Stockwinners Market Radar for October 10, 2019 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

19:00 EDT SAP CEO Bill McDermott to step down - SAP announced that Bill McDermott has decided not to renew his contract and is stepping down from his position as chief executive officer. In activating the company's long-term succession plan, SAP Executive Board Members Jennifer Morgan and Christian Klein have been appointed co-chief executive officers, effective immediately, with the approval of the Supervisory Board of SAP SE. McDermott will remain in an advisory capacity until the end of the year to ensure a smooth transition. McDermott joined SAP in 2002.

18:16 EDT Therapix Biosciences provides update on merger with Destiny Biosciences - Therapix Biosciences announced an update on its planned merger with Destiny Biosciences. The company expects to execute a definitive agreement pertaining to the merger during Q3. According to the Letter of Intent, the parties agreed to allow until October 31 to complete the definitive agreement before abandoning the transaction. The company's board is willing to provide Destiny with additional time to complete its due diligence process. In addition, Destiny has retained an investment bank to carry out a relative valuation analysis of both companies to assist the Destiny Board of Directors in connection with the merger. Destiny informed the company that the valuations are being completed, but initial draft results of the valuations support the transaction and the relative pricing.

17:52 EDT Synthesis Energy Systems to acquire Australian Future Energy for $36M - Synthesis Energy Systems announced that it has signed a definitive Merger Agreement, whereby Australian Future Energy Pty Ltd, a private company incorporated in Brisbane, Australia in 2014, will merge with a wholly owned subsidiary of SES. As a result of the transaction, AFE will become a wholly owned subsidiary of SES. SES currently holds approximately 35% of the issued capital of AFE. Upon closing and subject to the terms and conditions of the Merger Agreement, SES will issue 3,875,000 new shares of SES common stock for the acquisition of AFE. Each holder of AFE ordinary shares will receive one share of SES's common stock for approximately each 24.44 ordinary shares of AFE. The current other major shareholders of AFE, representing approximately 90% of the current issued capital of AFE, have formally pre-committed their shares in support of the merger transaction. The mutually agreed purchase value of AFE is approximately $36M, based on $6 per share of SES common stock to be issued. In connection with entry into the Merger Agreement, SES also announces that it has offered to acquire 100% of the issued capital of Batchfire Resources Pty Ltd, owner of the Callide Mine in Queensland, Australia, via the issuance and exchange of one share of SES common stock for each ten ordinary shares of Batchfire. SES has set a minimum participation level by Batchfire shareholders of 25% inclusive of SES's own 7.37% holding in Batchfire. Each participating Batchfire shareholder will enter into a Share Exchange Agreement with SES and, to date, SES has received signed Share Exchange Agreements from 33% of Batchfire shareholders, inclusive of SES Group's ownership, meeting the minimum participation level. The Batchfire share exchange is subject to conditions specified in the Share Exchange Agreements, including the completion of Batchfire's pre-emptive rights procedure and the consummation of the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement. The valuation basis for the offer to acquire Batchfire is based on $6 per each share of company common stock placing the value of 100% of Batchfire at approximately $80M. As part of the transaction, at merger closing, Kerry Parker, current CEO of AFE, will be appointed as President and Chief Executive Officer of SES, and Ron Higson, current COO of AFE, will be appointed as Chief Operating Officer of SES. An appointment of a new Chief Financial Officer for SES will be named at, or prior to, closing. Additionally, Edek Choros, Stephen Lonie, and Mr. Richard Barker will be appointed to the SES Board of Directors. Robert W. Rigdon, a long-time SES executive who has served as Deputy Chairman and Director of AFE since its inception and is the current Vice Chairman, President and CEO of SES, will remain on the board of SES. Once convened, the Board of Directors is expected to appoint one or more additional, independent directors. All other current directors of SES will resign their positions at merger closing.

17:45 EDT Northrop Grumman awarded on $986M Air Force contract - Northrop Grumman has been awarded on a combined ceiling $986M multiple-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, firm-fixed-price contract with a nine year ordering period. The contract seeks to capitalize on the emerging small launch providers while providing dedicated and primary launch services to the Department of Defense and other government agencies. The program allows for the rapid acquisition of launch services to meet mission requirements for payloads greater than 400 pounds, enabling launch to any orbit within 12-24 months from task order award. Work will be performed at the contractor facilities and a variety of government launch sites, depending on mission requirements. This award is the result of a competitive source acquisition and nine offers were received. FY19 space procurement funds in the amount of $50,000 are being obligated at time of award. The Space and Missile Systems Center is the contracting activity.

17:32 EDT Geron announces first patient has been dosed in IMerge Phase 3 clinical trial - Geron Corporation announced that the first patient has been dosed in the IMerge Phase 3 clinical trial to evaluate imetelstat, a first-in-class telomerase inhibitor, in lower risk myelodysplastic syndromes, or MDS. IMerge is a two-part Phase 2/3 clinical trial of imetelstat in transfusion dependent patients with lower risk MDS who are relapsed after or refractory to erythropoiesis-stimulating agents, or ESAs. The Phase 3 is planned to enroll approximately 170 patients in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial to test the hypothesis that imetelstat improves the rate of red blood cell transfusion independence, or TI. The primary endpoint is 8-week TI rate, which is defined as the proportion of patients achieving transfusion independence during any consecutive eight weeks since entry into the trial. Key secondary endpoints include the rate of transfusion independence lasting at least 24 weeks, or 24-week TI rate, durability of transfusion independence and the amount and relative change in transfusions. Based upon current planning assumptions, Geron expects top-line results for the IMerge Phase 3 clinical trial to be available by mid-year 2022.

17:17 EDT Tallgrass Energy says 'no change' to 'take private' proposal - There has been no change to the "take private" proposal received by TGE pursuant to the non-binding preliminary proposal letter, dated August 27, from Blackstone Infrastructure Partners, its partners and respective affiliates to acquire all of the outstanding Class A shares representing limited partner interests in TGE not already owned for $19.50 per Class A Share in cash. The proposal continues to be reviewed, evaluated and negotiated by members of an independent conflicts committee. While the committee process is ongoing, TGE plans to only provide business updates, and any further updates to the proposal, on its upcoming quarterly earnings call, unless earlier disclosure is required under applicable law.

17:12 EDT Slack Technologies up over 1% after saying it now has 12M DAUs - Shares of Slack Technologies are up 1.2% or 28c to $24.10 in after-hours trading on Thursday.

16:45 EDT Northwest Pipe awarded large steel pipe contract by Oscar Renda Contracting - Northwest Pipe Company was recently selected by Oscar Renda Contracting to supply pipe for Reach 4C through Reach 8 of the Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project. The Navajo-Gallup Water Supply Project is a multi-phased major infrastructure project underway in northwest New Mexico. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in conjunction with the Navajo Nation is constructing the project. Once complete, the project will convey reliable municipal and industrial water supply from the San Juan River to the eastern section of the Navajo Nation, the southwestern portion of the Jicarilla Apache Nation, and the City of Gallup. At build out, the project will encompass 280 miles of pipeline, several pumping plants, and two water treatment plants.

