Stockwinners Market Radar for January 14, 2020 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:21 EST Calavo Growers CEO sells 2.1K shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, Calavo Growers disclosed that its CEO Lecil Cole sold 2.1K shares of common stock on January 10th. The total transaction size was $174K.

19:21 EST Goosehead Insurance CEO sells 20.7K shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, Goosehead Insurance disclosed that its CEO Mark Jones sold 20.7K shares of common stock on January 14th. The total transaction size was $917.5K.

19:01 EST KKR increases commitment to KKR India Financial Services - KKR announced that it has committed to invest an additional $150M in KKR India Financial Services, KKR's alternative credit business in India. The new capital will bolster KIFS' position in India's structured credit space and will enable the company to continue to partner with Indian borrowers with long-term capital needs. KIFS provides Indian businesses with financing solutions, as well as alternative asset management and capital market strategies, and is supported by a deep local presence and KKR's international investment expertise. KIFS has deployed more than $5B of Indian credit investments over the past decade across more than 150 deals. The company seeks to be an integral part of India's financial system and to maintain long-term relationships with banks and mutual funds in India, it said.

18:45 EST Trump says Apple should 'step up' and unlock 'phones used by killers' - U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted, "We are helping Apple all of the time on TRADE and so many other issues, and yet they refuse to unlock phones used by killers, drug dealers and other violent criminal elements. They will have to step up to the plate and help our great Country, NOW! MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN." The tweet follows a request by Attorney General William Barr to unlock two iPhones used by the gunman responsible for a deadly shooting last month at a naval air station in Pensacola, Florida, according to the New York Times. The Times noted that Apple has given investigators materials from the gunman's iCloud account, but has refused to help the FBI open the phones. Reference Link

18:26 EST DexCom CEO: We're giving patients what they want - In an interview on CNBC's Mad Money, DexCom CEO Kevin Sayer said, "Our foreign growth will be faster than our domestic growth this year. We're not close to saturation with diabetes products. Type 2 diabetes is not as easy to diagnose anymore." Sayer noted a shift in the company's marketing strategy and stated, "We started as physician-oriented, but made a conscious decision to go consumer. We're giving patients what they want - we're making things simpler." When discussing the company's server problem during Thanksgiving, Sayer said, "We have taken steps to enusre the app outage doesn't occur again. When our servers went down, we realized how big our responsibility is."

17:42 EST Google to acquire Pointy, terms not disclosed - Google announced in a blog post that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Pointy, a company based in Dublin, Ireland that has helped thousands of local retailers bring their product inventory online. The deal is subject to customary closing conditions, and is expected to close in the coming weeks. Reference Link

17:14 EST First Busey boosts quarterly dividend by 4.8% to 22c per share - On January 14, the board of directors of First Busey declared a quarterly cash dividend of 22c per share on the company's common stock, which represents an increase of approximately 4.8% from the previous quarterly dividend of 21c per share. The dividend will be paid on January 31 to shareholders of record as of January 24.

17:08 EST Eldorado Gold sees FY19 production 395,331 ounces of gold - Eldorado Gold announced the Company's Q4 and FY19 preliminary production results. The Company will provide its FY20 guidance in conjunction with its 2019 Year End Results at the end of February. Preliminary production of 395,331 ounces of gold met the Company's annual consolidated production guidance. Preliminary production for the Q4 was 118,955 ounces of gold. Gold recovery at Kisladag met the Company's expectations in 2019. However, production at Kisladag was slightly less than guidance as crushing and stacking were slower to ramp up and solution flows through the leach pad took longer than expected. Solution flows picked up significantly in the month of December. The Company will complete an updated NI 43-101 technical report on Kisladag prior to the end of the Q1. This report will be based on heap leaching with a longer leach cycle supported by 2019 metallurgical test work.

17:01 EST Jumei retains Houlihan Lokey as financial advisor - Jumei International announced that the special committee of the company's board has retained Houlihan Lokey as its financial advisor in connection with its review and evaluation of the previously announced preliminary non-binding "going private" proposal letter that the company's board of directors received on January 11, 2020. The Special Committee is continuing its evaluation of the proposed "going private" transaction.

16:49 EST Google Cloud acquires 'intelligent no-code platform' AppSheet - "Today, I'm pleased to announce that AppSheet has been acquired by Google and will be joining the Google Cloud team. Before I explain why this is the right step, I want to be very clear that our customer-centric focus will not change. We have built relationships with you, in some cases over many years. I know many of you personally. We value these relationships deeply and we will continue to invest in, and broaden our relationships with you. With that said, I would like to share the most important details: The AppSheet services you use will continue. In fact, they will grow and expand once we integrate deeper with Google Cloud. Our team is joining Google Cloud and will continue to run our service. We will continue to support customers-new and existing. AppSheet will continue to work cross-platform. While we have always integrated deeply with G Suite and Google Cloud data sources, we will continue to support and improve our integrations with other cloud-hosted data sources like Office 365, Salesforce, Box, Dropbox, and databases hosted in other clouds. And while the majority of our mobile app users run on Android, we will continue to support and improve the way our apps run on iOS and on web browsers," said AppSheet in a statement earlier. Reference Link

16:43 EST Tocqueville reports 16.1% passive stake in International Tower Hill Mines - Tocqueville Asset Management disclosed a 16.1% stake in International Tower Hill Mines, which represents 30.1M shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

16:38 EST Tocqueville Asset Management reports 5.11% passive stake in Electromed - Tocqueville Asset Management disclosed a 5.11% stake in Electromed, which represents 432K shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

16:35 EST Heska trading resumes

16:32 EST Tallgrass Energy CFO Brauchle to resign, Watkins named next CFO - Tallgrass Energy announced that Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Gary J. Brauchle has informed the Board of Directors of the general partner of his intent to resign as Chief Financial Officer on February 14, 2020. The Board has appointed Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer, Gary D. Watkins, as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, also effective February 14, 2020. Watkins will retain his current role as Chief Accounting Officer. At the request of the Board, Brauchle intends to remain with Tallgrass in a non-executive capacity through 2020 to ensure leadership continuity and a seamless transition. Watkins has served as the Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer of TGE's general partner from February 2015 until March 2019, and as Senior Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer of TGE's general partner from March 2019 until his appointment as Chief Financial Officer.

16:31 EST Allied Esports Entertainment gets $5M investment by Brookfield Property Partners - Allied Esports Entertainment (ESE) announced that Brookfield Property Partners (BPY) will become a shareholder of the company through a $5 million equity investment. Per the agreement and strategic alliance, Brookfield Properties, the global real estate operating arm of Brookfield Asset Management, will bring Allied Esports' new on-mall esports venue concept to its existing retail destinations. The two companies will collaborate on the development of dedicated esports venues and gaming experiences that will be designed for tournament play of all levels, with PCs and consoles available for daily use, complete broadcast and streaming production capabilities, full food and beverage options, and experiential retail.

16:30 EST Kaiser Aluminum increases quarterly dividend 12% - Kaiser Aluminum Corporation announced that its board has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 67c per share representing a 12% increase over the prior quarter's dividend. The dividend will be payable on February 14 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on January 24.

16:17 EST CNO Financial announces new operating model, sees Q4 pre-tax charge of $14M - CNO Financial announced a new operating model that realigns the company from three operating business segments into two divisions-Consumer and Worksite. The new structure will create a leaner, more integrated, customer-centric organization that better positions CNO Financial for long-term success and shareholder value creation. The initiatives are expected to reduce gross annual run-rate spending by approximately $22M by the end of 2020. The company is expected to incur a pre-tax charge of approximately $14M in 4Q19, mainly attributed to severance and the previously announced IT restructuring. The charge will be classified as a non-operating expense. CNO plans to invest approximately $11M of the annual run-rate savings to support various technology and growth initiatives. These investments, which are largely outsourced services and new positions, will enable increased digital functionality and enhanced customer service, while also avoiding various future costs.

16:16 EST Express initiates restructuring, says 10% of jobs in Columbus, New York impacted - Express announced a restructuring of its corporate workforce to align its organization with the company's go-forward strategy. "When I joined Express, I outlined three priorities: changing the trajectory of the business, developing a corporate strategy, and putting the right team in place," said Tim Baxter, Chief Executive Officer. "We have spent the past six months developing a strategy with the intent to return Express to long-term growth and a mid-single digit operating margin. Today we took the necessary steps to put the right organization in place to support that strategy. I would like to personally thank all of the impacted associates for their contributions to Express." The restructure impacts approximately 10% of the positions in the company's Columbus, Ohio headquarters and its design studio in New York City. In addition, the field leadership team is also being reorganized to ensure the stores are operating in the most efficient manner while enhancing the level of service offered to Express customers. The company is providing impacted associates with severance pay and benefits continuation.

