Stockwinners Market Radar for December 10, 2018 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:53 EDT Cars.com responds to letter from Starboard Value fund - Cars.com states: "The Board of Directors and management team of Cars.com are committed to acting in the best interests of the Company and its stakeholders to enhance shareholder value. We share Starboard's view that we have had a constructive dialogue with them over the past year and that our Board and management team are passionate about improving the business. We are committed to steadfastly executing our strategic plan as we seek to achieve sustainable market leadership in our sector. The acquisition of Dealer Inspire that we completed in February 2018 was a bold step to underpin our strategy to expand from a listings model to a leading online automotive marketplace with value-added digital solutions for our dealer customers. We have also rapidly converted the majority of our affiliate markets and invested in marketing that has increased traffic for 11 consecutive months and driven search engine optimization traffic growth for eight consecutive months. In addition, we have undertaken cost efficiency programs designed to achieve a more agile cost structure in 2019 and beyond. Addressing Starboard's stated purpose of its letter, our business strategy is intended to realize ambitious goals and enhance value for our shareholders. As planned, we look forward to providing long-term financial guidance on or prior to February 28, 2019. We remain open to dialogue with our shareholders, including Starboard, as we develop these targets. The Board, which includes two independent Starboard director designees, is committed to overseeing management's execution of the Company's business strategy and continuing to take the best and most appropriate actions to deliver enhanced shareholder value."

18:59 EDT Fly Intel: After Hours Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Ascena Rtail Group (ASNA) up 12.8%... Aspen Group (ASPU) up 3.9%. ALSO HIGHER: Cars.com (CARS) up 1.6% after receiving letter from Starboard urging potential break-up... Tronox (TROX) up 1.3% after disclosing purchase of stock by CEO... Crane (CR) up 0.9% after being initiated with a Buy at Buckingham. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Stitch Fix (SFIX) down 13.4%... Casey's General Stores (CASY) down 6.8%... Quanex Building Products (NX) down 6.8%. ALSO LOWER: CalAmp (CAMP) down 9.6% after lowering Q3 guidance... Ra Pharma (RARX) down 3.5% after equity offering... SAExploration Holdings (SAEX) down 1.5% after selling stock for holders.

18:37 EDT Allegiant reports November total systems traffic up 10.1% - Reports total systems passengers up 11.1%. Reports total systems ASMs up 12.2%. Reports total systems load factor down 1.5 points to 80%.

18:00 EDT Newmark CEO Barry Gosin buys over $2.6M in company shares - Newmark CEO Barry Gosin disclosed in a filing that he had purchased 306,429 shares of company stock at an average price of $8.59 per share on December 10. The total transaction value of the purchase was $2,632,225.

17:46 EDT Apache reports 13.4% stake in Altus Midstream Company - This stake allows for activism.

17:42 EDT Y-mAbs Therapeutics humanized bispecific GD2 antibody IND receives FDA clearance - Y-mAbs Therapeutics announced that the FDA has cleared the investigational new drug, or IND, application for a humanized bispecific GD2 antibody. It is anticipated that a Phase 1/2 clinical trial will soon be initiated to begin screening patients with relapsed/refractory neuroblastoma, high grade osteosarcoma and other GD2 solid tumors, where patients have relapsed or refractory disease that is resistant to standard therapy. This bispecific product candidate is a fully humanized IgG-scFv format antibody, licensed by Memorial Sloan Kettering to Y-mAbs, in which the anti-CD3 scFv is linked to naxitamab IgG1 and the Fc region is mutated to help prevent cytokine release as well as complement-mediated pain side effects. Y-mAbs expects that this bispecific GD2 antibody may have potential advantages over other bispecific antibodies, such as improved potency due to bivalency, binding to neonatal Fc receptor and longer serum half-life, which obviates continuous infusion and enables more convenient administration to the patient.

17:22 EDT CalAmp announces $20M stock repurchase program - CalAmp announced that its board has authorized a new stock repurchase program of $20M. Under the repurchase program, CalAmp may repurchase stock in open-market purchases in accordance with all applicable securities laws and regulations. The company has approximately 34.3M shares of common stock outstanding at the present time. The repurchase program may be suspended or discontinued at any time. The company expects to fund the repurchases with cash on hand.

17:13 EDT Stitch Fix sees Q2 active client count 'relatively flat' sequentially - Says expects revenue per client to grow in Q2. Says expects advertising as a percent of sales to be lower in Q2 vs. Q1. Comments from slides presentation in 8k.

17:07 EDT Nac Re declares 50c per share special dividend - National Research Corporation announced that its board has declared a special dividend of 50c per share to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Monday, December 31, 2018, and payable on Tuesday, January 15, 2019. In addition, a quarterly cash dividend of 19c per share will be payable Tuesday, January 15, 2019, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Monday, December 31, 2018.

17:03 EDT Stitch Fix reverses in after-hours trading, now down 11% after giving guidance - Shares of Stitch Fix reverse in after-hours trading to down 11% to $23.11 per share after giving quarterly and yearly guidance.

16:52 EDT Starboard Value says Cars.com continues to experience customer and sales losses - In a letter, Starboard value claims: "While we appreciate the constructive dialogue that we have had with you over the past year, our shared passion for improvement at Cars.com has unfortunately not yet resulted in better financial performance. As exhibited in the chart below, Cars.com has experienced an almost two-year continuing trend of customer losses and organic declines in revenue, despite increasing operating expenses, resulting in a pattern of missed expectations and lowered guidance. We still strongly believe that Cars.com has an incredibly valuable business model with a substantial opportunity for operational improvement. Cars.com is an industry-leading platform that operates in a growing market with the benefit of multiple company-specific and industry-specific tailwinds. Cars.com also enjoys the benefit of over 20 years of investments in its brand name and products. Despite these facts, the Company has struggled to realize the benefits of these tailwinds. Cars.com currently trades at a deep discount to all of its publicly-traded competitors and most digital media companies. We believe there is a long list of opportunities to improve performance and create value for shareholders including a variety of different initiatives to fuel revenue growth, reduce operating expenses, and improve capital allocation. We have outlined all of these opportunities in detail in numerous meetings, calls, and private letters sent to the Board of Directors ("Board") over the past year. Unfortunately, we have yet to see improvement in the Company's financial performance. Full link to the letter available here: Reference Link

16:50 EDT Constellation Pharmaceuticals initiates Phase 2 portion of ProSTAR trial - Constellation Pharmaceuticals announced an update of the ProSTAR study, its ongoing Phase 1b/2 clinical trial of CPI-1205 in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer. The ProSTAR study is evaluating CPI-1205, Constellation's potent and highly selective small-molecule EZH2 inhibitor, in combination with either enzalutamide or abiraterone / prednisone, in mCRPC patients who experienced disease progression while receiving the other ARS inhibitor. Based on encouraging results from the Phase 1b portion of ProSTAR, the Company has initiated dosing in the randomized Phase 2 portion studying CPI-1205 in combination with enzalutamide versus enzalutamide alone. Constellation has also decided to expand the Phase 2 portion of the study by adding an arm evaluating CPI-1205 in combination with abiraterone in the second-line setting. "We are pleased that CPI-1205 achieved its Phase 1b endpoints in ProSTAR, demonstrating an encouraging safety profile and evidence of clinical activity in both arms," said Adrian Senderowicz, Chief Medical Officer of Constellation Pharmaceuticals. "As we advance into the Phase 2 portion of the study, we believe combination therapy with CPI-1205 may provide a meaningful second-line treatment option to patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer, an area of significant unmet medical need. We are excited about expanding our opportunity to include an arm evaluating CPI-1205 in combination with abiraterone in the second-line setting, given that very few patients experience a 50% reduction in PSAs on second-line treatment with abiraterone and that time to progression in this setting is typically short."

16:49 EDT Starboard urges Cars.com to explore potential sale of company

16:46 EDT Star Bulk Carriers announces purchase of 15,550 of its common shares - Star Bulk Carriers announced that, pursuant to the company's previously announced share repurchase program, the company purchased today 15,550 of its common shares in open market transactions at an average price of $9.19 for aggregate consideration of $142,960. The company shall cancel all the common shares it has repurchased.

16:43 EDT Pentair raises quarterly dividend 3% to 18c per share - Payable on February 8, 2019 to shareholders of record at the close of business on January 25, 2019.

16:38 EDT Latam Airlines reports preliminary November traffic up 5.1%, capacity up 6.4% - Latam Airlines reported its preliminary monthly traffic statistics for November 2018 compared with the same period of 2017. System passenger traffic increased 5.1%, while capacity rose by 6.4%. As a result, the company's load factor for the month fell 1.1 percentage points to 83.2%. International passenger traffic accounted for approximately 55% of the month's total passenger traffic.

16:35 EDT CalAmp falls about 5% after cutting its Q3 guidance

16:34 EDT Merck names Michael Nally as Chief Marketing Officer - Merck announced that Adam Schechter, president of Global Human Health, is stepping down from his current position as of Dec. 31, 2018, and will be shifting to an advisory capacity to the CEO. The company is taking the opportunity to reshape its commercial organization and is creating two new Executive Committee roles. Frank Clyburn has been promoted to Chief Commercial Officer and Michael Nally has been promoted to Chief Marketing Officer. Frank Clyburn, who will take on the role of Chief Commercial Officer, effective Jan. 1, 2019, has held a number of leadership positions across Merck. Most recently, Clyburn was the President of the Global Oncology business. In his new role, Clyburn will report directly to Ken Frazier and will be a member of the Executive Committee. He will be responsible for all operations and P&L across Merck's human health commercial portfolio globally. Clyburn joined Merck in 2008 and has had responsibility for numerous global pharmaceutical franchises, including diabetes, cardiovascular and women's health, as well as leadership of marketing and sales teams. Michael Nally, who will become Chief Marketing Officer, effective Jan. 1, 2019, most recently led the company's Vaccines business. In his new role, Nally will report directly to Ken Frazier and will be a member of the Executive Committee. Nally will be responsible for Global Marketing and long-term franchise strategy across the portfolio. Nally has been at Merck since 2003 and served in a number of roles with responsibilities including being the Managing Director of UK, Ireland and Sweden as well a variety of roles in Commercial Operations, Business Development and Investor Relations.