16:41 EDT Slack Technologies says it has more than 12M daily active users - Slack Technologies VP & General Manager of Platform, Brian Elliott, wrote in a blog post: "We're seeing a generational shift in how we collaborate at work. People are moving away from email and into channels, away from legacy suites of badly connected products and onto a new customizable platform that can more easily connect the tools they use to work. In September 2019, we exceeded 12 million people actively using Slack every day - up approximately 37% year over year. In addition, with more than 6 million paid seats, the number of engaged and active people who are relying on Slack continues to grow rapidly...DAUs get cited a lot, but what, really, is their significance? In our book, the "U" is what matters: Use! Engagement is what makes Slack work - you can't transform a workplace if people aren't actually using the product. And we love the people building apps and integrations on the Slack platform, because they help drive that engagement." Reference Link

16:35 EDT Chanticleer Holdings Inc trading resumes

16:33 EDT PolyOne increases quarterly dividend to 20.25c per share - PolyOne has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 20.25c per share on the common stock outstanding. The share will be paid on January 9, 2020 to stockholders of record on December 13, 2019. On an annualized basis, the dividend will increase from 78c to 81c per share on the common stock outstanding.

16:31 EDT Victory Capital reports AUM $145.8B on September 30

16:30 EDT Aclaris Therapeutics trading resumes

16:21 EDT Walmart names John Furner President & CEO of Walmart U.S. - Walmart announced that John Furner will become the President and CEO of Walmart U.S., following a successful five years for the business segment under Greg Foran. Furner will report directly to Walmart President and CEO Doug McMillon, and the move will be effective November 1. Foran, who is taking a role as CEO at Air New Zealand Limited, will stay on with Walmart through January 31 to ensure a smooth transition.

16:19 EDT Dover Fueling Solutions collaborates with ChargePoint over EV charging - Dover Fueling Solutions, a part of Dover that delivers advanced fuel dispensing equipment, electronic systems and payment, fleet systems, automatic tank gauging and wetstock management, is pleased to announce an agreement with ChargePoint to bring electric vehicle chargers to retail and commercial locations in North America. The collaboration will add DC fast chargers, Level 2 AC chargers and fleet chargers to DFS' product portfolio in North America. "As the transition to electric mobility continues to accelerate, partnerships with companies like DFS are key to expanding access to charging and enabling businesses across industries to be part of the build out of the future fueling network," said Scott Miller, Vice President of Global Sales Operations and Channel, ChargePoint. "As a leader in the industry, DFS is well positioned to play a significant role in the shift to electric mobility and we are confident that this collaboration will bring tremendous value to the fueling and convenience retail market in North America."

16:18 EDT Apple Hospitality REIT acquires boutique hotel in Richmond, Virginia - Apple Hospitality REIT announced the acquisition of a 55-room independent boutique hotel in Richmond, Virginia, for a purchase price of approximately $7M, or $125,000 per key.

16:16 EDT Sirius XM increases quarterly dividend 10% - SiriusXM announced that its board declared a quarterly cash dividend of 1.331c per share of common stock, reflecting an increase of 10% over the previous quarter's dividend. This regular quarterly dividend is payable in cash on November 29 to stockholders of record at the close of business on November 8.

16:10 EDT ExOne trading halted, news pending

16:05 EDT Aclaris Therapeutics divests Rhofade - Aclaris Therapeutics announced it has divested Rhofade cream, 1% and related intellectual property assets to EPI Health. The divestiture of Rhofade is a key component of Aclaris' recently announced strategic plan to refocus resources on the development of its immuno-inflammatory development programs. Aclaris and EPI Health have entered into a purchase agreement whereby Aclaris sold the worldwide rights to Rhofade, which includes the assignment of certain licenses for related intellectual property assets. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, EPI Health has agreed to pay Aclaris total cash consideration of up to $55M, consisting of an upfront payment of $35M and potential sales milestone payments of up to $20M in the aggregate upon the achievement of specified levels of net sales of products covered by the agreement. In addition, EPI Health has agreed to pay Aclaris, a specified high single-digit royalty calculated as a percentage of net sales, on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis, subject to specified reductions, limitations and adjustments and 25% of any upfront, license, milestone, maintenance or fixed payment received by EPI Health from a licensee or sublicensee in any territory outside of the United States, subject to specified exceptions. Concurrently with the closing of this transaction, Aclaris repaid in full its $30M term loan with Oxford Finance LLC. As a result of these changes, Aclaris anticipates that its current cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities on hand, including the upfront proceeds received from EPI Health, and the repayment of the outstanding term loan, will be sufficient to fund its operations into Q3 of 2021, without giving effect to any potential new business development transactions or financing activities.

16:04 EDT Hudson to acquire 34 Brookstone U.S. airport locations - Hudson Group announced it has signed an agreement to acquire assets related to the operation of Brookstone stores in U.S. airports from Apex Digital, Inc. Hudson has also obtained the right to be the exclusive airport retailer to operate Brookstone stores through a license agreement with Bluestar Alliance, LLC, owner of the Brookstone brand and trademarks. The agreement covers 34 airport stores, of which 30 are currently open and operating. Of these 34 stores, 33 stores are in airports where Hudson has existing operations.

16:03 EDT Immunic says enrollment complete in Phase 2 EMPhASIS trial of IMU-838 - Immunic announced that the final patient was enrolled and randomized today in the company's phase 2 EMPhASIS trial of IMU-838 for the treatment of relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Patient enrollment was completed well ahead of the original trial schedule. As previously announced, enrollment and randomization of the last patient had been expected during the first half of 2020.

16:02 EDT Five Prime announces restructuring, will cut 70 positions - Five Prime Therapeutics, Inc. announced a corporate restructuring to extend the company's cash runway without impacting or delaying the data timelines of its clinical programs. The company will retain a small research group focused on advancing three wholly-owned, late-stage research assets and will increasingly rely on outsourcing and contracted capabilities. The company will eliminate approximately 70 positions across all functions. Seventy percent of these positions will be eliminated by the end of 2019, with the remainder occurring in 2020. The company is also initiating activities to reduce its corporate facilities footprint by either subletting a significant portion of its leased space or subletting the entirety of its building and relocating to smaller facilities. The company believes these actions will improve its potential to bring value to patients, employees and shareholders. The company expects that the restructuring, planned facility expense reduction and other cost-saving efforts will result in approximately $20 million in annualized cost savings, extending the company's cash runway. Five Prime estimates that it will incur approximately $3 million of pre-tax charges for severance and other costs related to the restructuring, primarily in 2019. The company is reaffirming its financial guidance and anticipates ending 2019 with $148 to $153 million in cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities.

16:00 EDT Chanticleer Holdings Inc trading halted, news pending

16:00 EDT Five Prime trading halted, news pending

15:03 EDT Eaton Vance raises quarterly dividend 7.1% - The board of Eaton Vance declared a quarterly dividend of 37.5c per share on its common stock. The new quarterly rate represents an increase of 7.1% over the 35c per share declared in each of the company's last four fiscal quarters. The dividend is payable November 15 to shareholders of record on October 31.

