Stockwinners Market Radar for April 04, 2019 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

19:23 EDT Natural Alternatives extends manufacturing pact with Juice Plus+ - Natural Alternatives International, Inc. announced that it has further extended its partnership with The Juice Plus+ Company through the execution of an amendment to and a three year extension of its multi-year Exclusive Manufacturing Agreement covering Juice Plus+ capsule and powder products sold in over 24 markets around the world. The effective date of the Amended and Restated Exclusive Manufacturing Agreement is March 31, 2019. As part of the extension, Juice Plus+ will receive a cash based discount during the remaining term of the original agreement, and subject to minimum annual purchases by Juice Plus+ an additional cash based discount during the extended period of the agreement.

18:45 EDT GAP Airports reports preliminary March traffic up 5.7% - During March 2019, total terminal passengers increased by 5.7% at the company's 13 airports, compared to the same period of the previous year. Domestic passenger traffic increased by 3.9%, while international passenger traffic increased by 7.8%.

18:42 EDT SPDR Gold Shares holdings fall to 762.55MT from 764.29MT - This is the fourth consecutive decline and the lowest level of holdings since December 10, 2018.

18:32 EDT Alteryx acquires ClearStory Data, terms not stated - Alteryx announced that it has acquired ClearStory Data, a privately held software company based in Menlo Park, Calif. ClearStory Data is an enterprise-scale, continuous intelligence analytics solution for complex and unstructured data. Since its founding in 2011, ClearStory Data has focused on enabling intelligent automation on large-scale data processing platforms, including Spark.

18:17 EDT Ceragon Networks to partner with NEC to expand 5G wireless business - NEC Corporation and Ceragon Networks announced they have entered into a collaboration agreement to further expand their global wireless backhaul business footprint. The agreement calls for a development program, wherein the companies will leverage both parties' rich experience and unique capabilities in microwave and millimeter-wave communications, to develop advanced technologies which will further accelerate innovation and deliver premium cutting-edge solutions for 5G wireless backhaul. NEC and Ceragon will each provide their own differentiated solutions based on these advanced technologies.

17:57 EDT Denison Mines enters 5-year management services deal with Uranium Participation - Denison Mines announced that effective April 1, 2019, its wholly owned subsidiary, Denison Mines Inc. has entered into a new five year agreement to provide management services to Uranium Participation Corporation. Under the terms of the MSA, UPC appoints Denison to act as the manager of the corporation and grants the Manager the authority and responsibility to manage and administer the business and affairs of UPC, subject to the oversight and applicable approvals from the Board of Directors of UPC. The Manager is responsible for providing the corporation with certain executive officers, and any other staff necessary to carry out its responsibilities for the administration and oversight of UPC's uranium inventories, as well as UPC's financial reporting, investor relations and marketing activities.

17:45 EDT Shutterfly: Michael Meek will step-down as president and CEO of Lifetouch unit - On March 29 the company entered into a transition agreement for transition services through October 15, with Michael Meek, who will be stepping down from his role as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Lifetouch to pursue other activities. The company has initiated efforts to identify a new President of Lifetouch. In January of 2018 Shutterfly announced a definitive agreement for Shutterfly to acquire privately-held Lifetouch for $825M in cash.

17:36 EDT Bill Healy Foundation reports 7.2% passive stake in Craft Brew - Bill Healy Foundation disclosed a 7.2% stake in Craft Brew , which represents over 1.40M shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

17:33 EDT Fannie, Freddie spike in after-hours after Calabria confirmed as FHFA chief - According to reports, the ending of the conservatorship of Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FMAC) will be debated as a key issue under the leadership of newly appointed Mark Calabria as director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Federal National Mortgage Association is up over 5%, while Freddie Mac is up 4% in after-hours trading.

17:20 EDT Boot Barn to replace PS Business Parks in S&P 600 at open on 4/11

17:18 EDT Century Communities to replace Semtech in S&P 600 at open on 4/11

16:58 EDT Highbridge Capital reports 5.43% passive stake in Contura Energy - In a regulatory filing, Highbridge Capital disclosed a 5.43% stake in Contura Energy, which represents roughly 1M common shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

16:56 EDT HomeStreet sells mortgage origination business, some mortgage servicing rights - HomeStreet announced that the bank has executed a definitive agreement for Homebridge Financial Services to acquire the assets of up to 50 stand-alone, satellite and fulfillment offices related to the bank's home loan center based single family mortgage origination business, and to make offers of employment to HomeStreet's related personnel. Homebridge has agreed to a purchase price of the net book value of the acquired assets plus a premium, as well as the assumption of certain home loan center and fulfillment office lease obligations. In the event Homebridge realizes a certain level of loan originations for the twelve months following the closing of the transaction, HomeStreet will be entitled to an additional payment of $1M at that time. The transaction remains subject to certain employee and branch office state licensing requirements and other customary closing conditions, and is expected to be substantially completed in Q2. The bank also announced that it has sold a significant portion of its single family mortgage servicing rights. The transactions provide for the sale of mortgage servicing rights related to single family mortgage loans held by or pooled in securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac with aggregate unpaid principal balances of approximately $9.9B to New Residential Mortgage and the sale of mortgage servicing rights related to single family mortgage loans pooled in Ginnie Mae mortgage backed securities with aggregate unpaid principal balances of approximately $4.4B to PennyMac Loan Services. Together, these sales represent approximately 71.0% of HomeStreet's total mortgage servicing rights portfolio as of December 31, 2018. The physical transfer of servicing from the bank will take place in stages and is expected to be completed by August. HomeStreet will continue to service the loans between the date of sale and the related physical transfer dates. In connection with these transactions, the company's board has approved a plan of exit pursuant to which the company will no longer consider mortgage banking to be a separate reportable segment of its financial statements under generally accepted accounting principles applicable to the company. These actions are expected to be substantially completed by June 30 and fully completed by December 31 and based on current estimates and assuming the full transfer of offices and employees contemplated in the transaction, the company expects to incur pre-tax charges of $5.4M-$6.7M for severance and related benefit costs, $11.1M-$13.5M of asset and technology related charges, and $3M-$4M of other charges. The total charges resulting from this plan are currently estimated to be approximately $19.5M-$24.2M.

16:43 EDT Duluth Holdings plunges 16% after quarterly report, guidance - Shares of Duluth trading are down 16% or $3.70 per share to $19.80 per share in after-hours trading.

16:36 EDT Top Image Systems shareholders clear acquisition by Kofax - Top Image Systems Ltd. announced that, at an extraordinary general meeting held today, the shareholders of the company voted "overwhelmingly" to approve the previously announced acquisition by Kofax. Quorum was achieved with 99% of the voting shareholders approving the merger. Top Image Systems expects the merger to close during the second week of May.

