Stockwinners Market Radar for February 05, 2019 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:04 EDT Riot Blockchain names Jeff McGonegal new CEO - Riot Blockchain announced that its board is implementing leadership and governance structure changes. Jeff McGonegal is being named Chief Executive Officer, replacing departing Chris Ensey, who had joined the Company in January 2018 as its Chief Operating Officer and had been appointed interim Chief Executive Officer, in September 2018. Jeffrey Vormittag, Chief Operating Officer of the Company's wholly owned subsidiary, Riot Blockchain Canada Inc. will also be leaving the company. The board wishes to thank Mr. Ensey and Mr. Vormittag for their past efforts and wishes them well in their future endeavors.

19:15 EDT Avista raises quarterly dividend 4% to 38.75c per share - Avista Corp's board of directors has declared a quarterly dividend of 38.75c per share on the company's common stock, an increase of 1.5c per share, or 4%, yielding an annualized dividend of $1.55. The common stock dividend is payable March 15, 2019, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Feb. 22, 2019.

19:07 EDT Carlisle authorizes buyback of additional 5M shares of common stock - The board of Carlisle Companies announced a new share repurchase program that authorizes management to buy back up to an additional 5 million shares of the company's common stock over an indefinite period of time or until terminated by the Board. These shares will be purchased at management's direction from time to time in the open market at prevailing market prices, in privately negotiated transactions, or through block trades. This authorization is in addition to approximately 2.7M shares remaining, as of December 31, 2018, under the existing share repurchase authorization announced in February 2018.

18:50 EDT ION Geophysical expands multi-client data library offshore Brazil - ION Geophysical announced a new 2D multi-client reimaging program offshore Brazil. The first phase of the Farofa program covers acreage in the deep water Campos basin that will be available for licensing this October in Brazil's upcoming Round 16. The program will reimage ~10,000 km of existing data using the latest technology to provide an updated view of the outboard salt basin area. This program will extend the Picanha 3D program into the Round 16 area. The limited 3D data available in this area of Round 16 makes the Farofa dataset critical in providing valuable insights of the pre-salt potential. Initial data is expected to be available in Q1 2019 and the program is anticipated to be completed in May 2019.

18:11 EDT LGI Homes reports 269 home closings in January - LGI Homes announced 269 homes closed in January 2019, compared to 277 home closings in January 2018. As of the end of January 2019, the company had 83 active selling communities.

17:53 EDT Snap says sees 'huge opportunity' around augmented reality - Says: "Very excited" about Android opportunity... 13-24 and 13-34 age groups are a "huge opportunity"... Doing more to customize the experience for older users... Focused on CFO and Marketing role for the senior team... Most focused on Discover monetization. Comments from Q4 earnings conference call.

17:46 EDT SPDR Gold Shares holdings fall to 811.82MT from 813.29MT - This is the third consecutive decline in holdings and the lowest level of holdings since January 25th.

17:33 EDT Chase Corporation names Christian J. Talma CFO - Chase Corporation announced the appointment of Christian J. Talma to the position of Chief Financial Officer. Talma will assume full responsibility of the Finance, Accounting and IT functions of the company. Previously, he served as Chief Accounting Officer since joining Chase in August of 2018. Talma replaces Kenneth Feroldi who will continue as a Chase company officer fulfilling the role of Treasurer and senior advisor on Investor Relations, Capital Structure and M&A.

17:31 EDT EA says did not properly build momentum for release of 'Battlefield V' - Says 'Battlefield V' launch didn't resonate with players as much as company wanted it to. Says made right decision to move 'Battlefield V' launch to November from October.

17:26 EDT Covetrus to replace Dun & Bradstreet in S&P 400 at open on 2/11 - Covetrus (CVET) will replace The Dun & Bradstreet (DNB) in the S&P MidCap 400 effective prior to the open of trading on Monday, February 11. S&P 500 constituent Henry Schein (HSIC) is spinning off Covetrus in a transaction expected to be completed on February 8. Cannae Holdings Inc. (CNNE) is acquiring The Dun & Bradstreet in a deal expected to close on February 8, pending final conditions. Post spin-off, Henry Schein will remain in the S&P 500.

17:21 EDT EA says modeling total 'Anthem' units at 5M-6M

17:18 EDT Dover exec Kloosterboer sells over 12,000 common shares - In a regulatory filing, Dover senior VP Jay L. Kloosterboer disclosed the sale of 12,363 common shares of the company at a price of $87.5307 per share.

17:16 EDT Suncor raises quarterly dividend by 17% to 42c per share - The dividend is payable March 25, 2019 to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 4, 2019.

17:11 EDT EA says 'very pleased' with engagement of 'Anthem' demos - Says Respawn team has "big plans" for "Apex Legends." Says "very pleased" with engagement of "Anthem" demos. Says has large slate of new games heading into FY20. Says excited for plans with "Madden" franchise. Says will have a new "Need for Speed" game on the horizon. Says new "Star Wars" game "very far along" in development.

17:06 EDT Disney says broadcasting had a strong quarter in Q1 - Says ramp-up of ESPN+ will have a negative impact on operating income year-over-year. Says ESPN+ launch showed that Bamtech platform is robust. Says it learned ESPN's primary platforms are fantastic marketing platforms and Disney's will be as well for Disney+ launch. Says will fuel direct-to-consumer offering with intellectual property. Says not looking to adjust theatrical window. Says long-term content will be mostly internally sourced, but will buy products from the outside opportunistically. Comments taken from Q1 earnings conference call.

17:02 EDT Tableau sees free cash flow margin of 25% or more over long term

17:02 EDT 3M boosts quarterly dividend 6% to $1.44 per share - The 3M Board of Directors declared a dividend on the company's common stock of $1.44 per share for the first quarter of 2019, a 6% increase over the quarterly dividend paid in 2018. The dividend is payable March 12, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Feb. 15. "The strength of our business model enables 3M to consistently generate premium margins and strong cash flow, and to build on the company's long history of returning cash to our shareholders," said Mike Roman, 3M chief executive officer. 3M has increased its dividend for 61 consecutive years and paid dividends to its shareholders without interruption for more than 100 years.

16:59 EDT Snap up 18.6% to $8.35 after Q4 results, Q1 guidance

16:53 EDT Southwestern Energy sees FY19 production 750Bcfe-785Bcfe - Sees FY19 capex $1.08B-$1.18B.

16:49 EDT Snap CEO says 'We ended the year with user engagement stabilizing' - In prepared remarks for Q4, CEO Evan Spiegel said, "We ended the year with user engagement stabilizing in advance of the broad rollout of our Android improvements, with overall Q4 daily active users flat quarter-over-quarter and average time spent above 30 minutes per day... We are substantially closer to achieving profitability, with our Q4 adjusted EBITDA loss of $50 million representing a 68 percent improvement when compared to Q4 of last year. We have maintained a relatively flat cost structure across the past five quarters while growing full-year revenue 43 percent year-over-year, with 100 percent of our incremental Q4 revenue flowing through to our bottom line... We are seeing our investments in improving the Snapchat experience beginning to bear fruit on iOS. In Q4, our iOS daily active users increased both quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year, and average time spent on iOS grew faster during Q4 than it did last year. This is great progress following our redesign, and we look forward to continuing to grow engagement on our platform... Our advertising business has progressed significantly following our transition to self-serve last year, and in 2018 we focused on building our core ad platform and products to improve performance and scalability for both brand and performance marketers... We are excited for the year ahead and we are confident that we are well positioned as we enter the new year with a stronger product, a stronger business, and a stronger team."

16:38 EDT Sito Mobile appoints Terry Lynn CFO - SITO Mobile announced the appointment of Terry Lynn as the company's CFO effective as of February 19. Lynn has domain expertise in online media, consumer healthcare and software-as-a-service. Lynn served as CFO at MedHelp, a large consumer healthcare company, and helped to lead its acquisition by Merck in 2014. William Seagrave, SITO Mobile's COO and interim CFO, will step down as the company's interim CFO when Lynn joins the company on February 19, and will continue to serve as COO.

16:36 EDT Farmers & Merchants CEO Paul Siebenmorgen retires - Farmers & Merchants Bancorp, the holding company for the Farmers & Merchants State Bank, announced the retirement of Paul Siebenmorgen as president and CEO. Siebenmorgen will remain a director of the company. Concurrently with Siebenmorgen's retirement, Lars Eller has been appointed as the president and CEO of Farmers & Merchants Bancorp. Eller joined F&M in September 2018 as president and CEO of Farmers & Merchants State Bank.

