Stockwinners Market Radar for January 29, 2020 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

19:30 EST Tesla CEO Musk says will focus on growing battery production capacity - Comments taken from Q4 earnings conference call Q/A.

18:46 EST Stryker CEO: Demographics definitely play to our favor - In an interview on CNBC's Mad Money, Stryker CEO Kevin Lobo said, "Demographics give us a tailwind for growth. Our products play to an aging population." Lobo noted that, "Robotics is here to stay in orthopedics. It's a complete game-changer." He said that new product development has been the company's "engine for growth." Lobo added that emerging market growth has been strong, growing double digits.

18:40 EST Tesla CEO Musk says 'really excited about potential for Shanghai factory' - Says broke ground on Model Y production in China. Says demand for Cybertruck has been "incredible" - will sell as many as we make for years. Says generating this level of free cash flow in FY19 while making investments is testament to the Tesla team. Comments taken from Q4 earnings conference call.

18:31 EST NextGen Healthcare enters into partnership with Doctible - NextGen Healthcare announced it has entered into an exclusive partnership with Doctible, a platform that enables healthcare providers to receive real-time feedback from patients while automating back-office tasks. Doctible is an add-on platform that "integrates with the NextGen Office cloud-based Electronic Health Record and Practice Management system to help small practices stimulate loyalty and support growth."

18:15 EST Microsoft says Azure gross margins 'trending where we thought they would'

18:06 EST Microsoft says expects to spend more on CapEx in Q3 - Says sees Q3 COGS $11.05B-$11.25B; Q3 OpEx $11.2B-$11.3B. Sees FY OpEx up 10%-11%. Sees FY operating margin up 2%.

18:00 EST Royal Caribbean cancels 4 sailings on Spectrum of the Sea, sees 10c EPS impact - The company states: "Royal Caribbean commented on the ongoing coronavirus outbreak and announces the date of their 4th quarter earnings call. As has been widely reported, China has moved aggressively to contain the spread of the virus. As a result of these measures, and after consultation with national and local health authorities, the company has cancelled three sailings through Feb 8th, on the high yielding Spectrum of the Seas, currently its only ship homeported in China. The company estimates that this (which included the Chinese new year's cruises) will impact 2020 financial results by approximately $0.10 per share. If the travel restrictions in China continue until the end of February, the company estimates that this would further impact its results by an additional $0.10 per share. There are still too many variables and uncertainties regarding this outbreak to calculate the overall impact on the business. For example, we expect an erosion of consumer confidence in China could have an additional impact on load factor and rate in the region until the market normalizes. If these travel restrictions continue for an extended period of time, they could have a material impact on the overall financial performance of the company. The company has scheduled a conference call for 10:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time, Tuesday, February 4,, 2020, to discuss the company's fourth quarter 2019 financial results and full year 2020 guidance." For the winter sailing season, the company only has one ship based in China; two additional ships are scheduled to join in May and July 2020, respectively. For all of 2020, China represents about 6% of the company's capacity.

17:51 EST 1ST Colonial Bancorp appoints Robert White CEO - The boards of 1st Colonial Bancorp and its subsidiary, 1st Colonial Community Bank, announced that they have appointed Robert White as the president and CEO of both the holding company and the bank, effective February 3. He succeeds Gerard Banmiller, the current president and CEO of both companies, who is retiring. White brings 30 years of experience in banking and financial services with him to 1st Colonial. Most recently he served as the executive VP and Chief Risk Officer for Customers Bank.

17:45 EST Microsoft says Q2 results driven by strength of commercial cloud - Says seeing demand for premium offerings. Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call.

17:41 EST Core Laboratories chairman and CEO David Demshur announces plans to retire - David Demshur, after more than 25 years as Core Lab's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer,announced his plans to retire effective 31 December. Mr. Demshur will transition from the roles of Chairman and CEO on 20 May 2020, coinciding with Core Lab's Annual Shareholders' Meeting. Mr. Demshur will not seek re-nomination to the Company's Supervisory Board of Directors in 2020. Mr. Demshur's retirement, at the age of 65, follows more than 40 years of dedicated leadership and innovation at Core Lab. He led the management buyout of Core Lab in 1994 and its IPO in 1995. Since the IPO, and under Mr. Demshur's leadership, Core Lab's total shareholder return has consistently outperformed the other members of the Philadelphia Oil Service Sector Index in the aggregate. This superior performance was driven by the execution of the Company's long-standing growth strategies and disciplined adherence to the Company's three financial tenets. Also, during Mr. Demshur's leadership, Core Lab significantly expanded its portfolio of services and products and global business, now operating in more than 50 countries. Lawrence Bruno to be appointed Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in addition to serving in his current roles as President and Chief Operating Officer

17:28 EST Sunrun to replace Darling Ingredients in S&P 600 at open on 2/4

17:25 EST ServiceNow reports Q4 subscription revenue up 35% from last year at $899M - Reports Q4 892 total customers with annual contract value of over $1M, up 32% from last year.

17:17 EST Qorvo up over 12% after Q3 earnings beat - Shares of Qorvo rose 12.3% or $13.79 to $126.36 per share after its Q3 earnings beat and above-consensus Q4 guidance.

17:13 EST Facebook says full AR still a number of years away - Says believes systems around elections and political news "more advanced" than in 2016. Says full AR still a number of years away, but company hit "real milestone" in VR with Oculus Quest. Says people bought nearly $5M worth of content on Oculus store on Christmas. Comments taken from Q4 earnings conference call.

17:02 EST Allegiant appoints Scott DeAngelo executive VP, Chief Marketing Officer - Allegiant has announced that Scott DeAngelo has been appointed to serve as executive VP and Chief Marketing Officer.

17:01 EST Celanese announces expansion of global emulsion polymers business - Celanese announces preliminary plans to expand its emulsion polymers derivatives business to extend the value of its global acetyl chain. These focused investments allow Celanese to implement integrated capital deployments to capture disproportionate growth in the global Emulsions market. The strategic steps being announced include implementing a series of capital efficient VAE, or vinyl acetate ethylene, expansion and de-bottlenecking projects from now through the year 2023, including significant expansions of Celanese's Geleen, Netherlands, and Nanjing, China, VAE emulsions production sites.

16:56 EST Spring Bank down 4.5% after discontinuing development of inarigivir soproxil

16:53 EST CymaBay considering liquidation, sale, merger, asset acquisitions - CymaBay's board and management team have been working to assess all potential ways to maximize value for its shareholders, including liquidation, sale, merger, asset acquisitions, and/or continuing development of its internal programs. The company is aware of the condensed timeframe in which decisions must be made to maximize its financial and human capital and is therefore acting expeditiously.

16:51 EST CymaBay says has $191M of cash, cash equivalents as of year end 2019 - CymaBay's estimated 2019 year-end cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities was $191M. Based on its projections for obligations related to clinical study close-out and patient follow-up costs, severance related to additional headcount reductions, and other operating expenses, the company estimates a total cash burn of between $30M-$50M in the first half of 2020, approximately $20M-$35M of which is for the required clinical study close-out and patient follow-up activities.

16:49 EST UPS and Google's Waymo partner in self-driving package pickup In Arizona - In a blog post from earlier Waymo said: "In our efforts to continue expanding our delivery business, we're excited to announce a new strategic partnership with UPS (UPS), starting with a first-of-its-kind deal for the Waymo Driver to deliver packages on behalf of the national parcel delivery carrier. Our self-driving Chrysler Pacifica minivans will shuttle packages from UPS Stores in the Metro Phoenix area to the UPS Tempe hub as part of a pilot that will explore customer and operational benefits and illustrate how the Waymo Driver can deliver on behalf of clients safely, efficiently, and, eventually, at scale. The pilot will begin this quarter and our team will work closely with UPS to with the goal of jointly developing a long-term plan. For this pilot, Waymo vehicles will drive autonomously with a trained operator on board to monitor transportation operations. We're confident this strategic partnership with UPS will help us deliver on our goal to improve customer service and network efficiency, and ultimately, make roads safer." Reference Link

16:39 EST Parker Drilling voluntarily delisting from NYSE - Parker Drilling filed a Form 25 with the SEC to voluntarily delist its shares of common stock from trading on the NYSE in connection with its previously announced plan to deregister its common stock. The company expects that the delisting will occur ten calendar days after the filing of the Form 25 so that trading will be suspended on February 10 prior to the market opening. Following the delisting, the company's board will evaluate updated ownership data to ascertain the aggregate costs within the ranges of stock split ratios that the company's stockholders approved at a special meeting on January 9. Based upon this analysis, the Board will determine the appropriate ratio to effectuate a reverse stock split, which will be followed immediately by a forward stock split.

16:38 EST Meritage Homes says FY19 total orders increased 19% - Total orders for the full year 2019 increased 19% year-over-year, as absorptions increased to 37.3 for the year, approximately 3.1 per month, in 2019, over 31.4, approximately 2.6 per month, for 2018. The 19% increase in absorptions was primarily driven by the shift toward more entry-level communities, which sell at a higher pace. At year-end 2019, entry-level communities made up 47% of total communities, compared to 33% at the end of 2018.

16:33 EST Varian Medical radiotherapy systems selected by Massachusetts General Hospital - Varian has signed an agreement with Massachusetts General Hospital to provide seven Varian radiotherapy systems and related services for advanced cancer treatment at its clinics. Five of the systems will replace existing non-Varian systems, one will replace an existing Varian system and one will be placed in a new vault. Installation of the systems is expected to begin in late 2020.

16:30 EST Chevron raises quarterly dividend 8.4% to $1.29 per share - The board of directors of Chevron Corporation declared a quarterly dividend of $1.29 per share, an increase of 10c per share or 8.4%. The dividend is payable March 10, 2020, to all holders of common stock as shown on the transfer records of the Corporation at the close of business February 18, 2020.

