Stockwinners Market Radar for April 01, 2022 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

18:03 EDT Gilead's Kite announces FDA approval of Yescarta - Kite, a Gilead company, announced the U.S. FDA has approved Yescarta CAR T-cell therapy for adult patients with large B-cell lymphoma that is refractory to first-line chemoimmunotherapy or that relapses within 12 months of first-line chemoimmunotherapy. Yescarta demonstrated a clinically meaningful and statistically significant improvement in event-free survival over the current standard of care that has been in place for decades. EFS was determined by blinded central review and defined as the time from randomization to the earliest date of disease progression, commencement of new lymphoma therapy, or death from any cause. Additionally, 2.5 times more patients receiving Yescarta were alive at two years without disease progression or need for additional cancer treatment, after their one-time infusion of Yescarta vs. SOC, and the median EFS was four-fold greater with Yescarta vs. SOC. Yescarta is also being reviewed by global regulatory authorities for additional indications inclusive of the ZUMA-7 patient population. ZUMA-7 is considered a landmark trial for being the first and largest trial of its kind, with the longest follow-up.

17:39 EDT Veeva director Sekhri sells 11,000 class A shares - In a regulatory filing, Veeva Systems director Paul Sekhri disclosed the sale of 11,000 class A common shares of the company on March 31 at a price of $214.0231 per share.

17:32 EDT Starboard Value lowers stake in ACI Worldwide to 4.9% - Starboard Value believes the company remains significantly undervalued in light of the substantial progress that has been made in improving growth and profitability. Starboard has undertaken the sales as part of a broader rebalancing of Starboard's portfolio, however, Starboard intends on remaining a large shareholder of the company.

17:14 EDT Freedom Holding, MKM Holdings announce mutual termination of acquisition - Freedom Holding Corp. and MKM Holdings announced that they have mutually agreed to terminate the previously announced acquisition of MKM Partners LLC by Freedom Holding from MKM Holdings due to business and market conditions arising from international geopolitical conditions. "We were excited about the synergies that would have benefitted our clients and employees through the acquisition of MKM Partners by Freedom Holding, a vibrant and growing financial services firm with offices throughout Europe and Asia. The current global turmoil and the strong international reaction to the conflicts have caused many companies to reevaluate their expansion plans and pending deals." stated a Member of the MKM Management Committee. Timur Turlov, CEO of Freedom Holding stated, "Although we have had funding in place and been working to complete regulatory approvals, we have agreed to terminate the purchase of MKM Partners, LLC, to allow it to remain an independent firm in the current geopolitical environment. Nevertheless, we remain committed to exploring other opportunities in the U.S. market in pursuit of our corporate goal of becoming a premiere international financial services firm."

16:44 EDT FCA reports Q1 sales of 405,221 vehicles - FCA, a subsidiary of Stellantis, had sales of 405,221 vehicles in Q1. Overall, total U.S. and retail sales for Q1 declined 14% and 13% respectively. Total commercial shipments in Q1 rose 13% versus same quarter last year. Jeep brand retail sales were even versus same quarter last year. Ram's total commercial shipments are up a combined 7% versus the previous first quarter.

16:34 EDT Korn/Ferry acquires Patina Solutions, sees accretion - Korn/Ferry announced that it has acquired Patina Solutions. Patina brings to Korn Ferry substantial interim executive solutions expertise across multiple industry verticals. Patina's vast network of C-suite, top-tier, and professional interim talent spans functional areas of expertise such as finance, operations, legal, human resources, IT and more. The move accelerates the scale and capabilities of Korn Ferry's current interim executive solutions business. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to Korn Ferry's adjusted earnings.

16:16 EDT ImmunityBio provides update on QUILT-3.032 study - ImmunityBio announced that it has achieved a milestone with over 80 subjects in the QUILT-3.032 study completing at least 12 months of follow-up as of January 14. All data for QUILT-3.032, which is studying VesAnktiva plus BCG in subjects with BCG-unresponsive non-muscle invasive bladder cancer carcinoma in situ, have been locked and analyzed. The results continue to demonstrate a clinically meaningful benefit that is sustained. The BLA has been compiled and, following final quality review, is expected to be submitted to the FDA this month. The FDA granted fast track designation to the pivotal trial based on Phase I data. In December 2019, the FDA granted ImmunityBio breakthrough therapy designation, or BTD, based on interim Phase 2 data indicating the primary endpoint of the trial was already met.

16:07 EDT Oil-Dri to raise prices on industrial, automotive absorbent products - Oil-Dri Corporation of America announced that it is notifying customers of plans to raise prices on its industrial and automotive absorbent products during the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2022. These price increases will range from 15% to 20%, depending on the product. "As we continue to operate in an inflationary environment, it is necessary to raise prices to offset higher packaging, natural gas, labor, and other manufacturing costs," said Daniel S. Jaffee, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Pricing actions, production optimization, and cost reduction remain key objectives for the Company, as we navigate these challenging conditions and strive to restore our margins to historical levels."

16:06 EDT D-Orbit launches fifth ION Satellite Carrier mission - D-Orbit, which entered into a business combination with Breeze Holdings Acquisition Corp. earlier this year, on Friday launched Spacelust, the fifth mission of the company's proprietary ION Satellite Carrier, aboard SpaceX's Transporter-4 mission. The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off today, April 1, 2022, at 12:24 PM EDT from the Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida. ION, a versatile and cost-effective orbital transfer vehicle designed both to precisely deploy satellites and perform technology demonstrations of third-party payloads in orbit, was successfully deployed at 1:50 PM EDT into a 500 km Sun synchronous orbit. "The pace of our missions is growing fast, and we're thrilled to add the fifth ION to the fleet of our vehicles that are already in orbit", said Renato Panesi, Ph.D., D-Orbit's Chief Commercial Officer. "Every mission we launch is built upon the success of the ones that came before it. We are steadily increasing our performance with each new mission, expanding our customer base and growing our exceptional team. As we execute our strategic plans, we are continuing to demonstrate the strength of our technology and are advancing D-Orbit's path to enabling the transportation and logistics infrastructure to drive the evolving space economy." With the launch successfully completed, D-Orbit's mission control team is currently going through the mission's Launch and Early Orbit phase, performing a series of health check procedures in preparation for the operational phase. The company has four more ION launches scheduled for the remainder of 2022. The next ION mission, Infinite Blue, is scheduled for no earlier than June 2022.

15:25 EDT FBI reports 3.08M NICS firearm background checks in March - The FBI reported that there were 3,081,724 firearm background checks initiated through the NICS system in March 2022. This compares to 4,691,738 checks in March 2021 and 2,554,912 checks in February 2022. Publicly traded companies in the space include Smith & Wesson Brands (SWBI), Sturm Ruger (RGR) and Vista Outdoor (VSTO). Reference Link

13:37 EDT Amazon 'disappointed' with election outcome in Staten Island, evaluating options - Amazon issued the following statement on the Staten Island union vote: "We're disappointed with the outcome of the election in Staten Island because we believe having a direct relationship with the company is best for our employees. We're evaluating our options, including filing objections based on the inappropriate and undue influence by the NLRB that we and others - including the National Retail Federation and U.S. Chamber of Commerce - witnessed in this election." Reference Link

13:19 EDT Alnylam up 3%, strength attributed to conference cancellation speculation - Shares of Alnylam Pharmaceuticals are up $5.69, or 3%, to $168.98 in afternoon trading, which has been attributed among traders to speculation about the company cancelling from an investor event that is being hosted by Guggenheim.

