Stockwinners Market Radar for August 03, 2021 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

19:50 EDT Iconix Brand trading halted, news pending

18:47 EDT Clorox CEO: We're in an unprecedented cost environment - In an interview on CNBC's Mad Money, Linda Rendle said Clorox's brands have performed very well during the pandemic and it's a stronger company coming out of it. Clorox's brands have never been stronger and the business is fundamentally healthy, Rendle added. The company is taking "aggressive actions" to mitigate the cost environment, she noted. "This is a short-term, unpredictable macroenvironment," she said. Rendle is confident in growth over the long term and expects to expand gross margin in Q4.

18:35 EDT Gol Linhas signs agreements for 28 additional Boeing 737 MAX-8 aircraft - Gol Linhas (GOL) announces the acceleration of its fleet transformation by signing agreements for 28 additional Boeing (BA) 737 MAX-8 aircraft, which is expected to reduce the company's unit costs by 8% in 2022. The total 28 B 737 MAX 8 aircraft will replace 23 B 737-800 NGs by the end of 2022. The company currently operates 12 737 MAX aircraft, having returned 18 B737 NGs in the past 18 months. As a result of the new agreements, GOL will now end 2021 with 28 737 MAX aircraft (22% of the total fleet), and by the year-end 2022 will have received delivery of 44 737 MAX aircraft (32% of the total fleet). With its current 737 MAX commitments, GOL will meet its objective of having a 75% MAX fleet by 2030.

18:24 EDT Melody submits proposal to purchase all assets from Landmark Infrastructure - Melody Investment Advisors announced that it has submitted a proposal to purchase 100% of the assets currently owned by Landmark Infrastructure Partners through one or a series of transactions that would result in holders of Landmark's common units receiving $16.25 per Landmark common unit in cash. Melody's proposal represents a 25% premium to the $13.00 per Landmark common unit proposed by insider Digital Colony Acquisition and a 20% premium to the $13.50 per Landmark common unit proposal made by Verde Investments as set forth in its letter of July 16. Melody's proposal both is financially superior and provides equal or greater transaction certainty than the Colony and Verde proposals given Melody's ample committed and available capital and ability to quickly close the transaction. Melody requested that representatives of the Company's Conflicts Committee promptly enter into discussions concerning the proposal.

18:07 EDT Innovative Industrial Properties acquires Illinois property for $6.5M - Innovative Industrial Properties announced that it closed on the acquisition of a property in Illinois, and entered into a long-term lease with a subsidiary of 4Front Ventures Corp. The purchase price for the property was $6.5M. 4Front is expected to construct approximately 250,000 square feet of industrial space at the property, for which IIP has agreed to provide reimbursement of up to $43.75M. Assuming full reimbursement for the construction, IIP's total investment in the property is expected to be $50.25M. 4Front intends to operate the property upon completion of construction as a licensed cannabis cultivation and processing facility.

17:30 EDT Talos Energy backs FY21 capex view of $340M-$370M - Backs FY21 total output view of 23.0-24.5 MMBOE/D.

17:26 EDT Lockheed Martin CFO Kenneth Possenriede to retire, John Mollard named acting CFO - Lockheed Martin announced that CFO Kenneth Possenriede has decided to retire immediately due to personal reasons. John Mollard, vice president and treasurer, has been appointed acting CFO, effective immediately. In his almost four decades at Lockheed Martin, Mollard has held several positions of increasing responsibility within the Finance and Business Operations team, including the past five years as the corporate treasurer.

17:23 EDT Oasis Midstream Partners sees Q3 E&P & Other CapEx $50M-$60M - Sees Q3 Production MBoe/d 49.0-52.0.

17:20 EDT Eastside Distilling announces three-year strategic operating plan - Eastside Distilling announced its 3-year strategic operating plan designed to accelerate growth and optimize value. The plan will build off of the strong platform established over the past year and pivot to more focused strategic priorities going forward. Management is asking shareholders to vote for an increase in authorized common shares from 15M-35M. Using a combination of debt and equity to build liquidity, the 3-year plan will source an estimated 7M of the new shares to build cash from equity and make key capital investments. Plan Highlights: Achieve $69M Year 3 revenue for the consolidated enterprise; Focus Craft C+B on proprietary end-to-end canning; Focus Spirits on four key brands and micro marketing; Utilize high cash flow from Craft C+B to fuel Spirits & EBITDA; Build enterprise value with strong Spirits brands that enjoy expanded distribution; Leverage the new executive management team to drive results.

17:16 EDT Volaris reports July traffic up 128.1%, capacity up 86.3% - Load factor was up 16.4 p.p. Passengers were up 132.5%.

17:14 EDT Athene Holding announces $4.9B pension risk transfer with Lockheed Martin - Athene Holding (ATH) announced the close of a significant pension risk transfer transaction with Lockheed Martin (LMT). Under the terms of the transaction, Lockheed Martin transferred $4.9B in pension obligations to Athene. Athene's wholly-owned subsidiaries, Athene Annuity and Life Company and Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Company of New York, have agreed to provide annuity benefits for approximately 18,000 participants of Lockheed Martin's pension plan who are currently receiving benefits. Under the agreement, AAIA and AANY have each committed to issuing a group annuity contract to Lockheed Martin and individual annuity certificates to applicable participants.

17:11 EDT Brink's announces Mark Eubanks as COO - Brink's (BCO) announced that, effective September 7, Mark Eubanks will join the company as executive vice president and COO, with oversight responsibilities for the company's four regional operating segments. Eubanks, most recently served as president, Europe, Middle East and Africa for Otis Worldwide (OTIS) and was based in Paris, France. The hiring of Eubanks is part of the company's CEO succession plan. The company's board of directors intends to appoint a new CEO in the first half of 2022, at which time CEO Doug Pertz is expected to be named executive chairman of the board. In this role, Pertz, who has served as president and CEO since July of 2016, will continue to play an executive management role at Brink's, leading strategy development and supporting execution.

17:08 EDT AMSC announces $21M in new energy power systems orders - AMSC announced $21M of new energy power systems orders. This includes orders for reactive compensation, enclosed capacitor banks, harmonic filters, voltage controllers, as well as rectifiers and transformers from the company's recent acquisition of Neeltran.

17:06 EDT Commercial Vehicle Group sees favorable demand across key markets - "The demand outlook for the Company's key markets are favorable. According to a July 2021 report by ACT Research, a publisher of industry market research, 2020 North American Class 8 truck build production was 214,250 units and Class 5-7 production was 223,721 units. 2021 North American Class 8 truck production levels are expected to be at 314,000 units and Class 5-7 production are expected to be at 250,000 units. This outlook supports demand for the Company's vehicle products. The demand outlook for the Company's entrance into the electric vehicle market is favorable. Many global electric vehicle platforms are underway across the spectrum of vehicle types. Adoption rates are forecast to increase and supports continuance of the Company's efforts aimed at partnering with Electric Vehicle makers to help them develop and produce these vehicles and make use of the Company's full product basket of the following: entire electrical systems for the chassis and powertrain, seating solutions, headliners, interior trim, mirrors, wipers, floor mats, and road sensors. The demand outlook for the Company's warehouse automation products is favorable. According to LogisticsIQ, demand for warehouse automation products is expected to grow approximately 14% annually through 2026. This outlook supports demand for the Company's warehouse automation products," said the company in a statement.

17:05 EDT SmileDirectClub issues statement following shooting at Tennessee facility - Following a shooting incident this morning at SmileDirectClub's Antioch, Tennesee manufacturing facility in which an active team member entered the facility, shot two security guards and another team member, and was later apprehended by Metro Nashville Police, SmileDirectClub makes the following statement: "SmileDirectClub is shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic incident that took place at our manufacturing facility this morning. We are grateful for the swift actions taken by our Team Members, security personnel and Metro Nashville Police in responding to, and quickly containing, the situation. We would also like to thank our corporate partners, the local community and local legislators for their outpouring of support. As we continue to gather facts and assist police with their investigation, we can confirm that a Team Member was shot and injured when he intercepted the gunman. We are happy to report that this Team Member has been treated and released from a local hospital. Additionally, two security guards contracted through a third-party security company were shot and are currently receiving care at local hospitals. The safety of our Team Members is a top priority for the Company, and we maintain strict security protocols and a no weapons policy atallour facilities. Following today's incident, we are further heightening security at our manufacturing facility so that all of our Team Members can feel safe and secure when returning to work."

16:58 EDT Lyft reports Q2 Active Riders up 97.3% from last year at 17.1M - Reports Q2 Revenue per Active Rider $44.63, up 14.3% from last year.

16:58 EDT Apollo Funds to acquire U.S. assets from Lumen Technologies - Apollo Global Management (APO) and Lumen Technologies (LUMN) announced that funds managed by affiliates of Apollo have entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Lumen's ILEC assets and all associated operations across 20 states for $7.5B. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in 2022.

16:54 EDT McAfee declares special dividend of $4.50 per share - The dividend is payable on or about August 27, 2021 to shareholders of record at 5:00 p.m. Eastern standard time on August 13, 2021. The ex-dividend date will be August 16, 2021, the first business day after the record date.

16:50 EDT Akamai sees Q3 operating expenses $257M-$262M - Sees Q3 operating margin 31%. Sees Q3 capital expenditures $135M-$140M.

16:48 EDT Activision Blizzard reports 408M total MAUs in Q2

16:45 EDT ICF International reports Q2 total backlog $3.0B - Funded backlog was $1.5B, or approximately 50% of the total backlog. The total value of contracts awarded in the Q2 was $398M, up 41% year-on-year for a quarterly book-to-bill ratio of 1.01. Trailing-twelve-month contract awards totaled $2.32B for a book-to-bill ratio of 1.48.

16:41 EDT FG Financial names Hassan Baqar CFO - FG Financial Group announced that John S. Hill, Chief Financial Officer of FG Financial Group since the founding of the Company, has decided to retire effective August 6. Mr. Hill will be succeeded by Hassan R. Baqar who will become CFO of FG Financial Group effective August 6. The Company also announced that Brian Bottjer has been appointed Chief Accounting Officer. Larry Swets, the Company's Chief Executive Officer, commented, "First and foremost, I would like to congratulate John Hill and thank him for his numerous contributions to FG Financial Group during his tenure as Chief Financial Officer. John was with us at our founding and during his tenure he has played an important role in a number of the company's strategic and financial business initiatives. We wish him a happy and well-deserved retirement."

16:39 EDT Activision Blizzard says harassers 'will be held accountable for their actions' - Says will not permit harassment or mistreatment. Says Activision Blizzard will set the standard for the rest of the industry. Says "people will be held accountable for their actions." Says will terminate any manager or leader if they get in the way of internal investigation. Says will consider diverse slate of candidates for all open positions. Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call.

16:38 EDT Lumen authorizes repurchase of up to an aggregate of $1B of common stock - Effective immediately, the board of directors has authorized a 24-month program to repurchase up to an aggregate of $1B of its outstanding common stock in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions.

16:38 EDT Northern Oil and Gas raises quarterly dividend 50% to 4.5c per share - Northern Oil and Gas announced that its Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend on the Company's common stock in the amount of $0.045 per share, representing a 50% increase from the prior quarterly dividend. The dividend is payable on October 29, 2021, to stockholders of record as of the close of business on September 30, 2021.

