Stockwinners Market Radar for January 15, 2020 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:07 EST Corporacion America Airport reports December passenger traffic up 2.1% y/y - Corporacion America Airport reports total passenger traffic in December 2019 grew by 2.1% YoY, primarily reflecting increases of 3.0% in Argentina, 8.8% in Italy, 7.5% in Ecuador and 6.1% in Armenia, partially offset by declines in Brazil and Uruguay. Cargo volume declined 5.4% in December 2019, mainly as a result of declines of 15.5% in Argentina and 25.2% in Ecuador, partially offset by a 28.3% increase in Brazil. Aircraft movements declined 3.5% YoY in December 2019, driven by declines of 6.1% in Argentina and 6.7% in Brazil, partially offset by an increase of 8.8% in Italy.

18:55 EST Chubb 'welcomes and supports' signing of Phase One of U.S.-China trade pact - Chubb provided the following statement in support of the signing of the Phase One trade agreement between the United States and China: "Chubb welcomes and supports the successful completion of the Phase One trade agreement between the United States and China. We congratulate the governments of both nations for achieving this important confidence-building step. We urge the U.S. and China to expeditiously move to the important Phase Two negotiations, taking into account the interests of both countries while reconciling important differences. At Chubb, we have confidence in the long-term potential of the Chinese insurance market, and this agreement should expand market access for American business in financial services, including insurance."

18:41 EST XPO Logistics CEO: We're not marketing the whole company - In an interview on CNBC's Mad Money, XPO Logistics CEO Brad Jacobs said, "We are still getting a low multiple despite our performance. We're not marketing the whole company, just four business units. What we're doing is the best way to create shareholder value." When asked about the business environment, Jacobs said, "Business is good. I'm sensing a bottom in the industrial economy. Our British customers want to invest when Brexit is behind them."

18:29 EST American Outdoor Brands proceeding with outdoor and accessories spin-off plans - American Outdoor Brands is proceeding with its previously announced plan to spin-off its outdoor products and accessories business as a tax-free stock dividend to its stockholders in the second half of calendar 2020, a transaction that would create two independent publicly traded companies: Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. and American Outdoor Brands, Inc. Jeffrey D. Buchanan, Chief Financial Officer, will continue to serve as the lead executive on coordinating and executing the separation of the two businesses. Upon completion of the transaction, and as previously announced, Smith will become President and CEO of Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. Also upon completion of the transaction, Brian D. Murphy, currently President of the company's Outdoor Products & Accessories Division, will become President and CEO of American Outdoor Brands, Inc.

18:01 EST Enerpac Tool acquires HTL Group - Enerpac Tool announces that it has acquired HTL Group, based in Cramlington, England. With fiscal 2019 revenue of approximately $17M, HTL Group is the UK's leading provider of controlled bolting products. HTL's capabilities also include a strong rental business as well as calibration and repair and training services. The acquisition of HTL is aligned with Enerpac Tool Group's strategy of becoming a pure-play Tools and Services company and expands its portfolio of bolting products as well as its global rental offering.

17:49 EST SSR Mining sees FY20 production of 425K gold equivalent ounces - At the mid-point of guidance, SSR Mining expects to produce approximately 425,000 gold equivalent ounces, with anticipated annual production records at Marigold and Seabee.

17:39 EST Mednax COO David Clark leaves company after position eliminated - Mednax has eliminated the role of COO of the company, effective as of December 31, 2019, as part of the company's previously announced transformation and restructuring plan. In connection with this change, the company's COO, David Clark, departed the company on January 13, 2020, also effective as of December 31, 2019. Clark's departure from the company is a termination without "cause."

17:35 EST Ring Energy says Q4 estimated price received for oil was $54.90 per barrel - The estimated price received for oil was $54.90 per barrel and the estimated price received for natural gas was $1.85 per mcf in Q4. This resulted in an estimated received price of $49.50 per BOE. This compares to an average price per BOE received in Q3 of $48.93, an increase of 1.1%.

17:28 EST Costco director sells 3.9K shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, Costco disclosed that its director Susan Decker sold 3,850 shares of common stock on January 14th. The total transaction size was $1.16M.

17:10 EST EnLink Midstream sees 2020 net income $160M-$230M - Forecasts adjusted EBITDA growth to $1.07B-$1.13B in 2020 vs. expected full-year 2019 adjusted EBITDA, which is projected to be in line with previously announced adjusted EBITDA guidance. Resetting quarterly common unit distribution to 18.75c per unit for Q4, facilitating excess free cash flow generation and enhanced financial flexibility. Expecting to fully self fund current program of 2020 CapEx of $275M-$375M, supporting modest 2020 adjusted EBITDA growth. Plans to allocate excess free cash flow to high-return projects in core areas, effectively managing leverage, and returning capital to common unitholders. Projects adjusted EBITDA to continue growing in 2021, as compared to 2020, contributing to increased excess free cash flow generation.

17:01 EST Stewart president Matthew Morris announces departure - Stewart Information Services Corporation announced that Matthew Morris, President and former Chief Executive Officer, announced his departure effective Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2020. Morris will continue to serve as a member of Stewart's Board of Directors. In addition, Morris will provide advisory services to the company and to new CEO Fred Eppinger throughout the next six months. "I have been very pleased with Fred's integration into Stewart and grateful for a seamless transition as the company makes bold plans for the future," said Morris. "I look forward to working with my fellow Board members to help Fred and the Stewart team execute on his strategic vision. It has been my deepest honor and privilege to serve this great company over the last fifteen years. I'm proud of what we have accomplished together and am confident in Stewart's industry leading position moving forward."

16:53 EST Spirit Airlines up over 2.3% after providing Q4 CASM, TRASM guidance - Shares of Spirit Airlines are up 2.3% or 92c at $40.60 per share after the company guided Q4 adjusted TRASM down 4.3%, which is higher than down 4.5% to 6.5% guided on October 24th.

16:39 EST Spirit Airlines sees Q4 TRASM down 3.6%, CASM up 3.3% from last year - In a regulatory 8-K filing, Spirit Airlines announced it estimates its total revenue per ASM, or TRASM, to be down 3.6% year over year. Q4 revenue includes approximately $7.2M of out-of-period revenue related to the reclamation of over-remitted Federal Excise Tax. Without this out-of-period revenue, the company estimates its Q4 TRASM would have been down about 4.3% year-over-year. Q4 adjusted CASM ex-fuel is expected to be up about 3.3% year over year.

16:34 EST Comerica names Irvin Ashford chief community officer - Comerica Bank has named Irvin Ashford its new chief community officer. Ashford, will be responsible for community reinvestment nationally and all associated activities, including development, lending, community investments, volunteerism and data analysis. Additionally, he will lead Comerica's diversity business resource groups. Ashford previously served as Comerica's national director of financial education and external affairs and will maintain these responsibilities in his new role. Ashford will report directly into the office of the chairman. Ashford joined Comerica Bank in 2000 and has continued to strengthen relationships with the communities served by Comerica through various financial literacy and community development initiatives. Last year, Ashford and his team established the Comerica Money $ense program to address the need of teaching sound financial principles to a wide range of audiences from pre-K to senior citizens, as well as small businesses.

