Stockwinners Market Radar for December 27, 2018 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

18:51 EDT Fly Intel: After Hours Movers - HIGHER: Aphria (APHA) up 22.1% after Bloomberg report that the company may be target of hostile bid from Green Growth Brands... ADDvantage Technologies (AEY) up 18.0% after announcing divested cable TV segment... First Republic (FRC) up 4.1% after announced entry into S&P500 index. LOWER: HTG Molecular Diagnostics (HTGM) down 6.5% after announcing common stock offering.

17:56 EDT Kenneth Chenault to retire from IBM board - According to a regulatory filing, Kenneth Chenault will retire from the IBM board of directors effective February 13, 2019. Chenault has served on IBM's board for more than 20 years.

17:49 EDT SPDR Gold Shares holdings fall to 787.67MT from 790.02MT - This is the first decline in holdings since December 20th.

17:39 EDT Aphria appoints Hain Celestial's Irwin Simon as independent Chair - Aphria (APHA) announced that it has appointed Irwin D. Simon as independent Chair of Aphria's Board of Directors, effective immediately. Vic Neufeld, the current Chair, will remain Aphria's CEO and a director on Aphria's board. The appointment of an independent Chair advances the Company's governance best practices, with the Board now comprised of ten directors with a majority, or six directors, that are independent. Aphria remains committed to strong corporate governance and promoting a culture of integrity and ethical behaviour throughout the organization. Simon founded The Hain Celestial Group (HAIN) a leading organic and natural products company, in 1993. As Founder, President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman, Mr. Simon lead Hain Celestial for 25 years, growing the business to approximately US$3B in net sales including operations in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

17:13 EDT Huntington Ingalls awarded $228.82M Navy contract modification - Huntington Ingalls has been awarded a $228.82M cost-plus-incentive-fee modification to previously awarded contract for the purchase of additional long lead time material in support of Enterprise. The purpose of this action is to definitize efforts previously announced as an undefinitized contract action and increase the scope of the contract for additional long lead time material. Work is being performed in Newport News, Virginia and is expected to be complete by January 2023. FY18 shipbuilding and construction funding in the amount of $132.98M will be obligated at the time of award and not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command is the contracting activity.

17:09 EDT Harvest Capital Credit Chairman Joseph Jolsen buys almost 20K shares - Harvest Capital Credit Chairman Joseph Jolsen disclosed in a filing that he had purchased 19,658 shares of company stock at an average price of $9.63 per share between December 24 and December 27. The total transaction value of the transaction was $189,265.

17:02 EDT Encana completes asset sale to DJR Energy, affirms $1.25B buyback in 2019 - Encana Corporation announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Encana Oil & Gas (ECA), has completed the previously announced sale of its San Juan asset in New Mexico to Denver-based DJR Energy. Following the expected close of its announced strategic combination with Newfield Exploration Company (NFX), Encana is committed to completing a $1.25B share buyback in 2019. Encana's planned share buyback and previously announced 25% increase to its dividend following closing of the transaction with Newfield, highlight the quality of its business and commitment to return capital to shareholders. The sale of Encana's non-core San Juan asset includes approximately 182,000 net acres and represents the company's total land position in the play. In 2017, the asset delivered average production of approximately 5,400 barrels of oil equivalent per day including 3,900 barrels per day of liquids. The transaction has an effective date of April 1, 2018.

16:40 EDT Bio-Path Holdings closes up 5% after providing update - Earlier, on Thursday, Bio-Path Holdings provided an update from several clinical development programs and a 2019 business overview."Over the last year, we made solid progress across our growing development pipeline, highlighted by positive interim data from our Phase 2 study of prexigebersen in de novo acute myeloid leukemia, AML,patients," stated Peter H. Nielsen, chief executive officer of Bio-Path Holdings. "We enter 2019 focused and optimistic about our prospects for the clinical advancement of our pipeline of RNAi nanoparticle drugs in patients suffering from a variety of cancers of unmet medical need." Shares of Bio-Path closed up 5% to 16.6c per share.

16:37 EDT OPKO Health, OPKO CEO announce resolution of SEC action - In a settlement, subject to court approval, OPKO Health and OPKO's CEO, Dr. Phillip Frost, have agreed with the SEC to resolve the action brought against them in SEC v. Honig et al., 18 Civ. 08175. "We have reached agreement with the SEC that will end a potentially expensive, contentious and time-consuming litigation and I am happy that we can focus on an exciting and productive 2019 for OPKO Health," said Frost. Without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations, OPKO agreed to an injunction from certain violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; a $100,000 penalty; and will perform certain undertakings related to the Exchange Act. Frost agreed, without admitting or denying the SEC's allegations, to injunctions from certain violations of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Exchange Act; approximately $5.5M in penalty, disgorgement, and prejudgment interest; and a prohibition, with certain exceptions, from trading in penny stocks. Frost will continue to serve as OPKO's CEO and chairman.

