
Zymeworks Announces FDA Clearance of Investigational New Drug Application for ZW251, a Novel Glypican 3-Targeted Topoisomerase 1 Inhibitor Antibody-Drug Conjugate
Preclinical results demonstrate strong anti-tumor activity and favorable tolerability profile
Phase 1 clinical trial evaluating ZW251 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) expected to be initiated in 2025
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Zymeworks Inc. (Nasdaq: ZYME), a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing a diverse pipeline of novel, multifunctional biotherapeutics to improve the standard of care for difficult-to-treat diseases, including cancer, inflammation, and autoimmune disease, today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared the investigational new drug (IND) application for ZW251, a novel glypican-3 (GPC3)-targeted ADC incorporating the company's proprietary topoisomerase 1 inhibitor (TOPO1i) payload, ZD06519, for the treatment of HCC.
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Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
Why Major Retailers Are Secretly Planning Their Own Stablecoins (and What It Means for Investors)
Key Points Some top retailers are eyeing stablecoins as a way to cut costs, boost profitability, and improve operational efficiency. Retailers can also use stablecoins as part of their branded loyalty programs, or to improve the overall shopping experience. In addition to retailers, a growing number of banks, payment providers, and tech firms plan to issue stablecoins. 10 stocks we like better than Circle Internet Group › The passage of landmark stablecoin legislation this summer could have far-reaching implications beyond just the financial sector. The Genius Act opens the door for nonbanks to issue stablecoins of their own, and that could greatly expand the number of retailers that offer stablecoins to their customers. In June, the Wall Street Journal reported that both Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Walmart (NYSE: WMT) were secretly planning stablecoins of their own. Presumably, all they needed was the ink to dry on the new stablecoin legislation, and they could get started. Here's why stablecoins could change everything for them. Profitability and cost savings As they say, always follow the money. And the money in this case is the potential cost savings from using stablecoins rather than credit cards for payments. Typically, credit card processing fees are as high as 2%-3% per transaction. So the ability to cut costs by moving everything to blockchain payment technology is certainly alluring. But here's the thing: You need to have enough scale to make any stablecoin project worth it. That's why Amazon and Walmart are two of the most prominent names involved in the stablecoin discussion right now. Quite simply, they are retail behemoths. When you're making billions of dollars in sales, savings of 2%-3% can really rack up. Moreover, there has been discussion that stablecoins could be used to pay employees, logistics partners, and other members of the retail supply chain, especially those located overseas. Imagine tiny cost savings suddenly popping up all over your business by going all-in on blockchain technology. As a result of all these potential cost savings and operational efficiencies, even Visa (NYSE: V) is exploring new projects that leverage stablecoins, including stablecoin-linked cards. In many ways, the writing is on the wall: Stablecoins are coming to retail, in one form or another. A better customer experience Let's assume that the big retail giants are more than just penny-pinching corporations attempting to boost the bottom line. Many of them really do want to create a better customer experience, and stablecoins could play a role here, too. First, they could choose to reinvent their customer loyalty programs to feature stablecoins. Instead of "cash back" at the end of the year, they might be able to offer other incentives that reward customers for using stablecoins at the point of sale. And stablecoins might improve the overall shopping experience. That's because blockchain technology speeds up transaction settlement times, from days to just seconds. This could, for example, vastly improve the speed that you get refunds for purchases. How many times have you requested a refund, and been told, "Oh, it should show up in your account in a few days"? Imagine having access to that money nearly instantaneously. Of course, getting customers to embrace stablecoins might be a tough sell. According to top retail industry analysts, one way to get over the adoption hurdle is by pitching stablecoins as a sort of gift card or branded loyalty card that you would present at the point of sale. You wouldn't need to know anything about blockchain technology, crypto, or how stablecoins actually work. Everything would be seamless, and happen behind the scenes. Implications for investors Undeniably, stablecoins represent a huge