Stockwinners Market Radar for September 09, 2021 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

19:38 EDT Endo settles NY State opioid cases for total payment of $50M - Endo "announced that it and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Endo Health Solutions Inc., Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc., Par Pharmaceutical, Inc. and Par Pharmaceutical Companies, Inc., have settled three consolidated cases pending in Suffolk County Supreme Court in the State of New York: County of Suffolk v. Purdue Pharma L.P. et al., Case No. 400001/2017; County of Nassau v. Purdue Pharma L.P. et al., Case No. 400008/2017; and The State of New York v. Purdue Pharma L.P. et al., Case No. 400016/2018. The plaintiffs in the foregoing cases asserted various claims relating to the defendants' marketing and sale of prescription opioid medications and/or alleged failures to take adequate steps to identify and report suspicious orders. A jury trial on liability has been ongoing since June 2021. As a result of the settlement, Endo's subsidiaries have been severed from the trial. The settlement fully and finally resolves all of the asserted claims in exchange for a total payment of $50M. The settlement includes no admission of wrongdoing, fault or liability of any kind by Endo or its subsidiaries, and the settlement value should not be extrapolated to any other opioid-related cases or claims."

18:00 EDT FuboTV, ROOT SPORTS announce distribution agreement - ROOT SPORTS, the TV home of the Seattle Mariners, Seattle Kraken and Portland Trail Blazers regional game telecasts, and fuboTV announced an agreement for fuboTV to carry ROOT SPORTS ahead of the much-anticipated inaugural Seattle Kraken season and the return of the Portland Trail Blazers to ROOT SPORTS. Through the deal, fuboTV will stream ROOT SPORTS' extensive coverage of Northwest professional sports. ROOT SPORTS will have coverage of over 300 live regular season games of the Seattle Mariners, Seattle Kraken and Portland Trail Blazers, as well as other ancillary programming and behind-the-scenes content. The regional sports network is available throughout the states of Washington, Oregon, Montana, Alaska and portions of Idaho. The addition of ROOT SPORTS strengthens fuboTV's sports offering, which includes more than 50,000 live sporting events annually, with many streaming in 4K, and more regional sports networks in its base package than any other live TV streaming platform. The agreement also increases fuboTV's local coverage in the Northwest, where it already carries ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC affiliates in Seattle and Portland alongside national sports networks ESPN, FS1, CBS Sports Network, the Pac-12 Networks and many more. In addition to sports, fuboTV also streams popular live entertainment and news programming and features more than 40,000 TV shows and movies on-demand each month.

17:40 EDT Copa Holdings reports August traffic down 35.2% vs. August 2019 levels - Copa Holdings' August Capacity was down 30.6% and load factor of 79.6% was down 5.7 percentage points vs. 2019 levels.

17:16 EDT Apellis down 32% as phase 3 DERBY study of pegcetacoplan did not meet endpoint - Shares of Apellis are down about 32% afterhours after the company announced that while its phase 3 OAKS study evaluating intravitreal pegcetacoplan in patients with geographic atrophy met the primary endpoint for both monthly and every-other-month treatment, the DERBY study did not meet the primary endpoint of GA lesion growth, showing a reduction of 12% and 11% with monthly and every-other-month treatment.

17:08 EDT Sony unveils 'Star Wars: KOTOR' remake, 'Wolverine' games for PS5 - At Sony's (SONY) PlayStation Showcase event, the company provided updates on a number of upcoming PlayStation 5 titles and made some first-time reveals for other games. Of note, a full remake of "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic" was revealed, with VentureBeat's Jeff Grubb reporting that the game will be a timed PS5 exclusive, though no release was given. In addition, Take-Two's (TTWO) "Tiny Tina's Wonderlands" will be out March 25, 2022, and the PS5 version of "Grand Theft Auto V" had its launch date pushed to March 2022 from November 11, 2021. Square Enix (SQNXF) title "Forspoken" will launch in Spring 2022 for PS5 and PC, while PC and PS5 remasters of "Uncharted 4" and "Uncharted: Lost Legacy" were revealed as well. Insomniac, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony, unveiled that it is working on a game based on the Marvel character "Wolverine" as well as another "Spider-Man" game, out in 2023. The presentation ended with a trailer for "God of War: Ragnarok," a sequel to 2018's "God of War." The game was not given a particular release date.

17:01 EDT New Fortress Energy, Hydro finalize terms for natural gas supply to Alunorte - New Fortress Energy announced that it has executed definitive commercial terms with a subsidiary of Norsk Hydro ASA to supply natural gas to the Alunorte Alumina Refinery in Para, Brazil for a term of 15 years. "We are excited to partner with Hydro to transition the Alunorte refinery to a cleaner fuel and to support Hydro's global sustainability and environmental commitment," said Wes Edens, Chairman and CEO of New Fortress Energy. "This is a great example of how our LNG terminals can accelerate the energy transition in Brazil." Hydro is converting the calcination process and part of the steam generation at the Alunorte Alumina Refinery from fuel oil to natural gas. This initiative is part of Hydro's climate strategy and its global commitment to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030. The fuel switch will reduce the refinery's annual CO2 emissions by 600,000 tonnes. "Alunorte is among the most energy efficient alumina refineries in the world. The fuel switch to LNG is another step to improve our operations, driving sustainability and industry best practices to lower environmental impact," said John Thuestad, Executive Vice President for Hydro's Bauxite & Alumina business area. NFE expects to supply Hydro with 29.5 TBtu of natural gas annually to the refinery from NFE's Barcarena LNG receiving and regasification terminal located in the state of Para, Brazil.

16:48 EDT Cedar Realty Trust names Jennifer Bitterman CFO - Cedar Realty Trust announced that Jennifer Bitterman has been named Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately. Ms. Bitterman joined Cedar in 2011 and most recently was Senior Vice President of Corporate and Portfolio Management where she played integral roles in critical strategic and operational decisions, as well as overseeing financial planning and analysis. Ms. Bitterman succeeds Philip Mays who is departing Cedar to pursue another opportunity and has agreed to assist Cedar through late-October to ensure a seamless transition.

16:36 EDT Teradata targets more than $1B in Cloud ARR in FY25 - Teradata highlighted the company's cloud-first transformation and ongoing strategic initiatives to deliver sustainable growth and value creation at its Investor Day held virtually today. The company provided financial targets through fiscal 2025, including: More than $1B in Cloud ARR, representing over 50% in total ARR in fiscal 2025; Approximately $550M free cash flow in fiscal 2025; Low 20% non-GAAP operating margin in fiscal 2025; and implementing a returns-based capital return program of at least 50% of free cash flow annually through fiscal 2025.

16:32 EDT Geo Group provides update on U.S. Marshals service contract in San Diego - GEO Group has three direct contracts with the U.S. Marshals Service. One of these direct contracts involves the 770-bed Western Region Detention Facility in San Diego, California. GEO's Western Region Detention Facility contract with the USMS extends through September 30, 2027, inclusive of option periods, and is currently operating under a two-year option period which is scheduled to end on September 30, 2021. GEO has not been notified by the USMS of its intent to exercise its next two-year option period under the current contract. GEO has proposed various alternative contracting structures to the USMS that would allow the Western Region Detention Facility to remain in operation in compliance with the Executive Order. Efforts to keep the Western Region Detention Facility in operation have received the support of a diverse group of bipartisan and non-partisan stakeholders.

16:31 EDT ABM delivers infrastructure solution for New York City electric bus initiative - ABM has initiated a project with the New York Power Authority to support their electrification of New York City Transit NYCT buses and planned reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. ABM has begun the design and engineering phase of an electric bus charger infrastructure project to prepare facilities for the next wave of electric buses scheduled for Metropolitan Transportation Authority MTA operations in late 2022. "We're breaking new ground here to help achieve fundamental change in the transportation sector at a critical stage," said Mark Hawkinson, President of ABM Technical Solutions. "These are some of the first bus depots to be fitted with overhead charging pantographs in the northeastern United States, and ABM is proud to contribute our charging infrastructure expertise to help MTA meet their commitment to an all-electric bus fleet by 2040." Overhead chargers will be installed in bus depots in Manhattan and Brooklyn, as well as additional chargers and transformers in Brooklyn and the Bronx. ABM will also provide maintenance on the charging equipment. "These facilities weren't originally designed for this kind of technology," said Dennis Doyle, Senior Vice President of ABM Technical Solutions. "Our goal has been making sure these major installations work with the existing building and the MTA's operational plans to efficiently and safely transition to electric buses." ABM has installed more than 20,000 electric vehicle charging ports in the U.S. and Canada. As a leading installer of EV chargers, ABM designs and self-performs EV charger installations, providing a turnkey solution that meets compliance, safety, and sustainability goals for both public and private entities.

16:28 EDT Brooge Energy unit commences operations at its Phase II storage facility - Brooge Energy announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Brooge Petroleum and Gas Investment Company FZE BPGIC, has commenced operations at its Phase II storage facility and received its first cargo, following the successful completion of all testing and commissioning at the site and receipt of regulatory approvals. The new Phase II facility was built to the same exacting and award-winning standards as the Company's Phase I facility, utilizing some of the latest technology to maximize company performance and efficiency, while reducing operating costs. The Company's seamless, automated storage solutions use a superior facility design that is designed to reduce product losses for its end users and offer ancillary solutions such as heating and blending. The facility includes clean petroleum products storage capacity as well as crude oil storage capacity and is fully contracted. BPGIC is now the second largest independent storage operator in the region with capacity of approximately one million cubic meters, or 6.3 million barrels. Nicolaas L. Paardenkooper, CEO of Brooge Energy and BPGIC, said, "This is a major milestone for Brooge Energy and follows months of careful planning, construction, contract negotiations and testing, all while navigating a challenging macro-environment which impacted on our supply chain and construction timelines. We are pleased that our Phase II facility, which now includes capacity to store crude oil along with fuel oil, is officially open and revenue-generating, having received its first cargo. Oil storage in the port of Fujairah in the Middle East is in high demand, which has enabled us to fully contract the entire capacity with multi-year take-or-pay contracts."

16:26 EDT Apellis plans NDA for pegcetacoplan for GA to FDA after studies met endpoint - Apellis Pharmaceuticals reported top-line results from the Phase 3 DERBY and OAKS studies evaluating intravitreal pegcetacoplan, an investigational targeted C3 therapy, in 1,258 adults with geographic atrophy GA secondary to age-related macular degeneration AMD. GA is a leading cause of blindness that impacts more than five million people globally including one million people in the United States.1,2 Based on results from the studies, the company plans to submit a New Drug Application NDA for pegcetacoplan for GA to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration FDA in the first half of 2022. "These results underscore the potential for pegcetacoplan to become the first treatment for geographic atrophy, a progressive and irreversible disease that robs patients of their vision and for which no treatment exists," said Jeffrey S. Heier, M.D., principal investigator of the DERBY study and director, retina service and director, retinal research, Ophthalmic Consultants of Boston. "Pegcetacoplan demonstrated a clinically meaningful slowing of disease progression with an even stronger effect in GA patients with extrafoveal lesions." Monthly and every-other-month treatment with pegcetacoplan met the primary endpoint in OAKS, significantly reducing GA lesion growth by 22% and 16% , respectively, compared to pooled sham at 12 months. DERBY did not meet the primary endpoint, showing a reduction in GA lesion growth of 12% and 11% with monthly and every-other-month treatment, respectively, compared to pooled sham at 12 months. In a prespecified analysis of the combined DERBY and OAKS studies, monthly and every-other-month treatment with pegcetacoplan reduced GA lesion growth by 17% and 14% respectively, compared to pooled sham at 12 months In a prespecified analysis of the primary endpoint, pegcetacoplan demonstrated a greater effect in patients with extrafoveal lesions at baseline. Patients with GA typically present first with extrafoveal lesions, which then progress toward the fovea where central vision is impacted. In the combined studies, monthly and every-other-month treatment with pegcetacoplan decreased GA lesion growth by 26% and 23% respectively, in patients with extrafoveal lesions compared to pooled sham at 12 months."On the heels of our recent FDA approval in PNH, these pivotal results further reinforce the platform potential of targeting C3 across multiple diseases with few or no treatments," said Cedric Francois, M.D., Ph.D., co-founder and chief executive officer, Apellis. "Apellis is singularly positioned to make a meaningful difference for patients living with a broad range of retinal, rare, and neurological diseases by targeting C3 to comprehensively control complement." The company continues to analyze results from the studies, and detailed data will be presented at upcoming scientific meetings.

16:25 EDT TScan Therapeutics appoints Zoran Zdraveski as chief legal officer - TScan Therapeutics (TCRX) announced that Zoran Zdraveski has been appointed as chief legal officer. Zdraveski has more than 20 years of legal, IP and business operations experience in the biopharmaceutical industry. Most recently, he served as the chief legal and technology operations officer at Magenta Therapeutics (MGTA) from April 2017 to April 2021, where he established the legal team and managed all aspects of legal, intellectual property and compliance both before and after the company's 2017 initial public offering.

16:23 EDT Rezolute initiates dosing in second cohort of RZ358 trial - Rezolute announced that it has begun dosing patients in the second cohort of its Phase 2b clinical trial of RZ358, or RIZE. RZ358 is a monoclonal antibody targeting the treatment of hypoglycemia caused by excessive insulin levels and is currently in clinical development for congenital hyperinsulinism, a rare pediatric endocrine disorder. Rezolute reported that a dose escalation review committee, comprised of HI expert investigators, voted to approve dose escalation and initiation of cohort 2 based on their interim review of safety data from Cohort 1. Following completion of the second cohort, the company plans to initiate a third and likely final cohort at 9 mg/kg.

16:18 EDT Ingredion, S&W Seed enter into U.S. stevia pilot production supply agreement - Ingredion (INGR) and S&W Seed Company (SANW) announced the companies have entered into an exclusive U.S. stevia pilot production supply agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, S&W will leverage its proprietary stevia plant portfolio and production techniques to supply Ingredion and its PureCircle by Ingredion group of companies, with high-quality, U.S.-sourced stevia plants.

16:17 EDT Rice Acquisition stockholders approve combination with Aria Energy and Archaea - Rice Acquisition announced that its stockholders approved all proposals related to the proposed business combination with Aria Energy LLC and Archaea Energy, which will create the industry-leading renewable natural gas platform, at a special meeting of stockholders held earlier today. In addition, RAC's stockholders have expressed strong support for the Business Combination, with stockholders electing to redeem less than 0.2% of RAC's outstanding shares of Class A common stock. The Business Combination is expected to close on or about September 15, 2021.

