Stockwinners Market Radar for April 21, 2022 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:43 EDT Cathie Wood's ARK Investment bought 175.8K shares of Zoom Video today

20:39 EDT Cathie Wood's ARK Investment bought 68K shares of Shopify today

18:13 EDT Investar Holding authorizes stock repurchase program of 400,000 shares - Investar has approved another 400,000 shares of its common stock for repurchase under a stock repurchase program, in addition to 128,444 shares remaining under the current repurchase program. The additional shares authorized for repurchase represent approximately 4% of Investar's outstanding common stock. Recent stock buyback activity includes 359,138 shares that were repurchased by Investar during the year ended December 31, 2021 at an average price of $19.24 and 77,248 shares that were repurchased by Investar during Q1 at an average price of $19.95. The repurchase program, which has no expiration date, may be suspended or terminated at any time.

18:01 EDT Snap says 'really excited' about the Map opportunity - Says Map is a huge opportunity long-term. Says "most excited" about intersection of augmented reality and commerce. Says pace of hiring has accelerated and attrition has remained constant. Has been investing heavily in engineering and product teams. Says has been testing advertising on Spotlight. Comments taken from Q1 earnings conference call.

17:47 EDT Amazon creates $1B venture fund for fulfillment, logistics and supply chain - Amazon is creating a $1B venture investment program called the Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund, AIIF, to spur and support innovation in customer fulfillment, logistics, and the supply chain. As customers increasingly shop online and look for even faster delivery, Amazon continues to invent new ways to raise the bar on customer and employee experience while working with other companies focused on those fields. Amazon has invested and innovated substantially over the last two decades in next-generation technology in its operations. This new fund is one of the ways Amazon continues to invest, along with many other initiatives, such as the MARS and re:MARS conferences that Amazon hosts every year. The conferences bring together innovative minds in machine learning, automation, robotics, and space to share new ideas across these rapidly advancing domains."We see an opportunity to look beyond our own experience and empower companies that are developing emerging technologies in customer fulfillment operations, logistics, and the supply chain," said Alex Ceballos Encarnacion, Amazon's vice president of worldwide corporate development. "We know there are companies out there that share our curiosity and excitement to invent. Whether our investment helps them grow or leads them to work with Amazon, or both, we're excited to help advance these technologies as online shopping becomes even more important to people who are looking for more convenience and time savings." The Amazon Industrial Innovation Fund will invest in companies that imagine solutions that incrementally increase delivery speed and further improve the experience of employees working in warehousing and logistics fields. Reference Link

17:18 EDT Snap says macroeconomic challenges now 'primary headwinds to client demand' - The company said, "In addition to these ongoing platform-related headwinds, supply chain shortages and labor disruptions, rising inflation, and geopolitical unrest are presenting challenges for a wider array of industry verticals than in the prior quarter. Nonetheless, we saw strong growth in verticals like Financial Services and Streaming, which each grew well over 50% year-over-year. We believe that the impact from the ongoing platform policy changes was compounded by macroeconomic challenges, which are now the primary headwinds to client demand. We remain focused on supporting our community and advertising partners."

17:09 EDT Heidrick & Struggles COO Michael Cullen to leave on June 1 - On April 21, Heidrick & Struggles International announced that Michael Cullen will be transitioning out of his position as the COO of the company, effective as of June 1, to focus on client-facing matters. In that regard, Cullen will continue with the company in its Executive Search business, and also serve as a Senior Advisor to the CEO of the company to advise on strategic projects. In connection with this leadership change, the company has decided to eliminate the role of COO and reallocate the duties associated with such role to existing members of the company's global leadership team.

16:55 EDT Intuitive Surgical says procedure growth in Q1 was 19% - Says demand was healthy. Says challenged by environmental pressures. Says customers are navigating a challenging environment. Says experienced higher logistics costs in the quarter. Says expects volumes of trade-ins to be significantly lower in 2022. Comments taken from Q1 earnings conference call.

16:39 EDT Snap sees 2022 as a 'significant investment year' - The company said, "Given the abundance of opportunities we see to invest productively in our business, we continue to expect that 2022 will be a significant investment year. When the impact of new investments in 2022 are combined with the full-year impact of investments made in 2021, we expect that a smaller share of incremental revenue will flow through to adjusted EBITDA and net income in 2022."

16:35 EDT Snap sees Q2 DAUs 343M-345M - In its prepared remarks the company stated, in part, "As we look forward to Q2, we are pleased with the momentum we have observed in our community and our guidance for the quarter assumes DAU will be approximately 343 to 345 million in Q2. On the revenue side, forward looking visibility is as difficult today, or perhaps more difficult, than at any point in recent memory. While the 116% revenue growth we experienced in Q2 of the prior year makes the comparisons more difficult this quarter, we believe the bigger challenge to forward looking visibility is the uncertain operating environment. The macro headwinds we observed in Q1, including supply chain disruptions, labor shortages, inflationary pressures, and the impact of rising interest rates on the overall economic environment remain challenges as we enter Q2. We believe the impact of the war in Ukraine on input costs, marketing budgets, and overall economic confidence has been significant, and that it is difficult to predict its impact on a forward looking basis. Given the uncertainty caused by these challenging circumstances, we have opted to share that our growth rate thus far in Q2 is approximately 30% year over year, or just below the approximately 32% growth rate we observed following the invasion of Ukraine in Q1. That said, we are concerned that the operating environment ahead could be even more challenging, leading to further campaign pauses or advertiser budget reductions, and as I noted earlier our prior year comparisons are more difficult in Q2 than in Q1. Given this, we believe that revenue guidance of 20% to 25% year-over-year revenue growth in Q2 is reasonable."

16:26 EDT Associated Banc-Corp changes overdraft fees - Associated Banc-Corp announced plans to eliminate non-sufficient funds fees and overdraft protection transfer fees early in Q3. Additionally, other modifications to the overdraft program are being made. Associated Bank will change consumer and small business account fees as follows: elimination of the NSF fee charged when an item is returned; elimination of the overdraft protection transfer fee; elimination of the continuous overdraft fee; reduction of daily limit of overdraft fee occurrences from 4 to 2. The planned changes in Q3 are expected to reduce the total burden of overdrafts to customers by approximately 30%.

16:25 EDT Allied Esports receives Nasdaq compliance notification - Allied Esports Entertainment filed a Current Report on Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission announcing the company's receipt of a notice from Nasdaq notifying the company that the company is not in compliance with the periodic filing requirements for continued listing set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1) as a result of its failure to file its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 with the SEC by the required due date. Under the Nasdaq rules, the company has 60 calendar days from receipt of the Notice to submit a plan to regain compliance with the Rule. If Nasdaq accepts the company's plan, then Nasdaq may grant an exception of up to 180 calendar days from the due date of the Form 10-K to regain compliance. However, there can be no assurance that Nasdaq will accept the company's plan to regain compliance or that the company will be able to regain compliance within any extension period granted by Nasdaq. If Nasdaq does not accept the company's plan, then the company will have the opportunity to appeal that decision to a Nasdaq hearings panel. The notice received from Nasdaq has no immediate effect on the listing or trading of the company's shares of common stock. However, if the company fails to timely regain compliance with the Rule, the company's shares of common stock will be subject to delisting from Nasdaq.

16:23 EDT USD Partners raises quarterly distribution 2.1% to 12.35c per unit - USD Partners LP announced that the Board of Directors of its general partner declared a quarterly cash distribution of 12.35c per unit for the first quarter of 2022, representing an increase of 0.25c per unit, or 2.1% over the distribution declared for the fourth quarter of 2021. The quarterly increase is in-line with management's previously stated guidance. The distribution is payable on May 13, 2022, to unitholders of record at the close of business on May 4, 2022.

16:22 EDT LyondellBasell plans to exit refining business in 2023 - LyondellBasell announced its decision to cease operation of its Houston Refinery no later than December 31, 2023. In the interim, the company will continue serving the fuels market and consider potential transactions and alternatives for the site. LyondellBasell's Houston Refinery has a rated capacity to transform 268,000 barrels per day of crude oil into transportation fuels and other products including lubricants, chemical intermediates and petroleum coke.

16:19 EDT Globus Medical CEO Dave Demski resigns, Daniel Scavilla succeeds - Globus Medical announced the resignation of president and CEO, Dave Demski, after nearly 20 years with the company, with the last four and a half years as its CEO. The board of directors has named Daniel Scavilla as the company's president and CEO, effective immediately.

16:17 EDT Gap cuts Q1 sales growth to 'low-to-mid-teen decline' - The company states: "In light of the macro-economic dynamics as well as the execution challenges at the Old Navy brand, the company is updating its first quarter fiscal 2022 net sales growth guidance to approximately low to mid-teens year-over-year declines from its prior guidance of mid to high single digit year-over-year declines. The company has also taken a more aggressive approach to assortment balancing resulting in increased promotional levels primarily at Old Navy. The company will be providing updated fiscal 2022 guidance when it reports first quarter fiscal 2022 results on Thursday, May 26."

16:16 EDT Gap announces Old Navy president Nancy Green to exit this week - Gap announced that Old Navy President and CEO Nancy Green is exiting the Old Navy business this week. While an external search is underway, Gap Inc. Chief Executive Officer Sonia Syngal will work closely with the Old Navy team, which combines new perspectives with strong tenure, to lead through this transition until a new Brand President is identified. CEO Sonia Syngal says: "We believe in the power and potential of the Old Navy brand and the contribution it will have as we execute our Power Plan strategy and drive value creation at Gap Inc. As we look to seize Old Navy's potential, particularly amidst the macro-economic dynamics facing our industry, we believe now is the right time to bring in a new leader with the operational rigor and creative vision to execute on the brand's unique value proposition. I want to thank Nancy Green for her decades of leadership and passion for our brands and customers, as well as the communities we serve."

16:14 EDT Snap reports Q1 DAUs 332M, up 18% y/y - The company states: "DAUs were 332 million in Q1 2022, an increase of 52 million, or 18%, year-over-year. Total daily time spent by Snapchatters aged 25 and older engaging with shows and publisher content increased by more than 25% year-over-year. We observed a 350% increase in the number of Spotlight submissions using creative tools or Lenses compared with Q1 2021. "

16:09 EDT Hexo to close Belleville plant for other facilitates for cash flow boost - Hexo provided an update on its previously announced strategic plan, designed to solidify HEXO's position as the number one cannabis company in Canada by recreational market share, with the goal of becoming cash flow positive from operations. The Company is announcing that it will close its Belleville facility and transition its operations to other sites to further streamline operations and capitalize on production efficiencies. "After an extensive review of site capabilities, we have identified this operational closure and transition as an opportunity to further optimize our network," said HEXO Acting Chief Operating Officer, Charlie Bowman. "Our decision is designed to leverage other sites with available infrastructure and capabilities to improve production outputs while significantly reducing costs across our entire network. This is a critical next step for HEXO as we continue to make strides towards becoming cash flow positive from operations." As part of the transition, all manufacturing machinery and equipment currently located at HEXO's Belleville facility will be transferred to other sites. A plan has been developed to facilitate this transition and ensure there is no impact on production or shipments. The transition is scheduled to be complete by the end of July 2022.

