Stockwinners Market Radar for December 17, 2019 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:32 EST Kalnin Ventures to buy Devon Energy's Barnett Shale assets for $770M - Kalnin Ventures announced that an affiliate of its investment vehicle BKV Oil & Gas Capital Partners has entered into a Purchase and Sale Agreement to acquire Devon Energy's assets in the Barnett Shale. The expected closing date is in 2020, subject to customary closing conditions, and the overall transaction is worth $770M. The transaction with Devon includes over 320K gross acres and 4.2K producing wells, making BKV the largest natural gas producer in the Barnett Shale. Net production from the Barnett Shale properties averaged 597M cubic feet equivalent per day in the third quarter of 2019. At year-end 2018, proved reserves associated with these properties amounted to approximately 4 trillion cubic feet equivalent.

19:08 EST Zogenix's Fintepla shows significant reduction in convulsive seizure frequency - Zogenix announced that The Lancet has published the results of its Phase 3 clinical trial, Study 1, of the company's investigational drug, Fintepla in children and young adults with Dravet syndrome, a rare, severe infantile-onset epilepsy characterized by frequent, disabling seizures that are difficult to treat with existing anti-epileptic drugs. The study showed that both doses of FINTEPLA, when added to the patients' existing treatment regimens, provided a significant reduction in convulsive seizure frequency compared to placebo. Results showed that patients taking FINTEPLA at 0.7 mg/kg/day achieved a 62.3% greater reduction in mean monthly convulsive seizure frequency compared to placebo. The same analysis for the group treated at 0.2 mg/kg/day versus placebo was a key secondary endpoint, with results showing a 32.4% greater reduction in mean monthly convulsive seizure frequency compared to placebo. During the treatment period, the median reduction in seizure frequency was 74.9% in the 0.7 mg/kg/day group, 42.3% in the 0.2 mg/kg/day group, and 19.2% in the placebo group. In addition to the seizure frequency data described above, more patients treated with FINTEPLA during the study achieved a clinically meaningful (greater than or equal to 50%) reduction in convulsive seizure frequency compared to placebo.

18:54 EST PG&E submits settlement pact to CPUC related to 2017, 2018 wildfires - Pacific Gas and Electric Company said it submitted a comprehensive, multi-party settlement agreement to the California Public Utilities Commission related to 2017 and 2018 wildfires in Northern California. Earlier this month, the CPUC approved a decision to include the 2018 Camp Fire in the existing 2017 Northern California Wildfires Order Instituting Investigation. The settlement agreement was reached in collaboration with the CPUC's Safety Enforcement Division, the Coalition of California Utility Employees, the Office of the Safety Advocate, and the Public Advocates Office. It proposes that PG&E pay $50M for shareholder-funded system enhancements, specifically on the company's electric transmission and distribution system. It also proposes that PG&E not seek customer rate recovery associated with certain wildfire-related costs in the amount of $1.625B. PG&E has been working toward a comprehensive settlement agreement involving several parties since August 2019 and has been holding frequent discussions with all parties. This settlement agreement would allow for additional investments that will further strengthen the company's electric operations and ensure compliance with applicable rules. This proposed multi-party settlement agreement is separate from other major financial commitments announced by the company pertaining to the 2017 and 2018 wildfires, including: Reaching a settlement agreement with representatives of individual wildfire victims for $13.5B; Announcing an $11B settlement to resolve all insurance subrogation claims arising from the 2017 Northern California wildfires and 2018 Camp Fire; Announcing a $1B settlement with cities and counties impacted by the 2017 Northern California wildfires and 2018 Camp Fire; and establishing a $105M Wildfire Assistance Fund to aid those displaced by the 2017 Northern California wildfires and 2018 Camp Fire who are either uninsured or need assistance with the cost of substitute or temporary housing or other urgent needs. "We remain deeply sorry about the role our equipment had in tragic wildfires in recent years, and we apologize to all those affected. None of us wants to see another catastrophic wildfire in the communities we call home. This settlement agreement underscores our commitment to learning from the past and doing what's right for safety in the future," said Bill Johnson, CEO and President, PG&E Corporation. "We recognize our fundamental obligation to operate our system safely. We share the same objectives as the Commission and other state leaders - namely in reducing the risk of wildfire in our communities, even in a rapidly changing environment. While we have taken unprecedented actions to do so, we recognize that more must be done."

18:26 EST Tenaris says DOJ clear's acquisition of IPSCO Tubulars from TMK - Tenaris announced that the U.S. Department of Justice has closed its investigation of Tenaris's proposed acquisition of IPSCO Tubulars, Inc. from PAO TMK, a Russian company and manufacturer of steel pipe. The proposed acquisition was entered into on March 22, 2019 pursuant to a Stock Purchase Agreement between a wholly owned subsidiary of Tenaris and PAO TMK. Tenaris expects to be able to consummate the transaction shortly.

18:20 EST SEC charges former Palo Alto Networks IT administrator with insider trading - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced insider trading charges against five friends who repeatedly traded on confidential earnings information about a Silicon Valley cloud-computing company, reaping millions of dollars in trading profits. According to the SEC's complaint, Janardhan Nellore, a former IT administrator then at Palo Alto Networks Inc., was at the center of the trading ring, using his IT credentials and work contacts to obtain highly confidential information about his employer's quarterly earnings and financial performance. As alleged in the complaint, until he was terminated earlier this year, Nellore traded Palo Alto Networks securities based on the confidential information or tipped his friends, Sivannarayana Barama, Ganapathi Kunadharaju, Saber Hussain, and Prasad Malempati, who also traded. The SEC's complaint alleges that the defendants sought to evade detection, with Nellore insisting that the ring use the code word "baby" in texts and emails to refer to his employer's stock, and advising they "exit baby," or "enter few baby." The complaint also alleges that certain traders kicked back trading profits to Nellore in small cash transactions intended to avoid bank scrutiny and reporting requirements. After the FBI interviewed Nellore about the trading in May, he purchased one-way tickets to India for himself and his family and was arrested at the airport.

18:01 EST S&P announces changes to S&P MidCap 400, S&P SmallCap 600 indices - Columbia Sportswear (COLM) will replace Uniti Group (UNIT) in the S&P MidCap 400, and Uniti Group will replace Carrizo Oil & Gas (CRZO) in the S&P SmallCap 600 prior to the open of trading on Monday, December 23. Callon Petroleum (CPE) is acquiring Carrizo Oil & Gas in a deal expected to be completed soon pending final conditions. Uniti Group has a market capitalization that is more representative of the small-cap market space.

17:55 EST FedEx says y/y Q2 comps affected by later date of Thanksgiving - FedEx (FDX) says year-over-year comps in Q2 affected by later date of Thanksgiving. Says Cyber Week shifting to after Q3 and loss of Amazon (AMZN) business were major headwinds in Q2.

17:51 EST FedEx says trade developments 'positive,' though uncertainty remains - Says trade developments are "positive," but uncertainty remains. Says winning "significant" new ecommerce business. Sees strong demand for large and heavy packages. Says moved 37.8M packages on Cyber Monday, which was above its estimate. Says will focus on bolstering commercial business at its Ground unit. Says commercial traffic lower than expected at Ground. Says remains committed to bringing long-term profitable growth. Says focused on improving revenue quality in the near-term.

17:36 EST Connection announces 32c special cash dividend - Connection announced that its Board of Directors declared a special cash dividend of 32c per share payable on January 10, 2020, to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 27. The total amount of the special dividend payment will be approximately $8.4M based on the current number of shares outstanding. While Connection is pleased to be in a position to pay a special dividend again this year, any declaration of future cash dividends will depend upon its financial position, strategic plans, and general business conditions at the time.

17:30 EST Raytheon awarded $611.5M Air Force contract for CCSS - Raytheon has been awarded a ceiling of $611.5M firm-fixed-price, cost-plus, fixed-fee, cost reimbursable no fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for command and control switching systems, or CCSS. This contract provides electronic digital telecommunications system developed for military command and control. The CCSS is the key component of the Defense Red switch network, enabling secure and non-secure voice and data telecommunications at multiple levels, large scale voice conferencing capabilities and is inter-operable with other secure devices. CCSS switches are accredited by the Defense Intelligence Agency for top secret/sensitive compartmentalized information multi-level security. The life-cycle logistics support for operational CCSS provide program management, product configuration management, data management, quality control and assurance, contractor logistics support, spare parts replenishment and management, hardware and software support and engineering and technical services. Work will be performed at multiple government facilities and is expected to be completed by December 31, 2032. This award is the result of a sole source acquisition. FY20 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of at least $452,034 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center is the contracting activity.

17:25 EST Oshkosh awarded $803.9M Army procurement contract modification - Oshkosh was awarded an $803.9M modification to a Foreign Military Sales contract for the procurement of 2,721 joint light tactical vehicle and 16,714 associated packaged or installed kits. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, with an estimated completion date of January 31, 2021. FY18, FY19 and FY20 Foreign Military Sales; procurement, Air Force; procurement, Navy; procurement, Marine Corps; and other procurement, Army funds in the combined amount of $803.9M were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command is the contracting activity.

