Stockwinners Market Radar for December 26, 2018 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

18:56 EDT Fly Intel: After Hours Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Tantech Holdings (TANH) up 1.1%. ALSO HIGHER: Tracon Pharma (TCON) up 39.7% after disclosing TRC105 lung cancer candidate showing positive results... GOL Linhas (GOL) up 0.6% after accelerating Boeing aircraft fleet renewal. LOWER: Plantronics (PLT) down 3.1% after announcing completion of Polycom FCPA investigation... Steel Connect (STCN) down 0.6% after receiving non-compliance letter from Nasdaq.

17:38 EDT Huntington Ingalls, General Dynamics awarded over $800M Navy contracts - Oceaneering (OII), Huntington Ingalls (HII) and General Dynamics (GD) have been awarded cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite quantity multiple award contracts with firm-fixed-priced ordering provisions for Submarine Safety, or SUBSAFE, and Level I engineering and technical services in the amounts of $827.67M, $874.34M and $1.11B, respectively. This requirement is for management and technical services for the support installation, troubleshooting, repair and maintenance of main and auxiliary weapons, as well as hull, mechanical and electrical equipment for various Submarine, SUBSAFE and Level I material work onboard SSN 21 Class; SSN 688 Class; SSBN/SSGN 726 Class; and SSN 774 Class submarines. These contracts will primarily support large submarine maintenance and modernization programs and/or critical-path ship changes/alterations that are accomplished in Navy Chief of Naval Operation availabilities, dry-dock selected restricted availabilities, engineered refueling overhauls, depot modernization periods and continuous maintenance availabilities. The work under this contract will contain a five-year ordering period and is expected to be completed by December 2023. FY19 operations and maintenance funding in the total amount of $300,000 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This funding represents the guaranteed contract minimum for each contract award. These contracts were competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with four offers received. The Naval Surface Warfare Center is the contracting activity.

17:32 EDT Waterson raises stake in Hudbay Minerals to 11.7% - This stake allows for activism.

17:26 EDT Henry Schein files statement to spin off, merge animal health business - Henry Schein announced that HS Spinco has filed a registration statement on Form S-4/S-1 with the SEC relating to the planned spin off of the Henry Schein Animal Health business and the subsequent merger with Vets First Choice. Spinco intends to list its common stock on Nasdaq under the symbol (CVET) and the new standalone company will be named Covetrus.

17:20 EDT El Paso generating unit has expected operational date of 2023 - El Paso Electric announced the selection of resource additions needed by the 2022-2023 summer peak season. The generation mix includes utility scale solar, battery storage, and natural gas. After careful evaluation of the competitive 2017 All Source Request for Proposals for Electric Power Supply and Load Management Resources, the winning bids include the expected energy purchase of 200 megawatts of utility scale solar resources, 100 MW of battery storage, and the construction of a 226 MW natural gas combustion turbine generating unit at the Company's Newman Power Station with an anticipated operational date of 2023 at an expected cost of $143M. In addition, the Company expects to pursue the purchase of 50 to 150 MW of wind and solar generated power to provide for fuel diversity and energy cost savings. The selected proposals are subject to the execution of contracts following negotiations with the winning bidders, obtaining the applicable environmental and construction related permits, and obtaining necessary approvals by the Public Utility Commission of Texas and the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission.

17:16 EDT El Paso Electric SVP Chief Human Resources Officer retiring - On December 26, William A. Stiller notified the board of El Paso Electric that he was retiring as the company's Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer effective February 1.

17:14 EDT Camden Property director William Paulsen sells over $1M in company shares - Camden Property director William Paulsen disclosed in a filing that he had sold 11,344 shares of company stock at an average price of $89.38 per share on December 21. The total transaction value of the sale was $1,013,927.

16:56 EDT Gol Linhas executes sale for 13 Boeing aircraft to accelerate fleet renewal - GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes (GOL) announced a further acceleration of its fleet renewal and modernization plan and the execution of sale and leaseback agreements, with Castlelake and Apollo Aviation, for 13 Boeing 737 Next Generation aircraft in the GOL fleet that will be replaced with Boeing 737 MAX-8 aircraft during 2019-2021. The accelerated fleet renewal will not alter GOL's planned capacity, as these aircraft will be returned simultaneously with the receipt of 737 MAX-8 aircraft under its order with Boeing and recent direct operating leases of 11 737 MAX-8 aircraft. The accelerated return of NGs will allow GOL to finish 2019 and 2019 with 24 and 34 737 MAX-8s in its operating fleet, respectively.