16:34 EST BK Technologies gets $2.1M order from California customer - BK Technologies announced that its operating subsidiary received an order totaling approximately $2.1M for BK KNG2-Series radios and related accessories from a California State customer. The order was for BK's KNG2-Series Digital P-25 portable radios with accessories and was fulfilled in the fourth quarter of 2019.

16:32 EST Cellectis doses first patient with new allogeneic UCART123 candidate in AML - Cellectis announced the first patient dosing in AMELI-01, the Phase 1 dose escalation clinical trial evaluating a new UCART123 product candidate in relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia, or AML. This trial, sponsored by Cellectis, is part of an Investigational New Drug from the US Food and Drug Administration for a new UCART123 construct and an optimized production process, and will evaluate the safety, expansion, persistence and clinical activity of the product candidate in patients with relapsed/refractory AML. AMELI-01 replaces the first US clinical trial assessing the UCART123 product candidate.

16:31 EST Boise Cascade announces CEO succession plan - Boise Cascade Company announced that Nate Jorgensen will become its new CEO, effective March 6. Jorgensen will replace Tom Corrick, who will be retiring from his roles as CEO and director after nearly 37 years with Boise Cascade. Jorgensen will also replace Corrick's seat on the Board of Directors. Jorgensen has 33 years of experience in the forest products industry, joining the Boise Cascade engineered wood products marketing team in 2015.

16:30 EST Noble Energy says gas sales have been established to Israel, Jordan, and Egypt - Natural gas sales have been established to Israel, Jordan, and Egypt. Gas sales to Jordan began on January 1, with gas exports to Egypt beginning January 15. Gas sales into Egypt

16:28 EST McClatchy enters into standstill agreement with the PBGC - McClatchy has entered into a Standstill Agreement with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, or PBGC, extending its current runway for negotiating a consensual restructuring with key stakeholders. McClatchy has been in active restructuring negotiations with substantially all of its secured lenders and bondholders, as well as the PBGC, to address the future of its pension obligations and capital structure. In support of these negotiations, McClatchy has entered into non-disclosure agreements with lenders holding approximately 87% of the company's First Lien Notes and 100% of the company's Second Lien Term Loans and Third Lien Notes. The Standstill Agreement will allow McClatchy, as well as its lenders, the PBGC, and their respective advisors, time to continue their negotiations. Under the terms of the Standstill Agreement, the PBGC has agreed not to exercise the remedies available to it. Under the Standstill Agreement, the PBGC has agreed to a forbearance period until February 18. In addition, McClatchy is availing itself of its option to defer paying interest on its secured debt for its contractual 30-day grace period, which is coterminous with the Standstill Agreement. There will be no impact on the qualified pension plan or payments thereunder as a result of the Standstill Agreement. McClatchy is working towards a permanent solution under which the PBGC would assume McClatchy's qualified pension plan and continue to pay the company's pension plan participants their benefits. The assets of the qualified pension plan are estimated at $1.375B as of December 31, 2019. McClatchy and its newsrooms are operating as usual. The company claims that it has sufficient liquidity to address all of its ordinary course operational cash needs and obligations at this time.

16:19 EST Apple TV+ to premiere three new originals at 2020 SXSW - The 2020 SXSW Film Festival unveiled that three new projects from Apple TV+ have been selected for special screenings at this year's lineup, the company announced. Apple's original projects include "Beastie Boys Story, "a live documentary film from Academy Award-winning filmmaker Spike Jonze; an original series "Central Park" from Emmy-winning creator Loren Bouchard; and docuseries "Home" from producers Doug Pray and Matt Weaver, all debuting at SXSW prior to their global premieres on Apple TV+, the company announced. Reference Link

16:17 EST Oneok increases quarterly dividend 2c to 93.5c per share - Oneok increased Oneok's quarterly dividend 2c per share to 93.5c per share. The dividend is payable Feb. 14 to shareholders of record at the close of business Jan. 27.

16:16 EST Alcoa sees global aluminum surplus of 600K-1M metric tons for 2020 - For 2020, Alcoa projects a global aluminum surplus ranging between 600 thousand to 1 million metric tons with global demand growth in a range of 1.4 percent to 2.4 percent. The Company's final global aluminum demand growth rate estimate for 2019 was between negative 0.4 percent to negative 0.2 percent with a deficit between 1.1 million and 900 thousand metric tons. The global alumina market closed 2019 with a surplus estimated between 600 thousand metric tons and 1.0 million metric tons, a smaller surplus than the Company's previous estimate. In 2020, Alcoa expects a balanced alumina market ranging between negative 100 thousand metric tons to positive 700 thousand metric tons. Compared to 2019, the bauxite market is projected to be in a smaller surplus in 2020, with Chinese stockpile projected to continue, ranging between 8 million and 12 million metric tons. The 2019 surplus was lower than previously expected, estimated to be between 10 million and 12 million metric tons.

16:07 EST Tandem Diabetes announces commercial launch of t:slim X2 pump in U.S. - Tandem Diabetes Care announced its commercial launch of the t:slim X2 insulin pump with Control-IQ technology, an advanced hybrid-closed loop feature designed to help increase time in range. It is the first and only system cleared to deliver automatic correction boluses in addition to adjusting insulin to help prevent high and low blood sugar. The system integrates with Dexcom G6 continuous glucose monitoring, which requires no fingersticks for calibration or diabetes treatment decisions. The company will soon begin sending emails with update instructions to all in-warranty t:slim X2 users in the United States, who have the option to add the new feature free of charge via remote software update. t:slim X2 pumps pre-loaded with Control-IQ technology are now shipping to new customers. The t:slim X2 insulin pump with Control-IQ technology uses CGM values, in conjunction with other variables such as insulin on board, to predict sensor glucose levels 30 minutes ahead and adjust insulin delivery accordingly. If glucose values are predicted to drop below 112.5 mg/dL, basal insulin delivery is reduced, and when predicted to be below 70 mg/dL, basal insulin delivery is stopped. If glucose values are predicted to be above 160 mg/dL in the next 30 minutes, basal insulin will be increased. If glucose values are predicted to be above 180 mg/dL, Control-IQ technology calculates a correction bolus with a target of 110 mg/dL, and delivers 60 percent of that value up to once an hour as needed. Control-IQ technology also offers optional settings for sleep and exercise that will change treatment values to better match the different physiologic needs during these activities.

16:04 EST GeneTx, Ultragenyx announce IND application active for GTX-102 - GeneTx Biotherapeutics and Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical (RARE) announced that GeneTx's Investigational New Drug, or IND, application for GTX-102, an experimental antisense oligonucleotide being evaluated for the treatment of Angelman syndrome, filed with the FDA is now active. Enrollment in the Phase 1/2 study is expected to begin in the first half of 2020. "The FDA's clearance of the IND to evaluate GTX-102 in patients with Angelman syndrome represents a significant milestone for the Angelman community," said Paula Evans, CEO at GeneTx. "Assessing an investigational therapy that aims to address the underlying cause of this devastating disorder has the potential to meaningfully alter the clinical course of patients' lives." "Based on preclinical data, we believe that GTX-102 offers tremendous promise and may one day provide patients with a potentially transformative therapeutic option," said Camille Bedrosian, Chief Medical Officer of Ultragenyx. "We look forward to continuing our partnership with GeneTx to address this devastating disorder for which there are currently no approved treatments."