16:33 EDT CenturyLink expands cloud ecosystem to offer IBM Cloud Object Storage - CenturyLink (CTL) announced the expansion of its cloud connectivity and services portfolio to include IBM (IBM) Cloud Object Storage platform. With the addition of this storage option, CenturyLink can offer media and entertainment companies a more scalable, highly-available, and secure way to improve the management and delivery of their content globally, the company said. "Providing high-performance, geographically-diverse origin storage is critical to achieving great user experiences when attempting to reach global audiences - particularly when it comes to serving fast-growing regions like Latin America and Asia-Pacific," said Bill Wohnoutka, vice president of global internet and content delivery solutions for CenturyLink. "IBM Cloud Object Storage combined with CenturyLink's rapidly expanding global CDN footprint offers our customers a scalable, highly-available and resilient option to improve user experience for content delivery globally."

16:31 EDT Owens-Illinois appoints John Haudrich CFO - Owens-Illinois announced that John Haudrich has been appointed senior VP and CFO, as Jan Bertsch has elected to step down and retire after serving as CFO since November 2015. In addition to assuming responsibilities for the company's finance and information technology functions, Haudrich will continue to lead O-I's strategy and integration organization. Haudrich and Bertsch will work together through mid-2019 to fully transition responsibilities.

16:23 EDT Merrimack down 7% to $6.65 after halting development of MM-310

16:17 EDT Merrimack to discontinue development of MM-310 - Merrimack announced the company is discontinuing development of MM-310, its antibody-directed nanotherapeutic for the treatment of solid tumors. This decision was the result of a comprehensive review of available safety data from its Phase 1 study. Based on emerging data since the recent amendment of the clinical protocol, the company has concluded that the study would not be able to reach an optimal therapeutic index for MM-310. Merrimack has terminated the study and expects to initiate a workforce reduction as it closes out clinical activities, reflective of its narrowed preclinical pipeline and in line with prior cost-cutting measures. "We are disappointed that amending the trial protocol does not appear to have solved the cumulative toxicity observed in patients treated with MM-310," said Sergio Santillana, M.D., M.Sc., Chief Medical Officer of Merrimack. "However, we are grateful to our investigators and patients for their commitment to cancer research, and to our team for all their efforts in supporting the development and clinical evaluation of MM-310." "Due to our ongoing exploration of strategic alternatives and given these unfortunate challenges in identifying a clinically meaningful safety profile for MM-310, we have decided to halt further development of the program," said Richard Peters, M.D., Ph.D., President & Chief Executive Officer of Merrimack. "Additionally, as we have narrowed the scope of our pipeline to our two most promising preclinical programs, MM-401 and MM-201, we are initiating steps to close out remaining clinical activities in order to further preserve our resources. We continue to prudently advance these programs as we work expeditiously to bring our ongoing strategic process to conclusion." In November, Merrimack announced the observation of emerging cumulative grade 3 peripheral neuropathy in three solid tumor patients following multiple cycles of treatment with MM-310 and amended the clinical protocol to extend the dosing schedule from an every three week to an every four week regimen, tightened inclusion and exclusion criteria and implemented proactive dose-reduction rules at the first signs of peripheral neuropathy. Despite the amended protocol, emerging data show MM-310 administered every four weeks continues to result in significant cumulative peripheral neuropathy, which precludes the study from reaching an optimal therapeutic index for MM-310. Merrimack plans to work swiftly to close out clinical activities and carry out associated cost-cutting measures and expects to provide an update on these efforts with its first quarter 2019 financial results. Additionally, in light of its ongoing strategic process, the Company continues to prudently advance its preclinical immuno-oncology pipeline: MM-401, an agonistic antibody targeting a novel immuno-oncology target, TNFR2; and MM-201, a highly stabilized agonist-Fc fusion protein targeting death receptors 4 and 5. Encouraging data from both programs were presented at the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting held March 29 - April 3 in Atlanta, GA.

16:15 EDT Molina Healthcare announces partnership with eviCore - Molina Healthcare, Inc. announced that it has partnered with eviCore healthcare, a player in evidence-based medical benefit management services, to support Molina's utilization management of certain specialties, including advanced imaging, cardiac imaging, ultrasound, sleep, radiation therapy, laboratory, and medical oncology services. "The agreement with eviCore benefits our members and providers by promoting faster authorizations and expediting access to care, which drives better diagnoses and treatment," said Jim Woys, Executive Vice President of Health Plan Services for Molina Healthcare. "This strategic partnership will support Molina's continued execution of its margin sustainability plan and improve the member and provider experience."

16:11 EDT Axovant announces 1-for-8 reverse share split - Axovant Gene Therapies announced that its board and a majority of its shareholders have approved a reduction of issued and outstanding common shares on a 1-for-8 basis that is expected to become effective in May. The reverse share split will reduce the number of common shares issued and outstanding from approximately 182.2M common shares to approximately 22.8M, based on shares outstanding as of March 31.

16:09 EDT Acceleron down 4.9% at $44 per share after discontinuing ACE-2494 phase 1 trial -

16:08 EDT Novartis announces legal dispute with Amgen regarding migraine collaboration - Novartis (NVS) announced that there is a legal dispute with Amgen (AMGN) regarding the collaboration agreements in the field of migraine. On April 2, Amgen issued a notice of termination of its migraine collaboration agreements with Novartis based on "an alleged material breach of the collaboration agreements." Novartis said in its statement that it "disputes the notice vigorously. In order to prevent an unjustifiable attempt by Amgen to end the collaboration, Novartis has filed a lawsuit asking the court to confirm that Amgen has no right to terminate the agreements." The agreements will remain in force unless and until a final and binding court decision is pronounced that terminates the agreements.

16:06 EDT Acceleron discontinues Phase 1 Molecule ACE-2494 program - Acceleron announced it is discontinuing development of ACE-2494, a systemic muscle agent the company had been studying in a Phase 1 healthy volunteer trial for the potential treatment of neuromuscular disorders. "Although ACE-2494 showed promising early signs of target engagement in our recently completed Phase 1 trial, the frequency of anti-drug antibodies (ADAs) observed among participants has led us to discontinue the program," said Habib Dable, President and Chief Executive Officer of Acceleron. "The formation of ADAs was not associated with any adverse event, but the ADA profile is not consistent with a clinical program that Acceleron would advance. "

16:02 EDT Wayland Group selected for cannabis production license in Germany - Wayland Group (MRRCF) announced that the company has been selected by the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices, or BfArM, through its German joint venture DEMECAN GmbH, to begin domestic production of medical cannabis for the rapidly growing German patient population. The company is one of three groups that have been selected and is subject to a review period, after which a final decision will be made no earlier than April 17.

16:00 EDT Cognex CFO John J. Curran to resign - Cognex Corporation announced that Senior Vice President of Finance & Administration and Chief Financial Officer John J. Curran will resign from Cognex, effective May 3, 2019. "I want to thank John for his contributions during his two-year tenure as CFO, which include the successful implementation of Cognex's new ERP system and the further development of our Finance and Administration organization," said Robert J. Willett, Cognex's President and Chief Executive Officer. Willett continued, "Cognex is now actively recruiting to fill this important position. John will continue to serve in the role of CFO until May 3 and will remain available to the company on a consulting basis after that time."

