STOCKS TELEGRAPH

Author: ST Staff

  • How Is The VERB Stock Skyrocketing In Premarket Session, Jumping 26%?

    Last check, Verb Technology Company Inc. (VERB) was up 25.70% to $3.31 in premarket trading. Wednesday’s session ended with VERB stock up 12.16% at $2.49. The volume of shares remained at 83.15 million, which was higher than the average daily volume of 8.26 million shares during the past 50 days. VERB’s shares rose by 126.36% over the past year, and they have risen by 39.11% in the past week.

    VERB stock price has appreciated 109.24% over the past three months, while its price has declined 35.33% over the past six months. Furthermore, VERB’s current market value is $154.60 million while its outstanding shares are 63.37 million. As a result of a new partnership, VERB stock is rising.

    For what purpose was that partnership?

    Businesses can engage customers and attract new business by using VERB. Based on its proprietary interactive video technology, VERB’s Software-as-a-Service platform allows customers to subscribe to a suite of sales enablement products. VERB’s software programs are available in more than 60 countries and in more than 48 languages. This makes VERB’s tools really convenient for sales teams in large corporations as well as small businesses. VerbCRM, verbMAIL, verbTEAMS, verbLIVE, and verbTEAMS are part of a full integrated suite of VERB’s applications, as well as standalone products, as well as mobile applications.

    In conjunction with the VERB, the global e-commerce and product brokerage company Market America Worldwide l SHOP.COM has launched SHOP LIVE.

    • ‘SHOP LIVE’ is an interactive, live webcast channel designed for each of Market America Worldwide’s unfranchise owners (UFOs) to market their products.
    • SHOP LIVE allows each UFO to broadcast their own live broadcast anytime, anywhere, 24/7, talking about, showcasing, and selling products to their current and prospective customers.
    • With SHOP LIVE’s launch, not only will UnFranchise Marketing App users have access to the latest technology to help their businesses flourish, but individuals with a similar entrepreneurial spirit can also earn supplemental income.
    • By using verbLIVE, VERB’s interactive livestream ecommerce application, SHOP LIVE lets viewers connect with UFOs directly during the session through clickable images in the video, granting them access to purchases, additional product specifications, and more.
    • With the “attribution” feature, UFOs can reward their existing customers or prospective customers who share SHOP LIVE invitations.

    How is VERB different from others?

    With the creation of an easy-to-use app, VERB creates a seamless, fun, social, video-based sales experience that engages customers. Market America Worldwide’s UFOs can utilize VERB’s best of class application to monitor every viewer engagement in real time. The results can be used to more effectively drive sales conversion rates. Over 100,000 UFOs have already received this initial release in Asia, Europe and North America.

  • Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. (WHG) Stock Surges Following USD$25 Per Share Bid by Americana Partners

    Westwood Holdings Group, Inc. (WHG) stock prices were up 19.79% some time after market trading commenced on July 14th 2021, bringing the price per share up to USD$23.43 early on in the trading day.

    Americana’s Bid

    July 14th, 2021 saw Americana Partners wealth manager make a USD$25 a share bid for WHG, representing a massive 28% premium to acquire the publicly traded financial advisory and mutual fund firm and turn it into a private company. The all-cash offer for the company by Americana will see the acuiqisiont of approximately USD$15 billion in assets under its management as of June 2021. With the company being valued at almost USD$165 million, WHG has not yet engaged with Americana.

    Americana’s Motivation

    While the company’s stock price rose by an impressive 37% since January, Americana believes that the company has produced negative returns over the past three and five-year periods. Americana also maintains that the company could benefit from being out of the spotlight of public markets, facilitating better financial performance and returns on shareholder investments.

    Building Towards the Merger

    Based out of Houston, Americana has plans to expand its scope across Texas. To facilitate this expansion, it is eyeing the company’s wealth and trust businesses, which it hopes to incorporate into its efforts. The bid came shortly after JCP Investment Management, the company’s biggest investor, began to pressure WHG management and leadership to consider alternatives for the company, including a sale, more publicly.

