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

19:37 EDT Ampio resubmits Phase 3 trial of Ampion to FDA - Ampio Pharmaceuticals announced that on March 11, 2019, the company resubmitted a Special Protocol Assessment with the FDA for a confirmatory Phase III clinical trial of its biological drug, Ampion, for the treatment of patients afflicted with Osteoarthritis of the Knee, or OAK. Michael Macaluso, Ampio's CEO, said: "After a series of interactions with the FDA, we believe we have addressed and answered all questions regarding trial design. The FDA confirmed they would respond to our SPA submission no later than April 25, 2019. The FDA guidance regarding our trial design was in agreement with the advice we received from multiple independent statisticians who analyzed our clinical results of nearly 1,000 KL4 patients. These patients, taken as a group, provided statistically significant results compared to patients receiving the saline control."

18:52 EDT Fly Intel: After Hours Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Shoe Carnival (SCVL) up 18.4%... KB Home (KBH) up 2.2%. ALSO HIGHER: Wellcare Health (WCG) up 11.6% after Bloomberg report of takeover talks with Centene (CNC), which is down 1.6%... Xenia Hotels (XHR) up 6.1% after announced entry into S&P Small Cap 600 index... Warrior Met Coal (HCC) up 3.5% after announcing $70M buyback... JC Penney (JCP) up 2.6% after naming new CFO... Pitney Bowes (PBI) up 1.7% after announced entry into S&P Small Cap 600 index. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: PhaseBio (PHAS) down 5.5%... Gildan Activewear (GIL) down 2.3% after lowering Q1 earnings view on Heritage impairment... Ollie's Bargain Outlet (OLLI) down 2.2%. ALSO LOWER: Apple (AAPL) up 0.7% after ITC dismissed Qualcomm (QCOM), down 0.4%, patent infringement claim... Boeing (BA) down 0.6% after reports of 737 MAX aircraft making emergency landing at Orlando airport... Oracle (ORCL) down 0.5% after announcing layoffs for 350 staff positions. Movers as of 18:30ET.

18:10 EDT Dow to replace DowDuPont in DJIA at open on 4/2 - Dow (DOW) will replace DowDuPont (DWDP) in the Dow Jones Industrial Average effective prior to the open of trading on Tuesday, April 2. This change follows DowDuPont's announcement that it is splitting into three companies, with Dow being spun-off effective April 2. Dow will be headquartered in Midland, Michigan, and will operate as a materials science solution provider. A second agricultural chemical company is expected to be spun-off in June. Replacing DowDuPont with Dow allows the Dow Jones Industrial Average to maintain its exposure to the Materials sector. Additionally Dow is anticipated to have a similar price weight to pre spin-off DowDuPont.

17:54 EDT Ecology & Environment disclosed Nasdaq notice of non-compliance - On March 25, 2019, Ecology and Environment Inc received, as expected, a formal notification from the Listing Qualifications Department of the Nasdaq Stock Market stating that the company is not in compliance with the requirements for continued listing under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250 because it did not file its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended January 26, 2019. The company previously received similar letters of non-compliance related to delinquencies in filing its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2018 and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended October 27, 2018. In a letter dated January 18, 2019, Nasdaq granted the company's request for an exception in order to enable the company to regain compliance with the Rule. Under the terms of the exception, the company must file all delinquent annual and quarterly reports with the SEC on or before May 13, 2019 in order to regain compliance with the rule. The company currently intends to regain compliance with the rule prior to the May 13, 2019 deadline.

17:47 EDT Semtech CEO Mohan Maheswaran sells over $2.6M in company stock - Semtech CEO Mohan Maheswaran disclosed in a filing that he had sold 50,000 shares of company stock at an average price of $52.83 per share on March 26, for a total transaction value of $2,641,495.

17:40 EDT S&P announces changes to S&P 100, 400, 500, 600 indicesHalliburton Trex Company Integrated Device Xenia Hotels - S&P Dow Jones Indices will make the following changes to the S&P 500, S&P 100, S&P MidCap 400 and S&P SmallCap 600: Dow (DOW) will be added to the S&P 500 prior to the open of trading on Tuesday, April 2. Dow will replace Brighthouse Financial (BHF), which will be removed from the S&P 500 effective prior to the open of trading on Wednesday, April 3. On the same effective date, Brighthouse will replace Pitney Bowes (PBI) in the S&P MidCap 400, and Pitney Bowes will replace Carbo Ceramics (CRR) in the S&P SmallCap 600. S&P 500 and 100 constituent DowDuPont (DWDP) is spinning off Dow in a transaction expected to be completed on April 1. Effective Wednesday, April 3, post spin-off parent DowDuPont will change its Global Industry Classification Standard sub-industry to Specialty Chemicals, and the spin-off Dow will be classified as Commodity Chemicals. Brighthouse has a market capitalization more representative of the mid-cap market space, and Pitney Bowes has a market capitalization more representative of the small-cap market space. Carbo Ceramics is ranked near the bottom of the S&P SmallCap 600 and no longer representative of the small-cap market space. Dow will be added to the S&P 100 prior to the open of trading on Tuesday, April 2. Dow will replace Halliburton (HAL) which will be removed from the S&P 100 effective prior to the open of trading on Wednesday, April 3. Halliburton, which will remain in the S&P 500, is no longer representative of the mega-cap market space. Trex Company (TREX) will replace Integrated Device Technology (IDTI) in the S&P MidCap 400, and Xenia Hotels & Resorts (XHR) will replace Trex Company in the S&P SmallCap 600 effective prior to the open of trading on Monday, April 1. Renesas Electronics is acquiring Integrated Device Technology in a deal expected to be completed soon pending final conditions.

17:28 EDT Trex Company to replace Integrated Device in S&P 400 at open on 4/1 - Renesas Electronics is acquiring Integrated Device Technology in a deal expected to be completed soon pending final conditions.

17:25 EDT Dow to replace Halliburton in S&P 100 at open on 4/3 - Dow (DOW) will be added to the S&P 100 prior to the open of trading on Tuesday, April 2. Dow will replace Halliburton (HAL) which will be removed from the S&P 100 effective prior to the open of trading on Wednesday, April 3. Halliburton, which will remain in the S&P 500, is no longer representative of the mega-cap market space.

17:23 EDT Pitney Bowes to replace CARBO Ceramics in S&P 600 at open on 4/3

17:19 EDT Brighthouse Financial to replace Pitney Bowes in S&P400 at open on 4/2

17:17 EDT KB Home says backdrop for the home building industry is positive - Says paid over $800M in debt in Q1. Says home prices have moderated lately. Says expects year-over-year growth in west coast community count. Says poised to generate year-over-year revenue growth in the second half. Comments taken from Q1 earnings conference call.

17:09 EDT Ollie's Bargain Outlet sees Q1, Q4 comps at lower end of 1%-2% annual guidance - Sees Q2, Q3 comps at higher end of annual guidance. Says cadence of new store openings in FY19 is roughly 60% in the front half and 40% in the back half. Sees FY19 preopening expenses of roughly $11M. Guidance taken from Q4 earnings conference call.

16:51 EDT Eventbrite's Dreskin sells 90,000 Class A common shares - In a regulatory filing, Eventbrite director Andrew Dreskin disclosed the sale of 90,000 Class A common shares of the company at a price of $21.1275 per share.

