Stockwinners Market Radar for July 08, 2024 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:04 EDT Cathie Wood's ARK Investment bought 185K shares of Intellia Therapeutics today

19:50 EDT Assure Holdings Corp trading halted, news pending

18:46 EDT Helios drops after placing CEO on leave amid investigation - Shares of Helios Technologies are moving lower after the company plead Josef Matosevic, its President, Chief Executive Officer and Director, on a paid leave effective July 1, immediately as a result of allegations of a potential violation of the company's Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. Matosevic's leave is pending completion of an ongoing investigation being conducted by the board with the assistance of outside legal counsel. "The alleged conduct that prompted this review does not relate to, and does not impact, the Company's strategy or financial reporting," Helios said in a regulatory filing. The board pointed Sean Bagan, Chief Financial Officer, to also serve as the company's Interim President and Chief Executive Officer. Shares of Helios are down 6% to $43.33 in after-hours trading.

18:01 EDT Pineapple Energy formalizes agreement with Conduit Capital - Pineapple Energy has engaged Conduit Capital to provide structural internal support, staffing, and assistance with capital raising activities. Conduit Capital is a group known for connecting companies to mission aligned investors. The partnership also includes the addition of key talent to assist the Pineapple team, all of whom have industry-specific experience in Pineapple's various business sectors.

17:50 EDT Qualcomm COO Palkhiwala sells $617K in company shares - Qualcomm COO Akash Palkhiwala disclosed the sale of 3,000 shares of company stock at $205.61 per share on July 5, for a total transaction amount of $616,815.

17:39 EDT Kymera Therapeutics jumps 10% to $35.09 after expanding phase 2 trials - Shares of Kymera Therapeutics (KYMR) are up 10% at $35.09 afterhours after the company announced that following a review of preliminary KT-474 safety and efficacy data by an Independent Data Review Committee, Sanofi (SNY) has informed Kymera that it intends to expand the ongoing Hidradenitis Suppurativa HS and Atopic Dermatitis AD Phase 2 trials to more rapidly progress towards pivotal studies.

17:18 EDT BlueAllele sues Intellia for patent infringement regarding 'insertion templates' - BlueAllele Corporation filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Intellia Therapeutics in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware. The complaint alleges infringement of BlueAllele's bi-directional insertion template patents, which cover the company's transformational platform used in the development and treatment of genetic diseases. The novel design of BlueAllele's bi-directional insertion template technology has unlocked the full potential of the cell's highly active NHEJ pathway. ...As alleged in the complaint, Intellia has utilized BlueAllele's patented platform technology to advance internal programs as well as external collaboration programs....BlueAllele develops methodologies for single-dose in vivo treatments to cure the most debilitating and devastating genetic diseases. BlueAllele has actively protected its inventions resulting in a substantial patent estate. "BlueAllele's patents cover our novel and innovative technology for achieving precise gene editing," said Dr. Nicholas J. Baltes, BlueAllele's chief scientific officer. "Protecting BlueAllele's intellectual property is a critical part of our business." ..."The purpose of this lawsuit is to protect our patent rights and to ensure our ability to continue conceiving and advancing transformational technologies for patients with genetic diseases."

17:11 EDT MDB Capital teams with Mayo Clinic to advance anti-senescence platform - MDB Capital Holdings announced a collaboration through a patent and know-how agreement with Mayo Clinic to develop a small molecule anti-senescence platform. This collaboration aims to advance research in longevity and age-related disease prevention. Senescent cells, which are dysfunctional cells that have permanently stopped dividing, have been implicated in the aging process and the development of chronic low-grade inflammation. This chronic inflammation has been linked to a variety of age-related diseases, including multiple fibrotic conditions that have limited treatment options and poor prognoses.Studies conducted at Mayo Clinic have shown the potential of the licensed molecule to target and eliminate senescent cells with a significant therapeutic window, reversing fibrosis across multiple conditions. The global longevity and anti-senescence therapy market is projected to reach nearly $45 billion by 2030

17:08 EDT SWK Holdings names Adam C. Rice as new CFO - SWK Holdings "announces the appointment of Adam C. Rice, CPA, as Chief Financial Officer of the company and the promotion of Courtney Baker, CPA, to Controller. With over 18 years of senior-level finance and accounting leadership experience, Rice has led financial operations management, corporate financial planning and analysis, strategic planning and financial statement reporting. He was previously CFO of Park Cities Asset Management, an SEC registered alternative investment advisory firm. Baker initially joined SWK Holdings as Assistant Controller in July 2023. Prior to SWK, she worked for a leading government services contractor in the defense and aerospace industry, specializing in revenue recognition. Her background includes technical accounting, SEC reporting, M&A activity, due diligence, purchase price allocation, and system integration."

16:34 EDT Asur reports June passenger traffic up 3.8% - Asur announced that passenger traffic for June 2024 reached a total of 6.1 million passengers, representing an increase of 3.8% compared to June 2023. Passenger traffic presented year-on-year increases of 24.5% in Colombia and 11.6% in Puerto Rico while traffic in Mexico declined 5.5%. Passenger traffic growth in Colombia was driven by increases of 33.1% in international traffic and 22.3% in domestic traffic. Puerto Rico also reported growth in both domestic and international traffic, up 10.9% and 16.1%, respectively. Mexico, however, presented declines of 5.7% and 5.2% in domestic and international traffic, respectively.

16:30 EDT Assured Guaranty to combine its U.S. financial guaranty insurers - Assured Guaranty announced that Assured Guaranty Municipal Corp. (AGM) will merge into Assured Guaranty Inc. (AG), which was named Assured Guaranty Corp. until May 24, 2024. The effective date of the merger is expected to be August 1, 2024. "We see this merger as beneficial for all our stakeholders," said Dominic Frederico, President and CEO. "It will result in more efficient utilization of the combined capital of the two companies, and it will simplify the administration and eliminate duplicative expenses of Assured Guaranty's U.S. financial guaranty operations. Over its nearly 40 years in the financial guaranty business, Assured Guaranty has continually evolved, constantly looking for ways to better serve our customers and grow our business. This merger further positions us to achieve those goals." In connection with the merger of AGM into AG, the MIA approved a $300 million stock redemption (sometimes described as a "special dividend") by the combined company, which is expected to be effectuated shortly following the merger.

16:25 EDT MDB Capital teams with Mayo Clinic toadvance anti-senescenceplatform, no terms - MDB Capital Holdings announced a collaboration through a patent and know-how agreement with Mayo Clinic to develop a small molecule anti-senescence platform. This collaboration aims to advance research in longevity and age-related disease prevention. Senescent cells, which are dysfunctional cells that have permanently stopped dividing, have been implicated in the aging process and the development of chronic low-grade inflammation. This chronic inflammation has been linked to a variety of age-related diseases, including multiple fibrotic conditions that have limited treatment options and poor prognoses.Studies conducted at Mayo Clinic have shown the potential of the licensed molecule to target and eliminate senescent cells with a significant therapeutic window, reversing fibrosis across multiple conditions. The global longevity and anti-senescence therapy market is projected to reach nearly $45 billion by 2030

16:19 EDT Kymera expands HS and AD Phase 2 trials following review - Kymera Therapeutics (KYMR) announced that following a review of preliminary KT-474 safety and efficacy data by an Independent Data Review Committee, Sanofi (SNY) has informed Kymera that it intends to expand the ongoing Hidradenitis Suppurativa HS and Atopic Dermatitis AD Phase 2 trials to more rapidly progress towards pivotal studies. "We are pleased that Sanofi has taken steps to expand these studies, as we are firm believers in the potential for KT-474 to address significant unmet needs with large market potential," said Nello Mainolfi, PhD, Founder, President and CEO, Kymera Therapeutics. "This expansion, supported by the results of the interim analysis, is intended to accelerate overall timelines and inform future registrational trials. We look forward to sharing further information as it is available, including trial designs and updated timing for the expanded Phase 2 data readouts."

16:15 EDT Helios Technologies names Sean Bagan interim president and CEO - Helios Technologies announced its Board of Directors has appointed Sean Bagan to serve as Interim President and Chief Executive Officer in addition to his role as Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately. The Board has also appointed Philippe Lemaitre, to serve as Executive Chairman in addition to his role as Chairman of the Board effective July 1, 2024. These appointments follow the decision by the Board to place Josef Matosevic, the Company's President, Chief Executive Officer and Director, immediately on a paid leave effective July 1, 2024, as a result of allegations of a potential violation of the Company's Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. Mr. Matosevic's leave is pending completion of an ongoing investigation being conducted by the Board with the assistance of outside legal counsel. Helios will make further announcements regarding this matter when the Board approves any course of action for which further disclosure is appropriate. The alleged conduct that prompted this review does not relate to, and does not impact, the Company's strategy or financial reporting.

16:13 EDT Nasdaq reports June U.S. equity options volume 250M Vs 270M last year - Reference Link

16:09 EDT Fluor completes final weld on first production train at LNG Canada project - The company states: "Fluor is pleased to announce completion of the final weld on the first production train at the LNG Canada project, in Kitimat, British Columbia, Canada. This marks a pivotal moment in the construction of one of the largest energy projects in Canadian history. The final weld took 48 hours of continuous work from teams of welders working in shifts. More than 380 pipe welders have worked on the project since construction began in 2018. LNG Canada is a joint venture between Shell, Petronas, PetroChina, Mitsubishi Corporation and Korea Gas Corporation. The project will have an initial capacity to produce 12.7 metric tonnes (14 million tons) of LNG per year with first shipment expected by the middle of 2025."

16:06 EDT Core & Main announces executive leadership changes - Core & Main announces changes to its executive leadership team. Jack Schaller, president, has announced that he will transition to a role as executive vice president. As part of this transition, Schaller will continue supporting the integration of our newly acquired businesses, leading supplier relations and assisting with this organizational transition. Brad Cowles, president, will be expanding his role to lead the waterworks product line, previously led by Schaller. Cowles has more than 18 years of leadership experience in the organization, most recently leading the fire protection product line. In addition to his core waterworks responsibilities, Cowles will have responsibility for several growth and margin initiatives.

16:04 EDT Fresh2 Group announces one-for-ten reverse ADS split - Fresh2 Group announced that it will change the ratio of its American depositary shares, or ADSs, to its Class A ordinary shares from one ADS representing 20 Class A ordinary shares to one ADS representing 200 Class A ordinary shares. The ADS ratio change is expected to become effective on July 10. For the company's ADS holders, the ADS Ratio Change will have the same effect as a one-for-ten reverse ADS split. There will be no change to the company's Class A ordinary shares. On the effective date, registered holders of the company's ADSs held in certificated form will be required on a mandatory basis to surrender their certificated ADSs to Citibank, the depositary bank, for cancellation and will receive one new ADS in exchange for every 10 existing ADSs surrendered. Holders of uncertificated ADSs in the Direct Registration System, or DRS, and The Depository Trust Company, or DTC, will have their ADSs automatically exchanged and need not take any action. The exchange of every 10)then-held ADSs for one new ADS will occur automatically at the effective date, with the then-held ADSs being cancelled and new ADSs being issued by the depositary. The company's ADSs will continue to be traded on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol (FRES).

