Stockwinners Market Radar for January 31, 2024 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:25 EST Cathie Wood's ARK Investment bought 305.7K shares of Robinhood today

20:23 EST Cathie Wood's ARK Investment bought 173.4K shares of Pinterest today

19:50 EST CareMax trading halted, news pending

18:41 EST Protagonist Therapeutics, Takeda enter into license agreement for Rusfertide - Takeda (TAK) and Protagonist Therapeutics (PTGX) "announced the signing of a worldwide license and collaboration agreement for the development and commercialization of rusfertide, an investigational injectable hepcidin mimetic peptide of the natural hormone hepcidin, currently in a pivotal Phase 3 trial, VERIFY, for the treatment of Polycythemia Vera, or PV. PV is a rare chronic blood disorder characterized by excessive production of red blood cells that affects as many as 160,000 patients in the U.S.[i], with a similar prevalence in Europe[ii][iii]. The hallmark manifestations of PV are increased red blood cell count and iron deficiency[iv], putting patients at higher risk of cardiovascular and thrombotic events, such as heart attack and stroke[v][vi], often impacting quality-of-life with symptoms such as fatigue and confusion[vii]. Under the terms of the agreement, Protagonist will receive an upfront payment of $300 million and is eligible to receive additional worldwide development and regulatory milestone payments, as well as commercial milestones and tiered royalties on ex-U.S. net sales. Protagonist will remain responsible for research and development through the completion of the Phase 3 clinical trial and U.S. regulatory approval. Takeda has rights for ex-U.S. development and is responsible for leading global commercialization activities."

18:17 EST Cabaletta Bio treatment of IIM granted FDA orphan designation - Cabaletta Bio's autologous anti-CD19 chimeric antibody receptor T cells designed to deplete CD19+ B cells were granted FDA orphan designation as a treatment of Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathies, or IIM according to a post to the agency's website. [ Reference Link

17:45 EST Sony showcases 'Rise of the Ronin,' 'Death Stranding 2' at State of Play event - At Sony's (SONY) PlayStation State of Play event, the company made a number of new game announcements and provided updates on previously announced games coming to the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation VR2 platforms. Among the notable announcements during the presentation were: a new trailer for online shooter "Helldivers 2," out February 8; a gameplay and story breakdown of action RPG "Stellar Blade," out April 26; Sega (SGAMY) announcing and showcasing "Sonic X Shadow Generations," a new "Sonic the Hedgehog" title coming out fall 2024; a new trailer for Square Enix's (SQNXF) upcoming party game "Foamstars," out February 6; a port of Nexon's "Dave the Diver," coming to PlayStation in April; a new trailer for Konami's (KONMY) free-to-play horror game "Silent Hill: The Short Message," out today; a new trailer for Konami's "Silent Hill 2" remake; a reveal of upcoming VR shooter "Metro Awakening VR," out later in 2024; a new trailer for Capcom's (CCOEY) upcoming RPG "Dragon's Dogma 2," out March 22; a story and gameplay breakdown for upcoming open-world action game "Rise of the Ronin," out March 22; the reveal of an "Until Dawn" remake for PS5 and PC, out later in 2024; and a new trailer for Kojima Productions' "Death Stranding 2," out 2025.

17:30 EST Servotronics names Harrison Kelly COO - Servotronics announced that Harrison W. Kelly III has been appointed as its new Chief Operating Officer. With over twenty years of experience in executive operations leadership and practical engineering across aerospace, automotive and medical device manufacturing, Dr. Kelly brings a wealth of expertise to lead the Company's operational and strategic initiatives. As the COO of Servotronics, Dr. Kelly will play a pivotal role in leading the Company's operations to meet the growing needs of its customers in the commercial aerospace industry, while supporting growth initiatives in other markets. He will be focused on developing a robust overall supply chain through continuous improvement and quality initiatives, which is in alignment with the Company's long-term strategic plan. Dr. Kelly's track record of technical expertise, experience and success underscores the Company's dedication to innovation and excellence in the dynamic aerospace industry. "We are fortunate to have someone like Harrison, who has a solid background and a wealth of experience, to join our leadership team and focus on enhancing our operations. His deep understanding of manufacturing operations, supply chain management, and business strategy will be valuable for our growth and success," said Servotronics' CEO William J. Farrell, Jr.

17:11 EST Waldencast names Manuel Manfredi as CFO - Waldencast announced that Manuel Manfredi will join the Company as CFO on April 1, 2024. Philippe Gautier, currently Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer is leaving the Company, effective today. Michel Brousset, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Company who had previously assumed the combined roles of Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer prior to the appointment of Mr. Gautier, will serve as the Company's interim Chief Financial Officer through March 31, 2024.

17:06 EST ServiceNow CCO Smith sells 1,795 common shares - In a regulatory filing, ServiceNow chief commercial officer Paul John Smith disclosed the sale of 1,795 common shares of the company on January 30 at a price of $781.061 per share.

17:01 EST Esquire Financial raises quarterly dividend 20% to 15c per share - The dividend is payable on March 1 to each stockholder of record on February 15.

17:00 EST BellRing Brands exec chairman Rob Vitale returns from medical leave - BellRing Brands announced that its Executive Chairman, Robert V. Vitale, has ended his medical leave and resumed his full duties as Executive Chairman, effective today, January 31, 2024.

16:39 EST Unitil raises dividend 2c to 42.5c per share - Unitil Corporation announced that its Board of Directors raised the quarterly dividend on the Company's common stock to 42.5c per share, an increase of 2c per share. Today's action increased the Company's annualized dividend by 8c, to $1.70 per share. Also he Board declared the first quarter common stock dividend of 42.5c per share, payable February 29, to shareholders of record on February 14..

16:35 EST American Vanguard affirms 2023 and 2024 guidance - Eric Wintemute, CEO, commented, "During our third quarter earnings report in November, we indicated expectations for the full year 2023 and our targets for 2024. While we have not completed our full audit cycle, I am pleased to report that based on our preliminary evaluation, we have ended the quarter and the year broadly in line with our targets and are now reiterating our 2024 expectations. Additionally, in the fourth quarter, we greatly strengthened our balance sheet with debt reduction fueled by higher sales, inventory reductions, and customer pre-payments. Based on preliminary numbers, the delivery of our stronger balance sheet has put us in a strong position to meet our debt-to-EBITDA target of approximately 2.75X. Furthermore, our business and digital transformation initiatives are underway. These efforts will lead to improved operating leverage and a more efficient platform for growth, which we look forward to discussing on the call."

16:33 EST Altus Power acquires 84MW portfolio from Vitol for about $118M - Altus Power announced the signing and closing of approximately 84 MWs of commercial-scale solar arrays from Vitol, the largest independent energy trader globally, for total proceeds of approximately $118 million. The acquisition adds thousands of new long-term Community Solar, school district and other enterprise customers served by a mix of rooftop, ground and carport arrays to Altus Power's strong customer base across the Northeast, notably in New York, New Jersey and Maine. "We're proud of our robust pipeline that is adding Community Solar subscribers, school districts and other enterprises to Altus Power's growing customer base. Our expansion in the Northeast offers additional scale in these markets and allows us to continue to enhance the services that we offer our customers," said Gregg Felton, co-CEO and co-founder, Altus Power. "This bilateral acquisition kicks off what we expect to be a long-term strategic partnership with Vitol, a world-class leader in energy asset management, and we look forward to expanding our relationship through future development assets."

16:31 EST Bit Digital expands mining fleet - Bit Digital is pleased to announce that it has finalized an agreement for 6 megawatts of incremental hosting capacity to power its miners. The hosting facility, located in Massena, New York, is operated by a subsidiary of Coinmint. This new agreement brings the Company's total contracted hosting capacity with Coinmint to approximately 46 MW. The agreement features an initial one-year term with automatic three-month renewals. Bit Digital will fill the capacity with approximately 2,340 S19k Pro mining units that were recently purchased for approximately $3.4M, or approximately $13/TH. These mining units represent approximately 260PH/s with an average efficiency of 23 J/TH. The Company expects the miners to be delivered to the facility and hashing by the end of February 2024. Sam Tabar, Bit Digital's CEO, commented: "We are pleased to further expand our relationship with a top-tier hosting partner in Coinmint. This agreement represents an important step towards achieving our goal of doubling our active mining fleet to approximately 6.0EH/s during 2024. We plan to achieve this growth target at a measured pace that enables opportunistic procurement decisions with the goal of enhancing both our scale and fleet efficiency."

16:30 EST CF Industries raises quarterly dividend 25% to 50c per share - CF Industries Holdings reported that its board of directors has declared a 50c per share dividend on its common stock, a 25% increase compared to its prior quarterly dividend. The dividend will be payable on February 29, 2024, to stockholders of record as of February 15, 2024. Additionally, the company confirmed that it will report its full year and fourth quarter 2023 results after the market close on Wednesday, February 14, 2024. The company plans to host a conference call to discuss these results at 10:00 a.m. ET on Thursday, February 15, 2024.

16:24 EST Aflac reiterates increase in Q1 dividend of 19% - The board of directors declared the first quarter dividend of 50c per share, payable on March 1 to shareholders of record at the close of business on February 21.

16:20 EST Carver Bancorp board 'thoroughly rejected' offer by Dream Chasers Capital Group - Carver Bancorp announced that its Board of Directors reviewed and thoroughly rejected an offer by Dream Chasers Capital Group to acquire 35% interest in Carver's common equity. The Board determined that the adverse publicly disclosed regulatory history of Dream Chasers' leadership posed unacceptable reputational risks to Carver's standing and mission credibility. The Board noted the potential impact of such reputational risk on Carver's relationship with its shareholders, third-party stakeholders, regulators, and customers. Furthermore, a comprehensive review of the Dream Chasers proposal found it to be wholly deficient with respect to structural details, implied valuation, dilution, and the basic disclosure of financial and managerial resources. As a result of its evaluation, the Board definitively determined that an association with Dream Chasers of any type is not in the best interest of Carver, its shareholders, and its community stakeholders.