15:09 EDT Boeing CEO sees certification, implementation of 737 MAX fix 'in weeks ahead'

14:58 EDT Pfizer says FDA approves sNDA to expand indications for IBRANCE - Pfizer announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a supplemental New Drug Application to expand the indications for IBRANCE in combination with an aromatase inhibitor or fulvestrant to include men with hormone receptor-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer. The approval is based on data from electronic health records and postmarketing reports of the real-world use of IBRANCE in male patients sourced from three databases: IQVIA Insurance database, Flatiron Health Breast Cancer database and the Pfizer global safety database. "With this approval, we are now able to offer IBRANCE to the underserved male breast cancer community and provide more patients with HR+, HER2- metastatic breast cancer the opportunity to access an innovative medicine," said Chris Boshoff, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Development Officer, Oncology, Pfizer Global Product Development. "We appreciate that our partnership with the FDA has allowed us to take a significant step forward in the use of real-world data to bring medicines to patients who are most in need."

14:33 EDT Carlyle Group company acquires Pine Hill Group - CFGI announced it has acquired Pine Hill Group, an accounting and transaction advisory firm with offices in Philadelphia, New York City, and Princeton, N.J. CFGI is a portfolio company of The Carlyle Group (CG). Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

14:31 EDT Appaloosa issues supplemental presentation in response to Allergan filing - Appaloosa issued a supplemental presentation in response to Allergan's April 2 filing regarding Appaloosa's proposal to separate the roles of Chairman and CEO. Reference Link

14:20 EDT Harley-Davidson announces Neil Grimmer to join as Global Brand President - Harley-Davidson announced that Neil Grimmer will join the company's leadership team as President, Harley-Davidson Brand. Most recently, he was Founder and CEO of Habit, which Harley called "the world's first personalized nutrition life science company." The company stated: "As Harley's first-ever brand president, Grimmer will evolve the brand to support the company's strategy to build the next generation of Harley-Davidson riders globally. As the company expands into new segments and new geographies and seeks to inspire diverse, new riders around the globe, he will be responsible for all aspects of the Harley-Davidson brand including product planning, marketing, retail, apparel and communications."

14:02 EDT Snap introduces 'App Stories' for third-party apps - Snap Inc. announced new Snap Kit capabilities and partnerships, including App Stories, which "lets Snapchatters create custom Stories for partner apps, directly from Snapchat." Additionally, the company announced new partners across the Snap Kit ecosystem. Launch partners include Tinder, Houseparty, and AdventureAide and App Stories integrations will launch throughout 2019, the company said. In the coming months, Snap will launch the Snap Audience Network, designed to offer third-party developers the opportunity to monetize their apps with the company's full-screen mobile ad format, Snap Ads, the company also announced. Applications for app publishers and developers open today, Snap said.

13:50 EDT Boingo rises after announcing launch of Wi-Fi service at Heathrow - Heathrow has launched a fast speed Wi-Fi service at the airport in partnership with Boingo, the company announced earlier. Passengers at all Heathrow terminals are "now able to enjoy the new Wi-Fi experience with up to 100 Mbps," the company stated. Investments have been made to upgrade the wireless network across the airport, ensuring bandwidth capacity, and Boingo has installed two new high-speed internet links at the airport as part of the service overhaul, the company added. In afternoon trading, Boingo shares are up $1.54, or 6.9%, to $24.05. Reference Link

13:19 EDT Pretium Resources jumps 6% after confirming 'robust' Brucejack performance - Earlier on Thursday, Pretium Resources announced an updated Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource and Life of Mine Plan for the Brucejack Mine, which highlight the continued robust economics of the low-cost, long-life operation. "Since achieving production at Brucejack we have processed over 1.5M tonnes of ore and produced over 500,000 ounces of gold, providing us a solid foundation of operating experience and key metrics to update the life of mine plan and outlook for the mine," said Joseph Ovsenek, President and CEO of Pretivm. "At $1,300 gold, Brucejack now has an estimated after-tax net present value at a 5% discount rate of $2.59 billion over a 14-year mine life. This is a significant increase from the 2017 estimated net present value at a 5% discount rate of $2.10 billion. With Brucejack as our foundation and with our considerable growth profile, Pretivm is well-positioned as a profitable gold producer." Shares of Pretium Resources are up 6.25% or 51c to $8.67 per share in afternoon trading.

13:00 EDT Supreme Court of Canada rejects bid to revive dismissed suit against Chevron - The Supreme Court of Canada has rejected a request to review a decision of the Court of Appeal for Ontario that a $9.5B Ecuadorian judgment against Chevron Corporation cannot be enforced against Chevron Canada Limited, an indirect subsidiary. The Court of Appeal for Ontario's decision, which is now final, dismissed all claims against Chevron Canada Limited, holding that it is a separate entity from Chevron Corporation and that its shares and assets cannot be seized by those seeking to enforce the corrupt Ecuadorian judgment. The Ecuadorian judgment itself has already been found by U.S. courts and an international tribunal in The Hague to have been obtained through fraud, bribery and corruption. "We are pleased that the highest court in Canada has put an end to the plaintiffs' lawyers' attempts to enforce their corrupt Ecuadorian judgment against Chevron's indirect subsidiary in Canada," said R. Hewitt Pate, vice president and general counsel, Chevron Corporation. "Canadian courts have rejected the plaintiffs' efforts to circumvent the determination by U.S. courts that the Ecuadorian judgment against Chevron was procured through bribery, fraud and other racketeering activity. Any further efforts by the plaintiffs' lawyers to continue this lawsuit in Canada would be an abuse of the country's legal system and a waste of its judicial resources."

12:47 EDT Study: Wells Fargo, other banks charge large fees to students, U.S. PIRG says - Public interest advocate U.S. PIRG said" "According to U.S. PIRG Education Fund's new report, Debit Cards on Campus: Putting Student Financial Well-Being At Risk, many banks are adding to that expense by partnering with schools to offer and aggressively market new checking accounts to students. Students with these accounts, including some with Wells Fargo, paid twice as much in fees on average as students at campuses without these shared agreements, despite federal protections put in place in 2015."Many students already carry a crushing burden of student loan debt to pay for college. High bank fees make that load even heavier," said David Rossini, chair of U.S. PIRG Education Fund's Consumer Protection program. Publicly traded companies in the space include Bank of America (BAC), Citi (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), JPMorgan (JPM), Morgan Stanley (MS), U.S. Bancorp (USB) and Wells Fargo (WFC). Reference Link

12:45 EDT Goldcorp announces shareholders approve combination with Newmont - Goldcorp (GG) announces that Goldcorp's shareholders have voted "overwhelmingly" in favor of the plan of arrangement to combine with Newmont Mining (NEM) at a special meeting of shareholders. Newmont's special shareholder meeting will take place on April 11, where shareholders will be asked to vote on the issuance of Newmont common shares in connection with the proposed transaction with Goldcorp. Newmont and Goldcorp expect the transaction to close in the second quarter of 2019, subject to approval by Newmont shareholders and the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

12:33 EDT Triumph Group awarded contract to support Boeing's MQ-25 unmanned tanker - Triumph Group (TGI) has been awarded a contract by The Boeing Company (BA) to supply critical hydraulic system components for the MQ-25 unmanned aerial refueling program. Triumph Integrated Systems will provide components for the hydraulic systems used in the landing gear and the aircraft's arresting systems. Integrated Systems provides similar content on other Boeing defense aircraft. The MQ-25 is the U.S. Navy's first operational carrier-based unmanned aircraft and is designed to provide a much-needed refueling capability. The contract supports Boeing's engineering and manufacturing development program to provide four MQ-25 aircraft to the U.S. Navy for Initial Operational Capability by 2024.

