Stockwinners Market Radar for December 26, 2019 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:20 EST Astellas Pharma buys Xyphos for up to $665M - Astellas Pharma and Xyphos Biosciences announced that Astellas has acquired Xyphos. With the acquisition Astellas will gain Xyphos' proprietary ACCEL technology platform, as well as "industry-leading immuno-oncology talent", to develop new and potentially better ways to mobilize, target and control immune cells to find, modulate and destroy targeted cells throughout the body. Considering the acquisition, $120M was paid upon closing of the acquisition, and Xyphos became a wholly owned subsidiary of Astellas. In addition to this payment and potential future development milestone payments, it will provide a total transaction value of $665M. The impact of this transaction on Astellas' financial results in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2020 will be limited.

18:29 EST Lovesac director buys 14.5K shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, Lovesac disclosed that its director Andrew Heyer bought 14,460 shares of common stock on December 23rd-24th. The total transaction size was $207K.

17:50 EST Medtronic director sells 51K shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, Medtronic disclosed that its SVP & Chief Medical & Science director Richard Kuntz sold 51K shares of common stock on December 24th.

17:27 EST RH to replace Genesee & Wyoming in S&P MidCap 400 at open on 1/2 - S&P SmallCap 600 constituent RH (RH) will replace Genesee & Wyoming (GWR) in the S&P MidCap 400, and Foundation Building Materials (FBM) will replace RH in the S&P SmallCap 600 prior to the open of trading on Thursday, January 2. Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIP) is acquiring Genesee & Wyoming in a deal expected to be completed prior to the open of trading on Monday, December 30.

17:21 EST Wesco boosts offer to acquire Anixter to $93.50 per share - WESCO International (WCC) confirmed it has delivered to the Anixter International (AXE) board an improved proposal to acquire Anixter for $93.50 per share in cash and stock. WESCO's proposal of $93.50 in cash and stock consists of the following: Consideration per Anixter share of $63.00 cash plus a fixed exchange ratio of 0.2397 shares of WESCO common stock plus $16.65 of a newly created class of WESCO perpetual preferred stock. Based on the closing price of WESCO's common stock on December 26, the total consideration represents $93.50 per share. The WESCO transaction is subject to Anixter's stockholder approval, receipt of regulatory approval in the U.S. and certain foreign jurisdictions, as well as other customary closing conditions. WESCO anticipates the transaction could be completed in the summer of 2020.

17:02 EST Iterum Therapeutics completes patient enrollment in SURE 1 trial - Iterum Therapeutics announced the completion of patient enrollment in its Sulopenem for Resistant Enterobacteriaceae, or SURE, 1 clinical trial in uncomplicated urinary tract infections, or uUTI. This multi-center, double-blind clinical trial is measuring efficacy, tolerability and safety of oral sulopenem/probenecid for the treatment of uUTI in adult women. Patients are randomized to receive either oral sulopenem/probenecid twice daily for five days of treatment, or oral ciprofloxacin twice daily for three days of treatment.

16:47 EST Blonder Tongue Laboratories names Edward Grauch as CEO - Blonder Tongue Laboratories announced that the company's board has promoted Edward "Ted" Grauch to CEO of the company, effective January 1, 2020. Mr. Grauch will also retain his existing title of President. Ted will maintain his focus on developing the company's product strategy, sales, marketing, and technology activities, while also assuming overall management responsibility for the company's day-to-day activities. The heads of each of the company's four departments will be reporting directly to Ted.

16:30 EST Red Lion Hotels names Carter Pate as board chairman - RLH Corporation announced Robert Wolfe will be retiring from the board on December 31, 2019. The board has selected independent director R. Carter Pate, who has been a board member since May 2019, as chairman. The board and Mr. Wolfe believe this transition is opportune as the company launches its search for a permanent CEO.