    Scope of Merger

    A regulatory filing from April 2021 saw the owner of JCP, which owns 10.37% of WHG, report his intentions to communicate with management and the board in regard to strategic options available to them. 2020 set records for the wealth sector, with more than 200 deals being reported to have been completed. Americana came into existence in 2019 when its principals spun off from Morgan Stanley. The company has roughly USD$4.5 billion in assets under its management.

    Future Outlook for WHG

    Armed with a potential merger that will see the company’s equity value skyrocket, WHG is poised to capitalize on the confidence inspired by Americana’s bid. Current and potential investors are hopeful that management will be able to leverage its resources and expertise in order to make an effective strategic decision for the company that will ensure long-term and organic returns to shareholder investments.

  • Datasea, Inc. (DTSS) Stock Skyrockets Following Announcement of 5G Agreements with Six Chinese Companies

    Datasea, Inc. (DTSS) stock prices soared by 46.4061% some time after market trading commenced on July 14th, 2021, bringing the price per share up to USD$4.2897 early on in the trading day.

    Purchase and Distribution Agreements

    July 14th, 2021 saw the company announce the signing of six purchase and distribution agreements by its wholly-owned subsidiary company, ShuhaiZhangxun Information Technology. The agreements will provide 5G Message-marketing Cloud Platform (5G MMCP) Version 3.0, while further enhancing product availability across China by adding new district partners. 5G MMCP is designed to unify customer and prospect marketing signals in a single view with functions such as precise SaaS value-added services, data monetization, and message marketing.

    Details of Agreements

    The companies that DTSS entered into the agreement with are spread out across Nei Mongol, Anhui, Chongqing, and Zhejiang. As per the agreement, DTSS and its partners will collaborate to capitalize on the exclusive authorization in designated districts in regard to the distribution of 5G MMCP Version 3.0, with access to commissions from sales. In return, the partnering companies will compensate DTSS for the provision of 5G messaging products and services. The total value of the deals comes out to roughly USD$136,940, of which DTSS has received USD$75,796.

    Building on Success

    The company’s research and development team continues its ongoing efforts to advance and consolidate its product offerings, with the constant development proving transformational, with the right execution. Concurrently, the company is continuing the rapid expansion of its distribution network across the country, with its most recent partnerships signaling the success of their strategy.

    Expanding Scope of DTSS

    The company has also reported seeing a surge in demand, as well as increasing inquiries from customers and business partners in regard to 5G MMCP. With the company pushing for the expansion of the scope of commercialization of 5G messaging to be introduced in the Chinese market, the company is keen to work closely with its customers and business partners in order to expand and consolidate its market footprint with a comprehensive marketing plan.

    Future Outlook for DTSS

    Armed with several new collaborative partners, DTSS is keen to leverage the resources at its disposal to continue proliferating the telecommunications market. Current and potential investors are confident that management will be able to allocate resources appropriately, so as to ensure significant and sustained increases in shareholder value.

  • Qualigen Therapeutics, Inc. (QLGN) Stock on the Rise Following IND Submission for Novel Covid-19 Treatment, QN-165

    Qualigen Therapeutics, Inc. (QLGN) stock prices were up 1.6854% as of the market opening on July 14th, 2021, with premarket trading having seen the stock rise sharply. As of writing, the price per share of QLGN stock was USD$1.81.

    IND Submission

    July 14th, 2021 saw the biotechnology company announce the submission of an Investigational New Drug Application to the U.S Food and Drug Administration with an initial target indication for the treatment of hospitalized Covid-19 patients with the company’s QN-165. The DNA aptamer is a broad-based antiviral drug candidate that has shown antiviral activity in various in vitro assays against a plethora of viruses.

    Milestone for QLGN

    The significant milestone is the first IND application submitted by the company for its most advanced therapeutics program. The IND application submission for Phase 1b/2a clinical trials for QN-165 represents another step in the company’s evolution from a globally patented and commercially successful diagnostics company to a clinical-stage therapeutics company with multiple programs.

