Stockwinners Market Radar for January 27, 2023 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

17:35 EST SeaChange terminates Kathleen Mosher from CFO position - According to a regulatory filing, on January 23, 2023, SeaChange terminated Kathleen Mosher from the position of Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer of SeaChange, effective immediately. Following the Termination, on January 23, 2023, the Board of Directors of SeaChange appointed Mark Szynkowski as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of the company, effective January 23, 2023.

17:24 EST Boeing awarded $2.26B Air Force contract modification - Boeing has been awarded a $2.26B modification to a previously awarded contract for KC-46A Air Force Production Lot 9 aircraft, subscriptions and licenses. The contract modification provides for the exercise of an option for an additional quantity of 15 KC-46A aircraft, data, subscriptions and licenses being produced under the basic contract. Work will be performed in Seattle, Washington, and is expected to be completed by August 31, 2026. FY23 procurement funds in the amount of $2.26B are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center is the contracting activity.

17:01 EST Allegiant Travel COO Scott Sheldon to resign effective April 1 - Allegiant Travel Company announced that its board has accepted the resignation of its president and COO, Scott Sheldon, effective April 1. Greg Anderson will continue to serve as president and will assume oversight of the company's operational teams. Keny Wilper, Allegiant's senior VP of OCC and Stations, will assume the role of interim COO.

16:57 EST Cincinnati Financial announces preliminary Q4 pretax catastrophe losses of $141M - Cincinnati Financial announced that its consolidated fourth-quarter results are expected to include pretax catastrophe losses of approximately $141M, representing an impact on the fourth-quarter combined ratio of approximately 7.8 percentage points, based on estimated property casualty earned premiums. The company's five-year historical average contribution of catastrophe losses to the combined ratio is 3.9 percentage points for the fourth quarter. The catastrophe loss estimate includes $161M from Winter Storm Elliott, net of reinsurance and excluding any effects of reinstatement premiums assumed or ceded, in addition to less severe storms and favorable loss reserve development on previous catastrophe events, primarily ones that occurred in 2022. The estimate for total Q4 catastrophe losses incurred includes approximately $100M for the commercial lines insurance segment; $38M for the personal lines insurance segment; $2M for the excess and surplus lines insurance segment and $1M in total for Cincinnati Re and Cincinnati Global Underwriting Ltd. Estimated losses and expenses from catastrophe-related claims are expected to bring the company's fourth-quarter property casualty combined ratio to approximately 95%. The combined ratio before catastrophe losses for the quarter was approximately 2.5 percentage points better than that ratio for the first nine months of 2022 but continued to reflect increased uncertainty of estimated ultimate losses, due in part to elevated paid losses reflecting economic or other forms of inflation. Net written premium growth is estimated to be approximately 10% for the quarter.

16:16 EST Northrim BanCorp expands stock repurchase program - Northrim BanCorp announced that its Board of Directors has authorized for repurchase up to an additional 285,000 shares of its common stock, or approximately 5% of the currently issued and outstanding shares. Prior to the increase, no shares remained available for repurchase under Northrim's stock repurchase program. "Northrim's stock repurchase program has helped to build long-term value for our shareholders and we feel that it continues to be an excellent use of capital to continue building on that value," stated Jed Ballard, Chief Financial Officer. "Since inception of the stock repurchase plan, we have repurchased and retired 2,049,927 shares, which we believe contributes to our return on equity and long-term growth in earnings per share."

16:09 EST First Business Financial boosts quarterly dividend 15% - First Business Financial Services announced its board has declared a quarterly cash dividend on its common stock of 22.75c per share. The quarterly dividend represents a 15% increase over the quarterly dividend declared in October 2022. This regular cash dividend is payable on February 16 to shareholders of record at the close of business on February 6. "First Business Bank's 15% common dividend increase reflects the company's high-quality earnings growth and favorable outlook," said CEO Corey Chambas. "This substantial increase marks our 11th consecutive annual dividend raise. We are pleased to provide an enhanced return to our shareholders while maintaining a dividend payout ratio that allows for the ongoing and significant investment in talent, technology, and products that power our business growth engine."

16:01 EST Color Star Technology regains compliance with Nasdaq minimum bid price - Color Star Technology Co. announced that it has received a Bid Price Compliance Letter from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Staff of the NASDAQ Stock Market LLC notifying the company that it has regained compliance with the minimum bid price requirement under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market. On December 22, 2022, Nasdaq notified the company that the minimum bid price per share for its ordinary shares has been below $1.00 for a period of 30 consecutive business days and the company therefore no longer meets the minimum bid price requirements set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2).

14:49 EST Charlotte's Web 'encouraged' after FDA statement, agrees on testing's importance - Charlotte's Web issued the following statement regarding the FDA's January 26th press announcement: "Charlotte's Web is encouraged that the Administration has agreed that it is necessary for Congress to act for the regulation of hemp-derived cannabidiol, or 'CBD.' The FDA position has taken four years to come together, while the CBD industry has matured without a clear regulatory pathway for CBD products that are already available for sale in all 50 states and consumed safely by millions of Americans. This includes professional athletes, veterans, and everyday wellness seekers. The company looks forward to continuing its work in Washington DC to forward this process. The company also agrees with the FDA on the importance of testing to ensure the quality and safety of CBD products and has already provided studies to support this position. As the CBD pioneer and market leader, Charlotte's Web has engaged in safety studies and compiled toxicology data including liver safety. These studies have been conducted under an Institutional Review Board and Good Laboratory Practices, following guidelines of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. They have been subjected to an unbiased peer review and published in journals and have been vetted and accepted for indexing in the PubMed central database. These studies support the efforts of a legislative regulatory framework. During this four-year period of regulatory absence, Charlotte's Web has set the standard in responsible self-regulation in product manufacturing, safety, and labeling. In addition to safety and toxicology studies the Company utilizes cGMP-compliant manufacturing facilities, seed-to-shelf testing, and certificate of analysis transparency for all products. Recently, Charlotte's Web became the first and only broad-spectrum CBD hemp extract to be NSF Certified for Sport, the gold standard to ensure safe and consistent products for professional athletes and consumers alike."