13:04 EDT Fiserv completes acquisition of Finxact - Fiserv announced the completion of its acquisition of Finxact. "Together with Finxact, we are accelerating the ability for fintechs and financial institutions to deliver differentiated digital banking experiences to their customers," said Frank Bisignano, President and CEO of Fiserv. "We welcome the Finxact team to Fiserv as we focus on our shared commitment of innovating to create value for our clients."

13:01 EDT Baker Hughes reports U.S. rig count up 3 to 673 rigs

12:23 EDT Interactive Brokers reports March DARTs down 18% y/y - Interactive Brokers Group reported its Electronic Brokerage monthly performance metrics for March. Brokerage highlights for the month included: 2.456 million Daily Average Revenue Trades, 18% lower than prior year and 2% lower than prior month. Ending client equity of $355.9B, 8% higher than prior year and 2% higher than prior month. Ending client margin loan balances of $48.2B, 14% higher than prior year and 2% lower than prior month. Ending client credit balances of $92.5B, including $2.2B in insured bank deposit sweeps, 9% higher than prior year and 4% higher than prior month. 1.81 million client accounts, 36% higher than prior year and 3% higher than prior month. 306 annualized average cleared DARTs per client account. Average commission per cleared Commissionable Order3 of $2.68 including exchange, clearing and regulatory fees.

12:00 EDT BlackBerry falls -12.1% - BlackBerry is down -12.1%, or -91c to $6.55.

12:00 EDT Redwire falls -30.4% - Redwire is down -30.4%, or -$2.58 to $5.90.

12:00 EDT U.S. Xpress Enterprises rises 24.2% - U.S. Xpress Enterprises is up 24.2%, or 94c to $4.82.

11:49 EDT Pharming announces new data from leniolisib Phase II/III trial - Pharming Group (PHAR) announces new data from the pivotal Phase II/III trial of leniolisib for the treatment of activated phosphoinositide 3-kinase delta syndrome, a primary immunodeficiency. As announced on February 2, the Phase III portion of the clinical trial, conducted by Novartis (NVS), met its co-primary endpoints, which evaluated reduction in lymph node size and correction of immunodeficiency. The shrinking of lymphadenopathy lesions and increased proportion of naive B cells are important in this population, as they indicate a reduction in APDS disease markers. Presented for the first time at Clinical Immunology Society 2022 , the co-primary endpoints at day 85 after baseline demonstrated: In the index lymphadenopathy lesions, a statistically significant adjusted mean change in the log10 transformed sum of product of diameters of -0.30 among patients who received leniolisib compared with -0.06 among patients who received placebo; From a baseline level of 48%, an increase of 34.76% in the proportion of naive B cells in patients who received leniolisib versus a -5.37% decrease in patients who received placebo. There were no adverse events that led to discontinuation of study treatment, there were no deaths, and the incidence of serious adverse events was lower in the leniolisib group than in the placebo group, Pharming added.

11:37 EDT Vuzix announces $300,000 smart glasses order from Robotiques - Vuzix announced that it has signed a distribution agreement with Robotiques Cyborg, a France-based distributor of technology solutions, and has received and shipped against an initial $300,000 order from it for Vuzix smart glasses. "Robotiques Cyborg's partnership with Vuzix adds a full line of industry-leading smart glasses to its portfolio of distributed solutions. Through the use of Vuzix smart glasses, the company believes its customers will be able to reduce their CO2 emissions via remote meetings that can be conducted anywhere, take out the language barrier for personal and business use, more easily access certain applications, and possible control certain robots with the glasses, among other things," Vuzix said in a statement.

11:20 EDT GitLab addresses ulnerability, urges upgrades to latest version - GitLab has addressed a critical severity vulnerability that could allow remote attackers to take over user accounts using hardcoded passwords that affects both GitLab Community Edition and Enterprise Edition. "A hardcoded password was set for accounts registered using an OmniAuth provider (e.g. OAuth, LDAP, SAML) in GitLab CE/EE versions 14.7 prior to 14.7.7, 14.8 prior to 14.8.5, and 14.9 prior to 14.9.2 allowing attackers to potentially take over accounts," the GitLab team explained in a security advisory published on Thursday. GitLab urged users to immediately upgrade all GitLab installations to the latest versions to block potential attacks. "We strongly recommend that all installations running a version affected by the issues are upgraded to the latest version as soon as possible," GitLab said. Reference Link

11:06 EDT Mazda North American reports March sales up 3.2% to 33,023 vehicles - Mazda North American Operations reported total March sales of 33,023 vehicles, an increase of 3.2% compared to March 2021. Year-to-date sales totaled 82,268 vehicles, a decrease of 1.2% compared to the same time last year. With 27 selling days in March, compared to 26 the year prior, the company posted a decrease of 0.6% on a daily selling rate basis.

11:04 EDT Nissan reports Q1 U.S. sales down 29.6% to 201,081 units - Nissan Group announced total U.S. first-quarter, or January to March, sales for 2022 of 201,081 units, a decrease of 29.6% versus the prior year. Reference Link

11:02 EDT Charlotte's Web's full-spectrum CBD receives validation from U.K.'s FSA - Charlotte's Web Holdings has achieved a milestone becoming one of the first companies to receive validation of its Novel Food applications from the UK Food Standards Agency for its full-spectrum hemp extracts in the United Kingdom, the company announced in a statement. "This milestone gives Charlotte's Web and full-spectrum CBD a legitimate presence within the UK market," said Jacques Tortoroli, CEO of Charlotte's Web. "We can now expand in the UK and commence discussions with large retailers who have been waiting for access to full-spectrum products from our patented hemp cultivars."

10:51 EDT General Motors estimates U.S. total light vehicle SAAR for Q1 of 14.1M - GM estimates total light vehicle SAAR for the first quarter was 14.1M, down from 16.8M a year ago, due to lower inventory and production levels. GM deliveries in the first quarter were down 20% from a year ago, but they were up 16% from the fourth quarter. "GM's production in North America has increased sequentially each quarter since the end of September 2021, and the company ended the first quarter with 273,760 vehicles in dealer inventory, including in-transit units, which are rising. Inventories were 128,757 units at the end of the third quarter of 2021, and 199,662 at the end of the fourth quarter. GM expects inventory to remain relatively low throughout the year due to high demand," the company stated. According to GM Chief Economist Elaine Buckberg, industry light vehicle volumes will grow this year and top 2021 levels, thanks to a strong labor market, higher vehicle production and pent-up demand, the company added.

