Stockwinners Market Radar for December 29, 2017 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

17:21 EDT TCF Financial estimates $120M-$140M tax benefit, gives 80% of workforce bonuses - TCF Financial announced that as a result of the tax reform legislation enacted December 22, it will be required to revalue its deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities to account for the future impact of lower corporate tax rates on these deferred amounts. Based on preliminary analysis, TCF expects to record a one-time net tax benefit in an estimated amount of between $120M-$140M primarily related to the revaluation of these deferred tax items. This decrease to income tax expense will be reflected in TCF's operating results for Q4. TCF has not completed its processes to determine the actual net tax benefits related to many of the impacted items, and the ultimate amount of the actual net tax benefit will be based upon a number of factors, including final net deferred tax liabilities as of December 31, the completion of TCF's consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ending December 31 and the completion of TCF's 2017 tax returns. As a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, TCF will provide approximately $5M in one-time bonuses to eligible team members, $1,000 to full-time team members and $500 to part-time team members, who earned less than $100,000 in total compensation during 2017, totaling 80% of its workforce. Additionally, TCF will donate $5M to TCF Foundation to increase grants to nonprofit organizations in the communities it serves, including increasing its match of team member contributions to nonprofit organizations from 100% to 200% in 2018.

17:15 EDT Davidson Kempner reports 7.1% passive stake in New York REIT

16:55 EDT Galena to merge with SELLAS, will trade under SLS - SELLAS Life Sciences announced that the proposed merger of the businesses of SELLAS Life Sciences and Galena Biopharma has closed, following approval by Galena's stockholders. Upon completion of the merger, Galena was renamed SELLAS Life Sciences Group and now features a late-stage pipeline led by novel immunotherapies targeting a broad range of indications in hematologic and solid malignancies. SELLAS is expected to commence trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market on January 2, 2018, under the ticker symbol (SLS).

16:34 EDT Jones Energy receives noncompliance notification from NYSE - Jones Energy announced that it received notification on December 26 from the NYSE that the company was noncompliant with certain continued listing standards because the price of the company's Class A common stock over a period of 30 consecutive trading days had fallen below $1.00 per share, which is the minimum average closing price per share required to maintain a listing on the NYSE. As required, the company will submit a letter confirming its receipt of the notice to the NYSE within 10 business days. Jones Energy now has a six-month cure period to regain compliance. Within the cure period, the company may regain compliance if the closing price per share is $1.00 or higher on the last trading day of a given month, or at the end of the cure period. Additionally, the 30-day average closing price per share must also be $1.00 or higher.

16:20 EDT Weatherford completes sale of fracking business to Schlumberger subsidiary - Weatherford International (WFT) announced it has sold its U.S. pressure pumping and pump-down perforating assets to a subsidiary of Schlumberger Limited (SLB) for $430M in cash. Weatherford will use the proceeds from the sale to reduce outstanding indebtedness.

16:18 EDT Installed Building Products announces two acquisitions - Installed Building Products announced the acquisition of Blind Ambitions. Founded in 2006, Blind Ambitions has multiple locations throughout the southeast. Blind Ambitions specializes in installing blinds, shades and shutters primarily for the new construction homebuilding industry and has trailing-twelve month revenue of $9.4M. In addition to Blind Ambitions, the company acquired Allpro Insulation Co. Founded in 1998, Allpro serves the greater Raleigh market through one branch location. The company primarily provides fiberglass insulation installation services for single-family residential customers and has trailing-twelve month revenue of $2.8M.

16:16 EDT Alaska Communications shareholder to put up opposing slate to run against board - In a filing, Karen Singer voiced outrage at, among other things, the implementation of the purported adoption by Alaska Communications of the amended bylaws on December 22. Singer has attempted to engage with management to discuss strategic alternatives for the benefit of the company's shareholders. Among other things, Singer has requested that the company retain a financial advisor to review such strategic alternatives. In response to such request, the company and its current management have purported to implement an improper and inappropriate amended bylaws change which appears intended to entrench management and the company's board to the detriment of shareholders. As a consequence, the company has given Singer no alternative but to put up an opposing slate to run against the current board at the upcoming annual meeting of Alaska Communications shareholders.