16:34 EDT Canadian National and United Steelworkers ratify new pact - CN and United Steelworkers announced that following a tentative agreement reached between CN and USW Local 2004 negotiators in December, union members in communities across the country reviewed the agreement and approved the contract in a national ratification vote held over the last several weeks. "This is a solid, fair agreement that recognizes the hard work of our members and the key contributions they make every day to CN's success," said Jean-Francois Migneault, President of USW Local 2004. "This five-year agreement provides CN with long-term stability," said JJ Ruest, president and chief executive officer of CN. "We are proud of what we have been able to accomplish for our railroaders. CN and the USW will continue working together to keep the network safe and secure as we undertake record investments in our track and bridge infrastructure."

16:32 EDT Heron Therapeutics announces retirement of President Robert Rosen - Heron Therapeutics announced that Robert Rosen, President, will be retiring. Rosen's responsibilities will be transitioned to Barry Quart, CEO of Heron, who will take on the additional role of President.

16:30 EDT SemGroup subsidiary completes Wapiti Gas Plant commissioning - SemCAMS, a subsidiary of SemGroup announced that it has completed commissioning of its Wapiti Gas Plant, which is now fully operational. The 200-mmcf-per-day plant, which is 95% contracted, began processing raw sour gas and sending the sales gas to market on January 27, more than two months ahead of the original April 1 target. Costs to construct the plant came in on budget. The Wapiti Gas Plant has a full collection of midstream services including compression, sour gas sweetening, liquid recovery and condensate stabilization. The plant is currently connected to Nova Gas Transmission Pipeline to transport sales gas to market, and an additional sales gas connection to the Alliance Pipeline is expected to be complete in April. The dual sales gas connections ensure customer flexibility and variability on their sales gas egress. In addition, the plant is interconnected into the other gas plants in the SemCAMS network via the Wapiti/Simonette Pipeline Systems, providing additional operational synergies to producers.

16:28 EDT Hi-Crush Partners sees Q1 total sales volume 2.4M-2.6M tons - For Q1, the partnership expects total sales volumes to be in a range of 2.4M-2.6M tons. The forecasted sequential increase is due to additional volumes sold from the second Kermit facility as well as increasing Northern White volumes related to the new E&P contracts previously announced. "The first quarter of 2019 will be very active for Hi-Crush, as our second Kermit facility ramps up, new Northern White E&P contracts begin, existing customers ramp up activity, and the outlook for commodity prices stabilizes," said CFO Laura Fulton. "We expect meaningful sequential growth in our sales volumes primarily due to our second Kermit facility. We expect average sand pricing to remain unchanged, despite our expectation for increased activity levels in the first quarter. We are pleased with the operational and financial results from the deployment of our container and silo systems, and see room for further improvement as we continue to enhance and develop the systems to meet the challenging and dynamic needs of our E&P customers. As we progress through the year, we anticipate the expansion of our PropStream service will move in line with the expansion of our E&P customer base, further reinforcing our position as a company built for long-term, structural success."

16:28 EDT Anadarko sees FY19 total MMBOE 260-270 - Sees FY19 oil (MBOPD) 410-435.

16:26 EDT EA drops 10% after Q3 earnings report

16:25 EDT Powell CFO expects '2019 customer activity will strengthen over fiscal 2018' - Commenting on the company's outlook, Michael Metcalf, Powell's CFO, said, "We continue to believe that fiscal 2019 customer activity will strengthen over fiscal 2018, yielding improved margins. As a result, we continue to expect fiscal 2019 year-end backlog to improve over 2018, revenues to increase modestly, and earnings to improve to breakeven or slightly better in fiscal 2019. Our balance sheet remains strong and we are well positioned to handle this increase in our backlog."

16:24 EDT Bloom Energy, SK D&D announces fuel cell distributorship agreement - SK D&D, the real estate and renewable energy development arm of SK Group, the third largest conglomerate in Korea, and Bloom Energy Corporation (BE) announced a new distributorship agreement for the direct supply of Bloom Energy fuel cells for projects developed by SK D&D. The agreement is Bloom Energy's second distributorship with an SK Group company. Bloom Energy executed a distributorship agreement with SK E&C in November 2018 to serve the utility-scale fuel cell market in Korea. The D&D distributorship will serve projects self-developed by D&D and potential future C&I applications in Korea. Both agreements are designed to meet growing demand in South Korea for clean electricity, particularly from fuel cells. South Korea has become a world leader in the deployment of fuel cells with approximately 300 megawatts deployed. The government has issued a Hydrogen Economy Roadmap calling for a further expansion of stationary fuel cells to 1,500 MW by 2022.

16:21 EDT Plains All American sees FY19 adjusted EBITDA of $2.75B - Compares to FY18 actual adjusted EBITDA of $2.68B. Sees FY19 Implied DCF per Common Unit and Common Equivalent Unit of $2.54, which compares to FY18 actual of $2.38.

16:17 EDT Paratek Pharmaceuticals announces commercial launch of Nuzyra in the U.S. - Paratek Pharmaceuticals announced the commercial availability of Nuzyra in the United States. Nuzyra, a modernized tetracycline, is a once-daily intravenous and oral antibiotic for the treatment of adults with community-acquired bacterial pneumonia and acute skin and skin structure infections. Paratek Pharmaceuticals has also partnered with JMI Laboratories to develop a comprehensive initiative called the Keystone that provides access to current antimicrobial surveillance susceptibility data including Nuzyra. Keystone is designed to play an essential role in monitoring the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in the United States.

16:15 EDT Amdocs announces long-term partnership with Altice USA for digital, mobile - Amdocs (DOX) announced a long-term partnership to support the expansion of Altice USA's (ATUS) digital and mobile offerings. AmdocsONE will help Altice USA accelerate its expansion into the mobile market for both residential and business customers by providing the company with the opportunity to leverage platforms and solutions. These platforms include the website, mobile application, social media, self-care options and key business and operational support systems. Altice USA is also working with Amdocs projekt202's revealing reality design and development methods to deliver customer journeys in harmony with Altice's brand.

16:13 EDT Anadarko reaffirms FY19 capital program of $4.3B-$4.7B

16:12 EDT Disney rises 2% following Q1 earnings report - In after-hours trading, Disney shares are up $1.94, or 1.7%, to $114.60.

16:12 EDT SeaWorld names Gustavo Antorcha as CEO, interim CEO named COO - SeaWorld Entertainment (SEAS) announced that it has appointed Gustavo Antorcha as Chief Executive Officer and member of its board, effective February 18, 2019. In addition, the company announced that John Reilly, who has served as Interim CEO during the CEO search process, has been appointed Chief Operating Officer. Antorcha was most recently the Chief Operating Officer of Carnival Cruise Lines, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation (CCL).

16:10 EDT First Bancorp approves $25M shares repurchase program - First Bancorp has authorized a share repurchase program, pursuant to which the Company may purchase shares of its common stock for an aggregate repurchase price not to exceed $25M. The initial expiration of the Share Repurchase Program is set for December 31. The Share Repurchase Program does not obligate the Company to purchase any shares. The authorization for the Share Repurchase Program may be terminated by the Company's Board of Directors at any time.

16:10 EDT First Bancorp raises dividend 20% to 12c - First Bancorp, the parent company of First Bank, has declared a cash dividend on its common stock of 12c per share payable on April 25 to shareholders of record as of March 31. The 12c dividend rate represents a 20% increase over the previous dividend rate of 10c.

16:09 EDT Disney reports Q1 Parks, Experiences & Consumer Products revenue $6.82B - Parks, Experiences, & Consumer Products revenues for the quarter increased 5% to $6.8B and segment operating income increased 10% to $2.2B. Operating income growth for the quarter was due to an increase at our domestic theme parks and resorts, partially offset by a decrease from licensing activities. "Operating income growth at our domestic theme parks and resorts was due to increased guest spending and higher occupied room nights. Guest spending growth was due to higher average ticket prices, an increase in food, beverage and merchandise spending and higher average hotel room rates. Operating income at our international parks and resorts was down modestly compared to the prior-year quarter as lower results at Shanghai Disney Resort and Disneyland Paris were largely offset by an increase at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort," Disney said.

