Stockwinners Market Radar for January 02, 2020 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:03 EST Lineage Cell Therapeutics sells 2.38M OncoCyte shares - Lineage Cell Therapeutics (LCTX) announced the pricing of the sale of 2.38M shares of common stock of OncoCyte (OCX) at a price to buyers of $2.156 per share, representing the average closing price of OncoCyte common stock over the five trading days prior to the execution of the agreement. Net proceeds from the sale were approximately $5M. The sale is expected to close by January 9, 2020, subject to certain closing conditions. Following the completion of the sale, Lineage will own approximately 6M shares, which represents less than 10% of OncoCyte's outstanding common stock. Based on the closing price of OncoCyte's common stock on January 2, 2020, the value of Lineage's remaining OncoCyte shares following the closing is approximately $13.5M. Lineage has agreed not to sell additional shares of OncoCyte common stock until March 17, 2020 or unless the OncoCyte common stock price closes above $3.40.

18:53 EST Fly Intel: After Hours Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Resources Connection (RECN) up 3.1%. ALSO HIGHER: Acorda Therapeutics (ACOR) up 21.9% after Point72 disclosed passive stake... Chembio Diagnostics (CEMI) up 18.4% after announcing expected FDA approval of DPP test in Q1... DBV Technologies (DBVT) up 4.4% after naming new CFO... BioNTech (BNTX) up 4.2% after announcing preclinical proof-of-concept data for first CAR-T product candidate BNT211... Pacific Biosciences (PACB) up 2.7% after terminated merger with Illumina. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Landec (LNDC) down 15.2%. ALSO LOWER: Novan (NOVN) down 72.4% after announcing SB206 did not achieve statistically significant results for primary endpoint... Incyte (INCY) down 9.9% after announcing its GRAVITAS-301 study does not meet primary, secondary endpoints... Arista Networks (ANET) down 1.8% after announcing departure of Chief Customer Officer, affirming Q4 revenue guidance. Movers as of 18:30ET.

18:01 EST BWX Technologies subsidiary completes acquisition of Laker Energy Products - BWX Technologies announced that its subsidiary BWXT Canada Ltd. has acquired Laker Energy Products. The transaction broadens BWXT's portfolio of critical CANDU components for its global customer base. Laker Energy Products will now operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of BWXT Canada.

17:31 EST Granite Construction awarded $33M CA highway reconstruction project - Granite has been awarded a contract by the California Department of Transportation for the reconstruction of four miles of State Route 99 near Kingsburg. A primary source of funding for this project is Senate Bill 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017 that is expected to invest $54 billion over a ten-year period to improve California's roads, freeways and bridges. Granite booked the $33M contract in Q4 of 2019. Construction is expected to begin in Q2 of 2020 and scheduled for completion in Q3 of 2021.

17:29 EST Leon Cooperman reports 6.14% passive stake in Gannett - Leon Cooperman disclosed a 6.14% stake in Gannett, which represents over 7.5M shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

17:09 EST Newmont Goldcorp lowers FY20 gold production view to 6.4M from 6.7M - Newmont announced it successfully completed the sale of its 50% stake in Kalgoorlie Consolidated Gold Mines to Northern Star Resources Limited receiving cash proceeds of $800 million. Following the divestiture of KCGM, the company is updating its 2020 guidance and long-term outlook, forecasting 2020 production guidance to be 6.4M ounces for 2020 and between 6.2 and 6.7 million ounces longer-term through 2024 vs. the prior forecast of 6.7 million ounces for 2020 and is expected to be between 6.5 and 7.0 million ounces longer-term through 2024. Gold costs applicable to sales guidance is maintained at $750 per ounce for 2020 and between $650 and $750 per ounce for 2021 and 2022. Gold all-in sustaining costs guidance is unchanged at $975 per ounce for 2020 and between $850 and $950 per ounce for 2021 and 2022. Attributable sustaining capital guidance has been lowered to $950 million for 2020 and between $0.9 to $1.1 billion longer-term through 2024.

17:05 EST Genesco closes Togast acquisition, sees accretion in FY21 earnings - Genesco (GCO) announced that it has closed the acquisition of the U.S. assets of New York-based Togast, previously announced on December 18. Togast is a company that specializes in the design, sourcing and sale of licensed footwear. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to Genesco's fiscal 2021 earnings. As planned, at closing, Genesco also entered into a new U.S. footwear license agreement for men, women and children for Levi's (LEVI), as well as renewed and extended its men's Dockers footwear license. The Togast purchase expands Genesco's portfolio to include footwear licenses for G.H. Bass & Co., ADIO and FUBU, among others.

16:47 EST Novan falls over 60% on resumption of trade following Phase 3 SB206 data release - Shares of Novan are down 61% or $1.91 at $1.25 per share after the release of its Phase 3 SB206 data indicating that statistical significance was not achieved for the primary endpoint in either B-SIMPLE1 or B-SIMPLE2 trials.

16:41 EST Novan to resume trading at 16:45ET

16:37 EST Pacific Biosciences down 2.1% after resuming trading

16:35 EST Valmont to acquire remaining shares of AgSense for roughly $42M - Valmont Industries announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the remaining 49% stake in AgSense for a purchase price of approximately $42M. The acquisition is expected to close later this month and will be funded with cash on hand. Operating results for AgSense have been included in the Company's consolidated financial statements since a 51% stake was acquired in August 2014. The transaction will not impact revenue or operating income but will be EPS accretive in fiscal 2020, primarily from a change in earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests. Len Adams, Group President, Valmont Irrigation, added, "Our goal has always been to fully own AgSense, so this transaction represents the achievement of another major milestone as we continue to execute on our technology strategy. We have demonstrated that our team and our dealers are able to successfully work with technology partners over time. We welcome the AgSense team to our technology sales group, and are excited to continue investing in innovation to meet growers' needs around the world."

16:34 EST Arista Networks announces departure of Chief Customer Officer Manuel Rivelo - In a regulatory filing, Arista Networks disclosed that Manuel Rivelo, the Chief Customer Officer, informed the company that he will voluntarily resign his position effective on January 2. Rivelo will remain available to the company in an advisory capacity to assist with the transition of his responsibilities and other related matters.

16:33 EST The Pennant Group acquires home health agency in Nevada - The Pennant Group announced that a subsidiary of Cornerstone Healthcare, Pennant's home health and hospice portfolio subsidiary, has acquired the assets of Desert View Home Health, which provides home health services in Clark County, Nevada. The acquisition was effective January 1. "We have been eager for some time to pair home health services with our hospice operations in Las Vegas and the surrounding communities," said Daniel Walker, Pennant's Chief Executive Officer and President. "This transaction is an example of one of the many levers we can pull throughout our organization to accelerate additional organic growth," Mr. Walker added.The home health agency will be operated under the same local leadership as a Cornerstone affiliate that provides hospice services in Southern Nevada. The combined operation will be renamed Comfort Home Health and Hospice. "We are excited by this opportunity to expand our services in Southern Nevada," said Brent Guerisoli, President of Cornerstone Healthcare. "This acquisition brings to our organization a talented team of caregivers deeply committed to serving their patients, and integrating this team with our exceptional hospice agency enables us to offer a higher level of service across the care continuum to the local community," continued Mr. Guerisoli. Mr. Walker reaffirmed that Pennant is actively seeking opportunities to acquire home health, hospice and senior living businesses throughout the United States.