16:30 EST Tesla says production ramp of Model Y has begun ahead of schedule - Production ramp of Model Y in Fremont has begun, ahead of schedule. Model 3 production in Shanghai is continuing to ramp while Model Y production in Shanghai will begin in 2021. Tesla is planning to produce limited volumes of Tesla Semi this year.

16:27 EST PayPal down 6% to $109.41 after FY20 profit view misses estimates

16:25 EST Anika Therapeutics trading halted, news pending

16:21 EST California Water Service increases dividend - The California Water Service Group board declared the company's 300th consecutive quarterly dividend, increasing the annual dividend to 85c per share from 79c per share. This represents the company's 53rd consecutive annual dividend increase. The quarterly dividend of 21.25c per common share will be payable on February 21 to stockholders of record on February 10.

16:20 EST PayPal reports Q4 cash flow from operations $1.3B, free cash flow $1.1B

16:19 EST Mellanox reports Q4 gross margin 69.1% vs. 69.0% last year

16:17 EST Earthstone Energy sees Q4 average daily sales volume up 66% at 17.4MBOE/D - Guides 2020 production of 15,500-16,500 Boepd, and $160M-170M of capital expenditures, which represents a 20% increase in production and a 21% decrease in capital expenditures compared to 2019.

16:13 EST Equillium to present translational data supporting itolizumab for GVHD - Equillium announced that translational data supporting the potential of itolizumab in the treatment of graft-versus-host disease, or GVHD, will be presented at the Transplantation & Cellular Therapy, or TCT, meetings of the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, or ASTCT, and the Center for International Blood & Marrow Transplant Research, or CIBMTR. The research, conducted in mouse models of human disease, demonstrates that blockade of the CD6-ALCAM pathway with anti-CD6 antibodies reduces incidence and severity of both GVHD and gastro-intestinal inflammation.

16:09 EST Facebook shares drop 6% to $208.92 following Q4 results

16:09 EST Facebook reports cash and cash equivalents of $54.86B - Facebook said its cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities were $54.86B as of December 31, 2019. Its capital expenditures, including principal payments on finance leases, were $4.24B and $15.65B for the fourth quarter and full year 2019, respectively. The company's headcount was 44,942 as of December 31, 2019, an increase of 26% year-over-year.

16:08 EST Microsoft reports Q2 Productivity and Business Processes revenue up 17% - Revenue in Productivity and Business Processes was $11.8B and increased 17%, up 19% in constant currency. Office Commercial products and cloud services revenue increased 16%, up 18% in constant currency, driven by Office 365 Commercial revenue growth of 27%, up 30% in constant currency. Office Consumer products and cloud services revenue increased 19%, up 20% in constant currency, with continued growth in Office 365 Consumer subscribers to 37.2M. LinkedIn revenue increased 24%, up 26% in constant currency.

16:08 EST Wheeler REIT reduces debt - Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust announced that it has reduced the balance on the company's KeyBank line of credit below $10M. The company obtained a 5-year fixed rate term loan with Citibank for $6M at an interest rate of 4.45%, which is approximately 84 basis points below the current interest rate on the company's KeyBank line of credit as of December 31, 2019. The new loan is secured by the Shoppes at Myrtle Park, a 56,601 square-foot shopping center located in South Carolina, which was previously encumbered on the Company's KeyBank line of credit. In addition, the company sold St. Matthews, a 29,015 square-foot shopping center in South Carolina for approximately $1.78M. The proceeds of the sale have been used to pay down the KeyBank line of credit. These transactions, along with the company's January principal payment, have reduced the KeyBank line of credit balance below $10M, which meets the January 31, 2020 deadline and complies with the second amendment agreed upon with the lender on January 24, 2020.

16:06 EST Facebook reports daily active users up 9% year-over-year to 1.66B

16:06 EST Microsoft reports Q2 Intelligent Cloud revenue up 27% to $11.9B - Revenue in Intelligent Cloud was $11.9B and increased 27%, up 28% in constant currency. Server products and cloud services revenue increased 30%, up 32% in constant currency, driven by Azure revenue growth of 62%, up 64% in constant currency. Enterprise Services revenue increased 6%, up 7% in constant currency.

16:05 EST Albireo achieves milestones for Odevixibat across multiple diseases - Albireo Pharma announced a number of advances and new initiatives in the clinical program for odevixibat, an oral once-daily capsule in development for the treatment of progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis, biliary atresia and Alagille syndrome. The FDA has cleared the company's investigational new drug application to initiate a global pivotal trial in biliary atresia. Following scheduled FDA interactions in the first quarter of 2020, the company plans to commence an additional pivotal program in Alagille syndrome by the end of 2020. Management also continues to expect topline data from its Phase 3 trial in PFIC in mid-2020.

16:03 EST AMN Healthcare to acquire Stratus Video for $475M - AMN Healthcare announced a definitive agreement to acquire Stratus Video for a purchase price of $475M. The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to AMN's adjusted earnings per share. Stratus Video, based in Clearwater, Florida, is the leading provider of video remote language interpretation services for the healthcare industry. The company has grown rapidly since its founding in 2012, surpassing $100M revenue in 2019. Based on fourth quarter 2019 results, Stratus' twelve-month annualized run rate was approximately $119M of revenue and $34M of adjusted EBITDA.

15:30 EST Ingevity to petition ITC to review judge's determination, to pursue MAHLE case - Ingevity announced it will petition the U.S. International Trade Commission to review the Administrative Law Judge's Initial Determination published today in regards to its decision in the hearing phase of the ITC Section 337 proceeding that it brought against MAHLE Filter Systems North America and other named defendants, seeking to prevent further importation of activated carbon products that infringe Ingevity's patent covering canister systems used to comply with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Tier 3 and California LEV III regulations to control automotive gasoline vapor emissions. In addition, Ingevity intends to continue to pursue its case against MAHLE in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Illinois alleging infringement on that patent and seeking remuneration for damages, the company said. The ruling of the ITC judge does not invalidate Ingevity's patent which remains in force, according to the company, which also noted that the U.S. Patent Trial and Appeal Board in October 2019 ruled in Ingevity's favor and dismissed a petition from MAHLE to invalidate the patent. "While we're disappointed in this ruling, it's important to keep it in context. This ruling is limited to the specific request to the ITC to ban the importation of infringing materials. The ITC does not have the ability to invalidate patents issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. And, it's important to note that the judge did find infringement on the part of MAHLE," said Michael Wilson, Ingevity's president and CEO.

14:52 EST Air Canada suspends flights to Beijing, Shanghai - Air Canada said that following the Government of Canada's Advisory to avoid non-essential travel to mainland China it is temporarily suspending all direct flights to Beijing and Shanghai effective January 30 until February 29. Air Canada's last flights departing Canada will operate today and the return flights will operate from Beijing and Shanghai tomorrow, January 30. Affected customers will be notified and offered options, including travel on other carriers where available, or a full refund. Air Canada will continue to monitor this evolving situation closely in consultation with the Public Health Agency of Canada, Transport Canada and Global Affairs and will adjust its schedule as appropriate. Air Canada currently operates direct flights to Beijing and Shanghai from Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver.

14:39 EST Grand Canyon issues response to 'inaccurate and misleading' Citron report - On its corporate website, Grand Canyon issued a response to a recent report by Citron Research, stating in part: "Yesterday, Citron Research, a self-described 'activist short seller' that purports to provide independent 'research' that tends to portray publicly traded stocks as overvalued, released a report calling into question various aspects of the Transaction [in which Grand Canyon Education sold Grand Canyon University to an Arizona nonprofit corporation], including the ongoing financial terms of the Master Services Agreement and the Credit Agreement to which the company and GCU are parties. The company has no intention of engaging in a point by point rebuttal of the inaccurate and misleading Citron Report...Citron apparently does not understand the services arrangement; other statements in the Citron Report are simply false." Reference Link

14:31 EST PNM Resources trading resumes

14:08 EST KLM suspends certain China flights following coronavirus outbreak - KLM, the Dutch arm of Air France-KLM, said that as it monitors the outbreka of the coronavirus in China, it has taken the decision to suspend direct flights to Chengdu and Hangzhou as of January 30, reduce the number of weekly flights to Shanghai from 11 to 7 times a week as of January 30, and suspend direct flights to Xiamen as of January 31. The number of weekly flights to Beijing remains at 7. These flight adjustments are in effect until February 29. In consultation with the relevant authorities, KLM has also taken various precautionary measures, including the provision of mouth masks for the crew on board and on site upon request. In addition, general hygiene measures are brought to the attention of KLM employees, such as frequent hand washing. The general guidelines of WHO and RIVM are followed. KLM will continue to closely follow the guidelines of the authorities and organisations as well as the bookings and will make further decisions based on this.

12:34 EST Microsoft launches new $40M AI for Good program, AI for Health - Microsoft announces AI for Health, a new $40M, five-year program and part of the AI for Good initiative, that will leverage artificial intelligence technology to empower researchers and organizations addressing some of the world's toughest challenges in health. "Artificial intelligence has the potential to solve some of humanity's greatest challenges, like improving the health of communities around the world," said Brad Smith, president, Microsoft. "We know that putting this powerful technology into the hands of experts tackling this problem can accelerate new solutions and improve access for underserved populations. That's why we created AI for Health." In a new era of tech intensity, in which technology is reshaping every organization and becoming embedded in the fabric of every aspect of our lives, digital advances will continue to reshape our world in profound ways. AI represents one of technology's most important priorities, and healthcare is perhaps AI's most urgent application. However, the talent and resources required to equip health researchers with tools to deploy AI and data science is unevenly distributed. Less than 5% of the world's AI professionals today work in health and nonprofit organizations. It is crucial to provide these mission-driven researchers with the tools they need to accelerate and expand their work. Through AI for Health, Microsoft will work to ensure that nonprofits, academia and research organizations have access to the latest technology, resources and technical experts to help implement AI to accelerate research, generate insights and improve access to care. The AI for Health initiative will focus on three key areas: Quest for discovery. Accelerating medical research to advance prevention, diagnoses and treatment of diseases. Global health insights. Increasing our shared understanding of mortality and longevity to protect against global health crises. Health equity. Reducing health inequity and improving access to care for underserved populations.