16:20 EST Newgioco Group to start trading on Nasdaq on December 27th - Newgioco Group announces that its common stock will begin trading on the NASDAQ Capital Market effective with the opening of trading on December 27, 2019. The company's common stock will continue to trade under the symbol "NWGID" until January 13, 2020 after which the symbol will be "NWGI". The company is "one of the leaders in the tightly regulated Italian leisure betting market, operating a robust retail network of approximately 2,300 betting locations throughout Italy, and owns a highly differentiated proprietary betting technology platform colloquially known as Elys Gameboard".

16:17 EST Flexion gets FDA approval to update Zilretta product label - Flexion announced that the FDA has approved a supplemental New Drug Application, or sNDA, to update the product label for ZILRETTA for the treatment of osteoarthritis knee pain. Key elements of the label update include: Removal of language which stated that ZILRETTA was "not intended for repeat administration." The updated label states that the "efficacy and safety of repeat administration of ZILRETTA have not been demonstrated."; Inclusion of a study description and safety data from the single-arm, open-label Phase 3 repeat administration trial; Removal of a misleading statement describing a single secondary exploratory endpoint in the original Phase 3 pivotal trial which compared ZILRETTA to immediate release triamcinolone acetonide crystalline suspension; Inclusion of nonclinical toxicology data from previously submitted single and repeat administration studies in non-diseased animals.

16:07 EST Boeing counsel, senior advisor J. Michael Luttig to retire - The Boeing Company announced that J. Michael Luttig, counselor and senior advisor to the Boeing board, has informed the board of his long-considered retirement at year end. Luttig, who served as Boeing's general counsel from 2006 until assuming his current responsibilities in May 2019, has been managing legal matters associated with the Lion Air Flight 610 and Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 accidents, and advising the board on strategic matters.

12:00 EST Laix falls -6.3% - Laix is down -6.3%, or -38c to $5.67.

12:00 EST Qiagen falls -22.3% - Qiagen is down -22.3%, or -$9.26 to $32.21.

12:00 EST Rite Aid rises 10.8% - Rite Aid is up 10.8%, or $1.75 to $17.89.

11:53 EST PG&E reports entering new Chapter 11 backstop commitment letters with banks - In a regulatory filing, PG&E Corporation (PCG) noted that as previously disclosed, the Corporation entered into Chapter 11 Plan Backstop Commitment Letters with certain investors, under which such investors severally committed to fund up to $14B of proceeds to finance the proposed plan through the purchase of common stock of the Corporation. Also as previously disclosed, the Corporation entered into Chapter 11 Plan Backstop Commitment Letters with certain investors, under which such investors severally committed to fund up to $12B of proceeds to finance the proposed plan through the purchase of common stock of the Corporation. On December 23, 2019, the Corporation separately entered into Chapter 11 Plan Backstop Commitment Letters, under which the backstop parties have severally committed to the debtors to fund up to $12B of proceeds to finance the proposed plan in consideration of the issuance of new shares of common stock of the Corporation to the backstop parties on the effective date of the proposed plan, subject to the terms and conditions set forth in each backstop commitment letter. "The Backstop Commitment Letters supersede and replace any prior backstop commitments of the Backstop Parties or any of their affiliates, including the September Backstop Commitment Letters and the November Backstop Commitment Letters," the filing noted. The backstop commitment letters provide that under certain circumstances, the debtors will be permitted to issue new shares of common stock of the Corporation for up to $12B of proceeds to finance the transactions contemplated by the proposed plan through one or more equity offerings that, under certain circumstances, must include a rights offering, the filing added. Banks listed in the PG&E filing include, but are not limited to, JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Barclays Bank (BCS), Citigroup (C), Goldman Sachs (GS), Credit Suisse (CS), Wells Fargo (WFC) and Mizuho (MFG).

10:44 EST American Water unit agrees to acquire Granite City wastewater system for $18M - Illinois American Water, a subsidiary of American Water, has entered into an agreement with Granite City to acquire the City's wastewater collection assets. The agreement for the sale of the wastewater collection system, which serves 12,500 customer connections, is for $18M. Approval for the pending transaction will be sought under the Illinois Systems Viability Act, which allows municipalities in Illinois to sell water and wastewater systems for a price based on fair market value. The company has also signed purchase agreements with the Villages of Andalusia, Leonore, Shiloh and Sydney as well as the Cities of Rosiclare and Jerseyville.

