Stockwinners Market Radar for January 23, 2019 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

19:15 EDT AWS unveils Amazon WorkLink solution - Amazon Web Services announced the availability of Amazon WorkLink, a fully managed service that enables companies to provide their workforce with secure one-click access to internal websites and web applications from their mobile devices without connecting to VPNs or using custom browsers. End users download the Amazon WorkLink app to enable access to internal content through existing browsers on their mobile devices. IT administrators determine which internal content to make available, and Amazon WorkLink securely renders it behind the scenes using the compute and networking infrastructure of AWS, delivering a non-cached, fully functional, graphical representation of the web content to the user requesting it. Amazon WorkLink removes the need to build and maintain complicated infrastructure and software deployments to secure access to internal content on authorized mobile devices outside of the firewall. Amazon WorkLink also reduces the risk of information loss or theft because content is never stored or cached on devices. There are no up-front payments, per seat licensing costs, or long-term commitments, and customers pay only $5 per active user per month.

18:08 EDT Ford says Russian alliance 'under review' - Says won't have to wait long on reorganization plans for South America operations.

18:03 EDT Ford says 2019 will 'unquestionably' be an 'action year'

17:56 EDT Henry Schein falls after saying it will not be key supplier to VCA,Pet Partners - Shares of Henry Schein are down 1.24% or 95c to $75.95 in after-hours trading.

17:50 EDT Hologic says FDA grants clearance for Aptima Mycoplasma genitalium assay - Hologic announced that the FDA has granted clearance for its Aptima Mycoplasma genitalium assay, the first and only FDA-cleared test to detect this under-recognized but increasingly common sexually transmitted infection, or STI. This newest Aptima assay joins a growing suite of market-leading tests offered by Hologic to help combat the rise of STIs in the U.S.

17:37 EDT Rafael Holdings acquires majority stake in Rafael Pharma - Rafael Holdings announced that it has purchased a majority stake in Rafael Pharmaceuticals. Rafael Pharma is a clinical stage, metabolic oncology-therapeutics company developing innovative, highly selective and well tolerated anti-cancer agents. Building on its prior investments, Rafael Holdings further exercised its warrant and converted other interests. The total investment to date from Rafael Holdings in Rafael Pharma securities, inclusive of cash, debt instruments, conversion of notes and contributions from minority beneficial holders, has increased to $66.7 million. The Company and its subsidiaries now hold 51.0% of the outstanding stock of Rafael Pharma. Howard Jonas, Chairman and CEO of Rafael Holdings, said, "We continue to invest in Rafael Pharma to support the promising clinical development of its lead drug, devimistat as well as other Rafael Pharma agents now in pre-clinical development that have been discovered from its Altered Metabolism Directed platform. As the two companies further align, we strengthen our capacity to leverage their complementary attributes for mutual benefit."

17:32 EDT Teradyne up 6.5% after Q4 earnings beat, Q1 guidance, stock buyback - Shares of Teradyne rose $2.07 or 6.5% to $34 after the company reported a Q4 earnings beat, Q1 guidance, and a $500M stock buyback expected in 2019.

17:16 EDT Home Bancshares raises quarterly dividend 9.1% to 12c per share - Home BancShares, Inc. announced that its board of directors has declared a regular 12c per share quarterly cash dividend payable March 6, 2019, to shareholders of record February 13, 2019. This cash dividend represents a 1c per share, or 9.1%, increase over the 11c cash dividend paid during the first quarter of 2018 and equal to the cash dividend paid during the third and fourth quarters of 2018.

17:06 EDT Avista, Hydro One Limited terminate merger agreement - Hydro One Limited and Avista Corporation announced that the companies have mutually agreed to terminate their previously announced merger agreement. This decision follows the recent orders by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission and the Idaho Public Utilities Commission which denied approval of the merger. After careful consideration and analysis of the likelihood of achieving a timely reversal of those orders, the Boards of Directors of Hydro One and Avista each individually determined that termination of the merger agreement is the best course of action for the companies and their respective shareholders. As required by the merger agreement, Hydro One will pay Avista a $103M termination fee as a result of the termination of the merger agreement.

17:05 EDT U.S. Energy continues drilling participation in Zavala and Dimmit Counties, TX - U.S. Energy announced its continued participation in the horizontal drilling program on its existing acreage position targeting the development of the Georgetown formation in Zavala and Dimmit Counties, Texas. This will be the third and fourth participation wells for U.S. Energy in the development program. U.S. Energy will participate in the upcoming Aaron #1 and J.J. #1 wells to be drilled across the Company's acreage position in both Zavala and Dimmit Counties, Texas. U.S. Energy's working interest in each well is approximately 12.5% and 16.2%, respectively. Both wells are expected to be drilled during the first quarter of 2019. The Company expects to fund its portion of the drilling through cash on hand.This will be U.S. Energy's third and fourth wells to be drilled in the development program. Results have been in line with the most economic wells targeting the Georgetown formation currently drilled to date. David Veltri, Chairman and CEO of U.S. Energy, stated, "We continue to be highly encouraged with the results from U.S. Energy's drilling participation program targeting the Georgetown formation in South Texas. The program continues to generate highly attractive economics in the current commodity price environment. Well results continue to confirm further development potential on the Company's surrounding acreage position where we expect up to three additional wells to be drilled at a significant working interest to U.S. Energy. Separately, we also expect additional future production growth in North Dakota from operators on our existing acreage position. Operating partners of U.S. Energy have continued to positively increase Bakken economics by optimizing completions, leveraging already built infrastructure systems and reducing drilling days. As we enter 2019, U.S. Energy continues to focus on exploiting opportunities across our legacy acreage positions while pursuing acquisition opportunities that will provide an operated platform for capital efficient growth and enhanced shareholder value."

16:45 EDT Sallie Mae jumps after announcing new dividend and repurchase programs - "Last year, nearly 374,000 students and families trusted Sallie Mae to help them achieve the dream of a higher education," said Raymond J. Quinlan, Chairman and CEO, Sallie Mae. "We enter 2019 with significant momentum after another great quarter highlighted by increased net interest income, growth in our private education loan business, and terrific credit quality. It's particularly gratifying to be in a position to return capital to stockholders through our new dividend and repurchase programs as we continue to expand the franchise." The company also announced that it has initiated a new policy to pay a regular, quarterly common stock dividend, and has approved a new share repurchase program. A 2019 first-quarter dividend of 3c per share on the company's common stock will be paid on March 15 to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 5. This marks the first time the company has paid a common stock dividend since its spin-off of Navient Corporation in 2014. The new share repurchase program, which is effective immediately and expires on Jan. 22, 2021, permits the company to repurchase from time to time shares of its common stock up to an aggregate repurchase price not to exceed $200M. The repurchases may occur through a variety of methods, including open market repurchases, repurchases effected through Rule 10b5-1 trading plans, or other similar transactions. Shares of Sallie Mae are up 2.4% or 23c to $9.72 per share in after-hours trading.

16:44 EDT Wave Life Sciences down 9% to $38.00 after offering of ordinary shares

16:40 EDT Air Lease announces lease pacts with SAS for Airbus A321-200neo jets - Air Lease (AL) announced long-term lease agreements with SAS for three new Airbus (EADSY) A321-200neo LR aircraft, scheduled for delivery in 2020 and 2021 from ALC's order book with Airbus. The three new A321LR aircraft add to two A320-200neos on lease to the airline, for a total of five Airbus aircraft confirmed to deliver to SAS from ALC.

16:36 EDT Ohr Pharmaceutical announces one-for-twenty reverse stock split - Ohr Pharmaceutical announced that its board of directors has determined to effect a one-for-twenty reverse stock split of the company's common stock. The company's stockholders approved the reverse stock split at the company's special meeting of shareholders held on January 18, 2019. The company's common stock is expected to commence trading on a post-reverse stock split basis on February 4, 2019.

16:35 EDT Advaxis trading resumes

16:32 EDT Charah Solutions names Scott Sewell president, CEO - Charah Solutions announced that Scott Sewell has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer, and to Charah's board of directors. Sewell's appointment follows the decision by the board that the time is right for Charles Price to step down as President and CEO, and as a director of the company given the company's recent IPO and its natural progression as a public company. These changes are effective as of today.

16:29 EDT PTC falls over 9% after Q1 earnings and FY19 guidance cut - Shares of PTC are down $7.71 or 9.1% at $76.93 after the company's Q1 earnings and reduced FY19 revenue guidance.

