Small Caps Enter the Sept. 16 Fed Decision Carrying the Market's Most Floating-Rate Balance Sheets
The FOMC meets Tuesday and Wednesday with futures markets pricing a quarter-point increase, and the Russell 2000's debt structure makes it the most exposed cohort in US equities. What the projections say may matter more than the 25 basis points.
More top stories
360% Revenue Growth, Lodged With the ASX. Here Is the Small Cap Behind It.
The ASX Small Cap Everyone Will Be Talking About in 2026: Scalare Partners (ASX: SCP)
New Fortress Energy Closes Restructuring That Extinguishes $5.7 Billion of Third-Party Debt, Hives Off Brazil and Leaves Common Holders With 35%
Latest coverage
360% Revenue Growth, Lodged With the ASX. Here Is the Small Cap Behind It.
One number, one filing, one ticker. Scalare Partners (ASX: SCP) put its half-year on the record. The smart money read it in February. Your turn.
The ASX Small Cap Everyone Will Be Talking About in 2026: Scalare Partners (ASX: SCP)
27 early-stage tech companies. One ticker. 360% revenue growth lodged with the ASX. Most of the market still hasn't read it.
New Fortress Energy Closes Restructuring That Extinguishes $5.7 Billion of Third-Party Debt, Hives Off Brazil and Leaves Common Holders With 35%
The LNG developer's English restructuring plan took effect Friday. Creditors take the Brazilian business outright, 65% of the surviving company's common stock and preferred equity with a $2.45 billion liquidation preference that ranks ahead of it. Split-adjusted shares are due to resume trading Monday.
John Marshall Bancorp's First Acquisition Is a $253 Million All-Stock Merger With Bank of Clarke Parent Eagle Financial Services
A fixed 2.0 exchange ratio implied $46.72 an Eagle share and an 11.5% premium when the deal was struck, and would create a $4.4 billion-asset Virginia lender with 23 offices. Neither company disclosed cost savings, earnings accretion or tangible book value dilution.
Axogen agrees to buy nerve-repair device maker BioCircuit for $200 million cash, pricing a $208.7 million stock sale the same morning to fund it
The peripheral-nerve company said Thursday it will pay $200 million in cash for privately held BioCircuit Technologies, maker of the sutureless NerveTape device, with closing expected in the fourth quarter. One minute later, in a separate 6:01 a.m. ET release, it said it had priced 4,910,000 new shares at $42.50 — its second equity raise of 2026 — and that substantially all the net proceeds would fund the purchase price.
ODDITY Tech's revenue falls 25% in the second quarter as the IL MAKIAGE advertising dislocation drags on, but guidance points to a much shallower third-quarter decline
The direct-to-consumer beauty group reported Wednesday that second-quarter net revenue fell to $181 million, with adjusted EBITDA down to $12.9 million from $69.5 million a year earlier. Management guided to an approximately 5% year-over-year revenue decline in the third quarter, a sharp moderation, while conceding it is still working with its largest advertising partner on the underlying technical problem.
Tariff refunds are making some consumer gross margins unreadable, and Lovesac's Thursday print is the cleanest example yet
Lovesac reported a 1,200 basis point jump in second-quarter gross margin and swung to a GAAP profit while its adjusted EBITDA turned negative — a divergence driven by roughly $21.0 million of IEEPA tariff refunds and interest, $20.0 million of which ran through cost of merchandise sold. Oxford Industries and YETI have posted the same distortion at different magnitudes, and each has drawn the GAAP-versus-adjusted line in a different place.
LifeStance prices 22.25 million-share secondary offering at $12.35
The outpatient mental health provider receives none of the proceeds but has agreed to buy 2 million shares back from the underwriter. The price sits 76% above the level of a February sell-down by sponsors TPG and Summit Partners.
Small Caps
The ASX Small Cap Everyone Will Be Talking About in 2026: Scalare Partners (ASX: SCP)
27 early-stage tech companies. One ticker. 360% revenue growth lodged with the ASX. Most of the market still hasn't read it.
New Fortress Energy Closes Restructuring That Extinguishes $5.7 Billion of Third-Party Debt, Hives Off Brazil and Leaves Common Holders With 35%
The LNG developer's English restructuring plan took effect Friday. Creditors take the Brazilian business outright, 65% of the surviving company's common stock and preferred equity with a $2.45 billion liquidation preference that ranks ahead of it. Split-adjusted shares are due to resume trading Monday.
ODDITY Tech's revenue falls 25% in the second quarter as the IL MAKIAGE advertising dislocation drags on, but guidance points to a much shallower third-quarter decline
The direct-to-consumer beauty group reported Wednesday that second-quarter net revenue fell to $181 million, with adjusted EBITDA down to $12.9 million from $69.5 million a year earlier. Management guided to an approximately 5% year-over-year revenue decline in the third quarter, a sharp moderation, while conceding it is still working with its largest advertising partner on the underlying technical problem.
InnovAge lifts fiscal 2026 revenue 16% to $989.7m and guides past $1bn
The PACE operator came within $0.7m of GAAP break-even for the year despite $52.4m of accrued litigation loss, and expects census to reach as high as 8,850 participants in fiscal 2027.
Mid Caps
UNFI ends fiscal 2026 with adjusted EBITDA up 27% as net sales fall 2%
The grocery wholesaler beat consensus on fourth-quarter adjusted earnings but came in light on revenue, then set a fiscal 2027 sales range below the analyst estimate while approving a new $200m buyback.
