Justina Vasquez

Energy storage firm adding 200+ jobs in $251M Concord expansion (+ video)

Posted by Justina Vasquez | Mar 6, 2017

Alevo Group S.A., a Swiss-based energy storage company, will add more than 200 jobs to its manufacturing facility in Cabarrus County, according to a release from the N.C. Department of Commerce. The company is expanding its Concord facility with the help of a $2.6 million Job Development Investment Grant, or JDIG as it’s commonly known, approved by the Economic Investment Committee last week The expansion will cost Alevo $251 million, the company said in the press release. The Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners and Concord City Council also provided Alevo two five-year, performance-based tax incentives totaling more than $10.55...

Red Hat CEO Whitehurst sells more than $400,000 in shares

Posted by Justina Vasquez | Mar 3, 2017

Red Hat’s chief executive officer sold more than $400,000 in the company’s shares, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. President and CEO Jim Whitehurst sold 5,099 shares at $83.69, or $426,735 in shares. That represented roughly 1.17 percent of Whitehurst’s shares at the time. The international information technology firm announced just Wednesday it will hold its quarterly earnings call on March 27 at 5 p.m. local time. For its fourth quarter ended on Feb. 28, analysts expect its per-share earnings will increase 18.8 percent to $2.27. The company also recently released a new iteration of...

NC companies saw stock boost on election results

Posted by Justina Vasquez | Nov 10, 2016

Many North Carolina companies saw their stock prices rise Wednesday due to the election victory of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. The chart showis how stock prices of North Carolina companies in the pharmaceuticals and biotechnology industries and companies in the infrastructure industry trended on Wednesday. By market-close, infrastructure companies grew significantly. Nucor Inc. saw the highest growth, peaking at $58.53. That’s an increase of 13.94 percent. TheStreet.com went as far as to call one company’s growth “insanity,” in refernce to Caterpillar Inc., which has a location in Winston-Salem. In pharmaceuticals, Cempra Inc. saw the largest growth of 20.34...

QuintilesIMS plans $1.5B stock buyback through 2017

Posted by Justina Vasquez | Nov 2, 2016

QuintilesIMS Holdings Inc. reported net earnings Wednesday of $99.1 million, down 10.9 percent from the third quarter last year. Its per-share earnings were 83 cents, missing analysts’ average expectations of 99 cents per share by 16 percent. Its opening stock price fell 1.5 percent Wednesday to $70.88, but grew more than $3, or roughly 4 percent, during the first 30 minutes of trading. The company is the result of a recently completed merger between Quintiles Transnational Holdings Inc. and IMS Health Holdings Inc. The companies reported separate third quarter results. And one of its first acts is a plan...

NCSU receives patent for latest genetically engineered plant

Posted by Justina Vasquez | Sep 12, 2016

Researchers at N.C. State University received approval for a patent on a new species of winterberry holly plant, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last week. The plant’s birth came from the lab of Thomas Ranney, a horticulture researcher based at N.C. State’s Mills River lab for the N.C. Cooperative Extension Service. According to the lab’s website, he focuses on engineering new plants to strengthen commercial agriculture and bioenergy production efficiencies. The holly plant, nicknamed “Little Goblin,” is distinctive for its larger than typical red berries, its small stature and because it carries twice the DNA of...

Aerie Pharma seeks FDA approval for new glaucoma therapy

Posted by Justina Vasquez | Sep 7, 2016

Aerie Pharmaceuticals Inc. submitted Tuesday a new drug application for Food and Drug Administration approval of a new eye drop therapy for glaucoma, according to filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission released Tuesday. The drug is expected to be the first once-a-day eye drop that specifically targets the eye’s primary fluid drainage system to relieve pressure in the eye, a defining symptom of glaucoma. Its research and development efforts are based in Durham. The company is submitting the drug, called Rhopressa, for the last step before the drug can enter clinical trials. “The Rhopressa NDA filing represents a...

Raleigh-based Castle Information Systems raises $875K for community info app

Posted by Justina Vasquez | Aug 26, 2016

Castle Information Systems Inc., a web and mobile app company, raised $875,000 in a private offering, according a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. The Form D, filed on Aug. 25, said the company sold the shares to a single investor 15 days prior. The company did not say what its plans are for the proceeds. Five years ago, the company offered equity amounting to $125,000. Raleigh-based Castle Information is best known for its Blerbal app. A week after its 2011 offering, the company applied to trademark the Blerbal mobile app, according to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The app...