Stockwinners Market Radar for July 22, 2019 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

21:15 EDT Viveve CMRF technology trial did not demonstrate improvement in SUI - Earlier this evening, Viveve disclosed that its LIBERATE-International trial, a multicenter, randomized, double-blinded, sham-controlled trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of its proprietary, cryogen-cooled monopolar radiofrequency, or CMRF, technology for the improvement of stress urinary incontinence, or SUI, in women, did not demonstrate greater improvement in SUI in treated patients as compared with the control group, and therefore did not achieve statistical significance in the intent-to-treat-population on the primary endpoint of change from baseline to six months post-treatment in the 1-hour pad weight test. The median change from baseline at six months post-treatment was -8.0g in the active group of 66 subjects and -8.0g in the sham-control group of 33 subjects. Viveve also announced the transition of its U.S. business model to renting systems versus selling under a capital equipment model. In June 2019, U.S. sales of the Viveve(R) System transitioned from a capital sales model to a recurring revenue rental model intended to lower up-front costs for customers and thus lower hurdles to adoption, increase placement rates, and improve profitability by significantly reducing selling time per unit. The new model has successfully increased physician adoption rates. In June 2019, Viveve placed 27 systems with new North American customers under this new program, a higher monthly productivity rate per rep than any prior month in the company's history.

18:48 EDT Fly Intel: After Hours Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Brown & Brown (BRO) up 1.0%. ALSO HIGHER: Snap (SNAP) up 2.2% after being upgraded to Buy at Stifer and initiated with Buy at Rosenblat... Intel (INTC) up 1.3%, Qualcomm (QCOM) down 2.7% after WSJ report of Apple interest in Intel's smartphone model chip business. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Steel Dynamics (STLD) down 5.8%... Zions Bancorp (ZION) down 4.9%... Cadence Design (CDNS) down 1.1%, Synopsys (SNPS) down 7.7 in sympathy... Whirlpool (WHR) down 0.9%... TD Ameritrade (AMTD) down 0.6%. ALSO LOWER: Acadia Pharma (ACAD) down 15.3% after its phase 3 Pimavanserin trial in schizophrenia did not achieve primary endpoint statistical significance. Movers as of 18:30ET.

18:22 EDT Home Depot CFO: The company is in great hands - In an interview on CNBC's Mad Money, Home Depot CFO Carol Tome said: The best CFO's are business people first and finance people second... Everything starts with the customer... People who view their homes as investments vs. an expense spend more money... One of our values is entreprenurial spirit... I talk to the Atlanta Fed quite often... We create careers, not jobs.

18:11 EDT AutoNation names Cheryl Miller CEO - AutoNation (AN) announced that Cheryl Miller, AutoNation's Chief Financial Officer, has been appointed Chief Executive Officer and President, effective today, July 22, 2019, replacing Carl Liebert. Carl and the board of directors of AutoNation mutually agreed that he would leave to pursue other interests. Carl will remain with the company for the next 30 days to assist with the transition. Miller was also named to AutoNation's board of directors, effective today, July 22, 2019. Cheryl Miller is the first female CEO of a publicly traded automotive retailer. Cheryl Miller has led several key strategic initiatives, including the building and cultivating of AutoNation's partnership with Google's (GOOG) Waymo.

18:03 EDT First Bancshares announces agreement to acquires First Florida Bancorp - The First Bancshares, holding company for The First, A National Banking Association, announced the signing of an Agreement and Plan of Merger with First Florida Bancorp, parent company of First Florida Bank, pursuant to which First Bancshares has agreed to acquire FFB. Under the terms of the Agreement and Plan of Merger, FFB will be merged with and into First Bancshares. Upon consummation of the Merger, each FFB shareholder will receive $5.20 in cash and 0.257 of a share of First Bancshares' common stock in exchange for each share of FFB stock. The aggregate Merger Consideration is valued at approximately $85M, based on 6,395,812 shares of FFB common stock outstanding, 152,500 in-the-money incentive stock options to purchase shares of FFB common stock, and FBMS' 10-day average closing price of $30.30 per share as of July 17. The Agreement and Plan of Merger has been approved by the Boards of Directors of First Bancshares and FFB. The closing of the transaction, which is expected to occur in the Q4, is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals and approval by the shareholders of FFB.

17:58 EDT Qualcomm falls after news Apple may buy Intel smartphone-modem chip business - Shares of Qualcomm (QCOM) are falling after the WSJ reported earlier, that Apple (AAPL) is in advanced talks to acquire the smartphone-modem chip business of Intel (INTC) and could pay $1B or more for the assets, which include Intel's patents and staff. Shares of Qualcomm are down over 2% to $74.30 in after-hours trading, while Intel is up 1.46%. Apple is fractionally higher in the after-hours market.

17:33 EDT Orion Engineered announces price increases - Orion Engineered Carbons announced that effective September 1, or as contracts allow, Orion Engineered Carbons will increase sales prices by 8c per pound for Rubber grade Carbon Black and 7c per pound for Specialty grade Carbon Black for all Carbon Black produced and sold in North America to recover the rapidly rising feedstock costs as well as to ensure continued reliable supply. On all Rubber grade Carbon Black, Orion will increase current base prices by 4c per pound.

17:29 EDT Benchmark Electronics appoints Rob Crawford Chief Revenue Officer - Benchmark Electronics announced the appointment of Rob Crawford as the company's first Chief Revenue Officer, effective immediately. Crawford most recently served as VP, Global Sales, Advanced Technology Solutions at Celestica.

17:25 EDT Carnegie Mellon reports 5.5% passive stake in NeuBase Therapeutics - In a regulatory filing, Carnegie Mellon University disclosed a 5.5% stake in NeuBase, which represents about 939,000 shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

17:03 EDT Steel Dynamics announces planned new flat roll steel mill site selection - Steel Dynamics announced the selection of Sinton, Texas, as the site for the company's previously announced new state-of-the-art, electric-arc-furnace, EAF,flat roll steel mill. Sinton is located approximately 30 miles Northwest of the port of Corpus Christi, Texas. Sinton is strategically located within the targeted Southwest U.S. and Mexico market regions, bringing numerous competitive customer and raw material advantages to the project. Final determination is still subject to the anticipated receipt of necessary permits and continued state and local government support, which the company expects to be forthcoming. "We are extremely excited to announce our selection of Sinton as the site for our next-generation, new flat roll steel mill investment," said Mark. D. Millett, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We are eager to join the Sinton community, and we appreciate the warm welcome and support that we have received from them, Governor Abbott and the State of Texas, as well as local leaders from San Patricio County, the City of Sinton, and the Sinton Independent School Board. We thank them for their trust, shared vision, and support for this important strategic investment. We anticipate the project will create approximately 600 well-paying positions, and abundant opportunities for indirect job growth from customers and other support service providers, bringing meaningful economic growth to the surrounding communities.

17:02 EDT Haemonetics updates financial reporting segments - Haemonetics Corporation announced changes to its financial reporting segments and business units. The updated reporting segments and business units correspond with Haemonetics' transition to a customer-centric business unit structure, which more accurately reflects market realities and opportunities for growth within each one of the company's three businesses. The company will report results in three segments: Plasma, Hospital and Blood Center. For illustrative purposes, the company has provided Fiscal Year 2020 revenue guidance issued on May 14, 2019 in the new customer-centric business unit structure and will report first quarter Fiscal Year 2020 results in the new segments.

16:57 EDT Avalon GloboCare and GE Healthcare announce strategic partnership - Avalon GloboCare (AVCO) announced that they have established a strategic partnership with GE Healthcare (GE). The partnership will accelerate Avalon's standardization, automation and bio-production for clinical-grade Chimeric Antigen Receptor, CAR-T, cells and other immune-effector cells for cellular immunotherapy, as well as exosomes/extracellular vesicles, EV, based regenerative therapeutics. The combination of expertise sets the stage for Avalon to be the leader in cellular medicines with the ability to execute on the complete development lifecycle from innovation through bio-production to the delivery and management of treatment at hospitals for patients. This infrastructure and depth of capabilities ensures the successful execution of the company's ongoing clinical trials. Under this partnership, both Avalon and GE Healthcare will strategically establish automated and standardized GMP cell production capabilities. Avalon will be given access to GE Healthcare's cell processing expertise and products in the form of FlexFactory Cell Therapy platform, FastTrak process development and training services, as well as extensive SOP and validation protocol library. Additionally, user training will be conducted both at GE Healthcare and on-site at Avalon's Nanjing Epicon GMP facility with access to GE Healthcare's expert bio-manufacturing resources. In conjunction with Avalon's extensive clinical network in China, this strategic partnership will empower Avalon to improve manufacturing throughput and efficiency, alleviate cost burden, and minimize variability in the automated and standardized bio-production process of clinical-grade cellular products (such as CAR-T, CAR-NK, and stem cell-derived exosomes, therefore, accelerating the development of Avalon's clinical and commercialization programs in cellular medicines.

16:53 EDT Best Buy beneficial owner Richard Schulze sells $32.4M in company shares - Best Buy beneficial owner Richard Schulze disclosed in a filing that he had sold 430,600 shares of company stock at $75.26 per share between July 9 and July 22. The total transaction value of the sale was $32,407,645.

