Stockwinners Market Radar for August 16, 2019 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

18:04 EDT Norwegian Cruise Line CEO sells 25K shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, Norwegian Cruise Line disclosed that its CEO of Norwegian Brand Andrew Stuart sold 25K shares of common stock on August 14th-16th. The total transaction size was $1.25M.

17:59 EDT Raytheon awarded $199.59M Navy contract for MK 15 CIWS - Raytheon has been awarded a $199.59M firm-fixed-price contract for MK 15 close-in weapon system, or CIWS, upgrades and conversions, system overhauls, and associated hardware. CIWS is a fast-reaction terminal defense against low- and high-flying, high-speed maneuvering anti-ship missile threats that have penetrated all other defenses. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $367.2M. Work is expected to be completed by October 2023. This contract combines purchases for the U.S. government; Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom under the foreign military sales, or FMS, program. FY19 operations and maintenance; FY19 other procurement; FY19 shipbuilding and conversion; FMS Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; FMS United Kingdom and FY19 weapons procurement funding in the amount of $199.59M will be obligated at time of award. Funds in the amount of $59.96M will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304. Raytheon is the only source that can provide the MK 15 CIWS to fulfill Navy, Army, Coast Guard and FMS requirements without unacceptable delays and substantial duplication of costs that cannot be recovered through competition. The Naval Sea Systems Command is the contracting activity.

17:52 EDT CSW Industrials CEO sells 25K shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, CSW Industrials disclosed that its CEO Joseph Armes sold 25K shares of common stock on August 15th-16th. The total transaction size was over $690K.

17:45 EDT El Paso Electric director Wertheimer sells 25K shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, El Paso Electric disclosed that its director Stephen Wertheimer sold 25K shares of common stock on August 16th. The total transaction size was $1.66M.

17:30 EDT Starboard lowers Perrigo stake to 5.0% from 6.7%

17:15 EDT Westlake Chemical raises quarterly dividend by 5% to 26.25c per share - The dividend will be payable on September 11, 2019, to stockholders of record on August 27, 2019.

17:10 EDT Strata Skin Sciences discloses Nasdaq filing delinquency notice - Strata Skin Sciences received written notification from Nasdaq on August 16, 2019, that, because the company has not yet filed either of its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2019 and June 30, 2019 or its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 with the SEC, the company does not comply with the continued listing requirements under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1). This notice from Nasdaq has no immediate effect on the listing of the company's common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market. The company has until August 30, 2019 to regain compliance.

16:54 EDT Ventas Chief Investment Officer sells 10K shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, Ventas disclosed that its Chief Investment Officer John Cobb sold 10K shares of common stock on August 15th. The total transaction size was $725.4K.

16:50 EDT Cardiovascular Systems presents LIBERTY 360 three-year outcomes data - Cardiovascular Systems presented three-year outcomes from its LIBERTY 360 degrees study in a late-breaking presentation at the Amputation Prevention Symposium, or AMP. LIBERTY 360 degrees is a prospective, observational, multi-center post-market study that enrolled over 1,200 patients at 51 sites across the United States, including 501 patients with claudication, 603 patients with critical limb ischemia and 100 patients with the most severe form of CLI. The study included any endovascular device FDA-cleared for treatment of PAD. Enrollment was completed in February 2016 and patients will be followed for up to five years. The presentation noted that CSI's orbital atherectomy system, or OAS, was the most frequently used atherectomy device in the study and that the OAS sub analysis of the LIBERTY data indicated high freedom from major amputation with no additional amputations reported after the two-year visit.

16:09 EDT Plus Therapeutics soars 270% after reporting Q2 earnings results - Shares of pharmaceutical company Plus Therapeutics rose over 270% in Friday trading after the company reported its second quarter financial results after the market close on Thursday. Q2 RESULTS: Plus Therapeutics reported a Q2 net loss per share from continuing operations of ($5.12), with an operating cash burn for the quarter of approximately $1.6M. The company ended Q2 with approximately $4.5M of cash and cash equivalents. LOOKING AHEAD: In the release, Plus Therapeutics said in the second half of the year it intends to submit a Phase 2 clinical trial protocol for its lead pipeline drug, DocePLUS, in Small Cell Lung Cancer patients with platinum-sensitive disease who progressed at least 60 days after initiation of first-line chemotherapy to the FDA. Furthermore, Plus Therapeutics is pursuing manufacturing and commercial partners for DocePLUS as well as partners for its DoxoPLUS product -- a generic, injectable PEGylated liposomal doxorubicin for multiple cancer types. PRICE ACTION: Shares of Plus Therapeutics rose $10.56, or more than 272%, to $14.44 in Friday trading.

