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

18:15 EDT AAC Holdings announces NYSE acceptance of continued listing plan - AAC Holdings announced that the New York Stock Exchange has approved the company's plan to improve its market capitalization and share price. Previously, the NYSE notified the company that it had fallen below the Exchange's requirement of an average market capitalization of $50M or more over a consecutive 30 trading-day period or most recently reported stockholders' equity of the company of $50M or more. The NYSE's acceptance of AAC's plan makes the company eligible for an 18-month cure period, ending November 17, 2020, during which the company must meet the Exchange's market capitalization/stockholder's equity requirement. Separately, by January 3, 2020, AAC must achieve an average share price exceeding more than $1.00 for a 30-day trading period.

17:56 EDT Dell Technologies to compete for orders on $5B Army contract - Dell Technologies and others will compete for each order of the $5B firm-fixed-price contract for Army Desktop and Mobile Computing-3. Bids were solicited via the internet with 58 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of October 23, 2029. U.S. Army Contracting Command is the contracting activity.

17:27 EDT Lexicon down 47% at $3 per share after Sanofi call for end of partnership

17:21 EDT Zimmer Biomet urges shareholders to reject mini-tender from TRC at $115.35/shr - Zimmer Biomet announced that it has received notice of an unsolicited mini-tender offer by TRC Capital to purchase up to 1M shares of its common stock, or approximately 0.49% of outstanding shares, at a price of $115.35 per share in cash. TRC's offer price is approximately 4.4% lower than the $120.60 closing price of the company's common stock on July 12, 2019, the last trading day before commencement of the offer, and approximately 14.2% lower than the $134.50 closing price of the company's common stock on July 26, 2019. Zimmer Biomet does not endorse TRC's unsolicited mini-tender offer and recommends that shareholders not tender their shares in response to the offer.

16:46 EDT Divisar Capital reports 7.3% passive stake in Express - In a regulatory filing, Divisar Capital disclosed a 7.3% stake in Express, which represents nearly 5M shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

16:33 EDT Air Lease delivers new Boeing 787-10 to EVA Air - Air Lease (AL) announced the delivery of one new Boeing (BA) 787-10 aircraft on long-term lease to EVA Air. This aircraft is the first of two 787-10 aircraft to deliver to EVA Air from Air Lease's order book with Boeing, joining four 787-9s and four 777-300ERs currently on lease to the airline. The second 787-10 is scheduled to deliver to EVA Air in 2020.

16:21 EDT Expedia closes acquisition of Liberty Expedia - Expedia Group, Inc. (EXPE) and Liberty Expedia Holdings, Inc. (LEXEA, LEXEB) announced that Expedia Group closed its acquisition of Liberty Expedia in an all-stock transaction. In connection with the transaction, Barry Diller, Chairman and Senior Executive of Expedia Group, and his family foundation, exchanged shares of common stock of Expedia Group for shares of Expedia Group Class B common stock held by Liberty Expedia. Diller and his family foundation remain the largest voting shareholder of Expedia Group, owning shares representing approximately 28% of the total voting power of Expedia Group. Following the close of the transaction, Expedia Group will reduce its share count by approximately 3.1 million shares and will no longer be a controlled company under applicable NASDAQ rules. As a result of the transaction, the Bodybuilding.com operating business is now wholly-owned by Expedia Group. Liberty Expedia common stock will no longer be traded on NASDAQ effective immediately. In connection with the closing, the Liberty Expedia nominees to the Expedia Group Board of Directors have stepped down.

16:13 EDT Anadarko reports Q2 sales volume 68MMBOE vs. 58MMBOE last year

16:02 EDT Maxar Technologies to enter into CAD49.5M partnership with Canada - MDA, a Maxar company, announced its partnership in a network team led by Alberta Innovates that was selected by the Government of Canada for a Strategic Innovation Fund investment. The Canadian Agri-Food Automation and Intelligence Network will bring technology and agri-food companies together with academic partners to create new solutions that improve competitiveness and drive growth in both the agriculture and technology sectors. The SIF investment, totalling CAD $49.5 million over five years, was announced on July 22 in Edmonton by Natural Resources Minister Amarjeet Sohi, on behalf of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains. Within the network, MDA will conduct a program of research and technology development to advance enabling AI technologies with applications in the agriculture sector. MDA will also advance core data collection and data management technologies that use multiple sensor types, including hyperspectral imaging.