14:33 EDT Aerpio announces trial data for primary open angle glaucoma treatment - Aerpio Pharmaceuticals announced interim results from its Phase 1b clinical trial of a topical ocular formulation of AKB-9778 in development as a potential treatment for primary open angle glaucoma,POAG. "We are encouraged by the early safety findings and potential efficacy signal of this ongoing Phase 1b trial," said Kevin Peters, M.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Aerpio Pharmaceuticals. "The conventional outflow tract is responsible for the majority of fluid drainage from the front of the eye, which is critical for maintaining normal IOP and is often the site of pathology implicated in the increased IOP in patients suffering from POAG. Recent mouse and human genetic data establish a key role for the Tie2 pathway in the development and maintenance of Schlemm's canal, a key component of the conventional outflow tract. AKB-9778, a potent small molecule Tie2 activator, has shown IOP lowering effects after subcutaneous administration in two sequential Phase 2 studies in patients with diabetic retinopathy and normal IOP. We now look forward further to evaluating AKB-9778's safety and activity on IOP in patients with ocular hypertension and POAG."

13:52 EDT CDC raises estimate of lung injury cases associated with vaping to 1,299 - The CDC announced the updated number of confirmed and probable lung injury cases and deaths associated with e-cigarette product use, or vaping. As of October 8, 2019, 1,299 lung injury cases associated with the use of e-cigarette, or vaping, products have been reported to CDC from 49 states, the District of Columbia, and 1 U.S. territory. Twenty-six deaths have been confirmed in 21 states, the CDC added. The CDC had previously said that as of October 1, 1,080 confirmed and probable lung injury cases associated with e-cigarette product use, or vaping, were reported by 48 states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Fly notes that Altria (MO) has a 35% stake in Juul. Other publicly traded companies in the tobacco space include British American Tobacco (BTI), Imperial Brands (IMBBY) and Philip Morris (PM). Reference Link

13:47 EDT PG&E says power restored to about 126,000 customers by 6am Thursday - On Thursday morning, October 10, Pacific Gas and Electric Company reported that improving weather conditions in some parts of the areas affected by the Public Safety Power Shutoff have allowed for safety inspections, repairs and restoration in some areas to begin. Approximately 126,000 customers were restored by 6 a.m. Thursday. There are still currently approximately 600,000 customers without power as a result of the PSPS event, which began on early Wednesday. There were no reported fires related to PG&E equipment in the PSPS impact zone. "We faced a choice between hardship or safety, and we chose safety. We deeply apologize for the inconvenience and the hardship, but we stand by the decision because the safety of our customers and communities must come first," said Michael Lewis, Senior Vice President, Electric Operations.

13:10 EDT Merck granted orphan status for Keytruda in carcinoma - The FDA granted Merck orphan status for Keytruda as a treatment of biliary tract carcinoma. Reference Link

13:02 EDT Evergy announces solar energy agreement with The City of West Plains - The City of West Plains, Mo., will partner with Evergy to provide solar power to the community. Evergy will build a new solar array in West Plains that will generate 9.6 megawatts of energy, enough to power 1,200 homes.

12:45 EDT Ivantis petition for review of Glaukos patent denied by USPTO - The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Patent Trial and Appeal Board announced in a ruling posted to its website that it will not institute an inter partes review as to any of the challenged claims of the '858 patent. Ivantis filed a petition requesting inter partes review of claims 51-54, 56, 57, 60, 61, 63, and 71 of U.S. Patent No. 6,626,858 held by Glaukos. The '858 patent describes shunt devices and a method for continuously decompressing elevated intraocular pressure in eyes affected by glaucoma, the decision noted.

12:26 EDT Schmitt Industries Inc trading halted, news pending

12:03 EDT Rayonier Advanced Materials up 8% after price hikes on cellulose products - Earlier today, Rayonier Advanced Materials will increase prices of its high-alpha and high-viscosity Cellulose Specialties products, including acetate, ethers, micro-crystalline cellulose, nitrocellulose and other grades) by 6%, effective immediately, or as contracts allow. These price changes are necessary to partially offset ongoing inflationary pressures and sustain investment in its best-in-class, capital-intensive manufacturing capabilities to ensure its ability to continue to support its customers' needs for high-quality products. Shares of Rayonier Advanced Materials are up 8% or 33c to $4.46 in midday trading on Thursday.

12:00 EDT Kraton falls -27.7% - Kraton is down -27.7%, or -$8.33 to $21.74.

12:00 EDT Bloom Energy rises 9.1% - Bloom Energy is up 9.1%, or 28c to $3.35.

12:00 EDT ProPetro Holding rises 24.8% - ProPetro Holding is up 24.8%, or $1.96 to $9.86.

11:38 EDT Puma Biotechnology falls after Bernie Sanders calls out 20% price hike - Puma Biotechnology (PBYI) increased the price of its breast cancer treatment Nerlynx by 20% in nine months, Ed Silverman of STAT News reported yesterday. Today, Presidential candidate and Senator Bernie Sanders responded to a STAT reporter asking if anybody will notice with a tweet saying, "I noticed, and I'm pretty damn sure patients with breast cancer and their families will notice too." Shares of Puma Biotechnology are down 4.5%, or 35c, to $7.30 in late morning trading. Reference Link

10:29 EDT Delta Air Lines says expects to retain market share it picked up this summer

10:20 EDT Delta Air Lines sees employee costs adding 1 point to 2020 non-fuel CASM

10:07 EDT Delta: 'On track' to produce 5th straight year of adj. pre-tax profits above $5B

10:04 EDT Humana expands partnership with Accolade with $20M strategic investment - Accolade and Humana announced an expansion of their existing partnership that includes a $20M strategic investment from Humana. The investment comes as Humana affirms its commitment to advance member engagement within its offerings for commercial employer groups, leveraging Accolade to strengthen its consumer-optimized health platform. Humana and Accolade first announced their partnership in March 2019, where both companies agreed to integrate their capabilities to create a differentiated healthcare and benefits experience for individuals and their employers. The companies are expanding their partnership agreement as they continue to create personalized and simplified member experiences and leverage new opportunities around solution flexibility, service delivery, partner integration, and economic value in healthcare. Specifically, the strategic investment will allow the two organizations to tailor the Humana with Accolade solution for a broader base of fully-insured and ASO prospects and clients. The investment will enable robust integrations and seamless engagement options that make it easy for new members to access convenient and affordable care. Humana and Accolade will also significantly expand geographies in 2020 and beyond, while building out the teams needed to support product and market expansion.

10:00 EDT Kraton falls -21.1% - Kraton is down -21.1%, or -$6.35 to $23.72.

10:00 EDT The Buckle rises 4.5% - The Buckle is up 4.5%, or 85c to $19.95.

10:00 EDT ProPetro Holding rises 17.2% - ProPetro Holding is up 17.2%, or $1.36 to $9.26.

09:47 EDT Philips falls -8.9% - Philips is down -8.9%, or -$4.06 to $41.62.

09:47 EDT PG&E falls -25.0% - PG&E is down -25.0%, or -$2.75 to $8.23.

09:47 EDT Pure Storage rises 6.1% - Pure Storage is up 6.1%, or 99c to $17.35.

