Stockwinners Market Radar for November 01, 2019 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

18:32 EDT Tortoise Energy reports unaudited total assets approximately $1.9B at Oct. 31 - Unaudited net asset value was $1B, or $19.39 per share.

17:41 EDT Wright Medical spikes up 9% to $24 per share after speculation about its sale

17:25 EDT Raytheon awarded $267.18M Missile Defense Agency contract modification - Raytheon was awarded a sole source, cost only contract modification under previously awarded contract to increase the undefinitized contract action not-to-exceed value by $267.18M from $387.19M to $654.37M. Under this modification, the "pacing items only" restriction is removed and the contractor is now authorized to work the full, unchanged, effort to manufacture, assemble, test and deliver 20 Standard Missile-3 Block IIA missiles and related efforts, and four missiles under foreign military sales, or FMS, case JA-P-ATB to Japan. The value of the contract is increased by $267.18M from $1.2B to $1.47B. The work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona and Huntsville, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of December 2022. FY18 procurement, defense-wide funds in the amount of $209M and FMS funds in the amount of $7.65M will be obligated at the time of award. The Missile Defense Agency is the contracting activity.

16:54 EDT UAW-Ford Council votes on proposed hourly tentative pact - The National UAW-Ford Council convened today and voted to send the proposed Hourly Tentative Agreement with Ford Motor Company for a ratification vote of UAW members. In doing so, the UAW released details of the tentative agreement as approved by the UAW-Ford National Negotiators and the Council. The National UAW-Ford Council consists of Ford local leaders nationwide. Local Unions will now proceed with informational meetings and ratification votes at all Ford local unions to be held beginning November 4 with all local votes due into Detroit on November 15. "This contract provides over $6 Billion in new product investment creating and retaining over 8500 jobs. We are proud that UAW-Ford members through this contract will continue to be the largest U.S. auto workforce and build the most products here at home," said Rory Gamble, UAW Vice President and Director of the UAW-Ford Department. "This contract reflects the hard work, sacrifice and quality work of UAW members as they lead the U.S. auto industry."

16:32 EDT Quanex names Scott Zuehlke as SVP, CFO and Treasurer - Zuehlke joined the company in 2016 as Vice President, Investor Relations and Treasurer and has most recently been serving as Interim CFO.

16:31 EDT Kellogg vice chairman sells 20,655 common shares - In a regulatory filing, Kellogg vice chairman Gary H. Pilnick disclosed the sale of 20,655 common shares of the company at a price of $63.7306 per share.

16:11 EDT Armistice Capital reports 4.99% passive stake in OpGen - In a regulatory filing, Armistice Capital disclosed a 4.99% stake in OpGen, which represents 172,631 shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

16:06 EDT Taitron raises quarterly dividend 16.7% to 3.5c per share - Taitron Components Incorporated announced that its board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 3.5c per share of common stock, payable on November 29, 2019 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on November 15, 2019. Under our revised dividend policy, the company will now target a cash dividend to our stockholders in the amount of 14c per share per annum, payable in equal 3.5c per share quarterly installments. This effectively increases by 16.7% our quarterly cash dividends from 3c per share to 3.5c per share.

16:02 EDT Primoris CEO David King to step down - Primoris announced its board has approved an executive transition effective November 4, 2019. David King will transition out of his position as CEO, while remaining as Chairman of the board and assuming the non-employee role of Senior Strategic Advisor. The company also announced that its board has unanimously selected Primoris' President Tom McCormick to succeed Mr. King as the company's CEO. Mr. King will transition from his position as CEO after filing of the Company's third quarter Form 10-Q and earnings call.

15:40 EDT Document Security trading resumes

15:31 EDT Blizzard officially reveals 'Overwatch 2' - At BlizzCon, Blizzard revealed "Overwatch 2," a sequel to 2016's popular multiplayer shooter "Overwatch." In "Overwatch 2," players will take on the roles of the world's heroes in cooperative missions that challenge them to team up, power up, and stand together against an overwhelming outbreak of threats around the globe, Blizzard said. Players will also battle each other in the next evolution of competitive "Overwatch" play, which carries forward existing players' accomplishments and loot collections and features the current complete "Overwatch" roster, a new generation of heroes, new internationally recognizable maps that widen the scope of the world, a new Push map type, and more. "With Overwatch 2, we're building the cooperative, narrative-driven game experience that players have been asking for since the original-and that we've wanted to make for a long time," said J. Allen Brack, president of Blizzard Entertainment. "We're looking forward to telling the next chapter of this epic story in-game, and we're excited to give players a whole-new kind of co-op experience built around progressing and customizing their favorite heroes-all while providing even more of everything they love about Overwatch today." More details on Blizzard's plans, including some of the new heroes joining the fray, will be announced in the future as development continues.

