Stockwinners Market Radar for February 15, 2024 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:35 EST Cathie Wood's ARK Investment bought 3.4M shares of Prime Medicine today

19:50 EST Shineco Inc trading halted, news pending

17:19 EST Sandstorm Gold sees 2024 production 75K-90K attributable gold eq. oz. - Production forecast is expected to reach approximately 125K attributable gold equivalent ounces within the next five years.

17:11 EST TriNet initiates 25c per share quarterly dividend - TriNet's board of director's approved a dividend of 25c per share. TriNet's stock will have an ex-dividend date of March 29, a dividend record date of April 1 and a dividend payment date of April 22.

16:57 EST Staffing 360 Solutions divests U.K. staffing business - Staffing 360 Solutions announced a targeted shift in its focus exclusively on its U.S. staffing business of Monroe Staffing Services, Key Resources, Headway Workforce Solutions and Lighthouse Professional Services, and that IPE Ventures has assumed ownership of the Company's U.K.-based staffing operation. After a thorough, strategic review of its business and current industry conditions, the board of Staffing 360 Solutions concluded that the company will be best served by focusing solely on the U.S. staffing market, which is the largest such market in the world. The board currently is evaluating various options through which the company can successfully execute on this new strategy.

16:52 EST Corcept Therapeutics announces preliminary results from CATALYST study - Corcept Therapeutics announced preliminary results from the prevalence phase of its ongoing CATALYST study of Cushing's syndrome in patients with difficult-to-control type 2 diabetes. With a planned enrollment of 1,000 patients, CATALYST is the largest study ever conducted to establish the prevalence of hypercortisolism in this patient population. Of the first 700 patients enrolled in CATALYST, 24% were identified as having hypercortisolism - a prevalence rate that has been consistent throughout the study. Final results from the prevalence phase will be presented at the American Diabetes Association's 84th Scientific Sessions in June. "These results are very powerful. While cortisol's role in diabetes is well understood, most diabetes care providers have not considered hypercortisolism as a source of the disease for their patients with difficult-to-control diabetes. These preliminary results clearly indicate that hypercortisolism should be considered - as the prevalence rate is significantly higher than previously assumed," said Ralph DeFronzo, chief of the Diabetes Division and professor of medicine at UT Health San Antonio and CATALYST study investigator. "We look forward to seeing the full results of this study, as they will guide physicians to better identify patients with hypercortisolism and make informed treatment decisions to prevent the serious and deadly complications associated with the disease." "We look forward to advancing this landmark study to completion," said Bill Guyer, PharmD, Corcept's chief development officer. "We deeply appreciate the investigators and patients participating in CATALYST. Almost all of the patients identified as suffering from hypercortisolism currently go undiagnosed. We expect that CATALYST's findings will lead to more accurate diagnoses - and ultimately treatment - for this vulnerable population."

16:49 EST Wabash increases stock repurchase program by $150M - Wabash announced its board of directors authorized the company's repurchase of up to an additional $150M of the company's common stock. With this increase to the existing repurchase authorization, the company's total outstanding repurchase authorization is approximately $180M.

16:47 EST CooperCompanies to effect four-for-one stock split on February 16 - CooperCompanies announced that its four-for-one stock split will become effective on Friday, February 16 at 5:00 PM ET, and trading is expected to begin on a stock split-adjusted basis at market open on Tuesday, February 20, under the existing trading symbol.

16:43 EST DraftKings to acquire Jackpocket for $750M - DraftKings announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Jackpocket, the lottery app in the United States, for total consideration of approximately $750M, with approximately 55% of the consideration payable in cash funded from the company's balance sheet with no capital raise required and approximately 45% of the consideration payable in the company's Class A common stock, subject to customary purchase price adjustments. Conservatively assuming no additional OSB and iGaming legalization in the U.S., DraftKings expects the proposed transaction to drive $260M to $340M of incremental revenue and $60M to $100M of incremental adjusted EBITDA in fiscal year 2026. On the same basis, assuming no additional OSB and iGaming legalization in the U.S., DraftKings expects the proposed transaction to drive $350M to $450M of incremental revenue and $100M to $150M of incremental adjusted EBITDA in fiscal year 2028. Under the terms of the merger agreement entered into on February 11, Jackpocket stockholders will receive total consideration of approximately $750M on a fully diluted basis, consisting of approximately $412.5M in cash, subject to certain customary purchase price adjustments, and approximately $337.5M in the company's Class A common stock, subject to the collar mechanism described below. The stock consideration will be subject to a collar pursuant to which a variable number of shares of DraftKings' Class A common stock will be issued to Jackpocket stockholders in order to deliver a value of approximately $337.5M, so long as the 30-trading-day volume weighted average price of DraftKings' Class A common stock as of the second trading day immediately preceding the closing of the proposed transaction remains between $31.68 and $42.86. In the event that DraftKings' closing stock price is above $42.86 or below $31.68, Jackpocket stockholders will receive a fixed number of approximately 7,874,806 shares or approximately 10,654,149 shares, respectively, of DraftKings' Class A common stock, representing approximately 2% of the outstanding shares of DraftKings' Class A common stock. The merger agreement and the proposed transaction have been approved by the boards of each of DraftKings and Jackpocket, as well as Jackpocket's stockholders.

16:38 EST T2 Biosystems announces new territory exclusive distribution agreements - T2 Biosystems announced the execution of territory exclusive distribution agreements for new geographies in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Vietnam, as well as the re-entry into Switzerland. Under the terms of the agreements, T2 Biosystems will sell the T2Dx Instrument, the T2Bacteria Panel, the T2Candida Panel, and the T2Resistance Panel into these countries through its distribution partners. The execution of these territory exclusive distribution agreements further expands T2 Biosystems' commercial business internationally. Finally, T2 Biosystems' current distribution partner Biomedica, which secured the company's second largest T2Dx Instrument contract in company history during 2023 in Poland, is re-entering the Switzerland market with T2 Biosystems' sepsis products.

16:36 EST Taysha Gene Therapies provides update on deprioritized pipeline programs - Taysha Gene Therapies provided an update on its deprioritized pipeline programs. The company said, "Taysha has been working to find ways to advance its deprioritized programs. On November 13, 2023, Taysha terminated its existing loan and security agreement and entered into a new loan and security agreement that provides consent to allow the Company to transfer intellectual property (IP) for several deprioritized programs to third parties in a more efficient manner. The Company's new loan and security agreement also extended its cash runway into 2026. Recent progress on previously deprioritized pipeline programs includes: TSHA-120: The Company initiated the transfer of the United States Food and Drug Administration Investigational New Drug (IND) application and investigational clinical trial material for TSHA-120 in giant axonal neuropathy (GAN) to clinical trial collaborator National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), creating an opportunity for continued clinical evaluation of TSHA-120 in GAN. Additionally, the Company entered discussions with the originating advocacy organization regarding TSHA-120 in an effort to transfer rights back to the advocacy organization to move the program forward. TSHA-101: The Company transferred rights back to Queen's University (Queen's) for TSHA-101 in GM2 gangliosidosis, resulting in Queen's regaining exclusive IP to the program. TSHA-104 and TSHA-112: The Company transferred rights back to the originating institution for select programs, including TSHA-104 in SURF1-associated Leigh syndrome and TSHA-112 in APBD. TSHA-118: The Company provided investigational clinical trial material for TSHA-118 in CLN1 to support an individual-patient investigator-initiated IND request from RUSH University Medical Center for the treatment of a patient with CLN1 disease."

16:35 EST Amazon.com executive chair Jeff Bezos sells $2.03B in common stock - In a regulatory filing, Amazon.com disclosed that its executive chair Jeff Bezos sold 12M shares of common stock on February 13th as part of option exercise in a total transaction size of $2.03B.

16:32 EST Encompass Health announces plans to build 60-bed hospital in Arizona - Encompass Health announced preliminary plans to build a freestanding, 60-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Avondale, Arizona. The hospital will be located within The District at Crystal Springs development at the southwest corner of Avondale Boulevard and McDowell Road.

16:31 EST EnPro raises quarterly dividend 3.4% to 30c per share - Enpro declared a quarterly dividend of 30c per share, a 3.4% increase from the previous quarterly dividend of 29c per share. Enpro has now increased its quarterly dividend for nine consecutive years since initiating a dividend in 2015. "As part of Enpro's balanced capital allocation strategy, we review our dividend annually. This year, we are pleased to increase our dividend once again, reflecting the company's strong balance sheet, durable cash generation and continued positive long-term outlook," said Eric Vaillancourt, President and Chief Executive Officer.

16:30 EST Westrock expands facility capabilities, to enter joint venture with Select Milk - Westrock Coffee Company announced the expansion of capabilities at its Extract and Ready-to-Drink facility in Conway, Arkansas, and its entry into a non-binding letter of intent with Select Milk Producers to establish a joint venture to build and operate an extended shelf life and aseptic, multi-serve bottle facility to be co-located at Select Milk's facility in Littlefield, Texas. Commenting on the facility expansion, Westrock Coffee's CEO and co-founder, Scott Ford, remarked, "As we near completion of the Extract and RTD facility in Conway, Arkansas, we made the decision to expand our extract and concentration capabilities so that as we add additional lines in the future, we can do so without having to impact the existing operations of the facility. In addition, we have expanded our multi-serve bottle capacities by adding cold-chain capability to our facility. Together, these additions better position us to respond to existing customer demand for extended shelf life and multi-serve bottles and ensure we can grow our capabilities in the future without disrupting operations." Commenting on the letter of intent with Select Milk, Ford stated, "We expect the joint venture with Select Milk will allow us to meet the needs of current and future customers for coffee-based RTD and concentrate multi-serve formats that include either traditional dairy or plant-based milks." The joint venture would construct and operate multi-serve bottle lines inside a new facility Select Milk intends to build in Littlefield, Texas. Westrock expects to produce and provide the joint venture with coffee extracts and concentrates from its Conway facility and Select Milk expects to provide the milk from its Littlefield facility. Westrock and Select Milk anticipate the first product to ship from these lines in Q1 of 2026."

