Stockwinners Market Radar for April 30, 2022 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

18:27 EDT Weyerhaeuser CEO: Seeing strength across all business segments - In an interview on CNBC's Mad Money, Devin Stockfish said the Japanese market continues to be very strong for Weyerhaeuser and there is opportunity for growth. The company is committed to returning 75%-80% of funds available for distribution to shareholders, he noted. "We are the best carbon story around. You'll be hard pressed to find a better ESG story than Weyerhaeuser," he added.

17:39 EDT MoneyGram COO Hilary Jackson to leave company on May 2 - Hilary Jackson, COO of MoneyGram International, will be leaving the company on May 2. Her responsibilities have been reassigned to other executive officers of the company

17:22 EDT Eargo sees Q1 gross systems shipped 5,770 - Preliminary first quarter 2022 Gross systems shipped is expected to be approximately 5,770, representing 100% cash pay shipments. Preliminary cash and cash equivalents as of March 31, 2022 expected to be approximately $89M. Top management priority is to regain insurance coverage of Eargo for government employees under the Federal Employee Health Benefits program. Working to engage directly with the Office of Personnel Management to align on and establish processes to support the submission of claims through the FEHB program. Excluding the $34.4M settlement payment the company expects to make in the second quarter of 2022, the company expects its cash burn in 2022 to be approximately $20M-$25M per quarter and anticipates that it will need to raise capital over the course of 2022.

17:20 EDT Eargo enters civil settlement agreement with U.S. DOJ - Eargo has entered into a civil settlement agreement with the United States to resolve the previously disclosed investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice related to insurance reimbursement claims submitted to various federal employee health plans under the Federal Employee Health Benefits program. Eargo fully cooperated with the DOJ's investigation, the resolution of which allows the company to continue to move forward with its core mission of improving the quality of life of people with hearing loss. "We are pleased to reach the resolution announced today and plan to engage with the government regarding potential coverage of Eargo hearing aids for federal employees going forward," said Christian Gormsen, President and CEO. "We remain committed to our mission to improve hearing aid accessibility and to create innovative products that reduce the stigma of hearing loss. We are also continuing to invest significant time and resources into our company-wide compliance program. One of our top management priorities is to regain coverage of Eargo for government employees under the FEHB program. We are very pleased that the Office of Personnel Management, the federal agency responsible for administering the FEHB program, has agreed to not take administrative action seeking the exclusion of Eargo from the FEHB program, and has indicated there will be an opportunity for further dialogue with us." Eargo denies the allegations in the settlement agreement, and the settlement agreement is not an admission of liability by Eargo. The allegations did not pertain to the quality or performance of the product. The company's payment of approximately $34.4M to the government will resolve allegations that Eargo submitted or caused the submission of claims for payment to the FEHB program using unsupported hearing loss-related diagnosis codes.

17:15 EDT Lockheed Martin awarded $223.99M Army contract modification - Lockheed Martin was awarded a $223.99M modification to a contract for the recapitalization of the Multiple Launch Rocket System into the M270A2 configuration. Work has an estimated completion date of April 30, 2026. FY22 missile procurement, Army and Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $223.99M were obligated at the time of the award. Army Contracting Command is the contracting activity.

17:03 EDT Brown & Brown enters agreement to acquire Patrick Quinlan Insurance, no terms - J. Scott Penny, chief acquisitions officer of Brown & Brown, and Patrick Quinlan, the owner of Patrick Quinlan Insurance, announced that Brown & Brown has entered into an agreement to acquire the general insurance operations of Quinlan Insurance. The transaction is expected to close in late June, subject to certain closing conditions.

16:39 EDT Lyft identifies error in accounting for Q1 financial statements - In a regulatory filing, Lyft said that, as part of preparing its Q1 financial statement, error was identified related to the accounting of losses ceded under the Quota Share Reinsurance Agreement with DARAG Bermuda LTD, under which DARAG reinsured a legacy portfolio of auto insurance policies. All references in this document refer to GAAP financial measures unless otherwise noted. The error resulted in the understatement of cost of revenue and net loss in the quarter and year ended December 31, 2021 and the quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2021. As a result of this error, on April 28, 2022, the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors of Lyft, after discussion with the company's management, concluded that Lyft's consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2021 - and the related audit report of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP - included in its 2021 Annual Report on Form 10-K as well as the company's condensed consolidated financial statements as of and for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 (and for the nine months then ended) included in its Q3'21 Form 10-Q should no longer be relied upon. The company plans to restate its consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2021 and include them in an amendment to the 2021 10-K to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Amendment will also include restated quarterly financial information as of September 30, 2021 and for the three and nine months then ended. Any previously issued or filed reports, press releases, earnings releases and investor presentations or other communications describing Lyft's consolidated financial statements and other related financial information covering the Affected Periods should no longer be relied upon. In terms of the specific impacts, this error resulted in a $28.2M understatement of cost of revenue, loss from operations, loss before income taxes, and net loss on Lyft's consolidated statements of operations for the three months ended September 30, 2021. It also resulted in a $24.6M understatement of the same items for the three months ended December 31, 2021. Taken together, the impact for full year 2021 was a $52.8M understatement of the same financial line items. On the company's consolidated balance sheets there was a corresponding understatement of accumulated deficit and of accrued and other current liabilities of $28.2M as of September 30, 2021 and of $52.8M as of December 31, 2021. However, the error did not impact Lyft's cash flows from operating activities, investing activities, financing activities or its ending cash balance in the Affected Periods. The error does not impact the company's consolidated financial statements for either Q1 or Q2 of 2021 or for any period before then.

16:23 EDT Bright Scholar receives preliminary non-binding 'going private' proposal - Bright Scholar Education Holdings announced that its board of directors has received a preliminary non-binding proposal letter dated April 29 from its Chairperson of the Board, Huiyan Yang, and Meirong Yang proposing to acquire all of the outstanding Class A ordinary shares of the company, including Class A Shares represented by American depositary shares, and Class B ordinary shares of the company that are not already beneficially owned by the Buyer Group for a purchase price of 83c per Share in cash in a going private transaction, subject to certain conditions. The price represents (i) a premium of 44% to the closing price of the ADS on April 28, the last trading day prior to the date of the Proposal and (ii) a premium of 34% and 26% to the volume-weighted average closing price of the ADSs during the last 30 and 60 trading days, respectively. According to the Proposal, the Proposed Transaction is intended to be financed with a combination of debt and equity capital, where equity capital is expected to be provided by the Buyer Group and any additional equity investor who may be admitted to the Buyer Group, and debt financing is expected to be provided by loans from third party financial institutions. The Board intends to form a special committee consisting of independent and disinterested directors to consider the Proposal. The Board expects that the special committee will retain independent advisors, including independent financial and legal advisors, to assist it in this process.

16:10 EDT Kontoor Brands appoints Tom Doerr as general counsel - Kontoor Brands (KTB) announced the appointment of Tom Doerr as executive VP, general counsel and corporate secretary, effective June 6. As a member of the company's executive leadership team, Doerr will report to Kontoor's president, CEO and chair of the board, Scott Baxter. Doerr joins Kontoor from Manitowoc (MTW) where he served as executive VP, general counsel and secretary since November 2020 and senior VP, general counsel and secretary since November 2017.

16:03 EDT Taitron announces one-time special cash dividend of 10c per share - Taitron announced that its Board of Directors has declared a one-time special cash dividend of 10c per share, in addition to its quarterly cash dividend of 4.5c per share of common stock, both payable on May 31 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on May 13. The aggregate payment will be 14.5c per share or approximately $852,000.

14:57 EDT Kohl's 'strongly disagrees' with ISS' recommendation for two Macellum nominees - Kohl's issued a statement in response to a report published by proxy advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services, or "ISS," about the election of directors to Kohl's board of directors at the annual shareholder meeting on May 11, stating in part: "Kohl's is pleased that ISS agreed that a change in Board control is unwarranted... Further, in declining to recommend Macellum Advisors GP, LLC CEO Jonathan Duskin, we are pleased that ISS recognized Macellum's true short-term motivations... We strongly disagree with ISS' recommendation that Kohl's shareholders support two nominees from Macellum's slate. Pamela Edwards and Jeffrey Kantor lack the experience necessary to oversee either the continued execution of Kohl's strategy or a robust process to evaluate expressions of interest to acquire the Company. Neither dissident nominee possesses M&A or public board experience. Kohl's believes that adding such directors at this time would be disruptive and negatively impact shareholder value... At this pivotal time for Kohl's, we have the right Board to oversee this process as well as the company's strategy. Kohl's Board remains focused on maximizing value for all shareholders and will continue to act in the best interests of all shareholders."