17:18 EST FDA advisory committee ODAC recommends Merck's Keytruda in NMIBC - Merck announced that the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee, or ODAC of the FDA voted 9-4 in favor of recommending KEYTRUDA, Merck's anti-PD-1 therapy, for the treatment of certain patients with high-risk, non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, or NMIBC. The ODAC discussions were based on the supplemental Biologics License Application, currently under priority review at the FDA, seeking approval of KEYTRUDA monotherapy for the treatment of patients with Bacillus Calmette-Guerin-unresponsive, high-risk, NMIBC with carcinoma in-situ with or without papillary tumors who are ineligible for or have elected not to undergo cystectomy. This application is based on results from the Phase 2 KEYNOTE-057 trial. "The positive vote from today's ODAC meeting supports the potential for KEYTRUDA in certain patients with high-risk, non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, who currently have limited non-surgical treatment options approved by the FDA," said Dr. Roy Baynes, senior vice president and head of global clinical development, chief medical officer, Merck Research Laboratories. "We are encouraged by today's productive discussion and look forward to working with the FDA as they continue their review of our supplemental application for KEYTRUDA in this patient population." Merck anticipates a Prescription Drug User Fee Act, or target action date, in January 2020, based on priority review.

17:17 EST Columbia Sportswear to replace Uniti Group in S&P 400 at open on 12/23

17:07 EST Vince Holding CEO buys 20K shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, Vince Holding disclosed that its CEO Brendan Hoffman bought 20K shares of common stock on December 17th. The total transaction size was $370.8K.

17:02 EST Univar announces Russian office expansion - Univar Solutions LLC, a subsidiary of Univar Solutions announced the move of its office within Ufa, Russia. "We are very excited with the opening of our new office in Ufa, which is a big step for our Russian business in one of the largest cities in Russia. This investment also directly reflects our current and future growth plans," said Matthew Ottaway, vice president of Focused Industries in Europe, Middle East, and Africa for Univar Solutions.

16:56 EST LGI Homes director sells 5.8K shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, LGI Homes disclosed that its director Steven Smith sold 5,750 shares of common stock on December 17th. The total transaction size was $422K.

16:33 EST Northern Oil and Gas CEO Brandon Elliott stepping down, CFO O'Grady succeeds - Northern Oil and Gas announced that Brandon Elliott, Northern's Chief Executive Officer, is stepping down as CEO, and will be succeeded by Nicholas O'Grady, Northern's current President and Chief Financial Officer, effective January 1, 2020. Chad Allen, Northern's Chief Accounting Officer, will succeed Mr. O'Grady as Chief Financial Officer. Northern is pleased to also announce the hiring of Mike Kelly and additional senior-level promotions.

16:31 EST Unitil files for change in gas, electric distribution rates for MA customers - Unitil Corporation announced that its Massachusetts gas and electric distribution utility, Fitchburg Gas and Electric Light Company d/b/a Unitil, filed separate rate cases for its gas and electric divisions with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities requesting approval to change distribution rates. If approved, the new rates would become effective no later than Nov. 1, 2020 following a comprehensive review by the Department. Unitil requested a gas rate increase of $7.3 million, or 20.8 percent, over total gas operating revenue. For the electric division, the Company has requested an electric rate increase of $2.7 million, or 4.1 percent, over total electric operating revenue. The gas and electric distribution rate increases are driven by expenditures to replace aging infrastructure and enhance system reliability and by higher operating costs.

16:28 EST Steelcase up over 5% at $20.10 after above-consensus Q3 earnings, Q4 guidance

16:24 EST Noble appoints Stephen Butz as CFO - Noble announced that Stephen M. Butz, has been named as Executive Vice President and CFO of the Company, effective December 19. From 2014 until its merger with Ensco, Butz served as Executive Vice President and CFO at Rowan Companies. From 2005 - 2014, he served in various roles at Hercules Offshore, Inc., most recently serving as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to that, Butz worked as an equity research analyst covering various energy related industries and as a commercial banker.

16:22 EST Wynn Resorts extends CEO Matt Maddox's contract through 2022 - The Wynn Resorts Board of Directors announced that it has unanimously agreed to extend Matt Maddox's contract as CEO through 2022. Maddox became the company's CEO in early 2018.

16:18 EST Armour Residential COO, CIO Mark Gruber to retire - ARMOUR Residential REIT announced that Mark R. Gruber has elected to retire from his role as the company's Chief Investment Officer and Chief Operating Officer, effective March 31. in order to pursue outside interests. Mr. Gruber will continue in his current positions through the first quarter of 2020 to ensure a smooth transition for the Company. ARMOUR's board of directors and management team thank Mr. Gruber for his significant contributions to the Company over the past ten years and wish him the best. Mr. Gruber's retirement is not related to any issues involving the Company's operations or policies or practices. Scott J. Ulm, the company's current Co-Chief Executive Officer, Co-Vice Chairman and Chief Risk Officer, and David B. Sayles, the Managing Director for Portfolio and Risk Analysis for ARMOUR Capital Management, the Company's external manager, will collectively assume the responsibilities of Chief Investment Officer, acting as Co-Chief Investment Officers, effective March 31, 2020. Jeffrey J. Zimmer, the Company's current Co-Chief Executive Officer, Co-Vice Chairman and President, will assume the responsibilities of Chief Operating Officer while the Company conducts a search for a permanent replacement. The transition of Mr. Zimmer to this position at the end of the first quarter of 2020 is contingent on the results of this search.

16:17 EST Camden National increases dividend 10% to 33c - Camden National announced that the board of directors of the Company declared a quarterly dividend of 33 per share, an increase of 3c per share, or 10%. This quarterly payout results in an annualized dividend yield of 2.93% based on the December 16 closing price of the Company's common stock at $45.05 per share as reported by NASDAQ. The dividend is payable on January 31, 2020 to shareholders of record on January 15, 2020.

16:16 EST Leidos to acquire Dynetics for $1.65B in cash - Leidos announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately-owned Dynetics, an industry-leading applied research and national security solutions company, for $1.65B in cash. The Board of Directors of both companies unanimously approved the transaction. The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to Leidos' revenue growth, EBITDA margins, and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share upon closing. Leidos expects to fund the $1.65B cash transaction through a combination of cash on hand and incremental debt. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals

16:11 EST Mondelez names Minsok Pak as chief strategy, transformation officer - Mondelez (MDLZ) announced that it has named Minsok Pak as executive VP, chief strategy and transformation officer. In this role, he will be responsible for enterprise strategy as well as strategic growth opportunities, including M&A, new business and digital transformation initiatives. He will also lead SnackFutures, the company's innovation and venture hub. Pak will report directly to Dirk Van de Put, chairman and CEO, and will be a member of the Mondelez leadership team effective January 13, 2020. Pak joins from Target (TGT), where he was executive VP and chief strategy and innovation officer. In this role, he had oversight of Target's enterprise strategy and innovation efforts and helped lead the development and implementation of the company's growth strategy.

16:08 EST FTC challenges Illumina deal to buy Pacific Biosciences on competition concerns - The Federal Trade Commission has authorized an action to block Illumina's (ILMN) proposed $1.2B acquisition of Pacific Biosciences of California (PACB). The Commission alleges in an administrative complaint, a public version of which will be available as soon as possible, that Illumina is seeking to unlawfully maintain its monopoly in the U.S. market for next-generation DNA sequencing systems by extinguishing PacBio as a nascent competitive threat. The complaint also alleges that the proposed acquisition is illegal because it may substantially lessen competition in the U.S. NGS market by eliminating current competition and preventing future competition between Illumina and PacBio. The Commission also authorized staff to seek a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction in federal court, if necessary, to maintain the status quo pending the administrative proceeding. Reference Link

16:05 EST E-Trade announces online trade clearance automation - E-Trade Financial Corporate Services announced an industry-first enhancement-online trade clearance automation. Administrators can enter, view, and edit trade clearance instructions online for their participants, including trading windows, time period, number and type of shares, and other grant-specific information. Participants also benefit from more transparency in the process. Now they can set up their trades online, view approved trading periods, and automatically receive an alert when their clearance instructions have been set up or updated. This eliminates the need for phone calls and emails with their administrator. "We're committed to making the benefits experience effortless for participants and administrators alike," said Scott Whatley, President of E-Trade Corporate Services. "With industry-leading solutions like trade clearance automation, we're transforming how administrators do business. Now administrators are freed up from back office tasks and can eliminate unnecessary gear grinding. Participants are also empowered to act on their equity more easily than ever before."