16:07 EDT Lovesac appoints Todd Duran as CIO - Lovesac (LOVE) announced that Todd Duran has been named chief information officer, or CIO, effective April 15. In his new role, Duran will be responsible for leading the vision, strategy, and operations of Lovesac's technology functions. He will also provide strategic leadership and leverage technology. Most recently, he was the co-chief information officer at Sleep Number where he spent eight years in a variety of technology leadership positions

16:06 EDT Federal Realty to acquire Kingstowne Towne Center in Virginia for $200M - Federal Realty Investment Trust is acquiring Kingstowne Towne Center in Kingstowne, Virginia for a total purchase price of $200M. The acquisition will close in two phases. Federal Realty has closed on phase one of the acquisition for $100M and expects to close on phase two for $100M in July, subject to customary closing conditions. Combined, the property comprises 410,000 square feet of retail space on 45 acres of land.

16:01 EDT Take-Two to publish new 'Tales from the Borderlands' title in 2022 - Video game developer Gearbox said that a new "Tales from the Borderlands" title is coming in 2022. The game, which will be another spinoff in the "Borderlands" franchise, will be published by Take-Two. Reference Link

15:04 EDT Musk says 'will defeat the spam bots or die trying' if Twitter bid succeeds - Elon Musk said in a series of tweets: "If our twitter bid succeeds, we will defeat the spam bots or die trying! [...] And authenticate all real humans" Reference Link

14:04 EDT Targa Resources completes acquisition of Southcross Energy Operating LLC - Targa Resources announced that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of Southcross Energy Operating LLC and its subsidiaries in South Texas.

14:01 EDT First Financial authorizes repurchase program for up to 10% of common stock - First Financial announced that its board of directors has authorized a stock repurchase program to purchase up to 10% of the company's outstanding common stock.

13:55 EDT Li Auto, KE Holdings among new additions to SEC HFCAA provisional list - A number of companies were added on April 21 to the Securities and Exchange Commission's provisional list of companies identified under the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act. The statute requires the SEC to identify public companies "that have retained a registered public accounting firm to issue an audit report where the firm has a branch or office that: (1) is located in a foreign jurisdiction, and (2) the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has determined that it is unable to inspect or investigate completely because of a position taken by an authority in the foreign jurisdiction." Among the companies added to the list are Zhihu (ZH), Nova Lifestyle (NVFY), BeyondSpring (BYSI), Luckin Coffee (LKNCY), Aurora Mobile (JG), CBAK Energy Technology (CBAT), AMTD IDEA Group (AMTD), Best Inc. (BEST), KE Holdings (BEKE) and Li Auto (LI). Reference Link

13:50 EDT Amazon Web Services announces general availability of AWS Amplify Studio - Amazon Web Services announced the general availability of AWS Amplify Studio, a new visual development environment for creating web application user interfaces that extends AWS Amplify so developers can create fully customizable web applications on AWS with minimal coding. Today, customers like Amazon Music, Credit Genie, Neiman Marcus, Noom, Orangetheory Fitness, and State Auto use AWS Amplify to more easily configure and deploy AWS services to power their applications. AWS Amplify Studio extends the capabilities of AWS Amplify to provide a unified visual development environment for building feature-rich web applications on AWS-from provisioning the AWS services that power the application to creating dynamic UIs. Developers can use AWS Amplify Studio to create a UI using a library of prebuilt components, collaborate with user experience designers, and connect their UI to AWS services through a visual interface without writing any code. AWS Amplify Studio then converts the UI into JavaScript or TypeScript code, which saves developers from writing thousands of lines of code while allowing them to fully customize their web application design and behavior using familiar programming languages.

13:01 EDT Digital Ally announces formation of entertainment subsidiary - Digital Ally announced that its newly created entertainment division Kustom440 - along with its other wholly-owned subsidiary TicketSmarter - will produce its first event, "Texas at the Derby," on May 6 in Louisville, KY. "Kustom440, a wholly-owned operating company of Digital Ally, is the latest addition to the Holding Company's growing group of subsidiaries, which are being established as part of DGLY's previously announced plan to diversify its product and service offerings. Kustom440 leverages relationships built through various venues and partnerships to market & produce unique, customizable live experiences. Kustom440 will also utilize existing synergies between the Holding Company's other subsidiaries, such as its primary and secondary ticketing platform TicketSmarter," the company stated.

12:51 EDT Worksport enters agreement with Hyundai America Technical Center - Worksport announced that it entered into a formal agreement with Hyundai America Technical Center to produce prototypes of the Worksport SOLIS, a solar tonneau cover capable of generating up to 650 watts of power, and a modified version of the COR energy storage system, specifically for the bed geometry of the Hyundai Santa Cruz Pickup Truck model. Hyundai America Technical Center has provided 3D data to Worksport specifically for this project, and the two companies intend to explore the benefit of each other's products working in tandem, "in order to determine the viability of a future partnership." A tentative timeline was also agreed upon for the project whereby the working SOLIS and COR models for Hyundai's yet to be announced vehicle would be ready for presentation to Hyundai's head office by October of 2022.

12:16 EDT Microsoft's PC Game Pass launches in Southeast Asia - Yesterday, Microsoft announced that PC Game Pass, its video game subscription service for PC, is now available in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam. All PC players can get started for three months for $1, the company said. "Our goal is to bring PC Game Pass to more countries where Windows is available to help us reach over 3 billion gamers worldwide. We are off to a strong start in Southeast Asia where we saw great demand for PC Game Pass during the preview period. We are listening to the players and are always looking to improve the experience. This includes growing the selection of games across genres and providing better language support," says Jeremy Hinton, Xbox Asia Business Lead. Reference Link

12:00 EDT Direxion Daily Jr Gld Mnrs Bull 3X Shrs falls -10.7% - Direxion Daily Jr Gld Mnrs Bull 3X Shrs is down -10.7%, or -$9.30 to $77.89.

12:00 EDT Terran Orbital falls -12.6% - Terran Orbital is down -12.6%, or -73c to $5.10.

12:00 EDT Insteel rises 13.0% - Insteel is up 13.0%, or $5.20 to $45.29.

11:59 EDT Salisbury Bancorp appoints Stephen Scott as COO - Salisbury Bancorp announced the appointment of a new executive officer of the Bank effective May 2, 2022. Stephen Scott was named EVP, COO. In this role, Scott will report to the President and CEO and will be responsible for Retail Administration and Operations; Loan Servicing; Deposit Operations; Customer Support; and Electronic Banking Services. Scott most recently served as COO at Fieldpoint Private for the past seven years.

11:47 EDT Charles Schwab continues lower, now down 6% - Shares of Charles Schwab are down $4.54, or 6%, to $71.91 as the company's 2022 Spring business update conference call continues.

11:30 EDT Prince International completes acquisition of Ferro - Ferro Corporation announced that the previously announced acquisition of Ferro by Prince International Corporation has been completed. Under the terms of the transaction, Ferro shareholders are entitled to receive $22.00 in cash, without interest and less any applicable withholding taxes, for each share of Ferro common stock that they own immediately prior to the completion of the merger. As a result of the completion of the acquisition, Ferro's common stock will cease trading on the NYSE. In conjunction with the transaction closing, Prince will combine with Chromaflo Technologies Corporation, a premier global provider of colorant technology solutions. The combined companies will be rebranded as Vibrantz Technologies Inc., a leading global, diversified technology leader in color solutions, performance coatings and advanced materials with sales of more than $2B.

11:10 EDT Voyager Therapeutics trading halted, volatility trading pause

11:03 EDT Blackbaud appoints Charles Miller as Chief Information Security Officer - Blackbaud (BLKB) announced the appointment of Charles "Chuck" Miller as chief information security officer. In this role, Miller will oversee Blackbaud's global trust and security program. Miller most recently served as senior vice president of cybersecurity at Truist (TFC). Prior to that, he was senior vice president of cybersecurity for SunTrust and supported cybersecurity efforts at Capital One (COF) and Verizon (VZ), Blackbaud noted.

10:44 EDT Spotify opens Video Podcast capability to more creators - In a company blog post, Spotify said, "Last fall, Spotify began activating Video Podcasts for creators on a limited basis. Since then, we've found that podcasters love having the option to accompany their audio with visual components, and fans love having the opportunity to more deeply connect with the content. So as the audience for this format grows, we're also opening up the Video Podcast capability to more creators, creating a growing catalog of video podcasts. Starting today, we're expanding Video Podcasts on Spotify to all creators in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the U.K. Creators will have the ability to upload their video content to Spotify through Anchor as easily as they already publish audio. Visual interactions allow fans to get to know their favorite podcast hosts even better, and allow creators to connect with their audiences in a much deeper way. But if you want to stick to the pure audio experience, that's great too-video on Spotify is backgroundable for all listeners, so you can immerse yourself in the content when you want to, or simply lean back and just listen." Reference Link

10:11 EDT T-Mobile reports reaching 1M home internet customers - Yesterday, T-Mobile announced that, "very early this month," the company added its 1 millionth Home Internet customer one year after launching the service commercially. "In addition, thanks to T-Mobile's unrivaled 5G network expansion, 10 million additional homes nationwide are now eligible for 5G Home Internet, bringing the total number of eligible households to more than 40 million, all covered with 5G," the company stated. T-Mobile expects to have 7 to 8 million fixed wireless customers by 2025, the company noted. Mike Sievert, T-Mobile CEO, added: "We launched into broadband last year with a radically new value prop that's completely disrupted this category, and now, with a household footprint that's millions larger than the nearest fixed wireless competitor. And we are just getting started. There's more Un-carrier disruption on the way."

10:02 EDT Xponential Fitness enters collaboration with Lululemon, MIRROR - Xponential Fitness (XPOF) announced a collaboration with lululemon (LULU) to create original fitness programming for the MIRROR, the retailer's smart home gym offering that boasts a robust workout library of live and on-demand classes. Four of Xponential's brands - AKT, Pure Barre, Rumble, and YogaSix - will provide workouts for the "world's first nearly invisible gym." Xponential brand workouts will officially roll out with the latest edition of the MIRROR product, which launches this fall.

10:00 EDT Rite Aid falls -8.7% - Rite Aid is down -8.7%, or -71c to $7.49.

10:00 EDT Alcoa falls -9.7% - Alcoa is down -9.7%, or -$8.42 to $78.51.

10:00 EDT Sonendo rises 9.3% - Sonendo is up 9.3%, or 32c to $3.75.

09:57 EDT Musk says Tesla shares will help satisfy loan for Twitter bid - In a regulatory filing detailing the exploration of a tender offer to acquire Twitter (TWTR), Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk disclosed that in order satisfy a maximum loan to value ratio of 20%, contributions of a portion of Musk's unencumbered shares in Tesla will be included.