15:26 EDT HealthStream director sells 6.5K shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, HealthStream disclosed that its director Deborah Taylor sold 6.5K shares of common stock on October 31st. The total transaction size was $184K.

14:58 EDT Blizzard unveils 'World of Warcraft' expansion 'Shadowlands' - Blizzard Entertainment announced "World of Warcraft: Shadowlands," the latest expansion for the company's massively multiplayer online role-playing game. "Shadowlands is taking us somewhere we've never dreamed of going in the Warcraft universe, and that's incredibly exciting," said J. Allen Brack, president of Blizzard Entertainment. "We can't wait to explore the great beyond, catch up with old departed friends, and forge an epic new chapter in the Warcraft saga together with our players." The expansion is available for pre-purchase digitally from the Blizzard Shop starting today, with three different options all designed with player preference in mind. The Base Edition of Shadowlands is available for $39.99 SRP, providing a new lower entry point compared to previous expansions. The Heroic Edition ($59.99) includes the expansion; a level-120 character boost; and the Ensorcelled Everwyrm mount, which provides access to a questline through which players can earn the Vestments of the Eternal Traveler transmogrification set. The Epic Edition ($79.99) includes the Anima Wyrmling pet; the Wraithchill cosmetic weapon effect; the Eternal Traveler's Hearthstone, designed with a unique visual effect; and 30 days of game time, in addition to all of the contents from the Heroic Edition.

13:46 EDT Centene's Texas subsidiary wins Medicaid and LTSS contracts - Centene Corporation announced that its Texas subsidiary, Superior HealthPlan, has been informed that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission intends to award a contract to continue to provide quality, integrated healthcare services to enrollees in the state's STAR+PLUS program. The re-procured STAR+PLUS contract is expected to be effective on September 1, 2020, and will allow Superior to offer new coverage in two new service areas while also continuing to support members in seven service areas Superior has operated in since 2012. In addition to those service areas, Superior will also now offer STAR+PLUS coverage for members in the El Paso and Travis service areas, which cover the following counties: Bastrop, Burnet, Caldwell, El Paso, Fayette, Hays, Hudspeth, Lee, Travis and Williamson.

13:05 EDT Progenics urges shareholders to revoke any consents delivered to Velan Capital - Progenics Pharmaceuticals (PGNX) issued a letter urging shareholders to revoke any consents previously delivered to Velan Capital L.P. by signing and returning Progenics' WHITE Consent Revocation Card. In the letter, Progenics notes that the true deadline for the Velan consent solicitation is November 17, 2019, not the November 8, 2019 "goal" arbitrarily set by Velan to force shareholders to vote without complete information. Importantly, Lantheus Holdings (LNTH) expects to file with the SEC a preliminary S-4 with detailed information about the transaction with Progenics before November 17. Progenics strongly urges shareholders to wait until they have full information regarding the Lantheus transaction before making any final decisions regarding the Velan consent solicitation. The letter read in part, " You have the opportunity to make an important decision regarding your investment in Progenics in the coming weeks. As you are likely aware, Velan Capital, L.P., an 11.7% shareholder, is attempting to replace five of the seven directors on Progenics' Board through a consent solicitation campaign to ultimately gain control over management, the business and your investment in Progenics. Your Board strongly urges you to revoke any consents previously delivered to Velan by signing, dating and returning the enclosed WHITE Consent Revocation Card TODAY...Your Board negotiated a compelling strategic transaction with Lantheus that will deliver significant value for shareholders through strong prospects for improved top line growth, enhanced operational execution and significant synergy opportunities. Velan's opposition to the proposed transaction and the timing of its consent solicitation are blatant attempts to influence your opinion about the compelling transaction your Board has negotiated before complete information about the transaction is available to all shareholders to evaluate...Velan's nominees claim that Velan's strategic plan "offers a better path forward" than the Lantheus transaction without having reviewed the detailed information about the Lantheus transaction that will be set forth in the preliminary S-4 or articulating a coherent alternative. The position of the Velan nominees strongly calls into question their ability to serve as independent fiduciaries, and the likelihood that they will support the transaction in the boardroom - let alone give fair consideration to the deal's merits as the Progenics shareholders should reasonably expect."

13:01 EDT Baker Hughes reports U.S. rig count down 8 to 822 rigs

12:54 EDT Nissan reports October U.S. sales down 5.8% to 103,563 units - Nissan Group announced total U.S. sales for October of 103,563 units, a decrease of 5.8% compared to the prior year. Nissan Division sales fell 3.7% year-over-year to 94,417 units and Infiniti Division sales declined 23.0% to 9,146 units.