09:44 EDT McDermott strength attributed to report on progress with lenders - Shares of McDermott International are up 15c, or 9%, to $1.91 in early trading. Contacts tell The Fly that the early strength is being attributed to a report from Debtwire regarding the company making progress toward a deal with its lenders.

09:28 EDT Criteo partners with Pixalate for ad fraud detection - Criteo announced a global partnership with Pixalate, a cross-platform ad fraud detection and prevention solution. Through this partnership, Pixalate will supplement Criteo's existing IVT detection engine. Pixalate, a service for the detection and filtration of Sophisticated Invalid Traffic across desktop and mobile web, mobile in-app, and over-the-top media/connected TV advertising, will work in tandem with Criteo as an anti-fraud solution, to address General Invalid Traffic and SIVT across Criteo's current suite of products and emerging channels.

09:20 EDT SilverSun Technologies board of directors approves $2M stock repurchase program - SilverSun Technologies announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a new stock repurchase program, under which the Company may repurchase up to $2M of its outstanding common stock. Under this new stock repurchase program, SilverSun may repurchase shares in accordance with all applicable securities laws and regulations, including Rule 10b-18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The extent to which SilverSun repurchases its shares, and the timing of such repurchases, will depend upon a variety of factors, including market conditions, regulatory requirements and other corporate considerations, as determined by SilverSun's management. The repurchase program may be extended, suspended or discontinued at any time. The Company expects to finance the program from existing cash resources.

09:17 EDT Hormel Foods targeting organic net sales growth 2%-3% - Targeting operating profit growth 5%-7%. Sees 15% of net sales from Innovation by 2020. Sees $1B in CapEx planned in the next three years. Comments taken from the company's investor day presentation slides.

09:12 EDT Arthur J. Gallagher acquires Florida-based The Doyle Group - Arthur J. Gallagher acquired Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida-based The Doyle Group, and its affiliates, collectively doing business as Direct To PolicyHolder. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 2010, DTPH is an e-commerce affinity platform focused on the efficient acquisition, conversion and retention of professional liability insurance policyholders in the allied healthcare and wellness fields. Nick Doyle and his associates will continue to operate from their current location under the direction of Kevin Garvin, head of Gallagher's North American Affinity operations.

09:09 EDT AIG appoints John Panagakis as CEO, First Principles Capital Management - AIG has elected John Panagakis as CEO, First Principles Capital Management, the unit of AIG Investments that serves institutional clients across the global fixed income securities and derivatives markets. He will be based in New York and report to Douglas Dachille, Chief Investment Officer of AIG. Panagakis joins FPCM from TIAA Nuveen, where he spent more than 30 years in a variety of asset management, operational and advisory leadership roles, most recently as Executive Vice President, Head of International Advisory Services.

09:07 EDT IHS Markit acquires Novation Analytics, terms not disclosed - IHS Markit announced the acquisition of Novation Analytics, a specialist provider of software solutions, data analysis and advisory services to the automotive industry.

09:05 EDT LendingClub announces launch of digital loan transaction platform called 'LCX' - LendingClub announced the launch of LCX, a first-of-its-kind electronic marketplace designed to connect a broader array of institutional investors to its new digital platform. LCX delivers dynamic pricing and same day settlement of fully funded whole loans. It continues to unlock the power of the marketplace model by reducing friction in the settlement process, from several weeks to a single day, and allowing faster deployment of capital. The new platform also offers additional real-time insights on demand at the loan level, and provides the initial infrastructure needed for the development of a secondary market that will improve liquidity and value for this mainstream asset class. This combination of speed, access and transparency represents a substantial innovation in consumer loan transaction technology.

09:03 EDT Penumbra enrolls first patient in CHEETAH study - Penumbra announced enrollment of the first patient into the CHEETAH study, a prospective, multi-center U.S. study to evaluate the safety and performance of the Indigo System with CAT RX Aspiration Catheter in the coronary vessels. Introduced in 2018, as part of the Indigo Aspiration System, the Indigo CAT RX Aspiration Catheters and Indigo Separator 4 are indicated for the removal of fresh, soft emboli and thrombi from vessels in the coronary and peripheral vasculature.

09:02 EDT LRAD Corporation reports FY19 U.S. law enforcement sales of $1M - LRAD Corporation announced that its U.S. law enforcement sales in fiscal year 2019 were up 93% over fiscal 2018 to a record $1M. The Company's law enforcement sales averaged $683,000 annually over the four previous fiscal years.

09:02 EDT Porsche, Boeing sign MOU to explore premium urban air mobility market - Porsche (POAHY) and Boeing (BA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding to explore the premium urban air mobility market and the extension of urban traffic into airspace. With this partnership, both companies will leverage their unique market strengths and insights to study the future of premium personal urban air mobility vehicles. As part of the partnership, the companies will create an international team to address various aspects of urban air mobility, including analysis of the market potential for premium vehicles and possible use cases. Boeing, Porsche and Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences are also developing a concept for a fully electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle. Engineers from both companies, as well as Porsche subsidiaries Porsche Engineering Services GmbH and Studio F.A. Porsche, will implement and test a prototype.

08:57 EDT Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: Ra Pharmaceuticals (RARX), up 102% after entering into a merger agreement pursuant for which UCB will acquire the company for $48 per share in cash... Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY), up 17% after naming Mark Tritton, formerly of Target (TGT), as its new CEO... Qorvo (QRVO), up 3.5% after Cowen analyst Karl Ackerman upgraded shares to Outperform from Market Perform with a price target of $90, up from $75... Pure Storage (PSTG), up 5% after Goldman Sachs analyst Rod Hall upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $21, up from $18. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Delta Air Lines (DAL), down 4%. LOWER: PG&E (PCG), down 31% after The Wall Street Journal reported Judge Dennis Montail opened the door for a rival chapter 11 plan from Elliott and other bondholders that are allied with victims of wildfires, stripping the company of the sole right to propose a chapter 11 plan covering billions of dollars of damages from fires linked to PG&E equipment... HEXO Corp (HEXO), down 22% after reporting preliminary Q4 revenue and withdrawing FY20 outlook... Village Farms (VFF), down 10% after announcing C$25M bought deal offering of common shares.