16:22 EST TTEC Holdings names Kenny Wagers as CFO, effective March 1 - TTEC Holdings (TTEC) announced Kenneth "Kenny" Wagers III has been named TTEC's CFO, effective March 1. Wagers joins TTEC with a strong background in finance, operations, and supply chain management across large-scale multinational organizations spanning three decades. Prior to joining the company, he held senior executive level finance and operations positions at several Fortune 500 companies including UPS (UPS), XPO Logistics (XPO), and Amazon (AMZN).

16:18 EST Exxon Mobil obtains exemption from Canadian Oil and Gas Reporting Obligations - The company states: "Exxon Mobil announced that the securities commissions for the provinces of Alberta and Ontario have issued a decision document, which has the effect of granting ExxonMobil exemptive relief from the disclosure requirements contained in National Instrument 51-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Oil and Gas Activities. As a result of the Decision, and provided that certain conditions set out in the Decision are met on an on-going basis, ExxonMobil will not be required to comply with the requirements of NI 51-101 and, accordingly, will not be required to file Form 51-101F1 - Statement of Reserves Data and Other Oil and Gas Information, Form 51-101F2 - Report on Reserves Data by Independent Qualified Reserves Evaluator or Auditor and Form 51-101F3 - Report of Management and Directors on Oil and Gas Disclosure. In lieu of such filings, ExxonMobil is permitted, pursuant to the Decision, to provide disclosure in respect of its oil and gas activities in the form permitted by, and in accordance with, the legal requirements of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, the United States Securities Act 1933, as amended, the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, the United States Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and the rules of the New York Stock Exchange. ExxonMobil is required to file such disclosure with the securities regulatory authority or regulator in each of the provinces of Canada as soon as practicable after such disclosure is filed pursuant to the U.S. Rules."

16:17 EST HASI expects annual distributable earnings CAGR 8%-10% from 2024-2026 - The Company expects that annual distributable earnings per share will grow at a compounded annual rate of 8% to 10% from 2024 to 2026, relative to the 2023 baseline of $2.23 per share, which is equivalent to a 2026 midpoint of $2.89 per share. The Company also expects distributions of annual dividends per share from 2024 to 2026 to be set at a payout ratio of 60-70% of annual distributable earnings per share. This guidance reflects the Company's judgments and estimates of (i) yield on its existing portfolio; (ii) yield on incremental portfolio investments, inclusive of the Company's existing pipeline; (iii) the volume and profitability of transactions; (iv) amount, timing, and costs of debt and equity capital to fund new investments; (v) changes in costs and expenses reflective of the Company's forecasted operations; and (vi) the general interest rate and market environment. In addition, distributions are subject to approval by the Company's Board of Directors on a quarterly basis. The Company has not provided GAAP guidance as discussed in the Forward-Looking Statements section of this press release.

16:15 EST Roku sees Q1 revenue $850M, consensus $833.6M - The company states: "We plan to increase revenue and free cash flow and achieve profitability over time. At the same time, we remain mindful of near-term challenges in the macro environment and an uneven ad market recovery. While we will face difficult YoY growth rate comparisons in streaming services distribution and a challenging M&E environment for the rest of the year, we expect to maintain our Q4 2023 YoY Platform growth rates in Q1. This will result in Total net revenue of $850 million, total gross profit of roughly $370 million, and break-even Adjusted EBITDA in Q1. Continuing our performance from 2023, we expect to deliver positive Adjusted EBITDA for full year 2024."

16:13 EST Roku reports FY23 active accounts 80M - The company reports FY23: "Active Accounts were 80.0 million, a net increase of 10.0 million from 2022. Streaming Hours were 106.0 billion, up 18.6 billion hours YoY. Average Revenue Per User (ARPU) was $39.92 (trailing 12-month basis), down 4% YoY. Achieved positive Adjusted EBITDA and Free Cash Flow for full year 2023, ahead of schedule".

16:12 EST Cohu announces orders for new MEMS microphone tester - Cohu announced that a leading U.S. fabless semiconductor manufacturer has selected Sense+ system with micro-sense for testing their next generation high-fidelity microphones. The micro-sense microphone tester is Cohu's latest product in our MEMS test solution portfolio, and when combined with the Sense+ automation platform, it delivers state-of-the-art testing of high-fidelity microphones with up to 96 devices under test in parallel. The micro-sense tester provides precision measurements up to 78 dB signal-to-noise-ratio enabled by its unique patented technology. The micro-sense tester eliminates the need for anechoic rooms or chambers on the production floor, delivering cost-effective, high-throughput manufacturing for next generation high-fidelity microphones.

16:11 EST Texas Roadhouse provided updates to its FY24 expectations - Management updated the following expectations for 2024: Commodity cost inflation of approximately 5%; and An effective income tax rate of approximately 14%. Management reiterated the following expectations for 2024: Positive comparable restaurant sales growth including the benefit of 2023 menu pricing actions; Store week growth of approximately 8%, including a benefit of 2% from the 53rd week; Wage and other labor inflation of 4% to 5%; and Total capital expenditures of $340 million to $350 million.

16:10 EST BJ's Restaurants increases share repurchase program by $50M - During the fourth quarter of 2023, the company repurchased and retired approximately 0.3M shares of its common stock at a cost of approximately $6.7M. Reflecting the company's increasing operating cash flow, in February 2024, the company's board of directors approved an increase in the share repurchase program by $50M. As a result, the company currently has approximately $61M available under its authorized $550 million share repurchase program.

16:08 EST DoorDash reports Q4 EPS (39c), consensus (16c) - Reports Q4 revenue $2.303B, consensus $2.24B. The company said, "Execution and innovation are distinct skills and our team demonstrated an ability to do both at a high level in 2023. Throughout the year, we invested aggressively to improve our offerings and launched new products and features that expanded our potential in local commerce. We are proud that our innovation and investment helped generate nearly $50 billion in sales for local merchants and over $15 billion in earnings for more than 7 million Dashers in 2023. At the same time, we grew Marketplace GOV by 25%1 year-over-year in 2023 to $66.8 billion, with improvements to our unit economics and fixed cost leverage. We are incredibly proud of our team's progress."

16:07 EST Yelp board authorizes $500M increase to share repurchase program

16:01 EST Nurix Therapeutics reports Q4 EPS (77c), consensus (57c) - Reports Q4 revenue $15.16M, consensus $22.26M. "Building on a very successful 2023, marked by impressive clinical data for both NX-5948 and NX-2127, Nurix has hit the ground running in 2024, with plans to accelerate enrollment in the NX-5948 leukemia and lymphoma program and enable development in inflammatory diseases," said Arthur Sands, president and chief executive officer of Nurix. "2023 was also a great year for our partnerships, generating significant non-dilutive funding and expanding our pipeline in both oncology and inflammation with our IRAK-4 degrader. We anticipate continued success with our partners Gilead, Sanofi, and Pfizer in the coming year."

15:18 EST Xbox president says company has 'exciting' hardware announcements this year - In an episode of the Official Xbox Podcast, Xbox president Sarah Bond said that the company has some "exciting" hardware announcements to share later in the year, and that the company is building for the "next generation" of Xbox consoles.

15:10 EST Microsoft's Matt Booty says Game Pass will only be on Xbox - In an episode of the Official Xbox Podcast, Microsoft's head of Xbox Game Studios Matt Booty said that Game Pass as a service will only be available on PC and Xbox, despite more Xbox-developed titles existing on other platforms in the future. Additionally, Xbox president Sarah Bond said Activision Blizzard games are coming to Game Pass, starting with "Diablo IV" on March 28.

15:04 EST Microsoft Gaming CEO says four exclusive games coming to other consoles - In a business update on the Official Xbox Podcast, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said that the company has made the decision to take four games to other consoles, though he noted that there is no change to the company's fundamental Xbox exclusive strategy. While Spencer declined to name what the four titles will be, he said that "Starfield" and the upcoming "Indiana Jones and the Great Circle" are not among the four.

14:40 EST Pasithea Therapeutics Corp trading resumes

14:32 EST Restaurant Brands sees $3.2B in adjusted operating income by 2028 - Restaurant Brands International Chief Executive Officer Josh Kobza provided guidance for investors that the company expects to achieve a minimum of 40,000 restaurants, $60B in system-wide sales and $3.2B in adjusted operating income by 2028 by delivering average annual results over the next five years of 3% plus comparable sales, 5% plus net restaurant growth and 8% plus system-wide sales growth translating to at least 8% adjusted operating income growth. Kobza also provided an update on the company's capital allocation priorities. "We're proud of the work our franchisees and their teams are doing to deliver quality food, excellent service and convenience to guests. Our four iconic brands have strong restaurant fundamentals and clear runways for growth. Our long-term investment horizon should result in compelling business performance and drive at least low double digit annual total shareholder returns over the next 5 years," said Kobza. "When you add up the sum of the parts of our company, we have a pretty remarkable combination of growth drivers. The outlook we are sharing for growth is really the lowest average performance that we expect over the next five-years, with real upside potential from there," added Executive Chairman Patrick Doyle.

13:02 EST Constellation Energy seeks license renewal of Clinton Clean Energy Center - Constellation has filed a license renewal application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for its Clinton Clean Energy Center in Clinton, Ill., marking the latest in a series of investments the company is making to help address the climate crisis and support the regional economy. The filing begins a comprehensive review by the NRC to renew the station's license, which would allow it to continue providing carbon-free energy to the region for another 20 years with adequate market or policy support. Clinton, which produces enough baseload, carbon-free electricity to power the equivalent of 800,000 homes, is currently licensed to operate through April of 2027. Illinois would need to site more than 1,000 new wind turbines to generate the same amount of electricity that Clinton will be able to provide under an extended license. The continued operation of Clinton has been enabled by state legislation enacted in 2016 recognizing the unique environmental, economic and reliability benefits of nuclear energy. Enactment of the federal nuclear production tax credit in 2022 extended policy support through 2032. Renewing the NRC license for Clinton will give Constellation the ability to keep this plant operating through 2047, although future policy and market conditions will ultimately determine how long the plant operates.