16:26 EDT Ball Corp. increases share repurchase authorization - Ball Corporation's board declared a cash dividend of 10c per share, payable March 15 to shareholders of record as of March 1. The board also approved the repurchase by the company of up to a total of 50M shares of its common stock. The repurchase authorization replaces all previous authorizations.

16:26 EDT Ford reports Q4 North America revenue $25.8B - Reports Q4 South America revenue $1.2B. Reports Q4 Europe revenue $7.4B. Reports Q4 MEA revenue $700M. Reports Q4 APAC revenue $3.6B.

16:25 EDT Ford CFO sees being able to fully fund capital plans in 2019 - "While 2018 was a challenging year, we put in place key building blocks to build a more resilient and competitive business model that can thrive no matter the economic environment," said Bob Shanks, Ford CFO. "We are confident in our plan to transform our business." Shanks said the company balance sheet remains strong, with $23.1 billion of cash and $34.2 billion of liquidity. Shanks said Ford expects to be able to fully fund its business needs and capital plans in 2019, while maintaining cash and liquidity levels at or above its target levels. He added Ford sees the potential for year-over-year improvement in the company's key financial metrics as it works to close the gaps versus targets.

16:23 EDT Hexcel Q4 gross margin was 26.8% vs. 27.8% last year - Q4 Commercial Aerospace sales rose 6.7% to $385.4M.

16:20 EDT TreeHouse to close St. Louis, Missouri office - TreeHouse Foods announced that it plans to close its St. Louis, Missouri office on June 28. The decision to close the St. Louis office is part of the company's previously announced TreeHouse 2020 multi-year restructuring program to reduce its cost structure and administrative footprint and to align the organization with the current and future needs of the business. The St. Louis office closure will affect approximately 170 employees, and the related work content will be consolidated into the Company's existing facilities in Oak Brook, Ill. TreeHouse is committed to a smooth transition and will provide affected employees with separation pay and outplacement assistance. Costs associated with the office closure are expected to be incurred primarily over the three quarters ending June 30, and will total approximately $7.8M (or 10c per share), most of which is anticipated to be in cash.

16:19 EDT Apple Hospitality REIT Chief Legal Officer Buckley to retire April 15 - Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. announced that David Buckley, the company's Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, plans to retire on April 15, 2019. Buckley has been with the Apple REIT Companies for almost 15 years and has played a vital role in the Companies' growth and success. Buckley's responsibilities will be assumed by Matthew Rash, who intends to join the Company as Senior Vice President and General Counsel on March 18, 2019. Rash is currently a partner with McGuireWoods LLP, where he has specialized in commercial real estate transactions, including acquisitions, dispositions and lending. Rash joined McGuireWoods LLP in 2005, and since that time, he has worked with the Apple REIT Companies on numerous transactions.

16:18 EDT Mercury Systems ships first space-qualified SSD - Mercury Systems announced the first prototype shipments of the company's 3U TRRUST-Stor VPX RT space-qualified secure solid-state drives, or SSD, to two leading suppliers of low Earth orbit, or LEO, satellites. Designed to operate in high radiation environments, this device is the first commercial SSD leveraging VITA 78 SpaceVPX standards to reduce customer cost and mitigate program risk. In addition to commercial satellite applications, this device is suited for high-altitude aircraft, airborne weapons and mission-critical ground computing systems. Error correcting code algorithms mitigate radiation-induced byte errors, thereby enabling sustainable fault tolerance.

16:17 EDT Lam Research announces $5B share repurchase authorization - Lam Research Corporation announced that its board approved a $5B share repurchase authorization. The company is authorized to repurchase up to $5B of common stock. Repurchases may be made through both public market and private transactions and may include the use of derivative contracts and structured share repurchase agreements. This repurchase program has no termination date and may be suspended or discontinued at any time. Funding for this repurchase program may be through a combination of cash on hand, cash generation, and borrowings.

16:17 EDT Lam Research up 6.2% after Q2 earnings, Q3 guidance, stock repurchase plan

16:14 EDT Sterling to acquire asset-based, equipment finance lending businesses - Sterling Bancorp, through its principal subsidiary, Sterling National Bank, announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the asset-based and equipment finance lending businesses of Woodforest National Bank. As of December 31, 2018, the balance of commercial loans and leases outstanding to be acquired was $504M, with $339M in asset-based loans and $165M in equipment finance loans. The acquisition will add significant origination capabilities in the Midwest and Southwest regions to Sterling's established national commercial lending platform, including a direct lending equipment finance sales and originations team. Pro forma for the acquisition, Sterling will have a combined $1.1B in asset-based loans and $1.4B in equipment finance loans.

16:12 EDT Nordic American Offshore to effect one-for-ten reverse stock split - Nordic American Offshore Ltd. announced that its board has determined to effect a one-for-ten reverse stock split of the company's common shares. The company's bye-laws permit the board of directors to effect a reverse stock split without shareholder consent. The reverse stock split will take effect, and the company's common stock will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis on the NYSE, as of the opening of trading on January 28. When the reverse stock split becomes effective, every ten shares of the company's issued and outstanding common stock will be automatically combined into one issued and outstanding share of common stock. This will reduce the number of outstanding common shares from approximately 73.74M shares to approximately 7.37M shares.

16:12 EDT Texas Instruments CEO says 'demand continued to slow across most markets' - Regarding the company's performance and returns to shareholders, Rich Templeton, TI's chairman, president and CEO, made the following comments: "Revenue decreased 1 percent from the same quarter a year ago as demand for our products continued to slow across most markets. In our core businesses, Analog revenue grew 4 percent and Embedded Processing declined 12 percent from the same quarter a year ago. Our cash flow from operations of $7.2 billion for the year again underscored the strength of our business model. Free cash flow for the year was $6.1 billion and represents 38.4 percent of revenue. This reflects the quality of our product portfolio, as well as the efficiency of our manufacturing strategy, including the benefit of 300-millimeter Analog production. We have returned $7.7 billion to owners in 2018 through stock repurchases and dividends. Our strategy is to return all our free cash flow to owners. Over the last 12 months, our dividends represented 42 percent of free cash flow, underscoring their sustainability. TI's first-quarter outlook is for revenue in the range of $3.34 billion to $3.62 billion, and earnings per share between $1.03 and $1.21, which includes an estimated $20 million discrete tax benefit. For 2019, TI's annual operating tax rate is expected to be about 16 percent."

16:10 EDT HTG Molecular appoints Joseph Sparano lead of its Breast Cancer Program SAB - HTG Molecular announced it has appointed Joseph Sparano as lead of its Breast Cancer Program Scientific Advisory Board, or SAB. Sparano is professor of medicine & women's health at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, associate chairman for clinical research in the department of Oncology at Montefiore Medical Center and associate director for clinical research at the Albert Einstein Cancer Center. He is a medical oncologist whose research has focused on developmental therapeutic approaches for breast cancer, lymphoma and HIV-associated cancers and clinical application biomarkers in breast cancer and other cancers. He previously served as chair of the breast committee of the ECOG-ACRIN Research Group.

16:09 EDT Cardinal Health appoints Brian Rice as Chief Information Officer - Cardinal Health announced that Brian Rice will join the company as Executive VP, Chief Information Officer and customer support services. Rice's most recent role was Senior VP, Chief Information Officer and global business services for Kellogg. Rice will officially join Cardinal Health on February 4.

16:08 EDT Orrstown Financial boosts quarterly dividend 25% to 15c per share - The Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of 15c per common share, payable February 11, 2019, to shareholders of record as of February 4, 2019, a 25.0% increase over the dividend declared in January, 2018.

16:06 EDT HP Inc. appoints Yoky Matsuoka to its board - HP Inc. (HPQ) announced the appointment of Yoky Matsuoka to its board. Matsuoka is an accomplished executive and technologist who brings more than two decades of leadership experience to the HP Board. She currently serves as a VP at Google's (GOOG) newly formed health care technology group.

16:05 EDT PTC Q1 License and subscription bookings $101M, 'consistent with last year' - Reports Q1 software recurring revenue $258M, an increase of 11% year over year or 13% in constant currency.

16:03 EDT Texas Instruments sees 2019 operating tax rate about 16%

16:02 EDT PTC CFO Andrew Miller to retire in FY19 - PTC announced that Andrew Miller, executive vice president and chief financial officer, plans to retire in Fiscal 2019. To ensure an orderly transition, Miller, who joined PTC four-years ago, will remain in his current role until a successor is in place. PTC has initiated a comprehensive search to identify a replacement.

