Stockwinners Market Radar for January 09, 2020 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

18:46 EST Medical Properties Trust COO sells 100,000 common shares - In a regulatory filing, Medical Properties Trust executive VP and COO Emmett E. McLean disclosed the sale of 100,000 common shares of the company at a price of $20.84 per share on January 8.

18:18 EST GrubHub down 8.5% after Bloomberg reports it's not running a sale process - In after-hours trading, shares are down 8.5% to $51.00.

17:40 EST Amarin says no indication of negative change to UnitedHealthcare coverage - In a statement to the Fly, Amarin (AMRN) said: "Amarin has no indication that there was any negative change to UnitedHealthcare's (UNH) Commercial or Part D formulary coverages of Vascepa for 2020. It is our understanding that yesterday's article on this matter has been corrected. With recent FDA-approval and multiple third-parties concluding that Vascepa is cost effective, insurance coverage for Vascepa is already good and likely to improve further during 2020 and beyond. Cardiovascular disease is the nation's costliest disease, in excess of $500 billion each year. For the good of health care systems and patient health, we're hopeful that a therapy like Vascepa, which prevents expensive cardiovascular events, will be broadly covered by medical insurers as incentive for other manufactures to price their drugs as cost-effectively as Vascepa, which is a fraction of the price of various other cardiovascular drugs launched in recent years."

17:30 EST Lennar raises annual dividend 213% to 50c from 16c per share - Resulting in a quarterly cash dividend of 12.5c per share for both Class A and Class B common stock. The dividend is payable on February 7 to holders of record at the close of business on January 24.

17:20 EST KB Home says it currently has a $1.8B backlog - Says opened 23 new communities in Q4. Says expects another increase in community count in 2020. Says there was increasing prices in 65% of communities in the quarter. Says well positioned for the future regardless of rate environment. Says off to productive start in the new year. Comments taken from Q4 earnings conference call.

17:16 EST Aduro Biotech jumps after announcing corporate restructuring - Shares of Aduro Biotech are up over 5% or 7c per share to $1.40 per share in after-hours trading on Thursday.

17:07 EST Sportsman's Warehouse down 16.7% after giving Q4, FY19 guidance

17:02 EST Turning Point Therapeutics chief scientific officer Jean Cui to step down - Turning Point Therapeutics announced that Jean Cui will step down as the company's chief scientific officer for family reasons on January 31. Cui will serve as a consultant and support the company during a transition period until June 30. She will remain on the company's board of directors through her current term, which expires at the company's 2020 annual meeting of stockholders. Cui co-founded the company in 2013 to design a platform for the development of tyrosine kinase inhibitors, or TKIs, that have the potential to be best-in-class and also overcome resistant mutations emerging following treatment with conventional TKIs. Since then, the company has established a pipeline of three clinical assets in four ongoing clinical studies, including the TRIDENT-1 registrational study of lead drug candidate, repotrectinib.

16:59 EST Brixmor authorizes 3-year $400M share repurchase program - Brixmor has authorized a new three-year $400M share repurchase program. The company's prior share repurchase program expired on December 5, 2019. Under the prior program, the company had repurchased 7.5 million shares of common stock at an average price per share of $16.72 for a total of approximately $125.0M. The company also filed a Form 8-K with the SEC related to a $400M "at the market stock offering program.

16:45 EST Aduro Biotech trading resumes

16:40 EST MacroGenics discontinues MGD009, MGD007 programs - MGD009 is a B7-H3 x CD3 DART molecule and MGD007 is a gpA33 x CD3 DART molecule. In connection with its strategic prioritization, the company will discontinue development of these programs.

16:38 EST TTEC Holdings Chairman Kenneth Tuchman sells over $16M in company shares - TTEC Holdings Chairman Kenneth Tuchman disclosed that he had sold 450,000 shares of company stock on January 7 at an average price of $36.50 per share for a total transaction value of $16,425,000.

16:37 EST Synnex up 7% after Q4 results beat estimates, plan to separate into two firms

16:35 EST Sportsmans Warehouse trading resumes

16:33 EST Franklin Resources announces month-end AUM of $698.3B for December - Franklin Resources reported preliminary month-end assets under management of $698.3B at December 31, 2019, compared to $691.3B at November 30, 2019. The increase in assets under management was due to market gains that offset net outflows. Preliminary average assets under management for the quarter ended December 31, 2019, were $693.8B.

16:31 EST Aclaris Therapeutics aannounces positive results from Phase 1 trial of ATI-450 - Aclaris Therapeutics announced positive results from ATI-450-PKPD-101, a Single Ascending Dose and Multiple Ascending Dose Phase 1 clinical trial of the investigational compound ATI-450. Preliminary data demonstrated that ATI-450 resulted in marked inhibition of TNFalpha, IL1beta, IL8, and IL6; was generally well-tolerated at all doses tested in the trial; had dose proportional pharmacokinetics with a terminal half-life of 9-12 hours; and had no meaningful food effect or drug-drug interaction (DDI) with methotrexate. ATI-450-PKPD-101 was a first-in-human Phase 1 clinical trial designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of orally administered ATI-450 in healthy subjects. No serious adverse events or severe adverse events were reported, and no adverse events led to discontinuation of the study medication. "We believe these data support the progression of ATI-450 into Phase 2 clinical development," said Chief Medical Officer David Gordon. "The potential for an oral small molecule which suppresses multiple proinflammatory cytokines could be very meaningful for the treatment of a number of immuno-inflammatory diseases." Aclaris intends to initiate the first Phase 2 clinical trial in subjects with rheumatoid arthritis in the first half of 2020.

16:28 EST PayPal sees reporting pretax gain of $38M on strategic investments - According to a regulatory filing, PayPal said it expects to report a pre-tax gain of $38M, or $29M on an after-tax basis, on the company's strategic investments in the quarter ended December 31, 2019. The associated impact on earnings per diluted share for the quarter ended December 31, 2019 is estimated to be a positive 2c per share. As previously disclosed, the company's full year and fourth quarter 2019 non-GAAP earnings per diluted share guidance announced on October 23, 2019 did not included any expectation of unrealized gains or losses from PayPal's strategic investments portfolio in the fourth quarter of 2019. The company expects to report a pre-tax gain of $208M, or $164M on an after-tax basis, on the company's strategic investments for the year ended December 31, 2019. The associated impact on earnings per diluted share for the year ended December 31, 2019 is estimated to be a positive 14c per share. The company reported a pre-tax gain of $87M, or $67M on an after-tax basis, on the company's strategic investments for the year ended December 31, 2018. The associated impact on earnings per diluted share for the year ended December 31, 2018 was a positive 6c per share.

16:22 EST Ultragenyx jumps after data on from Cohort 3 and 2 from study of DTX301 - Shares of the company are up 6.33% or $2.77 to $46.50 per share in after-hours trading.

16:21 EST T2 Biosystems CEO John McDonough to depart role, John Sperzel to succeed - T2 Biosystems (TTOO) announced that its board has appointed diagnostics industry veteran John Sperzel as president and CEO, effective immediately. Sperzel, who will also join the board, succeeds John McDonough, who will continue with his board leadership role serving as non-executive chairman. Sperzel most recently served as president and CEO of Chembio Diagnostics (CEMI) from 2014 through 2020. Under his leadership, Chembio established direct U.S. and international sales teams resulting in growth, entered collaborations with two pharmaceutical companies to create additional revenue opportunities and made commercial investments in Latin America and Southeast Asia.

16:19 EST Kimbell Royalty Partners acquires $175M in mineral and royalty interests - Kimbell Royalty Partners has agreed to acquire the mineral and royalty interests held by Dallas-based Springbok Energy Partners and Springbok Energy Partners II in a transaction valued at approximately $175M, subject to purchase price adjustments. The purchase price for the Acquisition is comprised of $95M in cash and an aggregate of approximately 2.2 million common units of Kimbell and approximately 2.5 million common units of Kimbell Royalty Operating, which are together valued at $80M. Kimbell intends to raise the cash portion of the purchase price through a combination of an underwritten public offering of common units and borrowings under its revolving credit facility. Kimbell estimates that, as of October 1, 2019, the Springbok assets produced 2,533 Boe/d - 823 Bbl/d of oil, 279 Bbl/d of NGLs and 8,584 Mcf/d of natural gas - with an average realized cash margin of $21.92 per Boe and included 2,160 net royalty acres. The Delaware Basin represents 29% of the rig activity included in the Acquisition. The acquisition is expected to close in Q20. The acquisition is expected to increase Kimbell's average daily net production to 15,790 Boe/d and to be immediately accretive to distributable cash flow per unit in 2020, with the potential for accelerated accretion in 2021. 14 rigs are currently drilling across all of the acreage. Assuming the acquisition is consummated as described, Kimbell is expected to have over 13 million gross acres, 145,917 net royalty acres and a total of 93 active rigs on its properties.

16:18 EST Aduro Biotech announces corporate restructuring - Aduro Biotech announced a restructuring plan to further extend the company's operating capital and align personnel towards executing its clinical development strategy. Following a detailed review of its operations and growth opportunities, Aduro intends to reduce its current workforce by 51 employees, approximately 59 percent, across the organization, minimize its corporate facilities footprint and shut down the Aduro Biotech Europe headquarters in Oss, The Netherlands by the end of the third quarter of 2020. The reduction in ongoing operating expenses is expected to extend the Company's cash runway. Further details on the financial implications of the corporate restructuring will be included in the company's 2019 Annual Report, on Form 10-K and the Company's other filings to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. "Upon conducting a thorough analysis of our STING and APRIL programs and our cGAS-STING collaboration with Eli Lilly, as well as consideration of our current resources, Aduro's Executive Team and Board determined implementing changes to reduce operating expenses and extend our cash runway is critical to our business," said Stephen T. Isaacs, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Aduro. "We are creating a more streamlined organization by focusing on generating clinical data and identifying candidates for the cGAS program to bring forward into development. While this means that we are not able to retain the entirety of our current workforce, Aduro continues its development and research efforts supported by an incredibly talented team that is fully invested in the future of the Company."

16:17 EST SAIC wins $727M application modernization contract for DoD - The U.S. Air Force has awarded the Common Computing Environment contract to Science Applications International Corp. SAIC will migrate approximately 800 Air Force and U.S. Army mission applications into the cloud. The contract consists of firm fixed price, labor hour, and cost reimbursement elements with a nine-month period of performance and four one-year options. Though awarded by the Air Force, the contract will also serve Army applications, as part of the Army's cloud strategic framework. SAIC's solution leverages proven success and capabilities in cloud, IT modernization, software, cyber, and data analytics.

16:14 EST Cohen & Steers reports preliminary AUM $72.2B as of December 31, 2019 - An increase of $1B from assets under management at November 30, 2019. Net inflows of $639M and market appreciation of $818M were partially offset by distributions of $443M.

16:13 EST Intuitive Surgical shipped 336 da Vinci Surgical Systems in Q4 - The Company shipped 336 da Vinci Surgical Systems in the fourth quarter of 2019 compared with 290 in the fourth quarter of 2018. The Company shipped 1,119 da Vinci Surgical Systems in 2019, compared with 926 systems in 2018.