16:36 EDT Zymergen sinks 63%, or $21.83, to $13 after business update

16:35 EDT Lumen to sell incumbent carrier operations to Apollo Funds for $7.5B - Lumen Technologies (LUMN) announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its incumbent local exchange carrier business, including its consumer, small business, wholesale and mostly copper-served enterprise customers and assets, in 20 states to funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, Inc. (APO) for $7.5B, including debt assumption of approximately $1.4B, and subject to working capital and various other purchase price adjustments. Under the terms of the transaction, Lumen will retain its ILEC assets in 16 states, as well as its national fiber routes and CLEC networks. "This transaction is an important step in our continued efforts to transform Lumen and drive future growth for our company," said Jeff Storey, Lumen president and CEO. "We are pleased with the attractive valuation we received for these assets, which highlights the overall value of Lumen's extensive asset portfolio. Apollo Funds will receive a great business with a strong customer base, dedicated employees, and a platform for future growth." The transaction is expected to be roughly leverage neutral, with an expected close in the second half of 2022, subject to customary closing conditions including required regulatory approvals.

16:35 EDT Zymergen trading resumes

16:34 EDT Lumen to sell incumbent carrier operations to Apollo Funds for $7.5B

16:30 EDT Reinsurance Group board increases quarterly dividend 4% to 73c - Effective August 3, 2021, the board of directors increased the quarterly dividend 4%, to 73c from 70c, payable August 31, 2021, to shareholders of record as of August 17, 2021.

16:28 EDT Zymergen developing plan to align expenses with revenue expectations - The company said, "In connection with today's business update, Zymergen is developing a plan to reduce and align expenses with the change in the Company's revenue expectations."

16:25 EDT Zymergen appoints Jay Flatley acting CEO, Josh Hoffman stepping down - Zymergen announced that Jay Flatley has been appointed acting Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Flatley's appointment follows the mutual decision by Zymergen and Josh Hoffman that Hoffman will step down as CEO and as a member of the board, effective immediately. The company's board will commence a search process to identify a permanent CEO. Sandi Peterson will serve as Zymergen's Lead Independent Director while Flatley serves as acting CEO. Flatley served as CEO of Illumina (ILMN) for 17 years, and as its Executive Chair, and later Chairman of the Board, until 2021.

16:24 EDT Zymergen sees smaller near-term market for foldable display applications - Zymergen said, "The Company is also evaluating emerging data on the total addressable market for foldable display applications, which indicate a smaller near-term market opportunity that is growing less rapidly than anticipated, as well as its impact on Zymergen's sales forecast. The Company will conduct a full re-examination of Zymergen's target markets confirming our past views or altering them if the data indicate a shift in market focus is appropriate."

16:20 EDT Fidelity National announces new three-year 25M share repurchase program - Fidelity National announced that its Board of Directors has approved a new three-year stock repurchase program, effective August 3, under which the company may repurchase up to 25M shares of FNF common stock. Purchases may be made from time to time by the company in the open market at prevailing market prices or in privately negotiated transactions through July 31, 2024. Under its previous three-year repurchase program, which expired on July 31, the company repurchased a total of 17.4M shares of common stock.

16:17 EDT Regional Management sees FY21 net income $75M-$80M - In light of the unique circumstances presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and credit loss provisioning under the new CECL accounting standard, the company is initiating a full year 2021 outlook for net income. For the full year 2021, the company expects net income to be between $75 million and $80 million.

16:14 EDT Neurocrine reaffirms FY21 Non-GAAP R&D and SG&A expenses view $720M-$770M - Combined GAAP R&D and SG&A expenses $855M-$905M. GAAP-only guidance includes approximately $130M of share-based compensation and $5M of In-Process Research and Development. GAAP-only guidance does not include any potential milestones or IPR&D costs associated with current collaborations or future business development activities.

16:09 EDT DaVita raises FY21 free cash flow view to $1B-$1.2B from $900M-$1.15B

16:08 EDT Curis reports Q2 EPS (12c), consensus (11c) - Reports Q2 revenue $2.3M, consensus $2.48M. "In the Q2 we continued executing on planned milestones across our pipeline of next generation targeted cancer therapies designed to meaningfully improve and extend patients' lives. We drove important progress with our first-in-class, small molecule IRAK4 inhibitor CA-4948, expanding our clinical trials into nine distinct patient populations across AML/MDS and B cell cancers. In June, we presented updated data from our Phase 1/2 relapsed/refractory AML/MDS study at EHA, which showcased continued improvements in clinical activity and robust tolerability in extremely fragile patients," said James Dentzer, President and CEO.

16:07 EDT Kratos reaffirms prior FY21 revenue, adjusted EBITDA guidance

16:03 EDT Caesars paid down $325M of debt during Q2, says CFO Bret Yunker - "We anticipate that our balance sheet will be further enhanced through improved operating trends and expected asset sale proceeds. We paid down $325M of debt during the quarter and remain committed to further debt reduction," said Bret Yunker, CFO.

16:00 EDT Zymergen trading halted, news pending

15:35 EDT Affirm Holdings trading resumes

14:41 EDT Kodak announces launch of new technology with end-to-end workflow solution - In a YouTube video, Eastman Kodak introduced "Modern Litho's journey to end-to-end workflow with Kodak," as Modern Litho began implementation of "the world's first fully integrated end-to-end print workflow solution with KODAK PRINERGY on Demand Business Solutions." "Modern Litho will be in production with Business Solutions beginning October 2021," Kodak added. Reference Link

13:33 EDT ZipRecruiter announces job seeker partnership with Facebook - "Job seekers who receive credentials through Facebook Blueprint-Facebook's platform offering online learning courses, training programs, and certifications related to digital marketing-can take advantage of a new ZipRecruiter-powered website to find their next great opportunity," ZipRecruiter (ZIP) announced in a press release. "The job market has shifted tremendously over the past year. In the wake of the pandemic, Americans are turning from community colleges and universities towards more affordable online training programs, and employers are moving from degree-based hiring to a focus on skills and competencies. ZipRecruiter is excited to team up with Facebook to expand career opportunities for more Americans and create streamlined pathways into attractive new-collar jobs," says ZipRecruiter CEO and co-founder Ian Siegel.

12:47 EDT Intec Pharma announces expected closing date of Decoy merger - Intec Parent announced that the pending and previously announced reverse merger with Decoy Biosystems, Inc. is currently expected to close after market hours today, Tuesday, August 3, 2021, subject to satisfaction or waiver of all closing conditions. Immediately following the closing, the combined company will be renamed "Indaptus Therapeutics, Inc.", and is expected to begin trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the new ticker symbol "INDP" upon the commencement of trading on Wednesday, August 4, 2021.

12:26 EDT Applied DNA Sciences unit awarded CUNY Covid-19 testing contract - Applied DNA Sciences announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Applied DNA Clinical Labs, LLC, was awarded a competitively-bid COVID-19 testing contract by the City University of New York Board of Trustees to facilitate the University's reopening in the fall. The Contract term is 12 months, has a maximum value not to exceed $35M, and contains no minimum weekly testing commitment. The Contract specifies ADCL's deployment of safeCircle, its high-throughput, pooled COVID-19 testing program, to provide weekly asymptomatic diagnostic COVID-19 screening of on-campus unvaccinated students, staff, and faculty, and a random sampling of vaccinated individuals across the CUNY school system. Testing under the Contract will commence in early August 2021, and all sample collection sites will be fully operational before the start of the academic year on August 25. "This award reflects execution on our strategy to position safeCircle's COVID-19 testing offerings in front of high-frequency, high-volume testing opportunities in the marketplace, including those funded by Federal and State monies released since the start of the pandemic that are earmarked to fund States' reopening strategies. Having spent the last calendar year putting into place the constituent components for a high-throughput clinical laboratory for COVID-19 testing, this award is a significant milestone for the Company's Diagnostics business," stated Dr. James A. Hayward, president and CEO of Applied DNA.

12:03 EDT Refresco to acquire three production facilities in U.S. from Coca-Cola - Refresco, which identifies itself as "the world's largest independent bottler for retailers and A-brands in Europe and North America," announces it has entered into an agreement with The Coca-Cola Company to acquire three of its production locations in the United States. This transaction is subject to regulatory approval. The prospective transaction includes three production facilities in Truesdale, Missouri, Waco, Texas, and Paw Paw, Michigan, and involves long-term agreements for contract manufacturing activities. Refresco will become one of Coca-Cola's strategic third-party contract manufacturers in the United States. Refresco will finance the transaction from its existing cash position. The financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

12:01 EDT LoanDepot falls -15.7% - LoanDepot is down -15.7%, or -$1.66 to $8.93.

12:01 EDT Bright Health falls -24.9% - Bright Health is down -24.9%, or -$2.72 to $8.20.

12:00 EDT Universal Technical rises 13.8% - Universal Technical is up 13.8%, or 84c to $6.93.

11:51 EDT NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio to mandate COVID vaccine for certain indoor activities - At a press conference Tuesday morning, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio mandate vaccinations for a range of indoor venues, requiring proof of COVID vaccine from employees and customers of gyms, entertainment centers and indoor eateries. The mandate, known as the "Key to NYC Pass," will go into effect August 16, with enforcement beginning September 13. Discussing mandates for vaccination or COVID-19 testing, the mayor also thanked "leaders of the private sector," such as Danny Meyer, founder of Shake Shack (SHAK), Equinox and Peloton's (PTON) competitor SoulCycle. Other publicly traded companies that may be impacted by this mandate include Planet Fitness (PLNT), Yum! Brands (YUM), Darden Restaurants (DRI), Chipotle (CMG), Restaurant Brands (QSR), Brinker (EAT), McDonald's (MCD), Wendy's (WEN), Starbucks (SBUX), and Live Nation (LYV). Reference Link

11:23 EDT Honda reports July U.S. sales up 8% to 135,542 vehicles - American Honda topped 135,500 in sales despite inventory constraints limiting key models, the company said in a statement. American Honda posted its best-ever July truck sales of 83,727, it added.

10:41 EDT Boeing confirms today's Starliner Orbital Flight Test-2 launch is scrubbed - Boeing Space said via Twitter: "We're confirming today's #Starliner Orbital Flight Test-2 launch is scrubbed. More details soon." Reference Link

10:38 EDT JetBlue to maintain headquarters in NYC, advance terminal project at JFK - JetBlue announced plans to double down on its commitment to New York by maintaining its headquarters in the city and advancing plans to expand its flagship terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport. These initiatives further strengthen JetBlue's presence in New York, where it has already announced plans to substantially increase flying and bring more low fares and more jobs to JFK, LaGuardia, and Newark as part of its Northeast Alliance with American Airlines. After an in-depth review and competitive bid process, JetBlue announced its intention to keep its headquarters in New York City when its current office lease expires in 2023. JetBlue plans to stay at its current home in the Brewster Building at 27-01 Queens Plaza North in Long Island City, where the company has been based since 2012 and is home to its iconic rooftop sign. JetBlue intends to negotiate and execute a lease over the next few months and then re-design its office space to be responsive to rapidly evolving workplace trends that have accelerated during the pandemic. In addition to its corporate presence, the airline continues to further plans to bring more air service to New Yorkers across the region's three airports. Governor Cuomo announced that the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will approve plans to develop a wor terminal on the Terminals 6 and 7 sites. The new Terminal 6 project will seamlessly integrate with Terminal 5, It helps secure JetBlue's long-term future at JFK with opportunities for new gates starting in 2025, and offers partner airlines the ability to co-locate with JetBlue to improve connectivity for customers. The $3.9B, 1.2 million square foot terminal is set to replace aging existing facilities, and will be designed to accommodate both wide-body gates and narrow-body gates. JetBlue will also expand its footprint at LaGuardia Airport beyond its current space at the historic Marine Air Terminal and partially move into the airport's recently opened and state-of-the-art Terminal B later this year with plans to move completely in 2022. At Newark, JetBlue will also move, relocating to the new Terminal A in 2022. JetBlue plans to add more than 1,800 jobs at New York City airports thanks to new flights and destinations it is adding as a result of its Northeast Alliance with American Airlines. JetBlue plans to nearly triple its flights at LaGuardia and substantially increase flying at JFK and Newark. With this planned growth, JetBlue will continue to work with New York state to market the airline as New York's Hometown Airline and bring visibility for the high-quality, low-fare air service that it offers at eight airports across the Empire State.

