Stockwinners Market Radar for December 02, 2019 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:07 EST Tapestry director sells 32K shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, Tapestry disclosed that its HR Officer Sarah Dunn sold 32K shares of common stock on November 29th. The total transaction size was $857K.

20:01 EST Jefferies Financial Group chairman sells 780K shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, Jefferies disclosed that its chairman Joseph Steinberg sold 780.3K shares of common stock on November 29th. The total transaction size was $16.4M.

19:28 EST Ferroglobe reports Q3 adjusted EBITDA ($7.2M) vs. $43.9M last year - Reports Q3 total shipments down 3.8% from Q2 and 12.4% from last year.

18:57 EST Karuna Therapeutics down 5.1% after disclosing board member resignation - Shares of Karuna Therapeutics are down 5.1% or $3.85 at $71.50 after the company's regulatory 8-K filing disclosing that "On December 2, 2019, Bharat Chowrira notified the Board of his decision to resign from the Board effective immediately. Dr. Chowrira's decision to resign as a director was not the result of any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to the Company's operations, policies or practices."

18:53 EST Splunk's Graham Smith sells 10,000 common shares - In a regulatory filing, Splunk chairman Graham Smith disclosed the sale of 10,000 common shares of the company at a price of $148.64 per share on November 27.

18:40 EST USTR proposes tariffs on $2.4B of French goods over U.S. tech tax - The U.S. Trade Representative has completed the first segment of its investigation under section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 and concluded that France's Digital Services Tax discriminates against U.S. companies, is inconsistent with prevailing principles of international tax policy, and is unusually burdensome for affected U.S. companies. Specifically, USTR's investigation found that the French DST discriminates against U.S. digital companies, such as Google (GOOG), Apple (AAPL), Facebook (FB), and Amazon (AMZN). In addition, the French DST is inconsistent with prevailing tax principles on account of its retroactivity, its application to revenue rather than income, its extraterritorial application, and its purpose of penalizing particular U.S. technology companies, the USTR said. USTR is issuing a Federal Register notice explaining that, for the reasons set forth in the report, the French DST is unreasonable, discriminatory, and burdens U.S. commerce. The notice solicits comments from the public on USTR's proposed action, which includes additional duties of up to 100 percent on certain French products. The notice also seeks comment on the option of imposing fees or restrictions on French services. The list of French products subject to potential duties includes 63 tariff subheadings with an approximate trade value of $2.4B. The value of any U.S. action through either duties or fees may take into account the level of harm to the U.S. economy resulting from the DST. "USTR's decision today sends a clear signal that the United States will take action against digital tax regimes that discriminate or otherwise impose undue burdens on U.S. companies," Ambassador Robert Lighthizer said. "Indeed, USTR is exploring whether to open Section 301 investigations into the digital services taxes of Austria, Italy, and Turkey. The USTR is focused on countering the growing protectionism of EU member states, which unfairly targets U.S. companies, whether through digital services taxes or other efforts that target leading U.S. digital services companies."

18:09 EST S&P announces changes to S&P 400, 500, 600 indices - S&P Dow Jones Indices will make the following changes to the S&P 500, S&P MidCap 400 and S&P SmallCap 600: Old Dominion Freight Line (ODFL) will replace SunTrust Banks (STI) in the S&P 500, Cabot Microelectronics (CCMP) will replace Old Dominion Freight Line in the S&P MidCap 400, and Ready Capital (RC) will replace Cabot Microelectronics in the S&P SmallCap 600 prior to the open of trading on Monday, December 9. BB&T (BBT) is acquiring SunTrust Banks in a deal expected to be completed soon pending final conditions. Post acquisition, BB&T will change its name to Truist Financial Corp. and will trade under the ticker "TFC." Industrial Logistics Properties Trust (ILPT) will replace Cambrex (CBM) in the S&P SmallCap 600 prior to the open of trading on Friday, December 6. Permira Advisors is acquiring Cambrex in a deal expected to be completed soon pending final conditions.

18:03 EST Suncor sees 2020 capital program C$5.4B-C$6B - Suncor released its 2020 corporate guidance which focuses on driving its C$2B of incremental free funds flow target by 2023, achieving its 2030 sustainability targets, and reflects the company's recent 800 MW cogeneration investment announcement. The capital program is expected to be between C$5.4B-C$6B with flat investment in oil related projects year over year. Upstream production is expected to be between 800,000 to 840,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, an approximately 5% production increase compared to 2019 midpoint guidance. "During 2019, we've demonstrated the value of our asset integration and flexibility through our focus on value over volumes, optimizing our product mix and transferring production quotas among our assets. This unique competitive advantage means we're able to realize the highest value possible for our produced barrels, even during a period of production curtailment," said Mark Little, president and CEO. "Looking forward to 2020, we will continue to focus on value over volume, investing in high-return projects that are largely independent of pipeline constraints and commodity price volatility, to deliver on our C$2 billion incremental free funds flow target by 2023. These initiatives continue to position our company as financially and environmentally sustainable by driving long-term value creation, increasing shareholder returns, and lowering the carbon intensity of our production."

17:46 EST YouTube updates policy on scripted, simulated violent content in video games - Google's YouTube said in a policy enforcement update that starting on December 2, scripted or simulated violent content found in video games will be treated the same as other types of scripted content. For gaming creators on the platform, this means: Future gaming uploads that include scripted or simulated violence may be approved instead of being age-restricted; There will be fewer restrictions for violence in gaming, but this policy will still maintain Google's "high bar" to protect audiences from real-world violence; the company may still age-restrict content if violent or gory imagery is the sole focus of the video. For instance, if the video focuses entirely on the most graphically violent part of a video game. This Community Guidelines policy enforcement update does not change advertiser-friendly guidelines, the company noted. Reference Link

17:20 EST Industrial Logistics Property to replace Cambrex in S&P 600 at open on 12/6 - Permira Advisors is acquiring Cambrex in a deal expected to be completed soon pending final conditions.

17:18 EST Cabot Microelectronics to replace Old Dominion in S&P 400 at open on 12/9

17:16 EST Highbridge Capital takes 6.49% passive stake in Clovis - Highbridge Capital disclosed a 6.49% stake in Clovis, which represents over 3.80M shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

17:01 EST RBF Capital takes 6.47% passive stake in Danaos - RBF Capital disclosed a 6.47% stake in Danaos, which represents over 1.58M shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

16:55 EST Moog Inc completes acquisition of GAT for EUR48.5M - Moog announced that it has completed the acquisition of Gesellschaft fur Antriebstechnik mbH and GAT Inc. for a purchase price of EUR$48.5M. GAT is a world leader in the design and manufacture of high-end fluid rotating unions and slip rings. The company's products are used in a variety of applications including specialty industrial machinery, machine tools, steel mills, medical products, wind turbines, and semiconductor fabrication. GAT anticipates 2019 year-end sales of EUR34M.

16:39 EST Mesa Air misses performance metric, allows American Airlines to remove aircraft - Mesa Air (MESA) announced that under the recent amendment to its agreement with American Airlines (AAL), the company did not meet certain performance metrics during the most recent measurement period, which allows American to remove two additional aircraft from the capacity purchase agreement, or CPA. American has agreed to defer the right to remove these two aircraft but has elected to remove one of two previously deferred aircraft, effective January 2, 2020. Based on the increased utilization of the remaining fleet, Q2 2020 block hours for American are expected to be within one percent of block hour production for the same period last year.

16:36 EST Carriage Services appoints William Goetz COO - Carriage Services announced that William Goetz has joined the company as president and COO and as a member of the board. Goetz was most recently as senior VP of Sales and Marketing at Sysco Corporation.

16:35 EST Elanco announces Sara Place as chief sustainability officer - Elanco announced Sara Place has joined the company as chief sustainability officer. Elanco's experts help the company and its customers identify new opportunities to continue improving sustainable business practices, improve the well-being of animals and people and reduce the environmental footprint of protein production by keeping food animals healthier. Place's expertise comes from her work as the senior director for Sustainable Beef Production Research for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, where she led research-driven sustainability benchmarking projects and conducted lifecycle assessments of the beef supply chain to identify areas for improvement.

16:34 EST Puma Biotechnology gets Nerlynx marketing approval in Singapore - Puma Biotechnology has received marketing approval of NERLYNX in Singapore from the Health Sciences Authority, a statutory board under the Ministry of Health of the Singapore Government. NERLYNX is indicated for the extended adjuvant treatment of adult patients with early stage HER2-overexpressed/amplified breast cancer, to follow adjuvant trastuzumab-based therapy. Alan H. Auerbach, CEO and President of Puma, said, "We have been extremely pleased with the strong commercial strategy implemented by Specialised Therapeutics in Australia and we look forward to their continued success throughout South East Asia. We are committed to expanding access to NERLYNX to breast cancer patients around the world."

16:31 EST International Game CFO Alberto Fornaro resigns to pursue other opportunities - International Game Technology announced that Alberto Fornaro, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, has resigned to pursue other professional opportunities. Fornaro will continue in his current position through January 31, 2020, to ensure a smooth transition for the company. IGT's board of directors has unanimously approved the appointment of Timothy Rishton, currently IGT's Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer, as interim CFO during the search for a permanent replacement. IGT has initiated a global search with a leading executive search firm to find a permanent successor.

16:30 EST Resideo CEO to step down, board forms strategic review committee - Resideo announced a number of actions to position the company for long-term success and enhance shareholder value. The company's president and CEO, Mike Nefkens, and the board have mutually agreed to a transition, which will allow Mike to focus on family health issues. Nefkens has agreed to continue until his successor is appointed, at which time he also will step down from the board of directors. Nefkens will be supported by Andy Teich, the company's lead independent director, through the transition period. The Resideo board of directors is conducting a search for the company's next CEO with the assistance of leading independent search firm Russell Reynolds Associates. Resideo's board has formed a Strategic & Operational Committee focused on market strategy, gross margin improvement and G&A simplification. The committee will directly oversee the company's previously announced operational and financial review. The company plans to provide an update on the review in conjunction with the announcement of its fourth-quarter and full-year 2019 results, expected in February 2020.

16:27 EST CBL & Associates suspends common and preferred stock dividends - CBL Properties announced that it is suspending all future dividends on its common stock, 7.375% Series D Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock and 6.625% Series E Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock. "Suspending dividends is a significant and difficult decision, one that was carefully considered by Management and the Board. However, preserving free cash flow is a paramount objective for CBL at this time," said Stephen Lebovitz, CBL's CEO. "We anticipate a decline in net operating income in 2020 as a result of heightened retailer bankruptcies, restructurings and store closings in 2019. Offsetting these declines by retaining available cash is necessary to maintain the market dominant position of our properties and to reduce debt. CBL has also made significant efforts over the past 18 months to reduce operating costs, including executive compensation and overall corporate G&A expense, as well as execution of a strategy to utilize joint venture and other structures to reduce capital expenditures. Ultimately, we believe these actions will allow the Company to return greater value to its shareholders." The dividend suspension will be reviewed quarterly by the Board of Directors, but is expected to remain in place until year-end 2020. The company made this determination following a review of current taxable income projections for 2019 and 2020. The company will review taxable income on a regular basis and take measures, if necessary, to ensure that it meets the minimum distribution requirements to maintain its status as a Real Estate Investment Trust.