16:01 EDT Talen Energy expects to commence trading on Nasdaq Global Select Market on 7/10 - Talen Energy expects that its common stock will commence trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol "TLN" at open of market on Wednesday, July 10, and cease trading on the OTCQX Best Market at close of market on Tuesday, July 9.

15:59 EDT United Airlines files DOT application for new daily flight between DCA, SFO - United Airlines filed an application with the U.S. Department of Transportation, or DOT, for a new daily roundtrip flight between Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, or DCA, and San Francisco International Airport, or SFO. If approved, the new route will give customers more nonstop options between DCA and SFO and provide connections from SFO to about two dozen domestic markets within the Western U.S. - as well as seven international destinations. At least nine of these destinations are without United connection options to DCA via San Francisco. As an alternate proposal to United's additional DCA-SFO flight, United has applied for its first-ever DCA-Los Angeles, or LAX, flight.

15:07 EDT Optex Systems awarded $2.5M order for Laser Filter Units - Optex Systems announced it has been awarded a new contract for Laser Filter Units supporting the XM-157 NGWS Scope. The order value is $2.5M with deliveries covering August 2024 through July 2025. With this new order, the current Optex backlog is in excess of $47M.

14:37 EDT U.S. video game spending fell 6% y/y in May, says Circana - Circana analyst Mat Piscatella said that projected U.S. total spending on video game hardware, content and accessories fell 6% in May 2024 when compared to a year ago, to $4B. Year-to-date 2024 spending was 2% higher than a year ago, at $22.8B. May 2024 content spending fell 3% compared to a year ago to $3.6B, as 13% growth in Mobile content spending could not offset a 40% drop in Console content spending. The May 2024 Console spending declines versus a year ago across hardware, content and accessories spending can be partially attributed to the strength of the launch of Nintendo's (NTDOY) "The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom" in the May 2023 comparable period. May video game hardware spending declined 40% when compared to a year ago, to $202M, and is now 30% lower YTD. Through May, all current generation hardware platforms are showing double-digit percentage declines year-on-year in 2024, with Switch showing the most significant drop. Sony's (SONY) PlayStation 5 again led the month's hardware market in unit and dollar sales. Nintendo Switch once again finished 2nd in unit sales, while Xbox Series (MSFT) ranked 2nd in dollars. Through each console's first 43 months in market, PlayStation 5 unit sales lead those of PlayStation 4 by 8%, while Xbox Series trails Xbox One by 13% and remains slightly behind Xbox 360. On the software side, Sony's "Ghost of Tsushima" was the best-selling game of May 2024 in tracked dollar sales, boosted by the release of the title on Steam during the month. "Ghost of Tsushima" generated a slightly higher consumer spending total across physical and digital game sales than did physical-only sales of Nintendo's "Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door." Other top sellers for the month included Activision's "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III," Sony's "Helldivers II" and "MLB The Show 24," Microsoft's "Sea of Thieves" and "Minecraft," Bandai Namco's (NCBDY) "Elden Ring," Warner Bros. Discovery's (WBD) "Hogwarts Legacy," and Sony's "Stellar Blade." Other publicly traded companies in the video game space include Tencent (TCEHY), Take-Two (TTWO), Electronic Arts (EA), Ubisoft (UBSFY), and NetEase (NTES). Reference Link

13:36 EDT Apple approves Epic Games EGS iOS App for notarization, but wants redesign - Epic Games said in an earlier posting to its X account: "Apple has told some press channels that, though they have approved our current EGS iOS App for notarization, they are still demanding Epic change the user interface in a future version. ...Epic is disputing this..." On July 5, Epic Games posed onX: 1/3 Apple has rejected our Epic Games Store notarization submission twice now, claiming the design and position of Epic's "Install" button is too similar to Apple's "Get" button and that our "In-app purchases" label is too similar to the App Store's "In-App Purchases" label. Reference Link

13:02 EDT Citi to cease operations in Haiti - Citi announced that it will cease its operations in Haiti and pursue the voluntary surrender of its banking license, with the approval of Banque de la Republique d'Haiti, or BRH. However, international banking and correspondent banking services will continue for existing clients. "This difficult decision is part of a strategic business review done against client segments and market conditions and was made in part due to diminished international activity and lower institutional client demand in the country. This decision will not have a material economic impact to Citi, nor to its international clients. Citi has maintained a presence in Haiti for more than 50 years. It has played a significant role in helping companies, institutions, individuals, and communities in the country achieve their financial objectives, in addition to promoting investments and other activities that have contributed to the country's growth. Citi has also supported NGOs delivering critical services to the country during times of crisis. Citi remains committed to Latin America and maintains a strong presence in the market, where it has operated for over a century and built an unmatched network to serve its clients," the company stated. Reference Link

12:42 EDT Target - Target earlier today is delivering more value than ever for back-to-school and back-to-college shoppers. The retailer is kicking off the shopping season with more ways to save for teachers, parents and students preparing for the school year. From 20 must-have school supplies that add up to less than $20 and the lowest priced backpack in over 10 years, for just $5, to new ways for members of the retailer's free-to-join Target Circle program to save big, Target has consumers' backs when it comes to shopping for back-to-school.

12:02 EDT Barnes & Noble Education rises 11.4% - Barnes & Noble Education is up 11.4%, or 73c to $7.15.

12:01 EDT Torrid falls -7.1% - Torrid is down -7.1%, or -57c to $7.35.

12:00 EDT ZIM Integrated falls -13.9% - ZIM Integrated is down -13.9%, or -$3.08 to $19.03.

10:39 EDT Jaguar Health announces issuance of European, Australian patents - Napo Pharmaceuticals announced that the European Patent Office and IP Australia, the Australian patent office, have each issued a new patent to Napo. The European patent covers methods for treating SBS, bile acid diarrhea, and diarrhea associated with small intestine resection or gallbladder removal, in patients with an inhibitor of chloride-ion transport such as crofelemer, Napo's novel plant-based prescription drug. The Australian patent covers methods of preventing, ameliorating and/or treating diarrhea associated with CDDs using a proanthocyanidin polymer composition such as crofelemer.

10:25 EDT Elliott says received supportive feedback about call for change at Southwest - Elliott Investment Management sent a letter to the Board of Southwest Airlines Co. summarizing the feedback received and key events that have occurred since the publication last month of Elliott's initial letter and presentation calling for leadership change. The company said, "According to the letter, the feedback Elliott has received is overwhelmingly consistent with its perspective that the Company's performance is unacceptable and leadership change is required to return Southwest to its once-leading position in the industry. Elliott noted that the actions of Southwest's Board of Directors and management team since its Stronger Southwest materials were published have only solidified the case for leadership change. According to the letter, these actions included adopting an antiquated and shareholder-unfriendly "poison pill" to prevent Elliott from increasing its stake above 12.5% on July 3, and appointing a new director to the Board today who appears to have been chosen in part due to his support for the Company's status-quo leadership and plan. These actions demonstrate how profoundly out of touch Southwest's Board has become with shareholder sentiment and with the reality of the situation, said the letter. It is crucial, Elliott wrote, that the Board understand that Southwest's leadership has already lost the trust of its shareholders, and that shareholders simply do not believe this Board and management team are capable of devising and executing a bold new plan to turn around Southwest. Elliott again outlined the following path to a higher-performing future for Southwest: Enhance the Board of Directors; Upgrade Leadership; Undertake a Comprehensive Business Review. Elliott indicated that it is open to collaborating with the Board on a path forward, but absent alignment Elliott intends to move expeditiously to give shareholders a direct say on the necessary leadership changes."

10:05 EDT ABB, NASCAR launch electrification innovation partnership - ABB in the United States and NASCAR announced the ABB NASCAR Electrification Innovation Partnership and revealed a new EV prototype at the 2024 NASCAR Chicago Street Race. This partnership brings together world leaders in EV technology and auto racing to advance NASCAR's strategic ambitions across electrification. As part of the partnership, ABB in the United States will also help NASCAR achieve public sustainability targets around electrification and electric vehicle charging. While NASCAR is committed to the historic role of the combustion engine in racing, it is also committed to decarbonizing its operations and reducing its own carbon footprint to zero across its core operations by 2035 through electrification and innovative solutions.

10:03 EDT Global Atlantic, Service Corporation form partnership in preneed insurance - Global Atlantic Financial Group (KKR) announced a 10-year partnership with Service Corporation International (SCI), positioning it to become the preferred provider of preneed insurance for North America's largest provider of funeral, cremation and cemetery services. Preneed insurance is a type of life insurance policy created to help cover the costs associated with funeral expenses, providing peace of mind for the individual and alleviating the potential financial burden on their family. This preferred partnership provides Global Atlantic the opportunity to significantly grow its preneed business and positions the firm to become the number one provider of preneed insurance in North America, advancing its profile in the industry.

10:01 EDT Greenbrier falls -7.1% - Greenbrier is down -7.1%, or -$3.45 to $45.11.

10:01 EDT ZIM Integrated falls -13.3% - ZIM Integrated is down -13.3%, or -$2.94 to $19.17.

10:01 EDT Wheels Up rises 12.1% - Wheels Up is up 12.1%, or 49c to $4.49.

10:00 EDT Annovis Bio rises 13.5% - Annovis Bio is up 13.5%, or $1.49 to $12.59.

09:47 EDT Greenbrier falls -8.2% - Greenbrier is down -8.2%, or -$3.96 to $44.60.

09:47 EDT Nuscale Power rises 4.8% - Nuscale Power is up 4.8%, or 59c to $12.81.

09:47 EDT Studio City rises 10.2% - Studio City is up 10.2%, or 73c to $7.92.

09:43 EDT Ryde Group Ltd trading resumes

09:37 EDT Volaris reports June ASM capacity decreased 13.7% year-over-year - In June 2024, Volaris' ASM capacity decreased by 13.7% year-over-year due to the accelerated Pratt & Whitney engine inspections and the resulting aircraft groundings. Load factor in the month increased by 2.2 pp YoY to 85.6%, as RPMs only decreased by 11.4%. Mexican domestic RPMs decreased by 16.2%, while international RPMs decreased by 1.8%. Volaris transported 2.4 million passengers during the month. Enrique Beltranena, Volaris' President and CEO said: "Our fleet mitigation plan is on track and yielding positive results. As part of this plan, we reduced capacity in the Mexican domestic market and reallocated it to the international market, resulting in an overall capacity reduction of around 14% in June. Demand in the domestic market remains strong, and our capacity in the international market continues to mature with a well-balanced market mix aimed at maximizing profitability. Looking ahead, our booking trends for the summer high season are showing robust performance, in line with our expectations in both markets."