14:33 EDT Zendesk 'must be sold' absent board change to restore credibility, Jana says - Jana Partners commented on Zendesk's "continued failure" to set its annual meeting date, noting that during the company's first quarter 2022 earnings call held April 28, Mikkel Svane, Zendesk's CEO and Chairman, stated that Zendesk plans to hold its 2022 annual meeting of shareholders on an unspecified date in the third quarter. "This delay is the latest example of the board's governance failures, running afoul of Delaware law and opening the company to potential litigation under Delaware General Corporation Law Section 211, which gives shareholders a right of action if a company fails to hold an annual meeting within 13 months of the prior year's meeting," said Jana. Barry Rosenstein, Managing Partner of Jana, added, "The continued failure of Zendesk's board to set an annual meeting date is unacceptable, especially in the aftermath of the ill-conceived Momentive acquisition that Zendesk's shareholders rejected by a historic margin. The current directors must be held to account by shareholders for shirking their most basic fiduciary duty of holding a timely annual meeting where shareholders voices can be heard. By continuing to delay - and cavalierly revealing its intent to flout Delaware law in the process - the board has proven again that substantial change is sorely needed. Absent the significant boardroom change we have proposed to restore Zendesk's credibility, we believe the company must be sold."

14:20 EDT Pulte family discloses $2.4M stake in OpenDoor - The Pulte Family, known in homebuilding and for Bill Pulte's experience inside of PulteGroup (PHM), has made an investment in OpenDoor (OPEN) worth $2.45M, the family announced in a press release. "While some home builders lag when it comes to technology, there are exciting opportunities for those who seize the opportunity like OpenDoor has," said a Pulte Family representative. "The Pulte Family reserves the right to sell or buy calls, puts, or any other instrument. Further, The Pulte Family may or may not disclose its sale of these securities, and reserves the right to acquire more or dispose of said securities without notification," the family's announcement added.

13:56 EDT NOV Inc. says ceased new investments in Russia - In a regulatory filing, NOV Inc. stated: "In response to additional sanctions enacted by governments in the European Union, the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and other countries as a result of active armed conflict in Ukraine, we ceased new investments in Russia and have curtailed our activities in Russia. We are actively examining our alternatives, including the potential to further curtail our activities, sell some or all of our businesses, or wind down our remaining operations in Russia and Belarus. Litigation may result from the confluence of these events in Russia and Belarus and our response to the various sanctions as we work to comply with applicable laws and regulations. We also may incur severance costs as a result of conditions in Russia and Belarus. As a consequence of the conflict in Ukraine and related sanctions on activities related to Russia and Belarus, we recorded impairment and other charges of $41M for the quarter ending March 31, 2022. The company has approximately $30M in remaining assets and $67M in currency translation losses related to Russia and Belarus recorded in accumulated other comprehensive loss as of March 31, 2022. The continued impact of existing sanctions or imposition of increasingly severe sanctions and the potentially broader impact of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine could result in additional impairments, write downs or charges which could have a material adverse effect on our business."

13:35 EDT Zions Bancorp authorizes repurchase of up to $50M in shares for Q2 - Zions Bancorporation announced that its board of directors authorized a share repurchase for the second quarter of 2022 of up to $50M. The board also declared a regular quarterly dividend of 38c per common share, payable May 26 to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 19.

13:33 EDT EPA issues emergency fuel waiver for E15 sales - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is issuing an emergency fuel waiver to allow E15 gasoline - gasoline that uses a 15% ethanol blend - to be sold during the summer driving season. "This action will increase fuel supply and provide consumers more choices at the pump. The waiver is a critical step to implement President Biden's announcement that he is taking action to protect Americans from supply crises by reducing our reliance on fossil fuels, building real U.S. energy independence, supporting American agriculture and manufacturing, and accelerating the transition to clean energy," the EPA stated. Companies that may be impacted include Archer Daniels (ADM), Valero (VLO), and Green Plains (GPRE). Reference Link

13:18 EDT Cathie Wood says Tesla will probably stay largest portfolio position - Cathie Wood of ARK Invest is speaking on CNBC.

13:18 EDT Cathie Wood has not lost confidence in Tesla, says Musk should diversify - Cathie Wood of ARK Invest is speaking on CNBC.

13:12 EDT Cathie Wood sees Teladoc as similar to Amazon.com - Cathie Wood of ARK Invest is speaking on CNBC.

13:08 EDT Cathie Wood calls Teladoc 'category killer' over next 5-10 years - Cathie Wood of ARK Invest is speaking on CNBC.

13:07 EDT Cathie Wood says Teladoc becoming healthcare information 'backbone' - Cathie Wood of ARK Invest is speaking on CNBC.

13:01 EDT Baker Hughes reports U.S. rig count up 3 to 698 rigs

12:49 EDT Qiwi board has decided not to distribute interim dividend payment for Q4 - The company said: "Although to date we have had no material direct impact on our day-to-day operations and our financial position remains strong, the Board has decided not to distribute interim dividend payment for 4Q 2021. The full impact of sanctions on the Russian economy and other markets where we operate remains unclear and requires cautiousness for the benefit of all shareholders and the Company. The Board will continue to keep the payment of future dividends under review and will update shareholders through further announcements as appropriate."

12:48 EDT Opiant says was subject of ' fake news release'

12:25 EDT Kellogg announces plans to increase dividend to 59c in Q3 - Kellogg Company announced that its Board of Directors declared a dividend of 58c per share on the common stock of the company, payable on June 15, 2022, to shareowners of record at the close of business on June 1, 2022. The ex-dividend date is May 31, 2022. This is the 390th dividend that Kellogg company has paid to owners of common stock since 1925. In addition, the company's Board of Directors announced plans to increase the quarterly dividend to 59c per share beginning with the third quarter of 2022.

12:19 EDT Deutsche Bank says cooperating with Frankfurt suspicious activity probe - Deutsche Bank made the following statement: "This is an investigative measure by the Frankfurt public prosecutor's office in connection with suspicious activity reports filed by the bank. Deutsche Bank is fully cooperating with the authorities."

12:00 EDT Ecovyst falls -12.5% - Ecovyst is down -12.5%, or -$1.43 to $10.01.

12:00 EDT Cooper-Standard falls -16.3% - Cooper-Standard is down -16.3%, or -97c to $4.98.

12:00 EDT Clearwater Paper rises 21.1% - Clearwater Paper is up 21.1%, or $5.80 to $33.25.

11:57 EDT Ionis expands enrollment in Phase 3 CARDIO-TTRansformation study

11:56 EDT Ionis Pharmaceuticals amends CARDIO-TTRansformation study of eplontersen - Ionis announced an amendment to the Phase 3 CARDIO-TTRansform study of eplontersen in patients with ATTR cardiomyopathy. The amendment will include expanding enrollment to approximately 1,000 patients from approximately 750 patients and extending the blinded dosing period to 140 weeks from 120 weeks. Ionis recently achieved its original enrollment goal in the CARDIO-TTRansform study. Data from this study are now expected in the first half of 2025. Eplontersen, formerly IONIS-TTR-LRx, is an investigational antisense medicine designed to reduce the production of transthyretin, or TTR, protein to treat hereditary and wild type transthyretin amyloidosis, a rare, progressive, debilitating and fatal disease. "The Phase 3 CARDIO-TTRansform study of eplontersen is the largest study in patients with ATTR-CM. It was designed to generate clinical evidence of eplontersen benefit when administered alone or in combination with stabilizers, which should enable physicians and payers to make the most informed decisions for a broad population of patients. By increasing the size and duration of this study, our aim is to ensure a highly positive study outcome and generate an even more robust data set to successfully compete in this growing and dynamic market," said Eugene Schneider, M.D., executive vice president and chief clinical development officer at Ionis.

11:39 EDT NCR Corp. trading resumes

11:33 EDT NCR Corp. trading halted, volatility trading pause

11:11 EDT GNS Stock trading resumes

11:06 EDT GNS Stock trading halted, volatility trading pause

10:57 EDT Cogent raises quarterly dividend 2.9% to 88c per share - On April 29, 2022, Cogent's Board approved a regular quarterly dividend of $0.880 per share payable on May 27, 2022 to shareholders of record on May 13, 2022. This second quarter 2022 regular dividend represents an increase of $0.025 per share, or 2.9%, from the first quarter 2022 regular dividend of $0.855 per share and an annual increase of 12.8% from the second quarter 2021 dividend of $0.780 per share.

