Stockwinners Market Radar for March 18, 2022 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

18:32 EDT Bristol-Myers announces FDA approval of Opdualag - Bristol Myers Squibb announced that Opdualag, a new, first-in-class, fixed-dose combination of nivolumab and relatlimab, administered as a single intravenous infusion, was approved by the U.S. FDA for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients 12 years of age or older with unresectable or metastatic melanoma. The approval is based on the Phase 2/3 RELATIVITY-047 trial, which compared Opdualag to nivolumab alone.

18:24 EDT Vacasa CEO: We're strong partners with Airbnb, Booking Holdings - In an interview on CNBC's Mad Money, Matt Roberts said the primary focus of Vacasa is supply. It's a heavy logistics business and its entirely technology based, he added. Roberts is seeing more people considering the rental potential of properties prior to ownership. He noted that alternative accommodation is not a new trend, but Covid accelerated it.

18:00 EDT O2 Micro trading resumes

17:45 EDT Allena Pharmaceuticals Inc trading resumes

17:26 EDT Allena Pharmaceuticals says it may have to restructure liabilities - According to a regulatory filing, Allena Pharmaceuticals said that the failure to obtain sufficient additional funds on commercially acceptable terms to fund the company's operations may have a material adverse effect on the company's business, results of operations and financial condition and jeopardize the company's ability to continue operations in the near-term. The company will likely need to consider additional cost reduction strategies, which may include, among others, amending, delaying, limiting, reducing, or terminating the development program for ALLN-346, and the company may need to seek an in-court or out-of-court restructuring of its liabilities. In the event of such future bankruptcy proceeding, holders of the company's common stock and other securities will likely suffer a total loss of their investment.

17:25 EDT Allena Pharmaceuticals terminates URIROX-2 study - According to a regulatory filing, Allena Pharmaceuticals said the the first of two planned Sample Size Reestimations of the Phase 3 URIROX-2 Trial for the development of reloxaliase for patients with enteric hyperoxaluria has been conducted by an independent data safety monitoring board statistician. SSR1 is designed to assess the effect of reloxaliase vs. placebo on the reduction of urinary oxalate levels over the first 28 days of the trial, the primary endpoint to support a potential accelerated approval filing. The trial has been initially sized at 200 subjects, which would provide more than 90% power for the primary UOx endpoint based on an assumption of a 15% greater effect size of reloxaliase over placebo. The DSMB was provided with data for the first 78 subjects enrolled in the trial. Based on the results of its unblinded analysis, the DSMB has recommended that the trial size be increased from the initial 200 subjects to the maximum allowed number of 400 subjects under the pre-specified rules. However, even with this maximum recommended sample size increase, the power to detect an effect of reloxaliase vs. placebo would still be less than 80% based on the available data. Based upon this recommendation, the company believes that the separation between the reloxaliase and placebo groups for the UOx primary endpoint is lower than expected, and therefore that the likelihood of success for the long term endpoint of reduction in kidney stone disease progression is also lower than expected. As such, the company has decided to terminate the URIROX-2 study and plans to promptly initiate the process of closing the study with the CRO, investigative sites, patients, and business partners.

17:22 EDT Halliburton suspends future business in Russia, winds down remaining operations - Halliburton announced it immediately suspended future business in Russia as the company complies with sanctions that prohibit transactions and work, including for certain state-owned Russian customers. Halliburton said it will prioritize safety and reliability as it winds down remaining operations in Russia. Several weeks ago, the company halted all shipments of specific sanctioned parts and products to Russia. Halliburton has no active joint ventures there.

17:10 EDT Sphere 3D receives deficiency notice from Nasdaq - Sphere 3D announced that the company was issued a deficiency notice by Nasdaq. The notice was prompted by the company falling out of compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5605, which requires that issuers have an audit committee of at least three members who each meet the criteria for independence set forth in Rule 10A-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The letter does not affect the company's listing on Nasdaq or its operations. The company fell out of compliance with Rule 5605 due to an unsolicited discretionary bonus payment made by the company to Patricia Trompeter, an audit committee member, outside of board compensation for work on certain business initiatives. Trompeter resigned from the company's audit committee on March 7; however, she remains on the company's board of directors. The company is preparing a Nasdaq-required plan of compliance which will include the replacement of Trompeter on the audit committee.

17:08 EDT Nuvei enters automatic share purchase plan - Nuvei announced that, in connection with its previously announced normal course issuer bid to purchase up to 6,617,416 of its subordinate voting shares, it recently entered into an automatic share purchase plan with the designated broker responsible for the NCIB. The ASPP is intended to allow for the purchase of shares under the NCIB at times when Nuvei would ordinarily not be permitted to purchase its securities due to regulatory restrictions and customary self-imposed blackout periods.

16:32 EDT Ideanomics receives noncompliance notification from Nasdaq - Ideanomics announced that it has received a notice from Nasdaq stating that because the company has not yet filed its Form 10-K, the company is no longer in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250 which requires listed companies to timely file all required periodic financial reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This notification has no immediate effect on the listing of the company's shares on Nasdaq. However, if the company fails to timely regain compliance with the Nasdaq Listing Rule, the company's common stock will be subject to delisting from Nasdaq. The company expects to file its Form 10-K within the 60-day period described above, which would eliminate the need for the company to submit a formal plan to regain compliance.

16:29 EDT Jim Chanos says Coinbase 'will probably not be profitable this year' - Jim Chanos is speaking on a CNBC interview.