16:31 EDT Spirit AeroSystems names Jose Ignacio Garcia CFO - Spirit AeroSystems announced that Jose Ignacio Garcia will join the company as senior VP and CFO effective January 9, 2019. Garcia will succeed Spirit's current CFO, Sanjay Kapoor, who announced previously his plans to retire in the first quarter of 2019, following a transition period.

16:31 EDT Lockheed Martin names Kenneth Possenriede CFO - Lockheed Martin's board of directors has approved the appointment of Kenneth R. Possenriede as executive vice president and chief financial officer, succeeding Bruce L. Tanner, who intends to retire in mid-2019. Possenriede's appointment is effective Feb. 11, 2019. Possenriede is currently vice president of Finance and Program Management at Aeronautics, where he is responsible for all aspects of the business area's finances and program management processes, including accounting, contracts, business management, financial planning, scheduling and earned value. Prior to his current role, Possenriede was vice president and treasurer for Lockheed Martin from 2011 to 2016.

16:29 EDT Oil-Dri Corporation of America names Susan Kreh as CFO - Oil-Dri Corporation of America (ODC) announced that effective December 10, Susan Kreh has been appointed CFO. Kreh was previously with Johnson Controls (JCI) where she served as Chief Financial Officer and VP, Information Technology, of the Power Solutions business, from 2010 to 2017 and Corporate Controller from 2007 to 2010.

16:26 EDT CorMedix says NJEDA approves application to sell $5.4M of NOL tax benefits - CorMedix announced the New Jersey Economic Development Authority has approved the company's application to participate in the New Jersey Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer program for State Fiscal Year 2018. The approval will allow CorMedix to transfer approximately $5.4M of the total $6.1M in available tax benefits to an unrelated, profitable New Jersey corporation in return for approximately $5M in cash, which is anticipated by the end of 2018. Closing is subject to NJEDA's typical closing conditions, which are in process. ''We are extremely pleased to receive such a large allocation from this important program,'' said Khoso Baluch, CorMedix President & CEO. ''The program size and number of qualified applicants varies from year to year, so the allocation amount isn't known until NJEDA notification is received. The funding will help us prepare for the next stage of our Neutrolin(R) development program.''

16:23 EDT Armistice Capital reports 6.5% passive stake in Ovid Therapeutics

16:20 EDT One Liberty Properties acquires $10.9M industrial property in California - One Liberty Properties announced that it acquired a 220,000 square foot industrial property on 15.74 acres located in Bakersfield, California, for $10.9M. The building is net leased and the lease provides for an annual base rent of $667,000 increasing, in early 2019, to $734,000 through lease expiration in 2024. The facility, to which the tenant has made significant improvements, is used primarily for warehouse and distribution purposes.

16:19 EDT HFF Inc. announces sale and financing of mixed-use San Diego landmark - HFF announces the sale of and acquisition financing for Liberty Station, which comprises 321,208 square feet of coastal, urban, infill retail space with dual grocery anchors and a world-class marketplace within a mixed-use destination in San Diego, California. The HFF team marketed the property on behalf of the seller, McMillin Companies, and procured the buyer, a partnership of Seligman Group and Irvine-based Pendulum Property Partners. Additionally, working on behalf of the new owner, the HFF team placed the 10-year, fixed-rate loan and negotiated payoff of an extremely complex in-place participating

16:16 EDT LegacyTexas Financial announces share repurchase program - LegacyTexas Financial Group announced that the Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program which permits the repurchase of up to 5% of the company's common stock outstanding as of December 7, 2018. The repurchase program is authorized to continue through December 31, 2019 and does not require the company to repurchase any specific number of shares.

16:14 EDT Casey's General Stores lowers FY19 Fuel SSS view to (1.0%)-0.5% from 1.5%-3.0% - Backs FY19 Grocery and other Merchandise SSS at 1.5%-3.0%. Backs FY19 Prepared Food and Fountain SSS at 1.5%-3.5%.

16:13 EDT Cohen & Steers reports preliminary AUM $58.6B as of November 30 - Cohen & Steers reported preliminary assets under management of $58.6B as of November 30, 2018, an increase of $741M from October 31, 2018. The increase was due to market appreciation of $1.5B, partially offset by net outflows of $530M and distributions of $198M.

16:09 EDT EVO Payments announces strategic relationship between eService, POSNET - EVO Payments announced a strategic relationship between eService an EVO subsidiary, and POSNET, a POS solutions provider in the Polish market, to offer a POS solution to businesses in Poland. Under the terms of the new relationship, eService's payment application will be installed on POSNET's Pospay device. Pospay is the first mobile-operated device in Poland to integrate the functions of a payment terminal, a cash register and a printer. As a result of this relationship, eService and POSNET expect to deploy the new Pospay point-of-sale solution to both new and existing merchants beginning in early 2019. The arrangement will allow eService to leverage POSNET's salesforce and ongoing relationships to increase its distribution of payment solutions in the Polish market.

16:08 EDT Prescott Group Capital reports 11.5% passive stake in Sequential Brands

16:07 EDT YRC Freight says October tonnage per day decreased approximately 7.1% - YRC Worldwide reported certain operating metrics for the first two months of fourth quarter 2018. At YRC Freight, October 2018 tonnage per day decreased approximately 7.1% compared to October 2017 and November 2018 tonnage per day decreased approximately 1.4% compared to November 2017. Quarter-to-date through November 2018, revenue per hundredweight increased approximately 8.8% compared to a year ago. Revenue per shipment increased approximately 5.3% quarter-to-date through November 2018, compared to the same period last year. At the Regional segment, October 2018 tonnage per day decreased approximately 5.5% compared to October 2017 and November 2018 tonnage per day decreased approximately 6.5% compared to November 2017. Quarter-to-date through November 2018, revenue per hundredweight increased approximately 8.6% compared to a year ago. Revenue per shipment increased approximately 8.7% quarter-to-date through November 2018, compared to the same period last year.

16:07 EDT BNY Mellon announces $830M increase to stock repurchase program - BNY Mellon announced that it has received approval from the Federal Reserve and its Board of Directors to immediately increase its repurchase program of common stock by up to an additional $830M through the second quarter of 2019. These repurchases are in addition to the company's repurchase of $2.4B of common stock previously announced on June 28, 2018.

16:05 EDT Celldex announces resignation of board chairman Gerald McMahon - On December 5, 2018, Gerald McMahon, Ph.D. gave notice to the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Celldex Therapeutics, Inc. , of his resignation from the Board, effective December 5, 2018, for personal reasons. Dr. McMahon indicated that his resignation was not the result of any disagreement with the Company on any matters relating to the Company's operations, policies or practices.

15:55 EDT Novartis reports Sandoz, Pear Therapeutics get FDA clearance for reSET-O - Sandoz, a division of Novartis, and Pear Therapeutics announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted clearance for reSET-O as an adjunct to outpatient treatment that includes transmucosal buprenorphine and contingency management, for patients 18 years or older who are currently under the supervision of a clinician in outpatient treatment for Opioid Use Disorder. Under the terms of a commercial deal announced in April 2018, Sandoz will lead marketing and commercialization of reSET-O and reSET, Pear's PDT for the treatment of Substance Use Disorder. Sandoz launched reSET in November 2018 and plans to launch reSET-O in the coming days in the U.S.

15:46 EDT Vanguard reports 10.03% passive stake in Orthofix

15:32 EDT Vanguard reports 10.23% passive stake in Farmland Partners

15:05 EDT Spartan Motors director James Sharman buys almost 16K shares of company stock - Spartan Motors director James Sharman disclosed in a filing that he had purchased 15,997 shares of company stock at an average price of $7.42 per share on December 6. The total transaction value of the purchase was $118,685.

14:50 EDT SailingStone Capital reports 10.17% passive stake in Covia

14:39 EDT T. Rowe Price reports 12.5% passive stake in WellCare

14:31 EDT General Dynamics awarded $346.5M contract modification - General Dynamics Electric Boat has been awarded a $346.5M contract modification by the U.S. Navy to provide research and development and lead-yard services for Virginia-class nuclear-powered attack submarines. Electric Boat is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics. Under the contract modification, Electric Boat will undertake development studies and other work related to Virginia-class submarine design improvements. Additionally, Electric Boat will perform research and development work required to evaluate new technologies to be inserted in newly built Virginia-class ships, including the Virginia Payload Module. Initially awarded in 2016, the contract has a potential value of $1.3B through September 2019.

14:02 EDT TCW Group reports 12.2% passive stake in Quantum

13:04 EDT Chevron names Navin Mahajan VP, treasurer - Chevron Corporation named Navin Mahajan VP and treasurer, effective February 1, 2019. The company also appointed Dale Walsh VP of Corporate Affairs, effective March 1. Mahajan succeeds Randy Richards, who is retiring from Chevron after 40 years. Mahajan, who is currently VP, Finance Downstream & Chemicals, will oversee banking, financing, cash management, insurance, pension investments, and credits and receivables activities across the corporation. He will report to Patricia Yarrington, Chevron's VP and CFO. In a separate appointment, Dale Walsh has been named VP of Corporate Affairs. He succeeds Joe Naylor, who is retiring after 36 years. Walsh, currently Chevron's president of Americas Products, will be responsible for overseeing government affairs, public affairs, social investment and performance, and the company's worldwide efforts to protect and enhance its reputation. Walsh will report to CEO Michael Wirth.