16:10 EDT ContraVir Pharmaceuticals CMO John Sullivan-Bolyai to step down - ContraVir Pharmaceuticals announced that John Sullivan-Bolyai will step down as CMO and take on a new role in the company, effective December 29. Sullivan-Bolyai will serve as a part-time consultant to the company, where he will remain involved in key strategic decisions, as well as medical and clinical affairs.

15:57 EDT C.R. Bard trading resumes

15:18 EDT Harte-Hanks announces reverse-split ratio, effective date - Harte Hanks announced that its board had adopted a 10-for-1 reverse split ratio for the reverse split approved by the company's stockholders at the special meeting held December 14. The reverse split will be effected January 31, 2018.

14:11 EDT Chemical Financial doesn't see future cash expenditures due to reduced DTA - In a regulatory filing, Chemical Financial said: "The Corporation's revaluation of its deferred tax asset is subject to further clarifications of the new law that cannot be estimated at this time. As such, the Corporation is unable to make a final determination of the impact on the quarterly and year-to-date earnings for the period ending December 31, 2017 at this time, and, therefore, the reduction of the Corporation's deferred tax asset may vary materially from the estimated amount. The Corporation does not anticipate future cash expenditures as a result of the reduction to the net deferred tax asset."

13:21 EDT The Intersection: Crypto and Wall Street This Week - As bitcoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrencies get increasing attention from investors, Wall Street and its traditional banks continue to adjust to the shift. Catch up on this week's top stories highlighting the intersection of these old guard and new school areas of finance with this recap compiled by The Fly: 1. S. KOREA TO REQUIRE REAL NAMES: Hong Nam-ki, South Korean minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, announced the country would ban the use of anonymous virtual accounts in cryptocurrency transactions as the government "can't let this abnormal situation of speculation go on any longer," the Korea Herald reported Thursday. Under the ban only real-name bank accounts and matching virtual accounts can be used for deposits and withdrawals and exchanges will be barred from issuing new accounts to clients. Hong also said the government will bolster requirements of local exchanges to avoid money-laundering and put restrictions on cryptocurrency advertisements. He added the justice ministry has suggested shuttering cryptocurrency exchanges. Following the announcement, Bitcoin dropped below $14,000. 2. MORGAN STANLEY SAYS MAY HAVE ZERO VALUE: On Tuesday, Morgan Stanley analyst James Faucette suggested that the real value of bitcoin may be zero dollars as there is "virtually no acceptance" of the cryptocurrency by e-commerce merchants, Business Insider reported. He added Bitcoin is not a currency as it has no associated interest rate and it has no intrinsic use like gold has in electronics or jewelry. He sees the digital currency as a payment network, but one that is tough to scale. He did not give a price target for the cryptocurrency. 3. WIDE RANGE PREDICTION: On Wednesday, DataTrek Research analyst Nick Colas initiated coverage of Bitcoin and said he expects 2018 to be another volatile year for the digital currency. He predicted that Bitcoin will trade between $6,500 and $22,000 in the coming year with a midpoint range of $14,035. He also forecasted that bitcoin will lose more market share to rivals and experience "at least four crashes" of 40% or more. "Bitcoin and cryptocurrency are hard to value and their economic utility relies on use cases that are not yet built. Of course the volatility we've seen will continue," he said. 4. ISRAEL SEEKS BAN OF CRYPTO COMPANY LISTINGS: The Israel Securities Authority is planning to seek a ban on new listings of companies based on bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, Reuters reported Monday. The regulator is also looking to suspend trading for companies currently listed as it considers appropriate regulation for the businesses. The exchange currently has at least two digital currency companies listed, Blockchain Mining and Fantasy Network. "We feel that the prices of bitcoin behave like bubbles and we don't want investors to be subject to that volatility and uncertainty," chairman Shmuel Hauser said. 5. INDIA LIKENS CRYPTO TO "PONZI SCHEMES": India's Finance Ministry announced that cryptocurrencies are not legal tender and have no regulatory permission or protection in the country, Reuters reported on Friday. The ministry said investors who deal with the digital currency are doing so "entirely at their risk and should best avoid participating therein," adding, "There is a real and heightened risk of investment bubble of the type seen in Ponzi schemes." 6. CRYPTO CHATTER: On Wednesday, William Galvin, the secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts said Bitcoin "doesn't pass the smell test," CNBC reported. "There is no product here. This is entirely speculation. That's already been proven by the high gyrations of the value," Galvin said. "It's also subject to manipulation, because no one can explain it no one can control it." Additionally, Wolfgang Koester, CEO of currency analytics provider FiREapps said existing digital currencies are not yet suitable for companies, CNBC reported on Thursday. The volatility is "too speculative for corporations," he said, "They are saying we can't get involved with bitcoin, but we like the idea of bitcoin and others. We like speedy transactions at a lower cost." He said companies "are waiting for governments to issue those digital currencies, so they can take advantage." On Friday, investor Dennis Gartman told other investors to "stay the heck away from bitcoin," CNBC reported. "It makes no sense whatsoever. I won't trade it. I won't be long of it. I won't be short of it," he said. 7. BITCOIN STOCK PLAYS: Cryptocurrency revenues have been pointed to as reasons to be bullish on Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Nvidia (NVDA) in select research. Overstock (OSTK), Digital Power (DPW), Long Island Iced Tea (LTEA), Seven Stars Cloud Group (SSC), Riot Blockchain (RIOT), Longfin (LFIN), Pareteum (TEUM) and Social Reality (SRAX) are other stocks that have been touted, or promoted themselves, as a way to play the crypto theme. PRICE ACTION: As of time of writing, bitcoin rose nearly 9.9% this week to $14,702.68 in U.S. dollars according to CoinDesk. Meanwhile, Digital Power dropped 35.3% to $3.33, Long Island Iced Tea rose about 158% to $5.32, Seven Stars Cloud Group was up 13.9% to $4.76, Longfin rose 25.4% to $57.57 and Pareteum surged about 187% to $2.26 all on a weekly basis. Bitcoin Investment Trust was up about 52% this week to $2,050. WANT BITCOIN NEWS ALERTS?: To receive alerts on stories relating to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, Fly subscribers can enter "Bitcoin" into the "Add symbols" box of their portfolios.