16:07 EDT Amicus announces results from Phase 1/2 Pompe disease study - Amicus announced additional "positive" results from a global Phase 1/2 clinical study to investigate AT-GAA in patients with Pompe disease, an inherited lysosomal storage disorder caused by an enzyme deficiency that leads to accumulation of glycogen in cells. Patients treated with AT-GAA for up to 24 months showed improvements in six-minute walk test, or 6MWT, distance and other measures of motor function and muscle strength, stability or increases in forced vital capacity, or FVC, and durable reductions in biomarkers of muscle damage and disease substrate. These clinical results, in addition to detailed results on patient-reported outcomes, or PROs, are being featured at the WorldSymposium in a poster at the poster session. An additional poster with detailed results for the non-ambulatory cohort in the ATB200-02 study is also part of this afternoon's poster session. Six-minute walk test distance, a primary measure of motor function in Pompe disease patients, improved in both ERT-naive and ERT-switch patients with continued benefit observed out to months 21 and 24, respectively. Improvements were generally consistent across both cohorts. Non-ambulatory ERT-switch patients showed improvements in upper extremity strength from baseline to month 21, as measured by quantitative muscle testing and manual muscle testing. Pulmonary function improved in ERT-naive patients and was generally stable in ERT-switch patients. An interim analysis of patient-reported outcomes from the ATB200-02 clinical study show the benefits in activities of daily living and patient well-being in patients with Pompe disease treated with AT-GAA. Safety and tolerability data reflect a maximum of 33+ months of treatment. To date, adverse events have been generally mild and transient. AT-GAA has resulted in a low rate of infusion-associated reactions following 1,110+ infusions. The clinical pharmacokinetic profile has been consistent with previously reported preclinical data. Persistent and durable reductions in key biomarkers of muscle damage and disease substrate across all patient cohorts out to month 21/24 continue to suggest a positive effect on muscle tissue.

16:06 EDT Cerner plans to initiate quarterly cash dividend - Subject to declaration by the board, the company plans to initiate a quarterly cash dividend of 15c per share, with the first payment expected in Q3 of 2019. On an annualized basis, this would represent a yield of just over 1% based on the current stock price. The company believes the dividend, combined with ongoing share repurchases, will enhance shareholder value while maintaining ample resources to fund ongoing investments in growth and strategic opportunities.

16:06 EDT Shutterfly announces formation of strategic review committee - Shutterfl announced that its board has formed a Strategic Review Committee and retained Morgan Stanley as financial advisor, as it continues an ongoing review of strategic alternatives. The Strategic Review Committee is also evaluating the Company's capital structure and capital return policy. In recent months, Shutterfly was approached by a third party about the potential acquisition of the company. The company and Board subsequently engaged with several additional third parties regarding a potential acquisition of the company, but no proposals have been received.

16:05 EDT Neurocrine expects $20M in revenue milestones under the AbbVie agreement in FY19 - Neurocrine Biosciences (NBIX) announces revenue milestones under the AbbVie (ABBV) agreement for 2019 are expected to be $20M contingent on FDA's acceptance of the NDA submission of elagolix for uterine fibroids. Ongoing SG&A and R&D expenses for 2019, excluding upfront expenses associated with the recently announced Voyager Therapeutics collaboration, should approximate $550M-$600M. The 2019 anticipated expenses include an estimated $80M of share-based compensation expense. The increase in expenses is largely attributable to the Voyager collaboration's ongoing program costs, increased investment in INGREZZA patient education, sales and marketing activities, opicapone NDA submission and increased R&D pipeline activities.

16:00 EDT Shutterfly trading halted, news pending

15:16 EDT Dish announces launch of new on-demand subscription packages - Dish Network announced an expansion of its On Demand offerings by more than 7,000 titles after adding 11 a la carte on-demand packages that customers can subscribe to on a monthly basis. Starting at $2.99 per month, the new on-demand packages "enhance DISH's existing programming options by delivering catalogs of video content, including original series and documentaries from UP Faith & Family, Dove Channel, CuriosityStream and more," the company stated. On-demand subscriptions are available to DISH customers with a qualifying programming package and an internet-connected Hopper DVR, Hopper Duo, Joey or Wally. Customers can watch a free preview of this new content Feb. 4-10, the company said.

15:09 EDT Baker Hughes, General Electric amend Master Agreement - In a regulatory filing, Baker Hughes, a GE company (BHGE) disclosed that on January 30, 2019, BHGE and General Electric (GE) entered into an amendment to the Master Agreement, which, among other things, extends until February 22, 2019, the period of time the parties have to negotiate definitive agreements in respect of the term sheets under the Master Agreement; extends until February 22, 2019, the period of time the parties have to prepare the controls tools list; and extends until July 3, 2019, the period of time the parties have to negotiate a transition services agreement pursuant to the terms set forth in the Master Agreement.

14:48 EDT T-Mobile, Sprint to locate second customer experience center in Rochester - T-Mobile US (TMUS) and Sprint (S) announced that, following the merger, the new company will locate the second of five New T-Mobile Customer Experience Centers in New York's Greater Rochester area. The customer support facility will support New T-Mobile customers and create at least 1,000 jobs in Upstate New York. The Greater Rochester area will join Overland Park, Kansas, as announced locations for new Centers, in addition to the companies' previously announced plans to expand two existing T-Mobile Centers. Once integrated, the five new Centers will extend T-Mobile's industry-leading Team of Experts customer care model to New T-Mobile customers. With TEX, customers have direct personal access to a dedicated team of specialists when they call or message for support. These cumulative efforts to enhance New T-Mobile's approach to customer care will create up to 5,600 additional American jobs by 2021, an average of 1,000 new jobs for each new Customer Experience Center. With the TEX model deployed in all New T-Mobile Customer Experience Centers, the New T-Mobile will employ 7,500 more customer care professionals in 2024 than the stand-alone companies would have employed. The completion of the combination remains subject to regulatory approvals and certain other customary closing conditions and is expected to occur during the first half of 2019.

14:31 EDT State Farm reports 6.04% passive stake in Vulcan Materials - In a regulatory filing, State Farm disclosed a 6.04% stake in Vulcan Materials, which represents nearly 8M shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

13:51 EDT FBI reports 2.17M NICS firearm background checks in January - The FBI reported that there were 2,165,094 firearm background checks initiated through the NICS system in January 2019. This compares to 2,030,530 checks in January of 2018 and 2,543,385 in December 2018. Companies in the gun space include Sturm, Ruger (RGR), American Outdoor Brands (AOBC), and Vista Outdoor (VSTO). Reference Link

13:45 EDT Borqs Technologies Inc trading halted, volatility trading pause

13:38 EDT Fiat Chrysler recalls over 570,000 heavy-duty trucks in U.S. for steering issue - Fiat Chrysler announced that its recalling an estimated 573,876 heavy-duty trucks in the U.S. to address a potential steering-linkage issue. An FCA US investigation discovered a specific steering-linkage configuration on certain vehicles may separate over time, the company said in a statement. If this were to occur, the driver may experience steering loss. The company is aware of one potentially related injury and eight potentially related accidents. The recall population is limited to model-year 2013-2017 Ram 3500 pickups and model-year 2014-2017 Ram 2500 pickups and 3500 chassis cabs. Reference Link

13:30 EDT Crocs to relocate global headquarters to Broomfield, Colorado in 2020 - Crocs announced that it will relocate its corporate headquarters in 2020, from Niwot, Colo., to Broomfield, Colo. The move is part of the company's strategy for long-term, sustainable growth, including employee retention and recruitment.

13:19 EDT McDermott, Chiyoda, Zachary Group awarded Golden Pass LNG export project - McDermott International (MDR), along with its joint venture partners Chiyoda International Corporation and Zachry Group, announced that they have been awarded a mega contract by Golden Pass Products LLC, a joint venture between Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil (XOM) affiliates, to build the export project in Sabine Pass, Texas. McDermott, Chiyoda and Zachry Group will perform engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of three approximately 5.2 million ton per annum LNG trains with an expected production capacity of around 16 million tons of LNG per year. Work will commence in the first quarter of 2019 with a projected completion date in 2024. The contract award will be reflected in McDermott's first quarter 2019 backlog.

13:07 EDT Unilever acquires UK healthy snacking brand Graze - Unilever announced it has acquired the holding company of graze, a UK healthy snacking brand. "With a broad portfolio of healthy snack products, graze accelerates Unilever's presence in the fast-growing healthy snacking and out of home markets," the company stated. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

12:54 EDT Triumph selected by 'major U.S. airline' for key MRO work - Triumph Group (TGI) announced that its Product Support business unit was selected by a "major U.S. airline" to provide maintenance, repair and overhaul services on heat transfer units for the carrier's fleet. Under the new arrangement, the Wellington, Kansas based Triumph Accessory Services business will provide heat exchanger maintenance and repair support for the airline's entire fleet of Airbus (EADSY) and Boeing (BA) aircraft. Reflecting our experience as a long-time MRO supplier to the regional aircraft market, this new win marks a key contract from a major U.S. airline for heat transfer products. The airline noted Triumph's favorable pricing structure and its ability to provide a high level of customer service to their global operations as the determining factors of the selection.