16:32 EST DBV Technologies appoints Ramzi Benamar CFO - DBV Technologies announced the appointment of Ramzi Benamar as its CFO, effective January 6. Ramzi will serve as a member of the executive committee and report to Daniel Tasse, CEO of DBV Technologies.He most recently served as VP and Head of Financial Planning and Analysis for Spark Therapeutics.

16:29 EST Enterprise Products Chairman Randa Duncan Williams buys almost $3M in shares - Enterprise Products Chairman Randa Duncan Williams disclosed in a filing that she had purchased 103,000 shares of company stock at an average price of $27.91 per share on December 30. The total transaction value of the purchase was $2,874,967.

16:19 EST BioNTech announces preclinical BNT211 data published - BioNTech announced a publication in Science on the company's novel CAR-T therapeutic approach for solid tumors which utilizes a CAR-T cell amplifying RNA vaccine, or CARVac. The report provides preclinical proof-of-concept data for BioNTech's first CAR-T product candidate BNT211, an autologous CAR-T cell therapy targeting the oncofetal antigen Claudin 6, or CLDN6, and outlines CARVac as a broadly applicable RNA vaccine approach to improve therapeutic efficacy of CAR-T cell therapies. Although CAR-T cell therapy has shown significant clinical efficacy in blood cancers, it still faces major challenges in solid tumors, including a limited number of identified cancer-specific solid tumor targets, inefficient infiltration of CAR-T cells into solid tumors and insufficient CAR-T cell persistence. BioNTech aims to overcome these hurdles by targeting CLDN6, a novel tumor specific antigen expressed in multiple solid tumors, in combination with an RNA vaccine promoting the amplification, persistence and efficacy of CAR-T cells in vivo. In the published study, a second generation CLDN6-CAR-T therapy with a 4-1BB costimulatory domain, or BNT211, was evaluated both in vitro in tumor cell lines and in vivo in mice with human ovarian cancer transplants. In mice, CLDN6-CAR-T cell therapy demonstrated complete tumor regression of transplanted large human tumors within two weeks after treatment initiation. Furthermore, the combination with CARVac achieved an improved engraftment, proliferation and expansion of CAR-T cells in vivo resulting in tumor regression even at sub-therapeutic CAR-T doses. CARVac was also successfully applied for CAR-T cells targeting the pan-cancer antigen CLDN18.2 and CD19, the target of approved CAR-T cell therapies. The combination of CAR-T cell therapy with CARVac underlines the value of cross-platform synergies to address key development challenges in the treatment of cancer. BioNTech intends to initiate a first-in-human Phase 1/2 clinical trial for BNT211 this year in solid tumors, including ovarian, testicular, uterine and lung cancer. Manufacturing to support clinical trials of BNT211 will be conducted in-house at BioNTech's state-of-the-art GMP certified cell therapy manufacturing facility in Idar-Oberstein, Germany, which has been in operation since 1999. BioNTech initiated a multi-year capacity expansion at the facility in 2018 which it expects to complete in 2020.

16:17 EST Level One, Ann Arbor Bancorp complete merger - Level One Bancorp and Ann Arbor Bancorp, the privately-owned parent company of Ann Arbor State Bank, completed their previously-announced merger transaction. The size of the combined company is approximately $1.8B in assets, $1.4B in loans and $1.5B in deposits, based on information as of September 30, 2019. The merger expands Level One Bank's network to fifteen banking centers throughout the Ann Arbor, Metro Detroit and Grand Rapids areas.

16:16 EST Novan: SB206 didn't achieve stastically significant results for primary endpoint - Novan announced top-line efficacy results from its Phase 3 B-SIMPLE program with SB206 for the treatment of molluscum contagiosum. Statistical significance was not achieved for the primary endpoint in either B-SIMPLE1 or B-SIMPLE2, however multiple sensitivity analyses are supportive and consistent across both studies and support a potential path forward for the asset. The two trials are ongoing, awaiting 24-week safety data, thus the top-line results are for efficacy data only. The B-SIMPLE program consists of two multi-center, randomized, double-blind, vehicle-controlled pivotal trials of topical nitric oxide-releasing product candidate SB206 for the treatment of molluscum in 707 patients aged 6 months and older, with a 2:1 randomization. Following an assessment of the primary analysis and pre-specified sensitivity analyses, Novan is able to demonstrate through multiple statistical tests and trends that B-SIMPLE1, while not statistically significant, is consistent with and supportive of the B-SIMPLE2 trial and results. anagement, along with the Board of Directors, continues to explore both financial as well as strategic options in order to continue to progress SB206 for the molluscum indication. As disclosed in the latest 10-Q filing, as of September 30, 2019, the Company had $22.5 million in total cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash, which is targeted to fund operations into the first quarter of 2020, excluding the effect of any potential sales of stock under the Company's stock purchase agreement with Aspire Capital Fund, LLC, if available. The Company is working to further address current operations with the aim of achieving a reduction in near term cash expenditures. Substantial additional funding will be required in order to continue to sustain business operations.

16:11 EST Alcoa to sell Gum Springs waste treatment facility for up to $250M - Alcoa has agreed to sell its Gum Springs, Arkansas waste treatment facility, to Veolia ES Technical Solutions in a transaction expected to close in Q1 of 2020. According to the terms of the agreement between the parties, Alcoa will receive $200M in cash at closing for the sale of Elemental Environmental Solutions, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alcoa Corporation that owns the 1,300-acre hazardous waste treatment business in Gum Springs. An additional $50M will be paid to Alcoa if certain post-closing conditions are satisfied. The sale is subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. The Gum Springs facility employs approximately 70 people and specializes in various environmental management processes, including the use of two permitted hazardous waste incinerators and a landfill.

16:10 EST First Financial acquires TB&T Bancshares in Texas - First Financial has completed the acquisition of TB&T Bancshares and its wholly owned subsidiary, The Bank & Trust of Bryan/College Station, Texas, effective January 1, 2020. First Financial issued approximately 6.3 million shares of First Financial common stock, with an approximate value of $220.3M, to the shareholders of TB&T Bancshares. In addition, prior to closing, TB&T Bancshares paid a special dividend to its shareholders totaling approximately $2.0M in accordance with the definitive agreement. The purchase price was originally established based on a $30.28 price per share of First Financial's common stock and totaled $190M on the day both parties agreed to pricing. As of December 31, 2019, The Bank & Trust of Bryan/College Station had total assets of approximately $631.1M, total loans of approximately $455.4M and total deposits of approximately $551.9M.

16:08 EST Pacific Biosciences and Illumina terminate merger agreement - Illumina (ILMN) and Pacific Biosciences of California (PACB) announced that they have mutually agreed to terminate their merger agreement, previously announced on November 1, 2018, under which Illumina would acquire Pacific Biosciences at a fully diluted enterprise value of approximately $1.2B in an all-cash transaction. "Considering the lengthy regulatory approval process the transaction has already been subject to and continued uncertainty of the ultimate outcome, the parties decided that terminating the agreement is in the best interest of their respective shareholders and employees. In accordance with the merger agreement, Illumina will pay Pacific Biosciences a termination fee of $98M," the companies announced. "We believe this proposed combination would have broadened access to Pacific Biosciences sequencing technology, significantly expanded and accelerated innovation, and ultimately increased the clinical utility and impact of sequencing. I'd like to thank our employees, as well as the Pacific Biosciences team, for their unwavering dedication and commitment throughout this process. Moving forward, we will continue to look for ways to increase the impact and benefit of sequencing technologies for researchers, clinicians, and most importantly, patients," said Francis deSouza, President and CEO of Illumina. "We are disappointed that our customers and other stakeholders will not realize the powerful advantages of integrating the sequencing capabilities of our two companies. With that said, we are confident in the future of Pacific Biosciences as we continue to pursue improved sequencing accuracy and throughput that can be utilized in an ever-expanding number of applications," added Michael Hunkapiller, CEO of Pacific Biosciences.