16:34 EDT Discover Growth Fund reports 9.99% passive stake in Camber Energy

16:33 EDT ADDvantage to acquire Fulton Technologies and Mill City Communications for $1.7M - ADDvantage Technologies Group announced it has entered into an asset purchase agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of Fulton Technologies and Mill City Communications for a total purchase price of $1.7 million. The transaction is expected to close in early January 2019. Upon closing, the assets will form a wholly-owned subsidiary of ADDvantage Technologies, operating under the name 'Fulton Technologies'. On December 17, 2018, ADDvantage Technologies announced its plans to launch a services business focused on providing wireless infrastructure services to the telecommunications market. Now, with the acquisition of Fulton, the company will have a comprehensive wireless infrastructure services offering to enable it to rapidly start servicing this market. Pursuing an M&A strategy rather than organically building out this offering eliminates the need to invest a significant amount of time launching the business and provides the additional benefit of established and experienced operational teams, as well as pre-existing revenue streams from the major customers in the industry. The company anticipates that the purchase price plus integration costs of Fulton would be similar to those it would have incurred to launch this services platform organically. Fulton has a strong reputation in the wireless services industry and maintains solid contractual relationships with the four major U.S. wireless carriers, the national integrators and the original equipment manufacturers that support these wireless carriers. The business provides turn-key wireless infrastructure services for wireless carriers across the Southwest, Midwest and Northern Plains regions. These services consist of the installation and upgrade of technology on cell sites and the construction of new small cells for 5G. They will also include engineering, site acquisition and commissioning and integration services for cell sites.

16:28 EDT Aphria jumps 20% after Bloomberg report of possible hostile bid - Shares of Aphria are up over 20% or $1.18 per share to $6.70 after a Bloomberg report saying the company may be the target of a hostile bid from Green Growth Brands.

16:22 EDT Dover's JK Group to debut Kiian Digital's reactive inks line at Heimtextil 2019 - JK Group, part of Dover Digital Printing and Dover, will attend Heimtextil in Frankfurt, Germany, on January 8-11, 2019. Heimtextil is a global annual event for interior textiles trends that received nearly 70,000 visitors from 135 different countries last year. JK Group will use this platform to unveil Kiian Digital's reactive inks line, Digistar Bellagio, designed for direct printing onto cotton and the other cellulosic fibers.

16:18 EDT Cloud Peak receives non-compliance notice from NYSE - Cloud Peak announced that the company was notified by the NYSE that the average closing price of the company's shares of common stock had fallen below $1.00 per share over a period of 30 consecutive trading days, which is the minimum average share price for continued listing on the NYSE under Rule 802.01C of the NYSE listed company manual. Under the NYSE's rules, the company has six months following receipt of the notification to regain compliance with the minimum share price requirement. The company can regain compliance at any time during the six month cure period if on the last trading day of any calendar month during the cure period, its common stock has a closing share price of at least $1.00 and an average closing share price of at least $1.00 over the 30 trading day period ending on the last trading day of that month.

16:17 EDT Mangrove Partners raises stake in Atlantic Power to 8.3% from 7.3%

16:12 EDT ADDvantage to divest Cable TV segment for $10.3M - ADDvantage Technologies Group announced it has entered into an agreement to sell the Cable TV segment business for $10.3M to Leveling 8, a company controlled by David Chymiak, the company's Chief Technology Officer, director and a substantial shareholder. The purchase price will consist of $3.9M of cash and a $6.4M promissory note to be paid in semi-annual installments over five years with an interest rate of 6.0%. The transaction was negotiated and approved by a committee of independent directors and is subject to shareholder approval, including approval by the holders of a majority of the shares which are unaffiliated with the buyer, and is anticipated to occur in Q3 of 2019. Although the company is prohibited from soliciting other offers for its Cable TV segment, the agreement does permit its board to consider and approve a superior unsolicited acquisition proposal.