15:48 EDT Husky Energy to resume full White Rose production, ramp up output to 20K boe/d - Following an extensive investigation, flow line repairs, integrity testing and approval of the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board, Husky Energy announced it will resume production from the remaining two drill centers shut in following the November 2018 oil spill offshore Newfoundland and Labrador. Husky will begin a restart and expects to reach full rates by early next week. Following the startup, Husky expects White Rose production to ramp up to about 20K barrels per day.

15:06 EDT SEC fines BMO Capital, Cantor Fitzgerald for mishandling of ADRs - The SEC announced that Cantor Fitzgerald will pay more than $647,000 and BMO Capital Markets (BMO) will pay over $3.9M to settle charges of improper handling of "pre-released" American Depositary Receipts. According to the SEC's orders, both Cantor and BMO obtained pre-released ADRs when they should have known that the pre-release transactions were not backed by foreign shares. The SEC orders find that both brokers improperly obtained pre-released ADRs indirectly from other broker-dealers, and the order as to Cantor Fitzgerald finds that the firm also improperly obtained pre-released ADRs directly from depositary banks. With respect to BMO Capital, the SEC's order finds that it "failed reasonably to supervise its securities lending desk personnel." Reference Link

14:01 EDT Google discloses acquisition of mobile learning app Socratic - Machine learning app Socratic was acquired by Google last year, Google said in a blog post. "We're releasing a new version of Socratic on iOS with more subjects and better help. An Android update is coming later this fall. We're super excited to continue building Socratic at Google." Reference Link

13:26 EDT MGE Energy raises quarterly dividend over 4% to 35.25c per share - The board of directors of MGE Energy increased the regular quarterly dividend rate over 4% to 35.25c per share on the outstanding shares of the company's common stock. The dividend is payable Sept. 15, 2019, to shareholders of record Sept. 1, 2019. This raises the annualized dividend rate by 6c from $1.35 per share to $1.41 per share.

13:03 EDT Baker Hughes reports U.S. rig count up 1 to 935 rigs - Baker Hughes reports that the U.S. rig count is up 1 rig from last week to 935, with oil rigs up 6 to 770, gas rigs down 4 to 165, and miscellaneous rigs down 1 to 0. The U.S. Rig Count is down 122 rigs from last year's count of 1,057, with oil rigs down 99, gas rigs down 21, and miscellaneous rigs down 2 to 0. The U.S. Offshore Rig Count is up 2 rigs to 27 and up 6 rigs year-over-year. The Canada Rig Count is up 2 rigs from last week to 142, with oil rigs up 7 to 101 and gas rigs down 5 to 41. The Canada Rig Count is down 70 rigs from last year's count of 212, with oil rigs down 40 and gas rigs down 30.

12:25 EDT FDA approves AbbVie rheumatoid arthritis treatment Rinvoq - The FDA posted on its website approval of AbbVie's Rinvoq, an oral, small molecule JAK1-selective inhibitor for moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis. Reference Link

12:00 EDT PagSeguro Digital rises 11.6% - PagSeguro Digital is up 11.6%, or $5.39 to $51.91.

12:00 EDT Cincinnati Bell rises 14.0% - Cincinnati Bell is up 14.0%, or 55c to $4.48.

11:19 EDT Medtronic announces expanded indication for Evolut TAVR system - Medtronic announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of the Evolut Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement, or TAVR, system for patients with symptomatic severe native aortic stenosis who are at a low risk of surgical mortality. The low-risk patient population is the final surgical risk category to be approved for this minimally invasive alternative to open-heart surgical valve replacement and includes patients who may be younger and more active than higher-risk patients, the company stated. With the approval, the Evolut TAVR platform is now indicated in the U.S. for symptomatic severe aortic stenosis patients across all risk categories - extreme, high, intermediate and low - Medtronic noted.

10:54 EDT Deere to continue to repurchase shares - Deere CFO Ryan Campbell said the company repurchased $400M of stock and will continue to buy when the company can create value for long-term holders. Campbell added that the company's cost savings plan will involve organizational efficiency, a footprint assessment, and an increased focus on investments with the most opportunity for differentiation are in support of the company's aspirations to achieve 15% structural operating profits by 2022. Comments provided during Q3 earnings conference call.

