NA Proactive news snapshot: Altiplano Metals, Deep-South Resources, Vuzix, Phunware, Co-Diagnostics, Duos Technologies UPDATE …

Altiplano Metals Inc (CVE:APN) announced that it has accelerated and fully repaid $800,000 in outstanding loans payable to certain arm's length investors of the company under a debt financing that closed on March 24, 2020. In addition, the company has made the final instalment payment of $100,000 to Comet Exploration Ltd., thus eliminating the 10% net profits interest (NPI) due to Comet from profits derived from Altiplano's Chilean projects. Altiplano CEO Alastair McIntyre commented: "I am pleased to report the Debt Financing loans and NPI agreements are off of the Company books earlier than expected. The expiry of these obligations is very positive for the Company as they strengthen our balance sheet and improve future cash flows. The final payment on the NPI has the net benefit of removing $1.3 million in future payment obligations and, combined with the expiry of the future payments on the loans, provides the Company the opportunity to re-invest in current operations and to provide liquidity and flexibility for additional acquisitions." Further, the company said it has elected to accelerate the expiry date of 6,500,000 warrants outstanding, originally issued as part of the debt financing which were originally set to expire on March 24, 2023, to an expiry date of April 26, 2021. Red Cloud Securities analysts initiated coverage on shares of Deep-South Resources Inc (CVE:DSM) with a ‘Buy’ rating and a target price of C$2 per share, saying “Deep-South provides investors a copper play with great value and substantial upside". The analysts noted the copper resource developer has a large, sulfide copper porphyry deposit estimated to contain an indicated and Inferred resource of 5.3 billion pounds of copper, which it said is likely to grow further. Vuzix Corporation (NASDAQ:VUZI), a leading supplier of Smart Glasses and Augmented Reality (AR) technology and products, announced Thursday that it intends to offer shares of its common stock for sale in an underwritten public offering. In addition, the company expects to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 15% of the number of shares to be issued and sold in the public offering on the same terms and conditions. It intends to use the net proceeds for general corporate purposes, including working capital to accelerate the building of finished goods inventory to address increasing customer demand, new technology development, new product development, purchases of technology, expansion of its software offerings, and possible related acquisitions of other firms. The offering is subject to market conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed, or as to the actual size or terms of the offering. Phunware Inc (NASDAQ:PHUN) released its FY2020 results after the bell on Thursday showing the enterprise cloud platform company netted $10 million in revenue for the year. Over 90% of the revenue came from the Austin-based firm’s multiscreen-as-a-service (MaaS) platform subscriptions and services, which totaled $9.1 million. The group recently closed an offering that generated nearly $25 million in proceeds. In a statement, Phunware’s CEO Alan Knitowski told shareholders that the past year an inflection point in the company’s history, as it shifted from a non-recurring, low margin transaction business to a stickier, more scalable, recurring and high margin SaaS licensing business for its MaaS platform.  Co-Diagnostics Inc (NASDAQ:CODX) announced Thursday that it earned a net income of $42.5 million in 2020 as its Logix Smart coronavirus (COVID-19) test drove record sales. That’s a huge turnaround for the Utah-based molecular diagnostics company which posted a $5.6 million loss in 2019. In addition, the company banked $74.6 million in revenue in 2020 -- a whopping 24,766% year-over increase. For its fourth quarter ended December 31, the company reported revenue of $27.1 million and net income of $12.8 million. Co-Diagnostics also closed the year with cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities of $47.3 million versus $900,000 at year-end 2019. Duos Technologies Group Inc (NASDAQ:DUOT) reported a 195% quarter-over-quarter increase in its 4Q 2020 revenue to $3.78 million, following what the company called “strong”  improvements across all its business segments driven by its ongoing strategic initiatives introduced during the third quarter. Duos Technologies ended the fourth quarter with cash and equivalents totaling $4.0 million. Alternus Energy Group PLC (NOTC:ALT), the fast-growing pan-European independent power producer, has announced the completion of the acquisition of two additional solar parks in Romania from Renesola Power following definitive sales contracts signed between the parties in December last year. Alternus said that Lucas Est SRL situated in Dumbrava, in Prahova county western Romania, has an installed power capacity of 6 MWp. Meanwhile, Ecosfer Energy S.r.l., in Costestii din Vale, barely an hour outside the capital Bucharest, has an installed capacity of 9.4 MWp. With these additional power plants, Alternus said it has ramped up its power generation capacity