12:00 EST Big Lots rises 26.7% - Big Lots is up 26.7%, or $1.01 to $4.79.

12:00 EST Nu Skin falls -22.2% - Nu Skin is down -22.2%, or -$3.87 to $13.56.

12:00 EST Herbalife falls -31.4% - Herbalife is down -31.4%, or -$3.69 to $8.06.

11:40 EST Wells Fargo confirms termination of 2016 OCC sales practices consent order - Wells Fargo confirmed that the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, or OCC, terminated a consent order it issued in 2016 regarding sales practices misconduct. The consent order required Wells Fargo to revamp how it offers and sells products and services to consumers and take additional actions to protect its customers and employees. Charlie Scharf, Wells Fargo's CEO, said of today's news: "I have repeatedly said that implementing a risk and control framework appropriate for a bank of our size and complexity is our top priority, and closing consent orders is an important sign of our progress. This is the sixth consent order that our regulators have terminated since 2019. Confirmation from the OCC that we have effectively implemented what was required is a result of the hard work of so many of our employees, and I'd like to thank everyone at Wells Fargo involved for their dedication to transforming how we do business. We are a stronger, better Wells Fargo for our customers and communities, and we will not lose sight of the remaining work to do. Our risk and control work remains our top priority."

11:34 EST Wells Fargo jumps 2% to $49.46 after saying consent order terminated

11:01 EST SIX Swiss Exchange suspends Temenos trading on request of company - The SIX Swiss Exchange stated that on request of the company, SIX Swiss Exchange has suspended Temenos from trading until further notice. "All related derivatives are therefore also suspended until further notice," the exchange noted. Reference Link

10:37 EST B. Riley Financial shares drop 7% after The Bear Cave publishes report

10:15 EST Deere: 2024 guide implies roughly 15% reduction in net sales - Says a 15% reduction of net sales would put Deere at "very similar sales levels" as 2022. The net income forecast contemplates at least a $400M improvement over 2022, and on an EPS basis, growth of over $4 per share, Deere said.

10:00 EST DNOW Inc. rises 15.5% - DNOW Inc. is up 15.5%, or $1.52 to $11.33.

10:00 EST Shake Shack rises 22.0% - Shake Shack is up 22.0%, or $17.19 to $95.26.

10:00 EST Fastly falls -27.7% - Fastly is down -27.7%, or -$6.52 to $17.02.

09:57 EST Datasea Inc trading resumes

09:53 EST User reports indicate problems at Charles Schwab, says Downdetector - Reference Link

09:47 EST Informatica rises 12.1% - Informatica is up 12.1%, or $3.66 to $33.79.

09:47 EST Shake Shack rises 19.1% - Shake Shack is up 19.1%, or $14.93 to $93.00.

09:47 EST Fastly falls -22.4% - Fastly is down -22.4%, or -$5.28 to $18.26.

09:46 EST Rail Vision Ltd trading resumes

09:41 EST Rail Vision Ltd trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:40 EST Childrens Place trading resumes

09:37 EST Informatica trading resumes

09:36 EST Beamr Imaging Ltd trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:35 EST Childrens Place trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:31 EST Fibrobiologics Inc trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:27 EST GEDi Cube signs binding LOI to acquire 75% of Cyclomics - GEDiCube has executed a binding Letter of Intent to acquire 75% of Cyclomics, a Dutch Company. Under the terms of the LOI, the parties have agreed to work in good faith on the drafting of a definitive agreement. Cyclomics has developed a groundbreaking diagnostic method for monitoring early cancer recurrence named "CyclomicsSeq"- a novel ctDNA detection assay based on Oxford Nanopore sequencing which delivers fast, low-cost, and point-of-care sequencing. In contrast to available ctDNA-based methods, "CyclomicsSeq" ensures that even a single ctDNA molecule in the blood can be detected at very high accuracy. This solution consists of a new diagnostic kit, which has been licensed to Oxford Nanopore, an RNA/DNA next-generation sequencing platform company. Cyclomics' Omni-Omic 4th generation technology, we believe, will disrupt the cancer diagnostics market and clinical practice by enabling fast and reliable results and delivering superior performance to standard radiological and physical examination alone. The platform enables reliable, fast, and ultra-sensitive early/ recurrence detection of cancer using the next-generation whole genome sequencing. That is achieved by detecting ctDNA, a reliable biomarker for determining the presence or absence of cancer, which can be non-invasively obtained from a blood sample. The novel approach to cancer detection is based on a single vial of blood and multi-dimensional profiling. Cyclomics applies a wide multi-signal/ multi-omics approach to a very low amount of tumor ctDNA. The Omni-Omic approach is critical for early cancer detection with high accuracy. Radiological imaging is the current standard in detecting tumor recurrence, but it suffers from low sensitivity and specificity, very often revealing relapsed cancer when it has progressed too far for effective treatment strategies. Fast, non-invasive treatment response monitoring is critical for cancer patients to timely adjust drug doses or change drug choices. Cyclomics has already developed an early detection technology called "CyclomicsSeq TP53", an in vitro diagnostic kit integrating an innovative sequencing methodology and state-of-the-art analysis software. Ninety percent of Head Neck Cancer patients carry specific oncogenic DNA mutations in the gene TP53. There are 150,000 new cases every year in the EU and nearly 70,000 in the USA. The Cyclomics solution can be applied to other cancer types harboring TP53, such as small-cell lung cancer, squamous cell lung cancer, triple-negative breast cancer, and high-grade serous ovarian cancer, and can be expanded to almost all cancer types. Upon closing, the combined companies will aim to accelerate entry into the cancer monitoring market and gain access to integrating whole genome data into GEDiCube's AI/Machine Learning platform.

09:14 EST Mitesco in the process of settling any remaining litigation from clinic closure - Mitesco provided the following Company update to its shareholders from recently appointed Chairman and CEO Mack Leath. "First, let me thank all shareholders who continue to remain interested in our Company. Our new team is working diligently to address Mitesco's most immediate needs, while with equal intensity developing a longer-term view. Let me share these updates: We have undertaken the task of restructuring our operations, financials and capital structure to create an environment suitable for growth through acquisition, and to support funding needs going forward. It is important to note that we are fully reporting again and intend on maintaining full compliance at all times. Over the last three years we have had the benefit of over $10 million of investment from institutional investors, management and friends of the Company. While well intended, and with some important results to note, our clinic subsidiary, "The Good Clinic, LLC", was not profitable and did not have the likelihood of near-term success. During the same period other players in that space faced similar results, having invested billions of dollars with a view that scale would ultimately deliver profitability. While the shuttering of our subsidiary has been painful, it was the correct business decision. Our most valuable asset is our shareholder base, over 7,000 strong, that has supported the Company and its endeavors for years. We respect them and intend to move swiftly to create a business situation that will provide a return to all of our shareholders and investors. We are in the process of settling any remaining litigation from the closure of the clinic subsidiary and hope to have all matters resolved within the next few weeks. The Form 10Q we filed this week reflects "discontinued operations" accounting for that subsidiary, and we have no intention of returning to that business area. With continued cooperation from the creditors involved we hope to close the books on that business within this quarter, allowing us to move forward into other endeavors. As we look forward we have a number of interesting acquisition targets to evaluate and will be working with our institutional investors and banking relationships to create a capital structure that provides a suitable situation for continued investment. All of us on the Board appreciate your continued interest and support. As shareholders and investors, we intend to make decisions that reflect the best interest of all participants."

09:12 EST Allstate estimates catastrophe losses for January of $276M - Allstate announced estimated catastrophe losses for the month of January of $276M or $218M, after-tax. Estimated January catastrophe losses of $325M were primarily driven by two events that comprised approximately 80% of the losses, partially offset by favorable reserve reestimates for prior events.

09:11 EST Wex increases share repurchase program by $400M - Wex announced that its board of directors has authorized an amended share repurchase program under which up to an additional $400M worth of WEX's common stock may be repurchased, expanding the total authorization to $1.05B. The share repurchase program, first announced in August 2022 and amended in October 2022, previously authorized the company to repurchase up to $650M through December 31, 2025. This amendment increases the repurchase authorization to $1.05B through December 31, 2025.

09:10 EST Verizon releases power of 5G network to developers through APIs - Verizon network Application Programming Interfaces, APIs, which enable the developer community to access network services and capabilities, will be accessible to developers globally through a variety of API aggregators, hyperscalers and through Verizon's own API portal. The incorporation of Verizon network services available through APIs into applications allow enterprises to create deeper engagement with consumers across the customer journey to drive a better overall experience and brand loyalty. These APIs are introducing network capabilities to enterprises and developers globally, showcasing the massive potential of Verizon's 5G network, accelerating digital transformation within enterprises, and driving innovation, growth and profitability.

09:09 EST BioElectronics Chairman updates investors on trials, potential legal action - BioElectronics Corporation releases an update from its Chairman, Richard Staelin, PhD. Clinical trials in progress: The company has two investigator sponsored clinical trials now in the field. The first is a surgical analgesia trial being conducted at the University of San Diego. This is a major double-blind, randomized assignment study, involving 120 post-surgical patients who have undergone one of eleven different types of surgery often associated with at least moderate pain. The second study is being conducted at Stanford University Medical Center and is focused on thumb arthritics using a modified version of the 088 model device designed especially for the use around the thumb joint. This double-blind, randomized controlled study will involve 60 subjects who are suffering from arthritic pain in the thumb area of the hand. Completed studies under peer review: There are two randomized controlled studies that have been completed. The first was an investigator sponsored study to treat chronic post-amputation pain with the nonthermal, pulsed shortwave therapy using the model 088 device. The second completed double-blind randomized controlled study looked at increasing the quality of life of canines suffering from symptoms of osteoarthritis. Possible Legal action: The Company is exploring entering into legal action against Mundi Pharma South East Asia for breach of contract. They signed a five-year contract in October of 2018 with BioElectronics Corporation, agreeing to purchase a minimum of approximately $14,000,000 worth of product from us over the next five years of the contract. However, they never completed the registration of the products into the five territories that granted them exclusive distributorship and only took ownership of a small amount of the inventory.