10:43 EDT Mitsubishi Motors reports Q1 U.S. sales of 26,400 vehicles - Mitsubishi Motors North America reported total quarterly sales for the brand in Q1 were 26,400, down from 28,231 in Q1 of 2021. "When considering retail sales alone, the brand saw an increase of 44.7% over the same period in 2021... MMNA's flagship vehicle, the all-new 2022 Outlander, continued to lead the brand's sales success for the quarter, with 13,065 total vehicles sold, a 218.2% year-over-year increase. Q1 2022 also represented the best-ever retail-only quarter for the nameplate since launch in 2002... Demand continued to outstrip supply across the lineup, especially on the fast-moving Outlander. As the entire auto industry is experiencing, MMNA's inventory remains far below ideal levels and well below customer demand... MMNA closed Fiscal Year 2021 in conjunction with Q1 of calendar year 2022, with sales totaling 100,206 representing an increase of 25.17%," the company stated.

10:31 EDT Toyota reports March U.S. sales down 23.5% to 194,178 units - Toyota Motor North America reported March U.S. sales of 194,178 vehicles, down 23.5% on a volume basis and down 26.3% on a daily selling rate, or DSR, basis versus March 2021.

10:03 EDT United Bancorp of Alabama approves stock repurchase program up to 5% of shares - United Bancorporation of Alabama announced today that the Board of Directors has approved a new stock repurchase program. Under the repurchase program, the Company may repurchase up to 188,298 shares or approximately 5% of the currently outstanding shares of its common stock. The 2022 Repurchase Program replaces the previous repurchase program that expired in November 2021.

10:00 EDT Charah Solutions falls -9.0% - Charah Solutions is down -9.0%, or -45c to $4.54.

10:00 EDT Redwire falls -26.2% - Redwire is down -26.2%, or -$2.22 to $6.26.

10:00 EDT Borr Drilling rises 15.2% - Borr Drilling is up 15.2%, or 51c to $3.86.

09:47 EDT BlackBerry falls -9.4% - BlackBerry is down -9.4%, or -70c to $6.76.

09:47 EDT Blend Labs falls -19.5% - Blend Labs is down -19.5%, or -$1.11 to $4.59.

09:47 EDT Borr Drilling rises 15.2% - Borr Drilling is up 15.2%, or 51c to $3.86.

09:45 EDT Intergrated Media Technology Ltd trading resumes

09:38 EDT Duck Creek Technologies trading resumes

09:26 EDT Kosmos Energy announces successful RCF re-financing, RBL re-determination - Kosmos Energy announced that it has successfully re-financed its revolving credit facility, RCF, and completed the semi-annual re-determination of its reserve-based lending, RBL, facility. Kosmos has re-financed its RCF with a total capacity of $250M while extending the maturity to the end of 2024. Kosmos also announced that in conjunction with the spring re-determination of the RBL, the Company's lending syndicate approved a borrowing base capacity of $1.25B with current outstanding borrowings of $0.9B. Total commitments as of April 1, 2022 were $1.25B.

09:22 EDT Nearmap challenges validity of EagleView/Pictometry patents - Nearmap has filed three inter partes reviews against EagleView/Pictometry which relate specifically to three patents which are subject to the current litigation. The company said, "This is a legal procedure that challenges the validity of EagleView/Pictometry's patents before the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board. It is part of a process where Nearmap is vigorously challenging the fundamentally meritless claims by EagleView. Nearmap takes very seriously the subject of intellectual property rights and patent protections. The historical allegations do not affect our core proprietary technology, and do not affect the surveying of the imagery or the delivery of the content. Our business in the U.S. remains unaffected by these claims and continues to grow strongly with the recent signing of our largest ever government annual contract in North America. Earlier this year we announced the annual contract value for our North American portfolio had surpassed the Australia and New Zealand portfolio, and our Group portfolio ACV has for the first time surpassed $150M."

09:17 EDT Terreno Realty announces rooftop solar agreements in Washington D.C. - Terreno Realty announced it has entered agreements to host rooftop solar projects in Washington, D.C., with an aggregate power generating capacity of 8.4 MW-equivalent capacity to power over 700 homes. The company expects the projects to be operational in 2023 as part of Terreno Realty's sustainability goal of rooftop solar on at least 5% of total rooftop area by year-end 2024.

09:09 EDT York Water announces proposed public offering of common stock - The York Water Company announced the pricing of its previously announced underwritten public offering of common stock. York Water priced an offering of 975,600 shares of its common stock at a price to the public of $41 per share. The aggregate gross proceeds from the offering are expected to be approximately $40 million, before deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions payable by York Water. York Water has granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to 146,340 additional shares of its common stock at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts, and commissions. York Water intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, including our capital investment program, repayment of outstanding indebtedness, and potential acquisitions. Janney Montgomery Scott is acting as sole book-running manager for the offering.

09:06 EDT Rio Tinto reaches labor agreement with 1,300 Kennecott employees - Rio Tinto and unions representing approximately 1,300 employees at the Kennecott copper operation near Salt Lake City, Utah, have reached a new collective bargaining agreement. The new five-year agreement was ratified through a vote by union members held on March 31, following seven weeks of constructive negotiations. This agreement, effective April 1, delivers competitive wages and enhanced benefits for all represented Rio Tinto Kennecott employees, and new pathways to career progression. The Kennecott copper mine employs more than 2,000 workers and contributes $1.6B annually to Utah's economy.

09:05 EDT QCR completes the acquisition of Guaranty Federal Bancshares - QCR (QCRH) announced the successful completion of the acquisition of Guaranty Federal Bancshares (GFED). Guaranty's banking subsidiary, Guaranty Bank, will be merged into QCR Holdings' Springfield-based charter, Springfield First Community, SFC, Bank, with the bank merger to be effective April 2, 2022. The new combined bank will retain the Guaranty Bank name and operate under the leadership of CEO Monte McNew and President Shaun Burke. "We are very pleased to welcome Guaranty Bank to the QCR Holdings team as we expand our presence in the vibrant southwest Missouri markets where strong relationships with our clients matter," said Larry Helling, QCR Holdings Chief Executive Officer. "This combination brings together two organizations that share core values and business strategies, and we look forward to further building upon our market share in the region." Following the bank merger, the Guaranty Bank franchise will have 17 banking locations in Springfield, Joplin, Carthage, Ozark, Marshfield, Nixa and Neosho, Missouri. Under the terms of the merger agreement, former stockholders of Guaranty will have the right to receive for each share of Guaranty common stock owned, at the election of each stockholder, and subject to proration, $30.50 in cash, 0.58775 shares of QCR Holdings common stock, or mixed consideration of $6.10 in cash and 0.4702 shares of QCR Holdings common stock, with total consideration to consist of approximately 80% stock and 20% cash. Based upon the $56.59 closing price of QCR Holdings common stock as of March 31, 2022, the transaction is valued at approximately

09:03 EDT Castor Maritime announces availability of 2021 annual report - Castor Maritime announces that the Company's annual report on Form 20-F, which contains the Company's audited consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, was filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Annual Report is now accessible on the SEC website at http://www.sec.gov and on the Company's website at http://www.castormaritime.com, in the "Investors" section under "Annual Reports".

09:01 EDT Seanergy Marine announces availability of 2021 annual report - Seanergy Maritime Holdings announced that its Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 has been filed with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Annual Report on Form 20-F may also be accessed through the Company's website, www.seanergymaritime.com, at the "Investor Relations" section under "Financial Reports".