16:00 EDT FDA permits marketing of Hologic's Mycoplasma genitalium test - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today permitted marketing of a new test to aid in the diagnosis of a sexually-transmitted infection called Mycoplasma genitalium. "This is the first test authorized by the FDA to test for the M. gen. bacterium, which is associated with inflammation of the urethra in men and inflammation of the cervix and infection of the reproductive organs in women," the FDA stated. The FDA granted marketing authorization of the Aptima Mycoplasma genitalium Assay to Hologic.

15:04 EDT Cinedigm acquires all North American distribution rights to Holy Lands - Cinedigm announced it has acquired all North American rights to Holy Lands from Studiocanal. Cinedigm will release the picture in select theaters, on demand and digital in mid-2019, with a Blu-ray and DVD release to follow later in the year. The film already has generated extensive interest and awards following a series of screenings including DTLA Film Festival.

15:01 EDT General Mills recalls five pound bags of Gold Medal Unbleached Flour - General Mills announced a voluntary national recall of five-pound bags of its Gold Medal Unbleached Flour with a better if used by date of April 20, 2020. The recall is being issued for the potential presence of Salmonella which was discovered during sampling of the five-pound bag product. This recall is being issued out of an abundance of care as General Mills has not received any direct consumer reports of confirmed illnesses related to this product. This recall only affects this one date code of Gold Medal Unbleached Flour five-pound bags. All other types of Gold Medal Flour are not affected by this recall.

14:56 EDT Sanofi says FDA approves Fluzone Quadrivalent 0.5mL in kids as young as 6 months - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the use of the 0.5 mL dose of Fluzone Quadrivalent to include children age 6 through 35 months, according to Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine division of Sanofi. Sanofi Pasteur reports it will have the 0.5 mL dose, in addition to the 0.25 mL dose, available for the upcoming 2019-20 season for this expanded age range.

14:21 EDT Facebook making Pages more transparent and accountable - In a blog posting on Wednesday, Facebook said it will be making Pages more transparent and accountable: " We're taking new steps in how we handle Page content that goes against our policies. First, starting tomorrow people who manage a Page will see a new tab that shows when we remove certain content that goes against our Community Standards and when we reduce the distribution of posts that have been rated false by a third-party fact-checker. Second, we are updating our recidivism policy to better prevent those who have had Pages removed for violating our Community Standards from using duplicate Pages to continue the same activity. We'll begin enforcing this policy in the weeks ahead." Reference Link

13:59 EDT Oracle calls pay lawsuit 'meritless,' says 'committed to equality' - Oracle executive VP and General Counsel Dorian Daley said, "This meritless lawsuit is based on false allegations and a seriously flawed process within the OFCCP that relies on cherry picked statistics rather than reality. We fiercely disagree with the spurious claims and will continue in the process to prove them false. We are in compliance with our regulatory obligations, committed to equality, and proud of our employees."

13:32 EDT Contango Ore starts process to solicit proposals for potential sale - Contango ORE announced that Royal Gold, the parent of Royal Alaska, CORE's joint venture partner in the Peak Gold, LLC joint venture, which is developing the Peak Gold exploration project located near Tok, Alaska, has retained Scotia Capital Inc. to conduct a joint process for the sale directly or indirectly of the Peak Gold Project's properties in Alaska. CORE's 60% interest in the Peak Gold Project plus cash on hand constitute substantially all of CORE's assets. CORE has no borrowings. As previously announced, CORE has retained Petrie Partners, LLC and Cantor Fitzgerald and Co. to advise CORE on its strategic options. CORE is primarily interested in a sale of CORE stock in exchange for cash and/or liquid publicly traded shares. Brad Juneau, the Company's CEO, said, "The Company and its joint venture partner Royal Alaska have spent several years exploring for a commercial gold deposit, and the previously released Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Main Peak and North Peak resource areas are very encouraging. There is significant exploration upside remaining on the acreage, and along with the Main Peak and North Peak resource areas, we believe our project will be one of the most attractive in the North American market."

13:01 EDT Private Management Group reports 6.59% passive stake in KCAP Financial - In a regulatory filing, Private Management Group disclosed a 6.59% stake in KCAP Financial, which represents nearly 2.5M shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

13:00 EDT Trump says will deliver SOTU address next week in House Chamber - U.S. President Donald Trump sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying that he intended to deliver the State of the Union address in the House Chamber next week, ignoring Pelosi's previous recommendation that he delay the event until the government reopened. "Accordingly, there are no security concerns regarding the State of the Union Address," Trump wrote in the letter. "Therefore, I will be honoring your invitation, and fulfilling my Constitutional duty, to deliver important information to the people and Congress of the United States of America regarding the State of our Union. I look forward to seeing you on the evening on January 29th in the Chamber of the House of Representatives. It would be so very sad for our Country if the State of the Union were not delivered on time, on schedule, and very importantly, on location!" Reference Link

12:54 EDT Griffon jumps 5% to $13.84 after Mario Gabelli highlights on CNBC

12:51 EDT Griffon, Energizer mentioned as stock picks by Mario Gabelli - Mario Gabelli is speaking on CNBC.

12:33 EDT Amazon tests new autonomous electric delivery system Scout - In a blog posting, Sean Scott VP of Amazon Scout said: "At Amazon, we continually invest in new technologies to benefit customers. We've been hard at work developing a new, fully-electric delivery system - Amazon Scout - designed to safely get packages to customers using autonomous delivery devices. These devices were created by Amazon, are the size of a small cooler, and roll along sidewalks at a walking pace. Starting today, these devices will begin delivering packages to customers in a neighborhood in Snohomish County, Washington...We're starting with six Amazon Scout devices, delivering packages Monday through Friday, during daylight hours. The devices will autonomously follow their delivery route but will initially be accompanied by an Amazon employee. We developed Amazon Scout at our research and development lab in Seattle, ensuring the devices can safely and efficiently navigate around pets, pedestrians and anything else in their path." Reference Link

12:27 EDT Gabelli looking at Sinclair Broadcast as 'potential idea' - Mario Gabelli is speaking on CNBC.

12:22 EDT Gabelli reiterates Liberty Braves Group as stock pick on CNBC - Mario Gabelli is speaking on CNBC.

12:04 EDT Capital One CEO discusses details of Walmart credit card agreement - Capital One's (COF) CEO Richard Fairbank stated during the bank's Q4 earnings call on Tuesday night that Capital One entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the existing portfolio of Walmart (WMT) co-branded and private label credit card receivables at "an attractive price and terms." According to Fairbank, Capital One expects the portfolio to consist of "approximately $9B of receivables," and the bank "expects to launch the new originations program and onboard the acquired portfolio late in the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter of 2019." Previously, on July 26, 2018, Walmart and Capital One had announced that the companies entered into a new, long-term credit card program agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, Capital One will become the exclusive issuer of Walmart's private label and co-branded credit card program in the U.S. beginning August 1, 2019, the stated in July.

12:00 EDT Trinseo falls -10.7% - Trinseo is down -10.7%, or -$5.21 to $43.51.

12:00 EDT Quotient Technology falls -14.6% - Quotient Technology is down -14.6%, or -$1.61 to $9.43.

12:00 EDT Waters rises 9.9% - Waters is up 9.9%, or $20.07 to $223.73.

11:57 EDT Cinedigm announces content licensing deal with China Lion - Cinedigm announced the Company has entered into a non-exclusive content licensing agreement with leading Chinese entertainment company CHINA LION to release over four dozen films on the newly announced Chinese content entertainment streaming channel, BAMBU. While the network will appeal to Americans of all ages, BAMBU's primary focus is on Gen Z ages 16-24, and Millennial viewers ages 25-35.

11:53 EDT Capital One to acquire Walmart co-branded, private label credit card receivables - According to comments from Capital One's (COF) CEO Richard Fairbank, made during the bank's Q4 earnings call on Tuesday night, Capital One "entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the existing portfolio of Walmart (WMT) co-branded and private label credit card receivables at an attractive price and terms." According to Fairbank, Capital One expects the portfolio to consist of "approximately $9B of receivables, and the bank "expects to launch the new originations program and onboard the acquired portfolio late in the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter of 2019."

11:47 EDT Borqs Technologies Inc trading halted, volatility trading pause

11:31 EDT IBM announces $260M agreement with Bank of the Philippine Islands - IBM and the Bank of the Philippine Islands, a universal bank headquartered in Manila and the third-largest bank in the Philippines in terms of assets, announced that they have signed a $260M, multi-year services agreement. IBM will provide IT infrastructure services to support an agile IT and hybrid cloud, as well as digital development capabilities to accelerate BPI's digital transformation. Cezar Consing, BPI President and CEO, said, "Our extended agreement with IBM will help us become more agile in introducing innovations and transforming how we do things in BPI."