16:18 EST Consolidated Communications holders approve Searchlight, BCI transaction - Consolidated Communications Holdings announced that, based on the preliminary vote count provided by its proxy solicitor following the Company's special meeting of shareholders held earlier today, Consolidated shareholders have voted overwhelmingly to approve the proposed acquisition of the Company by affiliates of Searchlight Capital Partners, L.P. and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation. Approximately 75% of disinterested shareholders voted to approve the proposal to adopt the merger agreement and approve the Proposed Transaction. Consolidated will file final, certified voting results on a Form 8-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as soon as practicable. "Today's vote by Consolidated shareholders is a clear endorsement that they recognize the value-maximizing nature of this transaction," said Robert J. Currey, the Chairman of the Consolidated Communications Board and the Special Committee Chair. "With the financial flexibility and access to capital this transaction provides, we will be well positioned to bring broadband services to underserved and unserved communities across rural America. We look forward to continuing to deliver for our stakeholders, including our customers and our employees, for many years to come." The Proposed Transaction is expected to close by the first quarter of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals. The Proposed Transaction is not subject to a financing condition. Following the closing of the Proposed Transaction, shares of Consolidated Communications common stock will no longer be traded or listed on any public securities exchange.

16:18 EST Transcode regains compliance with Nasdaq stockholders' equity requirement - TransCode Therapeutics has received notice from the NASDAQ Stock Market that the Nasdaq has determined that the Company has regained compliance with the minimum stockholders' equity requirement under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(b)(1) for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market. Pursuant to Nasdaq Listing Rule 5815(d)(4)(B), the Company will be subject to a mandatory panel monitor through January 26.The Nasdaq notice also stated that if, within the one-year monitoring period, the Nasdaq Staff finds the Company is again out of compliance with the Equity Rule that was the subject of the exception, notwithstanding Rule 5810(c)(2), the Company will not be permitted to provide the Staff with a plan of compliance with respect to that deficiency and the Staff will not be permitted to grant additional time for the Company to regain compliance with respect to that deficiency, nor will the Company be afforded an applicable cure or compliance period pursuant to Rule 5810(c)(3). Instead, the Staff will issue a Delist Determination Letter and the Company will have an opportunity to request a new hearing with the initial Hearing Panel or a newly convened Hearing Panel if the initial Panel is unavailable. The Company will have the opportunity to respond/present to the Hearing Panel as provided by Listing Rule 5815(d)(4)(C). The Company's securities may be at that time delisted from Nasdaq.

16:15 EST OFG Bancorp announces new $50M share repurchase plan

16:10 EST Netgear names Charles Prober CEO - Netgear announced that Patrick C.S. Lo, current Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the board, is retiring from his position at NETGEAR and from the company's Board. Lo will remain as a strategic advisor to support a seamless leadership transition through July 2024. The Board has appointed Charles (CJ) Prober, a senior technology executive, to succeed him effective immediately. Prober is also joining NETGEAR's Board of Directors. "As co-founder of NETGEAR, and leader for nearly three decades, it goes without saying that Patrick Lo's impact on the company is undeniable. His vision for delivering the future of connectivity through advanced networking products and solutions has shaped who we are as a company, and we celebrate all he has accomplished," said Thomas H. Waechter, NETGEAR Lead Independent Director. "CJ has the full confidence of the Board. We look forward to working with him and the NETGEAR leadership team to take the company forward for its next phase of innovation."

16:09 EST C.H. Robinson appoints Castagnetto as President of N.A. Surface Transportation - C.H. Robinson Worldwide announced that Michael Castagnetto has been promoted to President of North American, N.A., Surface Transportation, effective immediately. Michael succeeds Mac Pinkerton, who is transitioning from his current role at C.H. Robinson. Michael joined Robinson in 2005 and has held several leadership roles across C.H. Robinson, most recently serving as Vice President, Customer Success for NAST.

16:05 EST Qualcomm up 3% after Q1 earnings beat - Qualcomm shares are up $5.09, or 3%, to $153.60 in after-hours trading.

16:03 EST Align Technology announces iTero Lumina Intraoral Scanner - Align Technology announced the launch of the iTero Lumina intraoral scanner - with a 3X wider field of capture in a 50% smaller and 45% lighter wand, delivering faster scanning speed, higher accuracy, superior visualization, and a more comfortable scanning experience. "Today we're excited to introduce the next generation of iTero scanning technology that pushes the boundaries of what the industry has come to expect from a scanner," said Karim Boussebaa, Align Technology executive vice president and managing director for the iTero scanner and services business. "iTero Lumina creates a new standard in digital scanning that achieves exceptional clinical outcomes through more detailed data capture and highly accurate, photorealistic images; increases practice efficiency with an effortless, faster scanning experience; and delivers an elevated, more comfortable experience for clinicians and patients."

15:49 EST City Holding announces approval of stock repurchase plan - City Holding Company announced that the board authorized the Company to buy back up to 1,000,000 of its common shares in open market transactions at prices that are accretive to the earnings per share of continuing shareholders. Management may commence or suspend purchases at any time or from time-to-time based on market and business conditions and without prior notice. No time limit has been placed on the duration of the share repurchase program. As part of its authorization, the Company rescinded the previous share repurchase plan approved May 25, 2022. Through January 31, 2024, the Company repurchased 849,681 shares under the May 2022 plan. "As of January 31, 2024, the Company was very well capitalized and capital continues to grow due to our exceptional earnings. As a result, we view this repurchase plan as part of an ongoing strategy to build value for our stockholders while maintaining appropriate capital levels," stated Charles R. Hageboeck, President & CEO. The Company currently has 14.8 million outstanding common shares. Repurchase of the Company's stock is subject to availability of the stock and may be discontinued at any time.

15:25 EST Oxus Acquisition Corp trading resumes

15:02 EST Deep Medicine Acquisition Corp trading halted, volatility trading pause

14:02 EST CCSC Technology International Hldngs Ltd trading resumes

13:52 EST CCSC Technology International Hldngs Ltd trading halted, volatility trading pause

12:22 EST Saba Capital files lawsuit against ASA over shareholder rights plan - Saba Capital Management, which manages certain investment funds that together beneficially own 16.9% of the outstanding shares of ASA Gold and Precious Metals, announced that it has filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against ASA and each member of its Board of Directors regarding their decision to adopt a so-called shareholder rights plan that violates the Investment Company Act of 1940. The firm said, "Saba is seeking to invalidate the Company's discriminatory and unlawful shareholder rights plan, which is also known as a poison pill. The litigation follows similar lawsuits that Saba has recently brought and won against BlackRock, Eaton Vance and Nuveen over the use of control share provisions that were found to violate the '40 Act." Michael D'Angelo, Partner and General Counsel of Saba, commented: "By adopting a poison pill that so clearly disregards the '40 Act, ASA and its Board of Directors have made it clear that their top priorities are entrenchment and fees - not complying with the law and respecting shareholders' rights. ASA designed the poison pill in a sly and self-serving manner to guarantee that all shareholders will have the potential to suffer greatly, not just Saba. If the poison pill is executed, there will inevitably be massive casualties across the Company's shareholder base. Shareholders will not only face severe dilution, but ASA has also ensured that the poison pill will create significant economic harm for those shareholders who do not have the financial means to participate in the rights plans. Specific to Saba, the poison pill targets our right to acquire additional shares in proportion to our holdings of the Company's common stock - a right that is available to all other shareholders and that we are legally entitled to. This is precisely the type of anti-shareholder behavior and punitive discrimination that the '40 Act was designed to prevent and which regulators focused on investor protection vehemently oppose. Shareholders of ASA, or any product managed by its advisor Merk Investments, need to be on high alert. If ASA, its Board, and Axel Merk are willing to break federal law to avoid being held accountable for the Company's severe long-term underperformance and persistent trading price discount to net asset value, what will they do next? If ASA's directors truly cared about creating value for shareholders, they would proactively rescind the poison pill and transition their positions to qualified fiduciaries."

12:00 EST Rockwell Automation falls -15.3% - Rockwell Automation is down -15.3%, or -$47.08 to $260.14.

12:00 EST Spirit AeroSystems rises 8.2% - Spirit AeroSystems is up 8.2%, or $2.08 to $27.36.

12:00 EST Ashland rises 17.6% - Ashland is up 17.6%, or $14.21 to $94.98.

11:31 EST HII raises share repurchase program authorization to $3.8 B from $3.2B - HII announced that its board of directors has authorized an increase in the company's share repurchase program from $3.2B to $3.8B and extended the term of the program from Oct. 31, 2024 to Dec. 31, 2028. "This action demonstrates continued confidence in HII's free cash flow generation and supports our commitment to return free cash flow to our shareholders," said Chris Kastner, HII's president and CEO.

11:15 EST eBay to pay $59M in settlement with U.S. Department of Justice - eBay reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to fully resolve the DOJ's inquiry regarding products sold on the eBay marketplace alleged to violate certain laws administered by the Drug Enforcement Administration. Under the terms of the agreement, eBay will pay $59M and implement enhanced processes regarding its monitoring and reporting of listings that violate eBay's terms of service. eBay expressly denies the DOJ's allegations and the settlement does not include any admission of wrongdoing. eBay issued the following statement: "Maintaining a safe and trusted marketplace for our global community of sellers and buyers is a fundamental principle of our business. eBay is proud of its well-recognized, proactive and voluntary efforts to remove the products that were the subject of the government's inquiry from our marketplace. While eBay acted lawfully and denies the DOJ's allegations, we determined that this agreement is in the best interest of the company and its shareholders as it avoids the costs, uncertainty and distraction associated with protracted litigation. eBay's actions to remove products that could be used for counterfeit pills - including dies, molds and pill presses - prior to any request from the DOJ or other authorities, and years before the government turned its attention to these products, prevented tens of thousands of potentially problematic listings from appearing on our marketplace. Government officials have repeatedly commended eBay for our partnership with law enforcement and efforts to support investigations into illegal pill press usage." As previously disclosed, eBay has accrued for probable losses in connection with this DOJ inquiry. eBay will fund the payment contemplated in the settlement through cash on hand.