16:34 EDT JPMorgan to pay $135M to settle charges of improper handling of ADRs - The SEC announced that JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. will pay more than $135M to settle charges of improper handling of "pre-released" American Depositary Receipts. ADRs - U.S. securities that represent foreign shares of a foreign company - require a corresponding number of foreign shares to be held in custody at a depositary bank. The practice of "pre-release" allows ADRs to be issued without the deposit of foreign shares, provided brokers receiving them have an agreement with a depositary bank and the broker or its customer owns the number of foreign shares that corresponds to the number of shares the ADR represents. The SEC's order found that JPMorgan improperly provided ADRs to brokers in thousands of pre-release transactions when neither the broker nor its customers had the foreign shares needed to support those new ADRs. Such practices resulted in inflating the total number of a foreign issuer's tradeable securities, which resulted in abusive practices like inappropriate short selling and dividend arbitrage that should not have been occurring. Reference Link

16:34 EDT Boston Properties signs lease of 300K sqf with Millennium Management - Boston Properties announced that it has signed a long-term lease for more than 300,000 sf with Millennium Management at its 399 Park Avenue property, located in midtown New York City. With this lease, 399 Park Avenue will be 93% leased, on track with the company's stated goals for the property. Boston Properties is nearing completion of its renovation of 399 Park Avenue, a 1.6 million square-foot Class A office building. Renovations include upgrades to the facade and the Park Avenue entrance, a new rooftop terrace garden and new destination-driven elevators.

16:25 EDT H&E Equipment director Bruce Bruckmann buys 22,500 shares of stock - H&E Equipment director Bruce Bruckmann disclosed in a filing that he had purchased 22,500 shares of company stock at an average price of $19.56 per share On December 20 and December 21 at an average price of $19.56. The total transaction value of the purchase was $440,150.

16:17 EDT Mangrove Partners reports 5.6% passive stake in Green Plains

16:11 EDT Delta Air Lines director George Matson buys 5,000 shares - Delta Air Lines director George Matson disclosed in a filing that he had purchased 5,000 shares of company stock at an average price of $49.41 per share on December 21. The total transaction was $247,066.

16:07 EDT Cardiovascular Systems says patients treated in U.S with OrbusNeich Teleport - Cardiovascular Systems announced that the first patients in the United States were treated using the OrbusNeich Teleport Microcatheter, which recently received U.S. Food and Drug Administration 510 clearance. Microcatheters are used to provide support and safe guidewire exchange during complex cardiovascular procedures. Teleport is a new generation microcatheter designed for deliverability and support, with a unique and robust tip designed to enable access in the most challenging lesions.

16:04 EDT Steel Connect receives notification letter from Nasdaq - Steel Connect announced that it received a notification letter from the Listing Qualifications Department of the Nasdaq Stock Market on December 18, indicating that the company is not in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250, which requires the timely filing of all required periodic financial reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Notice was sent as a result of the Company's delay in filing its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the first quarter of fiscal 2019. The Form 10-Q was due on December 10, 2018. The Notice has no immediate effect on the listing or trading of the Company's common stock.

15:56 EDT Northern Right raises stake in Emcore to 6.6% - This stake allows for activist activity.

14:52 EDT GAMCO Investors says Mario Gabelli to waive 2019 compensation - GAMCO Investors announced that its Chairman and CEO, Mario Gabelli, has elected to waive all of his compensation that he would otherwise have been entitled to for the period from January 1, 2019 to March 31, 2019. "No projection can be reasonably made as to what Mr. Gabelli would have earned under his employment agreement for the period from January 1, 2019 to March 31, 2019. We refer you to the 2017 Proxy filed in April 2018 for past full year variable compensation," GAMCO stated.

14:03 EDT Bluerock Residential announces 10b5-1 share repurchase plan - Bluerock Residential Growth REIT announced that its board has authorized a new plan for the repurchase of up to $5.M of its outstanding shares of Class A common stock in accordance with the guidelines specified under Rule 10b5-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as part of the Company's previously announced $25 million share repurchase program.