16:14 EDT Yellow Corp reports Q3 quarter to date shipments per workday down 5.2% - Yellow Corporation reported certain operating metrics for the first two months of third quarter 2021. For Yellow less-than-truckload, the percent change 2021 from 2020: "We continue executing our yield strategy to ensure the optimum level of freight is flowing through the network," said Darren Hawkins, Chief Executive Officer. "Our plan is to grow the business and we are confident that our transformation to One Yellow positions us for long-term tonnage growth. Extraordinarily tight LTL capacity with ongoing high demand matched by limits in the U.S. labor pool reinforces our near- term strategy of focusing on yield at this point in the freight transportation cycle."

16:13 EDT Atlassian names Cloudflare COO to board of directors - Atlassian (TEAM) announced it has appointed Michelle Zatlyn to its board of directors. Michelle is the co-Founder, COO, and President of Cloudflare (NET). "When Michelle and her fellow co-founders started Cloudflare 11 years ago, they began with the mission to help build a better Internet," said Mike Cannon-Brookes, Atlassian's co-founder and co-CEO. "That core ethos has been central to Cloudflare's incredible growth to a public company with 16 global offices and over 2,000 employees. We are thrilled that she will bring her experience and perspective as a proven operator at such a mission-driven and disruptive company like Cloudflare to the Atlassian board."

16:09 EDT Zumiez reports Q3 QTD sales up 23.2% - The company said, "Total third quarter-to-date total sales for the 37 days ending September 6, 2021 increased 23.2%, compared with the same 37-day time period in the prior year ended September 7, 2020. Compared to the 37-day period ended September 9, 2019, total net sales increased 6.7%. Total comparable sales for the 37-day period ending September 6, 2021 were up 10.5% from the comparable period in the prior year, and increased 5.4% from the comparable period in 2019."

16:05 EDT NMI Holdings CEO Claudia Merkle to step down, Adam Pollitzer to succeed - NMI Holdings announced that Adam Pollitzer, currently the company's executive VP and CFO, has been appointed president and CEO, effective January 1, 2022. Pollitzer will also join the company's board of directors upon assuming his new role. He succeeds Claudia Merkle, who will step down as CEO and as a member of the board, effective December 31. Since joining the company as executive VP and CFO in 2017, Pollitzer has led National MI's finance function and has had responsibility for the company's strategic planning and corporate development efforts.

16:02 EDT Cano Health opening three medical centers in Rio Grande Valley, Texas - Cano Health is opening three new medical centers in Rio Grande Valley, Texas. The openings of Cano Health's new Rio Grande Valley locations in Harlingen, Edinburg, and Pharr follow the recent acquisition of a medical center in Corpus Christi. Cano Health now has eight Texas locations in San Antonio and the Rio Grande Valley.

15:27 EDT ACV names Bahman Koohestani CTO - ACV announced the new executive appointment of Chief Technology Officer Bahman Koohestani, who will lead the technology and product team to further innovate and transform the used car industry. Koohestani is a seasoned executive who brings over 25 years of leadership experience in technology, data analytics, product and operating strategies. His previous experience includes CTO roles at Lending Club, Thomson Reuters and NexTag.

15:02 EDT FDA says 'continue to work expeditiously' on new tobacco product submissions - Acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock, M.D., and Mitch Zeller, J.D., director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, issued a statement, which reads in part: "On this day last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration faced the unprecedented task of reviewing applications for over 6.5 million "deemed" new tobacco products - many of which were already on the market. A majority of the applications submitted by a court-ordered deadline of Sept. 9, 2020, were for electronic nicotine delivery systems products, such as e-cigarettes and e-liquids, which had never been through the FDA review process. We've made significant progress in the months since, working diligently to better understand these products and, as of today, taking action on about 93% of the total timely-submitted applications. This includes issuing Marketing Denial Orders for more than 946,000 flavored ENDS products because their applications lacked sufficient evidence that they have a benefit to adult smokers sufficient to overcome the public health threat posed by the well-documented, alarming levels of youth use of such products... However, there's more work to be done to complete our remaining reviews and ensure that we continue taking appropriate action to protect our nation's youth from the dangers of all tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, which remain the most commonly used tobacco product by youth in the United States. As required by statute, a key consideration in our review of premarket tobacco product applications submitted for products like e-cigarettes is to determine whether permitting the marketing of the product would be 'appropriate for the protection of the public health,' taking into account the risks and benefits to the population as a whole. This determination includes consideration of how the products may impact youth use of tobacco products and the potential for the products to completely move adult smokers away from use of combustible cigarettes. Importantly, we know that flavored tobacco products are very appealing to young people. Therefore, assessing the impact of potential or actual youth use is a critical factor in our determination as to whether the statutory standard for marketing is met. As of today, the agency has taken action on applications for over 6 million ENDS products, including refusing to file one company's applications for approximately 4.5 million products because required contents were missing as well as issuing 132 MDOs for more than 946,000 flavored ENDS products, including flavors such as Apple Crumble, Dr. Cola and Cinnamon Toast Cereal. We continue to work expeditiously on the remaining applications that were submitted by the court's Sept. 9, 2020, deadline, many of which are in the final stages of review. For premarket tobacco product applications, our responsibility is to assess whether applicants meet the applicable statutory standard for marketing their new products. As we have said before, the burden is on the applicant to provide evidence to demonstrate that permitting the marketing of their product meets the applicable statutory standard. Our continued review also includes a smaller number of pending applications that are being reviewed under the 'substantial equivalence' standard, for cigars, pipes and hookah tobacco and for which we've granted marketing orders covering over 350 products." Publicly traded companies in the tobacco products space include Altria Group (MO), British American Tobacco (BTI), Imperial Brands (IMBBY) and Philip Morris (PM).

14:32 EDT Data Storage integrating 'vital' systems, apps to the cloud with IBM i systems - Data Storage Corp. (DTST) said in a blog post that it is deciding to migrate "vital" systems and applications to the cloud through IBM (IBM). "Embracing Cloud Services for your IBM i systems is a significant leap forward and requires a good deal of planning and consideration," Data Storage said. "Migrating your IBM i system to the cloud offers numerous advantages over maintaining your systems on-site," the company added. "From pure business and staffing considerations to technology and security reasons, embracing the cloud can make a significant difference in how you employ, manage, secure and protect your critical data and apps. The beauty of the cloud is that it's also scalable; as your business changes, the cloud accommodates those shifts, and capacity can be added as needed. As such, the cloud becomes something akin to a business partner that works as you do, and consistently has your best interests in mind." Reference Link

14:07 EDT Alvotech reports 'positive' biosimilar AVT02 switching study top-line results - Alvotech, a multinational biopharmaceutical company, announced top-line results from a randomized study in patients that demonstrate bioequivalence of repeated switches between administration of AbbVie's (ABBV) Humira and Alvotech's high-concentration biosimilar candidate, AVT02, to administration of Humira without switching. "Further, no significant differences were observed in clinical efficacy, safety or immunogenicity between the switching cohort and the reference product cohort. The purpose of the switching study is to support the potential approval of AVT02 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as an interchangeable product with Humira. Alvotech is the only known company that has both developed and submitted a filing for a high-concentration biosimilar candidate to Humira, as well as conducted a switching study to support potential approval as an interchangeable product," the company stated. Teva Pharmaceuticals, a U.S. affiliate of Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (TEVA), is the exclusive strategic partner for the commercialization of AVT02 in the United States, Alvotech noted. "Completing this key milestone for Alvotech is an extremely rewarding and a positive step toward providing patients an affordable and accessible alternative to the high-concentration version of Humira," said Mark Levick, CEO of Alvotech.

13:26 EDT Siga Technologies awarded $112M contract option by BARDA - Siga Technologies has been awarded a $112.55M contract option by BARDA for the procurement of additional small pox vaccines for the strategic national stockpile. Reference Link

13:17 EDT JPMorgan acquires restaurant discovery platform The Infatuation - JPMorgan Chase announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire The Infatuation, a restaurant discovery platform. The deal aims to "accelerate the firm's investment in dining, and further demonstrates JPMorgan Chase's commitment to meeting customers where they are," the company said in a statement. The Infatuation will operate as a "distinct brand" under JPMorgan Chase, led by The Infatuation CEO and Co-Founder, Chris Stang, JPMorgan added. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

13:07 EDT HCW Biologics 'not just a cancer-focused company,' CEO says

13:07 EDT HCW Biologics in strong cash position for next 24 months, CEO Wong says

13:03 EDT Hughes, OneWeb form pacts over low Earth orbit satellite service in U.S., India - Hughes Network Systems, which is owned by EchoStar, and OneWeb announced that they have signed a distribution agreement in the U.S. focused on enterprise services. In India, the parties have entered into an MOU for a strategic agreement to distribute services to large enterprises, small and medium businesses, government, telcos and ISPs, including in the rural and remote parts of the country. Services will be offered by Hughes Network Systems, LLC, and Hughes Communications India Private Ltd., respectively. Hughes and OneWeb intend to work together to broaden distribution globally, with Hughes to offer OneWeb's low-latency, high-speed connectivity for markets such as enterprise, government, commercial aviation and maritime, cellular backhaul, and community Wi-Fi hotspots. Pradman Kaul, President, Hughes, said: "The future of connectivity depends on a worldwide network of multiple transports, including terrestrial, geostationary and Low Earth Orbit satellite services. OneWeb's system enhances the Hughes portfolio of networking capabilities, introducing a low-latency option with global reach that complements GEO satellite capacity density and capability to meet our customers' needs. As a case in point, in India which has been starved of high-throughput satellite services, the OneWeb services will help us meet the tremendous backhaul and broadband demand."

12:44 EDT Chevron agrees on framework to join hydrogen JV with Magnum, Mitsubishi Power - Chevron, through its Chevron New Energies division, announced it has agreed on a framework to acquire an equity interest in ACES Delta, LLC, which is a joint venture between Mitsubishi Power Americas Inc. and Magnum Development, LLC that owns the Advanced Clean Energy Storage project. This project will produce, store and transport green hydrogen at utility scale for power generation, transportation and industrial applications in the western United States. The joint venture is located in Delta, Utah, adjacent to the Intermountain Power Plant, which will use green hydrogen to produce electricity with lower lifecycle carbon emissions. Future anticipated projects include the expansion of green hydrogen supply to other Western states and the construction of connecting hydrogen infrastructure to build a regional hydrogen production, transportation and supply network. Chevron is working to build demand for hydrogen - and the technologies that support it - in heavy-duty transportation and industrial sectors in which greenhouse gas emissions are hard to abate. Reference Link

12:25 EDT Facebook announces launch of 'Ray-Ban Stories' smart glasses - Earlier, Facebook (FB) announced the launch of "Ray-Ban Stories," which it calls "smart glasses that give you a new way to capture photos and video, share your adventures and listen to music or take phone calls - so you can stay present with friends, family and the world around you." Built in partnership with Facebook and EssilorLuxottica (ESLOY), Ray-Ban Stories start at $299 USD and will be available for purchase in 20 style combinations online and in select retail stores in the U.S., as well as Australia, Canada, Ireland, Italy and the UK, Facebook stated. Reference Link

12:04 EDT Fannie Mae announces sale of non-performing loans - Fannie Mae announced its latest sale of non-performing loans as part of the company's ongoing effort to reduce the size of its retained mortgage portfolio, including the company's eighteenth Community Impact Pool. The four larger pools include approximately 11,400 loans totaling $1.7B in unpaid principal balance, and the CIP contains approximately 140 loans totaling $45.2M in UPB. The CIP consists of loans geographically located in the New York area. All pools are available for purchase by qualified bidders. This sale of non-performing loans is being marketed in collaboration with BofA Securities, Inc. and First Financial Network, Inc. as advisors.

12:02 EDT Columbia Sportswear names Monica Mirro president of prAna brand - Columbia Sportswear announced the appointment of Monica Mirro as the President of the prAna brand. Mirro will lead the prAna brand, continuing the brand-led, consumer focused approach to create clothing for positive change, the company said in a statement.

12:00 EDT Capital Senior Living falls -9.0% - Capital Senior Living is down -9.0%, or -$3.28 to $33.17.

12:00 EDT Invacare falls -31.6% - Invacare is down -31.6%, or -$2.62 to $5.67.

12:00 EDT Offerpad Solutions rises 13.4% - Offerpad Solutions is up 13.4%, or $1.55 to $13.10.

11:54 EDT Amazon introduces lineup of Fire TV devices, including Amazon-built smart TVs - Amazon announced an all-new lineup of Fire TV devices with its first-ever Amazon-built smart TVs, the Amazon Fire TV Omni Series and 4-Series smart TVs, and the all-new Fire TV Stick 4K Max. "We've reimagined what a TV can do by building it with two of our most popular experiences at the core-the intelligent always-available power of far-field Alexa, and Fire TV's content-forward approach to entertainment," said Daniel Rausch, Vice President, Amazon Entertainment Devices and Services. "Our new Fire TV Omni Series smart TVs, with hands-free access to Alexa, make controlling your TV faster, simpler, and more natural." The Fire TV Omni Series will be available in 43" ($409.99), 50" ($509.99), and 55" ($559.99). The Fire TV Omni Series with Dolby Vision will be available in 65" ($829.99), and 75" ($1,099.99). The Fire TV 4-Series will be available in 43" ($369.99), 50" ($469.99), and 55" ($519.99). All TVs will be available next month in the United States, exclusively at Amazon and Best Buy. Starting today, you can save $110 on the 50" Fire TV Omni and 4-Series models for a limited time during the introductory period. Fire TV Stick 4K Max will be available in the United States for $54.99.

11:31 EDT ASGN's ECS awarded five-year $36.7M contract by US CENTCOM - ECS has been awarded a five-year, $36.7M contract by the United States Central Command. Through this firm fixed-priced, prime contract, ECS will support CENTCOM's Operations Directorate Command and Control Division as they execute military operations critical to regional security and the country's enduring interests. ECS will provide CENTCOM with the personnel, supervision, and services necessary to support critical missions and operations. ECS subject matter experts will perform classified and unclassified work in areas of command and control, information sharing collaboration and innovation, information management, knowledge management, as well as coalition interoperability and security cooperation. ECS experts will also provide support for missile defense and unmanned aircraft systems and applications.

