Stockwinners Market Radar for January 03, 2020 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

18:03 EST FTC challenges Axon's consummated acquisition of VieVu - The Federal Trade Commission has issued an administrative complaint challenging Axon Enterprise, Inc.'s consummated acquisition of its body-worn camera systems competitor VieVu, LLC. Before the acquisition, the two companies competed to provide body-worn camera systems to large, metropolitan police departments across the United States. According to the complaint, Axon's May 2018 acquisition reduced competition in an already concentrated market. Before their merger, Axon and VieVu competed to sell body-worn camera systems that were particularly well suited for large metropolitan police departments. Competition between Axon and VieVu resulted in substantially lower prices for large metropolitan police departments, the complaint states. Axon and VieVu also competed vigorously on non-price aspects of body-worn camera systems. By eliminating direct and substantial competition in price and innovation between dominant supplier Axon and its closest competitor, VieVu, to serve large metropolitan police departments, the merger removed VieVu as a bidder for new contracts and allowed Axon to impose substantial price increases, according to the complaint. The complaint also states that as part of the merger agreement, Axon entered into several long-term ancillary agreements with VieVu's former parent company, Safariland, that also substantially lessened actual and potential competition. These agreements barred Safariland from competing with Axon now and in the future on all of Axon's products, limited solicitation of customers and employees by either company, and stifled potential innovation or expansion by Safariland. These restraints, some of which were intended to last more than a decade, are not reasonably limited to protect a legitimate business interest, according to the complaint. The Commission vote to issue the administrative complaint was 5-0. The administrative trial is scheduled to begin on May 19, 2020.

17:09 EST Healthcare Trust CEO sells 195K shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, Healthcare Trust disclosed that its CEO Scott Peters sold 195K shares of common stock on January 2nd. The total transaction size was $5.72M.

16:49 EST Capstone Turbine discloses changes to internal sales organization - Capstone has divided its sales and marketing team into two separate organizations. One stand-alone organization will remain focused on developing and managing the existing worldwide distribution channel and will be led by Jen Derstine, who was promoted to Vice President of Marketing and Distribution. Additionally, Ms. Derstine will lead all marketing activities as we continue building Capstone into a strong and recognizable worldwide brand. The second stand-alone organization will be led by Jim Crouse, who was recently promoted to Chief Revenue Officer and is responsible for growing Capstone's national account business and long-term rental fleet. Additionally, Mr. Crouse will be responsible for business development, licensing, and new product partnerships - with a focus on new fuels such as hydrogen and further growing our renewable market segment participation.

16:23 EST Conagra Brands director buys 40K shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, Conagra Brands disclosed that its director Craig Omtvedt bought 40K shares of common stock on December 31st - January 1st. The total transaction size was $1.4M.

16:16 EST First Long Island names Christopher Becker CEO - The First of Long Island Corporation announced that Christopher Becker succeeded Michael Vittorio as President and Chief Executive Officer and was elected to the Board of Directors of The First of Long Island Corporation and The First National Bank of Long Island effective January 1, 2020. The planned succession was originally announced on March 19, 2019, and Becker and Vittorio have worked together throughout the remainder of 2019 to assure a smooth transition.

16:11 EST AMCON Distributing to make 'strategic investment' in Team SLedd - AMCON Distributing announces that it has agreed to make a strategic investment in Team Sledd which is headquartered in Wheeling, West Virginia. Team Sledd has annual revenues of approximately $600M and serves the West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware markets. Team Sledd was founded in 1937 and currently serves approximately 1,200 convenience store retailers in seven Mid-Atlantic states.

16:06 EST Waitr Holdings appoints Carl Grimstad CEO - Waitr Holdings announced that Carl Grimstad has been named CEO, and a member of Waitr's board, effectively immediately. Adam Price, the company's prior CEO and member of the Board, has resigned from both positions. Grimstad is currently the chief manager of C. Grimstad Associates, LLC, and the managing partner of GS Capital.