16:12 EST Synnex announces plan to separate into to publicly traded companies - SYNNEX announced its plan to separate into two publicly traded companies: comprising of SYNNEX Technology Solutions, a leading IT distribution, services and integrated solutions company, and Concentrix, a leading global CX solutions company. Immediately following the transaction, SYNNEX shareholders will own shares of both SYNNEX and Concentrix. "Today, SYNNEX is taking affirmative steps to further drive shareholder value by announcing our plan to separate into two strong, independent, public companies," said Dennis Polk, SYNNEX President and CEO. "The spin-off will provide each company with sharper strategic and managerial focus and enable SYNNEX shareholders to own and value each business separately. We are very proud of our company and the returns we generated by investing in IT Distribution and CX Services over our nearly 40-year history. We are equally proud to have these two businesses reach a point where they are industry leaders and positioned well to be successful standalone public companies." Chris Caldwell, President of Concentrix, added, "With Concentrix achieving its current scale and efficiency ahead of expectations, coupled with the market opportunities ahead of us, the appropriate time to separate is now. The separation of the two businesses will enhance each company's competitive position and accelerate significant value creation opportunities. I, along with the rest of the Concentrix team, are grateful for our time within the SYNNEX family and look forward to continuing the successful SYNNEX legacy." Dennis Polk, SYNNEX President and CEO, will continue to hold this position and lead SYNNEX following the separation. Chris Caldwell, President of Concentrix, will lead Concentrix as President and CEO, and will continue to oversee the business as a standalone company following the separation. Over the coming months, Concentrix will assemble its Board of Directors and announce the appointments closer to the expected date of separation. The transaction is expected to be completed in the second half of 2020. The separation is intended to qualify as a tax-free transaction for federal income tax purposes for both SYNNEX Corporation and current SYNNEX shareholders. Immediately following the separation, SYNNEX shareholders will own shares of both SYNNEX Technology Solutions and Concentrix, at the same percentage owned of SYNNEX, prior to the transaction. Completion of the separation will not require a shareholder vote but will be subject to customary closing conditions, including final approval of the SYNNEX Board of Directors, the receipt of favorable opinion with respect to the tax-free nature of the transaction, and the effectiveness of a Form-10 filing with the U.S. SEC. SYNNEX will operate on a "business as usual" basis while details of the separation are being finalized. After the separation, SYNNEX and Concentrix are expected to be appropriately capitalized with ample liquidity to support ongoing investments and growth.

16:11 EST Aduro Biotech trading halted, news pending

16:10 EST NortonLifeLock trading halted, news pending

16:09 EST Prevail Therapeutics provides update on PR001 program - Prevail Therapeutics provided an update on its investigational program, PR001, an AAV9-based gene therapy delivering the GBA1 gene, for the neuronopathic Gaucher disease, or nGD, indication. Prevail has granted a compassionate use request for the administration of PR001 to a single patient with Type 2 Gaucher disease via a compassionate use pathway, following approval by an international regulatory authority, and the patient was recently dosed. Type 2 Gaucher disease is the more severe form of nGD, which presents in infancy and involves rapidly progressing neurodegeneration leading to death in infancy or early childhood. Separately, as announced on December 26, 2019, Prevail's investigational new drug, or IND, application for PR001 for the treatment of nGD is now active. The company is proceeding with its Phase 1/2 clinical trial for Type 2 Gaucher disease patients and expects to initiate patient dosing during the first half of 2020. The company also plans to initiate a Phase 1/2 clinical trial for Type 3 Gaucher disease patients in the second half of 2020 under the same IND. Prevail intends for the company's clinical studies to serve as the primary option for patients to receive access to any of Prevail's investigational drugs. Prevail is also developing PR001 for Parkinson's disease patients with a GBA1 mutation, or PD-GBA. The company has an active IND for PR001 for the treatment of PD-GBA and the PROPEL Phase 1/2 clinical trial for PD-GBA patients is now recruiting.

16:09 EST Aravive appoints Rekha Hemrajani president,CEO - Aravive announced the appointment of Rekha Hemrajani as president,CEO and director of the company. Jay Shepard, who last year announced plans to step down as Aravive's CEO, will transition to the role of chairman of the board of directors. "It is with great confidence that I welcome Rekha to Aravive's leadership team as the company explores additional indications and prepares to advance AVB-500 into late stage clinical development in ovarian cancer," said Mr. Shepard. "Rekha brings invaluable experience and a strong track record related to all aspects of corporate development, financing and operations in the biotechnology industry. Rekha's insights, leadership and expertise will be beneficial to the company as we continue to make progress on our therapeutic programs." Rekha Hemrajani has more than 20 years of biopharmaceutical industry experience and has extensive expertise in all aspects of corporate strategy, corporate and business development, financing, and operations. Prior to joining Aravive, Ms. Hemrajani served as chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Arcus Biosciences, Inc. where she led corporate strategy, finance, investor relations, corporate communications, business and corporate development, strategic planning, and human resources.

16:07 EST Synopsys acquires Tinfoil Security to expand DAST and add API security testing - Synopsys has completed the acquisition of Tinfoil Security, a provider of dynamic application security testing or DAST and Application Program Interface - or API - security testing solutions, headquartered in Mountain View, California. The terms of the deal, which is not material to Synopsys financials, are not being disclosed.

16:06 EST Chembio Diagnostics announces CEO transition - Chembio Diagnostics announced president and CEO John Sperzel has resigned for another opportunity. The Chembio board has appointed Director Gail Page as interim CEO and initiated an executive search process to identify a permanent CEO. Page has served on the Chembio Board of Directors since 2017. Currently she is a Venture Partner at Turret Capital Management.

16:05 EST Ultragenyx announces data on study of adeno-associated virus, AAV, gene therapy - Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical announced topline positive safety and efficacy data from Cohort 3 and longer-term data from Cohort 2 of the ongoing Phase 1/2 study of DTX301, an investigational adeno-associated virus, AAV, gene therapy for the treatment of ornithine transcarbamylas, OTC, deficiency. In Cohort 3 (n=3), there were two confirmed female responders as well a third potential male responder who requires longer-term follow-up to confirm response status. In Cohort 2, one female patient has newly demonstrated a response starting at Week 52 which was confirmed at Week 78. The two previously disclosed responders in Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 also remain clinically and metabolically stable at 104 and 78 weeks, respectively. Across all nine patients dosed in the study, up to six patients have demonstrated a response. "We are encouraged to see a more uniform response at the higher doses including three female responders. To date, three patients in the study have discontinued alternate pathway medication and liberalized their diets while remaining clinically and metabolically stable," said Eric Crombez, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of the Ultragenyx Gene Therapy development unit. "We are moving to prophylactic steroid use in the next cohort as we believe this could further enhance the level and consistency of expression that we have demonstrated so far."

16:02 EST BBQ Holdings appoints Jim Gilbertson CFO - BBQ Holdings announced the appointment by the board of Jim Gilbertson as the new CFO of the company. Over the past 20 years, Jim has been the CFO of a number of local public companies including Children's Broadcasting Corporation, Navarre Corporation, and Granite City Food & Brewery.

15:57 EST Blueprint says PDUFA for fourth-line GIST indication likely to need extension - Blueprint Medicines announced that the FDA administratively split the proposed indications for avapritinib under the initial New Drug Application into two separate NDAs: one for PDGFRA exon 18 mutant GIST, which the FDA approved today, and one for fourth-line GIST. The Prescription Drug User Fee Act, or PDUFA, action date for the fourth-line GIST indication is currently February 14, 2020. As previously announced, for the NDA for fourth-line GIST an extension of up to three months for the PDUFA action date will likely be required to enable Blueprint Medicines to provide top-line data to the FDA from VOYAGER, a Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating avapritinib versus regorafenib in third- or fourth-line GIST.

15:48 EST FDA approves Blueprint's therapy for mutated gastrointestinal stromal tumor - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration confirmed that it has approved Ayvakit for the treatment of adults with unresectable or metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumor harboring a platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha exon 18 mutation. This approval includes GIST that harbors a PDGFRA D842V mutation, which is the most common exon 18 mutation. Ayvakit is a kinase inhibitor, meaning it blocks a type of enzyme called a kinase and helps keeps the cancer cells from growing. The FDA granted approval of Ayvakit to Blueprint Medicines Corporation.

15:10 EST FDA approves Blueprint Medicines' Ayvakit - Ayvakit, a kinase inhibitor indicated for the treatment of adults with unresectable or metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumor harboring a platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha exon 18 mutation, including PDGFRA D842V mutations, was granted FDA approval on January 9, according to a post to the agency's website. The NDA for Ayvakit was submitted by Blueprint Medicines. Reference Link

14:47 EST Jefferies Financial Group announces 20% dividend increase - Jefferies Financial Group announced that the board has declared a quarterly cash dividend equal to 15c per Jefferies common share, an increase of 20%, payable on February 28 to record holders of Jefferies common shares on February 14.

14:13 EST Mercedes-Benz unit deliveries grew 1.3% to 2.34M in 2019 - Daimler said that Mercedes-Benz delivered 2,339,562 cars last year, achieving the annual sales volume of 1.3% amid a challenging environment for the automotive industry. Mercedes-Benz Cars handed over to customers 2,456,343 cars of the Mercedes-Benz and smart brands in 2019, a 0.7% year-over-year rise. By surpassing for the first time the milestone of 600,000 passenger cars sold from October to December 2019, Mercedes-Benz completed the best quarter of all times in terms of sales, the company said. Mercedes-Benz's five largest markets last year were China, Germany and the USA followed by Great Britain and South Korea. The Stuttgart-based company with the three-pointed star finished the year with the highest annual unit sales in its history, as well as its best quarter ever (614,319 units, +3.2%). In the fourth quarter of 2019, Mercedes-Benz sold for the first time more than 600,000 cars within a quarter. In the month of December, 205,968 vehicles were sold and therefore the high prior-year level was almost achieved (-0.3%).

13:19 EST Fluor partnership awarded engineering, construction services contract - Fluor Corporation that Heartland Canada Partners, Fluor's 50/50 partnership with Kiewit Construction Services ULC, was awarded a contract to provide engineering, procurement and construction services for a new propane dehydrogenation unit for Canada Kuwait Petrochemical Corporation, a 50/50 joint venture between Pembina Pipeline Corporation and Kuwait's Petrochemical Industries Company K.S.C. The new PDH unit is part of CKPC's integrated PDH plant and polypropylene upgrading facility that will be located in Sturgeon County, Alberta, Canada. Fluor expects to book its portion of the contract value in the first quarter of 2020. "With more than 25 million hours of construction experience in Alberta, we bring together two industry-leading contractors to deliver end-to-end engineering, procurement and construction services for CKPC's new PDH unit - the third world-scale facility of its kind for Fluor in recent years," said Mark Fields, group president of Fluor's Energy & Chemicals business. "Our partnership is committed to building a safe and reliable facility that not only fosters a positive economic impact but also provides a long-term, sustainable solution for polypropylene production in Canada." Engineering on the project has begun, and construction is anticipated to begin in late 2020. Mechanical completion of the new PDH unit is planned for the second half of 2023.