11:19 EDT Starboard says 'disappointed' by results of Box election - Starboard Value, one of the largest stockholders of Box,with an ownership stake of approximately 8.8% of the Company's outstanding shares, announced that it has delivered an open letter to Box stockholders. The letter read in part, "We invested in Box more than two years ago based on our view that the Company could significantly improve its performance and create substantial value after years of underperformance. From the outset, our only goal has been to help Box create long-term value for the benefit of all stockholders. We have pushed the Company to improve operations, corporate governance, executive compensation practices, and capital allocation with the goal of driving improved stockholder returns. After failing to address issues in these areas prior to our involvement, some progress has been made under immense pressure from Starboard and other common stockholders over the past two years. During this campaign, independent proxy advisory firms Institutional Shareholder Services Inc., Glass, Lewis & Co., and Egan-Jones Proxy Services have all recognized our involvement as the key driver of the positive changes that have taken place at Box over the past two years. Today, the Company is seeing mild improvements in growth trends and is significantly more profitable than it was prior to our involvement. Additionally, during the pendency of this election contest, Box has taken actions to appoint an independent Chair of the Board of Directors and remove the highly problematic supermajority voting requirement to amend the Charter and Bylaws, while committing to several other governance and compensation program enhancements. Although there is significantly more to be accomplished and serious issues still exist, these are positive steps. As a result, Box's stock price has increased by 71% since our Schedule 13D filing in September 20191, which stands in stark contrast to the 36% decrease in Box's stock price from the day following its IPO to the day prior to our Schedule 13D filing. We are certainly disappointed by the results of this election, which were heavily skewed by the voting rights tied to the preferred equity financing and the use of stockholder capital to aggressively repurchase shares ahead of the record date from stockholders likely to support change. At this juncture, the future of Box is in the Board's hands, and there is a significant amount of work left to be done. Many commitments have been made, and we hope that Box will finally be able to follow through on its promises to drive improved results, accountability, governance, and compensation practices...As we have repeatedly stated, our only goal has been to help Box perform better and adopt best-in-class practices across operating performance, financial results, governance, and compensation in order to create long-term value for the benefit of all stockholders. We will continue to monitor progress at Box, and we hope to see the Company embrace the changes catalyzed by our involvement and create long-term value."

11:14 EDT Ferro shareholders approve acquisition by affiliate of Prince - Ferro Corporation announced that its shareholders voted overwhelmingly to approve its acquisition by an affiliate of Prince International Corporation at a special meeting of Ferro shareholders held today. Under the terms of the proposed merger, Ferro shareholders will have the right to receive $22.00 in cash, without interest and less any applicable withholding taxes, for each share of Ferro common stock that they own immediately prior to the effective time. Upon the terms and subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the conditions set forth in the merger agreement and in accordance with the Ohio General Corporation Law, at the effective time of the merger, PMHC Fortune Merger Sub, Inc., an affiliate of Prince, will merge with and into Ferro, with Ferro continuing as the surviving corporation in the merger and as a direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Prince. Ferro continues to anticipate that the closing of the merger will occur in the first quarter of 2022 pending antitrust and regulatory approvals, and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

11:12 EDT Microsoft delays full reopening of headquarters - Microsoft said in a blog post: "The evolving Delta variant is compelling many of us to adjust plans for reopening worksites. It's a stark reminder that this is the new normal. Our ability to come together will ebb and flow. In fact, we had planned for Oct. 4 to be the first possible date to fully reopen Microsoft's own Redmond headquarters, and many other work sites in the U.S. But as we shared with our employees today, we've shifted those plans. Given the uncertainty of COVID-19, we've decided against attempting to forecast a new date for a full reopening of our U.S. work sites in favor of opening U.S. work sites as soon as we're able to do so safely based on public health guidance. From there, we'll communicate a 30-day transition period that provides time for employees to prepare while allowing us to continue to be agile and flexible as we look to the data and make choices to protect employee health, safety and well-being." Microsoft previously said it was delaying the full reopening of its U.S. offices from possibly September to at least October 4. Reference Link

11:08 EDT Kanen nominates five candidates for election to 1847 Goedeker boardCarParts.com Select Interior Concepts - Kanen Wealth Management, a stockholder of 1847 Goedeker (GOED), with an ownership interest of approximately 5.5% of the Company's outstanding common shares, announced its nomination of five independent candidates for election to the Company's Board of Directors at the upcoming Annual Meeting of Shareholders scheduled for November 10, 2021. Biographies of Kanen's Nominees: David Kanen: Has served as the Managing Member of Kanen Wealth Management, a registered investment advisor and as President and Portfolio Manager of Philotimo Fund, a hedge fund focused on small-cap value and activist, each since 2016. Nanxi Liu: CEO and Co-Founder of Enplug, a digital signage software company, since 2012. David Meniane: COO and CFO at CarParts.com (PRTS), since March 2019. Mehran Nia: Senior Consultant for CarParts.com. L. William Varner, Jr. : CEO and on the Board at Select Interior Concepts (SIC), a distributor of interior building products, since June 2020.

11:01 EDT UPS plans to hire over 100,000 seasonal employees - UPS announced that it expects to hire more than 100,000 essential seasonal employees to support the anticipated annual increase in package volume that will begin in October 2021 and continue through January 2022. The company is filling full- and part-time seasonal positions - primarily package handlers, drivers, driver helpers and personal vehicle drivers - by offering competitive wages across multiple shifts in hundreds of locations across the country.

11:00 EDT Amazon announces plans to fund college tuition for hourly workers - Amazon announced plans to expand the education and skills training benefits it offers to its U.S. employees with a total investment of $1.2B by 2025. Through its Career Choice program, the company will fund full college tuition, as well as high school diplomas, GEDs, and English as a Second Language proficiency certifications for its frontline employees, including those who have been at the company for as little as three months. More than 750,000 operations employees across the U.S. will be eligible to have their full college tuition paid for at hundreds of education partners across the country, Amazon said in a statement. In addition to funding associate and bachelor's degrees, Amazon's Career Choice will also fund high school completion, GEDs, and ESL proficiency certifications, it added. All 750,000 U.S. hourly employees are eligible to participate in Career Choice 90 days after starting at Amazon. Reference Link

10:52 EDT Zebra Technologies, FourKites expand relationship for Dynamic Yard - FourKites announced that Zebra Technologies will be reselling FourKites' Dynamic Yard and real-time visibility platform as part of its suite of asset visibility solutions. Zebra's MotionWorks Yard solution will now combine Dynamic Yard with Zebra locationing hardware and professional services. MotionWorks Yard will continue to be sold directly by Zebra and through select PartnerConnect channel partners in North America and Europe.

10:38 EDT Box falls after Bloomberg says Starboard failed to win board seats - Box shares are down 1% to $25.18 in morning trading.

10:19 EDT Offerpad Solutions Inc (Class A Stock) trading halted, volatility trading pause

10:13 EDT Tesla CEO Musk says FSD 10 'will blow your mind' - In a series of tweeted replies regarding the company's latest version of its "Full Self-Driving," or "FSD," software, Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated: "The build I'm driving right now is almost there. FSD 10 will blow your mind. [...] Expansion will be gradual, based on ensuring maximum safety" Reference Link

10:04 EDT Kraft Heinz appoints Abby Blunt as strategic advisor - The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC) announced that Abby Blunt, who has led the company's Washington, D.C.-based Global Government Affairs team since 2012, has been appointed Strategic Advisor for Government & ESG Affairs and Advisor to the Board. Abby will transition to this new role in a part-time capacity, allowing her to focus on the two corporate boards she has recently been asked to join, while still supporting Kraft Heinz initiatives. Her new role is effective Oct. 4. With Abby's transition, Bill Behrens joins Kraft Heinz as Vice President, Global Head of Government Affairs, effective Sept. 13. Based in Washington, D.C., he will oversee the company's Global Government Affairs team. In this role, he will lead the company's efforts to advocate on critical issues with key policymakers and regulators in the United States and across the globe. Bill spent the last 10 years at General Electric (GE), most recently as GE's Head of Federal Government Affairs & Policy.

10:00 EDT GameStop falls -9.3% - GameStop is down -9.3%, or -$18.49 to $180.31.

10:00 EDT Invacare falls -27.6% - Invacare is down -27.6%, or -$2.29 to $6.01.

10:00 EDT Twist Bioscience rallies 4% to $115.13 after inking Boehringer collaboration

10:00 EDT Torrid rises 26.8% - Torrid is up 26.8%, or $4.95 to $23.41.

09:47 EDT Riskified falls -14.0% - Riskified is down -14.0%, or -$5.00 to $30.73.

09:47 EDT Invacare falls -27.6% - Invacare is down -27.6%, or -$2.29 to $6.01.

09:47 EDT Rockley Photonics rises 8.0% - Rockley Photonics is up 8.0%, or 75c to $10.13.

09:44 EDT Hartford Financial up 2% after Credit Suisse says activist could get involved - Shares of Hartford Financial are up $1.31, or 2%, to $69.90 in early trading after Credit Suisse analyst Andrew Kligerman raised the firm's price target on the stock to $93 from $82, citing his view that the stock "appears substantially undervalued." In the context of his view that Hartford's "three excellent businesses are all poised for margin expansion in 2022," Kligerman noted that the stock has lagged peers on valuation for some time despite the fact that there does not appear to be an operational reason for the lag. Such lagging multiples "could attract interest from activist investors," according to the analyst, who sees "two potential paths that activists could pursue to generate 50%-plus potential returns." Those include a whole company sale or the divesting of its "gems," namely its Group Benefits and/or Mutual Funds segments. Kligerman maintains an Outperform rating on Hartford shares.

09:42 EDT Inozyme Pharma Inc trading resumes

09:36 EDT Illumina commits to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 - Illumina elevates climate action goals with commitments for net zero greenhouse gas emissions aligned with the Paris Agreement, commits to verified Science Based Targets, signs the Business Ambition for 1.5 degree and joins the United Nations campaign Race to Zero. Illumina has set science-based emission reduction targets across their entire value chain that are consistent with keeping global warming to 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial levels. They have also committed to a long-term target of net-zero emissions by 2050. Targets have been submitted for verification with the Science Based Targets initiative and include commitment to SBTi's most ambitious guidelines.

09:35 EDT eFFECTOR Therapeutics Inc trading resumes

09:33 EDT Harbor Custom Development closes on Washington condominium site for $2.6M - Harbor Custom Development announced that it has closed the acquisition of approximately 2.34 acres of land for the construction of 112 senior condominium units in Burien, Washington for $2,600,000. In the heart of Western Washington's Puget Sound Region, Burien, located in King County, is less than a 15 minute commute to downtown Seattle and 30 minutes to Tacoma. The Mira Condominiums will cater to the 55+ age demographic and will be ideally suited for retiring employees from King County which contains the corporate headquarters of Amazon, Microsoft, Costco, Starbucks, Nordstrom's, Weyerhaeuser, PACCAR, Expedia, and Alaska Airlines, among others. Boeing no longer maintains its corporate headquarters in the Seattle region but does have approximately 58,000 employees in Washington State, the majority of whom are located in the Puget Sound region. Harbor anticipates the Studio, 1 and 2 Bedroom senior condominium units will be priced between $395,000 and $495,000 and fill a significant need in the local marketplace. Home prices climbed 25% year over year and the median selling price of a home in King County according to S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Home Price Index released August 31, 2021, was $871,000.

09:31 EDT eFFECTOR Therapeutics Inc trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:27 EDT BlackLine surpasses 1,000 customers running on Oracle ERPs - BlackLine has surpassed 1,000 customers running on Oracle ERPs. In addition, 15 of the Fortune 25 currently use BlackLine to automate financial close, accounts receivable and intercompany accounting processes, with many operating in a multi-ERP environment that includes Oracle ERPs. "Many of the largest companies in the world use BlackLine alongside Oracle ERPs because they realize adding BlackLine gives them greater control and visibility throughout the entire financial close process," said BlackLine CEO Marc Huffman. "Coupled with our superior customer experience, using BlackLine and Oracle together can be a very powerful combination, resulting in stronger ROI, better user adoption and greater overall satisfaction."

09:24 EDT China Liberal Education enters into $3.85M purchase contract with Beijing Cloud - China Liberal Education announced that the company entered into a definitive purchase and sale contract on September 7, 2021 with Beijing Cloud Class Technology, a talent incubation platform for technological innovation and creative industries in China. Pursuant to the Contract, the Company agrees to sell 100 AI-Space machines, a type of all-in-one machine designed to provide highly integrated visualization solutions for various scenarios with strict reliability requirements, to BCCT for the construction and upgrading of about 100 smart classrooms in universities and colleges in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region and Shandong province in China. In consideration, BCCT agrees to pay $3.85M for the machines, including an RMB 2M down payment paid on September 9, 2021. Ngai Ngai Lam, Chairwoman and CEO of China Liberal, commented, "We are excited to have entered into the Contract, which demonstrates that our AI-Space has been recognized by the market and the industry. We expect that the cooperation with BCCT will leverage our strengths in exploring the development of education informatization, assist in the construction and upgrade of 100 smart classrooms in 12 colleges and universities in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, and promote the overall improvement of teaching quality."

09:18 EDT BelHealth completes asset sale of GGC to Genetic Technologies - BelHealth Investment Partner announce that it has completed the sale of assets of the international division of General Genetics Corporation, or GGC, a provider of relationship and clinical genetic testing services, to Genetic Technologies. The transaction was structured in a combination of cash and stock of GTG.

09:16 EDT Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment premieres Taboo on Crackle - Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment announced that all eight episodes of season one of the Emmy-nominated gritty, period drama series Taboo will be exclusively available for free on Crackle beginning Wednesday, September 15th. Taboo is one of the many series acquired from Sonar Entertainment by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment. This is the second series that will premiere on Crackle from the Sonar library. The first was The Temptations, which quickly shot to the #1 series on the network.

09:15 EDT Willis Towers Watson outlines growth strategy at Investor Day - Willis Towers Watson will outline its strategy to drive long-term growth and value creation for shareholders at its Investor Day. At today's event, Willis Towers Watson will outline the key drivers of its strategy to build from its strengths, unlock shareholder value and achieve financial leadership. These drivers include: Grow at or above market in priority areas. Focus on core opportunities with the highest growth and return, including gaining market share in Risk and Broking and Individual Marketplace; innovating and evolving our offerings in markets such as defined contribution and wealth management; expediting capabilities in fast growth markets like health insurance markets, cyber and climate; and bringing targeted solutions to clients reflecting more connected offerings. Simplify the business to increase agility and effectiveness. Streamline operational structure, develop a globally consistent client model and enhance growth operations to improve sales and retention outcomes. This includes an agile decision-making process to increase speed of execution.Transform operations to drive savings while enhancing our client and colleague experiences. Drive $300+ million in expected cost reductions to contribute 300 bps of margin improvement toward a fiscal year 2024 margin target through maximizing global platforms, right-shoring operations, rationalizing real estate and modernizing IT. Three-Year Financial Targets: Willis Towers Watson will provide an update on its financial targets to reflect the company's growth strategy and commitment to driving shareholder value. By year-end fiscal 2024, the company expects to: Grow its revenues to $10+ billion by delivering growth in the mid-single digit range or greater, with reinvestment in differentiated solutions and scalable innovation, while continuing to capture market share. Improve margins to 24-25% through $300+ million net run-rate savings driven by transformation and efficiency initiatives, as well as operating leverage as the business grows. Generate higher free cash flow conversion to deliver $5-6 billion in free cash flow which when combined with the after-tax proceeds from the Willis Re divestiture and current cash balances will give the company $10-11 billion of available cash by 2024 to help drive shareholder value. Return significant capital to shareholders beginning with the execution of $4+ billion in share buybacks during fiscal years 2021-2022, all while maintaining the agility to invest in bolt-on opportunities to accelerate growth, acquire industry-leading capabilities and support our world-class team. Achieve adjusted EPS of at least $18-21 per share and deliver industry leading total shareholder return.