12:16 EST Woodward increases quarterly dividend by 72% - Woodward announced that its board declared a cash dividend of 28c per share for the quarter, payable on March 3 for stockholders of record as of February 18. The 28c per share dividend, which was originally announced as part of the recently announced merger transaction with Hexcel Corporation, represents a 72% increase over the previous quarterly dividend of 16.25c per share.

12:00 EST Skyline falls -13.0% - Skyline is down -13.0%, or -$4.69 to $31.50.

12:00 EST Unifi falls -23.9% - Unifi is down -23.9%, or -$6.54 to $20.77.

12:00 EST Clearwater Paper rises 23.6% - Clearwater Paper is up 23.6%, or $5.26 to $27.55.

11:46 EST Eni SpA partners with Italy agency on energy initiative worth over 600M euros - Italy's ENEA and Eni will work together in a strategic alliance. The project, worth over 600 million euros, focuses on the energy of the future, sustainable, safe and unlimited, and it involves the establishment of a scientific and technological centre for fusion DTT in ENEA's Research Centre in Rome by DDT Scarl, a joint venture owned 25% by Eni, 74% by ENEA and 1% by Consorzio CREATE. The project will have an impact of around 2 billion euros on the national GDP and will create 1,500 new jobs, among which 500 for scientists and technical specialists. The agreement was signed today at the Research Centre of ENEA by the president of ENEA, Federico Testa, and the CEO of Eni, Claudio Descalzi, in the presence of the Secretary to the Prime Minister, Riccardo Fraccaro, of the Minister for Universities and Research, Gaetano Manfredi, the Minister of Economic Development, Stefano Patuanelli, and the President of Lazio Region, Nicola Zingaretti.

11:18 EST AudioCodes drops 7% after fourth quarter report - Shares of AudioCodes, a vendor of advanced voice networking and media processing solutions based in Israel, are sliding after the company reported that its revenues for the fourth quarter of 2019 were $52.8M, compared to $51.4M for the prior quarter and $45.8M in the same quarter of 2018. Q4 non-GAAP net income was $8.1M, or 26c per diluted share, up from $6.3M, or 20c per diluted share in the fourth quarter last year. Shabtai Adlersberg, President and CEO of AudioCodes, said, "The year 2019 ended on a strong note, underscoring strong performance for the full year, our best year ever. Underlining our success is our continued leadership of the Enterprise Voice segment with our voice connectivity solutions, delivery of strong results for our voice networking business, and increased investment in two new developing markets: the meeting space and Voice.ai...In 2019 we continued to invest and develop technologies and solutions in the Voice.ai business unit which has demonstrated success in growing the number of project wins. In the second half of 2019 we have announced the launch of a new effort targeting a set of solutions and devices for the emerging meeting space. Coupling these new technologies with our strong position in the UC and UCaaS markets in the Microsoft Teams and Skype for Business ecosystem should further enhance our ability to expand our business. Looking forward, and based on current business momentum, we are confident in our ability to continue to expand our business in 2020 and beyond. We plan to continue our investment in future offerings, and focus on the return on investment to our shareholders." In morning trading in New York, shares of AudioCodes are down $1.76, or 7.2%, to $22.64.

11:05 EST Boeing CFO says evaluating all levers to maintain cash balance

11:03 EST Boeing CFO says share repurchase program remains on pause

10:48 EST Boeing: Ungrounding estimate shouldn't be taken as overstep of FAA oversight - Says the mid-2020 737 MAX ungrounding estimate should not be taken as any sort of overstep of FAA and regulator oversight.

10:46 EST Boeing says starting to see some pressure on demand in cargo market

10:44 EST Boeing CEO says aware of impact of 737 MAX production halt on suppliers

10:37 EST Boeing CEO: Primary focus continues to be returning 737 MAX to service safely

10:34 EST Boeing CEO: 'Will do everything I can to make our airplanes, industry safer' - Comments taken from the Q4 earnings conference call.

10:00 EST Unifi falls -16.0% - Unifi is down -16.0%, or -$4.37 to $22.94.

10:00 EST L Brands rises 13.3% - L Brands is up 13.3%, or $2.73 to $23.29.

10:00 EST Clearwater Paper rises 24.4% - Clearwater Paper is up 24.4%, or $5.43 to $27.72.

09:47 EST Intelsat falls -13.3% - Intelsat is down -13.3%, or -72c to $4.71.

09:47 EST Santander Consumer rises 10.9% - Santander Consumer is up 10.9%, or $2.53 to $25.71.

09:47 EST L Brands rises 13.1% - L Brands is up 13.1%, or $2.70 to $23.26.

09:41 EST Starbucks intended to raise guidance, held off for coronavirus impact - Kevin Johnson is speaking on CNBC.

09:39 EST Starbucks CEO says retail business 'firing on all cylinders' - Kevin Johnson is speaking on CNBC.

09:30 EST UPS to create over 1,700 jobs with new 'super hub', package centers - UPS will bring online substantial processing capacity globally at 20 new or remodeled, highly automated, data-driven facilities in 2020. The projects, as part of enterprise-wide transformation initiatives, will add more than 5 million square feet of new automated sortation globally, well ahead of the 2020 holiday season. Innovative technology provides increased efficiency and additional flexibility for routing packages, with visibility tools and leading edge analytics optimizing volume and processing capacity alignment across UPS's smart global logistics network. UPS announced a commitment of approximately $1.4B to significant facility enhancements in Pennsylvania, as part of the company's major capacity expansions in 2020. UPS plans to open a new "super hub" in Harrisburg, along with highly automated package operations in Carlisle, Lehigh Valley and Philadelphia, creating more than 1,700 new jobs with great pay and benefits. Other UPS facility expansions planned for 2020 will be announced in the near future. UPS is more than halfway through a three-year strategic investment in global network enhancements. When the investment cycle is complete, new automated facilities will drive 30-35% improved productivity when compared to manual processing in older sites. By the end of 2021, nearly 100% of eligible packages in the UPS network will be sorted with automated technologies. Construction is underway for a new "super hub" located in Harrisburg to be called the Northeast Regional Hub. It will facilitate enhanced movement of goods between markets that include Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, New York City, Baltimore and Washington, DC. The new hub joins five regional super hubs already operating in Atlanta, Georgia; Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas; Phoenix, Ariz.; Salt Lake City, Utah and Indianapolis, Ind., as well as two other "super hubs" planned to open in 2020 in Tacoma, Wash. and Ontario, Calif.

09:27 EST Diana Shipping announces sale of m/v Norfolk, time charter contract for m/v Maia - Diana Shipping announced that it has signed, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, a Memorandum of Agreement to sell to an unaffiliated third party, the 2002-built vessel "Norfolk", with delivery to the buyer latest by February 25, 2020, for a sale price of $9.35M before commissions. The Company also announced that, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it has entered into a time charter contract with Aquavita International S.A., for one of its Kamsarmax dry bulk vessels, the m/v Maia. The gross charter rate is $11,200 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period of minimum fourteen months to about sixteen months. The new charter will commence today. The "Maia" is a 82,193 dwt Kamsarmax dry bulk vessel built in 2009. This employment is anticipated to generate approximately $4.7M of gross revenue for the minimum scheduled period of the time charter.

09:25 EST Lakeland CEO Christopher Ryan named chairman, Charles Roberson to succeed - Lakeland Industries announced changes to its executive management team and the relocation of the company's corporate headquarters. Christopher Ryan, Lakeland's CEO since 2003, has been appointed by the company's board to the newly created position of executive chairman, while Charles Roberson, Lakeland's COO since 2019 and a member of the company's management team since 2004, will succeed Ryan as CEO, effective February 1. Roberson will, concurrently, be appointed to the company's board, bringing the total membership to six. The COO position will remain vacant for the time being, as the company evaluates the need for this post. John Kreft, the Company's chairman since 2016 and board member since 2004, will remain on the board and continue as the lead independent director and audit committee chairman. Compensation and employment agreement details related to these changes will be available in the company's 8-K filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Commensurate with the aforementioned executive leadership changes, the company will relocate its corporate headquarters from Ronkonkoma, New York to Decatur, Alabama. Most of Lakeland's U.S. administrative, warehouse and manufacturing operations have already been located in Decatur. The six employees working in New York will remain with the company, but the office will be closed. No material accounting charges or one-time expenses are expected to be recorded for the relocation, since the Ronkonkoma facility housed a minimal number of administrative and executive personnel. The relocation is expected to result in a reduction of general and administrative expense of approximately $150,000 for the fiscal year that began February 1.

09:23 EST Summit State Bank appoints Dawn Ross to board of directors - Summit State Bank appointed Dawn Ross to its Board of Directors replacing a vacancy created by Board Member Bridget Doherty. Ross is a Founding Partner at Carle, Mackie, Power & Ross LLP and currently serves as the Managing Partner leading the employment group and commercial litigation team. Bridget Doherty who has served on the Board since 2016, announced her resignation to manage the recently expanded businesses, Encore Events and of Cal-West Rentals, she runs with her brother, Tyler Doherty.

09:21 EST MasterCard says global switched volume up 15% through January 21 - Says switched volume up 11% in U.S. through January 21.

09:21 EST Standard AVB Financial announces stock repurchase program up to 230K shares - Standard AVB Financial announced that its Board of Directors approved a new stock repurchase program. The new stock repurchase program is to be implemented upon the completion of the Company's current stock repurchase program. There are 101,211 shares that remained available for repurchased under the Company's current stock repurchase program. Pursuant to the new stock repurchase program, the Company may repurchase up to an additional 230,000 shares of its common stock, or approximately 5% of its current outstanding shares.

