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

20:36 EST Cathie Wood's ARK Investment bought 1.37M shares of Palantir on Tuesday

20:34 EST Cathie Wood's ARK Investment bought 158.4K shares of Robinhood on Tuesday

19:21 EST Franklin Resources reports preliminary AUM of $1.5617T at October 31, 2021 - Franklin Resources reported preliminary month-end assets under management of $1.5617T at October 31, 2021, compared to $1.5301T at September 30, 2021. This month's increase in AUM primarily reflected the positive impact of markets partially offset by slight long-term net outflows.

18:24 EST DoorDash CEO: Still seeing growth in delivery business - In an interview on CNBC's Mad Money, Tony Xu said he's "super thrilled" with Q3 results. The acquisition of Wolt is just accelerating what is already working, he noted. "It lays the foundation to operate in over 20 countries, serving over 700 million people." The company is ripping out every penny of inefficiency and focusing on the customer, he added. According to Xu, the goal of DoorDash is to make every small business successful.

18:04 EST Align Technology CFO Morici sells 3,000 common shares - In a regulatory filing, Align Technology CFO John Morici disclosed the sale of 3,000 common shares of the company on November 8 at a price of $699.08 per share.

17:33 EST Independence Holding Co. to be acquired by Geneve for $57.00 per share - Independence Holding Co. announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement and plan of merger to be acquired by Geneve Holdings. Under the terms of the merger agreement, holders of the company's outstanding shares of common stock, excluding shares held by Geneve Holdings and its wholly owned subsidiaries will receive $57.00 per share in cash. The $57.00 per share price represents a premium of 35.7% over $42.01 per share, the trading price for common stock on August 27, the trading date immediately preceding the date on which Geneve initially proposed to acquire the company, and a premium of 15.2% over the closing trading price of $49.50 on November 8. The going private transaction will be financed in part through the proceeds from the sale of certain of the company's subsidiaries, Independence American Holdings Corp. and Standard Security Life Insurance Company of New York, which are anticipated to close prior to year-end 2021. The company's board of directors formed a special committee of directors consisting solely of independent directors after Geneve proposed a possible going private transaction in August. Geneve's proposal was expressly contingent upon any transaction being considered, negotiated and approved by a special committee and being subject to approval by the holders of a majority of the shares not owned by Geneve and its affiliates. The Special Committee was charged by the Board with conducting a process intended to examine Geneve's proposal and determine whether the Going Private Transaction was the best option for the Company's stockholders other than Geneve (the "Minority Stockholders"), and, if so, to negotiate its terms. The Special Committee, with the assistance of independent financial and legal advisors, conducted a review of the proposal, and after consideration of the various alternatives available to the Company, including remaining a public company, determined that a proposed Going Private Transaction at an acceptable price would be the best option for the Minority Stockholders, and following this determination, negotiated the price and other transaction terms with Geneve. The Special Committee concluded unanimously that the Going Private Transaction on the terms it negotiated was fair and in the best interests of the Minority Stockholders. Based on the unanimous recommendation of the Special Committee, the Merger Agreement was also approved by all of the Board members voting on the Merger Agreement. Directors of the Company who are also directors or officers of Geneve did not participate in the deliberations of the Special Committee and recused themselves from the vote of the board. Completion of the going private transaction is subject to certain closing conditions, including obtaining approval by the Majority of the Minority, the consummation of the pending sales of the company's subsidiaries, Independence American Holdings Corp. and Standard Security Life Insurance Company of New York, and other customary conditions. The company will continue to declare and pay regular dividends, consistent with past practice, through the closing of the going private transaction.

17:26 EST DoorDash jumps 15% to $221.33 after Q3 results, Wolt Enterprises acquisition

17:19 EST Orion Office REIT to replace Daktronics in S&P 600 at open on 11/16 - Realty Income (O) is spinning off Orion Office REIT (ONL) in a transaction expected to be completed on November 15.

17:12 EST Vermilion Energy plans to reinstate a dividend in Q1 of 2022 - The company said, "We plan to reinstate a dividend in Q1 2022. Although it is still subject to board approval, our intention is to reinstate a fixed quarterly dividend (5-10% of FFO stress-tested at lower prices including US$55/bbl WTI) while continuing to focus on debt reduction. As further debt targets are achieved we will consider augmenting our return of capital through fixed dividend increases, share buybacks and/or special dividends. We will provide more details on our return of capital framework with our formal 2022 budget release in early December."

17:12 EST Vermilion Energy raises FY21 production guidance to 84,500-85,500 boe/d - The company said, "Our board of directors have approved a $75 million increase to our 2021 capital program to $375 million. The incremental capital investment will be primarily directed towards our Alberta condensate-rich natural gas drilling, Saskatchewan light oil drilling and seismic acquisitions in Europe. As a result of the strong production achieved year-to-date, combined with the US acquisition completed in Q3 2021, we have increased our 2021 annual production guidance to 84,500 - 85,500 boe/d. Based on our preliminary work to date, we anticipate a 2022 capital program in the range of $400 - $450 million with production at a similar level to our original 2021 guidance of 83,000 to 85,000 boe/d. Based on this targeted capital and production range and using forward strip pricing for 2022, we anticipate FCF in excess of $600 million with net debt in the range of $1 billion by the end of the year, implying a net debt to trailing FFO ratio of less than 1.0 times."

17:09 EST Advantage Solutions announces $100M share repurchase authorization - Advantage Solutions announced that its board authorized an open-ended share repurchase program of up to $100M of the company's Class A common stock. This share repurchase does not have an expiration date, but provides for suspension or discontinuation at any time.

17:01 EST Apple names J&J CEO Gorsky to its board - Apple (AAPL) announced Alex Gorsky, chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), has been elected to Apple's board of directors. "Alex has long been a visionary in healthcare, applying his tremendous insight, experience, and passion for technology to the cause of improving lives and building healthier communities," said Tim Cook, Apple's CEO. "We're excited to welcome him to Apple's board of directors, and I know that all of us will benefit from his leadership and expertise."

16:57 EST Virtus Investment reports preliminary total AUM $187.4B as of October 31 - In addition, the company provided services to $3.8B of other fee-earning assets that are not included in assets under management.

16:51 EST CorMedix sees cash resources sufficient to fund operations through at least 2022

16:50 EST First Horizon names Hope Dmuchowski as CFO - First Horizon (FHN) announced the appointment of Hope Dmuchowski as Senior Executive Vice President and CFO. She will serve on the company's Executive Management Committee and report to President and CEO Bryan Jordan. Dmuchowski joins First Horizon from Truist Financial (TFC) where she most recently served as Executive Vice President Head of Financial Planning and Analysis and Management Reporting.

16:47 EST ExOne shareholders approve takeover by Desktop Metal - The ExOne Company announced that its stockholders voted to approve the acquisition of ExOne by Desktop Metal, Inc. The final voting results will be filed in a Form 8-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, the transaction is expected to close within three business days after today, subject to customary closing conditions. Upon completion of the transaction, ExOne's common stock will no longer be listed on any public market. ExOne will remain headquartered in North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania as a wholly owned subsidiary of Desktop Metal.

16:45 EST AllianceBernstein reports preliminary AUM $765B as of October 31 - AllianceBernstein announced that preliminary assets under management increased to $765B during October 2021 from $742B at the end of September. Market appreciation and firmwide net inflows drove the 3% increase. In the month of October, net inflows to Retail and Private Wealth were partially offset by net outflows from Institutions.

16:42 EST Amplitude enters product integration partnership with Snowflake - Amplitude (AMPL) "announced the availability of a new product integration and partnership with Snowflake (SNOW), the Data Cloud company. Now, with just a few clicks, any Snowflake customer can easily import data into Amplitude and unlock actionable insight into customer behaviors and product experiences. Amplitude's Digital Optimization System delivers deep understanding into which behaviors lead to business outcomes by capturing every customer action from data sources. This bi-directional integration empowers teams to break down data silos, enrich sets of data, and unlock real-time self-service insights. Now every member of an organization - from product managers to marketers and executives - can use Snowflake and Amplitude to make data-driven decisions that fuel faster product innovation and revenue growth."

16:40 EST Codex DNA to acquire Eton Bioscience for $13M in cash - Codex DNA announced that it has agreed to acquire Eton Bioscience, a privately held provider of synthetic biology products and services. "Together with the Eton team, we will be able to accelerate our BioXp system growth strategy within the synthetic biology market," said Todd R. Nelson, PhD, CEO of Codex DNA. "This acquisition will allow our combined company to increase its commercial reach, deliver more robust services with broader customer applications, improve the quality and cost of certain raw materials, and support our highly strategic enzymatic DNA synthesis product development program." Under the terms of the deal, Codex DNA will pay approximately $13M in cash for the acquisition. Eton Bioscience generated approximately $5.1M of revenue for the nine months ended September 30, 2021. The acquisition is expected to be slightly dilutive to Codex DNA's earnings per share in 2022, and accretive thereafter.

16:35 EST Montrose Environmental raises FY21 adjusted EBITDA view to $75M-$80M - Because demand for environmental services does not follow fiscal quarter patterns, the Company's business is best assessed on yearly results. Given the outperformance of CTEH, continued organic growth across its segments, and the contribution of completed acquisitions, the Company now expects full year 2021 Adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $75 million to $80 million, which is increased from its prior full year 2021 guidance of $70.0 million to $75.0 million in Adjusted EBITDA. Given the emergency response dynamic and impact of CTEH's performance in 2021, the Company expects to initiate 2022 guidance based off its base business and a more normalized CTEH, taking into consideration acquisitions completed in 2021 and continued organic growth acceleration across other business lines.

16:34 EST Caribou Biosciences announces upcoming milestones - CB-010: Caribou expects to disclose initial data from the ongoing ANTLER Phase 1 trial in patients with relapsed or refractory B-NHL in 2022. CB-011: Caribou expects to file an Investigational New Drug application for its CB-011 program in 2022. CB-012: Caribou expects to file an IND application for its CB-012 program in 2023. CB-020: Caribou expects to announce target selection for its CB-020 program in 2022.

16:33 EST Scansource still sees FY22 adjusted EBITDA at least $135M

16:31 EST Wynn Resorts CEO Matt Maddox to leave company January 31st - Matt Maddox, CEO of Wynn Resorts, "announced that he will be leaving the company January 31, 2022. Following a unanimous request by the Board of Directors, Mr. Maddox agreed to remain on the Wynn Macau Limited and Wynn Interactive Limited Boards through the end of 2022. Craig Billings, CEO of Wynn Interactive and who has served as President and CFO of Wynn Resorts, was unanimously selected by the Board to become CEO of Wynn Resorts and a member of the Board effective February 1, 2022."

16:30 EST Coinbase sees FY21 annual transaction revenue per user in high $50s per month - The company states, "Average net transaction revenue per user varies period to period due to fluctuations in crypto asset prices and trading volume. Over the last two years, we have seen average annual net transaction revenue per retail MTU range between $34-$45 per month, with the low end of this range occurring in 2019, a period of low Bitcoin price and low crypto asset price volatility, and the high end of the range occurring in 2020, a period of rising Bitcoin price. Given our performance year-to-date, we anticipate 2021 annual average net transaction revenue per user will be in the high $50's per month."

16:28 EST Aurora Cannabis has identified cash savings of C$60M-C$80M - The company said: "We have already executed over $33 million in annualized run-rate cost savings to date, and expect to deliver the remainder before the end of Q2 fiscal 2023."

16:26 EST Coinbase reports Q3 total trading volume $327B vs. $45B last year

16:26 EST Revance withdrawing cash guidance - The company states: "Due to the CRL received by the company from the FDA, Revance is withdrawing its previously announced cash guidance, which stated that the company's current cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, allowed the company to be funded into 2024. The prior guidance included the assumption of FDA approval of DaxibotulinumtoxinA for Injection in glabellar lines in 2021. The company expects to provide an updated cash guidance and its GAAP and Non-GAAP operating expense guidance for 2022 following its Type A meeting with the FDA."

16:24 EST Coinbase sees Q4 trading volume higher than in Q3 - The company stated, "In October, the total crypto market capitalization increased roughly 35% compared to the end of September and while crypto asset volatility remained elevated. Accordingly, retail MTUs and total trading volume were 11.7 million and $186 billion in the month of October, respectively. October trends include higher levels of activity among retail traders who have historically traded more on Coinbase during periods of heightened volatility. As a result, our blended average retail fee rates increased in October compared to reported Q3 levels. Our blended average fee rate is an output based on how active different types of customers are on our platform. We do not manage our business to optimize for fee rates nor do we have insights into the remainder of 2021. We believe that retail MTUs and total trading volume will be higher in Q4 as compared to Q3."

16:22 EST DoubleVerify to acquire OpenSlate for $150M - DoubleVerify "announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire OpenSlate, a pre-campaign contextual targeting platform that enables brands to align advertising with suitable or contextually relevant content across social video and CTV. The acquisition of OpenSlate is a cash and stock transaction valued at $150M and is expected to close this quarter. The Acquisition will further expand DV's value to advertisers in social video and CTV, reinforcing coverage while deepening already unmatched product leadership and innovation. OpenSlate's pre-activation targeting controls combined with DV's granular post-flight measurement will create the industry's most comprehensive, end-to-end brand safety, suitability and contextual platform for social video and CTV. By leveraging this unified targeting and quality measurement suite, advertisers can more seamlessly optimize campaigns, maximize consumer engagement and drive ROI."

16:21 EST Prudential board authorizes up to $1.5B share buyback - Prudential announced the declaration of a quarterly dividend of $1.15 per share of Common Stock, payable on December 16, 2021, to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 23, 2021. Additionally, Prudential's Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $1.5 billion of its outstanding Common Stock during the period from January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2022.

16:17 EST RingCentral CFO Mitesh Dhruv to step down at end of 2021 - RingCentral announced that Mitesh Dhruv will be stepping down from his role as CFO. Dhruv will remain in his current role through the end of 2021. "On behalf of everyone at RingCentral, I would like to thank Mitesh for his valuable contributions to our Company over the past decade. And especially since stepping in as a CFO nearly 5 years ago, Mitesh has been instrumental in driving consistent profitable growth and outsized shareholder results. We wish Mitesh all the best in all of his future endeavors," said Vlad Shmunis, RingCentral's founder, chairman and CEO. "Mitesh established a strong foundation and we have an exceptional finance and accounting team in place. We are confident that our ability to execute and lead in the $100 billion-plus UCaaS digital transformation market will continue unabated." In selecting its next CFO, RingCentral will consider internal and external candidates, the company said in a statement.

16:13 EST RingCentral announces partnership with Mitel - RingCentral and Mitel announced a strategic partnership to provide Mitel's global customer base with a migration path to RingCentral's Message Video Phone cloud communications platform. As part of this agreement, RingCentral becomes Mitel's exclusive UCaaS partner, providing their customers with a next generation, mobile-first, cloud communications platform with high reliability and security, rich functionality, and broad enterprise app integrations.

16:12 EST Grocery Outlet sees Q4 SSS down 3.5% to down 2.5% - Based on current trends, the company expects comparable store sales for the full fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 to range between negative 3.5% to negative 2.5%. The company expects to open eight stores during the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021 for a total of 36 new stores opened in fiscal 2021.

16:11 EST Grocery Outlet board authorizes $100M share repurchase program

16:10 EST Purple Innovation enters new Master Retailer Agreement with Mattress Firm - On November 8, Purple entered into a new Master Retailer Agreement with Mattress Firm, the largest mattress specialty retailer in the U.S. The new agreement provides mutually beneficial opportunities to expand sales of Purple's full assortment of sleep products within Mattress Firm and eliminates prior restrictions on Purple's growth outside of Mattress Firm.