16:01 EDT Amgen owns 98% of Nuevolution shares after end of Acceptance Period - Amgen announced a recommended public cash offer to the shareholders of Nuevolution AB to tender all their shares in Nuevolution to Amgen for SEK32.50 per share in cash. During the initial acceptance period, which ended on 4 July 2019, Nuevolution shareholders representing approximately 97.6% of the total number of issued and outstanding shares and votes in Nuevolution1 had accepted the Offer. Under Amgen's separate offer to the holders of warrants issued by Nuevolution to the participants under the incentive programs implemented by Nuevolution, all 5,109,254 Warrants allotted under the programs were tendered. In total, the securities tendered by shareholders and Warrant holders into the Offer and the Warrant offer, respectively, corresponded to approximately 97.8% of the total number of shares and votes in Nuevolution on a fully diluted basis.2 In connection with the announcement of the outcome of the Offer on 8 July 2019, Amgen declared the Offer unconditional and extended the acceptance period until 24 July 2019, to give remaining shareholders of Nuevolution the possibility to accept the Offer. At the end of the extended acceptance period on 24 July 2019, Nuevolution shareholders representing an additional 230,932 shares and votes in Nuevolution, corresponding to approximately 0.47% of the total number of issued and outstanding shares and votes in Nuevolution had accepted the Offer. Consequently, after the end of the extended acceptance period, Amgen controls a total of 48,544,156 shares and votes in Nuevolution, corresponding to approximately 98.0% of the total number of issued and outstanding shares and votes in Nuevolution. In the aggregate, the securities tendered by shareholders and Warrant holders into the Offer and the Warrant offer, respectively, correspond to approximately 98.2% of the total number of shares and votes in Nuevolution on a fully diluted basis. Amgen did not own or control any securities in Nuevolution at the time of the Offer announcement, and has not, since then, acquired any securities in Nuevolution outside of the Offer and the Warrant offer. Amgen will not extend the acceptance period further and the Offer is thereby closed. Settlement in respect of the remaining shares tendered during the extended acceptance period is expected to occur on or around 31 July 2019.

13:52 EDT 3M drops 3% to $173.28 after disclosing probe into possible FCPA violations

13:30 EDT 3M discloses writen request from House subcommittee for PFAS-related documents - In a regulatory filing, 3M disclosed that in July 2019, the company received a written request from the Subcommittee on Environment of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, U.S. House of Representatives, seeking certain documents and information relating to the company's manufacturing and distribution of PFAS products. "The company is cooperating with this request," 3M stated in the filing.

13:05 EDT Baker Hughes reports U.S. rig count down 8 to 946 rigs - Baker Hughes reports that the U.S. rig count is down 8 rigs from last week to 946.

13:03 EDT Equifax announces details about proposed settlement for customers - As previously announced, Equifax Inc. has reached a comprehensive resolution of U.S. consumer-related litigation and state and federal regulatory matters related to the company's 2017 data breach. If a U.S. consumer's personal information was impacted in the Equifax data breach announced on September 7, 2017, they are a class member and eligible for benefits from the settlement after it becomes final. Under the terms of the consumer class action settlement, Equifax has agreed to do the following: (1) pay $380.5M into a fund to pay benefits to consumers, court-approved fees and costs of class counsel and service awards to the named class representatives, and other expenses; (2) implement and maintain certain data security enhancements; (3) if necessary, pay up to $125M more to reimburse consumers for out-of-pocket losses resulting from the data breach; and (4) provide certain other relief. Under the proposed settlement, class members are eligible for one or more of the following benefits: (1) free credit monitoring or up to a $125 cash payment if they already have credit monitoring services that will continue for at least six more months; (2) up to $20,000 in other cash payments for time and money spent preventing or recovering from identity theft because of the data breach; and (3) free identity restoration services provided by Experian to help remedy the effects of identity theft and fraud. The free credit monitoring includes credit monitoring services provided by Experian for at least four years with the following features: three-bureau credit monitoring providing notices of changes to the class member's credit report at all three national credit bureaus, free copies of a class member's Experian credit report, updated on a monthly basis, and up to $1M in identity theft insurance. Class members can also get up to six more years of free one-bureau credit monitoring through Equifax.

12:57 EDT Zions Bancorp increases quarterly dividend 13% to 34c per share - Zions Bancorporation announced that its board of directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of 34c per common share, payable August 22, 2019 to shareholders of record on August 15, 2019. This represents an increase of 13% from the dividend paid in the year ago period, and in the second quarter of 2019. Additionally, the Board approved a plan to purchase up to $275M of common shares during the third quarter of 2019.

12:37 EDT Trump says 'substantial reciprocal action' coming after France's digital tax - President Donald Trump tweeted: "France just put a digital tax on our great American technology companies. If anybody taxes them, it should be their home Country, the USA. We will announce a substantial reciprocal action on Macron's foolishness shortly. I've always said American wine is better than French wine!" Reference Link

12:00 EDT Mohawk falls -13.5% - Mohawk is down -13.5%, or -$21.11 to $135.25.

12:00 EDT Blue Capital rises 12.8% - Blue Capital is up 12.8%, or 85c to $7.50.

12:00 EDT Vector Group rises 14.7% - Vector Group is up 14.7%, or $1.41 to $10.98.

11:51 EDT Air Products CEO acquires 20,000 common shares - In a regulatory filing, Air Products & Chemicals chairman, president, and CEO Seifi Ghasemi disclosed the purchase of 20,000 common shares of the company at a price of $227.16 per share.