09:35 EDT Hillevax Inc trading resumes

09:33 EDT Immix Biopharma doses first patient in U.S. AL amyloidosis trial with NXC-201 - Immix Biopharma announced that the first patient has been dosed at MSKCC in its U.S. NEXICART-2 trial with NXC-201, a sterically-optimized BCMA-targeted CAR-T cell therapy. The NEXICART-2 study is intended to evaluate the safety and efficacy of NXC-201 in relapsed/refractory AL Amyloidosis patients with adequate cardiac function who have not been exposed to prior BCMA-targeted therapy. The study builds on positive data from the initial ex-U.S. study, NEXICART-1, presented at the 27th Annual Meeting of The American Society of Gene and Cell Therapy which showed a 92% overall response rate in relapsed/refractory AL Amyloidosis patients. The best responder experienced a 28.0 month duration of response. "We believe initiation of the U.S. NEXICART-2 study is an important advancement in AL Amyloidosis. NXC-201 has the potential to become a first-in-class safe and durably-effective therapy for patients with relapsed/refractory AL Amyloidosis. We are humbled by the enthusiasm across the U.S. AL Amyloidosis community and look forward to robust enrollment for NEXICART-2," said Ilya Rachman, M.D., Ph.D., CEO of Immix Biopharma. Gabriel Morris, Chief Financial Officer of Immix Biopharma, added, "Dosing of the first patient in line with our mid-2024 guidance is a testament to the stellar execution of our extraordinary team and partners."

09:31 EDT Wetouch announces $15M stock repurchase program - Wetouch Technologies announced a stock buyback program to repurchase up to $15M of the company's common stock. "We are pleased to announce this stock buyback program, which reflects our confidence in the strong and growing business of Wetouch," said Zongyi Lian, CEO of Wetouch Technologies Inc. "With over $90 million in cash and nearly $8 per share in cash, however the market capitalization is less than $30 million, we believe our stock is significantly undervalued. This buyback program represents an attractive opportunity to return value to our shareholders."

09:27 EDT Cullman Bancorp to delist from Nasdaq, withdraw registration from SEC - Cullman Bancorp announced that it has notified Nasdaq of the company's intent to voluntarily delist its common stock from Nasdaq. The company further intends to withdraw the registration of its common stock with the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The company has applied to have its shares quoted on the OTCQX Market following Nasdaq delisting.

09:18 EDT CEL-SCI appoints Robert Watson as chairperson - CEL-SCI announced that Robert Watson, who has served as a director of the company since 2017, has been appointed chairperson of the board. Watson brings expertise in capital formation strategies and partnerships to drive an efficient capital structure.

09:17 EDT Lexicon appoints Mike Exton as CEO, Jeff Wade as COO - Lexicon Pharmaceuticals (LXRX) announced that the Lexicon Board of Directors has appointed Mike Exton, Ph.D. as CEO and director of Lexicon. Dr. Exton succeeds Lonnel Coats who, as previously announced, retired effective July 7, 2024. Dr. Exton most recently served as the global cardiometabolic therapeutic head at Novartis (NVS). Concurrent with Dr. Exton's appointment as CEO, Jeff Wade has been named president and COO. Mr. Wade has served as Lexicon's president and CFO since October 2021, having previously served in a series of finance, corporate development, administrative and legal leadership positions since joining the company.

09:15 EDT Lexaria receives patents for antiviral drug delivery, epilepsy treatment - Lexaria Bioscience announces three new patent awards. In the European Union, the Company has received a new granted patent in Lexaria's patent family #6: Transdermal and/or Dermal Delivery of Lipophilic Active Agents. This is the Company's second granted patent in this patent family with an earlier patent granted in Canada. This patent will expire in 2039, if not extended and was validated in the following countries: Austria, Czech Republic, France, UK, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. In Canada, Lexaria has received a new granted patent in patent family #18: Compositions and Methods for Enhanced Delivery of Antiviral Agents. This is the Company's fourth granted patent in this patent family which was previously granted in the US, Australia, and Japan. This patent will expire in 2041 if not extended. This patent builds on original research conducted by Lexaria in 2021 wherein the Company evidenced in animal studies that DehydraTECH processing of five different antiviral drugs belonging to three classes of drugs all were delivered into bloodstream at rates from 42% improvement to 204% improvement, compared to the same drugs not processed with DehydraTECH. Building on prior patent success in the US related to epilepsy, Lexaria has received its fourth granted US patent in patent family #24, Compositions and Methods for Treating Epilepsy. This patent complements earlier research that discovered DehydraTECH-CBD was capable of mitigating epileptic seizures in rodents, and was also absorbed into the bloodstream more effectively than the commercially available cannabinoid-based anti-seizure medication, Epidiolex(R). This patent will expire in 2044 if not extended. With the issuance of these three new patents, Lexaria's patent portfolio has now grown to 46 granted patents worldwide. Lexaria's intellectual property remains a significant component in supporting future business objectives.

09:08 EDT Blue Star announces it will combine AI, UV for crab identification process - Blue Star Foods announces its looking to improve its soft-shell crab operations by introducing cutting-edge technology that combines Artificial Intelligence, AI, with Ultraviolet, UV, light technology to revolutionize the industry's standard molting crab identification process. The high labor costs in the soft-shell crab shedding industry are primarily attributed to visually & manually identifying molting crabs from non-molting ones. By implementing an AI system combined with UV light technology, the identification process can be automated, significantly reducing labor hours and costs, enhancing operational efficiency, and decreasing mortality rates. Our pilot facility operates 24/7 with three shifts. The integration of AI with UV light technology is expected to accurately and efficiently identify molting crabs, leading to reduced labor hours, operational costs, and mortality rates. The implementation of AI and UV light technology is forecasted to result in a reduction in labor costs, increased operational efficiency, and improve the current yield rates by 50%, resulting in potential increase profits of approximately 12.5% or $9 per dozen of live soft-shell crabs.

09:06 EDT GRI Bio regains compliance with Nasdaq - GRI Bio announced that it received notice on July 2, 2024 from The Nasdaq Stock Market that the Company regained compliance with all applicable Nasdaq listing standards for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market, and that the scheduled hearing before the Hearings Panel has been canceled.

09:04 EDT Longeveron appoints Hajjar to board of directors - Longeveron announced that Roger Hajjar, MD, Director of the Gene and Cell Therapy Institute at Mass General Brigham, has been elected to the Longeveron Board of Directors. Dr. Hajjar is an internationally recognized scientist whose cardiac gene therapy discoveries have spurred clinical trials for heart failure, whose methodologies for cardiac-directed gene transfer are currently utilized by investigators around the world, and who was appointed as the inaugural director of the Gene and Cell Therapy Institute. Dr. Hajjar was elected at the Company's recent Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

09:03 EDT NN, Inc. selects Statham as SVP, General Counsel - NN announced the appointment of Jami Statham as the Company's new Senior Vice President, SVP, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, effective immediately. Statham will report directly to NN's Chief Executive Officer, Harold Bevis. Statham brings more than 18 years of experience in the legal field.

09:02 EDT Arthur J. Gallagher acquires Cleary Benefits Group, terms not disclosed - Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced the acquisition of Danbury, Connecticut-based Cleary Benefits Group. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Cleary Benefits Group is a health and benefits consulting firm serving primarily mid-size to large commercial clients. Brian Cleary, Heather Katz and their team will remain in their current location under the direction of Scott Sherman, head of Gallagher's Northeast region employee benefits consulting and brokerage operations.

08:50 EDT Crown Fiber announces expansion of operations in Arizona, Nevada, Oregon - Crown Electrokinetics is expanding its operations in Arizona and in Oregon with two of the largest telecommunication and cable operators in the country. Crown has entered into a contracting agreement with Paramount Networks who is an MSA holder with 19 major telecommunication and cable operators in the USA. The work for a large cable provider will commence in the coming weeks in Arizona and will eventually expand into Nevada and encompasses horizontal directional drilling, aerial plant construction, as well as fiber placement and splicing. The work in Oregon will include turnkey fiber optic network construction.

08:47 EDT Sellas Life Sciences receives EMA Orphan Drug Designation for SLS009 - SELLAS Life Sciences Group announced that the European Commission, based on a positive opinion issued by the European Medicines Agency, has granted Orphan Drug Designation for SLS009, a novel, and highly selective CDK9 inhibitor, for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia. The Phase 2a clinical trial of SLS009 is an open-label, single-arm, multi-center study designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and efficacy of SLS009 in combination with aza/ven at two dose levels, 45 and 60 mg. In the 60 mg dose cohort patients were randomized into either a 60 mg dose once per week or a 30 mg dose two times per week. The target response rate at the optimal dose level is 20% with a target median survival over 3 months. ASXL1 mutation has been identified as the most promising target mutation based on biology of the mutation and the SLS009 mechanism of action that has been confirmed by the clinical results to date. The trial continues enrollment in two cohorts, both enrolling patients with myelodysplasia-related mutations, one with ASXL1 mutations and the other with myelodysplasia-related mutations other than ASXL1.

08:44 EDT Evotec Biologics expands tech partnership with Sandoz - Evotec (EVO) announced that its biologics segment, Just - Evotec Biologics, Inc., has expanded its strategic partnership with Sandoz (SDZNY). Just - Evotec Biologics will receive appropriate remuneration following early scientific validation, with further funding tied to achieving development milestones from 2025. This expanded partnership solidifies Just - Evotec Biologics' commitment to providing long-term commercial supply of biosimilars to Sandoz from its newly built J.POD biologics manufacturing facility at Evotec's Campus Curie in Toulouse, France. Sandoz secures further guarantees relating to long-term supply for patients with a reservation of significant commercial manufacturing capacity. Since May 2023, Just - Evotec Biologics and Sandoz have been engaged in a multi-year technology partnership aimed at the rapid development and manufacturing of biosimilars. Leveraging its data-driven, fully integrated design capability and continuous manufacturing technology platform, Just - Evotec Biologics aims to deliver the highest product quality and cost efficiency to its partners. This collaboration aligns with Evotec's mission to improve access to medicines for patients across the globe.

08:42 EDT Mirum Pharmaceuticals: EU approves LIVMARLI for patients with PFIC - Mirum Pharmaceuticals announced that the European Commission has granted marketing authorization for LIVMARLI or maralixibat, oral solution for the treatment of progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis or PFIC, in patients three months of age and older. The approval follows a positive opinion by the CHMP which concluded that LIVMARLI in PFIC brings significant clinical benefit based on improved efficacy and a major contribution to patient care compared to the existing approved treatment for PFIC. Further, evaluation by COMP recommended maintenance of Orphan Drug Designation for LIVMARLI in PFIC..."The patient community in Europe will greatly benefit from LIVMARLI's approval, supported by years of impressive data showing improvements in the most burdensome aspects of disease," said Emily Ventura, executive director, PFIC Network. "PFIC can be life-altering and can have a devastating impact on patients. We are encouraged to see that young patients will have a new medication and hope for a life less burdened by cholestasis." LIVMARLI is also approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of cholestatic pruritus in patients with PFIC five years of age and older. Mirum has submitted a supplemental new drug application to introduce a higher concentration formulation of LIVMARLI, used during the MARCH study, to enable label expansion for younger patients with PFIC, and expects to receive FDA feedback this year.

08:40 EDT Outlook Therapeutics announces U.K. MHRA marketing authorization for LYTENAVA - Outlook Therapeutics announced that the United Kingdom, UK, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, MHRA, has granted marketing authorization for LYTENAVA, an ophthalmic formulation of bevacizumab for the treatment of wet AMD in the UK. LYTENAVA is the first and only authorized ophthalmic formulation of bevacizumab for use in treating wet AMD in the EU and UK. "We are pleased to receive UK approval on the heels of marketing authorization in the EU for LYTENAVA. This milestone achievement is the final regulatory step towards our expected commercial launch in the EU and UK in the first calendar quarter of 2025. Our team continues to make a concerted effort to bring to the UK market the first and only authorized ophthalmic bevacizumab for the treatment of wet AMD. We are grateful to all the patients, researchers, clinical sites and the MHRA for the research, drug development, and regulatory efforts that led to this approval," commented Russell Trenary, President and Chief Executive Officer of Outlook Therapeutics.

