Stockwinners Market Radar for February 13, 2020 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:05 EST CannTrust names Greg Guyatt as new CEO, provides update on remediation plan - CannTrust Holdings announced the appointment of Greg Guyatt as the company's CEO and provided an update on the status of both its remediation plan and its New York Stock Exchange listing. CannTrust announced that it will be submitting on February 14, 2020 documentation to Health Canada regarding the completion of the company's remediation activities at its Niagara Facility. This filing will be made in support of the reinstatement of that facility's licences. CannTrust anticipates that remediation activities at the company's Vaughan Facility will reach completion during the second quarter of 2020. The company intends thereafter to submit the required documentation to Health Canada in support of the reinstatement of that facility's licenses. With its previously-announced completion of the investigation following CannTrust's receipt of non-compliance reports from Health Canada in July 2019, and with the submission of the company's remediation package with respect to its Niagara Facility and the expected submission of the company's remediation package with respect its Vaughan Facility during the second quarter of 2020, the special committee appointed by CannTrust's Board of Directors will focus its attention on identifying and considering potential strategic alternatives for the company. The Special Committee was appointed in July 2019 to investigate the circumstances surrounding the company's receipt of non-compliance reports from Health Canada, to both provide oversight for the development and execution of the company's remediation plan and review strategic alternatives.

19:02 EST Enbridge to acquire Rio Bravo Pipeline Company from NextDecade - NextDecade Corporation (NEXT) and Enbridge Inc. (ENB) announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement whereby Enbridge will acquire Rio Bravo Pipeline Company, LLC from NextDecade for a cash purchase price not to exceed $25M, with $15M paid at closing and the balance paid upon NextDecade's reaching a positive final investment decision on its Rio Grande LNG export facility in the Port of Brownsville, Texas. Upon closing of the transaction, Enbridge will own one hundred percent of RBPL and assume all responsibility for the development, financing, construction, and operations of the Rio Bravo Pipeline. NextDecade will continue to be responsible for the development, financing, construction, and operations of its Rio Grande LNG export facility. In addition, Enbridge and NextDecade have negotiated a precedent agreement, to be executed at closing, whereby NextDecade will retain its rights to the natural gas firm transportation capacity on the Rio Bravo Pipeline for a term of at least twenty years to supply NextDecade's Rio Grande LNG export facility. The Rio Bravo Pipeline is designed to transport up to 4.5B cubic feet per day of natural gas from the Agua Dulce supply area to NextDecade's Rio Grande LNG project in Brownsville, Texas. In November 2019, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued an order authorizing the siting, construction, and operation of NextDecade's Rio Grande LNG project and the Rio Bravo Pipeline. In January 2020, FERC issued a final order on rehearing for the Rio Grande LNG project and the Rio Bravo Pipeline. The agreement has been approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies. Subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, the transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2020.

18:45 EST Fly Intel: After Hours Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Expedia (EXPE) up 10.2%... SVMK (SVMK) up 8.3%... DexCom (DXCM) up 6.2%... Roku (ROKU) up 5.7%... GoDaddy (GDDY) up 5.6%... Chemours (CC) Up 4.9%... Mattel (MAT) up 4.9%... Nvidia (NVDA) up 4.8%... TriNet (TNET) up 4.3%... SPX Corp (SPXC) up 3.0%... Fidelity National (FNF) up 2.1%... Cloudflare (NET) up 1.5%. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: CarGurus (CARG) down 17.3%... LivePerson (LPSN) down 17.2%... Talend (TLND) down 12.8%... Arista Networks (ANET) down 9.9%... Sierra Wireless (SWIR) down 6.7%... Datadog (DDOG) down 5.2%... Yelp (YELP) down 5.1%... Cognex Corp (CGNX) down 4.6%... Apollo Commercial Real Estate (ARI) down 4.4%... ShockWave Medical (SWAV) down 2.6%... Agnico Eagle (AEM) down 1.5%... Yamana Gold (AUY) down 1.0%. ALSO LOWER: Pulse Biosciences (PLSE) down 20.4% after disclosing "Not Substantially Equivalent" letter on its CellFX system from FDA. Movers as of 18:30ET.

18:30 EST Nvidia CEO says auto industry struggling near term, industry clearheaded on AV - Says enthusiasm to reinvent model has never been greater. Says very positive on the future of autonomous vehicles. Says every car company needs to be software-defined. Comments taken from Q4 earnings conference call.

18:16 EST Pulse Biosciences trading resumes

17:56 EST Vishay CEO sells 50K shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, Vishay disclosed that its CEO Gerald Paul sold 50K shares of common stock on February 13th. The total transaction size was $1.05M.

17:50 EST Essa Pharma says 'on track' to file IND in Q1 - "This past calendar year was a transformative year for ESSA, and we are excited to continue the momentum into 2020. Preparations for an IND filing are nearly complete and we remain on track to file the IND in the first quarter of 2020 with an initiation of the Phase 1 study of EPI-7386 expected shortly thereafter," stated David Parkinson, MD, President and CEO of ESSA. Dr. Parkinson continued, "From our successful acquisition of Realm Therapeutics and fundraising efforts in 2019, ESSA ended the year with $45.9M in cash. Our current cash balance allows us to complete the Phase 1 monotherapy dose-escalation study and an expansion phase to that study. We expect to enroll approximately 18 patients at multiple well-known US and Canadian medical institutions in a standard 3+3 trial design with an approximate 10 additional patients enrolled in the dose expansion cohort. In addition, we believe the Company is sufficiently funded to also conduct a combination study of EPI-7386 with currently utilized antiandrogens in prostate cancer patients with earlier stages of the disease. We look forward to presenting additional preclinical data at upcoming conferences in the first half of 2020".

17:45 EST Pulse Biosciences receives NSE letter from FDA for CellFX System - Pulse Biosciences announced an update on its FDA submission for the CellFX System. Previously, the company submitted a 510(k) to FDA seeking clearance to commercialize its CellFX System. On February 13, the company received a Not Substantially Equivalent, or NSE, letter from FDA indicating that, based on the data provided, the company has not demonstrated that the CellFX System is substantially equivalent to the predicate device. The company will continue to work with FDA in pursuit of a clearance via a new 510(k) submission and is prepared to provide additional clinical data as required.

17:22 EST CarGurus plunges 17% to $28.41 after Q1, FY20 guidance trail estimates

17:15 EST Third Point adds IAA, exits PayPal in Q4 - Third Point disclosed in an SEC filing its holdings as of December 31, 2019. The fund's 11 new buys during the fourth quarter included, by size of position, IAA (IAA), TD Ameritrade (AMTD), Amazon (AMZN), Avantor (AVTR), and Raytheon (RTN). Third Point exited 14 holdings during the quarter, including by sixe of previous position PayPal (PYPL), Microsoft (MSFT), Colfax (CFX), Americold Realty Trusty (COLD), and HD Supply Holdings (HDS). The fund increased its stake in seven holdings, including by size of previous position Adobe (ADBE), Five Below (FIVE), Grocery Outlet (GO), Fidelity National Information (FIS), and Black Knight (BKI). Third point decreased its stake in seven holdings, including by size of previous position Campbell Soup (CPB), Fox Corp Class A (FOXA), United Technologies (UTX), Salesforce (CRM), and Clear Channel Outdoor (CCO). The fund's top holdings as of December 31, in order of size, were Baxter (BAX), United Technologies, Campbell Soup, Allergan (AGN), and Danaher (DHR).

17:07 EST Expedia's Diller says will not stay in control of company beyond 2020

17:05 EST Agnico Eagle sees gold production up by 19% from 2019 to 2022 - The company states: "The gold production forecast for 2020 is now 1.875 million ounces, compared to the most recent guidance of 1.9 to 2.0 million ounces. The gold production guidance for 2020 was reduced largely due to revisions to the mine plans at the Nunavut operations and LaRonde. The mid-point of gold production guidance for 2021 is essentially unchanged at 2.05 million ounces and the mid-point of gold production guidance for 2022 is 2.10 million ounces."

17:04 EST Sanofi to face revived antitrust suit over Lantus, Bloomberg says - Drugmaker Sanofi to face revived antitrust suit over diabetes drug Lantus after the First Circuit revived an antitrust suit against the company, reported Bloomberg.

16:58 EST Arista Networks down 8% to $217.50 after Q4 results, Q1 guidance

16:48 EST Mercer says current ongoing coronavirus outbreak may impact market - "Going into 2020, we currently expect continued steady demand to improve markets over the year. Until recently, the combination of steady demand and falling inventories, along with the supply restrictions created by the shut of an NBSK mill in Nova Scotia and the industry strike in Finland was putting upward pressure on prices. However, the current ongoing coronavirus outbreak could create inland logistics restrictions or other disruptions that may, over time, begin to slow down paper manufacturing in China and put pressure on pulp pricing and demand. We are currently unable to determine the full impact at this time. We continue to closely monitor this developing situation," said company management.

