Stockwinners Market Radar for December 07, 2021 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

18:58 EST Hope Bancorp COO Malone to retire effective December 31, 2021 - Hope Bancorp announced the planned retirement of President and Chief Operating Officer of Bank of Hope David P. Malone effective December 31, 2021. Mr. Malone will continue to serve as a member of the board of directors of the Hope Bancorp and Bank of Hope. The Company also announced the promotion of Peter Koh to Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Bank of Hope effective January 1, 2022. In connection with the retirement of Mr. Malone as President of the Bank, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Bank Kevin S. Kim will re-assume the role of President of the Bank. Previously from July 29, 2016, Mr. Kim had served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and Bank prior to the appointment of Mr. Malone as President of the Bank effective July 1, 2019.

18:25 EST Starbucks CEO: We respect the process we're going through with the NLRB - In an interview on CNBC's Mad Money, Kevin Johnson said there are only three stores looking to unionize out of thousands. The company has always been partner-centric, putting its partners first, and it will get through this period, he noted. "Using our scale for good has always been at the heart of our values," he added. Johnson said consumer demand is strong and recruiting efforts have been increased.

17:54 EST Twitter testing overhauled tweet reporting process - Twitter said it is testing an overhauled reporting process that "will make it easier for people to alert them of harmful behavior." "The new approach, which is currently being tested with a small group in the US, simplifies the reporting process," the company said. "It lifts the burden from the individual to be the one who has to interpret the violation at hand. Instead it asks them what happened. This method is called symptoms-first, where Twitter first asks the person what's going on. Here's the analogy the team uses: say you're in the midst of an emergency medical situation. If you break your leg, the doctor doesn't say, is your leg broken? They say, where does it hurt? The idea is, first let's try to find out what's happening instead of asking you to diagnose the issue." Reference Link

17:24 EST Casey's General Stores expects to add 225 units in FY22, up from 200 previously - The company is updating the previously disclosed 2022 outlook as follows: Due to the recently announced 40-store acquisition of Pilot convenience stores, the company now expects to add approximately 225 units during fiscal 2022, up from the previously disclosed 200 units. This pending transaction is expected to be EBITDA accretive in fiscal 2022. Total operating expenses are expected to increase in the high-teen percentages, versus the previously disclosed mid-teens percentages, due to the additional units as well as elevated credit card fees brought on by higher retail fuel prices. The impact to the second half of the fiscal year will be an approximate 18%-20% increase in the third quarter and an 11%-13% increase in the fourth quarter. Interest expense is expected to be approximately $55M versus the previously disclosed $50M, depreciation and amortization is expected to be approximately $310M compared to the previously disclosed $300M, and the purchase of property and equipment is expected to be approximately $400M versus the $500M previously disclosed as the company reduced new store construction due to the increase in acquisition activity. As noted at the end of the first quarter, the tax rate is expected to be approximately 24.0%-26.0% for the year.

17:17 EST Epam Systems to replace Kansas City Southern in S&P 500 at open on 12/14 - Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) is acquiring Kansas City Southern (KSU) in a transaction expected to be completed on or about that date pending final approvals.

17:05 EST West Fraser Timber appoints Sean McLaren as COO - West Fraser Timber announced that Sean McLaren, currently the Company's President, Solid Wood, will become the Company's COO.

17:04 EST Stitch Fix CFO says delays in inventory receipts to continue in Q2 and beyond - CFO Dan Jedda says: "Net inventory ended the quarter at $184M, down 13% quarter-over-quarter. While we continue to add selection throughout the quarter, we did experience delays in receipts primarily due to shipping delays in the global supply chain. We are currently experiencing delays from 1 to 4 weeks, and we expect these delays to continue in Q2 and beyond." Comments taken from Q1 earnings conference call.

16:54 EST AT&T CFO says company on track to add at least 1M fiber subscribers in 2021 - Pascal Desroches, CFO of AT&T, spoke at the Barclays Global Technology, Media and Telecommunications Conference where he provided an update to shareholders. He made the following points: The company is delivering on its objective to grow customer relationships across wireless, fiber and HBO Max. AT&T's wireless business has good momentum, is taking share and is growing revenues, subscribers and profitability. The company is confident that its strong wireless performance will be sustainable. While AT&T's forecasts do not factor in expectations of current robust wireless industry trends to continue, the company does not see signs of any near-term slowdown in demand levels. The company continues to increase penetration across its fiber footprint and is on track to add at least 1M fiber subscribers for the fourth consecutive year. Increases in fiber subscribers helped AT&T reach an inflection point in the third quarter of 2021, with broadband revenue growth outpacing declines in legacy revenues. In the third quarter of 2021, fiber subscribers, revenues and profits grew in AT&T's consumer wireline business, and those trends are expected to continue in 2022.

16:49 EST Microsoft, DOJ resolve discrimination allegations - The Department of Justice announced it has reached a settlement agreement with Microsoft Corporation resolving allegations that the company discriminated against non-U.S. citizens based on their citizenship status during the early stages of Microsoft's hiring process by asking them for unnecessary, specific immigration documents to prove they could work for the company without needing its sponsorship for work visas. The settlement also resolves claims that the company discriminated against lawful permanent residents whom the company asked for more or different documents than legally required, to reverify their continuing permission to work in the United States. The department's independent investigation began after a Microsoft applicant's spouse called IER's hotline to report that the company asked her husband for his Permanent Resident Card while he was applying for a job at Microsoft's Redmond, Washington, facility. The investigation found evidence that the company repeatedly asked lawful permanent residents, refugees and asylees to undergo an evaluation of their need for Microsoft to sponsor them for an employment-based visa even though they do not require sponsorship to work in the United States. The investigation determined that the company discriminated against at least six lawful permanent residents based on their immigration status during this visa evaluation process, by asking them to show a Permanent Resident Card to prove they had permission to work without employer sponsorship. The investigation also determined that from at least June 2019 until at least January 2020, Microsoft routinely sent emails to lawful permanent residents asking them for documents to confirm their continued work authorization even though they had already provided documents showing permanent work authorization.

16:39 EST Toll Brothers sees FY22 deliveries 11.25K-12.0K units - Sees FY22 average delivered price per home $875K-$895K and adjusted home sales gross margin of 27.5%

16:36 EST Neurocrine reports 'positive' Phase 3 data for KINECT-HD study - Neurocrine Biosciences announced positive top-line data from its Phase 3 KINECT-HD study evaluating the efficacy, safety and tolerability of valbenazine, a selective vesicular monoamine transporter 2 inhibitor being investigated as a once-daily treatment in adults with chorea associated with Huntington disease. The study met the primary endpoint of reduction in severity of chorea, the cardinal motor feature in Huntington disease, as measured by change in the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale Total Maximal Chorea score from baseline to the average score at weeks 10 and 12. In the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled KINECT-HD study, treatment with valbenazine resulted in a placebo-adjusted mean reduction in the TMC score of 3.2 units, indicating a highly statistically significant improvement in chorea. The TMC score is part of the motor assessment of the UHDRS and measures chorea in seven different body parts, including the face, oral-buccal-lingual region, trunk and each limb independently. The TMC score is the sum of the individual scores and ranges from 0 to 28. The secondary endpoints of Clinical Global Impression of Change Response Status and Patient Global Impression of Change Response Status were also statistically significant in favor of valbenazine treatment. The treatment emergent adverse events observed in this trial were consistent with the known safety profile of valbenazine. No suicidal behavior or worsening of suicidal ideation was observed in the valbenazine-treated subjects in this study. Data from the Phase 3 KINECT-HD study will be presented at a medical conference in 2022.

16:32 EST Broadcom to acquire AppNeta, terms not disclosed - Broadcom announced its intent to acquire privately held AppNeta Inc. headquartered in Boston, MA. AppNeta is a SaaS-based network performance monitoring solution for the distributed enterprise, providing IT teams with precise, end-to-end visibility into network performance from the end user's point of view, independent of what network they use to access applications. "We are excited about the new Digital Experience Management (DEM) capabilities AppNeta will add to our DX NetOps network monitoring solutions. Hybrid cloud deployments, work from home and prevalence of SaaS-based applications have made enterprises incredibly reliant on the Internet to deliver business-critical applications to employees and customers," said Serge Lucio, vice president and general manager, Enterprise Software Division, Broadcom. "Visibility and control for most performance management teams ends at corporate network boundaries. With AppNeta, DX NetOps solutions by Broadcom Software have visibility into Internet connections and can monitor and manage digital experiences for any user across any cloud, mobile, SaaS or remote work scenario."

16:31 EST Colliers International declares semi-annual cash dividend of 15c - Colliers International Group announced that its Board of Directors has declared a semi-annual cash dividend on the outstanding Subordinate Voting Shares and Multiple Voting Shares 15c per Common Share, up from 5c per Common Share previously. The dividend is payable on January 12, 2022 to holders of Common Shares of record at the close of business on December 31. There were 44,028,394 Common Shares outstanding as of September 30, 2021. The dividend is an "eligible dividend" for Canadian income tax purposes.

16:31 EST Wynn Resorts names Julie Cameron-Doe as new CFO - Wynn Resorts announced it will appoint Julie Cameron-Doe as its Chief Financial Officer, effective in the second quarter of 2022 on completion of her notice period with her current employer. Ms. Cameron-Doe will succeed Craig Billings, who will become the company's CEO early next year.

16:29 EST Dave & Buster's sees Q4 SSS 'slightly positive' vs. Q419 - Fourth quarter comparable store sales to be slightly positive compared with the fourth quarter of 2019. Walk-in comparable store sales are expected to remain strong, while Special Events comparable store sales will be a temporary headwind and will have a larger impact on total comparable store sales due to higher historical weightings in the fourth quarter. Fourth quarter Adjusted EBITDA margin to increase by approximately 200 bps compared with the fourth quarter of 2019. A total of four new store openings during fiscal year 2021 and the relocation of one existing location. Fiscal 2021 capital additions of approximately $100 million, with approximately 43% dedicated to new stores and improvements to existing stores, 14% for games, and 43% for infrastructure upgrades and replacements.

16:26 EST Zoetis authorizes $3.5B share buyback program, raises quarterly dividend 30% - Zoetis announced that its Board of Directors has approved a $3.5B share repurchase program as part of its capital allocation plans. The shares are expected to be repurchased over a multi-year period, and the program can be cancelled at any time. The company's previous $2B share repurchase program, which was approved in December 2018, is expected to be completed in 2022. The company also declared a dividend of 32.5c per share for the first quarter of 2022, an increase of 30% from the quarterly dividend rate paid in 2021. The dividend will be paid on Tuesday, March 1, 2022, to all holders of record of the company's common stock as of the close of business on Thursday, January 20, 2022.

16:21 EST Dare announces FDA approval of XACIATO vaginal gel for bacterial vaginosis - Dare Bioscience announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved XACIATO for the treatment of bacterial vaginosis in females 12 years of age and older. "The FDA approval of XACIATO marks a major milestone not only for Dare as a company but, importantly, for the 21 million women impacted by bacterial vaginosis," said Sabrina Martucci Johnson, President and CEO of Dare Bioscience. "It is our goal as a company to accelerate the development of differentiated products that can improve outcomes and convenience for women. In the case of XACIATO, this FDA approval comes just three years after we licensed this technology. We are grateful to the FDA for their thoughtful review and the alignment on labeling that gives healthcare providers clear insights into how to use XACIATO in those patient populations in greatest need of a therapeutic option, such as pregnant women and women with recurrent episodes of bacterial vaginosis. We hope that this is the first of many FDA approvals in our efforts to improve the lives of women with treatment options that address some of the most persistent unmet needs." "Bacterial vaginosis is not a sexually transmitted infection, but rather an overgrowth of bacteria naturally found in the vagina, which upsets the balance of the natural vaginal microbiome and leads to not only distressing symptoms of odor and discharge, but also increases a woman's risk of preterm birth, infertility, and infections. Today, approximately half of the women treated for bacterial vaginosis experience a recurrence within 12 months of treatment. There is a need for more efficacious and convenient treatment options, particularly products with improved clinical outcomes for not only the newly diagnosed women, but, importantly, also for the women who experience multiple episodes of bacterial vaginosis each year," said David Friend, Ph.D., Dare's Chief Scientific Officer. "Now that we have achieved this important demonstration of this drug delivery hydrogel platform technology, we are actively exploring the opportunity to leverage it across other unmet needs in women's health."

16:20 EST Dover Fueling Solutions, Worldwide partner on P2PE data security offering - Dover Fueling Solutions, a part of Dover (DOV) announced a collaboration with ACI Worldwide (ACIW) on a point-to-point encryption data security offering. The joint offering increases protection for consumers' credit and debit cards at fueling dispensers, significantly reducing the risks of costly data breaches for these merchants. The joint solution focuses on encrypting PCI cardholder data immediately at the point of interaction, and it protects the data from the point it is entered to the point it is decrypted at the payments platform. This technology protects sensitive data from skimmers, network sniffers, malware and other threats on both internal and external networks. P2PE is foundational in securing a payments network.

16:18 EST Redwood Trust raises quarterly dividend 9.5% to 23c from 21c per share - This is the company's 90th consecutive quarterly dividend. The fourth quarter dividend is payable on December 28 to stockholders of record on December 17.

16:18 EST California Water Service appoints Chief Water Resource Sustainability Officer - California Water Service Group announced the promotion of Kenneth Jenkins to Chief Water Resource Sustainability Officer, effective January 1, 2022. Jenkins will lead efforts to augment water supplies in the face of worsening droughts and other climate change challenges. Jenkins joined Group subsidiary California Water Service as Government & Community Relations Manager in 2005.

16:16 EST TechnipFMC awarded multi-year surface technologies contract by ADNOC - TechnipFMC, through Gulf Automation Services and Oilfield Supplies LLC, has been awarded a major 10-year framework agreement for wellheads, trees and associated services by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company. Under the framework agreement, TechnipFMC will further grow in-country talent and expand existing manufacturing, assembly and test capabilities in Abu Dhabi in order to deliver the Company's complete portfolio of surface wellheads and trees locally. For TechnipFMC, a "major" contract is over $1B. A portion of this award will be inbound in future periods.

16:13 EST Franchise Group to sale of W.S. Badcock non-core assets by 2Q22 - Franchise Group anticipates it will complete sale of non-core assets acquired from W.S. Badcock by end of its Fiscal 2Q of 2022 and will reduce net debt from approximately $1.7 B today to approximately $1.1 B of net debt by FY22-end.

16:13 EST Geospace awarded $6.9M sensor contract - Geospace Technologies announced a $6.9M contract with an international seismic contractor to deliver a significant number of specialized geophones designed for vibration monitoring in rugged environments. The geophones will be produced in the company's manufacturing facilities with deliveries expected to begin in May 2022.

16:10 EST Stitch Fix down 19.5% after reporting Q1 earnings, giving Q2 guidance

16:06 EST Franchise Groupboosts dividend 40% to 62.5c per share - Franchise Group announced that its Board of Directors approved a 40% increase to its quarterly cash dividend to common stockholders of $0.625 per share. The cash dividend will be paid on or about January 15, 2022 to holders of record of the Company's common stock on the close of business on December 31, 2021.

15:11 EST Google Meet, Cisco Webex introduce video conferencing interoperability - Google (GOOGL) said in a blog post: "We're introducing video conferencing interoperability for Google Meet with Cisco Webex, which will allow you to: Join Webex meetings from Google Meet hardware devices; Join Google Meet calls from supported Cisco Webex devices. Please note that core video conferencing features are supported. Some advanced features, such as polls, breakout rooms, and dual-screen support, may not be available when using Meet hardware to join Webex calls and vice versa." Reference Link

14:49 EST Aytu BioScience treatment of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome granted orphan status - Aytu BioScience's enzastaurin was granted FDA orphan designation as a treatment of Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, according to a post to the agency's website. Reference Link

14:27 EST LivaNova sees adjusted operating margin for Core between 25%-30% in 2024 - The company also sees adjusted operating margin for Core plus Strategic Portfolio Initiatives, or SPIs, between 17%-22% in 2024, according to LivaNova's Analyst Day presentation slides. Additionally, the company reaffirmed its 2021 guidance issued November 3rd.

13:45 EST Sorrento Therapeutics begins enrollment in Phase 2 trial of resiniferatoxin - Sorrento Therapeutics announced that the Phase 2 clinical study of RTX for treating knee pain from osteoarthritis has begun enrollment. This study is a multi-center, double blind, placebo- and active-controlled study to assess the safety and efficacy of several dose levels of RTX to manage pain in patients associated with moderate-to-severe OA of the knee. Given the durability of the OA pain relief response to RTX demonstrated thus far, the study includes an active comparator to demonstrate superiority and duration of the RTX efficacy response. All patients will be followed for at least one year. This Phase 2 study follows the completion of the Phase 1b RTX trial, a double-blinded, placebo-controlled ascending dose study in 94 patients after a single intra-articular administration with one year follow-up. Patients experienced 6 months of pain relief on average, however several patients continued to report relief 3 years after injection. The magnitude of the difference in the treatment effect at 12 weeks was greater than 2 points reduction in WOMAC A1 10-point scale question "pain at walking on flat surface" compared to placebo.