American Healthcare REIT Buys Eight East Coast Senior Housing Communities for About $696 Million
The 867-unit portfolio was built between 2020 and 2022 and will be run almost entirely by LCB Senior Living. The purchase pushes the REIT's disclosed 2026 investment total past $2 billion.
Scholar Rock Wins FDA Fast Track and Orphan Drug Status for Apitegromab in FSHD as Phase 2 Dosing Begins
The designations open a second indication for the myostatin inhibitor four weeks before its Sept. 30 FDA action date in spinal muscular atrophy. The company had $492.1 million of cash at June 30 and is not yet profitable.
Protagonist Banks $275 Million on FDA Approval of MIMRYLO, Its Second US Clearance of 2026
The peptide developer opted out of co-funding rusfertide in April, handing Takeda the commercial burden in exchange for a $200 million fee plus a $75 million approval milestone. It keeps tiered royalties of 14% to 29% on worldwide sales of the first hepcidin mimetic cleared for polycythemia vera.
Movers
Novartis Miss in Myotonic Dystrophy Lands on Dyne Therapeutics, Which Built Its Accelerated-Approval Path on the Same Endpoint
Novartis said Tuesday that its Phase III HARBOR study of del-desiran failed to beat placebo on video hand opening time. Dyne's registrational expansion cohort in the same disease uses that exact measure as its primary endpoint, with topline data guided for the first quarter of 2027.
Alumis Loses Half Its Market Value After Lupus Trial Misses Overall, Hits in Interferon-High Subgroup
The 408-patient LUMUS study of envudeucitinib failed its primary BICLA endpoint across the whole enrolled population, and Alumis shares fell by more than half in Sept. 1 trading. The company says the interferon-high patients who did respond were unexpectedly under-represented in the trial, a defence that shifts the burden onto a Phase 3 that has not yet been designed.
Rezolve AI's First-Half Revenue Hits $130.8 Million, but Gross Margin Falls to 48.9% and Net Loss Widens to $139.5 Million
Revenue rose nearly 21-fold from a year earlier, yet gross margin dropped from 95.2% and the company burned $96.1 million of operating cash against $100.5 million of cash and restricted cash at June 30. Shares fell about 13% premarket Tuesday even as management reaffirmed roughly $360 million of full-year revenue guidance.
J.H. Whitney sells 15 million Aveanna shares at $11.75, a week after the company raised guidance. Aveanna receives none of the money.
The home-health provider announced the launch of the secondary offering on Aug. 20 and priced it at $11.75 a share, about 9.4% below Thursday's $12.97 close. The selling stockholders are affiliates of J.H. Whitney Equity Partners VII plus current and former directors and officers; RBC Capital Markets is sole book-running manager and settlement is expected on Aug. 24.
IPOs & Deals
John Marshall Bancorp's First Acquisition Is a $253 Million All-Stock Merger With Bank of Clarke Parent Eagle Financial Services
A fixed 2.0 exchange ratio implied $46.72 an Eagle share and an 11.5% premium when the deal was struck, and would create a $4.4 billion-asset Virginia lender with 23 offices. Neither company disclosed cost savings, earnings accretion or tangible book value dilution.
Axogen agrees to buy nerve-repair device maker BioCircuit for $200 million cash, pricing a $208.7 million stock sale the same morning to fund it
The peripheral-nerve company said Thursday it will pay $200 million in cash for privately held BioCircuit Technologies, maker of the sutureless NerveTape device, with closing expected in the fourth quarter. One minute later, in a separate 6:01 a.m. ET release, it said it had priced 4,910,000 new shares at $42.50 — its second equity raise of 2026 — and that substantially all the net proceeds would fund the purchase price.
LifeStance prices 22.25 million-share secondary offering at $12.35
The outpatient mental health provider receives none of the proceeds but has agreed to buy 2 million shares back from the underwriter. The price sits 76% above the level of a February sell-down by sponsors TPG and Summit Partners.
Intellia Lines Up as Much as $400 Million From OrbiMed, but Only $75 Million Is Funded Today
The senior secured term loan releases $225 million in five tranches tied largely to lonvo-z milestones and another $100 million only by mutual agreement. Intellia held $628.4 million in cash at June 30 and burned $106.6 million in the second quarter.
Analysis
360% Revenue Growth, Lodged With the ASX. Here Is the Small Cap Behind It.
One number, one filing, one ticker. Scalare Partners (ASX: SCP) put its half-year on the record. The smart money read it in February. Your turn.
Small Caps Enter the Sept. 16 Fed Decision Carrying the Market's Most Floating-Rate Balance Sheets
The FOMC meets Tuesday and Wednesday with futures markets pricing a quarter-point increase, and the Russell 2000's debt structure makes it the most exposed cohort in US equities. What the projections say may matter more than the 25 basis points.
Tariff refunds are making some consumer gross margins unreadable, and Lovesac's Thursday print is the cleanest example yet
Lovesac reported a 1,200 basis point jump in second-quarter gross margin and swung to a GAAP profit while its adjusted EBITDA turned negative — a divergence driven by roughly $21.0 million of IEEPA tariff refunds and interest, $20.0 million of which ran through cost of merchandise sold. Oxford Industries and YETI have posted the same distortion at different magnitudes, and each has drawn the GAAP-versus-adjusted line in a different place.