16:40 EST Nvidia higher by 6% after reporting Q4 earnings, giving Q1 guidance

16:37 EST Yamana Gold increases dividend 25% - Yamana Gold declares a Q1 dividend of 1.25c per share. Shareholders of record at the close of business on March 31 will be entitled to receive payment of this dividend on April 14. The dividend reflects the previously announced 25% increase to the company's annual dividend. Yamana has now increased its annual dividend cumulatively by 150% to 5c per share from 2c per share since Q2 of 2019.

16:34 EST Regulus initiates dosing of second cohort of Phase 1 trial of RGLS4326 - Regulus announced that it initiated dosing of the second cohort of its Phase 1 multiple ascending dose clinical trial of RGLS4326 for the treatment of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. The company expects to complete this study in mid-2020 with topline results available thereafter. The company is also planning to initiate a Phase 1b short-term dosing study in patients with ADPKD in the second half of 2020 to evaluate RGLS4326 for safety, pharmacokinetics, and biomarkers of pharmacodynamic activity. RGLS4326 is a novel oligonucleotide designed to inhibit miR-17 and to preferentially target the kidney.

16:32 EST Overstock holders vote to approve changes to move forward with dividend - Overstock.com stockholders have voted to approve the proposed changes for the company to move forward with the issuance of its previously-announced Series A-1 Preferred Stock dividend on a 1:10 basis. The shares, which will be registered with the SEC, trade exclusively on the tZERO ATS under the symbol OSTKO. Stockholder approval enabled changes to be made to the OSTKO certificates of designation so that shares can be held more broadly and transferred more easily. Stockholders approved proposals 1-3, which are those necessary to move forward with the dividend as planned. Stockholders did not approve proposals 4 and 5 which means that the company must seek stockholder approval in order to make any future changes to the total number of shares of preferred stock designated as Series A-1 Preferred Stock and Series B Preferred Stock. Overstock is working with industry participants to finalize the record and distribution dates for the Series A-1 Preferred Stock dividend, expects to notify investors soon of those dates and expects to distribute the dividend no later than this April.

16:29 EST Expedia up 10% to $122.50 after reporting Q4 results

16:28 EST Expedia says targeting $300M-$500M in run-rate cost savings - "Since our management change in December we have re-focused the company on our core operations which had suffered for much of 2019. We have rapidly moved to simplify how we operate and increase efficiency. These changes helped us exceed the high-end of our revised guidance range in 2019 and will contribute to accelerated profit growth in our underlying business in 2020. In addition, we are targeting $300-500 million of run-rate cost savings across our business. We are not providing a specific guidance range given uncertainty on how much cost savings we'll recognize this year and the full effect of Coronavirus. However, taking these factors into account, we expect 2020 Adjusted EBITDA growth to be in the double-digits," said Chairman Barry Diller and Vice Chairman Peter Kern. "More importantly, the actions we're taking to simplify our business and drive cost efficiency will position Expedia Group for improved revenue growth and margin expansion for years to come."

16:25 EST Sol-Gel Technologies announces long-term Epsolay safety study results - Sol-Gel Technologies announced topline data for its open-label, long-term safety study, evaluating Epsolay, microencapsulated benzoyl peroxide cream, 5%, in papulopustular rosacea for a treatment duration up to 52 weeks. The study enrolled 547 subjects, all of whom had completed 12 weeks of treatment with Epsolay or vehicle in the preceding double-blind Phase 3 studies. Patients continued onto open-label treatment with Epsolay once-daily for up to an additional 40 weeks. The safety population of 535 subjects received Epsolay therapy for an overall period of at least 28 weeks. Of these 535 subjects, 209 subjects completed 52 weeks of treatment with Epsolay, exceeding the sample size requirements previously defined by the FDA for the one-year safety evaluation. Non-cutaneous adverse events were similar in frequency and type to those observed in the preceding Phase 3 trials. The most common adverse event reported was nasopharyngitis. Less than 3% of patients experienced application site adverse events that were considered to be drug-related, and no serious drug-related adverse events were reported. At every study visit, the investigator conducted Local Tolerability and Cutaneous Safety Assessments. At the end of 52 weeks more than 90% of subjects had "none" or "mild" signs or symptoms and no "severe" tolerability scores were recorded. Although the study was designed to evaluate long-term safety, subjects also continued to undergo evaluation according to the Investigator Global Assessment 5-point scale. Of the 209 patients treated with Epsolay for 52 weeks, 73.2% reported a score of 0 or 1 at 52 weeks.

16:24 EST Mattel rallies 4.5% to $15.05 after Q4 results, 2020 outlook

16:21 EST Mattel reports Q4 adjusted gross margin 48.9%, up 230bps from last year - Q4 gross sales in the North America segment decreased 1% as reported, and in constant currency. Gross sales in the International segment decreased 1% as reported and were flat in constant currency.

16:14 EST Royal Gold announces updated Rainy River mine plan from New Gold - Royal Gold (RGLD) announced today that New Gold (NGD) released an updated life of mine plan for the Rainy River operation in Ontario, Canada. New Gold announced in April 2019 that it had launched a comprehensive optimization study with the overall objective of reducing capital spending and improving the return on investment over the life of the Rainy River mine. The updated life of mine plan is the result of that study, and key highlights as reported by New Gold today include: A mine plan covering the 2020 to 2028 period, which considers mining from a smaller and higher-grade open pit through to early 2025, with concurrent mining from a smaller and more selective underground operation from 2022 through 2027.Processing of stockpiled low-grade open pit material is expected to supplement underground mill feed during 2026 to 2028; Overall gold grade of 1.10 grams per tonne mined and 1.06 grams per tonne milled; Average gold recovery of 89%; Average gold equivalent production of 289,000 ounces per year1; and, Proven and probable reserves of 2.636 million ounces of contained gold and 6.266 million ounces of contained silver as at December 31, 2019. The mine plan was based on proven and probable reserves estimated at a gold price of $1,275 per ounce and a silver price of $17.00 per ounce. New Gold expects there may remain potential to extend the underground mine life beyond 2028 should the prevailing gold price support the development of additional mining areas during that period and/or exploration efforts increase the resource inventory. On July 20, 2015, Royal Gold entered into an agreement to provide an advance payment of $175M for the development of the Rainy River mine.

16:14 EST CatchMark Timber sees FY20 adjusted EBITDA $48M-$56M - Sees FY20 GAAP net loss of $8.5M-$14.5M. Harvest volumes are forecast between 2.3 million and 2.5 million tons. Asset management fee revenue is projected to be between $11M-$12M, primarily from the Triple T joint venture. Timberland sales targets of $15M-$17M remain in the range of 1% to 2% of fee acreage.

16:12 EST Cadence Design acquires Integrand Software, terms not disclosed - Cadence Design Systems announced that it has acquired Integrand Software, Inc. to further accelerate innovation in the 5G RF communications space. Integrand's EMX technology has the industry-leading Method of Moments solver technology for analysis and extraction and enables designers to accurately and efficiently simulate large integrated circuits and advanced packages, characterize passive components and analyze interconnect parasitics in 3D-IC systems. Executing upon the Cadence Intelligent System Design strategy, the integration of Integrand EMX with the Cadence Virtuoso, Sigrity, Clarity and AWR solutions offers customers a complete electromagnetic signoff solution. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

16:11 EST Yelp authorizes $250M increase to stock buyback program - The board authorized a $250 million addition to Yelp's stock repurchase program. Since initiating the program in August 2017, the board has authorized the return of nearly $1 billion of capital to Yelp shareholders

16:09 EST Cognex names Paul Todgham CFO - Cognex announced the appointment of Paul Todgham as Senior Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer, effective March 9, 2020. In this role, Mr. Todgham will lead Cognex's global finance and administration organization. He will be based in the company's Natick headquarters and will report to Cognex's President and CEO, Robert J. Willett. "Paul has extensive experience leading financial, strategic and operational planning for a range of large-scale businesses," said Robert J. Willett, President and CEO of Cognex. "He will be a great partner as we prepare Cognex for its next phase of growth and long-term value creation."

16:08 EST Yelp names David Schwarzbach as new CFO effective March 1st - Yelp announced the appointments of David Schwarzbach as CFO, effective February 14, and Christine Barone, CEO of True Food Kitchen, to Yelp's Board of Directors, effective March 1. Mr. Schwarzbach joins Yelp from Optimizely, where he most recently served as Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. He will be replacing James Miln, who has been serving as interim CFO since September 2019. Mr. Miln will resume his role leading Financial Planning and Analysis at Yelp.

16:07 EST UPS increases quarterly dividend - The UPS board increased its regular quarterly dividend to $1.01 per share on all outstanding Class A and Class B shares. The dividend is payable March 10 to shareowners of record on February 25.

