Stockwinners Market Radar for February 08, 2019 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

18:44 EDT CNH Industrial CEO: 'We have replacement demand right now' - In an interview on CNBC's Mad Money, CNH Industrial CEO Hubertus Muhlhauser said: "We have replacement demand right now... It's all driven by the digital revolution... We are at the forefront of LNG... We're seeing a shift towards LNG engines... There is a movement away from diesel engines... We are not only an Ag company, we are also one of the largest engine makers."

18:03 EDT Dover Downs schedules meeting to approve Twin River merger for March 26 - Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment, Inc. and Twin River Worldwide Holdings, Inc. today announced that Twin River's registration statement containing the Dover Downs proxy statement in respect of the merger with Twin River had been declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission and that the special meeting of Dover Downs stockholders to consider the merger had been scheduled for 8:00 am, Eastern time, on March 26, 2019, at the Dover Downs Hotel & Casino. Dover Downs stockholders of record at the close of business on February 5, 2019 may vote at the meeting. Subject to the receipt of stockholder approval and the satisfaction of other conditions including regulatory approvals as set forth in the parties' SEC filings, the merger is expected to close shortly following the special meeting.

17:39 EDT Allergan says committed to continuing to engage with Appaloosa - In a regulatory filing, Allergan made a statement in response to inquiries regarding Appaloosa's press release: "Allergan's Board of Directors has received Appaloosa's proposal and is committed to continuing to engage with them, as we do any shareholder who has input and constructive ideas. The Board of Directors is committed to strong governance practices and independent board leadership. The company has been executing its strategy to drive growth and value for shareholders as it transforms into a global biopharmaceutical leader. Allergan has a strong long-term outlook across its four key therapeutics areas and a highly promising R&D pipeline."

17:18 EDT Northstar Realty Europe to replace Spire in S&P 600 at open on 2/15

17:17 EDT Innovative Industrial Properties acquires industrial property in CA for $6.7M - Innovative Industrial Properties announced that it closed on the acquisition of a property in Sacramento, California, which comprises approximately 43,000 square feet of industrial space. This acquisition marks IIP's first investment in California and expands its portfolio to ten U.S. states. The purchase price for the Sacramento property was approximately $6.7M. Concurrent with the closing of the purchase, IIP entered into a long-term, triple-net lease agreement with an experienced operator, which intends to operate the property as a licensed cannabis cultivation facility in accordance with California regulations. The seller of the property is expected to complete redevelopment of the building, for which IIP has agreed to provide reimbursement of up to $4.8M. Assuming full reimbursement for the redevelopment, IIP's total investment in the property will be approximately $11.5M.

17:03 EDT SPI Energy announces Nasdaq's determination letter - SPI Energy announced that it received a letter from The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC stating that the Nasdaq Hearings Panel has granted the company's request for continued listing provided that, among other things, the company demonstrates compliance with the minimum $15M market value of publicly held shares for ten consecutive trading days on or before May 17, 2019. In addition, the Panel decision requires that the company be able to demonstrate compliance with all requirements for continued listing on Nasdaq and that the company provide prompt notification of any significant events that occur during the exception period. In the event the company is unable to meet the above requirements, its securities may be delisted from The Nasdaq Stock Market. The Nasdaq Listing and Hearing Review Council may review the Panel decision on its own motion, in which event it may affirm, modify, reverse or remand the decision to the Panel.

17:00 EDT Allegiant Travel reports preliminary January traffic results - Allegiant Travel reports total system traffic as measured by revenue passenger miles, or RPM, up 1.5%, total passengers volume up 0.8%, capacity as measured by available seat miles, or ASM, up 1.6%, and load factor at 80.0% vs. 79.9% last year.

16:46 EDT Morgan Stanley reports 5.0% passive stake in YY - Morgan Stanley disclosed a 5.0% stake in YY, which represents just under 49.4M shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

16:45 EDT Real Goods Solar trading resumes

16:17 EDT Foster Dykema investment advisor to join Focus Financial Partners - Financial Partners announced that Foster Dykema Cabot & Co, an independent RIA based in Boston, Massachusetts, has entered into a definitive agreement to join the Focus partnership. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019, subject to customary closing conditions. Founded in 1967 as an investment-focused family office for several families, FDC has evolved into a holistic wealth management and multi-family office firm under the leadership of its President, Elizabeth Braudis. FDC provides multi-generational, ultra-high net worth families with individualized services encompassing investment management, estate and tax planning and family office services.