16:08 EST Unity Software to acquire Wet Digital for $1.625B - Unity announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Weta Digital's tools, pipeline, technology, and engineering talent. Ultimately, this acquisition is designed to put Weta's incredibly exclusive and sophisticated visual effects (VFX) tools into the hands of millions of creators and artists around the world, and once integrated onto the Unity platform, enable the next generation of RT3D creativity and shape the future of the metaverse, Unity said. Weta Digital will join Unity's Create Solutions focused on the continual evolution of Weta Digital's dozens of proprietary graphics and VFX tools, such as Manuka, Lumberjack, Loki, Squid, Barbershop, HighDef, CityBuilder, and many more. In the future, with Unity's deep expertise in real-time, these world-class artist tools will be available to creators through an accessible cloud-based workflow. "Weta Digital's tools created unlimited possibilities for us to bring to life the worlds and creatures that originally lived in our imaginations," said Sir Peter Jackson, Chairman & Co-Founder, Weta Digital. "Together, Unity and Weta Digital can create a pathway for any artist, from any industry, to be able to leverage these incredibly creative and powerful tools. Offering aspiring creatives access to Weta Digital's technology will be nothing short of game changing and Unity is just the company to bring this vision to life." Under the terms of the agreement, Unity will acquire Weta Digital for $1.625B in a combination of cash and stock. Prem Akkaraju, who joined Weta Digital as CEO in early 2020 and is the creator of Weta's cloud commercial service, will remain Chief Executive Officer of WetaFX. Joe Marks, Weta Chief Technology Officer, will join Unity as Chief Technology Officer of Weta Digital. The proposed acquisition is expected to close during Unity's fourth quarter 2021 and is subject to customary closing conditions.

16:06 EST Plug Power sees improvement in service margin run rates materializing in 2022 - Plug Power said: "Given the continued service platform progression, we expect to see improvement in service margin run rates materializing in 2022 with potential to reduce service costs on a per unit basis by 30% in the next 12 months and 45% by the end of 2023. We also expect margin trends to improve in our fuel business in 2022 with breakeven margin by 2023 as our green hydrogen plants come on line in the second half of 2022. We expect fuel margin to be in line with overall corporate target of greater than30% gross margin by 2024 as we see the full benefit of internal production and continued build out of our green hydrogen generation network. In addition to these initiatives, Plug continues to drive cost downs on its products, and we expect the recent acquisitions will be gross margin accretive in 2022 stemming from both incremental sales and synergies on existing products."

16:04 EST GeoVax Labs enters SARS-CoV-2 vaccine license agreement with City of Hope - GeoVax Labs announced that it has entered into an exclusive license agreement with City of Hope, a cancer research and treatment organization. The agreement grants GeoVax exclusive rights to further develop and commercialize a multi-antigenic SARS-CoV-2 investigational vaccine, developed at City of Hope for immunocompromised patients, which is currently being studied in an ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial and shows a strong potential to be used in the general population as a primary and/or general booster vaccine against COVID-19 worldwide. The license provides exclusive worldwide rights to key patents, as well as certain rights to expertise and clinical materials, related to COH04S1, a synthetic, attenuated modified vaccinia Ankara (sMVA) vector expressing spike and nucleocapsid antigens of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Financial terms of the transaction were not immediately disclosed.

16:03 EST Plug Power acquires Frames Group for EUR 85M in cash, EUR 30M in earnouts - Plug Power has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Frames Group, a leader in turnkey systems integration for the energy sector. With over 35 years of experience, Frames designs, builds, and delivers processing equipment, separation technologies, flow control and safeguarding systems, for water and renewable energy solutions, the company said in a statement. Headquartered in the Netherlands, Frames has about 300 employees located largely in Europe and India. The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of the year once all required approvals have been obtained. The transaction includes EUR 85M in cash and EUR 30M in earnouts.

16:02 EST Khosla Ventures Acquisition, Valo Health announce additional PIPE commitments - Valo Health and Khosla Ventures Acquisition Co. announced that the private placement of common stock investment in connection with their previously announced business combination had expanded from $168.5M to over $200M exceeding initial targets. Since the original announcement of the business combination on June 9th, 2021, additional commitments of $33.5M were made by multiple institutional investors in July and recent commitments were made by Valo's CEO & Founder David Berry, and CFO Graeme Bell (which, in the case of Valo's CEO & Founder and CFO, will be subject to a 180-day lock-up following the closing, subject to early release in certain circumstances). The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2021. The combined company is expected to operate under the name Valo Health Holdings, Inc. and trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the "VH" ticker symbol.

15:32 EST F.N.B. integrates eStore tool into FNB Direct mobile app - F.N.B. Corporation announced it has integrated its eStore shopping tool into the FNB Direct mobile app as part of a series of innovative enhancements that build on customers' ability to bank digitally. Along with a significant upgrade to its mobile banking experience, including multiple new features, the company has expanded its suite of online loan applications. "Adding the eStore to our mobile app creates a fully digital bank, where customers can conduct routine transactions, purchase products and services, and schedule time with our bankers virtually," said Vincent J. Delie, Jr., Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of F.N.B. Corporation and First National Bank. "We combine the latest industry technology with personalized service so that customers can access the tools, information and consultation they need, whether they are in an FNB branch or are using an online or mobile device."

15:01 EST Amazon expands investment in four operations sites in Alabama - Amazon announced plans for three new operations facilities in Alabama and celebrates the launch of a new fulfillment center that will support customers across the state. "We are proud to continue our investment in Alabama with thousands of good jobs and new, state-of-the-art operations facilities," said Brian Huseman, vice president of public policy at Amazon. "Our success would not be possible without our great employees and we are grateful for the enthusiasm and strong state and local support we have received since first launching operations in 2020. We look forward to continued investment as we innovate and grow to better serve our customers across the state." Amazon said it has created more than 9,000 direct jobs statewide and invested more than $1B in Alabama in infrastructure and compensation to employees. The company plans to add more than 500 full-time jobs to its operation by the end of 2021 and have created more than 1,800 seasonal positions across the state in preparation for the holiday season. The fulfillment and transportation jobs support communities of all sizes, pay a minimum starting wage of $15 per hour-which is more than double the federal and state minimum wage-and provide comprehensive health benefits on the first day of employment, paid time off, up to 20 weeks of fully paid parental leave, and more for employees and their families. In November, Amazon plans to expand the delivery services in greater Birmingham. This new station will employ approximately 150 people and create indirect job opportunities for hundreds of people through the empowerment of the Delivery Service Partner program. In 2022, Amazon will open its third fulfillment center. This "XL" Non-Sortable facility is designed to receive, store, and package heavy or bulky items like home appliances. The 1 million-square-foot facility in Limestone County will provide more than 250 full-time jobs and will utilize innovative technologies and energy-efficient, zero-emission power industrialized truck equipment. In 2022, Amazon will open an Inbound Cross Dock facility that will receive and consolidate items from vendors and facilitate shipment to fulfillment centers. This 650,000 square foot facility will provide more than 500 full-time jobs.

14:50 EST Pfizer, BioNTech ask FDA to amend COVID-19 booster eligibility to all adults - Pfizer (PFE) and BioNTech SE (BNTX) announced they have submitted a request to amend the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Emergency Use Authorization for a booster dose of their COVID-19 vaccine to include all individuals 18 years of age and older. The amendment request is based on results from a Phase 3 randomized, controlled trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of a 30-microgram booster dose of the vaccine, which enrolled more than 10,000 participants during a period when the Delta variant was the prevalent strain. A booster dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine is currently authorized by the FDA for emergency use after completion of a primary series in individuals 65 years of age and older, individuals 18 through 64 years of age at high risk of severe COVID-19, and individuals 18 through 64 years of age with frequent institutional or occupational exposure to SARS-CoV-2, as well as eligible individuals who have completed primary vaccination with a different authorized COVID19 vaccine. Data from the Phase 3 booster trial have been shared with the European Medicines Agency and other regulatory authorities. A booster dose of the vaccine is approved in the European Union and authorized/approved in other countries for individuals 18 years of age and older based on previously submitted safety, tolerability and immunogenicity data, with recommendations for populations varying based on local health authority guidance. Reference Link

14:07 EST HNRY Logistics rebranded as Yellow Logistics - HNRY Logistics the coast-to-coast logistics brokerage brand of the Yellow Corporation companies, is now Yellow Logistics. "We're excited to announce this renaming and rebranding to Yellow Logistics, which aligns with the evolution of the LTL brands to one company, as Yellow," said Jason Bergman, Yellow Chief Commercial Officer and Yellow Logistics President. "This milestone on our journey will make direct-to-carrier shipping easier than ever for our customers. Yellow Logistics has the technology, trucks and talent to prioritize customers' supply chains and deliver like never before."

13:11 EST Fat Brands names Justin Nedelman chief real estate officer - Fat Brands announced the hiring of its first Chief Real Estate Officer, Justin Nedelman. The company said Nedelman brings experience from his former role as CEO of Eureka Restaurant Group, LLC, where he led the company from its inception in 2009 through rapid growth until his departure in January 2021. Overseeing the real estate of FAT Brands' growing portfolio of over 2,100 restaurants, Nedelman will help support organic growth with existing franchisees while also spearheading further real estate expansion across the brands' 15 concepts, identifying best-in-class, high volume locations. "Justin brings significant real estate finance, leasing, acquisition and development experience to FAT Brands," said FAT Brands CEO Andy Wiederhorn. "We are currently in high-growth mode, so Justin couldn't have come on-board at a better time. He brings tremendous value to the team as both a retail real estate financier and former operator of a polished casual dining concept, an area we recently expanded into with the acquisition of Twin Peaks."

12:01 EST Invitae falls -19.0% - Invitae is down -19.0%, or -$4.99 to $21.28.

12:01 EST Haemonetics falls -19.1% - Haemonetics is down -19.1%, or -$13.58 to $57.55.

12:00 EST New Relic rises 35.6% - New Relic is up 35.6%, or $32.35 to $123.30.

11:45 EST HIVE Stock trading resumes

11:36 EST Twitter rolls out Twitter Blue subscription in the U.S., New Zealand - In a company blog post, Twitter said, "We are excited to share that Twitter Blue is now available in the United States and New Zealand across iOS, Android and web. Twitter Blue is available for a monthly price of US $2.99 / NZD 4.49 and with it, we're bringing subscribers even more features, more content, and more ways to participate in the conversation. Earlier this year, we introduced Twitter Blue in Australia and Canada. Since then, we've been listening to and learning from the most passionate and vocal people on Twitter as to what will make their experience more customizable, more frictionless, and simply put - better. We're invigorated by the feedback we've received so far. On iOS and desktop, Twitter Blue members will enjoy a fast-loading, ad-free reading experience when they visit many of their favorite news sites available in the US from Twitter, such as The Washington Post, L.A. Times, USA TODAY, The Atlantic, Reuters, The Daily Beast, Rolling Stone, BuzzFeed, Insider and The Hollywood Reporter...In continuing our commitment to strengthen and support publishers and a free press, a portion of the revenue from Twitter Blue subscription fees goes directly to publishers within our network. Our goal is to help each publishing partner make 50% more per person than they would've made from serving ads to that person. A better experience for readers - and more support for the journalism they care about...Subscribers can add more flair to their Twitter experience with exclusive app icons and colorful themes2 and Bookmark Folders. We are also introducing Custom Navigation3, which gives subscribers the ability to customize what appears in their navigation bar for quick access to the Twitter destinations they care about most. ..With Undo Tweet, subscribers can preview and perfect Tweets before they are sent. Subscribers also have access to Reader, which turns long threads into an easier-to-read experience. They can also change the text size within Reader to tailor their experience even further...Finally, subscribers get early access to features we're testing - before anyone else! These features might eventually become available to the rest of Twitter, graduate to a feature of Twitter Blue, or sunset based on feedback we hear from subscribers." Reference Link

11:05 EST Boeing reports 10 airplane orders against 3 cancellations for October - Boeing reported 10 airplane orders against 3 cancellations for October. The company reported 27 airplane deliveries in October in data shared on its website. Reference Link

10:47 EST Sono-Tek announces lab expansion for catalyst coated membranes - Sono-Tek Corporation announced the expansion of its New York laboratory facilities for catalyst coated membranes. The expansion is driven by a strong increase in demand for Sono-Tek's ultrasonic coating machinery used to apply catalyst coatings onto membranes. The expansion will include the addition of three new coating platforms as well as expanding the existing laboratory facility to accommodate the new machinery. The expansion will be at the New York lab location, which shares a campus with Sono-Tek's headquarters.

10:43 EST HIVE Stock trading halted, news pending

10:31 EST Walmart picks Dallas-Forth Worth area for two new supply chain facilities - Walmart announced plans to build two new high-tech facilities in the Dallas-Fort Worth area to support the retailer's growing supply chain network - a 1,500,000 square-foot automated fulfillment center, set to open in 2023, and 730,000 square-foot automated grocery distribution center, set to open in 2024, are among Walmart's largest automated fulfillment and distribution centers. The new Lancaster-based facilities will create approximately 1,000 full-time jobs across the region, the company said in a statement. Walmart added: "The facilities will play a critical role in Walmart's supply chain to deliver on the retailer's promise to get customers the items they want when they want them. Through the combination of Walmart associates and automation technology, the high-tech facilities will move more than two times the volume of a traditional fulfillment and grocery distribution center all while improving the accuracy, quality and speed of the fulfillment and distribution of products."

10:23 EST Hertz spokeperson Brady tweets 'To the moooooon' as stock comes back to Nasdaq - NFL quarterback Tom Brady, who was recently signed to be a spokesperson for Hertz, has tweeted: "To the moooooon... @Hertz #IPO #LETSGO". Hertz Global Holdings (HTZZ) launched a public offering of its common stock by certain stockholders of Hertz and has applied to list on The Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol "HTZ." Hertz's common stock had been trading on the over-the-counter market under the symbol "HTZZ." Reference Link

10:20 EST Apple CEO says those wanting sideload apps can buy Android phone - Tim Cook is speaking at the New York Times DealBook conference.

10:18 EST Apple CEO Cook says personally invested in cryptocurrencies - Tim Cook is speaking at the New York Times DealBook conference.

10:17 EST Sysco has satisfied internal criteria to commence share repurchases

10:17 EST Apple CEO Cook says no immediate plans for cryptocurrency - Tim Cook is speaking at the New York Times DealBook conference.

10:15 EST Sysco began weekly Covid testing regimen for associates in September, says CEO

10:13 EST Sigmatron International appoints James Reiman as CFO - SigmaTron International announced that James Reiman has been elected CFO, Vice President Finance, Treasurer and Secretary of SigmaTron International, Inc. As previously reported on August 20, 2021, Linda K. Frauendorfer announced her retirement as CFO after a 30 year career with the Company.

10:09 EST Sysco CEO: Business transformation remains on track

10:07 EST Epam Systems acquires Emakina Group, terms not disclosed - EPAM Systems announces the acquisition of Emakina Group. Headquartered in Belgium with 1,100+ employees and a strong presence across Central and Western Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Africa, and North America, Emakina Group will enhance EPAM's digital experience practice. Emakina Group is a leading group of independent digital agencies, with 26 offices in 18 countries. They design and deliver innovative solutions to help clients build strong relationships with their customers. Its services include digital consulting, advertising, marketing, content creation, platform development, and data science and analytics. Operating across multiple sectors, including financial services, retail, energy and automotive, the group's line-up of global and European clients includes Nike, Honda, Intersport, Olympique Marseille, Rituals, KitchenAid and DP World. On November 3, 2021, EPAM announced that it now holds 98.69% of the shares in Emakina Group. EPAM will own 100% of shares after the squeeze out period is complete.

10:05 EST Sysco sees select segments recovering in early 2022 - Comments taken from Q1 earnings conference call.

10:00 EST Oak Street Health falls -14.7% - Oak Street Health is down -14.7%, or -$6.91 to $39.98.

10:00 EST Haemonetics falls -17.1% - Haemonetics is down -17.1%, or -$12.13 to $58.99.

10:00 EST New Relic rises 30.4% - New Relic is up 30.4%, or $27.68 to $118.62.