12:28 EDT Interactive Brokers reports October DARTs down 19% y/y - Interactive Brokers Group reported its Electronic Brokerage monthly performance metrics for October. Brokerage highlights for the month included: 797,000 Daily Average Revenue Trades, 19% lower than prior year and 5% lower than prior month. IBKR LITE clients executed an average of 1,000 U.S. Reg-NMS orders per day. Ending client equity of $162.1B, 21% higher than prior year and 4% higher than prior month. Ending client margin loan balances of $25.3B, 12% lower than prior year and 1% lower than prior month. Ending client credit balances of $56.6B, including $2.3B in insured bank deposit sweeps,11% higher than prior year and 2% higher than prior month. 673,000 client accounts, 15% higher than prior year and 1% higher than prior month. 270 annualized average cleared DARTs1 per client account. Average commission per cleared client order1 of $3.56 including exchange, clearing and regulatory fees.

12:08 EDT Enviva CEO releases statement following issuance of permit for Northampton plant - Enviva Partners issued a statement thanking the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality's Division of Air Quality for issuing an air permit for Enviva's request to voluntarily increase air quality controls at their Northampton wood pellet production plant. The permit comes after an extensive review process that included a public comment period, a well-attended public hearing at the Northampton County High School, and numerous public comments. Enviva's Chairman & CEO John Keppler issued the following statement: "On behalf of the entire company, I would like to send a sincere thank you to the North Carolina Division of Air Quality's leadership as well as to the entire state of North Carolina for their support of Enviva... The approval of our voluntary air quality control measures will ensure the company continues to comply with all regulations while improving the efficiency of the facility. Provisions of the permit will also allow us to increase the plant's permitted production volume. These increased production volumes, like those across the Enviva portfolio, are contracted under long-term agreements many of which extend into the mid-2040s."

12:00 EDT American Axle rises 23.0% - American Axle is up 23.0%, or $1.92 to $10.28.

12:00 EDT California Resources rises 42.4% - California Resources is up 42.4%, or $2.37 to $7.96.

10:47 EDT Honda reports October U.S. sales up 7.6% to 131,443 vehicles - Honda reports October U.S. sales increased 7.6% from last year to 131,443 units. Honda Division sales were up 8.2% to 117,486 vehicles while Acura Division sales rose 2.4% to 13,957 units. Henio Arcangeli, Jr., senior vice president of Automobile Sales at American Honda Motor, said, "Both the Honda and Acura brands are marching forward as we head into the final two months of the year on pace to see American Honda post a sales increase for 2019."

10:25 EDT CynergisTek Inc trading resumes

10:01 EDT DTE Energy names JoAnn Chavez SVP, chief legal officer - DTE Energy announced JoAnn Chavez will take on the role of senior vice president and chief legal officer. In this expanded role, Chavez will have overall responsibility for the Office of the General Counsel, Ethics & Compliance and Corporate Security. "Throughout her time at DTE, JoAnn has applied a strategic focus that has produced significant business value, and coupled with her experience and knowledge of DTE, makes her uniquely qualified for this role," said Jerry Norcia, DTE Energy president and CEO.

10:00 EDT Pinterest falls -23.9% - Pinterest is down -23.9%, or -$6.00 to $19.14.

10:00 EDT Turning Point Brands rises 27.4% - Turning Point Brands is up 27.4%, or $5.71 to $26.58.

10:00 EDT California Resources rises 38.6% - California Resources is up 38.6%, or $2.16 to $7.75.

09:55 EDT CynergisTek Inc trading halted, news pending

09:50 EDT Pinterest falls -24.4% - Pinterest is down -24.4%, or -$6.14 to $19.00.

09:50 EDT Turning Point Brands rises 14.7% - Turning Point Brands is up 14.7%, or $3.07 to $23.94.

09:50 EDT Gores Holdings III (Class A Stock) trading resumes

09:50 EDT Starbucks CEO 'pleased' with Uber Eats partnerships, says in early days - Kevin Johnson is speaking on CNBC.

09:46 EDT Toyota reports October U.S. sales down 1.2% to 188,787 vehicles - Toyota Motor North America reported October 2019 sales of 188,787 vehicles, a decrease of 1.2% on a volume basis and down 4.9% on a daily selling rate basis versus October 2018. Toyota division posted October sales of 165,644 units, down 1.6% on a volume basis and down 5.3% on a DSR basis. Lexus division posted October sales of 23,143 vehicles, up 1.9% on a volume basis and down 1.9% on a DSR basis.