Two Banks Clean Up Their Bond Books on the Same Morning: QNB Books an Estimated $26.2 Million Pre-Tax Loss, United Community About $300 Million Net of an Asset-Sale Gain
QNB Corp. sold 46.8% of its securities portfolio to reinvest 386 basis points higher. United Community sold roughly $2.6 billion of securities, expects a third-quarter loss, and added $100 million to its buyback authorization.
More coverage
Pharvaris Reports 83% Reduction in Hereditary Angioedema Attacks Versus Placebo in Pivotal CHAPTER-3 Study
The 85-patient Phase 3 trial of once-daily oral deucrictibant XR met its primary endpoint at p<0.0001 and hit every ranked secondary efficacy endpoint. Pharvaris said it plans to submit a U.S. new drug application in the first half of 2027.
Two Banks Clean Up Their Bond Books on the Same Morning: QNB Books an Estimated $26.2 Million Pre-Tax Loss, United Community About $300 Million Net of an Asset-Sale Gain
QNB Corp. sold 46.8% of its securities portfolio to reinvest 386 basis points higher. United Community sold roughly $2.6 billion of securities, expects a third-quarter loss, and added $100 million to its buyback authorization.
Equity Bancshares Agrees to Buy Iowa's Lincoln Bancorp for About $123.8 Million, Lifting Pro Forma Assets to $9.1 Billion
The Kansas lender is paying 77.5% in stock and 22.5% in cash for a 16-branch Iowa franchise with $1.7 billion of assets, and says the deal earns back tangible book value dilution in under three years.
American Healthcare REIT Buys Eight East Coast Senior Housing Communities for About $696 Million
The 867-unit portfolio was built between 2020 and 2022 and will be run almost entirely by LCB Senior Living. The purchase pushes the REIT's disclosed 2026 investment total past $2 billion.
Intellia Lines Up as Much as $400 Million From OrbiMed, but Only $75 Million Is Funded Today
The senior secured term loan releases $225 million in five tranches tied largely to lonvo-z milestones and another $100 million only by mutual agreement. Intellia held $628.4 million in cash at June 30 and burned $106.6 million in the second quarter.
Diversified Energy Agrees to Buy Birch Permian From Elliott Affiliates for About $1.8 Billion
The Birmingham, Alabama producer says the deal is the largest in its 25-year history and would lift production roughly 35%. It is being funded chiefly with a $1.5 billion asset-backed securitization arranged by Carlyle.
Apogee Enterprises Agrees to Buy Latvia's Groglass for Up to 62.5 Million Euros
The Minneapolis architectural products maker is adding an anti-reflective coated glass specialist to its Performance Surfaces segment. Up to 10 million euros of the price is an earnout tied to three-year financial targets.
Scholar Rock Wins FDA Fast Track and Orphan Drug Status for Apitegromab in FSHD as Phase 2 Dosing Begins
The designations open a second indication for the myostatin inhibitor four weeks before its Sept. 30 FDA action date in spinal muscular atrophy. The company had $492.1 million of cash at June 30 and is not yet profitable.
Alumis Loses Half Its Market Value After Lupus Trial Misses Overall, Hits in Interferon-High Subgroup
The 408-patient LUMUS study of envudeucitinib failed its primary BICLA endpoint across the whole enrolled population, and Alumis shares fell by more than half in Sept. 1 trading. The company says the interferon-high patients who did respond were unexpectedly under-represented in the trial, a defence that shifts the burden onto a Phase 3 that has not yet been designed.
TScan Pauses Its Phase 3 for Lack of Money, Cuts 75% of Staff and Pivots Back to the Solid-Tumor Program It Shelved Ten Months Ago
TScan Therapeutics said on Sept. 2 it has paused enrollment in the ALLOHA-2 Phase 3 study of TSC-101 because it does not have the capital to run it, having reported dosing its first patient in that trial only three weeks earlier. The reversal buys roughly two extra quarters of runway and returns the company to the solid-tumour work it deprioritised in November 2025 to concentrate on the trial it has now stopped enrolling.
Greenland Mines Closes Its $35 Million Sarfartoq Rare Earth Deal — After a 1-for-50 Reverse Split and an Offering Bigger Than the Company's Entire Share Count
Greenland Mines said on Sept. 2 it has completed the acquisition of the Sarfartoq neodymium-praseodymium project from Neo Performance Materials for $20 million in cash and $15 million in securities, citing an Initial Assessment high-case pre-tax NPV of about $2.05 billion prepared by an outside consultant. The nine days that made the cash payment possible included a reverse split for Nasdaq bid-price compliance and a 4,000,000-share raise against roughly 3.18 million shares then outstanding.
GoPro Agrees to $285 Million Merger With Starman Optical, Paying Holders $1.14 a Share Plus a 10% Stub
The action-camera maker will hand shareholders $285 million in cash and roughly a tenth of the combined company, while about $92 million of GoPro debt is repaid at closing. The deal ends a strategic review the board opened in May and pushes a consumer brand into optical transceivers for AI data centers and defense.
Ranger Energy Agrees to Buy STEP's U.S. Coiled Tubing Fleet for $27.5 Million, or About 2.5x 2027 EBITDA
The Houston well-services company will pay $22.5 million in cash and $5 million in stock for 13 coiled tubing spreads, five facilities and roughly 220 workers, funded off its revolver. Management expects the assets to add $80 million to $90 million of 2027 revenue and become the second-largest coiled tubing position in the Lower 48, with closing targeted for on or about Sept. 11.