13:00 EDT Valeant announces preliminary resolution of Allergan shareholder lawsuits - Valeant Pharmaceuticals announced the parties in the cases of Basile v. Valeant Pharmaceuticals International and Timber Hill LLC v. Pershing Square Capital Management in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California have preliminarily agreed to resolve the claims of the litigation for $290M, subject to the court's approval. Valeant will pay $96.25M, or 33%, of the settlement under the terms of a recently revised Litigation Management Agreement with the other defendants. Additionally, as part of the agreement, the company and the other defendants admit no wrongdoing. "We believe this agreement to resolve the legacy litigation is in the best interests of the Company, because it enables us to focus our attention and resources on the transformation of Valeant. Though we always have remained confident in our position and were prepared to try these cases on their merits, this agreement will eliminate disruption to our business," said Valeant chairman and CEO Joseph Papa.

12:29 EDT Sand Grove takes stake in Entellus Medical after buyout - Sand Grove Capital Management disclosed a 5.18% stake in Entellus Medical (ENTL), which represents over 1.32M shares. The filing allows for activism. The company on December 7 agreed to be acquired by Stryker (SYK) for $24 per share in cash.

10:54 EDT Mylan announces U.S. launch of Estradiol Vaginal Cream USP, 0.01% - Mylan N.V. announced the U.S. launch of Estradiol Vaginal Cream USP, 0.01%, the first generic version of Allergan's Estrace Cream. Mylan received final approval from the FDA for its Abbreviated New Drug Application, or ANDA, for this product, which is indicated in the treatment of vulvar and vaginal atrophy.