09:19 EST Randolph Bancorp president, CEO James McDonough to retire - Randolph Bancorp, the holding company for Envision Bank, announced that James P. McDonough will retire as President and CEO and a member of the Board of Directors of the Company and the Bank, effective April 1, 2020. Mr. McDonough will be succeeded in these roles by William M. Parent on the same date. Mr. Parent previously served as President and CEO of Blue Hills Bank and Blue Hills Bancorp, Inc. from 2010 through 2019. The Company also announced that Michael K. Devlin will retire as EVP and CFO of the Company and the Bank and be succeeded by Lauren B. Messmore, in each case effective April 1, 2020. Ms. Messmore previously served as EVP and CFO of Blue Hills Bank and Blue Hills Bancorp, Inc. from 2017 through 2019 and as SVP, Corporate Strategy of Blue Hills Bank from 2012 through 2017.

09:17 EST McDonald's says restaurants in affected region in China closed - Management says China is about 3% of operating income.

09:14 EST Electriq Power selects Sierra Wireless IoT solutions - Electriq Power announced at the DISTRIBUTECH conference that it has signed an agreement for IoT solutions from Sierra Wireless, the leading IoT solutions provider that combines devices, network services, and software to unlock value in the connected economy. Under the agreement, Electriq Power will integrate Sierra Wireless's small, rugged FX30 Programmable IoT gateway with LPWA connectivity services into its PowerPod smart home battery systems. These wireless IoT solutions will provide Electriq Power with the secure, reliable and global connectivity it needs to deploy and manage intelligent energy storage applications on its PowerPods. With these IoT applications, installers can quickly set up new PowerPods, homeowners can optimize their PowerPods to meet specific power use and backup needs, and utilities can use PowerPods for demand response and other grid services that lower their costs, increase grid stability and improve customer engagement.

09:13 EST Avid says Genomedia accelerates UHD production with Avid workflow - Avid announced that Dubai-based production company Genomedia has transformed the way it produces and edits Ultra High Definition content with Avid. Faced with delivering high-quality content within tight deadlines, Genomedia deployed an end-to-end Avid post-production workflow with MediaCentral Editorial Management to empower its editors and significantly accelerate the production of its first ever drama series.

09:11 EST Accenture recommends shareholders reject mini-tender offer by TRC Capital - Accenture has been notified that TRC Capital has made an unsolicited "mini-tender" offer to purchase up to 750,000 Class A ordinary shares of Accenture at an offer price of $199.38 per share in cash, which is approximately 4.41% lower than the $208.57 per share closing price for Accenture Class A ordinary shares on January 24, the last trading day before the commencement of TRC Capital's mini-tender offer. Accenture does not endorse TRC Capital's unsolicited mini-tender offer and is not associated in any way with TRC Capital, its mini-tender offer, or its mini-tender offer documents. TRC Capital's mini-tender offer seeks less than 5% of Accenture's outstanding Class A ordinary shares, thereby avoiding many disclosure requirements and procedural protections of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

09:06 EST Allegiant Travel becomes official airline of the Indianapolis Colts - Allegiant and the Indianapolis Colts have entered a partnership that will make Allegiant the "Official Airline of the Indianapolis Colts". Allegiant has been airline sponsor of the Colts since 2015. As part of the agreement, the upper terrace level of Lucas Oil Stadium will be named "Allegiant Terrace Level".

09:05 EST Summit State Bank president, CEO James Brush to retire - Summit State Bank President and CEO, James Brush announced his retirement as of the Annual Shareholder's Meeting scheduled for April 27, 2020. Brush assumed the role of President and CEO in April of 2016 and has led the Bank through its recent growth and staff expansion. He has served on the Bank's Board of Directors since 2009 and will remain on the Board and continue to be active in Sonoma County, where he resides. The Board has named current EVP, Chief Credit Officer Brian Reed in the succession plan to fill the role of President and CEO. The succession plan informally began earlier last year and now has been ratified by the Board of Directors. Michael Castlio will replace Brian as Chief Credit Officer. He has over 25 years of banking experience and is currently leading our Credit Administration since joining the Bank in 2018.

09:03 EST Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: General Electric (GE), up 8%... Boeing (BA), up 2%... Apple (AAPL), up 2%... MasterCard (MA), up 1%... Dynatrace (DT), up 6%. ALSO HIGHER: L Brands (LB), up 12% after the Wall Street Journal reports Leslie Wexner is in talks to step aside as CEO of the company and it is also exploring strategic alternatives for Victoria's Secret... Sorrento Therapeutics (SRNE), up 5% after initiating a clinical and manufacturing collaboration with Celularity. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: ADP (ADP), down 3%... Anthem (ANTM), down 3%... eBay (EBAY), down 4%... AMD (AMD), down 5%. ALSO LOWER: Biohaven Pharmaceutical (BHVN), down 10% after filing to sell $250M of common stock.

08:59 EST McDonald's expects to open 450 new stores in China this year

08:57 EST McDonald's sees FY20 G&A to increase 5%-7% - Sees G&A percentages higher in the first half of the year. Sees currency impacting Q1 EPS by 1c-3c and sees a similar amount in the rest of the year.

08:56 EST General Electric sees 'step back' in Renewable unit cash flow in 2020

08:53 EST McDonald's says wage pressures impacted Q4

08:49 EST Commvault says goal is to grow sequentially in every quarter in 2020 - Says 90% of top 500 customers are still active. Says 70% of Q3 revenue is repeatable in nature. Says expects meaningful impact of subscriptions sold in FY21. Says Q3 was an a unusual quarter from cash flow perspective. Says expects free cash flow to normalize in Q4. Comments taken from Q3 earnings conference call.

08:46 EST OptimizeRx signs multi-million dollar enterprise deal for integrated platform - OptimizeRx has sealed its largest ever enterprise deal for 12 months of access to its platform and core set of solutions. The new platform enables unprecedented transparency into patient medication behavior as well as provides access to patient-provider-pharma communication across the care continuum and in a variety of care settings. Pharmaceutical companies, healthcare providers and payers are now better able to efficiently and effectively address patient medication affordability and therapeutic adherence.

08:45 EST Genco Shipping announces completion of scrubber program - Genco Shipping & Trading announced the completion of its exhaust gas cleaning systems program which consisted of installing scrubbers on Genco's 17 Capesize vessels. This represents a key pillar of our previously announced comprehensive plan towards compliance with International Maritime Organization regulations that limit sulfur emissions from vessels to 0.5% down from 3.5% on a global basis to improve air quality. In addition to the installation of scrubbers on our 17 Capesize vessels, the balance of our fleet consisting of minor bulk vessels is consuming ultra-low sulfur compliant fuel.

08:43 EST McDonald's saw negative U.S. customer traffic in Q4

08:38 EST AT&T says met or exceeded all 2019 objectives - Says will "continue to invest aggressively" in core businesses. Says will continue to streamline portfolio. Comments taken from Q4 earnings conference call.

08:37 EST McDonald's says U.S. store owner cash flow 'at record highs' - Comments provided during Q4 earnings conference call.

08:35 EST Syros Pharmaceuticals announces preclinical data on CDK7, CDK12 - Syros Pharmaceuticals announced new preclinical data showing that inhibiting cyclin-dependent kinase 7, or CDK7, results in different transcriptional effects than inhibiting cyclin-dependent kinase 12, or CDK12, pointing to distinct therapeutic opportunities to benefit patients with difficult-to-treat cancers. Building on its leadership in gene control, Syros also described new methods for identifying essential genes and transcriptional dependencies in cancer that could serve as potential drug targets. These data were presented at the 2020 Keystone Symposia Cancer Epigenetics: New Mechanisms and Therapeutic Opportunities. Syros scientists studied the transcriptional effects of selective CDK7 and CDK12 inhibition in an ovarian cancer cell line, marking the first reported direct comparison of these two approaches. CDK7 and CDK12 are members of the CDK family that have emerged as potentially important drug targets in cancer because of their roles in transcription, the process by which genes express proteins. The findings showed that, under the conditions tested, CDK7 and CDK12 inhibition had distinct effects despite decreasing expression of many of the same genes. The results suggest that a selective CDK12 inhibitor presents distinct therapeutic opportunities from a selective CDK7 inhibitor, such as increasing the susceptibility of cancer to targeted therapies involved in DNA damage repair such as PARP1 inhibitors. Syros has a highly selective and potent oral CDK7 inhibitor, SY-5609, currently in a Phase 1 trial in patients with advanced breast, colorectal, lung or ovarian cancer, or with solid tumors of any histology that harbor Rb pathway alterations. In addition to decreasing the expression of cancer-driving genes, CDK7 inhibition has also been shown to interfere with cancer's ability to progress unchecked through the cell cycle. Syros also has a CDK12/13 inhibitor program in preclinical development in cancer. Syros scientists also presented on two new methods for identifying genes and transcriptional regulators upon which cancer cells are particularly dependent for their survival with the aim of identifying new drug targets. By analyzing cancer cells with gene copy-number deletions, Syros scientists identified approximately 200 genes that represent dose-dependent transcriptional liabilities across several cancers, including general regulators of transcription that may be attractive drug targets in genetically defined tumor types. Since cancers with copy-number deletions may be more dependent on these regulators than non-cancerous cells, inhibiting them may kill cancer cells while sparing non-cancerous cells. Syros presented preclinical data on one of these transcriptional regulators, INTS11, showing that a glioblastoma cancer cell line with a 1p36-deletion, which is commonly associated with INTS11 copy-number loss, is more sensitive to decreased levels of INTS11 than a cell line without a 1p36-deletion. In a separate presentation, Syros scientists presented data showing that its new computational model, PETCERF, outperforms earlier-generation models used to score individual enhancers to identify genes critical for a cancer cell's survival. By integrating multiple variables and inputs related to the enhancer and gene regulatory landscapes into a machine learning model trained using CRISPR knock-out data, PETCERF was shown to identify genes in primary tumor samples that are essential to cancer cells.