10:01 EST Amazon.com to create 500 jobs at new fulfillment center in Deltona, Florida - Amazon announced plans to open a fulfillment center in Deltona, Florida, creating more than 500 new, full-time jobs with pay of $15 an hour and up, and comprehensive benefits starting on day one. Employees at the more than one million-square-foot fulfillment center will pick, pack and ship large customer items, such as sports equipment, patio furniture, fishing rods, pet food, kayaks, bicycles, and larger household goods. On top of Amazon's $15 minimum wage, the company offers full-time employees comprehensive benefits including full medical, vision, and dental insurance as well as a 401(k) with 50% match, starting on day one. The company also offers up to 20 weeks of maternal and parental paid leave and innovative benefits such as Leave Share and Ramp Back, which give new parents flexibility with their growing families. In addition, Amazon has pledged to invest over $700less than to provide upskilling training for 100,000 U.S. employees for in-demand jobs. All associates at the Deltona center will go through hours of safety training and have access to continuing education opportunities through Amazon's upskilling programs such as Career Choice. In this program, the company will pre-pay up to 95% of tuition for courses related to in-demand fields, regardless of whether the skills are relevant to a career at Amazon.

10:00 EST Direxion Daily Junior Gold Miners Index Bear 3x Shares falls -8.1% - Direxion Daily Junior Gold Miners Index Bear 3x Shares is down -8.1%, or -87c to $9.93.

10:00 EST Direxion Daily Jr Gld Mnrs Bull 3X Shrs rises 7.6% - Direxion Daily Jr Gld Mnrs Bull 3X Shrs is up 7.6%, or $5.83 to $82.69.

10:00 EST Global Geoscience rises 20.0% - Global Geoscience is up 20.0%, or $4.29 to $25.74.

09:47 EST Rite Aid rises 5.9% - Rite Aid is up 5.9%, or 95c to $17.09.

09:33 EST Vislink appoints Ralph Faison to board of directors - Vislink Technologies (VISL) announced that Ralph Faison has been appointed to its board as a non-executive independent director. Vislink also announced that, with effect from Jan. 1, 2020, Ray Sidney will step down from its board as a non-executive independent director. Ralph Faison currently serves as Chairman of Arlo Technologies (ARLO).

09:21 EST UPS expects 1.9M returns packages on Jan. 2, up 26% from last year - UPS predicts a seventh consecutive record-breaking National Returns Day as consumers send back holiday orders ranging from ill-fitting sweaters to duplicate kitchen gadgets. On Jan. 2, consumers are expected to deposit 1.9M returns packages into the UPS network - a 26% spike from last year's peak returns day.

09:10 EST B.O.S. Better Online co-CEO Yuval Viner to step down - B.O.S Better Online Solutions announced that Yuval Viner, co-CEO of the Company has decided to step down from his position and pursue other professional interests. Eyal Cohen will remain with the Company in the role of the CEO. Hagit Vizner, who has been serving as BOS' controller for eight years, is promoted to replace Eyal Cohen as the company's CFO.

09:02 EST Applied Energetics slected for direct energy systems award - Applied Energetics announced that the Company has received notice from the Army that it has been competitively selected for award of a Phase I Small Business Technology Transfer contract. The award is for the development of Standoff Electronic Denial systems. The objective of this award is to develop a directed energy system capable of disrupting, disabling or destroying the electronics on a remote target within milliseconds of detection. The award is contingent upon successful negotiations with a U.S. Army Contracting Officer and the availability of funding. STTR is a federally funded program to incorporate small business technological innovation into Government supported Research and Development programs. STTR's require the small business to formally collaborate with a university or non-profit and are structured in three phases.