10:13 EDT Bambuser announces signing of master agreement with LVMH - Bambuser announced it has entered into a long-term master agreement with LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton, following successful pilot activations. "The agreement will strengthen the companies' partnership following Bambuser's receipt of the LVMH Innovation Award. Bambuser has previously entered into proof-of-concept agreements with two of LVMH's Maisons. Following the successful activations, Bambuser and LVMH have entered into a long-term master agreement that allows all LVMH's Maisons and divisions in all markets to leverage Bambuser's robust platform for shoppable livestreams. The master agreement initially runs for 12 months starting August 2021. The order value cannot be estimated in advance, as each company and business unit shall submit an individual insertion order," the company stated.

10:07 EDT Delta Air Lines pilots upgrading to AT&T 5G, iPad Pro - Delta Air Lines (DAL) is extending its commitment to next-generation connectivity, together with AT&T (T) Business and Apple (AAPL), the company said in a statement. Delta is upgrading all pilot electronic flight bags - one of a pilot's tools for use in pre-flight management tasks and processes - to the new iPad Pro, powered by Apple's M1 chip and 5G. This comes on the heels of Delta's recent commitment to equipping all of their flight attendants with iPhone 12 and 5G in April this year, it said. Delta will also use the AT&T IoT Global SIM and AT&T Control Center.

10:02 EDT Discovery+ to be available on Vizio SmartCast by September - Discovery (DISCA) and Vizio (VZIO) announced that subscription streaming service discovery+ will be available on Vizio SmartCast by September. "Millions of viewers across America will soon have access to the highly anticipated discovery+ app on their VIZIO Smart TVs," the companies stated.

10:00 EDT Bright Health falls -10.1% - Bright Health is down -10.1%, or -$1.10 to $9.82.

10:00 EDT Owens & Minor falls -14.8% - Owens & Minor is down -14.8%, or -$6.95 to $39.95.

10:00 EDT Ambrx Biopharma rises 9.4% - Ambrx Biopharma is up 9.4%, or $1.87 to $21.77.

09:49 EDT E Home Household Service Holdings Ltd trading resumes

09:47 EDT LoanDepot falls -9.3% - LoanDepot is down -9.3%, or -99c to $9.60.

09:47 EDT Clorox falls -10.9% - Clorox is down -10.9%, or -$19.83 to $161.37.

09:47 EDT Ralph Lauren rises 8.9% - Ralph Lauren is up 8.9%, or $10.51 to $128.50.

09:47 EDT Capital Senior Living rises 9.5% - Capital Senior Living is up 9.5%, or $2.40 to $27.56.

09:46 EDT Ford, GM, Stellantis reinstate mask mandates in U.S. plants, says UAW - The COVID-19 Joint Task Force, comprised of the UAW, Ford (F), General Motors (GM) and Stellantis (STLA), has determined that personnel will be required to wear masks at all plants, offices and warehouses, regardless of vaccination status, beginning Aug. 4. This is in response to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's recent change in COVID-19 workplace standards related to the Delta variant. "The Task Force met and, after reviewing the recently changed CDC guidelines and community COVID-19 trends, decided it is best for worker safety to resume wearing masks in all worksites. While we know that masks can be uncomfortable, the spread of the Delta variant and recent data outlining the alarmingly high rate of transmission among those unvaccinated is a serious health threat. We know that the best way to fight this virus is by getting vaccinated. The Task Force is strongly encouraging all members, coworkers and their families to roll up their sleeves so we can move more quickly on once again relaxing mask protocols. The more our members, coworkers and their families are vaccinated, the quicker we can vanquish this deadly pandemic." Reference Link

09:44 EDT E Home Household Service Holdings Ltd trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:39 EDT Newtek Business backs FY21 annual dividend forecast of $3.00-$3.30/share

09:28 EDT Lixte says LB-100 elicits anti-tumor activity in small lung cancer models - Lixte Biotechnology Holdings announced that its lead clinical compound, LB-100, a protein phosphatase 2A inhibitor, was reported to enhance the effectiveness of elements of standard therapy in models of small cell lung cancer. Dr. Ravi Salgia, MD, PhD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Medical Oncology and Therapeutics Research and Arthur & Rosalie Kaplan Chair in Medical Oncology, City of Hope, is the corresponding author of the paper. He is also the principal investigator for a recently opened Phase 1b clinical trial for patients with previously untreated advanced small cell lung cancer, in which LB-100 is added to a standard regimen of carboplatin, etoposide, and atezolizumab. The subject clinical trial is funded by Lixte Biotechnology. Lixte's CEO, John S. Kovach, MD, and an author on the preclinical study, commented that "Dr. Salgia and his scientific collaborators have carried out extensive pre-clinical studies of abnormal molecular features of SCLC and the effects of LB-100 on components of a standard regimen for the treatment of this disease. They found multiple metabolic changes associated with cell death in these cancer cells when exposed to LB-100 alone and when combined with the drugs in this standard clinical regimen for this notoriously aggressive disease. LB-100 has been reported to increase the effectiveness of a number of anti-cancer drugs against several different types of human cancers without increasing toxicity in animal models. Of note in the current preclinical study of SCLC cells is 1) that LB-100 increases the amount of carboplatin that enters the tumor cells without increasing toxicity, and 2) that LB-100 potentiates the action of the immune-blocker, atezolizumab." These observations are of great interest to Lixte because, taken together, they not only constitute a strong rationale for the recently opened clinical trial of LB-100 plus chemo-immunotherapy in SCLC but they complement earlier preclinical observations that LB-100 can reverse resistance of cancer cells to cisplatin, another widely used chemotherapy drug, increase the entry of another important anti-cancer agent, doxorubicin, into liver cancer cells associated with increased antitumor activity, and enhance the effectiveness of immune-blockers against several types of cancers. These observations raise the possibility that the addition of LB-100 may be a general way to enhance standard therapies for cancers for which better treatments are urgently needed. The present trial in SCLC is an initial step in testing that hypothesis.

09:18 EDT Amazon, Best Buy introduce new line-up of Best Buy Insignia F50 Series Fire TVs - Amazon (AMZN) and Best Buy (BBY) announced a new lineup of Best Buy Insignia F50 Series Fire TVs. The TVs are the latest from the strategic collaboration between the two companies, which began three years ago. The new F50 series TVs feature enhanced screen resolution, premium audio functionality, and Alexa voice integration for an immersive entertainment experience. The all-new Insignia F50 Series - Fire TVs include premium Dolby Vision and Alexa voice controls. "Customers have purchased millions of Insignia and Toshiba - Fire TVs in the U.S. and Canada, and given them an average rating of 4.4 stars on Amazon.com," said Daniel Rausch, Amazon Vice President, Entertainment Devices & Services. "Our collaboration with Best Buy has grown over the last three years, allowing us to deliver our content-first Fire TV experience and Alexa features to customers through a diverse line of high-quality smart TVs. Today, we're thrilled to further expand the Fire TV line with a new generation of Insignia - Fire TVs including the F50 Series."

09:17 EDT Proofpoint, ISA Cybersecurity partner to deliver email 'security-as-a-service' - ISA Cybersecurity announced that it is now delivering Proofpoint's industry-leading secure email solutions as a managed service offering. A first in the Canadian marketplace, this partnership will bring affordable email security solutions to companies of all sizes, right across the country. The partnership will help protect people on every channel, including email, web, cloud, social media and mobile messaging. The managed services platform will provide the ability to control, secure and monitor inbound and outbound messages, and will deliver extended threat prevention capabilities - in real time - giving customers increased visibility and comprehensive protection against today's advanced threats.

09:14 EDT CSL Behring: FDA approves new BERINERT administration kit - CSL Behring received U.S. FDA approval for its supplemental request for co-packaging of a convenience administration kit along with its product BERINERT, indicated for the treatment of acute abdominal, facial, or laryngeal attacks of hereditary angioedema in adult and pediatric patients. Combination product packaging will improve the patient experience by providing ready-to-go, essential infusion supplies that are more efficiently packaged. This will also reduce the burden and responsibility on distributing specialty pharmacies in supplying separate administration materials.

09:13 EDT NantHealth appoints Tiffany Avery as Chief Medical Officer - NantHealth announced the appointment of Tiffany Avery, MD, MPH, as Chief Medical Officer. In her new position, Dr. Avery will be responsible for providing clinical strategic direction and guiding the development and deployment of NantHealth's Eviti decision support platform and other innovative products and services. "Appointing Dr. Avery to our leadership team is an incredibly valuable addition to the organization, particularly as we expand into areas like population health and additional disease states for Eviti," said Ron Louks, Chief Operating Officer, NantHealth. "With her background in medical oncology, epidemiology, and cancer and health disparities, Dr. Avery will play a key role in helping NantHealth to deliver valuable, equitable care and improved outcomes to the patients and populations we serve."

09:13 EDT Ralph Lauren seeing progressive return to 'sophisticated casual' - Comments taken from Q1 earnings conference call.

09:11 EDT Lifeway Foods announces intent to acquire assets of GlenOaks Farms - Lifeway Foods announced the intent to acquire certain assets of privately-held, California-based GlenOaks Farms. GlenOaks' product offering includes six different flavors of their popular drinkable yogurt products that are made with fruit puree and fresh California dairy. "We are very excited to welcome GlenOaks Farms into the Lifeway family, as it will further solidify our strong position in California and the Western U.S.," commented Julie Smolyansky, Lifeway's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Their drinkable yogurt is an incredible strategic complement to our kefir and will help expand our presence in key retail partners in the West, which is a crucial area of growth. This acquisition unlocks an adjacent health-oriented consumer and stays true to our core mission of supporting the gut health, immunity and mental wellbeing of our customers. We look forward to further developing the robust California market and exploring opportunities to expand GlenOaks nationwide."

09:10 EDT LegalZoom appoints Elizabeth Hamren to board of directors - LegalZoom.com (LZ), the leading online platform for legal and compliance services, has appointed Elizabeth Hamren, corporate vice president for gaming experiences and platforms at Microsoft (MSFT), to its board of directors.

09:09 EDT Comtech awarded $2.1M follow-on contract from a commercial space company - Comtech Telecommunications announced that during its fourth quarter of fiscal year 2021, it was awarded a $2.1 million follow-on contract from a commercial space company for several full-motion large aperture antenna tracking systems. "This award, for this important project and customer, demonstrates the unique value proposition offered by Comtech's antenna products for use in critical satellite ground system projects," said Fred Kornberg, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Comtech Telecommunications Corp. The contract was awarded to Comtech's Space & Component Technology division, which specializes in ground station systems and life cycle management, as well as the supply of high reliability microelectronics for use in satellite, launch vehicle and manned space applications.

09:08 EDT Sumo Logic, Synnex collaborate to deliver cloud-native security solutions - Sumo Logic (SUMO) announced it has teamed with SYNNEX Corporation (SNX). This new agreement will deliver a customizable cloud-native security practice using Sumo Logic's Practice Builder program built on its Continuous Intelligence Platform. With solutions spanning Cloud SIEM, Cloud SOAR, Cloud Security Monitoring Analytics and Compliance, this agreement will enable customers to get full-spectrum visibility across their on-premises and cloud environments to prioritize security insights, rapidly respond to threats in real-time, enforce security and compliance policies and achieve greater cyber resilience.