09:51 EST Nasdaq, Exchange Traded Managers Group announce settlement - Nasdaq and Exchange Traded Managers Grou have entered into an agreement dated October 28, 2021, to effect payment in full of the December 20, 2019 judgment entered against ETFMG in the Southern District of New York. Nasdaq therefore recorded a Satisfaction of Judgment with the Court and released its claims against ETFMG, and ETFMG withdrew its appeal of the Judgment with prejudice. The Asset Purchase Agreement between the parties, dated May 1, 2020, that would have caused the transfer of certain ETFMG intellectual property and related assets to Nasdaq was terminated, and the intellectual property and related assets remain with ETFMG.

09:49 EST Party City falls -13.5% - Party City is down -13.5%, or -$1.12 to $7.20.

09:48 EST Haemonetics falls -17.7% - Haemonetics is down -17.7%, or -$12.57 to $58.56.

09:48 EST New Relic rises 32.5% - New Relic is up 32.5%, or $29.54 to $120.48.

09:47 EST Dover Motorsports rises 60.7% - Dover Motorsports is up 60.7%, or $1.36 to $3.60.

09:33 EST Ree Automotive expands shareholder access to financial results release - REE Automotive announced that it has partnered with Say Technologies for its innovative communication platform. The platform will allow REE to deepen its connection with its investors and enable them to submit and upvote questions to management ahead of earning calls. REE will use the Say Connect platform for its upcoming third quarter earnings call which is scheduled for 8:30am ET on Tuesday, November 16, 2021.

09:32 EST Save Foods receives approval from FDA to commence commercialization in CA - Save Foods announced the registration of its product, SavePROTECT, by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. Dr. Neta Matis, the COO of Save Foods Ltd., the company's Israeli Subsidiary, commented on the announcement, "California is one of the most influential consumer and regulatory markets in the world, certainly the largest in the United States, so getting SavePROTECT approved by the CDPR is a major milestone for us. We are now free to reach out to growers, packing houses and other stakeholders that have watched our success in Mexico, Europe and Israel but needed the stamp of approval from the CDPR to use our products." Dr. Matis concluded "We are prepared to launch our marketing and sales efforts in California immediately."

09:31 EST Sage Group announce availability of Zapier on Sage Marketplace - Sage announces the availability of Zapier, the workflow automation platform for business, on the Sage Marketplace in the U.K., Ireland, U.S. and Canada. This partnership enables small businesses and accountants across all four countries to elevate their work and automate workflows by seamlessly connecting Sage Accounting with 4,000 apps. Sage's partnership with Zapier will support small businesses and accountants to spend less time on admin and more time driving value for their customers. Therefore, freeing up time to focus efforts on scaling their business without the need for additional headcount. Alex Fawcett, Senior Director, Ecosystem and Technical Fellow at Sage, says: "Sage is committed to supporting small businesses, and the accountants that help them thrive, with innovative solutions that eliminate the burden of manual, repetitive tasks. In partnership with Zapier, we are championing SMBs to realize the power of automation and their digital network so that they can focus on what matters most - their customers."

09:29 EST QCR Holdings to acquire Guaranty Federal Bancshares in $151.6M transaction - QCR Holdings (QCRH) and Guaranty Federal Bancshares (GFED) jointly announced today the signing of a definitive agreement whereby QCR Holdings will acquire Guaranty and merge Guaranty Bank, the banking subsidiary of Guaranty into Springfield First Community Bank, QCR Holdings' Springfield-based charter. The combined bank will operate under the Guaranty Bank name in all Springfield and southwest Missouri markets. Established in 1913, Guaranty Bank currently has 16 banking locations in Springfield, Joplin, Carthage, Ozark, Nixa and Neosho, Missouri, which will expand and complement QCR Holdings' presence in and commitment to the region. Guaranty reported approximately $1.2 billion in assets and $1.0 billion in deposits as of September 30, 2021. As of September 30, 2021, the combined bank would have approximately $2.0 billion in total assets, $1.5 billion in total loans and $1.6 billion in total deposits. In addition, the combined bank would rank #4 in deposit market share in the Springfield market as of June 30, 2021. Consolidated pro forma total assets as of September 30, 2021 would be $7.2 billion, while consolidated pro forma loans and deposits would be $5.4 billion and $5.9 billion, respectively. Upon completion of the merger, SFC Bank President and CEO Monte McNew will serve as CEO of the combined bank, while Guaranty Bank President and CEO Shaun Burke will serve as President Merger Highlights: Increased Market Share: Combined market share at #4 with $1.4 billion in deposits, based on data as of June 30, 2021, and the opportunity for continued growth. Retaining local charter autonomy will create the second largest locally-managed bank in the community. Accelerated Growth Opportunities: Expansion of QCR Holdings' niche products and services to new clients provides an exceptional opportunity in the attractive Springfield market. The merger will create important scale and capabilities of a much larger organization. Attractive Economics: Strong QCR Holdings' EPS accretion of approximately 13% expected in the first full year, 2.75 year tangible book value per share earnback period and accretive to an already strong ROAA. Terms of the Transaction: Under the terms of the merger agreement, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, stockholders of Guaranty will have the right to receive for each share of Guaranty common stock owned, at the election of each stockholder, and subject to proration, (i) $30.50 in cash, (ii) 0.58775 shares of QCR Holdings common stock, or (iii) mixed consideration of $6.10 in cash and 0.4702 shares of QCR Holdings common stock, with total consideration to consist of approximately 80% stock and 20% cash. Based upon the $59.99 closing price of QCR Holdings common stock as of November 5, 2021, the transaction is valued at approximately $151.6 million. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, approval by Guaranty's stockholders and certain customary closing conditions. The transaction is expected to close in the first or second quarter of 2022. Excluding one-time merger-related expenses, QCR Holdings expects the transaction to be approximately 13% accretive to earnings per share in 2023, the first full year of combined operations. QCR Holdings also expects to incur tangible book value per share dilution of approximately 5% upon closing of the transaction, with a tangible book value per share dilution earn back period of approximately 2.75 years.

09:27 EST SurgePays sees accelerated EBB momentum, revenue - SurgePays provides an update on the initial rollout from its distribution of the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, EBB Program, through the Company's wholly owned subsidiary, SurgePhone Wireless. In mid-August, SurgePays began a limited launch of the EBB Program sponsored devices and generated $115,211 in revenue in 4 states. This launch was accelerated in these states with additional sales teams in the months of September and October and generated a total of $2.42M in revenue. "We continue to surpass our internal projections on subscribers and expect to eclipse the 15,000-customer mark in November, representing $750,000 in relatively higher-margin recurring revenue every month. Following our recent equity raise of nearly $20 million in gross proceeds, we now have available capital to ramp up the SurgePhone customer count while taking advantage of multiple growth initiatives and better execute on things in our pipeline," commented SurgePays CEO Brian Cox. "Given the immediate and measurable impact from the launch of the EBB Program, we have ordered an additional 20,000 tablet devices to cover the remainder of the year. We plan to launch the EBB Program in ten additional states over the next 60 days and are exploring avenues to gain access to even more states that we could launch in over the next six months."

09:24 EST Elbit Systems subsidiary receives awarded $100M contract from Babcock - Elbit Systems announced that its subsidiary, Elbit Systems UK, was awarded a contract valued at approximately $100M by Babcock International Group, to provide the Royal Navy with new Electronic Warfare capabilities under Increment 1 of the Maritime Electronic Warfare System Integrated Capability Program. The contract will be performed over a period of 13 years and will include in-service support. Under the Program, Elbit Systems UK will design, manufacture and deliver maritime Electronic Warfare (EW) suites comprised of fully digital full-spectrum Radar Electronic Support Measures and EW Command and Control systems. These latest generation technologies will enhance the situational awareness and anti-ship missile defense of front-line platforms and improve their capability to exploit the electromagnetic environment.

09:23 EST Corsair Gaming announces new lineup of CORSAIR K65 RGB MINI keyboards - Corsair Gaming announced a colorful new lineup of its CORSAIR K65 RGB MINI 60% mechanical gaming keyboards: the Flavor Rush Series. These limited-edition keyboards, available exclusively from the CORSAIR webstore in the United States, are decked-out in four unique color schemes and kick off the new CORSAIR COLLECTIONS product line - limited-release gaming gear with unique color combinations and designs for personalizing your setup or building the ultimate PC gaming collection.

09:21 EST Iovance Biotherapeutics announces clinical data from TIL cell therapy - Iovance Biotherapeutics announced the publication of abstracts with clinical data for Iovance tumor-infiltrating lymphocyte, TIL, therapy in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with advanced cancers and for Iovance TIL cell therapy in relapsed, refractory lung cancer. Additional updates will be provided at the upcoming Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer, SITC, Annual Meeting. Lifileucel in Combination with Pembrolizumab in Advanced Cancers: Early-line treatment with single-agent pembrolizumab achieved an overall response rate, ORR, of 33% in patients with advanced melanoma and 17% in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, HNSCC. The ORR in all cohorts was assessed by investigator using RECIST 1.1 and listed in the abstract as follows: Cervical cancer: ORR was 50.0% with five out of 10 patients who had a confirmed objective response, including one complete response, four partial responses, and four best responses of stable disease. Metastatic melanoma: ORR was 87.5% with seven out of eight patients who had a confirmed objective response, including three CRs, three PRs, one unconfirmed PR, and one best response of SD. HNSCC: ORR was 42.9% with six out of 14 patients who had a confirmed objective response, including one CR, one unconfirmed CR, four PRs, and seven best responses of SD. The treatment-emergent adverse event profile across all cohorts was consistent with the underlying disease and known adverse event profiles of pembrolizumab, nonmyeloablative lymphodepletion, and IL-2. Additional and updated results for TIL plus pembrolizumab in cervical, melanoma and HNSCC will be available in an oral presentation at SITC. LN-145 in Relapsed/Refractory Metastatic Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer, mNSCLC. Clinical data in the abstract for Iovance TIL therapy LN-145 in relapsed/refractory mNSCLC demonstrated responses in heavily pretreated patients with NSCLC, regardless of PD-L1 expression, and warrant further investigation of LN-145 as a single-agent and in combination in patients with NSCLC in ongoing Iovance clinical studies IOV-LUN-202 and IOV-COM-202. Consistent with previously announced results, the ORR was 21.4% in the full analysis set and 25% in the efficacy-evaluable set from the fully enrolled Cohort 3B of the ongoing basket study IOV-COM-202. Confirmed responses included one complete metabolic response and five PRs, including two responders with PD-L1 negative tumors. TIL was most commonly harvested from lung metastases.

09:18 EST Fate Therapeutics announces abstract highlighting FT538, FT573 - Fate Therapeutics announced that the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer Communications Committee selected an abstract featuring preclinical data from the Company's FT538 and FT573 programs for showcase at the SITC 2021 Annual Meeting Press Conference. The selected abstract entitled "Off-the-shelf, engineered iPSC-derived NK cells mediate potent cytotoxic activity against primary glioblastoma cells and promote durable long-term survival in vivo" will be presented by Jeffrey S. Miller, M.D., Professor of Medicine, University of Minnesota and Deputy Director, Masonic Cancer Center. The press conference is being held on Wednesday, November 10 from 12:30-2 pm ET. Dr. Miller's presentation will describe the anti-tumor activity of the Company's FT538 clinical product candidate as monotherapy and in combination with an NK cell engager targeting B7-H3, an immune checkpoint transmembrane protein overexpressed on many human cancer cells and commonly associated with poor prognosis. The presentation will also describe the integration of a novel chimeric antigen receptor construct targeting B7-H3 into the master induced pluripotent stem cell line of FT538 to create the Company's preclinical product candidate FT573, a B7-H3-targeted CAR NK cell incorporating multiple anti-tumor modalities. In a recently published peer-reviewed article in Cell Stem Cell entitled "Harnessing features of adaptive NK cells to generate iPSC-derived NK cells for enhanced immunotherapy", FT538 was shown to share metabolic, transcriptional, and functional features with adaptive NK cells, a rare subset of NK cells with memory-like properties that have a genome-wide epigenetic profile and recall response that parallel cytotoxic effector CD8+ T cells. The published data demonstrate that FT538 exhibits significantly enhanced serial killing and functional persistence compared to peripheral blood NK cells. The superior anti-tumor activity of FT538 was attributable to its novel engineered components, including the knockout of CD38 and the expression of IL-15/IL-15R fusion protein, which were shown to improve metabolic fitness, increase resistance to oxidative stress, and induce a protein expression program that enhanced NK cell activation and effector function. The studies in the Cell Stem Cell publication were conducted as part of a collaboration between scientists at Fate Therapeutics and the laboratory of Dr. Miller, and were led by Frank Cichocki, Ph.D., University of Minnesota.

09:17 EST Nasdaq Private Fund Manager diversity, equity, inclusion data to be free - Nasdaq has announced that it will collect and make its private fund manager diversity, equity, and inclusion data available for investors free of charge via the Nasdaq eVestment platform in an effort to improve transparency and disclosure standardization across the industry. The data will be available starting on February 16, 2022. Nasdaq has worked with the Institutional Limited Partners' Association and FCLTGlobal to ensure its data collection aligns with ILPA's newly published Diversity Metrics template, and respective guidelines published by each group. By aligning to these industry standards for private fund manager DEI data, Nasdaq aims to reduce barriers to information being shared and in turn increase ease of access and transparency for asset owners into the DEI efforts of private fund managers. Private fund manager DEI data will be accessible to qualifying institutional asset owners within Nasdaq eVestment's private markets database, which includes profiles on more than 6,000 private fund managers detailing investment strategy, fund performance and more.

09:16 EST Rackspace Technology supports Awaze in AWS project - Awaze, says its support from Rackspace Technology is already paying dividends as it celebrates a record year and looks forward to further growth. The self-catering giant, which offers 90,000 accommodation choices in 36 countries to more than six million holidaymakers a year, has seen unprecedented surges in demand over the last 12 months thanks to the rising popularity of domestic breaks in the wake of the global pandemic.Tightly aligning compute resources to demand as part of the multi-million pound investment has led to a 30% reduction in web session costs.

09:15 EST Guaranty Federal Bancshares trading halted, news pending

09:14 EST Sensei Biotherapeutics expects cash to fund operations into 1H24 - Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $156.7 million as of September 30, 2021, as compared to $16.6 million as of December 31, 2020. Sensei expects the current cash balance to fund operations at least into the first half of 2024.

09:12 EST Medigus' Charging Robotics comments on the new bipartisan infrastructure bill - Charging Robotics, a fully owned company by Medigus, "applauds the historic bipartisan infrastructure bill initiated by the Biden Administration and congressional lawmakers," the company said. The new action will support the President's goal of building a nationwide network of 500,000 EV chargers to accelerate the adoption of EVs, reduce emissions, improve air quality, and create good-paying jobs across the country. "The $7.5B included in the bill are designated solely to EV charging infrastructure. We believe that this will also push forward the mass adoption of new cutting-edge charging technologies such as ours" stated Hovav Gilan, CEO of Charging Robotics. Our unique wireless autonomous charging robot is an important charging alternative for cables that can support the achievement of the President's goal to "provide convenient charging especially where work, and shop" across the nation... This announcement of the new legislation is part of a global trend to increase EV numbers everywhere. With US leading the way, new markets will align in EV adoption and usage. The EV era will come faster than we expected and thankfully Charging Robotics is on the edge of developing a technology we believe is crucial to turn the EV revolution into a reality," said Gilan.

09:10 EST GreenBox announces closing of $100M convertible note financing - GreenBox POS announced the closing of its previously announced $100 million convertible note financing. The Company plans to use proceeds for acquisitions, to jumpstart the Coyni stablecoin custodial revolver and apply additional working capital toward the Company's future growth, this is a significant milestone in executing the Company's growth plans.

09:09 EST MSG Sports, MSG Entertainment enter multi-year marketing partnership with BetMGM - Madison Square Garden Sports (MSGS) and Madison Square Garden Entertainment (MSGE) announced a multi-year marketing partnership with BetMGM (MGM), naming the sports betting and gaming entertainment company an Official Sports Betting Partner of the New York Knicks, New York Rangers and Madison Square Garden Arena. As part of the marketing partnership, BetMGM will receive brand integration inside The Garden including courtside and ribbon LED signage, GardenVision features and basket stanchion signage at Knicks games, along with dasherboard signage and Zamboni branding at Rangers games. Additionally, BetMGM will be included in content across official Knicks and Rangers digital channels on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, and BetMGM customers will receive opportunities to participate in experiences at Knicks and Rangers games. BetMGM will also be featured prominently on MSG Networks during live game coverage of the Knicks, Rangers, New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders, highlighted by a virtual blue line during Rangers games and commercials spots during game telecasts. In addition, BetMGM will appear on digital boards outside of The Garden and MSG Networks, which are on display to the millions of people who walk by The Garden every day.