11:01 EST FB Financial increases quarterly dividend to 17c per share - FB Financial announced that its board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of 17c per share. The dividend is payable on February 27, 2024, to shareholders of record as of February 13, 2024. Christopher T. Holmes, President and CEO, commented, "We are pleased with the board of directors' decision to pay our 24th consecutive quarterly dividend and are happy to be able to increase the dividend by 13% compared to prior quarters. We remain committed to building long-term shareholder value by returning a portion of the company's earnings through cash dividends."

10:55 EST Boeing sees paying down $4B of debt maturities for 2024 within days, says CFO

10:53 EST Boeing sees 'steady' year of free cash flow in 2024

10:49 EST Boeing sees delivering 'majority' of 148 inventoried MAX 8s in 2024

10:43 EST Boeing CEO: 'We caused the problem' in Alaska Air accident

10:41 EST Boeing CEO: 'Now is not the time' to give 2024 outlook

10:37 EST Boeing 'caused the problem,' Alaska 'did exactly what Boeing hoped they'd do'

10:36 EST Boeing CEO believes Alaska Airlines investigation will narrow 'quickly'

10:25 EST Abercrombie & Fitch announces partnership with McLaren Formula 1 team - Abercrombie & Fitch announced the official launch of its partnership with renowned McLaren Formula 1 team. The partnership includes releases of licensed graphics apparel, content creation, social media collaborations and events. "It's an honor to partner with such an iconic team within the F1 world," said Carey Collins Krug, Chief Marketing Officer of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. "Over the last year, our relationship with McLaren has grown from TikTok virality to a very real friendship, weaving the relaxed and effortlessly elevated world of Abercrombie with the invigorating and fast-paced world of McLaren Racing. We're ecstatic to announce this partnership and can't wait for everyone to see all that's to come."

10:07 EST FibroBiologics commences trading on Nasdaq - FibroBiologics announced that trading of the FibroBiologics stock commenced today on Nasdaq under the stock ticker FBLG. The statement was made in connection with FibroBiologics' registration statement on Form S-1 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on November 7, 2023. The registration statement was declared effective on January 24, 2024.

10:06 EST eBay to pay $59M to settle controlled substances act allegations - eBay has agreed to pay $59M and to enhance its compliance program to resolve allegations that it violated the Controlled Substances Act in connection with thousands of pill presses and encapsulating machines that were sold through its website, the DOJ announced. In addition to the monetary settlement, eBay also has agreed to maintain and enhance its compliance program with respect to its prohibited and restricted items policy as it pertains to sales of pill presses, counterfeit molds, stamps, and dies, and encapsulating machines. "The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability," the Department noted. Reference Link

10:04 EST UFC, Fanatics Collectibles enter exclusive trading card deal - UFC and Fanatics Collectibles announced an exclusive multi-year trading card partnership that sees Topps make an exciting return to the sport. The agreement was negotiated in consultation with UFC's licensing agent IMG. Topps was a UFC partner from 2009-2020, creating UFC's first-ever trading cards. The highly anticipated new product will be 2024 Topps Chrome UFC, which hits retail and hobby shops on Feb. 28. The set will include 200 base cards across a rainbow of color and tech parallels with several key insert cards: SuperGiant, 1954 Topps International Flair, AKA and Tale of the Tape. There will also be two autographs in every box, featuring some of the biggest names in the UFC, including bantamweight champion Sean O'Malley, flyweight champion Alexa Grasso and welterweight champion Leon Edwards.

10:00 EST LendingClub rises 9.8% - LendingClub is up 9.8%, or 86c to $9.60.

10:00 EST Ashland rises 13.6% - Ashland is up 13.6%, or $11.01 to $91.78.

10:00 EST Rockwell Automation falls -14.4% - Rockwell Automation is down -14.4%, or -$44.38 to $262.84.

09:48 EST Rail Vision Ltd trading resumes

09:47 EST LendingClub rises 10.4% - LendingClub is up 10.4%, or 91c to $9.65.

09:47 EST Metropolitan Bank falls -10.1% - Metropolitan Bank is down -10.1%, or -$5.19 to $46.27.

09:47 EST New York Community Bancorp falls -45.0% - New York Community Bancorp is down -45.0%, or -$4.67 to $5.71.

09:40 EST New York Community Bancorp trading resumes

09:38 EST Knightscope says university expands emergency communication conversion - Knightscope announces that a private university in New Hampshire is expanding the conversion of its emergency communication devices with Knightscope's K1 Retrofit Kits. The expansion project, which is expected to retrofit a total of 40 legacy hardwired systems to Knightscope's wireless devices, began in the summer of 2023 and will reach 13 upgraded phones with this order.

09:36 EST Neximmune Inc trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:35 EST Northrop Grumman says Next Generation Interceptor team completes AUR PDR - The Northrop Grumman Corporation Next Generation Interceptor team completed its All-Up Round Preliminary Design Review, in partnership with the Missile Defense Agency on January 26. Meeting the demands of the mission, the Northrop Grumman Next Generation Interceptor team continues to accelerate the progress on deploying a critical homeland defense capability to the U.S. warfighter. The PDR established the technical approach for the full integration of Northrop Grumman's interceptor design across all its subsystems to move into more advanced phases of development. A key requirement of this milestone is demonstrating that the design would maintain full capability while surviving challenging environments. The Northrop Grumman team provided on-site interactive demonstrators for review by MDA, including a full-scale solid rocket motor, avionics, and other test hardware. The Next Generation Interceptor team's strategic partner Raytheon, an RTX business, provided kill vehicle hardware used during environmental testing, sensor hardware, kill vehicle hardware that supports manufacturing fixtures, and test equipment. Also available at the Northrop Grumman PDR was a full-scale digital model of the AUR design in a virtual reality environment.

09:33 EST New York Community Bancorp trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:32 EST Comscore issued U.S. patent for livestream contextual intelligence technology - Proximic by Comscore announced a new US patent for its livestream contextual intelligence technology. This patented technology will support publishers to more effectively monetize their livestream video inventory and increase advertiser confidence in buying livestream media. This patent covers Proximic by Comscore's process of contextualizing livestream video content in real-time, including categorization against its full ID-free Predictive Audience taxonomy, to inform dynamic ad insertion.

09:30 EST Mountain Crest Acquisition Corp IV trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:27 EST Bambuser appoints Jonas Lagerstrom as COO, CFO - Jonas Lagerstrom has been appointed as COO and CFO, effective immediately. Having joined Bambuser in 2021, Mr. Lagerstrom has served as the Acting CFO for the past 16 months while also holding the position of Chief Strategy Officer.

09:24 EST Utz Brands to sell certain assets to Our Home for $182.5M - Utz Brands announced that certain of its subsidiaries including Utz Quality Foods, have entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of certain assets and brands to Our Home. Under the agreement, affiliates of Our Home have agreed to purchase the Good Health and R.W. Garcia brands, the Lincolnton, North Carolina, and Lititz, Pennsylvania manufacturing facilities and certain related assets, and assume the company's Las Vegas, Nevada facility's lease and manufacturing operations. Following the close of the transactions, Utz and Our Home will operate under a transition services agreement for 12 months. The total consideration for the transactions is $182.5M, subject to customary adjustments, and the transactions are expected to close on February 5. In addition, post-closing, the parties will operate under reciprocal co-manufacturing agreements under which Our Home will co-manufacture certain Utz products and Utz will co-manufacture certain Good Health products. Certain Good Health products will continue to be distributed and sold on the Utz DSD network for Our Home. Our Home plans to continue to operate and grow the brands and manufacturing facilities under its platform while offering employment to Utz associates working in those facilities as part of the transition. The transactions are expected to provide approximately $150M in after-tax net proceeds, which Utz will use to pay down its long-term debt. The debt reduction is expected to lower interest expense by approximately $12M in FY24 based on the company's current outlook for interest rates, and to accelerate the company's plan for achieving its target of approximately 3.0x Net Leverage by a full year from the end of fiscal 2026 to the end of fiscal 2025. The company expects the impact of the transactions to be accretive to its adjusted earnings per share on a full-year basis in 2024, reflecting the foregone profit related to the Good Health and R.W. Garcia brands, and after factoring in the benefit of cost savings and the use of net proceeds from the sale to paydown long-term debt and reduce interest expense. Utz estimates that Good Health and R.W. Garcia-related products contributed approximately $65M in net sales for the fiscal-year ended December 31, 2023. In addition, at the company's recent 2023 Investor Day, Utz provided fiscal 2026 financial targets that included targeted Supply Chain Network Optimization cost savings of approximately $45M to be achieved from 2024 through 2026. The company expects that the completion of these transactions will accelerate the timing of cost savings. Management will further discuss this impact, in addition to its fiscal year 2024 outlook, on its fiscal-year 2023 earnings conference call on February 29.

09:23 EST MasterCard: Business fundamentals remain strong

09:17 EST Orgenesis to acquire 25% stake in Octomera from MM OS Holdings - Orgenesis entered into a definitive agreement with MM OS Holdings L.P., an affiliate of Metalmark Capital Partners, for the acquisition of its approximate 25% stake in Octomera, the cell processing services subsidiary of the Company, thereby allowing the Company to have 100% ownership of this core strategic business unit. In exchange, Metalmark shall receive a royalty of 5% of the net revenue of Octomera's cell processing services, for the three calendar years 2025-2027, along with a portion of the proceeds attributable to Octomera's cell processing services should there be a change of control in the next 10 years.