16:47 EDT Monroe Capital reports 6.5% passive stake in Repay Holdings - In a regulatory filing, Monroe Capital disclosed a 6.5% stake in Repay Holdings, which represents about 2.5M shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

16:36 EDT Acadia down over 16% at $21.75 after resumption of trade

16:34 EDT Fulcrum Therapeutics chairman Mark Levin buys $1.3M in company shares - Fulcrum Therapeutics chairman Mark Levin disclosed in a filing that he had purchased 81,250 shares of company stock at $16 per share on July 22 for a total transaction value of $1,300,000.

16:33 EDT Celanese reports Q2 operating EBITDA $458M vs. $573M last year - Reports Q2 free cash flow $326M vs. $500M last year.

16:31 EDT Avalon GloboCare, GE Healthcare announce strategic partnership - Avalon GloboCare (AVCO) announced that they have established a strategic partnership with GE Healthcare (GE). The partnership will accelerate Avalon's standardization, automation and bio-production for clinical-grade Chimeric Antigen Receptor-T cells and other immune-effector cells for cellular immunotherapy, as well as exosomes/extracellular vesicles based regenerative therapeutics. The combination of expertise sets the stage for Avalon to be the leader in cellular medicines with the ability to execute on the complete development lifecycle from innovation through bio-production to the delivery and management of treatment at hospitals for patients. This infrastructure and depth of capabilities ensures the successful execution of the company's ongoing clinical trials. Under this partnership, both Avalon and GE Healthcare will strategically establish automated and standardized GMP cell production capabilities. Avalon will be given access to GE Healthcare's cell processing expertise and products in the form of FlexFactory Cell Therapy platform, FastTrak process development and training services, as well as extensive SOP and validation protocol library. Additionally, user training will be conducted both at GE Healthcare and on-site at Avalon's Nanjing Epicon GMP facility with access to GE Healthcare's expert bio-manufacturing resources. In conjunction with Avalon's extensive clinical network in China, this strategic partnership will empower Avalon to improve manufacturing throughput and efficiency, alleviate cost burden, and minimize variability in the automated and standardized bio-production process of clinical-grade cellular products, therefore, accelerating the development of Avalon's clinical and commercialization programs in cellular medicines.

16:25 EDT Viveve trading halted, news pending

16:22 EDT Bonanza Creek reports preliminary Q2 sales volume 24.4 MBoepd - Reports preliminary Q2 capital expenditures $81.7M. Mid-year proved reserves increased to 120.0 MMBoe from 116.8 MMBoe at year-end 2018 despite prices declining approximately 6%. Backs FY19 capital expenditure view $230M-$255M.

16:19 EDT Whirlpool up nearly 5% to $155.50 after Q2 results beat, FY19 profit view raised

16:18 EDT Whirlpool CEO calls Q2 results 'excellent' - "At our recent Investor Day, we laid out a robust strategy for creating shareholder value and our excellent second-quarter results impressively demonstrate that we are on track," said Marc Bitzer, chairman and CEO of Whirlpool. "Our strong momentum allows us to raise our full-year guidance despite continued global macro uncertainties."

16:17 EDT Perceptron receives two robot guidance orders involving battery packs - Perceptron announced it has received two robot guidance orders involving battery packs from two different OEM partners. Perceptron's first robot guidance application utilizes two gripper mounted Helixevo sensors to unload battery packs from an automatic guided vehicle, or AGV, and places them on a pallet and into the manufacturing line. The AGV's position can vary, making the sensors' large measurement volume critical for sensing and locating the battery for proper pickup. The pallet's position can also vary and locating pins on the pallet are measured to avoid collision and guarantee an optimized placement before releasing the battery pack. The company's second robot guidance application also uses two gripper mounted Helixevo sensors. The sensors provide a variety of capabilities, including measurement of the battery pack and the ability to pick it up, move it to the vehicle, measure the vehicle, calculate an adjusted path, send the new path to the robot and finally place the battery pack inside the vehicle. The sensors' measurement of both the battery pack and the vehicle, while accounting for the part and process variation of the battery and vehicle, ensures the ideal matchup of components. The first project is currently being installed and the second project is scheduled for fall.

16:15 EDT Pangaea Logistics acquires vessel for $14.1M - Pangaea Logistics Solutions announced it has purchased a vessel to add to its operating fleet, which will total 22 ships when the new ship is delivered to Pangaea in September 2019. The ship was purchased in the second hand market for $14.1M.

16:14 EDT Whirlpool says expects to continue repurchasing stock throughout 2019 - The company intends to repay its outstanding $1B term loan with the net cash proceeds received from the closing of the Embraco sale, and intends to continue repurchasing stock throughout the remainder of 2019.

16:13 EDT Tribune names Kris Worrell editor-in-chief of the Virginian-Pilot, Daily Press - Tribune Publishing announced that Kris Worrell has been named Editor-in-Chief of the Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, Virginia and the Daily Press in Newport News, Virginia. Worrell is currently the Executive Editor of The Press of Atlantic City, N.J. and will begin her new role in August. Moving to Virginia will be a homecoming for Worrell, who attended the University of Virginia and was a reporter at both the Pilot and Daily Press. An award-winning editor, she has held positions at the Atlanta Journal Constitution, the Times-Union, Beaumont Enterprise and the Observer-Dispatch. In addition, Worrell worked in marketing for two publishing houses and a non-profit focused on child welfare. Kris is an innovative, strategic leader who almost doubled digital page views in her current role," said Timothy P. Knight, CEO of Tribune Publishing. "She combines local knowledge with a diverse set of experiences and the ability to propel our journalism forward."

16:11 EDT Agree Realty increases FY19 acquisition guidance to $625M-$675M - The company commented, "Given our strong year-to-date investment activity and our robust pipeline, we are increasing our full-year acquisition guidance to a range of $625M-$675M. While increasing our acquisition guidance, and as evidenced by our high-quality investments to date, we continue to adhere to our rigorous underwriting standards focused on superior real estate leased to leading omni-channel retailers."

16:09 EDT Starbucks grants Brightloom software license for flywheel software - Starbucks announced a deal with Brightloom, a San Francisco and Seattle tech company that is working to create an end-to-end digital customer experience platform for the restaurant industry. Starbucks is granting Brightloom a software license to select components of Starbucks proprietary digital flywheel software. In connection with the licensing agreement, Starbucks will take an equity stake in Brightloom and receive a seat on the company's board of directors. Brightloom will combine its existing technology assets with software licensed from Starbucks digital flywheel. The combination will lead to the development of a cloud-based software solution for the restaurant industry that will connect customers to their favorite restaurant brands - particularly valuable given the recent hypergrowth of mobile ordering and 3rd party delivery platforms, Starbucks said. Brightloom plans on making available the software solutions to Starbucks global license partners and will open this platform up to the entire restaurant industry of merchants. Starbucks will continue to drive software development of the Starbucks digital flywheel for all its company operated markets.

16:05 EDT NanoString announces publication of GeoMx DSP data - NanoString announced the publication of a study in the journal Nature Medicine that demonstrates the capability of the GeoMx digital spatial profiler, or DSP, to characterize toxicities associated with immunotherapy using checkpoint inhibitors. While checkpoint inhibitors can lead to durable responses in a range of metastatic cancers, unanticipated immune-related adverse events can limit the utility of these life-saving therapies. A group of researchers recently published a study entitled "A case report of clonal EBV-like memory CD4+ T cell activation in fatal checkpoint inhibitor induced encephalitis." In this case report, investigators used the GeoMx DSP to characterize immune infiltrates in the brain of a patient who passed away from neurotoxicity following immunotherapy treatment for metastatic melanoma. The GeoMx DSP revealed the presence of activated T cells in the inflamed, non tumor-containing region of the brain. These T cells were characterized on other platforms and found to be potentially specific for Epstein Barr Virus-associated proteins. GeoMx DSP profiling of non-inflamed regions from the same patient, as well as patients with other forms of encephalitis, did not show evidence of activated T cells, suggesting that population was specific to the inflamed region within the immunotherapy treated patient.

16:02 EDT TD Ameritrade CEO Tim Hockey to step down - In discussing the best path forward for TD Ameritrade, the company's board of directors and President and CEO Tim Hockey have made the decision that he will leave the company upon the appointment of a new leader to guide its next phase of growth. The board will begin a search for Hockey's successor, engaging an executive search firm to assist in the process, which will include internal and external candidates. Hockey has agreed to stay in his role as the board conducts its search, until the end of February 2020. If his successor is named before that time, he will move into an advisory role to help with the transition.

15:57 EDT Halcon Resources trading resumes

15:44 EDT FreightCar America to close Roanoke manufacturing facility - FreightCar America announced that it has started the process to permanently close its Roanoke, Virginia manufacturing facility, stating that it will retain the necessary workforce to build cars at the facility through November. Jim Meyer, President and CEO of FreightCar America, said, "Reducing our fixed costs and achieving world-class output from our much larger Shoals facility have always been core pillars of our turnaround strategy. We have spent the last two years building our talent, processes and overall capabilities at Shoals and the plant is now in a position to accept the Roanoke models and volume. This action, when complete in the first half of 2020, is expected to save approximately $5M per year."