15:33 EDT Biofrontera says will continue to 'vigorously defend' against DUSA's allegations - Biofrontera AG commented on a court order issued by the U.S. District Court of Massachussetts, stating: "Biofrontera is currently involved in litigation with DUSA Pharmaceuticals. DUSA sued Biofrontera in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts. DUSA has alleged that certain Biofrontera employees misappropriated documents containing DUSA confidential information or DUSA trade secrets. In November 2018, DUSA asked the court to enter a preliminary injunction requiring Biofrontera to take certain action. In December 2018, the court largely rejected DUSA's request. The court rejected DUSA's request to collect and image computing devices from Biofrontera employees. The court also rejected DUSA's request to order Biofrontera to stop contacting certain customers. Thus, Biofrontera may continue marketing and selling its products to all current and potential customers. The court did order Biofrontera to stop using certain documents in its possession that appear to contain DUSA information. Before the court's order, Biofrontera had already instructed employees shortly after litigation with DUSA began to stop using documents that appear to have originated at or were created by DUSA, if and to the extent that any of them had been using any such documents. Importantly, the court's order was made on an interim basis, and was not a final decision on the merits. The case is ongoing and the parties are still collecting all relevant evidence. Biofrontera maintains that none of the documents identified in the case contain DUSA confidential information or DUSA trade secrets. The documents identified are also not vital to Biofrontera's ongoing operations or to its strategic growth. Biofrontera will continue to vigorously defend itself against DUSA's allegations. As noted in prior statements, Biofrontera sued DUSA in California state court related to DUSA's pricing, sampling, and sales practices. That court has allowed several claims to proceed against DUSA, and Biofrontera has already filed an amended complaint with additional allegations related to DUSA's pricing and sampling practices."

15:11 EDT Amgen small cell lung cancer treatment granted FDA orphan status - Amgen's bispecific T-cell engager antibody was granted orphan designation by the FDA as a treatment of small cell lung cancer, according to a post to the agency's website. Reference Link

14:23 EDT Tegna announces refunds for Premium Audience Selects customers - Tegna announced that it has identified system issues that affected certain 2018 "Premium Audience Selects" targeting segments and determined that they had not been delivered correctly. The issue has been resolved and Premion has implemented new ad operations processes as a result. The company has begun notifying its customers and is offering a full refund for the affected "Premium Audience Selects" 2018 campaigns that ended on or before November 30. The impacts of this issue are immaterial to TEGNA's total 2018 company results, although it affects up to approximately 17 percent of Premion's total revenue for 2018. Premion campaigns that do not include "Premium Audience Selects" targeting are not affected by this issue.

13:23 EDT Ziopharm clarifies exclusivity rights for clinical assets - Ziopharm Oncology (ZIOP) responded to the recent decline in the company's stock price, which accelerated greatly on December 26, 2018, the same day that the broader market and all indexes were up significantly. "Our stock price is significantly down of late, and we want to assure the market that our business fundamentals are unchanged and we are optimistic about Ziopharm's future especially in light of the recent announcements we made with regards to our restructured relationship with Intrexon (XON), the securing of a clean and longer-term balance sheet, and two partnerships with Regeneron (REGN) and Eden BioCell. We believe it is important to respond urgently," said CEO Laurence Cooper. "We want to clarify the record around the programs and assets where we have exclusivity." Over approximately the last three years, Ziopharm and Intrexon mutually agreed to focus their collaborative efforts on four pipeline components: 1. Sleeping Beauty TCR-T cell therapy with the National Cancer Institute; 2. Sleeping Beauty CD19 CAR-T at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center; 3. Ad-RTS-hIL-12 plus veledimex in multi-center trials; and 4. CD33 as a potential CAR target at MD Anderson. In addition, one of the key elements for very-rapid manufacture of T cells genetically modified with the Sleeping Beauty platform is membrane-bound interleukin 15, or mbIL15, which was invented by Dr. Cooper's team at MD Anderson and licensed to Ziopharm and Intrexon. On Oct. 9, 2018, Ziopharm and Intrexon announced details of a new licensing agreement that reset the relationships between the companies. Ziopharm now holds exclusive rights for the treatment of cancer for items 1, 2 and 3 as detailed below: For Sleeping Beauty intellectual property for all TCRs, including specificity for neoantigens and shared antigens; Sleeping Beauty-generated TCR-T cell therapy targeting neoantigens in solid tumors is being developed in collaboration with NCI, which expects to begin treating patients in a phase 1 trial in mid-2019; Sleeping Beauty-generated CAR-T cell therapy targeting the CD19 antigen with mbIL15 and a kill switch, which is advancing to a clinical trial with two-day T-cell manufacturing in 2H19; Controlled IL-12 platform; Ziopharm has multiple trials with this asset as a monotherapy and in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors underway and/or planned for 2019. Ziopharm holds exclusive rights to a second, unnamed target for Sleeping Beauty CAR-T therapy and is evaluating its rights to pursue this target following Precigen's assumption of ARES Trading S.A.'s rights under the parties' collaboration agreement. During negotiations Ziopharm agreed to release CD33, the fourth pipeline component, to Precigen. Precigen cannot use the Sleeping Beauty platform intellectual property for TCRs in T cells that has been licensed to Ziopharm, and Precigen cannot research or develop any TCR therapies that target neoantigens for three years, under the license agreement. In addition, Precigen cannot use another regulatable switch technology to conditionally express IL-12 for three years for the treatment of cancer.

