Preliminary data presented at ESMO 2024 demonstrate that BT-001 induces tumor regression in patients who failed previous anti-PD(L)-1 treatment
In a patient with a heavily pretreated leiomyosarcoma, BT-001 was able to modulate the tumor microenvironment, turning a “cold” tumor to “hot”, enhancing the potential of T cell infiltration and a shift to PD(L)-1 positivity
Early signs of efficacy with clinical responses observed with BT-001 in combination with KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab), in 2 of 6 patients who failed previous treatment
Strasbourg, France, and Lund, Sweden, September 14, 2024, 9:05 a.m. CET – Transgene TNG, a biotech company that designs and develops virus-based immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer, and BioInvent International AB (“BioInvent”) (Nasdaq Stockholm: BINV), a biotech company focused on the discovery and development of novel and first-in-class immune-modulatory antibodies for cancer immunotherapy, today announce new initial data from their ongoing Phase I/IIa study on the multifunctional oncolytic virus BT-001, demonstrating antitumor activity in patients who failed previous treatments.
The data presented today at the 2024 European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Annual Meeting, show that BT-001 induced tumor regression in patients unresponsive to prior anti PD(L)-1 treatment, both as a monotherapy and in combination with MSD’s (Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA) anti-PD-1 therapy KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab).
Preliminary translational data suggest that BT-001 replicates in the tumor where the payloads are expressed with undetectable systemic exposure. BT-001 alone or in combination with pembrolizumab was well tolerated and showed first signs of efficacy with clinical responses in 2 of 6 patients who failed previous treatments, when given in combination with pembrolizumab. BT-001 treatment turned “cold” tumors to “hot” inducing T cell infiltration, a higher M1/M2 ratio, and a shift toPD(L)-1 positivity in the tumor microenvironment.
Dr. Stéphane Champiat, Medical Oncologist, Head of the Inpatient Unit, Drug Development Department (DITEP) at Institut Gustave Roussy, commented: “The immunological data generated by BT-001 suggest that, as hoped, BT-001 is replicating in the tumor and its payload of transgenes is expressed with very limited exposure outside of the tumor thereby limiting systemic toxicity. I look forward to additional results from this ongoing study which will provide further evidence of the safety and clinical activity of BT-001 and its potential role as a new therapy for cancer patients with solid tumors.”
Transgene and BioInvent are co-developing BT-001, an oncolytic virus developed using Transgene’s Invir.IO® platform armed to express GM-CSF andBioInvent’s full-length anti-CTLA-4 monoclonal antibody, to elicit a strong and effective anti-tumoral response in solid tumors.
Dr. Alessandro Riva, Chairman and CEO of Transgene, said: “We are pleased to present the first promising clinical data on BT-001 at ESMO 2024, which confirm its mechanism of action as a single agent injected intratumorally and importantly demonstrate first signs of anti-tumor activity. Added to its good safety profile alone and in combination with pembrolizumab, BT-001 has the potential to shrink lesions and induce stable disease in refractory patients who may have few other treatment options. We will further explore the safety and efficacy of BT-001 in this development program with our partner BioInvent, and report additional data when it becomes available.”
Andres McAllister, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer at BioInvent International AB, concluded: “We are encouraged by the early clinical resultspresented at ESMO for BT-001, which encodes a potent Treg-depleting recombinant human anti-CTLA-4 antibody generated by our proprietary n-CoDeR® and F.I.R.S.T™ platforms. This clinical proof of concept confirms our ability to identify antibodies that bind to a selected target but exhibit a differentiated activity, allowing the development of promising new drug candidates such as BT-001.”
The abstract and poster titled: “Initial clinical results of BT-001, an oncolytic virus expressing an anti-CTLA4 mAb, administered as single agent and in combination with pembrolizumab in patients with advanced solid tumors.”, can be accessed on the ESMO and Transgene websites.
KEYTRUDA® is a registered trademark of Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA.
The ongoing Phase I/IIa (NCT: 04725331) study is a multicenter, open label, dose-escalation trial evaluating BT-001 as a single agent and in combination with pembrolizumab (anti-PD-1 treatment). Patient inclusions are ongoing in Europe (France, Belgium) and the trial has been authorized in the US. This Phase I is divided into two parts. In part A, patients with metastatic/advanced tumors receive single agent, intra-tumoral administrations of BT-001. Part B explores the combination of intra-tumoral injections of BT-001 with pembrolizumab. In this part, KEYTRUDA® (pembrolizumab) is provided to the trial by MSD (Merck & Co). The Phase IIa will evaluate the combination regimen in several patient cohorts with selected tumor types. These expansion cohorts will offer the possibility of exploring the activity of this approach to treat other malignancies not traditionally addressed with this type of treatment.
About BT-001
BT-001 is an oncolytic virus generated using Transgene’s Invir. IO® platform and its patented large-capacity VVcopTK–RR– oncolytic virus, which has been engineered to encode both a Treg-depleting human recombinant anti-CTLA-4 antibody generated by BioInvent’s proprietary n-CoDeR®/F.I.R.S.T™ platforms, and the human GM-CSF cytokine. By selectively targeting the tumor microenvironment, BT-001 is expected to elicit a much stronger and more effective antitumoral response. As a consequence, by reducing systemic exposure, the safety and tolerability profile of the anti-CTLA-4 antibody may be greatly improved. BT-001 is being co-developed as part of a 50/50 collaboration on oncolytic viruses between Transgene and BioInvent. To know more on BT-001, watch our video here.