08:33 EST Yum! Brands' KFC and Beyond Meat expand Beyond Fried Chicken to two cities - Yum! Brands' (YUM) Kentucky Fried Chicken and Beyond Meat (BYND) announced an expanded test of Beyond Fried Chicken, plant-based chicken. Beginning February 3, select KFC restaurants in Charlotte, Nashville and surrounding areas, will offer new Beyond Fried Chicken menu items, available through February 23, or while supplies last. The success of the initial test motivated both brands to make additional improvements to Beyond Fried Chicken.

08:32 EST Consolidated Water acquires remaining 49% interest in Aerex Industries - Consolidated Water has exercised its option to purchase, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Consolidated Water U.S. Holdings, the remaining 49% interest in its subsidiary, Aerex Industries, for $8.5M. As a result of the transaction, on January 24, Consolidated Water became the 100% owner of Aerex. Based in Ft. Pierce, Florida, Aerex is a custom and specialty manufacturer of water treatment-related systems and products. It also provides design, engineering, management, operating and other services applicable to commercial, municipal and industrial water production.

08:27 EST Genprex says TUSC2 could be novel target, biomarker for thyroid cancer - Genprex announced that independent researchers reported in a recent study that TUSC2, a tumor suppressor gene and the active agent in Genprex's Oncoprex immunogene therapy, is a potential target and biomarker for thyroid carcinoma. Genprex has no affiliation with these researchers. Published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences, the study reports that TUSC2 overexpression decreased thyroid cancer proliferation, migration and invasion. Cell proliferation, migration and invasion ability are essential steps in tumor metastasis. TUSC2 forced expression reduced thyroid cancer cell proliferation and could represent a tool to arrest cancer cell proliferation, while TUSC2 restoration decreased the migration and invasion of thyroid cancer cell lines. The study also found that TUSC2 increased sensitivity to apoptosis by increasing the SMAC/DIABLO and Cytochrome C proteins, which play major roles in apoptosis. TUSC2 forced expression increased these protein levels, and, inversely, the silencing of TUSC2 induced resistance to apoptosis. Based on the results of the study, researchers concluded that TUSC2 is negatively associated with thyroid cancer aggressiveness and, thus could be a novel target and biomarker for thyroid cancer therapy. The authors further state that thyroid carcinoma is the most common endocrine cancer and includes many different forms. Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma is the rarest but most lethal subtype.

08:24 EST Agraflora sees Winnipeg facility construction complete within 60 days - AgraFlora Organics announced that construction at the Company's industry-leading automated edibles manufacturing facility is expected to be completed in the next 60 days, with approximately 75% of the work having been completed. The Company anticipates the Winnipeg Edibles Facility will submit its Health Canada affirmation of readiness and video evidence package shortly after completion of construction. The Company is working with experts to manage the timing and quality of the Evidence Package Submission and expects the Standard Processing License to be granted at the Winnipeg's Edibles Facility by summer 2020. The Winnipeg Edibles Facility is a commercial scale edibles facility that features industry leading manufacturing equipment and automation for the production of cannabis edibles. The facility's initial focus will be the production of THC and CBD infused cannabis gummies which management believes will be the largest category of cannabis edibles in Canada. The facility is designed and operated by the Company's joint-venture partner holding nearly a century of confectionary manufacturing experience. The facility design, workflow and equipment will allow the production of cannabis edibles with unparalleled quality and consistency of dosing. In addition, strategic investments in automation will allow the Winnipeg Edibles Facility to reduce its operating costs.

08:21 EST Verizon, Honeywell partner for acceleration of deployment of LTE Smart Meters - Verizon (VZ) has teamed up with Honeywell (HON) to help utilities speed up and simplify the deployment of new communication-enabled, intelligent sensors and controls for the smart electric grid. By integrating Verizon's Managed Connectivity LTE solutions into Honeywell's next-generation smart meters and other electric, gas, and water solutions, the two companies will drive energy savings by more quickly deploying smart electric grid technologies. These technologies allow consumers to use energy at the optimum time and help utilities manage and plan for peak demand. Combining Managed Connectivity, which will be offered as a service on Verizon's LTE network, with Honeywell Smart Energy software, hardware and services, the collaboration will provide utility companies with a highly scalable, fully managed, open computing and communications platform to help them manage operations efficiently and safely deliver new services to their customers.

08:20 EST Sunworks amends term loan agreement, agrees to pay down $1.5M in debt - Sunworks announced that the company has agreed to an amendment to its loan agreement with CrowdOut Capital, LLC, whereby the company will reduce the outstanding balance of its $3.0 million senior note due January 31, 2021 by $1.5 million. As part of this amendment, CrowdOut has waived its right to appoint a board member to the company's board of directors; provided, Sunworks continues to comply with the remaining obligations under the loan. As a result, Josh Schechter has announced his resignation from the board, effective immediately and the board of directors will be reduced from six directors to five. In addition, the four remaining independent directors have named Chuck Cargile, Sunworks Chief Executive Officer, as the Company's new Chairman.

08:18 EST Immutep says in 'solid financial position' ahead of catalysts in 1Q20 - The cash balance as at 31 December 2019 was $20.5M compared to balance of $19.6M as at 30 September 2019. Immutep is in a solid financial position ahead of the crucial catalysts in Q1 of calendar year 2020.

08:17 EST Chipotle launches new accelerator for farmer ventures - Chipotle announced the Chipotle Aluminaries Project 2.0, an accelerator program designed to support ventures from across the country that are advancing innovative solutions to empower the next generation of farmers. The program is sponsored by the Chipotle Cultivate Foundation in partnership with Uncharted, both nonprofit organizations. From now until March 11, 2020, farmer-focused companies may submit applications to join a new cohort of ventures that will receive eight months of customized support, including mentorship from industry leaders. The Chipotle Aluminaries Project 2.0 is seeking applicants that provide a solution to one of the top challenge areas faced by young farmers, including access to land, finance, and labor.

08:14 EST Immutep expects to report more mature data from TACTI-002 in February - During the period, Immutep reported positive first preliminary safety and efficacy data from its TACTI-002 study. Patients in stage 1 of Part A reported an encouraging preliminary Overall Response Rate of 41%. The requisite number of predefined patient responses have been observed in stage 1 for both Parts A and C. The Data Monitoring Committee recommended opening stage 2 recruitment for both these Parts, following its review of the preliminary safety and efficacy data. Accordingly, Immutep is recruiting an additional 19 patients to both Part A and Part C, forming stage 2 of these Parts. For stage 2 of Part A, 6 out of 19 patients are now participating. Recruitment has commenced for stage 2 of Part C and is ongoing for stage 1 of Part B with 12 out of 23 patients now participating. Immutep expects to report more mature data from TACTI-002 at the German Cancer Congress in mid February 2020. TACTI-002 is being conducted in collaboration with Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA. It is evaluating the combination of efti with MSD's KEYTRUDA in up to 109 patients with second line HNSCC or NSCLC in first and second line.

08:12 EST Curaleaf Holdings to open cannabis dispensary on Cape Cod, MA - Curaleaf Holdings announced it will open Cape Cod's first adult-use retail dispensary on Wednesday, January 29, at noon. The retail store is located at 170 Commercial Street in the heart of Provincetown and will be open seven days a week. Normal hours of operation are 10am - 6 pm from Monday through Saturday and 10am - 5pm on Sunday during the winter and early spring. Curaleaf will expand its hours to 9am - 9pm during the upcoming summer season. A grand opening celebration is being planned for February 6 at 11 am.

08:11 EST Immutep expects first PFS data from late-stage AIPAC study in March 2020 - CEO Marc Voigt said, "Immutep has continued to report encouraging data from its trials of efti, with first data from TACTI-002 and INSIGHT-004, along with final efficacy data from our TACTI-mel trial. Building on this momentum, we have entered into a very important and decisive quarter especially as we prepare to report our first PFS data from late-stage AIPAC study in metastatic breast cancer, expected in March 2020. If positive, AIPAC results could help to validate an entirely new class of products in immuno-oncology: antigen presenting cell activators, along with the 'pushing the gas' concept. This would be a landmark medical achievement, with metastatic breast cancer just being the first indication of possibly many others to follow. It would also arm the Company with the data it needs to make strategic decisions, paving the way for the creation of very significant value for Immutep and its shareholders."

08:10 EST General Electric CEO says Power business fix a 'multiyear journey'

08:09 EST InspireMD announces live clinical case transmissions featuring CGuard EPS - InspireMD announced that a successful live case featuring CGuard EPS was presented at the international LINC conference 2020, which is being held January 28 - 31 in Leipzig, Germany. The live case was conducted by Dr. Antonio Micari and Dr. Fausto Castriota, interventional cardiologists at Humanitas Gavazzeni Hospital, Bergamo, Italy. The 82-year old male patient presented with symptomatic high-risk carotid artery disease and experienced a transient ischemic attack with left-sided hemiparesis approximately one month ago. Risk factors included hypertension and hypercholesterolemia. The procedure was successfully performed with CGuard EPS, lasted approximately 20 minutes and had an excellent angiographic result.

08:07 EST Trovagene receives approximately $1.45M from exercise of warrants - Trovagene announced that it has received approximately $1.45M in proceeds from holders exercising common stock purchase warrants at an exercise price of $1.56 per share. The warrants were issued as part of the units sold to certain institutional investors in October, 2019. Trovagene intends to use the proceeds to continue funding its clinical development activities and for working capital and general corporate purposes.

08:06 EST General Electric CEO says 'can and will improve' performance in Renewables - Comments taken from the Q4 earnings conference call.