16:10 EST Covetrus to sell scil animall care to Heska for $125M - Covetrus (CVET) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its scil animal care business to Heska Corporation (HSKA) for a purchase price of $125M in cash, subject to customary closing adjustments. The transaction is expected to close in the next 60 to 90 days, subject to customary closing conditions. Covetrus expects that net cash proceeds from the transaction, after taxes and deal-related fees, will help to reduce its net debt and to improve its leverage position. The proceeds may also be used for other general corporate purposes. The definitive agreement also includes a commercial relationship between Covetrus and Heska tied to ongoing logistics support for Heska's family of diagnostic products as well as connectivity between the Covetrus Global Technology Solutions practice information management software systems and Heska's laboratory and imaging solutions.

16:07 EST Heska to acquire scil animal care from Covetrus for $125M in cash - Heska announced that the company has entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of the capital stock of scil animal care company GmbH from Covetrus (CVET). Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Germany with operations in France, Italy, Spain and Canada, scil has grown into a veterinary point of care laboratory and imaging diagnostics leader, serving pets and their families across Europe and the globe. Heska will purchase scil for $125M in cash, subject to working capital and other adjustments as set forth in the Agreement. The Acquisition is expected to close in the next 60 to 90 days, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of closing conditions set forth in the Agreement, including the receipt by Heska of audited financial statements of scil for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2019 and other customary closing conditions. The acquisition is not subject to any financing condition.

16:06 EST Kelly Services acquires Insight, terms not disclosed - Kelly Services announced the acquisition of Insight, an education service staffing company with experience in partnering with school districts in Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The acquisition further expands Kelly's leadership position in the education workforce solutions industry. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

16:05 EST Organigram rises 20% after Q1 results - Shares of Organigram are up 20% or 43c at $2.59 per share after Q1 results.

16:00 EST Heska trading halted, news pending

14:46 EST Comcast launches sports technology startup accelerator SportsTech - Comcast NBCUniversal announced the launch of SportsTech, a global accelerator for sports technology startups. SportsTech will feature a partnership of three of Comcast NBCUniversal's sports brands - NBC Sports, Sky Sports and Golf Channel - alongside NASCAR and two US Olympic sports organizations: U.S. Ski & Snowboard and USA Swimming. Comcast Ventures, the company's San Francisco-based venture capital arm, will round out the partnership. Each partner will serve on an advisory committee that influences the innovation priorities of SportsTech, and each will provide startups with direct access to strategic industry relationships, mentorship, and partnership opportunities. Early stage startups from around the world are encouraged to apply for the inaugural class, which will begin in August.

14:23 EST Raytheon selected to advance FAA's air traffic terminal automation system - Raytheon Company was selected by the Federal Aviation Administration to improve the usability and reduce operational costs for the Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System. The modernization of STARS is critical to ensuring the national airspace continues to stay safe. "We want air traffic controllers to have the best tools available to manage the increasingly complex airspace around our airports," said Dave Wajsgras, president of Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services. STARS is used by air traffic controllers across the U.S. to provide safe and efficient aircraft spacing and sequencing guidance for more than 40,000 departing and arriving aircraft daily at more than 600 civilian and military airports.

14:16 EST Pinterest jumps after eMarketer says it surpassed Snapchat in users - Shares of Pinterest (PINS) are on the rise on Tuesday after a report by eMarketer said it has surpassed Snapchat (SNAP) to become the third-biggest social media platform in the U.S. The publication also sees the momentum continuing for years ahead. THIRD-BIGGEST SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM: Pinterest surpassed Snapchat as the third-biggest social media platform in the U.S. in 2019, and it will continue to stay ahead in the coming years, eMarketer's Amy He wrote, citing the publication's latest social user estimates. With 82.4M users, the visual platform surpassed the messaging app in 2019, after a successful year and IPO in April, she added, noting that Pinterest saw 9.1% growth last year. In 2020, Pinterest will have 86.0M users, compared with Snapchat's 83.1M, with the gap between the two platforms' user bases continuing to grow through the end of eMarketer's forecasting period in 2023. Additionally, the report highlighted that Pinterest's users are more evenly represented across all age groups as a percentage of the general population, while Snapchat's are much more skewed in the younger age groups. PRICE ACTION: In afternoon trading, shares of Pinterest have gained over 9% to $21.40.

13:47 EST Copart director Thomas Tryforos sells almost $13M in company shares - Copart director Thomas Tryforos disclosed in a filing that he had sold 131,467 shares of company stock at an average price of $95.64 per share between January 10 and January 13. The total transaction value of the sale was $12,573,872.

12:57 EST Phio Pharmaceuticals announces 1-for-55 reverse stock split - Phio Pharmaceuticals announced that the company's Board of Directors has approved a reverse stock split of its shares of common stock at a ratio of 1-for-55. The reverse stock split will become effective at 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on January 15, 2020 and the company's common stock will open for trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market on a post-split basis on January 15, 2020 under the company's existing trading symbol, "PHIO." At the company's Special Stockholder Meeting held on January 10, 2020, Phio's stockholders approved a reverse stock split within a range of 1-for-2 and 1-for-70. Thereafter, the Board of Directors determined to fix the ratio for the reverse stock split at 1-for-55. The reverse stock split is being implemented to increase the per share trading price of the company's common stock for the purpose of ensuring a share price high enough to comply with the minimum $1.00 bid price requirement for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market.

12:33 EST Manulife announces $30M redevelopment of Manulife Place - Manulife Investment Management announced plans for a $30M redevelopment of Manulife Place, its landmark 36-storey office and retail tower in the heart of Edmonton's downtown core. Construction will commence in mid-2020.

12:24 EST Citi CEO Corbat says still hopes to break top 5 in equities trading

12:18 EST PDC Energy completes merger with SRC Energy - PDC Energy (PDCE) announced that it has completed its acquisition of SRC Energy (SRCI). The merger was previously approved by PDC stockholders and SRC shareholders at special meetings held on January 13. Bart Brookman, CEO of PDC stated "Today is a pivotal day for PDC as we have completed the merger of these two companies, both of which are grounded in strong core values and a shared commitment to responsible and safe operations. This merger will give the combined company incredible financial strength and flexibility, highlighted by low leverage and an industry-leading cost structure, as well as a business plan capable of delivering sustainable free cash flow to return significant capital to shareholders."

12:12 EST Citi CEO says investment banking backlog looks 'pretty good'

12:03 EST Verizon Media launches privacy-focused search engine, OneSearch - "Verizon Media announced the launch of OneSearch, a new consumer search experience with enhanced privacy features. Available for free today on desktop and mobile web at www.onesearch.com, OneSearch doesn't track, store, or share personal or search data with advertisers, giving users greater control of their personal information in a search context. Businesses with an interest in security can partner with Verizon Media to integrate OneSearch into their privacy and security products, giving their customers another measure of control," said the company in a statement. "We deeply believe in consumer trust and choice, both for our user community and our partners," said Michael Albers, Head of Consumer Product, Verizon Media. "In support of our commitment to trust and transparency, we are excited to launch OneSearch, an innovative new online search experience built for privacy-minded searchers. With it, you can search the internet with increased confidence, knowing your personal and search data isn't being tracked, stored, or shared with advertisers."

12:01 EST Citi now sees ROTCE of 12%-13% for 2020 vs. prior view of 13.5% - Says "comfortable" with delivering fee revenue growth. Sees continued growth in deposits.

12:00 EST OneConnect falls -11.2% - OneConnect is down -11.2%, or -$1.75 to $13.93.

12:00 EST Build-A-Bear rises 12.4% - Build-A-Bear is up 12.4%, or 42c to $3.82.

12:00 EST MagnaChip rises 12.6% - MagnaChip is up 12.6%, or $1.59 to $14.17.

11:55 EST Citi expects to report 'modest' y/y revenue growth in 2020 on a reported basis

11:47 EST Citi says sees card net credit loss rates at high end of targets

11:37 EST Citi CEO says to hold investor day on May 13

11:35 EST American Airlines pushes back Boeing 737 MAX return to service to June 4 - Based on the latest guidance, American Airlines (AAL) said in a statement that it anticipates that the resumption of scheduled commercial service on American's fleet of Boeing (BA) 737 MAX aircraft will occur June 4, 2020. American Airlines remains in continuous contact with the Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Transportation and Boeing. Based on the latest guidance, the airline anticipates that the resumption of scheduled commercial service on American's fleet of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft will occur June 4, 2020. Once the aircraft is certified, American will run flights for American team members and invited guests. American had previously canceled service on the MAX through April 6. Reference Link

11:00 EST Air Industries trading resumes

10:53 EST Delta Air Lines 'clearly been a beneficiary' of Boeing MAX grounding - Comment taken from Delta's Q4 earnings conference call.