08:56 EDT Akari Therapeutics announces Phase II clinical data in bullous pemphigoid - Akari Therapeutics announces that positive data from an ongoing bullous pemphigoid Phase II clinical trial will be presented at the 28th European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology Congress in Madrid, Spain. The presentation will be posted onto Akari's website at Akari Therapeutics. In patients with BP there is evidence that both terminal complement activation and the lipid mediator leukotriene B4 have a central role in driving the disease. Ex vivo data in BP patients, recently published in the August 2019 edition of JCI Insight showed a pronounced accumulation of LTB4 and C5 and its activation products in the inflamed skin of BP disease patients underlying the rationale for treatment with nomacopan which is a bifunctional inhibitor of both C5 and LTB4. The Phase II trial, which includes up to nine mild-to-moderate bullous pemphigoid patients, is a six-week open-label single-arm study evaluating safety and efficacy. Patients entering the trial were typically on the topical steroid mometasone which was stopped by day 21. The main efficacy measure is the Bullous Pemphigoid Disease Area Index which along with blistering is a frequently used evaluation of the extent and severity of this skin disease. Results showed that nomacopan, dosed daily subcutaneously, was well tolerated in six elderly patients, and that there were no reported drug-related serious adverse events. This safety profile mirrors over 20 cumulative patient-years of data from patients treated with nomacopan across four other conditions in clinical development where no drug-related serious adverse events have been observed. Four of the six patients were classified as at the upper limit of moderate BP. Moderate to severe patients represent about two-thirds of BP patients and are likely to benefit most from the potential to reduce or avoid steroids. These patients, who showed only a minor improvement on mometasone prior to initiation on nomacopan, saw a mean 41% and 63% decline in BPDAI score at day 21 and 42, respectively, and a 59% and 68% decline in blister score at day 21 and 42, respectively. One of the moderate patients had a flare up post day-28, which is not an uncommon on treatment as BP is a recurrent autoimmune disease. Of the two mild patients, one patient showed a 100% decline in blisters by Day 21, sustained to day 42, and a decline in BPDAI score of 55% and 45% by day 21 and day 42, respectively. The other patient showed no response either on nomacopan or when switched to rescue steroids at day 28. This patient entered the trial after disease relapse while on steroid treatment. Three of the patients who responded received mometasone steroids tapered to zero by day 21. Two other patients were on nomacopan only, with no steroids, and showed a similar beneficial response with a mean 39% and 79% drop in BPDAI activity at day 21 and day 42, respectively, and a 57% and 93% drop in blisters at day 21 and 42, respectively.

08:48 EDT Newtek Business Services raises quarterly dividend to 71c per share - Newtek Business Services announced that its Board of Directors declared a fourth quarter 2019 cash dividend of 71.1c per share, which represents a 42.0% increase over the fourth quarter 2018 cash dividend. The fourth quarter 2019 dividend is payable on December 30, 2019 to shareholders of record as of December 16, 2019. With the payment of the fourth quarter 2019 dividend, the Company would be in line with its 2019 annual dividend guidance of $2.15 per share, which would represent a 19.4% increase over the 2018 annual cash dividend of $1.80 per share.

08:43 EDT Eagle Bulk Shipping takes delivery of M/V Santos Eagle - Eagle Bulk Shipping announced that it has taken delivery of the fourth of six Ultramax drybulk vessels, it has recently agreed to acquire. The ship, which has been renamed the M/V Santos Eagle, is a 2015-built, high specification scrubber-fitted SDARI-64 Ultramax vessel built at Jiangsu New Hantong Ship Heavy Industry Co., Ltd. Proforma for the two remaining acquisition vessels, which have yet to be delivered, the Company's fleet will total 50 ships, including 20 Ultramax drybulk vessels acquired over the last 36 months.

08:39 EDT Jaguar Health to explore potential license agreements for Mytesi in China - Jaguar Health announced that the company has engaged Angel Pond Capital LLC to explore potential licensing agreements and collaborations for Mytesi in China. Angel Pond was founded by Ted Wang, a former Goldman Sachs partner. "Jaguar has engaged Angel Pond as an advisor to help facilitate and negotiate the out-license of our Mytesi and crofelemer technology in China, including identifying additional potential strategic partners in China beyond those Jaguar has already engaged in discussions and due diligence. Cancer therapy-related diarrhea is our lead potential follow-on indication for Mytesi, and cancer is a leading cause of death in China - making the country a compelling region for addressing the unmet medical need of the devastating diarrhea associated with cancer treatment," Lisa Conte, Jaguar's president and CEO commented. Jaguar's Mytesi product is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the symptomatic relief of noninfectious diarrhea in adults with HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy. Mytesi is the only FDA-approved first-in-class anti-diarrheal drug studied specifically in adults with HIV/AIDS in a chronic therapy setting.

08:38 EDT Capstone Turbine secures DC powered marine microturbine project for superyacht - Capstone Turbine announced that it has secured an order for its first-ever direct drive C65 diesel microturbine generator for marine use after receiving Approval in Principle from Lloyd's Register in Rotterdam on the innovative new design. Seven Turbine Power BV, Capstone's exclusive distributor for Belgium, Denmark, and the Netherlands, helped with the Lloyd's certification process and secured the marine project with a local, high-end shipbuilder. The microturbine is scheduled to be shipped before the end of the year and is set to be commissioned by the summer of 2020.

08:38 EDT U.S. Steel sees Q3 adjusted EPS (26c)-(20c), consensus (33c) - Sees Q3 revenue $3.04B-$3.075B, consensus $3.02B. The company said, "We expect adjusted EBITDA to be in a range of $134M - $144M, which excludes approximately $9M of estimated third quarter impacts from the December 24, 2018 fire at our Clairton coke making facility and approximately $54M of estimated restructuring charges. Stronger shipments and better than expected manufacturing performance in our Flat-rolled segment, as well as a contingency gain from recovered claims arising out of the bankruptcy of a supplier drove better than expected results. "

08:36 EDT Relmada Therapeutics commences trading on Nasdaq - Relmada Therapeutics announces that the company's common stock will begin trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market beginning at 9:30 a.m. ET, Thursday October 10, under its existing symbol, "RLMD."

08:34 EDT United Therapeutics concludes RT234 collaboration with Respira Therapeutics - United Therapeutics has decided to conclude its collaboration with Respira Therapeutics based on a strategic prioritization of assets within United Therapeutics' product development portfolio. Respira, a clinical-stage specialty pharmaceutical company developing next-generation cardiopulmonary disease-targeted inhalation products, has regained full worldwide research, development, and licensing rights to the company's novel inhaled drug-device combination product, RT234. RT234 recently concluded successful Phase 1 clinical studies and is currently in Phase 2 studies for a pulmonary arterial hypertension indication. Respira and United Therapeutics entered into a strategic collaboration in April 2017 for the co-development and exclusive license of RT234 for pulmonary hypertension indications in North America markets. Respira has no further obligation to United Therapeutics regarding the RT234 program, and United Therapeutics has no future development funding obligations. United Therapeutics will retain its minority preferred equity stake in Respira.

08:33 EDT BioXcel Therapeutics expects data readout from Pancreatic Cancer trials in 1H20

08:33 EDT BioXcel Therapeutics expects BXCL701 Phase 1b/2 data readout in Q4

08:31 EDT BioXcel Therapeutics expects BXCL501 Phase 1b data in 1H20

08:29 EDT BioXcel Therapeutics affirms expected timeline for upcoming milestones - BioXcel Therapeutics affirmed its expected timeline regarding upcoming milestones. "We believe our recent equity offering represents a key step in driving the success of our clinical programs and providing sufficient funding to support key data readouts, including clinical results from our lead neuroscience program, BXCL501, as well as our immuno-oncology program, BXCL701," commented Vimal Mehta, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of BTI.BXCL501, a differentiated, novel agent intended for treatment of agitation in neuropsychiatric diseases, demonstrated statistically significant results in a Phase 1b trial in agitated Schizophrenia patients with clinically meaningful, rapid and durable reduction in agitation. In addition, the results from the Phase 1 trial with IV dexmedetomidine in Alzheimer's Disease patients produced rapid calming effects, as previously announced. "Given there are no FDA approved therapies and that antipsychotics have black-box warnings for elderly patients with dementia, we believe this is an opportune time to continue to advance the clinical development of BXCL501 in geriatric dementia, which has the potential to be a well-tolerated, noninvasive treatment," continued Mehta. "We are further encouraged by the progress we have made in our BXCL701 program, with the first data readout expected from the treatment emergent neuroendocrine prostate cancer program in the fourth quarter of 2019. In addition, we received U.S. Food and Drug Administration Orphan Drug Designation for BXCL701 for the treatment of Acute Myeloid Leukemia, representing a potential expansion of the program into hematological malignancies."