10:00 EDT TiVo surges after TheStreet says PE bidders offering over $20 per share - TiVo shares have jumped in morning trading after TheStreet reported that it was told by a person familiar with the situation that the company has received "multiple" expressions of interest from private equity firms that have made takeover bids of "slightly more than $20 a share." Following TheStreet's report, TiVo shares are up $1.29, or 9.2%, to $15.29 per share. Reference Link

09:43 EDT Energous falls after Citron predicts retreat to $15 share level - Citron Research just tweeted, "$WATT Co has a history of deception and the recent FCC info is no different. Tech is not ready for primetime and the loss of Apple for Dialog, death to the rumor. Roth upgrade was as ridic as their defense of Unipixel until BK. Powercast at CES will expose why $WATT to $15." Shares of Energous are down 10% to $28.30.

09:25 EDT ANI Pharmaceuticals acquires 4 NDAs from AstraZeneca for $46.5M - ANI Pharmaceuticals (ANIP) announced that it has acquired the NDAs and U.S. rights to market ATACAND, ATACAND HCT, ARIMIDEX, and CASODEX from AstraZeneca (AZN) for $46.5M in cash, royalties, and sales-based milestones. AstraZeneca will continue to market and supply ATACAND, ATACAND HCT, ARIMIDEX, and CASODEX outside of the U.S. The acquired assets include the NDAs for all four products and a license to their trademarks. The acquisitions were funded through a combination of cash and debt.

09:11 EDT SunLink Health, Southern Health Corporation of Houston complete pay-down - SunLink Health Systems and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Southern Health Corporation of Houston completed their previously-announced modification and pay-down of Trace's Department of Agriculture Rural Development Loan. Under the modification, Trace has made a $3,548,000 prepayment on the RDA Loan which will reduce the principal balance to approximately $3,500,000 at December 31, 2017. The lender has reduced the monthly principal payments on the RDA Loan to $39,050 per month, has reduced the interest rate on the loan to the prime rate plus 1% with a floor of 5.5%, and has modified certain loan covenants, including a waiver of covenant violations for the quarters ended June 30 and September 30, 2017. The Company expects to report a loss on early extinguishment of debt of approximately $238,000 as of December 31. In connection with the modification and prepayment, an existing deposit of $1,000,000 in a blocked, interest bearing account with the lender has been released. There can be no assurance the modification will result in Trace being able to achieve compliance with the modified loan covenants in future periods.

08:56 EDT C.R. Bard trading halted, news dissemination

08:34 EDT Progenics announces FDA acceptance of NDA for AZEDRA - Progenics Pharmaceuticals announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted for review the New Drug Application for AZEDRA in patients with malignant, recurrent and/or unresectable pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma, which are rare neuroendocrine tumors. The FDA granted Progenics' request for Priority Review and has set an action date of April 30, 2018 under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA). The NDA is supported by data from a pivotal phase 2b open-label, multi-center trial that was conducted under a Special Protocol Assessment with the FDA. The trial met the primary endpoint evaluating the proportion of pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma patients who achieved a 50% or greater reduction of all antihypertensive medication for at least six months, and showed favorable results from a key secondary endpoint evaluating the proportion of patients with overall tumor response as measured by Response Evaluation Criteria In Solid Tumors. AZEDRA was also shown to be safe and generally well tolerated.

08:31 EDT Commerce Union Bancshares to change name to Reliant Bancorp - Commerce Union Bancshares announced that it will change its name to Reliant Bancorp, Inc. effective December 31, 2017. The change will precede the company's pending merger with Community First, the parent company for Community First Bank & Trust located in Columbia, Tennessee, which is expected to be completed on January 1, 2018. The company's stock will begin trading under the new ticker symbol "RBNC" on January 2, 2018, the first day of trading in the new year.

08:05 EDT CINFS signs strategic partnership agreement with CCFT - China Internet Nationwide Financial Services announced that it has entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with China Co-op Foreign Trade, or CCFT, a majority-owned subsidiary of All China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives. Pursuant to the Agreement executed on December 26, the two parties will explore cooperation opportunities including the joint development of a big data center for China's Co-op and agricultural-related industries, a settlement center in support of the One Belt One Road Initiative, as well as designating the company as a preferred partner in providing data analytics and financing advisory services to China Co-op's network of cooperatives and affiliated enterprises.