10:48 EST Air Industries announces 5 year agreement with potential sales in excess of $60M - Air Industries Group announced that it has received a significant new long-term agreement through its subsidiary Air Industries Machining Corporation. This five-year LTA is for "Thrust Struts," a critical component of the Pratt & Whitney Geared-Turbo-Fan jet engine. The GTF powers the Airbus A-220, the Mitsubishi MRJ, and the Embraer E-2 commercial airliners. Based on the OEM's forecast, the contract could generate potential sales of approximately $61.7M over the five-year term. As is customary with LTA contracts, Air Industries expects to receive sequential firm orders for delivery of product against the Agreement. Lou Melluzzo, CEO of Air Industries, commented: "This Agreement marks a milestone for Air Industries Machining. It is one of the largest single contracts the company has ever received, and from our largest customer. In 2014, AIM developed and engineered the manufacturing processes for this product, and has been producing it for the past five-years. Since the Geared Turbo-Fan engine entered into service, we have produced over 1,200 Thrust Struts. This new contract is a follow-on renewal of the original five-year contract. With production of the GTF accelerating, our customer is forecasting a significant increase in demand over the next five years. We expect to start shipping this product beginning in the second half of this year.:

10:40 EST Delta Air Lines says gets two board seats as result of 20% LATAM investment - Comment taken from Delta's Q4 earnings conference call.

10:34 EST Delta Air Lines expects to repurchase $1B in shares by middle of year - On Delta's Q4 earnings conference call, the company said, "In the December quarter, we returned $225M in share repurchases and $259M in dividends for a total of $3B in 2019. We ended 2019 with $1B remaining on our repurchase authorization, which we expect to complete by the middle of this year."

10:25 EST Wells Fargo CFO sees NII down low- to mid-single digits in 2020 - Sees lower mortgage originations in Q1.

10:22 EST Delta Air Lines sees March quarter fuel price of $2.00-$2.20

10:18 EST Beyond Meat soars after chairman teases plans to enter Chinese market - Shares of Beyond Meat are soaring after its Executive Chairman Seth Goldman told China news agency Xinhua that the company hopes to enter the Chinese mainland market this year. "We haven't announced anything, but we are expected to do something this year," Goldman said Monday on the sidelines of Retail's Big Show 2020, according to Xinhua. Beyond Meat has launched its plant-based burgers and sausages in Canada and European countries, and is looking to build production facilities in other countries and source locally, Goldman added. Shares of Beyond Meat are up 6.5%, or $7.41, to $121.75 in early trading. The stock reached as high as $135.23 in a volatile morning of trade that included a circuit breaker halt. Reference Link

10:13 EST Wells Fargo CEO Scharf: Rate of customer and revenue growth 'too low'

10:13 EST Wells Fargo CEO Scharf says 'well aware' expenses are too high

10:10 EST Wells Fargo CEO Scharf says regulators 'tough, but fair'

10:08 EST Wells Fargo CEO Scharf says bank is 'well into search for new general counsel'

10:06 EST CTG confirmed receipt of unsolicited proposal from AGS for $7.00 per share - CTG confirmed that it has received a new unsolicited proposal from Assurance Global Services LLC to acquire the Company for $7.00 per share in cash. Consistent with its fiduciary duties, CTG's Board of Directors, in consultation with its advisors, will carefully review and evaluate the new proposal in the context of CTG's strategic plan to determine the course of action that it believes is in the best interests of the Company and its stakeholders. CTG advises its shareholders to take no action at this time pending completion of the review of the proposal by CTG's Board. Members of CTG's Board and senior management team have held a number of discussions with AGS over the past several months to better understand their views. The company said, "CTG's Board and management team have continued to successfully execute a strategic plan to bolster profitable growth by transforming CTG to a more solutions-centric, higher-margin business. CTG's Board is confident in the significant opportunities ahead and management's ability to drive substantial additional value for the Company's shareholders. CTG looks forward to presenting its 2019 fourth quarter and full year results, and outlook for 2020 in the coming weeks."

10:04 EST Comerica CMO Jim Weber to assume expanded role of chief experience officer - Comerica Bank has announced that Jim Weber, EVP, CMO will assume the expanded role of CXO for the organization. In this newly created position, Weber will be responsible for establishing and overseeing a dedicated Customer Experience Management practice at Comerica, while continuing to direct the company's marketing, communications, and customer data strategy activities. Weber will continue to report to Curt Farmer, Chairman and CEO of Comerica Incorporated and Comerica Bank. As head of the newly-formed CXM office, Weber will lead the development of robust customer insight and customer journey management programs in support of Comerica's relationship-focused sales model. In assuming his new duties, Weber will be joined by Maria Adams, who recently assumed the new role o fSVP & Director of Customer Experience Management. She previously led the Brand Marketing Group within Comerica's Corporate Marketing function.

10:03 EST Wells Fargo CEO Scharf says 'I don't have all the answers yet'

10:02 EST Raytheon, Major Tool & Machine team up on SPY-6 radars - Raytheon Company has signed an exclusive teaming agreement with Major Tool & Machine, Inc. to develop array structures for the U.S. Navy's SPY-6 radar program when it transitions from low-rate initial production to hardware production and sustainment. "Major Tool's array structures will literally serve as the foundation upon which we build the U.S. Navy's most advanced radars," said Paul Ferraro, vice president of Raytheon's Seapower Capability Systems business. "Our team of industry-leading partners is ready to deliver SPY-6's unmatched, multi-mission capability to the surface fleet." AN/SPY-6 remains on schedule for delivery to the first DDG 51 Flight III, the future USS Jack H. Lucas. The first delivery of AN/SPY-6(V)2 to LHA 8, the USS Bougainville, an America Class Amphibious Assault Ship, is on plan for 2021.

10:00 EST Aphria falls -5.8% - Aphria is down -5.8%, or -32c to $5.13.

10:00 EST GameStop falls -10.4% - GameStop is down -10.4%, or -56c to $4.87.

10:00 EST MagnaChip rises 9.9% - MagnaChip is up 9.9%, or $1.24 to $13.82.

09:56 EST Beyond Meat trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:50 EST NantHealth trading resumes

09:47 EST Aphria falls -7.9% - Aphria is down -7.9%, or -43c to $5.02.

09:47 EST U.S. Xpress Enterprises rises 7.4% - U.S. Xpress Enterprises is up 7.4%, or 40c to $5.79.

09:47 EST MagnaChip rises 9.3% - MagnaChip is up 9.3%, or $1.17 to $13.75.

09:38 EST SmileDirectClub jumps on move to sell aligners directly to orthodontists - Shares of SmileDirectClub (SDC) are jumping after the company announced plans to offer its clear aligners to dentists and orthodontists as an in-office option in 2020. With the December 31, 2019 expiration of its exclusive supply agreement with Align Technology (ALGN), SmileDirectClub said it will expand access to its clear aligner therapy solutions and open its network to dentists and orthodontists. Shares of SmileDirectClub are up 17%, or $1.72, to $11.92 in early trading. Align Technology, the maker of Invisalign, are down 4% to $286.52. The once partnered companies will now be in direct competition with one another.

09:30 EST Performance Shipping announces $6M share repurchase program - Performance Shipping announced that its Board of Directors authorized a share repurchase program to purchase up to an aggregate of $6M of the Company's common shares. As of the date hereof, the Company has 49,021,001 issued and outstanding common shares and another 1,500 Series B-2 preferred shares issued and outstanding. The timing and amount of any repurchases will be determined by the Company's management team and will depend on market conditions, capital allocation alternatives, applicable securities laws and other factors. Repurchases of common shares may take place in privately negotiated transactions, in open market transactions pursuant to Rule 10b-18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or pursuant to a trading plan adopted in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Company is not obligated under the terms of the program to repurchase any particular number of its common shares. The Board of Directors' authorization of the repurchase program is effective immediately and expires on December 21, 2020. Common shares repurchased as part of this program will be cancelled by the Company.

09:26 EST Air Industries trading halted, news pending

09:26 EST ImageWare finalizes $1.2M in multiple deals at start of 2020 - ImageWare Systems finalized multiple imminent deals at the beginning of 2020. The new agreements include credit unions and a biometric-centric project for a foreign government agency. Total amount of new contracts is approximately $1.2M. Each of the orders will be delivered in the first quarter of 2020.

09:22 EST Intevac awarded $8.1M Army contract for night vision goggles - Intevac announced it has received an $8.1M contract award from the U.S. Army for the 24 month development of the Delta I fused digital night vision goggle incorporating advanced augmented reality, or AR, capabilities. The program is in support of a Coalition Warfare Program for the special operations forces of the United States, Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom.