16:06 EST Francesca's appoints Andrew Clarke CEO - Francesca's Holdings Corporation announced the appointment of Andrew Clarke as the company's president and CEO and as a member of the board, effective March 9. Clarke will replace Michael Prendergast who has served as interim CEO since February 4, 2019. As part of the company's consulting agreement with Alvarez and Marsal, Prendergast will remain with Francesca's for a period of time to ensure a seamless transition.

16:04 EST Weyland Tech receives request for comment on recent promotional activity - Weyland Tech has received a request by the OTC Markets Group to comment on recent promotional activity related to Weyland Tech's common stock traded on the OTC Markets. On January 21, Weyland Tech engaged Emerging Markets Consulting to independently develop and publish digital media to help build awareness for Weyland Tech as a publicly traded company. Materials published on February 10 by EMC or its contractors presented a general overview of the company's business as well as the growth potential of the company and its industry. Weyland Tech provided EMC publicly available source information for these materials, but did not have editorial control over the materials, including reviewing the materials for factual accuracy prior to their dissemination. On February 10, company management learned that some materials may have included speculative language and forward-looking statements about the company's future prospects; however, the company believes that none of the materials published were misleading or false, or included information regarding the company that had not yet been previously disclosed by the company in compliance with Regulation FD and related SEC reporting requirements. The company has not determined whether the publication of the materials had a material impact on the trading of the company's common stock. The company has ended its engagement with EMC and arranged for discontinuance of the dissemination of these materials. Upon inquiry of the company's management, directors, control persons and third-party service providers, and to the best of the company's knowledge, during the past 90 days no such persons executed any transactions of the company's securities for purchase or sale of stock, except as to purchases made by company management as previously disclosed in press releases issued on November 19, 2019 and February 10, 2020. Weyland Tech company policy requires insiders who purchase the company's common stock from any source to hold the stock for a minimum of two years.

16:02 EST Silvercrest Asset raises quarterly dividend 7% to 16c per share - The dividend will be paid on or about March 20 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on March 13.

15:44 EST Senator Kirsten Gillibrand calls for U.S. federal agency for data protection - New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand wants the United States to create a new federal agency to protect digital privacy. In a blog posting from yesterday, the Senator said in part: "Your data is extremely valuable to many companies with unknown motives, who are looking to exploit your data for profit. As a result, your very existence is being parsed, split, and sold to the highest bidder, and there is very little you - or anyone, including the federal government - can do about it...That's why I'm introducing new legislation to create a Data Protection Agency and bring the protection of your privacy and freedom into the digital age...The tech giants - Google (GOOG) and Facebook (FB) among them - have been the clear winners of our transition to the digital age. These companies have built major empires of data with information about our private lives. They're processing that information with increasingly complex and sophisticated algorithms. And they're making a whole lot of money off of it...Meanwhile, major data breaches have occurred at banks and credit rating agencies. Take, for example, the recent Equifax (EFX) breach. Equifax collected sensitive credit data from hundreds of millions of Americans, but failed to safeguard it, which allowed hackers to steal and expose this information...The United States must make an effort to take the lead and do something about data protection.The Data Protection Act would address this head-on. My legislation would establish an independent federal agency, the Data Protection Agency, that would serve as a "referee" to define, arbitrate, and enforce rules to defend the protection of our personal data." Reference Link

15:21 EST FDA requests withdrawal of weight-loss drug Belviq, Belviq XR from market - In an update to the FDA Drug Safety Communication first issued on January 14, 2020, the FDA U.S. Food and Drug Administration has requested that the manufacturer of Belviq, Belviq XR voluntarily withdraw the weight-loss drug from the U.S. market because a safety clinical trial shows an increased occurrence of cancer. The drug manufacturer, Eisai (ESALY), has submitted a request to voluntarily withdraw the drug. The Fly notes that in January of 2017, Eisai reached an agreement with Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA) to revise the November 2013 marketing and supply agreement it concluded with Arena's wholly owned subsidiary. Eisai became solely responsible for all decision-making and implementation related to global development and submissions for regulatory approvals, as well as global marketing for Belviq. Reference Link

14:34 EST Microsoft edges lower after court reportedly orders JEDI work halt - Shares of Amazon (AMZN) and Microsoft (MSFT) were in focus after CNBC reported that a judge has granted Amazon's request to temporarily block work on the $10B JEDI cloud contract that was awarded to Microsoft. WHAT'S NEW: A judge has ordered a temporary block on the JEDI cloud contract in response to a suit filed by Amazon, according to CNBC's Annie Palmer. Amazon, which is protesting the Pentagon's decision to award the contract to Microsoft, alleges that it was subject to "unmistakable bias" and has since asked the court for permission to depose President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Mark Esper and former Defense Secretary James Mattis. CNBC noted that Amazon Web Services has been instructed to pay $42M for any "costs and damages" that could be incurred in the event that the "injunction was issued wrongfully." WHAT'S NOTABLE: The Department of Defense last April said that Amazon and Microsoft were the two finalists for the JEDI contract, ruling out other contenders such as IBM (IBM) and Oracle (ORCL), but in July, President Trump said he was looking into the contract after IBM and others protested the bidding process. Microsoft was given the contract on October 25, and Amazon has since been protesting the move. Meanwhile, court documents filed last December laid out in more detail why Amazon was challenging the decision, in which the company claimed that Trump launched "behind-the-scenes attacks" against it, which caused it to lose out on the contract. PRICE ACTION: Following the news, Microsoft shares are down fractionally while Amazon is up fractionally.

13:38 EST Textron recalls gas-powered golf, shuttle off-road vehicles due to fire hazard - Textron recalls gas-powered golf, PTV, utility and shuttle off-road vehicles due to fire hazard, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. This recall involves gas-powered E-Z-GO, Cushman and Tracker brand off-road vehicles manufactured from November 2018 through June 2019 with certain non-sequential serial numbers ranging from 3377720 to 3440924. Textron has received 13 reports of melted and/or burned wires and electrical components and loss of vehicle function in some cases, including one report of fire. No injuries have been reported.Reference Link

13:11 EST Kimball International Chairman Kristine Juster purchased 12K shares of company - Kimball International Chairman Kristine Juster disclosed in a filing that she had purchased 12,000 shares of company stock at an average price of $17.48 per share on February 11. The total transaction value of the purchase was $209,700.

12:57 EST Facebook postpones Dating feature rollout following Ireland DPC assessment - The Irish Data Protection Commission said in a statement yesterday that Facebook Ireland first contacted the commission in relation to its intention to roll-out a new Dating feature in the EU on February 3. "We were very concerned that this was the first that we'd heard from Facebook Ireland about this new feature, considering that it was their intention to roll it out tomorrow, February 13," the commission said. "Our concerns were further compounded by the fact that no information/documentation was provided to us on 3 February in relation to the Data Protection Impact Assessment or the decision-making processes that were undertaken by Facebook Ireland." In order to expedite the procurement of the relevant documentation, authorised officers of the DPC conducted an inspection at Facebook Ireland Limited's offices in Dublin on February 10 and gathered documentation. Facebook Ireland informed the DPC that they have postponed the roll-out of this feature. Reference Link

12:15 EST Vivendi says UMG IPO currently planned for early 2023 at latest - Vivendi (VIVHY) said its Supervisory Board was informed of ongoing negotiations regarding the possible sale of additional minority interests in UMG, based on a minimum valuation of EUR 30B. Eight banks have been mandated by Vivendi to assist it in this matter. An initial public offering is currently planned for early 2023 at the latest. On December 31, 2019, Vivendi entered into an agreement with a Tencent-led consortium, which includes Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) and international financial investors, for the planned equity investment in UMG. The agreement provides for the purchase by the consortium of 10% of UMG's share capital, based on an enterprise value of EUR 30B for 100% of UMG's share capital.

12:00 EST Wayfair falls -9.0% - Wayfair is down -9.0%, or -$8.62 to $87.06.

12:00 EST Nu Skin falls -14.4% - Nu Skin is down -14.4%, or -$5.16 to $30.63.

12:00 EST Endava rises 14.3% - Endava is up 14.3%, or $6.93 to $55.24.