08:38 EDT PHI Group concludes Certified Finance Trade Mission to the UAE - PHI Group is pleased to announce that Henry Fahman, Chairman and CEO of the Company, just concluded the U.S. Department of Commerce Alternative Investment Fund Certified Trade Mission to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the UAE from March 28 to March 30, 2022. This was the first in-person UAE Trade Mission being organized by Trademissions.org in partnership with the U.S. Department of Commerce Trade Administration International and the auspices of the U.S. Embassy in the UAE.

08:37 EDT Navient sponsors USS Delaware commissioning commemoration event - Navient is a sponsor of the USS Delaware submarine commissioning commemoration event, to be held April 2 at the Port of Wilmington. It is the first time in almost 100 years that a U.S. Navy vessel has been named after Delaware, and it is the first time the state's name has ever been used with a submarine. "At Navient, we have long supported our armed forces in the way we serve our military customers as well as providing veterans with opportunities to build meaningful careers with our company," said Mike Maier, senior vice president and U.S. Navy veteran. "We're proud to celebrate this special day for the state of Delaware, home to our headquarters and many of our employees."

08:35 EDT Willis Towers Watson announces nomination of new director to the board - WTW announces its Board of Directors has nominated Paul Reilly to join the Board effective October 1, 2022, after confirmation at the 2022 annual meeting of shareholders. The Board proposes that Reilly should serve on the Board due to "his significant experience as CEO at both financial services and professional services companies as well as his international business knowledge and financial expertise," the company said.

08:34 EDT Neurocrine presents Phase 3 data for KINECT-HD study - Neurocrine Biosciences announced results from the Phase 3 KINECT-HD study, which demonstrated once-daily administration of valbenazine was associated with significant improvement in chorea associated with Huntington disease compared with placebo. These data will be shared as an oral presentation Tuesday, April 5th during the Emerging Science Session at the American Academy of Neurology 2022 "Great Neuro Reunion" annual meeting in Seattle, Washington. The KINECT-HD study met its primary endpoint of change in chorea severity using the TMC score of the UHDRS from screening period baseline to maintenance period. Improvement in the TMC score was significantly greater with valbenazine versus placebo, with a placebo-adjusted mean reduction of 3.2 units vs placebo. Improvements in the TMC score with valbenazine were seen as early as Week 2, and TMC scores continued to improve versus placebo throughout the dose adjustment and maintenance periods. The secondary endpoints of Clinical Global Impression of Change Response Status and Patient Global Impression of Change Response Status also significantly favored valbenazine treatment. Patients achieving "much improved" or "very much improved" status were classified as responders. Using this classification, at Week 12, the response rate in the valbenazine group was 42.9% for CGI-C compared to 13.2% in the placebo group. The response rate at Week 12 for PGI-C was 52.7% in the valbenazine group and 26.4% in the placebo group. Response rates favoring valbenazine were seen as early as week 4 for CGI-C and Week 2 for PGI-C. The secondary endpoints of Neuro-QoL upper and lower extremity physical function endpoints at Week 12 were not significantly different between the treatment groups. Treatment emergent adverse events, including somnolence, fatigue, fall, and akathisia, were mild to moderate and consistent with the known safety profile of valbenazine. No suicidal behavior or worsening of suicidal ideation was observed in the valbenazine-treated subjects in this study.

08:34 EDT SG Blocks announces $6M contract - SG Blocks announced that SG Echo, a subsidiary of SG Blocks, has broadened its relationship with a private client which is producing the company's largest contract to date with SG Echo. The company is a one-stop provider of various infrastructure solutions. The purchase order is for more than 100 units and the company expects to generate approximately $6M in revenue from this contract. The units are scheduled to be completed by the end of Q2.

08:33 EDT Digital Ally's TicketSmarter announces ticketing, naming rights partnership - Digital Ally announces that TicketSmarter, a Digital Ally company, and Future Legends Complex have entered into an agreement to make TicketSmarter the primary ticketing provider for its professional sports teams and naming rights to the complex's professional stadium "TicketSmarter Stadium" through 2032. TicketSmarter Stadium, located in Windsor, CO, can host approximately 6,500 fans for sporting events and more than 20,000 guests for concerts and other live events. "We are excited for TicketSmarter to partner with Future Legends as they open their cutting-edge facilities this year," said Stan Ross, CEO of Digital Ally. "Through the primary ticketing agreement and national network coverage, this partnership will expose fans and other venues to TicketSmarter's easy-to-use platform for the next decade."

08:32 EDT Manning & Napier to be acquired by Callodine Group for $12.85 per share - Manning & Napier and Callodine Group, a Boston-based asset management firm, announced they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Manning & Napier will go private and be acquired by Callodine. The purchase price of $12.85 per share of Company common stock represents a 41% premium above the closing price of Manning & Napier common stock on March 31, 2022 and a premium of approximately 55% to Manning & Napier's volume-weighted average price for the last 90 calendar days. In addition, Callodine will purchase from M&N Holdings, LLC all of the outstanding limited liability company interests in Manning & Napier Group, LLC that the Company does not own at a price per unit of $12.85. The proposed acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2022, contingent upon shareholder approval and other customary closing conditions. Between now and closing, the Company anticipates continuing its regular dividend payment to shareholders. Callodine is executing the proposed acquisition in partnership with East Asset Management. Manning & Napier CEO, Marc Mayer, will remain in his position and will roll over a significant portion of his currently held shares into the new private company. Following the close, Manning & Napier will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Callodine, adding an experienced investment management business to Callodine's growing platform. At the closing of the transaction, Manning & Napier will de-register its shares with the SEC and de-list its shares from the New York Stock Exchange. Executive officers of the company have entered into a support agreement pursuant to which they have agreed, among other things, to vote their shares of company stock in favor of the transaction, subject to certain conditions. These stockholders currently represent approximately 10% of the current outstanding voting power of the Manning & Napier common stock.

08:21 EDT SLR Investment completes merger with SLR Senior Investment - SLR Investment Corp. (SLRC) is pleased to announce the closing of the previously announced merger with SLR Senior Investment Corp. (SUNS), with SLRC as the surviving company. The combined company will operate as SLR Investment Corp. and continue to trade on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol "SLRC." Based on December 31, 2021 financial information, the combined company has approximately $2.6B of total assets and $1.1B of total net assets on a pro forma basis. In connection with the merger, former SUNS shareholders will receive 0.7796 shares of SLRC for each share of SUNS based on the final exchange ratio, subject to payment of cash in lieu of fractional shares. As a result of the merger, legacy SLRC shareholders and former SUNS shareholders own approximately 77% and 23%, respectively, of the combined company. In addition, upon closing of the merger, SLRC's annual base management fee payable by SLRC to SLR Capital Partners was lowered from 1.75% to 1.50% on gross assets up to 200% of SLRC's total net assets and SLRC retained the annual base management fee payable by SLRC to SCP of 1.00% on gross assets that exceed 200% of SLRC's total net assets. SLRC's target leverage ratio will remain at 0.90x -1.25x debt-to-equity.