09:18 EST Masimo to acquire Connected Care Assets from NantHealth for $47.25M cash - Masimo (MASI) and NantHealth (NH) announced the signing of a definitive agreement under which Masimo will acquire the Connected Care assets from NantHealth for a $47.25M upfront cash payment. NantHealth's Connected Care solutions provide medical device interoperability to hospitals and health systems. The portfolio includes DCX device connectivity, VCX patient vitals software, HBox connectivity hub and Shuttle interface cable. The transaction is expected to close in Q1, subject to customary closing conditions. Masimo expects to fund the acquisition with existing cash on hand. The estimated financial impact of the transaction is included in Masimo's FY20 financial guidance.

09:11 EST Denali Therapeutics expects data readout from DNL151 Phase 1b trial in mid-2020 - The DNL151 Phase 1b clinical trial is a 28-day, multicenter, randomized, placebo controlled, double-blind Phase 1b clinical trial in patients with mild-to-moderate Parkinson's disease. Its purpose is to evaluate safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, including target and pathway engagement biomarkers as well as certain exploratory clinical endpoints, after multiple oral doses of DNL151. To date, 25 patients have been enrolled in the study, and the protocol has been amended to expand the study with up to 10 additional patients. Final data readout from this trial is expected to be presented in mid-2020.

09:11 EST Denali Therapeutics submits CTA for DNL-343 for ALS treatment - Denali submitted a CTA in early December 2019 for DNL343, a small molecule brain-penetrant activator of EIF2B. Mutations in EIF2B are genetically linked to neurodegenerative diseases. Activation of EIF2B with DNL343 is expected to restore protein synthesis and reduce formation of stress granules, which are commonly associated with disease pathology in ALS and Alzheimer's disease. The CTA cleared in January 2020, and Denali plans to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial for DNL343 in healthy volunteers.

09:08 EST Denali Therapeutics announces results of Phase 1b trial of DNL201 - Phase 1b results with DNL201 in patients with Parkinson's disease met all biomarker goals by demonstrating greater than 50 percent inhibition of pS935 LRRK2 and pRAB10 in blood for both doses tested and improvement of the lysosomal biomarker BMP by 20 percent and 60 percent in urine at the low and high dose, respectively. DNL201 was generally well tolerated at the low dose and the majority of subjects experienced either no or mild adverse events. There was one SAE considered unrelated to drug. At the high dose, the majority of subjects experienced either mild or moderate AEs and there was one severe AE leading to dose reduction and one study withdrawal. All treatment-related AEs were manageable and reversible. Phase 1 results with DNL151 in more than 150 healthy volunteers also met all safety and biomarker goals. DNL151 was generally safe and well tolerated at all doses tested, and the majority of subjects experienced either no or mild AEs. Target and pathway engagement of greater than 50 percent and a dose-dependent reduction of BMP in urine of up to 50 percent were observed at clinically relevant doses. Given these positive data, the DNL151 Phase 1 and Phase 1b clinical trials have been expanded to study higher doses. Denali intends to select either DNL201 or DNL151 in mid-2020 to advance into Phase 2/3 clinical trials in patients with Parkinson's disease.

09:07 EST Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: Adaptimmune (ADAP), up 37% after Astellas Pharma (ALPMY), through its wholly-owned subsidiary Universal Cells, and the company, announced that they have entered into a co-development and co-commercialization agreement to bring new stem-cell derived allogeneic T-cell therapies to people with cancer. Astellas and Adaptimmune will agree on up to three targets and co-develop T-cell therapy candidates directed to those targets. Adaptimmune may receive up to $897.5M in payments... Tesla (TSLA), up 3% after Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois raised his price target for the stock to $600 from $400 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. It would be wrong to exit Tesla on valuation, Houchois tells investors in a research note... Aecom (ACM), up 4% after Bloomberg reports Canadian engineering services firm WSP has approached the company over a potential deal... RTI Surgical (RTIX), up 99% after after selling is OEM business for $490M to Montagu Private Equity and issuing Q4/FY19 guidance. UP AFTER EARNINGS: Delta Air Lines (DAL), up 3%. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Wells Fargo (WFC), down 3%... ALSO LOWER: Boston Scientific (BSX), down 5% after reporting preliminary Q4 results... NantKwest (NK), down 2% after reporting results from NK Cells trial which included a compassionate use expanded access IND combining the PD-L1-targeted NK cell with ImmunityBio's IL-15 fusion protein. After five infusions of PD-L1.t-haNK and N-803, the patient's tumor metastasis resolved completely per CT/Pet scan and the complete response has been confirmed by a repeat CT/Pet scan... GameStop (GME), down 13% after reporting holiday sales declined 27% and cutting FY19 same-store sales guidance... Freeport McMoRan (FCX), down 1% after Credit Suisse analyst Curt Woodworth downgraded shares to Underperform from Neutral with a price target of $10, down from $11.

09:06 EST Mirum Pharmaceuticals promotes Ian Clements to CFO - Mirum Pharmaceuticals (MIRM) announced the promotion of Ian Clements to CFO. Clements joined Mirum in March 2019 and most recently served as senior VP, finance and communications. Prior to joining Mirum, Clements served as VP of investor relations at Dermira (DERM).

09:04 EST MGM Resorts: JV to be owned 50.1% by MGP, 49.9% by BREIT - MGM (MGM) says that the previously completed Bellagio and Circus Circus Las Vegas transactions provided significant proceeds for deleveraging and the continued execution of the company's 2020 initiatives are expected to further support improvements to the company's balance sheet. The company remains confident in achieving its previously stated net domestic financial leverage target, excluding MGP, of approximately 1x by end of 2020. The company anticipates that a substantial portion of proceeds from this transaction, along with near-term cash proceeds from the operating partnership unit redemptions, will be used to return capital to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends. The company intends to provide a more specific update on its capital allocation plan in connection with its earnings release for the fourth quarter of 2019. The Joint Venture, which will be owned 50.1% by MGP (MGP) and 49.9% by BREIT (BX), will also acquire the real estate assets of Mandalay Bay from MGP and will lease both properties to MGM Resorts for an initial rent of $292M. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020, subject to certain closing conditions.

09:03 EST G1 Therapeutics, Quantum Leap Healthcare announce collaboration - Quantum Leap Healthcare Collaborative and G1 Therapeutics announced a collaboration to evaluate trilaciclib, an investigational therapy designed to improve outcomes for people with cancer treated with chemotherapy, in a new randomized, investigational treatment arm for the ongoing I-SPY 2 TRIAL for neoadjuvant treatment of locally advanced breast cancer.

09:02 EST Rafael Pharmaceuticals crosses halfway enrollment point in Phase 3 trial - Rafael Pharmaceuticals announced that it has reached an enrollment milestone of more than 250 patients in its pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial for metastatic pancreatic cancer, which is evaluating the efficacy and safety of Rafael's lead compound CPI-613 in combination with modified FOLFIRINOX as first-line therapy. This significant milestone comes ahead of schedule, halfway to enrolling the total goal of 500 patients. The global study is still open for patient enrollment in sites across the United States, Israel, South Korea and France with plans to begin enrolling in other regions of Europe including Germany, Italy, and Belgium in early 2020.

08:55 EST NantHealth trading halted, news pending

08:48 EST JPMorgan CFO says currently sees FY20 NII 'flat to slightly down'

08:46 EST JPMorgan CFO says 2019 was a year of 'record' financial performance -

08:45 EST Inuvo expands IntentKey services, marketing budget with national auto insurer - Inuvo announced that it is expanding the breadth of IntentKey services being offered to a national auto insurer as a result of increasingly strong performance. The client relationship with this national auto insurer began by statistically testing the performance of the IntentKey. The challenge was to demonstrate that the IntentKey could add incremental value over a Public Service Announcement which acted as the control campaign in the test.

08:42 EST Capitala Group announces investment in J5 Infrastructure Partners - Capitala Group announced its recent investment of senior secured debt in J5 Infrastructure Partners, a portfolio company of Ridgemont Equity Partners. J5 performs site acquisition, leasing, permitting, zoning, structural engineering, utility coordination and equipment installation services directly to all four of the top wireless carriers in the U.S. as well as tower and other infrastructure owners and state and local governments.

08:39 EST Alexion announces planned initiation of Phase 3 Ultomiris study in ALS - Alexion announced the planned initiation of a pivotal Phase 3 study of Ultomiris in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. The 50-week global study, called CHAMPION-ALS, will evaluate approximately 350 adults across a broad patient population, and the primary endpoint will be change in ALS functional rating scale-revised, or ALSFRS-R, score. Alexion submitted an investigational new drug application for Ultomiris in ALS to the FDA in Q4 of 2019 and plans to initiate the Phase 3 study this quarter.