12:18 EDT PG&E falls after utilities commission threatens to break up company - California utility PG&E (PCG), or Pacific Gas and Electric, is lower in afternoon trading after the California Public Utilities Commission, or CPUC, began a formal process to evaluate whether the company should be split into several electric and gas companies, split into regional subsidiaries, or converted into a publicly owned company, according to Bloomberg, which added that the commission would also look into "less drastic steps" like whether the utility needs new board members of management. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH: This process began right after Senator Bill Dodd demanded changes at PG&E, saying, "Enough is enough. We have to have a safety culture at PG&E." The company responded in a statement on Friday, saying, "The company's board of directors and senior management team have been actively exploring additional changes beyond the corrective actions and new programs we've implemented at the operational level." PRICE ACTION: Shares of PG&E are down 2.7% to $22.56 in Wednesday afternoon trading.

12:00 EDT Britannia Bulk falls -10.3% - Britannia Bulk is down -10.3%, or -$2.00 to $17.42.

12:00 EDT China Online Education rises 9.7% - China Online Education is up 9.7%, or 50c to $5.65.

12:00 EDT WildHorse Resource rises 12.2% - WildHorse Resource is up 12.2%, or $1.46 to $13.47.

11:26 EDT Cannabics announces new provisional patent application to USPTO - Cannabics Pharmaceuticals announced that it has filed a provisional patent application with the US Patent office. The patent covers the company's technology that will "enable the transfer of data from its proprietary personalization platform of cannabis strains and cancer to medical cannabis businesses worldwide and overcome the limitations of exporting and importing cannabinoid compounds due to regulation, Cannabics stated. Dr. Eyal Ballan, Co-Founder and CTO, said: "The idea of creating a large database and translating it to the big variety of strains and compounds worldwide is our way to create standardization in a multifactorial drug like cannabis. It gives us the leverage to enjoy the beneficial facets of the entourage effect while building a matrix of logic behind compound ratios and dosages. We are currently looking for joint ventures that will exercise this ability and implement the technology to identify and create cannabis strains that target cancer."

10:53 EDT Protective Insurance Corporation (Class A Stock) trading halted, volatility trading pause

10:32 EDT MutualFirst Financial trading halted, volatility trading pause

10:07 EDT Ideanomics, NTS sign mandate for City of Tianjin bus conversion financing - Ideanomics announce it has entered into an agreement with the National Transportation Capacity CO., as a specific financing mandate under the original framework agreement announced by Ideanomics in August 2018. This additional agreement is for the initial tranche of asset-backed financing and comes as a result of NTS finalizing a deal with the city of Tianjin, China's fourth-largest city, to re-finance existing asset-backed financing for electric bus conversion, valued at over 57B RMB, approximately $8.25B. This initial mandate from NTS is the first of several anticipated in the coming months under the 260B RMB framework agreement between NTS and Ideanomics. Under the terms of the deal, Ideanomics will provide advisory services to NTS, including working with established financial services' partners to assist with the underwriting, marketing, and sale of the financing. Ideanomics is finalizing terms with those partner firms and anticipates being able to make partner announcements in the near-term. The Company will derive revenues under the deal based on fees of 1% of financing raised. This amount is net of partner fees but will be subject to certain underwriting and marketing costs.The market size for the mandatory replacements and upgrades to achieve fully-electric bus operations in China is estimated at 1T RMB, approx. $145B, with the Chinese government requiring the conversion of public transport vehicles to electric power by 2021. The re-financing program Ideanomics has developed is designed to save cities and municipalities 2% or more versus traditional annual interest rates for this type of asset-backed financing. The Company intends to launch a blockchain-based asset registration platform, subject to the city operators' endorsement and systems support, in conjunction with the re-financing program. This registration platform is intended to deliver the highest-level of transparency for the underlying assets provided as the foundation for underwriting the offering and, as a result, elevate asset registration beyond traditional asset monitoring methods.

10:00 EDT Teekay Corp. falls -4.2% - Teekay Corp. is down -4.2%, or -14c to $3.18.