08:12 EDT Soluna Holdings announces release of 2021 financial results - Soluna Holdings announced the release of its full year 2021 financial results. Key highlights: Achieved Crypto mining Revenue of $10.9M in 2021; Cash as of December 31st, 2021, was $10.3M, an increase of $7.6M compared to December 31st, 2020; Raised over $60M of capital in gross proceeds in 2021, in a variety of structures designed to achieve an optimal capital structure; Record 815 PH/s installed as of March 12th, 2022, with over an additional 185 PH/s on the ground; On track to achieve 1.261 EH/s by the end of June 30th, 2022. Michael Toporek, CEO of Soluna Holdings, stated, "2021 was an important year for Soluna. We successfully launched and executed on an ambitious plan to establish our foothold in this industry, grow our mining revenues, and strategically position our company." Toporek added, "We continue to rapidly scale our business with 2021 mining revenue of $10.9 million compared to less the $1 million in 2020. Our momentum continues according to plan and for the first quarter of 2022 we expect that our mining revenue will be 80% to 90% of what the full year's revenue was for 2021. Our operations team continues to execute beautifully as we further scale up our business with a clear focus on return on invested capital." Toporek continued, "We expect to increase proprietary hash rate from the first quarter to the second quarter by 36%. Additionally, by the end of the second quarter, total hashrate will be 1.261 Exahash. As our Dorothy site comes online, we expect to scale to 3 Exahash by the end of the year. We continue to build our project pipeline as the preferred curtailment solutions provider to the renewable energy business and we expect 2022 will be another big year for Soluna."

08:09 EDT Celsion expects cash to support strategic plans through end of 2024 - Michael Tardugno, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Celsion, noted "Our company is in a very strong cash position with capital resources sufficient to support our strategic plans and development through the end of 2024 at current spending projections. We remain optimistic about our TheraPlas and PLACCINE development programs, with GEN-1 patient enrollment now over 80% and full enrollment anticipated in the third quarter of 2022 and our DNA-based vaccine targeting the SARS-Co-V-2 virus moving forward with non-human primate studies this quarter. 2022 should be an exciting year for us, and we are looking forward to several important milestones throughout the year."

08:09 EDT Star Equity appoints Rick Coleman as CEO - Star Equity announced the appointment of Richard Coleman, Jr. as Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1, 2022. In addition, Coleman will be nominated to serve as a director at the Company's upcoming annual meeting of shareholders. Coleman was appointed as Star Equity's Chief Operating Officer in January 2022. As CEO, Coleman will lead Star Equity's business growth and oversee its overall operations. Coleman brings more than 30 years of executive leadership experience.

08:07 EDT Potbelly announces two new additions to board of directors - Potbelly (PBPB) announced the addition of two new members to its Board of Directors: David Pearson, former Chief Financial Officer of Vonage (VG); and Jill Sutton, former Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel of United Natural Foods (UNFI). Pearson will also join as a member of the Audit Committee. Sutton will serve on the Compensation and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees of the Board. The addition of Pearson and Sutton will temporarily expand the Board to 11 directors until the Company's annual meeting of stockholders on May 19, 2022, at which time Marla Gottschalk and Ben Rosenzweig will not be standing for election.

08:05 EDT First Merchants completes legal closing of Level One Bancorp merger - First Merchants (FRME) and Level One Bancorp (LEVL) have finalized a merger of the two companies. Following regulatory approvals last month, the companies consummated their legal closing through a cash/stock transaction effective April 1, 2022. As previously announced in late 2021, Level One Bank will also merge with and into First Merchants Bank. "Like First Merchants, Level One achieved a solid reputation for a deep-rooted commitment to community banking, and we are excited they have chosen to become the newest member of the First Merchants family," said First Merchants CEO, Mark Hardwick. "The LEVL franchise helps us to contiguously extend our presence in Michigan, leveraging the vision of First Merchants to enhance the financial wellness of the diverse communities we serve." First Merchants will have assets of approximately $18 billion and will remain the second largest financial holding company headquartered in Indiana. The combined company, doing business as First Merchants Bank, will complete its integration during the third quarter of 2022. The company will have 126 banking offices across Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Illinois.

07:57 EDT Advanced Emissions raises prices on activated carbon products, coal additives - Advanced Emissions Solutions announced a price increase, effective April 1, 2022 or as contract terms permit, on all activated carbon products and front-end coal additives. The increase will vary from 15% to 20% depending on the specific product, grade, and application.

07:37 EDT Ayr Wellness announces several milestones for its branded-CPG portfolio - Ayr Wellness announced several milestones in its branded-CPG portfolio, which include new launches for Secret Orchard, LEVIA, STiX Preroll Co., and Origyn Extracts. In Massachusetts, Ayr is launching its Secret Orchard fruit-forward vapes. The initial launch consists of five flavors: Blue Raspberry, Pineapple, Watermelon, Strawberry, and Mixed Fruit. Ayr's dispensaries will have early access to Secret Orchard, with exclusive sales beginning this weekend. The Company anticipates initiating sales in 3rd party retail locations in the week after its initial launch. Additionally in Massachusetts, the Company is announcing the launch of LEVIA's latest seasonal flavor, Mellow Mule. In Florida, Ayr is launching STiX Preroll Co., beginning with its 1g "Walking Stix" pre-roll. The pre-rolls, produced in multiple strains, will be available across Ayr's 45 store footprint in the state beginning next week. In Arizona, Ayr is expanding its offerings under its premium Origyn Extracts brand, introducing a line of concentrates. Beginning on April 8, the Company will begin selling strain-specific live resin "Batter," "Sugar," and "Sauce."

07:35 EDT Cybin subsidiary achieves milestone - Cybin announced that Adelia Therapeutics, a wholly-controlled subsidiary of Cybin, has achieved the milestone identified as Year 1, Q2 as contemplated by the terms of a contribution agreement dated December 4, 2020 among Cybin, Cybin Corp., Cybin US Holdings, a wholly-controlled subsidiary of Cybin, and all of the previous shareholders of Adelia. Pursuant to the terms of the transaction agreement, 22,428.3 Class B common shares in the capital of the Acquiror shall be issued to the Adelia Shareholders, in satisfaction of the $228,768.77 due to them on meeting a portion of the relevant milestones, at an effective issue price of $10.20 per Class B Share, determined in accordance with the transaction agreement and applicable securities law. The Class B Shares issued by the Acquiror to the Adelia Shareholders are exchangeable for common shares in the capital of Cybin on a 10 Cybin Shares for 1 Class B Share basis, at the option of the holder thereof, subject to customary adjustments. No Class B Shares are exchangeable prior to December 14, 2021, and not more than: 33 1/3% of the Class B Shares will be exchangeable prior to December 14; 66 2/3% of the Class B Shares will be exchangeable prior to December 14, 2023; and thereafter, 100% of the Class B shares will be exchangeable.

07:35 EDT Natera announces results of study using Prospera test - Natera announced the results of a study to examine both total and donor-derived cell-free DNA in kidney transplant recipients hospitalized with COVID-19 using its Prospera test to assess disease severity and risk of rejection. The study, published in Transplantation Proceedings, used the Prospera test to examine the relationship between total cfDNA and dd-cfDNA fraction when monitoring for rejection. The results indicate that high levels of total cfDNA, as can occur due to COVID-19 infection, result in a lower dd-cfDNA donor fraction and could inadvertently mask rejection when using donor fraction alone. The Prospera test identified two patients in the cohort with elevated total cfDNA and biopsy-proven rejection that would have otherwise gone undetected by dd-cfDNA donor fraction alone.