16:17 EDT GM acquiring SoftBank Vision Fund 1's equity ownership stake in Cruise for $2.1B - General Motors (GM) announced it is acquiring SoftBank (SFTBY) Vision Fund 1's equity ownership stake in Cruise for $2.1B and separately will make an additional $1.35B investment in Cruise, replacing a previous commitment made by the fund in 2018. "Since GM acquired a majority ownership stake in 2016, Cruise has made self-driving cars a reality and is a leader on the pathway to commercial autonomous ridesharing and delivery, creating significant value for both GM shareholders and Cruise's minority shareholders," the company stated. "We are extremely pleased to announce GM is leveraging the strength of its balance sheet to capitalize on the opportunity to increase its equity investment in Cruise and advance our integrated autonomous vehicle strategy. We continue to believe our investment represents an extraordinary opportunity for creating long-term shareholder value. Our increased investment position not only simplifies Cruise's shareholder structure, but also provides GM and Cruise maximum flexibility to pursue the most value-accretive path to commercializing and unlocking the full potential of AV technology," said GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra. "In addition to GM's increased investment, Cruise today launched its Recurring Liquidity Opportunity Program, which delivers on Cruise's promise to provide Cruise employees the potential for long-term share price upside as well as flexibility around share liquidity. This program will keep Cruise extremely competitive in the talent market against both public and private companies as the company enters the early commercialization phase and continues to attract and retain some of the world's best talent," the company added. Reference Link

16:15 EDT Lannett receives notice of non-compliance from NYSE - Lannett Company, Inc. announced that it has received written notice from the New York Stock Exchange dated March 14, 2022, notifying the company that it is not in compliance with the continued listing standards set forth in Section 802.01C of the NYSE Listed Company Manual because the average closing price of the company's common stock was less than $1.00 per share over a consecutive 30 trading-day period. The company has six months from the date of the Notice to regain compliance with the NYSE continued listing standard. Lannett is evaluating all available options to regain compliance with the NYSE's continued listing standards, which may include transactions that are subject to approval of Lannett's stockholders, in which case, Lannett would have until its next annual meeting of stockholders to obtain stockholder approval for such action, notwithstanding the six-month cure period referenced above. Lannett would be required to implement the action promptly after receiving stockholder approval, and the minimum share price requirement will be deemed cured if the price promptly exceeds $1.00 per share, and the price remains above that level for at least the 30 trading days following the implementation of such action.

15:57 EDT Pharvaris treatment of bradykinin-mediated angioedema granted orphan status - Pharvaris' treatment of bradykinin-mediated angioedema was granted orphan status by the FDA, according to a post to the agency's website. Reference Link

15:31 EDT Huron boosts share repurchase program to $200M - According to a regulatory filing, Huron Consulting's board of directors on March 16, 2022 authorized an increase to the current share repurchase program to $200M, inclusive of the $6.3M remaining under the current share repurchase program, and an extension pursuant to which the company may repurchase its common stock through December 31, 2023. The amount and timing of the repurchases will be determined by management and will depend on a variety of factors, including the trading price of the company's common stock, capacity under the company's credit facility, general market and business conditions, and applicable legal requirements.

14:31 EDT Marinus Pharmaceuticals says FDA approves Ztalmy for CDKL5 deficiency disorder - Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved ZTALMY oral suspension for the treatment of seizures associated with cyclin-dependent kinase-like 5 deficiency disorder, a rare form of genetic epilepsy, in patients two years of age and older. ZTALMY, the first FDA approved treatment specifically in CDD, is a neuroactive steroid that acts as a positive allosteric modulator of the GABAA receptor. It is expected to be available through a designated specialty pharmacy in July 2022. "Today is a historic milestone not only for Marinus but for CDD patients, families and caregivers who have long been navigating the unpredictable, often devastating reality of living with uncontrolled seizures," said Scott Braunstein, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Marinus. "The approval of ZTALMY would not have been possible without the patients, caregivers and investigators who participated in the clinical trials to develop this important new therapy. We are grateful and humbled by the opportunity to bring the first and only FDA-approved treatment for seizures associated with CDD to this community."

13:02 EDT Baker Hughes reports U.S. rig count flat at 663 rigs - Baker Hughes reports that the U.S. rig count is unchanged from last week at 663 with oil rigs down 3 to 524, gas up 2 to 137, and miscellaneous rigs up 1 to 2. The U.S. Rig Count is up 252 rigs from last year's count of 411 with oil rigs up 206 gas rigs up 45 and miscellaneous up 1. The U.S. Offshore Rig Count is up 1 to 12, down 1 year-over-year. The Canada Rig Count is down 30 from last week to 176, with oil rigs down 24 to 103, gas rigs down 6 to 73. The Canada Rig Count is up 84 rigs from last year's count of 92, with oil rigs up 62, gas rigs up 22.

13:00 EDT Baker Hughes reports U.S. rig count flat at 663 rigs

12:02 EDT Sera presents data on prediction of preeclampsia using protein biomarker - Sera Prognostics presented data demonstrating the effective prediction of preeclampsia using protein biomarkers and clinical factors. The presentation titled "Comparison of Protein Biomarkers to Clinical Factors for Preeclampsia in Two Cohorts" was given by lead author Julja Burchard et al this morning at the 69th Annual Meeting of the Society for Reproductive Investigation in Denver, Colorado, during Late Breaking Session LB-002 from 9:00-10:30 AM. This study was a secondary analysis of two large independent pregnancy cohorts totaling more than 10,500 enrolled patients, PAPR and TREETOP investigating the ability of 6 clinical factors and 31 protein biomarkers to predict either preeclampsia at any gestational age or preterm preeclampsia occurring before 37 weeks of pregnancy in women prior to receiving a clinical diagnosis of preeclampsia. Of the 6 clinical factors, only having had preeclampsia in a prior pregnancy was significantly predictive of both outcomes in both studies. Of 31 biomarkers, significant prediction of preeclampsia and preterm preeclampsia was shown by 7 and 5 biomarkers, respectively, in both studies. Biomarkers, paired with the clinical predictor preeclampsia in a previous pregnancy, showed additive predictive performance and contributed more strongly for prediction of preterm preeclampsia. Biomarkers alone, whether or not clinical factors are available, also showed independent predictive performance of preeclampsia, enabling more timely interventions designed to address a patient's individual risk.