12:48 EDT Pulmatrix announces 1-for-10 reverse split of its common stock - Pulmatrix announced a 1-for-10 reverse split of its common stock, effective as of 5:00 pm Eastern Time, February 5. Beginning on February 6, the Company's common stock will trade on the NASDAQ Capital Market on a split adjusted basis. At the Company's 2018 annual meeting of stockholders on June 5, the Company's stockholders authorized the Board of Directors, in its discretion but prior to the annual meeting of our stockholders in 2019, to amend the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Company to effect a reverse stock split at a ratio in the range of 1-for-4 to 1-for-10. Upon effectiveness, the reverse stock split will cause a reduction in the number of shares of common stock outstanding and issuable upon the conversion of the Company's outstanding shares of preferred stock and the exercise of its outstanding stock options and warrants in proportion to the ratio of the reverse stock split and will cause a proportionate increase in the conversion and exercise prices of such preferred stock, stock options and warrants. The number of shares of common stock issuable upon exercise or vesting of outstanding stock options and warrants will be rounded up to the nearest whole share.

12:36 EDT Unifi Asia Pacific, Kipas Mensucat enter into strategic agreement for Repreve - Unifi Asia Pacific announced that it has entered into a strategic commercial agreement with Kipas Mensucat Isletmeleri A.S. for the supply of REPREVE staple fibers into the Republic of Turkey. REPREVE staple fibers will be available from KIPAS in a variety of specifications including raw white and dope dyed as well as a range of deniers and staple lengths, allowing for quick access to quality REPREVE spun yarns in Turkey.

12:17 EDT Exxon Mobil, Qatar Petroleum to proceed with Golden Pass LNG export project - ExxonMobil and partner Qatar Petroleum said they have made a final investment decision to proceed with development of the Golden Pass LNG export project located in Sabine Pass, Texas. Construction will begin in the first quarter of 2019 and the facility is expected to start up in 2024. Working interests in the Golden Pass LNG export project are 70% Qatar Petroleum and 30% ExxonMobil. The $10B+ liquefaction project will have capacity to produce around 16 million tons of LNG per year, Exxon said. "It is expected to create about 9,000 jobs over the five-year construction period and more than 200 permanent jobs during operations. Preliminary estimates by an independent study indicate the project could generate up to $31B in U.S. economic gains and more than $4.6B in direct federal, state and local tax revenues over the life of the project," the company added. Darren Woods, chairman and CEO of Exxon Mobil, stated: "Golden Pass will provide an increased, reliable, long-term supply of liquefied natural gas to global gas markets, stimulate local growth and create thousands of jobs. The extensive experience of ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum provides the expertise, resources and financial strength needed to construct and operate an integrated liquefaction and export facility in the United States."

12:13 EDT Otter Tail raises quarterly dividend by 4.5% to 35c per share - Otter Tail announced the board increased the company's quarterly common stock dividend to 35c per share. The increase brings the annual indicated dividend rate to $1.40 per share, a 6c increase over the 2018 rate. The dividend is payable on March 9, to shareholders of record on February 15. This 4.5% increase demonstrates our strong commitment to our shareholders and shows the confidence the board of directors has in our ability to deliver sustainable earnings and cash flows.

12:07 EDT Xerox sees adjusted operating margin expansion over next three years - Xerox sees adjusted operating margin expansion of more than 200 basis points over the next three years. This comment was taken from Xerox's Investor Day event, where the company laid out its three-year strategy plan.

12:04 EDT Apellis receives orphan drug designation for C3 complement inhibitor APL-2 - Apellis Pharmaceutical announced that its C3 complement inhibitor, APL-2, has been granted orphan drug designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of autoimmune hemolytic anemia. AIHA refers to both cold agglutinin disease and warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia. Both rare autoimmune disorders are caused by pathogenic Immunoglobulin G antibodies that react with RBC and can activate the complement system leading to the premature destruction of red blood cells. Both diseases are characterized by potentially life-threatening anemia and other acute complications. There are an estimated 10,000 CAD patients and 30,000 plus wAIHA patients across the United States and Europe. C3+ wAIHA has been estimated to represent as much as two thirds of the total wAIHA population. There are currently no approved treatments for CAD or wAIHA. By targeting C3, the protein at the center of the entire complement system, Apellis believes APL-2 has the potential to eliminate the excessive and inappropriate C3 activation that is central to AIHA, thereby protecting the cells against complement-mediated intra- and extravascular destruction more completely than other approaches with more limited effects on the complement system. Apellis is currently conducting a Phase 2 trial of APL-2 in and open-label trial assessing the safety, tolerability, efficacy, and PK of multiple subcutaneous doses of APL-2 administered daily in patients with warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia or cold agglutinin disease.

12:00 EDT StoneMor Partners falls -10.4% - StoneMor Partners is down -10.4%, or -35c to $3.03.

12:00 EDT Estee Lauder rises 12.7% - Estee Lauder is up 12.7%, or $17.32 to $153.49.

12:00 EDT Mueller Industries rises 13.6% - Mueller Industries is up 13.6%, or $3.67 to $30.61.

11:47 EDT FirstService raises quarterly cash dividend 11% to 15c per share - FirstService Corporation announced that its Board of Directors has approved an 11% increase in the quarterly cash dividend on the outstanding Subordinate Voting Shares and Multiple Voting Shares of the company over the previous 13.5c per Common Share and declared a quarterly dividend of 15c per Common Share. The dividend is payable on April 5, 2019 to holders of Common Shares of record at the close of business on March 29, 2019.

11:22 EDT MasterCard names Paul Stoddart president of New Payment Platforms - Mastercard announced the appointment of Paul Stoddart as president, New Payment Platforms, effective March 1, 2019. Stoddart succeeds David Yates, who will transition into a senior advisory role focused on real-time national and cross-border payments strategies. In this role, Stoddart will oversee the development and strategic integration of Mastercard's real-time payments capabilities beyond traditional card-based solutions. In 2017, Stoddart was named CEO of Vocalink following the company's acquisition by Mastercard.

11:18 EDT Boeing invests in supersonic aircraft developer Aerion - Boeing announced a partnership with Aerion, a Reno, Nev.-based company pioneering next-generation supersonic aircraft. As part of the agreement, Boeing made a significant investment in Aerion to accelerate technology development and aircraft design, and unlock supersonic air travel for new markets. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Boeing will provide engineering, manufacturing and flight test resources, as well as strategic vertical content, to bring Aerion's AS2 supersonic business jet to market. The AS2 is designed to fly at speeds up to Mach 1.4 or approximately 1,000 miles per hour. With the ability to fly up to 70% faster than today's business jets, the AS2 will save approximately three hours on a transatlantic flight while meeting environmental performance requirements. The aircraft is slated for first flight in 2023. Founded in 2003 to develop new, more efficient aerodynamic technologies for supersonic aircraft, Aerion introduced its AS2 12-passenger business jet design in 2014. The company unveiled the AS2's GE Affinity engine design in 2018.

11:05 EDT Ovid Therapeutics granted patent for methods of treating Prader-Willi syndrome - The USPTO website references a patent from Ovid Therapeutics for "a method of treating Prader-Willi syndrome comprising administering to a patient in need thereof a pharmaceutical composition comprising an effective amount of from 0.01 mg to 1500 mg captodiamine or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof wherein the composition provides improvement in hypotonia." Reference Link

10:38 EDT General Electric fined $57M by France for failing to meet jobs goal - The French Ministry for the Economy and Finance said it will fine General Electric $57M for creating fewer than 3% of the jobs it had promised as a condition for receiving approval to acquire Alstom SA's energy business. GE has created 25 net jobs instead of the 1,000 targeted since the takeover of Alstom's energy business, the Finance Ministry said in statement. Reference Link

10:28 EDT Starboard CEO says 'not going to discuss Bristol-Myers' - Starboard Value CEO Jeff Smith, asked if he owns shares of Bristol-Myers, said he "will not discuss Bristol-Myers" during his current interview on CNBC, though he is "interested in the story" at Bristol-Myers. Smith also would not answer if he has made nominations to the board of Bristol-Myers.

10:21 EDT Papa John's CEO: Starboard stake lets company focus on 'what's most important' - Ritchie and Smith both discussed the company's renewed focus on talking about the company's product quality. Papa John's CEO Steve Ritchie and Starboard Value CEO Jeff Smith are being interviewed on CNBC.

10:00 EDT Cabot falls -7.6% - Cabot is down -7.6%, or -$3.66 to $44.43.

10:00 EDT Haemonetics falls -10.3% - Haemonetics is down -10.3%, or -$9.98 to $87.19.

10:00 EDT Argan rises 11.4% - Argan is up 11.4%, or $4.73 to $46.35.

09:47 EDT Gartner falls -9.9% - Gartner is down -9.9%, or -$14.13 to $129.12.

09:47 EDT SunCoke Energy falls -12.2% - SunCoke Energy is down -12.2%, or -$1.33 to $9.60.

09:47 EDT Estee Lauder rises 9.6% - Estee Lauder is up 9.6%, or $13.07 to $149.24.

