Stockwinners Market Radar for February 23, 2022 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:46 EST Aaron's to acquire BrandsMart for about $230M in cash - The Aaron's Company "announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire BrandsMart U.S.A. Under the terms of the agreement, total consideration is approximately $230M in cash, subject to certain closing adjustments, and the transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2022. With this transaction, we believe that Aaron's will deliver over $3B in total annual revenues and over $300M in adjusted EBITDA by year-end 2026."

18:48 EST Peloton CEO: Not focusing on raising prices - In an interview on CNBC's Mad Money, Barry McCarthy said Peloton needs to go through an analysis of whether it should focus on the U.S. business or the international side. He's currently not thinking about raising prices, but will look at elasticity. He noted that there is opportunity to flex the business model and increase the TAM. Peloton is well capitalized for the road ahead, he added.

18:38 EST PPL Corp. receives approval from RIDPU to acquire Narragansett Electric - PPL Corporation received approval from the Rhode Island Division of Public Utilities and Carriers to acquire The Narragansett Electric Company from National Grid USA. "We're pleased with today's decision, which follows a comprehensive public review process, and we're excited about the opportunity to serve Rhode Island families and businesses," said PPL President and Chief Executive Officer Vincent Sorgi. "PPL has a long history of delivering safe, reliable, affordable energy and award-winning customer satisfaction in the regions it serves," said Sorgi. "And as we proceed to close this transaction, we look forward to welcoming Narragansett's talented team into our PPL family and to working together to deliver outstanding results for Rhode Islanders." PPL said it expects to complete the acquisition in March and will announce the completion upon close.

18:04 EST Alamos Gold sees 2022 gold production 440K-480K oz. - Sees 2022 CapEx $332M-$372M.

17:58 EST Booking Holdings expects FY22 EBITDA margin to be a few points higher than 2020 - Guidance taken from Q4 earnings conference call.

17:44 EST Xbox users can now access Twitch directly from their consoles - Microsoft (MSFT) said in a blog post that, starting Wednesday, Xbox and Amazon's (AMZN) Twitch are teaming up to make live streaming from Xbox consoles "easier than ever." Users can now access Twitch directly from the Xbox guide and manage their setup in a few simple steps. "From your Xbox Series X S or Xbox One console, navigate to the "Capture and Share" tab on the guide and select "Live streaming,"" Microsoft said. "You'll need to link your Twitch account by scanning the QR code with an iOS or Android mobile device or navigating to the URL with either your PC or mobile device. Once your account is linked, select the "Go live now" button to instantly go live and start live streaming games that are downloaded to your console." Reference Link

17:41 EST 3D Systems to acquire Titan Additive, terms undisclosed - 3D Systems announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Titan Additive, the Colorado-based designer and fabricator of large-format, industrial 3D printers. With this acquisition, 3D Systems will expand the breadth of its polymer AM solutions portfolio to address new applications in markets such as Foundries, Consumer Goods, Service Bureaus, Transportation & Motorsports, Aerospace & Defense, and General Manufacturing. 3D Systems expects this transaction to close in April.

17:35 EST Centennial Resource Development announces $350M stock repurchase program - Centennial announced a $350M stock repurchase program. The program is authorized for two years and represents approximately 15% of the company's current market capitalization. Upon achieving a net debt-to-LTM EBITDA x2 ratio of approximately 1.0x or lower, the company plans to begin repurchasing shares.

17:30 EST Thermo Fisher raises quarterly dividend to 30c from 26c per share - The dividend is payable on April 14, 2022, to shareholders of record as of March 16, 2022.

17:19 EST ZimVie to replace Tabula Rasa HealthCare in S&P 600 at open on 3/2 - Zimmer Biomet (ZBH) is spinning off ZimVie (ZIMV) in a transaction expected to be completed on March 1. Post spin off, Zimmer Biomet Holdings will remain in the S&P 500. Tabula Rasa Healthcare (TRHC) is no longer representative of the small-cap market space.

17:11 EST Kronos Worldwide increases quarterly dividend to 19c per share - Kronos Worldwide announced a 1c per share increase in its regular quarterly dividend. Kronos Worldwide's board of directors has declared a regular quarterly dividend of 19c per share on its common stock, payable on March 17 to stockholders of record at the close of business on March 8.

17:08 EST Callon Petroleum sees FY22 CapEx $725M, up $216M from FY21

17:00 EST Clover Health says Medicare Advantage membership may grow 26%-27% in FY22 - Clover Health states: "Medicare Advantage membership is expected to average 84,000 - 85,000, a growth rate of 26% - 27% as compared to the 2021 average. For the Direct Contracting program, the Company expects the average number of aligned beneficiaries to be 160,000 - 165,000, compared to an average of 62,125 in 2021 and our prior guidance of 125,000."

16:58 EST Kaleyra selected by Bosch Group to power cloud communications in India - Kaleyra has been selected by Bosch Group, a global supplier of technology and services, as their vendor to power the Bosch Mobility Solutions cloud communications in India. Bosch Group's most prominent business sector, Mobility Solutions, generated sales of over $47B in 2020 alone, contributing 59% of their total sales from operations. Kaleyra's range of APIs, coupled with its cloud platform, will allow Bosch Mobility Solutions to build omnichannel experiences and engage their customers in India.

16:54 EST Carlisle gets $125M cash payment in connection with CBF sale - Carlisle "announced that it has received $125M in cash from CentroMotion of Waukesha, Wisconsin in payment of the full amount of the post-closing earn-out in connection with Carlisle's sale of Carlisle Brake and Friction, or CBF, to CentroMotion on August 2, 2021."

16:54 EST Nisun International clarifies agreement with ADM Shanghai Management - Nisun International clarified and corrected its January 14 press release regarding an agreement its controlled affiliate, Liaogang Nisun Supply Chain Management entered into with ADM Shanghai, a subsidiary of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company, a provider of human and animal nutrition and an agricultural origination and processing company. The earlier press release stated that Liaogang Nisun signed a strategic cooperative agreement with ADM Shanghai and it will empower high-quality development of the agricultural supply chain industry. Although Nisun desires to develop a strategic cooperative relationship with ADM Shanghai, the signed agreement is a domestic transportation service contract, and the transportation services provided are only limited to products at one of the ADM factories in China. Looking ahead, Nisun will seek to further strengthen its relationship with ADM Shanghai and ADM factories in China.

16:51 EST Under Armour announces $500M share repurchase program - Under Armour announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $500M of Under Armour's outstanding Class C common stock, effective immediately.

16:47 EST Coterra Energy sees FY22 capital investments $1.4B-$1.5B - With approximately 88% allocated towards drilling and completion operations.

16:45 EST Kraton announces price increase for CTO refinery products and derivatives - Kraton announces a general price increase of up to 15% across its CTO Refinery products and derivatives. This increase will be effective April 1, and/or be subject to the terms of any applicable contracts and obligations.

16:43 EST RLJ Lodging Trust not issuing 2022 guidance due to pandemic - RLJ Lodging Trust said: "Given the continued uncertainties related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on travel, the company is unable to provide a future outlook at this time."

16:42 EST Wendy's raises quarterly dividend 4% to 12.5c per share - The increase will be effective with the next quarterly dividend payment, which is payable on March 15 to shareholders of record as of March 7.

16:35 EST Silgan Holdings raises quarterly dividend 14.3% to 16c per share - Silgan announced that based on its continued strong financial performance and business prospects its Board of Directors declared a $0.16 per share quarterly cash dividend on the Company's common stock, payable on March 31, 2022 to the holders of record of the common stock of the Company on March 17, 2022. This represents a 14.3 percent increase from last year in the Company's quarterly cash dividend, which the Company has increased every year since it began paying cash dividends in 2004.

16:30 EST Silgan names Anthony J. Allott non-executive chairman of the board - Silgan Holdings announced that, as part of the continuation of its long-term succession planning, Anthony J. Allott has been appointed Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Company, effective April 1, 2022, having served as Executive Chairman until that time. "This is the next planned logical step of our long-term succession plan which we have been successfully implementing over the last several years. With his experience leading Silgan for twenty years and his almost thirty years of experience in packaging, we are delighted that Tony will continue to lead our Board of Directors, and we look forward to his continued leadership and guidance," said Adam Greenlee, President and CEO.

16:28 EST RE/MAX Holdings sees Q1 revenue $88M-$92M, consensus $93.2M - Sees Q1 adjusted EBITDA in a range of $25M-$28M. Agent count to increase 1.5% to 2.5% over first quarter 2021.

16:27 EST SailPoint names Meredith Blanchar chief customer officer - SailPoint named Meredith Blanchar as its Chief Customer Officer. Blanchar steps into this role after nearly seven years with the company, leading SailPoint's mission to deliver world-class customer success and support. In her expanded role, she'll also oversee the professional services team at SailPoint. "During her tenure at SailPoint, Meredith has made a significant impact on the strategic direction of our organization, keeping us laser-focused on our customers' success," said Matt Mills, President of Worldwide Operations for SailPoint. "She and her team have significantly reframed our approach to customer success, playing a critical role in the longevity of our relationships with our valued customers. As our Chief Customer Officer, we believe Meredith will continue to be instrumental in ensuring our customers are successful over the lifetime of their journey with us."

16:25 EST Fulgent Genetics announces $40M strategic investment in spatial genomics - Fulgent Genetics "announced a strategic investment in Spatial Genomics, a leading developer of sequential fluorescence in situ hybridization technology. Fulgent Genetics is investing up to $40 million to lead Spatial Genomics' Series A financing, which totals approximately $56 million and also includes investments by 12 West Capital and other investors. Fulgent is also entering into commercial arrangements with Spatial to integrate Spatial Genomics' seqFISH technology into Fulgent's comprehensive genomic testing platform. Spatial Genomics has developed a spatial single-cell multiomics analysis platform based on the seqFISH technology originally developed in the laboratory of Professor Long Cai at the California Institute of Technology. seqFISH is a revolutionary technology designed to enable highly multiplexed and multiomic analyses of cells directly in the tissue microenvironments where they function, allowing researchers to identify novel cell types and cellular interactions, map genomic organization and nuclear architecture, and analyze cell trajectories far more efficiently than existing technologies."

16:24 EST One Gas sees FY22 capital investments $650M - Capital investments, including asset removal costs, are expected to be approximately $650M in 2022, with over 65% of these expenditures targeted for system integrity and replacement projects. Capital investments for extensions to new customers are expected to be approximately $190M.

16:18 EST Theravance Biopharma expects to be sustainably cash-flow positive beginning 2H22

16:15 EST Sunnova Energy increasing 2022 customer additions guidance by 2,000 customers - Sunnova management is increasing its 2022 customer additions guidance by 2,000 customers and reaffirming its 2022 financial guidance. CEO William Berger said, "Our ability to maintain a strong 2022 outlook of increasing metrics in this challenging environment is due primarily to Sunnova's conservative business model of retaining its contracted cash flows, having a large backlog of systems that were mechanically completed and awaiting permission to operate from the local authorities having jurisdiction at December 31, 2021, and the increasing pace of origination and placement of solar energy systems in-service." 2022 full-year guidance is as follows: Customer additions of between 85,000 and 89,000, up from prior guidance of between 83,000 and 87,000; adjusted EBITDA of between $117 million and $137 million, unchanged from prior guidance; customer interest payments received from solar loans of between $45 million and $55 million, unchanged from prior guidance; and customer principal payments received from solar loans, net of amounts recorded in revenue, of between $134 million and $154 million, unchanged from prior guidance.