09:06 EDT Clover Health launches in Florida in partnership with ValueH - Clover Health announced a strategic partnership with ValueH. Through the arrangement, ValueH will support Accountable Care Organizations and Management Services Organizations participating in Clover's Direct Contracting Entity beginning in 2022. Clover's DCE will enable providers to manage the care of their Original Medicare patients with the Clover Assistant. The Clover Assistant is a clinical software tool used by doctors at the point of care to provide them with data-driven, personalized recommendations to improve how they care for their patients. "We are excited to partner with ValueH to help support our efforts to increase the quality of care delivered to patients while simultaneously lowering medical costs," said Kevin Murphy, Executive Director of Clover Health Partners. "We believe Direct Contracting has the potential to increase the growth of value-based models, specifically for the Medicare population."

09:05 EDT IBM and Black & Veatch announce collaboration to market APM solutions - IBM and Black & Veatch announced a collaboration to jointly market Asset Performance Management, or APM, solutions, including remote monitoring technologies that combine near real-time data analytics with artificial intelligence to help customers keep equipment and assets running at peak performance and reliability. The companies are collaborating on solutions combining Black & Veatch Asset Management Services and digital analytics with IBM Maximo Application Suite.

09:04 EDT BorgWarner enters partnership with ZEEKR Intelligent Technology Co. - BorgWarner has entered into a partnership with ZEEKR Intelligent Technology Co. BorgWarner plans to supply its advanced High-voltage Coolant Heater to ZEEKR's new ZEEKR 001 electric sedan. The new ZEEKR 001 equipped with BorgWarner's HVCH is scheduled to start production in the second half of 2021.

09:03 EDT 3M and Waystar announce strategic partnership - 3M and Waystar announced they have entered into a strategic partnership to provide revenue capture solutions to clients of 3M Health Information Systems division. In collaboration with 3M, Waystar's AI-powered technology will allow providers, health systems and hospitals to improve operational efficiency and compliance and collect appropriate, fuller reimbursement.

09:02 EDT Abbott receives FDA clearance for it OCT imaging platform - Abbott announced it has received FDA clearance for its latest optical coherence tomography, or OCT, imaging platform powered by the company's new Ultreon Software. This innovative imaging software combines OCT with artificial intelligence, or AI, to provide physicians an enhanced, comprehensive view of coronary blood flow and blockages to assist physician decision-making and provide the best pathway for treatment. U.S. clearance follows the recently attained CE Mark in Europe, providing broader access to the latest OCT imaging platform for interventional cardiologists seeking to utilize the latest in AI-powered technology.

09:02 EDT Natus Medical announces completion of first clinical case using XactTrode - Natus Medical announce the completion of the first successfully performed clinical case using Natus' newly launched XactTrode family of platinum subdural electrodes. The Natus XactTrodes are intended for temporary use with recording, monitoring and stimulation of electrical signals on the surface of the brain. "We are pleased that the surgical team found the XactTrodes to be an excellent solution for both anatomic fit and signal performance," says Jonathan Kennedy, Natus CEO. "Natus is thrilled to now offer XactTrodes to our customers. We designed them to work seamlessly with our market leading Quantum system, which will provide care teams greater efficiency and performance."

08:58 EDT Blue Apron says product innovation continues as critical part of growth strategy - Says has "fantastic relationships with suppliers." Expects gross margin to normalize in 2H21.

08:52 EDT Nikola provides 2H21 outlook - Nikola looks forward to achieving the following milestones in the second half of 2021: Deliver pre-series Nikola Tre BEVs for use on public roads hauling customer freight; Announce additional fleet testing customers/dealers; Break ground on our first commercial hydrogen station and/or centralized hydrogen production facility; and announce additional hydrogen infrastructure/ecosystem partners.

08:49 EDT Height Dispensary enters into $60M agreement to purchase 1,200 Mullen vans - Mullen Technologies, which previously announced a definitive agreement to merge with Net Element in a stock-for-stock reverse merger in which Mullen's stockholders will receive a majority of the outstanding stock in the post-merger company, announces that the Company has entered into a Letter of Agreement with Height Dispensary to purchase 1,200 Mullen One electric vans and has selected Mullen as its exclusive provider for electric vehicles. The total vehicle purchase order is valued at over $60M. The initial Mullen ONE vehicle order will consist of 200 EV vans for Heights Dispensary's Houston and Dallas operations, to be delivered on or before the end of third quarter 2023. Additionally, Heights will purchase 1,000 Mullen ONEs by second quarter 2025. The Mullen ONE EV Cargo Van vehicles are a modified variant of the Mullen FIVE, an electric crossover SUV based on a skateboard EV platform and unibody frame that will be available in a single or dual electric motor configuration. "We're very excited that Heights Dispensary has selected Mullen to satisfy all its electric vehicle needs. The Heights order is the second, among many other companies we are currently working on, to select Mullen as their EV provider. The FIVE skateboard platform allows us to configure and offer the vehicle for many different types of commercial trade uses," said David Michery, CEO and chairman of Mullen Technologies.

08:48 EDT Helomics reports initial results on AI-driven models of ovarian cancer - Predictive Oncology is excited to report initial results on AI-driven models of ovarian cancer. POAI subsidiary Helomics, working on data from the 100,000 Genomes Project in Genomics England's National Genomic Research Library, has developed a new AI-driven model that can predict survival rates for ovarian cancer patients, post-treatment. These AI models have the potential to improve treatment paths for ovarian cancer and drive the development of new therapies. The results of the study will be available as a preprint on Biorxiv in the late summer. Helomics used a machine learning approach to extract the key genomic features from nearly 500 ovarian cancer participants of the 100,000 Genomes Project. The AI model learns patterns in the genetic mutations of patients' tumors, to then predict their survival rates post-treatment, with close to 70% accuracy. Helomics is now working to refine their AI models with the aim of even greater accuracy for predictions. These developments represent an important step forward in oncology. There are currently no biomarkers for prognosis and treatment responses in ovarian cancer, making it challenging to tailor treatments to individual patients. Doctors must choose from a set 'menu' of drugs and therapies that have not changed much in the last two decades, despite extensive research efforts. The Helomics AI model has the potential to be used to narrow down ovarian cancer treatment choices as it predicts patients' responses to specific therapies, improving patients' prognosis and offering clinicians a more efficient and cost-effective precision medicine approach to treatment. Importantly, these models also provide doctors and scientists better insights into which genes are involved in response to treatment, allowing for the development of new precision medicines.

08:47 EDT SharpLink Gaming, Nascar expand online sports betting experience - SharpLink Gaming announced that based on insights and results generated by SharpLink's C4 Sports Betting Conversion Platform launched on NASCAR.com earlier this year, NASCAR is perpetuating and expanding its relationship with SharpLink to provide for multiple new features and betting opportunities to be served to NASCAR fans through the end of the 2021 racing season. "We are very pleased that our C4 Sports Betting Conversion platform is meeting and exceeding NASCAR's expectations of our innovative AI-enabled technology and capabilities. We are also proud that through rapid deployment with BetMGM and full service weekly maintenance, SharpLink is freeing NASCAR's staff to focus on creating the best possible betting user experience for their passionate fanbase without having to hassle with complex technology implementations by costly in-house development teams," added Rob Phythian, SharpLink's Chief Executive Officer.

08:45 EDT Veritone awarded microgrid modeling contract for cryptocurrency mining project - Veritone announced a new project with a microgrid developer to model the clean energy supply needs for a new U.S cryptocurrency mining project within Texas. Veritone's AI-powered energy solutions enable independent power producers and microgrid developers to model and predict mining data center energy supply needs. The new contract calls for modeling and simulation of the energy sources required to optimally dispatch 1,000 mW of clean, continuous, and reliable power for crypto mining. The capacity sizing design simulation will leverage wind, solar, and battery sources, with natural gas as a backup power source.

08:45 EDT Ideal Power signs B-TRAN evaluation agreement with provider in solar industry - Ideal Power announced that it has signed an agreement for the testing and evaluation of B-TRAN devices by a global provider of power conversion solutions to the solar industry. "B-TRAN will be evaluated for its compelling advantages in bi-directional circuits for various applications, with an initial focus on uninterruptible power supply systems for data centers and the potential to expand testing and evaluation to include renewable energy, electric vehicle and other applications served by this provider," the company said. "With the secular trend toward cloud computing and storage, there is intense pressure in the data center sector to reduce electricity costs and power losses, and we believe B-TRAN's bidirectionality and superior performance metrics can contribute to lower energy costs," stated Dan Brdar, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ideal Power. "We are excited to collaborate with this power conversion solution provider as they evaluate B-TRAN for UPS systems and for their innovative solutions in the two largest segments of the insulated gate bipolar transistor market, EVs and renewable energy."

08:44 EDT Apollo Global releases 12th annual ESG report - Apollo Global Management announced the launch of its 12th ESG Report, "The Apollo ESG Effect." The report details Apollo's holistic approach to ESG integration in order to drive investment performance and positive impact across the Firm, its companies, and communities. Building on the Firm's 12-year track record of ESG reporting and engagement across its funds' portfolio companies, this year's report reflects the Firm's commitment to ESG across its business. In 2020, Apollo announced it will implement a best-in-class, transparent governance structure, including a new single-class "one share one vote" common stock structure. Apollo developed a proprietary ESG rating system for its credit platform, further incorporating ESG into its lending and investment processes. The Firm has also helped to launch industry-leading DE&I initiatives including AltFinance to expand opportunities for students at HBCUs interested in learning about and pursuing careers in alternative investment management.

08:42 EDT ISS recommends Exfo shareholders to vote for going private transaction - EXFO announced that Institutional Shareholder Services, or ISS, a leading third party proxy advisory firm, which, among other services, provides voting recommendations to pension funds, investment managers, mutual funds and other institutional shareholders has recommended that EXFO shareholders vote in favour of the going private transaction proposed by 11172239 Canada, a corporation controlled by Germain Lamonde. The proposed going private transaction, to be effected by way of a plan of arrangement between EXFO and the Purchaser is to be voted on at the special meeting of shareholders to be held on August 13.

08:39 EDT Marriott sees July U.S. occupancy reaching 67%, down just 2% vs. July 2019

08:38 EDT ViacomCBS announces comprehensive distribution deal with Cox Communication - ViacomCBS announced multi-year distribution agreements with Cox Communications to continue delivering leading content from ViacomCBS' extensive portfolio of broadcast, entertainment, news and sports networks, including BET, CBS Sports Network, CMT, Comedy Central, Logo, MTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, Pop TV, SHOWTIME, Smithsonian Channel, Telefe, TV Land and VH1. The deal also includes retransmission consent of CBS broadcast stations in Los Angeles. In addition to renewed carriage of ViacomCBS content, the deal will also offer Cox subscribers expanded access to ViacomCBS' collection of streaming services, including Paramount+, SHOWTIME OTT and Pluto TV. "We are pleased to have reached significant agreements with Cox that offer our best-in-class entertainment across broadcast, cable and streaming on behalf of subscribers," said Ray Hopkins, President, U.S. Networks Distribution, ViacomCBS. "Cox has been a valued partner for years and we look forward to working together to continuously serve millions of households through our long-standing partnership." Financial terms of the agreements were not disclosed.

08:36 EDT Marriott: June room prices down just 13% vs. June 2019 - Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call.

08:31 EDT Marathon Digital announces bitcoin production, mining updates for July - Marathon Digital Holdings published unaudited bitcoin production and miner installation updates for July 2021. "Produced 442.2 new minted bitcoins during July 2021, increasing total bitcoin holdings to approximately 6,225.6 with a fair market value of approximately $260.7M; received approximately 19,401 S19 Pro ASIC miners from Bitmain year to date with an additional 4,287 S19 Pro ASIC miners currently in transit; existing mining fleet consists of 19,395 active miners producing 2.09 EH/s." As a result, Marathon currently holds approximately 6,225.6 BTC, including the 4,812.66 BTC the company purchased in January 2021 for an average price of $31,168 per BTC.

