Stockwinners Market Radar for August 06, 2019 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

19:16 EDT SPDR Gold Shares holdings rise to 836.92MT from 835.16MT - This is the fourth consecutive increase in holdings and the highest level since June of 2018.

18:48 EDT Lockheed Martin awarded $405.77M government contract - Lockheed Martin Space, Littleton, Colorado, is awarded a maximum amount $405,770,000 un-priced letter contract modification PH0006 to a previously awarded and announced un-priced letter contract for the design, development, build and integration of large diameter rocket motors, associated missile body flight articles, and related support equipment for Army Intermediate Range Conventional Prompt Strike Weapon System flight test demonstrations. Work will be performed at Littleton, Colorado, with an expected completion date of Jan. 1, 2024. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test, and evaluation funds in the amount of $33,000,000 are being obligated on this award, which will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Strategic Systems Programs, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity.

18:40 EDT Etsy CEO: It was a great quarter, a breakthrough quarter - In an interview on CNBC's Mad Money, Etsy CEO Josh Silverman said: Our marketing initiatives are working... We feel great about Q2... Free shipping is an expectation in the market... We're incredibly excited about our growth opportunities... We want to be 100% carbon-neutral.

18:15 EDT Align Technology CEO Hogan acquires nearly 5,000 common shares - In a regulatory filing, Align Technology president and CEO Joseph M. Hogan disclosed the acquisition of 4,995 common shares of the company at a price of $199.8337 per share.

17:55 EDT Point72 Asset Management reports 5.1% passive stake in Luckin Coffee - Point72 Asset Management disclosed a 5.1% stake in Luckin Coffee, which represents over 17.0M shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

17:47 EDT WW up 14.7% to $24.10 after raising FY19 EPS outlook

17:31 EDT Match Group up 17.7% to $87.00 after Q2 results beat estimates

17:30 EDT Kornit Digital says had very strong quarter in North America - Says continued high level of demand across HD platforms. Says Atlas demand continues to outpace expectations. Says material contribution to Poly Pro was made already this quarter, Says two largest customers accounted for 8.5% and 4.8% of revenues in Q2 vs. 23.9% and 9.9% in previous year. Says zero tariff impact from United States. Says has small amount of components coming from China. Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call.

17:05 EDT EnLink Midstream Executive Chairman Barry Davis to reassume CEO role - EnLink Midstream announced that Barry Davis, the company's Executive Chairman who led EnLink as its CEO from its founding in 2014 to 2018, will reassume the role of CEO, in addition to continuing to serve as Chairman, effective August 8. Michael Garberding will be leaving the company to pursue other opportunities. Separately, EnLink appointed Thomas Horton to the EnLink Board of Directors. Horton previously served as Chairman and CEO of American Airlines. During his time at American Airlines, he led the company through a successful restructuring and turnaround culminating in the merger with US Airways, creating the world's largest airline. He also serves as the lead director on the Boards of Directors of General Electric Co. and Walmart.

17:03 EDT Hertz reports Q2 total U.S. RAC revenues increased 10% y/y - In Q2: Global revenue grew to a record $2.5B, up 5%, up 7% on a constant currency basis. U.S. RAC total revenues grew to $1.8B, up 10%. U.S. RAC Transaction Days up 6%, Total RPD up 3%. U.S. RAC Depreciation Per Unit Per Month decreased 13%. Net income attributable to Hertz Global improved 160%. Adjusted Corporate EBITDA improved 124%. "We delivered record revenues and significant earnings improvement in the second quarter. Our results were achieved through quality top-line growth, productivity improvements and effective fleet management. At the same time, we continued to invest in our business, focusing on new revenue opportunities and a company-wide technology transformation," said Kathryn Marinello, Hertz's CEO. "Through disciplined execution, investments in new revenue opportunities and by aligning ourselves with our customers, we are strategically positioned for future growth."

17:00 EDT Disney CEO says Star Wars opening attendance in Anaheim was lower than expected - Says guests were concerned about crowding while prices went up "substantially". Says all local hotels in Anaheim also raised their prices ahead of Galaxy's Edge opening. Comments taken from Q3 earnings conference call Q/A.

16:55 EDT Akcea Therapeutics reports results from Broaden study - Akcea Therapeutics(AKCA), an affiliate of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS), announced today topline results from the BROADEN study in patients with familial partial lipodystrophy . The study met its primary endpoint demonstrating a statistically significant reduction in triglyceride levels in patients with FPL treated with WAYLIVRA compared to placebo-treated patients. In addition to achieving the primary endpoint, the study achieved an important secondary endpoint of a statistically significant reduction in liver fat. "We are encouraged by the substantial reduction in triglycerides and hepatic fat fraction achieved with WAYLIVRA in patients with FPL and we will be reviewing the totality of the data internally and with experts in the field to determine the most appropriate next steps for this program," said Louis O'Dea, chief medical officer at Akcea Therapeutics. "We are grateful to the FPL patient community for their input and participation, and we understand their desperate need for a treatment option." "We are pleased by the safety and efficacy profile demonstrated by WAYLIVRA in patients with FPL, adding to the already established profile in patients with FCS," said Brett P. Monia, Ph.D., chief operating officer of Ionis Pharmaceuticals. "These results represent another important outcome of our antisense platform for patients desperate for new treatment options." Akcea and Ionis received marketing authorization in Europe for WAYLIVRA in May 2019 as an adjunct to diet in adult patients with genetically confirmed FCS and at high risk for pancreatitis, in whom response to diet and triglyceride lowering therapy has been inadequate. The Companies' efforts are focused on the commercial launch of WAYLIVRA in the EU and working with regulatory agencies to determine a path forward so that patients with FCS in the U.S. and Canada may have access to this treatment.

16:52 EDT Callon Petroleum reports Q2 production 40.5 MBOE/D - In Q2: Increased production by 40% year-over-year to 40.5 Mboe/d (77% oil). Generated an operating margin of $36.11 per Boe, a sequential increase of over 10%. Reduced capital spending by $25M while placing approximately five additional net wells on production compared to the first quarter. Recently placed on production the first multi-zone mega-pad employing simultaneous operations in the Delaware Basin with an average cost per lateral foot below 2020 targeted synergy levels.

16:50 EDT Parsley Energy raises FY19 net oil production to 85.0-86.5 MBo - Previous net oil production guidance was 80.0-85.0 MBo. At the midpoint, the updated range translates to estimated year-over-year organic growth of nearly 25%.

16:48 EDT Disney CFO expects lower program sales and higher development expenses in Q4 - At ESPN, sees higher programming expenses due to contractual expenses. Sees 21st Century Fox acquisition and Hulu ownership impact to have Q4 headwind of 41c per share.

16:46 EDT Disney CFO: Q4 DTC segment to generate $900M in operating losses, up $560M y/y

16:40 EDT Select Energy Services cuts FY19 CapEx view to $120M-$140M from $140M-$160M

16:39 EDT Vectrus reports backlog at June 28 was $3.2B - At June 28 was $3.2B and funded backlog was $934M. Backlog including LOGCAP V is $4.6B.

16:37 EDT Kelly Services CEO George Corona to retire, Peter Quigley to become CEO - Kelly Services announced that its board elected executive VP Peter Quigley as Kelly's next president and CEO. The appointment is effective October 1, at which time Quigley will also join the company's board. He will replace George Corona who announced his intention to step down as president and CEO effective September 30, as part of his planned retirement. Corona will serve as a non-executive employee of the company, in a transition and advisory capacity, until his retirement in early 2020. He will remain a member of the board.

16:35 EDT Aquestive announces 'positive' results from Libervant Buccal Film study - Aquestive Therapeutics announced topline results from the recently completed single dose crossover study for Libervant Buccal Film, which is in development for the management of select patients with refractory epilepsy who require treatment to control episodes of increased seizure activity, or "seizure clusters." Topline results show the study met its co-primary endpoints for diazepam maximal plasma concentration, Area Under the Curve, and time to maximal concentration.