Rezolve AI's First-Half Revenue Hits $130.8 Million, but Gross Margin Falls to 48.9% and Net Loss Widens to $139.5 Million
Revenue rose nearly 21-fold from a year earlier, yet gross margin dropped from 95.2% and the company burned $96.1 million of operating cash against $100.5 million of cash and restricted cash at June 30. Shares fell about 13% premarket Tuesday even as management reaffirmed roughly $360 million of full-year revenue guidance.
Protagonist Banks $275 Million on FDA Approval of MIMRYLO, Its Second US Clearance of 2026
The peptide developer opted out of co-funding rusfertide in April, handing Takeda the commercial burden in exchange for a $200 million fee plus a $75 million approval milestone. It keeps tiered royalties of 14% to 29% on worldwide sales of the first hepcidin mimetic cleared for polycythemia vera.
NewtekOne Resets 2026 EPS Guidance to $1.70-$1.80 as It Stops Selling Its SBA Loans
The lender is keeping the government-guaranteed portions of its SBA 7(a) originations on the balance sheet instead of selling them within about 90 days of origination, swapping upfront gain-on-sale income for interest income earned over years. The new range sits well below the $2.15-$2.55 it published at its January investor day.
Energy Fuels Closes Australian Strategic Materials Deal, Adding a Korean Alloy Plant to Its Mine-to-Magnet Plan
Completion on Aug. 28 hands the uranium and rare earth producer 1,300 tonnes a year of NdFeB alloy capacity at Ochang, South Korea, plus the Dubbo project in New South Wales. The far larger step, a $1.9 billion purchase of German magnet maker VAC, is not due to close until early 2027.
Solstice and Element Solutions Call Off $14.5 Billion Merger as Solstice Authorizes $500 Million Buyback
The two advanced-materials companies mutually terminated the cash-and-stock combination announced in July, with no fees payable by either side despite reciprocal break fees written into the agreement. Solstice cited conversations with shareholders, authorized a new $500 million buyback and reaffirmed its 2026 outlook.
argenx Completes $77-a-Share, $2.2 Billion Takeover of Forte Biosciences
About 87 percent of Forte's shares were tendered before the offer expired just after 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday, closing an all-cash deal argenx valued at roughly $2.2 billion. argenx says Forte's stock will no longer be listed or traded on the Nasdaq Capital Market.
Diodes Closes $250 Million Purchase of ElevATE Semiconductor, Adding Automated-Test Chip Line
Diodes' own investor press room lists a completion announcement dated Aug. 27, about six weeks after the all-cash deal was announced. The company has projected about $50 million of revenue from the fabless San Diego business in its first twelve months under new ownership.
Aviat Networks Guides Fiscal 2027 Adjusted EBITDA to $50-$55 Million, a Jump It Must Earn Back From Squeezed Gross Margin
The microwave networking supplier posted a GAAP fourth-quarter loss alongside non-GAAP profit, and paired roughly 5% revenue growth guidance with an adjusted EBITDA target about 43% above fiscal 2026 at the midpoint.
Ursa Major Agrees to Go Public via a Bleichroeder SPAC at a $2.3 Billion Post-Deal Equity Value, With Closing Targeted for Early 2027
The hypersonics and solid rocket motor maker would combine with Bleichroeder Acquisition Corp. III in a deal the parties say could deliver up to $345 million depending on redemptions, plus at least $350 million of PIPE commitments - but only about $110 million of that PIPE was funded at signing.
Four Reverse Splits in Three Weeks: Inside the Small-Cap Listing-Compliance Treadmill
Onfolio squeezed 42 million shares into 850,000 and said Thursday it had regained Nasdaq compliance. Interpace, Cycurion and Glucotrack are running the same play this week - under rules that now make it close to a one-shot.
Immatics Prices $150 Million Stock Sale at $8.69 a Share, With Closing Expected Aug. 26
The T-cell therapy developer placed 12,945,916 ordinary shares plus pre-funded warrants for 4,315,304 more, adding capital on top of the $448.2 million it reported holding at the end of June as it widens its pivotal melanoma trial.
Priority Commerce Agrees to Buy IntelliPay to Open a Government Unit, Citing Just Over $4 Million of Added 2026 Revenue
Terms of the membership interest purchase agreement were not disclosed. The bolt-on lands while a take-private proposal at $6.00 to $6.15 a share from a group led by chief executive Thomas Priore, who controls a majority of the stock, remains outstanding and preliminary as of the company's most recent public disclosure on the matter.
Box Raises Fiscal 2027 Revenue Outlook to About $1.29 Billion After Billings Climb 17%
Second-quarter revenue reached $321.1 million and net retention improved to 106%. The company bought back 2.6 million shares for roughly $66 million in the quarter and has $378 million left on its authorization.
Zymeworks Collects a $250 Million Milestone for a Drug It Does Not Sell
Zymeworks said Tuesday that the FDA has cleared two first-line Ziihera regimens in HER2-positive gastroesophageal cancer, triggering a $250 million payment from Jazz Pharmaceuticals. Zymeworks reported $4.6 million of revenue in its most recent quarter.
Navitas Will Pay Up to $232.8 Million for Claros, and Calls the Payoff a 2028-29 Story
The power-semiconductor maker is buying a vertical-power-delivery startup with about $216 million of cash and stock at closing and the balance in shares tied to two years of milestones. Navitas booked $10.5 million of revenue last quarter.
SuperX Announced a $38.8 Million Nvidia Server Order. Its Last Reported Period Showed $2.83 Million of Revenue.
The Nasdaq-listed AI server assembler keeps disclosing Japanese orders far larger than anything that has reached its income statement. The distance between bookings and recognized revenue is the entire question.
