Stockwinners Market Radar for July 20, 2021 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

19:11 EDT Capcom says 'Monster Hunter Stories 2' has shipped over 1M units globally - Capcom (CCOEY) announced that role-playing game "Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin" has shipped over 1M units worldwide since its release earlier this month. The game is available on PC and Nintendo Switch (NTDOY). Reference Link

18:36 EDT Netflix views all devices it serves as possible platforms for gaming - Says views all devices it serves to be potential portals for gaming experiences. Says will keep innovating in that space. Sees "rich opportunity" to advance technical capability and improve quality of game experiences it can offer on a range of devices. Says taking "experimental" approach to space.

18:27 EDT Rio Tinto, Bougainville community agree to assess legacy impact of Paguna mine - The company states: "Rio Tinto and Bougainville community members, represented by the Human Rights Law Centre, have reached an agreement to identify and assess legacy impacts of the former Panguna copper mine in Bougainville. This follows several months of constructive discussions facilitated by the Australian OECD National Contact Point. A joint committee of stakeholders will be formed to oversee a detailed independent assessment of the Panguna mine to identify and better understand actual and potential environmental and human rights impacts of the mine which ceased operating in 1989."

18:18 EDT Netflix says 20% penetrated in broadband homes worldwide - Says will continue to use share repurchases. Says 20% penetrated in global broadband homes. Says only 10% penetrated in broadband homes in APAC region.

18:10 EDT Netflix still feeling 'drag' in terms of acquisition growth - Says quarter played out "pretty much as expected." Says churn is down relative to same period in 2019. Says still feeling "drag" in terms of acquisition growth. Says hopes company is at tail end of "COVID choppiness." Says "heavily back-weighted" for this year in terms of new content. Says animated film "Mitchells vs. The Machines" was a "nice hit" in the quarter. Says underlying business metrics "healthy." Comments taken from Q2 earnings interview.

17:57 EDT Snapchat users can now watch HBO Max programming with Snap Minis - "Beginning to roll out today, Snapchatters in the U.S. can watch select episodes of award-winning HBO Max programming virtually alongside their friends for free through Snap (SNAP) Minis, Snap's platform for shared experiences on Snapchat, including the first episode of the hit new Max Original, "Gossip Girl." HBO Max is the first major streamer to build a Mini to bring full-length episodes to Snapchat, building on its history of innovation to reach new audiences and engage with fans. The HBO Max Mini launches instantly in Snapchat with no installation required, offers age-appropriate episodes based on the user's age, and is available on iOS and Android. Snapchatters will be able to access watch groups that are viewing episodes with an age-appropriate rating. Through Snapchat's HBO Max Snap Mini, Snapchatters can watch a selection of content from the beloved HBO Max catalog through shared playback, while chatting and sharing Bitmoji reactions. This partnership provides an additional avenue for people to congregate around and forge meaningful relationships with culture-defining shows," said Warner Media in a statement. The Fly notes that HBO Max is part of WarnerMedia, an AT&T (T) unit. Reference Link

17:35 EDT ModivCare appoints Jonathan Bush as general counsel, Kenneth Shepard as CAO - ModivCare announced that, effective immediately, Jonathan Bush has been promoted to senior VP, general counsel and secretary, and Kenneth Shepard has been promoted to VP, chief accounting officer, or CAO. Bush has over two decades of in-house and law firm experience in M&A, securities regulation, corporate finance, corporate governance, private equity, restructurings, healthcare regulation, and compliance.

17:20 EDT Lockheed Martin awarded $231.4M Navy contract modification - Lockheed Martin was awarded a $231.4M firm-fixed-price modification to a previously awarded contract to definitize the initial award, and procure an additional 70 MK41 Vertical Launching System modules and ancillary equipment for DDG 51-class destroyers and FFG 62-class frigates. This contract modification combines purchases for the U.S. government; the Commonwealth of Australia and Spain under the Foreign Military Sales, or FMS, program. Work is expected to be completed by July 2025. FY21 shipbuilding and conversion funds in the amount of $91.65M; FY20 shipbuilding and conversion funds in the amount of $91.65M; FMS Australia funds in the amount of $30.69M and FMS Spain funds in the amount of $17.42M will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command is the contracting activity.

17:14 EDT Sleep Number CEO says well positioned for another year of growth

17:06 EDT Intuitive Surgical raises FY21 procedure growth view to 27%-30% from 22%-26% - Sees FY21 gross profit margin 70.5%-71.5% of revenue. Sees FY21 operating expenses up 17%-21%. Sees FY21 second half tax rate 21%-22%. Says patients are starting to return to screening and diagnostic testing. Says European procedure growth was health, but varied by country. Says focused on customer support, execution of launches and regional performance. Says China procedure growth was far higher than other regions. Says working to secure supply to fulfill customer demand. Says supply chain shortages may lead to higher production costs. Says Q2 spending was below expectations, mostly due to impacts from COVID-19. Comments and guidance taken from Q earnings conference call.

16:56 EDT Vornado to increase ownership interest in One Park Ave. to 100% - Vornado Realty Trust announced that, pursuant to a right of first offer, it has agreed to acquire Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's 45% interest in One Park Avenue, increasing Vornado's ownership interest to 100%. The purchase price values the property at $875M. The consideration to CPP Investments is approximately $158 million in cash plus Vornado is assuming CPP Investments' share of the existing debt. The property is currently encumbered by $525M of debt, which bears interest The purchase is expected to close in Q3 of 2021, subject to customary closing conditions.

16:39 EDT Land's End up 2.9% at $38.00 per share after raising Q2, FY21 guidance

16:37 EDT United Airlines reports Q2 ending available liquidity of $23B - In Q2: Raised secured financing collateralized by substantially all of United's network of slots, routes, and gates - made up of $4B in a private offering of bonds, a $5B term loan, and a $1.75B revolving credit facility. This is a first of its kind financing and the largest non-merger financing transaction in airline history.

16:36 EDT United Airlines reports Q2 capacity down 46% vs. 2Q19 - Reported Q2: Total Revenue per Available Seat Mile (TRASM) of down 11.3% compared to second quarter 2019; operating expenses down 42%, down 32% excluding special charges (credits), compared to second quarter 2019; pre-tax margin of negative 10.3%, negative 29.2% on an adjusted basis; adjusted EBITDA margin of negative 10.7%.

16:32 EDT International Game forms strategic partnership with Marker Trax - International Game Technology PLC announced that it is furthering its efforts in cashless gaming technologies via a strategic partnership with Marker Trax, makers of an advanced digital casino marker system. This partnership will give IGT ADVANTAGE casino management systems users the option to integrate Marker Trax technology into any variation of an IGT Resort Wallet deployment, the company said.

16:22 EDT Safe Bulkers to buy three Japanese dry-bulk Kamsarmax class vessels - Safe Bulkers announced that in relation to its fleet renewal strategy, it has entered into agreements for the acquisition of three Japanese dry-bulk 82,000 dwt, Kamsarmax class vessels at attractive prices with scheduled delivery dates within the fourth quarter of 2023 for one vessel and within the first quarter of 2024, for the other two vessels. All three newbuild vessels are designed to meet the Phase 3 requirements of Energy Efficiency Design Index related to Green House Gas emissions, and also comply with the latest NOx emissions regulation, and will be financed from the cash reserves of the Company. Dr. Loukas Barmparis, President of the Company, commented: "We are continuing our fleet renewal strategy, by ordering three additional vessels, bringing the total number of newbuilds to eight GHG-EEDI Phase 3, NOx-Tier III. In parallel, the Company has already acquired two younger second hand vessels. Newbuild orders and second hand acquisitions are in the context of our strategy to replace older or Chinese-built vessels, six of which have been sold until now."

16:17 EDT Colony Bankcorp acquires Barnes Agency, to form Colony Insurance subsidiary - Colony Bankcorp, Inc. (CBAN), the bank holding company for Colony Bank, announced it has agreed to acquire The Barnes Agency, an Allstate (ALL) appointed consumer property and casualty insurance agency in Macon, GA. The transaction is expected to close August 1, 2021. In conjunction with the transaction, the Bank has formed a new subsidiary that will operate under the brand Colony Insurance, which will offer a suite of consumer insurance solutions as an Allstate appointed agency, and has named Jason Barnes as President of the subsidiary. "Providing the convenient option for our banking, mortgage and consumer lending customers to purchase insurance through their trusted advisors at Colony Insurance is a logical extension to our existing range of financial services and products," said Heath Fountain, President and Chief Executive Officer. "This expansion is in-line with our stated goal to diversify our revenue streams and increase non-interest income. Further, by providing enhanced technological improvements to The Barnes Agency as well as the potential for additional growth, we will improve the profitability of our branch network. The consumer agency business in the markets we serve will benefit from Colony's proactive business development system and efficient operating model."

16:17 EDT VICI Properties enters strategic arrangement with Great Wolf Resorts, Blackstone - VICI Properties announced that the company has entered into a strategic arrangement with Great Wolf Resorts whereby VICI Properties may provide certain financing for the construction and development of Great Wolf Lodge resorts throughout the United States. As part of this arrangement, VICI Properties has agreed to provide a $79.5 million mezzanine loan investment related to the development of the more than $250 million Great Wolf Lodge Mid-Atlantic project in Perryville, MD, which was announced today and is expected to be completed by the summer of 2023. The mezzanine loan has an interest rate of 8% and an initial term of 3 years with two successive 12-month extension options subject to certain conditions.

16:15 EDT Chipotle jumps 4% to $1,645 after Q2 results beat estimates

16:14 EDT Chipotle CEO says 'we demonstrated growing momentum in the business' - "Chipotle's second quarter results highlight the strength of our brand and our people, as we demonstrated growing momentum in the business," said Brian Niccol, Chairman and CEO, Chipotle. "We remain confident in our key growth strategies and believe they will help us achieve our next goal of $3 million average unit volumes with industry leading returns on invested capital that improve as we continue to add Chipotlanes. Strong restaurant level economics combined with significant restaurant growth should allow us to optimize earnings power for many years to come. The health and well-being of our employees and guests continues to be our top priority. Beyond the investments made in our people, restaurants, and supply chain, we are closely following the recommendations of the CDC and local health departments. We have implemented and enhanced numerous protocols that give our employees and guests confidence that Chipotle remains steadfast in our commitment to keep them safe as capacity restrictions ease and in-restaurant ordering and dining increases. As of June 30, 2021, Chipotle continues to maintain a strong financial position with nearly $1.2 billion in cash, investments and restricted cash, and no debt. We also have access to a $500 million untapped credit facility. Our financial strength gives us the opportunity to make on-going strategic investments in our people, business, and communities, which we believe will benefit us for years to come."

16:12 EDT Chipotle sees at or slightly above 200 new restaurant openings in 2021 - Expects an estimated effective full year tax rate between 25%-27%.

16:10 EDT Property Solutions Acquisition receives stockholder approval of Faraday deal - Property Solutions Acquisition Corp. announced the results for the ten proposals considered and voted upon by its stockholders at its special meeting on July 20, 2021. PSAC reported that all of the proposals related to the previously announced business combination agreement between PSAC and Faraday Future were approved by the PSAC stockholders at the special meeting. A Form 8-K disclosing the full voting results has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additionally, the deadline for electing redemptions has passed, and 99.91% of funds will remain in PSAC's trust account as of closing. As a result, FF expects to receive approximately $1 billion in gross proceeds at the time of the business combination. The closing of the business combination is anticipated to take place on or about July 21, 2021. Following closing of the business combination, PSAC will be renamed "Faraday Future Intelligent Electric Inc." and its common stock and warrants are expected to commence trading on the Nasdaq Global Exchange on or about July 22, 2021 under the ticker symbols "FFIE" and "FFIE.WS", respectively.

16:07 EDT Western Midstream increases dividend 1.3% to 31.9c - Western Midstream Partners announced that the board of directors of its general partner declared a quarterly cash distribution of 31.9c per unit for the Q2. This distribution represents a 1.3% increase over the prior quarter's distribution and is consistent with an annualized distribution growth of 5%. WES's Q2 distribution is payable August 13, to unitholders of record at the close of business July 30.

16:07 EDT Smith Micro CFO Huffmyer resigns - Smith Micro Software announced that Tim Huffmyer has informed the company of his intention to resign as Chief Financial Officer to pursue an opportunity with another company. Huffmyer is expected to continue his role as CFO over the next seven weeks, while assisting the company with an orderly transition, including the search for his replacement. William W. Smith, Jr., President and CEO of Smith Micro Software, said, "On behalf of Smith Micro, I want to thank Tim for his commitment and many contributions to Smith Micro Software over his tenure with the Company. Tim has been a valuable member of our management team and we wish him well in his future endeavors." The company has commenced a formal search for a new Chief Financial Officer, retaining a national executive search firm to support the process.