11:47 EST Broadcom debuts Wi-Fi 6E chip with low latency, enhanced Bluetooth audio - Earlier on Thursday, Broadcom announced the world's first Wi-Fi 6E client device, the BCM4389. Wi-Fi 6E extends the Wi-Fi 6 standard to support the soon-to-be-operational 6 GHz band with wider 160 MHz channel bandwidths that double Wi-Fi speeds and cut latency in half compared to Wi-Fi 5. The BCM4389 delivers over 2 Gbps of real-world speeds and up to five times better battery utilization, making it an ideal solution for flagship smartphones and future AR/VR devices. Wi-Fi 6E builds on the rich feature set of Wi-Fi 6, which includes improved performance in crowded environments, advanced roaming capabilities and increased security. This enhancement of Wi-Fi 6 uses new spectrum in the 6 GHz band to deliver multi-gigabit speeds while avoiding congestion with legacy devices. The BCM4389 expands on the accelerated deployment of Wi-Fi 6, delivering a steady, swift and secure consumer experience in tandem with over 150 million smartphones already in the market. With the additional innovations of Wi-Fi 6E, it unlocks high-speed bi-directional video applications and augmented reality. For more on Wi-Fi 6E and 6 GHz Wi-Fi, read our blog here. The BCM4389 also brings advanced multi-radio technology to Bluetooth. Inspired by sophisticated Wi-Fi communication techniques such as multiple-input multiple-output, MIMO, and beamforming, the BCM4389 improves audio performance and range for any connected Bluetooth accessory. Phones equipped with the BCM4389 will provide a seamless, "glitch-free" audio experience with popular Bluetooth headsets even in congested places such as subway stations. "At Broadcom, we pride ourselves in delivering technology that defines the market. The BCM4389, the world's first Wi-Fi 6E mobile chip, is no exception since it paves the way for our wirelessly connected AR/VR future," said Vijay Nagarajan, vice president of marketing for the Wireless Communications and Connectivity Division at Broadcom. "The BCM4389 delivers on the core advantages of the 6 GHz band, multi-gigabit wireless speeds and very low latency. It also represents a paradigm shift in wireless design thinking with technology that brings glitch-free audio experience with Bluetooth headsets, fast pairing with wireless accessories, accurate indoor location, high battery efficiency and other everyday consumer experiences."

11:33 EST Veon appoints Herrero and Terzioglu as co-CEOs - Veon announces the appointment of Sergi Herrero and Kaan Terzioglu as co-Chief Executive Officers, effective from March 1. Ursula Burns, who was appointed as Executive Chairman in July 2017 and CEO in December 2018, will remain as Veon's Chairman. "Kaan will lead on Veon's core telecommunication services and oversee operations in Russia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Georgia. Sergi will lead on building new ventures, digital products, partnerships and oversee operations in Pakistan, Ukraine, Algeria, Bangladesh and Armenia," the company said. Sergi and Kaan become co-CEOs following four months as Veon's Joint Chief Operating Officers.

10:57 EST Comcast reports 19.1% passive stake in Peloton - Comcast (CMCSA, CMCSK) reported a 19.1% passive stake in Peloton (PTON), which represents over 10.34M shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

10:48 EST Walmart says moving Jet black from incubation to broader business - Scott Eckert, SVP, Next Generation Retail and Principal, Store No8, said in a blog post: "Jet black, the first portfolio company to launch from Store No8, follows InHome as the latest to graduate from incubation to join Walmart's Customer Organization. We've learned a lot through Jet black, including how customers respond to the ability of ordering by text as well as the type of items they purchase through texting. We're eager to apply these learnings from Jet black and leverage its core capabilities within Walmart. As we said in the beginning when we launched Jet black, part of the initiative was to start testing and building technology with the intent that it could be used in other ways, including applying it to other parts of our business. We are only beginning to explore how the capabilities being developed within Store No8 can complement one another and be leveraged to enhance the customer experience. We look forward to sharing more updates from the team as we work together to shape the future of retail at Walmart." Reference Link

10:34 EST Southwest removes Boeing MAX from flight schedule through Aug. 10 - In a post to its corporate website, Soutwest (LUV) stated in part: "Southwest Airlines continues to monitor information from Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration on the impending 737 MAX software enhancements and training requirements. We remain confident that, once certified by the FAA, the enhancements will support the safe operation of the MAX. We previously removed the MAX through June 6, 2020 to offer reliability to our operation and stability for our customers. Based on continued uncertainty around the timing of MAX return to service, the company is proactively removing the MAX from its flight schedule through Aug. 10, 2020...The revision will proactively remove roughly 371 weekday flights from our schedule out of our total peak-day schedule of more than 4,000 daily flights."

10:17 EST Designer Brands announces footwear and handbag partnership with Jennifer Lopez - Designer Brands announced a business partnership with Jennifer Lopez to develop and produce the JLO JENNIFER LOPEZ collection, a line of footwear and handbags. The collection will be sold exclusively at DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse stores in the United States and Canada, and online at DSW.com. The footwear line is poised to debut in Spring 2020 with handbags to follow, the company reported.

10:00 EST Emerald Holding falls -10.6% - Emerald Holding is down -10.6%, or -$1.09 to $9.20.

10:00 EST Nu Skin falls -15.5% - Nu Skin is down -15.5%, or -$5.54 to $30.25.

10:00 EST American Equity rises 12.7% - American Equity is up 12.7%, or $3.76 to $33.44.

09:47 EST Bloom Energy falls -11.8% - Bloom Energy is down -11.8%, or -$1.23 to $9.23.

09:47 EST Nu Skin falls -15.6% - Nu Skin is down -15.6%, or -$5.57 to $30.22.

09:47 EST Gold Fields rises 5.6% - Gold Fields is up 5.6%, or 34c to $6.42.

09:21 EST Bloomin' Brands says Smith to step down as Executive Chairman - In a regulatory filing, Bloomin' Brands reported that on February 13, the board of directors of the company announced that Elizabeth Smith will step down from her role as Executive Chairman of the Board, effective March 6, and continue to serve as a director. Smith has served as Executive Chairman of the board since April 2019, Chairman from January 2012 to April 2019, CEO from November 2009 to April 2019 and as a director since November 2009. The company and Ms. Smith will enter a resignation agreement, effective March 6, which terminates Ms. Smith's right to further compensation. The board also announced that the company's current Lead Independent Director, James Craigie, was appointed to serve as the company's Chairman of the Board effective March 6, in lieu of having a Lead Independent Director. Craigie will no longer serve as the chair of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee, and Tara Walpert Levy was appointed to and will chair such committee effective March 6.

09:11 EST Lightbridge receives notice of patent grant from EPO for fuel assembly design - Lightbridge announced that it has received a Decision to Grant from the European Patent Office for Patent #3195324 related to a Lightbridge metallic fuel assembly design for use in CANDU-type reactors. According to the World Nuclear Association, there are 48 CANDU-type pressurized heavy water reactors currently in use around the world.

09:10 EST Diebold selected by Belgian banking joint venture for ATM as a service - Diebold signed an ATM as a Service agreement with JoFiCo, a joint venture created in November 2019 by four Belgian banks - Argenta, AXA Bank, Crelan and vdk bank - and bpost, to manage their ATM network from end to end. Diebold Nixdorf will take on the responsibility of operating the entire fleet for each participating bank of the joint venture, which includes an installed base of approximately 1,560 existing ATMs. Over the next few years, Diebold Nixdorf will gradually replace older units with new DN Series ATMs and upgrade the remaining ATMs to Windows 10.

09:09 EST Caterpillar reports retail machines sales down 7% in three months end January - Caterpillar reported in a regulatory filing that its total retail machines sales were down 7% on a three month rolling basis in January. For reference, retail sales of machines were down 5% in the period ending in December and flat in the period ending in November. The company reported world Resources Industries sales were down 7% in the January-end period, compared to a December-end period decrease of 10%. Construction Industries world sales were down 6% in the January-end period, versus down 3% in the prior three-month period ending in December. Total Energy & Transportation Retail Sales were down 2% in the January-end period, and were down 3% in the December-end period.

09:06 EST General Mills appoints Jaime Montemayor as chief digital, technology officer - General Mills announced the hiring of Jaime Montemayor as chief digital and technology officer reporting to chairman and CEO, Jeff Harmening, effective February 24. In this newly created role, Montemayor will have oversight of the IT and technology solutions teams and be responsible for leading General Mills digital transformation efforts and continuing to build new capabilities that will advance its innovation and speed to market. Montemayor joins General Mills from 7-Eleven where he was CTO.

09:03 EST Taronis Technologies delivers final USDA presentation - Taronis Technologies announced that it successfully delivered its final technical briefing to the United States Department of Agriculture on February 12, 2020. The Company recently completed an 18-month technical validation of its water decontamination technology, which was funded in part by a USDA grant for the sterilization of animal waste. The grant funded an 18-month study conducted at a large-scale dairy operation in central Florida that was successfully completed in September of 2019. As part of the presentation, the Company delivered its final report on the highly successful independent validation of the efficacy of using a Venturi plasma arc sterilization unit to eradicate pathogens, break down virus-based contaminants and remove harmful metals from animal waste slurries. In addition, the Company presented a proposed new opportunity for the USDA to fund a commercial pilot project to address the hog waste produced, specifically in North Carolina which is the third largest hog producing market in the United States today. Taronis also proposed the incorporation of multiple leading universities in the region as part of the project. The objective would be for the universities to independently validate the ability to safely recover and reuse animal waste waters for hydroponic applications and use animal waste solids for crop fertilization. Lastly, Taronis sought guidance from the USDA on the process of becoming an approved vendor on the USDA best practices list. Vendors on this list are pre-approved for federal subsidized sales of equipment into the US agricultural industry. This would enable Taronis to market its equipment to the industry at a potentially dramatically reduced cost to the end user clientele.

