Avalo Therapeutics, Inc.

star and zero on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Megan Bacon, Director IR and Marketing. Please go ahead.

Thank you and welcome to Horizon Technology Finance Corporation's second quarter 2024 conference call. Representing the company today are Rob Pomeroy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Jerry Michaud, President, Dan Dvoracic, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Investment Officer, and Dan Trollio, Chief Financial Officer. I would like to point out that the Q2 earnings press release and Form 10-Q are available on the company's website at horizontechfinance.com. Before we begin our formal remarks, I need to remind everyone that during this conference call, the company will make certain forward-looking statements, including statements with regard to the future performance of the company. Words such as believes, expects, anticipates, intends, or similar expressions are used to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to the inherent uncertainties in predicting future results and conditions. Certain factors could cause actual results to differ on a material basis from those projected in these forward-looking statements. And some of these factors are detailed in the risk factor discussion in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023. The company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Rob Pomeroy.

Welcome, everyone, and thank you for your interest in Horizon. Today, we will update you on our performance in our current overall operating environment. Dan DeBorsitz will take us through recent business and portfolio developments. Jerry will then discuss the current status of the venture lending market, and Dan Trollio will detail our operating performance and financial condition. We will then take some questions. On our conference call last quarter, I began by speaking about the nature and current status of the venture lending business. Venture debt is driven by the demand for advanced technology and the support of risk-taking venture investors. It is an exciting and rewarding endeavor. The Horizon platform has one of the most experienced team of venture lenders, and we are passionate about the venture industry, the role of venture debt in the industry, and the prospects of both. We seek investment opportunities that drive technological innovation by companies that are backed by committed investors who have already made significant investments. These development stage companies rely on additional investment to provide the financial resources to operate and further advance their technology and businesses. And venture debt provides a critical source of such additional capital. When we underwrite a venture loan, we base our investment thesis on a number of factors, including the strength of the enterprise's technology or market position, its ability to further develop its market and technology, and its ability to grow its revenue or attract additional institutional capital or strategic interest. We understand that business plans and markets of these companies are subject to many kinds of detours. and the agility of management teams and investors is necessary to navigate ever-changing waters. As seasoned venture lenders, we know that plans and the environment are always changing, including jolts to the macro environment like the one we experienced last year with the tech bank crisis. Global unrest, higher interest rates, and pandemics can upset business plans and require management, investors, and venture lenders to pivot. We have experienced all of these impacts over the past several quarters, but we believe we are starting to see the beginnings of a recovery in the venture ecosystem. We recognize these signs because we have seen and worked through negative cycles in the past. Our management team has an average tenure in the venture lending business of over 20 years. We have experience supporting our companies through these difficult times and in maximizing the value of our stressed investments. The macro environment continues to hamper the recovery of certain stressed assets in our portfolio, but we continue to rely upon our expertise and take the appropriate actions to preserve the value of our investments as the markets begin to improve. Looking forward, as we always have through up and down cycles, we continue to be optimistic about Horizon's prospects. Our portfolio yield is strong, and our earnings have covered our distributions for over six years. Our pipeline is growing with quality new customer opportunities. We have strengthened our liquidity and balance sheet. And the technology markets are active and in need of the debt investments we are uniquely able to provide. This is the essence of the venture lending model. I will now turn the call over to Dan, Jerry, and Dan to give you the details of our second quarter results and progress. We appreciate your continued interest and support in the Horizon Technology Finance Platform. Dan?