannabis, Starseed Medicinal and Mary's Medicinals Canada. Upon closing of the Acquisition, Entourage will issue up to 62,500,000 Common Shares to CannTx shareholders, subject to adjustment in accordance with the Acquisition Agreement. The Acquisition values CannTx at up to approximately $17.5 million based on an Entourage Common Share price of $0.28 per share. Upon closing of the Acquisition, an aggregate of approximately 3,571,000 Common Shares will be held in escrow to secure indemnification and other obligations undertaken by certain vendors in the Acquisition Agreement. The directors, officer and certain shareholders of CannTx, who collectively beneficially own, or exercise control or direction over, 21,717,668 CannTx common shares, have entered into voting support agreements pursuant to which each has agreed to vote their CannTx Shares in favour of the Acquisition and all other matters in favour of the Acquisition. Concurrent with the closing of the Acquisition, it is expected that two nominees from CannTx shall join the Entourage board of directors. In addition, certain members of CannTx's management will join the Entourage management team. Completion of the Acquisition remains subject to the satisfaction or waiver of all closing conditions, including the receipt of all required regulatory approvals. The Acquisition is expected to close in late August 2021.

07:16 EDT Osino Resources announces PEA results for Twin Hills Gold Project - Osino Resources is pleased to announce the results of the preliminary economic assessment for Osino's Twin Hills Gold Project, which is located in central Namibia and is rapidly being advanced through accelerated exploration drilling and fast-tracked development studies. The PEA was prepared by Lycopodium Minerals Africa in accordance with National Instrument 43-101-Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects and contemplates a low-risk, technically simple open-pit mine utilizing contract mining and feeding a conventional carbon-in-leach metallurgical plant processing 3.5 million tonnes of mineralized material per annum. PEA Highlights: 15-year Life-of-Mine and 3.5 million tonnes per annum processing capacity. LOM gold recovery of 90.9% utilising conventional 3-stage crushing/ball milling and carbon-in-leach processing layout. Average annual gold production for years two to six of 124,000 ounces per year at an average operating cost of US$827/oz produced. Average LOM gold production of 99,000 ounces per annum. Pre-production capital cost estimate of US$176 million plus US$26m contingency. Cumulative LOM net cash flow of US$858 million and US$560 million. Net Present Value of US$579 million and US$377 million at a 5% discount rate with a respective after-tax payback period of 2.3 years and internal rate of return of 38%, using a base gold price of US$1,700/oz. PEA based on the previously reported Mineral Resource block model from the Technical Report, using a cut-off grade of 0.3 g/t Au, resulting in an Indicated Mineral Resource of 14.0 million tonnes at 0.98 g/t Au and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 46.2 Mt at 1.02 g/t Au, derived from 69,000m of drilling. An additional 31,987 m of infill and expansion drilling has been completed at Twin Hills since the April 1, 2021 effective date of the Technical Report, but has not been included in the PEA. This will be included in subsequent updates of the Mineral Resource once the drill program has been completed and all corresponding assay results have been received. Ongoing infill, resource expansion and brownfields exploration drilling with 10 drill rigs, in addition to ongoing project optimization, is likely to result in improved production parameters and economic outcomes to be published as part of the feasibility study which is expected to be completed during H1 of 2022.

07:11 EDT Allot selected by European CSP to provide cybersecurity services to customers - Allot announced that a mobile and fixed communications provider in Central Europe has selected Allot NetworkSecure and EndpointSecure solutions to provide cybersecurity services and parental controls to their consumer customers. The CSP and Allot will share recurring monthly revenue generated by the services. "We are pleased to have been selected as a consumer cybersecurity partner by another European CSP," said Amir Oren, VP Sales, EMEA at Allot. "This new customer joins a growing list of forward-thinking communication service providers who understand how valuable network-based security services are for their consumer customers and how Allot can easily enable mass-market service onboarding and effortless customer operation."