10:47 EDT Citron bought shares of General Electric on yesterday's selloff

10:45 EDT Citron calls GE fraud report 'worst that activist short selling has to offer'

10:38 EDT Celgene announces FDA approval of Inrebic - Celgene announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Inrebic for the treatment of adult patients with intermediate-2 or high-risk primary or secondary myelofibrosis. Inrebic has a Boxed Warning for serious and fatal encephalopathy, including Wernicke's. Serious encephalopathy was reported in 1.3% of patients treated with Inrebic in clinical trials and 0.16% of the cases were fatal. Wernicke's encephalopathy is a neurologic emergency resulting from thiamine deficiency.

10:15 EDT Celgene bone marrow cancer treatment approved by FDA - The FDA approved Celgene's (CELG) Inrebic for certain forms of bone marrow cancer. Reference Link

10:00 EDT Daily S&P Biotech Bear 3x Shares falls -5.3% - Daily S&P Biotech Bear 3x Shares is down -5.3%, or -$1.20 to $21.51.

10:00 EDT Dillard's falls -9.5% - Dillard's is down -9.5%, or -$5.37 to $51.22.

10:00 EDT Edenor rises 11.6% - Edenor is up 11.6%, or 86c to $8.29.

09:47 EDT TimkenSteel falls -5.4% - TimkenSteel is down -5.4%, or -31c to $5.42.

09:47 EDT Dillard's falls -11.7% - Dillard's is down -11.7%, or -$6.61 to $49.98.

09:47 EDT PagSeguro Digital rises 5.9% - PagSeguro Digital is up 5.9%, or $2.73 to $49.25.

09:37 EDT California Resources director Poladian buys 10K shares - In a regulatory filing last night, it was disclosed that California Resources director Avedick Baruyr Poladian bought 10,000 shares of company stock at an average price of $9.03 per share on August 15. The transaction had a value of $90,260.

09:26 EDT Horizon Global agrees to sell Asia-Pacific business segment for A$340 in cash - Horizon Global announced that the company has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Asia-Pacific business segment to Pacific Equity Partners for A$340M in cash, subject to customary closing adjustments. The company intends to use the proceeds from the sale to significantly reduce its debt and bolster its liquidity, allowing for additional financial flexibility. Upon completion of the sale and subsequent retirement of debt, Horizon Global intends to pursue a full or partial refinancing of its remaining secured debt. If successful, it is expected that this refinancing would close in Q4.

09:02 EDT Medtronic receives FDA approval to start trial evaluating infusion set - Medtronic announced that it received investigational approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to proceed with a pivotal trial for a new extended wear infusion set. The goal of the study will be to collect clinical data to support the use of the extended wear infusion set for up to seven days - more than twice the length of time that any infusion set can currently be used. The multi-center, non-randomized, prospective single arm study will enroll up to 150 subjects, aged 18 to 80, with type 1 diabetes on insulin pump therapy. Infusion sets allow people on insulin pump therapy to deliver insulin under the skin to maintain healthy blood glucose levels. Current generation infusion sets must be changed every two to three days. Using proprietary technology and developed in partnership with ConvaTec's Unomedical subsidiary, this new infusion set aims to extend patient wear time by using new adhesive technology as well as maintaining insulin stability. An extended wear infusion set could solve a key unmet need in insulin pump therapy by reducing the time and effort currently spent on changing infusion sets. When used with Medtronic insulin pump systems that include 7-day continuous glucose monitors, this new infusion set could allow coordination of changing of the infusion set and sensor at the same time, a feature that would address making insulin pump systems more convenient to use. In the trial, users of the MiniMed 670G system will wear each infusion set for up to seven days. The initiation of this trial follows Medtronic's receipt of an Investigational Device Exemption approval from the FDA.

08:42 EDT Novo Nordisk reports filing of securities lawsuit in Denmark against company - Novo Nordisk A/S has today been informed that a securities lawsuit has been filed against the company in Denmark, the company announced. The lawsuit is filed by a number of shareholders. The claim is for a total amount of DKK 11,785,192,218 based on their trading and holding of shares in Novo Nordisk A/S during the period 3 February 2015 to 2 February 2017. "The lawsuit alleges that Novo Nordisk made misleading statements and did not make appropriate disclosures regarding its sales of insulin products in the USA. The lawsuit appears to contain broadly similar allegations to those of the previously announced securities class-action lawsuit filed in the USA in 2017 on behalf of all purchasers of Novo Nordisk American Depository Receipts, or ADRs. Novo Nordisk disagrees with the allegations and is prepared to defend the company in this matter," the company stated.

