logo
Proof Mark, Inc. Issues Fiduciary Letter to Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff Over Governance Concerns and Board Silence on Red Flags

Proof Mark, Inc. Issues Fiduciary Letter to Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff Over Governance Concerns and Board Silence on Red Flags

National Post14-05-2025

Article content
SAN FRANCISCO — Proof Mark, Inc. (PMI), a longtime Salesforce (NYSE: CRM) partner and shareholder, today announced that the company has issued an important open letter to Salesforce chairman and CEO Marc Benioff.
Article content
The letter addresses a range of critical operational and fiduciary issues which have been raised by PMI in four consecutive Red Flag Notices issued under the Delaware Chancery Court ruling in the re McDonald's Corp. Stockholder Derivative Litigation and related cases.
Article content
As both a Salesforce shareholder and long-standing ISV partner, PMI brings a dual fiduciary and ecosystem perspective to these concerns. To date, Salesforce's board has not responded to any of the Red Flag notices, a silence exceeding 30 days and raising serious fiduciary concerns for shareholders, regulators, and ecosystem stakeholders, especially those with a special interest in the governance and performance of the company.
Article content
Article content
Article content
Article content
Article content

Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Strategy (MSTR) Buys Another $110 Million of Bitcoin
Strategy (MSTR) Buys Another $110 Million of Bitcoin

Globe and Mail

time13 minutes ago

  • Globe and Mail

Strategy (MSTR) Buys Another $110 Million of Bitcoin

Strategy (MSTR) continues to purchase Bitcoin (BTC) even as the price rises. Confident Investing Starts Here: Easily unpack a company's performance with TipRanks' new KPI Data for smart investment decisions Receive undervalued, market resilient stocks right to your inbox with TipRanks' Smart Value Newsletter In the past week, the software company turned serial Bitcoin acquirer bought an additional 1,045 BTC for $110.2 million. The company, led by founder Michael Saylor, paid an average purchase price of $105,426 each for its latest Bitcoin accumulation. Strategy, formerly known as MicroStrategy, now owns 582,000 Bitcoin worth $62.5 billion. The company is the largest corporate owner of BTC in the world. Strategy's average purchase price for its Bitcoin holdings is $70,086 per digital token. Funding Purchases Last week's buys were funded via at-the-market sales of Strategy's preferred stock, according to a regulatory filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company remains committed to its focus on aggressively acquiring Bitcoin. Strategy's stock has risen 25% this year to trade at $374.47 per share. The price of Bitcoin is currently right around $107,500, having gained 12% on the year. Is BTC a Buy? Most Wall Street firms don't offer ratings or price targets on Bitcoin, so we'll look instead at its three-month performance. As one can see in the chart below, the price of BTC has risen 34.14% in the last 12 weeks.

Have Skyrizi and Rinvoq Successfully Saved AbbVie From Humira LoE?
Have Skyrizi and Rinvoq Successfully Saved AbbVie From Humira LoE?

Globe and Mail

time13 minutes ago

  • Globe and Mail

Have Skyrizi and Rinvoq Successfully Saved AbbVie From Humira LoE?

AbbVie ABBV expects to return to robust revenue growth in 2025, just two years after losing U.S. exclusivity for its flagship drug, Humira. The drug, which went off-patent in January 2023, saw first-quarter 2025 sales decline nearly 50% year over year to $1.12 billion. Humira had already lost exclusivity in ex-U.S. markets in 2018. Despite the steep decline, ABBV's ex-Humira platform grew more than 21% year over year (on a reported basis) in the first quarter of 2025, driven by its newer immunology drugs, Skyrizi and Rinvoq. The company successfully launched Skyrizi and Rinvoq across Humira's major indications and a distinct new indication, atopic dermatitis. Both drugs showed strong performance across all approved indications, especially in the popular inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) space, which includes two conditions: ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD). Strong immunology-market growth, market share gains and momentum from new indications, such as the recent launch of Skyrizi in UC, as well as the potential for five new indications for Rinvoq over the next few years, are expected to drive these drugs' future growth. On the back of this continued momentum, AbbVie raised its previously issued guidance by around $900 million and now expects to record $24.7 billion from the combined sales of both drugs this year. Our model estimates the combined sales figure to be around $24.85 billion. ABBV's Competition in the Immunology Space The targeted market is highly competitive. A key player in this area is Johnson & Johnson JNJ, which already markets blockbuster medications, Stelara and Tremfya. Both of these J&J drugs are approved across multiple immunology indications, including UC and CD indications. Since Stelara lost U.S. LoE earlier this year, J&J has shifted focus to Tremfya to maintain its foothold in the immunology space. Another pharma giant expanding its presence in immunology is Eli Lilly LLY, following the FDA approval of Omvoh for the UC indication in late 2023. Omvoh marked Lilly's first immunology drug approved for a type of IBD in the United States and plays a key role in building out its immunology portfolio. This Lilly drug received FDA approval for the CD indication in January. ABBV's Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates Shares of AbbVie have outperformed the industry year to date, as seen in the chart below. From a valuation standpoint, AbbVie is not very cheap. Based on the price/earnings (P/E) ratio, the company's shares currently trade at 14.48 times forward earnings, a tad lower than its industry's average of 15.12. The stock is cheaper than some other large drugmakers, such as Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk but is priced much higher than most other large drugmakers. The stock is also trading above its five-year mean of 12.38. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2025 earnings has declined from $12.30 per share to $12.28, while that for 2026 has increased from $13.97 to $14.05 over the past 60 days. AbbVie currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Only $1 to See All Zacks' Buys and Sells We're not kidding. Several years ago, we shocked our members by offering them 30-day access to all our picks for the total sum of only $1. No obligation to spend another cent. Thousands have taken advantage of this opportunity. Thousands did not - they thought there must be a catch. Yes, we do have a reason. We want you to get acquainted with our portfolio services like Surprise Trader, Stocks Under $10, Technology Innovators, and more, that closed 256 positions with double- and triple-digit gains in 2024 alone. See Stocks Now >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Johnson & Johnson (JNJ): Free Stock Analysis Report Eli Lilly and Company (LLY): Free Stock Analysis Report AbbVie Inc. (ABBV): Free Stock Analysis Report