09:13 EST Intrusion 'optimistic' on demand for products, services in consulting business - Intrusion issued a letter to its shareholders from its President & CEO, Tony Scott, which read in part, "In advance of the upcoming shareholder vote on several important matters, I wanted to provide you with my personal perspective of the journey we've been on, and the rationale behind the proposals that are before you. Fiscal 2023 was a year marked by multiple key product and financial milestones as we continued to execute our strategy. While the year was filled with its challenges, we are proud of what we were able to accomplish, such as a meaningful increase in bookings, including the finalizing of a major $5 million award, an escalating number of POVs and POCs in our pipeline, our product development team delivering exciting new capabilities to our suite of products, and the successful closing of a private offering...The Company is considering all options available to it to regain compliance and maintain its listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market. In an effort to regain compliance, on December 15, 2023, the Board of Directors unanimously approved and declared advisable a Reverse Stock Split of our issued and outstanding common stock. We are asking shareholders to approve the Reverse Stock Split at our Special Meeting on March 15, 2024. If approved by shareholders, the Board, in its discretion, may effectuate the Reverse Stock Split at a ratio of no less than 1-for-2 and no more than 1-for-20. If approved by shareholders, the effective date of the Reverse Stock Split will be determined by the Board of Directors and may occur shortly after the Special Meeting. As part of our plan to meet the $2.5 million stockholders' equity standard, the Company is considering its options, including the possible conversion of certain outstanding debt into preferred stock. Such an arrangement would be subject to the Company and the debt holder entering into a definitive agreement and, depending on the amount of debt to be converted, shareholder approval of certain amendments to the Company's certificate of incorporation that would have the effect of eliminating our currently designated Series 1, 2, and 3 preferred shares, such that we would have 5 million shares of authorized, undesignated, preferred stock...As you may have seen from our recent press release, we are continuing to see an increase in bookings, such as the $5 million multi-year Intrusion Shield agreement with a large telecommunications provider to provide Intrusion Shield support for its data centers. The terms of the award allow for further expansion of the use of Intrusion Shield, with the possibility of generating additional revenue after the completion of the initial set of projects. This new agreement and other contracts signed in recent months are directly related to our growing reseller base which are continuing to lead to new opportunities to showcase our technology and generate new business. Our reseller agreements have also helped us create a robust sales pipeline, and we are focused on converting existing POVs and POCs to revenue-generating customers throughout fiscal year 2024. It is our belief that with this growing traction in the marketplace for Intrusion's Shield technology, we will be able to provide both proof points and revenue that will help us secure agreements with larger technology players. Finally, while government spending decisions continue to be delayed, we remain optimistic about the demand for our products and services in our consulting business, and we believe that we will see some positive consulting customer growth, as well as the opportunity for rate increases and other revenue generating enhancements to existing customers."

09:11 EST Archer Aviation completes Phase 1 of flight test program - Archer Aviation announced that the company's Midnight aircraft has hit another key milestone with completion of Phase 1 of its flight test program. Utilizing learnings from the previous four years of flight testing, Archer's Midnight aircraft finished the flight test phase in approximately three months, which is significantly faster than Archer's full-scale prototype aircraft - Maker. Additionally, Midnight's battery system has recently been upgraded to include some of the first high voltage battery packs off of Archer's manufacturing line at its San Jose, California facilities, a significant step as the company pushes towards being production-ready. With these advancements, Midnight remains firmly on track to complete its first full wing-borne transition flight and begin piloted "for credit" testing with the FAA later this year.

09:08 EST LPL Financial announces Jonathan Maloney, Niki Davis join Linsco - LPL Financial announced that financial advisors Jonathan Maloney and Niki Davis have joined LPL's employee advisor channel, Linsco by LPL Financial, to launch Maloney Davis Wealth Management. They reported having served approximately $175 million in advisory, brokerage and retirement plan assets and join LPL from Wells Fargo Advisors. Based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Maloney and Davis are longtime business partners with 35 years of collective industry experience. They have earned the reputation as caring, knowledgeable financial advisors who go the extra mile for clients by providing easy to understand investment advice and robust planning.

09:07 EST Grom Social to spotlight Curiosity Ink Media IP, Top Draw services at Kidscreen - Grom Social Enterprises, will deploy key executives from its Curiosity Ink Media and Top Draw Animation subsidiaries at next week's Kidscreen Summit to showcase its growing catalog of Grom-owned kid and family-centered intellectual property and animation production services. The announcement was made jointly today by Russell Hicks, President and Chief Content Officer of Curiosity Ink Media, and Paul Ward, President of Grom Social and Executive Vice President of Enterprises, both former Nickelodeon executives, who will lead presentations and meetings with several key decision makers from around the world. Together, Hicks and Ward will spotlight Grom's slate of IP and suite of animation production services offered through both its original storytelling division, Curiosity Ink Media, and Top Draw Animation, its 25-year-old Manila-based provider of premium animation production. The executives will be joined by various partners as together, they seek international distribution of their kid-first IP franchises intended to serve several key entertainment categories including theatrical-length films, recurring TV series, licensing, publishing, and several other potentially lucrative ancillary revenue drivers.

09:06 EST Osisko Gold director John Baird resigns - Osisko Gold Royalties announced John Baird has resigned as a director of the Corporation, effective immediately. Baird was appointed to the Board as an independent board member in April 2020. During this time, The Hon. Mr. Baird served as Chair of the Governance and Nomination Committee.

09:05 EST Abbott launches its new PROTALITY brand - Abbott announced the launch of its new PROTALITY brand. The high-protein nutrition shake is the first product in this line to support the growing number of adults interested in pursuing weight loss while maintaining muscle mass and good nutrition. Whether pursuing weight loss by taking GLP-1 medications, undergoing a weight-loss surgery or following a calorie-restricted diet people risk losing 11%-50% muscle which plays an integral role in daily activities, movement and energy metabolism. Protein can help preserve muscle as people lose weight. To preserve muscle mass during weight loss, research shows adults may need at least 50 percent more protein than the Recommended Dietary Allowance. High protein consumption can also support weight loss maintenance.

09:04 EST Connexa Sports regained compliance with Nasdaq minimum shareholder rule - Connexa Sports Technologies announces that the Nasdaq has confirmed that the Company has regained compliance with Nasdaq's minimum shareholder equity rule by receiving an inward investment into the Company of $16.5 million from three non-US investors. "Following a period of productive discussions, I am delighted to welcome our three new, non-US investors into the Company" said Mike Ballardie, CEO Connexa Sports Technologies. "This investment also allows the Company to meet the Shareholder's Equity compliance threshold, as detailed under Nasdaq listing requirements and as evidenced by the 8-K filing issued last week" concluded Ballardie.

09:04 EST Vanda Pharmaceuticals: FDA approves IND application to evaluate VTR-297 - Vanda Pharmaceuticals announced that the U.S. FDA has approved the Investigational New Drug application to evaluate VTR-297 for the treatment of onychomycosis. Onychomycosis, or tinea unguium, is a fungal infection of the nail.

09:03 EST Neuraxis appoints Henrichs as Chief Financial Officer - NeurAxis announced the appointment of Timothy Henrichs as Chief Financial Officer, CFO, effective February 5, 2024. As part of his appointment, Henrichs has resigned as an independent director on the board of NeurAxis. Henrichs brings over 20 years of global leadership experience across several industries, including healthcare, home improvement, retail, software and education. Most recently, Henrichs served as the Chief Financial Officer of Renovo Home Partners since 2022.

09:02 EST Workday names Carl Eschenbach as CEO, effective February 1 - Workday announced it has officially named Carl Eschenbach CEO effective February 1. Eschenbach was named co-CEO alongside Aneel Bhusri, Workday's co-CEO, co-founder, and chair in December of 2022.

09:01 EST Getty Images named official photographer of 66th GRAMMY Awards - Getty Images will once again serve as the official photographer for the 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards, tasked by the Recording Academy with capturing one of the world's most iconic awards ceremonies and music's only peer-recognized accolade. As the official photographer of the show on February 4, Getty Images' award-winning entertainment photographers will deliver high-quality content from all aspects of the show. This includes arrivals, the red carpet, inside the show, media center, and high-end portraits of talent backstage.

08:49 EST LiveOne's Slacker Radio partners with Legible - LiveOne Members will now have access to 45M music tracks, 400k hours of podcast episodes, 500+ expertly curated radio stations, and millions of audiobooks and Ebooks.

08:42 EST Guardion Health Sciences to sell Viactiv brand and business to Doctor's Best - Guardion Health Sciences announced last night that it has signed an equity purchase agreement to sell its Activ Nutritional, LLC subsidiary, which owns the Viactiv brand and business, to Doctor's Best, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kingdomway USA Corp., for gross cash consideration of $17.2M, payable in full at closing. The transaction has been approved by the respective boards of directors of Guardion and of Doctor's Best, and remains subject to normal and customary closing conditions, including approval of the transaction by the company's stockholders at a forthcoming Special Meeting of Stockholders. Assuming requisite approval by the company's stockholders, the transaction is expected to close during the quarter ending June 30. Robert Weingarten, the Chairman of the board of directors of the company, commented, "As we have previously announced, in light of continuing market conditions and economic realities, the Board of Directors has been exploring a diverse range of strategic transaction options for more than a year in an effort to deliver enhanced value to our stockholders, including a sale of the Company and/or its Viactiv brand and business. In that regard, as previously announced, the Company engaged Alantra, LLC, an experienced and successful international healthcare investment banking firm, as the Company's exclusive financial advisor to assist with the strategic review and transaction process, and this transaction represents a culmination of this extensive review process. The Company's Board of Directors unanimously believes that this transaction is in the best interests of the Company's stockholders."

08:36 EST Upexi's Tytan Toys expands into Pricesmart - Upexi announced that Tytan Toys has expanded into Pricesmart, a leading retailer in Latin America and the Caribbean. With this partnership, Tytan Toys aims to captivate the hearts and minds of children and parents across Latin America and the Caribbean, offering a diverse range of toys that inspire creativity, learning, and endless fun.

08:34 EST Kopin receives $3M in new orders for simulated thermal sights - Kopin announced it has received several new orders from multiple customers for its simulated thermal sights used in armored vehicle training systems, totaling in excess of $3M. These simulated thermal sights support the training of armored vehicle crews in integrated multi-platform mission trainers. We believe recent deployment of armored vehicles in multiple theaters is driving the need for increased training capabilities and leading to the procurement of significant quantities of additional trainers.