16:06 EDT Genpact names Michael Weiner as CFO, succeeding Edward Fitzpatrick - Genpact announced that Michael Weiner has been appointed Senior Vice President and CFO of Genpact, effective August 10. He will report to N.V. 'Tiger' Tyagarajan, Genpact's president and CEO. Weiner succeeds Edward Fitzpatrick, who has served as Genpact's Chief Financial Officer since 2014. Fitzpatrick will remain with the company as a Senior Vice President and Senior Client Advisor, reporting to Tyagarajan, and will assist in the transition. Weiner most recently served as Executive Vice President, CFO and Treasurer of National General Holdings Corp.

16:05 EDT Netflix says 'still very much in the early days' of on-demand transition - Netflix said in its quarterly letter to investors: "We are still very much in the early days of the transition from linear to on-demand consumption of entertainment. Streaming represents just 27% of US TV screen time, compared with 63% for linear television, according to Nielsen. Based on this same study, Nielsen estimates that we are just 7% of US TV screen time. Considering that we are less mature in other countries and that this excludes mobile screens (where we believe our share of engagement is even lower), we are confident that we have a long runway for growth. As we improve our service, our goal is to continue to increase our share of screen time in the US and around the world. The planned combination of Warner Media Group and Discovery and Amazon's pending acquisition of MGM are examples of the ongoing industry consolidation as firms adapt to a world where streaming supplants linear TV. The industry has consolidated materially over the years (Time Warner/AT&T, Viacom/CBS, Discovery/Scripps, Disney/Fox, Comcast/NBCU/Sky, etc.) and we don't believe this consolidation has affected our growth much, if at all. While we are continually evaluating opportunities, we don't view any assets as 'must-have' and we haven't yet found any large scale ones to be sufficiently compelling to act upon. In the race to entertain consumers around the world, we continue to compete for screen time with a broad set of firms like YouTube, Epic Games and TikTok (to name just a few). But, we are mostly competing with ourselves to improve our service as fast as we can. If we can do that, we're confident we can maintain our strong position and continue to grow nicely as we have been over the past two-plus decades."

16:04 EDT Albireo gets FDA approval of Bylvay to treat pruritus in PFIC - Albireo Pharma, announced U.S. Food & Drug Administration, FDA, approval of Bylvay, odevixibat, the first drug approved for the treatment of pruritus in all subtypes of progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis or PFIC. Bylvay is a potent, non-systemic ileal bile acid transport inhibitor, IBATi, which does not require refrigeration and is easily administered as a once-daily capsule or opened and sprinkled onto soft foods. Albireo is launching Bylvay immediately to accelerate availability for the patients and families impacted by PFIC. "Treating children with PFIC can be difficult and frustrating given the current treatment options. Bylvay gives us a non-surgical option and will change how we treat PFIC," said Richard Thompson, Professor of Molecular Hepatology at King's College London and principal investigator of PEDFIC 1 and PEDFIC 2. "With this approval, my colleagues and I now have the opportunity to revisit how PFIC patients are being managed and we are hopeful for better outcomes for these children."

16:02 EDT Netflix sees Q3 global streaming paid net additions of 3.5M - Netflix said in its quarterly letter to investors: "As a reminder, the quarterly guidance we provide is our actual internal forecast at the time we report. For Q3'21, we forecast paid net additions of 3.5m vs. 2.2m in the prior year period. If we achieve our forecast, we will have added more than 54m paid net adds over the past 24 months or 27m on an annualized basis over that time period, which is consistent with our pre-COVID annual rate of net additions. We forecast that ARM will grow roughly 5% year over year on a FX neutral basis in Q3'21."

15:31 EDT Sorrento Therapeutics forms Mexican subsidiary to develop Covid related products - Sorrento Therapeutics announced that it has formed a subsidiary company based in Mexico City, Sorrento Therapeutics Mexico, to support the clinical development and registration of multiple COVID-19 related products Sorrento plans to develop and commercialize in Mexico and other Latin America territories. Sorrento Mexico has established offices in Mexico City with Dr. Henry Ji as Chairman and Hector Sulaiman S. as CEO. Sorrento's distributor has received from COFEPRIS written permission to import the first 25M test units of COVI-STIX into the country. These COVI-STIX professional use package contain a positive and a negative control test and all the components necessary for testing. Sorrento is ramping up manufacturing to fulfil subsequent orders.

14:56 EDT Thomas Barrack charged with acting as agent of foreign government, DOJ says - A seven-count indictment was unsealed in a New York federal court relating to the defendants' unlawful efforts to advance the interests of the United Arab Emirates in the United States at the direction of senior UAE officials by influencing the foreign policy positions of the campaign of a candidate in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and, subsequently, the foreign policy positions of the U.S. government in the incoming administration, as well as seeking to influence public opinion in favor of UAE interests, the Department of Justice announced. Thomas Joseph Barrack, 74, of Santa Monica, California; Matthew Grimes, 27, of Aspen, Colorado; and Rashid Sultan Rashid Al Malik Alshahhi, aka Rashid Al Malik and Rashid Al-Malik, 43, a UAE national, are accused of acting and conspiring to act as agents of the UAE between April 2016 and April 2018. The indictment also charges Barrack with obstruction of justice and making multiple false statements during a June 20, 2019, interview with federal law enforcement agents. Tom Barrack was formerly Colony Capital CEO and was succeeded by Digital Bridge co-founder Marc Ganzi after Colony Capital agreed to acquire Digital Bridge. Colony Capital recently announced a corporate rebranding of the company to DigitalBridge, effective June 22. Reference Link

14:08 EDT YouTube announces ability for viewer tips with 'Super Thanks' feature - Neal Mohan, Chief Product Office for YouTube said: "For creators, building a business isn't a one-size-fit-all approach. Some may gravitate towards tools like channel memberships while others may double down on Super Chat. At YouTube, we're always looking for fresh ways creators can diversify their revenue streams. That's why I'm excited to unveil our fourth Paid Digital Good - Super Thanks. This new feature gives creators yet another way to earn money while also allowing them to strengthen relationships with viewers." Barbara Macdonald Senior Product Manager, Paid Digital Goods added: Creators are at the heart of what we do here at YouTube, and we're constantly exploring new ways to help them get started, grow their businesses and diversify their revenue. In fact, we offer a multitude of ways that creators can make money on our platform -- from running ads and selling merchandise to channel memberships and beyond. We've recently been experimenting with an applause feature that allows fans to show support for their favorite YouTube channels. Based on creator feedback, today we're super excited to share that it's expanding to even more viewers and creators -- along with a new name: Super Thanks. " Reference Link

13:41 EDT Intel's Mobileye begins road testing autonomous vehicles in NYC - The Intel unit which develops self-driving cars and advanced driver-assistance systems ,Mobileye, said in a blog posting: "If autonomous vehicles are to work anywhere, we firmly believe, they need to be able to work everywhere. That's why Mobileye is testing our self-driving platform in a wide variety of locations around the world - not just in the lab, on empty roads, or even on the challenging streets of Jerusalem. And now we're pleased to have launched testing for our developmental AV in one of the most difficult driving environments in the world: the streets of New York City. Mobileye has now expanded our AV testing program to the City That Never Sleeps, having secured the only current permit to test autonomous vehicles in New York. This latest addition to our global testing activities presents a variety of unique challenges for our AV development program to overcome in preparing our self-driving technologies for worldwide deployment at scale." Reference Link

13:26 EDT Gap says 'can now buy Old Navy and Athleta products directly on Instagram app' - Gap (GPS) , said in part, on its blog: "At Gap we're laser-focused on our Power Plan 2023 and enhancing our omni-experience capabilities with a frictionless, unique, and mobile-enabled experience. To ensure we are meeting customers where they want to shop, customers can now buy Old Navy and Athleta products directly on the Instagram app. With Instagram (FB), shopping has never been easier. Users can either click the shopping bag app icon on the right side of the bottom navigation bar or simply tap a shoppable tag on any Old Navy or Athleta feed post or story. From there, they can peruse the brands' shop and products, select sizes, add to bag, and pay-without ever having to leave the app. Reference Link

12:59 EDT Sorrento's Scilex Holding announces complete enrollment in SP-102 Phase 3 trial - Scilex Holding Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sorrento Therapeutics, announced complete enrollment of SP-102 Phase 3 Pivotal Trial C.L.E.A.R. Program, a corticosteroid injectable dexamethasone sodium phosphate gel for the treatment of lumbosacral radicular pain, or sciatica. SP-102 has received Fast Track status from the FDA. Scilex's SP-102 is currently being evaluated in a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial in the U.S. in patients with lumbosacral radicular pain. Scilex intends to use the results from this pivotal Phase 3 trial to discuss with the FDA a licensure application for the high unmet need sciatica indication, the company said in a statement. Scilex expects to present the robust data collected over the course of the company's multi-year clinical development program to the U.S. FDA as part of a New Drug Application.

12:43 EDT AnaptysBio up 7% after blog repot claims takeover approach received - Shares of AnaptysBio (ANAB) are up $1.70, or 7%, to $26.82 after Street Insider claimed that it was told by a source that the company received a takeover approach and is working with an investment bank to gauge interest from other suitors.

12:00 EDT Hims & Hers falls -8.7% - Hims & Hers is down -8.7%, or -83c to $8.72.

12:00 EDT Studio City falls -13.8% - Studio City is down -13.8%, or -$1.37 to $8.53.

12:00 EDT HCA Healthcare rises 13.9% - HCA Healthcare is up 13.9%, or $30.30 to $247.94.

11:31 EDT Ascendant Digital Acquisition shareholders approve MarketWise combination - Ascendant Digital Acquisition announced that Ascendant's shareholders have approved all proposals related to its previously announced business combination with MarketWise, a multi-brand digital subscription services platform that provides premium financial research, software, education, and tools for self-directed investors. Approximately 85.5% of the votes cast at the extraordinary general meeting of Ascendant's shareholders held today voted to approve the business combination with MarketWise. The formal results of the vote will be included on a Form 8-K to be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The closing of the business combination is anticipated to take place on July 21, 2021, subject to the satisfaction of certain customary closing conditions. The combined company will be renamed MarketWise, Inc., and its common stock and warrants are expected to begin trading on The Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbols "MKTW" and "MKTWW", respectively, on July 22, 2021.

11:02 EDT Germain Lamonde rejects fourth unsolicited proposal from Viavi - Germain Lamonde issued the following statement: "Viavi Solutions (VIAV) made a fourth unsolicited, non-binding proposal to acquire EXFO Inc. (EXFO), and, for the fourth time, I make it crystal clear to Viavi and to my board of directors at EXFO that as controlling shareholder of EXFO, I would not consider any transaction with Viavi, or any other change of control transaction. Viavi knew full well I would reject any new non-binding, non-executable tentative proposal, which in my view is only intended to create distortion in the current go-private process and is simply aimed at eliminating Viavi's main competitor - it is clearly not in the best interest of Viavi and EXFO customers as they would end up paying much higher prices for the products we sell, having less services and no longer benefit from EXFO's incredible innovation engine. The EXFO board of directors has unanimously recommended that shareholders vote in favour of the transaction by way plan of arrangement announced on June 7, 2021 whereby I have offered to purchase all Subordinate Voting Shares I do not currently own for US$6.00 per Subordinate Voting Share. This provides a 62% premium to the closing price of the Subordinate Voting Shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on June 4, the last trading day before the offer was made; a 63% premium to the 20-trading day volume-weighted average price up until the last trading day before the offer was made. I have been clear and unambiguous with EXFO shareholders since June 7 that they have a choice of accepting my formal offer of US$6.00 per Subordinate Voting Share or remaining a public company. My position has not changed since then and nor will it change, no matter how many times EXFO's primary competitor tries to interfere in the process for its own benefit."

