Stockwinners Market Radar for July 03, 2019 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

14:26 EDT M&J Special Investments reports 9.5% passive stake in Akerna - In a regulatory filing, M&J Special Investments disclosed a 9.5% stake in Akerna, which represents about 992,000 common shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

14:16 EDT AT&T Mobility reaches tentative pact with communications union in Puerto Rico - AT&T announced that AT&T Mobility has reached a tentative agreement with the Communications Workers of America in Mobility Puerto Rico contract negotiations. The four-year agreement, which will be submitted to the union's membership for a ratification vote in coming days, covers about 900 AT&T Mobility employees in Puerto Rico. Including this tentative agreement, the company has now reached 20 fair agreements since 2017 with the unions representing its employees, collectively covering about 89,000 employees.

14:08 EDT Gabelli cuts Internap stake to 25.29% from 26.44% - In a regulatory filing, Gabelli disclosed a 25.29% stake in Internap, which represents about 6.8M common shares. The stake is lower than the 26.44% stake Gabelli disclosed in March.

13:35 EDT Karyopharm trading resumes

13:24 EDT U.K.'s CMA to review role of Facebook, Google in advertising market - The U.K. Competition and Markets Authority has launched its digital markets strategy, setting out how it will continue to protect consumers in rapidly developing digital markets, while fostering innovation. The CMA noted that it has already carried out a significant body of work in digital markets. This includes assessing various mergers involving digital companies, conducting market studies - such as its digital comparison tools work - and enforcing competition and consumer law in numerous sectors. To date this has included industries as varied as online reviews, price comparison websites, hotel booking websites, cloud storage, social media influencers and online gambling. The strategy, launched today, builds on the recent package of reforms unveiled earlier this year on behalf of the CMA by Chairman Andrew Tyrie, which aims to make the UK competition regime fit for the digital age. An important element of the strategy is today's opening of a market study into online platforms. This will examine the major online platforms such as Facebook (FB) and Google (GOOG) which are funded by digital advertising. It will consider the sources of any market power, the way they collect and use personal data, and whether competition in digital advertising is producing good outcomes for consumers. If the CMA finds evidence that there are problems as part of this, it could make detailed recommendations to government which build on the broad proposals from the Furman Report. Reference Link

13:07 EDT Karyopharm announces FDA approval of XPOVIO-dexamethasone combination - Karyopharm Therapeutics Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved oral XPOVIO, a nuclear export inhibitor, in combination with dexamethasone for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least four prior therapies and whose disease is refractory to at least two proteasome inhibitors, at least two immunomodulatory agents, and an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody. This indication is approved under accelerated approval based on response rate. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in a confirmatory trial. The ongoing, randomized Phase 3 BOSTON study evaluating selinexor in combination with Velcade and low-dose dexamethasone will serve as the confirmatory trial. The FDA's Accelerated Approval Program was developed to allow for expedited approval of drugs that treat serious conditions and that fill an unmet medical need. Karyopharm expects XPOVIO to become commercially available in the U.S. on or before July 10, 2019. A Marketing Authorization Application for selinexor is also currently under review by the European Medicines Agency.

13:02 EDT Alexion's ULTOMIRIS receives marketing authorization from EU - Alexion Pharmaceuticals announced that the European Commission has approved ULTOMIRIS - the first and only long-acting C5 complement inhibitor administered every eight weeks - for the treatment of adult patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria with hemolysis with clinical symptoms indicative of high disease activity, and also for adult patients who are clinically stable after having been treated with SOLIRIS for at least the past six months. PNH is an ultra-rare and severe disease that, when left untreated, may cause a wide range of debilitating symptoms and complications, including thrombosis. Thrombosis occurs when a blood clot presents inside a blood vessel and slows or blocks the flow of blood through the circulatory system. Serious cases of thrombosis can occur throughout the body and result in organ damage, stroke, heart attack, and potentially premature death.