08:33 EST AudioEye appoints Mike Paciello as Chief Accessibility Officer - AudioEye announced that Mike Paciello has joined the Company as Chief Accessibility Officer. Paciello brings over 40 years of expertise to this critical role, including authoring the first book on web accessibility, founding The Paciello Group, and co-founding/co-chairing accessibility industry committees to drive advancements in policy and legislation. In his role as Chief Accessibility Officer, Paciello will work cross-functionally to inform, advise, and drive efforts to help AudioEye continue as a strong partner and further meet the needs of the disability community in which it serves. A technologist at heart, Paciello is passionate about ensuring that people with disabilities are not left behind in the digital society. As the former co-chair of the U.S. Federal Access Board's Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee, or TEITAC, and recognized by President Bill Clinton for his contribution to the W3C's Web Accessibility Initiative or WAI, Paciello has played a pivotal role in shaping accessibility standards and practices. His extensive knowledge and insights will be instrumental in driving efforts around AudioEye's expanding accessibility platform.

08:32 EST Veon, Summit complete $100M deal for Bangladesh towers portfolio - VEON announces that, further to the announcement dated 15 November 2023, and the legal transfer of towers in December 2023 following the receipt of all regulatory approvals, its wholly owned subsidiary Banglalink has completed the sale of part of its tower portfolio in Bangladesh to Summit Towers Limited for a consideration of approximately BDT 11 billion. With this transaction, Summit Towers Limited, a subsidiary of Summit Communications Group, the largest Telecommunications Infrastructure Company in Bangladesh, took ownership of 2,012 Banglalink towers. Under the terms of the Master Tower Agreement between the parties, Banglalink secures the provision of tower infrastructure services for an initial period of 12 years, with potential extensions. The proceeds from the deal will primarily be used to fulfill Banglalink's financial commitments and generate cost efficiencies, freeing up resources for the company's digital expansion. In line with VEON Group's asset-light strategy, VEON and Banglalink will continue to evaluate and pursue collaborative opportunities related to Banglalink's remaining tower portfolio.

08:31 EST SaverOne 2014 awarded order by Bon Tour - SaverOne 2014 announced that it has secured a new customer, Bon Tour, with a significant order of 300 SaverOne Systems. In the coming month, 50 systems will be installed on Bon Tour's various buses and minibuses, and following that, a further 250 systems are expected to be installed. Bon Tour is one of the leading private transit companies in Israel, operating hundreds of buses and providing transportation solutions and travel services to some of the largest companies in the country.

08:27 EST Teva expects 2H24 revenue 'slightly higher' than 1H24 - Expects gross margin to improve through FY24. Sees FY24 adjusted gross margin 53%-54%. Says making "strong progress" in reducing debt. Says net debt/EBITDA of 3.45 at Q4-end. Targeting 2x net debt/EBITDA by end of 2027. Sees FY24 tax rate 14%-17%.

08:20 EST Ensysce Biosciences completes End of Phase 2 meeting with FDA on PF614 - Ensysce Biosciences announced the completion of a constructive End of Phase 2 meeting with the Food and Drug Administration regarding its lead 'Next Generation' analgesic, PF614. The meeting facilitated an affirmation of the Company's non-clinical program and enabled an exchange of constructive ideas regarding Ensysce's Phase 3 clinical trial designs for PF614. As previously announced, the Company has performed five clinical studies to evaluate the safety, abuse potential and efficacy of PF614 for the treatment of severe pain. The clinical data has demonstrated that PF614 was bioequivalent to OxyContin for delivering oxycodone, meaning one could easily substitute PF614 for OxyContin in patients with pain. However, PF614 was found to have a longer half-life than OxyContin. Ensysce believes that the longer twelve-hour half-life could improve the pain-relieving qualities of PF614, reduce opioid-related adverse events, and provide true twice daily dosing. Evaluation of both nasal and oral abuse-potential studies met key endpoints that showed PF614 had significantly lower scores for "Overall Drug Liking" and willingness to "Take Drug Again" than the oxycodone comparator. Additionally, PF614 showed significant analgesic activity in a recent study that measured the time-of-onset of pain-relief in healthy volunteers. The study confirmed the prior clinical pharmacokinetic studies that measured oxycodone blood levels following oral administration of PF614 and showed that Ensysce's TAAP chemical approach delivers strong analgesia. This study was key to the design of the Company's Phase 3 clinical protocols and positive discussions with the FDA.

08:18 EST Wolfspeed expands silicon carbide wafer supply deal with semiconductor firm - Wolfspeed announced the expansion of an existing long-term silicon carbide wafer supply agreement with a leading global semiconductor company. The expanded agreement, which is now worth approximately $275 M in total, calls for Wolfspeed to supply the company with 150mm silicon carbide bare and epitaxial wafers, reinforcing both companies' visions for an industry-wide transition from silicon to silicon carbide semiconductor power devices. "As the global leader in silicon carbide wafer production, Wolfspeed is uniquely positioned to be a critical supplier of high-quality and advanced silicon carbide materials at scale. We will continue to be an important partner to power device manufacturers who need the highest-quality silicon carbide wafers to service their customers," said Dr. Cengiz Balkas, SVP and GM of Materials for Wolfspeed. "This agreement further strengthens our long-time partnership with a best-in-class power semiconductor manufacturer. Our collective efforts are helping to address the rapidly expanding opportunity for silicon carbide and better address the unfulfilled demand that exists in the marketplace today."

08:18 EST CACI awarded $198M task order from U.S. Army - CACI announced that it won a five-year, single-award task order valued at up to $198M to provide expertise to the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, or DEVCOM, Command, Control, Computers, Communications, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Research, or C5ISR, Center. C5ISR Center leads the Army's cryptographic modernization, information security, and tactical network protection programs. Under this award, the company will enhance existing and future Army cyber defense capabilities for C5ISR systems by designing, and rapidly fielding solutions to defeat emerging threats to both tactical edge and enterprise systems.

08:16 EST Momentus announces NSA terminated following completion of all requirements - Momentus announced that the company has been informed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury that following the company's completing all requirements of the National Security Agreement, or NSA, it entered with Momentus in July 2021 the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, has approved the company's exit from the agreement and its termination.

08:13 EST Yeti to acquire Mystery Ranch, terms undisclosed - Yeti announced it has signed an agreement to acquire Mystery Ranch, a designer and manufacturer of durable load-bearing backpacks, bags, and pack accessories. Mystery Ranch and the team will continue to operate out of Bozeman and will work with Yeti over the next several months to integrate teams and functions.

08:12 EST Outlook Therapeutics doses first subject in NORSE EIGHT trial - Outlook Therapeutics announced that the first subject has been dosed in the NORSE EIGHT clinical trial evaluating ONS-5010 in neovascular age-related macular degeneration patients. The NORSE EIGHT study is a randomized, controlled, parallel-group, masked, non-inferiority study of approximately 400 treatment naive, wet AMD subjects randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive 1.25 mg ONS-5010 or 0.5 mg ranibizumab intravitreal injections. Subjects will receive injections at Day 0, Week 4, and Week 8 visits. The primary endpoint will be mean change in Best Corrected Visual Acuity from baseline to Week 8. Outlook Therapeutics expects NORSE EIGHT topline results and resubmission of the ONS-5010 BLA by the end of calendar year 2024. Earlier this month, Outlook Therapeutics announced that it received written agreement from the FDA under an SPA for NORSE EIGHT. The FDA has reviewed and agreed upon the NORSE EIGHT trial protocol pursuant to the SPA. If the NORSE EIGHT trial is successful, it would satisfy the FDA's requirement for a second adequate and well-controlled clinical trial to address fully the clinical deficiency identified in the Complete Response Letter. In addition, through a Type A meeting and additional interactions, Outlook Therapeutics has identified the approaches needed to resolve the Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls comments in the CRL. Outlook Therapeutics is working to address the open CMC items in the CRL and expects to resolve these comments prior to the expected completion of NORSE EIGHT.

08:12 EST Teva expects Austedo to achieve $2.5B in sales by 2027 - Says gaining market share in many geographies. Says strong biosimilar pipeline expected to deliver revenue in short term. Says planned generic launches in '24-'25 with combined brand value of about $10B. Comments taken from Q4 earnings conference call.

08:10 EST Cigna confirms plans to sell Medicare businesses, CareAllies to HCSC for $3.7B - Cigna confirmed that it has entered into a definitive agreement whereby Health Care Service Corporation will acquire The Cigna Group's Medicare Advantage, Cigna Supplemental Benefits, Medicare Part D and CareAllies businesses, for a total transaction value of approximately $3.7B. As part of the transaction, The Cigna Group and HCSC have agreed to enter into a four-year services agreement under which Evernorth Health Services, a subsidiary of The Cigna Group, will continue to provide pharmacy benefit services to the Medicare businesses, effective on closing of the transaction. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2025, subject to receipt of applicable regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. There is no financing condition. "The agreement will enable The Cigna Group to drive meaningful value for all our stakeholders, providing an enhanced ability to accelerate investment and growth in our services platform, while further deepening our commitment to our existing health benefits platform. In tandem, the transaction will position our Medicare businesses and CareAllies for additional growth as they continue to serve the needs of their customers as part of HCSC," said David M. Cordani, Chairman and CEO of The Cigna Group.

08:09 EST Cigna confirms plans to sell Medicare businesses, CareAllies to HCSC for $3.7B

08:09 EST North American Construction announce award of regional services contract - North American Construction Group announced that Mikisew North American Limited Partnership has been awarded a three-year regional services contract by a major producer in the Canadian oil sands region. The contract contemplates the provision of services across various mine sites operated by the producer. The contract is effective immediately with an expiry date of January 30, 2027. Initial committed earthworks volumes in the first year of the agreement provide NACG with $225 million in contractual backlog. Management expects further commitments, also within the first year and in the range of $25 to $50 million, to be awarded prior to the end of February 2024. Including these expected awards, the Company's combined backlog which, on a proforma basis, was $2.8 billion as at September 30, 2023 is now projected to be over $3.0 billion.

