Daily Brief United States: Saudi Aramco, Arbitrum, Biora Therapeutics , elf Beauty Inc, Ensysce Biosciences , Expion360 , Imunon , Longeveron , Aethlon Medical , Teton Advisors and more

• Aramco’s Q2 operating revenue grew 5.7% YoY but missed estimates by 0.3%. Meanwhile, net profit fell by 3.4% YoY but its EPS edged past estimates by 0.8%.
• Total hydrocarbon production fell 8.9% YoY to 12.3 mboepd while crude oil realisations rose 8.8% YoY.
• In Q2, Aramco declared dividends totalling USD 31.1 billion, despite an 18.1% YoY decline in free cash flow to USD 19 billion.

• In recent years, we have seen a surge in new crypto projects launching with billion-dollar market capitalizations right from the start.
• This trend includes projects like Aptos, Sui, Celestia, and others.
• If you examine the top 100 cryptocurrencies, it is evident that the list increasingly comprises recently launched, highly hyped cryptocurrencies that boast valuations that would make many Nasdaq-listed companies envious.

• Biora is a drug-device company developing smart pills for GI diseases and enabling oral delivery of biologics.
• Its pipeline features two assets: NaviCap, for targeted drug delivery in GI diseases & BioJet, for oral delivery of biologics.
• NaviCap’s BT-600 trial has completed the SAD & MAD cohorts & should report results in June.

• We are reiterating our Buy rating and $0.25 price target, but reducing our projections after Starco Brands posted a lower than expected 2Q24 and did not provide 2024 guidance, as management continues to pivot to multiple new and expanded retailer relationships for virtually all their brands, including the addition of Costco as a key new partner.
• We believe, beginning in 3Q24, Starco will take their stable of brands to a new level in terms of door penetration which, when combined with an aggressive focus on adding new categories, will position the company for strong top line and Adjusted EBITDA expansion for 2025 and beyond.
• As such, we continue to view the future of Starco as strong, and we reiterate our Buy rating and $0.25 price target for STCB.

• Ensysce Biosciences is committed to finding a solution to the opioid crisis plaguing the US and other developed countries around the world.
• Through its proprietary TAAP technology Ensysce is in the process of receiving approval for an abuse-resistant yet still pain-relieving opioid.
• The company released its quarterly report for 2Q2024, which again shows the great progress the company is making in moving toward its goal of providing a much-needed opioid alternative, with critical clinical trials set to start.

• Expion360 released full results for the second quarter which had been prereleased in the registration statement related to the recent $10 million financing and were just slightly below our expectations.
• The company provided no formal guidance for 2024 and 2025 but the new home energy storage business will have to be wildly successful to avoid further (potentially significant) dilution to existing shareholders.
• As we have seen in the past Expion360’s shares frequently trade independent of the fundamentals of the business.

• On July 30, 2024, Imunon, Inc. (IMNN) announced positive topline results for the Phase 2 OVATION 2 Trial of IMNN-001 in patients with advanced ovarian cancer.
• The company reported an 11.1 month increase in median overall survival (OS) compared with standard-of-care alone in the intent-to-treat (ITT) population with a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.74, which indicates a 35% improvement in survival.
• For the 40% of trial participants treated with a PARP inhibitor, the HR dropped to 0.41, with a median OS in the IMNN-001 treatment arm that had not yet been reached at the time of database lock, compared with a median OS of 37.1 months in the standard-of-care arm.

• Longeveron is focusing on using its primary treatment, Lomecel-B, to fight a rare pediatric heart birth defect that devastates families but continues to receive good FDA news regarding its treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease.
• The company released its 2Q2024 earnings and highlighted advances made with its signature treatment-Lomecel-B.
• The treatment has made significant progress and received multiple FDA designation for both Alzheimer’s Disease and the devastating HLHS.

• Upcoming potential milestones include the submission to the Ethics Committees at a third site in Australia and one in India, possible approval from one or both as early as FY25 2Q or 3Q and the launch of the patient enrollment process at those venues following Aethlon’s site visits.
• The company expects to begin the patient enrollment process in October 2024.
• We would expect AEMD to announce that the first patient has been treated possibly by year-end 2024 or early 2025.

• Majority owned by Mario Gabelli, public small cap value asset manager
• Market cap primarily cash, trading at depressed earnings
• Potential “free option” on small/microcap rebound or merger with GAMCO, stable AUM, earned $1.00 in cash earnings in 2023

This content is sourced through publicly available sources and has been machine generated. Information displayed is for general informational purposes only. This article was originally published 3 months ago on Value Investors Club.