08:39 EDT MDJM Ltd unit announces pact with Chongqing Tu Bi Business Management - MDJM Ltd announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Mansions Catering and Hotel LTD, a United Kingdom company, wholly owned by our wholly owned subsidiary, MD Local Global Limited, a United Kingdom company, has entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with Chongqing Tu Bi Business Management Co., Ltd., an incubator of cultural and creative projects and brands based in China. This partnership marks a milestone in MDJM's ongoing strategy to integrate cultural arts into its portfolio and expand its cultural business initiatives. Under the agreement, Mansions and Chongqing Tu Bi will leverage their mutual interests and resources in the arts to enhance artistic communication, develop cultural and creative products, and engage in capital operations to boost both parties' business development. The collaboration will involve the regular organization of artistic activities with the exchange of artworks and artistic ideas, including workshops, lectures, art exhibitions, and artist-in-residence programs, with an aim to foster interaction between artists and to enhance cultural exchanges. A major initiative under this partnership is the joint development of cultural products tailored for international markets, particularly focusing on the UK and Europe. The parties will combine efforts to blend traditional Chinese elements with contemporary design, promoting cultural heritage and modern artistic innovation. Furthermore, the collaboration will transform a villa at the historic Victorian Robin Hill Hotel, owned by MDJM and located in England's southern harbor area, into the "Eling TESTBED2 Overseas Art Center." This center will act as a dynamic platform to exhibit and promote the artistic creations and cultural products resulting from this partnership. Additionally, during the overall renovation and upgrading of Fernie Castle, the two parties will collaborate on operations to ensure that it serves as a crucial showcase for the collaborative results between the two parties.

08:38 EDT NRSInsights reports June same-store sales increased 5.1% year-over-year - NRSInsights announced comparative same-store sales results for June 2024. As of June 30, 2024, the NRS retail network comprised approximately 31,400 active terminals scanning purchases at independent retailers including bodegas, convenience stores, liquor stores, grocers, tobacco, and sundries sellers nationwide, predominantly serving urban consumers. Same-store sales increased 5.1% from a year earlier. In the previous month, same-store sales had increased 4.7% compared to May 2023. Same-store sales increased 1.6% compared to the previous month. Same-store sales in May 2024 had increased 3.4% compared to the previous month. For the three months ended June 30, 2024, same-store sales increased 3.5% compared to the three months ended June 30, 2023. The number of units sold increased 5.5% from a year earlier. In the previous month, the number of items sold had increased 4.7% compared to May 2023. The average number of transactions per store increased 2.8% from a year earlier. In the previous month, the average number of transactions had increased 2.3% compared to May 2023. A dollar-weighted average of prices for the top 500 items purchased increased 1.1% year-over-year, a decrease from the 1.6% year-over-year increase recorded in May 2024.

08:38 EDT OSI Systems receives $17M order for cargo and vehicle inspection systems - OSI Systems announced that its Security division received an order valued at approximately $17M from an international customer for cargo and vehicle inspection systems. Among the systems to be provided are the Eagle P60 high-energy, drive-through cargo and vehicle inspection system and the T60 trailer-mounted vehicle inspection system. The Company also expects to provide system installation, training and multi-year service and maintenance support. OSI Systems' Chairman and CEO, Deepak Chopra, commented, "We are always excited to collaborate with our customers to enhance their security infrastructure. Our comprehensive suite of inspection systems, combined with our dedicated service and support, are designed to effectively and reliably meet stringent security demands."

08:37 EDT MultiMetaVerse to establish a joint venture for fintech business - MultiMetaVerse Holdings announced that it has entered into an agreement with Zhenghe Holding Co., Limited to establish a joint venture to invest in and trade alternative assets with the assistance of quantitative investment algorithms to be jointly developed by the parties. Pursuant to the Agreement, Zhenghe will own 80% of the new Joint Venture and responsible for its daily management and operation. MMV will hold a 20% stake and have the right to appoint one director to the Joint Venture's board.

08:36 EDT HeartCore Enterprises partners with Hitachi Systems - HeartCore Enterprises announced it has partnered with Hitachi Systems to offer a combined package of HeartCore CMS and GRED Web Security Assessment Cloud. "Given the prevalence of cyberattacks, our strategic partnership with Hitachi Systems will combine our enterprise CMS platform with their cybersecurity services to offer a secure, one-stop content management solution," said HeartCore CEO Sumitaka Kanno Yamamoto. "Following our software business's profitability this past first quarter, we aim to sustain this trend by pursuing partnerships that drive innovation in our CMS platform. By providing customers with an all-in-one CMS platform that includes robust cybersecurity measures, we ensure our clients' online security while reducing additional security costs that are typically outsourced. Through continuous innovation, new functionalities, and system integrations via partnerships, we strive to maintain our high customer retention rate, which continues to remain a cornerstone for our software business's success."

08:35 EDT Gulf Resources receives extension from Nasdaq to regain compliance - Gulf Resources had received a letter from NASDAQ granting the Company an extension until October 14, 2024 to regain compliance with NASDAQ's listing rules. As previously disclosed, on April 18, 2024 and May 21, 2024, the Company received letters from NASDAQ indicating that that it did not comply with NASDAQ's filing requirements because it had not filed its Form 10-K for the period ended December 31, 2023 and Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2024. The Company and its current auditor GGF CPA LIMITED have been working diligently to complete the 2023 year-end audit, the 10-K, as well the 10-Qs for both the first and the second quarters of 2024. Gulf Resources has submitted the materials to NASDAQ, detailing the steps to be taken and the progress being made to regain compliance. Based on NASDAQ's further review and the materials submitted by the Company, NASDAQ has granted the Company an extension until October 14, 2024 to file the Delinquent Reports, as required by the Rule.

08:33 EDT Lantheus appoints Jamie Spaeth as CPO - Lantheus Holdings announced the appointment of Jamie Spaeth to its Executive Team as Chief People Officer. Most recently, Ms. Spaeth was the Chief People Officer at Corium, a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company leading the development and commercialization of novel neuroscience therapies.

08:32 EDT RenovoRx announces acceptance for publication in The Oncologist - RenovoRx announced acceptance for publication in an international peer-reviewed journal, The Oncologist. The manuscript is titled, "Treatment of Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer Using Localized Trans-Arterial Micro Perfusion of Gemcitabine: Combined Analysis of RR1 and RR2" and expected in the Summer 2024 issue of The Oncologist. The manuscript's lead author is Hassan Hatoum, MD, an oncologist and hematologist at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. The manuscript is a publication of clinical data, primarily survival, in LAPC patients undergoing TAMP treatment from the foundational studies conducted by the Company. RenovoRx investigated the drug-delivery of gemcitabine utilizing TAMP therapy platform in an early Phase I/II dose escalation safety study and acquired data from a post-marketing post-treatment observational registry study to evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of the drug-device combination in LAPC. TAMP is being further evaluated in the ongoing pivotal Phase III randomized multi-center study, called TIGeR-PaC, evaluating its targeted approach to drug-delivery in LAPC. The study is comparing treatment with TAMP to the current standard of care of systemic intravenous chemotherapy.

08:28 EDT International Petroleum announces results of normal course issuer bid - International Petroleum announced that IPC repurchased a total of 258,760 IPC common shares during the period of July 1 to 5, 2024 under IPC's normal course issuer bid / share repurchase program. IPC's NCIB, announced on December 1, 2023, is being implemented in accordance with the Market Abuse Regulation No 596/2014 and Commission Delegated Regulation No 2016/1052 and the applicable rules and policies of the Toronto Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stockholm and applicable Canadian and Swedish securities laws. During the period of July 1 to 5, 2024, IPC repurchased a total of 200,000 IPC common shares on Nasdaq Stockholm. All of these share repurchases were carried out by Pareto Securities AB on behalf of IPC.

08:27 EDT Rumble to host live shows during Republican Convention in Milwaukee - Rumble announced that many of its top content creators will host live programs on media row at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee later this month. Rumble creators will be live on location each day of the convention beginning on July 15, 2024, and running until July 19, 2024, the day after the convention concludes with the formal nomination of former President Donald Trump as the Republican candidate. "It's the biggest stage in politics, and Rumble will be there to host the free exchange of information in the marketplace of ideas," said Rumble Chairman and CEO Chris Pavlovski. "More and more, people are turning to Rumble for their news and analysis, live, on the spot, from people involved in making the news. All voices are welcome, and no one has to fear being canceled for their point of view."

08:26 EDT CPI Aerostructures delivers first pod structure of contract to Raytheon - CPI Aerostructures shipped the first Low Rate Initial Production 3 pod structure to RTX Corporation as authorized under a previously announced contract award with a maximum value of $32.6 million. Pod structure deliveries on LRIP 3 are expected through mid-2025 after which CPI Aero anticipates transitioning to Lot 4 deliveries. In addition to the pod structures, CPI Aero produces air management system components integral to the Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band program.

08:24 EDT Microbot Medical enrolled first patient in human clinical trial - Microbot Medical announced the completion of the first procedure in a patient utilizing its LIBERTY Endovascular Robotic Surgical System. The procedure took place at Brigham and Women's Hospital, BWH, a leading academic medical center located in Boston, Massachusetts, as part of the Company's pivotal human clinical trial. The clinical trial at BWH is led by Dr. Dmitry Rabkin, MD, PhD, Assistant Chief, Division of Angiography & Interventional Radiology, who also performed this first human case. The trial is part of the Investigational Device Exemption for LIBERTY, and the Company expects its results will support the future submission to the FDA and subsequent commercialization.

08:23 EDT Niu Technologies announces large-scale retail expansion at Best Buy - Niu Technologies (NIU) announced its large-scale retail expansion to over 800+ Best Buy stores (BBY), across the United States. This strategic expansion marks a pivotal milestone for the company and will accelerate the widespread adoption of two-wheel electric vehicles across America. Consumers can now shop for NIU's high-performance electric kick-scooters and e-bikes at their local Best Buy store, in addition to online at BestBuy.com and through the Best Bu Mobile App. Available today, shoppers will be able to find NIU's KQi 300P and KQi 300X adult electric scooters in Best Buy Stores and will be able to receive expert support from specially trained Blue Shirts.

08:22 EDT Precision Drilling committed to repaying $150M-$100M in debt in 2024 - Carey Ford, Precision's CFO, commented, "Today's announcement marks another step in strengthening our balance sheet and returning capital to shareholders. Our organization has been intensely focused on cost management, capital discipline, and cash flow generation and our results are a testament to the efforts of all Precision employees. For 2024 we are committed to repaying $150 million to $200 million in debt and returning 25% to 35% of free cash flow before debt repayments to shareholders through share repurchases. Precision's longer-term balance sheet goal is to reduce debt by $600 million between 2022 and 2026 and achieve a Net Debt to Adjusted EBITDA ratio of below 1.0 times by the end of 2025. Since the beginning of 2022, we have reduced debt by approximately $360 million and expect to be well over $400 million by the end of this year."