08:08 EST Berkshire Grey announces fourth generation of BG Robotic Sortation solution - Berkshire Grey announced the latest and 4th generation of their BG Robotic Sortation solution. This latest version of the solution integrates cutting-edge engineering and insights derived from nearly a decade's worth of warehouse production picks, representing the next generation of order processing and fulfillment in the industry. With businesses facing increased challenges around labor shortages and escalating space constraints, the BG Robotic Sortation solution offers an automated system that picks and sorts single units and inner packs for each, less-than-case, break-pack, and split-case operations from single-SKU homogeneous containers into designated outbound containers for store and wholesale replenishment and large eCommerce order fulfillment.

08:07 EST BranchOut Food completes part of stratefic collaboration with U.S. Army - BranchOut Food announced that it has successfully completed a part of its strategic collaboration with the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, DEVCOM, to enhance MREs, Meals Ready-to-Eat, through the implementation of the BranchOut Food's proprietary GentleDry technology. Eric Healy, CEO of BranchOut Foods, said, "We are honored to collaborate with DEVCOM to revolutionize MREs using our proprietary GentleDry technology. BranchOut's snack products have successfully undergone sensory evaluation by troops at DEVCOM, and we expect to conclude the second half of the shelf life testing in March 2024. We look forward to having multiple BranchOut Food items integrated into the Military's next generation MREs." Following the completion of the shelf life test, DEVCOM will conduct an initial operational test and evaluation of BranchOut's snack products with U.S. Army soldiers. Items that receive high approval by the Warfighter will be selected for inclusion in military rations such as the MRE.

08:05 EST Vistra begins cash tender offer - Vistra announced the commencement of a cash tender offer to purchase any and all outstanding rights for the benefit of registered holders to receive payments from the Company related to certain tax benefits that were issued pursuant to that certain Tax Receivable Agreement, dated October 3, 2016, by and between the Company and American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, a New York limited liability trust company, as transfer agent, as amended and restated by the Amended and Restated Tax Receivable Agreement, dated as of December 29, 2023, by and between the Company and Equiniti Trust Company, a New York limited liability company, as transfer agent. The Company repurchased approximately 85% of the outstanding TRA Rights for a purchase price of $1.50 each in a series of privately negotiated transactions that occurred in December 2023 and January 2024. In connection with the Previous Transactions, certain amendments were effectuated in the Tax Receivable Agreement, including the removal of the Company's obligation to provide Holders with regular reporting and access to information, limitations on the transferability of the TRA Rights, removal of certain obligations of the Company in the event it incurs indebtedness and (iv) a change to the definition of "Change of Control." Additionally, the Company agreed in the Previous Transactions that if the Company repurchases TRA Rights at any time on or prior to June 26, 2024 at a price per TRA Right greater than $1.50, the Company will pay the selling holders in the Previous Transactions an amount equal to such excess purchase price per TRA Right sold by such selling holders.

08:05 EST CVRx appoints Kevin Hykes as president, CEO - CVRx announced the appointment of Kevin Hykes as the Company's new President and CEO, effective February 12. Hykes will continue to serve on the Company's Board of Directors. Nadim Yared will retire from the Company and resign his Board seat concurrent with Hykes' appointment and has agreed to consult with the Company to ensure a seamless transition. Hykes currently serves as the President and CEO of Augmedics.

08:03 EST ZyVersa Therapeutics highlights publication on NLRP3 activation - ZyVersa Therapeutics highlights an article published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Translational Medicine supporting that NLRP3 activation is associated with a pathologic inflammatory response in obese children with insulin resistance and increased risk of developing metabolic complications. Inflammation and oxidative stress, which are closely related pathophysiological processes, one of which can be easily induced by the other, are key drivers for developing metabolic complications, such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, in this population. In the paper titled, "Altered insulin secretion dynamics relate to oxidative stress and inflammasome activation in children with obesity and insulin resistance," the authors conducted a case-controlled study of 132 children who were either lean or obese. The obese group was segmented into those with or without insulin resistance, and those with insulin resistance were segmented into those with an early and late insulin response to glucose as determined by an oral glucose tolerance test. The researchers reported the following key findings in Children with obesity, insulin resistance, and increased risk of metabolic complications: Higher levels of NLRP3 and its effector proteins in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and serum compared to the other groups studied, indicative of NLRP3 activation and an inflammatory response. Higher levels of uric acid versus the other groups, a well-known trigger of NLRP3 activation. Increased levels of oxidative stress and oxidative damage versus the other groups.

08:02 EST Dare Bioscience announces completion of end-of-Phase 2 meeting with U.S. FDA - Dare Bioscience announced the successful completion of an end-of-Phase 2 meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, supporting advancement of Sildenafil Cream, 3.6% for the treatment of female sexual arousal disorder (FSAD) to a Phase 3 clinical study. The Company also provided an update on focus areas for 2024. The Company and the FDA aligned on key elements of the Phase 3 program to support a New Drug Application filing, including confirming that: FSAD is acceptable as an indication. The trials can be conducted in a premenopausal FSAD-only population. 12-weeks of blinded treatment to assess efficacy may be acceptable, provided that the trials are adequately powered for efficacy assessment. This is a shorter period of blinded treatment than the 24 weeks recommended in 2016 draft FDA guidance for developing drugs for the treatment of low sexual interest, desire and/or arousal in women. Additionally, the FDA indicated that feedback is forthcoming on the following: Primary and secondary patient reported outcome endpoints which will be used in Phase 3 pivotal trials and support potential product registration and labeling. Additional information on data that may be needed in an NDA submission to appropriately qualify any ingredient for the vaginal route of administration. Dare has also requested clarification on the safety database (size and duration of exposure) required for an NDA submission.

07:42 EST DocGo announces new $36M share repurchase program - DocGo announced that its Board of Directors has approved a new share repurchase program pursuant to which DocGo may purchase up to $36M of its common stock during a 6-month period ending July 30. DocGo's prior share repurchase authorization expired on November 24. The approved amount represents approximately 10% of DocGo's outstanding shares based on DocGo's share price at the time of authorization, although the actual number of shares to be purchased will be based on a variety of factors including market conditions and the actual share price on the purchase dates. "We are proud of DocGo's continued strong performance, and confident in our future potential," said Lee Bienstock, CEO of DocGo. "We believe the recent decline in our share price is not reflective of the value of our Company or our stock, and that a stock repurchase is a value-enhancing deployment of capital. DocGo has consistently delivered on our commitments, is confident in our cash position and cash collections, and possesses strong business fundamentals." Under the terms of the repurchase program, DocGo may purchase shares of its common stock on a discretionary basis from time to time through open market repurchases or privately negotiated transactions or through other means, including by entering into Rule 10b5-1 trading plans or accelerated share repurchase programs, in each case, during an "open window" and when DocGo does not possess material non-public information.

07:35 EST Boeing pausing 737 production for one day to refocus employees on quality - Beoing said it continues to cooperate transparently with the FAA following the Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 accident involving a 737-9. Commercial Airplanes is taking immediate actions to strengthen quality on the 737 program, including requiring additional inspections within its factory and at key suppliers, supporting expanded oversight from airline customers and pausing 737 production for one day to refocus its employees on quality. The company has also appointed an outside expert to lead an in-depth independent assessment of Commercial Airplanes' quality management system, with recommendations provided directly to Calhoun and the Aerospace Safety Committee of Boeing's Board of Directors.

07:34 EST Surge Copper announces results from drill hole BRG23-245 - Surge Copper announces assay results from drill hole BRG23-245, the third and final hole of the Company's 2023 drilling program testing the deeper portions of the large Berg copper-molybdenum deposit in west-central British Columbia. Leif Nilsson, Chief Executive Officer, commented: "Hole 245 is another great result from the 2023 deep drilling program at Berg, encountering a long interval of consistently mineralized material from near surface. All three holes - which were either 100 metre step-outs or infilling 200 metre gaps - drilled important periphery areas of the deposit adjacent to good grades but lacking drill density, so should have a positive impact on a future resource estimate."

07:32 EST Boeing delivered 157 commercial airplanes, recorded 611 net orders in Q4 - In Q4: 787 production rate at five per month; 737 production rate at 38 per month.

07:31 EST 23andMe announces FDA clearance of IND application for 23ME-01473 - 23andMe Holding announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, has cleared the investigational new drug application for 23ME-01473 a natural killer cell activator intended to treat cancer. 23andMe plans to evaluate '1473 in participants with advanced solid tumors in a Phase 1 clinical study beginning in the first half of 2024. '1473 also has the potential to address a major unmet need in cancer treatment: patients who may have or may develop tumor resistance to checkpoint inhibitors. By combining NK and T cell activation, '1473 may initiate a broader and deeper response of the immune system to kill cancer cells, and delay tumor resistance seen in treatment with traditional checkpoint inhibitors. "This program further validates the 23andMe database as a proven resource for identifying novel therapeutic targets," said Jennifer Low, Head of Therapeutics Development, 23andMe. "The team is excited to initiate our next immuno-oncology program, '1473, which is particularly interesting given its two mechanisms of action, which may synergize to enhance NK and T cell immunity against certain tumors."

07:27 EST Jeffs' Brands scales up Fort brand, establishes production line in China - Jeffs' Brands has completed the establishment of a dedicated manufacturing line for a wide range of products offered by its wholly-owned subsidiary Fort Products, in China. The new dedicated production line will facilitate in meeting future demands and cost reductions. Fort currently offers over 120 different products for pest control and related products, both for consumers, through its brand on the Amazon Marketplace and as wholesaler for organizations and institutions. The majority of its sales are from the UK market, with new markets emerging in additional territories such as France, Spain, the Netherlands.

07:17 EST Arqit Quantum awarded ISO 27001 certification - Arqit Quantum has received ISO/IEC 27001 certification for information security and cybersecurity protection.