09:13 EDT Berkshire Grey partners with AHS for warehouse robotics - Berkshire Grey is partnering with Advanced Handling Systems to help companies grow despite the labor shortages and logistics challenges that are straining the supply chain. This partnership combines AI-enabled robotic automation and system design and integration services to deliver next generation warehouse robotics to the world's largest and best-known eCommerce and third party logistics providers.

09:11 EDT SinglePoint's BOX Pure Air announces order for Apex 2.0 at North Carolina school - SinglePoint subsidiary BOX Pure Air announced orders to provide multiple units of their newest model, the Apex 2.0, to a school in North Carolina. The Apex 2.0 was designed and built specifically to provide air filtration and ventilation to address the needs of schools outside of the classroom. The school will be using the industrial Apex 2.0 units to rid the air of harmful airborne particles in high traffic areas such as its library, preschool, gymnasium, and cafeteria. "Federal funding, in excess of $190B has been allocated for schools across the nation specifically to be used for improving air quality. While there is no single thing a school or facility can do to eliminate all potential risks, it is clear air purification and ventilation is a major contributor in reducing the potential spread of the virus. Our Apex 2.0 unit will assist in mitigating these risks while also providing a healthier environment for our kids and educational staff. We expect many schools to utilize the available funding to improve their systems for the long-term future and to solve the crisis at hand. We are in many active discussions, assisting schools in developing their plan as well as assisting in navigating the federal funding process. We expect to see multiple follow-on purchases in the coming months," states Ryan Cowell CEO and Founder of BOX Pure Air.

09:11 EDT CarGurus announces partnership with Jay Leno's 'You Bet Your Life' revival - CarGurus announced a premier partnership with the upcoming revival of the game show "You Bet Your Life" hosted by automotive enthusiast and entertainer, Jay Leno. Created by award-winning producers Tom Werner and David Hurwitz, "You Bet Your Life" is inspired by the classic Groucho Marx game show. With CarGurus as the leading partner for "You Bet Your Life," viewers can expect to see the company integrated in every episode. In his famous witty banter, Jay sets up the "CarGurus secret word of the day," and viewers will see a QR code to scan, driving them back to CarGurus.com. A CarGurus logo and car animation will appear on-screen to bring attention to the word, and if one of the contestants says that word during the episode, then that animation will reappear, providing CarGurus with an extra layer of brand recognition.

09:07 EDT BriaCell announces securities buyback to purchase up to 10% of common shares - BriaCell Therapeutics announces that its board of directors has authorized the Company's repurchase program whereby the Company may purchase through the facilities of the TSX Venture Exchange or The NASDAQ Capital Market up to 1,341,515 common shares and up to 411,962 publicly traded BCTXW warrants in total, representing 10% of the 13,415,154 Common Shares and 10% of the 4,119,622 Listed Warrants comprising the "public float" as of September 8, 2021, over the next 12 months. Independent Trading Group Inc. will act as the Company's advisor and dealer manager in respect of the Buyback. The Company expects to finalize the terms of the Buyback and formally commence the Buyback by September 14, 2021, subject to obtaining any necessary regulatory approvals. As of September 8, 2021, the Company had 15,269,583 Common Shares and 4,219,622 Listed Warrants issued and outstanding. BriaCell's cash balance as of July 31, 2021 was $57M. The repurchase program will in no way interfere with BriaCell's ambitious growth plans to expand into previously-announced areas of cancer immunotherapy and/or advance its current breast cancer clinical trials.

09:06 EDT Bon Natural Life announces strategic cooperation with Chongqing Jingfubao - Bon Natural Life announced that its principle operating entity has entered into a memorandum of understanding for a strategic cooperation agreement to be executed in the near future with Chongqing Jingfubao Trading to provide multichannel marketing and sales solutions for BON's proprietary human microbiome based products intended to improve digestive and intestinal health, and immunity-boosting on September 8, 2021. Pursuant to the Agreement, JFB will market BON's products through online and offline channels to its extensive distribution network of health conscious customers. The two parties plan to sign an official partnership agreement in the near future. "We are excited to be in partnership with JFB to introduce our high-quality proprietary health products to consumers in China." Commented Richard Hu, the Chairman and CEO of Bon Natural Life Limited, "According to Euromonitor International's research, China's prebiotic market alone was valued at approximately CNY 73.3 billion, approximately $11.3B in 2019, and it is expected to grow exponentially at an annualized rate of 15% from 2020 to 2022. With the growth of China's healthcare industry and increase in disposable income, we are thrilled to pursue the opportunity in the massive and fast-growing consumer market by leveraging our proprietary technologies in human microbiome health and JFB's strong marketing capability and broad sales network. We believe that the partnership with JFB is a natural utilization and extension of our core competence in bioingredient business, achieve additional growth and enhance our shareholders' value."

09:06 EDT BAE Systems awarded $26M IFF Navy contract - The U.S. Navy has awarded BAE Systems, Inc. a $26M contract for Identification Friend-or-Foe, or IFF, spares for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft. Under the contract, BAE Systems will provide Beamforming Networks, an integral part of antenna control for the AN/APX-122A IFF Interrogator system, onboard the carrier-capable tactical aircraft.

09:05 EDT eBay announces strategic partnership, investment in bidadoo - eBay announced a strategic partnership and investment in bidadoo, a leading online remarketing and auction company of equipment, trucks and capital assets. This partnership will combine the platform and global reach of eBay with the capabilities and experience of bidadoo. Through bidadoo, eBay buyers have access to the used construction equipment, all supported by eBay's Business Equipment Protection Program. "We are on a path to making eBay the best destination for customers across a wide range of categories," said Jordan Sweetnam, SVP North America at eBay. "We need deep expertise and a broad mix of inventory across our top categories - whether sourcing 45-ton excavators or a pair of Jordan 4s. bidadoo has been a leader in delivering solutions for Heavy Equipment buyers for nearly two decades, and will be a critical partner in eBay's journey to expand our experiences in this vertical."

09:05 EDT Amazon, Best Buy announce new Fire TVs from Pioneer and Toshiba - Amazon (AMZN) and Best Buy (BBY) announced a new lineup of smart TVs with Fire TV built-in from Pioneer and an upcoming Toshiba (TOSBF) series featuring far-field voice. Both series are optimized for Fire TV's approach to entertainment and Alexa to deliver a smart TV experience for the living room.

09:03 EDT Gevo and Chevron to invest in sustainable aviation fuel production - Chevron Corporation's (CVX) subsidiary Chevron U.S.A. and Gevo (GEVO) announced a letter of intent to jointly invest in building and operating one or more new facilities that would process inedible corn to produce sustainable aviation fuel, which can lower the lifecycle carbon intensity of fuels used in the aviation industry. The new facilities would also produce proteins and corn oil. Through the proposed collaboration, Gevo would operate its proprietary technology to produce sustainable aviation fuel and renewable blending components for motor gasoline to lower its lifecycle carbon intensity. In addition to co-investing with Gevo in one or more projects, Chevron would have the right to offtake approximately 150 million gallons per year to market to customers. The proposed investment is subject to the negotiation of definitive agreements with customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.

09:00 EDT Hyzon Motors to supply 500 hydrogen fuel cell EVs to Shanghai Hydrogen - Hyzon Motors announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding with Shanghai Hydrogen HongYun Automotive for the purchase of 500 hydrogen-powered electric trucks. Hyzon expects, subject to execution of a definitive vehicle supply agreement, to provide 49-ton hydrogen-powered tractor trucks to HongYun. Under the non-binding MoU, the initial order of 100 vehicles is expected before the end of 2021 while the other 400 vehicles will be ordered in 2022. After Hyzon delivers the vehicles, HongYun will be responsible for the subsequent commercial arrangements with its end customers. "Hydrogen fuel cell technology has been adopted more quickly in China than in the rest of the world," said Hyzon CEO Craig Knight. "This allows Hyzon to begin the critical work of decarbonizing the environment, while building experience, capacity, and expertise which will be applied globally."

08:56 EDT Orbit International reports August bookings in excess of $3.2M - Orbit International announced that consolidated bookings for both its Electronics Group and Power Group were in excess of $3,200,000 for the month of August 2021. Deliveries for certain of these orders have already commenced and are expected to continue through the fourth quarter of 2022.

08:55 EDT Orbit International's Power Group reports August bookings in excess of $3.2M - Orbit International announced that consolidated bookings for both its Electronics Group and Power Group were in excess of $3,200,000 for the month of August 2021. Deliveries for certain of these orders have already commenced and are expected to continue through the fourth quarter of 2022.

08:52 EDT Conduent extends partnership with New Hampshire for Medicaid management system - Conduent has extended its partnership with the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services - NH DHHS -, serving as the exclusive provider of services to modernize the state's Medicaid Management Information System. Conduent will provide maintenance, operations and enhancements that support NH DHHS's ability to serve approximately 220,000 beneficiaries and process more than 15 million claims annually. In addition, the company will upgrade the state's MMIS to a virtualized environment, while increasing system security, reliability, scalability, and performance. The company will continue to serve as fiscal agent for the state's Medicaid program. The contract renewal for MMIS maintenance, operations and enhancements, which is valued at approximately $206M, includes a five-year base term plus a five-year option to extend until 2031.

08:49 EDT Logiq launches exclusive mobile payment services in Indonesia - Logiq has launched a new exclusive mobile payment option for driver license psychological testing in Indonesia. The tests are mandatory for millions of Indonesians looking to obtain or renew their license. The launch follows Logiq's announcement at the end of June that it partnered with Mentalku, the exclusive government-licensed provider of these tests that are mandated by regulatory statute. Mentalku administered about 17 million such tests last year. As part of an initial pilot program for the new mobile payment services, Logiq has integrated its mobile payment solution, AtozPay, into the Mentalku mobile app. AtozPay is also now initially available on payment terminals located in Mentalku testing centers across East Java. The Mentalku app also offers telemedicine services, digital testing and virtual counselling that can be paid for using the newly integrated AtozPay eWallet payment gateway.

08:46 EDT mdf Commerce, Logic partner to launch omnichannel commerce platform - mdf commerce is pleased to announce that Orckestra, their headless commerce solution, and Logic, a global leader in retail consulting, are the winning combination set to deploy an omnichannel grocery shopping experience for an ambitious luxury grocery and restaurant destination set to launch in New York City in 2022. This new client has chosen Orckestra and Logic to manage the integration of a commerce solution capable of delivering state-of-the-art shopping experiences and to meet the high expectations of their customers. The integration will align cross-channel shopping via mobile, web as well as in-store, and create a memorable, unified user experience.

08:44 EDT OSI Systems unit receives $6M order to supply electronic sub-assemblies for OEM - OSI Systems announced that its Optoelectronics and Manufacturing division has received an order for approximately $6M to provide electronic sub-assemblies for a leading healthcare original equipment manufacturer . OSI Systems' Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Deepak Chopra, stated, "We are pleased to receive this order and continue to support this critical medical device customer."

08:44 EDT Alector doses first patient in Phase 2 study of AL001 in ALS - Alector (ALEC) has dosed the first participant in a Phase 2 clinical study evaluating the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of AL001 in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis who carry a C9orf72 mutation. AL001 is being developed in collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). AL001 is a potential first-in-class monoclonal antibody designed to elevate progranulin, a key regulator of immune activity in the brain. The Phase 2 trial of AL001 is expected to enroll approximately 45 adult participants with C9orf72-associated ALS. The primary endpoint of the study is safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of AL001, including plasma and cerebrospinal fluid progranulin levels. Taken together, these data are intended to inform trial design and dosing for future efficacy studies of AL001 in ALS.

08:42 EDT Natera launches Prospera with Quantification, a cfDNA test - Natera announced the launch of Prospera with Quantification, a cell-free DNA, or cfDNA, test for kidney rejection that provides three values - the quantity of donor-derived cfDNA, fraction of dd-cfDNA and total cfDNA on every report. Combining these three metrics has been shown to improve sensitivity when evaluating transplant rejection, compared to using dd-cfDNA fraction alone. A recent peer-reviewed paper published in JASN1 showcased improved performance from Prospera with Quantification in 41 kidney transplant patients, 9 of whom had rejection. Incorporating the quantity of dd-cfDNA with the fraction of dd-cfDNA improved the sensitivity of the Prospera test from 7/9 to 9/9 in cases of active rejection, confirmed with renal biopsy.

08:41 EDT Sigma Labs selected by DMG MORI to supply IPQA monitoring systems - Sigma Labs has been selected by DMG MORI as the official supplier of In-process Quality Assurance IPQA monitoring systems for its prestigious DMG MORI Qualified Products, DMQP program. The DMQP partnership enables DMG MORI to bundle Sigma Labs' PrintRite3D with their LASERTEC 12 SLM, LASERTEC 30 SLM and LASERTEC 30 Dual SLM 3D line of metal printers. The Sigma Labs official supplier designation further solidifies the two companies previously announced worldwide agreement on December 18, 2020 where DMG MORI selected Sigma Labs as its preferred melt pool monitoring system for their LASERTEC SLM machines. The DMQP program generates synergies out of machines, peripherals and accessories with the very highest quality standards. It combines innovation and technology expertise from selected partners, who have been exclusively awarded the premium seal of quality for their products. DMG MORI will build all LASERTEC SLM machines as PrintRite3D Ready and offer the integrated solution as a factory option.

08:39 EDT Cenovus Energy announces cash tender offers for certain outstanding notes - Cenovus Energy announced it has commenced tender offers to purchase for cash any and all of its outstanding 3.950% Notes due 2022 and its outstanding 3.000% Notes due 2022 and up to a maximum aggregate purchase price of $1,000,000,000 of its outstanding 3.800% Notes due 2023, its outstanding 4.000% Notes due 2024, its outstanding 5.375% Notes due 2025, its outstanding 4.250% Senior Notes due 2027 and its outstanding 4.400% Notes due 2029.

