Stockwinners Market Radar for February 26, 2019 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:07 EDT Nabors Industries says customers in Venezuela to experience disruptions - In its Q4 earnings statement earlier, Nabors said: "Our International results were somewhat lower than expected as uncertainty in Venezuela resulted in the temporary idling of our fleet there. Although our customers in Venezuela will experience disruptions in coming quarters, three of our five rigs are currently working. In addition, Rig Technologies' activity was adversely impacted by customer concerns as a result of the volatility in oil prices."

18:57 EDT Adamis Pharmaceuticals provides regulatory update on sublingual tadalafil - Adamis Pharmaceuticals announced that it has received a Refusal to File letter from the U.S. FDA regarding its New Drug Application for its sublingual tadalafil product. As previously announced, on December 28th, 2018, Adamis submitted an NDA for fast-disintegrating sublingual tadalafil with the FDA for the treatment of erectile dysfunction. Upon its preliminary review, the FDA determined that the submitted NDA was not sufficiently complete to permit a substantive review. The FDA requested that Adamis supplement and include in a resubmitted NDA (i) longer real-time (versus accelerated) stability data and (ii) additional dissolution data for both the clinical and registration batches. Adamis may seek immediate guidance from the FDA, including requesting a Type A meeting, to discuss the letter with the agency and seek additional guidance concerning information, data and specific deliverables that the agency would require for a resubmitted NDA to be deemed complete.

18:22 EDT Boeing introduces unmanned aircraft developed in Australia - Boeing has introduced its newest unmanned platform, the Boeing Airpower Teaming System. Designed for global defense customers by Boeing Australia, it is the company's largest investment in a new unmanned aircraft program outside the United States. The aircraft will complement and extend airborne missions through smart teaming with existing military aircraft. A model of the Boeing Airpower Teaming System was unveiled at the Australian International Airshow by the Australian Minister for Defence, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP, and Australia's Chief of Air Force, Air Marshal Leo Davies, AO, CSC. As a research and development activity, the Australian Government and Boeing will produce a concept demonstrator called the Loyal Wingman - Advanced Development Program that will provide key learnings toward the production of the Boeing Airpower Teaming System. First flight is planned for 2020.

17:50 EDT Mylan CEO says nearing end of strategic review - Says considering anything and everything to unlock value. Comments from Q4 earnings conference call.

17:39 EDT Harvard Bioscience unit DSI to participate at SOT 2019 with presentation - Data Sciences International, a subsidiary of Harvard Bioscience is spotlighting a range of its products and applications for preclinical life science research at SOT 2019, the 58th Annual Meeting of the Society of Toxicology and ToxExpo in Baltimore on March 10-14. DSI's products are at the forefront of innovation and provide an impressive range of resources for researchers involved in toxicological studies," said Jeffrey Duchemin, President and CEO of Harvard Bioscience. "Demonstrating our latest innovations at SOT, as well as participating in presentations, are excellent ways for us to interact with customers and communicate the broad scope and potential of our instrumentation to members of the scientific community." DSI will be sponsoring a session titled "Novel Approaches for Respiratory Measurement in Safety Pharmacology and Toxicology" on Tuesday, March 12 from 4:30-5:30 PM in Room 339 at the Baltimore Convention Center. During the session, Dr. Brian Roche from Charles River Laboratories and Dr. Benjamin Wong from the United States Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense will discuss how DSI solutions assist in achieving study goals for safety pharmacology and the development of medical countermeasures for chemical agent exposure.

17:36 EDT Equillium announces plan to develop EQ001 for lupus nephritis treatment - Equillium announced that it plans to develop EQ001 for the treatment of lupus nephritis. Equillium remains on track to initiate the EQUATE Phase 1b/2 trial in acute graft-versus-host disease in the first quarter of 2019 and initiate a proof-of-concept trial in severe asthma in the second quarter of 2019. Equillium will host a conference call today to provide further details. "Our decision to explore EQ001 for the treatment of lupus nephritis is consistent with our goal of developing promising new therapies that help patients with severe and underserved autoimmune diseases," said Daniel Bradbury, chairman and chief executive officer of Equillium. "With over 100,000 LN patients in the United States alone and no currently FDA-approved therapies, there is a strong clinical rationale for pursuing this indication. Additionally, we believe EQ001's unique mechanism of modulating both the activity and trafficking of pathogenic T cells provides a strong scientific rationale and highly differentiated approach to treat this difficult disease."

17:33 EDT Lockheed Martin awarded $846.03M Navy contract modification - Lockheed Martin has been awarded a maximum amount $846.03M un-priced letter contract modification PH0001 to a previously awarded and announced un-priced letter contract for the design, development, build and integration of large diameter rocket motors, associated missile body flight articles and related support equipment for Navy intermediate range conventional prompt strike weapon system flight test demonstrations. Work will be performed at Littleton, Colorado, with an expected completion date of January 1, 2024. FY18 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $20M are obligated on this award, which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. FY19 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $67M are being obligated on this award, which will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Strategic Systems Programs is the contracting activity.

17:30 EDT One Horizon Group trading resumes

17:22 EDT Eloxx Pharmaceuticals announces participation in the HIT-CF project - Eloxx Pharmaceuticals announced it joined the consortium agreement of the European HIT-CF project, a European Union funded preclinical and clinical research program evaluating the efficacy and safety of several disease modifying drug candidates in Cystic Fibrosis patients with rare genetic mutations. Eloxx's lead investigational drug candidate, ELX-02, a small molecule eukaryotic ribosomal selective glycoside, will be evaluated in cystic fibrosis patients with nonsense mutations for whom there are few available treatment options.The goal of the European HIT-CF project is to investigate whether a positive response to therapies in a patient derived organoid can be predictive of clinical response in a controlled trial. The project represents a new era in CF treatment and personalized medicine, as it has the potential to shift therapeutic trials from patients to the laboratory. The organoid model could be extended to all patients with CF and other rare genetic diseases to identify appropriate therapeutic options. The EU has granted EUR 6.7 million from the Horizon 2020 research program to HIT-CF.

17:07 EDT Atlantic Power announces planned retirement of board chairman - Atlantic Power announced that Irving R. Gerstein, Chairman of the company's board of directors, will retire from the board following the company's 2019 Annual Meeting of Shareholders in June. At a regularly scheduled Board meeting today, the Board of Directors determined that following his retirement, Mr. Gerstein will be succeeded as Chairman by Kevin T. Howell, pending Mr. Howell's re-election to the Board at the Annual Meeting. Mr. Howell has served as a director of the company since December 2014.

17:02 EDT Valens signs multi-year cannabis, hemp extraction pact with Tilray - Valens GroWorks Corp., a multi-licensed, vertically integrated provider of cannabis products and services focused on various proprietary extraction methodologies, distillation, cannabinoid isolation and purification, as well as associated quality testing announced that it has entered into a multi-year extraction services agreement, renewable annually after the initial two year term, to provide cannabis and hemp extraction services to Tilray Canada. Under the terms of the Agreement, Valens will extract a minimum annual quantity of 15,000kg of dried cannabis and hemp. The Company will receive and process the cannabis and hemp on a fee for service basis into crude, distillate or other cannabis oil derivatives as required by Tilray before bulk shipping the desired product back to Tilray for final processing and sale.

17:00 EDT One Horizon Group announces voluntary delisting from Nasdaq - One Horizon Group announced that it has notified The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC of its intent to withdraw its common stock, par value $0.0001 per share, from listing on the NASDAQ Capital Market. The company intends to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and with NASDAQ, a Form 25 relating to the delisting of its common stock on March 8, 2019. It is anticipated that the delisting will become effective on March 18, 2019, 10 days after filing the Form 25. The Company intends to file an application to have its common stock quoted on the OTCQB tier of the OTC Markets. The company does not expect the transition to the OTCQB to affect the company's business operations.

16:58 EDT Mylan President: 'We anticipate growth of more than $1 billion in new launches' - Mylan President Rajiv Malik added: "We're pleased with our results from 2018 and continue to be extremely proud of our scientific achievements over the past year. In 2019, you can expect us to move our portfolio and pipeline up the value chain, invest organically in our key brands and execute on our impressive commercial assets around the world. We anticipate growth of more than $1 billion in new launches, nearly all of which have already been approved, and which reflects a heavier weighting on specialty and complex generic products aligned with the evolution of the pharmaceutical industry." Mylan CFO Ken Parks added: "Mylan continued to generate strong cash flow with more than $2.7 billion of adjusted free cash flow for 2018, an increase of $86 million compared to the prior year and above the high-end of our initial guidance range for 2018. 2018 adjusted free cash flow conversion was healthy at approximately 115 percent of adjusted net earnings of $2.4 billion, another measure of the strength and durability of the cash flow generating capabilities of our business. In 2019, we remain committed to deleveraging and intend to repay at least $1.1 billion of debt during the year. We also remain fully committed to maintaining our investment grade credit rating."

16:53 EDT Mylan sees FY19 CapEx $250M-$400M - Sees FY19: adjusted gross margins 53%-54%; adjusted free cash flow $1.9B-$2.3B; adjusted effective tax rate 19%-20%.

16:50 EDT GW Pharmaceuticals shares jump 6% to $162.00 after Q4 results

16:41 EDT Palo Alto Networks up 6% to $250.00 after Q2 results beat estimates - The company also announced a $1B share repurchase program.

16:40 EDT WW drops 30% after reporting FY19 guidance well below consensus - Shares of WW (WTW), formerly known as Weight Watchers, are down almost 30% in after-hours trading to $20.78 after the company reported Q4 earnings and guidance for FY19. The guidance, for FY19 EPS $1.25-$1.50 and FY19 revenue of approximately $1.4B, was well below the analyst consensus of $3.43 and $1.66B, respectively. WW CEO Mindy Grossman said, "While we are disappointed with our start to 2019, we are confident that our strategy to focus on providing holistic wellness solutions leveraging our best-in-class weight management program is the right path to support long-term sustainable growth." WW CFO Nick Hotchkin added, "Due to the soft start to the key Winter Season, we expect member recruitment for 2019 to be below 2018 levels, resulting in lower revenue and earnings for the year. We are focused on driving member recruitment and exercising strict cost discipline, while continuing to invest in the areas that will drive future growth."