09:49 EDT Accenture acquires Ergo, terms not disclosed - Accenture has acquired Ergo, a data-centered business located in Argentina that helps companies create a culture of data-driven decision-making using big data, analytics and artificial intelligence. Ergo's team of 200 data specialists will join the Data & AI team within Accenture Cloud First, the company said. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

09:48 EDT Alta Fox urges Daseke board to buy back $60M of stock - Alta Fox Capital Management, the beneficial owner of approximately 4.0% of the outstanding shares of Daseke, announced that it has sent a letter to Daseke's Board of Directors. The letter read in part, "We are writing today to urge you to take advantage of the steep sell-off in Daseke's stock price and buy back $60 million of the Company's stock near current prices. The Company's shares have fallen almost 30% over the last month - a far more pronounced decline than other trucking stocks. We believe that the initial sell-off was catalyzed by a recent FreightWaves article, which highlighted significant near-term weakness in dry van rates. As the Company articulated to the media on April 14, Daseke has zero exposure to dry van rates and is continuing to see rate increases in its flatbed business...Given the Company's limited sell-side coverage and investor awareness, the market has failed to distinguish Daseke's flatbed and specialized exposure versus the more commoditized dry van exposure of the other publicly listed trucking companies. As a result, Daseke is currently trading at less than 7x our forward estimate of earnings per share and a 20% normalized free cash flow to equity yield despite strength in its end markets. This seems to us like an incredible bargain for a business that we estimate will organically grow EPS ~15% per year for the foreseeable future, driven mostly by self-help margin initiatives. We believe this is an unsustainably low valuation and contend that the Board should immediately authorize a $60 million buyback program to take advantage of this seemingly irrational sell-off. We firmly believe that Daseke is on track to earn $2.00+ in EPS by FY25, which should warrant a stock price well in excess of $20 per share. At these valuation levels, Daseke's management team and the Board have a tremendous opportunity to prove to investors that they are excellent capital allocators, are willing and able to make bold moves to increase long-term value per share and that the Company is worthy of an industry premium - not a discount. Once Daseke has earned a sustainable premium to peers, we believe that the time will be ripe for management to begin considering tuck-in M&A transactions. However, at this valuation, in our view there is no reason to even consider M&A. Even creditors have expressed concern about Daseke pursuing further M&A in the current economic climate, which is part of the reason Moody's did not raise Daseke's credit rating in April.1 We have heard similar concerns from both the sell-side and buy-side communities. We urge the Company to put these concerns to rest by authorizing an immediate share buyback at current prices. We strongly believe that Daseke's highest return, lowest risk and best use of cash currently is buying back its own shares."

09:47 EDT Dover falls -8.7% - Dover is down -8.7%, or -$13.48 to $142.04.

09:47 EDT Samsara rises 7.5% - Samsara is up 7.5%, or 99c to $14.25.

09:47 EDT Liberty Oilfield Services rises 12.7% - Liberty Oilfield Services is up 12.7%, or $2.22 to $19.67.

09:37 EDT Musk confirms exploring whether to commence tender offer to acquire Twitter - In an amended 13D filing with the SEC, Tesla (TSLA) founder and CEO Elon Musk reported holding a 9.1% stake in Twitter (TWTR) and stated in part: "On April 13, 2022, the Reporting Person delivered a letter to the Issuer which contained a non-binding proposal to acquire all of the outstanding Common Stock of Twitter not owned by the Reporting Person for all cash consideration valuing the Common Stock at $54.20 per share... The Reporting Person is seeking to negotiate a definitive agreement for the acquisition of Twitter by the Reporting Person and is prepared to begin such negotiations immediately... Twitter has not responded to the Proposal. Given the lack of response by Twitter, the Reporting Person is exploring whether to commence a tender offer to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Common Stock that are issued and outstanding and not held by the Reporting Person at a price of $54.20 per share, net to the seller in cash, without interest and less any required withholding taxes, subject to certain conditions, but has not determined whether to do so at this time. To finance the Proposed Transaction or a Potential Offer, entities related to the Reporting Person have received commitment letters committing to provide an aggregate of approximately $46.5B... There can be no assurance that a definitive agreement with respect to the Proposed Transaction will be executed or, if executed, whether the Proposed Transaction will be consummated."

09:36 EDT Musk says received commitment letters for about $46.5B related to Twitter bid

09:35 EDT Fidelity Bank purchase Scranton Electric Building for corporate headquarters - Fidelity Bank announced that it has purchased the iconic Scranton Electric Building in downtown Scranton for its new corporate headquarters Since 2011, the number of bankers has more than doubled, and the bank's asset size has increased by more than $1.8 billion. The move to the Scranton Electric Building will allow the bank to centralize many of the corporate functions that are now spread across a few different buildings. The new Fidelity Bank headquarters will bring more than 130 workers, job opportunities, and revenue growth to downtown Scranton. The building will consist of offices, a bank branch, and Wealth Management center. The new consolidated headquarters will have a multiplier effect on the local economy, bringing new revenue opportunities to the city's businesses, restaurants, stores, and service providers. Through the state's Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, or RACAP, the Bank has received $4 million in funding for the project, although the entire project is expected to cost about $20 million.

09:31 EDT Harbor Custom Development announces listing of six multi-family projects - Harbor Custom Development announced it has listed six Western Washington apartment projects totaling 734 units for a combined value of $278 million with Kidder Mathews, the largest independent brokerage firm on the West Coast.

09:23 EDT DLH wins renewal of NIH contract for epidemiologic, public health support - DLH Holdings announced it has been awarded a contract to continue providing epidemiologic and public health support to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. NIDDK is an institute of the National Institutes of Health. DLH has held this work since this contract was first awarded in 1987. The contract includes a base period of one year with four one-year options, for a total value of approximately $14M. Under this award, DLH will support NIDDK led research into diabetes, digestive, kidney, and other chronic diseases through epidemiological research and biostatistical consultation, data management, statistical programming, data analysis, cloud computing, machine learning, and natural language processing. DLH will also collaborate and coordinate with the National Center for Health Statistics in planning, developing, and implementing surveys.

09:20 EDT LightPath engages MZ Group for investor relations, shareholder communication - LightPath Technologies has engaged international investor relations specialists MZ Group to lead their comprehensive strategic investor relations and financial communications program across all key markets. MZ Group will work closely with LightPath's management to build upon their investor relations and shareholder communication program designed to increase the Company's visibility throughout the investment community. Brian Prenoveau, CFA, Managing Director at MZ North America, will assist LightPath in all facets of corporate and financial communications, including the coordination of investment conferences across key cities and building brand awareness with financial media outlets. MZ has developed a distinguished reputation as a premier resource for institutional investors, brokers, analysts, and private investors.

09:18 EDT Woodward announces CEO Gendron to retire, Blankenship to succeed - Woodward announced that, after more than 31 years with the Company and 17 years as Chief Executive Officer, Thomas Gendron has expressed his intention to retire from the Company. He will retire from his role as Chairman of the Board, Chief Executive Officer and President effective May 9, 2022. Woodward's Board of Directors also announced that it has appointed Charles Blankenship, Jr. as Chief Executive Officer and President of the Company effective May 9, 2022. Blankenship has also been appointed to the Board as its new Chairman, effective also on May 9, 2022. At the Board's request, Gendron has committed to remain a director, officer and employee of the Company through July 11, 2022 in order to ensure a seamless and effective transition.

09:17 EDT Lexaria Bioscience granted patent for use of DehydraTECH - Lexaria Bioscience announces the Company is receiving its first-ever patent for the use of DehydraTECH technology in the enhanced delivery of antiviral drugs. Lexaria has received notification from the United States Patent and Trademark Office that patent 11,311,559 for Compositions and Methods For Enhanced Delivery Of Antiviral Agents will be issued to the Company on April 26, 2022. Lexaria previously announced that remdesivir and ebastine processed with DehydraTECH were effective at inhibiting the COVID-19/SARS-CoV-2 virus using an in vitro screening assay in infected cells in study VIRAL-C21-3. Lexaria separately demonstrated that antiviral drugs processed with DehydraTECH were able to reach peak blood concentration levels that were double those of non-DehydraTECH-processed; and overall volumes of drug delivered into bloodstream were up to triple the amount compared to non-DehydraTECH-processed drugs. As evidenced with other drugs that Lexaria has investigated, the award of intellectual property protection is a key step towards ultimately monetizing Lexaria's revolutionary DehydraTECH drug delivery technology. This is Lexaria's 25th granted patent and the 10th granted in the U.S. Lexaria continues to file new patent applications as its research and development programs uncover new discoveries.

09:16 EDT Microchip extends family of COTS-based, RT SuperFlash devices - Microchip Technology proposed the concept of starting with Commercial-Off-The-Shelf devices and then replacing them with space-qualified, Radiation-Tolerant equivalent parts. Microchip today announces it has extended its family of COTS-based, RT SuperFlash devices for these applications and is bringing the Microchip memory technology's unrivaled 50 kilorad Total Ionizing Dose tolerance to a 64-Mbit serial quad I/O NOR flash memory device for use in harsh aerospace and defense system environments. Microchip SuperFlash NOR flash memory products use a proprietary split-gate cell architecture to improve performance, data retention and reliability as compared to conventional stacked-gate flash. They eliminate the complexity of power management switching to achieve their industry-high TID even while the flash is still biased and operating in systems such as satellite on-board computers and different types of controllers for motors, sensors, solar panels and power distribution. Proven in industrial applications, Microchip's RT SuperFlash technology has been offered as a parallel-interface solution with its 64-Mbit SST38LF6401RT device that is now space-qualified and available in-flight models. With the SST26LF064RT product, designers now also have a serial quad I/O 64Mbit memory option.

09:14 EDT Ria Money Transfer expands partnership with Save the Children - Ria Money Transfer announced an expanded partnership with Save the Children, a leading global humanitarian organization for children. Ria will continue its previously announced support of the organization's emergency efforts in Ukraine and other regions. In addition, Ria will help the organization drive positive change and provide access to quality education to more than 10,000 children in Mexico and the Philippines, whose well-being has deteriorated because of the global COVID pandemic.

09:13 EDT Avita Medical director Louis Drapeau resigns - AVITA Medical announced that Louis Drapeau has resigned, effective April 29, 2022, from the Company's Board of Directors. Mr. Drapeau's resignation is not because of a disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to the Company's operations, policies or practices. Rather, his resignation is due to personal reasons. Drapeau has been a non-executive Director of AVITA Medical since January 2016 and served as Chair of the Audit Committee. As disclosed in the Company Form 10-KT dated March 1, 2022, Louis Drapeau had already stepped down as Chair of the Audit Committee and James Corbett was appointed Chair of the Audit Committee in his place as of February 23, 2022.

09:12 EDT Ibex partners with Global Mentorship Initiatice - ibex announced it has partnered with Global Mentorship Initiative, a nonprofit organization that helps high-potential students from underserved communities, to roll out a global mentorship program that encourages ibex leaders to become mentors to help college students succeed while strengthening their coaching skills and cultural competencies. ibex's new mentorship program is designed to help college students navigate their education journey, provide guidance on their job search, offer tips for successful interviewing, and ultimately equip them with the skills they need to begin their careers. The program is open to all ibex supervisors, managers, and leaders with a college degree. As part of the partnership, GMI will match motivated, high-potential college students preparing to graduate and enter the workforce with ibex mentors. GMI works with university and youth partners around the world to build pathways to financial stability for students who need it most to increase equity in the workplace and prepare diverse voices to become tomorrow's decision-makers.

09:10 EDT Sumo Logic announces Sensu Integration Catalog - Sumo Logic announced a new open source offering, the Sensu Integration Catalog. Available today on GitHub, the Integration Catalog is an open, self-service marketplace featuring over 40 turn-key integrations. Built to speed production-ready infrastructure and application monitoring, the Sensu Integration Catalog is a showcase of its commitment to the open source community and calls on developers to contribute.

09:09 EDT Opera GX enters strategic partnership with ESE - Opera announced a partnership with GameAddik, the game technology subsidiary of ESE Entertainment. The agreement focuses on providing advertising services in connection with the promotion of Opera GX, Opera's gamer-oriented browser.