14:08 EST Eli Lilly says FDA approves Jaypirca - Loxo@Lilly, the oncology unit of Eli Lilly and Company, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Jaypirca for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma after at least two lines of systemic therapy, including a Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor. Jaypirca was approved under the FDA's Accelerated Approval pathway based on response rate from the open-label, single-arm, international, Phase 1/2 study, called the BRUIN trial. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in a confirmatory trial. Jaypirca, a highly selective kinase inhibitor, utilizes a novel binding mechanism and is the first and only FDA approved non-covalent BTK inhibitor. Jaypirca can reestablish BTK inhibition in MCL patients previously treated with a covalent BTK inhibitor and extend the benefit of targeting the BTK pathway. "The approval of Jaypirca represents an important advance for patients with relapsed or refractory MCL, who currently have limited options and historically have had a poor prognosis following discontinuation of treatment with a covalent BTK inhibitor," said Michael Wang, M.D., Puddin Clarke Endowed Professor of Lymphoma and Myeloma at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. "These data indicate that Jaypirca can provide efficacy in patients previously treated with a covalent BTK inhibitor, potentially extending the time patients may benefit from BTK inhibition therapy. Jaypirca offers a new approach to targeting the BTK pathway following treatment with a covalent BTK inhibitor and has the potential to meaningfully impact the treatment paradigm for relapsed and refractory MCL patients."

13:02 EST Baker Hughes reports U.S. rig count unchanged at 771 rigs - Baker Hughes reports that the U.S. rig count is unchanged from last week at 771 with oil rigs down 4 to 609, gas rigs up 4 to 160 and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 2. The U.S. Rig Count is up 161 rigs from last year's count of 610 with oil rigs up 114, gas rigs up 45 and miscellaneous up 2. The U.S. Offshore Rig Count is down 3 to 13, down 5 year-over-year. The Canada Rig Count is up 6 from last week to 247, with oil rigs up 4 to 157, gas rigs up 2 to 90. The Canada Rig Count is up 30 rigs from last year's count of 217 with oil rigs up 22, gas rigs up 8.

13:01 EST Baker Hughes reports U.S. rig count unchanged at 771 rigs

12:29 EST Lucid Group jumps 8% to $9.75 after Betaville mention - Shares of Lucid Group moved higher after Ben Harrington's Betaville blog speculated, according to contacts, that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund is preparing to buy out the remainder of electric vehicle maker. Sources told the blog the Public Investment Fund is working with banks to purchase the remainder of Lucid that it does not already own. Shares of Lucid Group are up 8% to $9.74 in midday trading.

12:07 EST HBO renews 'The Last of Us' for a second season - Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) said that HBO drama "The Last of Us," which is based on a PlayStation (SONY) video game franchise of the same name, has been renewed for a second season. The series from co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann marks HBO's second largest debut, behind only "House of the Dragon." Episode 1 has now surpassed 22M viewers domestically, up nearly 5x from its premiere night audience. Episode 2 of "The Last of Us" talled 5.7M viewers across HBO Max and linear telecasts in the U.S. Sunday night, based on Nielsen and first party data, adding more than 1M new viewers vs. the series premiere, WarnerMedia said. This 22% jump marks the largest week two audience growth for any HBO Original Drama Series in the history of the network. "I'm humbled, honored, and frankly overwhelmed that so many people have tuned in and connected with our retelling of Joel and Ellie's journey. The collaboration with Craig Mazin, our incredible cast & crew, and HBO exceeded my already high expectations," said executive producer Neil Druckmann. "Now we have the absolute pleasure of being able to do it again with season two! On behalf of everyone at Naughty Dog & PlayStation, thank you!" Reference Link

12:00 EST California Resources falls -9.1% - California Resources is down -9.1%, or -$4.33 to $43.50.

12:00 EST American Express rises 10.4% - American Express is up 10.4%, or $16.14 to $172.02.

12:00 EST C3.ai rises 14.4% - C3.ai is up 14.4%, or $2.17 to $17.25.

11:27 EST Omniq Corp trading resumes

11:22 EST Omniq Corp trading halted, volatility trading pause

10:00 EST Silvergate Capital falls -7.7% - Silvergate Capital is down -7.7%, or -$1.09 to $13.02.

10:00 EST MiX Telematics falls -8.7% - MiX Telematics is down -8.7%, or -70c to $7.36.

10:00 EST American Express rises 9.6% - American Express is up 9.6%, or $14.95 to $170.83.

09:50 EST Akerna Corp trading resumes

09:47 EST Global Blue falls -8.0% - Global Blue is down -8.0%, or -56c to $6.43.

09:47 EST L3Harris Technologies rises 7.2% - L3Harris Technologies is up 7.2%, or $14.21 to $210.75.

09:47 EST Autoliv rises 7.5% - Autoliv is up 7.5%, or $6.39 to $91.32.

09:41 EST Correction: Trading in Kenon was not halted

09:40 EST NAMS Stock trading resumes

09:39 EST Kenon to resume trading at 9:50 a.m. ET - Kenon is scheduled to resume trading at 9:50 a.m. ET, with quotation set to resume at 9:45 a.m. ET, according to Nasdaq. Shares were halted, pending news, ahead of the company announcing that it will merge with Gryphon and sell its software business to POSaBIT.

09:35 EST NAMS Stock trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:28 EST CARFAX Car Care program tops 30M consumers - CARFAX, part of S&P Global Mobility, announces 30M consumers are using the service to track the 43M vehicles they drive. CARFAX Car Care is a free tool that lets car owners track their service needs and provides timely service reminders and safety recall alerts.