16:08 EST Grindrod Shipping says progressing talks to acquire 33.25% stake in IVS Bulk JV - Grindrod Shipping Holdings provided an update relating to the planned acquisition of an additional 33.25% stake in its IVS Bulk joint venture. Grindrod Shipping is progressing negotiations to acquire all of the 33.25% ordinary and preference shares in IVS Bulk held by one of its two JV partners for approximately $44.2 million, thereby increasing our stake in the JV to 66.75%. In the event the transaction is implemented as anticipated, the company will consolidate IVS Bulk's financial results into its financial results going forward.

16:07 EST American Water to purchase Long Hill Township sewer system for $12.7M - New Jersey American Water has signed an agreement to acquire the wastewater assets of the Township of Long Hill, N.J. for $12.7M. This municipally owned sewer system serves approximately 2,800 customers, most of whom already receive water service from New Jersey American Water. As part of the acquisition agreement, New Jersey American Water will invest more than $13M in critical sewer system improvements in the next five years, while freezing current sewer rates for residents for two years and increasing rates no more than 3% annually for the three years after that. New Jersey American Water anticipates completing the acquisition in summer 2020, following approval from the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities.

16:06 EST Pacific Biosciences and Illumina terminate merger agreement

16:03 EST U.S. Well Services director buys 1M shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, U.S. Well Services disclosed that its director David Matlin bought 1M shares of common stock on December 30th. The total transaction size was $1.25M.

16:01 EST Pacific Biosciences trading halted, news pending

15:48 EST Co-Diagnostics and CoSara to launch IVD products to India market - Co-Diagnostics announced that it will be hosting a booth at the upcoming India Diagnostic Expo with its Indian joint venture, CoSara Diagnostics, on January 4-6 in Hyderabad, India, to formally launch their recently-approved in vitro diagnostics, IVDs. The India Diagnostic Expo provides India's only focused diagnostics products and consumables exhibition for the diagnostic services market, which is expected to continue growing at 27.5% for the next 5 years. Attendance at the expo follows the December 2019 announcement that CoSara tests for tuberculosis, malaria, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and human papillomavirus, HPV, received IVD approval by the Central Drug Standard Control Organization. The licenses and regulatory clearance granted by the CDSCO allow the 5 tests to be manufactured and sold for the detection of the respective diseases, with the expo marking their first formal launch to the Indian market.

15:16 EST Washington state AG sues Johnson & Johnson over opioids - Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced that his office filed a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson, one of the largest suppliers of the raw materials used to produce opioid pain medications, accusing the multinational company of playing a key role in "driving the entire pharmaceutical industry to vastly expand the use of prescription opioids." Ferguson also asserts that Johnson & Johnson, along with several of its subsidiaries, fueled the opioid epidemic in Washington state by "embarking on a massive deceptive marketing campaign and convincing doctors and the public that their drugs are effective for treating chronic pain and have a low risk of addiction, contrary to overwhelming evidence," according to a press release announcing the lawsuit. Reference Link

14:37 EST WOW! names Henry Hryckiewicz CTO - WOW! Internet, Cable & Phone announced the appointment of Henry Hryckiewicz to WOW!'s executive team as chief technology officer. Hryckiewicz will guide the technology strategy for all residential and business products as he leads engineering and network operations for the company, focusing on driving innovation for WOW!'s extensive product and service offerings. Hryckiewicz was most recently the senior vice president of engineering operations for residential and business services for Time Warner Cable where he managed strategic and operational oversight of network design, deployment, operations and expansion.

14:05 EST Lowe's to hire more than 53,000 associates for spring season - Lowe's Companies announced plans to hire more than 53,000 full-time, part-time and seasonal associates across its more than 1,700 U.S. stores this spring. Lowe's will roll out hiring events in all store locations over the next three months by region to meet the seasonal spring hiring needs across the country, the company noted.

13:56 EST FDA confirms limited ban on certain flavored vaping products - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a policy prioritizing enforcement against certain unauthorized flavored e-cigarette products that appeal to kids, including fruit and mint flavors. Under this policy, companies that do not cease manufacture, distribution and sale of unauthorized flavored cartridge-based e-cigarettes (other than tobacco or menthol) within 30 days risk FDA enforcement actions. "The United States has never seen an epidemic of substance use arise as quickly as our current epidemic of youth use of e-cigarettes. HHS is taking a comprehensive, aggressive approach to enforcing the law passed by Congress, under which no e-cigarettes are currently on the market legally," said HHS Secretary Alex Azar. "By prioritizing enforcement against the products that are most widely used by children, our action today seeks to strike the right public health balance by maintaining e-cigarettes as a potential off-ramp for adults using combustible tobacco while ensuring these products don't provide an on-ramp to nicotine addiction for our youth. We will not stand idly by as this crisis among America's youth grows and evolves, and we will continue monitoring the situation and take further actions as necessary." The final guidance outlining the agency's enforcement priorities for electronic nicotine delivery systems, or ENDS, such as e-cigarettes and e-liquids, comes as the 2019 National Youth Tobacco Survey results on e-cigarette use show that more than 5 million U.S. middle and high school students are current e-cigarette users - with a majority reporting cartridge-based products as their usual brand. Publicly traded companies in the tobacco products space include Altria Group (MO), British American Tobacco (BTI), Imperial Brands (IMBBY) and Philip Morris (PM). Reference Link

12:48 EST Interactive Brokers reports December DARTs down 19% y/y - Interactive Brokers Group reported its Electronic Brokerage monthly performance metrics for December. Brokerage highlights for the month included: 771,000 Daily Average Revenue Trades, 19% lower than prior year and 6% lower than prior month. Ending client equity of $174.1B, 36% higher than prior year and 4% higher than prior month. Ending client margin loan balances of $31B, 15% higher than prior year and 14% higher than prior month. Ending client credit balances of $57.9B, including $2.4B in insured bank deposit sweeps, 17% higher than prior year and 2% higher than prior month. 690,000 client accounts, 15% higher than prior year and 1% higher than prior month. 253 annualized average cleared DARTs per client account. Average commission per cleared Commissionable Order of $3.79 including exchange, clearing and regulatory fees.

12:10 EST Apple, Imagination Technologies sign new license agreement - Imagination Technologies announced that it has replaced the multi-year, multi-use license agreement with Apple, first announced on February 6, 2014, with a new multi-year license agreement under which Apple has access to a wider range of Imagination's intellectual property in exchange for license fees.

12:02 EST Audentes Therapeutics' Pompe Disease treatment granted orphan status - The FDA has granted orphan designation to Audentes Therapeutics' treatment of Pompe Disease, according to a post to the agency's website. Reference Link

11:33 EST Madison Square Garden, DraftKings announce renewed partnership - Madison Square Garden (MSG) and DraftKings (DEAC) announced a marketing partnership that makes DraftKings the Official and Exclusive Sports Betting and Daily Fantasy Sports Partner of the New York Knicks and Rangers, as well as "The World's Most Famous Arena." The agreement provides DraftKings with premier brand integration across MSG's set of assets, including digital platforms, in-game promotion and out-of-home signage. DraftKings previously entered into a definitive business combination agreement with Diamond Eagle Acquisition.