09:09 EDT MP Materials begins construction on Texas rare earth magnetics factory - MP Materials commemorates the start of construction at its first rare earth metal, alloy, and magnet manufacturing facility, located in Fort Worth, Texas. The first-of-its kind U.S. facility is a substantial component of a $700M investment the company will make over the next two years to fully restore the U.S. rare earth magnetics supply chain. The project will create around 150 high-skill jobs and 1,300 indirect jobs and is located in Hillwood's 27,000-acre, mixed-use development, Alliance Texas.

09:05 EDT Kraft Heinz, Microsoft announce partnership - The Kraft Heinz Company (KHMC) and Microsoft (MSFT) announced they are joining forces to develop solutions designed to accelerate the consumer goods giant's transformation and enable a more resilient supply chain. The initiative is one of Kraft Heinz's largest technology investments to date and a key driver of the company's ambitious AGILE@SCALE approach. With Microsoft Azure as its preferred cloud platform, Kraft Heinz will migrate the majority of its global datacenter assets to Azure and its enterprise resource planning software to SAP on Azure. Through this transformation, Kraft Heinz expects to reimagine its day-to-day operations, create a more collaborative supply chain, and enhance consumer experiences by using real-time predictive analytics to improve inventory transparency and anticipate consumer and channel demand. At the same time, the efficiencies created through the adoption of digital tools from Microsoft are expected to allow the food and beverage leader to continually reinvest into its business.

09:05 EDT Del Taco opens location in Tempe, Arizona - Del Taco Restaurants announces the opening of its newest location in Tempe at 1331 N. Scottsdale Rd. The new location, which is owned and operated by longtime Del Taco franchisee Dennis Ekstrom of the Diamondback LLC franchise organization, is the first to open in Tempe, just down the street from Arizona State University's main campus.

09:04 EDT Philips announces first patients treated for IVC filter removal using CavaClear - Royal Philips announced that the first patients have been successfully treated for Inferior Vena Cava, IVC, filter removal using its IVC Filter Removal Laser Sheath - CavaClear. CavaClear provides a minimally invasive solution for embedded IVC filters, to help physicians reduce risk of significant filter-related complications in patients and improve workflow performance. The first two patients were successfully treated at Northwestern Medicine and at Stanford Hospital.

09:03 EDT Kyndryl Holdings expands cloud solutions partnership with SAP - Kyndryl (KD) announced an expanded strategic partnership with SAP (SAP) focused on developing new solutions to help customers solve digital business transformation challenges. The expanded partnership will leverage SAP's Business Technology Platform and Kyndryl's expertise in AI, data and cyber resiliency services to enable a cost-effective path to the cloud for customers. Kyndryl will offer services that complement the RISE with SAP solution, including proven migration tools and scalable offerings, AI-driven business data management and analytics solutions, application modernization and more. In November 2021, Kyndryl became SAP certified in the following areas: SAP HANA(R) operations, global hosting operations, integration with SAP S/4HANA and DevOps.

09:02 EDT TrueCar names Jill Angel as new Chief People Officer - TrueCar announced the appointment of Jill Angel as Chief People Officer. In this role, Angel will drive the People strategy for TrueCar and oversee all aspects of the People function. She will report to Mike Darrow, President and CEO. Angel was most recently Executive Vice President, People at Leaf Group, which she joined in 2015.

08:52 EDT NRx Pharmaceuticals files Breakthrough Therapy designation request for Zyesami - NRx Pharmaceuticals has filed a new Breakthrough Therapy designation request with the FDA focused on a subgroup of patients with Critical COVID-19 that in addition to aviptadil or placebo were also treated with remdesivir. The request includes safety data on approximately 750 patients treated with intravenous Zyesami for Critical COVID-19. NRx Pharmaceuticals submitted a Breakthrough Therapy designation request at the end of September 2021, which the FDA did not grant. In its reply, the FDA requested new clinical evidence comparing the safety and efficacy of aviptadil relative to other existing therapies for Critical COVID-19, such as remdesivir. Based on the FDA's input, NRx Pharmaceuticals performed a post-hoc analysis of its completed Phase IIb/III study focused on the approximately 70% of patients that continued to progress to COVID-19 respiratory failure that also received treatment with remdesivir. The post-hoc analysis showed that for these patients, who were already treated with remdesivir and continued to progress, Zyesami showed a highly significant four-fold increased odds of survival compared to placebo at 60 days.

08:49 EDT Blue Water presents data on universal influenza candidate - Blue Water Vaccines issued the below statement regarding its Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 20, 2022, which included a presentation delivered by the Company at the World Vaccine Congress 2022 in Washington, DC. This presentation by Brian Price, Ph.D., BWV's Head of Technology Strategy, shows identification of H3N2 and influenza B epitopes of limited variability discovered by scientists at The University of Oxford. The Company previously presented data surrounding epitopes of limited variability for H1 influenza strains, which are being used to develop BWV-102, an H1 pre-pandemic vaccine. This latest data included in the WVC presentation uses similar mathematical modeling and research to find two epitopes of limited variability in H3N2 influenza and one epitope in influenza B. Provisional patents have been recently filed for both H3 and influenza B antigens by the Company's licensors and will be used in combination with previously identified H1 epitopes to form the basis for the Company's universal influenza vaccine candidate, BWV-101. According to the World Health Organization, there are more than 1 billion influenza infections each year, 3 - 5 million of which are considered severe, leading to between 290,000 - 600,000 related respiratory deaths worldwide. Current influenza vaccines have several shortcomings, including yearly reformulations 6 months prior to influenza season leading to yearly administration and typically provide protection to only 50% of the individuals that receive the vaccine. Additionally, the CDC estimates about $87.1 billion USD is lost through absenteeism and healthcare costs in the US and the WHO estimates around $4 billion US is spent on the flu vaccine each year. Both the clinical toll of this disease and the economic burden it poses warrants investigation and commitment to the development of a universal influenza vaccine.

08:42 EDT Casey's General Stores provides business update ahead of NDR - Casey's General Stores announced that it will be participating in a non-deal roadshow, or NDR, with Stephens on April 21. In advance of the NDR, the company provides the following business update. "Casey's business continues to perform well, and we remain on track for record fourth quarter diluted earnings per share in fiscal 2020," the company said. Fuel same-store gallons sold have been slightly higher than prior year, between flat to up low-single digits. Fuel margins have been in the higher 30s in terms of cents per gallon. Inside same-store sales volumes have been up mid-single digits. Inside margins have been impacted, in-part, by higher cheese costs, which have averaged $2.24 per pound in the fourth quarter versus $1.93 per pound in the prior year. Operating expenses are trending above our previous guidance of 11%-13% and are up approximately mid-teens. These are being impacted, in-part, by higher credit card fees related to higher retail fuel prices which are up approximately 39% versus the prior year. Interest expense has been modestly impacted by non-cash charges associated with the partial prepayment of certain variable rate debt due to free cash flow generation.

08:39 EDT CordovaCann closes non-brokered private placement - CordovaCann is pleased to announce the closing of a non-brokered private placement financing, pursuant to which the Company issued 6,718,000 units of Cordova priced at $0.25 USD per unit for gross proceeds of $1,679,500 USD. Each Unit is comprised of one common share of the Company and one warrant that entitles the holder to purchase one share of common stock in the Company at a price of $1.25 CDN per share for a period of 2 years. The gross proceeds are comprised of $1,510,000 USD received in cash and $169,500 USD setoff against outstanding fees and debts owing by the Company. The proceeds of the Offering are intended to be used for capital expenditures and acquisitions in relation to the Company's Canadian retail operations as well as general corporate purposes and working capital needs. The Offering was led by Sunderland Capital, a private investment firm that has deep knowledge and prior investment success in the cannabis industry. Further, the Company is pleased to announce the appointment of Tom Bushey to the Board of Directors of Cordova. Mr. Bushey brings a wealth of experience from his two-decades long career as a successful investor, board member and capital allocator. He is the founder and has served as CEO of Sunderland Capital since 2015.

08:37 EDT Harbor Custom Development announces restatement of diluted EPS - Harbor Custom Development announced it will restate its previously issued annual financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2021 and quarterly financial statements for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2021 and third quarter ended September 30, 2021 to reflect revised diluted earnings per share results. The Company identified that the Diluted EPS for the periods referenced above were inaccurate due to an error with the weighting calculation of diluted shares outstanding. These restatements result in non-cash, non-operating financial statement corrections and have no impact on the Company's current or previously reported income, expenses, assets or liabilities, except for the aforementioned diluted weighted average shares outstanding and Diluted EPS. The Company expects that the restatements will result in the following estimated adjustments: an increase in the previously reported Diluted EPS for the year ended December 31, 2021, from $0.24 to $0.41; an increase in the previously reported Diluted EPS for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2021, from $0.15 to $0.16; and a decrease in the previously reported Diluted EPS for the third quarter September 30, 2021 from $0.20 to $0.17. While the third quarter 2021 restatement resulted in a decrease of $0.03 Diluted EPS and the fourth quarter 2021 restatement resulted in an increase of $0.01 Diluted EPS, the net difference in the full year 2021 restated Diluted EPS increased $0.17 because the Company overestimated the weighted average shares outstanding for the full year. The Company will amend its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 to restate the previously issued annual financial statements and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 to restate the previously issued interim financial statements. Although the Company cannot yet estimate when it will complete the restatements and file the amended annual report and quarterly report, the Company is working diligently and expeditiously toward completion of the restatements and intends to file such amended annual report and quarterly report as soon as reasonably practicable. In connection with these restatements, management has re-evaluated the effectiveness of the Company's disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. Management has concluded that in light of the errors described above, as of September 30, 2021, the Company did not maintain effective internal controls over the preparation, review, presentation, and disclosure of its financial statements related to diluted weighted average shares outstanding and Diluted EPS. Specifically, the following material weakness existed: misapplication of the calculation of weighted average shares outstanding for Diluted EPS.

08:36 EDT Opera sells its stake in Star X for $83.5M - Opera has sold its 19.35% ownership interest in Star Group Interactive - Star X, formerly known as StarMaker -, to Kunlun Tech, its parent company, for $83.5M in cash. The transaction closed on the same date. Within ten business days, an initial $28.4M will be paid, with the remaining consideration to be paid in two equal installments by December 31st of 2023 and 2024 with no contingencies. Opera will collect 3.5% simple annual interest on the deferred installments. Star X is a technology-driven social media company focused on audio-centric social networking. Opera acquired the investment in 2018 for a total consideration of $30M. The sale represents a 178% cash-on-cash return on Opera's investment, and an increase of $26.4M relative to the unaudited fair value previously included in Opera's quarterly reporting.

08:34 EDT Verb Technology announces $11M registered direct offering - Verb Technology Company announced it has entered into a securities purchase agreement with institutional investors for the purchase and sale of 14,666,667 shares of its common stock at a purchase price of $0.75 per share and warrants to purchase 14,666,667 shares of its common stock at an exercise price of $0.75 per share in a registered direct offering priced at-the-market, resulting in total gross proceeds of approximately $11.0 million before deducting placement agent commissions and other estimated offering expenses. The warrants will become exercisable six months following the date of issuance and will expire five years following the date on which the warrants are initially exercisable. The closing of the offering and sale of the Securities is expected to occur on or about April 25, 2022 subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners is acting as the sole placement agent for the offering.