    QN-165

    QN-165 is a unique drug candidate that presents an entirely novel approach to combating viruses, which the company thinks it will be able to work against all virus strains and variants. The treatment is a piece of synthetic DNA that does not target the coronavirus directly, as existing treatments do. Rather, it targets and binds to the nucleolin protein and has the capacity to enter cells that overexpress nucleolin. Nucleolin is exploited by viruses such as Covid-19 to gain access to a cell, manipulating it for its own viral replication purposes.

    Scope of QN-165

    By tying up nucleolin, QN-165 is anticipated to block the mechanism entirely, thus preventing the virus replication process. Because of this, even the mutation of the virus is not expected to result in a loss of efficacy of the treatment, on account of nucleolin being targeted instead of the virus itself. This is what the company believes will make the treatment effective against a plethora of viral mutations, including all strains and variants of the novel coronavirus.

    Future Outlook for QLGN

    With the world hurtling towards global immunizations, the onslaught of variants and strains that pop up across the globe are becoming an increasingly significant concern. Treatments such as QN-165 are set to address those concerns, thereby signaling the massive potential for commercialization and proliferation of the expansive market. Investors are hopeful that management will leverage its resources to deliver the treatment as quickly as possible, thus ensuring maximum increases in shareholder value.

  • What Is Driving The Asensus (ASXC) Stock Higher In Early Trades?

    Shares of Asensus Surgical Inc. (ASXC) have gained 5.69% to trade at $2.60 at the start of the trading on Wednesday. The Asensus stock decreased -5.02% to $2.46 during the last trading session. There was a trading volume of 3.96 million shares of ASXC stock, which is lower than the average daily volume published for the last 50 days of 11.12 million shares.

    During the last five days, shares of the ASXC stock are down 13.68%; however, over the last month, they are down 23.60%. Since the beginning of the year, ASXC stock has risen 293.60 percent. Following an FDA submission, ASXC stock has been rising today.

    What has ASXC filed?

    By unlocking clinical intelligence, Asensus enables consistently superior surgical outcomes and a new standard of care through a digital interface between surgeon and patient. With the Senhance Surgical System powered by the Intelligent Surgical Unit (ISU), ASXC builds upon the foundation of digital laparoscopy to increase surgeon control and reduce surgical variability.

    ASXC intends to address the current clinical, cognitive, and economic obstacles driving surgical outcomes and value-based healthcare outcomes holistically by integrating machine vision, artificial intelligence, and deep learning capabilities throughout the surgical experience.

    Today, Asensus announced it had filed a 510(k) with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to expand the capabilities of its previously approved Intelligent Surgical Unit (ISU).

    • In addition to ASXC’s Senhance Surgical System, the ISU is employed on the Senhance for digital laparoscopy.
    • Enhancing ASXC’s augmented intelligence capabilities is the next key to increasing its competitiveness in digital surgery.
    • ASXC will soon be adding new capabilities to the Senhance Surgical System.
    • With these new features, surgeons would be able to perform surgery in a more consistent manner and have access to new planning tools not available before in digital and robotic surgery
    • In its current state, the ISU offers the ability to control the camera from within a surgical field through machine vision, recognizing certain objects and locations and allowing the surgeon to change the field of view using instruments.
    • With the new features of ASXC, users will have access to more advanced features that will gather real-time data during surgeries based on the anatomical structures of the surgical site.

    What does ASXC’s new functionality entail?

    As a result of this submission, Asensus (ASXC) will continue to lead augmented intelligence and machine vision in surgery in the future. In addition to surgical planning and decision support, the new capabilities will enhance teaching capabilities for ASXC.

  • Covanta (CVA) Stock Rose 7% Premarket. How Did That Happen?

    Covanta Holding Corporation (CVA) shares were up 7.32% in pre-market trading at $19.94 at the last check. The value of Covanta stock decreased -1.01% or $0.19 last session to $18.58. While the session was underway, shares of CVA fluctuated between $18.4421 and $18.77. Shares of CVA stock traded on the day decreased to 0.68 million, less than its 50-day volume of 0.97 million and below the 0.93 million shares traded throughout the year.