09:33 EDT Ralph Lauren says 'intensley focused' on driving operating efficiencies - Says teams are intensely focused on driving operating efficiencies across the company's businesses. Says significantly reducing New York office footprint. Says encouraged by strong performance across total digital ecosystem. Says expects continued comp growth in Asia. Says balance sheet is "strong". Says will continue to opportunistically buy back stock. Says inventory was up 11% at the end of the quarter. Says utilizing significantly less air freight this year. Says remains "comfortable" with inventory. Expects to continuing reducing inventories in 2019. Says expects slight decline in North America and positive growth in international businesses. Expects 2019 operating margin to be up 60bps in constant currency. Says operating margin for Q4 is expected to be up 70bps compared to last year. Sees FY19 tax rate at 21%, sees Q4 tax rate 16%-17%. Says continues to monitor trade environment closely, says teams are prepared for multiple scenarios. Says remains confident in full year outlook.

09:30 EDT Franklin County, Ohio signs contract with Tyler Technologies - Tyler Technologies announced that it has signed an agreement valued at more than $5M under which Franklin County, Ohio, will use CLT Appraisal Services for its triennial property appraisal. The three-year contract will include new construction appraisals, as well as a state-mandated triennial update to review and adjust values to homes. Over the course of the three-year appraisal process, Tyler Technologies will help Franklin County collect and verify property data to bring base values up to date for fair and equitable taxation.

09:17 EDT Appaloosa urges Allergan board to separate Chairman, CEO role

09:11 EDT Monaker Group receives $700,000 in credit from chairman Donald Monaco - Monaker Group reported it has received a $700,000 working capital line of credit from the company's chairman, Donald Monaco, of which the company has received $150,000. The line can be accessed by the company at any time over the next 12 months with the approval of Monaco and is anticipated to be used for general working capital.

09:07 EDT Procter & Gamble acquires This Is L. - Procter & Gamble announced its acquisition of This Is L., owner of L. products, to meet growing consumer demands for period products in the naturals segment. Its portfolio primarily includes beautifully designed, high quality tampons, pads, liners and wipes made with organic cotton. This acquisition will grow P&G's Feminine Care business in the naturals segment and accelerate growth for L. products while continuing to support women and girls together.

09:04 EDT Alteryx and H2O.ai announce collaboration - H2O.ai announced a strategic collaboration with Alteryx, that will integrate H2O.ai's enterprise automatic machine learning platform, H2O Driverless AI, with the Alteryx Platform. This new integration, announced at H2O World San Francisco and discussed during a fireside chat between Alteryx CEO, Dean Stoecker and Sri Ambati, CEO and founder at H2O.ai, enables users of both platforms to simplify and operationalize their end-to-end data science workflows - from data acquisition and prep and blend, to advanced predictive modeling and machine learning, to model deployment

09:02 EDT Pegasystems acquires assets of Infruid Labs - Pegasystems announced the asset purchase of Infruid Labs, a business analytics and data visualization software company. This acquisition brings a consumer-grade user interface and enterprise-class capabilities to Pega solutions that enable users to easily visualize and better understand their Pega application data to improve decision making.

09:00 EDT Ancora Advisors urges OneSpan to pursue sale of company - Ancora Advisors announced that they have sent a letter to the Board of Directors of OneSpan. In the letter, Ancora states they believe the transition from hardware to software has obscured the real growth of the company's software assets which has caused the market to severely undervalue OneSpan's software business. In light of the numerous risks associated with these types of business transitions, Ancora strongly urges the Board to immediately explore strategic alternatives for the entire company and/or a sale of the Sign business, as either of those outcomes represent far better risk-adjusted options to maximize value for shareholders than OneSpan's current strategic plan. Reference Link

08:53 EDT Argan's Gemma enters into EPC contract with Guernsey Power Station - Argan (AGX) announced that on January 31, 2019, its wholly owned subsidiary, Gemma Power Systems, entered into an engineering, procurement and construction services contract with Guernsey Power Station to construct a 1,875 MW natural gas-fired power plant in Guernsey County, Ohio. Construction for the facility is scheduled to begin in the spring with completion scheduled in 2022. The power trains for the facility are provided by General Electric Company (GE) and utilize single shaft 7HA.02 gas turbines. A limited notice to proceed has been issued to Gemma to begin preliminary design and site preparation activities. Guernsey Power Station is being jointly developed by Caithness Energy and Apex Power Group.

08:49 EDT Precision Therapeutics subsidiary discovers biomarkers for Thyroid Cancer cells - Precision Therapeutics announced its TumorGenesis subsidiary has identified three thyroid cancer cell types and has isolated the discovery biomarkers. The company will utilize this discovery to further develop its proprietary TumorGenesis system for cancer cell capture and culture, which permits screening of drugs against the cancers cells. The TumorGenesis system enables cells grown outside the body to behave as though they were present in a patient, potentially making the drug screening process more predictive. The TumorGenesis system, which the company believes represents a paradigm shift in the way drug discovery is conducted, relies on the ability to grow tumors outside the body that will have the same genotype as a cancer mutation. This methodology will allow pharmaceutical developers to create therapies that are unique to a particular patient's tumor. The biomarkers identified by TumorGenesis for these types of thyroid cancer involve the sequencing of the peptides that reside on the surface of the tumor cell. The Company's discovery of these biomarkers is essentially the first step in refining this methodology.

08:39 EDT Viacom CEO: Nickelodeon strikes deal with Netflix for 2 original feature films - Viacom (VIAB) CEO Bob Bakish says Nickelodeon has struck a deal with Netflix (NFLX) to produce two original, animated feature films based on The Loud House and Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

08:37 EDT Viacom CEO: Expansion beyond Paramount TV 'really starting to gain traction' - Says MTV had seventh straight quarter of primetime share gains in Q1. Says expansion beyond Paramount TV "really starting to gain traction," says "well on our way" to achieving goal of making this a billion dollar business in a few years.

08:36 EDT Badger Meter CEO sees 'favorable demand environment' continuing into 2019 - "We see the favorable demand environment continuing as we begin 2019," stated CEO Kenneth Bockhorst. "While market demand and our results can be uneven quarter-to-quarter, our backlog is solid and we anticipate ongoing positive customer reception of our proven, innovative technologies. For example, the timeline for introduction of our D-Flow ultrasonic technology into our E-Series meters remains on track, which provides additional features for our customers while also improving our cost position. In addition, we have begun shipping our new ORION Cellular radios with LTE-M technology, which puts us ahead of the curve for a seamless transition to 5G networks, while still providing the same level of support for previous generations. With the leadership transitions announced and in place, we are focused on 2019 and beyond. Our top priority is to preserve the strong legacy of customer focus and innovation that has been the hallmark of Badger Meter for over a century. We will build on our culture of continuous improvement while investing both organically and via acquisition in superior products and services geared at preserving the world's most precious resource."

08:35 EDT Viacom CEO Bob Bakish says turnaround at Paramount 'continues to take hold' - Says "very excited" about 2019 slate at Paramount. Says Bumblebee movie has earned approx. $450M. Comments taken from the Q1 earnings conference call.

08:34 EDT Aflac names Richard Gilbert as Chief Digital Information Officer - Aflac announced that Richard L. Gilbert has been named senior vice president and Chief Digital Information Officer, reporting to Virgil R. Miller, executive vice president, chief operating officer, Aflac U.S.; president, Aflac Group. In this newly created role, Gilbert will oversee the new Digital Innovation office and will be responsible for driving Aflac's IT strategy. Gilbert brings to Aflac more than 26 years of experience in the technology field. Prior to joining Aflac, he was vice president of Business Enablement and IT Service Management at DXC Technology, responsible for the company's digital transformation of the IT landscape and integrating legacy platforms, in addition to developing technology strategy and leading the system integration of multiple company mergers. He was vice president of Infrastructure and Operations Enterprise Services with Hewlett Packard Enterprise; vice president and chief information officer, Infrastructure and Operations for Hewlett Packard; and he previously held senior leadership positions at SunTrust Bank, including senior vice president and CTO technology officer.

08:32 EDT ClearSign Combustion announces approval of Duplex demonstration project - ClearSign Combustion announces that the Board of the South Coast Air Quality Management District unanimously voted to approve the Duplex demonstration project at a refinery location in the greater Los Angeles area. Funding for the project is a collaborative effort that includes contributions from the District, ClearSign, and World Oil Refining. The addition of World Oil to the project was subject to final review and approval by SCAQMD Board of Directors, and once commenced is slated to span approximately one year. Based on preliminary estimates, the project is expected to result in a reduction of over 15 tons of NOx emissions compared to current operations, without the utilization of catalysts, chemicals, utility consumption or other inefficient requirements of established technologies.