07:33 EDT PrimeBlock, 10X Capital Venture Acquisition II enter merger agreement - Prime Blockchain and 10X Capital Venture Acquisition Corp. II announced the execution of a definitive Business Combination Agreement. Upon closing of the transaction, which values the combined company at an estimated enterprise value of $1.25B, former Goldman Sachs investment banking veteran Gaurav Budhrani will be CEO and the combined company is expected to list its stock on the NASDAQ stock market. 10X Capital and PrimeBlock have secured a $300M committed equity financing facility from CF Principal Investments LLC, an affiliate of Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. The companies said, "PrimeBlock operates at scale as a fast-growing provider of diversified infrastructure and proprietary hardware for the crypto asset mining ecosystem. Its cost-effective, rapidly-deployed, modular data centers host computing hardware, including GPUs and ASICs, which contribute network hash rate to public blockchains, including Bitcoin and Ethereum. Heading up operations on the ground across North America is executive Gavin Qu, also formerly of Goldman Sachs." PrimeBlock generated $24.4M in revenue for Q4 2021 and seeks to mitigate risk and volatility through its combination of self-mining and hosting revenue streams, operational agility and speed of deployment. The Company has over 110 megawatts of installed data center capacity across 12 facilities in North America, with a focus on North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky, and an ability to deploy its proprietary modular data center design from start to finish in under 8 weeks from site acquisition. The Boards of Directors of PrimeBlock and 10X Capital have unanimously approved the proposed merger, which is expected to be completed in the second half of 2022, subject to regulatory approval, the approval of the proposed merger by PrimeBlock's stockholders and 10X Capital's shareholders and the satisfaction or waiver of other customary closing conditions.

07:32 EDT Lizhi announces collaboration with Koliliko - LIZHI announced that it has collaborated with Koliliko, a Chinese designer toy brand, to jointly explore new usage scenarios for online interactive entertainment. In partnership with Koliliko, LIZHI launched the online mystery box across multiple channels on its flagship platform LIZHI App, a UGC audio community and interactive audio entertainment platform in China. LIZHI has integrated Koliliko's mystery box IP, ManMan, into an array of interactive functions in the audio entertainment section of the LIZHI App, creating a LIZHI-exclusive mystery box line. With this new interactive feature, LIZHI aims to provide users with a diversified online entertainment experience. The collaboration with Koliliko marks LIZHI's first foray into the field of value-added online mystery box IP content. With these efforts, LIZHI also expects to further increase user engagement and enhance community vibrancy. Going forward, LIZHI hopes to collaborate with additional brand IPs to further diversify its usage scenarios for online interactive entertainment, leveraging the strengths of both parties to maximize mutual benefits

07:10 EDT Amarin announces in vitro results on EPA in combination with prescribed statins - Amarin announced in vitro research results suggesting that Eicosapentaenoic Acid, EPA, in combination with widely prescribed statins, contributed to a reduction in lipid oxidation in membranes in a manner that may be enhanced with the use of these statins. Amarin's VASCEPA/VAZKEPA is the highly purified, prescription form of the ethyl ester of EPA. In this experiment, the dose-dependent effects of EPA at concentrations of 5 and 10 micromolar on rates of lipid oxidation were measured by iodometric approaches with fixed concentrations of ATM and rosuva under conditions of autoxidation for 96 hr. After 96 h, control membranes underwent significant oxidation with lipid peroxide levels reaching 2049 +/- 286 uM. EPA was found to have significantly reduced lipid oxidation in a dose-dependent fashion in the absence and presence of either ATM or rosuva. The combination of EPA/ATM and EPA/rosuva reduced lipid oxidation by 86 and 75%, respectively. The antioxidant activity of the EPA/ATM combination was more potent than EPA/rosuva by 59% due, in part, to the more potent activity of ATM separately, which reduced LOOH levels 72% compared to rosuva alone. These results are in line with prior experiments which suggested that treatment with EPA inhibited endothelial dysfunction following challenge with oxidized LDL and high glucose levels in a manner that may be enhanced with a high-intensity statin. "These findings are another compelling piece of evidence in line with our beliefs regarding the potential for increased benefit to appropriate high-risk patients from VASCEPA/VAZKEPA in combination with statins, consistent with the results from the REDUCE-IT(R) trial, and supports Amarin's decision to focus on research and development efforts toward the possible development of a combination product," said Karim Mikhail, Amarin's president and chief executive officer.

07:08 EDT Bitfarms mines 363 bitcoin in March - Bitfarms (BITF) provided a Bitcoin (BTC) production and mining operations update for March 2022. "Adding 400 petahash per second to our hashrate in March, we are rapidly approaching our goal of 3 exahash per second, which we expect to reach within the next week," said Emiliano Grodzki, CEO of Bitfarms. "Driving the increase in our hashrate was the addition of one of our new Sherbrooke locations, phase one of The Bunker, which was brought online in March. Another new Sherbrooke location, Leger, is on the verge of starting production that will immediately boost our hashrate over our 3 EH/s goal. Daily BTC production has increased as a result and as of today averages 12.5 (BTC) per day," added Grodzki. "This is up 18% from our February average and equates to about $575,000 in daily revenue at the current BTC price of $46,000." Mining Production: 2.7 EH/s online, up from 2.3 EH/s as of February 28, 2022; 363 new BTC mined during March 2022, up 64% from March 2021; 11.7 BTC mined daily on average in March; 360 BTC from mining deposited into custody in March; and 5,243 BTC in custody at March 31, 2022, representing a total value of approximately $244 million based on a BTC price of $46,000.

07:07 EDT Casi Pharmaceuticals issues statement on status under HFCAA - CASI Pharmaceuticals announced that on March 30, the SEC provisionally identified CASI Pharmaceuticals on the list, pursuant to the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act, that uses an auditor not subject to Public Company Accounting Oversight Board inspection. CASI said, "This identification was anticipated, by the company, as a routine application of the HFCAA, as we recently filed an annual report, via Form 10K, with the SEC on March 28, 2022. We are evaluating strategic options, which include but are not limited to adding business processes and control to meet the requirements of the HFCAA."

07:05 EDT Aterian appoints Cynthia Williams to board of directorsHasbro - Aterian (ATER) announced that Cynthia Williams has joined the Company's Board of Directors. Williams is a e-commerce and technology executive who recently joined Hasbro, Inc. (HAS) as President of its Digital Gaming Division and its subsidiary Wizards of the Coast, the maker of games that include Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering.

07:04 EDT Clene to present updated interim data from RESCUE-ALS study - Clene announced new data from the open-label extension of RESCUE-ALS that will be presented in a session at the 2022 American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting, which will take place April 2-7 in Seattle. Featured in the Emerging Science Program on April 5, the data demonstrate a 70% survival benefit among ALS patients who entered the open-label extension of RESCUE-ALS. This updated interim analysis of observed survival compared to estimated median survival derived from the validated ENCALS prediction model significantly favored CNM-Au8 treatment with a hazard ratio of 0.3 for participants who entered the open-label extension. RESCUE-ALS was a Phase 2 multi-center, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled trial that examined the efficacy, safety, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of CNM-Au8 in 45 participants with early ALS over a 36-week treatment period. The 36-week blinded period of RESCUE-ALS demonstrated significant benefits with CNM-Au8 treatment: slowing ALS disease progression, decreasing the proportion of participants with a 6-point decline in the ALS Functional Rating Scale Revised, and improving quality of life as measured by the ALS Specific Quality of Life questionnaire. Furthermore, CNM-Au8 was shown to be well-tolerated with no safety signals identified over 96 weeks of treatment.