08:38 EDT Blade to purchase Trinity for $23M upfront plus potential contingencies - Blade Air Mobility announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Trinity Air Medical, a nationwide, multi-modal organ logistics and transportation company. The transaction is expected to close during the week of September 13. "Trinity's long-term relationships with organ procurement organizations and transplant centers are a testament to their high-touchpoint approach to organ air transportation, providing seamless solutions for their clients, a perfect fit with Blade's culture of 24/7 availability and mission redundancy," said Rob Wiesenthal, Blade's Chief Executive Officer. "Trinity's end-to-end services integrate air missions with ground transport. Given the existence of landing pads at most hospitals today, we have the ability to immediately replace Trinity's ambulances with helicopters on certain hospital-to-hospital missions, while preparing for a transition to both existing 'last-mile' cargo drones as well as Electric Vertical Aircraft, as soon as they become available." Blade to purchase 100% of the capital stock of Trinity for an upfront purchase price of approximately $23M and potential additional contingent consideration based on the achievement by Trinity of certain EBITDA growth targets over a three-year period. Seth Bacon and Scott Wunsch will become CEO and COO of Blade MediMobility, respectively, and have agreed to five-year non-competition agreements. All Trinity employees will be incentivized and are expected to remain at the Company, post-transaction

08:37 EDT Otonomo Technologies partners with LeasePlan to impact fleet performance - Otonomo and LeasePlan USA have signed a strategic partnership to offer a highly advanced view and insights into fleet vehicle performance and behavior. Starting this month, LeasePlan's OneConnect telematics platform will leverage Otonomo's high quality, application-ready OEM data - without any aftermarket devices. LeasePlan clients will immediately be able to manage and optimize driver behavior, fuel costs, maintenance trends and expenses across a wider range of vehicles.

08:36 EDT Komutel's Komlog complient with Avaya OneCloud Unified Communications - Komutel announced that its Komlog Release 1.19.1 solution is compliant with key Avaya OneCloud Unified Communications as a Service solutions, helping customers reliably and securely capture telephone and radio communications. Avaya is a global leader in solutions that enhance and simplify communications and collaboration. The Komlog solution is a web-based recording application known for its ease of use and versatility. Designed to meet the needs of public safety agencies and Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs), Komlog meets NENA standards, providing a complete, secure, and efficient voice and data recording solution. The application is now compliance-tested by Avaya for compatibility with the Avaya Aura(R) 8.1 platform using Avaya Session Border Controller for Enterprise 8.1.

08:34 EDT Wave Life Sciences begins dosing in Phase 1b/2a trial of Huntington's Disease - Wave Life initiated dosing in the company's Phase 1b/2a SELECT-HD clinical trial evaluating investigational WVE-003 as a treatment for Huntington's disease. WVE-003 incorporates the company's PN backbone chemistry modifications, which have been shown in preclinical studies to enhance potency, exposure, and durability. Data from several preclinical models evaluating pharmacokinetic to pharmacodynamic relationships for WVE-003 have informed the starting dose for the SELECT-HD trial. The SELECT-HD trial is expected to enroll approximately 36 patients. It is designed to be adaptive, with dose escalation and dosing frequency being guided by an independent committee.

08:33 EDT Wikileaf shareholders appove sale of digital assets to Fire & Flower Holdings - Wikileaf Technologies reports the results of its annual general and special meeting of shareholders held September 8, 2021. All motions presented to the shareholder were approved including the election of the four nominees proposed as directors and the shareholder resolution approving the previously announced sale of all of Wikileaf's digital assets to Hifyre Inc. and Fire & Flower Holdings each as further described in the Company's Management Information Circular dated August 9, 2021.

08:30 EDT Siemens Energy announces contract from Aker Solutions for Troll West - Siemens Energy announced it received a contract from Aker Solutions to supply the complete packages for the electrical transmission, distribution, and power management system for the Troll West electrification project in the North Sea. "The Troll field is operated by Equinor and contains considerable oil and gas reserves... Siemens Energy's scope of supply for the project includes a range of electrical equipment, including transformers, reactors, and switchgears. Siemens AG is also part of the project consortium and will provide static frequency converter systems, large-scale drive trains, and special frequency converters, which will allow power to flow bi-directionally for normal and island operation. The PMS provided by Siemens Energy will help maintain a safe balance between power demand and consumption, thus ensuring overall grid stability," the company said. Installation and commissioning of the electrical equipment for the Troll West project are scheduled for 2022 - 2023.

08:30 EDT Neoleukin Therapeutics appoints Bill Arthur as VP, head of research - Neoleukin Therapeutics announced the appointment of Bill Arthur, Ph.D., as Vice President and Head of Research. Arthur joins Neoleukin after a decade at Seagen, where he served most recently as Senior Director & Head of Cancer Biology.

08:29 EDT Metracrine announces full enrollment for MET642 Phase 2a trial - Metacrine announced that it has completed enrollment for its Phase 2a trial evaluating MET642, an optimized farnesoid X receptor agonist, in patients with non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. The Company plans to report interim data from the first 60 patients early in the fourth quarter of 2021. The Phase 2a study is a 16-week, randomized, placebo-controlled, multi-center trial evaluating the safety, tolerability and pharmacological activity of MET642, as measured by reductions in liver fat content with magnetic resonance imaging-derived proton density fat fraction, changes in liver enzymes, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and incidence of pruritis, at 3 mg and 6 mg dose levels.

08:29 EDT ReNew Power announces commissioning of 250 MW solar project in Rajasthan - ReNew Power announced the commissioning of 250 MW capacity of its Interstate Transmission System solar generation project, SECI-3. The project has a total generation capacity of 300 MW which was won by ReNew Power in tranche 3 of the competitive auction conducted by the Solar Energy Corporation of India. ReNew expects the remaining 50 MW capacity to be commissioned by the end of this month. This solar project is in the Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan and has a 25-year Power Purchase Agreement with SECI and will provide clean electricity to the state of Bihar at a rate of INR 2.55/kWh. The project is also expected to provide direct employment to around 600 people. In this project, ReNew will install monocrystalline modules with fixed tilt and string inverters which enhance the project efficiency. ReNew will also be using robotic module cleaning at this site to help conserve water in the desert state of Rajasthan.

08:28 EDT Delta Air Lines expects to report an adjusted pre-tax profit for Sept. quarter - Adjusted total revenue is expected to be at the lower end of the prior guidance range as the recent rise in COVID cases is suppressing demand in the second half of the quarter, Delta said in an investor update.

08:27 EDT Sapiens's IDTSuite selected by HDI Global Specialty - Sapiens International announced that HDI Global Specialty SE, a global specialty insurer, part of the Talanx Group, and a joint venture of Hannover Re and HDI Global, has selected Sapiens for its transformation with the implementation of Sapiens IDITSuite. "The IDITSuite will bring HGS to the forefront with modern, cloud architecture, out of the box functionality, low code configurability and more. The solution will accelerate product development and enable the swift launch of innovative products," the company said.

08:24 EDT Global Blood Therapeutics announces employment inducement grants - Global Blood Therapeutics announced that on September 1, 2021, the compensation committee of GBT's board of directors granted 20 new employees options to purchase an aggregate of 49,600 shares of the company's common stock with a per share exercise price of $29.85 and restricted stock units for an aggregate of 79,910 shares of the company's common stock. These awards were made under GBT's Amended and Restated 2017 Inducement Equity Plan. The above-described awards were each granted as an inducement material to the employees entering into employment with the company in accordance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5635(c)(4), and were granted pursuant to the terms of the Plan. The Plan was adopted by GBT's board of directors in January 2017 and has been amended and restated from time to time.

08:24 EDT Eloxx Pharmaceuticals' ELX-02 for cystic fibrosis granted Fast Track Designation - Eloxx Pharmaceuticals announced that the FDA has granted Fast Track designation for ELX-02, a drug candidate intended to treat cystic fibrosis patients with nonsense mutations. ELX-02 is currently in Phase 2 clinical trials in CF patients affected by nonsense mutations in the CFTR gene for whom there are no effective disease modifying therapies. The Phase 2 trials are designed to evaluate the safety of ELX-02 and assess its biological activity, and Eloxx expects to present data from the first four treatment arms in Q4. ELX-02 has previously been granted orphan drug designation by the FDA and orphan medicinal product designation by the European Medicines Agency.

08:23 EDT Elio Motors announces intent to product electric version of its vehicle - Elio Motors announcing their intention to produce an electric version of their three-wheeled vehicle. The announcement is based on the change in consumer demand and finance markets' new appetite for electric vehicles. The Elio-E model has a targeted base at $14,900 making it the most affordable entry level electric vehicle on the market. Elio contacted its engineering partner Roush and their assessment was that the current design could be successfully electrified. "We never quit working to make this dream happen," said Paul Elio, CEO of Elio Motors, "The market has changed, and investors and consumers are looking for innovative, environmentally conscious, low cost electric vehicles, and we have a great option that will appeal to a very large under-served market".

08:21 EDT PMV Pharmaceuticals appoints Tim Smith as SVP, head of corporate development - PMV Pharmaceuticals announced the appointment of Tim Smith as Senior Vice President, Head of Corporate Development. Prior to joining PMV Pharma, Mr. Smith was Chief Business Officer of Verseau Therapeutics.

08:19 EDT Namaste Technologies board approves name change to Lifeist Wellness - Namaste Technologies announced a corporate update including that the board has approved a name change from Namaste Technologies Inc. Trading of the Company's common shares under its updated ticker symbol is expected to commence on the TSX Venture Exchange, at market opening on or about September 15, 2021. "Lifeist seeks to be a bold and disruptive wellness company, striving to connect humanity with safe, innovative and often daring pathways to individual definitions of wellness," said Meni Morim, CEO of Lifeist. "The Lifeist rebrand speaks to 'Higher Living', resonating with a multi-billion dollar global market of consumers seeking to unlock their extraordinary. It's an exciting time for the Company and its continued evolution to wellness as we look forward to complimenting the Company's current portfolio of wellness of cannabis, hemp derived CBD and accessories, by delivering on our promise to establish a nutraceuticals division by the end of Q4, 2021."

08:17 EDT Poet Technologies partners with SiLUX Technologies - POET Technologies reported that it will conduct a live demonstration of a 400G optical engine to selected customers and business partners during the upcoming ICCSZ Conference on September 14 - 15 and concurrent with the China International Optoelectronics Exhibitio in Shenzhen, China on September 16 - 18, 2021.The 400G optical engine to be demonstrated is based upon POET's novel hybrid integration platform, which incorporates four Continuous Wave lasers that have been flip-chip bonded to the Optical Interposer. The 400G CWDM4 optical engine has monolithically integrated optical multiplexers, waveguides and coupling structures. SiluxTek's Silicon Photonic Modulator PIC is being used to complete the 400G engine, providing high-speed modulation of light for data transmission. The pre-alpha prototype will be demonstrated live to invited guests in ICCSZ forum and POET's Shenzhen lab concurrent with the CIOE exhibitions.

08:16 EDT Kratos Defense provides multiple advanced missile targets for FTM-33 - Kratos Defense & Security Solutions announced that its Space & Missile Defense Systems Business Unit, a part of Kratos' Defense & Rocket Support Services Division, supported the Missile Defense Agency and the United States Navy in the successful launch of two SRBM targets during the execution of Flight Test Aegis Weapon System 33. The flight test mission was the most complex mission executed by MDA and the third flight test of an Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense-equipped vessel using the SM-6 Dual II missile. A total of four SM-6 Dual II missiles were launched on July 24 against a raid of two advanced guided ballistic missile targets in broad ocean area northwest of Hawaii. Kratos, along with the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme Division's White Sands Detachment, provided the guided missile targets for the exercise which featured Kratos' Oriole Rocket System with Thrust Vector Control. The Kratos guided targets met all test objectives for the mission after being launched successfully from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai. The Arleigh Burke class destroyer, USS Ralph Johnson (DDG 114) was the firing ship for the test, employing four SM-6 Dual II interceptors. The SM-6 Dual II missile is designed for use in terminal phase engagements of short-to-medium range ballistic missiles.

08:15 EDT Xenetic Biosciences receives notice of allowance for XCART patent - Xenetic Biosciences announced the United States Patent and Trademark Office, USPTO, has issued Xenetic a Notice of Allowance for U.S. patent application number 16/983,491 entitled, "Articles and Methods Directed to Personalized Therapy of Cancer," covering the co-administration of XCART-derived CAR T cells together with a personalized vaccine designed to enhance the effectiveness of the CAR T therapy.

08:15 EDT Century Communities announces three new communities in Louisville Metro area - Century Communities announced its Century Complete brand is expanding to the Louisville Metro area, with three new communities in Louisville, KY. and Austin, IN. With operations in 17 states and more than 40 markets under two brands-Century Communities and Century Complete-this marks the organization's first communities in Kentucky.

08:13 EDT Boxed, AEON launch AEON2go software in Malaysia - Boxed and AEON announced the launch of its end-to-end software and services platform in the Malaysian market with myAEON2go. AEON will use Boxed's proprietary e-commerce technology to power myAEON2go at over 40 locations for both in-store pick-up or on-demand grocery delivery. The solution includes an e-commerce storefront website and mobile app, as well as proprietary inventory-picking software, allowing AEON customers the flexibility to shop for AEON products however they choose, whether picked up in-store, or delivered directly to their doorstep. In addition, the Boxed e-commerce technology will be deployed to the tenants of all AEON's malls to power their e-commerce operations.

08:12 EDT Overseas Shipholding announces evaluation of strategic alternatives continues - Overseas Shipholding Group announced that the strategic process to explore, review and evaluate a range of strategic alternatives available to the Company to enhance shareholder value that OSG's Board of Directors had previously commenced, is continuing. As noted in its previous announcement, the Company's Board of Directors has not set a timetable for the strategic process, nor has it made any decisions related to strategic alternatives. There can be no assurance that the exploration of strategic alternatives will result in a sale of the Company, or in any other strategic change or outcome. The Company's current intention is not to disclose developments with respect to the strategic process unless and until the Board has approved a specific course of action, on the recommendation of the special transaction committee, or otherwise determines that disclosure is necessary or appropriate.

08:11 EDT Rani Therapeutics appoints Eric Groen as General Counsel - Rani Therapeutics appointed Eric Groen as General Counsel. Groen Prior to joining Rani, Groen served in various domestic and international roles of increasing responsibility over nearly 20 years at Amgen. Most recently, he served as regional general counsel to Amgen's commercial business in Canada, Latin America, Middle East and Africa.

08:10 EDT Icosavax initiates Phase 1/1b trial of VLP vaccine candidate - Icosavax announced the initiation of a Phase 1/1b clinical trial of IVX-121, a VLP displaying a Respiratory Syncytial Virus stabilized pre-fusion F antigen, in healthy adults and older adults. Assuming favorable results from the IVX-121 Phase 1/1b clinical trial and favorable preclinical data from its human Metapneumovirus VLP candidate, Icosavax plans to thereafter initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial of its IVX-A12 bivalent RSV/hMPV vaccine candidate. The Phase 1/1b clinical trial of IVX-121 is a randomized, observer-blind, placebo-controlled multi-center study designed to evaluate the safety and immunogenicity of three dose levels of non-adjuvanted and aluminum-adjuvanted IVX-121 in healthy adults, including older adults. The trial will inform the dose of IVX-121 to be evaluated in combination with the Icosavax hMPV VLP candidate IVX-241 for the anticipated Phase 1 clinical trial of the RSV/hMPV bivalent vaccine candidate IVX-A12. The company plans to submit an investigational new drug application (IND) to the FDA in the first half of 2022 and, thereafter, initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial of IVX-A12.