16:10 EDT Real Goods Solar trading halted, news pending

16:05 EDT Four Corners Property Trust acquires Buffalo Wild Wings property for $3.5M - Four Corners Property Trust announced the acquisition of a corporate-operated Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant property for $3.5M. The property is located in Texas and is occupied under a triple-net lease with approximately 8 years of term remaining and 2.5% annual rent increases. The transaction was priced at a 6.75% going-in cash cap rate, exclusive of transaction costs.

16:02 EDT SkyWest reports combined January traffic - SkyWest reported SkyWest Airlines operating statistics for the month of January 2019. SkyWest Airlines reported 117,600 block hours in January 2019, an increase of 5.6% from January 2018. SkyWest Airlines' higher production was primarily due to the new E175 aircraft added to SkyWest Airline's fleet since January 2018.

15:56 EDT Beutel, Goodman & Company reports 5.0485% passive stake in Rogers Communications - In a regulatory filing, Beutel, Goodman & Company disclosed a 5.0485% stake in Rogers Communications, which represents roughly 20.38M shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

15:41 EDT Cleveland-Cliffs CEO expects 'big jumps' in iron ore pellet prices on Monday - Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) CEO Lourenco Goncalves, speaking about iron ore prices in the wake of the dam accident suffered by Vale (VALE), said he expects "big jumps" in prices for the underlying commodity and in pellet prices on Monday when China returns to the market after the country's New Year holiday. Goncalves is being interviewed on CNBC.

15:15 EDT Wells Fargo offers extended hours to address system issues - In response to system issues experienced on Feb. 7, Wells Fargo & Company said it is offering extended hours in branches and additional staffing in contact centers to service customers' needs and address any concerns. All 5,500 Wells Fargo branches will extend their hours by one hour Friday, February 8 and Saturday, February 9. Customers are encouraged to contact Wells Fargo if they have any questions. The system issues were caused by an automatic power shutdown at one of Wells Fargo's main data-center facilities, triggered by a smoke condition created by routine maintenance activities in the building. In response to the power shutdown, applications were systematically re-routed to back-up data centers throughout the day yesterday. By end-of-day, most critical systems had been recovered, and Wells Fargo continues to restore services across all business and operational areas. Wells Fargo continues to see high call volume and online and mobile traffic. Team members are aggressively working to resolve customer issues. Any Wells Fargo fees incurred as a result of these issues will be reversed.

14:01 EDT Allstate raises quarterly dividend 8.7% to 50c per share - The Allstate Corporation announced that its board of directors has approved a quarterly dividend of 50c on each outstanding share of the corporation's common stock, payable in cash on April 1, 2019, to stockholders of record at the close of business on Feb. 28, 2019. This represents an 8.7% increase from the dividend declared in the previous quarter.

13:07 EDT SightLine Partners reports 7.6% passive stake in Vapotherm - In a regulatory filing, SightLine Partners disclosed a 7.6% stake in Vapotherm, which represents about 1.3M shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

12:36 EDT FMR reports 9.969% passive take in Zogenix - In a regulatory filing, FMR disclosed a 9.969% stake in Zogenix, which represents 4.18M shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

12:00 EDT Forum Energy rises 15.7% - Forum Energy is up 15.7%, or 76c to $5.55.

11:56 EDT Orin Hirschman reports 9.9% passive stake in AMSC - In a regulatory filing, Orin Hirschman disclosed a 9.9% stake in American Superconductor, which represents about 17.5M shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