10:42 EDT Opiant Pharmaceuticals Inc trading halted, news pending

10:09 EDT Moderna finalizes plan for strategic partnership with Government of Canada - Moderna announced its plan to build a state-of-the-art mRNA vaccine manufacturing facility in Quebec that will support a long-term strategic partnership with the Government of Canada to enhance pandemic preparedness. This milestone follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Moderna and the Government of Canada in August 2021. Once the facility is certified by Health Canada, it is expected to provide onshore respiratory vaccine manufacturing capabilities and support future pandemic readiness. The partnership is expected to be finalized following approval of the final agreement by the Government of Canada. Once operational, the facility is expected to provide access to a domestically manufactured portfolio of mRNA vaccines against respiratory viruses, including COVID-19, seasonal influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, and other potential respiratory viruses, contingent on approval by Health Canada. In the event of a future pandemic, it is also expected that the facility could be activated on an urgent basis to support Canada with direct access to rapid pandemic response capabilities with the capacity to adapt and adjust manufacturing to address novel or emerging viruses. As part of the ten-year partnership, Moderna is also expected to support research and development and other commercial collaborations in the country. The project is expected to create hundreds of jobs during construction and operation. Construction is expected to commence in 2022, with the facility expected to become operational by the end of 2024, subject to planning and regulatory approvals.

10:00 EDT Eldorado Gold falls -10.7% - Eldorado Gold is down -10.7%, or -$1.12 to $9.43.

10:00 EDT Clearwater Paper rises 17.0% - Clearwater Paper is up 17.0%, or $4.67 to $32.12.

10:00 EDT Zymeworks rises 53.9% - Zymeworks is up 53.9%, or $2.67 to $7.63.

09:48 EDT Tesla up 3% to $899.91 after Musk says no further sales planned

09:47 EDT Western Union falls -8.1% - Western Union is down -8.1%, or -$1.55 to $17.62.

09:47 EDT Studio City falls -16.6% - Studio City is down -16.6%, or -74c to $3.71.

09:47 EDT Mohawk Industries rises 16.1% - Mohawk Industries is up 16.1%, or $21.10 to $151.88.

09:46 EDT Elon Musk says no further Tesla share sales planned - Elon Musk tweeted Thursday night, "No further TSLA sales planned after today."

09:38 EDT AbbVie says cystic fibrosis combination drug missed study goal - Plans to advance new triple combo therapy by early 2023.

09:32 EDT IMAC selects two The Back Space locations in Orlando area - IMAC Holdings announces the selection of two The Back Space locations in the Orlando metropolitan area. After the successful completion of its pilot program for The Back Space retail chiropractic concept located in select Walmart stores, the Company is capitalizing on consumer acceptance in the central Florida test market by adding locations in Orlando and Sanford.

09:30 EDT Simplicity Esports appoints Beatrice Tarka as chairperson - The Board of Directors of Simplicity Esports and Gaming Company has appointed technology executive Beatrice Tarka Chairperson of the Board of Directors. Mrs. Tarka brings nearly three decades of business experience with big data, artificial intelligence, and gaming, including in connection with her service from 2015 to 2022 as a member of the Board of Directors for Travelzoo.

09:16 EDT Qualigen Therapeutics appoints Shishir Sinha to lead diagnostics division - Qualigen Therapeutics announces that it has appointed Shishir Sinha, the Company's newly promoted SVP and current COO, to lead the Company's diagnostics division.

09:11 EDT MiMedx urges shareholders to support board following Prescience Point filing - MIMEDX Group issued the following statement in response to the filing of a Schedule 13D with the Securities and Exchange Commission by Prescience Point Capital Management: "The MIMEDX Board is made up of nine highly qualified, deeply experienced and demonstrably engaged directors who are strongly committed to acting in the best interests of all MIMEDX shareholders. Members of the Board and senior management have had calls and meetings with Prescience Point and its representatives, including Mr. Asbahi, 46 times since June 2019, in good faith, to better understand their perspectives. The Board and senior management team has seriously considered and acted on a number of the ideas that Prescience Point previously suggested to the Company, including the composition of the Board itself and other initiatives already underway at the Company. Mr. Asbahi has actively sought to remove or replace directors he originally nominated, including replacing MIMEDX's current Board Chair, Dr. M. Kathleen Behrens, with himself. This year, Mr. Asbahi missed the deadline, as set forth in the Company's Bylaws, to nominate director candidates at the upcoming Annual Meeting of Shareholders on June 7, 2022. He is now threatening to campaign to remove two highly qualified and eminently valuable directors on the Board - Dr. Phyllis Gardner and James Bierman - if the Board does not give Prescience Point Board representation. Over the past week, the Board, through the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, offered Mr. Asbahi and his colleague at Prescience Point an opportunity to meet with the Committee to share their views on board composition, governance and our business. Mr. Asbahi declined this offer, going so far as to say that they did not believe it was a productive use of their time or the Committee's. In addition, before Mr. Asbahi withdrew his proxy fight last year to get himself elected to the Board, we conveyed our serious concerns to him about his background - and our concerns still exist. Over the past two years, our CEO, Timothy R. Wright, and the new senior management team, under the oversight of the entirely reconstituted Board, have built a new culture at the Company, rooted in ethics, integrity, and core values, which is methodically focused on strategic long-term execution. We have successfully implemented a number of governance, operational and financial initiatives that were critical to restoring the Company's credibility, integrity and reputation, improving business liquidity, and transforming the culture of the organization. We believe that a company's integrity and credibility stem from exemplary leadership, and MIMEDX is not willing to compromise on our core values and commitments.Furthermore, the Board of Directors and senior management team have taken decisive and positive actions to enhance shareholder value by transforming MIMEDX into a stronger company that is well-positioned in the near and long-term to capitalize on the growing opportunities in the regenerative medicine and placental biologics industries. The significant progress we have made over the past three years in particular has created a strong foundation for continued growth in 2022 and beyond, as outlined during the Company's recent Investor Day, which attracted more than 445 attendees. Prescience Point's repeated, distracting and costly attempts to replace and remove members of our Board, including directors previously nominated by Prescience Point, are simply not in the best interests of all MIMEDX shareholders, and serve to potentially impede the progress we are making. Despite the launch of this latest campaign, the entire team at MIMEDX remains focused on continuing to execute on our transformational strategy and is regularly engaging in constructive dialogue with the investment community to achieve our mutual goal of creating long-term value for all our shareholders. We are confident that we have the right Board and management team in place to build on our transformation and execute on our strategic objectives."

09:10 EDT Lyra Therapeutics presents positive Phase 2 data of LYR-210 in rhinosinusitis - Lyra Therapeutics is presenting additional, new data from its LANTERN Phase 2 study of LYR-210 in adult patients with chronic rhinosinusitis - CRS - at the 2022 Combined Otolaryngology Spring Meetings April 27 - May 1. LYR-210 is designed as an alternative to sinus surgery for CRS patients that remain symptomatic despite treatment. The 22-item sino-nasal outcome test is a validated and routinely used CRS-specific quality of life questionnaire. LYR-210-treated subjects reported dose-dependent global symptom improvement, achieving statistical significance in each SNOT-22 subdomain compared to control at week 24. LYR-210-treated subjects reported decreased rhinologic, ear/facial, extra-nasal rhinologic, psychological dysfunction, and sleep dysfunction domain scores. LYR-210-treated subjects reported more than twice the minimal clinically important difference in each SNOT-22 subdomain at week 24. These results are supportive of the previously reported, statistically significant 19-point improvement for LYR-210 over control in SNOT-22 total score at week 24. LYR-210-treated subjects reported a statistically significant improvement at week 24 in the Mental Component Summary, vitality, social functioning, role-emotional, and mental health scores compared to control. These data suggest that LYR-210 may improve the mental and physical health and quality of life of CRS patients.

09:08 EDT RealReal announces expansion of Sustainability Calculator - The RealReal announced the expansion of its Sustainability Calculator, a first-of-its-kind tool that The RealReal developed and launched in 2018 to quantify the impact of resale. It initially measured the greenhouse gas emissions savings and water footprint reduction by recirculating apparel, and now generates savings data for double the number of items on The RealReal's marketplace. After a year of research and collaboration with environmental experts and consultants, The RealReal Sustainability Calculator now also quantifies the positive impact of keeping handbags, fine jewelry and watches in circulation. On its current trajectory, the fashion industry is poised to miss the 1.5-degree pathway laid out by the Paris Climate Accord by more than 50 percent. But according to McKinsey, recirculating one in five garments by 2030 can actually help achieve that goal.