13:13 EST Northrop Grumman reports $302M contract for continued support of Joint STARS - Northrop Grumman announced that the company received a $302M contract from the U.S. Air Force on Nov. 1, 2019 for continued support of the Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System, or "Joint STARS." The 2020 contract executes the Total System Support Responsibility program for the E-8C Joint STARS fleet with Northrop Grumman as the prime systems integrator of all nine components of support and sustainment.

12:26 EST Banner says district court held decision that product doesn't infringe Biogen - Privately held Banner Life Sciences announced that the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware has ruled in favor of Banner's motion for judgment on the pleadings against Biogen. The District Court's decision held that Banner's Bafiertam product does not infringe U.S. Patent Number 7,619,001, which protects Biogen's product Tecfidera "We are pleased by the Court's decision,This ruling allows us to move forward with our goal to commercialize Bafiertam and bring a new treatment option to patients suffering with multiple sclerosis," said Franck Rousseau, CEO of Banner.

12:01 EST Microsoft working with LG to build automotive infotainment systems - LG Electronics is working with Microsoft to build its automotive infotainment systems, building management systems and other business-to-business collaborations. As announced at CES 2020, LG will leverage Microsoft Azure and AI services to accelerate the digital transformation of LG's B2B business growth engines. A year ago, LG started its collaboration with Microsoft to enhance and further grow LG's autonomous vehicle and infotainment system business. LG will expand the scope of new projects beyond the automotive sector and further into the commercial space. "LG plans to enhance its management systems to enable its Building Energy Control system to manage and control HVAC systems more efficiently using Azure. While extending its BECON system around the world with Microsoft's support, the company will develop the next version of BECON with Azure data and hybrid cloud + AI services."

12:00 EST Lindsay rises 12.9% - Lindsay is up 12.9%, or $12.46 to $109.15.

11:45 EST Argenx says beginning 2020 in an 'exciting position' - In a regulatory filing, Argenx (ARGX) provided strategic outlook for 2020 outlining key priorities for its broad pipeline and path towards achieving its 'argenx 2021' integrated commercial vision. "We begin 2020 in an exciting position, having met all our objectives for our clinical programs. This includes the completion of enrollment of our Phase 3 ADAPT trial of efgartigimod in gMG, the launch of key efgartigimod clinical trials in ITP and CIDP, and the initiation of cusatuzumab clinical trials in two AML settings with Janssen. In addition, we're announcing today positive proof-of-concept data for efgartigimod in PV, our third 'beachhead' indication, further demonstrating our initial development strategy of targeting pathogenic autoantibodies and creating commercial opportunities in several therapeutic areas. Looking forward to the remainder of 2020, we plan up to five registrational efgartigimod trials and further expansion of the cusatuzumab global development plan with Janssen," said Tim Van Hauwermeiren, Chief Executive Officer of argenx. "Most importantly, we are continuing to execute on the 'argenx 2021' vision to become a global, integrated immunology company with our first launch of efgartigimod in gMG expected in 2021. At the core of this growth strategy is a commitment to expanding our early-stage pipeline with immunology breakthroughs and advancing our late-stage candidates while extending our reach to bring first-in-class medicines to patients," continued Van Hauwermeiren. As part of its 2021 vision, Argenx highlights: leadership in FcRn and its therapeutics immunology potential; launch of MyRealWorld MG; and a "strong" financial foundation. In addition, Argenx reported "positive" proof-of-concept data in PV, the third beachhead indication as part of the broad efgartigimod development strategy. Within its neuromuscular franchise, Argenx is evaluating efgartigimod in gMG and efgartigmod in CIDP; within its hematology/oncology franchise, it is evaluating efgartigimdo in ITP and cusatuzumab in collaboration with Janssen (JNJ).

11:33 EST Itamar Medical selected to participate in Weizmann Institute Project 10K - Itamar Medical announced that its WatchPAT has been selected for inclusion in the Weizmann Institute's Project 10K. One of the largest projects of its kind, the 10K Project is a longitudinal study designed to collect lifestyle and clinical data from 10,000 individuals over ten years and aims to use state-of-the-art artificial intelligence technologies to analyze the data in order to generate personalized predictions for disease risk factors. These predictions may improve health outcomes by enabling detection and intervention of treatable medical conditions prior to the onset of symptoms."The choice of Itamar Medical's advanced WatchPAT system for the diagnosis of sleep apnea emphasizes the relationship and significance that the medical and public health communities attribute to the sleep dimension and the impact of sleep quality on the risks of morbidity and heart disease in particular," said Gilad Glick, President and Chief Executive Officer of Itamar Medical. "We are pleased to be part of Project 10K and to help expand the understanding of the role that sleep apnea plays in multiple aspects of human health."

11:01 EST Agenus appoints Jennifer Buell as president, COO - Agenus announced the appointment of Dr. Jennifer Buell to president and COO. After her tenure at Harvard Clinical Research Institute, Buell rejoined Agenus in 2013 as the Head of Global R&D operations. She was subsequently appointed as Chief Communications and External Affairs Officer, and then, to the position of Chief Operating Officer.

10:23 EST Former Pfizer R&D head says no Amarin deal shows Big Pharma avoiding Vascepa - John LaMattina, the former head of Pfizer's (PFE) research and development globally, wrote in Forbes that if he was running an R&D organization, he would not invest in cardiovascular disease at the expense of rare diseases. LaMattina explained, "Yes, CVD is the number one killer of Americans. However, we have numerous drugs to treat CVD: lipid lowering drugs, anti-hypertensives, thrombolytics, etc. Furthermore, there are multiple mechanistically different drugs in each of these categories which can be used alone or in combination to help maximize treatment. In addition, many of these drugs have been used for years and are now generic - which to payers means 'cheap'...Given this situation, it's no surprise that major pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer and Sanofi, have abandoned CVD R&D." Further, in response to a tweet this morning, LaMattina said, "Big Pharma appears to have already voted on Vascepa by avoiding a deal for it - or Amarin itself." Amarin's (AMRN) Vascepa, a type of omega-3 fatty acid, a fat found in fish oil, was just approved by the FDA as an adjunctive therapy to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events among adults with elevated triglyceride levels of 150 milligrams per deciliter or higher. Shares of Amarin are up 42c to $19.88 in morning trading. Reference Link

10:07 EST Yirendai trading resumes

10:01 EST Meredith acquires SwearBy, terms not disclosed - Meredith announced its acquisition of SwearBy, a digital platform for word of mouth recommendations designed to crowdsource and share products that women "swear by" based on their personal experiences. The acquisition price was not disclosed.

10:00 EST Acuity Brands falls -9.2% - Acuity Brands is down -9.2%, or -$13.12 to $130.00.

10:00 EST OneConnect rises 9.4% - OneConnect is up 9.4%, or $1.18 to $13.74.

10:00 EST Chico's rises 10.1% - Chico's is up 10.1%, or 38c to $4.14.

09:47 EST Acuity Brands falls -8.4% - Acuity Brands is down -8.4%, or -$12.08 to $131.04.

09:47 EST Lindsay rises 6.5% - Lindsay is up 6.5%, or $6.29 to $102.98.

09:47 EST Chico's rises 17.6% - Chico's is up 17.6%, or 66c to $4.42.

09:29 EST ToughBuilt announces $0.7M sales for Amazon storefronts in December - ToughBuilt Industries announced that its U.S. and Canadian Amazon storefronts had sales of $0.7 million for the month of December 2019, an increase of $0.25 million, or a 55% increase in sales over the $0.45 million reported for November 2019. Michael Panosian, CEO of ToughBuilt, commented, "We projected $550,000 in sales for the month of December through our North American Amazon storefronts and exceeded that by about 25%. Having gained the necessary experience in charting Amazon waters, we are doubling our efforts and investments to grow more aggressively with current lines and new product launches for years to come."

09:26 EST EDAP TMS expects acceleration of global growth in 2020 - EDAP TMS issued a letter to shareholders, which read in part, "As we turn the page on 2019, I thought this would be a good opportunity to recap our recent progress as well as to preview what we expect to be a very exciting 2020 and beyond. Recall that our latest generation high Intensity Focused Ultrasound robotic device, Focal One, was cleared by FDA in 2018 for the targeted ablation of cancerous prostate tissue. Focal One addresses the significant unmet medical need that exists between the two extremes in prostate cancer treatment: active surveillance and radical prostatectomy surgery. The latter is highly invasive and can often result in devastating side effects, including incontinence and impotence. With Focal One, the prostate is preserved. The development of Focal One extends our long-standing position as a leading innovator in the field of therapeutic ultrasound, and this is reflected in the growing sales traction that we are seeing in the U.S. and other key markets around the world. We have conducted extensive research on the global addressable market for HIFU, and specifically Focal One, and have concluded that the opportunity in front of us is substantial. Around the world, it is estimated that there are roughly 680,000 newly diagnosed cases of localized prostate cancer annually, of which approximately 180,000 occur in the United States. Even if we employ modest assumptions regarding HIFU and Focal One market share and procedure volumes per device, we believe we are poised to embark on a significant growth trajectory that at its peak, could take a significant share in of a multi-billion dollar PCa treatment market. A significant percentage of this would be recurring, driven by procedure-related disposable kits and device service contracts. Needless to say, this analysis easily justifies our growing optimism. In the United States, despite being in the early stages of our physician outreach and educational programs, and while the number of sales is of course an important metric, it is the quality of the institution - a hospital's ability to act as a reference center to help drive awareness - where initial sales are clearly having an impact. Our Focal One customers include such highly-regarded institutions as Mayo Clinic, Houston Methodist Hospital, University of California at Irvine Medical Center and University of Chicago Medicine, among others. These Focal One sales, combined with our presence at important medical meetings such as the American Urology Association Annual Meeting, are driving accelerating growth in our pipeline of potential U.S. customers. Leading urology centers around the country are realizing that this technology is a key differentiator that helps drive increased patient throughput. A significant catalyst to further adoption of Focal One in the U.S. occurred in June of last year, when we learned that the American Medical Association's CPT Editorial Panel accepted our application to establish a new Category 1 CPT code that will facilitate reimbursement for the ablation of malignant prostate tissue with HIFU technology. Having a definitive path to reimbursement for the Focal One procedure in the U.S. removes significant financial uncertainty on the part of the hospital, as Focal One represents a meaningful capital investment. The AMA's decision will go a long way toward helping close additional sales ahead of January 2021, when reimbursement commences. In parallel with these activities, outside of the United States, we continue to further penetrate existing markets such as Brazil, where we now have five installed Focal One devices. At the same time, we opened substantial new markets with sales to Moscow State University of Medicine, a top urology center in Russia and our first in the region, and Farrer Park Hospital in Singapore, our first in Southeast Asia. We are successfully executing on our multi-faceted growth plan, and as a result, we have now recorded four consecutive quarters of profitability as of September 30, 2019. onger term, we see opportunity to leverage our state-of-the-art ablation technology into new indications as well. One example is using robotic Focal One HIFU to treat deep rectal endometriosis. We are in ongoing discussions with French regulators to initiate a Phase 2 clinical trial designed to show the safety and efficacy of our technology. We also successfully expanded our product portfolio with the recent introduction of our brand-new Endo-UP Endourology Platform at the 2019 World Congress of Endourology and Lithotripsy. Endo-UP is designed for the complete management of urinary stones by combining a fully dedicated endourology table with X-ray and ultrasound imaging systems, an integrated shockwave generator and holmium laser source. We believe combining all the tools available to surgeons provides them with the ability to select the best approach or combination of approaches depending on the patient and the stone. This represents a true breakthrough in urinary stone management and again reflects our robust research and development capabilities. As a result of the solid foundation that we built over the past several years, we enter 2020 with significant momentum and an opportunity to offer our disruptive breakthrough technologies to patients and physicians around the world."