16:42 EDT Sprint to add VMware Workspace One, AirWatch Express for device security - Sprint (S) announced it will offer VMware (VMW) Workspace ONE and AirWatch Express, solutions designed to help companies manage and better secure devices, apps, and access through the cloud or premise-based software. Workspace ONE offers robust management capabilities plus simple access to employee apps across all device platforms. AirWatch Express is designed for smaller businesses that need simplified device management. Sprint is the first U.S. carrier to offer AirWatch Express alongside Workspace ONE to its customers.

16:36 EDT Stichting Aescap 2.0 reports 7.3% passive stake in Applied Genetic - In a regulatory filing, Stichting Aescap 2.0 disclosed a 7.3% stake in Applied Genetic, which represents about 1.32M shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

16:34 EDT Phillips 66 Partners, Energy Transfer finish 2nd phase of Bayou Bridge project - Energy Transfer (ET) and Phillips 66 Partners (PSXP) announced that the second phase of the Bayou Bridge Pipeline is complete and ready for service. The 163-mile, 24-inch pipeline will transport crude oil from Lake Charles, Louisiana, to terminalling facilities outside St. James, Louisiana, beginning April 1, 2019. The pipeline, owned 60% by Energy Transfer and 40% by Phillips 66 Partners, is operated by Energy Transfer. The first phase of the Bayou Bridge Pipeline went into service in April 2016, and currently transports multiple grades of crude oil through 49 miles of 30-inch pipe from Nederland, Texas, to Lake Charles, Louisiana. The second phase of the Bayou Bridge Pipeline provides Louisiana refiners with more efficient and sustainable access to North American crude oil as well as market diversification for North American producers.

16:30 EDT OneMain Holdings CFO Scott Parker to step down - OneMain Holdings announced that Scott T. Parker, its Chief Financial Officer since 2015, will be leaving the company. Micah Conrad, currently OneMain's Deputy CFO, will become acting CFO, effective immediately. Prior to Springleaf's acquisition of OneMain Financial, Conrad was CFO of OneMain, then a subsidiary of Citigroup starting in 2013.

16:24 EDT Protective Insurance Chairman John Drake Nichols purchases almost $187K shares - Protective Insurance Chairman John Drake Nichols disclosed in a filing that he had purchased 10,000 shares of company stock on March 22 at an average price of $18.69 per share for a total transaction value of $186,867.

16:18 EDT J.C. Penney appoints Bill Wafford CFO - J. C. Penney Company announced that Bill Wafford has been named executive VP, CFO, effective April 8. Wafford will be responsible for providing strategic leadership and driving operational excellence in addition to leading all aspects of the company's finance and accounting operations. He succeeds Michael Fung, interim CFO, who will remain with the company through the end of April to allow for a seamless leadership transition. Wafford most recently served as executive VP, CFO for The Vitamin Shoppe.

16:16 EDT Newmont Mining sees Goldcorp combination immediately accretive by 27% - The company states: "Immediately upon closing of the transaction, Newmont Goldcorp will be accretive to Newmont's Net Asset Value per share by 27%, and 34% accretive to the company's 2020 cash flow per share; Begin delivering a combined $365M in expected annual pre-tax synergies, supply chain efficiencies and Full Potential improvements representing the opportunity to create $4.4B in Net Present Value; target 6M-7M ounces of steady-state gold production over a decades-long time horizon; Have the largest gold reserves and resources in the gold sector, including on a per share basis; Be located in favorable mining jurisdictions and prolific gold districts on four continents."

16:16 EDT Jazz Pharmaceuticals: JZP-258 achieves primary, key secondary endpoints in study - Jazz Pharmaceuticals announced positive top-line results from the global, double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized-withdrawal, multicenter Phase 3 study evaluating the efficacy and safety of JZP-258 for the treatment of cataplexy and excessive daytime sleepiness in adult patients with narcolepsy. JZP-258 is a novel oxybate product candidate with a unique composition of cations resulting in 92% less sodium than Xyrem. The Phase 3 study demonstrated highly statistically significant differences in the primary endpoint that measured the change in the weekly number of cataplexy attacks and the key secondary endpoint of change in Epworth Sleepiness Scale score with JZP-258 compared to placebo. In this study, patients were randomized to either continue JZP-258 or to receive placebo. Patients randomized to JZP-258 showed clinically meaningful maintenance of efficacy for both cataplexy and EDS, while a statistically significant worsening for both cataplexy and ESS endpoints was observed in the placebo group compared with JZP-258. The safety profile of JZP-258 is consistent with sodium oxybate. The most commonly reported treatment-emergent adverse events that occurred in greater than or equal to 5% of patients who received JZP-258 were headache, nausea, dizziness, cataplexy, nasopharyngitis, decreased appetite, influenza, diarrhea and vomiting. Two patients experienced serious adverse events that were considered by the investigator to be treatment related. Jazz will submit the Phase 3 study data for presentation at an upcoming medical meeting. Data from the completed Phase 3 study and interim data from the ongoing 24-week open-label, safety study will be included in the planned submission of a New Drug Application to the U.S. FDA.

16:12 EDT KB Home reports Q4 average selling price down 5% to $370.9K - Reports Q4 housing gross profit margin 17.1% vs 16.1% last year. The number of homes in ending backlog totaled 4,631 vs. 4,972 last year. Ending backlog value of $1.66B decreased 16%, reflecting fewer homes in backlog and the lower average selling price of those homes primarily due to a shift in geographic mix. Ending community count grew 13% to 248. Average community count increased 10% to 244.

16:11 EDT Fuel Tech awarded air pollution control orders totaling $2.7M - Fuel Tech, Inc. announced the receipt of multiple air pollution control contracts from customers in the US and China. These awards have an aggregate value of approximately $2.7M. A US contract was received for a NOxOUT Selective Non-Catalytic Reduction system for a utility coal-fired unit. Fuel Tech's SNCR technology is a proven solution as utility and industrial combustion unit owners look to comply with more stringent NOx control requirements. In addition, multiple orders were received for NOxOUT system upgrades looking to improve the reliability and performance of existing systems firing municipal solid waste. Engineering orders for utility and industrial customers conducting studies to evaluate future NOx reduction needs were also received. Deliveries for all these orders will be completed by the fourth quarter of 2019. An order from China was received for an ULTRA system for an industrial unit firing municipal solid waste being retrofitted with Selective Catalytic Reduction technology. Fuel Tech's ULTRA process provides for the safe and cost-effective on-site conversion of urea to ammonia for use as a reagent where SCR is used to reduce nitrogen oxide, eliminating the hazards associated with the transport, storage and handling of anhydrous or aqueous ammonia. Delivery will be completed in the second quarter of 2019.

16:09 EDT Columbia Sportswear names former Kohl's CEO to board of directors - Columbia Sportswear Company (COLM) announced that its board of directors has elected Kevin Mansell to serve as a director and member of the Nominating and Corporate Governance and Audit Committees, effective March 25, 2019. Mansell has been nominated for election by the company's shareholders to a full term as a board member at the company's 2019 annual meeting of shareholders. Mansell spent over 35 years at Kohl's Corporation (KSS), most recently serving as its Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President prior to retiring in May 2018.