12:12 EDT Puma Biotechnology presents interim results from Phase II SUMMIT Basket trial - Puma Biotechnology presented updated interim results from the biliary cancer cohort of SUMMIT, an ongoing Phase II basket trial examining the efficacy of neratinib in HER2-mutated cancers, at the European Society for Medical Oncology 21st World Congress on Gastrointestinal Cancer 2019, currently taking place in Barcelona, Spain. "Treating HER2-mutant Biliary Tract Cancer with Neratinib: Benefits of HER2-directed Targeted Therapy in the Phase 2 SUMMIT 'Basket' Trial" was an oral presentation by James J. Harding, MD, Assistant Attending, Gastrointestinal Oncology and Early Drug Development Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center on July 3rd at 6:10 p.m. CEST. In addition, a poster presentation summarizing the trial results will be presented on July 4 beginning at 11:05 a.m. CEST. The Phase II SUMMIT 'basket' trial is an open-label, multicenter, multinational study to evaluate the safety and efficacy of neratinib administered daily to patients who have solid tumors with activating, somatic HER2 mutations. The biliary cancer cohort comprised 20 patients with advanced and/or metastatic disease treated with neratinib monotherapy. More specifically, 9 patients had cholangiocarcinoma, 9 had gallbladder cancer and 2 had cancer of the Ampulla of Vater. Patients received a median of 2 prior systemic regimens before entering this trial. Most patients had received a gemcitabine-based regimen , 11 patients had undergone prior surgery, and 4 patients received prior radiation therapy. The confirmed objective response rate was 10%. The clinical benefit rate was 30% and included 2 patients with confirmed partial responses and 4 patients with stable disease that lasted greater than or equal to 16 weeks. The median progression-free survival was 1.8 months. The safety profile observed in the neratinib-treated biliary tract cancer cohort is consistent with that previously reported for all HER2-mutated cancer patients in the SUMMIT trial. The most frequently observed adverse event was diarrhea, any grade including 4 patients with grade 3 diarrhea. None of the diarrhea events resulted in dose discontinuation within the biliary tract cancer cohort; 2 patients reduced study drug due to diarrhea events.

12:05 EDT Fiat Chrysler names Davide Grasso as COO of Maserati - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCAU) announced that Davide Grasso, former Chief Executive Officer of Nike's (NKE) Converse, joins the company as Chief Operating Officer of Maserati. Grasso also is appointed to Fiat's s Group Executive Council. In a related move, Harald Wester assumes the role of Executive Chairman of Maserati. In addition, his responsibilities as Chief Technical Officer expand to include global powertrain along with global vehicle engineering for the group.

12:00 EDT MagnaChip falls -4.9% - MagnaChip is down -4.9%, or -53c to $10.26.

12:00 EDT Global Ship Lease rises 10.6% - Global Ship Lease is up 10.6%, or 78c to $8.16.

12:00 EDT Omnova Solutions rises 54.5% - Omnova Solutions is up 54.5%, or $3.50 to $9.92.

11:33 EDT Boeing announces $100M in funds dedicated to support those impacted by accidents - Boeing announced $100M in funds is being made available by the company to "address family and community needs of those affected by the tragic accidents of Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302." Boeing stated: "These funds will support education, hardship and living expenses for impacted families, community programs, and economic development in impacted communities. Boeing will partner with local governments and non-profit organizations to address these needs. This initial investment will be made over multiple years...Boeing will release additional information in the near future. Consistent with Boeing's regular process for employee charitable donations, company employees will also have the opportunity to make donations in support of the families and communities impacted by the accidents. Boeing will match these employee donations through December 31, 2019." Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing chairman, president and CEO, added: "We at Boeing are sorry for the tragic loss of lives in both of these accidents and these lives lost will continue to weigh heavily on our hearts and on our minds for years to come. The families and loved ones of those on board have our deepest sympathies, and we hope this initial outreach can help bring them comfort. We know every person who steps aboard one of our airplanes places their trust in us. We are focused on re-earning that trust and confidence from our customers and the flying public in the months ahead."

11:13 EDT Cybersecurity shares jump after Symantec takeover talks, malware alert - Shares of firms in the cybersecurity space are trading higher on Wednesday after Bloomberg reported that Broadcom (AVGO) was in advanced talks to buy Symantec (SYMC) and the U.S. Cyber Command put a Malware Alert out on its Twitter feed. SYMANTEC BUYOUT REPORT: After the close on Tuesday, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that Broadcom is in advanced talks to acquire Symantec, and a deal could be reached within weeks. Shares of Symantec jumped in after-hours trading following the report, and are currently higher by almost 14% to $25.13 in late morning trading. MALWARE ALERT: The tweet said: "USCYBERCOM has discovered active malicious use of CVE-2017-11774 and recommends immediate #patching. Malware is currently delivered from: 'hxxps://customermgmt.net/page/macrocosm' #cybersecurity #infosec." APT33: According to ZD Net, the virus was reported by "SensePost researchers in the fall of 2017, but by 2018, it had been weaponized by an Iranian state-sponsored hacking group known as APT33 or Elfin, primarily known for developing the Shamoon disk-wiping malware. PRICE ACTION: Shares of FireEye (FEYE) are up over 4% to $15.30 per share, while Palo Alto Networks (PANW) is up 3% to $211 per share. OTHERS TO WATCH: Other publicly traded companies in the space are higher, including Fortinet (FTNT), CyberArk Software (CYBR), and Proofpoint (PFPT).