13:59 EST U.S. Global Investors announces pending sale of Galileo Global Equity Advisors - U.S. Global Investors announced that it has entered into a binding letter of intent dated December 30, 2019, with Galileo Global Equity Advisors whereby Galileo, pursuant to its capital restructuring, is purchasing back all of its common shares owned by the Company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, for approximately the same amount that the Company had paid for its investment in Galileo. The transaction is subject to the approval of Canadian securities regulatory authorities and to the satisfaction of other closing conditions. It is anticipated that the transaction will close on or about March 2, 2020. Michael Waring will continue to serve as the President and CEO of Galileo.

13:25 EST Volkswagen reports December U.S. sales down 13% to 27,877 vehicles - Volkswagen of America reported its 2019 sales rose 2.6% to 363,322 units. December sales fell 13% 27,877 total units reported.

13:03 EST Baker Hughes reports U.S. rig count down 9 to 798 rigs - Baker Hughes reports that the U.S. rig count is down 9 rigs from last week to 796, with oil rigs down 7 to 670, gas rigs down 2 to 123, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 3. The U.S. Rig Count is down 279 rigs from last year's count of 1,075, with oil rigs down 207, gas rigs down 75, and miscellaneous rigs up 3 to 3. The U.S. Offshore Rig Count is down 1 to 22 unchanged year-over-year. The Canada Rig Count is down 14 rigs from last week to 85, with oil rigs down 25 to 27 and gas rigs up 11 to 58. The Canada Rig Count is up 9 rigs from last year's count of 76, with oil rigs up 7 and gas rigs up 2.

12:48 EST SEC says Longfin CEO to pay $400,000 to settle fraud action - The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Longfin Corp. CEO Venkata S. Meenavalli has agreed to pay $400,000 in disgorgement and penalties to resolve the SEC's fraud action against him. The settlement, which remains subject to court approval, concludes the SEC's actions against Longfin, its CEO, and three other individuals in which the SEC has secured "over $26M of ill-gotten gains." The SEC intends to establish a Fair Fund to distribute money received from the defendants to harmed investors. Reference Link

12:02 EST New Mountain Finance Corporation extends share repurchase program - New Mountain Finance Corporation announced that its board of directors has authorized an extension of a program for the purpose of repurchasing up to $50M worth of its common stock, to be implemented at the discretion of NMFC's management team. Under the repurchase program, NMFC may, but is not obligated to, repurchase its outstanding common stock in the open market from time to time provided that NMFC complies with the prohibitions under its Code of Ethics and the guidelines specified in Rule 10b-18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including certain price, market volume and timing constraints. Unless further extended by NMFC's board of directors, the Company expects the repurchase program to be in place until the earlier of December 31, 2020 or until $50M worth of NMFC's outstanding shares of common stock have been repurchased. To date, approximately $2.9M worth of repurchases have been made by the Company under the repurchase program.

12:00 EST Britannia Bulk falls -7.1% - Britannia Bulk is down -7.1%, or -25c to $3.27.

12:00 EST Laix rises 12.0% - Laix is up 12.0%, or 58c to $5.40.

12:00 EST Pacific Drilling rises 14.5% - Pacific Drilling is up 14.5%, or 59c to $4.67.

11:24 EST Honda reports December U.S. sales down 12.0% to 136,566 vehicles - American Honda reported sales of cars and trucks declined 12.0% to 136,566 vehicles in December compared with the prior year. American Honda sales of cars and trucks rise 0.2% in 2019, with record annual truck sales, the company added. "In a highly competitive market, American Honda posted increased sales in 2019, including new records for both light trucks and electrified vehicles," said Henio Arcangeli Jr., senior vice president of the American Honda Automobile Division. "Honda also bucked industry trends by achieving a second straight year as the retail number one passenger car brand in America, so we head into 2020 with strong momentum."

10:44 EST Sabre 'disappointed' Air India has decided to exit Sabre GDS - Sabre issued the following statement regarding its relationship with Air India: "After a successful 20-year relationship, Air India has decided to discontinue distributing its content through the Sabre GDS. Consequently, Air India content is no longer available to Sabre-connected travel agencies, effective Jan. 2. We are very disappointed that Air India decided to withdraw from Sabre. We believe that access to Sabre's global network of travel agencies provides great value to Air India. We have worked with Air India for the better part of a year to reach a new agreement, in anticipation of the existing contract expiring and after receiving a termination notice from the carrier. Unfortunately, after extensive negotiations, we have been unable to come to a new agreement. Our teams will continue to work with Air India to finalize an agreement that meets the needs of Sabre, Air India and travel buyers. Sabre remains committed to GDS agreements that meet our airline customers' unique needs while also balancing the needs of the travel buyers who rely on Sabre for robust travel content."