12:18 EDT USITC Institutes Section 337 investigation of some solar cells and products - The U.S. International Trade Commission has voted to institute an investigation of certain photovoltaic cells and products containing the same. The investigation is based on a complaint filed by Hanwha Q CELLS USA and Hanwha Q CELLS & Advanced Materials Corporation on March 4, 2019. The complaint alleges violations of section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 in the importation into the United States and sale of certain photovoltaic cells and products containing the same that infringe a patent asserted by the complainant. The complainant requests that the USITC issue a limited exclusion order and cease and desist orders. The USITC has identified JinkoSolar (JKS) as being among the respondents in this investigation. Other publicly traded companies in the solar power space include Canadian Solar (CSIQ), First Solar (FSLR), JA Solar (JASO), SunEdison (SUNEQ), SunPower (SPWR), Trina Solar (TSL) and Yingli Green Energy (YGE). Reference Link

12:00 EDT Alteryx falls -6.4% - Alteryx is down -6.4%, or -$5.42 to $79.60.

12:00 EDT Micro Focus falls -6.9% - Micro Focus is down -6.9%, or -$1.86 to $25.18.

12:00 EDT Milacron rises 8.3% - Milacron is up 8.3%, or $1.01 to $13.16.

11:45 EDT Armstrong World reports confidential settlement agreement with Rockfon - Armstrong World Industries reported in a regulatory filing earlier that the company and Roxul USA entered into a confidential settlement agreement to fully resolve the litigation between them that was pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware. All claims in the litigation will be fully and finally dismissed and released with Armstrong making a payment to Rockfon for its costs, expenses and attorneys' fees, the company said. Pursuant to the settlement, both parties acknowledge that Armstrong denies all claims of wrongdoing and makes no admission of wrongdoing or of the truth of any of the claims or allegations contained in Rockfon's complaint or otherwise alleged in the litigation; all Armstrong exclusive distribution locations will remain exclusive to Armstrong under their respective distribution agreements, and in all other non-exclusive or "open" distribution locations, resellers are free to purchase and resell ceiling systems products of any manufacturer at their discretion, the filing noted. Also on April 3, Rockfon filed a stipulation of dismissal with prejudice with the court, in which Rockfon formally dismissed all claims it had against Armstrong with prejudice and the pending trial between the parties was vacated.

11:34 EDT Ethiopia highlights flight control problems in preliminary accident report - Ethiopia's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau released its preliminary report on the Boeing 737 Max Jet crash. "The sole objective of the investigation of an accident or incident shall be the prevention of accidents and incidents; it is not the purpose of this activity to apportion blame or liability," the agency said. It's executive summary reads: "On March 10, 2019, at 05:38 UTC, Ethiopian Airlines flight 302, Boeing 737-8(MAX), ET-AVJ, took off from Addis Ababa Bole Int. Airport bound to Nairobi, Kenya Jomo Kenyatta Int. Airport. Shortly after takeoff, the Angle of Attack sensor recorded value became erroneous and the left stick shaker activated and remained active until near the end of the flight. In addition, the airspeed and altitude values from the left air data system began deviating from the corresponding right side values. Due to flight control problems, the Captain was unable to maintain the flight path and requested to return back to the departure airport. The crew lost control of the aircraft which crashed at 5: 44 UTC 28 NM South East of Addis Ababa near Ejere village."

11:20 EDT Constellation management 'disappointed' they couldn't give FY19 Canopy guidance - Comments provided during Q4 earnings conference call.

11:06 EDT New York Times 'had no legitimate sources' about Mueller Report, Trump tweets - President Donald Trump tweeted: "The New York Times had no legitimate sources, which would be totally illegal, concerning the Mueller Report. In fact, they probably had no sources at all! They are a Fake News paper who have already been forced to apologize for their incorrect and very bad reporting on me!" Reference Link

10:59 EDT Roan Resources up 3% to $5.89 after Imperial starts with Outperform rating

10:39 EDT Jazz, Lundbeck, Alexion pay $122.6M to settle allegations with DoJ - The Department of Justice announced that three pharmaceutical companies -- Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ), Lundbeck (HLUYY), and Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN) - have agreed to pay a total of $122.6M to resolve allegations that they each violated the False Claims Act by illegally paying the Medicare or Civilian Health and Medical Program copays for their own products, through purportedly independent foundations that the companies used as mere conduits. Jazz and Lundbeck each entered five-year corporate integrity agreements, or CIAs, with OIG as part of their respective settlements. The CIAs require the companies to implement measures, controls, and monitoring designed to promote independence from any patient assistance programs to which they donate. In addition, the companies agreed to implement risk assessment programs and to obtain compliance-related certifications from company executives and board members. Reference Link

10:26 EDT Ford says consumer sentiment 'strong'

10:17 EDT Shopify will trade to $100 in next 12 months, Citron Research predicts - Andrew Left's Citron Research predicted in a new research report that shares of Shopify (SHOP) will trade down to $100 in the next 12 months. The stock in morning trading is down 2%, or $3.63, to $201.49. Lyft's (LYFT) initial public offering puts Shopify's "stratospheric valuation into perspective," Citron writes in a report posted on its website. The firm, best known for its short selling, believes changes to competitive and regulatory landscape will "almost certainly" negative impact of growth of Shopify. Reference Link

10:13 EDT At Home Group jumps 8% to $20.48 after Reuters says company exploring sale

10:10 EDT Michelin reaffirms growth strategy, announces a EUR500M share buyback plan - At its Investor Day, Michelin (MGDDY) said Marc Henry, Chief Financial Officer, confirmed that the 2020 targets for operating income, the competitiveness plan, structural free cash flow and ROCE would be met. Yves Chapot, General Manager, presented an initial overview of the Group's direction beyond 2020, "particularly the implementation of a new competitiveness plan with higher targets for manufacturing performance and reductions in overheads. The Group's growth, combined with competitiveness gains and the optimization of inventory, will enable a sustained improvement in structural free cash flow through 2025. Mr. Menegaux confirmed the Group's dividend policy and announced the launch of a EUR500 million share buyback plan for the 2019-2023 period." In conclusion, Florent Menegaux, Managing General Partner, reaffirmed the commitment of all Michelin employees to meeting the Group's "ambitious growth objectives in support of sustainable mobility," the company announced. Other publicly traded tire makers include Goodyear Tire (GT) and Cooper Tire (CTB). Reference Link