08:02 EDT Albireo Pharma announces inducement grants under Nasdaq listing rule - Albireo Pharma announced the grant to two employees of inducement stock options exercisable for an aggregate of 37,000 shares of Albireo's common stock. The stock options are exercisable at a price of $26.12 per share, the closing price of Albireo's common stock on December 28, 2017, the grant date, and were granted as inducements material to each employee's acceptance of employment with Albireo in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). Each stock option has a 10-year term and vests over a four-year period, subject to the employee's continued service with Albireo through the applicable vesting dates. The vesting schedule for each stock option is 25 percent on the one-year anniversary of the employee's start date with Albireo and 75 percent in equal installments on the last day of the 12 consecutive quarters beginning with December 31, 2018. The stock options are subject to the terms and conditions of Albireo's 2017 Inducement Equity Incentive Plan

08:01 EDT Zayo Group selected by ad tech company for colocation - A leading ad tech company has selected Zayo Group Holdings for data center colocation and IP connectivity. Zayo will provide expanded colocation space in its Oak Brook and Ashburn data centers by more than 50 cabinets along with IP connectivity. As this customer has rapidly grown over the past few years, so has their need for high-capacity, reliable infrastructure for their data-intensive, latency sensitive solutions. The additional purchase of colocation space and power now makes this company one of Zayo's largest colocation customers.

07:11 EDT Bombardier announces customer order for 6 CRJ900 aircraft, option for 6 more - Bombardier Commercial Aircraft announced that a customer, who has requested to remain unidentified at this time, has signed an order to acquire six CRJ900 aircraft on firm order and options on six additional CRJ900 regional jets. Based on list price, the firm orders would be valued at approximately $290M. Should the customer exercise the six options for CRJ900 aircraft, the contract value would increase to approximately $580M.

07:02 EDT T-Mobile CEO says company on 'fast track to nationwide 5G network in 2020' - T-Mobile (TMUS) CEO John Legere makes a list of 2018 predictions in his New Year address titled "The Revolution Continues". Among his predictions, he expects Charter (CHTR) to enter the wireless space. He also states: "We'll continue to grow and strengthen our LTE coverage today, and second, we announced we'd use part of that spectrum to build nationwide 5G... While Dumb and Dumber focus on 5G hotspots that won't work when you leave your home, we will be the only ones on the fast-track toward a real, mobile nationwide 5G network in 2020 - and have already started deploying 5G ready equipment." Reference Link

07:01 EDT T-Mobile CEO says company on 'fast track to nationwide 5G network in 2020' - T-Mobile CEO John Legere makes a list of 2018 predictions in his New Year address titled "The Revolution Continues". Among his predictions, he expects Charter (CHTR) to enter the wireless space. He also states: "We'll continue to grow and strengthen our LTE coverage today, and second, we announced we'd use part of that spectrum to build nationwide 5G... While Dumb and Dumber focus on 5G hotspots that won't work when you leave your home, we will be the only ones on the fast-track toward a real, mobile nationwide 5G network in 2020 - and have already started deploying 5G ready equipment." Reference Link

06:51 EDT SVB Financial sees tax legislation reducing value of related assets by $32M-$37M - In a regulatory filing, SVB Financial Group states that it is currently assessing the extensive changes under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and its overall impact on the company; however, based on its preliminary assessment of the reduction in the federal corporate tax rate from 35% to 21% to become effective on January 1, 2018, the company currently expects that its effective tax rate for 2018 will be between 27% and 30%. Such estimated range is based on management's current assumptions with respect to, among other things, the company's earnings, state income tax levels and tax deductions. The company's actual effective tax rate in 2018 may differ from management's estimate. The reduced applicable tax rate is expected to result in overall lower tax expense beginning in 2018, which will provide the company the opportunity to evaluate the potential utilization of a portion of the tax savings to increase or accelerate investments in its business, growth and employees. The reduction in the corporate tax rate under the TCJ Act will also require a one-time revaluation of certain tax-related assets to reflect their value at the lower corporate tax rate of 21%. As such, the company currently expects a reduction in the value of these assets of approximately $32 million to $37 million, which primarily relate to the company's net deferred tax assets and investments in low income housing tax credit funds. This estimated range of reduction in value is based on balances as of November 30, 2017, and the actual amount of reduction at the end of the fourth quarter of 2017 may differ, as it is dependent on, among other things, the final net deferred tax assets and low income housing tax credit fund investment balances as of December 31, 2017. Solely based on this estimated reduction in certain tax assets, the company expects an increase in the provision for income taxes of approximately $32 million to $37 million to be recognized in its income statement for the fourth quarter of 2017. Additionally, in connection with its ongoing treasury and tax management objectives, the company sold during the fourth quarter of 2017 approximately $573 million of fixed income investment securities in its available-for-sale securities portfolio, which resulted in a loss on investment securities of approximately $9 million, on a pre-tax basis. The proceeds from these sales of securities were reinvested in higher-yielding investments.