    The CVA stock has advanced 105.76% over the past year, and the stock has moved up 4.68% in the past week. A total of 35.92% has been gained by CVA stock in the last six months, and 37.73% has been gained in the last three months. CVA shares have returned 41.51% thus far this year. Furthermore, the price to earnings ratio of CVA stock is 422.27. An acquisition deal involving CVA is boosting CVA stock.

    What is CVA’s acquisition deal?

    Covanta is a leading provider of sustainable waste and energy management solutions. Approximately 21 million tons of municipal and business wastes are safely converted into clean, renewable electricity through the CVA’s Waste-to-Energy (“WtE”) facilities every year, generating enough electricity to power one million homes and reuse 600,000 tons of metals. As a result of its extensive network of treatment and recycling facilities, CVA also offers solutions to companies who are seeking solutions to some of today’s most challenging environmental issues.

    A definitive agreement between Covanta and EQT Infrastructure (“EQT”) was announced today.

    • CVA’s shares will be acquired by EQT at a price of $20.25 per share as part of the agreement.
    • On June 8th, the day before initial speculation of a deal broke, CVA’s share price was $14.78.
    • The purchase price represents approximately 37% more than that price.
    • CVA shareholder approval and customary government approvals are needed for the acquisition.
    • CVA expects that this transaction will close by the end of the year.
    • Resulting from a competitive sale process, the agreement has no financing conditions.
    • Covanta operates facilities in North America, Europe, and the UK, making it the world’s leading waste-to-energy provider.
    • More than a million homes are powered by CVA’s renewable electricity each year from waste processed at over 40 facilities.
    • The comprehensive analysis CVA conducted during the past nine months has been solely focused on improving shareholder value.
    • A strategic review by CVA certainly yielded EQT’s recognition of the value of CVA’s businesses, and the transaction represents a successful outcome of that review.

    How will this deal turn out?

    EQT will work with Covanta (CVA)’s management team to capitalize on Covanta’s capabilities, including a thriving waste-to-energy pipeline in the UK, as well as its integrated environmental products. A majority of CVA’s management team is expected to remain in place and the company’s corporate headquarters will remain in Morristown, New Jersey.

  • eMagin Corp. (EMAN) Stock Undergoes Minor Volatility Coinciding with Participation in TechBlick Conference

    eMagin Corp. (EMAN) stock prices were down 6.03% at the end of the trading day on July 13th, 2021, bringing the price per share down to USD$2.96. Subsequent premarket fluctuations have seen the stock recover by 2.36%, bringing it up to USD$3.03.

    Revenue Breakdown

    The first quarter of 2021 saw the company report total revenues, which consists of both product revenue and contract revenue, in the amount of USD$6.8 million, up from the USD$6.7 million reported in the prior year quarter. Product revenue for the quarter were reported at USD$6.1 million, USD$0.5 million improvement from the numbers reported for Q1 2020. This increase was largely driven by the increase in display revenues, which, in turn, were derived from higher sales to medical and veterinary customers. Contract revenues were down to USD$0.7 million from the USD$1.1 million reported in the prior year quarter, reflecting the completion of various government contracts in the 2020 quarter.

    Gross Margin and Profit

    Total gross margin for the quarter was reported at 25%, with a gross profit of USD$1.7 million. This is comparable to the 21% gross margin and USD$1.4 million in gross profits for the 2020 quarter. The year-over-year improvements were largely driven by improvements in yields, higher product revenues, and the impact of a change in overhead allocation. The gains were partially offset by lower contract revenues for the 2020 quarter.

    Net Loss Reports

    Net loss for the 2021 quarter was reported at USD$7.4 million, representing a net loss of USD$0.10 per share, up from the USD$1.4 million in the prior year quarter, representing a net loss of USD$0.03 per share. This year-over-year difference is largely attributable to USD$7.2 million non-cash loss related to the change in fair value of a warranty liability for the current period.

    Solid Liquidity Position

    The company reported a solid liquidity position of USD$10.7 million in cash and cash equivalents as of March 31st 2021. Further consolidating the healthy financial position is the availability of USD$8.3 million in working capital. The first quarter of 2021 saw the company repay USD$1.7 million as per its asset-based lending facility, as well as realized proceeds from the exercise of warrants in the amount of USD$5.1 million.