07:11 EDT Skylight Health acquires ACO Partners, terms not disclosed - Skylight Health Group announced the acquisition of ACO Partners, a new Accountable Care Organization that will begin participation in the Medicare Shared Savings Program offered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services effective January 1, 2022. An Accountable Care Organization is a healthcare organization that ties provider reimbursements to quality metrics and reductions in the cost of care. An ACO will share in the savings it achieves for the Medicare program through its MSSP participation for fee-for-service beneficiaries, and direct contracting program with CMS; Under the Medicare Shared Savings Program, the organization can see annual shared savings from 40% up to 75% on any attributed Medicare beneficiaries; Skylight's ACO will enable it to begin value-based care directly with CMS under a single-sided risk agreement in Year 1 with a goal of shifting to full risk; This Acquisition expands potential for National payor contracting including Medicare Advantage; In addition to Skylight participants of the ACO, Skylight expects to solicit new provider networks for participation in the Skylight ACO; and Skylight expects to see the ACO benefit all current and future Skylight primary care practices for traditional Medicare patients at the start of the 2022 contribution year. In 2019 alone, ACO's saved Medicare nearly $1.2 billion while maintaining a high level of care quality as measured by longstanding program metrics. ACO's allow access to key data points including cost and quality data that can help providers understand how to maximize health outcomes and cost of care. For most independent providers, access and use of this data is a significant barrier to value-based care participation. Removing the barrier of access to the data, together with the integration of its proprietary analytics capabilities, Skylight expects to realize enhanced clinic performance and an improved strategic acquisition strategy. Skylight expects to realize 3 key benefits from this acquisition: Direct CMS contracting for Traditional Medicare - under the MSSP, Skylight expects to receive in Year 1, up to 40% of the shared savings realized through programs and services aimed at optimizing patient outcomes and reducing cost of care. The Company expects to enter full risk contracting, which could see up to 75% of shared savings and other value-added incentives, including capitation, as it demonstrates savings and quality outcomes. National Contracting Platform - through the ACO, Skylight and its network of providers will benefit from scale and the opportunity to contract with national payors on managed care programs such as Medicare Advantage and commercial risk. Additional Provider Participation and Acquisition Opportunities - the ACO provides a platform for Skylight to gain additional provider participation. This can lead to opportunities for further consolidation as providers continue to seek buyers who are aligned with the practice's long term patient care model and values.

07:09 EDT Akoustis receives volume development order for a WiFi 6E Diplexer - Akoustis Technologies announced that it has received a development order for a WiFi 6E diplexer from a tier-1 personal computing chipset maker. The diplexer will leverage Akoustis' industry leading XBAW WiFi 6E filter technology with first samples expected to ship by Q1 calendar 2022. The development of this new diplexer expands the company's high-performance WiFi 6E product portfolio beyond discrete filter solutions by integrating two XBAW filters which connect to a common antenna port. The new diplexer will incorporate Akoustis' new chip-scale-package technology to deliver an ultra-small integrated module suitable for application where size is a premium consideration. Jeff Shealy, founder, and CEO of Akoustis, stated, "The personal computing market is another significant opportunity for Akoustis as we are well positioned to meet the critical requirements including size reduction and spectrum selectivity for WiFi 6E." Mr. Shealy continued, "This new customer provides significant validation for our XBAW process and technology, and the development of a new diplexer is the first step in developing more complex and integrated modules for our customers using our patented and proprietary XBAW process." Given the rapidly growing sales funnel activity, as well as ongoing interaction with customers regarding expected ramps in both 5G mobile and WiFi 6E in calendar 2022, the company plans to increase the annual production capacity at its New York fab by the end of calendar 2021 to approximately 500M filters per year.

07:07 EDT Dorman Products announces 270 new products - Dorman Products is announcing the release of 270 new replacement auto parts, including 78 aftermarket-first solutions, giving repair professionals and vehicle owners greater freedom to fix a wide range of cars and trucks. This month's new solutions include an upgraded aluminum engine oil filter housing designed to replace the original on over 4.2M Jeep, Ram, Dodge, and Chrysler vehicles. The new Dorman OE FIX housing is designed as a more permanent solution and is crafted entirely of aluminum to help prevent the material degradation and warping that causes the original design to fail. This month's new product releases also include an aftermarket-exclusive wheel hub bolt kit for popular 2015 to 2020 Ford Transit model years. Other highlights from this month's new product announcement include: 6 new blind spot modules offering coverage for late-model Ford and Lincoln cars and SUVs; 11 new window regulators, extending Dorman's aftermarket-leading coverage in this safety-first, highly-engineered part category; 73 new blower motor resistors, direct replacement parts that are designed to match the fit and performance of the original equipment resistors; 15 new control arms, including 2 aftermarket-first arms for late-model Ford EcoSport SUVs and extending Dorman's coverage in this category to late-model Audi, Toyota and Nissan vehicles; 31 aftermarket-exclusive drive shafts; 9 new air door actuators, including 7 aftermarket-first products for popular Lexus, Toyota, Honda, and Acura vehicles; and 14 new wheel hub bearing assemblies.