12:34 EDT Fortinet secures Indian express distribution and logistics firm DTDC Express - Fortinet announced that DTDC Express, India's leading express distribution and logistics company, has bolstered its existing Fortinet Security Fabric deployment, which spans 30 global offices and over 450 branches in India, by modernizing their data center and branch firewalls. DTDC Express is the second largest express distribution company in India in terms of spread and coverage. Their logistic services include business units such as courier and cargo services, e-commerce delivery, e-fulfilment, surface cargo, retail services, international express distribution services and third-party logistics. DTDC Express has a presence in more than 500 districts through a large network of 10,500 franchisees that provide last mile connectivity to reach 10,500 PIN code locations. The company handles over 12 million shipments every month, delivering an average of 4 lakh parcels every day. Shares of Fortinet are up almost 3% to $73.56 in midday trading.

12:01 EDT Arthur J. Gallagher acquires Captive Insurance Company Design and Operations - Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced the acquisition of Chicago-based Captive Insurance Company Design and Operations. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. "Andrew and his associates bring us a significant depth of captive management expertise in the medical and professional liability and healthcare space, which aligns well with and will strengthen Gallagher's existing expertise in this practice area," said J. Patrick Gallagher, Jr., Chairman, President and CEO. "I am very pleased to welcome them to Gallagher."

12:00 EDT Global Geoscience falls -16.2% - Global Geoscience is down -16.2%, or -$3.67 to $19.00.

12:00 EDT Direxion Financial Bear 3x rises 5.8% - Direxion Financial Bear 3x is up 5.8%, or 69c to $12.54.

12:00 EDT Systemax rises 13.9% - Systemax is up 13.9%, or $3.61 to $29.63.

11:53 EDT Amazon rolling out first private label toys for children, TJI says - There appears to be an impending launch of several new AmazonBasics (AMZN) brand private label toys for toddlers and children, according to This Just In, or TJI. The toys are not yet available to ship, but their products pages are now live on Amazon, and TJI would generally anticipate the toys to begin shipping in the coming days or weeks. Publicly traded companies in the toy space include Hasbro (HAS), Mattel (MAT), and JAKKS Pacific (JAKK). Reference Link

11:40 EDT Mohawk director Filip Balcaen buys 22,900 shares of company stock - Mohawk director Filip Balcaen disclosed in a filing that he had purchased 22,900 shares of company stock at an average price of $119.48 per share Between December 6 and December 7. The total transaction value was $2,736,113.

11:38 EDT Carlisle to acquire Petersen Aluminum Corporation for approx. $197M - Carlisle Companies announced that it has entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire Petersen Aluminum Corporation, a privately held manufacturer of high-quality metal roofing products for approximately $197M. Headquartered in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, Petersen's primary business is the manufacture and distribution of market leading architectural metal roof panels, steel and aluminum flat sheets and coils, wall panels, perimeter roof edge systems and related accessories for commercial, residential, institutional, industrial and agricultural markets. Founded by Maurice R. Petersen in 1965, Petersen, through its premier brand PAC-CLAD, has grown to become a leader in its served markets with approximately $160M of annual revenue. Chris Koch, CEO and president, said, "The acquisition of Petersen is part of our strategy of providing customers with a portfolio of high quality, innovative products and solutions that meet an increasing array of their building envelope needs. Petersen is an excellent fit with our recent acquisitions in the metal roofing space, including Drexel Metals, Sunlast Metal and Premium Panels, as well as a significant complementary addition to our single-ply roofing systems. We anticipate achieving annual synergies of $4.0M across our metal roofing platform as a result of the acquisition. Petersen further broadens our scale and geographic penetration of the attractive and fast growing regions of Texas, Arizona, Georgia and the Midwest as we continue to execute on our metal roofing growth strategy. I look forward to welcoming the Petersen team to Carlisle and driving further growth and innovation with the help of the Carlisle Operating System." Upon completion of the transaction, the business will be reported as part of the CCM segment.

11:07 EDT Embraer trading halted, news pending

10:57 EDT Boeing says Air Force exercises option for second Japan KC-46 tanker - Boeing announced that the U.S. Air Force has exercised the option for the Japan Air Self-Defense Force's second Boeing KC-46 tanker through the Foreign Military Sale process. Boeing was awarded the initial FMS contract for Japan's first KC-46 aircraft and miscellaneous logistics services in December 2017 following the Japan Ministry of Defense's KC-X aerial refueling competition. "Japan is our first KC-46 international partner and we look forward to delivering this highly capable, multi-role tanker to the JASDF," said John Suding, Boeing Global Sales and Marketing Asia regional executive.

10:21 EDT Verizon: Approx. 10,400 employees accepted as part of voluntary separation offer - Verizon Communications announced that approximately 10,400 employees have been accepted as part of a voluntary program to leave the business as the company better positions itself for future growth. This program coincides with Verizon's recently announced realigned organization structure designed to optimize growth opportunities in the 5G era. "These changes are well-planned and anticipated, and they will be seamless to our customers," said Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg. "This is a moment in time, given our financial and operational strength, to begin to better serve customers with more agility, speed and flexibility." In a letter to employees, Vestberg noted, "For those who were accepted, the coming weeks and months will be a transition. For the entire V Team, there will be opportunities to work differently as we prepare for the great things to come at Verizon. Together, we are leading the world during this great technological revolution, and we will continue to lead the way." The Voluntary Separation Program offers up to 60 weeks' salary, bonus and benefits, depending on length of service. Employees who chose to volunteer were notified today whether they were accepted and their last date on payroll - either year-end 2018, or the end of March 2019 or June 2019, depending on the needs of the business. The company had 152,300 employees at the end of third-quarter 2018.

10:05 EDT Merck KGaA announces FDA orphan drug designation for M7824 - Merck KGaA announced that the US Food and Drug Administration has granted orphan drug designation to M7824, the first regulatory designation for the bifunctional immunotherapy, for the treatment of biliary tract cancer. The FDA orphan drug designation follows the recent presentation of the first clinical data for M7824 in BTC at the European Society of Medical Oncology congress in October. M7824 is an investigational bifunctional immunotherapy designed to combine co-localized blocking of the transforming growth factor-beta and anti-PD-L1 immune escape mechanisms. The first clinical data for M7824 in BTC, presented at the ESMO congress in October, demonstrated clinical activity in Asian patients who had progressed after platinum-based first-line treatment. The ORR among the total of 30 patients was 20%, as assessed by IRC, and responses were observed across PD-L1 levels with a duration of response ranging from 8.3 months to 13.9+ months. Grade 3 or higher TRAEs were experienced by 10 patients and the most common Grade 3 TRAEs were rash and lipase increase. M7824 is an investigational bifunctional immunotherapy that combines a TGF-beta trap with the anti-PD-L1 mechanism in one fusion protein. Designed to combine co-localized blocking of the two immunosuppressive pathways, M7824 is thought to control tumor growth by potentially restoring and enhancing anti-tumor responses. M7824 is an important part of a novel combination approach that seeks to harness the power of the immune system and address the tremendously complex nature of difficult-to-treat tumors. To-date, more than 670 patients with various types of solid tumors have been treated across the program with M7824. In addition to BTC, M7824 is being studied in solid tumor indications, including non-small cell lung, HPV associated tumors and gastrointestinal cancers, such as gastric cancer, esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and esophageal adenocarcinoma.

10:00 EDT Oil-Dri Corporation of America falls -7.5% - Oil-Dri Corporation of America is down -7.5%, or -$2.22 to $27.21.

10:00 EDT Global Geoscience falls -16.2% - Global Geoscience is down -16.2%, or -$3.67 to $19.00.

10:00 EDT Aphria rises 10.1% - Aphria is up 10.1%, or 53c to $5.76.

09:47 EDT Marine Products falls -5.9% - Marine Products is down -5.9%, or -$1.28 to $20.56.

09:47 EDT Global Geoscience falls -16.2% - Global Geoscience is down -16.2%, or -$3.67 to $19.00.

09:47 EDT Britannia Bulk rises 5.6% - Britannia Bulk is up 5.6%, or 68c to $12.91.

09:20 EDT Tyler Technologies acquires SceneDoc, terms not disclosed - Tyler Technologies announced that it has acquired SceneDoc, a company that provides mobile-first, software-as-a-service field reporting for law enforcement agencies. Smartphones, tablets, wearables, and task-specific apps are quickly becoming first responders' primary tools for communicating in the field. To address this growing market trend within law enforcement, SceneDoc enables field capture of data, electronic notes, and multi-media from these devices with secure storage and access to and from the cloud. The set of features differentiating SceneDoc from other solutions includes: Mobile-first design and optimization for smartphones, tablets, and wearables; Voice-to-text capabilities, which allow easy capture of notes and helps keep the officer's eyes on their surroundings; Simple navigation and a responsive design; Flexible capture and sharing of assets such as pictures, audio, video, and text; Capability to upload information to the cloud in real-time, allowing dispatchers, commanders, and other officers to respond to information accordingly. For Tyler, the acquisition of SceneDoc reinforces Tyler as a market leader in mobile-first public safety software. The cloud-based deployment of SceneDoc also minimizes implementation costs and ensures that clients are using the latest product releases. For SceneDoc, the acquisition will help them expand their well-established field reporting software to many more law enforcement agencies across the U.S. by leveraging Tyler's client base and sales organization. Founded in 2011, SceneDoc is based in the Canadian city of Mississauga, Ontario, and employs 18 people. SceneDoc management and staff will become part of Tyler's Public Safety Division, and its employees are expected to remain in their current locations. Kottoor and co-founder Adrian Bubalo will also join Tyler as general managers.