10:35 EST Darling Ingredients acquires 50% JV interest of EnviroFlight from Intrexon - Darling Ingredients (DAR) announced that it has acquired the 50% joint venture interest of EnviroFlight, LLC owned by Intrexon Corporation (XON), thereby increasing its ownership interest in EnviroFlight to 100%. Enviroflight opened the first commercial BSF facility in Maysville, Kentucky in late 2018. Phase 1 of this production facility currently has the capacity to produce 900 tons of dried BSF larvae on an annual basis. "Expanding our ownership of EnviroFlight empowers us to accelerate our ability to create higher value, sustainable specialty proteins for the agriculture and companion animal feed industries," said Randall C. Stuewe, Chairman and CEO of Darling Ingredients. "Our purpose is to repurpose, and growing insects for specialty feed ingredients yields 10 times the usable protein per acre compared to producing algae and is at least 50 times the protein per acre compared to soy," Stuewe added. "We welcome the 62 EnviroFlight team members to the Darling Ingredients family."

10:08 EST Slack jumps 3% after The Information speculates on potential 2020 acquisition

10:00 EST Ducommun falls -8.1% - Ducommun is down -8.1%, or -$4.07 to $46.46.

10:00 EST 500.com falls -9.8% - 500.com is down -9.8%, or -84c to $7.76.

10:00 EST Telaria rises 9.6% - Telaria is up 9.6%, or 85c to $9.66.

09:50 EST Aptorum Group Ltd (Class A Stock) trading resumes

09:47 EST ProShares Trust Ultra VIX Short Term Futures ETF falls -4.3% - ProShares Trust Ultra VIX Short Term Futures ETF is down -4.3%, or -56c to $12.33.

09:47 EST Signet Jewelers falls -5.7% - Signet Jewelers is down -5.7%, or -$1.24 to $20.50.

09:47 EST Fastly rises 6.1% - Fastly is up 6.1%, or $1.23 to $21.30.

09:45 EST Aptorum Group Ltd (Class A Stock) trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:21 EST Durect will not continue development of topical DUR-928 in psoriasis - James Brown, President and CEO of Durect, said after the company announced the results from its Phase 2a clinical trial of DUR-928 in patients with mild to moderate plaque psoriasis: "Based on the top-line data, we do not plan to continue development of topical DUR-928 in psoriasis. With the recently announced positive results from our Phase 2a alcoholic hepatitis trial, our focus moving forward with DUR-928, will be on completing the NASH trial in the first half of this year and initiating the Phase 2b AH trial in the middle of the year."

09:18 EST DermTech reports Pigmented Lesion Assay receives Medicare coverage - DermTech announced that the Medicare Administrative Contractor Palmetto GBA MolDx has issued a final local coverage determination for the Pigmented Lesion Assay, or PLA, test, whic is used to help rule out primary cutaneous melanoma and guide biopsy decisions of melanocytic skin lesions with one or more clinical or historical characteristics suggestive of melanoma. "We are excited that Palmetto reviewed the clinical dossier for the PLA test and recognized that our test aids in the diagnosis of melanoma and may spare the patient the need for an unnecessary biopsy. It is our mission to enhance the early detection of melanoma through the power of precision genomics, and eliminate unnecessary surgery, leading to improved patient care and lower costs," said CEO John Dobak.

09:15 EST Agnico Eagle purchases Chipriona Royalty from Sonoro - Sonoro Metals announces receipt of proceeds of $875,000 by Sonoro's subsidiary, Minera Mar de Plata, from the sale to Agnico Sonoro, a subsidiary of Agnico Eagle Mines, of the 1% Net Smelter Returns royalty on the Chipriona property located in the Mulatos Mining District in Sonora, Mexico. The Royalty originated from the sale of the Chipriona property to Agnico in December 2016 for $4M plus the Royalty. Concurrent with the sale of the Chipriona property, Agnico was granted an option to purchase the Royalty at any time for $1.5M. Sonoro acquired the Cerro Caliche project in 2018 and conducted a two-phase reverse-circulation drilling program during 2018 and 2019, with a total of 10,328 meters drilled and assayed during that period. A total of 96 drill holes were completed for an average drill hole length of 107.6 meters, all inclined. The combination of historic and current exploration drilling now totals 23,679 meters in 212 drill holes in addition to more than 6,000 surface samples. The Phase III drilling program, which is expected to take approximately 6 months, is planned to include stepout drilling to extend the strike lengths of the known mineralized zones within the Central and Western regions, specifically the Japoneses, Chinos NW, Buena Suerte, Abejas, Cuervos and El Colorado zones. The Japoneses and Cabeza Blanca zones in particular are both expected to extend along their respective strikes by at least 100 meters to the north. Infill drilling is also planned for these zones in part to support a more complete block model, while their respective gold grades and depth potential is further explored. Diamond drilling is planned to test the Veta de Oro, La Espanola, Cuervos and Guadalupe/Cabeza Blanca zones, where previous scout holes reported intervals of high-grade vein gold mineralization.

09:14 EST BioMarin announces data from valoctocogene roxaparvovec study published in NEJM - BioMarin announced that the New England Journal of Medicine, or NEJM, published an independently peer-reviewed article on up to three years of data from an ongoing Phase 1/2 study to evaluate safety and efficacy of investigational AAV gene therapy, valoctocogene roxaparvovec, for severe hemophilia A. This is the second article published by the NEJM on valoctocogene roxaparvovec. Twelve of these participants also experienced a full resolution of target joints. Recurrent bleeding into the same joint results in a "target joint" and is defined as three bleeds into the same joint within a six-month period. Bleeding into joints causes pain and ultimately results in impairment of the joint and permanent damage. Resolution of a target joint is when there have been less than two bleeds into the joint within a consecutive 12-month period. In addition to reporting safety and efficacy, the article contributes to a greater understanding of the variability observed in gene therapy studies and provides insights into mechanisms of DNA persistence and durability. The article noted that the most common adverse event was a transient elevation in alanine aminotransferase levels with no indications of ongoing liver damage, and that no participants withdrew from the study.

09:10 EST Eagle Bancorp Montana closes Western Holding Company of Wolf Point acquisition - Eagle Bancorp Montana announced that it completed, effective January 1, 2020, its previously announced acquisition of Western Holding Company of Wolf Point, and its wholly owned subsidiary, Western Bank of Wolf Point, in a transaction valued at approximately $14.97M based on Eagle's closing price as of December 31, 2019. In the transaction, Eagle acquired one retail bank branch and approximately $100M in assets, $77M in deposits and $41M in gross loans, based on Western Holding Company of Wolf Point's September 30, 2019's financial statements. Opportunity Bank will have, upon completion of the transaction, 23 retail branches in Montana. Under the terms of the merger agreement, each outstanding share of Western Holding Company of Wolf Point common stock was converted into the right to receive 179.44464 shares of Eagle common stock with cash to be paid in lieu of any fractional shares of common stock of Eagle and $2,946.51 in cash. As a result of the merger, Eagle will issue approximately 395,858 shares of Eagle common stock and will pay approximately $6.5M to the former holders of Western Holding Company of Wolf Point common stock.