by 55%, compared to the same time last year. It now operates a “diverse portfolio of 27 solar PV parks across four European countries with a combined capacity of 46 MWp,” the company added. Under the terms of the contracts, Alternus paid €26 million for ownership of the two Romanian SPVs after working capital adjustments from effective date to closing. Bragg Gaming Group Inc. (TSE:BRAG) (OTC:BRGGF) released its fourth-quarter and full-year financial results on Thursday, including revenue that increased by nearly 75%. Revenue for the three months ended December 31 was €13.8 million (C$20.4 million), compared to €7.8 million (C$11.6 million) in the fourth quarter of 2019. For the full year, revenue was €46.4 million (C$68.7 million), compared to €26.6 million (C$39.3 million) in 2019. Wagering revenue generated by customers rose by 50% year-over-year to €3.2 billion (C$4.7 billion) in the fourth quarter compared to €2.1 billion (C$3.2 billion) in the same period of 2019. Full year wagering revenue increased by 74% to €11.8 billion (C$17.5 billion), compared to €6.8 billion (C$10.1 billion) in 2019. Cloud Nine Web3 Technologies Inc (CSE:CNI) (OTCMKTS:CLGUF) said its Next Decentrum educational technology partner has released what it calls The Quick & Dirty Guide to Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), a downloadable PDF as well as an extended video course available at NFT.NextDecentrum.com. NFTs are a unit of data on a digital blockchain ledger that represents a unique, non-interchangeable digital item, which is expected to solve persistent problems of authentication affecting the music, art, and content creation industries. “These are unprecedented times for the blockchain and the decentralized finance space. The recent rising interest in NFTs has led to increased blockchain adoption and with it the need for more education,” Cloud Nine Web3 Technologies CEO Allan Larmour said in a statement. Leede Jones Gable has initiated coverage on Canadian biotechnology firm Cardiol Therapeutics Inc (TSE:CRDL) (OTCQX:CRTPF) with a ‘Speculative Buy’ rating. In a note Thursday, the research firm cited Oakville, Ontario-based Cardiol’s revenue potential from its ultrapure cannabidiol formulation Cortalex, which was launched last year through the Medical Cannabis by Shoppers portal. Leede Jones Gable analyst Douglas Loe wrote that the alliance should generate top-line growth while clinical trials – including the Phase II/III trial of its flagship product CardiolRx – continue in the background. Xigem Technologies Corporation (CSE:XIGM) (FRA:2C1) announced Thursday that it is executing on a letter of intent (LOI) to enhance its iAgent cloud-based software platform for FluBusters Inc, a commercial-grade pathogen prevention and decontamination service provider. Xigem said it will work with FluBusters to help manage inbound customer inquiries, match them to available personnel, track the availability of teams and equipment and optimize deployments. Under the terms of the LOI, signed back in October, the company will license iAgent to FluBusters for a recurring monthly licensing fee.  TomaGold Corporation (CVE:LOT) (OTCMKTS:TOGOF) (FRA:OTM) said it was poised to start a 10,000 metres (m) new follow-up drill program at its Obalski property, in Chibougamau, Quebec, next month, as it reported the last four holes from the drill campaign. A seven-hole program started last December and finished on February 18 this year, the company said, which has continued to show strong results at the property, with one hole hitting 23.7 grams per ton (g/t) gold and 24.5 g/t silver over 0.5m from a depth of 190m. NetCents Technology Inc (CSE:NC) (FRA:26N) (OTCQB:NTTCF), a cryptocurrency payments company, revealed on Thursday that it has fielded a surge in new partner sign-ups and leads over the last two months. The Vancouver-based company said it has been flooded with, on average, 10-to-15 new partner leads a week over the past 60 days, with a close rate of 30% over the 60-day period, rising to 40% over the month of March. NetCents said that as it works on closing existing and new incoming partnership leads, with an average lead to close time of 30-to-40 days, it expects to increase “the lead to close rate.” The company chalked up the rising demand and partnership gains to the company’s “omnichannel marketing, existing partner referrals, organic inquires, and increased interest in cryptocurrency within the traditional payment industry.” Renforth Resources Inc (CSE:RFR) (OTCQB:RFHRF) (FRA:9RR) said it has begun a 3,500-meter drill program on the Victoria Nickel target at its Surimeau District property in Quebec. The company said the drilling is planned for around three kilometers of the five-kilometer strike of the Victoria target area and is a follow-up program to its confirmation surface and sub-surface sampling programs which it said has demonstrated the presence of mineralization including sulphide nickel, zinc, copper, and silver while testing for platinum group elements is ongoing. EVmo Inc (OTCMKTS:YAYO), formerly known as YayYo, said it has taken delivery of its first fleet of Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) vehicles through its fleet partnership agreement. The provider of vehicles to the rideshare and gig economy said it is now ahead of schedule in converting its entire fleet to electric vehicles (EVs) by the end of 2021, adding that it is “well-positioned to emerge as a leader in the rideshare industry as it executes on an aggressive organic and acquisition growth strategy”.  