16:07 EDT Cardtronics announces $50M share repurchase authorization - Cardtronics announced that its board has authorized the company to repurchase up to $50M of its Class A ordinary shares outstanding through August 31, 2020. Share repurchases under the authorization may be effected on behalf of the company through open market transactions, privately negotiated transactions or otherwise, including pursuant to SEC trading rules. There is no guarantee as to the exact number of shares, if any, that may be repurchased by the company.

16:03 EDT ProQR spins out DEB activities to newly formed Wings Therapeutics - ProQR Therapeutics announced the strategic spin out of the Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa, or DEB, activities into the newly formed company, Wings Therapeutics. Wings Therapeutics is formed and financed by EB Research Partnership, the largest global non-profit dedicated to treating and curing EB. Wings Therapeutics will be led by interim CEO Mark de Souza, PhD, former CEO of Lotus Tissue Repair and Hal Landy, MD, former medical advisor to Lotus Tissue Repair and CMO of Enobia. Wings Therapeutics will focus on developing therapies for Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa and continue to conduct clinical trials with QR-313 in exon 73 as well as progress other RNA molecules that are designed for other mutations that cause DEB. ProQR has a minority stake in Wings Therapeutics and will be eligible for milestone and royalty rights to commercial products. Financial details were not disclosed. Subsequent to a planned interim analysis and strategic review, management has elected to transfer conduct and completion of the ongoing Phase 1/2 study to Wings Therapeutics. The ongoing Phase 1/2 trial in patients with DEB due to a mutation in exon 73 will remain blinded and continues to enroll patients. ProQR will work closely with Wings Therapeutics and EBRP to support its efforts to advance QR-313 for patients with DEB.

16:02 EDT Dover Downs receives required vote from stockholders for merger with Twin River - Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment and Twin River Worldwide Holdings have announced that Dover Downs received the required vote of Dover Downs stockholders to approve the proposed merger of Dover Downs and Twin River at today's special meeting and that the parties expect to close the transaction on March 28. Over 99% of the votes cast were cast in favor of the merger. A "majority of the minority" of stockholders also approved the merger. Upon completion of the merger, Dover Downs will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Twin River, and all outstanding shares of Dover Downs common stock and class A common stock will be converted into the right to receive shares of Twin River common stock.

15:57 EDT Cloud Peak trading resumes

14:50 EDT Purdue Pharma announces opioid settlement with state of Oklahoma - Purdue Pharma announced that it has entered into an agreement with the state of Oklahoma that will establish a National Center for Addiction Studies and Treatment at Oklahoma State University in Tulsa. Purdue will contribute $102.5M to fund the creation of the National Center. The company will also donate $20M worth of medicines to support the Center's treatment mission. The company's agreement with Oklahoma - which resolves all of the state's claims against Purdue -also includes an additional company payment of $72.5M, of which $12.5M will be available to counties and cities in the state to abate the effects of opioid crisis, up to $60M for costs and fees related to the litigation, and any remainder will revert to the Center. In addition to support from Purdue Pharma, the Sackler Family has pledged to contribute $75M over five years to the National Center at OSU. "Purdue is very pleased to have reached an agreement with Oklahoma that will help those who are battling addiction now and in the future. We applaud Attorney General Mike Hunter for his leadership in making such an agreement possible," said Craig Landau, MD, president and CEO, Purdue Pharma. State attorneys general and private lawyers representing cities and counties have contended that Purdue Pharma, Endo (ENDP), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Teva (TEVA), McKesson (MCK), Cardinal Health (CAH) and AmerisourceBergen (ABC) and other opioid makers and distributors downplayed opiods' health risks and oversold their benefits.

14:14 EDT Adobe announces partnerships with Microsoft, ServiceNow and SAP - Earlier on Tuesday, Adobe (ADBE) unveiled the latest Adobe Experience Cloud innovations, including Adobe Commerce Cloud and Marketo Engage, as well as global availability of Adobe Experience Platform. Microsoft (MSFT) CEO Satya Nadella, Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly, Chegg CEO Dan Rosensweig, Intuit CIO Atticus Tysen and SunTrust Bank CMO Susan Johnson shared their respective enterprise playbooks for digital transformation. Additionally, Adobe announced key strategic partnerships with ServiceNow (NOW), Microsoft and LinkedIn to accelerate Customer Experience Management across enterprises. "Customer Experience Management unlocks digital transformation and Adobe is leading the way with continuous innovation in Adobe Experience Cloud and through key partnerships with ServiceNow, Microsoft, LinkedIn and SAP," said Shantanu Narayen, president and CEO, Adobe. "Today, at Adobe Summit, we unveiled significant new capabilities in Adobe Experience Cloud, including the introduction of Adobe Commerce Cloud and Marketo Engage, and general availability of Adobe Experience Platform."

13:33 EDT Bed Bath & Beyond responds to 'public attack' from activist group - Bed Bath & Beyond issued the following statement in response to a press release issued by Legion Partners Asset Management, Macellum Advisors and Ancora Advisors regarding the activist group's submission of 16 nominees to take over the board at the company's 2019 Annual Meeting of Shareholders: "Bed Bath & Beyond regularly engages with our shareholders and welcomes constructive input focused on enhancing value. Members of our board of directors and senior management team have met with and held several discussions with Legion and Macellum over the past few weeks. Ancora has not previously reached out to or engaged with the company. In these conversations, we made clear our commitment to engaging constructively and acting in the best interest of all Bed Bath & Beyond shareholders. We asked on several occasions for their suggestions and ideas for improving the company's business but they did not provide any. We also invited them to participate in the board refreshment program we have been undertaking in recent years and are in the process of accelerating with investor input. Instead they chose to publicly attack the company and provide their intent to nominate directors to take over the full board. Unfortunately, while our directors and management were seeking to engage in good faith, it appears that the Legion and Macellum representatives were merely seeking information to support their attack. Bed Bath & Beyond is undertaking a comprehensive transformation to evolve the foundational structure of the business, drive shareholder value and best position the company for long-term success. While the activist group has not provided any specific recommendations despite the company's repeated requests, we note that many of the areas highlighted by the activist group in its press release are already being addressed at a detailed level by the company. We look forward to receiving and reviewing any specific suggestions and recommendations the activist group may have... Bed Bath & Beyond has a diverse, experienced board of directors that is committed to acting in the best interest of all shareholders and supporting the company's strategic priorities. The board includes 12 highly qualified directors, all of whom are actively engaged and possess significant experience relevant to our business. The board recognizes the value of fresh perspectives and diversity in the boardroom and regularly evaluates its composition to ensure it reflects the right mix of skills and expertise. Notably, as part of the board's ongoing refreshment program, three new independent directors with relevant experience have been added during the last two years... The Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and the board are responsible for evaluating director candidates qualified to become members of the board, and will do so consistent with established processes."