13:07 EDT CenturyLink reports network disruption affecting customer services - CenturyLink's official corporate account tweeted: "Our network is experiencing a disruption affecting customer services. We understand some customers are currently unable to generate tickets through the CenturyLink help portal. We know how important these services are, we are working to restore services as quickly as possible." Reference Link

13:04 EDT 22nd Century files Modified Risk Tobacco Product application with FDA - 22nd Century Group announced that it has submitted a Modified Risk Tobacco Product, or MRTP, application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the company's Very Low Nicotine Content, or VLNC, cigarettes. "22nd Century's proposed VLNTM cigarettes, the subject of the MRTP application, are made with the company's proprietary VLNTM tobacco and, as a result, contain very low levels of nicotine...22nd Century's MRTP application joins the company's previously filed Premarket Tobacco Application. Together, these important applications seek the FDA's authorization to commercialize the company's VLNTM cigarettes and to advertise that the VLNTM cigarettes contain 95% less nicotine as compared to the 100 leading cigarette brands in the United States," the company stated.

12:07 EDT Teva announces launch of generic version of Elidel Cream, 1% - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries announced the launch of a generic version of Elidel Cream, 1% in the U.S. Pimecrolimus Cream, 1% is a topical prescription medicine to be used as second-line therapy for the short-term and non-continuous chronic treatment of mild to moderate eczema in non-immunocompromised adults and children 2 years of age and older who have failed to respond adequately to other topical prescription treatments, or when those treatments are not advisable.

12:00 EDT Vitamin Shoppe falls -9.5% - Vitamin Shoppe is down -9.5%, or -52c to $5.00.

12:00 EDT Charah Solutions falls -10.5% - Charah Solutions is down -10.5%, or -81c to $6.91.

12:00 EDT Britannia Bulk rises 13.2% - Britannia Bulk is up 13.2%, or $1.97 to $16.87.

11:49 EDT Instagram update accidentally scrolled photos horizontally - Facebook's Instagram began rolling out a new feed for certain users this week which seem to limit viewers to only view their friends' feed photos horizontally. The new head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri commented on Twitter, "That was supposed to be a very small test that went broad by accident. Should be fixed now. If you're still seeing it simply restart the app. Happy holidays!"

10:10 EDT Scholar Rock Holdings Corporation trading resumes

10:05 EDT Scholar Rock Holdings Corporation trading halted, volatility trading pause

10:00 EDT Aphria falls -6.9% - Aphria is down -6.9%, or -40c to $5.42.

10:00 EDT ProShares Trust Ultra VIX Short Term Futures ETF rises 7.5% - ProShares Trust Ultra VIX Short Term Futures ETF is up 7.5%, or $6.12 to $87.61.

10:00 EDT Concord Medical rises 11.7% - Concord Medical is up 11.7%, or 38c to $3.63.

09:50 EDT FRONTEO Inc (ADS) trading resumes

09:47 EDT Comstock Resources falls -6.5% - Comstock Resources is down -6.5%, or -32c to $4.60.

09:47 EDT Scor ADR rises 6.1% - Scor ADR is up 6.1%, or $1.72 to $29.86.

09:47 EDT Britannia Bulk rises 9.3% - Britannia Bulk is up 9.3%, or $1.39 to $16.29.

09:32 EDT Nevada reports November statewide gaming win up 6.4% to $967.17M - Nevada's Gaming Control Board reports Las Vegas Strip gaming win was up 10.03% in November to $534.49M. Publicly traded companies in the casino gaming space include Boyd Gaming (BYD), Caesars (CZR), Las Vegas Sands (LVS), MGM Resorts (MGM), Penn National (PENN) and Wynn Resorts (WYNN).

09:21 EDT Vuzix announces strategic partnership with AccuWeather for AR weather content - Vuzix Corporation is pleased to announce the Company has entered into a strategic partnership with AccuWeather to bring compelling and dynamic interactive AR-based weather experiences to Vuzix Blade Smart Glasses users across the globe.

09:16 EDT GTT Communications grants Spruce House approval to increase stake to up to 25% - In a regulatory filing, it was disclosed that on December 21 GTT Communications granted consent to the acquisition by Spruce House Investment Management and its controlled affiliates of shares, at any time and from time to time, so long as the total beneficial ownership of the fund and its controlled affiliates in the shares, after giving effect to such acquisitions, would not exceed 25% of the company's total voting power at such time. The filing shows that Spruce House and affiliates hold a stake of 19.9% of the company's total voting power at the time of the filing.