09:18 EST Akerna to merge with Gryphon, sell software business to POSaBIT - Akerna Corp. announced it will merge with Gryphon Digital Mining in an all-stock deal. Simultaneously with the closing of the merger with Gryphon, Akerna will sell its software business to POSaBIT Systems Corporation. The company said, "Gryphon, a leading net carbon neutral bitcoin miner, will be merging with Akerna by way of an Agreement and Plan of Merger to create a leading, ESG-committed, carbon-neutral bitcoin miner. Upon completion of the merger, Akerna will change its name to Gryphon Digital Mining, Inc. The merger is expected to provide Akerna shareholders with access to the bitcoin mining industry with one of its premier operators. Gryphon brings a top-tier bitcoin mining operation to Akerna shareholders. Since it commenced bitcoin mining operations in September 2021, Gryphon has consistently ranked among the top three miners on a bitcoin efficiency1 basis according to publicly available data and has finished at or tied for first place in nine of the 12 months of 2022. Through its self-mining operations and royalty stream, Gryphon has a potential revenue generating profile of 1.1 exahash per second on a cost basis of 0.75 EH/s." POSaBIT will be acquiring MJ Freeway, including MJ Platform and Leaf Data System brands, and Ample Organics. Akerna and POSaBIT do not anticipate any interruption to clients as a result of the transactions. In connection with the two transactions, Akerna entered into two separate definitive agreements. The first definitive agreement is a Securities Purchase Agreement for the sale of Akerna's MJ Freeway and Ample Organics business units to POSaBIT for $4M in cash. In connection with the closing of the proposed sale transaction, Akerna plans to use the proceeds of the transaction, after expenses, to pay its remaining outstanding accounts payable and pay down any remaining principal balance on its outstanding senior secured convertible notes, net of $500,000 retained for outstanding obligations and net cash requirements associated with the proposed merger between Akerna and Gryphon. The second definitive agreement is an Agreement and Plan of Merger, pursuant to which Gryphon will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Akerna in an all-stock transaction. Upon completion of the proposed merger, on a pro forma basis and based upon the number of Akerna shares to be issued in the proposed merger, current Gryphon equityholders are expected to own approximately 92.5% of the combined company and current Akerna equityholders are expected to own approximately 7.5% of the combined company. The combined company is expected to continue to be publicly traded on Nasdaq. Upon closing of the proposed merger, Akerna Corp. will be renamed Gryphon Digital Mining, Inc., and will be headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. Rob Chang will serve as Chief Executive Officer of the combined company. The merger agreement provides that the Board of Directors of the combined company will comprise of seven members of which a minimum of five will be filled upon completion of the merger, one designated by Akerna, being Jessica Billingsley, its current Chief Executive Officer, and the remaining six positions to be designated by Gryphon. Both transactions are conditioned on the other transaction closing and both transactions are subject to the approval of the stockholders of Akerna. Approval of the merger transaction is subject to the approval of the stockholders of Gryphon and approval of the combined company for listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

09:13 EST Know Labs names Ron Erickson CEO, announces other leadership changes - Know Labs announced changes to its executive leadership team. As announced, Ron Erickson, founder and chairman at Know Labs, was unanimously named CEO by the company's board of directors. Erickson has been with the company and its predecessors for nearly 20 years. He brings 30 years of board, business development, financial and executive leadership experience across multiple industries. Alongside Erickson, James Anderson continues as Know Labs' chief medical officer, leading all activities related to clinical development. Steve Kent continues as Know Labs' chief product officer, responsible for all initiatives related to product development. Know Labs' Finance and Intellectual Property functions continue to be led by Pete Conley, CFO and SVP, intellectual property. Masanori King Takee was promoted to CTO. In his new role, Takee will continue to lead the company's software engineering, artificial intelligence and machine learning activities. Jessica English joins the Know Labs team as chief marketing officer. She will lead the company's marketing and communications efforts in preparation for a commercial launch. Leo Trautwein, previously Know Labs' chief marketing officer, is now chief commercial officer. Trautwein has made significant contributions to Know Labs across multiple functions in addition to marketing, such as corporate strategy, operations and regulatory.

09:07 EST Remark partners with AAEON to simplify delivery of AI-driven video analytics - Remark Holdings announced its latest partnership with AAEON, a leader in AI-Edge computing. This partnership signifies the importance of providing market-ready solutions for creating smart cities requiring vision solutions for increased public safety, situational awareness, and behavior analysis. "We are extremely excited about this partnership. Combining our AI-driven video analytics with AAEON's computing platforms creates a simplified solution for system integrators and end users. Together, we can easily create and deploy a complete vision system that detects, identifies, tracks, and characterizes objects, people, vehicles, and behaviors at scale and speed with actionable insights, with minimal false alerts," said Dr. Xiaoyun Yang, Director of R&D at Remark Holdings.

09:06 EST Community West Bancshares raises quarterly dividend 6.7% to 8c per share - The Company's Board of Directors declared an increase of its quarterly cash dividend by 6.7% to $0.08 per common share, payable February 28, 2023, to common shareholders of record on February 10, 2023.

09:03 EST Lucid Motors opens first retail studio, service center in Montreal, Quebec - Lucid Group announced the official opening of its latest combination Studio, delivery, and service center in the province of Quebec. The Montreal opening marks 32 Studio and service center locations in North America and 36 globally, and will open to the public beginning Saturday, January 28. After exceeding 2022's provided production goals with 7,180 vehicles produced, Lucid is actively expanding its physical presence in Canada by opening its third retail location in the country and first service, delivery, and sales centre in Quebec. "The opening of our first retail location in the province of Quebec is a significant milestone for Lucid in Canada," said Zak Edson, Vice President of Sales and Service, Lucid Group. "Canadians have proven they're serious about EVs, so we're looking forward to providing Montreal and surrounding areas with the innovation and dynamic experience of our award-winning lineup of Lucid Air."