About Transgene
Transgene TNG is a biotechnology company focused on designing and developing targeted immunotherapies for the treatment of cancer. Transgene’s programs utilize viral vector technology with the goal of indirectly or directly killing cancer cells. The Company’s clinical-stage programs consist of a portfolio of therapeutic vaccines and oncolytic viruses: TG4050, the first individualized therapeutic vaccine based on the myvac® platform, TG4001 for the treatment of HPV-positive cancers, as well as BT-001 and TG6050, two oncolytic viruses based on the Invir. IO® viral backbone. With Transgene’s myvac® platform, therapeutic vaccination enters the field of precision medicine with a novel immunotherapy that is fully tailored to each individual. The myvac® approach allows the generation of a virus-based immunotherapy that encodes patient-specific mutations identified and selected by Artificial Intelligence capabilities provided by its partner NEC. With its proprietary platform Invir. IO®, Transgene is building on its viral vector engineering expertise to design a new generation of multifunctional oncolytic viruses. Additional information about Transgene is available at: www.transgene.fr Follow us on social media: X (formerly Twitter): @TransgeneSA – LinkedIn: @Transgene
About BioInvent BioInvent International AB (Nasdaq Stockholm: BINV) is a clinical-stage biotech company that discovers and develops novel and first-in-class immuno-modulatory antibodies for cancer therapy, with currently four drug candidates in five ongoing clinical programs in Phase 1/2 trials for the treatment of hematological cancer and solid tumors, respectively. The Company’s validated, proprietary F.I.R.S.T™ technology platform identifies both targets and the antibodies that bind to them, generating many promising new drug candidates to fuel the Company’s own clinical development pipeline and providing licensing and partnering opportunities. The Company generates revenues from research collaborations and license agreements with multiple top-tier pharmaceutical companies, as well as from producing antibodies for third parties in the Company’s fully integrated manufacturing unit. More information is available at www.bioinvent.com. Follow on Twitter: @BioInvent. More information is available at www.bioinvent.com. Follow us on Twitter: @BioInvent
Transgene disclaimer
This press release contains forward-looking statements, which are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. The occurrence of any of these risks could have a significant negative outcome for the Company’s activities, perspectives, financial situation, results, regulatory authorities’ agreement with development phases, and development. The Company’s ability to commercialize its products depends on but is not limited to the following factors: positive pre-clinical data may not be predictive of human clinical results, the success of clinical studies, the ability to obtain financing and/or partnerships for product manufacturing, development and commercialization, and marketing approval by government regulatory authorities. For a discussion of risks and uncertainties which could cause the Company’s actual results, financial condition, performance or achievements to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, please refer to the Risk Factors (“Facteurs de Risque”) section of the Universal Registration Document, available on the AMF website (http://www.amf-france.org) or on Transgene’s website (www.transgene.fr). Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and Transgene undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future.
BioInvent disclaimer
The press release contains statements about the future, consisting of subjective assumptions and forecasts for future scenarios. Predictions for the future only apply as the date they are made and are, by their very nature, in the same way as research and development work in the biotech segment, associated with risk and uncertainty. With this in mind, the actual outcome may deviate significantly from the scenarios described in this press release.
How Much Would It Take To Earn $1,000 A Month In Dividends With Just Four Stocks?
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Many investors dream of passive income. Not relying only on a paycheck can free you up to pursue your dreams, get you closer to retirement, or provide a solid safety cushion for potential times of trouble.
Dividend investing can be a way to build a nest egg and let your money work for you. Getting to $1,000 in monthly income means you would have to generate $12,000 in dividends annually. To do that, you must have stocks meeting a few criteria. They have to provide a consistent and stable dividend payment. Some high-yield stocks can be tempting, but peering at the dividend history may reveal dividend cuts or pauses. The company’s health, the sector it is in, and the strength of the balance sheet all help determine which stocks can go the distance.
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Can you generate $1,000 in monthly income using just four dividend-paying stocks? This portfolio would aim for yield and reliability, focusing on industry diversification. Assuming an average dividend yield across four stocks is around 4%, the total investment needed would be around $300,000 to generate $12,000 annually at a 4% yield.
Choosing The Right Stocks
A mix of stocks from different sectors can balance risk while targeting high and stable dividend yields. These might include:
Why: Altria has a long history of paying high dividends despite operating in a declining industry. Its high yield helps meet income goals faster.
Watch For: Revenue for the company’s smokeable products declined by 5.6% in the second quarter of 2024. The company is transitioning toward more smoke-free offerings. Investors will want to keep tabs on the company’s progress in that area. “We’re confident in the long-term outlook for our smoke-free portfolio, and we have a significant opportunity to responsibly lead the transition of adult smokers to a smoke-free future,” said Billy Gifford, Altria’s CEO, during the second-quarter earnings call.