10:56 EDT Karyopharm jumps after website points to Xpovio approval - Shares of Karyopharm Therapeutics (KPTI) are jumping in early trading amid indications that the company's selinexor tablets, to be marketed as Xpovio, have received approval from the FDA. A copy of what appears to be the Xpovio prescribing information has been shared on Twitter and the document indicates an initial U.S. approval date of July 2019. The document, which says that Xpovio is a nuclear export inhibitor indicated in combination with dexamethasone for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least four prior therapies and whose disease is refractory to at least two proteasome inhibitors, at least two immunomodulatory agents, and an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody, does not include a "black box" warning, some on Twitter have noted. Additionally, a website for Xpovio has been set up and that site announces that the drug is "now approved." The Fly notes that the FDA's PDUFA date for selinexor is on July 6. In morning trading, Karyopharm shares are up 32%, or $2.11, to $8.65.Reference Link

10:40 EDT Karyopharm trading resumes

10:31 EDT Tradeweb Markets spikes 5% after introducing price streams and iDeal - Earlier on Wednesday, Tradeweb Markets introduced a series of new features further optimizing offshore investors' access to the Chinese Interbank Bond Market, CIBM. The launch of dealer streaming prices and iDeal - the messaging tool developed by the China Foreign Exchange Trade System, CFETS - on Tradeweb was announced during the Bond Connect Anniversary Summit in Hong Kong today. "In addition to pre-trade allocation, clients trading Chinese bonds on Tradeweb benefit from improved price discovery, access to a deep pool of liquidity, and operational efficiency thanks to end-to-end electronic workflows," said Lee Olesky, CEO of Tradeweb Markets. "As the market reacts to China's inclusion in global fixed income benchmarks, these latest enhancements on the Tradeweb Bond Connect platform position us as the complete solution for offshore investors trading domestic bonds." We are focused on providing our Bond Connect customers with the same innovative tools, flexible protocols, and streamlined experience they are accustomed to when trading other institutional asset classes on our platform," said Enrico Bruni, head of Europe and Asia business at Tradeweb. "Thanks to our early involvement in the design and implementation of Bond Connect, we have formed a deep understanding of the Chinese bond market and amassed a significant level of local expertise." Shares of Tradeweb Markets are up $2.15 per share or 4.87% to $46.27 in early trading.

10:00 EDT Universal Technical falls -5.9% - Universal Technical is down -5.9%, or -22c to $3.53.

10:00 EDT Usana falls -18.7% - Usana is down -18.7%, or -$14.34 to $62.38.

10:00 EDT Global Ship Lease rises 10.8% - Global Ship Lease is up 10.8%, or 80c to $8.18.

09:59 EDT Jefferies Financial Group sees 'solid' Investment Banking results in Q3 - Jefferies Financial Group CEO Rich Handler said in this morning's earnings release, "In the third quarter, we believe Investment Banking will continue to deliver solid results (subject to market conditions), as our transaction backlog is robust and we are seeing positive trends in both the M&A and leveraged finance markets. Additionally, we are optimistic regarding the increasing productivity of managing directors we hired during the last several years. In particular, we are expecting Investment Banking revenue growth in both the U.S. and Europe from a large number of our recently hired coverage managing directors in our Industrials, Technology and Consumer groups, as they continue to gain traction. We currently have 865 investment banking professionals globally, of which 212 are managing directors. The quality of our brand, human capital and market position has never been stronger. In Equities, we are realizing market share gains globally driven by our innovative electronic trading capabilities."

09:47 EDT Aspen Aerogels falls -8.0% - Aspen Aerogels is down -8.0%, or -55c to $6.30.

09:47 EDT Fastly rises 3.9% - Fastly is up 3.9%, or 79c to $20.92.