07:16 EST Labcorp launches blood test for risk assesment of severe preeclampsia - Labcorp announced the launch and availability of a new, FDA-cleared blood test for risk assessment and clinical management of severe preeclampsia, a life-threatening blood pressure disorder that occurs during pregnancy and the postpartum period. Preeclampsia is a condition unique to pregnancy that affects 2-5% of all pregnancies and is a major cause of maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality in the U.S. The new test, developed by Thermo Fisher Scientific measures two angiogenic biomarkers associated with preeclampsia, serum soluble fms-like tyrosine kinase 1, or sFlt-1, and placental growth factor, or PlGF. The test result, a ratio of these two biomarkers, in conjunction with other laboratory tests and clinical assessments, helps clinicians identify which patients hospitalized for hypertensive disorders of pregnancy may be at risk of progressing to severe features of preeclampsia within the next two weeks of the test.

07:14 EST Gogoro partners with Copec to launch swapping service in Chile and Colombia - Gogoro announced it was partnering with leading Latin American energy company, Copec, to launch its battery swapping and Smartscooters in Chile and Colombia in Q2. With Gogoro, Copec is developing the first Latin American network of battery swapping stations that it is launching at Copec service stations in Santiago, Chile; and, with Terpel, a Copec company's, service stations in Bogota, Colombia. Gogoro battery swapping is a new generation of swappable battery refueling that is smart, safe, and continually optimizing itself to be dynamic and versatile for riders, businesses, and communities. In Taiwan, the Gogoro Network supports nearly 600,000 riders and has more than 1.3M smart batteries in circulation through its network of 12,000 battery swapping stations at over 2,500 locations.

07:11 EST BioCardia announces two abstracts accepted at 2024 THT conference - BioCardia is targeting heart failure and chronic myocardial ischemia as potential indications for its biotherapeutic candidates: autologous CardiAMP cell therapy and allogeneic CardiALLO cell therapy. The Company announces that two scientific abstracts on its CardiAMP and its CardiALLO clinical stage therapeutic programs have been accepted for presentation at the Technology and Heart Failure Therapeutics Conference, THT, being held on March 4-6, 2024, in Boston, MA. The first scientific abstract is entitled: "Interim Results from Adaptive Randomized Controlled Trial of Autologous Bone Marrow Mononuclear Cells Using the CardiAMP Cell Therapy System in Patients with Ischemic Heart Failure due to Reduced Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction." The data to be presented are from the Company's CardiAMP Phase 3 autologous cell therapy study, an international, randomized, double blind, controlled study that enrolled 125 patients with New York Heart Association Class II and III ischemic heart failure. The primary endpoint is the Finkelstein-Schoenfeld composite difference between groups based on all-cause heart death, major adverse cardiac and cerebrovascular events, and functional capacity as measured by six-minute walk distance. The second scientific abstract is entitled: "First in Man CardiALLO NK1R+ MSC Phase I/II Trial in Ischemic NYHA II and III HFrEF". The data to be presented are from the Company's CardiALLO Phase I/II allogeneic mesenchymal stem cell therapy study, which began enrollment in a 3+3 dose escalation design in December. The study is enrolling patients with New York Heart Association Class II and III ischemic heart failure, including those who were not eligible for the CardiAMP autologous cell therapy trial.

07:09 EST IM Cannabis receives extension to regain compliance with Nasdaq listing rules - IM Cannabis announced that it has received a 180 calendar day extension, until July 29, from the Nasdaq Stock Market, to regain compliance with Nasdaq Marketplace Rule 5550. The Bid Price Rule stipulates that the bid price of the Company's common stock must close at $1.00 per share or more for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days. On August 1, 2023, the Company received notice from Nasdaq that based on the previous 30 consecutive business days, the Company's listed security no longer met the minimum $1.00 bid price per share requirement. The Company will continue to monitor the closing bid price of its common stock and plans to pursue available options to regain compliance with the Bid Price Rule, including potentially pursuing a reverse stock split. If the Company authorizes a reverse stock split, it will plan to effectuate the split no later than ten business days prior to the end of the extension in order to regain compliance.

07:08 EST Trinity Biotech to acquire assets from Waveform for $12.5M, 9M ADSs - Trinity Biotech has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the biosensor and Continuous Glucose Monitoring assets of privately held Waveform Technologies for $12.5 million in cash, 9 million American Depositary Shares of the Company and additional contingent consideration. Waveform, a developer of novel and proprietary new technologies for diabetes care, received a CE Mark for its Cascade CGM in 2019, which has since been commercially available in Europe. Waveform will no longer sell the Cascade device and the Company will not sell that device in its current form. The Company intends to design a next generation CGM sensor using Waveform's platform technology and has secured additional funding from Perceptive Advisors for the next stage of the product's development, further details of which are set out below. The Waveform CGM technology contains innovative and proprietary aspects with important user benefits that include needle-free insertion, which reduces pain and trauma at the injection site, and a reusable applicator and transmitter, which reduces the biological waste concerns associated with the currently marketed single-use disposable systems. Notably, the reusable nature of the applicator and transmitter should allow for a lower cost of production of the redesigned CGM product compared to the principal CGM market players, enabling the Company to target additional markets where the existing CGM products are financially prohibitive, which prevents broader adoption of this critical technology. Additionally, this innovative platform technology should allow the Company to develop a broader suite of wearable biosensors to measure and analyse important health and wellness information, and the Company expects to further evolve its biosensor to target other analytes and data points that represent markers of health and function and make these devices available more broadly around the globe. The CGM technology acquired from Waveform has been developed over many years and Waveform has granted a perpetual, worldwide, non-exclusive license to DexCom, Inc. and its affiliates, for some of the patents now being acquired by the Company, but to which the Company retains the right to use and exploit. To fund the acquisition, the Company has entered into an amended credit agreement with its existing main lender, Perceptive, an investment manager with healthcare expertise. Under the Amended Term Loan, an additional $22 million of funding has been made available to the Company, with $12.5 million being used to acquire the Waveform assets. The remaining $9.5 million is available for general corporate purposes including for the further development of the CGM and biosensor technologies. In addition, the Amended Term Loan provides for additional liquidity of up to $6.5 million, that may be drawn down by the Company between April and December 2024, and can be used for general corporate purposes, thereby providing further liquidity to fund the development of the CGM and biosensor technologies. The Amended Term Loan also immediately reduces the annual rate of interest on the loan by 2.5% to 8.75% plus the greater of (a) Term Secured Overnight Financing Rate or 4.0% per annum, and allows for a further 2.5% reduction in the Base Rate to 6.25% once the outstanding principal under the Amended Term Loan falls below $35 million. Additionally, the Amended Term Loan reduces the early repayment penalty from a range of 8% to 7% to 4.0% to 3.5%, dependent on timing of early repayment, and also reduces the revenue covenants. The Amended Term Loan matures in January 2026. Waveform is part of a portfolio company of Perceptive and the 9 million ADS being issued by the Company as partial consideration for the acquisition of the Waveform assets will be issued to Perceptive. In addition, in connection with the Amended Term Loan, Perceptive will receive new warrants to purchase an additional 2.5 million ADSs and the Company has agreed to price these additional warrants and reprice the existing warrants to purchase 2.5 million ADSs that were issued to Perceptive under the original term loan, with an exercise price of $0.44 per ADS. As a result of these transactions, Perceptive will be the largest investor in the Company, now with an additional significant equity investment. Additional contingent consideration of up to $20 million may be payable upon the occurrence of certain events/

07:07 EST Aurora Cannabis' Board approves plan to consolidate outstanding shares - Aurora announced that its Board of Directors has approved, subject to required regulatory and stock exchange approvals, a plan to consolidate all of its outstanding Common Shares on the basis of 1 Common Share for every 10 Common Shares currently outstanding, with such Share Consolidation to be effective on or about February 20. The Company expects the Share Consolidation to restore compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550 and to ensure the Company continues to have access to a wide range of institutional investors. Further details regarding the Share Consolidation can be found below under the heading "Information Regarding the Share Consolidation Plan".

07:06 EST Cardinal Health to acquire Specialty Networks for $1.2B in cash - Cardinal Health announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Specialty Networks, a technology-enabled multi-specialty group purchasing and practice enhancement organization for $1.2B in cash. Specialty Networks creates clinical and economic value for independent specialty providers and partners across multiple specialty GPOs: UroGPO, Gastrologix and GastroGPO, and United Rheumatology. This transaction is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including receipt of required regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to be accretive to non-GAAP earnings per share 12 months following close.

07:04 EST Trinity Biotech enters into letter of intent with Bayer for partnership - Trinity Biotech (TRIB) announced that it has entered into a non-binding Letter of Intent with Bayer (BAYRY) for the launch of a Continuous Glucose Monitoring biosensor device in China and India. This Letter of Intent is related to the Company's recently announced acquisition of the CGM assets of Waveform Technologies, Inc. Trinity has entered into a Letter of Intent with Bayer's subsidiary in China under which both parties confirmed their intent to further explore an exclusive joint partnership between the Company and Bayer for the launch of a CGM focused biosensor device into the Chinese market. Both parties intend to negotiate a definitive agreement under the framework set by the Letter of Intent in the coming months. "We could not have asked for a stronger international partner to help us embark on the journey of introducing our newly acquired innovative and accessible biosensor technology into large diabetes markets with significant unmet needs," said John Gillard, Chief Executive Officer. "We believe that the combination of Bayer's strong local commercial presence and Trinity's ability to manufacture a low cost of care and innovative CGM device on the back of the Waveform acquisition can drive our collaboration to a market leading status in China, aiding both patients and physicians with the management of diabetes in a data-driven and scaled way. In addition, Bayer's established presence in the diabetes market in India provides an ideal partnership for us to drive adoption of CGM in this strategically important and expanding market. I believe that this development demonstrates the value that can be created for Trinity's shareholders through the company's revised strategy".

07:03 EST Nasdaq sees 2024 non-GAAP tax rate 24.5%-26.5% - The company is initiating its 2024 non-GAAP operating expense guidance to a range of $2,105 million to $2,185 million, and its 2024 non-GAAP tax rate guidance to be in the range of 24.5% to 26.5%.