08:09 EDT Academy Sports board authorizes $500M share repurchase program - On September 2, 2021, the Academy Board of Directors authorized a new share repurchase program under which the Company may purchase up to $500 million of its outstanding shares over the next three years.

08:09 EDT Acorda Therapeutics appoints Lauren Sabella as COO - Lauren Sabella, currently Acorda's chief commercial officer, has been named COO. She will have responsibility for quality, information technology, technical operations, and business operations / strategic planning. Kerry Clem, Acorda's executive VP of sales, market access, and operations, has been named chief commercial officer.

08:08 EDT Erasca doses first patient in Phase 1b/2 lung cancer candidate protocol - Erasca has dosed the first patient in the HERKULES-2 Phase 1b/2 trial evaluating ERAS-007 in combination with various agents in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer. HERKULES-2 will initially examine the safety, tolerability, and preliminary efficacy of ERAS-007 in combination with osimertinib in patients with advanced NSCLC harboring an epidermal growth factor receptor mutation. After a recommended dose is determined, the Phase 2 expansion portion will further evaluate the safety and efficacy of the combination in patients whose disease has developed resistance to osimertinib, a setting in which there are currently no approved targeted therapies.

08:07 EDT INVO Bioscience completes acquisition of Canadian-based entity - INVO Bioscience announced that it has completed the acquisition of a Canadian-based entity that was originally formed to offer INVOcell in Canada. The entity had previously completed a number of important procedures and documentation necessary to establish INVOcell within clinical operations in Canada. INVO Bioscience anticipates leveraging this entity to advance the distribution of INVOcell, and take advantage of the existing product registration which approved the device for sale based on 5-day incubation in the Canadian market. In addition, the Company is initiating the development of joint ventures to establish INVO Centers within the Canadian marketplace. Steve Shum, CEO of INVO Bioscience, commented, "We believe Canada offers an excellent opportunity to further expand our distribution efforts of INVOcell while also advancing our joint-venture based INVO Center model. With roughly 16% couples in Canada experiencing infertility, a number that has doubled since the 1980s, and with a popultion of 37.74 million, Canada represents a sizable market opportunity. Canada also faces similar issues that hamper other parts of the world, including a large underserved population, access/capacity constraints and affordability challenges. We appreciate the key individuals in Canada that originally created this entity to help promote and bring our INVOcell technology into the marketplace and look forward to bringing greater resources to advance this effort. We anticipate this acquisition will serve as a platform to help accelerate building INVOcell's presence in Canada."

08:06 EDT CommScope wins appeal affirming injunction and $6M in damages against Dali - CommScope, secured another significant win in its litigation with Dali Wireless . CommScope received a favorable ruling from the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The ruling affirms a lower court judgment that Dali Wireless willfully infringed five CommScope patents, maintaining the injunction and $6M enhanced damages against Dali. The ruling also reversed the judgment on a Dali patent, erasing $6.6M that was awarded to Dali. Following this appeal ruling, the damages awarded nets-out to approximately $3.5M in CommScope's favor. The Federal Circuit ruling follows a lengthy patent infringement suit that was initiated by CommScope in 2016. CommScope enforced five digital distributed antenna system patents against Dali's tSeries and Matrix products. Dali responded by filing two patent infringement counterclaims. Dali asserted one patent against CommScope's FlexWave Prism and a second patent against an early version of CommScope's ION-E product. Following a jury trial, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a judgment addressing each party's patents. CommScope filed an appeal on the judgment addressing Dali's two patents. Dali filed an appeal on the judgment addressing CommScope's patents. The Federal Circuit denied Dali's appeal, thus securing the judgment that Dali Wireless willfully infringed five CommScope patents. As to Dali's two patents, CommScope's appeal was successful as to '521 patent asserted against CommScope's Flexwave Prism product. The Federal Circuit found no infringement, reversing the judgment of the lower court that CommScope's Flexwave Prism product infringed the '521 patent.

08:05 EDT Genius Sports enters long-term data partnership with Barstool Sportsbook - Genius Sports (GENI) has entered into a long-term partnership with Penn Interactive (PENN) to provide official data and fan engagement solutions for the company's Barstool Sportsbook. Penn Interactive currently operates online Barstool Sportsbooks across nine U.S. states, including Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois and New Jersey. Genius Sports will provide Barstool Sportsbook with its official data, including access to select official sports data from the U.S. and international sports leagues. Across player acquisition, engagement and long-term retention, Barstool Sportsbook has also partnered with Genius Sports for its marketing and engagement strategy.

08:05 EDT Marrone Bio prepares to submit registration for crop protection product - Marrone Bio is on track to submit MBI-306, its next generation nematicide/insecticide, to regulatory authorities in the United States within the coming weeks. Destined for row and specialty crop markets globally, MBI-306 and its variants have been proven to perform as well as synthetic counterparts both in terms of efficacy and return on investment to growers. The product is well positioned to be an important component of the $15.7 billion global insecticide market1, and is expected to generate peak potential incremental revenue for MBI in excess of $100 million. MBI-306 and its variants are built on a proprietary microbe that has been the foundation of the company's Venerate(R) Bioinsecticide and Majestene Bionematicide crop protection products. MBI-306 is proven to be efficacious against a broad spectrum of yield-robbing insects and nematodes, including corn rootworm larvae, often referred to as the billion-dollar pest in the United States. In addition to the regulatory submission of MBI-306, MBI is in the final stages of preparing to submit MBI-206 -- a popular bionematicide seed treatment used on more than 10 million acres in the United States -- to Brazilian regulatory authorities. This will serve to further expand the company's geographic footprint in one of the world's largest corn and soybean markets with an estimated insecticide value of $2 billion in 2020. In addition to its impressive commercial performance, MBI-206 has also been evaluated for climate impact by a third-party, Boundless Impact Research and Analytics, and received an 'outstanding' score of 9.8 out of 10. Given the similarities in both products, MBI-306 is expected to receive an equally advantageous score and will be evaluated in the coming months. Once approved, current plans are to produce both products at MBI's dedicated manufacturing facility in Bangor, Michigan. The plant is on track to complete a more than $1 million capital investment in early 2022 where, once complete, it will shift to a 24-hour production cycle. Commercial launch for both products is expected in 2023/2024.

08:03 EDT Syros Pharmaceuticals doses first patient in SELECT-AML-1 - Syros Pharmaceuticals announced that the first patient has been dosed in the SELECT-AML-1 clinical trial of tamibarotene, its first-in-class selective retinoic acid receptor alpha, or RARa, agonist, in combination with venetoclax and azacitidine. The randomized Phase 2 trial is enrolling RARA-positive newly diagnosed unfit patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

07:59 EDT BIO-key estarts Master Agent Referral Partner Program with Intelisys - BIO-key International announced the start of a Master Agent Referral Partner Program with Intelisys. BIO-key will now be able to offer the first Identity and Access Management platform as part of the solutions Intelisys provides to their network of partners. The relationship will help enhance BIO-key's security practice and expand the company's Channel Alliance Partner program.

07:51 EDT American Airlines: July bookings better than previously estimated - American Airlines said in a regulatory filing that July 2021 financial results were better than previously estimated due primarily to strong leisure passenger traffic and improving passenger yields. As such, the company was profitable excluding net special items in July. However, the company experienced softness in August in close-in bookings and an increase in close-in cancellations, which the company attributes to the rise in COVID-19 cases associated with the delta variant and related headlines. As a result, August revenues were weaker than the company had forecasted when it provided its guidance on July 22. This weakness has continued into September and has resulted in a slowing of net bookings growth for close-in travel.

07:50 EDT Canaccord Genuity announces strategic investment in International Deal - Canaccord Genuity announces a strategic investment in privately held International Deal Gateway, an established global community that provides its members with a trusted online platform to share and source deal-flow, investment opportunities, and M&A. "This investment reflects Canaccord Genuity's ongoing commitment to expanding its distribution channels, enhancing its access to alternative pools of capital, and strengthening its ability to provide new products and services to its clients," the company said. "Canaccord Genuity's midmarket leadership is rooted in our long-standing commitment to supporting a vibrant marketplace for growth companies and investors," said Dan Daviau, President & CEO of Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. "Our investment in International Deal Gateway builds upon our efforts to expand our distribution channels to help growing companies access new sources of capital." The agreement will also enable Deal Gateway to enhance its existing service offering by providing opportunities for its members to access select Canaccord Genuity products and services.

07:49 EDT Draganfly appoints Julie Myers Wood to board of directors - Draganfly announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Julie Myers Wood, former Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security and Presidential Appointee as a Director of the Company effective immediately. Draganfly also announces that Justin Hannewyk will be stepping down from the board of the company and focusing his time on his role of President of Dronelogics Systems Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company as well as helping lead Draganfly's overall innovation initiatives and services.

07:48 EDT Applied Therapeutics delays AT-007 new drug application on dosing changes - Applied Therapeutics reported initial biomarker data from the pediatric ACTION-Galactosemia Kids study, as well as baseline analysis of the 47 children enrolled in the study. The results demonstrate a "substantial reduction" in plasma galactitol of approximately 35% after 30 days of treatment, which was statistically significant versus placebo, the company said in a statement. It added that AT-007 was safe and well tolerated in children of all ages. However, a pharmacokinetic analysis of AT-007 plasma drug levels at day 30 revealed that dosing could be further optimized by adjusting dose based on weight rather than age, Applied pointed out. As such, weight-based dosing brackets have been implemented for the remainder of the study, and a subset of patients have been dose-adjusted. The company expects to present additional biomarker data at the optimized drug levels pending analysis at day 30. Due to the time required for these study changes, the company now plans to submit a new drug application to the Food and Drug Administration in Q4 of this year. Additionally, analysis of the 47 children in the ACTION-Galactosemia Kids study "demonstrated a clear correlation between baseline galactitol level and baseline clinical functional outcomes," it says. Children with higher plasma galactitol levels displayed greater disease severity versus children with lower plasma galactitol levels at baseline. This data is the first demonstration of correlation of a biochemical biomarker with severity of disease in galactosemia patients, according to Applied Therapeutics.

07:44 EDT Rekor announces Waycare unit selected by LaDOTD for traffic congestion pilot - Rekor Systems, announced that its Waycare Technologies subsidiary has been selected by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, LaDOTD, for a pilot program to help reduce congestion and collisions in the Baton Rouge area and promote speed harmonization for a safer driver experience. The initial deployment, which kicked off July 15, 2021, focuses on some of the region's most dangerous sections of highway: Interstate 10 and Interstate 12."Rekor has seen a sharp increase in demand from government agencies for real-time, AI driven insights from roadways," said Robert Berman, president and CEO, Rekor. "The actionable insights derived from this platform, enables a broad set of applications for regional and state government departments and agencies to build smarter and safer cities. From traffic management and public safety to smart parking and citizen experience, Rekor is helping our government customers meet their respective missions."

07:38 EDT Invacare expects Q4 to improve sequentially from Q3 - Monaghan continued, "It is difficult to determine exactly when the pandemic-induced global supply chain turmoil will stabilize. However, we expect 4Q21 to improve sequentially from the third quarter, albeit more gradually than initially anticipated. Increases in our workforce at key locations to improve throughput, as well as an increase in the number of freight carriers to expedite order delivery, should reduce our currently elevated backlog, driving revenue growth and adjusted EBITDA improvement. We continue to take actions to repurpose our resources as necessary to focus on products with high demand. We expect cash flow will also improve materially compared to the third quarter, driven by improved profitability and reduced working capital. However, we anticipate inventory will remain elevated to mitigate continued supply chain challenges expected through year-end. During this period, we also expect higher receivables from increased sales."

07:36 EDT ISS recommends LSB shareholders vote for exchange transaction - LSB Industries announced that independent proxy advisory firm, Institutional Shareholder Services , has recommended that LSB shareholders vote for all of the proposals in the Definitive Proxy Statement filed by the Company on August 26 relating to the Company's agreement with LSB Funding LLC, an affiliate of Eldridge Industries, to exchange the shares of LSB Series E-1 and Series F-1 Redeemable Preferred Stock held by Eldridge for shares of LSB common stock. Commenting on the ISS recommendation, Mark Behrman, LSB's President and CEO, stated, "We view the favorable disposition of ISS towards our proposed exchange transaction as further validation of our belief that this transaction will be beneficial to LSB's shareholders in that it will lower our cost of capital and provide us with greater financial flexibility to pursue growth initiatives. We strongly urge LSB stockholders to follow the ISS recommendation and vote 'FOR' the transaction today."

07:35 EDT DraftKings launches online sports betting in Arizona - DraftKings launched its online Sportsbook in Arizona, marking the 14th state in which the mobile sportsbook is available. Arizona sports fans age 21 and over are now able to place wagers on a variety of betting markets across professional, collegiate and other sports leagues via the Sportsbook app.

07:34 EDT Repligen, Navigo Proteins announce launch of protein A ligand - Repligen Corporation and Navigo Proteins announced they have completed development and validation of a novel protein A ligand that overcomes challenges associated with the purification of pH sensitive antibodies and Fc-fusion proteins. Named NGL-Impact A Hi pH, the new ligand is the first to address antibody aggregation in low pH elution buffers, the companies said in a statement. While developed specifically to address pH sensitive antibodies and Fc-fusion proteins, NGL-Impact A Hi pH ligand demonstrates high performance for all antibodies, and can be considered for "platform" use due to its broad pH operating range, they added. Ralf Kuriyel, Repligen Senior Vice President R&D, said, "This new best-in-class ligand addresses one of the major pain points in antibody drug purification which is the formation of aggregates during Protein A elution. Our new NGL-Impact A Hi pH ligand has demonstrated in customer evaluations two-fold lower levels of aggregate formation while maintaining high dynamic binding capacity and excellent caustic stability. We have completed all scale-up and validation work and now look forward to this ligand being commercialized on a new resin later this year, through our partnership with Purolite."

07:32 EDT Decibel Therapeutics receives ODD, RPDD from FDA for DB-OTO - Decibel Therapeutics announced that the U.S. FDA has granted both Orphan Drug Designation and Rare Pediatric Disease Designation for the company's lead gene therapy product candidate, DB-OTO, for the treatment of patients with otoferlin-related congenital hearing loss. "We are pleased to receive these important designations from the FDA, which support our conviction that innovative treatments for congenital hearing loss are urgently needed," said Heather Wolff, Vice President, Clinical Development Operations of Decibel. "Preclinical studies support the potential of DB-OTO to provide hearing to children born with profound hearing loss due to a mutation of the otoferlin gene. We are looking forward to initiating a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of DB-OTO in pediatric patients in 2022."