08:33 EDT Stagwell acquires e-commerce solutions provider Brand New Galaxy - Stagwell acquired Brand New Galaxy, a provider of scaled commerce and marketplace solutions for 150+ global brands and 500+ e-retailers worldwide. With 600 experts across Europe, MENA, and the United States, BNG adds first specialization in connected commerce solutions. BNG has served as a partner of Stagwell via its Global Affiliate Program since 2021 and is the first acquisition Stagwell has made of one of its affiliates. BNG will join the Stagwell Media Network. BNG offers a range of tailored solutions for accelerating end-to-end multimarket commerce. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

08:32 EDT Homology Medicines promotes Seymour to President - Homology Medicines announced that Albert Seymour, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, CSO, has been promoted to President of Homology. In addition to his role as CSO, Dr. Seymour will assume broader responsibilities for additional functional areas, including human resources, clinical development and operations, and commercial strategy. Dr. Seymour was one of the first employees of Homology and has served as CSO since joining alongside CEO Dr. Tzianabos in 2016.

08:25 EDT Kinder Morgan to collaborate with Cheniere Energy on QMRV GHG emissions - Kinder Morgan (KMI) announced that it has joined a collaboration with Cheniere Energy (LNG), several other midstream operators, methane detection technology providers and academic institutions on a project focused on quantifying, monitoring, reporting and verifying, or QMRV, greenhouse gas, or GHG, emissions associated with the operation of natural gas gathering, processing, transmission, and storage systems. The work is intended to improve the overall understanding of GHG emissions and further the deployment of advanced monitoring technologies and protocols. The midstream QMRV work will be conducted by global emissions researchers from Colorado State University and the University of Texas.

08:23 EDT Icanic Brands closes acquisition of LEEF Holdings - Icanic Brands Company is pleased to announce that, further to its news release on January 25, 2022, the Company has acquired all of the common stock of LEEF Holdings, a California based extractions company pursuant to the terms of a merger agreement among the Company, its wholly-owned subsidiary, Icanic Merger Sub, and LEEF, dated January 21, 2022. LEEF is one of the largest cannabis extraction companies in the state of California and is a leading provider of bulk concentrates to many of the largest brands in the state. It is led by an expert group of legacy operators with decades of experience in organic soil-based farming and sophisticated extraction practices. LEEF's manufacturing capabilities include a 12,000 square foot extraction and manufacturing facility with significant throughput and distillate extraction capability. Headquartered in Willits, California, LEEF's core manufacturing competencies include ethanol extraction, hydrocarbon extraction, and solventless extraction. LEEF has also recently received a 186.7 acre cultivation land use permit, which will make it the owner of one of the largest cannabis cultivation sites in California. The site sits on over 1,900 acres of prime California real estate. Since inception, LEEF has experienced significant year over year growth with strong and consistent gross margins and positive cash flow. From 2019 to the end of 2021, LEEF experienced revenue growth exceeding 100%. With the build out of the cultivation site, LEEF will be able to provide consistency, quality and quantity to its customers and its' margins are expected to improve as it gains vertical efficiencies with its in-house supply chain.

08:23 EDT CB Financial Services to repurchase up to $10M of common stock - CB Financial Services announced a program to repurchase up to $10M of the company's outstanding shares of common stock. Based on the company's closing stock price on April 19, the repurchase program, if fully completed, would encompass 433,643 shares, or approximately 8.4% the shares currently outstanding.

08:21 EDT Magna announces opening of new plant in Slovakia - Magna is expanding its ADAS and electrification footprint with the opening of a new plant in Kechnec, Slovakia. The brownfield facility will support two European automakers and new global entrant. Covering an area of approximately 22,000 square meters, the facility is expected to begin operations in the fourth quarter of this year with plans to hire 100 employees initially in time for start of production. The plant will produce some of the company's most innovative Level 2 ADAS solutions as well as technologies for the electric vehicle market. "This new facility is a key milestone for Magna in supporting the increasing effort toward vehicle electrification and autonomy," said Sharath Reddy, Senior Vice President of Magna Electronics. "With a skilled talent pool in the region and conveniently situated close to other Magna divisions to optimize delivery times, Kechnec is an ideal location to bolster our capabilities in Europe."

08:20 EDT Cenovus Energy donates $3M to Nature Conservancy of Canada - Cenovus Energy announced a $3 million donation to the Nature Conservancy of Canada as part of the company's updated social investment strategy. The donation to NCC, Canada's leading private land conservation organization, demonstrates Cenovus's commitment to protecting the planet for future generations. Cenovus's donation has been structured to trigger charitable donation matching programs in Canada and the U.S., including a grant under the U.S. North American Wetlands Conservation Act, increasing the amount available for NCC to $12 million. This funding will help conserve natural areas across Western Canada, such as grasslands, wetlands, lakes and forests that are critical to a variety of plants and animals, including many at-risk species and migratory birds.

08:19 EDT Codexis, seqWell announces strategic investment, partnership initiation - Codexis and seqWell announced the initiation of a strategic partnership and investment to accelerate the commercialization of seqWell's genomics workflow solutions. Codexis and seqWell plan to collaborate on using Codexis' CodeEvolver platform technology for enzyme optimization with seqWell's growing portfolio of genomics workflow and library preparation products. As part of this partnership, Codexis led seqWell's $7M Series C financing with a $5M investment. Current investors Research Corporation Technologies, RCT, and BroadOak Capital Partners also participated in the Series C financing. This collaboration and investment enable seqWell to continue advancing its commercialization of new and existing products in the fast-growing genomics and next generation sequencing library prep market. seqWell's plexWell platform is an NGS library preparation technology that enables simple, scalable multiplexing of hundreds to thousands of samples without the need for time- and cost-consuming sample preparation or library normalization steps. Through this partnership, the technology will be matched with Codexis' CodeEvolver platform for discovering and developing novel, high performance enzymes and novel biotherapeutics, to further advance seqWell's growing portfolio of genomics workflow and library preparation products.

08:16 EDT Motus GI Holdings completes enrollment in EU study of Pure-Vu System - Motus GI Holdings announced that the final patient has been enrolled in the European Union, EU, study of the Pure-Vu System, which is evaluating the clinical outcomes in patients with a history of poor bowel preparation using both a low volume preparation with limited diet restrictions and the Pure-Vu System. The Company expects to announce topline data from the study at a leading scientific conference in May 2022. "Completing patient enrollment in the EU study is a key milestone for our strategy to generate additional clinical data for the Pure-Vu System and support its commercial adoption, as well as build awareness to support a potential entrance into Europe," commented Tim Moran, Chief Executive Officer of Motus GI. "The EU study is designed to evaluate the Pure-Vu System's ability to help patients that have a history of poor bowel preparation that has caused failed and repeated procedures. We expect this study will show our system is effective in allowing procedures for these patients to proceed, which would be valuable to patients, physicians and healthcare facilities by avoiding the loss of time and costs associated with failed and repeat procedures and the potential for missed pathology that may lead to interval cancers."

08:14 EDT iCAD CFO Charles Carter to depart - iCAD also announced that its CFO Charles Carter, will be leaving the Company for personal reasons. An interim CFO will be appointed shortly to serve until a permanent successor to Mr. Carter is in place. Mr. Carter will continue to serve as CFO to assist with the transition of his responsibilities and to participate in the Company's upcoming earnings call to discuss its first quarter 2022 financial results.

08:13 EDT Genasys announces GEM, Zonehaven SaaS contracts in six US states - Genasys announced new, multi-year Genasys Emergency Management, GEM, and Zonehaven software-as-a-service, SaaS, annual recurring revenue contracts in California, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri, and Texas. The contracts include Colorado Springs, the first city in Colorado that will implement Zonehaven emergency evacuation resources. "Last December's Marshall Fire that burned more than 1,000 homes in Boulder County CO, and recent fires and evacuations in Florida, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas, confirm wildfires are now a year-around threat in many states," said Richard S. Danforth, Chief Executive Officer, Genasys Inc. "Zonehaven provides counties and communities with zone-specific notifications, including evacuation status, live incident updates, real-time weather, road and traffic conditions, nearby shelters, and other essential information, to better protect residents during wildfires and other crisis situations. In addition to the Zonehaven contract, the University of California Irvine, the City of Riverdale, Georgia, the Kentucky National Guard, Newton County, Missouri, and the City of Gladewater, Texas, have each entered into GEM agreements," Danforth continued. "The Cal Irvine contract expands the critical communication services Genasys is providing to help keep students, staff and faculty safe. More GEM and Zonehaven contracts are anticipated this quarter."

08:12 EDT Resideo, Google Nest selected by CPower Energy for grid stability - National energy solutions provider CPower Energy announced an expansion of its existing residential portfolio through a new demand response partnership with Resideo Technologies (REZI) and Google (GOOG) Nest. When grid reliability is needed, CPower will dispatch Resideo's Honeywell Home-branded smart thermostats and Google Nest smart thermostats to form virtual power plants that deliver power to PJM Interconnection, the largest grid operator in the U.S.

08:11 EDT Kopin receives new OLED orders - Kopin announced it has received new orders for its Organic Light Emitting Diode, or OLED, displays and silicon backplane products for new customers and new applications. Kopin commenced shipping its Lightning 720p OLED microdisplays to a new customer for use in thermal imaging viewfinders - an application where Kopin sees significant interest in its microdisplays. The 0.49-inch-diagonal 720p display incorporates Kopin's ColorMax technology for superb color fidelity and a duo-stack OLED structure for high current efficiency. Separately, Kopin has received an order from a new customer for its Lightning 2K OLED backplane wafers. Kopin's Lightning 2K backplane is the building block to manufacture 1-inch diagonal OLED microdisplays with 2048 x 2048 resolution that can run at up to 120 Hz with low power consumption. Kopin's backplane, designed for high-resolution, mid-to-high-end VR or AR applications is the "brain" of the finished 2K x 2K microdisplay.

08:09 EDT Jones Soda, Simply Better Brands sign binding LOI for merger - Simply Better Brands and Jones Soda are pleased to announce the execution of a binding letter of intent on April 16, 2022 pursuant to which Simply Better Brands and Jones will complete an arm's length business combination by the acquisition by Simply Better Brands of all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Jones. the iconic craft soda company which has recently added to their product line-up cannabis-derived food and beverages. The combination of SBBC and Jones, two rapidly growing companies, is expected to increase shareholder value through operational synergies and accelerated sales growth in three global verticals: Food and Beverage - Jones Soda and TRUBAR; Plant-Based Wellness - CBD and THC - PureKana, Seventh Sense, Herve, Mirage and Mary Jones; Health and Beauty - No B.S. Skincare Pursuant to the Transaction, SBBC will purchase 100% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Jones at a deemed value of US$0.75 per Jones Share, payable in fully paid and non-assessable common shares of SBBC based on a price per SBBC Share equal to US$3.65. In addition, SBBC will assume all outstanding debt of Jones and exchange any dilutive securities of Jones for materially similar securities of SBBC based on an implied ratio of 0.20548 SBBC Shares for each one Jones Share held, with the aggregate value being of the Transaction being approximately US$98,902,257 on a fully-diluted basis. The Transaction, Transaction Value and price of the Share Consideration will be subject all relevant polices, rules and approvals of the TSX Venture Exchange or such other recognized stock exchange upon which the Share Consideration is listed for trading. The Share Consideration represents a premium of US$0.39 to Jones shareholders based on the closing price of each company as of the market close on April 14, 2022. The Transaction is subject to a number of terms and conditions, including, but not limited to, the parties entering into a definitive agreement with respect to the Transaction on or before June 30, 2022, mutually favourable tax and corporate structuring, the approval by shareholders in Simply Better Brands and Jones, and the approval of the TSXV or such other recognized stock exchange as the SBBC Shares may become listed after completion of the Transaction, and if applicable, disinterested shareholder approval. Where applicable, the Transaction cannot close until the required shareholder approval is obtained. There can be no assurance that the Transaction will be completed as proposed or at all. Trading in the securities of SBBC and Jones should be considered highly speculative. Upon completion of the Transaction, Simply Better Brands intends to change its name to "Jones Soda" or some derivation thereof and a new trading symbol may be chosen by SBBC. Upon completion of the Transaction, the senior executive team and the Board of Directors of the combined company will draw from the extensive experience and expertise of both companies. It is proposed that the Board of Directors, subject to SBBC approving the proposed nominees and such nominees complying with applicable corporate laws and stock exchange rules in connection with such appointment, will be as follows: Paul Norman, Chairman; Mark Murray; Alex Spiro; Jamie Colbourne; Clive Sirkin; Chad Bronstein; Plus an additional director to be nominated by Simply Better Brands.