16:13 EST Universal Display raises quarterly dividend to 30c from 20c per share - The dividend is payable on March 31, 2022, to shareholders of record on March 17, 2022.

16:10 EST Zeta Global announces Zeta 2025 long-term plan - Zeta announced Zeta 2025, a long-term plan that will drive its vision to become one of the largest marketing clouds in the industry, with targets for business, product, and industry leadership. The financial targets of this plan are to generate in excess of $1 billion in annual revenue with at least 20% Adjusted EBITDA margins by 2025.

16:07 EST Olo launches Olo Pay - Olo announced commercial availability of Olo Pay, a comprehensive payment platform that enables Olo's network of restaurant brands to jointly reach 85 million connected consumers. "We needed a restaurant-specific solution that would be easy to use, streamline our tech stack, reduce fraud, and, most importantly, enable our team to focus on our food and the guest experience," said Adam Kinsinger, Director of Information Technology at WaBa Grill. "We found that in Olo Pay."

16:03 EST Booking CEO 'encouraged' by 'meaningful improvement' in bookings in Q1-to-date - "Despite the negative impact on travel from the Omicron wave at the end of the fourth quarter, we delivered revenue and adjusted EBITDA results that were better than our expectations for the quarter. I am encouraged by the meaningful improvement in bookings we have seen so far in the first quarter of 2022. I believe we are well positioned as travel demand recovers, however, we do expect there will still be periods where COVID negatively impacts travel trends as we move through the year. As we look ahead to 2022, we remain focused on driving benefits to our traveler customers and to our supply partners alike while executing against our strategic priorities including building towards our Connected Trip vision," said Glenn Fogel, CEO of Booking Holdings.

16:02 EST Xencor sees ending 2021 with $500M-$550M in cash, cash equivalents - Based on current operating plans, Xencor expects to have cash to fund research and development programs and operations through the end of 2025. Xencor expects to end 2022 with between $500 million and $550 million in cash, cash equivalents, receivables and marketable debt securities.

16:00 EST GlycoMimetics names Bruce Johnson CCO - GlycoMimetics announced that Bruce Johnson has joined its executive leadership team as Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. "Bruce brings to GlycoMimetics a wealth of oncology / hematology expertise particularly in leading commercial and development activities across multiple launches. He shepherded two AML drugs, Midostaurin and Venetoclax, through late-stage development and approval, uniquely qualifying him to lead the commercialization efforts of our lead asset, uproleselan, should the results of our ongoing Phase 3 registrational AML trial prove positive. His near-term focus will be to develop a commercialization strategy for uproleselan, accelerate competitive readiness, and deepen medical expert engagement and scientific education," commented Harout Semerjian, GlycoMimetics' Chief Executive Officer.

14:38 EST Ford CEO says no plans to spin off electric business or ICE business - Ford CEO Jim Farley said while speaking at the Wolfe Research Auto, Auto Tech and Mobility conference: "I wanted to talk quickly about running a successful ICE business versus a BEV business as we're scaling. The customers are different. The EV customers are not like our ICE customers. Our go-to-market as the result has to be digital, no inventory and remote. It's different. We can bridge to it today, but we have to go much deeper... Ford will ensure we have the right structure and talent in place to compete and win in this digital software-enabled vehicle business, but as well to revitalize our ICE business. And here, I really want to emphasize the shift that we're thinking about. There's a lot of focus on the digital electric growth opportunity. But we believe we have lots of room on our ICE business for better quality, lower structural costs and radical reduction in complexity. And despite the press speculation, we have no plans to spin off our electric business or ICE business. It's really more around focus and capabilities, expertise and talent. Those are key for Ford, and this is what we're working on. Now many companies have studied this. Some even have a person in charge of EVs here and there. But trust me, Ford will go deeper because we know our competition is Nio and Tesla, and we have to beat them, not match them... We believe and we acknowledge that we have upside in our ICE business and it's critical that we leverage that and we've been working on and making progress to get to that 8% EBIT margin as a company... We believe that both ICE and BEV portfolios are under-earning. Let me say that one more time. This management team firmly believes that our ICE and BEV portfolios are under-earning and that is not price. That is lower structural costs, improving our bill of material for our BEV vehicles and scaling... The net all of this is we have ample headroom for growth, as you said, Rod, and increased our company EBIT margin target to get to that 8%... And what we want to get across to all of you is that we have a long view of Ford that we have rethought our entire portfolio."

14:03 EST EA says 'Apex Legends Mobile' to be available in 10 countries soon - Electronic Arts said that "Apex Legends Mobile" will go into limited release in 10 countries soon. "Apex Legends Mobile" will be available on Android and iOS in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, and Colombia. During limited regional launch, the company will have a select number of exciting systems and features available for testing. Players will be able to play as in-game characters Bloodhound, Gibraltar, Lifeline, Wraith, Bangalore, Octane, Mirage, Pathfinder, and Caustic, EA said. Reference Link

14:01 EST Amazon's Twitch rolls out Ads Incentive program for content creators - Amazon's Twitch said in a blog post yesterday that it is rolling out the Ads Incentive program for its content creators. "At launch, this program presents personalized offers to select creators," the company said. "Currently, the offers boil down to: stream for a specific number of hours - while running ads - in exchange for a flat payout. The goal is simple: help you earn a more predictable monthly income through ads, with no ceiling on earning potential. Plus, we made it even easier by building it on top of Ads Manager. Once you set your ad schedule via Ads Manager, you're done thinking about ads and you can focus on making awesome content with your community." The Ads Incentive Program is available for select Partners and Affiliates in the Ads Manager section of Twitch's Creator Dashboard. Reference Link

13:48 EST Artesian Water acquires Town of Clayton water system, terms not disclosed - Artesian Water Company entered into an agreement on February 16, 2022 for the acquisition of the water system of the Town of Clayton, Delaware. Clayton's water system serves approximately 1,500 customers through 23 miles of main, with three wells and two elevated water storage tanks. The system will be integrated with Artesian's existing regional water system in northern Kent County, Delaware. Closing on the acquisition is expected to occur in the second quarter of 2022 after due diligence and Delaware Public Service Commission approval. This agreement follows Artesian's acquisitions in the past couple of years of the municipal water systems of Delaware City and Frankford. Artesian has worked with the Town of Clayton for the past 15 years assisting them with their water supply and fire protection. The acquisition allows Artesian's regional system to grow with Clayton, which has multiple residential and commercial projects under construction.

13:35 EST North American rail traffic up 24% in week ended February 19 - The Association of American Railroads, AAR, reported U.S. rail traffic for the week ending February 19 For this week, total U.S. weekly rail traffic was 497,822 carloads and intermodal units, up 31.7% compared with the same week last year. Total carloads for the week ending February 19 were 237,256 carloads, up 38.2% compared with the same week in 2021, while U.S. weekly intermodal volume was 260,566 containers and trailers, up 26.3% compared to 2021. Total combined weekly rail traffic in North America was 674,511 carloads and intermodal units, up 24%. Publicly traded companies in the space include CSX (CSX), Canadian National (CNI), Canadian Pacific (CP), Kansas City Southern (KSU), Norfolk Southern (NSC), Union Pacific (UNP), Greenbrier (GBX),Trinity Industries (TRN), FreightCar America (RAIL) and Wabtec (WAB). Reference Link

12:47 EST IAC's Dotdash Meredith names Liz Vaccariello as PEOPLE editor-in-chief - Dotdash Meredith named Liz Vaccariello as Editor-in-Chief of PEOPLE Magazine. Previously Editor-in-Chief of REAL SIMPLE, and an award-winning editor and NY Times best-selling author, Vaccariello will oversee all print editorial strategy. Vaccariello succeeds Dan Wakeford, who is leaving the role after three years. Dotdash Meredith is based in New York City and is an operating business of IAC.

12:01 EST John Bean Technologies falls -17.1% - John Bean Technologies is down -17.1%, or -$21.95 to $106.77.

12:01 EST Vertiv Holdings falls -39.9% - Vertiv Holdings is down -39.9%, or -$7.81 to $11.76.

12:00 EST Hims & Hers rises 21.4% - Hims & Hers is up 21.4%, or 90c to $5.10.

11:26 EST DLT Solutions awarded $167.5M enterprise agreement by U.S. Navy - DLT Solutions announced that it has been awarded a $167.5M enterprise agreement by the U.S. Department of the Navy for Red Hat solutions, training and services. It is through the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Solutions for Enterprise-Wide Procurement government-wide acquisition contract.

11:10 EST TJX saw largest impact from omicron surge in January, CEO says

11:04 EST TJX CEO: U.S. open-only SSS were trending higher than 13% before omicron surge - Comments taken from Q4 earnings conference call.

11:02 EST SEGA of America, Paramount Pictures partner with JAKKS for Sonic line of toys - JAKKS Pacific and Disguise announced a new line of toys and costumes launching in Spring 2022 in celebration of Paramount Pictures' feature film, Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The new line of merchandise from JAKKS is set to include action figures, playsets, vehicles, plush toys and other collectibles just in time for the film's release on April 8, 2022. Disguise, the costume division of JAKKS Pacific, will also be designing and manufacturing costumes and accessories inspired by characters from Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which will be available to fans this Fall.

10:39 EST Spark Therapeutics CEO, founder Jeff Marrazzo to depart - Spark Therapeutics announced that Ron Philip, Spark's chief operating officer, will succeed co-founder Jeffrey Marrazzo as CEO. Jeff, who co-founded the company in 2013, will step down on April 1.

10:24 EST Opiant Pharmaceuticals up 4% after Betaville 'Uncooked Alert' - Shares of Opiant Pharmaceuticals were up 96c, or nearly 4%, to $27.66 in early trading after Ben Harrington's Betaville M&A focused blog issued an "Uncooked Alert" that contacts say discussed rumors that Indivior is a "mystery bidder circling Opiant." An "Uncooked Alert" is defined by Harrington as "Market gossip as Betaville receives it." The site adds: "This scuttlebutt has just come in and hasn't been checked with all of Betaville's well-informed RARE sources let alone formal journalistic channels (public relations executives, bankers etc). The rumour might be total codswallop, rubbish or nonsense - but then again there may be something in it, so it's worth airing on Betaville." Reference Link

10:07 EST TJX plans to repurchase $2.25B-$2.5B of TJX stock during FY - The company announced earlier its plan to repurchase approximately $2.25B-$2.5B of TJX stock during the fiscal year ending January 28, 2023. With $0.8B remaining at Fiscal 2022 year end under the company's existing stock repurchase programs, the company's Board of Directors approved a new stock repurchase program that authorizes the repurchase of up to an additional $3B of TJX common stock from time to time. The new authorization represents approximately 4% of the company's outstanding shares at current prices. The new stock repurchase program marks the 22nd program approved by the Board since 1997.

10:04 EST Bloomreach announces $175M investment led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management - Bloomreach announced a new investment of $175 million, more than doubling the Company's valuation in one year to $2.2 billion. The funding, which follows a $150 million investment announced in January 2021, was led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management with participation from existing Bloomreach investors Bain Capital Ventures and Sixth Street Growth. Following its latest round of funding, Bloomreach plans to invest in the development of cutting-edge personalization use cases powered by its entire Commerce Experience Cloud, showcasing the differentiated power of its combined product suite. In addition, Bloomreach will use this investment to continue expanding its go-to-market teams in order to accelerate business growth worldwide.