09:23 EST Ebix's AnnuityNet Exchange Platform adds USAA Life Insurance Company - Ebix announced that it has continued to expand on its market share in the industry by enabling the launch of USAA Life Insurance Company annuity products on its state of the art AnnuityNet4 Exchange platform.

09:20 EST White Gold intercepts high-grade gold on five drill targets on JP Ross property - White Gold announced Rotary Air Blast drill results on multiple newly identified drill targets located on the road accessible JP Ross property, in the prolific White Gold District, Yukon, Canada. Generated through the Company's methodical data driven exploration strategy, the Company's first ever drilling on these targets was performed as follow up to the previously announced results from 2019 exploration including detailed soil sampling, GT Probe, trenching, geophysical and other prospecting activities. High-grade gold was intercepted of 5 newly identified drill targets located within close proximity to the Company's Vertigo and Titan discoveries. These targets have unique geochemical signatures and distinct geologic anomalies and include the Stage Fright, North Frenzy, Sabotage, Vertigo and several others. White Gold Corp's fully-funded $13 million 2019 exploration program backed by partners Agnico Eagle Mines Limited (AEM) and Kinross Gold Corp (KGC) included diamond drilling on the Vertigo target, Golden Saddle & Arc deposits as well as soil sampling, prospecting, GT Probe, trenching and RAB/RC drilling on various other properties across the Company's expansive land package located in the prolific White Gold District, Yukon, Canada.

09:17 EST Finning International CFO Steve Nielsen to retire - Finning International announced that Steve Nielsen, EVP and CFO of Finning International, will retire as of March 31, 2020. Greg Palaschuk, currently SVP of Commercial & Financial Performance Management for Finning Canada, will step into the position of CFO of Finning International beginning March 1, 2020 and will report to the President and CEO Scott Thomson. Following Greg's appointment, Steve will provide transitional support to Greg and work to move global supply chain responsibility to a new global leader. Steve Nielsen joined Finning International as EVP and CFO in March of 2015. Prior to joining Finning, Steve was EVP and CFO for Univar and before that served in senior executive positions with Sprint. As SVP Commercial & Financial Performance Management for Finning Canada, Greg Palaschuk has provided guidance to the business on decreasing costs, increasing efficiency and transforming the company to a mid-cycle structure. Greg has also worked in several roles across the global company, including Vice President, Treasurer for Finning International, and Finance Director for Finning UK & Ireland from 2015 to 2017 where he helped lead a digitally-enabled cost to serve transformation.

09:16 EST Wesco confirms revised proposal to acquire Anixter for $100 per share - Wesco (WCC) confirmed it submitted an improved proposal to the board of directors of Anixter International (AXE) to acquire Anixter for $100 per share in cash and stock. The Anixter board has determined Wesco's proposal represents a "Superior Company Proposal" as defined in Anixter's merger agreement with Clayton, Dubilier & Rice. The proposed transaction with WESCO: Affords Anixter stockholders consideration per Anixter share of $70.00 cash, plus a fixed exchange ratio of 0.2397 shares of WESCO common stock, as in WESCO's prior proposal, plus $15.89 of a newly created class of WESCO perpetual preferred stock. The common stock consideration would be subject to downside protection, such that if the average market value of WESCO common stock prior to closing is between $47.10 per share and $58.88 per share, then the cash consideration paid at closing would be increased by up to $2.82 per share to ensure that the total consideration remains at $100 per Anixter share. The perpetual preferred stock will have a dividend rate represented by a spread of 325bp over the prevailing unsecured notes to be issued to affect the transaction (the dividend rate of the perpetual preferred is expected to be approximately 9.25%), and is subject to reset and a five year non-call feature. It will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is expected to get equity treatment from the rating agencies. Based on the closing price of WESCO's common stock on January 8, 2020, the total consideration represents $100.16 per share. Based on the number of shares of WESCO and Anixter common stock currently outstanding, it is anticipated that WESCO stockholders would own 84%, and Anixter stockholders 16%, of the combined company. The value opportunity for Anixter's stockholders is at least $115 per share when taking into account $100 in nominal consideration proposed by WESCO, the Anixter stockholders' share of greater than $200 million of capitalized synergies, potential multiple re-rating of WESCO's common stock and the value of the downside protection mechanism. John Engel, WESCO's Chairman, President and CEO, said, "WESCO's proposal to acquire Anixter provides significant immediate value to Anixter's stockholders along with the opportunity for both companies' stockholders to benefit in the upside of this transformative combination. We are pleased that the Anixter board has determined that our latest proposal represents a Superior Company Proposal and look forward to executing a merger agreement."

09:13 EST Wesco confirms revised proposal to acquire Anixter for $100 per share

09:12 EST CleanSpark signs MOU with Shoreline Unified School District - CleanSpark announced the signing of a MOU with the Shoreline Unified School District to form a Strategic Alliance for Microgrid Assessment and Deployment. In accordance with the MOU, CleanSpark will evaluate two stages of grid resiliency for the District. The intended Resiliency Zones would utilize Solar Energy, Storage and Back-up Generation to meet the School District's energy needs and provide back-up energy to the surrounding communities during emergencies. CleanSpark will begin the first assessment in January and anticipates presenting the results of the Feasibility Study Report to the School Board in March. CleanSpark's Microgrid Value Stream Optimizer will be used to determine the best configurations for Solar PV, Battery Storage and Back-up Generation for each School District Facility in the designated areas to ensure a secure and optimized power solution. As part of this effort CleanSpark has assembled a team of industry advisors to provide guidance and support to the School District Microgrid Project, including representatives from PG&E, Sonoma Clean Power, Marin Clean Energy and CAISO. CleanSpark's team will provide guidance to the School District throughout the development process, with the goal of providing its expertise and mPulse software to maximize the value and resiliency of the Microgrid.

09:11 EST Norwood Financial to acquire UpState New York Bancorp for approx. $80M - Norwood Financial and UpState New York Bancorp announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which Norwood Financial Corp. will acquire UpState in a stock and cash transaction. The transaction will extend Norwood's footprint into Ontario, Otsego and Yates Counties, New York. The combined company will have approximately $1.7B in assets and 31 offices throughout five counties in Northeastern Pennsylvania, two counties in the Southern Tier of New York and three counties in upstate New York. Under the terms of the merger agreement, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, Norwood will acquire all of the outstanding shares of UpState. In addition, USNY Bank will merge with and into Wayne Bank, with Wayne Bank as the surviving entity. Pursuant to the terms of the merger agreement, shareholders of UpState will have the opportunity to elect to receive for each share of UpState common stock they own, either 0.9390 shares of Norwood common stock or $33.33 in cash, or a combination of both. All shareholder elections will be subject to the allocation and proration procedures set forth in the merger agreement which are intended to ensure that 90% of the shares of UpState will be exchanged for Norwood common stock and 10% of the shares of UpState will be exchanged for cash. In addition to the purchase price per share, UpState may also be permitted, under certain performance conditions, to distribute at the closing of the merger, a special cash dividend of up to an additional $0.67 per share to UpState's shareholders. The transaction is expected to be a tax-free exchange for shareholders of UpState receiving Norwood common stock. Based on Norwood's January 8, 2020 closing price of $38.93 per share, the transaction is valued at approximately $80M The transaction value represents 176.8% of UpState's tangible book value at September 30, 2019, 16.1 times UpState's earnings per share for the latest twelve months ended September 30, 2019, and a 13.1% core deposit premium. Lewis J. Critelli, President and CEO of Norwood will remain as President and CEO of the combined company. All members of the Executive Management team of Norwood and Wayne Bank will continue in their current positions. UpState directors Jeffrey S. Gifford and Alexandra K. Nolan will be appointed to the boards of directors of Norwood and Wayne Bank. In addition, the other directors of UpState will be invited to join a regional advisory board. UpState President and CEO R. Michael Briggs will enter into a consulting agreement with Wayne Bank. Norwood will retain the brand names of USNY's two units, Bank of the Finger Lakes and Bank of Cooperstown, and will also retain USNY's administration center in Geneva, New York. Scott D. White, unit President of Bank of Cooperstown, and Jeffrey E. Franklin, unit President of Bank of the Finger Lakes, will also remain in place as executives of their units. It is expected that the merger may be consummated early in the third quarter of 2020 and is subject to certain closing conditions, including receiving requisite regulatory approvals and the approval of Norwood's and UpState's shareholders. The transaction is expected to be approximately 18.0% accretive to Norwood's earnings in 2021, the first full year of operations.

09:09 EST Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: Applied Genetic (AGTC), up 54% after reporting interim six-month data from its ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical program in X-linked retinitis pigmentosa. The results show that patients treated centrally with its product candidate demonstrated durable improvement in visual function six months after dosing... Axonics (AXNX), up 13% after issuing Q4 revenue guidance above consensus. UP AFTER EARNINGS: AZZ Inc. (AZZ), up 10%... Lindsay (LNN), up 1%... Amicus (FOLD), up 5%. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY), down 12%... ALSO LOWER: Kohl's (KSS), down 8% after reporting declining holiday comparable sales and updating FY19 EPS guidance to lower end of previously announced range... L Brands (LB), down 1% after reporting holiday sales and lowering Q4 EPS view... Amag Pharmaceuticals (AMAG), down 1% after announcing CEO William Heiden will step down. Additionally, the company issued Q4, FY19 and FY20 revenue guidance.

09:08 EST Diana Shipping announces time charter contract for m/v Ismene - Diana Shipping announced that, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it has entered into a time charter contract with Phaethon International Company AG, for one of its Panamax dry bulk vessels, the m/v Ismene. The gross charter rate is $10,800 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period of minimum thirteen months to about fifteen months. The charter is expected to commence on January 11, 2020. The "Ismene" is a 77,901 dwt Panamax dry bulk vessel built in 2013. This employment is anticipated to generate approximately $4.21 million of gross revenue for the minimum scheduled period of the time charter.

09:06 EST Editas Medicine appoints Michelle Robertson as CFO - Editas Medicine (EDIT) announced the appointment of Michelle Robertson as the Company's CFO and the appointment of Harry Gill in the newly created role of SVP, Operations, both effective immediately. Michelle Robertson brings to Editas Medicine more than 25 years of biotech finance and commercial operations management experience. Ms. Robertson joins Editas Medicine from Momenta Pharmaceuticals (MNTA). Harry Gill brings more than 30 years of life sciences experience to Editas Medicine. Throughout his career, Mr. Gill has held leadership roles in quality, plant operations, technical services, and operational excellence, including serving as Senior Vice President of Quality and Continuous Improvement at Patheon Pharmaceuticals.