12:00 EDT BigBear.ai falls -23.8% - BigBear.ai is down -23.8%, or -$1.97 to $6.32.

12:00 EDT Tuya rises 27.4% - Tuya is up 27.4%, or 77c to $3.58.

12:00 EDT Didi rises 45.3% - Didi is up 45.3%, or $1.16 to $3.72.

11:31 EDT GDIT awarded $4.5B user facing and data center services contract by NGA - General Dynamics Information Technology, a business unit of General Dynamics, announced it has been awarded the User Facing and Data Center Services contract by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. UDS is a single-award indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract with a $4.5B ceiling and 10-year ordering period. Under this contract, GDIT will provide hybrid cloud services, including commercial clouds and data center, and IT design, engineering, implementation and operations and sustainment to NGA and its mission partners. The company will advance geospatial intelligence capabilities and support global users by delivering a full range of enterprise services, including application services, computing, virtual desktop, unified communications, DevOps, Platform as a Service, and mobile secure wireless across multiple networks and agency locations worldwide. The technology implementation will also support the IT infrastructure at NGA's new campus in St. Louis, Next NGA West.

10:00 EDT BigBear.ai falls -22.0% - BigBear.ai is down -22.0%, or -$1.82 to $6.47.

10:00 EDT ATRenew rises 8.6% - ATRenew is up 8.6%, or 25c to $3.15.

10:00 EDT PagSeguro Digital rises 14.8% - PagSeguro Digital is up 14.8%, or $2.15 to $16.72.

09:47 EDT GameStop falls -7.7% - GameStop is down -7.7%, or -$6.76 to $80.94.

09:47 EDT Centerra Gold falls -7.8% - Centerra Gold is down -7.8%, or -78c to $9.22.

09:47 EDT On Holding rises 7.2% - On Holding is up 7.2%, or $1.76 to $26.19.

09:34 EDT Bombardier completes partial redemption of its Senior Notes - Bombardier announced that it has redeemed $200M principal amount of its outstanding 7.500% Senior Notes due 2024 and $200M principal amount of its outstanding 7.500% Senior Notes due 2025, in each case as set forth in the respective notices of partial redemption issued February 15, 2022. "Debt reimbursement is one of the key strategic priorities for our company and the completion of today's paydown using cash from the balance sheet demonstrates our focus on this objective," said Bart Demosky, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Bombardier. "With our strong liquidity position at the end of last year and a competitive portfolio of world-leading business jets, we continue the work towards our 2025 business objectives, as outlined during our recent Investor Day."

09:15 EDT Pentwater delivers open letter to Turquoise Hill directors on Rio Tinto offer - Pentwater Capital, the largest minority shareholder of Turquoise Hill (TRQ), has delivered the attached letter to the Turquoise Hill Independent Directors: "Would you agree to sell your house to your corrupt banker for less than the equivalent of one and a half years of rental income? That is what Rio Tinto is asking you to do. Rio (RIO) has offered to purchase the shares of Turquoise Hill it does not own for $2.65 billion. Based upon current gold prices of $1,945 per ounce and current copper prices of $4.65 per pound, we believe that Turquoise Hill will generate over $17 billion of after-tax free cash flow between 2025 and 2030... This means that Rio's current offer to the Board of Turquoise Hill is 32% of the amount of free cash flow that Turquoise Hill will generate between 2025 and 2030. Rio's offer is also equivalent to less than 17 months of after-tax free cash flow between 2028 and 2029 for an asset that has a 70 year mine life. In Pentwater's opinion, the only reason that Turquoise Hill's share price has traded below Rio's offer price is because Rio has consistently taken actions to harm Turquoise Hill minority shareholders over the past decade. It was just two months ago that Rio forced Turquoise Hill to take a $2.4 billion debt write-down for reparations to the government of Mongolia as a result of Rio's intentional concealment of cost overruns and schedule delays. At the same time, Rio forced Turquoise Hill to agree to raise $650 million of equity when debt could have easily been raised to avoid any equity dilution. Rio's oppressive actions have all been taken with the goal of enriching itself to the detriment of Turquoise Hill minority shareholders. That is why Canaccord Genuity wrote this week that "[w]e view this C$34.00/sh bid by RIO as an opportunistic low-ball offer post-de-risking the project... and ~12 months out from first production." However, now Rio's scheme is apparent for all shareholders to see. Rio is in possession of non-public information, and it wants to use that non-public information to buy out Turquoise Hill at a fraction of the value of what the shares are worth. In Pentwater's opinion, it is highly improbable that Rio will be successful at its current bid price and equally improbable that Turquoise Hill shares will ever fall back to the levels they traded at prior to Rio's offer now that Rio's true intentions are known. Pentwater agrees with Sailingstone's open letter from two days ago. Rio paid $63.70 per share for its existing stake in Turquoise Hill. If Rio believes that its current $26.90 proposal is, "compelling for Turquoise Hill shareholders," Pentwater would be pleased to purchase part of Rio Tinto's stake in Turquoise Hill for that price."