10:05 EDT AbbVie announces new formulary listings for MAVIRET - AbbVie announced that MAVIRET is now reimbursed in Alberta, Saskatchewan and the Non-Insured Health Benefits Program. MAVIRET is a once-daily, ribavirin-free treatment for adults with chronic hepatitis C virus infection across all major genotypes. In Alberta, MAVIRET is listed effective April 1, 2019, under Special Authorization on the AB Health Drug Benefit List for treatment-naive or treatment-experienced adult patients with chronic hepatitis C infection who meet all of the following criteria. Prescribed by or in consultation with a hepatologist, gastroenterologist or infectious disease specialist; AND Laboratory confirmed hepatitis C genotype 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6; AND Laboratory confirmed quantitative HCV RNA value within the last 6 months; AND Fibrosis stage of F0 or greater. In Saskatchewan, MAVIRET is listed effective April 1, 2019, on the Saskatchewan formulary as an Exception Drug Status product, for treatment naive and treatment experienced adult patients with chronic hepatitis C infection according to the following criteria: Laboratory confirmed hepatitis C genotype 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6; AND Laboratory confirmed quantitative HCV RNA value within the last six months; AND Treatment is prescribed by a hepatologist, gastroenterologist or an infectious disease specialist or other prescriber experienced in the treatment of hepatitis C as determined by the Drug Plan. For the Non-Insured Health Benefits program, MAVIRET is listed effective April 1, 2019, under Limited Use on the NIHB Drug Benefit List for treatment-naive or treatment-experienced adult patients with chronic hepatitis C infection who meet all of the following criteria: Prescribed by or in consultation with a hepatologist, gastroenterologist or infectious disease specialist; AND Laboratory confirmed hepatitis C genotype 1, 2, 3, 5, 6; AND Laboratory confirmed quantitative HCV RNA value within the last 6 months; AND Fibrosis stage of F0 or greater.

10:00 EDT China Southern Airlines falls -5.0% - China Southern Airlines is down -5.0%, or -$2.59 to $48.95.

10:00 EDT Superior Industries falls -6.5% - Superior Industries is down -6.5%, or -37c to $5.40.

10:00 EDT RPC, Inc. rises 6.3% - RPC, Inc. is up 6.3%, or 73c to $12.39.

09:52 EDT Adidas announces 'multi-layered' partnership with Beyonce - Adidas and Beyonce announced a "multi-layered" partnership that they said will include "inspiring and empowering the next generation of creators, driving positive change in the world through sport, and identifying new business opportunities." The partnership will result in the co-creation of new products - from performance to lifestyle - and "a unique purpose-driven program focused on empowering and enabling the next generation of athletes, creators and leaders," the company and the artist jointly announced in a press release.

09:47 EDT Turkcell rises 4.9% - Turkcell is up 4.9%, or 26c to $5.58.

09:43 EDT Orgenesis announces collaboration agreement with Digilab - Orgenesis announced that it has entered into a collaboration agreement with Digilab to develop a live cell printing process and systems designed to automate the production of three-dimensional live cellular structures and tissues. Under the agreement, Orgenesis will have the exclusive rights to co-develop the process and systems required for its therapeutic collaboration programs and to utilize, market and distribute the new cell printer systems and related products.

09:21 EDT Ford reports Q1 total U.S. sales down 1.6% to 590,249 vehicles - Mark LaNeve, Ford vice president U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service, commented: "First quarter 2019 sales were solid for Ford. Our winning portfolio continues to deliver. F-Series expanded our leadership position while others slugged it out for second place. We have a close connection with our customers, allowing us to deliver what they need in their trucks. It can also be seen in our record sales of Ford SUVs as well as Lincoln's significant growth."

09:09 EDT Shineco cooperating with Xingshan City for industrial hemp planting base - Shineco, through its wholly owned subsidiary Tenjove NewHemp Biotech, entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with the Xingshan People's Government of Hegang City of Heilongjiang Province. Both parties agree to actively promote the development of a complete industrial chain for industrial hemp including cultivation, harvesting, initial processing and fine extraction. Both parties plan to develop a 20,000 mu -approximately 3,295 acres - high-quality industrial hemp project and expect to complete the cultivation of the first 500 mu in 2019. Both parties also agree to establish an industrial hemp farm, a CBD Extraction Industrial Park, an Industrial Hemp Research Center affiliated with the China's Academy of Science, and an Industrial Hemp Workstation sponsored by the City of Hegang of Heilongjiang Province. Shineco estimates the value of the CBD and related raw medical extract alone to reach RMB2.1B.

09:08 EDT Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: TheStreet (TST), up 5% after declaring a $1.77 per share special distribution and announcing 1-for-10 reverse stock split... Tonix Pharmaceuticals (TNXP), up 20% after announcing the expansion of the TNX-102 SL program beyond posttraumatic stress disorder to include Phase 3 development for TNX-102 SL in fibromyalgia... NIO Inc. (NIO), up 2% after Citi analyst Jeff Chung upgraded NIO Inc. to Buy from Neutral and BofA Merrill Lynch upgraded the stock to Neutral from Underperform. UP AFTER EARNINGS: RPM (RPM), up 3%... Simply Good Foods (SMPL), up 2%. LOWER: Tesla (TSLA), down 10% after reporting Q1 deliveries were approximately 63,000 vehicles, which was 110% more than the same quarter last year, but 31% less than last quarter... Aveo Pharmaceuticals (AVEO), down 30% after 21.74M share spot secondary priced at $1.15 per share... Sangamo (SGMO), down 6% after 11M share spot secondary priced at $11.50 per share... Micron (MU), down 4% after Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore downgraded shares to Underweight from Equal Weight, stating that the company's fundamentals have not changed but the stock has rallied. " However, the growing consensus view that earnings will be near a bottom this quarter seems "much too optimistic" to Moore. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Office Depot (ODP), down 14%.

09:06 EDT Roku adds HBO to premium subscriptions on Roku Channel - Roku (ROKU) announced that HBO will be available via Premium Subscriptions on The Roku Channel, making it easy to access all of HBO's groundbreaking original series in their entirety, plus hit movies, documentaries, live programming, and more. Additionally, Cinemax will soon be available via Premium Subscriptions on The Roku Channel. HBO joins an array of 25+ popular premium subscriptions already available on The Roku Channel. HBO is owned by AT&T (T).

09:03 EDT Marriott announces 40by2020 vision in Asia-Pacific - Marriott International announced its continued expansion plans in Asia-Pacific with its 2020 vision - an aggressive target to have 1000 hotels open by the end of 2020. This vision also could create up to 50,000 more job opportunities for the region. In 2019 alone, the company expects to add close to 100 new hotels or close to 20,000 rooms in the region, with several brand debuts in Australia, Hong Kong, The Philippines, Nepal and India. Marriott International's portfolio in Asia Pacific currently encompasses over 710 properties in 23 countries and territories, operating under 23 of the company's 30 global brands.