13:00 EST Enfusion names Bronwen Bastone chief people officer - Enfusion announced the appointment of experienced human capital management professional, Bronwen Bastone, as Chief People Officer, and global financial industry veterans Jan Hauser and Kathleen DeRose to its Board of Directors. "We are pleased to welcome Bronwen, Jan, and Kathleen, all of whom bring significant industry experience to our robust leadership team at Enfusion," said Thomas Kim, CEO of Enfusion. "Our people are at the heart of all we do, and we are thrilled to have Bronwen continue to cultivate our unique culture and develop top talent that support our highly differentiated solutions and market-leading client service."

12:46 EST Ubisoft introduces playable NFTs to 'Ghost Recon: Breakpoint' - Ubisoft said it is introducing Ubisoft Quartz, the "first energy efficient" NFTs playable in a AAA video game. Quartz will come to "Ghost Recon: Breakpoint" in a beta starting December 9 with three free cosmetic drops. Reference Link

12:37 EST Paccar declares regular 34c cash dividend, additional $1.50 extra dividend - Paccar announced that its board of directors has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of 34c per share, payable on March 1, 2022, to stockholders of record at the close of business on February 8, 2022. In addition, the board of directors declared an extra cash dividend in the amount of $1.50 per share, payable on January 5, 2022, to stockholders of record at the close of business on December 17, 2021. "Paccar's profits and strong cash flow have enabled the company to invest in innovative vehicle development, new and expanded manufacturing and distribution facilities, environmental leadership, and emerging technologies such as autonomous driving, zero emissions powertrains and connected vehicles. Paccar has implemented excellent health protocols in its facilities worldwide and has proactively partnered with suppliers to enhance vehicle production. Customer demand is strong for the DAF, Kenworth and Peterbilt new truck models launched this year, and 2022 should be another good year," said CEO Preston Feight.

12:33 EST FDA approves Dare Bioscience's Xaciato vaginal gel - A post to the site of the FDA indicates that Dare Bioscience's Xaciato vaginal gel was granted approval for the indication of treatment of bacterial vaginosis in female patients 12 years of age and older. Shares Dare Bioscience were halted, pending news, ahead of the decision from the FDA on DARE-BV1, which was assigned a PDUFA date of December 7. Dare shares remain halted for trading as of the time of this writing. Reference Link

12:04 EST General Mills chief transformation, enterprise services officer to retire - General Mills announced that John Church will retire as chief transformation and enterprise services officer on January 31, 2022. Church joined General Mills in 1988, and currently leads large-scale transformation efforts associated with General Mills' Accelerate strategy, with additional accountabilities for the company's sustainability and global impact, security and shared services functions. Prior to his current role, Church served as chief supply chain officer for 13 years with global accountability for procurement, logistics, manufacturing, engineering and human safety; corporate social responsibility, security and global shared services were added in 2017.

12:00 EST Small Cap Bear 3x falls -8.6% - Small Cap Bear 3x is down -8.6%, or -$2.53 to $26.73.

12:00 EST Designer Brands rises 18.3% - Designer Brands is up 18.3%, or $2.48 to $15.97.

12:00 EST Jumia Technologies rises 21.1% - Jumia Technologies is up 21.1%, or $2.33 to $13.40.

11:52 EST Users reporting issues with Amazon Web Services, says Downdetector - Reference Link

11:30 EST Altice USA sees subscriber trends trending towards being slightly negative in Q4 - Altice USA CEO Dexter Goei said that it's difficult to predict broadband subscriber trends, though he noted that the company is probably trending towards being slightly negative in Q4 in terms of subscriber growth, which would lead to the company being down about 5,000-10,000 for the year. Goei added that that view would be on the lower end of estimates at the moment, though he noted that gross adds have "meaningfully improved." The CEO also said that he is seeing deceleration "across the board," and there are a couple quarters going into 2022 where he expects to ramp up goig into the back end of 2022 as the company starts delivering the CapEx and some of the initiatives on distribution. Comments taken from the UBS Global TMT Conference.

11:15 EST Exxon Mobil acquires Materia, terms not disclosed - ExxonMobil Chemical Company has acquired California-based Materia, Inc., a technology company that has pioneered the development of a technology for manufacturing a new class of materials. The innovative materials can be used in a number of applications, including wind turbine blades, electric vehicle parts, sustainable construction, and anticorrosive coatings. ExxonMobil and Materia have been collaborating since 2017 on the development of new hydrocarbon-based materials that are stronger, lighter and more durable than existing thermoset products such as epoxy. In the wind power industry, these benefits could enable the design of longer, more durable wind turbine blades for more efficient renewable electricity production. Due to their strength, the materials could also be used as a light-weight, corrosion-resistant replacement for steel in certain construction applications. The materials take advantage of revolutionary catalyst discoveries made by professor Dr. Robert Grubbs and his research team at the California Institute of Technology. Grubbs received the 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for these discoveries. The acquisition includes Materia's headquarters and technology center in Pasadena, California and its manufacturing facility in Huntsville, Texas. ExxonMobil intends to operate the business under the Materia company name as a wholly owned affiliate.

11:07 EST Interhealth to expand American HealthTech partnership - American HealthTech announced that Interhealth has expanded its partnership with AHT. Interhealth previously selected the Software-as-a-Service licensing agreement for both the AHT EHR solution and the full Revenue Cycle Management product suite offered through CPSI subsidiary, TruBridge. As Interhealth expanded its portfolio of post-acute facilities from 11 to 13 locations in Oklahoma, they needed to decide whether to utilize the existing AHT solution, or retain the solution previously used by the newly acquired facilities. Given the strong partnership already in place with AHT, as well as access to ongoing product enhancements that could create a more efficient workflow, a decision was made to continue working with AHT. As a result, Interhealth will be adding AHT clinical, billing, and financial software solutions to its newest facilities, resulting in one integrated solution for all 13 Interhealth locations.

11:00 EST J.F. Lehman & Company investment affiliate completes Narda-MITEQ acquisition - J.F. Lehman & Company announced that an investment affiliate has completed the acquisition of the assets of the Narda-MITEQ division and the stock of Narda Safety Test Solutions from L3Harris Technologies. Narda-MITEQ is a leader in the design, engineering and manufacturing of custom radiofrequency and microwave subsystems and components for defense and commercial end markets. The Company's highly engineered solutions facilitate the conditioning, management and transfer of RF and microwave energy in demanding operating environments across a variety of radar, space, test and measurement and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance applications. With a legacy dating back to 1953, Narda-MITEQ employs approximately 400 individuals across three facilities in Hauppauge, NY, Pfullingen, Germany and Cisano, Italy.

10:49 EST Comcast down 5% after issuing updated broadband additions guidance - Dave Watson, the President and CEO of Comcast Cable, said earlier at the UBS TMT conference that "financially where we are for the fourth quarter, we now expect that for EBITDA, we're going to be in the 7% to 8% range for the fourth quarter." He added, according to a transcript of the event: "When you look at free cash flow, we expect free cash flow to be in the low double digits. And so the formula is working. We continue to have really consistent, solid performance. And when you go just to step down in some of the drivers that get to that EBITDA growth, you look at business services, kind of right out of the gate, that we're at a $9 billion annual run rate of revenue. And for the fourth quarter, business services is going to be in the low double digits... Wireless, another key driver that we had a solid Q3, [285,000]. We will beat that in the fourth quarter. So we'll set a record for wireless lines that we'll add. Advertising, solid, better than we thought, including the political comparisons, so really solid there... So you go then to broadband. In broadband, that we're going to have wrap up the fourth quarter and deliver with the fourth quarter a really solid year. We're going to be around 1.3 million net broadband additions for the year... It was a different second half than the first half for sure, but still a solid overall year. And the fundamentals of where we're at, penetration just above 50%, very, very good churn rates. And so the key for us is to be in position when things begin to normalize on the connect side because it really is a connect-related issue. When those things do occur, then we're going to be in a position to compete and we're prepared to do that. But overall, when you look at the entire year financially, the growth drivers, including broadband, we're quite pleased with how the year is shaping up, in good position to continue to go at it next year." In morning trading following the guidance at the conference, Comcast shares are down $2.77, or 5%, to $49.58.

10:26 EST Bank of America CEO sees 1%-2% expense growth for next year - Brian Moynihan, Bank of America Chairman and CEO, said during the Goldman Sachs U.S. Financial Services Conference that he sees 1%-2% expense growth for next year. "We'll be up a few hundred million for this quarter over the last quarter [...] but what we do within that, that is the key."

10:24 EST AeroVironment trading resumes

10:22 EST AeroVironment says remains well positioned despite 'current market headwinds' - The company said in today's earnings release, "Despite current market headwinds, we remain well positioned to deliver long term shareholder value through our focus on winning new business leveraging our innovative capabilities and industry-leading technology. While resetting our expectations for 2022, we are taking all steps available to mitigate these challenges going forward, ensuring the company remains on track for a fifth consecutive year of top-line growth and a path to higher investor returns."

10:18 EST AeroVironment trading halted, volatility trading pause

10:17 EST Twitter acquires Quill, terms not disclosed - In a tweet, Nick Caldwell, general manager for core tech at Twitter, said, "Excited to share that today we're welcoming @QuillChat to Twitter! .@ludwig and his talented team built Quill as a fresher, more deliberate way to communicate. We're bringing their experience and creativity to Twitter as we work to make messaging tools like DMs a more useful & expressive way people can have conversations on the service." Reference Link

10:14 EST Usio, Voyager Digital extend exclusive ACH payments processing relationship - Usio, Inc. (USIO) announced that it extended an exclusive agreement to provide Automated Clearing House payment solutions to leading cryptocurrency platform Voyager Digital (VYGVF) for another three years, continuing a relationship that began in 2018.

10:10 EST Borr Drilling approves 2-to-1 reverse split to regain NYSE compliance - Borr Drilling refers to the announcement issued June 29 regarding the notice from the New York Stock Exchange that the company was not in compliance with the NYSE continued listing standard as the average closing price of its common shares had fallen below $1.00 per share over a period of 30 consecutive trading days. Today, the company announces that its board has approved a 2-to-1 reverse share split of the company's shares "in order to cure this non-compliance."

10:08 EST International Isotopes announces exclusive licensing deal for antibody test - International Isotopes announced updated information regarding research it has been funding towards an advanced disease testing procedure for SARS CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID pandemic. International Isotopes has executed an exclusive licensing agreement with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for a patent pending radiolabeled antibody test for detecting SARS-CoV-2. On January 21, 2021, International Isotopes first announced that it had been funding the research and development of an advanced COVID test at a leading research hospital, and we are pleased to provide this update and supplemental information. In early 2021, INIS and MSK entered into a sponsored research agreement to further advance and develop research being conducted at MSK using radiolabeled antibodies to develop an accurate, inexpensive, portable, high volume, rapid and non-invasive saliva-based testing kit to detect SARS CoV-2. The sponsored research effort was successful and after a series of in vitro assays to define the sensitivity, specificity, and automation of the testing kit, the testing procedure was further validated at John Hopkins University using live SARS-CoV-2 virions diluted at different plaque-forming unit (PFU) concentrations. The new testing procedure successfully detected SARS CoV-2 virions at a concentration as low as 19700 PFU/mL (corresponding to 2.04 X 108 copies/mL) and as high as 1970000 PFU/mL, confirming the efficacy of the new testing procedure. While the initial research focused on SARS-CoV-2 detection, INIS plans to support additional research and development to apply the new testing method to other viruses. Briefly, a patient's saliva is diluted with a radiolabeled virus targeted antibody to form a solution. The solution is then placed in a centrifuge, and by using a filter, target bound antibody is size separated from unbound antibody. Detection of the radiochemical in the target bound antibody sample indicates virions. A very large number of samples could be placed into the centrifuge simultaneously, supporting efficient high-volume testing. In terms of accuracy, using an assay the radiolabeled antibody shows a normalized target binding fraction percentage of 1.73 at 2.5 nanograms, confirming both the affinity of the radiolabeled antibody to bind to the Spike S1 on the virus surface and detection of Spike S1 at levels as low as 2.5 ng. The test requires a very small volume of approximately 1 ml of saliva. High volume sample analysis takes approximately 30 minutes and does not require a sterile environment or expensive equipment such that the new testing technology can be deployed to countries and locations with limited resources. The licensing agreement with MSK gives International Isotopes the exclusive right to commercialize the invention, which is covered by pending patent applications.

10:05 EST World Acceptance announces share repurchase program up to $50M - World Acceptance announced that its board approved a share repurchase program authorizing the company to repurchase up to $50M of its common stock inclusive of any amount that remains available for repurchase under prior repurchase authorizations. The stock repurchase program may be suspended or discontinued at any time.

10:00 EST Legion Partners has 'serious concerns' over Momentive strategic review process - Legion Partners Asset Management, which owns 1.4% of the outstanding stock of Momentive Global (MNTV), issued a public letter to the company's board. In the letter, Legion "expresses its steadfast opposition" to the proposed merger with Zendesk and its "serious concerns" regarding the strategic review process detailed in the joint proxy statement/prospectus filed by Zendesk. Legion Partners states in the letter, "Upon review of the joint proxy statement/prospectus, our initial suspicions of a dubious strategic review process have been largely confirmed. We believe the market reaction has been negative at both Momentive and Zendesk since the Merger was announced because the combination lacks strategic merit. Moreover, we believe the so-called strategic review 'process' and behavior of Momentive's Board of Directors and management team described in the filing suggest a scheme by CEO Zander Lurie to engineer a deal in coordination with his close friend, Zendesk CEO Mikkel Svane, at the expense of Momentive stockholders...Considering Momentive shares are currently trading below $20 per share, we do not believe the Zendesk offer is superior to any other cash offer received during the strategic review process. This is despite other bidders seemingly receiving unequal treatment coupled with the unjustifiable lack of outreach and exclusion of other interested parties...Considering the closest cash offer was valued at $27.25 per share, a mere 2.7% discount to the headline $28 per share offer under the Merger, we find it nearly impossible to believe that the Board could logically justify Zendesk's all-stock bid as superior after factoring in an expected decline in Zendesk shares."

10:00 EST Small Cap Bear 3x falls -6.6% - Small Cap Bear 3x is down -6.6%, or -$1.93 to $27.33.

10:00 EST Nam Tai Property rises 14.6% - Nam Tai Property is up 14.6%, or $1.46 to $11.46.

10:00 EST Bright Health rises 20.4% - Bright Health is up 20.4%, or 77c to $4.55.

09:53 EST Pear Therapeutics Inc trading resumes

09:47 EST Silvergate Capital falls -4.3% - Silvergate Capital is down -4.3%, or -$7.07 to $158.30.

09:47 EST Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bear 3X Shares falls -7.8% - Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bear 3X Shares is down -7.8%, or -32c to $3.75.

09:47 EST Jumia Technologies rises 12.0% - Jumia Technologies is up 12.0%, or $1.33 to $12.40.

09:45 EST Intel CEO says Mobileye 'already very profitable,' timing for IPO is good - Gelsinger said the company sees Tesla's (TSLA) technology as the "only one that is really close" to Mobileye's. Asked about Mobileye eventually being owned by public shareholders and not majority owned by Intel, Gelsinger replied that he has "learned to never say never" but did not indicate that a full spinoff was in the company's current plans. Intel (INTC) CEO Pat Gelsinger is being interviewed on CNBC after the company announced its intention to take Mobileye public in the United States in mid-2022 via an initial public offering of newly issued Mobileye stock.

09:41 EST Boeing: 777 Partners orders 30 additional 737 MAX Airplanes - Boeing and 777 Partners announced the Miami-based investment firm will nearly double its 737 MAX order book with the purchase of 30 additional jets. The new order expands 777 Partners' commercial aircraft portfolio to a total of 68 737 MAXs, in its fourth order this year for the fuel-efficient, single-aisle jets. Valued at $3.7B at list prices, the order will enable 777 Partners to expand 737 MAX operations across the fleet of its affiliated global low-cost carriers.