09:07 EDT Mister Car Wash promotes Mayra Chimienti to COO - Mister Car Wash announced that Mayra Chimienti has been promoted to COO, effective immediately. In her new role, Chimienti will oversee operations, human resources, integrations, project management, learning & development, and internal communications.

09:05 EDT Amylyx launches EAP for AMX0035 in U.S. - Amylyx announced the launch of an Expanded Access Program, or EAP, for AMX0035 in the U.S. for people living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, that meet program eligibility criteria.

09:03 EDT Sorrento's Scilex announces final results for SP-102 from Phase 3 trial - Scilex, a majority-owned subsidiary of Sorrento Therapeutics, announced highly significant positive final results from its SP-102 Phase 3 Pivotal Trial C.L.E.A.R. Program. SP-102 has received Fast Track status from the FDA. The C.L.E.A.R. Trial was designed to investigate safety and analgesic effects of a single and repeat transforaminal injections of SP-102 compared to placebo. The primary endpoint of change in average daily pain in the affected leg over 4 weeks following the initial injection demonstrated LS Mean group difference of -1.08 compared to placebo. The key secondary endpoint of Oswestry Disability Index, the gold standard for measuring degree of disability and estimating quality of life, showed a 28% improvement at 4 weeks on SEMDEXA compared to baseline. SP-102 demonstrated pain relief that continued through 12 weeks. Other pain measurements, such as worst daily and current pain in the affected leg and average daily pain in lower back, demonstrated statistically significant results compared to placebo. Most of the other secondary endpoints in hierarchical arrangement for sequential testing procedure also demonstrated statistically significant results, and included Global Impression of Change, Brief Pain Inventory, PainDETECT, and cumulative use rescue medications. Safety analysis demonstrated a very clean safety profile with no identified safety risks. There were no serious adverse events related to the drug or injection procedure, and no adverse events of special interest reported, such as hematoma and infection at the injection site, or paraplegia. These events are associated with the off-label use of non-approved steroid preparations. The C.L.E.A.R trial had also established safety of repeat injections, as patients who experienced moderate-to-severe radicular pain between 4 and 23 weeks were allowed to receive open-label additional SP-102 injection. The safety analysis was comparable between treatment groups through 4, 12 and 24 weeks of study period.

09:03 EDT Ecopetrol rectifies false information published on a third-party website - The company stated, "Ecopetrol informs that on March 17, it became aware of certain false information published on a now-deactivated website (https://secureleads.org/), which purported to give Colombians an opportunity to access the company's profits by investing COP 960,000 in cryptocurrency for trading in an instrument called 'Bitcoin Ecopetrol' and which would generate COP 20,000,000 in profits in one week. This information is false and Ecopetrol was not affiliated in any manner with such information or such website."

08:56 EDT ETFS, Lion Point nominate three candidates to WisdomTree board - ETFS Capital, the largest combined owner of common stock and Series A Non-Voting Convertible Preferred Stock of WisdomTree Investments, with aggregate ownership of approximately 10.4% of the outstanding Common Stock, which together with its Series A Preferred Stock would represent approximately 18.6% of the Company's outstanding Common Stock on an as-converted basis, and Lion Point Capital, which owns 3.1% of the outstanding Common Stock, announced their nomination of three individuals for election to the Board of Directors of WisdomTree at the Company's 2022 annual meeting of stockholders and issued an open letter to the Board. The letter read, in part, "We strongly believe that WisdomTree critically needs a new CEO, improved execution and enhanced Board oversight to restore its lost credibility with stockholders. As we explained during a call with the Company last week, ETFS and Lion Point have a proven track record of value creation across a number of environmental, social and governance related investments, through their focus on growth initiatives, operational efficiency improvements and implementation of governance best practices. We firmly believe that the addition of highly qualified directors with relevant backgrounds and direct industry experience, can help identify and appoint a new CEO and guide WisdomTree so that it can regain its best-in-class company status in its industry while generating significant value for all stockholders. For those reasons, in order to preserve our rights ahead of the Company's Annual Meeting and as further described in our formal nomination notice delivered to the Company today, we are nominating three highly-qualified director candidates - Graham Tuckwell, Deborah Fuhr and Lynn Blake - for election at the 2022 Annual Meeting. To aid in the identification of our independent nominees, Lion Point engaged two highly reputable search firms who routinely work with public company boards to identify candidates who collectively have: successful track records of value creation in the ETF industry, demonstrable ETF operating experience, ETF industry opinion leader status, public company experience, and strong equality advocacy credentials. As you can see from our Nominees' biographies included below, we have identified candidates who have extensive experience in overseeing and/or analyzing billions in value of ETF assets under management, possess unquestionable industry knowledge, and some of whom have created substantial value for their backers by investing in the ETF industry. We note that two of our nominees have substantial experience in the European ETF market, where almost half the Company's assets are located. This is a much-needed gap to be filled, as none of the Board members appear to have any European ETF experience. Despite the Company's actions of recent days, we remain open to reaching a mutually agreeable solution. We have acted in good faith and have repeatedly reiterated that we do not need to be given "credit" for changes at the Company since our interests are aligned with those of all WisdomTree stockholders. In the absence of a mutually agreeable settlement that addresses our key concern of significant improvement in execution and the Board's effectiveness, we will be left with no option other than to vigorously highlight in greater detail the long string of Board and management's missteps to WisdomTree's stockholders, proxy advisory firms, independent financial advisors, the Company's vendors and partners, industry media, and investors in WisdomTree's products. Our hope is that, as the saying goes, sunshine is the best medicine, and we stand ready to shine a light on WisdomTree over the coming months and years, if necessary."