10:35 EDT HBO Max offering select full episodes free through Snap Minis - Snapchatters in the U.S. can watch select episodes of HBO Max programming for free through Snap Minis, Snap's (SNAP) platform for shared experiences on Snapchat, WarnerMedia's (T) HBO Max announced. "HBO Max is the first major streamer to build a Mini to bring full-length episodes to Snapchat, building on its history of innovation to reach new audiences and engage with fans. The HBO Max Mini launches instantly in Snapchat with no installation required, offers age-appropriate episodes based on the user's age, and is available on iOS and Android. Snapchatters will be able to access watch groups that are viewing episodes with an age-appropriate rating," the company stated. Reference Link

10:27 EDT NY AG announces $1.1B agreement with big three drug distributors over opioids - New York Attorney General Letitia James announced an agreement with McKesson (MCK), Cardinal Health (CAH), and Amerisource Bergen (ABC) - three of the nation's largest drug distributors - that will deliver up to $1.1B to New York state to combat the ongoing opioid epidemic. "The $1.1B agreement is the largest monetary settlement ever negotiated by Attorney General James. The agreement resolves claims made by Attorney General James for the three companies' role in helping to fuel the opioid epidemic and will remove the three distributors from New York's ongoing opioid trial, currently underway in Suffolk County State Supreme Court... Additionally, late last month, Attorney General James announced an agreement with Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) that removed the company from New York's opioid trial in exchange for up to $230M for the state's opioid prevention and treatment efforts, as well as it ending the sale of opioids nationwide. The trial against the three remaining defendants - Endo Health Solutions (ENDP), Teva Pharmaceuticals USA (TEVA), and Allergan Finance (ABBV) - is currently underway and will continue in state court," the AG stated. As part of today's agreement, McKesson, Cardinal Health, and Amerisource Bergen will pay New York state a total of up to $1,179,251,066.68, of which more than $1 billion will go towards abatement. Payments will start in just two months and will continue over the course of the next 17 years, the AG said. Reference Link

10:21 EDT KeyCorp sees 'green shoots' in C&I, sees growth in 2H21

10:18 EDT Fluor achieves concentrate production milestone on Khoemacau's project - Fluor Corporation announced that Khoemacau Copper Mining recently achieved first copper and silver concentrate production for its Starter Project near Toteng in Botswana. The project is in the Kalahari Copper Belt and is expected to produce an annual average of 62,000 metric tons of payable copper and 1.9 million ounces of payable silver in concentrate for more than 20 years. Under the project scope, Fluor provided engineering, procurement and construction management for upgrading the Boseto Processing Plant, a transport corridor and a 40-kilometer water pipeline from the Haka water pump station to Zone 5. "The transition from construction to operations marks a major historical achievement for Khoemacau and Botswana," said Tony Morgan, president of Fluor's Mining & Metals business. "This modern mining and processing operation is expected to deliver substantial economic benefits to the country."

10:06 EDT Ikena Oncology Inc trading resumes

10:02 EDT KeyCorp on track to deliver positive operating leverage for FY21 - Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call.

10:00 EDT Virgin Galactic falls -7.3% - Virgin Galactic is down -7.3%, or -$2.35 to $30.05.

10:00 EDT Enzo Biochem rises 11.1% - Enzo Biochem is up 11.1%, or 34c to $3.41.

10:00 EDT SolarWinds rises 12.1% - SolarWinds is up 12.1%, or $1.08 to $10.00.

09:56 EDT Ikena Oncology Inc trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:47 EDT PPG falls -6.9% - PPG is down -6.9%, or -$11.40 to $154.35.

09:47 EDT Glaukos falls -11.8% - Glaukos is down -11.8%, or -$6.64 to $49.67.

09:47 EDT Tailwind Acquisition rises 13.2% - Tailwind Acquisition is up 13.2%, or $1.15 to $9.85.

09:44 EDT Sesen Bio, Qilu announce enrollment of first patient in Vicineum trial in China - Sesen Bio and its partner in Greater China, Qilu Pharmaceutical, announced that the first patient has been enrolled in China in the clinical trial to assess the efficacy and safety of Vicineum in patients with BCG-unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, or NMIBC. "The milestone comes only four months after the Investigational New Drug application for Vicineum was approved by the Center for Drug Evaluation of the China National Medical Products Administration, which triggered a $3M milestone payment from Qilu Pharmaceutical, the first of $23M in potential milestone payments to Sesen Bio," the company stated. Sesen added: "Assuming a successful trial, Qilu Pharmaceutical anticipates submission of the product market application for Vicineum in China in 2022, with potential approval expected in 2023. Sesen Bio believes China represents a large potential market for Vicineum, with unadjusted peak year sales estimated at $155M-$418M. In the U.S., the company believes it remains on track for an FDA decision on its Biologics License Application for Vicineum by the target PDUFA date of August 18, 2021."

09:34 EDT Harbor Custom Development enters contract with Corporate Capital Solutions - Harbor Custom Development announced that it has entered into a contract with Corporate Capital Solutions to guide Harbor's real estate acquisition arm and provide project management consulting services on a national basis. Harbor Custom Homes has worked closely with CCS since the Company's IPO in August 2020, utilizing CCS's services in California, Texas, and Florida.

09:28 EDT Halliburton says International pricing will take longer to catch up to U.S. - Sees U.S. shale growth slower than past quarters. Expects Q3 corporate expense to remain "largely unchanged." Says remains focused on reducing leverage in short term. Sees Q3 effective tax rate 25%. Sees FY21 free cash flow about $1.2B.

09:27 EDT Amazon.com up 1% to $3,575.50 after Jeff Bezos space capsule lands safely

09:20 EDT VivoPower announces $29M Mongolian distribution deal for Tembo vehicles - VivoPower International is pleased to announce that the Company has signed a definitive agreement with Bodiz International Group for Bodiz to distribute electric light vehicles in Mongolia using e-LV conversion kits from VivoPower's wholly-owned subsidiary Tembo e-LV. Under the agreement, Bodiz intends to purchase 350 Tembo e-LV conversion kits through December 2026. The Company estimates these orders to be worth up to $29 million in potential revenue over the life of the Distribution Agreement. Bodiz will be responsible for acquiring original vehicles from Toyota, converting the vehicles to ruggedized e-LVs using the Tembo solutions, selling the units to end-customers and providing ongoing servicing and maintenance.

09:18 EDT Blink Charging appoints Carmen Perez-Carlton to board of directors - Blink Charging announced the appointment of Carmen Perez-Carlton to its Board of Directors. Ms. Perez-Carlton will also chair the Company's newly established Environmental, Social and Governance Committee. Perez-Carlton was President of FPL FiberNet, LLC, a subsidiary of NextEra Energy, Inc. until it was acquired by Crown Castle, Inc. in 2017. She then served as an independent advisor to Crown Castle, providing input and strategic guidance on matters related to mergers and acquisitions, strategy and business development opportunities.

09:17 EDT Viavi increases proposal to acquire Exfo to $8.00 per share from $7.50 - Viavi Solutions (VIAV) announced an increased binding proposal to acquire all of the outstanding subordinate voting shares and multiple voting shares of EXFO Inc. (EXFO) from $7.50 to $8.00 in cash per share. VIAVI has submitted a binding proposal to the EXFO board of directors, including a definitive form of Arrangement Agreement based substantially on the form agreed in connection with the proposed going private transaction between EXFO and its chairman and majority shareholder, Germain Lamonde. The increased binding proposal from VIAVI reflects EXFO's recently announced fiscal third quarter 2021 financial results in which bookings increased 47.2% year-on-year to $87 million with a book-to-bill ratio at 1.20, the company said in a statement. EXFO's strong results and future prospects further underpin the "inadequate" $6.00 consideration of the Going Private Transaction, Viavi said. Additionally, VIAVI's Proposal is higher than the $5.75 to $7.50 formal valuation range of EXFO's subordinate voting shares prepared by TD Securities Inc., acting as the EXFO Special Committee's own valuator in connection with the Going Private Transaction. VIAVI said it stands ready to engage with the EXFO Special Committee and Mr. Lamonde in order to finalize a definitive arrangement agreement to implement a transaction that is in the best interests of all EXFO shareholders.

09:16 EDT Avantax announces sponsorship of AICPA Engage 2021 - Avantax is proud to be a Gold Level sponsor of AICPA Engage 2021 at the Aria Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, from July 26-29. Avantax's conference presence will be anchored to Booth #225, one of the largest in the Engage 2021 exhibit hall, where several representatives will be available to discuss how Avantax partners with tax and financial professionals to create new revenue opportunities by providing holistic financial services to their clients, all through a uniquely tax-focused lens. In addition to its exhibit hall presence, Avantax is presenting, "Like Father, Like Son: A Succession Planning Success Story" on Wednesday, July 28, from 12:50 p.m. to 1:40 p.m. PT, in the Pinyon Ballroom on level one. The session will focus on the benefits of tax-smart wealth management and developing a strategy to grow one's practice while planning for the future.

09:13 EDT Tecogen signs 25 long-term service contracts with housing provider in Canada - Tecogen announce the completion of 25 long-term maintenance services contracts with the management of a large residential complex in Toronto, Ontario. The 20-year contracts provide for the maintenance of 31 InVerde e+ cogeneration systems as well as ancillary components. The systems will be serviced out of Tecogen's Ontario service center, established in March 2020. Each InVerde system will provide electricity and hot water for residential buildings within the housing complexes and are expected to run consistently year-round. "We are excited to start full time operation of these units which we shipped in 2020," noted Benjamin Locke, Tecogen's CEO. "These units are expected to run with over 93% uptime, which maximizes the savings for our customer as well as our service revenues which are billed per run hour. These units join our existing fleet of cogeneration systems and chillers already operating in our Toronto service area."

09:12 EDT SurgePays announces acquisition of Commander Communication - SurgePays announces its acquisition of Commander Communication, a private provider of prepaid wireless payment and top-up services that are offered to retail customers through its customer base of approximately 500 convenience stores located primarily in Louisiana. "This acquisition brings tremendous potential to increase sales from both the active and inactive stores within Commander's customer base," said Daniel Anderson, National Direct Sales Manager at SurgePays. "Consistent with our recently announced strategy of expanding our in-house sales efforts and using our proprietary BLITZ platform, we have already added two dedicated sales representatives to expand service to the customers within Commander's network. Our sales initiative will look to both expand the existing cellular top-up payment offerings from Commander and supplement these products with all our new fintech products and services, including our private label gift card programs. We see potential to increase the number of active stores within Commander's network as well as sales per store with these additional new products offerings, including the higher-margin, direct-from-manufacturer, wholesale products that see strong sell-through at the retail level offered through our marketplace." SurgePays is expanding its network of active stores, both organically by targeting nearly 34,000 stores in its database with its BLITZ campaign as well as through acquisitions of companies like Commander that have direct relationships with convenience stores that can be further leveraged.

09:11 EDT JetBlue, American Airlines team on more than 700 daily flights as part of NEA - JetBlue (JBLU) and American Airlines (AAL) "are providing customers the most choice in the Northeast, on the best product, and with a premium experience, as travelers return to the sky. As part of their Northeast Alliance, NEA, JetBlue and American will operate more than 700 daily flights from New York and Boston this winter, giving customers more choice than any other airline can offer. "Our Northeast Alliance with JetBlue gives customers more choices and benefits and raises the bar on offering an industry-leading experience," said Vasu Raja, American's Chief Revenue Officer. "With JetBlue's domestic strength and American's growing international network, we are unlocking more destinations for travelers, more flying for both our teams, a better suite of products and a premium experience in the Northeast," said the companies in a statement.

09:10 EDT Verizon Fios announces Mix & Match on Fios features - The company said, "No data caps, no extra fees and no annual contracts. Verizon created unmatched value by breaking the TV and home internet bundle, giving customers fast, reliable internet and content the way they want it with Mix & Match on Fios. Now riding a wave of awards for delivering the fastest Internet in America1, Verizon is putting more power into consumers' hands with new Mix & Match on Fios features starting July 22 that offer more value for what they need and options to choose what they want. Starting July 22, customers can sign up for these new features that offer more flexibility for connecting to the internet, watching TV or calling friends and family."

09:08 EDT MKS Instruments announces order for ESI Geode HDI via drilling system - MKS Instruments, Inc. (MKSI) announced confirmation of an order for the ESI Geode HDI via drilling system from TTM Technologies (TTMI). The financial terms of the order were not disclosed. This order will support TTM's existing manufacturing and future technological development through the use of leading-edge CO2 via drilling technology. Since its recent release to the market, the Geode HDI via drilling system has introduced HDI manufacturers to the performance advantages that ESI technology has provided to Flex PCB manufacturers for decades and has seen strong adoption among the industry's top HDI players.

09:07 EDT Comtech awarded $7.1M multi-year emergency alerts contract - Comtech announced that it has been awarded a $7.1M multi-year contract for the deployment of a cellular-based Wireless Emergency Alerts solution with a mobile network operator. Comtech will install the containerized WEA solution consisting of the Commercial Mobile Service Provider Gateway and Cell Broadcast Center. This service allows the citizens in the area to receive government-issued alerts on their mobile devices warning them of imminent threats to life and property based on location, such as tornado warning alerts.

09:06 EDT Maximus awarded two contracts combined worth $151M from IRS - Maximus announced that it had been awarded two contracts from the Internal Revenue Service, or IRS, worth a combined $151M. The two contracts, awarded on the GSA Alliant 2 contract vehicle, will allow a continued partnership between Maximus and the Agency, which initially began in 1991. The first contract is a $76M task, funded by the Office of the Chief Information Officer, with the Treasury Department's IRS to provide Masterfile System Programming Support Services. Under this contract, Maximus will conduct a variety of work for IRS, including implementation of legislation such as the American Recovery Plan and training internal IRS employees for future filing seasons while maintaining the current technology infrastructure. The second contract is a $75M Development, Infrastructure, Security and Modernization, or DISM, task to support the Treasury Department's IRS Office of the Chief Information Officer to provide Technology Integration Office support. As part of the contract, Maximus will assist the IRS with its technology infrastructure, which will include shifting specific content to the cloud for the first time.