13:04 EDT Bayer treatment of Hemophilia A granted orphan designation - The FDA granted orphan designation to Bayer HealthCare's treatment of Hemophilia A, according to a post to the agency's website. Reference Link

12:40 EDT Value Line trading resumes

12:35 EDT UPS partners with Matternet to use drones to transport medical samples - UPS announced a new logistics service to deliver medical samples via unmanned drones through a collaboration with Matternet, an autonomous drone technology company. The program is taking place at WakeMed's flagship hospital and campus in the Raleigh, N.C., metropolitan area, with oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration and North Carolina Department of Transportation. Today's flight marks the beginning of numerous planned daily revenue flights at the WakeMed Raleigh campus. This collaboration is the latest UPS program to utilize drone flights in support of healthcare logistics. UPS partnered with GAVI and Zipline in 2016 to deliver blood products to remote locations in Rwanda.

12:10 EDT FTC seeks information from U.S. Internet broadband providers on privacy - The Federal Trade Commission announced that it has issued orders to seven U.S. Internet broadband providers and related entities seeking information the agency will use to examine how broadband companies collect, retain, use, and disclose information about consumers and their devices. The orders seek information about the companies' privacy policies, procedures, and practices. The orders were sent to: AT&T Inc. (T), AT&T Mobility LLC, Comcast Cable Communications (CMCSA) doing business as Xfinity, Google Fiber (GOOGL), T-Mobile US (TMUS), Verizon Communications (VZ), and Cellco Partnership doing business as Verizon Wireless. "The FTC is initiating this study to better understand Internet service providers' privacy practices in light of the evolution of telecommunications companies into vertically integrated platforms that also provide advertising-supported content. Under current law, the FTC has the ability to enforce against unfair and deceptive practices involving Internet service providers," the commission stated. Reference Link

12:00 EDT Cheetah Mobile falls -8.6% - Cheetah Mobile is down -8.6%, or -60c to $6.41.

12:00 EDT Jianpu Technology rises 7.3% - Jianpu Technology is up 7.3%, or 36c to $5.26.

12:00 EDT Key Energy rises 13.7% - Key Energy is up 13.7%, or 53c to $4.41.

11:17 EDT Blue Hills, Independent Bank report receipt of needed approvals for merger - Independent Bank (INDB), parent of Rockland Trust Company, and Blue Hills Bancorp (BHBK), parent of Blue Hills Bank, jointly reported that all regulatory approvals relating to their merger have been received and applicable regulatory waiting periods have expired as of March 26. The merger's legal closing will be effective April 1, the companies stated. The transaction remains subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions.

10:42 EDT EyeGate ready to move forward with pivotal study after FDA meeting - EyeGate Pharmaceuticals announced this morning that it has met with the FDA regarding its Ocular Bandage Gel product and has confirmed its path to a de novo filing. "The FDA has agreed that based on the strength of data from the photorefractive keratectomy pilot study, EyeGate is ready to move forward with a pivotal study, which will allow for a de novo filing," the company said in a statement. EyeGate plans to file the Investigational Device Exemption for initiation of the study in Q2 of 2019 and to complete the study in Q3 of 2019 with the de novo being "filed soon thereafter." Additionally, the company said it will "continue with rapid clinical development for the second indication, punctate epitheliopathies." Stephen From, CEO of EyeGate, said, "We are pleased with the FDA's feedback and are excited to be in a position to file the de novo application subsequent to completing the PRK pivotal study. We look forward to launching the OBG product for the PRK indication in 2020." Shares of EyeGate are down 3c to 35c in morning trading.

10:14 EDT Carnival says company on track to achieve FY19 guidance - Comments provided during Q1 earnings conference call.

10:01 EDT Southwest's Material Specialists vote in favor of new, five-year contract - Southwest Airlines announced the company's Material Specialists, represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, have voted in favor of a new, five-year contract. The more than 300 Material Specialists at Southwest oversee the company's technical operation inventory management across the network. The newly-ratified contract is effective immediately and becomes amendable in April 2024.

10:00 EDT Britannia Bulk falls -6.5% - Britannia Bulk is down -6.5%, or -47c to $6.69.

10:00 EDT California Resources rises 7.2% - California Resources is up 7.2%, or $1.77 to $26.25.

10:00 EDT Key Energy rises 15.7% - Key Energy is up 15.7%, or 61c to $4.49.

09:47 EDT Britannia Bulk falls -6.4% - Britannia Bulk is down -6.4%, or -46c to $6.70.

09:47 EDT Carnival plc falls -6.6% - Carnival plc is down -6.6%, or -$3.65 to $52.05.

09:47 EDT Universal Compression rises 4.2% - Universal Compression is up 4.2%, or 87c to $21.55.

09:44 EDT Medidata mentioned cautiously at Off Wall Street

09:34 EDT Innovate Biopharmaceuticals announces collaboration with Institut Gustave Roussy - Innovate Biopharmaceuticals announced that it will collaborate with Laurence Zitvogel, MD, PhD, Department of Immuno-Oncology, Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France, using larazotide acetate, Innovate's lead drug, which is entering the first ever Phase 3 trial for celiac disease in the second quarter of 2019. Through this collaboration, Innovate and Pr. Zitvogel seek to understand how the therapeutic effect of immune checkpoint inhibitors such as antibodies to CTLA-4 and PD-1, is modulated by blocking translocation of bacterial antigens and toxins and certain metabolites from interacting with the host immune system in pre-clinical oncology models.

09:30 EDT Silicom selected by leading cloud player to supply FPGA-based smart NICs - Silicom announced that it has been selected by a leading cloud player to supply an FPGA-based smart NIC that is planned to become a part of the customer's virtualized Cloud. Silicom has already received nearly $1M in orders for the limited deployment planned for 2019. Network-wide deployment, assuming it materializes, will generate significant, multi-million orders per year during the next few years, which may, in a best-case scenario, exceed $10M/year.

09:23 EDT Norwegian Cruise, Royal Caribbean slide following Carnival earnings report - Shares of Carnival (CCL) are down more than 5% in pre-market trading after the company gave lower than expected guidance for its earnings in Q2 and for the full fiscal year. Following Carnival's report, shares of cruiseline peers Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) and Royal Caribbean (RCL) are each down about 3%.

09:20 EDT Carnival says advance bookings for remainder of 2019 ahead of prior year - At this time, cumulative advanced bookings for the remainder of 2019 are ahead of the prior year at prices that are in line with the prior year on a comparable basis. Pricing on bookings taken since January have been running in line on a comparable basis to the prior year while booking volumes are ahead compared to the prior year. As a result, even with higher capacity, there is less inventory remaining for sale than at the same time last year. CEO Donald added, "Booking trends achieved during wave season rivaled last years' historical highs and were consistent with the demand trends we experienced going into the year, building further confidence in our full year guidance. For our North America and Australia brands, our booked position is ahead of the prior year at higher prices while our Europe and Asia brands are well ahead of the prior year at lower prices. Our brands are strong and growing, including Continental Europe, where we continue to expect revenue growth driven by double-digit capacity increases."

