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Silicon Valley Technology Added to SVB’s Quick Demise

Posted on by phoffman@channelchek.com

SVB’s Newfangled Failure Fits a Century-Old Pattern of Bank Runs, With a Social Media Twist

The history of bank failures all have a familiar pattern. Based on past history, problems may still bubble up over the coming months. The internet and the ability for online withdrawals could elevate risks to banks. Rodney Ramcharan a Professor of Finance and Business Economics, University of Southern California, points out the similarities, the new challenges and provides his thoughts in his article that has been reprinted with permission from The Conversation.

The failure of Silicon Valley Bank on March 10, 2023, came as a shock to most Americans. Even people like myself, a scholar of the U.S. banking system who has worked at the Federal Reserve, didn’t expect SVB’s collapse.

Usually banks, like all companies, fail after a prolonged period of lackluster performance. But SVB, the nation’s 16th-largest bank, had been stable and highly profitable just a few months before, having earned about US$1.5 billion in profits in the last quarter of 2022.

However, financial history is filled with examples of seemingly stable and profitable banks that unexpectedly failed.

The demise of Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns, two prominent investment banks, and Countrywide Financial Corp., a subprime mortgage lender, during the 2008-2009 financial crisis; the Savings and Loan banking crisis in the 1980s; and the complete collapse of the U.S. banking system during the Great Depression didn’t unfold in exactly the same way. But they had something in common: An unexpected change in economic conditions created an initial bank failure or two, followed by general panic and then large-scale economic distress.

The main difference this time, in my view, is that modern innovations may have hastened SVB’s demise.

Great Depression

The Great Depression, which lasted from 1929 to 1941, epitomized the public harm that bank runs and financial panic can cause.

Following a rapid expansion of the “Roaring Twenties,” the U.S. economy began to slow in early 1929. The stock market crashed on Oct. 24, 1929 – a date known as “Black Tuesday.”

The massive losses investors suffered weakened the economy and led to distress at some banks. Fearing that they would lose all their money, customers began to withdraw their funds from the weaker banks. Those banks, in turn, began to rapidly sell their loans and other assets to pay their depositors. These rapid sales pushed prices down further.

As this financial crisis spread, depositors with accounts at nearby banks also began queuing up to withdraw all their money, in a quintessential bank run, culminating in the failure of thousands of banks by early 1933. Soon after President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first inauguration, the federal government resorted to shutting all banks in the country for a whole week.

These failures meant that banks could no longer lend money, which led to more and more problems. The unemployment rate spiked to around 25%, and the economy shrank until the outbreak of World War II.

Determined to avoid a repeat of this debacle, the government tightened banking regulations with the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933. It prohibited commercial banks, which serve consumers and small and medium-size businesses, from engaging in investment banking and created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which insured deposits up to a certain threshold. That limit has risen sharply over the past 90 years, from $2,500 in 1933 to $250,000 in 2010 – the same limit in place today.

S&L Crisis

The nation’s new and improved banking regulations ushered in a period of relative stability in the banking system that lasted about 50 years.

But in the 1980s, hundreds of the small banks known as savings and loan associations failed. Savings and loans, also called “thrifts,” were generally small local banks that mainly made mortgage loans to households and collected deposits from their local communities.

Beginning in 1979, the Federal Reserve began to hike interest rates very aggressively to fight the high inflation rates that had become entrenched.

By the early 1980s, Congress began allowing banks to pay market interest rates on depositers’ accounts. As a result, the interest rate S&Ls had to pay their customers was much higher than the interest income they were earning on the loans they had made in prior years. That imbalance caused many of them to lose money.

Even though about 1 in 3 S&Ls failed from around 1986 through 1992 – somewhere around 750 banks – most depositors at small S&Ls were protected by the FDIC’s then-$100,000 insurance limit. Ultimately, resolving that crisis cost taxpayers the equivalent of about $250 billion in today’s dollars.

Because the savings and loans industry was not directly connected to the big banks of that era, their collapse did not cause runs at the bigger institutions. Nevertheless, the S&L collapse and the government’s regulatory response did reduce the supply of credit to the economy.

As a result, the U.S. economy underwent a mild recession in the latter half of 1990 and first quarter of 1991. But the banking system escaped further distress for nearly two decades.

Great Recession

Against this backdrop of relative stability, Congress repealed most of Glass-Steagall in 1999 – eliminating Depression-era regulations that restricted the scope of businesses that banks could engage in.

Those changes contributed to what happened when, at the start of a recession that began in December 2007, the entire financial sector suffered a panic.

At that time, large banks, freed from the Depression-era restrictions on securities trading, as well as investment banks, hedge funds and other institutions outside the traditional banking system, had heavily invested in mortgage-backed securities, a kind of bond backed by pooled mortgage payments from lots of homeowners. These bonds were highly profitable amid the housing boom of that era, and they helped many financial institutions reap record profits.

But the Federal Reserve had been increasing interest rates since 2004 to slow the economy. By 2007, many households with adjustable-rate mortgages could no longer afford to make their larger-than-expected home loan payments. That led investors to fear a rash of mortgage defaults, and the values of securities backed by mortgages plunged.

It wasn’t possible to know which investment banks owned a lot of these vulnerable securities. Rather than wait to find out and risk not getting paid, most of the depositors rushed to get their money out by late 2007. This stampede led to cascading failures in 2008 and 2009, and the federal government responded with a series of big bailouts.

The government even bailed out General Motors and Chrysler, two of the country’s three largest automakers, in December 2008 to keep the industry from going bankrupt. That happened because the major car companies relied on the financial system to provide potential car buyers with credit to purchase or lease new cars. But when the financial system collapsed, buyers could no longer obtain credit to finance or lease new vehicles.

The Great Recession lasted until June 2009. Stock prices plummeted by more than 50%, and unemployment peaked at around 10% – the highest rate since the early 1980s.

As with the Great Depression, the government responded to this financial crisis with significant new regulations, including a new law known as the Dodd-Frank Act of 2010. It imposed stringent new requirements on banks with assets above $50 billion.

Close-Knit Customers

Congress rolled back some of Dodd-Frank’s most significant changes only eight years after lawmakers approved the measure.

Notably, the most stringent requirements were now reserved for banks with more than $250 billion in assets, up from $50 billion. That change, which Congress passed in 2018, paved the way for regional banks like SVB to rapidly expand with much less regulatory oversight.

But still, how could SVB collapse so suddenly and without any warning?