08:37 EDT Futu Holdings files annual report on Form 20-F - Futu Holdings announced it filed its annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The annual report can be accessed on the Company's investor relations website.

08:36 EDT Capital Power, MEGlobal announce ten-year renewable energy agreement - MEGlobal Canada has entered into a 10-year agreement with Capital Power Corporation to purchase a significant share of renewable energy from Capital Power's Whitla Wind facility. The renewable energy is expected to meet the power needs at MEGlobal's Canadian manufacturing facilities beginning April 1, 2022. MEGlobal is a subsidiary of EQUATE Petrochemical Company K.S.C.C. and part of the EQUATE Group. MEGlobal has three operational sites in Alberta, located in Fort Saskatchewan and Lacombe County. These facilities produce ethylene glycol that is used to make essential products such as clothing, coolants and construction materials. The carbon displacement from the agreement is estimated to be 2.119 MTCO2e. This is the equivalent of taking more than 461,000 cars off the road for a year, recycling over 90 million bags of waste instead of dumping in landfills, or the amount of greenhouse gases sequestered by 35,000,000 tree seedlings grown for 10 years.

08:33 EDT Align Technology launches new CBCT integration feature for ClinCheck - Align Technology announced the new Cone Beam Computed Tomography, CBCT, integration feature for ClinCheck digital treatment planning software, "a user-friendly tool that combines roots, bone, and crowns into a single three-dimensional model that enables doctors to visualize a patient's roots as part of the digital treatment planning process," the company said. The CBCT integration feature helps doctors expand diagnosis and treat a broader range of cases with Invisalign clear aligners. The CBCT integration feature for ClinCheck treatment planning software is currently in technical design assessment, TDA, and will be scaled in phases across customer population starting in the second half of 2022.

08:31 EDT HUMBL announces 'Project: Search 3' - Speaking at the launch of the Latin America Blockchain Accelerator in Santiago, Chile, the CEO of HUMBL, Inc. (OTCQB:HMBL), Brian Foote, announced that it has launched "Project: Search 3." The initiative will result in the production of "Search 3," one of the world's first modular, blockchain-based Web 3 search engines. The company announced that it is already well underway on the building of the technology, which is expected to ship to the global markets sometime in the first half of calendar year 2022. "Project: Search 3" is being spearheaded by the newly formed HUMBL Blockchain Services, in conjunction with Ixaya, HUMBL's newly acquired thirty-five person technology accelerator in Leon, Mexico, as well as internal HUMBL technology teams. In addition to delivering traditional Web 2 search functionality such as web, videos, images and news, "Search 3" will also deliver cross-chain NFT search functionality across blockchain projects such as Ethereum, Solana, Gnosis, Polygon and BLOCKS. The search engine will also make available "Verified by BLOCKS" technology, an additional layer of metadata, storage and authentication that can be applied to both physical supply chain and digital objects, such as NFTs. As part of the launch, HUMBL has acquired the domain name Search3.com, where it plans to host its "Search 3" consumer search engine. The company is in the process of filing a "Search 3" technology patent and has already filed for a trademark on the term "Search 3."

08:04 EDT Immutep announces second Japanese patent grant for LAG525 - Immutep (IMMP) announces the grant of patent no. 7030750 entitled "Antibody molecules to LAG-3 and uses thereof" by the Japanese Patent Office. This new Japanese patent was filed as a divisional application and follows the grant of the parent Japanese patent announced in 2019. Corresponding patents in this family have been granted in other territories including Australia, China, Europe and the United States, as announced in 2018 through 2021. The claims of the patent are directed to pharmaceutical compositions for use in the treatment of cancer, where the composition comprises LAG525 in a specific dose and for use in a defined treatment regimen. The compositions may also be administered in combination with a second agent such as an anti-PD-1 antibody, an anti-PD-L1 antibody or a chemotherapeutic agent. The patent is co-owned by Novartis AG (NVS) and Immutep S.A.S., and will expire on 13 March 2035.

08:02 EDT Kohl's, Capital One announce multi-year extension of credit card partnership - Kohl's (KSS) and Capital One, National Association, a subsidiary of Capital One Financial (COF), announced a multi-year extension of their credit card program agreement. This is the second contract extension, with the most recent one occurring in 2014, and will allow the companies to continue to build on their relationship and provide industry-leading experiences and highly compelling products to Kohl's millions of customers. The contract extension with Kohl's enables consumers to have expanded buying power and further solidifies an already strong partnership. Kohl's high product standards and the company's focus on customer service extends through its private label credit card program, Kohl's Card, which offers cardholders access to exclusive offers, guaranteed savings and online payment services. The two companies have also agreed to a co-branded card product piloted as early as 2023.

08:02 EDT Joby Aviation completes initial FAA Systems, Compliance reviews - Joby Aviation announced the completion and subsequent approval of its first Systems Review and its first Compliance Review by the Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA. These reviews, completed at the end of last year, were recently granted approval by the FAA, providing the company with confidence in its development approach, preliminary production design, and path toward certification.