07:04 EDT PPG to divest certain Africa assets to Oceinde - PPG announced that it has agreed to divest certain business activities in Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Gabon and Algeria to Oceinde, an industrial group based in Reunion, France. Oceinde will continue to offer the existing range of products, including Seigneurie paint, through a licensing and distribution agreement. Oceinde has a range of business activities in Europe, the Indian Ocean and Africa, including architectural coatings distribution and manufacturing. PPG employees in the countries concerned will join Oceinde. In addition, Olivier Bouin, currently PPG general manager, Architectural Coatings Africa French Overseas and Suriname, will join Oceinde as GM for the Trade Architectural Coatings market in Africa.

07:02 EDT Altimmune initiates 48-week Phase 2 MOMENTUM trial of pemvidutide - Altimmune announced that it has enrolled the first subject in the 48-week Phase 2 MOMENTUM trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of pemvidutide1 in subjects with obesity or overweight. Pemvidutide is a novel, investigational GLP-1/glucagon dual receptor agonist under development for the treatment of obesity and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. The Company also today announced the completion of enrollment in its 12-week Phase 1b clinical trial of pemvidutide in subjects with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The 48-week MOMENTUM trial is being conducted at approximately 25 sites in the United States with Dr. Lou Aronne, a leading authority in obesity and obesity clinical trials, serving as the Principal Investigator. The randomized, placebo-controlled trial is expected to enroll approximately 320 non-diabetic subjects randomized 1:1:1:1 to receive either 1.2 mg, 1.8 mg, 2.4 mg pemvidutide or placebo weekly for 48 weeks. The primary endpoint of the trial is the relative (percent) change in body weight at 48-weeks compared to baseline, with additional readouts including metabolic and lipid profiles, cardiovascular measures and glucose homeostasis. An interim analysis is planned to assess changes in body weight after 24 weeks of treatment, with an expected readout in Q4 2022. Results from a Phase 1 trial of pemvidutide in individuals with obesity or overweight showed that 12 weekly subcutaneous doses of pemvidutide resulted in an average weight loss of 10.3%, or approximately 20 pounds, without diet or lifestyle modification. If these effects continue over the 48-week study as anticipated, weight loss approaching or equaling those of bariatric surgery may be achieved. Side effects were mild to moderate, with no serious or severe treatment-emergent adverse events, even without the dose-titration schedules commonly used by other therapeutics in this class. Significant progress has also been made in the development of pemvidutide for the treatment of NASH, including the completion of enrollment in a 12-week Phase 1b trial in subjects with NAFLD, and the initiation of a blinded, 12-week NAFLD extension trial. The 12-week Phase 1b NAFLD trial is designed to assess the effects of pemvidutide on liver fat in subjects with obesity or overweight and liver fat content of 10% or greater as measured by MRI-PDFF. Approximately 72 subjects with or without diabetes are being randomized 1:1:1:1 to receive pemvidutide 1.2 mg, 1.8 mg, 2.4 mg or placebo weekly over the 12 weeks of treatment. The primary endpoint of the trial is the reduction in liver fat by MRI-PDFF, but a key secondary endpoint is percent weight loss at the end of 12 weeks of treatment, reflecting the fact that obesity is a key driver of NAFLD and its more advanced form, NASH. A data readout from the 12-week trial is expected in Q3 2022, and it is expected that the cumulative weight loss at 24 weeks in combination with the extension trial will be reported out in Q4 2022.

07:01 EDT AerCap signs lease agreements with ITA Airways for 10 Airbus A320neo units - AerCap (AER) announced it has signed lease agreements for ten new Airbus (EADSY) A320neo aircraft and two new Airbus A330neo aircraft with ITA Airways. The aircraft are scheduled to deliver beginning in 2023 through 2024. The integration of these new aircraft is in line with the fleet plan of the Italian flag carrier.

06:52 EDT Eli Lilly announces updated data from LIBRETTO-001 trial of Retevmo - Eli Lilly announced updated data from the Phase 1/2 LIBRETTO-001 trial of Retevmo in patients with RET fusion-positive non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC. Retevmo is a selective and potent RET kinase inhibitor that is approved in multiple countries including the United States for treatment of adult patients with metastatic rearranged during transfection, or RET, fusion-positive NSCLC, and the treatment of adult and pediatric patients 12 years of age and older with advanced or metastatic RET-mutant medullary thyroid cancer, or MTC, who require systemic therapy, or advanced or metastatic RET fusion-positive thyroid cancer who require systemic therapy and who are radioactive iodine-refractory. These data were presented at the European Lung Cancer, or ELCC, 2022. The updated analysis utilized a June 15, 2021, data cut-off and included 355 patients who were eligible for efficacy analysis, 247 of which were previously treated with at least one line of platinum chemotherapy and 69 of which were treatment-naive. Patients who were previously treated with at least one line of platinum chemotherapy received a median of two prior treatment regimens, with 58% having received anti-PD-1 or anti-PD-L1 therapy. Responses are based on independent review committee, or IRC, assessment. Among 247 patients previously treated with platinum chemotherapy, the confirmed objective response rate, or ORR, was 61.1% and among 69 treatment-naive patients, the confirmed ORR was 84.1%. Twenty-six patients had measurable central nervous system, or CNS, metastases at baseline and treatment with Retevmo resulted in a CNS ORR of 84.6%, with 22 patients having a confirmed best response of complete response or partial response. At a median follow-up of approximately two years in both the treatment-naive and platinum-chemotherapy pretreated populations, median duration of response, or DoR, is estimated at 20.2 and 28.6 months, respectively and median progression free survival, or PFS, is estimated at 22 and 24.9 months, respectively. Of the 26 patients with measurable CNS disease, Retevmo treatment resulted in a median intracranial PFS of 19.4 months. These median estimates remain immature. Safety among patients in this cohort was consistent with the known safety profile of Retevmo. In the safety population, the most common adverse events were dry mouth, diarrhea, hypertension, increased ALT/AST, peripheral edema, constipation, rash, headache, and fatigue. Thirty-four patients discontinued due to an adverse event, eleven of which were deemed related to Retevmo. A global, randomized, Phase 3 trial is currently recruiting and will compare treatment with Retevmo to the current standard of care in the first-line treatment of advanced or metastatic RET fusion-positive NSCLC.

06:47 EDT Merck provides update on FDA review of sBLA for VAXNEUVANCE - Merck announced that the U.S. FDA has extended the Prescription Drug User Fee Act date of the supplemental biologics license application for VAXNEUVANCE in infants and children to July 1. The FDA requested additional analyses of data from the pediatric studies, which Merck has submitted to the FDA. No new studies have been requested by the FDA. In December 2021, Merck announced that the FDA accepted the company's application for VAXNEUVANCE for the prevention of invasive pneumococcal disease in children 6 weeks through 17 years of age and it was granted Priority Review.