09:03 EST Tompkins Financial increases quarterly cash dividend 5.3% to 60c per share - Tompkins Financial announced that its board of directors approved payment of a regular quarterly cash dividend of 60c per share, payable on February 15 to common shareholders of record on February 7. The dividend amount represents an increase of 3c per share, or 5.3% over the dividend paid in the first quarter of 2022.

08:56 EST Akerna Corp trading halted, news pending

08:51 EST Altamira remains committed to strategy to focus exclusively on RNA delivery - Altamira Therapeutics provided a business update on its strategic repositioning and important business developments. The Company remains committed to its primary corporate strategy to focus exclusively on RNA delivery. As previously stated, its discussions with major OTC consumer health companies to partner Bentrio marketing and distribution for North America, Europe and other key markets have moved into a decisive phase. The interim results from the NASAR study in seasonal allergic rhinitis, announced earlier this week, have further bolstered the set of positive safety and efficacy data for Bentrio in allergic rhinitis. And while the COVAMID study may not have reached its primary endpoint and results were not conclusive under the specific test conditions, it is worth noting that treatment with Bentrio showed a trend for faster and more pronounced reduction in nasal viral load and symptoms than untreated controls. Further, the setting of the COVAMID trial is much different from a situation where Bentrio is applied prophylactically, i.e. preventing contact of inhaled airborne viruses with the nasal mucosa. The Company has generated positive data from multiple tests with Bentrio on cultured human nasal epithelia cells exposed to various types of viruses, including SARS-CoV2, influenza and human rhinovirus. Preventive application clearly yielded the best outcomes, and Bentrio is best used right before or while being exposed to potentially harmful airborne particles - whether they are allergens such as pollen or house dust mites or viruses. Similarly, the Company is striving to sell or partner its other legacy assets - inner ear therapeutics. Unfortunately, the agreed upon sale of these assets to a European family office did not close as the Buyer was not able to secure financing. As the Buyer remains interested in the transaction, discussions continue. Concurrently, Altamira is pursuing a divestiture or partnering transaction for the inner ear assets with other parties. As timelines for the completion of the divestiture / partnering process for the Company's legacy assets have shifted, Altamira's Board of Directors has taken measures to enhance its financial flexibility. The Company has agreed with FiveT Investment Management to restructure certain terms and conditions of the CHF 5M convertible loan which it had granted to Altamira in February 2022. Under the newly amended terms of the convertible loan agreement, the maturity is extended from February 8, 2023 to March 15, 2023. In addition, if a private or public offering of the Company's common shares is implemented before maturity, FiveT will convert a portion of the loan's principal amount and accrued interest into common shares and pre-funded warrants and receive a partial repayment in cash. In this context, the Company is calling a special general meeting of its shareholders for February 17, 2023 to propose an increase in the authorized share capital to accommodate its potential future funding needs as well as the possible partial conversion of the FiveT loan.

08:47 EST Black Hills electric utility receives approval for new rates in Wyoming - Black Hills announced that its Wyoming electric utility, Cheyenne Light, Fuel and Power Company, doing business as Black Hills Energy, received approval from the Wyoming Public Service Commission of a settlement agreement for new rates to recover approximately $250 million of investments since its last rate review in 2014. The approved settlement agreement will generate approximately $8.7 million of new annual revenues based on a capital structure of 52% equity, 48% debt and a return on equity of 9.75%. New rates will be effective March 1, 2023, and the approved settlement also includes a new transmission rider that will be filed annually to recover transmission investment and expenses.

08:41 EST Badger Meter says demand environment remains robust - The company said, "As we enter 2023, the demand environment remains robust, aided by favorable secular growth trends for digital smart water solutions delivering efficiency, resiliency and sustainability. Our value proposition has supported our ability to drive price realization, which will provide continuing benefits to our results. While macro challenges have not dissipated, we do expect pockets of inflationary leveling along with continual supply chain improvements as the year progresses. In summary, we believe we are well positioned regardless of the macro environment, as our comprehensive offerings, exceptional execution and the strength of our balance sheet remain competitive advantages."

08:38 EST Atlantic Union Bankshares names Matt Linderman as chief information officer - Atlantic Union Bankshares (AUB) has named Matt Linderman as its new chief information officer. Linderman will be responsible for providing leadership, planning and management for all areas of technology and digital strategy, development and implementation. Linderman most recently held the position of chief technology officer at PNC Financial (PNC).

08:35 EST Vision Marine Technologies announces closing of registered direct offering - Vision Marine Technologies announced the closing of its registered direct offering with certain investors for the issuance and sale of 554,253 of its common shares at a price of $4.21 per share, for gross proceeds of approximately $2.3 million. Additionally, Vision Marine issued to the investors in a concurrent private placement, warrants to purchase up to 554,253 common shares, which represented 100% of the number of common shares sold in the registered direct offering. The warrants have an exercise price of $4.21 per share, are exercisable six months following the issuance date and will expire three years following the issuance date. Roth Capital Partners served as sole placement agent for the transaction. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for working capital and general corporate purposes.

08:33 EST Ameris Bancorp says strong revenue base of net interest income from core banking - Says strong revenue base of net interest income from core banking division. Says continued focus on low cost funding mix. Says C&I loans represent second largest category of loans. Says portfolio is well diversified. Comments taken from Q4 presentation slides.