08:21 EDT Rhythm Pharmaceuticals appoints Garfield as Chief Scientific Officer - Rhythm Pharmaceuticals announced the appointment of Alastair "Al" Garfield, Ph.D. as Chief Scientific Officer, effective July 1. Garfield rejoins Rhythm after serving as Senior Vice President and Head of Translational Sciences and Strategy at Rectify Pharma, where he helped deliver first-in-class therapeutics for rare disease.

08:21 EDT NewAmsterdam Pharma completes enrollment for Phase 3 TANDEM trial - NewAmsterdam Pharma announced the completion of patient enrollment in the pivotal Phase 3 TANDEM clinical trial evaluating the fixed-dose combination of obicetrapib plus ezetimibe in adult patients with Heterozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemia and/or Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease or multiple risk factors for ASCVD, whose LDL-C is not adequately controlled despite being on maximally tolerated lipid-modifying therapies. "Completing enrollment of the pivotal Phase 3 TANDEM trial marks an important step in our mission of advancing obicetrapib through late-stage clinical development and brings us closer to delivering a simple and convenient once-daily tablet to the millions of people suffering from dyslipidemia," said Michael Davidson, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of NewAmsterdam Pharma. "With positive enrollment trends observed in four ongoing contemporaneous pivotal Phase 3 studies - BROOKLYN, BROADWAY, PREVAIL and TANDEM - we continue to be encouraged by physician and patient interest in our clinical trials, which we believe reflects growing awareness of our CETP inhibitor and its potential ability to address elevated LDL-C and improve health outcomes for millions of patients globally, if approved. We look forward to sharing topline data from the TANDEM study in the first quarter of 2025."

08:18 EDT Scinai Immunotherapeutics receives updated LOI from EIB - Scinai Immunotherapeutics announced that it has received an updated non-binding Letter of Intent from the European Investment Bank. This updated LoI outlines specific indicative terms for converting the majority of the EIB's loan into equity in the form of preferred shares, which are convertible into American Depositary Shares representing 19.5% of the fully diluted capital of the Company at the time of closing. The number of ADSs into which the preferred shares would be convertible would be fixed and without anti-dilution rights. The updated LoI does not require a variable remuneration, which in the previous LOI included 3% royalty on the company's revenues and 5% of any equity raise up to a limit of EUR 70M, nor does it provide for mandatory dividends or mandatory redemption. The amount of the loan that would be converted is approximately $28M, while approximately $270,000 will stay as a loan payable on Dec 31st, 2031. As previously announced, the company received a Nasdaq Staff determination letter regarding noncompliance with the minimum shareholders' equity required for continued listing. At a hearing with the Nasdaq Hearings Panel held on June 18, 2024, the company presented a plan to address the Equity Requirement matter by converting a significant portion of the loan owed by the company to the EIB into equity and as announced on July 3, 2024 the Hearing Panel has determined to grant the company's request to continue its listing on The Nasdaq Stock Market, subject to the company meeting certain conditions, including filing on or before August 14, 2024, a public disclosure demonstrating compliance with the Equity Requirement. Based on the company's initial analysis with the assistance of an external advisor, the company believes that this loan to equity conversion would immediately eliminate the shareholders' deficit of $5.1M and create a shareholders' equity surplus. The company has prepared a white paper analyzing the accounting impact of the transaction and advising whether the conversion would be treated as equity, thereby enabling the company to regain compliance with the Stockholders' Equity Requirement. The above-mentioned white paper is still under review by the comany's independent registered public accounting firm.

08:17 EDT AMC Entertainment announces 4M domestic moviegoers over extended weekend - AMC Theatres announced that more than 4M domestic moviegoers spent part of their extended July 4 holiday weekend at AMC, making it the company's busiest Wednesday through Sunday period of the year in the United States. In all, AMC welcomed 4.2M guests to its U.S. locations from July 3 through July 7. The company said attendance was also strong at AMC's international locations. The domestic box office was led by the debut of "Despicable Me 4," which is reported to have opened to more than $120M over the five-day period. AMC's Wednesday, July 3, was the third-best Wednesday in company history in terms of Food and Beverage revenue, which includes merchandise sales

08:16 EDT DMG Blockchain Solutions mines 24 bitcoin in June - Key Highlights for June 2024: Bitcoin mined: 24 BTC; Realized hashrate: 0.98 EH/s; BTC balance: 464 BTC. DMG's CEO, Sheldon Bennett, commented, "Regarding the deployment of our 4,550 new Bitmain T21 miners, we continue to expect to completely energize this fleet in July. Additionally, we are encouraged that even with the summer season, we are seeing only modest declines in hashrate during the warmest periods. With the experience of last year's heat dome, our mine operations team has added new infrastructure to help protect the mine against severe spikes in heat. Even as the cost of this added infrastructure was minimal, the improvements have been meaningful, resulting in a more constant hashrate over a given 24-hour period. Finally, we expect to make further improvements to our mining fleet to support our near-term hashrate growth goal to 1.7 EH/s and beyond."

08:15 EDT Osisko Gold announces Q2 GEO deliveries, record cash margin, asset updates - Osisko Gold Royalties announces its second quarter 2024 deliveries, revenues and cash margin, as well as an update on its cash and debt positions as of June 30th, 2024. In addition, Osisko is also providing some select asset updates. All monetary amounts included in this report are expressed in Canadian dollars, unless otherwise noted. Osisko earned 20,068 attributable gold equivalent ounces in the second quarter of 2024. Osisko recorded preliminary revenues from royalties and streams of $64.8 million during the second quarter and preliminary cost of sales of $2.2 million, resulting in a record quarterly cash margin2 of approximately $62.6 million. As of June 30th, 2024, Osisko's cash position was approximately $65.7 million.

08:13 EDT Kandi announces strategic agreement among SC Autosports, Hartford Industrial - Kandi Technologies announced a strategic cooperation framework agreement among Kandi, SC Autosports, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Kandi in the United States, and Hartford Industrial. The collaboration aims to leverage the strengths of all the parties to enhance product quality and increase market competitiveness. Key elements of the Agreement include: Kandi commits to authorize Hartford Industrial to manufacture its self-developed off-road vehicles for export to the United States, including Untility-task vehicles, golf carts, and low-speed vehicles. Hartford Industrial commits to fully utilizing Kandi-manufactured components for the vehicles authorized for production. Additionally, Hartford Industrial guarantees that these vehicles will be exclusively sold through Kandi America. The aforementioned off-road vehicles began trial production at Hartford Industrial in July 2024. Mass production preparations are targeted to be completed by the end of 2024. In addition, Hartford Industrial plans to ramp up full-scale production for all Kandi-authorized vehicle models by early 2025.

08:09 EDT Zivo and animal health firm launch study targeting coccidiosis treatment - ZIVO Bioscience announces the initiation of a 42-day confirmatory study targeting coccidiosis in collaboration with a major global animal health company. This new study aims to further validate the efficacy of ZIVO's non-antibiotic, immune-modulating product designed for the prevention and treatment of coccidiosis in broiler chickens. Building upon the positive outcomes of previous trials, this study replicates real-world conditions to ensure the product's effectiveness in commercial poultry production environments. "We are delighted to support a global leader in animal health as they perform this confirmatory study, which holds potential to accelerate commercialization of our innovative treatment. Coccidiosis costs the poultry industry more than $10 billion annually, and traditional treatments rely heavily on antibiotics and ionophores that have not seen significant innovation in over six decades," said John Payne, Chairman and CEO of ZIVO Bioscience.

08:08 EDT Oryzon Genomics receives 'Decision to Grant' for two patents in Japan - Oryzon Genomics has received "Decision to grant" communications from the Japanese Patent Office for two Japanese patent applications related to vafidemstat, Oryzon's LSD1 inhibitor in clinical development for the treatment of psychiatric disorders like BPD and schizophrenia. These two patent applications are JP2021-556616 entitled "Methods of treating borderline personality disorder" and JP2021-556629 entitled "Methods of treating attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder using KDM1A inhibitors such as the compound vafidemstat". The allowed claims cover the use of vafidemstat for the treatment of BPD and ADHD, respectively. The Decision to grant is a formal communication from the JPO in which it indicates that a patent application has reached the status where it is allowed for issuance as a patent. Both patents, once granted, will not expire until at least 2040, excluding any potential patent term extensions that may provide additional protection. Corresponding patent applications are pending in several additional major pharmaceutical markets. Oryzon had recently received Decision to grant communications from the European and Korean patent offices for additional important patents for vafidemstat, covering its use for the treatment of aggression and social withdrawal. A corresponding patent has already been granted in Russia.

08:07 EDT Ameresco announces new contract with Snohomish County PUD - Ameresco announced it has signed a contract with Snohomish County Public Utility District, or PUD, to construct a battery energy storage system, or BESS, with a 20-year guaranteed capacity of 25 megawatts, or MW, and 100 megawatt-hours, or MWh. The installation represents the largest standalone battery project to date in the Pacific Northwest. The 25-year tolling agreement keeps Ameresco as the asset owner and Snohomish PUD as the exclusive customer of the project. The BESS will provide the PUD with enhanced electrical system reliability and flexibility while reducing exposure to energy price volatility, making the project a significant milestone in the advancement of sustainable energy solutions in Washington State. Construction on the energy storage asset is currently expected to begin in late 2024 and be operational in late 2025. It allows Ameresco to provide Snohomish PUD the flexibility to utilize the battery energy storage system for charging and discharging activities under the tolling agreement.

08:07 EDT MDxHealth appoints Siegel to board of directors - MDxHealth SA announced the appointment of Sanford Siegel, M.D. to its Board of Directors. Dr. Siegel will be taking the seat of Lieve Verplancke M.D., who is stepping down from the Board of mdxhealth.

08:06 EDT QuickLogic announces $5.26M contract award - QuickLogic announced it has been awarded a $5.26M contract to continue the development and demonstration of a Strategic Radiation Hardened high reliability Field Programmable Gate Array technology to support identified and future Department of Defense strategic and space system requirements.

08:05 EDT Pulse Biosciences receives Breakthrough Device Designation from FDA - Pulse Biosciences announced that it has received the Breakthrough Device Designation from the FDA for the company's Cardiac Surgery System for the ablation of cardiac tissue for the treatment of atrial fibrillation, or AF.