Arbutus Opens $230 Million Dutch Auction Tender at $5.00 to $5.75 a Share, Enough to Retire Up to 23.2% of Its Stock
The hepatitis B biotech began a modified Dutch auction tender offer on Aug. 24 for up to US$230 million of its common shares, at prices from US$5.00 to US$5.75. Arbutus says a fully subscribed offer would take in between 20.2% and 23.2% of the 198,105,743 shares outstanding as of Aug. 19. The money comes from a Moderna patent settlement, not from operations: Arbutus held US$92.6 million in cash and investments at June 30 and booked US$1.0 million of revenue in the second quarter, down from US$10.7 million a year earlier.
Expion360 Becomes Expion Energy, Pays $3.425 Million for 3,000 Louisiana Acres and Funds It With $9 Million of 8% Convertible Debentures
The Nasdaq-listed lithium battery maker said on Aug. 24 that it closed the purchase of a drill-ready oil and gas prospect in eastern Louisiana for $3,425,000 in cash, and separately closed an initial $9.0 million of 8% convertible debentures that convert toward common stock at $4.25 a share. The company had $1.54 million of cash at June 30 and its quarterly report disclosed substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. It reported 953,192 shares outstanding as of June 30, a count that reflects the 1-for-12 reverse split effected on July 21.
Two Harbors Clears Final Regulator for $12.00-a-Share Cash Sale to CrossCountry Mortgage, With Closing Expected Before the Open on Aug. 25
Two Harbors Investment Corp. said on Aug. 21 that it received the final regulatory approval needed for its all-cash merger with CrossCountry Mortgage, and that the deal is expected to close before the market opens on Aug. 25. If it completes, common holders are to receive $12.00 per share plus a stub period dividend of $0.20326 per share, payable to holders of record as of Aug. 24; the release says the dividend will not reduce or otherwise affect the merger consideration. The price is 11.1% above the $10.80 per share CrossCountry agreed to pay when the two sides signed in March.
Werewolf Therapeutics agrees to an all-stock merger with Ambros and a $150 million private placement. Existing Werewolf holders keep about 6.8% of the result.
The combined company will be called Ambros Therapeutics and trade on Nasdaq under AMBX, according to the Aug. 21 release. Ambros is valued at $500 million before the placement and Werewolf at $47.5 million, with private placement investors taking roughly 21.5%. Werewolf, which flagged substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern in its last annual report, closed Thursday at 43 cents.
OSI Systems posts record cash flow and a record backlog, then loses more than a tenth of its value. The problem was the top line and the fiscal 2027 outlook, not the earnings line.
The airport-scanner and optoelectronics maker reported fiscal fourth-quarter revenue of $484.1 million, down 4% year over year and about 8.5% short of the $529 million analysts expected, according to StockStory. Non-GAAP earnings per share of $3.78 were essentially in line, and fiscal 2027 non-GAAP EPS guidance of $11.13 to $11.49 brackets a midpoint slightly below consensus.
J.H. Whitney sells 15 million Aveanna shares at $11.75, a week after the company raised guidance. Aveanna receives none of the money.
The home-health provider announced the launch of the secondary offering on Aug. 20 and priced it at $11.75 a share, about 9.4% below Thursday's $12.97 close. The selling stockholders are affiliates of J.H. Whitney Equity Partners VII plus current and former directors and officers; RBC Capital Markets is sole book-running manager and settlement is expected on Aug. 24.
Mercury Systems Books $660 Million in Fiscal Q4 but Margins Slip; Shares Close Lower
The defense electronics supplier reported quarterly revenue of $289.8 million and a 2.28 book-to-bill, yet GAAP net income fell to $0.8 million from $16.4 million and adjusted EBITDA margin narrowed to 16.7% from 18.8%. Shares closed Wednesday at $101.25, down 3.6%.
Critical Metals Replaces Fixed Exchange Ratio With Floating Scale in European Lithium Scheme
Under the amended scheme deed disclosed Aug. 19, European Lithium holders would receive between 0.025 and 0.045 Critical Metals shares depending on a 20-day Nasdaq VWAP. On the VWAP as of the announcement the maximum 0.045 would apply — about 28.6% more stock than the original fixed 0.035.
Evolution Petroleum Prices $12 Million Stock Sale at $3.25 to Help Fund $16 Million Midland Basin Royalty Purchase
The NYSE American-listed producer priced 3.7 million shares at $3.25 on Aug. 19, with closing expected Aug. 20, to part-fund roughly 3,420 net royalty acres in the Permian. Shares closed at $3.34, down 12.79% on the day.
Metaplanet Would End Up Owning 95.7% of Super League. Existing Holders Keep 4.3%.
The Japanese bitcoin treasury company is contributing 2,100 BTC and $2.5 million for 44.9 million shares at $3.00, plus ten-year warrants on another 381 million. Super League's net revenue last quarter was about $1.24 million.
Prenetics Says Cash Flow Turned Positive in July. Its Own Definition of Cash Flow Includes Draws on a $1 Billion Facility.
IM8 delivered $45.0 million of the company's $46.5 million second quarter, and full-year guidance went up for the third time since May. The milestone metric is a non-IFRS measure that adds financing inflows to operating cash.
Harte Hanks Agrees to $5-a-Share Sale to Star Equity, With a Cash-or-Preferred Twist
The direct-marketing and BPO firm would fetch about $38.4 million in a deal that lets holders choose cash or 10% preferred stock, but a 30-day go-shop keeps the outcome open.