09:38 EST Legend Biotech reports Janssen summited NDA to Japan's MHLW for cilta-cel - Legend Biotech (LEGN) announced the submission of a New Drug Application, or NDA, to the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for ciltacabtagene autoleucel, or "cilta-cel," by its collaboration partner, Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K. (JNJ). Cilta-cel is an investigational B-cell maturation antigen-directed chimeric antigen receptor-T cell therapy for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least three prior therapies, including a proteasome inhibitor, an immunomodulatory agent, and an anti-CD38 antibody. "Today's submission is an encouraging step in our mission to provide a potentially transformative cell therapy option to patients with multiple myeloma. We look forward to closely collaborating with our partner Janssen and the MHLW in order to make cilta-cel available to patients living with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, who have exhausted several standard-of-care treatments and are facing poor prognoses," said Ying Huang, PhD, CEO and CFO of Legend Biotech.

09:36 EST Candel Therapeutics Inc trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:34 EST Houghton Mifflin approved as curriculum option for 265 South Carolina schools - Houghton Mifflin Harcourt announced that the South Carolina Department of Education has approved HMH Into Reading as a curriculum option for the K-5 Palmetto Literacy Project Schools. The K-5 Palmetto Literacy Project schools are a group of 265 schools across the state, the company said in a statement.

09:32 EST Seanergy Marine announces $16.6M buyback of convertible notes - Seanergy Maritime Holdings announced an aggregate of $16.6 million in buyback and elimination of: two outstanding convertible notes with 5.5% coupon and a conversion price of $1.20 per share, the entire amount of warrants to purchase common shares at an exercise price of $0.70 held by the holder of the Notes and buyback of common shares, Moreover, Seanergy's Chairman & CEO, Stamatis Tsantanis, has purchased in 2021 to date an additional 300,000 of the Company's common shares in the open market. Following the completion of the previously announced repurchase plan, the Board of Directors has authorized an additional repurchase plan, under which the Company may repurchase up to $10 million of its common shares, convertible notes or warrants. The Company will buyback and eliminate the Notes with an aggregate outstanding principal of $13.95 million held by Jelco Delta Holding at their full-face value, without any prepayment cost or additional consideration. The prepayment is expected to take place on December 10, 2021. Based on an exercise price of $1.20 per share, the buyback will pre-empt potential dilution of 11.63 million shares. In conjunction with the repurchase of the Notes the Company expects to record a non-cash accounting loss of approximately $6.75 million in the fourth quarter of 2021. However, since the Notes carry a fixed coupon of 5.5% p.a., the Company will realise annual interest savings of $767,250 per year. In addition, the prepayment will have a positive impact on the income statement for the subsequent periods through the elimination of non-cash charges of an average of $2.9 million per year. The Company is also buying back from the holder of the Notes their sole outstanding Warrant to purchase 4,285,714 million shares for $1,023,136. Following the end of the blackout period associated with the issuance of the financial results of the third quarter of 2021 and to-date, the Company has repurchased 1,595,803 of its outstanding common shares at an average price of approximately $0.998 pursuant to its previously-announced share repurchase program.

09:29 EST Sysorex says ethereum holdings valued in excess of $6.5M - Sysorex announced its Ethereum Holdings are now valued in excess of $6.5 million. In November 2021, the Company purchased the remaining interests in its primary data center located in upstate New York. With 100% ownership of the data center, Sysorex has since increased its gigahash by approximately 10%. The Company is also in the process of implementing a centralized management system, which is expected to further maximize the efficiencies of its GPUs. The Company is advancing its Non-Fungible Token strategy, most recently with its investment in The Hunt marketplace, supported by the guidance of its advisory board member, award-winning movie and commercial producer, Michael Bay.

09:24 EST F-star Therapeutics to present FS222 trial-in-progress update at ESMO-IO 2021 - F-star Therapeutics announced that the company will present a trial-in-progress update on FS222, a CD137/PD-L1 mAb2 bispecific antibody, at the European Society of Medical Oncology Immuno-Oncology, ESMO-IO, Congress 2021, taking place online only, December 8-11, 2021. The poster, entitled "A First-in-Human Study of FS222, a CD137/PD-L1 tetravalent bispecific antibody, in patients with advanced malignancies" is presented by Dr. Elena Garralda of the Vall D'Hebron Institute of Oncology, Barcelona, Spain, and describes the design of a first-in-human Phase 1 multi-center, multi-part, open label study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, immunogenicity and clinical activity of FS222 in adult subjects with advanced malignancies. The clinical study comprises an Accelerated Dose Titration, ADT, component followed by a 3+3 dose escalation design and dose expansion cohorts. Part B consists of tumor specific efficacy expansion cohorts. Enrollment is ongoing at four sites. The accelerated dose titration component of Part A was completed successfully, and identification of optimal patient groups, dose and schedule is on-going. Louis Kayitalire, Chief Medical Officer of F-star, said "We are encouraged by the emerging patient data on FS222, one of F-star's four programs currently in the clinic. This has enabled us to start recruiting tumor types of interest in dose expansion cohorts to gather additional safety, pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic and preliminary efficacy data. We see great potential with FS222, as we believe that it is uniquely positioned to fulfill unmet medical needs in cancer with PD-L1 low expression."

09:20 EST Chewy, Trupanion announce pet insurance and wellness plans partnership - Chewy (CHWY) and Trupanion (TRUP) announced a partnership to offer an exclusive suite of pet health insurance and wellness plans to more than 20M Chewy customers. Chewy continues to expand its portfolio of health care products and services, under its Chewy Health brand, to help pet parents care for the health and well-being of their pets. Through this partnership, Chewy will offer customers both preventative care wellness plans and comprehensive insurance plans for accidents, illnesses and chronic conditions. In addition, it will help drive awareness within the pet parent community, simplifying the end-to-end process - from researching and purchasing pet insurance to filing, tracking and paying for claims - and provide access to additional Chewy Health services.

09:17 EST ErosSTX in pact to sell STX Entertainment unit to Najafi for $173M - Eros STX Global announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its STX Entertainment subsidiary , to an affiliate of The Najafi Companies , an entrepreneurial and mission-driven private investment company with significant holdings in consumer, media, talent-driven brands, ecommerce, tech, and sports. At the closing of the transaction contemplated by the purchase agreement, an affiliate of Najafi will acquire STX Entertainment through the purchase of all of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock of a parent entity of STX Entertainment and wholly-owned subsidiary of ESGC. The purchase price at Closing will be $173M, subject to customary adjustments for transaction expenses and debt, including repayment of the indebtedness of STX Entertainment, which is currently approximately $148M. The purchase agreement also provides ESGC with a go-shop period, during which the board of directors of ESGC, with the assistance of its financial advisor, Lazard, will solicit alternative proposals from third parties for a period of 45 days. The purchase agreement provides for ESGC to pay a termination fee of $4.5M to Najafi if ESGC terminates the purchase agreement in connection with accepting a superior proposal. Under specified circumstances set forth in the purchase agreement, Najafi will be required to pay ESGC a termination fee of $4.5M if Najafi fails to close the transaction. A transaction is expected to close by the end of January 2022. The transaction with Najafi is subject to customary closing conditions, including its lender's confirmatory due diligence. Najafi has exclusively partnered with The Forest Road Company, as its lender, who is expected to repay STX Entertainment's indebtedness and provide it with working capital going forward.

09:16 EST Tenable introduces Tenable.cs to provide security for companies - Tenable announced the release of Tenable.cs, adding new cloud-native security capabilities to its platform. "Tenable.cs enables organizations to accelerate innovation by aligning development, operational and security teams behind security and resiliency goals," the company said. With the release of Tenable.cs, Tenable will help organizations protect the full cloud-native stack throughout the DevOps lifecycle. Tenable.cs scans Infrastructure as Code, IaC, to detect and remediate any flaws, policy violations and potential breach paths before provisioning to the cloud infrastructure. Tenable.cs brings the Accurics platform into the Tenable ecosystem, giving teams pragmatic, real-world solutions from build through runtime. "Tenable.cs expands our capabilities further into the cloud stack," said Nico Popp, chief product officer, Tenable. "Our aim is to enable organizations to embrace both the technical and cultural change that is DevSecOps. This is a natural evolution as services increasingly leverage the cloud and IaC. By analyzing this codified state of cloud environments, we enable users to shift security left and address misconfigurations and vulnerabilities before they are deployed."

09:12 EST AOS announces portion of JV equity interest sale and financial deconsolidation - Alpha and Omega Semiconductor announced a transaction related to a sale of approximately 2.1% of the outstanding equity interest in the joint venture company in Chongqing, China to a third party investor for an aggregate purchase price of RMB 108M or approximately $16.9M based on the currency exchange rate as of December 1 . The Transaction was closed on December 2 . AOS is reducing its ownership to below 50% to increase the flexibility of the JV Company to raise capital to fund its future expansion. Following the Transaction and the successful ramp up to its Phase I target run rate in the September quarter of 2021, as planned, the JV Company intends to raise up to $200M through private funding rounds for its Phase II expansion. In addition to immediate private funding rounds, the JV Company is also contemplating an eventual listing on the Science and Technology innovAtion boaRd, or STAR Market, of the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The Transaction assists the JV Company in meeting certain regulatory listing requirements. A potential STAR Market listing may take several years to consummate and there is no guarantee that such listing by the JV Company will be successful or will be completed in a timely manner, or at all. The post-transaction 48.8% equity interest owned by AOS is valued at approximately $391.4M. The Transaction is expected to result in a capital gain of approximately $364.8M, net of applicable taxes, for AOS, which will be recognized in the December 2021 quarterly income statement. The realized gain is expected to result in an associated current tax payment of $2.2M, while the unrealized gain will result in a deferred tax liability. AOS Chief Executive Officer Dr. Mike Chang commented, "This Transaction is the next step in our plan for the JV Company. By optimizing our shareholding structure, the JV company can enhance its flexibility in future capital raising while AOS can continue to access the JV Company's manufacturing capacity as one of the key customers. We believe it is in the best interests of all stakeholders, including AOS shareholders who benefit from the value we helped create at the JV Company. Our team will continue to pursue a multi-faceted capacity expansion plan, which includes the JV Company's Phase II, a $100M expansion of our Oregon fab, and working closely with our foundry partners. We are excited about our prospects for growth and are confident we will be able to reach our mid-term goal of $1 billion in annual revenue by calendar year 2024/2025."

09:10 EST GrowLife appoints David Dohrmann as president - GrowLife announced various executive changes including the appointment of David Dohrmann as the Company's new President. Dohrmann has extensive experience in the venture capital industry as well as executive roles in the entertainment space. In addition to Mr. Dohrmann's appointment, Marco Hegyi has been appointed as interim-Chief Financial Officer following the resignation of Michal Fasci as CFO and Secretary, while the Company searches for a qualified replacement candidate. Finally, the Board of Directors has appointed Thom Kozik, a current member of the board, as interim-Secretary.

09:08 EST Pacific Biosciences, UCLA Health announce research collaboration - PacBio and the UCLA Institute for Precision Health and David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA have formed a research collaboration to further identify the causes of rare diseases. The study will leverage PacBio's HiFi long-read sequencing technology for whole genome sequencing to look at undiagnosed pediatric rare disease patients who have already been sequenced with short-read technology. Dr. Stanley Nelson, Director, California Center for Rare Diseases, and professor, pathology and laboratory medicine and human genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, will be pioneering the combined use of full-length isoform sequencing and long-read WGS in an effort to investigate the effect on diagnostic yield in these unresolved cases.

09:08 EST Build-A-Bear selects Nutanix, teams to 'reinvent the online shopping experience' - Nutanix announced that global retail and entertainment company Build-A-Bear Workshop has teamed up with Nutanix, Buzz 3D, and TierPoint to develop the technology powering their new Bear Builder 3D Workshop, an interactive online shopping experience that virtually brings furry friends "to life" during the purchasing process. As a part of the iconic brand's effort to accelerate its digital transformation, Build-A-Bear began exploring opportunities to create an immersive and engaging online experience that builds on the familiar steps of its retail store experience yet creates something entirely new for the digital space. After the vision was established, Build-A-Bear engaged key technology partners to help bring its concept to reality by leveraging existing technology such as Desktop as a Service, DaaS, in creative new ways. With this first-of-its-kind experience, Build-A-Bear Workshop can now provide consumers a groundbreaking way to purchase a furry friend for life online that delivers real-world hugs to guests of all ages at buildabear.com. With two-thirds of consumers increasing their online activity because of the pandemic, brands everywhere are looking to deliver the best possible online experience to their customers. Many companies have optimized for convenience and accelerating time to purchase, but this transactional approach doesn't emphasize consumer engagement. As a company that has always focused on providing an experience that builds an emotional connection to its brand, Build-A-Bear is leading the charge in leveraging Buzz3D and Nutanix technology to expand its business model to include this immersive digital retail experience that goes beyond the transactional process.

09:07 EST NFLPA, DraftKings unveil plans for gamified NFT collaboration - The NFL Players Association, DraftKings and OneTeam Partners revealed plans to launch gamified NFT collections that will debut on DraftKings Marketplace during the 2022-2023 NFL season. The agreement grants DraftKings licensing rights for active NFL players, including the authentic use of name, image and likeness. This marks the debut integration of gamified NFTs by one of the world's preeminent athlete unions and a leader in sports technology and entertainment. Initial anticipated features of DraftKings' gamified NFL player NFTs include the ability for customers to use these collectibles within games against others on the platform as well as separate buying and selling functionality. It is expected there will be a variety of NFT editions and tiers that incorporate different aspects of utility and digital scarcity, all powered by Polygon. DraftKings previously announced a strategic agreement with Polygon to provide a scalable, eco-friendly blockchain solution that enables added throughput, lower transaction fees and expanded capabilities.

09:06 EST JanOne announces option agreement for rights of meth use reduction strategy - JanOne announced an option agreement for the rights to a novel strategy to reduce methamphetamine use by activating the Translocator Protein 18 kDa, or TSPO. The agreement with LSU Health Shreveport, along with other intellectual property relating to TSPO's role in treating meth use disorder, or MUD, provides JanOne with an opportunity to identify new drugs to enhance TSPO activity, and by doing so, reducing craving for meth. This new strategy for treating MUD was discovered by Nicholas Goeders, JanOne Inc.'s Scientific Advisory Board member, and Department Chairman, Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology & Neuroscience and Executive Director of the Louisiana Addiction Research Center at LSU Health Shreveport. JanOne anticipates initiating a drug discovery program in 2022, with the goal of identifying a preclinical IND-candidate in 2023. This represents an additional therapeutic effort in JanOne Inc.'s pipeline, with the company anticipating beginning a critical Phase 2b trial with JAN101 in late 2022.

09:05 EST W.R. Grace's UNIPOL PP process technology selected by Oriental Energy - W. R. Grace has licensed its UNIPOL PP process technology to Oriental Energy for its Maoming, China, plant. This is Oriental Energy's fifth polypropylene line, and its fourth using Grace's UNIPOL(R) PP process technology with a production capacity of 400 KTA. Laura Schwinn, President of Grace's Specialty Catalysts business said, "We are extremely pleased that Oriental Energy has chosen our UNIPOL PP process technology once again for its newest polypropylene line in Maoming. Our continuous cooperation over the last ten years has created a solid and lasting relationship between our businesses, and we are excited to watch Oriental Energy achieve their goal of becoming one of the top polypropylene producers in the world using our technology."

09:04 EST Uber announces new Holiday hub on Uber Eats platform - Uber Technologies announced the expansion of their seasonal delivery offerings with the brand new Holiday hub on the Uber Eats platform. The first-of-its-kind category will expand and rotate seasonally throughout 2022 and beyond to accommodate various holidays, making it easier than ever for consumers to have holiday needs delivered right to their door. The new hub will also be home to Uber's recently launched Holiday Shop, which will offer on-demand delivery and pick-up of Christmas trees and more to customers in Los Angeles, San Diego, West Palm Beach as well as wreaths in New York City this holiday season. The exclusive partnership with Proper Companies' holiday division, features 2-4 foot trees, wreaths and tree preservative for delivery, as well as 5-10 foot trees for pick-up.

09:03 EST Castlight Health appoints Ethan Prater as Chief Product and Analytics Officer - Castlight Health announced the addition of Ethan Prater as Chief Product and Analytics Officer. Prater brings decades of digital health and product management experience to further strengthen and elevate Castlight's industry-leading digital plus high-touch navigation solutions. Prater will lead the product vision for Castlight's unique health navigation solution to help these partners continue to impactfully engage their members. Prater will also play a key role in leveraging Castlight's wealth of data to drive broader product innovation across the ecosystem. Ethan Prater is an expert in product management and product marketing with more than 20 years of experience in product leadership roles at companies including Yahoo!, DoubleClick, and Jigsaw.