08:53 EST Akorn drops 20% after saying Chapter 11 protection being considered - Shares of Akorn are down 20% in pre-market trading after the company announced last night that it has reached an agreement with certain of its lenders to extend the standstill period. "The agreement defines a path forward and outlines milestones to execute a sale of Akorn's business, potentially using Chapter 11 protection in order to address Akorn's litigation-related overhangs and execute a transaction that maximizes value," the company stated. Doug Boothe, Akorn's President and CEO, added, "Akorn is a fundamentally strong business with exciting opportunities ahead. Our efforts to stabilize and strengthen our business have already achieved meaningful results. The decision to pursue a sale of the Company gives Akorn the opportunity to address its capital structure and litigation-related overhangs by seeking a new owner that will continue to invest in our business and future growth. I believe that this decisive action is the right path for our business and will deliver greater financial security in the long term." The company plans to continue to operate as usual throughout the sale process, including delivering safe and effective pharmaceutical products to customers and fulfilling contractual obligations, including payments to vendors, Akorn noted. In pre-market trading following last night's announcement, Akorn shares are down 30c, or 20.7%, to $1.15.

08:49 EST BRP Group appoints Barbara Matas, Joseph Kadow to board of directors - BRP Group (BRP) announced the appointments of Barbara Matas and Joseph J. Kadow to its Board of Directors, effective immediately. Ms. Matas was formerly the Chairman of Citigroup's (C) Leveraged Finance business from 2013 until 2016. Mr. Kadow was formerly the Chief Legal Officer of Bloomin' Brands, Inc. (BLMN) from 2005 until 2019. Matas and Mr. Kadow's appointments expand the size of BRP Group's Board of Directors from five directors to seven directors. Both Ms. Matas and Mr. Kadow are being appointed to the Audit Committee, while current Audit Committee member Chris Sullivan will step down, but continue to serve as a member of the Board.

08:46 EST FuelCell closes tax equity sale-leaseback financing - FuelCell Energy announced that the Company closed on a tax equity sale-leaseback financing transaction for the 2.8 MW Tulare BioMAT Project in Tulare, California with Crestmark Equipment Finance, a division of Metabank. Crestmark's commitment totals $14.4 million through a ten-year sale-leaseback structure and further demonstrates the market's interest in FuelCell Energy and our sustainable energy platforms. Adding this operating asset to the Company's generation portfolio is expected to yield recurring revenue in excess of $2.5 million per year and increases the Company's operating assets to 28.9 MW. The Company has another 44.3 MW in backlog, in various stages of development and construction with commercial operation dates ranging from 2020 through 2022. The net proceeds to the Company from the financing, after deducting an initial down payment on the lease, taxes and transaction costs, totaled approximately $10.5 million. Under the terms of the Company's senior secured credit facility with Orion Energy Partners Investment Agent, LLC and its affiliated lenders, the net proceeds of $10.5 million were deposited into a restricted cash account for future distribution at the discretion of Orion for use to construct another project, for working capital support or for repayment of principal under the Orion facility. Initial distributions will include $1 million to a module reserve account for the benefit of Orion under the terms of the credit agreement. In addition, approximately $3.0 million of proceeds will be released to fund interest due under the Orion credit facility as well as certain reserves, interest and accrued and unpaid dividends for on the Series B Preferred Stock issued by the Company and the Series 1 Class A Preferred Stock Shares issued by FCE FuelCell Energy Ltd. and guaranteed by the Company.

08:45 EST Cocrystal says technology demonstrates broad utility in antiviral development - COCRYSTAL PHARMA is a clinical stage biotechnology company discovering and developing novel antiviral therapeutics using its proprietary structure-based drug discovery platform technology to create first-and best-in-class antiviral drugs for a wide variety of serious and/or chronic viral diseases. Cocrystal's proprietary structure-based drug discovery platform: Provides direct visualization of how essential viral enzymes work; Identifies attractive drug binding pockets on these enzymes; Enables the design of compounds to block the function of these enzymes, thereby preventing viral production; and Discovers novel broad spectrum antivirals with high barriers to drug resistance. Cocrystal's technology generates a 3-D structure of inhibitor complexes at near-atomic resolution providing the Company with the ability to identify novel binding sites and allow for a rapid turnaround of structural information through highly automated X-ray data processing and refinement. By utilizing this technology, Cocrystal is able to develop treatments that specifically target essential viral enzymes. The Company is currently leveraging its unique structure-based technologies to develop antiviral drugs for hepatitis C, influenza and norovirus. To date, Cocrystal's lead influenza molecule in development, CC-42344, has shown excellent antiviral activity against influenza A strains, including avian pandemic strains and Tamiflu resistant strains, and a favorable pharmacokinetic and safety profile. In addition, the Company has an ongoing partnership with Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. to discover and develop a novel influenza drug for influenza A and B infections. The Company expects the lead molecule will be selected for its influenza A/B program in the fourth quarter of 2020. The Company announced positive safety and preliminary efficacy data from its triple regimen, U.S. Phase 2a study evaluating CC-31244 and Epclusa or the ultra-short treatment of HCV infected individuals. Planning is underway to initiate a Phase 2b study. The Company is working on a potential first-in-class non-nucleoside inhibitor that will have both potent and broad-spectrum Noro polymerase inhibition. Work has also begun on a protease inhibitor. The technology platform has been completed and the structure-based lead discovery is ongoing in both programs.

08:42 EST Vonage adds office in central Paris - Vonage is increasing its presence in France by adding an office in central Paris for the company's sales, alliances and customer support teams in the region, while offering room for growth. The office is part of Vonage's expansion plans throughout the wider EMEA region, where it already has several offices, including those in London, Madrid, Berlin, Stockholm, Munich, Wroclaw and Dubai. With this additional office, Vonage is well positioned to cover more territory and provide new and existing customers, including Selectra, Orange Business Services, LVMH Client Services, Doctolib, Air Liquide, BlaBlaCar and Danfoss, with the best possible service. Vonage has also made several appointments to its Applications Group in the region, including Nicolas Perrilliat, who joins from Salesforce as Regional Sales Manager, Marie-Anne Naz as Alliances Manager, Pierrick Hollocou as Sales Executive and Dominique Rousseau as Senior Solutions Engineer. The Applications Group encompasses Vonage's unified communications and contact center portfolios. Vonage is positioned by Gartner, Inc. in the Leaders quadrant of the Magic Quadrant for Contact Center as a Service for Western Europe.

08:39 EST Radian Group boosts dividend to 12.5c per share, share repurchase plan to $475M - Radian Group announced that based on the company's financial position and capital flexibility, which has increased over the past several years due to financial performance and active capital management, its board of directors has approved an increase to the company's quarterly cash dividend from .25c to 12.5c per share. The board approved this increase effective for Radian's current quarterly dividend, which is payable March 6 to stockholders of record as of February 24. The board also approved an increase to the company's existing share repurchase authorization from $200M to $475M, and a program extension to August 2021. As of February 12, approximately 3.1M shares for a total cost of $73.2M, including commissions, have been repurchased under this program, leaving $401.8M in share repurchase authority remaining.

08:38 EST Aspen Group announces pre-licensure BSN campuses in Tampa, Austin - Aspen Group announced the signing of definitive lease agreements for two new Aspen University Pre-Licensure BSN campus locations in Tampa, Florida and Austin, Texas. Aspen University has executed a definitive lease agreement for ten years to occupy approximately 30,000 square feet of the Tampa Oaks I property located at 12802 Tampa Oaks Boulevard. The building is visible from the intersection of Interstate 75 and East Fletcher Avenue, near the University of South Florida, providing visibility to approximately 126,500 cars per day. Aspen is targeting to begin its first semester at Tampa Oaks I in August 2020 in campus space formerly occupied by the University of Phoenix. Aspen University has executed an agreement with Bayfront Health, a regional network of seven hospitals and over 1,900 medical professionals on staff serving the residents of Florida's Gulf Coast to provide required clinical placements for Aspen's nursing students. In addition, clinical affiliation agreements have been signed in the Tampa metro with John Hopkins All Children's Hospital, Inc., Care Connections at Home, Global Nurse Network, LLC and The American National Red Cross. Prior to commencing its campus operations, Aspen is required to obtain approval by the Florida Board of Nursing and the Florida Commission on Independent Education. Initial required regulatory filings have been submitted. Aspen University has executed a definitive lease agreement for eight years to occupy approximately 22,000 square feet in a portion of the first floor of the Frontera Crossing office building located at 101 W. Louis Henna Boulevard in the Austin suburb of Round Rock. The building is situated at the junction of Interstate 35 and State Highway 45, one of the most heavily trafficked freeway exchanges in the metro with visibility to approximately 143,362 cars per day. Aspen is targeting to begin its first semester at Frontera Crossing in November 2020 in campus space formerly occupied by The Art Institute. Aspen has executed a clinical affiliation agreement with Baylor Scott & White Health - Central division, the largest not-for-profit healthcare system in Texas and one of the largest in the United States. Baylor Scott & White includes 48 hospitals, more than 800 patient care sites, more than 7,800 active physicians, over 47,000 employees and the Scott & White Health Plan. Aspen is working with the Texas Board of Nursing, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and the Texas Workforce Commission to complete their respective regulatory approval processes and is required to obtain approval from all agencies prior to commencing its campus operations. These new campuses will follow Aspen University's existing Pre-Licensure BSN model being executed in the Phoenix, Arizona metro campuses. This model operates a stand-alone campus running six semester starts per annum, implemented as an accelerated three-year program at a total cost of attendance less than $50,000.