Why: While AT&T has faced challenges, it maintains a strong dividend. It operates in a cash flow-heavy industry, which supports stable dividends over time.
Watch For: As one analyst said, AT&T needs to manage “growth and profitability.” That means expanding the mobility business and preparing for the broadband future. “This story is about growing customers and profitability as our consumer wireline business delivered more than 7% EBITDA growth during the second quarter. This was driven by approximately 18% growth in fiber revenues and improved operating leverage as we transition from legacy networks to advanced broadband infrastructure,” said AT&T CEO John Stankey on the second-quarter earnings call.
Why: Realty Income is a REIT known for paying monthly dividends, offering stability and regular income. It’s a strong choice for consistent cash flow.
Watch For: Investors will want to track how Realty Income handles debt. In August, it announced a $500 million public offering of 5.375% senior unsecured notes due 2054, with an effective yield of 5.486%. The company has also signaled it may be quicker to sell some properties. “As we continue to calibrate and hone our predictive analytic tools, advancing our investment pieces on each property in our portfolio, we may be more active on dispositions than in the past,” said Realty Income CEO Sumit Roy on the second-quarter earnings call.
Why: Though it has a lower yield than the others, J&J is highly stable and has a strong record of dividend growth, making it a good defensive stock.
Watch For: Johnson & Johnson is deepening its exposure to medtech through strategic acquisitions. Last month, it announced paying $1.7 billion for V-Wave, a medical device company focused on cardiovascular issues. “We continue to advance our pipeline, launch new commercial products, and integrate strategic acquisitions that broaden and further differentiate our portfolio,” said Joseph Wolk, the company’s Chief Financial Officer, on the most recent earnings call.
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Adjusting The Allocation
Given the different yields, we would allocate more capital to lower-yielding but more stable stocks like Johnson & Johnson and Realty Income. Higher-yielding stocks like Altria and AT&T could require less capital. The combined yield of these four stocks is 5.2%, meaning it could take less than $300,000 to reach that $12,000 yearly goal.
These are just assumptions, and investors will want to remember that high-yield stocks like Altria and AT&T come with more risk, while J&J provides stability but a lower yield. Each stock’s dividend payout ratio and financial health must be monitored to ensure sustainable dividends. Although this portfolio is diversified across sectors, it’s still important to review it regularly. Diversifying into other stocks, bonds, and real estate can provide additional income and safety against broader downturns.
Another Way To Build Wealth
The current high-interest-rate environment has created an incredible opportunity for income-seeking investors to earn massive yields, but not through dividend stocks… Certain private market real estate investments are giving retail investors the opportunity to capitalize on these high-yield opportunities and Benzinga has identified some of the most attractive options for you to consider.
For instance, the Ascent Income Fund from EquityMultiple targets stable income from senior commercial real estate debt positions and has a historical distribution yield of 12.1% backed by real assets. With payment priority and flexible liquidity options, the Ascent Income Fund is a cornerstone investment vehicle for income-focused investors. First-time investors with EquityMultiple can now invest in the Ascent Income Fund with a reduced minimum of just $5,000. Benzinga Readers: Earn a 1% return boost on your first EquityMultiple investment when you sign up here (accredited investors only).
Own real estate without the headaches of owning real estate. That’s the big advantage of investing in real estate investment trusts (REITs). And REIT stocks come in lots of different flavors.
Realty Income(NYSE: O) and National Storage Affiliates Trust(NYSE: NSA) are great examples. The former owns several types of commercial properties, while the latter focuses exclusively on self-storage facilities. Here’s why I just bought these two high-yield REIT stocks.
1. Solid businesses with great long-term prospects
I like buying stocks and holding them for years. My top criteria in picking stocks are the strength of their underlying businesses and how likely they are to perform well over a long period. Both Realty Income and National Storage Affiliates (NSA) check off those boxes nicely.
Realty Income ranks as the seventh-largest global REIT with a market cap in the ballpark of $55 billion. It’s been in business for 55 years and boasts a solid A3 and A- (medium investment-grade) credit rating from Moody’s and S&P, respectively.
The REIT’s diversification is a big plus. Realty Income owns 15,450 properties with clients spanning 90 industries. Its top tenants include Dollar General, Walgreens, Dollar Tree, and Wynn Resorts. However, no client makes up more than 3.4% of annualized contractual rent.
Realty Income has good growth prospects in the U.S., including opportunities in retail, consumer-centric medical, and data centers. However, the big prize for the company is in Europe, which represents a total addressable market of $8.5 trillion.
NSA is much smaller than Realty Income, with a market cap below $4 billion. It owns 1,052 self-storage properties spread across 42 states and Puerto Rico. Roughly 65% of NSA’s properties are located in the Sunbelt, a region with an influx of migration and strong employment and housing trends.
Self-storage is an especially attractive real estate niche. Not only have self-storage REITs outperformed other REIT sectors over the last 30 years, but they’ve also been significantly less volatile.
I like NSA’s growth prospects largely because of fragmentation in the self-storage market. The top 50 operators only claim 32% of the total market, based on the number of facilities. NSA’s market share is only 2%.