Banks take deposits to make loans. But a loan is a long-term contract. Mortgages, for example, can last for 30 years. And deposits can be withdrawn at any time. To reduce their risks, banks can invest in bonds and other securities that they can quickly sell in case they need funds for their customers.

In the case of SVB, the bank invested heavily in U.S. Treasury bonds. Those bonds do not have any default risk, as they are debt issued by the federal government. But their value declines when interest rates rise, as newer bonds pay higher rates compared with the older bonds.

SVB bought a lot of Treasury bonds it had on hand when interest rates were close to zero, but the Fed has been steadily raising interest rates since March 2022, and the yields available for new Treasurys sharply increased over the next 12 months. Some depositors became concerned that SVB might not be able to sell these bonds at a high enough price to repay all its customers.

Unfortunately for SVB, these depositors were very close-knit, with most in the tech sector or startups. They turned to social media, group text messages and other modern forms of rapid communication to share their fears – which quickly went viral.

Many large depositors all rushed at the same time to get their funds out. Unlike what happened nearly a century earlier during the Great Depression, they generally tried to withdraw their money online – without forming chaotic lines at bank branches.

Will More Shoes Drop?

The government allowed SVB, which is being sold to First Citizens Bank, and Signature Bank, a smaller financial institution, to fail. But it agreed to repay all depositors – including those with deposits above the $250,000 limit.

While the authorities have not explicitly guaranteed all deposits in the banking system, I see the bailout of all SVB depositors as a clear signal that the government is prepared to take extraordinary steps to protect deposits in the banking system and prevent an overall panic.

I believe that it is too soon to say whether these measures will work, especially as the Fed is still fighting inflation and raising interest rates. But at this point, major U.S. banks appear safe, though there are growing risks among the smaller regional banks.

Are Bank Regulators Illegally Punishing Crypto Users?

Posted on by phoffman@channelchek.com
Source: Coindesk (Flickr)

Washington DC Law Firm that Won Operation Choke Hold Suit, Gives Congress Advice

Are private digital assets, under unlawful attack by regulators? Sounds conspiratorial, but a D.C. law firm that successfully sued the FDIC, Federal Reserve, and Office of the Controller of the Currency (OCC), says they are doing just that. The firm Cooper & Kirk, won a large lawsuit dubbed against the agencies for their part in, “Operation Choke Point.”  That was a decade ago, the law firm now claims they have uncovered a coordinated campaign by bank regulators to drive crypto out of the U.S. financial system.

The new “Operation Choke Point 2.0,” according to the firms website, “have published informal guidance documents that single out cryptocurrency and cryptocurrency customers as a risk to the banking system.” According to an informational paper published by the D.C. firm, “businesses in the cryptocurrency marketplace are losing their bank accounts, or their access to the ACH network, suddenly, and with no explanation from their bankers, the paper continued, “the owners and employees of cryptocurrency firms are even having their personal accounts closed without explanation.”

As an example of could be viewed as overstepping their charters, the firm pointed out that, “over the past two weeks, federal regulators have shut down a solvent bank that was known to be serving the crypto industry and, although it is required to resolve banks through the “least cost resolution” to the Deposit Insurance Fund, the FDIC chose to shutter rather than sell the part of the bank that serves digital asset customers, costing the Fund billions of dollars.” The overall theme of the 37 page paper is that the targeting of certain businesses is going on to force them out of existence.

Source: White Paper on Operation Choke Point 2.0, Cooper & Kirk LLC

What are Regulators Accused Of

Specifically the regulators are being accused of:

  • Depriving businesses of their constitutional right to due process. This is a fifth amendment right that says that an entity tagging another with a derogatory label that causes injury (like lose bank accounts) The firm accuses that this is what the regulators have done by “labeling crypto a threat to the financial system.”
  • Violating both the non-delegation and anticommandeering doctrine by, “depriving Americans of Key Structural constitutional protections against the arbitrary exercise of government power.”
  • Refusing to perform their non-discretionary duties “when doing so will benefit the cryptocurrency industry.”
  • Evading rules that require periods of notice and comment of the rulemaking requirements of the administrative procedure act. It claims circumventing this is, “undemocratic.”
  • Acting in an arbitrary and capricious fashion by avoiding explaining underlying rules for their decisions. “It is difficult to imagine a more arbitrary and capricious agency action that simultaneously placing a solvent bank into receivership solely because it provided financial services to the cypto industry, while permitting insolvent institutions not tied to the crypto industry to continue operations.”

What is the Law Firms Stated Intent

Cooper and Kirk urge the U.S. Congress to perform its role and hold the agencies accountable. The firm urges the Congress to ask for all communications records related to these matters from the regulators.

The firm also would like for them to explain the basis for their conclusion that safety and soundness of the banking system requires the banking system be insulated from crypto. They would also like for it to be made clear to the agencies that the comment period of the Administrative procedure act is mandatory. It wanst an investigation into why Signature Bank was closed.

The last stated hope is fro Congress to investigate whether bank regulators are working to squelch innovation from the private sector in order to clear out competition for the benefit of existing regulated banks and a new federal crypto asset.

Take Away

Just like the first Operation Choke Point was targeting specific players, the new version does the same. The law firms stops short of any threats in their open paper, but it makes clear that the firm has solid experience achieving compliance if these maters.

https://www.cooperkirk.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Operation-Choke-Point-2.0.pdf

Baudax Bio (BXRX) – Positive Results Announced From 2nd BX1000 Interim Analysis

Posted on by cpereira@noblefcm.com


Tuesday, March 28, 2023

Baudax Bio is a pharmaceutical company focused on innovative products for acute care settings. ANJESO is the first and only 24-hour, intravenous (IV) COX-2 preferential non-steroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) for the management of moderate to severe pain. In addition to ANJESO, Baudax Bio has a pipeline of other innovative pharmaceutical assets including two novel neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBs) and a proprietary chemical reversal agent specific to these NMBs. For more information, please visit www.baudaxbio.com.

Gregory Aurand, Senior Research Analyst, Healthcare Services & Medical Devices, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.

All patients met Good or Excellent intubating conditions. In the 2nd interim pre-planned analyis released Monday, March 27th, 41 patients from 4 cohorts (at least 10 from each) met Good or Excellent intubating conditions, with 40 patients intubated at 60 seconds and 1 patient at 90 seconds. Treatments were generally well tolerated, and while there were no serious events, one patient experienced a treatment-emergent adverse event that could possibly be related to treatment. Based on the analysis, none of the four cohorts (3 different dose groups of BX1000, and a standard dose group of rocuronium) are expected to be dropped nor is the full 80-patient trial enrollment number expected to be adjusted.