11:45 EDT Ensco says ISS, Glass Lewis, Egan-Jones recommend vote for Rowan merger - Ensco (ESV) announced that Institutional Shareholder Services, Glass, Lewis & Co. and Egan-Jones Proxy Services recommend that Ensco shareholders vote "FOR" the Company's pending combination with Rowan (RDC). As announced on January 29, 2019, Ensco entered into an amendment to the transaction agreement with Rowan under which the companies will combine in an all-stock transaction. Under the terms of the amended transaction agreement, upon closing, Rowan shareholders will receive 2.750 Ensco shares for each Rowan share. All other terms and conditions of the transaction agreement that Ensco and Rowan entered into on October 7, 2018 remain the same. In its February 4, 2019 report, ISS concluded: "In light of the reasonable valuation, the compelling strategic rationale of the proposed transaction, and the positive impact to Ensco's balance sheet, support FOR the proposed merger remains warranted." Ensco's Board of Directors unanimously recommends that Ensco shareholders vote "FOR" the proposal to combine with Rowan in an all-stock transaction at the upcoming Ensco General Meeting, which is necessary to complete the merger.

11:36 EDT Sheryl Sandberg reports 8.2% passive stake in SVMK - In a regulatory filing, Facebook (FB) COO Sheryl K. Sandberg disclosed an 8.2% stake in SVMK Inc. (SVMK), which represents about 10.32M shares. The filing does not allow for activism. The Fly notes that Sandberg is a director on SVMK's board.

10:58 EDT Immunomedics to request meeting with FDA in 'near term' on CRL and EIR - In a regulatory filing last night, Immunomedics disclosed that on February 4 the company received a written communication from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration enclosing the establishment inspection report, or "EIR," from the chemistry, manufacturing and controls Biologics License Application pre-approval inspection conducted by the FDA at the company's Morris Plains, New Jersey drug substance manufacturing facility, which took place from August 6, 2018 through August 14, 2018. The FDA also notified the company that the FDA will be conducting a re-inspection of the company's Morris Plains, New Jersey manufacturing facility as part of the BLA resubmission process. The company is finalizing its plans with respect to the matters raised in the Complete Response Letter, or "CRL," received from FDA on January 17, 2019 and the EIR, and subsequently expects to request a meeting with the FDA in the near term, the filing stated.

10:30 EDT Inogen sinks after Muddy Waters takes short position, sees downside to $46 - Shares of Inogen moved lower after Bloomberg reported that Carson Block's Muddy Waters Research has a short position in the name. The firm best known for short selling sees downside in the stock to $46 per share. Inogen in morning trading is down 9%, or $12.87, to $126.87. The company makes portable oxygen concentrators used by patients for long-term oxygen therapy.

10:03 EDT 7X Energy sells 100 MW Lapetus Solar Energy Project to Duke Energy Renewables - 7X Energy announced the sale of the 100-megawatt Lapetus Solar Energy Project in Andrews County, Texas to Duke Energy Renewables. 7X, the original owner and developer, will transition the last stages of development of the solar project to Duke Energy, which also will manage construction and serve as the long-term owner and operator of the project.Lapetus will be located on an approximately 800-acre site, and construction is expected to begin before the end of March. The project will be the first large scale solar project in Andrews County. During peak construction, the solar facility will bring approximately 150 jobs to the county and generate over $20M in local property tax revenue. Lapetus is scheduled to begin by the end of the year. Once operational, the solar energy from Lapetus will be sold in SolarBlocks under a power purchase agreement negotiated by 7X and Duke Energy Renewables and will deliver electricity to ERCOT. Brazos Electric Power Cooperative will purchase the energy on behalf of CoServ Electric and seven other distribution cooperative members.

10:00 EDT CSS Industries falls -10.6% - CSS Industries is down -10.6%, or -98c to $8.25.

10:00 EDT Motorola Solutions rises 13.6% - Motorola Solutions is up 13.6%, or $16.18 to $134.80.

10:00 EDT Coty rises 26.0% - Coty is up 26.0%, or $1.83 to $8.89.

09:49 EDT Electronic Arts shares jump after Apex Legends hits 10M players in first 3 days - Shares of Electronic Arts have jumped after Vince Zampella, the CEO of Respawn Entertainment, announced in a post on EA's site that over 10 million players have played Apex Legends in the first 72 hours after the games launch. He also stated that "we've breached 1 million concurrent players!" Zampella added: "We hoped you'd love it as much as us, but never in our wildest dreams could we have expected the outpouring of support and positivity we've seen." In early trading, shares of Electronic Arts are up 9% to $91.56. Reference Link

09:47 EDT Tata Motors falls -7.9% - Tata Motors is down -7.9%, or -90c to $10.50.

