(Image via StageZero Life Sciences Ltd.)
Even though there is a wide buffet of rich investing opportunities out there that are of high appeal to serious investors and small-cap opportunists in the current market, COVID-19 movements still take the cake.
Over the past year, we have looked at each sector and the growing number of solid plays for both long-term and short-term investors. Yet as the Stockhouse Bullboards may be experiencing healthy interest across all sectors, the overwhelming majority has been on healthcare plays that continue to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic here and now.
What could be one of the most exciting medical developments announced this year comes from
StageZero Life Sciences Ltd. (TSX: SZLS, Forum).
Following up on its COVID-19 testing platform, SZLS has just launched an early cancer diagnostic program centered around its multi-cancer test, Aristotle.
The first multi-cancer test from a single sample of blood, the Aristotle panel tests for cancer: ovarian, breast, cervical, endometrial, colorectal, bladder, stomach, liver, prostate, and nasopharyngeal.
Using an approach called immunoediting, Aristotle interrogates the messenger RNA vaccine from whole blood to detect gene expression profiles indicative of specific cancers. It is the first multi-cancer test to come to market with the ability to test for multiple, discrete cancers.
StageZero’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, James Howard-Tripp explained that COVID-19 had significantly altered the current healthcare landscape but positioned the company well: it has propelled telehealth to the dominant means by which to work with patients, it is generating good revenue for the company in Q3 and Q4 2020 and continuing into Q1 2021 and has allowed the SZLS to build out its organization and finance it to market Aristotle.
“The team at Health Clinics / Care Oncology will significantly enhance our clinical and scientific capability, adding depth and affiliations with key cancer centers as well as expanding the executive and the board. The partnership also gives us the necessary infrastructure to correctly cater to employers, where we go next”.
The Supreme Cannabis Company Inc. (TSX: FIRE, Forum) is on the verge of having all of its issued and outstanding common shares get acquired by the world’s largest cannabis producer
Canopy Growth Corp. (TSX: WEED) under a definitive arrangement agreement in a transaction valued at approximately
$435 million on a fully-diluted basis.
Smiths Falls ON-based Canopy said the acquisition would see Supreme Cannabis’s
7Acres, Sugarleaf, and
Hi-way brands join Canopy's roster, which already includes Tweed, Tokyo Smoke, Quatreau and Doja.
However, it has just come to light that Supreme Cannabis is now under investigation by
a stockholder’s rights firm into whether its board breached their fiduciary duties or violated the federal securities laws in connection with the company’s acquisition.
The law firm is reaching out to FIRE shareholders who are concerned about the proposed merger and are investigating whether Supreme Cannabis’ board of directors oversaw an unfair process and ultimately agreed to an inadequate merger agreement. Accordingly, the firm is investigating all relevant aspects of the deal and is committed to securing the best result possible for Supreme Cannabis’s stockholders.
Another cannabis merger that investors have been busy discussing is the proposed
business combination between Leamington ON-based licensed producer
Aphria Inc. (TSX: APHA, Forum) and Nanaimo, BC-based cannabis licensed producer
Tilray Inc. (NASDAQ: TLRY).
In what should be considered good news for shareholders of both businesses, APHA released its financial results for its
Q3 2021 where the company noted that it had maintained its #1 licensed producer status in Ontario and Alberta in terms of sales to the provincial boards.
Once known for being the world's largest smartphone manufacturer,
BlackBerry Limited (TSX: BB, Forum) is now exclusively a software provider who has been establishing partnerships that have been covered in numerous editions of Buzz on the Bullboards, the latest of which is a big one -
IBM Corp. (NYSE: IBM). Together, they are working to bring the
BlackBerry Spark platform to Canadian organizations. IBM will resell BlackBerry’s endpoint management, endpoint security and critical event management software, to enterprises and governments nationwide.
BB’s Senior Vice President Neelam Sandhu noted that both companies share a strong track-record of technology innovation and deep expertise in industry verticals.
“Together we will bring best-in-class solutions to people across Canada, at a time when security, productivity and safety are needed most and without compromise. We are delighted to establish this partnership.”
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Kontrol Energy Corp. (CSE: KNR, Forum) is teaming up with
Rowing Canada Aviron to utilize the Kontrol BioCloud to pilot Safe Space Technology in the National Team Training environment.
The Kontrol BioCloud viral detection technology is designed as a real-time analyzer to detect airborne pathogens, such as COVID-19. The system will be installed in the erg dome and medical treatment centre at the Pacific Institute for Sport Excellence in Victoria, BC.