06:43 EDT Merck, Ridgeback to present data evaluating LAGEVRIO at ECCMID - Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics announced that data evaluating LAGEVRIO, an investigational oral antiviral COVID-19 medicine, will be presented at the 2022 European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases. The presentation includes final analyses evaluating virologic outcomes throughout and following a five-day course of LAGEVRIO as part of the Phase 3 MOVe-OUT trial, which studied LAGEVRIO versus placebo for the treatment of COVID-19 in non-hospitalized adults with mild to moderate COVID-19 who were at high risk for progressing to severe disease. Among study participants for whom samples were available, viral infectivity was assessed via a plaque-forming assay in Vero cells. Prespecified exploratory virologic outcomes included changes from baseline in SARS-CoV-2 RNA levels, and the percentage of study participants with viral clearance and undetectable infectious SARS-CoV-2 through Day 29 in the modified intent-to-treat population. In participants with infectious virus isolated at baseline and for whom post-baseline infectivity data were available, molnupiravir was associated with more rapid elimination of infectious virus than placebo. At Day 3 of treatment, among patients with infectious virus at baseline, infectious SARS-CoV-2 was detected in 0.0% of patients who received LAGEVRIO, compared with 21.8% of patients who received placebo. At Day 5, infectious virus was detected in 0.0% of patients in the LAGEVRIO arm compared with 2.2% in the placebo arm. At Day 10, no infectious virus was detected in either arm for patients with infectious virus at baseline. Molnupiravir was also associated with greater mean reductions from baseline in SARS-CoV-2 RNA than placebo from Days 3 through 10, though molnupiravir and placebo were associated with comparable rates of viral RNA clearance through Day 29.

06:38 EDT BitNile issues March Bitcoin production and mining operation report - BitNile published an unaudited update on Bitcoin production and miner installation. The number of miners and production capacity metrics within this press release represent the S19j Pro Antminers at the Michigan data center. BitNile's Bitcoin mining production is currently operating at an estimated annualized run rate of 398 Bitcoin based on current market conditions, including a mining difficulty of 28.59T. BitNile has more than doubled its miner count and now has 4,754 S19j Pro Antminers in its possession, and once installed, will generate a combined processing power of approximately 500 petahashes per second, the computational power that is used to mine Bitcoin. During the month of March 2022, BitNile self-mined 31.7 Bitcoin. To date, BitNile has self-mined a total of 132.6 Bitcoin. BitNile began receiving 300 S19j Pro Antminers per month in November 2021 in accordance with the purchase agreement with Bitmain. Beginning in March 2022, this schedule increased to an expected 2,300 miners per month. Once all 20,600 miners are fully deployed and operational, BitNile is expected to achieve mining production capacity of approximately 2.24 exahashes per second.

06:34 EDT Sage Therapeutics reports 'promising' results from Phase 2 study of SAGE-718 - Sage Therapeutics announced the presentation of data from the Phase 2 LUMINARY Study that showed SAGE-718, a first-in-class, oral, positive allosteric modulator of the NMDA receptor, was generally well-tolerated and associated with improvement on multiple tests of executive performance and learning and memory in patients with mild cognitive impairment and mild dementia due to Alzheimer's disease. The LUMINARY Study is part of CogNEXT, Sage's early-stage trial platform designed to evaluate the therapeutic potential of SAGE-718 to treat cognitive deficits across a range of brain health disorders. The data will be presented during the Emerging Science Session on Tuesday, April 5, at the 74th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Seattle. In the LUMINARY Study, a comprehensive battery of tests was used to assess multiple domains of cognitive performance in 26 patients receiving SAGE-718 3 mg once daily for 14 days. At Day 14, improvements from baseline were observed on multiple tests of executive functioning and learning and memory. Statistically significant improvement in the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (+2.3 points vs baseline) was observed at Day 28. As expected, no appreciable effect was observed on measures of simple attention/psychomotor speed, in keeping with the profile of SAGE-718 based on data to date. Functional assessments also captured notable improvement in some patients, particularly on items measuring aspects of complex/higher order activities. SAGE-718 was generally well-tolerated in the LUMINARY Study. Eight mild/moderate treatment-emergent adverse events were reported in seven patients. No serious adverse events or deaths were reported.

06:23 EDT Nio delivered 9,985 vehicles in March, up 37.6% year-over-year - NIO announced its March and first quarter 2022 delivery results. NIO delivered 9,985 vehicles in March, representing an increase of 37.6% year-over-year. The deliveries consisted of 9,822 premium smart electric SUVs, including 1,726 ES8s, 5,064 ES6s and 3,032 EC6s, and 163 ET7s, the company's flagship premium smart electric sedan. The deliveries of ET7 to users commenced from March 28. NIO delivered 25,768 vehicles in the first quarter, a new quarterly record, representing an increase of 28.5% year-over-year. As of March 31, cumulative deliveries reached 192,838 vehicles. In late May, the company plans to unveil the 2022 NIO ES8, ES6 and EC6 with the latest digital cockpit hardware, and to launch the digital cockpit upgrade plan for existing users. In the meantime, NIO ES7, the company's new mid-to-large five-seater SUV equipped with NIO Technology 2.0, will also make its debut. As of March 31, NIO has deployed 884 Power Swap stations, 727 Power Charger stations and 3,832 destination chargers in China. NIO will continue to expand its power network, bringing a fast and convenient swapping and charging experience to users in the cities and on the trips.

06:03 EDT Bright Scholar receives noncompliance letter from NYSE - Bright Scholar announced that it has received a letter from the New York Stock Exchange notifying the company that it is below compliance standards due to the trading price of the company's American depositary shares and that the applicable cure period for the company to regain compliance expires on September 26. Pursuant to applicable NYSE continued listing standards, a company would be considered "below criteria" by the NYSE if the average closing price of a security as reported on the consolidated tape is less than $1.00 over a consecutive 30 trading-day period.

05:31 EDT DexCom to launch Dexcom One Continuous Glucose Monitoring System in UK - DexCom announced the new Dexcom One Continuous Glucose Monitoring System will launch in the United Kingdom this May. The Dexcom One system is a real-time CGM. Dexcom One is currently in review to be added to drug tariffs across the UK regions.

05:14 EDT iQIYI to upgrade collaboration model for online film distribution - iQIYI announced that it will upgrade its collaboration model for online film distribution. The new model includes two distribution models, Cloud Cinema Premiere and Subscription Premiere. Films released under the Cloud Cinema Premiere model will generate revenues from both the Premium Video on Demand and Subscription Video on Demand models of streaming. Meanwhile, for films released under the Subscription Premiere model, the revenue shared with film producers will be determined by users' viewing time alone, rather than according to the different fee category classifications iQIYI had assigned to individual films.

05:07 EDT Li Auto delivers 11,034 Li Ones in March and 31,716 in Q1 - Li Auto announced that the company delivered 11,034 Li Ones in March, up 125.2% year over year. This took the company's first quarter deliveries to 31,716, representing a 152.1% year-over-year increase. The cumulative deliveries of Li One reached 155,804 since the vehicle's market debut in 2019.