09:02 EST Siyata Mobile announces $1.3M purchase order for SD7 devices and accessories - Siyata Mobile announces it has received a $1.3M purchase order primarily for police and first responder customers in the EMEA for the company's SD7 ruggedized devices, VK7 vehicle units and other accessories. This order brings the year-to-date orders for the SD7 and VK7 to more than $1.8M. CEO Marc Seelenfreund states: "Both the SD7 and VK7 products were recently launched, so we are gratified to see increasing adoption of our innovative cellular products and related accessories. Moreover, we expect this adoption trend to continue, given the unique technical capabilities of our product portfolio and the value-proposition they represent to enterprise and first-responder customers." Shares of Siyata Mobile are up 55% at $4.28 in pre-market trading.

09:02 EST Sorrento Therapeutics' clinical lab receives accreditation from CAP - Sorrento Therapeutics announced the Accreditation Committee of the College of American Pathologists has awarded accreditation to Sorrento's Clinical Laboratory, located in San Diego, California, based on results of a recent on-site inspection as part of the CAP's Accreditation Programs. Sorrento's clinical laboratory was advised of this national recognition and congratulated for the excellence of the services being provided. The clinical laboratory is one of more than 8,000 CAP-accredited facilities worldwide. This accreditation expands Sorrento's previously announced CLIA capabilities to include billing to Medicare and Medicaid for the analysis of patient samples. Additionally, with the CLIA certification and CAP accreditation of its clinical laboratory, Sorrento has the capability to conduct timely clinical studies to support its product pipeline across all stages.

08:52 EST Sabina Gold & Silver announces progress on project financing - Sabina Gold & Silver reports advancement on project financing for the Goose Mine, the first mine on the 100% owned Back River Gold District in Nunavut, Canada. Sabina has continued to advance project finance initiatives for the Goose Mine. An indicative project finance term sheet was signed earlier this year and commercial due diligence has now been completed. The proposed project finance facility has also received investment committee approval, subject to completion of legal due diligence and approval of definitive documentation. Concurrently, the Company has also negotiated a streaming term sheet for the Goose Mine. The Company is currently advancing definitive documentation in connection with both the project finance facility and the streaming transaction. Final definitive documentation is expected to be concluded in January 2022, which would enable construction to commence in the new year.

08:50 EST Orbit International reports consolidated bookings of $2M in November - Orbit International announced that consolidated bookings from both its Electronics Group and Power Group for the month of November 2021 were approximately $2M. Deliveries for some of these orders have already commenced and are expected to continue through the fourth quarter of 2022. Mitchell Binder, President and CEO of Orbit International, commented, "We are pleased to report a firm booking month in November with consolidated bookings of approximately $2,000,000. Bookings for the month were about evenly divided between our OEG and OPG. Our OEG bookings were highlighted by an order for a remote-control unit which supports major aircraft programs and a relatively large follow-on order for our Q-Vio subsidiary for industrial displays for which our customer anticipates additional orders in the future." Binder added, "Bookings from our OPG were highlighted by the first relatively strong booking month in 2021 for our commercial division and includes an order for a COTS power supply. In addition, we are currently working on an order with a customer utilizing our VPX power supplies which we believe will be awarded prior to year-end and will enable us to exceed our 2021 50% bookings growth objective for our VPX technology. Finally, these new orders in November continue to solidify our OEG and OPG delivery schedules for 2022."

08:47 EST Skylight Health closes public offering of 275K shares of Series A stock - Skylight Health Group announced the closing of its previously announced underwritten registered offering of 275,000 9.25% Series A Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Shares at a price to the public of $21 per share for gross proceeds of $5,775,000 before deducting for underwriter's fees and offering expenses; proceeds from the offering will be used towards working capital, corporate related activities, and capital for future mergers & acquisitions. The shares of Series A Preferred Stock trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol "SLHGP." The Benchmark Company, LLC acted as Sole Book Running Manager for the Offering. The Series A Preferred Shares were offered under the Company's shelf registration statement on Form F-10, declared effective by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Company's existing Canadian amended and restated short form base shelf prospectus dated October 4, 2021. The prospectus supplement relating to the Offering has been filed with the securities commission in British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario and with the SEC in the United States.

08:45 EST FoxWayne Enterprises Acquisition Corporation (Units) trading resumes

08:44 EST Avant Brands launches Cognoscente brand with craft tasting flight - Avant Brands announced the launch of an innovative and exclusive product, the Cognpscente Craft Tasting Flight. As Avant's first product under its premium Cognoscente brand, the Craft Tasting Flight offers a curated sampling of six 1.5 gram buds, along with a single 1g pre-roll blunt and two 0.5g exclusive pre-rolls, consisting of a variety of cultivars and product formats never before seen in Ontario. With a limited quantity of only 420 units available, it is expected that the Craft Tasting Flight will allow consumers to experience and compare the effects of some of the industry's highest quality craft cannabis while showcasing Avant's top shelf brand. The Craft Tasting Flight was made using detailed post-harvest techniques in order to optimize moisture, cannabinoid and terpene profiles, and it was packaged using delicate hand-trimming techniques. The Company anticipates that employing these techniques will allow it to maximize gross margins while simultaneously delivering a premium experience.

08:43 EST Aerami to merge with FoxWayne Enterprises Acquisition to become public - Aerami Therapeutics and FoxWayne Enterprises Acquisition Corp. announced they have entered into a definitive business combination agreement. Upon closing of the transaction, which is currently anticipated to occur in the first quarter of 2022, the combined company will be named "Aerami Therapeutics Holdings, Inc." and will be led by Steve Thornton, chief executive officer of Aerami, and the rest of the Company's current management. The combined company's common stock is expected to continue to be listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market. Proceeds from the transaction will be applied toward advancing AER-901, Aerami's proprietary inhaled, nebulized formulation of imatinib into a planned Phase 2/3 clinical trial in 2022. Aerami believes AER-901 has the potential to be a disease modifying therapy for pulmonary arterial hypertension in an estimated $5 billion market. In addition, Aerami anticipates filing in 2022 for 510(k) clearance in the U.S. for its proprietary AFINA inhaler technology platform to capitalize on the rapidly growing global smart inhaler market. Aerami plans to pursue internal development and partnering of AFINA-based pipeline opportunities for inhaled therapies targeted at addressing large markets with significant unmet needs. As part of the transaction, FoxWayne will be issuing 25 million shares of its common stock, which represents consideration of approximately $250 million. Current Aerami stockholders will convert 100% of their existing equity interests into common stock of the combined company and will own a majority of the outstanding shares of the combined company post-closing. Assuming no redemptions of FoxWayne shares, the combined company's cash resources are expected to be comprised of $58 million in cash proceeds currently in trust at FoxWayne along with the existing cash resources of Aerami at closing. The boards of directors of both Aerami and FoxWayne have unanimously approved the proposed transaction. The transaction is subject to, among other things, the approval of the stockholders of both Aerami and FoxWayne and satisfaction or waiver of the conditions stated in the definitive business combination agreement.

08:40 EST Lakeview proposes to acquire TESSCO for $7.50 per share in cash - Lakeview Investment Group & Trading Company, which beneficially owns approximately 14.9% of the outstanding shares of TESSCO Technologies Incorporated, making it Tessco's second largest stockholder, announced that it has sent a letter proposing to acquire the Company for $7.50 per share in cash. The proposed transaction would represent a cash premium of 45% to Tessco's most recent closing share price. Lakeview also requested that Tessco immediately commence a review of strategic alternatives to maximize stockholder value. The letter read in part, " As you are aware, Lakeview Investment Group & Trading Company, is one of the largest stockholders of TESSCO Technologies Incorporated, owning approximately 14.9% of the Company's outstanding shares of common stock. We have previously called upon the Board of Directors to conduct a full and fair process to sell the Company in an effort to maximize value for all Tessco stockholders, but have been repeatedly rebuffed by a Board that inexplicably continues to cling to the status quo. We are fully prepared to stand behind our conviction that the Company should be sold, and today are proposing to acquire 100% of the shares of the Company not already owned by Lakeview at a price equal to $7.50 per share in cash. We had previously approached the Board privately with this proposal, however, we have been disappointed by the Board's lack of constructive engagement. Therefore, we now feel that we have no choice but to make our views on the Company's trajectory, as well as our acquisition proposal, public. In our view, Tessco has suffered from a series of value-destroying decisions made by an unfocused leadership with no clear strategy for improving performance. As long-time stockholders, we believe that the Company's announced turnaround plan, its second in the past five years, is woefully vague and highly uncertain. We have lost confidence that Tessco's management has the ability to execute such a plan. While we were initially optimistic about Sandip Mukerjee's appointment as Chief Executive Officer to lead the turnaround, he has had two years to create value at the Company, but instead has delivered the worst operating performance in the Company's nearly 30-year history...We request that the Board promptly contact us to arrange an opportunity to discuss our proposal to purchase the Company at a price equal to $7.50 per share. We are standing ready to enter into an appropriate confidentiality agreement and commence our due diligence immediately, and we are confident in our ability to move quickly and efficiently towards consummating a transaction. In addition, if our due diligence reveals further value inherent in the Company, we would be prepared to increase our proposed price accordingly. If the Board refuses to engage with us in good faith and in a timely fashion, we reserve our rights to take action to protect stockholders' interests, which may include seeking changes to the composition of the Board or taking our proposal directly to Tessco's stockholders. We sincerely hope that the Board will work with us to maximize value for all Tessco stockholders, and we look forward to receiving a response in an expeditious manner."

08:39 EST Comtech comments on potential appointment of Sidney Fuchs to board - Comtech Telecommunications issued a statement in response to a report by Institutional Shareholder Services regarding the election of directors to Comtech's Board of Directors at the Company's upcoming 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders: ISS correctly recognizes the transformative actions Comtech's Board and management have taken to strengthen corporate governance and strategically reposition the company to capitalize on secular growth opportunities. These actions include executing a multi-year Board refreshment process, completing a leadership succession plan, and developing an industry-leading portfolio of products and services in rapidly growing core markets. ISS also noted the strength of our incoming CEO's knowledge of the industry and that the Board's leadership change has put the company on a better trajectory poised to take advantage of sector tailwinds. "We believe ISS gravely underestimates the damage that would be done if Sidney Fuchs were to join the Comtech Board. ISS mistakenly dismisses Fuchs' material conflict of interest as Chairman of Eutelsat America Corp. when several of Comtech's largest customers have already voiced concerns about his potential appointment. While ISS suggests that Mr. Fuchs could recuse himself, we do not see how that could work when customer considerations are foundational to every strategic decision the Board makes, including investments in organic growth opportunities and M&A. In our view, to the extent Mr. Fuchs would have to recuse himself or would be conflicted from participating in committee or board meetings, it would likely be equivalent to his not serving on the Board at all. "

08:38 EST Herborium Group reports Q4 revenue up 15% vs. last year - Herborium Group released its 4th Quarter results marking 15% revenues growth for the Quarter over the same period last year, and bringing the Yearly Sales for 2021 to the highest on Record. Very Successful US and French Markets Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales and an increase in end of the year wholesale orders helped Herborium to close 2021 as the the highest grossing year to date. The Fourth Quarter of 2021 also marks a number of other milestones:NO Dilution in share structure; Announcing Crypto-Currency Technology capabilities; Herborium Protein Bar goes into production; New Management for the French Market brings new partnerships with pharmacies in France; Product L Extension Partnership in line for 2022; Expansion of Asian Market presence Herborium's core business growth in 4th Quarter creates a strong foundation for further growth in 2022. New developments together with steady progress in previous initiatives allowed the 4Th Quarter to advance shareholders value. These initiatives allowed Herborium to immediately expand in current markets and pave the way for entrance into future markets Herborium's global presence has expanded in 2021 and contributes to the company having profitable international partnerships and points to further growth in 2022.

08:38 EST Fluidigm confirms Advanta Dx SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Assay detects omicron variant - Fluidigm confirmed that Omicron variant B.1.1.529, designated by the World Health Organization as a Variant of Concern, does not impact the capability of the Fluidigm Advanta Dx SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR Assay to detect the virus that causes COVID-19, based on in silico analyses of the most current databases. Fluidigm continually conducts in silico analyses to determine the effectiveness of the Advanta Dx Assay design to detect SARS-CoV-2. To date, none of the published viral mutations meaningfully impacts the regions of the viral genome targeted by the assay's primers and probes. "Accurate detection of SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern can help assess the spread of circulating variants and determine their potential impact on therapeutics, vaccines and public health programs," said Chris Linthwaite, President and CEO. "Since the early days of the pandemic, Fluidigm technology has helped advance SARS-CoV-2 research, treatment and diagnostic programs with simple, affordable and accessible testing. Since August 2020, millions of samples have been tested for COVID-19 using our assay, offering easy, noninvasive sample collection, accuracy and speed to results."

08:36 EST Reliance Global announces launch of 5MinuteInsure.com in eight states - Reliance Global Group announced that it has launched 5MinuteInsure.com in Illinois, Connecticut, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, South Dakota, Vermont and Wisconsin.

08:35 EST Primoris awarded two heavy civil awards valued over $32M - Primoris announced two heavy civil awards with a combined value of more than $32M. The projects, secured by the company's Energy/Renewables Segment, were awarded by the Texas Department of Transportation. The first project involves construction of a section of highway SL 121 in Bell County, Texas. It is scheduled to commence in Q1 of 2022 with completion expected in the second quarter of 2024. The second project involves the replacement of a bridge in Harris County, Texas. It is scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2022 with completion expected in the second quarter of 2023.

08:34 EST Scopus sends letter to stockholders to vote 'FOR ALL' of director nominees - Scopus BioPharma mailed a letter to its stockholders in connection with the Company's Annual Meeting of Stockholders that will be reconvened on Monday, December 20, 2021. The record date for the Annual Meeting remains August 16, 2021. The letter emphasizes a number of key points and encourages stockholders to vote for Scopus' director nominees: Scopus is developing transformational therapeutics based on scientific and medical discoveries; Scopus recently raised $9.75M in a non-dilutive manner that was only possible through the contribution back to the Company of warrants to purchase six million shares by the Executive Committee of the Company's board of directors and HCFP, their investment affiliate; Scopus' director nominees - Raphael Hofstein, Ph.D. and David S. Battleman, M.D. - are "highly qualified and have extensive track records of guiding private and publicly-traded life science companies as they develop and commercialize scientific breakthroughs;" and Scopus believes Dr. Laster's nominees are not qualified to serve as directors. Joshua Lamstein, Chairman of Scopus, stated: "Scopus is committed to building long-term value for all stockholders by developing transformational therapeutics that address significant unmet medical needs. Since going public in December 2020, we have advanced our lead candidate to the clinical stage and bolstered our differentiated portfolio of immuno-oncology assets through the acquisition of Olimmune and formation of Duet Therapeutics. We are making steady progress toward multiple developmental milestones anticipated between now and the fourth quarter of 2022 or the first quarter of 2023 that we believe will create significant additional value for our stockholders." Lamstein continued: "We urge our stockholders to reject Dr. Laster's nominees and support Scopus by re-electing our two highly qualified and experienced director nominees - Raphael Hofstein, Ph.D. and David S. Battleman, M.D. It is unfortunate that Dr. Laster persists in waging a costly, distracting and disruptive campaign to place nominees on your board that lack the qualifications to serve as board members of a publicly traded company in the United States. In fact, Dr. Laster continues to spin a false narrative in favor of his campaign that is self-serving and not focused on advancing the interests of all stockholders. Dr. Laster has refused every effort at a reasonable compromise, instead becoming more combative with the goal of unjustly enriching himself at the expense of stockholder value."

08:33 EST Anixa and MolGenie announce results of omicron variant study - Anixa Biosciences announced the results of a genomic variant analysis done with its partner, MolGenie on potential compounds to treat COVID-19. The data indicate that the compounds in development should be effective against the omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, in addition to the previously identified Delta variant of the virus. While vaccination has proven to be an effective strategy to prevent COVID-19, the need still exists for inexpensive, room-temperature-stable and orally-bioavailable therapeutics. Anixa and MolGenie are developing compounds for the potential treatment of COVID-19 with the long-term goal of developing an inexpensive, orally-administered room temperature-stable pill for the outpatient setting. The program focuses on identifying novel, small molecule inhibitors of Mpro, the main protease of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is necessary for replication. The current compounds that Anixa and MolGenie have synthesized and tested have demonstrated the ability to inhibit the function of this protein with excellent potency comparable to and in one case better than authorized therapies.

08:33 EST Mack-Cali Realty rebrands as Veris Residential - Mack-Cali Realty (CLI) announced that it has rebranded to Veris Residential, reflecting the company's new strategic direction and corporate values as it transitions into a pure-play multifamily REIT and seeks to generate long-term value for shareholders. The company will continue to be publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange and will do so under its new name and new ticker symbol, "VRE," effective as of December 10.