Speaking of stocks that are working to mitigate the spread of COVID, we look to last week’s Investor Pulse Poll, where a solid majority of you felt that businesses have indeed taken reasonable precautions to stem the spread of the virus among their operations.
This week, after years of skepticism from Wall Street and regulators, the price of bitcoin has been breaking new records day after day and just recently surged to a fresh record high of more than $63,500 on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Coinbase made its direct listing (opening at $381 (USD) a share), a stock market debut that Crypto investors are hailing as a major milestone for the industry. Do you agree? Let us know your thoughts by clicking the image below to vote.
(Click image to vote.)
NexOptic Technology Corp. (TSX-V: NXO, Forum) entered into a commercial agreement with
Pristine Surgical to deploy its artificial intelligence (AI)-powered imaging technology in a single-use endoscopic visualization platform. NexOptic offers an AI-powered imaging platform known as ALIIS, or All Light Intelligent Imaging Solutions.
The neural networks developed by NXO are machine-learning-enabled and allow for lower-cost, lightweight optics with extreme low-light, anti-glare and data compression performance. Pristine Surgical’s single-use endoscopes use high-performance digital sensors, high-brightness LEDs and graphics-processing hardware and software to deliver high-definition images at reduced cost.
NexOptic Technologies’ Chief Executive Officer Paul McKenzie called this the endoscopy platform of the future.
“By combining our AI expertise with their unique single-use scope design, there’s an immediate opportunity to further advance the surgical visualization platform of tomorrow.”
Pristine Surgical’s Chief Executive Officer, Bryan Lord added that the company can increase patient safety, improve economics and efficiency and advance the state of the art in endoscopy by incorporating powerful, cutting-edge technologies in a single-use visualization platform.
“We’re excited to work with NexOptic to use their ALIIS platform to advance our deployment of artificial intelligence capabilities and help us further that mission.”
Pristine Surgical is a single-use surgical visualization company dedicated to improving patient care, safety, and efficacy for the more than 25 million endoscopic procedures performed each year.
ARC Resources Ltd. (TSX: ARX, Forum) recently closed its strategic Montney combination with
Seven Generations Energy Ltd. to create, what it has dubbed a premier Montney producer and leader in responsible energy development. ARC is now Canada’s largest condensate producer, third-largest natural gas producer, and sixth-largest upstream energy company.
ARC owns more than 1.1 million net acres of Montney land and produces approximately 340,000 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day, comprising approximately 138,000 barrels per day of liquids and approximately 1.2 billion cubic feet (bcf) per day of natural gas.
(ARC Resources Ltd. stock chart - April 2020 to April 2021. Click to enlarge.)
Hillcrest Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: HRH, Forum) announced this week that it had signed a five-year Technology Collaboration Agreement with German engineering firm
Systematec GmbH, a component designer to Airbus, Audi, BMW, Continental, Volvo Truck Corporation, and other hybrid automobile / electric vehicle (EV) and electrical equipment manufacturers.
Technical teams on both continents will jointly manage engineering activities to leverage Hillcrest’s electric machine control software and develop power electronics and electromechanical IP and technology for commercialization. The companies will each contribute technologies, intellectual property, and global business networks to source, develop and deliver business opportunities.
(Hillcrest Resources Ltd. stock chart - April 2020 to April 2021. Click to enlarge.)
Finally, we feature a newcomer to the Energy Bullboards Top 6 is
Touchstone Exploration Inc. (TSX: TXP, Forum), who announced this week that it had completed flowback testing of its
Cascadura Deep-1 well, confirming a liquids rich natural gas discovery. Touchstone has an 80% operating working interest in the well, which is located on the Ortoire block onshore Trinidad and Tobago.
TXP highlighted the average flowback rate during the extended 24-hour test period was approximately 4,262 boe/d, including 22.9 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of natural gas and 449 bbls/d of natural gas liquids (NGLs). The peak flowback rate clocked in at approximately 4,567 boe/d, which comprised of 24.5 MMcf/d of natural gas and 477 bbls/d of NGLs.
Approximately 48.8 MMcf of natural gas (8,138 boe) and 1,081 barrels of NGLs were produced during the testing period.
(Touchstone Exploration Inc. stock chart - April 2020 to April 2021. Click to enlarge.)
Every week, the story in the markets changes for small-cap investors, and on the Stockhouse Bullboards. Next week could bring a new rising COVID-related play, a sudden opportunity for an energy surge, or something completely out of left field … as always, we will have you covered. Stay updated, stay safe, and stay tuned. For previous editions of Buzz on the Bullboards:
click here.