08:24 EDT Biomerica announces feedback from FDA on H. pylori clinical studies - Biomerica announced regulatory and clinical advancements in its development program for its H. pylori diagnostic product. Based on recent discussions between Biomerica and the FDA regarding the regulatory pathway for final FDA clearance of the company's H. pylori product, the company needs less than 40 clinical trial patient samples in addition to the 210 samples already collected. These final clinical patient samples are expected to be collected over the next few months, after which the company will complete the remaining analytical and clinical agreement studies and prepare a submission to the FDA for 510 FDA clearance.

08:16 EDT LiveXLive Media and Nas announce partnership - LiveXLive Media and Nas, one of the most influential and respected hip hop artists of all time, announced the creation of a 360 degree partnership to create, produce, and distribute original urban-focused content. Mass Appeal and Nas will also curate a Slacker Radio station, and work with LiveXLive to establish brand partnerships and develop new opportunities within the urban and hip hop genres.

08:11 EDT Entasis Therapeutics receives feedback on ETX2514SUL from FDA - Entasis Therapeutics announced a successful end-of-Phase 2 meeting with the FDA regarding ETX2514SUL for the treatment of patients with pneumonia and bloodstream infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. A gram-negative bacterium causing severe infections, A. baummanii is associated with high mortality, rapidly-increasing rates of antibiotic resistance, growing significance as a hospital-acquired infection and limited treatment options. Following this meeting, Entasis remains on track to initiate its Phase 3 clinical trial for ETX2514SUL in Q1. Further, Entasis announced an agreement with bioMerieux, a world leader in the field of in vitro diagnostics, pursuant to which Entasis will incorporate Biofire Filmarray Instruments and Biofire Filmarray Pneumonia Panels into its global Phase 3 trial for ETX2514SUL for enrollment optimization. The Biofire system is an FDA-cleared and CE-marked multiplex PCR system that integrates sample preparation, amplification, and detection into one closed system. The system requires only two minutes of hands-on time and has a total run time of approximately 45 to 75 minutes, depending on the panel. The Biofire Pneumonia Panel and the Biofire Filmarray Pneumonia Panel plus received FDA clearance and CE-Marking in November 2018.

08:09 EDT Inspire Medical reports positive coverage policies issued by 5 BCBSA plans - Inspire Medical Systems announced an additional five Blue Cross Blue Shield Association healthcare plans have issued positive coverage policies of Inspire therapy. These plans include Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi, BCBS Regence, Premera Blue Cross, BCBS of Kansas, and BCBS of Massachusetts, which provide coverage for an aggregate of 8.4 million members. BCBS of Mississippi covers approximately 590,000 members and took effect January 1, 2019. Regence covers approximately 2.6 million members across Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Utah and took effect February 1,2019. Premera is the largest health plan in the Pacific Northwest covering over 2.1 million members in Washington and Alaska and took effect February 1, 2019. BCBS of Kansas covers approximately 560,000 members and took effect February 1, 2019. BCBS of Massachusetts covers approximately 2.6 million members and will take effect May 1, 2019. There have now been eight positive coverage policies issued by BCBSA healthcare plans following BCBSA Evidence Street's January 7, 2019 report, which stated that there is sufficient evidence to determine that Inspire therapy results in a meaningful improvement in net health outcomes for patients meeting specified criteria. These eight Inspire therapy coverage policies comprise approximately 16.6 million members, or 17%, of the total 97 million members currently covered under the BCBSA healthcare plans.

08:08 EDT Pharm-Olam enrolls patients in Zealand Pharma orphan drug study - Pharm-Olam is now enrolling patients in the U.S. and Europe into a pivotal Phase III study within the treatment of short bowel syndrome. Initiated in early October 2018, the study is a placebo-controlled, randomized, parallel-group, double-blind clinical trial with fixed-dose injections. The trial is being conducted at approximately 40 investigational sites in the United States, Canada, and Europe and will ultimately enroll 129 patients with SBS. Because people with SBS often cannot absorb enough nutrients, the trial will help determine if parenteral support volume can be reduced. Zealand Pharma is developing a long-acting GLP-2 analog in an auto-injector with potential for convenient weekly administration, which has been granted orphan status by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

08:07 EDT Sigma Labs receives notice of allowance for patent from USPTO - Sigma Labs announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, has issued a notice of allowance for U.S. Patent Application No. 15/276,452. The patent application covers a system of sensors configured to measure optical emissions generated by a scanning heat source during an additive manufacturing process and to analyze the data collected.

08:07 EDT AtriCure enrolls first patient in ICE-AFIB clinical trial - AtriCure announced the first patient was treated in the ICE-AFIB trial. Following Investigational Device Exemption approval by the FDA, the first patient was treated by Dr. Niv Ad, at Washington Adventist Hospital in Takoma Park, Maryland. The trial will evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the cryoICE Ablation System for the treatment of persistent and long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation during concomitant open-chest cardiac surgery.

08:05 EDT WildBrain launches on Apple TV, Amazon Fire and Roku - WildBrain has expanded its footprint with the launch of four new channels on leading AVOD platforms Apple TV (AAPL), Amazon Fire (AMZN) and Roku. The new channels include a WildBrain hub channel, as well as three curated channels dedicated to preschool content, kids' action and Degrassi, each collecting together genre-specific and age-appropriate entertainment for young people to enjoy. The initial offering on the channels includes such popular brands as Teletubbies, Tiddlytubbies, Kiddyzuzaa, Sonic, In the Night Garden, Super Mario, Inspector Gadget and Degrassi. WildBrain intends to expand the offering on the channels each month with additional content from its most popular brands. In the first year, WildBrain expects to reach millions of viewers across these new channels, which are now available in the US and Canada for free on the streaming platforms. WildBrain is a wholly owned subsidiary of DHX Media (DHX).

08:04 EDT Actinium initiates novel Phase 1/2 trial of Actimab-A and venetoclax - Actinium Pharmaceuticals (ATNM) announced that its novel Phase 1/2 combination trial of Actimab-A and venetoclax has been initiated. Gary Schiller, MD, Professor, Hematology-Oncology and Director, Hematologic Malignancy/Stem Cell Transplant Program at the UCLA Medical Center will serve as Principal Investigator for this study. The Phase 1/2 combination trial will enroll patients with relapsed or refractory AML or Acute Myeloid Leukemia that have been previously treated with venetoclax and patients that have never received venetoclax. Venetoclax is a BCL-2 or B-Cell Lymphoma 2 inhibitor that is jointly developed and marketed by AbbVie (ABBV) and Genentech.

07:57 EDT Codexis signs multi-year upgrade package for CodeEvolver with Merck - Codexis (CDXS) announced the signing of a new agreement with Merck (MRK), through a subsidiary. Under the terms of the agreement, Codexis will install certain CodeEvolver protein engineering technology upgrades into Merck's platform license installation and will maintain those upgrades for a multi-year term. Financial terms of the agreement are undisclosed. In August 2015 Codexis announced the signing of a CodeEvolver platform technology license agreement with Merck. Under this agreement, Codexis has granted Merck a non-exclusive license to use the CodeEvolver protein engineering platform technology to develop novel enzymes for use in the manufacture of pharmaceutical products.

07:42 EDT Moleculin Biotech receives orphan drug designation from FDA for WP1066 - Moleculin Biotech announced that the FDA has granted orphan drug status for its drug candidate WP1066 for the treatment of glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of brain tumor.

07:40 EDT OpGen completes clinical trials for 510 submission to FDA - OpGen announced that it has completed the clinical trials needed to support its 510 submission for the detection of antimicrobial resistance genes in bacterial isolates to the FDA for clearance of its Acuitas AMR Gene Panel product. The clinical trials tested more than 1,000 clinical isolates at four participating clinical sites. The company has completed the majority of analytical testing activities including reproducibility studies and DNA sequencing of over 1,000 isolates to support the planned 510 submission.

07:38 EDT Rowan Companies announces ISS and Egan-Jones recommend to vote FOR - Rowan Companies (RDC) announced that Institutional Shareholder Services, o ISS, and Egan-Jones Proxy Services, two leading proxy advisory firms, recommend that Rowan shareholders vote "FOR" the Company's pending combination with Ensco. As disclosed on January 29 Rowan and Ensco have amended the Transaction Agreement the companies entered into on October 7, 2018. Under the amended agreement, upon closing Rowan shareholders will receive 2.750 shares of Ensco for each share of Rowan they own. All other terms and conditions of the agreement remain the same. In its February 4, 2019 report, ISS concluded: "Given the material improvement in terms, along with the compelling strategic rationale for the combination, as noted in our original analysis, support FOR the transaction is now warranted." In connection with the amended transaction agreement, Odey Asset Management LLP, one of Rowan's largest shareholders as of the most recent regulatory filings, has pledged its support to Ensco by entering into an irrevocable voting agreement for the firm's holdings of approximately 9% of Rowan's shares outstanding. Rowan's Court and General Meetings to approve resolutions relating to the transaction with Ensco will occur on February 21. Goldman Sachs & Co. (GS) is serving as financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis is serving as legal advisor to the Company.