Results similar to the 1st interim analysis. In late January, Baudax Bio released the 1st interim analysis that showed the 20 patients (5 patients from each of the four cohorts) met the criteria for Good or Excellent intubating conditions with no adverse events. As a reminder,  the primary endpoints assess the time frame needed to reach intubation conditions (time frame is within 2 minutes of administration) and also assess, using a standardized scale (Poor, Good, Excellent), the proportion of patients meeting Good or Excellent conditions. Secondary endpoints assess the safety and tolerability profile of BX1000.


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Five Reasons to Get Excited About Mining Stocks

Posted on by phoffman@channelchek.com
Image Credit: Liontown Resources

M&A Trends Could Drive Mining Stocks Much Higher?

The building wave of M&A deals in at least two of the mining sectors, is difficult to ignore. This week, lithium miner Albemarle (ALB) disclosed it had submitted a proposal to acquire Liontown Resources (LTR.Australia). Last month Newmont Mining’s proposed acquisition of Newcrest Mining, highlighted the rising interest in M&A in the gold sector. To date, both proposals have been shunned, but as companies look to increase production, inflation increases producers capital outlays, plus long permitting processes, a case could be made that growth by acquisition, friendly or not, is becoming more appealing in the sector.

Typically growing demand to buy smaller companies in a sector puts upward pressure on valuations.

The gold and lithium sectors have mostly lead over the past six months in terms of deal-making. For gold, the largest driver is these miners remain undervalued by historical levels. The trend for lithium producers in the years ahead, as battery production ramps up to meet surging demand for electric storage and green technology, is expected to continue to accelerate.

The Price of lithium, key to batteries found in most EVs, over the years has risen. This created a situation where car manufacturers themselves have realized that the best way to ensure a key ingredient to their product is to own all or part of a large enough producer. Lithium producers are looking for ways to increase yield and own more production facilities. These factors could unfold into a situation where the stock prices of companies producing either of these two metals, and even other mined minerals with growing demand, could outperform other sectors.

Five Reasons to Explore Small Mining Companies

While the real heat is on producers of minerals used to make batteries and gold miners, the below supply/demand concepts may apply to an increased need for other miners to involve themselves in M&A as well.

  1. New List of Acquirers – The big car companies, energy companies,  and other additional industrial consumers are in need of reliable supply. 
  2. Cheaper to Buy than Find – M&A is a solution to the increased costs of growing organically. It also helps circumvent what could be permitting delays and supply chain problems that prevent headway.
  3. Scale – Gold companies normally try to extract synergies when seeking to size up, while lithium producers seek pure scale.
  4. Big Picture Economics – The economic environment favors miners if inflation remains elevated; the companies’ production is more likely to sell for more. The cost of money, on an opportunity cost basis, especially net of inflation (real interest) favors mining.
  5. Finding Value – Informed stock selection is key to discover and invest in companies best positioned to benefit from swelling M&A in the sector.

The fifth on this list is less of a reason to explore mining companies and more a common sense reminder. Last week the Channelchek Take Away Series brought to viewers a live in-depth presentation of 12 mining companies that were just coming off the huge PDAC mining conference in Canada. These presentations are being replayed and may be just the place to begin to hear from company executives, and a highly respected senior natural resources analyst. Audience questions and answers follow.

The information on these on-demand replay videos is current, and as you’ll see by clicking here, the list of video presentations includes a diversified mix of producers and explorers.

Paul Hoffman

Managing Editor, Channelchek

Sources

https://www.barrons.com/articles/how-to-handle-an-uncertain-market-buy-weakness-sell-strength-f145c306

Release – Ocugen Announces FDA Approval for Enrollment Of Pediatric Patients In Ongoing Ocu400 Phase 1/2 Clinical Trial For The Treatment Of Retinitis Pigmentosa (Rp) And Leber Congenital Amaurosis (LCA)

Posted on by aweinsoff@channelchek.com

Research News and Markert Data on OCGN

  • U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approves enrolling pediatric patients in the ongoing OCU400 Phase 1/2 trial who have: 1) RP associated with NR2E3 and RHO mutations and 2) LCA associated with CEP290 gene mutations

  • Ocugen has completed enrollment of adult RP patients with NR2E3 and RHO mutations in the Phase 1/2 trial and expanded enrollment in LCA patients with CEP290 mutations

MALVERN, Pa., March 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Ocugen, Inc. (Ocugen or the Company) (NASDAQ: OCGN), a biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing novel gene and cell therapies, biologics, and vaccines, today announced that the FDA approved enrolling pediatric patients in the ongoing OCU400 Phase 1/2 trial.

“This approval moves us one step closer in our efforts to bring OCU400, a novel gene-agnostic modifier gene therapy, to market as a potential life-changing treatment for children afflicted with inherited retinal diseases, such as RP and LCA,” noted Arun Upadhyay, PhD, Ocugen’s Chief Scientific Officer. “This approval further demonstrates the consistent, positive, and timely progress we are making with the Phase 1/2 trial in adult patients. Since a significant number of individuals in the pediatric age group are diagnosed with RP and LCA, it is very important for us to cover this age group in our clinical trials.”

Enrollment of adult RP patients in the Phase 1/2 trial is complete—per protocol—and enrollment continues among patients with LCA. The Company plans to initiate the Phase 3 trial near the end of 2023.

Unlike single-gene replacement therapies, which only target one genetic mutation, Ocugen believes that its modifier gene therapy platform, through its use of Nuclear Hormone Receptors (NHRs), represents a novel approach that has the potential to address multiple retinal diseases caused by mutations in multiple genes with one product, and potentially address complex diseases that are caused by imbalances in multiple gene-networks. While single-gene replacement therapies have shown tremendous promise in rare retinal diseases, they are highly specific and cannot improve a multitude of disease-causing genetic defects. For example, RP and LCA are associated with mutations in more than 100 and in more than 25 genes, respectively. Ocugen is the only company with a gene-agnostic modifier platform that aims to alter this single-gene therapy paradigm through the introduction of a functional gene to modify the expression of multiple genes and gene-networks. We believe that patient prevalence in the United States alone would provide significant long-term value, with RP and LCA affecting 110,000 and 15,000 people, respectively.

OCU400 is the Company’s gene-agnostic modifier gene therapy product based on NHR gene, NR2E3. NR2E3 regulates diverse physiological functions within the retina—such as photoreceptor development and maintenance, metabolism, phototransduction, inflammation and cell survival networks. Through its diverse functionality, OCU400 resets altered/affected cellular gene-networks and establishes homeostasis—a state of balance, which has the potential to improve retinal health and function in patients with inherited retinal diseases.