09:08 EDT Key Tronic signs letter of intent to lease manufacturing facility in Vietnam - Key Tronic announced it has signed a letter of intent to lease a new 86,000 square-foot facility in Da Nang, Vietnam. The facility is located in an established industrial park inside a government sponsored export zone, within 5 miles of an international port. The new manufacturing facility is expected to be operational by July 2019.

09:06 EDT eXp World Holdings announces sustainable equity plan, $25M repurchase program - eXp World Holdings introduced its sustainable equity plan for real estate agents and brokers at eXp Realty. In addition, the company announced that its board authorized a stock repurchase program to offset equity issuances for up to $25M of its common stock. The repurchase program will help offset equity issuances that eXp Realty awards to its agents for meeting certain milestones in the sustainable equity plan. Purchases under the repurchase program may be made in the open market or through a 10b5-1 plan and are expected to comply with Rule 10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The timing and amount of shares repurchased will depend upon market conditions. The repurchase program does not require the company to acquire a specific number of shares and it may be modified or terminated by the board at its discretion within allowable time periods. The cost of the shares that are repurchased will be funded from available working capital. Any shares repurchased under the program will be returned to the status of authorized but unissued shares of common stock.

09:04 EDT Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: Energous (WATT), up 31% after Delight PSAP hearing device receives FCC approval... BioXcel Therapeutics (BTAI), up 24% after receiving fast track designation for BXCL501 from the FDA... Axsome Therapeutics (AXSM), up 9% after announcing Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials of AXS-05 are on track for early 2019 readouts. LOWER: JD.com (JD), down 3% after Wall Street Journal reports it will restructure JD Mall into three business departments... JPMorgan (JPM), down 1% after announcing it will pay $135M to settle charges of improper handling of ADRs... JinkoSolar (JKS), down 3% after announcing it will supply 60MW of solar modules to SchneiTec Group in Cambodia... Visa (V), down 1% after Reuters reports it will acquire Earthport for GBP198M... Disney (DIS) and Verizon (VZ), both down 1% after Disney started issuing blackout warnings to Verizon Fios customers with the contract between the two set to expire on New Year's Day.

08:52 EDT Stellar Acquisition III consummates combination with Phunware - Stellar Acquisition III announced that on December 26 it consummated its business combination with Phunware and related transactions, as contemplated by the agreement and plan of merger, dated as of February 27, by and among Stellar, STLR Merger and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stellar, and Opco, which was approved by Stellar's stockholders at a meeting on December 21. In connection with the consummation of the business combination transaction, Stellar was redomesticated from a Republic of Marshall Islands company to a corporation incorporated in Delaware and Stellar's name as the successor was changed to Phunware and Opco's name was changed to Phunware Opco. Each share of Stellar outstanding prior to the business combination has become one share of common stock of the successor and each warrant of Stellar outstanding prior to the business combination has become one warrant of the successor. Stellar's units will no longer trade, but will be separated into their separate components, and become common stock and warrants of the successor. The successor common stock and warrants will trade on Nasdaq under the symbols (PHUN) and (PHUNW) respectively. In connection with the business combination, Phunware obtained $6M in convertible Series A preferred stock financing in a private placement from an institutional investor. The Preferred Stock is required to be redeemed by Phunware after the closing at 104% of stated value, with $3M in stated value of the preferred stock redeemed on the 30 day anniversary of the closing, $2.5M in stated value of the preferred stock redeemed on the 60 day anniversary of the closing and the remaining $500,000 in stated value of the preferred stock redeemed on the 90 day anniversary of the closing. Phunware agreed to restrict its use of $5.5M of the financing proceeds without the consent of the holders of a majority of the then outstanding Preferred Stock. In connection with the consummation of the business combination, Opco waived the minimum cash condition contained in the merger agreement and each of Stellar's sponsors and other officers, directors and insiders who held founder shares signed a lock-up for 180 days after the closing to replace any existing lock-up arrangements.

08:46 EDT Mitek Systems says evaluating expressions of interest from 'multiple parties' - In a regulatory filing yesterday, Mitek Systems stated that the company has received expressions of interest from multiple parties, including from ASG Technologies Group. "Mitek's Board of Directors is evaluating the relative benefits of various strategic alternatives, including by means of engaging with a number of interested parties, all with a view to maximizing value for shareholders. The Board will lead this evaluation, which will consider the relative benefits of a sale, merger or other transaction involving the company, the current strategic plan and other potential opportunities. In connection with this evaluation, Elliott Associates, L.P. has withdrawn its nomination of directors for the 2019 annual meeting. The Board is being advised by Evercore as its financial advisor and Paul Hastings LLP as its legal advisor. There can be no assurance that the review being undertaken will result in a merger, sale or other transaction involving the company. Mitek does not intend to make any further announcements regarding the evaluation unless and until the Board has approved a specific transaction or other course of action requiring disclosure," the filing stated.