08:05 EST Fulcrum Therapeutics receives Orphan Drug Designation for losmapimod - Fulcrum Therapeutics announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration has granted Orphan Drug Designation to losmapimod, a selective p38alpha/beta mitogen activated protein kinase inhibitor for the treatment of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy. Fulcrum also announced the issuance of U.S. patent 10,537,560 with claims covering the use of other p38 kinase inhibitors for the treatment of FSHD. In October 2019, the Company announced preliminary results from a Phase 1 clinical trial of losmapimod in patients with FSHD, which indicated that losmapimod was generally well tolerated and achieved dose-dependent concentrations in plasma and muscle believed to be adequate for efficacy based on preclinical pharmacology studies. Additionally, losmapimod has shown adequate safety and tolerability in over 3,500 patients and healthy volunteers across multiple indications, with no safety signals attributed to the drug in those trials. The patent announced is in addition to U.S. patent 10,342,786, which covers the method of using losmapimod for the treatment of FSHD. These two patents each provide protection through 2038.

08:04 EST Intercept completes enrollment of Phase 3 REVERSE study of obeticholic acid - Intercept Pharmaceuticals announced that it has completed patient enrollment in its Phase 3 REVERSE study evaluating obeticholic acid for the treatment of compensated cirrhosis due to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. The REVERSE study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter Phase 3 study evaluating the safety and efficacy of OCA in NASH patients with compensated cirrhosis. The primary endpoint is the percentage of patients with histological improvement in fibrosis by at least one stage with no worsening of NASH using the NASH Clinical Research Network scoring system after 18 months of treatment. Over 900 patients have been randomized in a 1:1:1 ratio to the three treatment arms: once-daily OCA 10 mg, once-daily OCA 10 mg for the first three months with titration in accordance with the study protocol up to OCA 25 mg for the remaining study period, or once-daily placebo. Patients who successfully complete the double-blind phase of REVERSE will be eligible to enroll in an open-label extension phase for up to 12 additional months.

08:03 EST Norfolk Southern reports 9% decline in total volume in Q4

08:02 EST Chimerix presents data supporting brincidofovir as potential smallpox treatment - Chimerix announces that data in support of brincidofovir as a potential treatment for smallpox were highlighted in an oral presentation and poster at the 2020 American Society for Microbiology Biothreats Meeting taking place January 28-30, 2020 in Arlington, Virginia. Chimerix is developing BCV as a medical countermeasure against smallpox. The poster titled, "Brincidofovir Treatment Efficacy in Two Well Characterized Orthopoxvirus Infection Models of Smallpox," can be accessed on the Investor page of the Chimerix corporate website. Independent experiments were performed in two lethal animal models of smallpox. In these studies, either rabbits or mice were inoculated with rabbitpox or ectromelia virus, respectively, to determine the survival benefit of BCV in animals acutely infected with these orthopoxviruses. These animal models are being studied in connection with the FDA Animal Rule to determine the utility of BCV as a medical countermeasure against the human orthopoxvirus disease, smallpox. Animals were randomized to receive either placebo or BCV treatment at varying intervals post infection. In both studies, animals that received BCV, regardless of time post-infection, demonstrated a statistically significant survival advantage relative to placebo.

07:51 EST Gold Resource announces ore grade intercepts from program ar Scarlet target - Gold Resource Corporation announced multiple ore grade intercepts from its maiden drill program at the "Scarlet" target located 400 meters north west of its operating Isabella Pearl mine in Mineral County, Nevada. Near surface ore grade gold intercepts included 24.38 meters grading 1.03 grams per tonne gold only 1.52 meters from the surface. In addition, the Company also drilled holes within the Isabella Pearl deposit's open pit mine to better define the oxide-sulfide boundary with positive results. Gold Resource Corporation is a gold and silver producer, developer and explorer with operations in Oaxaca, Mexico and Nevada, USA. The Company has returned $113 million back to its shareholders in consecutive monthly dividends since July 2010 and offers its shareholders the option to convert their cash dividends into physical gold and silver and take delivery. The Scarlet target is located approximately 400 meters north west of the Company's Isabella Pearl mine's ultimate projected open pit boundary. The Company previously collected numerous high-grade gold surface samples and mapped several structural trends at Scarlet coincident with existing structures in the Isabella Pearl Mine's open pit. Scarlet is the first of many mineralized targets to the north west of the Company's operating mine. Gold Resource Corporation controls over 10 kilometers of mineralized trend in this area along the Walker Lane Mineral Belt. Scarlet's maiden drill program focused on a small portion of the overall Scarlet target area. This small portion lies within the current permitted Isabella Pearl mine project development area. Eleven holes returned near surface ore grade intercepts with the widest and strongest mineralization occurring to the north west. In addition to this drill program, the Company recently received its Notice of Intent permit to drill outside of the permitted Isabella Pearl mine plan area. The Company targets to test the north west extensions of this Scarlet mineralization during the 2020 exploration year. In addition to testing Scarlet, the Company also drilled five holes into the deeper portions of the Isabella Pearl open pit to better define its oxide-sulfide boundary. Drill results and additional metallurgical testing confirmed more oxide mineralization at this boundary can be recovered through heap leach. This mineralization will be included in the upcoming 2019 year-end reserve update.

07:45 EST Boeing: Results 'continue to be significantly impacted by the 737 MAX grounding'

07:44 EST Comtech expects to close Gilat acquisition late in 2020 or first part of 2021 - Gilat's (GILT) directors, executive officers and certain significant shareholders holding approximately 45% of Gilat's issued and outstanding shares in the aggregate have entered into voting agreements pursuant to which they have agreed, subject to certain terms and conditions, to vote in favor of the transaction. In the upcoming weeks, Gilat will call for an Extraordinary General meeting of Shareholders to vote on the merger. The transaction requires the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the ordinary shares present at the meeting and voting on such matter. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and the transaction is expected to close late in Comtech's (CMTL) fiscal year 2020 or the first part of its fiscal 2021. No approval by Comtech stockholders is required and the consummation of the transaction is not subject to any financing condition.

07:42 EST Comtech expects to fund Gilat acquisition via combined cash, credit facility - Under the terms of the agreement, unanimously approved by both companies' Board of Directors, Gilat shareholders will receive total consideration of $10.25 per share, comprised of $7.18 per share in cash and 0.08425 of a share of Comtech (CMTL) common stock for each share of Gilat held. The total consideration of $10.25 represents a premium of approximately 14.52% to Gilat's 90-day volume-weighted average trading price. Upon completion of the transaction, Gilat's shareholders will own approximately 16.1% of the combined company. As of September 30, 2019, Gilat had approximately $53.1 million of unrestricted cash and cash equivalents with debt of approximately $8.2 million. As of October 31, 2019, Comtech had approximately $46.9 million of cash and cash equivalents and debt of approximately $169.0 million. Comtech expects to fund the acquisition and related transaction costs by redeploying a portion of the $100M of pro forma combined cash and cash equivalents plus additional cash expected to be generated prior to closing, and by drawing on a new $800M secured credit facility to be provided by Citibank, N.A., Manufacturers and Traders Trust Company, Santander Bank, N.A., BMO Harris Bank, Regions Bank, Israel Discount Bank of New York and Goldman Sachs Bank USA. Comtech expects that the cash interest rate on this facility will approximate 4.0% to 5.0% on an annual basis, before any origination fees. Furthermore, Comtech expects the terms of the facility will be based on a net leverage ratio providing significant flexibility. The exact terms of the credit facility will be finalized at or prior to the closing of the acquisition. On a pro forma basis including preliminary estimated combined acquisition plan expenses of approximately $27.0 million, the repayment of Gilat bank debt and funding of Comtech's other pending acquisitions, Comtech would have approximately $45.0 million of unrestricted cash at closing with total net debt of approximately $500.0 million or net leverage of 3.85x. Total net debt is expected to decrease quickly and significantly. Based on expected strong cash flows to be generated from the combined businesses, net leverage twelve months after closing will decrease to approximately 3.00x. Comtech expects that it will maintain its annual targeted dividend of 40c per share. In connection with the acquisition of Gilat, Comtech expects to incur acquisition plan expenses. Some of these expenses are expected to be immediately expensed both prior to and upon closing, another portion expensed during the first year following the closing and the balance capitalized. Pursuant to accounting rules, the acquisition is expected to result in a material increase in annual amortization expense related to intangibles and other fair value adjustments.

07:40 EST CytoSorbents' CytoSorb approved in the EU for removing AstraZeneca's ticagrelor - CytoSorbents' (CTSO) CytoSorb is now approved and immediately available for the removal of the anti-platelet agent, Ticagrelor, during surgery requiring cardiopulmonary bypass, with the achievement of European Union regulatory approval and CE Mark label expansion for this indication. Ticagrelor is one of the most commonly used anti-platelet drugs to reduce the risk of cardiac death, heart attacks, and strokes in patients with either a history of a heart attack, or those actively undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention. However, in patients on the drug requiring cardiothoracic surgery procedure, the risk of major fatal/life-threatening bleeding has been reported to be as high as 65%. CytoSorb rapidly removes ticagrelor from blood. Ticagrelor is marketed by Astra Zeneca (AZN) and sold under the tradenames Brilique(R) in the European Union and Brilinta(R) in the United States, with projected worldwide sales of more than $1.5B in 2019, with more than half of sales coming from Europe, emerging markets, and rest of world.

07:38 EST Gilat Satellite cancels Q4, FY19 conference call amid Comtech deal - In light of the agreement between Comtech (CMTL) and Gilat (GILT), Gilat has cancelled its fourth quarter and fiscal 2019 year-end conference call and webcast previously scheduled for February 19, 2020. Once the transaction closes, Comtech will provide combined revenue, Adjusted EBITDA and diluted earnings per share guidance in a future announcement.