16:39 EDT FMC determines final distribution ratio for final separation of Livent - FMC (FMC) announced that it has determined the final distribution ratio relating to its previously announced distribution of an aggregate of 123,000,000 shares of common stock of Livent Corporation (LTHM) on March 1 the distribution date, as a pro rata dividend on shares of FMC common stock outstanding as of 5:00 p.m. EST on the record date of February 25. Based on the shares of FMC common stock outstanding as of February 25 the record date for the distribution, each share of FMC common stock will receive 0.935301 shares of Livent common stock in the distribution.

16:37 EDT Tupperware Brands names Sandra Harris as CFO, replacing Mike Poteshman - Tupperware (TUP) announced the appointment of Cassandra "Sandra" Harris, formerly of VF Corporation (VFC), as Executive Vice President and CFO, effective April 1. Harris succeeds Michael "Mike" Poteshman, who recently announced his retirement after a 25-year career with the company, and who will remain until March 31 and provide consulting services through September 30 to ensure an orderly transition.

16:36 EDT MetaBank appoints Karl Riem Chief Audit Executive - MetaBank announced that it has added Brett Pharr as executive VP and Group Head of Governance and Karl Riem as senior VP and Chief Audit Executive, adding to its leadership team. MetaBank is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Meta Financial Group.

16:35 EDT Thermo Fisher raises dividend 12% to 19c - Thermo Fisher Scientific announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a quarterly cash dividend of 19c per common share, payable on April 16 to shareholders of record as of March 15. This reflects a 12% increase over the previous dividend payment of 17c.

16:34 EDT Titan International says evaluating strategic alternatives for Italtractor ITM - Titan International announced that the company is evaluating its strategic alternatives with respect to Italtractor ITM S.p.A., one of the company's subsidiaries that designs and produces steel track and undercarriages for the construction, mining and agricultural markets. Titan's Board of Directors has engaged advisors to assist it in carrying out its evaluation. There can be no assurance that the Company's Board of Directors will determine to pursue a transaction involving ITM, or that this evaluation will result in any strategic alternatives being announced or consummated. The company does not currently intend to discuss or disclose any further developments regarding ITM during this process unless and until a transaction is agreed upon, possible discussions are discontinued or the Board of Directors otherwise determines that further disclosure is appropriate, and specifically disclaims any obligation to provide further updates to the market, except as specifically required by any applicable securities law or regulation.

16:32 EDT Campbell Soup to sell Garden Fresh Gourmet to Fountain of Health affiliate - Campbell Soup Company announced that it has signed a definitive agreement for the sale of Garden Fresh Gourmet to an affiliate of Fountain of Health USA, a maker of hummus, dips, variety packs, prepared salads, pates, and frozen desserts. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Garden Fresh Gourmet is part of the Campbell Fresh division, which also includes Bolthouse Farms. Campbell recently announced the sale of its Everett, Washington, refrigerated soup plant that was also part of Campbell Fresh. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in Campbell's fiscal 2019 third quarter.

16:32 EDT Dean Foods to explore strategic alternatives - Dean Foods announced the company has commenced a review to explore and evaluate potential strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value. These alternatives could include, among others, continuing to execute on the company's business plan including an increased focus on certain standalone strategic initiatives, the disposition of certain assets, the formation of a joint venture, a strategic business combination, a transaction that results in private ownership or a sale of the company, or some combination of these. The company has retained Evercore Group LLC to serve as financial advisor to assist in this review. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is acting as the company's legal advisor. The company has not set a timetable for the conclusion of this review, nor has it made any decisions related to any potential strategic alternatives at this time. There can be no assurance that the strategic exploration review will result in a transaction or other strategic change or outcome. The company does not intend to provide updates unless or until it determines that further disclosure is appropriate or necessary.

16:28 EDT Lonestar Resources announces two-year capital plan - Lonestar Resources US announced its two-year capital plan and associated guidance. Lonestar reported that for the three months ended December 31, 2018, the Company produced 13,152 boe/d, exceeding the high end of guidance for the fourth consecutive quarter. Lonestar has entered into term contracts for drilling rigs that give it considerable optionality in the number of wells it drills based on market conditions. Lonestar has also entered into a frac spread dedication agreement for all wells it completes in 2019 with a major pressure pumping provider with whom it has substantial experience. Lonestar has negotiated significant savings compared to the pressure pumping costs it incurred in 2018. Previously, Lonestar issued 2019 drilling and completion guidance of $120M-$130M to complete 17 gross wells / 16 net wells. After negotiating updated contracts with its service providers, Lonestar's Board has approved a capital-flexible budget which ranges from 17 gross / 15.6 net wells, which it estimates will cost $107M, to a high of 20 gross / 18.6 net wells, which are budgeted to cost $130M. As commodity prices fell precipitously in the Q4 of 2018, Lonestar suspended drilling operations pending the negotiation of contracts for drilling and completion operations which gave the Company sufficient flexibility to "dial-in" activity levels to react to commodity prices and expected cash flow generation capacity. Consequently, Lonestar anticipates the completion of 3 gross/2.9 net wells late in the Q1. As a result, Lonestar expects first quarter production to average between 11,200 boe/d and 12,000 boe/d.

16:27 EDT One Gas names Caron Lawhorn as CFO, effective March 1 - ONE Gas announced that Caron Lawhorn will serve as the company's senior vice president and CFO and Curtis Dinan will serve as the company's senior vice president, commercial, effective March 1. Both Lawhorn and Dinan will continue to report to ONE Gas president and CEO, Pierce Norton II. Lawhorn and Dinan will shift responsibilities as a part of an ongoing effort to enhance the strength and flexibility of the senior leadership team. Lawhorn will assume responsibilities for finance, accounting and treasury functions, including investor relations. Dinan will assume responsibilities for commercial activities, rates and regulatory, government affairs and customer service functions.

16:25 EDT TiVo results include $269M goodwill impairment charge for Product unit - TiVo said, "The increase in Total costs and expenses is the result of a $269.0 million Goodwill impairment charge for our Product reporting unit, which was partially offset by lower Amortization of intangible assets, the Company's continuing cost reduction efforts and a reduction in hardware COGS as a result of the planned transition of our MSO partners and retail customers to deploying the TiVo service on third-party hardware."

16:25 EDT B&G Foods names Erich Fritz as chief supply chain officer - B &G Foods announced the appointments of Erich A. Fritz to the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Supply Chain Officer, Jordan E. Greenberg to the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer and Ellen M. Schum to the position of Executive Vice President and Chief Customer Officer. All three appointments are effective March 11, 2019. The company also announced that Vanessa E. Maskal, the Company's Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing plans to retire on April 5, 2019.

16:24 EDT United Insurance names Brad Kalter chief legal officer - United Insurance Holdings Corp. announced that the company has reached an agreement with Brad Kalter to fill the company's vacant General Counsel & Chief Legal Officer position. Upon joining the company in February, Kalter will be responsible for directing and leading all aspects of the Company's legal operations.

16:24 EDT Medifast sees FY19 CapEx $15M - The company expects the 2019 cadence of spending to be similar to 2018 with its annual convention spend occurring in the third quarter of the year and the cost of a 2020 Leadership Advancement event to be incurred in the third and fourth quarters of the year. Based on capital investments in the company's future growth, it expects capital expenditures in 2019 to be approximately $15M or 2.0% of revenues.

16:21 EDT TiVo not giving guidance due to range of review outcomes - The company said in tonight's earnings release, "TiVo's management and Board are still conducting an in-depth review of its businesses, cost structure and strategic options to maximize shareholder value. Due to the broad range of potential outcomes, the Company is not currently providing financial estimates."

16:20 EDT EOG Resources announces 2019 capital plan - "EOG's capital plan is custom-designed each year to increase returns and capital efficiencies. In 2019, EOG is allocating more capital to opportunistic, high quality new drilling potential and somewhat less capital to drilling in established areas. The company's disciplined growth strategy emphasizes generating free cash flow while lowering well costs and per-unit operating expenses and driving improvement in well productivity. Retaining high-quality equipment and crews during the fourth quarter of 2018 positioned the company to further improve efficiencies and returns in 2019. EOG expects to grow U.S. crude oil production by 12 to 16 percent, fund capital investment and pay the dividend with net cash from operating activities in 2019 at $50 oil. Exploration and development expenditures for 2019 are expected to range from $6.1 to $6.5 billion, including facilities and gathering, processing and other expenditures, excluding acquisitions and non-cash exchanges. EOG expects to complete approximately 740 net wells in 2019 compared to 763 net wells in 2018. Activity will remain focused in EOG's highest rate-of-return oil assets in the Delaware Basin, Eagle Ford, Rockies, Woodford and Bakken. The company's investment in new potential areas in the United States includes spending for leasing and related infrastructure to drill wells in a number of new prospects in 2019."

16:17 EDT Ring Energy to acquire North Central Basin assets from Wishbone - Ring Energy, Inc. announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Wishbone Energy Partners, LLC and its affiliates to acquire its North Central Basin Platform assets located primarily in Southwest Yoakum County, Texas and East Lea County, New Mexico. The total purchase price for the acquisition is $300 million, comprised of $270 million of cash and $30 million of common stock of the Company. SunTrust Bank has provided a financing commitment letter for an increased $1 billion senior credit facility with a borrowing base of $425 million. SunTrust Robinson Humphrey will act as lead arranger and book manager for the financing. The transaction is expected to close early in the second quarter, 2019, with an effective date of November 1, 2018. The assets consist of 49,754 gross acres of mostly contiguous leasehold. Ring will be the operator and have a 77% working interest and a 58% net revenue interest. The acreage is adjacent to the prolific Wasson and Brahaney fields. There is a base of 127 gross wells currently producing an average daily net production of 6,000 Boe. The assets are approximately 96% operated by current production volume. In addition, current infrastructure includes 1,385 acres of owned surface rights, 21 saltwater disposal wells, 15 source water wells, five frac ponds and three caliche pits for road material and new locations.