09:05 EDT Infrastructure and Energy Alternatives secures $126M construction project - Infrastructure and Energy Alternatives announced that the company was awarded a $126M construction contract from the Illinois Department of Transportation. Work under the contract will be performed by IEA's William Charles Construction and White Construction subsidiaries. The contract is for the reconstruction of the I-57 and I-74 interchange and replacement of the existing, full cloverleaf interchange with a semi-directional interchange composed of two directional flyovers, two loop ramps and two outer ramps in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois. Work on the project is expected to begin in August 2021 and to be completed in November 2023. The proposed improvements include pavement and shoulder milling and resurfacing, ramp reconfiguration and pavement, construction of six new ramps and six new bridges as well as drainage and safety improvements among other items required to complete the planned improvements. This project is part of the Rebuild Illinois capital program under which the state will be investing $33.2B into Illinois' transportation system over a six-year period to improve safety, create jobs and promote economic growth.

09:03 EDT NeuroMetrix receives FDA breakthrough device designation for Quell device - NeuroMetrix announced that its Quell device has received Breakthrough Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for treating the symptoms of fibromyalgia in adults. The data submitted by NeuroMetrix in support of the Breakthrough Designation included results from a double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled trial. A total of 119 subjects with fibromyalgia were enrolled and randomized to a standard or modified Quell device for 3-months of at-home use. In an intention-to-treat analysis of all subjects, 56% of those on active treatment exhibited a clinically meaningful improvement in health-related quality-of-life compared to 35% that received sham treatment. There were additional positive outcomes in both the ITT population and in a pre-specified subgroup analysis of subjects with elevated pain sensitivity based on Quantitative Sensory Testing.

09:02 EDT Texas Capital appoints Jon Larson as head of Homebuilder and Community Finance - Texas Capital Bank announced that Jon Larson has been appointed Head of Homebuilder and Community Finance, previously known as Specialized Residential Real Estate, effective July 14, 2021. Larson will report to Curtis Burchard, Executive Vice President and Head of Real Estate. As Head of Homebuilder and Community Finance, Mr. Larson will be responsible for leading and supervising the delivery of banking products and solutions nationwide to the homebuilders, developers, and communities we serve. Prior to Texas Capital Bank, he was Senior Vice President, Commercial Real Estate Lending at BBVA USA where he was responsible for serving real estate clients' needs in the southern California market.

09:00 EDT Palantir launches Foundry for Builders initiative - Palantir Technologies announced the launch of Foundry for Builders, an initiative dedicated to supporting early-stage companies by providing them with the Palantir Foundry platform, helping support their growth. For Palantir, Foundry for Builders marks a continued expansion of its business beyond large organizations with complex data environments to younger companies. Under Foundry for Builders, Palantir will sell Foundry to start-ups under a subscription model, first to companies connected to Palantir alumni, before expanding the initiative to other early stage companies. The first group of companies are start-ups in varied sectors, ranging from healthcare to robotics, to software and fintech.

08:51 EDT Golar, Perenco, SNH agree to increase capacity utilization of FLNG Hilli Episeyo - Golar LNG announces that it has agreed with Perenco Cameroon and Societe Nationale des Hydrocarbures to increase utilisation of the FLNG Hilli Episeyo. Commencing 2022 the capacity utilisation of Hilli will increase by 200,000 tons of LNG, bringing total utilisation in 2022 to 1.4 million tons. The tolling fee for the 2022 incremental capacity is linked to European gas prices at the Dutch Title Transfer Facility. At current average 2022 TTF gas prices the increased capacity utilization represents an expected US$26.1m in incremental Adjusted EBITDA. For each $1.00/mmBtu change in TTF, this Adjusted EBITDA will increase by $3.7m. In addition to the 2022 capacity increase, Perenco and SNH intend to drill and appraise 2 to 3 incremental natural gas wells during 2021, and subsequently upgrade upstream facilities in 2022 to support further sustained increases in production from 2023 onward. Under the Agreement, Perenco and SNH are granted an option to increase capacity utilisation of Hilli by up to 400,000 tons of LNG per year from January 2023 through to the end of the current contract term in 2026. This has the potential to increase total annual LNG production from Hilli to 1.6 million tons from January 2023 onwards. The tolling fee for the 2023+ incremental capacity will also be linked to TTF. Based on current average 2023 TTF gas prices the additional 400,000 tons of production would generate US$30.4m of incremental annual Adjusted EBITDA. For each $1.00/mmBtu change in TTF, this Adjusted EBITDA will increase by $7.4m. The Option must be declared during the third quarter of 2022.At current TTF future prices, and assuming the Option is exercised, the incremental Adjusted EBITDA backlog of the potential increase in capacity utilization for Hilli from 2022 until July 2026 is expected to be around $113m. Golar has an 86.9% economic interest in the incremental Adjusted EBITDA generated as a result of the Agreement. The Agreement will not change any existing terms, conditions, tolling fees or the Brent Oil link associated with trains 1 and 2.

08:42 EDT Eastman Chemical announces collaboration with USAMP and PADNOS - Eastman announced a collaboration with the U.S. Automotive Materials Partnership, or USAMP, and automotive recycler PADNOS for a concept feasibility study to demonstrate a closed-loop project to recycle automotive-industry mixed plastic waste in the automotive supply chain. USAMP is a subsidiary of the U.S. Council for Automotive Research, or USCAR. When automobiles are at the end of their life, metals, tires, and glass account for 80%-90% of the materials that can be recycled through traditional mechanical recycling streams. The other 10%-20%, referred to as automotive shedder residue, consists of mixed plastic and other non-recycled materials that currently end up in landfills or are recovered through waste-to-energy technologies. Under this initiative PADNOS will use ASR as a sustainable feedstock for Eastman's molecular recycling process, creating a truly circular solution.

08:39 EDT Sonim announces partnership with 4K Solutions - Sonim Technologies announced a new partnership with leading communications provider, 4K Solutions, to launch its next generation Mobile Broadband Kit - Elite, or MBK-Elite, designed exclusively to support the Sonim XP8 ultra-rugged Android handset. The MBK-Elite is an all-in-one, portable communication solution that provides emergency and public safety teams with reliable access and connectivity, even in the most dangerous and remote mission-critical situations.

08:37 EDT CACI gets DTRA order worth $1.4B to continue provide support in deterring WMD - CACI International has been awarded the Defense Threat Reduction Agency's, DTRA, Decisive Action Task order, a single-award task order worth approximately $1.4B to continue providing DTRA with mission expertise in support of countering and deterring Weapons of Mass Destruction, WMD, and threat networks. This task order continues and expands CACI's previous work as part of the Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Organization's, JIDO Focused Support/Decisive Effort, FS/DE, task order. Under this task order, CACI will provide DTRA with a wide range of analytical expertise to drive and enable mission solutions to counter and deter multi-faceted threats. CACI will also enhance the agency's situational understanding of threat networks and support combatant commands with the integration of analysis, capabilities, and technologies, to defeat adversary networks that pose a threat. The task order has a one-year period of performance with four one-year options and was awarded under the General Services

08:37 EDT Ideal Power to sample B-TRAN directional power switches with automaker - Ideal Power announced that a top 10 global automaker will be sampling B-TRAN devices for electric vehicle drivetrain, power conversion, circuit protection and other EV applications. This represents Ideal Power's first sampling announcement in the EV space. After substantial technical and commercial briefings on B-TRAN and its capabilities, the global automaker will bring resources from their advanced technology engineering team to test and evaluate B-TRAN and its driver for EV applications. The feedback and data from this testing will be shared with Ideal Power for incorporation into our commercial intelligent power module and potentially custom modules for EV applications. "We are excited to make the first of what we expect to be several announcements for the evaluation and potential adoption of B-TRAN for electric vehicle applications," stated Dan Brdar, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ideal Power. "Based on our discussions with large global automobile manufacturers and their Tier 1 suppliers, we believe B-TRAN can have a meaningful impact on the drivetrain efficiency and range of electric vehicles and potentially enable more economic and efficient new drivetrain architectures. As B-TRAN can offer substantial performance improvements over conventional power semiconductors in applications across many sectors, we are also engaged in ongoing engineering sampling discussions with power equipment manufacturers, both large and small, in renewable energy, data centers and other industrial and utility applications."

08:35 EDT Badger Meter provides update on strategic review, outlook - Bockhorst continued, "Our expanding portfolio of end-to-end smart water offerings bring flexibility, insight and proactive intelligence for optimal water management to our customers. The sustained high order level is evidence that utility and industrial customers are willing to invest in our innovative and industry leading solutions. We remain focused on converting our robust order book, opportunity pipeline and existing record backlog into sales as we continue to navigate the broad-based waves of component shortages, allocations and lengthened lead times that we anticipate will persist at least through the remainder of the year. In addition, we are generating strong profitability amidst what is a more challenging price/cost environment, with our focus on value-based pricing. Finally, we are advancing the already strong progress on acquisition integration and execution of related growth strategies. Our strong cash flow and credit availability provide us with ample financial flexibility to execute our capital allocation priorities and invest in growth. We recently upsized our credit facility to $150 million, adding an accordion and other features as part of the replacement of our expiring facility. We currently have no outstanding borrowings on the credit facility. Badger Meter has a proven portfolio of solutions to solve customers' water management needs. Healthy demand for these innovative and trusted offerings, along with our strong balance sheet, give us confidence in our long term growth outlook as we help to preserve the world's most precious resource."

08:35 EDT Zosano Pharma announces issuance of patent covering method of use of M207 - Zosano Pharma announced that it has been granted an additional patent covering method of use of M207 with the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 11,058,630 titled Method of Rapidly Achieving Therapeutic Concentrations of Triptans for the Treatment of Migraines. The newly issued patent covers methods for the release of active drug from Zosano's microneedle system in about one minute and reaching potentially therapeutic levels as quickly as 30 minutes upon application. This latest patent adds to Zosano's M207 patent portfolio, which now includes two U.S. patents with claims covering composition of matter and method of use for M207 with expirations in 2037.

08:33 EDT QTS Realty Trust announces expiration of 40 day "go-shop" period - QTS Realty Trust (QTS) announced the expiration of the 40 day "go-shop" period pursuant to the previously announced definitive merger agreement under which Blackstone Infrastructure Partners, Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust and other long-term perpetual capital vehicles managed by Blackstone will acquire all outstanding shares of QTS common stock for $78.00 per share in an all cash transaction. The "go-shop" period expired at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on July 17. During the "go-shop" period, QTS, with the assistance of its financial advisors Jefferies (JEF) and Morgan Stanley & Co. (MS), actively solicited alternative acquisition proposals from potentially interested third parties. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2021, subject to approval by QTS' stockholders and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

08:28 EDT Synchrony feels 'pretty bullish' around current economic trends

08:26 EDT Microchip announces availability of LAN867x family of 10BASE-T1S PHYs - The LAN867x family of 10BASE-T1S PHYs, a new solution available from Microchip Technology expands Ethernet connectivity to the very edges of industrial networks, simplifying architectures and reducing risk for designers. Microchip's LAN867x Ethernet Physical Layer transceivers are high-performance, small-footprint devices enabling connections to standard system devices including sensors and actuators that previously required their own communication systems.

08:24 EDT Tracon appoints Brenda Marczi as SVP, regulatory affairs - TRACON Pharmaceuticals announced the appointment of Brenda Marczi, PharmD, as Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, and the granting of an inducement equity award to Dr. Marczi. Marczi's past roles include Vice President, Regulatory Affairs at Ferring Pharmaceuticals where she was responsible for all U.S. regulatory activities, including the launch and commercialization activities for the breakthrough designation gene therapy product for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. In connection with the appointment of Dr. Marczi as Sr. Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, Dr. Marczi was issued an inducement award consisting of an option to purchase an aggregate of 60,000 shares of the Company's common stock. The option was granted in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4) under the TRACON Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Amended and Restated 2015 Equity Incentive Plan and was approved by TRACON's Compensation Committee. The option has an exercise price per share equal to $4.90, which was the closing price of TRACON's common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market on the date of grant. The option vests over four years, with 25% of the option shares vesting on the first anniversary of the date of grant and the remaining 75% of the option shares vesting in monthly installments over the three years thereafter. The option has a 10-year term, and is subject to the terms and conditions of the 2015 Plan and applicable stock option agreement.

