Two-Year Note Auction Attracts Well Above Average Demand

Lifecore Biomedical Signs $150 Mln Refinancing Agreement With Alcon

Shares of Lifecore Biomedical, Inc. (LFCR) are gainig over 23% on Tuesday morning after announcing a $150 million refinancing agreemnt with long-term customer Alcon.

LFCR is currently trading at $6.63, up $1.27 or 23.69%, on the Nasdaq, on a volume of 2 million shares, above average volume 0.9 million. The stock opened its trading at $5.74 after closing Monday’s trading at $5.36. The stock has traded between $1.52 and $11.96 in the past 52-week period.

Lifecore Biomedical announced that it has entered into a broad set of agreements with its long-term customer, Alcon (ALC), which provides for the repayment of the Company’s existing credit agreement with its current lenders and substantially increases the amount of hyaluronic acid that Lifecore is expected to supply for use in Alcon’s commercial products.

Under the terms of the lending and equipment sale and leaseback arrangements, Alcon has provided total commitments of $150 million, which includes a six-year senior secured term facility and a sale leaseback of certain HA fermentation equipment.

TransCode Therapeutics Climbs 7%

TransCode Therapeutics, Inc. (RNAZ) shares are gaining more than 7 percent on Tuesday morning trade after reaching a year-to-date low on Monday. The company had announced a 1-for-20 reverse stock split, effective May 22.

Currently, shares are at $5.79, up 7.58 percent from the previous close of $5.38 on a volume of 215,579.

European Economic News Preview: Eurozone Flash PMI Data Due

Flash Purchasing Managers’ survey results from the euro area and the UK are due on Tuesday, headlining a busy day for the European economic news preview.

At 2.00 am ET, the Office for National Statistics publishes UK public sector finance data. The budget deficit is forecast to fall to GBP 17.5 billion in April from GBP 20.7 billion in March.

At 3.15 am ET, France’s flash HCOB composite PMI data is due. The composite index is forecast to fall slightly to 52.3 in May from 52.4 in the previous month.

At 3.30 am ET, S&P Global releases Germany’s flash PMI survey results. Economists forecast a reading of 53.5 for May, down from 54.2 posted in April.

At 4.00 am ET, Eurozone flash composite PMI data is due. The composite index is seen at 53.7 in May versus 54.1 in the prior month.

In the meantime, the European Central Bank publishes the euro area current account data for March.

At 4.30 am ET, UK S&P Global/CIPS composite PMI survey data is due. Economists expect the index to drop to 54.6 in May from 54.9 in the prior month.

At 8.00 am ET, Hungary’s central bank announces its interest rate decision. The bank is set to hold its benchmark rate at 13.00 percent.

CohBar Shares Surge Over 160% On Merger With Morphogenesis

Shares of clinical-stage biotechnology company, CohBar, Inc. (CWBR) rose 160% on Monday morning trade, on news of CohBar and cancer vaccine developer, Morphogenesis’ definitive agreement for an all-stock merger under the combined company name of “TuHURA Biosciences, Inc.”

CWBR is currently trading at $4.03, up 160% or $2.48 per share, on Nasdaq. It has traded between $1.43 and $7.50 in the past 52-week period.

TuHURA Bioscience Inc. will focus on advancing Morphogenesis’ two technologies that seek to overcome the major obstacles that limit the effectiveness of current immunotherapies in treating cancer.

Arthur J. Gallagher Acquires Insurance By Ken Brown For Undisclosed Sum

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AJG), an insurance and risk consulting company, announced on Tuesday that it has acquired Florida-based insurance firm Insurance by Ken Brown, Inc. or IBKB. The financial terms of the deal have not been divulged.

IBKB is a retail insurance broker for construction and swimming pool industries and serves clients throughout Florida and Southeast US.

“IBKB has a strong reputation and family culture, and their market expertise will enhance our opportunities in the region,” said J. Patrick Gallagher, Jr., President and CEO of Arthur J. Gallagher & Co.

Currently, shares of Arthur J. Gallagher are trading at $211.78 down 1.31% or $2.81 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Cybeats Shares Down 36%

Shares of Cybeats Technologies Corp. (CYBCF) are losing 36% on Tuesday morning trade. The company announced a license agreement between the company and StarFish Medical, a comprehensive medical device design firm based in North America.

The license agreement pertains to Cybeats Technologies’ ‘SBOM Studio,’ a software solution designed for the creation of Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) in medical devices.

Cybeats is currently trading at $0.9591, down 36.90 percent or $0.9591, in its regular trading session. The stock opened its trading at $1.7900 after closing Monday’s trading at $1.5200. The stock has traded between $0.7000 and $2.6200 in the past 52-week period.

Cybeats’ ‘SBOM Studio’ provides advanced technology for software supply chain intelligence, enabling StarFish to efficiently handle Software Bill of Materials (SBOM) and proactively tackle cybersecurity risks associated with their medical device projects. The recent implementation of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Refuse-to-Accept authority underscores the importance of SBOM management solutions like ‘SBOM Studio’ in the industry.

Two-Year Note Auction Attracts Well Above Average Demand

Kicking off this week’s series of announcements of the results of its long-term securities auctions, the Treasury Department revealed Tuesday this month’s auction of $42 billion worth of two-year notes attracted well above average demand.

The two-year note auction drew a high yield of 4.300 percent and a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.90.

The Treasury also sold $42 billion worth of two-year notes last month, drawing a high yield of 3.969 percent and a bid-to-cover ratio of 2.68.

The bid-to-cover ratio is a measure of demand that indicates the amount of bids for each dollar worth of securities being sold.

The ten previous two-year note auctions had an average bid-to-cover ratio of 2.62.

The Treasury is due to announce the results of this month’s auctions of $43 billion worth of five-year notes and $35 billion worth of seven-year notes on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.