09:04 EST Instructure announces expiration of 'go-shop,' no alternative proposals emerged - Instructure announced the expiration of the 35-day "go-shop" period pursuant to its previously announced definitive merger agreement with Thoma Bravo. During this period, which commenced on December 4, 2019 and expired at 11:59 p.m. Pacific Time on January 8, 2020, Instructure and its advisors actively solicited alternative acquisition proposals from third parties. To date, no party has submitted an alternative proposal to acquire Instructure. At the direction of Instructure's Board of Directors, representatives of J.P. Morgan, Instructure's financial advisor, broadly solicited and contacted third parties that Instructure and J.P. Morgan believed might be interested in a possible alternative transaction, approaching a total of 24 potential buyers during the go-shop period to determine their interest in exploring a potential transaction with Instructure, including 9 parties with whom Instructure had discussed a potential strategic transaction prior to the execution of the merger agreement. Instructure and its financial advisor engaged with a total of 55 parties regarding a possible transaction. While the company has concluded the comprehensive "go-shop" process, under the terms of the merger agreement with Thoma Bravo that was negotiated by the Board, any party may still submit a superior proposal for consideration until the closing of this transaction. Under the terms of the agreement, Instructure has a customary "no-shop" provision that limits its and its representatives' ability to solicit alternative acquisition proposals from third parties or to provide them with confidential information.

08:59 EST Weyland Tech completes acquisition of Push Holdings - Weyland Tech has completed the acquisition of the assets and operations of Push Holdings from ConversionPoint Technologies per the definitive asset purchase agreement announced in December. Weyland acquired Push to support the launch of its CreateApp mCommerce and mobile fintech solutions in North America, as well as additional eCommerce products and services globally. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to earnings in the first full calendar quarter as part of Weyland. The new revenue streams and synergistic product offerings contributed by Push, along with its support of Weyland's CreateApp U.S. market launch, are expected to help drive more than 100% overall top-line growth for the combined companies in 2020. Weyland reported last fall trailing 12-month recurring revenues of more than $32 million, with Push recently reporting that it has sustained a significant return to growth in the second half of 2019, ending the year at a nearly $12 million annual run-rate, up more than 300% since mid-year. The acquired assets and operations of Push Holdings are primarily comprised of the eCommerce technology company, Push Interactive, which has 20 full-time employees headquartered in Minneapolis, Minn. The Push Interactive direct-to-consumer eCommerce platform provides an end-to-end solution for SMBs and major brands. It allows these organizations to dramatically increase online revenue while lowering the cost of customer acquisition and order fulfillment. The integration of the two platforms is expected to enhance the overall value proposition for existing and prospective customers. Initial cross-selling opportunities include CreateApp and AtozPay supporting U.S.-based projects and campaigns for Push's current enterprise customers. Push has provided Weyland a well-established beachhead in North America, allowing Weyland to attract new users to CreateApp and AtozPay more quickly and cost efficiently. Previously, U.S. customer acquisition costs for CreateApp were estimated at $2-$3 per dollar generated, which made the market entry economically unfeasible. By leveraging Push's highly effective marketing technology and operational resources, U.S. customer acquisition cost is expected to drop to as little as $0.30 per dollar generated. As part of a public company, Weyland's new Push subsidiary gains easier access to growth capital and is better able to attract employee talent. Push plans to leverage the cost efficiencies and diverse capabilities of Weyland's 200-person technology and software development team in Jaipur, India, while Weyland gains many years of technical and software development expertise from the Push team. Weyland still plans to launch CreateApp in the U.S. in the current calendar quarter. The North American market is expected to support a higher price point for subscription fees versus the company's current market in Southeast Asia. A comparative revenue model of a U.S. industry peer supports 96,000 users at $300 each per month. This compares to the current CreateApp subscription model for Southeast Asia priced at only $12-$80 per month, depending on optional features implemented.

08:56 EST Marrone Bio announces new $23M accounts-receivable, credit facilities - Marrone Bio announced a $13M expansion of its existing accounts-receivable credit facility which now totals $20M, as well as the addition of a $3M inventory-backed credit facility to support the Company as it continues to expand its customer base. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement with LSQ Funding Group, LSQ may elect to purchase up to $20M of eligible customer invoices from the Company, a significant increase from the $7M limit established in 2017. In addition, the Company established a new $3M inventory-backed credit facility with LSQ.

08:52 EST Eastman Chemical announces Dresden expansion to support coating, laminating line - Eastman Chemical Company announced a capacity expansion at its Dresden, Germany, manufacturing facility to support a new coating and laminating line. This investment will support the strong growth of Eastman's high-performance branded paint protection and window film products. The expansion will supplement Eastman's assets in Martinsville, Virginia, and is expected to be online mid-2021 while bringing approximately 50 new jobs to the site. Eastman's paint protection film is an elastic and transparent urethane film that helps protect and preserve automotive OEM painted surfaces. The product is optically clear and scientifically formulated to create a strong, reliable layer of protection against damage by rocks, salt, insects and other road debris. Its self-healing technology repairs scratches with heat from the sun or from the automobile's engine. Paint protection films are a growing automotive accessory category that enhances the aesthetics and longevity of automobiles and other painted surfaces. Eastman is a leader in this market with brands LLumar, SunTek and V-KOOL serving the needs of car owners around the globe. The company has announced a series of significant investments in paint protection films, including a Performance Films Patterns and Software Center of Excellence, multiple expansions at its Martinsville manufacturing facility, and Core pattern and business operations software.

08:51 EST Acuity Brands trading resumes

08:48 EST Kitov Pharmaceuticals appoints Bertrand Liang as CMO - Kitov Pharma announced that it has appointed Bertrand Liang, M.D., Ph.D., as its CMO. Dr. Liang brings to Kitov extensive experience leading clinical development programs in oncology, and he will lead the medical affairs of Kitov in the development of its oncology pipeline including, CM-24, a novel checkpoint inhibitor, and NT-219, a novel small molecule targeting cancer drug resistance pathways. Kitov intends to initiate clinical trials for both programs in 2020.

08:44 EST Foamix announces AMZEEQ topical foam available nationwide on Jan. 13 - Foamix Pharmaceuticals announced that its novel AMZEEQ topical foam, 4% will be available on January 13, 2020 by prescription for the treatment of inflammatory lesions of non-nodular moderate to severe acne vulgaris in adults and pediatric patients 9 years of age and older. Approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in October 2019, AMZEEQ is the first topical minocycline to be FDA approved for any condition and represents the company's first commercial product launch. This new once-daily therapy will be available in retail, community and specialty pharmacies nationwide. The Company also announced that the annual list price of AMZEEQ will be $485 per 30-gram canister. This is a lower price per unit than that of current brand leaders in the acne prescription market, setting AMZEEQ apart in terms of its pricing approach. Foamix employed a team of experts to develop the Company's approach for engaging commercial insurers to offer the broadest possible access to AMZEEQ for patients and healthcare professionals. The Company will provide copay card assistance for eligible commercially insured patients. An electronic benefit verification tool is also available through the product website, AMZEEQ.com, to assist healthcare professionals and patients to understand their likely insurance coverage and out-of-pocket costs Foamix has also developed a multi-channel tactical marketing plan to reach customers, including a sales force deployment to more than 6,000 acne-treating providers with product samples. Foamix will broadcast a promotional speaker program for relevant health care professionals nationally on February 13, 2020 to share AMZEEQ product and prescribing information. In addition, Foamix is deploying a broad range of digital consumer outreach tactics, including product information and a unique unboxing-style "how to use" video designed to be easily understood by an adolescent patient population and based on AMZEEQ's instructions for use.

08:40 EST Vera Bradley launces new ReActive collection - Vera Bradley announced its latest innovation and entrance into the sustainable fashion movement with its newest collection, ReActive. The new line of luggage, bags and accessories was designed to make a lighter impact on the planet and enable customers to make more eco-friendly choices, as each yard of fabric is made from 16 recycled PET bottles. The ReActive collection will launch on Jan. 16 in three new patterns and six styles including a Sling Backpack, Small Gym Bag, Travel Duffel, Tote, Grand Backpack and Mini Sling Backpack. The sustainable line has everything that customers know and love about Vera Bradley's current Lighten Up collection - including being lightweight, water-repellent, and durable with the same look, feel and price point - making it the perfect companion for everyday active life, travel and beach. Following the initial launch in January, additional styles - including an all new Convertible Sport Bag - as well as spring and summer patterns will be introduced in February and March, and the collection will continue to evolve throughout the year to meet customers' seasonal needs. Vera Bradley's ReActive collection will be available in Vera Bradley stores, on verabradley.com, and in department and specialty stores throughout the country.

08:39 EST CoreCivic enters management contract with the state of Mississippi - CoreCivic announced that it has entered into a new contract with the Mississippi Department of Corrections to immediately house up to 375 of the State's inmates at the Company's 2,672-bed Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Tutwiler, Mississippi. The new management contract commenced on January 8, 2020, and has an initial term of ninety days, which may be extended for up to two additional ninety-day terms upon mutual agreement. The contract allows the State to utilize additional beds at the facility based on their evolving needs and available capacity.

08:38 EST Nurix, Sanofi form collaboration to develop targeted protein degradation therapi - Nurix Therapeutics announced a global strategic collaboration with Sanofi to discover, develop and commercialize a pipeline of innovative targeted protein degradation drugs for patients with challenging diseases in multiple therapeutic areas. Under the multi-year collaboration, Nurix will utilize its proprietary drug discovery platform, DELigase, that integrates its DNA-encoded libraries and its unparalleled portfolio of E3 ligases to create small molecules designed to induce degradation of three specified drug targets, with an option by Sanofi to expand to a total of five targets. Sanofi will have exclusive rights and be responsible for clinical development and commercialization of drug candidates resulting from the work while Nurix will retain the option to co-develop and co-promote up to two products in the United States under certain conditions. The collaboration excludes Nurix's lead degradation programs for which Nurix retains all rights. Under the terms of the agreement, Nurix will receive an upfront payment of $55M and subsequent payments upon expansion of the number of targets to be included in the collaboration. In addition, Nurix will be eligible to receive up to approximately $2.5B in total payments based on the successful completion of certain research, pre-clinical, clinical, regulatory and sales milestones. For those programs that Nurix exercises its option to co-develop and co-promote, the parties will split U.S. profits and losses evenly and Nurix will be eligible to receive royalties on ex-U.S. net sales on all optioned products.

08:36 EST Gilead licenses portfolio of HIV antibodies from Rockefeller University - Gilead Sciences announced that the company has licensed The Rockefeller University's portfolio of broadly neutralizing antibodies, or bNAbs, against HIV, including the two clinical-stage agents 3BNC117 and 10-1074. These investigational agents have potential for use in HIV long-acting therapies for treatment and prevention, as well as cure strategies. HIV bNAbs are a class of immunotherapy agents that were originally derived from HIV-infected individuals with a strong anti-HIV immunologic response and were designed to target HIV, particularly originating from the latent viral reservoir. Initial pre-clinical and clinical research has shown that HIV bNAbs can produce an enhanced, prolonged immune response to HIV, representing a promising new approach for HIV treatment or prevention in combination with other long-acting agents, or prolonged virologic remission in the absence of antiretroviral use. This licensing agreement provides an additional pathway for innovations in Gilead's HIV pipeline in areas of evolving and unmet medical need.