09:16 EDT Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: Aldeyra (ALDX), up 58% after its Phase 3 Alleviate trial met the primary endpoint and the key secondary endpoint for both concentrations of reproxalap... Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY), up 22% after Legion Partners Holdings, Macellum Advisor and Ancora Advisors announced the nomination of sixteen independent candidates for election to the board of the company... Citi (C) up 1% after Wall Street Journal reports the bank is starting a consumer-payments business that will offer large merchants a suite of consumer-payment options ranging from traditional credit cards to new digital wallets to direct bank-account transfers. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Conn's (CONN), down 4%... Orion Group (ORN), down 4%... Cronos (CRON), down 4%. ALSO LOWER: Cheetah Mobile (CMCM), down 2% after Nomura Instinet analyst Carson Lo downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and cut his price target for the shares to $7 from $12. As a result of the negative publicity accusing Cheetah of engaging in fraudulent click injection, some overseas partners of Cheetah have suspended their businesses with the company, Lo tells investors... Criteo (CRTO), down 3% after SunTrust analyst Matthew Thornton downgraded shares to Hold and lowered his price target to $24 from $32, citing uncertainty over potential measures by Google (GOOGL) to restrict advertising targeting across its marketing platform, including its Chrome browser.

09:10 EDT El Pollo Loco appoints Miguel Lozano COO - El Pollo Loco (LOCO) announced the appointment of Miguel Lozano as COO, effective April 1. Bringing 30 years of restaurant industry experience, Lozano is the third addition in 12 months to the newly restructured senior leadership team to continue the pursuit of the brand's transformation agenda. Lozano returns to El Pollo Loco after having spent a 23-year career at Starbucks (SBUX), most recently leading operations primarily in California. Since 2014, he was responsible for running 780 company-operated Starbucks stores in Southern California, which generated over $1.4B in sales. In his new role, Lozano will play a central part in formulating organizational strategy, driving brand growth and profitability. He will create the vision for all operations.

09:06 EDT Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: Aldeyra (ALDX), up 58% after its Phase 3 Alleviate trial met the primary endpoint and the key secondary endpoint for both concentrations of reproxalap... Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY), up 22% after Legion Partners Holdings, Macellum Advisor and Ancora Advisors announced the nomination of sixteen independent candidates for election to the board of the company... Citi (C) up 1% after Wall Street Journal reports the bank is starting a consumer-payments business that will offer large merchants a suite of consumer-payment options ranging from traditional credit cards to new digital wallets to direct bank-account transfers. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Conn's (CONN), down 4%... Carnival (CCL), down 1%... Orion Group (ORN), down 4%... Cronos (CRON), down 4%. ALSO LOWER: Cheetah Mobile (CMCM), down 2% after Nomura Instinet analyst Carson Lo downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy and cut his price target for the shares to $7 from $12. As a result of the negative publicity accusing Cheetah of engaging in fraudulent click injection, some overseas partners of Cheetah have suspended their businesses with the company, Lo tells investors... Criteo (CRTO), down 3% after SunTrust analyst Matthew Thornton downgraded shares to Hold and lowered his price target to $24 from $32, citing uncertainty over potential measures by Google (GOOGL) to restrict advertising targeting across its marketing platform, including its Chrome browser.

09:03 EDT Covanta awarded contract by New York DEC - Covanta Environmental Solutions has been awarded a contract from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's, or DEC, for phase two of their Pharmaceutical Take-Back Pilot Program. As part of the pilot program's initial launch in 2017, Covanta Environmental Solutions installed 250 collection boxes together with New York State at participating retail pharmacies, long-term healthcare facilities and hospitals providing citizens a secure and convenient place to dispose of their expired and unused medications. Phase two builds upon the success of the original scope of the Pharmaceutical Take-Back Pilot program by offering kiosks at 230 additional locations.

09:01 EDT Allergan completes acquisition of Envy Medical - Allergan announced it has completed the acquisition of Envy Medical, a privately held company with proprietary technology in skin resurfacing. The acquisition enhances Allergan's best-in-class Medical Aesthetics portfolio with the addition of Envy's Dermalinfusion, a non-surgical, non-invasive skin resurfacing system for the face and body.

08:43 EDT Gannett: MNG nominees would not bring additive skills, experience to board - Gannett announced that it has filed definitive proxy materials with the SEC and will be mailing the proxy materials and a letter to shareholders in connection with the company's 2019 Annual Meeting. The Gannett board of directors unanimously recommends that shareholders vote "FOR ALL" of the company's independent director nominees on the WHITE proxy card. Gannett says in the letter: "This year's meeting is particularly significant because MNG Enterprises, also known as Digital First Media, a competing news media company majority-owned by the New York based hedge fund Alden Global Capital is attempting to take control of Gannett through a problematic, two-pronged approach: first, it demanded that Gannett sell itself to MNG and, second, MNG nominated a control slate of candidates, all of whom are affiliated with MNG and/or Alden, to stand for election to the Gannett board. Your board unanimously rejected the unsolicited proposal from MNG to acquire Gannett after careful review and consideration in consultation with our financial and legal advisors. We determined that MNG's proposal undervalues the company and is not credible or actionable, particularly given MNG's failure to produce committed financing and its persistent refusal to answer basic questions regarding how it would overcome likely antitrust and pension issues, among other important matters. Your board believes that MNG's nominees would not bring any additive skills or experience to the Gannett board. Additionally, your board is cognizant of Alden's history of engaging in transactions that have destroyed value while lining the pockets of Alden and its affiliates, including, at MNG, stripping newspapers of certain assets while paying Alden generous management fees. Your board believes that MNG's nominees are being put forward simply to advance Alden's goal: to enrich itself at the expense of Gannett's shareholders. Underscoring this concern, we believe all six candidates nominated by MNG exhibit obvious and significant conflicts of interest. Gannett believes that if MNG's nominees were to be elected to the Gannett board, it would effectively transfer control of the board to MNG and Alden - without any control premium - at which point MNG and Alden would be able to advance a self-serving agenda at yet another American news media company."

08:42 EDT Sorrento Therapeutics subsidiary Scilex announces results from SP-102 trial - Scilex Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Sorrento Therapeutics, announced results of a Phase 2 trial, an open-label, single-arm, pharmacodynamic and safety study of repeat epidural injections of SP-102 in patients with lumbosacral radicular pain. The trial was conducted, as part of FDA requirements for NDA submission, to characterize repeat dose pharmacodynamics, or PD, with respect to hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal, or HPA, suppression using plasma cortisol levels, white blood cell count, or WBC, and blood glucose levels. SP-102 is the first non-opioid novel injectable gel formulation in development for the treatment of lumbar radicular pain, containing no neurotoxic preservatives, surfactants, solvents or particulates. The SP-102 formulation is administered by epidural injection. Based on preclinical and clinical studies, it extends the residency time at the site of injection and does not show the safety concerns that led the FDA to warn against using other steroid formulations by epidural route of administration. This Phase 2 trial enrolled 19 subjects, of which 15 received repeat SP-102 epidural injections four to eight weeks after the index injection. All subjects experienced a reduction in daily leg and back pain measured by the Numeric Pain Rating Scale following both injections, with group means and medians for daily average, current and worst pain in the affected leg mostly demonstrating reductions by over 50% throughout the 28-day observational period for both treatments. All injections were well-tolerated. There were no serious adverse events. Comparison of PD effects demonstrated no apparent differences between first and second injections. Duration of cortisol suppression time was similar between the two treatments and lasted up to 5 days. There were no differences in the magnitude of transient increases of WBC and blood glucose levels between injections.