10:00 EDT VelocityShares 3x Long Natural Gas ETN falls -11.9% - VelocityShares 3x Long Natural Gas ETN is down -11.9%, or -$8.72 to $64.82.

10:00 EDT Aphria rises 8.1% - Aphria is up 8.1%, or 45c to $6.00.

09:47 EDT United States Natural Gas Fund falls -4.1% - United States Natural Gas Fund is down -4.1%, or -$1.19 to $28.12.

09:47 EDT VelocityShares 3x Long Natural Gas ETN falls -12.8% - VelocityShares 3x Long Natural Gas ETN is down -12.8%, or -$9.41 to $64.13.

09:47 EDT Aphria rises 7.6% - Aphria is up 7.6%, or 42c to $5.97.

09:35 EDT Ladenburg Thalmann announces $130.25M stock and options repurchase - Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services announced after the market close on Monday that it repurchased 50.9M shares of its common stock from its largest shareholder, Dr. Phillip Frost, and his affiliates. In addition, all of Dr. Frost's 3.61M stock options were cancelled in exchange for a payment of $3.0M. The stock was purchased at a price of $2.50 per share. The consideration for the transactions consisted of $53.9M in cash and $76.35M in newly-issued 7.25% senior notes due 2028 issued to Dr. Frost and his affiliates.

09:26 EDT Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: Amazon (AMZN), up 2.7% after announcing "record" holiday orders... JD.com (JD), up 3% after announcing a $1B share repurchase program... Target (TGT), up 1% after Mastercard SpendingPulse reports that U.S. holiday sales from November 1 through December 24 increased 5.1%... Roku (ROKU), up 6.5% after Needham analyst Laura Martin kept her Buy rating and $45 price target on the stock, saying the stock is her top pick for 2019. The analyst cites the market growth in the OTT sector, along with the company's strategic position, scale and demographic reach. LOWER: Capricor Therapeutics (CAPR), down 12.5% after putting its HOPE-2 clinical trial on voluntary dosing hold.

09:17 EDT Terreno Realty acquires building in Fremont, CA for $6.2M - Terreno Realty acquired an industrial property located in Fremont, California for a purchase price of approximately $6.2M. The property consists of one industrial distribution building containing approximately 29,000 square feet on 1.5 acres. The property provides four dock-high and two grade-level loading positions, parking for 54 cars and is 42% leased to one tenant. The estimated stabilized cap rate of the property is 5.2%.

09:08 EDT Cushing, Swank Capital announce constituent change to The Cushing 30 MLP Index - Cushing Asset Management and Swank Capital announce an upcoming interim change to the constituents of The Cushing 30 MLP Index. On October 18, 2018, Index constituent Valero Energy Partners (VLP) entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger with Valero Energy Corporation (VLO) and various subsidiaries that would result in VLP common units ceasing to be publicly traded, subject to the approval of the holders of at least a majority of the VLP common units. A subsidiary of VLO that holds a majority of common units of VLP is expected to furnish its written consent approving the Merger Agreement on or after January 3, 2019. Per the Index's methodology guide, after the market closes on January 2, 2019, and effective on January 3, 2019, Tallgrass Energy (TGE) will replace VLP as a constituent of the Index at VLP's then-current weight. There will be no changes to the remaining constituents of the Index due to this event.

08:45 EDT TRACON Pharmaceuticals submits TJ4309 IND to FDA - TRACON Pharmaceuticals announced that TRACON has submitted an investigational new drug, or IND, application with the FDA for the initiation of a Phase 1 clinical study of TJ4309 in patients with advanced solid tumors. TJ4309, also known as TJD5, is a CD73 antibody from I-Mab's proprietary discovery pipeline that is being co-developed through an agreement between TRACON and I-Mab that was signed on November 28. The agreement between the two companies is part of a broad strategic partnership to develop multiple immuno-oncology programs with first-in-class and best-in-class potential from I-Mab's immuno-oncology portfolio, including several proprietary bispecific antibodies under development by I-Mab.