08:35 EDT Blucora establishes 10b5-1 trading plan to assist in share repurchases - Blucora announced that it has recently completed its first repurchases of common shares under its $100M share repurchase authorization. Blucora repurchased approximately 272,000 shares of its common shares at an average price of approximately $23.13 per share. The purchases were made under the authorization that was approved by the Board of Directors on March 19, 2019. In addition, the company announced the establishment of a 10b5-1 trading plan to assist the company in repurchasing additional shares under the repurchase program. Repurchases under the plan may begin on September 15, 2019 and may continue until December 31, 2019. Any repurchases made under the plan are subject to Securities and Exchange Commission regulations, as well as certain price, volume, and timing considerations specified in the plan.

08:33 EDT Kitov Pharmaceuticals says amendment to FameWave acquisition deal signed - Kitov Pharma announced that an amendment to the FameWave acquisition deal was signed. According to the amendment, the parties agreed that all major closing conditions have been met other than finalizing the tax ruling for the sellers and the issuance and exchange of shares in the companies. Importantly, the amendment facilitates the advance of activities in the development of the oncology asset CM-24, including the preparation for a Phase 1/2 clinical trial in patients with non-small cell lung cancer in collaboration with Bristol Myers Squibb, BMS. CM-24 is a monoclonal antibody antagonist of CEACAM1, a novel immune checkpoint that supports tumor immune evasion and survival through multiple pathways.

08:31 EDT Avrobio appoints Georgette Verdin as Chief Human Resources Officer - Avrobio announced the appointment of Georgette Verdin as Chief Human Resources Officer. Verdin will be responsible for all aspects of human resources, including talent management and organizational development, and will be a key contributor to the company's plans for continued growth. Verdin joins Avrobio from the Novartis Institutes of Biomedical Research in Cambridge MA.

08:17 EDT Metso announces change in holding by BlackRock - Metso Corporation (MXCYY) has received a notification, pursuant to Chapter 9, Section 5 and 6 of the Finnish Securities Markets Act, about a change in the holding of mutual funds managed by BlackRock (BLK) of the total amount of shares and financial instruments entitling to shares of Metso. On August 15, 2019, BlackRock, Inc.'s holding in Metso shares and in financial instruments entitling to shares exceeded the 5% threshold. BlackRock, Inc. had 7,334,548 shares or 4.87% of total shares and votes. Its holding through financial instruments amounted to 225,725 shares, which corresponds to 0.15% of the total amount of Metso's shares. On August 15, 2019, BlackRock, Inc.'s total position in Metso amounted to 7,560,273 or 5.02% of Metso's shares and votes. Metso's total number of shares and votes is 150,348,256.

07:56 EDT GE up 4.5% to $8.37 in premarket trading after yesterday's selloff

07:46 EDT Izea announces $1.1M in contract wins - IZEA Worldwide announced that it has secured a significant managed services contract to promote an international fashion brand. In addition, the company was awarded its first ever contract to promote a Fortune 100 consumer packaged goods company, as well as a variety of contracts from both SaaS and Managed Services customers. In total, the company secured SaaS Licensing and Managed Services bookings of approximately $1.1M, within the 2nd full calendar week of August.

07:34 EDT T2 Biosystems in pact to bring 'rapid diagnostic' tech to Australia, Fiji - T2 Biosystems announced that it entered into an exclusive distribution agreement that allows the company to introduce its rapid diagnostic technologies, including the T2Bacteria and T2Candida Panels, and enter into new markets in Australia, Fiji, and New Zealand. In aggregate, these countries have approximately 1,150 hospitals that could benefit from T2's products.T2 Biosystems' products are now available in 35 countries outside of the United States, in addition to a direct commercial team in the United Kingdom."This latest geographic expansion represents another step forward in our fight against sepsis and the negative consequences associated with it, including high mortality rates, rising hospital expenses, and growing antimicrobial resistance," said John McDonough, chairman and chief executive officer at T2 Biosystems. "Through rapid detection of sepsis-causing pathogens in the bloodstream, the T2Bacteria Panel and T2Candida Panel have the potential to help clinicians make earlier and better informed therapy decisions that enable changes in patient outcomes. I look forward to seeing the impact our products can have on more people across the globe as a result of this new distribution agreement."