16:01 EST GE Healthcare recalls Giraffe Incubators and OmniBed, FDA announces - GE Healthcare is recalling the Giraffe Incubator, Giraffe OmniBed, Giraffe Incubator Carestation, and Giraffe OmniBed Carestations because the bedside panels can be upright and look closed but not be securely latched, the FDA said in a statement. The portholes can also look closed when not securely latched, it added. "If an infant comes in contact with a bedside panel or porthole that is unlatched, the panel or porthole can disengage and fall open, no longer protecting the infant from falling," the agency noted. GE Healthcare has received six reports of infant falls with injuries such as skull fractures, hematoma and edema. No deaths were reported. The FDA has identified this as a Class I recall, the most serious type of recall. Reference Link

15:33 EST MSC Industrial declares special dividend of $5.00 per share - The special cash dividend is payable on February 5, 2020 to shareholders of record at the close of business on January 22, 2020. The ex-dividend date is January 21, 2020. The company will initially fund the approximately $277M required for the special cash dividend from cash on hand and its revolving credit facility. The company also announced that its Board of Directors has declared the regular quarterly cash dividend of 75c per share. The cash dividend is payable on February 5, 2020 to shareholders of record at the close of business on January 22, 2020. The ex-dividend date is January 21, 2020.

15:07 EST Noble Energy down 3% after report of injunction at Leviathan gas field - Following a report from Calcalist, which was reference by the Jerusalem Post, shares of Noble Energy trading in New York are down 61c, or 2.7%, to $22.15. A temporary injunction has been filed preventing Noble Energy from conducting "operations involving gas emissions" at the Leviathan gas field, said The Jerusalem Post, citing a Hebrew-language report in Calcalist.

14:29 EST Sonos down 1% after competitor Bang & Olufsen lowers outlook - Shares of high-end audio products maker Sonos (SONO) are down 1% in afternoon trading after rival Bang & Olufsen lowered its revenue outlook B&O stated that "based on the estimated numbers for Q2 and the updated financial expectations for the rest of the year, the outlook for 2019/20 is adjusted" for revenue to be 13% to 18% lower than last year, from previously caling for single-digit growth; for EBIT margin of minus 4% to minus 9% adjusted for special items, compared to the previous view of higher than FY2018/19; and free cash flow of negative DKK 100M-150M, down from the prior view of positive cash flow. "The expectations for the full-year result are amongst others based on successful launch of a number of already planned new products, increased focus on cost reductions as well as improvements in sales and marketing execution capabilities. In addition, the company has initiated a number of new initiatives in order to improve sales already in the current financial year, including establishment of new sales programs, an improved sales and distribution network, competence lift in the sales organization and more product-focused marketing," Bang & Olufsen stated. Reference Link

13:49 EST CUI Global regains Nasdaq listing compliance - CUI Global announced that it has received written notice from the Nasdaq Stock Market Listing Qualifications Staff on December 17, indicating that the company has regained compliance with the minimum bid price requirement rule. "Nasdaq considers the matter closed," the company stated.

13:33 EST AstraZeneca says FDA advisors recommend Lynparza for gBRCAm pancreatic cancer - AstraZeneca (AZN) and Merck (MRK) announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee voted 7 to 5 to recommend Lynparza as a 1st-line maintenance monotherapy for patients with germline BRCA-mutated, or gBRCAm, metastatic adenocarcinoma of the pancreas whose disease has not progressed following 1st-line platinum-based chemotherapy. In August, the FDA accepted the supplemental New Drug Application for Lynparza for this indication with Priority Review and set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act date for the fourth quarter of 2019. Jose Baselga, Executive Vice President, Oncology R&D, said: "We are pleased with the ODAC's recommendation for Lynparza and the potential to bring a personalised, biomarker-targeted medicine to patients with germline BRCA-mutated metastatic pancreatic cancer. Patients with advanced pancreatic cancer historically have faced poor outcomes due to the aggressive nature of the disease and limited treatment advances over the last few decades. We look forward to working with the FDA as it completes the review of our application."

13:31 EST Trulieve Cannabis calls short-seller report 'false, slanderous and misleading' - Trulieve Cannabis announced that it is aware of a short-seller report released earlier. The company said the report "contains several false, slanderous and misleading statements about Trulieve. Trulieve's successful and profitable business model is supported by several respected and reputable analyst firms, and as a publicly traded company its financial activity is communicated regularly and accurately to the investment community. The quality of Trulieve's products and production facilities has never been in question, as evidenced by more than 230,000 satisfied customers in the Florida market. It appears today's report is a disingenuous attempt to manipulate Trulieve's stock price, and the Company is planning to pursue legal action against this outlet, which has no history or credibility in assessing cannabis companies." CEO Kim Rivers said, "We ask that our investors be aware that the Report reflects the opinions of an acknowledged short seller, whose sole interest is in profiting from a decline in the price of the Company's shares. I have full confidence in our management team and their abilities to continue to serve our customers without being distracted by these baseless allegations. Trulieve reserves all of its rights to take appropriate legal action against those responsible for the Report. Trulieve sells high quality flower, cultivated in our indoor facilities, and was recently recognized by an award from the Cannabis Business Association of having the best flower in Florida. We stand behind the quality of our products and have a long-standing no-questions-asked return policy. Trulieve set a record for flower sales in Florida just last week, capturing over 51% of the market."

12:44 EST UK market watchdog initiates merger inquiry into Google's acquisition of Looker - The UK's Competition and Markets Authority is investigating the completed acquisition by Google of Looker Data Sciences, according to a notice posted by the CMA. On June 6, Google announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Looker, a unified platform for business intelligence, data applications and embedded analytics, in a $2.6B all-cash transaction. Reference Link

12:22 EST Correct: BAE Systems names Tom Arseneault as CEO of U.S. unit - BAE Systems announced that Tom Arseneault will become president and CEO of BAE Systems Inc, its U.S. unit, effective April 1, 2020. Having served as CEO since 2014, Jerry DeMuro will transition to a new role as executive vice president of Strategic Initiatives and continue to serve on the U.S. organization's Board of Directors. Arseneault is currently president and COO of BAE Systems. This role is the most recent in his 22-year tenure with BAE Systems, having previously held other senior leadership positions at the company, including president of the Electronic Systems sector and executive vice president of BAE Systems' Product Sectors.

12:04 EST American Express business travel JV gets new investment from Carlyle, others - American Express Global Business Travel announced the signing of an agreement for an equity recapitalization of its joint venture ownership structure to maintain GBT's focus on its long-term growth strategy. The joint venture, formed in 2014, "has established its position as the world's largest travel management company" with more than 18,000 employees across a network of more than 140 countries and management of more than $35B of corporate travel every year, the company said. American Express (AXP) will retain its 50% ownership stake, while the Certares-led investor group holding the other 50%, including Qatar Investment Authority, certain funds managed by BlackRock (BLK), and Teacher Retirement System of Texas, will now include The Carlyle Group's (CG) long-duration private equity platform, Carlyle Global Partners, and GIC, an institutional investor. In addition, the University of California Office of the Chief Investment Officer of the Regents, and Kaiser Permanente, have also joined the investor group. Greg O'Hara, the Founder and Senior Managing Director of Certares, will continue as Executive Chairman of the GBT Board of Directors. Leading GBT's next phase are recently appointed Chief Executive Officer Paul Abbott, and members of GBT's executive management team continuing in their current roles. The terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

12:00 EST Navistar falls -8.3% - Navistar is down -8.3%, or -$2.70 to $29.65.

12:00 EST Pyxus falls -10.8% - Pyxus is down -10.8%, or -74c to $6.10.

12:00 EST Vince Holding rises 11.5% - Vince Holding is up 11.5%, or $1.94 to $18.74.

11:56 EST Georgia PSC approves rate hikes for Georgia Power - The Georgia Public Service Commission issued a final order in Georgia Power's 2019 rate case, rejecting Georgia Power's original proposal to increase fixed fees from $10 per month to $17.95 per month on customers' monthly bills while approving a $4 increase overall, with the first $2 increase in 2021 and another $2 increase in 2022, according to the Southern Environmental Law Center, which intervened on behalf of Georgia Interfaith Power & Light, Southface Institute, and Vote Solar. Georgia Power is a unit of Southern Company. Reference Link

10:41 EST CVS, Walgreens shares slip after report of Omnicare fraudulent billing claim - Following Bloomberg headlines that CVS Health's (CVS) Omnicare unit is being sued for fraudulent billing, shares of CVS are down about 1.5% while peer Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) are down fractionally in sympathy.

10:32 EST 22nd Century jumps 24% after FDA allows sale of reduced nicotine cigarettes - 22nd Century shares jumped 20c, or 24%, to $1.02 and were halted for volatility following the FDA news.