09:47 EDT Carlisle rises 10.0% - Carlisle is up 10.0%, or $11.25 to $123.91.

09:47 EDT Coty rises 21.8% - Coty is up 21.8%, or $1.54 to $8.60.

09:31 EDT American Water names Kevin Kirwan chief environmental officer - American Water announced Kevin Kirwan has been named SVP and chief environmental and operational excellence officer effective today. Kirwan has held a number of key operational positions ranging from water production superintendent, regional operations manager, director of maintenance services, senior director of operations for coastal New Jersey, VP of Operations for New Jersey American; most recently, he held the role of VP of operational excellence for American Water.

09:23 EDT Cleveland-Cliffs says steel capacity uses reflects 'healthy' demand in U.S. - Management says U.S. demand remains strong. Lourenco Goncalves, Chairman, President and CEO, said he expects steel prices to increase in the U.S. in 2019.

09:11 EDT Black Knight CEO Anthony Jabbour named Dun & Bradstreet CEO - Dun & Bradstreet (DNB) and an investor group led by CC Capital Partners, Cannae Holdings (CNNE), Bilcar, Black Knight (BKI) and funds affiliated with Thomas H. Lee Partners, along with a group of other investors, announced the completion of the Investor Group's previously announced acquisition of Dun & Bradstreet. In connection with the closing, William Foley II, chairman of Cannae Holdings and executive chairman of Black Knight, has been appointed executive chairman of Dun & Bradstreet's Board of Directors. Anthony Jabbour, Black Knight's CEO, was appointed CEO of Dun & Bradstreet and will remain in his current role at Black Knight. Additionally, Stephen Daffron, a co-founder of Motive Partners and former president and CEO of Interactive Data Corporation, has been appointed president of Dun & Bradstreet. As a result of the completion of the transaction, shares of Dun & Bradstreet common stock ceased trading on the New York Stock Exchange prior to the opening of the NYSE.

09:08 EDT Cleveland-Cliffs expects to sell out FY19 capacity of 20M long tons - Management says Q1 is generally the slowest quarter due to seasonality. Guidance and comments provided during Q4 earnings conference call.

08:35 EDT Dun & Bradstreet trading halted, news dissemination

08:19 EDT Maxar Technologies' MDA selected for design phase of CSC program - MDA, a Maxar Technologies company, announced that Canada's Combat Ship Team was selected by Irving Shipbuilding for the design contract for Canada's Surface Combatant ships. Irving Shipbuilding is the Canadian Surface Combatant Prime Contractor and will build all 15 ships at Halifax Shipyard. As a core member of the design team, MDA's primary role will be to design the Electronic Warfare suite system for the CSC program.

08:11 EDT Ecolab acquires Lobster Ink, terms not disclosed - Ecolab has acquired Lobster Ink, a provider of end-to-end online customer training solutions. Lobster Ink is a privately held company based in Geneva with core competencies in applied learning science, high-quality training content curation and the delivery of learning experiences through their software as a service platform to successfully meet the unique training needs of hospitality and foodservice companies in 130 countries globally. Sales were approximately $24M in 2018.

08:09 EDT Arconic authorizes additional $500M share repurchase program - The Company intends to execute its previously authorized $500M share repurchase program in the first half of 2019. The Board has also authorized an additional $500M of share repurchases, effective through the end of 2020.

08:04 EDT R1 RCM to build technology, innovation center in Salt Lake City - R1 RCM announced plans to build the R1 Technology and Innovation Center in Salt Lake City, Utah in collaboration with Intermountain Healthcare. Scheduled to open in May, the 30,000 square foot facility will be used to evaluate patient needs, test product concepts and elevate creativity and design, tackling some of the biggest problems faced by patients and healthcare organizations. R1 expects adoption of technologies such as AI and RPA, or robotic process automation, in the revenue cycle to play a role in helping healthcare providers improve their operations. Along with the development of RCM solutions, the center will also feature a virtual revenue cycle model office, serve as a client experience center and support the growing tech community in Utah.