10:01 EST Lowe's, Instacart partner on same-day delivery of home improvement products - Instacart and Lowe's announced a partnership to pilot same-day delivery in as fast as one hour. Customers can now have approximately 20,000 Lowe's items, including small home appliances, building supplies, light fixtures, garden and outdoor essentials, and more, delivered from the store to their door. Same-day Lowe's delivery via Instacart is initially available in Boston and Charlotte, with plans to expand in the coming months. Lowe's is the first dedicated home improvement partner available on the Instacart marketplace, addressing a growing consumer need as both home improvement product purchases and demand for online delivery continue.

10:00 EST PROG Holdings falls -12.9% - PROG Holdings is down -12.9%, or -$4.62 to $31.11.

10:00 EST Hims & Hers rises 18.8% - Hims & Hers is up 18.8%, or 79c to $4.99.

10:00 EST Tenneco rises 94.4% - Tenneco is up 94.4%, or $9.42 to $19.40.

09:58 EST Lowe's says focused on expanding omni-channel capabilities - Expects strong Spring season. Says balance sheet remains "very healthy." Expects Pro to outpace DIY in 2022. Raises FY22 operating margin view to 12.8%-13% from 12.5%-12.8%. Raises FY 22 ROIC view to over 36% from over 35%. Says "nicely positioned" to deliver a strong 2022. Says seeing higher levels of commodity inflation. Expects to take market share in 2022.

09:47 EST PROG Holdings falls -10.4% - PROG Holdings is down -10.4%, or -$3.73 to $32.00.

09:47 EST Vertiv Holdings falls -40.0% - Vertiv Holdings is down -40.0%, or -$7.82 to $11.75.

09:47 EST Quanergy rises 20.3% - Quanergy is up 20.3%, or 64c to $3.79.

09:45 EST Novavax announces shipments of COVID-19 vaccine to EU member states - Novavax announced the first doses of Nuvaxovid COVID-19 Vaccine have begun shipping to European Union member states. "Nuvaxovid, also known as NVX-CoV2373, is the first protein-based COVID-19 vaccine authorized for use in Europe," the company said. "Today's announcement paves the way for vaccination with Nuvaxovid to begin in Europe within the coming days. The Novavax COVID-19 vaccine provides a differentiated option to bolster vaccination rates across Europe. Nuvaxovid has demonstrated efficacy, a reassuring safety and tolerability profile, and is built on a well-understood protein-based vaccine platform used for other vaccines for decades," added Stanley Erck, President and CEO of Novavax.

09:37 EST Biotricity taking pre-orders for Biotres wearable cardiac monitoring device - Biotricity announced that it is now taking pre-orders for Biotres, the Company's three-lead device designed to continuously record electro-cardiogram data for early detection of cardiac arrhythmias.

09:30 EST CoStar Group trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:27 EST Criteo partners with Michaels for retail media advertising on Michaels.com - Criteo announced a retail media advertising partnership with Michaels, a specialty arts and crafts retailer in North America. Brands and agencies connected to Criteo's retail media platform and ecosystem can now engage Michaels' loyal customer base of millions of Makers. The partnership empowers Michaels to scale its retail media program with a full suite of solutions and capabilities including sponsored products, display and off-site advertising. Criteo's retail media ecosystem will power Michaels' sponsored product and display ads, improved eCommerce economics and enhanced customer discoverability.

09:16 EST MyMD Pharmaceuticals enrolls first patient in MYMD-1 trial - MyMD Pharmaceuticals announced that the first patient has been enrolled in the company's Phase 2 clinical trial of lead candidate MYMD-1, an oral immune regulator drug, as a therapy for delaying aging and expanding healthy lifespan. The primary endpoint for the Phase 2 double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial is to achieve a reduction in the circulating levels of, tumor necrosis factor receptor I and IL-6. TNF-a and IL-6 are the proteins in the body that cause inflammation and help activate the process of aging. The secondary measures of the trial will be the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics in this population of patients.

09:15 EST Baxter expands cybersecurity commitment, teams with U.S. CISA led program - Baxter International I announced that it has received authorization from the Common Vulnerability and Exposures program to be a CVE Numbering Authority. As a CVE Numbering Authority , Baxter is responsible for the assignment of CVE identifiers to cyber vulnerabilities for Baxter and Hillrom commercially available products, and for publicly disclosing information about the vulnerabilities in the associated CVE Record. The CVE program is sponsored by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency , which is part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and aims to enable the rapid identification and resolution of cybersecurity issues. "We remain vigilant in working to protect Baxter devices from cybersecurity threats," said Talvis Love, senior vice president and chief information officer at Baxter. "Our designation as a CVE Numbering Authority is an extension of these efforts to strengthen cybersecurity across our network and portfolio."

09:13 EST Sage Group announces availability of Sage Intacct 2022 Release 1 - Sage announced the availability of Sage Intacct 2022 Release 1. The latest release provides businesses with artificial intelligence and machine learning tools that support finance leaders to make the best use of digitalized data to help identify anomalies and automate key processes. Connected to the Sage Digital Network, Sage Intacct allows work, information, and money to flow smoothly between Sage customers, and the suppliers, banks, and government bodies they do business with. The enhanced flow of trusted information and digitalized data provided by Release 1 enables AI to extract insights and patterns across key financial processes. This supports customers to better understand friction points, identify patterns, and review anomalies from across their business - all without the user or the data leaving Sage Intacct.

09:11 EST Pacific Biosciences appoints Michael Eberle as VP, computational biology - PacBio welcomes Michael Eberle, Ph.D., as Vice President of Computational Biology. Michael will be responsible for leading the company's bioinformatics and data sciences program to enhance PacBio's genomic analysis offerings. For the last 15 years, Michael has been a leader in the research and development organization at Illumina, most recently as a Vice President and Distinguished Scientist.

09:10 EST American International Holdings appoints Craig Hewitt as CFO - American International Holdings announced its Board of Directors has appointed Dr. Craig Hewitt, as Chief Financial Officer of the Company. Dr. Hewitt will begin his role as CFO effective the day following the upcoming filing of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021. Hewitt most recently served as Chief Financial Officer of Holston Medical Group, an independent physician group of over 220 primary care physicians, specialists and mid-level providers with over 1,000 employees.

09:09 EST EverQuote announces $15M private placement investment by chairman - EverQuote announced that it has signed an agreement for a $15 million private placement investment by Recognition Capital, LLC, an entity which is owned and controlled by David Blundin, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Co-Founder of EverQuote and a longtime investor in the company. Under the terms of the purchase agreement, Recognition Capital, LLC has agreed to purchase 1,004,016 shares of EverQuote's Class A Common Stock at a price of $14.94 per share, which is equal to the closing price of the Class A Common Stock on the Nasdaq Global Market on February 22, 2022, for an aggregate purchase price of $15.0 million. EverQuote intends to use the net proceeds of the private placement for working capital and general corporate purposes.

09:08 EST Kyndryl Holdings and Amazon Web Services launch Cloud Center of Excellence - Kyndryl (KD) announced a strategic partnership with Amazon (AMZN) Web Services for enterprise cloud services and solutions. In addition to collaborating with AWS to provide solutions for Kyndryl's top enterprise customers around the world, Kyndryl plans to build out their own internal infrastructure in the cloud, leveraging AWS as a preferred cloud provider. AWS will become a Kyndryl Premier Global Alliance Partner. As part of the global partnership, Kyndryl will establish an AWS Cloud Center of Excellence to offer customer solutions and services for supporting mission critical infrastructure, next generation technologies and modernizing applications and workflows across industries. Kyndryl and AWS are developing an accelerator for VMware Cloud on AWS leveraging their deep partnerships with VMware. Kyndryl and AWS will further invest in the education of more than 10,000 Kyndryl professionals by the end of 2022, upskilling them in a range of AWS skills.

09:07 EST Goldenbridge Acquisition announces additional contribution to trust account - Goldenbridge Acquisition announced that AgiiPlus, has deposited into the Company's trust account an aggregate amount of $575,000, in order to extend the period of time the Company has to complete a business combination for an additional three months period, from March 4, 2022 to June 4, 2022. The Company issued one unsecured promissory note in an amount of $575,000, to AgiiPlus with a principal amount equal to the amount deposited. The promissory note bears no interest and is convertible into the Company's units at a price of $10.00 per unit at the closing of a business combination by the Company. The purpose of the extension is to provide time for the Company to complete a business combination.

09:04 EST Avidity Biosciences names Steve Hughes, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer - Avidity Biosciences (RNA) announced the appointment of Steve Hughes, M.D. as chief medical officer. Dr. Hughes has over 20 years of experience building and leading clinical development and medical affairs teams at prominent biopharmaceutical companies. Dr. Hughes joins Avidity from Arcturus Therapeutics (ARCT) where he continues to be a strategic clinical advisor.

09:03 EST Nucor CFO Jim Frias retiring, Steve Laxton to succeed - Nucor CFO and Executive VP Jim Frias plans to retire effective June 11 and will transition out of the role as of March 6. Steve Laxton, VP of Business Development and Strategic Planning, has been named his successor. Frias and Laxton will work together over the next several months to conduct a seamless transition of CFO responsibilities. Frias joined Nucor in 1991 as Controller of Nucor Building Systems - Indiana. He has served as CFO, Treasurer and Executive Vice President since January 2010. Laxton began his career with Nucor in 2003 as General Manager of Business Development and was promoted to Vice President in 2014. Prior to joining Nucor, Laxton worked for Cinergy Corp., holding various positions including Director of Asset Management and Manager of Corporate Development.

09:02 EST Grubhub launches ultrafast delivery in partnership with Buyk - Grubhub and Buyk, the newest real-time grocery delivery service, announced a partnership to bring ultrafast grocery delivery to the Grubhub marketplace through Buyk and Grubhub branded concepts. The fulfillment and delivery of orders will be handled by Buyk, and customers will be able to order from more than 30 initial participating locations in New York City and Chicago in the coming weeks. More than 2,000 grocery and convenience items from local and national vendors, as well as Buyk's own private label products, will be available for purchase and delivery in 15 minutes or less.

09:00 EST Save Foods says Galilee Export using eco crop protection treatment on avocados - Save Foods is pleased to announce that Galilee Export is now using Save Foods' eco crop protection treatment on all its avocados. Save Food's green and eco-friendly treatment has been shown to keep avocados fresh and in good condition for up to twice as long compared to conventionally treated produce.

08:59 EST Sky Technologies names Mark Earley as chair of safety advisory board committee - SQL Technologies announced: Mark Earley, the former Chief Engineer of The National Electrical Code, will lead the Company's Safety Advisory Board Committee.