08:25 EDT OncoSec trading halted, news pending

08:23 EDT Foamix to present data on topical product candidates for acne, rosacea - Foamix Pharmaceuticals announced it will present results from nine clinical trials in five posters relating to its investigational topical product candidates FMX101 for the treatment of moderate-to-severe acne and FMX103 for the treatment of moderate-to-severe papulopustular rosacea in adults, at the 39th Annual Fall Clinical Dermatology Conference. Poster highlights include: Long-term safety and efficacy data from the open-label extension of two Phase III studies of FMX101 in patients with moderate-to-severe acne for a total treatment period of up to 52 weeks. Data from three 12-week Phase III studies that showed the safety and tolerability of FMX101 in pediatric patients with moderate-to-severe acne. An ex-vivo permeation and penetration assessment in human skin, in which FMX101 and FMX103 delivered similar concentrations of minocycline to the epidermis and sebaceous appendage. These three posters will also be published in an upcoming edition of SKIN, The Journal of Cutaneous Medicine, the official journal of the National Society for Cutaneous Medicine. Foamix will present results of a comparative trial of FMX101 versus five commercially available acne treatments in miscibility with sebum. Additionally, Foamix will present study endpoints achieved with FMX103 in patients with moderate-to-severe papulopustular rosacea in two Phase III 12-week pivotal clinical studies. Foamix previously announced that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration has set an action date of October 20, 2019 under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act for FMX101 for the treatment of inflammatory lesions of non-nodular moderate-to-severe acne vulgaris in adults and pediatric patients nine years of age and older. A New Drug Application for FMX103 for the treatment of moderate-to-severe papulopustular rosacea in adults has also been submitted and is awaiting acceptance by the FDA. The safety and efficacy of FMX101 and FMX103 have not been established and there is no guarantee that they will receive health authority approval or become commercially available.

08:18 EDT Tabula Rasa HealthCare's SinfoniaRx partners with Drake University - Tabula Rasa HealthCare will deepen its clinical intelligence footprint through subsidiary company SinfoniaRx's strategic partnership with Drake University's College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences. The College, located in Des Moines, Iowa, is a nationally ranked academic program known for leadership and innovation. The partnership will provide community pharmacies additional revenue opportunities through enhanced clinical and telehealth services.

08:15 EDT CHF Solutions says JAHVH receives final approval for heart failure study - CHF Solutions announced that James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital and Clinics, located in Tampa, Florida, has received Institutional Review Board approval to initiate an outpatient study using the Aquadex FlexFlow systemto assist in the management of fluid overload in patients suffering from heart failure. In July 2018, CHF Solutions had announced that the Department of Veterans Affairs had awarded blanket purchase agreement for up to $6.5M to the Company to supply the ultrafiltration therapy for a period of up to 5 years. This is the first study of its kind to be conducted exclusively through the United States Veterans Administration.

08:10 EDT Immutep receives A$2.5M tax incentive from French government - Immutep announced that it has received a EUR1,568,399, or A$2,546,929, research and development tax incentive payment in cash from the French Government under its Credit d'Impot Recherche scheme. Immutep qualifies to receive CIR tax incentive through its subsidiary Immutep S.A.S. due to the research and development conducted in its laboratory at Chatenay-Malabry in southwestern Paris. The funds will be used to support the ongoing and planned global clinical development of eftilagimod alpha and the preclinical development of IMP761.

08:09 EDT Cerence partners with Mila - Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute - Cerence announced it is now a resident partner of Mila - Quebec Artificial Intelligence Institute, an academic institution dedicated to supporting researchers specializing in the field of deep learning. The partnership enables Cerence and Mila to further research and advance cutting-edge work in machine learning and enhance automotive AI applications. As part of the relationship, Cerence researchers will work with Mila interns on projects and contribute to research, publications, and presentations in an AI lab at Mila's Montreal headquarters, just a short distance from Cerence's Montreal office, one of its key global R&D sites with nearly 450 employees.

08:07 EDT Talend announces availability of Talend Cloud on Microsoft Azure - Talend (TLND) announced Talend Cloud is now available on Microsoft (MSFT) Azure, offering a secure and scalable Integration Platform-as-a-Service for collecting, transforming and cleaning data. With embedded data quality and native integration performance, Talend Cloud on Microsoft Azure delivers the trusted data companies need to make real-time business decisions, accelerate advanced analytics, and meet regulatory compliance requirements.

08:04 EDT Orange France selects wi-fi chipset from ON Semiconductor for Livebox 5 - Quantenna Connectivity Solutions, a division of ON Semiconductor (ON), has announced that Orange France has once again selected ON Semiconductor for its latest gateway, Livebox 5. The new gateway boasts up to 2Gbps speed, making it easy and convenient for all family members to share the connection to enjoy their favorite connected devices and most demanding applications. It also comes with a compact design made of recycled plastics and has an overall carbon footprint lowered by nearly thirty percent compared to the previous generation.

08:04 EDT Hepion names Dr. Stephen Harrison as Consultant Medical Director - Hepion Pharmaceuticals announced that Stephen Harrison, M.D., has been appointed as Consultant Medical Director. Dr. Harrison is currently a Visiting Professor of Hepatology at the Radcliffe Department of Medicine, University of Oxford. He is also the Medical Director for Pinnacle Clinical Research and the President of Summit Clinical Research.

08:03 EDT BioSpecifics names Kevin Buchi as CEO - BioSpecifics named life sciences industry veteran Kevin Buchi CEO of BioSpecifics. He will also serve on the company's board of directors. Buchi is currently the chairman of the board of directors at Dicerna Pharmaceuticals and a director of Amneal Pharmaceuticals and Benitec Biopharma Ltd. Buchi was most recently president and CEO at TetraLogic Pharmaceuticals from 2012-2016.

08:01 EDT Legg Mason reports preliminary AUM $781.8B as of September 30 - This month's AUM included long-term net outflows of $1.2B, driven by net outflows of $1.1B in fixed income and $0.6B in equities, partially offset by net inflows of $0.5B in alternatives. AUM also included net liquidity inflows of $3.7B, partially offset by negative foreign exchange of $0.4B.