16:34 EDT Southwestern Energy on track for commitment of averaging $875 per lateral foot - Southwestern Energy said, "The Company is on track to achieve its commitment of averaging $875 per lateral foot for all wells to sales in 2019. This quarter, the Company achieved an average well cost of $866 per lateral foot with an average completed lateral length of 10,128 feet. Average well costs per lateral foot includes title, regulatory, permitting, pad site, facilities, drilling, completion and initial flowback costs. Longer lateral lengths, piped water, self-sourced sand and operational outperformance are the primary contributors to improving well costs."

16:33 EDT Nike acquires Celect, terms not disclosed - NIKE, Inc. announced it has acquired Celect, a leading retail predictive analytics and demand sensing firm based in Boston. Celect is Nike's latest acquisition fueling its Consumer Direct Offense strategy, serving consumers personally at a global scale. Celect's team will immediately be integrated into Nike's Global Operations Team and its co-founders will continue as tenured professors at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, consulting Nike on an ongoing basis.

16:30 EDT Two Harbors CIO Roth to retire at end of 2019 - Two Harbors announced that Bill Roth, Two Harbors' Vice President and Chief Investment Officer, intends to retire from the company on December 31, 2019. Mr. Roth also intends to retire as a director of the company at the same time. Mr. Roth will remain with Two Harbors through the remainder of the year in order to assist in the transition of his duties and responsibilities. Upon Mr. Roth's retirement, the Board of Directors intends to appoint each of William Greenberg and Matthew Koeppen to serve in the role of Vice President and Co-Chief Investment Officer.

16:29 EDT Hertz up 7% to $16.00 after Q2 results beat estimates

16:28 EDT Akcea, Ionis report results from BROADEN study with Waylivra - Akcea Therapeutics (AKCA), an affiliate of Ionis Pharmaceuticals, and Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS), announced topline results from the BROADEN study in patients with familial partial lipodystrophy, or FPL. The study met its primary endpoint demonstrating a statistically significant reduction in triglyceride levels in patients with FPL treated with Waylivra compared to placebo-treated patients. In addition to achieving the primary endpoint, the study achieved an important secondary endpoint of a statistically significant reduction in liver fat.

16:22 EDT PTC Therapeutics sees FY19 DMD franchise net product revenue $285M-$305M - Sees FY19 GAAP R&D and SG&A expense $395M-$405M; GAAP R&D and SG&A expense $360M-$370M excluding estimated non-cash, stock-based compensation expense of approximately $35M.

16:20 EDT U.S. Well Services currently has one new electric fleet on order - As previously announced, U.S. Well Services currently has one new electric fleet on order to begin working under contract for Shell beginning in the first quarter of 2020, bringing the Company's total electric fleet count to five. The Company continues to experience strong demand for electric frac services at premium pricing levels compared to conventional frac services, and is actively evaluating potential new contract opportunities. Oversupplied market conditions have led to sustained pressure on pricing for conventional frac services. As a result of this market dynamic, U.S. Well Services elected to idle one conventional fleet during the second quarter. Due to our track record for efficiency and best-in-class service quality, we continue to experience demand for U.S. Well Services fleets and will work with our customers to maintain the utilization and profitability of our fleets throughout the second half of 2019. We continue to monitor market conditions and will react swiftly to any deterioration in the operating environment.

16:20 EDT LendingClub announces launch of 'Select Plus' Platform - LendingClub announced the launch of Select Plus Platform, which "opens up the LendingClub marketplace to sophisticated investors to identify opportunities to approve borrowers who fall outside the current criteria." The company said: "This new custom program will reach those people across the credit spectrum who currently do not receive loan offers on the LendingClub platform because they fall outside of the existing criteria used by the bank lender. Select Plus allows investors to access new opportunities for potentially attractive risk adjusted returns, provides loan applicants with seamless access to credit within the company's current rate parameters and will increase LendingClub's customer base and the efficiency of its demand generation." The first investor using Select Plus will be Theorem Partners.

16:15 EDT Diamondback Energy narrows FY19 daily production view to 277- 284.0 Mboe/d - Diamondback is narrowing its full year 2019 guidance for average daily production to between 277.0 to 284.0 Mboe/d, up slightly at the midpoint from prior guidance of 272.0 to 287.0 Mboe/d. As a result of continued cost reductions and capital efficiency improvements, the Company expects full year 2019 CAPEX between $2.725 - $2.950 billion, down slightly at the midpoint from $2.7 - $3.0 billion previously, and is lowering Midland Basin well costs to between $730 - $760 per foot, down from $740 - $780 per foot previously. Diamondback now expects to complete 300 - 320 gross operated horizontal wells in 2019, up 2% from the midpoint of prior guidance of 290 - 320 wells. Finally, the Company is lowering guidance for cash G&A expense to under $0.75/boe, down from under $1.00/boe previously

16:11 EDT Wynn Resorts reports Las Vegas RevPar up 9.5% - Q2 Las Vegas occupancy increased to 90.1% from 87.7% last year.

16:10 EDT Wynn Resorts reports Q2 adjusted property EBITDA up 0.9% at $480.6M - Adjusted Property EBITDA increased $2.9 million and $13.2 million at Wynn Macau and our Las Vegas Operations, respectively, and decreased $12.1 million at Wynn Palace.

16:09 EDT Disney reports Q3 Parks, Experiences and Products revenue $6.58B - Parks, Experiences and Products revenues for the quarter increased 7% to $6.6B and segment operating income increased 4% to $1.7B. "Operating income growth for the quarter was due to increases at our consumer products businesses and Disneyland Paris, partially offset by a decrease at our domestic parks and resorts. Results included a benefit from a shift in the timing of the Easter holiday. In the current year, the entire Easter holiday fell in the third quarter, while the third quarter of the prior year included only one week of the Easter holiday. The increase at our consumer products business was due to growth at our merchandise licensing and retail businesses. Growth at merchandise licensing was primarily due to higher revenue from merchandise based on Toy Story, partially offset by a decrease from Star Wars merchandise. The increase at our retail business was due to higher comparable store sales and online revenue," Disney said.

16:08 EDT Montage Resources lowers FY19 capex view by 8% at midpoint to $345M-$370M - Raises FY19 production guidance view by 3% at midpoint to 535-555 MMcfe per day.

16:07 EDT Barrett Business announces $50M share repurchase program - The Barrett Business board authorized the repurchase of up to $50M of its common stock over a three-year period beginning August 15. Purchases will be made in the open market, including in block trades.

16:06 EDT Barrett Business increases dividend 20% - Barrett Business Services announced that its board authorized a 20% increase in its regular quarterly cash dividend to 30c per share from 25c per share. The cash dividend will be paid on September 6 to all stockholders of record as of August 23.

16:04 EDT Jazz announces Phase 1 study of JZP-458 met its efficacy and safety objectives - Jazz Pharmaceuticals announced that the Phase 1 study of its recombinant crisantaspase molecule, JZP-458, met its efficacy and safety objectives. The company plans to initiate a single-arm, pivotal Phase 2/3 study evaluating JZP-458 as a potential treatment option for patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, ALL, or lymphoblastic lymphoma, LBL, who are hypersensitive to E. coli-derived asparaginase products. A recombinant crisantaspase Phase 1 study in healthy volunteers in the U.S. met safety and efficacy objectives with efficacy based on measurement of serum asparaginase activity levels. Results of this Phase 1 study will be submitted for presentation at an upcoming medical meeting.