    Future Outlook for EMAN

    Armed with a solid liquidity position and the success of its quarterly financial report, EMAN is poised to capitalize on the continued growth it expects for the upcoming quarters. Current and potential investors are hopeful that management will be able to leverage the resources at their disposal to extrapolate the company’s recent success, resulting in significant and sustained increases in shareholder value.

  • What Is Driving The CleanSpark (CLSK) Stock Higher In Premarket Session?

    As of the last check, shares of the diversified software, services, and Bitcoin mining company CleanSpark Inc. (CLSK) have risen 2.64% to $15.18 in pre-market trading. In the last trading session, CleanSpark stock lost -4.58% to finish at $14.79. The price range of CLSK stock was between $14.76 and $15.26.

    A total of 1.09 million shares of CLSK stock traded in the session, below its daily average of 2.13 million shares over 100 days. Since the beginning of the month, CLSK shares have lost -19.00%, dropping -8.48% over the past five days. As a result of signing the agreement with the crypto-miner, CLSK stock is surging.

    CLSK has signed agreements with whom?

    CleanSpark is a Nevada corporation which provides advanced technology solutions to address modern energy challenges through software, controls, and other technologies. The CLSK portfolio includes software products that support energy market communications, end-to-end microgrid modeling, and energy management.

    CLSK provides smart data center and data center management services, along with energy monitoring and control software, microgrid design software, middleware communication protocols for the energy industry, and implementation services. The firm’s facility outside of Atlanta, Georgia, also houses Bitcoin miners owned and operated by CLSK and its subsidiaries.

    Earlier today, CleanSpark announced that it had signed a partnership agreement with Coinmint.

    • As part of the agreement, CLSK will deploy nearly 25 MW of Bitmain S19 Pro mining equipment at a Coinmint site.
    • Coinmint’s Massena, New York facility will be home to approximately 750 PH/s of hashrate capacity when CLSK deploys it between July and September 2021.
    • Aside from providing 25 MW of electricity, Coinmint is providing operations support and committing to 98% uptime in order to support this hashrate.
    • With this agreement, CLSK expects its overall hashrate to be increased to 1.2 EH/s across all Bitcoin mining locations upon installation, and believes that it will enable CleanSpark to maximize its Bitcoin production while maintaining all aspects of its ESG-based mining philosophy.
    • World’s largest private digital currency data center is operated by Coinmint. It is primarily derived from hydroelectricity, and includes all of its sources to produce a 94% carbon-free energy mix.
    • As part of its commitment to ESG (“environment, social, and corporate governance”), Coinmint powers its operations mainly by renewable energy. It also creates jobs for residents of the community.
    • Also, CLSK and Coinmint intend to collaborate on continuing their efforts to achieve 100% renewable energy.

    What will CLSK gain from this?

    CLSK’s Atlanta facilities will have a total capacity of 50MW after it completes its 30MW energy expansion. Upon arrival in Atlanta from September 2021 to January 2022, CleanSpark (CLSK) intends to deploy miners to utilize the entire capacity. The total deployed hashrate for CleanSpark (CLSK) will reach 2.1 EH/s after installation.

  • Energous Corp. (WATT) Stock Trending Higher Following Availability of Latest Wireless Charging Technology

    Energous Corp. (WATT) stock prices were down by 5.67% as of the market closing on July 13th, 2021, bringing the price per share down to USD$2.33. Subsequent premarket fluctuations have seen the stock rise by 4.29%, bringing it up to USD$2.43.

    Active Energy Harvesting Developer Kit

    July 14th 2021 saw the developer of WattUp announce the availability of its newest 5.5W Active Energy Harvesting Developer Kit, which will serve to enable at-a-distance wireless charging for the expanding ecosystem of industrial Internet of Things and other connected devices. This is a major step forward from the existing passive solutions that harness ambient energy from their surroundings, typically offering very low amounts of power. They are also unpredictable in terms of how much power is generated.