08:22 EDT Osisko Mining reports results from ongoing program at Windfall gold project - Osisko Mining is pleased to provide new analytical results from the ongoing drill program at its 100% owned Windfall gold project located in the Abitibi greenstone belt, Urban Township, Eeyou Istchee James Bay, Quebec. Significant new analytical results presented below include 96 intercepts in 25 drill holes and 20 wedges. The infill intercepts are located inside defined February 2021 mineral resource estimate blocks. The expansion intercepts are located outside the February 2021 MRE blocks and either expand resource wireframes or are in a defined zone or corridor but do not yet correlate to a specific wireframe. Osisko CEO John Burzynski commented: "The drill program at Windfall continues to deliver positive results. Both headline holes are infill holes from two different zones. Further, the first two intervals in hole OSK-W-21-2123-W5 extended Lynx 4 wireframe-3170 25 meters to depth and the third interval is in an adjacent area currently being modelled. Expansion drilling in the Triple Lynx corridor following up on hole OSK-W-20-2371-W1 which intersected 123 g/t Au over 2.4 meters successfully intercepted this new zone with the last interval in hole OSK-W-21-2275-W7. All these results will be included in the resource estimate update by the end of the year". Selected high-grade intercepts include: 96.7 g/t Au over 2.2 metres and 29.3 g/t Au over 5.2 metres in WST-21-0824; 49.9 g/t Au over 4.0 metres in OSK-W-21-2503-W1; 97.4 g/t Au over 2.0 metres in OSK-W-21-2512-W1; 69.9 g/t Au over 2.4 metres in OSK-W-21-2522; 67.0 g/t Au over 2.1 metres in WST-21-0791; 28.7 g/t Au over 4.1 metres in WST-21-0797A; 51.9 g/t Au over 2.2 metres in OSK-W-21-2512.

08:21 EDT Diversified Healthcare transitions 108 senior facilities into new operators - Diversified Healthcare Trust (DHC) announced that it has entered into three new management agreements for a total of 66 communities with 4,084 units in its Senior Housing Operating Portfolio ,SHOP as follows: Charter Senior Living will manage communities in Florida, Maryland, Tennessee and Virginia; Oaks-CaraVita Senior Care will manage communities in Georgia and South Carolina; and Phoenix Senior Living will manage communities in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Missouri, North Carolina and South Carolina. These three agreements represent approximately 61% of DHC's SHOP communities to be transitioned from Five Star Senior Living (FVE), or Five Star, to other third-party operators as previously announced. Jennifer Francis, President and Chief Executive Officer of Diversified Healthcare Trust, commented, "We continue to make progress in ensuring our communities are managed by the best possible operators. We are pleased to announce the transition of communities to operators we have identified as best in class for the markets served. These new agreements are generally for five years at market terms, which include base and incentive management fees. In certain circumstances, these agreements provide terms that are more favorable to the new operators than our existing management agreements with Five Star, which we believe will provide strong incentives for performance and alignment of interests as well as facilitate a faster recovery of the transitioning communities with the new operators. We believe we remain on schedule to complete all of the transitions by year-end and are excited to engage with new operators who bring new perspectives and expertise to our communities as we begin to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic."

08:19 EDT Proterra, ROUSH CleanTech, Penske collaborate on electric commercial trucks - ROUSH CleanTech, Penske Truck Leasing, and Proterra (PTRA) announced a new collaboration under which Proterra will supply its battery technology to ROUSH CleanTech for the development of its next-generation Ford (F) F-650 all-electric commercial truck. ROUSH CleanTech will integrate its advanced clean technology and control systems to leverage Ford's medium-duty chassis and Proterra's battery technology to Penske Truck Leasing, which will be the first customer for this next-generation product. In addition, the three companies will collaborate on continued fleet electrification, including charging and an ecosystem of solutions that will make the transition to electric more seamless for fleets. The all-electric ROUSH CleanTech Ford F-650 is a purpose-built Class 6 commercial electric vehicle that is available in several configurations including utility trucks, shuttle buses, and box trucks.

08:17 EDT Cathie Wood's ARK Investment discloses 72K shares of Coinbase bought yesterday

08:17 EDT Beam Global sets record for longest flight in a production electric aircraft - Beam Global announced it successfully set the world record for the longest flight in a production electric aircraft powered by off-grid, renewable solar energy, proving zero emissions aviation is here. Starting in Fresno, the Pipistrel Alpha Electro aircraft flew 227 nautical miles over Central California with stops in Madera, Merced, Modesto and Lodi before following the same flight path back to Fresno. Beam Global partnered with Pilot Joseph Oldham, Founder and CEO of New Vision Aviation, to make the trip possible. EV ARC electric vehicle charging equipment was rapidly deployed at several airports, and in some cases relocated to support the multi-leg flight, demonstrating that airports can support the electrification of aviation without construction, electrical work or large utility charges. Currently, 62% of electricity from the grid in the U.S. is sourced from fossil fuels and 29% of greenhouse gas emissions comes from the transportation sector according to an April U.S. EPA report on Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions. As the momentum behind the electrification of transportation continues to grow globally, this world record highlights the coming renewable revolution of air travel ushering in a new era of clean transportation. These efforts are being led by the state of California, where Governor Gavin Newsom has dedicated a portion of the proposed 2021 state budget to mitigating the dangers posed by climate change, including efforts to prioritize zero-emission transportation.

08:16 EDT Aldeyra's ADX-2191 granted orphan drug designation by FDA to treat PVRL - Aldeyra Therapeutics announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, has granted orphan drug designation to the company for ADX-2191,methotrexate for intravitreal injection, for the treatment of primary vitreoretinal lymphoma, PVRL. There are no approved treatments for PVRL, a rare, aggressive, high-grade cancer that affects approximately 2,800 people in the United States, with approximately 600 new cases diagnosed annually. "PVRL is an often fatal cancer that creates unique challenges for diagnosis and treatment," stated Todd C. Brady, M.D., Ph.D., President and CEO of Aldeyra. "The FDA's orphan drug designation fosters an important clinical development and commercialization pathway for ADX-2191, which represents the first methotrexate preparation specifically formulated for intraocular injection. The designation is another important step forward for our retinal disease program, complementing our ongoing clinical development of ADX-2191 for the prevention of proliferative vitreoretinopathy, the leading cause of failure of retinal reattachment surgery."

08:14 EDT ShotSpotter appoints Roberta Jacobson to board of directors - ShotSpotter announced the addition of Ambassador Roberta Jacobson to its board of directors, effective July 19, 2021. With these changes, ShotSpotter's board composition expands to eight total directors, seven of whom are independent. Jacobson brings more than 30 years of experience in public service, diplomacy, and international relations to ShotSpotter. Jacobson currently serves as a Senior Advisor at Albright Stonebridge Group.

08:13 EDT Principal Solar, IPLTech Electric to develop heavy duty EV trucks - Principal Solar announced that it has executed a Development Agreement with India-based heavy electric vehicle maker IPLTech Electric. Per the terms of the Agreement, upon completion of the development of a pure electric truck prototype, Principal and IPLTech will enter into a Licensing Agreement in which Principal will receive a license to deploy IPLT's technologies in U.S. truck platforms. The Agreement also provides an opportunity for the Company to co-invest in IPLTech alongside private equity funds. In exchange, the Company will receive a combination of exclusive and non-exclusive rights to commercialize IPLT's proprietary technologies for North American markets. Per the terms of the Agreement, in exchange for the License, the Company will contract with IPLT to develop a working prototype in India, for North American markets. Principal will assist IPLT in acquiring the approvals necessary for the prototype to operate on U.S. roads.

08:13 EDT Cyberoptics gets new $2.4M follow-on orders for SQ3000 system - CyberOptics announced that it has received new follow-on orders valued at approximately $2.4M for its SQ3000 Multi-Function systems for in-line inspection and metrology in printer cartridge component manufacturing processes. Revenue from these orders is expected to be recognized in late 2021 or early 2022.

08:10 EDT MJardin Group brand Flint & Embers ships first orders to Ontario Cannabis Store - MJardin Group has successfully shipped its first orders of cannabis to the Ontario Cannabis Store for retail sale. The OCS is Ontario's only legal online retailer and is responsible for the wholesale distribution of recreational cannabis products to private retailers in the province. MJardin expects its Flint & Embers products to be available for purchase from private cannabis retailers throughout Ontario as well as online through the OCS at www.ocs.ca prior to the end of July 2021.

08:08 EDT Orbital Energy subsidiary awarded construction project from Charter - Orbital Energy Group (OEG) announced that its subsidiary, Gibson Technical Services, or GTS, has been awarded a project from Charter Communications (CHTR) for approximately 8,600-miles of "full-service construction" across three U.S. states: Louisiana, Alabama, and North Carolina. The Project is part of the Federal Government's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund for rural fiber buildouts. The RDOF extends the Federal Communication Commission's, or FCC, Connect America Fund and will provide $20.4B in funding over a ten-year period to support broadband networks in rural communities across the country. The Project is scheduled to begin immediately and extend over the next 5-6 years.

08:07 EDT Lineage Cell Therapeutics reports updated interim OpRegen study results - Lineage Cell Therapeutics reported updated interim results from its ongoing, 24-patient Phase 1/2a clinical study of its lead product candidate, OpRegen. OpRegen is an investigational cell therapy consisting of allogeneic retinal pigment epithelium, or RPE, cells, administered one time to the subretinal space, for the treatment of dry age-related macular degeneratio, or AMD, with geographic atrophy, or GA. These updated results include a minimum of six months of follow-up in all 24 patients treated with OpRegen, including all 12 patients treated in Cohort 4, which had better baseline vision and smaller areas of GA at baseline than earlier cohorts. Overall, 83% of the Cohort 4 patients' treated eyes continued to be at or above baseline visual acuity at their last assessment, based on per protocol scheduled visits ranging from six months to approximately three years post-transplant. Improvements in best corrected visual acuity, or BCVA, for Cohort 4 patients reached up to +19 letters on the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study, or ETDRS, chart. In contrast, 83% of the patients' untreated eyes were below pre-treatment baseline values at the same time points. Among the six Cohort 4 patients treated between September and November 2020, three continue to exhibit marked improvements in BCVA ranging from +8 to +18 letters at their last scheduled assessments of at least six months. Two additional Cohort 4 patients experienced a gain between +2 and +4 letters from their baseline values. One Cohort 4 patient measured 6 letters below baseline. Previously reported structural improvements in the retina, decreases in drusen density, and a trend toward slower GA progression in treated compared to untreated eyes continued to be present. Overall, OpRegen has been well tolerated with no unexpected adverse events or serious adverse events. Evidence of durable engraftment of OpRegen RPE cells has extended to more than 5 years in the earliest treated patients, supporting the potential for OpRegen to be a one-time treatment. Three patients with evidence of retinal restoration and confirmed history of GA growth continue to demonstrate areas of retinal restoration as of their last assessment, ranging from six months to approximately three years after treatment. Notably, on Optical Coherence Tomography, or OCT, analyses, the first Cohort 4 patient with evidence of retinal restoration and confirmed history of GA growth, has demonstrated zero growth in the area of atrophy, or GA, almost three years following treatment with OpRegen. This is unprecedented due to the progressive nature of the disease. Applying the expected rate of progression based on changes from historical images to the baseline assessment, the size of the atrophic lesion at the visit would have been 4.58 mm using square root transformation. Instead, the lesion measured at 2.8 mm SQRT, which was the same as it was at baseline, meaning there was no GA growth over almost three years, representing a 63.6% smaller area of GA than was expected. The area of GA in this patient's untreated fellow eye, which was less severely impacted at baseline, progressed as expected from 3.63 mm to 4.01 mm using SQRT, an increase of 10.5% or 0.38 mm. Notably, microperimetry data collected at the Year 2 and Year 3 post-treatment study visits indicated improvements in the patient's ability to discern different intensities of light and the patient has experienced clinically significant improvement in visual acuity for more than two years, at one point gaining 12 letters on an ETDRS scale. In addition to positive anatomical changes, all three patients with evidence of retinal tissue restoration had visual acuity increases above baseline levels within 9 months post-treatment and visual acuity has remained relatively stable over time compared to their fellow eyes. Outer retinal layer restoration, which was observed using clinical high-resolution OCT, was evidenced by the presence of new areas of RPE monolayer with overlying ellipsoid zone, external limiting membrane, and outer nuclear layer, which were not present at the time of baseline assessment. These findings suggest integration of the new RPE cells with functional photoreceptors in areas that previously showed no presence of these cells. These effects were most prominent in the transitional areas around the primary area of GA. These findings of retinal restoration have been confirmed utilizing multiple imaging technologies. The use of multiple imaging modalities differs from traditional assessment of GA progression, which employs only fundus autofluorescence to assess changes in the total surface area of the apparent GA over time. Using only FAF may fail to identify structural changes that can be observed only with the addition of OCT imaging. The use of OCT allows for a more precise determination of changes in retinal thickness, organization, and overall health of the retina in areas of potential atrophy, benefits which are possible with cell transplant therapy. The loss of RPE cells over time creates progressively larger areas of atrophy in the adult retina, leading to impaired vision or complete blindness, a condition known as atrophic AMD. Humans lack the innate ability to regenerate retinal tissue and replace lost retina cells, which led to a presumption that progression of GA may someday be slowed or halted but could not be reversed. The unique findings from the ongoing OpRegen clinical study support a different view, in which an RPE cell transplant can potentially replace or rescue retinal cells in patients who suffer from retinal lesions or degeneration. The totality of these findings supports the view that atrophic AMD is not an irreversible, degenerative condition and that some portion of diseased retinal tissue may be recoverable.