11:49 EDT Dish says to deploy standalone 5G broadband network - The transactions are subject to customary conditions including the closing of the Sprint (S) and T-Mobile (TMUS) merger, government approvals, and confirmation that DISH (DISH) is able to provision customers on the New T-Mobile network. Closing is expected within three months following the completion of the Sprint and T-Mobile merger. The prepaid businesses, including Boost Mobile, serve approximately 9.3 million customers in all 50 states and Puerto Rico. At close, Sprint's prepaid businesses and customers will immediately move to DISH, as will the more than 400 employees and nationwide independent retail network that supports more than 7,500 retail outlets. DISH will activate all new wireless customers on the New T-Mobile network. Existing prepaid customers will be supported on the Sprint legacy network and will eventually transition to the New T-Mobile network. Once DISH starts deploying its own facilities-based infrastructure, DISH's wireless customers will be able to seamlessly access the New T-Mobile network in areas where DISH has yet to deploy its own facilities. This Infrastructure MNO arrangement is part of the Master Network Services Agreement between the parties. The new commitments require DISH to use its spectrum to deploy a nationwide 5G broadband network covering at least 70 percent of the U.S. population by June 14, 2023. If DISH fails to meet its 5G deployment deadlines, DISH will make voluntary contributions to the U.S. Treasury of up to $2.2 billion. Additionally, DISH and T-Mobile have committed to negotiate the leasing of DISH's 600 MHz spectrum to T-Mobile for a transitional period of time. The arrangements also provide DISH the option to acquire certain tower, network equipment and retail assets that are being decommissioned as part of the Sprint and T-Mobile integration process. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP acted as lead legal counsel to DISH.

11:40 EDT T-Mobile, Sprint confirm agreement to divest assets to DISH - T-Mobile US (TMUS) and Sprint (S) announced they have taken "an important step toward completing their proposed merger" to create the New T-Mobile by entering into a consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice. The DOJ action moves the merger one step closer to closing, pending other regulatory approvals and the satisfaction of other closing conditions, the companies stated. The companies also announced agreements with DISH Network (DISH) in which the combined T-Mobile and Sprint, as the proposed New T-Mobile, will divest Sprint's prepaid businesses and Sprint's 800 MHz spectrum assets to DISH. Additionally, upon the closing of the divestiture transaction, the companies will provide DISH wireless customers access to the New T-Mobile network for seven years and offer standard transition services arrangements to DISH during a transition period of up to three years. DISH will also have an option to take on leases for certain cell sites and retail locations that are decommissioned by the New T-Mobile, subject to any assignment restrictions. The transactions with DISH are contingent on the successful closing of T-Mobile's merger with Sprint among other closing conditions. Effective upon the successful completion of T-Mobile's merger with Sprint, the New T-Mobile will be committed to divest Sprint's entire prepaid businesses including Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile and Sprint-branded prepaid customers, excluding the Assurance brand Lifeline customers and the prepaid wireless customers of Shenandoah Telecommunications Company and Swiftel Communications, to DISH for approximately $1.4B. These brands serve approximately 9.3M customers in total. DISH has agreed to acquire Sprint's portfolio of nationwide 800 MHz spectrum for a total value of approximately $3.6B in a transaction to be completed, subject to certain additional closing conditions, following an application for FCC approval to be filed three years following the closing of T-Mobile's merger with Sprint. This will permit the New T-Mobile to continue to serve legacy Sprint customers during network integration, pending later FCC approval of the license transfer. The companies have also entered into an agreement providing the New T-Mobile the option to lease back a portion of the spectrum sold to DISH for an additional two years following closing of the spectrum sale. Following the closing of T-Mobile's merger with Sprint and subsequent integration into the New T-Mobile, DISH will have the option to take on leases for certain cell sites and retail locations that are decommissioned by the New T-Mobile for five years following the closing of the divestiture transaction, subject to any assignment restrictions. The companies have also committed to engage in good faith negotiations regarding the leasing of some or all of DISH's 600 MHz spectrum to T-Mobile. The completion of the T-Mobile and Sprint combination remains subject to remaining regulatory approvals and certain other customary closing conditions. T-Mobile and Sprint expect to receive final federal regulatory approval in Q3 and currently anticipate that the merger will be permitted to close in the second half of 2019.

11:24 EDT McDonald's still sees FY19 foreign currency impact of 18c-20c

11:23 EDT McDonald's says expects commodity pressures to ease 'somewhat' in 2H

11:17 EDT McDonald's expects delivery to be a $4B business in 2019 - McDonald's says McDelivery now available in over 9,000 U.S. restaurants.

11:13 EDT McDonald's says still expects to complete about 2,000 EOTF locations this year - Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call.

10:19 EDT Norfolk Southern increases quarterly dividend 9% - Norfolk Southern Corporation announced that its board approved a 9% increase in its quarterly dividend on the company's common stock, to 94c per share from 86c per share. The dividend is payable September 10 to shareholders of record on August 5.

10:07 EDT Goodyear Tire says working on new 'significant' restructuring of U.S. business - The company says it will make further announcements once the plan is finalized. Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call.

10:00 EDT Volaris falls -8.4% - Volaris is down -8.4%, or -92c to $10.02.

10:00 EDT Mohawk falls -16.5% - Mohawk is down -16.5%, or -$25.87 to $130.49.

10:00 EDT Vector Group rises 12.6% - Vector Group is up 12.6%, or $1.21 to $10.79.

09:47 EDT VelocityShares 3x Long Natural Gas ETN falls -7.5% - VelocityShares 3x Long Natural Gas ETN is down -7.5%, or -$1.07 to $13.28.

09:47 EDT Mohawk falls -14.8% - Mohawk is down -14.8%, or -$23.11 to $133.25.