09:05 EDT LPL Financial names Brett Goodman EVP, corporate development, investor relations - LPL Financial announced that Brett Goodman joined the firm as executive vice president, Corporate Development and Investor Relations. Goodman will lead the firm's Corporate Development and Investor Relations teams, overseeing the development and implementation of M&A strategies to support the long-term growth of the firm as well as the firm's engagement with the shareholder community. He reports to Matt Audette, LPL Managing Director and CFO.Goodman joins LPL from Morgan Stanley where he was a managing director in Wealth Management, charged with the integration and strategic development of E*TRADE Financial.

09:03 EDT Abbott's Ablation device shows 89% efficacy in atrial fibrillation - Abbott announced results from the PERSIST-END study, which showed that nearly nine out of 10 patients - 89% - treated for persistent atrial fibrillation - AFib - with the company's TactiCath Contact Force Ablation Catheter, Sensor Enabled remained symptom-free for up to 15 months following the procedure. The data, which is being presented at the annual meeting of the Heart Rhythm Society April 29 - May 1, also showed that due to the more effective therapy, patients reported significant quality-of-life improvements and more than 50% reduction in the use of health care resources. AFib, the most common arrhythmia, is a condition in which the heart's chambers are out of sync, causing them to beat in a rapid and chaotic fashion. TactiCath SE is used as part of a cardiac ablation procedure, a minimally invasive method that allows doctors to treat the condition at the source by selectively disrupting the area of the heart generating abnormal heart beats.

09:00 EDT Nordic American Tankers announces Suezmax addition to fleet - The company said, "We are pleased to inform that we will have an addition to our fleet delivered to us from Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea. The new Suezmax will delivered May 13, 2022 and it will commence on a time charter contract for six years to a first class company in the Sultanate of Oman in the Middle East. The contract will secure stable cash flow and provide return on capital. It is always an objective for NAT to prioritize dividend payments.The vessel is 157,000 deadweight tons and has a carrying capacity of about one million barrels of cargo."

08:58 EDT Planet Home Lending to acquire Homepoint correspondent assets, no terms - Planet Home Lending has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire certain assets of the delegated correspondent channel of Home Point Financial Corporation, a mortgage originator and servicer and a subsidiary of Home Point Capital.

08:49 EDT Enlivex Therapeutics sees cash runway into 3Q24 - As of December 31, 2021, Enlivex had cash, cash equivalents, short term deposits , and marketable securities of $84.1 million. Enlivex currently expects that its re-prioritization of resources from COVID-19 to its sepsis, oncology, and manufacturing programs will have extended its cash runway by approximately three quarters. The Company expects its existing cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities to be sufficient to fund its operating expenses into Q3 2024. "Planned amendments to our sepsis trial are expected to accelerate the program's projected timeline to regulatory approval while expanding its commercial opportunity and potential therapeutic impact," said Oren Hershkovitz, Ph.D., CEO of Enlivex. "In addition to broadening the trial to include patients with sepsis stemming from biliary, urinary tract, or peritoneal infections, we are planning to utilize Allocetra's frozen formulation in the study. Given this formulation's prolonged shelf-life, we expect its use to dramatically reduce our future manufacturing costs and enable the geographic expansion of our clinical programs." Dr. Hershkovitz continued, "We have also made the decision to de-prioritize Allocetra's development in COVID-19. Effective treatments for patients with mild-to-moderate disease have proven to be powerful tools that have reduced the need for therapies designed for those in severe or critical condition. In addition, the recent emergence of variants that may be associated with less severe disease and a more stringent regulatory environment have collectively led to a sharp increase in the volatility of this potential business segment. We thus will be focusing our resources on our sepsis and oncology programs. This is expected to extend our cash runway into Q3 2024 and leave us better positioned to execute on our stated clinical objectives."

08:49 EDT Enlivex Therapeutics to initiate Phase 1b trial of Allocetra with chemotherapy - A major shortcoming of immunotherapeutic cancer treatments is limited efficacy against solid tumors, which represent approximately 90% of all cancer cases. Enlivex believes that this is due in large part to the negative reprogramming of macrophages in the tumor microenvironment, which results in the proliferation of pro-tumor macrophages that contribute to drug resistance, prevent disease resolution, and promote disease severity. Previously reported preclinical data from solid tumor models suggest that Allocetra has the potential to reprogram pro-tumor macrophages back to their homeostatic state, and thereby may promote disease resolution and provide patients that do not respond well to existing FDA-approved immunotherapies with an effective treatment option. Based on these and other data, Enlivex plans to initiate a Phase Ib trial evaluating Allocetra in combination with chemotherapy in solid peritoneal tumors in Q3 2022, and a Phase I/II trial evaluating Allocetra in combination with an immune checkpoint inhibitor in late 2022.

08:45 EDT Enlivex Therapeutics working to amend protocol of Phase II sepsis trial - In 2021, Enlivex initiated a placebo-controlled, randomized, dose-finding, multi-center, Phase II trial evaluating liquid Allocetra in patients with pneumonia-associated sepsis. The Company is now working to amend the protocol of this clinical trial to treat newly recruited patients with frozen formulation Allocetra and expand the study population to include patients whose septic condition stems from biliary, urinary tract, or peritoneal infections. Enlivex expects to submit the proposed protocol amendments to regulators in Q2 2022. Due to the anticipated time needed by regulators to review and approve these amendments, this is expected to briefly defer completion of the trial by approximately six to eight months, but Enlivex expects that it will significantly shorten the overall timeline for a potential regulatory approval of frozen formulation Allocetra in sepsis and the associated commercial launch. Enlivex's Phase II sepsis trial is supported by previously reported positive results from a Phase Ib trial that demonstrated Allocetra's favorable safety profile and showed vastly improved clinical outcomes, including SOFA scores, duration of hospitalization, and mortality, in Allocetra-treated sepsis patients compared to a group of matched historical controls who received standard-of-care therapy. Sepsis is a life-threatening disease with no FDA approved therapies and a high unmet need. Each year, more than 1.7 million adults in the United States develop sepsis, with more than 270,000 dying of the disease.

08:43 EDT Enlivex Therapeutics completes development of frozen formulation Allocetra - Development of a frozen formulation Allocetra, a cornerstone of Enlivex's recent R&D efforts, was completed in Q1 2022, twelve months ahead of Enlivex's schedule. While the liquid formulation of Allocetra has a shelf life of 96 hours, the frozen formulation is expected to have a shelf life spanning multiple years. This is expected to substantially improve the product candidate's scalability and shipping logistics, lower its production costs, and increase profitability upon potential commercialization. Due to the early completion of the development of frozen formulation Allocetra, Enlivex intends to utilize it in its ongoing Phase II sepsis trial going forward, rather than introducing it only at the start of a Phase III study. In addition, Enlivex plans to utilize the frozen formulation of Allocetra in its upcoming solid tumor trials that are expected to begin in late 2022 and onwards and in all subsequent clinical studies moving forward. Use of frozen formulation Allocetra in clinical trials is subject to the approval of the relevant regulatory authorities.

08:39 EDT IDW Media announces new graphic novel, comic book initiative - IDW Media Holdings continued to advance its original content strategy, announcing new graphic novels and comic books from some of the industry's finest storytellers, illustrators and artists. During July 2022, IDW will begin publishing these and additional new original projects on a monthly basis, drawing from a wide selection of genres including crime thrillers, supernatural horror, science fiction, and epic fantasy.

08:36 EDT FINCANNA CAPITAL closes oversubscribed private placement for $2.9M - FinCanna Capital reports that it has successfully closed its previously announced non-brokered private placement. Following higher than anticipated demand the Company increased the size of its initially announced offering of $2.0 million to raise final closing gross proceeds of$2,905,500. Accordingly, the Company has issued 29,055,000 Units at a price of $0.10 per unit. Each unit consists of one common share of FinCanna and one common share purchase warrant. Each warrant is exercisable to acquire one common share of FinCanna at an exercise price of $0.20 for a period of 24 months from the date of the closing of the Private Placement. The warrants are subject to acceleration at FinCanna's discretion on the 30th day after FinCanna gives notice in the event that FinCanna's common shares trade on the CSE on a volume weighted average price basis of $0.30 or more for a period of 10 trading days. If at any time during the term of the warrants the closing price of FinCanna's common shares quoted on the Canadian Securities Exchange is equal to or greater than $0.30 per common share for 10 consecutive trading days, then FinCanna shall have the right to accelerate the warrant expiry date to the 30th day after the date on which FinCanna gives notice to the subscriber in accordance with the certificates representing the warrants. All securities issued are subject to a four-month hold period expiring on August 29, 2022. FinCanna intends to use the net proceeds from the Private Placement to fund the new "manufacturing to retail" revenue model of its portfolio company QVI, Inc., working capital, and for general corporate purposes. FinCanna has agreed to pay a finder's fee by way of cash and/or warrants equal to 7% of the aggregate Units subscribed for pursuant to the subscriptions arranged by such finders. Each warrant is exercisable for one common share at a price of $0.20 for a period of 24 months following the closing date of the Private Placement.