08:07 EDT MultiPlan appoints JR Riding as Chief Information Security Officer - MultiPlan as appointed JR Riding as its new Chief Information Security Officer, CISO. Riding, based in MultiPlan's New York office, will provide leadership for MultiPlan's information security, risk management, and vendor management functions as part of the technology organization. "JR has a tremendous blend of cyber-security expertise and business leadership, both of which are essential for MultiPlan as we continue to expand our product and service lines," stated Michael Kim, CIO. "His expansive technology security experience, especially with data-centric companies like MultiPlan, is a perfect fit for our needs as a publicly traded company."

08:06 EDT EDAP TMS CEO says focused on expanding coverage for HIFU - EDAP TMS issued the following letter to shareholders: "As we approach mid-year, I would like to take this opportunity to recap a few of our significant accomplishments thus far in 2021 that I believe position us to deliver accelerating long-term growth, particularly in the United States, our most important market. In April, we completed a successful secondary offering of common stock that raised gross proceeds of approximately $28 million. We intend to use the vast majority this capital to further build out of our U.S. clinical, sales and marketing infrastructure. While we have already announced several high-profile sales in the U.S. to this point, including such renowned institutions like Mt. Sinai and Cleveland Clinic, we are still in the very early stages of tapping into the vast opportunity that our Focal One and related technologies can address. There are many stages of prostate cancer, and currently there is a dearth of treatment options that exist between active surveillance and surgery, the latter of which causes severe side effects that significantly diminish the patient's quality of life. We, along with the many urologists that champion our technology, believe that high intensity focused ultrasound, or HIFU, can fill this void and provide renewed hope to the approximately three million men living with prostate cancer in the US, with an additional 200,000 that are newly diagnosed every year. Of course, the ultimate success of our U.S. expansion efforts hinges on the quality of the team that we assemble. To that end, we could not have been more pleased to announce just a few weeks ago the hiring of Ryan Rhodes as Chief Executive Officer of EDAP Technomed Inc., our U.S. subsidiary. Ryan brings to the EDAP team decades of highly relevant experience in the medical technology field both launching and driving market acceptance of emerging and disruptive technologies. Notably, his career trajectory includes 14 years at Intuitive Surgical, a true pioneer in the field of robotic-assisted surgery, where he played a leading role in the global clinical expansion of robotic surgery in multiple specialties, including urology. This is a pivotal time for EDAP - we are poised to become a widely used component of comprehensive prostate cancer treatment - and I believe Ryan is the ideal candidate to accomplish this important goal in the U.S. Ryan and his team will be focused on building HIFU adoption, including significant effort directed towards expanding market access. In addition, since the long-term success of any new technology in the U.S. relies on the successful navigation of a complex reimbursement system, we are also focused on expanding coverage for HIFU and securing future reimbursement rates that are reflective of the value that we add through improved outcomes for patients. We previously announced the establishment of a Category 1 CPT code and reimbursement to physicians performing ablation of malignant prostate tissue with HIFU in the U.S., effective January 1 of this year. With HIFU reimbursement dynamics now clarified, we believe this will contribute to accelerating growth."

08:05 EDT AT&T, JBG Smith Properties enter LOI to deliver first 5G Smart City at scale - AT&T (T) and JBG SMITH (JBGS), have entered into a letter of intent to deliver the first 5G Smart City at scale in National Landing. The first network infrastructure deployments are planned for the first half of 2022 and will expand with development of the community. AT&T and JBG SMITH, an owner and developer of high-quality, mixed-use properties in the Washington, DC market, plan to work together to deliver one of the most robust network infrastructure deployments in any urban environment.

08:05 EDT BigCommerce and MercadoLibre team on cross-border e-commerce - BigCommerce (BIGC) announced a partnership with Mercado Libre (MELI), an ecommerce marketplace in Latin America, to give BigCommerce merchants the ability to sell across Latin America to nearly 133M unique consumers on Mercado Libre's Marketplace. It also marks Mercado Libre's first partnership with a major North American ecommerce platform and complements the company's recent expansion into the United States. "We are always looking for ways to better serve our customers, and this partnership gives them access to an entirely new variety of products from BigCommerce merchants," said Jose Luis Hervas Fernandez, director of Cross Border Trade for Mercado Libre LATAM . "As ecommerce continues to expand in Latin America, choosing BigCommerce as our first major platform partner is important for our long-term strategy and gives storeowners access to this fast-growing market." "Between shipping challenges, currency conversion and language barriers, cross-border ecommerce can be incredibly challenging for retailers to navigate, especially small and mid-sized merchants, to capitalize on," said Russell Klein, chief commercial officer at BigCommerce. "Latin America represents a huge untapped market for U.S. merchants and BigCommerce's partnership with Mercado Libre removes these barriers, opening the door to an expansive opportunity for them to reach millions of consumers to sell to."

08:04 EDT HTG Molecular forms new drug discovery business unit - HTG Molecular Diagnostics announced the creation of a new business unit, HTG Therapeutics. HTG plans to use this new drug discovery business unit to leverage its capabilities and expand upon the utility of the HTG EdgeSeq platform technology in the development of early stage drug candidates. This new business unit is a direct result and extension of HTG's nearly 20,000 gene mRNA panel that is expected to provide full transcriptome gene expression data from much smaller sample loads using a simplified workflow with a more rapid turnaround time. The HTG Transcriptome Panel is expected to be commercially released in August 2021 and is currently being utilized by several participants in our previously announced Early Adopter Program. The HTG Therapeutics business unit plans to use the HTG Transcriptome Panel and a full epitranscriptome profiling technology evolved from the original HTG EdgeSeq technology for the profiling of RNA modifications. By leveraging these profiling technologies earlier in the drug discovery process, HTG Therapeutics is expected to generate lead compounds faster, and with superior efficacy and toxicity profiles. In addition to the platform technology for molecular profiling, HTG is building a full machine learning-based chemical library design platform, including advanced docking modeling, which is expected to allow HTG and its collaborators to better predict binding properties of a drug candidate to its target. HTG has partnered with several collaborators who plan to contribute meaningful cohorts for the study of disease versus normal, treated versus non-treated and responder versus non-responder. HTG has begun to assemble a team of proven industry veterans to lead this new business unit. We will also leverage the proven experience of our Tucson-based research and development teams to aid in advancing these drug discovery programs. The initial focus of HTG Therapeutics will be to identify development candidates targeting RNA or RNA modifying proteins, which could be relevant in areas such as oncology, immunology, transplant, diabetes, and rare disease. These efforts will be aimed at the generation of high-quality primary data from HTG's proprietary profiling platform from known and well annotated cohorts, overcoming the notable shortfalls of data mined from public databases. The company intends to leverage its extensive past experiences partnering with biopharma to collaborate throughout the drug development process. For these programs, HTG expects to initiate these partnerships early in the drug discovery process, rather than later in the clinical development stages of development, as it has in past collaborative development services programs.

08:02 EDT KeyCorp sees long-term ROTCE 16%-19%, cash efficiency ratio 54%-56% - Sees positive operating leverage for the long-term. Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call presentation slides.

08:02 EDT Ameriserve Financial raises dividend 2.7% to 2.5c - The Company's Board of Directors declared a 2.5c per share quarterly common stock cash dividend. The cash dividend is payable August 16,to shareholders of record on August 2. This cash dividend represents a 2.7% annualized yield using the July 14 closing stock price of $3.75. For the first half of 2021, the Company's dividend payout ratio amounted to 22.7%.

07:59 EDT Unisys announces four-year contract to support European Union - Unisys announced a four-year contract to support a range of services for the European Union. In partnership with Uni Systems and Wavestone, the Unisys-led consortium will consult on the design of major European IT systems to support eu-LISA, the European Union Agency for the Operational Management of Large-Scale IT Systems in the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. The contract has a maximum value of $216M and was awarded based on the deep industry knowledge provided by the consortium. Signed in the fourth quarter of 2020, the agreement covers a wide range of services and the consortium will be providing end-to-end support from defining and consulting on new services through overseeing project delivery, testing and quality control. As part of the new developments set to take place, the consortium will be providing critical support in the rollout of new smart technology. This includes biometric authentication and mobile enablement, as eu-LISA continues to upgrade and streamline passenger flow. These smart systems will dramatically improve travel across the region, lowering waiting times at border controls and providing a higher level of security.

07:47 EDT Jacobs selected as one of the management firms for Dallas ISD Bond Program - Jacobs was selected as one of the program management firms for the Dallas Independent School District, or Dallas ISD, 2020 Bond Program, continuing its 18-year history with the district. Dallas ISD sits in the heart of a large, diverse and dynamic region with a metropolitan population of 6.5 million people in North Central Texas. Considered the largest ISD project in the history of the state, this bond program will provide improvements to more than 200 of the district's 230 campuses. On November 3, 2020, Dallas voters approved two major bond propositions, totaling $3.47B to fund school repairs and upgrades and to cover the cost of updating district technology. To launch the program, Jacobs partnered with KAI 360 Construction Services, LLC; CARCON Industries & Construction; 3i Construction Management, LLC; The Burrell Group and Master Code, Inc. to manage the work at 21 campuses, including four new schools, five campus expansions and 12 school renovations. As the program progresses, the schools will receive mechanical/air-conditioning upgrades, new roofs and security systems, exterior building enhancements and additional site improvements.

07:41 EDT Textron announces order for 150 Cessna Grand Caravan EX aircraft , no terms - Textron Aviation announced Surf Air Mobility has signed a purchase agreement for up to 150 Cessna Grand Caravan EX single-engine turboprop aircraft, with an initial fleet order of 100 aircraft and an option for 50 more. The order, which is subject to Surf Air Mobility obtaining financing, is part of an exclusive relationship between the two companies supporting Surf Air Mobility's development of electrified Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft, beginning with a hybrid electric Cessna Grand Caravan aircraft powered by Surf Air Mobility's proprietary powertrain technology. The transactions between Textron Aviation and Surf Air Mobility are subject to certain closing conditions, including the receipt of financing by Surf Air Mobility.

07:40 EDT ROKER acquires SecurePark for end-to-end parking management solution - ROKER announced that it has closed on a deal to acquire SecurePark Technologies of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. SecurePark offers a software-as-a-service parking enforcement platform for municipalities, parking operators, airports, schools, hospitals, security and property management users. The deal was structured as an asset purchase with the seller receiving an undisclosed amount of cash and stock as consideration. It closed on July 15, 2021, and all SecurePark employees are now part of the ROKER team. "This deal with SecurePark caps a landmark inaugural year for ROKER," said Sachin Bedi, CEO, ROKER. "We marked the successful launch of our parking permit and violation management system, secured funding, and established solid customer traction, thanks in part to SecurePark. With the addition of the SecurePark team, intellectual property and recurring revenue stream, we now have a complete end-to-end system, along with the experienced team and resources needed to scale." ROKER leverages proprietary intellectual property from Rekor Systems and Cygnet Infotech.

07:38 EDT Orezone Gold announces additional results from Bombore Gold Project - Orezone Gold announced additional results from its ongoing drilling program to test the expansion potential of the P17 trend at its Bombore Gold Project, located in Burkina Faso. The focus of this latest drilling was to test the continuity of high-grade mineralization into the "Gap Zone" between P17S and P17. This area had not been previously subject to any drilling and represented a 600 m gap between the P17S NE extension and P17 to the north. With the success of these new results, the strike extent of P17S is now over 600 m outside of the existing reserve pit and remains open at depth and to the north towards P17. Drilling Highlights: 50 m of 1.40 g/t Au from 246 m including 3 m at 8.89 g/t Au in Hole BBD1074; 21 m of 1.56 g/t Au from 88 m and a further 16.45 m of 2.35 g/t Au from 124 m in Hole BBD1068; 9 m of 2.06 g/t Au from 13 m in Hole BBD1070. Recent drilling in 2021 northeast of reserves and resources at P17S identified several wide, multigram intersections near surface and outside current reserves or resources such as BBD1066 which intersected 32.00 m of 3.98 g/t gold. This most recent drilling has also successfully intersected broad zones of mineralization at depth, extending the down plunge strike of the P17S NE deposit into the untested Gap Zone by 150 m. The P17S NE deposit remains open at depth and to the north.