16:15 EDT Palo Alto Networks announces $1B share repurchase program

16:13 EDT Revance says it is funded through 2020 - Revance expects 2019 GAAP operating expense to be in the range of $173 to $185 million and non-GAAP operating expense, which excludes depreciation and stock-based compensation costs, in the range of $148 to $158 million as driven by increased research and development expenditure and launch preparation activities. With three clinical programs and preparations to file the BLA underway, Revance anticipates 2019 non-GAAP research and development expense to be $93 to $100 million. With the successful capital infusion through partnering agreements in 2018 and an equity raise in January, management feels the company is funded through 2020.

16:08 EDT Tandem Diabetes CEO Blickenstaff to transition to executive chairman - Tandem Diabetes Care announced a succession plan for its chief executive officer and select members of its board of directors. After nearly 12 years of service as Tandem's President and CEO, Kim D. Blickenstaff will transition to a newly-created position of Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors. John F. Sheridan will succeed Mr. Blickenstaff, assuming the role of President and CEO effective March 1, 2019. Mr. Sheridan has served as the Company's Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer since April 2013.

16:06 EDT Marten Transport increases quarterly dividend 20% - Marten Transport announced that its board has declared a 20% increase in the company's regular quarterly cash dividend to 3c per share of common stock from 2.5c per share, beginning with the dividend payable on March 29 to stockholders of record at the close of business on March 15.

16:05 EDT Axon sees Q1 revenue up 8%-9% year over year

15:31 EDT Newmont, Goldcorp receive merger approval from government of Korea - Goldcorp (GG) and Newmont Mining (NEM) announced that the government of Korea, through the Korea Fair Trade Commission, issued a letter stating that the proposed combination of the two companies is not in violation of Article 7 of the Monopoly Regulations and Fair Trade Act, thereby clearing the previously announced transaction to proceed. Earlier this month, the Canadian Competition Bureau issued a "no action" letter clearing the transaction under Canadian competition law. Newmont and Goldcorp continue cooperating with other regulatory agencies to secure the remaining approvals that are conditions to closing.

15:08 EDT Comstock Mining to sell non-mining assets, forms Opportunity Zone Fund - Comstock Mining announced it has formally signed agreements to sell the company's non-mining assets in Silver Springs, Nevada. These non-mining assets include the Company's 98-acre certified industrial site and related senior water rights and the purchase agreements and options on the 160 acres of land and water and sewer rights for a total of $9.75M. As part of the agreements, the Company retains a 3% future profit sharing interest on the resale of these assets. The sales are expected to close between March and September 2019. The Company expects to record a gain of approximately $5M. Corrado De Gasperis, Executive Chairman and CEO said, "With the explosive growth in the nearby Tahoe Reno Industrial Center, our non-mining assets arein an ideal location for a developer to capitalize on and grow into this region." Mr. De Gasperis, continued, "We are leveraging our mining platform and multiple-tax efficient positions to deliver superior returns. Consistent with our strategic focus, the Board has approved the formation of a precious metal and mining focused, Comstock-based opportunity zone fund, creating an investment vehicle to tax-efficiently partner with the Company for the exploitation of precious-metal based opportunities in Nevada-based or other qualified opportunity zones." The Company believes its business strategy and plans for 2019, including closing on the previously announced transactions, will be sufficient for regaining compliant share price levels. Otherwise, the Company would effect a reverse stock split to regain minimum price levels. With the recent extension, the Company's continued listing is predicated on demonstrating sustained price improvement no later than May 31, 2019. Mr. De Gasperis concluded, "We are delighted by the support and extension from the NYSE. With our recently announced strategic partnerships and agreements to monetize our non-mining assets, we believe we will regain price compliance as a matter of due course.

15:00 EDT Exxon Mobil reports addition of 4.5B oil-equivalent barrels to reserves

14:59 EDT NXP Semiconductors lower after CFO says China weaker than expected - Shares of NXP Semiconductors lower in afternoon trading after CFO Peter Kelly said earlier while speaking at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media & Telecom Conference that China has been weaker than expected. Kelly stated when asked about the current environment from a macro perspective, according to a transcript: "It's an interesting environment. I mean, what we're actually seeing is China is weaker than we would have thought it would have been...In Europe, I guess, it's -- I guess, I'd point to a couple of specifics, we had the testing, which impacted the automotive businesses in Europe. We had hoped that would be done at the start or middle of this quarter. It looks like it's maybe going to drag on a little bit into Q2...The U.S. feels reasonably strong at the moment. So we did have one of our competitors talk about very maybe in Q2 or second of the year there would be a bonanza in the semi space. We're not that bullish. We do think Q2 will be stronger than Q1. We do think the second half will be stronger than the first half. Of course, a lot depends on what happens to global growth, but I think we have a forecast of around 3% for global economies and it doesn't feel like there is much inventory in the supply chain at the moment. One would expect if we're not at the bottom, we're ultimately getting to the bottom and things will begin to improve." In afternoon trading, shares of NXP are down $2.54, or 2.6%, to $94.60.

14:43 EDT Jury finds Power Integrations infringes patent held by Opticurrent - A jury in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California found that plaintiff Opticurrent proved that "it is more likely than not that Power Integrations literally infringes claim 1 of the '623 patent," according to a ruling posted to the court's site.

14:34 EDT Farmers National Banc board approves 29% year-over-year boost to Q1 dividend - On February 26, the board of Farmers National Banc Corp. declared a quarterly cash dividend of 9c per share. The common stock cash dividend will have a record date of March 8, and is payable to shareholders on March 29. Kevin J. Helmick, President and CEO, stated, "It is my pleasure to announce the Board of Directors has approved a 29% year-over-year increase to the company's first quarter dividend. This is the fourth increase to Farmers' dividend in three years reflecting the company's strong financial and performance results, and the Board's commitment to create value for our shareholders."

14:02 EDT JPMorgan says could see higher returns from fixed income in the future - Says could see higher returns from fixed income in the future. Says will not sacrifice long-term investors for short-term earnings. Says has no products coming for "lower-income folks." Says bank gives customers a "tremendous amount" of cyber privacy.

13:51 EDT Farfetch jumps 11% after being chosen by Harrods as global e-commerce partner - Earlier on Tuesday, Farfetch and Harrods, the world's most famous department store, announced a strategic partnership which will see the two companies work together to provide Harrods global e-commerce platform. Harrods will leverage the full power of Farfetch's enterprise white-label offering, Farfetch Black & White Solutions, to create a state-of-the-art global online destination for the iconic department store's customer base. Farfetch Black & White builds leading multi-channel ecommerce platforms that enable retailers and brands to seamlessly interact with their consumers, while allowing them to focus on the creative aspects of their businesses. The partnership will see Harrods use and benefit from all of the core components of Farfetch Black & White, including e-commerce management, operations support, international logistics support, and technical support. Harrods will continue to operate and manage trading on the site, including marketing, brand relationship and product strategy, all creative and editorial content, and customer services. Jose Neves, Founder, CEO and Co-Chairman, Farfetch said: "Harrods is famous for its exemplary approach to customer service and 'art of the possible' philosophy. Achieving the highest level of customer service in a digital world can be difficult, which is why Harrods has chosen to partner with Farfetch Black & White Solutions. Our experience of building platform technology for luxury brands means that Harrods' online offer will be every bit as exciting as the in-store experience." Shares of Farfetch are up 11% or $2.40 per share to $24.24 per share in afternoon trading.

13:46 EDT Twitter CFO sees headcount growing 'nicely,' in the double digits, in 2019

13:33 EDT JPMorgan CEO says bank prepared for, but not predicting, a recession - Says prepared for a recession, but not predicting a recession. Says would continue to serve clients during any recession, though results would be worse. Comments taken from JPMorgan's Investor Day.

13:23 EDT FTE Networks jumps almost 120% after announcing $116M in contracts - Earlier on Tuesday, FTE Networks announced that it has been awarded approximately $116M in new infrastructure projects during January and February of 2019. The new contract awards to FTE and its subsidiaries cover a variety of infrastructure projects, with significant customers including a major globally recognized technology leader and a major financial institution. Projects to be performed under the contracts include interior buildouts as well as technology and smart device deployments, primarily at locations throughout the Northeast. Work associated with these new contract wins is largely expected to be completed within the next 12-18 months. Anthony Sirotka, Interim Chief Executive Officer of FTE Networks, commented, "I am extremely pleased with the pace of new contract wins in early 2019. Business operations remain brisk with several highly recognizable brands included in these new awards. The wins reflect our strong brand presence in the New York market which will increasingly become a focus of both our infrastructure and technology segments. We remain fully committed to our strategic vision to create and maintain the entire in-building ecosystem and we see tremendous potential to build upon the foundation established in this market." Shares of FTE Networks are up 118.5% or $1.30 per share to $2.38 in afternoon trading.

13:23 EDT Bio-Techne signs cooperation agreement with Lisen Imprinting Diagnostics - Bio-Techne has entered into a strategic cooperation agreement in the precision medicine field with Lisen Imprinting Diagnostics Wuxi. The cooperation between Bio-Techne and Lisen is a strong partnership between two high tech-oriented companies, which will help the two sides to accelerate the development of molecular diagnostics in the Chinese market, and to jointly promote the benefits of precision medicine as a result of more accurate diagnostics.

13:18 EDT Cooperman says Tesla's Musk asks like he needs adult supervision - Leon Cooperman of Omega Advisors is speaking on CNBC.