08:34 EDT Runway Growth Finance raises quarterly dividend 11% to 30c per share - Runway Growth Finance announced that its Board of Directors has declared a second quarter 2022 cash distribution of $0.30 per share. This dividend represents an increase of 11.0% over the dividend declared in the prior quarter. The following shows the key dates of the second quarter 2022 dividend: Declaration Date: April 28, 2022; Record Date: May 10, 2022; Payment Date: May 24, 2022.

08:33 EDT Relmada Therapeutics announces publication of REL-1017 preclinical study - Relmada Therapeutics announced the publication of REL-1017 preclinical data in the peer-reviewed journal, Frontiers in Pharmacology. The aim of the study was to determine whether the novel, low affinity, low potency, NMDAR channel blocker, REL-1017, administered once daily via oral gavage for 1-4 days to male and female Sprague-Dawley rats, would induce transient - Olney's lesions - and irreversible - necrosis - pathomorphological changes to the posterior cingulate and retrosplenial brain cortical neurons as compared with animals treated with another NMDAR channel blocker, dizocilpine, a positive control. In REL-1017 treated rats, early Olney's lesions, which usually appear one day after MK-801 treatment, were not observed. Similarly, REL-1017 treated rats did not show necrotic neurons both at the cingulate and olfactory bulb cortex at later time points. Additionally, in contrast with MK-801 treated rats, REL-1017 treated rats did not show evidence of impaired behavior. These preclinical data, in addition to clinical data to date, have been encouraging to the development of REL-1017 as a potentially safe and effective treatment option for major depressive disorder.

08:32 EDT Bridgeline Digital's Hawksearch product chosen by bank in US - Bridgeline Digital announced that their Hawksearch product has been chosen by one of the largest privately-owned banks in the United States. The bank selected Hawksearch to bolster the website customer experience for close to 1M customers across over 80 US locations. "Hawksearch was chosen by the national bank for its powerful search, navigation, relevant recommendations, and SEO features to manage its many site offerings and content," the company said. Ari Kahn, CEO of Bridgeline says, "Hawksearch is easy to integrate with any platform. I look forward to seeing our partner's new and enhanced website powered by our advanced AI search tool."

08:29 EDT Boralex closes agreement for investment by Energy Infrastructure Partners - Boralex announced the closing of February's reported agreement for the investment by Energy Infrastructure Partners in a 30% stake in Boralex's assets and development pipeline in France. Boralex will record this transaction in its financial statements as of today. Results of Boralex in France will be consolidated at 100% into Boralex Inc. with a 30% minority interest and combined results will be equivalent to consolidated results. This partnership will strengthen Boralex's position in this market and enable it to accelerate its growth to meet the ambitious objectives in its Strategic Plan which are, for France, to increase installed capacity to 1.8 GW in 2025 and up to 3 GW in 2030. Boralex sought a partner with a long-term vision, able to invest in the Company's future development in wind and solar power, as well as storage. EIP has all the qualities needed for Boralex to continue to stand out in the French market. Transaction highlights: Boralex is entering into a long-term partnership with EIP, a Switzerland-based global investment manager specialized in the energy sector, which is acquiring a 30% stake in Boralex's operations in France. This partnership includes French assets in operation, 1.1 GW to date, as well as a 1.5 GW portfolio of projects in the French market. Boralex's operations in France generated EBITDA of EUR 134M in 2021. Cash proceeds to Boralex at transaction close is EUR 532M and EUR 17M thereof will be invested into Boralex operations in France. Boralex remains the majority shareholder and manager of its assets in France.

08:23 EDT Meiwu announces pricing of convertible note offering - Meiwu Technology Company is pleased to announce that it has signed a securities purchase agreement with five individual investors on April 28, 2022, pursuant to which, Meiwu agreed to issue to each of the investors a $1,100,000 unsecured promissory note and accompanying warrants to purchase 1,600,000 ordinary shares of Meiwu, no par value each. The gross proceeds for this offering will be $5,000,000 before deducting any offering expenses and costs. The closing of this offering is expected to occur on or about May 5, 2022, subject to customary closing conditions. Each of the Notes shall include an Original Issue Discount of 9% and shall bear interest at the rate of 10% per annum. The Note shall be due 18 months after its issuance date. The Warrants will be exercisable immediately upon the date of issuance and have an initial exercise price of $0.60. The Warrants will expire twenty-four months from the date of issuance. At any time following the six-month anniversary of the issuance date, each of the Investors, at its election, can convert the Note in whole or in part at the lower of $0.50 or 80% of the lowest daily volume-weighted average price in the 20 trading days prior to the date on which the conversion price is measured. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in no event that the investors will convert the Notes at a price lower than $0.30 per share. The Note may be prepaid, at Meiwu's sole election, at an amount equal to 120% of the outstanding principal and the accrued and unpaid interest. The Notes, the Ordinary Shares underlying the Notes, the Warrants, and Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of the Warrants, are exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act, pursuant to Section 4(a)(2) of the Securities Act and/or Regulation D.

08:21 EDT LianBio announces FDA approved Camzyos - LianBio's (LIAN) partner, Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY), announced yesterday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, approved Camzyos for the treatment of adults with symptomatic New York Heart Association, NYHA, class II-III obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy to improve functional capacity and symptoms. LianBio licensed rights from MyoKardia, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Bristol Myers Squibb, in August 2020 for the development and commercialization of Camzyos in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Thailand and Singapore. LianBio is currently conducting EXPLORER-CN, a Phase 3 multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled registrational study designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of mavacamten in Chinese patients with symptomatic obstructive HCM. Camzyos was granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation in China for the treatment of patients with obstructive HCM. "We congratulate Bristol Myers Squibb on receiving U.S. FDA approval for Camzyos in patients with symptomatic NYHA class II-III obstructive HCM," said Yizhe Wang, Ph.D., chief executive officer of LianBio. "Obstructive HCM is a debilitating heart disease with significant unmet medical need in China. We estimate there are approximately 1.1 million to 2.8 million patients with HCM in China, and approximately two-thirds of those patients have symptomatic obstructive HCM. We are excited to continue our strategic collaboration and further development of Camzyos in China and other Asian markets to help bring this promising treatment to patients in need."

08:19 EDT BioRestorative Therapies hosts principal investigator meeting for BRTX-100 - BioRestorative Therapies announced that it is hosting a Principal Investigators Meeting in Uniondale, NY on April 29th - 30th, 2022 for the Company's lead clinical candidate BRTX-100, an autologous bone marrow-derived hypoxic cultured stem cell intended for investigational use in its Phase 2 clinical trial to treat chronic lumbar disc disease. The meeting will be attended by all principal investigators currently selected across the United States to help coordinate the study, entitled "A Phase 2, Double-Blind, Saline-Controlled, Randomized Study to Evaluate the Safety and Preliminary Efficacy of a Single Dose Intradiscal Injection of BRTX-100 for Patients with Chronic Lumbar Disc Disease." "I'm pleased to announce that we continue to execute our BRTX-100(R) development plan in accordance with our previously stated timeline objectives," said Lance Alstodt, Chief Executive Officer of BioRestorative Therapies. "The Principal Investigator Meeting will be attended in person and will enable a mutual understanding of the study's goals and set best in class procedures to share experiences among the Principal Investigators."