14:35 EDT AT&T CFO discusses 2019 priorities at Oppenheimer conference - John Stephens, CFO of AT&T, spoke at the 22nd Annual Oppenheimer Technology, Internet and Communications Conference, during which he discussed AT&T's recently announced second-quarter results and the company's plans for the remainder of 2019 and into 2020, the company announced. Among the areas discussed by Stephens: the company expects total wireless service revenue to grow for full-year 2019; The company continues to expect to achieve its full-year stability target for the Entertainment Group EBITDA; Beyond 2019, several factors are expected to help sustain Entertainment Group EBITDA, including broadband revenue growth; a higher-quality customer base; benefits from better cost management; advertising growth; the introduction of AT&T TV and reduced pressure from legacy services; For the remainder of 2019, AT&T expects elevated video churn to continue in part due to customers rolling off two-year price locks and as carriage negotiations with two major content providers continue. The company expects to maintain its focus on improving the quality of its video subscriber base, taking a disciplined approach to promotional activity and retention offers, as it continues to prioritize stabilizing Entertainment Group EBITDA; AT&T expects to introduce its AT&T TV, its thin-client broadband TV service, in select markets by the end of the third quarter of 2019, expanding to nationwide availability in early 2020; AT&T will host WarnerMedia Day in Los Angeles on Oct. 29 to discuss its upcoming video streaming service, HBO Max, which the company plans to launch in spring 2020 with approximately 10,000 hours of premium content.

14:26 EDT AGM Group Holdings Inc (Class A Stock) trading halted, volatility trading pause

13:54 EDT Slack announces new enterprise security controls - The team at Slack announced in a post to the corporate blog that the company is introducing a suite of new features that "give enterprise admins and security-conscious IT leaders even more control over how their organization's data can be accessed and shared in Slack." With the new functionality "to ensure that only the right people and approved devices can access your company's information in Slack," Admins can configure Slack to require an additional layer of security after single sign-on, the blog posted stated. Reference Link

13:45 EDT FDA commissioner says Novartis may face civil, criminal penalties over data - FDA Commissioner Ned Sharpless said via Twitter, "We rely on truthful scientific data to make regulatory decisions, and we take the issue of data integrity very seriously. In this case, the agency will use its full authorities to take action, if appropriate, which may include civil or criminal penalties." The statement comes after the FDA disclosed a data integrity issue with certain Zolgensma data submitted by Novartis and reviewed to support the gene therapy product approved to treat children less than two years of age with spinal muscular atrophy.

13:40 EDT Stoke Therapeutics confirms FDA orphan drug designation granted for STK-001 - Stoke Therapeutics announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted orphan drug designation to its lead product candidate, STK-001, an investigational new treatment for Dravet syndrome. "Orphan drug designation entitles recipients to various development incentives, including tax credits for qualified clinical testing, an exemption from FDA application fees, and a seven-year period of marketing exclusivity in the United States, if the drug is approved," the company noted.

13:22 EDT Novartis drops 1.5% to $89.33 after FDA announces gene therapy data issue - Shares of Biogen (BIIB) and Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS) moved higher on the news.

13:13 EDT Google launches Advanced Protection Program to guard against targeted attacks - According to a Google blog post out earlier: "The Advanced Protection Program safeguards the personal Google Accounts of anyone at risk of targeted attacks - like journalists, activists, business leaders, and political campaign teams. Even the most security-conscious users can be tricked by a sophisticated phishing attack. To protect you from this threat, Advanced Protection goes further than traditional 2-Step Verification, requiring you to use a physical Security Key in addition to your password to sign in to your Google Account...Advanced Protection requires you to use a physical Security Key, in addition to your password, to sign in to your Google Account. These Security Keys are the most secure form of 2-Step Verification. Even if you do fall for a phishing attack that discloses your username and password, an unauthorized user won't be able to access your account without one of your physical Security Keys." Reference Link

12:49 EDT Energous trades up after announcing availability of wirelessly charged hearable - Energous announced earlier that the WattUp-enabled Delight Oasis-RC personal sound amplification product, designed in partnership with SK Telesys, is now available for U.S. sales on Amazon as well as DelightPSAP. Shares of Energous are well off earlier highs but still up 1.7% to $3.66 per share in afternoon trading.

12:13 EDT Arlo announces Apple Homekit compatibility now rolling out - Arlo Technologies (ARLO), an internet connected camera brand, announced that support for HomeKit, Apple's (AAPL) smart home platform, is rolling out now on Arlo Pro and Arlo Pro 2 Security Camera Systems that are paired with Arlo's most popular base station models, VMB4000 and VMB4500. While Arlo users can already control their Pro or Pro 2 cameras via the Arlo app, HomeKit compatibility will provide added convenience for iPhone and iPad users. Now, iOS users will be able to access certain functions of their Pro or Pro 2 cameras in the HomeKit ecosystem using the Apple Home app and Siri voice commands. Additionally, a free-of-charge automatic firmware update is now rolling out for both new and existing Pro or Pro 2 users that are operating off either of the two compatible base station models.

12:04 EDT Aegion's Insituform awarded $5.7M wastewater pipeline rehabilitation contract - Aegion Corporation announced that its subsidiary, Insituform Technologies has been awarded a wastewater pipeline rehabilitation contract valued at $5.7M from the Montgomery Water Works & Sanitary Sewer Board in Alabama. Insituform will rehabilitate more than 22,000 feet of 18- to 30-inch wastewater pipelines in residential and commercial areas throughout Montgomery using Insituform cured-in-place pipe beginning in August 2019. The Company anticipates completing the project in October 2020.

12:01 EDT New Media falls -14.6% - New Media is down -14.6%, or -$1.45 to $8.45.

12:01 EDT Care.com falls -21.3% - Care.com is down -21.3%, or -$2.18 to $8.04.

12:00 EDT Invacare rises 23.5% - Invacare is up 23.5%, or 98c to $5.15.

10:49 EDT Dominion Energy announces battery storage pilot projects - Dominion Energy Virginia announced four battery storage pilot projects totaling 16 megawatts. The projects were filed with the State Corporation Commission for approval Friday and are enabled by the Grid Transformation & Security Act of 2018, which allows Dominion Energy to invest in up to 30 megawatts of battery storage pilot projects. The four proposed Central Virginia-based lithium-ion projects will cost approximately $33M to construct and will provide key information on distinct use cases for batteries on the energy grid. Pending SCC approval, the pilots would be evaluated over a five year period once operational as currently expected in December 2020. Separately, the company issued a Request for Proposals seeking bids for up to 500 megawatts of solar and onshore wind generation in the state.

10:34 EDT Marriott: Global economic growth clearly slower than anticipated

10:20 EDT Marriott CEO says still has radiation, surgery ahead

10:16 EDT Marriott sees North America RevPAR up 1%-2% in Q3 and Q4 - Sees North America RevPAR up 1%-2% in both Q3 and Q4, but at the lower end of that range in Q4. In Asia Pacific, sees low single digit RevPAR growth in 2H. Middle East and Africa region "flattish" in Q3, modestly lower in Q4. Expects U.S. travel to Europe to remain "strong" in 2H.

10:06 EDT Marriott CEO says China RevPAR slowed in Q2 due to trade, Hong Kong protests - Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call.

10:00 EDT Adient rises 21.7% - Adient is up 21.7%, or $4.20 to $23.50.

10:00 EDT Tenneco rises 25.5% - Tenneco is up 25.5%, or $2.01 to $9.90.

09:47 EDT International Flavors falls -12.2% - International Flavors is down -12.2%, or -$17.27 to $124.20.

09:47 EDT NeoPhotonics rises 15.3% - NeoPhotonics is up 15.3%, or 66c to $4.98.

09:47 EDT Tenneco rises 23.3% - Tenneco is up 23.3%, or $1.84 to $9.73.