07:37 EST Comtech sees Gilat Satellite Networks acquisition cash accretive - The company said: "Key Strategic Benefits for Comtech Include: Drives global market access by creating a world leader with combined pro-forma sales approaching nearly $1.0 billion annually; Strengthens Comtech's position as a leading supplier of advanced communication solutions, uniquely capable of servicing the expanding need for ground infrastructure to support both existing and emerging satellite networks; Expands Comtech's product portfolio with highly complementary technologies, including Gilat's high-performance TDMA-based satellite modems and its next generation solid-state amplifiers; Broadens leadership position in the rapidly growing in-flight connectivity and cellular backhaul markets which are expected to expand given the availability of lower-cost bandwidth and the adoption of satellite technologies into the 5G cellular backhaul ecosystem; Bolsters world-class research and development capabilities, enabling Comtech to offer customers more complete end-to-end technology solutions; Enhances ability to accelerate shareholder value creation by contributing to Comtech's ongoing strategy to move toward higher margin solutions and by increasing customer diversification geographically and by market; and Potentially offers increased liquidity for existing and new Comtech shareholders, as Comtech plans to pursue a dual listing on the Nasdaq and Tel Aviv Stock Exchange to become effective upon the closing of the transaction. Excluding the impact of acquisition plan costs and with conservative anticipated synergies of only $2M derived from the elimination of Gilat's public company costs, the acquisition of Gilat is expected to be cash accretive to Comtech during the first twelve months post-closing. Comtech believes that with careful planning and execution, it can capitalize on opportunities to achieve both sales growth and further efficiencies during the second-year post-closing. Both companies' talented global workforces are expected to remain in place and focus intently on meeting all customer commitments and expectations, including supporting all existing products, services and agreements. The transaction enlarges Comtech's global market footprint with a significant physical presence in key international markets. This increased presence addresses a growing need for local touch points that can offer integrated secure connectivity solutions including public safety and location solutions. At the same time, Gilat will gain access to Comtech's strong relationships with the U.S. government, allowing expanded distribution of Gilat's products and solutions to the U.S. government. As such, Comtech believes the transaction carries minimal integration risk while creating numerous opportunities for potential long-term revenue and efficiency synergies going forward. Comtech will continue to emphasize capturing growth opportunities from favorable market trends, including: expected increased demand for solutions to provide high speed in-flight satellite connectivity; the adoption of new satellite ground station technologies into the 5G cellular backhaul eco-system; and the expected need for equipment and network upgrades to accommodate an anticipated increase in satellite capacity when new Very High Throughput Satellites and high capacity Medium Earth Orbit and Low Earth Orbit satellite constellations are launched and fully operational. Together with its previously announced pending acquisition of UHP Networks, Comtech believes it will be uniquely positioned to take advantage of these important trends. Gilat announced on November 19, 2019 that it expects to achieve sales of between $260.0 million and $270.0 million with Adjusted EBITDA ranging from $38.0 million to $42.0 million for its fiscal year ended December 31, 2019. Comtech announced on December 4, 2019 that it expects to achieve sales of between $712.0 million and $732.0 million with Adjusted EBITDA ranging from $99.0 million to $103.0 million for its fiscal year ending July 31, 2020. Neither Comtech nor Gilat is revising their previously announced respective fiscal year financial outlook."

07:36 EST Hess Corp. sees FY20 oil, gas production 330,000-335,000 boepd

07:34 EST Comtech to acquire Gilat Satellite Networks for 10.25 per share - Comtech Telecommunications Corp. (CMTL) and Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (GILT) jointly announced that Comtech has agreed to acquire Gilat in a cash and stock transaction for $10.25 per Gilat ordinary share of which 70% will be paid in cash and 30% in Comtech common stock, resulting in an enterprise value of approximately $532.5 million. Founded in 1987 with its headquarters in Israel, Gilat is a worldwide leader in satellite networking technology, solutions and services with market leading positions in the satellite ground station and in-flight connectivity solutions markets and deep expertise in operating large network infrastructures. Based on Comtech's fiscal year 2019 actual results and Gilat's trailing twelve-month results through June 30, 2019, on a pro-forma basis, Comtech would have reported approximately $926.1M of revenue with Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $130.2M The combined companies would employ approximately 3,000 people and offer best-in-class satellite technology, public safety and location technology and secure wireless solutions to commercial and government customers around the world. Fred Kornberg, Chairman of the Board and CEO of Comtech, said, "I am excited to have reached this agreement with Gilat and believe this combination is beneficial to the stakeholders of both companies. The acquisition better positions Comtech to take advantage of key marketplace trends, particularly the growing demand for satellite connectivity and the enormous long-term opportunity set that is emerging in the secure wireless communications market. I believe that the combination of accelerating satellite connectivity demand and the increasing availability of low-cost satellite bandwidth, makes this a perfect time to unify Comtech and Gilat's solutions and offer our combined customers best-in-class platform-agnostic satellite ground station technologies. Gilat is an exceptional business that has developed extraordinary technology and has a well-respected product portfolio supported by strong research and development capabilities. I welcome Gilat's entire talented workforce to the Comtech family." Dov Baharav, Chairman of the Board of Gilat, said, "The Gilat Board of Directors and management believe this highly strategic combination is compelling. It is an excellent outcome for our shareholders who receive both cash and an equity interest in a strong company with a broader range of products and the benefits of combined expertise and resources that is well positioned to create future value against a highly favorable industry backdrop. I have long admired Comtech's commitment to technology leadership and I firmly believe that employees will have expanded opportunities for career development. No doubt, the future will be very bright for Comtech and Gilat and all of our stakeholders."

07:32 EST Boeing cuts plans for 787 production rate

07:30 EST Gilat Satellite trading resumes

07:25 EST Nuance unveils Nuance Cardiovascular CAPD solution - Nuance Communications introduced Nuance Cardiovascular CAPD, a new Computer-Assisted Physician Documentation solution designed to help cardiologists improve the quality of complex documentation and the accuracy of reimbursement for cardiac catheterization procedures. The Nuance Cardiovascular CAPD solution is available through an exclusive partnership with ZHealth for this solution, which is based on patented algorithms built with ZHealth's industry-leading interventional documentation and coding expertise.

07:21 EST Corning expects FY Display glass volume to grow by mid-single digit percentage - "We are confident in our long-term outlook and remain focused on key operational priorities that will help accelerate growth and position us to achieve the goals of our Strategy & Growth Framework. We're successfully ramping our next Gen 10.5 plants, aligning costs and capacity to current demand, and commercializing innovations to support our customers," CFO Tony Tripeny said. "In 2020, we expect continued growth in Specialty Materials, Environmental Technologies, and Life Sciences. We also expect to return to sales and profit growth and expand margins as a company in the second half as volume in Display Technologies and Optical Communications improves." For full-year 2020, Corning expects its display glass volume to grow by a mid-single digit percentage, similar to the mid-single digit growth expected in the display glass market. The company expects glass price declines to remain moderate, down mid-single digits for the full year. In the first quarter, Corning's display glass volume is expected to be down low-single digits sequentially. The company expects Optical Communications full-year sales to decline by 5% to 10% as the lower level of sales experienced in the second half of 2019 continues throughout the first half of 2020. Corning expects year-over-year growth in Optical Communications sales and profit to resume in the back half of 2020, driven by projects for 5G, fiber-to-the home, and hyperscale data center deployments. The company expects first quarter sales to be down about 25% year over year versus the strong project spending in the first quarter of 2019. On a year-over-year basis, Environmental Technologies sales are expected to increase by a mid-single digit percentage in both the first-quarter and full-year 2020. On a year-over-year basis, Life Sciences sales are expected to increase by a mid-single digit percentage in both the first-quarter and full-year 2020.

07:18 EST Hoth Therapeutics exercising licensing option for dermatological diseases - Hoth Therapeutics, after further evaluation under its Commercial Evaluation Sublicense and Option Agreement with the University of Maryland, Baltimore and Isoprene Pharmaceuticals, will exercise its option for full licensing rights of Dermatology Field to develop and commercialize therapeutic compounds for the treatment of dermatological conditions in humans. The licensing agreement stems from results reported by UMB relating to the effect Retinoic acid metabolism blocking agents offer in treating cancer and dermatology related issues. Hoth has begun its preclinical study program and anticipates sharing these results upon completion of the study.

07:16 EST Comtech says Gilat Satellite acquisition to be accretive within first 12 months - Excluding the impact of acquisition plan costs, including transaction expenses, and with conservative anticipated synergies of only $2M derived from the elimination of Gilat's public company costs, the acquisition of Gilat is expected to be cash accretive to Comtech during the first twelve months post-closing. Comtech believes that with careful planning and execution, it can capitalize on opportunities to achieve both sales growth and further efficiencies during the second-year post-closing

07:12 EST AT&T CEO says positioned to 'deliver meaningful progress' on 3-year plan - "We delivered what we promised in 2019 and we begin this year with strong momentum in wireless, with HBO Max set to launch in May and our share retirement plan well underway," said Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and CEO. "Our 2020 outlook positions us to deliver meaningful progress on our 3-year financial and capital allocation plans as we continue to invest in growth opportunities and create value for our owners, as we did last year."

07:11 EST AT&T reports Q4 cash from operations $11.9B, free cash flow $8.2B - Reports dividend payout ratio 46%.

07:09 EST Verastem doses first patient in CSPC Chinese study evaluating COPIKTRA - Verastem announced that its partner CSPC Pharmaceutical Group has dosed the first patient in a pivotal Chinese bridging study evaluating COPIKTRA in patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma. COPIKTRA is an oral inhibitor of phosphoinositide 3-kinase, or PI3K, and the first approved dual inhibitor of PI3K-delta and PI3K-gamma in the United States.

07:08 EST ADP reports Q2 Employer Services New Business Bookings growth of 3% - Reports Q2 adjusted EBIT margin up 70bps to 23.3%. Reports Q2 organic revenue growth of about 6%.

07:07 EST MPLX lowers 2020 growth capital target to $1.5B from $2.0B

07:04 EST Chesapeake sees Q4 average equivalent production 476K-478K Boe/d - Sees Q4 average estimated oil production range of 125K-126K bbls of oil per day. Estimates Q4 CapEx $480M-$490M.