2. A nice head start on strong total returns
Realty Income offers a forward dividend yield of 5.02%. The company has also increased its dividend for an impressive 29 consecutive years, with a compound annual growth rate of 4.3% since 1994.
NSA isn’t too far behind, with a forward dividend yield of 4.75%. The REIT boasts a decent track record of dividend hikes, as well, and has increased its dividend for eight consecutive years. What’s especially notable is that NSA has grown its dividend by a whopping 75% over the last five years.
I don’t rely on dividend income yet, although it could help fund my retirement down the road. The key advantage of Realty Income’s and NSA’s great dividends, in my view, is that they provide a nice head start for both stocks in delivering strong total returns.
3. A Fed-driven catalyst could be on the way
I invest for the long term, but I certainly don’t mind if the stocks I buy have positive short-term catalysts. Both Realty Income and NSA could have a Fed-driven catalyst on the way.
The Federal Reserve seems likely to reduce interest rates later this month. With any luck, this will be the first of several rate cuts.
REIT stocks often respond well to lower interest rates for a couple of reasons. First, they rely on borrowing to purchase additional properties. When rates decline, they can invest in expansion at lower costs. Second, lower rates drive bond yields down. Income investors could view REIT stocks as attractive alternatives to bonds when interest rates fall.
Again, this isn’t my top reason for buying Realty Income and NSA stocks. However, I think there’s a good chance that my investments will pay off sooner rather than later, thanks to the likelihood of the Fed cutting interest rates.
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Meta Platforms Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg says he has grown tired of taking on too much ownership of problems beyond his or his company’s control. The billionaire said his days of apologizing are over.
What Happened: Zuckerberg said this during a conversation at the Chase Center in San Francisco, reported TechCrunch.
The event, hosted by the Acquired podcast’s David Rosenthal and Ben Gilbert, saw Zuckerberg joking about scheduling his next appearance to apologize for his comments. He quickly clarified that his days of apologizing were over.
Reflecting on his career, Zuckerberg mentioned his biggest mistake was a “political miscalculation” spanning 20 years. He admitted to taking too much responsibility for issues beyond Facebook‘s control, particularly those related to the 2016 U.S. election.
“Some of the things they were asserting that we were doing or were responsible for, I don’t actually think we were,” said Zuckerberg.
“When it’s a political problem… there are people operating in good faith who are identifying a problem and want something to be fixed, and there are people who are just looking for someone to blame,” he added, without naming anyone specifically.
In August, Zuckerberg sent a letter to House Republicans apologizing for censoring COVID-19 misinformation in 2020 under government pressure. He vowed to resist similar pressures in the future.
Recently, Meta lifted restrictions on former President Donald Trump‘s social media accounts, which were imposed after the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Meta’s latest social media platform, Threads, has adopted a different approach than its rival X, formerly Twitter. The platform’s head, Adam Mosseri, stated that politics are not encouraged on Threads to avoid scrutiny and negativity.
Why It Matters: Zuckerberg’s declaration comes amid a series of significant events and decisions at Meta.
In a letter to the House Judiciary Committee, Zuckerberg expressed regret for not opposing the pressure sooner and vowed to resist similar pressures in the future.
Senior adult man calculating how much he has paid on Social Security taxes.
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Millions of Americans rely on Social Security benefits for all, or a portion, of their retirement income. Up to 85% of Social Security benefits are subject to federal income tax, depending on your total household income. However, Fidelity recently presented options for taxpayers to reduce how much they pay in taxes on Social Security benefits. Delaying Social Security claims and reducing withdrawals from traditional IRAs are two popular ways Social Security recipients can lower their tax bills. Some others may also work, depending on your specific situation.
You must pay taxes on Social Security benefits if your combined income exceeds certain thresholds. Social Security uses a figure called combined income to determine whether your income is above the thresholds where owe taxes on benefits. The formula for determining your combined income is:
Combined Income = Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) + Nontaxable Interest + 1/2 of Social Security benefits
Single filers with combined income above $25,000, and married joint filers above $32,000, may pay taxes on up to 85% of those benefits.
Strategies for Managing Social Security Taxes
While Social Security benefits are subject to taxation, benefits get taxed at a lower rate than other sources of income. A maximum of 85% of Social Security benefits may be taxed, for instance, versus 100% of IRA withdrawals. This makes Social Security a valuable income source for retirees.
If you don’t do anything to manage the way your Social Security benefits are taxed, you may wind up with less after-tax income in retirement that you can use to support your lifestyle. Fidelity breaks down two widely used strategies for doing that:
Roth conversion: If you convert savings into a Roth IRA, you can make tax-free withdrawals from the Roth account without increasing your combined income. This Roth conversion strategy lets you claim Social Security benefits without paying more taxes on them.
Delaying Social Security: While you can claim Social Security benefits as early as age 62, waiting to claim boosts your benefit checks. This means that a smaller portion of what you need to pay for living expenses will have to come from taxable IRA income.
How Managing Social Security Taxes Works
Several Social Security cards on a US $100 bill.