15:53 EST McDermott enters agreement for lenders to hold off on declaring default - McDermott International said earlier in a regulatory filing that it entered into a credit agreement amendment that amends the events of default to provide that, through January 21, 2020, the acceleration of MTA's and MTUS' 10.625% Senior Notes due 2024 will not constitute an event of default; and amends the credit agreement to allow ordinary course auto-renewals of letters of credit despite any acceleration, bankruptcy, or other event of default. At 11:59 p.m. New York City time on January 15, 2020, the forbearance deadline under an agreement, dated December 1, 2019, by and among McDermott, MTA, MTUS, certain subsidiaries of McDermott and an ad hoc group of holders of approximately 35% of MTA's and MTUS' 10.625% Senior Notes due 2024 will expire. "Despite the expiration of the forbearance deadline, McDermott continues to engage in constructive conversations with holders of the Senior Notes," the filing stated.

15:22 EST Reebonz Holding partners with TWIST - Reebonz Holding announced that it has officially partnered with TWIST, one of Hong Kong's multi-brand luxury fashion boutiques. As a part of the agreement, Reebonz is expected to make TWIST's products available to over 6M members on Reebonz's platform, further supporting both companies' missions to bring luxury fashion to discerning consumers around the world.

14:33 EST Hasbro, Mattel under pressure as Target cuts Q4 sales guidance on toy weakness - Shares of toymakers Hasbro (HAS) and Mattel (MAT) are sliding on Wednesday after Target (TGT) reported November and December comparable store sales growth of 1.4% and lowered its fourth quarter sales guidance. The big box store blamed softer than expected performance in key holiday categories including Toys, Electronics and parts of its Home segment. PRICE ACTION: In afternoon trading, shares of Hasbro have slipped about 3% to $102.58, while Mattel's stock has dropped almost 5% to $14. Also lower, shares of Target have slid over 7% to $116.34.

14:23 EST NIO trading resumes

14:13 EST Citi reports December credit loss 2.77% vs. 2.57% last month - Reports December 30-plus day delinquencies 1.56% vs. 1.58% last month.

14:06 EST Pacific Drilling says award issued in arbitration tribunal - Pacific Drilling announced that an award has been issued in the previously disclosed arbitration proceedings between the company's subsidiaries, Pacific Drilling VIII Limited and Pacific Drilling Services, and Samsung Heavy Industries Co. Ltd. related to the contract for the construction and sale of the Pacific Zonda. An arbitration tribunal in London, England awarded SHI approximately $320M with respect to its claims against PDVIII and PDSI. The award does not include approximately $100M in interest and costs sought by SHI, on which the Tribunal reserved making a decision to a later date. As previously disclosed, in connection with the company's now concluded Chapter 11 proceedings, PDVIII and PDSI filed a separate plan of reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, which was confirmed on January 30, 2019. Once the Tribunal's award becomes final and unappealable, the company expects the Zonda Debtors, which have approximately $4.5M in cash and no other material assets, will be liquidated in accordance with the terms of the Zonda Plan. The company does not expect the Tribunal's decision to have any material adverse effect on its operations or to cause any default under any of its material contracts including under the indentures for its outstanding notes. As a result of the Tribunal's decision, the company expects to recognize a loss of approximately $225M during the fourth quarter of 2019, primarily related to the elimination of the Zonda receivable on the balance sheet.

13:46 EST ResMed to pay U.S. $37.5M for allegedly causing false claims - ResMed has agreed to pay more than $37.5M to resolve alleged False Claims Act violations for paying kickbacks to DME suppliers, sleep labs and other health care providers, the Department of Justice announced. The settlement resolves allegations that ResMed provided DME companies with free telephone call center services and other free patient outreach services that enabled these companies to order resupplies for their patients with sleep apnea, provided sleep labs with free and below-cost positive airway pressure masks and diagnostic machines, as well as free installation of these machines, arranged for, and fully guaranteed the payments due on, interest-free loans that DME supplies acquired from third-party financial institutions for the purchase of ResMed equipment, and provided non-sleep specialist physicians free home sleep testing devices referred to as "ApneaLink."

13:33 EST Boeing's Calhoun 'applauds' U.S. and Chinese leaders for 'fair' trade deal - Boeing President and CEO Dave Calhoun issued the following statement regarding the announcement today of a U.S.-China trade deal: "Boeing has a long-standing partnership with China that spans nearly 50 years. We're proud that Boeing airplanes will continue to be a part of this valued relationship, one that has fueled aerospace innovation and sustained manufacturing jobs. Boeing applauds Presidents Trump and Xi as well as Vice Premier Liu, Secretary Mnuchin and Ambassador Lighthizer for their leadership in building a fair and mutually-beneficial trading relationship between the United States and China."

13:32 EST NanoString reports publication of peer-reviewed studies using GeoMx profiler - NanoString Technologies announced the publication of two peer-reviewed studies using the GeoMx Digital Spatial Profiler in the journal Nature. The two independent papers published by groups at the MD Anderson Cancer Center and Lund University used GeoMx DSP for deep molecular profiling of immune cells critical for understanding response to immunotherapy in patients with metastatic melanoma. The first publication, "B-cells and tertiary lymphoid structures contribute to immune checkpoint blockade response," from the team of Dr. Jennifer Wargo at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, TX. The study combines data from GeoMx DSP, RNA-sequencing, and mass cytometry to establish the presence of clonally expanded and memory-switched B-cells in patients responding to immune checkpoint blockade. The second study, "Tertiary lymphoid structures improve melanoma survival and immunotherapy response," led by Dr. Goran Jonsson at the Lund University in Sweden, used the GeoMx DSP platform to conduct high-plex proteomic characterization of B- and T-cells in melanoma tumors with and without Tertiary Lymphoid Structures.

13:19 EST Microsoft rolls out its Chromium-based Edge browser - "The new Microsoft Edge is now out of preview and available for download, with today's release of our first Stable channel build . The new Microsoft Edge will gradually be made available on Windows Update and offered to additional devices as data and feedback indicate that users are having a good experience," said the company. Reference Link

13:07 EST Pacific Drilling SA trading halted, news pending

12:20 EST Great Southern Bancorp announces $1.00 per share special cash dividend - The board of Great Southern Bancorp, the holding company for Great Southern Bank, declared a special cash dividend of $1.00 per common share. The special cash dividend will be payable on February 10 to shareholders of record on January 27.