08:31 EST SeaWorld announces eight leadership promotions - SeaWorld Entertainment announced the promotion of eight leaders across the business as part of organizational adjustments designed to position the Company for continued growth and long-term value creation. This includes the formation of a new Chief Transformation Officer role and appointment of two seasoned park leaders to the co-role of Chief Parks Operation Officer, CPOO, one for the Florida parks and the other to lead all the non-Florida parks. The Company also named an interim CFO and Treasurer, three new Park Presidents and a new CAO. All the roles involve promotions from within the organization. Current Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Chelle Adams was promoted to the new position of Chief Transformation Officer. Jim Forrester was promoted to serve as Interim Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Forrester has been with SeaWorld since 2019, most recently serving as the VP of Finance for the Orlando Parks including SeaWorld, Aquatica and Discovery Cove. Two seasoned park leaders were promoted to the co-position of Chief Parks Operations Officer. The CPOOs will jointly be responsible for overseeing all park operations. Kyle Miller was promoted to CPOO for all the Florida parks. Miller has served as the Park President for SeaWorld Orlando, Discovery Cove and Aquatica Orlando since 2019 and has been with the company for approximately 28 years. Byron Surrett was promoted to CPOO for all the non-Florida parks. Surrett served as Park President of SeaWorld San Antonio and Aquatica San Antonio since 2019 and in June he will celebrate 47 years with the company. Three leaders were promoted into Park President positions. This includes Jon 'JP' Peterson, who was promoted to Park President of SeaWorld Orlando. Peterson has been with SeaWorld for approximately 30 years and has served as Vice President of Zoological Operations for SeaWorld Orlando since 2019. Bradley Gilmour was promoted to Park President of Aquatica Orlando and Discovery Cove. Gilmour served as Vice President of Park Operations for Discovery Cove for the last four years and 2023 marks his 20th year with the company. Jodi Davenport was promoted to Park President of SeaWorld San Antonio and Aquatica San Antonio. Davenport has been with SeaWorld since 2020, most recently serving as the Vice President of Finance and IT for the park. Shekufeh Boyle was promoted to Chief Accounting Officer, reporting to the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. In her ninth year at SeaWorld Entertainment, Boyle most recently served as the Company's Corporate Controller and Vice President of Accounting.

08:17 EST Vizsla Silver announces $34M brokered private placement financing - Vizsla Silver entered into an agreement with PI Financial Corp. as sole bookrunner and lead agent, on behalf of a syndicate of agents in connection with a commercially reasonable efforts private placement of 20,610,000 common shares of the Company at a price of $1.65 per Share for aggregate gross proceeds of $34,006,500, excluding any additional proceeds raised from the exercise of the Agents' Option. The Company will grant the Agents an option, which will allow the Agents to offer up to an additional 15% of the Offering, on the same terms as the Shares. The Agents' Option may be exercised in whole or in part at any time prior to the Closing Date of the Offering. The net proceeds from the Offering will be used to advance the exploration, drilling and development of the Company's Panuco Project, as well as for working capital and general corporate purposes. The closing of the Offering is anticipated to occur on or around February 9, 2023 and is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, including the acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange. All securities issued under the Offering will be subject to a statutory hold period in Canada expiring four months and one day from the Closing Date.

08:15 EST Ayr Wellness announces mutual termination of Dispensary 33 acquistion - Ayr Wellness announced the termination of the Company's previously announced proposed acquisition of the equity interests of Gentle Ventures, LLC d/b/a Dispensary 33, and certain of its affiliates that collectively own and operate two licensed retail dispensaries in Chicago, Illinois. Following the mutual termination, Ayr will no longer be required to pay the previously announced purchase consideration of $55M upfront, including $12M of cash, $3M of sellers notes and $40M of stock.

08:13 EST Orchestra BioMed begins trading on Nasdaq with cash runway into 2026 - Orchestra BioMed (OBIO) closed its business combination with Health Sciences Acquisitions 2 (HSAQ). Common stock of the combined company called "Orchestra BioMed Holdings, Inc.", commenced trading on January 27 on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker symbol "OBIO". Orchestra BioMed's management team, led by Chairman, CEO and Co-founder David Hochman, will lead the combined company. Gross proceeds from the business combination were $70M including $20M in market purchases of HSAC2 stock by an affiliate of Medtronic (MDT) and funds managed by RTW Investments, a life sciences investment firm, as well as an additional investment by RTW concurrent with the closing. Together with proceeds from Orchestra BioMed's previously completed $110M Series D financing, total cash following the business combination is expected to provide the company with a cash runway into 2026. The Series D financing included a $40M investment from Medtronic, a $20M investment from RTW, and investments from Perceptive Advisors, Terumo, SternAegis Ventures and others. The company's cash resources are intended to support the execution of pivotal studies for BackBeat Cardiac Neuromodulation Therapy for the treatment of hypertension in cardiac pacemaker patients, and Virtue Sirolimus AngioInfusion Balloon in patients with coronary in-stent restenosis.

08:11 EST Senti Bio does not intend to invest in development of SENTI-301A - The Company does not intend to invest in the clinical development of SENTI-301A, for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), on its own at this time; however, the Company believes there is significant market opportunity for SENTI-301A, especially in territories within Asia where HCC is more prevalent than in the United States. Accordingly, the Company is actively pursuing strategic geographic partnerships for clinical development of SENTI-301A

08:09 EST Goodyear Tire announces cost savings plan, plans to reduce staff by 5% - The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company announced cost savings actions in response to a challenging industry environment and cost pressure driven by inflation. Planned rationalization and workforce reorganization would result in an approximately 5% reduction in salaried staff globally, or about 500 positions. "Our fourth quarter results fell short of our expectations given a significantly weaker industry backdrop, particularly in Europe," said Richard Kramer, chairman, chief executive officer and president. "While our businesses have performed at a high level through the volatility of the past several years, the uncertain near-term macroeconomic outlook and continuing impacts of inflation make these difficult actions necessary to position our business for future success." Global replacement tire industry demand remained weak in the fourth quarter, led by a 12% decline in EMEA. When coupled with the impacts of inflation - including significant increases in energy costs - the Company expects its EMEA business unit to report a fourth quarter segment operating loss of approximately $80 million. EMEA had reported positive segment operating income since the second quarter of 2020. While raw material and certain other input costs have declined recently, the Company seeks to drive efficiencies to help offset inflation in other areas like wages and benefits. The rationalization and reorganization are expected to be completed during the first and second quarters with a portion in international businesses subject to required consultation with relevant stakeholders. These actions are in addition to cost synergies related to the integration of Cooper Tire. The Company expects to record pre-tax charges associated with these actions of approximately $55 million, primarily relating to cash severance payments that are expected to be substantially paid during the first half of 2023. The rationalization and reorganization will result in a quarterly run-rate benefit of approximately $15 million beginning in the second quarter. Savings in the first quarter are expected to be $5 million.