Will Merck's Keytruda Continue to Drive Growth Amid Looming LOE?
Will Merck's Keytruda Continue to Drive Growth Amid Looming LOE?

Globe and Mail

time14 minutes ago

  • Globe and Mail

Will Merck's Keytruda Continue to Drive Growth Amid Looming LOE?

Merck MRK boasts more than six blockbuster drugs in its portfolio, with the blockbuster PD-L1 inhibitor Keytruda being the key top-line driver. Keytruda, approved for several types of cancer, alone accounts for around 50% of Merck's pharmaceutical sales. The drug has played an instrumental role in driving Merck's steady revenue growth in the past few years. Keytruda's sales are gaining from rapid uptake across earlier-stage indications, mainly early-stage non-small cell lung cancer. Keytruda is presently approved to treat nine indications in earlier-stage cancers in the United States. Continued strong momentum in metastatic indications is also boosting sales growth. The company expects continued growth from Keytruda, particularly in early lung cancer. However, Merck is heavily reliant on Keytruda. Though Keytruda may be Merck's biggest strength, it can also be argued that the company is excessively dependent on the drug, and it should look for ways to diversify its product lineup. There are rising concerns about the firm's ability to grow its non-oncology business ahead of the upcoming loss of exclusivity of Keytruda in 2028. Also, competitive pressure might increase for Keytruda in the near future. In 2024, Summit Therapeutics SMMT reported positive data from a phase III study (conducted in China by partner Akeso) in patients with locally advanced or metastatic NSCLC, in which its lead pipeline candidate, ivonescimab, a dual PD-1 and VEGF inhibitor, outperformed Keytruda. Summit believes ivonescimab has the potential to replace Keytruda as the next standard of care across multiple non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) settings. Nonetheless, though Keytruda will lose patent exclusivity in 2028, its sales are expected to remain strong until then. Merck is also working on different strategies to drive Keytruda's long-term growth. These include innovative immuno-oncology combinations, including Keytruda with LAG3 and CTLA-4 inhibitors. In partnership with Moderna MRNA, Merck is developing a personalized mRNA therapeutic cancer vaccine (V940/mRNA-4157) in combination with Keytruda for patients with certain types of melanoma and NSCLC. Merck and Moderna are conducting pivotal phase III studies on V940, in combination with Keytruda, for earlier-stage and adjuvant NSCLC and adjuvant melanoma. Merck is also developing a subcutaneous formulation of Keytruda that can extend its patent life. It is under review in the United States and an FDA decision is expected in September. Merck is also pinning hopes on the newly launched pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) drug Winrevair to boost its top line once Keytruda loses exclusivity. Keytruda generated sales of $7.21 billion in the first quarter of 2025, rising 6% year over year. Our model estimates for Keytruda suggest a CAGR of 5.4% over the next three years. MRK's Price Performance, Valuation and Estimates Merck's shares have lost 19.6% so far this year against an increase of 0.3% for the industry. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research From a valuation standpoint, Merck appears attractive relative to the industry. Going by the price/earnings ratio, the company's shares currently trade at 8.55 forward earnings, lower than 15.12 for the industry and its 5-year mean of 12.89. Image Source: Zacks Investment Research Estimates for both 2025 and 2026 earnings have declined over the past 60 days. Merck has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Only $1 to See All Zacks' Buys and Sells We're not kidding. Several years ago, we shocked our members by offering them 30-day access to all our picks for the total sum of only $1. No obligation to spend another cent. Thousands have taken advantage of this opportunity. Thousands did not - they thought there must be a catch. Yes, we do have a reason. We want you to get acquainted with our portfolio services like Surprise Trader, Stocks Under $10, Technology Innovators, and more, that closed 256 positions with double- and triple-digit gains in 2024 alone. See Stocks Now >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK): Free Stock Analysis Report Moderna, Inc. (MRNA): Free Stock Analysis Report

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into the world of global news and events? Download our app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store