08:04 EDT Charles River to perform plasmid manufacturing for AAVantgarde, no terms - Charles River Laboratories International and AAVantgarde announced a contract development and manufacturing organization or CDMO, agreement to produce Good Manufacturing Practice- GMP, plasmid DNA. AAVantgarde, a clinical-stage biotechnology company with two proprietary adeno-associated viral, AAV, vector platforms for large gene delivery and developing products to treat inherited retinal diseases, will leverage Charles River's expertise in manufacturing GMP plasmid DNA...Through this collaboration, AAVantgarde will have access to Charles River's GMP plasmid DNA CDMO center of excellence based in Keele, United Kingdom, which will lead the collaboration and additional evaluation of off-the-shelf Rep/Cap and pHelper plasmid products in addition to GMP manufacturing services to support therapeutic development. "Charles River is thrilled to produce GMP plasmid DNA to help advance AAVantgarde's platform for the treatment of Stargardt's disease - a condition in which there is high unmet need. Our team brings more than two decades of CDMO expertise, and we look forward to leveraging these capabilities to make a difference for patients." - Kerstin Dolph, Corporate Senior Vice President, Global Manufacturing, Charles River "

08:03 EDT Merus announces first patient dosed in Phase 2 trial of petosemtamab in 2L CRC - Merus announced that the first patient has been dosed in the Company's phase 2 trial evaluating petosemtamab in combination with standard chemotherapy in second line, 2L, metastatic colorectal cancer, mCRC. Petosemtamab is a Biclonics targeting EGFR and LGR5. The phase 2, open-label trial will evaluate the safety and preliminary antitumor of petosemtamab and a regimen of chemotherapy in 2L mCRC. The study will enroll approximately 40 patients not previously treated with EGFR inhibitors and whose tumors do not harbor a KRAS mutation. "We're pleased by the progress we are making across the petosemtamab clinical development program," said Peter Silverman, Chief Operating Officer. "Petosemtamab continues to demonstrate meaningful clinical activity in head and neck cancer, and we are excited by the opportunity to expand into mCRC and investigate this novel potential treatment for patients struggling with this devastating disease."

08:03 EDT Kore Group names Bruce Gordon as COO - Kore Group announced that Bruce Gordon has joined as Executive Vice President and COO, effective July 2. Gordon brings over three decades of technology sector experience, having held multiple significant leadership roles. Most recently, he served as CEO and Executive Chairman of GeoDigital, a provider of 3D services and geospatial intelligence software.

08:01 EDT Ashford Hospitality sees Q2 occupancy of approximately 75% - Ashford Hospitality Trust reported that the company expects to report occupancy of approximately 75% for the second quarter of 2024 with Average Daily Rate of approximately $200 resulting in RevPAR of approximately $150. This Comparable RevPAR reflects an approximate increase of 1.4% compared to the second quarter of 2023. Additionally, for the month of April 2024, Comparable RevPAR increased approximately 3.0% versus April 2023. For the month of May 2024, Comparable RevPAR increased approximately 1.4% versus May 2023. For the month of June 2024, Comparable RevPAR decreased approximately 0.1% versus June 2023.

07:43 EDT Tradeweb Markets reports June total trading volume $37.5tn, ADV $1.94tn - Tradeweb Markets reported total trading volume for the month of June 2024 of $37.5tn. Average daily volume or ADV for the month was $1.94tn, an increase of 40.9 percent year-over-year . For the second quarter of 2024, total trading volume was $121.0tn and ADV was $1.92tn, an increase of 48.3% YoY, with preliminary average variable fees per million dollars of volume traded of $2.43.2 Tradeweb CEO Billy Hult said: "Tradeweb in Q2 reported double digit, YoY volume growth in rates, credit, money markets and equities. We set new records for quarterly ADV in U.S. government bonds, fully electronic U.S. high yield and repo, as well as capturing record share of fully electronic U.S. high grade credit. The second quarter of 2024 culminated with a strong June, led by a 54% YoY increase in rates ADV and continued momentum in credit ADV - up 67% YoY. U.S. government bond ADV was up 50.8% YoY to $210.7 billion. European government bond ADV was up 17.4% YoY to $50.5bn. U.S. government bond volumes were supported by growth across all client sectors. Increased adoption across a range of protocols and favorable market conditions contributed to the increase in volume. ...U.S. credit volumes were driven by increased client adoption, most notably in request-for-quote portfolio trading and Tradeweb AllTrade(R). Tradeweb captured 18.9% share of fully electronic U.S. high grade TRACE, and 8.1% share of fully electronic U.S. high yield TRACE. In Europe, portfolio trading and our unique dealer...

07:39 EDT Virpax announces $2.5M loan financing, additional pact with investor - Virpax Pharmaceuticals announced that it has closed a $2.5M secured loan financing from an institutional investor which enabled the final payment of its litigation settlement. As part of this financing, the company's Board of Directors has been reorganized, and has been reduced to seven members from eight. Four new board members have been selected by the institutional investor and appointed to the Board, and five Board members have resigned. "This loan by the institutional investor, combined with an agreement to negotiate additional funding, will allow us to continue fulfilling our mission to develop non-addictive pain drugs as well as other CNS product candidates with high unmet medical need," stated Gerald Bruce, CEO of Virpax Pharmaceuticals. ... Additionally, Virpax announced the changes to its Board of Directors with the appointments of Ms. Judy Su, Mr. Gary Herman, Mr. Jatinder Dhaliwal and Ms. Katharyn Field. Resignations from Virpax's Board were tendered effective upon consummation of the financing by Dr. Jeffrey Gudin, Dr. Thanigavelan Jambulingam, Mr. Michael Dubin, Mr. Jerrold Sendrow and Dr. Barbara Ruskin.

07:35 EDT Applied Materials unveils chip wiring innovations for energy-efficient computing - Applied Materials introduced materials engineering innovations designed to increase the performance-per-watt of computer systems by enabling copper wiring to scale to the 2nm logic node and beyond. Today's most advanced logic chips can contain tens of billions of transistors connected by more than 60 miles of microscopic copper wiring. Each layer of a chip's wiring begins with a thin film of dielectric material, which is etched to create channels that are filled with copper. Low-k dielectrics and copper have been the industry's workhorse wiring combination for decades, allowing chipmakers to deliver improvements in scaling, performance and power-efficiency with each generation. However, as the industry scales to 2nm and below, thinner dielectric material renders chips mechanically weaker, and narrowing the copper wires creates steep increases in electrical resistance that can reduce chip performance and increase power consumption. Applied's Black Diamond material has led the industry for decades, surrounding copper wires with a low-dielectric-constant - or "k-value" - film engineered to reduce the buildup of electrical charges that increase power consumption and cause interference between electrical signals. Applied introduced an enhanced version of Black Diamond, the latest in the company's Producer Black Diamond PECVD family. This new material reduces the minimum k-value to enable scaling to 2nm and below, while offering increased mechanical strength which is becoming critical as chipmakers and systems companies take 3D logic and memory stacking to new heights. The latest Black Diamond technology is being adopted by all leading logic and DRAM chipmakers. To scale chip wiring, chipmakers etch each layer of low-k film to create trenches, then deposit a barrier layer that prevents copper from migrating into the chip and creating yield issues. The barrier is then coated with a liner that ensures adhesion during the final copper reflow deposition sequence, which slowly fills the remaining volume with copper. As chipmakers further scale the wiring, the barrier and liner take up a larger percentage of the volume intended for wiring, and it becomes physically impossible to create low-resistance, void-free copper wiring in the remaining space. Applied Materials publicly introduced its latest IMS which combines six different technologies in one high-vacuum system, including an industry-first combination of materials that enables chipmakers to scale copper wiring to the 2nm node and beyond. The solution is a binary metal combination of ruthenium and cobalt, which simultaneously reduces the thickness of the liner by 33 percent to 2nm, produces better surface properties for void-free copper reflow, and reduces electrical line resistance by up to 25 percent to improve chip performance and power consumption. The new Applied Endura Copper Barrier Seed IMS with Volta Ruthenium CVD is being adopted by all leading logic chipmakers and began shipping to customers at the 3nm node. An animation of the technology can be viewed here.

07:33 EDT HilleVax says NEST-IN1 study did not meet primary, secondary efficacy endpoints - HilleVax announced topline data results from NEST-IN1. NEST-IN1 is a Phase 2b, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of HIL-214 in infants of approximately 5 months of age at the time of initial vaccination at sites in the United States and Latin America. In the NEST-IN1 study there were 51 primary endpoint events with 25 in the vaccine arm and 26 in the placebo arm resulting in vaccine efficacy of 5%. The study did not meet its primary endpoint of efficacy against moderate or severe acute gastroenteritis events due to GI.1 or GII. norovirus genotypes. No clinical benefit was observed across secondary endpoints. HIL-214 exhibited a safety and immunogenicity profile consistent with what was observed in the prespecified analysis of the first 200 subjects in NEST-IN1 and in previously reported studies. The NEST-IN1 study was conducted after a Phase 2b study in adults, NOR-211, demonstrated statistically significant efficacy against moderate or severe AGE due to norovirus. The company plans to discontinue further development of HIL-214 in infants and is exploring the potential for continued development of HIL-214 and HIL-216, HilleVax's Phase 1 ready vaccine candidate, in adults.

07:32 EDT Amarin announces partner EddingPharm received regulatory approval for VASCEPA - Amarin Corporation announced that its commercial partner in Mainland China, EddingPharm, has received regulatory approval for VASCEPA from China's National Medical Products Administration, NMPA. NMPA granted approval for VASCEPA to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events as an adjunct to statin therapy in adult patients with elevated and high triglycerides and established cardiovascular disease or diabetes mellitus with greater than or equal to2 other cardiovascular disease risk factors, combined with hypertriglyceridemia. Following approval by NMPA, EDDING is working to include VASCEPA on the National Reimbursement Drug Listing and augment the ongoing commercial launch of VASCEPA in China to include the CVRR indication. As part of the approval, NMPA has requested that EDDING conduct a post-approval study after the product is marketed to further verify the efficacy of the product to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in Chinese patients and provide a post-approval study report to conduct a life-cycle benefit-risk assessment at the time of product renewal. Product renewal is required five years post the approval of the product.

07:21 EDT Vicinity Motor secures expanded order fo 14 additional Vicinity Lightning buses - Vicinity Motor has received an expansion to its order from strategic partner Sustainability Partners, increasing it's initial order from four Vicinity Lightning electric buses to eighteen via Soderholm Sales & Leasing, Vicinity's Pacific Islands distributor. The 18 Vicinity Lightning electric buses will be used at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu, the largest airport in the State of Hawaii serving 21 million passengers per year. The State of Hawaii Department of Transportation will utilize SP's Electric Vehicles as a Service program to finance the transition of the traditional diesel fleet to Vicinity's electric vehicles. SSL is facilitating the sale and providing long-term technical and maintenance support for the project. The expanded order for eighteen electric buses will be manufactured at Vicinity's Ferndale, Washington facility and is scheduled for delivery in 2024.

07:18 EDT Dundee Precious Metals reports Q2 gold production 67.6K oz. - Reports Q2 copper production 7.9M lbs. "We continue to deliver strong, consistent results from our operations, with gold and copper production increasing in the second quarter as planned," said David Rae, President and Chief Executive Officer. "With both mines on track to achieve our 2024 guidance targets, we are well-positioned to continue our strong operating track record." Chelopech produced approximately 43.7 thousand ounces of gold and 7.9 million pounds of copper in the second quarter. Gold production was slightly higher than expected as a result of better recoveries, while copper production was slightly below plan due to lower-than-expected copper grades. As per the mine plan, the Company continues to expect higher grades over the balance of the year, and Chelopech is on-track to achieve its 2024 guidance targets for gold and copper production. Ada Tepe produced 23.9 thousand ounces of gold in the second quarter, in-line with expectations. Discontinued Operation: In March 2024, DPM announced that it had entered into a definitive share purchase agreement with a subsidiary of Sinomine Resource Group Co. Ltd. for the sale of its interest in the Tsumeb smelter in Namibia. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2024. During the second quarter of 2024, the Tsumeb smelter processed approximately 52.9 thousand tonnes of complex concentrate.