08:16 EDT Bristow Group to acquire British International Helicopter Services, no terms - Bristow Group announced its plans to acquire British International Helicopter Services Limited, further enhancing its leading global Government Services business. BIH will add to Bristow's operations in the UK and adopt the Bristow name and brand throughout its operations. BIH currently operates a fleet of two AW189 SAR-configured helicopters, three S61 helicopters, and one AS365 helicopter, performing various passenger and freight transport as well as hoist operations. The acquisition is an all-cash transaction and is expected to close in the third quarter, following required regulatory approvals and satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

08:12 EDT Bionano Genomics announces publication in Nature of NeuroSCORE model - Bionano Genomics announced a peer-reviewed publication in Nature detailing the development of NeuroSCORE, a software-based method of analyzing complex genetic conditions that predicts and prioritizes human genes contributing to neurodevelopmental disease, including autism spectrum disorder, ASD, epilepsy and birth defects of the brain. "We were pleased the Nature family of journals recognized the significance of this advancement in data analysis. We believe that our proprietary NeuroSCORE model will assist in more efficiently and accurately interpreting variants of unknown significance and identifying previously uncharacterized neurodevelopmental disease. We believe this model may also assist in the discovery of novel genes not previously associated with central nervous system diseases, research that may improve diagnostics for individuals with genetic causes of neurological conditions. The utility of this type of software has the potential to be broad ranging, including known disorders such as ASD and other NDDs, but also as part of resolving rare undiagnosed genetic disorders, or RUGDs. We feel a strong sense of accomplishment in creating a tool to help guide research in NDDs and that may assist clinicians in guiding interventions," commented Erik Holmlin, PhD, president and chief executive officer of Bionano Genomics.

08:10 EDT Xunlei files annual report on Form 20-F - Xunlei announced that it filed its annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 28, 2022

08:10 EDT BIO-key to showcase biometric solutions at EDUCAUSE Conference - BIO-key International will exhibit at the EDUCAUSE Cybersecurity and Privacy Professionals Conference, to be held in-person in Baltimore, Maryland May 3-5, and as an online event May 11-12. BIO-key will have a vendor corporate display at the conference where higher education IT security professionals can discuss the latest cyber threats and why IBB should be part of any complete multi-factor authentication strategy. BIO-key will be available for Q&A sessions and live demonstrations of their award-winning PortalGuard platform and MobileAuth MFA mobile app. In addition to in-person events, BIO-key will also participate in the online portion of the event on May 12. Kimberly Biddings, VP of Product at BIO-key, will join Ron Horn, Associate Vice President, and CIO of Guilford Technical Community College in the session, "We've Had a Ransomware Attack, Now What?". The session will focus on GTCC's experience surviving a ransomware attack in 2020, including how Horn's team detected the attack, their response and six-month road to recovery. The education sector has been a key target for cyberattacks, such as ransomware attacks that continue to grow in frequency and ferocity. Many institutions struggle to defend against surging cyberattacks, as the shift to remote and online learning present cybercriminals with new opportunities to attack. As a premiere cybersecurity event, the EDUCASUE conference will focus on cybersecurity topics pertinent to the higher education sector, including awareness and education, governance, risk and compliance for privacy and cybersecurity, operations, and career development.

08:06 EDT Bit Digital provides Q1 bitcoin production and mining operations update - Bit Digital reported its unaudited bitcoin production and mining operations update for Q1. The company earned 194.48 bitcoins and 189.26 ETH during the quarter. Factors impacting production included the company's ongoing miner redeployment program, growth in the overall bitcoin network hash rate, and the number of days in the quarter. Treasury holdings of BTC and ETH were 832.14 and 266.71, with a fair market value of approximately $37.9M and $0.9M on March 31, respectively. The company owned 27,644 bitcoin miners and 731 Ethereum miners as of March 31, with an estimated maximum total hash rate of 1.6 EH/s and 0.3 TH/s, respectively. As of April 27, the company owned 30,865 bitcoin miners with an estimated maximum total hash rate of 1.9 EH/s. To date, the company has received 2,515 machines pursuant to its previously announced 10,000-unit purchase agreement with Bitmain Technologies. The final installment is expected to ship in June. Pro forma for these purchases, maximum total hash rate is expected to be approximately 2.67 EH/s. The company purchased 706 bitcoin miners on the spot market during Q1. The company took delivery of these machines during April. Approximately 67% of the fleet's electricity consumption was generated from carbon-free energy sources as of March 31.

08:03 EDT OncoSec appoints Robert Arch as CEO - OncoSec appointed Robert Arch as President and CEO. Arch was previously Head of Research at Elpiscience Biopharma from October 2019 to June 2021, and Head of the Liver Disease Department at China Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research from February 2017 to October 2019. His career over 28 years extends from academia to the pharmaceutical industry, including positions at Novartis, Takeda, GlaxoSmithKline, and Pfizer. In connection with the hiring of Arch, the Compensation Committee of OncoSec's Board of Directors granted to Arch non-qualified stock options to purchase 700,000 shares of OncoSec common stock as an inducement material to Arch entering into employment with OncoSec, which grant shall be made outside of OncoSec's 2011 Stock Incentive Plan. The vesting of shares of common stock underlying the non-qualified stock options are subject to Arch's continuous service with OncoSec through each such vesting date.

07:54 EDT Cboe Global Markets: ErisX, NEO acquisitions could add $30M-$35M of expenses - The company said, "While not included in our formal 2022 expense guidance range of $617 to $625 million, we believe the pending acquisitions of ErisX and NEO now have the potential to add an incremental $30 to $35 million of expenses in 2022, contingent on the timing of closings which are subject to customary closing conditions. We continue to anticipate a potential revenue offset for more than half of the expenses in year one, with an expectation that the additions are EBITDA positive on a combined basis in year two."

07:47 EDT AbbVie reports Q1 global Humira net revenues of $4.736B - Global net revenues from the immunology portfolio were $6.141 billion, an increase of 6.9 percent on a reported basis, or 8.1 percent on an operational basis. Global Humira net revenues of $4.736 billion decreased 2.7 percent on a reported basis, or 1.8 percent on an operational basis. U.S. Humira net revenues were $3.993 billion, an increase of 2.2 percent. Internationally, Humira net revenues were $743 million, a decrease of 22.6 percent on a reported basis, or 17.9 percent on an operational basis, due to biosimilar competition. Global Skyrizi net revenues were $940 million, an increase of 63.7 percent on a reported basis, or 65.6 percent on an operational basis. Global Rinvoq net revenues were $465 million, an increase of 53.6 percent on a reported basis, or 57.3 percent on an operational basis.

07:42 EDT Beacon acquires Wichita Falls Builders Wholesale, terms undisclosed - Beacon announced that it has acquired Wichita Falls Builders Wholesale, a distributor of complementary residential exterior building supplies, including windows, doors and siding to contractors, homebuilders and retail customers. Builders Wholesale has a three-decade history and strong reputation for serving customers in greater Wichita Falls, Texas.

07:36 EDT Ayr Wellness opens 46th Florida dispensary in Tampa, Florida - Ayr Wellness announced the opening of its 46th Florida dispensary, located in southern Tampa. The new dispensary encompasses ~3,000 square feet of retail space in Hillsborough County, and is located just off the Dale Mabry Highway, an artery connecting several major shopping destinations, MacDill Air Force Base and Tampa International Airport. The store features Ayr's full line of concentrates, edibles, gummies, vapes, and a selection of high-quality flower, including whole flower and pre-rolls.

07:35 EDT GTY Technology (Class A) trading halted, news pending

07:33 EDT Cboe Global Markets backs FY22 operating expense view $617M-$625M

07:30 EDT CI Financial reports March AUM of $145B - CI Financial reported preliminary assets under management as at March 31 of $145B and wealth management assets of $224.7B, for total assets of $369.8B. CI also reported preliminary net sales results for its asset management businesses for Q1 of 2022. Overall, CI had net redemptions of $1.2B, with Canadian retail accounting for $0.9B of outflows.

07:28 EDT BeiGene breaks ground on New Jersey manufacturing, R&D facility - BeiGene announced the groundbreaking of its U.S. manufacturing and clinical R&D center at the Princeton West Innovation Campus in Hopewell, New Jersey. The initial phase of construction is expected to include approximately 400,000 square feet of dedicated commercial-stage biologic pharmaceutical manufacturing space, with capacity for up to 16,000 liters of biologics formula. BeiGene intends to recruit hundreds of new hires from the area's attractive talent market to support its continued growth and its commitment to producing life-saving oncology medicines.

07:23 EDT GTY Technology to be acquired by GI Partners for $6.30 per share - GTY Technology announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by GI Partners, a private investment firm. Upon completion of the transaction, GTY will become a privately held company. Under the terms of the agreement, GTY shareholders will receive upon consummation of the transaction $6.30 in cash for each share of GTY common stock that they hold. The purchase price represents a 123% premium over the closing share price on April 28, the last full trading day prior to the transaction announcement, and a 57% premium over the 90-day volume-weighted average closing share price through April 28. GTY's board of directors has unanimously approved the transaction and recommends that GTY's shareholders vote in favor of the transaction at the special meeting of GTY shareholders to be called in connection with the transaction. A special meeting of GTY's shareholders will be held as soon as practicable following the filing of a definitive proxy statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and subsequent mailing to GTY's shareholders. GTY shareholders will receive $6.30 per share in cash upon the closing. The transaction is currently expected to close in the third quarter of 2022 following receipt of applicable regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions, including approval by GTY's shareholders.