09:08 EST Plumas Bancorp, MountainSeed announces sale-leasebak transaction - Plumas Bancorp and MountainSeed announce a sale-leaseback deal valued at approximately $25.7 million. This transaction, which was completed on February 14, 2024, further exemplifies MountainSeed's continued focus on sale-leaseback transactions and the advantages that this strategy affords community banks and credit unions. MountainSeed Real Estate Services acquired nine properties operated as branches from Plumas Bank and leased each property back to the bank for a 15-year lease term. Plumas Bank will continue to operate the branch offices as usual. MountainSeed and Plumas Bank have agreed to complete a second sale-and-leaseback transaction for three additional Plumas Bank properties. The sale is expected to be completed in March 2024.

09:07 EST Xponential Fitness divests Stride Fitness - Xponential Fitness announced it has completed the divestiture of its brand Stride Fitness to Stride Fitness Franchising, which is owned by Shaun Grove. Grove is the president of Rumble Boxing. In connection with this announcement, Xponential has begun a search for a successor for Grove as president of Rumble Boxing. Grove has agreed to remain in his current role as president of Rumble Boxing until a successor is identified. As of December 31, 2023, Stride Fitness locations represented less than 1% of Xponential's total studios open. The divestiture of Stride Fitness is not expected to materially impact revenue in 2024. Xponential did not receive any consideration for the divestiture and will provide transition support to the new owner.

09:06 EST LM Funding mined 31.7 bitcoin in January - Bruce Rodgers, Chairman and CEO of LM Funding, stated, "Our Bitcoin mining operations continue to grow steadily, and in January the Company mined 31.7 Bitcoin, all of which we chose to hold rather than sell due to the strength of our balance sheet. We are committed to an infrastructure-light strategy in our mining operations, focusing on acquiring assets closely linked to the price of Bitcoin. Recently, we invested in 300 Bitmain S21 Antminer mining machines, the most advanced Bitcoin mining equipment available, anticipating that their value will increase alongside the anticipated appreciation in the price of Bitcoin following a halving event. Historically, the price of Bitcoin has reached record highs within six months following a halving event, and the next event is anticipated to occur towards the end of April or in early May of this year."

09:05 EST Healthcare Triangle implements cost reduction initiatives - Healthcare Triangle announced that the Company is undertaking a series of strategic initiatives to reduce costs and drive efficiency in order to accelerate its path to profitability. Thyagarajan Ramachandran, CFO of Healthcare Triangle, said, "We are announcing a comprehensive set of initiatives that are both necessary and decisive. This program will aim to right-size the Company's cost structure, invest in high-potential growth opportunities, realign leadership, and position the business for long-term growth. Implementing these strategic initiatives will allow us to establish a clear path to consistent profitability and sustainable free cash flows." Company initiatives include: Implementation of planned enhancements to the platform portfolio; Aligning selling, general and administrative costs by reducing third-party professional fees and infrastructure costs; Streamline the leadership structure to create clearer lines of accountability; Adjust go-to-market focus based on current market realities and how our customers want to leverage our platforms; Further streamlining the organization to drive process-related efficiencies. As a result of the initiatives announced today, the Company expects to: Enhance gross margins by blending platform and managed services offerings; Cost optimization across business operations. Strategic initiatives are expected to generate an estimated annualized savings of $3 million - $4 million in FY2024.

09:04 EST Datasea signs 5G multimodal communication technology service agreement - Datasea announced that on February 2, Guozhong Times Beijing, a subsidiary of the Chinese operating company contractually controlled by the company, has entered into a cooperation agreement with Hangzhou Chongda Technology to increase the sales of 5G multimodal communication services in China. Under the agreement, Chongda can purchase 5G multimodal communication delivery services over the course of the 12 months commencing on February 3, with an estimated total value of approximately $ 30M. Chongda, a provider of marketing services, offers mobile phone plans, prepaid fuel service plans, and prepaid electricity top up plans to tens of thousands of Chinese enterprises, e-commerce platforms and individuals.

09:04 EST Tabnine announced a strategic partnership with DigitalOcean - Tabnine announced a strategic partnership with DigitalOcean. DigitalOcean now delivers Tabnine's AI coding assistant to startups and small and medium-sized businesses across the world, empowering them to accelerate and simplify the entire software development lifecycle process without sacrificing privacy, security, and compliance. "AI-enabled software development tools and practices are the answer to continued pressure on engineering teams to efficiently deliver more applications and features - especially for those at startups and SMBs with less resources at their disposal," said Eran Yahav, Co-founder and CTO of Tabnine. "Our partnership with DigitalOcean gives their entire customer community the power of a private, personalized, and protected AI coding assistant."

09:01 EST Digital World, Trump Media announce effectiveness of registration statement - Digital World Acquisition Corp. and Trump Media & Technology Group announced that on February 14, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission declared effective the Registration Statement on Form S-4 for the companies' proposed business combination. Digital World expects to announce within two business days, the date of the special meeting of its stockholders, where stockholders of the record date, yet to be announced, can vote on the approval and adoption of the Business Combination. "Digital World and TMTG look forward to continue collaborating toward the consummation of their long-awaited partnership," the companies stated. "We are immensely proud of the strides we've taken towards advancing the Business Combination. This achievement marks a significant milestone for us. Our sincere thanks go to our shareholders for their unwavering support. We are excited to soon share the news of the Business Combination's approval process with them," added Eric Swider, the Chief Executive Officer of Digital World.

08:49 EST Grid Dynamics says Yieldmo deploys ML platform accelerating time to market - Grid Dynamics Holdings announced its client Yieldmo has deployed an innovative ML platform that is highly efficient at matching users, publishers, and advertisers to optimize campaign delivery and performance. Yieldmo is a smart, programmatic ad exchange operating on massive amounts of data and processes billions of ad placements daily. Yieldmo and Grid Dynamics co-innovated to deploy this new ML platform providing benefits that include high scalability, fast time to market for new features, and low maintenance requirements.

08:46 EST Safety Shot announces Danny Way joined as brand ambassador - Safety Shot announces that Danny Way, an American professional skateboarder and business person, has joined Safety Shot as a brand ambassador. "With his new role, Way creates awareness for the world's first patented wellness beverage that helps people feel better faster by reducing blood alcohol content and boosting clarity and overall mood," the company stated.

08:45 EST Safety Shot announces has joined Danny Way as a brand ambassador - Safety Shot announces that Danny Way, an American professional skateboarder and business person, has joined Safety Shot as a brand ambassador. With his new role, Way creates awareness for the world's first patented wellness beverage that helps people feel better faster by reducing blood alcohol content and boosting clarity and overall mood.

08:42 EST LightPath announces availability of new version of Mantis Camera - LightPath Technologies announced the availability of a new camera that utilizes its innovative Mantis Camera architecture, designed for long distance imaging. LightPath's Mantis camera systems provide a unique multispectral imaging capability, enabling users to image simultaneously across a wide range of wavelengths that span mid and long wave bands. LightPath announced the initial availability of a short-range detection MANTIS camera in December 2022 and has since partnered with customers to develop new iterations to cover additional uses in multiple verticals. The new long-range MANTIS utilizes LightPath's proprietary BlackDiamond infrared materials to create a camera system with high magnification that is color-corrected for both MWIR and LWIR. Imaging across MWIR and LWIR previously required two separate cameras but the dual-band nature of the camera enables it to collect a much stronger thermal signal compared to standard cameras that are LWIR or MWIR only. Hot objects emit a signature across the entire range of infrared wavelengths. While a standard Long Wave Infrared camera captures the portion of the object's thermal signature emitted only in the wavelengths of 8-12microm, the Mantis camera can capture the entire infrared signature, resulting in a much brighter image of the object of interest. The resulting images will have a higher signal-to-noise ratio and enable a longer detection distance.

08:41 EST Workhorse Group partners with Zeem Solutions - Workhorse Group has partnered with Zeem Solutions to provide additional Workhorse certified service options for fleet operators and customers. Zeem's electric vehicle technicians will work hand-in-hand with Workhorse's technical team to respond quickly to service requests and maintain industry-leading uptime. "As we grow our customer footprint in California, partnering with Zeem will help us ensure that our fleet operators have local support for all their service needs," said Workhorse VP of Quality and Aftersales Support Scott Loomis. "Zeem provides an important touchpoint for EV operators in one of the largest cities in the country, and they're a well-respected name in the industry. Their deep experience in servicing and maintaining electric vehicles enhances our ability to minimize disruption due to downtime and maximize time on the road."

08:39 EST ABVC enters agreement to license certain healthcare-related expertise to SPI - ABVC BioPharma signed a definitive agreement to license certain of its healthcare-related expertise to Senior Paradise, who will also lease certain of the Company's properties for further development related to the healthcare industry. The lease, SPI may build a long-term care center for the elderly, plant factories, and good agricultural practices for botanical drug products and dietary supplements. ABVC agrees to grant SPI a license to use the Know-How for the healthcare industry. Specifically, ABVC's Know-How will be strategically applied to develop the Land. The Company believes that by integrating its Know-How and Land with SPI's abilities, SPI's healthcare-related endeavors on the Land may achieve tremendous success. Under the agreement, SPI shall pay ABVC $3M as the license fee for the Know-How, in cash or stock, and royalties of 2% on SPI's revenues earned from projects on the Land.