09:47 EDT Zimmer Biomet rises 9.2% - Zimmer Biomet is up 9.2%, or $11.46 to $135.37.

09:39 EDT AbbVie sees Q3 U.S. Humira revenue growth of about 8% - Sees Q3 international Humira sales of approximately $1B, assuming current exchange rates. Sees Q3 Imbruvica sales of approxzimately $1.2B. Management expects a modest unfavorable foreign exchange impact.

09:27 EDT AbbVie sees momentum 'continuing in second half' of 2019

09:20 EDT O2Micro granted system and method for driving light source patent in China - O2Micro International Limited announced the grant of a key system and method for driving light source patent. O2Micro was issued 13 claims under China patent CN-107241823-B on July 12, 2019 for the invention of a system for driving a light source including a power converter and control circuitry. The control circuitry generates a control signal based on the voltage feedback signal indicative of a combination of the output voltage, current and the light source and controls the power converter. US and UK claims are patent pending.

09:15 EDT Generex planning to execute NGIO spinout in next 60 to 90 days - Generex Biotechnology provided a summary of the investor conference call held and updated investors on the company's plans for the GNBT up-list and the previously declared 1:1 share dividend. CEO Joseph Moscato stated: "First, I am happy to report that Generex has paid the Nasdaq up-list application fee, and we expect the review process to take 30 to 60 days. As announced, we have worked with Donahoe Associates on our up-list application, and we will keep our shareholders apprised of our progress. Following a successful up-list of GNBT to the Nasdaq national market, the 1:1 share dividend will be paid the following day, with the ex-date two days following payment of the dividend...The Company will provide further guidance on the treatment of the dividend shares through a future press release. As a reminder, Generex renamed its wholly-owned cancer subsidiary Antigen Express as NuGenerex Immuno-Oncology, which we plan to build into a multi-platform cancer immunotherapy company. Generex has identified a public company into which we plan to merge NGIO and launch a new research effort to expand the oncology indications and applications for AE37 to complement our research partnership agreement with Merck (MRK) to study the combination of AE37 in combination with Merck's checkpoint inhibitor, Ketruda for the treatment of triple negative breast cancer; the trial is currently screening patients for enrollment. Additionally, NGIO is working with our licensing partner Shenzhen Bioscien, a Chinese biopharmaceutical company, to develop AE37 for the treatment of prostate cancer. Under terms of the agreement, Shenzhen is to pay for the commercial development of AE37, conducting clinical trials in the EU and in China under ICH guidelines. Shenzhen holds the exclusive license for the use of AE37 for the treatment of prostate cancer only in China; Generex retains rights to the clinical data as well as global market rights for AE37 in the prostate cancer market outside of China. On February 25, 2019 Generex paid a dividend in our new cancer company, whereby Generex shareholders received 1 share of NGIO for every 4 shares of GNBT. Those shares are now book-shared with Generex's transfer agent, which is holding them in GNBT shareholders accounts; the shares will have value once we take NGIO public. The Company is working with the auditors and legal to coordinate the documentation, applications, and regulatory filings necessary for the spin-out. We are planning to execute the NGIO spin-out in the next 60 to 90 days and we will inform shareholders as we proceed through the process. Once the spin-out is accomplished, we plan to finalize a merger agreement with Kiromic...Kiromic was granted the last orphan indication for ovarian cancer by FDA. In addition to advancing the ovarian cancer program, NGIO plans to advance Kiromic's proprietary CAR-T and CAR NK technologies into proof of concept clinical trials...In closing, Generex is nearing the final steps in our three-stage plan to return the Company to Nasdaq, and we are proud to have returned value to our loyal shareholders."

09:03 EDT Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Alphabet (GOOGL), up 9%... McDonald's (MCD), up 2%... Twitter (TWTR), up 6%... AbbVie (ABBV), up 2%... Intel (INTC), up 4%... Veoneer (VNE), up 5%... Starbucks (SBUX), up 6%. ALSO HIGHER: Monotype Imaging (TYPE), up 23% after announcing that it has entered into an agreement to be acquired for $19.85 per share in cash, representing an aggregate equity value of approximately $825M. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Amazon (AMZN), down 1.5%... Illinois Tool Works (ITW), down 4%... Charter (CHTR), down 6%... Lear (LEA), down 4%. LOWER: Neuralstem (CUR), down 40% after its 2.778M share secondary offering priced at $2.70 per share.

09:01 EDT Oppenheimer Holdings announces 640,000 share stock repurchase program - Oppenheimer Holdings announced that its Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program that authorizes the company to purchase up to 640,000 shares of the company's Class A non-voting common stock, representing approximately 5% of its 12,756,308 currently issued and outstanding shares of Class A non-voting common stock. This authorization will supplement the 26,192 shares that remain authorized and available under the company's previous share repurchase program covering up to 650,000 shares of the company's Class A non-voting common stock, which was announced on May 5, 2017, for a total of 666,192 shares authorized and available for repurchase.

08:45 EDT Cheniere Energy Partners raises quarterly dividend to 61c per unit - Cheniere Energy Partners declared a cash distribution per common and subordinated unit of 61c, $2.44 annualized, to unitholders of record as of August 6, and the related distribution to its general partner. All of these distributions are payable on August 14.