16:21 EST Coupa Software sees Q4 subscription revenues $91.5M-$92.5M - Q4 professional services and other revenues are expected to be approximately $10M.

16:16 EST Curtiss-Wright announces $50M share repurchase program - Curtiss-Wright announced that its board of directors has authorized the company to repurchase $50M of shares via a 10b5-1 program beginning in January 2020, which is expected to more than offset potential dilution from compensation plans. The company has $200M available under the current share repurchase authorization, $50M of which will be allocated to the 10b5-1 program mentioned above and $100M of which will be available to repurchase additional shares opportunistically through a supplemental 10b5-1 program.

16:13 EST Washington Trust announces new 850,000 share stock repurchase program - Washington Trust announced that the Corporation's Board of Directors adopted a new stock repurchase program. The Stock Repurchase Program, which replaces the Corporation's 2006 stock repurchase plan, authorizes the repurchase of up to 850,000 shares, or approximately 5%, of the Corporation's outstanding common stock.. The Stock Repurchase Program expires on October 31, 2020 and may be modified, suspended, or discontinued at any time. The Corporation had approximately 17.4M shares outstanding as of November 30.

16:12 EST Standex to acquire Torotel for approximately $48M in cash - Standex and Torotel announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for Standex to acquire Torotel for approximately $48M in cash, which includes the assumption of net debt of approximately $1.4M. The transaction is expected to close in the first calendar quarter of 2020 and is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, including the approval of Torotel shareholders. Standex expects the acquisition to be slightly accretive to its earnings in its first year of ownership excluding one-time purchase accounting and transaction costs. Torotel specializes in the custom design, manufacture and sale of a wide variety of precision magnetic components including electro-mechanical assemblies, high voltage transformers, dry-type transformers, toroidal coils, inductors, reactors and chokes for use in equipment such as aircraft navigational equipment, digital control devices, medical equipment, avionics equipment, down-hole drilling, conventional missile guidance systems, and other defense and commercial aerospace applications. Torotel's trailing twelve-month revenues are approximately $24M. Torotel, which has 174 employees, is headquartered in Olathe, Kansas and has operating facilities in Olathe and Hatfield, Pennsylvania.

16:11 EST Wells Fargo names Scott Powell COO - Wells Fargo & Company (WFC) announced that Scott Powell has been named chief operating officer effective Dec. 9, 2019. He will serve on the company's Operating Committee and report directly to CEO and President Charlie Scharf. Powell most recently was CEO of Santander Holdings USA (SAN) as well as CEO of Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc., a publicly traded consumer finance company focused on vehicle finance and third-party servicing. "I have known Scott for many years, and his tremendous experience, proven track record and unquestioned integrity will make him a great addition to our management team," Scharf said. "He's the ideal person to take on this new position as we seek to transform Wells Fargo so that high-quality execution, clear accountability and operational excellence become unquestioned components of our culture. These elements are critical for us as we tackle our most important priority, regulatory remediation, and also create the foundation from which to build Wells Fargo and to best serve our customers." As COO, Powell will oversee regulatory execution and relations, enterprise shared services and a range of operational functions across the company.

16:10 EST Triumph Group awarded U.S. Army MRO contract valued at approximately $50M - Triumph Group announced that the U.S. Army recently awarded its Triumph Integrated Systems business with a five-year maintenance, repair and overhaul contract for indefinite quantity and delivery of engine fuel pump metering units for the CH-47 Chinook aircraft operating with a T55 engine. The contract, valued at approximately $50M, will enable the Army to call upon the expertise of Triumph's fuel pump maintenance and repair station for routine repairs and overhaul services. Triumph operates the only T55 engine fuel pump repair station in the world.

16:09 EST Airgain selected by Didi Chuxing over C-V2X connectivity - Airgain announced that it has been selected by Didi Chuxing, a mobile transportation platforms, for delivering high performance C-V2X connectivity for an autonomous vehicle pilot in Shanghai. "The Airgain C-V2X solution was chosen based on the high gain and efficiency results, and the ability to perform at an advanced level when working on set routes," said John Pan, General Manager, Asia at Airgain. "We're thrilled to have been chosen by DiDi and we value our relationship with this leading-edge company. We are looking forward to further technological collaborations in support of the advancement of autonomous driving technologies."

16:08 EST Senseonics launches Eversense CGM with non-adjunctive Claim in the U.S. - Senseonics announced that Eversense users who download the new Eversense CGM mobile app can start dosing insulin based off of the readings from their Eversense System without the need to do a confirmatory blood glucose fingerstick measurement. The Eversense CGM System consists of a fluorescence-based sensor, a smart transmitter worn over the sensor to facilitate data communication, and a mobile app for displaying glucose values, trends and alerts. In addition to featuring the first long-term and first implantable CGM sensor, the system is also first to feature a smart transmitter that provides wearers with on-body vibratory alerts for high and low glucose and can be removed, recharged and re-attached to the skin without discarding the sensor.

16:08 EST Cadence to acquire AWR from National Instruments for about $160M in cash - Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (CDNS) and National Instruments Corporation (NATI) announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which Cadence expects to acquire AWR Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of National Instruments. AWR is an industry leader in high-frequency RF EDA software technology and will bring a highly talented RF team to Cadence. Concurrently, Cadence and NI also entered into a strategic alliance agreement to expand their relationship to enhance electronic system innovation with a focus on communications. AWR software is used by microwave and RF engineers to design wireless products for complex, high-frequency RF applications. The technology helps customers accelerate the design and product development cycle of systems used in communications, aerospace and defense, semiconductor, computer, and consumer electronics, by helping reduce the time it takes to go from concept to manufacturing. Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Cadence will pay approximately $160M in cash at closing and expects approximately 110 AWR employees to join Cadence. The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.

16:06 EST NantKwest announces 'promising' data from first six patients in QUILT trial - NantKwest announced promising safety data generated from the first six patients in its QUILT-3.064 trial. The first-in-human study evaluated the safety and preliminary efficacy of the Company's first-in-class, tumor-targeted PD-L1.t-haNK cell therapy in patients with locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors. "The unique dual-targeting of PD-L1.t-haNK to both PD-L1 expressing tumors and therapeutic monoclonal antibodies has the potential to be transformative to the treatment of advanced solid tumors with cell-based therapies," said Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, the Chairman and CEO of NantKwest. "PD-L1.t-haNK is a cryopreserved, off-the-shelf product that can rapidly deliver treatment to patients in an outpatient setting while avoiding the extensive manufacturing delays associated with autologous CAR-T therapies. We look forward to reporting full study results from the phase 1 cohort and moving toward a recommended phase 2 dose. We continue to advance our innovative cell therapies such as PD-L1.t-haNK in combination with ImmunityBio's N-803, an IL-15 superagonist that is designed to stimulate the activation and proliferation of the patient's own NK cells to maximize the potential of immunogenic cell death to treat cancer," continued Soon-Shiong. NantKwest and a wholly owned subsidiary of ImmunityBio have entered into an exclusive collaboration agreement to co-develop NantKwest's proprietary off-the-shelf NK platforms in combination with N-803. John Lee, M.D., Clinical Senior Vice President at NantKwest, said, "We are highly encouraged by the early safety results with PD-L1.t-haNK in a patient population with advanced, difficult to treat solid tumors. All patients were able to be infused in the outpatient setting without any reported cytokine toxicities or immune related adverse events. NantKwest's approach has been designed to overcome the challenges and limitations typically seen when treating solid tumors with CAR-T and other immunotherapy approaches and I look forward to progressing our studies to advance this innovative new approach to cancer therapy."

16:05 EST Cadence Design, National Instruments enter into strategic alliance pact - National Instruments Corporation (NATI) and Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (CDNS) announced a system innovation strategic alliance to create an integrated design to test flow, leveraging reusable data and test IP from electronics design and verification to validation and production test for electronic system and semiconductor companies. This strategic alliance builds upon the broad-ranging collaboration that National Instruments and Cadence initiated in 2018 to improve the overall semiconductor development and testing of next-generation wireless, automotive and mobile integrated circuits and modules. Through the strategic alliance agreement, NI and Cadence expect the joint development of technology, methodology and intellectual property to streamline electronics development. Cadence and NI also plan to collaborate to define and build a common, connected flow enabling re-use of mixed-signal testbenches and stimulus from pre-silicon design verification to post-silicon validation and production test. Reusable test IP helps customers accelerate their time to market and reduce errors. A goal of the collaboration is to better integrate flows for analog/mixed-signal and RF ICs and modules from design to test.

16:04 EST Basic Energy trading halted, news pending

16:03 EST Marrone Bio CEO Pamela Marrone to retire - Marrone Bio announced that company founder Pamela Marrone will retire from her position as CEO. The board of directors has begun the search process for a new CEO. Marrone will continue as CEO during the search process, and she and board chairman Bob Woods will shepherd the transition process until the new CEO is retained. Marrone will continue to serve on the company's board of directors as a non-executive member. Following her retirement, she also will serve as a consultant to Marrone Bio to advocate for the company.

16:01 EST ViewRay trading halted, news dissemination

14:55 EST Premier up 6% as sales process said to be explored - Shares of Premier (PINC) are up 6% in afternoon trading after Dealreporter said the healthcare services company is working with Centerview Partners and Bank of America (BAC) to explore a potential sale, according to Fly contacts. The deal-focused publication reported, citing sources, that the company is at an early stage in the process, with initial bids likely to be collected before the end of the year. Following the report, Premier shares are up $2.21, or 6.2%, to $37.75.

14:30 EST Navidea trading resumes

14:02 EST Bunge and BP complete formation of BP Bunge Bioenergia joint venture in Brazil - Earlier today, Bunge (BG) and BP (BP) announced that they have completed the formation of BP Bunge Bioenergia, the Brazilian bioenergy joint venture that combines their Brazilian bioenergy and sugarcane ethanol businesses. BP Bunge Bioenergia is now the second largest operator by effective crushing capacity in the Brazilian bioethanol market. As part of the transaction, Bunge received cash proceeds of $775 million, comprising of $700 million of non-recourse Bunge debt that was assumed by the joint venture at closing, and $75 million from BP, before customary closing adjustments. The proceeds were used to reduce outstanding indebtedness under the Company's credit facilities. The non-recourse debt was arranged by a syndicate of banks, led by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, ABN Amro Bank N.V. and ING Bank N.V. Itau BBA acted as exclusive financial advisor to Bunge, and Lefosse Advogados acted as legal counsel.