08:37 EST Verb Technology's MARKET.live welcomes 15 more retail brands to platform - Verb Technology Company continues the expansion of its MARKET.live livestream social shopping platform with the addition of fifteen more innovative brands. This strategic expansion further enriches the MARKET.live ecosystem and VERB's commitment to providing an engaging and diverse shopping experience for MARKET.live's ever-growing community.

08:37 EST Foremost Lithium appoints Hamzagic as Chief Financial Officer - Foremost Lithium Resource & Technology announced the appointment of seasoned finance and accounting executive Sead Hamzagic, CPA, CGA as Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary. Since 2008 he has led his own accounting and consulting practice, providing a full complement of financial services to public and private companies. As Chief Financial Officer of Foremost Lithium, Sead will provide financial leadership to assist in building on the Company's goal of delivering value to its shareholders through the development of its Lithium Lane properties. His experience in risk management, corporate strategic development, system implementation, regulatory compliance, financial reporting, internal controls and tax will prove invaluable towards strengthening the Company's financial capabilities.

08:35 EST Sidus Space completes integration of NASA ASTRA engineering unit - Sidus Space announced that it has completed the integration and testing of the NASA ASTRA, or Autonomous Satellite Technology for Resilient Applications, Engineering Unit into the Company's LizzieSat FlatSat located at the Sidus Integration Facility in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Sidus team successfully completed extensive integration testing and communications with the NASA ASTRA team including multiple tests to verify functionality with the ASTRA Engineering Unit and the ability to effectively load Flight Software into the Engineering Unit from NASA Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. In addition, the Sidus team worked with the ASTRA team to load multiple ASTRA Flight Software loads into the Flight Module that is flying on LizzieSat-1.

08:33 EST Surf Air Mobility, Electra.aero enter pact to bring eSTOL aircraft to market - Surf Air Mobility and Electra.aero have joined forces to introduce affordable, sustainable, and easily accessible regional air travel to a broad customer base leveraging Electra's hybrid-electric short takeoff and landing, or eSTOL, aircraft on Surf Air's technology-driven, on-demand air mobility platform, and through Surf Air's Aircraft-as-a-Service, or ACaaS, offering to air operators. Surf Air has secured early delivery positions for 90 Electra eSTOL aircraft for integration into the Surf Air national flight network including Southern Airways Express and Mokulele Airlines, as part of Surf Air's aim to use its platform to support the launch, growth, and optimization of new electrified aircraft. The Electra eSTOL aircraft's ability to take off and land in as little as 150 feet will enable direct-to-destination air transportation beyond large airports, including small regional airports and novel Advanced Air Mobility, or AAM, infrastructure, expanding regional transportation to a broader customer base than private aviation currently serves.

08:25 EST Ensysce Biosciences announces publication of clinical bioequivalence manuscript - Ensysce Biosciences announced online publication of its manuscript entitled, "Clinical evaluation of PF614, a novel TAAP prodrug of oxycodone, versus OxyContin in a multi-ascending dose study with a bioequivalence arm in healthy volunteers" published online by the open-access medical journal Clinical and Translational Science sponsored by the American Society of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics. The article is authored by members of the Ensysce team plus external experts; D. Lynn Kirkpatrick PhD, Cari Evans RN, Linda A. Pestano PhD, Jeffrey Millard PhD, Matthew Johnston MD, Emily Mick PharmD, and William K. Schmidt PhD. The results from the two-part PF614-102 study are very significant as we believe they demonstrate a clear dose relationship between PF614 and oxycodone, which is the foundation for the FDA submission. The BE arm showed that plasma oxycodone bioequivalence was successfully achieved between 100 mg PF614 and 40 mg OxyContin. PF614 provided similar oxycodone exposures in both fasted and fed states, showing that it can be taken either on an empty stomach or with food, these data highlight PF614's potential advantage compared to other marketed abuse deterrent formulation opioids. PF614 also showed a longer half-life, a major patient benefit in severe pain treatment. This manuscript provides a report of the safety and pharmacokinetics profile of PF614, a Trypsin-Activated Abuse Protection oxycodone prodrug designed to reduce recreational drug abuse. PF614 was compared to OxyContin in healthy subjects in the initial multi-ascending dose arm of the study. Additionally, the manuscript details the second arm which evaluated oxycodone release from PF614 and OxyContin administered to 60 subjects in both a fasted and fed state in order to assess whether PF614 is bioequivalent to OxyContin. The notable distinction identified in this study between PF614 and OxyContin was the longer half-life of PF614, which provides a benefit to the patient as this is a true twice daily pain treatment. We believe this differentiating feature is critically important as steady blood levels can deliver sustained analgesia throughout the day to prevent breakthrough pain and the need for additional therapeutics.

08:23 EST LegalZoom expands grant program to deploy $3M to small business owners - LegalZoom.com announced that applications are open for the last round of the annual Fast Break for Small Business grant program in partnership with the NBA, WNBA and NBA G-League. This season will mark the program's largest grant cohort to date with a campaign to give away $3 million in grants and services focused on assisting small business owners and emerging entrepreneurs with the necessary capital, tools, and expertise they need to start, run and grow their small business. LegalZoom will be dedicating $1,500,000 in financial grants to 150 existing small business owners and $1,500,000 in products and services to 3,000 emerging entrepreneurs that need help getting their business started.

08:22 EST Sanofi reports Phase 2 data on frexalimab published in NEJM - The New England Journal of Medicine published results from a Phase 2 clinical trial demonstrating frexalimab significantly slowed disease activity in people with relapsing multiple sclerosis, corresponding to 89% and 79% reduction in new gadolinium-enhancing T1 brain lesions at Week 12 in the high- and low-dose treatment arms compared to placebo, meeting the study's primary endpoint. Findings also showed both doses of frexalimab provided significant reduction in new or enlarging T2 lesions, a secondary endpoint of the study. Frexalimab is Sanofi's novel second-generation investigational anti-CD40L antibody that has a unique method of action with the potential to address both acute and chronic neuroinflammation in MS without causing lymphocyte depletion. These data were previously presented at Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers annual meeting 2023. Results published in NEJM stem from the Phase 2 clinical trial that randomized 129 adults with relapsing MS to receive one of two doses of the anti-CD40L antibody frexalimab or matching placebo. In the high-dose treatment arm, participants received 1200 mg of frexalimab intravenously every 4 weeks with an 1800 mg loading dose. In the low-dose treatment arm, participants received 300 mg of frexalimab subcutaneously every 2 weeks with a 600 mg loading dose. After 12 weeks of treatment, both doses of frexalimab led to significant reductions in: The number of new GdE T1-lesions at Week 12, providing rate ratios of 0.11 and 0.21, corresponding to 89% and 79% reduction in the high- and low-dose treatment arms versus placebo, the primary endpoint. The number of new/enlarging T2-lesions at Week 12, providing rate ratios of 0.08 and 0.14 corresponding to 92% and 86% reduction in the high- and low-dose treatment arms versus placebo, respectively, a secondary endpoint. The total number of GdE T1-lesions at Week 12 providing rate ratios of 0.12 and 0.20 corresponding to 88% and 80% reduction, respectively, another secondary endpoint. The effects on the primary endpoint were sustained over time across both treatment arms, with even greater reduction seen in the high-dose frexalimab treatment arm, as 96% of these study participants were free of new GdE T1-lesions at Week 24. Exploratory endpoints looked at changes in the Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale 29, a patient-reported outcome, plasma neurofilament light chain, which has been identified as a biomarker of neuroaxonal damage and MS disease activity, as well as plasma levels of CXCL13, a biomarker of inflammatory activity. Over 12 weeks of treatment, patient-reported outcome MSIS-29 physical impact scores improved significantly in participants receiving the higher dose of frexalimab. The least-square mean difference was -7.9, compared to pooled placebo. Both doses of frexalimab achieved a reduction in NfL levels relative to baseline and in CXCL13 levels relative to baseline compared to pooled placebo at Week 12. Frexalimab was well-tolerated, and 125 participants completed Part A and continued to the open-label Part B. The most common adverse events in any frexalimab-treated group were COVID-19 and headache. Sanofi has initiated Phase 3 clinical trials of frexalimab in relapsing MS and non-relapsing secondary progressive MS.

08:19 EST Snail enhances current game titles with new developments - Snail announces significant strides with the launch of West Hunt on Nintendo Switch and the introduction of ASA Premium Mods for ARK Survival Ascended. These initiatives underscore Snail Games' unwavering commitment to continuously improving and enhancing its current portfolio of game titles.

08:18 EST Brunswick board raises quarterly dividend 5% to 42c per share - The Board of Directors of Brunswick Corporation declared a quarterly dividend on its common stock of $0.42 per share, an increase of 5% to the current dividend. This marks the twelfth consecutive year of dividend increases.The dividend will be payable on March 15, 2024, to shareholders of record at the close of business on February 26, 2024.

08:16 EST Vaxxinity announces publication of data on VXX-401 - Vaxxinity announced the publication of data from multiple non-human primate studies demonstrating that VXX-401 reproducibly lowers low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in non-human primates. The results, which support the continued clinical development of VXX-401 as a candidate for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia and prevention of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, were published in the Journal of Lipid Research. "Vaxxinity is committed to providing scalable, accessible, game-changing solution for worldwide heart health," said Mei Mei Hu, CEO of Vaxxinity. "Despite multiple approved medications for LDL-C reduction, heart disease remains the number one killer in the world. A cholesterol vaccine like VXX-401 may provide a cost-effective and widely deployable solution that could potentially benefit hundreds of millions of people at risk. A well tolerated intervention that people can start early in life, and remain on for many years, lowering the cholesterol 'area under the curve,' has the potential to help us win the fight against heart disease."

08:15 EST Vast receives noncompliance notification - Vast announced that it received a notification from Nasdaq stating that the company is not in compliance with the requirements to maintain a minimum Market Value of Publicly Held Shares, or MVPHS, of $15M, as set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450.