13:17 EDT Leon Cooperman says market is trading at fair value - Leon Cooperman of Omega Advisors is speaking on CNBC.

12:35 EDT Metro Bank sees low double digit ROE by 2023 - The company's medium term guidance included seeing 12% minimum CET1 ratio and leverage ratio greater than 4%.

12:33 EDT Karyopharm says stock halted, FDA's ODAC meeting over selinxeor NDA - Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc. announced that NASDAQ has halted trading of the Company's common stock. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee is holding a meeting today from 12:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. ET to discuss Karyopharm's New Drug Application requesting accelerated approval for selinexor, a first-in-class, oral Selective Inhibitor of Nuclear Export compound. The proposed indication to be discussed at this ODAC meeting is for selinexor in combination with dexamethasone for the treatment of patients with relapsed refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least three prior therapies and whose disease is refractory to at least one proteasome inhibitor, one immunomodulatory agent, and one anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody.

11:32 EDT Fiat Chrysler to invest $4.5B in five existing Michigan plants - FCA would invest $1.6 billion to convert the two plants that comprise the Mack Avenue Engine Complex into the future assembly site for the next-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee, as well as an all-new three-row full-size Jeep SUV and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) models, adding 3,850 new jobs to support production. The Company intends to start construction of the new Detroit facility by the end of Q2 2019 with the first three-row vehicles expected to roll off the line by the end of 2020, followed by the all-new Grand Cherokee in the first half of 2021. Also as part of this announcement, the Jefferson North Assembly Plant would receive an investment of $900 million to retool and modernize the facility to build the Dodge Durango and next-generation Jeep Grand Cherokee. FCA expects to create 1,100 new jobs at Jefferson North.The reborn Mack facility would be the first new assembly plant to be built in the city of Detroit in nearly three decades. In 1991, Jefferson North was the last new assembly plant built in the city. When complete, Mack would join Jefferson North as the only automotive assembly plants to be located completely within the city limits of Detroit.The Pentastar engines - the 3.6-, 3.2- and 3.0-liter - currently built at Mack I would be relocated to the Dundee Engine Plant as part of a $119 million investment. Pentastar production at Mack I would end by Q3 2019. Mack II has been idle since it ceased production of the 3.7-liter V-6 in September 2012.FCA also confirms the investment at Warren Truck to retool for production of the all-new Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer, announced in 2017, along with their electrified counterparts, would increase to $1.5 billion. Production is expected to launch in early 2021. In addition to the new Jeep models, the plant would continue building the Ram 1500 Classic, which is being extended to meet market demand. It is expected that 1,400 new jobs would be added. As a result of this investment announcement, production of the all-new Ram Heavy Duty will continue at its current location in Saltillo, Mexico. To support the additional production, the Company's Warren Stamping (Warren, Michigan) and Sterling Stamping (Sterling Heights, Michigan) plants would receive investments of $245 million and $160 million, respectively, with Sterling Stamping expected to add more than 80 new jobs.

11:32 EDT Fiat Chrysler to expand production capacity in Michigan to grow core brands - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles confirmed plans to invest a total of $4.5B in five of its existing Michigan plants, and to work with the city of Detroit and state of Michigan on building a new assembly plant within city limits. The move would increase capacity to meet growing demand for its Jeep and Ram brands, including production of two new Jeep-branded white space products, as well as electrified models. The proposed projects would create nearly 6,500 new jobs. The plant actions detailed in today's announcement represent the next steps in a U.S. manufacturing realignment that FCA began in 2016. In response to a shift in consumer demand toward SUVs and trucks, the Company discontinued compact car production and retooled plants in Illinois, Ohio and Michigan to make full use of available capacity to expand the Jeep and Ram brands. Those actions have resulted in the recent launches of the award-winning all-new Jeep Wrangler and all-new Ram 1500, and the introduction of the newest member of the Jeep family, the all-new Jeep Gladiator, at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show. The city of Detroit has 60 days to meet the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding, which requires the acquisition of property critical to the execution of the Mack project. The additional investments are subject to the successful negotiation and final approval of development packages with the state and other local governments.

11:03 EDT TravelCenters of America signs first franchise agreement for TA Express - TravelCenters of America has signed an agreement with Heinz, Inc., operator of Coffee Cup Fuel Stops, to convert four of its Coffee Cup locations to TA Express. The first of four existing locations that will become TA Express is located at I-94/ ND Hwy 3, Exit 200 in North Dakota. This regional favorite was the first Coffee Cup Fuel Stop and will be the first of the four to join TA's nationwide network of 257 travel centers. The TA Express branding is expected to take place by the end of April, with three more locations following suit within 12 months. The remaining Coffee Cup Fuel Stops converting to TA Express are in South Dakota. Heinz, Inc. also plans to build two new TA Express travel centers, in Rapid City and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in coming years. Plans for improvements and amenities to be added to the Steele location include the addition of a Cinnabon, five more driver showers and a three-bay TA Truck Service shop.

10:46 EDT Judge orders Musk to explain why he shouldn't be held in contempt - U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan ordered Tesla CEO Elon Musk to explain by March 11 why he should not be held in contempt in his case against the SEC, according to multiple media reports.

10:28 EDT Nordic American Tankers reports affiliated party purchases of 150K shares - Nordic American Tankers announced: "Alexander Hansson, residing in Monaco, has today bought privately 50,000 shares in NAT at a price of $2.27. Yesterday, he bought 100,000 shares at $2.31. Alexander Hansson is the son of the NAT Chairman & CEO, and as such an affiliated party."

10:17 EDT Alta Mesa sinks after 'material weakness' drives estimated $3.1B in writedowns - Alta Mesa Resources determined that it had an ineffective internal control over financial reporting due to an identified "material weakness" in both the design of its controls and the execution of its control procedures. As a result of this determination, the company announced last night that it is performing "extensive additional analyses and other procedures" to ensure that its consolidated financial statements to be included in the annual report are prepared in accordance with US GAAP. Accordingly, the company expects it will need to file a Form 12b-25, Notification of Late Filing, with the SEC indicating a delay in the filing of its annual report. The extension period provided by Form 12b-25 will give the company until March 18 to file its annual report. Alta Mesa Resources expects to record material, non-cash asset impairment charges to both of its upstream and midstream segments in Q4. The company "does not expect the impairment charge to have any impact on future operations, its liquidity, cash flows from operating activities, or affect compliance with provisions set forth in its debt instruments." The impairment charge will reduce future depreciation, depletion and amortization expense. The impairment expense is estimated to be approximately $2B for the upstream segment and approximately $1.1B for the midstream segment. Shares of Alta Mesa are down 62%, or 57c, to 34c in morning trading. Guggenheim analyst Subash Chandra this morning double downgraded the stock to Sell from Buy. The Company did not complete any repurchases under its previously announced $50 million share repurchase program during the fourth quarter of 2018. Repurchases are done at the Company's discretion in accordance with applicable securities laws from time to time in open market or private transactions

10:06 EDT Medtronic announces expanded indication for Resolute DES platform - Medtronic plc announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of its Resolute Drug-Eluting Stent platform, including the Resolute Onyx and Resolute Integrity DES, for the treatment of patients with coronary artery disease who have de novo chronic total occlusion, a complex vessel condition involving complete blockage of a coronary artery. CTO is considered more difficult to treat with percutaneous coronary intervention due to a greater risk of complications, the company stated.

10:04 EDT Taronis Technologies acquires Los Angeles-based industrial gas distributor - Taronis Technologies announced that the company has completed the acquisition of one of the largest independently owned industrial gas distributors in Los Angeles, CA. The acquired company generates approximately $4.5M in annual sales, and has five retail locations across the Los Angeles metro market. The acquired company also sells industrial gases and welding supply products into the Mexican markets in Baja California and Sonora, through a relationship with one of the largest independent industrial gas operators in the region. The transaction was structured as an asset purchase, with a cash purchase price of $2.5M. This transaction effectively completes the initial phase and business objectives of the company's acquisition program initiated in early 2017.

10:02 EDT iHeartMedia says acquires online audio technology company RadioJar - iHeartMedia announced it acquired Athens, Greece-based online audio technology company Radiojar Information Technology S.A. The company says "Radiojar is a centralized, cloud-based audio playout platform, and this acquisition will allow the industry to leverage Radiojar's tools to cohesively combine the seamless elements of broadcast radio and transition these skillfully-produced listening experiences into other audio platforms including music streaming and podcasts, delivering high quality audio experiences more effectively and efficiently." The company was purchased by iHeartMedia, Inc. subsidiary RCS.

10:00 EDT Macy's sees FY19 capex approx. $1B - CFO Paula Price says will use excess cash to further reduce debt to within target ratio, excluding asset sales gains. Says committed to EBITDA improvement in the future. Expects approx. $100M in asset sales gains in 2019. Sees credit card sales $740M-$765M. Sees gross margin rate down moderately in 1H, down slightly in 2H. Expects greatest gross margin pressure in Q1. Sees SG&A rate up slightly in 2019. Sees approx. $190M in interest expense. Sees tax rate approx. 23%.

09:57 EDT Borqs Technologies Inc trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:47 EDT Dillard's rises 13.2% - Dillard's is up 13.2%, or $8.75 to $75.22.

09:47 EDT Telaria rises 27.6% - Telaria is up 27.6%, or $1.00 to $4.62.

09:44 EDT JPMorgan: Trading weakness driven by slower equities, emerging markets

09:42 EDT JPMorgan sees zero net investment in CIB in 219

09:34 EDT Home Depot says most housing metrics trending positively in 2019 - Says: Sees 1H19 comps 250 bps lower than 2H19 due to hurricane related overlap... Does not see further gross margin contraction in 2020... Plans to spend $6B on dividends in 2019.

09:20 EDT JPMorgan CFO: Declines in sentiment has driven recessionary indicators higher - CFO Marianne Lake said that recent declines in business sentiment has driven recessionary indicators higher. "They are not flashing red, but they are off the floor," Lake said.