08:50 EST Temasek Holdings lowers stake in Univar to 4.54% from 5.71% - Temasek Holdings disclosed a reduced stake of 4.54% in Univar, which represents over 7.65M shares. Temasek on November 8 disclosed a 5.71% stake in Univar, or over 9.62M shares..

08:38 EST OncoSec's prpposed CGP/Sirtex transaction recommended by ISS - OncoSec announced that Institutional Shareholder Services, or ISS, a proxy advisory firm, has recommended that shareholders vote for the proposed strategic investment and partnership - the CGP/Sirtex Transaction - with Grand Decade Developments, a wholly owned subsidiary of China Grand Pharmaceutical and Healthcare and its U.S. affiliate, Sirtex Medical US on the white proxy card. In its support of the CGP/Sirtex Transaction, ISS noted: "(T)he company has made a compelling case that the financing is necessary and urgent. The company's alternatives appear to be severely limited by the current stock price and apparent lack of interest from other parties despite what appears to have been a fairly robust outreach to potential investors and partners. The proposed transaction also offers the advantage of a strategic partner with global experience. As such, support for the proposal is warranted. (...) All in, it appears that the company cast a wide net in its search for capital and/or partnerships. Despite these efforts, the company has only been able to execute two equity raises after the release of preliminary data from KEYNOTE-695 Phase 2b combination trial of TAVO; they were highly dilutive and still left the company with insufficient capital to continue operating through 2020 calendar year. (...) Given the active process run by the board and management, the dissident's claim that the company could find financing on more favorable terms lacks credibility. (...) The dissident's alternate financing proposal, released on Dec. 20, 2019, lacks substance. There is no mention of potential valuation or terms, and no evidence that the dissident has the ability to provide or raise the promised financing."

08:33 EST Digital Ally, Pivot International enter agreement for breathalyzer device - Digital Ally announced its partnership with Pivot International for the development and production of Digital Ally's new, innovative breathalyzer for law enforcement. Pivot will integrate Digital Ally's recently issued patent, U.S. Patent No. 10,390,732, into a revolutionary breathalyzer. With this new technology, when an officer is conducting a field sobriety test and the breathalyzer is activated, the digital video recording device will automatically start a recording, later embedding the meta-data captured onto the recorded video. The '732 Patent was granted by the U.S. Patent Office in August of 2019 and is an expansion of Digital Ally's patented VuLink automatic activation technology. Common defense claims during the prosecution of court cases are that field sobriety tests were incorrectly administered or that human error has occurred. Digital Ally's new breathalyzer, integrated with the '732 Patent and paired only with the Digital Ally's video recording devices, will aid law enforcement officers in convicting suspects on criminal acts, such as DUI's, by helping to authenticate and preserve the chain of custody of the meta-data captured by the breathalyzer in the court of law. All meta-data and video captured will automatically be uploaded and stored in Digital Ally's back-office solution powered by Amazon Web Services.

08:26 EST Amazon reports 'record-breaking' holiday season with 'billions of items' ordered - Amazon (AMZN) announced that this holiday season was "record-breaking," with "billions of items" ordered worldwide and "tens of millions of Amazon Devices" purchased worldwide. Some of the best-selling products and brands this holiday season were the Echo Dot, Fire TV Stick with Alexa Voice Remote, Echo Show 5, L.O.L. Surprise! Glitter Globe Doll Winter Disco Series with Glitter Hair, iRobot (IRBT) Roomba 675 Robot Vacuum, HAUS LABORATORIES, Carhartt, AmazonBasics, and Champion items, the company stated in its holiday sales press release. Popular departments customers shopped in Amazon's Stores in the U.S. were toys, fashion, home and beauty with more than half a billion total items ordered, the company added. "This holiday season has been better than ever thanks to our customers and employees all around the world. On behalf of all Amazonians, we wish everyone the happiest of holidays and a fantastic 2020," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO. The Fly notes that Champion brand is a subsidiary of Hanesbrands (HBI).