As a hypothetical example of the dollar impact of using the second strategy, assume a couple plans to retire at 65. They will pay for retirement with a combination of Social Security and IRA withdrawals totaling $70,000 after taxes. They’ll claim the standard deduction of $27,700 and use the income tax brackets for 2023.
If they claim their Social Security benefits at 65, Social Security will pay an annual total of $24,000. Eighty-five percent of that will be taxable. They’ll need to withdraw $50,777 from their retirement account and pay $4,777 in income taxes to total $70,000 after taxes are paid.
Now, consider what happens if they wait until age 70, when their Social Security benefit rises to $34,000 a year. Now they withdraw just $38,820 from their IRA and, because this reduces their combined income, only 47% of their Social Security benefit is taxable. The tax bill drops to $2,820 for savings of $1,957.
To further reduce taxes, taxpayers can contribute to Roth IRAs and Roth 401(k)s before taking Social Security. These accounts allow tax-free withdrawals. Taxpayers can also withdraw more from traditional IRAs before claiming benefits. This spreads out the tax impact over more years.
Consider matching with a financial advisor if you need help orchestrating your retirement income and taxes.
Social Security Benefits Tax Reduction Limits
You may be able to avoid paying federal income taxes on all or a part of your Social Security benefits using these popular strategies, but they won’t necessarily allow all people in all situations to avoid all taxes. For example, where you live is a factor. Some states offer deductions or exemptions on Social Security income, but others fully tax benefits.
One significant potential drawback that could apply no matter where you live is that converting too much pre-tax savings to a Roth IRA could push you into a higher tax bracket now. This could negate long-term tax savings on Social Security benefits.
Furthermore, examples like the one above only work if the retired couple has sufficient financial means to delay taking Social Security benefits until age 70.
Additional Strategies to Reduce Taxes
Besides Roth IRA conversions and delaying Social Security, other techniques can lower your tax burden:
Withdraw more from taxable investment accounts such as traditional IRA and 401(k) plans before claiming Social Security. This spreads the tax impact over more years.
If you have a traditional 401(k), take distributions before taking Social Security. You’ll pay taxes on the 401(k) money either way.
Contribute to a health savings account (HSA). HSA distributions don’t count as income for determining Social Security taxes.
If married, have the higher-earning spouse claim Social Security benefits first to reduce household taxable income.
Move from high-tax states to low- or no-tax states. Some states don’t tax Social Security benefits at all.
Consider speaking with a financial advisor who can offer professional, fiduciary advice.
Bottom Line
Senior man calculating Social Security taxes.
Social Security benefits are taxed, but they have some special tax benefits that allow retirees to reduce their overall tax burden using some popular techniques. Strategic moves like Roth IRA conversions and delaying Social Security can significantly reduce your tax burden in retirement. These techniques may require making upfront payments of taxes before retirement. And states tax Social Security in a variety of ways, some of which may not be reduced by these moves.
Retirement Planning Tips
Before making any major financial decisions, consider working with a financial advisor who can evaluate your specific situation. Finding a financial advisor doesn’t have to be hard. SmartAsset’s free tool matches you with up to three vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can have a free introductory call with your advisor matches to decide which one you feel is right for you. If you’re ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.
Estimate how much you’ll get from Social Security in the future using SmartAsset’s Social Security Calculator.
Keep an emergency fund on hand in case you run into unexpected expenses. An emergency fund should be liquid — in an account that isn’t at risk of significant fluctuation like the stock market. The tradeoff is that the value of liquid cash can be eroded by inflation. But a high-interest account allows you to earn compound interest. Compare savings accounts from these banks.
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LOS ANGELES, Sept. 13, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Sentral, the leading full-building residential hospitality operator, today announced its Sentral Life app received the 2024 Multifamily Executive Award for “Best Use of Proptech.” The annual awards recognize the apartment industry’s brightest people, top programs, and most innovative projects.
The Sentral Life app was developed and launched by Sentral in April 2023 to deliver a highly personalized digital experience for its residents. The app was designed as an all-in-one solution that empowers residents to fully manage their homes and discover the very best of their neighborhoods through interactive content that is intentional, beautiful, and curated according to each resident’s preferences, location, and needs.
The app also helps generate additional revenue, incorporating vetted neighborhood partnerships (e.g., discounts at a new neighborhood restaurant or personal trainers) and driving higher engagement rates with on-site programming. Residents in some locations even can order food and drink direct-to-home, room-service-style, from restaurants located in the building’s lobbies or on-site retail locations.
“We’re extremely honored to have the Sentral Life app recognized by MFE. This award is a testament to the countless hours of hard work, thought, and dedication that went into creating the app by everyone on our team,” said Todd Butler, Chief Technology Officer, Sentral. “Sentral has always been committed to creating exceptional residential hospitality experiences by placing the needs and interests of our residents front and center; the success of Sentral Life reaffirms the difference our approach makes.”
The Sentral Life app is available to residents in communities managed and operated by Sentral, with locations in some of the fastest growing cities across the US, including Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, Oakland, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Monica, Scottsdale and Seattle.