13:43 EST Vale trading resumes

12:40 EST Vale to suspend temporarily disposal of tailings at Laranjeiras dam - Vale said it has taken the decision to suspend temporarily the disposal of tailings at the Laranjeiras dam, originated at the Brucutu mine, while assessing the dam's geotechnical characteristics. During the shutdown, the dam will have the Level 1 emergency protocol adopted, which does not require the evacuation of the downstream population, according to the National Mining Agency, Vale added. The Laranjeiras dam had its Statement of Condition of Stability issued on September 30, which remains valid. During the period of stoppage of tailings disposal, estimated at one and two months, the Brucutu plant will operate with around 40% of its capacity through wet processing with tailings filtration and dry stacking, being the impact of the temporary halting estimated at 1.5 million of tons of iron ore per month, approximately. The temporary stoppage does not lead to changes in Vale's iron ore and pellet sales guidance, which remains, in 2019 and in Q4, between 307-312 million tons and between 83-88 million tons, respectively. Nonetheless, for the Q1, production and sales are expected to range between 68-73 million tons, due to weather-related seasonality, the gradual and safe return of operations and in line with the margin over volume strategy, Vale said. Additionally, Vale informs that it will file again, in due course, the item 11 of its Reference Form, in the period required by the Instruction CVM number 480 of December 7, 2009, as amended.

12:30 EST Vale trading halted, news pending

12:13 EST Pitney Bowes completes sale of software business to Syncsort for $700M in cash - Pitney Bowes announced that the previously disclosed sale of its Software Solutions Business to Syncsort for $700M in cash has been completed, with the exception of its software and data business in Australia, which is expected to close in Q1 of 2020, subject to regulatory approval. Net proceeds from the sale, after closing costs, transaction fees and taxes will primarily be used to pay down debt. In Q3 and Q4, the company repaid term loans, secured a new Term Loan A and replaced its revolving credit facility. The company first announced the sale of its Software Solutions Business to Syncsort in August 2019.

12:01 EST Philips, Inspira Health announce $50M, long-term strategic partnership - Royal Philips and Inspira Health announced a strategic 5-year partnership agreement worth $50M to "standardize patient monitoring and drive innovation in diagnostic imaging solutions in order to enhance patient care and improve clinical workflow performance." The agreement will make Philips solutions available to more than a dozen Inspira health facilities, helping the charitable non-profit fulfill its commitment to provide access to the highest quality medical services, said the companies, which noted that the contract also includes training and services.

12:00 EST Weidai falls -11.8% - Weidai is down -11.8%, or -70c to $5.25.

12:00 EST Tenneco rises 6.3% - Tenneco is up 6.3%, or 78c to $13.17.

12:00 EST Kimbell Royalty Partners rises 9.1% - Kimbell Royalty Partners is up 9.1%, or $1.31 to $15.71.

11:49 EST Enviva receives approval to construct wood pellet facility in Sumter County - Enviva issued a statement thanking the Alabama Department of Environmental Management for its approval of a permit allowing Enviva to construct a wood pellet facility in Sumter County. This permit paves the way for 85 full-time jobs and an estimated 180 additional jobs in logging, transportation, and local services, as well as the creation of 300-400 jobs during construction of the plant, the company said. The facility will be located at the Port of Epes Industrial Park and represents an initial investment of $175M and an expected annual economic impact in the region of approximately $180M. Enviva expects the proposed wood pellet production plant in Epes to be the next facility in its strategic asset cluster in the Gulf region, which is expected to include other pellet plants in the states of Mississippi and Alabama, as well as a deep-water marine terminal at the Port of Pascagoula.

11:14 EST Navidea trading halted, news pending

10:00 EST Diplomat Pharmacy falls -6.0% - Diplomat Pharmacy is down -6.0%, or -31c to $4.84.

10:00 EST Apache falls -13.8% - Apache is down -13.8%, or -$3.07 to $19.21.

10:00 EST Kimbell Royalty Partners rises 5.2% - Kimbell Royalty Partners is up 5.2%, or 75c to $15.15.

09:47 EST Evolent Health falls -4.3% - Evolent Health is down -4.3%, or -31c to $6.90.

09:47 EST Apache falls -10.8% - Apache is down -10.8%, or -$2.40 to $19.88.

09:47 EST NexTier Oilfield rises 2.7% - NexTier Oilfield is up 2.7%, or 13c to $4.92.

09:41 EST Brooks Automation delays filing of Form 10-K, sees material weakness in controls - In a regulatory filing earlier, Brooks Automation disclosed that the company is unable to file its Annual Report on Form 10-K for its fiscal year ended September 30, 2019 within the prescribed time period without unreasonable effort or expense. The filing stated: "Management is reviewing the timing of revenue recognition with respect to product shipped from one of the company's contract manufacturers within the company's Semiconductor Solutions Group segment that represents approximately $1.0M in revenue. As a result, management, in consultation with the Audit Committee of the company's Board of Directors, is also reviewing the timing of revenue recognition for similar transactions. The company's review has not yet been finalized, has delayed the completion of the company's financial statements and the company's annual audit, and has impacted the company's ability to timely file the Form 10-K. The company expects to file the Form 10-K as soon as practical within the 15-day extension period. Separate from the review of the timing of revenue recognition and related delay in filing the Form 10-K as described above, the company also expects to report in the Form 10-K management's conclusion that a material weakness in internal controls over financial reporting exists with respect to the accuracy of revenue recorded at a business unit within its Brooks Life Sciences segment. Specifically, the company found certain immaterial errors in regards to the price and quantity of certain billings and concluded the company did not maintain effective controls to verify the accuracy of the price and quantity data for customer transactions entered into the business unit's billing system, and to verify that the invoices generated from the billing system were based on the appropriate amounts. These control deficiencies did result in immaterial adjustments to the consolidated financial statements for the year ended September 30, 2019, but management concluded that the material weakness did not result in any misstatements that are material to the company's consolidated financial statements for any reported period. Management has concluded, however, that the internal control issues represent a material weakness that it expects to report in Item 9A of the Form 10-K. These conclusions have been discussed with the company's Audit Committee and the company's independent registered public accounting firm."

09:37 EST Kodiak Sciences Inc trading resumes

09:31 EST Trump says restoring tariffs on steel and aluminum from Brazil and Argentina - Earlier, President Donald Trump tweeted: "Brazil and Argentina have been presiding over a massive devaluation of their currencies. which is not good for our farmers. Therefore, effective immediately, I will restore the Tariffs on all Steel & Aluminum that is shipped into the U.S. from those countries. The Federal....Reserve should likewise act so that countries, of which there are many, no longer take advantage of our strong dollar by further devaluing their currencies. This makes it very hard for our manufactures & farmers to fairly export their goods. Lower Rates & Loosen - Fed!" Publicly traded companies in the steel space include AK Steel (AKS), ArcelorMittal (MT), Nucor (NUE), Steel Dynamics (STLD), TimkenSteel (TMST) and U.S. Steel (X). Alcoa is among aluminum levered stocks. Reference Link

09:27 EST Denny's announces new $250M share repurchase authorization - Denny's Corporation announced that the Company's Board of Directors approved a new multi-year share repurchase program authorizing the purchase of an additional $250M of Common Stock. This is in addition to repurchases previously authorized. Under the new authorization, the Company may purchase its Common Stock from time to time in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions.

09:20 EST Mateon Therapeutics announces oncology articles outlining impact of OT101 - Oncotelic, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mateon Therapeutics, announced today the publication of two peer-reviewed expert editorials authored by Fatih Uckun MD PhD, the CMO for Mateon, and Vuong Trieu, PhD, the CEO and President for Mateon, at Oncotelic in the oncology journals Cancer Clinics Journal and Annals of Hematology and Oncology Research. Also published was a peer-reviewed research article in the prestigious oncology journal Cancers. The editorial titled "Monotherapy of High-Grade Gliomas with a TGF-beta2 Targeting RNA Therapeutic" provides an overview regarding the development status, mechanism of action, and clinical potential of Mateon's first-in-class RNA therapeutic OT101 for the treatment of the most aggressive brain tumors in adults. The editorial titled "Convection-enhanced delivery of an anti-TGFbeta RNA therapeutic as a new therapeutic concept for children with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma ("DIPG")" explains a new concept for the treatment of pediatric DIPG patients with an RNA therapeutic targeting TGFbeta 2 and the scientific rationale and proof of concept data behind it. The research article "Recurrent or Refractory High-Grade Gliomas Treated by Convection-Enhanced Delivery of a TGFbeta2-Targeting RNA Therapeutic: A Post-Hoc Analysis with Long-Term Follow-Up" was published in Cancers as part of the Special Issue Personalized Medicine: Recent Progress in Cancer Therapy. OT101, an RNA therapeutic designed to abrogate the immunosuppressive actions of TGF-beta 2, is Oncotelic's lead anti-brain tumor drug candidate. In a completed Phase 2 clinical study, OT-101 exhibited clinically meaningful single-agent activity and induced durable complete and partial responses in recurrent and refractory adult high-grade glioma patients, including adults with GBM. DIPG, an orphan disease with a low survival rate and no established or effective standard of care. Despite numerous clinical trials of chemotherapeutic agents, immuno-oncology drugs and specific targeted therapies, no significant progress has been made in the treatment of DIPG and the prognosis remains dismal, with a mean OS of 9-12 months from the time of diagnosis, a median survival time of approximately 10 months, and a two-year OS rate of less than 10 percent. Five-year survival is less than 3 percent, and many long-term survivors have evidence of moderate or severe cognitive impairment, likely as a consequence of radiation therapy. Chemotherapy does not have an established role in the management of patients with DIPG. Furthermore, there is no standard treatment for progressive DIPG after the failure of radiation therapy and no salvage regimen has been shown to extend survival. Therefore, there is an urgent need for therapeutic innovations for treatment of DIPG, as reflected by multiple treatment modalities being evaluated in early neuro-oncology clinical trials. Further development of OT-101 may offer renewed hope for salvage therapy not only for adult high-grade glioma patients but also for pediatric DIPG patients. Last month, US Food and Drug Administration granted Rare Pediatric Disease Designation for OT101/Trabedersen for the treatment of diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma as a drug for a "rare pediatric disease," as defined in section 529(a)(3) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.

09:17 EST Terreno Realty renews lease in San Leandro, California - Terreno Realty announced that it has executed a lease renewal for 147,898 square feet in San Leandro, California with a global aerospace and defense technology company. The lease now expires December 31, 2024.

09:10 EST Newmont Goldcorp announces $1B share repurchase program - Newmont announced its board has unanimously approved the authorization of a stock repurchase program for up to $1B of common equity to be completed in the next 12 months.