07:06 EDT TransMedics: Nasdaq has halted trading of the company's common stock - TransMedics announced that Nasdaq has halted trading of the company's common stock. The U.S. FDA Gastroenterology and Urology Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee is meeting to review TransMedics' Organ Care System Liver System. The OCS Liver System is a portable organ perfusion and monitoring medical device intended to preserve a donated Liver a near-physiologic, normothermic, and functioning state while continually monitoring and optimizing Liver function for eventual transplantation into the recipient.

07:05 EDT Summit Wireless's Wisa boosts expectations for 2021 web visitors to 2M - WiSA founded by Summit Wireless Technologies increased expectations for 2021 web visitors from 1 million to 2M driven by the WiSA Wave marketing initiative. In the first half of 2021, the Association web traffic reached nearly 900,000 visitors, growing over 1000% compared to the same period last year. "We are thrilled to see the Wave initiative fueling so much interest in our category and driving so many individuals to points of education," said Tony Ostrom, WiSA President. "With so many amazing new WiSA Certified products entering the market and creating great systems and complete home cinema bundles, it's validating to see interest and enthusiasm growing at such a rapid rate. We believe these positive trends signal significant site visitation and sales activity during the 2021 holiday season."

07:04 EDT Agrify receives hemp cultivation and production license, opens new facility - Agrify announced that it has received a license from the state of Massachusetts for the cultivation and production of industrial hemp at the company's Billerica, Massachusetts facility. Under the License, Agrify expects to cultivate up to 3,000 plants per year. Concurrent with the receipt of the License, the company also announced it has officially opened its product showcase and corporate office at the Billerica location to customers and visitors. Cultivation at the Facility is slated to begin in August 2021 with the programs initially focusing on the optimization of chemical metabolite production, increasing biomass, and delivering cultivation grow plans designed to elicit specific chemotypic and phenotypic trait expression in hemp plants.

07:03 EDT Nkarta establishes combined NK cell therapy manufacturing facility/headquarters - Nkarta announced that it has signed a lease agreement for a facility to support research and development and future commercial manufacturing of Nkarta's cell therapy pipeline. The new facility will also serve as the company's headquarters with office space and research facilities. The manufacturing center will be custom designed to complement Nkarta's technology platform and optimize the production of its multiple off-the-shelf NK cell therapy investigational products. Nkarta plans to produce materials for potential pivotal clinical trials and commercial launch at the new center. Earlier this year, Nkarta completed the construction and qualification of a 2,700 square foot cGMP facility at its primary location in South San Francisco, California. This current clinical manufacturing facility was designed to integrate with Nkarta's internal process development expertise and meet the production needs of Nkarta's research activities and early stage clinical trials. Nkarta is currently manufacturing clinical supply for its planned Phase 1 study of NKX019, expected to start in the second half of 2021, and plans to transfer the production of NKX101 and other proprietary platform materials to the clinical manufacturing facility in the future. The newly leased facility in South San Francisco will be built-out as a multi-product facility and is expected to be operational by the end of 2023. At full capacity, the manufacturing center is expected to have the flexibility to produce commercial supply of multiple cell therapy products. Nkarta will also consolidate administrative offices and research and development laboratories at the new site.

07:02 EDT MeaTech 3D, Tiv Ta'am Holdings Group sign LOI to develop meat products - Tiv Ta'am and MeaTech reported this morning that they have signed a non-binding letter of intent to cooperate in the joint development of cultivated meat products. In accordance with the LOI, Tiv Ta'am and MeaTech will work to sign a binding agreement, which is expected to include cooperation on research, the establishment of a production facility for cultivated meat products, as well as granting distribution and marketing rights to Tiv Ta'am (including possible exclusive rights on jointly developed products), in Israel and/or elsewhere in the world. The parties agreed to discuss expanding cooperation regarding the production and marketing of cultivated meat products in the future, with an emphasis on cultivated pork, following MeaTech's recent announcement regarding the commencement of cultivated pork development and the Tiv Ta'am Group's expectation that growing demand will drive the increased use of pork fat as a raw material in the coming years.