08:36 EST New York Times surpasses $800M in annual digital revenue - New York Times passed its goal of $800M of annual digital revenue a year ahead of schedule. In 2015, when digital revenue was around $400M, The Times set itself the objective of doubling this category of revenue by the end of 2020. The company added more than 1M net digital subscriptions last year. This is the highest annual run-rate since the launch of the digital model in 2011, the largest number of net subscription additions in a year in the history of company. The New York Times now has more than 5M total subscriptions, also an all-time record for the company. The total includes 3.4M core news subscriptions, more than 300,000 to NYT Cooking and 600,000 to NYT Crossword, as well as nearly 900,000 print subscriptions.

08:36 EST Perrigo CEO says Q3 'strong,' Q4 'outstanding' - Perrigo CEO and President Murray Kessler will highlight the progress of the company's transformation into a consumer self-care company and discuss certain financial metrics for recently completed periods at the 38th Annual J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. Kessler commented, "We are pleased to see the business responding to our transformation efforts. While we have only completed the first year of our 2 to 3-year transformation journey, the revenue growth we have seen in the second half indicates that we are on the right track. The third quarter was strong. The fourth quarter was outstanding. All business segments delivered stellar fourth quarter net sales results with strong organic growth. The Consumer Self-Care Americas segment achieved reported net sales growth of more than 15% in the quarter versus prior year, with adjusted organic net sales higher by 11%, led by strong performances in both the OTC and infant nutrition businesses. Fourth quarter reported net sales in the Consumer Self-Care International segment increased 8%, with 4% adjusted organic net sales growth. Rx had a nice quarter as well, growing fourth quarter reported net sales by 3% versus last year. Second half results support our belief that the company will exceed its long-term revenue target of 3% growth in the coming year."

08:34 EST Marrone Bio announces approval of Stargus biofungicide in California - Marrone Bio Innovations announced that its novel, patented Bacillus biofungicide, Stargus, has been fully reviewed by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation and approved for immediate use by growers in California on several crops, including grapes, leafy greens, brassicas, strawberries, cucurbits and fruiting vegetables. The approval of Stargus in California marks an important milestone in providing innovative solutions for growers across the United States. Stargus has already been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and is registered for use in all 50 states, Washington DC, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Canada. Marrone Bio is currently in the process of registering the product in several other countries internationally as well.

08:31 EST VBI Vaccines regains compliance with Nasdaq requirement - VBI Vaccines announced that it received notice from the Listing Qualifications Office of Nasdaq, indicating that the company has regained compliance with the minimum bid price requirement under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550 and the matter is now closed. The company had previously been notified by Nasdaq on August 14, 2019 that the company's closing bid price per share had been below $1.00 for a period of 30 consecutive business days and that the company did not meet the minimum price bid requirement under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550. According to the notification letter, the company had 180 days to regain compliance by meeting or exceeding the minimum bid price for a period of at least 10 consecutive trading days.

08:31 EST Insilico Medicine enters research collaboration with Pfizer - Insilico Medicine is pleased to announce that it has entered into a research collaboration with Pfizer to utilize Insilico's machine learning technology and proprietary Pandomics Discovery Platform with the aim of identifying real-world evidence for potential therapeutic targets implicated in a variety of diseases.

08:23 EST NantKwest provides results of NK cells trial, complete response in first patient - NantKwest announced results from their Phase 1 trial investigating a novel, first-in-human immunotherapy consisting of NantKwest's off-the-shelf, PD-L1 tumor-targeted NK cells. In addition, NantKwest and ImmunityBio, a privately held immunotherapy company, reported on a compassionate use expanded access IND combining the PD-L1-targeted NK cell with ImmunityBio's IL-15 fusion protein in a patient with metastatic pancreatic cancer who had relapsed after prior standard of care therapy. The FDA authorized the first-in-human safety studies of PD-L1.t-haNK at doses of two billion cells administered bi-weekly as outpatients. No dose limiting or treatment-related events were noted in patients treated to date in this first dosing cohort. The study is now enrolling the dose cohort of four billion cells per infusion. The findings on the Phase 1 safety and early signals of efficacy were reported by Patrick Soon-Shiong, CEO of NantKwest, at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco. An expanded access regimen incorporating N-803 with PD-L1.t-haNK was authorized to treat a patient with metastatic pancreatic cancer who had failed standard of care, based on the safety and efficacy data of the Phase 1 trial in 11 patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer who had received haNK and N-803. After five infusions of PD-L1.t-haNK and N-803, the patient's tumor metastasis resolved completely per CT/Pet scan and the complete response has been confirmed by a repeat CT/Pet scan. Patient continues to receive ongoing treatment. "We hypothesize that a common treatment protocol that harnesses both the natural-killer cell and the T cells could be effective in treating cancer across multiple tumor types. This has been supported by the early signals of safety and efficacy in Phase 1 and 2 studies of NantKwest's natural killer cells in advanced cancers. We recently reported at the 2019 Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer conference (SITC) complete responses in third-line Merkel cell carcinoma and fourth-line head and neck cancers when haNK CD-16 NK cells combined with Pfizer's PD-L1 antibody, Avelumab, and with ImmunityBio's N-803, an IL-15 superagonist were administered," said Soon-Shiong. "Most recently we reported complete responses using combination therapies which included haNK, Avelumab and N-803 in Triple Negative Breast Cancer. Durable complete responses were observed in these patients who had failed all standards of care therapy for breast cancer. The results were presented at the 2019 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS) in December 2019."

08:18 EST First Republic reports Q4 tangible book value per share $50.24 - Reports Q1 CET1 capital ratio 9.86%. Reports Q4 net charge-offs $4.6M, or less than one basis point of average loans.

08:16 EST SmileDirectClub plans to offer clear aligners through wholesale channel - SmileDirectClub announced plans to offer its clear aligners through the wholesale channel, providing dentists and orthodontists an in-office option in 2020. With the December 31, 2019 expiration of its exclusive supply agreement with Align Technology, Inc., SmileDirectClub will expand access to its clear aligner therapy solutions and open its network to dentists and orthodontists in search of a premium and affordable teeth straightening solution for their patients. SmileDirectClub will support this new distribution channel through its existing clear aligner manufacturing operation in Antioch, Tenn., which is the largest 3D printing facility in the United States. The company recently announced that it will add a second manufacturing facility located in Kyle, Texas in 2020 to meet increased demand for its products.

08:14 EST Vonage parners with the University of Pennsylvania - Vonage has partnered with the University of Pennsylvania's Information Systems & Computing Department, or ISC, to power communications for more than 14,000 faculty and staff on its main campus in Philadelphia, PA. As a part of its "Next Generation" initiative, ISC selected Vonage's fully integrated unified communications solution for an innovative approach to unifying communications across all departments on its campus. Following an RFP and proof of concept process, ISC chose Vonage as its cloud communications provider with an initial contract of five years and the anticipated rollout will commence in early 2020.

08:13 EST Envision Solar announces repeat order of EV ARC products - Envision Solar International announced that the California Department of Fish and Wildlife has ordered more EV ARC products for use in locations in Sacramento and Ontario, California. The EV ARC units will be delivered this month. The EV ARC units in the current order will be placed in leased office locations.

08:11 EST Super League Gaming announce partnership with Wanda Cinemas Games - Super League Gaming announced a new partnership with Wanda Cinemas Games, a subsidiary of Chinese media conglomerate Wanda Media. The new alliance will initially bring live, competitive gaming experiences to Wanda's 700+ owned and operated theaters in multiple cities across China, with more activations to be announced in the future. With this significant new venture, Super League greatly expands their reach into the world's biggest market of 1.2 billion gamers -- more than the entire population of the United States. In the agreement, Wanda theatres will be transformed into esports venues hosting live Super League events and tournaments throughout China, driving an entirely new gaming experience for the massive Wanda customer base. Now passionate players will see their local movie theatre serve as a competitive and social playing field for the video games they love. The unique gaming experiences created by Super League will propel Wanda venues to the center of the global esports phenomena.