08:41 EDT SeaSpine announces implantation of 20,000th NanoMetalene interbody device - SeaSpine Holdings Corporation announced the implantation of the 20,000th NanoMetalene interbody device. NanoMetalene is a proprietary surface technology for interbody implants that incorporates a sub-micron layer of commercially pure titanium molecularly bonded to a PEEK implant using a high-energy, low-temperature process referred to as atomic fusion deposition. It is designed to provide a bone-friendly titanium surface on endplates and throughout graft apertures, while retaining the benefits associated with traditional PEEK implants, such as biocompatibility, a modulus of elasticity similar to bone, and excellent radiographic visibility for post-operative imaging. .

08:35 EDT Diana Shipping announces sale of Panamax dry bulk vessel m/v Nirefs - Diana Shipping announced that it has signed, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, a Memorandum of Agreement to sell to an unaffiliated third party, the 2001-built vessel "Nirefs", with delivery to the buyer latest by October 30, 2019, for a sale price of $6.71M before commissions.

08:33 EDT Curaleaf Holdings says has addressed issues raised in FDA letter - Curaleaf Holdings responded yesterday to a letter from the U.S. FDA informing FDA that the company has addressed the issues that were raised in the letter regarding its CBD product marketing. Upon receiving the letter, Curaleaf Hemp, the company's hemp-based CBD product line, immediately began an extensive review of its website and social media platforms to remove all statements that FDA identified as non-compliant. This includes removing the Curaleaf Hemp blog, and the third-party links in it, and removing any statements and social media posts to which FDA had taken exception. Additionally, Curaleaf Hemp advised FDA that a number of the products mentioned in the FDA letter had previously been discontinued. Curaleaf Hemp will continue to work diligently to ensure that information it provides to consumers on its website and social media platforms are fully compliant with FDA requirements. "Our industry needs, wants and appreciates the work the FDA is doing to ensure there is regulation and compliance in the CBD marketplace," said Joseph Lusardi, CEO of Curaleaf. "We care deeply about our customers and making a difference in our industry. Curaleaf is committed to being an ethical and responsible company and working with the FDA to be a leader in our industry, setting the standards and guidelines to best service our customers and the communities we serve."

08:30 EDT Immutep says patient recruitment ongoing for Phase I study of efti - Patient recruitment is ongoing for Immutep's partner and Chinese licensee, EOC Pharma, for a Phase I clinical study of efti for the treatment of metastatic breast cancer. Further progress from EOC Pharma is expected in late 2019.

08:28 EDT Immutep expects GSK Phase II study of GSK2831781 to be completed in 2022 - In May, Immutep's (IMMP) partner, GSK (GSK) initiated its Phase II clinical study evaluating GSK2831781 in 280 ulcerative colitis patients. The new study is expected to complete in August 2022 and follows GSK's completed phase I clinical trial of GSK2831781 in psoriasis. In June, GSK also commenced a Phase I study to evaluate the safety and tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of GSK2831781 in 36 healthy volunteers in Japan. This study is expected to complete in January 2020. The new trials bring the total number of clinical trials of GSK2831781 to three.

08:25 EDT Immutep says further INSIGHT trial data to be presented by IKF in late 2019 - In June, Prof. Salah-Eddin Al-Batran, MD, from the Institute of Clinical Research in Frankfurt, Germany presented a single patient case study in a Key Opinion Leader call, hosted by Immutep. A male metastatic gastric cancer patient commenced escalating intratumoural injections of efti into a stomach tumour in September 2017. Following seven injections, the tumour was observed as stable and the patient completed participation in the study. Encouragingly, he has continued to survive for nearly 2 years from the commencement of treatment, beyond the usual median 2-4-month survival timeframe typical of such patients. Further data is expected to be presented by IKF, the sponsor of the study, in late 2019.

08:22 EDT Goodyear Tire down 5.6% to $14.11 after Q2 results miss estimates

08:21 EDT Immutep expects to report first data for TACTI-002 study in 3Q19 - Immutep (IMMP) completed the recruitment of the initial cohort of 17 patients for Part A of its TACTI-002 Phase II study, which is being conducted in collaboration with Merck & Co. (MRK) in June. Part A may be expanded to include an additional number of patients if the predefined number of patient responses to the combination treatment of efti with KEYTRUDA are observed. Recruitment is ongoing for Parts B and Part C, where 4 and 5 patients have been recruited, respectively. There is also potential to expand Parts B and C, subject to the required number of predefined patient responses being observed in these groups. Hence, in total 26 patients have been recruited across all three groups in TACTI-002. Immutep expects to report first data from the open label TACTI-002 study in Q3 calendar year 2019.