09:14 EDT Golar LNG's Gimi enters 20-year LOA with BP for Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project - Golar LNG (GLNG) announced that Gimi MS, a newly incorporated subsidiary of the company, has entered into a 20-year lease and operate agreement, or LOA, with BP (BP) for the charter of an FLNG unit, Gimi, to service the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project. Expected to commence production in 2022, the FLNG Unit Gimi will liquefy gas as part of the first phase of the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project and be located at an innovative nearshore hub located on the Mauritania and Senegal maritime border. FLNG Gimi is designed to produce an average of approximately 2.5M tonnes of LNG per annum, using the Black & Veatch liquefaction process, with the total gas resources in the field estimated to be around 15T cubic feet. Concurrent with its entry into the LOA, Gimi MS has entered into a subscription agreement with First FLNG Holdings, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Capital, in respect of their participation in a 30% share of FLNG Gimi. Gimi MS will construct, own and operate FLNG Gimi and First FLNG Holdings will subscribe for 30% of the total issued ordinary share capital of Gimi MS for a subscription price equivalent to 30% of the project cost. LNG carrier Gimi has been relocated from layup to Keppel Shipyard in Singapore where conversion works are expected to commence soon. Construction of FLNG Gimi is expected to cost approximately $1.3 billion, excluding financing costs. Once accepted under the contract, annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of approximately $215 million with potential upside for over performance are expected. Golar is also in the final stages of receiving an underwritten credit commitment for a $700 million long-term financing facility from a syndicate of international banks that will be available during construction. Golar's plan is that together with other financing facilities, by the end of the 4-year construction period the anticipated maximum total equity contribution from the Company in respect of its 70% stake will be approximately $300 million.

09:12 EDT Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Worldpay (WP), up 7%... J.M. Smucker (SJM), up 5%... Mallinckrodt (MNK), up 13%... AutoZone (AZO), up 10%. ALSO HIGHER: Zynerba (ZYNE), up 18% after announcing that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued it a patent which includes claims directed to methods of treating Fragile X Syndrome by administering a therapeutically effective amount of synthetic or purified cannabidiol. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Home Depot (HD), down 3%... Summit Midstream (SMLP), down 14%. ALSO LOWER: Tesla (TSLA), down 3% after the SEC reportedly requested that a judge hold CEO Elon Musk in contempt, citing the view that a recent tweet was in violation of his deal about making material statements on social media... Caterpillar (CAT), down 4% after UBS analyst Steven Fisher double downgraded the stock to Sell from Buy and cut his price target for the shares to $125 from $154. The analyst believes about 55% of Caterpillar's end markets will peak in 2019, pressuring revenue and margins in 2020 as demand declines... Sage Therapeutics (SAGE), down 5% after its 3.33M share spot secondary offering priced at $150 per share.

09:11 EDT Cyclerion secures commitments of $175M in private offering - Ironwood Pharmaceuticals announced that Cyclerion Therapeutics has entered into an agreement for a private placement of up to $175M. The offering includes commitments from existing Ironwood shareholders, new investors, and certain members of future Cyclerion management. Final proceeds from this offering are expected to support Cyclerion's sGC stimulator portfolio for at least two years, including four clinical data readouts expected in the second half of 2019. The financing transaction is anticipated to close in early April, immediately following the completion of Ironwood's planned tax-free spin-off of Cyclerion to Ironwood shareholders. The amount raised in the private placement is subject to certain potential reductions to preserve the tax-free nature of the spin-off. The number of shares issued and price per share will be determined at the time of the separation and pursuant to the terms of the purchase agreement governing the investment. It is expected that there will be no ongoing funding between Ironwood and Cyclerion following the separation, other than certain shorter-term transition and other services. Ironwood is not expected to retain equity in Cyclerion, and is not investing in the private placement. Ironwood plans to complete the spin-off of Cyclerion in early April 2019, subject to customary conditions, including effectiveness of the Form 10, a favorable opinion with respect to the tax-free nature of the transaction, and final approval of Ironwood's Board of Directors.

09:09 EDT Texas Pacific Land Trust declares special dividend of $4.25 per sub-share - Texas Pacific Land Trust announced that its Board of Trustees has declared a cash dividend of $1.75 per sub-share, a 70c increase over the prior year, payable March 15, 2019, to sub-shareholders of record at the close of business on March 8, 2019. This is the sixteenth consecutive year that the declared dividend has increased. Additionally, the Trustees declared a special dividend of $4.25 per sub-share payable March 15, 2019, to sub-share holders of record at the close of business on March 8, 2019

09:07 EDT Discovery sees FY19 free cash flow 55% of adj. OIBDA - Sees $150M of restructuring costs in FY19. Sees additional margin expansion in FY19. Comments taken from Q4 earnings conference call.

09:05 EDT GigCapital announces agreement to combine with CPaaS provider Kaleyra - GigCapital announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to combine with Kaleyra, a rapidly growing CPaaS provider. Following the combination, assuming no redemption by the stockholders of GigCapital, the enterprise value for Kaleyra will be approximately $192M or 1.5x estimated fiscal 2019 revenue. The combined company expects to utilize the available capital for organic and strategic growth. The transaction closing is not conditioned on any level of redemption by the stockholders of GigCapital or minimum cash delivered by GigCapital at closing. The parties expect to close the proposed transaction in the second half of 2019. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory and stockholder approval. Upon consummation of the proposed transaction, the combined company will be renamed Kaleyra. It is anticipated that, upon the consummation of the transaction and in case of no redemption of the current cash in GigCapital's trust account, Kaleyra's current shareholders and employees would own approximately 33% of the combined company's common stock and GigCapital stockholders would own the remaining 67%. Dario Calogero will continue to serve as the CEP, supported by his current management team combined with additional public market executives, and will remain a member of the Board of Directors to oversee and lead the operation of the business post-transaction. Dr. Avi Katz will assume the role of chairman of the Kaleyra Board of Directors, which will comprise a total of seven members. Also joining the Board will be current GigCapital Board members Neil Miotto and John Mikulsky, and current Kaleyra Board members Simone Fubini and Matteo Lodrini, as well as an additional independent industry expert to be unanimously named by the other six members of the Board. Under the terms of the definitive agreement, GigCapital will purchase all of the ordinary shares of Kaleyra from its shareholders. The aggregate purchase price payable at the closing of the proposed transaction will consist of a mix of cash, convertible promissory notes, or both in the aggregate amount of $15M, and between 8,616,819 and 10,181,819 shares of GigCapital common stock, with the level of redemption by the stockholders of GigCapital being used to determine the exact number of such shares to be issued. In addition, the Kaleyra shareholders will be entitled to receive up to 4,292,272 shares of GigCapital common stock as an "earn-out" based upon the post-combination company's revenue and adjusted EBITDA for 2019 and 2020. The cash component of the purchase consideration, if any, is to be funded by cash in GigCapital's trust account established in connection with its initial public offering, as well as the cash held by Kaleyra as of the Closing. GigCapital has also agreed to adopt an equity incentive plan that it will submit to its stockholders for approval. So long as such equity incentive plan is adopted and approved, GigCapital has agreed to issue to certain employees of Kaleyra or its subsidiaries 1,290,909 restricted stock units. As part of the transaction, the sponsor investors in GigCapital have agreed to defer vesting and subject to a risk of forfeiture between 251,686 and 2,013,504 shares of GigCapital common stock, depending upon the level of redemption by the stockholders of GigCapital, unless and until the Kaleyra shareholders receive the earn-out.

09:00 EDT Sellas Life Sciences trading resumes

08:52 EDT Embraer's shareholders approve strategic partnership with Boeing - The proposed strategic partnership between Boeing (BA) and Embraer (ERJ) was approved by Embraer's shareholders during an Extraordinary General Shareholders' Meeting held at the company's headquarters in Brazil. Shareholders approved the proposal that will establish a joint venture made up of the commercial aircraft and services operations of Embraer. Boeing will hold an 80% ownership stake in the new company, and Embraer will hold the remaining 20%. The transaction values 100% of Embraer's commercial aircraft operations at $5.26B, and contemplates a value of $4.2B for Boeing's 80 percent ownership stake in the joint venture. Embraer shareholders also agreed to a joint venture to promote and develop new markets for the multi-mission medium airlift KC-390. Under the terms of this proposed partnership, Embraer will own a 51% stake in the joint venture, with Boeing owning the remaining 49%.

08:44 EDT SK Telecom and Comcast Spectacor sign strategic partnership agreement - SK Telecom (SKM) and Comcast Spectacor announced that they signed a strategic partnership agreement to cooperate in the esports business, including the establishment of a global esports joint venture. The agreement signing ceremony was held on February 24 with the attendance of Park Jung-ho, CEO and President of SK Telecom, and Tucker Roberts, the president of Spectacor Gaming division of Comcast Spectacor, at MWC 2019 being held in Barcelona, Spain. Moreover, Comcast Spectacor is 100 percent owned subsidiary of Comcast Corporation (CMCSA). Under the agreement, SK Telecom and Comcast Spectacor will promote the establishment of a joint venture company to engage in joint business activities, such as joint operation of global esports teams and development of esports content.

08:41 EDT Ryman Hospitality increases quarterly dividend 5c to 90c per share - Ryman Hospitality declared its Q1 cash dividend of 90c per share of common stock, a quarterly increase of 5c, payable on April 15 to stockholders of record on March 29. It is the company's current plan to distribute total 2019 annual dividends of approximately $3.60 per share in cash in equal quarterly payments in April, July and October and in January of 2020, which is a 5.9% increase over the FY18 dividend of $3.40. Future dividends are subject to the Board's future determinations as to amount and timing.

08:38 EDT JPMorgan CFO says not seeing signs of fragility in credit portfolios - Sees card chargeoff rates in 2019 "relatively in line" with 2018, sees modest tick up in coming years.