07:52 EDT Kraton lowers 2019 adjusted EBITDA view 10%-15% from previous $370M-$390M view - Expects Q3 Adjusted EBITDA $80M and Q3 net income $21M. Continued deterioration in market demand in China and Asia associated with ongoing trade tensions and the impact of tariffs, as well as weakening demand in Europe, particularly for automotive and compounding applications, impacted sales of HSBC product grades for the company's Polymer segment during Q3. In addition, results for the Polymer segment were affected by soft paving and roofing demand, reflecting elevated customer inventories following a weak Q2 and ample supply availability from market participants, which contributed to intensified competitive market conditions.

07:48 EDT Theratechnologies begins trading on Nasdaq Capital Market - Theratechnologies announced that its common shares will begin trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol "THTX". The Company will maintain its common share listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "TH".

07:42 EDT AzurRx BioPharma appoints James Sapirstein as president, CEO - AzurRx BioPharma (AZRX) announced that James Sapirstein has been appointed to serve as the Company's president and CEO following the resignation of Thijs Spoor from the same positions. Sapirstein most recently served as CEO and board member for ContraVir Pharmaceuticals, now known as Hepion Pharmaceuticals (HEPA). Spoor will remain on AzurRx's Board of Directors.

07:39 EDT Amicus sees 'clear path' to projected $500M+ Galafold revenue in 2023 - Amicus Therapeutics announced preliminary unaudited revenue for the third quarter of 2019 in advance of its Analyst Day. Analyst Day will highlight the financial strength and outlook of the Company in addition to recent progress and updates related to its early- and late-stage rare disease portfolio, including a late-stage biologic AT-GAA with breakthrough therapy designation for Pompe disease, a clinical-stage intrathecal AAV gene therapy with positive interim results in CLN6 Batten disease, and a robust gene therapy pipeline. Amicus Analyst Day 2019 The company said, "Key Takeaway: Galafold continues strong launch performance and cornerstone of Amicus success with 1,000+ net global Galafold patients treated and clear path to projected $500M+ in 2023 and $1B+ peak revenue. Financial outlook strengthened with current cash now revised to well into 1H 2022 through major portfolio milestones and global growth. AT-GAA for Pompe advances toward approval as "crown jewel" of Amicus portfolio with peak revenue potential of $1B-$2B, with exclusivity well into 2030s.Portfolio of gene therapy programs and technologies provides foundation for future, including two clinical-stage programs, a Pompe gene therapy clinical candidate declared to move into IND-enabling studies, and eight additional preclinical gene therapies"

07:36 EDT Amicus says cash runway projection extends into 1H22 - The company said, "Following a diligent review of current and outer year operating and capital expense projections, and robust outlook for Galafold revenue, Amicus now expects to end 2019 with more than $420M in cash on hand and has extended the cash runway projection from 2021 to well into the first half of 2022. "

07:27 EDT Stealth BioTherapeutics Corporation (ADS) trading halted, news pending

07:09 EDT Valeritas announces presentation of preclinical h-Patch cannabidiol study - Valeritas Holdings announced a poster presentation at the American Epilepsy Society's Annual Meeting. On July 30th, Valeritas announced results from a preclinical pharmacokinetic study of cannabidiol subcutaneous infusion with two dosing regimens delivered via its proprietary h-Patch wearable drug delivery device. The company believes this study represents the first report of CBD delivered via subcutaneous infusion in any preclinical model. Valeritas' h-Patch is a drug delivery technology that can facilitate the subcutaneous delivery of injectable medicines to patients across a broad range of therapeutic areas. The company's V-Go is an FDA-cleared product that utilizes the h-Patch technology. To date, more than 20M V-Go insulin delivery devices have been sold in the United States.

07:07 EDT RADA Electronic announces $6M in new orders - RADA Electronic Industries announced that it has received $6M in new orders during August and September of 2019. Over 90% of the new orders are for RADA's multi-mission, software-defined tactical radar systems. Applications for the radar systems are mainly for C-UAV solutions, and for V-SHORAD and APS solutions.

07:06 EDT Delta Air Lines CEO says 'demand for the Delta product remains healthy' - "Our powerful brand and competitive strengths drove another quarter of great results for our people, customers and owners. Our people bring our brand to life on every flight and I'm pleased to recognize their outstanding efforts with over $1 billion in profit sharing accrued so far this year," said Ed Bastian, Delta's CEO. "Demand for the Delta product remains healthy, positioning the company for a strong close to 2019 with expectations for more than 20% earnings growth, over $4 billion in free cash flow and a 5th year of pre-tax earnings over $5 billion."

07:05 EDT Plug Power, WSU partner to implement cryogenic hydrogen cooling technology - Plug Power showcases a partnership with Washington State University's Hydrogen Properties for Energy Research Labs to develop cryogenic hydrogen cooling technology to focus on one of the logistical issues of delivering hydrogen at scale: efficient storage and transfer. The proposed sub-cooling solution will enable improvements to the transportation and storage of liquid hydrogen to fueling stations. It will allow Plug Power's fleet vehicle customers, including material handling lift truck fleets, to achieve lower fuel costs due to lower back-end costs of transportation and storage. In the future, this innovation will improve the operational efficiency of GenFuel liquid hydrogen architecture, which is critical for the high-volume hydrogen fueling needed to support the burgeoning on-road fuel cell electric vehicle market. Plug Power and WSU's project comes in three phases. The project is currently in its first phase, during which the teams must advance the fundamental understanding of the technology at cryogenic temperatures. WSU is uniquely positioned to conduct this research due to the university's cryogenic hydrogen lab. The next phase will also take place at the lab, where analytical modeling will be developed and validated to ensure the design is optimized for Plug Power's cryogenic hydrogen applications. Finally, a field test will take place on full scale Plug Power hydrogen storage systems to validate operational performance improvements.

07:04 EDT Broadridge acquires Fi360 - Broadridge has entered into a purchase agreement to acquire Fi360, a provider of fiduciary-focused software, data and analytics for financial advisors and intermediaries across the retirement and wealth ecosystem. Fi360 also provides the accreditation and continuing education for the Accredited Investment Fiduciary Designation, the leading designation focused on fiduciary responsibility. Fi360 supports industry needs through analytical and reporting software that helps investment professionals document investment processes and evaluate products. The acquisition is expected to close in November. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

07:03 EDT Delta Air Lines sees Q4 TRASM, adjusted up 0%-2% y/y - Sees Q4 CASM -ex up 4%-5% y/y; Sees Q4 system capacity up ~4.5% y/y; Pre-tax margin 9.5%-11.5%; fuel price $2.00-$2.20.

07:02 EDT Cato Corp. reports September SSS up 5% - Cato Corporation reported sales for September 2019 of $70.5M, up 2% compared to sales of $69.4M for September 2018. Same-store sales in September were up 5% compared to September 2018. CEO John Cato stated, "September same-store sales benefited from the negative impact of Hurricane Florence last year. September tariffs have been implemented, and we remain cautiously optimistic as we evaluate the impact of these and future tariffs." As of October 5, 2019, the company operated 1,299 stores in 31 states, compared to 1,350 stores in 33 states as of October 6, 2018.