09:08 EST Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: EyeGate (EYEG), up 4% after announcing that it has received additional topline data in its corneal wound repair pivotal study. In the study, EyeGate's Ocular Bandage Gel demonstrated a more rapid corneal wound closure over the standard-of-care as early as day two... Evofem (EVFM), up 24% after announcing results from AMPREVENCE, a Phase 2b clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of Amphora for the prevention of urogenital chlamydia and gonorrhea in women. The study met both its primary and secondary endpoints of reducing the risk of chlamydia and gonorrhea infection, respectively... AeroVironment (AVAV), up 5% after Baird analyst Peter Arment upgraded shares to Outperform from Neutral. The analyst expects solid Q2 results tomorrow and believes the outlook for 2020 should be at least maintained with potential for upside... McDermott (MDR), up 12% after the company and its joint venture partner, Chiyoda International, announced that Train 2 of the Cameron project has reached the final commissioning stage... Splunk (SPLK), up 2% after Goldman Sachs analyst Christopher Merwin upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral with a price target of $180, up from $147. After a "strong" fiscal Q3 report, the analyst sees "several catalysts" for Splunk shares to positively re-rate over the next 12 months. LOWER: Lexicon (LXRX), down 19% after announcing that the Office of New Drugs of the FDA has reiterated the FDA's prior position and denied the company's appeal of the complete response letter in relation to the new drug application for sotagliflozin in type 1 diabetes... Roku (ROKU), down 7% after Morgan Stanley analyst Benjamin Swinburne downgraded shares to Underweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $110, up from $100. Roku continues to execute a "sound strategy" to capitalize on the shift to streaming, but there are risks to growth expectations not reflected in current valuation levels, Swinburne tells investors... Teladoc (TDOC), down 2% after SunTrust analyst Alexander Draper downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy with an unchanged $80 price target... Aqua Metals (AQMS), down 40% after announcing a fire occurred in the AquaRefining area of its plant. The fire and related intense heat and smoke caused significant damage to a material amount of equipment in the AquaRefinery area, including all 16 AquaRefining modules, control wiring and other supporting infrastructure... ADT Inc. (ADT), down 4% after BofA Merrill Lynch analyst Gary Bisbee downgraded shares to Neutral from Buy with a $9.50 price target. The analyst notes that while the valuation on the stock is "far from demanding" and investment sentiment in the name is still "subdued", he also sees "few catalysts" to warrant sustained outperformance.

09:06 EST Textainer announces commencement of dual listing on JSE - Textainer announced that it has filed a Pre-Listing Announcement with the Johannesburg Stock Exchange to commence a secondary, or dual, listing of Textainer's common shares on the Main Board of the JSE under the share code "TXT" with commencement of trading expected on Wednesday, December 11. The secondary listing is not in connection with any current capital raising effort.

09:04 EST Textainer to acquire Leased Assets Pool Company for approximately $66M in cash - Textainer announced that the company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Textainer Limited, has entered into an agreement to purchase Leased Assets Pool Company for an equity value of approximately $66M in cash. The company intends to repay LAPCO's existing debt at the closing and refinance the LAPCO containers which are managed by Textainer in one or more of the Company's existing revolving credit facilities. The transaction is subject to certain closing conditions and is expected to close by year-end. LAPCO owns a fleet of approximately 163,000 TEU of intermodal containers managed by Textainer and approximately 3,000 TEU of containers managed by other container lessors. LAPCO is an indirect subsidiary of Trencor Limited, which owns approximately 48% of Textainer's common shares. The percentage of Textainer's owned fleet will increase to 85.4% from 80.8% following the closing of the acquisition. In connection with the transaction, Textainer engaged the services of an independent valuation consultant to determine the fair market value of LAPCO and the transaction's consideration was supported by the valuation.

09:03 EST Griffon announces acquisition of Apta by AMES - Griffon announced that its subsidiary, AMES, acquired Vatre Group. The purchase price for Apta is approximately $10M and is expected to contribute approximately $15M in annualized revenue and be accretive to Griffon's earnings in the fiscal year ending September 30, 2020.

09:03 EST Lumentum to sell certain product lines to AFR - Lumentum Holdings and Advanced Fiber Resources announced they have entered into an agreement whereby AFR will acquire the assets associated with certain Lithium Niobate based optical component product lines from Lumentum that are developed and manufactured by Lumentum's San Donato, Italy site. The transaction is subject to certain customary closing conditions for a transaction of this type and is expected to close early in Lumentum's third quarter of fiscal year 2020. The product lines in the proposed transaction are part of the discontinued Telecom and Datacom product lines that Lumentum previously discussed on its first quarter fiscal year 2020 earnings call on October 31.

09:01 EST Dell Technologies names Jeff Clarke as COO - Dell Technologies announces Jeff Clarke as its COO and vice chairman. Most recently, Clarke served as vice chairman of Products & Operations. Dell Technologies also informed its team of Chief Commercial Officer Marius Haas' decision to retire from the company at the end of this fiscal year. Bill Scannell, currently president of Enterprise Sales and Customer Operations, will add Commercial and Partner Sales to his responsibilities and become the new president of the combined Sales organization.

08:54 EST Juniper appoints Raj Yavatkar as CTO - Juniper Networks announced that Raj Yavatkar will be named CTO, reporting to CEO Rami Rahim. Yavatkar will be responsible for heading Juniper's technology strategy and for leading and executing several of the company's critical future-focused technology innovations. Yavatkar is anticipated to begin his employment at Juniper this month. Yavatkar is currently an IEEE Fellow and previously headed the development of Network Virtualization Infrastructure and products for Cloud Networking at Google.

08:49 EST Inpixon announces Southern African distribution partnership with Neocast - Inpixon announced that it has signed Neocast Solutions Ltd., as an authorized reseller. Neocast Solutions is an internet-of-things solutions company, deploying services to companies in various industries, including retail, real estate, hospitality, healthcare and logistics, in fifteen countries across Southern Africa. Neocast's first initiative will be to introduce Inpixon's asset tracking technologies to Neocast's customers and prospects. These technologies incorporate long-range Bluetooth sensors and Bluetooth Low-Energy beacons that, when attached to assets, enable prospective customers to monitor the location and movements of such assets on a digital map of the facility and the surrounding property. Furthermore, utilizing Inpixon's technology is expected to help Neocast's customers to reduce theft, as well as enhance customer engagement by analyzing traffic patterns and product placement to improve the consumer experience.

08:46 EST Epigenomics reports micro-simulation model results on Epi proColon - Epigenomics reported on micro-simulation model results indicating that Epi proColon, a colorectal cancer screening test approved for patients who are unwilling or unable to be screened by the United States Preventive Services Task Force recommended methods, provides clinically meaningful reductions in the incidence and mortality of CRC comparable to those of USPSTF currently recommended methods. The micro-simulation model, developed and validated at Harvard Medical School, evaluated the impact of adherence rates, testing intervals and clinical performance of different screening strategies on CRC incidence and mortality. Results show that adherence rates and screening intervals can have a profound impact on the effectiveness of screening strategies as compared to one-time sensitivity and/or specificity. The study has been published in Cancer Medicine. The study was conducted using an individual-level model to simulate the natural history of CRC and enables comparison of clinical benefits, harms, and burden of alternative strategies for CRC screening. The model was validated by comparison of predicted CRC incidence and mortality, adenoma dwell times, overall dwell times and lifetime risk of developing CRC with results from two large randomized controlled trials and those of the National Cancer Institute's Cancer Intervention and Surveillance Modeling Network models. The model used a hypothetical cohort of individuals aged 50 years or older and emulated the distribution of baseline characteristics for subjects in the landmark clinical studies. Identical cohorts were then created and assigned to different screening strategies in order to compare intervention-related differences in outcomes. The strategies and intervals were analyzed under two scenarios: adherence fixed at 100%; adherence based on published rates. Sensitivity analyses based on varying initial and resulting overall adherence rates were also conducted. Key findings from the study include: Assuming an adherence rate of 100%: FIT-DNA, FIT, HS-gFOBT, and SEPT9 averted 42-45 CRC cases and 25-26 CRC deaths; COL averted 46 cases and 26 deaths; CTC averted 39 cases and 23 deaths and FS averted 32 cases and 19 deaths per 1,000 individuals screened; Estimated LYG were similar across FIT-DNA, FIT, HS-gFOBT, SEPT9, CTC, and COL strategies; Based on reported adherence of eligible individuals to CRC screening, per 1000 individuals screened, colonoscopy produced the best outcomes unless a non-invasive method achieves a 65% - 70% or greater adherence rate; Screening individuals with COL every ten years or SEPT9 every year resulted in more favorable outcomes compared to all other strategies; The impact of analytic performance on screening outcomes is heavily influenced by adherence rates and screening interval.

08:42 EST Maverix Metals to acquire Royalty Portfolio from Kinross Gold - Maverix Metals (MMX) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a portfolio of 25 precious metals royalties from Kinross Gold (KGC). As consideration for the Royalty Portfolio, Maverix will issue to Kinross a total of 11.2M common shares and make a cash payment of $25M upon closing of the transaction. Closing is expected to occur on or before December 31, and at which time Kinross will own a 9.4% basic interest in Maverix. Certain royalties in the Royalty Portfolio are subject to rights of first refusal as well as the requirement for various transfer consents. Any proceeds from the exercise of a right of first refusal will be paid to Maverix. Maverix will fund the transaction through a combination of cash on hand and drawing on its existing credit facility.

08:41 EST Heartland BancCorp to acquire Victory Community Bank for cash, stock - Heartland BancCorp announced the entry into a definitive agreement whereby Victory Community Bank will merge into Heartland Bank, with Heartland Bank surviving. Under the terms of the merger agreement, Victory will receive 58,934 shares of Heartland common stock and $35.5M in cash, subject to adjustment as set forth in the merger agreement, for all shares of Victory Community Bank common stock that Victory owns, resulting in an aggregate transaction value of approximately $41.1M based on the closing price of Heartland common stock on November 29, 2019. The merger has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both institutions, Victory and the shareholders of Victory. The merger is also subject to the receipt of all requisite regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions and is anticipated to be completed early in the second quarter of 2020. Upon completion of the transaction, John G. "Jack" Kenkel, Jr., currently President and CEO of Victory Community Bank, will join Heartland's Board of Directors. The aggregate transaction value equates to approximately 161.3% of Victory's tangible book value as of September 30, 2019 and 13.0 times its net income for the last twelve months. Based on assumptions prepared by Heartland's management, the merger is anticipated to be approximately 12.2% accretive to Heartland's earnings per share in 2020 and approximately 19.4% accretive to EPS in 2021, resulting in a 3.3-year earnback period. The combined company will have approximately $1.32B in assets. Victory Community Bank is a 16-year old community bank that serves the Northern Kentucky and Greater Cincinnati area, with a focus on residential mortgage lending. At September 30, 2019, Victory Community Bank had assets of $179M, a high-quality loan portfolio of $154M, and an attractive deposit base of $137M with three banking locations in Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties in Kentucky. Its sister company, Victory Mortgage, which is affiliated with Fischer Homes, has mortgage lending offices in Louisville, Columbus, Indianapolis and Atlanta. As part of the merger, Victory Mortgage has entered into a cooperation agreement with Heartland Bank for certain products and services.