08:37 EST TripAdvisor says 'not that exposed' to Asia amid coronavirus - Says doesn't expect impact to be "that material to us." Comments taken from Q4 earnings conference call.

08:33 EST Amyris appoints Han Kieftenbeld as CFO - Amyris announced that Han Kieftenbeld is joining the company as CFO effective March 16. Most recently, Kieftenbeld served as CFO of Innophos Holdings, a science-based producer of essential ingredients for health and nutrition, food and beverage and industrial brands. Prior to Innophos, Han held finance and operations roles of increasing reach and impact, including serving as Global Chief Financial Officer of AB Mauri in the UK, Global Chief Procurement Officer of Ingredion Incorporated, and Global Chief Financial Officer of National Starch. Han started his career at Unilever in The Netherlands. Han will succeed Jonathan Wolter, who has served as Amyris' CFO for an interim period since last June.

08:29 EST BBQ Holdings announces intent to acquire Granite City Food and Brewery assets - BBQ Holdings announced that they have entered into an asset purchase agreement, pursuant to which BBQ Holdings will acquire the assets of Granite City Food and Brewery. The Granite City Food and Brewery brand and its loyal customer following will contribute greatly to BBQ Holdings current and growing portfolio of restaurant brands. Founded in 1999, Granite City is highly regarded in the casual dining space for brewing their own award-winning beers and their beloved, made-from-scratch menu. In addition to the announcement, BBQ Holdings, Inc., also recently opened several new restaurant concepts including Clark Crew BBQ in Oklahoma City, Real Famous BBQ in Utah and the first of several smaller-footprint concepts, in its home market of Minneapolis.

08:25 EST Global Eagle obtains inflight distribution rights for three Oscar-winning films - Global Eagle Entertainment announced that it has obtained the inflight distribution rights for three Oscar-winning films; Parasite, Judy and 1917. Global Eagle's distributors Emphasis and EIM are celebrating Oscar-winning content following the success of Parasite, Judy and 1917 at this year's Academy Awards. Emphasis has worldwide rights outside Korea for Parasite, which won four Oscars including the first entirely foreign-language film to win Best Picture. EIM has rights for Judy and 1917, with Renee Zellweger taking Best Actress and Sir Sam Mendes' war epic celebrating three Oscar wins including Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Cinematography.

08:19 EST PepsiCo: China accounts for less than 2% of overall sales - Says China accounts for less than 2% of overall sales, says it is relatively small compared to overall business.

08:14 EST Trovagene presents Phase 2 efficacy data on onvansertib for mCRPC - Trovagene announced positive data from its ongoing Phase 2 trial of onvansertib in combination with Zytiga - abiraterone - Johnson & Johnson/prednisone, all administered orally, for the treatment of patients with Zytiga-resistant metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer or mCRPC. Lead drug candidate Onvansertib is a first-in-class, 3rd generation, highly-selective oral Polo-like Kinase 1 Inhibitor. The company currently has two ongoing open-label clinical trials: a Phase 1b/2 trial in acute myeloid leukemia and a Phase 2 trial in mCRPC. In patients with AR alterations, 86% had decreases in PSA levels with the addition of onvansertib to daily Zytiga. Overall, across both arms, a 63% - 12 of 19 - response was observed in patients evaluable for efficacy. Onvansertib induced profound CTC decreases in patients with unfavorable CTC count - greater than80% decrease in 5 of 10 patients tested -; CTC decrease was associated with prolonged response to treatment and progression-free survival.

08:11 EST Nokia announces changes in own shares - A total of 4 844 261 Nokia shares held by the company were today transferred without consideration to participants of Nokia's equity-based incentive plans in accordance with the rules of the plans. The transfer is based on the resolution of the Board of Directors to issue shares held by the company to settle its commitments to participants of the plans as announced on February 6, 2020. The number of own shares held by Nokia Corporation following the transfer is 32 001 947.

08:07 EST Avenue Therapeutics announces acceptance of NDA for IV Tramadol - Avenue Therapeutics announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted for review Avenue's New Drug Application for IV tramadol for the management of moderate to moderately severe pain in adults in a medically supervised health care setting. The FDA set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act goal action date of October 10, 2020.

08:06 EST Corvus Pharmaceuticals announces results from Phase 1b/2 trial of ciforadenant - Corvus Pharmaceuticals announced updated results from its Phase 1b/2 clinical trial of ciforadenant, an adenosine A2A receptor antagonist, in patients with metastatic castration resistant prostate cancer. The data were presented today in a poster presentation at the American Society of Clinical Oncology 2020 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium in San Francisco by Lawrence Fong, M.D., study investigator and leader of the Cancer Immunotherapy Program at the University of California, San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center. Ciforadenant, Corvus' lead product candidate, is a selective and potent inhibitor of the adenosine A2A receptor. The ciforadenant Phase 1b/2 study is currently enrolling patients with renal cell cancer and mCRPC. The mCRPC arm of the study, which began enrolling patients in October 2019, is evaluating ciforadenant monotherapy and in combination with Genentech's Tecentriq, an anti-PD-L1 antibody. The study is also evaluating the use of a novel gene expression biomarker known as the Adenosine Signature, that may have the potential to predict patients most likely to respond to therapy and form the basis for future biomarker driven studies. The clinical data from the Phase 1b/2 trial of ciforadenant were presented by Dr. Fong in a poster presentation titled "Adenosine Receptor Blockade with Ciforadenant +/- Atezolizumab in Advanced Metastatic Castration Resistant Prostate Cancer" at the ASCO GU 2020 conference. The presentation included data from 35 patients with advanced mCRPC, including 11 that received ciforadenant as a monotherapy and 24 that received ciforadenant in combination with atezolizumab. These patients had failed a median of three prior therapies and 43% had visceral metastases, which is a negative prognostic factor for patients with mCRPC. The key updates from Dr. Fong's presentation included: With median follow up of 3.2+ months, there was one partial response; this patient had a prostate-specific antigen level drop from 98 to less than 1. Ten additional patients had tumor regression not meeting the criteria for PR. Seven patients have confirmed stable disease exceeding 6 months; one of these patients remains on therapy. Five patients have unconfirmed stable disease and continue on therapy. A total of 9 patients continue on therapy. Gene expression profiling of tumor biopsies demonstrate a significant correlation of tumor CD73 expression with the adenosine signature. This correlation supports the relevance of adenosine in prostate cancer, its production by CD73 and the expression of adenosine induced immunosuppressive genes. Prior work in renal cell cancer, recently published in Cancer Discovery in January 2020, showed that the adenosine signature is associated with resistance to anti-PD(L)1 therapy, and predicted response to ciforadenant. Treatment was well tolerated with 1 Grade 3 adverse event of fatigue in monotherapy and 1 Grade 3 adverse event of anemia in the combination arm.

08:06 EST Ralph Lauren says coronavirus to impact Q4 revenue by $55M-$70M - In response to continuing developments related to the coronavirus outbreak in China, Ralph Lauren is following the guidance of local authorities and global health organizations as it prioritizes the health and safety of its employees, consumers and partners. As part of this, approximately two thirds of the company's stores in the Chinese mainland have been temporarily closed over the past week. The company also expects broader impact across its businesses in China and parts of Asia due to significantly reduced travel and retail traffic. The company's fourth quarter Fiscal 2020 guidance is now estimated to be negatively impacted by $55 million to $70 million in sales and $35 million to $45 million in operating income in Asia, driven by current trends in China, Japan, and Korea. These estimates could materially change if there is meaningful deterioration from current trends. Supply chain disruptions in China could also impact a small portion of the company's fourth quarter orders globally. As the situation continues to unfold, the Company plans to provide an update on the operational and financial impact along with its Fiscal 2021 and first quarter guidance on its fourth quarter Fiscal 2020 earnings call.