10:29 EST FDA permits sale of two new 22nd Century reduced nicotine cigarettes

10:14 EST Whirlpool to recall, replace about 500,000 Indesit and Hotpoint washing machines - Following action by the Office for Product Safety and Standards, Whirlpool is to recall and replace an estimated 500,000 Indesit and Hotpoint washing machines in January 2020. The recall will be undertaken by Whirlpool UK Appliances Ltd, which identified the fault in models from brands it owns. The advice sets out that there is a risk that the door locks of affected machines could catch fire due to overheating during the washing process. Affected consumers are advised to unplug their machine and register with Whirlpool for a replacement. Office for Product Safety and Standards Chief Executive Graham Russell said: "Whirlpool is recalling models of washing machines due to consumer safety concerns. They have advised consumers with affected models to unplug their machine until it is replaced. The Office for Product Safety and Standards will closely monitor Whirlpool to ensure the recall is carried out successfully." Reference Link

10:03 EST GM announces 'broadest integration by any automaker' of SiriusXM's next-gen 360L - General Motors (GM) announced that nearly 1 million Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac owners will be offered SiriusXM (SIRI) with 360L. "Available on select 2020 model year vehicles, the rollout is the broadest integration by any automaker of SiriusXM's next generation listening experience. SiriusXM with 360L represents the future of in-vehicle audio entertainment. The new platform and easy-to-use interface delivers content via both satellite and streaming to give drivers and their passengers more than 200 live SiriusXM channels, plus the ability to make on-demand programming choices from a library of more than 10,000 hours of SiriusXM content," the companies stated. SiriusXM with 360L will be available on 13 Chevrolet, Buick, GMC and Cadillac model year 2020 vehicles. A Connected Access plan and a SiriusXM All Access or SiriusXM Select subscription is required to experience the benefits of SiriusXM with 360L. More information about vehicle eligibility will be shared as the vehicles hit dealer lots, the companies stated.

10:00 EST Cars.com falls -9.5% - Cars.com is down -9.5%, or -$1.18 to $11.29.

10:00 EST Worthington rises 8.8% - Worthington is up 8.8%, or $3.51 to $43.48.

10:00 EST Tallgrass Energy rises 21.2% - Tallgrass Energy is up 21.2%, or $3.88 to $22.16.

09:50 EST LogMein trading resumes

09:36 EST BAE Systems names Tom Arseneault as CEO, effective April 1, 2020 - BAE Systems announced that Tom Arseneault will become president and CEO of BAE Systems, effective April 1, 2020. Having served as CEO since 2014, Jerry DeMuro will transition to a new role as executive vice president of Strategic Initiatives and continue to serve on the U.S. organization's Board of Directors. Arseneault is currently president and COO of BAE Systems. This role is the most recent in his 22-year tenure with BAE Systems, having previously held other senior leadership positions at the company, including president of the Electronic Systems sector and executive vice president of BAE Systems' Product Sectors.

09:29 EST America's Car-Mart acquires Illinois dealerships, terms not disclosed - America's Car-Mart announced that its subsidiary, America's Car Mart, Inc., has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase the ongoing dealership assets of Taylor Motor Company and Auto Credit of Southern Illinois based in Benton, Illinois.

09:27 EST Francisco Partners, Evergreen affiliates to acquire LogMeIn for $86.05 per share - LogMeIn announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired in a transaction led by affiliates of Francisco Partners, a leading technology-focused global private equity firm, and including Evergreen Coast Capital Corporation, the private equity affiliate of Elliott Management Corporation, for $86.05 per share in cash. The all-cash transaction values LogMeIn at an aggregate equity valuation of approximately $4.3B. Under the terms of the Agreement, LogMeIn shareholders will receive $86.05 in cash for each share of LogMeIn's common stock they hold. This consideration represents a premium of approximately 25% to LogMeIn's unaffected closing stock price on September 18, 2019, the last trading day before a media report was published speculating about a potential sale process. The Board of Directors of LogMeIn approved the Agreement and recommended that shareholders vote in favor of the transaction. The transaction is expected to close in mid-2020, subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of stockholder and regulatory approvals. The definitive agreement for the transaction includes a customary 45-day "go-shop" period which permits LogMeIn and its advisors to actively solicit alternative acquisition proposals, and potentially enter negotiations with other parties that make alternative acquisition proposals. LogMeIn will have the right to terminate the definitive agreement to accept a superior proposal subject to the terms and conditions of the definitive agreement.

09:23 EST LogMeln halted, pending news, following recent takeover talks reports - Shares of LogMeIn have been halted, pending news, in morning trading. The Fly notes that Bloomberg's Nabila Ahmed, Kiel Porter and Scott Deveau reported last week that private equity firm Francisco Partners Management has partnered with hedge fund Elliott Management to make a bid to take LogMeIn private for more than $4B. The report, which cited people familiar with the matter, said the investment firms were in advanced talks to buy LogMein and a deal could be announced in the coming weeks.

09:20 EST Avid Technology, Berklee College of Music partner for accessibility features - Avid announced a joint initiative with Berklee College of Music's Assistive Music Technology Lab to develop and improve accessibility features in Avid's music composition and notation software, Sibelius, for visually impaired users. The year-long partnership highlights Avid's commitment to ensuring all of its creative tools offer robust accessibility features for the visually impaired. In addition, Avid announced improved support for users with built-in screen readers, giving the visually impaired the same experience as sighted users on Windows using Narrator, NVDA and JAWS, as well as VoiceOver on Mac.

09:19 EST XpresSpa says strategic partnerships 'well positioned' for holiday travel season - XpresSpa Group provided the following business update regarding its strategic partnerships that are well-positioned to produce results during the record holiday travel season. The company said,"Our Calm retail collection has been expanded to include a new weighted travel blanket complementing the Calm weighted sleep mask that launched last month, both of which both promote faster and deeper sleep. These new Calm-branded products were designed in collaboration with industry leader Gravity. Persona products are now available across all domestic airport spas. Persona is a Nestle Health Science company and leading personalized vitamin-subscription program that signed a strategic partnership agreement with XpresSpa in late October. Customers can purchase three different nutrition packs in every spa designed especially for travelers to support relaxation, immunity or jet lag, while additionally receiving an exclusive discount for XpresSpa customers on their first online order. We are launching a seven-week CBD test pilot across 16 domestic airport stores this week featuring three products from Nira. Nira is an emerging brand and a producer of physician-formulated CBD products that are produced with the highest quality hemp extract. The three products that are currently being tested are a hemp oil lotion, full spectrum soft gel capsules, and a full spectrum tincture oil."

09:15 EST Delta Air Lines enters offtake agreement with Gevo for sustainable aviation fuel - Delta's (DAL) work to create a sustainable future continues with a long-term offtake agreement under which Delta will purchase 10 million gallons per year of advanced renewable biofuels from Gevo (GEVO). Sustainable aviation fuels provide significant environmental benefits because the lifecycle carbon footprint can be up to 75 percent less than conventional jet fuel. Delta's agreement with Gevo complements the airline's recent $2M investment in Northwest Advanced Bio-fuels, LLC for the feasibility study of a facility to produce sustainable aviation fuel and other biofuel products in Washington State. The airline's investment in sustainable fuel is only one example of Delta's work to positively impact the environment, maintain its commitment to carbon neutral growth and reduce emissions 50 percent by 2050. The sustainable aviation fuel is expected to be produced upon completion of an expansion to Gevo's existing advanced biofuel production facility in Luverne, Minn. and is expected to be available for use by Delta between 2022-2023.

09:12 EST First Solar says EDP Renewables, ConnectGen completes acquisition of projects - First Solar announced that a partnership composed of EDP Renewables and ConnectGen has completed the acquisition of three projects with a total nameplate design of 278 megawatts AC in the United States. First Solar previously disclosed that the sale of these projects were subject to certain conditions precedent for closing that have since been satisfied. The projects include the 154MWAC Sun Streams 1 project in Maricopa County, Arizona, the 20MWAC Windhub A project in Kern County, California, and the 103MWAC Sunshine Valley project in Nye County, Nevada. All three projects are scheduled to achieve substantial completion by the end of the fourth quarter of 2019.

09:08 EST Adamas Pharmaceuticals says INROADS Phase 3 trial achieves primary endpoint - Adamas Pharmaceuticals announced that INROADS, a 3-arm, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in 594 multiple sclerosis patients with walking impairment met its primary endpoint. Results from the study showed that patients taking 274 mg ADS-5102 had a statistically significant improvement in response rate of 21.1% compared to 11.3% taking placebo. Response was defined as at least a 20% improvement in walking speed from baseline to 12 weeks post-treatment, as measured by the Timed 25 Foot Walk. Additionally, the response rate for patients taking a lower dose of 137 mg ADS-5102 was 17.6%. ADS-5102 did not demonstrate a significant effect on the secondary walking measures at either dose. The most common adverse events were: peripheral edema, dry mouth, fall, constipation, UTI, and insomnia. 20.5% of patients discontinued study drug due to adverse events in the 274 mg group, compared to 6.4% in the 137 mg group, and 3.8% in the placebo group. The reported adverse events associated with ADS-5102 in this study were dose-dependent and consistent with the known safety profile of amantadine.