09:40 EDT Clarus trading resumes

09:39 EDT International Flavors falls after finding Frutarom unit made improper payments - International Flavors & Fragrances said last night in its earnings release, "During the integration of Frutarom, IFF was made aware of allegations that two Frutarom businesses operating principally in Russia and Ukraine made improper payments to representatives of a number of customers. IFF promptly commenced investigations of such allegations with the assistance of outside legal and accounting firms. IFF's investigations are not yet complete, but preliminary results indicate that improper payments were made and that key members of Frutarom's senior management at the time were aware of such payments. IFF has not uncovered any evidence suggesting that such payments had any connection to the United States. Based on the results of the investigations to date, IFF believes that such improper customer payments are no longer being made and the estimated affected sales represented less than 1% of IFF's and Frutarom's combined net sales for 2018. IFF does not believe the impact from these matters is or will be material to IFF's results of operations or financial condition. IFF is committed to the highest standards of ethics and compliance and has strict compliance policies in place that are regularly reviewed and updated. Consistent with such policies, IFF has taken or will take appropriate remedial actions with respect to the matters described above. Although the investigations are continuing, based on the results to date and other compliance-related integration activities IFF is not currently aware of similar instances of misconduct." Shares of International Flavors are down 10% to $127.85 in early trading.

09:35 EDT Clarus trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:33 EDT Black Ridge Acquisition announces additional purchase agreements, deal amendment - Black Ridge Acquisition provided an update on the previously announced definitive merger agreement whereby Black Ridge will acquire two of Ourgame International Holdings global esports and entertainment assets, Allied Esports International, and WPT Enterprises. In connection with the proposed transaction, Black Ridge has executed purchase agreements with several third parties providing for such third parties to purchase an aggregate of $18M of shares of Black Ridge common stock in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions. Black Ridge also announced that it has entered into an amendment to the Merger Agreement to, among other things, reduce the closing condition requiring Black Ridge to have a minimum amount of cash on hand following the proper exercise of conversion rights by the holders of public shares from $80M to $22M and to revise certain terms of the previously disclosed required repayment of $35M of debt obligations held by Ourgame. The special meeting of Black Ridge stockholders to vote on the proposed business combination will now be held on August 9. The special meeting was originally scheduled for June 28. The record date for determination of stockholders entitled to vote at the special meeting, including at all adjournments thereof, remains June 10. Pursuant to the purchase agreements, at the closing of the business combination with Allied Esports and WPT, Black Ridge will issue to the purchasers 1.5 shares of Black Ridge common stock for every 10 shares purchased by them under the purchase agreements. Additionally, Black Ridge Oil & Gas, or BROG, Black Ridge's sponsor, will transfer to the purchasers an aggregate of approximately 720,000 shares of Black Ridge common stock owned by BROG.

09:29 EDT Vislink awarded patent for maintaining wireless network performance - Vislink Technologies announced that it has been awarded a patent describing how to maximize the throughput of wireless systems that operate in interference-prone conditions. The patent, "Channel Access and Fairness Protocol for Contention-Based-Access to Networks with Biased Detection" describes an approach that enables a wireless network to maintain robust performance, despite adverse operating environments. The company's intellectual property portfolio includes over 60 US and international patent matters covering key wireless and wireless communications areas.

09:25 EDT Invictus MD says Acreage Pharms substantially completes Phase III facility - INVICTUS MD STRATEGIES CORP reports that Acreage Pharms Ltd, the company's wholly owned subsidiary has substantially completed the construction of the 90,000 square foot Phase III cultivation facility in Edson, Alberta. An amendment to Acreage's license for the Phase III West wing was submitted to Health Canada on July 22, 2019. The amendment to the license is an expansion to the current license under the Cannabis Act, as the three facilities are on the same property. The west wing of the Facility has 45,000 square feet containing 20 flowering rooms, 3 drying rooms, processing rooms and propagation rooms. One flowering room is expected to be brought into production every four days to provide for ongoing harvesting and production of finished product. The west wing is expected to produce 105 harvests annually for a total production of approximately 5,000 kg per year. Total production of Phase I, Phase II and Phase III is expected to be approximately 7,500 kg per year. It is anticipated that the east wing of Phase III, which is identical to the west wing will be brought into production later in the year.

09:19 EDT Cerner, Duke Clinical Research Institute launch solution for clinical research - Cerner Corporation has announced the development of the Cerner Learning Health Network to help clinicians more easily and efficiently gain health insights and guide care. Cerner aims to automate data collection from multiple sources, including the electronic health record, to rapidly give medical researchers access to important information that has the potential to transform patient care. Through combined technology and expertise, Cerner and the Duke Clinical Research Institute have joined together to pilot the Cerner Learning Health Network and innovate clinical research registries in the process. The pilot project and study, named the Learning Registry by the DCRI, will use the Cerner Learning Health Network to evaluate the use and potential impact of proven therapies for chronic cardiovascular disease. Cerner and the DCRI aim to bring together data and intelligence to deliver clinicians insights on chronic cardiovascular disease, which if not treated properly can lead to heart disease and stroke. In the pilot project, the DCRI will use Cerner technology to analyze de-identified patient data from the University of Missouri Health Care and Ascension Seton, in partnership with Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin, with the goal of finding the most effective treatment options. After the pilot project and study are complete, the Cerner Learning Health Network is expected to have wide-reaching applications in life sciences, pharmaceuticals and health care at large. The automation and streamlining of health data for clinical research has the potential to speed innovation and life-saving insights. More research on populations' health gives clinicians additional tools to identify and treat a myriad of diseases and health concerns

09:16 EDT CBS and Nexstar renew agreement - CBS (CBS) and Nexstar Media Group (NXST) announced a multi-year agreement that renews CBS network affiliations for Nexstar stations, in fifteen markets that reach approximately 5% of the U.S. audience and nearly six million households. The new agreement extends all CBS/Nexstar affiliation agreements related to a total of 19 stations that were set to expire this year. Nexstar is the largest independent operator of CBS affiliates, covering 13% of the U.S. and serving more than 14 million households.

09:16 EDT Titan Medical completes chronic procedures under GLP with surgical system - Titan Medical announced the completion of the chronic procedures performed under good laboratory practice, or GLP, principles using its single-port robotic surgery system, noting that all animals survived through the follow-up period. Ricardo Estape, a robotic gynecologic oncology surgeon specializing in robotic single incision surgeries from South Miami Gynecology Oncology Group, led the completion of the GLP studies. The company now intends to complete the full GLP studies report and required summative human factors studies, followed by the full human factors evaluation report to facilitate filing of the investigational device exemption, or IDE, submission by the end of September.

09:12 EDT Fifth Third to raise minimum hourly wage to $18 - Fifth Third Bancorp today announced it will raise its minimum wage to $18 per hour for approximately 4,900 employees beginning Oct. 28. With this increase, Fifth Third will have raised its minimum hourly wage by 50% over the past two years.

09:11 EDT Amplify Energy sees Q3 total MBoe/d 30.9-34.4

09:09 EDT Amplify expects capital spending of approx. $38M in 2H19 - The company said, "In the second half of 2019, we anticipate capital spending of approximately $38 million across our operating areas. Approximately 53% of this capital will be invested in Bairoil, primarily to fund the plant expansion project, which is expected to come online in the fourth quarter of 2019. The expansion will provide additional CO2 recycling capacity and allow currently shut-in wells to be turned back online, increasing oil production by approximately 900 Boe/d. We anticipate production increases will be fully realized over an eighteen-month period following the project completion. In addition, we anticipate spending approximately $11 million on our Mississippi Lime asset on a capital workover program focused on converting electric submersible pumps to rod-lift, a more efficient artificial lift technology, as well as infrastructure build-out. We believe this investment to be low-risk while maximizing the economic life of producing wells and materially reducing future electricity and maintenance costs associated with these wells. The remaining capital budget will be spent predominantly on well work, facilities and other maintenance activities across our assets in offshore California, East Texas and Eagle Ford."