07:27 EDT Donnelley Financial Solutions enters partnership with Diligent - Donnelley Financial Solutions announced a strategic partnership with Diligent Corporation to equip organizations with the financial and governance tools that help them scale with confidence, from the early stages of business through to a traditional IPO or SPAC. The partnership provides organizations with an end-to-end solution that addresses the regulatory and governance challenges companies face on the road to an IPO. With DFIN bringing its financial reporting and SEC filing capabilities and Diligent bringing its expertise in governance and board leadership, this solution will help companies get ready for the realities of being listed on the public market and address the complexities of a public offering.

07:22 EDT Molina Healthcare signs CEO Joe Zubretsky to new employment agreement - Molina Healthcare, announced that it has entered into an amended and restated employment agreement with its President and CEO, Joe Zubretsky. The Chairman of Molina's Board of Directors, Dale Wolf, said, "During his nearly four-year tenure, Joe has led the successful turnaround of Molina. And he is now executing on our top-line growth plan with the same tenacity and insight. We are delighted to have him leading the Company." Zubretsky, 64, joined Molina in November 2017. "I appreciate the Board's expression of confidence in the Company's leadership team and our shared commitment to creating value for all of our constituents," Zubretsky said. "I am excited to continue executing on our strategic plan." Molina looks forward to presenting more information about its strategic plan at its virtual investor day on September 17.

07:19 EDT Valens Company enters partnership with Fire & Flower Holdings - The Valens Company (VLNCF) announced a white label partnership with Fire & Flower Holdings (FFLWF). Under the terms of the agreement, Valens will manufacture Fire & Flower's Revity CBD oil for distribution in Ontario, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan with the potential to expand into additional provincial and territorial markets where permitted and agreed. Tyler Robson, Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder and Chair of The Valens Company, said, "Fire & Flower is one of the leading cannabis retailers in Canada with a wide reach in this rapidly growing market. We admire their focus on consumer education and best-in-class retailing and are proud to partner with them for the first time to get high-quality wellness-focused products in the hands of Canadian consumers. This strategic relationship allows us to strengthen and expand our wellness-focused manufacturing portfolio and provides the opportunity to further our partnership with one of the largest cannabis retailers in the country."

07:18 EDT Zynerba presents data from Phase 2 BRIGHT trial for Zygel in children - Zynerba Pharmaceuticals presented data from the Phase 2 BRIGHT trial describing tolerability and efficacy of Zygel in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder over a longer term, 38-week treatment period. These data were presented as an oral presentation at The Society for the Study of Behavioural Phenotypes Conference 2021 being held virtually from September 9-10, 2021. Helen Heussler, MBBS FRACP MRCPCH, DM, Associate Professor, Faculty of Medicine, Child Health Research Centre, University of Queensland, Australia, delivered the oral presentation titled, "Longer Term Tolerability and Efficacy of ZYN002 Cannabidiol Transdermal Gel in Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder: An Open-Label Phase 2 Study." The presentation shows that through 38 weeks of treatment, the BRIGHT trial provides initial evidence suggesting a positive benefit-risk profile for Zygel when administered in addition to stable standard of care in children and adolescents with moderate-to-severe ASD. Furthermore, in patients who completed the 38-week treatment period, statistically significant improvements compared to baseline were sustained in all efficacy measures of ASD compared to baseline. The open-label Phase 2 study evaluated the safety, tolerability and efficacy of Zygel in children and adolescents aged 3-17 years with ASD in addition to stable standard of care. Eighteen of the 27 patients that completed week 14 demonstrated greater than or equal to35% improvement in the Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Community irritability subscale at week 14 and were allowed to continue treatment for an additional 24 weeks.

07:16 EDT XP Inc. acquires minority stake in fVirgo - XP Inc. announced the acquisition of a minority stake in Virgo, a financial solutions and capital markets services company. The transaction will allow Virgo to accelerate its plan to build the largest capital markets access marketplace for small and medium size companies and projects in Brazil, XP said in a statement. Virgo also intends to use the proceeds for team hiring, technology investments and the development of new products and solutions, it added.

07:16 EDT Tegna announces updated timeline for current $300M share repurchase - Tegna announced an updated timeline for the current $300M share repurchase program while providing additional insight into capital allocation plans for the year ahead. TEGNA's previously announced $30M share repurchase program is expected to be completed by year-end 2022, one year earlier than planned. Share repurchases will be reinitiated opportunistically, subject to customary blackout periods. TEGNA's Board is also assessing the scope and scale of a subsequent share buyback program to be established upon completion of the existing program. "TEGNA continues to see momentum accelerate across its business. We are executing our long-term strategy which continues to generate strong free cash flow, underpinned by high-margin, durable subscription and political revenues. Improving subscriber trends and multi-year distribution agreements also provide clear line of sight into future cash flows, which are also benefitted by the continued strong growth at our industry-leading OTT advertising platform, Premion," said Dave Lougee, president and chief executive officer. "Due to our confidence in our 2021 performance as well as the strength of our future cash flows, in conjunction with the current attractiveness of share repurchases, TEGNA's Board has proactively authorized use of the entire existing $300M repurchase program by the end of 2022 while continuing to pay our very strong dividend and invest in organic and inorganic growth opportunities. "The Board remains focused on maximizing long-term shareholder value, and will continue to proactively evaluate all options for capital deployment going forward, including potentially increasing the size of our share repurchase program."

07:15 EDT Nabriva Therapeutics, Vizient enter into agreement for Xenleta - Nabriva Therapeutics announced that it has entered into an agreement with Vizient to offer XENLETA, which treats community-acquired bacterial pneumonia, as a contracted product to Vizient's Pharmacy Network Program. Vizient provides expertise, analytics and advisory services, as well as a contract portfolio that represents more than $110B in annual purchasing volume, to improve patient outcomes and lower costs. Nabriva CEO Ted Schroeder commented, "We are excited by Vizient's decision to enter into an agreement to make XENLETA available to their Hospital Pharmacy Network, enabling access across Vizient member hospitals, which make up more than half of U.S. hospitals. Based on data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project, it is estimated approximately 3 million adults are diagnosed with CABP in the hospital setting annually. Importantly, many of these patients may be at increased risk for adverse effects associated with respiratory fluoroquinolone or reside in areas with a high (greater than25%) prevalence of macrolide resistance. We are enthusiastic about the opportunity to provide clinicians a short-course, IV and oral monotherapy treatment option that addresses these unmet medical needs for their CABP patients."

07:14 EDT Canadian Solar's CSI Solar to provide battery storage system to Crimson project - Canadian Solar (CSIQ) announced that its majority-owned subsidiary, CSI Solar, has closed a 350 MW / 1400 MWh contract to provide the fully-integrated battery storage system, EPC, or engineering, procurement and construction, and long term maintenance service to the Crimson stand-alone battery storage project in Riverside County, California. The Crimson storage project is 80% owned by Axium Infrastructure and 20% owned by Recurrent Energy. Crimson holds two approximately 15-year stand-alone storage contracts with local utilities Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas and Electric (PCG), which are part of the California Public Utilities Commission's reliability procurements. CSI Solar will provide the fully-integrated battery solution, EPC and long-term operation services for the Crimson storage project. The solution includes a fully bankable, lithium iron phosphate-based technology battery system. Equipment delivery and construction is expected to start soon and the project is expected to reach commercial operation by the summer of 2022. In addition, CSI Solar will support the battery storage system with 15-year service agreements as well as capacity and performance guarantees, ensuring system output, safety and reliability.

07:12 EDT Orchard Therapeutics promotes Leslie Meltzer to chief medical officer

07:11 EDT United Airlines, Honeywell announce joint investment in Alder Fuels - United (UAL) and Honeywell (HON) announced a joint multimillion-dollar investment in Alder Fuels - a cleantech company that is pioneering technologies for producing sustainable aviation fuel at scale by converting abundant biomass, such as forest and crop waste, into sustainable low-carbon, drop-in replacement crude oil that can be used to produce aviation fuel. When used together across the fuel lifecycle, the Alder technologies, coupled with Honeywell's Ecofining process, could have the ability to produce a carbon-negative fuel at spec with today's jet fuel. The goal of the technologies is to produce fuel that is a 100% drop-in replacement for petroleum jet fuel. As part of the agreement, United is committing to purchase 1.5B gallons of SAF from Alder when produced to United's requirements. United's purchase agreement, which is one and a half times the size of the known purchase commitments of all global airlines combined, makes this easily the largest publicly announced SAF agreement in aviation history. "Since announcing our 100% green commitment in 2020, United has stayed focused on decarbonizing without relying on the use of traditional carbon offsets. Part of that commitment means increasing SAF usage and availability since it's the fastest way to reduce emissions across our fleet. However, to scale SAF as quickly as necessary, we need to look beyond existing solutions and invest in research and development for new pathways like the one Alder is developing," said United CEO Scott Kirby. "United has come further than any other airline making sustainable travel a reality by using SAF to power flights. Our leadership gives customers confidence that they are flying with an airline that recognizes the responsibility we have to help solve climate change."

07:10 EDT Builders FirstSource acquires Apollo software assets in $4.5M transaction - Builders FirstSource announced it acquired Apollo software assets from construction technology startup Katerra in an approximately $4.5M transaction. The Apollo platform provides design collaboration and workflow, construction budgeting and scheduling, and field task assignment with mobile functionality. "We are well-positioned to lead the digital transformation in home construction, which significantly lags behind other industries in the application of technology to drive efficiency," said Dave Flitman, President and CEO of Builders FirstSource. "Our digital strategy focuses on how we can make our customers' businesses better by shortening project timelines and reducing waste. The Paradigm acquisition provided the Company with a critical entry point and the ability to be a leader in whole-house design. The Apollo software builds upon that foundation, providing features and functionality that will help us streamline the construction process. We look forward to leading the construction industry into a new age of technological innovation and efficiency."

07:09 EDT AstraZeneca announces MANDALA, DENALI trials met primary endpoints - Results from the MANDALA and DENALI Phase III trials of PT027 at both 180/160mcg and 180/80mcg doses, met all primary endpoints demonstrating statistically significant benefits in patients with asthma versus individual components albuterol, also known as salbutamol and budesonide. PT027 is an inhaled, fixed-dose combination of albuterol, a short-acting beta2-agonist, or SABA, and budesonide, an inhaled corticosteroi being developed by AstraZeneca and Avillion. The MANDALA trial met the primary endpoint, with PT027 demonstrating statistically significant and clinically meaningful reductions in the risk of severe exacerbations compared to albuterol, when used as a rescue medicine in response to symptoms. The trial included 3,132 patients with moderate to severe asthma taking maintenance ICS with or without additional controller medicines. The DENALI trial met the dual primary endpoints, with PT027 showing a statistically significant improvement in lung function measured by forced expiratory volume in one second, compared to the individual components albuterol and budesonide, and compared to placebo. The trial included 1,001 patients with mild to moderate asthma previously treated either with a SABA as needed alone or in addition to low-dose maintenance ICS therapy. Asthma is a chronic, inflammatory, fluctuating respiratory disease that affects as many as 339M adults and children worldwide, including over 25M in the US. Inflammation is a distinctive feature of asthma and plays a role in asthma symptoms, exacerbations and deaths.

07:08 EDT Sio Gene Therapies doses first infantile patient in gene therapy study - Sio Gene Therapies announced the dosing of the first Type I, or early infantile, patient in the low-dose cohort of its ongoing Phase 1/2 study of AXO-AAV-GM1, its adeno-associated viral vector 9-based gene therapy candidate for the treatment of GM1 gangliosidosis. No serious adverse events considered by the investigators to be related to AXO-AAV-GM1 have been observed following the administration of GM1 gene therapy, and additional screening and enrollment of Type I patients is ongoing. The clinical study is designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and potential efficacy of AXO-AAV-GM1 delivered intravenously in children with early infantile, or Type I, and late infantile and juvenile, or Type II, GM1 gangliosidosis. The company expects to report 12-month topline safety, biomarker, and clinical outcomes data from the Type II low-dose cohort of AXO-AAV-GM1 in October. GM1 gangliosidosis is a progressive and fatal pediatric lysosomal storage disorder caused by mutations in the GLB1 gene that cause impaired production of the beta-galactosidase enzyme. Currently, there are no FDA-approved treatment options for GM1 gangliosidosis.

07:07 EDT AbbVie, Genmab announce results of Phase 1/2 EPCORE NHL-1 clinical trial - AbbVie (ABBV) and Genmab (GMAB) announced The Lancet published the results of the dose escalation part of the Phase 1/2 EPCORE NHL-1 first-in-human dose escalation and cohort expansion clinical trial evaluating safety and preliminary efficacy of the investigational therapy epcoritamab in patients with relapsed/refractory B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Epcoritamab is being co-developed by Genmab and AbbVie. The FIH trial was designed to evaluate subcutaneous epcoritamab in patients with relapsed, progressive, or refractory CD20+ mature B-NHL, including diffuse large B-cell Lymphoma and follicular lymphoma, to determine the maximum tolerated dose and the recommended Phase 2 dose. In the dose escalation phase, patients received subcutaneous epcoritamab for 28 days. The safety, antitumor activity, and immune biomarkers associated with epcoritamab treatment were assessed. No dose-limiting toxicities were observed during the dose escalation, and 48mg was identified as the RP2D. Common adverse events were pyrexia, primarily associated with cytokine release syndrome, and injection site reactions. One case of tumor lysis syndrome was observed. No grade 3 or above CRS events or discontinuations due to treatment-related AEs or death were observed. Preliminary efficacy results reported in the trial were 88% overall response rate and 38% complete response in patients with relapsed/refractory DLBCL who received the RP2D of 48mg of epcoritamab. Patients who were treated with 12-60mg of epcoritamab achieved a 68% ORR and 45% CR. Additionally, patients with relapsed/refractory FL treated with 0.76-48mg of epcoritamab achieved a 90% ORR and a 50% CR. "The publication of these data in The Lancet, coupled with the presentation of the results at multiple medical congresses, demonstrate the importance of these early results and underscore the significant interest in the potential of next generation antibody therapeutic options for patients diagnosed with hematologic malignancies, whose current treatments may not be providing benefit," said Jan van de Winkel, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Genmab. "Together with our partner, AbbVie, we are committed to evaluating the safety and efficacy of epcoritamab in patients diagnosed with B-cell Lymphomas and other hematologic malignancies."