09:19 EDT Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: Nutrisystem (NTRI), up 33% after Tivity Health (TVTY) agreed to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Nutrisystem for a combination of cash and stock valued at $47.00 per share... Axsome Therapeutics (AXSM), up 15% after the Independent Data Monitoring Committee recommended continuation of its trial evaluating AXS-05 in Alzheimer's disease... Mitek Systems (MITK), up 16% after ASG Technologies increased its offer to $11.50 per share to acquire the company... RA Pharmaceuticals (RARX), up 7% after its Phase 2 trial of zilucoplan met its primary endpoint... Marinus Pharmaceuticals (MRNS), up 9% after announcing it is advancing both ganaxolone studies into the next phase of development to evaluate IV and oral dose regimens... Travelport (TVPT), up 1%, after the company agreed to be acquired by affiliates of Siris Capital and Evergreen Coast Capital in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $4.4B. LOWER: Apple (AAPL), down 2% after Qualcomm (QCOM) announced that the Fuzhou Intermediate People's Court in China has granted the company's request for two preliminary injunctions, ordering Apple to immediately cease infringing upon two Qualcomm patents through the unlicensed importation, sale and offers for sale in China of the iPhone 6S, iPhone 6S Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 8, iPhone 8 Plus and iPhone X... Axovant Sciences (AXON), down 23% after announcing its nelotanserin Phase 2 study does not meet its primary endpoint... Navistar (NAV) and Oshkosh (OSK), down 4% and 2%, respectively, after Goldman Sachs analyst Jerry Revich downgraded the stocks to Sell from Neutral as part of his broader research note on the Engineering & Construction sector... MacroGenics (MGNX), down 21% after the FDA placed a partial hold on two studies involving MGD009...

09:17 EDT Lumentum sees $60M in synergies from Oclaro acquisiiton - Lumentum Holdings (LITE) announced that it has completed its previously announced acquisition of Oclaro (OCLR). Oclaro's stockholders previously approved the merger agreement relating to Lumentum's acquisition of Oclaro. As a result of the completion of the acquisition, trading in Oclaro common stock on the NASDAQ Stock Market will cease on December 10, 2018. As previously announced Lumentum anticipates achieving an estimated $60M in synergies in the 12-24 months following the closing of the transaction. Lumentum is not updating any previously provided guidance for fiscal Q2 2019 results to incorporate the impact of the Oclaro acquisition. During its fiscal Q2 2019 earnings conference call, Lumentum will provide an update on Oclaro's contribution to Lumentum's second fiscal quarter.

09:15 EDT Apple tells CNBC all iPhone models remain available in China - Apple (AAPL) told CNBC 's David Faber in a statement, "Qualcomm's (QCOM) effort to ban our products is another desperate move by a company whose illegal practices are under investigation by regulators around the world. All iPhone models remain available for our customers in China. Qualcomm is asserting three patents they had never raised before, including one which has already been invalidated. We will pursue all our legal options through the courts." Reference Link

09:13 EDT Harris plans to invest over $125M in R&D in Florida - Harris Corporation (HRS) plans to invest more than $125M in internal research and development in Florida this fiscal year - bolstering high-paying jobs and the company's innovation leadership in the state. Florida-based R&D activities primarily will take place at the company's Central Florida locations and focus on areas such as electronic warfare, robotics, avionics and smallsats. The region will receive over a third of the company's overall $300M-plus annual internal R&D budget - representing an industry-leading 5% of company revenue. The total excludes customer-funded R&D. The internal R&D will support the company's nearly 7,000 employment base in Florida, including over 3,300 engineers and scientists, as well as generate new high-paying positions. The company pays an average salary of $95,000 in Florida and has about 375 openings in the state, primarily in engineering. The investment also will help foster Harris' partnership with companies and universities throughout the state. Harris spends more than $200M annually with Florida based suppliers. The company also partners with multiple Florida colleges and universities, including the University of Florida, University of Central Florida, University of South Florida and Florida Institute of Technology. These partnerships provide technological insight for Harris and increase company visibility to help fill key technology positions. Harris is one of the largest public companies headquartered in Florida, and its solutions are used by customers throughout the state in public safety, air traffic management, space and defense. It has 15 locations with 3.5M square feet of office and manufacturing space, including the 464,000-square-foot Harris Technology Center and 23,000-square-foot Global Innovation Center. The company's Florida presence will be bolstered by its recently announced plans to merge with L3 Technologies (LLL). The combined company, L3 Harris Technologies, will be headquartered in Melbourne, Florida, creating opportunities for additional employment and investment growth in the state.

09:10 EDT T-Mobile providing 70k lines of wireless service to the VA - The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is partnering with T-Mobile to help expand veterans' access to health care. Because veterans drive an average of 25 to 50 miles for health care visits today, VA, which operates the largest integrated health care system in the country, is working to make health care providers more accessible to patients with telehealth services and the expansion of its network of Community-Based Outpatient Clinics across the country. As the primary wireless provider for VA, T-Mobile will provide 70,000 lines of wireless service to VA doctors, nurses, social workers, crisis hotline staff and more, across all VA hospitals, clinics and other outpatient facilities.

09:08 EDT CollPlant announces clinical trial published regarding Vergenix STR - CollPlant announced a clinical trial published regarding its Vergenix STR in the treatment of tennis elbow. The peer reviewed paper titled, "First clinical experience with a new injectable recombinant human collagen scaffold combined with autologous platelet-rich plasma for the treatment of lateral epicondylar tendinopathy (tennis elbow)" was published in the Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery. The clinical trial, which was concluded in August 2016, enrolled 40 patients and evaluated three key measures of tennis elbow at 6 months post-treatment. The mean Patient-Rated Tennis Elbow Evaluation score showed a 59% improvement (reduction) from baseline at 6 months. Grip strength increased by 28% from 28.8 kg at baseline to 36.8 kg at 6 months. In 68% of patients, improvements in sonographic tendon appearance were evident. No systemic or local severe adverse events were reported. "Based on the very favorable data reported, this study concluded that Vergenix STR demonstrated significant clinical improvements in patients with tennis elbow. Vergenix STR offers a unique, and effective method to treat a wide range of tendinopathies with just a single application to initiate the healing process," stated Yehiel Tal, CollPlant's Chief Executive Officer. "In the U.S. market alone, there are estimated to be over 3 million procedures annually to treat tendinopathy. We look forward to advancing Vergenix STR through the FDA approval process and into commercialization in the U.S." Vergenix STR has a CE mark and is currently sold in Europe. CollPlant plans to conduct a pre-submission meeting with the U.S. FDA in the coming weeks.

09:08 EDT Full House Resorts announces intent to compete for Terre Haute casino - Full House Resorts announced its intent to reintroduce its proposal to allow for the relocation of unused gambling games from its Rising Star Casino Resort to a supplemental location in Terre Haute. During the 2017 Indiana legislative session, Full House's proposal, which permitted it to relocate unused gambling games to Terre Haute, failed to advance after receiving a tie vote in the Senate Public Policy Committee. The central concern raised was that the 2017 bill unfairly favored a single casino operator. In response to that concern, Full House returned to the Indiana legislature in 2018 with a bill that would have allowed other casino owners to compete for a Terre Haute casino without eliminating the jobs or vacating the investments made in their original home communities.

09:05 EDT Coupa Software acquires Hiperos, terms not disclosed - Coupa Software announced that it acquired Hiperos, a leading third-party risk management provider and division of Opus. The acquisition enables businesses with the advanced technology they need to extensively evaluate the risk of their full supplier base to further protect their brand and bottom line.

09:04 EDT Sonos appoints Eddie Lazarus as Chief Legal Officer - Sonos (SONO) announced that Eddie Lazarus will join the Sonos team as its new Chief Legal Officer, effective Jan. 2, 2019. Lazarus joins Sonos after a distinguished career as an attorney, including most recently as General Counsel and Chief Strategy Officer for Tribune Media Company (TRCO) from 2013 to 2018. At Sonos, Lazarus will report directly to CEO Patrick Spence and will be based at the company's headquarters in Santa Barbara.

08:54 EDT Perrigo announces launch of AB-rated generic version of Topicort Topical Spray - Perrigo announced the launch of an AB-rated generic version of Topicort Topical Spray 0.25%. Topicort Topical Spray is indicated for the treatment of plaque psoriasis in patients 18 years of age or older. Annual market sales for the twelve months ending October 2018 were approximately $18M as measured by IQVIA.

08:42 EDT Inpixon receives notice of allowance for IPA platform patent from USPTO - Inpixon announced that it has received a notice of allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, allowing its patent application covering techniques to dynamically adapt network policies for mobile devices by accessing context-based values to allocate or restrict capabilities on the mobile devices or within the network. Inpixon has incorporated this patentable approach into its indoor positioning analytics, or IPA, platform. IPA uses radio frequency sensors to anonymously identify the indoor location of wireless devices, such as cell phones. IPA is then able to leverage an artificial intelligence-powered data analytics engine to reveal actionable intelligence, such as visitor counts and customer behavior patterns, and deliver this information to customers and users in real time.

08:40 EDT Amyris expands production agreement with ADL Bionatur - Amyris announced that it has executed an expanded agreement for its existing production contract with ADL Bionatur Solutions, through its fermentation division ADL Biopharma. ADL Bionatur provides cost effective, contract manufacturing capabilities. This marks the second expansion of an agreement the parties executed. This expanded agreement supports confidence in ADL Bionatur Solutions by Amyris.