09:05 EST BRP Group to acquire Lanier Upshaw, terms not disclosed - BRP Group announced that Baldwin Krystyn Sherman Partners, a subsidiary of BRP Group, has entered into an agreement to acquire substantially all assets of Lanier Upshaw, a Lakeland, Florida-based independent insurance firm focused on writing healthcare, higher education, construction, property and non-profit business throughout Florida and other states. The Partnership, BRP Group's nomenclature for a strategic acquisition, is expected to close January 1, 2020, subject to certain closing conditions. Lanier Upshaw will become part of the Company's Middle Market Operating Group, doing business as BKS-Partners. In recent years, Lanier Upshaw has successfully grown its business to approximately 60 colleagues. The firm has been a consistent winner of Florida's Best Companies to Work For as selected by Florida Trend Magazine, including in 2019, and has been a long-time member of Assurex Global. Lanier Upshaw has annual revenue of approximately $8M.

09:03 EST Medtronic acquires Klue, terms not disclosed - Medtronic announced it has completed the acquisition of Klue, a software company focused on behavior tracking that can provide real-time insights into when a person is consuming food. Klue's technology is expected to be incorporated into the Medtronic Personalized Closed Loop insulin pump system, currently in development. The PCL system is designed to automate insulin delivery in a way that is real-time, personalized and adapts to the user, with a goal of dramatically simplifying diabetes management for the patient. In addition, the Klue technology can be leveraged to enhance the company's market-leading analytics and insights in their smart CGM technology to help people using multiple daily injections stay ahead of high and low glucose events. Klue has developed technology that automatically recognizes when a person is eating as well as how fast and how much that person consumes. By using gesture sensing via activity trackers combined with analytics technology, Klue has developed fine motor artificial intelligence software that can detect meals and provide insights into user eating behaviors. Because food consumption is intrinsically related to insulin requirements for people living with diabetes, the ability to automate meal identification along with the corresponding insulin delivery is an unmet need that could greatly simplify living with this disease. In February 2019, PCL received Breakthrough Device designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In addition to Klue, the recent acquisition of Nutrino Health and their expertise in nutrition data science will play a key role in the accelerated development of this breakthrough technology. Both acquisitions strengthen the company's capabilities in automation and in the integration of artificial intelligence into diabetes management systems. The transaction is expected to be neutral to fiscal year 2020 earnings per share and meet Medtronic's long-term financial metrics for acquisitions. Additional terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

08:55 EST Adamas Pharmaceuticals trading halted, news pending

08:46 EST CV Sciences appoints Tim Hitchman as director of operations - CV Sciences announced that Tim Hitchman, PhD, has joined the company as Director of Operations. Most recently, from late 2018, Dr. Hitchman served as CTO at Tradewinds Holding.

08:40 EST Optinose announces publication of results of Phase 3 EXHANCE-3 trial - Optinose announced that results of the Phase 3 EXHANCE-3 trial were published in the peer-reviewed journal Rhinology1, the official journal of the International Rhinologic Society. EXHANCE-3 was part of a comprehensive development program including five clinical trials evaluating XHANCE nasal spray in over 1,500 adult patients; including two randomized, double blinded, placebo controlled Phase 3 pivotal clinical trials in adults with nasal polyposis and two supportive open label Phase 3 clinical trials in adults with symptoms of chronic sinusitis with or without nasal polyps. Based upon the results of this program, the U.S. Food & Drug Administration approved XHANCE for the treatment of nasal polyps in patients 18 years of age and older in September 2017. EXHANCE-3 was a prospective, multicenter, 12-week, single-arm study evaluating the safety and efficacy of XHANCE 372 mcg twice daily in chronic sinusitis patients with or without nasal polyps. Eligible patients were 18 years of age or older and met diagnostic symptom criteria for CRS. In this study, 705 subjects were enrolled with 92.3% of patients reporting having previously tried corticosteroids and 27.5% reporting prior sinus surgery. All patients received XHANCE 372 mcg twice daily. The majority of spontaneously reported AEs were local in nature, mild in severity, and resolved spontaneously with continued use of XHANCE. The most common AEs included nasal mucosal disorder, spontaneously reported epistaxis, nervous system disorder, and nasal septum disorder. Important efficacy measures in EXHANCE-3 included: Sinonasal Outcome Test-22: At month 1, mean SNOT-22 total scores improved from baseline, with similar improvement in participants with nasal polyps or without nasal polyps of approximately 20 and 21 points, or 46% and 48% respectively. SNOT-22 scores improved more with longer duration of treatment through Month 3. Complete Response Analysis: After 3 months of treatment with XHANCE, approximately 48% of the patients who started the study with polyps were observed to have polyp elimination in at least one nostril. Patient Global Impression of Change: At month 3, 92% of patients with nasal polyps and 89% without nasal polyps reported improvement and 74% with nasal polyps and 68% without nasal polyps reported being ''much'' or ''very much'' improved. Other efficacy measures indicating improvement in this study included Lund-Kennedy endoscopic scoring of observed nasal pathology, indicators of potential need for surgery, and others.

08:39 EST Avinger receives CE Marking for Ocelaris - Avinger announced it has gained Conformite Europeenne, or CE, Marking for Ocelaris, a next-generation chronic total occlusion, or CTO, crossing system utilizing Avinger's proprietary image-guided technology platform. CE Marking allows clinical use of Ocelaris in the European Union and certain other countries that recognize CE Marking. Ocelaris is not available for clinical use in the United States at this time.

08:36 EST Groupon appoints John Higginson as Chief Technology Officer - Groupon (GRPN) announced John Higginson will join the company as Chief Technology Officer, overseeing the company's global engineering, information security and platform development efforts. Higginson joins from Enova International (ENVA) where he was also CTO.

08:34 EST Envision Solar announces multi-year contract from State of Massachusetts - Envision Solar International announced that the State of Massachusetts has awarded the Company a new Statewide Contract as a result of the Company's response to Massachusetts State Bid: BD-16-1041-ENE01-ENE01-00000007341. The contract term commenced on December 1, 2019 and is valid until October 16, 2021. It is available for all State departments and for use by local governmental agencies. The contract covers several EV ARC models and also includes Envision's high powered and DC fast charging EV ARC models, which were most recently deployed for CALTRANS in California. The contract also includes Envision's emergency power solutions, which provide a secure and reliable source of electricity to first responders during natural disasters or other periods of utility grid interruption.

08:32 EST WellCare of Georgia to partner with Fitbit - WellCare of Georgia, a WellCare Health Plans company (WCG), is partnering with Fitbit (FIT) to deliver Fitbit devices to WellCare Medicaid members in Georgia who take positive steps to manage their diabetes by completing their annual diabetic eye exams. Beginning Jan. 1, 2020, in an effort to help its members manage their condition and prevent complications from diabetes, WellCare is offering Georgia Medicaid members ages 18 and older with a diabetes diagnosis who are enrolled in the Fitbit Diabetes Program a Fitbit Inspire upon completing their annual diabetic eye exam. WellCare's Fitbit Diabetes Program is the first time Fitbit will be included in a Medicaid program.

08:30 EST Franchise Group to acquire Revolution Financial, terms not disclosed - Franchise Group announced it has entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire Revolution Financial, a provider of consumer loans and credit products. The transaction is currently expected to close in the first quarter of 2020 and is subject to customary closing conditions. The acquisition of Revolution is intended to accelerate the introduction of additional financial products and services to Liberty Tax customers.

08:24 EST XBiotech added to Nasdaq Biotechnology Index - XBiotech (XBIT) announced today that the company was selected for addition to the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (NBI). The addition to the NBI will become effective prior to market open on Monday, December 23, 2019.

08:18 EST RedHill Biopharma initiates U.S. promotion of Aemcolo - RedHill Biopharma announced that it has initiated promotion of Aemcolo in the U.S. for the treatment of travelers' diarrhea caused by non-invasive strains of Escherichia Coli in adults. Aemcolo, containing 194 mg of rifamycin as delayed-release tablets, is an orally-administered, non-systemic antibiotic employing MMX technology, a proven and proprietary drug delivery system that distributes rifamycin in a controlled manner to the lower intestine. The recommended dosage of Aemcolo is 388 mg orally, twice daily for three days.

08:16 EST comScore announces agreement with Publishers Clearing House - Comscore announced a two-year agreement to provide Publishers Clearing House with digital audience measurement. The agreement will provide Publishers Clearing House with access to Comscore's signature Media Ratings solutions to better understand audience behavior and media consumption across desktop and mobile devices. The agreement marks a revived partnership between Comscore and Publishers Clearing House. Under the new agreement, Publishers Clearing House will now be included in Comscore's Multi-Category designation.