09:02 EDT Sirius XM, Pandora launch Pandora NOW - SiriusXM (SIRI) and Pandora (P) announced Pandora NOW, the first original and exclusive music experience created for both SiriusXM subscribers and Pandora listeners. Pandora NOW harnesses the combined strength of Pandora's extensive listener data and SiriusXM's curatorial expertise to create unique access to the most popular and fast-trending music right now. Pandora NOW features today's hottest and most listened to new music on Pandora but will be delivered uniquely to both the SiriusXM and Pandora audiences. For SiriusXM listeners, Pandora NOW will be presented as a new curated channel (Channel 3), while Pandora users can experience Pandora NOW music as an interactive station with song skipping and thumbs up/down rating, or as a continually-updated playlist for Pandora Premium subscribers. The music played on Pandora NOW will be uncensored and showcase the most listened to and fastest-trending new music on Pandora across all genres, including Pop, Hip Hop, R&B, Dance and Latin. Pandora NOW will launch on Thursday, April 4 on both platforms.

08:56 EDT Oramed granted U.S. patent for oral exenatide - Oramed Pharmaceuticals' U.S. patent for the technology "Methods and Compositions for Oral Administration of Exenatide" has been allowed by the USPTO.

08:39 EDT Corning announces construction of solar array at New York facility - Corning announced it is building a solar array at its Corning Life Sciences, or CLS, facility in Oneonta, and the company has entered into a solar-power purchase agreement to further support its commitment to clean energy. The array will be Corning's first solar project in New York state. The ground-mounted solar array will be constructed by Ontario, New York-based company GreenSpark Solar and is expected to be completed in the summer. Corning has entered into the power purchase agreement with Kendall Sustainable Infrastructure, which will own the solar array. The electricity generated will go directly into the New York State Electric and Gas grid and be distributed to consumers. The solar array will produce more clean energy for consumers, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the community.

08:36 EDT Sellas Life Sciences, MSK to study GPS with nivolumab in patients with MPM - Sellas Life Sciences (SLS) announced agreement with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, or MSK, for the conduct of an investigator-sponsored clinical trial of Sellas' Wilms tumor-1, or WT1-targeting peptide immunotherapeutic agent, galinpepimut-S, or GPS, in combination with Bristol-Myers Squibb's (BMY) anti-PD-1 therapy, nivolumab, in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma, or MPM. The Phase 1 open-label clinical study will enroll patients with MPM who harbor relapsed or refractory disease after having received frontline standard of care multimodality therapy with study drug provided by both Sellas and Bristol-Myers Squibb. The purpose of the trial is to determine if the administration of GPS in combination with nivolumab has the potential to demonstrate antitumor immune responses and meaningful clinical activity in the presence of macroscopic disease in MPM patients. The study will also investigate the tolerability of the combination, evaluate the immunogenicity of the two agents administered together, by CD4+ and CD8+ T-lymphocytes and gauge the degree of clinical benefit by assessment of the overall response rate with the combination in comparison with that reported with nivolumab alone in historical comparable patient populations. In a randomized, controlled, blinded Phase 2 clinical trial in MPM patients completed in 2017, GPS monotherapy, given as maintenance after first line tumor-debulking multimodality treatment, demonstrated meaningful clinical activity with median survival of 22.8 months vs. 18.3 months in the control group and with associated sustained immune responses against the WT1 antigen while adverse events were mainly comprised of low grade reactions at the site of the injection.

08:34 EDT Citius Pharmaceuticals raises $5.3M in at-the-market offering - Citius Pharmaceuticals completed an at-the-market offering for $5.3M in gross proceeds, with insiders responsible for supporting over 37% of the raise. Leonard Mazur, Executive Chairman of Citius Pharmaceuticals, invested $1.8M and Myron Holubiak, President and CEO of Citius Pharmaceuticals, invested $200K in the company. CEO Holubiak stated, "We intend to use the capital from the raise towards our Phase 3 clinical trial for Mino-Lok, our Phase 2b clinical trial of Halobetasol-Lidocaine cream, and development of Mino-Wrap." Mino-Lok is an antibiotic lock solution consisting of three active ingredients that salvages infected central venous catheters in patients with CRBSIs. Mino-Lok is under investigation and not approved for commercial use.

08:23 EDT Abiomed says cardiogenic shock survival rates improve since Impella approval - Three years ago this week, Abiomed's Impella heart pump received its FDA PMA approval for AMI cardiogenic shock. At the time of Impella's FDA PMA approval, the cardiogenic shock survival rate to explant in the Impella Quality Assurance Database was 51% in the United States. Impella heart pumps, combined with the adoption of best practices, which include the use of Impella pre-PCI, have contributed to a significant increase in cardiogenic shock survival and native heart recovery. New data from the IQ Database on nearly 5,000 patients treated between April 2018 and March 2019 show an increase in survival from 51% to 67%2, a relative increase of 34% in survival. Since FDA PMA approval, Abiomed has collected data on nearly 100% of U.S. Impella patients in the observational IQ Database. This clinical data, combined with the FDA post-approval studies embedded in Abiomed's prospective cVAD Study, helped identify and validate best practices for Impella use associated with improved survival and native heart recovery. These best practices, including use of Impella pre-PCI, reduction of inotropes, early identification of shock, and hemodynamic monitoring with pulmonary artery catheters, have now been validated in multiple publications. The most recent results that further validate best practices published online this week in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. After Inova Heart and Vascular Institute instituted a best practice protocol that includes early use of percutaneous mechanical circulatory support, AMI cardiogenic shock survival at 30 days rose from 44% to 82%.

08:13 EDT Bridgepoint Education to change name to Zovio, transfer listing to Nasdaq - In a regulatory filing, management said, "Effective April 2, we changed our corporate name to Zovio Inc. We effectuated this name change by filing with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware a Certificate of Amendment to our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation. In connection with our name change, our board of directors amended our Bylaws to reflect the corporate name Zovio Inc, also effective April 2, and make other conforming changes. On April 2, Bridgepoint Education is providing written notice to the New York Stock Exchange of its intention to transfer the company's stock exchange listing from the NYSE to the Nasdaq Global Select Market. The company expects that the listing and trading of its common stock under its current symbol and CUSIP on the NYSE will cease at market close on April 12. The company also expects that the company's common stock will commence trading on Nasdaq on April 15 under the new 'ZVO' ticker symbol and the new CUSIP number '98979V 102.' The company's board of directors approved these actions on March 6."

08:08 EDT CSW Industrials initiates quarterly dividend program at 13.5c per share - CSW Industrials announced that its board has commenced a dividend program and approved a regular quarterly dividend of 13.5c per share on the company's outstanding shares of common stock. The dividend is payable on June 12 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on May 8. The indicated annual rate of 54c per share demonstrates the company's commitment to its stated capital allocation principles, which includes returning cash to shareholders through dividends and opportunistic share repurchases.

08:06 EDT Perrigo receives tentative FDA approval for generic version of Sernivo Spray - Perrigo has received tentative approval from the FDA for the generic version of Sernivo Spray 0.05%. Perrigo previously settled its Hatch-Waxman litigation relating to Sernivo Spray 0.05% brought by Promius Pharma. Terms of the settlement remain confidential. Annual market sales for the 12 months ending February 2019 were approximately $15M.