08:21 EDT Organigram enters purchase agreement for up to 60,000 kilograms of hemp flower - Organigram announced that it has entered into an advance payment and purchase agreement with 1812 Hemp under which the company will pre-fund hemp purchases to receive access to as much as 60,000 kilograms of dried hemp flower to be harvested in calendar 2019 for extraction into cannabidiol, or CBD, isolate. Organigram is already a party to a purchase agreement entered into in January with 1812 Hemp in which Organigram was granted a right of first refusal on 1812 Hemp's production of certain hemp cultivars. Access to CBD-rich hemp flower is being facilitated through the payment agreement as the company will advance funds to 1812 Hemp for their purchase of specialized large-scale hemp harvesting and processing equipment to maximize crop yields, contribute to increased efficiency and improve preservation of harvested cannabinoids. Purchase conditions for the dried hemp flower continue to be governed by the January purchase agreement which secures supply and supports research and development on the genetic improvement of hemp through traditional plant breeding methods. Funds advanced by Organigram will be credited toward future hemp flower purchases under the january purchase agreement. Under the terms of the January purchase agreement, Organigram obtained access to a supply of hemp flower which contains significant levels of CBD, as compared to other Health Canada-approved cultivars currently in commercial production in Canada.

08:19 EDT Goodyear Tire reports Q2 tire unit volumes 37.4M, down 4% y/y - Tire unit volumes totaled 37.4M, a 4% decrease from 2018. Replacement tire shipments declined less than 1%. Original equipment unit volume was down 11%, reflecting lower global vehicle production and strategic fitment choices.

08:11 EDT Novartis receives positive CHMP opinion for Lucentis - Novartis announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency has recommended approval of Lucentis for the treatment of preterm infants with retinopathy of prematurity. ROP is a rare eye disease but a leading cause of childhood blindness. The European Commission will review the CHMP opinion and is expected to deliver its final decision within three months. Lucentis, if approved for this indication, will be the first and only pharmacological therapy indicated for ROP in this vulnerable patient population. The submission is based on the randomized controlled clinical study, RAINBOW, which demonstrated that Lucentis is efficacious, safe, and well-tolerated for infants with ROP. Laser surgery, the current standard of care, works by destroying the tissue in the eye that is responsible for the elevation of VEGF and can be associated with significant complications such as myopia and high myopia. While it is an effective treatment, there is a clear unmet need for innovative ways to treat ROP without destroying retinal tissue. Unlike laser surgery, Lucentis pharmacologically targets and reduces the elevated intraocular level of VEGF, the underlying cause of ROP. If approved in the EU, Lucentis will be indicated for the treatment of preterm infants with zone I, zone II or AP-ROP disease.

08:09 EDT CN, GM reach multiyear agreement for transportation of vehicles, parts - CN (CNI) announced that it has reached a new multiyear agreement with General Motors (GM) for the transportation of finished vehicles and assembly parts. GM will also be the first customer to use CN's new automotive compounds in Vancouver and in Minneapolis. The CN Vancouver automotive compound construction is now completed and GM will be the first tenant by October of 2019. The Minneapolis automotive compound construction is expected to be completed in late 2020, with GM operations at the site commencing in 2021. CN is now adding two new Autoport terminals to its North American network. Both compounds will provide additional capacity, vehicle throughput and timely deliveries for GM and its customers throughout the northern Midwest and British Columbia.

08:07 EDT Cango appoints Rong Liu as new independent director - Cango has appointed Rong Liu as an independent director and a member of the company's Audit Committee. Liu served as a deputy chief accountant and executive director of the finance department of SAIC Group from December 2004 to May 2013. From March 2004 to December 2004, he served as a deputy chief accountant and manager of the finance department of Shanghai Automotive Industry. He currently serves as an independent director at Kehua Holdings Co., Kuangda Technology Group Co., Shanghai Jialeng Songzhi Automobile Air Conditioning and Shanghai Jingzhi Industrial. In addition, Yongyi Zhang has ceased to serve as a member on the Audit Committee since July, and therefore, the Audit Committee will consist of three independent directors.

08:04 EDT Alexion announces CHMP opinion to extend marketing authorization of Soliris - Alexion announced that the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, has issued an opinion to extend the current marketing authorization of Soliris to include the treatment of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder, or NMOSD, in adult patients who are anti-aquaporin-4 antibody positive with a relapsing course of the disease. The European Commission will review the CHMP opinion and the final decision is anticipated within two months.

08:00 EDT McDonald's reports Q2 systemwide sales increased 8% in constant currencies

07:59 EDT McDonald's reports Q2 global comparable sales increased 6.5% - Global comparable sales increased 6.5%, reflecting strong comparable sales across all segments.

07:48 EDT AbbVie reports Q2 global hematologic oncology portfolio revenue $1.268B - Global net revenues from the hematologic oncology portfolio were $1.268B, an increase of 38.7% on a reported basis, or 39.1% operationally. Global IMBRUVICA net revenues were $1.099B, an increase of 29.3%, with U.S. net revenues of $886M and international profit sharing of $213M. Global VENCLEXTA net revenues were $169M.

07:44 EDT AbbVie reports Q2 Global HUMIRA sales of $4.87B down 6.1% on reported basis - Global HUMIRA net revenues of $4.87B decreased 6.1% on a reported basis, or 4.8% operationally. U.S. HUMIRA net revenues were $3.793B, an increase of 7.7%. Internationally, HUMIRA net revenues were $1.077B, a decrease of 35.2% on a reported basis, or 31% operationally, due to biosimilar competition.

07:32 EDT Ameris Bancorp sees FY19 normalized ROTCE 17%-19% - Says has "confidence" in 2020 financial expectations, and sees a "clear path" to future increase in EPS. Expects 20% of the announced cost savings from the Fidelity Lion deal to be realized in Q3. Says plans to maintain efficiency ratio to below 60% until fully phased in cost savings. Comments from slides being presented on the Q2 earnings conference call.