09:08 EDT Greenlight Capital's Einhorn says remains short on Tesla - David Einhorn said on Greenlight Capital Re's (GLRE) earnings call that Tesla (TSLA) has demonstrated "no ability to reverse its losses."

09:06 EDT Amplify says intends to evaluate other 'opportunistic combinations, acquisitions - Amplify CEO Ken Mariani continued, "As we enter the second half of 2019, we are concluding our year-long project to increase our plant capacity at the Bairoil field. Although we incurred most of the capital spending in the first half of 2019, we expect to complete this project in the fourth quarter of 2019, with the resulting production increase of approximately 900 Boe/d expected to be fully realized over the subsequent eighteen months. We are also continuing the rod-lift conversion projects in Oklahoma, which we expect to significantly reduce maintenance and electricity costs in future periods. In addition, we believe that there may be significant benefits in continuing to increase scale in this market, and we intend to evaluate other opportunistic combinations and acquisitions that create value through cost synergies and free cash flow accretion."

09:04 EDT Amplify board of directors approves quarterly dividend policy of 20c per share - Amplify's Board of Directors has approved a new recurring quarterly dividend policy of 20c / share implying a current dividend yield of approximately 18% based on equity market values for the combined companies. The first dividend under this policy is expected to be paid on September 18, 2019 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on September 4, 2019

09:02 EDT Empire Resorts confirms receipt of proposal from controlling shareholder - Empire Resorts confirmed that the special committee of its board of directors has received an unsolicited proposal from Kien Huat Realty III Limited, the holder of approximately 86% of Empire Resorts' outstanding shares of common stock. KH is proposing to acquire all of the outstanding equity of the company not currently owned by KH or its affiliates for $9.74 per share of common stock, and with each share of the company's series B preferred stock receiving the same consideration on an as-converted to common stock basis, in cash in a joint-venture with Genting Malaysia, an affiliate of KH. KH's proposal is subject to various conditions, including completion of due diligence, negotiation and execution of definitive transaction documents and regulatory approvals. As previously announced, the Board formed the special committee comprised of independent, disinterested directors to evaluate strategic alternatives. Consistent with its fiduciary duties, the special committee, with the assistance of its financial and legal advisors, will carefully review and consider the proposal in the context of Empire Resorts' strategic review, and will pursue the course of action that it believes is in the best interest of the company and its stockholders.

08:59 EDT Blue Apron says seeing continued improvement in operational efficiencies - Says: In good shape for costs going into next year... Average order, revenue per order continue to be strong.

08:51 EDT AMD CEO says 'zero truth' to rumor of plans to leave company - AMD (AMD) CEO Lisa Su, in a tweet replying to @wccftechdotcom, stated: "Just for the record, zero truth to this rumor. I love @amd and the best is yet to come!" Her tweet comes after WCCF Tech's Usman Pirzada stated in a report earlier that there was "a lot of chatter in the upper echelons of the company" that Su plans to move on from AMD and is eyeing the number two position at IBM (IBM). Reference Link

08:47 EDT Blue Apron says 'encouraged' by improvements in key customer metrics - Says: Serviceable market approaching $9B... Best opportunity for the company is the core direct to consumer business. Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call.

08:40 EDT Progenics says CMS grants NTAP for inpatient use of AZEDRA - Progenics Pharmaceuticals announced that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has approved a new technology add-on payment for AZEDRA when administered in the hospital inpatient setting for Medicare beneficiaries in FY2020. The NTAP program will provide qualifying Medicare hospital inpatient cases with a payment, in addition to the standard-of-care Diagnostic Related Group reimbursement, of up to 65% of the cost of AZEDRA for a period of two to three years, effective October 1, 2019. CMS has assigned a maximum payment of $98,150 for a patient treated with a dose of AZEDRA.

08:38 EDT Motorcar Parts launches brake caliper product line - Motorcar Parts of America announced the strategic expansion of its automotive aftermarket brake product offerings, with the introduction of brake calipers. "The launch of a brake caliper program complements our current braking system products and is consistent with our strategy to leverage our expanding manufacturing footprint by approximately 370,000 square feet in Tijuana, Mexico -- supported by the company's new state-of-the-art 410,000 square foot distribution facility. We have significant initial customer commitments representing approximately $30M for the remainder of the current fiscal year. We are attracting additional strong interest for this product, and look forward to fully ramping up production, growing this category, and reporting milestones as fiscal 2020 evolves," said Selwyn Joffe, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Motorcar Parts of America, Inc.

08:36 EDT Health Insurance Innovations launches online marketplace for life insurance - Health Insurance Innovations announced the launch of www.agilelifeinsurance.com, a new on-line marketplace where consumers can easily compare and purchase an array of affordable life insurance products. Agilelifeinsurance.com is built on the success of AgileHealthinsurance.com, the online health insurance marketplace operated by HealthPocket, an HIIQ company. Agilelifeinsurance.com will offer term life insurance policies as well as accidental death and dismemberment policies with rates beginning as low as $29.00 per month.

08:33 EDT SB One Bancorp director Branca buys over $100,000 of shares - SB One Bancorp director Richard Branca disclosed yesterday that he bought over $100,000 in company shares. Branca bought 4,400 shares at an average price of $22.82 per share on August 2. The total transaction value of the purchase was $100,408. The director now owns 70,084 shares of SB One Bancorp.

08:32 EDT Foundation Fighting Blindness selects Guardion's CSV-1000 for use in trial - Guardion Health Sciences announced that its standardized vision testing instrument, the CSV-1000, has been selected by the Foundation Fighting Blindness for inclusion in a large-scale multi-center long-term clinical trial, the PRO-EYS Study. This study is being conducted to evaluate vision loss and progression in patients with degenerative retinal disease. There are expected to be about 30 sites in the study, with each site having a dedicated CSV-1000 device. The CSV-1000 is manufactured by Guardion's VectorVision subsidiary.

08:31 EDT KushCo Holdings launches division to connect CBD network to retail chains - KushCo Holdings announced the creation of their new Retail Services division. The company says, "The new business unit will focus on providing comprehensive retail solutions, through strategic partnerships with best-in-class sales agencies, to leading CBD brands. KushCo's retail services division will focus on industry education and compliance, as well as building distribution networks of CBD brands across conventional retail channels. With Retail Services' experienced leadership optimizing growth opportunities, this division will expand the company's platform and fuse two industries that have historically operated independent of each other."

08:25 EDT Forty Seven announces $6M in funding from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society - Forty Seven announced additional funding commitments from The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, aimed at accelerating the development of 5F9 for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes. Forty Seven presented updated initial data from its Phase 1b clinical study of 5F9 in patients with MDS at the 2019 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL and 2019 European Hematology Association Annual Meeting in Amsterdam, Netherlands in June 2019, showing an overall response rate of 100% and a complete response rate of 55% among patients treated with 5F9 in combination with azacitidine. Forty Seven plans to initiate a single-arm, potentially registration-enabling trial in higher-risk MDS patients in the first quarter of 2020. If successful, this trial could support a Biologics Licensing Application filing with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the fourth quarter of 2021. LLS will fund Forty Seven's efforts in MDS through its Therapy Acceleration Program, a strategic initiative to partner directly with innovative biotechnology companies and leading research institutions to accelerate the development of promising new therapies for blood cancers. Under the collaboration, Forty Seven will use LLS TAP funding and leverage LLS value-added resources for 5F9 in MDS. Pursuant to this new LLS TAP funding, Forty Seven is eligible for up to $3 million in additional milestone payments from LLS upon the achievement of certain clinical or regulatory milestones. This funding is on top of the prior LLS TAP funding commitment of $4.2 million to progress 5F9 through clinical development. LLS also recently purchased $3 million of common stock in Forty Seven's follow-on public offering in July 2019. Together, the $10.2 million commitment would be the largest LLS TAP support for a company and its asset, if all milestones are achieved.