12:16 EST Yield10 Bioscience announces 1-for-40 reverse stock split - Yield10 Bioscience announced that it will effect a 1-for-40 reverse stock split of its common stock, following stockholder approval of the reverse stock split at the Company's special stockholders meeting held on January 9, 2020. The 1-for-40 reverse stock split will be effective as of the close of business on Wednesday, January 15, 2020 and the Company's common stock will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis on Thursday, January 16, 2020. The reverse stock split will reduce the number of shares of the Company's common stock currently outstanding from 39,986,201 shares to 999,655 shares. Further, upon the effectiveness of the reverse stock split, the Series B preferred stock issued by the Company in its November 2019 private placement will automatically be converted into 718,750 shares of common stock, resulting in a total of 1,718,405 outstanding shares of common stock. Proportional adjustments will be made to the Company's outstanding stock options, warrants and restricted stock units and to the number of shares issued and issuable under the Company's equity compensation plans. The number of authorized shares of the Company's common stock will remain 60M shares. In addition, the warrants to purchase common stock issued in the November 2019 private placement are now exercisable.

12:03 EST Teck Resources purchases SunMine solar energy facility for $2M - Teck Resources announced it has purchased the SunMine solar energy facility in Kimberley, British Columbia, from the City of Kimberley. SunMine is located on fully reclaimed land at Teck's former Sullivan Mine site. The 1.05 MW solar facility, operational since 2015, is the first grid-connected solar facility in British Columbia and the first built on a reclaimed mine site, and has potential for future expansion. The sale amount is approximately $2M, equal to the City of Kimberley's outstanding debt obligation for SunMine.

12:00 EST Mesabi Trust falls -6.3% - Mesabi Trust is down -6.3%, or -$1.48 to $22.12.

12:00 EST VelocityShares 3x Long Natural Gas ETN falls -7.5% - VelocityShares 3x Long Natural Gas ETN is down -7.5%, or -$5.37 to $66.31.

12:00 EST China Online Education rises 15.3% - China Online Education is up 15.3%, or $1.94 to $14.67.

11:56 EST Duke Energy acquires 20 MWac of solar projects in Georgia - Duke Energy Renewables, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, announced that it has completed the acquisition of the final project in a portfolio developed with Inman Solar, totaling 20 megawatts, or MWac. The projects are in construction or have begun commercial operations across central Georgia under Georgia Power's Renewable Energy Development Initiative. These projects bring Duke Energy Renewables, operating through its REC Solar business unit, to 47.4 MWac of distributed solar projects in Georgia.

11:45 EST Synchrony reports December charge-off rate 4.59% vs. 3.92% last month - Reports December 30-plus day delinquencies 2.70% vs. 2.83% last month.

11:37 EST Bank of America reports December net charge-offs 2.54% vs. 2.60% last month - Reports December 30-plus day delinquencies 1.60% vs. 1.63% last month.

11:05 EST Syneos Health up 5% after issuing FY20 outlook at JPMorgan Healthcare Conference - In morning trading following the company's disclosure of its presentation slides, Syneos Health shares are up 5% to $63.59.

10:19 EST Beacon Roofing sees $135M-$140M non-cash charge on brand change - As previously reported, Beacon announced that its 40 brands across the U.S. and Canada that sell exterior products will now be named Beacon Building Products. In connection with the rebranding, the company has determined that it will incur non-cash accelerated intangible asset amortization of approximately $135M-$140M related to the write-off of certain tradenames, primarily Allied, Roofing Supply Group and JGA. The accelerated amortization will be recognized in the company's fiscal quarter ending March 31, 2020. The physical rebranding of branch locations and equipment is expected to result in cash expenditures of approximately $5M, the company added in a regulatory filing.

10:04 EST Lockheed Martin awarded $31.9M DARPA OpFires Phase 3 contract - The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency awarded Lockheed Martin a $31.9M contract for the Operational Fires Phase 3 Weapon System Integration program. OpFires seeks to develop and demonstrate an innovative ground-launched system to enable a hypersonic boost glide missile system to penetrate modern enemy air defenses and rapidly engage time-sensitive targets. Lockheed Martin, DARPA and the U.S. Army, aims to develop and demonstrate an innovative, ground-launched, mobile, integrated weapon system that leverages DARPA-funded propulsion solutions and hypersonic boost glide technology. The award for Phase 3 of the OpFires program will take the design from the initial requirements development through the Critical Design Review in late 2021. Integrated flight testing is scheduled to begin in 2022, with component and subsystem tests expected in 2021.

10:00 EST Peabody Energy falls -5.8% - Peabody Energy is down -5.8%, or -52c to $8.48.

10:00 EST VelocityShares 3x Long Natural Gas ETN falls -7.5% - VelocityShares 3x Long Natural Gas ETN is down -7.5%, or -$5.38 to $66.30.

10:00 EST Shake Shack rises 8.7% - Shake Shack is up 8.7%, or $5.55 to $69.65.

09:58 EST Goldman Sachs says 'committed' to compensating top talent

09:49 EST PNC Financial sees Q1 average loans up about 1% - Sees Q1 NII down approximately 1%. Sees Q1 fee income down approximatelty 3%. Sees Q1 other noninterest income $300M-$350M. Sees Q1 noninterest expense down mid-single digits. Sees Q1 loan loss provision $225M-$300M. Guidance provided in Q4 earnings presentation.

09:47 EST NIO Inc. rises 11.7% - NIO Inc. is up 11.7%, or 44c to $4.20.

09:44 EST IBM rises nearly 1% to $137.01 in early trading - Activist investor speculation has been attributed for early strength in IBM shares, according to trading contacts.

09:39 EST Goldman says hopes to provide insight into strategic direction at investor day - Goldman Sachs is holding its investor day on January 29.

09:38 EST Goldman in ongoing discussions relating to potential settlement over 1MDB issues

09:22 EST Wayside Technology appoints Dale Foster as CEO - Wayside Technology Grouphas promoted Dale Foster to CEO and appointed him to the Company's board of directors, effective January 15, 2020. Foster joined Wayside in January 2018 as EVP and was promoted to President of Wayside's Lifeboat Distribution business in July 2019. Foster's appointment expands the Board to seven-including six independent directors, four of which have joined the Board in the past two years.

09:16 EST U.S. Bancorp says credit quality was stable in Q4 - Says new accounting standard has no impact on 2019. Says will increase workforce agility. Says on a linked quarter basis, average total loan growth was driven by growth in residential mortgages, total commercial real estate loans and credit card loans. Sees Q1 NII down low-single-digit pace. Sees Q1 fee revenue up mid single digits. Sees FY20 tax rate 20%. Comments taken from Q4 earnings conference call.