09:34 EDT Fiat Chrysler says electrified Jeep plant emissions to be lowest in U.S. autos - The future home of two electrified Jeep vehicles "will also be home to one of the most efficient and sustainable manufacturing operations at FCA in North America," said Fiat Chrysler, which reported that the facility "will have lowest emissions rate of any auto assembly plant in the United States." Mark Stewart, Chief Operating Officer, FCA - North America, said: "Following numerous public and private discussions with residents, especially those nearest the facility, we're proud to share our environmental plans and the future of FCA manufacturing in Detroit. We're honored the residents of the city support us, and know that every step of the way, we need to prove that we follow through on our commitments and will be good neighbors long into our collective future."

09:23 EDT Gores Holdings enters merger agreement with PAE - PAE announced it has entered into a definitive agreement and plan of merger with Gores Holdings III. Upon closing, this transaction will introduce PAE as a publicly listed company, with an anticipated initial enterprise value of approximately $1.55B or 8.9x the company's estimated 2020 pro forma Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $174M. The consideration payable to the stockholders of PAE will consist of a combination of cash and shares of Gores Holdings III common stock. In addition to the $400M of cash held in Gores Holdings III's trust account, additional investors have committed to participate in the transaction through a $220 million private placement, led by Alec Gores, Chairman and CEO of The Gores Group. Upon completion of the transaction, including the private placement, Platinum Equity and other minority owners of PAE are expected to hold approximately 28 percent of the newly public PAE, subject to various purchase price adjustments. The transaction will be effected pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger entered into by and among Gores Holdings III, Shay Holding Corporation and the other parties thereto. Concurrently with the consummation of the transaction, additional investors will purchase shares of common stock of Gores Holdings III in a private placement. After giving effect to any redemptions by the public stockholders of Gores Holdings III, the balance of the approximately $400 million in cash held in Gores Holdings III's trust account, together with the $220 million in private placement proceeds, will be used to pay cash consideration to the stockholders of the Company, pay transaction expenses and reduce PAE's existing indebtedness to 3.4x 2019 estimated Adjusted EBITDA. The remainder of the consideration payable to the stockholders of PAE will consist of shares of Gores Holdings III common stock. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both Gores Holdings III and the Company, and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020, subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approval, and approval of the stockholders of Gores Holdings III. Upon closing of the transaction, the name of Gores Holdings III will be changed to PAE Incorporated.

09:19 EDT Raven acquires Smart Ag, terms nor disclosed - Raven Industries announced that it has acquired Smart Ag Inc., a technology company that develops autonomous farming solutions for agriculture. This acquisition is part of Raven Autonomy, the Company's strategic growth platform to become the industry leader in autonomous agriculture solutions. Complementing the Company's Applied Technology division, this acquisition will be integrated into the division's business and technology portfolio with the intent to create autonomous solutions for the precision ag market. As part of Raven Autonomy, the Company plans to deliver autonomous solutions for agriculture that will enable both its OEM partners and ag retailers to be successful. Now more than ever, OEMs need to deliver premier precision ag solutions in order to compete. Raven Autonomy will deliver on this great challenge; its technology will enable large-scale ag retailers to augment their operations, allocate resources smartly and reduce labor dependency. Along with the Company's recent agreement to acquire majority ownership in DOT Technology Corp., the acquisition of Smart Ag brings perception and path planning capabilities to the Company's leading technologies in precision ag operations.

09:13 EDT Fitbit trading resumes

09:11 EDT Gores Holdings III (Units) trading halted, news pending

09:07 EDT Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Alibaba (BABA), up 1%... Newell Brands (NWL), up 4%... California Resources (CRC), up 28%. ALSO HIGHER: BeiGene (BGNE), up 23% after the company announced a strategic collaboration with Amgen (AMGN) that will see the latter take a 20% stake in the company... Diebold (DBD), up 3% after JPMorgan analyst Paul Coster upgraded the stock to Neutral from Underweight with a $7 price target. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: AIG (AIG), down 2%... Avis Budget (CAR), down 10%... Seagate (STX), down 3%... Chevron (CVX), down 1%... Arista Networks (ANET), down 28%... Pinterest (PINS), down 20%. ALSO LOWER: Colfax (CFX), down 3% following earnings and after a 5.2M share block trade priced at $32.50 per share.