09:47 EDT Omnova Solutions rises 55.0% - Omnova Solutions is up 55.0%, or $3.53 to $9.95.

09:22 EDT Ford reports Q2 U.S. sales down 4.1% to 650,336 vehicles - Reports Q2 truck sales up 7.5% to 324,243 vehicles. Reports Q2 SUV sales down 8.6% to 215,898 vehicles. Reports Q2 car sales down 21.4% to 110,195 vehicles. Mark LaNeve, Ford vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service, said, "In a very competitive market we grew our total pickup segment share in Q2, and we have extended F-Series' leadership, this year and now with the Ranger introduction we have further broadened America's best-selling lineup. We also began selling our all-new Explorer at the end of the quarter. With the Explorer and the all-new Escape coming soon, we are on track to have the freshest SUV lineup in the industry by year's end." Ford strategy to focus on its winning portfolio led to a strong pickup and SUV mix while expanding transaction pricing. Truck and SUVs totaled 83 percent of Q2 sales - 4 percentage points higher than year ago, growing quarter ending transaction prices by $1,500 to $36,400 per vehicle. Sales of the new Nautilus posted an 13 percent gain on sales of 8,187 SUVs for the quarter. Nautilus average transaction pricing at the end of Q2 increased $3,700 over last year's MKX, with an average transaction price totaling $44,300 per SUV. Ranger retail sales have grown every month since January adding 20,880 trucks to Ford's total pickup truck sales for the quarter. Q2 Ranger sales more than doubled relative to first quarter results. Ford's total pickup sales in Q2 increased 7 percent, accelerating at a faster rate than first quarter growth of 5 percent. Second quarter represented our best overall pickup truck sales performance since 2004. Expedition continues to perform and expand both sales and share in every region of the country, climbing 50 percent, with 21,796 sold. All-new Explorer went on sale at the end of Q2. The plant changeover was responsible for lower Ford SUV sales in the second quarter.

09:16 EDT Ford reports Q2 U.S. sales down 4.1% to 650,336 vehicles

09:07 EDT Philips announces shipment of two-millionth AED - Royal Philips announced shipment of its two-millionth Automated External Defibrillator, which was delivered to a customer in Italy.

09:05 EDT Beacon Roofing appoints Julian Francis as CEO and President - Beacon Roofing (BECN) appointed Julian Francis as President and CEO and to its Board of Directors. Francis is expected to assume his duties as President and CEO and join Beacon's Board of Directors on or about September 1. Francis has been the President of the Insulation Business at Owens Corning (OC) since October 2014. From 2012-2014, he served as Vice President and General Manager for Owens Corning's Residential Insulation Business.

08:58 EDT SS&C increases proposal to acquire GBST Holdings to A$3.60 per share - SS&C announced that it has increased its non-binding indicative offer to acquire all of the shares in GBST Holdings to a price of A$3.60 cash per share or approximately A$250M equivalent to approximately $175M. SS&C and GBST have also entered into amended exclusivity arrangements with GBST, which remain subject to certain customary fiduciary exceptions for GBST. No assurances can be given as to the transaction between SS&C and GBST being consummated or the terms of such transaction.

08:46 EDT Perrigo announces FDA approval for Metrogel-Vaginal ANDA - Perrigo announced its product development partner received final approval from the FDA for its AB-rated abbreviated new drug application, or ANDA, referencing Metrogel-Vaginal. Perrigo will acquire full ownership of the ANDA under a pre-existing arrangement with its partner within 30 days and anticipates launching this product immediately thereafter. The product is manufactured by Perrigo and was developed through its partnership with Capstone Development Solutions, a company of Water Street Healthcare Partners.

08:42 EDT Intercontinental Exchange reports June trading volume results - Intercontinental Exchange reported June trading volume and related revenue statistics. June highlights include: global oil products average daily volume up 13% in June; global oil products open interest up 13% y/y at the end of June; Total Natural Gas ADV up 14% y/y in June; TTF Natural Gas ADV up 178%; TTF Natural Gas OI up 65% y/y at the end of June; emissions ADV up 12% in June; Total Oil futures OI up 7% y/y at the end of June; Coffee ADV up 23%; Sterling ADV up 8% y/y in June; Sterling OI up 40% y/y at the end of June; MSCI ADV up 16% y/y in 2Q19 & up 12%.