07:30 EDT Solid Biosciences announces $60M private placement - Solid Biosciences announced that it has entered into a securities purchase agreement with a select group of institutional investors and accredited investors for a $60M private placement, which is expected to close on or about July 30, 2019, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. The private placement includes a mix of new and existing investors, including Perceptive Advisors, LLC, Boxer Capital, LLC, EcoR1 Capital, LLC, Bain Capital Life Sciences, RA Capital Management, Waverly Capital, Invus and certain board members and executive officers. In this private placement, the Company is selling 10,607,525 shares of common stock at a price of $4.65 per share, representing a premium to the share price as of market close on July 25, 2019. In addition, the Company is selling 2,295,699 pre-funded warrants at a price of $4.64 per warrant, each of which is exercisable for one share of common stock at an exercise price of $0.01. The Company expects to use net proceeds from the private placement to fund research and development expenses, including the advancement of SGT-001, and for working capital and other general corporate purposes.

07:19 EDT Covia to sell Winchester and Western Railroad for $105M in cash - Covia announced that it has executed a definitive agreement to sell its Winchester and Western Railroad to an affiliate of OmniTRAX for total proceeds of $105M in cash, subject to certain adjustments set forth in the definitive agreement. As part of the transaction, OmniTRAX will assume ownership of approximately 470 railcars which the W&W currently owns. The W&W is reported within Covia's Industrial segment, and the sale is not expected to have a material impact on Covia's operating profitability. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2019 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including Surface Transportation Board review.

07:15 EDT Janssen receives CHMP positive opinion for ustekinumab - The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson announced today that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, of the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, adopted a positive opinion recommending marketing authorisation in the European Union for the use of ustekinumab for the treatment of adult patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis, who have had an inadequate response with, lost response to, or were intolerant to either conventional therapy or a biologic or have medical contraindications to such therapies.

07:13 EDT Cabot Oil & Gas increases share repurchase program by 25M shares - The Cabot Oil & Gas board has authorized an increase in the company's share repurchase program by 25M shares, bringing the current remaining authorization to 31.5M shares.

07:09 EDT Asbury Automotive reports Q2 same store revenue up 2% - Same store in Q2: Total revenue increased 2%; gross profit increased 4%. New vehicle revenue was flat; gross profit decreased 9%. Used vehicle retail revenue increased 1%; gross profit decreased 1%. Finance and insurance revenue and gross profit increased 7%. Parts and service revenue increased 8%; gross profit increased 6%.

07:04 EDT Charter CEO says 'our core business is strong' - "We are realizing the benefits of consolidating three large cable operators under one centralized operating strategy, with lower customer churn, fewer service transactions per customer and improving customer satisfaction resulting in growth of over 1 million customer relationships year-over-year," said Tom Rutledge, Chairman and CEO of Charter Communications. "In the second quarter, free cash flow grew nearly 40% year-over-year. Our core business is strong and we are positioned to be the network of choice today and in the future."

07:03 EDT Twitter sees FY19 GAAP operating expenses up 20% y/y - For FY 2019, Twitter expects: "GAAP operating expenses to increase approximately 20% on a year-over-year basis in 2019 as we continue to invest for growth and support the top priorities we outlined at the beginning of the year: health, conversation, revenue product and sales, and platform Stock-based compensation expense to be in the range of $350 million to $400 million Capital expenditures to be between $550 million and $600 million."

07:02 EDT Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey says health remains 'top priority' - "Health remains our top priority and we are proud of the work we did in Q2. Our focus was on ensuring that our rules, and how we enforce them, are easy to understand. We also continued our work to proactively identify and address malicious behavior, resulting in an 18% drop in reports of spammy or suspicious behavior across all Tweet detail pages, which show the replies to any given Tweet on our service," said Jack Dorsey, Twitter's CEO. "In addition, we continued to leverage machine learning to deliver more relevant content, driving increased usage of Twitter on a daily basis, with mDAU up 14% year-over-year." "We continued to deliver solid performance in Q2, with revenue up 20% year-over-year on a constant currency basis driven by strength in the US," said Ned Segal, Twitter's CFO. "Focusing on our most important ad products and delivering high performing ads will help advertisers launch something new and connect with what's happening on Twitter."

06:55 EDT Monotype Imaging trading halted, news pending

06:47 EDT Phillips 66, Phillips 66 Partners announce elimination of IDRs - Phillips 66 (PSX) and Phillips 66 Partners (PSXP) announced execution of a definitive agreement to eliminate all of Phillips 66's incentive distribution rights and general partner economic interests in PSXP in exchange for 101M newly issued PSXP common units. The newly issued PSXP common units have a total equity value of approximately $5.4B based on the PSXP common unit closing price of $53.95 on July 25, or $5.2B based on a 30-day volume weighted average price of $51.18. Using forecasted 2020 GP/IDR cash flow, these equity values represent multiples of 16.7x and 15.8x, respectively. This transaction is expected to be accretive to PSXP distributable cash flow per common unit by the fourth quarter of 2020. Following the close of the transaction, Phillips 66 will hold a non-economic GP interest in PSXP and own approximately 170M PSXP common units, representing approximately 75% of PSXP's outstanding common units. The transaction is expected to close on August 1. The terms of the transaction were unanimously approved by the board of directors of the general partner of Phillips 66 Partners based on the unanimous approval and recommendation of its conflicts committee, comprised entirely of independent directors.