08:39 EDT Atossa Genetics announces IRB approval of Endoxifen for breast cancer patient - Atossa Genetics announced that the Institutional Review Board, or IRB, has approved the use of Atossa's oral Endoxifen as a post-mastectomy treatment in a pre-menopausal, estrogen-receptor positive breast cancer patient. This IRB approval follows the FDA's recent "safe to proceed" letter and permits Atossa's oral Endoxifen to be provided to the patient. Under the FDA expanded access IND program, the use of Atossa's proprietary oral Endoxifen is restricted solely to this patient.

08:36 EDT ADW Capital seeks sale of Select Interior Concepts - Adam Wyden of ADW Capital Partners transmitted a letter to the board of directors and management of Select Interior Concepts seeking a sale of the company. ADW Capital along with its affiliates hold almost 10% of the company and believe that a sale to a strategic / financial partner will help ensure that the company maximizes the value of its assets.

08:31 EDT CGI Group and League Data extend outsourcing agreement to 2023 - CGI and League Data have extended their long-term outsourcing agreement to 2023. The value of this extension is $18M. Under the new agreement, CGI will continue to manage League Data's banking technology infrastructure, software applications and client service desk, which it has done since 2002.

08:16 EDT LiveXLive Media announces agreement with iHeartMedia - LiveXLive Media announced an exclusive multi-year agreement with iHeartMedia that combines content, production, distribution and promotion. The newly expanded partnership gives LiveXLive exclusive global livestreaming rights for 17 iHeartRadio marquee events this year, including iHeartRadio's ALTer Ego, iHeartCountry Festival, iHeartRadio Wango Tango, Daytime Stage at the iHeartRadio Music Festival and iHeartRadio Fiesta Latina, as well as licensing and streaming rights for select iHeartRadio Theater shows. Located in both New York and Los Angeles, the iHeartRadio Theaters bring fans intimate performances from top recording artists as well as unique events such as exclusive iHeartRadio Album Release Parties.

08:09 EDT Group says Bed Bath & Beyond has potential to earn over $5 in EPS annually - Legion Partners Holdings, Macellum Advisors GP, and Ancora Advisors said, "With the right board and management team in place, the shareholder group believes the Company has the potential to earn more than $5 in EPS annually over the next few years. The shareholder group looks forward to sharing a detailed plan developed with its nominees over the coming weeks and months."

08:07 EDT Investor group 'alarmed' by Bed Bath & Beyond 'poor stock price performance' - The group said, "The Investor Group is alarmed by the company's poor stock price performance, which has significantly underperformed its proxy peers since Steven Temares became CEO on April 3, 2003...Shareholders should not let this board continue to destroy shareholder value. Nor should shareholders believe that the board will hold management accountable to develop a defined and quantifiable road map for the future. In the Investor Group's view, the lack of retail expertise on the board has been an impediment to advancement and in the current operating environment will only result in the continuation of deteriorating results. Shareholders must demand change now before the Company's failures become irreversible...The Bed Bath board is presided over by Co-Chairmen Warren Eisenberg and Leonard Feinstein who have both served on the board for 48 years while the Company has lost touch with modern retail. This has resulted in an apparent inability to appropriately respond to a changing retail landscape that demands greater aptitude for how to compete in an omnichannel world."

08:05 EDT Cambrex doubles cGMP liquid filling capacity at Quebec facility - Cambrex announced it will double the liquid packaging capacity and weekly output at its Mirabel, Quebec site in Canada with the addition of a cGMP packaging line and a new filler on the existing packaging line. By June, the monthly capacity will be 1.2M bottles compared with approximately 600,000 per month. The new cGMP liquid packaging line allows the use of two fillers working in parallel from process development through to cGMP commercial production and will now offer flexibility to accommodate ethanol and isopropanol-based solutions, aqueous solutions, lotions or suspensions. A new vision system has also been installed for online serialization. The new cGMP packaging line is linked to the existing storage tank to fill solution and suspension and to explosion proof ratings tanks to allow for fill solutions containing 100% alcohol or peroxide. The next-generation automatic inline, high precision filler machine will be in operation by June.

08:04 EDT Amira Nature Foods announces increase of contract with repeat customer to $42M - Amira Nature Foods announced that its previously announced $30M contract to supply third party branded basmati rice to a repeat customer in the Europe, Middle East, and Africa region was increased to $42M within the provisions of the contract. The Company expects to recognize the benefit of this contract in the 2020 fiscal year ending March 31, 2020.

07:46 EDT FTI Consulting, Google News Initiative create digital subscriptions lab - FTI Consulting (FCN) announced the creation of the digital subscriptions lab in partnership with the Google (GOOG) News Initiative and Local Media Association, or LMA, a joint effort to help develop a sustainable and thriving business model for the newspaper industry. A select group of publishers from a cross-section of small, medium and large newspapers across North America will be chosen to participate in the six-month program. The publishers will undergo a mix of quantitative and qualitative market research, examining existing and potential reader segments to better understand the addressable market, readers' willingness to pay and more. FTI Consulting will perform a full diagnostic evaluation of each participating publisher across multiple dimensions to benchmark current performance, identify short-term optimization opportunities and recommend longer-term transformation roadmaps. This includes providing a detailed scorecard to show how each publisher sizes up and a dashboard for measuring ongoing progress. The publishers will have support from Google teams. LMA, which serves more than 3,000 newspapers, television stations, radio stations, directories, pure plays and research and development partners, will convene in-person and virtual meetings for the publishers to share learnings and best practices.

07:42 EDT Aldeyra up 71% to $12.22 after Phase 3 ALLEVIATE trial meets enpoints

07:39 EDT Vapotherm announces publication of HVNI vs NIPPV study - Vapotherm announced that a paper published in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine, titled "HVNI vs NIPPV in the treatment of Acute Decompensated Heart Failure: subgroup analysis of a multi-center trial in the ED" showed equivalent outcomes between Hi-VNI Technology and Non-invasive Positive Pressure Ventilation, or NiPPV, in the treatment of respiratory distress in a subgroup of patients suffering from acute decompensated heart failure, or ADHF. More than one million patients with ADHF as a primary diagnosis are admitted to U.S. hospitals each year. The ADHF patient subgroup is from a larger multi-center trial that compares the efficacy of NiPPV and High Velocity Nasal Insufflation, or HVNI, in treating adults in undifferentiated respiratory distress presenting in the Emergency Department, or ED, that found HVNI non-inferior to NiPPV. This ADHF subgroup analysis, which examined the 42 patients that constituted the subset of enrolled patients with an ADHF discharge diagnosis, determined that the primary clinical outcomes between Hi-VNI and NiPPV are also comparable for the subgroup. Secondary outcomes of the original study included findings that Vapotherm's Hi-VNI Technology was superior or equivalent to NiPPV in the physician perception of patient comfort and tolerance, and the clinical use of the technology.

07:38 EDT Neptune Wellness completes initial commercial production lots - Neptune Wellness Solutions announced that it has completed initial commercial production lots and is now shipping cannabis extracts from its licensed, GPP facility in Sherbrooke, Quebec. After receiving its standard processing licence from Health Canada on January 4, Neptune completed required testing and commissioning of its Phase 1 extraction installation, after which it produced its first lots of cannabis extract. Upon successful analysis and testing, the products are now being shipped and invoiced. The completion of investments for installation of Phase 2 ethanol-based extraction equipment remains on track for the end of March with operations planned to ramp up progressively towards a total annual processing capacity of 200,000 kg by July, pending regulatory approvals.