About Sentral Sentral is the leading full-building residential hospitality operator, maximizing NOI lift for Class A owners through superior performance and enhanced experience. The company is redefining home for the modern renter by transforming upscale, multifamily properties into dynamic communities in the nation’s most coveted cities. Sentral delivers flexible living services, authentic local experiences, premium amenities, community connection for residents and guests, and a tech-enabled platform that enhances operational efficiency. The company manages over $4 billion in Class A multifamily assets and is backed by world-class firms in technology, hospitality, and real estate, including ICONIQ Capital, Highgate Hotels and Ascendant Capital Partners. Sentral is headquartered in San Francisco and Denver. Sentral.com@SentralLife
Shares of Yellow fell 90% Friday afternoon following a Delaware court’s decision on its pension liabilities. (Photo: Jim Allen/FreightWaves)
A Delaware bankruptcy court provided some clarity late Friday regarding $6.5 billion in withdrawal liability claims against Yellow Corp. The total amount the bankrupt less-than-truckload company will actually pay, however, remains to be decided. The mere fact that the estate will have to make good on some portion of the claims sent Yellow’s stock spiraling.
Shares of Yellow (OTC: YELLQ) fell 90% on Friday to 50 cents per share as stockholders realized their bet that the company’s asset value would exceed amounts owed to creditors may not come to fruition.
MFN Partners, which acquired a more than 40% equity stake in Yellow in the day’s leading up to a bankruptcy filing last summer, is the largest holder. However, the Boston-based private equity firm provided the company with bankruptcy financing during its liquidation, the interest and fees from which have helped offset its equity exposure.
The U.S. Treasury holds a 30% stake in Yellow. The equity was issued as part of a collateral package for a $700 million Covid-relief loan it provided to the company in 2020.
Multiemployer pension plans (MEPPs) to which Yellow once contributed claim the carrier’s abrupt shutdown a year ago means it’s now on the hook for its allocable share of unfunded vested benefits. However, Yellow has said that the plans are fully funded now, following a 2021 pension fund bailout package (the American Rescue Plan Act). Yellow contends its exposure is a fraction of the amounts claimed, if anything.
The legislation provided pension insurer Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. the authority to craft guidelines to make sure the money would only be used to cover plan benefits and costs, and not to allow employers to skirt withdrawal liability.
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. created two regulations. The first said special financial assistance awarded to the MEPPs wouldn’t be recognized as a plan asset until the money was actually received. The second mandated the recognition of the funds would be phased in over time even though they were distributed in a lump sum.
The organization said the goal was to keep other contributing employers from using the bailout as a way to exit the plans. Immediate recognition would mean the MEPPs are fully funded, removing any unfunded vested benefits and consequently an employer’s withdrawal liability. That could have created a mass exodus from the plans, PBGC claimed.
Judge Craig Goldblatt’s Friday opinion sided with both the MEPPs and to an extent Yellow.
He said PBGC acted within its authority when putting up the guardrails on the program and that the MEPPs didn’t have to recognize the payments as an asset until received, and that they could be phased in. The implication is that Yellow is now responsible for some form of withdrawal liability to 11 different MEPPs that received government funds.
Central States Pension Fund holds nearly $5 billion in withdrawal liability claims against Yellow. It was awarded $35.8 billion in special financial assistance on Dec. 5, 2022, but didn’t receive the funds until Jan. 12, 2023, after its plan year ended. Yellow filed for bankruptcy on Aug. 6, 2023. The unfunded vested benefit calculation used plan year 2022 to determine the amount owed.
“The regulations implement Congress’s specific directive in the American Rescue Plan Act that special financial assistance be used only to pay plan benefits and costs,” Goldblatt said. “The regulations prevent such funds from instead being used, in effect, to reduce amounts that employers would otherwise be required to pay upon withdrawal from a plan.”
However, Goldblatt also entered a partial summary judgment in favor of Yellow, citing that the 20-year cap (established by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act) should be placed on the company’s total withdrawal exposure. Essentially, the court ruled that Yellow is responsible for 20 times its annual contribution amount per the statute. Past court filings from Yellow have estimated a total liability of roughly $1 billion when using the 20-year cap.
Yellow previously asserted discounting to present value should apply to the 20-year stream of payments. However, Goldblatt said its default on the contributions accelerates the amounts to “presently due and owing,” and no discounting is needed.
He also upheld an agreement inked between Yellow and Teamsters funds in New York and Western Pennsylvania. Yellow reentered those funds in 2013 under a deal in which it would contribute just 25% of the usual rate, but it would repay any withdrawal liabilities assuming a 100% contribution rate if it withdrew.
Goldblatt directed the parties to hash out the actual amounts due. He said the task may be “relatively easy to resolve” now that the court has ruled on the disputed legal questions.
Yellow still faces a much smaller pool of withdrawal liability claims from pensions that didn’t receive special financial assistance.
The 11 MEPPs party to the Friday opinion received more than $40 billion in assistance from the government.
Big data software stock Palantir(NYSE: PLTR) is having a moment today. Revenue is accelerating, profitability has flipped to the positive — somewhat of a rarity for a software stock — and the artificial intelligence revolution appears to be reinvigorating demand in its platforms.