step for retailers. They will need a tremendous amount of tech savvy in order to get all the blockchain payment technology working as planned. So why not leave all the heavy lifting to Silicon Valley tech firms, some of whom are also planning to launch new stablecoins? Moreover, as the latest Motley Fool research on stablecoins points out, the largest banks still dwarf even the biggest stablecoin issuers. So why not leave the job of stablecoins to banks and other financial institutions, some of whom have said they plan to launch their own stablecoins soon? All of which leads me to think: Maybe investing directly in retailers is not the best way to play the stablecoin trend. Maybe it's better to invest in tech-savvy companies that have strong retail platforms. You could, for example, invest in PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL), which launched a stablecoin of its own in August 2023. Or, you could invest in Shopify (NASDAQ: SHOP), which is now offering stablecoin payment options at the point of sale for e-commerce websites. As for me, I'm still focused on stablecoin issuers such as Circle Internet Group (NYSE: CRCL), which went public in June via a splashy initial public offering. Circle is the issuer of USDC (CRYPTO: USDC), which is the second-most popular stablecoin in the world right now, with a market cap of about $65 billion. It's also the stablecoin of choice for Shopify. At the end of the day, stablecoins could turn out to be a classic "make or buy" decision faced by top retailers. Is it better to make your own stablecoin, or simply buy one that already exists from someone else? My guess is that most retailers will opt for the latter. Should you invest $1,000 in Circle Internet Group right now? Before you buy stock in Circle Internet Group, 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 Circle Internet Group wasn't one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $636,774!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $1,064,942!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,040% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 182% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 21, 2025 Dominic Basulto has positions in Amazon, Circle Internet Group, and USDC. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Amazon, PayPal, Shopify, Visa, and Walmart. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2027 $42.50 calls on PayPal and short September 2025 $77.50 calls on PayPal. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.


Globe and Mail
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Progressive Investment Management Corp Reduces Amazon Holdings
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Globe and Mail
3 hours ago
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Old Dominion (ODFL) Q2 EPS Falls 14%
Key Points EPS fell 14.2% year-over-year to $1.27 in the second quarter, missing estimates by $0.01 and declining from $1.48 a year ago. Revenue (GAAP) dropped 6.1% to $1.41 billion, slightly below expectations (GAAP) and down from $1.50 billion in the prior year's second quarter. Operating ratio deteriorated to 74.6%, up from 71.9% last year, indicating higher relative costs. These 10 stocks could mint the next wave of millionaires › Old Dominion Freight Line (NASDAQ:ODFL), a leading U.S. less-than-truckload (LTL) freight carrier, published its second quarter 2025 results on July 30, 2025. The company reported GAAP revenue of $1.41 billion and GAAP earnings per share (EPS) of $1.27, both coming in modestly below analyst estimates of $1.416 billion and $1.28, respectively (GAAP). Compared to the prior-year quarter, GAAP revenue decreased by 6.1% and EPS fell by 14.2% year-over-year in the second quarter. The results signal continued softness in freight demand and higher operating costs, leading to a lower operating margin. Overall, the quarter reflected ongoing headwinds in the freight sector and a challenging near-term operating environment for Old Dominion Freight Line. Metric Q2 2025 Q2 2025 Estimate Q2 2024 Y/Y Change EPS (GAAP) $1.27 $1.28 $1.48 (14.2%) Revenue (GAAP) $1,407.7 million $1,416.4 million $1,498.7 million (6.1%) Operating Income $357.9 million $421.7 million (15.1%) Operating Ratio 74.6% 71.9% +2.7 pp Net Income $268.6 million $322.0 million (16.6%) Source: Analyst estimates for the quarter provided by FactSet. Business Overview and Key Success Factors Old Dominion Freight Line is one of the largest LTL carriers in the United States, providing regional, inter-regional, and national freight transportation. Its core business moves palletized shipments that are too large for standard parcel delivery but don't fill a full truck. The company operates a network of 261 service centers across the country, allowing it to serve diverse customers with high on-time performance and reliability in freight delivery. Recent years have seen the company focus investment on expanding its service center network, deploying new