07:35 EDT Wayfair to open first full-service physical retail store - Wayfair will open its first full-service physical retail store later this year. To be located in the Natick Mall in Natick, Massachusetts, the new store will extend the way Wayfair customers shop for home. Scheduled to open in early fall...shoppers will be able to immediately purchase an assortment of products in store and also have orders placed for delivery to their homes. In addition to the Wayfair store, Wayfair will open four pop-up shops later this summer. Visitors will be able to shop a curated selection of products for immediate, in-store purchase, including decorative accents, wall decor, and seasonal pieces. Additional details about the new Natick store will be available closer to the opening in early fall.

07:34 EDT Moleculin Biotech announces data from Phase 1/2 studies of Annamycin - Moleculin Biotech announced positive interim safety and efficacy data from two ongoing open label, single arm Phase 1/2 studies of Annamycin. In the first study, being conducted in the US, four patients have completed treatment at 100 mg/m2 with no significant adverse events related to Annamycin, and the study will now proceed to the next higher dose of 120 mg/m2. The second trial, taking place in Poland, started at a 120 mg/m2 dose of Annamycin and has treated three patients. The first patient treated in that trial received a single course of Annamycin and his bone marrow blasts have reduced from 60% to 11%.

07:30 EDT Aldeyra trading resumes

07:14 EDT Calithera Biosciences treats first patient in CB-839 with Talzenna trial - Calithera Biosciences (CALA) announced that the first patient has been treated in the Phase 1/2 open-label clinical trial of the glutaminase inhibitor telaglenastat, or CB-839, in combination with Pfizer's (PFE) poly adenosine diphosphate ribose polymerase inhibitor talazoparib, also known as Talzenna, in patients with advanced or metastatic solid tumors. The Phase 1/2 trial will evaluate the safety and efficacy of the combination of telaglenastat plus talazoparib in patients with locally advanced/metastatic renal cell carcinoma, triple negative breast cancer and colorectal cancer that are refractory or intolerant to standard therapies. The trial will evaluate the potential of telaglenastat to sensitize tumors to talazoparib in patients regardless of mutations in the BRCA gene.

07:11 EDT McDermott awarded contract for Unipetrol refinery - McDermott announced a sizeable contract award from Unipetrol RPA for engineering, procurement and construction management services for its refinery in Litvinov, Czech Republic. The contract includes the full suite of EPCM services for the upgrade of Unipetrol's hydrocracking unit. McDermott previously completed the feasibility study and basic engineering design and will now execute the procurement and installation phase. The project is scheduled to be fully executed from McDermott's Brno, Czech Republic, office with completion expected in second quarter 2020. Work on the project will begin immediately and the contract award will be reflected in McDermott's first quarter 2019 backlog.

07:09 EDT Soligenix says actively enrolling patients in Phase 3 clinical trial of SGX942 - Christopher Schaber, PhD, President and CEO of Soligenix stated, "We are actively enrolling patients in our pivotal double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 clinical trial of SGX942 (dusquetide) for the treatment of oral mucositis in patients with head and neck cancer receiving chemoradiation therapy. We anticipate completion of patient enrollment for the planned interim analysis in the first half of 2019, with the results of the interim analysis expected in the third quarter of 2019." As of December 31, 2018, the company's cash position was approximately $9M.

07:08 EDT MIND C.T.I. to acquire German-based Message Mobile for up to approx. $3M - MIND C.T.I. announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Message Mobile GmbH, a provider of enterprise messaging, communication and payment solutions, based in Luneburg, Germany. MIND acquires Message Mobile for up to approximately $3M in total, $2.25M in cash and approximately $0.75M in 345,908 MIND shares to Dr. Martin Hecker, Message Mobile's founder. The transaction is expected to be marginally accretive to our earnings per share, excluding acquisition-related items, in fiscal 2019 and thereafter. MIND's financial results will include the acquired company's results starting the second quarter of 2019. The acquisition is anticipated to be completed shortly, subject to customary closing requirements.

07:07 EDT Compugen board, management purchase company shares during March - Compugen announced that its entire board of directors and members of management purchased company shares on the open market during March. "My fellow board members and I are excited about Compugen's unique value proposition, its proven computational discovery platform, and differentiated therapeutic pipeline that is designed to address significant unmet needs in immuno-oncology," said Paul Sekhri, Chairman of the Board. "We have the highest confidence in this management team and employees whose talent and dedication made possible the acomplishments of 2018, including the intiation of two clinical trials as well as partnerships with Bristol-Myers Squibb and AstraZeneca. We believe the company is well positioned, now more than ever, for future significant growth and success."

07:05 EDT Ichor announces collaboration, research license agreement with AstraZeneca - Ichor Medical Systems announced that it has entered into a collaboration and research license agreement with AstraZeneca for the development and clinical assessment of plasmid DNA constructs. The plasmids will encode monoclonal antibodies developed by AstraZeneca and will be delivered using Ichor's TriGrid Delivery System. Under the terms of the agreement, Ichor will receive upfront and annual payments along with development milestones.

07:04 EDT NanoViricides requests pre-IND meeting with FDA - NanoViricides announces that it has requested a pre-IND meeting with the U.S. FDA, as it progresses its lead drug candidate towards human clinical trials. The company recently reported that its first broad-spectrum drug candidate in the HerpeCide program, namely, NV-HHV-101, has successfully completed the non-GLP portion of the Safety/Toxicology studies that are required for filing an IND in order to initiate human clinical trials. The company is now in the process of manufacturing a large batch of the drug as needed for the GLP portion of the Safety/Toxicology studies. "Our IND-enabling non-GLP as well as GLP Safety/Toxicology studies are being conducted by BASi, Evansville, Indiana, a well known CRO specializing in these studies." NanoViricides has now submitted a request for a "Type B" Pre-IND Meeting with the U.S. FDA for this drug candidate. The company believes that the resulting pre-IND meeting will provide valuable information for designing the company's clinical program for this drug candidate. The initial indication of this drug candidate will be for the treatment of shingles rash. The company is also developing drugs against HSV-1 "cold sores" and HSV-2 "genital ulcers", both based on this same drug candidate, although final clinical candidates are in pre-clinical optimization stage for both of these indications as of now.

07:02 EDT Aldeyra announces results from Phase 3 Alleviate Trial - Aldeyra Therapeutic announced positive results from the Phase 3 ALLEVIATE Trial of 0.25% and 0.5% reproxalap topical ophthalmic solution in patients with allergic conjunctivitis. The clinical trial met the primary endpoint and the key secondary endpoint for both concentrations of reproxalap. The company commented, "Consistent with positive results from five prior Phase 2 clinical trials in ocular inflammation, today's announcement confirms the potential of reproxalap as a novel and clinically meaningful approach for the treatment of allergic conjunctivitis. Given that approximately half of allergic conjunctivitis patients also suffer from ocular dryness, we believe the ALLEVIATE results highlight the relevance of reproxalap to our current Phase 3 program in dry eye disease." The double-masked, randomized, vehicle-controlled, multi-center, parallel-group conjunctival allergen challenge Phase 3 ALLEVIATE trial assessed the efficacy and safety of 0.25% and 0.5% concentrations of reproxalap topical ophthalmic solutions compared to vehicle in 318 patients with seasonal allergic conjunctivitis.