08:32 EST ViacomCBS, CJ ENM announce global strategic partnership - ViacomCBS and CJ ENM announced a new strategic partnership that will bring premium entertainment to audiences worldwide with a comprehensive global deal that includes co-productions for original series and films, content licensing and distribution across ViacomCBS' and CJ ENM's leading streaming services. Paramount+ will also debut in South Korea in 2022 as an exclusive bundle with TVING, CJ ENM's streaming service, marking its first entry to the Asian market. Other terms of the agreements were not disclosed.

08:31 EST Esports Technologies secures access to UK gaming license - Esports Technologies announced that it secured access to a UK gaming license through an operator services agreement signed along with the $75.9M acquisition of Aspire Global's B2C assets. Through the deal, Esports Technologies gained 1.25M deposited customers, the majority of them from UK-focused online sportsbook and casino brands Karamba, Hopa, and Griffon Casino. Other brands acquired include BetTarget, Dansk777, and GenerationVIP. The brands recorded wagering of $1.86B and $183M in cash deposits in the most recent 12-month period ending September. The UK offers one of the world's largest gaming markets. According to the UK Gambling Commission, Great Britain's gaming revenue from April 2019 to March 2020 was approximately $19.2B. Online gaming has become the largest sector, accounting for roughly 40% of that total revenue.

08:24 EST Instagram introduces new tools for teen safety - In a blog post, Instagram head Adam Mosseri said, "At Instagram, we've been working for a long time to keep young people safe on the app; as part of that work, today we're announcing some new tools and features to keep young people even safer on Instagram.We'll be taking a stricter approach to what we recommend to teens on the app, we'll stop people from tagging or mentioning teens that don't follow them, we'll be nudging teens towards different topics if they've been dwelling on one topic for a long time and we're launching the Take a Break feature in the US, UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, which we previously announced. We'll also be launching our first tools for parents and guardians early next year to help them get more involved in their teen's experiences on Instagram. Parents and guardians will be able to see how much time their teens spend on Instagram and set time limits. And we'll have a new educational hub for parents and guardians." Reference Link

08:22 EST Asbury Automotive adds $715M in annualized revenue with Stevinson acquisition - Asbury Automotive Group completed the acquisition of Stevinson Automotive adding approximately $715M in annual revenues. "We are thrilled to add to our growing footprint in the dynamic and growing Denver area, especially through a well-respected and successful dealership group like Stevinson," said David Hult, Asbury's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Many of Stevinson's award-winning dealerships are ranked as some of the best in the country, but what makes this group special are its people and the culture they have built over its 60-year history. Stevinson's 600 plus team members are talented professionals who are dedicated to the guest experience and aligned with our North Star of being the most guest-centric automotive retail company."

08:20 EST Pharvaris announces changes to board of directors - Pharvaris (PHVS) announced the appointment of Elisabeth Bjork, M.D., to the board of directors with expected confirmation at the company's 2022 annual general meeting of shareholders. Dr. Bjork will replace Martijn Kleijwegt, who has stepped down from the board effective December 1 to focus on new investments. Dr. Bjork is the Senior Vice President, Head of Late-stage Development, Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism, BioPharmaceuticals R&D at AstraZeneca (AZN).

08:18 EST ACM Research responds to newly released SEC guidelines - ACM Research responded to guidelines adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, on December 2, 2021 to implement the U.S. Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act of 2020. The new guidelines, among other things, allow the SEC to prohibit the securities of a company from being traded or listed on U.S. securities markets if the company retains a foreign audit firm that cannot be inspected by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, PCAOB, for three consecutive years because the audit firm is located in a foreign jurisdiction that does not permit PCAOB inspection of the company's audits. "ACM is confident in its ability to comply with the SEC's newly announced requirements and is committed to maintain the trading and listing of ACM's Class A common stock on U.S. capital markets," said Dr. David Wang, President and Chief Executive Officer of ACM. "We expect to implement appropriate changes in a timely manner to comply with the new SEC guidelines by either transitioning our current audit relationship to BDO USA, LLP, an affiliate of our current auditor BDO China Shu Lun Pan Certified Public Accountants LLP, or to another PCAOB-registered audit firm if so required." Dr. Wang explained, "ACM is a U.S.-based company with its primary operating subsidiary based in China and an R&D center and manufacturing facility in Korea. This structure has supported ACM's ability to scale a profitable business with five major semiconductor manufacturing customers based in China and Korea and has resulted in proven success for our multiple product offerings. ACM intends to further expand its operations in the United States, Europe and additional regions in Asia to support future potential global customers with our proprietary differentiated semiconductor technologies."

08:17 EST Enlivex receives regulatory authorization to expand Phase II Sepsis trial - Enlivex Therapeutics announced that, following a review of the Company's preclinical and clinical data, study design, and manufacturing process, Greece's National Organization of Medicines has authorized the expansion of the Company's Phase II trial of Allocetra in patients with pneumonia-associated sepsis to sites in the country. The placebo-controlled trial, which has multiple sites currently open for enrollment in Israel and was recently cleared to expand into Spain, is expected to enroll 120 to 160 patients across four cohorts receiving varying doses of Allocetra or placebo, all in addition to standard-of-care therapy. The trial's two primary endpoints are safety and efficacy, which will be assessed throughout a 28-day follow-up period. Additionally, the trial's secondary endpoint is 28-day all-cause mortality. The trial is supported by previously reported positive results from a Phase Ib trial that demonstrated a positive safety profile and vastly improved clinical outcomes, including SOFA scores, duration of hospitalization, and mortality, in Allocetra-treated sepsis patients compared to a group of matched historical controls that received standard-of-care therapy. Interim results from the Phase II trial are expected in the first half of 2022, and top-line data are expected by year-end 2022.

08:16 EST Lionheart III announces separate trading of common stock, warrants - Lionheart III Corp announced that, as of December 7, 2021, holders of the units sold in the Company's initial public offering may elect to separately trade shares of the Company's Class A common stock and redeemable warrants included in the units. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the units and only whole warrants will trade. The shares of common stock and warrants that are separated will trade on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbols "LION" and "LIONW," respectively. Those units not separated will continue to trade on Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol "LIONU." Holders of units will need to have their brokers contact Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, the Company's transfer agent, in order to separate the units into shares of common stock and warrants.

08:14 EST Flow Traders becomes active liquidity provider on MarketAxess - Flow Traders (FLTDF) and MarketAxess Holdings (MKTX) announced that Flow Traders has committed to become a name-disclosed liquidity provider in U.S. high yield corporate bonds, Euro-denominated investment grade and high yield bonds and emerging market sovereign bonds through the MarketAxess trading platform. Flow Traders is also actively contributing streaming prices as a market maker for U.S. high yield corporate bonds on the anonymous Live Market order book. Following many years of providing anonymous liquidity through MarketAxess' Open Trading marketplace, Flow Traders is now becoming a name-disclosed liquidity provider on the MarketAxess trading platform for global credit trading products. This ultimately allows institutional investor clients to select Flow Traders by name when submitting a disclosed inquiry, enhancing anonymous liquidity already provided through Open Trading.

08:12 EST Kaspien Holdings announces partnership with Belly Bandit - Kaspien Holdings (KSPN) announced its partnership with retail company Belly Bandit to launch "Shop Proof," a new product line of maternity and postpartum apparel. Belly Bandit engaged Kaspien as its primary Amazon (AMZN) seller services agency to support the brand's growth, new product launches, and drive continued success on the Amazon marketplace. As Belly Bandit's retained seller services agency, Kaspien's primary objective will be driving sales growth for Belly Bandit's existing products and providing expert strategy, infrastructure, and management to sustainably and securely grow the brand on Amazon. The partnership, which encompasses U.S. Amazon sales and marketing, will mark the second time Belly Bandit and Kaspien have worked together.

08:10 EST Berry Petroleum announces details of new shareholder return model - Berry announced the details of its new shareholder return model, which will go into effect January 1, 2022, and is expected to provide industry-leading returns.This new model is designed to increase cash returns to our shareholders. Under this new model, the company intends to allocate discretionary free cash flow on a quarterly basis as follows: 60% predominantly in the form of cash variable dividends to be paid quarterly, as well as opportunistic debt repurchases; and 40% in the form of discretionary capital, to be used for organic growth. "We have long been committed to returning a substantial amount of capital to stockholders, and today we are announcing the next step in that direction. Since going public in the summer of 2018, we have returned nearly $130 million to our shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. Today's announcement reinforces that returning capital is a priority of the Company. This new return framework is designed to pay a sustainable fixed dividend, as we do now, while returning an additional, substantial portion of our discretionary free cash flow to investors each quarter. Like our business model, this new shareholder returns model is simple and strengthens our commitment to return capital to our shareholders," stated Trem Smith, bry's Chairman of the Board and CEO.

08:09 EST Green Plains releases inaugural sustainability report - Green Plains released its inaugural sustainability report, outlining environmental, social and governance priorities, progress and targets. The report details a number of significant goals, including a commitment to carbon neutrality in operational emissions by 2050. In addition, Green Plains has achieved its goal of increasing diversity on the Board of Directors and has completed a significant Board refreshment initiative. The report details the following actions and goals: 50% carbon reduction by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050; Expansion of community involvement initiatives; Board of Directors refreshment initiative to increase diversity in governance and enhance shareholder rights; Green Plains has also committed to enhancing safety protocols, improving energy and water usage, and expanding land stewardship initiatives.

08:08 EST Exela Technologies launches remote online notarization, Exela RN - Exela Technologies announced the launch of Exela Remote Notarization, the company's proprietary remote notarization platform. Exela RN is live and in this initial stage is inviting notaries to sign up to its online notary program. Exela RN is a web portal that facilitates connecting signatories to credentialed notaries in order to schedule and record successful notary sessions within a secure online environment, enabling customers to get a document notarized online using any kind of connected device. While Exela RN works independently from other Exela solutions, the platform also integrates with Exela's e-Signature solution, DrySign. Exela RN also integrates with the Digital Mailroom platform by enabling prospective Digital Mailroom customers to easily notarize the USPS form required for delivering postal mail through an agent.

08:07 EST Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment signs 10-year agreement with ForeverLawn - Hall of Fame Resort & Entertainment announced it has signed a 10-year, multi-million dollar agreement with ForeverLawn, an artificial and synthetic grass manufacturer based in Ohio. The agreement will make ForeverLawn the official synthetic turf partner of the Hall of Fame Village powered by Johnson Controls. As part of the agreement, ForeverLawn will receive entitlement rights to the Hall of Fame Village Sports Complex, and will work together with the Company to determine its official name. Additionally, HOFV and ForeverLawn will collaborate on other marketing assets.

08:06 EST Ontrak announces three-year contract with its largest employer customer - Ontrak announced that a three-year contract has been signed with its largest employer customer for expanded mental health and wellbeing support for employees in 39 countries. The new contract, effective January 1, 2022, adds the flexible features of the Ontrak program to the LifeDojo wellbeing solution.

08:05 EST Fortress, Cyprium, Sentynl initiate rolling submission of NDA for CUTX-101 - Cyprium Therapeutics, a Fortress Biotech partner company, with support from its licensing partner Sentynl Therapeutics, a wholly owned subsidiary of Cadila Healthcare, announced the initiation of a rolling submission of a New Drug Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for CUTX-101 for the treatment of Menkes disease. The companies expect to complete the submission of the NDA to the FDA in mid-2022. In October 2021, Cyprium announced positive results from a safety and efficacy analysis of data integrated from two completed pivotal studies in patients with Menkes disease treated with CUTX-101. These data were presented as a virtual poster at the recent 2021 American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference & Exhibition. CUTX-101 was previously granted FDA Breakthrough Therapy, Fast Track, Rare Pediatric Disease and FDA Orphan Drug Designations. Additionally, the European Medicines Agency previously granted Orphan Drug Designation for CUTX-101. Earlier this year, Sentynl and Cyprium executed an asset purchase agreement pursuant to which Sentynl will acquire Cyprium's proprietary rights to CUTX-101 upon FDA approval thereof. Under the terms of the agreement, Cyprium is eligible to receive up to $20 million in upfront development and regulatory cash milestones through NDA approval. Royalties on CUTX-101 net sales ranging from the mid-single digits up to the mid-twenties are also payable, as well as potential sales milestones. Cyprium will retain 100% ownership over any FDA priority review voucher that may be issued at NDA approval for CUTX-101. Cyprium continues to maintain development responsibility for CUTX-101 through approval of the NDA by the FDA, and Sentynl is responsible for commercialization of CUTX-101 as well as progressing newborn screening activities for Menkes disease in the U.S. The development of CUTX-101 is overseen by a Joint Steering Committee consisting of representatives from both companies.

08:04 EST Baker Hughes announces turbomachinery contract order from Bechtel - Baker Hughes has been awarded a contract by Bechtel to provide high-efficiency gas turbines and centrifugal compressors to support the expansion of the Pluto LNG onshore processing facility in Western Australia, which is operated by Woodside. The construction of Pluto LNG's second train builds on Baker Hughes' existing technology supply for Pluto LNG's first train, which has been in operation since 2012, and further expands Baker Hughes' global turbomachinery fleet in LNG operations. Pluto Train 2, using Baker Hughes' technology, will be one of the most efficient LNG trains in Australia with an expected capacity of approximately 5M tons per annum. Pluto Train 2 will process natural gas from the nearby offshore Scarborough field, which contains only around 0.1% carbon dioxide. This makes it an attractive option for Woodside's major LNG customers seeking reliable, affordable and lower-carbon energy to meet demand and support their countries' decarbonization goals. Baker Hughes' scope of supply includes six LM6000PF+ aeroderivative gas turbines and 14 centrifugal compressors for the main refrigerant train, as well as one gas turbine generator in addition to the existing Train 1 power system. The LM6000PF+ turbine is highly-efficient, cost-effective and flexible in operation, maximizing efficiency and helping to lower greenhouse gas emissions.

08:03 EST Clean Earth introduces new program to simplify e-waste recycling - Clean Earth introduces AssetSure, an IT Asset Ship Direct Recycling & Data Destruction Program. This program provides remote companies and small retail locations a convenient way to ship company-owned electronic assets from anywhere in the United States to a Clean Earth facility for secure and proper recycling and disposal.

08:02 EST H2O Innovation announces resumption of San Diego water reuse project - H2O Innovation announced that the water treatment project with the City of San Diego, California, which was temporarily suspended, is resuming its course. The contract value went from $8.8 M in 2017 to $11.2 M today due to change orders and price adjustments related to the inflation of raw material costs. The total value was included in the Water Technologies and Services business line backlog as of October 31, 2021, which amounted $44.2 M. Pure Water San Diego is the City of San Diego's multi-year program that will provide more than 40% of San Diego's water supply by the end of 2035. The Pure Water San Diego treatment plant, with a capacity of 30 MGD, will use proven water purification technology that will clean recycled water to produce safe, high-quality drinking water. This infrastructure project was developed to address the need for a new water supply, thus making it possible to tackle the problems associated with drought and to diversify the supply of drinking water. A pilot test with a recycled water purification system of 1 MGD was set up in 2009 and was operated for several years with the aim of evaluating the feasibility of a full-scale reservoir augmentation project.

07:56 EST Recursion Pharmaceuticals announces collaboration with Roche, Genentech - Recursion (RXRX) announced a transformational collaboration with Roche (RHHBY) and Genentech, a member of the Roche Group. Recursion will work with both Roche and Genentech's R&D units to leverage technology-enabled drug discovery through the Recursion Operating System to more rapidly identify novel targets and advance medicines in key areas of neuroscience as well as in an oncology indication. Under the terms of the agreement, Recursion will receive an upfront payment of $150M and is eligible for additional performance-based research milestones. Under the collaboration, Roche and Genentech may initiate up to 40 programs, each of which, if successfully developed and commercialized, could yield more than $300M in development, commercialization and net sales milestones for Recursion, as well as tiered royalties on net sales.