09:08 EST Emerson Electric selected by TenneT to modernize power transmission network - TenneT has selected industrial technology company Emerson to provide software and services "to optimize and secure the high-voltage transmission network responsible for delivering power to nearly 42M people across the Netherlands and Germany. Emerson's OSI digital grid solutions offers a reliable and adaptable platform, Monarch , that will help support TenneT's transition to a more dynamic, complex and interconnected power market, which is currently experiencing a strong increase in renewable energy," the company noted. To balance electricity supply and demand while incorporating more environmentally responsible energy sources, Emerson's technology will provide better data for real-time and accurate decision-making. To optimize operations, Emerson will provide TenneT with enhanced forecasting, operational planning and equipment outage scheduling capabilities, as well as an operator training simulator. The adoption of Emerson's big-data historian technologies will improve the collection and archiving of system metrics and asset performance data, delivering high availability and improved disaster recovery for TenneT's network. "We're enormously proud to have been selected by TenneT to strengthen its transmission grid," said Al Eliasen, president of Emerson's OSI digital grid solutions business. "We look forward to a successful project and lasting partnership that supports TenneT's commitment to deliver a secure and continuous supply of electricity to its customers."

09:07 EST Dyadic International appoints Hazelton as Chief Business Officer - Dyadic International announced the appointment of Joe Hazelton as Chief Business Officer, effective immediately. The creation of this role supports the global commercialization of the Company's new and existing business initiatives, including corporate strategy, business and corporate development and licensing. Hazelton will join Dyadic's executive leadership team reporting directly to President and Chief Executive Officer, Mark Emalfarb. Hazelton joins Dyadic from Charleston Laboratories, where he has served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Commercial Officer, responsible for the strategic management of Charleston's product and portfolio management, alliance management, regulatory oversight, and global commercialization activities.

09:06 EST 23andMe appoints Sandra Hernandez to its Board of Directors - 23andMe Holding announced the appointment of Sandra Hernandez, President & CEO of the California Health Care Foundation, or CHCF, to its Board of Directors. As the President & CEO of CHCF, an independent, nonprofit philanthropy dedicated to improving California's healthcare system, particularly for those with low incomes, Hernandez has been a leading figure in improving access to coverage and advocating for better care. Prior to joining CHCF, Dr. Hernandez was CEO of The San Francisco Foundation, one of the nation's largest community foundations, which she led for 16 years. She previously served for nearly a decade in the San Francisco Department of Public Health, including several years as Director of Public Health for the City and County of San Francisco.

09:06 EST Crypto names higher in early trading as bitcoin extends gain above $68,000 - The price of bitcoin has extended its gains overnight with a rally above the $68,000 mark - the highest level on record. Stocks levered to bitcoin prices are also rising in pre-market trading, with Bit Digital (BTBT) up another 4.3%, Riot Blockchain (RIOT) up 11.7%, Marathon Digital (MARA) up 8.8%, and Coinbase Global (COIN) up over 3%.

09:04 EST Surface Oncology announces preclinical data on SRF617 and SRF388 - Surface Oncology announced that two scientific posters sharing updated preclinical data from Surface Oncology's two lead clinical-stage antibody therapies, SRF617 and SRF388, will be presented at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer, SITC, 2021 Annual Meeting, to be held virtually and at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. November 10-14, 2021. "The data to be presented highlight SRF617's potent CD39 inhibition in preclinical models, and its effect on promoting proinflammatory therapeutic activity," said Vito Palombella, Ph.D., chief scientific officer at Surface Oncology. "Additionally, we will provide evidence that the IL-27 gene signature is highly expressed in patients with lung cancer that have treatment-resistant disease, supporting our continued development of SRF388, our first-in-class IL-27 antibody, across numerous tumor types." SRF617 Highlights. In a poster entitled "The fully human antibody SRF617 is a potent inhibitor of ecto-enzyme CD39 in vivo," Surface researchers describe preclinical studies demonstrating the therapeutic potential of targeting CD39 for cancer treatment: SRF617 is an inhibitor of CD39 enzymatic activity in vivo; Anti-CD39 therapy promotes a pro-inflammatory tumor microenvironment by increasing CD8+ T cell accumulation and downregulating CD39 protein on immune cells; In combination with gemcitabine, anti-CD39 therapy promotes an increase in tumor macrophages while reducing CD39 expression and activity. SRF388 Highlights: In a poster entitled "IL-27 signaling drives a type 1 interferon-like gene expression program of immunoregulatory pathways associated with cancer progression," Surface researchers demonstrate that blockade of IL-27 alleviates an immunosuppressive gene transcriptional program implicated in treatment resistance in cancer: IL-27 induces robust gene expression in human immune cells and cancer cell lines that include several inhibitory receptors and canonical interferon-regulated genes; Both IL-27 and IFNbeta can counteract some of the immune stimulatory properties of PD-1 blockade; IL-27 is expressed by a macrophage population associated with progressive disease in patients with non-small cell lung cancer; These studies elucidate the transcriptional networks engaged after IL-27 signaling in immune and cancer cells and highlight the parallels with interferon-associated immune regulation.

09:04 EST Bon Natural Life announces corporate reorganization, removal of VIE structure - Bon Natural Life Limited announced it has removed its variable interest entity structure and has become the sole shareholder of its operating entities in China. Effective November 1, 2021, the Company reorganized its corporate subsidiary structure in China. As a result of the restructuring, the Company no longer operates through a VIE structure and is now the indirect sole shareholder of Xi'an App-Chem. Xi'an App-Chem is now wholly-owned by the Company's two Wholly Foreign-Owned Enterprises - Xi'an Cell and Molecule Information and Technology Co., Ltd. and Xi'an Youpincui Biotechnology Co., Ltd.. Each of the WOFEs are in turn wholly-owned by Tea Essence, the Company's direct wholly-owned subsidiary in Hong Kong. "We don't expect that the removal of the VIE structure will have any material impact on our operational results or financial performance." commented Richard Hu, Chairman and CEO of Bon Natural Life Limited, "In the meantime, this reorganization demonstrates our dedication and commitment to corporate governance and will help strengthen the organization in advance of key upcoming milestones. We will continue to identify and implement best practices at both business and compliance levels to better position ourselves to benefit our shareholders."

09:04 EST Allegiant Travel reports October traffic up 5.1% vs. October 2019 - Reports October passenger traffic up 5.1% vs. October 2019 to 1,163,152. Reports October revenue passenger miles up 7.4% vs. October 2019 to 1,014,278. Reports October ASMs up 19.6% to 1,358,612.

09:02 EST Conifex Timber announces $9M substantial issuer bid - Conifex Timber announced that our board of directors has approved a substantial issuer bid pursuant to which we will offer to purchase from shareholders for cancellation up to 4.0 million of our outstanding Common shares at a price of $2.25 per Share for a total of $9.0 million. The Purchase Price represents a 28% premium over the closing price of the Shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange on November 8, 2021. The Board has authorized the Offer, which is expected to commence on November 12, 2021 and expire on December 20, 2021, unless extended or withdrawn. Conifex plans to fund repurchases of Shares through available cash on hand. The Offer is denominated in Canadian dollars, and Shareholders will have the option to elect to receive payment in either Canadian or United States dollars. If Shares with an aggregate purchase price of more than $9.0 million are properly tendered and not properly withdrawn, we will purchase the Shares on a pro rata basis after giving effect to "odd lot" tenders, which will not be subject to pro-ration. All Shares that are tendered but not purchased will be returned to shareholders.

09:01 EST ViacomCBS, Gray Television renew CBS TV network affiliate agreements - ViacomCBS (VIACA, VIAC) and Gray Television (GTN) announced a multi-year agreement that renews all 47 of its CBS network affiliations for Gray Television stations, including two top 25 market affiliates, WOIO in Cleveland, O.H. and WBTV in Charlotte, N.C. As part of the agreement, Gray's CBS affiliates will continue to be locally available to subscribers on Paramount+ and widely distributed across vMVPD platforms. "We are happy to have renewed these important license agreements with Gray Television to continue to inform and entertain audiences across the country with CBS' leading programming," said Ray Hopkins, President, U.S. Networks Distribution, ViacomCBS. "This deal underscores our longstanding commitment to building successful affiliate partnerships that create shared and enduring value."

09:01 EST Ziopharm presents preclinical data on TCR-T library approach - Ziopharm Oncology announced the presentation of preclinical data highlighting the potential of neoantigen-specific TCR-T cells for the treatment of solid tumors at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer 2021 Annual Meeting. "We are pleased to share preclinical data demonstrating the versatility of our Sleeping Beauty technology to develop neoantigen-specific TCR-T cells with the potential to address a wide range of solid tumor indications," commented Raffaele Baffa, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer & EVP, Research & Development. "Our TCR-T library approach allows us to develop safe, effective and durable therapies for any patient with a matching neoantigen/HLA combination within our library. We are working diligently to initiate our Phase 1/2 TCR-T Library trial in the first half of 2022 as well as continue to expand our library of TCRs in order to increase the pool of eligible patients who could benefit from these therapies." Presentation title: "Neoantigen-specific TCR-T cells targeting shared hotspot mutations for adoptive cell therapy in common epithelial cancers." In the study presented at SITC, Ziopharm's non-viral gene transfer technology, Sleeping Beauty, was used to develop TCR-T cells targeting EGFR, KRAS and p53 neoantigens, which are present in cancer cells but not in normal tissue, and are presented by a variety of human leukocyte antigen molecules on the cancer cell surface. Ziopharm's Sleeping Beauty technology exhibited greater than 60% expression of the introduced neoantigen-specific TCRs in the generated TCR-T cells. The study demonstrated that the neoantigen-specific TCR-T cells successfully targeted tumor cells expressing EGFR, KRAS and p53 neoantigens in conjunction with the matching HLA restriction. Importantly, these TCR's did not recognize cells lacking the matching mutations and HLA restrictions.

08:59 EST Enphase Energy to host investor day on November 16 - Enphase Energy announced that it will host its Investor Day in San Francisco, CA on November 16, 2021 at 9:00 a.m. PST.

08:56 EST Flagstar Bancorp names Michael Adler as EVP, head of Wholesale Banking - Flagstar Bank has named Michael Adler as executive vice president and head of Wholesale Banking, which encompasses all commercial client coverage teams, treasury management sales, commercial real estate, as well as non-mortgage capital markets, and non-consumer-facing areas such as foreign exchange/swaps. In this position, he will be responsible for transforming Flagstar's commercial business into a scalable platform supporting a national growth strategy to include lending, treasury management, and capital markets serving middle market and mid-corporate clients, the company said in a statement.

08:55 EST RocketFuel Blockchain announces closing of $5M equity round - RocketFuel Blockchain announced that it had closed a $5 million equity raise from a group of institutional investors. H.C. Wainwright & Co. was the placement agent for the offering. RocketFuel believes that the capital will enable it to execute on its aggressive growth plan, which includes its strategic partnership with ACI Worldwide, a leading global provider of real-time digital payment software and solutions. The partnership will enable ACI Secure eCommerce to offer RocketFuel's crypto-payment solution via a single integration, enabling ACI's more than 80,000 merchants to accept cryptocurrency payments with zero processing fees-an industry first. RocketFuel also announced that it had repaid its outstanding convertible note, resulting in the company becoming debt free and eliminating any potential equity dilution from conversions. RocketFuel intends to use the net proceeds of the offering for general corporate purposes and to fund ongoing operations and expansion of its business. RocketFuel plans to expand its in-house software development team and add personnel in compliance, customer service and other key areas, and to add independent directors to its board. RocketFuel's goal is to uplist to Nasdaq or the NYSE American market in 2022. At the annual Money20/20 conference in Las Vegas, RocketFuel announced a new Zero Fee business model where merchants pay zero fees to accept crypto and partners earn commissions on 100% of all revenue and transactions generated by merchants. RocketFuel also recently released its revamped partner dashboard allowing partners to sign up and manage their merchants, including full transparency of transactions, revenue generated, commissions earned, and more.

08:54 EST Lexicon announces new analysis of sotagliflozin results from Phase 3 studies - Lexicon Pharmaceuticals announced that a new analysis of sotagliflozin results from the SOLOIST and SCORED Phase 3 outcomes studies will be presented at the virtual American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2021. The new analysis will be presented by Deepak Bhatt, M.D., M.P.H., executive director of Interventional Cardiovascular Programs at Brigham and Women's Hospital, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and study chair for the SOLOIST and SCORED trials. The presentation is entitled, "Cardiovascular Benefits of Sodium Glucose Cotransporter-1/2 Inhibition with Sotagliflozin Across Baseline Kidney Function."

08:52 EST Immutep reports data from final Phase IIb AIPAC study - Immutep announces final OS data from its Phase IIb AIPAC trial which are being presented in a late breaker presentation at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer, SITC, Annual Meeting 2021 held from 10-14 November 2021. 227 patients with HER2-negative/HR positive metastatic breast cancer were 1:1 randomised in the placebo-controlled, double-blind AIPAC study. The trial evaluated Immutep's lead product candidate eftilagimod alpha, efti, in combination with paclitaxel chemotherapy in comparison to a combination of placebo and paclitaxel chemotherapy. Immutep CEO, Marc Voigt commented: "These very pleasing final results give us additional confidence that efti can ultimately deliver a meaningful clinical improvement for diverse sets of cancer patients. The results from our AIPAC trial are especially pleasing because metastatic breast cancer patients in the chemotherapy setting are a difficult to treat and large patient population where immunotherapies often fail to provide an additional benefit. These supportive results are also timely as we solidify the trial design for our planned Phase III study in metastatic breast cancer, subject to regulatory body interactions." Key Efficacy Results: data cut-off 14 May 2021. Overall population: In the total patient population, final OS data showed patients in the efti group had a median OS of 20.4 months compared to 17.5 months for patients in the comparator group, reflecting a survival benefit of +2.9 months. The minimum follow-up was 22 months and post-study treatment of patients was similar. Predefined patient subgroups: Patients under the age of 65 years reported a median OS of 22.3 months compared to 14.8 months in the comparator group, indicating a survival benefit of +7.5 months favoring the efti group. Patients with a low monocyte count at the commencement of the study reported a median OS of 32.5 months compared to 12.9 months in the comparator group, indicating a survival benefit of +19.6 months favoring the efti group. This supports efti's mode of action as an antigen-presenting cell activator which drives an adaptive immune response. Patients with a more aggressive cancer, characterised as luminal B reported a median OS of 16.8 months compared to 12.6 months in the comparator group, indicating a survival benefit of +4.2 months favoring the efti group. Luminal B cancers are typically more immunogenic. Immuno Monitoring Results: An increase in peripheral CD8 T cells was reported in patients in the efti group, consistent with efti's mode of action as an APC activator. This increase significantly correlated with improved OS, demonstrating strong proof-of-concept in a randomised, double blinded setting. Safety: The combination of efti and paclitaxel chemotherapy was overall safe and well tolerated, further building upon efti's strong safety profile to date. No new safety signals were observed. Next Steps: Immutep is preparing a Phase III investigatation of efti in combination with paclitaxel in metastatic breast cancer.

08:51 EST Galecto CFO buys 3K shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, Galecto disclosed that its CFO Jonathan Freve bought 3K shares of common stock on November 8th in a total transaction size of $10.2K, boosting his stake by about 60%.