08:34 EDT BrightSphere repurchases 3.9M shares held by HNA Capital - BrightSphere Investment Group announced that it repurchased 3,886,625 shares held by HNA Capital at a price of $13.95 per share on February 25, 2019, below the closing price of $14.03 on February 22, 2019. Together with the February 21, 2019 repurchase of 4.1 million shares from HNA, as well as all open market share repurchases since the fourth quarter of 2018, BrightSphere has repurchased a total of 14,518,494 shares, or 13.7% of shares outstanding, resulting in accretion of 12.3% to 2018 ENI per share. As of February 25, 2019, the Company has total outstanding shares of 92,023,923. In addition, on February 25, 2019, Paulson & Co. completed its previously announced acquisition of HNA's minority stake in BrightSphere after receiving all required regulatory approvals. As a result of BrightSphere's repurchase of a total of 8.0 million shares from HNA, Paulson now holds a 21.7% stake in the Company, rather than the 24.9% stake originally contemplated between the parties. HNA has now fully exited its ownership in BrightSphere. The repurchase was conducted under BrightSphere's current share repurchase authorization and funded with cash on hand and available debt capacity under the Company's $350M revolving credit facility. Following the repurchase and accounting for both the previously disclosed earnout payment to Landmark Partners and the deferred tax asset deed settlement with Old Mutual plc, the ratio of BrightSphere's third party borrowings to trailing twelve months Adjusted EBITDA will increase to approximately 2.3x based on debt and Adjusted EBITDA as of December 31, 2018.

08:31 EDT Newell Brands to sell Rexair to Rhone, terms not disclosed - Newell Brands announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its Rexair business to investment funds affiliated with Rhone Capital, a global private equity firm, specializing in mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, and partnerships with particular focus on European and trans-Atlantic investments. Since 1936, Rexair has developed and manufactured innovative Rainbow products designed to improve indoor environments for customers around the world. In 2018, net sales for the Rexair business were approximately $123M. BMO Capital Markets acted as financial advisor to the company on the Rexair deal, which is expected to close by the end of the second quarter, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.

08:24 EDT Advantix announces mobility integration API with AT&T - Advantix announces the availability of a new, automated end-to-end ordering platform, the AdvantixBLITZ API integration with AT&T, that simplifies wireless order processing for AT&T customers.

08:22 EDT Allscripts expands clinical, financial partnership with Blessing Health System - Blessing Health System expanded and extended its commitment to Allscripts, creating one single integrated clinical and financial patient record. With this expansion, the organization's portfolio will now include the Sunrise suite of solutions to support the organization's strategic clinical and financial initiatives. Blessing Health System has provided care for Quincy and its surrounding community since 1875. The organization is a multi-facility system.

08:20 EDT JPMorgan CFO sees deposit growth about 2% in 2019

08:17 EDT Valmet to acquire GL&V for EUR113M - Valmet entered into an agreement to acquire North American-based GL&V, a global provider of technologies and services to the pulp and paper industry. The enterprise value of the acquisition is approximately EUR113M on a cash and debt free basis subject to ordinary post-closing adjustments. The acquisition is estimated to be completed at the earliest on April 1,. GL&V supplies technologies, upgrades and optimization services, rebuilds, and spare parts for the pulp and paper industry globally. The net sales of the acquired operations were approximately EUR160M and the EBITA margin was around 11% in calendar year 2018. The acquired operations employ about 630 people of whom approximately 65% are in North America and the rest mainly in Europe, South America and India. GL&V's washing, oxygen delignification and bleaching operations with Compact Press, pumps and mixers technology for chemical pulping as well as the related Product Center in Karlstad Sweden are not included in the transaction scope.

08:15 EDT Viad announces plans to develop third FlyOver attraction - Viad Corp announced that it will expand its high-margin virtual flight ride concept to the popular tourism market of Las Vegas, Nevada. Modeled after Pursuit's highly successful FlyOver Canada attraction, FlyOver Las Vegas will provide guests an exhilarating virtual flight experience over some of the most spectacular scenery and natural wonders of the American Southwest.

08:13 EDT Amira Nature Foods partners with Dohle Group in Germany - Amira Nature Foods announced that its rice bran oil product will now be sold through the Dohle Group which operates 102 hypermarkets branded "Hit," located mainly in the west of Germany, as well as 10 supermarkets in the Munich region. Rice bran oil is the oil extracted from the hard outer brown layer of rice called chaff and contains a higher percentage of vitamin E than olive oil. Rice bran oil is also rich in oryzanol, which blocks cholesterol absorption and helps lower LDL cholesterol levels and isn't present in olive oil. Initially, the Company will launch 1 SKU, Atry Rice Oil, that will be available at all 89 company owned Hit locations in Germany, with potential to expand the rollout of rice bran oil in America as well.

08:11 EDT Perficient sees Q1 adjusted EPS 38c-41c, consensus 38c - Sees Q1 revenue $129M-$133M, consensus $130M

08:09 EDT Cracker Barrel reports Q2 comparable store restaurant sales increased 3.8% - Cracker Barrel comparable store restaurant sales increased 3.8%, representing a 3.7% increase in average check and a 0.1% increase in comparable store restaurant traffic. The average menu price increase for the quarter was approximately 2.2%. Comparable store retail sales decreased 1.4% from the prior year quarter.

08:08 EDT Dermira to present new analysis of glycopyrronium tosylate program at AAD - Dermira announced that new post-hoc analyses from its glycopyrronium tosylate clinical program will be presented in poster format at the 77th Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology being held in Washington, D.C., March 1-5, 2019.Poster presentations will highlight post-hoc data analyses from the Phase 3 clinical trials evaluating glycopyrronium tosylate in patients 9 years and older with primary axillary hyperhidrosis, commonly referred to as excessive underarm sweating. Two posters will feature new analyses from the ARIDO open-label, Phase 3 extension study and will focus on management of treatment-emergent adverse events, as well as efficacy for patients who were previously treated with vehicle and transitioned to glycopyrronium tosylate in ARIDO. A third poster will highlight data from the ATMOS-1 and ATMOS-2 Phase 3 trials evaluating glycopyrronium tosylate's benefit in the treatment of primary axillary hyperhidrosis across a variety of sub-populations, including gender, race, and the presence or absence of other sites on the body affected by hyperhidrosis.

08:08 EDT Spero Therapeutics receives QIDP designation for SPR720 from FDA - Spero Therapeutics announced that SPR720, an orally administered antimicrobial agent being developed for the treatment of non-tuberculous mycobacterial, or NTM, infections, has been granted qualified infectious disease product, or QIDP, designation by the FDA for the treatment of lung infections caused by non-tuberculous mycobacteria and lung infections caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

08:07 EDT BioTime to present new data from OpRegen program at ARVO 2019 - BioTime announced that updated results from a Phase I/IIa study of its lead product candidate, OpRegen, a retinal pigment epithelium cell transplant therapy currently in development for the treatment of dry age-related macular degeneration, will be presented at the 2019 Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology Annual Meeting, to be held April 28 through May 2, 2019 at the Vancouver Convention Centre in Vancouver, BC, Canada. OpRegen is currently being evaluated in a Phase I/IIa clinical trial for the treatment of dry-age related macular degeneration.The abstract presentation, entitled, "Phase I/IIa Clinical Trial of Human Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Retinal Pigmented Epithelium Transplantation in Advanced Dry Form Age-Related Macular Degeneration: Interim Results," will be presented as part of the Advances in Retinal Gene Therapy and Stem Cells Session on May 2, 2019 between 10:15 AM to 12:00 PM EDT in Session Number 530 by Eyal Banin, MD, PhD, Professor of Ophthalmology, Director, Center for Retinal and Macular Degenerations, Department of Ophthalmology at Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center. The abstract will provide updated data from patient cohorts 1 through 3 of the study and new data from the ongoing patient cohort 4 in better vision patients. In addition, BioTime will present preclinical results from its Vision Restoration Program, the Company's proprietary program based on the ability to generate 3-dimensional human retinal tissue derived from pluripotent cells.

08:05 EDT NV5 Global awarded $7M in engineering inspection services from NYCDDC - NV5 Global announced that it was selected by the New York City Department of Design and Construction, or NYCDDC, to provide resident engineering inspection services for sewer replacement work on Willets Point Boulevard and surrounding streets in Queens, New York. NV5 has worked continuously for the NYCDDC since the agency's inception in 1996. NV5 is part of a project team performing the work, with NV5 fees expected to be $7M.

08:05 EDT Cheniere Energy Partners sees FY19 distribution per unit $2.35-$2.55

08:04 EDT Macy's reports Q4 SSS adjusted for 53rd week up 2.0%

08:04 EDT Macy's reports Q4 SSS up 0.4% on an owned basis - Reports Q4 SSS up 0.7% on an owned plus licensed basis.

08:01 EDT Accenture, nCino expand geographic scope of alliance - Accenture and nCino have expanded the geographic scope of their alliance to help financial institutions in Asia-Pacific and EMEA and implement and adopt nCino's cloud-based digital banking solution, enabling them to accelerate their digital transformations while streamlining their various business lines, minimizing risk and increasing profitability.