About Ocugen, Inc.
Ocugen, Inc. is a biotechnology company focused on discovering, developing, and commercializing novel gene and cell therapies, biologics, and vaccines that improve health and offer hope for patients across the globe. We are making an impact on patients’ lives through courageous innovation—forging new scientific paths that harness our unique intellectual and human capital. Our breakthrough modifier gene therapy platform has the potential to treat multiple retinal diseases with a single product, and we are advancing research in infectious diseases to support public health and orthopedic diseases to address unmet medical needs. Discover more at www.ocugen.com and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which are subject to risks and uncertainties. We may, in some cases, use terms such as “predicts,” “believes,” “potential,” “proposed,” “continue,” “estimates,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “plans,” “intends,” “may,” “could,” “might,” “will,” “should,” or other words that convey uncertainty of future events or outcomes to identify these forward-looking statements. Such statements are subject to numerous important factors, risks, and uncertainties that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from our current expectations. These and other risks and uncertainties are more fully described in our periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the risk factors described in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the quarterly and annual reports that we file with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements that we make in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update forward-looking statements contained in this press release whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, after the date of this press release.

Contact:
Tiffany Hamilton
Head of Communications
IR@ocugen.com 

Release – Tonix Pharmaceuticals Announces Oral Presentations at the World Vaccine Congress

Posted on by aweinsoff@channelchek.com

Research News and Market Data on TNXP

March 27, 2023 7:00am EDT

CHATHAM, N.J., March 27, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp. (Nasdaq: TNXP), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, today announced that Zeil Rosenberg, M.D., M.P.H., Executive Vice President, Medical and Farooq Nasar, Ph.D., Senior Principal Investigator, both of Tonix Pharmaceuticals, will deliver oral presentations at the World Vaccine Congress, which will be held in Washington D.C., April 3 – 6, 2023. Copies of the Company’s presentations will be available under the Scientific Presentations tab of the Tonix website at www.tonixpharma.com following the conference. Additional meeting information can be found on the World Vaccine Congress website here.

In addition, Sina Bavari, Ph.D., Executive Vice President, Infectious Disease Research and Development of Tonix Pharmaceuticals will be moderating a panel of key opinion leaders discussing Mpox and the challenges and opportunities in vaccine development.

Oral Presentation Details

Presenter:Zeil Rosenberg, M.D., M.P.H. (Tonix Pharmaceuticals)
  
Title:A Live Attenuated Orthopoxvirus (Horsepox) Vaccine for Mpox and Smallpox
  
Location:Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington D.C.
  
Date:Wednesday April 5, 2023
  
Time:12:25 p.m. ET
  

Oral Presentation Details

Presenter:Farooq Nasar, Ph.D. (Tonix Pharmaceuticals)
  
Title:The Development of Horsepox Virus as a Vaccine Platform: Evaluation of TNX-1800 as a SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine
  
Location:Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington D.C.
  
Date:Thursday April 6, 2023
  
Time:10:10 a.m. ET
  

Panel Details

Title:Mpox – Challenges and Opportunities in Vaccine Development
  
Panel:Sina Bavari, Ph.D. (Tonix Pharmaceuticals); David Evans, Ph.D. (University of Alberta); Jose Esparza, M.D., Ph.D. (University of Maryland); Deborah Birx, M.D. (BGR Group); Michael Merchlinsky, Ph.D. (HHS/BARDA)
  
Location:Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Washington D.C.
  
Date:Thursday April 6, 2023
  
Time:11:30 a.m. ET
  

Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp.*

Tonix is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering, licensing, acquiring and developing therapeutics to treat and prevent human disease and alleviate suffering. Tonix’s portfolio is composed of central nervous system (CNS), rare disease, immunology and infectious disease product candidates. Tonix’s CNS portfolio includes both small molecules and biologics to treat pain, neurologic, psychiatric and addiction conditions. Tonix’s lead CNS candidate, TNX-102 SL (cyclobenzaprine HCl sublingual tablet), is in mid-Phase 3 development for the management of fibromyalgia with interim data expected in the second quarter of 2023. TNX-102 SL is also being developed to treat Long COVID, a chronic post-acute COVID-19 condition, for which a Phase 2 study was initiated in the third quarter of 2022. TNX-1900 (intranasal potentiated oxytocin), a small molecule in development for chronic migraine, is currently enrolling with interim data expected in the fourth quarter of 2023. TNX-601 ER (tianeptine hemioxalate extended-release tablets), a once-daily formulation of tianeptine being developed as a treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD), is also currently enrolling with interim data expected in the fourth quarter of 2023. TNX-1300 (cocaine esterase) is a biologic designed to treat cocaine intoxication and has been granted Breakthrough Therapy designation by the FDA. A Phase 2 study of TNX-1300 is expected to be initiated in the second quarter of 2023. Tonix’s rare disease portfolio includes TNX-2900 (intranasal potentiated oxytocin) for the treatment of Prader-Willi syndrome. TNX-2900 has been granted Orphan Drug designation by the FDA. Tonix’s immunology portfolio includes biologics to address organ transplant rejection, autoimmunity and cancer, including TNX-1500, which is a humanized monoclonal antibody targeting CD40-ligand (CD40L or CD154) being developed for the prevention of allograft and xenograft rejection and for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. A Phase 1 study of TNX-1500 is expected to be initiated in the second quarter of 2023. Tonix’s infectious disease pipeline includes TNX-801, a vaccine in development to prevent smallpox and mpox, for which a Phase 1 study is expected to be initiated in the second half of 2023. TNX-801 also serves as the live virus vaccine platform or recombinant pox vaccine platform for other infectious diseases. The infectious disease portfolio also includes TNX-3900, a class of broad-spectrum small molecule oral antivirals.

*All of Tonix’s product candidates are investigational new drugs or biologics and have not been approved for any indication.

This press release and further information about Tonix can be found at www.tonixpharma.com.