14:05 EDT ContraVir Pharmaceuticals to change name to Hepion Pharmaceuticals - ContraVir Pharmaceuticals (CTRV) announced that its board of directors has approved the change of the company's name and stock symbol to Hepion Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and "HEPA," respectively. The company's new NASDAQ trading symbol will be effective as of the opening of trading on July 23, ContraVir said.

14:03 EDT Neogen awarded supply contract by FSIS for dehydrated culture media - Neogen announced that it had again been awarded the contract to supply certain dehydrated culture media to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service, FSIS. The FSIS uses Neogen Culture Media to monitor raw and ready-to-eat meat and poultry products for the presence of bacterial pathogens, including Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella species, and non-O157 Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, STECs. "We are pleased to again earn the trust of the FSIS as it works to ensure the safety of the food supply," said John Adent, Neogen's president and CEO. "Neogen's culture media products are used by leading scientists, researchers and regulatory agencies around the world in a variety of applications, including food safety and the production of vaccines. Last year, we completed the global harmonization of the products under the Neogen Culture Media brand, which meant that our customers receive the exact same formulation for the same product, wherever in the world they may be."

13:38 EDT Avianca falls over 3% after saying it deferred certain payments on leases, loans - Avianca is down over 3% to $4.19 in afternoon trading.

13:33 EDT Avianca defers payments on certain long-term leases, certain loans - Avianca Holdings announced that, in connection with its previously announced re-profiling plan for its capital structure, the company has temporarily deferred payments on certain long-term leases and on payment of principal on certain loan obligations. Avianca Holdings has engaged in discussions with its main strategic lenders and other creditors to establish terms that will preserve current liquidity levels and enable Avianca Holdings to advance its re-profiling plan, which is aimed at strengthening the company's financial position. Over the last two weeks, members of Avianca Holdings' senior management team have met with more than 50 of Avianca Holdings' strategic lenders and other creditors with the objective of reaching an agreement on the terms and conditions of the proposed deferrals. Importantly, obligations related to Avianca Holdings' day-to-day operations remain current, and such operations, including flight schedules and other ordinary course operations, will remain unaffected. Avianca Holdings affirms that it is current on all existing interest obligations and that Avianca Holdings actively seeks to arrive at a mutually satisfactory agreement with its strategic lenders and other creditors for a short-term deferral of principal amortization payments, as well as extensions of its credit facilities. Avianca Holdings intends to resume scheduled principal payments once these agreements have been successfully reached, as Avianca Holdings' proposal is for all creditors to be paid in full, including principal and interest. In connection with its re-profiling program, Avianca Holdings today made a separate announcement regarding an exchange offer for its outstanding 8.375% Senior Notes due 2020. Avianca Holdings is current on its interest obligations with respect to its outstanding senior notes and is not otherwise in default on its outstanding 2020 Senior Notes.

12:02 EDT Gilead presents new data on Biktarvy for tretment of HIV in women - Gilead Sciences presented findings from two Phase 3 trials - a trial demonstrating the effectiveness of switching to Biktarvy in women, and a trial evaluating the potential for the single tablet regimen to be an effective treatment option in virologically suppressed patients with known resistance to nucleo(s)tide or non-nucleo(s)tide reverse transcriptase inhibitors. The use of Biktarvy in patients with known drug resistance is investigational. These data were presented at the 10th International AIDS Society Conference on HIV Science being held in Mexico City. "These data presented at IAS provide new information about the treatment of HIV among women and patients with known drug resistance," said Diana Brainard, MD, Senior Vice President, HIV and Emerging Viruses, Gilead Sciences. "The studies further demonstrate the potential for Biktarvy to be an important treatment option for appropriate patients." This international multicenter, randomized, open-label Phase 3 trial evaluated 470 virologically suppressed women on a baseline regimen of either Genvoya, elvitegravir/cobicistat/F/TDF or atazanavir+ritonavir+F/TDF who switched 1:1 from these baseline regimens to Biktarvy. The primary endpoint for this study conducted exclusively in women, was previously presented, and demonstrated noninferior maintained virologic suppression, with a low frequency of serious adverse events and no emergent resistance at Week 48. All participants, including those on baseline regimens, switched to Biktarvy through Week 96. At Week 96, 99.5 percent of women who received Biktarvy throughout the study duration and 98.5 percent of women who switched to Biktarvy at Week 48 maintained virologic suppression, with no development of treatment-emergent resistance. Biktarvy was also shown to be well-tolerated with low frequencies of serious adverse events.

12:00 EDT MarineMax falls -11.4% - MarineMax is down -11.4%, or -$1.89 to $14.68.

12:00 EDT Horizon Global rises 14.5% - Horizon Global is up 14.5%, or 57c to $4.51.

12:00 EDT Lannett rises 21.2% - Lannett is up 21.2%, or $1.27 to $7.25.

11:11 EDT MMTec Inc trading resumes

11:02 EDT U.S. Bank enters co-brand agreement with BMW to issue new cards - U.S. Bank (USB) has entered into a co-brand agreement with BMW Financial Services (BMWYY) to issue credit cards that will deliver enhanced digital experiences and greater value to BMW, MINI and BMW Motorrad enthusiasts. U.S. Bank has also acquired the existing credit card portfolio from BMW Bank of North America, LLC, as part of this agreement. The new program will provide an enhanced experience with richer rewards where customers can earn and redeem points toward BMW products and services. Customers will be able to add cards into digital wallets and use the cards at contactless readers. The cards will also have an EMV chip and magnetic stripe for maximum convenience. New cards and features will be available in January 2020. Until then, customers will be able to use existing cards.

10:58 EDT Microsoft Hungary pays criminal penalties to resolve foreign bribery case - Microsoft Hungary, a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft, has agreed to pay a criminal penalty of more than $8.7M to resolve the government's investigation into violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act arising out of a bid rigging and bribery scheme in connection with the sale of Microsoft software licenses to Hungarian government agencies, the Justice Department announced in a statement. In a related matter with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Microsoft agreed to pay to the SEC disgorgement and prejudgment interest totaling approximately $16.6M for conduct in Hungary. "According to Microsoft Hungary's admissions, beginning by at least 2013 and continuing until at least 2015, a senior executive and other employees of Microsoft Hungary participated in a scheme to inflate margins in the Microsoft sales channel in connection with the sale of Microsoft software licenses to Hungarian government agencies," the government says. Reference Link

10:25 EDT Starbucks announces launch of creamers in partnership with Nestle - Starbucks (SBUX) and Nestle (NSRGY) announced the launch of Starbucks Creamers, which they said marks "the first time the Starbucks brand has entered the refrigerated creamer category which is projected to top $7.8B by 2023 in the US." Starbucks Creamers are the fourth product platform developed since the companies formed a global coffee alliance in August 2018, the companies noted. Reference Link

10:00 EDT MarineMax falls -11.4% - MarineMax is down -11.4%, or -$1.89 to $14.68.

10:00 EDT Chaparral Energy rises 7.2% - Chaparral Energy is up 7.2%, or 30c to $4.48.

10:00 EDT RPM rises 8.3% - RPM is up 8.3%, or $5.17 to $67.45.

09:53 EDT Occidental Petroleum recommends shareholders do not sign any Ichan requests - Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) mailed a letter to shareholders in connection with definitive proxy materials it has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in response to materials filed by Carl Icahn. The letter read, in part: The Board of Directors and management team at Occidental Petroleum Corporation are committed to applying our proven operating model to build a global energy leader with the scale and focus to deliver significant value and returns to our stockholders...As you may be aware, Icahn Partners LP, Icahn Partners Master Fund LP and High River Limited Partnership recently became stockholders and accumulated beneficial ownership of approximately 4.4% of Occidental's common stock, par value $0.20 per share, on or after May 2, 2019. The Icahn Group is now soliciting your written request to demand that the Board of Directors of Occidental fix a record date for determining stockholders entitled to act in a planned consent solicitation by the Icahn Group to approve by written consent without a meeting certain proposed actions. Such proposed actions include removing four current Occidental directors and replacing them with four new directors, two of whom are Carl Icahn's employees, another of whom was previously named to a board seat at Herbalife (HLF) by Carl Icahn in connection with a proxy contest and none of whom possess skills, experience or expertise that are additive or superior to our existing directors. We ask stockholders to carefully consider the destabilizing impact that the Icahn Group Solicitation could have on the long-term value of your shares. The Board has unanimously determined that fixing a Record Date for the Icahn Group's planned consent solicitation and the proposals the Icahn Group intends to ask stockholders to act on are not in the best interests of Occidental or its stockholders. Occidental's existing corporate governance provides multiple avenues for stockholders to express their views; however, we do not believe that another director election approximately ten weeks after the last one is in the best interests of Occidental or our stockholders. The Board believes that stockholder interests would be best served by focusing on completion of the pending acquisition by Occidental of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (APC) and related transactions, including planning for integration and continuing to execute planned divestitures. We have made significant progress and expect to complete the acquisition of Anadarko in the second half of 2019. We expect the acquisition to deliver at least $3.5B annually in cost and capital spending synergies, creating significant value for our stockholders and providing scale, cash flow and financial flexibility to support our commitment to maintaining and increasing our dividend...The Board has unanimously determined that fixing a Record Date for the Icahn Group's planned consent solicitation and the proposals the Icahn Group intends to ask stockholders to act on are not in the best interests of Occidental or its stockholders. If, after careful consideration, you do not wish to support the request to fix a Record Date, do NOT sign any written request sent to you by the Icahn Group. "

09:47 EDT MarineMax falls -7.2% - MarineMax is down -7.2%, or -$1.20 to $15.37.