07:51 EDT BeyondSpring announces new clinical data from Study 106 program for Plinabulin - BeyondSpring announced new clinical results from its Study 106 program for lead asset Plinabulin, which demonstrates that combining Plinabulin with Neulasta not only improves overall efficacy for chemotherapy-induced neutropenia, or CIN, treatment but also reverses Neulasta's potential immune-suppressive phenotype. The data will be presented at Stanford University Medical Center at the ASCO-SITC Clinical Immuno-Oncology Symposium. Neulasta, a long-acting G-CSF and the current standard of care for CIN, is believed to activate the bone marrow, resulting in an overproduction of neutrophils, many of which are immature. Immature neutrophils can make their way to the tumor tissue and make the microenvironment immune-suppressive. Established markers for immune-suppression are high Neutrophil-to Lymphocyte Ratio and low Monocyte-to-Lymphocyte Ratio, which are associated with low survival outcomes in cancer patients. Previously, BeyondSpring presented data from its Study 105 which showed that Neulasta, but not Plinabulin, caused levels of NLR greater than 5 and MLR less than 3.2 in most patients. In its Study 106, BeyondSpring evaluated whether combining Plinabulin with Neulasta would reverse the immune-suppressive neutrophil profile induced by Neulasta. Breast cancer patients received TAC chemotherapy, followed by Neulasta monotherapy, Plinabulin monotherapy or Plinabulin combined with Neulasta and analyzed NLR levels. The Plinabulin and Neulasta combination data shows better efficacy for the treatment of CIN, versus Neulasta alone, while preventing neutrophil overproduction. The percentage of patients with grade 4 neutropenia was lowered from 59% with Neulasta alone to 38% with the combination and the percentage of patients with an absolute neutrophil count exceeding the upper limit of what is considered normal was lowered from 50% with Neulasta alone to 31% with Neulasta and Plinabulin. Additionally, immune-suppressive NLR levels were lower in the Plinabulin / Neulasta combination, versus Neulasta alone. The MLR data showed a similar trend as well.

07:44 EDT Soliton receives patent for acoustic shockwave technology - Soliton announced that the National Intellectual Property Administration has issued a notice of grant for Chinese Patent Application No. 201280041817.2 entitled "Apparatus for Generating Therapeutic Shockwaves And Applications of Same," by Christopher Capelli. Soliton has discovered other capabilities of the RAP technology during preclinical testing, including the potential to assist existing fat reduction technology in the reduction of fat as well as potentially reducing the appearance of cellulite by creating mechanical stress at the cellular level and inducing significant collagen growth. This potential indication could position Soliton RAP as a stand-alone device, without the need for lasers or other procedures.

07:38 EDT SunOpta to continue to focus efforts on delivering sustained profitable growth - As part of SunOpta's commitment to deliver long-term value to its shareholders, in early 2017 the Company launched its Value Creation Plan. The Company targeted implementation of $30 million of productivity-driven annualized enhancements to EBITDA in the first phase of the plan, implemented over 2017 and 2018. For 2017, these EBITDA benefits were offset by expenses associated with the Value Creation Plan, including structural investments made in the areas of quality, sales, marketing, operations and engineering resources, as well as non-structural third-party consulting support, severance and recruiting costs. For 2018, these EBITDA benefits were offset by a decline in profitability in the frozen fruit platform as a result of sales price reductions and higher costs, both intended to improve competitive positioning through enhancements in sales, service and quality. The plan also calls for increased investment in capital upgrades at several manufacturing facilities to continue to enhance food safety, quality and manufacturing efficiencies and capabilities. SunOpta's Value Creation Plan is built on four pillars which provide the framework for all of our efforts to improve operational performance and drive long-term sustainable growth and shareholder value. The four pillars are Portfolio Optimization, Operational Excellence, Go-To-Market Effectiveness, and Process Sustainability. During the fourth quarter of 2018, the Company continued to make progress against each of these four pillars, and achieved the targeted productivity enhancements under the first phase of the plan. Progress during the fourth quarter included the advancement of several key expansion and enhanced capability projects in the Company's beverage and ingredient platforms, continued momentum in improving food safety, quality, and employee safety scores across the Company's manufacturing footprint, significant revenue growth as a result of commercializing numerous new and refreshed broth and frozen fruit products, and the implementation of a new demand planning system in support of the Company's refined sales and operations planning capabilities. Looking ahead to 2019, the Company will continue focusing its efforts to deliver sustained profitable growth across the four pillars of its Value Creation Plan.

07:33 EDT TG Therapeutics announces initiation of Phase I TG-1801 trial - TG Therapeutics announced the commencement of a Phase I first-in-human trial of TG-1801, the company's novel first-in-class anti-CD47/CD19 bispecific antibody, in patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell lymphoma. TG-1801 is the first therapy to target both CD19, a B-cell specific marker widely expressed across B-cell malignancies, and CD47, the "don't eat me" signal used by both healthy and tumor cells to evade macrophage mediated phagocytosis. CD47 is expressed ubiquitously on normal cells, including red blood cells and platelets. By co-targeting both CD47 and CD19, TG-1801 has the potential to overcome the limitations of existing CD47 targeted therapies by avoiding the side effects caused by indiscriminate blockade of CD47 on healthy cells. This Phase I open label, multi-center trial is designed to assess the safety, pharmacokinetics, efficacy and recommended Phase 2 dose of TG-1801. The primary objective of the study is to determine the Maximum Tolerated Dose and characterize the safety profile of TG-1801, with secondary endpoints including characterization of pharmacokinetics and preliminary anti-cancer activity.

07:32 EDT JPMorgan backs medium-term ROTCE view of about 17% - Sees medium-term CCB ROE 25%+, revised CIB ROE view to about 16% from 17%, CB ROE about 18%. Sees decrease in CIB markets NII for 2019. Sees 2019 expenses of less than $66B. Sees staying at higher end of 11%-12% CET1 range at this point. Sees medium-term overhead ratio about 66%, sees medium-term CET1 ratio about 12%, sees medium-term net payout ratio 75%-100%. Sees incremental net interest income of $2.5B in 2019. Comments taken from slides being presented at the company's 2019 investor day.

07:31 EDT SunOpta announces termination of David Colo as president, CEO - SunOpta announced the termination of David Colo as president, CEO. Colo's service as a member of SunOpta's Board of Directors is also terminated. Current SunOpta Director Katrina Houde, a SunOpta director since 2000, will serve as Interim CEO to facilitate an orderly transition. The Board of Directors has formed a CEO search committee and has engaged an executive search firm to identify Colo's successor.

07:24 EDT Aurora Cannabis to acquire 51% ownership interest in Gaia Pharm - Aurora Cannabis announced that it has agreed to terms to acquire a 51% ownership interest in Gaia Pharm, a license applicant in Portugal, to establish a local facility to produce medical cannabis and derivative products. The company will be renamed "Aurora Portugal Lda". On February 21, Gaia Pharm received approval of its application to construct an EU GMP compliant cannabis cultivation facility from INFARMED, a division of the Portuguese Health Ministry, which is responsible for the evaluation, authorization, regulation and control of human medicines as well as health products for the protection of public health. This initiative is consistent with Aurora's strategy to achieve early mover advantage in countries with nascent medical cannabis markets. Construction of the new facility will be conducted in phases, with the first phase expected to be completed in the Q3 of FY20. Upon completion, the first phase of the facility is expected to have a production capacity of approximately 2,000 kg per annum, growing to 4,000 kg per annum upon completion of the second phase.

07:22 EDT Zynerba receives patent for cannabidiol treatment from USPTO - Zynerba announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, has issued US Patent No. 10,213,390, titled "Treatment of Fragile X Syndrome with Cannabidiol" which includes claims directed to methods of treating Fragile X Syndrome by administering a therapeutically effective amount of synthetic or purified cannabidiol. This new patent, which expires in 2038, is part of an expanding intellectual property portfolio covering the company's cannabidiol product candidate, ZYN002 Transdermal CBD gel.

07:21 EDT Ophthotech expects FY19 cash, cash equivalents $80M-$85M - As of December 31, 2018, the Company had $131.2 million in cash and cash equivalents. The Company estimates its year end 2019 cash and cash equivalents will range between $80 million and $85 million based on its current 2019 business plan, including expansion of the Company's gene therapy research and development programs, expansion of its HtrA1 development program, and the continuation of its clinical development programs for Zimura. This estimate does not reflect any additional expenditures resulting from the potential in-licensing or acquisition of additional product candidates or technologies or associated development that the Company may pursue.

07:18 EDT McDermott awarded contract by Precision Mechanical - McDermott International announced it was awarded a sizeable contract by Precision Mechanical for a double wall liquid hydrogen sphere at the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The scope of the contract includes the engineering, procurement and construction of the sphere, which will be the largest ever built for NASA. Once completed, the sphere will arm NASA with the largest cryosphere constructed to date with the combined site capabilities to store and process over two million usable gallons of liquid hydrogen for launch support. The contract has been reflected in McDermott's Q4 backlog.

07:16 EDT Rocket Pharmaceuticals reports publication of review of Danon disease cases - Rocket Pharmaceuticals announces the online publication of a comprehensive literature review of published Danon disease cases in the International Journal of Cardiology, co-authored by Eric Adler, M.D., Director of Cardiac Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support at UC San Diego Health and Professor of Medicine at University of California San Diego School of Medicine. The manuscript entitled, "Danon Disease: Gender Differences in Presentation and Outcomes" outlines a comprehensive review of 83 published manuscripts describing cases of Danon disease, the target indication for RP-A501. RP-A501 is the company's adeno-associated viral vector-based gene therapy for the treatment of Danon disease that is in development under a collaboration with the University of California San Diego School of Medicine. The review consisted of 90 male patients and 56 female patients for a total of 146 patients with positive genetic testing for Danon disease or positive muscle biopsy. The results show that despite being an X-linked disease, Danon is as devastating for females as it is males, with 92.5% of overall patients presenting with cardiac abnormalities. The primary outcome of the analysis was defined as a composite outcome of death, heart transplantation, or long-term left ventricular assist device- implantation. The composite outcome occurred in 34.9% of patients, with similar findings seen in males and females. 29 patients received a heart transplantation with complications including allograft rejection leading to re-transplant, muscle weakness and respiratory failure that required mechanical ventilatory support. These findings underscore the limitations of transplantation, which is not considered curative and associated with considerable morbidity and mortality.