08:29 EDT Townsquare Media will gradually ramp up live events for remainder of 2021

08:27 EDT Agilent announces target enrichment manufacturing facility in China - Agilent Technologies announced that is has established in-country manufacturing for its SureSelect portfolio at its facility in Hangzhou, China. "Agilent is a leading provider of next-generation sequencing assays, and customers often develop custom panels for their routine applications. Therefore, delivery turnaround time is an essential aspect of how Agilent uniquely serves its customers, enabling them to validate and implement their assays quickly and efficiently. Expanding manufacturing capabilities for SureSelect assays in China, at the same high-quality standard as Agilent's U.S.-based manufacturing sites, will significantly reduce the time from initial design to customer delivery. In addition, China-based manufacturing will provide faster development and iteration on custom panel optimization and more rapid supply for routine sequencing applications," said the company in a statement.

08:26 EDT Assembly Biosciences appoints Jason Okazaki as COO, Michael Samar as CFO - Assembly Biosciences announced the promotions of Jason Okazaki to COO and Michael Samar to CFO. Mr. Okazaki joined Assembly Bio in 2020 as chief legal and business officer responsible for leading and executing strategic collaborations and transactions. Since joining Assembly Bio in 2017, Mr. Samar has led the company's financial and business operations, serving most recently as senior vice president of finance and business operations.

08:25 EDT Townsquare Media sees FY21 net revenue 'close' to 2019 levels - Previous guidance was $395M, consensus is $400.06M. Sees FY21 adjusted EBITDA that achieves 2019 levels vs. previous guidance of $95M. Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call.

08:25 EDT Principal Solar, IntelliMedia collaborate with GohTV - Principal Solar announced that it has partnered with IntelliMedia Networks to collaborate with GohTV to provide environmental education awareness programming targeted to African viewers around the world. "Other large streaming services have not directly addressed the unique cultural values of the world's 1.2 billion Africans," said K. Bryce "Rick" Toussaint, CPA, MBA, Chairman and CEO of Principal Solar. "In partnership with IntelliMedia, Principal expects to work with GohTV to meet this opportunity by providing environmentally-focused, internet-based programming that serves to showcase how Africans can mitigate and effect climate change while advocating for country and region-based environmentally friendly policies."

08:24 EDT X4 Pharmaceuticals surpasses minimum enrollment for Phase 1b trial in WM - The company announced that it has surpassed enrollment of the minimum 12 patients required to determine optimal dosing of mavorixafor in combination with ibrutinib in the ongoing Phase 1b clinical trial. The company is continuing enrollment in the optional Cohort C. This ongoing Phase 1b, open-label, multicenter, single-arm study examines intra-patient dose escalation, safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of mavorixafor in combination with ibrutinib, both delivered orally once daily, in patients with Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia and confirmed MYD88 and CXCR4 mutations. Patients are followed for adverse events and change from baseline in IgM and hemoglobin, PK, and PD, in addition to clinical response. The company remains on track to announce additional dosing, efficacy, safety, and clinical response data from the ongoing trial in the fourth quarter of 2021, including patient data at the highest planned mavorixafor dose of 600 mg.

08:23 EDT X4 Pharmaceuticals surpasses minimum enrollment for 4WHIM Phase 3 trial - The company announced that it has surpassed the 18-patient minimum enrollment needed for primary endpoint analyses, determination of clinical benefit, and U.S. regulatory filing, having enrolled 23 patients to date in its ongoing Phase 3 trial in WHIM syndrome. Enrollment will be completed in the third quarter of 2021, allowing the remaining identified patients to complete screening and potential enrollment. Top-line data are expected to be announced in the fourth quarter of 2022. The 4WHIM Phase 3 trial is a global, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter study designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of mavorixafor in 18-28 genetically confirmed WHIM patients over the course of a 52-week study with open-label extension. The primary endpoint for the trial will compare the level of circulating neutrophils relative to a clinically meaningful threshold in response to treatment with mavorixafor versus placebo over 24-hour periods. Secondary endpoints will assess infection rates, wart burden, markers of immune system function, and quality of life, among others. The company is planning to announce new data from the open-label extension of its ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial, as well as an update on patient prevalence, and new data from research into the genetics of WHIM that will detail new insights into genotype/phenotype correlations and the identification of a new WHIM variant.

08:22 EDT Monopar Therapeutics announces FDA clearance to proceed with camsirubicin trial - Monopar Therapeutics announced clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration to proceed under its IND with an open-label Phase 1b dose-escalation trial evaluating camsirubicin plus growth factor support in patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma. The Company anticipates dosing the first patient in the trial in the fourth quarter of this year. "By giving concomitant growth factor support to overcome the dose-limiting toxicity of this class of drug, we hypothesize camsirubicin could be dosed even higher and longer than doxorubicin, yielding the chance to demonstrate efficacy superiority over doxorubicin," said Octavio Costa, MD, Monopar's Chief Medical Officer.

08:20 EDT Beam Global receives order for ten EV ARC off-grid EV charging systems - Beam Global announced that the County of Ventura in California has ordered ten EV ARC solar-powered EV charging systems for fleet and public use. Ventura's EV ARC units are equipped with ChargePoint Dual Port and Enel X JuiceBox chargers. Fleet units are expected to deploy at the County of Ventura Remote Motor Pool locations. Public charging is expected to deploy in Oxnard at one of MICOP's offices that serves local disadvantaged communities. Each EV ARC generates and stores its own clean electricity and delivers that electricity to power EVs, day or night, and during inclement weather and power outages. The competitive grant funding was awarded to Ventura County from the California Energy Commission's Clean Transportation Program, Electric Vehicle Ready Communities Phase II- Blueprint Implementation Grant. Requiring no connection to the utility grid, Beam Global products eliminate disruptive construction projects, costly grid upgrades and utility charges to deliver significant long-term savings to city budgets

08:19 EDT Ambrx dosed 1st patient in Trial for ARX517 for PSMA expressing tumors - Ambrx announced the first patient has been dosed in a Phase 1, multicenter, open-label, dose-escalation, and dose expansion study to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics , and anti-tumor activity of ARX517 in subjects with prostate specific membrane antigen PSMA expressing tumors found in prostate, pancreatic, lung and ovarian cancers. ARX517 is an anti-PSMA antibody drug conjugate that demonstrated activity in both enzalutamide sensitive and resistant preclinical models for prostate cancer while demonstrating favorable PK and toxicity profiles in IND-enabling GLP toxicity studies. "I am excited to announce that we dosed our first patient in our Phase 1 trial, and thus have taken the first steps in evaluating the potential clinical benefit of ARX517 in cancer patients with tumors overexpressing PSMA," said Feng Tian, Ph.D., Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of Ambrx. "ARX517 is the second ADC in our internal pipeline to enter the clinic, which I believe speaks to the broad applicability and productivity of our technology platform. I look forward to updating you on the progression of this trial." The Phase 1 trial will be a multi-center, open-label, dose escalation and dose expansion study. This trial, referred to as APEX-01, is designed to assess the safety, tolerability and PK profile, as well as the anti-tumor activity, of ARX517 as a monotherapy. The trial will enroll up to 76 patients with advanced solid tumors whose diseases have failed prior standard therapies.

08:18 EDT Alignment Healthcare expands into 16 new markets - Alignment Healthcare has announced the expansion of its "senior first" model into 16 new markets, making Alignment's plans available in 38 total markets across Arizona, California, Nevada and North Carolina in 2022 to reach a market of more than 6.9 million1 people eligible for Medicare, pending regulatory approval. The company also announced the addition of new Medicare Advantage plan options to its plan portfolio, including Preferred Provider Organization plans as well as special needs plans catering to seniors with lower incomes and chronic illnesses. Medicare's annual enrollment period begins Oct. 15, 2021. New markets in 2022 include Nye and Washoe counties in Nevada; Avery, Buncombe, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford, Henderson, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Transylvania and Wilkes counties in North Carolina; and Maricopa and Pima counties in Arizona, where the company is introducing its plans for the first time. With this strategic expansion, Alignment will reach even more seniors nationwide across a diverse range of ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds in some of the country's most critical Medicare Advantage regions. In addition to its growing footprint, Alignment announced several new plan options for seniors in 2022, pending regulatory approval. The company's new Medicare Advantage PPO plans include a virtual care plan that provides seniors with convenient and personalized care on the heels of the pandemic. These PPO plans will be available to new and existing Alignment Health Plan members in 28 counties across California, Arizona and North Carolina during the 2022 enrollment cycle. For the most vulnerable and underserved, Alignment is also adding personalized and customizable Dual-Eligible Special Needs Plans in 24 counties in California, Nevada and North Carolina, and Chronic Condition Special Needs Plans in 11 counties in Arizona, California and Nevada.

08:18 EDT Teledyne introduces MicroCalibir camera platform - Teledyne is pleased to introduce the MicroCalibir, a new compact, low-power camera platform. This latest uncooled thermal camera platform features the smallest VGA IR core module on the market, making it ideal for OEM drones, handhelds, helmet-mounted and vehicular integration products. The development of the small and lightweight MicroCalibir is a result of the latest advances made by Teledyne DALSA's integration of their in-house 12 mum microbolometer pixel technology with a deep-ADC ROIC circuit. This novel ROIC design results in a 1000 degrees C intra-scene temperature range at a sub-50mK NETD.

08:17 EDT Orca Energy Group enters agreement with Exalo Drilling - Orca Energy Group announced that its subsidiary, PanAfrican Energy Tanzania Ltd., has recently signed an agreement with Exalo Drilling S.A. for the workover of three onshore wells on Songo Songo Island, commencing in September 2021. The 2021 workover program, which will see the wells recompleted with corrosion resistant chrome tubing, will return two wells to production and ensure the third well can continue to produce safely. The 2021 workover program, estimated at a gross cost of $21.4 million, will increase the production potential from the world class Songo Songo reservoir and ensure the Company remains the leading gas supplier in Tanzania. The Company supplies gas to over 40 industrial customers in Dar es Salaam and is responsible for the production of approximately 60% of gas generated power in the country.

08:16 EDT Lumos Pharma announces David Karpf as Chief Medical Officer - Lumos Pharma (LUMO) has announced that endocrinologist and pharma executive, David Karpf, MD, joined the Company August 3, 2021 as its new Chief Medical Officer. David B. Karpf, MD is an academically trained endocrinologist with over 35 years of expertise in all aspects of clinical endocrinology. He is also a biopharmaceutical executive with 30 years of experience in the development of biopharmaceuticals and small molecular weight drugs in the areas of endocrinology, rare diseases, and autoimmune disease, among others. Dr. Karpf is an Adjunct Clinical Professor in the Division of Endocrinology at Stanford University School of Medicine, where he has followed approximately 1600 patients in an endocrinology sub-specialty clinic since 1997. Most recently, Dr. Karpf served as Vice President, Clinical Development for Ascendis Pharma (ASND). There he was responsible for several compounds in clinical development, including TransCon GH, long-acting growth hormone for once weekly treatment of growth hormone deficiency in children.