09:47 EDT Cadence Bancorp falls -16.3% - Cadence Bancorp is down -16.3%, or -$3.19 to $16.42.

09:47 EDT DaVita rises 6.0% - DaVita is up 6.0%, or $3.35 to $59.40.

09:44 EDT Pacific Drilling appoints James Harris as SVP, CFO - Pacific Drilling (PACD) announced that Pacific Drilling's Board has appointed James Harris to serve as the company's SVP and CFO. Harris replaces Johannes Boots, who, as previously announced, mutually agreed with the company to step down from his position to pursue other opportunities. Harris most recently served as EVP, Drilling & Subsea for Forum Energy Technologies (FET).

09:35 EDT Innovation Pharmaceuticals announces license agreement for brilacidin - Innovation Pharmaceuticals has executed a license agreement with Alfasigma to develop and commercialize locally-administered Brilacidin on a worldwide basis, for the treatment of Ulcerative Proctitis/Ulcerative Proctosigmoiditis. The company will receive from Alfasigma an initial payment, plus be eligible for additional payments based on certain milestones, totaling over $24M, and receive a 6 percent royalty,based on the successful marketing of Brilacidin for UP/UPS. The agreement also includes a Right of First Refusal for Brilacidin for the treatment of more extensive forms of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, such as Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease, and a Right of First Negotiation for Brilacidin in other Gastrointestinal indications.

09:29 EDT Tencent says TiMi Studio to team up with Pokemon to create games - Tencent (TCEHY) said in a post on its official Weibo blog that its TiMi Studio Group will work with The Pokemon Company, which is backed by Nintendo (NTDOY) to develop new games. Reference Link

09:26 EDT Halliburton sees FY19 free cash flow at or above FY18 levels

09:21 EDT Halliburton sees Q3 North America activity 'slightly down' - Management says Q3 North America activity slowdown more pronounced in gassy basins.

09:17 EDT Verizon announces launch of Software-Defined Interconnect - Verizon announced the launch of Software-Defined Interconnect, a solution that works with Equinix Cloud Exchange Fabric, offering organizations with a Private IP network direct connectivity to 115 International Business Exchange data centers around the globe within minutes. SDI addresses the longstanding challenges associated with connecting customer networks to colocation data centers. To do this over traditional infrastructure requires costly build-outs, long lead times and complex provisioning. The SDI solution leverages an automated Application Program Interface (API) to quickly and simply integrate pre-provisioned Verizon Private IP bandwidth via ECX Fabric, while eliminating the need for dedicated physical connectivity. The result is to make secure colocation and interconnection faster and easier for customers to implement, often at a significantly lower cost.

09:15 EDT Halliburton says Q2 North America service pricing remained stable

09:12 EDT BioLargo Engineering awarded U.S. Air Force subcontracts - BioLargo announced that its engineering subsidiary has been awarded two subcontracts to provide air quality environmental engineering services to five United States Air Force bases in Texas and Arizona. BioLargo Engineering, Science & Technologies has entered into a series of "teaming agreements" with Bhate Environmental Associates, as prime-contractor, to prepare bids for submission to the U.S. General Services Administration for environmental services on Air Force bases throughout the country. Bhate assembled a multi-disciplined team of five companies, including BLEST, to provide services to the USAF in what is commonly referred to as "fence-to-fence environmental services" call orders. These fence-to-fence projects include a menu of environmental engineering services, which focus on hazardous waste, hazardous materials, air quality, water quality, natural and cultural resources. The total value of these two contracts awarded to Bhate exceeds $12M over a five-year term, of which the subcontractors will receive a portion. In addition to these awarded contracts, BLEST is working closely with Bhate to pursue similar environmental projects for the USAF which are in various stages of bids and consideration.

09:07 EDT Griffin announces closing on land purchases - Griffin Industrial Realty announced that it closed on the purchases of two adjoining parcels of undeveloped land aggregating approximately 44 acres in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, located in the greater Charlotte area. Griffin paid cash of approximately $5.6M for the Mecklenburg Land using a portion of the proceeds from the $7.7M sale in May 2019 of approximately 280 acres of undeveloped land that were being held in escrow for a like-kind exchange under Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. Griffin has obtained most of the governmental approvals required for its planned construction of three industrial/warehouse buildings aggregating approximately 500,000 square feet on the Mecklenburg Land and anticipates obtaining the remaining approvals in the near future. Griffin expects to begin sitework, on speculation, for its planned development of the Mecklenburg Land within the next twelve months. Griffin is currently building two industrial/warehouse buildings aggregating approximately 283,000 square feet in Concord, North Carolina in the greater Charlotte area. Upon completion of 160 and 180 International, expected within the next two months, Griffin expects to have approximately 560,000 square feet of industrial/warehouse space in the greater Charlotte area. When the Mecklenburg Land is fully developed, Griffin expects to then have over one million square feet of industrial/warehouse space in the greater Charlotte area.

09:05 EDT BioScrip says ISS, Glass Lewis recommend voting for proposals tied to merger - BioScrip announced that Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass, Lewis & Co. recommend that BioScrip stockholders vote "FOR" the proposals that are conditions to the proposed merger with Option Care, at the special meeting of stockholders to be held on August 2, 2019. BioScrip's Board of Directors encourages stockholders to vote "FOR" each of the proposals relating to the combination with Option Care. The merger is expected to close in early August 2019 after the special meeting of stockholders.

09:05 EDT BlackBerry announces agreement with Synnex - BlackBerry (BB) announced a new distribution agreement in the U.S. with SYNNEX (SNX) and its Westcon-Comstor division, which focuses on security, collaboration, networking, and data center solutions. SYNNEX now distributes the BlackBerry Enterprise Mobility Suite, a comprehensive suite of software and services that helps enterprises manage and control access to Internet of Things devices as well as secure communications for all messaging and file types. As part of the agreement, SYNNEX will work to accelerate partner recruitment for the BlackBerry Enterprise Partner Program and is responsible for the training, enablement, and management of key reseller partners in the commercial and enterprise markets.

09:05 EDT eBay names Pete Thompson as Chief Product Officer, Mazen Rawashdeh as CTO - eBay's product and technology organization was strengthened with the announcement of Pete Thompson as Senior Vice President and Chief Product Officer, and Mazen Rawashdeh as Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer. Both will be members of eBay's executive leadership team, reporting to President and CEO Devin Wenig. Thompson brings more than 20 years of experience building new products and services across a range of industries and technologies. Thompson joins eBay from Amazon where he served as Vice President of Alexa Voice Service. Previously, he was Chief Operating Officer of TiVo where he drove the merger and integration between Rovi and TiVo. Prior to TiVo, he held executive roles at a variety of companies, including Microsoft, T-Mobile, Ericsson, and Sonos. eBay veteran Rawashdeh spent eight years in technology leadership roles with the company from 2003 to 2011 before departing to serve as Vice President, Infrastructure Operation Engineering at Twitter where he helped scale the business through its IPO.

09:02 EDT Etsy to acquire Reverb for $275M in cash - Etsy has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Reverb Holdings, a privately held marketplace for new, used and vintage music gear for $275M in cash, subject to certain adjustments with respect to cash, debt, working capital, transaction expenses and the value of equity awards granted in connection with the transaction. Reverb, which will operate as a standalone business when the deal closes, was founded in Chicago in 2013 on the principle that buying musical instruments should be easy and affordable. Reverb's sellers are generally individuals, brick and mortar retailers, dealers of all sizes, and high-profile artists. The transaction is currently expected to close in late third quarter or early fourth quarter, subject to Hart-Scott-Rodino review and other customary closing conditions.

09:00 EDT Etsy to acquire Reverb for $275M in cash

08:52 EDT Cumulus Media makes $50M voluntary debt repayment - Cumulus Media announced that it has made a $50M voluntary debt prepayment, continuing its commitment to reducing leverage. The debt prepayment was funded by the net proceeds from the previously announced sale of KLOS-FM to Meruelo Media, which closed on July 17, 2019, as well as cash on hand generated from operations. With this prepayment, the Company has reduced its debt by approximately $250M since emerging from Chapter 11 on June 4, 2018, bringing the Company's total debt to approximately $1.05B.

08:50 EDT Eureka 93 announces definitive settlement with Canopy Growth, Canopy Rivers - Eureka 93 has reached a final and definitive confidential settlement with Canopy Growth Corporation (CGC) and Canopy Rivers Corporation (CNPOF) that conclusively resolves the outstanding disputes between the companies. The amount of the settlement to be paid by Eureka93 is not material to Eureka93.