07:06 EDT Tuesday Morning names Marc Katz Principal and COO - Tuesday Morning (TUEM) announced the appointment of Marc Katz as Principal and Chief Operating Officer, Jennifer Robinson as Chief Financial Officer and Bill Baumann as Chief Information Officer. Katz currently serves as Interim Chief Financial Officer for the Company a position he held during the Company's search for a permanent Chief Financial Officer. Robinson is joining Tuesday Morning from The Michaels Companies (MIK), where she most recently served as Senior Vice President of Finance and Treasurer. Baumann joined Tuesday Morning from Torrid, Inc. where he served as Executive Vice President Customer Experience and Chief Information Officer.

07:05 EDT Evelo Biosciences issued U.S. patent for bacteria as medicines - Evelo Biosciences announced that the USPTO has issued a new composition of matter patent for medicines comprising pharmaceutical compositions of Veillonella parvula bacteria. The issued claims in this new patent cover formulations of Veillonella parvula for oral administration, including EDP1867, which is currently in a Phase 1b clinical trial for the treatment of atopic dermatitis.

07:04 EDT Lovesac: Q3 'off to a strong start'

07:04 EDT KKR appoints Kerryann Benjamin as chief diversity officer - KKR (KKR) announced the appointment of Kerryann Benjamin as chief diversity officer and head of talent management, effective immediately. In this role, Benjamin will be based in New York and will drive KKR's diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, strategy, a strategic priority for the firm, as well as KKR's global talent development strategy. Benjamin joins KKR from Goldman Sachs (GS), where she spent nearly two decades in various roles across the business and human capital management team.

07:00 EDT Joyy announces new $200M share repurchase program - JOYY announced that its board of directors has authorized a new share repurchase plan under which the company may repurchase up to $200M of its shares over the next 12 months. The share repurchases may be made from time to time in the open market at prevailing market prices, in privately negotiated transactions, in block trades and/or through other legally permissible means, depending on market conditions and in accordance with applicable rules and regulations. JOYY's board of directors will review the share repurchase plan periodically, and may authorize adjustment of its terms and size. The company expects to fund repurchases made under this plan from its existing funds.

06:56 EDT Pfizer granted marketing authorization for CIBINQO by UK's MHRA - Pfizer announced that the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, or MHRA, has granted Great Britain marketing authorization for CIBINQO, an oral, once-daily, Janus kinase 1 inhibitor, for the treatment of moderate to severe atopic dermatitis, or AD, in adults and adolescents aged 12 years and over, who are candidates for systemic therapy. Abrocitinib is licensed in Great Britain in recommended doses of 100mg and 200mg. This is the first marketing authorization worldwide for this treatment. "We welcome the MHRA's authorization of abrocitinib to treat people with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis. This is an important development for people in Great Britain who have moderate to severe disease and need innovative treatment options," said Angela Hwang, Group President, Pfizer Biopharmaceuticals Group. "Following marketing authorization, our priority now is to work with NICE and the Scottish Medicines Consortium to ensure routine access so that patients with moderate to severe AD can benefit from this important treatment." Regulatory applications for abrocitinib have been submitted to countries around the world for review, including the United States, Australia, Japan, and the European Union.

06:40 EDT Southwest experiencing 'fairly typical' bookings patterns for holiday travel

06:40 EDT Novus Capital Corporation II, Energy Vault enter agreement for combination - Novus Capital Corporation II (NXU) and Energy Vault announced they have entered into a definitive agreement for a business combination. Upon closing of the transaction, the combined company will be named Energy Vault Holdings and is expected to be listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbols "GWHR" and "GWHR WS," respectively. The combined company will be led by Robert Piconi as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "In the near term, Energy Vault has a strong pipeline of customer engagements and letters of intent for its new platform, including eight executed agreements and letters of intent totaling more than 1,200 MW hours of storage, with additional projects under negotiation for multi-GW hours of energy storage expected to begin deployment in the next 12-24 months," the company said. Robert Piconi, CEO & Co-Founder of Energy Vault stated: "Energy Vault's technology is designed to provide a cost-efficient, flexible and sustainable energy storage solution to meet the immediate needs of utilities, power producers and large industrial energy consumers that must solve the problem of power intermittency that is inherent with wind and solar energy generation... Through the deployment of our transformative technology, which can store clean energy for grid-scale deployments while uniquely utilizing waste materials for beneficial reuse in the process, Energy Vault is re-defining the role that energy storage companies can and should play within a circular economic framework. We are excited to announce our business combination with Novus and look forward to becoming a public company given our recent advances in commercial scale technology validation and rapid customer adoption, which require additional capital to meet the global, multi-continent demand." The transaction values the combined company at an implied pro-forma enterprise value of $1.1B. Pursuant to the proposed business combination, the combined company is expected to receive up to $388M in gross cash proceeds from a combination of cash from a $100M committed stock PIPE and $288M in cash held in Novus' trust account, assuming no public stockholders exercise their redemption rights at closing. Net cash from the transaction is intended to be used to fund growth of the combined company and global deployment of Energy Vault's breakthrough technologies. The boards of directors of both Energy Vault and Novus have unanimously approved the proposed transaction. It is currently anticipated that the transaction will be completed, assuming satisfaction or waiver of such closing conditions, in the first quarter of 2022.

06:39 EDT Sanofi says Phase 3 PEGASUS trial did not meet primary, key secondary endpoints - The Phase 3 PEGASUS trial evaluating rilzabrutinib to treat pemphigus, a rare autoimmune skin condition, did not meet its primary or key secondary endpoints. Rilzabrutinib's safety profile remained consistent with previous results and no new safety signals were identified, Sanofi announced. The Phase 3 study, which is the first placebo-controlled trial of a BTK inhibitor in pemphigus, enrolled adult patients with moderate-to-severe pemphigus vulgaris or pemphigus foliaceus. The primary endpoint was complete remission from weeks 29 to 37 with minimal doses of corticosteroids. Complete remission was defined as the absence of new and established skin lesions. Results show the proportion of patients meeting the primary endpoint on rilzabrutinib was not significantly different from placebo. Sanofi is continuing to evaluate the data and plans to share detailed findings at a future medical meeting. "While these results are disappointing, we believe the rilzabrutinib clinical program holds great potential to address the unmet treatment needs of people living with immune-mediated diseases," said Naimish Patel, Head of Global Development, Immunology and Inflammation. "Our mission is to improve outcomes by exploring new scientific approaches and novel therapies to advance the standard of care. We are committed to investigating rilzabrutinib further and progressing our clinical programs forward to deliver new treatment options for patients."

06:35 EDT Roche to acquire 100% of outstanding shares of TIB Molbiol Group - Roche announced that it has signed a definitive share purchase agreement to acquire 100% of the outstanding shares of the TIB Molbiol Group. Closing of the transaction is subject to customary conditions and is expected in the fourth quarter of 2021. "The acquisition of the TIB Molbiol Group will enhance Roche's broad portfolio of molecular diagnostics solutions with a wide range of assays for infectious diseases, such as the identification of SARS-CoV-2 variants. TIB Molbiol's comprehensive portfolio of over 45 CE-IVD assays and more than 100 research use assays are already today available on Roche's large installed base of LightCycler PCR systems and MagNA Pure sample preparation systems. The two companies have collaborated for more than 20 years to rapidly address critical healthcare needs including biological threats, such as SARS, anthrax, avian influenza virus H5N1, MERS, the novel influenza virus H1N1 swine, Ebola virus, Zika virus and most recently, SARS-CoV-2 virus and its variants. For example, in 2001 with anthrax and 2003 with SARS-CoV1, TIB Molbiol demonstrated their ability to develop PCR assays for the detection of new pathogens within days," the company stated. Thomas Schinecker, CEO Roche Diagnostics, added, "At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, our collaboration provided the first research-use-only SARS-CoV-2 detection test that was provided in January 2020, only days after the new coronavirus was first sequenced. Together, we can further improve patient outcomes with innovative diagnostic solutions that alleviate healthcare costs."

06:26 EDT Humanigen falls 55% after FDA declined EUA request for lenzilumab in COVID - Shares of Humanigen are down 55% at $6.80 per share in early pre-market trading after the company announced that the FDA has denied its request for emergency use authorization of lenzilumab in newly hospitalized COVID-19 patients late last night.

06:21 EDT United Airlines adjusting Q4 capacity to better match changes in demand

06:20 EDT United Airlines now expects an adjusted pre-tax loss in Q3 - As a result of the weakness in revenue that the company has experienced to date and expects to continue to experience, the company now expects an adjusted pre-tax loss in the third quarter of 2021 and if current trends continue, the company also now expects an adjusted pre-tax loss in the fourth quarter of 2021.

06:18 EDT United Airlines sees Q3 capacity down at least 28% vs. 3Q19 - Comments taken from a regulatory filing.

06:13 EDT AstraZeneca discloses 'positive' high-level results in Phase III trials of PT027 - The company states: "Positive high-level results from the MANDALA and DENALI Phase III trials of PT027, or albuterol/budesonide, at both 180/160mcg and 180/80mcg doses, met all primary endpoints demonstrating statistically significant benefits in patients with asthma versus individual components albuterol, also known as salbutamol and budesonide. PT027 is a potential first-in-class inhaled, fixed-dose combination of albuterol, a short-acting beta2-agonist, and budesonide, an inhaled corticosteroid, being developed by AstraZeneca and Avillion. The MANDALA trial met the primary endpoint, with PT027 demonstrating statistically significant and clinically meaningful reductions in the risk of severe exacerbations compared to albuterol, when used as a rescue medicine in response to symptoms. The trial included 3,132 patients with moderate to severe asthma taking maintenance ICS with or without additional controller medicines. The DENALI trial met the dual primary endpoints, with PT027 showing a statistically significant improvement in lung function measured by forced expiratory volume in one second, compared to the individual components albuterol and budesonide, and compared to placebo. The trial included 1,001 patients with mild to moderate asthma previously treated either with a SABA as needed alone or in addition to low-dose maintenance ICS therapy." Reference Link

05:37 EDT Ford India to cease vehicle manufacturing in restructuring of India operations - Ford in India announced it will restructure its operations with plans to significantly expand its Chennai-based Ford Business Solutions team and bring to market some of Ford's global vehicles and electrified SUVs while ceasing vehicle manufacturing in India. Ford will continue to provide customers in India with ongoing parts, service, and warranty support. As part of the plan, Ford India will wind down vehicle assembly in Sanand by Q4 and vehicle and engine manufacturing in Chennai by Q2 of 2022. Following accumulated operating losses of more than $2B over the past 10 years and a $0.8B non-operating write-down of assets in 2019, the restructuring is expected to create a sustainably profitable business in India. Ford will focus on growing its Ford Business Solutions capabilities and team in the country, as well as engineering and engine manufacturing for export. With more than 11,000 team members currently in India, Ford Business Solutions plans to expand to provide more opportunities for software developers, data scientists, R&D engineers, and finance and accounting professionals, in support of the Ford+ plan to transform and modernize Ford globally. More than 500 employees at the Sanand Engine plant, which produces engines for export for the best-selling Ranger pickup truck, and about 100 employees supporting parts distribution and customer service, also will continue to support Ford's business in India. Ford will begin importing and selling vehicles including Mustang coupe. Customers in India also will benefit longer term from the Company's plan to invest more than $30B globally to deliver all-new hybrid and fully electric vehicles, such as Mustang Mach-E. Sales of current products such as Figo, Aspire, Freestyle, EcoSport and Endeavour will cease once existing dealer inventories are sold. Ford will continue full customer support operations for these vehicles with service, aftermarket parts and warranty coverage. Approximately 4,000 employees are expected to be affected by the restructuring. Ford India will maintain parts depots in Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Sanand and Kolkata and will work closely with its dealer network to restructure and help facilitate their transition from sales and service to parts and service support. Ford India will maintain a smaller network of suppliers to support engine manufacturing for exports and will work closely with other suppliers to ensure a wind-down of vehicle manufacturing. Ford also will continue to rely on India-based suppliers for parts for its global products, and suppliers and vendors supporting Ford Business Solutions will continue to support the business as normal. In connection with this announcement, Ford currently expects to record pre-tax special item charges of about $2B, including about $0.6B in 2021, about $1.2B in 2022 and the balance in subsequent years. Within that total will be about $0.3B of non-cash charges, including accelerated depreciation and amortization. The remaining cash charges of about $1.7B will be paid primarily in 2022 and are attributable to settlements and other payments.

05:23 EDT Biophytis appoints Rob van Maanen as CMO - Biophytis announced the appointment of Rob van Maanen as CMO, member of the executive committee. With the Biotech sector, just before joining Biophytis, van Maanen was holding the CMO position for Khondrion, a dutch clinical-stage company discovering and developing therapies targeting orphan inherited mitochondrial diseases.

05:19 EDT Houlihan Lokey increases tender offer to acquire GCA corporation to $599.1M - Houlihan Lokey announced that it is increasing the price to be paid in its tender offer to acquire GCA Corporation, by $12.71 per share and a total cash purchase price of approximately $599.1M. Earlier in the day, GCA announced that it was increasing its CY21 consolidated revenue forecast to $431.8M. This is a 21.8% increase to its previously announced CY21 revenue forecast of $354.5M. The announced increase in HLI's total cash purchase price approximates the increase in GCA's revised forecast of its CY 2021 profit. Houlihan Lokey commenced the tender offer in Tokyo on August 4 to acquire all outstanding shares of GCA for $12.55 per share in cash, in addition to all stock options of GCA. The new purchase price represents a 33% premium to the closing stock price on August 2 and a 42.2% premium to the three-month simple average price ended August 2. The closing of the tender offer is subject to receiving certain regulatory approvals, and the tender to Houlihan Lokey of shares representing at least two-thirds of GCA's fully diluted outstanding common stock. The tender offer is expected to close on October 4. Following the successful completion of the tender offer, it is expected that Houlihan Lokey will acquire all shares not tendered through a second-step at the same price. The transaction is expected to be financed with cash on Houlihan Lokey's balance sheet.

05:11 EDT ASE Technology reports August revenue $1.81B vs. $1.42B last year, up 27.3% - Reports August ATM revenue $1.1B vs. $841M last year, up 30.5%.

05:05 EDT RLX Technology to recycle used e-liquid pods to turn into cement - RLX Technology announced its Pods Recycling project to invest 20M yuan to recycle used e-liquid pods in China and make them into cement in its recent event held on September 2. RLX, maker of RELX-branded vaporizers and e-liquid pods that it only sells in China, together with China Siyuan Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, will donate the cement to China's rural areas to build infrastructure such as road and bridges. The Pods Recycling project will officially launch in September starting from Beijing and gradually cover 10 Chinese cities by next February. It aims to cover all RELX-branded stores in China by the end of 2022. RLX will collect not only its own used pods, but of all various brands.