09:12 EST Kelso Technologies says company demonstrated 'stronger sales' in 2019 - Kelso Technologies reports that the Company demonstrated stronger sales in 2019 - a trend that began in 2018 and continued to improve in 2019. Financial health improved significantly due to increases in revenue from a wide range of rail service valves, specialty products and services. Average monthly revenue increased from approximately $500,000 in 2017 to in excess of $1,000,000 per month in 2018 to over $1,650,000 per month for the nine months ended September 30, 2019. This run rate held steady during the fourth quarter of 2019 - an annual increase of over 60%. This change can be attributed to our improved relationships with stakeholders that fuel "customer driven" product designs and related sales - practices that are beginning to generate multiple equipment orders per tank car. The company said, :Our value proposition for customers going into 2020 is to continue to produce and timely deliver precision milled equipment that features quality craftsmanship and long-term reliable performance. Our products have proven to significantly diminish the expensive and complex logistics of repairing tank cars in service - a benefit that is expected to generate sales growth in future periods. During 2019 Kelso reached a key revenue milestone of $100M in sales since 2012. This represents approximately 65,000 Kelso valves in service that have had an exceptional reliability service record with no material failures or warranty repairs. At December 31, 2019 market capitalization improved from $21M at the end of 2018 to over $34M at the end of 2019 - an increase of over 60%. Our financial health remains good and given current economic conditions the Company is capable of running debt free with no immediate need for equity financing. James Bond, CEO of the Company comments: "Kelso has evolved into a well-rounded organization focused on better understanding our customers' technology needs. Our commitment is to do business the right way for all our stakeholders with strong fundamental performance that generates positive cash flows and EBITDA returns. In 2020 we continue to build on our sales initiatives, R&D activities and operational momentum experiences in 2019. Our goal is to maintain a healthy debt free financial position while focusing on optimizing our business operations in both Canada and the USA. Our priorities are to diligently seek sales opportunities for new products in rail, trucking, marine and wilderness transportation technologies. Although there will be many business challenges ahead our future expectations remain optimistic for 2020."

09:09 EST Endra Life Sciences renews collaboration with General Electric Healthcare unit - Endra Life Sciences (NDRA) announced it has renewed its collaboration agreement with the GE Healthcare unit of General Electric (GE), extending the agreement's term to January 2021. Under the terms of the agreement, GE Healthcare will continue to support Endra 's commercialization activities for its TAEUS technology for use in a fatty liver application by, among other things, facilitating introductions to GE Healthcare clinical ultrasound customers. In return for this assistance, Endra will afford GE Healthcare certain rights of first offer with respect to manufacturing and licensing rights for the target application. In addition to extending the agreement's term, the renewal modified the terms of these rights of first offer.

09:07 EST Tenable named preferred vulnerability management partner for BeyondTrust - Tenable announced it has entered into an exclusive partnership with BeyondTrust that names Tenable as the preferred vulnerability management partner for BeyondTrust Enterprise Vulnerability Management customers. BeyondTrust has made a decision to exit the Vulnerability Management market and has selected Tenable as its exclusive partner. Tenable was chosen for its market leadership in Vulnerability Management and Cyber Exposure to help organizations understand and manage their cyber risk.

09:06 EST Telecommunications companies create 5G Future Forum - Global 5G leaders have come together to create a first-of-its-kind forum to accelerate the delivery of 5G and mobile-edge computing-enabled solutions around the world. The 5G Future Forum will collaborate to develop interoperable 5G specifications across key geographic regions, including the Americas, Asia-Pacific and Europe. The Forum's founding members are America Movil (AMX), KT (KT), Rogers (RCI), Telstra (TLSYY), Verizon (VZ) and Vodafone (VOD). 5G and mobile-edge computing deliver lowest latency networks to mobile and connected devices while improving data throughput, reliability, power efficiency and security. This gives organizations worldwide the ability to deliver a wide range of transformative business and consumer use cases, like machine learning at the edge, autonomous industrial equipment, smart cars and cities, Internet of Things (IoT), augmented and virtual reality, and more. The 5G Future Forum will focus on the creation of uniform interoperability specifications to improve speed to market for developers and multinational enterprises working on 5G-enabled solutions. In addition, Forum participants will develop public and private marketplaces to enhance developer and customer access to 5G, and will share global best practices in technology deployment.

09:04 EST Comtech receives $2.6M order for SATCOM antenna feeds - Comtech announced it received orders in excess of $2.6M for SATCOM antenna feeds from Cubic Mission Solutions, a business division of Cubic Corporation. These orders continue the long-term success of Comtech's products being used on Cubic's portfolio of SATCOM terminals.

09:04 EST Gevo secures biogas supply, receives commitment letter for financing - Gevo announced that it has contracted with three dairies to provide manure that the Company will convert into pipeline quality biogas. Combined, these three dairies expect to generate approximately 350,000 MMBTU biogas per year for sale to off-takers or use by the Company's affiliate, Agri-Energy, LLC, at its advanced biofuel production facility located in Luverne, Minnesota. The quest of the Company is to reduce and eliminate the fossil footprint caused by running the Luverne facility. These biogas contracts, in conjunction with wind power, should enable any biofuel produced at the Luverne facility to have a lower carbon intensity score as well as an increased value. Currently, the Company has a letter of commitment from a lender in the amount of $20M for financing the Renewable Natural Gas project at one of the three dairies. In addition, the Company also has a verbal commitment from the same lender to finance the Renewable Natural Gas projects at the other two dairies. The financing includes capital for the anaerobic digesters, the biogas collection and upgrading system, as well as the utility interconnection system.

09:02 EST Mercury Systems selects Tortuga Logic's Radix for DARPA program - Tortuga Logic, Inc., a cybersecurity company specializing in hardware security, announced that its products and services have been selected by Mercury Systems to support the DARPA Guaranteed Architecture for Physical Security program. Radix-S detects and prevents security vulnerabilities in next-generation ASIC, FPGA and System-on-Chip designs.

08:52 EST Bank of America says outlook for expenses in 2020 'hasn't really changed' - Says investment plans "likely unchanged."

08:49 EST Bank of America sees seasonally lower NII in Q2

08:48 EST Bank of America sees 1Q20 NII lower than 4Q19

08:41 EST BofA CEO Moynihan says $20/hour minimum wage will start in March - Comments taken from Q4 earnings conference call.

08:35 EST Marimed launches 'Betty's Eddies' brand in Massachussetts - MariMed announced that Betty's Eddie, its proprietary, in-house cannabis brand, is now available in both Massachusetts Medical Cannabis and Adult-Use Cannabis Programs. Betty's Eddies fruit chews are gluten-free, vegan, and produced with organically grown fruits and vegetables. Featuring a full spectrum cannabis oil, they are available in Multi-flavor packs, Betty's Bedtime, Seasonal Apple Pie, as well as individual flavor packs. Betty's Eddies are available at both lower and increased dosages in compliance with medical and adult use regulations to meet a wide variety of consumer and patient needs. Betty's Eddies are manufactured at MariMed's licensed production and manufacturing facility in New Bedford. Introduced last week at the medical cannabis program at Panacea Wellness Dispensary in Middleborough, MA, these products are now offered to all licensed medical and adult use dispensaries throughout the state. Betty's Eddies and other MariMed cannabis brands are currently available in medical programs in Delaware, Maryland, Rhode Island, and Illinois. They will soon to be expanding into the medical program in Puerto Rico and the adult use programs in Nevada and Illinois.

08:33 EST StarTek appoints Aparup Sengupta as CEO - Startek has appointed Aparup Sengupta as executive chairman and global chief executive officer, effective January 15. Sengupta will replace Lance Rosenzweig, who is stepping down from his role as president and global CEO to pursue other opportunities. Previously, Sengupta was the executive chairman of The Minacs Group.