07:17 EDT Lifeist Wellness reports Mikra filed a PLA with Health Canada for CELLF 2.0 NPN - Lifeist Wellness reports that its U.S. biosciences subsidiary Mikra Cellular Sciences has filed a Natural Health Product License Applicationless than LPA, with Health Canada, seeking a Natural Product Number, NPN, for its cellular health product CELLF 2.0. "We're pleased to announce that Mikra has applied to Health Canada for an NPN for CELLF 2.0," said Andrea Judge, CEO of Mikra. "Receiving this NPN will allow us to market and promote CELLF 2.0 throughout Canada, both directly and via multiple other sales channels. We look forward to successfully navigating the Health Canada application process and wish to thank our experienced advisors at KGK Science Inc. for their sound guidance throughout the preparation and drafting of our application."

07:15 EDT Black Diamond Group commences trading on OTCQX - Black Diamond Group announces the Company's common shares have been accepted for trading on the OTCQX Best Market. Commencing today, July 8, 2024 the shares will be available to trade under the symbol "BDIMF" on the OTCQX Best Market, the top tier of OTC Markets. Black Diamond shares will continue to be listed and trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol BDI.

07:13 EDT Fanhua announces grant of share options to key employees - Fanhua announced that its board of directors has recently approved the grant of share options to certain of its key employees. This move is part of the Company's strategy to incentivize key talent and align their interests with the long term success of the Company. In accordance with the Company's 2022 Share Inventive Plan, on July 2, 2024 the Board authorized the issuance of share options to purchase up to 6,900,000 American Depository Shares to 15 management team members of the Company's major subsidiaries. The share options are immediately exercisable until July 15, 2024, subject to certain conditions.

07:13 EDT Devon Energy announces strategic acquisition in Williston Basin - Devon Energy announced it has entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire the Williston Basin business of Grayson Mill Energy in a transaction valued at $5 billion, consisting of $3.25 billion of cash and $1.75 billion of stock to the sellers. The transaction is subject to customary terms and conditions, including various purchase price adjustments, and is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of 2024, with an effective date of June 1, 2024. "The acquisition of Grayson Mill is an excellent strategic fit for Devon that allows us to efficiently expand our oil production and operating scale while capturing a meaningful runway of highly economic drilling inventory," stated Rick Muncrief, Devon's president and CEO. "This transaction also creates immediate value within our financial framework by delivering sustainable accretion to earnings and free cash flow that will result in higher distributions to shareholders over time." Devon will fund the $5 billion acquisition with $3.25 billion of cash and issue 37 million shares of common stock valued at $1.75 billion. The company plans to finance the cash portion of the purchase price through a combination of cash on hand and debt.

07:11 EDT OTC Markets Group welcomes Black Diamond Group to OTCQX - OTC Markets Group announced Black Diamond Group has qualified to trade on the OTCQX Best Market. Black Diamond Group Limited upgraded to OTCQX from the Pink market.

07:10 EDT EDAP TMS appoints Fran Schulz to board of directors - EDAP TMS announced the appointment of Fran Schulz to its Board of Directors. Schulz is a seasoned executive with over 35 years of experience with EY who has spent her career working with large public and emerging private companies throughout the life sciences industry.

07:09 EDT Montrose Environmental acquires Spirit Environmental, terms undisclosed - Montrose Environmental announced the acquisition of Spirit Environmental, a provider of air permitting and compliance services. Spirit's senior leadership team, including founder and CEO Brad Herrin, will join Montrose's Consulting and Engineering division within the company's assessment, permitting and response segment. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Headquartered in Houston, Texas and focusing on the energy and petrochemical industries across the central U.S., Spirit Environmental specializes in air quality consulting services, including permitting, regulatory compliance and dispersion modeling. In addition, Spirit provides environmental consulting services, including water quality, sustainability, waste and natural resources management.

07:08 EDT Ligand to acquire APEIRON Biologics AG for $100M cash - Ligand Pharmaceuticals announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire APEIRON Biologics AG, which holds royalty rights to QARZIBA or dinutuximab beta for the treatment of high-risk neuroblastoma, for $100M in cash. In addition, Ligand will pay APEIRON shareholders additional consideration based on future commercial and regulatory events, including up to $28M if QARZIBA royalties exceed certain predetermined thresholds by either 2030 or 2034, respectively. APEIRON is a private biopharmaceutical company based in Vienna, Austria. ..."The addition of QARZIBA to our commercial royalty portfolio further supports our growth strategy to invest in high-value medicines that deliver significant clinical value and generate Under the terms of the agreement, which has been unanimously approved by both the Board of Directors at Ligand and APEIRON's Supervisory Board, Ligand will acquire all the outstanding shares of APEIRON for $100 million in cash at closing. Ligand will also pay APEIRON shareholders additional consideration based on future commercial and regulatory events, including up to $28 million if QARZIBA royalties exceed certain predetermined thresholds by either 2030 or 2034, respectively. The transaction is subject to a 30-day shareholder objection period and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close in July 2024. Concurrently, Ligand is also entering into a stock purchase agreement whereby it has committed to investing up to $4 million in invIOs Holding AG, a privately held spin-off of APEIRON. The proceeds will help finance the research and development of three innovative early-stage immuno-oncology assets. APEIRON is entitled to royalties and milestone payments on these assets which will further expand Ligand's development stage portfolio. This transaction is expected to close in July 2024. Financial Guidance Update The APEIRON acquisition will be immediately accretive to Ligand's earnings per share by approximately $1.00 on an annualized basis. Ligand is increasing its 2024 revenue guidance to be in the range of $140 million to $157 million previously $130 million to $142 million and is raising core adjusted EPS guidance to $5.00 to $5.50 previously $4.25 to $4.75 . Royalties are now expected to range from $100 million to $105 million previously $90 million to $95 million . Guidance for sales of Captisol is unchanged at $25 million to $27 million and contract revenue is now expected to range from $15 million to $25 million, previously $15M to $20M .

07:08 EDT iTeos Therapeutics announces first patient dosed in GALAXIES Lung-301 study - iTeos Therapeutics (ITO)S announced the dosing of the first patient in GALAXIES Lung-301, a global, randomized, double-blind Phase 3 registrational clinical trial of belrestotug + dostarlimab versus placebo + pembrolizumab in patients with first-line advanced, unresectable, or metastatic PD-L1 high NSCLC. This event has triggered $35 million in development milestone payments from GSK (GSK), its partner for belrestotug. "Dosing the first patient in the GALAXIES Lung-301 study marks a significant milestone for belrestotug + dostarlimab. iTeos was founded with the goal of advancing therapeutic options for patients by leveraging best-in-class science. The decision to launch our first TIGIT:PD-1 doublet Phase 3 trial underscores our disciplined, data-driven investment approach and was informed by several promising preliminary clinical surrogates such as safety, ORR, and depth of response from the latest interim analysis in May 2024," said Michel Detheux, Ph.D., president and chief executive officer of iTeos. "We are excited about the ongoing Phase 2 GALAXIES Lung-201 trial and look forward to presenting data from the most recent interim analysis of this study at a medical meeting in 2024."

07:07 EDT Lexeo Therapeutics appoints Tim Van Hauwermeiren to board of directors - Lexeo Therapeutics (LXEO) announced the appointment of Tim Van Hauwermeiren, co-founder and CEO of argenx SE (ARGX), as an independent, non-executive director to its Board of Directors.

07:06 EDT PyroGenesis announces purchase of Drosrite International - PyroGenesis Canada announces that the Company has purchased 100% control of Drosrite International, a US-based private company, for CAD$1.00. Drosrite International had already been, on an accounting basis, a subsidiary of the Company, but legally a stand-alone entity. An exclusive agreement was entered into between PyroGenesis and Drosrite International on August 29, 2019, under which Drosrite International received the required rights from PyroGenesis to manufacture, market, sell and distribute Drosrite systems and technology to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and certain other countries in the Middle East. With the purchase agreement announced today, the Company acquires full control of Drosrite International.

07:04 EDT Bio-Path provides clinical update, expansion plans - Bio-Path Holdings provides an update on the Company's clinical progress and plans for expansion. Clinical Program Overview: Bio-Path's clinical development program consists of one Phase 2 clinical trial and three Phase 1 or 1/1b clinical trials. Bio-Path has developed a molecular biomarker package to accompany prexigebersen treatment and is currently expanding prexigebersen preclinical studies for the treatment of obesity. Prexigebersen Phase 2 Clinical Trial - The study is currently paused for an interim analysis, amendment preparation and U.S. Food and Drug Administration review. Bio-Path expects to complete enrollment in cohorts 1 and 2 of the study over the next eighteen months. Phase 1/1b Clinical Trial in BP1001-A in Advanced Solid Tumors - In recent months, Bio-Path advanced to dose level 2 and expects to complete enrollment in order to advance to dose level 3 by year-end. Phase 1/1b Clinical Trial in BP1002 in Relapsed/Refractory AML - Bio-Path recently completed the second dose cohort of 40 mg/m2 and is completing an analysis of PK/PD data to be submitted to the FDA in order to advance to the next dose level. Upon submission of data and approval from FDA, Bio-Path expects to advance to dose level 3 in the fourth quarter of 2024. Phase 1 Clinical Trial in BP1002 in Refractory/Relapsed Lymphoma and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia - Enrollment has continued for patients in the second BP1002 dose cohort of 40 mg/m2 and the Company expects to complete enrollment and to review these data by year-end. Preclinical Work for BP1003 - The Company continues to advance its drug candidate, BP1003, for the treatment of advanced solid tumors, including pancreatic cancer. BP1003 is an antisense RNAi nanoparticle targeting the STAT3 protein. Plans are to conduct a Phase 1 study of BP1003 in patients with refractory, metastatic solid tumors. Prexigebersen as Potential Treatment for Obesity and Obesity-related Cancers - The Company is preparing for preclinical development evaluating prexigebersen for the treatment of obesity and will continue thereafter to conduct additional Investigational New Drug-enabling studies with an aim to advance prexigebersen into first-in-human studies in this indication.

07:03 EDT AerCap announces major business transactions during Q2 - AerCap Holdings (AER) has announced its major business transactions during the second quarter 2024: Signed 162 lease agreements, including 6 widebody aircraft, 88 narrow body aircraft, 47 engines and 21 helicopters. Completed 47 purchases for 25 aircraft, including 2 Airbus (EADSY) A220 Family aircraft, 15 Airbus A320neo Family aircraft, 3 Airbus A330neos, 2 Boeing (BA) 737 MAX aircraft, 1 Boeing 787-9 and 2 Embraer E195-E2s for AerCap's owned aircraft portfolio, 20 engines and 2 helicopters. Completed 37 sale transactions for 29 aircraft (including 4 Airbus A320 Family aircraft, 9 Airbus A320neo Family aircraft, 1 Airbus A330, 7 Boeing 737NGs, 2 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, 1 Boeing 777-300ER and 4 Embraer E190s from AerCap's owned aircraft portfolio and 1 aircraft from AerCap's managed aircraft portfolio), 7 engines (including 2 engines from AerCap's owned engine portfolio and 5 engines from AerCap's managed engine portfolio) and 1 helicopter. Repurchased approximately 3.9M shares, at an average price of $88.66 per share, for a total of approximately $345M. Paid first quarterly cash dividend on ordinary shares of 25c per share. Signed financing transactions for approximately $3.6B.

