22nd Century Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:XXII) shares are racing higher Friday on after chairman and CEO Lawrence Firestone purchased 39,000 shares at an average price of 27 cents per share, disclosed in an SEC filing.

What Else?

On Monday, the company announced an agreement to fund all intellectual property, licensing and sponsored research payments to North Carolina State University through 2025 in equity as part of a deal valued at over $1.2 million.

"We recently secured our relationship with NCSU in November of 2023, bringing on additional IP to enhance our reduced nicotine content tobacco capabilities. This latest agreement further aligns NCSU with our continued success at 22nd Century," Firestone said.

22nd Century stock is up on heavy volume Friday as investors digest this week's catalysts. According to data from Benzinga Pro, the stock has a float of just over 9 million shares and more than 150 million shares have already changed hands in the session.

How To Buy XXII Stock:

Besides going to a brokerage platform to purchase a share – or fractional share – of stock, you can also gain access to shares either by buying an exchange traded fund (ETF) that holds the stock itself, or by allocating yourself to a strategy in your 401(k) that would seek to acquire shares in a mutual fund or other instrument.

For example, in 22nd Century Group's case, it is in the Consumer Staples sector. An ETF will likely hold shares in many liquid and large companies that help track that sector, allowing an investor to gain exposure to the trends within that segment.

XXII Price Action: According to Benzinga Pro, 22nd Century shares are up 53% at 41 cents at the time of publication Friday.

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