XTEND's European NATO Contract Is Valued at Up to $15 Million, With About $4.5 Million Secured for the First Year
JFB Construction Holdings said Monday that XTEND, the drone maker it is merging with, signed a multi-year contract with an unnamed European NATO member's defense ministry. The release puts the ceiling at up to approximately $15 million and describes approximately $4.5 million as secured for the first year, with the balance dependent on additional orders and the customer exercising options under the framework agreement. It also moves the expected closing of the merger itself to Sept. 8, a week later than the date given six days earlier.
Datavault AI Signs Definitive Deal to Buy CyberCatch for $94.5 Million Cash, and the Release Flags Its Own Financing Risk
CyberCatch disclosed the signed arrangement agreement at 8:41 p.m. ET Monday. The document sets a price, a break fee and a September shareholder vote — but it does not show where Datavault AI, a Nasdaq company that reported $2.2 million of cash at its last quarter-end, gets the money.
NRx Says Its Ketamine Generic Cleared First-Cycle FDA Review With One Item Left — and Already Submitted. That Application Is the Anesthesia Label, Not Depression.
NRx Pharmaceuticals told investors Monday afternoon that the FDA has finished first-cycle review of its generic ketamine filing, and that the one remaining item, a manufacturer's attestation on the vial, has already been sent to the agency. Monday's release never says what that filing covers; an earlier NRx release does — the drug's existing anesthesia label. The depression indication runs through a separate NRX-100 application the company said Monday it is still finalizing.
Fulcrum Holders Would Get an Estimated $270 Million Dividend and 5% of Slate Medicines
Eleven weeks after the FDA told Fulcrum Therapeutics there was no viable regulatory path for its only clinical program, the company agreed Monday to merge with privately held Slate Medicines, hand over its Nasdaq listing, and — if the deal closes — pay an estimated $270.0 million to pre-merger holders immediately beforehand.
HomeTrust to Buy Blue Ridge Bankshares in $448.1 Million All-Stock Deal
Monday's exchange ratio implies $4.28 for each Blue Ridge share — about 1.39 times the $3.09 of tangible book value per share the bank reported on Aug. 10, a week after it revised its second quarter for a borrower that ceased operations.
Anavex Stockholders Vote on the Whole Board Sept. 24. The Cure Period for Its Late 10-Q Could Run to Nov. 16 — If Nasdaq Accepts the Plan.
PVG Asset Management, which says it holds 327,344 Anavex shares, is running six nominees against a slate the company refreshed after a committee of independent directors terminated its chief executive in April for what it classified as Cause under his employment agreement. The company's own 8-K describes an exchange exception that could run to Nov. 16 — almost eight weeks after the meeting — but only if Nasdaq accepts its compliance plan.
Savara's FDA Decision Date Is Not This Saturday. It Moved to Nov. 22 Four Months Ago.
Savara said on April 15 that the FDA had pushed its MOLBREEVI review back three months after deeming the company's answers to agency questions a major amendment. Of three published PDUFA calendars we read on Monday morning, one still carried only the superseded August 22 date and a second carried it alongside the corrected one.
MSG Sports Says the Rangers Spin-Off Form 10 Is Now Public, a Day After a Playoff-Driven Quarter
The company announced Friday that it had publicly filed the Form 10 for MSG Rangers Corp. and still expects to complete the separation by the end of October. A day earlier it reported fiscal 2026 results in which playoff-related revenue accounted for most of the fourth quarter's growth.
Quantum Corporation Booked a $155.3 Million Loss on 22 Million Shares. It Had 39.4 Million by August.
The data-storage company's fiscal first-quarter 10-Q shows a $5.0 million operating profit sitting above a $155.3 million net loss. Three fair-value and extinguishment charges tied to June's debt-for-equity recapitalization account for $157.7 million, and the cash flow statement treats all but about $3.3 million of them as non-cash. The per-share figure is struck on a weighted-average count barely half the shares outstanding on August 6, and the September quarter is the first that will carry the new count for its full length.
Proficient Auto Logistics Closed a $130 Million Deal and Sold a Convertible That Sits On 11.5 Million Shares
The Jacksonville auto hauler completed its purchase of Hansen & Adkins on August 13 and priced $75 million of 5.50% convertible notes two days earlier. At the initial conversion rate the notes sit on 11,534,025 shares against the 28,052,923 outstanding at June 30 — and the company's own pricing release does not name the acquisition as a use of proceeds.
argenx's $77 Tender for Forte Biosciences Expires Aug. 26. The Filings Spell Out Exactly What Has to Happen First.
The offer to purchase is dated Aug. 6 and, by argenx's own commencement release, expires one minute after 11:59 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, Aug. 26 — fifteen business days, not the twenty the Exchange Act rulebook still prints. An SEC exemptive order dated April 16, 2026 is what makes the shorter clock lawful.
Exzeo Spent a $12 Million Buyback in Six Weeks. Friday Afternoon It Authorized $25 Million More.
The insurance-technology company announced the larger program after Friday's close. Its own filings show the first one repurchased 834,250 shares in about six weeks — roughly a tenth of the stock it sold in its IPO — while majority holder HCI Group's reported stake stood at about 83.1 percent at June 30.