08:01 EDT LiqTech CEO Sune Mathiesen takes medical leave of absence - LiqTech announces that Sune Mathiesen, CEO, has taken a medical leave of absence. Alexander Buehler, who is currently serving as a member of the Board of Directors, has been appointed to serve as Interim CEO, effective immediately. Buehler has served as a Director of LiqTech since 2017, during which time he has also served as the Audit Committee Chairman. In connection with his appointment as Interim CEO, Buehler tendered his resignation as a member and Chair of the Audit Committee and as a member of the Governance and Compensation Committees. The Board of Directors has appointed Richard Meeusen to serve as the Chair of the Audit Committee, effective immediately.

07:58 EDT Barrick Gold set to deliver 'substantial' free cash flows - Barrick Gold Corporation is built on a foundation of six Tier One gold mines with rolling 10-year plans which secure the company's ability to generate substantial free cash flows for the next decade and beyond, says executive chairman John Thornton. Writing in the company's 2021 annual report, published today, Thornton notes that in September 2018, when the Randgold merger was announced, Barrick had net debt in excess of $4 billion. Since then it has not only moved into a net cash position but has returned $2.5 billion of cash to shareholders, including last year's record distribution of $1.4 billion. "As previously announced, after careful consideration of our capital allocation, the board has settled on a new dividend policy comprising a base dividend with an additional performance dividend linked to the net cash on the balance sheet, starting in 2022. We believe this will give our shareholders guidance on future dividend streams," he says. "The board has also approved a $1 billion share buyback plan which will afford us the opportunity to acquire our shares when they are trading below what we consider to be their intrinsic value."

07:56 EDT Recursion Pharmaceuticals enrolls first patient in Phase 2 SYCAMORE trial - Recursion announced the enrollment of the first patient in its Phase 2 SYCAMORE clinical trial evaluating REC-994, a potentially first-in-class, orally bioavailable small molecule for the treatment of CCM. The Phase 2 trial is designed as a multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study to investigate the safety, efficacy and pharmacokinetics of REC-994. The study is expected to enroll approximately 60 subjects.

07:36 EDT Barrick Gold expands footprint in hunt for high-quality assets - Barrick Gold Corporation is continuing to invest in its future through the development of capital projects that will expand and enhance an operating platform which already holds some of the industry's best assets, says president and chief executive Mark Bristow. Writing in the company's 2021 annual report, published today, Bristow says that, while building on this value foundation, Barrick was also expanding its presence into new prospective areas in its hunt for high-quality assets. "A specialist Asia-Pacific team, set up to look at opportunities in that region, has acquired exploration permits in Japan and are hunting for additional opportunities in that region. We are also investigating projects across the Nubian and Arabian Shields in North Africa and the Middle East. We have put a particularly strong focus on exploration in Latin America, where our teams are testing a portfolio of targets on the El Indio belt along the border between Argentina and Chile. We have also added ground in Peru and started fieldwork on new projects in Guyana and Suriname. We are working on a well-defined strategy to grow our business in Canada where I believe we are under-invested. A significant exploration portfolio has been secured in the country's Uchi Belt and the team is also looking at other opportunities in the country." Bristow says Barrick has mapped out and is advancing on a clear road to achievable greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and its long-standing commitment to Environmental, Social and Governance principles informs all its business decisions. "The Social component of ESG tends to be overshadowed by its Environmental counterpart, but for Barrick it is the socio-economic state of our less-developed host countries that is critically important, and much of our sustainability strategy is directed at ensuring that our host communities are not negatively impacted by the world's transition to a green economy. Our drive to employ the next generation of mining talent remained steady, with 56% of our workforce now under the age of 40 and 19% under 30. Throughout the period we also continued to increase our gender diversity, and last year 17% of new hires globally were women. Barrick believes in empowering our people to thrive in a decentralized structure with lean regional teams designed for agility and focused on creating value for all our stakeholders," says Bristow.

07:18 EDT Centerra temporarily suspends gold dore bar production at Oksut Mine - Centerra Gold announced that it has temporarily suspended gold dore bar production at the Oksut Mine due to mercury having been detected in the gold room of the adsorption-desorption recovery plant. Centerra has taken several initial actions in response, including cleaning mercury from affected areas, taking steps to mitigate and prevent exposure, implementing the necessary safety protocols and protective equipment and is in the process of taking the necessary regulatory reporting steps. The Company is also evaluating several potential technical solutions to remove the mercury in the gold recovery process, including a retort and scrubbing system in the ADR plant, prior to the restart of production. Despite the temporary suspension, the Oksut Mine continues to mine ore, stack ore on the leach pad, and process ore within the ADR plant into a gold-in-carbon form. The gold-in-carbon will be stockpiled until the re-start of the electrowinning process, where the recovery of gold from concentrated solution occurs. The Company is evaluating the impact on 2022 guidance, noting that through March 17 the Oksut Mine produced and sold over 54,000 gold ounces. Following a thorough review, Centerra expects to provide an update in due course.

07:10 EDT Verano Holdings opening two MUV dispensaries in Florida's Tampa Bay area - Verano announced the opening of its 42nd and 43rd MUV dispensaries in Florida. MUV Brandon, located at 942 West Lumsden Road, and MUV New Tampa, situated at 17521 Preserve Walk Lane, are both scheduled to open on Saturday, March 19th at 9:00 am local time. "Hillsborough County has been home to MUV dispensaries since 2017, and over the last five years, we have witnessed Tampa and its surrounding communities exponentially grow, thrive and expand," said John Tipton, President of Verano. "We have listened to our patients and learned the lengths to which some travel to obtain their needed alternative medicine. With the opening of MUV Brandon and MUV New Tampa, we will be well positioned to provide the highest quality medical cannabis to the furthest reaches of the fourth largest county in the state."