09:08 EST ToughBuilt regains compliance with Nasdaq stockholders equity requirement - ToughBuilt Industries announced that on December 27, 2019, it received notification from the Listing Qualifications Department of the Nasdaq Stock Market indicating that the Company has met the minimum stockholders equity requirement set forth in Listing Rule 5550(b)(1) and that the Company has been granted an additional 180-day grace period to regain compliance with the minimum $1.00 bid price per share requirement of Nasdaq's Marketplace Rule 5550(a)(2). Nasdaq has determined that the Company complies with Listing Rule 5550(b)(1), which requires a stockholders' equity of $2.5M. The Company has well exceeded this and reported a stockholder's equity of $5.7M as of December 23, 2019, in its Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on that date. The Nasdaq letter has no immediate effect on the listing or trading of the Company's common stock and the common stock will continue to trade on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol "TBLT." With regard to the compliance with the minimum $1.00 bid price per share requirement, the additional compliance period ends on June 22, 2020.

09:07 EST INmune Bio announces publication of XPro1595 peer-reviewed data - INmune Bio announced the publication of new data in the journal Alzheimer's Research & Therapy. The data highlights INmune Bio's lead compound, XPro1595, as a potentially effective therapy to lower the risk for Alzheimer's disease in obese individuals. "Our new data suggest that high fructose and high caloric diets impact insulin signaling and immune-metabolic interactions increasing the risk for neurodegenerative conditions such as Alzheimer's disease," said Malu Tansey, Ph.D., Professor of Neuroscience and Director of the Center for Translational Research in Neurodegenerative Disease at the University of Florida College of Medicine and the corresponding author of this peer-reviewed publication. "These new data suggest that XPro1595 may have therapeutic potential to block various features of Alzheimer's- like pathology in mice." XPro 1595 is a next-generation anti-inflammatory that can cross the blood-brain barrier to affect neurodegenerative diseases by selectively inhibiting soluble tumor necrosis factor and alleviate inflammation to lower the risk for Alzheimer's disease.

09:04 EST RedHill Biopharma regains rights to proprietary bowel preparation RHB-106 - RedHill Biopharma announced that it has provided Salix Pharmaceuticals with a notice of termination of their 2014 license agreement and has regained the worldwide exclusive rights to RHB-106, a proprietary encapsulated formulation for bowel preparation, currently under development.

09:03 EST Pulmatrix enters kinase inhibitor development agreement with Johnson & Johnson - Pulmatrix (PULM) announced that it has entered into a licensing and development agreement with the Lung Cancer Initiative at Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). Through the agreement, the Lung Cancer Initiative gains an option to access a portfolio of narrow spectrum kinase inhibitors intended for development in lung cancer interception. Under the terms of the agreement, the Lung Cancer Initiative will pay a $7.2M upfront payment and an additional $2M milestone payment upon completion of the ongoing Phase 1b study of RV1162/PUR1800 in stable COPD patients, on-track for year-end 2020. If the Lung Cancer Initiative exercises the option on RV1162/PUR1800 and the portfolio of these kinase inhibitors, Pulmatrix is eligible for up to $91M in additional development and commercial milestones, as well as royalty payments.

09:03 EST Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: Anixter (AXE), up 2% after agreeing to a further amendment and restatement of the amended merger agreement with Clayton, Dubilier & Rice to increase the per-share consideration payable to Anixter's shareholders to $93.50 per share in cash... Tesla (TSLA), up 2% after Reuters reports the company will begin delivering its first Chinese-made Model 3 sedans to the public on January 7. Additionally, Canaccord analyst Jed Dorsheimer raised his price target on Tesla to $515 from $375 as he believes the trend toward electrification will only accelerate in 2020... Cassava Sciences (SAVA), up 36% after chairman Remi Barbier disclosed his purchase of $553,000 in shares... Energous (WATT), up 11% after announcing that its partners PiBEX, an R&D subsidiary of Posco Worldwide, and SK Telesys are developing an ultra-wideband tracking tag for Posco, a Korean-based global steel manufacturer, which will include integration with the WattUp RF wireless charging technology... AMD (AMD), up 2% after Nomura Instinet analyst David Wong raised his price target on the stock to $58 and kept his Buy rating, saying the company should continue strengthening its competitive position in 2020 with a "steady stream" of new product launches in in the 7nm and 7nm+ technologies... Umpqua (UMPQ), up 3% after Stephens analyst Tyler Stafford upgraded shares to Overweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $21, up from $16. LOWER: Signet Jewelers (SIG), down 3% after Wells Fargo analyst Ike Boruchow downgraded the stock to Underweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $12, down from $16, as part of a broader research note on retailers and specialty softlines... Intercept (ICPT), down 2% after Citi analyst Joel Beatty downgraded shares to Neutral from Buy but raised his price target to $140, up from $85. The analyst notes the 95% run-up in the stock since September and contends that its NASH launch has been "appropriately priced in"... Hanesbrands (HBI), down 1% after Wells Fargo analyst Ike Boruchow downgraded the stock to Underweight from Equal Weight with a price target of $12, down from $15, stating that core weakness is persisting at Hanesbrands, with Champion decelerating... Upwork (UPWK), down 2% after Citi analyst Hao Yan downgraded shares to Neutral from Buy with a price target of $12, down from $23.

08:45 EST Neovasc trading resumes

08:42 EST Barnwell Industries shareholders MRMP Managers and others release letter - Barnwell Industries shareholders MRMP-Managers, NLS Advisory Group, Ned Sherwood and Bradley Tirpak have sent an announcement to shareholders of Barnwell Industries. The announcement states, among other things: "In March of 2020, Barnwell will hold its annual meeting of stockholders. For the first time ever, shareholders will have a choice between the incumbent board that has failed to deliver for shareholders and a new board that we believe is qualified to turn the company around. We believe drastic change is needed to revive the company. Since our last announcement, when we nominated five new, highly qualified individuals to the board, we have heard from many shareholders who share our sentiments and support our effort. (...) Barnwell recently announced dismal results for fiscal year 2019. The results show that Barnwell recorded its biggest loss of the decade. (...) The company reported a net loss for fiscal year 2019 of $12.4M. (...) With this report, this brings the cumulative loss for the decade consisting of the fiscal years 2009-2019 to over $34.0M. (...) During this same decade, the stock declined from $4.35 at the end of fiscal year 2009 to $.52 at the end of fiscal year 2019-a loss of 87%. Finally, over this same decade, the executives Morton Kinzler, his son Alex Kinzler, the CFO Russ Gifford, and the board received over $19M in remuneration! (...) We recently bought over 275,000 shares in the company because we remain firmly committed to fixing Barnwell. The five individuals we have nominated have the skills, experience, and the ethics to implement the changes needed and offer the best chance for a turnaround."

08:36 EST Textil del Valle South America selects Kornit for direct-to-garment printing - Kornit Digital announced that Textil del Valle South America has chosen to implement Kornit's digital direct-to-garment printing technology at its 1.1M-square-foot facility in Lima, Peru.

08:34 EST Performant Financial receives continued listing standard notice from Nasdaq - Performant Financial announced that on December 27, 2019, it received a letter from the Listing Qualifications Department of the NASDAQ Stock Market indicating that, based upon the closing bid price of the Company's common stock for the last 30 consecutive business days beginning on November 13, 2019 and ending on December 26, 2019, the Company no longer meets the requirement to maintain a minimum bid price of $1 per share, as required by Marketplace Rule 5450(a)(1) for continued listing. In accordance with applicable NASDAQ procedures, the Company plans to notify NASDAQ in a timely manner that it intends to pursue actions to meet the minimum average share price requirement. The NASDAQ letter indicates that the Company will be provided 180 calendar days, or until June 24, 2020, to regain compliance with the minimum $1.00 per share bid requirement. The letter further indicates that the Company may regain compliance with the Rule if at any time before June 24, 2020, should the bid price of the Company's common stock close at $1.00 per share or above for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days. The notice has no immediate impact on the listing of the Company's common stock, which will continue to trade on the NASDAQ subject to the Company's compliance with the other continued listing requirements.