Founded in 2003, Palantir began assisting the U.S. military and intelligence agencies during the War on Terror. But the company appears to be making a transition to become more of a commercially focused company now. That’s good news for shareholders, as the commercial market is far bigger.
The commercial business has been kick-started
Last quarter, Palantir showed a marked acceleration in its commercial business. Commercial revenue was up 33% to $307 million, making up 45.3% of revenue. That’s gaining fast on the traditional government segment, which held its own with a fine 23% growth to $371 million. Both segments accelerated relative to last year, enabling the company to more than double its growth rate relative to the year-ago quarter, from 13% growth in Q2 2023 to 27% total growth in Q2 2024.
That’s a rather stunning pickup in the growth rate, which typically gets harder, not easier, as a company gets bigger. But under the hood, things look even rosier in the forward outlook for commercial revenue, especially the dynamic U.S. market.
In Q2, U.S. commercial revenue grew 55% but would have been up 70% if not for discounted initial low-revenue deployments with “strategic” customers. The overall U.S. commercial customer count was up 83% to 295 commercial customers, with total customers up 41% year over year. Finally, U.S. commercial remaining deal value (RDV), which totals all the remaining value of outstanding contracts, was up a whopping 103% relative to the prior year.
Of note, the U.S. now accounts for just over 50% of total commercial revenue.
Acceleration coinciding with the unveiling of the AI Palantir (AIP) platform
In his letter to shareholders, CEO Alex Karp included this graphic about customer adoption:
Image source: Getty Images.
As you can see, there appears to be a big acceleration in customer adoption starting around one year ago — exactly when Palantir launched its AIP platform. AIP is Palantir’s artificial intelligence software that helps companies harness the power of large language models (LLMs) and employ them within real-world contexts for businesses to generate tangible outcomes. CEO Alex Karp said that AIP is disrupting or “deprecating” enterprises’ back-end application development processes, akin to the way cloud computing disrupted traditional enterprise tech infrastructure.
From the looks of the chart above, it appears Karp and Palantir are onto something with AIP. In his letter to shareholders, Karp highlighted the ability of AIP to harness the power of large language models toward actual business outcomes, saying that using LLMs without the full context of the business and AIP won’t work:
Models with trillions of parameters may be able to flawlessly mimic Goethe, but without more, add little value to the enterprise. They have been born into this world without any sense of its contours or logic, or indeed a conception of truth or basic facts, let alone the collective knowledge of and insight into the operations of an organization with half a million employees…They are wild animals, whose power and capabilities must be tamed and harnessed. And we are now seeing what is possible once they are.
AIP is also leading to new vertical products
But the growth doesn’t stop there. Karp and his team also noted Palantir would be coming out with a new software platform called Warp Speed, built on top of AIP. Warp Speed will be a back-end platform specifically designed for modern industrial manufacturing businesses. “The American manufacturing operating system” is what Karp called it, built from Palantir’s past experience in the military and heavy industrial industries.
From the call with analysts, it appears Warp Speed will tie all the elements of manufacturing together, from the enterprise resource planning (ERP) system, to the Manufacturing Execution System (MES), to the Production Lifecycle Management system (PLM), to the Programmable Logic Controller (PLCs) for factory automation, to the workers on the factory floor.
With Warp Speed, Palantir is adapting AI for specific vertical industries in a way that has the potential to disrupt legacy enterprise software businesses — and those markets are quite large.
Peering into the decade ahead
The defense segment is still an important one for Palantir, and somewhat defines its corporate brand. However, it’s highly likely that the commercial segment will soon become its largest. Ten years out, it stands to dwarf the defense business, which is somewhat limited in its potential size.
Palantir made about $2.5 billion in revenue over the past 12 months, but is also profitable on a generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) basis. Still, at 33 times sales, the stock is also extremely expensive.
But, given the much larger private sector relative to the U.S. and allied defense industries, Palantir’s accelerated commercial traction appears to have brightened its long-term growth prospects. If the commercial segment keeps growing as it is, Palantir could make a sizable dent in several enterprise software segments. For instance, in the context of Warp Speed, the ERP software market alone was $71 billion in 2023 but is projected to grow at a 14.4% rate through 2032, reaching $238 billion by that time, according to Fortune Business Insights.
Therefore, should Palantir stay on the cutting edge of AI-powered enterprise software with AIP, Warp Speed, and other future potential offerings, it may very well have a lot of runway in front of it, potentially justifying its current valuation.
Should you invest $1,000 in Palantir Technologies right now?
Before you buy stock in Palantir Technologies, consider this:
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Billy Duberstein and/or his clients have no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Palantir Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Jim Cramer: ‘Hold On’ To Builders FirstSource, ‘Here’s The Problem’ With Viking Therapeutics
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On CNBC’s “Mad Money Lightning Round,” Jim Cramer said Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated (NASDAQ:VRTX) is “great.“
On Aug. 1, Vertex Pharmaceuticals reported second-quarter revenues of $2.65 billion, almost in line with the consensus of estimate of $2.66 billion. Vertex raised its 2024 product revenue guidance from $10.55 billion-$10.75 billion to $10.65 billion-$10.85 billion.