08:13 EST LogicBio extends research agreement with Oregon Health & Science University - LogicBio Therapeutics announced it has entered into an exclusive license with Oregon Health & Science University to intellectual property rights owned by OHSU while also extending a sponsored research agreement to explore methods for enhancing selective advantage of edited hepatocytes using pharmacological agents with the laboratory of Markus Grompe, M.D., professor at OHSU. The initial phase of the research program provided proof-of-principle of enhanced selective advantage for cells edited by GeneRide in pilot murine experiments. This extension phase will focus on translating the enhancement strategy to non-human primates, a critical step before clinical translation to future GeneRide candidates and other technologies. GeneRide is LogicBio's proprietary promoterless, nuclease-free genome editing technology, which is designed to provide a stable therapeutic effect by harnessing homologous recombination to precisely integrate corrective genes into a patient's genome and leveraging endogenous promoters to drive gene expression. LogicBio is currently working primarily in disorders where patients can benefit substantially even when only a modest percentage of their cells are modified and begin expressing the corrective transgene introduced by GeneRide. The Company has found, however, that in some genetic contexts, integrating the transgene gives hepatocytes a naturally-occurring selective advantage over cells that have not been modified. Over time, the percentage of modified cells expressing that transgene rises, potentially leading to more robust patient benefits. This was observed in an experiment in which a murine GeneRide construct was introduced into mice with and without a functioning copy of the Mut gene in the liver. The initial GeneRide integration frequency was less than 1% in both sets of mice. Over time, this percentage remained stable in heterozygous mice that naturally express Mut in the liver. However, the share of cells expressing Mut increased to approximately 25% over more than a year in the mice genetically deficient in liver Mut. This selective advantage could be attributed to improvements in mitochondrial function as a result of Mut expression and restoration of the deficient essential metabolic pathway. The goal of the expanded SRA with OHSU is to refine the pharmacological approach to providing a selective advantage to gene modified cells even when the transgene does not naturally confer a selection advantage at the cellular level.

08:09 EST Celsion receives $2M allocation through N.J. tax certificate transfer program - Celsion Corporation announced it has received approval from the New Jersey Economic Development Authority's Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer program to sell $2M of its unused New Jersey net operating losses for the tax years 2017 through 2018. The NOLs are typically sold at a small, single-digit discount to qualified companies with operations in New Jersey. As a result, the Company anticipates it will be able to transfer this credit and receive approximately $1.9M of net cash proceeds by year-end or early 2020. With this funding coupled with an additional $2.0M sale of unused NJ NOLs in the second half of 2020, the Company expects to have sufficient cash to fund operations into the first quarter of 2021. .

08:08 EST Edison Nation announces exclusive U.S. distribution partnership for Mother K - Edison Nation announced the exclusive distribution partnership to introduce Mother K to the U.S. market. Mother-K was founded in 2010 in South Korea with the sole purpose of providing safe, trustworthy baby essentials for new families. The company designs and produces with an effort to bring eco-friendly products that are safe for babies as well as the environment. The collection includes maternity care items, baby bottles, eco-storage bags, wipes, diapers and a line of cleaning products. The line is set to launch on Amazon at the end of December. Edison Nation will launch Mother-K in the U.S. as an extension of their Cloud b brand, which is a brand name in the baby products market.

08:05 EST AquaVenture segment acquires Pure Planet Water, Jonli Water Services - Quench, an operating segment of AquaVenture and a provider of filtered water-as-a-service solutions for businesses across the United States and Canada, announced that it has acquired substantially all of the assets of Pure Planet Water and Jonli Water Services. Pure Planet, which was one of Quench's independent Wellsys dealers prior to the acquisition, is a point-of-use, or POU, water filtration company based in Palm Desert, California. Pure Planet's customer base and assets were integrated immediately upon acquisition. Jonli is a POU water filtration service company based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and it extends Quench Canada's service capabilities into this top-5 Canadian market. In aggregate, these acquisitions add approximately 1,300 customers and 2,200 units, including both company-owned rental and customer-owned service units.

08:02 EST SmileDirectClub to introduce clear aligner therapy to Germany - SmileDirectClub announced plans to increase its international expansion by introducing its clear aligner therapy to Germany in early 2020. The U.S.-based SmileDirectClub will open multiple SmileShops across the country, further expanding its doctor-directed remote clear aligner therapy in the European Union. SmileDirectClub clear aligner treatment plans will be created and prescribed under the direct supervision of a German licensed dentist.

07:53 EST Baidu says daily search queries for knowledge content reach 1.54B - Baidu announced at the Baidu Knowledge Summit 2019 that the number of daily search queries for its knowledge content has reached 1.54B, with Baidu's diverse platforms and high-quality content driving traffic amid increasing search demands from users, affirming Baidu's position as China's largest knowledge and information provider.

07:47 EST Acreage Holdings launches cannabis cultivation facility Acreage Oregon - Acreage Holdings (ACRGF) announced the grand opening of its first cannabis cultivation facility in the Pacific Northwest. Located in Medford, Oregon, the new 30,000 square-foot indoor cultivation facility will grow cannabis to be used in a wide range of new products to launch in Oregon, including: The Botanist, an Acreage-developed brand rooted in health and wellness; Tweed, a Canopy Growth Corporation (CGC) brand licensed to Acreage, focused on quality products and meaningful customer relationships. This launch will mark Tweed's introduction in the U.S.; and other products expected to launch soon that are being developed specifically with the likes and tastes of the Oregon cannabis consumer in mind. The indoor facility will yield its first harvest this month. The Botanist and Tweed products are expected to be available soon thereafter in Acreage's five Cannabliss-branded dispensaries as well as other dispensaries throughout the state.

07:44 EST Affimed N.V. announces addition to Nasdaq Biotechnology Index - Affimed N.V. (AFMD) announced that it has been selected for addition to the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (NBI). The addition to the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index will become effective prior to market open on Monday, December 23, 2019.

07:40 EST Primoris announces heavy civil award valued over $27M - Primoris Services Corporation announced a new award valued over $27M. The contract was secured by Primoris Heavy Civil, part of the Civil segment. The project was awarded by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and is located in southern Louisiana. The project involves removal of the existing steel lift span bridge and replacing it with a new concrete vertical lift span bridge and associated roadways. Work is scheduled to commence in the first quarter of 2020 and to be completed in the third quarter of 2023.

07:38 EST Global Medical REIT forms committee for management internalization transaction - Global Medical REIT announced that its board has formed a special committee of independent and disinterested directors to evaluate a potential management internalization transaction. Pursuant to the management agreement by and between the company and the company's external manager, Inter-American Management, prior to the end of the calendar quarter in which the company's stockholders' equity, as such term is defined in the management agreement, exceeds $500M, the board will form a special committee consisting solely of independent directors to evaluate a potential internalization transaction. If the pursuit of an internalization transaction is determined to be in the best interests of the company and its stockholders, upon the approval of two-thirds of the company's independent directors, the special committee shall negotiate an internalization transaction with its advisor. Pursuant to the management agreement, the gross value of the consideration paid by the Company for any Internalization Transaction shall equal three times the average annual base management fee and average annual incentive fee paid or payable by the company to the advisor during the previous eight fiscal quarters prior to the date of the internalization transaction. As of December 13, upon the closing of the company's most recent common stock offering, the company's stockholders' equity exceeded $500M. On Friday, December 13, the board formed the special committee and appointed Lori Wittman, Paula Crowley and Matthew Cypher, to serve on the special committee. Wittman was appointed chair of the special committee. The committee intends to undertake a process to evaluate the internalization transaction with the assistance of its outside financial and legal advisors. There can be no assurance that an internalization transaction will be approved or consummated. The company does not intend to comment on or disclose further developments regarding the special committee's evaluation unless and until it deems further disclosure is appropriate or required.

07:36 EST Worthington CEO anticipates 'continued weakness' in Europe - "The Company is operating well, and we are optimistic about our momentum going forward," CEO John McConnell said. "We believe most of our markets should remain steady but do anticipate continued weakness in Europe and will remain focused on driving future improvement through solid execution of our strategies."

07:33 EST Proteostasis announces results from Phase 2 study of CFTR combinations - Proteostasis Therapeutics announced positive topline results from the Company's global, multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, 28-day, Phase 2 study evaluating its proprietary cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator, or CFTR, modulator combinations in F508del homozygous and heterozygous CF subjects 18 years of age and older. The trial is designed to assess the efficacy, safety and tolerability of PTI's once-daily proprietary combinations, 300 mg of dirocaftor, or PTI-808, and 600 mg of posenacaftor, or PTI-801, with or without 10 mg of nesolicaftor, or PTI-428, or placebo, over a four week treatment period. A total of 28 F508del homozygous and 40 F508del heterozygous subjects were enrolled into the doublet, triplet or placebo arms. The compounds were generally well tolerated and the majority of reported adverse events were mild to moderate in severity. Most subjects enrolled in the Phase 2 study carried a high disease burden, with over 80% of subjects trying and failing to enroll into trials of currently approved modulators due to ineligibility. Homozygous subjects receiving the triple combination experienced a mean absolute improvement in ppFEV1 of 8% over pooled placebo at day 28. Improvements in lung function were the highest in high disease burden subgroups, predefined as subjects with ppFEV1 less than70 at baseline. In PTI's first clinical study with F508del heterozygous population, 40 subjects with at least 26 different genotypes were enrolled. Based on these results, the Company is planning to launch a global, Phase 3, randomized, placebo-controlled, MORE trial in CF subjects with the common F508del homozygous mutation, beginning in 2020.