08:49 EST AbbVie announces results from Phase 3 SELECT-PsA 1 and 2 trials - AbbVie announced results from new post-hoc analyses from the Phase 3 SELECT-PsA 1 and SELECT-PsA 2 trials assessing the efficacy of upadacitinib, or RINVOQ, on axial symptoms in adult patients with active psoriatic arthritis, or PsA, and axial involvement. The analysis showed that patients with active PsA demonstrated numerically greater clinical responses related to their axial involvement with upadacitinib (15 mg, once daily) compared to placebo at week 24 across both studies and consistently numerically higher responses compared to HUMIRA, or adalimumab, at week 24 in SELECT-PsA 1. Axial involvement was defined by investigator assessment and patient-reported-outcome-based criteria These results will be featured at the American College of Rheumatology, or ACR, Convergence 2021, in an oral presentation on Tuesday.

08:47 EST Lightbridge receives notice of allowance for patent in US for PWR design - Lightbridge announced that it received a Notice of Allowance for a key divisional patent from the United States Patent Office related to Lightbridge's innovative metallic nuclear fuel assembly for Western-type pressurized water reactors, PWR, with square fuel assembly grids. The newly allowed patent is based on the 2014 Patent Cooperation Treaty patent application and broadens the Company's claims directed to a fuel assembly where the cladding at a tip of at least one spiral rib of at least one fuel rod is thinner than the cladding at other tips of the same fuel rod. Seth Grae, President and CEO of Lightbridge, commented: "We are proud to add this latest Notice of Allowance to our growing portfolio of intellectual property that supports our strategy to commercialize Lightbridge Fuel in the United States. The fuel assemblies for all commercial PWR reactors in the United States are of square fuel assembly geometry. Several small modular reactors in development will also need PWR fuel with square fuel assembly designs. We are continually developing new intellectual property around all aspects of our fuel, including technological enhancements, modifications for different reactor types, improvements to manufacturing processes, and more, resulting in being awarded additional patents from the United States, Canada, Japan, and Australia over the past several weeks."

08:47 EST Iteris awarded $1.1M regional smart mobility contract by City of Orange - Iteris announced that it has been awarded a $1.1M contract by the City of Orange for a regional smart mobility, safety and sustainability program, representing continued demand for Iteris' specialized consulting services in southern California, a key geographic market. Under the project agreement, Iteris will make infrastructure upgrades, signal coordination and timing improvements, develop signal timing plans for key signalized intersections, provide vehicle turn movement counts, and perform before-and-after corridor analysis along the Tustin Avenue/Rose Drive corridor from First Street in the City of Tustin to Wabash Avenue in the City of Yorba Linda. The project area comprises 54 signalized intersections spanning six cities - Tustin, Santa Ana, Anaheim, Orange, Placentia and Yorba Linda - as well as key highway on/off ramps under Caltrans in Orange County, California.

08:45 EST Immatics reports data from Phase 1a trial of ACTengine IMA203 - Immatics announced an interim clinical data update from its TCR-engineered cell therapy approach ACTengine IMA203 targeting PRAME. Data from patients treated at the first three of four dose levels of the ongoing IMA203 Phase 1a dose escalation study show a high preliminary objective response rate at doses below 1 billion total transduced cells. The data will be presented as a late-breaking oral presentation on Saturday, November 13 at 12:00-12:15 pm EST at the 36th Annual Meeting of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer. In addition, Immatics will present preclinical proof-of-concept data for its next-generation IMA203CD8 candidate at the SITC Annual Meeting on Friday, November 12 and will provide an overall update on all IMA200 programs including IMA201 and IMA202 in a conference call on November 9, 2021 at 8:30 am EST. In the ongoing ACTengine IMA203 trial, Immatics is treating advanced solid cancer patients utilizing TCR-T cells directed against an HLA-A*02-presented peptide derived from preferentially expressed antigen in melanoma. PRAME is homogenously expressed and highly prevalent across several solid cancer indications. The chosen PRAME target peptide has been identified by Immatics' proprietary mass spectrometry-based target discovery platform XPRESIDENT, demonstrating natural and specific occurrence of the target on tumors at high copy numbers. Clinical and biological activity: IMA203 demonstrates objective responses at low cellular doses across several solid cancer types At data cut-off on October 5, 2021, 18 patients received ACTengine IMA203 T cells across dose level 1 to dose level 4. All patients were heavily pretreated with a median of 4 lines of prior systemic treatment. 16 patients were evaluable for tumor response analysis according to RECIST 1.1 with at least one post-treatment tumor assessment at the time of data cut-off. All 16 patients received dose levels 1 to 3 - below 1 billion total transduced cells. For the remaining 2 patients, the first tumor response assessment is still pending. 15 out of 16 patients achieved disease control. Tumor shrinkage was observed in 14 patients. 8 out of 16 patients showed objective responses; onset of responses in all cases was detected within 6 weeks following infusion of IMA203 T cells. All responses occurred above DL1; 8 out of 13 patients treated at DL20F1 and DL3 receiving up to 0.59 billion total transduced cells had objective partial responses. Responses were observed in patients with synovial sarcoma, malignant melanoma, uveal melanoma, and head and neck cancer. As of data cut-off, partial responses were confirmed in subsequent scans in two synovial sarcoma patients and one uveal melanoma patient. Longer follow-up is required for patients infused at higher dose levels DL3 and DL4 are required to assess response durability and response rate at target dose. IMA203 continues to show high levels of T cell engraftment, persistence, and tumor infiltration at first three dose levels. Clinical response was associated with infiltration of IMA203 T cells into the tumor tissue and showed an emerging trend towards higher peak vector copies of IMA203 T cells in blood - supporting the mechanism-of-action. The ACTengine IMA203 trial is currently recruiting patients to the 4th and highest dose level of the Phase 1a dose escalation cohort. At data cut-off on October 5, 2021, 19 patients were evaluable for safety analysis. Most frequent TEAEs included expected transient cytopenia associated with lymphodepletion and transient low to moderate cytokine release syndrome or immune effector cell associated neurotoxicity syndrome. No additional dose limiting toxicities were observed since the previous data release on March 17, 2021. Following the completion of the dose escalation portion of the study (Phase 1a) and the determination of the recommended Phase 2 dose, Immatics plans to expand the IMA203 study to multiple Phase 1b study cohorts.

08:44 EST Zymeworks launches Phase 3 zanidatamab trial in first-line HER2-positive GEA - Zymeworks (ZYME) announced, together with its partner BeiGene (BGNE), the launch of HERIZON-GEA-01. This is a randomized, global Phase 3 study evaluating Zymeworks' investigational HER2-targeted bispecific antibody, zanidatamab, plus chemotherapy, with or without BeiGene's anti-PD-1-targeted antibody tislelizumab, versus standard of care, trastuzumab plus chemotherapy, for the first-line treatment of metastatic HER2-postive GEA. "We are incredibly excited to launch our second pivotal, and first Phase 3 clinical trial for zanidatamab, HERIZON-GEA-01," said Ali Tehrani, Ph.D., Zymeworks' President & CEO. "Gastrointestinal cancers have significant unmet patient need and we have the opportunity to help a large and growing patient population. With two potential Biologics License Applications over the next 3 years, we believe zanidatamab has the potential to achieve blockbuster status and position Zymeworks as the leader in the treatment of HER2-positive GI cancers." The primary objective of the HERIZON-GEA-01 study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of zanidatamab in combination with physician's choice chemotherapy [CAPOX or FP with or without tislelizumab compared to trastuzumab plus physician's choice chemotherapy in subjects with advanced or metastatic HER2-positive GEA. Primary endpoints are progression-free survival by RECIST 1.1, assessed by blinded independent central review, and overall survival. The HERIZON-GEA-01 study seeks to enroll approximately 700 patients at approximately 300 sites across 38 countries. BeiGene will oversee trial sites in Asia , Australia and New Zealand, and Zymeworks will oversee trial sites in the rest of the world, including North and South America, Japan, Europe, Middle East, and Africa.

08:40 EST Middlefield Banc board increases quarterly dividend 6.3% to 17c per share - Middlefield Banc announced that as a result of the Company's 2021 financial results and performance, the Company's Board of Directors has approved several actions to return additional capital to Middlefield's shareholders. Middlefield's Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of 17c per common share payable on December 15, 2021, to shareholders of record on December 3, 2021. The 2021 fourth quarter dividend payment represents a 6.3% increase over the 2021 third quarter cash dividend payment and is a 13.3% increase over the 2020 fourth quarter payment. In addition, the Board declared a special one-time cash dividend of 4c per common share that will also be payable on December 15, 2021, to shareholders of record on December 3, 2021. "The 13.3% year-over-year increase in our quarterly cash dividend payment, and the $0.04 special dividend payment are the latest measures we have taken to return capital to shareholders. As of September 30, 2021, we have repurchased 346,103 shares of our common stock at an average price of $23.47 per share and represents an average price of 109.7% to our third quarter tangible book value. In addition, the increase in our fourth quarter dividend payment is the second increase in our quarterly dividend payment this year, and the fifth increase in the past five years. Today's actions reflect our strong performance and our long-standing history of creating value for our shareholders," Thomas Caldwell, President and CEO, said.

08:40 EST Moderna files to expand CMA for COVID-19 vaccine to include children - Moderna announced that it has submitted for a variation to the conditional marketing authorization, or CMA, with the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, for the evaluation of a 50 microgram two-dose series of mRNA-12731 in children ages 6-11 years.

08:38 EST Middlefield Banc elects Kevin DiGeronimo to board of directors - Middlefield Banc announced Kevin DiGeronimo has been elected to the Board of Directors of Middlefield Banc Corp., and was named as a member to the Audit Committee. DiGeronimo replaces Clayton Rose, III who announced his retirement from the Board of Directors of Middlefield Banc Corp. DiGeronimo is a principal at the DiGeronimo Companies, a development and construction partner for hundreds of companies.

08:34 EST Blue Apron seeing return to 'relatively normal' customer behavior - Comments taken from Q3 earnings conference call.

08:32 EST AbbVie presents new long-term analysis on Rinvoq in RA - AbbVie announced new results from a post-hoc analysis of the Phase 3 SELECT-BEYOND clinical trial evaluating RINVOQ in patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis on stable background of conventional synthetic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs with prior inadequate response or intolerance to at least one biologic DMARD. Results showed that 34% of patients receiving RINVOQ and background csDMARDs achieved Clinical Disease Activity Index remission at first occurrence of response before week 60, while 79% achieved CDAI low disease activity. Maintenance of response, defined as not losing response at two consecutive study visits, was seen for CDAI remission and CDAI LDA in 39% and 61% of patients, respectively, at 60 weeks. The study results are among the 38 abstracts across multiple rheumatic diseases being presented by AbbVie at the American College of Rheumatology Convergence 2021, taking place virtually Nov. 3-9. Of patients treated with RINVOQ who lost CDAI remission, 58% remained in CDAI LDA, and 22% recaptured remission by the analysis cut-off date. Similar patterns of sustained response were observed for remission and LDA based on Simplified Disease Activity Index criteria.

08:30 EST Esports Technologies files patent for esports wagering modeling system - Esports Technologies announced that it has filed a new patent application covering a modeling system for multiplayer battle games. The system would use a modified statistical distribution for modeling possible outcomes in battle games involving multiple players and teams, the company said in a statement. The systems and methods described in Esports Technologies' patent application detail the use of this statistical tool to represent the exact score distribution of kills in multiplayer online battle arenas. Bart Barden, COO, Esports Technologies, said, "Data analytics is a key competitive differentiator for our company. Esports Technologies' dedicated quantitative analysis team has found what it believes to be a novel way to extract maximum value from the data that is constantly being generated in MOBA games. This patent could significantly elevate the state of the art in esports wagering."

08:29 EST Aravive announces preliminary data from Phase 1b trial evaluating ABV-500 - Aravive announced that "positive" new data from the Phase 1b portion of its open-label Phase 1b/2 trial evaluating batiraxcept, AVB-500, in combination with cabozantinib in patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma, ccRCC, will be presented at the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer's, SITC, 36th Annual Meeting on November 13, 2021. The presentation will highlight interim safety, pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, and clinical activity data. "We are encouraged by the preliminary performance of batiraxcept in combination with cabozantinib in patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma," said Gail McIntyre, Ph.D., DABT, Chief Executive Officer of Aravive. "These results highlight the potential of batiraxcept to improve outcomes for patients with advanced kidney cancer. We look forward to sharing these new clinical data with the research and medical community at this year's SITC Annual Meeting." As of July 21, 2021, seven patients received at least one dose of batiraxcept 15 mg/kg in combination with cabozantinib, six patients were ongoing treatment, and five patients were evaluable for efficacy. No dose-limiting toxicities were observed. Trough levels at cycle 1 day 15 were above the minimal efficacious concentration identified from the Company's model informed drug development approach, and serum GAS6 levels were suppressed prior to cycle 2 day 1. A best overall response of partial response was observed in 3 of 5 patients, based on investigator assessment, RECIST v 1.1 criteria. In addition, all patients demonstrated tumor decrease from baseline.

08:28 EST Chicken Soup for the Soul board sets $10M common stock repurchase authorization - Along with yesterday's earnings release, the company's Board of Directors today approved a two-year authorization for the repurchase of up to $10 million in Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Inc. common stock.

08:26 EST Baker Hughes makes strategic investment in growth stage company Ekona Power - Baker Hughes has announced an investment in Ekona Power a growth stage company developing novel turquoise hydrogen production technology. Through its investment, Baker Hughes will enhance its broader hydrogen and natural gas decarbonization solutions portfolio, further contributing to the energy transition. Turquoise hydrogen is made from methane using pyrolysis, also known as splitting, or cracking. Ekona's methane pyrolysis solution uses combustion and high-speed gas dynamics in a reactor to separate feedstock methane into hydrogen and solid carbon, drastically reducing carbon dioxide emissions versus the traditional and prevalent steam methane reforming process. The innovative solution is designed to easily integrate with standard equipment for natural gas and hydrogen applications including carbon separation and hydrogen purification, thus simplifying industrial process integration. The two companies will join efforts to accelerate the scale up and industrialization of the technology by identifying suitable pilot projects and leveraging Baker Hughes' leading turbomachinery portfolio as well as established technical expertise in providing modular and scalable solutions for global hydrogen and natural gas projects. "This strategic investment further demonstrates our commitment to advancing new energy frontiers by accelerating the pace at which novel technologies are being brought to market," said Rod Christie, executive vice president of Turbomachinery & Process Solutions at Baker Hughes. "Ekona Power's methane pyrolysis platform for the production of cleaner and lower cost turquoise hydrogen builds on our growing and diverse portfolio of decarbonization technologies, including blue and green hydrogen, CCUS and emissions management solutions. Through the adoption of this technology, the industry can leverage existing and abundant natural gas reserves to produce lower carbon hydrogen and accelerate its use across the energy value chain."

08:25 EST Blue Apron plns additional investments in promotions beginning in Q4 - Blue Apron said in slides being presented on the Q3 earnings call that the cash proceeds provided by the capital raise will allow it to lean into scalable growth, predominantly through new and expanded marketing initiatives. "In 2022, we plan to lean further into marketing initiatives already underway, including partnerships, as well as efficiently invest in new customer acquisition channels," Blue Apron said.

08:20 EST Cronos Group files Form 12b-25 - Cronos Group announced that it has filed a Form 12b-25 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended September 30, 2021.The Company has been unable to complete its financial statements for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021 because the Audit Committee of the Company's Board of Directors requires additional time to evaluate goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets in the Company's U.S. reporting unit for impairment. The Company expects that it will record an impairment charge of not less than $220 million on goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets in its U.S. reporting unit for the three and six months ended June 30, 2021 and may incur an additional impairment in the three months ended September 30, 2021. The impairment charge is not expected to impact cash and cash equivalents or revenues. The Company intends to file a complete version of the Form 10-Q with the SEC, together with its corresponding quarterly filings in Canada, as soon as practicable, but does not expect to do so within the five-day extension period afforded by Rule 12b-25 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. This also coincides with the prescribed deadline for the Company's quarterly filings under applicable Canadian disclosure requirements. The Company is working diligently to complete these filings and anticipates, but cannot assure, that they will be finalized and filed within 60 days.