08:38 EDT InterDigital announces $100M increase to stock repurchase program - InterDigital's board has authorized a $100M increase to the company's existing stock repurchase program. The board authorized a $300M stock repurchase program in June 2014, which was increased to $400M in June 2015 and to $500M in September 2017. The latest increase brings the total authorization to $600M. Following the latest increase, the remaining amount available under the authorization is approximately $187M.

08:37 EDT NuVasive gets FDA clearance for expanded use of Monolith Corpectomy System - NuVasive announced it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. FDA for expanded use of its Monolith Corpectomy System, providing surgeons with a modular PEEK interbody solution for cervical corpectomy procedures. The FDA 510(k) indications for expanded use of the company's Monolith Corpectomy System include procedures in the cervical spine to treat a diseased or damaged vertebral body caused by fracture, tumors, osteomyelitis or to support reconstruction following corpectomy performed to achieve decompression of the spinal cord and neural tissue in cervical degenerative disorders.

08:35 EDT Allscripts to sell interests in Netsmart for after-tax proceeds of $3 per share - Allscripts announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its interests in Netsmart Technologies. In March 2016, Allscripts contributed its homecare business to Netsmart, in exchange for the largest ownership stake in the company which has now become the largest technology company exclusively dedicated to behavioral health, human services and post-acute care. It is expected that this sale transaction will yield Allscripts net after-tax proceeds of approximately $525M or approximately $3 per fully diluted share. Allscripts anticipates closing the sale by the end of the Q4, after the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Allscripts plans to use the net after-tax proceeds to repay long-term debt, invest in other growing areas of its business, and to opportunistically repurchase its outstanding common stock. Upon closing, total outstanding net debt would be reduced to approximately $500M. The improved leverage profile is expected to enable the company to continue investing in its core and surround solutions while also providing flexibility for additional capital returns to shareholders.

08:32 EDT Cerus announces American Red Cross receives BLA approval for INTERCEPT platelets - Cerus Corporation announced that the American Red Cross has received approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for their first biologics license application for interstate distribution of platelets that have been pathogen-reduced with INTERCEPT Blood Systems. The Biologics License Application is a common procedure for blood centers to request permission by FDA to introduce a biologic product into interstate commerce. Until a blood center obtains a BLA, they are restricted to distributing INTERCEPT-treated products to hospitals within the state in which they are produced. While some blood centers may distribute primarily in state, many U.S. blood centers have extensive interstate distribution.

08:31 EDT GI Partners, TA Associates to acquire Allscripts' stake in Netsmart Technologies

08:28 EDT Veritone up 45% to $8.16 after acquisition proposal from Apis Capital

08:24 EDT XpresSpa executes first franchise partnership - XpresSpa announced that it has executed its first franchise partnership with Kevin Stutz, an experienced franchise operator in the health and wellness industry. Under the terms of the agreement, Stutz will open an XpresSpa location in a Texas based Airport during Q1. Previously, the company formally launched the XpresSpa franchising program in order to build upon its fourteen years of health and wellness expertise within the fast-paced airport environment. The program is designed to leverage XpresSpa's international brand and capture the growth opportunity to expand its spa footprint into a much wider selection of markets

08:14 EDT China Rapid Finance VP Lan Xie completes planned onboarding as CFO - China Rapid Finance announced that its Vice President of Finance Lan Xie has completed her planned onboarding as CFO. Xie's recruitment was overseen by Kerry Shen, the company's former CFO, as part of the organizational plans approved earlier this year by the Board of Directors. Xie joined the Company as Vice President of Finance on October 1st and has transitioned into the CFO role over the past two months with the assistance of Shen, who is pursuing a new opportunity. The company also announced further additions to its leadership team with the appointment of Kevin Kong as General Counsel.

08:12 EDT Athene announces block reinsurance transaction with Lincoln National - Athene Holding (ATH) has announced nearly $1B of combined capital deployment through a block reinsurance transaction with Lincoln Financial Group and a new share repurchase authorization. Athene's subsidiary, Athene Life , has entered into a reinsurance agreement with The Lincoln National Life Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Lincoln Financial Group (LNC). Under the agreement, ALRe agreed to reinsure an 80% quota share of a $9.6B in-force block of fixed deferred and fixed indexed annuities on a modified coinsurance basis. In total, approximately $7.7B of statutory reserves will be ceded to ALRe, supported by a diversified portfolio of assets. Lincoln will continue to service and administer the in-force policies within the block. In order to consummate the transaction, Athene has deployed approximately $700M of capital in aggregate, which includes capital to support the block and a ceding commission paid by ALRe. The transaction was dated on December 7, 2018 with an effective date of October 1, 2018. The transaction is expected to be accretive to the company's 2019 adjusted operating income per share. At a later date, ALRe may elect to cede a minority share of the liabilities from this transaction to an affiliate.

08:12 EDT Ashford Hospitality expects to pay quarterly dividend of 12c per share in 2019 - The Board approved the company's dividend policy for 2019. The company expects to pay a quarterly cash dividend of 12c per share for 2019, or 48c per share on an annualized basis. The Board will continue to review its dividend policy on a quarter-to-quarter basis.

08:11 EDT Braemar Hotels & Resorts expects to pay quarterly dividend of 16c in 2019 - The Board approved the company's dividend policy for 2019. The company expects to pay a quarterly cash dividend of 16c per share for 2019, or 64c per share on an annualized basis. The Board will continue to review its dividend policy on a quarter-to-quarter basis.

08:10 EDT Lincoln National announces reinsurance transaction with Athene Holding - Lincoln Financial Group (LNC) announced it has entered into an agreement with a subsidiary of Athene Holding (ATH), to reinsure approximately $7.7B of in-force fixed and fixed indexed annuity products. The capital generated from the transaction, including a ceding commission paid by Athene combined with the release of capital, will predominantly be used to fund share repurchases up to $500M, most of which will be executed through an accelerated share repurchase program. The transaction is expected to be accretive to Lincoln Financial's earnings per share in 2019. Under the terms of the reinsurance agreement, Lincoln Financial will retain account administration and recordkeeping of the annuity policies. The transaction will have no impact on Lincoln Financial's relationship with, and commitments to, its distribution partners and policyholders. Additionally, Lincoln Financial remains focused on the continued growth of both its fixed and variable annuity businesses, with plans to introduce new products and further expand distribution partners to achieve successful long-term growth. The transaction was dated December 7, 2018 and is effective as of October 1, 2018. The agreement is structured as a modified coinsurance treaty with counterparty protections around investment guidelines and overcollateralization established to meet Lincoln Financial's risk management objectives.

08:09 EDT Pfenex submits PF708 NDA to FDA - Pfenex (PFNX) announced the submission of its new drug application, or NDA, to the FDA seeking approval of PF708 for the treatment of osteoporosis. The application is submitted as a 505 NDA and references Eli Lilly's (LLY) Forteo as the reference listed drug.

08:08 EDT Arthur J. Gallagher acquires Accompass, terms not disclosed - Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced the acquisition of Toronto-based Accompass. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded by Michael Worb in 1997, Accompass offers a full range of health & welfare, investment & retirement, executive compensation, and broad-based compensation consulting and support services to clients throughout Canada.

08:07 EDT Spartan Motors receives multi-unit fire apparatus order - Spartan Emergency Response, a business unit of Spartan Motors, has received an order for 13 of its industry-leading custom fire apparatus to be delivered to a metropolitan fire department in Texas. The order includes nine custom built engines, one high-pressure engine for downtown high-rise operations, two 105-foot aerials and one 100-foot rear mount platform. This order adds to Spartan's already established and growing footprint in the State of Texas, including Metropolitan and County Fire Departments. This most recent sale contributes to Spartan Emergency Response's growing momentum with third-quarter sales nearly 30% higher year-over-year.

08:06 EDT Genocea appoints Girish Aakalu as CBO - Genocea (GNCA) announced the hiring of industry veteran Girish Aakalu as its new CBO. In this role, Aakalu will lead the company's business development efforts. Aakalu brings a broad skillset to Genocea, spanning business development, corporate and R&D strategy, product portfolio management, commercial planning, and alliance management, following positions at Ipsen (IPSEY) which included VP: global head of external innovation.

08:04 EDT Xperi announces settlement, new patent license agreement with Samsung - Xperi (XPER) announced that it has reached an agreement with Samsung Electronics (SSNLF) to settle and dismiss all pending litigation between the companies. In connection with the settlement, the companies have entered into a new patent license agreement. The terms and conditions of the agreement are confidential.

08:03 EDT PerkinElmer appoints Prahlad Singh as president, COO - PerkinElmer announced that its board of directors has named Prahlad Singh president and COO, effective January 1, 2019. In his expanded position, Singh will have responsibility for both the Discovery and Analytical Solutions and Diagnostics operating divisions of the company. This change is being made to better facilitate synergies across the businesses to identify incremental growth opportunities, create operating efficiencies, and most importantly, accelerate the pace of innovation across the company. Singh, along with the leaders of the company's corporate functions, will continue to report to Robert Friel, PerkinElmer's chairman and CEO. Singh joined PerkinElmer in 2014 as president of the Diagnostics business. He was elected an officer of PerkinElmer in 2016 and EVP in March 2018.