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements may be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “forecast,” “estimate,” “expect,” and “intend,” among others. These forward-looking statements are based on Tonix’s current expectations and actual results could differ materially. There are a number of factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. These factors include, but are not limited to, risks related to the failure to obtain FDA clearances or approvals and noncompliance with FDA regulations; delays and uncertainties caused by the global COVID-19 pandemic; risks related to the timing and progress of clinical development of our product candidates; our need for additional financing; uncertainties of patent protection and litigation; uncertainties of government or third party payor reimbursement; limited research and development efforts and dependence upon third parties; and substantial competition. As with any pharmaceutical under development, there are significant risks in the development, regulatory approval and commercialization of new products. Tonix does not undertake an obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement. Investors should read the risk factors set forth in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on March 13, 2023, and periodic reports filed with the SEC on or after the date thereof. All of Tonix’s forward-looking statements are expressly qualified by all such risk factors and other cautionary statements. The information set forth herein speaks only as of the date thereof.

Contacts

Jessica Morris (corporate)
Tonix Pharmaceuticals
investor.relations@tonixpharma.com
(862) 904-8182

Olipriya Das, Ph.D. (media)
Russo Partners
Olipriya.Das@russopartnersllc.com
(646) 942-5588

Peter Vozzo (investors)
ICR Westwicke
peter.vozzo@westwicke.com
(443) 213-0505 

Source: Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp.

Released March 27, 2023

Release – Schwazze Announces Appointment to The Board of Directors

Posted on by aweinsoff@channelchek.com

Research News and Market Data on SHWZ

March 24, 2023

OTCQX: SHWZ
NEO: SHWZ

DENVER, March 24, 2023 /CNW/ – Medicine Man Technologies Inc. operating as Schwazze, (OTCQX: SHWZ); (NEO: SHWZ) (“Schwazze” or the “Company”), today announced the appointment of Mr. Bradley Stewart to the Board of Directors of Schwazze. The Company also reports that Mr. Sal Wahdan has resigned as a Director of Schwazze.

Mr. Stewart is a Private Equity-backed CEO, board member and advisor, where he specializes in building technology and services companies with a focus on strategic transformation, balance sheet restructuring and M&A.  He currently, serves as Senior Advisor at Sixth Street, as Chairman at Perch and as an independent board member at Private Medical and Semper Paratus (Nasdaq: LGSTU).

Previously, Mr. Stewart was CEO at Fair Technologies, a fintech / marketplace backed by SoftBank Group. Prior to Fair, he was Chairman and CEO at XOJet, the largest on-demand private jet services company in North America, backed by TPG and Mubadala, where he led the company’s turnaround. In concurrence with XOJet, he was a Senior Advisor at TPG, a leading private equity firm, where he served on the board of directors for multiple TPG portfolio companies.  Prior to his tenure at XOJet and TPG, he was a Vice President at Parthenon Capital, a leading mid-market private equity firm, and formerly an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company.  He received an MBA from Columbia Business School, a BSB in Corporate Finance from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management and a Lower Division Completion Certificate from the University of Minnesota’s College of Science & Engineering.

Justin Dye, CEO of Schwazze stated, “We look forward to Brad’s participation on the Board of Directors of Schwazze as his strong experience and skills will be an excellent addition to our Board and the Company.  We also would like to thank Sal for his valuable contributions to the Board and wish him well in his future endeavours.” 

About Schwazze
Schwazze (OTCQX: SHWZ) is building a premier vertically integrated regional cannabis company with assets in Colorado and New Mexico and will continue to take its operating system to other states where it can develop a differentiated regional leadership position. Schwazze is the parent company of a portfolio of leading cannabis businesses and brands spanning seed to sale. The Company is committed to unlocking the full potential of the cannabis plant to improve the human condition. Schwazze is anchored by a high- performance culture that combines customer-centric thinking and data science to test, measure, and drive decisions and outcomes. The Company’s leadership team has deep expertise in retailing, wholesaling, and building consumer brands at Fortune 500 companies as well as in the cannabis sector. Schwazze is passionate about making a difference in our communities, promoting diversity and inclusion, and doing our part to incorporate climate-conscious best practices. Medicine Man Technologies, Inc. was Schwazze’s former operating trade name. The corporate entity continues to be named Medicine Man Technologies, Inc. Schwazze derives its name from the pruning technique of a cannabis plant to enhance plant structure and promote healthy growth.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains “forward-looking statements.” Such statements may be preceded by the words “plan,” “will,” “may,” “continue,” “predicts,” or similar words. Forward-looking statements include the guidance provided regarding the Company’s Q4 2022 performance and annual capital spending. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future events or performance, are based on certain assumptions, and are subject to various known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company’s control and cannot be predicted or quantified. Consequently, actual events and results may differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, risks and uncertainties associated with (i) our inability to manufacture our products and product candidates on a commercial scale on our own or in collaboration with third parties; (ii) difficulties in obtaining financing on commercially reasonable terms; (iii) changes in the size and nature of our competition; (iv) loss of one or more key executives or scientists; (v) difficulties in securing regulatory approval to market our products and product candidates; (vi) our ability to successfully execute our growth strategy in Colorado and outside the state, (vii) our ability to identify and consummate future acquisitions that meet our criteria, (viii) our ability to successfully integrate acquired businesses and realize synergies therefrom, (ix) the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, * the timing and extent of governmental stimulus programs, (xi) the uncertainty in the application of federal, state and local laws to our business, and any changes in such laws, and (xii) our ability to achieve the target metrics, including our annualized revenue and EBIDTA run rates set out in our Q4 2022 guidance. More detailed information about the Company and the risk factors that may affect the realization of forward-looking statements is set forth in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Investors and security holders are urged to read these documents free of charge on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as required by law.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/schwazze-announces-appointment-to-the-board-of-directors-301781179.html

SOURCE Schwazze

Motorsport Games (MSGM) – Pushes Out IndyCar Launch

Posted on by cpereira@noblefcm.com


Monday, March 27, 2023

Motorsport Games, a Motorsport Network company, combines innovative and engaging video games with exciting esports competitions and content for racing fans and gamers around the globe. The Company is the officially licensed video game developer and publisher for iconic motorsport racing series across PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo Switch and mobile, including NASCAR, INDYCAR, 24 Hours of Le Mans and the British Touring Car Championship (“BTCC”). Motorsport Games is an award-winning esports partner of choice for 24 Hours of Le Mans, Formula E, BTCC, the FIA World Rallycross Championship and the eNASCAR Heat Pro League, among others.

Michael Kupinski, Director of Research, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Patrick McCann, Research Associate, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.

Q4 results The company reported revenue of $3.8 million and an adj. EBITDA loss of $3.5 million in the quarter, roughly in line with our estimates. The quarter was driven by the successful release of NASCAR Rivals on the Nintendo Switch and reduced compensation expenses. The company made an investment in its user base by releasing a free DLC expansion pack for NASCAR 21: Ignition.