08:04 EST Seattle Genetics announces FDA acceptance for priority review of tucatinib NDA - Seattle Genetics announced that the FDA has accepted for priority review the company's New Drug Application, or NDA, for the investigational medicine tucatinib. This NDA requests FDA approval of tucatinib in combination with trastuzumab and capecitabine for treatment of patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic HER2-positive breast cancer, including patients with brain metastases, who have received at least three prior HER2-directed agents separately or in combination, in the neoadjuvant, adjuvant or metastatic setting. The filing is based on the results of HER2CLIMB, a randomized pivotal trial comparing tucatinib added to trastuzumab and capecitabine versus trastuzumab and capecitabine alone. HER2CLIMB trial results were recently presented at the 2019 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, the FDA has set a target action date of August 20, 2020. Tucatinib is an oral, small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor that is highly selective for HER2.

07:59 EST Altra Industrial Motion remains on track to deliver $52M synergies by year four - Delivered $15.0 million of synergies in 2019 and remain on track to deliver a total of $52.0 million of synergies by year four following the acquisition of the A&S business.

07:57 EST PepsiCo says taking 'holistic' approach to cost management

07:56 EST Replimune Group 'on track' to initiate Phase 1 trial of RP3 in 2020 - RP3 alone and in combination with anti-PD-1 therapy: The Phase 1 clinical trial of RP3 alone and in combination with anti-PD-1 therapy remains on track to initiate in 2020.

07:55 EST Alibaba says 'closely monitoring' impact of coronavirus on the business - Says "significant number" of packages have been delayed.

07:54 EST Replimune Group initiates recruitment in Phase 2 trial of RP1 with Opdivo - RP1 in combination with Opdivo in anti-PD-1 refractory melanoma patients: The Company has initiated recruitment in a new registration-directed 125-patient cohort in the Phase 2 clinical trial of RP1 in combination with Opdivo in anti-PD-1 refractory melanoma patients.

07:53 EST Replimune Group expects enrollment in Phase 2 RP1 trial to take 18-24 months - RP1 in combination with Libtayo in CSCC: Enrollment in the 240-patient registration-directed Phase 2, randomized, controlled clinical trial is ongoing and is expected to take approximately 18 to 24 months with enrollment intended in the US, Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and European Union.

07:51 EST Agios expects to achieve at least one new development candidate by year-end

07:50 EST Tesla says CEO Musk to purchase up to $10M of stock as part of offering - Tesla announced that it intends to offer approximately $2B of common stock in an underwritten registered public offering and granted the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to approximately $300M of additional common stock. Elon Musk, Tesla's CEO, will participate by purchasing up to $10M of common stock in this offering. In addition, Larry Ellison, a member of Tesla's Board of Directors, will purchase up to $1M of common stock.

07:49 EST Agios Pharmaceuticals expects to deliver FY U.S. TIBSOVO revenue of $105M-$115M - Expects to receive European Medicines Agency CHMP opinion for TIBSOVO in relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia with an IDH1 mutation by year-end, complete enrollment of the Phase 3 AGILE trial of TIBSOVO in combination with azacitidine in adult patients with previously untreated IDH1 mutant AML by year-end, complete enrollment of the relapsed or refractory myelodysplastic syndrome arm of the TIBSOVO Phase 1 study of IDH1 mutant advanced hematologic malignancies by year-end.

07:47 EST Genocea appoints Gisela Schwab to board of directors - Genocea also appointed Gisela Schwab, M.D., President, Product Development and Medical Affairs and Chief Medical Officer of Exelixis to its board of directors effective February 14, 2020. "I am delighted to welcome Gisela to our board. Her broad oncology drug development expertise and her proven company-building track record will provide us valued counsel and insights in the coming years," said CEO Clark.

07:45 EST Bloom Energy reports Q4 backlog up over 43% year-over-year to 1,983 systems - Bloom Energy issued an update on its Q4 performance, stating that it closed the fourth quarter of 2019 with record backlog of 1,983 systems, an increase of over 43% year-over-year; the backlog value includes $1.1B for product and installation revenue. It also includes $1.1B for service revenue, assuming that all service agreements for these systems renew over their full contract terms. The backlog does not include $2.1B of service revenue for systems already in its installed base. The company reports a record number of Q4'19 and FY'19 acceptances of 386 and 1,194, respectively. Bloom's ending consolidated cash balance was $377.4M , an increase of $19M from Q3'19. "As communicated on our last earnings call, the Company has retained Jefferies to run the process to refinance its December 2020 debt maturities, and is focused on its goal to refinance its December 2020 debt maturities by the first-half of the calendar year," the company said. KR Sridhar, Founder, Chairman and CEO, added, "In the second half of 2019, Bloom Energy saw strong growth in the business. This momentum in customer engagement and demand continues to be driven by the attractiveness of our AlwaysON Microgrid offering in the face of continued grid outages and utility rate increases across the United States. We look forward to presenting our detailed Q4 and end of year results."

07:44 EST Evelo Biosciences discontinues development of EDP1066 - Following completion of the final cohort of the EDP1066 Phase 1b trial, Evelo has decided to discontinue development of EDP1066 and focus its efforts in inflammatory diseases on EDP1815, EDP1867, and its preclinical pipeline. In the EDP1066 Phase 1b trial in mild to moderate atopic dermatitis and mild to moderate psoriasis, EDP1066 was well tolerated with no overall difference reported from placebo. In a cohort of individuals with mild to moderate atopic dermatitis treated with the high dose of the new formulation of EDP1066, Evelo observed changes in biomarkers of inflammation consistent with a pharmacodynamic effect which were greater than those previously observed with the high dose of the original formulation in a cohort of individuals with mild to moderate psoriasis

07:43 EST Waste Management intends to raise annual dividend by 13c per share to $2.18

07:42 EST Bloom Energy to restate prior financial statements due to accounting error - Last night, Bloom Energy announced that the company expects to present its fourth quarter and full year results on or before March 16, 2020 and to file its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 in compliance with the required filing deadline. The company also announced it will restate certain prior period financial statements due to an accounting error related to its Managed Services Agreements, or MSAs. MSAs are one of the company's three customer financing options to acquire Bloom Energy servers. The revenue for the Managed Services transactions will now be recognized over the duration of the contract instead of upfront. Additionally, these adjustments are unrelated to the service business, life of the servers, or service contracts. The adjustment has no impact on Bloom's total cash and cash equivalents or cash flows and the adjustment does not impact the economic terms or substance of the MSAs. The total estimated change to net revenue amounts to less than 10% of the total revenue over the affected period for Q1 of 2016 through Q3 of 2019. The affected period includes material impacts to our financial statements from Q2 of 2018 to Q3 of 2019 and immaterial impacts to our financial statements in the periods of Q1 of 2016 to Q1 of 2018. John Doerr, Lead Independent Director, said: "Bloom Energy has a long track-record of groundbreaking innovation that is overseen by a highly engaged Board and experienced management team. We are committed to upholding the highest standards of oversight and compliance and remain focused on executing our long-term strategy and creating value for all stakeholders."

07:40 EST Alibaba says 'delivered outstanding quarter' - Says coronvirus having "significant impact" on China's economy. Says coronavirus will present "near-term challenges" to company's business. Comments taken from Q3 earnings conference call.

07:39 EST Karyopharm expects to submit MAA for selinexor to EMA in 2020 - The company said, "Following the positive results from the Phase 2b SADAL study that were first presented at the ASH 2018 Annual Meeting and then updated in June 2019 at the 2019 International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma, Karyopharm submitted a sNDA to the FDA in December 2019 requesting accelerated approval for selinexor as a treatment for patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL after at least two prior multi-agent therapies and who are ineligible for stem cell transplantation including CAR-T therapy. The Company also expects to submit an MAA to the EMA in 2020 requesting conditional approval for selinexor in the same indication. In addition to orphan drug designation, selinexor was granted fast track designation for this indication by the FDA in 2018."

07:38 EST Karyopharm says EMA decision for MAA expected in mid-2020 - The company said, "In January 2019, Karyopharm submitted an MAA to the EMA requesting conditional approval for selinexor, in combination with dexamethasone, as a new treatment for patients with heavily pretreated multiple myeloma based on the results of the Phase 2b STORM study. In January 2020, Karyopharm was granted a three-month extension from the EMA's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use to provide additional time to respond to the outstanding questions related to the MAA. The Company now expects a decision on the selinexor MAA in mid-2020."

07:34 EST Watsco raises annual dividend 11% to $7.10 per share - Watsco announced that its Board of Directors has approved an 11% increase in its annual dividend to $7.10 per share on each outstanding share of its Common and Class B common stock. The increase will be reflected in the Company's next regular dividend payment beginning in April 2020.