08:55 EST Nascent Biotech receives $750K milestone payment from BioRay - Nascent Biotech is pleased to announce that the Company has received a payment totaling USD $750,000 from BioRay Pharmaceutical in association with the Licensing Agreement established between the two companies in May 2021. This payment represents the Second Payment stipulated in the Licensing Agreement. The Agreement grants to BioRay exclusive rights to commercialize Nascent's monoclonal antibody, Pritumumab, in international markets, excluding North America and Central America. Under terms of the Agreement, Nascent will receive a total of USD $5,000,000 to be paid out at various stipulated milestones. The initial payment of USD $1,000,000 was received by Nascent on April 20, 2021. This second payment of USD $750,000 was received by Nascent for entering the third cohort in Nascent's first Phase 1 clinical trial of Pritumumab. A third payment of USD $2,500,000 will be received by Nascent upon approval from the FDA to conduct a Phase 2 clinical trial of Pritumumab. The final USD $750,000 payment will be received by Nascent upon the commencement of the Phase 2 clinical trial.

08:54 EST A2Z Smart Technologies enters partnership with Cardknox - A2Z Smart Technologies announces that it has signed a partnership agreement with Cardknox for the integration of its seamless payment solutions to the Cust2Mate smart cart. A2Z's Cust2Mate Smart Cart streamlines the shopping experience by recognizing every purchased item and enabling in-cart payment so that shoppers skip lines, while also allowing retail grocers to direct shoppers to discounted products and in-store promotions to efficiently manage and move inventory. Cardknox is an omnichannel payment gateway that can be seamlessly integrated with POS systems, ERP software, e-commerce, and mobile platforms. Through its partnership with Cust2Mate, shoppers will have access to robust and secure payment processing capabilities built directly into the smart cart, via a device or contactless payment option. Cardknox supports a wide range of leading payment methods, including credit and debit cards, Google Pay, Apple Pay, eWIC, SNAP EBT, and more.

08:51 EST Beam Global to acquire AllCell Technologies in all-stock transaction - Beam Global announced that it has entered into a definitive asset purchase agreement to acquire AllCell Technologies, a leader in energy storage solutions and technologies, in an all stock transaction. The transaction is expected to close on March 1st, subject to customary closing conditions. Beam will host an investor call to discuss the transaction on March 1, 2022 at 1:30pm PT / 4:30pm ET. Management expects the acquisition of AllCell to impact Beam Global by: Increasing and diversifying revenues and gross profits; Significantly reducing cost of goods sold; Enhancing foundational intellectual property portfolio; Securing Beam Global's vital battery supply chain; Accelerating product development cycles; Combining customer facing roles and outreach; Adding new customer segments; Increasing barriers to entry for future competition; Enhancing Beam's position as a leader in the green economy. AllCell's highly flexible battery platform architecture, used in Beam's products for ten years, is ideally suited for applications where energy density, safety and bespoke enclosures require high power in small spaces. Drones, submersibles, recreational products and a host of micro mobility and electric vehicle products are already benefiting from AllCell's highly differentiated products. Beam's patented EV Standard and UAV ARC will require battery pack formats which are optimized for each product's unique attributes. The acquisition of AllCell will allow for these developments at an accelerated pace with significantly reduced costs. Energy storage is crucial to Beam Global's value proposition and battery systems currently account for approximately 30% of Beam Global products' bills of materials. The strategic acquisition of AllCell will significantly reduce COGS through margin recapture and value engineering. Management anticipates an approximate 7% reduction in material costs in the near term as a result of margin recapture followed by increasing reductions in COGS as the Beam Global and AllCell engineering teams together identify further opportunities for improvements. As a result of the all-stock structure of the acquisition, Beam Global's strong cash balance will continue to be utilized for further growth and strategic initiatives. In consideration for the sale of AllCell assets, the AllCell shareholders will receive 1,055,000 shares of Beam Global restricted common stock at closing. Beam Global's existing shareholders will own 90.3% upon closing of the acquisition and Beam Global will retain operational and board control of the company. The AllCell shareholders may also receive additional restricted shares of common stock, through an earn-out, valued at two times any revenues and contracted backlog, generated from the AllCell assets, that are greater than $7.5M in 2022, and on any AllCell 2023 revenue over $13.5M or 135% of 2022 revenue, whichever is greater, and capped at $20M in revenues. Any revenue from AllCell products used in Beam Global's core product portfolio are excluded from the earn-out calculation. Beam Global will issue AllCell shareholders restricted shares for both the closing consideration and any earn-out payments. In the event of the lifting of restrictions on the Beam Global common stock issued to AllCell, the purchase agreement provides that AllCell will limit any sale of such shares to no more than four percent (4%) of the average weekly volume during such trading week. Beam Global's corporate headquarters and factory will remain at its 53,000 square foot facility in San Diego, California. The AllCell team and manufacturing facility will remain in Broadview, Illinois. The Beam and AllCell teams intend to integrate rapidly and explore an expansion of battery manufacturing in California where there are significant government incentives to do so. Management will also consider an expansion of Beam Global's product manufacturing in the Midwest. The AllCell team brings to Beam world-renowned Chief Battery Scientist Said Al-Hallaj as well as deep engineering and manufacturing experience from Argonne National Laboratory, Ford Motor Company, Stellantis, Johnson Controls, AVL Powertrain and the Illinois Institute of Technology. Beam Global's acquisition of AllCell combines two U.S.-based clean technology innovators and manufacturers into a stronger, more globally competitive company in clean technology innovation. Producing Made-In-America IP and products, creating clean technology jobs for Americans and focusing on a cleaner more sustainable future, the transaction contributes to progress as the U.S. rebuilds its manufacturing foundation and leadership in energy and transportation.

08:47 EST Bay Area Toll Authority renews with Conduent Transportation - Conduent Transportation announced it received a five-and-a-half-year contract renewal from the Bay Area Toll Authority to continue processing automated tolling transactions at seven state-owned bridges in the San Francisco region, as well as at the iconic Golden Gate Bridge. Conduent also provides BATA customer service for motorists, and it processes FasTrak parking charges at the San Francisco International Airport and tolls on area Express Lanes. The total contract value is approximately $286 million.

08:44 EST Xerox provides long-range financial forecast at investor day - Xerox is hosting an investor day to provide a long-range financial forecast for each of its businesses, encompassing plans for growth in print and beyond. The company expects revenue of at least $7.1B in actual currency in 2022, with expected low to mid-single digit annual growth through 2024. Expects adjusted operating margin expansion of more than 200 basis points. Expects free cash flow generation of at least $400M in 2022, and $450M to $500M annually through 2024. Expects return of at least 50% of free cash flow to shareholders.

08:41 EST Stryker completes acquisition of Vocera - Stryker announced that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Vocera Communication. The company said, "Vocera brings a highly complementary and innovative portfolio to Stryker's Medical division that will enhance the company's Advanced Digital Healthcare offerings and further advance Stryker's focus on preventing adverse events throughout the continuum of care." The acquisition is expected to have a neutral impact to net earnings per diluted share in 2022. The previously announced cash tender offer for all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Vocera for $79.25 per share, net to the holder in cash, without interest and subject to any applicable withholding of taxes, by Voice Merger Sub Corp., a direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Stryker, expired at one minute after 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on February 22, 2022. Computershare Trust Company, N.A., the depositary for the tender offer, has advised Stryker that 29,657,686 Vocera shares, representing approximately 85% of the outstanding shares of Vocera common stock, were validly tendered pursuant to the tender offer and not properly withdrawn prior to the expiration time. All of the conditions to the consummation of the tender offer have been satisfied, and on February 23, 2022, Voice Merger Sub Corp. accepted for payment, and will promptly pay for, all shares validly tendered pursuant to the tender offer and not properly withdrawn. Following completion of the tender offer, Stryker completed the acquisition of Vocera on February 23, 2022 through a merger pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of January 6, 2022, among Stryker, Voice Merger Sub Corp. and Vocera. In connection with the merger, each share of Vocera common stock has been converted automatically into the right to receive the same consideration payable pursuant to the tender offer of $79.25 per share, net to the holder in cash, without interest and subject to any applicable withholding of taxes. Upon completion of the merger, Vocera became a direct or indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Stryker. Shares of Vocera ceased trading prior to the open of the market on February 23, 2022 and will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.

08:39 EST Midwest Energy Emissions secures multi-year contract renewal - Midwest Energy Emissions announced the signing of a multi-year contract renewal with an annual value expected to reach $1.5 million. Under the extended supply contract, ME2C will continue supplying its patented Sorbent Enhancement Additive technologies for mercury emissions capture.

08:36 EST Stran & Company announces $10M share repurchase program - Stran & Company announced that its Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program under which the Company may repurchase up to $10 million of its outstanding shares of common stock in the open market, in accordance with all applicable securities laws and regulations, including Rule 10b-18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The Company's decision to repurchase its shares, as well as the timing of such repurchases, will depend on a variety of factors that include ongoing assessments of the Company's capital needs, market conditions and the price of the Company's common stock, and other corporate considerations, as determined by management. The repurchase program may be suspended or discontinued at any time.

08:35 EST Hyzon to supply hydrogen trucks to Swedish logistics group, Maserfrakt - Hyzon Motors announced the signing of a vehicle supply agreement between MaserFrakt, a major Swedish transport group, and Hyzon Motors Europe BV, Hyzon's joint venture with Holthausen Clean Technology Investment B.V. The collaboration marks a milestone in enabling emission-free long-haul transport in Sweden, as it is expected to bring the first hydrogen-powered heavy trucks in commercial operation to the country. Under the contract, Hyzon will supply two HyMax-250 fuel cell electric trucks, built on a 6x4 vehicle chassis. Through 98 kilograms of hydrogen stored onboard, the 64-ton trucks are expected to have a range of up to 680 kilometers.

08:33 EST Organovo, BICO reach licensing agreement on bioprinting patents - Organovo Holdings and BICO announced they have reached agreement on a broad license for BICO and its affiliate companies to Organovo's foundational patent portfolio in 3D bioprinting. Founded in 2016, BICO is the leading bio convergence company in the world. Cellink continues to operate as a wholly owned division of BICO. Organovo exclusively licensed early bioprinting work by Gabor Forgacs, its scientific founder, and Thomas Boland of Clemson, both bioprinting pioneers. After its founding, the company did early innovation in the 3D bioprinter space and obtained a further broad set of patents that provide foundational claims in the bioprinting space. In order to broaden the impact of the technology and serve the needs of a broad array of researchers and other users of bioprinting, the company seeks to make these patents available for license to first rate bioprinter developers. Organovo and BICO were engaged in several legal disputes regarding the patents. Under the new agreement, all civil actions regarding potential infringement and IPRs concerning validity of Organovo's patents are dismissed and/or terminated. Both BICO and Organovo have released each other from all previous claims, demands liabilities and costs in favor of the beneficial and sustainable solution created through this patent license agreement.

08:31 EST Intellia Therapeutics enters lease agreement to build manufacturing facility - Intellia Therapeutic announced that it has entered into a lease agreement to develop a 140,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Waltham, Massachusetts, to support the manufacturing of key components for its CRISPR-based investigational therapies. The new manufacturing facility will be Good Manufacturing Practice compliant and support both the preclinical through commercial supply upon regulatory approval for key components of Intellia's CRISPR-based therapies. Additionally, this new facility will be able to provide capacity and capabilities in support of Intellia's expanding pipeline and commercial readiness. The new facility, customized for Intellia's requirements, will be constructed and managed by Alexandria Real Estate Equities, L.P. and is expected to be operational in 2024.