07:02 EST General Dynamics reports backlog grew 28.1% to record-high $86.9B

07:01 EST Gilat Satellite trading halted, news dissemination

06:58 EST AT&T provides Q4 communications highlights - Mobility: Service revenues up 1.8% in 4Q and 1.9% for full year; total wireless revenues (including equipment) up 0.8% in 4Q and for full year. Operating income up 1.5% with EBITDA up 0.8%. 229,000 postpaid phone net adds; nearly 1 million total phone net adds for full year (483,000 postpaid, 506,000 prepaid). FirstNet coverage more than 75% completed. Entertainment Group: Full-year EBITDA stable versus prior year. Solid video and broadband ARPU gains. Video subs impacted by focus on long-term value customer base: 19.5 million premium TV subscribers - 945,000 net loss. AT&T TV NOW subscribers - 219,000 net loss 191,000 AT&T Fiber net adds; IP broadband revenue growth of 2.7%. Business Wireline: Sequential revenue growth of $86 million; down 1.7% in 4Q.

06:56 EST AT&T sees 2020 gross capital investment in $20B range - Sees 2020: Free cash flow in $28B range; Adjusted EBITDA margin stable with 2019; Dividend payout ratio: In low '50s% range; Monetization of assets net $5B-$10B.

06:51 EST Eli Lilly receives priority review from FDA for selpercatinib NDA - Eli Lilly announced that the FDA has granted priority review for the new drug application, or NDA, for selpercatinib, or LOXO-292, for the treatment of patients with advanced RET fusion-positive non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC, RET-mutant medullary thyroid cancer, or MTC, and RET fusion-positive thyroid cancer. The NDA is based on data from the LIBRETTO-001 Phase 1/2 trial in RET-altered lung and thyroid cancers. The FDA has filed the NDA and set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act date in Q3. In December of 2019, Lilly opened two selpercatinib Phase 3 trials: LIBRETTO-431 for patients with treatment-naive RET fusion-positive NSCLC, and LIBRETTO-531 for patients with treatment-naive RET-mutant MTC. Each trial will enroll 400 patients.

06:49 EST RPC, Inc. reports Q4 adjusted EBITDA $23.2M vs. $61.7M last year - The company states: "Q4 revenues decreased due to lower activity levels and pricing, a more pronounced fourth quarter seasonal decline than in the prior year, and a smaller fleet of pressure pumping equipment."

06:47 EST Lee Enterprises to acquire Berkshire Hathaway newspaper operations for $140M - Lee Enterprises (LEE) has entered into a definitive agreement with Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) to acquire BH Media Group' publications and The Buffalo News for $140M in cash. Berkshire Hathaway is providing approximately $576M in long-term financing to Lee at a 9% annual rate. The proceeds from the Berkshire financing will be used to pay for the acquisition, refinance Lee's approximately $400M of existing debt, and provide enough cash on Lee's balance sheet to allow for the termination of Lee's revolving credit facility. Subsequent to the deal closing, Berkshire Hathaway will be Lee's sole lender. The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to earnings and will reduce Lee's leverage from 3.5x to 3.4x, before any cost and revenue synergies. Lee has identified approximately $20-25M of highly achievable annual synergies, including revenue synergies from the management of digital advertising and subscriber programs, and cost synergies, primarily from the reduction of administrative expenses. Lee expects to achieve the full synergy run-rate within 24 months of closing, which is expected in mid-March 2020, subject to customary regulatory approvals. As part of the agreement, Lee will enter into a 10-year lease for BHMG's real estate. The initial lease payment is $8M annually, payable in monthly installments, with Lee assuming responsibility for the maintenance and expense associated with the BHMG property. Lease payments can be reduced to the extent BHMG real estate is monetized.

06:41 EST Prosperity Bancshares announces stock repurchase program - Prosperity Bancshares announced that its Board of Directors authorized a stock repurchase program under which the company may repurchase up to 5%, or approximately 4.74M shares, of its outstanding common stock over a one-year period expiring on January 28, 2021, at the discretion of management.

06:37 EST Penn National to acquire 36% interest in Barstool Sports for $163M - Penn National Gaming announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a 36% interest in Barstool Sports, "a leading digital sports media company," for approximately $163M in cash and convertible preferred stock. Under the agreement, Penn National will be Barstool Sports' exclusive gaming partner for up to 40 years and have the sole right to utilize the Barstool Sports brand for all of the company's online and retail sports betting and iCasino products. The company expects to close the transaction in the first quarter of 2020, subject to customary closing conditions set forth in the purchase agreement.

06:35 EST General Electric says 737 MAX remains a 'watch item' - In slides being presented on the Q4 earnings conference call, GE (GE) says the 737 MAX (BA) remains a "watch item." For 2020, sees continued progress in Power turnaround, with continued strength in Aviation and Healthcare. Says trajectory heading into 2020 is "positive," despite areas of uncertainty.

06:33 EST Partner Communications receives tender offer to purchase 100% of shares - Partner Communications reports that the company received from HOT Telecommunication Systems Ltd. and its controlling shareholder, Altice Europe N.V a binding offer to acquire 100% of the issued share capital of the company. The company's Board of Directors will examine the Proposed Transaction.

06:31 EST General Electric sees 737 MAX return to service in mid-2020 - Compared to 2019, GE's (GE) 2020 outlook assumes lower cash and profit from BioPharma due to its planned disposition in the first quarter as well as reduced cash from Baker Hughes shareholder dividends in line with the orderly sale of GE's remaining stake. In 2019, for the full year, BioPharma generated approximately $1.3 billion in cash and $1.5 billion in profit, and GE received approximately $350 million in Baker Hughes (BKR) dividends. This outlook is also dependent on the 737 MAX's return to service, which GE is planning for in mid-2020, in line with Boeing (BA). GE expects to offset these effects through performance improvements and reduced non-operational headwinds. GE also expects to achieve a GE Industrial net debt*/EBITDA ratio of less than 2.5x, as well as a less than 4-to-1 debt-to-equity ratio for GE Capital, in 2020.

06:29 EST General Electric sees 2020 industrial revenues up in the low single digits

06:18 EST Anthem CEO says 'we have strong momentum moving into 2020' - "Anthem delivered strong results to close out 2019 featuring the successful launch of IngenioRx, as well as our largest organic risk-based growth in more than a decade," said Gail Boudreaux, President and CEO. "We have strong momentum moving into 2020 and we will continue to deliver on our commitments to all those we serve."

06:14 EST Cognizant-led consortium awarded five-year contract by Network Rail - Cognizant has been selected by Network Rail, Britain's principal rail infrastructure owner, to lead a new consortium tasked with delivering data-driven operations as part of a intelligent infrastructure transformation program. Cognizant, in partnership with rail specialists Amey Consulting and Arup, has been awarded a five-year contract to design, build and operate digital capabilities based on artificial intelligence, internet of things, data analytics, and mobility technologies that will help improve Network Rail's asset management and overall performance. Cognizant will lead the consortium in developing and applying data collection and analytics to Network Rail's more than 12,000 connected assets, such as track circuits, signal power supplies, and switches. The new capabilities will equip Network Rail with real-time condition monitoring and data-driven insights, aided by artificial intelligence. Network Rail expects to lower costs and enhance safety by predicting and preventing maintenance issues, prioritizing work streams and minimizing the time rail workers spend on the tracks. Passengers and freight customers are expected to experience fewer travel disruptions.

06:09 EST Dow Inc. CEO says 'we enter 2020 in a stronger competitive, financial position' - Jim Fitterling, CEO, commented on the quarter: "We experienced similar economic headwinds in the quarter as we have seen all year - especially in the industrial sector - which included price and margin compression, in part driven by additional industry supply and uncertain macros. Yet once again, the Dow team navigated these factors by leveraging our core strengths - feedstock flexibility, a lean cost structure, and leading positions in consumer-driven end-markets. Together, these enabled us to capture demand growth, excluding our Hydrocarbons & Energy business, while also delivering another year-over-year improvement in cash from operations. We also deployed capital to strengthen our financial flexibility and to reward our owners, reducing debt by more than $1 billion and returning more than $600 million to shareholders. We enter 2020 in a stronger competitive and financial position, poised to continue to deliver value for our customers and shareholders."

06:07 EST Anthem sees FY20 medical membership 41.9M-42.3M - Fully-insured membership is expected to be in the range of 16M-16.3M and self-funded membership is expected to be in the range of 25.9M-26M.

06:05 EST TE Connectivity reports Q1 adj. EPS $1.21, consensus $1.14 - Reports Q1 revenue $3.2B, consensus $3.12B. "I'm pleased with our performance in the first quarter where we delivered sales and adjusted earnings per share above our expectations and generated strong cash flow in what continues to be a challenging market environment," said Terrence Curtin, CEO of TE Connectivity. "Our Industrial segment grew ahead of guidance driven by strength in our defense, medical, aerospace and energy businesses, while our Transportation segment continued to outperform auto production declines due to our strong content position in the long-term growth trends of electric and connected vehicles. We were pleased to see sequential orders growth this quarter, signaling stabilization in key end markets. Based on our first quarter results, we are updating our GAAP EPS guidance and raising our sales and adjusted EPS guidance for the full year."

06:02 EST Anthem raises quarterly divdend 19% to 95c from 80c per share - The first quarter dividend is payable on March 27 to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 16.

05:30 EST BrainStorm receives notice of intention to grant additional EU patent for NurOwn - BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics announced that the European Patent Office has communicated its intention to grant a European patent titled 'Methods of Generating Mesenchymal Stem Cells which secrete Neurotrophic Factors'. Allowed claims cover the method for manufacturing MSC-NTF cells.

05:16 EST Santander Consumer intends to commence tender offer to purchase $1B in shares - Santander Consumer announced that it intends to commence a "modified Dutch Auction" tender offer to purchase up to $1B of shares of its common stock, at a range of between $23 and $26 per share, or such lesser number of shares of its common stock as are properly tendered and not properly withdrawn to the seller in cash. The maximum number of shares proposed to be purchased in the Offer represents approximately 13% of SC's currently outstanding common stock, assuming a purchase price of $23 per share. SC intends to commence the Offer on January 30. The Offer will expire at 12:00 midnight, Eastern Time on February 27, unless extended.