08:05 EDT ATI names Timothy Harris chief digital and information officer - Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (ATI) announced that effective May 6, 2019, Timothy Harris will join ATI as SVP, chief digital and information officer. This newly created role will extend ATI's position as an innovative leader producing advanced specialty materials and components by accelerating our digitization and automation strategy. Harris will lead ATI's information and operations technology organization, developing and deploying a technology strategy to support the company's growth in the future. He will report directly to Robert Wetherbee, ATI's president and CEO, and serve on the company's executive council. As chief information officer at Andeavor (ANDV), he enabled a comprehensive digital strategy to automate and optimize Andeavor's business.

08:02 EDT Soliton receives European patent for acoustic shockwave technology - Soliton announced that the European Patent Office has issued a notice of grant for its European Patent Application No. 14760628.9 based on International Application No.PCT/US2014/021746; Entitled "Rapid Pulse Electrohydraulic Shockwave Generator Apparatus And Methods For Medical And Cosmetic Treatments," by Christopher Capelli. The patent is eligible for validation in 38 European countries.

07:58 EDT Seanergy Marine regains compliance with Nasdaq - Seanergy Maritime announced that Nasdaq confirmed that the company has regained compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550 concerning the minimum bid price of the company's common stock. The matter is now considered closed.

07:50 EDT Zovio acquires TutorMe, terms not disclosed - Zovio announced it is expanding the scope of services it offers through its acquisition of TutorMe, a leading provider of instant online tutoring services. TutorMe aligns perfectly with the education services at Zovio, and provides a platform through which Zovio will be able to offer additional products in the future. The transaction is expected to close in early April, subject to customary closing conditions.

07:47 EDT Constellation Brands increases quarterly dividend 1% to 75c per share - Constellation's board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of 75c per share of Class A common stock and 68c per share of Class B common stock, payable on May 24, to stockholders of record as of the close of business on May 10. This represents an increase of 1%.

07:34 EDT Allegheny Technologies extends long-term purchase agreement with Rolls-Royce - Allegheny Technologies Incorporated (ATI) announced that it has extended its Long-Term Purchase Agreement with Rolls-Royce (RYCEY) to supply rotating disc quality specialty materials for their Trent engine family. The LTPA extends Rolls-Royce and ATI's agreement through 2029.

07:32 EDT Viking Therapeutics to present new data on NAFLD candidate at liver congress - Viking Therapeutics announced that data from the company's 12-week Phase 2 study of VK2809 in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, or NAFLD, and elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, will be presented at the International Liver Congress 2019 being held April 10-14 in Vienna. The Phase 2 study achieved both its primary and secondary endpoints, and demonstrated an "encouraging" safety and tolerability profile for VK2089, Viking's novel liver-selective thyroid receptor beta agonist. The presentation will include new data from the trial's low-dose 5 mg cohort treatment arm, which demonstrated statistically significant reductions in liver fat content relative to placebo, as well as statistically significant response rates, defined by the proportion of patients experiencing at least a 30% or 50% relative reduction in liver fat, compared with placebo. VK2809 was well tolerated when dosed at 5 mg daily, and no serious adverse events were reported among patients receiving either VK2809 or placebo.

07:21 EDT Wayside Technology subsidiary awarded IT-70 GSA contract - Lifeboat Distribution, a subsidiary of Wayside Technology and international distributor for disruptive and emerging technologies, announced that it has been awarded an IT schedule 70 GSA contract as a small business. Lifeboat will utilize its new distribution GSA schedule to promote its vendor partners while allowing its reseller customer base access to federal, state and local governments. The recent GSA schedule addition allows reseller partners to market and sell products and solutions into federal, state and local government organizations. Lifeboat focuses on high-demand and emerging technology categories such as virtualization and cloud, storage & HCI, security, data management, connectivity and software and application lifecycle. It also allows Lifeboat's authorized resellers to participate in the cooperative purchasing agreement with qualifying states.

07:18 EDT Plains All American completes deleveraging plan, updates financial policy - Plains All American Pipeline (PAA) and Plains GP Holdings (PAGP) announced achievement of Plains' August 2017 deleveraging plan, updates to its financial policy, an increase to its common unit and Class A share distributions, and declaration of Series A & B Preferred Units distributions. Key elements of the announcement include: Successful achievement of Plains' August 2017 deleveraging plan and associated financial policy review; Further improving PAA's credit profile by lowering its targeted long-term debt to Adjusted EBITDA leverage ratio by 0.5x to a range of 3.0 - 3.5x with the objective of achieving mid-triple B equivalent investment grade ratings over time; Establishing long-term sustainable minimum annual distribution coverage level of 130% underpinned by predominantly fee-based cash flows; Increasing PAA & PAGP's annualized distribution by $0.24 per common unit and per Class A share, respectively ($1.44 per common unit and per Class A share on an annualized basis), payable May 15, 2019 to holders of record on May 1, 2019, which equates to a 20% increase from the distributions paid in February 2019; Adoption of an annual cycle for setting the common unit distribution level, consistent with the annual planning process; and Intention to increase distributions in the future contingent on achieving and maintaining targeted leverage and coverage ratios and subject to the annual review process; In the interim, expect +/- 5% annual common unit distribution increases over the next couple of years.

07:10 EDT Teradyne names Sanjay Mehta as new CFO - Teradyne (TER) announced that Sanjay Mehta will join the company on April 25, 2019 as Vice President and CFO, replacing Gregory Beecher who announced his planned retirement earlier this year. Reporting to CEO Mark Jagiela, Mehta will lead Teradyne's global finance, operations and information technology organizations. Mehta joins Teradyne from Qualcomm (QCOM) where he served in senior financial and leadership roles in Qualcomm's semiconductor group, including segment CFO from 2010 to 2015.

07:08 EDT Asanko Gold announces Q1 production of 60,425 ounces of gold - Asanko Gold (AKG) announced production results for Q1 from the Asanko Gold Mine, or AGM, located in Ghana, West Africa. The AGM is a 50/50 joint venture, or JV, with Gold Fields (GFI) which is managed and operated by Asanko. The company produced 60,425 ounces of gold, mined 1.51M tons, or Mt, of ore and processed 1.22Mt of ore with an average gold grade of 1.6 grams per ton. Gold production for the quarter was 60,425 ounces with gold sales of 53,421 ounces at an average realized price of $1,311 per ounce, generating gold sales revenue of $69M for the JV. At the end of Q1, the JV held approximately $30.5M in unaudited cash and immediately convertible working capital balances. The company held $8.7M in unaudited cash at the quarter end, and is scheduled to receive a further $20M in cash related to the JV transaction upon the completion of specific Esaase development milestones or, at the latest by December 31.