10:22 EST BioXcel Therapeutics Inc trading resumes

10:17 EST BioXcel Therapeutics Inc trading halted, volatility trading pause

10:03 EST CPSI increases board to ten with appointment of Christopher Hjelm - CPSI (CPSI) announced that Christopher Hjelm has joined the CPSI Board of Directors as an independent director. On December 27, 2019, upon the recommendation of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, the Board voted to expand the size of the Board from nine to ten directorship positions, and elected Hjelm to fill the newly created directorship. Hjelm will serve as a Class III director, with a term expiring on the date of the Company's annual meeting of stockholders in 2020, when he is expected to stand for re-election as a director. In connection with his election to the Board, Hjelm was appointed to the Compensation Committee of the Board. Hjelm recently retired after serving 14 years with The Kroger Company (KR), where he served most recently as EVP and CIO.

09:39 EST Tesla up 5% in early trading after Q4 deliveries help company hit yearly goal - The company said earlier: "In the fourth quarter, we achieved record production of almost 105,000 vehicles and record deliveries of approximately 112,000 vehicles. In 2019, we delivered approximately 367,500 vehicles, 50% more than the previous year and in line with our full year guidance." In early trading, Tesla shares are up $20.56, or 4.8%, to $450.82.

09:29 EST Diana Shipping commences self tender offer to purchase up to 3.03M shares - Diana Shipping announced the commencement of a tender offer to purchase up to 3,030,303 shares, or about 3.3%, of its outstanding common stock using funds available from cash and cash equivalents at a price of $3.30 per share. The tender offer will expire at the end of the day, 5:00 P.M., Eastern Time, on February 3, 2020, unless extended or withdrawn. The Board of Directors determined that it is in the Company's best interest to repurchase shares at this time given Diana Shipping's cash position and stock price. The tender offer is not conditioned upon any minimum number of shares being tendered; however, the tender offer is subject to a number of other terms and conditions. Specific instructions and an explanation of the terms and conditions of the tender offer are contained in the Offer to Purchase and related materials that are being mailed to shareholders. Diana Shipping Inc. has retained Computershare Trust Company, N.A. as the depositary for the tender offer and Georgeson LLC as the information agent.

09:05 EST VeriSign, ICANN announce proposed amendment to .COM registry agreement - The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, and VeriSign, the registry operator of the .COM top-level domain, or TLD, announced that they have reached a proposed agreement to amend the .COM Registry Agreement, or RA. In addition, ICANN and Verisign announced a new proposed framework for working together on initiatives related to the security, stability and resiliency of the Domain Name System, or DNS, in the form of a binding Letter of Intent, or LOI, between the two organizations. Verisign's operation of the .COM TLD is governed by two separate agreements: the .COM RA, and the Cooperative Agreement between Verisign and the U.S. Department of Commerce. In 2016, Verisign and ICANN formally agreed that if and when the Department of Commerce and Verisign made changes to the Cooperative Agreement, ICANN and Verisign would negotiate in good faith to ensure those changes were reflected in the .COM RA. On Oct. 26, 2018, following a review and deliberation by the U.S. Government, Verisign and the Department of Commerce entered into an amendment that included an extension of the Cooperative Agreement. Under the amended Cooperative Agreement, the Department of Commerce noted that the domain name marketplace had grown more dynamic and concluded that it was in the public interest that, among other things, Verisign and ICANN may agree to amend the .COM Registry Agreement to permit an increase to the price for .COM registry services, up to a maximum of 7 percent in each of the final four years of each six-year period (the first six-year period commenced on Oct. 26, 2018). The proposed agreement announced today updates the .COM RA to reflect those changes. ICANN is not a price regulator and defers to the Department of Commerce and the U.S. Department of Justice for the regulation of pricing for .COM registry services. While Verisign does not set retail prices for .COM domain names, the proposed amendment to the .COM RA will provide pricing certainty by limiting the potential maximum wholesale price for .COM domain names. For example, if the four standard price increases are taken in this six-year period, the maximum wholesale price for .COM domain names would be $8.39 no earlier than Oct. 26, 2020 (compared to $7.85 today), and cannot exceed $10.26 until October 2026.