08:41 EDT Axsome says Phase 2, Phase 3 trials of AXS-05 on track for early 2019 readouts - Axsome Therapeutics provided a clinical update for its CNS pipeline, stating that just under 90% of the target number of subjects have been randomized in the Phase 3 STRIDE-1 trial in treatment resistant depression to date, with topline results anticipated in the first quarter of 2019. Axsome also said it has completed enrollment in the Phase 2 ASCEND study in major depressive disorder and is on track to announce topline results in early January 2019, as previously disclosed. In December, Axsome announced results of an interim futility analysis for the Phase 2/3 ADVANCE-1 trial of AXS-05 in Alzheimer's disease agitation. The interim analysis was conducted by an IDMC which recommended continuation of the AXS-05 treatment arm and no further randomization of subjects to the bupropion treatment arm. Axsome intends to follow the IDMC's recommendation. Axsome has received FDA Fast Track designation for AXS-05 for the treatment of AD agitation. AXS-05 is also being evaluated in a Phase 2, randomized, double-blind, controlled trial for smoking cessation treatment. Top-line results are anticipated in the first quarter of 2019, as previously disclosed. Axsome is developing AXS-07 for the acute treatment of migraine.Axsome anticipates initiation of its planned Phase 3 trial of AXS-07 in patients with migraine in the first quarter of 2019, as previously disclosed, with topline results expected within approximately one year from trial initiation.

08:38 EDT AMSC receives final settlement payment from Sinovel - AMSC announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary Suzhou AMSC Superconductor, or AMSC China, received the second and final installment payment of the Renminbi equivalent of $25M from Sinovel Wind Group. AMSC, AMSC China and AMSC Austria and Sinovel had entered into a settlement agreement on July 3 to settle all existing commercial disputes between the parties. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, Sinovel agreed to pay AMSC China an aggregate cash amount in RMB equivalent to $57.5M, consisting of two installments. Sinovel paid the first installment of $32.5M to AMSC China on July 4.

08:35 EDT Och-Ziff Capital announces new date to effect tax classification change - As previously disclosed by Och-Ziff Capital, in connection with the company's previously announced recapitalization and other transactions, the company announced that it intended to change its tax classification from a partnership to a corporation effective on December 31 and also noted at such time there could be no assurances that such date could be achieved. The company has subsequently determined to change its tax classification from a partnership to a corporation effective April 1, 2019. The company expects to make a final partnership distribution for Q4 on March 29, 2019 to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 22, 2019. Shareholders will receive a final Form K-1 for the period from January 1, 2019, through the date immediately preceding the corporate classification Date.

08:22 EDT BioXcel Therapeutics receives fast track designation for BXCL501 from FDA - BioXcel Therapeutics announced that the FDA has granted fast track designation for its investigational drug BXCL501, a proprietary sublingual film of dexmedetomidine, for the treatment of acute agitation. BTI is currently conducting a Phase 1 study placebo-controlled, single dose, dose-escalation study of BXCL501. The study is expected to enroll up to 60 healthy adult volunteers across various dosing groups. The primary endpoints are pharmacokinetics and safety, with secondary endpoints including assessment of pharmacodynamics, or PD, and the relationship between BXCL501 concentrations and PD endpoints. The company expects to report top-line data from the study in the first half of 2019.

08:12 EDT Retrophin announces first patient dosed in Phase 3 PROTECT study - Retrophin announced that the first patient has been dosed in the PROTECT study, a global, pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating the long-term nephroprotective potential of sparsentan for the treatment of IgA nephropathy, a rare kidney disorder that often leads to end-stage renal disease.

08:11 EDT Brunswick granted exclusions from Section 301 tariffs for Mercury Marine engines - Brunswick announced that the company has been granted exclusions from Section 301 tariffs for its 40, 50 and 60hp Mercury Marine engines. The engines are assembled by Mercury in China and sold globally. The exclusions reduce Brunswick's estimated net pretax tariff impact in 2019 to approximately $17M-$22M, down from the estimate of $30M-$35M provided in the recent Q3 earnings call. With the retroactive nature of the exclusions, the company anticipates a favorable change in pretax earnings, versus previous estimates, of approximately $4M-$6M. This estimated impact for 2018 is based upon the eventual refund of the tariffs paid to date on these engines since July, net of customer tariff surcharges that will be refunded to customers by Mercury Marine. Mercury's engines were among the 1,300 products originally targeted for the 25% tariff. The exclusion requests were reviewed and approved by both the United States Trade Representative and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