08:19 EST Secoo Holding files annual report on Form 20-F for 2020 - Secoo Holding Limited announced that it filed its annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020 with the Securities and Exchange Commission on November 9, 2021. The annual report on Form 20-F, which contains the Company's audited consolidated financial statements, can be accessed on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov and on the Company's investor relations website at http://ir.secoo.com.

08:17 EST Nuvei sees medium-term revenue growth of over 30% - Sees medium term total volume growth of over 30%. Sees long term adjusted EBITDA margin of over 50%.

08:13 EST PowerFleet selected by Atlas Van Lines to optimize trailer utilization - PowerFleet has signed a national deal with Atlas Van Lines to upgrade its trailer tracking solution. The upgrade will allow Atlas to gain insight into its fleet to improve utilization, optimize fleet size and improve customer satisfaction. Atlas will use PowerFleet's LV-500 along with its cloud-based reporting tool. The solution will provide better asset visibility and increased utilization across Atlas's existing fleet. Using PowerFleet's trailer tracking solution, Atlas will be able to better analyze dormancy and trailer pools at all its agent's locations. The PowerFleet LV-500 delivers frequent reporting on the status and location of trailers through PowerFleet's cloud-based application.

08:11 EST Quantum-Si acquires Majelac Technologies to secure chip supply chain - Quantum-Si announced that it acquired Majelac Technologies, a privately-owned company providing semiconductor packaging and integrated circuit assembly services. The acquisition secures semiconductor chip assembly and packaging capabilities for Quantum-Si in order to secure its supply chain and support scaling commercialization efforts.

08:11 EST Accenture makes strategic investment in genomic analysis firm Geneyx - Accenture has made a strategic investment, through Accenture Ventures, in Geneyx Genomex , an Israel-based developer of genomic analysis and interpretation software. "Geneyx helps improve patient outcomes associated with hereditary and rare diseases by providing disease-specific, clinically relevant insights around risk prediction, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment for clinical and pharmaceutical organizations. Today, many patients receive standardized disease treatments which are safe and efficient, but not adaptive to an individual's unique genetics. Through "New Science". biopharmaceutical companies have made considerable advances in developing targeted treatments, including cell and gene therapies, rapidly moving the industry toward individualized treatments and disease interventions. Yet, often, this data is siloed at hospitals and research institutions, hampering our collective understanding of disease biology and the development of more effective therapeutic options. Geneyx's AI-based platform is an example of New Science in action: it provides biomedical interpretation capabilities that better enables clinicians and researchers to use the power of whole-genome sequencing to advance human health. Geneyx technology leverages AI to improve risk prediction, diagnostic yield, prognostic prediction, and treatment insights supporting clinical decision-making and biopharmaceutical research, which help accelerate the development of targeted and personalized therapeutics," said the company.

08:10 EST Selecta Biosciences expects cash to fund requirements into 2Q23 - Selecta had $140.0 million in cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities, and restricted cash as of September 30, 2021, which compares to cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash of $140.1 million as of December 31, 2020. Selecta believes its available cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities, and restricted cash will be sufficient to meet its operating requirements into the second quarter of 2023.

08:08 EST Shattuck Labs announces preliminary clinical data from ongoing ARC trials - Shattuck Labs announced the first clinical data from its Agonist Redirected Checkpoint, ARC, platform compounds, SL-172154 and SL-279252, in patients with advanced cancer. For SL-172154, initial monotherapy Phase 1 dose-escalation data show favorable safety and tolerability for a CD40 agonist, high levels of CD47 target occupancy and CD40 target engagement, and escalating pharmacodynamic activity in heavily pretreated, platinum resistant ovarian cancer patients. For SL-279252, anti-tumor activity has been observed in heavily pretreated patients, including one confirmed partial response, PR, and a second unconfirmed PR, both in patients with PD-1/L1 inhibitor pretreated non-cutaneous melanoma. Both SL-172154 and SL-279252 have been well tolerated, and a recommended Phase 2 dose has not yet been identified. "We are incredibly pleased to provide our first clinical update for our ARC fusion proteins, SL-172154 and SL-279252, which are both in Phase 1 dose-escalation trials," said Lini Pandite, MBChB, M.B.A., Chief Medical Officer of Shattuck. "The preliminary anti-tumor activity in the first-in-human dose escalation of SL-279252 in a heavily pretreated, PD-L1 unselected patient population, is highly encouraging. In addition, the tolerable safety profile, near-complete target occupancy of CD47 and target engagement of CD40, and compelling pharmacodynamic effects observed give us confidence that SL-172154 has now emerged as a differentiated CD47 inhibitor. Our observations of target occupancy and safety data to date suggests that we will not be limited in continuing dose escalation to identify a recommended Phase 2 dose with maximal pharmacodynamic activity. We are also pleased to report that the Investigational New Drug application is now open to expand clinical development of SL-172154 into studies in AML and HR-MDS."

08:07 EST 36Kr Holdings names Lin Wei as CFO, effective immediately - 36Kr Holdings (KRKR) announced the appointment of Lin Wei as CFO, effective immediately. Wei joined 36Kr in May 2021 as Vice President of Finance and Capital Markets, in charge of the company's financial management, financial reporting, investor relations and financing activities. Before joining 36Kr, Wei served as Head of Investor Relations at iQIYI (IQ) from 2017 to 2020.

08:02 EST Agenus reports Q3 EPS 72c, three estimates 46c - Reports Q3 revenue $252.954M, three estimates $183.11M. "With more than 100 patients treated with our Fc-enhanced CTLA-4 antibody, AGEN1181, we are very encouraged by the clinical responses achieved across tumor types. Of note, we are seeing responses in patients who have failed to respond to all other treatment, including PD-1 inhibitors," said Garo Armen, PhD, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Agenus. "We will be presenting detailed trial results at the SITC conference this week. We have also successfully completed an initial public offering for MiNK Therapeutics, and have launched our adjuvant business, SaponiQx."

08:00 EST Thryv Holdings to launch real-time centralized inbox - Thryv announces it is launching a real-time centralized inbox within its platform later this month. This new platform addition will allow small business owners to communicate with their customers and prospects via webchat, email, text message, Facebook and Instagram messenger apps or Google messenger. All messages will be stored within the CRM contact's file in the centralized inbox. The business can respond in real-time, out of the same centralized dashboard. With the launch of its centralized inbox, Thryv will also provide a fully integrated webchat plugin for small business websites at no additional cost. This will allow website visitors to initiate a conversation with the business at any time.

07:58 EST ContraFect new data from DLA programs presented at NACFC - ContraFect announces that data from the company's DLA programs, including lysin CF-370 and amurin peptide AM1, demonstrate the potential for their development as treatments for pulmonary infections associated with cystic fibrosis. These data were recently presented at the North American Cystic Fibrosis Conference, NACFC, which was held virtually from November 2-5, 2021. These direct lytic agents show in vitro activity against the most prevalent Gram-negative pathogens, including multi-drug resistant, MDR, strains commonly associated with pulmonary infections in patients with cystic fibrosis. Nine of these MDR strains were evaluated. Currently, few treatment options exist to address these infections, and persons with cystic fibrosis are even more vulnerable. The data further support the in vitro activity profile of CF-370 and AM1 against specific Gram-negative pathogens, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, and Achromobacter spp. Raymond Schuch, Ph.D., Vice President, Research, ContraFect Corporation, delivered the poster presentation entitled "Direct Lytic Agents, a Novel Family of Antimicrobial Agents, Exert Potent in vitro Bactericidal Activity Against Gram-negative Pathogens Which Cause Pulmonary Infections in CF Patients, Including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, and Achromobacter xylosoxidans".

07:57 EST Mullen Automotive issues letter to shareholders on merger completion - Mullen Automotive announces today that its reverse merger transaction with Net Element is now complete. The combined company will operate under the name Mullen Automotive. The shares of Mullen Automotive now trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker symbol "MULN." Pursuant to the closing of the merger, there are 51,173,640 million shares issued and outstanding on a fully diluted basis, all of Mullen Automotive' s outstanding common and preferred shares were exchanged for Net Element common and preferred stock; an aggregate of 43,971,895M shares which represents 85% of the combined company, were allocated to holders of common stock, preferred stock and reserved for issuance under outstanding warrants. David Michery, Chief Executive Officer of Mullen Automotive, commented, "We are excited to have completed this merger and our transition to a public company and welcome the Net Element shareholders to Mullen. With the completion of this corporate action, we believe that we are well positioned to continue to further develop our electric vehicle technologies and advance the development and deployment of our previously announced vehicles."

07:54 EST Encompass Health plans to build npatient rehabilitation hospital near Columbia - Encompass Health announced it plans to build a freestanding, 27-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital near Columbia, South Carolina. The hospital will be located at the corner of Evergreen Drive and Shady Lane in Irmo, South Carolina, a suburb of Columbia, and will be built with the capacity to expand to 50 beds. Construction on the hospital is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2022 and the hospital is expected to begin providing inpatient rehabilitation services in the fourth quarter of 2023.

07:52 EST Biohaven Pharmaceutical CEO says NURTEC ODT surpassed revenue expectations - "We are ecstatic with the success that our platform continued to achieve over the quarter, with NURTEC ODT impressively surpassing revenue expectations, and becoming the market leader in oral CGRP targeting migraine therapies," said Vlad Coric, M.D., CEO of Biohaven. "We are further encouraged by the overwhelmingly positive patient experience to date, recognizing the value of providing a solution that will further improve the quality of life of those who are now able to prevent the debilitating effects of migraine. While there remains significant upside for NURTEC ODT across new geographies and patient demographics given the expanded preventive treatment use, we also look forward to the continuous progress made outside of our CGRP franchise and within our broad pipeline." Dr. Coric continued, "We are also excited to have announced a strategic collaboration with pharmaceutical powerhouse Pfizer for the global commercialization ex-US of NURTEC ODT, validating the medicine's dual therapy potential and highlighting our commitment to the more than 1 billion patients worldwide suffering with migraine."

07:51 EST Plus Therapeutics receives FDA fast track designation for 186RNL - Plus Therapeutics announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, has granted the Company Fast Track designation for Rhenium-186 NanoLiposome for the treatment of leptomeningeal metastases, LM, a rare complication in which the disease spreads to the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord, affecting nearly 5% of people living with cancer. The Company recently announced clearance of its Investigational New Drug, IND, application from the FDA, and expects to initiate patient accrual in the ReSPECT-LM Phase 1 dose escalation clinical trial of 186RNL in the fourth quarter of 2021. "The incidence of LM is rising and represents a rapidly progressing and fatal complication of several cancer types," said Marc Hedrick M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Plus Therapeutics. "Based on our clinical experience with 186RNL in glioma and preclinical studies in LM models, we are optimistic that 186RNL may have a therapeutic role in management of this increasingly common cancer."

07:51 EST Royal Caribbean CEO Richard Fain to step down, Jason Liberty to succeed - Richard Fain, whose innovations during more than 33 years as CEO of the Royal Caribbean Group helped shape the modern cruise industry, has decided to step down as CEO on January 3, 2022, the company announced. CFO Jason Liberty will succeed him as CEO and join the Board of Directors. Fain will remain as Chair of the Board of Directors. Liberty joined the Royal Caribbean Group in 2005 and served in several financial, strategic and operational roles before becoming CFO in 2013. His operational duties have expanded over the years and gone well beyond the responsibilities normally associated with a CFO. Liberty is also responsible for Silversea Cruises, the Group's joint ventures with TUI Cruises and Hapag Lloyd Cruises, as well as the Royal Caribbean Group's strategy, technology, supply chain, port operations and legal functions. The company also announced that Naftali Holtz will become CFO when Liberty assumes the CEO role. Holtz is currently senior vice president of finance for the Royal Caribbean Group, responsible for corporate, capital and revenue planning and analysis, deployment planning, risk management and treasury.

07:50 EST Lucira Health CHECK IT PCR Quality, at Home COVID-19 test kit available online - Lucira Health announced that its LUCIRA CHECK IT COVID-19 Test Kit, a self-administered PCR quality, single-use, at home molecular diagnostic test for COVID-19, is available for purchase by Amazon U.S.-customers. "We are delighted that our LUCIRA CHECK IT COVID-19 test kit is once again available to Amazon U.S.-customers," said Erik Engelson, Chief Executive Officer. "Access to a COVID-19 test with the PCR-level accuracy and early detectability that you get from a lab test combined with the speed and simplicity of our test kit can help Americans confidently return to work or school and to get back to gathering live with family and friends this upcoming holiday season. Amazon's reach enables more people in the United States access to this innovative and unique testing solution. The test kit, authorized for emergency use by FDA under EUA, is available over the counter, and can produce a positive result in as little as 11 minutes, or a negative result within 30 minutes.

07:49 EST Tela Bio announces publication of 12-month results from BRAVO study - TELA Bio announced the publication of the 12-month analysis from the BRAVO Study in the Journal of Clinical Medicine. TELA Bio's prospective, single arm, multicenter, post market BRAVO study was designed to evaluate the clinical performance of OviTex 1S with permanent polymer for primary or recurrent ventral hernias. A total of 75 patients were evaluated at 12 months, with only two patients demonstrating hernia recurrence adjacent to the original repair, leaving the primary hernia repair and OviTex intact. The 12-month analysis also showed low surgical site occurrence and surgical site infection rates. Twenty-four-month follow-up has been completed with overall hernia recurrence rates remaining below 5%. Final analysis is underway, and the 24-month BRAVO study results will be presented in a future peer-reviewed publication.

07:48 EST Unity Biotechnology announces 24-week data from Phase 1 trial of UBX1325 - UNITY Biotechnology announced 24-week data from its Phase 1 single ascending dose safety study of UBX1325 in patients with advanced disease from diabetic macular edema or wet age-related macular degeneration. A majority of patients with DME across all doses had rapid improvements in vision, and patients in the higher dose cohorts showed a mean gain of 9.5 ETDRS letters in best-corrected visual acuity at 24 weeks following a single injection of UBX1325. Similarly, a majority of wet AMD patients treated with UBX1325 showed rapid gains in visual acuity, which were maintained through 12 weeks. In most patients, central subfield thickness remained stable through the study period. The study enrolled a total of 19 patients with advanced DME and wet AMD for whom anti-VEGF therapy was no longer considered beneficial. UBX1325 was well-tolerated at all doses tested with no dose-limiting toxicities and no reported incidence of inflammation. The Phase 1 data show rapid improvements in visual acuity as measured by BCVA in patients with DME, with the majority of patients demonstrating sustained responses through 24 weeks: Across all DME patients enrolled, there was an improvement in visual acuity in 6 of 8 patients at 12 weeks, and in 5 of 8 patients at 24 weeksl In the higher dose cohorts, patients had a mean improvement of 9.5 ETDRS letters from baseline at 24 weeks; Amongst all DME patients, 62.5% gained 5 or more letters at 24 weeks, and 50% gained 10 or more letters also at 24 weeks; In the majority of patients with DME, CST remained stable through 24 weeks. Results from Patients with Wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration Treated with UBX1325: The Phase 1 study included 11 wet AMD patients. A majority of patients showed rapid improvements in visual acuity: Across all evaluable patients with wet AMD enrolled, there was an improvement in visual acuity in 7 of 10 patients at 8 weeks, and in 5 of 10 patients at 12 weeks. 2 of 3 patients in the SAD cohort maintained their visual acuity gain through 24 weeks. Within the ten evaluable patients with wet AMD, CST remained stable through 12 weeks; this trend was also observed in the three evaluable patients with wet AMD at 24 weeks, and 2 of those 3 patients showed resolution of most subretinal fluid.UNITY's Phase 2 study of UBX1325 in DME is underway, with 12-week safety and efficacy data anticipated in the first half of 2022. A Phase 2 study in wet AMD is planned for the first half of 2022, with 12-week data expected in the second half of the year.