08:37 EST ThermoGenesis JV closes $3M equity investment from private institution - ThermoGenesis announced that ImmuneCyte, an 80/20 joint venture, or JV, between HealthBanks Biotech and ThermoGenesis, has closed a $3M equity investment with a private institution. The investor received 600,000 shares of Class A common stock at $5.00 per share, representing a 5.66% ownership in the joint venture. As a result of this equity investment in ImmuneCyte, ThermoGenesis' equity in the joint venture is no longer subject to the anti-dilution provision. After this investment, ImmuneCyte is owned 75.47% by HealthBanks Biotech, 18.87% by ThermoGenesis Holdings and 5.66% by the private institution. ImmuneCyte is a joint venture which was created in order to provide immune cell banking services to healthy customers, enabling them to store their healthy immune cells for potential future use in immunotherapies, leveraging ThermoGenesis' proprietary CAR-TXpress platform and HealthBanks' global, stem cell banking network. ImmuneCyte isolates healthy immune cells from 150-200 ml of peripheral blood with a proprietary, automated cell processing platform developed by ThermoGenesis, which makes ImmuneCyte the first cell bank capable of processing immune cells under a functionally-closed and fully cGMP compliant environment, a quality control element which is essential for cell and gene therapies.

08:31 EST Novelion Therapeutics announces court hearing regarding liquidation on Jan. 9 - Novelion Therapeutics provided updates on the status of the Company's voluntary liquidation and other matters. As previously announced, on November 18, 2019, the Company filed application materials with the Supreme Court of British Columbia seeking various orders related to the Liquidation. The Company announced that the foregoing application is scheduled to be heard by the Court on Thursday, January 9, 2020. In addition, if the Court grants the requested orders at the Hearing, the Company intends to file a Statement of Intent to Liquidate with the British Columbia Registrar of Companies indicating that, among other things, the effective date and time for the commencement of implementation of the Liquidation will be January 9, 2020 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time. The Company intends to announce the outcome of the Hearing and confirmation of the Effective Date as promptly as practicable after the Hearing. Beginning on the Effective Date, the Liquidator will oversee all aspects of the liquidation and dissolution of the Company. As of the Effective Date, the Company's transfer agent for its common shares will close the Company's stock transfer books and will discontinue recording transfers, and registered shareholders will no longer be able to transfer record ownership of their shares. Registered shareholders on the Company's stock transfer books as of the Effective Date will be entitled to a pro-rata share of any distribution to shareholders in the Liquidation. The Company believes, but cannot assure, that OTC and other trading in the Company's common shares will be suspended or otherwise cease as of the Effective Date or shortly thereafter. Consistent with plans described in the Proxy Statement and the Liquidation Plan effective December 31, 2019, Benjamin Harshbarger, previously the Company's Interim CEO and General Counsel, has resigned his positions and is no longer employed by the Company, Michael Price, EVP and CFO of the Company, will serve as the sole executive officer and employee of the Company until his planned resignation on the Effective Date, and on the Effective Date, Michael Price, Suzanne Bruhn, and Stephen Sabba will resign as Directors of the Company concurrently with the appointment of the Liquidator. As announced on September 25, 2019, Amryt Pharma acquired 100% of the outstanding equity interests of Novelion's former operating subsidiary, Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, as contemplated in Aegerion's First Amended Joint Chapter 11 Plan. In the Aegerion Transaction, reorganized Aegerion became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amryt, and Novelion received American depository receipts representing approximately 14.0 million ordinary shares of Amryt in full satisfaction of Novelion's claims as creditor under the secured intercompany loan between Aegerion and Novelion. The Company announced today that is has completed the sale, in a series of private, arm's-length transactions, of approximately 1.55M ordinary shares of Amryt, yielding net proceeds to the Company of approximately $2M. As previously disclosed, proceeds from such sale are expected to be sufficient to meet anticipated ongoing operating expenses and to satisfy anticipated claims and obligations, as well as potential unknown or unanticipated claims or expenses, through the conclusion of the Liquidation, which is expected to occur in the fourth quarter of 2020. Unused proceeds from this sale, if any, would be part of any distribution made to shareholders as part of the Liquidation. Based on discussions with the Liquidator, the Company expects that, absent a need to sell additional Amryt Equity to cover unanticipated claims and obligations that arise during the Liquidation, the Liquidator will distribute the remaining Amryt Equity to Registered Shareholders upon conclusion of the Liquidation.