08:14 EDT Piedmont secures nine FRP, coupling orders, enters five distribution agreements - H2O Innovation announced that its Piedmont business line secured new orders for fiber reinforced polyester cartridge filter housings and duplex stainless couplings, totalling $4.0 M. The team also signed five new distribution agreements in Latin America, Over the last quarter of FY2021, Piedmont was awarded the FRP cartridge filter housing and cartridge elements for a large-scale seawater reverse osmosis project in the Middle East with a total production capacity of 119 MGD and another one in Southeast Asia with a capacity of 26 MGD. Furthermore, Piedmont has signed up with five new distributors in Latin America and secured eight containers of flexible couplings and cartridge filter elements for local stock in the Latin American market through its existing and new distributor channels

08:12 EDT Pacific Biosciences acquires Circulomics, terms not disclosed - Pacific Biosciences of California announced that it acquired Circulomics. "One of our core strategies is to improve the front end of our sequencing workflows. The Nanobind technology that Circulomics has created is already proven in the market and will accelerate our efforts to make sample extraction and library preparation easier for our customers," said Christian Henry, CEO and President at PacBio. "By adding the team to PacBio we will be able to deeply integrate their technology into our workflows which will improve our entire long-read sequencing workflow." HMW DNA ranges from 50 to 300+ kilobases in length - a size for long-read sequencing with PacBio or other long-read sequencing platforms. Circulomics' Nanobind magnetic disks protect DNA from shearing to generate long reads across a broad range of sample types. Their products can be used to sequence a wide range of samples from cells, bacteria, and fungi, to plants, insects, fish, mammals, and reptiles. All customers will continue to receive Circulomics product and support. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, and the pro forma financial impact of the acquisition is not expected to be material in 2021.

08:10 EDT Meritor announces equity investment in SEA Electric Holdings - Meritor announced an equity investment in SEA Electric Holdings Pty, a global leader in commercial electric vehicles for urban delivery and logistics. With global headquarters in Los Angeles, SEA Electric currently partners with commercial vehicle OEMs, dealers, operators and upfitters to deliver a range of zero-emissions trucks with remote mount electrification solutions to the medium and heavy-duty commercial vehicle market.

08:07 EDT Kiniksa expects cash to fund operating plan into 2023 - Kiniksa expects that its cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments will fund its current operating plan into 2023.

08:07 EDT Ready Capital acquires Red Stone, terms not disclosed - Ready Capital announced its acquisition of Red Stone and its affiliates. Red Stone is a real estate finance and investment company that provides innovative financial products and services to the multifamily affordable housing industry. Red Stone's management team, led by John Sokolovic, and all employees have joined Ready Capital. Ready Capital acquired the entities through which Red Stone conducts its affordable housing finance business in exchange for cash and stock as well as the assumption of certain Red Stone guarantees of secured indebtedness.

08:05 EDT Sunoco LP reaffirms FY21 Adjusted EBITDA view $725M-$765M - Excluding any impact in 2021 from the recently announced acquisitions, the Partnership continues to expect FY21 Adjusted EBITDA of $725M-$765M. SUN expects 2021 fuel volumes of 7.25B-7.75B gallons, fuel margins of 11.0c-12.0c per gallon, and operating expenses of $440M-$450M.

07:58 EDT Arcturus Therapeutics receives approval for CTA from Singapore HSA - Arcturus Therapeutics announced that the company has received approval for a clinical trial application, or CTA, from the Singapore Health Sciences Authority, or HSA, to enable the advancement of two STARR mRNA vaccine candidates into the clinic. The Phase 1/2 clinical trial will evaluate the vaccines both as a primary vaccination series and as a booster following initial vaccination with Comirnaty. The Phase 1/2 trial costs are funded in part from a previously secured grant from Singapore.

07:51 EDT EbixCash announces appointment of Sunil Srivastav to board of directors - EbixCash Private Limited, a subsidiary of Ebix, announced the appointment of Sunil Srivastav, as a new independent director to the EbixCash Board. Sunil is a career banker, having retired as Deputy Managing Director of the Corporate Accounts Group at India's largest bank - State Bank of India, after serving the bank for 38 years. Sunil is presently serving as a Senior Advisor to one of India's largest investment banking firms Edelweiss. He is also serving as a Senior Advisor to the World Bank for their Energy and Extractives program in India. Sunil is also an Independent Director on the boards of a number of public companies.

07:50 EDT Digihost Technology produces 51.28 BTC during July - Digihost Technology provides unaudited Bitcoin production updates for July 2021. Corporate Highlights for July 31, 2021: Produced 51.28 BTC during the month, increasing total holdings to 402.1 BTC representing a fair market value of approximately $16.7 million as at July 31, 2021. Total Ethereum holdings of 563.89 ETH representing a fair market value of approximately $1.4 million as at July 31, 2021. Total digital asset inventory value consisting of BTC and ETH of approximately $18.1 million at the end of July. Cash on hand at July 31st was approximately $18.8 million, and total cash and digital asset holdings was approximately $36.9 million. Year-to-date investment in infrastructure pertaining to core business operations of approximately $23.5 million. Bitcoin Mining Update: For the seven-month period ended July 31, 2021, the Company's mining fleet produced 266.51 BTC. Michel Amar, the Company's CEO, stated: "We are extremely pleased by the tremendous growth in our mining operations, illustrated by the substantial increase in bitcoins mined on both a month-over-month and year-over-year perspective. The fact that these bitcoins are being mined from an operational hub in which over 90% of the energy consumed is from zero carbon emission sources and more than 50% of the energy consumed is generated from renewable sources is a great source of pride for the Company, as we strive to maintain our focus on being an industry leading ESG company and on achieving the objectives of our DigiGreen initiative. We are steadfast in our intent to be an ESG leader in the cryptocurrency mining space and in continuing being one of the cleanest green bitcoin mining operations in the United States."

07:48 EDT Ashland announces offering of senior notes by Ashland LLC - Ashland Global Holdings announced the intention of its indirect, wholly owned subsidiary Ashland LLC to offer $450M aggregate principal amount of senior notes. The Notes will be senior unsecured obligations of Ashland LLC. The Notes will initially be guaranteed on an unsecured basis by Ashland Global Holdings. Ashland intends to use the net proceeds of the offering to redeem its obligations under its outstanding 4.750 percent senior notes due 2022, and to pay any premiums, penalties, fees and expenses associated therewith, with any remaining net proceeds to be held as cash on the balance sheet and used for general corporate purposes, which may include working capital and capital expenditures and repayment of indebtedness.

07:47 EDT Medexus: FDA says Treosulfan NDA cannot be approved in present form - Medexus Pharmaceuticals and medac GmbH announced that medac, Medexus' licensor for treosulfan, has received a Complete Response Letter from the Food and Drug Administration in response to its New Drug Application for treosulfan. As previously disclosed, the NDA was submitted for use of treosulfan in combination with fludarabine as a preparative regimen for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, and both Medexus and medac had been optimistic that a positive decision from the FDA in connection with a planned Prescription Drug User Fee Act date on August 11th would allow for a commercial launch of treosulfan in U.S. later this year. However, as expressed in the CRL, the FDA has determined that it cannot approve the NDA in its present form and has provided recommendations specific to additional clinical/statistical data and analyses pertaining to the primary and secondary endpoints of the completed pivotal Phase III study. Medexus and medac are reviewing the letter to determine the appropriate course of action. Medexus and medac will work closely with the FDA to understand and address their comments.

07:47 EDT Valvoline acquires six franchise-owned service centers in Kentucky - Valvoline announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with its franchisee Phoenix 27, LLC to acquire six franchise-owned Valvoline Instant Oil Change quick-lube service centers located in Kentucky. The acquisition is expected to close during the fourth quarter. Financial terms for the acquisition were not disclosed.

07:44 EDT Veeva acquires Learnaboutgmp, terms not disclosed - Veeva Systems announced that it has acquired Learnaboutgmp, a provider of accredited GxP training for life sciences. With more than 170 course titles and over 450 microlearning assets, Learnaboutgmp delivers a comprehensive eLearning library to help organizations develop high-impact learning programs that reduce cost and improve training outcomes. Learnaboutgmp will remain headquartered in Ireland and continue operations in the United States. The company will operate as an independent business unit under its founder and CEO, Graham O'Keeffe.

07:43 EDT GT Biopharma reports 'positive' results for GTB-5550 - GT Biopharma announced preclinical results for GTB-5550, its B7H3 TriKE product candidate as a prospective therapy for the treatment of several different types of cancers. GTB-5550 TriKE was evaluated in several preclinical models overexpressing B7H3, and was found to be effective at promoting NK cell killing of multiple cancer cell types. B7H3 is over-expressed on several cancer types including non-small cell lung cancer, squamous cell carcinoma, and breast, renal, pancreatic, ovarian, liver and colorectal cancers. GTB-5550 TriKE is presently undergoing GMP manufacturing scale-up in preparation for filing an Investigational New Drug application with the U.S. FDA for evaluation in humans.

07:41 EDT Equinox Gold reports removal of blockade at Los Filos Mine in Mexico - Equinox Gold reported that the community blockade at the Company's Los Filos Mine in Mexico has been removed and the Company has resumed regular operations in all areas of the mine.

07:40 EDT nCino announces S&T Bank no live on nCino Bank Operating System - nCino (NCNO) announced that S&T Bank (STBA) is now live on the nCino Bank Operating System. With a footprint spanning Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York, the community bank selected and adopted nCino to streamline processes, advance their digital strategy and better serve their business clients. S&T is now also live on nCino's Treasury Management Sales and Onboarding Solution. "By choosing to leverage nCino, S&T Bank is able to digitize, automate and streamline inefficient and complex processes and workflow, much of which was previously done manually. S&T is also able to digitally serve their clients across multiple products and channels, providing enhanced communication, delivering an improved client experience and expediting the speed to funding process for their commercial, treasury and small business clients. This unified digital relationship between S&T and its clients will empower the financial institution to be more efficient and effective, while also collecting more data driven, real-time insights into their business performance, which will allow the bank to better measure and manage their operations, as well as increase opportunities to grow wallet share," the company said.

07:39 EDT Osino Resources upgraded to OTCQX Best Market - Osino Resources announced that it has qualified to trade on the OTCQX Best Market. The Company upgraded to OTCQX from the OTCQB Venture Market.

07:37 EDT OpGen achieves development milestone in Unyvero A30 RQ platform program - OpGen announced that its subsidiary Curetis GmbH and its instrument development and engineering partner have assembled 10 final pre-series release analyzer instruments of the Unyvero A30 RQ platform. The assembly of the instruments marks the successful completion of a major development milestone in the Unyvero A30 program. The A30 RQ analyzers will now proceed into final verification and validation testing. The Unyvero A30 RQ platform is designed to deliver rapid and multiplexed testing results in a fully automated sample-to-answer manner from a wide range of native clinical specimen types. Results from simple samples such as swabs or other simple fluids could be available in under 30 minutes, and results from more complex native specimen might take between 45 to 90 minutes depending on assay specifics. OpGen is evaluating a portfolio of potential future product development programs on the Unyvero A30 RQ platform, including rapid tests for pathogen identification for viruses, bacteria and fungi and a broad range of antimicrobial resistance or AMR marker panels. Furthermore, the Unyvero A30 RQ platform can be made available to third party development and commercialization partners and licensees for their own assay menu and product portfolio. The Unyvero A30 RQ platform is designed to allow straightforward migration of third party assays using well-established real time PCR technology. Discussions are ongoing at this time with several potential platform partners on various content and licensing or partnering scopes.

07:36 EDT CME Group reports July average daily volume of 17.1M contracts - CME Group reported July market statistics, including average daily volume of 17.1M contracts during the month.