08:36 EDT One Stop Systems signs $60M OEM agreement with Disguise Systems - One Stop Systems has signed an exclusive five-year OEM and supply agreement with Disguise Systems Limited for media and entertainment servers. The agreement has a minimum business level to OSS of $60M over the five-year term, with OSS receiving exclusive manufacturing rights for all system level products sold by Disguise for shipments to the Americas, Japan and South Korea.

08:34 EDT Finjan says Federal Circuit affirms PTAB's finding of patentability of claims - Finjan Holdings and its subsidiary Finjan announced that the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued an Opinion on July 2, 2019, regarding Finjan's U.S. Patent No. 8,677,494, captioned Finjan, Inc. v. Andrei Iancu, Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, Case No. 2017-2543, 2017-2623. The decision "arises from the consolidated appeals of three inter partes reviews of the '494 Patent," originally petitioned by Symantec (SYMC), Blue Coat Systems LLC, and Palo Alto Networks (PANW). Symantec and Blue Coat terminated their petitions upon entering into a patent license with Finjan, leaving Palo Alto Network's petition. Director Iancu intervened on behalf of the PTAB. Specifically, on April 11, 2017, the PTAB determined that PAN failed to establish that system claims 10, 11, and 15 are unpatentable, that the '494 Patent was entitled to a 1997 priority date, and that method claims 1, 2, and 6 are unpatentable over prior art. PAN appealed the PTAB's decision on patentability of system claims 10, 11 and 15 as well, as the priority date of the '494 Patent, and Finjan cross-appealed the PTAB's findings that method claims 1, 2 and 6 were unpatentable. The CAFC affirmed the findings of the PTAB. Further, on PAN's appeal of the '494 priority date, the CAFC held that the "1997 priority date is not relevant to the grounds on which the Board instituted." PAN also argued for the first time at oral argument that the CAFC should remand to the PTAB under SAS Institute, Inc. v. Iancu, 138 S. Ct. 1348, which requires the PTAB to consider all petitioned claims and challenges, but the Court rejected the argument and found that PAN "has waived any request for SAS-based relief." The PAN District Court case was stayed pending the completion of the IPRs petitioned by PAN and the associated appeals. With this CAFC decision, only one procedural issue remains on the PTAB's decision on U.S. Patent No. 8,141,154. There, the PTAB instituted review on claims 1-8, 10 and 11 and issued a Final Written Decision on March 15, 2017 that these claims were not shown by PAN to be unpatentable. PAN appealed to the CAFC, which affirmed the PTAB's decision but remanded back to the PTAB under SAS for further consideration. On May 15, 2019 in its Final Written Decision on Remand, the PTAB ruled that in addition to determining that PAN failed to show "by a preponderance of the evidence that claims 1-8, 10, and 11 of the '154 Patent are unpatentable," PAN also failed to show that claims 9 and 12 are unpatentable. Procedurally, PAN has until July 17, 2019 to file a notice of appeal.

08:30 EDT Diversified Restaurant trading resumes

08:10 EDT Bruce Linton says he was terminated by Canopy Growth - Bruce Linton, Canopy Growth's (CGC) outgoing co-CEO, said during an interview with CNBC that he would not define his exit from the company as "stepping down" and responded affirmatively to a question asking if he was terminated by Canopy. Linton says he thinks "there was no other partner" that could have offered what Constellation Brands (STZ) did in terms of investment when the companies partnered up. Canopy is "an awesome company" and he thinks the company is "built really solid" and will continue to be so through this transition, Linton said. He has about 18M Canopy shares and does not plan to sell, Linton added. In pre-market trading as Linton continues to be interviewed on CNBC, Canopy Growth shares trading in New York are down about 5% to $37.96.

08:03 EDT Harsco announces seven-year $38M contract in Oman - Harsco Corporation announced that its Environmental division has signed a 7-year contract with Moon Iron and Steel Company. The contract, valued at $38M, calls for the provision of mill services at Moon Iron and Steel Company's upcoming steel manufacturing facility in Sohar, Oman. Under the terms of the agreement, Harsco will provide under-furnace digging and clean-up, internal scrap collection and processing, metal recovery, material handling and various other services such as site cleaning. Harsco's services at the Sohar facility are scheduled to begin in October 2019.