08:35 EST H2O Innovation says Piedmont secures new FRP, coupling orders totaling $3.5M - H2O Innovation announced its independent subsidiary, Piedmont, a global leader in corrosion resistant equipment for desalination plants in the industrial and municipal markets, secured several fiber reinforced polyester cartridge filter housings and couplings orders, totalling $3.5M. Piedmont secured a purchase order for the FRP filter housing scope for what will be the largest sea water reverse osmosis desalination plant in the World. Located in the Middle East, it will treat up to 900,000 m3/day. For that same business line, Piedmont has also been awarded other major projects. In Tunisia more specifically, for the second time in a row, the team will be providing FRP filter housings for two medium sized SWRO desalination plants. The team will also deliver, in a couple of months, an important project in Saudi Arabi, that will include four FRP units, treating a total of 24,480 m3/day. Moreover, Piedmont was recently added to the approved vendor list by the Egyptian army. This will allow them to bid on the upcoming large-scale desalination plants and will provide good growth opportunities in this booming region. Furthermore, Piedmont won several other projects, for both coupling and FRP business lines, in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, North Africa, India and Singapore during the last five months.

08:34 EST Millendo Therapeutics promotes Thomas Hoover to Chief Commercial Officer - Millendo Therapeutics announced the promotion of Thomas Hoover to the newly created position of Chief Commercial Officer. Hoover joined Millendo in 2016 and has served as the company's Senior Vice President of Commercial Strategy.

08:33 EST Penumbra announces FDA clearance of Indigo Aspiration System - Penumbra announced FDA 510(k) clearance for expanded indication of the Indigo Aspiration System. As part of the Indigo Aspiration System, the Indigo Aspiration Catheters and Separators are indicated for the removal of fresh, soft emboli and thrombi from vessels of the peripheral arterial and venous systems, and now, for the treatment of pulmonary embolism.

08:32 EST ANI Pharmaceuticals acquires generic products from Amerigen - ANI Pharmaceuticals acquired the U.S. portfolio of 23 generic products from Amerigen Pharmaceuticals for $52.5M in cash at close and up to $25M in contingent profit share payments over the next four years. The contingent payments are earned when annual gross profit exceeds a minimum threshold and are earned on a subset of the acquired products. The acquired portfolio includes ten commercial products, three approved products with launches pending, four filed products and four in-development products as well as a license to commercialize two approved products. The transaction was funded from cash on hand. The acquisition is immediately accretive to non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA.

08:30 EST Solid Biosciences trading resumes

08:29 EST RUSH selects R1 RCM for end-to-end revenue cycle management - R1 RCM announced that Rush University System for Health has entered into a strategic partnership to achieve revenue cycle performance excellence and accelerate innovation in healthcare. RUSH, an academic health system, is a nationally recognized leader in the delivery of high-quality care and the use of information technology to achieve better outcomes, lower costs and improve the patient experience. RUSH selected R1's flexible, co-managed engagement model to embed proprietary best practices, purpose-built technology that is integrated into RUSH's Epic EMR workflow, intelligent automation and enterprise-wide performance analytics to build on the strengths of its existing revenue cycle operations. The partnership is designed to drive significant improvement in financial results and best serve patients in the Chicagoland area. RUSH also will collaborate with R1 to launch an innovation lab that will focus on delivering value-based care, incorporating advanced analytics to help to educate other healthcare institutions and preparing the healthcare workforce of the future. By combining RUSH's broad insights and thought leadership with R1's platform, the lab will deliver new and innovative solutions to the market.

08:26 EST Principia Biopharma expects to complete PRN473 Topical trial in 2020 - PRN473 Topical, an investigational drug, is entering into a Phase 1, randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled, single and multiple dose trial to evaluate its safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics. The trial will be conducted in Australia and is expected to be completed in 2020.

08:25 EST Principia Biopharma announces expansion of BTK franchise with PRN473 Topical - Principia Biopharma announced an expansion of its Bruton tyrosine kinase franchise with PRN473 Topical. The company also announced suspension of PRN1371, an FGFR inhibitor for bladder cancer to focus the portfolio on immune-mediated diseases. By commencing clinical development of PRN473 Topical, a reversible covalent BTK inhibitor, Principia believes topical administration will be an important addition to the expected utility of systemic BTK inhibition and CNS-penetrant BTK therapy. Each of the three programs were discovered by Principia and have separate intellectual property estates.

08:21 EST Immutep expands Part C of TACTI-002 following data - Immutep Limited (IMMP) provides an update on its TACTI-002 and AIPAC studies for its lead product candidate, eftilagimod alpha. The requisite number of predefined patient responses was observed in stage 1 of Part C. The decision by the DMC to recommend opening stage 2 recruitment follows its review of preliminary safety and efficacy data and is based on a predefined efficacy threshold. This allows the Company to now proceed with the recruitment of an additional 19 patients, forming stage 2 of Part C of the study, having now also completed recruitment of the 18 HNSCC patients for stage 1. The staged approach to patient enrolment is based on the study's Simon's two-stage clinical trial design. Stage 1 of Part A was expanded in September 2019. Recruitment is ongoing for Part B with 10 out of 23 patients now participating, and for stage 2 of Part A, where 4 out of 19 patients are now participating. The Company expects to report more mature data from TACTI-002 in Q1 CY20. TACTI-002 is being conducted in collaboration with Merck & Co. (MRK). The Company continues to progress its AIPAC trial which evaluates efti in combination with chemotherapy in 227 metastatic breast cancer patients in a randomized, double blinded, placebo-controlled phase IIb clinical trial. The first progression-free survival read-out remains on track for Q1 CY20 and is expected to be reported in March 2020.

08:16 EST VBI Vaccines Phase 3 CONSTANT study meets primary, secondary endpoints - VBI Vaccines (VBIV) reported top-line data from CONSTANT, the second pivotal Phase 3 study, assessing lot-to-lot manufacturing consistency of Sci-B-Vac, the company's trivalent hepatitis B, or HBV, vaccine and comparing safety and immunogenicity of Sci-B-Vac to GlaxoSmithKline's (GSK) currently-marketed HBV vaccine, Engerix-B. The Phase 3 study, which enrolled 2,838 adults, age 18-45 years, met both the primary and secondary endpoints. The primary endpoint of the study was lot-to-lot consistency for immune response, as measured by geometric mean concentration, or GMC, of antibodies across three independent, consecutively-manufactured lots of Sci-B-Vac, four weeks after the third vaccination. Together with the safety and immunogenicity results of the PROTECT Phase 3 study, these data comprise the basis for the regulatory submissions in the U.S., Europe, and Canada, expected to begin in the second half of 2020. A secondary endpoint of the study was non-inferior immunogenicity as measured by seroprotection rates, or SPR, at day 196, one month after completion of the full course of vaccination with either Sci-B-Vac or Engerix-B. At day 196, the pooled SPR in subjects who received Sci-B-Vac was 99.3% compared to 94.8% for those who received Engerix-B - a difference of 4.49%; 95% Ccnfidence interval, or CI, up from 90.4% for Sci-B-Vac and 51.6% for Engerix-B at day 168, after only two vaccinations. In addition to demonstrating non-inferiority, the SPR achieved with Sci-B-Vac compared with Engerix-B was higher after both two and three vaccinations. The safety and tolerability seen in CONSTANT were consistent with the known safety profile of Sci-B-Vac. No new safety risks were identified and no safety signals were observed in either cohort. The integrated safety data analysis from both the PROTECT and CONSTANT studies is underway. An exploratory analysis in CONSTANT also compared the SPR after two doses of Sci-B-Vac to the SPR after three doses of Engerix-B. At these times points, the SPR was 90.4% for Sci-B-Vac and 94.8% for Engerix-B, a difference of -4.3%; 95% CI. As per the commonly-used statistical margin of non-inferiority for vaccines, defined as the lower limit of the 95% CI being above -10%, this analysis demonstrated non-inferiority after two doses of Sci-B-Vac compared with three doses of Engerix-B. Similarly, at these time points, preliminary data from the integrated immunogenicity analysis of both the PROTECT and CONSTANT studies in subjects age 18-45 years demonstrate a difference in SPR of -4.2%; 95% CI. The two vs. three dose comparison is not part of the regulatory approval process and would not be included in the expected indication the company will seek, but does contribute to the robust immunogenicity profile of Sci-B-Vac.

08:10 EST eFFECTOR, Pfizer enter agreement to develop inhibiors of eIF4E - eFFECTOR Therapeutics and Pfizer y announced an exclusive worldwide license and collaboration agreement to develop small-molecule inhibitors of eukaryotic initiation factor 4E, a key oncogenic driver located downstream from both the RAS and PI3K signaling pathways. eIF4E is an effector protein that is activated in a variety of human cancers and is linked to poor prognosis and resistance to certain therapies. Under terms of the agreement, eFFECTOR will receive a $15M payment upfront, and will be eligible for additional potential $492M in R&D funding, development and sales milestone payments. eFFECTOR will receive royalties on sales of any products that may result from this collaboration if the program reaches commercialization and has an option to enter into a co-promotion and profit and loss share arrangement in the United States.

08:08 EST Foamix's Amzeeq acne treatment available in pharmacies January 13th - Foamix's novel Amzeeq topical foam, 4% will be available on January 13 by prescription for the treatment of inflammatory lesions of non-nodular moderate to severe acne vulgaris in adults and pediatric patients 9 years of age and older. Approved by the FDA in October 2019, Amzeeq is the first topical minocycline to be FDA approved for any condition and represents the company's first commercial product launch. This new once-daily therapy will be available in retail, community and specialty pharmacies nationwide. The annual list price of Amzeeq will be $485 per 30-gram canister, a lower price per unit than that of current brand leaders in the acne prescription market. The company will provide copay card assistance for eligible commercially insured patients. Foamix has also developed a multi-channel tactical marketing plan to reach customers. Minocycline has not previously been available as a topical treatment due to its instability in traditional topical formulations.

08:07 EST Solid Biosciences expects corporate changes to extend cash runway into 2021 - The corporate changes implemented will result in a reduction in corporate expenses and, based on the company's current operating plans, are expected to extend the cash runway into 2021.

08:06 EST Sebacia acquires silver photoparticle technology assets from Sienna Biopharmaceuticals - Sebacia announces the acquisition of all assets related to Sienna Biopharmaceuticals' SNA-001 (silver photoparticle technology) which is a late stage asset pursuing an FDA clearance for light hair removal. This includes all related intellectual property owned or licensed by Sienna and the 510(k) application for light hair removal which was submitted to FDA in September 2019. The acquisition of these assets enables Sebacia to resolve the outstanding patent interference litigation between The General Hospital Corporation and Sienna Biopharmaceuticals.