08:02 EDT Lumentum names Wajid Ali as CFO, effective February 11 Synaptics - Lumentum (LITE) announced the appointment of Wajid Ali as Executive Vice President and CFO, effective February 11. Ali will also serve as the company's principal financial officer, replacing Christopher Coldren who had been serving as the company's Interim Chief Financial Officer since June 2018. Ali joins Lumentum from Synaptics (SYNA), where he served as Senior Vice President and CFO.

07:53 EDT Goodyear Tire CEO says macro challenges 'have extended into 2019' - "Our teams delivered several operational wins in 2018, including increasing our consumer replacement volume and building our OE pipeline by securing numerous fitments, notably on future electric vehicles," said Richard Kramer, chairman, CEO and president. "These achievements are a testament to our product innovation, the strength of our distribution network and the value of the Goodyear brand. Additionally, we achieved a number of strategic objectives throughout the year that strengthen our connected business model and move us closer to our customers, allowing us to improve our service levels and positioning us to be a leader in the changing mobility landscape. While many of the macro challenges we faced in 2018 have extended into 2019, we continue to build on what we accomplished last year and remain focused on delivering a higher level of earnings over the longer term."

07:48 EDT Goodyear Tire reports Q4 tire unit volumes totaled 40.7M, down 3% - Tire unit volumes totaled 40.7M, down 3% from 42M a year ago. Replacement tire shipments were nearly flat compared with a year ago, as growth in Europe was offset by weakness in Brazil and China. Original equipment unit volume was down 10%, primarily due to lower automotive production in China and India.

07:32 EDT Eversource, Orsted enter 50/50 partnership agreement for offshore wind assets - Orsted and Eversource announced that they have entered into a 50-50 partnership for key offshore wind assets in the Northeast. Eversource is paying approximately $225 million for a 50 percent interest in Orsted's Revolution Wind and South Fork Wind Farm projects, as well as the 257-square-mile tract off the coasts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Orsted acquired all three assets in November 2018 as part of its Deepwater Wind transaction. This expanded partnership will continue to work closely with the local communities where these projects exist, and will honor all existing commitments currently in place as the two companies work collaboratively to deliver a clean energy transformation to homes and businesses throughout the region.

07:24 EDT Broadwind Energy approves second extension of Section 382 rights agreement - Broadwind Energy announced that its board has approved a second amendment to the company's Section 382 rights agreement designed to preserve Broadwind's tax assets associated with net operating loss carryforwards, or NOLs, under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code. The amendment extends the rights plan through February 22, 2022. The rights plan is similar to plans adopted by other public companies with significant NOLs. Broadwind's CEO Stephanie Kushner stated, "The Rights Plan was designed to serve the interests of all shareholders by helping to protect Broadwind's valuable tax assets, which can be used to offset approximately $250 million of future taxable income." Pursuant to U.S. federal income tax rules, Broadwind's use of certain tax assets could be substantially limited if the company experiences an "ownership change". In general, an ownership change occurs if the ownership of Broadwind's stock by "5 percent shareholders" increases by more than 50% over the lowest percentage owned by such shareholders at any time during the prior three years on a rolling basis. Broadwind intends to submit the amendment to the rights plan for shareholder ratification at its annual meeting of stockholders. The rights will expire on the earliest of the close of business on February 22, 2022, the time at which the rights are redeemed or exchanged under the rights plan, the repeal of Section 382 or any successor statute and the board's determination that the Rights Plan is no longer necessary for the preservation of the company's NOLs, the beginning of a taxable year of the company to which the board determines that no NOLs may be carried forward, or the failure to obtain shareholder ratification of the amendment to the rights plan at Broadwind's annual meeting.