08:11 EST Verso issues statement in responde to Atlas and Wolf - Verso issued a statement in response to litigation from Lapetus Capital II and BW Coated. Highlights included: Verso has pending litigation with Lapetus, which relates to Lapetus's requests for books and records in connection with Lapetus's insurgent director nominations, the merits of which will be addressed by the court - not the press. Disclosure regarding the previously announced Pixelle Transaction, including financial information, background information and other material details of the thorough and comprehensive strategic process the Verso Board undertook, is and has been publicly available in the Company's definitive proxy statement, dated December 27, 2019, as amended or supplemented from time to time. Lapetus has made numerous inaccurate allegations and statements relating to the Pixelle Transaction in an attempt to promote their fictionalized version of fact and law, which we believe is a result of: conflicting agendas, ignorance of public company disclosure and governance requirements, orchestrated attempts to mislead and confuse Verso stockholders, or all of the above. Atlas and Blue Wolf have determined to vote NO on the Pixelle Transaction by abstaining. Lapetus has repeatedly implied that Verso withheld material information because the Company had not publicly filed the Restructuring Agreement or the Pulp Supply Agreement Term Sheet, which Verso was not required by SEC rules and regulations to file. We urge Verso Stockholders to not be fooled by the deceptive practices employed by Lapetus, Atlas and Blue Wolf to confuse you and to deflect attention from their ultimate objective - to control the Company without paying for it.

08:10 EST Citi reports Q4 book value per share $82.90 - Reports Q4 tangible book value per share $70.39. Reports Q4 CET1 capital ratio 11.7%. Reports Q4 SLR 6.2%. Reports Q4 RoTCE 12.1%.

08:08 EST Curaleaf Holdings receives preliminary processing license in Utah - Curaleaf Holdings announced that it has received preliminary approval for a processing license by the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food. The notice grants Curaleaf permission to begin the build out of its processing facility immediately, with final approval of Curaleaf's Tier 1 medical cannabis processing license imminent. This follows the UDAF's recently announced Notice of Intent to Award a medical pharmacy license to Curaleaf.

08:07 EST Foamix says AMZEEQ achieves preferred status of Express Scripts formulary - Foamix Pharmaceuticals announced a coverage update for its novel AMZEEQ topical foam, 4%. AMZEEQ is indicated 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. AMZEEQ is the first topical minocycline to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for any condition. The Company announced that AMZEEQ has achieved preferred coverage effective immediately on the Express Scripts National Preferred, Flex, and Basic commercial formularies. As a preferred medication, AMZEEQ will be available at a lower out-of-pocket cost to the represented Express Scripts plan members compared to acne medications which are non-preferred or excluded. The Company recently announced that the annual list price of AMZEEQ is $485 per 30-gram canister, a lower per unit cost than that of current brand leaders within the acne prescription market. Minocycline, a broad-spectrum antibiotic known for its efficacy in treating moderate to severe acne, has not previously been available as a topical treatment due to its instability in traditional topical formulations. In AMZEEQ, Foamix has leveraged its proprietary Molecule Stabilizing Technology platform to deliver minocycline in a foam-based vehicle that maintains the stability of the active ingredient while delivering it directly on the skin. AMZEEQ was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in October 2019. The Company has previously announced that the product is available in pharmacies nationwide as of January 13th.

08:06 EST Wells Fargo drops 2.3% after Q4 results miss estimates

08:05 EST Wells Fargo's new CEO Scharf says franchise has 'made some serious mistakes' - CEO and President Charlie Scharf said, "Wells Fargo is a wonderful and important franchise that has made some serious mistakes, and my mandate is to make the fundamental changes necessary to regain the full trust and respect of all stakeholders." "During my first three months at Wells Fargo my primary focus has been on advancing our required regulatory work with a different sense of urgency and resolve, while beginning to develop a path to improve our financial results. This work is necessary to build the appropriate foundation for us to move forward. Wells Fargo plays an important role for our country, and we know that ultimately our actions and results will dictate when that trust is fully regained. And while the work is substantial, I am confident that with the appropriate prioritization of resources, processes, and management attention, we can accomplish what is expected of us," Scharf added. "In addition, even in my short time at the company, it is clear that our opportunities to improve our performance are substantial when we finish this work. Our cost structure is too high, and I believe there are many areas where we will be able to increase our rate of growth. While it is too early to put time frames around these goals, we will be diligent in pursuing them and I am confident the opportunities are meaningful," Scharf concluded

08:03 EST ManTech wins $67M award to provide scientific, technical support for SED - ManTech announced that it has been awarded a five-year $67M task order to provide scientific and technical information support for the Systems Engineering Directorate, Marine Corps Systems Command. ManTech was awarded this contract under the Department of Defense Information Analysis Center's Multiple Award Contract. DoD IAC MAC task orders are competitively awarded by the U.S. Air Force Installation Contracting Center for work at various U.S. military organizations. Under this contract, ManTech will support DoD IAC's mission in the areas of Architecture & Interoperability Certification, Competency Management, Developmental Test and Evaluation, Expeditionary Energy Systems, Counter Improvised Explosive Devices, Afloat Command, Control, Communications, and Computers Systems Integration. In addition, ManTech will advance capabilities in Joint and Naval Integration and Transportability, Modeling and Simulation, USMC Systems and Equipment Safety, Systems Engineering, Systems Security, Technology Transition, Knowledge Management, Spectrum Management, Fire Support Systems Integration, and Assured Command and Control Technologies.

08:02 EST BioCardia announces FDA clearance for Morph DNA deflectable guide catheter - BioCardia announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted 510(k) clearance for the Morph DNA deflectable guide catheter used to guide the Helix Biotherapeutic Delivery System during CardiAMP cell therapy delivery in the heart. The Morph DNA deflectable guide catheter is designed to enhance procedural control of therapeutic catheters, such as the Helix system, during delivery of cell therapy. It is intended to provide superior ease of use through bidirectional deflection, reduced torque build up or whip, enhanced fluoroscopic visibility, and improved ergonomics. Helically-arranged pull-wires in the device, resembling the double helix of a DNA strand, increase catheter stability, rendering it virtually whipless around curves and within the heart. The device also features a new handle design with an adjustable brake for finer catheter control during procedures.

08:00 EST National health plan selects Inovalon's cloud-based pharmacy platform - Inovalon announced a seven-year engagement with one of the nation's largest pharmacies to provide cloud-based capabilities nationwide with the implementation of Inovalon's Platform. Under the engagement, one of the nation's top 10 specialty pharmacies will implement ScriptMed Cloud, the industry's most advanced pharmacy platform to support its national operations including advanced patient care, clinical decision support, pharmacy practice management, billing and reimbursement services, distribution, and robust business and clinical analytics.

07:51 EST Adaptimmune, Astellas enter agreement to co-develop allogeneic T-cell therapies - Astellas Pharma (ALPMY) through its wholly-owned subsidiary Universal Cells, Inc, and Adaptimmune Therapeutics (ADAP), announced that they have entered into a co-development and co-commercialization agreement to bring new stem-cell derived allogeneic T-cell therapies to people with cancer. Astellas and Adaptimmune will agree on up to three targets and co-develop T-cell therapy candidates directed to those targets. These targets will exclude target specific T-cell products in pre-clinical or clinical trials or those developed for other partners at Adaptimmune. The collaboration will leverage Adaptimmune's target identification and validation capabilities for generating target-specific T-cell Receptors, chimeric antigen receptors, and HLA-independent TCRs that recognize surface epitopes independently of the HLA profile of the tumor cell. The collaboration will also utilize Astellas' Universal Donor Cell and Gene Editing Platform it obtained through the acquisition of Seattle-based Universal Cells. Adaptimmune has been collaborating with Universal Cells since 2015 on development of gene-edited iPSC cell lines, for which Adaptimmune has rights to develop and commercialize resulting T-cell therapy products using its proprietary process for generating T-cells from stem cells without the use of feeder cell lines. Astellas will fund research up until completion of a Phase 1 trial for each candidate. Upon completion of the Phase 1 trial for each candidate, Astellas and Adaptimmune will elect whether to progress with co-development and co-commercialization of the candidate, or to allow the other Party to pursue the candidate independently through a milestone and royalty bearing licence, with the agreement allowing for either company to opt out. The companies will each have a co-exclusive licence covering the co-development and co-commercialization of the product candidates within the field of T-cell therapy. If a candidate is developed by one company only, the appropriate licences will become exclusive to the continuing party. Astellas will also have the right to select two targets and develop allogeneic cell therapy candidates independently. Astellas will have sole rights to develop and commercialize these products, subject to necessary licenses and the payment of milestones and royalties. Under the terms of the agreement, Adaptimmune may receive up to $897.5M in payments, including: an upfront payment of $50M. development milestones totalling up to $73.75M for each product if the collaboration product discovered in this partnership is co-developed and commercialized by both companies. Up to $147.5M in milestone payments per product and up to $110M in sales milestones for products developed unilaterally by Astellas. In addition, Adaptimmune will receive research funding of up to $7.5M per year. Finally, Adaptimmune would receive tiered royalties on net sales in the mid-single to mid-teen digits. Under the terms of the agreement, Astellas may receive up to $552.5M, including: Up to $147.5M in milestone payments per product and up to $110M in sales milestones for products developed unilaterally by Adaptimmune. In addition, Astellas would receive tiered royalties on net sales in the mid-single to mid-teen digits. To the extent that Astellas and Adaptimmune co-develop and co-commercialize any T-cell therapy, they will equally share the costs of such co-development and co-commercialization, with the resulting profits from co-commercialization also shared equally.