08:29 EST 22nd Century, KeyGene announce 'breakthrough' in hemp/cannabis transformation - 22nd Century Group announced, together with its global plant research partner KeyGene, a breakthrough in its hemp/cannabis plant research leading to the successful transformation of the hemp/cannabis plant genome using a proprietary plant transformation and regeneration technology and clear protein expression by the introduced genes. "I cannot emphasize enough what an enormous achievement it is for our company to have cracked the code to show proof of genome transformation in the hemp/cannabis plant. This is the holy grail in plant science and places us in a commanding leadership position in the race to secure patents and other valuable intellectual property in the emerging hemp/cannabis genetics field," said James A. Mish, chief executive officer of 22nd Century Group. "These newest plant transformation discoveries unlock additional revenue opportunities for the Company and accelerate our efforts to create new hemp/cannabis plant lines with much higher commercial value at accelerated rates, lower cost and lower risk to our customers." 22nd Century has previously demonstrated its ability to generate new, tailored hemp/cannabis lines through broad-based techniques such as molecular breeding and mutagenesis, which necessitate the creation of hundreds or thousands of plants that are then genetically sequenced to identify those with the desired genetic traits. The plant transformation breakthrough unlocked by 22nd Century and KeyGene enables the desired DNA sequences to be inserted directly into or created from a plant's existing genetic material, creating a more expedient and focused methodology to achieve the desired outcome. In addition to its transformation capability, 22nd Century Group has exclusive access to a battery of gene-editing capabilities, based on meganuclease technology, directed to seven of the key enzymes for the biosynthesis of cannabinoids, plus four patent families that cover vital enzymes. Unlike other more widely available gene-editing technologies like CRISPR-CAS-9, this technology is allowed for use in cannabis. These capabilities and IP provide 22nd Century a huge competitive advantage in the field. Plant transformation is a means of inserting highly targeted DNA controlling desirable traits from one organism, typically another plant, into the genome of a high-value target crop. Using plant transformation in this way can improve commercially critical traits in hemp/cannabis such as cannabinoid content, yield, flavor and aroma, physical characteristics of the plant, disease resistance, stress tolerance, and nutrient production. 22nd Century's long-standing partnerships have built an extensive genomic database to identify the markers for targeted traits and the genes that affect them, and the latest breakthrough enables the specific modulation of those traits as compared to existing methodologies that rely on large populations of modified plants to secure the desired trait. The breakthrough gene editing and transformation technology will allow 22nd Century Group to target specific hemp/cannabis biosynthesis pathways and expand the ability to engineer the modification of cannabinoids in plants. Gene modification is used extensively with other crops, such as rice, soybeans, and corn, and has led to a number of important commercial developments within those plant lines. With control of the most comprehensive and innovative upstream cannabinoid value chain in the hemp/cannabis industry, 22nd Century is unlocking commercial success for large-scale cultivation and extraction as the hemp/cannabis industry scales with the continued success of global legalization and commercialization efforts. 22nd Century completed harvest of its first two disruptive hemp/cannabis plant lines in the fourth quarter of 2021, with additional new plant lines coming through the development pipeline for 2022 and 2023 that will expand revenue generation opportunities for years to come and creating a long growth runway.

08:26 EST Amedisys to acquire home health assets from AssistedCare Home Health - Amedisys announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire certain home health assets from AssistedCare Home Health, Inc., and RH Homecare Services, LLC, doing business as AssistedCare Home Health and AssistedCare of the Carolinas, respectively. Together, the companies care for more than 450 home health patients daily and employ approximately 100 employees in Leland and Snow Hill, North Carolina. The transaction is expected to close on or around April 1, 2022. While AssistedCare's home health care services will transition to Amedisys Home Health, their personal care services will remain with Eldercare at Home, and their Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities and Private Duty Nursing services will remain operational as AssistedCare, Inc., and will not be included in the transaction. Once the agreement is complete, this acquisition will increase Amedisys' home health access to more than 1.5 million Medicare enrollees and more than 540,000 Medicare Advantage enrollees in North Carolina. Post-closing, Amedisys will be able to provide both home health and hospice services to more communities across North Carolina, including those in and around Wilmington and Greenville, furthering our strategy to become the solution for those who want to age in place in North Carolina. Post-closing, Amedisys' home health operations will include 350 care centers in 34 states and the District of Columbia, with an average daily census of approximately 74,000 patients and approximately 11,000 home health employees.

08:23 EST Stingray Group partners with TikTok for TikTok Radio - Stingray announced a partnership with TikTok to launch TikTok Radio. The collaboration will bring TikTok's top trending music and artists to Stingray's ever-growing audience across multiple platforms. TikTok Radio, the highly anticipated audio music channel launches on Stingray Music in millions of households across the United States today, and in Canada tomorrow, on TV, web, and mobile. Listeners will enjoy hearing music the TikTok community loves, including viral hits, throwbacks, and songs from the next generation of rising stars. To truly reflect the TikTok experience, the channel will also feature trending sounds and introductions from some of TikTok's popular artists and creators.

08:21 EST Lantheus receives U.S. FDA approval of new manufacturing facility - Lantheus Holdings announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the Supplemental Drug Application for the Company's isolator-based drug manufacturing facility for DEFINITY, the leading diagnostic ultrasound enhancing agent in U.S. for patients with suboptimal echocardiograms. Lantheus constructed the specialized, in-house manufacturing facility at the Company's North Billerica, Massachusetts headquarters for purposes of producing DEFINITY and potentially other sterile vial products. Designed and constructed with industry leading partners, the 16,000 sq. ft. facility utilizes a state-of-the-art manufacturing process and has the capacity to meet the Company's current total demand for DEFINITY, while providing flexibility for potential future growth opportunities.

08:19 EST Rani Therapeutics unveils RaniPill HC device - Rani Therapeutics Holdings announced the development of a high-capacity oral biologics device known as the RaniPill HC, capable of delivering up to a 500%-plus higher drug payload than Rani's existing oral biologics capsule. In preclinical testing, RaniPill HC demonstrated successful delivery of adalimumab and achieved high bioavailability. Today, biologics are predominantly delivered via injection or intravenous infusion, which limits long-term treatment adherence, often leading to suboptimal patient outcomes. An equally effective oral alternative could change the treatment paradigm for a number of patient populations, including those with autoimmune diseases, cancer, and diabetes. Rani conducted a preclinical study of RaniPill HC, with each device containing an 18mg dose of the biologic adalimumab, a tumor necrosis factoralpha inhibitor that is approved for multiple autoimmune conditions including rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease. The unencapsulated RaniPill HC device was placed laparoscopically in the jejunum of each of three canine test subjects and allowed to self-deploy under observation. Successful delivery was achieved in all cases, and systemic serum drug concentration was detected and measured over 5 days.

08:16 EST Ayala Pharmaceuticals completes enrollment in Part A of RINGSIDE - Ayala Pharmaceuticals announced that it has completed patient enrollment in Part A of the Phase 2/3 RINGSIDE clinical trial evaluating AL102 in desmoid tumors. AL102 is a potent, selective, oral gamma-secretase inhibitor. The Company expects to report interim results from Part A by mid-2022. A total of 36 patients have been enrolled in Part A of the RINGSIDE study which is evaluating the safety, tolerability of AL102, as well as tumor volume by MRI at 16 weeks. Three dosing regimens of AL102 are being tested to determine the optimal dose regimen to advance forward. In Part A, the effect of food on AL102 absorption was tested in a sub-study and PK results indicate that no food restrictions are required. Part B of the study will be double-blind, placebo-controlled, and will start immediately after dose selection from Part A, enrolling up to 156 patients age 12 and up with progressive disease, randomized between AL102 or placebo. The study's primary endpoint will be progression-free survival with secondary endpoints including objective response rate, duration of response and patient-reported Quality of Life (QOL) measures. Patients who participated in Part A are eligible to enroll into an open-label extension study at the selected dose, and long-term efficacy and safety will be monitored.

08:15 EST Horizon Therapeutics: First patient enrolled in Japan trial of TEPEZZA for TED - Horizon Therapeutics announced that the first patient has been enrolled in a Phase 3 clinical trial in Japan evaluating teprotumumab for the treatment of active TED. TED is a serious, progressive and potentially vision-threatening rare autoimmune disease that can cause proptosis , diplopia , eye pain, redness and swelling.1 Teprotumumab, marketed under the brand name TEPEZZA in the United States was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in January 2020 as the first and only medicine for TED, and received Priority Review, Orphan Drug, Fast Track and Breakthrough Therapy designations. The primary efficacy endpoint is proptosis response rate at Week 24, measured by the percentage of participants with at least a 2 mm reduction in proptosis from baseline in the study eye, without deterioration in the fellow eye . The trial will also assess overall responder rate, the percentage of patients with a Clinical Activity Score of 0 or 1 at Week 24 in the study eye, change from baseline at Week 24 in proptosis measurement in the study eye, diplopia responder rate, and the change from baseline to Week 24 in the Graves' Ophthalmopathy Quality of Life questionnaire. Study participants who complete the treatment period and are proptosis non-responders at Week 24 or relapse during the 48-week follow-up may choose to enter an open-label extension period to receive an additional eight infusions of teprotumumab. "There is a significant medical need in Japan for a medicine that can effectively treat proptosis and diplopia which are two of the most debilitating symptoms of Thyroid Eye Disease," said Yuji Hiromatsu, M.D., emeritus professor, Kurume Medical Center and co-coordinating trial investigator. "Steroids are commonly used in Japan to help ease inflammation but can have serious side effects and have not been shown to reduce proptosis or improve diplopia. If left untreated, Thyroid Eye Disease can cause vision loss, severe pain and other symptoms that make it difficult to work, sleep and spend time with family and friends."

08:13 EST FactSet, BlackRock enter multi-year partnership for Portware EMS capabilities - FactSet (FDS) and BlackRock (BLK) announced that they have entered into a multi-year partnership to integrate Portware's execution management system capabilities with the Aladdin platform, BlackRock's end-to-end investment management and operations platform. The joint offering will provide common clients with a seamless experience across multi-asset portfolio and risk management, and trading execution, including access to Portware's high-performance electronic trading and automation capabilities via API. FactSet's Portware is best known in the listed assets and Foreign Exchange markets, and recently added fixed income trading capabilities; and the Aladdin platform is leveraged by BlackRock and Aladdin clients to power informed decision-making and operational scale, supporting all aspects of the investment process on a single platform. The turnkey integration of Portware with the Aladdin(R) platform enables common clients to power their trading workflows using capabilities of both systems - including data-driven trade automation and at-trade decision support across asset classes.

08:11 EST Brainsway announces publication on efficacy of Deep TMS - BrainsWay announced the publication of results in the Journal of Clinical Medicine further defining the efficacy of the Company's proprietary Deep TMS treatment in addressing anxiety symptoms comorbid to depression, also known as anxious depression. In this analysis, the authors reviewed anxiety scores from multiple randomized controlled trials utilizing Deep TMS with the H1 Coil for major depressive disorder, including the Company's pivotal multicenter depression study and the only independent, head-to-head study comparing Deep TMS to traditional transcranial magnetic stimulation. Using commonly accepted anxiety thresholds, researchers were able to identify subjects with anxiety comorbid to their depression, stratify them into "high" and "low" anxiety subsets, and assess the efficacy of Deep TMS in reducing those anxiety symptoms. They found that Deep TMS had a statistically significant and meaningful effect in reducing anxiety symptoms among depression patients. The Company previously reported on the results of the efficacy of Deep TMS in addressing both depression and comorbid anxiety symptoms within the same treatment, which led to its expanded FDA depression clearance in August 2021. The results of this publication further refine the understanding of the utility of Deep TMS in this regard. In direct contrast to evidence showing that subjects with high anxiety scores prior to treatment have historically been considered less likely to succeed with traditional TMS and anxiety medications, these new results show that Deep TMS is actually more effective with such patients. The authors of this new publication also reviewed the existing body of evidence on comorbid anxiety symptom reduction with medications and traditional TMS. While differences between the various studies analyzed make it difficult to make direct comparisons, the authors noted a weighted, pooled effect size for Deep TMS which compared favorably to those seen with either drug-based data or traditional TMS.