08:38 EST Granite Oil to continue to prioritize debt repayment in 2020 capital program - GRANITE OIL provides preliminary 2020 plans and announces the fall review of the Company's borrowing base redetermination of its credit facility has been completed. Granite is planning a capital program in 2020 that continues to prioritize significant debt repayment while growing production and adding producing reserves at highly efficient and economic metrics. Following a successful recompletion test in August 2019, in which the Company added new frack stages in a legacy producing well, the Company is confident this tool provides a means with which to accelerate these plans in 2020 while maintaining significant capital flexibility. Granite will enter 2020 with five shut-in wells that have been actively re-pressurized by the Company's EOR program since Q2 2019. These wells will form the basis of its recompletion program planned for the year, which will commence mid-January 2020 with its second recompletion. The Company has 11 additional wells identified as potential future recompletion candidates. The semi-annual borrowing base redetermination of Granite's credit facilities has been completed. The Company's lenders have mutually agreed to a renewed borrowing base of $47.5M with a current authorized amount of $42.5M, which will serve to reduce associated interest and standby costs. With year-end 2019 net debt expected to be approximately $39.5M, and with continued quarter-over-quarter debt reduction, the Company's credit facilities are more than enough to execute, or expand, its planned capital program in 2020. With a solid, lower-decline production base, a promising recompletion program focused on re-pressurized wells with significant production potential, and a large, proven drilling inventory, Granite will enter 2020 with strong optionality with which to navigate continued volatility in the energy environment. The Company expects to firm-up its 2020 budget shortly after the second recompletion test in January.

08:36 EST Evoke Pharma regains compliance with Nasdaq minimum bid requirement - Evoke Pharma announced that on November 29, 2019, it received notification from the Listing Qualifications Department of the Nasdaq Stock Market that the Company has regained compliance with the minimum bid price requirement under Nasdaq's Marketplace Rule 5550(a)(2) for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market. Accordingly, Nasdaq considers the matter closed.

08:34 EST Oragenics completes enrollment of Phase 2 clinical trial for AG013 in OM - Oragenics announced the completion of enrollment in its ongoing double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 2 trial of its lead product candidate, AG013, an easy to use oral rinsing system designed to prevent and treat oral mucositis, or OM. The ongoing Phase 2 trial is a double-blind, placebo-controlled, two-arm, multi-country, multi-center trial, in which 200 patients have been randomized in a 1:1 ratio to receive either AG013 or a placebo. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the safety, tolerability and efficacy of topically administered AG013 compared to placebo for reducing the incidence and severity of OM in patients undergoing traditional chemoradiation, or CRT, for the treatment of head and neck cancer, or HNC. Key measures include duration, time to development, and overall incidence of OM during the active treatment phase, which begins from the start of chemoradiation therapy and ends two weeks following its completion.

08:32 EST Alexco Resource issued amended QML for Keno Hill Silver District - Alexco Resource is pleased to announce that it has been issued an amended Quartz Mining License for the Keno Hill Silver District from the Yukon Government. The amended QML is effective for 17 years and applies to the Bermingham, Flame & Moth, Bellekeno, Lucky Queen silver deposits, and the Onek zinc-silver deposit. Amendment of the company's QML was necessary to incorporate the Bermingham deposit into the Keno District Operations mine plan. The amended QML authorizes underground operations for development and production from Alexco's Bermingham, Flame & Moth, Bellekeno, Lucky Queen and Onek deposits as well as construction and management of mine waste rock and dry stack tailings facilities. The QML also extends the authorization to operate and maintain the 400 tonne per day Keno District Mill and associated ancillary facilities, construct and maintain the district wide surface haulage roads as well as operation of the company's 200-person camp located adjacent to the historical Elsa township. In addition, Alexco is pleased to announce that Wayne Zigarlick has joined the company as Vice President, Operations - General Manager, Keno Hill. Zigarlick has over 30 years' experience in the North American mining industry and formerly held senior management roles at Echo Bay Mines, Kinross Gold and Coeur Mining.

08:28 EST Internet Gold announces completion of Searchlight Transaction - Internet Gold - Golden Lines announced closing of the 'Searchlight Transaction' among the Company, B Communications, Searchlight II BZQ, L.P. and T.N.R. Investments Ltd. At the closing of the transaction, the Company sold its entire holdings in BComm for an aggregate amount of NIS225M, while at the same time the Company made an investment in BComm of NIS345M. In consideration, the Company received NIS310M par value of Series C debentures of BComm as well as 8,383,234 ordinary shares of BComm. As previously announced, the Company is not able to fully pay its debts, and the Company intends to initiate a creditors' arrangement which will be submitted to the applicable Israeli court. The Company anticipates that pursuant to such arrangement the existing shares of the Company will be nullified and that contemporaneously the creditors of the Company and the party or parties to a transaction of a purchase of the Company's shares as a 'shell company', if such transaction is completed, will receive, among else, 100% of the outstanding shares of the Company.

08:24 EST Ideanomics unit signs partnership agreement with province of Inner Mongolia - The Ideanomics Mobile Energy Global division has announced a strategic partnership agreement with the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region People's Government. The company said, "Currently in the region there are over 120,000 diesel and fossil fuel powered heavy duty and off-road mining vehicles. 80,000 of these vehicles are designated short distance vehicles and our strategic partnership will aim to replace 50% of those vehicles within 36 months. Our partner Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. has spent many years proving large concept battery projects with many major mining companies. CATL battery powered EV trucks have proven a five years' life span versus the traditional engines used for mining, that have typically lasted less than three years before major and expensive maintenance has been required on their systems. The deal will see MEG work directly with the Province of the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, as well as working with the City of Erdos and the provincial capital Hohhot. The partners are committed to cut pollution and carbon emissions to zero, as well as to promote the 'Blue Sky' initiatives, which are important for the planet and at the same time provide massive cost savings to regions and corporations, similar to the projected Erdos mine that will save more than just fuel cost of over $15B in the next 5 years. This strategic partner agreement with the Province of Inner Mongolia, for new Energy Vehicles and Metals, marks the second in our aggressive roadmap that will see MEG sign all 6 heavy mining regions in the country. Our recently announced agreements in the Yunnan province include and enabled the replacement of diesel and fossil fuel powered off road & heavy-duty trucks for new Electric Vehicles. Additionally, this agreement provides for the establishment of a very important new and innovative metals' trading center. This will enable Inner Mongolia to benefit from the provinces' mining activities, specifically those metals which are significant to new energy and clean energy, such as Graphite / Graphene. The Province of Inner Mongolia currently has over 50% of world deposits of Graphite / Graphene, as well the region is rich in other metals such as, Nickel, Cobalt, Lithium, and Manganese. Ideanomics and MEG will develop the metal trading platform into a leading, fully regulated, exchange destination. Together, we will immediately begin recruiting a qualified team, with the requisite partners, to oversee the exchange's development. The intention is to build the trading, settlement, and supply chain enablement for the exchange using blockchain-based systems, infused with AI. The city of Hohhot, the great capital of the province of Inner Mongolia, will provide assistance in obtaining all legal and regulatory licenses for the establish of the exchange."

08:21 EST Intercept appoints Jason Campagna as CMO - Intercept Pharmaceuticals (ICPT) announced the appointment of Jason Campagna, M.D., PhD., as CMO. He will join Intercept's executive leadership team and report directly to Mark Pruzanski, M.D., President and CEO. In his new role, Campagna will provide strategic medical and scientific oversight for Intercept, and work in close collaboration with the company's Research & Development, Regulatory, Medical Affairs and Safety & Pharmacovigilance departments. Prior to Intercept, Dr. Campagna held a number of roles of increasing responsibility at The Medicines Company (MDCO) from 2010 to 2016, including most recently as SVP and Health Science Lead of Surgery and Perioperative Care.

08:19 EST Just Energy announces suspension of dividend on Series A Preferred Shares - Just Energy Group announced that it has amended its senior secured credit facility to increase the senior debt to EBITDA covenant ratio from 1.50:1 to 2.00:1 for the third quarter of Fiscal 2020. In addition, the Company has amended the covenants on its senior unsecured term loan facility to increase the senior debt to EBITDA covenant ratio from 1.65:1 to 2.15:1 for the third quarter of Fiscal 2020. Both changes are effective only for the third quarter of Fiscal 2020 and the covenants will revert to the prior levels following December 31, 2019. In connection with the amendments, the agreements governing both facilities have been changed to restrict the declaration and payment of dividends on the Company's 8.50% Series A Fixed-to-Floating Rate Cumulative Redeemable Perpetual Preferred Shares until the Company's senior debt to EBITDA ratio is no more than 1.50:1 for two consecutive fiscal quarters. Accordingly, the Company is suspending, with immediate effect, the declaration and payment of dividends on the Series A Preferred Shares until the Company is permitted to declare and pay dividends under the agreements governing its facilities. However, dividends on the Series A Preferred Shares will continue to accrue in accordance with Series A Preferred Share terms during the period in which dividends are suspended. Any dividend payment following the suspended period will be credited against the earliest accumulated but unpaid dividend. The Series A Preferred Shares trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "JE.PR.U" and on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "JE.PR.A". The previously announced Strategic Review remains active and is progressing. Additionally, the Company continues to implement measures designed to lower costs by eliminating unnecessary overhead and low-return investments, improve the quality of its customer base and fortify operational and financial controls.

08:17 EST Reed's appoints Thomas Spisak as CFO - Reed's announced the appointment of Thomas Spisak as CFO, effective December 2, 2019. Spisak held numerous positions in multiple divisions of Diageo, most recently serving as VP of Finance and Controller of North America. Joann Tinnelly, who served as Interim CFO during the transition, will resume her role as VP and Corporate Controller of Reed's Inc. and take on an expanded role in Finance and Corporate Strategy reporting directly to the CFO.

08:13 EST Seattle Genetics, Astellas Pharma announce trial collaboration with Merck - Seattle Genetics (SGEN) and Astellas Pharma (ALPMY) announced a clinical collaboration agreement with Merck (MRK), through a subsidiary, to evaluate the combination of Seattle Genetics' and Astellas' antibody-drug conjugate enfortumab vedotin and Merck's anti-PD-1 therapy, KEYTRUDA, in patients with previously untreated metastatic urothelial cancer. Under the terms of the agreement, the three companies will conduct and fund a global, registrational phase 3 clinical trial to be led by Seattle Genetics. The trial will be designed to evaluate the efficacy of the combination of enfortumab vedotin and pembrolizumab in patients with previously untreated locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer. The companies are working in consultation with regulatory authorities to finalize the trial design and currently plan to initiate the trial in the first half of 2020.