08:14 EST Kratos Defense to be Visionary Sponsor of Creative Disruptors in the Desert - Kratos Defense & Security Solutions will be a Visionary Sponsor of Creative Disruptors in the Desert, The Creative Defense Foundation's inaugural conference to be hosted in La Quinta, CA, from February 23-24, 2024. Creative Disruptors in the Desert will bring together National Security leaders, U.S. entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs, and innovative technology companies like Kratos to address the institutional, cultural, policy, and legal barriers impeding innovators from bringing their technologies, speed, agility, and cost effectiveness to U.S. National Security.

08:13 EST Karat Packaging announces new distribution center in Arizona - Karat Packaging announced it has signed a lease agreement for a 44,000 square-foot distribution center in Mesa, Arizona. This new facility is Karat's first distribution center in the Southwestern region outside of California, and it is anticipated to be fully operational in the second quarter of 2024. Karat also announced an expansion of its national salesforce, with the addition of five sales representatives to further penetrate key U.S markets in the South, Midwest and Pacific Northwest regions. "Our new distribution center will enable us to more efficiently serve customers in Arizona and New Mexico and enhance distribution productivity, as we continue to penetrate into this region," said Alan Yu, Karat's Chief Executive Officer. "We are adding local delivery and will-call pick-up options at this location, which, in turn, will reduce freight costs and lead time for our customers in the region."

08:12 EST Gan Limited appoints Seamus McGill as CEO - Gan Limited announced that Seamus McGill has recently been named the company's CEO. McGill had previously been serving in an interim capacity. McGill's will remain on the company's board of directors and will be focused on guiding the company towards a timely closing with Sega Sammy Creation, Inc.

08:11 EST Ageagle Aerial Systems appoints Irby as President - AgEagle Aerial Systems (UAVS) announces the appointment of William Irby as President, effective February 12, 2024. Most recently Irby was President of MTI and Steel Partners Holdings (SPLP).

08:09 EST ProFrac Holding: Alpine Silica submits draft registration statement to SEC - ProFrac Holding Corp. announced that Alpine Silica Holding, ProFrac's proppant production segment and wholly owned subsidiary, has confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 to the SEC relating to a proposed initial public offering of Alpine's common stock. The number of shares to be offered and price range for the proposed offering have yet to be determined. The initial public offering is expected to occur after the SEC completes its review process, subject to market and other conditions.

08:07 EST Direct Digital, SHE Media announce partnership - Direct Digital Holdings announced that SHE Media, the top 10 lifestyle media group that includes SheKnows, Flow Space, StyleCaster, Soaps and BlogHer, has selected Colossus SSP as a new supply-side platform partner. Colossus SSP has a strong track-record in connecting advertisers with a truly inclusive audience, at scale, tapping into a range of multicultural / diverse publishers, as well as top-tier general market media. Colossus SSP will serve as a programmatic exchange sell-side partner for SHE Media's flagship brands and other properties, all of which are focused on providing useful and inspiring high-quality content for women, reaching a total audience of 74+ million users per month. Key to the partnership, Colossus SSP will provide access to inventory across SHE Media's Meaningful Marketplaces - a robust community of independent, premium, women-owned and diverse-owned publishers that SHE Media assists with monetization, operations and educational services.

08:06 EST Ocular Therapeutix appoints Meyers to Chief Commercial Officer - Ocular Therapeutix announced the appointment of Steve Meyers as Chief Commercial Officer. Prior to joining Ocular, Meyers served as Vice President of Sales at Flexion Therapeutics in the orthopedic space.

08:05 EST Vivos Therapeutics announces exercise of warrants for $4M in gross proceeds - Vivos Therapeutics has entered into a definitive agreement for the immediate exercise of an outstanding common stock purchase warrant held by an institutional investor to purchase an aggregate of 980,393 shares of Vivos common stock for gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $4.0 million. As part of this transaction, the investor agreed to exercise the existing warrant at a revised exercise price of $4.02 per share. The resale of the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrant were registered pursuant to an effective registration statement on Form S-1. In consideration for the immediate exercise of the existing warrant for cash, Vivos has agreed to issue to the investor two new unregistered warrants, each to purchase 735,296 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $5.05 per share. The new warrants will be exercisable immediately upon issuance. Such warrants are identical, except that one warrant has a term of five years and the second warrant has a term of eighteen months. A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners is acting as the exclusive financial advisor in connection with the offering. The transaction is expected to close no later than February 20, 2024, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Vivos intends to use the net proceeds from the exercise for general corporate purposes.

08:03 EST Leidos awarded $143M DIA technology platform contract - Leidos was recently awarded a new task order contract from the Defense Intelligence Agency's Science & Technology Directorate. Through this award, Leidos will design and implement a Tasking, Collection, Processing, Exploitation and Dissemination system for the DIA's Open Source Intelligence Integration Center. The task order award has a total estimated value of $143M under the DOMEX Technology Platform single award, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract. Work will be performed in the National Capital Region with remote software development across Leidos facilities.

08:02 EST Element Fleet achieves B score from in CDP Climate Change Analysis - Element Fleet Management received a B score from CDP, improving significantly from its previous D rating, and ranking higher than the North American regional average. Core to Element's improved CDP score this year was the disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, Arc by Element, our end-to-end fleet electrification and decarbonization solution continues its positive momentum. The Company has also taken steps to reduce energy usage across its facilities, including consolidating office footprints.

07:47 EST SunPower sees FY24 net loss ($160M)-($80M)

07:45 EST Repare Therapeutics doses first patient in LIONS clinical trial - Repare Therapeutics announced the first patient has been dosed in the company's Phase 1 LIONS clinical trial evaluating RP-1664, a highly selective, oral polo-like kinase 4 inhibitor, for the monotherapy treatment of adult and adolescent patients enriched for TRIM37-high solid tumors.

07:43 EST Reliance Steel changes name to Reliance, Inc. - Effective February 15, Reliance has changed its corporate name from Reliance Steel & Aluminum Co. to Reliance, Inc. to reflect the company's evolution to "more than metal" as a leading global diversified metals solutions provider. Retaining the Reliance brand identity honors the company's strong reputation built over 85 years from its humble roots to becoming the largest metals service center company in North America with a global footprint of more than 315 locations in 40 U.S. states and 12 countries. Modernization of the Reliance brand symbolizes how the company has become much more than just a distributor of steel and aluminum. Reliance, Inc. is the culmination of a decades-long journey resulting from focused execution of an enduring strategic vision to be a best-in-class industrials company working collaboratively throughout its family of companies to deliver exceptional service to customers, pursue diversified growth opportunities, generate industry-leading returns for stockholders, positively contribute to the communities in which we live and work and provide a safe environment where employees are proud to work. The company's stock ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange will remain "RS" and the CUSIP number for its common stock will also remain unchanged. Trading under the name Reliance, Inc. will begin on Monday, February 26. No action is required by stockholders in connection with the name change.

07:42 EST Nextech3D.AI launches GPT AI 3D product solutions - Nextech3D.AI is launching the next era of GPT AI 3D product solutions of proprietary Artificial Intelligence algorithms. The initiative will be led by former Microsoft Executive Hareesh Achi, who is Nextech3D.ai's current Head of Product Operations. The Company believes that the AI opportunity is in the early stages, and that the shift from 2D to 3D modeling for e-commerce is part of a major multi-decade transformation that is being led by AI. The Company is working on annual enterprise licensing deals for its suite of GPT AI solutions for 3D models and 3D maps. The initial suite includes 12 GPT's: GPT 2D image search engine for 3D models that delivers 3D meshes based on 2D images. GPT text based 3D search engine that takes text prompts to provide a 3D mesh based on description. GPT that identifies complexity of a model and estimates cost of making a 3D model based on 2D image. GPT 3D model analyzer: classifying model categories, generating textual metadata from 3D models. GPT that automatically aligns 2D floor maps with 3D scans/point clouds. GPT that detects walls/floors in a 2D image in our proprietary Decorator tool. This allows changing the color of your room's walls/floors. GPT that can read a selected portion of a 3D rendering and erase it. GPT Generating textures and PBR materials from text prompts. GPT Generating PBR maps from texture/color images. GPT Texture expansion: expanding a small patch of structured textures into larger, high-resolution textures. GPT Texture generation form patches: Generating a texture from a small patch for unstructured textures. GPT Generative Rendering: Generating alternative renderings/photos from textured and untextured 3D models using text prompts - a tool for ideating alternative designs.

07:37 EST Avicanna enters research collaboration with European-based pharma company - Avicanna has entered into a research collaboration with a multi-national European-based pharmaceutical company. The research collaboration will initially assess the Company's proprietary SEDDS technology in combination with Collaborator's various drug delivery and pharmaceutical formats to gain a better understanding of proprietary dosage forms with precisely standardized delivery and enhanced bioavailability of cannabinoids. The research collaboration may subsequently assess the possibility of further preclinical research and clinical development. Under the research collaboration, Avicanna will also provide services for assessing a range of other formulations that may be included in Collaborator's portfolio.

07:35 EST Theratechnologies completes enrollment of first six patients in Phase 1 trial - Theratechnologies announced completion of enrollment of the first six participants in Part 3 of its Phase 1 clinical trial of sudocetaxel zendusortide in patients with advanced ovarian cancer. Sudocetaxel zendusortide, also known as TH1902, is an investigational, first-in-class peptide-drug conjugate that targets the sortilin receptor and aims to expedite the internalization and delivery of the cytotoxic payload directly into cancer cells. "Reaching this important milestone gives fresh momentum to the Phase 1 trial of sudocetaxel zendusortide, and to our overall oncology clinical development program," said Christian Marsolais, Ph.D., Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Theratechnologies. "As we gear up for the next round of screening, we look forward to adding patients at the next dose level and further characterizing the safety and efficacy of this novel peptide-drug conjugate."