08:23 EDT Schmitt Industries' Xact partners with Tank Utility for gauge readers - Schmitt Industries announced its Xact Tank Monitoring Solutions business line has partnered with Tank Utility to offer Xact gauge readers to Tank Utility customers. Through this strategic partnership, Xact and Tank Utility can offer an industry-leading package of tank monitoring products and related monitoring services to the delivered fuels market, regardless of where customers' tanks are located. Tank Utility's leading edge cellular technologies will cover customer needs wherever reliable cellular connections are available and Xact's industry leading satellite-based solutions will fill in the coverage gaps with dependable service.

08:19 EDT SCWorx signs three-year agreement with medical-surgical distributor - SCWorx Corp. announced the signing of a three-year agreement with a leading medical-surgical distributor, which will deliver approximately $100,000 per month in additional revenue, with plans for potential further increases over time. The customer has a long prior history with SCWorx under an existing sales and marketing agreement and will be utilizing SCWorx's data management solutions to aid in its mission critical implementations. Concurrently, the company announced the imminent launch of its proprietary "closed loop" applications with the introduction of its initial product ScanWorx, designed to significantly reduce the manual labor involved in documenting cases in hospital procedural areas, while simultaneously providing accurate information for use in patient billing systems. The product has been in beta testing for several months and the company anticipates an early third quarter of 2019 launch. The product is expected to begin contributing revenue growth shortly after its launch.

08:17 EDT Zebra Technologies renews partnership with the NFL - Zebra Technologies announced the renewal of its partnership with the NFL, extending Zebra's role as the league's official on-field player-tracking provider through the 2021 season. This extension builds on the past five seasons during which Zebra has worked with the NFL to implement a player and ball tracking system, helping to launch next gen stats. Zebra captures data for the NFL by attaching RFID tags in player equipment and the football, transmitting real-time location data to receivers positioned around the stadium. The Zebra MotionWorks sport tracking system captures metrics such as player speed, distance traveled, orientation and proximity, and acceleration/deceleration. This information is then utilized by the NFL to calculate vast amounts of information about every player for every play. The data helps to convey details about individual and team performances, as well as season-long trends.

08:14 EDT Zynerba announces publication of Zygel 12-week open label data - Zynerba Pharmaceuticals announced the publication of data from the Phase 2 FAB-C clinical trial. This trial evaluated ZYN002 cannabidiol gel in pediatric and adolescent patients with Fragile X syndrome. The results of the trial have been published in a paper entitled, 'A Phase 1/2, Open Label Assessment of the Safety, Tolerability, and Efficacy of Transdermal Cannabidiol for the Treatment of Pediatric Fragile X Syndrome' in the August 2nd online edition of Journal of Neurodevelopmental Disorders. In summary, the authors suggest that the results from this open-label trial indicate that ZYN002 may be an effective treatment for many behavioral and emotional symptoms associated with FXS although the study's findings are limited by the open label design and small sample size. Given the lack of medications approved for the treatment of FXS, these open-label study findings highlight the urgent need for randomized, controlled, clinical trials to further assess the safety and efficacy of ZYN002 for FXS symptoms ranging from social avoidance, irritability, social unresponsiveness/lethargy and stereotypy, to anxiety. To that end, enrollment is ongoing in CONNECT-FX, a multi-national, randomized, double blind placebo controlled pivotal clinical trial of Zygel in FXS. The FAB-C study enrolled 20 male and female pediatric patients with FXS, six through 17 years of age at screening, with a diagnosis of FXS confirmed through molecular documentation of FMR1 full mutation. Eligible patients were provided 12 weeks of ZYN002 as an adjunct to their existing treatments at three dose levels: once daily 50 mg dose, twice daily 50 mg dose, or twice daily 125 mg dose. During the six-week titration period, patients could be titrated up to 250 mg daily. Safety and tolerability were assessed bi-weekly through physical/neurological exam, vital sign collection, 12-lead electrocardiograms, a Modified Suicidality Checklist, safety laboratory tests, pregnancy tests, urinalysis, and monitoring for adverse event. In addition, several measures assessing mood, behavior, and functioning were selected, including the Anxiety, Depression, and Mood Scale, the Aberrant Behavior Checklist - Community for FXS, the Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale, the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory, three Visual Analogue Scales, and the Clinical Global Impression Scale - Severity and Improvement. Results from the efficacy analyses all converge to suggest a pattern of clinical improvement in a range of key parent and clinician rated emotional and behavioral symptoms of FXS: Patients experienced significant 12-week improvement over baseline scores for the majority of study efficacy endpoints, including the change from screening to Week 12 in the ADAMS Total score, 4 out of the 5 ADAMS subscale scores, the six subscales of the ABC-CFXS, PARS-R, PedsQL, VAS, and CGI-I; The greatest emotional improvement following treatment was observed for Anxiety, while behavioral improvements were most pronounced in the domains of Social Avoidance and Stereotypy, Importantly, observed improvements were generally greater than those demonstrated for placebo in prior controlled clinical trials in FXS; and Across assessments, there was consensus in improvement in both internalizing and externalizing symptoms over the course of treatment. ZYN002 was well tolerated in this study: The majority of AEs were mild in severity and resolved by the end of the 12-week treatment period with no dose adjustment; No serious adverse events (SAEs) were reported; There were no clinically meaningful trends in laboratory values, except for an increase in eosinophil count at Day 83 by a patient reporting an AE of moderate rash. A repeat blood collection done one month later on this patient showed a decreased but slightly above normal eosinophil count; and There were no clinically significant changes in liver function tests.

08:10 EDT Daxor announces acquisition of BVA-100 blood volume analyzer - Daxor Corporation announces the acquisition of Daxor's BVA-100 blood volume analyzer as part of standard clinical practice in a leading academic health center in the Pacific Northwest following a successful evaluation trial.

08:09 EDT PriceSmart acquires approximately 227,000 square feet of land in Costa Rica - PriceSmart announced that on July 31 it acquired approximately 227,000 square feet of land in Costa Rica, upon which the Company plans to open its 46th warehouse club. This club will be located within the city of Liberia, Costa Rica, which is situated in the northwestern part of Costa Rica and is approximately three hours from the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. This club will be PriceSmart's eighth warehouse club in Costa Rica and will be built as a small-club format in this secondary city. This club is expected to open in approximately the summer of 2020.

08:08 EDT Cision, Edelman announce exclusive agency partnership - Edelman and Cision announced an exclusive agency partnership that combines Cision's industry-leading communications technology with Edelman's new suite of Performance Communications services. Specifically, the partnership enhances Edelman's earned channel planning, and advances its advocacy and sales growth attribution services. Edelman is also introducing a first-of-its-kind integration of earned audiences with performance and account-based marketing.

08:06 EDT Aspen Group announces Q1 new student enrollments 1,929 - Aspen Group announced a company record 1,929 new student enrollments for the fiscal 2020 first quarter, a 24% sequential enrollment increase and an increase of 46% year-over-year. Moreover, this quarterly enrollment record was accomplished in the seasonally weakest (summer) fiscal first quarter ending July 31, 2019. Aspen University accounted for 1,415 new student enrollments, delivering overall enrollment growth at Aspen University of 29% year-over-year. Enrollment growth at Aspen University was highlighted by the Doctoral unit increasing by 68% and the Pre-Licensure BSN unit increasing by 197% year-over-year. Enrollment efforts remained focused on the highest expected return businesses as management increased the number of enrollment advisors dedicated to Aspen's Doctoral and Pre-Licensure units during the quarter. In addition, our Aspen Nursing + Other Unit experienced an increase in the number of enrollments per EA and cost per enrollment declined. As a result of this increased efficiency, Aspen's Nursing + Other unit grew enrollments by 7% year-over-year. United States University accounted for 514 new student enrollments, a 133% enrollment increase year-over-year.