08:33 EST Carlyle Group completes conversion to a corporation - The Carlyle Group announced that it has completed its previously announced conversion to a corporation from a publicly traded partnership. Existing Carlyle shareholders will receive a final Schedule K-1 in late March 2020. Following the conversion, distributions will generally be dividends for U.S. tax purposes and shareholders will receive a Form 1099-DIV.

08:32 EST Health Insurance Innovations agrees to pay $1.5M in Washington settlement - Health Insurance Innovations announced the resolution and closure of an investigation by the Office of the Insurance Commissioner of the State of Washington. Washington was not one of the 40 states that participated in the HIIQ multi-state regulatory settlement agreement that became final in February 2019 and instead commenced a separate investigation based largely on the subject matter of the settled multi-state examination. HIIQ ceased conducting business in the State of Washington in April 2019. In the settlement with the Washington Office of Insurance Commissioner, HIIQ agreed to pay $1.5M to Washington. The settlement was concluded on December 31, 2019.

08:25 EST LiqTech installs new furnace, expects to increase overall capacity - LiqTech announced the installation of a new customized furnace for use in the manufacture of the company's proprietary silicon carbide membrane filters. The new furnace has throughputs that are more than three times the company's existing furnaces due to size and efficiency. The installation of this initial new furnace is the first step of a multi-phase process to increase overall capacity with modernized equipment that should also benefit the company's gross margins. The company expects to install a second new furnace by February and two additional new furnaces by June. Upon successful installation of all four, brand new efficient furnaces in June , the company expects to completely retire its current older, less efficient furnaces. Overall, the company's manufacturing initiatives are expected to result in total capacity of between $150M-$200M on an annualized basis by mid-2020.

08:20 EST Amarantus completes sublicense of ESS, MANF, PhenoGuard to Emerald Organic - Amarantus Bioscience Holdings announced that it has completed an exclusive worldwide sublicense agreement for development rights of Cutanogen Corporation's and MANF Therapeutics, Inc.'s pipelines to Emerald Organic Products. Emerald now has development rights to Engineered Skin Substitute, mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor and PhenoGuard for all applications. RHK Capital, a boutique Connecticut-based investment bank, advised Emerald on the transaction. Under the terms of the executed agreement, Amarantus is receiving an up-front payment of preferred stock in Emerald to be valued at a minimum of $66.6M, and will receive single digit royalties, with a right to buy into up to double-digit royalties until April 2022. The Preferred is convertible into 33,333,333 shares of Emerald common stock in April 2022. Prior to April 2022, Amarantus may convert the Preferred stock to common stock in Emerald upon the common stock trading above $5 on average volume of 1,000,000 shares traded for a period of 20 days. Gerald Commissiong, Amarantus' President & CEO, is slated to join Emerald's Board of Directors. Gerald Commissiong, and Elise Brownell, PhD, Amarantus' EVP of Operations and Project Management, will enter into employment and/or consulting agreements with Emerald under a newly-formed division of Emerald that will be created specific to life sciences. John Commissiong, PhD, Amarantus' Chief Scientific Officer, will become a scientific adviser for Emerald. ESS has completed a Phase 1/2 clinical study for the treatment of pediatric severe burns, for which it has received orphan drug designation from the US Food & Drug Administration. MANF has achieved pre-clinical proof of concept in several disease models, including retinitis pigmentosa, retinal artery occlusion, glaucoma, Parkinson's disease, diabetes and myocardial infarction, and has received ODD from the FDA for RP and RAO. PhenoGuard is a discovery and target validation platform that led to the discovery of MANF, and which the companies believe could identify therapeutic applications for various cannabinoids. Amarantus and Emerald continue to negotiate a transaction for eltoprazine, a product development candidate under development by Elto Pharma, Inc., Amarantus' joint venture with Psychogenics/

08:16 EST MJardin Group to sell Cheyenne cultivation facility to Harvest Health & Recreation - MJardin Group (MJARF) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Harvest DCP of Nevada, Cheyenne Holdings, a division of Harvest Health and Recreation (HRVSF) to sell all of its interest in GreenMart of Nevada LLC, which possesses a Nevada Marijuana Cultivation Facility License and operates the cultivation facility for a total consideration of $35M in cash, comprised of $30M on December 31, 2019, plus $5M upon license transfer, subject to regulatory approvals. The Company will use the proceeds of the transaction to reduce its debt obligations and for working capital requirements for its 2020 plan. MJardin continues to focus on growing operations in Nevada through Cannabella, an extraction, distribution and consumer product company acquired in the Spring of 2019. Cannabella's products are already in approximately 50 of the 68 retail dispensaries in Nevada, and the Company anticipates that it will be able to expand to many of the new dispensaries being opened following the recent grant of approximately 50 additional licenses. The Transaction has been unanimously approved by the Board of Directors of the Company, following the unanimous recommendation of a special committee of independent directors of the Company.

08:13 EST Manitou announces closing of $3M financing, investments by Alamos, O3 Mining - Manitou Gold announced the closing of a brokered private placement of 40,000,000 flow-through shares of the Company at a price of 5c per FT share, and 20,000,000 units of the Company at a price of 5c per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of $3M. Each Unit is comprised of one common share and one common share purchase warrant, with each warrant being exercisable at a price of 5c into one common share for a period of five years from the date of issuance. The gross proceeds of the FT share portion of the Offering will be used by the Company to incur "Canadian exploration expenses" within the meaning of the Income Tax Act related to the Company's 100% owned Goudreau Project located north of Wawa, Ontario on or prior to December 31, 2020 for renunciation to subscribers of FT shares effective December 31, 2019. Proceeds of the Unit portion of the Offering will be used for transaction costs, acquisitions, as well as general and administrative expenses through 2020. Brokerage fees of 8% cash were paid and an aggregate of 4,800,000 broker warrants were issued to IBK Capital Corp. as consideration for acting as agent in the Offering, with each broker warrant being exercisable to acquire one Unit at a price of $0.05 per Unit for a period of five years from the closing of the Offering. All of the securities issued and issuable in connection with the Offering are subject to a statutory hold period expiring on May 1, 2020. Alamos Gold has purchased 36,673,077 common shares in connection with the Offering, representing approximately 19.9% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Manitou immediately post-closing, as calculated on a non-diluted basis. Prior to the Offering, Alamos did not hold any common shares of Manitou. Alamos and Manitou have entered into an Investor Rights Agreement, which provides Alamos with the right to nominate one director to Manitou's board of directors, non-dilution rights, such that Alamos can retain its pro-rata ownership in Manitou by participating in any subsequent share issuance, so long as Alamos retains at least 10% ownership of Manitou's common shares outstanding on a partially diluted basis, and the right to participate in a joint Exploration Committee which will be established to discuss and advise on exploration strategy for Manitou's Goudreau Project. O3 Mining and its assignees have collectively purchased an aggregate of 14,500,000 Units in the Offering, representing approximately 7.9% of the issued and outstanding common shares of Manitou immediately post-closing, as calculated on a non-diluted basis. Manitou has agreed to grant O3 Mining Inc. the right to nominate one director to Manitou's board of directors, as well as non-dilution rights such that O3 Mining Inc. can retain the pro-rata ownership of it and its assignees in Manitou as held immediately post-closing by participating, directly or through assignees, in any subsequent share issuance, so long as O3 Mining Inc. and its assignees retain at least 7.5% of Manitou's outstanding common shares, as calculated on a partially diluted basis.