07:15 EDT KKR announces creation of Falcon Vision platform - KKR announced the creation of a new platform, Falcon Vision, which will source, evaluate, and provide operational and financial capabilities to a diversified group of emerging ophthalmic medical device and biopharmaceutical companies. The company said, "Falcon Vision will collaborate with the team at Flying L Partners, which brings together business and clinical leaders with decades of experience in building, leading, and funding high-impact ophthalmic technologies, under the leadership of Dr. Bill Link."

07:11 EDT Iovance Biotherapeutics announces fast track designation for LN-145 from FDA - Iovance Biotherapeutics announced that the FDA has granted fast track designation for LN-145 for the treatment of patients with recurrent, metastatic or persistent cervical cancer who have progressed while on or after chemotherapy. LN-145 is the company's adoptive cell therapy produced using its proprietary TIL manufacturing technology.

07:01 EDT AutoZone CEO Bill Rhodes says industry fundamentals 'remain strong' - "Our industry fundamentals remain strong, and we continue to be excited about the initiatives we have underway to further enhance our inventory availability, to continue to accelerate Commercial and to meet our customers how, when and where they want to be met with our omni-channel efforts. As we continue to invest in our business, we remain committed to our disciplined approach of increasing operating earnings and cash flow, and utilizing our balance sheet and capital effectively," said Bill Rhodes, Chairman, President and CEO.

06:51 EDT Summit Midstream sees FY19 adjusted EBITDA $295M-$315M vs. $294.1M in FY18 - Sees FY19 capex $150M-$175M vs. $200.6M in FY18

06:47 EDT TopBuild announces new $200M share repurchase program - Repurchases will be made from cash on hand as well as from a portion of the free cash flow expected to be generated from the business.

06:46 EDT Clementia Pharmaceuticals cancels Q4 financial results due to Ipsen acquisition - Clementia Pharmaceuticals (CMTA) announced that the company will not report its Q4 financial results on February 28 and will cancel the associated conference call and its participation in the 2019 SVB Leerink Global Healthcare Conference. These cancellations are due to the announcement that Ipsen (IPSEY) and Clementia have entered into a definitive agreement for Ipsen to acquire Clementia.

06:42 EDT Wyndham Destinations to explore alternatives for Wyndham Vacation Rentals unit - The company has decided to explore strategic alternatives for Wyndham Vacation Rentals, North America's largest professionally managed vacation rental business.

06:41 EDT Co-Diagnostics submits CE Mark registration for Logix Smart ZDC test - Co-Diagnostics announced that its Logix Smart ZDC test technical file has been submitted for registration with the European Community, and that the in vitro diagnostic, or IVD, is expected to be available for purchase in March in markets that accept a CE mark as valid regulatory approval. Co-Diagnostics' Logix Smart ZDC test functions via real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction to differentiate between the RNA of Zika, dengue and chikungunya viruses and to detect and amplify regions of the viruses' genomes. The three viruses are spread by the same Aedes mosquitos and have similar symptoms, including sever fever and joint pain, which has historically led to false diagnoses. However, therapeutics differ for the three diseases, and physicians require accurate diagnostic tools that can detect and distinguish between the viruses in order to determine the most appropriate treatment. The technical file dossier submitted to the company's authorized European representative includes a description of the test to support conformance to the CE marking standards, which will confirm that the test meets the essential requirements of the European Community's In-Vitro Diagnostic Medical Device Directive.

06:38 EDT Aphria announces worldwide license agreement with Manna Molecular Science - Aphria announced a worldwide license agreement with Manna Molecular Science, producers of state-of-the-art cannabis transdermal patches. Leveraging Manna's established formulations, equipment and processes, Aphria will produce and sell patches containing cannabis oils for its established suite of medical and adult-use brands. Under the agreement, Manna grants Aphria exclusive preferred vendor status for a period of five years, and an exclusive license to produce, market, distribute, promote and sell Manna patches containing cannabis oil as an active ingredient.

06:33 EDT Thomson Reuters raises annual dividend to $1.44 per share - The Thomson Reuters Board of Directors approved a 4c per share annualized increase in the dividend to $1.44 per common share. A quarterly dividend of 36c per share is payable on March 20 to common shareholders of record as of March 8. The company also announced that it plans to repurchase up to an additional $250M of its shares under its normal course issuer bid.

06:27 EDT Walmart acquires Israeli natural language processing startup Aspectiva - Walmart has acquired Aspectiva, an Israeli-based start-up, for an undisclosed sum. As part of the acquisition, Aspectiva will be joining Walmart's Store N degrees 8, the incubation arm launched by the retailer in 2017. Aspectiva's Natural Language Processing capabilities will help Walmart further enhance the end-to-end shopping experience. The Aspectiva team joined Store N degrees 8 on Feb. 25, 2019 and will continue to operate from Aspectiva's offices in Tel Aviv.

06:24 EDT Axonics submits ARTISAN-SNM data to FDA for marketing approval of r-SNM System - Axonics announced the submission of pivotal clinical data from the ARTISAN-SNM pivotal clinical study designed to gain marketing approval from the FDA for the Axonics r-SNM System. The ARTISAN-SNM study is a 129-patient single-arm, prospective, multi-center, unblinded pivotal clinical study approved under an FDA Investigational Device Exemption, or IDE, to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the Axonics r-SNM System for urinary dysfunction. The study was conducted in 14 centers in the U.S. and 5 centers in Western Europe. All patients reached their six-month, post-implant primary endpoint in January. As the company announced on February 19, the clinical study demonstrated that patients implanted with the Axonics r-SNM System received clinically meaningful and statistically significant improvements in Urinary Urgency Incontinence symptoms and quality of life. Additionally, the study met all primary and secondary endpoints. No serious device-related adverse events have been reported. The clinical study report, or CSR, was submitted to the FDA on February 21 as an amendment to the company's premarket approval application. The CSR provides safety and efficacy results and a detailed analysis of the full cohort of all implanted patients at the six-month post-implant endpoint.

06:23 EDT Compugen announces corporate restructuring and cuts workforce by 35% - Compugen announced a corporate restructuring to reduce costs by consolidating and streamlining R&D operations. Anticipated cost reductions are expected to extend the Company's cash runway through mid-2020 to enable the planned expansion of the ongoing Phase 1 study for COM701, a first-in-class immunotherapy antibody targeting the PVRIG checkpoint, which continues to progress as planned. In addition, the Company will maintain investment in its proprietary computational discovery platform and will continue to advance its earlier stage immuno-oncology pipeline programs, which are the Company's two long-term core value drivers. The restructuring includes: Consolidation of R&D activities in one location, Israel. Positions and operations eliminated will also reduce overlapping R&D and G&A activities in Israel and the United States; a 35% workforce reduction, or approximately 35 employees, the majority of which is in R&D; certain preclinical activities will be outsourced to third-party service providers; IND filing for COM902 in 2019 will proceed as planned. Initiation of the Phase 1 trial for this program will be dependent on the drug combination trials pursued under the collaboration with Bristol-Myers Squibb as well as available resources to support this trial; Clinical development and business development activities will continue to operate in the U.S.; and Compugen anticipates savings of up to $10M on an annual basis. Cash expenditures for 2019 including one-time restructuring related costs, are expected to be in the range of $27M-$29M, with the full effect of the savings reflected in 2020.

06:20 EDT Bank of Montreal announces 15M share NCIB - Bank of Montreal announced its intention, subject to the approval of the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions Canada and the Toronto Stock Exchange, to purchase for cancellation up to 15M of its common shares under a normal course issuer bid, or NCIB. Purchases will be made through the facilities of the TSX and may also be made through alternative Canadian trading systems or by such other means as may be permitted by a securities regulatory authority, including private agreements or share repurchase programs under exemption orders issued by securities regulatory authorities. Bank of Montreal intends to file a notice of intention with the TSX in this regard.

06:15 EDT China Yuchai appoints Eng Kwee Tan as director, increases board to nine members - China Yuchai announced that Eng Kwee Tan has been appointed to the board of China Yuchai, effective February 22. Tan, who was a non-executive director of the company from February 2010 to November 2011, is currently the CEO and a director of Hong Leong Asia. Tan has more than 30 years of operations, corporate, accounting and financial experience. Prior to HLA, Tan served in Gold Coin Group for more than 10 years, holding senior management positions of CFO, group business development director, group logistics director and group COO. With the new appointment, the board now comprises 9 members out of which three are independent directors.

06:12 EDT Home Depot CEO says 'we can deliver comparable sales growth of 5%' in FY19 - "We achieved record sales and net earnings in fiscal 2018, while making great progress on the strategic investments we laid out in December of 2017. We focused on enhancing the interconnected retail experience for our customers, providing localized and innovative product, and delivering best in class productivity," said Craig Menear, chairman, CEO and president. "Our view on the health of the economy and the consumer, as well as the momentum of our strategic investments, supports our belief that we can deliver comparable sales growth of 5.0 percent in fiscal 2019. I would like to thank our associates for their solid execution and exceptional work in service to our customers."

06:09 EDT Vitamin Shoppe sees FY19 comparable sales of negative low single digits to flat - Sees FY19 gross margin rate of 31.7% to 32.2%; adjusted EBITDA of $62M-$65M; estimated combined Federal, State and Local tax rate of 28%; FY19 capital expenditures $33M; and includes the opening of approximately 10 new stores; closing approximately 60 to 80 stores over next three years.

06:05 EDT TRI Pointe expects to deliver 4,600 and 5,000 homes in FY19 - For FY19, assuming similar market conditions to what the Company is currently experiencing, the Company anticipates delivering between 4,600-5,000 homes at an average sales price of $610,000-$620,000. In addition, the Company expects homebuilding gross margin percentage of 19%-20% for the FY19. Finally, the Company expects full year SG&A expense as a percentage of homes sales revenue will be in a range of 11% to 12%. The Company expects its effective tax rate for the FY19 to be 25%-26%.

06:01 EDT Home Depot reports Q4 SSS up 3.2% - Comparable sales for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 were positive 3.2%, and comp sales in the U.S. were positive 3.7%.