08:06 EST First Hawaiian board adopts $40M stock repurchase program - Additionally, the Company's Board of Directors adopted a stock repurchase program for up to $40 million of its outstanding common stock during 2023.

08:04 EST BAE Systems gets CV90 contract modification from Swedish FMV - BAE Systems has received a contract modification from the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration, or FMV, to build 20 additional CV90 mortar vehicles. The approximately $30M contract has been awarded to the BAE Systems Swedish joint venture HB Utveckling AB, which combines BAE Systems' Hagglunds and Bofors manufacturing capabilities. Production will be performed at BAE Systems Hagglunds in Ornskoldsvik, Sweden.

07:50 EST Confluent restructuring includes 8% workforce reduction - In a regulatory filing yesterday, Confluent stated: "On January 17, 2023, the board of directors of the company approved restructuring actions to adjust its cost structure and real estate footprint and accelerate its timeline to achieve breakeven non-GAAP operating margin. The Company now expects to exit the fourth quarter of 2023 with breakeven non-GAAP operating margin, while delivering approximately 30% annual revenue growth in 2023. The Restructuring Plan includes a reduction of approximately 8% of the Company's global workforce of 2,761 employees as of December 31, 2022, with most of these reductions expected to occur by the end of the second quarter of 2023. Worldwide, the Company expects the workforce reductions to comply with applicable laws including consultation requirements. Any local separations will be determined at the time and as required by any local consultation or process requirements. The company estimates it will incur approximately $27 to $31 million in non-recurring charges in connection with the Restructuring Plan, predominantly related to cash expenditures for employee transition and severance payments, employee benefits, and related facilitation costs as well as non-cash expenditures related to lease abandonment. Of the total restructuring expenses, $14 to $17 million is expected to result in future cash outlays. The company expects the majority of the charges to be recognized by March 31, 2023 and future cash outlays to be substantially complete by June 30, 2023. The costs associated with the Restructuring Plan will be included in the company's GAAP results but are expected to be excluded from the company's non-GAAP results. Potential position eliminations in each country are subject to local law and consultation requirements, which may extend this process beyond June 30, 2023 in certain countries. The charges that the Company expects to incur are subject to a number of assumptions, including local law requirements in various jurisdictions, and actual expenses may differ materially from the estimates disclosed."

07:36 EST Sol-Gel announces $22.8M registered direct, private placement offerings - Sol-Gel Technologies announced today the pricing of a registered direct offering with Armistice Capital for the sale and purchase of 2,560,000 shares of the Company's ordinary shares, par value NIS 0.1, at a purchase price of $5.00 per share, in a registered direct offering. Concurrent with the Registered Direct Offering, the Company has also agreed to issue to Armistice Capital unregistered warrants to purchase up to 2,560,000 Ordinary Shares in a concurrent private placement. Also, M. Arkin Dermatology Ltd., an entity wholly-owned by Mr. Mori Arkin, the Chairman of Sol-Gel's Board of Directors and indirect controlling shareholder, agreed to purchase 2,000,000 Ordinary Shares, and warrants to purchase up to 2,000,000 Ordinary Shares in a concurrent private placement, at purchase price of $5.00 per share. The Warrants will have an exercise price of $5.85 per Ordinary Share and will become exercisable beginning six months from the date hereof and will expire five years thereafter. The Company will only receive gross proceeds from the Warrants to the extent the Warrants are exercised for cash. The aggregate gross proceeds of the Registered Direct Offering and the Concurrent Private Placements are expected to be approximately $22.8 million before deducting placement agent fees and other offering expenses payable by the Company. The Company expects the Registered Direct Offering and the Warrant Private Placement to close on or about January 31, 2023, subject in each case to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. The closing of the Affiliate Private Placement is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including the receipt of disinterested shareholder approval. In addition, each of the Concurrent Private Placements is contingent on the closing of the Registered Direct Offering. The closing of the Registered Direct Offering is not contingent on the closing of the Concurrent Private Placements. Raymond James & Associates, Inc. is acting as the exclusive placement agent for the Registered Direct Offering and Warrant Private Placement. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Offerings to fund the acquisition of SGT-610, the topically-applied patidegib, a new chemical entity hedgehog signaling pathway blocker, for the treatment of Gorlin syndrome, research and development activities for SGT-610 through its planned clinical trial and the remainder for working capital and other general corporate purposes. The Company believes that the net proceeds from the Registered Direct Offering and the Concurrent Private Placements, together with its existing cash resources, will be sufficient to enable the Company to fund its operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into the second half of 2025.