08:08 EST Alimera Sciences announces publication of Phase 4 PALADIN study results - Alimera Sciences announced that the 3-year results of the PALADIN study have been published in the peer-reviewed journal Ophthalmology. These study results show that patients with diabetic macular edema who received a single dose of the sustained release implant ILUVIEN 0.19 mg demonstrated statistically significant improvements in best corrected visual acuity, central subfield thickness, and treatment burden at 36 months. Treatment frequency for patients in the PALADIN Study was reduced by 70.5% from a median of 3.4 treatments per year in the 36 months preceding the injection of ILUVIEN to a median of 1.0 treatments per year in the 36 months following the ILUVIEN injection. Further, 2.97% of eyes required IOP lowering surgery, only half of which were due to steroid induced ocular hypertension following the administration of ILUVIEN in accordance with the U.S. label. This compares favorably to the 4.8% in the pivotal FAME Studies. For full publication click Here. A post hoc analysis of 36-month data from PALADIN found that patients with less than or equal to6 treatments for DME before ILUVIEN administration experienced significantly higher visual acuity gains from baseline compared with patients who had greater than6 treatments before receiving ILUVIEN. These findings suggest that use of ILUVIEN earlier in a treatment algorithm for DME could lead to more desirable visual acuity outcomes. The PALADIN study was a phase 4, open-label, prospective, observational study conducted over 36 months at 41 sites across the United States. The study was designed and developed to confirm the benefit of using a prior course of corticosteroid as indicated in the ILUVIEN U.S. label, to mitigate the risk uncontrolled IOP elevation. Researchers enrolled 202 eyes in 159 patients with DME who had previously received corticosteroid treatment without a clinically significant rise in IOP. All eyes were treated with ILUVIEN and patients were followed for up to 36 months. Primary outcomes included changes in IOP and interventions to manage IOP elevations; secondary outcomes examined visual, anatomic, and treatment burden-related outcomes. Among the findings at 36 months: Mean best corrected visual acuity increased by 3.61 letters from baseline. Mean central subfield thickness decreased by 60.69 microm from baseline. Patients received median 1.0 treatment per year after receiving ILUVIEN. In the 36-month period immediately preceding ILUVIEN administration, patients received median 3.4 treatments per year. Thus, ILUVIEN treatment resulted in a 70.5% reduction in treatment burden. Surgery to address elevated IOP occurred in 2.97% of eyes; only 1.49% of patients received surgery due to steroid related IOP elevation, with the remaining cases of IOP elevation chiefly attributed to neovascular glaucoma. IOP response less than or equal to25 mm Hg after the steroid challenge predicted a similar outcome after ILUVIEN treatment at the final visit in 96.9% of eyes. Mean IOP remained stable throughout the study, and IOP increases of greater than30 mm Hg occurred in only 10.9% of eyes. IOP increases that occurred were considered manageable with standard treatments, according to the study authors.

08:06 EST Chegg announces new $300M accelerated share repurchase - Chegg announced that it has entered into an accelerated share repurchase agreement with Bank of America to repurchase $300M of Chegg's common stock. Under the ASR, Chegg will make an initial payment of $300M to Bank of America, N.A. and will receive an initial delivery of approximately 8.6 million shares of its common stock by February 25 . The final number of shares to be repurchased will be based on the volume-weighted average price of the Chegg's common stock during the term of the ASR, less a discount. The final settlement of the ASR is expected to occur by the second quarter of 2022. "We have confidence in the long-term opportunity for Chegg and this additional accelerated share repurchase demonstrates the strength of our balance sheet and our commitment to enhancing shareholder value," said Andy Brown, CFO of Chegg .

08:06 EST Chipotle says 2022 ESG goals tied to executive compensation - Chipotle Mexican Grill announced its 2022 Environmental, Social and Governance goals tied to executive compensation. The objectives, which are categorized by Food & Animals, People, and the Environment, can positively or negatively impact the officers' 2022 annual incentive bonus by up to 15% based on the company's achievement of these goals. In 2022, Chipotle intends to reduce its Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by at least 5%. Last year, the company announced its broader science-based targets created in alignment with the Science Based Targets initiative to reduce absolute Scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions by 50% by 2030 from a 2019 base year. The approved targets are classified by SBTi as being in line with a long-term global temperature increasing trajectory of 1.5 degrees C. Chipotle's 2021 Scope 1, 2 and 3 GHG emissions will be announced in the company's Sustainability Report update this spring.

08:05 EST Moderna, Thermo Fisher enter Spikevax manufacturing agreement - Moderna (MRNA) and Thermo Fisher (TMO) announced a 15-year strategic collaboration agreement to enable dedicated large-scale manufacturing in the U.S. of Spikevax, Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, and other investigational mRNA medicines in its pipeline. Over the past several years, Thermo Fisher has been partnering with Moderna to support its development pipeline with both clinical research and contract manufacturing services. This included the quick scale-up of aseptic fill-finish services and packaging of its COVID-19 vaccine. As part of this expanded agreement, Thermo Fisher will now provide dedicated capacity for a range of aseptic fill-finish services including lyophilized and liquid filling. In addition, the company will provide inspection, labeling and final packaging services.

08:03 EST Enphase Energy expands battery storage in New Jersey - Enphase Energy announced that Enphase installers in New Jersey have seen a growing number of deployments of the Enphase Energy System, powered by IQ Microinverters and IQ Batteries, as New Jersey residents seek protection against grid outages.

08:02 EST OrthoPediatrics announces 1,000th case with FIREFLY technology - OrthoPediatrics announced the 1,000th case performed with the FIREFLY Pedicle Screw Navigation Guides technology in collaboration with Mighty Oak Medical. FIREFLY, which is frequently used in conjunction with OrthoPediatrics' RESPONSE Spine System, provides increased efficiency by utilizing data-driven, pre-surgical planning for optimizing size and trajectory of the pedicle screws when performing complex spinal surgeries. The 3D printed patient-specific guides reduce the need for intraoperative radiation and make accurate pedicle screw placement more efficient. This easy-to-use technology is a unique and cost-effective alternative to complex and expensive navigation systems. OrthoPediatrics is the exclusive distributor of the FIREFLY technology in children's hospitals throughout the U.S.

08:01 EST Amdocs introduces Amdocs Freestyle Billing solution - Amdocs introduced Amdocs Freestyle Billing solution to enable service providers to evolve their billing with a next-generation, flexible, customizable offering, future-proofed for the endless possibilities of 5G experiences as well as new services, physical and virtual goods. Several tier-1 North American service providers have already integrated this solution, improving existing customer experiences and preparing their business for what's next.

07:55 EST Brilliant Axquisition Corporation trading halted, news pending

07:52 EST Frontier Communications sees FY22 adjusted EBITDA $2B-$2.15B - Sees FY22 capital expenditures $2.4B-$2.5B.

07:52 EST Electrovaya announces increase in credit facility to C$11M - Electrovaya announced that its credit facility has been increased from C$7 million to C$11 million to support its sales growth. In addition, it has extended the term to maturity of its $6 million promissory notes with a Canadian financial institution from July 1, 2022 to December 21, 2022. As consideration for these amendments, Electrovaya has paid a renewal fee of C$400,000, paid in shares to the financial institution.

07:46 EST Osino Resources announces discovery of high-grade shoot at Twin Hills - Osino Resources is pleased to announce the discovery of the highest-grade shoot yet intersected at the Twin Hills Gold Project to date. The latest step-out drillholes also intersected previously unknown shallow mineralization on the northern edge of the Twin Hills Central PEA pit, offering the potential for additional mineralization and reduced waste stripping in that area. Dave Underwood, Osino's VP Exploration commented: "We received a really nice surprise with the latest set of infill and step-out assays with one of our best ever intercepts of 69m @ 2.06g/t including 34m @ 3.65g/t. This hole was drilled on the far northern side of THC and appears to have hit a high strain zone in a silicified fold nose, containing the familiar mineralized sulphide veinlets but in this zone overprinted by extensional quartz veins. This is not something we have seen at Twin Hills before, and it demonstrates that Twin Hills can continue to surprise on the upside. This mineralization is currently below the PEA pit envelope and thus has the potential to increase the size of the future pit shell. It is also the first real indication of future underground potential at Twin Hills. It appears that our drilling to the north-east may have passed over the top of the high-grade shoot and the next round of drilling will be focused on chasing it down plunge to the north-east." Osino is now focused on completing an updated MRE for the pre-feasibility study expected in Q2 2022. The infill drill and step-out program started in March 2021 with the aim of converting the entire Bulge, THC and Clouds mineral resource from the Inferred to the Indicated category. This drill program has now been completed with a total of 80,718m drilled, including 54,722m of diamond drilling and 25,996m of RC. Assays are outstanding for 27 holes, results of which are expected by mid-March. The results reported in this new release are for two step-out holes located on the northern margin of THC as indicated in Figure 1 below. OKD355 intercepted three mineralized zones as follows: 69m @ 2.06g/t incl. 34m @ 3.65g/t; 6m @ 1.18g/t; 21m @ 1.10g/t. This deeper zone is the highest-grade shoot recorded at the Twin Hills complex to date and is the first indication of underground potential at depth. OKD329 drilled 50m to the northeast missed the high-grade shoot but did intersect previously unknown shallow mineralization at the planned pit margin. Follow-up drilling is planned to chase the high-grade shoot as well as the shallow mineralization.

07:44 EST Assured Guaranty boosts quarterly dividend 13.6% to 25c per share - Assured Guaranty declared a quarterly dividend of 25c per common share, an increase of 13.6% from the quarterly dividend of 22c per common share that was declared on November 1.

07:43 EST Draganfly selected to launch Access & Healthcare Solutions with Fobi - Draganfly is pleased to announce that the Company will launch its new Access & Healthcare Solutions with its key partner Fobi AI during a joint webinar at 3 p.m. PST on March 1, 2022. A lack of access, data interoperability and automation continues to be a major challenge for hosting in-person events and gatherings. This issue is creating an increasing amount of friction in communities and across a number of industries including venue management and tourism. To address this and improve the user experience, Draganfly and Fobi are working together to provide flexible and agile solutions to meet the needs of established organizations across a variety of major markets. An integral part of the Access & Healthcare Solutions being offered by Draganfly and Fobi is the deployment of the Company's Vital Intelligence Smart Vital Kiosks. Powered by Draganfly's Vital Intelligence platform, the kiosks can screen, with voluntary consent, temperature, blood pressure, heart rate, respiratory rate, and oxygen saturation in seconds. The system does not register any personal data of the individual being screened.