06:52 EDT The Buckle reports September net sales up 2.5% to $77.3M, SSS up 3% - The Buckle announced that comparable store net sales, for stores open at least one year, for the 5-week period ended October 5, increased 3% from comparable store net sales for the 5-week period ended October 6, 2018. Net sales for the 5-week fiscal month ended October 5, increased 2.5% to $77.3M from net sales of $75.4M for the prior year 5-week fiscal month ended October 6, 2018. Comparable store net sales year-to-date for the 35-week period ended October 5, increased 1% from comparable store net sales for the 35-week period ended October 6, 2018. Net sales for the 35-week fiscal period ended October 5, increased 0.5% to $559.6M from net sales of $556.6M for the prior year 35-week fiscal period ended October 6, 2018.

06:47 EDT Lazard reports preliminary AUM approximately $230.9B as of September 30 - The month's AUM included market appreciation of $4.5B; foreign exchange depreciation of $0.5B and net outflows of $1.9B.

06:39 EDT Emergent BioSolutions' chikungunya vaccine receives EMA prime designation - Emergent BioSolutions' chikungunya virus virus-like particle vaccine candidate, CHIKV VLP, was granted PRIority MEdicines, or PRIME, designation by the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency during its September meeting. The PRIME scheme is designed to enhance support for the development of medicines that target an unmet medical need and that may offer a major therapeutic advantage over existing treatments, or benefit patients without preventative or treatment options. The development plan contemplates initiation of a pivotal trial in 2020. The CHIKV VLP vaccine candidate is licensed from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health. It received Fast Track designation from the FDA in May 2018.

06:31 EDT Maximus raises quarterly dividend 12% to 28c from 25c per share - The dividend is payable on November 29 to shareholders of record on November 15. On an annual basis, this brings the company's cash dividend to $1.12.

06:19 EDT Fluor Joint Venture completes pipe spool fabrication work for Kuwait project - Fluor's joint venture COOEC-Fluor Heavy Industries fabrication yard in Zhuhai, China, has completed the pipe spool fabrication portion of its scope of work in support of the Kuwait Integrated Petroleum Industries Al-Zour project in Kuwait. COOEC-Fluor delivered more than 95,000 pipe spools by fabricating 337,000 linear meters of carbon, alloy and stainless steel pipe. The fabricated pipe spools were delivered to a Fluor-led joint venture that is currently working to deliver two engineering, procurement, fabrication and construction packages for key process support units, utilities and infrastructure for the Al-Zour refinery project in Kuwait. Upon completion, the new complex is expected to be one of the largest refineries in the world and produce 615,000 barrels of oil per day.

06:11 EDT ProPetro board elects Anthony Best as lead independent director - In light of Gobe's appointment as Executive Chairman, the independent directors of the Board elected Anthony Best to serve as lead independent director of the Board on October 3, 2019. The lead independent director's authority, responsibilities and duties are detailed in the company's Corporate Governance Guidelines, and include: presiding over all meetings of the Board at which the Chairman of the Board is not present, including any executive sessions of the independent directors; approving Board meeting schedules and agendas; and acting as the liaison between the independent directors and the CEO and Chairman of the Board.

06:09 EDT ProPetro says likely to conclude 'one more more material weaknesses'

06:08 EDT ProQR Therapeutics' sepofarsen shows vision improvement in Phase 1/2 results - ProQR Therapeutics announced 'positive' top-line results from the PQ-110-001 study, a Phase 1/2 dose range finding, first-in-human trial of sepofarsen in patients with Leber's congenital amaurosis 10 due to the p.Cys998X mutation in the CEP290 gene. "We reported today that patients receiving sepofarsen had a clinically meaningful improvement in vision, and in some cases the patient's vision improved to a level that could be deemed life changing (...)" said Stephen Russell, Principal Investigator at the University of Iowa. "LCA10 is a severe inherited retinal disease that leads to blindness, and for which there is currently no treatment." David Rodman, ProQR's Executive VP of R&D, said, "(...) The top-line data from this study strengthen our confidence in the design of the ongoing Phase 2/3 trial, which could be the sole registration trial for the sepofarsen program (...) " Top-line data is expected in the first half of 2021. The 12-month top-line results from the Phase 1/2 trial confirm durable activity of sepofarsen for up to one year in patients with LCA10. Results also support assumptions . The target registration dose was associated with a clinically meaningful and statistically significant improvement in vision and had a favorable benefit/risk profile, a six-month dosing frequency, as used in Illuminate, was associated with durable improvements in vision, the response observed at 12 months in the target registration dose was equal to or greater than the response at the 3-month interim analysis, and the study population were more likely to respond to treatment with sepofarsen. Sepofarsen was observed to be well-tolerated with manageable safety findings.

06:01 EDT UCB acquires RA Pharmaceuticals for $48 per share in cash or $2.1B - UCB and Ra Pharmaceuticals (RARX) announced their entry into a merger agreement pursuant for which UCB will acquire Ra Pharma. Under the terms of the agreement, Ra Pharma shareholders will receive $48 in cash for each Ra Pharma share at closing. The boards of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction, which remains subject to approval by Ra Pharma shareholders and to obtaining antitrust clearance. Upon closing, Ra Pharma shareholders will receive $48 for each Ra Pharma share, which represents a transaction value of approximately $2.1B, net of Ra Pharma cash. The cash consideration represents an approximately 93% premium to Ra Pharma shareholders based on the 30-day volume weighted average closing stock price of Ra Pharma prior to signing. UCB and Ra Pharma expect to complete the transaction by the end of Q1 2020. The acquisition will not impact UCB's 2019 financial guidance. Jean-Christophe Tellier, CEO UCB said: "Ra Pharma is an excellent strategic fit addressing multiple areas of UCB's patient value growth strategy. Upon closing, the acquisition will add to our strong internal growth opportunities - six potential product launches in the next five years, strengthening our neurology and immunology franchises with late and early-state pipeline projects. In addition, the combination will provide us with the opportunity to become a leader in treating people living with myasthenia gravis, an auto-antibody mediated neurological orphan disease with high unmet medical need, as well as adding a highly productive technology platform to our innovation engine."

05:22 EDT Chi-Med, Innovent expand global collaboration - Innovent Biologics and Hutchison China MediTech, or Chi-Med, announced the expansion of their global collaboration agreement to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Innovent's Tyvy, a fully human anti-programmed cell death protein 1 monoclonal antibody, in combination with Chi-Med's surufatinib, a novel inhibitor of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor, or VEGFR, fibroblast growth factor receptor 1, or FGFR1, and colony stimulating factor-1 receptor in patients with advanced solid tumors. The expansion builds on the existing global collaboration agreement between the two companies on sintilimab in combination with Chi-Med's highly selective VEGFR inhibitor, fruquintinib.The expansion of the global collaboration will allow Innovent and Chi-Med to jointly explore the potential application of Tyvyt and surufatinib combination therapy in solid tumors with global unmet medical needs. Clinical studies with this new combination will be conducted both in the United States and in China. The combination of Tyvyt and surufatinib is expected to have synergistic anti-tumor effects by simultaneously targeting multiple cell types and signaling pathways in the tumor microenvironment. Preclinical studies have suggested that surufatinib is able to inhibit angiogenesis, block the accumulation of tumor associated macrophages and promote infiltration of effector T cells into tumors, all of which could contribute to improve anti-tumor activity of Tyvy.