07:34 EDT Incyte narrows FY21 Jakafi revenue view to $2.13B-$2.17B from $2.13B-$2.2B - The company said, "Incyte is tightening its full year 2021 guidance for Jakafi net product revenues to reflect the impact of higher than anticipated government rebates and chargebacks and the new PDUFA date for ruxolitinib for the treatment of steroid-refractory chronic GVHD and is revising upward the range for other Hematology/Oncology net product revenues based on the performance of Pemazyre in the first half of 2021. In addition, the Company is reducing the range for selling, general and administrative expense to reflect lower expenses for ruxolitinib cream as a treatment for atopic dermatitis in the U.S. based on the PDUFA date extension to September 21, 2021. Guidance does not include revenue from any potential new product launches or the impact of any potential future strategic transactions."

07:29 EDT Main Street increases dividend 2.4% to 21c - Main Street Capital announced that its Board of Directors declared regular monthly cash dividends of 21c per share for each of October, November and December. These monthly dividends, which will be payable pursuant to the table below, total 63c per share for the Q4 and represent a 2.4% increase from the regular monthly dividends declared for the Q3 and the Q4 of FY20. Including all dividends declared to date, Main Street will have paid $32.075 per share in cumulative cash dividends since its October 2007 initial public offering at $15.00 per share.

07:27 EDT Vanda Pharma closes enrollment in ODYSSEY study - Vanda Pharmaceuticals announced that enrollment has closed in the ODYSSEY study comparing tradipitant and placebo in hospitalized COVID-19 pneumonia patients. Enrollment was closed because the study met the pre-defined futility criteria, indicating that the study was unlikely to succeed in its pre-specified primary endpoint. The study was designed to determine whether tradipitant plus standard of care is superior to placebo plus standard of care in treating hospitalized patients with COVID-19 pneumonia who required supplemental oxygen support. The primary endpoint of the study is the difference between treatment and placebo on time to 2-point improvement on a 7-point ordinal scale. Treatment duration was 14 days and evaluation for the primary endpoint was at Day 28. Additional secondary endpoints include other changes in clinical and laboratory status.

07:26 EDT Lithia Motors names Marguerite Celeste as Chief Marketing Officer - LAD has brought Marguerite Celeste onboard as its new Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. Celeste is an alum of NBC Universal, DreamWorks Animation, The Walt Disney Company, and Lithia Motors. From 2011 to 2013, she served as LAD's Director of Creative Services.

07:23 EDT Gilat Satellite mobility platform selected by SES in multi-million dollar order - Gilat Satellite announced that it has been awarded a multi-million-dollar order by SES for its global mobility platform. This agreement solidifies Gilat's maritime leadership with initial services to cruise lines and maritime service providers who will be able to access satellite-enabled services delivered by SES's O3b mPOWER and geostationary fleet through Gilat's multi-orbit platform. "Gilat's next-generation platform is optimized to provide the required multi-orbit, multi-band service to address the high throughput needs of ships, planes and land mobility terminals anywhere on earth. This network expansion will position Gilat's VSAT platform at over a dozen gateways to form a resilient multi-orbit and secure global network and enable superb passenger wi-fi experience," the company said. Gilat's Aquarius Pro VSATs will provide multi-gigabyte services, utilizing O3B mPOWER constellation and other SES GEO satellite assets including SES-17.

07:22 EDT BioCryst reports inducement grants under Nasdaq listing rule - BioCryst Pharmaceuticals announced that the compensation committee of BioCryst's board of directors granted 12 newly-hired employees inducement options to purchase an aggregate of 222,500 shares of BioCryst common stock on July 30, 2021 as inducements material to each employee entering into employment with BioCryst. The options were granted in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). The options have an exercise price of $16.12 per share, which is equal to the closing price of BioCryst common stock on the grant date. The options vest in four equal annual installments beginning on the one-year anniversary of the grant date, in each case subject to the new employee's continued service with the company. Each stock option has a 10-year term and is subject to the terms and conditions of BioCryst's Inducement Equity Incentive Plan and a stock option agreement covering the grant.

07:22 EDT Microbix Biosystems qualified to trade on OTCQX Best Market - Microbix Biosystems announces that it has undertaken two actions to improve its profile with United States based investors and to improve its trading liquidity in that market; effective today, achieving qualification to trade on the OTCQX(R) Best Market under the symbol MBXBF, and engaged the California-based firm Torrey Hills Capital for U.S. directed investor relations services. Currently, the majority of trading in Microbix shares is taking place on Canadian stock exchanges, with three-month average daily volume of about 200,000. In contrast, average daily volume over the past three-months on the prior OTCQB market was under 20,000. Microbix believes that improving its profile via this upgrade to the OTCQX alongside active outreach to potential U.S. investors should improve overall corporate visibility and trading liquidity. Torrey Hills Capital has been mandated with a twelve-month engagement and is being compensated with cash and options.

07:20 EDT Rhythm Pharmaceuticals expects cash to fund operations into at least 2H23 - Based on its current operating plans, Rhythm expects that its existing cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments as of June 30, 2021, will be sufficient to fund its operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into at least the second half of 2023.

07:19 EDT Rhythm Pharmaceuticals expects to initiate five trials of setmelanotide in 2H21 - Rhythm Pharmaceuticals announced a significant expansion of its clinical development program for setmelanotide with five new planned Phase 2 and 3 clinical trials. Rhythm will review these updates on its second quarter 2021 financial results and business update conference call today at 8 a.m. ET. New trials include the pivotal EMANATE Phase 3 trial and the DAYBREAK Phase 2 trial, which together will evaluate setmelanotide in people with variants in one of 36 genes in the melanocortin-4 receptor pathway. Based on genetic sequencing data and setmelanotide response rates achieved in a phase 2 trial, Rhythm estimates that the five genetic indications being studied in the EMANATE trial represent a potential addressable patient population of approximately 100,000-200,000 people in the United States. In addition, Rhythm plans to initiate a Phase 3 trial in pediatric patients ages 2 to 6 years old, as these genetic diseases often present with severe obesity very early in life. The weekly formulation of setmelanotide, which is designed to improve compliance and adherence, will be studied in two phase 3 trials, including a switch study of patients currently on setmelanotide therapy and a de novo trial in patients with BBS. The company expects to initiate all five studies in the second half of 2021. Rhythm has reached agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency on the clinical design and primary endpoint of its pivotal Phase 3 EMANATE trial of setmelanotide. The trial will be a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study with five independent sub-studies evaluating setmelanotide in patients with: a variant in one of two alleles in the proopiomelanocortin or proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 1 genes; leptin receptor genes; certain variants of the SRC1; certain variants of SH2B1 genes; or PCSK1 N221D deletions within the MC4R pathway. Each sub-study will be entirely independent of the others and, if successful, is designed to allow Rhythm to submit separate regulatory submissions to the FDA and EMA. The company plans to enroll 110 patients in each sub-study, randomized one to one to daily setmelanotide or placebo. The trial will enroll patients from six to 65 years old with a body mass index of greater than 30 or above the 95th percentile. The primary efficacy endpoint in each sub-study will be the mean percent change in BMI in response to setmelanotide at 52 weeks as compared to placebo. Secondary endpoints will include responder analyses, assessment of the change in hunger scores, and changes in quality-of-life measures. Rhythm also announced the final design of its Phase 2 DAYBREAK trial of setmelanotide. The trial will be a two-stage, placebo-controlled study in patients with specific variants within one of 31 genes which the Company believes have "strong" or "very strong" relevance to the MC4R pathway. The company plans to enroll 500 patients in the first stage of the study and to advance approximately 130 patients into the second stage of the study. The first stage of the study will consist of a 16-week open-label run-in; patients 18 years or older who achieve 5 percent weight loss from baseline, or patients under 18 years who achieve a BMI-Z score decrease of at least 0.1 from baseline during this period will be eligible for enrollment in the second stage of the study. Stage 2 will be a 24-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, withdrawal study, in which patients will be randomized 2:1 to receive setmelanotide or placebo. For the more prevalent genes, patients will be stratified by variant classification. The primary efficacy endpoint is a responder analysis by gene, based on the proportion of patients who enter Stage 2 who are responders compared to placebo. Rhythm expects to conduct EMANATE and DAYBREAK at approximately 75 sites across North America, Europe and the Middle East. In order to facilitate patient enrollment, Rhythm launched in July 2021 an improved Uncovering Rare Obesity genetic test with an expanded panel. This no-charge genetic testing program now includes 80 genes with ties to obesity, including the 36 genes with documented ties to the MC4R pathway that are being evaluated in EMANATE and DAYBREAK. To date, URO has processed approximately 10,000 patient samples and the yield has been consistent with prior reports. As of August 2021 and since URO was first launched, Rhythm has identified approximately 650 patients who would be eligible for EMANATE or DAYBREAK and who live within a reasonable distance of a target trial site. In addition to an expanded gene panel, Rhythm recently enhanced the program to facilitate test ordering and results reporting, with support for interpretation of results. Rhythm's Phase 3 trial in pediatric patients ages 2 to 6 years old will be a multi-center, one-year, open-label trial. The company plans to enroll 10 patients, including five with obesity due to biallelic POMC, PCSK1 or LEPR deficiency and five patients with the clinical diagnosis of Bardet-Biedl syndrome and genetic confirmation. All patients enrolled in the trial will have a BMI greater than the 97th percentile and will weigh more than 20 kg at baseline. The primary efficacy endpoint will be a responder analysis, based on the proportion of patients who experience a decrease from baseline in BMI-Z of greater than or equal to0.2. Rhythm will evaluate its weekly formulation of setmelanotide in two simultaneous Phase 3 trials, including a switch study and a de novo trial. The switch study will be a randomized, double-blind clinical trial in patients with BBS, biallelic or heterozygous POMC, PCSK1 or LEPR deficiency. Rhythm expects to enroll 30 patients, randomized 1:1 to receive once weekly setmelanotide and once daily placebo, or once daily setmelanotide and once weekly placebo for 13 weeks. Following the 13-week randomized treatment period, the trial will crossover to an open-label, 13-week study in which all patients will receive once-weekly setmelanotide. The primary efficacy endpoint will be a responder analysis, based on the proportion of patients with no weight gain defined as a change of 5 percent or less from baseline to week 13. The de novo trial will be a randomized, double-blind clinical trial in patients with BBS. The company expects to enroll 20 patients, randomized 1:1 to receive 30 mg of setmelanotide or placebo once weekly for 18 weeks. Following the 18-week treatment period, patients will continue on treatment, or crossover from placebo to active therapy, for an additional 14 weeks. The primary efficacy endpoint will be the mean change from baseline in body weight after approximately 18 weeks of once weekly dosing.

07:14 EDT CECO Environmental announces $5M share repurchase program - CECO Environmental announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program under which CECO may purchase up to $5M of its outstanding common shares through December 31, 2021.

07:10 EDT Marriott sees FY21 investment spending $575M-$625M - Total investment spending includes capital and technology expenditures, loan advances, contract acquisition costs, and other investing activities.

07:08 EDT Marvell to acquire Innovium in $1.1B all-stock transaction - Marvell Technology and Innovium, a provider of networking solutions for cloud and edge data centers, announced a definitive agreement, under which Marvell will acquire Innovium in an all-stock transaction. Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Innovium shareholders will receive $1.1B in consideration consisting of approximately 19.05M shares of Marvell common stock that will be issued in aggregate in exchange for all outstanding equity of Innovium, including shares of Innovium's Preferred and Common Stock, employee equity awards, warrants and other rights of Innovium. The acquisition price of $1.1B is based on Marvell's 10-day VWAP as of July 30, 2021. The acquisition price includes Innovium cash and exercise proceeds expected at closing of approximately $145M, resulting in a net cost to Marvell of $955M. The board of directors of both companies have approved the transaction. The transaction is expected to close by the end of calendar 2021, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including approval by Innovium's shareholders and applicable regulatory approvals. Marvell expects the acquisition of Innovium will enable the addition of approximately $150M in incremental revenue next fiscal year. The transaction is expected to be neutral to Marvell's non-GAAP earnings per share in the first full quarter after the transaction closes, and accretive in the first full fiscal year thereafter. "Our acquisition of Innovium and its complementary offerings further extends Marvell's leadership in the cloud, and I am excited that Innovium has secured significant share at a marquee cloud customer. Innovium has established itself as a strong cloud data center merchant switch silicon provider with a proven platform, and we look forward to working with their talented team who have a strong track record in the industry for delivering multiple generations of highly successful products," said Matt Murphy, President and CEO of Marvell.