technology to drive efficiencies, and maintaining robust cost controls. Success for Old Dominion depends on service reliability, network scale, cost management, and its ability to adapt to market-demand swings. It invests heavily in infrastructure and IT systems to strengthen its delivery speed and service quality, while closely managing capital spending and overheads to support profitability even during downturns. Quarter in Detail: What Drove This Quarter's Results The company's revenue slipped by 6.1% year-over-year in the second quarter, reflecting a notable decline in shipped freight volumes. Daily LTL tons decreased 9.3%, and shipments per day fell 7.3%. Weight per shipment also declined by 2.1%. Lower shipment volumes pressed down net income and operating profit, a pattern seen across many LTL carriers in 2025. Old Dominion continued to demonstrate pricing discipline in the face of weaker volumes. Its LTL revenue per hundredweight, which measures the average price for moving 100 pounds of freight, rose 3.4% year over year, and the figure excluding fuel surcharges improved by 5.3%. The company managed to achieve these price gains through selective contract renewals and yield management efforts, even as market competition intensified. This approach provided some protection against falling volumes but could not fully offset the drag on overall results. The company's operating ratio, a critical metric in trucking that expresses operating expenses as a percentage of revenue, worsened from 71.9% in Q2 2024 to 74.6%. This shift signals higher costs relative to sales, driven in part by increases in depreciation expenses and employee benefit costs such as group health and dental. Overhead as a percentage of revenue rose by 1.6 percentage points. Despite Old Dominion's traditional cost discipline, cost inflation and lower demand made it more challenging to preserve margin. Net income (GAAP) slid 16.6% compared to the same period last year. Service performance remained a highlight. The company maintained a 99% on-time service rate and a cargo claims ratio of just 0.1%, underscoring its operational reliability. Active full-time equivalent employees fell 4.8% year over year. The company continued to invest in capital expenditures, with $187.2 million spent on facilities, equipment, and technology. The capital expenditure plan totals $450 million for FY2025, with $210 million to real estate and service center expansion, $190 million for new tractors and trailers, and $50 million on IT and other assets. This marks a planned reduction from prior years, allowing the company to match spending more closely to current demand trends. Looking Ahead: Management Outlook and Areas to Watch For the coming quarters and the remainder of fiscal 2025, management did not issue formal financial guidance, citing ongoing uncertainty in the broader economic and industrial environment. Leadership emphasized its commitment to maintaining pricing discipline, investing in operational efficiency, and retaining ample capability to increase volume if demand recovers. The company continues to hold a strong position to benefit from future rebounds in freight activity, given its spare capacity and industry-scale network. Investors and industry observers should monitor trends in LTL shipment volumes, revenue per hundredweight, and the operating ratio. The capital spending plan now stands at $450 million for FY2025, a reduction from earlier expectations as certain projects are deferred. This cautious stance will allow Old Dominion to focus on network efficiency and service quality while maintaining flexibility for growth should the freight market turn upward. The company declared and paid $118.5 million in dividends during the first six months of 2025, reflecting ongoing capital returns. Revenue and net income presented using U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) unless otherwise noted. Where to invest $1,000 right now When our analyst team has a stock tip, it can pay to listen. After all, Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,049%* — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 182% for the S&P 500. They just revealed what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy right now, available when you join Stock Advisor. See the stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 29, 2025 JesterAI is a Foolish AI, based on a variety of Large Language Models (LLMs) and proprietary Motley Fool systems. All articles published by JesterAI are reviewed by our editorial team, and The Motley Fool takes ultimate responsibility for the content of this article. JesterAI cannot own stocks and so it has no positions in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Old Dominion Freight Line. The Motley Fool recommends the following options: long January 2026 $195 calls on Old Dominion Freight Line and short January 2026 $200 calls on Old Dominion Freight Line. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.