2023 outlook. The company announced the highly anticipated launch of its IndyCar game will be delayed until 2024. Management attributed the delay to an increased focus on quality, given that an Indy game has not been released in over a decade. As such, we are lowering our estimates in anticipation of adverse effects on revenue in 2023.


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*Analyst certification and important disclosures included in the full report. NOTE: investment decisions should not be based upon the content of this research summary. Proper due diligence is required before making any investment decision. 

Deep Fakes and the Risk of Abuse

Posted on by phoffman@channelchek.com
Image Credit: Steve Juvetson (Flickr)

Watermarking ChatGPT and Other Generative AIs Could Help Protect Against Fraud and Misinformation

Shortly after rumors leaked of former President Donald Trump’s impending indictment, images purporting to show his arrest appeared online. These images looked like news photos, but they were fake. They were created by a generative artificial intelligence system.

Generative AI, in the form of image generators like DALL-E, Midjourney and Stable Diffusion, and text generators like Bard, ChatGPT, Chinchilla and LLaMA, has exploded in the public sphere. By combining clever machine-learning algorithms with billions of pieces of human-generated content, these systems can do anything from create an eerily realistic image from a caption, synthesize a speech in President Joe Biden’s voice, replace one person’s likeness with another in a video, or write a coherent 800-word op-ed from a title prompt.

This article was republished with permission from The Conversation, a news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. It represents the research-based findings and thoughts of, Hany Farid, Professor of Computer Science, University of California, Berkeley.

Even in these early days, generative AI is capable of creating highly realistic content. My colleague Sophie Nightingale and I found that the average person is unable to reliably distinguish an image of a real person from an AI-generated person. Although audio and video have not yet fully passed through the uncanny valley – images or models of people that are unsettling because they are close to but not quite realistic – they are likely to soon. When this happens, and it is all but guaranteed to, it will become increasingly easier to distort reality.

In this new world, it will be a snap to generate a video of a CEO saying her company’s profits are down 20%, which could lead to billions in market-share loss, or to generate a video of a world leader threatening military action, which could trigger a geopolitical crisis, or to insert the likeness of anyone into a sexually explicit video.

Advances in generative AI will soon mean that fake but visually convincing content will proliferate online, leading to an even messier information ecosystem. A secondary consequence is that detractors will be able to easily dismiss as fake actual video evidence of everything from police violence and human rights violations to a world leader burning top-secret documents.

As society stares down the barrel of what is almost certainly just the beginning of these advances in generative AI, there are reasonable and technologically feasible interventions that can be used to help mitigate these abuses. As a computer scientist who specializes in image forensics, I believe that a key method is watermarking.

Watermarks

There is a long history of marking documents and other items to prove their authenticity, indicate ownership and counter counterfeiting. Today, Getty Images, a massive image archive, adds a visible watermark to all digital images in their catalog. This allows customers to freely browse images while protecting Getty’s assets.

Imperceptible digital watermarks are also used for digital rights management. A watermark can be added to a digital image by, for example, tweaking every 10th image pixel so that its color (typically a number in the range 0 to 255) is even-valued. Because this pixel tweaking is so minor, the watermark is imperceptible. And, because this periodic pattern is unlikely to occur naturally, and can easily be verified, it can be used to verify an image’s provenance.

Even medium-resolution images contain millions of pixels, which means that additional information can be embedded into the watermark, including a unique identifier that encodes the generating software and a unique user ID. This same type of imperceptible watermark can be applied to audio and video.

The ideal watermark is one that is imperceptible and also resilient to simple manipulations like cropping, resizing, color adjustment and converting digital formats. Although the pixel color watermark example is not resilient because the color values can be changed, many watermarking strategies have been proposed that are robust – though not impervious – to attempts to remove them.

Watermarking and AI

These watermarks can be baked into the generative AI systems by watermarking all the training data, after which the generated content will contain the same watermark. This baked-in watermark is attractive because it means that generative AI tools can be open-sourced – as the image generator Stable Diffusion is – without concerns that a watermarking process could be removed from the image generator’s software. Stable Diffusion has a watermarking function, but because it’s open source, anyone can simply remove that part of the code.

OpenAI is experimenting with a system to watermark ChatGPT’s creations. Characters in a paragraph cannot, of course, be tweaked like a pixel value, so text watermarking takes on a different form.

Text-based generative AI is based on producing the next most-reasonable word in a sentence. For example, starting with the sentence fragment “an AI system can…,” ChatGPT will predict that the next word should be “learn,” “predict” or “understand.” Associated with each of these words is a probability corresponding to the likelihood of each word appearing next in the sentence. ChatGPT learned these probabilities from the large body of text it was trained on.

Generated text can be watermarked by secretly tagging a subset of words and then biasing the selection of a word to be a synonymous tagged word. For example, the tagged word “comprehend” can be used instead of “understand.” By periodically biasing word selection in this way, a body of text is watermarked based on a particular distribution of tagged words. This approach won’t work for short tweets but is generally effective with text of 800 or more words depending on the specific watermark details.

Generative AI systems can, and I believe should, watermark all their content, allowing for easier downstream identification and, if necessary, intervention. If the industry won’t do this voluntarily, lawmakers could pass regulation to enforce this rule. Unscrupulous people will, of course, not comply with these standards. But, if the major online gatekeepers – Apple and Google app stores, Amazon, Google, Microsoft cloud services and GitHub – enforce these rules by banning noncompliant software, the harm will be significantly reduced.

Signing Authentic Content

Tackling the problem from the other end, a similar approach could be adopted to authenticate original audiovisual recordings at the point of capture. A specialized camera app could cryptographically sign the recorded content as it’s recorded. There is no way to tamper with this signature without leaving evidence of the attempt. The signature is then stored on a centralized list of trusted signatures.

Although not applicable to text, audiovisual content can then be verified as human-generated. The Coalition for Content Provenance and Authentication (C2PA), a collaborative effort to create a standard for authenticating media, recently released an open specification to support this approach. With major institutions including Adobe, Microsoft, Intel, BBC and many others joining this effort, the C2PA is well positioned to produce effective and widely deployed authentication technology.

The combined signing and watermarking of human-generated and AI-generated content will not prevent all forms of abuse, but it will provide some measure of protection. Any safeguards will have to be continually adapted and refined as adversaries find novel ways to weaponize the latest technologies.

In the same way that society has been fighting a decadeslong battle against other cyber threats like spam, malware and phishing, we should prepare ourselves for an equally protracted battle to defend against various forms of abuse perpetrated using generative AI.