08:40 EDT FuelCell announces $100M finance facility with Generate Capital - FuelCell announced the signing of a project finance facility with a recognized leader in sustainable infrastructure investing, Generate Capital. The facility will be used by FuelCell Energy to finance the construction, installation and commissioning of the company's current and future project backlog and awards. Under the terms of the agreement, FuelCell Energy will submit projects to Generate Capital over a 36-month period. Once an individual project is funded, the construction loan will remain outstanding until the project becomes commercially operational. The facility structure provides for aggregate principal commitments up to $100M, with accordion features enabling expansions up to $300M, if certain performance criteria are met, subject to funding availability. The initial draw amount under this facility, funded at closing, is $10M. The initial draw reflects loan advances for the first approved project under the facility, the Bolthouse Farms five-megawatt project in California. Additional drawdowns are expected to take place as FuelCell Energy completes certain project milestones. The company expects to use this project finance facility to fund the construction of its utility-scale backlog, including the three projects totaling 39.8 MW with PSEG Long Island and the two projects awarded pursuant to the Connecticut DEEP RFP, totaling 22.2 MW.

08:34 EDT Sky Solar announces TK interest purchase, sale agreement with SPC - Sky Solar announced that it and its wholly-owned subsidiaries Sky Solar Japan, or SSJ, and Sky International Enterprise have entered into a TK interest purchase and sale agreement with Solar Partnership Capital, or SPC, and Conscious Partners KK. The agreement is related to the TK partnership established on August 28, 2015, when SSJ entered into a silent partnership agreement with SPC to build and operate approximately 107 MW of solar projects in Japan. Under the terms of the agreement, Sky Solar made a payment of $18M to SPC upon the signing of the agreement and an additional $121M will be paid on or before April 1, 2019, at which time SPC's entire interest under the TK agreement will be transferred to Sky Solar or any of its designated purchasers. The TK interest purchase payment is guaranteed by Sky Solar and its subsidiaries. In addition, on December 20, SPC withdrew the lawsuit it filed against SSJ on June 25, which alleged significant differences in the interpretation of certain terms of the silent partnership between SSJ and SPC, and purported to seek certain damages. Furthermore, Sky Solar has the option to raise external financing by utilizing the projects under the TK agreement, or it can initiate a process to sell the projects under the TK agreement. The proceeds from either of these transactions will be used to make the TK interest purchase payment.

08:12 EDT GenMark receives FDA 510 clearance for ePlex BCID-FP panel - GenMark announced that it has received FDA 510 market clearance from the FDA for its ePlex blood culture identification fungal pathogen, or BCID-FP, panel. This panel, together with the ePlex blood culture identification gram-positive, or BCID-GP, and gram-negative panels, were developed for the diagnosis and disease management of bloodstream infections, or BSI, that can lead to sepsis. The BCID-FP panel has the broadest coverage of fungal pathogens compared to other commercially available molecular panels and includes many resistant and emerging strains, including Candida auris. Fungal pathogens are a growing cause of BSI and are associated with some of the highest mortality rates.

08:09 EDT Aemetis subsidiary secures $30M equity investment - Aemetis announced that its subsidiary, Aemetis Biogas, closed a $30M equity investment without any dilutive stock issuances by Aemetis and funded the first $8.3M tranche to subsidiary Aemetis Biogas to build, own and operate dairy biomethane digesters, pipelines and gas cleanup/compression facilities primarily under 20-year agreements with dairy farms in California. Dairies produce about 25% of California's methane emissions and have become targets of carbon regulations aimed to reduce climate change. With a carbon intensity under the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard of about negative 300, dairy biomethane is valuable, but needs to be collected at the dairy, pipelined to a central processing facility, then cleaned and compressed for use as renewable natural gas in converted diesel trucks and other natural gas vehicles. The project will initially connect about a dozen dairies to Aemetis' ethanol plant in Keyes, California, with expansion plans to more than three dozen dairies in the local area. The Aemetis plant supplies Wet Distillers Grain feed to about 100 dairies.