07:01 EDT PepsiCo to sell Tropicana, Naked and other select North America juice brands - PepsiCo announced that it has entered into an agreement with PAI Partners to sell Tropicana, Naked and other select juice brands across North America, and an irrevocable option to sell certain juice businesses in Europe, which will result in combined pre-tax cash proceeds of approximately $3.3B while retaining a 39% non-controlling interest in a newly formed joint venture. PAI, a leading private equity firm with strong experience in the food and beverage space, will be the majority shareholder of the transferred business, with PepsiCo retaining exclusive U.S. distribution rights to the portfolio of brands in its best-in-class, chilled Direct Store Delivery for small-format and foodservice channels. These juice businesses delivered approximately $3B in net revenue in 2020 with operating profit margins that were below PepsiCo's overall operating margin in 2020. PepsiCo expects to use the proceeds from the sale of these assets primarily to strengthen its balance sheet and to make organic investments in the business. The transaction is expected to close in late 2021 or early 2022, subject to customary conditions, including works council consultations and regulatory approvals. "This joint venture with PAI enables us to realize significant upfront value, whilst providing the focus and resources necessary to drive additional long-term growth for these beloved brands. In addition, it will free us to concentrate on our current portfolio of diverse offerings, including growing our portfolio of healthier snacks, zero-calorie beverages, and products like SodaStream which are focused on being better for people and the planet," said PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Ramon Laguarta.

06:59 EDT Alibaba reports Q2 annual active customers up 45M from last year at 1.18B - The company states: "Annual active consumers of the Alibaba Ecosystem across the world reached approximately 1.18 billion for the twelve months ended June 30, 2021, an increase of 45 million from the twelve months ended March 31, 2021. This includes 912 million consumers in China and 265 million consumers overseas served by Lazada, AliExpress, Trendyol and Daraz."

06:57 EDT Alibaba increases stock buyback program to $15B from $10B - "We delivered strong revenue growth of 34% year-over-year. As we said in last quarter's results announcement, we are investing our excess profits and additional capital to support our merchants and invest in strategic areas to better serve customers and penetrate into new addressable markets," said Maggie Wu, CFO. "We are increasing our share repurchase program from US$10 billion to US$15 billion, the largest share repurchase program in the Company's history, because we are confident of our long-term growth prospects. Our net cash position remains strong and we have repurchased approximately US$3.7 billion of our ADSs since April 1, 2021."

06:47 EDT Neogen received OFAC subpoena on activities or transactions involving Iran - In a recent regulatory filing, Neogen disclosed that on March 6, 2020, the company received an administrative subpoena from the U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control regarding activities or transactions involving parties located in Iran. "The company subsequently conducted an internal investigation under the direction of outside legal counsel and disclosed information concerning certain genomic testing services provided to an unrelated U.S.-based party engaged in veterinary activities involving an Iranian party. The company continues to cooperate with OFAC's investigation and is currently examining whether certain of these activities may be eligible for OFAC General Licenses authorizing agricultural and veterinary activities. In addition to responding to the administrative subpoena, the company is implementing additional compliance measures to prevent inadvertent dealings with restricted countries or parties. These measures will further enhance the company's international trade compliance program, which is designed to assure that the company does not conduct business directly or indirectly with any countries or parties subject to U.S. economic sanctions and export control laws. Although it is too early to predict what action, if any, that OFAC will take, the company does not currently have any reason to believe that OFAC's pending investigation will have a material impact on its operations, the results of operations for any future period, or its overall financial condition. In fiscal 2020, the company took a charge to expense and recorded a reserve of $600,000 to provide for potential fines or penalties on this matter. At this time, the company believes that it is adequately reserved for this issue," Neogen stated in its annual 10-K filing with the SEC.

06:45 EDT Clorox to invest $500M over next five years in digital capabilities - Starting in FY22, Clorox expects to invest approximately $500M over the next five years, including about $90M in FY22, in its digital capabilities and productivity enhancements. The company said, "This investment will include replacing the enterprise resource planning system, which will generate efficiencies and better position the company in supply chain, digital commerce, innovation and brand building over the long term. Of the $90 million to be invested in fiscal year 2022, about $55 million, or 35 cents, will flow through to the profit and loss statement, mostly in selling and administrative expenses."

06:33 EDT Eli Lilly reports Q2 Humalog sales $607.6M, up 9% - The company said, "For the second quarter of 2021, worldwide Humalog revenue increased 9 percent compared with the second quarter of 2020, to $607.6 million. Revenue in the U.S. increased 17 percent, to $329.1 million, driven by increased demand and higher realized prices due to changes to estimates in rebates and discounts. Revenue outside the U.S. increased 2 percent, to $278.6 million, driven by the favorable impact of foreign exchange rates, partially offset by decreased volume and, to a lesser extent, lower realized prices."

06:27 EDT BP continues to see FY21 CapEx around $13B - BP said: "We continue to expect divestment and other proceeds for the year to reach $5-6 billion during the latter stages of 2021. As a result of the first half year divestments, our target of $25 billion of divestment and other proceeds between the second half of 2020 and 2025 is now underpinned by agreed or completed transactions of around $14.9 billion with over $10 billion of proceeds received. The underlying ETR for 2021 is now expected to be around 35% but is sensitive to the impact that volatility in the current price environment may have on the geographical mix of the group's profits and losses. - For full year 2021 we expect reported upstream production to be lower than 2020 due to the impact of the ongoing divestment program. However, underlying production should be slightly higher than 2020 with the ramp-up of major projects, primarily in gas regions, partly offset by the impacts of reduced capital investment and decline in lower-margin gas assets."

06:24 EDT KBR, PSI sign alliance agreement to license sustainable technologies - KBR and Petron Scientech, or PSI, announced that they have signed an alliance agreement to license differentiated, energy-efficient, and sustainable technologies for renewable chemicals production. Under this agreement, KBR will be the exclusive licensor for PSI's Ethylene Oxide / Ethylene Glycol, Alcohol Dehydration and Maleic Anhydride technologies, which are used to convert ethanol into ethylene and further derivative chemicals used in a wide range of industry and consumer products. PSI has developed these technologies over the past 30 years. KBR will license these technologies and provide engineering services for new biorefineries as well as integrating the technologies in existing refineries and petrochemical plants to offer sustainable alternatives.

06:22 EDT BP increasing dividend 4% to 5.46c per share - BP said: "Reflecting the underlying performance of the business, an improving outlook for the environment, confidence in our balance sheet and commencement of the share buyback program, the board has announced an increase in the second quarter dividend of 4% to 5.46 cents per ordinary share."

06:22 EDT Eli Lilly, Incyte announce results from additional cohort of COV-BARRIER trial - Eli Lilly (LLY) and Incyte (INCY) announced results from an additional cohort of 101 adult patients from the COV-BARRIER trial. In this sub-study, patients with COVID-19 on mechanical ventilation or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, or ECMO, who received baricitinib plus standard of care were 46% less likely to die by Day 28 compared to patients who received placebo plus standard of care. The cumulative proportion of patients who died by Day 28 was 39.2% in the baricitinib arm versus 58% in the placebo arm. Similar mortality benefit was observed by Day 60 with a cumulative proportion of death of 45.1% for baricitinib compared to 62% for placebo. These findings are consistent with the reduction in mortality observed in the overall COV-BARRIER patient population. By Day 28, the frequency of adverse events, serious adverse events and serious infections were similar in the baricitinib group compared to placebo. Venous thromboembolic events were reported in 6% of patients treated with baricitinib and 6.1% of patients treated with placebo. No new safety signals were identified. Lilly intends to publish detailed results from this additional sub-study in a peer-reviewed journal and present the findings at a medical meeting in the coming months. These new data from the COV-BARRIER sub-study will also be shared with regulatory authorities in the U.S., European Union and other geographies.

06:17 EDT Outlook Therapeutics reports 'positive' data from Phase 3 NORSE TWO trial - Outlook Therapeutics announced positive clinical and highly statistically significant top-line results from its pivotal Phase 3 NORSE TWO safety and efficacy trial evaluating ONS-5010 / LYTENAVA for treatment of neovascular age-related macular degeneration. "We are delighted with the compelling results observed in NORSE TWO, which represent a significant and potentially transformational milepost for patients suffering from wet AMD. We plan on bringing the first ophthalmic formulation of bevacizumab to market, if approved. Currently there are a vast number of off-label injections of bevacizumab to treat retinal disease in the United States, and we want to offer an alternative for patients and retinal surgeons that is approved and formulated and packaged specifically for wet AMD. The successful completion of this trial is the final step needed in our clinical evaluation of ONS-5010 to enable us to submit a Biologics License Application to the FDA in the first calendar quarter of next year," said C. Russell Trenary III, President and CEO of Outlook Therapeutics. "I would like to thank the trial participants and investigators, our partners, and our employees for their contributions to NORSE TWO."

06:10 EDT EnPro names Eric Vaillancourt as interim CEO - EnPro Industries announced that Eric Vaillancourt, President of Sealing Technologies, has been appointed Interim President and CEO, effective immediately. The company's Board of Directors and Marvin Riley have mutually agreed that Riley will step down as President and CEO and as a member of the Board, effective immediately. The Board has engaged a nationally recognized search firm to commence a search process to identify a permanent President and CEO and will consider both internal and external candidates.

06:01 EDT Gartner raises share repurchase authorization by $800M

05:26 EDT Westlake Chemical to acquire Dimex, terms undisclosed - Westlake Chemical announced plans for one of its subsidiaries to acquire the parent company of Dimex, from Grey Mountain Partners, a private equity firm. Based in Marietta, Ohio, Dimex produces a variety of consumer products made from post-industrial-recycled, or PIR, polyvinyl chloride, or PVC, polyethylene, or PE, and thermoplastic elastomer, or TPE, materials, and has annualized sales of approximately $100M. These consumer products include landscape edging; industrial, home and office matting; marine dock edging; and masonry joint controls. The proposed transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period under the U.S. Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, and is expected to close during the second half of 2021. Over the last four years, Dimex has secured 29 U.S. patents for its products.

05:20 EDT James Hardie settles New Zealand weathertightness class action litigation - James Hardie announced that the weathertightness class action litigation brought against James Hardie before the Auckland High Court has been settled. As part of the settlement James Hardie will receive a payment of NZ $1.25M. Harbour Litigation Funding will pay James Hardie the NZ $1.25M. There is no admission of liability by any party. There is a full and final settlement of all claims arising directly or indirectly out of the White litigation in relation to the Harditex cladding product. The case will be discontinued in its entirety.

05:08 EDT InterDigital enters royalty bearing license with Xiaomi for mobile devices - InterDigital (IDCC) announced it has entered into a multi-year, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty bearing license with Xiaomi (XIACF). The license covers Xiaomi's cellular-enabled mobile devices under InterDigital's standard essential patents related to cellular wireless, WiFi and HEVC video technology. As part of the agreement InterDigital and Xiaomi have agreed to dismiss all pending patent litigation and other proceedings between the companies.