07:14 EDT Skylight Health provides update on Skylight Health Research - Skylight Health Group provides an update on the status of the Company's research program; Skylight Health Research. In April 2021, Skylight Health Research announced its partnership with ClinEdge to launch formal clinical research studies into its practices; Since inception, Skylight Health Research has been awarded ten clinical studies and has completed two to-date; Total revenue earned through clinical studies in 2021, $300,000, has already been surpassed in 2022, and is expected to quadruple by the end of this year. The company said, "The progress since its launch demonstrates incredible momentum and steady growth of its research program which will continue throughout 2022 and beyond. In 2021, Skylight Health leveraged its growing clinical services division and launched Skylight Health Research, which has since been awarded ten clinical studies through its partnership with ClinEdge, announced on April 7, 2021. Skylight Health Research has since made several other key partnerships with research partners and Contract Research Organizations that will bring a steady supply of study opportunities to Skylight Health practices. All potential study opportunities are reviewed by the research team to assess feasibility based on existing infrastructure and alignment with the goal of Skylight Health Research, to meaningfully contribute to the advancement of medical science with Skylight's deep base of experienced providers and engaged patients. The ten studies awarded range in indication and methodology and will each provide important contributions to evidence-based medicine including advancing knowledge of COVID-19, influenza patterns, cancer detection, major depressive disorder, and Lyme disease. In less than a year, Skylight Health Research practices have enrolled more than 1000 patients across five studies, and two Skylight Health sites were among the top performing sites in a highly competitive study that collected blood samples for the development of a cancer-detecting blood assay. The five additional studies that have been awarded are expected to begin enrollment within Q2 of this year. The program has gained incredible momentum and demonstrated the reach and efficiency provided by the centrally organized research team, allowing for quick start-up at multiple Skylight-owned practices to bolster Skylight's research applications in a competitive market. The program has grown from a single practice participating in research at the beginning of 2021 to five practices that will have active research initiatives by the end of Q2 2022, furthering opportunities and access to new patient populations."

07:11 EDT Verano Holdings announces opening of 45th Florida cannabis dispensary - Verano announced the opening of MundefinedV Hobe Sound, the Company's 45th Florida location and 96th nationwide. "Opening MundefinedV Hobe Sound, the community's first medical cannabis dispensary, adds another convenient location for our patients on Florida's beautiful Treasure Coast," said John Tipton, President of Verano. "We're thrilled to add MundefinedV Hobe Sound to our growing Florida footprint, where our dedicated team of compassionate cannabis advisors will offer our premium suite of medical cannabis offerings for patients across the region for years to come."

07:08 EDT Allegiance Bancshares expects to close CBTX merger in Q2 - On November 8, 2021, Allegiance and CBTX, Inc., jointly announced that they entered into a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which the companies will combine in an all-stock merger of equals. CBTX reported total assets of $4.49 billion as of December 31, 2021. Under the terms of the definitive merger agreement, Allegiance shareholders will receive 1.4184 shares of CBTX, Inc. common stock for each share of Allegiance common stock they own. Following the completion of the merger, we estimate that former Allegiance shareholders will own approximately 54% and former CBTX, Inc. shareholders will own approximately 46% of the combined company. The companies have submitted the required regulatory filings and, subject to satisfaction or in some cases waiver of the closing conditions, including approval of the merger agreement by both companies' shareholders, the parties anticipate closing in the second quarter of the year. Each company has scheduled a special meeting for May 24, 2022 at which its respective shareholders will consider and vote on the merger agreement and other related matters.

07:05 EDT Omega Therapeutics names Joshua Reed as CFO, effective May 23 - Omega Therapeutics (OMGA) announced the appointment of Joshua Reed as CFO, effective May 23, 2022. Roger Sawhney, M.D., Omega's CFO, will serve as Chief Business Officer. Reed most recently served as Chief Financial Officer of Aldeyra Therapeutics (ALDX).

07:03 EDT Charter reports Q1 free cash flow $1.8B, down 3% y/y - Excluding a $220M one-time payment in the first quarter of 2022, free cash flow grew by 8.9% year-over-year.

06:59 EDT Colgate-Palmolive CEO expects 'difficult cost environment to continue' - Colgate-Palmolive reported results for first quarter 2022. Noel Wallace, Chairman, President and CEO, commented on the Base Business first quarter results, "We are pleased to have delivered another quarter of organic sales growth within our targeted range of 3% to 5%, despite a volatile operating environment worldwide. Net sales increased 1.5% and organic sales grew 4.0%, driven by higher pricing in nearly every region. Our investments in innovation and digital capabilities are paying off and should help us to continue our sales growth momentum. While our growth continued on the top line, our profitability was impacted by significant increases in raw material and logistics costs worldwide, and we expect the difficult cost environment to continue for the next several quarters. We remain sharply focused on our revenue growth management, including additional pricing, and funding-the-growth and other productivity initiatives. As we manage through this difficult time, we are committed to executing our plans with the right balance of pricing, productivity and brand support. As we look around the world, there is still much uncertainty stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain disruptions, the war in Ukraine and volatility in consumer demand and currencies. Despite this environment, we are encouraged by our growth momentum, the strength of our innovation pipeline and the progress we are making on our digital transformation, all of which add to our confidence that we have the right strategies in place to continue to deliver sustainable, profitable growth over the long term."

06:58 EDT Phillips 66 announces resumption of share repurchases - Phillips 66 announced that it intends to resume its share repurchase program in the second quarter of 2022. The company suspended share repurchases in March 2020 to preserve liquidity. The temporary suspension was in response to the global economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Phillips 66 previously stated its intent to resume share repurchases and to continue to pay down debt to pre-pandemic levels as cash generation improves. Under the repurchase program previously authorized by the Board of Directors, Phillips 66 may repurchase its outstanding shares of common stock from time to time in open market or privately negotiated transactions, including accelerated share repurchase transactions, block trades or pursuant to 10b5-1 trading plans. Any repurchases will be at management's discretion and will be subject to market conditions, the price of the company's shares and other factors. The share repurchase program may be modified, suspended or terminated by the Board of Directors at any time. The company has $2.5B available under the current authorization, which has no expiration date.

06:54 EDT SK bioscience, GSK report COVID-19 vaccine candidate meets Phase 3 objectives - SK bioscience and GSK announced submission of a biologics license application for SKYCovione, a recombinant protein-based COVID-19 vaccine candidate adjuvanted with GSK's pandemic adjuvant, to the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, or KMFDS, following positive Phase 3 clinical data. SK bioscience conducted a Phase 3 clinical trial in 4,037 adults over 18-year-old across 6 countries- Thailand, Vietnam, New Zealand, Ukraine, the Philippines and South Korea. The vaccine candidate demonstrated superior neutralizing antibody titres over AstraZeneca's Vaxzevria, a currently authorized COVID-19 vaccine. SKYCovione vaccine candidate showed a clinically favorable safety profile. The clinical trial was conducted in cooperation with 16 institutions, including Korea University Guro Hospital and IVI, a non-profit international organization. The results of the Phase 3 clinical trial show a superior neutralizing antibody response of SKYCovione against SARS-CoV-2 parental strain, 2.93 times that of a control vaccine 2 weeks after the second dose. In addition, the proportion of participants who seroconverted, with a greater than four-fold increase in neutralizing antibody titres compared to baseline, was 98.06% in the SKYCovione group and 87.30% in the control group. Both immunological superiority and non-inferiority of SKYCovione was demonstrated compared to Vaxzevria, the control vaccine. Even in subjects aged 65 or older, the antibody conversion rate of those vaccinated with SKYCovione was over 95%, when compared to the control vaccine of about 79% for the same age group. In terms of safety, overall, SKYCovione showed a clinically acceptable safety profile. Most of the adverse reactions that occurred after injection were mild or moderate. In addition, SK bioscience will apply for emergency use listing to the World Health Organization (WHO) and authorizations at individual regulatory agencies around the world. If authorized, GBP510 could be made available to the COVAX Facility for procurement and equitable allocation worldwide, if required. SK bioscience is conducting a homologous booster clinical trial of SKYCovione in South Korea and a heterologous booster trial in both South Korea and abroad. The Adolescents trial between 12 to 17-year-old is expected to enter a Phase 3 stage in the first half of 2022. In addition, an extended clinical trial seeking to test the preventive effect of SKYCovione against COVID-19 variants such as Omicron is planned.