08:45 EDT Marimed appoints Jonathan Rider as CIO - MariMed announced the appointment of Jonathan Rider to the newly created position of chief information officer, effective immediately. Rider brings over 25 years of technology experience to MariMed and has held multiple senior leadership positions across various industries, with a consistent focus on supporting global business operations. At Monster.com he led its data warehouse and business systems teams handling 10M transactions daily with over 50M users and data spanning 20 countries. Rider also brings experience in advanced manufacturing process methodologies and will implement data collection plans using techniques in sampling, data capture, processing tools, system security and regulatory compliance. He will also be responsible for the daily IT operations, infrastructure and global business systems throughout the company

08:40 EDT Zoetis to acquire Platinum Performance - Zoetis announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire Platinum Performance, a nutrition-focused animal health company. Financial terms of the transaction are not being disclosed. Platinum's equine products include Platinum Performance Equine and Platinum Performance CJ, which delivers wellness and performance with the addition of joint support ingredients. Its petcare products include Platinum Performance formulations that focus on wellness and joint support for dogs and cats. With the acquisition of Platinum's formulas, Zoetis is entering this space for horses and building on the company's existing nutritional portfolio for dogs and cats. The addition of Zoetis' resources and capabilities to those of Platinum Performance is expected to increase the number and impact of research trials, enhance nutrition education and strengthen its ability to serve clients. Platinum Performance will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Zoetis and continue doing business from its Buellton, California headquarters. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory and anti-trust approvals. Zoetis expects to complete the acquisition in Q3. The company does not expect the transaction to have a material financial impact to its guidance for FY19.

08:37 EDT Kroger names DDB New York as official Agency of Record - Kroger announced it has named DDB New York as its official Agency of Record after a historic competitive pitch process. As Kroger's first-ever creative AOR, DDB will be responsible for developing a refreshed, stronger brand identity to support the company's vision of serving food inspiration and uplift through Restock Kroger and beyond.

08:35 EDT Ideanomics to partner with Anhui Ankai Automobile Co. - Ideanomics has announced it has signed an agreement to partner with Anhui Ankai Automobile Co., a leading industry manufacturer and sales enterprise for bus markets, servicing a full range of small, medium, and large buses. The partnership will extend the service offering of Ideanomics' recently-established NETS Group and will provide bus and tour bus operators with benefits ranging from factory/group purchasing power, through to streamlined ABS financing services. The partner will service major state-owned tourism groups, major domestic tourism associations and/or their members including tour agencies, hotels, parks and tour transportation operators, and other sources through official industry associations. Under the terms of the deal Ideanomics is entitled to up to 10% commission on bus orders it introduces, the exact commission will be dependent on the make, model, and specification of the buses ordered, as well as any discounted pricing negotiated as part of the sales order. In return for the commissions, Ideanomics will seek to place a minimum of 10,000 orders with Ankai from its previously announced deals. The parties have agreed to cooperate on sales and marketing activities in Malaysia and the broader ASEAN region, as well as Europe and the United States. Ideanomics also earns fees from asset-backed financing services it arranges through its banking and financial services relationships. Furthermore, both parties have agreed to cooperate on new energy initiatives, including electric battery, hydrogen, and charging station networks, with Ideanomics contributing its relationships with leading partners in this field. Ideanomics is currently working with a number of partners in this area and plans to also derive a share of the recurring revenues from the charging networks it is partnering to facilitate.

08:35 EDT CRH Medical completes acquisition of 51% interest in Crystal River - CRH Medical announces that it has completed an accretive transaction whereby the Company has acquired a 51% interest in Crystal River Anesthesia Associates a gastroenterology anesthesia practice located in Florida. Crystal River is the company's fifth acquisition in the state of Florida and provides anesthesia services to two GI ambulatory surgery centers. The transaction was financed through a combination of CRH's credit facility and cash on hand.

08:33 EDT TransDigm to divest Souriau-Sunbank Connection Technologies to Eaton for $920M - TransDigm (TDG) announced that it has received a binding offer pursuant to a put option agreement from Eaton (ETN) for the acquisition by Eaton of the business of Souriau-Sunbank Connection Technologies in a transaction valued at approximately $920M. Pursuant to the terms of the Put Agreement, after completion of the consultation process with Souriau's French works councils, TransDigm will have the right to require Eaton to enter into a securities purchase agreement providing for the purchase by Eaton of the shares of the Souriau-Sunbank companies. In addition to the consultation with Souriau's French works councils, the transaction is subject to execution and delivery of the securities purchase agreement and other definitive agreements and customary closing conditions, including receipt of required regulatory approvals. Souriau-Sunbank was acquired by TransDigm in March as part of the Esterline Technologies acquisition and is a leading global supplier of highly-engineered interconnect solutions for harsh environments serving customers primarily in aerospace, defense and space end markets. The business is headquartered in Versailles, France and generated revenues of $363M for the trailing 12-month period ended June 30. The transaction is expected to be completed during the fourth quarter of calendar 2019.

08:31 EDT TransDigm to divest Souriau-Sunbank Connection Technologies to Eaton for $920M

08:26 EDT Metso establishes new business services center in Vilnius - Metso has decided to establish a new Metso Business Services center in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. The investment supports the company's profitable growth strategy by improving operational excellence and scalability of business services. The Vilnius MBS center will initially offer services for Metso's finance operations, later followed by logistics. The objective is to centralize the related services to the new center and thus gain benefits from process harmonization, standardization and digitalization. Initially, the center will employ some tens of experts, but the number of personnel is expected to grow in the coming years. As part of the initiative, employee negotiations have been held at Metso Minerals in Tampere, Finland, to review the possible employee arrangements and implications. Metso has decided to transfer its Financial Services operations entirely from Tampere to Vilnius. As a result, 28 permanent positions in Metso Financial Services in Tampere will be discontinued in 2020, after a transition period. Metso will support the affected personnel, for example by offering re-employment services and possible relocation support. The opening of the new Metso Business Services Center in Vilnius, Lithuania, is expected to take place during the fourth quarter of 2019.

08:23 EDT Salarius Pharmaceuticals enrolls first patient in Phase 1 study of seclidemstat - Salarius Pharmaceuticals announced it has enrolled the first patient in a Phase 1 clinical study of the company's lead compound, Seclidemstat, in patients with advanced solid tumors resistant to standard-of-care therapies. Seclidemstat is a differentiated reversible inhibitor of the widely studied epigenetic enzyme lysine-specific demethylase 1. This is Salarius' second Phase 1 clinical study for Seclidemstat, which is also the subject of an ongoing clinical study focused on Ewing sarcoma, a devastating bone and soft tissue cancer for which Seclidemstat has Orphan Drug Designation and Rare Pediatric Disease Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Salarius expects to report early cohort data from both Phase 1 clinical studies in 2020. Seclidemstat is an oral small molecule inhibitor of LSD1, a validated drug target for clinical development. LSD1 is known to associate with more than 60 different gene regulatory proteins to drive a variety of cancer types. High levels of LSD1 expression are often correlated with poor patient prognosis. The open-label, dose escalation/dose expansion Phase 1 clinical study in advanced solid tumor cancers is designed to evaluate the safety, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of Seclidemstat, as well as establish a recommended dose for Phase 2 studies. The study is enrolling patients with advanced solid tumors, with a focus on prostate, breast, ovarian, melanoma, colorectal, non-Ewing's sarcomas and other cancers where Seclidemstat demonstrated single-agent preclinical activity. The study will also use established and exploratory biomarkers to assess sensitivity and early signs of therapeutic activity in these patients.

08:19 EDT PPG to acquire Dexmet, financial terms not disclosed - PPG announced that it has reached a definitive agreement with private equity firm Sverica Capital to acquire Dexmet, a manufacturer of specialty materials for surfaces in aerospace, automotive and industrial applications. The transaction is expected to close in Q3, subject to customary closing conditions. Financial terms were not disclosed. Dexmet, headquartered in Wallingford, Connecticut, was founded in 1948. The company specializes in customized, expanded and perforated metal foils and polymers used for mission-critical applications in aerospace, energy storage and other industrial applications. Dexmet employs approximately 75 people.

08:18 EDT Ralph Lauren announces departure of brand group president Valerie Hermann - In a regulatory filing on Friday, Ralph Lauren announced that Valerie Hermann, the company's Brand Group President, will depart from the company, effective as of September 30.