08:07 EDT Flotek appoints Elizabeth Wilkinson as CFO - Flotek Industries announces changes among its executive leadership team. Flotek is pleased to announce Elizabeth Wilkinson has been appointed as CFO of Flotek Industries, effective December 28, 2018. In this role, she will serve as the senior executive responsible for the Company's financial strategy, planning and reporting, as well as investor relations, treasury and corporate development functions. She will be based in Houston, reporting directly to Flotek's CEO president & chairman of the Board, John Chisholm. She joins the Company from RGP, a publicly traded, global consulting firm, where she served as managing consultant, leading financial advisory projects for Fortune 100, Fortune 500 and private-equity-controlled clients. Matt Marietta, EVP of Finance & Corporate Development, will leave Flotek on December 31, 2018. Marietta joined the Company in 2017. Additionally, H. Richard Walton, will no longer serve as chief accounting officer, effective December 31, 2018; however, he will continue with the company as a consultant to facilitate the leadership transition, as needed. Walton joined the Company in 2013. Sally Cheadle, certified public accountant, will continue to serve as VP and corporate controller where she has direct responsibility for the Company's financial reporting, tax compliance and internal controls. Cheadle joined Flotek in 2017.

08:04 EDT Nobilis Health appoints James Springfield as CEO - Nobilis Health has announced the appointment of James Springfield as Nobilis' CEO and will host a conference call to introduce Jim to the Nobilis investment community next week. He previously served as the SVP, Provider Market Growth and Business Development for Optum, an $84B dollar healthcare provider and subsidiary of the United Health Group. He has also had extensive experience in the healthcare private equity sector.

08:00 EDT Guaranty Bancorp, Independent Bank to proceed with closing of merger - Independent Bank (IBTX) and Guaranty Bancorp (GBNK) announced that they will proceed with the closing of the merger of Guaranty Bancorp with and into Independent Bank on the terms previously announced. The merger is expected to be completed on January 1, 2019. As previously disclosed, upon completion of the merger, Guaranty Bancorp stockholders will receive 0.45 shares of Independent Bank stock in exchange for each share of Guaranty Bancorp stock held immediately prior to the merger.

07:51 EDT BrainStorm will focus on ALS study enrollment, MS studies initiation in 2019 - In its 2018 letter to shareholders BrainStorm said, "Looking ahead to 2019, we remain focused on completing enrollment in the ALS phase 3 study and initiating the progressive MS phase 2 studies are our highest priorities. We will continue to lead the development of cellular therapeutics in neurodegenerative disease, seek additional opportunities to expand our pipeline to address unmet need and continue to enhance our manufacturing capabilities and infrastructure."

07:36 EDT Primoris announces $28M MSA with utility customer - Primoris announced a new master service agreement, or MSA, with a utility customer with an anticipated value of approximately $28M. The contract was secured by Primoris T&D. The award is a 28-month agreement for electrical distribution services in Indiana. Work performed under the MSA includes construction and maintenance services for the client's electrical overhead distribution infrastructure. Under the MSA, Primoris T&D will also provide outage and emergency restoration services as needed. While the agreement does not obligate the customer to award Primoris a specific dollar amount, discussions with the customer and the company's history with similar clients form the basis for the anticipated value.

07:33 EDT BeyondSpring announces pre-NDA meeting with FDA for Plinabulin - BeyondSpring announced that it had a pre-new drug application, or NDA, meeting with the FDA regarding its lead asset, Plinabulin. The focus of this meeting was the content of the chemistry, manufacturing and control sections of the company's planned NDAs for Plinabulin for the treatment of non-small cell lung cancer and chemotherapy-induced neutropenia prevention. "We are very pleased with the outcome of this meeting, as we have confirmed our alignment with the FDA regarding expectations for the CMC sections of our planned NDAs for Plinabulin," said Lan Huang, CEO and co-founder at BeyondSpring. "We have been working diligently on these submission packages, assembling their regulatory, preclinical, and most recently the clinical components of these indications. Now with agreement on the CMC sections, we are well on track to submit these NDA packages for Plinabulin to the FDA."

07:05 EDT Ceva reaches milestone with 10th design win for SIG qualified Bluetooth Mesh IP - CEVA announced that its Bluetooth SIG qualified RivieraWaves Bluetooth Low Energy Mesh IP has achieved a significant milestone, having already been licensed to ten customers who are targeting a wide range of use cases and applications leveraging the Mesh Profile Specification.