08:21 EST Tesla reports total Q4 deliveries of 112,000 vehicles - The company produced 19,450 Model S/X and 92,550 Model 3s. The company said, "In the fourth quarter, we achieved record production of almost 105,000 vehicles and record deliveries of approximately 112,000 vehicles. In 2019, we delivered approximately 367,500 vehicles, 50% more than the previous year and in line with our full year guidance. "

08:17 EST Agraflora Organics closes acquisition of The Good Company - AgraFlora Organics International announced the Company has closed its previously announced acquisition of 100 per-cent of the issued and outstanding shares of The Good Company GmbH. The Good Company is the parent company of German European Union good distribution practice medical cannabis distributor Farmako. Farmako is a European medical cannabis distributor, headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, with affiliated companies in the United Kingdom, Luxembourg and Denmark. Farmako's German distribution network extends over circa 20,000 pharmacies and comprises an aggregate patient population of over 100,000 unique individuals. AgraFlora's United Kingdom subsidiary, Farmako Ltd., has completed its UK Home Office inspection for the purpose of obtaining a controlled drug licence. Farmako Ltd. has already been granted certification for its compliance with good distribution practice and received an authorization for the wholesale distribution of medicinal products, including medical cannabis, in summer 2019, after completing a successful inspection by the UK's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency earlier this year. Upon receipt of a controlled drug licence from the U.K. Home Office, after the recent inspection, Farmako Ltd. will be fully licensed to pursue pharmaceutical/medical cannabis trading within the U.K. operating theatre. Initially, Farmako Ltd. will pursue the import of Bedrocan products from the Netherlands to the U.K. for end-patient distribution. Additionally, Farmako Ltd. reports it is in advanced contract discussions with an external U.K.-domiciled pharmaceutical logistics firm, which will function as the company's secured U.K. warehousing and shipping hub.

08:12 EST Momenta reaffirms FY19 guidance - Along with Q3 results, the company said, "Non-GAAP operating expense is total operating, less stock-based compensation expense, restructuring expense and collaborative reimbursement revenue. Momenta is providing quarterly non-GAAP operating expense guidance of $50M - $60M for Q4."

08:08 EST Momenta appoints Young Kwon as chief financial and business officer - Momenta Pharmaceuticals announced that it is consolidating key financial and business functions under Young Kwon, Ph.D., Momenta's CBO. With this consolidation, Kwon has been appointed to the position of chief financial and business officer effective January 8, 2020. Kwon will add Momenta's finance functions to his existing portfolio of investor relations, corporate and business development, banking relations, and commercial. Kwon joined Momenta in 2011 and has served in roles of increasing responsibility since that time.

08:04 EST CCL Industries to acquire Flexpol for an estimated C$22M - CCL Industries confirmed it has signed a binding agreement to acquire Polish BOPP film producer Flexpol Sp. Z.o.o. for an estimated C$22M on a debt/cash free basis. Sales in 2019 were approximately C$70M, entirely focused on flexible packaging customers, with an adjusted C$3.7M EBITDA. Closing is expected during the first quarter of 2020 following regulatory approvals; the new business will then trade as "Innovia Poland."

07:48 EST Trump says Iran 'never won a war, but never lost a negotiation' - President Donald Trump said via Twitter: "Iran never won a war, but never lost a negotiation!" Reference Link

07:35 EST CME Group averaged 19.2M contracts per day in FY19, 15.5M per day in December - CME Group reported its December and FY19 market statistics, showing it reached average daily volume of 19.2M contracts during the year and 15.5M contracts during the month of December. Open interest at the end of December was 113M contracts.