08:14 EDT Delcath Systems announces results of single center study of PHP Therapy - Delcath Systems announced that results from a single-institution retrospective study conducted by University Hospital of Tubingen in ermany on the use of the Delcath Hepatic CHEMOSAT Delivery System to treat patients with metastatic ocular melanoma with liver metastases were published in the journal Cancer Imaging. The study, Chemosaturation with percutaneous hepatic perfusion of melphalan for liver dominant metastatic uveal melanoma: a single center experience, by Dr. Christoph Artzner, et al, evaluated the safety and efficacy of PHP Therapy in 16 patients with unresectable liver metastases from ocular melanoma treated with CHEMOSAT between June 2015 and December 2018. Tumor response was evaluated following each PHP treatment using Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors, and serious adverse events were evaluated using Common Criteria for Adverse Events. The 16 patients underwent a total of 28 PHP treatments. Results of the study in the 15 evaluable patients showed that after the first PHP treatment, nine patients had a partial response, five patients stable disease, and one patient had progressive disease for an initial disease control rate of 93%. Median progression free survival after the first treatment was 11.1 months. Six patients received a second PHP treatment, three patients received three treatments, and a single patient received six treatments. Median overall survival was 27.4 months. Safety analysis showed that grade three SAEs were observed in 14% of treatments, and these were anemia, leukopenia and thrombocytopenia. The sole grade four SAE observed was in one patient who suffered a cardiac arrest during the first PHP treatment and was removed from the study. Subsequent evaluation discovered this patient had coronary artery occlusion which was successfully treated. Retrospective evaluation of this patient's pre-procedure imaging reveal signs of coronary artery disease, and investigators subsequently modified their screening procedures for cardiovascular risk factors. Investigators stated that most SAEs were grade one or two and that 5% of the reported grade three and four SAEs required additional intervention.Investigators concluded that for patients with liver-dominant metastatic uveal melanoma, treatment with PHP Therapy had "observed rates for OS and PFS that exceeded the reported outcomes for traditional systemic treatment." Investigators stated that SAEs were frequent, but most did not require additional intervention, and that care should be taken in patients with suspected coronary heart disease.

08:10 EDT Adaptimmune initiates radiation sub-study of ADP-A2M4 trial - Adaptimmune Therapeutics has initiated a radiation sub-study of its ADP-A2M4 trial in collaboration with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. Published data indicate that low-dose radiation has the potential to enhance T-cell responses in the context of solid tumors. The radiation sub-study is planned to enroll 10 patients across multiple solid tumor indications. Patients will receive low-dose radiation in up to 5 lesions prior to treatment with ADP-A2M4, at target doses of 1 to 10 billion SPEAR T-cells. The lymphodepletion regimen will be fludarabine for 4 days and cyclophosphamide for 3 days. Adaptimmune and the MD Anderson Cancer Center have a multi-year strategic alliance designed to expedite the development of novel adoptive T-cell therapies for multiple types of cancer.

08:09 EDT Vertex submits VX-445 NDA to FDA - Vertex announced the submission of a new drug application, or NDA, to the FDA for the VX-445, tezacaftor and ivacaftor triple combination regimen. The NDA includes a request for priority review, which, if granted, would shorten the FDA's review of the NDA to eight months from the time of submission, versus a standard review timeline of 12 months from submission. The submission is supported by previously disclosed positive results of two global Phase 3 studies: a 24-week Phase 3 study in people with one F508del mutation and one minimal function mutation and a 4-week Phase 3 study in people with two F508del mutations. Both Phase 3 studies showed statistically significant improvements in lung function, which was the primary endpoint, and in all key secondary endpoints. In these studies, the triple combination regimen was generally well tolerated.

08:08 EDT NetSol wins multi-million dollar contract with UK vehicle finance company - NETSOL Technologies has signed a multi-million dollar contract with a large independent used vehicle finance company in the United Kingdom, for the implementation of its NFS Ascent Wholesale Finance Platform. The total contract size is expected to be in the range of approximately $4M with additional revenue opportunities available based on usage and contracts under management.

08:08 EDT Velan Capital confirms Progenics' stockholders endorse change - Velan Capital, one of the largest stockholders of Progenics Pharmaceuticals, announced that the final results of Progenics' 2019 Annual Meeting of Stockholders confirm that stockholders have endorsed Velan's campaign for change at Progenics by voting against the re-election of Peter Crowley and Michael Kishbauch to the Progenics Board of Directors at the Annual Meeting, thereby requiring Messrs. Crowley and Kishbauch to tender their resignations to the Board, which will become effective upon acceptance by the Board. While Velan is extremely pleased to have received the support of its fellow Progenics stockholders, Velan remains deeply disappointed with the Board's continued refusal to reach a collaborative resolution that reflects the degree of change that it believes is necessary to put the Company on the right path forward. The company ended,"Stockholders have spoken and we believe the mandate is clear. It is time for the Board to take its responsibilities at Progenics seriously or face the prospect of continued broad discontent and the potential for further steps to protect the interests of all stockholders."

08:06 EDT Biocept announces Laboratory Services Provider Agreement with BeaconLBS - Biocept announces that it has entered into a Laboratory Services Provider Agreement with Beacon Laboratory Benefit Solutions, a nationally recognized premier provider of laboratory benefit management technology solutions to health and managed care companies in the United States.

08:03 EDT Durect, Gilead enter license agreement for long-acting injectable HIV product - Durect (DRRX) announced that it has entered into an agreement with Gilead (GILD) granting Gilead the exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize a long-acting injectable HIV product utilizing DURECT's SABER technology. Gilead also received exclusive access to the SABER platform for HIV and Hepatitis B Virus and the exclusive option to license additional SABER-based products directed to HIV and HBV. Under the terms of the agreement, Gilead will make an upfront payment to DURECT of $25M, with the potential for up to an additional $75M in development and regulatory milestones, up to an additional $70M in sales based milestones, as well as tiered royalties on product sales. Gilead has the exclusive option to license additional SABER-based products directed to HIV and HBV for an additional $150M per product in upfront, development, regulatory and sales based milestones as well as tiered royalties on sales. The parties will collaborate on specified development activities with Gilead controlling and funding the development programs.

07:57 EDT Equifax announces $671M settlement related to cybersecurity incident - Equifax announced a comprehensive resolution of significant U.S. consumer-related litigation and regulatory matters facing the company related to its 2017 cybersecurity incident. The $671M resolution includes settlement agreements that would resolve the multi-district consumer class action litigation, as well as investigations by the Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Attorneys General of 48 states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, and the New York Department of Financial Services. If approved by the Court, a consumer restitution fund of up to $425M will be available to pay for three-bureau credit monitoring for consumers whose information was impacted in the 2017 breach, actual out-of-pocket losses related to the breach, and other consumer benefits such as identity restoration services. Equifax has been providing free credit monitoring services to consumers since September 2017. As part of the resolution, Equifax has agreed to continue the significant steps it has taken in the wake of the cybersecurity incident to enhance its information security and technology program. It also has agreed to make payments totaling $290.5M directly to certain state and federal regulatory agencies and to pay attorneys' fees and costs in the multi-district litigation. Equifax recorded an accrual of $690M in the first quarter of 2019 and expects to increase its accrual by approximately $11M in the second quarter of 2019 principally related to the comprehensive consumer settlement, resulting in a total $701M accrual related to the 2017 cybersecurity incident.

07:42 EDT Luckin Coffee, Americana Group to establish JV for retail coffee business - Luckin Coffee and Kuwait Food Company Americana announced that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding under which the two companies plan to establish a joint venture to launch a new retail coffee business in the Greater Middle East and India. Luckin Coffee's technology-driven new retail model provides coffee and other products of high quality, high affordability, and high convenience to its customers. Americana Group has experience as the largest integrated food product company in the Middle East, having served as a pioneer of restaurant operations since the 1960's. "This collaboration represents Luckin Coffee's first step toward bringing its leading products from China to the world. We look forward to further expanding the freshly brewed coffee market internationally as we realize the incredible growth opportunities available to us through our innovative business model," said Luckin Coffee's CEO Jenny Qian Zhiya.

07:39 EDT Avon Products appoints Luis Vazquez as leader of its global sales team - Avon Products announces that Luis Vazquez has been appointed to lead its global sales team. This vital role that will see him spearheading the company's efforts to open up growth by driving recruitment, retention and training for the millions of Avon Representatives across the world. Luis has extensive direct selling experience and joins Avon from Herbalife's North America business. He spent 11 years of his career there most recently as Vice President: Sales and Marketing. During his time at Herbalife, Luis led successive growth and transformation projects, including driving a double-digit sales turnaround in the business' North America arm, as well as delivering a digitally focused, segmented approach to better support Herbalife's distributor network. Prior to his work in North America, Luis worked in both South and Central America in business development and business transformation roles.

07:38 EDT Lennox CEO says 'significantly cooler temperatures' impacted HVAC market in Q2 - "Significantly cooler temperatures and higher precipitation across the United States adversely impacted the HVAC market in the second quarter, and especially in key Central regions where cooling degree days were down over 30% and precipitation was up over 60%," said Chairman and CEO Todd Bluedorn. "Residential segment revenue was down 3% at constant currency and down 4% on a reported basis in the quarter, profit was flat, and margin expanded 80 basis points to 22.3%. Residential price yield was 3.6% in the quarter. Our Residential business had negative tornado impact of $28 million to revenue in the second quarter and $16 million to segment profit offset by $18 million of insurance recovery. Adjusting for the net impact from the tornado and insurance proceeds, Residential revenue was flat, profit was down 1%, and margin was down 40 basis points to 21.1%. "Slower moving shipments in the industry due to adverse weather has slowed regaining market share following the tornado and extends our recovery timeline to include the fourth quarter," Bluedorn added. "For 2019 overall, we now expect $99 million of negative tornado impact to Residential revenue, up from $70 million previously; a negative $54 million impact to segment profit, up from $40 million previously; and insurance recovery for lost profits of $94 million, up from $80 million previously. The resulting $40 million of net benefit to Residential segment profit in 2019 is unchanged. Our Commercial business hit a new second-quarter high for revenue and set new records for segment profit and margin. Commercial revenue was up 4%, led by high-single digit growth in National Account equipment business. Segment profit rose 6% to a record $54 million, and segment margin expanded 50 basis points to a record 20.6%. In Refrigeration, adjusted segment revenue rose 5% at constant currency with volume up in Europe and down in North America. Adjusted segment profit was down 19%, and adjusted segment margin declined 340 basis points to 12.8%, due in part to lower mix and the timing of the sale of refrigerant allocations in Europe compared to the prior-year quarter. We continue to expect revenue growth for both of these businesses in the second half but have reduced the outlook on commercial and refrigeration end markets."