Heritage Cannabis Holdings Corp (CSE:CANN) (OTCQX:HERTF) (FRA:2UE) revealed that this year, it would launch in the US, several new medical products, formulated with its patented VESIsorb drug delivery technology through its subsidiary Opticann. The Toronto-based cannabis company said the products, to be introduced in a phased manner, would include ArthroCBD soft gel capsules, as well as topical cannabinoid applications created to address eczema, psoriasis, and local pain. “We continue to innovate and expand our clinically proven cannabinoid product offerings as we launch our initial suite of products formulated with the VESIsorb drug delivery system technology,” said Umar Syed, President of the Medical Division at Heritage.  BioHarvest Sciences Inc (CSE:BHSC) (OTCMKTS:CNVCF) (FRA:8MV) announced Thursday the appointment of marketing professional Scott McCune to its board of advisors. With the appointment, the company said it has succeeded in assembling a best-in-class team of expert advisors to cover all the major aspects of its business. BioHarvest said McCune will leverage his experience to assist in building a disruptive and integrated marketing program for the imminent launch of the company's flagship VINIA product in the US market. Safe-T Group Ltd (NASDAQ:SFET) (TASE:SFET) said its subsidiary has signed a distribution agreement with Philemon Security USA.  Under the agreement, Philemon will offer the company’s ZoneZero solutions to Federal agencies and commercial markets with system integrators, managed security service providers, and tier one and two resellers in North America, while also becoming Safe-T’s lead distributor in the region.  WeedMD Inc (CVE:WMD) (OTCQX:WDDMF) (FRA:4WE) announced it is expanding its product portfolio to include live resin under the Pedro’s Sweet Sativa cultivar. The live resin line is the first in a series of new extract products that WeedMD recently announced, which will eventually include solventless hash and rosin concentrates, the Toronto-based company said in a Tuesday statement.  Vuzix Corporation (NASDAQ:VUZI) (FRA:V7XN) announced Thursday that it has received an initial deployment order totaling about $250,000 for Vuzix M400 Smart Glasses from a healthcare and surgical training solutions provider. This initial deployment order is for immediate delivery, with the potential for subsequent deployment orders in the future, as the customer expands its use of the smart glasses, the company said. Vuzix said its M400 Smart Glasses will be used in operating rooms to enable medtech experts, assisting surgeons, medical students, and other healthcare professionals to see and communicate with surgeons in real-time.  Loncor Resources Inc (TSE:LN) (OTCQX:LONCF) (FSE:LO51) revealed results from the deepest drill hole to date on the Adumbi deposit in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Thursday. Drill hole intersected 32.2 metres grading 6.2 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, (including 1.5 metres grading 94.8 g/t gold), 15.4 metres grading 3.7 g/t gold (including 5.9 metres grading 6.6 g/t gold), 5 metres grading 3.2 g/t gold and 7.5 metres grading 1.5 g/t gold. The hole intersected “significant widths and grades” in multiple zones, Toronto-based Loncor said in a release. American Manganese Inc (CVE:AMY) (OTCQB:AMYZF) (FRA:2AM) has expanded its patent portfolio for its ground-breaking battery recycling process into South Korea, it revealed Thursday. The company has received a 'notice of allowance' from the Korean intellectual property (IP) Office for the National Phase Patent Application of its RecycLiCo technology, which means the company now has a Korean patent.  Esports Entertainment Group Inc (NASDAQ:GMBL) (FRA:40Y1) announced that it has signed a multi-year partnership agreement with the Denver Broncos to be the National Football League (NFL) franchise's esports tournament provider. As part of the multi-year deal, the company said it will operate esports tournaments for the Broncos utilizing Esports Entertainment’s Esports Gaming League (EGL) platform.  GR Silver Mining Ltd (CVE:GRSL) (OTCQB:GRSLF) (FRA:GPE) reported more positive drill results from its Plomosas project in Mexico, which have expanded the high-grade silver-gold bulk tonnage zones. The latest assays come from the historic Plomosas mine area, and included results from lower levels of the mine area, where previous underground drilling has been limited. Here, assays included 159 grams per ton (g/t) of silver equivalent over 7m (m) from a depth of 343.6m. Another highlight from the surface and underground program hit an intercept of 21m at a grade of  377 g/t silver, 0.23 g/t gold, 0.7 % lead and 1.5% zinc starting from a depth of 112m. HempFusion Wellness Inc (TSE:CBD.U) (OTCQX:CBDHF) (FRA:8OO) said it has completed a pilot study, in collaboration with Kansas-based Inflammatory Markers Laboratory (IML), which assessed the effect of the HempFusion formulation CBD Capsules as it relates to a combination of anti-inflammatories in lowering the results of the chronic inflammation test. HempFusion said results of the pilot study have shown potential promise in the area of inflammatory markers and the possible effects on exaggerated inflammation. “We are committed to furthering research in the area of hemp-derived CBD and this pilot trial and soon to be published white paper reinforces our continued focus on the safe and effective use of hemp-derived CBD products,” HempFusion Wellness CEO Jason Mitchell said in a statement.  