08:08 EDT Cocrystal collaborates with NIAID to evaluate COVID-19 protease inhibitors - Cocrystal Pharma announces a Non-Clinical Evaluation Agreement, NCEA, with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIAID, for exploratory preclinical studies to evaluate the potential of Cocrystal's 3CL protease inhibitors for the treatment of COVID-19. Cocrystal applied its proprietary drug discovery platform technology to develop novel, broad-spectrum SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease inhibitors. Under the NIAID collaboration, Cocrystal has provided its 3CL protease inhibitors, and the NIAID will be responsible for in vitro and in vivo studies evaluating the antiviral activity of the compounds. "We are pleased to collaborate with NIAID to further evaluate Cocrystal's SARS-CoV-2 3CL protease inhibitors. Cocrystal is committed to identifying safe and effective treatments for infectious diseases including those caused by SARS-CoV-2 and other coronaviruses," said Sam Lee, Ph.D., Cocrystal's President and co-interim CEO. "We are pleased that the NIAID has researched our novel, broad-spectrum protease inhibitors and has determined that further evaluation in an animal model is warranted. Studies to date show that our protease inhibitors exhibit superior in vitro potency against SARS-CoV-2 and variants of concern including Omicron."

08:07 EDT Enzyvant announces plans to expand regenerative medicine manufacturing - Enzyvant announced plans to develop a Good Manufacturing Practice, GMP, -compliant regenerative medicine manufacturing facility in Morrisville, NC, part of the Research Triangle Park area. "Enzyvant is committed to ensuring scalable GMP manufacturing for RETHYMIC, and we're looking ahead to potential needs in other indications and in support of other advanced regenerative medicine technologies," said Enzyvant CEO William Symonds. "This new facility, once completed, will give us the size, flexibility, and nimble processing capability to serve both commercial and research needs." The development of the 25,972-square-foot facility is expected to begin this summer and take approximately two and a half years to complete once construction begins. Enzyvant is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sumitovant Biopharma, which is the majority-shareholder of Myovant.

08:05 EDT Carl Icahn issues letter to McDonald's shareholders regarding board nominees - Carl Icahn, who collectively with his affiliates is an engaged shareholder of McDonald's issued the below letter to shareholders in connection with the filing of a definitive proxy statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.Icahn said, "At this point in my career, I consider it my responsibility to engage in constructive activism to help rectify glaring injustices perpetuated by many ineffective boards of directors and management teams leading America's top public corporations. By promoting necessary change at these types of companies, which have the resources to be a force for good, we can clean up insular boardrooms and drive lasting improvements for society as a whole. As one of the most iconic brands in the world, I firmly believe McDonald's has an obligation to drive positive and sorely needed societal change through its business actions. I am writing to you today because I contend McDonald's' Board of Directors (the "Board") is failing shareholders and stakeholders by presiding over animal welfare violations, supply chain lapses and what I perceive to be a hollow environmental, social and governance ("ESG") agenda. Before sharing my analysis and suggestions for McDonald's, I want to shine a light on what may be the biggest hypocrisy of our time: a large number of Wall Street firms and their bankers and lawyers appear to be capitalizing on ESG to drive profits without doing nearly enough to support tangible societal progress. These players seem to be engaged in a cover-up to downplay their ESG-related economic incentives and promote their purported social impact. Clearly, the ESG status quo on Wall Street needs to change. I believe the world's largest asset managers, who collectively possess immense influence due to their trillions of dollars in capital, must stop subjectively selecting which ESG principles are important. The reality is that if the ESG movement is to be more than a marketing concept and fundraising tool, the massive asset managers who are among McDonald's' largest owners must back up their words with actions. While many ESG policies cover a host of sustainability and supply chain issues, it is unacceptable and irresponsible that major asset managers have put such little emphasis on animal welfare in their stewardship and voting guidelines. It is my hope that in this election contest, these ESG proponents will finally champion animal welfare as vigorously as other issues and join me and others in promoting positive change at McDonald's for all the world to see... McDonald's' inability to fulfill its 10-year-old promise indicates cracks in the Board's highly touted ESG efforts. The Company must be held accountable to end inhumane animal treatment in its supply chain once and for all. To do so, I believe the current Board needs independent individuals who have the skills and experience necessary to improve governance, provide much-needed oversight and drive the Company's commitments to animal welfare forward. That is why I have nominated Leslie Samuelrich and Maisie Ganzler for election to McDonald's' Board at the upcoming Annual Meeting... Our nominees and I believe large and powerful companies like McDonald's have a duty to address animal welfare issues in a serious and comprehensive manner to help set new standards across the restaurant and food service industries. We believe corporate leaders should establish well-governed animal welfare committees that work collaboratively with peers and cross-sector stakeholders, including suppliers, toward implementing superior welfare standards on a global scale. These improved standards should be measurable and verifiable as part of a more transparent and robust ESG reporting protocol. In conclusion, I would like to make clear that the needless suffering inflicted on animals in supply chains is a result of a fairly new, industrialized and highly complex system created by giant conglomerates. It has cannibalized smaller farmers and caused unimaginable, needless suffering for animals, workers and the communities they are located in as well as devastating environmental consequences at scale. The system needs to recalibrate to meet the loud and exponential demands for humanely treated animals. We believe there is a connection between animal welfare issues and inadequate governance, and therefore, other related ESG risks that the Company is not adequately attending to. In the weeks to come, I look forward to sharing more information on how our highly qualified and independent nominees can help McDonald's overhaul existing procedures and establish transparent and credible ESG policies and reporting systems."

08:04 EDT COMSovereign Holding announces departure of CFO Fran Jandjel - COMSovereign Holding announced the departure of its CFO, Fran Jandjel, who has decided to leave the company for personal family commitments. The company has retained a senior financial professional with extensive public company experience to assist with the completion of the company's annual report for the year ended December 31, 2021 and commenced a national search for a new CFO.

08:01 EDT Nucor expects Q2 to be 'most profitable quarter in Nucor's history' - The company said, "End use market demand remains strong for steel and steel products, and we remain confident that 2022 will be another year of very strong earnings and cash flow for Nucor. We expect that the second quarter of 2022 will be the most profitable quarter in Nucor's history, surpassing the previous record set in the fourth quarter of 2021. Second quarter earnings will be driven by increased profitability in the steel products segment, which continues to benefit from robust demand in nonresidential construction markets. In addition, the steel mills segment earnings are expected to strengthen due primarily to increased profitability at our sheet and plate mills. Similarly, Nucor's raw materials segment is expected to generate increased profits in the second quarter due to relatively higher selling prices for raw materials."

07:56 EDT Union Pacific CEO: 'Operationally, we did not meet expectations' - "Union Pacific translated revenue growth from a strong economy, our focused business development initiatives, core pricing gains, and positive business mix, into solid financial results," said Lance Fritz, Union Pacific chairman, president, and CEO. "Operationally, we did not meet expectations, which is having an impact on our customers. We are taking actions to improve resource utilization, increase crews and locomotives where needed, and reduce freight car inventory levels to restore fluidity."

07:50 EDT Union Pacific revises FY22 operating ratio to 'beginning with 55' - Prior view was ~55.5%. Sees pressure from rising fuel prices and current operational performance.

07:46 EDT Marimaca Copper provides update on district exploration program - Marimaca Copper is pleased to provide an update on the Company's district exploration program following a review of the 2021 campaign. This campaign was completed in parallel with the MOD and MAMIX drilling and has successfully demonstrated the potential for repetition of Marimaca style copper oxide discoveries across the Company's extensive land package. Highlights: 2021 district exploration drilling campaign successfully defined three core satellite targets within 5km of the MOD; Oxide discoveries made at Mercedes, Cindy and Robles in the first systematic exploration program of the broader Marimaca district; Proof-of-concept of Marimaca's repetition-style district potential along with core regional structures; Several new prospective targets were identified during a review of the 2021 campaign results and the 25km x 5km high-resolution MagDrone survey, with three highest-priority designated for follow-up: Mercedes East; Mititus; Santos. The 2021 program focused on a ~7.5km north-south structural trend intersecting the MOD, with the rest of Marimaca's land position, extending 23.5km along strike, remaining untested; Extended MagDrone survey, geological mapping and geochemical grids have highlighted several areas of interest for future grassroots exploration along the Naguayan Belt and Robles Trend; Satellite targets will be prioritized for additional exploration drilling tentatively planned for H2 2022 following the completion of the MOD and MAMIX drilling campaigns; Program will focus on increasing confidence in previously announced exploration target grade-tonnage ranges of Mercedes, Cindy and Robles and testing newly identified targets. Update on MOD and MAMIX infill drilling: The MOD and MAMIX infill drilling programs have been impacted by supply chain disruptions impacting machinery utilisation rates. To date, over 10,000m have been completed, with the results from the first 2,150m released and 7,850m awaiting final assay results. The Company is mobilizing two new drilling contractors to mitigate delays and expects the program to be substantially complete by the end of Q2 2022, allowing for a resource update early in Q3 2022 as planned. The Company expects to add an RC drill rig on-site in late April, taking the total site count to 5 drill rigs through Q2 2022. Sergio Rivera, VP Exploration of Marimaca Copper, commented: "The 2021 scout drilling of our district exploration targets confirmed our exploration model targeting proximal repetitions of Marimaca style, at-surface, copper oxide mineralization and the resulting Mercedes, Cindy and Robles discoveries offer potential to add leachable resources to the MOD. The success of this program led to the extension of the MagDrone survey, which identified several new targets with the same key features as these discoveries. There has been no previous systematic exploration of these targets, and we believe the potential for additional MOD-satellite discoveries remains exceptional. We look forward to updating the market as our exploration program advances."

07:45 EDT NextEra Energy Partners sees 2022 adjusted EBITDA $1.78B-$1.98B - Continues to expect 12% to 15% per year growth in limited partner distributions as being a reasonable range of expectations through at least 2024, subject to the usual caveats. NextEra Energy Partners expects the annualized rate of the fourth-quarter 2022 distribution, which is payable in February 2023, to be in a range of $3.17 to $3.25 per common unit.