07:35 EDT Lennox cuts FY19 free cash flow view to approximately $390M from $420M - Reiterating guidance for corporate expenses of approximately $90M. Updating guidance for 2019 capital expenditures from approximately $195M to $155M as $40M of capital to fully reconstruct the Iowa manufacturing facility damaged by the tornado moved from 2019 to 2020. Reiterating guidance for an effective tax rate of 22%-23% on an adjusted basis for the full year.

07:33 EDT Biohaven enrollment for Phase 2/3 trial of troriluzole progresses on timeline - Biohaven Pharmaceutical Holding Company announced that enrollment in the T2 Protect AD Study, a Phase 2/3 clinical trial of troriluzole in Alzheimer's disease, is progressing on timelines with more than 400 subjects enrolled and over 180 subjects randomized to study treatment. The trial is expected to be fully enrolled before the end of Q4. The T2 Protect AD Study is a Phase 2/3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of troriluzole in patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease of mild-to-moderate severity

07:30 EDT Peak Resorts trading resumes

07:21 EDT CannTrust says 'committed' to working with Health Canada - CannTrust provided an interim update on the investigation being undertaken by a special committee of its board of directors. As announced by the company on July 11, the Special Committee was appointed by the Board of Directors to investigate a compliance report from Health Canada notifying the company that its greenhouse facility in Pelham, Ontario is non-compliant with certain regulations. The Special Committee's investigation and deliberations are ongoing. The Special Committee's chairman, Robert Marcovitch, said: "The Special Committee takes these issues very seriously and is committed to working with Health Canada to bring the company into compliance. Although we want to move as quickly as possible, we are mindful of the critical need to be thorough. We are determined to identify the root causes for all non-compliance issues, to take appropriate actions to address and remediate any issues with the company's compliance culture and to restore trust in the company."

07:18 EDT Opera appoints Renren COO James Liu to board of directors - Opera Limited (OPRA) announced that James Liu has joined Opera's Board of Directors. Liu will serve on the Audit and Corporate Governance & Nominating Committees and is an independent director. James Liu brings over 20 years of experience with high growth internet and technology companies and currently serves as executive director and COO of Renren (RENN), a Chinese social network. Prior, Liu founded UUMe.com, one of the earliest social networking service websites in China, which was acquired by Renren.

07:14 EDT Brazil Mineral increases lithium project to 9,677 acres - Brazil Minerals (BMIX) announced that it has expanded its lithium footprint in Brazil over 32-fold to now 9,677 acres by adding three lithium claims totaling 9,389 acres in the state of Minas Gerais last week. Brazilian lithium comes primarily from hard-rock spodumene deposits recognized as one of the highest-quality in the world due to lower impurities and thus better suited for high technology applications such as batteries for electric vehicles and portable computing devices. Besides Brazil, there are only a few significant spodumene deposits globally, such as one in Canada being developed by Nemaska Lithium (NMKEF).

07:12 EDT NetEase launches new video games studio in Montreal - NetEase has launched a new video games studio in Montreal, Quebec, which is considered to be Canada's premier video game production center. NetEase plans to hire local and international talent for this R&D-focused studio in North America.

07:10 EDT Group 1 Automotive acquires five Volkswagen franchises in UK - Group 1 Automotive (GPI) announced the acquisition of five Volkswagen (VWAGY) franchises in the UK. This transaction includes four Volkswagen franchises and one Volkswagen Commercial Vehicle franchise located east of London in the county of Essex. This territory is contiguous with several other existing automotive dealerships currently owned and operated by Group 1 Automotive in the UK. Specifically, the acquired operations are located in the cities of Chelmsford, Colchester, Romford and Southend. This acquisition is expected to generate approximately $115M in annualized revenues. The addition of these stores increases the company's UK operations to 49 dealerships, which includes 11 existing brands.

07:09 EDT FibroGen announces first patient dosed in ZEPHYRUS Phase 3 clinical study - FibroGen announced dosing of the first patient in the ZEPHYRUS Phase 3 clinical study of pamrevlumab in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. ZEPHYRUS is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-center Phase 3 trial designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of pamrevlumab in subjects with IPF over a 52-week period. Approximately 565 subjects will be enrolled into the global study. The primary endpoint of the study is the change in forced vital capacity from baseline. Subjects who complete the 52-week study may be eligible for rollover into a separate study offering open-label, extension treatment with pamrevlumab. The design of ZEPHYRUS is supported by safety and efficacy data from two Phase 2 studies. In a Phase 2, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of pamrevlumab in IPF, pamrevlumab demonstrated a statistically significant difference over placebo in the primary efficacy endpoint of FVC percent predicted change from baseline to Week 48. Pamrevlumab achieved superiority over placebo in the following secondary endpoints: the proportion of subjects with disease progression, time to disease progression, change from baseline to Week 48 in quantitative lung fibrosis score to Week 48 measured by quantitative HRCT. In addition, there was a trend towards improvement in patient-reported quality of life measurements assessed by the SGRQ and the UCSD-SOBQ, as well as favorable trend in all-cause mortality. In a prior single-arm, open-label FGCL-3019-049 study, the treatment of patients with IPF given 15 mg/kg and 30 mg/kg IV of pamrevlumab every three weeks was associated with improvement or stability in quantified scores of whole lung fibrosis in approximately 35% of subjects at Week 48. Changes from baseline in these scores were significantly correlated with changes in FVC percent predicted value.

07:07 EDT Cyclacel says first patient treated in study of sapacitabine and venetoclax - Cyclacel Pharmaceuticals announced treatment of the first patient in a Phase 1/2 study evaluating the safety and effectiveness of oral sapacitabine, a nucleoside analogue, in combination with oral venetoclax, a BCL2 inhibitor, in patients with relapsed or refractory AML or MDS. The Phase 1/2 study is intended to enroll up to 40 patients with relapsed or refractory AML or MDS with the objective of determining the safety and efficacy of the combination. Secondary objectives include duration of response, CR, CRp, PR, or major HI, transfusion requirements, number of hospitalized days and overall survival.

07:05 EDT Intec Pharma announces AP-CD/LD didn't achieve statistical superiority in study - Intec Pharma announces top-line data from the company's pivotal Phase 3 ACCORDANCE trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of the Accordion Pill-Carbidopa/Levodopa, or AP-CD/LD, compared with immediate release IR-CD/LD, or Sinemet, as a treatment for the symptoms of advanced Parkinson's disease. The company announced that the ACCORDANCE study did not achieve statistical superiority to Sinemet on the primary endpoint of reduction in daily OFF time. The primary efficacy endpoint of the study was the change from baseline to endpoint in the percent of daily OFF time during waking hours based on Hauser home diaries. The study was 90% powered to detect a one-hour difference in OFF time between Sinemet and AP-CD/LD. Under the protocol and conditions of the ACCORDANCE study, AP CD/LD did not demonstrate statistical superiority to Sinemet on daily OFF time. Secondary endpoints include change from baseline to endpoint in ON time without troublesome dyskinesia during waking hours, CGI-I at endpoint and change from baseline through endpoint in the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale Score Parts 2 and 3. AP-CD/LD also did not achieve statistical superiority on these endpoints. Treatment-emergent adverse effects observed with AP-CD/LD were generally consistent with the known safety profile of CD/LD formulations. No new safety issues were observed throughout the double-blinded study, during the gastroscopy safety sub-study or the 12-month open-label extension study. "We are disappointed that the ACCORDANCE study didn't meet its target endpoints with statistical significance. While the data suggests that the AP CD/LD did achieve an acceptable safety profile and did treat Parkinson's disease symptoms, it did not achieve a statistically significant superiority to standard immediate release levodopa therapy. We are pleased with the good safety profile of the AP-CD/LD, as it demonstrates for the first time the long-term safety of the Accordion Pill, which is important for future potential applications and partnerships," stated Jeffrey Meckler, Vice Chairman and CEO of Intec Pharma. R. Michael Gendreau, Chief Medical Officer of Intec Pharma, said, "Upon our on-going preliminary review of the data, we have noted that certain subsets of patients performed particularly well. In those patients, we see a meaningful reduction in OFF time. We will continue to analyze the full data set and expect that such findings will help inform our strategy for AP-CD/LD moving forward."