08:03 EST Eli Lilly, Strateos announce collaboration - Eli Lilly and Company and Strateos unveiled a new robotic laboratory in San Diego, California designed to accelerate the drug discovery process. The Lilly Life Sciences Studio lab was conceptualized and designed by Lilly as part of a $90M investment made in 2017 to expand Lilly's research footprint in San Diego. Strateos will utilize their robotic cloud platform to enable the access of this remote-controlled lab to other drug discovery companies and research scientists through its secure cloud-based platform as part of the collaboration.

08:03 EST Volkswagen sees FY19 sales revenue to be up as much as 5% y/y - Volkswagen said vehicle deliveries for 2019 were "slightly above" the prior year, revising upward an earlier forecast which predicted annual sales to be "on the level of prior year." In 2018, Volkswagen group delivered 10.8M vehicles to customers. The company sees 2019 revenue up by as much as 5% and sees operating return on sales in the range of 6.5%-7.5%. The guidance was issued by CEO Herbert Diess during an investor presentation.

08:02 EST RealNetworks appoints Mike Ensing as interim CFO - RealNetworks announced a CFO transition plan. Earlier this week, Cary Baker informed the company of his decision to step down as CFO to pursue a new opportunity. In addition, the company hired Mike Ensing to replace Baker on an interim basis. Ensing will join the company as a full-time strategic advisor on January 10th, and will succeed Baker as interim CFO on February 15th. Ensing most recently served as CFO from 2014 to 2019 of Savers/Value Village. Previously, Ensing served in COO and CFO roles at Knowledge Universe, from 2012 to 2014, and in several financial leadership positions at Microsoft Corporation, from 2004 to 2012. The company has retained an executive search firm and has commenced a formal search for a permanent CFO.

08:01 EST Intellia Therapeutics expects preclinical data for NTLA-5001 in 1Q20 - Intellia announced NTLA-5001 as its first engineered T cell therapy development candidate, utilizing its T cell receptor -directed approach to target the Wilms' Tumor 1 intracellular antigen for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia. Intellia's WT1-TCR-directed approach aims to develop a broadly applicable treatment for AML patients, regardless of mutational background of a patient's leukemia. This approach employs CRISPR/Cas9 to efficiently knock out and replace the endogenous TCR with a natural, high affinity therapeutic TCR. The resulting cells are capable of specific and potent killing of AML blasts, and have no detectable bone marrow cell toxicity. The Company expects to present preclinical data in support of NTLA-5001 at an upcoming scientific meeting in the first quarter of 2020 and plans to submit an IND application in the first half of 2021. Additional efforts are underway to evaluate the potential use of the WT1-TCR construct to treat other tumor types, including solid tumors.

07:59 EST Intellia Therapeutics remains on track to submit IND for NTLA-2001 in mid-2020 - ATTR Program: Intellia remains on track to submit an investigational new drug application in mid-2020 for its lead in vivo candidate, NTLA-2001, for treatment of transthyretin amyloidosis. NTLA-2001 is anticipated to be the first systemically delivered CRISPR/Cas9 therapy to enter the clinic, and Intellia anticipates dosing the first patients in the second half of 2020. In addition, Intellia completed a 12-month durability study of its lead lipid nanoparticle formulation in support of NTLA-2001, maintaining an average reduction of greater than95% of serum transthyretin protein and sustained liver genome editing after a single dose in non-human primates. NTLA-2001 is part of a co-development/co-promotion agreement between Intellia, which is the lead development and commercialization party, and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN). Intellia and Regeneron have a 75% and 25% share of worldwide development costs and profits, respectively.

07:56 EST Otonomy expects cash, cash equivalents to support operations into 2021 - Cash Position: Cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments totaled approximately $61M as of December 31, 2019. This balance includes proceeds from a $15M term loan completed in December 2018. Operating Expenses: Otonomy expects that non-GAAP operating expenses for 2020 will be in the range of $35-$38M, and that GAAP operating expenses will be in the range of $45-$48M. Cash Runway: Otonomy expects that its current cash, cash equivalents, and short term investments will be sufficient to fund the company through completion of the OTIVIDEX Phase 3 trial, OTO-313 Phase 1/2 trial, and OTO-413 Phase 1/2 trial in 2020, and will support company operations into 2021.

07:55 EST Solid Biosciences trading halted, news pending

07:54 EST Otonomy expects results from Phase 1/2 OTO-413 trial in 2H20 - OTO-413: Enrollment in Phase 1/2 Clinical Trial in Hearing Loss is Ongoing with Results Expected in the Second Half of 2020. Otonomy is enrolling hearing loss patients in a Phase 1/2 clinical trial of OTO-413, which is a sustained-exposure formulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor. The Phase 1/2 trial is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, single ascending dose study designed to evaluate the safety and exploratory efficacy of OTO-413 in patients with speech-in-noise hearing difficulty.

07:53 EST Otonomy expects results from Phase 3 OTIVIDEX trial in 3Q20 - OTIVIDEX: Enrollment in Phase 3 Clinical Trial in Meniere's Disease is Ongoing with Results Expected in the Third Quarter of 2020. Otonomy has completed one successful Phase 3 trial and is conducting this additional pivotal trial to support a submission for U.S. registration of OTIVIDEX in Meniere's disease. The company plans to enroll approximately 160 patients in the United States and Europe.

07:52 EST Scholar Rock earns $25M milestone payment from Gilead Sciences - Scholar Rock (SRRK) announced that the Company has earned a $25M milestone payment from Gilead Sciences (GILD) for the successful demonstration of efficacy in preclinical in vivo proof-of-concept studies. This is the most advanced program of the collaboration focused on the discovery and development of potent and selective inhibitors of latent transforming growth factor beta activation for the treatment of fibrotic diseases. The collaboration between Gilead and Scholar Rock was established in December 2018 to discover and develop therapeutics that target TGFbeta-driven signaling, a central regulator of fibrosis. Scholar Rock retains exclusive worldwide rights to discover, develop, and commercialize certain TGFbeta inhibitors for oncology and cancer immunotherapy. Scholar Rock received $80M in upfront payments in connection with the collaboration, comprised of $50M cash and $30M purchase of Scholar Rock Holding Corporation common stock. In addition to this one-time $25M preclinical milestone, Scholar Rock is eligible to receive up to an additional $1.425M in potential payments from Gilead aggregated across all three programs based on the successful achievement of certain research, development, regulatory and commercialization milestones. Scholar Rock would also receive high single-digit to low double-digit tiered royalties on sales of potential future products originating from the collaboration. Under the collaboration, Gilead has exclusive options to license worldwide rights to product candidates that emerge from three Scholar Rock TGFbeta programs: inhibitors that target activation of latent TGFbeta1 with high affinity and specificity, inhibitors that selectively target activation of latent TGFbeta1 localized to extracellular matrix, and a third TGFbeta discovery program. Scholar Rock is responsible for antibody discovery and preclinical research through product candidate nomination, after which, upon exercising the option for a program, Gilead will be responsible for the program's preclinical and clinical development and commercialization.

07:47 EST Joint Corp. expects to open 80 to 90 franchised clinics in 2020 - In 2020, the company expects to open 80 to 90 franchised clinics, up from 71 in 2019 and 47 in 2018, and increase company-owned or managed portfolio clinics by 16 to 20 through new greenfield clinics and franchised clinic buybacks, up from 13 in 2019 and 1 in 2018. "Our marketing campaigns, sales promotions and growing brand recognition are driving continued interest in our effective, affordable and accessible chiropractic care, which translated into strong 2019 metrics," stated Peter D. Holt, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Joint Corp. "Looking ahead to 2020, we believe our business momentum will continue to accelerate, yielding an increasing clinic count, continued strong comp sales and improved clinic operations."

07:45 EST Syneos Health announcs collaboration, investment in Indegene Omnipresence - Syneos Health announced a strategic collaboration and minority investment in Indegene Omnipresence and the company's next-generation unified customer experience platform. The Omnipresence platform is the result of a strategic alliance with Indegene, a leading global healthcare tech firm, which brings together Microsoft Power Platform, Dynamics 365, Azure, Office 365 including Teams, LinkedIn and Microsoft AI into a unified customer experience management platform verticalized for the healthcare industry. Omnipresence helps life sciences and healthcare organizations drive intelligent customer relationships and experiences. By activating healthcare professional end-to-end experiences, and unifying CRM and omnichannel technology together with advanced analytics and AI capabilities, the modern platform improves upon traditional CRM or multichannel technologies that focus on singular and disparate engagements. Omnipresence can deliver holistic, insights-driven experiences better aligned with HCP needs and preferences to enable increased impact and satisfaction.

07:43 EST Verizon unveils Mix & Match with Fios - Verizon unveiled a completely new way to provide Internet and TV with Mix & Match on Fios. Customers can now mix Internet and TV plans to match their needs, with Fios Internet options starting at just $39.99 per month. Mix & Match on Fios takes those cable-industry pain points head on, with simple, customer-friendly pricing, choices to suit your needs, no extra fees, no annual contracts, and no surprises. "Customers have been loud and clear about their frustrations with cable, and we've listened. As a result, we're transforming our approach to Internet and TV offers by giving customers more choices and more transparency," says Frank Boulben, Senior Vice President of Consumer Marketing and Products at Verizon. "Customers are tired of having to buy a bundle with services they don't want to get the best rates, and then discover that those rates didn't include extra fees and surcharges. We're putting an end to the traditional bundle contract and putting customers in control."

07:40 EST Strongbridge Biopharma expects cash to fund operations through 3Q21 - Strongbridge expects to report approximately $78M of cash and cash equivalents and no outstanding debt as of December 31, 2019. The Company has further extended its cash runway guidance by an additional three months, and now believes it can fund operations as currently planned through the third quarter of 2021, at least one-year following anticipated receipt of LOGICS top-line results.

07:33 EST J.C. Penney reaffirms FY19 adj. SSS view down 5%-6% - The Company also reaffirmed its financial guidance for full year fiscal 2019 as follows: Comparable store sales: expected to be in a range of (7.0) % to (8.0) %; Cost of goods sold, as a percent of net sales, expected to decrease 150 to 200 basis points compared to last year; Adjusted EBITDA expected to exceed $475M; and Free Cash Flow: expected to be positive.

07:32 EST Zai Lab, Novocure announces first patient enrolled in Phase 2 pilot trial - Zai Lab (ZLAB) and Novocure (NVCR) announced that the first patient has been enrolled in a phase 2 pilot clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of Tumor Treating Fields in combination with chemotherapy as a first-line treatment in patients with gastric adenocarcinoma. The phase 2 pilot gastric cancer trial of Tumor Treating Fields is expected to enroll approximately 50 patients in Greater China. The study is a single arm, open-label, multi-center study, investigating the safety and efficacy of Tumor Treating Fields in combination with chemotherapy as the first-line treatment of unresectable gastric adenocarcinoma, or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma. In the study, patients will receive Tumor Treating Fields at 150 kHz and XELOX chemotherapy, a combination of oxaliplatin and capecitabine, until disease progression. The primary endpoint is investigator-assessed objective response rate.