11:20 EDT Hulu lowers price for ad-supported service plan to $5.99 per month - Hulu announced updates to its pricing options, which will go into effect next month, that the company said will "allow current and new subscribers to choose the best Hulu experience for them." Hulu subscribers can "stream more than 85,000 episodes of on-demand television, thousands of movies and award winning Hulu Originals with ads," for $5.99 per month. "The Hulu (No Ads) plan still offers the same massive library of on-demand TV and movies for $11.99 per month," Hulu said. The Hulu + Live TV plan is now priced at $44.99 per month, the company stated in a blog post. Hulu is owned by Hulu LLC, a joint venture of Disney (DIS), 21st Century Fox (FOXA), Comcast (CMCSA), and AT&T (T). Other companies in the media streaming space include Netflix (NFLX) and Roku (ROKU). Reference Link

11:00 EDT GAC Motor selects Spirent for automotive ethernet conformance testing - Spirent Communications announced that GAC Motor Company, an affiliate of Guangzhou Automobile Group, has selected Spirent automotive test solutions to verify next-generation in-vehicle networking for its automobiles. Automotive Ethernet networking is being adopted by automotive OEMs around the world. With GAC Motor's commitment to delivering new in-car capabilities and to meet the high expectations of its customers, choosing Spirent's test system with C50 Appliance and TTworkbench automation tool, was a logical step to help develop and verify its automotive Ethernet systems and determine the best Ethernet designs for its vehicles.

10:40 EDT Porsche invests in U.S. startup 'Urgent.ly' - Porsche (POAHY) has invested in startup "Urgent.ly," a global platform for mobility and roadside assistance. The financing round amounted to $21M. Alongside "Porsche Ventures", other companies obtained shares in Urgent.ly, including "BMW i Ventures" (BMWYY) and "InMotion Ventures", the venture capital division of Jaguar Land Rover (TTM). Using artificial intelligence and geolocation, Urgent.ly connects drivers, service providers and automotive manufacturers in real time, coordinating the best and fastest help in the event of a breakdown.

10:23 EDT Abbott says not focusing on M&A in near-future - Comment made earlier on the company's Q4 earnings conference call.

10:20 EDT Kimberly-Clark: M&A not expected to be significant part of growth strategy

10:13 EDT Greenlight sold Apple, Mylan, Perrigo in 2018, Einhorn states in investor letter - In Greenlight's letter to investors for the fourth quarter, David Einhorn stated: "Over the year we made a few portfolio changes, like selling Apple, Bayer, Mylan and Perrigo, covering the oil frackers and Core Laboratories during the year-end oil rout, and adding a few small and medium positions. We have re-underwritten the entire portfolio and we are excited about its current construction. 2019 is in the early days, but we feel a little like a team that just won its opening day game after a last place finish." In the letter, Einhorn notes some of the firm's positions that are 5% or larger in its current portfolio, including long positions in AerCap (AER), Brighthouse Financial (BHF) and General Motors (GM) and short positions in Tesla (TSLA) and Assured Guaranty (AGO).

10:10 EDT Kimberly-Clark says 'not satisfied' with 2018 margins

10:08 EDT Papa John's appoints Marvin Boakye as chief people officer - Papa John's International (PZZA) announced the appointment of Marvin Boakye as its first chief people officer. He will serve as a member of the Papa John's Executive Leadership Team and report to president and CEO Steve Ritchie. Boakye joins Papa John's after serving as vice president of human resources at petroleum company Andeavor (ANDV). Boakye will play a critical leadership role in implementing the company's talent management strategy, which includes overseeing people operations; compensation and benefits; and learning and development. He replaces Senior Vice President of People Operations Bob Smith, who retired from Papa John's in August 2018 after serving 15 years with the company.

10:01 EDT Jones Lang LaSalle names Mary Bilbrey Global Chief HR Officer - JLL (JLL) announced that Mary Bilbrey has been promoted to Global Chief Human Resources Officer from her current role as Americas CHRO. The change is effective February 1, and she will continue to oversee human resources in the Americas region until her successor is named. Bilbrey succeeds Trish Maxson as Global CHRO. Maxson maintains her roles as Chief Administrative Officer and interim CFO. Prior to joining JLL, Bilbrey held a succession of senior HR leadership roles for HSBC (HSBC), based at different times in the U.S. and in Europe.

10:00 EDT Sprague Resources falls -8.9% - Sprague Resources is down -8.9%, or -$1.75 to $18.00.

10:00 EDT NL Industries rises 9.8% - NL Industries is up 9.8%, or 41c to $4.61.

10:00 EDT Synchrony rises 10.6% - Synchrony is up 10.6%, or $2.81 to $29.36.

09:56 EDT Kerrisdale Capital short Qualcomm on 'imminent' legal loss - Shares of Qualcomm (QCOM) are under pressure after Kerrisdale Capital said it is short the stock as the company's "imminent loss" in its ongoing trial against the Federal Trade Commission is "more serious" than the market thinks because it "accelerates the demise" of its patent licensing business. SHORT QUALCOMM: In a newly published report, Kerrisdale Capital called Qualcomm a "semiconductor company teetering on the brink of disaster" and said it is short shares of the company. "The licensing business, despite contributing far less revenue than the chip business, has historically supplied roughly two thirds of Qualcomm's profits, thanks to its extremely high profit margins. This unusual business model is living on borrowed time. In the past few years, regulators across the globe have concluded that Qualcomm's ability to extract massive licensing fees from devicemakers like Apple [AAPL] and Samsung [SSNLF] stems not from the quality of its patents but from unlawful monopolistic tactics. In particular, authorities in China, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Europe, and the United States have found fault with what they see as Qualcomm's exploitation of its dominance in the market for premium modem chips [...] to force device-makers to pay outrageously high patent royalties, even on devices that don't contain Qualcomm chips, all while refusing to license its IP to potential competitors. These core Qualcomm business practices, regulators contend, violate binding pledges the company has made to license critical patents on 'fair, reasonable, and non-discriminatory' terms, including to rivals like Intel [INTC]," the report reads. Kerrisdale Capital believes the FTC has brought "a powerful legal case against the company," with the trial currently underway, and thinks Qualcomm will lose. "Perhaps because prior legal troubles have 'merely' cost Qualcomm billions of dollars without fundamentally transforming its business model, the market has failed to appreciate the potentially dire consequences of the current trial. If the judge grants the FTC the remedies it seeks, forcing Qualcomm, among other things, to license core patents to competitors and to renegotiate all of its existing licenses on fair terms, it could realistically cut Qualcomm's licensing revenue, earnings power, and stock price in half," Kerisdale argued. PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, shares of Qualcomm have dropped over 3% to $52.51.

09:52 EDT Avalon GloboCare Corporation trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:47 EDT Trinseo falls -11.8% - Trinseo is down -11.8%, or -$5.74 to $42.98.

09:47 EDT Quotient Technology falls -13.0% - Quotient Technology is down -13.0%, or -$1.44 to $9.61.

09:47 EDT Waters rises 8.8% - Waters is up 8.8%, or $17.95 to $221.61.

09:36 EDT Air Products awarded additional on-site nitrogen supply from strategic customer - Air Products announced it has been awarded additional on-site nitrogen supply by one of its strategic global customers, who is among the world's largest manufacturers of electronic components, for its new production line in Binhai New Area, Tianjin, China. Air Products has been supplying on-site nitrogen to the customer's manufacturing site in Tianjin and supporting its ongoing expansion for over 12 years. The company has been building several facilities with three currently running and two starting up in the coming months. Air Products will add the sixth facility, further strengthening its supply position in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region to serve the customer's increasing need from the new production line.