06:54 EDT PGT Innovations names Sherri Baker as CFO, succeeding Brad West - PGT Innovations (PGTI) announced the appointment of Sherri Baker as Senior Vice President and CFO, effective April 8. In this role, Baker will lead the company's finance strategy, budgeting and planning, accounting, financial reporting and investor relations functions. Baker succeeds Brad West, who is assuming the newly created position of Senior Vice President of Corporate Development and Treasurer. Prior to joining PGT Innovations, Baker served as Vice President, Commercial Finance, for Dean Foods (DF).

06:51 EDT Nokia proposes Soren Skou be elected as a board member - Nokia Board convenes the Annual General Meeting 2019, proposes that the Board be authorized to distribute an aggregate maximum of EUR 0.20 per share and Soren Skou be elected as a Board member.

06:33 EDT Wabco subsidiary signs $180M extension agreement with leading OEM - WABCO Holdings announced that R. H. Sheppard, its subsidiary that develops and manufactures steering systems for commercial vehicles has signed a $180M long-term extension agreement with one of the world's leading original equipment manufacturers, or OEM, to supply power steering gears for its truck brands in the U.S.

06:31 EDT BrainStorm granted patent for Mesenchymal Stem Cells in Europe - BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics announced that the European Patent Office, or EPO, has granted a European-wide patent titled 'Mesenchymal Stem Cells for the treatment of CNS Diseases.' The European Patent Application will be published in the European Patent Bulletin 19/13 on 27 March 2019, under Patent No. 2620493. The allowed claims cover the isolated cells as well as their use in the manufacture of a medicament for treating a CNS disease or disorder, selected from the group consisting of: Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, stroke, autoimmune encephalomyelitis, diabetic neuropathy, glaucomatous neuropathy, Alzheimer's disease and Huntingdon's disease.

06:12 EDT Travelers Europe partners with Robert Brown and Dawn Bhoma - Travelers Europe announced it is partnering with Robert Brown and Dawn Bhoma, market-leading transactional risk and tax liability underwriters in London, to significantly enhance its transactional risk insurance offering in the UK and Europe, as demand for mergers and acquisitions risk transfer solutions continues to grow. Under the partnership, Brown and Bhoma are providing their expertise exclusively to a new Travelers-led transactional risk consortium of insurers, which currently offers a gross capacity of GBP80M per transaction. In addition, Travelers is assisting Brown and Bhoma in establishing a new managing general agency to write transactional risk on behalf of the consortium.

06:05 EDT IHS Markit CFO says 'well positioned' to deliver FY19 financial commitments - "We continue to deliver strong diversified revenue growth and margin expansion while making the right level of investment to be able to sustain long-term financial returns for our shareholders," said Lance Uggla, chairman and CEO at IHS Markit. "We are pleased with the start of the year and believe we are well positioned to deliver upon our full-year financial commitments," said Todd Hyatt, CFO at IHS Markit.

06:03 EDT Conn's expects positive SSS trends - The company said, "For FY20, we continue to expect positive same store sales trends and plan to open 12 to 15 new Conn's HomePlus locations. With only 125 stores across 14 states, we have a significant opportunity to serve customers throughout the country with our unmatched value proposition. As we enter the new fiscal year, we are excited with our strong financial and operating position allowing us to focus on retail expansion."

05:53 EDT Samsung sees Q1 below expectations on display and memory weakness - Samsung said last night that its Q1 results are expected to be below market expectations due to "worse- than-expected business conditions in the display and memory industries." Display earnings are likely to fall short of market expectations, the company said. "In the LCD business, amid weak seasonality, price declines were greater than expected due to an increase in supply following increased capacity of Chinese companies. In the OLED business, profitability worsened due to a decline in demand for flexible products from large customers and intense price competition with LTPS LCD panels." In memory, "price declines for major products are likely to exceed previous expectations amid overall weak demand under seasonality," Samsung announced. It added, "To overcome difficult business conditions, the Company will strengthen product differentiation based on its technological leadership while also enhancing cost competitiveness via efficient resource management. In the mid to long term, we will continue efforts to strengthen key capabilities by boosting competitiveness of our major businesses while securing sustained growth via strategic investments in R&D, new businesses, etc."

05:31 EDT Orion Group appoints Austin Shanfelter as Interim COO - Orion Group announced the appointment of Austin Shanfelter as Interim COO. The company also announced a change in leadership in its marine division with the appointment of Scott Cromack as Executive Vice President, Orion Marine Group. To assist with the implementation of the company's Invest, Scale, Growth initiatives under its Process Improvement Plan, the company has appointed Austin Shanfelter, who has served as an independent director, as Interim COO, where he is expected to serve for the balance of 2019 while the company conducts a search. The company also announced a change in the leadership of its marine division with the appointment of Scott Cromack as Executive Vice President, Orion Marine Group. Cromack brings over 27 years of experience to this position, most recently as Senior Vice President at Texas Sterling Construction.

05:09 EDT AbbVie receives approval for SKYRIZI in Japan - AbbVie announced that the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, or MHLW, has approved SKYRIZI, an interleukin-23 inhibitor, for the treatment of plaque psoriasis, generalized pustular psoriasis, erythrodermic psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis in adult patients who have an inadequate response to conventional therapies. This approval marks the first country approval in the world for SKYRIZI. "With this first global approval of SKYRIZI, we are excited to bring a new treatment option to people living with psoriatic disease in Japan," said Michael Severino, M.D., vice chairman and president, AbbVie. "SKYRIZI has the potential to improve the signs and symptoms of these chronic, immune-mediated diseases. We look forward to continuing to work with regulatory authorities to make this treatment available to more patients worldwide."

04:54 EDT EMC Insurance holder Gregory Shepard calls takeover bid 'woefully inadequate' - Gregory Shepard, who owns a 5.09% stake or 1.1M shares of EMC Insurance Group, sent a letter yesterday to the company's Special Committee of the Board of Directors. The letter states in part, "In November 2018, the Company's majority owner, Employers Mutual Casualty Company, made an opportunistic proposal to acquire the shares of the Company that EMCC did not already own. The Proposal values the Company at 1.13 times book value and was made during an extremely difficult Fourth Quarter that resulted in temporarily depressed financial results. I do not believe this is an august way for the Company to end more than thirty years of being owned in the public markets. I believe the Special Committee of the Company's Board has an obligation to resist any effort by EMCC to take advantage of the public shareholders of the Company and must consider precedent transactions and all alternatives to the Proposal, including the sale of the Company to other bidders, to maximize value for all public shareholders. Consistent with those precedents and opportunities, as described more completely below, I believe the Company should be valued in any go-private transaction well in excess of two times book value, which is significantly more than $50 per share. The current $30 per share Proposal is therefore woefully inadequate....In addition to owning 1.1 million shares of the Company, my family and I have been in the insurance business as operators and investors for decades. With twenty times the ownership of the Special Committee, I could have represented the public shareholders well and brought increased legitimacy to a process otherwise fraught with conflicts of interest and competing loyalties. Instead, you rejected my offer of assistance." Shares of EMC closed yesterday down 10c to $31.69.