07:18 EDT uniQure announces updated data on Phase 2b AMT-061 trial - uniQure announced updated clinical data in patients treated in the company's ongoing Phase 2b study of AMT-061, an investigational AAV5-based gene therapy containing a patent-protected FIX-Padua variant, for the treatment of patients with severe and moderately severe hemophilia B. These data were presented in an oral session at the annual congress of the European Association for Haemophilia and Allied Disorders, or EAHAD, and show that therapeutic levels of Factor IX, or FIX, activity continue to be sustained in all three patients up to sixteen weeks after a single administration of AMT-061. The Phase IIb study of AMT-061 is an open-label, single-dose, single-arm, multi-center trial being conducted in the United States. Three patients with severe hemophilia were enrolled in the study and received a single intravenous infusion of 2x1013 vc/kg. Prior to the administration of AMT-061, all three patients showed low levels of pre-existing antibodies to AAV5 but were not excluded from the trial on that basis. Updated data presented at EAHAD show that all three patients have demonstrated increasing and sustained FIX levels after the one-time administration of AMT-061. Mean FIX activity for the three patients at twelve weeks increased to 38% of normal, exceeding threshold FIX levels generally considered sufficient to eliminate or significantly reduce the risk of bleeding events. The first patient achieved FIX activity of 48% of normal at sixteen weeks after administration. FIX activity in the second patient was 25% of normal at fourteen weeks after administration, and the third patient achieved FIX activity of 51% of normal at twelve weeks after administration. The second and third patients had previously screen-failed and were excluded from another gene therapy study due to pre-existing neutralizing antibodies to a different AAV vector. Reported FIX activity was measured using an activated partial thromboplastin time, or aPTT, assay performed at a central laboratory. No patient in the study has experienced a material loss of FIX activity, reported any bleeding events or required any infusions of FIX replacement therapy. As previously reported, one patient experienced slight elevations in aspartate aminotransferase, or AST, which quickly resolved without any additional treatment or loss of FIX activity. No patient has experienced any material elevation in alanine aminotransferase, or ALT, after the administration of AMT-061.

07:11 EDT Cleveland-Cliffs reports Q4 pellet sales volume up 21% to 6.5M long tons - Mining and Pelletizing pellet sales volume in the fourth quarter of 2018 was 6.5 million long tons, a 21 percent increase when compared with 5.4 million long tons sold in the fourth quarter of 2017. The increase was a result of a healthier customer demand and two additional customer contracts that did not exist in 2017. Conversely, fourth-quarter 2018 shipment volume was negatively impacted by unanticipated gale force winds in the Great Lakes, which limited shipping capabilities during October and November. Fourth quarter revenue rate of $99.42 per long ton represented a 19 percent increase from the prior-year quarter, driven primarily by increased steel pricing and pellet premiums, which are magnified by favorable contract structures. The increase was partially offset by an unfavorable true-up adjustment related to index hot-rolled steel pricing, which dropped substantially during the fourth quarter. Cash cost of goods sold and operating expense rate in Mining and Pelletizing was $65.43 per long ton, up 11 percent from $58.70 per long ton in the prior year's fourth quarter. The increase was primarily driven by an unfavorable LIFO impact of $15 million, as well as higher employee-related expenses and royalties.

07:03 EDT Schlumberger appoints Olivier Le Peuch as COO - Schlumberger announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Olivier Le Peuch as COO of Schlumberger Limited, effective immediately. Reporting to Paal Kibsgaard, Chairman and CEO, Le Peuch will be responsible for the day-to-day management of all worldwide operations. Previously, Le Peuch was EVP Reservoir & Infrastructure, responsible for the management of the Cameron product lines, including OneSubsea, as well as some of Schlumberger's leading technology products lines, including Software Integrated Solutions and Schlumberger Land Rigs.

06:58 EDT Coty up 19% to $8.40 after Q2 results beat estimates

06:54 EDT MGIC Investment issues January operating statistics - MGIC Investment issued an operational summary of its insurance subsidiaries for the month of January for their primary mortgage insurance. The beginning primary delinquent inventory was 32,898 in January with ending primary delinquent Inventory of 33,488. January insurance in force was $210.4B. The information concerning new delinquency notices and cures is compiled from reports received from loan servicers. The level of new notice and cure activity reported in a particular month can be influenced by, among other things, the date on which a servicer generates its report, the accuracy of the data provided by servicers, the number of business days in a month, transfers of servicing between loan servicers, and whether all servicers have provided the reports in a given month.