08:00 EDT Inovalon to support Molina Healthcare to improve Medicaid, Medicare - Inovalon (INOV) and Molina Healthcare (MOH) announced an agreement to support Molina's widespread efforts to improve member care and documentation within its Medicaid, Medicare and marketplace member populations across the country. Molina entered into an agreement with Inovalon for similar work for its marketplace plans in Florida and Texas in 2017. The new agreement will expand the existing relationship to include additional Molina states and all lines of business across the enterprise. This will enhance Molina Healthcare's data analytics, member interventions, and reporting. Improved efficiencies between providers, members, and Molina support staff are expected to be realized immediately. The Inovalon agreement is part of a broader strategy to improve Molina's ability to manage clinical risk and needs assessment, which includes expanding its CareConnections program, hiring additional nurse practitioners for direct member outreach, and improving care coordination.

07:56 EDT Gilat Satellite awarded multi-million dollar project from LASCOM - Gilat Satellite announced the selection of Gilat for a multi-million-dollar project by the Japanese government agency, Local Authorities Satellite Communication, for delivery of the next generation disaster response platform to Japan's forty-seven prefectures. Gilat in partnership with JSAT will ensure essential communication services for the people of Japan in case of disaster.

07:52 EDT Marinus Pharmaceuticals announces results from two ganaxolone studies - Marinus Pharmaceuticals announced "positive" results from its Phase 2 clinical trials evaluating ganaxolone intravenous, or IV, and oral in women with postpartum depression, or PPD. Based on these results, the company is advancing both studies into the next phase of development to evaluate IV and oral dose regimens. There was a clear dose response relationship seen for three groups of patients receiving ganaxolone IV at median doses of 60, 90 and 140 microg/kg/h.The 140 microg/kg/h dose group demonstrated the most robust results, with a clinically meaningful 5.6-point reduction in Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, or HAM-D17, compared to placebo at 48 hours that was durable through the last visit, day 34. These patients had a mean HAM-D17 reduction of 16.9 and 15.7 points from baseline at 60 hours and day 34, respectively. Overall, 75% of patients were responders, as defined as having a 50% reduction from baseline, at day 34 and 67% were responders at 60 hours. Additionally, 50% of patients achieved remission from depression, as determined by a HAM-D17 of 7, at day 34 and 33% achieved remission at 60 hours. Ganaxolone was safe and well-tolerated in all dose groups. Consistent with previous ganaxolone studies, the most common reported adverse events were sedation and dizziness. There were no serious adverse events reported, no discontinuations due to a treatment related adverse event and consistent with prior studies, there were no reports of syncope or loss of consciousness. The Clinical Global Impression of Improvement, or CGI-I, as well as the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Survey, or EPDS, and Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety 6, or STAI-6, showed highly similar trends that were consistent with HAM-D17. Overall, 58 patients with PPD were randomized on a 1:1 basis to receive one of three ascending fixed IV 60-hour dose regimens of ganaxolone or placebo. No initial up titration was required and patients were down titrated over the final 12 hours of the 60-hour infusion. A bolus injection of ganaxolone prior to the 60-hour infusion was explored to test the safety and tolerability of a very short, high dose infusion. None of the dose groups were powered to generate statistical significance. Patients with a HAM-D17 score of 26 were considered for enrollment in the study. HAM-D17 measurements were conducted by a centralized rater and taken at various timepoints spanning from baseline to day 34. Enrollment is ongoing in the company's oral study, a Phase 2 clinical trial to evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of oral ganaxolone in women with PPD. Patients with a HAM-D17 score of 20 but less than 26 are being considered for enrollment in the study. Cohorts of patients enrolled in the initial open label phase of the study receive ascending dose regimens with oral ganaxolone. The efficacy endpoint is change from baseline in the HAM-D17 score. Patients in the most recent dose cohort who took oral ganaxolone for four weeks had a mean HAM-D17 reduction of 13.2 points 28 days from a baseline of 24.7 and a reduction of 15.7 points at day 36. This cohort is on-going and not all patients have reached day 28. As with IV, oral ganaxolone was generally safe and well-tolerated with no serious adverse events reported and no discontinuations due to treatment related adverse events. The company is advancing both the Magnolia and Amaryllis studies with data expected in the first half of 2019. The second part of the Magnolia Study will evaluate a short IV infusion followed by oral ganaxolone administration and the Amaryllis study will continue to optimize oral ganaxolone dosing.

07:44 EDT Xunlei announces strategic partnership with China Mobile IoT - Xunlei (XNET) announced that the company and China Mobile IoT, or CMIoT, have entered into a strategic partnership agreement to jointly develop IoT industry solutions by leveraging blockchain technology. CMIoT, a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Mobile (CHL), focuses on operating IoT network, designing IoT chips, producing smart home applications and wearables and developing and operating IoT card connection management platform, OneLink, and IoT open platform, OneNET. It builds a comprehensive architecture named "Cloud-Pipeline-Device". In accordance with the partnership agreement, Xunlei and CMIoT will jointly invest in the research and development of innovative applications of blockchain and IoT technologies. Both companies will also share market intelligence of the latest industry trend, provide traffic support and strengthen product operations.

07:35 EDT Ebix division to provide foreign exchange services at India airport - Ebix announced that its division EbixCash World Money has been awarded rights for providing foreign exchange services at Kannur International Airport in the state of Kerala, India. The EbixCash WorldMoney Forex services were inaugurated amongst senior central and state government officials, industry leaders and other functionaries. Spread across 2,000 acres, the Kannur Airport is the newest addition to India's international airport portfolio. The airport is expected to serve more than 1M passengers annually with passenger traffic estimated to increase five-fold by 2025. EbixCash World Money will offer passengers flying in & out of the city, foreign exchange at competitive rates, along with a host of other products such as travelers cheques, multi-currency prepaid cards and travel insurance.

07:33 EDT ConocoPhillips sets FY19 CapEx budget of $6.1B - ConocoPhillips has set a 2019 capital expenditure budget of $6.1B, which is flat to expected full-year 2018 capital expenditures excluding acquisition costs. The 2019 capital budget includes funding for ongoing conventional and unconventional development drilling programs, major projects, exploration and appraisal activities, and base maintenance activities. Compared to the 2018 expected capital of $6.1B, excluding acquisition costs, the 2019 capital budget reflects the roll-off and roll-on of major projects, additional activity associated with Montney success, and the impact of increased scope and a higher working interest in Alaska. The 2019 capital budget does not reflect potential dispositions that may occur in 2019.

07:32 EDT ConocoPhillips sees 2019 production of 1,300-1,350 MBOED - ConocoPhillips announced its 2019 capital expenditure budget and operating plan. The operating plan reflects the company's ongoing commitment to free cash flow generation, differentiated payout to shareholders and superior financial returns through business cycles. The 2019 operating plan is expected to continue driving underlying improvement in return on capital employed. Key highlights are: Planned 2019 capital expenditures of $6.1B result in free cash flow at prices above $40 per barrel WTI; Increased target payout to shareholders to greater than 30% of cash from operations from 20-30%; Expected share repurchases of $3B in 2019, representing a payout to shareholders, including dividends, of approximately 50 percent of cash from operations at $50 WTI; Expected 2019 production of 1,300 MBOED to 1,350 MBOED, excluding Libya and assuming the previously announced Clair and Kuparuk transactions will close by year-end 2018; At midpoint, this represents year-over-year growth of 8% per debt-adjusted share; Cash flow sensitivities increased by about $30M per dollar change in oil price; The 2019 operating plan includes activity targeting several high-impact opportunities, notably: Appraisal drilling of the Willow discovery in Alaska; Continued multi-well pad appraisal drilling in the emerging liquids-rich Montney in Canada; Multi-well pilot tests of new completion designs in Eagle Ford and Delaware; Exploration drilling in the Louisiana Austin Chalk; New major projects in Alaska, Europe and Asia Pacific; and Expected year-end 2018 resource base of 16 billion BOE at less than $40 per barrel WTI cost of supply.

07:32 EDT ASG Technologies increases offer to $11.50 per share to acquire Mitek Systems - ASG Technologies made public a previously private letter to the board of Mitek Systems in which ASG offered to increase its recent proposal to acquire Mitek from $10.00 to $11.50 per share in cash. In the letter, sent to the Mitek board two weeks ago, ASG CEO Charles Sansbury noted that the new offer price represents a 73% premium above the unaffected closing price on October 9, 2018, a significant premium above the average share price for all relevant periods, and a 90% premium above Mitek's 5-year average. The letter also noted that the proposal would not be subject to any financing condition, as Elliott would commit to provide the necessary equity to complete the acquisition.

07:25 EDT Axovant Sciences nelotanserin Phase 2 study does not meet primary endpoint - Axovant Sciences reported topline results of the 34-patient, exploratory phase 2 clinical study of nelotanserin for the treatment of REM sleep behavior disorder, or RBD, in patients with Lewy body dementia, or LBD. The primary efficacy endpoint of reduction in frequency of RBD events as measured by sleep laboratory video assessment was not met. Nelotanserin was generally well-tolerated in the study. Signals of efficacy were observed on secondary measures, including trends in prespecified analyses of study diaries and certain sleep parameters on polysomnography, or PSG. These findings are consistent with nelotanserin's mechanism of action and previous clinical studies of nelotanserin in patients with insomnia.