06:58 EDT Velodyne Lidar joins NVIDIA Metropolis program for intelligent infrastructure - Velodyne Lidar has joined the NVIDIA Metropolis program for Velodyne's Intelligent Infrastructure Solution for traffic monitoring and analytics. NVIDIA Metropolis is designed to nurture and bring to market a new generation of applications and solutions that make important spaces and operations safer and more efficient with advancements in AI vision. The Intelligent Infrastructure Solution combines Velodyne's lidar sensors and AI software to monitor traffic networks and public spaces. Velodyne's solution leverages the embedded NVIDIA Jetson AGX Xavier module in its edge AI computing system to run the solution's proprietary 3D perception software, which can detect all road users including vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists in real time. Being a part of NVIDIA Metropolis, Velodyne gains increased exposure to industry experts, AI-driven organizations, governments and integration partners. Velodyne also has early access to NVIDIA platform updates and can tap into NVIDIA's diverse partner ecosystem to support lidar-based solution development. Velodyne's Intelligent Infrastructure Solution pilot project is set to deploy in Austin, Texas.

06:57 EDT Asensus Surgical files 510(k) submission to FDA for expansion of ISU - Asensus Surgical announced that it has filed a 510(k) submission with the FDA for an expansion of capabilities on the previously cleared Intelligent Surgical Unit. The ISU is utilized on the company's Senhance Surgical System which enables digital laparoscopy.

06:55 EDT Bank of America returned $5.8B to shareholders in Q2 - Returned $5.8B to shareholders through common dividends and share repurchases.

06:52 EDT Jefferies Financial Group, SMBC announce strategic alliance - Jefferies Financial Group (JEF), Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG), and SMBC Nikko Securities announced that they have entered into a Strategic Alliance to collaborate on future corporate and investment banking business opportunities. Through the Strategic Alliance, Jefferies and SMBC Group will coordinate across highly accretive growth areas in the corporate and investment banking business. These initiatives are expected to strengthen the existing businesses of both firms, and enhance each firm's ability to support its clients' needs. Jefferies and SMBC Group will, among other things, coordinate efforts in the U.S. leveraged finance business to expand and scale existing offerings; form a global strategic partnership to seek cross-border M&A opportunities involving Japanese companies; and jointly pursue investment banking, capital markets and financing opportunities by leveraging both companies' respective strengths initially in the U.S. Healthcare sector. SMBC will also provide financing to Jefferies Finance LLC, the leveraged finance underwriting affiliate of Jefferies, to expand JFIN's and Jefferies' leveraged finance origination and underwriting efforts, as well as financing to Jefferies Group. SMBC's financing to JFIN is in the form of a $1.65B revolving credit facility and a $250M subordinated loan to support JFIN's lending capabilities, and the financing to Jefferies is in the form of a $350M revolving credit facility

06:48 EDT Bank of America reports Q2 trading revenue, ex-DVA $3.6B

06:47 EDT Eli Lilly acquires Protomer Technologies in transaction valued over $1B - Eli Lilly announced the acquisition of Protomer Technologies, a private biotech company. Protomer's proprietary peptide- and protein-engineering platform is used to identify and synthesize molecules that can sense glucose or other endogenous modulators of protein activity. The potential value of the transaction is over $1B, with successful achievement of future development and commercial milestones. Lilly previously led an equity investment in Protomer alongside the JDRF T1D Fund, providing Lilly with 14% ownership of the company. Lilly is acquiring the remainder of the stock of Protomer beyond its initial investment. Founded in 2015 and based in Pasadena, California, Protomer is engineering protein therapeutics that can sense molecular activators in the body. The company's proprietary chemical biology-based platform enables the development of therapeutic peptides and proteins with tunable activity that can be controlled using small molecules. Protomer has used this approach toward advancing a portfolio of therapeutic candidates, including glucose-responsive insulins that can sense sugar levels in the blood and automatically activate as needed throughout the day. This transaction will be reflected in Lilly's reported results and financial guidance according to GAAP. There will be no change to Lilly's 2021 non-GAAP earnings per share guidance as a result of this transaction.

06:39 EDT Digital Realty, Brookfield Infrastructure Partners to establish joint venture - Digital Realty (DLR) and Brookfield Infrastructure Partners L.P. (BIP) and its institutional partners announced an agreement to establish a 50/50 joint venture focused on the development, ownership and operation of institutional quality data centers in India. The joint venture will operate under the brand name BAM Digital Realty. The joint venture is positioned to enable the significant expansion of PlatformDIGITAL, Digital Realty's premier global data center platform which supports the evolving data, control and networking demands of global enterprises. Its deployment across India is expected to enable customers to rapidly scale digital transformation by deploying critical infrastructure with a leading global data center provider at the heart of a growing connected data community in India. Data centers developed in India will leverage Digital Realty's industry-leading energy-efficient data center design and operating procedures and highly repeatable Pervasive Data Center Architecture approach for the new digital workplace.