07:34 EST Irwin Naturals signs letter of intent to acquire Braxia Scientific - Irwin Naturals has entered into a non-binding amended and restated Letter of Intent for a business combination with Braxia Scientific. The LOI sets forth the material terms and conditions upon which Irwin will acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Braxia. Under the terms of the LOI, Irwin is prepared to offer a purchase price per Braxia Share based upon a valuation of the outstanding Braxia Shares of $30,000,000 and a deemed value per subordinate voting share and/or proportionate voting share of Irwin equal to the greater of $3.00 and the volume weighted average trading price of Irwin Shares on the Canadian Securities Exchange for the 20 trading days immediately prior to the execution of the Arrangement Agreement. The purchase price would be payable on closing of the Proposed Transaction by the issuance of Consideration Shares to each holder of Braxia Shares. Based on the closing price of Irwin Shares and Braxia Shares on the CSE on January 25, 2023 of C$3.80 and C$0.05, respectively, the purchase price and exchange ratio imply a 315.72% premium to the price of Braxia Shares. The number of Consideration Shares will also be adjusted upward in the event that the total consideration received by holders of Braxia Shares is less than $30,000,000, to be determined at a specified period of time after the Closing Date and as set forth in the Arrangement Agreement. The final purchase price per Braxia Share and the exchange ratio will be set forth and determined at the time the Arrangement Agreement is executed. The LOI further provides that the Consideration Shares would be subject to a lock-up period and would be restricted from transfer or sale for a period of 6 months after the Closing Date. Insiders of Braxia would be subject to a Lock-Up period of 12 months from the Closing Date. Additionally, under the terms of the LOI and in connection with the Proposed Transaction, it is expected that the convertible securities of Braxia would, pursuant to the Arrangement Agreement, either remain outstanding in accordance with their terms or be exchanged for substantially similar securities of Irwin. The LOI is non-binding and there is no assurance that the Proposed Transaction will be completed as proposed. The completion of the Proposed Transaction is subject to, among other things completion of satisfactory due diligence by each of Braxia and Irwin; (ii) negotiation of and the entering into of a binding definitive Arrangement Agreement in connection with the Proposed Transaction; receipt of all required corporate approvals from the board of directors of Braxia and Irwin, respectively, and all regulatory and shareholder approvals, including the approval of the CSE and any required third-party consents; and Braxia having at least C$575,000 in working capital immediately before closing on the Closing Date.

07:32 EST Arbutus Biopharma board member Tram Tran resigns - Arbutus Biopharma announced that Tram Tran, MD has notified the company of her intention to resign from the company's Board of Directors, effective February 26. Dr. Tran will be transitioning into public service commencing February 27, 2023, that will preclude her participation on the Arbutus and other pharmaceutical and biotechnology Boards. Tran joined the Arbutus Board of Directors in November 2021 and served as a member of the Executive Compensation and Human Resources Committee. Tran's decision to resign is not due to any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to the company's operations, policies or practices. The company will immediately begin a search for a new independent board member to replace Tran.

07:30 EST Origin Materials announces completion of Origin 1 manufacturing plant - Origin Materials announced the mechanical completion of Origin 1, the company's first commercial manufacturing plant, in-line with the previously disclosed timeline. As part of mechanical completion, the plant's critical mechanical systems have been successfully installed and commissioning has begun. Work onsite will continue, including electrical work, adding new equipment, and further refining technology. Work at the plant continues following this key achievement, with plant commissioning to support start-up anticipated to be complete around the end of Q1 2023 and start-up beginning shortly thereafter. Origin 1 is expected to start to address growing customer demand for the company's renewable materials and allow customers to qualify products and applications beyond PET. The company expects to provide guidance on revenue, EBITDA, and other financial metrics for full year 2023 on its next earnings call.

07:25 EST FiscalNote acquires Dragonfly Eye - FiscalNote announced the acquisition of Dragonfly Eye, a UK-based geopolitical and security intelligence provider of actionable data and analysis delivered through Dragonfly's SaaS-based, proprietary Security Intelligence and Analysis Service, or SIAS, subscription platform and API. With offices in London, New York, and Singapore - Dragonfly provides security, crisis management, and risk professionals at leading multinational companies, financial institutions, public sector entities, and NGOs with real-time mission-critical intelligence about potential and ongoing security risks to operations, early warning detection and forecasting to anticipate threats, risk rating systems around potential major disruptions, and access to key analysts and embedded intelligence. Dragonfly's SIAS platform is used by nearly half of the top 30 companies in the FTSE-500, and by 90% of the world's top 11 banks.

07:21 EST Bristol-Myers announces CHMP opinion recommending approval for Reblozyl - Bristol Myers announced the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, of the European Medicines Agency has recommended approval of Reblozyl as a treatment for adult patients with anemia associated with non-transfusion-dependent, or NTD, beta thalassemia. The recommendation will now be reviewed by the European Commission, or EC, which has the authority to approve medicines for use in the European Union, or EU. Upon approval, this would represent the third authorized indication for Reblozyl in the EU. The CHMP adopted the opinion based on results from the pivotal Phase 2 BEYOND study, evaluating the efficacy and safety of Reblozyl versus placebo in 145 adults with NTD beta thalassemia. Patients were eligible to receive best supportive care, including red blood cell transfusions, iron-chelating agents, use of antibiotic, antiviral, and antifungal therapy, and/or nutritional support, as needed.

07:15 EST American Express to increase quarterly dividend by 15% to 60c per share - The company plans to increase the regular quarterly dividend on its common shares outstanding by 15%, from 52c to 60c per share, beginning with the first quarter 2023 dividend declaration.

07:11 EST Vertical Aerospace CFO Vinny Casey resigns, John Martin succeeds - Vertical Aerospace announced it has appointed John Martin as CFO. Martin joins Vertical after a thirty year career in senior operational and financial management roles of large, international businesses. Martin takes up the role at Vertical on February 20. This announcement follows the resignation of Vinny Casey as Vertical's CFO, effective February 20.