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Builders FirstSource, Inc. (NYSE:BLDR) can “go higher,” Cramer said, “This is precisely the kind of stock you should be buying at this stage in the cycle. Hold on.”
On Aug. 6, Builders FirstSource reported second-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $3.50, beating the street view of $3.02. Quarterly sales of $4.456 billion missed the street view of $4.483 billion.
“Here’s the problem: it costs so much money to build the factories, they’re going to have to get a takeover to be able to do that,” Cramer said about Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VXTX) On July 24, Viking Therapeutics reported better-than-expected second-quarter EPS results.
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Dividend growth stocks can make for ideal investment options whether you’re a retiree or a long-term investor. The types of businesses that increase their payouts on a regular basis normally have a lot of consistency in their earnings from one year to the next, making them safe investments. That doesn’t mean that all dividend growth stocks are safe options, but many of them are.
Three of the safer ones you can put in your portfolio today are Abbott Laboratories (NYSE: ABT), Procter & Gamble (NYSE: PG), and Enbridge (NYSE: ENB). Here’s why these can be ideal investment options for investors who just want a stable dividend to collect and not worry about.
Abbott Laboratories
Healthcare giant Abbott Laboratories has a strong track record of paying and growing its dividend. It belongs to the exclusive club of Dividend Kings, which are stocks that have increased their payouts for at least 50 consecutive years. But that’s not why Abbott is a good option for income investors. Instead, it’s the stability that the business has through its diverse operations, and the promising growth opportunities that lay ahead.
During the first half of the year, the company generated positive year-over-year growth in all but one of its segments: diagnostics, which was down due to a decline in COVID-19 testing. And the company’s results remain strong enough to support its dividend, with Abbott’s payout ratio coming in at around 67%. That leaves room for the stock to continue raising its dividend, which today yields 1.9% — slightly better than the S&P 500‘s average of 1.3%.
One area where I see a lot of room for growth for Abbott is in diabetes care. The company’s continuous glucose monitoring devices have helped that area of its segment grow organically by more than 19% through the first two quarters of 2024. Diabetes is a huge issue for the healthcare industry, and Abbott’s devices can be an effective way for diabetics to stay on top of their glucose levels.
Abbott’s stock averages a beta value of 0.7, which suggests that it’s a stable investment when compared to the overall markets, making it an ideal option for risk-averse investors.
Procter & Gamble
Retirees can collect a slightly higher yield with Procter & Gamble stock, which pays 2.3%. Like Abbott, this too is a dividend growth stock with an impressive streak. Procter & Gamble has one of the longest streaks of dividend growth you can find — it has raised its dividend for 68 consecutive years.
What makes Procter & Gamble a solid option for income investors is the broad range of consumer brands in its portfolio. Whether it’s Head & Shoulders, Crest, or Pampers, the business is full of recognizable and iconic brands that can provide the company with relatively stable results from one year to the next.
This is the type of good, boring income stock you’ll want to own. In each of its last three fiscal years (ended in June), P&G has reported at least $80 billion in sales and more than $14 billion in profit. Its payout ratio is 64%, making the dividend very manageable for the company to maintain while also making it probable that the payments will continue rising in the future.
Enbridge
You can be a little greedy and go for a high-yielding stock such as Enbridge, knowing that you aren’t taking on much risk with this investment. While investors may scoff at the idea of owning an oil and gas stock given a long-run trend toward greener energy, that could still take decades to happen — and even then, oil and gas is still likely to play a vital role in the world’s energy needs.
Retirees are also going to be more focused on the near term. And for at least the foreseeable future, Enbridge is still a rock-solid dividend play. The Canadian-based pipeline company has increased its dividend payments for 29 straight years, and another hike could be coming up later this year.
This is another predictable investment to own. Last year, the company met its guidance for an incredible 18th consecutive year. That type of predictability is hard to come by in oil and gas, which is why the stock’s 6.7% yield is not as risky as it may appear to be. With a lot of fixed assets, Enbridge’s depreciation costs will always run high, which is why its payout ratio can often be at more than 100%.
But the company relies on distributable cash flow (DCF) to evaluate the safety of its dividend, which is an adjusted profit calculation that excludes maintenance capital spending, interest expense, tax, and other items. Last year, the company’s DCF grew to 11.3 billion Canadian dollars, up from CA$11 billion a year earlier.
Through the first half of the year, the company’s DCF per share has totaled CA$2.97, which is already nearly as much as the rate of its annual dividend payments — CA$3.66.
Enbridge is a solid, underrated dividend growth stock for retirees to buy and hold. While there may be a bit more volatility because it is an oil and gas stock, the underlying business is solid, and so too is Enbridge’s payout.
Should you invest $1,000 in Abbott Laboratories right now?
Before you buy stock in Abbott Laboratories, consider this:
The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and Abbott Laboratories wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.
Consider when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005… if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $730,103!*
Stock Advisor provides investors with an easy-to-follow blueprint for success, including guidance on building a portfolio, regular updates from analysts, and two new stock picks each month. TheStock Advisorservice has more than quadrupled the return of S&P 500 since 2002*.
David Jagielski has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Abbott Laboratories and Enbridge. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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