09:04 EDT Banner Corp. completes acquisition of AltaPacific Bancorp - Banner Corporation announced that effective November 1, 2019, it had completed the acquisition of AltaPacific Bancorp and its wholly-owned subsidiary, AltaPacific Bank, of Santa Rosa, California. As previously announced, the terms of the acquisition provide AltaPacific shareholders 0.2712 shares of Banner common stock in exchange for each share of AltaPacific common stock, plus cash in lieu of any fractional shares. Banner was advised by Stephens Inc., as financial advisor, and Davis Wright Tremaine, as legal counsel. AltaPacific was advised by Panoramic Capital Advisors, as financial advisor, Vining Sparks Community Bank Advisory Group as financial advisor and rendered a fairness opinion, and King, Holmes, Paterno & Soriano as legal counsel.

09:02 EDT IFM Investors complete acquisition of Buckeye Partners - IFM Investors Pty and Buckeye Partners announced the completion of the acquisition of Buckeye by entities affiliated with IFM, adding one of the largest diversified networks of integrated midstream assets to IFM's substantial investments in energy infrastructure across North America. Buckeye's assets include 6,000 miles of pipeline, with over 100 delivery locations and 115 liquid petroleum products terminals with aggregate tank capacity of over 118 million barrels, and a network of marine terminals located primarily in the East and Gulf Coast regions of the United States, as well as in the Caribbean. The acquisition is aligned with IFM's focus on investing in high-quality, essential infrastructure assets that underpin the economies in which they operate. The acquisition, which was announced in May 2019, received approval from Buckeye's unitholders on July 31, 2019 and became effective on November 1, 2019. Under the terms of the merger agreement, a wholly owned subsidiary of the IFM Global Infrastructure Fund advised by IFM merged with and into Buckeye, with Buckeye surviving the merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Fund. In the merger, all of the outstanding limited partnership units of Buckeye were converted into the right to receive $41.50 per limited partnership unit. The all-cash transaction is valued at $10.3 billion enterprise value and $6.5 billion equity value. In connection with the closing of the transaction, effective today, trading of the Buckeye limited partnership units has been suspended on the New York Stock Exchange, and Buckeye has requested that its limited partnership units be delisted from the NYSE.

08:42 EDT Rhythm expects cash, cash equivalents to fund operations through end of 2021 - Based on its current clinical development plans and taking into account its recent public offering, Rhythm expects that its existing cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments will enable it to fund its operations through at least the end of 2021.

08:40 EDT Rhythm to report data from Phase 2 Basket Study of setmelanotide in 2020 - Rhythm expects to announce additional data from its ongoing Phase 2 Basket Study of setmelanotide in high-impact heterozygous obesity and may announce preliminary data from other Phase 2 Basket Study indications in 2020.

08:38 EDT Rhythm expects to complete rolling NDA submission for setmelanotide in Q4 or Q1 - Rhythm remains on track to complete submission of its rolling NDA to the FDA for setmelanotide in patients with POMC deficiency obesity and LEPR deficiency obesity in the fourth quarter of 2019 or the first quarter of 2020.

08:37 EDT Chevron shares drop 1% to $114.89 following Q3 results

08:37 EDT Rhythm Pharmaceuticals to present data from two Phase 3 trials of setmelanotide - Rhythm plans to present additional data from its two pivotal Phase 3 trials of setmelanotide in POMC deficiency obesity and LEPR deficiency obesity on November 4, 2019 at The Obesity Society's ObesityWeek in Las Vegas.

08:34 EDT AVX acquires Chengdu OK New Energy - AVX announced that it has completed the purchase of Chengdu OK New Energy, or COKNE. After four years of collaborative efforts between COKNE and AVX on the manufacturing and development of super-capacitors, AVX has completed the full vertical integration under the AVX umbrella.

08:31 EDT AVX acquires Chengdu OK New Energy, terms not disclosed - AVX Corporation announced that it has completed the purchase of Chengdu OK New Energy. After four years of strong collaborative efforts between COKNE and AVX on the manufacturing and development of supercapacitors, AVX is delighted to complete the full vertical integration under the AVX umbrella.

08:22 EDT Sangamo appoints Sung Lee CFO - Sangamo (SGMO) announced the appointment of Sung Lee as executive VP and CFO, effective October 31. Lee oversees finance, facilities and information technology functions for Sangamo and reports to the CEO. Lee joins Sangamo from Gilead (GILD), where he spent nearly 14 years, most recently as senior VP leading the financial planning & analysis and investor relations functions.