07:03 EDT InPlay Technologies licenses, deploys CEVA's Bluetooth 5 Low Energy IP - CEVA announced that InPlay Technologies has licensed and deployed CEVA's RivieraWaves Bluetooth Low Energy IP in its latest SwiftRadio SoC, targeting a diverse range of end markets for low power wireless applications, including wearables, healthcare, industrial, VR/AR and the internet of things. The SwiftRadio IN6xx is a highly-integrated single chip solution that combines the mature RW-BLE5 IP from CEVA together with InPlay's ultra-low power RF and its proprietary multi-mode collaborative protocols, ensuring best-in-class performance with minimal power consumption for next-generation low power wireless networking applications. The high-performance RF design of the SwiftRadio SoC is a key advantage in wireless IoT applications. With industry-leading Rx sensitivity of -97.5dBm and very low power design, the SwiftRadio IN6xx SoC will support many new applications, especially for battery-powered products.

06:50 EDT Boston Scientific exercises option to acquire Millipede for $325M - Boston Scientific announced it exercised its option to acquire the remaining shares of Millipede, a privately-held company in Santa Rosa, California, upon its recent successful completion of a first-in-human clinical study. The acquisition will expand the Boston Scientific structural heart portfolio to include the IRIS Transcatheter Annuloplasty Ring System which is in development for the treatment of patients with severe mitral regurgitation, or MR, who are not able to tolerate open-heart surgery. Boston Scientific initially entered into an investment and acquisition option agreement with Millipede in January. It purchased $90M in existing and newly-issued Millipede shares, with the option to acquire the company's remaining shares for $325M at closing, with a $125M payment becoming available upon achievement of a commercial milestone. The quickly expanding transcatheter mitral repair and replacement market is estimated to reach $1B by 2021, with the majority comprised of repair procedures. On an adjusted basis, the transaction is expected to be dilutive to earnings per share for each of the next several years; however, all dilutive impact is expected to be absorbed via internal trade-offs, resulting in no net adjusted EPS impact. The deal is anticipated to close in Q1 2019, subject to customary closing conditions. On a GAAP basis, for each of the next several years, the transaction is expected to be more dilutive, due to amortization expense and acquisition-related net charges.

06:10 EDT Gol Linhas accelerates fleet renewal, modernization plan - GOL Linhas (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 (BA) 737 next generation, or NG, aircraft in the GOL fleet that will be replaced with Boeing 737 MAX-8 aircraft over the next few years. Due to favorable market conditions for transactions with its Boeing 737 NGs, GOL has accelerated its fleet renewal and modernization plan with sale and leaseback transactions of 13 Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft that will be removed from the fleet 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 with 24 and 34 737 MAX-8s in its operating fleet, respectively. GOL's fleet upgauging drives operating efficiency and operating leverage. The 737 MAX will be the backbone of GOL's fleet, increasing average seat per aircraft and bringing incremental cost per seat to low levels. By 2023, over 40% of the fleet with be comprised of 737 MAXs and over the next five years the transition to the MAX is expected to increase productivity by over 20% and reduce fuel consumption. Compared to GOL's 737-800 NG aircraft, the 737 MAX-8 has decreased fuel consumption on GOL's routes by approximately 15%.

06:04 EDT JinkoSolar to supply 60MW of solar modules to SchneiTec Group in Cambodia - JinkoSolar Holding announced that it is working with SchneiTec Group, a Cambodian real estate developer to build a 60-megawatt solar farm in Kampong Speu province, Cambodia. The solar farm will use more than 200,000 solar modules from JinkoSolar, and will add significantly to Cambodia's fast-growing renewable capacity. Installation work will begin in January 2019 and the project is expected to start operation in December 2019. The project will supply power to Electricite du Cambodge. Once completed, it will become one of Cambodia's largest solar farms as well as one of the largest solar farms in Southeast Asia.

06:01 EDT Great Elm Capital declares special distribution of 24c per share - Great Elm Capital announced that its board of Directors declared a special distribution of 24c per share, which is payable on January 30, 2019 to stockholders of record as of December 28, 2018.

05:33 EDT CUI Global subsidiary secures purchase orders totaling $3.3M - CUI Global announced that its wholly-owned energy subsidiary, Orbital Gas Systems, has been awarded purchase orders for integration projects totaling $3.3M from a large Texas-based Engineering, Procurement, and Construction, or EPC, company during the fourth quarter 2018. The purchase orders, the largest of which originates from a key Gulf Coast customer of Orbital's with the balance secured from a second Gulf Coast energy operator, comprise custom analytical integration systems for two new fractionation units. Orbital will provide complete online analysis systems for process control of the new fractionation units and the analysis systems for EPA monitoring of each unit. Orbital has been working on integration projects with this EPC and its key customer for several years and the scope of its work has expanded with each fractionation unit built. Orbital is also expanding its service capabilities at this key customer's request to include the commissioning of previously installed analytical integration systems on the same site, a service it plans to expand to all future fractionation units.