07:20 EDT SQN sends letter to Yelp, notes underperformance, lack of meaningful response - SQN Investors, the beneficial owner of more than 4% of the outstanding common stock of Yelp, issued a public letter to the Yelp board. In the letter, SQN outlines what it sees as the current board's lack of accountability and failure to address the numerous challenges facing Yelp, and calls for the board to be refreshed with new, independent voices - including the addition of stockholder representatives. "SQN Investors is currently one of the company's top five stockholders, beneficially owning more than 4% of the outstanding common stock of Yelp. We first invested in Yelp in August 2015 and have been consistent buyers of the stock, despite the company's prolonged underperformance. Yelp is now one of our largest investments. We believe that the size and duration of our investment demonstrate the level of conviction we have in both Yelp's leading position in local search and the potential value-creation opportunities that lie ahead for the company, if managed correctly. Now in our fourth year as investors, we feel we have given the board and management ample time to create value for stockholders. Our patience has now worn out. We are deeply concerned by the board's lack of urgency in addressing many of the issues facing Yelp. In our view, the board has failed to hold itself and management accountable for the company's strategic and operational missteps, repeated missed earnings, lost opportunities, and poor corporate governance. The lack of a meaningful response from the board, despite our considerable effort to engage with the board and management to address these issues, has caused us to speak publicly now before more time is wasted and further opportunities squandered."

07:14 EDT LightInTheBox announces closing of Ezbuy acquisition - LightInTheBox announced the closing of its strategic acquisition of a 100% equity stake in Ezbuy Holding Co., a Singapore-based leading cross-border e-commerce platform. The signing of the transaction was previously announced on November 8, 2018. As a result of the transaction, the company's Board of Directors appointed Jian He as CEO and Director, Meng Lian as Director, and Zhiping Qi as Vice Chairman of the Board on November 16, 2018.

07:12 EDT ProQR Therapeutics receives EUR4.7M credit from Dutch government for QR-110 - ProQR Therapeutics announced that it was awarded an innovation credit by the Dutch government for the clinical development and efforts to obtain marketing approval for the QR-110 program that is being developed for patients with Leber's congenital amaurosis 10, or LCA10, a genetic eye disease that is the leading cause of childhood blindness. Repayment of the credit is triggered only by market approval of QR-110. ProQR was awarded an Innovation credit for the QR-110 program. Amounts will be drawn under this facility from 2018-2021.The credit of EUR4.7M through December 31, 2021 will be used to conduct the Phase 2/3 clinical study and efforts to obtain regulatory and ethical market approval of QR-110 for LCA10.

07:08 EDT Plug Power announces expansion of GenDrive orders from Daimler facility - Plug Power (PLUG) announces an expansion of the deployed GenDrive fleet of hydrogen fuel cell systems with the receipt of Q4 orders for class 1, class 2, and class 3 GenDrive systems at the Daimler (DDAIF) manufacturing facility located in Vance, Alabama. At this facility, prior to expansion, Daimler has deployed more than 400 Plug Power GenDrive systems in its material handling vehicles.

07:07 EDT Pembina Pipeline announces 2019 capital program of $1.6B - Pembina Pipeline is pleased to announce a capital program of $1.6B and an Adjusted EBITDA guidance range of $2.8B-$3B for 2019.

07:05 EDT Menlo Therapeutics says serlopitant successfully met primary endpoint in trial - Menlo Therapeutics announced top-line results from MTI-109, a 204-patient Phase 2 clinical trial of serlopitant for the treatment of pruritus associated with psoriasis. The trial successfully met its primary endpoint, showing a statistically significant reduction in pruritus based upon a 4-point improvement responder analysis. In the trial, 33% of patients treated with serlopitant 5 mg daily achieved a 4-point or greater improvement on the worst-itch numeric rating scale, or WI-NRS, at week 8 compared to baseline vs. 21% of patients treated with placebo. The trial also prospectively defined three key secondary endpoints for sequential step-down analyses at week 4 and days 7 and 3. The trial successfully met the secondary endpoint of WI-NRS responder rate at week 4. At week 4, 21% of patients treated with serlopitant achieved a 4-point or greater improvement on the WI-NRS vs. 11% of patients treated with placebo. Assessment of the secondary endpoints of the absolute change in WI-NRS from baseline to day 7 and day 3 for serlopitant compared to placebo showed a greater numerical, but not statistically significant, improvement for the serlopitant group. At every assessed time point in the trial, the serlopitant treated group demonstrated greater numerical improvement than the placebo group in both the WI-NRS 4-point responder analysis and in the mean change in WI-NRS from baseline. Serlopitant was well-tolerated in this clinical trial. No serious adverse events were reported for serlopitant treated patients. Treatment-emergent adverse events assessed as likely related to treatment were observed with similar frequency in both groups. The consolidated safety summary for serlopitant now includes more than 1,600 evaluable patients, including patients who have received treatment for up to one year.

07:05 EDT Vanda Pharmaceuticals announces 'positive' study results for HETLIOZ - Vanda Pharmaceuticals announced that HETLIOZ improved sleep quality and increased sleep duration in patients with Smith-Magenis Syndrome in a pivotal placebo controlled clinical study. "We are extremely pleased with the results of this study of tasimelteon in patients with Smith-Magenis Syndrome. Tasimelteon was shown to meaningfully improve sleep in SMS patients, addressing an unmet medical need for the most severe symptom constellation of this rare disorder," said Mihael H. Polymeropoulos MD, Vanda's President and Chief Executive Officer. VEC-162-2401 was a double masked 4 week cross-over pivotal clinical trial that studied the effects of tasimelteon versus placebo in 25 patients with SMS. Patients were evaluated for daily diary sleep quality and for daily diary total nighttime sleep duration via a parental post sleep questionnaire. Total nighttime sleep duration was also measured via daily actigraphy. The study had two predefined primary endpoints: DDSQ and DDTST. Tasimelteon met the primary endpoint of improvement in the 50% worst sleep quality and also showed improvement on the primary endpoint of 50% worst total nighttime sleep duration. Tasimelteon demonstrated significant improvement in overall sleep quality and overall total nighttime sleep duration. Tasimelteon improved the overall total nighttime sleep duration by an average of approximately 41 minutes per night, a highly clinically meaningful effect. Given that most of the baseline nights were of shortened sleep duration, tasimelteon also improved sleep duration for the best half of the baseline nights versus placebo. Tasimelteon also showed significant improvement in subjective measures of total nighttime sleep duration via actigraphy, for 50% worst TST and overall TST. In this study, aberrant behaviors improved from baseline on both tasimelteon and placebo but likely due to the relative short duration of the study the differences were not significant between the two groups. In a longer open label study of tasimelteon in SMS, patients were treated for a period of approximately 27 weeks following a 6 week baseline evaluation. In that study, significant improvements from baseline were observed in sleep quality as well as in aberrant behaviors. The improvements in sleep quality and sleep duration demonstrated in the 2401 study were consistent across patients with chromosomal deletions of various lengths as well as a single patient with a point mutation in the RAI1 gene on chromosome 17p. The detailed results are expected to be presented in upcoming meetings and peer reviewed publications.

07:02 EDT Aurora Cannabis to acquire Farmacias Magistrales S.A. - Aurora Cannabis announced that the company has entered into a Letter of Intent to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Farmacias Magistrales S.A., subject to customary due diligence provisions, the completion of definitive agreements, and regulatory and government approval. As previously announced, Farmacias recently became Mexico's first and only federally licensed importer to date of raw materials containing THC, gaining the necessary licenses, facilities, and permissions to import raw THC material, and manufacture, store, and distribute medical cannabis products containing over 1% THC. This transaction firmly establishes Aurora's first-mover advantage in one of the world's most populous countries, where more than 130 million people will have federally legal access to a range of Aurora's non-flower medical cannabis products containing THC. Under the regulations governing the Mexican medical cannabis market, domestic cultivation, import or sale in Mexico of dried flower products is prohibited. Consequently, Farmacias is the only company to date with the ability to supply THC containing products, and the only THC-containing offerings available initially will be Aurora-sourced higher-margin derivative products. Consideration to be paid for the acquisition of Farmacias will be in shares of Aurora and based on a valuation of the proforma distribution revenue projections of Farmacias. The consideration payable by Aurora also includes a contingent portion of up to 25% payable only upon the achievement of certain milestones over the next 12 months related to operational metrics, such as maintaining market share.

06:47 EDT Yelp says 'we maintain an ongoing dialogue with all of our shareholders' - Yelp issued the following statement in response to media coverage of comments made by SQN Investors LP: "While we generally do not comment on individual interactions with shareholders as a matter of corporate policy, Yelp maintains an ongoing dialogue with all of our shareholders and the broader investment community. Our investors have been a long-standing source of support, feedback and insight for Yelp. We value their investments and confidence and we welcome their input. Over the past three years, Yelp has had many interactions with SQN regarding our business and strategy. At SQN's request, in addition to dialogue with independent directors and management, Yelp invited SQN founder Amish Mehta and his investing partner Rock Meng to participate in a meeting on Monday December 10, 2018 with our CEO Jeremy Stoppelman and CFO Lanny Baker. However, rather than agreeing to meet, SQN chose to make its approach public by providing a letter to the media before sharing it with the Yelp Board. Regardless, our Board and management team are committed to maintaining an open dialogue with SQN and hearing their perspectives. We look forward to reviewing their letter once SQN sends it to us. Our Board of Directors and management team are committed to acting in the best interests of our shareholders, customers and employees. Led by our independent chairwoman and other independent directors, our Board is active, open-minded and engaged and consists of established industry leaders with a wide range of skill sets relevant to Yelp. The Board also continues to review its own composition and practices in order to ensure robust oversight and contributions to Yelp's strategy, priorities and execution. Yelp is committed to maintaining a highly relevant and diverse Board with the specific mix of skills and experience for our business that will help drive growth, facilitate oversight and deliver value for our shareholders. As such, the Board and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee are in the process, with the support of a nationally-recognized director search firm, of considering potential skill sets and opportunities that would further strengthen and enhance our Board. We welcome investor input to the process. Yelp is well-positioned to capitalize on the opportunities before us and we are sharply focused on pursuing the right strategies to fortify that position and deliver sustained long-term growth. We are confident about the strategic initiatives we are executing, including continuing to evolve our business, targeting Restaurants and Home & Local Services categories as our strategic priorities, prioritizing enhanced product offerings and app features, diversifying our go-to-market strategies, divesting non-core businesses and leveraging partnerships where appropriate, reducing overseas investment and returning capital to shareholders. In addition to strategic and business actions, Yelp also took a new, well-received approach this year to our financial communications by writing quarterly letters to our investors to provide more transparency, context and clarity around our thinking. We also have strengthened our executive and operating team under our CEO with external leadership hires and internal promotions. Additionally, the Board's Compensation Committee has sought to ensure that the compensation of management, and especially that of the CEO -- who is one of our largest shareholders, takes a $1.00 salary and is compensated with option-based equity awards -- is highly aligned with shareholders and subject to regular review. The Board regularly evaluates actions to unlock the full potential of our business, capital allocation alternatives and the evolving competitive and consumer landscape, including the recent profitable sale of the Eat24 business. In addition, our Board and management team continue to analyze how we can best accelerate our business model, optimize our investments in targeted growth initiatives, improve our cost and expense structure and capitalize on margin enhancement. The Board also recognizes Yelp stock as an investment opportunity and remains committed to returning value to shareholders and as such, recently authorized a significant increase in its buyback program which was initiated over a year ago. Yelp has a strong strategy in place and the company is continuing to take decisive actions to execute that strategy and capitalize on opportunities to drive sustainable growth and value for all Yelp investors and stakeholders."