08:00 EDT Diversified Restaurant trading halted, news pending

07:41 EDT T2 Biosystems reports granting of inducement awards - T2 Biosystems announced that on July 1, 2019 it issued inducement awards to three new employees. These awards were made under T2 Biosystems' Inducement Award Plan, which was adopted by the company's Board of Directors on March 1, 2018 and amended and restated on February 21, 2019 and provides for the granting of equity awards to new employees of T2 Biosystems. The inducement awards consist of options to purchase 60,000 shares of T2 Biosystems common stock and have a ten-year term. The exercise price of the options is $1.69, which was the per-share closing price of T2 Biosystems common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market on July 1, 2019. The options vest over a four-year period, with 25% vesting on the first anniversary of the employee's date of hire and the remainder vesting in equal monthly installments over the three years thereafter.

07:37 EDT Volaris reports June traffic up 24.5% - Volaris reported June traffic results. In June, capacity measured by available seat miles, or ASMs, increased by 18.9% vs. last year, with demand measured by revenue passenger miles, or RPMs, showing an increase of 22.2%. Volaris carried almost 1.9M passengers in total, a 24.5% increase vs. last year, with load factor increasing 2.3 pp to 89.3%. During June, Volaris started to operate five domestic routes, from Chihuahua, Durango and Queretaro; and four international routes, from Chicago, Dallas and Phoenix.

07:18 EDT BioCryst reports inducement grants under Nasdaq listing rule - BioCryst Pharmaceuticals announced that the compensation committee of BioCryst's board of directors granted three newly-hired employees options to purchase an aggregate of 33,000 shares of BioCryst common stock on June 30, 2019, and granted Megan Sniecinski, the company's new chief business officer, the option to purchase an aggregate of 500,000 shares of BioCryst common stock on July 1, 2019, in each case as inducements material to each employee entering into employment with BioCryst. The options were granted in accordance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).

07:04 EDT RedHill Biopharma announces FDA acceptance for Talicia NDA - RedHill Biopharma announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted for review the New Drug Application for Talicia for H. pylori infection. The NDA for Talicia has also been granted Priority Review designation and was assigned a target Prescription Drug User Act action date by the FDA of November 2, 2019. Commercial launch of Talicia with RedHill's existing U.S. sales force is planned shortly following potential FDA approval. If approved, Talicia would be eligible for a total of eight years of U.S. market exclusivity.

07:02 EDT Canopy Growth co-CEO Bruce Linton stepping down, Mark Zekulin remains CEO - Canopy Growth announced that Bruce Linton will step down as co-CEO and Canopy Board member. Mark Zekulin has agreed to become the sole CEO of the company and will work with the Board to begin a search to identify a new leader, which will include both internal and external candidates. Rade Kovacevic, a member of the team currently leading all Canadian operations and recreational strategy will assume the role of President. These changes are effective immediately. The Board has also appointed John Bell as its Board Chair, to be reviewed at the Board's annual meeting in September when new board members are elected. Bell has served on the board as lead director for 5 years.

06:54 EDT Lannett'a Application for Cocaine Hydrochloride Topical Solution upheld by FDA - Lannett commented on the FDA's denial of a Citizen Petition submitted by Genus Lifesciences requesting that the FDA refuse to accept any submissions related to Lannett's New Drug Application for Cocaine Hydrochloride Topical Solution, 4% and 10%. Lannett CEO Tim Crew stated, "We are pleased with the FDA's decision, which affirmed our belief that the regulatory review of our NDA can continue. We believe we have addressed and responded to all comments in the FDA Complete Response Letter, including conducting a QT prolongation study, and we believe we will receive approval by early 2020."

06:11 EDT Baker Hughes announces June international rig count of 1,138, up 12 - Baker Hughes announces June international rig count for June 2019 was 1,138, up 12 from the 1,126 counted in May 2019, and up 179 from the 959 counted in June 2018. The international offshore rig count for June 2019 was 246, up 6 from the 240 counted in May 2019, and up 51 from the 195 counted in June 2018. The average U.S. rig count for June 2019 was 969, down 17 from the 986 counted in May 2019, and down 87 from the 1,056 counted in June 2018. The average Canadian rig count for June 2019 was 114, up 44 from the 70 counted in May 2019, and down 23 from the 137 counted in June 2018. The worldwide rig count for June 2019 was 2,221, up 39 from the 2,182 counted in May 2019, and up 69 from the 2,152 counted in June 2018.