07:36 EDT Lennox announces plans to divest the company's Kysor Warren refrigeration unit - "Lennox International posted a record year for revenue, profitability, and cash generation in 2018 while working through the challenges from tornado damage at a large manufacturing facility and further focusing our business portfolio with refrigeration divestitures in Australia, Asia and South America," said Chairman and CEO Todd Bluedorn. "We plan another divestiture in 2019 with the sale of the Kysor Warren business within our Refrigeration segment to focus on our businesses that have strong market positions and fit our growth profile.

07:34 EDT CLPS increased ownership stake in Lihong Financial Information Services - CLPS announced that it has increased its ownership stake in Lihong Financial Information Services, an online lending platform company in China. CLPS made its first strategic investment in Lihong six months ago. Now the parties have agreed to increase the Company's ownership stake from 2.7% to 36.8%. Founded in 2015 and headquartered in Shanghai, Lihong's online lending platform uses big data technology to enable individual, small- and mid-sized Chinese banks to provide consumer loans with insurance policies acting as debt collateral.

07:33 EDT Lennox backs FY19 CapEx view approximately $215M - Including $115M in 2019 to complete the reconstruction of the Iowa manufacturing facility, funded by insurance proceeds.

07:32 EDT Lennox backs FY19 guidance for stock repurchases of $350M

07:29 EDT Target announces expansion of Target Circle loyalty program - Target said on its website: "Target Circle is a super-cool (and fast-growing) loyalty test packed with fun surprises, community giving and personalized perks-oh, and how about earning 1% on every trip to redeem later? Yep, it's true. And joining-and saving-couldn't be easier. So far, hundreds of thousands of guests in Dallas-Fort Worth are feeling the love (rave reviews, millions of transactions and nearly $250,000 in guest-directed local giving have been pouring in). Now we're so excited to expand the test to millions more shoppers on Feb. 19. Charlotte, Denver, Indianapolis, Kansas City and Phoenix, get ready to join Target Circle!" Reference Link

07:12 EDT Archer Daniels raises quarterly cash dividend 4.5% to 35c per share - Archer Daniels Midland Company's Board of Directors has declared a cash dividend of 35c per share on the company's common stock, a 4.5% increase from last quarter's dividend of 33.5c per share. The dividend is payable on March 12, 2019, to shareholders of record on Feb. 19, 2019.

07:09 EDT Viacom sees Pluto TV acquisition closing in Q2, pending regulatory approval

07:07 EDT AstraZeneca says EMA grants PRIME eligibility for MEDI8897 - AstraZeneca and its global biologics research and development arm, MedImmune, announced that the European Medicines Agency has granted access to its PRIME, or PRIority MEdicines, scheme for MEDI8897, an extended half-life respiratory syncytial virus F monoclonal antibody being developed for the prevention of lower respiratory tract infection caused by RSV. Mene Pangalos, Executive Vice-President, R&D BioPharmaceuticals, said: "We are excited to receive PRIME eligibility for MEDI8897, our next-generation monoclonal antibody targeting respiratory syncytial virus in infants. We will work closely with the European Medicines Agency to optimise our development plan and help us bring MEDI8897 to patients as quickly as possible."

07:06 EDT AstraZeneca says FDA grants Breakthrough Therapy Designation for MEDI8897 - AstraZeneca and its global biologics research and development arm, MedImmune, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for MEDI8897, an extended half-life respiratory syncytial virus F monoclonal antibody being developed for the prevention of lower respiratory tract infection caused by RSV. Mene Pangalos, Executive Vice-President, R&D BioPharmaceuticals, said: "The Breakthrough Therapy Designation, together with its recent PRIME eligibility from the European Medicines Agency, will help us to bring MEDI8897 to all infants at risk for RSV as quickly as possible."

07:04 EDT Emerson CEO: Continue to see strength across global industrial end markets - "Our results in the first quarter provide a solid start to 2019 and confirmed our view of the global macroeconomic backdrop we laid out during our November earnings conference call, including our 4 to 7 percent underlying sales guidance. Importantly, we continue to see strength across our global industrial end markets and demand for our technology, products and expertise. We're also pleased to have completed $0.8 billion in share repurchases in the quarter and $1 billion through January to reach our full-year target," said Chairman and CEO David Farr. "As expected, our Commercial & Residential Solutions business felt the crosswinds of weakening consumer demand in China that began in the second half of 2018," continued Farr. "We continue to watch the situation carefully, and we are optimistic our China Commercial & Residential Solutions team will achieve positive underlying orders and sales in the second half of 2019."

07:02 EDT Comstock Mining announces unaudited FY18 financial results - Comstock Mining announced selected unaudited financial results for the FY18. The Company has also entered into definitive agreements with Tonogold Resources to sell the Lucerne properties and accelerate the development of the Lucerne mine back into production. Selected Strategic and Operational Highlights include: Received the 2018 BLM Sustainable Mineral Development Award; Received Board approval to sell Silver Springs non-mining assets for $9.75M plus residual; Extended the landmark Special Use Permit for mining and processing Lucerne to 2034; Entered into definitive agreements with Tonogold to sell Lucerne, received $1M deposit; Received over $4M in cash proceeds from the Lucerne option and sale agreements; Uncovered a new, 90.8-foot, high-grade, mineralized shear-zone in the Dayton adit averaging 0.043 gold and 0.404 silver ounces per ton; and progressed, with Behre Dolbear, an updated resource estimate for a new Dayton NI 43-101 report. The agreement with Tonogold also grants an option to lease the American Flat property and equipment. Total current assets are $8.6M at December 31, 2018. The Company also has cash of $500,000 at December 31, 2018. This excludes the receipt of the $1M non-refundable deposit from Tonogold on January 25, 2019, for the non-refundable deposit towards the purchase of the Lucerne properties.

06:59 EDT Emerson sees FY19 operating cash flow ~$3.2B, free cash flow ~$2.5B - Sees FY19 tax rate 24%-25%.

06:57 EDT Waddell & Reed reports Q4 AUM $65.8B, down 19% vs. last year - Assets under management ended the quarter at $65.8B, a 17% decrease compared to the prior quarter and a decrease of 19% compared to the Q4 of FY17

06:55 EDT New Media announces pilot program with Comcast Business Group - New Media Investment Group (NEWM) announced the launch of a marketing pilot program with Comcast Business Group (CMCSA). This program will give more than 1M Comcast Business customers access to New Media's marketing guidance solution, ThriveHive, and its suite of tools and offerings. This program is a direct result of Comcast's strategic focus on customer loyalty and success programs. In 2018, Comcast conducted an internal research initiative that discovered that a core area of frustration businesses continue to need help with is their marketing. After an extensive search, Comcast decided to work with ThriveHive to deliver that help via its commitment to marketing guidance. ThriveHive's products and services will be offered to Comcast Business customers, in addition to a free consultation with one of ThriveHive's digital marketing experts to assess each unique set of needs.

06:53 EDT SunCoke Energy sees FY19 adj. EBITDA $265M-$275M

06:52 EDT SunCoke Energy to initiate 24c annual dividend in Q1 after 'simplification' deal

06:51 EDT SunCoke Energy Partners sees FY19 adj. EBITDA $215M-$225M

06:50 EDT CNX Resources announces successful remediation of Shaw 1G Utica well - CNX Resources released the following statement regarding its Shaw 1G Utica shale well in Washington Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania: "Over the weekend, we commenced efforts to remediate the Shaw 1G well in order to arrest the subsurface flow of gas. The remediation process was successful and the well has been contained. There were no injuries and no impact to the environment. As previously announced, we observed a pressure anomaly during hydraulic fracturing operations on the Shaw 1G well. While we continue to evaluate the cause of the initial pressure anomaly, we believe it is isolated to this well. All frac operations on the 4-well Shaw pad remain suspended while we assess the incident. As a precaution, we will continue to monitor the well for the next several days. Company personnel and our consultants also continue to monitor existing nearby gas wells and manage any residual gas communication with those wells. We continue to work in close coordination with the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County (MAWC) and all appropriate state and local stakeholders to ensure the situation was and continues to be addressed in a safe and environmentally compliant manner."

06:36 EDT Volaris reports January traffic up 13.6% - Volaris reports January 2019 preliminary traffic results. During January 2019 Volaris increased total capacity, as measured in Available Seat Miles, by 10.2% year over year. Total demand, as measured in Revenue Passenger Miles, in January 2019 increased 12.1% year over year, reaching 1.6 billion. Volaris transported a total of 1.7 million passengers during the month, an increase of 13.6% year over year. In January 2019, Volaris increased domestic and international ASMs by 13.0% and 4.5%, respectively. Network load factor for January was 81.5%, an increase of 1.4 percentage points year over year.