    Functionality of the Kit

    The company’s active energy harvesting solution includes a dedicated transmitter that has a 5.5W output of conducted power in a designated area or direction via the RF-based, WattUp wireless charging technology. The RF-based energy is collected by Energous-enabled receiving devices, which have the facility to be combined with RF energy harvesting IC technology from e-peas.

    Scope of Technology

    The company’s 5.5W active energy harvesting solution supports the charging of anywhere from one to several devices, with a single transmitter facilitating the simultaneous charging of several devices. The active energy harvesting technology is applicable to a myriad of industries and applications, ranging from drug store monitors and patient trackers in a healthcare setting to smoke detectors and motion sensors in a smart home. The technology also serves to facilitate fault prevention and other safety sensing in an industrial environment.

    Reliability of Technology

    The developer kit facilitates the incorporation of active energy harvesting into the solutions of developers of wireless devices while ensuring consistent and safe power levels. The pioneering technology serves to support a much wider range of IoT devices than ever before, fulfilling the requirement of guaranteed levels of power not addressed by existing passive energy harvesting technologies, establishing a basis for exponential growth in more power-critical applications.

    Future Outlook for WATT

    Armed with a technology that is set to revolutionize the wireless charging space, WATT is poised to capitalize on the consolidation and expansion of its market footprint. Investors are hopeful for the expansive scope of commercialization and accelerated proliferation of the technology across various market sectors, thus driving increases in shareholder value.

  • Why Did The Glaukos (GKOS) Stock Fell By 20% Premarket ?

    The shares of Glaukos Corporation (GKOS) fell -19.94% to $58.90 during pre-market trading. Glaukos stock closed Tuesday session at $73.57, down -4.45%. GKOS stock volume remained at 0.36 million shares, which is higher than the 0.34 million shares average daily within the previous 50 days. In the last year, shares of GKOS rose 88.64%, and they fell -10.86% last week.

    GKOS’s stock has lost -11.3% in the past three months, and -4.69% over the past six months. GKOS currently has a market value of $3.44 billion, and it has 45.71 million outstanding shares. After commenting on the proposed physician fee schedule for 2022, GKOS stock is falling.

    Which proposal was it?

    Glaukos offers treatments for glaucoma, corneal diseases, and retinal diseases in the form of medical technology and pharmaceuticals. Among GKOS’ many accomplishments is the pioneering of Micro-Invasive Glaucoma Surgery, or MIGS, which changed the paradigm of glaucoma treatment and management.

    As part of its MIGS device portfolio, there is the iStent, GKOS’ first MIGS device, that was introduced in 2012, the next-generation iStent inject that was introduced in 2018 and the iStent inject W that was introduced in 2020. In addition to creating a micro-scale surgical and pharmaceutical profile in glaucoma, corneal health and retinal disease, GKOS is also developing a proprietary portfolio of micro-scale diagnostics and therapeutics.

    In a recent press release, Glaukos commented on Medicare’s proposed fee schedule for calendar year 2022, recently released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

    • This proposal updates Medicare payment policies for services provided under the Physician Fee Schedule beginning on or after January 1, 2022.
    • Upon the release of the Proposed Rule, a 60-day public comment period will close on September 13, 2021, culminating in the CMS’ release of the Final Rule, which is expected in November 2021 for implementation on January 1, 2022.
    • It is therefore possible that the Proposed Rule will change.
    • A new Category I Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) code, 669X2 (for non-complex) and 669X1 (for complex) cataract extraction in conjunction with an aqueous drainage device is included in the proposed rule and accompanying addenda.
    • Using CMS 2022 Proposed Rule’s assigned facility Relative Value Units (RVUs) and associated conversion factor, GKOS estimates a proposed physician fee of $565.23 for Category I CPT Code 669X2.
    • GKOS’ estimate represents an incremental physician fee of approximately $34.25 for insertion of an aqueous drain over the proposed physician fee for category I CPT Code 66984 of approximately $530.98.

    GKOS said what?

    Gloukos (GKOS) has expressed disappointment over CMS’ proposed physician fees for its trabecular microbutton bypass technology, that’s used in conjunction with cataract surgery. Even with this unwelcome and unjustified news, GKOS is committed to engaging its key eye societies to explore every option during the public comment period.