07:22 EST GameSquare's Stream Hatchet publishes 2023 yearly report - Stream Hatchet has published its Yearly Live-Streaming Trends Report for 2023. Stream Hatchet's latest report offers an in-depth analysis culminating the biggest trends, stories, and insights from the live-streaming and video games industry. As one of the top sources in entertainment and a go-to resource for media, Stream Hatchet works with a consortium of industry-leading analysts and business leaders to provide expert insight on identifying key trends and projections for the future of gaming and esports. Key takeaways from the 2023 Yearly Trends Report include: Esports viewership continued to climb in 2023, up 9% from 2022 to 2.5 billion hours watched. This continues a yearly trend of increasing viewership and since 2019, esports viewership is up 92%. Q1 and Q2 of 2023 were the greatest of their respective quarters ever for esports viewership, with Q2 the second-highest quarter of all time at 678 million hours watched. In 2023, live streaming's weekly average viewership dropped just 3.3% year-over-year - a notable recovery from the 13.8% drop in 2022. However, the weekly average surpasses that of 2020 by an additional 4 million hours. In March of 2023, Kick burst onto the scene as a new Western platform, with a huge catering to non-gaming categories. This catapulted Kick ahead of both AfreecaTV and Facebook into #3 for both Q3 and Q4. Consequently, Facebook bids farewell to its standing as the third most-recognized Western platform. Just Chatting continues to dominate the non-gaming side of live-streaming, and has also sparked popularity on Kick where it generated 260 million hours watched in 2023. For the several creators Stream Hatchet analyzed who began simulcasting in 2023, their average minute audience while simulcasting on multiple platforms increased 100% on average. This indicates that multi-platform concurrent streaming doesn't seem to split audiences, but rather increases the overall audience reach for the streamer. Top Games live-streamed in 2023 include: Grand Theft Auto, League of Legends, Valorant, Minecraft, and Fortnite. Top steamers in 2023 include: ibai, PaulinhoLOKObr, KaiCenant, AdinRoss, and auronplay Top female streamers in 2023 include: rivers_gg, Emiru, JenFoxxx, Valkyrae, and Kyedae

07:22 EST SunPower raises additional capital of $175M - SunPower has raised $175M in capital financing through a second lien term loan from Sol Holding, the company's majority shareholder and an indirect subsidiary of TotalEnergies and Global Infrastructure Partners. The $175M term loan includes $45M previously funded to the company in December and January, $80M in new investment, and a $50M second tranche that is available to be borrowed upon the satisfaction of certain conditions. In connection with the Second Lien Credit Agreement, the company agreed to issue penny warrants to Sol Holding to purchase up to approximately 41.8 million shares of the company's common stock with an additional 33.4 million of warrants issued if the $50M second tranche of the term loan is drawn. The company also obtained new long-term waivers from its financial partners and entered into an amendment to its revolving debt facility, which provides the company with access to an incremental $25M commitment for loans under its revolving debt capacity. Together, these actions provide the company with up to $155M of additional liquidity.

07:19 EST Lifeist Wellness reports clinical research on CELLF cellular health supplement - Lifeist Wellness reports, on behalf of its U.S. biosciences subsidiary Mikra Cellular Sciences, that independent and rigorous clinical research studies recently published by esteemed universities confirm the importance of the key ingredients in the category-defining formulation of Mikra's CELLF cellular health supplement. "We are gratified to see the publication of ongoing clinical research that validates our vision for CELLF as a new approach to improving quality of life: cognitive performance and clarity today, with reduced inflammation and better recovery to feel younger for many more vigorous years," said Meni Morim, CEO of Lifeist. In 2023 a double-blind, randomized controlled trial completed in Japan found: After 12 weeks, the participants showed improvements in composite memory and verbal memory... In younger adults , PQQ improved cognitive function after 8 weeks... Older adults showed improvements in complex and verbal memory after 12 weeks. In 2023 a study conducted jointly at Canadian and Chinese research universities concluded: This study reveals the underlying mechanism of PQQ's strong antioxidant capacity and provides evidence for PQQ as a potential agent for clinical prevention and treatment of natural aging-induced osteoporosis. In 2023 a comprehensive research review completed at a medical university in Italy determined: There is evidence of enhanced glutathione levels in elderly subjects with excellent physical and mental health status, suggesting that heightened glutathione may be a marker and even a causative factor of increased healthspan and lifespan.

07:18 EST Wendy's announces investments to drive growth - The company announced investments that are expected to accelerate global growth, deliver significant restaurant margin expansion, and drive long-term shareholder value. The company plans to invest: Approximately $55 million in incremental breakfast advertising in the U.S. and Canada split evenly over the next two years; Approximately $15 million, primarily in 2024, to support digital growth through mobile app enhancements and a step change in personalized marketing capabilities; Approximately $30 million to support a rollout of digital menu boards to all U.S. company-operated restaurants by the end of 2025 and digital menu board enhancements for the global system over the next two years.

07:16 EST Enthusiast Gaming's Luminosity hosts Luminosity Makes Big Moves New York - Enthusiast Gaming Holdings announced that Luminosity Gaming has seen a number of recent successes in connection with its continued investment in highly engaged gaming communities. In January 2024, Luminosity hosted one of its tentpole Super Smash Bros Ultimate events, Luminosity Makes Big Moves 2024, at the New Yorker Hotel in New York City in partnership with Even Matchup Gaming. The event was sponsored by Amazon MGM in connection with its film, The Beekeeper, featuring Jason Statham, and peaked at over 50,000 live concurrent viewers for the Winner's Semi-Final match that featured Luminosity's very own competitors Leonardo 'MkLeo' Lopez Perez and Gavin 'Tweek' Dempsey. The three-day event had over 1,100 individuals competing in a variety of competitions and brought in over 1,500 total live attendees. The event was broadcasted for over 29 hours, reached over 28 million minutes of total watch time and averaged over 16,000 concurrent viewers throughout the duration of the three-day broadcast across a variety of Twitch and YouTube streams.

07:16 EST Lightspeed announces the return of Dax Dasilva as interim CEO - Lightspeed announced the reappointment of Founder Dax Dasilva as interim CEO. Dasilva most recently served as Lightspeed's Executive Chair, and previous to this, served as the company's CEO from its inception in 2005 until February 2022. This appointment by Lightspeed's Board, effective immediately, comes as JP Chauvet is stepping down. "I thank JP for his contributions, service and leadership at Lightspeed over the past eleven years," said Dasilva.

07:15 EST Dorman Products releases more than two hundred vehicle, truck repair solutions - Dorman Products releasing more than two hundred new motor vehicle and heavy-duty truck repair solutions this month alone. The new products represent millions of new sales opportunities for automotive and heavy-duty parts distributors, retailers, and repair shops, reinforcing Dorman's position as the premier go-to source for technicians and dedicated DIYers. Senior Vice President Eric Luftig underscored the importance of that comprehensive offering to Dorman's growing North American audience. "We take seriously our responsibility as a leader in our industry to provide the full range of products our customers need to succeed. Our new product development efforts reflect a value to the aftermarket that's unique to Dorman: We don't just meet technicians' and DIYers' current needs. Our customers count on us to provide innovations they don't yet know they will need."

07:14 EST Applied Therapeutics announces results from 12-month interim analysis of AT-007 - Applied Therapeutics announced positive interim 12-month results from the ongoing Phase 3 INSPIRE trial, in which the primary endpoints and several key secondary endpoints were achieved. The INSPIRE trial is a Phase 3 double-blind placebo-controlled registrational study evaluating the effect of once-daily oral govorestat in 56 patients aged 16-55 with SORD Deficiency in the US and Europe. Interim Analysis Results: Demonstrated statistically significant correlation between sorbitol level and the prespecified CMT-FOM composite clinical endpoint. Govorestat treatment provided sustained reduction in sorbitol level in patients with SORD Deficiency over 12 months of treatment, which was statistically significant compared to placebo. Govorestat treatment also resulted in a highly statistically significant effect on the CMT Health Index, an important patient-reported outcome measure of disease severity and well-being, which was a secondary endpoint in the study. Govorestat was safe and well tolerated, with similar incidence of adverse events between active and placebo-treated groups.

07:12 EST Climb Channel Solutions launches worldwide partnership with Panzura - Climb Channel Solutions, wholly owned subsidiary of Climb Global Solutions, announces their partnership with Panzura with the signing of a worldwide contract. Through this partnership, Panzura will utilize Climb Channel Solutions' network of partners to build relationships and accelerate the company's growth as a channel-first organization. "We are proud to partner with Panzura as their first and sole distributor as they expand their presence in the channel," said Dale Foster, CEO of Climb Channel Solutions. "Panzura's existing resellers will quickly see the benefit of working with Climb and becoming a part of our partner ecosystem. Adding Panzura's platform enables our resellers to provide their customers with an innovative cloud-native data protection and management platform."

07:11 EST Compugen names Michelle Mahler M.D. as Chief Medical Officer - Compugen announced the appointment of Michelle Mahler, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer, effective March 1. Michelle will succeed Henry Adewoye, M.D., who is leaving Compugen to pursue other opportunities effective February 29, after 6 years with Compugen. Michelle joined Compugen in October 2023 as Vice President of Clinical Development. Most recently Michelle was the Chief Medical Officer of 1 E therapeutics Ltd., a drug development company, creating a novel class of programmable oligonucleotide therapeutics and Aummune Therapeutics Ltd., a clinical stage company developing a first-of-its-kind approach for individualized treatment of solid tumors.