06:32 EDT BP sees 2019 organic CapEx $15B-$17B - Gulf of Mexico oil spill payments on a post-tax basis totaled $3.2B in the full year of 2018. Payments for 2019 are expected to be around $2B on a post-tax basis.

06:20 EDT Mark Zuckerberg: People focusing on 'negative' aspects of Facebook's impact - In a post marking Facebook's 15th birthday, Facebook Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg published a post defending the influence of the internet and Facebook. Zuckerberg thinks people are overly focusing on the "negative" aspects of Facebook's impact on the world, "and in some cases to go so far as saying the shift to empowering people in the ways the internet and these networks do is mostly harmful to society and democracy. To the contrary, while any rapid social change creates uncertainty, I believe what we're seeing is people having more power, and a long term trend reshaping society to be more open and accountable over time. We're still in the early stages of this transformation and in many ways it is just getting started. But if the last 15 years were about people building these new networks and starting to see their impact, then the next 15 years will be about people using their power to remake society in ways that have the potential to be profoundly positive for decades to come." Zuckerberg added that "We've made real progress on these issues and built some of the most advanced systems in the world to address them, but there's a lot more to do. We're now taking steps that wouldn't have been possible even just a few years ago -- for example, this year we plan to spend more on safety and security than our whole revenue at the time of our IPO, and the artificial intelligence required to help manage content at scale didn't exist until recently. But as people use these networks to shape society, it's critical we continue making progress on these questions." Reference Link

06:17 EDT Apple sets aside some money to pay for lawsuits related to 'batterygate' - In a recent regulatory filing, Apple said: "Various civil litigation matters have been filed in state and federal courts in the U.S. and in various international jurisdictions alleging violation of consumer protection laws, fraud, computer intrusion and other causes of action related to the Company's performance management feature used in its iPhone operating systems, introduced to certain iPhones in iOS updates 10.2.1 and 11.2. The claims seek monetary damages and other non-monetary relief. On April 5, 2018, several U.S. federal actions were consolidated through a Multidistrict Litigation process into a single action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. In addition to civil litigation, the Company is also responding to governmental investigations and requests for information relating to the performance management feature. The Company believes that its iPhones were not defective, that the performance management feature introduced with iOS updates 10.2.1 and 11.2 was intended to, and did, improve customers' user experience, and that the Company did not make any misleading statements or fail to disclose any material information. The Company has accrued its best estimate for the ultimate resolution of these matters."

06:09 EDT McEwen Mining's Gold Bar Mine is nearing completion - McEwen Mining reports that construction of the Gold Bar Mine in Nevada's prolific Battle Mountain-Cortez Trend is nearing completion, just 14 months after breaking ground in November 2017. The Mine is on schedule for inaugural gold production in late February 2019. Commercial production will follow when the Mine's systems reach a steady state, which is expected by the end of Q1. The project is tracking on our original capital cost estimate of $81.4M. 150,000 tons of ore have been placed on the heap leach pad since starting in December 2018. A few weeks ago leaching was initiated and gold is being dissolved by the cyanide solution at the desired rate. We estimate that the Gold Bar Mine will produce 55,000 ounces) gold in 2019 at an all-in cost of approximately $975 per ounce. December and January were challenging months on site with heavy snow and cold temperatures delaying some work. Remaining activities to complete the process plant include electrical work, instrumentation installation, and commissioning of the gold refinery circuit. We would like to thank all our employees and subcontractors for their dedication to the job at hand whatever the conditions. 2018 exploration drilling has extended the estimated mine life to 7.4 years. The future addition of the Gold Bar South resource to the mine plan should further extend the mine life by a minimum of one year. Our 2019 exploration budget on the Gold Bar property is $4.4M. Exploration drilling will target both near surface and deep Carlin-type mineralization.

06:08 EDT Midstates Petroleum estimates year-end 2018 proved reserves 72.5MMBoe - Midstates' estimated proved reserves for year-end 2018 totaled 72.5M barrels of oil equivalent, or MMBoe, comprised of 25% oil, 27% NGLs, and 48% natural gas. The Company elected to delay drilling in the Q4 and reconfigured its drilling program to emphasize two-mile laterals. The revised development strategy reduced PUD inventory to 48 locations at year-end 2018, consisting of 31 two-mile laterals and 17 one-mile laterals developed over 3 years within the SEC five-year development window. At year-end 2018, Midstates' proved reserves, as prepared utilizing SEC pricing, had a net present value discounted at 10% of approximately $579.7M. The Company's estimated reserves at year-end 2018 were based on the average oil, NGL, and natural gas prices for each month, which were $65.56 per barre, or Bbl, $29.50 per Bbl, and $3.10 per million BTUs. Midstates Petroleum announced 2018 year-end SEC reserves, preliminary 2018 operational results, and provided a strategic update. The company commented, "We reduced expenses, decreased well downtime and executed a significant workover program that meaningfully increased base production during the year. We also improved liquidity by paying down $100M of debt and generated free cashflow for the year while executing an approximately $98M capital program. Finally, our year end 2018 reserve report continues to demonstrate the underlying value of Midstates."

06:07 EDT Nissan to hold extraordinary meeting on April 8 to approve new director - Nissan Motor held an extraordinary meeting of its board of directors, at which it decided to hold an extraordinary meeting of shareholders in April limited to the following aims: 1) Discharge of directors Carlos Ghosn and Greg Kelly; 2) appointment of Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard as director. Nominations of all directors are to be submitted for approval at the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders scheduled for June, after review of proposals from the Special Committee for Improving Governance.

06:02 EDT Gartner sees FY19 operating cash flow $542M-$582M, free cash flow $455M-$485M

05:44 EDT Gol Linhas reports preliminary January traffic up 4.9% - GOL's total supply increased 5.7% due to a 3.3% increase in seats and a 1.0% decrease in departures. GOL's total demand increased by 5.6% in comparison to January 2018, consolidated load factor was 83.5%, and passengers increased 4.9%.

05:27 EDT Anadarko announces LNG sale, purchase agreement with Shell - Anadarko Petroleum announced Mozambique LNG1 Company Pte. Ltd., the jointly owned sales entity of the Mozambique Area 1 co-venturers, has signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement with Shell International Trading Middle East. The SPA is for 2 million tonnes of LNG per annum for a term of 13 years.

05:23 EDT Sanofi says Isatuximab Phase 3 trial meets primary endpoint - Sanofi announced the pivotal Phase 3 trial of isatuximab in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma met the primary endpoint of prolonging progression free survival in patients treated with isatuximab in combination with pomalidomide and low-dose dexamethasone versus pomalidomide and low-dose dexamethasone alone. Results will be submitted to an upcoming medical meeting and are anticipated to form the basis of regulatory submissions planned for later this year. "We are excited by these results, which represent significant progress in our ambition to extend the lives of multiple myeloma patients," said John Reed, Head of Research and Development at Sanofi. "We look forward to engaging with regulatory authorities with the goal of bringing this potential new treatment to patients as quickly as possible." Multiple myeloma is the second most common hematologic malignancy[1], with more than 138,0002 new cases worldwide each year. Multiple myeloma remains incurable in the vast majority of patients, resulting in significant disease burden. The randomized, multi-center, open label Phase 3 study, known as ICARIA-MM, enrolled 307 patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma across 96 centers spanning 24 countries. All study participants received two or more prior anti-myeloma therapies, including at least two consecutive cycles of lenalidomide and a proteasome inhibitor given alone or in combination. During the trial, isatuximab was administered through an intravenous infusion at a dose of 10mg/kg once weekly for four weeks, then every other week for 28-day cycles in combination with standard doses of pomalidomide and dexamethasone for the duration of treatment. The safety profile was evaluated as a secondary endpoint.

05:19 EDT Ballard Power signs framework agreements with Eniig, Fibia in Europe - Ballard Power Systems announced that the company's European subsidiary, Ballard Power Systems Europe A/S, has signed Framework Agreements for the provision of FCgen-H2PM direct hydrogen backup power systems with Eniig and Fibia A/S, operators of fiber optic broadband networks in Denmark. Ballard also received initial orders for a total of 30 FCgen-H2PM 5-kilowatt systems, including installation, hydrogen storage and power management equipment, having a total value of approximately $1.2M under these Framework Agreements. This includes 20 systems for Eniig and 10 systems for Fibia. Both customers began installing Ballard fuel cell backup power systems in their networks several years ago and together they currently have a total of over 125 Ballard systems in service. These enable individual network nodes to seamlessly maintain operation in the event of a grid power failure, thereby ensuring uninterrupted delivery of internet and television services to business and residential customers. Eniig and Fibia's plans call for the total deployment of 70-to-100 additional FCgen-H2PM systems during 2019, of which the 30 systems announced today are an initial tranche.