07:33 EST Onconova, Pint Pharma get Brazilian Health approval to initiate INSPIRE trial - Onconova Therapeutics and Pint Pharma announced the receipt of approval from the Brazilian Health authority to initiate the INSPIRE Trial in Brazil with intravenous rigosertib in Higher-Risk MDS. In November 2019 enrollment in the INSPIRE Trial surpassed 90% percent of the required enrollment, and the Company continues to anticipate reporting topline data in the first half of 2020, following full enrollment and reaching the number of required survival events. "As we enter the final stage of enrollment of the INSPIRE Trial, we thank our corporate partner Pint Pharma for their collaboration in opening the study in Brazil," said Dr. Steven Fruchtman, President and CEO of Onconova Therapeutics, Inc. "The INSPIRE Trial surpassed 90% percent of the required enrollment in November 2019 and we expect the addition of up to 16 clinical trial sites in Brazil will provide further momentum to our anticipated reporting of topline data in the first half of 2020, following full enrollment and reaching the number of required survival events."

07:30 EST ADMA Biologics added to Nasdaq Biotechnology Index - ADMA Biologics (ADMA) announced that it has been selected for addition to the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (NBI). ADMA's addition the NBI will become effective prior to market open on Monday, December 23, 2019.

07:26 EST Prospect Capital purchases $31M of first lien senior secured floating rate notes - Prospect Capital Corporation announced that Prospect has purchased $31M of first lien senior secured floating rate notes for the recapitalization of Collections Acquisition Company. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Payliance provides a complete suite of solutions for payments processing, payments recovery, and risk management designed to solve payment acceptance challenges and help customers drive competitiveness and profitability. Payliance provides payment processing solutions for Automated Clearing House, electronic check, remotely created check, debit card, and credit card processing. Payliance is a portfolio company of Serent Capital, a leading lower-middle market private equity firm focused on investing in high growth service and technology businesses. Founded in 2008, Serent has offices in San Francisco, California and Austin, Texas.

07:24 EST Axsome Therapeutics added to Nasdaq Biotechnology Index - Axsome Therapeutics has been selected for addition to the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index, as part of the annual index evaluation. The Company's addition to the index will become effective prior to the market open on Monday, December 23, 2019.

07:22 EST EU passenger car registrations up 4.9% in November - In November, EU demand for new passenger cars increased by 4.9%, marking the third consecutive month of growth this year, reported the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. "To a large extent this is the result of a low base of comparison, because in November 2018 registrations went down 8.0%. With the exception of the United Kingdom all major European markets posted growth last month," the ACEA stated. Publicly traded automakers include Daimler AG (DDAIF), Fiat Chrysler (FCAU), Ford (F), General Motors (GM), Honda (HMC), Nissan (NSANY), Tesla (TSLA), Toyota (TM) and Volkswagen (VWAGY).

07:18 EST Bellerophon plans to initiate Phase 3 study of INOpulse in 1Q20 - "The positive top-line data from Cohort 2 of iNO-PF represent a defining milestone for our INOpulse clinical development program," said Fabian Tenenbaum, Chief Executive Officer of Bellerophon. "The significant improvement demonstrated in MVPA confirms the benefits previously observed in Cohort 1 and in our earlier trials and positions INOpulse to potentially become the first approved therapy to address this serious unmet medical need. As previously agreed upon with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, MVPA will serve as the primary endpoint for the Phase 3 study, which we expect to initiate in the first quarter of 2020."

07:17 EST Bellerophon announces results from Cohort 2 of Phase 2/3 study of INOpulse - Bellerophon Therapeutics announced top-line results from Cohort 2 of its ongoing Phase 2/3 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study of INOpulse for the treatment of Pulmonary Hypertension associated with Interstitial Lung Disease. Subjects in Cohort 2 of iNO-PF treated with iNO45 demonstrated statistically significant improvement in moderate to vigorous physical activity, defined as walking, climbing stairs, yard work, and similar activities, versus placebo. The improvements in MVPA were underscored by benefits shown in other actigraphy parameters, as well as patient reported outcomes. Subjects on iNO demonstrated improvements versus placebo in the following top-line parameters: MVPA improved by 14 minutes per day, representing a 20% improvement; Overall activity improved by 100 counts/min, representing a 7% improvement; St. George Respiratory Questionnaire Total score improved by 3 points; SGRQ Activity score improved by 5 points; SGRQ Impacts score improved by 6 points; University of California, San Diego Shortness of Breath Questionnaire improved by 5 points; INOpulse was well-tolerated with no safety concerns. Cohort 2 included 44 subjects randomized 2:1 to either iNO45 or placebo for a 4 month blinded treatment period followed by an open-label extension.

07:11 EST Summit Therapeutics expects to extend cash runway through January 2021 - As at 31 October 2019, total cash and cash equivalents held were GBP13.6M. On 6 December 2019, the Group announced a proposed Fundraising of approximately $50M which is subject to certain shareholder approvals being obtained at a general meeting to be held on 23 December 2019. If shareholder approval is obtained, the net proceeds of the Fundraising, together with the Group's existing cash resources and funding agreements, are expected to extend its cash runway to 31 January 2021.

07:02 EST Staar Surgical announces strategic alliance agreement with CCRS - STAAR Surgical announced it has entered into a strategic alliance with the California Center for Refractive Surgery, or CCRS, a Los Angeles based eye care group with locations in Hancock Park and Sherman Oaks. "Our new multi-clinic alliance with CCRS and its founder Dr. Paul Lee is representative of the new strategic partnership model we are now offering to highly-qualified ophthalmic partners in the U.S., the second largest market for refractive vision correction in the world," said Caren Mason, President and CEO of STAAR Surgical. "Dr. Lee is a leading ophthalmic surgeon who attended our inaugural U.S. Surgeons Council Summit earlier this year, has subsequently increased his commitment to use our Visian ICL family of lenses for vision correction in his clinics and now has plans to open one of the first lens-based only clinics in the United States in the near future. We look forward to supporting Dr. Lee's practice development through digital marketing, patient education tools and certified surgeon and staff training relating to the Visian ICL as we partner to address the growing patient need for vision correction in the U.S."

06:58 EST McDermott awarded technology contract by Naftna Industrija Srbije - McDermott announced that it has been awarded a "sizeable" technology contract by Naftna Industrija Srbije, or NIS, for the modernization of its existing Fluid Catalytic Cracking, or FCC, unit to be implemented at their refinery in Pancevo, Serbia.As part of this project, McDermott's Lummus Technology will provide the license and basic engineering for the Indmax FCC technology and a grassroots CDEtbe unit for production of bio ethanol base Ethyl Tertiary Butyl Ether, or ETBE. The state-of-the-art Indmax FCC technology, which was jointly developed by Indian Oil Corporation, or IOCL, and Lummus, will shift the yield of the existing FCC unit toward production of valuable olefins and higher-octane naphtha. Part of the olefins will be converted with bio-ethanol to ETBE using Lummus' CDEtbe technology, which is used as a clean, octane-boosting gasoline-blending component. The award for the license and basic engineering will be reflected in McDermott's fourth quarter 2019 backlog. McDermott defines a sizeable contract as between $1 million and $50 million.

06:51 EST Reliance Steel to acquire Fry Steel, terms not disclosed - Reliance Steel announced that it has reached an agreement to purchase all of the outstanding capital stock of Fry Steel Company, a general line and long bar distributor located in Santa Fe Springs, California. The acquisition fits within Reliance's strategy of acquiring high margin businesses focused on specialty products and further supports its customer and product diversification strategy. The transaction is expected to close in early 2020, subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

06:47 EST Merck commences tender offer to acquire ArQule - Merck (MRK) is commencing, through a subsidiary, a cash tender offer to purchase all outstanding shares of common stock of ArQule (ARQL). On December 9, Merck announced its intent to acquire ArQule. Upon the successful closing of the tender offer, stockholders of ArQule will receive $20 in cash for each share of ArQule common stock validly tendered and not validly withdrawn in the offer, without interest and less any required withholding taxes. Following the purchase of shares in the tender offer, ArQule will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Merck. Merck will file with the U.S. SEC a tender offer statement on Schedule TO, which provides the terms of the tender offer. Additionally, ArQule will file with the SEC a solicitation/recommendation statement on Schedule 14D-9 that includes the recommendation of the ArQule board of directors that their stockholders accept the tender offer and tender their shares. The tender offer will expire at one minute past 11:59 pm Eastern Time on January 15, 2020, unless extended in accordance with the merger agreement and the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC. The closing of the tender offer is subject to customary terms and conditions, including the tender of a number of shares which, together with shares then owned by Merck, represents a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock of ArQule, and the expiration or the termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act. The transaction is expected to close early in the first quarter of 2020.