06:42 EDT Renren acquires U.S. trucking platform Trucker Path, terms not disclosed - Renren announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of Trucker Path Inc., a provider of a social platform for the trucking industry in the United States. Trucker Path's core product is the Trucker Path app, a trip planning companion for truck drivers, enabling a large driver community to assist each other in updating the real-time status of relevant points-of-interest on their route. It helps truckers find truck stops, available parking spots, rest areas, scales, open DOT weigh stations, truck washes and more. Expanding on the success of the Trucker Path app, Trucker Path also introduced the Truckloads app, a mobile marketplace providing freight load matching with over 3 million loads posted monthly. At present, Trucker Path has more than 600,000 monthly active users covering more than 33% of all U.S. long haul truck drivers and maintains steady organic growth. For Renren's global business, the acquisition of Trucker Path means an entry into the transportation sector. Going forward, Renren will continue exploring breakthroughs in this space, whether in intelligent transportation solutions or in autonomous vehicles.

06:22 EDT Goldman Sachs sees tax legislation reducing Q4 earnings by $5B - Goldman Sachs says in a regulatory filing that the tax legislation signed by President Trump "significantly revises the U.S. corporate income tax by, among other things, lowering corporate income tax rates, implementing the territorial tax system and imposing a repatriation tax on deemed repatriated earnings of foreign subsidiaries." Goldman Sachs estimates, based on currently available information, that the enactment of the tax legislation will result in a reduction of approximately $5B in the firm's earnings for Q4 and year ending December 31, 2017, approximately two-thirds of which is due to the repatriation tax. The remainder includes the effects of the implementation of the territorial tax system and the remeasurement of U.S. deferred tax assets at lower enacted corporate tax rates. Goldman added, "The impact of the Tax Legislation may differ from this estimate, possibly materially, due to, among other things, changes in interpretations and assumptions the firm has made, guidance that may be issued and actions the firm may take as a result of the Tax Legislation."

06:04 EDT Atara Biotherapeutics to initiate two Phase 3 clinical studies - Atara Biotherapeutics announced that it received clearance from the FDA to initiate two Phase 3 clinical studies with tabelecleucel in patients with rituximab-refractory Epstein-Barr virus, or EBV, associated post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorder, or EBV+PTLD. The company plans to initiate these studies imminently. Tabelecleucel is Atara's off-the-shelf T-cell immunotherapy in development for the treatment of EBV+PTLD, as well as other EBV associated hematologic and solid tumors.

06:01 EDT JAKKS Pacific CFO Joel Bennett to step down - JAKKS Pacific announced that Joel Bennett, the company's CFO, will be stepping down from his position at the company. The company also announced that it has commenced an external search to identify a new CFO. In order to arrange for a smooth transition, Bennett will continue as the company's CFO until completion of the company's annual report for the 2017 fiscal year or such earlier date that a successor has been named and transitioned to the office of CFO.

05:30 EDT Alexco Resource receives amendment to Water Use Licence from Yukon Water Board - Alexco Resource announced that it has received an amendment to its Water Use Licence from the Yukon Water Board for the development and operation of the Flame & Moth mine. The Flame & Moth underground mine, located adjacent to the existing Keno Hill District mill, comprises a potentially mineable 683,000 tonnes of 666 grams per tonne silver and is anticipated to be the primary production source for mine operations in the Keno Hill Silver District.