06:51 EST Ameresco says two of the three SCE sites are in final stages of testing - Ameresco announced that two of the three SCE sites are in final stages of testing. The company has engaged an advisor to pursue the issuance of subordinated debt to repay outstanding amounts on the senior secured credit facility as required by the company's Bank of America term loan and revolving credit facility amendment obligations. The debt raise would also support the company's near-term growth initiatives. The company is not planning on issuing equity to meet these requirements.

06:50 EST Aptiv sees FY24 cash flow from operations $2.3B; CapEx $1.05B; tax 17.5%

06:42 EST CGI Inc. renews Normal Course Issuer Bid - CGI announced that its board of directors has authorized the renewal of its Normal Course Issuer Bid, or NCIB, subject to approval by the Toronto Stock Exchange, or TSX. CGI's management and board of directors believe that the purchase for cancellation of the company's Class A subordinate voting shares is a proper use of funds, and the NCIB will provide the flexibility to purchase Class A Shares from time to time as the company considers it advisable, as part of its efforts to increase shareholder value. At the close of business on January 23, there were 206,327,788 Class A Shares outstanding, of which approximately 99.2% were widely held. Under the terms of the NCIB, subject to TSX approval, the company may purchase for cancellation on the open market through the facilities of the TSX and the NYSE and through alternative trading systems in Canada, as well as outside the facilities of the TSX pursuant to exemption orders issued by securities regulators, up to 20,457,737 Class A Shares, representing approximately 10% of the company's public float as of the close of business on January 23. The average daily trading volume of the Class A Shares on the TSX for the six-month period ended December 31, 2023 was 337,203. Consequently, and in accordance with the requirements of the TSX, the daily purchase limit under the NCIB on the TSX will be 84,300 Class A Shares, representing 25% of the ADTV. All Class A Shares will be purchased at their market price at the time of acquisition, except for purchases effected outside the facilities of the TSX pursuant to exemption orders issued by securities regulators which will be at a discount to the market price as provided in such exemption orders. All Class A Shares purchased under the NCIB will be cancelled.

06:35 EST MarketAxess sees FY24 CapEx $60.0M-$65.0M - Seess FY24 revenue from Pragma up in the mid-single digits as percentage. Pragma's revenue in Q4 was $7.6M. Expenses are expected to be in the range of $480.0M-$500.0M and includes a full year of Pragma expenses estimated to range between $33.0M-$35.0M. Pragma expenses are expected to include amortization expense on acquired intangible assets of $4.8M. Based on the midpoint of the stated guidance range, total expenses are expected to increase by approximately 12%, 6% excluding the impact of Pragma expenses. The effective tax rate is expected to be between 24.0% and 25.0%. Capital expenditures to support new protocols, products and trading platform enhancements are expected to be $60.0M-$65.0M.

06:25 EST Samsung says DA to expand sales in premium segments in 2024 - For 2024, the company said, "VD: The trend of decreasing market demand will ease gradually thanks to replacement demand linked to global sporting events and others. However, uncertainties related to various macro factors are likely to continue. We will target various demands by innovating premium and Lifestyle products and by diversifying our lineup. Moreover, we aim to lead the AI-screen era based on next-gen AI processors and Tizen OS. DA: DA will expand sales in premium segments by providing differentiated user experiences based on SmartThings and AI technology while fortifying its market leadership. Also, we will grow revenue by focusing on high-value added B2B businesses such as system air conditioners. Harman: For automotive, Harman will seek to increase orders in new areas by enhancing its capabilities in in-cabin experiences. For consumer audio products, Harman will seek growth by reinforcing leadership in key products, such as portable devices, and providing differentiated products via collaborations with Samsung Electronics."

06:22 EST GSK shares 2021-26 and 2031 outlooks - GSK said: "In 2021, GSK set out outlooks and ambitions to shareholders, including for a "step-change" in performance. These followed a significant transformation in GSK's structure, strategy, capital allocation and culture. Since then, GSK has made significant progress, to deliver consecutive quarters of sales and earnings growth, and invest in new Vaccines and Specialty Medicines, to reshape, strengthen and advance its R&D portfolio, post the demerger of Consumer Healthcare. With this progress made, GSK has today announced upgraded outlooks, from those previously given, for the period 2021-2026 and for 2031. For the period 2021-2026, GSK now expects sales to grow more than 7% on a CAGR basis and adjusted operating profit to increase more than 11%, on the same basis. This compares to previous outlooks of more than 5% and more than 10% respectively. Adjusted operating profit margin in 2026 is now expected to be more than 31%. By 2031, GSK now expects to achieve sales of more than GBP 38 billion on a risk-adjusted basis and at CER. This is an increase of GBP 5 billion compared to the estimate given in 2021 and continues to exclude any contributions from early-stage pipeline assets, further anticipated business development and Blenrep. GSK expects to maintain a continued strong focus on margin improvements, while retaining flexibility to invest in future growth. Recognising that GSK will likely face loss of exclusivity for dolutegravir during 2028 to 2030 in US and EU, with the majority of impact 2029 to 2030, GSK has today stated that it expects operating margins to be broadly stable through this period. GSK expects an effective transition within its HIV portfolio towards new long-acting treatment and prevention therapies, margin mix benefit from growth in higher operating margin Vaccine and Specialty Medicine products, and a continued focus on achievable productivity gains, notably in supply chain and in SG&A."

06:18 EST Samsung expects smartphone demand to decrease in Q1 - For Q1, the company said, "MX: Although we expect smartphone demand to decrease due to seasonality, the premium segment is likely to grow compared to the same period last year. MX will leverage its newly launched Galaxy S24 series to increase sales; and by emphasizing the series' cutting-edge AI capabilities and enhanced competitiveness, alongside our efforts to strengthen our carrier partnerships, we aim to establish Samsung as the leading brand in the AI smartphone market. While there are potential risks of rising component costs, we will strive to secure a double-digit operating margin by continuing to realize operational efficiencies in resources. Networks: Networks will expand its business foundation in major overseas markets, including North America and Japan."

06:14 EST Samsung sees Q1 Mobile earnings declining quarter-on-quarter - For SDC in Q1, the company said, "Mobile: We expect earnings to decline quarter-on-quarter and year-on-year owing to heightened competition among panel makers on top of effects of muted seasonal demand. Large: Despite difficulties stemming from tepid demand and off-season effects, we will continue to narrow losses by releasing new QD-OLED monitors expanding our customer base."

06:10 EST Samsung sees signs of recovery in server/storage demand - For Q1, The company said, "Amid anticipation that PC/mobile demand will continue to recover, there are also signs of a recovery in server/storage demand, which had been relatively sluggish for quite some time. On the supply side, however, we expect market bit growth of advanced products to be somewhat constrained. We will continue to operate a portfolio focused on profitability driven by the demand for high-value added products, such as HBM3 and Server SSD."

06:07 EST Instacart, HHS enter new public-private partnership to improve health outcomes - Instacart and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, announced a new public-private partnership to support and scale food as medicine interventions, including by increasing access to nutritious food and offering the tools needed to support better health and wellbeing for individuals and families across the country. Through the partnership, Instacart and HHS will seek opportunities to support food as medicine programs, research, outreach, and policy priorities that improve health outcomes and health equity across the United States. Together, they have committed to engaging and educating the public on the power of using food as medicine; advancing understanding of food as medicine intervention techniques and impacts among key public- and private-sector stakeholders; and developing new approaches to scale successful food as medicine programs to reach more individuals and communities.

06:04 EST Canoo adds Electric Vehicles to Zeba's fleet - Canoo announced it has added electric vehicles to the fleet of Zeeba, a national fleet management company. The announcement is part of an existing agreement with Zeeba that awarded a total of 5,450 electric vehicles, with a binding commitment of 3,000 Lifestyle Delivery Vehicle, or LDV, EVs for its national fleet.

05:53 EST Apple Card has over 12M users in the US, users earned $1B in Daily Cash in 2023 - Apple on Tuesday said that the Apple Card now has more than 12M users in the U.S. "We designed Apple Card with users' financial health in mind, and it's rewarding to see our more than 12 million customers using its features to make healthier financial decisions," said Jennifer Bailey, Apple's vice president of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet. "We're proud of what we've been able to deliver to Apple Card customers in just five years. As we look at the year ahead and beyond, we're excited to continue to innovate and invest in Apple Card's award-winning experience, and provide users with more tools and features that help them lead healthier financial lives." Last year, users earned over $1B in Daily Cash from spending on Apple Card, the company said, adding that the Savings account quickly became a favorite feature among Apple Card users and reached over $10B in deposits in just a few short months. Since its introduction in 2021, more than 1M Apple Card users share Apple Card with their Family Sharing Group through Apple Card Family, Apple added. Reference Link

05:28 EST Acadia appoints names Jennifer Rhodes chief legal officer - Acadia Pharmaceuticals announced two new appointments to its executive team. Jennifer Rhodes is joining the company as executive VP, chief legal officer and secretary, and Kimberly Manhard as senior VP, global strategic planning and execution, both effective immediately. Following a transition period, Austin Kim, executive VP, general counsel and secretary will be leaving Acadia to pursue other opportunities.

05:06 EST Kaixin Auto, DeepBlue AI Technology establish AI electric vehicle joint venture - Kaixin Auto announced that it has reached strategic cooperation intention with DeepBlue AI Technology. Both have agreed to establish a joint venture to leverage the AI autonomous driving technology of DeepBlue AI Technology onto Kaixin's mass-produced EV models to develop a new generation of AI autopilot EVs and to achieve market-oriented operations. Founded in 2014 by a group of senior engineers with doctoral degrees overseas, DeepBlue AI Technology is committed to fundamental research and application of artificial intelligence. The DeepBlue Academy of Sciences is composed of multiple scientific research institutes, including the Artificial Intelligence Research Institute, the Smart Car Research Institute, the Automation Research Institute, and the Scientific Computing Research Institute.