07:05 EST Calithera Biosciences announces new employment inducement grants - Calithera Biosciences announced that the compensation committee of the company's board of directors granted one new employee a non-qualified stock option to purchase an aggregate of 28,000 shares of Calithera's common stock, at a per share exercise price of $5.71, the closing trading price on December 31, 2019. The stock option vests monthly over four years and was granted pursuant to the Calithera Biosciences, Inc. 2018 Inducement Plan, or Inducement Plan, which was approved by Calithera's board of directors in January 2018 in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4). The stock option also has a ten year term and is subject to the terms and conditions of the Inducement Plan and the stock option agreement pursuant to which the option was granted. The stock option was granted as an inducement material to the new employee entering into employment with Calithera in accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4).

07:02 EST iQIYI announces theatrical release of first original animated film - iQIYI announced that Spycies, a family-friendly animated film produced by iQIYI Pictures, will hit theaters across China on January 11. Following its China premiere, the film will be subsequently released in overseas markets including Europe, North America and Southeast Asia.

06:47 EST Cott Corp. subsidiary acquires Watercooler Gigant business of Leylines B.V. - Cott Corp. announced that Eden Springs, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cott, has acquired the Watercooler Gigant business of Leylines B.V. Watercooler Gigant is a e-commerce platform in the Netherlands and supplies bottled water coolers and filtration solutions to the commercial and residential markets. With the acquisition of Watercooler Gigant, Eden Springs enhances its position in the region through the addition of both a new e-commerce channel and approximately 1,800 customers.

06:37 EST EQT Corporation appoints David Khani as CFO - EQT Corporation (EQT) announced its board of directors has appointed David Khani as CFO, effective immediately. As anticipated, Kyle Derham, who has been serving as the company's interim CFO, will remain with EQT in an executive advisory role to ensure assist in the execution of EQT's strategic initiatives before returning to his role as partner of Rice Investment Group. Khani joins EQT from Consol Energy (CEIX), where he has been executive VP and CFO since 2013, initially overseeing the combined natural gas and coal company and most recently the coal operations post the spin out in November 2017.

06:02 EST U.S. Energy announces 1-for-10 reverse stock split - U.S. Energy announced that, following approval of the 1-for-10 reverse stock split by U.S. Energy shareholders at the 2019 Annual Shareholders' Meeting held on December 10, 2019, U.S. Energy's board determined to effect the reverse stock split of U.S. Energy's common stock. The applicable Articles of Amendment to the Company's Restated Articles of Incorporation were filed with and accepted by the Wyoming Secretary of State on December 31, 2019. U.S. Energy common stock will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis when markets open on January 6, 2020. U.S. Energy common stock will continue to trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market Exchange under the symbol "USEG," although a new CUSIP number has been assigned to it as a result of the reverse stock split. No fractional shares have been issued in connection with the reverse stock split. Stockholders otherwise entitled to receive fractional share(s) as a result of the reverse stock split will receive cash payments in lieu of such shares.

05:44 EST Credit Suisse announces new CHF 1.5B share buyback program for 2020 - Credit Suisse announces that on December 30, 2019 it completed its 2019 share buyback program, which commenced on January 14, 2019. Under the 2019 Share Repurchase Program, Credit Suisse repurchased 79,818,000 of its shares on a second trading line on SIX Swiss Exchange for a total of CHF 1,000,244,961 at an average purchase price per share of CHF 12.53. Separately, Credit Suisse will commence a new share buyback program in January 2020, following the announcement of the program at Investor Day on December 11, 2019. The Board of Directors of Credit Suisse approved a buyback of Credit Suisse shares of up to CHF 1.5B in 2020. Credit Suisse expects to buy back at least CHF 1B of shares until the end of 2020, subject to market and economic conditions.

05:15 EST Caledonia Mining raises quarterly dividend to 7.5c per share - Caledonia Mining announces that the board has declared an increased quarterly dividend of 7.5c on each of the company's common shares, a 9.1% increase from the previous quarterly dividend of 6.875c. The dividend will be paid on January 31 to shareholders of record as of January 17.