07:06 EDT Hexo plans to accelerate growth through organic market share - To increase revenue, the Company plans to accelerate growth through organic market share gains and capture revenue opportunities through enhanced demand planning. For example, in the past, the Company was able to satisfy only 65% to 70% of customer demand. Going forward, the Company will connect its demand forecast to its harvest plan. The Company will apply learnings from its acquisition of Redecan across the organization. The Company will also re-focus on medical and consolidate this product under Redecan's leadership, given its strength in this category.

07:05 EDT Hexo expects to deliver on synergies as a result of recent acquisitions

07:05 EDT Hexo to streamline, simplify organizational structure - The Company expects to streamline and simplify its organizational structure and more closely align operating costs with its size. These cost reductions will be achieved through a combination of reduced reliance on outside consultants, streamlining the organization as a new IT platform is implemented, right-sizing the organization, and realizing the synergistic benefits of the recent acquisitions. These initiatives are expected to represent a 30% reduction in the Company's SG&A by fiscal year end 2023. Part of these initiatives is the reduction of 180 positions subsequent to second quarter end, resulting in savings of approximately $15 million on an annualized basis. Half of these positions were related to the previously announced closure of the Stellarton facility. The remaining reductions were related to reducing back-office positions where there is significant overlap as a result of recent acquisitions, simplifying HEXO's operating model to drive clearer accountability and de-layering management.

07:04 EDT Aerie Pharmaceuticals announces Peter Lang as CFO - Aerie Pharmaceuticals announced that Peter Lang will join the company as CFO, effective March 18. He will report to Raj Kannan, CEO of Aerie Pharmaceuticals and become a member of the Aerie executive committee. Lang comes to Aerie with over 25 years of experience delivering financial, strategic and operational solutions, with deep expertise in healthcare and a particular focus on the biopharma sector.

07:04 EDT Decibel Therapeutics expects cash to fund operations into 2024 - As of December 31, 2021, cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale securities were $162.3 million, compared to $54.3 million as of December 31, 2020. Based on its current operating and development plans, Decibel believes that its existing cash, cash equivalents and available-for-sale securities will fund its pipeline programs and operating expenses into 2024.

07:04 EDT Hexo's sees The Path Forward generating run-rate cash flow of C$37.5M in 2022 - The "Path Forward" is a strategic plan that utilizes HEXO's current assets and capabilities to drive accelerated organic growth, build market share and become operationally cash flow positive within the next four quarters. The Path Forward includes five priorities: Continue to reduce manufacturing and production costs; Streamline and simplify the organizational structure; Realize cost synergies from acquisitions and recent plant closures; Focus on revenue management, including more disciplined pricing; Accelerate growth through organic market share gains and capture missed revenue opportunities; This plan is underpinned by specific actions to fortify the balance sheet, strengthen the leadership team and enhance corporate governance, which are on track for execution. The plan is expected to generate incremental run-rate cash flow of $37.5 million in fiscal 2022 and an additional $135 million of cash flow in fiscal 2023, for a total of $172.5 million over the two years, through a combination of cost reductions and anticipated revenue growth.

06:55 EDT Protalix, Chiesi announce final results from BRIGHT trial - Protalix and Chiesi Global Rare Diseases, a business unit of Chiesi Farmaceutici, an international research focused healthcare Group, announced final results from the BRIGHT Phase III clinical trial evaluating pegunigalsidase alfa, or PRX-102, for the potential treatment of Fabry disease. The results indicate that treatment with 2 mg/kg of PRX-102 administered by intravenous, or IV, infusion every four weeks was well tolerated, and Fabry disease assessed by estimated glomerular filtration rate, or eGFR, slope and plasma lyso-Gb3 concentration was stable. PRX-102 is a plant cell-expressed recombinant, PEGylated, cross-linked alpha-galactosidase-A product candidate. The BRIGHT Phase III clinical trial was a multicenter, multinational open-label, switch-over study designed to evaluate the safety, efficacy and pharmacokinetics of treatment with 2 mg/kg of PRX-102 administered every four weeks for 52 weeks. The study enrolled 30 adult patients with Fabry disease with mean age of 40.5 years, ranging from 19 to 58 years, who previously received an approved enzyme replacement therapy for at least three years on a stable dose administered every two weeks. The most common Fabry disease symptoms at baseline were acroparesthesia, heat intolerance, angiokeratomas and hypohydrosis. All patients who participated in the study received at least one dose of PRX-102, and 29 patients completed the study. Of these 29 patients, 28 received the intended regimen of 2 mg/kg of PRX-102 every four weeks throughout the entire study, while one patient was switched to 1 mg/kg of PRX-102 every two weeks per protocol at the 11th infusion. One patient withdrew from the study after the first infusion due to a traffic accident. First infusions of PRX-102 were administered under controlled conditions at the investigational site. Based on pre-specified criteria in the study protocol, patients were able to receive their PRX-102 infusions at a home care setup once the Investigator and Sponsor Medical Monitor agreed that it was safe to do so. Overall, 33 of 182 total treatment-emergent adverse events reported in nine patients were considered treatment-related; all were mild or moderate in severity and the majority were resolved at the end of the study. There were no serious or severe treatment-related TEAEs and no TEAEs led to death or study withdrawal. Of the treatment-related TEAEs, 27 were infusion-related reactions and the remainder were single events of diarrhea, erythema, fatigue, influenza-like illness, increased urine protein/creatinine ratio, and urine positive for white blood cells. The 27 IRRs were reported in five patients, all male. All IRRs occurred during the infusion or within two hours post-infusion; no events were recorded between two and 24 hours post-infusion. None of the patients without anti-drug antibodies at screening developed treatment-induced ADAs following the switch to PRX-102 treatment. Study outcome measures show that plasma lyso-Gb3 concentrations remained stable during the study with a mean change of 3.01 nM from baseline to Week 52. Mean absolute eGFR values were stable during the 52-week treatment period, with a mean change from baseline of -1.27 mL/min/1.73 m2. Mean eGFR slope, at the end of the study, for the overall population, was -2.92 (1.05) mL/min/1.73m2/year indicating stability.