08:17 EDT Harvard Bioscience announces inducement grants under Nasdaq listing rule - Harvard Bioscience announced that in connection with Yash Singh being named Executive Vice President, Cellular & Molecular Technologies on October 31, 2019, the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors approved the grant of equity awards to Mr. Singh as equity inducement awards outside of the Company's Third Amended and Restated 2000 Stock Option and Incentive Plan and material to the employee's acceptance of employment with the Company. The equity awards were granted on October 31, 2019 and approved in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). Such equity awards include an option to acquire 86,614 shares of common stock of the Company as well as market condition deferred stock award of restricted stock units with a target share amount of 39,286, each with vesting subject to Mr. Singh's continued employment with Harvard Bioscience on such vesting dates. The stock option has an exercise price of $2.80, being the closing price of Harvard Bioscience's common stock on the grant date, and vests in four equal annual installments commencing one year from the grant date and continuing on the next three anniversaries of such date thereafter. The market condition award has a final award amount determined based on the achievement of a relative total shareholder return, of the Company's common stock from the grant date to the earlier of October 31, 2020, being the anniversary of the grant date, or upon a change of control, and measured relative to the NASDAQ Biotechnology index during such period. The maximum number of market condition restricted stock units that may be earned is 150% of the target and would be achieved if the relative total shareholder return is at or above the 75th percentile of companies in the index and if the relative total shareholder return is below the 20th percentile, the market condition award will not vest and the award will be forfeited. The final achieved market condition award amount vests in equal installments on each of October 31, 2020, 2021, and 2022.

08:12 EDT Liquidia Technologies appoints Katie Rielly-Guavin to board of directors - Liquidia Technologies (LQDA) announced the appointment of Katie Rielly-Gauvin, Vice President of Global Commercial Development at AbbVie (ABBV), to the Company's Board of Directors as a Class II director with a term expiring at the 2020 annual meeting of stockholders and to the Company's Research and Development Committee and Nominating & Governance Committee.

08:08 EDT Cboe Global Markets Europe president Mark Hemsley retiring in 2020 - Cboe Global Markets announced that Mark Hemsley, Executive VPat Cboe Global Markets and President of Cboe Europe, is planning to retire from the company at the end of February 2020. David Howson, COO of Cboe Europe since 2013, has been named his successor and plans to assume the role of Executive VP at Cboe Global Markets and President of Cboe Europe beginning January 1, 2020. Howson joined Cboe in 2017 as part of the Bats acquisition.

08:06 EDT First Western announces cancellation of sale of LA-based fixed income team - First Western Financial announced that the proposed sale of its Los Angeles-based fixed income portfolio management team and certain advisory and sub-advisory arrangements to Lido Advisors, LLC and Oakhurst Advisors, LLC has been cancelled. Scott Wylie, CEO of First Western, said, "The LA fixed income team will continue to operate as part of our Capital Management segment. As we continue to optimize our cost structure and investment platform, we may evaluate other opportunities to divest the LA fixed income team in a manner that would free up management resources while continuing to provide our clients with full access to this team."

08:02 EDT Accenture appoints John Walsh as group chief executive - CMT - Accenture has appointed John Walsh as group chief executive - Communications, Media & Technology, effective immediately. He succeeds Omar Abbosh, who will remain with the company through February 29, 2020. Walsh is currently senior managing director of Communications, Media & Technology, or CMT, in North America, as well as office managing director for Accenture in Northern California.

07:56 EDT AbbVie says 'making excellent progress with several key strategic priorities' - "Strong performance from our Immunology and Hematologic Oncology portfolios led our growth this quarter. We are also making excellent progress with several key strategic priorities, including the recent launch of our two new immunology therapies - Rinvoq and Skyrizi - both of which are off to an impressive start, as well as continued progress toward the completion of our planned acquisition of Allergan," said Richard Gonzalez, chairman and CEO, AbbVie. "Based on the continued momentum of our portfolio, we are once again raising our full year 2019 EPS guidance range and increasing our dividend."

07:53 EDT AbbVie raises quarterly cash dividend to $1.18 from $1.07 per share - AbbVie is announcing that its board of directors declared an increase in the company's quarterly cash dividend from $1.07 per share to $1.18 per share beginning with the dividend payable on February 14, 2020 to shareholders of record as of January 15, 2020. This reflects an increase of approximately 10.3%, continuing AbbVie's strong commitment to returning cash to shareholders through a growing dividend. Since the company's inception in 2013, AbbVie has increased its quarterly dividend by 195%. AbbVie is a member of the S&P Dividend Aristocrats Index, which tracks companies that have annually increased their dividend for at least 25 consecutive years.

07:51 EDT AbbVie reports Q3 Q2 Global HUMIRA sales of $4.936B down 3.7% on reported basis - Global HUMIRA net revenues of $4.936B decreased 3.7% on a reported basis, or 3.2% operationally. U.S. HUMIRA net revenues were $3.887B, an increase of 9.6%. Internationally, HUMIRA net revenues were $1.049B, a decrease of 33.5% on a reported basis, or 31.8% operationally, due to biosimilar competition.