07:42 EST IBM and Broadridge announce agreement - Broadridge Financial Solutions (BR) and IBM Services (IBM) announced an agreement to bring new cloud-based solutions to Broadridge's clients in the financial services industry. As part of this strategic collaboration, Broadridge will create The Broadridge Private CloudTM powered by IBM and will transition a significant portion of its global infrastructure to IBM. This key milestone in its cloud strategy will enable Broadridge to better provide powerful industry solutions to leading financial institutions around the world, with improved speed to market, flexibility, and resiliency.

07:36 EST Eagle Bulk Shipping joins Getting to Zero Coalition - Eagle Bulk Shipping announced that it has joined the Getting to Zero Coalition, an alliance of 90+ companies within the maritime, energy, infrastructure, and finance sectors which are committed to the decarbonization of deep-sea shipping, in line with the International Maritime Organization's greenhouse gas emissions reduction strategy and the UNFCC Paris Agreement.

07:33 EST Nielsen announces two significant hires - Nielsen Holdings (NLSN) announced two significant hires that support Nielsen's plan to create two separate publicly traded companies later in the year. David Rawlinson, President of the Global Online Business at Grainger, will become the CEO of Nielsen's Global Connect business. Linda Zukauckas will join the company as CFO. Both will join effective February 3. David Rawlinson joins from Grainger (GWW), which is the leading broad line supplier of maintenance, repair and operating products serving businesses and institutions. He has significant experience running a digital business-to-business company, as well as a strong international background and a track record of driving growth. He will become the CEO of the newly created public company-currently referred to as Nielsen Global Connect-at the time of the separation. Rawlinson is also currently a member of Nielsen's Board of Directors. Linda Zukauckas has been with American Express (AXP) since 2011, most recently serving as the Executive Vice President and Deputy CFO. At the time of the separation, Linda will remain as CFO of Nielsen's Global Media business

07:27 EST XpresSpa sees FY19 domestic comparable store sales up 4.2% - Doug Satzman, XpresSpa's CEO, stated, "Our preliminary results for domestic comparable store sales demonstrate strong progress in our business turnaround and exemplify our positioning as the health and wellness destination for the modern traveler. During the fourth quarter, we took full advantage of the busy holiday season by servicing our clients with exceptional spa treatments while providing them with a vast array of relevant in-spa products for purchase, including our expanded Calm retail collection and new Persona vitamin products. In fact, domestic comparable store sales for December rose a promising 10.2%, our best month since January 2017. We are thrilled to have opened our fourth spa in Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, where we already have considerable brand awareness and a loyal guest following. As the nation's busiest airport by passengers served, the Atlanta market is strategically important to XpresSpa and we are therefore excited that we can now delight guests with our health and wellness services and exclusive luxury travel products and accessories across spas in Concourses A, C, D, and E. Our portfolio optimization continues as we closed two tertiary spas in JFK International Airport at the end of December which had a negative contribution to our operations. We only have one more low sales volume spa targeted for an out-of-cycle spa closure in spring 2020, which will complete the systematic pruning of underperforming locations that I identified when joining the business almost one year ago. We are also looking to the future and therefore plan to open several spas in 2020 within successful, existing markets along with new markets, particularly internationally, where we already operate some of our most profitable locations. Lastly, we intend to build on what we have already accomplished by extending our comparable store sales momentum, improving four-wall margins and managing G&A through effective cost management at the store and corporate level. We also intend to forge new strategic partnerships with brands that share our commitment to health and wellness and can further monetize our desirable real estate and affluent customer base."

07:25 EST Mereo BioPharma expects Type B End-of-Phase 2 meeting with FDA in 1Q20 - As part of the PRIME pathway, Mereo has discussed the results of the Phase 2b ASTEROID study with the EMA. On the basis of the Phase 2b data, the EMA supports the initiation of the planned pivotal pediatric study in Europe on the basis of the previously approved pediatric investigational plan This is based on a primary endpoint of fracture rate over a 12-month period in approximately 165 children aged 5 to 18 years old. Mereo expects to conduct a Type B End-of-Phase 2 meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in Q1 2020 to discuss the data from the Phase 2b ASTEROID study as well as the proposed pediatric pivotal study design. Mereo intends to announce the outcome of these discussions following the meeting.

07:17 EST Idera Pharmaceuticals expects final results from ILLUMINATE 204 trial in 2Q20 - ILLUMINATE 204 - Phase 1/2 trial of tilsotolimod in combination with ipilimumab or pembrolizumab in patients with anti-PD-1 refractory metastatic melanoma: Completed enrollment with 52 patients at tilsotolimod 8 mg with ipilimumab in February 2019; and final results from the ILLUMINATE 204 trial are expected to be released in Q2 2020; Data to be presented include ORR, median OS, duration of response and safety.

07:15 EST Idera expects preliminary ORR, safety data from ILLUMINATE 206 in 2Q20 - ILLUMINATE 206 - Phase 2, open-label, multi-cohort, multi-center study to test the safety and effectiveness of tilsotolimod in combination with ipilimumab and nivolumab for the treatment of solid tumors: Trial initiated on September 30, 2019, leading with the MSS-CRC cohort; Initial safety run-in cohort of 10 patients with MSS-CRC fully enrolled; and Preliminary objective response rate and safety data from this cohort expected in Q2 2020.

07:13 EST Idera CEO says made 'tremendous progress' for tilsotolimod program in 2019 - "We made tremendous progress last year with the tilsotolimod clinical development program, and we are positioned well going into this pivotal year," stated Vincent Milano, Idera's CEO. "Our ILLUMINATE-301 registrational trial of tilsotolimod in anti-PD-1 refractory metastatic melanoma is enrolling at a rate that dramatically exceeded our expectations. We expect to complete enrollment this quarter, setting up the possibility of data before the end of this year. We believe the rapid enrollment in this randomized trial is a testament to the critical unmet need for this patient group as well as to the growing appreciation from global investigators for both intratumoral administration and the mechanism of action of tilsotolimod. We also will add to the overall body of clinical evidence for tilsotolimod with additional data readouts expected in the second quarter. Final analysis of ILLUMINATE-204 will include median overall survival for the first time, and ILLUMINATE-206 will provide safety and preliminary efficacy in microsatellite-stable colorectal cancer as a triple combination of ipilimumab, nivolumab and tilsotolimod in this immunorefractory indication. Lastly, we recently entered into a financing agreement that provides financial resources for these critical catalysts and beyond. Overall, we are looking forward to 2020 and delivering on the goals we set for patients and our investors when we initiated the development of tilsotolimod."

07:11 EST CB2 Insights selected by Vireo Health to support medical cannabis trial - CB2 Insights (CBIIF) announced it has partnered with Licensed Producer, Vireo Health International Inc. (VREOF), to advance the proof of safety and efficacy for cannabinoid therapy as it relates to metered-dosing for patients with ailments in which cannabis-based medicine is believed to support. CB2 will oversee the protocol development and Investigational New Drug Application directly with the US Food & Drug Administration. The successful completion will position Vireo for industry leadership when it comes to cannabis-based topical medication used to treat pain. Vireo will also license the Company's Sail technology platform for full data collection and management. Vireo's line of cannabis-based topical products - currently available in Minnesota and scheduled to launch in other markets in 2020 - will be the focus of this project. CB2 Insights will manage the process of designing the protocol and working with the FDA on IND application approval. Both companies look to complete the initial stage of the project by Q1 2020.

07:10 EST Mereo Phase 2b data shows dose-dependent increase in bone strength stiffness - Mereo BioPharma announced additional endpoint data from the company's Phase 2b dose-ranging "ASTEROID" clinical study of setrusumab, an anti-sclerostin antibody, in adults with Type I, III or IV osteogenesis imperfecta. These additional prespecified endpoint data build upon the company's 12-month topline data from the ASTEROID study announced in November 2019, which demonstrated a dose-dependent, statistically significant bone building effect of setrusumab at multiple anatomical sites in adult OI patients. OI is a rare disorder characterized by fragile bones and reduced bone mass with no approved treatments. "Based upon our review of the comprehensive data set from the Phase 2b ASTEROID study, these additional prespecified analyses support our previous conclusions that setrusumab is building bone at the lumbar spine and is increasing bone strength at multiple peripheral sites in adult OI patients," said Dr. Alastair MacKinnon, Chief Medical Officer of Mereo. "We believe these additional endpoint data, together with the totality of the 12-month topline data and trend in fracture rate reduction in the high dose cohort, are fully supportive of moving forward with our planned pivotal trial in children with OI. To this end, we have made additional progress on the regulatory front, including a positive recent meeting with the European Medicines Agency, and are currently preparing for a Type B End-of-Phase 2 meeting with the FDA, scheduled for the first quarter of 2020." The primary endpoint of the ASTEROID study was change in Trabecular Volumetric Bone Mineral Density of the radius over baseline after 12 months of treatment as measured by High Resolution peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography, followed by bone strength as calculated using FEA, a derived measurement of the mechanical strength gained by accumulated material in the bone. Setrusumab demonstrated a dose dependent increase in both failure load and stiffness at the radius at 12 months, achieving statistical significance in the high dose cohort across both of these parameters.