08:09 EST OceanFirst completes acquisitions of Two River, Country Bank Holding Company - OceanFirst Financial (OCFC) announced the closings of its acquisitions, effective January 1, 2020, of Two River Bancorp (TRCB), the holding company for Two River Community Bank, headquartered in Tinton Falls, New Jersey, and Country Bank Holding Company, the holding company for Country Bank, headquartered in New York, New York. The former operations of each of Two River and CYHC will operate as divisions of OceanFirst Bank until the integrations of their respective operating systems are completed, which are expected to occur separately during 2020. In conjunction with the full integration of each operating system, Two River and CYHC will each be rebranded as OceanFirst Bank. OceanFirst is the largest community bank headquartered in central and southern New Jersey. With the addition of Two River and CYHC, OceanFirst will have assets of approximately $10.2B. Upon completion of the acquisition of Two River, the former shareholders of Two River became entitled to receive $5.375 in cash without interest and 0.6663 shares of OceanFirst common stock for each share of Two River common stock they held plus cash in lieu of any fractional shares of OceanFirst common stock. Based on the $25.54 per share closing price of OceanFirst common stock on December 31, 2019, the total transaction value for the Two River transaction was approximately $197M. Effective as of the completion of the Two River transaction, William D. Moss, the former Chairman, President and CEO of Two River, was appointed to the boards of directors of OceanFirst and OceanFirst Bank. Upon completion of the acquisition of CYHC, the former shareholders of CYHC became entitled to receive 2,000 shares of OceanFirst common stock for each share of CYHC common stock they held. Based on the $25.54 per share closing price of OceanFirst common stock on December 31, 2019, the total transaction value for the CYHC acquisition was approximately $112.8M. Effective as of the completion of the CYHC transaction, Joseph M. Murphy, Jr., the former President of CYHC, was appointed to the boards of directors of OceanFirst and OceanFirst Bank.

08:08 EST Duke Energy to close remaining ash basins in North Carolina - State regulators, community groups and Duke Energy have agreed to a plan to permanently close the company's remaining nine coal ash basins in the state, primarily by excavation with ash moved to lined landfills. The agreement announced by Duke Energy, North Carolina's Department of Environmental Quality, or NCDEQ, and groups represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, or SELC, details a plan for basin closure that continues to protect people, communities and the environment with a focus on investing for the future. This plan is consistent with the approach Duke Energy is taking to close ash basins in South Carolina and benefits customers and communities in both states. Under the agreement, seven of the basins will be excavated, with ash moved to lined landfills, including two at the Allen Steam Station, one at Belews Creek Steam Station, one at Mayo Plant, one basin at the Roxboro Plant and two at the Cliffside/Rogers Energy Complex. At the Marshall Steam Station and the Roxboro Plant, uncapped basin ash will be excavated and moved to lined landfills. At both locations, sections of the basins were filled with ash in the past. To make use of that space, state permitted facilities, including existing lined landfills, were built on top of those portions of the ash basins. Because the ash underneath is already covered, that material will not be disturbed and will be monitored and safely closed under other state regulations. Under the plan, almost 80M tons of ash will be excavated from the remaining sites. The company is already removing ash from basins at other facilities, bringing the total amount of material to be excavated in North Carolina to approximately 124M tons. The agreement calls for expedited state permit approvals which would keep projects on a rapid timeline with excavation at the six sites completed in 10 to 15 years. This plan will reduce the total estimated cost to close the nine basins by about $1.5B, as compared to the April 1, 2019 NCDEQ order requiring full excavation. As a result, the estimated total undiscounted cost to permanently close all ash basins in the Carolinas is now approximately $8B-$9B, of which approximately $2.4B has been spent through 2019. Most of the remaining expenditures are expected to occur over the next 15-20 years. The agreement completely resolves the pending disputes over ash basin closure plans being debated by the parties in various courts, including cases before the North Carolina Office of Administrative Hearings, North Carolina Superior Court and United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. The parties will make the necessary court filings to dismiss each case.

08:05 EST American Tower acquires Eaton Towers for $1.85B - American Tower has closed its previously announced acquisition of Eaton Towers, adding approximately 5,700 communications sites to its African portfolio. Total consideration for the acquisition, subject to certain post-closing adjustments, was approximately $1.85B, including the assumption of existing Eaton Towers debt. The company has also reached an agreement with MTN Group to acquire MTN's minority stakes in each of the company's joint ventures in Ghana and Uganda for total consideration of approximately $523M. The transaction is expected to close in1Q20, subject to regulatory approval, and will result in a one-time impact for American Tower of approximately $65M in 2020 from the payment of previously deferred cash interest related to joint venture debt.

08:04 EST Gamida Cell completes patient enrollment in Phase 3 clinical study of omidubicel - Gamida Cell announced that in December the company completed patient enrollment in its Phase 3 study of the company's lead clinical program, omidubicel, an investigational advanced cell therapy being evaluated as a potential life-saving treatment option for patients with high-risk hematologic malignancies who are in need of a bone marrow transplant. Topline data from the study are expected in the first half of 2020.

08:02 EST Opiant Pharmaceuticals, NCATS form collaboration for OPNT004 development - Opiant Pharmaceuticals (OPNT) announced that it has signed a Letter of Intent with the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences to collaborate on the development of OPNT004, a novel cannabinoid receptor antagonist, for the treatment of Acute Cannabinoid Overdose. NCATS is one of 27 divisions and centers of the National Institutes of Health. NCATS will provide development resources around certain pre-clinical activities and studies in order to support Opiant's planned filing of an Investigational New Drug application for OPNT004. This collaboration will be carried out under a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement between Opiant and the NIH. Opiant licensed exclusive global rights for the development and commercialization of drinabant for the emergency treatment of ACO from Sanofi (SNY) in December 2018. The companies subsequently expanded their partnership in July 2019, whereby Sanofi will be responsible for manufacturing OPNT004.

07:35 EST Williams files settlement with FERC for Transco rate case - Williams has filed a comprehensive Stipulation and Agreement, or Settlement, with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which would settle all aspects of the Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, or Transco, rate case currently pending before the FERC. The company anticipates FERC approval of the Settlement during 2Q20. Including revenue impacts and other related accounting entries, Williams expects approximately $76M favorable impact to EBITDA in 2020 versus 2018, included in 2020 guidance. While the Settlement includes a 12.5% ROE for cost-based recourse rates offered on future infrastructure expansions projects, the Settlement does not impact Transco's existing negotiated rate contracts, which make up 51% of 2019 revenue, or Transco's ability to offer negotiated rate contracts for future infrastructure expansion projects that can exceed 12.5% return on equity. Transco and the parties have agreed to a rate moratorium through Aug. 31, 2021. In addition, Transco has agreed to file a new rate case no later than Aug. 30, 2024.