08:10 EST Outlook Therapeutics announces completion of warrant restructuring - Outlook Therapeutics announced that it has completed the previously announced warrant restructuring. Effective December 23, 2019, with consent of the required holders of the Outlook Therapeutics warrants issued in the Company's April 2019 underwritten public offering, the Company amended the April Warrants to reduce the exercise price to $0.232 per share and allow for the immediate cashless exercise of the April Warrants. In addition, the expiration date for all of the April Warrants was changed to 5:00 pm EST on December 24, 2019. As a result of these amended terms, all outstanding April Warrants have now been exercised in full resulting in the issuance of approximately 8.2 million shares of the Company's common stock. The transaction was done to eliminate the April Warrants as they included anti-dilution protection, which negatively impacted the ability of Outlook Therapeutics to raise additional funds.

08:06 EST ATIF enters deal for sale and purchase in respect of shares of Sinofortune - ATIF Holdings announced that the Company, through its wholly-owned Hong Kong incorporated subsidiary ATIF Limited, entered into an Agreement for Sale and Purchase in Respect of Shares and Subordinated Loan of Sinofortune Securities Limited with Sinofortune Financial Holdings Limited on December 20, 2019. Sinofortune Financial Holdings Limited is a private limited company incorporated in the British Virgin Islands and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sinofortune Financial Holdings Limited, which is a public limited company incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Sinofortune Securities Limited, a limited company incorporated in Hong Kong, is licensed by the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong to carry on Type 1, Type 2, and Type 4 regulated activities under the SFC. Pursuant to the Agreement, ATIF HK agreed to purchase from the Seller, 67,000,000 ordinary shares of the Target, representing 100% of the equity interests of the Target and to purchase from the Listco, an unsecured interest bearing subordinated loan with a principal amount of HK$10M which was rendered to the Target by the Listco under a Subordinated Loan Agreement dated August 26, 2011, entered amongst the Listco, the Target, and the SFC. As consideration of the Acquisition, ATIF HK agreed to pay a cash consideration amounting to HK$5.7M plus the NAV of the Target as of the closing of the Acquisition, which NAV was estimated to be approximately HK$9.6M and should not exceed HK$9.7M. Upon signing the Agreement, ATIF HK is required to pay a deposit to the Seller in the amount of HK$1.71M, and the remaining balance will be paid on the closing of the Acquisition. The Acquisition is subject to the SFC's approval of the change of substantial shareholder of the Target and the assignment of the Subordinated Loan and the Subordinated Loan Agreement from the Listco to ATIF HK, and is expected to be completed within 15 business days after ATIF HK obtains such an approval.

07:20 EST Tiffany says Hong Kong declines offsetting 'strong' China sales growth - Tiffany CEO Alessandro Bogliolo said in today's statement, "We are pleased to present our interim sales results for this important season, which reflect improved global trends compared to previous quarters this year. During this period, we continued to see the Chinese Mainland drive our overall sales growth with a strong double-digit increase, offset by the persisting declines in the Hong Kong market and, to a lesser degree, Japan - which we believe continues to be negatively impacted by the recent increase in the consumption tax. We are happy to see sales growth in the Americas, a momentum shift in the region. During this period, we have continued to make enhancements to our global store network. We completed the enlargement of our flagship store in Shanghai, now the largest Tiffany store in Asia, in a prominent street-facing location within the Hong Kong Plaza mall. At this location, we also just celebrated the opening of the first Tiffany Blue Box Cafe on the Chinese Mainland. Our London flagship store on Old Bond Street was renovated. Additionally, we opened our third store in Kyoto, Japan and our newest one in the U.S., at Hudson Yards, our fifth store in New York City. Our iconic flagship store on Fifth Avenue in New York City has remained open throughout the 2019 interim holiday period. The flagship store will close in mid-January 2020, at which time we will begin its complete renovation and temporarily move our operations to the 'Tiffany Flagship Next Door' at 6 East 57th Street."