06:38 EDT GW Pharmaceuticals receives positive CHMP opinion for EPIDYOLEX - GW Pharmaceuticals announced that the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has adopted a positive opinion recommending marketing authorisation of EPIDYOLEX for use as adjunctive therapy of seizures associated with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome or Dravet syndrome, in conjunction with clobazam, for patients 2 years of age and older. The European Commission is expected to make a final decision on the marketing authorisation application in approximately two months.

06:36 EDT Barnes Group lowers FY19 organic sales view to approximately flat to up 1% - Prior view was organic sales growth of 1% to 3%. FY19 revenue consensus $1.56B.

06:33 EDT Cabot Oil & Gas sees Q3 production 2,360-2,410 Mmcfe per day - Cabot has provided its Q3 production guidance range of 2,360 to 2,410 Mmcfe per day. The company has also adjusted its 2019 production growth guidance to a range of 16 to 18 percent (24 to 26 percent on a debt-adjusted per share basis) due in large part to a change in the operating plan resulting from a unique opportunity to acquire acreage adjacent to an eight-well pad, allowing the company to increase the total lateral footage on the pad by approximately 28,000 feet (increasing the average lateral length per well from 8,950 feet to 12,450 feet). "This increase in lateral lengths will improve the capital efficiency and economics of the pad; however, the longer cycle time will result in a delay in the wells being placed on production, pushing out the production contribution from this pad to late December or early January," said CEO Dan Dinges. Cabot has updated its 2019 capital budget to a range of $800 million to $820 million to reflect the incremental drilling and completion activity on the previously referenced eight-well pad and an increase in drilling activity for the year by four net wells resulting from continued efficiency gains on the company's three fully-contracted drilling rigs.

06:06 EDT Australia considers more regulation of Google, Facebook - The dominance of the leading digital platforms and their impact across Australia's economy, media and society must be addressed with significant, holistic reform, according to the final report of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's Digital Platforms Inquiry. "Our recommendations are comprehensive and forward looking and deal with the many competition, consumer, privacy and news media issues we have identified throughout the course of this Inquiry," ACCC Chair Rod Sims said. "Importantly, our recommendations are dynamic in that they will provide the framework and the information that governments and communities will need to address further issues as they arise. Our goal is to assist the community in staying up to date with these issues and futureproofing our enforcement, regulatory and legal frameworks." During the course of its Inquiry, the ACCC identified many adverse effects associated with digital platforms, many of which flow from the dominance of Google (GOOGL) and Facebook (FB). These include: The market power of Google and Facebook has distorted the ability of businesses to compete on their merits in advertising, media and a range of other markets. The ACCC has made a series of recommendations to address the digital platforms' impact on Australian media businesses and how Australians access news. These include: Requiring designated digital platforms to each provide the Australian Communications and Media Authority with codes to address the imbalance in the bargaining relationship between these platforms and news media businesses and recognize the need for value sharing and monetization of content; Addressing the regulatory imbalance that exists between news media businesses and digital platforms, by harmonizing the media regulatory framework. The report also calls on Google to allow Australian users of Android devices to choose their search engine and internet browser from a number of options, as proposed in Europe, rather than being provided with defaults. n light of the overlapping nature of privacy, competition and consumer protection issues in digital markets, the ACCC has made a range of privacy-related recommendations, including: Strengthening protections in the Privacy Act; Broader reform of the Australian privacy law framework. The ACCC recommends future law enforcement and regulation of digital platforms be dealt with by the current regulators including the ACMA, the OAIC and the ACCC.

06:01 EDT Allegiance Bancshares authorizes stock repurchase program for up to 1M shares - Allegiance Bancshares authorized a stock repurchase program under which Allegiance may repurchase up to one million shares of its outstanding common stock at the discretion of management through July 31, 2020. During Q2, Allegiance completed the repurchase of one million shares of its common stock outstanding under the share repurchase authorization previously announced on October 1, 2018.

05:32 EDT Weyerhaeuser sees Q3 Timberlands earnings, adj. EBITDA lower than Q2 - Weyerhaeuser expects Q3 Timberlands earnings and Adjusted EBITDA will be lower than Q2. In the West, the company anticipates seasonally lower harvest volumes, slightly higher road costs, and average log sales realizations modestly lower than the Q2 average. In the South, the company expects seasonally higher forestry expenses, largely offset by increased fee harvest volumes. Average Southern log sales realizations should be comparable to Q2. Weyerhaeuser anticipates Q3 Real Estate, Energy & Natural Resources earnings and Adjusted EBITDA will be lower than Q2. The company continues to expect F19 Adjusted EBITDA for the segment will be approximately $270M. Weyerhaeuser anticipates Q3 Wood Products earnings and Adjusted EBITDA will be comparable to Q2 before any improvement in average sales realizations. The company expects comparable sales volumes and slightly lower fiber costs, offset by slightly higher unit manufacturing costs for engineered wood products.