07:07 EDT JPMorgan CEO says 'much prefers' to use capital to grow vs. buying back stock

07:06 EDT JPMorgan CEO: 'We were a little slow' in adopting the cloud

07:04 EDT Orthofix announces full two-year outcomes from IDE study of M6-C cervical disc - Orthofix Medical announced the full two-year outcomes from its U.S. Investigational Device Exemption study of the M6-C artificial cervical disc. The data demonstrates that patients treated with the M6-C artificial cervical disc had significant improvements in neck and arm pain, function and quality of life scores. Additionally, these patients had a significant difference in the reduction of pain and opioid medications use when compared to anterior cervical discectomy and fusion patients. At 24 months, patients in the ACDF group who were still using pain medications had a seven times higher rate of opioid use than those in the M6-C disc group. A prospective, non-randomized, concurrently controlled clinical trial, the M6-C IDE study was conducted at 23 sites in the United States with an average patient age of 44 years. The study evaluated the safety and effectiveness of the M6-C artificial cervical disc compared to ACDF for the treatment of single level symptomatic cervical radiculopathy with or without cord compression. The overall success rate for the protocol-specified primary endpoint for the M6-C disc patients was 86.8 percent at 24 months and 79.3 percent in the control group. This data statistically demonstrates that cervical disc replacement with the M6-C disc is not inferior to treatment with ACDF. fSecondary outcomes at 24 months include: Patients who received the M6-C disc demonstrated statistically significant improvement in the Neck Disability Index as measured at week six and months three, six, 12 and 24. Meaningful clinical improvement was seen in the following pain scores: 91.2 percent of patients who received the M6-C disc reported an improvement in neck pain compared to 77.9 percent in patients who underwent the ACDF procedure. 90.5 percent of the M6-C patients reported improvement in arm pain scores compared to 79.9 percent in ACDF patients. Prior to surgery, 80.6 percent of the M6-C disc patients and 85.7 percent of the ACDF patients were taking some type of pain medication for the treatment of their cervical spine condition. At 24 months, the rate of M6-C patients who were still taking some type of pain medication dropped to 14.0 percent compared to 38.2 percent of the ACDF patients. Of these, there was a seven times higher rate of opioid use with the ACDF patients than with patients who received the M6-C disc. There was a statistically significant difference in the average mean surgery time - 74.5 minutes for patients receiving the M6-C disc versus 120.2 minutes for those patients having the ACDF procedure. In addition, there was a statistically significant difference in the mean length of hospital stay - 0.61 days for the M6-C patients versus 1.10 days for ACDF patients. Subsequent surgery at the treated level was needed in 4.8 percent of the ACDF patients compared to 1.9 percent of the M6-C disc patients. There were no device migrations reported in the study. Overall patients receiving the M6-C disc reported a 92-percent satisfaction rate with the surgery, and 93 percent said they would have the surgery again. There were 3.8 percent serious adverse events related to the device or procedure in the M6-C disc group versus 6.1 percent in the ACDF group. The M6-C disc received FDA approval in February 2019 based on the results of this study.

07:00 EDT JPMorgan CEO says will mitigate risk - CEO Jamie Dimon, in his annual letter to shareholders, says: "We will mitigate risk. We may reduce risk by taking on fewer new clients or by syndicating or hedging risk. And we may reduce risk by managing our portfolio of securities and loans unrelated to clients. We will exercise more of our muscle in terms of managing expenses, monitoring headcount and creating more efficiencies. We will havespecial credit teams, created in advance, to deal with any problematic credits."

06:58 EDT Bright Scholar agrees to acquire 80% interest in Wuhan Sannew Education - Bright Scholar Education announced that it entered into agreements to acquire 80% equity interest in Wuhan Sannew Education. The company targets to close the transaction in May, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and the completion of relevant corporate and regulatory procedures.

06:56 EDT JPMorgan's Dimon says 'prepared for, though not predicting' a recession - JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, in his annual letter to shareholders, said "We are prepared for -- though we are not predicting -- a recession." He said "We need to continue to restore trust in the strength of the U.S. banking system and global systemically important financial institutions. We have to remind ourselves that responsible banking is good and safe banking. We believe in good regulation - both to help America grow and improve financial stability. We believe stock buybacks are an essential part of proper capital allocation but secondary to long-term investing. On the importance of the cloud and artificial intelligence, we are all in. We remain devoted and diligent to protect privacy and stay cyber safe - we will do what it takes. We know there are risks on the horizon that will eventually demand our attention." Reference Link

06:48 EDT RPM CEO says 'our outlook for the fiscal 2019 fourth quarter is positive' - "Looking ahead, our outlook for the fiscal 2019 fourth quarter is positive. In the fourth quarter, which is seasonally our strongest, we expect to generate low-single-digit consolidated sales growth and double-digit adjusted EBIT growth as a result of recently implemented price increases taking hold, our MAP to Growth savings being realized and moderating raw material costs," stated CEO Sullivan. "In the fourth quarter, we expect sales growth in our industrial segment to be flat to slightly down as the segment will be impacted by tough comparisons to last fiscal year and its exposure to weakening international markets and unfavorable foreign exchange. This should be offset by savings from our MAP to Growth operating improvement plan and moderating raw material costs. For our consumer segment, we anticipate high-single-digit sales growth because of market share gains, easier comparisons to last fiscal year and the beginning of margin recovery. In the specialty segment, which comprises about 15% of consolidated sales, sales growth should be modest," Sullivan stated. "Based on our expectations for solid top-line sales growth and double-digit adjusted EBIT growth, our fiscal 2019 fourth-quarter adjusted earnings guidance is a range of $1.12 to $1.16 per diluted share, which includes accretion of $0.03 to $0.04 per share as a result of share repurchases completed this year, versus the adjusted $1.05 during last year's fourth quarter," stated Sullivan.

06:38 EDT Volaris reports March traffic up 19.4% - Volaris reported March traffic results. In March, capacity measured by available seat miles, or ASMs, increased by 13.5% vs last year, with demand measured by revenue passenger miles, or RPMs showing an increase of 16.7%. Volaris carried 1.8M passengers in total, an increases of 19.4%, with load factor increasing to 86.6%.

06:03 EDT Bank of America commits $300B in capital by 2030 to low-carbon business - Bank of America announces it will mobilize an additional $300B in in capital by 2030 through its Environmental Business Initiative. This third commitment increases the company's investment in low-carbon business activities as part of its focus on deploying capital for responsible, sustainable growth. Through lending, investing, capital raising, advisory services and developing financing solutions, this new commitment will drive innovation and help to accelerate the transition to a low-carbon, sustainable economy. The $300B goal brings Bank of America's total commitment to more than $445B since 2007, when the company issued its first Environmental Business Initiative. Bank of America has deployed more than $126B over the past 12 years in support of environmental business efforts across the globe.

05:30 EDT Ethiopian Airlines says pilots followed Boeing recommended emergency procedures - Ethiopian Airlines Aviation Group said in a statement regarding the crash involving a Boeing 737 Max, "The preliminary report clearly showed that the Ethiopian Airlines Pilots who were commanding Flight ET 302/10 March have followed the Boeing recommended and FAA approved emergency procedures to handle the most difficult emergency situation created on the airplane. Despite their hard work and full compliance with the emergency procedures, it was very unfortunate that they could not recover the airplane from the persistence of nose diving. As the investigation continues with more detailed analysis, as usual we will continue with our full cooperation with the investigation team." Further, Ethiopian Airlines investigator Amdye Andualem told reporters today that the preliminary report found no object hit the plane, according to Bloomberg. Shares of Boeing are down $1.44 to $383.30 in premarket trading.