07:37 EDT ChargePoint to buy European e-mobility provider hastobe for EUR 250M - ChargePoint Holdings announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire hastobe, an e-mobility provider with a leading European charging software platform. "This transaction comes as Europe is among the fastest-growing markets for EV sales worldwide. Under the terms of the agreement, ChargePoint will acquire hastobe for a total purchase price of approximately EUR 250M, subject to adjustments, to be paid in cash and stock. The transaction is expected to close in 2021, subject to the satisfaction of regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Pasquale Romano, President and CEO of ChargePoint, said, "As an established leader in North America, our continued investment in Europe is critical to our stated growth strategy. We're excited to announce our agreement to acquire hastobe, a leader in its own right with a talented team, an impressive base of customers committed to e-mobility and robust technology. Our combined assets should position us to accelerate our leadership as electrification continues to take hold across continents," the company said

07:36 EDT Mindset appoints Ishrat Husain to Scientific Advisory Board - Mindset Pharma announced the appointment of Dr. Ishrat Husain to its Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Husain will provide strategic guidance to Mindset as the Company develops a regulatory pathway for its novel psychedelic-based therapeutics to receive FDA approval and eventually offer relief to patients suffering from mental illness. Husain is currently the Lead of the Mood Disorders Service and Clinician Scientist in the General Adult Psychiatry and Health Systems Division at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, as well as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto.

07:34 EDT Intrusion CEO Jack Blount departs company - Jack Blount, previously President, CEO and a Board member, has left the company effective immediately and no longer has any affiliation with INTRUSION. The Board of Directors has asked CFO, Franklin Byrd, and CTO, Joe Head--who is also an INTRUSION Co-Founder--to assume operating responsibilities together on behalf of the Company until such time as a successor is named, and both will report to the Board immediately.

07:33 EDT ManpowerGroup CEO says 'we are encouraged by the current momentum' - Jonas Prising, ManpowerGroup Chairman & CEO, said, "Our second quarter results reflect an improving global economic environment and increased demand for our services across our key markets and brands. As restrictions continued to ease worldwide, we saw the benefit of our diversified portfolio of services and workforce solutions. Our Manpower business rebounded strongly, our Experis business improved significantly during the quarter and our Talent Solutions offerings continued to deliver against the strong demand for global workforce solutions. We also made significant progress in the ongoing execution of our strategic initiatives, particularly in the implementation of new technology across the globe. We are encouraged by the current momentum that we are experiencing across our offerings and confident in our team's ability to continue to deliver value to all our stakeholders."

07:30 EDT Hudson Capital announces FreightHub doubles Canadian carrier network - Hudson Capital announced that FreightHub with which Hudson Capital has signed a definitive Merger Agreement, doubled its Canadian carrier network to answer ramping demand from truckload freight customers. "A key element of our growth strategy is leveraging our position within the U.S-Mexico and Mexico-U.S. cross-border markets to expand our footprint across select routes into and within Canada," stated Javier Selgas, CEO of Fr8Hub. "We recently doubled our carrier network serving this niche in the 3PL market to answer increased demand from customers and to help resolve some of the current capacity constraints within the industry."

07:29 EDT Seven Oaks Acquisition files form S-4 in connection with Boxed combination - Seven Oaks Acquisition announced that it has filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission a registration statement on Form S-4 in connection with its proposed business combination with Boxed. Boxed and Seven Oaks entered into a definitive agreement relating to the business combination on June 13, 2021 that would result in Boxed becoming a public company upon the closing of the transaction. Boxed will continue to be led by Chieh Huang, Boxed's Chief Executive Officer. Gary Matthews, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Seven Oaks, will serve as Boxed's Chairman of the Board when the business combination is complete. Boxed also announced its intention to list on the New York Stock Exchange upon the closing of the business combination. The combined company will be called Boxed, Inc. and its common stock and warrants are expected to list on the NYSE under the new ticker symbols "BOXD" and "BOXD WS", respectively. Seven Oaks' securities will remain listed on Nasdaq and continue to trade under the tickers "SVOK," "SVOKU" and "SVOKW" until the transfer to NYSE is complete upon the closing of the business combination. Under the terms of the proposed transaction, Boxed and Seven Oaks will merge with a pro forma combined equity value of approximately $900 million. The combined company is expected to receive $334 million in net cash proceeds from a combination of Seven Oaks' cash in trust of approximately $259 million, assuming no redemptions by Seven Oaks' public stockholders, as well as a $120 million fully committed private placement financing. There are no secondary shares being sold by existing Boxed shareholders in the transaction. The transaction will require the approval of the stockholders of both Seven Oaks and Boxed, and is subject to other customary closing conditions, including the effectiveness of the registration statement referenced above and the receipt of certain regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021.

07:27 EDT Longitude Capital announces investment in Rapid Micro Biosystems - Longitude Capital announced the closing of the inaugural Longitude Prime Fund and the fund's first investment in Rapid Micro Biosystems. LPF1 closed with $135 million in capital commitments and was oversubscribed. The announcement comes less than a year after Longitude Capital announced the closing of $585 million for its most recent core fund, Longitude Venture Partners IV, L.P. LPF1 will invest primarily in the crossover and IPO financings of selected breakout companies from the firm's existing investments in its core funds. The Prime Fund's initial investment supported Rapid Micro's $158 million initial public offering in July 2021. Rapid Micro, a company in Longitude Capital's Health Solutions practice, has developed an automated microbial quality control platform to increase efficiency and ensure data integrity in the production of biologics, vaccines, and cell and gene therapies. Prior to the IPO, Rapid Micro had most recently raised an $81 million crossover round in March 2021 to expand commercial operations. Longitude Capital originally backed Rapid Micro in its 2013 Series B financing.

07:25 EDT Recro Pharma appoints Erica Raether as VP, people, culture, ESG - Recro Pharma announced the appointment of Erica Raether as the company's inaugural vice president of people, culture and ESG. As part of her new role, Ms. Raether will be responsible for helping advance the company's commitment to ESG by developing and implementing programs and initiatives designed to bring about meaningful change in these key areas of corporate impact. To date, Recro has already made significant strides in these categories, as evidenced by its robust environmental sustainability program. This program, which includes a number of employee-focused and employee-led initiatives, has resulted in milestones in offsetting its carbon emissions and minimizing its energy and water usage. For example, since its inception in 2019, the environment sustainability program has led to estimated annual savings of more than 1.3 million pounds of carbon dioxide and 300,000 gallons of water. Raether most recently served as vice president of human resources and was a member of the global leadership team at Ajinomoto Bio Pharma Services, the global CDMO arm of Ajinomoto Co., which employs approximately 1,800 individuals and operates in Europe, India, Japan and the US.

07:23 EDT Enthusiast Gaming appoints John Albright to board of directors - Enthusiast Gaming is pleased to announce that Mr. John Albright has been appointed to its Board of Directors and Audit Committee effective immediately. John is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Relay Ventures, a venture capital firm with investments from start-up phase to late venture and growth capital across North America.

07:21 EDT GasLog, GasLog Partners announce availability of 2020 sustainability report - GasLog and GasLog Partners announced that their 2020 Sustainability Reports are available for download. Paul Wogan, CEO of GasLog and GasLog Partners, stated "The second editions of our sustainability reports, for 2020, provide an overview of the Group's ESG program and the progress made against our committed ambitions, despite the challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In them we also detail our initiatives around decarbonization, wellness and DE&I. The COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly difficult and stressful for our seafarers, who often worked many months beyond the expiry of their contracts. We cannot thank them enough for the dedication and professionalism they have demonstrated in delivering cargoes for our customers safely and sustainably.The reports showcase how important it is to have a world class operating platform with committed and resilient people. We are proud of our teams both onboard and ashore."

07:19 EDT Celona joins Zebra Technologies' PartnerConnect Program - Celona announced its participation in Zebra Technologies Corporation's PartnerConnect program. Celona joins Zebra's PartnerConnect ISV program as a Registered ISV, focusing on seamless interoperability between Zebra CBRS-enabled mobile devices and Celona's private LTE/5G mobile network platform.

07:19 EDT Lantern Pharma jumps 14% to $14.54 after 'positive' results from study of LP-184

07:17 EDT Rockwell Automation, Kezzler team to offer end-to-end cloud-based traceability - Rockwell Automation announced a partnership with Kezzler AS, a cloud-based product digitization and traceability platform, to help manufacturers capture the journey of their products from raw material sources to point-of-sale or beyond using cloud-based supply chain solutions that focus on product traceability. The combined offering is ideal for customers in industries like life sciences, food and beverage, and consumer packaged goods that are focused on complying with regulatory requirements and meeting consumer expectations in areas like product quality, safety, and sustainability. Rockwell's supply chain capabilities will combine with Kezzler's traceability technologies to help customers connect suppliers, manufacturing, logistics, and consumers into one real-time traceability platform. Kezzler's cloud-based solution provides integration flexibility and ease of access to existing systems of record that incorporate a wide range of technologies from immutable ledgers to traditional databases. The two companies can also create unique identities that can be used to digitally identify and track products from creation to consumption. For example, Rockwell and Kezzler can provide the data needed for manufacturers to aggregate total environmental footprint per manufactured product. This data can then be used for evidence and improvement or be shared directly with consumers through the product, allowing a company to use sustainability practices as a competitive advantage.

07:16 EDT EyePoint gets preliminary extension to pass-through payment status for DEXYCU - EyePoint Pharmaceuticals announced that the Company expects to receive a nine month extension on DEXYCU's pass-through payment status, which otherwise would expire on March 31, 2022. On July 19, 2021, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services released its 2022 draft Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System rule, which indicates that CMS plans to extend the pass-through period for select outpatient drugs and device products, such as DEXYCU, due to the public health emergency associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The draft rules are subject to a public comment period prior to the issuance by CMS of the final 2022 HOPPS rule, which is anticipated in November 2021.

07:13 EDT MediWound says primary endpoints met in Phase 3 pediatric study of NexoBrid - MediWound announced topline results from its pivotal phase 3 pediatric clinical study with NexoBrid to treat children with severe thermal burns, evaluating the efficacy and safety compared with standard-of-care. The study met its three primary endpoints with a high degree of statistical significance. NexoBrid demonstrated a significant reduction in time to achieve complete eschar removal and significant reduction in wound area requiring surgical excision (surgical need) while demonstrating non-inferiority to SOC in quality of scars. The study also met certain secondary endpoints showing statistically significant reduction in the incidence of surgical excision and reduction in need for autograft in deep partial burns, as well as a favorable trend in reduction of blood loss during the eschar removal process. In addition, the study showed that NexoBrid was safe and well-tolerated. The NexoBrid CIDS study is a multicenter, multinational, randomized, controlled, open label study, performed in children with deep partial thickness and full thickness thermal burns. The study's objectives are to evaluate the efficacy and safety of treatment with NexoBrid compared with standard of care in hospitalized children with severe thermal burns of 1 percent to 30 percent Total Body Surface Area. The study enrolled 145 pediatric patients, from newborn to eighteen years of age, randomized to either NexoBrid or SOC at a ratio of 1:1, across 36 burn centers worldwide. Topline results include acute phase and twelve-month follow-up data analysis. The long-term follow-up for cosmesis and function, quality of life and safety measurements is ongoing, and data is expected in the first half of 2023. The European Medicines Agency endorsed the study design as part of the agreed-upon Pediatric Investigational Plan to support the indication label expansion to include pediatric patients. The primary endpoints included early eschar removal, reduction of wound area surgically excised and non-inferiority cosmesis and function at twelve months follow-up from wound closure. Secondary endpoints included reduction in the need for surgical excision for eschar removal, blood loss, reduction of the need for autograft in DPT wounds and non-inferiority in cosmesis and function at twenty-four months follow-up from wound closure. Non-inferiority of the time to complete wound closure and other standard safety measurements were also compared with the SOC control arm. The study was expanded to include burn centers in the United States following agreement with the FDA, under the same protocol with alignment to the U.S. phase 3 study (DETECT) protocol for adult population. The non-inferiority of cosmesis and function at twelve months and twenty-four months from wound closure were defined as safety measurements. In addition, reduction in surgical need was measured only by reduction in incidence of surgical excision for eschar removal. Funding and support for this pivotal pediatric Phase 3 clinical study with NexoBrid is provided by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, under the office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, under ongoing contract number HHSO100201500035C. The overall patient demographics and wound baseline characteristics were comparable across study arms. The study met its three primary endpoints with highly statistical significance. Patients treated with NexoBrid demonstrated a significantly shorter time to achieve complete eschar removal compared with patients treated with SOC. Patients treated with NexoBrid demonstrated a significant reduction in surgical need for excisional eschar removal as measured by an analysis of percent wound area surgically excised for eschar removal. Patients treated with NexoBrid incurred a significantly lower percent of wound area surgically excised for eschar removal compared with patients treated with SOC. The non-inferiority analysis of cosmesis and function of scars measured by MVSS at twelve-months from wound closure, demonstrated that NexoBrid was non-inferior to SOC. The study included several secondary endpoints that provided further insight on additional efficacy parameters. Patients treated with NexoBrid demonstrated a statistically significant lower incidence of surgical excision for eschar removal compared with patients treated with SOC. Patients treated with NexoBrid incurred lower blood loss during the eschar removal procedure compared with patients treated with SOC, demonstrating a clear trend in favor of NexoBrid. Patients treated with NexoBrid demonstrated significant reduction of incidence of autograft performed in DPT wounds compared with patients treated with SOC. Patients treated with NexoBrid incurred a numerically lower percent area of DPT wound autografted compared with patients treated with SOC. No deleterious effect on wound healing was observed. Patients treated with NexoBrid had a non-inferior time to complete wound closure compared with patients treated with SOC. Estimated median time to complete wound closure, using Kaplan Meier analysis, was 32 days for patients treated with NexoBrid and 34 days for patients treated with SOC. The study DSMB reviewed the data of all subjects and found NexoBrid to be safe and well tolerated. No safety concerns were identified in the study population.