08:04 EDT Opiant Pharmaceuticals licenses drinabant for ACO from Sanofi - Opiant Pharmaceuticals (OPNT) announced that it has entered into an exclusive global licensing agreement with Sanofi (SNY) for the development and commercialization of drinabant for the treatment of acute cannabinoid overdose, or ACO. Opiant intends to develop drinabant, a cannabinoid CB-1 receptor antagonist, as an injectable for administration in an emergency department setting. ACO is most frequently linked to the ingestion of edibles containing large quantities of D9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, and synthetic cannabinoids that are more potent and less expensive than marijuana. Edibles, sold as brownies, cookies and candies, pose particular risks for children, who often consume these by accident. Based on 2014 rates from the National Emergency Department sample and United States Census Bureau figures, the company estimates that ACO resulted in more than one million emergency department visits in the United States in 2016. With an increasing number of states legalizing marijuana for personal and recreational use, ACO rates are expected to rise. Symptoms of ACO produced by edibles and synthetic cannabinoids can include panic and anxiety, feelings of paranoia, agitation, visual and auditory hallucinations and nausea. These symptoms often require emergency medical attention and can take six or more hours to resolve. There are currently no approved treatments for ACO. Under the terms of the transaction, Opiant will pay Sanofi an upfront fee of $500,000, with any further payments contingent upon Opiant achieving certain clinical, regulatory and sales milestones. Opiant will assume all development and commercial responsibilities related to drinabant.

07:49 EDT AMC Entertainment's A-List program surpasses 600,000 members - AMC Theatres' Stubs A-List program has surpassed more than 600,000 members. AMC Theatres introduced A-List on June 26, and at the time, the company expected to hit 500,000 members a full year after launch. AMC Stubs A-List rewards guests with up to three movies per week.

07:32 EDT Neos Therapeutics and Teva settle XR-ODT patent litigation case - Neos Therapeutics (NEOS) has entered into a confidential settlement and licensing agreement with Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA) to resolve all ongoing litigation involving Neos' patents protecting its Cotempla XR-ODT extended-release orally disintegrating tablets and Teva's Abbreviated New Drug Application filed with the FDA to market a generic version of that product. Under the settlement and license agreement, Neos has granted Teva the right to manufacture and market its generic version of Cotempla XR-ODT under the Teva ANDA beginning on July 1, 2026, or earlier under certain circumstances. The settlement and licensing agreement is confidential and the agreement is subject to submission to the Federal Trade Commission and the U.S. Department of Justice.

07:15 EDT ICL reaches agreements with State of Israel concerning royalties' arbitration - ICL announced that further to Note 6 of the company's financial report for the third quarter of 2018, the Company hereby updates that, pursuant to the royalties' arbitration between the State of Israel and Dead Sea Works, or DSW, and in accordance with the arbitrators' instructions, discussions were held between the State and DSW, which led to an agreement regarding a series of disputes that constitute the majority of the remaining unresolved disputes. A joint notice regarding the said agreements was submitted to the arbitrators, and they have yet to render a decision in the matter. As part of the aforesaid agreements, DSW will pay the amounts specified in the agreements' document as well as the amounts deriving from the arbitrators' ruling dated October 10, 2018, by December 25, 2018. Accordingly, the company will recognize an expense in its financial reports for the fourth quarter of 2018 at the amount of $27 million, including interest and linkage, for the past periods (2000-2017).

07:13 EDT ICL reaches agreements with State of Israel over royalties' arbitration - ICL announced that further to Note 6 of the company's financial report for Q3, the company hereby updates that, pursuant to the royalties' arbitration between the State of Israel and Dead Sea Works and in accordance with the arbitrators' instructions, discussions were held between the State and DSW, which led to an agreement regarding a series of disputes that constitute the majority of the remaining unresolved disputes. A joint notice regarding the said agreements was submitted to the arbitrators, and they have yet to render a decision in the matter. As part of the aforesaid agreements, DSW will pay the amounts specified in the agreements' document as well as the amounts deriving from the arbitrators' ruling dated October 10, 2018, by December 25, 2018. Accordingly, the company will recognize an expense in its financial reports for Q4 at the amount of $27M, including interest and linkage, for the past periods.