08:32 EST Recon Technology regains Nasdaq compliance - Recon Technology announced that it received notice from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications department of The Nasdaq Stock Market on January 13, indicating that the company has regained compliance with the $1.00 per share minimum bid price requirement under NASDAQ Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) for continued listing on The NASDAQ Capital Market. Accordingly, the company has regained compliance with the Bid Price Rule and NASDAQ considers the matter closed.

08:31 EST Novavax granted Fast Track Designation for NanoFlu in older adults - Novavax announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Fast Track Designation for NanoFlu, its recombinant quadrivalent seasonal influenza vaccine candidate, adjuvanted with Matrix-M, in adults 65 years of age and older. The ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial is intended to evaluate the immunogenicity and safety of NanoFlu compared to the quadrivalent formulation of Fluzone. The trial's primary objectives are to demonstrate non-inferior immunogenicity as measured by hemagglutination inhibition titers of vaccine homologous influenza strains compared to Fluzone, and to describe its safety profile. Top-line clinical data from the trial is expected by the end of the first quarter of 2020 and could support a U.S. biologics license application and future licensure of NanoFlu using the FDA's accelerated approval pathway.

08:10 EST Kala Pharmaceuticals completes enrollment of STRIDE 3 trial - Kala Pharmaceuticals announced that it has completed enrollment in its STRIDE 3 (STRIDE - Short Term Relief In Dry Eye) Phase 3 clinical trial for KPI-121 0.25%, its product candidate for the short-term treatment of dry eye disease. If approved, Kala plans to commercialize KPI-121 0.25% under the brand name EYSUVIS. Kala is targeting to report top-line results from this trial during Q1 and resubmission of the EYSUVIS New Drug Application to the FDA in the first half of 2020. Kala believes this resubmission would be subject to a six-month review.

08:08 EST Exela Technologies announces closing of $160M financing - Exela Technologies announced that it has entered into a 5-year, $160M accounts receivable securitization facility. This facility is the first step in implementing the debt reduction and liquidity improvement initiative announced in the fourth quarter of 2019. The facility is for an initial five year term, may be extended in accordance with its terms, and is incremental to the existing $100M revolver facility maturing in July 2022. The new facility has a lower cost of debt than Exela's revolving credit facility.

08:06 EST Agraflora reports 2019 German medical cannabis distribution gross profits of 47% - AgraFlora Organics reports the following unaudited 2019 revenues and profit margin of its wholly-owned German subsidiary, Farmako. On January 3, 2020, AgraFlora announced the Company closed its previously announced acquisition of The Good Company. The Good Company is the parent company of German EU-GDP medical cannabis distributor, Farmako. Farmako, which started its German wholesale operations with first revenues in March 2019, reported gross revenues of $3,067,668 for the year ended January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019, including gross margin of 47 per-cent for cumulative gross profits of $1,438,259 during the year.

08:03 EST Allscripts partnership with PIH Health extended through 2025 - Allscripts announced that PIH Health, a healthcare system based in Whittier, California, has extended its solutions, services and outsourcing engagement with Allscripts through 2025. PIH Health has used Allscripts solutions since 2004, including the Sunrise EHR platform, the Allscripts TouchWorks EHR platform and the Allscripts CareInMotion population health suite. With this extension the health system is also expanding use of these solutions to its newly acquired PIH Good Samaritan Hospital and has cemented itself as one of Allscripts largest client relationships.

08:01 EST Iovance Biotherapeutics completes patient dosing in cohort 4 of C-144-01 study - Iovance Biotherapeutics announced that the company has completed dosing the last patient in the registration-enabling Cohort 4 of the C-144-01 study of lifileucel in the treatment of patients with advanced melanoma. Cohort 4 has the primary endpoint of objective response rate to be read out by an Independent Review Committee.Iovance Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes for melanoma, lifileucel, is an investigational, patient-derived cell therapy that involves a 22-day manufacturing process at a centralized facility. Cohort 4 in the C-144-01 study includes post-PD-1 patients with Stage IIIC/IV unresectable melanoma who also have received BRAF/MEK therapy if clinically indicated. Lifileucel has been granted Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy, Fast Track and Orphan Drug designations in advanced melanoma.

07:49 EST Goldman Sachs says recorded net provisions for litigation of $1.24B during 2019 - During 2019, Goldman Sachs said it recorded net provisions for litigation and regulatory proceedings of $1.24B, which reduced diluted EPS by $3.16 and reduced ROE by 1.5 percentage points and ROTE by 1.6 percentage points.

07:35 EST Idexx Laboratories makes senior leadership changes - Idexx Laboratories announced organizational changes to its global Companion Animal Group business. James Polewaczyk, who has led the company's North America Commercial Operations since its go-direct initiative in 2014, has been promoted to Chief Commercial Officer and Executive VP and will now oversee CAG Commercial Operations globally; Kathy Turner, who has led the company's Commercial Operations for CAG in Europe and Asia since May 2014, has been appointed Chief Marketing Officer. Michael Erickson, who has led Idexx's Veterinary Software and Services line of business since joining the company in 2011, assumed responsibility for Idexx's North America Corporate Accounts in 2019 and will now lead Global Corporate Accounts. In addition, Tina Hunt has been promoted to Executive VP. Michael Lane has been promoted to Executive VP, with continued accountability for Idexx's Global Reference Laboratories, while additionally taking on responsibility for Idexx's worldwide information technology organization.

07:33 EST Precipio clarifies recent S-1 filing - The management team of Precipio would like to provide several clarification points related to the recent S-1 that was filed yesterday, on January 14, 2020: Yesterday's filing was only for the registration of the final tranche of the $10M equity line financing vehicle facilitated by Lincoln Park Capital. This $10M equity line transaction was previously announced in the company's 8-K filing on September 7, 2018 and approved by shareholders on December 20, 2018. In order to utilize the equity line, the company is required to register all shares in advance. Regulatory limitations on the number of shares the company can register relative to the number of shares outstanding require that these shares be registered in tranches. The shares under the $10M equity line facility were registered as follows: Tranche 1: Approximately 466,000 shares were registered on September 14, 2018, Tranche 2: Approximately 1,000,000 shares were registered on February 1, 2019, Tranche 3: Approximately 1,800,000 shares were registered on August 9, 2019, Tranche 4: The balance of approximately 920,000 shares were registered on January 14, 2020. The S-1 registration statement in itself does NOT trigger any transaction, sale, or purchase of shares. This is merely a form filed with the SEC to register these shares so that the company, at its sole discretion, can decide in the future to utilize the equity line. The registration of the shares does NOT allocate them to the fund administering the vehicle . At all times and until the equity line is utilized by the company, the registered shares remain unissued and under the control of the company. They will only be sold to Lincoln Park once the company has decided to draw down on the equity line. Neither this registration statement, nor the equity line itself permit the selling of large volumes of company stock on a given day. As an example, within the structure of the equity line, under a "regular purchase" Precipio is limited to selling 30,000 shares per day. Consequently, Lincoln Park is limited to the same number of shares on a daily basis. When the company decides to utilize the equity line, it initiates a transaction whereby shares are transferred to Lincoln Park; and in return, Lincoln Park provides equivalent market value in cash to the company. The equity line is, in management's opinion, one of the least expensive vehicles available among the various capital market structures. The company has sole discretion and control over the frequency, amount, and timing of the utilization of the equity line, thereby eliminating much of the downward pressure that frequently accompanies publicly marketed offerings.