07:52 EST DTE Energy adds 535 megawatts of wind, solar in 2021 - DTE Energy announced it will complete a 40% increase in its renewable energy capacity this year. The 535-megawatt increase includes three wind parks that began operating in the spring and one solar park that will come online before the end of the year. DTE's generation portfolio now includes 1,862 megawatts of wind and solar, which is enough clean energy to power nearly 700,000 homes. All of DTE's wind and solar projects are located in Michigan, and the company has several more new clean energy projects under development throughout the state. Since 2009, DTE's clean energy projects have created more than 4,000 jobs and brought millions of dollars of additional tax revenue to rural communities. During the first half of 2022, DTE will launch new MIGreenPower program options, including opportunities to support enrollments for income-qualified customers who will receive the monthly bill credits associated with MIGreenPower program subscriptions. The company is also introducing more flexible enrollment options that will enable all customers to enroll either a percentage of their energy use or choose a fixed-price subscription option. As part of a pilot program, DTE is working with local organizations in Detroit, Highland Park and River Rouge to build new community solar projects in these cities. The projects will provide a number of qualifying low-income residents with 100% renewable energy as well as credits that will result in lowering their monthly bill. DTE has agreed to fund a portion of these projects and will be seeking to partner with third party organizations to assist in funding these new beneficial community pilot projects. DTE is also moving forward with a plan to build its first MIGreenPower community solar project in Washtenaw County. The new 20-megawatt project is designed to support the City of Ann Arbor and Pittsfield Township with achieving their clean energy goals. Additionally, all DTE Electric customers will also have the opportunity to subscribe to this project. Across the state in Saginaw and Midland Counties, DTE is developing Meridian Wind, a 225-megawatt project that will be the largest wind park in Michigan when it begins commercial operation in mid-2022. Southfield-based contractor Barton Malow is building the project for DTE and has more than 200 Michigan workers at the job site. When completed, the park's 77 turbines will be able to generate enough clean energy to power 78,000 homes. DTE is committed to continued growth of its renewable energy portfolio as part of its goal to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Since 2009, the company has driven investment of nearly $3 billion in renewable energy assets and infrastructure. By 2025, DTE will invest an additional $2.8 billion in new renewable energy projects, doubling its clean energy generation capacity.

07:47 EST Nextleaf Solutions announces $3M marketed public offering of units - Nextleaf Solutions announced that it has entered into an engagement letter with Research Capital Corporation in respect of a marketed public offering of units of the Company for minimum aggregate gross proceeds of $3,000,000. The Agent has agreed to act as sole agent and bookrunner on a best efforts basis pursuant to the filing of a prospectus supplement to the Company's short form base shelf prospectus dated November 23, 2021, to offer for sale the Units at an indicative price of $0.20 per Unit, as determined in the context of the market. Each Unit will be comprised of one common share in the capital of the Company and one common share purchase warrant. Each Warrant will be exercisable to acquire one Common Share at an indicative exercise price of $0.275 per Common Share for a period of 24 months following closing of the Offering. The definitive structure, including the exercise price and the expiry date of the Warrants will be determined in the context of the market and described in the Supplement. The Company has granted the Agent an option to purchase up to an additional 15% of the Units, and/or the components thereof, offered in the Offering on the same terms and conditions, exercisable at any time, in whole or in part, for a period of 30 days following the closing of the Offering for over-allotment and market stabilization purposes. The Company intends to use the net proceeds of the Offering for the procurement and delivery of its cannabis products to various provincial markets nationally, for the partial repayment of principal and interest on a senior secured convertible note of the Company, for general and administrative expenses and for working capital and general corporate purposes. The Offering is expected to close on or about December 16, 2021 and is subject to the Company fulfilling certain conditions and receiving all necessary regulatory and stock exchange approvals. The Units will be offered by way of the Supplement to the Prospectus, to be filed in all provinces of Canada other than Quebec, and accordingly will not be subject to a statutory or exchange four-month hold in the Offering Jurisdictions. The Units may also be offered in the United States on a non-brokered private placement basis on the same terms as the Offering pursuant to applicable exemptions from the registration requirements of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amendd and applicable state securities laws, and in other offshore jurisdictions provided that no prospectus filing or comparable obligation arises. In connection with the Offering, the Company will pay to the Agent a cash commission equal to 8.0% of the gross proceeds from the Offering, including pursuant to the exercise of the Over-Allotment Option, which will be reduced in respect of sales of Units to persons identified by the Company to the Agent pursuant to a president's list. The Company will also issue to the Agent such number of non-transferable broker warrants equal to 8.0% of the total number of Units sold under the Offering, including pursuant to the exercise of the Over-Allotment Option, which will be reduced in respect of sales of Units to persons identified by the Company to the Agent pursuant to a president's list. Each Broker Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to acquire one Unit at an exercise price equal to the Offering Price at any time prior to 5:00 p.m. on the expiry date of the Warrants. In addition, the Company has agreed to pay the Agent a corporate finance fee of $100,000 plus HST, which shall be payable on closing through the issuance to the Agent of Common Shares at a price equal to the Offering Price.

07:40 EST Accenture, FourKites launch global supply chain research - According to "The Pharmaceutical Supply Chain: Closing the Visibility Gap," a new report issued by FourKites and Accenture, while approximately half of pharmaceutical organizations have already deployed visibility technology to track raw materials and to better plan their manufacturing, many are dissatisfied with the capabilities of their current solutions. As a result, more than nine in 10 executives plan to implement a more robust digital supply chain visibility solution over the next 12 months. Many existing visibility solutions fail to account for the unique nature of pharmaceutical supply chains. COVID-19 further highlighted the acute need for visibility at every node along the pharmaceutical supply chain. FourKites partnered with Accenture to survey supply chain executives working in pharmaceuticals, biotech, cell and gene therapy, medtech and other related industries. Among the findings, 32% of executives identified product protection and the need to quarantine as their biggest pain points in transporting and storing goods, while nearly 50% cited security and temperature reporting as the biggest issues. Beyond real-time reports for temperature and security, the survey revealed many opportunities for supply chain visibility to help improve inbound challenges and operations. Additional Findings: 60% of organizations consider quality assurance to be the key driver for enhancing security and visibility requirements, followed by 51% of companies that are focused on improving customer experience and 40% on operational execution.

07:39 EST Enovix announces redemption of public warrants - Enovix Corporation announced that holders of its outstanding public warrants will have until 5:00 p.m, New York City time, on January 7, 2022, to exercise their public warrants. The public warrants are exercisable for shares of Enovix's common stock at a price of $11.50 per share. Pursuant to the warrant agreement, Enovix is entitled to redeem all of the outstanding public warrants if the last sale price of its common stock is at least $18.00 per share on each of 20 trading days within any 30 trading-day period. This share price performance target was achieved on December 2, 2021. Any public warrants that remain unexercised immediately after 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on January 7, 2022 will be void and no longer exercisable, and the holders of those warrants will be entitled to receive $0.01 per warrant. If a holder of a public warrant does not wish for its public warrant to be redeemed, it must exercise such public warrant before 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on January 7, 2022. Public warrants must be exercised at a price of $11.50 per share. As a result of the redemption of the outstanding public warrants, Enovix's warrants will cease to be listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market, effective at the close of trading on January 7, 2022. Holders of public warrants in "street name" should immediately contact their broker to determine their broker's procedure for exercising their warrants since the process to exercise is voluntary. At the time of this press release, Enovix has 11,499,991 public warrants outstanding. If all such currently outstanding public warrants are exercised prior to redemption, Enovix will issue an aggregate of 11,499,991 shares of common stock and receive potential gross exercise proceeds of approximately $132.25 million.

07:37 EST Ameresco acquires Plug Smart, terms undisclosed - Ameresco announced that it has acquired Plug Smart, an Ohio-based energy services company that specializes in the development and implementation of budget neutral capital improvement projects including building controls and building automation systems. With this acquisition, Ameresco expands its existing pipeline and solution offerings in the smart buildings sector. Plug Smart was formed in 2008 and has been providing smart building solutions through a customer-focused approach for the government, university, school, healthcare and commercial markets with a strong regional presence in Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, Tennessee, Pennsylvania and Florida. The Plug Smart team will join Ameresco's employee base of over 1,000 people and will directly benefit from the ability to conduct projects across a broad solution portfolio, leveraging Ameresco's capabilities in street lighting, solar PV arrays, battery energy storage systems, microgrids and more. The integration of smart building solution expertise directly serves Ameresco's vision of offering tailored and innovative energy solutions to customers while growing expertise through expanding their teams of technical specialists. Financial terms of the transaction are undisclosed, though Ameresco does not anticipate that the acquisition will have a material impact on the 2021 financial results of the company.

07:35 EST Wayfair to debut 1st brick & mortar AllModern, Joss & Main stores in MA - Wayfair announced it will open its next brick-and-mortar retail stores in the coming year, "bringing two of its specialty retail brands to life in 2022 with three stores located in Massachusetts. AllModern will open its first store at MarketStreet Lynnfield followed by a second location at Legacy Place in Dedham, both open-air retail destinations are owned and managed by WS Development. Joss & Main will open in the new lifestyle space at Burlington Mall, a Simon mall in Burlington. These locations will be the first in a series of openings as Wayfair plans to launch additional stores representing all five of its brands in optimal formats, sizes and geographies over the next two years," informed the company. "At Wayfair, we are focused on creating the best possible experience for our customers. That includes meeting them wherever they are on their shopping journey and delivering the exceptional value, selection, service and inspiration they enjoy from our entire family of brands," noted Karen McKibbin, Head of Physical Retail, Wayfair. "With our first-ever AllModern and Joss & Main retail stores, we are introducing a new kind of omnichannel shopping experience powered by the Wayfair platform, inviting our customers to engage with the brands they know and love in an innovative format that blends the best of in-store and online shopping." We are focused on building a premier portfolio of specialty concepts, helping all of our customers find the home solutions that are just right for them," continued McKibbin. "We look forward to unveiling the next evolution of our specialty retail brands through this exciting new channel." Beginning in 2018, Wayfair has operated a variety of pop-up shops as well as a smaller format retail store at the Natick Mall in 2019. The company's three new stores launching in 2022 will be followed by additional stores across the entire Wayfair family of brands, including larger store formats for Wayfair and Perigold. Additional details about the AllModern and Joss & Main stores will be available closer to the openings next year.

07:34 EST Enovix provides update on EV program at AABC - Enovix announced its executives will be speaking at the 21st Advanced Automotive Battery Conference, AABC, at the San Diego Convention Center on December 7, 2021, and will provide an update to the Company's Electric Vehicle, EV, program. Their presentations will include updates on the Company's EV program including: early battery performance from its U.S. Department of Energy grant program; improved energy density over currently available EV solutions; fast charge capability compared to equivalent pouch cells; and results of a third-party study Enovix commissioned to evaluate the advantages of its 3D silicon cell architecture for EV packs.

07:33 EST Core & Main sees FY21 adjusted EBITDA $560M-$580M - "Our performance in the third quarter continued to be very strong despite ongoing supply chain constraints and product availability challenges," LeClair continued. "Demand and pricing trends remain favorable across each of our end markets, and now look more positive than what we expected three months ago. Based on current visibility, backlog of existing orders and business trends, we now expect full year fiscal 2021 Adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $560 million to $580 million, representing year-over-year growth of 64% to 70%."

07:32 EST Arbutus Biopharma, X-Chem, Proteros biostructures achieve first milstone - Arbutus Biopharma, X-Chem, and Proteros biostructures announced that Arbutus Biopharma has identified several molecules that inhibit the SARS-CoV-2 nsp5 main protease, a validated target for the treatment of COVID-19 and potential future coronavirus outbreaks. Upon achievement of this milestone, as part of their discovery and research agreement, Arbutus has obtained a worldwide exclusive license to the identified molecules. "Our goal with this collaboration was to identify unique and differentiated pan-coronavirus assets targeting the main coronavirus protease which could deliver a much-needed oral antiviral treatment for SARS-CoV-2 and any potential future coronavirus outbreaks," stated Dr. Michael Sofia, Arbutus's Chief Scientific Officer. "To have identified small molecule inhibitors that are potent and selective against Mpro just six months after commencing this collaboration demonstrates the importance Arbutus, Proteros and X-Chem are placing on quickly developing effective and safe therapies to successfully combat the COVID-19 pandemic. We are excited to have achieved this important milestone and to move this program forward into the lead optimization stage." In connection with achievement of this development milestone, Arbutus obtained a worldwide exclusive license to the identified small molecule inhibitors. In exchange for that license, Arbutus shall make a milestone payment to X-Chem and Proteros.

07:31 EST U.S. Well Services awarded contract by Callon Petroleum - U.S. Well Services (USWS) announced it has entered into a contract to provide electric pressure pumping services for the operating subsidiaries of Callon Petroleum Company (CPE) in the Permian Basin and the Eagle Ford Shale for up to three years.

07:30 EST Mimecast trading resumes

07:26 EST IGEN's Nimbo Tracking, Peak Performance Team launch dealership program - IGEN Networks announced the launch of a nationwide Dealership Program between IGEN's Nimbo Tracking and Peak Performance Team. With the initial launch, the first Master Purchase order for 1500 new vehicle activations takes effect through IGEN's Nimbo Tracking distribution channels and "FamilyShield" services offered to automotive consumers across the Peak Performance Team Dealership Network. "The Peak Performance Team organization is our newest distributor and channel partner with proven capabilities and expertise in working with automotive dealerships and insurance companies. We are delighted with the opportunity to develop a comprehensive program which takes advantage of IGEN products and services across multiple consumer segments," said Abel Sierra, VP & GM of IGEN Networks Corp."

07:22 EST FirstCash commences offering of senior notes - FirstCash announced that it has commenced an offering through a private placement, subject to market and other conditions, of $525,000,000 in aggregate principal amount of senior notes due 2030. The Company intends to use the proceeds from the Offering to finance the cash consideration of the previously announced pending acquisition of American First Finance, repay in full the outstanding debt under AFF's credit facility, to pay fees, costs and expenses incurred in connection with the Acquisition and the Offering and the remainder to repay a portion of the borrowings under the Company's senior unsecured revolving credit facility. The Offering is not contingent on the closing of the Acquisition or any debt financing. However, in the event that the Acquisition is not consummated on or prior to March 31, 2022 or the Company notifies BOKF, NA, which is serving as trustee for the Notes, of its abandonment or termination of the business combination agreement dated as of October 27, 2021, as amended, by and among the Company, AFF and the other parties thereto, or its determination that the Acquisition will not be consummated by the Outside Date, the Notes will be subject to a special mandatory redemption at a price equal to 100% of the initial issue price of the Notes plus accrued and unpaid interest from the date of the issuance of the Notes to, but excluding, the date of such special mandatory redemption.

07:21 EST FirstCash amends definitive agreement with American First Finance - FirstCash announced that it has amended its previously announced definitive agreement to acquire American First Finance. The total consideration payable to the seller at closing remains unchanged, consisting of approximately 8.05 million shares of common stock and $406 million in cash, subject to a net debt adjustment. The transaction is now valued at approximately $916 million, based on the Company's closing stock price on December 3, 2021, compared to the estimated valuation at the time of announcement of $1.17 billion. As previously announced, there is also $300 million of additional consideration payable in the event AFF achieves certain performance targets through the first half of 2023. Given recent volatility in FirstCash's stock price, the amendment provides for additional contingent consideration of up to $75 million, to be based on the Company's stock performance through February 28, 2023. If the Company's highest average stock price for any 10-day period before that date is at or more than $86.25 per share, then no such contingent consideration would be due. Given the continued strength in AFF's originations activity, which has resulted in additional funding requirements since the entry into the definitive agreement, the amendment also provides for a fixed $25 million working capital payment payable December 31, 2022. The Company has obtained the necessary antitrust approval and expects to receive all other required regulatory approvals for the transaction in the coming weeks and expects to close the transaction by the end of the year, subject to the satisfaction of the remaining customary closing conditions.

07:17 EST MeiraGTx announces preliminary data from AQUAx Phase 1 trial of AAV-hAQP1 - MeiraGTx announced positive preliminary data from the ongoing Phase 1 AQUAx trial of AAV-hAQP1 for the treatment of grade 2/3 radiation-induced xerostomia, RIX. Study Design and Safety Update in the Phase 1 AQUAx Trial of AAV-hAPQ1 for the Treatment of Grade 2/3 Radiation-Induced Xerostomia. AQUAx is an open label, multi-center, dose escalation study of a single administration of AAV-hAQP1 to one or both parotid glands in patients with radiation-induced salivary hypofunction and xerostomia. McMaster Global Rate of Change PRO measure results: 6 of the 7 participants who reached the Day 90 assessment reported their symptoms of dry mouth as better following treatment; All 6 of these participants rated changes in xerostomia scores that were important or very important to the participant; 3 participants rated the change in xerostomia symptoms with the highest level of improvement; Improvement in xerostomia symptoms persisted through 1 year in two of the patients who reached Day 360; Participant 1-1 has just reached the 24-month assessment and the highest possible score of 7 was maintained; Participant 2-1 reported no improvement and was the only one of the 7 participants who had no saliva production at baseline; No participant reported a worsening of xerostomia symptoms at any time point. Xerostomia Questionnaire PRO measure results: 6 of 7 participants reaching the Day 90 assessment reported decreases in disease burden of 10 points or more on the XQ; more dramatic reductions of 19, 25, 26, and 41 points were reported by 4 of 7 participants at Day 90; In the participants who completed visits at Day 180 and 360, scores continued to improve or were stable at these later timepoints; One participant reported complete resolution of symptoms at Day 360 following treatment with no symptoms of xerostomia, and has maintained the same score of 0 following the 24 month assessment. Phase 2 Study Plans: Based on the safety and efficacy profile of AAV2-hAQP1 in the AQUAx Phase 1 study and regulatory precedent, the Company intends to initiate a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 2 study evaluating two active doses of AAV2-hAQP1 in the second half of 2022. The change from baseline to 12-months in the McMaster Global Rate of Change questionnaire is expected to be the study's primary efficacy endpoint. Grade 2/3 Radiation-Induced Xerostomia unmet medical need and market size: There are currently 170,000 patients in the U.S. with grade 2/3 RIX two or more years out from successful radiation treatment for head and neck cancer, and an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 new patients per year in the U.S. Current treatment options for RIX are few and are of limited benefit.