06:50 EDT Eli Lilly to initiate divestiture of remaining interest in Elanco - Eli Lilly (LLY) announced it will initiate an exchange offer to divest its remaining interest in Elanco (ELAN). Elanco completed its initial public offering, or IPO, in September 2018, with Lilly retaining an 80.2% ownership interest in Elanco. In the exchange offer, Lilly shareholders can exchange all, some or none of their shares of Lilly common stock for shares of Elanco common stock owned by Lilly, subject to possible proration as described below. The exchange offer is anticipated to be tax-free for participating Lilly shareholders in the United States, except with respect to cash received in lieu of fractional shares. To permit the exchange offer to occur, Lilly has received a waiver of the 180-day lock-up from the joint lead book-running managers of the IPO. The exchange offer is designed to permit Lilly shareholders to exchange their shares of Lilly common stock for shares of Elanco common stock at a 7% discount, subject to an upper limit of 4.5262 shares of Elanco common stock per share of Lilly common stock. If the upper limit is not in effect, for each $100 of shares of Lilly common stock accepted in the exchange offer, tendering shareholders would receive approximately $107.53 of Elanco common stock. These values will be determined by reference to the arithmetic average of the daily volume-weighted average prices of Lilly common stock and Elanco common stock on the New York Stock Exchange during the three consecutive trading days ending on and including the second trading day preceding the expiration date of the exchange offer, which would be March 4, March 5, and March 6, if the exchange offer is not extended or terminated. The final exchange ratio, reflecting the number of shares of Elanco common stock that tendering shareholders will receive for each share of Lilly common stock accepted in the exchange offer, will be announced by press release on the trading day immediately preceding the expiration date of the exchange offer. The completion of the exchange offer is subject to certain conditions, including: at least 146.645M shares of Elanco common stock being distributed in exchange for shares of Lilly common stock validly tendered in the exchange offer; and the receipt of an opinion of counsel that the exchange offer will qualify for tax-free treatment to Lilly and its participating shareholders. Lilly owns 293.29M shares of Elanco common stock, which represents approximately 80.2% of the outstanding common stock of Elanco. The largest possible number of shares of Lilly common stock that will be accepted in the exchange offer equals 293.29M divided by the final exchange ratio. Because the exchange offer is subject to proration if it is oversubscribed, the number of shares of Lilly common stock that Lilly accepts in the exchange offer may be less than the number of shares tendered. If the exchange offer is undersubscribed, Lilly would exchange less than 293.29M shares of Elanco common stock. In that case, Lilly would continue to own an interest in Elanco and, depending on the number of shares of Elanco common stock distributed in the exchange offer, Lilly could retain voting control of Elanco with respect to, among other things, the election of directors. If Lilly continues to own an interest in Elanco after the exchange offer, Lilly intends to conduct additional exchange offers or declare and pay a special dividend of shares of Elanco common stock to all Lilly shareholders to complete the disposition of its Elanco shares. The exchange offer is voluntary for Lilly shareholders.

06:41 EDT Coty CEO says 'confident' in returning to 'path of sustainable growth' - Commenting on the financial results, Pierre Laubies, Coty CEO said: "Since I joined the company a few months ago, I have been thoroughly evaluating each part of our business, working to assess what has and has not worked, and where the opportunities lie. Within Coty, there are clear opportunities to improve how we run our company in order to enhance the quality of our business model, thereby giving us the time that we need to address our more strategic issues. I must stress that while we are confident that we can return Coty to a path of sustainable growth, we are also realistic that it will take time to achieve this outcome. Our Luxury and Professional Beauty divisions are growing reasonably well, but they cannot compensate completely for the difficult trajectory of our Consumer Beauty division. In Consumer Beauty, we need to earn our right to grow. From a financial standpoint, gross margin improvement will become our key area of focus. Gross margin is the lifeblood of the business and we recognize that we must close the gap we have here versus our beauty peers. That means managing revenue and costs, improving product mix and range, simplifying our portfolio and formulations, and systemically deploying lean-inspired methodologies in our manufacturing and logistics operations. While we will deploy these principles whenever possible in the remainder of FY19, our immediate objective is to finalize a Strategic Plan, which will define our agenda for the medium term. I look forward to sharing more details on this plan in the coming months. I have a great deal of confidence that the management team we have put into place is the right one to develop this plan, and that together with the broader Coty organization, we will be able to meet the objectives of driving gross margin improvement and sustained topline growth."