09:24 EDT U.S. Patent Office issues CEL-SCI two patents for LEAPS technology - CEL-SCI Corporation announced the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued two new U.S. patents for the Company's LEAPS platform technology: Patent #10,179,174 B2 titled "Method for inducing an immune response and formulations thereof" is focused on influenza. Patent #10,179,164 B2 titled "Method for inducing an immune response for treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases or conditions". CEL-SCI's LEAPS inventions relate to methods for diagnosing, preventing, and treating disease by generating or modulating the immune response through the use of specific peptides. LEAPS is a patented, T-cell modulation, peptide epitope delivery technology that enables CEL-SCI to design and synthesize proprietary peptide immunogens. LEAPS compounds consist of a small T-cell binding peptide ligand linked with a disease-associated peptide antigen. The LEAPS platform technology is currently being developed as a therapeutic vaccine for rheumatoid arthritis under a $1.5M grant from the U.S. National Institutes of Health. Upon completion of preclinical and Investigational New Drug enabling studies for the LEAPS-based rheumatoid arthritis vaccine candidate CEL-4000, CEL-SCI intends to file an IND application with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

09:20 EDT Cision acquires TrendKite, divests e-mail marketing assets - Cision has acquired TrendKite for a purchase price of $225M. The transaction consideration consisted of approximately $94M in cash and approximately 10.2 million shares of Cision. Cision also sold its e-mail marketing assets to a strategic buyer to focus on industry-leading communications cloud platform. Cision divested the assets for approximately $49M of cash consideration, with the potential for additional cash consideration based upon meeting certain business performance measures over the next 12 months.

09:12 EDT QTS Realty Trust's Piscataway data center selected by Cloudalize - QTS Realty Trust announced a five-year agreement with Cloudalize, a provider of GPU-accelerated Desktop-as-a-Service for architectural, engineering and construction firms. Headquartered in Belgium, Cloudalize is expanding globally and chose QTS' Piscataway data center and new Service Delivery Platform for a high-density hosting environment required for graphics processing unit intensive applications. In the span of 18 days, QTS collaborated with Cloudalize engineers to deploy a secure high-density colocation environment supporting 31 Kw/rack with containment and computational fluid dynamics for cooling.

09:09 EDT Canon lenses selected by city of Arlington for esports stadium - Canon's broadcast lenses have been selected for Esports Stadium Arlington in Arlington, Texas-the country's largest esports stadium. To outfit the stadium's 4K UHD broadcast cameras, the City of Arlington purchased three Canon UHD-DIGISUPER 66 4K UHD field box lenses, four CJ24ex7.5B 4K UHD telephoto zoom lenses and one CJ14ex4.3B 4K UHD wide angle zoom lens.

09:06 EDT Aramark, Alliance of American Football announce retail, e-commerce partnership - Aramark and The Alliance of American Football announced a multi-year agreement making Aramark the official retail merchandise concessionaire and e-commerce provider for the league. The Alliance's inaugural season features teams from Birmingham, Orlando, Memphis, Atlanta, San Antonio, San Diego, Arizona and Salt Lake, with its first snap taking place February 9, 2019, on CBS. Under the terms of the deal, Aramark will operate The Alliance's in-stadium merchandising program across all eight markets, creating unique, best-in-class shopping experiences for fans. Additionally, Aramark will provide complete e-commerce solutions for The Alliance's online store ensuring fans in-stadium and at home can have access to their favorite team's apparel and merchandise.

09:04 EDT Waters says it was please with growth in Q4 - Says improving momentum in key categories, including pharmaceuticals. Says there is a lot of innovation in China which is why the company will continue to invest there. Says geographically the company assumes continued growth in China and improvement in the U.S., Europe and India. Says FY19 tax rate will be 14%-15%. Says Q1 tax rate will increase by 3%. Comments taken from Q4 earnings conference call.

09:02 EDT Raytheon wins $205M contract for land-based Phalanx system - Raytheon Co. Missile Systems, Tucson, Arizona, was awarded a $205,205,445 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for land-based Phalanx weapon system. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 27, 2023. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity.

09:02 EDT Pure Storage names Robson Grieve as CMO - Pure Storage appointed Robson Grieve as Chief Marketing Officer. Grieve most recently held the position as CMO at software analytics company New Relic. Prior to that, he was CMO at Citrix.

08:51 EDT Procter & Gamble says laundry business doing 'extraordinarily well'

08:49 EDT Procter & Gamble says Q2, 1H19 in China has been 'strong' - Says does not see slowdown of consumer in China.

08:48 EDT One Stop Systems receives $1.13M initial purchase order from IT company - One Stop Systems has received a $1.13M initial purchase order from an applied science and IT company for a government mobile shelter application. This purchase order is the first major win for the company's rack-mounted GPUltima computing system. The integrated rack-mounted system can accommodate up to 14.3 petaflops of computational clusters with up to eight nodes, with each node containing up to 16 accelerators, dual-socket servers, uninterruptable power supplies, and NVMe storage with archiving capability. The order includes on-site installation, configuration and value-added support services, and the company expects to ship it in Q2.

08:47 EDT Procter & Gamble says 8 out of 10 categories grew organic sales in Q2 - Says: E-commerce organic sales grew nearly 30%... Consumption, volume, share progressing nicely... Cash flow remains strong... Additional investment will be needed to fuel growth... Eliminating substantial waste in media supply chain... Focused on cash productivity... Taking steps to simplify organizational structure... Strong innovation and support plans for 2H19... Pricing should remain positive in 2H19... Sees CapEx 5%-5.5%... Continue to accelerate pace of change. Comments from company's Q2 earnings conference call.

08:43 EDT XBiotech announces bermekimab study meets primary, key secondary endpoints - XBiotech announced the successful outcome of its multicenter, open label, confirmatory study using bermekimab to treat patients with moderate to severe Hidradenitis Suppurativa, or HS. Primary and key secondary endpoints were met in this study with significant, differentiating findings. The company previously published data from its double-blind placebo controlled study in HS using bi-weekly, intravenous infusions of bermekimab in which safety and primary efficacy endpoints were met. The present study, which tested a new concentrated subcutaneous formulation in a convenient pre-filled syringe, confirmed and expanded upon the previous findings. The present study enrolled 42 patients, each receiving 400mg subcutaneous weekly doses of bermekimab in a 12-week treatment regimen. There were two treatment groups of subjects: those who had failed prior anti-TNF therapy and those with no prior anti-TNF treatment history. The study was conducted at eleven different dermatology research centers across the U.S. Bermekimab was well-tolerated with no safety concerns. Statistically significant improvement was seen for efficacy endpoints in both anti-TNF and anti-TNF naive groups. These efficacy findings differentiate bermekimab from the available treatments for HS. Assessing the percentage of patients who achieve a HiSCR response is a key measure to determine treatment effectiveness. The HiSCR response is achieved during the treatment period if a patient has at least 50% reduction in the number of inflammatory lesions and has no increase in the number of abscesses or draining fistulas. Abscesses, inflammatory nodules, and draining fistulas are the painful and disfiguring lesions associated with HS. For subjects who received bermekimab with no prior anti-TNF therapy, 61% of patients achieved HiSCR. For patients who received bermekimab after failure of prior anti-TNF therapy, 58% of patients still achieved HiSCR by week 12. Another major finding in the study was a significant treatment-related reduction of pain in the HS patients. Pain is widely recognized among experts as a key objective for HS treatment, but this symptom has been largely unaddressed by available approved therapies. Pain was assessed with a patient questionnaire using a numerical rating scale from 0 to 10. A 30% reduction in pain score is considered a clinically important relief from pain. Remarkably, 67% and 72% of patients who had prior or no prior anti-TNF therapy achieved this endpoint at week 12, respectively. No approved monotherapy for HS has shown a significant effect on pain.

08:36 EDT OSI Systems awarded 10-year contract for cargo turnkey screening in Guatemala - OSI Systems announced that its S2 Global business has entered into a 10-year contract to provide a complete turnkey screening solution for the Port of Santo Tomas de Castilla, the busiest port in Guatemala. The company will construct civil works, deliver and integrate Rapiscan Eagle P60 high-energy X-ray inspection systems, perform security screening and remote image analysis utilizing the CertScan integration platform for 100% of the cargo (inbound, outbound and transshipped) and provide full life cycle support.

08:33 EDT Trovagene issued new patent for Onvansertib combination in protaste cancer - Trovagene has been issued a new patent entitled Combination Therapies and Methods of Use Thereof for Treating Cancer, by the USPTO. This patent broadens previously issued patent by expanding the use of Onvansertib to encompass combination therapies with any anti-androgen and androgen antagonist drug for the treatment of metastatic and non-metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer. The issuance of this patent further strengthens Trovagene's existing intellectual property portfolio obtained with the licensing of exclusive global development and commercialization rights to Onvansertib, a first-in-class, 3rd generation Polo-like Kinase 1(PLK1) inhibitor, from Nerviano Medical Sciences. In a Phase 2 trial, Onvansertib in combination with the standard dose of Zytiga and prednisone, all administered orally, is being evaluated for safety and efficacy. The primary efficacy endpoint is the proportion of patients achieving disease control after 12 weeks of study treatment.