08:12 EST Providence Service appoints David Greenleaf as CEO - The Providence Service Corporation (PRSC) announced that it has appointed Daniel Greenleaf as CEO of the Company and its subsidiary, LogistiCare Solutions, effective December 11, 2019. Greenleaf recently served as President and CEO of BioScrip (BIOS).

08:10 EST Puma Biotechnology amends license agreement with Pierre Fabre - Puma Biotechnology and Pierre Fabre have agreed to extend the terms of the license agreement in which Puma granted Pierre Fabre exclusive rights to develop and commercialize NERLYNX within Europe and part of Africa. The amended agreement extends Pierre Fabre's commercial rights for NERLYNX to the Middle East, South Africa, Sudan and Turkey. Under the terms of the agreement, Puma will receive an upfront payment of $4M, as well as additional regulatory and sales-based milestone payments totaling up to $3M. Net sales of NERLYNX from the countries in this extension territory will be included in the calculation of payments related to sales milestones and royalties from the original license agreement signed earlier this year.

08:10 EST iCAD to showcase breast health solutions including expanded ProFound AI Platform - iCAD announced it will showcase its Breast Health Solutions suite including the expanded ProFound AI platform in the iCAD exhibition booths at the Radiological Society of North America Annual Meeting in Chicago, December 1-6, 2019. iCAD's Breast Health Solutions suite includes ProFound AI for Digital Breast Tomosynthesis, the first artificial intelligence software for DBT to be FDA-cleared, as well as software solutions for 2D mammography and breast density. During the meeting, the Company will also unveil its vision for future technologies, including solutions that will enable clinicians to more easily consider patients' prior images and prospective breast cancer risk assessment over time. Trained with one of the largest available DBT datasets, ProFound AI rapidly and accurately analyzes each DBT image, or slice, and provides radiologists with key information, such as Certainty of Finding lesion and Case Scores, which assists in clinical decision-making and improving reading efficiency. Featuring the latest in deep-learning artificial intelligence, the algorithm allows for continuously improved performance via ongoing updates. Clinical data from a large reader study involving ProFound AI for DBT were recently published in Radiology: Artificial Intelligence. According to study findings, ProFound AI for DBT improved radiologist sensitivity by 8 percent, reduced unnecessary patient recall rates by 7.2 percent, and slashed reading time for radiologists by 52.7 percent.1 Additionally, ProFound AI cut reading time by up to 57.4 percent for radiologists reading cases of women with dense breasts. Results from a subgroup analysis of this reader study examining improvement in accuracy and reading times for traditional 2D mammography will be presented during the meeting on Sunday, December 1 by Emily F. Conant, M.D., professor and chief of breast imaging from the Department of Radiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. According to study findings, ProFound AI improved sensitivity and specificity and reduced reading time for radiologists reading DBT with digital or with synthetic 2D.

08:08 EST OncoSec issues letter to shareholders regarding Alpha statements - OncoSec issued a letter to shareholders. The letter said "OncoSec Medical Incorporated ("OncoSec", the "Company", "we" or "our") has scheduled a Special Meeting of Shareholders on January 17, 20201 to vote on our proposed strategic transaction (the "Transaction") with Grand Decade Developments Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of China Grand Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Holdings Limited ("CGP") and its U.S. affiliate, Sirtex Medical US Holdings, Inc. ("Sirtex"). This Transaction would bring an immediate $30 million cash infusion to the Company at an approximate 25% premium over the average share price during 20 days prior to entering into the Transaction on October 10, 2019. While we believe this Transaction clearly provides the best outcome for all shareholders, Alpha Holdings, Inc. ("Alpha") has been making false and misleading statements to try to get you to vote against the Transaction - which we believe would put your investment and the Company at risk... Bottom Line: Even if we sold every share available to us today, including warrants and discounts that would be inevitable, we wouldn't have enough capital to get us through the end of the third quarter of 2020, as Alpha falsely suggests. It's either sell 12 million shares to get $30 million or sell 12 million shares to get $8 million. The math is simple... Alpha's misleading statements provide you with false information that could misguide you into making a decision that is harmful to your investment in OncoSec. The terms of the Transaction do not give CGP and Sirtex control of OncoSec's Board... The Transaction is not a sale of the Company to CGP. In fact, we believe that by strengthening our balance sheet and providing financial stability, the deal actually makes OncoSec a more attractive acquisition partner in the future... Alpha is making outrageous accusations while suing to keep the voices of shareholders from being heard... Contrary to the false and misleading characterizations by Alpha, the Company ran a comprehensive process evaluating all strategic alternatives available to OncoSec... Alpha is not merely an investor in OncoSec - they sit on our board and have their own agenda. Both our investors and Alpha's investors should be asking themselves the same question - can investors really rely upon any statements made by Alpha?..."

08:07 EST Aytu BioScience announces launch of Natesto U.S. co-promotion with Acerus - Aytu BioScience announced the launch of the company's co-promotion with Acerus Pharmaceuticals which is expected to accelerate the growth of in the United States. Through this expanded commercial relationship, Acerus has launched a U.S.-based specialty sales force promoting Natesto to urologists and endocrinologists. Aytu will continue to recognize all Natesto revenue and promote Natesto to all other physician specialties including internal medicine and family practice. Natesto total prescriptions grew 30% from fiscal 2018 to 2019, and this commercial partnership is expected to accelerate brand growth through joint promotional efforts and a significantly expanded U.S. presence. The Natesto co-promotion officially closed November 29 and was effective December 1. This agreement significantly increases sales force coverage of targeted testosterone prescribers and puts a higher promotional focus on urologists and endocrinologists. Further, this revised partnership enables Aytu to increase its Natesto promotional efforts in primary care and other specialties. To accelerate the launch of Acerus' U.S. commercial team, Aytu has agreed to transfer five current sales employees to Acerus as of December 2. These staff will operate as Acerus employees, but they will remain on Aytu's payroll until the earlier of the date on which Acerus is ready to fully assume the personnel or June 30, 2020. Aytu will deduct the costs of these sales personnel from quarterly payments otherwise owed to Acerus under the revised agreement, with a final accounting to be done once per year. Throughout 2020, Acerus will be building out a complete US-based specialty sales force and other commercial functions, significantly increasing the number of employees working directly on Natesto in the United States. As previously announced on July 30, the companies signed an agreement to expand their commercial partnership and amend and restate the original 2016 Natesto exclusive U.S. license agreement. Under the revised agreement, Aytu will remain the exclusive U.S. supplier of Natesto and retain all rights to revenues generated. Aytu and Acerus will continue to operate a joint commercialization committee in support of Natesto and will closely collaborate on U.S. brand strategy and commercial initiatives.

08:06 EST Tetra Bio Pharma signs commercialization agreement for CAUMZ in Mexico - Tetra Bio-Pharma announced that it has signed a definitive co-development and commercialization agreement with Alternavida S.A. de C.V. for the clinical development, marketing and distribution of CAUMZ in Mexico. Under terms of the agreement, Alternavida will be a clinical research collaborator for the clinical development of CAUMZ will fully fund two clinical trial sites in Mexico for the Serenity and fibromyalgia trials, and will be responsible for registering and commercializing CAUMZ in Mexico. The clinical trial sites will be fully compliant with FDA and Health Canada requirements and are expected to be up and running in early 2020. The funding of the two sites represents a cost saving of C$10M dollars and potentially allows Tetra to accelerate the enrollment process and ultimately the time required to complete the Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials as the Company pursues approvals in the U.S. and Canada. The cost savings is based on clinical trial costs, such as investigator and site costs, patient interventions and assessments, as well as study monitoring costs. Additionally, Tetra will also receive a one-time license fee of C$125,000 as well as royalties on CAUM sales in Mexico of 10% in year one, 12.5% in year two, and 15% in years three to fifteen. Finally, Alternavida has been granted a Right of First Refusal to commercialize CAUMZ in eight additional countries including Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, Peru and the Dominican Republic.

08:04 EST Destination Maternity announces proposed 'stalking horse' bidder - Destination Maternity filed on November 29, 2019 a motion to approve the selection of Marquee Brands, as the stalking horse bidder in its ongoing marketing and sale process. Marquee Brand's bid is to purchase the company's ecommerce businesses, intellectual property, leased departments within department stores and baby specialty stores, strategic marketing partnerships and the right to designate certain inventory and related assets for sale by its partners, Gordon Brothers and Hilco Merchant Resources. The bid of approximately $50M, subject to adjustment, along with the assumption of certain liabilities, represents a baseline bid and is subject to higher or otherwise better offers in an open auction process. The proposed Purchase Agreement contains customary closing conditions. To the extent additional qualified bids are received, Destination Maternity expects the auction, scheduled to take place on December 9, to be competitive. The deadline to submit qualified bids is December 5, and the company expects to seek Court approval of the winning bid on December 12.

08:03 EST Cumberland receives FDA approval for RediTrex product line - Cumberland announced that it has received approval from the U.S. FDA for RediTrex, its new line of methotrexate products. RediTrex injection is designed for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with rheumatoid arthritis, as well as adults with psoriasis. The approval of the product came after a number of communications with the FDA and several amendments to the New Drug Application we submitted to the FDA in late 2018. Cumberland has acquired exclusive U.S. commercial rights to Nordic Group B.V.'s injectable methotrexate line of products. Nordic is a privately-owned European pharmaceutical company with a presence in 17 countries. The company focuses on the development and commercialization of niche hospital and orphan products, aiming to address unmet medical needs. Nordic's methotrexate products are established market leaders in multiple European countries. Cumberland will launch two injectable methotrexate product lines within the U.S., with both product offerings intended for the treatment of active rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis and severe psoriasis.

08:01 EST PellePharm completes enrollment of Patidegib 2% pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial - PellePharm, a BridgeBio Pharma company, announced the completion of enrollment for its pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial of Patidegib Topical Gel 2% vs. vehicle gel in patients with Gorlin Syndrome. PellePharm is a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company committed to targeting rare forms of basal cell carcinoma.

07:44 EST Washington Prime purchases former Elder Beerman site at Dayton Mall - Washington Prime Group announced that it has purchased from a non-retailer the former Elder Beerman site at Dayton Mall. The Company plans to leverage exciting redevelopment opportunities for the 15-acre site, which includes a two-story, approximately 200,000 SF retail building. Washington Prime Group is currently in planning and negotiations with several local stakeholders, including Miami Township and existing and prospective tenants and partners. Leasing activity remains robust at Dayton Mall with Ross Dress for Less opening at the town center in October 2019, and The RoomPlace to occupy approximately 50,000 SF of renovated inline space when the home furnishings retailer opens in the first half of 2020. During the past three years, Dayton Mall has been successful in replacing underperforming tenants with in-demand retailers and lifestyle tenancy such as dining, entertainment and home furnishings.