06:36 EDT Hasbro CEO says '2018 was a very disruptive year' - "2018 was a very disruptive year, driven by the bankruptcy and liquidation of Toys"R"Us across most of the world and a rapidly shifting consumer and retail landscape," said Brian Goldner, Hasbro's chairman and CEO. "During 2018, we diversified our retailer base, meaningfully lowered retailer inventories and delivered innovative new offerings to our global consumers. We were not, however, able to recapture as much of the Toys"R"Us business during the holiday period as we anticipated as the effect of its liquidated inventory in the market was more impactful than we and industry experts expected. It is an unprecedented yet finite event. In addition, as we discussed throughout the year, our European shipments declined as the teams successfully lowered retailer inventories amidst a declining toy and game market." "Throughout 2018, we engaged in several major innovation initiatives and initiated significant organizational changes to enable us to stabilize our European business in 2019 and return Hasbro to profitable growth this year," continued Goldner. "In 2019 we are entering the next innovation cycle for NERF and we will deliver break frame innovation across price points in the market this year. Hasbro's POWER RANGERS line will hit the market in the second quarter, setting the stage for an all new era for this iconic brand. We are positioned to advance our gaming leadership, leveraging our investments, social relevance, innovative game play and the industry's broadest games portfolio, including the launch of our digital game Magic: The Gathering Arena. We will deliver all new play experiences in support of a raft of compelling entertainment properties, including Marvel Studios' Captain Marvel and Avengers: Endgame, Columbia Pictures' Spider-Man: Far From Home, Disney Animation's Frozen 2 and Lucasfilm's Star Wars: Episode IX. Finally, to successfully deliver these and numerous other initiatives, we've re-imagined and re-designed our go-to-market strategy globally supported by compelling, digital-first marketing programs for our consumers and retailers." "Despite the challenging year, Hasbro remains in a strong financial position with the ability to continue investing to drive profitable long-term growth and raise our quarterly dividend 8% in 2019," said Deborah Thomas, Hasbro's chief financial officer. "Given the rapid change in our business, our global teams are focused on identifying incremental opportunities to deliver top and bottom line returns. Investments to drive top line growth include the acquisition of POWER RANGERS, storytelling such as Bumblebee and new growth drivers including Magic: The Gathering Arena and the associated MAGIC esports initiatives. We've also undertaken important operational programs-investing in the geographic diversification of our manufacturing locations and a new Midwest U.S. warehouse opening in 2019. In addition, the organizational actions we outlined are now expected to deliver $50 to $55 million in net pre-tax savings in 2019."

06:01 EDT Covetrus begins regular-way trading on Nasdaq - Covetrus celebrates the combination of two unique and complementary businesses - Henry Schein Animal Health and Vets First Choice - as a newly formed company. Covetrus will leverage decades-long experience, insights, technology and global scale to empower veterinarians to enhance clinical and practice health. This means providing veterinary practices with a more comprehensive set of integrated services and technology solutions, tools to strengthen client relationships and grow their practice, while driving improved workflow and cost-effectiveness through efficient delivery of next-generation solutions. Following the completion of the merger on February 7, this announcement marks the launch of Covetrus, which begins regular-way trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol "CVET."

05:18 EDT Allete announces sale of U.S. Water Services to Kurita Water for $270M - Allete announced it has entered into a stock purchase agreement providing for the sale of U.S. Water Services to Kurita Water Industries, an international water management company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, for $270M. The purchase price is subject to adjustment at closing, such as for changes in working capital. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the first quarter 2019 upon receipt of regulatory approval.

05:14 EDT Euronet reports Q4 adj. EPS $1.37, consensus $1.28 - Reports Q4 revenue $649.4M, consensus $663.6M. "We finished the year strong, delivering fourth quarter adjusted EPS of $1.37, a 21% year-over-year increase," stated Michael Brown, Euronet's Chairman and CEO. "This strong fourth quarter growth included double-digit revenue and adjusted EBITDA contributions from all three segments, together with beneficial income tax expense. EFT sustained its growth from continued expansion of our ATM networks. epay delivered a strong fourth quarter resulting from seasonally strong sales of non-mobile content. And Money Transfer continued its strong growth trends from success in both the physical and digital channels."