07:03 EDT Nabriva Therapeutics to resubmit NDA for intravenous CONTEPO in Q4 - Nabriva Therapeutics announced that following its receipt of final Type A Meeting minutes from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration it anticipates resubmitting its New Drug Application seeking marketing approval of CONTEPO for injection for the treatment of complicated urinary tract infections, including acute pyelonephritis early in the fourth quarter of 2019. The Type A meeting was conducted to obtain clarity on the Complete Response Letter issued by the FDA in April 2019 in response to the NDA and related to facility inspections and manufacturing deficiencies at one of Nabriva's contract manufacturers. Nabriva Therapeutics, along with one of its contract manufacturers, are collaborating to address the issues raised in the CRL based on the feedback from the FDA at the Type A meeting and the meeting minutes. We believe that sufficient corrective actions will be implemented to allow for a resubmission of the NDA. The FDA has not requested any new clinical or non-clinical data, and they did not raise any concerns with regard to the safety or efficacy of CONTEPO at the Type A meeting or in the FDA meeting minutes. Additionally, according to the FDA meeting minutes, the resubmission will be designated as "Class 2," requiring the FDA to review the resubmission within 6 months of the receipt date. CONTEPO's exclusivity is based on the combination of Hatch-Waxman and Qualified Infectious Disease Product designation which begins upon approval by the FDA and continues for eight years in total.

06:57 EDT Deere down 3.3% after reporting Q3 results

06:17 EDT Seadrill joint venture in $656M Qatar rig contract - Seadrill and GDI said on Thursday that they have entered into a 50:50 joint venture, GulfDrill, which will initially manage and operate five premium jackups in Qatar with Qatar Petroleum commencing throughout 2020. The five firm well based contracts will have staggered commencements throughout 2020 with initial terms concluding in 2023 & 2024 respectively. The total contract value is expected to be $656M. Each contract has five single well options which could add up to an estimated 13.7 cumulative years of term and an additional contract value of $700M. GulfDrill will initially bareboat charter the West Telesto and West Castor from Seadrill and has secured bareboat charters for three additional units from a third-party shipyard. Anton Dibowitz, CEO, commented: "We are excited to establish a significant presence in an important Jackup market and to partner with GDI. GulfDrill will give us the opportunity to improve our access to a market that is expected to show significant growth over the next years and strengthen our relationship with Qatar Petroleum."

06:05 EDT Coinbase Custody acquires Xapo's institutional business - Coinbase announced in a blog post that Coinbase Custody has completed an acquisition of Xapo's institutional businesses. "This acquisition caps off a tremendous period of growth and innovation for Coinbase Custody. In just over one year since launch, Coinbase Custody has grown to over $7B in Assets Under Custody stored on behalf of more than 120 clients in 14 different countries, making it the largest, most globally recognized and most trusted institutional custodian in the world. From the start, our goal has been to build the trusted foundation for institutional investment in Bitcoin and crypto assets in general. We're thrilled to help enable some of the tremendous demand for this emerging asset class." Reference Link

05:24 EDT SAExploration down 35.7% after announcing SEC probe

05:18 EDT SAExploration announces SEC probe, restatement of historical results - SAExploration announced that the SEC is conducting an investigation of the company relating to certain accounting matters that arose in 2015-2016. The company has been cooperating, and will continue to cooperate, in good faith with the SEC and has retained legal counsel and an accounting advisor to assist the company with respect to this matter. The company's board has established a Special Committee of independent directors to oversee the company's own internal investigation and response to the SEC. The company will restate its previously issued financial statements for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2015 - 2018 and for the quarters starting ended June 30, 2015 - March 31, 2019 and, as a result, will delay filing its 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30. As a result, the financial statements for the Non-Reliance Period should no longer be relied upon. The board's decision to restate these financial statements arose from the company's re-evaluation of its relationship with Alaska Seismic Ventures, or ASV. The company has determined that ASV was a variable interest entity and that the company had a controlling financial interest in ASV that required it to consolidate ASV during the Non-Reliance Periods in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. As a result of the above, the company has determined that a material weakness exists in the company's internal control over financial reporting and that disclosure controls and procedures were ineffective during the Non-Reliance Periods. Accordingly, the company will amend any disclosures pertaining to its evaluation of such controls and procedures as appropriate in connection with the restated filings. ASV is a data library company and the company performed seismic services for ASV in 2015 and 2016. The need for restatement does not arise from SAE's current operating activities. The company's Audit Committee has discussed the foregoing matters with Pannell Kerr Forster of Texas, P.C., the company's independent registered public accounting firm, who supports the company's determination. In connection with the restatement, the company is in discussions with holders of a majority of its outstanding debt, as to whether or not there are defaults under the debt agreements, with the goal of agreeing to a path forward in a way that is constructive for the company, its shareholders and employees, and the debt holders.