07:05 EDT Gridsum forms special committee to evaluate non-binding proposal - Gridsum announced that in response to the non-binding proposal received by the company's Board of Directors on July 15 from Guosheng Qi, Guofa Yu, their respective affiliated entities, and Beta Dynamic Limited, the Board of Directors of Gridsum has formed a special committee comprised of three independent directors Dannis Cheuk Yin Lee, Xudong Gao and Feng Lu, to evaluate the Proposal and any other alternative transactions. Lee has been appointed as Chairman of the Special Committee. No decisions have been made by the Special Committee with respect to the company's response to the Proposal or any other alternative transaction. The Special Committee has not set a definitive timetable for the completion of its evaluation of the Proposal or any other alternative transaction, and does not currently intend to announce developments unless and in the event a definitive agreement has been reached. There can be no assurance that any definitive offer will be made, that any agreement will be executed or that the transactions contemplated by the Proposal or any other alternative transaction will be approved or consummated.

07:04 EDT Condor Hospitality Trust to be acquired by NexPoint Hospitality - Hospitality Trust and Condor Hospitality announced the execution of a definitive agreement, under which NHT's operating partnership, NHT Operating Partnership, will acquire all of the outstanding equity interests of Condor and its operating partnership by merger. The total consideration payable pursuant to the transaction is approximately $318M, which will be satisfied by a combination of cash and debt, including the assumption of certain debt. The merger consideration of $11.10 per share to be paid to holders of shares of common stock represents a premium of approximately 34% over Condor's unaffected share price of $8.27 as of July 19, the most recent trading day before the public announcement of the proposal to acquire Condor.

07:03 EDT Vail Resorts to acquire Peak Resorts for $11.00 per share - Vail Resorts (MTN) announced it has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire 100% of the outstanding stock of Peak Resorts (SKIS) at a purchase price of $11.00 per share, subject to certain conditions, including regulatory review and Peak Resorts' shareholder approval. Through the acquisition, Vail Resorts will add 17 U.S. ski areas to its network of world-class resorts. The aggregate purchase price for all Peak Resorts common stock is estimated to be approximately $264M, which Vail Resorts intends to finance through a combination of cash on hand, its existing revolver facility and an expansion of its existing credit facility. In addition, Vail Resorts will be assuming or refinancing Peak Resorts' outstanding debt. The acquisition is expected to generate incremental annual EBITDA of approximately $60M in Vail Resorts' fiscal year ending July 31, 2021, the first fiscal year with the full benefit of the synergies of the acquisition, with additional revenue upside in future years. Synergies are expected to come from additional revenue across the Vail Resorts network of resorts and cost reductions from the elimination of certain duplicative administrative functions and greater efficiencies brought by Vail Resorts' size and scale. Vail Resorts' annual ongoing capital expenditures are expected to increase by $10M to support the addition of the Peak Resorts ski areas. After closing of the transaction, Vail Resorts plans to invest approximately $15M over the next two years in one-time capital spending to elevate the guest experience at these resorts. The transaction was approved by both companies' Boards of Directors, and the Peak Resorts Board of Directors also recommends that Peak Resorts' shareholders approve the transaction. The transaction is expected to close this fall. The parties expect operations at all Peak Resorts ski areas to continue in the ordinary course of business. Upon closing, Vail Resorts plans to retain the vast majority of each resort's employees.

07:01 EDT Peak Resorts to be acquired by Vail Resorts for $11.00 per share - Peak Resorts (SKIS) announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement with Vail Resorts, Inc. (MTN) pursuant to which Vail Resorts will acquire all outstanding shares of common stock of Peak Resorts for $11.00 per share in cash. The transaction represents a 116% premium to Peak Resorts' closing stock price on July 19, 2019. The transaction is expected to close in fall 2019 and is subject to certain conditions, including a vote of Peak Resorts shareholders and antitrust clearance. The transaction was approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies. Peak Resorts' Board of Directors also recommends that the Company's shareholders approve the transaction. Moelis & Company LLC is serving as financial advisor to Peak Resorts. Perkins Coie LLP, Sandberg Phoenix & von Gontard P.C. and Armstrong Teasdale LLP are serving as legal counsel to Peak Resorts.

07:00 EDT Vail Resorts to acquire Peak Resorts for $11.00 per share

06:56 EDT Interpace Diagnostics announces agreement with SelectHealth - Interpace Diagnostics Group announced that it has reached an agreement with SelectHealth to provide its proprietary thyroid cancer assays, ThyGeNEXT and ThyraMIR to SelectHealth's more than 850,000 members in Utah and Idaho. Physicians across SelectHealth's entire network will now be able to utilize Interpace's thyroid tests to assess indeterminate thyroid nodules thereby providing physicians with additional diagnostic options. In addition, Interpace will now be an in-network laboratory for the provision of these services to SelectHealth's members thereby helping patients maximize healthcare benefits and minimize out of pocket costs.

06:53 EDT GNC Holdings CEO says 'delivered meaningful growth' in operating income margins - "During the second quarter of 2019, although we experienced some softness in our sales, we delivered meaningful growth in our operating income margins consistent with our long-term strategy," said Ken Martindale, GNC's Chairman and CEO. "The quarter represented solid progress towards our store optimization and cost savings initiatives. Recently, Ryan Ostrom joined us as Chief Brand Officer bringing extensive marketing and digital experience with industry leading brands. We are confident he will expand our omni-channel capabilities, and look forward to his leadership to grow our brand across the globe."

06:51 EDT RPM sees Q1 adjusted EPS up - The company commented, "For the Q1 of FY20, we project sales to be up 1% to 2% with solid leverage to the bottom line for an estimated 20% adjusted EBIT and adjusted diluted EPS growth."

06:39 EDT HEXO Corp cannabis products now available in Alberta - HEXO Corp cannabis products are now available to Alberta consumers for the first time after finalizing an agreement between HEXO and Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis. The agreement provides AGLC with HEXO's nine dried flower products and award-winning Elixir oral sprays, making them available on the Alberta Cannabis online store and to all of the nearly 200 private retail stores in the province.

06:36 EDT Transcat acquires Infinite Integral Solutions for C$1.4M - Transcat announced that it has acquired Infinite Integral Solutions, effective July 19. IIS, headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, is the owner and developer of the CalTree suite of software solutions for the automation of calibration procedures and datasheet generation. Total consideration for the shares of IIS was C$1.4M, subject in part to the achievement of certain milestones.

06:34 EDT DaVita announces modified 'Dutch auction' tender offer for up to $1.2B of shares - DaVita announced that it has commenced a modified "Dutch auction" tender offer for up to $1.2B of its common stock at a price per share not less than $53.50 and not greater than $61.50. The tender offer will expire at 12:00 midnight, New York City time, at the end of the day on August 16, unless extended by DaVita or otherwise terminated. Tenders of shares must be made on or prior to the expiration of the tender offer and may be withdrawn at any time prior to the expiration of the tender offer, in each case, in accordance with the procedures described in the tender offer materials. DaVita expects to enter into a new credit agreement and finance the share purchases in the tender offer with borrowings under such new credit agreement. The tender offer is not conditioned upon any minimum number of shares being tendered, but is subject to the successful execution of the new credit agreement with terms reasonably satisfactory to DaVita and total lender commitments of not less than $5.25B. The tender offer documents also contain tendering instructions and a complete explanation of the tender offer's terms and conditions.

06:32 EDT Crane reports 66.77% of Circor shares supporting offer - Crane Co. (CR) reported on the results of its previously announced cash tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of CIRCOR International (CIR) for $48 per share, which expired at 12:00 midnight, New York City Time, on July 19. As of the expiration of the tender offer, a total of 13,027,781 CIRCOR shares had been validly tendered and not validly withdrawn from the tender offer (including 393,225 shares tendered by notice of guaranteed delivery but not yet delivered), representing, together with shares owned by Crane, approximately 66.77% of all CIRCOR shares issued and outstanding. Max Mitchell, Crane Co. President and CEO, said: "We appreciate the overwhelming support we received from CIRCOR shareholders. Given this resounding result, it is hard for us to imagine how CIRCOR's Board and management are not engaging with us to negotiate a transaction to deliver significant value to their shareholders."

06:01 EDT Amazon.com to open two new Ohio fulfillment centers - Amazon.com, announced plans to open two new Ohio fulfillment centers, one in Akron and the other in Rossford, creating more than 2,500 full-time jobs with comprehensive benefits and opportunities to work alongside Amazon robotics in an industry-leading workplace. These projects are being developed in partnership with Seefried Industrial Properties, Duke Realty, the Development Finance Authority of Summit County, and the Wood County Port Authority.

05:35 EDT DaVita sees Q2 operating income $460M-$465M - Included in this operating income is the Company's expectation of approximately $40M in operating income attributable to calcimimetics.

05:09 EDT Sandoz enrolls first patient in ROSALIA integrated Phase I/III clinical study - Sandoz, a Novartis division, announced the first patient enrolled in ROSALIA, an integrated Phase I/III clinical study for its proposed biosimilar denosumab. The study aims to confirm that the biosimilar matches the reference medicine in terms of pharmacokinetics, efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity in patients with postmenopausal osteoporosis.