Stockwinners Market Radar for December 03, 2017 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:04 EDT On The Fly: Top five weekend stock stories - Catch up on the weekend's top five stories with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. CVS Health (CVS) and Aetna (AET) announced the execution of a definitive merger agreement under which CVS Health will acquire all outstanding shares of Aetna for a combination of cash and stock. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Aetna shareholders will receive $145 per share in cash and 0.8378 CVS Health shares for each Aetna share. The transaction values Aetna at approximately $207 per share or approximately $69B. Including the assumption of Aetna's debt, the total value of the transaction is $77B. 2. Walt Disney (DIS) has re-engaged in discussions with 21st Century Fox (FOXA; FOX) to purchase some of the latter's assets, with Comcast (CMCSA; CMCSK) remaining in the mix, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter. 3. As Salesforce (CRM) launches new products, its "addressable market" expands, which means more opportunities for sales and potentially wider margins, Jack Hough wrote in this week's edition of Barron's. The company's shares should continue to outperform as revenue rises and margins improve, and a 25% increase in 2018 to $130 seems achievable, he added. 4. Disney and Pixar's "Coco" remain number one in its second weekend, grossing another $26.1M for a 10-day domestic total of $108.7M. It also topped the foreign chart with $69M for an early foreign tally of $171.3M and $280M globally. The movie, about the popular Mexican holiday Dia de Los Muertos, received an A+ CinemaScore and 96% from Rotten Tomatoes. 5. Southwest Airlines (LUV), Apple (AAPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOG; GOOGL), and Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) saw positive mentions in Barron's.

19:28 EDT Rio Tinto appoints Simon Thompson as chairman - Rio Tinto has appointed Simon Thompson as chairman. Thompson, who joined the Rio Tinto board as a non-executive director in 2014, will become chairman on 5 March 2018. He succeeds Jan du Plessis who will step down as chairman and from the Rio Tinto board on the same date after serving almost nine years as chairman.

18:23 EDT CVS Health to acquire Aetna for $207 per share - CVS Health (CVS) and Aetna (AET) announced the execution of a definitive merger agreement under which CVS Health will acquire all outstanding shares of Aetna for a combination of cash and stock. Under the terms of the merger agreement, which has been unanimously approved today by the boards of directors of each company, Aetna shareholders will receive $145 per share in cash and 0.8378 CVS Health shares for each Aetna share. The transaction values Aetna at approximately $207 per share or approximately $69B. Including the assumption of Aetna's debt, the total value of the transaction is $77B. Upon closing of the transaction, Aetna shareholders will own approximately 22% of the combined company and CVS Health shareholders will own approximately 78%. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2018. It is subject to approval by CVS Health and Aetna shareholders, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. CVS Health intends to fund the cash portion of the transaction through a combination of existing cash on hand and debt financing. Upon the closing of the transaction, three of Aetna's directors, including Aetna's Chairman and CEO Mark Bertolini, will be added to the CVS Health Board of Directors. In addition, members of the Aetna management team will play significant roles in the newly combined company. Aetna will operate as a stand-alone business unit within the CVS Health enterprise and will be led by members of their current management team.

13:05 EDT Ovid Therapeutics presents new TAK-935/OV935 data - Ovid Therapeutics (OVID) announced results appearing in five poster presentations, including two Phase 1 clinical trials, two preclinical studies and a dosing model, supporting the clinical advancement of TAK-935/OV935 as a potential treatment for developmental and epileptic encephalopathies. The data were presented at the American Epilepsy Society 71st Annual Meeting, taking place December 1-5, 2017, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. In January 2017, Takeda (TKPYY) and Ovid Therapeutics formed a global collaboration focused on the clinical development and commercialization of TAK-935/OV935, a potent and highly selective cholesterol 24-hydroxylase inhibitor being investigated in adults with developmental and epileptic encephalopathies. These results are the first TAK-935/OV935 data to be presented by Takeda and Ovid Therapeutics. TAK-935/OV935 was investigated in healthy subjects in two randomized, double-blind, placebo controlled Phase 1 clinical trials, including a single ascending dose study and a multiple ascending dose study. Results demonstrated that TAK-935/OV935 had a generally favorable safety profile and was well tolerated up to a dose of 1,350 mg in the single ascending dose study and at once daily doses up to 400 mg in the multiple ascending dose study. Additionally, a clinical trial simulation was conducted using the results from four Phase 1 clinical trials to create a population pharmacokinetic model. Together with the results from preclinical studies that demonstrated a correlation between systemic TAK-935/OV935 exposure and reduction in brain 24HC levels, this model can be used to guide dosing in future trials of TAK-935/OV935. As part of Takeda and Ovid's development strategy, plasma 24HC is being assessed as a potential biomarker for TAK-935/OV935. The results of clinical and preclinical studies demonstrate that there is a dose-dependent correlation between TAK-935/OV935 treatment and reduction of plasma 24HC levels. This may support the use of plasma 24HC concentration as a biomarker that can inform the design of future clinical trials and help clinicians individualize the dosing of TAK-935/OV935.