07:09 EST General Motors adding additional group of highways to Super Cruise network - General Motors announced it is adding an additional group of highways to its hands-free technology Super Cruise, bringing the total to about 750,000 miles of compatible roads across the U.S. and Canada. "Safely deploying and expanding access to advanced driver assistance systems - ADAS - like Super Cruise is an important step in gaining consumer trust and excitement around the future of transportation," GM stated. Reference Link

07:03 EST Garrett Motion board authorizes $350M share repurchase program - On February 13, 2024, the Board of Directors authorized a new $350 million share repurchase program valid until December 31, 2024. The Company may repurchase shares from time to time under the program through various methods, including in open market transactions, block trades, privately negotiated transactions, and otherwise. The timing, as well as the number and value of shares repurchased under the program, will depend on a variety of factors. The Company is not obligated to purchase any shares under the repurchase program, and the program may be suspended, modified, or discontinued at any time without prior notice.

06:56 EST Jumia Technologies aims to further reduce cash utilization vs. 2023 - The company said, "We remain committed to reducing our losses and accelerating our progress towards cash efficiency and profitable growth. Looking at 2024, We aim to further reduce our cash utilization compared to 2023. Based on the positive impact of our growth strategy, we project an increase in both orders and Gross Merchandise Value in 2024, excluding potential impact of foreign exchange."

06:54 EST Jumia Technologies expects to be back to GMV, Orders growth in 2024 - CEO Francis Dufay said, "We believe that Jumia is now a much leaner, more agile and more focused company. We have reevaluated our portfolio and made tough decisions regarding business activities that did not bring the right value. Recently, we discontinued our food delivery operations as we concluded that the growth prospects did not justify the complexity it created. We believe our focus and resources will be better invested in our physical goods business, where we see more opportunity for revenue growth and higher margins. We have achieved savings across the whole organization, by shrinking General and Administrative Expense as well as significantly improving operational efficiency. We believe that these changes are enabling better output and laying the foundations for growth in 2024. Smaller and more agile teams can concentrate effectively on key priorities and are benefiting from strategic alignment across all countries and functions. Similarly, we believe that leaner logistics operations will enable us to enter new cities without compromising profitability. We experienced positive year-over-year growth in GMV of physical goods in five of our eleven operating countries over two consecutive quarters of 2023, while significantly improving unit economics. Looking at all countries, the year-over-year GMV trajectory is improving quarter after quarter, reaching a decline of 8% in the fourth quarter of 2023, compared to a decline of 23% in the third quarter of 2023. We expect to be back to GMV and Orders growth, in 2024."

06:48 EST US Foods sees IWC Food Service acquisition closing in 2Q24 - Subsequent to quarter-end, the company has signed a definitive agreement to acquire IWC Food Service, a broadline distributor which serves the greater Nashville area. IWC has approximately 220 associates and $200M in annual sales. Pending regulatory approval, the company is targeting to close the transaction in the second quarter of 2024. During the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023, the company acquired Saladino's Foodservice, an independently owned broadline distributor based in central California for a purchase price of $56M.

06:42 EST Clearway Energy raises quarterly dividend to 40.33c per share - Clearway Energy announced that on February 14, its Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend on each of the company's Class A and Class C common stock of 40.33c per share payable on March 15 to shareholders of record as of March 1. This quarterly dividend represents $1.6132 per share on an annualized basis, an increase of 1.7% over the fourth quarter 2023 dividend of 39.64c per share, or $1.5856 per share annualized.

06:40 EST Children's Place announces shareholder update - The Children's Place announced that it has received correspondence from Snowball Compounding Ltd. and parties related to Mithaq Capital notifying the company that they own approximately 54% of the company's outstanding shares of common stock and intend to nominate 11 persons to stand for election to The Children's Place's Board of Directors at the Company's 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. The company intends to accept Mithaq's request to enter into discussions regarding the provision of financing to assist with the company's liquidity needs. Any such financing would be subject to, among other things, lender approval and compliance with applicable law. As a result of Mithaq's unsolicited acquisition of shares, Mithaq has triggered a Change of Control thereby causing an Event of Default under the company's Amended and Restated Credit Agreement. The company is in discussions with its lenders to seek a waiver of the Event of Default.

06:33 EST Deere sees FY24 net operating cash flow $7B-$7.5B - Sees FY24 effective tax rate 24%-26%. Comments taken from Q1 earnings conference call presentation slides.

06:26 EST Temenos shares drop in premarket after Hindenburg Research says it's short

06:24 EST Otis Worldwide introduces medium-term outlook ahead of investor day - Otis Worldwide is hosting its 2024 Investor Day at the New York Stock Exchange, beginning at 9 a.m. ET. During the event, Otis leadership will provide updates on the industry and the company's medium-term outlook, including its long-term growth strategy, operating profit drivers and capital allocation plans. Otis is announcing its medium-term outlook: organic sales up low to mid-single digits; organic new equipment sales flat to up low-single digits; organic service sales up mid-single digits+; average adjusted operating profit growth of mid-to-high single digits; adjusted EPS CAGR of 10%+ and adjusted free cash flow CAGR up high single digits.

06:23 EST Airbus board to propose special dividend of EUR 1.00 per share - The Board of Directors will propose the payment of a 2023 dividend of EUR 1.80 per share and a special dividend of EUR 1.00 per share to the 2024 Annual General Meeting taking place on 10 April 2024. The proposed payment date is 18 April 2024

06:21 EST Target introduces dealworthy low-price brand - Target introduced its new low-price owned brand, dealworthy, designed to give consumers value on nearly 400 everyday basics. With dealworthy, Target is offering more options at lower prices, starting at less than $1. Dealworthy also is backed by Target's owned brand promise: If a consumer is not satisfied with any Target owned brand item, they can return it within one year with a receipt for an exchange or a refund.

06:19 EST Cigna announces $3.2B accelerated stock repurchase - Cigna will repurchase $3.2B of common stock through accelerated stock repurchase agreements with Deutsche Bank AG and Bank of America, N.A. The ASR agreements are part of Cigna's existing share repurchase program, which had remaining authority of $10.6B as of February 13.

06:17 EST MannKind says INHALE-1 study now fully enrolled - MannKind announced that it has fully enrolled 305 patients living with type 1 or type 2 diabetes in its INHALE-1 study assessing efficacy and safety of inhaled insulin in the pediatric population. "We are excited to reach this milestone in exploring the potential of Afrezza for a younger generation living with diabetes," said Dr. Kevin Kaiserman, Senior Vice President, Clinical Development and Medical Affairs for MannKind Corporation. "We expect to complete a primary endpoint analysis in the fourth quarter."

06:03 EST GSK completes acquisition of Aiolos Bio - GSK plc announced that it has completed the acquisition of Aiolos Bio, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on addressing the unmet treatment needs of patients with respiratory and inflammatory conditions. As previously announced, the acquisition of Aiolos includes AIO-001, a potentially best-in-class, long-acting anti-thymic stromal lymphopoietin monoclonal antibody ready to enter phase II clinical development for the treatment of adult patients with asthma. AIO-001 could expand GSK's respiratory biologics portfolio to potentially reach the 40% of severe asthma patients with low T2 inflammation. AIO-001 has the potential to be administered every six months due to its high potency and long half-life, which could redefine the standard-of-care. Under the terms of the agreement, GSK will pay a $1B upfront payment and up to $400M in certain success-based regulatory milestone payments. In addition, GSK will also be responsible for success-based milestone payments as well as tiered royalties owed to Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. AIO-001 was exclusively licensed to Aiolos for development and commercialisation rights outside of Greater China by Hengrui. Tony Wood, Chief Scientific Officer, GSK, said: "Given the limited treatment options for asthma patients with low T2 inflammation, we look forward to using our deep respiratory expertise to potentially offer a long-acting biologic to a broader portion of the 315 million patients living with asthma."

06:02 EST Microsoft to hold Build 2024 May 21-23 - Microsoft has scheduled its annual developer conference Build 2024 for May 21 to May 23 in Seattle and online, the company said via X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. The announcement says to expect to hear updates about "AI, Copilots, and more." Reference Link

05:28 EST Missile Defense Agency launches L3Harris missile tracking satellites - Five missile tracking satellites L3Harris Technologies designed and built successfully launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, as part of the Missile Defense Agency's, or MDA, Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor, or HBTSS, program and the Space Development Agency's, or SDA, Tranche 0 Tracking Layer program. L3Harris' HBTSS satellite is an on-orbit prototype demonstration that can track maneuvering hypersonic missiles flying beyond the range of ballistic missile detection capabilities. The other four infrared satellites will support SDA's Tracking Layer, which will demonstrate global indications, warning, tracking and targeting of advanced threats such as hypersonic missiles.

05:21 EST ASE Technology reports January revenue $1.53B, down 4% - Reports January ATM revenues $801M, down 4%.

05:17 EST Stellantis announces EUR 3B share buyback program - The Stellantis board of directors approved a share buyback program of up to EUR 3B to be executed on the market. The company intends to cancel the common shares acquired through the share buyback program apart from a portion of up to EUR 0.5B, which may be used to service share-based compensation and employee stock purchase plans. The shares will be purchased over a period ending December 31 on NYSE / Euronext Milan / Euronext Paris and other multilateral trading facilities. The opportunity to initiate the buyback program stems from the company's significant cash flow generation and strong balance sheet. These factors enable the company to ensure adequate liquidity to manage a wide variety of economic and market scenarios, while simultaneously facilitating attractive capital returns to shareholders, and to support the extension of the employee stock purchase plan to several countries. The share buyback program will be carried out under the authority granted by the general meeting of shareholders held on April 13, 2023, which may be renewed or extended, up to a maximum of 10% of the company's capital. The remaining authorization granted on April 13, 2023 stands at approximately 181M shares. The purchase price per common share will be no higher than an amount equal to 110% of the market price of the shares on the NYSE, Euronext Milan or Euronext Paris. The market price will be calculated as the average of the highest price on each of the five days of trading prior to the date on which the acquisition is made, as shown in the official price list of the NYSE, Euronext Milan or Euronext Paris. As of February 15, the company held in treasury a total of 142,090,297 common shares equal to 3.52% of the total issued share capital including common shares and special voting shares.