07:42 EDT Intellisense secures $3.5M investment ahead of Medigus share pact - Medigus announced that Intellisense Solutions, a Nevada corporation informed Medigus that it has secured commitments for a $3.5 million investment at a pre-money valuation of $10 million for Medigus' wholly-owned subsidiary, ScoutCam Ltd. On September 17, Medigus announced the signing of a securities exchange agreement with Intellisense which will result in Medigus' wholly-owned subsidiary, ScoutCam Ltd., becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of Intellisense, in exchange for 60% of the issued and outstanding share capital of Intellisense. In the event that ScoutCam achieves $33 million in aggregate sales within three years of closing, Intellisense will issue Medigus an additional 10% of its issued and outstanding share capital. The closing of the securities exchange agreement is conditioned upon Intellisense securing an investment of at least $3 million based on a company pre-money valuation of $10 million. By securing the $3.5 million investment, Intellisense has complied with a significant closing condition, bringing Intellisense and Medigus closer to closing of the securities exchange agreement. The closing of the agreement is subject to further closing conditions.

07:32 EDT Neuronetics appoints Sheryl Conley to board of directors - Neuronetics announced the appointment of Sheryl Conley to its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Conley will be a member of the Audit Committee and after her appointment, the Neuronetics' Board of Directors will have seven members. Conley previously served as the Group President - Americas, Global Brand Management and Chief Marketing Officer at Zimmer Holdings.

07:19 EDT BioCryst begins Phase 1 trial with BCX9250 for treatment of FOP - BioCryst Pharmaceuticals announced that the company has begun a Phase 1 clinical trial with BCX9250, an oral activin receptor-like kinase-2 inhibitor discovered and developed by BioCryst for the treatment of fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva. The Phase 1 trial will evaluate single and multiple ascending doses of oral BCX9250 in healthy volunteers. The company expects to report the results from the trial in the second half of 2020. In preclinical studies, BCX9250 demonstrated potency for the target kinase, selectivity, safety and strong suppression of heterotopic ossification in animal models.

07:16 EDT EyePoint secures new patient access agreement with Vizient - EyePoint Pharmaceuticals, announced that it has entered into a formal three-year contract with Vizient Inc. effective today, November 1, 2019, to offer DEXYCU with enhanced savings to Vizient's diverse membership, which includes more than 50% of the nation's acute care providers, including 95% of the nation's academic medical centers, and more than 20% of ambulatory care providers. Vizient provides expertise, analytics and advisory services, as well as a contract portfolio that represents more than $100 billion in annual purchasing volume, to improve patient outcomes and lower costs." Since the launch of DEXYCU in the first quarter of this year, EyePoint's dedicated sales team has been making consistent headway in penetrating targeted ambulatory surgical centers to deliver DEXYCU to patients who can benefit from the product's differentiated profile and efficacy," said Nancy Lurker, President and CEO of EyePoint Pharmaceuticals. "As a result, physician interest for DEXYCU, thus far, has been strong, and we are pleased to enter into an agreement with Vizient and begin offering contract savings to Vizient members. We look forward to the continued expansion of our commercial reach of DEXYCU to meet the ophthalmology community's demand for our product with the addition of Vizient members, which account for more than 50% of the acute care providers in the United States."

07:07 EDT Amag Pharmaceuticals says 'firmly believes' in safety, efficacy of Makena - The company said, "On October 29, 2019, the FDA held an advisory committee meeting to better understand and interpret the PROLONG confirmatory trial for Makena. While the committee discussed multiple questions, on the key question, seven committee members voted to leave the product on the market under accelerated approval and require a new confirmatory trial and nine advisory committee members voted to recommend that the FDA pursue withdrawal of approval for Makena. The approval of Makena was based on the Meis trial, conducted by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Units Network and published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2003. The PROLONG trial was conducted post approval under the FDA's Subpart H accelerated approval process. Makena's active ingredient, 17alpha hydroxyprogesterone caproate, is the only FDA-approved treatment for pregnant women who have had a prior spontaneous preterm birth. 17P has been recognized as the standard of care and used for more than a decade by healthcare providers to treat patients with a history of spontaneous preterm birth, which represents approximately 130,000 births a year in the U.S. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine recently reiterated their continued support of the use of Makena for at-risk pregnant women.The withdrawal of all FDA-approved formulations of hydroxyprogesterone caproate would take away an important, and safe, treatment option for high-risk pregnant women. AMAG firmly believes in the safety and efficacy of Makena and remains committed to working collaboratively with the FDA on a path forward to ensure eligible pregnant women continue to have access to 17P, the only FDA-approved therapy for this orphan condition."