Mercury Systems Closes Fiscal 2026 on Tuesday, and Consensus Already Assumes the Quarter Got Spent Early
The defense-electronics maker reports fourth-quarter and full-year results after Tuesday's close. Analysts model adjusted earnings and revenue below last year's June quarter — a setup that traces back to management's own disclosure that roughly $25 million of revenue primarily planned for the fourth quarter was generated in the third instead.
Elutia Assembles Up to $26 Million Without Selling Stock, Betting the Company on One Device
The $42 million medtech said after Thursday's close that it had lined up a $15 million Avenue Capital loan facility and up to $11 million from selling its SimpliDerm business, enough in management's view to carry NXT-41x through FDA clearance and full commercial launch. Chief executive Randy Mills stressed the company did it without an equity offering. The catch is that most of the money is contingent, and one tranche is unlocked only by the very clearance it is meant to fund.
Ultragenyx Faces Two Gene-Therapy Decision Dates 27 Days Apart, One a Re-Run of a Manufacturing Rejection
The FDA has set target action dates of August 23 and September 19, 2026 for two of Ultragenyx's AAV gene therapies. The second is a resubmission after a July 2025 Complete Response Letter that the company says cited chemistry, manufacturing and controls issues only, with no review issues flagged on the clinical data package. Ultragenyx reported $436 million in cash, equivalents and marketable securities at June 30, 2026, against $214 million of quarterly revenue. Both goal dates fall on a weekend.
Wednesday's 50% tariff on Canadian goods lands on small-cap importers, not on the metals and energy names
A 50% duty on close to $20 billion of Canadian imports takes effect at 12:01 a.m. ET on Wednesday, August 19, the first use of Section 338 of the Tariff Act of 1930. Energy, potash, fish, critical minerals and anything already under Section 232 are carved out, which rules out most of the commodity small caps investors reach for first. What is in scope is plywood, cement, furniture, seeds and hundreds of other lines that US small and mid caps buy as inputs, and the duty is owed by the American importer of record.
Diana Shipping Withdrew Its Genco Bid 38 Minutes After Friday's Bell
Diana says Genco's board demanded a package worth about $36.91 a share, roughly 40% above where Genco actually closed on Friday. Genco has not responded, and every figure describing its demands comes from Diana.
The Drone Tariff Wall Goes Up September 3. The Magnet Inside the Motor Is Still Chinese.
A 100% Section 232 duty repriced US drone assemblers on Friday. But Commerce's own prior finding under the same statute is that the United States is essentially entirely dependent on imported sintered NdFeB magnets — and the arithmetic of pricing power runs through that sentence.
KinderCare Fell 46% in a Session. The Subsidy Story Behind It Is Not the One That Circulated
KLC closed at $2.60 on Friday, down 46.17%, after cutting 2026 guidance. But the company never said subsidy rates were reduced — its CFO said increases were arriving more slowly than expected, and more than half the EBITDA guidance cut was an insurance actuarial item.
Three Weeks That Repriced September — and the Fed Minutes That Could Reprice Them Back
The Russell 2000 closed Friday at a record 3,068.42 and led every major index for the week, as market-implied odds of a September rate hike fell from roughly two-thirds in late July to a range of 24% to just above 30% by Friday, depending on which venue and which hour you ask. Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. ET brings the first look inside the July 28-29 meeting, where three officials dissented in favor of raising rates — the first triple same-direction dissent since September 2016. The minutes will not say how the Fed reads this month's data, because the meeting predates all of it.
Three Housing Prints and Two Builders in 48 Hours: The Small-Cap Housing Complex Meets Its Test Week
NAHB sentiment Monday, Census starts and permits plus NAR pending sales Tuesday, then Toll Brothers Tuesday night and Hovnanian Thursday morning. For the domestically geared small- and mid-cap housing names — and for a sector already consolidating at below book value — the read-across matters more than it does for the mega-caps.
Small Caps Take the Record Alone: Russell 2000 Closes at 3,068.42 as the Big Three Fade Into the Weekend
The small-cap benchmark finished Friday at a record 3,068.42 and gained 1.11% on the week, outrunning the S&P 500, Dow and Nasdaq on a session when energy and basic materials led and Treasury yields backed up.
Applied Optoelectronics Gained 15% on Friday With No Identified Company Catalyst. The Filings Explain What the Tape Did Not.
AAOI closed at $150.28 in a session that trackers could not pin to a same-day catalyst, so we went back to the quarter and the 10-Q: record revenue, a widening GAAP loss, three customers supplying nearly all of it, and a $12.7 billion market value that no longer belongs to a small cap.
Small Caps Are the Only Green Index on the Morning the Consumer Cracked
The Russell 2000 traded above Thursday's record close while the S&P, Nasdaq and Dow all fell — a divergence built on a rate trade that cuts both ways for small caps.
Capricor Jumps as the FDA Agrees to Look at 24-Month Duchenne Data. Agreeing to Look Is Not Approving.
CAPR gave back nearly half its premarket gain by early afternoon; by the company's account the FDA is willing to review an amendment and extend the clock, which says nothing about the outcome.
July Retail Sales Fell 0.6%. The Russell 2000 Owns More of That Miss Than the S&P Does
The Census Bureau's advance July estimate landed at $763.6 billion, down 0.6% from June against calendar forecasts that sat above zero. For an index that earns roughly four-fifths of its revenue inside the United States, the category detail matters more than the headline.
Globant Trims Its 2026 Outlook as North America Shrinks — and Points at a $52.8 Million AI Line to Explain Why It Isn't Worried
The $1.8 billion NYSE-listed IT services firm held revenue flat at $614.4 million and cut its full-year range for the first time this year. Shares were quoted about 13.6% lower in after-hours trade, against a Thursday close that was up 5.8%.