08:30 EDT Synchrony sees FY19 NIM 15.75%-16% - For 2019, sees core loan receivables growth 5% to 7%. Says strong organic growth driven by value propositions and strategic investments. Sees Net Interest Margin 15.75%-16%, consistent with 2018 Net Interest Margin level; Walmart portfolio conveyance may impact specific quarters. Sees RSAs/Average Receivables 4% -4.2%. Says sale of Walmart portfolio largest driver; sees continued strong program performance, trending back closer to historical run rate. Sees Net Charge-Off Rate 5.7% -5.9%. Excluding PayPal (PYPL) Credit program and Walmart portfolio impact, the Net Charge-Off Rate expected to be flat to 2018. Sees Efficiency Ratio approx. 31%. Says cost actions related to Walmart portfolio to offset revenue impact. Sees ROA 2.5% + consistent with historical return profile. Comments taken from slides to be presented on Q4 earnings conference call.

08:25 EDT JPMorgan's Dimon: Trade issues with China are 'serious'

08:21 EDT JPMorgan's Dimon: 3% growth possible if U.S. fixes issues

08:09 EDT CAMP4 Therapeutics, Alnylam announce rare disease research collaboration - CAMP4 Therapeutics announced a research collaboration with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals focused on identifying new druggable targets to address an undisclosed rare disease of the liver with a significant unmet need. The collaboration brings together CAMP4's expertise in rapidly pinpointing signaling targets that control the expression of genes with Alnylam's expertise in RNAi therapeutics development to advance novel rare disease drug candidates. Under the terms of the collaboration, CAMP4 will lead all activities to predict and validate disease-modifying targets in signaling pathways. Alnylam will lead in vivo proof-of-concept activities and may elect a target against which to develop RNAi therapies at the completion of the research term. CAMP4 will receive an undisclosed upfront payment from Alnylam as well as milestone payments upon successful achievement of in vitro proof of concept and target election. CAMP4 is further eligible to receive development, approval and sales milestones plus royalties on products developed against the elected target.

08:07 EDT Twist Bioscience receives ISO certifications for NGS Target Enrichment Panels - Twist Bioscience announced that its quality management systems for manufacturing its next-generation sequencing, or NGS, Target Enrichment Panels received International Organization for Standardization, or ISO, 9001:2015 and 13485:2016 certification, the latter for medical device applications. Twist Bioscience offers NGS Solutions including Twist Custom Panels and Twist Human Core Exome Kits.

08:06 EDT Cellcom Israel announces labor dispute - Cellcom Israel announced the receipt of a labor dispute announcement by the Histadrut, the union representing the company's employees, regarding the company's intention to dismiss approximately 250 employees of the company and failure to agree on other streamlining measures with the employees' union which do not include involuntary termination of employment. Under the announcement, the company's employees would be entitled to take organizational steps (including a strike), as of February 7. The company rejects the claims made as a basis for the announcement. At this preliminary stage, the company is unable to assess the effects of this announcement.

08:04 EDT Recon Technology receives hazardous waste operating permit from Chinese gov't - Recon Technology announced that the company, through its 51% owned subsidiary Gansu BHD Environmental Technology Co., Ltd, has obtained a hazardous waste operating permit issued by the Jiuquan Environmental Protection Bureau in Gansu province. As previously disclosed by the Company, Gansu BHD purchased a 50 year land use right for a 26,235 square meter property to serve the oilfield sewage treatment needs of Yumen Oilfield company, China's first petroleum production base and a PetroChina Co., Ltd. subsidiary. The comprehensive disposal treatment project, completed on December 14, 2018, has an annual processing capacity of 60,000 tons of oily waste, and is currently the only such treatment facility located in Yumen city. The Permit issued on January 18, 2019 is on a temporary basis and will expire on April 17, 2019. Before the Permit expires, the company will receive a formal permit if it demonstrates that its equipment and production lines can operate normally, as required by government regulations.

08:02 EDT Sabre renews successful partnership with Azerbaijan Airlines - Sabre announced the renewal of its collaboration with Azerbaijan Airlines. The continued partnership ensures that the travel agents and corporations connected to Sabre's travel marketplace continue to enjoy access to the best of Azerbaijan Airline's fares and inventory. This holistic approach positions Sabre as a technology provider enabling both direct and indirect channels and giving travelers the freedom to purchase tickets and ancillaries however they choose.

07:59 EDT Hexindai begins sharing credit data with Baihang Credit - Hexindai has connected its systems and begun sharing credit data with Baihang Zhengxin. Hexindai will make regular transfers of credit data to Baihang Credit which integrate and process the data collected to provide individual credit data. Hexindai will leverage the data generated from Baihang Credit to more accurately assess a borrower's creditworthiness and potentially reduce the cost of risk management.

07:57 EDT Popular raises quarterly common stock dividend to 30c per share - Popular announced an increase in the Company's quarterly common stock dividend from 25c per share to 30c per share, payable commencing in 2Q19, subject to the approval by the Company's Board of Directors.

07:47 EDT Abbott CEO says 'we're very well-positioned heading into 2019' - "2018 was another outstanding year for Abbott," said Miles White, chairman and CEO, Abbott. "We exceeded the organic sales growth range we set at the beginning of the year, achieved a number of significant advances in our pipeline, and significantly improved our balance sheet and strategic flexibility. We're very well-positioned heading into 2019."

07:40 EDT Neovasc's Reducer device featured in peer reviewed publication - Neovasc announced that the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Interventions published a peer reviewed article on the use of dipyridamole stress perfusion cardiac magnetic resonance, or CMR, to assess the performance of its Neovasc Reducer, a medical device for the treatment of refractory angina. The JACC article is based on a 66-year-old man with a history of hypertension, dyslipidemia, multiple myocardial infarctions, and coronary artery bypass graft surgery. After being implanted with the Reducer, at the fourth month outpatient visit the patient was asymptomatic for angina and reported improved quality of life. A four-month dipyridamole stress perfusion CMR showed improved perfusion parameters. The Reducer is CE-marked in the European Union for the treatment of refractory angina. While the Reducer is not approved for commercial use in the USA, the FDA granted Breakthrough Device designation to the Neovasc Reducer in October 2018.

07:38 EDT Kimberly-Clark says expects to exit or divest some low-margin businesses - In January 2018, Kimberly-Clark initiated the 2018 Global Restructuring Program in order to reduce the company's structural cost base and enhance the company's flexibility to invest in its brands, growth initiatives and capabilities critical to delivering future growth. The program will make Kimberly-Clark's overhead organization structure and manufacturing supply chain less complex and more efficient and is expected to broadly impact all of the company's business segments and organizations in each major geography. The company expects the program will generate annual pre-tax cost savings of $500M-$550M by the end of 2021, driven by workforce reductions along with manufacturing supply chain efficiencies. As part of the program, Kimberly-Clark expects to exit or divest some low-margin businesses that generate approximately 1% of company net sales. The sales are concentrated in the consumer tissue business segment. To implement the program, the company expects to incur restructuring charges of $1.7B-$1.9B pre-tax ($1.35B-$1.5B after tax) by the end of 2020.

07:36 EDT Kimberly-Clark introduces K-C Strategy 2022 strategic plan - Kimberly-Clark is introducing K-C Strategy 2022 as the company looks ahead to its 150-year anniversary in 2022. The plan's objectives are to deliver balanced and sustainable growth and to create shareholder value in what is assumed to be a continued challenging environment. The plan is focused on growing Kimberly-Clark's iconic brand portfolio, leveraging the company's strong cost and financial discipline and allocating capital in value-creating ways. Key highlights:The company will target to grow sales in-line with, or slightly ahead of, category growth rates. Kimberly-Clark's three growth pillars are to elevate core businesses, accelerate growth in D&E markets and drive digital marketing and e-commerce. The company expects to achieve these pillars by launching differentiated product innovations, driving category development and leveraging commercial capabilities in sales and marketing. The company will generate savings in order to fund growth initiatives and improve margins. Focus areas will include driving ongoing supply chain productivity improvements through the FORCE program, executing the 2018 Global Restructuring Program, rigorously controlling discretionary spending to sustain the company's top-tier overhead cost structure and driving further improvement in working capital. The company will allocate capital in value-creating ways, enabled by strong cash generation. Kimberly-Clark expects to spend capital at an annual rate of 4 to 5 percent of net sales after completing the 2018 Global Restructuring Program. In addition, the company plans to return significant amounts of cash to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. The company's medium-term financial objectives associated with K-C Strategy 2022 assume that category growth remains relatively modest and similar to recent conditions. The objectives are as follows: Sales and organic sales growth - 1%-3% annually. Adjusted earnings per share growth - mid-single digits annually. Adjusted Return On Invested Capital - at least maintain at current level. Dividend growth - generally in line with adjusted earnings per share growth.