06:46 EDT Merck's KEYTRUDA approved by EC for patients with MSI-H, dMMR tumors - Merck announced that the European Commission has approved KEYTRUDA, Merck's anti-PD-1 therapy, as monotherapy for the treatment of microsatellite instability-high or deficient mismatch repair tumors in adults with: unresectable or metastatic colorectal cancer after previous fluoropyrimidine-based combination therapy; advanced or recurrent endometrial carcinoma, who have disease progression on or following prior treatment with a platinum-containing therapy in any setting and who are not candidates for curative surgery or radiation; unresectable or metastatic gastric, small intestine or biliary cancer, who have disease progression on or following at least one prior therapy. This is the second approval for KEYTRUDA in Europe based on the MSI-H/dMMR biomarker. KEYTRUDA is also approved for the first-line treatment of metastatic MSI-H or dMMR colorectal cancer in adults.

06:37 EDT Momentus receives FCC license for first flight - Momentus announced that it has received a license from the Federal Communications Commission supporting the inaugural flight of the Vigoride orbital transfer vehicle on the upcoming SpaceX Transporter-5 mission targeted for launch in May 2022. The FCC license, issued after consultation with government agencies, authorizes Momentus to use radio frequencies to communicate with Vigoride while the spacecraft is in Low Earth Orbit. During this inaugural mission, Momentus plans to take customer payloads to orbit and generate a small amount of revenue. However, the mission's primary goals are to test Vigoride in space, learn from any issues encountered, and incorporate lessons learned into future Vigoride vehicles. The Vigoride spacecraft recently completed vibration testing to verify that all systems are ready for the launch environment. Momentus is in the final stages of completing work on the vehicle before its launch on the SpaceX Transporter-5 mission.

06:36 EDT Exxon Mobil reports Q1 free cash flow 10.84B

06:34 EDT Exxon Mobil CEO sees 'positive momentum for the second quarter' - "The quarter illustrated the strength of our underlying business and significant progress in further developing our competitively advantaged production portfolio," said Darren Woods, chairman and CEO. "Earnings increased modestly, as strong margin improvement and underlying growth was offset by weather and timing impacts. The absence of these temporary impacts in March provides strong, positive momentum for the second quarter."

06:28 EDT Syneos Health names Michelle Keefe as next CEO, succeeding Alistair Macdonald - Syneos Health announced the appointment of Michelle Keefe as CEO and a member of the company's Board of Directors. Keefe, currently President, Medical Affairs and Commercial Solutions, succeeds Alistair Macdonald, who will retire after 20 years at Syneos Health. Macdonald will remain an advisor to Syneos Health through March 2023. Keefe brings more than 30 years of life sciences industry experience to the role. Since joining Syneos Health in 2017, her leadership has driven the ongoing transformation of the company's Commercial business, including its second straight year of double-digit growth. Prior to Syneos Health, Keefe served as Global Group President and Chief Development Officer of Publicis Health.

06:16 EDT Chevron reports Q1 cash flow from operations $8.1B, free cash flow $6.1B - Record Permian Basin unconventional production in Q1.

06:08 EDT Gelesis' proprietary hydrogel shows digestive, weight loss benefits in study - Gelesis released a poster presentation at the World of Microbiome annual meeting in Vienna. The pre-clinical study showed administration of one of the company's proprietary superabsorbent hydrogels, Gel-B, significantly shifted the composition of the microbiome to a profile correlated with better metabolic health, including improved weight and glucose control. Adding Gel-B to a high-fat diet exponentially encouraged the growth of Akkermansia muciniphila, a bacteria associated with thickened mucosal lining of the gut, improved gut barrier function, and lean body mass. Furthermore, benchtop studies indicated that the 3-D structure and unique properties of Gel-B is required to support the increased growth of Akkermansia. These data suggest that superabsorbent hydrogels may offer additional therapeutic mechanisms promoting metabolic health beyond their space occupying properties. In previous studies, administration of one of these hydrogels, Gel-B, in addition to a high-fat diet, blunted weight gain, reversed gut atrophy, improved metabolic parameters, and restored gut barrier function.

06:03 EDT Kennedy Wilson acquires three multifamily communities for $418M - Kennedy Wilson has acquired three wholly owned multifamily communities totaling 1,110 units in three separate off-market transactions for $418M, excluding closing costs. The properties, including Palms at Peccole Ranch in Las Vegas, Nevada, La Privada in Scottsdale, Arizona and San Miguel del Bosque in Albuquerque, New Mexico, expand Kennedy Wilson's multifamily portfolio focused on institutional-quality, garden style apartments in rapidly growing markets in the Mountain West

05:54 EDT OneMain Holdings sees FY22 net charge-offs 5.6%-6% - Sees FY22 managed receivables growth 5%-10%, OpEx ratio less than 7.3%. Sees FY12 capital generation $1.15B-$1.2B, with a capital generation return on receivables of roughly 6%.

05:52 EDT Zymeworks receives $10.50 per share non-binding acquisition proposal from ABF - Zymeworks confirmed it has received an unsolicited, non-binding proposal from All Blue Falcons FZE, or ABF, and its affiliates to purchase the company for $10.50 per share in cash. The Zymeworks board of directors will carefully review the proposal to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interest of the company and all Zymeworks shareholders. The board reminds shareholders that no formal offer has been made by ABF, and as such there is no need for Zymeworks shareholders to take any action at this time. If a formal offer is made, it will be reviewed by the board with its advisors, and a formal recommendation by the board will be made to shareholders in due course.

05:46 EDT Innate Pharma, AstraZeneca dose first patient in PACIFIC-9 trial - Innate Pharma (IPHA) announced that AstraZeneca (AZN) has now dosed the first patient in its Phase 3 clinical trial, PACIFIC-9, evaluating durvalumab in combination with monalizumab or AstraZeneca's oleclumab in patients with unresectable, Stage III non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC, who have not progressed following definitive platinum-based concurrent chemoradiation therapy, or CRT. The purpose of the study, which is sponsored by AstraZeneca, is to determine if the addition of monalizumab or oleclumab to standard-of-care durvalumab improves outcomes for patients in this setting. Monalizumab, Innate's lead partnered asset, is a potentially first-in-class immune checkpoint inhibitor targeting NKG2A receptors expressed on tumor-infiltrating cytotoxic CD8+ T cells and NK cells. Dosing of the first patient in this trial has triggered a $50 million milestone payment from AstraZeneca to Innate.

05:36 EDT Orphazyme provides update on in-court restructuring proceedings - Orphazyme announced an update to the in-court restructuring proceedings of the company. In accordance with the statutory restructuring plan referenced in company announcement nos. 15/2022, 17/2022 and 20/2022, Orphazyme has been pursuing potential opportunities for a sale of its assets and operations, a sale of the company and/or a refinancing. Orphazyme has to date received certain non-binding offers to purchase all of Orphazyme's assets and operations. The terms of the offers received to date indicate that the vast majority of the consideration to be paid to Orphazyme would be used to settle outstanding recognized liabilities of Orphazyme's current creditors. Following negotiations, Orphazyme, with respect to the offers received, expects to enter into exclusive negotiations with a selected potential buyer. Following completion of such transaction, Orphazyme would have no activities and would be dissolved, when possible. There can be no guarantee that that any transaction will be completed as proposed, or at all, or at any particular time. Further announcements will be made by Orphazyme if a binding agreement is reached with respect to any offer.

05:16 EDT TAL Education extends share repurchase program - TAL's board of directors has authorized to extend its share repurchase program launched in April by 12 months. Since launch, the company has repurchased approximately $196.3M of its American depositary shares under the share repurchase program. Pursuant to the extended share repurchase program, the company may repurchase up to approximately $803.7M of its common shares through April 30, 2023. The share repurchases may be effected from time to time on the open market at prevailing market prices, in privately negotiated transactions, in block trades and/or through other legally permissible means, depending on market conditions and will be implemented in accordance with applicable rules and regulations. The company expects to fund the repurchases out of its existing cash balance. Separately, the company was also informed by senior management of the company of their intention to use their personal funds to purchase up to an aggregate of $100M worth of the company's common shares during a 12-month period, pursuant and subject to applicable laws and the company's securities trading policy.

04:58 EDT Genocea engaged advisors to explore strategic alternatives, including sale - Genocea Biosciences announced last night that it has initiated a process to "explore a range of strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value and has engaged professional advisors, including an investment bank to act as a strategic advisor for this process." Strategic alternatives that will be evaluated include the sale of all or part of the company, merger or reverse merger, the company said in a statement.