07:11 EDT OTCQB and Stantec announce agreement - OTCQB and Stantec have entered into an agreement whereby Stantec will provide services to evaluate and support 374Water's design of its AirSCWO Nix6 systems. Under the terms of the agreement, Stantec will act as owner's representative by participating in design process meetings, interdisciplinary evaluations, and operations review support. This technology - employing circular economy principals - recently closed its first round of equity funding. The first units are expected to be deployed in the first half of 2022.

07:08 EDT Manitowoc to acquire crane business of H&E Equipment for $130M - Manitowoc (MTW) that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the crane business of H&E Equipment Services (HEES). Under the terms of the agreement, Manitowoc is expected to pay approximately $130M funded by a combination of cash on hand and existing debt availability. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021 and is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. The acquisition of H&E's crane business will expand Manitowoc's ability to provide rentals, new sales, used sales, aftermarket parts, and service to a variety of end market customers. H&E's crane business operates with eleven full-service branch locations. "Over the past few quarters, we have communicated that our intent is to grow through four strategic priorities, one of which is acquisitions focused on aftermarket. The purchase of H&E's crane business is the next step in our journey to grow the less cyclical part of our business. H&E has a long history and excellent reputation for serving the lifting industry, and we look forward to welcoming the H&E crane team to Manitowoc," commented Aaron H. Ravenscroft, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Manitowoc Company. Brad Barber, Chief Executive Officer of H&E Equipment Services, said, "H&E has become one of the largest rental equipment companies in the U.S. by maintaining a commitment to growth. The sale of our crane business to Manitowoc represents a transformative event in H&E's continued efforts to increase its focus in the equipment rental business, while positioning us for future growth opportunities. We believe Manitowoc will provide further career opportunities for our crane employees and will also continue to offer first-class service to existing crane customers."

07:07 EDT Arcadia Biosciences names Laura Pitlik as Chief Marketing Officer - Arcadia Biosciences announced it has named Laura Pitlik its chief marketing officer, as the company expands its consumer goods platforms following several key acquisitions.

07:05 EDT H&E Equipment to sell crane business to a Manitowoc unit for $130M in cash - H&E Equipment Services (HEES) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its crane business to a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Manitowoc Company (MTW), a leading global manufacturer of cranes and lifting solutions, for $130M in cash. The transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2021, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act. "This transaction marks an important step in H&E Equipment's transition to a pure-play equipment rental company," said Brad Barber, H&E's Chief Executive Officer. "We expect our continued migration to higher margin rentals will promote our strategic focus on geographic expansion and fleet investment, drive outsized revenue and profitability growth, and enable us to take full advantage of opportunities created by favorable industry and macro trends." This divestiture, which was unanimously approved by H&E's Board of Directors, is expected to increase, and further stabilize the Company's EBITDA margin as it intensifies its focus on the higher margin equipment rental business. .

07:05 EDT Lantern Pharma reports data from ongoing pancreatic cancer study with LP-184 - Lantern Pharma announced positive new data from its ongoing pancreatic cancer collaboration with the Pancreatic Cancer Institute at Fox Chase Cancer Center. Preclinical data demonstrated that the drug candidate, LP-184, demonstrated significant and rapid pancreatic tumor shrinkage, by over 90%, in in-vivo mouse models in 8 weeks. In comparison, the tumors in the untreated mice grew by over eleven-fold in volume during the same 8 week period. Complete tumor regression in pancreatic cancer in-vivo mouse models dosed with LP-184 over 8 week period. Additional positive data on the efficacy and potency of LP-184 was gathered from 6 pancreatic cancer cell lines, and an additional 5 patient-derived xenograft (PDX) ex-vivo tumor models.

07:04 EDT Immunome IMM-BCP-01 neutralizes SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant in testing - Immunome announced that its three-antibody cocktail, or IMM-BCP-01, has demonstrated potent neutralizing activity against the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant in pre-clinical pseudovirus testing. Furthermore, IMM-BCP-01 showed in-vitro activity via non-neutralizing mechanisms, such as complement fixation, which Immunome expects will enable viral clearance. Immunome was awarded a $17.6M technology award from the U.S. Department of Defense's Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense, in collaboration with the Defense Health Agency, to support Immunome's COVID program. Given the near-term potential for a resurgence of COVID-19 infections driven by emerging variants, Immunome intends to explore opportunities to expedite the development of this potential therapeutic. The company plans to submit an IND application with the FDA this quarter.

06:59 EDT Travelers CEO says 'excellent underwriting and investment results' in Q2 - "We are very pleased to report excellent underwriting and investment results, generating second quarter core income of $879 million, or $3.45 per diluted share, and core return on equity of 13.7%," said Alan Schnitzer, Chairman and CEO. "Higher underlying underwriting income and net favorable prior year reserve development, as well as a lower level of catastrophe losses, all contributed to higher core income compared to the prior year quarter. Underlying underwriting income benefited from record net earned premiums and a strong underlying combined ratio of 91.4%. Our high-quality investment portfolio generated net investment income of $682 million after-tax, reflecting very strong returns in our non-fixed income portfolio. These results, together with our strong balance sheet, enabled us to return $625 million of excess capital to shareholders this quarter, including $401 million of share repurchases. For the quarter, net written premiums grew 11%, or 8% adjusting for the auto premium refunds in the prior year quarter, with each of our three segments contributing. In Business Insurance, net written premiums grew by 5%, with renewal premium change of 9.5% near an all-time high, driven by continued strong renewal rate change and higher insured exposures reflecting higher levels of U.S. economic activity. At the same time, retention was higher reflecting stability in the pricing environment and we grew new business by 9%. In Bond & Specialty Insurance, net written premiums increased by 16%, driven by record renewal premium change of 12.7% in our management liability business, while retention remained strong. In Personal Insurance, net written premiums increased by 16%, or 8% adjusting for the auto premium refunds in the prior year quarter. Policies in force in both Auto and Homeowners are at record levels driven by continued strong retention and growth in new business."

06:57 EDT MediWound trading halted, news pending

06:51 EDT Halfords implements Descartes Systems' last mile delivery solution - Descartes Systems has announced that UK-headquartered Halfords is using Descartes' last mile delivery solution to enable dynamic delivery pricing in its customer-facing mobile tire replacement service and as its new international field service software solution called Avayler. First metrics show that Halford's mobile service business has already been able to improve gross profit by 5% and reduce miles per delivery by 13%.

06:49 EDT Roche announces Japan approves Ronapreve for mild to moderate COVID-19 - Roche announced that Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, or MHLW, has approved Ronapreve for the treatment of patients with mild to moderate COVID-19 via intravenous infusion. The antibody combination was granted a Special Approval Pathway under article 14-3 of the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Act. Outside Japan, the antibody combination has been authorized for emergency use or temporary pandemic use in additional territories and regions, including in the European Union, United States, India, Switzerland and Canada. It is also undergoing rolling review by the European Medicines Agency and was granted a scientific opinion by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, supporting its use as a treatment option for patients with confirmed COVID-19 who do not require oxygen supplementation and who are at high risk of progressing to severe COVID-19. "In December 2020, Chugai obtained development and exclusive commercialization rights in Japan from Roche, and is working with the Japanese government to ensure an appropriate and timely supply of Ronapreve. In these exceptional times, Roche stands together with society, governments, healthcare providers and all those working to overcome the pandemic," the company said.

06:47 EDT Halliburton CEO says 'our strategy is working well' - "Our second quarter performance demonstrates that our strategy is working well and Halliburton's strategic priorities are driving value in this transition year. Total company revenue increased 7% sequentially, as both North America and international markets continued to improve, and operating income grew 17% with solid margin performance in both divisions," commented Jeff Miller, Chairman, President and CEO. "Halliburton's Completion and Production division margin reached three-year highs, while our Drilling and Evaluation division margin outperformed expectations, setting both divisions up for robust margin growth this year. Our solid free cash flow generation further demonstrates the effectiveness of our strategy to strengthen the cash flow profile of our business. The positive activity momentum we see in North America and international markets today, combined with our expectations for future customer demand, gives us conviction for an unfolding multi-year upcycle. Halliburton's value proposition, unique exposure to both international and North America markets, and differentiated technologies across an integrated services portfolio solidify our sustainable competitive advantage, and deliver strong free cash flow and industry-leading returns," concluded Miller.

06:45 EDT Moderna announces Takeda plans to acquire 50M additional doses of COVID vaccine - Moderna (MRNA) announced that the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan, or MHLW, and Takeda Pharmaceutical (TAK) have agreed to purchase and distribute an additional 50M doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine and its updated variant booster vaccine candidate, if authorized, to begin delivery in 2022. This new supply agreement is in addition to the prior agreement for 50M doses in 2021 resulting in a total of 100M doses for Japan. Moderna is responsible for the manufacture and supply of Moderna's vaccine candidate, and Takeda, with the support of the MHLW and Moderna, is responsible for all import, local regulatory, development and distribution activities in Japan for these additional 50M doses beginning in 2022.

06:39 EDT PPG sees FY21 CapEx $425M-$450M - The company continues to rapidly integrate all recent acquisitions, and expects 2021 synergies from these closed acquisitions to be approximately $25M.

06:29 EDT Citizens Financial reports Q2 net interest margin 2.72% vs. 2.88% a year ago

06:05 EDT Largo Resources: LCE enters first battery sales contract with Enel Green Power - Largo Resources is pleased to announce that Largo Clean Energy has entered into its first VCHARGE+/- vanadium redox flow battery system sales contract with Enel Green Power Espana. Under the contract, LCE is obligated to deliver a 5 hour 6.1 MWh VCHARGE+/- system for a project in Spain with expected commissioning in Q4 2022, subject to receipt of notice to proceed from EGPE within the next 180 days.

05:35 EDT Mondelez business voluntarily recalls muffin products with potential Listeria - Give and Go Prepared Foods announced a voluntary nationwide recall of certain muffin products due to the potential for the products to be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, an organism which can cause serious and sometimes fatal infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and others with weakened immune systems.

05:27 EDT Regeneron receives Japan MHLW approval for COVID-19 antibody cocktail - Regeneron announced that Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, or MHLW, has approved Regeneron's casirivimab and imdevimab antibody cocktail to treat patients with mild to moderate COVID-19. This marks the first time the antibody cocktail, known as REGEN-COV in the U.S. and Ronapreve in other countries, has received a full approval to treat COVID-19. Emergency or temporary pandemic use authorizations are currently in place in more than 20 countries, including in the U.S., European Union, India, Switzerland and Canada.

05:18 EDT Myovant Sciences receives EC approval for Ryeqo MAA - Myovant Sciences announced the European Commission, or EC, has approved the marketing authorization application, or MAA, for Ryeqo for the treatment of moderate to severe symptoms of uterine fibroids in adult women of reproductive age, with no limitation for duration of use. The EC decision is valid in all 27 member states of the European Union, as well as Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein.

05:08 EDT Mercantile Bank raises quarterly cash dividend 3.4% to 30c per share - Mercantile Bank announced that its board of directors declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of 30c per common share, payable on September 15 to holders of record as of September 3. The 30c cash dividend represents an increase of 3.4% from the 29c regular cash dividend paid during Q2.