07:08 EDT Myriad Genetics announces publication of Vectra study data - Myriad Genetics announced the results from a large commercial cohort and several clinical studies on development of the adjusted Vectra score that were published in the journal Rheumatology. The key findings are that the adjusted Vectra score significantly outperformed conventional measures of disease activity in predicting radiographic progression in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, or RA. This large study included a cohort of more than 300,000 commercially tested patients with RA and 1,411 RA patients from a clinical trial/registry cohort. An adjusted Vectra DA score was developed to account for three factors known to impact inflammation: age, gender and degree of adiposity proxied either by serum leptin level or body mass index, or BMI. In addition, the adjusted Vectra scores were evaluated for their ability to predict radiographic progression, or RP, and compared with other disease activity measures, including DAS28, DAS28-CRP, SDAI and CDAI. The results showed that the leptin-adjusted Vectra score was 5.5 times more predictive of radiographic progression, the BMI-adjusted Vectra score was 4.6 times more predictive, and the original Vectra score was four times more predictive when compared to DAS28. Importantly, Vectra also outperformed the other common measures evaluated in this study.

07:05 EDT GasLog announces two long-term charters with Cheniere - GasLog announced that Cheniere Marketing International has exercised its option for two new charter party agreements each for a firm period of seven years. To fulfil the charters, two LNG carriers have been ordered from Samsung Heavy Industries in South Korea.

07:02 EDT Athenex launches Levothyroxine Sodium for injection - Athenex announced the launch of Levothyroxine Sodium for injection through its subsidiary Athenex Pharmaceutical Division, or APD. The APD product was brought to market in close cooperation with development partner, MAIA Pharmaceuticals. APD is focused on supplying the U.S. hospital market with specialty injectable products that address unmet or underserved hospital needs, including high-volume, niche and/or shortage products. The Levothyroxine Sodium for injection market in the United States exceeds $85M annually.

06:06 EDT Amazon announces record-breaking holiday season orders - Amazon announced a record-breaking holiday season with more items ordered worldwide than ever before. Amazon customers shopped at record levels from a wide selection of products across every department. Some of the best-selling products this season included, Echo Dot, L.O.L. Surprise! glam glitter series doll, fashion items from Carhartt and Bose QuietComfort wireless headphones. Prime membership continued to grow this holiday season, with tens of millions of people starting Prime free trials or paid memberships gaining exclusive shopping and entertainment benefits. This holiday millions of unique items in the U.S. shipped with Prime.

05:25 EDT Embraer says Chair of Federal Court revoked injunction in Public Civil Action - Further to the Material Fact of December 20, 2018, Embraer S.A. hereby informs its shareholders and the market that, on December 21, the Chair of the Federal Court of Appeals (3rd Region) revoked the injunction granted in the Public Civil Action n. 5031433-18.2018.4.03.6100, filed before the 24th Federal Civil Court of Sao Paulo. The company will keep its shareholders and the market informed on any material developments related to the Public Civil Action.

05:17 EDT BrainStorm expands manufacturing of NurOwn for Phase 2 progressive MS trial - BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics announced that it has expanded its autologous cell manufacturing capacity to produce NurOwn to support clinical trials in additional indications, including a Phase 2 progressive Multiple Sclerosis study, to begin in first quarter of 2019. MS affects approximately 1 million individuals in the U.S. and 2.5 million individuals worldwide. Approximately half of affected individuals will eventually develop a progressive disease, which may lead to increasing levels of motor, visual, and cognitive functional impairment and disability.

05:14 EDT VivoPower announces continued progress on sale of U.S. solar portfolio - VivoPower announced that it is in advanced discussions on the sale of its US solar portfolio with short listed parties who have completed their commercial due diligence processes. VivoPower has received bids for the entire portfolio as well as bids for individual projects and it is working through an optimization exercise with the short listed parties to ensure maximum proceeds from a sale are achieved. Following the retirement of Edward Hyams from the VivoPower board, the company has also been progressing a recruitment process to identify and appoint a suitably qualified independent director to join the board, who is qualified to be a member of the company's audit committee. The company's audit committee currently comprises two independent directors as well as the executive chairman. The recruitment process is consistent with and in accordance with a letter that the company received from The Nasdaq Stock Market, dated December 18, 2018 confirming that the company's audit committee should be comprised of at least three independent members in order to comply with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5605. The letter also confirms that in accordance with Marketplace Rule 5605(c)(4), VivoPower has until (i) the earlier of the company's next annual shareholders' meeting or November 18, 2019; or (ii) if the next annual shareholders' meeting is held before May 15, 2019, to appoint such a qualified independent director in order to be compliant with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5605. VivoPower expects to make an appointment early in the new year in this regard.