07:34 EDT Kimberly-Clark sees FY19 CapEx $1.1B-$1.3B - Including significant spending related to the 2018 Global Restructuring Program. Sees FY19: Adjusted effective tax rate of 23%-25% in 2019 compared to 21% in 2018. At the mid-point, the higher rate is equivalent to an approximate 3.5% reduction in adjusted earnings per share. Sees share repurchases of $600M-$900M, subject to market conditions.

07:33 EDT Kimberly-Clark raises quarterly dividend 3% for 2019 - The quarterly dividend will increase to $1.03 per share, up from $1.00 per share in 2018. The first dividend will be payable on April 2 to stockholders of record on March 8.

07:30 EDT Kimberly-Clark raises quarterly dividend 3% for 2019

07:20 EDT Metso's Shareholders' Nomination Board to propose Mikael Lilius as chair - Metso's Shareholders' Nomination Board will propose to the next Annual General Meeting, to be held on April 25, 2019, that the Board of Directors should have eight members and that Mikael Lilius, Christer Gardell, Peter Carlsson, Lars Josefsson, Nina Kopola, Antti Makinen and Arja Talma should be re-elected. Mr. Kari Stadigh will be proposed as a new Board member. Ozey K. Horton, Jr. is not available for re-election after having served as Metso's Board member since 2011. Mikael Lilius will be proposed to continue as Chair and Christer Gardell as Vice Chair of the Board.

07:11 EDT Comcast raises annualized dividend by 10% to 84c per share - Comcast announced that it increased its dividend by 10% to 84c per share on an annualized basis. In accordance with the increase, the board declared a quarterly cash dividend of 21c a share on the company's common stock, payable on April 24, 2019 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on April 3, 2019. As previously announced, Comcast will pause its common stock repurchase program in 2019 to accelerate the reduction of indebtedness incurred in connection with its acquisition of Sky.

07:10 EDT United Technologies up over 4.5% after Q4 earnings beat, initial FY19 guidance - United Technologies shares rose 4.6% or $5.10 in the pre-market to $116.25 after the company reported Q4 earnings and provided initial outlook for FY19.

07:09 EDT Comcast reports Q4 NBCUniversal revenue $9.4B vs. $8.77B last year - Revenue for NBCUniversal increased 7.1% to $9.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018. Adjusted EBITDA increased 12.3% to $2.1 billion, primarily reflecting increases at Broadcast Television and Cable Networks, partially offset by a decrease at Filmed Entertainment. Cable Networks revenue increased 8.9% to $2.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018, primarily reflecting higher distribution and content licensing and other revenue. Distribution revenue increased 10.3%, primarily due to contractual rate increases and the timing of contract renewals. Content licensing and other revenue increased 28.4%, due to the timing of content provided under licensing agreements. Advertising revenue was consistent with the prior year period, reflecting higher rates, offset by audience ratings declines. Adjusted EBITDA increased 4.3% to $1.0 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018, reflecting higher revenue, partially offset by higher programming and production costs. Broadcast Television revenue increased 3.7% to $3.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018, reflecting increased distribution and other and advertising revenue, partially offset by a decrease in content licensing revenue. Distribution and other revenue increased 18.5%, due to higher retransmission consent fees. Advertising revenue increased 2.1%, primarily driven by higher rates and local political ad sales, partially offset by audience ratings declines. Content licensing revenue decreased 2.5%, reflecting the timing of content provided under licensing agreements. Adjusted EBITDA increased 109.3% to $412 million in the fourth quarter of 2018, reflecting higher revenue as well as lower programming and production costs. Filmed Entertainment revenue increased 14.0% to $2.0 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018, reflecting increased theatrical and other revenue, partially offset by decreases in content licensing and home entertainment revenue. Theatrical revenue increased 189.3%, reflecting the performances of Dr. Seuss' The Grinch and Halloween in this year's fourth quarter. Content licensing revenue decreased 8.8%, driven by the timing of when content was made available under licensing agreements. Home Entertainment revenue decreased 14.3%, reflecting the success of several releases in the prior year period, including Despicable Me 3, partially offset by Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom and Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! in this year's fourth quarter. Adjusted EBITDA decreased by 23.6% to $179 million in the fourth quarter of 2018, reflecting higher operating costs, partially offset by higher revenue. Theme Parks revenue increased 3.5% to $1.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2018, reflecting higher attendance and per capita spending. Adjusted EBITDA increased 0.7% to $666 million in the fourth quarter of 2018, reflecting an increase in revenue, partially offset by higher operating expenses. NBCUniversal Headquarters, Other and Eliminations include overhead and eliminations among the NBCUniversal businesses. For the quarter ended December 31, 2018, NBCUniversal Headquarters, Other and Eliminations Adjusted EBITDA loss was $176 million, compared to a loss of $201 million in the fourth quarter of 2017.

07:05 EDT Great Southern Bancorp declares 75c per share special cash dividend - The board of Great Southern Bancorp declared a special cash dividend of 75c per common share. The special cash dividend will be payable on February 19 to shareholders of record on February 4.

07:04 EDT Raytheon to maintain, cybersecure U.S. Air Force Global Hawk ground control - Raytheon (RTN) will deploy sustainment and cybersecurity experts around the world to support the ground control systems and onboard sensors used by the U.S. Air Force fleet of RQ-4 Global Hawk remotely piloted aircraft. Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services will perform the work, which includes providing software upgrades to defend against cyber threats, as part of a $65M subcontract from the aircraft manufacturer, Northrop Grumman (NOC).

07:01 EDT United Technologies sees FY19 free cash flow of $4.5B-$5.0B vs. $4.4B in FY18 - Outlook includes $1.5B of one-time cash payments related to the portfolio separation.

06:57 EDT Restaurant Brands reports preliminary Q4 sales for its restaurants - Burger King comparable sales up 1.7%, Tim Horton's comparable sales up 1.9% and Popeye's comparable sales up 0.1%.

06:54 EDT Waters announces new $4B share repurchase program - Waters announced that its Board of Directors authorized a new share repurchase program. This new program authorizes the purchase of up to $4B of the company's common stock over a two-year period and replaces the pre-existing program.

06:43 EDT Restaurant Brands reports preliminary Q4 comparable sales up 5.5% - Reports preliminary Tim Horton's comparable sales up 2.1%, Burger King comparable sales up 6.1% and Popeye's comparable sales up 7.4%.

06:40 EDT Synchrony, Sam's Club extend strategic partnership, Walmart to dismiss lawsuit - Synchrony (SYF) announced an extension of its strategic partnership with Sam's Club, a segment of Walmar (WMT), to continue offering Club members enhanced financing options through the Sam's Club-branded credit cards. As part of the extension, Synchrony will continue to manage and service the credit card programs for Sam's Club members across the retailer's nearly 600 clubs. Synchrony also announced it has reached agreement on the sale of the Walmart loan portfolio currently serviced by Synchrony. The portfolio is expected to transfer late in the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter of 2019. In addition, Walmart has agreed to dismiss its lawsuit against Synchrony. "We are very pleased to have reached these agreements. Obtaining certainty around the Walmart portfolio and a renewal on Sam's Club is a great outcome for the company," said Margaret Keane, president and chief executive officer of Synchrony. "Sam's Club is a valued and longstanding partner. We look forward to continuing to deliver innovative products and excellent customer service to Sam's Club members."