07:02 EDT Plymouth Industrial REIT provides activity update for Q2 - Plymouth Industrial REIT announced its leasing and development activity for the second quarter of 2024. The Company also announced details for its second quarter earnings conference call and webcast to be held on August 1, 2024. Leases commencing during the second quarter ended June 30, 2024 totaled an aggregate of 1,811,939 square feet, all of which are associated with terms of at least six months. The final project in the first phase of Plymouth's development program, a 52,920-square-foot, fully leased building in Jacksonville, is expected to come online in the fourth quarter of 2024. Jeff Witherell, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Plymouth, noted, "Leasing is an important component of our organic growth, and we have continued to execute on our opportunities for both 2024 and 2025. We have addressed many of our top 10 renewals coming up over the next couple of years, have strong prospects on our largest opportunity and expect to bring our development program to 100% leased."

06:52 EDT Eli Lilly to acquire Morphic for $57 per share in cash

06:44 EDT Spire Global awarded C$1.41M contract from Government of Canada - Spire Global was awarded a C$1.41M contract by the Government of Canada for the provision of global automatic identification system ship tracking data. The one-year contract includes options for two additional years, extending the total potential contract value to nearly C$4.23M. Under the contract, Spire will share its real-time global ship tracking data, providing unparalleled visibility in both open oceans and high-traffic zones. The Company will also provide historical AIS data as well as its AIS position validation capabilities, which leans on its expertise in radio frequency geolocation to determine the true location of a ship even when its signal is manipulated. The data will be used by a variety of agencies and departments within the Canadian government, including the Canadian Space Agency, the Department of National Defense, Transport Canada, and the Canadian Coast Guard. Spire offers the highest volume of AIS messages tracked by satellite.

06:36 EDT Hyzon Motors to halt operations in the Netherlands, Australia - Hyzon announced that after considering its options as well as completing its assessment of the challenging market conditions across Europe and Australia, the company will halt its operations in the Netherlands and Australia. Hyzon said the government support for fuel cell-powered transportation in Europe and Australia has waned, including the disbandment in many European countries of hydrogen subsidies. Hyzon currently intends to maintain the potential to return to the European and Australian markets as a fuel cell system supplier to Original Equipment Manufacturers. In connection with the planned exit activities, the company expects to incur charges of approximately $17M, of which approximately $7M is expected to be in cash. Components of the charges include non-cash inventory write-downs of approximately $7M, employee-related costs of approximately $3M, other exit related costs of approximately $4M and non-cash impairment charges of approximately $3M. The company expects to incur these costs in the second and third quarters of 2024 and make the related cash payments in the third and fourth quarters of 2024. Further, the company anticipates derecognition of certain liabilities, which may result in non-cash gains in the third and fourth quarters of 2024. The company is presently unable to estimate these non-cash gains.

06:34 EDT TuHURA enters exclusivity agreement with Kineta for KVA12123 - TuHURA Biosciences and Kintara Therapeutics (KTRA) announced TuHURA has entered into an exclusivity and right of first offer agreement with Kineta (KA) for the potential acquisition of Kineta's KVA12123 anti-VISTA antibody and related rights and assets associated with and derived from the asset. Under the terms of the agreement, TuHURA will pay Kineta $5M, with $2.5M paid at signing and, subject to certain provisions, an additional $2.5M to be paid by July 15. In conjunction with the agreement, TuHURA sold $5M of shares of its common stock in a private offering to an existing shareholder. The exclusivity period under the agreement lasts for 90 days, subject to extension for an additional 20 days.

06:14 EDT Ideaya Biosciences announces clinical data from IDE397 trial - Ideaya Biosciences announced clinical data for the IDE397 Phase 2 monotherapy expansion dose in methylthioadenosine phosphorylase, or MTAP-deletion urothelial and non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC, patients. IDE397 is a potent and selective potential first-in-class methionine adenosyltransferase 2 alpha, or MAT2A, inhibitor in Phase 2 clinical trials for the treatment of MTAP-deletion solid tumors. The company observed encouraging clinical activity at the 30 mg expansion dose in its Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating its potential first-in-class MAT2A inhibitor IDE397 in heavily pre-treated MTAP-deletion urothelial cancer and NSCLC patients. The patients evaluated had a median of two prior lines of therapy, ranging from one to seven prior lines of treatment. The reported Phase 2 clinical data are based on eighteen evaluable MTAP-deletion patients, including seven urothelial cancer, four adenocarcinoma NSCLC, and seven squamous NSCLC patients at the expansion dose of 30 mg once-a-day of IDE397. Reported clinical efficacy and tolerability data are preliminary and based on investigator review from an unlocked database as of the data analysis cutoff date of June 21. The clinical data update in the eighteen evaluable patients by RECIST 1.1 include: ~39% overall response rate, or ORR. One complete response and six partial responses by RECIST 1.1 evaluation out of eighteen evaluable patients. Two partial responses are awaiting confirmation, including one urothelial cancer patient that had a 100% tumor reduction in the target lesion at the last CT-scan assessment and one adenocarcinoma NSCLC patient. One complete response and two partial responses were urothelial cancer patients. Among patients with lung cancer, three partial responses were squamous NSCLC patients, and one partial response was an adenocarcinoma NSCLC patient. There was one non-evaluable patient who discontinued due to rapid clinical progression of cancer fatigue and drug-unrelated adverse events in cycle 1 of treatment. 94% Disease Control Rate. One complete response, six partial responses, and ten stable disease by RECIST 1.1 evaluation out of eighteen evaluable patients. 78% of patients with tumor shrinkage. Fourteen (14) out of eighteen (18) evaluable patients observed tumor shrinkage. Swim lane plot by CT-scan evaluation and preliminary durability assessment: Eleven of eighteen patients still on treatment. Five of seven RECIST 1.1 responses remain in response. Median duration of treatment, median duration of response, and median progression free survival not yet reached 81% ctDNA Molecular Response Rate. Thirteen of sixteen patients with 50% or greater ctDNA reduction. There were several quality control failures of patient samples that led to unavailability for MR analysis. Favorable adverse event profile. Approximately 5.6% grade 3 or higher drug-related AEs and no drug-related serious adverse events observed at IDE397 30mg once-a-day expansion dose. No drug-related AEs leading to discontinuations observed. The company anticipates that the favorable AE profile and dosing convenience of a 30 mg once-a-day tablet has the potential to enable long-term dosing and combination development 30mg once daily expansion dose achieves target drug coverage and plasma S-adenosyl-l-methionine pharmacodynamic reduction associated with preclinical tumor regressions. Ideaya has activated over 35 clinical trial sites globally in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and Asia Pacific to enable potential rapid enrollment for the IDE397 Phase 2 monotherapy expansion in MTAP-deletion lung and bladder cancer in its ongoing trial. There is also an Amgen-sponsored Phase 1/2 trial of IDE397 and AMG 193 combination in MTAP-Deletion NSCLC for which the companies intend to develop a joint publication strategy in 2024. In addition, IDEAYA has initiated enrollment in a Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics and efficacy of IDE397 in combination with Trodelvy. Ideaya is also advancing multiple preclinical stage MTAP-deletion programs to enable wholly-owned combinations with IDE397, including a program targeting a development candidate nomination in the second half of 2024.

06:03 EDT Oshkosh Defense says U.S. Army places orders valued at $231.9M - Oshkosh Defense, an Oshkosh business, announced today that the U.S. Army Contracting Command - Detroit Arsenal placed orders valued at $231.9M for modernized heavy tactical vehicles, kits and kit installs. Under the orders, Oshkosh will produce new Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck A4 tankers, cargos, wreckers, load handling systems, Common Bridge Transports and Palletized Load System A1s.

05:29 EDT Uxin enters partnership with Zhengzhou Airport to establish joint venture - Uxin announced a strategic partnership with Zhengzhou Airport to establish Uxin Intelligent Remanufacturing joint venture. Pursuant to the joint venture agreement, Uxin Industrial Investment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Uxin, will contribute RMB 120M and Zhengzhou Airport Industry will contribute RMB 50M, representing approximately 70% and 30% of the joint venture's total registered capital, respectively. The joint venture aims to support Uxin's plan to establish a new used car super store in Zhengzhou. This initiative is a key collaboration between Uxin and Zhengzhou Airport Industry to promote the development of the automotive aftermarket industry in the Henan Province and to build a brand in China's used car industry.

05:23 EDT Paramount enters merger agreement with Skydance Media - Skydance Media and Paramount announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to form "New Paramount", through a two-step transaction including the acquisition of National Amusements, or NAI, which holds the controlling share stake in Paramount, and subsequently a merger of Skydance and Paramount Global. The management team of New Paramount, led by David Ellison as chairman and CEO and Jeff Shell as president. Under the terms of the agreement, which has been approved by the Paramount board of directors, acting on the unanimous recommendation of the special committee, and by National Amusements, NAI, majority owner of Paramount's Class A stock, Skydance will merge with Paramount in a transaction valuing New Paramount at an enterprise value of approximately $28B. Existing Skydance investors will receive 317M newly issued Class B shares in New Paramount valuing Skydance at $4.75B based on $15 per Paramount Class B share. Skydance IG, led by the Ellison Family and RedBird Capital Partners, will invest up to $6B to: offer Class A stockholders other than NAI an election to receive in the merger $23 cash per share or 1.5333 shares of Class B stock of New Paramount; offer Class B stockholders other than NAI an election to receive in the merger $15 cash per share or one share of Class B stock of New Paramount, subject to proration if Class B elections exceed $4.3B in the aggregate; use the additional capital to paydown debt and re-capitalize the balance sheet of New Paramount to support strategic initiatives. The merger consideration represents a 48% premium to the price of the Class B stock as of July 1 and a 28% premium to the Class A stock on the same date. Also, by continuing to own shares of the new combined company, Paramount Class B stockholders will have the opportunity to participate in the new company's long-term value creation potential. NAI and its owners have entered into a definitive agreement to sell NAI to Skydance IG for $2.4B on a cash-free, debt-free basis. Following completion of the transaction, only Skydance IG will hold Class A shares. Following the close of the transaction and the growth equity investment and assuming full participation in the cash election by Class B stockholders, Class B stockholders will own approximately 30% of the outstanding equity of New Paramount and Skydance IG will own approximately 70% of the outstanding equity of New Paramount. When the transaction closes, David Ellison will become chairman and CEO. Jeff Shell, chairman of RedBird Sports & Media and former CEO of NBCUniversal, will be president. NAI, which holds approximately 77% of the Paramount Class A shares, has delivered a written consent approving the transaction. No further stockholder approval is required. The consummation of the transaction is not subject to any financing condition. Completion of this transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. The transaction is anticipated to close in the first half of 2025. The definitive transaction agreement includes a 45-day go-shop period during which the special committee of Paramount's board of directors, with the assistance of its financial advisors, will be permitted to actively solicit and evaluate alternative acquisition proposals. There can be no assurance that this process will result in a superior proposal, and Paramount does not intend to disclose developments with respect to the go-shop process unless and until it determines such disclosure is appropriate or is otherwise required.