A Reason for Investors to Look at the New Dynamics of Broadcast Media

Posted on by phoffman@channelchek.com
Image Credit: Cottonbro Studio (Pexels)

Selling Air Time is Getting Easier for Broadcast Radio

Is broadcast radio losing its power? It doesn’t appear to be, and the medium may be of interest to investors that prefer to shy away from short-lived investment trends and instead look to more easily understood opportunities. According to the industry publication Ad Age, the industry is nearing an intersection where “18- to 49-year-olds are spending more time listening to radio than watching linear TV.” At least one large company has reworked its advertising budget to save money with the expectation of reaching more people. Is this a trend hat will grow?

Re-investing in Radio

Soap opera’s got their start nearly 100 years ago as Proctor and Gamble, manufacturer of soap and candles, created the addictive entertainment to position its product ads in front of the typical soap decision maker of the time. As TV became a fixture in households in the 1950s, P&G adapted and brought the shows and the advertising to television. Last year P&G increased its spending on traditional broadcast radio by 43%. Despite all the new advertising options available, and the ability to refine targeting, P&G has a method to their madness, and it’s worth understanding.

Why the Reversal?

Last year, in the face of rising costs, the marketing giant came under margin pressure. In an attempt to minimize price hikes and maintain old margins, they cut ad spending by 10%, with a new budget of $2.2 billion.

The CEO Jon Moeller had told P&G brand marketers to focus on how many people they reach and how often, rather than how targeted or how much they spend. Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard became focused on the effectiveness of radio, connected TV, and streaming free ad-supported TV (FAST).

Belt Tightening

Just as inflation has caused many households to be more frugal, perhaps use less expensive brands, and eat more at home, companies like P&G are finding they are taking a similar approach. And if it helps keep prices down, they can more easily retain customers and attract new ones.  

Here is some data on the extreme cost of reaching a broadcast TV audience. In the business, CPM (cost per mile) is a paid ad method where there is a certain rate for every 1000 impressions an ad receives. The CPM to reach TV audiences is as high as $35 to $65. For comparison, YouTube video CPMs range from $20 to $25, and linear TV is in the $10 to $15 range.

But radio can be bought in the $5-$6 CPM range. The targeting may not be as precise as broadcast TV or other media, but the amount spent for every 1000 impressions is a fraction of the alternatives.

During the last week in March, and first week in April, investors in South Florida and Naples will have the opportunity to meet the management of two interesting broadcast media companies, in a relaxed setting.

Places Investors Might Explore

Other large advertisers are stepping up their radio efforts as well. Pharmaceutical companies Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson have started to spend more. According ad intelligence provider Vivvix. Pfizer became a top-five radio advertiser last year. They did this by more than doubling spending.

If you haven’t been following media companies, there is some acclimating to terminology, seasons, and how they profit. Two key places for information is the media report that Noble Capital Markets published late January of this year. The report which is available at this link was prepared by top analysts and discusses the recent state of radio, TV, digital media, and publishing.

A video produced just weeks before the published report by members of the same team can be helpful in providing you with insight as to one media company’s strengths over another. The video, featuring Michael Kupinski, Director of Research at Noble Capital Markets, is a half-hour full of insights. At this link.

Do you wish to hear directly from management of broadcast media companies impacted by new trends?

There are two companies that will be conducting three roadshows in Florida over the next two weeks. If you can attend, you’ll have the opportunity to hear directly from management what the future expectations are, and you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions of your own. The company names, locations and dates are available at this link, along with other scheduled roadshows.

Take Away

The most talked about stocks on the chat boards aren’t the only actionable opportunities astute investors can select from. As with all investing, growing your knowledge base can help one expand their watch-list.

P&G’s ad spend adjustment comes at a time when standard AM/FM radio has caught to and is neck and neck with linear TV (for people 18-49 in the U.S.). Radio audiences may not be growing, but they are not declining as broadcast TV audiences have – they are fairly consistent, and ad costs are a great value at a time when companies are dealing with their own increasing costs. This is getting the attention of large advertisers, and it perhaps should get the attention of investors.

Paul Hoffman

Managing Editor, Channelchek

The Week Ahead –  March Markets, Out Like a Lamb?

Posted on by phoffman@channelchek.com

Much of the Noise this Week Could Be from Outside of US Markets?

The U.S. does not get a great deal of economic data to react to this week. But that usually means the focus shifts, and market participants grasp onto signs they may otherwise ignore. There are many inflation reports during the week. They are from outside of the U.S. economy until Friday morning. Global inflation, not just trading partners could impact other nations. This is because if one region raises its benchmark interest rate, others either follow or risk weakening its own native currency.

March German inflation will come late in the week, starting with Germany’s CPI on Thursday. This will be followed by France’s CPI on Friday, then the full Eurozone later Friday. February PCE data from the U.S. will also be posted on Friday. Australia will be posting its February CPI on Wednesday. Most reports are expected to show declines, with the reservation that much of the reduced increases are derived from lower fuel costs. This would suggest that economic forces raising prices are still largely at work.

Monday 3/27

•             No pertinent Economic numbers are to be released

Tuesday 3/28

•             10:00 AM ET, Consumer Confidence, after two months of market surprising declines, the consumer confidence index is not expected to perk up in March, the consensus is instead a further decline in confidence to a consensus 101.0 versus February’s 102.9.

•             10:00 AM ET, Michael Barr, the Vice Chair for Supervision at the Federal Reserve will give Testimony before the Michael Barr, the Vice Chair for Supervision at the Federal Reserve will give Testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Watch here.

•             1:00 PM ET, Money Supply, since some banks have experienced difficulties with lower deposits, is becoming closely watch report once more. The prior month, money supply read 30.9 billion. The measure has two main components, M1 and M2. M1 is included in M2. M1, the more narrowly defined measure, consists of the most liquid forms of money, namely currency and checkable deposits. The non-M1 components of M2 are primarily household holdings of savings deposits, small time deposits, and retail money market mutual funds.

Wednesday 3/29

•             10:00 AM ET, Michael Barr will testify before the U.S. House Financial Services CommitteeThe Energy Information Administration (EIA) Petroleum Status Report,  provides weekly information on petroleum inventories in the U.S., whether produced here or abroad. The level of inventories helps determine prices for petroleum products.

•             10:00 AM ET, Pending Home Sales during February are expected to rise 1.0 percent on top of January’s 8.1 percent elevation.