06:40 EDT Google buys PV-generated power in Taiwan - In a blog post, Marsden Hanna, senior lead, energy & infrastructure, wrote in part, "Since 2010, we've signed on to more than 30 solar and wind projects across the Americas and Europe, making us the world's largest corporate purchaser of renewable energy. Today we're adding a fourth continent to our clean energy portfolio: Asia. We've signed a long-term agreement to purchase the output of a 10-megawatt solar array ...in Tainan City, Taiwan. This deal is a result of collaboration between Google, industry stakeholders and the Taiwanese government-which recently amended Taiwan's Electricity Act to allow non-utility companies to directly buy renewable energy and decrease their carbon footprints. We're the first corporate power purchaser to act on this renewables-friendly change to the law. Standing 40,000 solar panels strong, our project in Taiwan will be located 100 kilometers south of our Changhua County data center and connected to the same regional power grid. As the Taiwanese government pursues further measures to remove market barriers and reduce renewable energy costs, we're hopeful that more companies will purchase renewable energy, driving even larger projects across Taiwan...For Google, the solar purchase agreement provides a long-term and fixed electricity price to support our operations in Taiwan; it will also boost the carbon-free profile of our local data center. In addition, it's a step in the right direction for grid reliability and Taiwan's broader energy supply mix, which the government wants to expand and make more renewable in the coming years...The Taiwanese energy developer New Green Power will deploy 40,000 solar panels for Google across commercial fishing ponds, in a way that maximizes land-use efficiency and benefits local aquaculture workers." Reference Link

06:36 EDT ChromaDex's Niagen vitamin shows benefits to rodent mothers and offspring - ChromaDex reported that results of a first-of-a-kind preclinical study on lactation have shown that supplementation with the B3 vitamin nicotinamide riboside, or NR, confers "significant and enduring physiological benefits to mothers and offspring". Study results were published in the journal Cell Reports. The authors observed that rodent mothers supplemented with NR lost more weight and produced more milk than their control counterparts. NR supplementation also changed the composition of mothers' milk, increasing levels of a molecule that promotes the growth and health of neurons called BDNF in the offspring. The offspring of NR supplemented mothers showed greater coordination, strength, and capacity for learning even weeks after being weaned from their mothers. While the authors were very encouraged by these results, they acknowledged that additional research is needed to understand whether these findings may translate into humans. ChromaDex has invested in safety and human clinical trials on its patent-protected NR, commercially known as Niagen, with New Dietary Ingredient and Generally Regarded as Safe designations notified to the FDA.

06:14 EDT Soligenix receives European Patent for dusquetide - Soligenix announced that the European Patent Office has granted the patent entitled "Novel Peptides for Treating and Preventing Immune-Related Disorders, Including Treating and Preventing Infection by Modulating Innate Immunity." The newly issued patent claims composition of matter of innate defense regulator, or IDR, analogs, expanding patent protection around the company's lead IDR, dusquetide. Similar claims have been previously allowed in the United States and are being pursued in other worldwide jurisdictions. Dusquetide is a novel, first-in-class IDR. It modulates the response of the innate immune system in response to various stimuli, including infection, tissue damage and inflammation. Dusquetide has demonstrated efficacy in an extensive array of preclinical models emphasizing all three aspects of its activity. SGX942, the drug product containing dusquetide, demonstrated positive results in a Phase 2 study in the treatment of oral mucositis in head and neck cancer patients.

06:02 EDT Athersys reports 'positive' results from study of MultiStem cell therapy - Athersys announced summary results from its exploratory clinical study of the intravenous administration of MultiStem cell therapy to treat patients who are suffering from acute respiratory distress syndrome. The study results provide further confirmation of tolerability and a favorable safety profile associated with MultiStem treatment. Importantly, MultiStem treatment was associated with lower mortality and a greater number of ventilator-free and intensive care unit free days in the first month following diagnosis relative to patients receiving placebo. Furthermore, analysis of initial biomarker data reflects lower levels of inflammatory markers/cytokines following MultiStem treatment, an expected mechanism of action in this patient population. Patients in the exploratory study were evaluated through 28 days for the primary clinical assessment and will be further assessed through a one-year follow-up period. Data highlights from the initial evaluation include the following results from the double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled portion of the study: Lower mortality of 25% in the MultiStem treatment group vs. 40% in the placebo group; 40.2% higher ventilator-free days, (12.9 VF days in the MultiStem treatment group vs. 9.2 VF days for the placebo group); 27.2% higher ICU-free days, (10.3 days in MultiStem subjects vs. 8.1 days for subjects receiving placebo); In more severe ARDS patients (as evident in a prospectively defined analysis), the difference between MultiStem treatment and placebo was greater - 25% mortality in MultiStem group vs. 50% in placebo group, 14.6 VF days in MultiStem group vs. 8.0 VF days in placebo group, and 11.4 ICU-free days in MultiStem group versus 5.9 ICU-free days in placebo group; and MultiStem treatment was well tolerated in this very sick ARDS patient population, with no serious adverse events related to administration.

05:54 EDT Infosys enters partnership with HPE GreenLake - Infosys announced that it has adopted HPE GreenLake to accelerate clients' digital transformation. The partnership will help enterprises make smart infrastructure investments, paying for what they consume, while benefiting from the security offered by a trusted managed services provider. Clients will also benefit by having a secure private cloud and the advantages of economics and flexibility that exists in public cloud. Together, this will help enterprises accelerate their Hybrid Cloud transformation providing them increased agility and reduced total cost of ownership.

05:44 EDT CNOOC announces 2019 business strategy, development plan - CNOOC announced its business strategy and development plan for the year 2019. The company's net production target for 2019 is 480 million to 490 million barrels of oil equivalent, of which, production from China and overseas accounts for approximately 63% and 37%, respectively. The company's net production for 2018 is expected to be approximately 475 million BOE. The company's net production for 2020 and 2021 are estimated to be 505 million to 515 million BOE and 535 million to 545 million BOE, respectively. In 2019, six new projects are expected to come on stream, of which the Egina oil field in Nigeria and Huizhou 32-5 oil field comprehensive adjustment/Huizhou 33-1 oil field joint development project in offshore China have commenced production. The other four projects, namely Appomattox project in the US Gulf of Mexico, Bozhong 34-9 oil field, Caofeidian 11-1/11-6 comprehensive adjustment project and Wenchang 13-2 comprehensive adjustment project in offshore China will commence production as scheduled in the year. In 2019, the company plans to drill 173 exploration wells and acquire approximately 28 thousand square kilometers 3-Dimensional seismic data. Total capital expenditure for the company in 2019 is budgeted at RMB 70B-RMB 80B. The capital expenditures for exploration, development and production account for approximately 20%, 59% and 19%, respectively.

05:38 EDT ASML, Nikon, Carl Zeiss sign agreement to settle all litigation - Nikon, ASML Holding, and Carl Zeiss SMT GmbH have signed a Memorandum of Understanding relating to a comprehensive settlement of all legal proceedings over patents for lithography equipment and digital cameras. The Memorandum of Understanding is a binding agreement that concerns all pending disputes between Nikon, ASML and Zeiss in Europe, Japan and the United States, including at the U. S. International Trade Commission. The three companies expect to execute a definitive settlement and cross-license agreement and dismiss all legal proceedings between the parties in February 2019. The terms of the Memorandum include a payment to Nikon by ASML and Zeiss of a total of EUR 150M. Furthermore, the cross-license agreement contemplated by the Memorandum includes mutual royalty payments of 0.8% over the sales of immersion lithography systems for 10 years from the signature date of the parties' definitive agreement.

05:30 EDT Exxon Mobil, REG enter joint research agreement with Clariant - ExxonMobil and Renewable Energy Group, or REG, said they have signed a joint research agreement with Clariant to evaluate the potential use of cellulosic sugars from sources such as agricultural waste and residues to produce biofuel, which has the potential to play a role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The new partnership expands a previously announced agreement for joint research between ExxonMobil and REG, in which the companies successfully validated the ability of REG Life Sciences bio-conversion technology to convert sugars from cellulosic biomass into biodiesel through a single-step process. The new agreement with Clariant allows ExxonMobil and REG to further optimize REG's bio-conversion process using previously tested and benchmarked cellulosic sugars created through Clariant's sunliquid process. The companies' ultimate objective is to combine Clariant's and REG's processes into a seamless cellulosic biomass-to-biodiesel technology. The partners will also work on a conceptual engineering study to validate the feasibility of the integrated process comprising the technologies of all parties.

05:12 EDT Aphria urges holder to take no action regarding takeover bid by Green Growth - Aphria confirmed that Green Growth Brands has commenced an unsolicited take-over bid to acquire all outstanding common shares of the company, other than the common shares of the company owned by GGB or its affiliates, in exchange for 1.5714 common shares of GGB. Aphria shareholders are advised to take no action on the Offer until Aphria's board has made a formal recommendation to shareholders. Having received the Offer, the independent committee of Aphria directors will consider it with its advisors before making a formal recommendation to Aphria's board. Shareholders will be notified of any recommendation of the board through a news release and Directors' Circular in accordance with applicable securities laws. The company noted that the Offer's terms are substantially identical to the unsolicited proposal announced by GGB on December 27, 2018. At that time, the Aphria Board stated that it had determined that GGB's unsolicited proposal significantly undervalued the company relative to its current and future value. Based on the 20-day volume weighted average price of GGB shares before GGB's initial proposal and the expressed exchange ratio of 1.5714 common shares of GGB for each Aphria share, the Offer reflects a discount of -23% to the company's average share price over the same period.