06:41 EDT Gol Linhas accelerates Boeing 737 MAX fleet renewal - GOL Linhas (GOL) announced an acceleration of its fleet renewal and modernization plan and the execution of operating lease agreements for 11 Boeing (BA) 737 MAX 8 aircraft with Avolon. Result of operational gains and favorable market conditions, GOL has accelerated its fleet renewal and modernization plan with operating leases of 11 Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft to be received in the second half of 2019. GOL will maintain its capacity discipline, and the decision to accelerate its fleet renewal maintains the flexibility of GOL's fleet plan. The accelerated fleet renewal will not alter GOL's planned capacity, as the company will simultaneously return and/or sell 737 next generation aircraft under operating and finance leases. GOL launched operations with the 737 MAX 8 in July. Compared to GOL's 737-800 NG aircraft, the MAX 8 has decreased fuel consumption on GOL's routes by approximately 15%. Additionally, the increased range of the 737 MAX 8 has allowed GOL to further diversify its route network and to begin operating flights to North America.

06:36 EDT Lee Enterprises announces Mary Junck moves to chairman - Mary Junck plans to transition from executive chairman after the annual shareholders meeting in February 2019 and will continue as chairman of the board of directors. The change in responsibilities will complete a transition plan that included the advancement of Kevin Mowbray to president and CEO in 2016. As executive chairman since then, Junck has served as an adviser to the CEO and continued to guide Lee's overall strategy and direction. As chairman, she will provide leadership for the board of directors and lead projects as requested by the board and the CEO.

06:34 EDT EnerSys sees run-rate synergies in excess of $25M from Alpha Group acquisition - EnerSys announced that it has completed its acquisition of the Alpha Technologies Group of companies. The acquisition of the Alpha Group will accelerate and advance EnerSys' competitive position and enable it to deliver an expanded product portfolio across the broadband, telecom, renewable and industrial markets. EnerSys expects the acquisition to generate annual run-rate synergies in excess of $25M and to be accretive to EnerSys' earnings, excluding any one-time or acquisition related costs. Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, EnerSys acquired the Alpha Group for $750M consisting of $650M in cash and $100M in EnerSys shares. The equity component of the consideration resulted in Fred Kaiser, the Alpha Group's founder, owning approximately 3% of EnerSys following the acquisition.

06:29 EDT Travelport to be acquired in all-cash deal valued at about $4.4B

06:15 EDT Pence's Chief of Staff Nick Ayers says he will depart at the end of the year - Nick Ayers, Chief of Staff to VP Pence, tweeted: "Thank you @realDonaldTrump, @VP, and my great colleagues for the honor to serve our Nation at The White House. I will be departing at the end of the year but will work with the #MAGA team to advance the cause." Reference Link

06:08 EDT National Health Investors announces $25.35M development project in Wisconsin - National Health Investors has entered into an agreement to finance the development of a 144-bed skilled nursing facility in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, near Milwaukee, for a commitment of $25,350,000 with a 9.5% initial yield. The yield earned during construction will be capitalized into NHI's investment. The initial funding under the commitment totaled $4,700,000 and construction is underway and expected to be completed in the 2nd quarter of 2020. A 12-year lease term begins post-construction with two 10-year renewals and a 2.0% annual escalator. In addition, there is a $2,000,000 earn out based on the operator meeting certain operating metrics in 2024 and 2025. The facility, Ignite Medical Resort Oak Creek, will be operated by a tenant entity owned by affiliates of Villa Healthcare and Ignite Medical Resorts

06:05 EDT Goldfield Corp announces resumption of stock repurchase program - The Goldfield Corporation announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the company to resume its repurchase of Common Stock pursuant to its previously adopted repurchase plan, which has been extended until September 30, 2019. The plan authorized the repurchase of up to 3,500,000 shares, of which 2,345,060 have been repurchased to date, leaving approximately 1,154,940 shares authorized for repurchase under the program.

06:04 EDT Rice leadership team sends letter to EQT Corporation detailing path forward - Toby Z. Rice and Derek A. Rice, who collectively own 7M shares of EQT Corporation, sent a letter to the Board of Directors of EQT and released a presentation outlining the path forward for an operational transformation at the company to maximize value for all shareholders. Reference Link

05:58 EDT Ingevity to acquire Capa caprolactone division of Perstorp Holding AB - Ingevity announced it has reached an agreement with Perstorp Holding AB to acquire the Capa caprolactone division of Perstorp in a cash transaction valued at approximately approximately $675M. The acquisition is subject to certain regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, and Ingevity expects to close on the transaction late in the first quarter of 2019. Capa expects revenues of approximately approximately $175M and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of approximately approximately $60M for the 2018 fiscal year, representing adjusted EBITDA margins in the mid-30s percent range. The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to Ingevity's earnings in the first full year. Ingevity will include the business in the company's Performance Chemicals segment and report revenues as "Engineered Polymers."

05:52 EDT Applied DNA Sciences signs joint development agreement with Everledger - Applied DNA Sciences announced the signing of a Joint Development Agreement with Everledger. Under the Agreement the parties will develop and market a combined physical and digital supply chain traceability and certification solution utilizing the company's CertainT molecular tagging and authentication systems together with Everledger's blockchain-based platform. The signing of the Agreement follows a Memorandum of Understanding, or MOU, announced on July 31, 2018. The parties believe this joint solution platform is at the forefront of linking immutable digital transactions with synthetic molecular authentication to tightly track movement and chain of custody of forensically-identified goods across complex ecosystems. Everledger's blockchain-based platform is proven to offer transparency and asset protection across various industries including diamonds, colored gemstones and jewelry, and is scaled for industry standardization as evidenced by the encrypted provenance of over 2.2 million diamonds. Applied DNA's CertainT platform has demonstrated its "tag and test" capability having captured millions of tagging data points and thousands of sample authentication reports.

05:37 EDT Alnylam announces settlement with Silence Therapeutics - Alnylam Pharmaceuticals announced that it has resolved all litigation worldwide with Silence Therapeutics. The settlement allows Alnylam to avoid the costs and distraction associated with continued litigation in multiple countries. Under terms of the global settlement, Silence will receive a low royalty on annual net sales of ONPATTRO in the EU only, with tiered royalties of 0.33 percent to 1.0 percent through 2023. Further terms of the agreement include the grant from Silence to Alnylam of a non-exclusive, global irrevocable, license to all relevant patents and for all current and future Alnylam products, whether commercialized by Alnylam or a collaborator or licensee. Such license is fully paid up with no milestones or royalties, except for the limited royalty on ONPATTRO net sales in the EU described above. Under the agreement, all ongoing court proceedings will be dismissed and each party will bear its own attorney fees and costs incurred in the global proceedings. Terms of the settlement, which includes no admissions by any party, are otherwise confidential.

05:34 EDT iQIYI signs partnership with China Mobile - iQIYI (IQ) recently announced a new wide-ranging partnership with China Mobile (CHL) and MIGU, China Mobile's integrated music and video streaming app. Announced at the 2018 China Mobile World Partners Conference in Guangzhou, the partnership covers combined membership packages and deals in mobile data for video. This partnership will allow users a richer mobile experience and open up horizons for both sides to explore new paths in combined paid membership packages and mobile data services. The "membership + mobile video data" package will allow Chinese consumers premium access to enjoy both services, automatically receiving all the benefits of iQIYI VIP Members and MIGU Video premium members. The jointly promoted deal also includes 30G of mobile data for use on both the iQIYI app and MIGU's video app.

05:21 EDT Gilead appoints Roche CEO Daniel O'Day as CEO, chairman - Gilead Sciences announced that its board has named Daniel O'Day chairman of the board and CEO, effective March 1, 2019. O'Day is currently the CEO of Roche Pharmaceuticals (RHHBY). He has held the position since 2012, and prior to that led Roche Diagnostics. The Board has also appointed Gregg Alton as interim CEO for the period of January 1, 2019 until O'Day's start date of March 1, 2019. Alton has held a number of executive positions at Gilead over the past 20 years, with experience in legal, medical affairs, policy and commercial. He previously served as general counsel and in August of this year, was appointed Chief Patient Officer.