07:43 EDT Applied Materials introduces technologies enabling 2D scaling with EUV - Applied Materials introduced innovations that help customers continue 2D scaling with EUV and detailed the industry's broadest portfolio of technologies for manufacturing next-generation 3D Gate-All-Around transistors. Chipmakers are pursuing two complementary paths to increase transistor density in the years ahead. One is classic Moore's Law 2D scaling, creating smaller features using EUV lithography and materials engineering. The other is using design technology cooptimization and 3D techniques that cleverly optimize the layout of logic cells to increase density independent of changes in the lithography pitch. These latter approaches, which include backside power distribution networks and Gate-All-Around (GAA) transistors, are expected to drive a growing proportion of logic density improvements in future years as classic 2D scaling slows. Together, these techniques can help chipmakers as they aim to deliver future generations of logic chips with improved power, performance, area, cost and time-to-market - or PPACt.

07:41 EDT Marathon reports latest drill results from two deposits, Valentine Gold Project - Marathon Gold reports the latest drill assay results from the Valentine Gold Project in central Newfoundland. The latest drill results represent fire assay data from the final twenty-four diamond drill holes completed as part of the 2021 in-fill drill campaign at the Berry Deposit and an additional four holes from 2021 drilling at the Victory Deposit. Matt Manson, President and CEO, commented: "Today's results are from the final drill holes completed at Berry during our 2021 exploration program. Once again, we are reporting multiple long intercepts of high-grade mineralisation. We have now released fire assay data from a total of approximately 100,000 metres of drilling at Berry, which represents all drill holes completed to the end of November 2021. This will be the dataset used in our next Mineral Resource update. Consistent with previous practice, this new estimate will be based on metallic screen fire assaying performed on core samples with elevated gold grades after conventional fire assay. We currently estimate the completion of this work by mid-year, subject to the receipt of these metallic screen data." Mr. Manson continued: "We are also reporting four additional holes from the Victory Deposit drilled in 2021. One of these, VGD-21-083, is the stand-out hole returned from this area during the 2021 program. We continue to be impressed by the scale of mineralisation seen in the Victory core, and the potential of the area to host additional large-scale mineralisation. Berry and Victory are the focus of our ongoing exploration drilling during 2022."

07:39 EDT Zai Lab engages KPMG as U.S. auditor - Zai Lab announced today that the Audit Committee of its Board of Directors has approved the engagement of KPMG as the Company's independent registered public accounting firm. KPMG will be engaged to audit the annual consolidated financial statements of Zai Lab and its subsidiaries filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and internal controls over financial reporting for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022. KPMG LLP also will be engaged to audit the consolidated financial statements of the Group for the year ending December 31, 2022 submitted to The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in accordance with the Rules Governing the Listing of Securities of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, subject to the Company's receipt of the requisite approvals from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the Financial Reporting Council of Hong Kong, which are expected to be administrative in nature. The Company expects that this transition to an audit firm located in the United States and subject to inspection by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board enables the Company to comply with the audit requirements of the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act and, if so, will facilitate its continued listing on Nasdaq. This transition was not the result of any disagreements or unresolved matters with the Company's incumbent auditor, and there are no matters with respect to this transition that need to be brought to the attention of the Company's shareholders.

07:38 EDT Ayr Wellness launches Kynd premium flower in Florida - Ayr Wellness announced it has expanded its extensive product portfolio available at Liberty Health Sciences dispensaries statewide in Florida with the addition of its premium flower brand, Kynd. Sales of Kynd began this week across Liberty's 45-dispensary footprint. The initial launch includes six strain offerings, namely "Blueberry Headband," "Extraterrestrial Bananas," "True OG," "Purple Trainwreck," "Polyjuice #4," and "Lemon Haze."

07:35 EDT Humana to divest interest in Hospice, Personal Care divisions of KAH Hospice - Humana announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with private investment firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, or CD&R, to divest a majority interest in the Hospice and Personal Care divisions of Humana's Kindred at Home subsidiary, or KAH Hospice. These divisions include patient-centered services for Hospice, Palliative, Community and Personal Care. Humana had previously indicated its intent to divest a majority stake in these non-core businesses when it acquired the remaining interest in Kindred at Home in April. Under the agreement, Humana will divest a 60% interest in KAH Hospice and receive cash proceeds of approximately $2.8B, reflecting an enterprise valuation of $3.4B and a multiple of approximately 12 times the divisions' current year forecast for adjusted earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, or adjusted EBITDA. The transaction is expected to close in Q3 and is subject to customary state and federal regulatory approvals. Upon closing of the transaction, the Hospice and Personal Care divisions will be restructured into a standalone operation. David Causby, current president and CEO of KAH's Hospice and Personal Care divisions, will continue to lead these businesses under the new structure. Humana intends to use proceeds from the transaction for the repayment of debt and share repurchases. The company does not anticipate a material impact to 2022 earnings from this pending transaction.

07:23 EDT Charge Enterprises engages Ernst & Young as public accounting firm - Charge Enterprises announced the Audit Committee of its Board of Directors approved the engagement of Ernst & Young as Charge's new independent registered public accounting firm to succeed Seligson & Giannattasio. The transition will be effective upon Charge filing its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2022. Seligson & Giannattasio's audit reports on Charge's consolidated financial statements in each of the two fiscal years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020 did not contain an adverse opinion or a disclaimer of opinion, and were not qualified or modified as to uncertainty, audit scope or accounting principles.

07:22 EDT CureVac announces second-generation COVID-19 vaccine candiate results - CureVac (CVAC) announced preclinical data demonstrating immune responses and protective efficacy of a bivalent second-generation COVID-19 vaccine candidate jointly developed with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), combining two mRNAs encoding for the Beta and the Delta variant. The preclinical study, conducted in collaboration with the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Germany, assessed the bivalent candidate in comparison to the corresponding monovalent candidates targeting either variant in a mouse model. Despite containing only half the dose per variant-mRNA, the combined Beta/Delta candidate elicited neutralizing antibody titers fully comparable to the monovalent candidates of the respective variant. During exposure of the vaccinated animals to either the Beta or the Delta variant, the bivalent mRNA vaccine significantly reduced the viral load in the animals. High neutralizing antibody titers were accompanied by robust T cell responses. Notably, the bivalent Beta /Delta vaccine candidate induced two-fold higher virus neutralizing antibody titers against the Omicron variant than against the Delta variant in a rat model. This finding provides evidence for a potentially increased breadth of immune responses of the bivalent approach. The full manuscript of the preclinical data is available on the preprint server bioRxiv. Within the study, transgenic mice expressing the human ACE2 receptor were immunized on day 0 and day 28 with a 0.5 microgram dose of the monovalent second-generation vaccine candidate against either the ancestral virus, the Beta or the Delta variant, or with a 0.5 microgram dose of the bivalent vaccine candidate combining the Beta and Delta variant. Vaccinated animals were challenged on day 56 with either the Beta or the Delta virus variant. Vaccine induced T cells, including lung-resident memory CD8 + T cells, were characterized by flow cytometry. Additionally, the neutralizing capacity of the mono- and bivalent candidates was tested against multiple virus variants, including Omicron in serum samples of immunized Wistar rats.

07:21 EDT CureVac, GSK announces preclinical data on second-generation COVID vaccine - CureVac N.V. (CVAC) announced preclinical data demonstrating immune responses and protective efficacy of a bivalent second-generation COVID-19 vaccine candidate jointly developed with GSK (GSK), combining two mRNAs encoding for the Beta and the Delta variant. The preclinical study, conducted in collaboration with the Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Germany, assessed the bivalent candidate in comparison to the corresponding monovalent candidates targeting either variant in a mouse model. Despite containing only half the dose per variant-mRNA, the combined Beta/Delta candidate elicited neutralizing antibody titers fully comparable to the monovalent candidates of the respective variant. During exposure of the vaccinated animals to either the Beta or the Delta variant, the bivalent mRNA vaccine significantly reduced the viral load in the animals. High neutralizing antibody titers were accompanied by robust T cell responses. Notably, the bivalent Beta /Delta vaccine candidate induced two-fold higher virus neutralizing antibody titers against the Omicron variant than against the Delta variant in a rat model. This finding provides evidence for a potentially increased breadth of immune responses of the bivalent approach. The full manuscript of the preclinical data is available on the preprint server bioRxiv. Within the study, transgenic mice expressing the human ACE2 receptor were immunized on day 0 and day 28 with a 0.5 microgram dose of the monovalent second-generation vaccine candidate against either the ancestral virus, the Beta or the Delta variant, or with a 0.5 microgram dose of the bivalent vaccine candidate combining the Beta and Delta variant. Vaccinated animals were challenged on day 56 with either the Beta or the Delta virus variant. Vaccine induced T cells, including lung-resident memory CD8 + T cells, were characterized by flow cytometry. Additionally, the neutralizing capacity of the mono- and bivalent candidates was tested against multiple virus variants, including Omicron in serum samples of immunized Wistar rats.

07:19 EDT Idaho's Mountain Rides orders seven zero-emission buses from NFI - NFI Group announced that its subsidiary New Flyer of America has received a new contract from Mountain Rides Transportation Authority for seven battery-electric, zero-emission Xcelsior CHARGE NG thirty-five-foot heavy-duty transit buses. This contract includes one ABB 150kWh depot charger from NFI Infrastructure Solutions and follows an order of four Xcelsior CHARGE buses delivered to MRTA in 2021. MRTA provides a full range of public transportation services in Blaine County, Idaho, delivering over 600,000 annual rides. Supported by Federal Transit Administration funds, the order accelerates progress on MRTA's fleet electrification goal of a 100% electric fleet by 2030. Through this order, MRTA also delivers on its commitment to provide safe and environmentally sustainable transportation, and to reduce the carbon footprint in Blaine County.

07:17 EDT Kinetik Holdings implements Dividend Reinvestment Plan - Kinetik has filed and now implemented a Dividend Reinvestment Plan. The DRIP is open to all shareholders. Participation is optional and will not affect shareholders' cash dividends, unless they formally elect to participate. The DRIP will provide Kinetik's shareholders with the opportunity to have all or a portion of the cash dividends declared on their common shares automatically reinvested into additional common shares of the Company. Shareholders may elect to terminate participation in the Plan at any time.

07:15 EDT Wellbeing Digital signs MOU with Pathway Health on potential asset sale - Wellbeing Digital Sciences is pleased to announce that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Pathway Health pursuant to which Pathway would acquire certain Canadian assets of Wellbeing. The contemplated transaction is expected to be completed in two stages, all concluding on or before June 30, 2022, and the consideration for the assets is yet to be determined. Pathway is one of the major providers of out-patient pain management services in Canada that owns and operates eleven community-based clinics across four provinces. Health professionals at Pathway work together to help patients by using a variety of evidence-based approaches. Pursuant to the terms and conditions of the MOU, Pathway would acquire a license for the pain management program of the Company's wholly owned subsidiary, IRP Health, and the intellectual property associated with the provision of intravenous ketamine services to treat mental health conditions, among other assets. The MOU also outlines a fractional franchise model for IRP and related fee structure. The first closing is contemplated to include IRP and IVK on or before April 30, 2022, while the second closing is contemplated to include the remaining assets documented in the MOU on or before June 30, 2022. IRP provides multi-disciplinary rehabilitation services to military veterans, RCMP and first responders. Under the contemplated transaction, IRP would provide IP and support services related to staff training, branding, licensing, and program development including verification of Pathway locations with Veterans Affairs Canada to serve more patients. CGM provides medical cannabis services for patients across Canada via telemedicine and in-person clinics. The completion of the completed transaction is subject to terms and conditions which include but are not limited to the execution of a set of definitive agreements, completion of satisfactory due diligence, the delivery and satisfactory review of the financial statements and the approval of the transaction by the boards of directors of all applicable entities.