07:39 EST NanoViricides initiates Safety Pharmacology studies involving CNS - NanoViricides reports that it has initiated the Safety Pharmacology studies involving CNS, Cardiovascular, and Respiratory systems, that are required to support the IND application for NV-HHV-101 moving towards human clinical trials. The company believes that the likelihood of adverse effects on the central nervous, cardiovascular or respiratory systems is very low because our lead drug candidate, NV-HHV-101, is developed to be administered as a topical formulation to the skin in humans and is not expected to result in bodily systemic exposure.

07:36 EST BiomX completes patient enrollment in BX001 study - BiomX announced that patient recruitment for its cosmetic clinical study of BX001, initiated on October 1, is complete and that 75 patients have been recruited. BX001 is a topically administered gel comprised of a cocktail of naturally occurring phage targeting Cutibacterium acnes, a bacterium implicated in the pathophysiology of acne vulgaris. The primary endpoints of the randomized, double-blind, dose-ranging, vehicle-controlled study are safety and tolerability. Exploratory endpoints include proof of principle by measurement of the effect of BX001 on C. acnes levels. Data from this trial are expected at the end of the first quarter of 2020. BiomX enrolled 75 individuals with mild-to-moderate acne in the ongoing cosmetic clinical study of BX001. Enrolled individuals were randomized into three cohorts: a higher-dose cohort, a lower dose cohort and a placebo cohort. For BX001 studies in acne-prone skin, BiomX is working in collaboration with a multinational cosmetic company.

07:34 EST Aquestive Therapeutics completes rolling submission of Libervant NDA - Aquestive Therapeutics announced the completion, as planned, of the rolling submission of a New Drug Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its therapeutic candidate Libervant Buccal Film for the management of seizure clusters. Libervant has received orphan drug designation from the FDA.

07:33 EST Neurocrine, Xenon Pharmaceuticals to partner on treatments for epilepsy - Neurocrine Biosciences (NBIX) and Xenon Pharmaceuticals (XENE) announced a license and collaboration agreement to develop first-in-class treatments for epilepsy. Neurocrine Biosciences gains an exclusive license to XEN901, a clinical stage selective Nav1.6 sodium channel inhibitor with potential in SCN8A developmental and epileptic encephalopathy and other forms of epilepsy, including focal epilepsy. In addition, Neurocrine Biosciences gains an exclusive license to pre-clinical compounds for development, including selective Nav1.6 inhibitors and dual Nav1.2/1.6 inhibitors. The agreement also includes a multi-year research collaboration to discover, identify and develop additional novel Nav1.6 and Nav1.2/1.6 inhibitors. Under the terms of the agreement, Neurocrine Biosciences will be responsible for development costs associated with the programs and the agreement will be subject to the following terms: Upfront License Payment: Xenon will receive $50M, including a $30M upfront payment in cash and a $20M equity investment by Neurocrine Biosciences at a Xenon per share price of $14.196. XEN901 Investigational New Drug Milestone: Xenon will receive up to $25M upon the U.S. FDA acceptance of an IND for XEN901, with 55% of the amount in the form of an equity investment in Xenon at a 15% premium to Xenon's 30-day trailing volume weighted average price at that time. Collaboration Milestones: Xenon may also be entitled to receive up to approximately $1.7B in additional development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments related to XEN901 and other licensed Nav1.6 or Nav1.2/1.6 inhibitor products. XEN901 Royalties: Xenon will have the right to receive a tiered royalty ranging from the low double-digits to mid-teen percentage in the U.S. and a tiered royalty at slightly lower rates outside the U.S. based upon aggregate global net sales. Other Product Royalties: Xenon will have the right to receive a tiered royalty for other Nav1.6 and Nav1.2/1.6 inhibitor products ranging from the mid-single to low double-digits in the U.S. and a tiered royalty at slightly lower rates outside the U.S. based upon aggregate global net sales. Xenon Co-Fund Option: Xenon retains an option to co-fund 50% of the U.S. development costs of XEN901 or another product candidate in exchange for increased U.S. royalties, reaching 20% of U.S. net sales at the highest royalty tier for XEN901. Funded Collaboration: Neurocrine Biosciences will fund all clinical developments costs associated with the development of product candidates under the collaboration and will also fund a research collaboration up to 3 years with a minimum of 10 FTEs at Xenon. Xenon will be responsible for certain pre-clinical and a portion of certain near term manufacturing costs under the collaboration. Neurocrine Biosciences anticipates filing an IND application with the FDA in the middle of 2020 in order to start a proposed clinical trial for XEN901 in SCN8A-DEE patients.

07:30 EST Macau reports November casino revenue down 8.5% to 22.88B patacas - Macau's gaming bureau reported November gross revenue from games of fortune in the region decreased 8.5% year-over-year to 22.877B patacas. Publicly traded companies in the Macau gaming space include Las Vegas Sands (LVS), MGM Resorts (MGM), Wynn Resorts (WYNN) and Melco Resorts (MLCO).

07:29 EST Brainsway announces results from multicenter trial evaluating H4 Deep TMS - BrainsWay announced final results from its pivotal multicenter trial assessing the safety and efficacy of the Company's H4 Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation system as an aid in smoking cessation in adults suffering from chronic smoking addiction. This trial represents the first multicenter pivotal study conducted with any non-invasive brain stimulation device in the addiction space. The results reported are from a randomized, double-blind, multicenter study designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of H4 Deep TMS treatment as an aid in reducing cigarette smoking in individuals suffering from chronic smoking addiction. The trial was conducted at 14 sites, primarily in the U.S., and enrolled 262 eligible subjects randomized into two groups: an active treatment group treated with BrainsWay's proprietary H4 coil targeting addiction-related brain circuits, and a sham control group. The primary endpoint of the study was a comparison between the two groups of the four-week continuous quit rate, representing abstinence during a consecutive four-week period. Weekly abstinence was defined as a subject's self-report of no smoking, confirmed by urine tests indicating abstinence from smoking. The participants in the study were highly addicted to smoking, with a history of smoking on average for over 26 years and multiple failed attempts to quit. Of the 168 participants in the study who actually completed three weeks of H4 Deep TMS or sham treatment, plus the mandatory additional three weeks of follow-up, the CQR was 28.4% in the treatment group compared to 11.7% in the sham group. The primary endpoint was defined based on the CQR among those subjects who received at least one H4 Deep TMS treatment session and had at least one post-baseline assessment, even if not completing the treatment period. Within this cohort the CQR was 19.4% in the treatment group and 8.7% in the sham group. An important secondary endpoint was the reduction in the number of cigarettes smoked. At baseline, the average number of cigarettes smoked per week was 132 for the active group and 127 for the sham group. After 3 weeks of treatment, the average number of cigarettes smoked per week was reduced to 38 in the active group and 57 in the sham group. By the sixth week of the study, the average number of cigarettes smoked per week declined to 31 for the active group and 48 for the sham group. BrainsWay's Deep TMS system uses best-in-class technology to effectively stimulate areas of the brain at a greater depth and breadth than any other commercially available TMS device. The BrainsWay H4 helmet used in this study is different than the Company's FDA-cleared H1 and H7 coils and is designed to non-invasively stimulate brain networks known to be associated with addictions, including the bilateral insula and prefrontal cortex, using brief electromagnetic pulses. Overall, the treatment was found to be well-tolerated by participants in the study, and no seizures were reported. The result of the study, including patient safety information and adverse event data, remain subject to completion of analysis of the underlying data.

07:22 EST Aleafia Health completes $7.1M cannabis sale agreement - Aleafia Health has reached a definitive Cannabis Material Purchase Agreement on November 29, 2019, with a Canadian Licensed Producer. Under the terms of the Agreement, Aleafia Health will sell 2,840 kg of dried cannabis flower at a price per gram of $2.50, generating $7.1M in revenue. The transaction will include up to three shipments, all of which will be completed before January 31, 2020. The dried flower was cultivated at Aleafia Health's Port Perry Outdoor Grow facility, which yielded 10,300 kg in 2019. The yield figure is limited to dried flower only, and excludes stems or other parts of the cannabis plant.

07:19 EST Apache conducts various testing activities at Maka Central - 1 well - Apache Corporation updated the status of its first exploratory well in Block 58 offshore Suriname. Drilling operations on the Maka Central - 1 well commenced in late September with an expected drill time of 30 to 60 days. Upon reaching a depth of approximately 6,200 meters, the company elected to conduct various testing activities in two distinct Upper Cretaceous play types. Following the completion of these tests, the company will set casing, make equipment modifications to the rig, and resume drilling in mid-December to evaluate a third play type in the Cretaceous. The new target depth of the well is approximately 6,900 meters. Following the drilling operations, further testing and evaluation will be conducted as appropriate.

07:14 EST True Leaf Medicine appoints Darren Battersby as CFO - The Company has appointed Darren Battersby, CPA, as CFO. He succeeds Kerry Biggs, who stepped down from the role effective November 30, 2019, to pursue other opportunities. Battersby will report to True Leaf's CEO Darcy Bomford. Battersby is the former CFO of two publicly traded companies, Rainmaker Entertainment and OneMove Technologies Inc.

07:09 EST Resonant appoints Dylan Kelly as COO - Resonant announced the appointment of Dylan Kelly as COO effective immediately. Kelly will report to Resonant's chairman and CEO George Holmes and be responsible for Resonant's engineering, product marketing and operations functions. Kelly brings to Resonant more than 20 years of leadership experience in semiconductor product development, product marketing, and high-volume manufacturing. Prior to joining Resonant, Kelly most recently served as president and COO for pSemi, where he was responsible for the company's RF semiconductor business, as well as corporate manufacturing operations, IT and quality.

07:08 EST GE Healthcare confirms investment in CMR Surgical - CMR Surgical notes the disclosure by GE Healthcare of its minority participation in the recent $240M Series C financing round. GE Healthcare's investment in CMR Surgical Ltd., further demonstrates its commitment to improve outcomes for healthcare providers and therapy innovators around the world. This investment underlines the vision of both companies to bring the benefits of minimal access surgery to more patients around the world which can lead to less trauma during procedures and faster recovery times.

07:07 EST FibroGen announces roxadustat inclusion in China's NRDL - FibroGen reported roxadustat has been included on the updated National Reimbursement Drug List released by China's National Healthcare Security Administration. Roxadustat is included on the NRDL for the treatment of anemia in chronic kidney disease, covering patients who are non-dialysis-dependent as well as those who are dialysis-dependent. Roxadustat is the first hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor to be approved anywhere in the world. HIF-PHIs are a brand-new class of drugs developed based on the groundbreaking science on the body's oxygen-sensing mechanism and adaptation to hypoxia which was awarded the 2019 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Results from the two pivotal China roxadustat Phase 3 clinical trials were published in the New England Journal of Medicine earlier in 2019.The dialysis patient population in China, exceeding 600,000 patients, is the largest single-country cohort in the world and is growing. China also has the largest peritoneal dialysis population in the world, standing at approximately 14-15% of all dialysis patients, or 100,000 patients. Roxadustat, with its oral administration, is particularly well-suited for this population, as patients receive treatment at home. The addressable anemic non-dialysis population in China is equally sizable, estimated to be in excess of 2 million. FibroGen and AstraZeneca (AZN) are collaborating on the development and commercialization of roxadustat in China. Following market approval, FibroGen China, the Beijing-based subsidiary of FibroGen, Inc. and the marketing authorization holder of roxadustat in China, is responsible for commercial manufacturing, medical affairs, pharmacovigilance, and regulatory affairs. AstraZeneca China is responsible for promotional activities including marketing, market access, key accounts and sales.