07:31 EST Goldman Sachs sees 2020 effective tax rate roughly 21%

07:27 EST Goldman Sachs reports Q4 ROE 8.7%, ROTE 9.2% - Reports Q4 book value per share $218.52. During 2019, the firm recorded net provisions for litigation and regulatory proceedings of $1.24 billion, which reduced diluted EPS by $3.16 and reduced ROE by 1.5 percentage points and ROTE by 1.6 percentage points.

07:14 EST Yamana Gold to raise annual dividend 25% to 5c per share - Effective for the first quarter of 2020, the Company will implement its previously announced 25% dividend increase, bringing its annual dividend to 5c per share. This will mark the second increase to the annual dividend in the past six months.

07:11 EST Yamana Gold reports FY19 production of 1.02M GEO - Full year production of 1.02M GEO, including 900,339 ounces of gold, exceeded guidance of 1.01M GEO and 899,000 ounces of gold. Full year silver production of 10.6M ounces exceeded guidance of 10.0M ounces.

07:09 EST Pan American Silver sees total 2020 silver production 26.8-28.3M ounces - Sees total 2020 gold production 452M-487.5M thousand ounces. Sees 2020 total CapEx $247M-$262M.

07:07 EST Visa achieves 100% renewable electricity goal - Visa announced the company has met its goal to use 100% renewable electricity by 2020, furthering the company's commitment. Since setting the 100% renewable goal in 2018, Visa achieved quick action across its global facilities portfolio by advancing to a sustainable mix of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind. Working with local utilities and competitive electricity market providers, Visa leveraged renewable electricity options available in each market that best fit the country's approach to renewable electricity. Visa made local renewable electricity investments in markets where the company has major facilities, including four locations in the U.S. and the U.K. that account for 80% of its global electricity use. Specific actions by Visa included enrollments in renewable electricity programs offered by Total Energy in the U.K., Xcel Energy in Colorado, Austin Energy in Texas and Peninsula Clean Energy in the San Francisco Bay Area. With a commitment to support the broader renewable electricity transition, Visa also joined and followed the guidelines of RE100, a global collaborative of influential businesses committed to 100% renewable power led by The Climate Group in partnership with CDP; became a member of the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance and signed the Renewable Energy Buyers' Principles. By purchasing 100% renewable electricity, Visa mitigates the greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity the company consumes, reducing its operational emissions from its facilities and data centers by almost 90% versus the company's 2014 baseline.

07:06 EST Ero Copper sees 2020 copper concentrate production 41,000-43,000 tonnes - 2020 Outlook Highlights: Annual production guidance for the Curaca Valley operations of 41,000 to 43,000 tonnes of copper in concentrate; C1 cash cost guidance of 85c to 95c per pound of copper produced and capital expenditure guidance of $74M; An additional $28M to fund the 2020 exploration program in the Curaca Valley. The program is highlighted by 172,000 meters of planned exploration drilling through September 2020, an annualized rate of approximately 230,000 meters, of which approximately 60% is planned for regional exploration including drill testing of new greenfield targets identified during the Company's airborne geophysical survey and ongoing data analysis. This compares to approximately 235,000 meters drilled during 2019 of which only 23% was allocated to regional exploration. Annual production guidance for the NX Gold Mine of 38,000 to 40,000 ounces of gold at C1 cash costs of $475 to $575 per ounce of gold produced. Annual capital expenditure guidance for the NX Gold Mine of $6M plus $3.5M in ongoing exploration expenditures.

07:04 EST Ero Copper produces 42,318 tonnes of copper in 2019 - Ero Copper announced the production results for the three and twelve month period ended December 31, 2019 for its 99.6% owned Vale do Curaca Property located in Bahia State, Brazil and its 97.6% owned NX Gold Mine, located in Mato Grosso State, Brazil. The Company's financial results for the full year and fourth quarter of 2019 will be published on Thursday, March 12, 2020 after the close of the Toronto Stock Exchange. Total annual copper production at the Curaca Valley operations of 42,318 tonnes compared to 30,426 tonnes produced in 2018, a 39% year-on-year increase in production, significantly exceeding original 2019 production guidance of 36,000 to 38,000 tonnes of copper. Total annual gold and silver production at the NX Gold Mine of 30,434 ounces of gold and 19,641 ounces of silver.

07:03 EST U.S. Bancorp reports Q4 net interest margin 2.92% vs. 3.15% a year ago

06:52 EST PNC Financial announces $1B increase to share repurchase authorization - PNC received approval in January from the Federal Reserve to repurchase up to an additional $1B in common shares through the end of Q2. This is in addition to the share repurchase programs of up to $4.3B for the four-quarter period beginning in the third quarter of 2019, which were announced in June 2019.

06:50 EST Bank of America reports Q4 investment banking revenue $1.5B

06:49 EST Bank of America repors Q4 FICC trading revenue ex-DVA $1.84B - Excluding net DVA, sales and trading revenue increased 13% to $2.9B.

06:48 EST Bank of America reports Q4 noninterest expense $13.2B

06:45 EST Target down 8.7% after reporting November/December SSS results, backing EPS view

06:38 EST Target reports November/December comparable digital sales up 19% - Comparable digital sales grew 19 percent in the November/December period. Sales through Target's same-day fulfillment services (Order Pick Up, Drive Up and Shipt) grew more than 50% from the November/December period last year, driving approximately three-quarters of the company's digital sales growth. Continued strength in multiple categories was offset by softer-than-expected performance in key holiday categories including Electronics, Toys and portions of Home, which together account for approximately one-third of the company's holiday season sales.

06:36 EST BlackRock CEO: We generated a record $429B of total net inflows in 2019 - CEO Larry Fink said, "Today's results reflect the systematic investments we've made to build broader and deeper client relationships and meet their evolving needs. Clients are increasingly looking to BlackRock as a strategic partner to deliver not just products, but broader thought leadership on macro and geopolitical issues and whole-portfolio solutions powered by technology. BlackRock's 2019 results confirm the uniqueness of our globally integrated, asset management and technology platform. We generated a record $429 billion of total net inflows in 2019, representing 7% organic asset and 5% organic base fee growth, and ended the year with strong momentum, capturing $129 billion of flows in the fourth quarter. Full year flows were positive across product type and investment style, including records in cash, factors and illiquid alternatives. Continued investment in Aladdin, including the acquisition of eFront, drove record growth in technology services revenue to almost $1 billion for the year. The recently announced acceleration of our sustainability efforts is yet another example of BlackRock's commitment to helping clients build more resilient portfolios and navigate investment opportunities and risks. We begin 2020 well positioned to continue fulfilling our purpose and leading the evolution of the asset management industry."