07:46 EST Tonix presents Phase 1 formulation development data for TNX-601 CR - Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding announced a poster presentation of results from its open-label, Phase 1 clinical study of TNX-601 CR. Tonix is developing TNX-601 CR as a potential treatment for major depressive disorder as well as post-traumatic stress disorder and neurocognitive dysfunction associated with corticosteroid use. A copy of the poster is available under the IR Events tab of the Investors section of the Tonix website at www.tonixpharma.com. CNS Summit 2021 is taking place November 7th - 10th in Boston, Mass. The poster presentations by Greg Sullivan, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Tonix Pharmaceuticals, took place on November 8th and will also be presented on November 9th from 5:00 pm - 7:00 pm ET. The poster, titled, "TNX-601 CR*: a Once-Daily Formulation of Tianeptine in Development for the Treatment of Major Depressive Disorder" provides data related to the Phase 1 pharmacokinetic study in healthy subjects that assessed several novel modified-release prototype formulations of tianeptine oxalate. The study showed that the selected TNX-601 MR1 demonstrated pharmacokinetics appropriate for once-daily dosing with minimal food effect, which is a potential treatment adherence advantage over three times per day dosing of immediate release tianeptine sodium. This MR prototype was selected in the development of the final formulation of TNX-601 CR as a once-daily treatment for MDD. Tonix previously completed a Phase 1 clinical trial for formulation development outside of the U.S. Based on this study, the final formulation of TNX-601 CR to be used in Phase 2 testing will be 39.4 mg tianeptine oxalate and 1 mg naloxone for once daily treatment of MDD. Naloxone is included in the formulation to mitigate the potential for high dose parenteral abuse. Tianeptine has weak off-target activity at the micro-opioid receptor that presents the potential for parenteral abuse with doses on the order of eight to 80 times the therapeutic daily dose for depression. The Phase 2 study design is expected to be a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel group study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of TNX-601 CR monotherapy compared to placebo in MDD. Treatment duration will be six weeks, preceded by up to five weeks in screening and followed by a two-week safety follow-up period. We plan to randomize approximately 260 individuals with MDD at a 1:1 ratio to two arms of 130 each for drug and placebo at approximately 25-30 U.S. sites. The primary efficacy endpoint will be the change from baseline to Week 6 in the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale total score. Enrollment is estimated to start in the first half of 2022, pending clearance of the Investigational New Drug application.

07:45 EST Onex to acquire Fidelity Building Services Group - Onex Corporation announced that Onex Partners V, Onex' $7.2 billion fund, has agreed to acquire Fidelity Building Services Group, in partnership with the company's management team. Fidelity BSG is a leading provider of technical building solutions for the commercial and industrial facilities market, delivering best-in-class, non-discretionary services through every phase of a building's lifecycle. Headquartered in Sparks, Maryland, Fidelity BSG's offering includes a complete range of maintenance, retrofit, replacement and highly engineered design-build services for mechanical HVAC systems, building automation and controls, as well as emergency generators and power systems. The company has over 1,700 team members across 30 locations in 13 states. The transaction is anticipated to close later this year subject to customary closing conditions. With this transaction, Onex Partners V will be approximately 73% invested. The terms of the transaction are not being disclosed at this time.

07:43 EST Sonic Automotive acquires Cook Volkswagen in Fallston, Maryland, no terms - Sonic Automotive announced the acquisition of Cook Volkswagen in Fallston, Maryland. Effective today, the Company will operate the dealership as Volkswagen of Fallston, marking the 89th franchised location in the Company's portfolio and its fourth Volkswagen dealership. The dealership was one of the first Volkswagen franchises in the country and has been in operation for over 50 years. Located 30 miles from Baltimore, the dealership serves residents of Harford County and surrounding areas with new and pre-owned vehicles. "We are excited to expand our automotive sales and service network with Volkswagen of Fallston," said David Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Sonic Automotive and EchoPark Automotive. "The successful longevity of this dealership franchise in the Maryland market, combined with the strength of the Volkswagen brand and group of dedicated teammates, aligns with our company's strategy of providing an exceptional experience to consumers in new markets and attaining $25 billion in revenues by 2025." "This is our fourth acquisition of the year, and we are thrilled to welcome the team from Volkswagen of Fallston into our growing family," said Jeff Dyke, President of Sonic Automotive and EchoPark Automotive. "We are looking forward to continuing our partnership with the Volkswagen brand and extending our exceptional guest experience, quality vehicles, and competitive pricing to consumers in Maryland and surrounding areas."

07:37 EST Points International partners with Air Canada's Aeroplan for new loyalty program - Points (PCOM) announces that it is powering Air Canada's (ACDVF) Aeroplan Booster, a new loyalty solution for the Canadian market designed to offer Aeroplan Members a way to accelerate their reward balances by multiplying points earned on both travel and non-travel related transactions. Rob MacLean, CEO of Points, also commented on the news: "Providing our partners with new ways to engage their members as travel recovers is an important focus for us. We are delighted to be strengthening our partnership with Aeroplan once more with the implementation of this new benefit for their Members. Consumers are eager to travel again; options that offer loyalty members ways to accelerate their earnings and redeem their points for deferred vacation plans are sure to prove popular over the coming months."

07:32 EST Karuna to get $35M +milestones in pact with, Zai Lab to develop KarXT in China - Karuna Therapeutics (KRTX) and Zai Lab (ZLAB) announced their entry into an exclusive license agreement for the development, manufacturing, and commercialization of KarXT, xanomeline-trospium, in Greater China, including mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. KarXT is an oral, investigational M1/M4-preferring muscarinic agonist that stimulates receptors in the central nervous system implicated in various psychiatric conditions. KarXT was designed to unlock the therapeutic potential of xanomeline, which demonstrated significant benefits in reducing symptoms of psychosis in Phase 2 studies in schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease, while ameliorating side effects seen in earlier studies. In the Phase 2 EMERGENT-1 trial, KarXT demonstrated clinically meaningful and statistically significant improvements in the primary endpoint of Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale total score, and in key secondary endpoints, including PANSS-positive subscore and PANSS-negative subscore, at week 5, and was generally well-tolerated. Karuna is evaluating KarXT in late-stage clinical trials for the treatment of schizophrenia and psychosis in Alzheimer's disease. The EMERGENT program, the clinical program evaluating KarXT for the treatment of schizophrenia, is underway. The EMERGENT program is comprised of the previously completed Phase 2 EMERGENT-1 trial and four ongoing Phase 3 trials, with data from EMERGENT-2 and EMERGENT-3, the two Phase 3 acute efficacy and safety trials, expected in mid-2022 and in the second half of 2022, respectively. Karuna plans to initiate the Phase 3 ARISE trial evaluating KarXT as an adjunctive treatment for schizophrenia in adults who inadequately respond to atypical antipsychotics in the fourth quarter of 2021. Additionally, Karuna also plans to initiate a Phase 3 program evaluating KarXT for the treatment of psychosis in Alzheimer's disease in mid-2022 following encouraging results from the completed Phase 1b healthy elderly volunteer trial, which suggest that potentially therapeutic doses of KarXT can be administered to elderly adults while maintaining a favorable tolerability profile. Zai Lab will work with Karuna to design the optimal strategy to accelerate the development and regulatory timeline of KarXT in Greater China. Under the terms of the agreement, Karuna will receive a $35M upfront payment and is eligible to receive up to an additional $80M in development and regulatory milestones. Karuna is also eligible to receive up to $72M in sales milestones and low-double-digit to high-teens tiered royalties based on annual net sales of KarXT in Greater China. Zai Lab will fund substantially all development, regulatory, and commercialization activities in Greater China. "We are thrilled to collaborate with Zai Lab, who shares our commitment to bringing transformative medicines to people living with psychiatric conditions globally," said Steve Paul, M.D., chief executive officer, president, and chairman of Karuna Therapeutics. "With their proven record of successfully developing and commercializing novel therapies in Greater China, we believe that Zai Lab is the ideal partner to expand the global footprint for KarXT alongside our ongoing efforts in the U.S., with the goal of providing meaningful treatments to millions of people living with mental illness globally."

07:28 EST Purple Innovation announces earnings conference call time change - Purple Innovation announced that it has changed the timing of its previously announced earnings conference call. The company will now host a conference call to discuss results for the third quarter of 2021 on Tuesday, November 9, at 4:30 p.m. ET.

07:27 EST Sonoma Pharmaceuticals, Dyamed Biotech expand partnership to Southeast Asia - Sonoma Pharmaceuticals and Dyamed Biotech announce a renewed and expanded long-term partnership for Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand for multiple indications using Sonoma's patented Microcyn Technology. Dyamed Biotech, one of Sonoma's first international partners, commercializes Dermacyn Wound Care, Dermacyn Scarless for Scar Reduction, and Dermacyn Ezyma Spray for itch relief associated with atopic dermatitis. Dyamed expects to launch Ocucyn Eye Care and Oracyn Oral Care in 2022. The Dermacyn line of products are widely used at many hospitals throughout Singapore and Malaysia.

07:24 EST Compass Pathways announces topline results from Phase IIb trial of COMP360 - COMPASS Pathways announced that its groundbreaking phase IIb clinical trial of COMP360 psilocybin therapy for treatment-resistant depression has achieved its primary endpoint for the highest dose, with a 25mg dose of COMP360 demonstrating a highly statistically significant and clinically relevant reduction in depressive symptom severity after three weeks, with a rapid and durable treatment response*. In the randomised, controlled, double-blind trial, a single dose of investigational COMP360 psilocybin was given to 233 patients in conjunction with psychological support from specially trained therapists. All patients discontinued antidepressants prior to participation. The trial was powered to compare two active doses of COMP360, 25mg and 10mg, against a comparator 1mg dose. The 25mg group vs the 1mg group showed a -6.6 difference on the MADRS depression scale at week 3. The 25mg group demonstrated statistical significance on the MADRS efficacy endpoint on the day after the COMP360 psilocybin administration. The 10mg vs 1mg dose did not show a statistically significant difference at week 3. The MADRS was assessed by independent raters who were remote from the trial site, and blind to intervention and study design, effectively creating a triple blind. At least twice the number of patients in the 25mg group showed response and remission at week 3 and week 12, compared with the 1mg group. The protocol-defined sustained response up to week 12 was double, with 20.3% of patients in the 25mg group vs 10.1% in the 1mg group. Using a definition of sustained response* that is consistent with other TRD studies, the difference was more than double, with 24.1% of patients in the 25mg group vs 10.1% in the 1mg group. COMP360 was generally well tolerated, with more than 90% of treatment-emergent adverse events being mild or moderate in severity. 179 patients reported at least one TEAE; the most common TEAEs across treatment groups were headache, nausea, fatigue and insomnia. There were 12 patients who reported treatment-emergent serious adverse events. These TESAEs included suicidal behaviour, intentional self-injury, and suicidal ideation, which are regularly observed in a treatment-resistant depression patient population, and which occurred more frequently in the 25mg group than in the 10mg or 1 mg groups. Overall, 209 patients completed the study; there were five withdrawals from the 25mg group, nine from the 10mg, and 10 from the 1mg. This randomised, controlled, multicentre, double-blind phase IIb trial is the largest psilocybin therapy clinical trial ever conducted, with 233 patients from 10 countries in North America and Europe. 94% of the patients had no prior experience with psilocybin. The objective of the trial was to find the appropriate dose for a larger, pivotal phase III programme, which COMPASS expects to begin in 2022. Depression that isn't helped after two or more adequate antidepressive treatments is referred to as treatment-resistant depression 1,2. More than 100 million people worldwide are affected by TRD1,2, and as many as 30% of these attempt suicide at least once during their lifetime3,4. The TRD population is by definition more difficult to treat and more likely to relapse than patients with major depressive disorder. In 2018, COMPASS received FDA Breakthrough Therapy designation for its COMP360 psilocybin therapy for TRD. Key findings: COMP360 25mg vs 1mg: a difference of -6.6 points in change from baseline in MADRS total scores at week 3, with a statistically significant difference seen from day 2 up to week 6; COMP360 10mg vs 1mg: a non-statistically significant numerical treatment difference of -2.5 points at week 3; At least double the number of MADRS responders, remitters, and sustained responders with 25mg vs 1mg; rapid response and remission from day 2 to week 3; 36.7% in 25mg group showed response at week 3, compared with 17.7% in 1mg group; 29.1% in 25mg group were in remission at week 3, compared with 7.6% in 1mg group; 24.1% in 25mg group were sustained responders at week 12, compared with 10.1% in 1mg group; COMP360 was generally well tolerated, with more than 90% of treatment-emergent adverse events mild or moderate in severity; Treatment-emergent adverse event incidence: 83.5% in 25mg group; 74.7% in 10 mg group; 72.2% in 1 mg group; Treatment-emergency serious adverse event incidence; 6.3% in 25mg group; 8.0% in 10 mg group; 1.3% in 1mg group In addition to this topline data, COMPASS is conducting comprehensive secondary analyses which are expected to further inform the clinical development programme for COMP360 psilocybin therapy. In the meantime, this promising topline data will be shared in an expeditious manner with regulators as part of an ongoing dialogue.

07:23 EST Gol Linhas expects pace of recovery to increase in Q4 - The company said, "The pace of the recovery is expected to increase in 4Q21, supported by the growth of the country's vaccination rate, entry into Brazil's summer high season and the return of international flights. GOL's 4Q21 capacity plan is up by 29% over 4Q20. To meet expected demand, GOL will have 102 aircraft operating its network at the end of the period, representing 112% of the average fleet in 4Q20 and up by 36% over 3Q21. We expect loyalty program revenue of over R$600 million in 4Q21 and the company's consolidated revenue for 4Q21 is expected to increase around 40% year-on-year. GOL expects to close 4Q21 with R$3.8 billion in liquidity and R$15.8 billion in adjusted net debt. We estimate that our frequent flyer program will achieve gross revenues of over R$2.5 billion in 2022."

07:22 EST Uber and EVgo expand partnership for rideshare drivers with 'fast' charging - EVgo (EVGO) announced an expansion to its EV charging program for rideshare drivers on Uber's (UBER) platform. With nearly one million rideshare vehicles on the road, electrification of rideshare provides a significant opportunity to add high-utilization drivers to EVgo's network. Featuring new discounts and benefits for all drivers using Uber, this expanded initiative builds upon the existing program's success to ultimately increase access to, and utilization of, EVgo's network of over 800 public fast chargers -- helping both companies further accelerate the adoption of zero-emission transportation at scale. Rideshare drivers often charge multiple times per day. A recent EVgo survey of drivers in the EVgo program, indicates that approximately 34% of drivers drive 400 to 800 miles each week and another 47% drive more than 800 miles each week and rely heavily on public fast charging. Conveniently located in high ridership urban areas, EVgo's fast chargers enable drivers without access to at-home charging to charge in between Uber trips. "Helping drivers go electric remains one of the most important things we can do as a company," said Adam Gromis, Head of Sustainability Policy at Uber. "The enhanced incentives from EVgo's program help drivers save money and take another step towards transforming Uber into a zero emissions platform." As part of the expanded EVgo Discount Program with Uber, drivers are granted access to discounted EVgo accounts and pricing based on their Uber Pro status. Drivers using Uber -- regardless of status- will continue to be able to access EVgo's member rates without any monthly fees. Drivers with Uber Pro Gold, Platinum, or Diamond status will unlock even lower EVgo Plus rates, saving up to 30% on charging costs over EVgo's standard Pay As You Go rates.* "EVgo's ongoing partnership with Uber tackles access to reliable, affordable and convenient public charging solutions while simultaneously accelerating the electrification of rideshare vehicles," said Cathy Zoi, CEO at EVgo. "We are excited to see more rideshare drivers making the switch to electric and look forward to providing fast charging for high volume rideshare drivers and decarbonizing this growing segment of transportation."

07:20 EST Imara expects cash to fund operations into 1Q23 - The Company currently expects that its full-year 2021 research and development expenses will range between $40 million and $45 million and that its full-year 2021 general and administrative expenses will range between $12 million and $13 million. The Company expects that its cash, cash equivalents and investments as of September 30, 2021 will be sufficient to enable it to fund its planned operations into the first quarter of 2023.