07:13 EDT Oatly Group names Jean-Cristophe Flatin as president, Daniel Ordonez as COO - Oatly Group announced it has expanded its executive leadership team with the addition of two senior consumer packaged goods industry veterans. Jean-Christophe Flatin has been named as Oatly's Global President and Daniel Ordonez has been named COO. Peter Bergh, Oatly's current COO, has been named CSO. All of these changes are effective June 1, 2022. Flatin joins Oatly with over 30 years of experience at Mars, which included managing high-growth brands and leading global organizations. At Mars, Mr. Flatin led the multi-billion dollar growth of the Royal Canin cat and dog food business as Global CEO and President, and managed multiple global brands as President of the Global Chocolate division. Most recently, he served as President of Innovation, Science, Technology, and Mars Edge, a new entrepreneurial segment of Mars. As Oatly's Global President, Mr. Flatin will be responsible for enhancing Oatly's operating model and increasing the global connectivity of the Company's innovation, food science, supply chain, business technology, and sustainability functions. Mr. Flatin will report directly to Toni Petersson, Oatly's CEO. Ordonez joins Oatly with almost 30 years of experience in consumer packaged goods, primarily at Danone and Unilever. Most recently, at Danone, Mr. Ordonez served as the Chief Growth Officer of the Dairy and Plant-Based division and then as President of Danone Iberia. As Oatly's COO, Mr. Ordonez will lead and support business operations and development in new and existing markets, and he will also report directly to Mr. Petersson. In his new role of Chief Strategy Officer, Mr. Bergh will be responsible for leading global strategic and business development initiatives that will further the Company's mission to convert traditional dairy users to Oatly consumers. Mr. Bergh will continue to report directly to Mr. Petersson.

07:09 EDT NuVasive's Simplify Cervical Disc shows efficacy in published study - NuVasive's Simplify Cervical Disc two-level FDA Investigational Device Exemption - IDE - study data was recently published in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine. The data were utilized in the device's FDA pre-market application for two-level indication approval, which was approved in April 2021. The peer-reviewed publication reiterates that the Simplify Disc has a significantly greater success rate at the 24-month follow up compared to anterior cervical discectomy and fusion - ACDF - when used for two-level cervical total disc replacement. Findings from this study include: overall composite success rate was statistically significantly greater in the cTDR group compared to the ACDF group at 24-month follow up; Mean Neck Disability Index scores improved significantly in both groups, with the cTDR group having lower scores at all follow-up points; neck and arm pain scores improved significantly in both the cTDR and ACDF groups; and rate of subsequent surgical intervention was lower in the cTDR group compared to the ACDF group.

07:09 EDT Fluence Energy, cQuant.io partner to offer suite of digital applications - Fluence Energy announced they have entered into a strategic partnership with cQuant.io. The two companies will offer a comprehensive suite of digital applications via the Fluence IQ Digital Platform aimed at "optimizing both the development and management of power generation and energy storage projects and portfolios," the companies said. Through this partnership, Fluence and cQuant will jointly market and deliver their analytical and market operations solutions and will integrate their solutions to streamline the customer experience. "Partnering with cQuant enables Fluence to extend the range of services we offer our customers and supports our broader Fluence IQ Platform expansion strategy," said Seyed Madaeni, Fluence SVP and Chief Digital Officer. "cQuant shares our passion for accelerating the clean energy transition, our software-as-a-service business model, and our dedication to employing the most advanced artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to optimize decision-making."

07:08 EDT Guardforce rolls out robotics services - Guardforce announced the rollout of its robotics services in the U.S. The rollout began in New Jersey, where the company's U.S. offices are based.

07:06 EDT Apellis announces results from new global survey on GA - Apellis Pharmaceuticals announced results from a global survey conducted by The Harris Poll, which found that living with geographic atrophy, GA, can cause a substantial emotional burden and impact on independence. GA is a leading cause of blindness that affects more than 5 million people worldwide. The Geographic Atrophy Insights Survey, GAINS, was conducted among 203 adults with GA across nine countries. The survey reveals that nearly seven in ten GA patients believe the impact on their independence and quality of life due to their visual decline is worse than they expected. More than two in three patients rely on a caregiver for support, and a majority feel the disease negatively affects aspects of everyday life like the ability to read, drive, and travel. Additionally, people living with GA are experiencing emotional hardships, feeling anxious, powerless, and frustrated. Approximately one in three have recently withdrawn from their social lives because of their disease. People living with GA also have misconceptions related to their disease with three out of four attributing their loss of vision to a natural part of aging prior to their GA diagnosis.

07:06 EDT Valens unit, Signifi Solutions partner on smart kiosks - The Valens Company is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary Green Roads, has entered into an agreement with Signifi Solutions to place cloud managed Green Roads smart kiosks in various premium mall locations around the U.S. Green Roads and Signifi Solutions have agreed to partner to initially install the smart kiosks in dozens of premium mall locations in bustling retail markets in the U.S., including New York, Florida, Arizona, Texas, and Colorado, among others. The agreement also includes the potential for an additional 60 mall locations in 2022. The first kiosk is expected to go live in June 2022 and is expected to include a full assortment of Green Roads products aimed at helping consumers with common health and wellness challenges such as stress, sleep, muscle and joint pain, relaxation, and focus.

07:04 EDT Lucira Health, USA Boxing announce partnership - Lucira Health announces its first-ever partnership with USA Boxing as the official COVID-19 test provider for the 2022 season. Lucira will provide its Check-It COVID-19 test kits to USA Boxing athletes, coaches, and staff.

06:50 EDT Greenwich LifeSciences CEO buys $100K in common stock - In a regulatory filing, Greenwich LifeSciences disclosed that its CEO Snehal Patel bought 6K shares of common stock on April 19th in a total transaction size of $100K. Shares of Greenwich LifeSciences are up 1.4% in early pre-market trading at $15.99.

06:41 EDT Herc Holdings raises 2022 adj EBITDA view to $1.18B-$1.25B from $1.08B-$1.18B

06:37 EDT AT&T reports Q1 289,000 AT&T Fiber net adds; penetration of 37% - Consumer Wireline: 289,000 AT&T Fiber net adds; penetration of 37%, up about 200-basis points; Broadband revenues up 6.8%, due to fiber revenue growth of 24.7%; Broadband ARPU growth of 5.9%. Business Wireline: Operating income margin of 15.2%; EBITDA margin in the high-30% range.

06:35 EDT AT&T CEO says Q1 results 'in line with our expectations' - "Our momentum in growing customer relationships is reaching historical levels," said John Stankey, AT&T CEO. "We had our best first quarter for postpaid phone net adds in more than a decade and our fiber broadband net adds remain consistently strong. Our results, including free cash flow, are in line with our expectations toward delivering on the full-year guidance provided at our recent Analyst Day." "AT&T has entered a new era, meeting this opportunistic moment from a position of flexibility and strength thanks to our evolving networks, enhanced customer experience, growing 5G and fiber customer base and a much stronger balance sheet. And we continue to make good consistent progress on our journey to becoming America's best broadband provider."

06:32 EDT AT&T reports Q1 691,000 postpaid phone net adds - Q1 Mobility: 691,000 postpaid phone net adds; 965,000 postpaid net adds; 113,000 prepaid phone net adds; Postpaid phone churn of 0.79%; Revenues up 5.5%; service revenues up 4.8%; equipment revenues up 7.3% year over year; Operating income of $5.9B, down 3.2% year over year; EBITDA down 1.8%; Operating income margin of 29.2%; EBITDA service margin 53.7%.

06:14 EDT Dow Inc. to expand alkoxylation capacity in U.S., Europe to meet demand - Dow announced plans to expand its global alkoxylation capacity in the U.S. and Europe to meet increasing demand across a wide range of fast-growing end-markets where the company is delivering 10% to 15% annual growth rates, from home and personal care to industrial and institutional cleaning solutions and pharmaceuticals.These investments in the U.S. and Europe are backed by supply agreements with customers, including leading consumer brands, and expected to come online in 2024 and 2025, respectively. The company said, "Today's announcement builds on the Company's alkoxylation capacity expansions announced in 2018 in Louisiana and in 2019 in Spain, which are both on track to come online this year. In total, these and other efficiency projects are expected to generate more than $150 million in run-rate EBITDA by 2025, with returns greater than 20%. Collectively, Dow's investments will result in approximately 70% global capacity growth for Dow and its customers since 2020."

06:08 EDT Dow Inc. sees FY22 base business core revenue up high-single digit percent range - The company said, "For the full year 2022, the Company continues to expect non-GAAP base business core revenue growth will be in the high-single digit percent range."

06:07 EDT Danaher sees base business core revenue up mid-single digit percentage range - The company said, "For the second quarter 2022, the Company anticipates that non-GAAP base business core revenue growth will be in the mid-single digit percent range, which includes an approximately 200 to 300 basis point headwind from the COVID-19 related shutdowns in China."

06:05 EDT TRI Pointe expects to deliver 1,300-1,500 homes in Q2 - Expects Q2 average sales pries of $670K-$680K. Expects Q2 homebuilding gross margin 26%-27% and effective tax rate 25%-26%.

05:26 EDT Allegiant Travel reports preliminary March, Q1 passenger traffic results - Allegiant reported preliminary passenger traffic results for March as well as the first quarter. The company reports March passengers of 1.67M, up 12.3%. Reports March passenger miles 1.59M, up 15%. Reports March available seat miles 1.84M, up 14.4%. Reports march Load factor 86.5%. Reports Q1 passengers 3.71M, up 8.4%. Reports Q1 revenue passenger miles 3.56M, up 11.5%. Reports Q1 available seat miles 4.51M, up 18.7%. Reports Q1 load factor 78.9%. "We finished the quarter with total revenue in excess of $500 million, a 10.7 percent increase from 2019," stated Drew Wells, senior vice president, revenue. "Demand began picking up in earnest mid-February resulting in load factors for the month of March above levels observed in 2019. TRASM during the month of March exceeded March of 2019 on capacity growth of over 14 percent. Demand strength has continued into the second quarter with booking growth exceeding planned forward capacity growth for the quarter. We expect second quarter load factors to exceed 2019 levels, with a more than ten percent increase in TRASM on double-digit anticipated capacity growth."

05:18 EDT Sonder Holdings secures additional properties in Madrid, Barcelona - Sonder Holdings is more than doubling its total live and contracted units in Spain by securing two additional properties in Barcelona and Madrid. In Barcelona, Sonder will open a 65-unit hotel on Paseo de Gracia. Set to open in the second half of 2022, Sonder's Paseo de Gracia location will feature a rooftop terrace and courtyard garden. It will join Sonder's existing portfolio of five hotels in Barcelona, including the five star grand luxe Do Placa Real, and Casa Luz, which features a rooftop restaurant, both of which opened in summer 2021. In Madrid, Sonder will open a 118-unit hotel on Gran Via, a few steps away from Plaza de Espana. The property will feature a rooftop with views of the city, and is expected to open in late 2024. Azotea Grupo, a gastronomic hospitality group, will manage the food & beverage offering on site. The hotel will join Sonder's existing serviced apartment property in Madrid, the 22-unit Sonder Malasana, which opened in January 2021.