08:04 EDT Aeglea BioTherapeutics expects capital to fund operations through 1Q21 - Based on Aeglea's current operating plan, management believes it has sufficient capital resources to fund anticipated operations through the first quarter of 2021.

08:00 EDT T2 Biosystems announces CMS approval for NTAP for T2Bacteria Panel - T2 Biosystems announced that the United States Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services granted approval for a New Technology Add-on Payment for the T2Bacteria Panel for FY 2020. With this designation, hospitals in the United States treating Medicare inpatients with sepsis will now be eligible for a NTAP, in addition to the standard payment amount. In the final rule, CMS determined a maximum NTAP amount of $97.50 for the T2Bacteria Panel in addition to the diagnosis-related group-based reimbursement that hospitals receive under the Medicare Hospital Inpatient Prospective Payment System . Hospitals will be eligible for the NTAP for any in-patient T2Bacteria Panel tests performed on Medicare patients beginning October 1, 2019. The maximum NTAP reimbursement for a qualifying case involving the use of the T2Bacteria Panel is $97.50, in addition to standard hospital payment under the appropriate sepsis MS-DRG codes. There are more than 30 million Medicare patients in the United States enrolled in Medicare fee-for-service.

07:57 EDT Wave Life Sciences appoints Mark Baldry as CCO - Wave Life Sciences (WVE) announced the appointment of Mark Baldry as Chief Commercial Officer. In this newly created position, Mr. Baldry will build and oversee Wave's global commercial strategy and organization, including its sales, marketing and market access and reimbursement teams. Initially, he will focus on the launch planning for suvodirsen, the company's investigational stereopure oligonucleotide intended for boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy who are amenable to exon 51 skipping. Most recently, Baldry served as Senior Vice President, Global Marketing & Commercial Operations at Amicus Therapeutics (FOLD).

07:54 EDT Evelo Biosciences reports EDP1815 interim data from ongoing Phase 1b trial - Evelo Biosciences announced positive interim clinical data from the first cohort of patients with mild to moderate psoriasis from its ongoing Phase 1b trial of EDP1815, its clinical candidate for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. EDP1815 was well tolerated with no overall difference reported from placebo. 12 patients with mild to moderate psoriasis were randomized 2:1 to receive daily, oral administration of 550mg of EDP1815, or placebo, for 28 days. The primary endpoint was safety and tolerability. Secondary and exploratory endpoints included lesion severity score (LSS), a measure of clinical activity, cellular histological biomarkers and blood immune cell biomarkers taken from biopsies and blood samples, respectively, at the start and end of the 28-day dosing period. Patients dosed daily for 28 days with 550mg of the enteric capsule formulation of EDP1815 showed a statistically significant reduction in mean LSS at 28 days of 2 points, compared to a mean increase of 0.25 points in patients who received placebo. Data from patients dosed with EDP1815 showed a reduction in LSS over the dosing period ranging from 0 to 67 percent. LSS, a secondary endpoint, is a component of the Psoriasis Area and Severity Index score and measures redness, thickness, and scaling of an individual psoriatic lesion across the dosing period and is a sensitive clinical measure for patients with mild to moderate disease. Analysis of the change over the dosing period of the basal epithelium mitotic count, a secondary endpoint and a cellular driver of psoriasis pathology, showed a mean reduction of 2.25 cells/mm2 in patients who received EDP1815 compared to no change in patients receiving placebo. Lower basal epithelium mitotic counts indicate a reduction of psoriasis pathology. In an analysis of blood immune cell cytokine production following stimulation with lipopolysaccharide, an exploratory endpoint, the EDP1815 dosed patient group showed a reduction in cytokine production indicative of a systemic anti-inflammatory response, compared to no reduction in the placebo group. Evelo plans to advance EDP1815 into Phase 2 in early 2020. This trial will investigate daily dosing of EDP1815 in mild to moderate psoriasis patients over 24 weeks. Multiple doses and formulations of EDP1815 will be investigated.

07:46 EDT Aquinox Pharmaceuticals, Neoleukin Therapeutics enter merger agreement - Aquinox Pharmaceuticals and Neoleukin Therapeutics announced that the two companies entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Aquinox agreed to the acquisition of Neoleukin, which is expected to close on or about August 8th, 2019. Pursuant to the merger agreement, Aquinox will acquire all of the outstanding capital stock of Neoleukin in exchange for a combination of common and preferred shares. In connection with the merger, Aquinox will be renamed as Neoleukin Therapeutics, Inc., and is expected to trade on the Nasdaq Global Market under the new ticker symbol "NLTX", concurrent with closing. The combined company will focus on the development and commercialization of computationally-designed protein therapeutics to address significant unmet medical needs in immuno-oncology, inflammation, and autoimmunity. Neoleukin's lead product candidate, NL-201, is a de novo protein designed to mimic the therapeutic activity of the cytokines interleukin-2 and interleukin-15 for the treatment of various types of cancer by activating both T-cells and NK-cells to fight cancer, while limiting toxicity with minimal loss of activity. Pursuant to the merger agreement, Aquinox will acquire all of the outstanding capital stock of Neoleukin in exchange for the issuance of 4,589,787 newly issued shares of Aquinox common stock, which represented approximately 19.5% of the voting power of Aquinox as of immediately prior to the issuance of such shares, and shares of Aquinox convertible preferred stock convertible into a total of 10,194,838 shares of Aquinox common stock upon receipt of the required approval of the Aquinox stockholders under Nasdaq rules. Following completion of the merger and on an as-converted basis, the former Aquinox stockholders will own approximately 61.42% of the combined company's capital stock and the former Neoleukin stockholders will own 38.58% of the combined company's capital stock. The shares of convertible preferred stock are not tradeable by the holders of the shares. In connection with the merger, Aquinox will be renamed as Neoleukin Therapeutics, Inc. and is expected to trade on the Nasdaq under the new ticker symbol NLTX at the time of closing, on or about August 8th, 2019, subject to customary legal and regulatory clearances and procedures. The corporate headquarters for the combined company will be located in Seattle, Washington at Neoleukin's existing facility. Effective as of the closing of the transaction, Jonathan G. Drachman, M.D. will be the President and Chief Executive Officer of the combined company with Kamran Alam continuing as the interim Chief Financial Officer. Senior leadership of the combined company will also include Daniel Silva, Ph.D. as VP, Head of Research; Umut Ulge, M.D., Ph.D. as VP, Translational Medicine; and Carl Walkey, Ph.D. as VP, Corporate Development. In connection with the merger, David J. Main, President and Chief Executive Officer of Aquinox, will be stepping down. Additionally, effective as of the closing of the transaction, Gary Bridger, Ph.D., Daniel Levitt, M.D., Ph.D., Richard S. Levy, M.D., David J. Main, Kevin Neu, M.D., and Robert E. Pelzer will resign from the Aquinox's board of directors and the board of directors of the combined company will be comprised of six directors: Todd Simpson and Sean Nolan will be continuing Board members and will be joined by Cantey Boyd, Managing Director at Baker Brothers Advisors; Jonathan G. Drachman, CEO, Neoleukin Therapeutics; Sarah B. Noonberg, former Chief Medical Officer at Nohla Therapeutics; and Lewis "Rusty" Williams, former CEO of FivePrime Therapeutics.

07:40 EDT BioXcel Therapeutics expects cash to fund operations through mid-2020 - As of June 30, 2019, cash and cash equivalents totaled approximately $30.0 million. BTI is well positioned to execute on key milestones with sufficient cash to fund operations through mid-2020.