07:42 EST Tenneco trading halted, news pending

07:40 EST Aehr Test Systems receives order for FOX DiePak Carriers - Aehr Test Systems announced it has received an initial order exceeding $1.2 million from a current FOX-XPTM Multi Wafer and Singulated Die/Module test and burn-in system customer for its proprietary FOX DiePak Carriers. This customer is a supplier of sensors to a major mobile device, personal computer, and consumer electronics manufacturer.

07:37 EST Aadi Bioscience announces U.S. commercial launch of FYARRO - Aadi Bioscience announced the launch and commercial availability of its first proprietary product, FYARRO for intravenous use for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic malignant PEComa. FYARRO was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on November 22, 2021 and is the first treatment specific to this ultra-rare sarcoma. FYARRO was also recently added to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology as the only preferred treatment regimen for malignant PEComa. Aadi has also launched "Aadi Assist" as its comprehensive patient support program. This program offers resources designed to connect patients with co-pay assistance, referrals, educational resources, verification of benefits and to ensure access to this important drug as quickly and efficiently as possible.

07:36 EST TJX sees FY23 U.S. comparable store sales up 3%-4% - The company said, "For the full year Fiscal 2023, the Company is planning U.S. comparable store sales to be up 3% to 4% over an outsized 17% U.S. open-only comp store sales increase in Fiscal 2022. At this time, the Company is not providing full year Fiscal 2023 diluted earnings per share guidance given the current uncertainty around how long elevated expense pressures may persist."

07:35 EST KemPharm expects to submit KP1077 IND by mid-2022 following FDA meeting - KemPharm announced the completion of its pre-IND meeting process with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for KP1077. KemPharm is developing KP1077 as a treatment for idiopathic hypersomnia, a rare neurological sleep disorder whose symptoms include excessive daytime sleepiness, extreme difficulty waking, severe brain fog, and falling asleep unintentionally or at inappropriate times. Per recent interactions with the FDA, KemPharm has confirmed that it may proceed with the submission of an IND application for KP1077, which the company expects to submit by mid-year 2022. As part of those interactions, the FDA provided collaborative feedback including that additional non-clinical studies will not be needed for the initiation of the KP1077 clinical development program given the data already available for serdexmethylphenidate. SDX is KemPharm's proprietary prodrug of d-methylphenidate and the sole active pharmaceutical ingredient for KP1077.

07:33 EST Option Care Health acquires Wasatch Infusion, Specialty Pharmacy Nursing Network - The Company also announced that it acquired Wasatch Infusion, an infusion center operator based in Salt Lake City, Utah, in December and has also entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Specialty Pharmacy Nursing Network, which it expects to complete in 2022. Acquired Infinity Infusion Nursing, LLC and Wasatch for $50.0 million and $17.8 million, respectively, financed through cash balances on hand

07:32 EST Pembina Pipeline names Scott Burrows as CEO - Pembina Pipeline announced that it has appointed Scott Burrows as the company's President and CEO. This appointment concludes the previously announced executive search process undertaken by the Pembina Board of Directors. Burrows previously served as the company's CFO for approximately seven years and was appointed interim President and CEO in November 2021. Burrows has also been appointed to the Pembina Board of Directors.

07:27 EST Sinclair Broadcast announces Rob Weisbord has been named COO - Sinclair Broadcast Group announced Rob Weisbord has been elevated to Chief Operating Officer of the corporation and President of Broadcast. As COO, Weisbord will lead operations for the company and its owned/operated television stations, 21 regional sports network brands, national networks including Tennis Channel and Stadium, multicast networks and all digital and streaming platforms. Weisbord, who has served as the company's President of Broadcast and Chief Advertising Revenue Officer since 2020, will continue to report to Chris Ripley, President and Chief Executive Officer.

07:23 EST Arko o acquire fleet fueling cardlock, fuel distribution business from Quarles - ARKO Corp. announced that GPM, a subsidiary of ARKO, has entered into an agreement with Quarles Petroleum for the acquisition of certain assets, including 121 branded and 64 contracted cardlock sites, which are strategically located unmanned fuel sites located on high-traffic corridors in the mid-Atlantic region, at which customers purchase fuel with fleet cards. This acquisition is part of ARKO's strategic focus on growth and generating long-term shareholder value with its dual convenience and wholesale platform. At the time of signing an asset purchase agreement, using estimated forward-looking non-GAAP measures, the Company expects that this acquisition will add approximately $17.3M of adjusted EBITDA on an annualized basis after incremental rent of approximately $7.7M to be paid to Oak Street Real Estate Capital, LLC, the private equity real estate firm who will fund approximately $130M of the purchase price. The acquisition will add approximately 200 million gallons to the approximately 2 billion gallons ARKO currently sells annually. The closing of the transaction is subject to fulfillment of conditions precedent and the completion of various transition planning matters. The transaction is expected to close during the second quarter of 2022. There is no certainty that the transaction will close.

07:20 EST Recro provides update on launching fill/finish, lyophilization capabilities - Recro Pharma reported key progress in adding fill/finish and lyophilization capabilities to its broad suite of CDMO offerings. All construction and equipment installation related to this service expansion has been completed at the company's San Diego facility and final validation and commissioning activities are underway. The company expects that its new automated fill/finish line and lyophilization unit will be operational early in the second quarter. Recro has already secured agreements for customer projects involving these new capabilities and continues to work to book additional business for fill/finish and lyophilization projects. "Our expansion into the areas of fill/finish and lyophilization represents a critical element of ongoing strategic efforts to establish Recro as an end-to-end provider capable of addressing all of the CDMO service needs of our customers. Importantly, this service expansion will unlock key additional revenue sources for the company and we are excited to report that we have already pre-booked several customer projects focused on utilizing these new capabilities," said David Enloe, chief executive officer of Recro. "We are on schedule for the launch of both of these new services in the second quarter and look forward to efficiently completing the remaining validation and commissioning activities. I would like to recognize our technical and engineering teams for the diligence and commitment to getting these services online for our clients." The company's aseptic fill/finish suite will feature a sterile, automated vial filling system with the capability to fill up to 2,000 presterilized vials per hour at a range of volumes. The lyophilization offering incorporates a novel, patented approach to uniformity and instantaneously induces nucleation via pressurization and depressurization. This equipment provides the capacity for lyophilization of approximately 9,000 10 mL vials during each 3-5 day freeze-drying cycle. Both the filler and the lyophilization equipment were supplied by SP Industries, a U.S.-based designer and manufacturer of specialty laboratory equipment, and its Barcelona-based subsidiary i-Dositecno. To support these new services, Recro has also invested in a U.S.-based state-of-the-art water for injection system.

07:19 EST Tenneco jumps 90% to $19 after takeover offer from Apollo Global funds

07:17 EST Gildan Activewear announces Gildan Sustainable Growth strategy outlook - "We are pleased with the success of our Back to Basics strategy which structurally improved the economics of our business, allowing us to deliver top tier profitability in 2021 with operating margin performance above our 18% target," said President and CEO of Gildan, Glenn J. Chamandy. "Today, we stand as a less complex, more competitively advantaged organization, stronger than we have ever been and well-positioned for sustainable growth." During the fourth quarter, we completed a comprehensive strategic planning process to define the underlying initiatives to support our next phase of growth under what we term as the "Gildan Sustainable Growth" strategy. While Back to Basics will remain at our core, efforts under this strategy primarily focused on reducing complexity and enhancing operational effectiveness and ultimately operating profitability. The Gildan Sustainable Growth strategy focuses on building on our Back to Basics principles and driving organic top line and bottom line growth through capacity expansion, innovation, and strong ESG integrated in all aspects of how we do business. We are confident that the initiatives underpinning our revised strategy will position us to create strong value for our shareholders over the long-term. Under the Gildan Sustainable Growth plan and based on everything we are seeing today, including the assumption of a continued global recovery, the Company's current outlook over the next three years reflects the following: Net Sales growth at a compound annual growth rate in the range of 7% to 10% Annual adjusted operating margin in the range of 18% to 20%; Capital expenditures as a percentage of sales of 6% to 8% over the next three years to support long-term growth and vertical integration; Maintaining net debt leverage within our target framework of net debt to adjusted EBITDA of 1.0x to 2.0x; Annual dividend growth and continued share repurchases in line with our leverage framework and valuation considerations.

07:13 EST Sanofi, GSK to seek regulatory authorization for COVID-19 vaccine - Sanofi (SNY) and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) announce that they intend to submit data from both their booster and Phase 3 efficacy trials as the basis for regulatory applications for a COVID-19 vaccine. "The public health relevance of the refrigerator temperature-stable adjuvanted protein-based Sanofi-GSK vaccine is strongly supported by the induction of robust immune responses and a favourable safety profile in multiple settings. In participants who had received a primary series of an already authorized mRNA or adenovirus vaccine, the Sanofi-GSK booster vaccine induced a significant increase in neutralizing antibodies of 18- to 30-fold across vaccine platforms and age groups. When the Sanofi-GSK vaccine was used as a two-dose primary series followed by a booster dose, neutralizing antibodies increased 84- to 153-fold compared to pre-boost levels," the companies said. Data from the VAT08 efficacy study showed that two doses of Sanofi-GSK vaccine generated an efficacy of 57.9% against any symptomatic COVID-19 disease in the seronegative population. The Sanofi-GSK vaccine provided 100% protection against severe disease and hospitalizations and 75% efficacy against moderate-to-severe disease in seronegative populations. While sequencing is still in progress, early data indicate 77% efficacy against any Delta variant-associated symptomatic COVID-19 disease, in line with expected vaccine effectiveness. Across both studies, the Sanofi-GSK vaccine was well-tolerated in younger and older adults with no safety concerns. The companies are in discussions with regulatory authorities, including the U.S. FDA and European Medicines Agency, and plan to submit the totality of the data generated with this vaccine candidate to support regulatory authorizations, they stated.

07:10 EST Molson Coors boosts quarterly dividend to 38c

07:06 EST Arko Corp. board authorizes $50M share repurchase program - On February 21, 2022, the Company's board of directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.02 per share of common stock, to be paid on March 29, 2022, to stockholders of record as of March 15, 2022. The Company's board of directors also authorized a share repurchase program for up to an aggregate amount of $50 million of our outstanding shares of common stock.

07:03 EST Tenneco to be acquired by Apollo Global funds for $20.00 per share, or $7.1B - Tenneco (TEN) announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by funds managed by affiliates of Apollo (APO) in an all-cash transaction with an enterprise valuation of approximately $7.1B, including debt. The purchase price of $20.00 per share represents a 100.4% premium over the company's closing share price of $9.98 on February 22 and a 71.6% premium over the company's unaffected 90-day VWAP. Upon completion of the transaction, Tenneco's shares will no longer trade on the New York Stock Exchange, and Tenneco will become a private company. Tenneco will continue to operate under the Tenneco name and brand and maintain a global presence. The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the Tenneco Board of Directors, is expected to close in the second half of 2022, subject to customary closing conditions, including approval by Tenneco shareholders and receipt of regulatory approvals. The transaction is not subject to a financing condition.