Thursday 3/30

•             8:30 AM ET, GDP’s third estimate for 4Q 2022 is expected to remain at 2.7 percent growth in the quarter’s second estimate. Personal consumption expenditures, at 1.4 percent growth in the second estimate, is also expected to remain unchanged.

•             4:30 PM ET, The Fed’s Balance Sheet has received more attention since the beginning of quantitative tightening (Q.T.). The last report  should an increase as a result of the new Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP).

Friday 3/31

•             8:30 AM ET, Personal Income and Outlays is expected to have risen 0.3 percent in February with consumption expenditures expected to have increased 0.2 percent. In January there was a rise of 0.6 percent for income and 1.8 percent surge for consumption. Inflation readings for February are expected at monthly increases of 0.4 percent both overall and for the core (versus 0.6 percent increases for both in January) for annual rates of 5.1 and 4.7 percent (versus January’s respective rates of 5.4 and 4.7 percent).

•             10:00 AM ET, Consumer Sentiment in late March is expected to be unchanged from the mid-month flash of 63.4.

What Else

We congratulate all the NCAA basketball teams that made the final four teams competing in the NCAA championships. This includes the Florida Atlantic University basketball team that has made the final four for the first time. While we wish all teams well, the large investor conference sponsored by Channelchek, NobleCon19, will be held at the elaborate College of Business Executive Education at FAU. So this adds to all of our interest at Channelchek. These final March Madness games start on Saturday, April 1st, and while we officially don’t have a consensus read on the final outcome, we hope for excellent play from all. Learn more about the NobleCon19 conference on the FAU campus by clicking here.

Paul Hoffman

Managing Editor, Channelchek

noblecon19.com/

Sources

https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/pressreleases/other20230319a.htm

https://us.econoday.com/articles.aspx?cust=us&year=2023&lid=0

Release – QuoteMedia Achieves SOC 2 Type II Certification

Posted on by aweinsoff@channelchek.com

Research News and Market Data on QMCI

PHOENIX, March 24, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — QuoteMedia, Inc. (OTCQB: QMCI), a leading provider of market data and financial applications, today announced that it has achieved SOC 2 Type II accreditation.

The SOC 2 Type II accreditation is a rigorous certification that requires companies to demonstrate their ability to securely manage customer data and protect against unauthorized access. The accreditation is awarded to companies that have implemented a comprehensive set of controls and processes to ensure the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of their services.

“We are thrilled to have achieved SOC 2 Type II accreditation, which is a testament to our commitment to providing the highest levels of security and reliability to our customers,” said Dave Shworan, CEO of QuoteMedia Ltd. “As a leading provider of financial market data and solutions, we understand the critical importance of safeguarding our customers’ data, and we take this responsibility very seriously.”

To achieve SOC 2 Type II accreditation, QuoteMedia underwent a demanding audit by an independent third-party auditor. The audit assessed the company’s controls and processes related to security, availability, processing integrity, confidentiality, and privacy. QuoteMedia’s implementation of robust controls and processes is evidence of its dedication to maintaining a secure and reliable environment for customer data.

About QuoteMedia

QuoteMedia is a leading software developer and cloud-based syndicator of financial market information and streaming financial data solutions to media, corporations, online brokerages, and financial services companies. The Company licenses interactive stock research tools such as streaming real-time quotes, market research, news, charting, option chains, filings, corporate financials, insider reports, market indices, portfolio management systems, and data feeds. QuoteMedia provides industry leading market data solutions and financial services for companies such as the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, TMX Group (TSX Stock Exchange), Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE), London Stock Exchange Group, FIS, U.S. Bank, Bank of Montreal (BMO), Broadridge Financial Systems, JPMorgan Chase, Scotiabank, CI Financial, Canaccord Genuity Corp., Hilltop Securities, Avantax, Stockhouse, Zacks Investment Research, General Electric, Boeing, Bombardier, Telus International, Business Wire, PR Newswire, The Goldman Sachs Group, Regal Securities, ChoiceTrade, Cetera Financial Group, Dynamic Trend, Inc., Credential Qtrade Securities, CNW Group, iA Private Wealth, Ally Invest, Inc., Suncor, Leede Jones Gable, Firstrade Securities, Charles Schwab, First Financial, Equisolve, Stock-Trak, Mergent, Cision and others. Quotestream®, QMod™ and Quotestream Connect™ are trademarks of QuoteMedia. For more information, please visit www.quotemedia.com.

QuoteMedia Investor Relations
Brendan Hopkins
Email: investors@quotemedia.com
Call: (407) 645-5295

One Stop Systems (OSS) – A Transitional 2023 Sets Up 2024 For Growth

Posted on by cpereira@noblefcm.com


Friday, March 24, 2023

One Stop Systems, Inc. (OSS) designs and manufactures innovative AI Transportable edge computing modules and systems, including ruggedized servers, compute accelerators, expansion systems, flash storage arrays, and Ion Accelerator™ SAN, NAS, and data recording software for AI workflows. These products are used for AI data set capture, training, and large-scale inference in the defense, oil and gas, mining, autonomous vehicles, and rugged entertainment applications. OSS utilizes the power of PCI Express, the latest GPU accelerators and NVMe storage to build award-winning systems, including many industry firsts, for industrial OEMs and government customers. The company enables AI on the Fly® by bringing AI datacenter performance to ‘the edge,’ especially on mobile platforms, and by addressing the entire AI workflow, from high-speed data acquisition to deep learning, training, and inference. OSS products are available directly or through global distributors. For more information, go to www.onestopsystems.com.

Joe Gomes, Managing Director – Generalist Analyst, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Joshua Zoepfel, Research Associate, Noble Capital Markets, Inc.

Refer to the full report for the price target, fundamental analysis, and rating.

4Q22 Results. Revenue of $18.2 million, up 2.7% y-o-y, but about $1 million below expectations as the Disguise business was weaker than expected. We had forecast $19 million. Driven by one-time items, OSS reported a GAAP net loss of $3.3 million, or a loss of $0.16/sh in the quarter, compared to a loss of $386,243, or a loss of $0.02/sh per share last year. We had forecast net income of $0.4 million, or $0.02 per share.

Military Opportunities Expanding. OSS is now engaged with eight of the top 10 largest military prime contractors in the U.S., with multiple prime contractor bids to the DOD using OSS products. OSS has won two new military programs already in 2023, with eight more in the pipeline. 


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*Analyst certification and important disclosures included in the full report. NOTE: investment decisions should not be based upon the content of this research summary. Proper due diligence is required before making any investment decision.