06:56 EDT Colgate-Palmolive reports Q3 gross profit margin 59.0% - Gross profit margin was 59.0% in third quarter, even with third quarter 2018. Excluding charges resulting from the Global Growth and Efficiency Program in both periods, Gross profit margin was 59.0% in third quarter, a decrease of 20 basis points versus the year ago quarter as higher raw and packaging material costs, which included foreign exchange transaction costs, were partially offset by cost savings from the company's funding-the-growth initiatives and higher pricing.

06:54 EDT Booz Allen raises quarterly dividend to 27c per share - Payable on December 2 to stockholders of record on November 14.

06:52 EDT ITT authorizes new $500M share repurchase program - ITT approved a $40M share repurchase authorization to effectively close out the $1B share repurchase program. In addition, the Board approved a new $500B share repurchase program with an indefinite term. The company's capital deployment priorities are focused on funding strategic organic investments and close-to-core acquisitions.

06:40 EDT Citi Commercial names Bill Stanton as head of UK Commercial Banking business - Citi has appointed Bill Stanton as head of its UK Commercial Banking business. Reporting to Raymond Gatcliffe, EMEA Head of Citi Commercial Bank, Bill will be responsible for leading the UK franchise, serving the mid-market corporate segment across a number of industries. Bill joined Citi in 2004 and for the past four years has led the CCB business in Korea. Prior to this, he was based in New York and led the global sales management strategy for CCB.

06:37 EDT Newell Brands ends divestiture program, retains Mapa/Spontex and Quickie units - The company announced its decision to end its divestiture program and retain the Mapa/Spontex and Quickie businesses, which had been classified as held for sale and discontinued operations through the third quarter of 2019. Beginning in the fourth quarter, the financial results of the Mapa/Spontex and Quickie businesses will be reflected in continuing operations. The retention of these businesses is expected to be accretive to net sales, operating margins, earnings per share and operating cash flow in 2020 and future years. U.S. Playing Cards, currently under contract to be sold, will continue to be reflected in discontinued operations until the closing of the transaction, which is still expected to be completed by year-end 2019, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. The company now expects to achieve a net debt to EBITDA leverage ratio of approximately 4x by the end of 2019, and to approach 3.5x by the end of 2020. The company's outlook for full year and fourth quarter net sales, core sales, normalized operating margin and normalized earnings per share have been updated to reflect the inclusion of the Mapa/Spontex and Quickie businesses as part of continuing operations beginning in the fourth quarter. In the interest of comparability, the company has provided an adjusted view of its full year 2018 and Q4 2018 normalized financial results as they would have appeared had Mapa/Spontex and Quickie been part of continuing operations in those periods. As a result of the move to continuing operations, the company will resume depreciation expense for the Mapa/Spontex and Quickie businesses, with the annualized impact estimated at approximately $10M. Since the company's previous guidance assumed the Mapa/Spontex and Quickie businesses would be divested at year-end 2019, the incremental depreciation expense is the only incremental impact on the outlook for full year normalized earnings per share; the outlook for operating cash flow is not impacted by this change.

06:18 EDT Macau reports October casino revenue down 3.2% to 26.44B patacas - Macau's gaming bureau reported October gross revenue from games of fortune in the region decreased 3.2% year-over-year to 22.443B patacas. Publicly traded companies in the Macau gaming space include Las Vegas Sands (LVS), MGM Resorts (MGM), Wynn Resorts (WYNN) and Melco Resorts (MLCO).

06:08 EDT Kennedy Wilson acquires San Francisco bay area office campus for $115M - Kennedy Wilson has acquired Hamilton Landing, an institutional quality, wholly owned office campus with seven buildings across 20 acres in Marin County, California for $115M. The company invested $55M of equity and assumed a $60M interest-only loan at a fixed rate of 4.34% maturing in 2025. Hamilton Landing was built in the 1930's as an Air Force base, decommissioned in the 1970's and then converted into Class A creative office space in phases between 2000-2008.

06:03 EDT HMS Holdings announces $50M share repurchase program - The company's Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $50M of the company's common stock, on a discretionary basis, for a period of up to two years. The new authorization replaces a program that expires in November.

05:13 EDT Byline Bancorp announces stock repurchase program for 1.25M shares - Byline Bancorp announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program that authorizes the company to repurchase up to 1.25M shares of the company's outstanding common stock. The shares authorized to be repurchased represent approximately 3.3% of the company's currently outstanding common stock. The program will be in effect until December 31, 2020, unless earlier terminated.