07:08 EST Akoustis receives second 5G network infrastructure filter order from customer - Akoustis Technologies announced it has received a follow-on development filter order from its initial 5G network infrastructure customer. Akoustis entered into an initial development agreement with this multi-billion-dollar Tier-1 customer late in calendar 2018 with the goal of delivering high performance, high frequency XBAW filters for 5G massive MIMO base station architectures. Akoustis' XBAW filters would improve spectral efficiency per cell necessary for the increased capacity requirements of 5G networks. Given the large number of radios in 5G massive MIMO base stations, this customer relationship is expected to drive significant revenue for Akoustis upon product acceptance and release, which is expected by mid-to-late-2020.

07:07 EST Delta Air Lines reports Q4 TRASM, adjusted up 2.4% - Reports Q4 non-fuel operating expense on a unit basis (CASM-Ex) up 4.4% compared to the prior year period, in line with the company's expectations of 4%-5%.

07:05 EST Delta Air Lines sees Q1 TRASM, adjusted flat to up 2% - Sees Q1 CASM-ex up 2%-3%. Sees Q1 fuel price, including taxes and refinery impact $2.00-$2.20; Pre-tax margin ~ flat.

07:02 EST G1 Therapeutics, Quantum Leap Healthcare announce collaboration for trilaciclib - Quantum Leap Healthcare Collaborative and G1 Therapeutics announced a collaboration to evaluate trilaciclib, an investigational therapy designed to improve outcomes for people with cancer treated with chemotherapy, in a new randomized, investigational treatment arm for the ongoing I-SPY 2 TRIAL for neoadjuvant treatment of locally advanced breast cancer. The I-SPY 2 TRIAL, sponsored by QLHC, is a standing Phase 2 randomized, controlled, multicenter platform with an innovative Bayesian adaptive randomization design aimed to rapidly screen and identify promising new treatments in specific subgroups of adults with newly-diagnosed, high-risk, locally-advanced breast cancer. G1 Therapeutics will provide funding and trilaciclib and QLHC will be responsible for running the trial. Trilaciclib will be evaluated across all high-risk, early-stage breast cancer subtypes. All patients will receive standard neoadjuvant treatment, including chemotherapy prior to surgical resection of breast tissue. Patients in two arms of the study will also receive an anti-PD-1 immunotherapy in combination with paclitaxel prior to surgery. Biomarker data to evaluate the impact of trilaciclib on the tumor immune microenvironment, as well as pre-specified endpoints to evaluate anti-tumor efficacy and myelopreservation will be collected.

06:57 EST JPMorgan sees Q1 NII about $14B, market dependent - Sees Q1 adjusted expense about $17B. JPMorgnan says the Q1 effective tax rate is estimated to be ~17% reflecting the impact of stock-based compensation. Comments from slides being presented on the Q4 earnings conference call.

06:52 EST JPMorgan reports Q4 book value per share of $75.98, up 8% - Reports Q4 tangible book value per share of $60.98, up 8%.

06:51 EST JPMorgan reports Q4 Common equity Tier 1 of 12.4%

06:49 EST JPMorgan reports Q4 ROE of 14%; ROTCE1 of 17% - Reports Q4 average total loans down 1%, or up 3% excluding the impact of loan sales in Home Lending.

06:48 EST Wipro reports Q3 EPS 6c, consensus 6c - Reports Q3 revenue $2.2B, consensus $2.2B. CEO Abidali Neemuchwala said, "We have delivered a good quarter with secular growth across all business units, geographies and practices. We remain focused on deepening our customer relationships, converting our funnel and winning large deals." CFO Jatin Dalal said, "We expanded operating margins by 0.3% aided by a favorable movement in the currency. Further, we generated strong operating cash flows led by disciplined execution at 124% of our Net Income."

06:42 EST LabCorp to adopt Thermo Fisher Scientific's Sequencing Companion COEP - LabCorp announced it will adopt the Ion Torrent Genexus System and Oncomine Precision Assay for use in research and development of companion diagnostics as well as other future oncology and precision medicine applications. LabCorp will also evaluate the potential for future deployment of the system and test across its network of laboratories and partner facilities. The adoption is enabled through LabCorp's participation in Thermo Fisher Scientific's Next-Generation Sequencing Companion Dx Center of Excellence Program, or COEP.

06:32 EST Haemonetics acquires IP assets relating to TEG 6s Hemostasis Analyzer System - Haemonetics announced that it has purchased the technology underlying the TEG 6s Hemostasis Analyzer System from CoraMed Technologies. With this transaction, Haemonetics has acquired ownership of intellectual property previously licensed from CoraMed on an exclusive basis in the field of hospitals and hospital laboratories. By acquiring the underlying intellectual property, Haemonetics will now be able to pursue site of care opportunities beyond the hospital setting.

06:23 EST Lyft forms advisory council to improve platform safety - Lyft Inc is putting together a council of experts to advise the ride-hailing company on its safety initiatives for riders and drivers, it said in a blog post. The Safety Advisory Council will be made up of "expert partner organizations. Partnering with our Community Safety Program steering committee -- under the leadership of General Counsel Kristin Sverchek and Chief Policy Officer Anthony Foxx -- this Council will advise Lyft on current and planned safety initiatives, with members lending their expert perspectives, suggestions and critiques. The Council will include representatives from RAINN, It's On Us, the National Sheriffs' Association, the National Association of Women Law Enforcement Executives and National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives. In addition to membership on the Council, Lyft has partnered with all of these organizations on dedicated safety projects. The Council will be led by Lyft's VP of Safety and Customer Engagement, Eman Barhoumeh." Reference Link

06:21 EST Ahold Delhaize repurchased 920,927 common shares from January 6-10 - Ahold Delhaize has repurchased 920,927 of Ahold Delhaize common shares in the period from January 6, 2020 up to and including January 10, 2020. The shares were repurchased at an average price of EUR22.42 per share for a total consideration of EUR20.6M. These repurchases were made as part of the EUR1 B share buyback program announced on December 4, 2019. The total number of shares repurchased under this program to date is 1,295,598 common shares for a total consideration of EUR29.1M.

06:18 EST Ballard Power signs agreements with with adKor and SFC Energy - Ballard Power Systems announced that it has signed Equipment Sales Agreements, or ESAs, for the provision of an initial 500 FCgen-1020ACS fuel cell stacks to adKor and SFC Energy AG, to be integrated into adKor's Jupiter backup power systems for deployment at radio tower sites in Germany through the end of 2021. Contracts have been awarded to adKor for the supply of fuel cell backup power systems to support an initial tranche of 500 radio tower sites in Germany and adKor has sub-contracted a portion of the work to SFC Energy. As a result, adKor and SFC Energy have signed development partnership and licensing agreements, will share production activities for the supply of Jupiter systems and are developing product line extensions.

06:07 EST IHS Markit sees FY20 adjusted EBITDA $1.86B-$1.89B - Sees FY20: Adjusted effective tax rate of approximately 18%-20%; Capital expenditures to be approximately 6.0%-6.5% of revenue; and free cash flow conversion as a percentage of Adjusted EBITDA in the low 60%'s.

06:04 EST Endeavour Mining terminates merger talks with Centamin - Endeavour Mining has been informed by Centamin that it does not intend to seek an extension to the January 14, 2020, PUSU deadline. Given the lack of information received, Endeavour confirms that it does not intend to make a firm offer for Centamin and therefore the merger discussions have been terminated. Commenting on this, Sebastien de Montessus stated: "We remain convinced about the strategic rationale of combining Endeavour and Centamin to create a diversified gold producer with a high-quality portfolio of assets. The quality of information received during the accelerated due diligence process has been insufficient to allow us to be confident that proceeding with a firm offer would have been in the best interests of Endeavour shareholders. We continue to be disciplined in relation to business development opportunities and remain sensitive to dilution of our shareholders given the significant improvement in our business over the past four years. Following a period of significant investment, our business is now well positioned to generate significant cash flow as demonstrated with our net debt reduction of $52M in Q3-2019 and a further circa $77M in Q4-2019."