07:19 EST Sarcos Technology provides update on Guardian XT, Guardian XO - In line with the guidance Sarcos gave at its Investor Day in August, the Company continues to expect the first Beta version of its Guardian XT robotic system to be built by the end of 2021, with extensive internal testing of the units during the first half of 2022. Sarcos expects to provide the Beta units to partners and customers for customer pilots in mid-2022. This timing is expected to allow Sarcos to commence initial product of the Guardian XT robotic system at the end of 2022. The Guardian XO industrial exoskeleton has been impacted more severely by supply chain challenges and an XO Beta unit is now expected to be fully assembled in the first quarter of 2022. However, testing at subsystem and link levels of the Guardian XO Beta unit is well under way and key milestones are being achieved as expected. Notwithstanding the near-term supply chain and staffing challenges, the team remains focused on commencing initial production of the Guardian XO exoskeleton by the end of 2022.

07:18 EST LiveOne signs deal with Empire Media Group - LiveOne announced that it has signed an eight-figure deal with Empire Media Group, or EMG, the privately-owned digital-first media company that includes Grazia, RadarOnline.com, OKmagazine.com, Knewz, Front Page Detectives, The Royal Observer, and a variety of other titles within its growing portfolio and subsidiary mix. Under the terms of the partnership agreement, EMG will provide advertising and creative services to LiveOne to support the marketing and commercialization of LiveOne's consumer-facing brands and drive membership of LiveOne's new offerings. Likewise, LiveOne will support the growth of EMG brands throughout its media schedule and events calendar. The strategic cross-promotional partnership commenced November 1 and will run for the duration of three years.

07:15 EST Tango Therapeutics expects cash to fund operations into 2H24 - At September 30, 2021, the Company held $503.8 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, which the company believes to be sufficient to fund operations into the second half of 2024.

07:14 EST GM and EVgo boost build plan for high power fast chargers across the U.S. - EVgo (EVGO) and General Motors (GM) announced an expansion of their fast charging infrastructure build-out collaboration currently underway across the U.S. EVgo and GM previously announced a tripling of the EVgo network with plans to build 2,750 charging stalls through 2025. In response to the growing demand for charging infrastructure and new vehicles coming to market in the later years of the program, EVgo and GM have now expanded their build plan to add another 500 high-powered DC fast charging stalls, bringing the total to 3,250 through 2025 and extending the geographic reach from 40 metropolitan markets to 52. Stations that are part of the program are now live in eight states, including in Georgia, Florida, Pennsylvania, Colorado and North Carolina. The joint program will further accelerate widespread EV adoption and increase public access to charging, including in future markets in Alabama, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Texas. This includes drivers who live in multi-unit dwellings, rent their homes and can't install chargers, or might not otherwise have access to home or workplace charging. These DC charging stalls could also provide a fast charging option for drivers who'd like to charge on-the-go. EVgo will continue scaling fast charging deployments for the program as newer EV models hit the market in the next few years. GM's sustained commitment to electrification includes plans to deliver 30 EV models to the market globally through 2025. The new EVgo sites all deploy cutting-edge power sharing technology, including high power fast chargers capable of delivering up to 350 kW. Sites can provide up to 150 miles of range in 8-12 minutes1 for new 350k -capable EV models coming to market. "As EV adoption picks up momentum across both consumer and commercial segments, the charging infrastructure buildout needs to continue being a few steps ahead of demand. EVgo is committed to reliable and convenient charging for all," said EVgo CEO, Cathy Zoi. "We are thrilled to expand the scope of our collaboration with GM - a testament to our successful partnership. We look forward to working together as we expedite the journey to an electrified future for the betterment of our planet."

07:13 EST GM and EVgo boost build plan for high power fast chargers across the U.S. - EVgo (EVGO) and General Motors (GM) announced an expansion of their fast charging infrastructure build-out collaboration currently underway across the U.S. EVgo and GM previously announced a tripling of the EVgo network with plans to build 2,750 charging stalls through 2025. In response to the growing demand for charging infrastructure and new vehicles coming to market in the later years of the program, EVgo and GM have now expanded their build plan to add another 500 high-powered DC fast charging stalls, bringing the total to 3,250 through 2025 and extending the geographic reach from 40 metropolitan markets to 52. Stations that are part of the program are now live in eight states, including in Georgia, Florida, Pennsylvania, Colorado and North Carolina. The joint program will further accelerate widespread EV adoption and increase public access to charging, including in future markets in Alabama, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Texas. This includes drivers who live in multi-unit dwellings, rent their homes and can't install chargers, or might not otherwise have access to home or workplace charging. These DC charging stalls could also provide a fast charging option for drivers who'd like to charge on-the-go. EVgo will continue scaling fast charging deployments for the program as newer EV models hit the market in the next few years. GM's sustained commitment to electrification includes plans to deliver 30 EV models to the market globally through 2025. The new EVgo sites all deploy cutting-edge power sharing technology, including high power fast chargers capable of delivering up to 350 kW. Sites can provide up to 150 miles of range in 8-12 minutes1 for new 350k -capable EV models coming to market. "As EV adoption picks up momentum across both consumer and commercial segments, the charging infrastructure buildout needs to continue being a few steps ahead of demand. EVgo is committed to reliable and convenient charging for all," said EVgo CEO, Cathy Zoi. "We are thrilled to expand the scope of our collaboration with GM - a testament to our successful partnership. We look forward to working together as we expedite the journey to an electrified future for the betterment of our planet."

07:10 EST scPharmaceuticals expects cash to fund operations into 2023 - scPharmaceuticals ended the third quarter with $85.0 million in cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and investments, compared to $105.3 million as of December 31, 2020. The Company believes its cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and investments are sufficient to fund operations into 2023.

07:07 EST springbig to go public via merger with Tuatara Capital Acquisition - Tuatara Capital Acquisition announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement for a business combination that would result in springbig, a provider of marketing solutions, consumer mobile app experiences, and omnichannel loyalty programs in the cannabis industry, becoming a publicly listed company. Upon closing of the transaction, the combined company is expected to remain listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol "SBIG". The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of fiscal 2022. The estimated post-transaction equity value of the combined company is approximately $500M, assuming $10 per share price and no redemptions by TCAC stockholders. Additionally, a $13M PIPE investment has commitments from Tuatara Capital and existing investors, including TVC Capital, Key Investment Partners, and springbig's Founder and CEO Jeffrey Harris. The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of TCAC and springbig, is subject to approval by TCAC stockholders and other customary closing conditions. Additional information about the proposed transaction, including a copy of the merger agreement and investor presentation, will be provided in Form S-4 to be filed by TCAC with the SEC. Jeffrey Harris, springbig's Founder and current CEO, who brings extensive experience in technology and marketing services, will continue to lead the company following the closing of the transaction. Current CFO, Paul Sykes, who has significant experience in high-growth SaaS businesses in a public company environment, will also continue in his role. Sergey Sherman, Managing Director at Tuatara Capital and CFO of TCAC, will join the Board of Directors of the merged company following the closing of the transaction, with remaining Board appointments expected to be announced in the near future.

07:07 EST Luminar surges after lidar selected for Nvidia autonomous vehicle platform - Shares of Luminar Technologies (LAZR) have surged $8.70, or 50% higher, to $26.20 in pre-market trading after the automotive lidar hardware and software technology company announced today at the NVIDIA (NVDA) GTC conference that its lidar solution has been selected to be part of the sensor suite in the NVIDIA DRIVE Hyperion autonomous vehicle reference platform. "This AI vehicle computing platform accelerates development of autonomous consumer vehicles with planned production starting in 2024," the company stated. Austin Russell, Founder and CEO of Luminar, said: "NVIDIA has led the modern compute revolution, and the industry sees them as doing the same with autonomous driving. The common thread between our two companies is that our technologies are becoming the de facto solution for major automakers to enable next-generation safety and autonomy. By taking advantage of our respective strengths, automakers have access to the most advanced autonomous vehicle development platform." Gary Hicok, Senior Vice President of Engineering, NVIDIA, added: "Our collaboration with Luminar bolsters the DRIVE ecosystem of companies that are focused on building best-in-class technologies for enabling autonomous driving functionalities. Luminar is pioneering a unique, scalable solution that complements the NVIDIA DRIVE Hyperion platform."

06:57 EST BioNTech reaffirms 2021 capex view EUR 175M - EUR 225M - Previous cost guidance maintained for the full 2021 financial year: R&D expenses EUR 950M - EUR 1.05B; SG&A expenses EUR 250M - EUR 300M; Capital expenditures EUR 175M - EUR 225M; Further ramp-up of R&D investment in Q4 2021 planned to expand and accelerate the pipeline development; Ranges reflect current base case projections; estimated annual effective income tax rate approx. 31%.

06:55 EST Bayer continues to expect FY sales EUR 43B - Based on the closing exchange rates on September 30, 2021, the company continues to expect full-year sales to come in at approximately 43 billion euros. This now corresponds to currency- and portfolio-adjusted sales growth of approximately 7 percent (previously: approximately 6 percent). The EBITDA margin before special items is now expected to amount to approximately 25.5 percent (previously: approximately 25 percent). The company is now anticipating core earnings per share of approximately 6.10 euros to 6.30 euros (previously: approximately 6.00 euros to 6.20 euros). Free cash flow is now expected to come in at between approximately minus 0.5 billion euros and minus 1.5 billion euros (previously: between approximately minus 2 billion euros and minus 3 billion euros). The company's forecast for net financial debt remains unchanged at around 35 billion euros.

06:52 EST NexGen Energy awards EPCM contract for Rook I Project to Hatch - NexGen Energy has awarded the engineering, procurement, and construction management, or EPCM, contract for the FEED stage of the Rook I Project to Hatch with work well underway. Hatch is a project management and engineering company with extensive experience delivering mining projects in Saskatchewan and across Canada. The awarding of the EPCM contract comes at the conclusion of a tender process involving multiple industry firms. Integrating fully into the owner's team, Hatch is responsible for providing NexGen with engineering, procurement, and execution planning services, along with supporting overall project management.

06:38 EST Progenity names Adi Mohanty as CEO - Progenity announced the appointment of Adi Mohanty as CEO of the company, effective November 8. Mohanty also joins the Progenity Board of Directors. Previously, Mohanty served as CEO of BioTime.

06:33 EST General Electric to form three public companies - GE announced its plan to form three industry-leading, global public companies focused on the growth sectors of aviation, healthcare, and energy, by: Pursuing a tax-free spin-off of GE Healthcare, creating a pure-play company at the center of precision health in early 2023, in which GE expects to retain a stake of 19.9 percent; and Combining GE Renewable Energy, GE Power, and GE Digital into one business, positioned to lead the energy transition, and then pursuing a tax-free spin-off of this business in early 2024. Following these transactions, GE will be an aviation-focused company shaping the future of flight. As independently run companies, the businesses will be better positioned to deliver long-term growth and create value for customers, investors, and employees, with each benefitting from: Deeper operational focus, accountability, and agility to meet customer needs; Tailored capital allocation decisions in line with distinct strategies and industry-specific dynamics; Strategic and financial flexibility to pursue growth opportunities; Dedicated boards of directors with deep domain expertise; Business- and industry-oriented career opportunities and incentives for employees; and Distinct and compelling investment profiles appealing to broader, deeper investor bases. GE Chairman and CEO H. Lawrence Culp, Jr. said, "At GE we have always taken immense pride in our purpose of building a world that works. The world demands-and deserves-we bring our best to solve the biggest challenges in flight, healthcare, and energy. By creating three industry-leading, global public companies, each can benefit from greater focus, tailored capital allocation, and strategic flexibility to drive long-term growth and value for customers, investors, and employees. We are putting our technology expertise, leadership, and global reach to work to better serve our customers." Culp will serve as non-executive chairman of the GE healthcare company upon its spin-off. He will continue to serve as chairman and CEO of GE until the second spin-off, at which point, he will lead the GE aviation-focused company going forward. Peter Arduini will assume the role of president and CEO of GE Healthcare effective January 1, 2022. Scott Strazik will be the CEO of the combined Renewable Energy, Power, and Digital business while John Slattery continues as CEO of Aviation. GE intends to execute the spin-offs of Healthcare in early 2023 and of the Renewable Energy and Power business in early 2024. The respective capital structures, brands, and leadership teams for each independent company will be determined and announced later. Where required to do so, GE will consult with employee representatives in line with its legal obligations before any final decisions are taken. Through the transition, GE will be able to monetize its stakes in AerCap and Baker Hughes, prioritizing further debt reduction. Each of the three resulting independent companies will be well capitalized with investment-grade ratings. Following the spin-off transactions, GE will retain other assets and liabilities of GE today, including run-off insurance operations. Upon closing the Healthcare transaction, GE expects to retain a stake of 19.9 percent in the healthcare company to provide capital allocation flexibility. GE also intends that Healthcare will issue debt securities, the proceeds of which will be used to pay down outstanding GE debt. The transactions are not subject to bondholder consent. The company expects to incur one-time separation, transition, and operational costs of approximately $2 billion and tax costs of less than $0.5 billion, which will depend on specifics of the transaction. The proposed spin-offs of Healthcare and the Renewable Energy and Power business are intended to be tax-free for GE and GE shareholders for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The transactions are subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions, including final approvals by GE's Board of Directors, private letter rulings from the Internal Revenue Service and/or tax opinions from counsel, the filing and effectiveness of Form 10 registration statements with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and satisfactory completion of financing.

06:31 EST Southwest Gas board rejects tender offer from Carl Icahn - Southwest Gas announced that its board of directors, after a review with the assistance of its external financial and legal advisors, has unanimously determined that the unsolicited tender offer from an affiliate of Carl Icahn to acquire any and all outstanding common shares of the company for $75.00 per share in cash is inadequate and is not in the best interests of all of its stockholders. Accordingly, the board recommends that stockholders not tender any of their shares into the offer.

06:28 EST Haemonetics CFO William Burke to retire - Haemonetics announced that William Burke, executive VP, CFO, has decided to retire from the company. Burke will continue to serve as CFO while the company conducts a search for his successor, and he will work closely with Haemonetics' next CFO through June 30, 2022 to ensure a transition.

06:03 EST Macy's to raise minimum wage to $15.00 per hour - Macy's announced a significant new investment in its colleagues that will expand the breadth and reach of its benefits programs, including launching an industry-leading tuition benefit program and raising its company-wide minimum rate to $15 per hour. The company will also invest to increase compensation and benefits for colleagues across Macy's, Inc. This investment is part of Macy's ongoing commitment to attract and retain talent critical to its continued growth as a digitally led omnichannel retailer and to the execution of its Polaris growth strategy. Beginning in February 2022, Macy's will provide a debt-free education benefit program to its colleagues, investing approximately $35M over the next 4 years. The program will be available for all U.S.-based, regular, salaried and hourly colleagues. It will cover 100% of tuition, books and fees for a wide range of options, including courses for high school completion, college prep, English language learning, associate and bachelor's degrees, bootcamps and professional certificates within Macy's debt-free network. Macy's has partnered with a leading education and upskilling platform, Guild Education, to build the program and help Macy's colleagues gain the skills, knowledge and experience they needed to achieve their professional goals without financial barriers.

05:21 EST Veon signs MoU to launch Astrum IT Academy in Uzbekistan - Veon has signed a memorandum of understanding, or MoU, to become an official partner of Bilim Tech, an education-tech company in Uzbekistan, to launch the Astrum IT Academy, a new tertiary level education institute based in the Tashkent region. The academy will be built as part of an initiative by the Government of Uzbekistan and will educate 2,000 IT students per year with a focus on AI software programming and big data analytics and software engineering. The Astrum IT Academy is a core component of Uzbekistan's Digital 2030 program that seeks to initiate technology-led economic growth within the country. Veon will be supporting the Astrum IT Academy through educational services where Veon IT experts will deliver lectures and run courses for students. Veon will also help students develop advanced IT skills by engaging in real life AI and big data projects. Educational programs will include the development of solutions based on anonymized data and live telco datasets under the supervision of Veon senior engineers. Students at the academy will also benefit from internships at Beeline Uzbekistan and the opportunity to work within other Veon operating companies. The new Astrum partnership follows Veon's existing engagement with education in Uzbekistan, where Beeline Uzbekistan provides equipment and support for secondary schools.