07:15 EST Verano announces $150,000 donation to Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Foundation - Verano Holdings announced the donation of $150,000 to the Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Foundation, the most significant charitable gift in Verano's history and largest cannabis company contribution received by the Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Foundation to date. The donation proceeds were amassed following the launch of an inaugural multi-state, dispensary-led punch card campaign that ran throughout October in support of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. During the campaign, cannabis customers across several states had the opportunity to both enjoy their favorite medical and adult-use cannabis products and support the fundraising campaign; Verano facilitated a $20 donation to the Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Foundation upon each customer's fifth transaction. The results exceeded expectations, with more than 7,000 dispensary visitors participating in the initiative, underscoring the cannabis community's widespread support of the Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Foundation and their mission to eradicate breast cancer.

07:14 EST Xos announces strategic partnership with Yancey Bros. - Xos announced it has entered a strategic partnership with Austell, Ga.-based Yancey Bros. Co. to distribute Xos vehicles across the state of Georgia. Yancey will leverage its existing infrastructure and facilities, including dedicated truck service centers across the state of Georgia, to help drive the adoption of Xos electric trucks. Yancey currently operates 29 facilities across the state.

07:13 EST Ascot Resources receives Mines Act permit for Premier Gold Project - Ascot Resources is pleased to announce the receipt of the Mines Act Permit for construction and operation of the Premier Gold Project located in the Golden Triangle of northwestern British Columbia, along with an update on project development. The B.C. Ministry of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation has issued to Ascot the M-179 Mines Act Permit, enabling the restart of operations at PGP. In addition, Ascot anticipates the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy to imminently issue the Environmental Management Act Permit PE-8044, for which there are no further outstanding information requests. With the benefit of having the Mines Act Permit in hand, Ascot will now evaluate and prepare for an optimal transition from Early Works to full-scale construction. The receipt of the final permits is one of the key conditions to draw down the remaining $75M under the Company's project finance facility. Based on the 2020 feasibility study mine plan, without factoring in additional mine life extension potential through further resource growth and conversion to reserves, the project is expected to bring much prosperity to the local communities and the surrounding region of northwestern British Columbia. During the approximate 12-month construction phase, Ascot expects the project to employ a peak of approximately 140 people, and in operation the mine will directly employ approximately 280 people, not to mention sub-contractors, suppliers, and ancillary services; Ascot hopes that many of these positions will be filled by Nisga'a Nation and other local community members. Over the initial 8-year mine life, Ascot expects to invest C$353M in initial and sustaining capital and incur C$884M in operating expenses, the vast majority of which would be spent locally and in the province. The mine is also expected to generate approximately C$403M in provincial and federal taxes and C$746M in after-tax free cash flow based on current spot metal prices. Moreover, this prosperity will not come at the expense of high greenhouse gas emissions as PGP is expected to be one of British Columbia's lowest carbon-intensive gold mines. The project is well situated to be a relatively low carbon emitter across all three scopes of GHG measurement. Scope 1 pertains operation of company equipment on company property. Ascot will operate various high-grade, near-surface underground mines, which are known to emit much less carbon than their open pit counterparts. Scope 2 pertains to emissions from purchased power sources, which in Ascot's case is B.C.'s clean, hydroelectric grid power. Scope 3 pertains to upstream and downstream supply chain and processing. Ascot will pour dore gold-silver bars on site, the shipping of which will emit much less carbon than would a concentrate product. The Company is currently undertaking a review of the 2020 feasibility study mine plan to estimate life of mine Scope 1-2 emissions, which will be included in Ascot's inaugural sustainability report planned for 2022. The Company recently received notice that a cargo ship travelling from China to Vancouver, carrying a majority of the Company's clarifier and thickener components, lost its cargo at sea in a major storm event. The financial cost of replacement will be covered by insurance, but the additional time to fabricate and ship replacement components is expected to cause a delay in the overall project schedule. This combined with abnormally high snowfall levels associated with storm events on the west coast of B.C. has led Ascot to revise the project development plans throughout the winter season and into 2022. For these reasons and in order to prioritize the safety of our workforce, the Company is now planning to scale back most outdoor construction activities and delay the commencement of underground development until snowfall levels subside. In Ascot's currently contemplated underground development sequence, by starting in April 2022 initial ore could potentially be accessed by October, enabling process plant commissioning by the end of 2022. As a result, the target date for initial gold production has shifted by one quarter from Q4 2022 to Q1 2023. Ascot is evaluating the potential impact to project costs and construction schedule and will provide an update in due course.

07:11 EST Surge Copper announces assay results from Ootsa Property - Surge Copper announced complete assay results for 11 holes from the Seel Breccia Zone at the Company's 100% owned Ootsa Property in central British Columbia. The Seel Breccia Zone is located 200 metres north of the East Seel deposit and is known to contain high-grade copper and silver mineralization that extends from surface along a series of steeply dipping brecciated zones. Drilling during the summer program encountered this style of breccia mineralization in a stepout to the north of the known zone, and this release contains the first of several batches of results from follow-up exploration drilling in this area. Highlights: Hole S21-281 intersected 46 metres grading 1.7% copper equivalent from 24 metres downhole depth, including 28 metres grading 2.0% copper equivalent and 10 metres grading 3.6% copper equivalent; Hole S21-280 intersected 23 metres grading 1.2% copper equivalent from 3 metres downhole depth, including 12 metres grading 1.6% copper equivalent; Holes S21-280 and 281 are 180 metres apart and demonstrate a substantial increase in dimensions of the known high-grade zone with assays pending from holes along strike. Assay results have been received for 11 holes from the Seel Breccia Zone including holes S21-270, S21-272 to 278, and S21-280 to 282. Hole S21-280 was collared on the western end of the zone and intersected 23 metres grading 0.84% copper and 19.9 g/t silver from 3 metres downhole, including 12 metres grading 1.23% copper and 20.5 g/t silver. Hole S21-281 was collared 180 metres east of hole S21-280 within the same breccia zone and also returned high-grade intersecting 46 metres grading 1.24% copper and 34.0 g/t silver from 24 metres downhole, including 28 metres grading 1.50% copper and 40.7 g/t silver. Holes S21-270, 272, 273, and 274 were collared from approximately the same location in the middle of the zone, midway between S21-280 and 281, and each hit moderate zones of breccia style mineralization starting near surface. Holes S21-275, 276, and 277 were collared along the north side of the zone along its strike length and angled back toward the south, encountering deeper portions of the zone and each intersecting moderate zones of breccia style mineralization with some narrower, higher-grade subintervals. Holes S21-278 and S21-282 were angled obliquely against the prevailing orientation of the zone and did not intersect significant mineralization. The Seel Breccia is proving to be a near vertical to steeply south dipping breccia body ranging from 25 to 50 metres wide and extending to depths exceeding 100 metres from surface. Smaller parallel and irregular breccia bodies locally surround the main zone. These initial drill results show potential to significantly expand near surface high-grade mineralization well beyond the zone of historical drilling, and the area is being evaluated for its potential as a high-grade starter pit. A historical resource from 2014 on the Seel Breccia Zone located to the southeast of the current drilling outlined a zone containing approximately 1.1 million tonnes grading 0.42% copper, 12.6 g/t silver, and 0.06 g/t gold.

07:08 EST Lantronix named member of Qualcomm Authorized Design Center Program - Lantronix announced it has been named a member of the Qualcomm Authorized Design Center Program's automotive program. A long-time Qualcomm Advantage Network member, Lantronix joined the invitation-only program, which assists companies in accelerating innovation by connecting customers with an ecosystem of businesses that provide tools and deep expert design services. Lantronix will participate in the automotive program, referred to as the Qualcomm Automotive Solutions Ecosystem Program, by providing access to tools that are built around the 3rd Generation Snapdragon Automotive Cockpit Platform, a product of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc.

07:07 EST Can-Fite BioPharma says top line data on Phase III psoriasis study expected Q1 - Can-Fite BioPharma announced the last of approximately 400 psoriasis patients enrolled in its Phase III Comfort study is scheduled to complete a 16-week cycle of treatment with Piclidenoson, the Company's lead drug candidate, at the beginning of January 2022. The 16-week treatment period is the primary endpoint of the study, and the Company expects to announce topline results during Q1 2022. Piclidenoson is a novel, first-in-class, A3 adenosine receptor agonist small molecule, orally bioavailable drug with a favorable therapeutic index demonstrated in Phase II clinical studies. The randomized, double blind, active and placebo controlled study is being conducted in Europe, Israel, and Canada. The study's primary endpoint is the proportion of patients who achieve a PASI score response of greater than or equal to75% vs. placebo at week 16. Secondary endpoints include non-inferiority to Otezla in weeks 16 and 32. Patients enrolled in the study have been selected based on their over-expression of A3AR, Can-Fite's therapeutic target. "Completion of treatment in a Phase III study is a significant milestone for our lead drug candidate. We were encouraged by the positive interim data analysis provided by the Independent Data Monitoring Committee following treatment of the first 200 patients in this study. We are hopeful that Piclidenoson has helped the treated patients and that it may provide safe, long term relief from the symptoms of psoriasis," stated Can-Fite CEO Dr. Pnina Fishman. Otezla reported generating $2.2 billion in sales in 2020. According to iHealthcareAnalyst, the psoriasis therapeutic market is estimated to reach $11.3 billion by 2025. Piclidenoson has been out-licensed for the indication of psoriasis in major markets including Canada, Europe, and Asia with deal terms including potential upcoming milestone payments and double-digit royalties upon regulatory approval.

07:06 EST Medipharm Labs announces three board resignations - MediPharm Labs is pleased to announce changes to its Board of Directors. Effectively immediately, Pat McCutcheon, Warren Everitt and Keith Strachan will be resigning from the Board. The change is being made as a next step in the Company's transformation to an operating pharmaceutical cannabis manufacturing company, maturing beyond the founder-lead phase of the business. The Board is now composed entirely of Independent Directors with Bryan Howcroft, MediPharm Labs' new CEO, being the only Executive Director. With MediPharm Labs' strong cash position, the Board will oversee the Company's execution of its global pharmaceutical cannabinoid strategy. The Board now consists of: Chris Taves, Chairman; Bryan Howcroft, CEO; Chris Halyk; Shelley Martin; Miriam McDonald; Dr. Paul Tam.

07:04 EST EVgo gets California award of $1.7M for charging stalls - EVgo announced that it was selected for proposed awards for various grants from the California Air Resources Board through the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to install new high powered direct current fast chargers to help the state meet its transportation electrification goals. The five proposed awards are funded by the California Volkswagen Mitigation Environmental Trust and support the state's ZEV Action Plan. Public funding helps accelerate the deployment of infrastructure to support EV adoption. EVgo currently has more than 330 sites and 820 fast charging stalls across California. This new set of sites will add 5 more fast charging locations, 38 charging stalls, including one large site in Los Angeles with 18 charging stalls enabling more retail drivers and fleets around the city to make the transition to electric vehicles. All of these sites will include power-sharing and power-routing 350kW fast chargers, capable of charging most vehicles up to 80% in 15 to 45 minutes*. "As a home state company, EVgo thanks CARB and BAAQMD for their leadership in supporting EV adoption and for selecting EVgo for these proposed funding awards," said Jonathan Levy, Chief Commercial Officer at EVgo. "EVgo has a long track record of successfully partnering with public sector agencies to deploy fast charging, and these new sites will help enable Californians across neighborhoods and income levels take advantage of the benefits of driving electric." The California Volkswagen Mitigation Environmental Trust, which resulted from the dieselgate scandal, allocated $5M.

07:03 EST Mimecast to become private company through $5.8B transaction with Permira - Mimecast announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement whereby funds advised by Permira will acquire the company. Under the terms of the agreement, Permira will acquire all outstanding ordinary shares of Mimecast for $80.00 per share in an all-cash transaction that values Mimecast at an equity value of approximately $5.8B. Under the terms of the agreement, which was approved and recommended by an independent Special Committee, and then approved by the Mimecast Board of Directors, Mimecast shareholders will receive $80.00 in cash for each ordinary share they own. The purchase price represents a premium of approximately 16% to Mimecast's unaffected closing stock price on October 27, 2021, the last full trading day prior to a Wall Street Journal article disclosing details regarding the company's strategic review process, and an approximately 21% premium to the company's unaffected 20-day volume weighted average price. The agreement includes a 30-day "go-shop" period expiring on January 6, 2022. During this period, the Special Committee and its advisors will actively initiate, solicit, encourage, and evaluate alternative acquisition proposals, and potentially enter into negotiations with any parties that may offer alternative acquisition proposals. Mimecast will have the right to terminate the agreement to enter into a superior proposal subject to the terms and conditions of the agreement. There can be no assurance that this "go-shop" process will result in a superior proposal or that any other transaction will be approved or completed. Mimecast does not intend to disclose developments with respect to the go-shop process unless and until its Special Committee makes a determination requiring further disclosure. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2022, subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by Mimecast shareholders and receipt of regulatory approvals. Upon completion of the transaction, Mimecast will become a privately held company and the ordinary shares of Mimecast will no longer be listed on any public market.

07:02 EST Ideaya provides update for Phase 1/2 trial evaluating darovasertib - IDEAYA Biosciences provided a clinical data update for the Phase 1/2 trial evaluating darovasertib and crizotinib synthetic lethal combination in metastatic uveal melanoma, or MUM, patients. "The partial responses, percentage of patients with tumor shrinkage and disease control rate observed from the darovasertib and crizotinib synthetic lethal combination in heavily pre-treated MUM patients represents a new clinical efficacy benchmark and provides an opportunity to deliver meaningful patient impact in this high unmet medical need patient population," said Meredith McKean, Sarah Cannon Research Institute at Tennessee Oncology, Associate Director, Melanoma and Skin Cancer Research. "These data provide clinical proof-of-concept for the PKC and cMET synthetic lethal combination, and further validate IDEAYA's synthetic lethality platform. We look forward to exploratory evaluation of this novel PKC and cMET synthetic lethal combination in other potential tumor settings, including GNAQ/11 skin melanoma and MET-amplified and MET high expression tumors," said Yujiro S. Hata, President and CEO of IDEAYA Biosciences. There are currently no FDA approved therapies for metastatic uveal melanoma or GNAQ/GNA11 solid tumors, highlighting the high unmet medical need.

06:58 EST Aecom looking for permits for the Humber Zero project - AECOM announced it is trying to obtain the consents and permits for the Humber Zero project, which will contribute to the decarbonization of critical industry in the Humber region of Northern England, UK. The Humber Zero project will integrate carbon capture and storage, or CCS, technology into units at the Phillips 66 Humber Refinery and VPI Immingham combined heat and power plant. By 2030, the project is expected to capture up to 8M tons of carbon dioxide annually at source before it is transported via pipeline to permanent storage sites under the North Sea. Carbon capture will integrate specialist technology into the existing processing units and plants, including absorption techniques to capture and recover the CO2.

06:56 EST AutoZone CEO says commercial business growth 'exceptionally strong' - "Our strong sales and earnings this first quarter are a continuing testament to our AutoZoners' commitment to going the extra mile for our customers. Our retail and commercial sales performance were consistently strong all quarter. Our commercial business growth continues to be exceptionally strong at 29.4% as the investments we are making are positioning us well in the marketplace. We are optimistic about our growth prospects for the balance of the fiscal year," said Bill Rhodes, Chairman, President and CEO. For the quarter, gross profit, as a percentage of sales, was 52.5%, a decrease of 65 basis points versus the prior year. The decrease in gross margin was primarily driven by initiatives to accelerate Commercial business growth. Operating expenses, as a percentage of sales, was 31.9% versus 33.6% last year. The decrease in operating expenses, as a percentage of sales, was driven by strong sales growth.