07:01 EST Tenneco to be acquired by Apollo Global funds for $7.1B in cash

06:53 EST ODP Corporation delays further work on public company separation - Afforded by the flexibility of its holding company structure, the company continued to execute upon its operational separation of its consumer and B2B businesses. These activities supported the Company's previously announced plans to separate its businesses into two, independent, publicly-traded companies, by means of a tax-free spin-off, positioning each company to pursue unique market opportunities and growth strategies to improve value for all stakeholders. The Company made significant progress resulting in advancements in all areas of the separation including organizational structure, operating and supply chain mechanics, IT support, and on the anticipated market-based commercial agreements between the companies. In addition to its planned separation activities, in November 2021, USR Parent, Inc., the parent company of Staples and a portfolio company of Sycamore Partners, reaffirmed its non-binding proposal to acquire the Company's consumer business, including the Office Depot and OfficeMax retail stores business, the Company's direct channel business (officedepot.com), and the Office Depot and OfficeMax intellectual property, including all brand names, for $1 billion in cash. The Company remains in conversation with Sycamore as it further evaluates the potential value and regulatory risk of Sycamore's proposed transaction. Subsequent to the quarter-end, on January 14, 2022, the Company announced that its Board of Directors determined to delay the previously announced public company separation to evaluate a potential sale of the Company's consumer business and that it had received a non-binding proposal from another third party to acquire the Company's consumer business, the terms of which are confidential. The Company's Board of Directors is carefully reviewing both proposals with the assistance of its financial and legal advisors to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders. While the Company has previously been focusing on completing the public company separation during the first half of 2022, it has determined to delay further work on the separation in order to avoid incurring potentially unnecessary separation costs while it focuses on a potential sale of the consumer business. There can be no assurance that a sale of the consumer business will take place and, if it were to take place, as to the terms of such a sale.

06:51 EST ODP Corporation sees FY22 revenue 'consistent with the prior year' - The company anticipates generating annual revenue, operating and cash flow results in a range consistent with the prior year, and expects to refine and update its outlook for 2022 as conditions related to the pandemic and supply chain challenges dissipate, and further progress is made on its previously disclosed strategic initiatives.

06:50 EST Evergreen Resources authorizes $1.4B share repurchase program - Evercore has authorized a share repurchase program of up to the lesser of $1.4B or 10 million shares of Evercore Inc. Class A common stock and/or Evercore LP Units. The authorization has no expiration date.

06:48 EST Owens & Minor: Apria acquisiton on track to close in 1H22 - The company said, "The acquisition of Apria remains on track to close in the first half of 2022. The acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions, including the Hart Scott Rodino Act and other regulatory approvals and the approval of Apria's stockholders. Excluding synergies, we continue to expect Apria to generate: Annualized revenue of at least $1.2 billion; Annualized adjusted EBITDA in excess of $230 million; Modest adjusted EPS accretion in 2022."

06:41 EST Relmada Therapeutics announces results from REL-1017 HAP study - Relmada Therapeutics announced top-line results of the human abuse potential, or HAP, study with REL-1017, a novel NMDA receptor, or NMDAR, channel blocker and the company's lead candidate in Phase 3 development for the treatment major depressive disorder, or MDD. Top-line results showed that all three doses of REL-1017 tested in recreational drug users, demonstrated a substantial and statistically significant difference vs. the active control drug, intravenous ketamine 0.5 mg/kg over 40 minutes, and were statistically equivalent to placebo. The study's primary endpoint was a measure of "likability" with the subjects rating the maximum effect for Drug Liking "at this moment", using a 1-100 bipolar rating scale with 100 as the highest likability, 50 as neutral and 0 the highest dislike. Consistent results are seen for the secondary endpoints. "These results demonstrate that REL-1017 strongly differentiates from ketamine and is comparable to placebo for the maximum effect for Drug Liking 'at this moment," said Sergio Traversa, CEO of Relmada Therapeutics. "Importantly, these data are consistent with previously generated results of the REL-1017 vs. oxycodone HAP study, which showed no meaningful abuse potential on the opioid domain. With the ketamine comparative study, we completed the extensive abuse potential testing program in line with the FDA 2017 published guidance. These collective results confirm the previously published data and the DEA statement that esmethadone does not have meaningful abuse potential. "

06:31 EST HSBC expects mid-single-digit lending growth over 2022 - The company said, "We carry good business momentum into 2022 in most areas and expect mid-single-digit lending growth over the year. However, we expect a weaker Wealth performance in Asia in the first quarter of 2022. We expect ECL charges to normalise towards 30bps of average loans in 2022, based on current consensus economic forecasts and default experience, noting we retain $0.6bn of Covid-19-related allowances as at the end of 2021. Uncertainty remains given recent developments in China's commercial real estate sector, while inflationary pressures persist in many of our markets. We continue to target 2022 adjusted operating expenses in line with 2021, despite inflationary pressures, with cost to achieve spend of $3.4bn expected to generate over $2bn of cost savings in 2022. In 2023, we intend to manage growth in adjusted operating expenses to within a range of 0% to 2%, compared with 2022, with cost savings of at least $0.5bn from actions taken in 2022 helping to offset inflation. We expect mid-single-digit RWA growth in 2022 through a combination of business growth, acquisitions and regulatory changes, partly offset by additional RWA savings. This growth, together with capital returns are expected to normalise our CET1 position to be within our 14% to 14.5% target operating range during 2022. Our net interest income outlook is now significantly more positive. If policy rates were to follow the current implied market consensus, we would expect to deliver a RoTE of at least 10% for 2023, one year ahead of our previous expectations. We continue to target dividends within our 40% to 55% dividend payout ratio range."

06:22 EST EPA settles with Tesla over Clean Air Act violations at Fremont facility - On Tuesday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a settlement with Tesla Motors Inc. EPA found Clean Air Act violations at their automobile manufacturing plant in Fremont, Calif. This settlement aligns with EPA's National Compliance Initiative, Creating Cleaner Air for Communities by Reducing Excess Emissions of Harmful Pollutants. Under the settlement, Tesla agreed to pay a $275,000 penalty. "Today's enforcement action against Tesla reflects EPA's continued commitment to ensure compliance with federal clean air laws," said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. "EPA takes seriously every company's obligation to safeguard our environment and protect our most vulnerable communities."

06:21 EST Kodiak Sciences announces KSI-301 trial did not meet primary efficacy endpoint - Kodiak Sciences announced top-line results from its randomized, double-masked, active comparator-controlled Phase 2b/3 clinical trial evaluating the efficacy, durability and safety of KSI-301, a novel antibody biopolymer conjugate, in treatment-naive subjects with neovascular age-related macular degeneration. The trial randomized 559 participants, approximately 80% of whom were enrolled in the United States. The study had two treatment arms: KSI-301 5mg on a flexible long-interval regimen and aflibercept 2mg on a fixed short-interval regimen. In the study, three monthly loading doses were administered to all subjects at 0-, four- and eight-weeks. Subjects on aflibercept were then treated at fixed two-month intervals. Subjects on KSI-301 were assessed starting three months after the completion of the loading phase and, based on predefined disease activity criteria, were treated every three-, four-, or five-months. As a result, patients in the KSI-301 group did not receive dosing more frequently than every three months at any point in the study after the loading phase. The primary endpoint of the study was the average change in best-corrected visual acuity, or BCVA, score from baseline at year one. For the assessment of the primary efficacy endpoint, KSI-301 patients in all three groups were pooled together and their BCVA was compared as a group to the aflibercept group. The results show that, although KSI-301 demonstrated strong durability and was safe and well tolerated, it did not meet the primary efficacy endpoint of showing non-inferior visual acuity gains for subjects dosed on extended regimens compared to aflibercept given every eight weeks. A pre-specified secondary analysis at year one assessing durability showed 59% of patients in the KSI-301 arm achieved five-month dosing with visual acuity gains and anatomic improvements comparable to the overall aflibercept group. KSI-301 was safe and well tolerated in the study, with no new safety signals identified.

06:17 EST Barclays Group Finance Director Tushar Morzaria to retire - Tushar Morzaria has decided to retire as Group Finance Director and as an Executive Director of Barclays PLC and Barclays Bank PLC, in each case with effect from 22 April 2022. He will be succeeded by Anna Cross, currently Deputy Group Finance Director, who will take up the role of Group Finance Director subject to regulatory approval, and join the Boards of Barclays PLC and Barclays Bank PLC as an Executive Director, in each case with effect from 23 April 2022. Anna will also join the Group Executive Committee, reporting to Group Chief Executive C.S. Venkatakrishnan.

06:16 EST Gravity: Ragnarok Online has launched in Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia - Gravity announced that Ragnarok Online has officially launched in the Philippines, Singapore and Malaysia on February 23. Ragnarok Online is the most popular online game of Gravity which celebrates its 20th anniversary for this year since it was launched in Korea in 2002.

06:12 EST Kraft Heinz, J.R. Simplot Company announce supply agreement for Ore-Ida - The Kraft Heinz Company and Simplot Food Group, a division of the J.R. Simplot Company, announced that the two companies have signed a long-term agreement naming Simplot as the exclusive manufacturer and supplier of Ore-Ida. Kraft Heinz will continue to own the Ore-Ida brand. As a leading expert in potato manufacturing and distribution, Simplot is expected to help grow the Ore-Ida brand by introducing world-class innovation and technology to the business as well as creating greater efficiencies through vertical integration, including supplying potatoes for the brand starting with the 2023/24 crop season. As part of the agreement, Kraft Heinz will transfer ownership of its potato manufacturing facility in Ontario, Ore., to Simplot, with Simplot committing to make capital investments as needed to meet elevated demand. The handover of the site is anticipated in the second quarter of 2022. The Ontario facility currently employs approximately 600 people. Simplot will offer positions to individuals at the facility, with the employees receiving pay and benefits comparable to that provided to similarly situated Simplot employees.

06:08 EST LL Flooring targets $1.5B of net revenue by 2024 - The company announced a plan to achieve $1.5B of net revenue by 2024, which represents a 9% three-year-compound annual growth rate from 2021. LL Flooring is also targeting expanded operating margin by 2024.

06:04 EST Overstock.com reports Q4 active customers 8.1M, down 12% y/y - Q4 highlights: Active customers were 8.1M, a decrease of 12% year over year; Last Twelve Months net revenue per active customer was $341, an increase of 26% year over year; Orders delivered were 3M, a decrease of 25% year over year; Average order value was $206, an increase of 23% year over year; Orders per active customer, measured as LTM orders divided by active customers, was 1.67, an increase of 2% year over year; Orders placed on a mobile device were 50.7% of gross merchandise sales.

05:17 EST Roche expands COVID-19 PCR test portfolio to cobas 5800 System - Roche announced the expansion of the COVID-19 PCR portfolio to the cobas 5800 System, a recently launched molecular laboratory instrument, in countries accepting the CE mark. These include cobas SARS-CoV-2 Qualitative and cobas SARS-CoV-2 & Influenza A/B tests. These launches expand the Roche Diagnostics molecular portfolio offering by providing standardized performance and efficiencies across low, medium and high volume molecular laboratory testing needs. In addition, the new compact cobas 5800 System broadens access for healthcare systems with limited resources or space.

05:09 EST NephroScan receives marketing approval by the FDA - Theragnostics announces that NephroScan, its radiodiagnostic imaging drug used as an aid for the evaluation of renal parenchymal disorders in adult and pediatric patients, including term neonates, has received marketing approval by the FDA. NephroScan, a proprietary kit for the preparation of technetium Tc 99m succimer injection, is Theragnostics' first FDA approved drug. It is manufactured by ROTOP Pharmaka GmbH in Germany. GE Healthcare serves as the exclusive distributor of the product in the United States and the product is now available for ordering.