07:37 EDT Canopy Rivers' Terrascend to acquire Ilera Healthcare - Canopy Rivers is pleased to announce its portfolio company, TerrAscend Corp., has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Ilera Healthcare, a vertically-integrated cannabis cultivator, processor, and dispensary operator in Pennsylvania. Ilera's state-of-the-art, fully integrated seed-to-sale operations adds to TerrAscend's growing global footprint, currently spanning multiple U.S. states, Canada and the European Union.

07:26 EDT Neon Therapeutics expects cash to fund requirements into June 2020 - Based on its current operating plan, Neon expects that its existing cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities will enable the Company to fund its anticipated operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into June 2020.

07:23 EDT BioCryst sees FY19 net operating cash $105M-$130M - BioCryst continues to expect net operating cash use to be in the range of $105 to $130 million, and its operating expenses to be in the range of $120 to $145 million. The company's operating expense range excludes equity-based compensation expense due to the difficulty in reliably projecting this expense, as it is impacted by the volatility and price of the company's stock, as well as by the vesting of the company's outstanding performance-based stock options. Although not in our operating expense guidance above, approximately $3.5 million of stock option expense will be recognized in the remaining two quarters of 2019 associated with the two tranches of performance-based options mentioned above.

07:21 EDT Internap says strategic intitatives review remains 'active'

07:19 EDT GreenSky announces intent to explore strategic alternatives

07:17 EDT TransDigm declares special cash dividend of $30.00 per share - The record date for the special dividend is August 16, and the payment date for the dividend is August 23.

07:16 EDT Arconic announces $200M accelerated share repurchase - Arconic announced that it has entered into an accelerated share repurchase, or ASR, agreement with Goldman Sachs to repurchase $200M of Arconic's common stock, pursuant to the share repurchase program previously authorized by the board. Under the ASR agreement, Arconic will receive initial delivery of approximately 6.8M shares on August 8. The final number of shares to be repurchased will be based on the volume-weighted average price of Arconic's common stock during the term of the transaction, less a discount. The ASR agreement is expected to be completed during the second half of 2019. After giving effect to the share repurchase under the ASR agreement, $400M remains available under the prior authorization by the board for share repurchases.

07:15 EDT Vonage to acquire certain assets of Over.ai - Vonage announced that it will acquire certain assets from Over.ai, a Tel Aviv-based Voice and Conversational AI provider for enterprise communications. Vonage is acquiring Over.ai's technical team and intellectual property from i.am+, an AI technology platform co-founded and co-owned by musician will.i.am. With this talent acquisition, Vonage gains significant technology talent and expertise in conversational-related AI. Over.ai's product and engineering team of 23 will join Vonage's R&D technology hub in Tel Aviv, expanding Vonage's Tel Aviv R&D team to more than 100 high-tech professionals.

07:07 EDT Blue Apron sees returning to y/y quarterly customer, revenue growth in 2H20

07:04 EDT Del Frisco's reports total comparable restaurant sales up 0.5%

06:59 EDT Emerson lowers FY19 operating cash flow view to ~$3.1B from ~$3.2B - Backs FY19 free cash flow ~$2.5B.

06:52 EDT Rockwell Medical: FDA accepts NDA for I.V. TRIFERIC - Rockwell Medical announced that the U.S. FDA has accepted for filing the company's New Drug Application for its Intravenous formulation of TRIFERIC with a PDUFA date of March 28, 2020.

06:48 EDT US Foods reports Q2 adjusted EBITDA increased 6.7% to $320M

06:47 EDT US Foods reports Q2 total case volume increased 1.7% - Reports independent restaurant case volume increased 4.8%.

06:46 EDT US Foods backs FY19 guidance - The company is reiterating its previously provided full year fiscal 2019 guidance. The company expects the acquisition of Services Group of America's Food Group of Companies to close in September.

06:39 EDT Tenneco confirms DRiV spinoff expected mid-2020 - Tenneco confirmed its targeted timing for the separation of the business into two standalone companies, and expects the DRiV spinoff to occur mid-2020. "Management remains focused and committed to the separation of the businesses."

06:31 EDT Aramark board authorizes share repurchase program of $200M through 2022

06:23 EDT Pattern Energy acquires interest in two wind facilities for $44M in aggregate - Pattern Energy acquired a 35% owned interest in the 100 MW North Kent Wind facility for approximately $26M. North Kent Wind, located in the Municipality of Chatham-Kent in Ontario, began commercial operation in February 2018. The facility utilizes 34 Siemens Gamesa 3.2 MW turbines and has more than 17 years of remaining PPA contract term with independent electricity system operator, or IESO, for 100% of its production. The project has a long-term non-recourse project debt facility of $169M, of which Pattern Energy's share is 35%. Pattern Energy also acquired a 22% owned interest in the 100 MW Belle River Wind facility for approximately $18M. Belle River Wind, located in the Town of Lakeshore, Ontario, began operation in September 2017. The facility utilizes 40 Siemens Gamesa 3.2 MW turbines and has more than 17 years of remaining PPA contract term with IESO for 100% of its production. The project has a long-term non-recourse project debt facility of $172M, of which Pattern Energy's share is 22%.

06:14 EDT Care.com CEO Sheila Lirio Marcelo to become Executive Chairwoman - Founder, Chairwoman and CEO Sheila Lirio Marcelo of Care.com, announced on behalf of the company that she will assume the role of Executive Chairwoman of Care.com. A search will begin for a new CEO led by Lead Independent Director George Bell and Board Director Marla Blow, along with Marcelo. Marcelo will serve as CEO until a new CEO is named.

06:12 EDT Mallinckrodt suspends plans to spin off its Specialty Generics business - Mallinckrodt announced its long-standing goal remains to be an innovation-driven biopharmaceutical company focused on improving outcomes for underserved patients with severe and critical conditions. However, based on current market conditions and developments, including increasing uncertainties created by the opioid litigation, the company is suspending for now its previously announced plans to spin off the Specialty Generics company. Mallinckrodt continues to actively consider a range of options intended to lead to the ultimate separation of the Specialty Generics business, consistent with its previously stated strategy.

06:09 EDT AltiGen Communications acquires Workspace cloud customer base - Atigen Communications announced that it has acquired all of the rights to the customer relationships of WorkSpace Communications, LLC, a cloud provider of Microsoft Unified Communications and Modern Workplace solutions. The strategic purchase is part of Altigen's capital allocation strategy to drive its cloud growth. Under terms of the agreement, Altigen has acquired all of WorkSpace's right, title, and interest in, to and under its customer relationships. The transaction is valued at 1.6 times the annual revenues for each WorkSpace cloud customer transitioned to Altigen, which is expected to be accretive to Altigen's current revenue multiple and net income.

06:06 EDT Enable Midstream raises quarterly cash distribution to 33.05c per unit - To be paid Aug. 27 to unitholders of record at the close of business Aug. 20.

05:16 EDT Regeneron, Sanofi say Dupixent Phase 3 trial primary, secondary endpoints - Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) and Sanofi (SNY) announced that a pivotal Phase 3 trial evaluating Dupixent to treat severe atopic dermatitis in children aged 6 to 11 years met its primary and secondary endpoints. "Dupixent is the first and only biologic to show positive results in this pediatric atopic dermatitis population. In the U.S., Dupixent is currently approved in patients 12 years and older with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis, as well as moderate-to-severe asthma and adults with severe chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis." The topline data show that for children with severe atopic dermatitis, adding Dupixent to standard-of-care topical corticosteroids, or TCS, significantly improved measures of overall disease severity, skin clearing, itching and health-related quality of life, compared to TCS alone. In addition, the safety data were consistent with the previously documented safety profile of Dupixent in older populations, including a numerically lower rate of skin infections compared to placebo.