06:56 EST Samsung appoints Jong-Hee Han to lead newly merged SET division - Samsung Electronics announced its new leadership for the next phase of the Company's future growth and to strengthen its business competitiveness. Jong-Hee Han was promoted to Vice Chairman and CEO, and will lead the newly merged SET Division as he continues to head the Visual Display Business. President Kyehyun Kyung was also named CEO and will lead the DS Division. JH Han is a leading expert in TV research and development and has played a major role in the Company achieving the top position in global TV sales for the 15th consecutive year. He is expected to strengthen the synergies among the different businesses in the SET Division and help drive new businesses and technologies. Kyehyun Kyung, who has been the CEO of Samsung Electro-Mechanics, is an expert in semiconductor design, having previously been the head of Samsung Electronics' Flash Product & Technology Team as well as part of the DRAM Design Team. He is expected to help maintain the Company's semiconductor leadership and lead innovation in the components business. Other promotions and changes in the announcement include: Yongin Park, named President and Head of System LSI Business; previously Executive Vice President and Head of System LSI Sales & Marketing; Hark Kyu Park, named President and Chief Financial Officer; previously President and Head of the Corporate Management Office, DS Division; Kinam Kim, named Chairman of Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology; previously Vice Chairman and head of the DS Division; KS Choi, named President and Head of North America Office for SET Division; previously Executive Vice President and Head of North America Office; Inyup Kang, named President and Head of North America Office for DS Division; previously President and Head of System LSI Business. Reference Link

06:49 EST Spire Global awarded contract by the European Space Agency - Spire Global has been awarded a contract under the European Space Agency's, or ESA, Navigation Innovation and Support Programme, or NAVISP, Element 2 Program funded by UK Space Agency. Spire will work with NAVISP to build on the current capabilities of the Spire constellation and develop tools needed for geolocation signal processing, which will be applied toward geolocating Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) interferences coming from Earth's surface. Spire's low-earth orbit, or LEO, nanosatellite technology will be used to collect suspect interfering RF signals from a range of geographic areas prone to disruptions. Advanced processing algorithms will be developed to characterise the collected signals in support of a range of potential use cases.

06:47 EST American Airlines CEO Doug Parker to retire, Robert Isom to succeed - American Airlines Group announced Doug Parker will retire as CEO of American Airlines on March 31, 2022. Robert Isom, currently president of American, will succeed him. Isom also will join the airline's board of directors on that same date, and Parker will continue to serve as chairman of American's board. Isom, who was named president in 2016, brings more than 30 years of global industry and leadership experience across finance, operations, planning, marketing, sales, alliances, pricing and revenue management. Isom previously served as Executive Vice President and COO at American after holding the same position at US Airways.

06:37 EST Janssen announces additional efficacy, safety data from CYPRESS study - Janssen of Johnson & Johnson announced additional vaccine efficacy and safety data from its Phase 2b CYPRESS study of its respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, adult vaccine candidate. Results show that the vaccine candidate was highly effective in protecting against three clinical definitions of lower respiratory tract disease, or LRTD, caused by RSV, demonstrating vaccine efficacy of 70% to 80% in adults aged 65 and older. These data were presented at the Eighth European Scientific Working Group on Influenza, or ESWI, meeting, held virtually, December 4-7. Following an initial proof-of-concept study with Janssen's RSV adult vaccine candidate in a human challenge study, Janssen combined Ad26.RSV.preF with a prefusion F, or preF, protein for induction of a more optimal immune response. This combination single-dose regimen was evaluated in the Phase 2b CYPRESS study, which enrolled 5,782 participants across 40 sites in the United States. Participants were randomized to receive Ad26.RSV.preF or placebo and were followed through a single RSV season. The CYPRESS study primary endpoint was the first occurrence of LRTD caused by RSV, during the first RSV season following vaccination, according to any of three case definitions: 3 symptoms of lower respiratory tract infection; 2 symptoms of LRTI; or 2 symptoms of LRTI or 1 symptom of LRTI with 1 systemic symptom. Vaccine efficacy for LRTD case definitions 1, 2, and 3 were 80%, 75%, and 70%, respectively. Efficacy was 70% for the first occurrence of any symptomatic RSV-associated acute respiratory infection. Similarly, RSV-specific patient-reported outcomes data from the CYPRESS trial found less severe RSV symptoms in participants with RSV-associated ARI in the vaccine group than in the placebo group. Vaccinated participants who experienced RSV-associated ARI had milder symptoms and a faster return to usual health than the participants in the placebo group. Solicited adverse events and unsolicited AEs were assessed from time of vaccination to Day 8 and Day 29, respectively, in a safety subset of 695 participants. Serious AEs, or SAEs, were collected in all participants until the end of the RSV season or six months post-vaccination, whichever occurred later. In the vaccine group, the most frequent solicited systemic AEs were fatigue, myalgia and headache, and the most frequent solicited local AE was pain/tenderness. These events were typically mild to moderate in severity and short in duration, resolving within days after vaccination. The rates of unsolicited AEs were similar in both groups; in the overall study population, the rate of SAEs was similar between groups, and none were found to be related to the vaccine. Based on positive results from the Phase 2b CYPRESS study, which is the first large study evaluating the efficacy and safety of Janssen's RSV vaccine candidate against RSV-associated LRTD in vaccinated adults aged 65 and older in the United States, Janssen initiated the global Phase 3 EVERGREEN study. The Phase 3 study will evaluate the efficacy, safety and immunogenicity of Janssen's adult vaccine candidate against LRTD caused by RSV, when compared with placebo in approximately 23,000 adults aged 60 years and older throughout North America and a selection of countries across Europe, Asia and the Southern Hemisphere.

06:32 EST BlackSky plans to add additional two satellites to constellation on December 8 - BlackSky plans to add another two satellites to its constellation on December 8 with the Rocket Lab mission titled "A Data with Destiny." Satellites from the SpaceX mission Thursday began delivering revenue-generating insights for customers less than 24 hours following launch and increased constellation revisit rates to six consistent visits per day in key markets during daylight hours. BlackSky expects to achieve a 12 small satellite constellation by the end of 2021.

06:26 EST BMW Group hits 1M EV sales, targets 2M EV sales by 2025 - "The delivery of our one-millionth electrified vehicle, EV, marks a milestone in our transformation - and we already have the next one in our sights: We aim to break through the two-million mark in just two years," said Pieter Nota, member of the Board of Management of BMW. "Thanks to our steadily growing product range, we are setting ourselves ambitious sales targets, in particular for fully-electric vehicles: In 2022, we aim to double this year's sales. By 2025 the BMW Group will have delivered around two million fully-electric vehicles to customers. We expect at least one out of every two BMW Group vehicles sold to be fully electric by 2030," Nota continued. The BMW Group released the BMW iX and the BMW i4 onto the market in mid-November. Over the next year, the BMW Group will expand its electrified product line-up to include fully-electric versions of the BMW 7 Series and BMW X1. The high-volume BMW 5 Series will be added to the electric portfolio in 2023. The successor to the MINI Countryman and the all-electric Rolls-Royce Spectre will follow. By 2023, the company will already have at least one fully-electric model on the roads in about 90% of its current market segments. Over the next ten years or so, the BMW Group plans to release a total of about ten million fully-electric vehicles onto the roads. The MINI product range will already be exclusively all-electric by the early 2030s and Rolls-Royce will be an all-electric brand from 2030 on. All future new models from BMW Motorrad in the field of urban mobility will also be fully electric.

06:16 EST Moving iMage receives multiple purchase orders for equipment upgrades - Moving iMage Technologies announced it recently received three procurement contracts for upgrades. These purchase orders are part of a nascent upgrade cycle for aging digital cinema technology and equipment and are fueled by the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant distributed under the Cares Act. The SVOG is an SBA grant assisting eligible venues affected by COVID-19, including motion picture theatre operators. As of November 29, 2021, motion picture operators have received over $1.9B in initial funding and $0.6B in supplemental funding to help them recover from the impact of COVID-19.

06:07 EST Armada Hoffler to acquire Exelon building in Baltimore's Harbor Point - Armada Hoffler Properties (AHH) announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire a 79% interest and an additional 11% economic interest in the 23-story mixed-use Exelon (EXC) building in Baltimore's premiere downtown waterfront neighborhood, Harbor Point. The aggregate value of the acquisition is $246M. The estimated year 1 return on investment is 7.4%. The office component of the Exelon building is 100% leased by Exelon, a leading investment grade clean energy provider, pursuant to a lease with a remaining term of 15 years, with 3% annual escalation. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including satisfactory due diligence, and the company expects to close the acquisition by the end of the first quarter of 2022. Beatty Development Group will retain a 10% ownership position in the asset, a continuation of the company's 25-year relationship.

06:03 EST Oaktree Acquisition Corp. II, Alvotech announce merger agreement - Alvotech Holdings and Oaktree Acquisition Corp. II announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement. Upon completion of the transaction, the combined company's securities are expected to be traded on NASDAQ under the symbol "ALVO." Alvotech, founded in 2013 in Reykjavik, Iceland, is a vertically integrated platform company focused exclusively on developing and manufacturing biosimilar medicines for the global market. The business combination is expected to deliver gross proceeds to Alvotech in excess of $450M. This includes cash proceeds of approximately $250M from Oaktree Acquisition Corp. II's trust account; in excess of $150M from private placement investors, including among others, funds managed by Suvretta Capital, Athos, CVC Capital Partners, Temasek, Farallon Capital Management, Sculptor Capital Management and premier Icelandic investors including Arctica Finance, Arion Bank, and Landsbankinn; and a $50M equity commitment from existing shareholders to be funded prior to the end of 2021. The combined company will have an implied initial enterprise value of approximately $2.25B and will be well-positioned to continue investing in the growth of its biosimilar pipeline. As part of the transaction, Alvotech's existing equity holders have committed to roll 100% of their equity into the combined company. Leading existing institutional backers of Alvotech, including among others, Aztiq Pharma Partners, led by founder and Chairman Mr. Robert Wessman, Alvogen with CVC Capital Partners and Temasek as lead investors, Fuji Pharma from Japan, YAS Holdings from Abu Dhabi, Shinhan from Korea, Baxter Healthcare SA from the US, and Athos (the Strungmann Family Office) from Germany intend to roll 100% of their shares into the combined company. Assuming no public shareholders of Oaktree Acquisition Corp. II exercise their redemption rights, current Alvotech equity holders will own approximately 80%, Oaktree Acquisition Corp. II shareholders will own approximately 11%, and PIPE investors will own approximately 7% of the issued and outstanding ordinary shares, respectively, of the combined company at closing. The transaction also includes earn-out provisions tied to the trading price of the combined company's shares, reflecting an alignment of interest with shareholders. Oaktree Acquisition Corp. II's sponsor is deferring 1.25M founder shares into an earn-out at share price hurdles of $12.50 and $15.00. The transaction also includes an earn-out to existing shareholders of Alvotech, consisting of 38.3 million shares, which will vest evenly at share price hurdles of $15.00 and $20.00. The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of each Alvotech and Oaktree Acquisition Corp. II, is subject to, among other customary closing conditions, approval by shareholders of Oaktree Acquisition Corp. II, and shareholders of Alvotech, with the holders of a majority of the votes required to approve the transaction having provided commitments to approve the transaction. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2022.

05:36 EST AT&T sees FY22 postpaid phone ARPU remaining stable with 2021 levels - John Stankey, CEO of AT&T, spoke at the UBS Global TMT Conference, where he provided an update to shareholders. Stankey characterized current wireless industry demand trends as healthy, noting that any seasonal uptick in competition remains broadly in line with historical trends. He remains confident in the sustainability of AT&T's wireless momentum, which he attributed to a number of factors including rising share in previously underpenetrated segments of the market, improved customer experience, better network performance and AT&T's go-to-market strategy. Stankey reiterated prior comments that AT&T's outlook for 2022 and beyond does not assume a continuation of outsized industry net adds experienced in 2021. Should recent wireless industry trends continue, he believes the changes made to AT&T's go-to-market strategy puts the company in a position to capitalize on healthier than expected demand. Looking forward, Stankey sees AT&T's 2022 postpaid phone ARPU remaining stable with 2021 levels. Continued opportunity to upgrade customers to higher-ARPU unlimited plans and improved international roaming is expected to offset the impact of amortization accounting for device promotions. Notably, fewer than a quarter of gross adds and upgrades in the third quarter traded in newer devices for premium promotional offers. Only about 20% of AT&T's postpaid smartphones are on Unlimited Elite - the company's highest-ARPU and fastest-growing rate plan. AT&T's 5G deployment plans are on track. Stankey indicated he does not anticipate any material impact from the proactive accommodations made to address Federal Aviation Administration concerns around the deployment of C-band spectrum. In addition, the company remains comfortable with its fiber build plan. In the coming years, Stankey expects multiple opportunities from the country's largest fiber network, including improved consumer and business penetration and the ability to simultaneously support a 5G network. Having reached an inflection point in Consumer Wireline revenue and EBITDA growth, Stankey expects AT&T to continue improving its broadband position through the expansion of its fiber footprint. Regarding the pending WarnerMedia-Discovery transaction, Stankey said the regulatory review process is proceeding as expected. Stankey reiterated expectations of leverage levels of 2.6x at the close of the deal and 2.5x by yearend 2023. Post transaction close, the company expects an aggregate annual dividend of $8B to $9B, which equates to a 40% payout ratio assuming $20B in free cash flow the first full year after the close of the transaction. AT&T continues to expect the transaction to close by mid-2022.

05:31 EST Aerie Pharmaceuticals enter exclusive license agreement with Santen - Aerie Pharmaceuticals announced that Aerie and Santen have entered into an exclusive development and commercialization agreement for Rhopressa/Rhokiinsa 0.02% and Rocklatan/Roclanda 0.02%/0.005%. The expanded collaboration includes Europe, Commonwealth of Independent States, or CIS, countries, China, India, parts of Latin America and the Oceania countries. Under the terms of the agreement, Aerie will receive an upfront payment of $88M, and various development, regulatory and sales milestones of up to $77M. Aerie is also eligible to receive additional consideration in excess of 25% of the products' net sales, such consideration consisting of the cost of products supplied to Santen from Aerie and a royalty for Aerie's intellectual property. Santen will be responsible for sales, marketing and pricing decisions relating to the products. Santen will also be responsible for all development and commercialization costs and activities related to the products in the territories covered by the agreement with the exception of a post-marketing clinical study to be conducted by Aerie in Europe for Roclanda. Aerie will be responsible for the manufacture and supply of the products to Santen utilizing its Athlone, Ireland plant. In addition to customary termination rights for both parties, in the event that patents are issued that may prevent the commercialization of the products in China, Santen would have the right to terminate the agreement for such country and require Aerie's repayment of a portion of the upfront payment.

05:25 EST Stellantis targets incremental annual revenues of EUR 20B by 2030 - Stellantis mapped out its software strategy to deploy next-generation tech platforms, building on existing connected vehicle capabilities in an effort to transform how customers interact with their vehicles, and to generate approximately EUR 20B in incremental annual revenues by 2030. This will move Stellantis' vehicles from today's dedicated electronic architectures to an open software-defined platform that integrates with customers' digital lives. It expands the options customers have to add features and services via regular over-the-air updates. "Our electrification and software strategies will support the shift to become a sustainable mobility tech company to lead the pack, leveraging the associated business growth with over-the-air features and services and delivering the best experience to our customers," said Carlos Tavares, Stellantis CEO. "With the three all-new, AI-powered, technology platforms to arrive in 2024, deployed across the four STLA vehicle platforms, we will leverage the speed and agility associated with the decoupling of hardware and software cycles." Stellantis plans to invest more than EUR 30B through 2025 to execute its software and electrification transformation.

05:18 EST Infosys announces collaboration with the Financial Times - Infosys has announced a strategic collaboration with the Financial Times, or FT, one of the world's business news organizations. As the digital innovation partner for the FT, Infosys will leverage digital innovation to support the latest data-led storytelling experiences for FT's readers. Among the banner projects the two companies will work on together in 2022 is a climate change-related simulation. This will take inspiration from an earlier newsroom innovation that was a strong hit with readers: the Uber Game. Here readers were put in the driving seat, immersed directly into the business model of Uber.

05:13 EST DouYu co-CEO Wenming Zhang resigns - DouYu announced changes to its board of directors and management. Wenming Zhang has tendered his voluntary resignation from his position as a director and co-chief executive officer of the company due to personal reasons, effective immediately. Yang Deng has been appointed as a director on the company's board of directors, effective immediately. In addition, Mingming Su, the company's director and chief strategy officer, will serve as a member of the compensation, nominating and corporate governance committees of the board, effective immediately. Yang Deng joined DouYu in August, 2015 as the company's legal director and has served as vice president of legal affairs since February, 2017.

05:06 EST Roku establishes Amsterdam office - Roku announced that it is establishing and investing in an office in the city of Amsterdam. Roku plans to expand its existing presence in The Netherlands to help support its international growth. The Amsterdam office will be located on Weteringschans and offers space for up to 150 employees. Roku is headquartered in Silicon Valley in the United States, in Europe it currently has offices in Denmark, Ukraine and the United Kingdom.