The Small-Cap Week Ahead: Big-Box Earnings, July Fed Minutes and Three Dissents for a Hike
Small caps enter Friday at a record, with the Russell 2000 closing Thursday at 3,052.85. Next week hands them a consumer read-through in six parts — Home Depot, Target, TJX, Lowe's, Walmart and BJ's — plus July FOMC minutes on Wednesday from a meeting where three policymakers dissented in favor of a rate increase.
The Russell 2000 set a record close on cooler producer prices, but small caps still finished last among the big four indexes
July producer prices came in flat and September rate-hike odds fell, handing the Russell 2000 an all-time closing high on Thursday. But the small-cap benchmark rose 0.24% while the Nasdaq gained 0.81%, which is the problem with declaring a broadening rally on the strength of a single session.
Blaize cuts its 2026 revenue outlook by two-thirds while CPI Aerostructures posts a profit: Thursday night's small-cap earnings
Three small companies reported after Thursday's close and told three different stories. Blaize took its full-year revenue guidance from $130 million to $40-$43 million, CPI Aerostructures turned a 4.4% gross margin into 22%, and CapsoVision grew revenue 10% while its operating loss widened by more than half.
X-energy jumped 11.7% on a quarter where operating expenses ran three times the top line
The nuclear developer's first-half revenue and grant income rose 132% to $98 million while operating expenses reached $274 million. With $1.9 billion of liquidity and no reactors in commercial operation, X-energy is a mid cap priced on milestones rather than earnings — and it is not the only one heading into a decisive week.
Fossil Raises Its Outlook While Jack in the Box Pays Up for Debt: Two Small-Cap Consumer Reports Land After Wednesday's Close
Fossil Group lifted full-year guidance on a 490-basis-point gross margin gain even as sales fell, sending shares higher in extended trading. Jack in the Box posted another quarter of negative same-store sales and disclosed the price of the refinancing that fixed its maturity wall.
Schedule Risk Comes Due: Virgin Galactic Slips to 2027, Spire's Margin Cracks, and Intuitive Machines Misses on a Record Quarter
Two small-cap space companies reported after Wednesday's close and both fell in extended trading, one on a four-month delay and one on a gross margin that dropped 16 points. Intuitive Machines reported Thursday morning with revenue more than four times year-ago levels, a record $1.76 billion backlog — and a miss on both lines.
Leslie's Collapses, Harmonic and EnerSys Jump: Wednesday Night's Small-Cap Earnings Split Sets Up Thursday's Open
A pool retailer withdrew its outlook and said it is exploring strategic alternatives, while a broadband equipment maker and a battery supplier raised the bar. The dispersion beneath a steady small-cap index is the story heading into Thursday's PPI print.
Small caps finish ahead of the large-cap benchmarks as July CPI lands in line
The Russell 2000 closed Wednesday up 0.61% at 3,045.56, outpacing the S&P 500's 0.26% gain and a Dow that finished slightly lower. The official prints show small caps took the in-line inflation report better than the mega-cap indexes did.
Astronics, Velo3D and Definium all closed higher Wednesday for three unrelated reasons
An aerospace supplier posting record bookings, a metal 3D-printing company raising guidance, and a clinical-stage biotech clearing a Phase 3 endpoint all finished Wednesday higher. The mechanics behind each move have almost nothing in common.
National CineMedia loses more than 40% of its value on a fully debt-funded $275 million acquisition
The cinema advertising company is buying digital out-of-home operator Captivate for $275 million, funded entirely with new term debt, and pausing its dividend and buyback afterward. Shares closed Wednesday at $2.22.
Producer prices and retail sales set the harder test for small caps this week
July CPI landed in line on Wednesday, but the wedge between producer and consumer inflation is where small-cap margins actually live. Thursday's PPI and Friday's retail sales report will say more about the Russell 2000 than the CPI print did.
BETA Technologies falls on a wider quarterly loss even as revenue beats its own guidance
The Vermont electric-aircraft maker reported second-quarter revenue of $14.7 million, well above the $8 million to $11 million it had guided to, but an adjusted loss of $0.64 a share against a $0.46 consensus. The stock fell on a day the broad market rose.
Small caps hold their gains as July CPI lands in line and traders lean toward a Fed hold
A soft headline inflation print and a 1.5% drop in energy prices kept the Russell 2000 in positive territory Wednesday, easing pressure on the rate-sensitive corner of the market.
Cava and H&R Block jump on results while Neurocrine and Performance Food Group slide
Wednesday's mid-cap tape split sharply along earnings lines, with two double-digit gainers on beats and raises and two decliners on a safety report and a narrow revenue miss.
Private capital keeps raiding the small-cap bench, and the premiums are getting hard to ignore
Three sponsor-led take-privates announced since June carry premiums between roughly 52% and 74%, a sign that buyout firms see value in smaller listed companies the public market has been slow to price.
Russell 2000 Edges Higher Ahead of CPI as Small-Business Optimism Hits One-Year High
Small caps outpaced the major averages in Tuesday morning trading, helped by the strongest NFIB optimism reading since last August, as investors braced for Wednesday's inflation report.
Earnings Season Bites: OppFi and Purple Innovation Sink on Guidance Cuts While Plug Power and Riot Rally
Second-quarter results drove sharp two-way moves in smaller stocks Tuesday, with guidance cuts punished severely and beats rewarded with double-digit gains.