07:31 EST Sol-Gel Technologies initiates SGT-210 Phase 1 proof of concept study in PPK - Sol-Gel Technologies announced the initiation of a Phase 1 proof of concept clinical study of SGT-210, its novel, topical, epidermal growth factor receptor inhibitor in patients with punctate palmoplantar keratoderma type -1, a genetic form of PPK. Top-line data is expected in the first half of 2021. The Phase 1 proof of concept study SGT-84-01 is a single-center, single-blinded, vehicle-controlled study designed to evaluate the bioavailability, safety and tolerability of SGT-210 as well as inform on potential efficacy. The study is targeting enrollment of approximately 15 patients to undergo a three month treatment period, followed by a three month follow-up period.

07:07 EST 21Vianet selected by China Everbright Bank for long-term IDC solutions - 21Vianet Group announced that it has won a bid to provide and operate a mission-critical production center via its multiple-active DC architecture for China Everbright Bank throughout and has entered into a long-term cooperation agreement with China Everbright Bank. Located in Beijing, the initial phase of the project, having 3,000 square meters of raised floor space, is expected to be completed by the first half of 2020.

07:04 EST Service Properties Trust announces new agreements with Marriott - Service Properties Trust (SVC) announced that it has entered agreements with Marriott International (MAR) which combine its three existing Marriott operating agreements, historically referred to as the Marriott Nos. 1, 234 and 5 agreements, into a single portfolio for a 16-year term commencing January 1, 2020. The Marriott Nos. 1, 234 and 5 agreements included 122 hotels, provided for aggregate annual owner's priority returns and rents due to SVC of $192.2 million and were scheduled to expire on December 31, 2024, 2025 and 2019, respectively. Among other terms, the new combined agreements with Marriott provide as follows: That all 122 Marriott hotels will be combined economically so that excess cash flows from any of these hotels are available to pay the aggregate annual owner's priority returns due to SVC for these hotels, which is $190.6 million (approximately equal to the current aggregate annual owner's priority returns due to SVC under the Marriott Nos. 1 and 234 agreements and 85% of the rents due to SVC under the Marriott No. 5 agreement (Kauai hotel)). SVC's taxable REIT subsidiaries will continue to participate in the net cash flows from hotel operations after payment of management fees to Marriott, which base fees will continue to be subordinated to the annual owner's priority returns due to SVC. That the existing security deposit held by SVC for the Marriott No. 234 agreement ($33.6 million estimated as of December 31, 2019) will continue to secure payment of the aggregate annual owner's priority returns due to SVC under the new combined agreements and may be replenished up to the security deposit cap of $64.7 million from 60% of the cash flows realized from operations of the 122 hotels after payment of the aggregate annual owner's priority returns due to SVC, Marriott's base management fees and certain other advances by SVC or Marriott, if any. That Marriott will provide a new $30.0 million limited guaranty for 85% of the aggregate annual owner's priority returns due to SVC through 2026 under the new combined agreements if the security deposit is exhausted. That the term of the agreements will be extended through 2035, with Marriott having the option to renew for two consecutive 10-year terms on an all or none basis. That 5.5%-6.5% of gross revenues from hotel operations will continue to be placed in escrow for hotel maintenance and periodic renovations, or an FF&E reserve. In addition to amounts available in the FF&E reserve, the new combined agreements provide that SVC will fund approximately $350.0 to $400.0 million for planned renovations of the hotels over the next four years. As such funding is advanced by SVC, the aggregate annual owner's priority returns due to SVC under the new combined agreements will increase by 8% of the amounts funded. SVC and Marriott have also identified 33 of the 122 hotels covered by the new combined agreements that will be sold or rebranded, at which time SVC would retain the proceeds of any such sale and the aggregate annual owner's priority returns due to SVC would decrease by the amount allocated to the applicable hotel.

07:02 EST Hamilton Lane appoints Atul Varma as CFO, treasurer - Hamilton Lane announced that Atul Varma will join the firm as CFO and Treasurer effective January 6th. He will succeed Randy Stilman, who will be retiring from the role after 22 years. Stilman will remain at Hamilton Lane into 2020 to help ensure a smooth transition of his responsibilities. Varma was most recently Head of Business Strategy and CFO of Wealth Management at The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation.

06:42 EST Hexo files restated financial statements - Hexo has completed the filing of its restated audited annual consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2019 and corresponding amended management's discussion and analysis, and its restated interim condensed consolidated financial statements for the three-month period ended October 31, 2019 and corresponding amended management's discussion and analysis. The Restated Annual Financial Statements were filed to correct identified errors in the company's previously filed financial statements for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2019. The correction of this error resulted in a reduction of the deferred tax liability and deficit by $14.3M as at July 31, 2019. Additionally, net loss for the year ended July 31, 2019 was overstated by $14.3M. The company has also adjusted its audited annual consolidated financial statements for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2019 for the estimated fair market value of its cannabis trim based inventory due to new and available third-party information, resulting in an increased impairment on inventory of $2.4M. The inventory impairment resulted in a $2.4M reduction of the impairment loss on inventory for the interim financial statements for the three months ended October 31, 2019.

06:37 EST Embraer updates holders regarding Material Fact, strategic partnership with Boeing - In the context of the Material Fact disclosed on January 24, 2019, whereby Embraer (ERJ) informed the execution of certain agreements with respect to the strategic partnership between the company and Boeing (BA), as well as of the Material Fact disclosed on October 3, the company informs its shareholders and the market that, on the date hereof, the internal carve-out of the Company's commercial aviation business was implemented by means of the contribution by Embraer, to the capital stock of Yabora Industria Aeronautica S.A., of the net assets comprising assets, liabilities, properties, rights and obligations related to Embraer's commercial aviation business unit. The consummation of the Transaction remains subject to (i) the approval by the European Commission and the Brazilian Antitrust Agency; and (ii) the satisfaction of other customary conditions in similar transactions. Until such approvals are obtained and the other conditions are satisfied, there can be no assurance as to the consummation of the Transaction or the timing thereof. Embraer and Boeing will continue to endeavor their best efforts to close the Transaction as soon as possible. The company will keep its shareholders and the market informed of any new relevant information concerning the Transaction.

06:05 EST Energous enters partnership with PiBEX, SK Telesys - Energous announced that its partners PiBEX, an R&D subsidiary of POSCO Worldwide, and SK Telesys are developing an ultra-wideband, or UWB, tracking tag for POSCO, a Korean-based global steel manufacturer, which will include integration with the WattUp RF wireless charging technology. The POSCO UWB tracking tag enables location-tracking for security and employee safety purposes within industrial factories.

06:01 EST Amarin says VASCEPA approved in Canada - Amarin announced that Health Canada has approved the use of VASCEPA to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in statin-treated patients with elevated triglycerides, who are at high risk of cardiovascular events due to established cardiovascular disease, or diabetes, and at least one other cardiovascular risk factor. This is the first and only approval by Health Canada of any drug for this important indication. The approval was achieved through Amarin's commercial licensee for VASCEPA in Canada, HLS Therapeutics. Pursuant to an agreement announced in 2017, HLS has exclusive commercial rights to VASCEPA in the Canadian market. The approval of VASCEPA by Health Canada follows the recent approval of a similar indication for VASCEPA in the United States.

05:19 EST Elbit Systems awarded $144M contract from Israeli MOD - Elbit Systems announced that it was awarded a contract by the Production and Procurement Directorate of the Israeli Ministry of Defense, or IMOD, valued at approximately $144M for the supply of small caliber ammunition to the Israeli Defense Forces. This five-year contract, work on which will commence in 2021, will be a continuation of the existing multi-year contract with the IMOD.