06:37 EST Southwest now sees Q4 y/y ASMs down approximately 1% vs. prior guidance - The company now expects its fourth quarter 2019 year-over-year ASMs to decrease approximately 1%, year-over-year, as compared with its previous guidance of a decrease in the range of 0.5%-1%, year-over-year. The company has canceled approximately 3,000 flights, thus far, in fourth quarter 2019 primarily due to winter weather, which the company expects will have an immaterial impact on its fourth quarter 2019 financial results. The company continues to estimate its fourth quarter 2019 effective tax rate to be approximately 23%, and expects its annual 2019 effective tax rate to be approximately 22.5%.

06:34 EST Southwest removing Boeing 737 MAX from flight schedule through April 13, 2020 - Southwest (LUV) said in a regulatory filing: "On March 13, 2019, the FAA issued an emergency order for all U.S. airlines to ground all Boeing (BA) 737 MAX aircraft. The company immediately complied with the order and grounded all 34 737 MAX 8 aircraft in its fleet. In addition, the company has 41 MAX aircraft on order from The Boeing Company or lessors this year that have been delayed. As previously disclosed in its third quarter 2019 Form 10-Q filed on November 8, 2019, the company adjusted its flight schedule to remove all MAX flights through March 6, 2020. Based on continued uncertainty around the timing of MAX return to service, the company is proactively removing the MAX from its flight schedule through April 13, 2020." It added that: "the Company recently reached a confidential agreement with Boeing to compensate Southwest for a portion of projected financial damages related to the grounding of the airline's Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. In light of this agreement, the Southwest Board of Directors has authorized a discretionary, incremental profitsharing accrual for Employees, which is tied to the projected reduction in operating income for annual 2019 due to the MAX groundings. The company currently estimates this incremental profitsharing accrual to be approximately $125M, which will be accrued during fourth quarter 2019 and funded as part of the company's annual 2019 profitsharing distribution during first quarter 2020, in accordance with normal ProfitSharing Plan policies and Board of Director approval. The company does not currently expect any material financial impacts of the agreement to be realized in its fourth quarter 2019 earnings. While still evaluating the applicable accounting principles, the company currently expects to account for substantially all of the compensation as a reduction in cost basis of both existing and future firm aircraft orders, which will reduce depreciation expense in future years. The company continues to engage in ongoing discussions with Boeing regarding compensation for damages related to the MAX groundings. The details of these discussions and the settlement with Boeing are confidential."

06:32 EST ViewRay announces first MRIdian MRI-guided radiotherapy treatments begin in UK - ViewRay announced that the first MRIdian MRI-guided radiotherapy system in the United Kingdom - located at GenesisCare Oxford - has begun patient treatments. MRIdian combines high definition MRI imaging with linear accelerator radiation therapy to allow clinicians to visualize and adapt therapy as they treat tumors throughout the body. The first patient treated with MRIdian at Oxford was treated for prostate cancer using fully adapted stereotactic body radiation therapy, or SBRT. SBRT involves the delivery of higher doses of radiation than conventional radiation therapy in fewer treatment sessions. Using MRIdian's adaptive therapy capabilities, the radiation plan is optimized and adjusted to address movement and anatomical changes. This helps to ensure maximum coverage is achieved while sparing nearby tissue and organs in order to significantly reduce side effects.

06:23 EST Coca-Cola names Manolo Arroyo as chief marketing officer - Coca-Cola on Monday announced that Manolo Arroyo, president of the company's Asia Pacific Group, will take on the role of chief marketing officer in addition to his current responsibilities following the reitrement of Chief Growth Officer Francisco Crespo. The company stated that: "Three main areas will be embedded in the organizations of three senior leaders: Integrated global marketing, which includes teams for Creative, Category, Marketing Operations, Design and Knowledge & Insights, will report to Manolo Arroyo, who will be Chief Marketing Officer, in addition to continuing to serve as president of the company's Asia Pacific Group; Corporate strategy will report to CFO John Murphy; Customer and commercial operations will report to President and COO Brian Smith. The alignment of integrated global marketing under Arroyo will more closely integrate marketing within operations. Arroyo will continue to lead the Asia Pacific group, reporting to Smith. In addition, Arroyo will report directly to Quincey as part of his new marketing duties." The structural changes take effect Jan. 1, 2020. "We know consumer needs are changing faster and faster, and it is critical for the company to be agile in how it responds and adapts," Quincey said. "Manolo's dual leadership over operations and marketing is a new structure for us, and we anticipate that it will evolve in the months ahead. Manolo's focus will range from developing work that can be used around the globe to supporting local campaigns."

06:14 EST Check Point Research reported new vulnerability in Whatsapp - Check Point Research, the Threat Intelligence arm of Check Point Software Technologies recently helped mitigate a new vulnerability in WhatsApp that could allow a bad actor to deliver a malicious group chat message that would crash the app for all members of the group. To regain use of WhatsApp, users would need to uninstall and reinstall it, then delete the group which contains the message. Check Point Research responsibly disclosed its findings to the WhatsApp bug bounty program on August 28th. WhatsApp acknowledged the findings and developed a fix to resolve the issue, which is available since WhatsApp version number 2.19.58.

06:09 EST DMC Global: DynaEnergetics to close distribution facilities in Canada, Oklahoma - Regional shifts in North American drilling and completion activity recently led DynaEnergetics to close distribution facilities in Canada and Oklahoma. DynaEnergetics also is using the industry slowdown to accelerate a planned consolidation of its perforating system assembly operations in Mt. Braddock, Pennsylvania, into its flagship North American facility in Blum, Texas. Annual cost savings related to the reduction in fixed overhead and general and administrative expenses are expected to be approximately $2M. Restructuring charges, which primarily address severance costs for a headcount reduction of 54 employees, are expected to be approximately $750,000, and will be recorded in the fourth quarter. CEO Longe said, "The consolidation of DynaEnergetics' distribution and assembly operations will further improve operating efficiencies and reduce working capital requirements. We sincerely appreciate the effort and commitment of our assembly team in Mt. Braddock, and will work with impacted employees to assist them during their transition." Longe added, "2019 has been an outstanding year for DMC Global, and while the recent downturn in DynaEnergetics' markets was steeper than expected, we are on pace to deliver record full-year financial results at both DynaEnergetics and DMC. Moreover, we believe DMC's balance sheet at the end of 2019 will reflect the strongest financial position the Company has reported in recent history." DMC's previously provided financial forecasts for the fourth quarter and full-year 2019 are no longer applicable based on the lower anticipated sales. DMC will report its audited 2019 financial results in late February 2020.

06:03 EST Ensign Group raises dividend to 5c from 4.75c - The Ensign Group announced that it has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 5c per share of Ensign common stock, payable on or before January 31, 2020, to shareholders of record as of December 31.

05:31 EST Accenture invests in, forms strategic alliance with TradeIX - Accenture has invested in and formed a strategic alliance with TradeIX, "a Dublin-based company whose open platform uses distributed ledger technology to facilitate the flow of goods, services, transactions and information within a secure environment for global trade." Terms of the equity investment were not disclosed. The companies will work together to develop touchless finance processes, such as procure-to-pay and order-to-cash. This initiative will further expand the Marco Polo Network-a joint undertaking of over 30 leading banks, corporations and technology providers enabling simple, secured sharing of trade-related data between financial institutions and their corporate clients - to include buyers, suppliers, logistics and other entities. Accenture will also serve as a preferred implementation partner for the Marco Polo Platform.

05:24 EST PG&E announces amendment to restructuring support agreement - PG&E and Pacific Gas and Electric announced that they have entered into an amendment to the Restructuring Support Agreement among the company and certain representatives of the wildfire victims in order to reaffirm the parties' continued support of the $13.5B settlement. The amendment to the Tort Claimants RSA eliminates the provision that would automatically terminate the Tort Claimants RSA if the Governor of California advises PG&E that its Chapter 11 Plan does not, in his sole judgment, comply with Assembly Bill 1054 and the Plan is not modified in a manner acceptable to the Governor by December 17. The parties intend to proceed with the Tort Claimants RSA approval hearing before the Bankruptcy Court on December 17. The company fully intends to comply with the provisions of AB 1054 and will continue to address the concerns in the letter to the company from the Governor dated December 13. PG&E has been engaged in constructive dialogue to address those concerns with the common objectives of having PG&E be safe, sound and financially stable upon emergence from Chapter 11. PG&E expects this dialogue to continue.

04:55 EST Plantronics to replace Vitamin Shoppe in S&P 600 at open on 12/17 - Franchise Group (FRG) is acquiring Vitamin Shoppe (VSI) in a deal expected to be completed soon pending final conditions.