06:32 EDT BitNile unit reports significant milestones reached in EV charger installations - BitNile Holdings announced that its green energy technology and power electronics subsidiary, TurnOnGreen, has resumed work on the installation of its Level 3 electric vehicle chargers at the first of three Tim Hortons quick service restaurant locations in Canada. COVID-19 pandemic-related supply chain issues and restricted access to Canada delayed the pilot program. Since resuming in February 2022, significant milestones have been reached. In December 2020, TurnOnGreen entered into an agreement with select franchisees to install Level 3 EV chargers at select Tim Hortons locations as part of a revenue-sharing program. Since the resumption of work, TurnOnGreen, with its Canadian partner, has completed site planning, permitting and provisioning the required power infrastructure to support the installation of two FSP1200, 120 kW DC Fast Chargers at the first pilot location. Installation is expected to be completed during the second quarter of 2022. Furthermore, obtaining the safety certificate for EV700 Level 2 residential charger and easing supply chain restrictions has increased inventory, allowing TurnOnGreen's distribution partner iNetSupply to expand its EV700 charger sales to NewEgg.com. The EV700 is now sold at four major online retailers, including Amazon.com, NewEgg.com, and iNetSupply.com. TurnOnGreen's flagship product continues to gain consumer interest following the 4.4 star rating from industry specialist Tom Moloughney on his popular technology show State of Charge.

06:18 EDT Facebook owner Meta Platforms sued by ACCC over scam ads - The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has instituted Federal Court proceedings against Facebook owner Meta Platforms, Inc. and Meta Platforms Ireland Limited alleging that they engaged in false, misleading or deceptive conduct by publishing scam advertisements featuring prominent Australian public figures. The ACCC alleges that this conduct was in breach of the Australian Consumer Law or the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act. It is also alleged that Meta aided and abetted or was knowingly concerned in false or misleading conduct and representations by the advertisers. The ACCC is seeking declarations, injunctions, penalties, costs and other orders.

06:06 EDT Pono Capital Corp., Benuvia enter combination agreement - Benuvia, a drug developer and manufacturer of active pharmaceutical ingredients focused on cannabinoids, and Pono Capital Corp., announced that they have entered into a definitive business combination agreement that will result, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain closing conditions, in Benuvia becoming a public company. Benuvia will apply to be listed on Nasdaq. The business combination implies a pro forma enterprise valuation for Benuvia of $440M. The transaction will provide approximately $115M in estimated gross proceeds to Benuvia; assuming no redemption by Pono shareholders. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2022, subject to, among other things, the approval by Pono Capital Corp stockholders, satisfaction or waiver of the conditions stated in the business combination agreement, and other customary closing conditions, including a registration statement being declared effective by the U.S. SEC and approval by Nasdaq to list the securities of the combined company.

06:03 EDT Brookline Capital Acquisition Corp., Apexigen enter combination agreement - Apexigen, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing a new generation of antibody therapeutics for oncology, and Brookline Capital Acquisition Corp., announced they have entered into a definitive business combination agreement. Upon closing of the transaction, Brookline Capital Acquisition Corp. will be renamed Apexigen and will be led by Xiaodong Yang, M.D., Ph.D., President and CEO of Apexigen. The combined company expects to list its stock on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "APGN". A group of healthcare investors and existing Apexigen stockholders has committed to participate in the transaction through a $15M common stock and warrant PIPE at a purchase price of $10 for a unit consisting of one share and a half warrant for one share. Gross proceeds of the transaction available to the Combined Company at closing will be approximately $73M. In addition, Brookline Capital Acquisition Corp. and Lincoln Park have entered into a committed investment agreement under which the Combined Company would have the right to direct Lincoln Park to purchase up to an aggregate of $50M of common stock of the Combined Company over a 24-month period, providing financing flexibility to the combined company. The Boards of Directors of Brookline Capital Acquisition Corp. and Apexigen have unanimously approved the merger and related agreements and transactions. Following the Merger, the Combined Company's board of directors shall consist of seven members, of which Apexigen will select six and Brookline Capital Acquisition Corp. will select one. Completion of the merger is subject to approval of Brookline Capital Acquisition Corp. and Apexigen stockholders and other customary closing conditions, including the filing of a definitive proxy statement with the SEC. The parties currently expect to complete the transactions in July 2022.

05:11 EDT Calliditas Therapeutics announces Everest plan to submit Nefecon NDA in China - Calliditas Therapeutics announced that partner Everest Medicines plans to submit an NDA for Nefecon in China in the second half of 2022. Everest received breakthrough therapy designation, or BTD, from the China Center for Drug Evaluation, National Medical Products Administration in December, 2020 and have completed enrollment of the 60 Chinese patients required to complement the submission of the global data set from the NefIgArd trial. Everest plans to conduct an interim analysis of the Chinese patients and this is expected to lead to a regulatory submission in China in 2H of 2022.