Metalla Royalty & Streaming Ltd (NYSEAMERICAN:MTA) (CVE:MTA) said Thursday it had acquired another two royalties to add to its growing portfolio. The group acquired a 0.5% net smelter return (NSR) royalty on a portion of Barrick Gold’s Alturas-Del Carmen project in Argentina for C$1.6 million in cash from Coin Hodl Inc (CVE:COIN). In addition, Metalla snagged a 0.45% NSR covering Agnico Eagle’s Amalgamated Kirkland property and Kirkland Lake Gold's North AK Property located in Kirkland Lake, Ontario, for C$0.7 million in cash from private third parties. Orogen Royalties Inc (CVE:OGN) announced Thursday the appointment of Roland Butler to its board of directors. The company noted that Butler has worked in royalty and prospect generation for over 20 years. He is a co-founder of Altius Minerals Corporation where he served as vice president and director from listing in 1997 to 2010. Butler then served as CEO of Callinan Royalties Corporation from 2011 to 2014, which structured the funding of numerous early-stage exploration alliances resulting in the generation of mineral projects -- including the Silicon gold project (now owned by AngloGold Ashanti) where Orogen holds a 1% net smelter return royalty. Exro Technologies Inc (CVE:EXRO) (OTCQB:EXROF) (FRA:1O2) announced Thursday the validation of its motor and inverter system solution for light mobility with global electric-drives manufacturer Heinzmann GmbH & Co KG.  Exro said it validated integration of its 100 Volt Coil Driver for light electric vehicles alongside Heinzmann's PMS 120 motors (the machine), and testing has proven that dynamic coil switching under load is successful and operating as expected at peak currents.  Sanatana Resources Inc. (CVE:STA) said it has received final drilling permits and signed a contract with G4 Drilling Canada Ltd. to immediately commence a 3,000 metre drilling program on the Gold Rush project, 25 kilometres west of Timmins. This drill program will target eight different areas of the property identified in previous work as prospective for gold mineralization. Peter Miles, Santana CEO commented: "After delays due to COVID, we are pleased to begin our initial drill program at the Gold Rush project. We look forward to reporting results once we have them in hand." Bioasis Technologies Inc. (CVE:BTI) (OTCQB:BIOAF), a pre-clinical, research-stage biopharmaceutical company developing its proprietary xB3 platform technology has confirmed that it has received approval from the TSX Venture Exchange for the previously announced amendments to the terms of 5,797,795 common share purchase warrants issued to subscribers pursuant to the private placement of units which closed on April 11, 2017. The expiry date of the warrants has been extended from April 11, 2021, until April 11, 2022, and the exercise price has been reduced from $1.00 to $0.85. All other terms of the warrants remain unchanged for the extended exercise period. OTC Markets Group Inc. (OTCQX:OTCM), the operator of financial markets for 11,000 US and global securities, has announced that LeoVegas AB (NASDAQSTO:LEO) (OTCQX:LEOVF), a global gaming operator, has qualified to trade on the OTCQX Best Market and began trading today under the symbol 'LEOVF'.  Upgrading to the OTCQX Market is an important step for companies seeking to provide transparent trading for their US investors.  For companies listed on a qualified international exchange, streamlined market standards enable them to utilize their home market reporting to make their information available in the US. To qualify for OTCQX, companies must meet high financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance and demonstrate compliance with applicable securities laws. "Today approximately 12% of our shareholders are from the USA, and we are seeing ever-greater interest in LeoVegas as a company and investment. The decision to also begin trading on OTCQX will help make us more accessible for American equity investors and thereby enable others to join us on our growth journey going forward. I want to welcome all of the new shareholders that this will bring," said Gustaf Hagman, LeoVegas' Group CEO. Proactive Research has issued an initiation note on Numinus Wellness Inc. (CVE:NUMI) in which analyst Ed Stacey says: “From an investor’s perspective, we argue that Numinus Wellness represents a highly differentiated play on the fast-growing psychedelics space, with existing revenue streams positioned for continued growth, a growing talent pool of specialised practitioners, and a strong balance sheet position which is further improved by the additional capital raise announced on March 15.”