06:39 EDT Digital Realty, Brookfield Infrastructure to establish 50/50 joint venture - Digital Realty (DLR) and Brookfield Infrastructure (BIP) announced an agreement to establish a 50/50 joint venture focused on the development, ownership and operation of institutional quality data centers in India. The joint venture will operate under the brand name BAM Digital Realty. Its deployment across India is expected to enable customers to rapidly scale digital transformation by deploying critical infrastructure with a leading global data center provider at the heart of a growing connected data community in India. The closing of the joint venture is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals and is expected to occur in the second half of 2021.

06:33 EDT Verso confirms $20.00 per share acquisition proposal from Atlas Holdings - Verso confirmed that it has received an unsolicited proposal from Atlas Holdings regarding a potential transaction to acquire all outstanding shares of Class A common stock of Verso for $20.00 per share in cash.

06:21 EDT BlackRock CEO says 'strong annualized organic base fee growth of 10%' in Q2 - Laurence D. Fink, Chairman and CEO said, "BlackRock's comprehensive investment and technology platform continues to evolve ahead of our clients' needs. Strong annualized organic base fee growth of 10% in the second quarter was driven by our top-performing active platform and industry-leading iShares ETF franchise. We also delivered 14% year-over-year growth in technology services revenue. Our longstanding approach to invest for the future positions our platform to better serve clients and generate more consistent organic growth. In sustainability, we are investing in products, data and analytics and technology to help investors capture the opportunity and manage the risks presented by sustainable factors. This is resonating with our clients and we generated $35 billion of sustainable net inflows in the quarter. Through our wealth and ETF businesses, we are driving the democratization of personalized portfolios at scale. And we are bringing together the breadth of our investment platform, portfolio construction expertise and Aladdin technology to serve clients' whole portfolios in a way that no other asset manager can. Our commitment to helping more and more people experience financial well-being guides our long-term strategy and how we use our voice on behalf of our stakeholders. We will continue to invest and evolve so we can deliver value for our clients, employees, shareholders and the communities where we operate."

06:17 EDT BlackRock reports Q2 AUM $9.5T, up 30% y/y

06:01 EDT Travelers makes minority investment in Fidelis Insurance Holdings - The Travelers Companies announced that it has made a strategic minority investment in Fidelis Insurance Holdings Limited, a privately owned, global insurer. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Fidelis offers specialty, bespoke and reinsurance products. The company also has a fee income business, which supports its insurance operations.

05:19 EDT Walmart, Symbotic partner to implement supply chain automation system - Symbotic, a robotics and automation-based company and Walmart announced they will partner to reimagine the retailer's regional distribution network. Symbotic first implemented its system in Walmart's Brooksville, Florida distribution center in 2017. Since that time, the companies have worked together to optimize the system. Now, Symbotic will begin the process of outfitting 25 additional regional distribution centers with the system aimed at operating Walmart's supply chain. The companies said, "By implementing Symbotic's system, Walmart will better modernize and digitize its existing supply chain facilities to support evolving customer demand and create a frictionless experience. All the while, the retailer will create training opportunities for associates that open the door for jobs of the future, increase productivity and reduce costs. Symbotic's scalable, integrated system deploys a fleet of fully autonomous robots in combination with proprietary software to deliver industry-best throughput and efficiency, while increasing warehouse capacity. With the new system in place, it will help reduce the time it takes to unload, sort, and stock freight in Walmart stores."

05:13 EDT Hologic obtains CE Mark for use of saliva samples with Aptima SARS-CoV-2 assay - Hologic has obtained a CE Mark for the use of saliva samples with the Aptima SARS-CoV-2 assay in Europe. The Aptima SARS-CoV-2 test is a molecular diagnostic assay that detects the genetic material of the pathogen causing COVID-19. The test runs on the fully automated Panther system.

05:08 EDT Kennedy Wilson expands global debt platform to over $3B - Kennedy Wilson has expanded its global debt platform to over $3B. The platform, which includes partners across insurance and sovereign wealth, invests across the entire real estate debt capital structure in the U.S., UK and Europe, with $1.3B of loans currently deployed. The expansion includes a new $700M debt investment platform in partnership with a global institutional investor that will target loans secured by high-quality real estate in the UK and Europe. Kennedy Wilson expects to have an average ownership of 5%-10% across its global debt platform and earns customary management fees in its role as investment manager.