06:35 EST Rayonier to acquire Pope Resources for $126.91 per unit or $554M - Rayonier (RYN) and Pope Resources (POPE) announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Rayonier will acquire all of the outstanding limited partnership units of Pope Resources for consideration consisting of equity and cash. Under the terms of the agreement, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies as well as the special committee of Pope Resources' board composed solely of independent directors, Pope Resources unitholders will have the right to elect to receive (i) 3.929 common shares of Rayonier, (ii) 3.929 units of Rayonier Operating Partnership LP, or (iii) $125 in cash in exchange for each unit of Pope Resources, subject to a proration mechanism as described below. Based on Rayonier's 10-day volume-weighted average price, the transaction values Pope Resources' limited partnership equity at $554M, or $126.91 per unit. The transaction is expected to close in mid-2020. The transaction requires approval of a majority of the Pope Resources unitholders and is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

06:33 EST Apogee Enterprises increases share repurchase authorization by 1 million shares - Apogee Enterprises increased the company's existing share repurchase authorization by 1 million shares, bringing the total available share repurchase program to approximately 2.4 million shares.

06:31 EST Rayonier to acquire Pope Resources for $126.91 per unit

06:09 EST Ideaya Biosciences announces synthetic lethality milestones for 2020 - Ideaya Biosciences announced research highlights from its synthetic lethality pipeline. Ideaya's research in synthetic lethality comprises multiple preclinical programs against novel targets with genetically defined biomarkers. The company is targeting IND for MAT2A inhibitor in the second half of 2020 and targeting development candidate nomination for Polq ATPase in 2020. "We are making progress in our efforts to discover pharmacologically active, small molecule inhibitors for multiple novel synthetic lethality targets," said Yujiro Hata, CEO and president at Ideaya Biosciences. "We believe synthetic lethality represents an important class of precision medicine targets, that enables the targeted treatment of select patient populations. We look forward to advancing our first synthetic lethality program to IND and extending our leadership in the field."

06:07 EST McEwen Mining reports FY19 production 174,420 gold equivalent ounces - McEwen Mining reported consolidated production for 2019 was 134,316 gold ounces and 3,365,846 silver ounces, or 174,420 gold equivalent ounces. CEO Rob McEwen commented: "2019 was a year of exploration highs overshadowed by production lows. After issuing two disappointing reductions in production guidance we finally achieved our guidance. The problems that plagued us in 2019 were largely unique events that will not be reoccurring". The San Jose Mine in Santa Cruz, Argentina exceeded the full year guidance for 2019 of 49,000 gold ounces and 3,225,000 silver ounces. Attributable production from San Jose in 2019 was 51,684 gold ounces and 3,354,487 silver ounces, for a total of 91,654 GEOs. El Gallo Project in Sinaloa, Mexico produced 16,333 GEOs in 2019 from residual leaching of the heap leach pad. Gold Bar Mine in Nevada produced 30,712 GEOs in 2019, within revised full year production guidance. Throughput at the crushing plant slowed in Q4 with the onset of winter, which is expected to persist through Q1 2020. The Black Fox Mine in Timmins, Canada, produced 35,721 GEOs in 2019, close to revised full year production guidance. In Q4, production was 9,887 GEOs.

06:02 EST TransUnion selected by Payfone as primary data provider - TransUnion has been named the primary data provider for Payfone, a digital identity authentication provider. Payfone will leverage TransUnion's data fusion algorithms, platforms and data assets to strengthen its products and solutions. TransUnion previously was named Payfone's primary partner for regulated identity verification information. Furthermore, TransUnion enhanced its IDVision with iovation suite of products by integrating Payfone's Trust Platform and Trust Score.

05:52 EST Tarena regains compliance with Nasdaq minimum bid price requirement - Tarena announced that it recently received a notification letter from the Listing Qualifications Department of The Nasdaq Stock Market Inc., notifying the company that it has regained compliance with the minimum bid price requirement set forth in Rule 5450(a)(1) of the Nasdaq Listing Rules.

05:50 EST STMicroelectronics, ROHM enter multi-year silicon carbide wafer supply agreement - ROHM and STMicroelectronics announced it signed a multi-year silicon carbide, or SiC, wafers supply agreement with SiCrystal, a ROHM group company having a top share of SiC wafers in Europe. The agreement governs the supply of over 120 million dollars of advanced 150mm silicon carbide wafers by SiCrystal to STMicroelectronics during this period of demand ramp-up for silicon carbide power devices.

05:29 EST Dermavant enters license agreement with JT in Japan - Dermavant Sciences announced that it has entered into a collaboration and license agreement with Japan Tobacco, or JT, for exclusive rights to develop, register and market tapinarof in Japan for the treatment of dermatological diseases and conditions, including psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. Along with this agreement, JT has signed an exclusive license agreement with its subsidiary, Torii Pharmaceutical, for co-development and commercialization of tapinarof in Japan. Tapinarof is a potential first-in-class, once-daily topical therapeutic aryl hydrocarbon receptor modulating agent. or TAMA, which Dermavant is developing for the treatment of psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. To date, over 1,400 subjects have participated in 12 clinical trials for tapinarof. Tapinarof is currently in Phase 3 trials for psoriasis in the U.S. (PSOARING 1 and PSOARING 2), having previously demonstrated clinically meaningful and statistically significant responses in Phase 2 trials for both psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. Assuming positive Phase 3 results, Dermavant expects to file a New Drug Application for tapinarof topical cream for the treatment of plaque psoriasis with the FDA in 2021. Under the terms of the license agreement, Dermavant will receive an upfront payment of $60M and up to $53M upon the achievement of certain development milestones for tapinarof for the treatment of psoriasis and atopic dermatitis. In addition, Dermavant will have the right to receive royalties based on product sales of tapinarof in the indications.

05:13 EST Nektar issues statement regarding FDA advisory committee vote for oxycodegol - Nektar Therapeutics issued a statement following a meeting of the FDA's Anesthetic and Analgesic Drug Products Advisory Committee, or AADPAC, and Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee, or DSaRM, to discuss the New Drug Application, or NDA, for oxycodegol where the Committees did not recommend approval of oxycodegol. The company is disappointed in the Committees' vote regarding oxycodegol and believes it is also disappointing for patients suffering from chronic pain and the physicians that treat those patients who are currently relying on existing opioid therapies. The company created oxycodegol specifically to both help these patients and physicians and address the opioid abuse epidemic. For the development of oxycodegol, the company used well-established efficacy, safety and human abuse potential study designs that have led to many prior FDA approvals of opioid medications. The development program for oxycodegol included over 2,000 patients and volunteers. As a result of today's vote at the meeting, the company has decided to withdraw the NDA for oxycodegol and to make no further investment into the program. The company estimates that this will afford Nektar cost savings of between $75M-$125M in 2020 based upon its projections of the estimated costs related to commercialization plans and post-approval studies previously discussed with the FDA.