07:07 EST Osino Resources receives environmental clearance certificate for Twin Hills - Osino Resources announced that the Namibian Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism has issued an Environmental Clearance Certificate for the Twin Hills Gold Project which is valid for three years and renewable on a three yearly cycle. Twin Hills' most recent technical study, a pre-feasibility study released in September 2022, outlines a 13-year open-pit mine life with an average annual gold production rate of 169koz per annum at all-in sustaining costs of US$930/oz in the 10 years of operation. This is based on 2.15 Moz in reserves. Following extensive stakeholder engagement and environmental baseline studies in 2021 and early 2022, the Namibian Ministry of Mines and Energy and Ministry of Environment, Forestry, and Tourism thoroughly reviewed the Project's Environmental and Social Impact Assessment and Environmental Management Plan and found no material flaws in the scope and assessment of the project. Included in the assessment and the management plan are provisions that any archeological finds must be reported to the National Heritage Council for review, guidance and management. Following the discovery of some historical grave sites within the Twin Hills Project area, Osino conducted a field review and documentation of the burial sites as an addendum to the archeological baseline study. Following this, an additional reconnaissance fieldwork program was carried out in the area to confirm that no other graves exist. All documents have been submitted to NHC for review and it is anticipated that the graves will have to be relocated, with consent from the descendants. As per the Environmental Management Act, 2007, the proposed mining project triggers listed activities under Namibia's EMA. Such activities require an environmental clearance certificate. In 2020 Osino appointed an independent environmental consulting firm as the Environmental Assessment Practitioner in accordance with EMA 2007 Regulation 3 to conduct an environmental and social impact assessment and apply for the required environmental clearance certificate. The MME is the competent authority for the proposed Project, and accordingly, the application was submitted to MME to carry out their designated functions. Once an ECC is issued, the certificate becomes effective from the date endorsed and remains effective for a period not exceeding three years as per the EMA 2007. ECCs are eligible for renewal every three years. The issuance of the ECC is one of three outstanding conditions for the conclusions of a full mining license for the Twin Hills gold project, to be issued by Namibia's MME. The process has been further described in a news release dated 31 October 2022. As stated earlier, once the conditions relating to grave relocations have been met, the first of the three main conditions to the issuance of the full and unconditional mining license will be achieved. The two remaining conditions are the sale of a 5% local Namibian minority equity participation and the fulfilment of certain affirmative action and poverty alleviation measures which are customary under Namibian law. As previously reported, the Osino team have been preparing to apply for site-specific secondary permits which are operationally specific. The timeframes for approvals of these secondary permits generally vary between three to six months, and the application process has been initiated. It is planned to commence with early works early in the second half of 2023. The initial permits to be applied for include road and river relocation/diversion, vegetation removal, water abstraction, wastewater discharge and accessory works permits, amongst others. The Company also announces it has engaged Stockhouse Publishing and Hybrid Financial to provide investor relations and marketing services and other assistance to support the Company's investor relations strategy, and to help build awareness and gain exposure with investors. Stockhouse is a marketing and media platform targeting retail investors and is based in Vancouver, BC. Osino has agreed to pay Stockhouse C$100,000 for a 12-month term with the first payment of C$25,000 used for the first two months and last month of the term and the subsequent payments made quarterly. Hybrid is a leading Investor Relations firm based in Toronto, ON. Osino has agreed to pay Hybrid an initial one-time capital markets advisory services fee of C$90,000 and a monthly fee of C$15,000 over the 12-month term. Both Stockhouse and Hybrid are arm's length parties to the Company and, to the Company's knowledge, do not currently own any securities of the Company, but may purchase securities of the Company from time to time for investment purposes.

06:59 EST Merck's Keytruda approved by FDA for non-small cell lung cancer treatment - Merck announced that the FDA has approved Keytruda, Merck's anti-PD-1 therapy, as a single agent, for adjuvant treatment following surgical resection and platinum-based chemotherapy for adult patients with stage IB, II, or IIIA non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC. The approval is based on data from the pivotal Phase 3 KEYNOTE-091 trial. The major efficacy outcome measure was investigator-assessed disease-free survival. In patients who received adjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy following surgical resection, Keytruda reduced the risk of disease recurrence or death by 27% versus placebo regardless of PD-L1 expression. The median DFS in patients regardless of PD-L1 expression who received adjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy following surgical resection was nearly five years for the Keytruda arm versus nearly three years for the placebo arm, translating to a nearly two-year DFS improvement versus placebo. The adverse reactions observed in KEYNOTE-091 were generally similar to those occurring in other patients with NSCLC receiving Keytruda as a single agent, with the exception of hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism and pneumonitis. Two fatal adverse reactions of myocarditis occurred. With this approval, Keytruda is the only immunotherapy with an approved option for NSCLC regardless of PD-L1 expression in both the adjuvant and metastatic settings.

06:53 EST Chevron CEO says 'well positioned to lead in both traditional and new energy' - "We are well positioned to lead in both traditional and new energy businesses, while delivering higher returns, lower carbon and superior shareholder value," said Mike Wirth, Chevron's chairman and CEO. "In 2022, Chevron also added 1.1 billion barrels of net oil-equivalent proved reserves. These additions, which are subject to final reviews, equate to approximately 97 percent of net oil equivalent production for the year. The largest net additions were from assets in the Permian Basin, Israel, Canada and the Gulf of Mexico. The largest net reductions were from assets in Kazakhstan, primarily due to higher prices and their negative effect on reserves. The company will provide additional details relating to 2022 reserves in its Annual Report on Form 10-K scheduled to be filed with the SEC on February 23," the company stated.

05:25 EST Regeneron, Sanofi announce CHMP opinion recommending EU approval for Dupixent - Regeneron (REGN) and Sanofi (SNY) announced that the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, adopted an opinion for Dupixent, recommending expanded approval in the European Union, or EU, to treat severe atopic dermatitis in children six months to five years old who are candidates for systemic therapy. The European Commission is expected to announce a final decision on the Dupixent application in the coming months. In June 2022, Dupixent was approved by the FDA for children in this age group.

05:06 EST Argenx announces FDA extension of efgartigimod BLA review - Argenx announced that the FDA has extended the review of the biologics license application, or BLA, for subcutaneous, or SC, efgartigimod for the treatment of adult patients with generalized myasthenia gravis, or gMG, to June 20.