07:12 EST Magal Security engages Hayden IR for investor relations program - Magal Security has retained Hayden IR, an investor relations advisory and communications services firm, to implement a strategic investor relations program grounded in best practices. Hayden IR will work to improve Magal's strategic messaging and increase visibility within the investment community

07:05 EST KKR to acquire 65% interest in Coastal GasLink Pipeline Project - KKR announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire, alongside Alberta Investment Management, a 65% equity interest in the Coastal GasLink Pipeline Project from TC Energy. Coastal GasLink involves the estimated C$6.6B construction of 670 kilometers of natural gas pipeline and associated facilities. Once completed, the pipeline will have an initial capacity of 2.1B cubic feet per day and connect Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin natural gas supply from the Dawson Creek, B.C. area to the LNG Canada liquefaction and export facility being constructed in Kitimat, B.C. By displacing coal and diesel-fueled generation with cleaner burning natural gas, LNG Canada expects to reduce global GHG emissions by up to 60M-90M tonnes per year, equivalent to 20-40 coal plants being shut down. All necessary regulatory permits have been received for the Project and construction activities have commenced. Coastal GasLink is backed by 25 year transportation service agreements with the five LNG Canada owners.

06:44 EST Tiffany reports interim holiday period sales increased 1%-3% - Tiffany presented its preliminary sales results for the interim period from November 1 through December 24. Worldwide net sales for the interim holiday period increased approximately 1%-3% as compared to the same period in 2018. At December 24, the company operated 327 stores versus 321 stores a year ago.

06:27 EST Spring Bank drops 9% to $3.30 after halting Phase 2b inarigivir trials

06:13 EST Spring Bank cites 'abundance of caution' for stopping Phase 2 inarigivir trials - Martin Driscoll, president CEO of Spring Bank Pharmaceuticals, said in today's statement, "We stopped dosing and enrolling patients out of an abundance of caution based on laboratory data from virally-suppressed patients in the CATALYST 2 trial. We are certainly disappointed to stop our current Phase 2 inarigivir trials, but ensuring patient safety and care is of paramount importance to us. Working with the members of our Data Safety Monitoring Board, clinical trial investigators and external experts, we will review all of the information available to us from the CATALYST 2 trial and all other inarigivir trials at the 400mg dose to determine the appropriate path forward for these trials."

05:26 EST Ellomay executes framework agreement with European developer - Ellomay Capital announced the execution of a framework agreement between its wholly-owned subsidiary, Ellomay Luxembourg, and an "established and experienced" European developer. Pursuant to the agreement, the developer will provide Ellomay Luxembourg with development services with respect to photovoltaic greenfield projects in Italy in the scope of 350 MW with the aim of reaching an aggregate "ready to build" authorized capacity of at least 265 MW over a forty-one months period. The effectiveness of the agreement is subject to the parties reaching an agreed form of certain agreements that will be attached within twenty days of its execution, Ellomay said in a statement. In addition to 265 MW, Ellomay Luxembourg has the option to purchase approximately 37 MW that are already under development by the developer, 30 MW of which have already received the approval for connection to the Italian electricity grid, it added.

05:26 EST Fang Holdings to acquire interests in China Index at $5.99 per share - Fang Holdings Limited (FUN) announced that with the approval of its audit committee and board of directors, it has entered into an agreement with Next Decade Technology Limited and Media Partner Investments Limited which are affiliated companies of Fang's chairman Vincent Mo to acquire certain equity interests in China Index Holdings. Fang agrees to buy and the sellers agree to sell, within the next 12 months, at a fixed price of $5.99 per share, in an aggregate up to 15M ordinary shares of CIH beneficially owned by the sellers in the agreement. According to the agreement, Fang will have the absolute and sole discretion to determine the number of shares to purchase, the timing of the purchase, and whether a single or a series of transactions. Both parties also agree that Fang will not seek to gain a controlling voting power in CIH as a result of the proposed transaction, unless it is approved separately by the audit committee and the board of directors of each of Fang and CIH. China Index Holdings closed Tuesday down 13c to $2.97.