06:09 EDT Amazon.com to create over 2,000 new jobs in the UK in 2019 - Amazon announced that it will create 2,000 new jobs in the UK in 2019 in a move that will take its total permanent workforce to more than 29,500 by the end of the year. The roles, which are available to people with a broad range of experience, disciplines and skills, include engineers, software developers, data scientists, and cloud and machine learning experts, along with a number of entry-level positions. Of the jobs created over 170 will be at its Development Centres in Cambridge, Edinburgh and London. In addition to the roles at the Development Centres Amazon is hiring for roles at: its head office and fashion photography studio in London; its new corporate office in Manchester; dozens of delivery stations across the country; and its growing network of fulfilment centres, which support tens of thousands of independent businesses of all sizes. Alongside the 2,000 new permanent roles announced today, Amazon announced earlier this year plans for 1,000 new apprenticeships in the UK over the next two years. The apprenticeships will consist of nine programmes, lasting between 13 months and four years, across IT, software engineering, robotics, leadership and technology, as well as safety and human resources. Alongside these roles more than 90 new graduate and postgraduate apprentices will also become qualified over the next two years as part of the programme, through on-the-job and classroom training, focusing on software development engineering, senior leadership and automation. Reference Link

06:07 EDT Cedar Fair acquires Sawmill Creek Resort, terms not disclosed - Cedar Fair Entertainment announced it has acquired Sawmill Creek Resort located in Huron, Ohio. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed. CEO Richard Zimmerman said Cedar Fair plans to make the necessary investment in Sawmill Creek to upgrade and modernize its guest rooms, resort facilities and infrastructure. Improvements are projected to be completed over the next two years.

06:04 EDT CBRE Group plans to acquire the U.K.'s Telford Homes for $336.9M - CBRE Group intends to acquire all the issued and to-be-issued shares of Telford Homes. Telford is a developer of multifamily residential properties in London, with a development in-process portfolio - total project cost - of $1.66B. The acquisition represents a strategic expansion of CBRE's Trammell Crow real estate development business. Telford is focused on opportunities to develop middle-market build-to-rent properties. Telford generated approximately $446M of revenue and $50M of pre-tax profit for the 12 months ended March 31, 2019. Telford shareholders will receive $4.41 per share in cash, valuing Telford at $336.9M. CBRE intends to fund the acquisition through a combination of cash on hand and availability within its revolving credit facility. Upon completion of the acquisition, which is expected in Q3, Telford will operate as part of the Trammell Crow Company and its financial results will be reported within CBRE's Real Estate Investments business segment. Di-Stefano will continue to run the Telford business after the acquisition closes.

05:56 EDT Omnova Solutions to be acquired by Synthomer for $10.15 per share - Omnova Solutions announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Synthomer, a United Kingdom-based specialty chemical company, for $10.15 per share in cash. Completion of the transaction is subject to the satisfaction of certain customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals, and approval from Synthomer's and Omnova's shareholders. The transaction is not contingent on obtaining financing and is expected to close in late 2019 or early 2020.

05:47 EDT XpresSpa issues statement in response to second lawsuit by company founders - XpresSpa Group publicly responded to a lawsuit brought by Moreton Binn and Marisol Binn with the following statement: "After the Binns' first lawsuit against XpresSpa was dismissed by the court, these same disgruntled founders, who were terminated by the company because of the many improprieties that they committed, now bring yet another frivolous lawsuit. Once again, their claims are completely without merit and made in an effort to undermine XpresSpa, board members, and the company's lender. It is also unfortunate that attempts have been made to tarnish the reputation of select board members and external partners like Brian Daly, managing partner of B3D, to whom we owe a great deal of gratitude for his ongoing support of the business at critical times over the years. Brian Daly and his company B3D are a sterling example of a respected lender who has repeatedly stepped up and provided financing and amended existing agreements to keep XpresSpa viable for its employees and shareholders alike."

05:41 EDT Diebold to contest recently reported class action shareholder lawsuit - Diebold Nixdorf understands that a plaintiffs' law firm has filed a putative federal securities class action complaint against the company and two former officers relating to the company's pre-earnings announcement dated July 5, 2017. In that announcement, Diebold Nixdorf adjusted its full-year 2017 financial outlook. This pre-earnings announcement came just days after the end of the second quarter 2017, and in advance of the company's scheduled second quarter earnings release on July 19, 2017. Diebold Nixdorf intends to vigorously defend these claims, as the company believes they are without merit. The company denies any liability.