07:30 EST Applied Genetic reports six-month data from ongoing Phase 1/2 trial in XLRP - Applied Genetic Technologies reported interim six-month data from its ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical program in X-linked retinitis pigmentosa. The results show that patients treated centrally with its product candidate demonstrated durable improvement in visual function six months after dosing. These data reinforce the promising efficacy and safety results reported in September 2019 and will help to design the XLRP pivotal trial that is currently being planned to initiate by the end of 2020. The company also remains on track to report interim six-month data from the dose escalation cohorts of both of its ongoing trials in achromatopsia later this month. Data from 17 of the 25 patients have been previously reported in September 2019 and demonstrated a favorable safety profile. Of the 17, eight peripherally treated patients showed stable visually function through six months and nine centrally treated patients showed improvement in visual function as measured by microperimetry and/or BCVA through three months. At the six-month time-point for these same nine centrally dosed patients: Measurable improvements were observed in visual sensitivity for four of the evaluable eight patients. These are the same four patients discussed in September and indicate encouraging signs of a durable biologic effect. Patients are defined as responders with improvement in visual sensitivity within the treatment area that is beyond the testing variability on at least two different test dates. All nine patients treated centrally also had stable or improving visual acuity, 78% saw a 5 letter or more improvement, a result not reported in other XLRP trials. Patients who improved in either visual sensitivity or BCVA also anecdotally report noticeable improvement in visual function including greater clarity and reduced night blindness. Preliminary data for additional patients enrolled at a new higher dose group are consistent with previous data. Safety data from all 25 patients dosed to date continue to demonstrate a favorable profile for the XLRP candidate, with no dose-limiting inflammatory responses observed and no secondary inflammatory responses requiring re-administration of any steroid in any patients. The company is scheduling additional patients for enrollment during the first quarter of the 2020. These patients will enable AGTC to generate the most robust set of data possible as the company moves forward with planning for a pivotal trial and eventual BLA application.

07:26 EST Talend appoints Christal Bemont as CEO to succeed Mike Tuchen - Talend announced it has appointed Christal Bemont, former chief revenue officer at SAP Concur, as its CEO and director on the Talend Board of Directors. Mike Tuchen is stepping down as CEO, effective immediately, and will remain on the Board of Directors. The company also announced that it has appointed Ann-Christel Graham as chief revenue officer and Jamie Kiser as chief customer officer. Ann-Christel Graham, named to the newly-created position of chief revenue officer at Talend, most recently, was vice president of sales for enterprise clients at SAP Concur. Jamie Kiser is joining Talend as chief customer officer. Previously, she served over six years with SAP in various product, services, and implementation roles. In conjunction with the executive-leadership transitions, the company disclosed the hiring of new sales and marketing leadership in Europe. Muriel Raffatin recently joined as Head of EMEA Marketing, and Gareth Vincent will be joining next month as General Manager of EMEA. Talend also announced that Nanci Caldwell is stepping down from its Board of Directors.

07:22 EST Syneos Health makes minority investment in Indegene Omnipresence - Syneos Health and Indegene, a Healthcare Tech firm focused on the global life sciences industry, announced Syneos Health as a strategic collaborator and minority investor in Indegene Omnipresence, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Indegene. Omnipresence is a unified customer experience platform for healthcare and life sciences organizations with CRM, omnichannel engagement, advanced analytics, and AI capabilities in a single unified platform.

07:19 EST AMAG CFO Ted Myles to assume additional role of COO - In addition to the announced CEO transition, CFO Ted Myles will assume the additional role of COO, effective immediately, expanding his responsibilities to include technical operations, global supply chain and quality. General Counsel Joseph Vittiglio will assume the additional role of CBO, focusing on managing the divestiture of Intrarosa and Vyleesi and out-licensing opportunities in ex-U.S. territories, primarily for AMAG's development-stage programs.

07:17 EST L Brands reports holiday period SSS down 3% y/y

07:16 EST L Brands reports holiday period sales of $3.906B vs. $4.072B last year - L Brands reported net sales of $3.906B for the nine weeks ended Jan. 4, 2020, compared to net sales of $4.072B for the nine weeks ended Jan. 5, 2019. Comparable sales decreased 3% for the nine weeks ended Jan. 4, 2020, compared to the nine weeks ended Jan. 5, 2019. The company reported net sales of $12.113B for the 48 weeks ended Jan. 4, 2020, compared to net sales of $12.457B for the 48 weeks ended Jan. 5, 2019. Comparable sales decreased 2% for the 48 weeks ended Jan. 4, 2020, compared to the 48 weeks ended Jan. 5, 2019.

07:09 EST Ionis Pharma appoints Onaiza Cadoret-Manier as CCO, Corporate Development - Ionis Pharmaceuticals has appointed Onaiza Cadoret-Manier as Chief Corporate Development and Commercial Officer reporting to CEO Brett P. Monia. In this newly created role, Cadoret-Manier will serve as a member of Ionis' executive leadership team and be responsible for corporate strategy, commercialization, and operational leadership. Before joining Ionis, Cadoret-Manier was the chief commercial officer for Grail Biosciences, an early detection genomics company, where she developed the commercial strategy and business model. Prior to Grail, she was vice president of the Respiratory Franchise at Genentech.

07:07 EST ADMA says BIVIGAM, ASCENIV launches progressing 'in line with expectations' - Commercial launches for BIVIGAM and ASCENIV progressing in line with expectations. The Company continues to ramp commercial production of these two products and build inventory to support continued growth and market supply.

07:06 EST Acceleron and Bristol-Myers' Reblozyl achieves primary endpoint in anemia study - Bristol-Myers (BMY) and Acceleron (XLRN) announced that the New England Journal of Medicine has published results from MEDALIST, the pivotal phase 3 study evaluating the use of Reblozyl to treat anemia in patients with very low- to intermediate-risk myelodysplastic syndromes who have ring sideroblasts and require red blood cell transfusions, and who had failed, were intolerant to, or ineligible for/unlikely to respond to treatment with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents. MEDALIST achieved a statistically significant improvement in the primary endpoint of red blood cell transfusion independence for 8 or more weeks during the first 24 weeks of the study. The study also met the key secondary endpoint of RBC-TI for 12 or more weeks during the first 24 or 48 weeks of the study, as well as the additional secondary endpoint of hematologic improvement-erythroid for 8 or more weeks. The most common treatment-emergent adverse events of any grade in greater than 10% of patients in either the treatment or placebo arm were fatigue, diarrhea, asthenia, nausea, dizziness, and back pain. TEAEs of Grade 3 or 4 were reported in 42.5% of patients receiving luspatercept-aamt and 44.7% of patients receiving placebo. Progression to acute myeloid leukemia occurred in three patients receiving luspatercept-aamt and one patient receiving placebo. Five patients receiving luspatercept-aamt - 3.3% - and four patients receiving placebo - 5.3% - experienced one or more TEAE that resulted in death. The FDA is evaluating Reblozyl for the treatment of anemia in adults with very low- to intermediate-risk MDS who have ring sideroblasts and require red blood cell transfusions, and has set a target action, date of April 4 for this indication. In Europe, Bristol-Myers Squibb's Marketing Authorization Application for the treatment of anemia in adults with beta thalassemia and MDS is currently under review. Reblozyl is not approved to treat MDS in any geography.

07:04 EST Amicus says Galafold on track for $500M revenue by 2023

07:02 EST Kohl's reports Nov./Dec. SSS down 0.2% - Kohl's reported that its comparable sales for fiscal November and December 2019 combined (the "holiday period") decreased 0.2% over the same period last year. "Throughout the holiday period, we remained focused on serving our loyal customers and engaging with an increasing number of new customers. We are managing the business with discipline and we expect to deliver on our earnings guidance for the full year," said Michelle Gass, Kohl's CEO. "We continue to see momentum in key areas including our digital business, active, beauty and children's, and solid performance in footwear and men's. This was offset by softness in women's, which we are working with speed to address. I want to thank our associates for their exceptional work in delivering a great customer experience during the important holiday period. As we look ahead, we are committed to driving innovation and bringing new experiences to both our existing and new customers. We look forward to sharing additional details on our key growth initiatives at our upcoming investor day," Gass added.

06:53 EST The Buckle reports December 2019 net sales up 4.8% to $143.9M - The Buckle announced that comparable store net sales, for stores open at least one year, for the 5-week period ended January 4, 2020 increased 5.0% from comparable store net sales for the 5-week period ended January 5, 2019. Net sales for the 5-week fiscal month ended January 4, 2020 increased 4.8% to $143.9M from net sales of $137.4M for the prior year 5-week fiscal month. The later Thanksgiving holiday this year shifted Cyber Monday to fiscal December in 2019, which positively impacted both total and comparable store net sales. Excluding online sales, brick and mortar comparable store net sales for the 5-week period ended January 4, 2020 increased 1.9% from brick and mortar comparable store net sales for the 5-week period ended January 5, 2019.

06:47 EST Lindsay CEO says 'continue to see good activity in Brazil, developing markets' - "Recent progress regarding a preliminary trade agreement between the U.S. and China offers encouragement for U.S. farmers by improving the outlook for agricultural exports," said CEO Tim Hassinger. "In the international markets we continue to see good activity in Brazil and in developing markets." Hassinger added, "We like the traction we are getting with our Road Zipper growth strategy and the pipeline of opportunities that are being generated."

06:32 EST Park Aerospace declares $1.00 special cash dividend - Park has declared a special cash dividend of $1.00 per share payable February 20 to shareholders of record at the close of business on January 21. The total amount of this special dividend will be approximately $20.5M.

06:11 EST Synlogic sees cash, cash equivalents and investments sufficient through 2021 - In the first half of 2020, Synlogic expects to initiate a Phase 2 clinical trial to evaluate the Phe-lowering potential of its solid formulation of SYNB1618 in patients with phenylketonuria. Synlogic's first clinical immuno-oncology program, SYNB1891, is an intratumorally delivered Synthetic Biotic medicine designed to produce a STING agonist and act as a dual innate immune activator for the treatment of refractory solid tumors and lymphoma. SYNB1891 is being evaluated as a monotherapy in a Phase 1 clinical trial in patients with refractory solid tumors and lymphoma. Synlogic expects to have data from the monotherapy arm of this study in 2020. Synlogic has advanced two new preclinical programs onto its development pipeline, for the treatment of secondary hyperoxaluria and MSUD, respectively. Synlogic expects to publish and present data at major scientific and medical meetings throughout the year.

06:05 EST ReneSola sells remaining 13MW of project development rights in Poland - ReneSola announced the sale of its remaining 13MW of project development rights in Poland to Mosty Group, a Warsaw, Poland-based renewable energy project developer and EPC service provider. In November 2018, ReneSola Power was awarded 26 solar utility projects in Poland with capacity of 1 MW for each. These remaining 13MW of project rights being sold are part of those 26 solar projects awarded to ReneSola Power. All of the 26 projects are under Poland's Contract for Difference regime and eligible for a 15-year guaranteed tariff of PLN 354.8-358.8/MWh, close to the highest auction price of PLN 364.9/MWh.

06:03 EST Borqs Technologies partners with Coolpad - Coolpad announced that it is working with Borqs Technologies. With Borqs, Coolpad will drive 5G product development and its adoption by global carriers.