07:05 EST Agios Pharmaceuticals appoints Bruce Car as CSO - Agios Pharmaceuticals (AGIO) announced the appointment of Bruce Car, Ph.D., as chief scientific officer effective January 6, 2020. Car will replace Scott Biller, Ph.D., who will retire at the end of 2019 and remain a strategic advisor to Agios through 2020 as previously announced. Car spent 25 years at Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) and its legacy companies, working across all therapeutic areas and drug modalities, and serving most recently as the interim head, BMS drug discovery.

07:03 EST Orchard Therapeutics announces filing, validation of MAA by EMA for OTL-200 - Orchard Therapeutics announced that the European Medicines Agency has validated the company's Marketing Authorization Application for OTL-200, an ex vivo, autologous, hematopoietic stem cell-based gene therapy that has been developed in partnership with the San Raffaele-Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy in Milan, Italy, for the treatment of metachromatic leukodystrophy. Validation of the MAA confirms that the submission is sufficiently complete to begin the formal review process. Orchard previously announced in November 2019 that the EMA had granted accelerated assessment for OTL-200. Accelerated assessment potentially provides a reduced review timeline from 210 to 150 days once the MAA is filed and validated, not counting clock stops when applicants are requested to provide additional information.

07:03 EST Obsidian Energy names Peter Scott as CFO, effective December 2 - Obsidian Energy is pleased to announce the hiring of Peter Scott as Senior Vice President and CFO, effective December 2, replacing David Hendry. Peter's most recent public company role was Senior Vice President and CFO of Lightstream Resources.

07:01 EST Obsidian Energy names Stephen Loukas as interim President & CEO - Obsidian Energy is pleased to announce the appointment of Stephen Loukas as Interim President and CEO, effective December 5. Loukas will succeed current Interim President and CEO, Michael Faust, who will return to his prior position of Independent Director and take on new responsibilities as Chair of the Commercial Committee.

07:00 EST McDermott, Chiyoda introduce feed cast to Train 2 at Cameron LNG - McDermott and its joint venture partner, Chiyoda International Corporation, a U.S.-based wholly-owned subsidiary of Chiyoda Corporation, Japan, announced that Train 2 of the Cameron project, located in Hackberry, LA, has reached the final commissioning stage. This includes the introduction of pipeline feed gas into Train 2 of the liquefaction export facility, the precursor for the production of liquefied natural gas, or LNG. This achievement is yet another significant milestone during 2019 and the first for Train 2. McDermott announced introduction of feed gas to Train 1 on April 15, 2019, which was followed by first liquid on May 14 and first cargo from Train 1 on May 31. On August 19, Cameron LNG announced that Train 1 began commercial operation, following its substantial completion.

06:57 EST Jefferies Financial Group closes sale of remaining 31% stake in National Beef - Jefferies Financial Group announced that November 29, it closed the previously announced sale of its remaining 31% holdings in National Beef to Marfrig and other shareholders. Jefferies received a total of approximately $970M in cash, including concurrent distributions. The estimated pre-tax gain from this sale is roughly $210M. Jefferies CEO, Rich Handler, and President, Brian Friedman, noted, "We are pleased to announce the closing of this transaction and our now complete divestiture of National Beef, which substantially furthers our transformation to a diversified financial services company."

06:52 EST NovaBay announces launch of NovaWipes on Amazon.com - NovaBay Pharmaceuticals (NBY) announces the launch of NovaWipes, a dry, soft, hypoallergenic and absorbable wipe for use in applying Avenova, on Amazon.com. (AMZN). Avenova Direct, NovaBay's prescription-strength lid and lash spray, is also available on Amazon.com without a prescription. NovaWipes are available on Amazon.com in the U.S. in a 30-count package for $5.99.

06:33 EST ChromaDex receives Australian TGA approval for nicotinamide riboside chloride - ChromaDex announced that it has received approval from the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration for its patented nicotinamide riboside chloride for use in listed complementary medicines. The listing indicates that ChromaDex has market exclusivity of NR through December 2, 2021. With this approval, ChromaDex will be listing their final product as a complementary medicine on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods

06:17 EST Nomura CEO Koji Nagai to be succeeded by Kentaro Okuda - Koji Nagai is stepping down as CEO of Nomura, the company said in a statement. As of April 1, he will be replaced by COO Kentaro Okuda. Nagai is expected to become Nomura's chairman. Reference Link

06:07 EST Centene, CVS Health announce agreement for CVS to acquire IlliniCare - Centene (CNC) and CVS Health (CVS) announced that, in connection with the previously announced merger agreement between Centene and WellCare (WCG), Centene has entered into a definitive agreement under which CVS Health will acquire Centene's Illinois health plan subsidiary, IlliniCare Health Plan, or IlliniCare. The transaction entails the sale of Centene's Medicaid and Medicare Advantage lines of business in Illinois. Centene will retain IlliniCare's Medicare-Medicaid Alignment Initiative, or MMAI, business and IlliniCare's statewide YouthCare foster care contract, set to commence in February 2020. Centene's Ambetter business in Illinois is not affected. The closing of the transaction with CVS Health is subject to U.S. federal antitrust clearance, receipt of Illinois state regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, as well as the closing of the Centene-WellCare transaction. As previously announced on March 27, Centene and WellCare agreed to combine in a transaction that will create a healthcare enterprise focused on government-sponsored healthcare programs. The combination has received approvals from insurance and health care departments from 26 states. Completion of the Centene-WellCare transaction remains subject to clearance under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, receipt of required state regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Centene and WellCare continue to expect that the Centene-WellCare transaction will be completed by the first half of 2020.The financial terms of this transaction will not be disclosed and the impact to CVS Health earnings once closed is expected to be immaterial.

06:05 EST Kodiak Sciences announces sale of future royalties on KSI-301 for $225M - Kodiak Sciences announced that the company has entered into a funding agreement to sell a capped royalty right on global net sales of KSI-301 to Baker Bros. Advisors for $225M. KSI-301 is Kodiak's investigational therapy being developed for the treatment of retinal vascular diseases including age-related macular degeneration and diabetic eye diseases. Under the terms of the agreement, Baker Bros. Advisors, or BBA, purchased a capped 4.5% royalty on net sales of the company's anti-VEGF antibody biopolymer conjugate therapy known as KSI-301 to be paid upon marketing approval in exchange for $225M in committed development funding payable to the company. Unless earlier terminated or re-purchased by the company, the royalty "caps" or terminates upon the date that BBA has received an aggregate amount equal to 4.5 times the funding amount paid to the company. In an instance where Kodiak develops anti-VEGF containing follow-on products to KSI-301, there may be royalties of 1.5% to 2.25% owed on these products, but total payments under the funding agreement will never exceed the cap of 4.5 times the funding amount paid to the company. BBA is required to pay to the company the first $100M of the funding amount at the closing of the funding transaction and the remaining $125M of the funding amount upon Kodiak achieving, among other things, 50% enrollment in its two planned pivotal clinical studies of KSI-301 in patients with retinal vein occlusion. The company has the option, exercisable at any point during the term of the funding agreement, to repurchase from BBA 100% of the royalties due to BBA under the funding agreement for a purchase price equal to the funding amount paid to the company as of such time times 4.5 less amounts paid by the company to BBA.

06:02 EST Hostess Brands to acquire Voortman for approximately $320M in cash - Hostess Brands and Voortman Cookies announced that they have executed an agreement under which Hostess will acquire Voortman, a leading and rapidly growing manufacturer of premium, branded wafers as well as sugar-free and specialty cookies, from Swander Pace Capital for approximately $320M in cash, including a customary working capital adjustment, representing a post-synergy 9.1x1 EBITDA transaction multiple. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Hostess board of directors. Hostess expects to close the transaction in early January 2020, subject to customary closing conditions. Under the terms of the transaction agreement, Voortman will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Hostess. The company intends to finance the $320M transaction by using cash on its balance sheet, along with secured financing commitments from Credit Suisse and Citi. Net leverage immediately following the transaction is expected to be approximately 4.5x and be reduced to around 4.0x by the end of 2020. Hostess has a strong track record of reducing its net leverage and it remains committed to deleveraging quickly via organic growth and subsequent free cash flow generation. The transaction is expected to close in early January 2020, subject to customary closing conditions.

06:00 EST Hostess Brands to acquire Voortman for approximately $320M in cash

05:09 EST Aqua Metals announces 'significant' fire damage - Aqua Metals announced that on Friday evening, November 29, a fire occurred in the AquaRefining area of the plant. The fire took place in the evening and, fortunately, there were no injuries as the building was vacant at the time. Local fire authorities responded rapidly and extinguished the fire that evening. The cause of the fire is presently unknown and the company is working with the local authorities and other parties to investigate the origin of ignition and root cause. The flames at one point reached the upper roofline of the AquaRefinery area and damaged the roof. The fire and related intense heat and smoke caused significant damage to a material amount of equipment in the AquaRefinery area, including all 16 AquaRefining modules, control wiring and other supporting infrastructure. In addition, approximately 1,600 gallons of AquaRefining concentrate was released within the plant due to a tank succumbing to intense heat. That concentrate, along with thousands of gallons of water deployed to extinguish the fire, resulted in approximately 1 inch of liquid to spread throughout the entire plant and reached the in-plant operational offices. Fortunately, this liquid remains contained within the plant and the company has already deployed measures to recapture the liquid and begun placing it into its water treatment plant and tanks. The floor to ceiling firewall between the AquaRefining area and the rest of the plant appears to have isolated most of the damage to the AquaRefining area. The firewall also appears to have spared the key front-end process equipment such as the battery breaker/separation system, concentrate production area, kettles and ingot casting, water treatment and recovery and other important areas of the plant. The administrative office area also appears to have remained intact. Most of the power to the building will remain off until the company, utility provider and local regulators are confident that it is safe to begin returning power. In the meantime, generators have been deployed for various critical systems including safety and security. After initial damage assessments, the company believes that it will incur a material cost and experience a material delay in operating any processes within the plant. Specifics on timelines, costs and availability of insurance coverage will be determined as we progress with inspections, assess damage and plan accordingly. The company, however, expects that the recovery and rebuild of the AquaRefining area could take several months or more. The company has already been working closely to coordinate recovery activities and plans with our supportive Operations Management and Maintenance partner, Veolia.