07:30 EST Tesla discloses SEC subpoena related to financial data and contracts - In its annual 10-K regulatory filing, Tesla stated: "We receive requests for information from regulators and governmental authorities, such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the National Transportation Safety Board, the SEC, the Department of Justice and various state, federal and international agencies. We routinely cooperate with such regulatory and governmental requests. In particular, the SEC had issued subpoenas to Tesla in connection with (a) Elon Musk's prior statement that he was considering taking Tesla private and (b) certain projections that we made for Model 3 production rates during 2017 and other public statements relating to Model 3 production. The take-private investigation was resolved and closed with the settlement with the SEC described above. On December 4, 2019, the SEC (i) closed the investigation into the projections and other public statements regarding Model 3 production rates and (ii) issued a subpoena seeking information concerning certain financial data and contracts including Tesla's regular financing arrangements. Separately, the DOJ had also asked us to voluntarily provide it with information about the above matters related to taking Tesla private and Model 3 production rates. Aside from the settlement, as amended, with the SEC relating to Mr. Musk's statement that he was considering taking Tesla private, there have not been any developments in these matters that we deem to be material, and to our knowledge no government agency in any ongoing investigation has concluded that any wrongdoing occurred. As is our normal practice, we have been cooperating and will continue to cooperate with government authorities. We cannot predict the outcome or impact of any ongoing matters. Should the government decide to pursue an enforcement action, there exists the possibility of a material adverse impact on our business, results of operation, prospects, cash flows, and financial position."

07:28 EST Akcea Therapeutics expands board to 11 with appointment of Amber Salzman - Akcea Therapeutics, Inc. (AKCA), a majority-owned affiliate of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS), announced the appointment of Amber Salzman, Ph.D., to the Company's Board of Directors, expanding the board to 11 members. Salzman is the President and CEO of Ohana Biosciences, a company with a mission to transform reproductive health through the industry's first sperm biology platform.

07:24 EST Tesla sees average annual capital expenditures in FY20-22 of $2.5B-$3.5B - In its annual 10-K regulatory filing, Tesla stated: "considering the expected pace of the manufacturing ramps for our products, construction and expansion of our factories, and pipeline of projects under development, and consistent with our current strategy of using a partner to manufacture battery cells, as well as considering all other infrastructure growth, we currently expect our average annual capital expenditures in 2020 and the two succeeding fiscal years to be $2.5 billion to $3.5 billion. We expect that the cash we generate from our core operations will generally be sufficient to cover our future capital expenditures and to pay down our near-term debt obligations, although we may choose to seek alternative financing sources. For example, we expect that much of our investment in Gigafactory Shanghai will continue to be funded through indebtedness arranged through local financial institutions in China, such as the RMB 9.0 billion (or the equivalent amount in U.S. dollars) fixed asset term facility and RMB 2.25 billion (or the equivalent amount in U.S. dollars) working capital revolving facility that our local subsidiary entered into in December 2019, and we expect the same with respect to Gigafactory Berlin. As always, we continually evaluate our capital expenditure needs and may decide it is best to raise additional capital to fund the rapid growth of our business, to further strengthen our balance sheet, or for general corporate purposes. We have an agreement to spend or incur $5.0 billion in combined capital, operational expenses, costs of goods sold and other costs in the State of New York during the 10-year period following full production at Gigafactory New York. We anticipate meeting these obligations through our operations at this facility and other operations within the State of New York, and we do not believe that we face a significant risk of default. We expect that our current sources of liquidity together with our projection of cash flows from operating activities will provide us with adequate liquidity over at least the next 12 months. A large portion of our future expenditures is to fund our growth, and we can adjust our capital and operating expenditures by operating segment, including future expansion of our product offerings, retail and service locations, body shops, Mobile Service fleet, and Supercharger network. We may need or want to raise additional funds in the future, and these funds may not be available to us when we need or want them, or at all. If we cannot raise additional funds when we need or want them, our operations and prospects could be negatively affected. In addition, we had $3.03 billion of unused committed amounts under our credit facilities and financing funds as of December 31, 2019, some of which are subject to satisfying specified conditions prior to draw-down."

07:23 EST TC Energy announces $1.3B of system expansions for WCSB supply - TC Energy announced that it has approved two new expansion projects totaling $1.3 billion on its wholly-owned natural gas pipeline systems. The $0.9 billion 2023 NGTL Intra-Basin System Expansion will deliver natural gas from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin to markets within Alberta on the NOVA Gas Transmission System, while the US$0.3 billion Alberta XPress project will see the expansion of the ANR Pipeline to provide a seamless path for Canadian production to access growing LNG export and other markets along the U.S. Gulf Coast. The 2023 NGTL Intra-Basin System Expansion is underpinned by approximately 309 million cubic feet per dayof new firm service delivery contracts. Customers have executed agreements with 15-year terms, with service commencing in 2023, that will connect WCSB supply to growing Alberta market demand in the power generation, oil sands, petrochemical and utility sectors. The 2023 NGTL Intra-Basin System Expansion will include approximately 119 km of new pipeline in existing rights-of-way and 90 MW of additional compression. Applications for approvals to construct and operate the facilities are expected to be filed with the Canada Energy Regulator in 2020 and, pending receipt of regulatory approvals, construction will commence as early as fourth quarter 2021. The Alberta XPress project on ANR is underpinned by approximately 160 MMcf/d of new firm service contracts and will include compressor station modifications and additions within the existing ANR footprint, as well as utilize existing capacity on the Great Lakes Gas Transmission and Canadian Mainline systems. Customers have negotiated agreements, which include customary conditions precedent, with weighted average terms of 19 years and service commencing in 2022. Applications for approvals to construct and operate the ANR facilities will be filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in 2020. Pending receipt of FERC approvals, construction will commence as early as third quarter 2021.

07:22 EST Soligenix-s RiVax granted Fast Track designation by FDA - Soligenix's RiVax development program for prevention of ricin intoxication has received "Fast Track" designation from the FDA. Should events warrant, Soligenix will be eligible to submit a biologics license application for RiVax on a rolling basis, permitting the FDA to review sections of the BLA prior to receiving the complete submission. Additionally, BLAs for fast track development programs ordinarily will be eligible for priority review, which imparts an abbreviated review time of approximately six months. Non-dilutive funding for the development of RiVax(R) has exceeded $40M to date.

07:20 EST Incyte sees FY20 Jakafi revenue $1.88B-$1.95B

07:15 EST iStar and Safehold appoint Jeremy Fox-Geen as CFO - iStar (STAR) announced that Jeremy Fox-Geen will join as CFO at both iStar and Safehold (SAFE) at the end of March. Fox-Geen will be a member of the senior executive team, providing financial leadership with responsibility for overseeing the Accounting, Tax, Treasury and Investor Relations functions. Fox-Geen was most recently the CFO of McKinsey & Co.'s North American business. He previously held senior leadership roles at PwC, Citigroup and McKinsey.

07:13 EST Agios Pharmaceuticals sees cash, cash equivalents sufficient through end of 2021 - Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of December 31, 2019 were $717.8 million compared to $805.4 million as of December 31, 2018. The change in cash was primarily driven by expenditures to fund operations of $464.4 million offset by the net proceeds of $277.2 million from the November follow-on offering and cash inflows of $99.3 million from product sales, stock option exercises, royalty revenue, and collaboration reimbursements and milestones. The company expects that its cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of December 31, 2019, together with anticipated product and royalty revenue, anticipated interest income, and anticipated expense reimbursements under our collaboration and license agreements, but excluding any additional collaboration-related payments, will enable the company to fund its anticipated operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements through at least the end of 2021.

07:10 EST Alkermes says entering 2020 'well positioned to drive growth' - James Frates, CFO of Alkermes, said in today's earnings release, "Our 2019 results reflect volume growth of VIVITROL and ARISTADA, continued strength of our royalty and manufacturing portfolio and investment in the commercialization of our products and our research and development pipeline. We enter 2020 well positioned to drive growth of our proprietary product portfolio and advance our pipeline of novel oncology and neuroscience candidates. Our financial expectations for 2020 reflect anticipated net sales growth of our proprietary products and operating expenses in line with the predicted impact of the strategic restructuring that we implemented in the fourth quarter of 2019, reflecting our commitment to non-GAAP profitability while investing in the long-term growth of the company." CEO Richards Pops added, "Looking ahead, our priorities for 2020 are clear as we focus on commercial execution for VIVITROL and ARISTADA, prepare for potential approval and launch of ALKS 3831, advance the development of ALKS 4230, and continue to develop our pipeline of preclinical assets."

07:10 EST Blueprint Medicines sees cash and cash equivalents sufficient into 2022 - Blueprint Medicines expects that its existing cash, cash equivalents and investments including the $308.2M in estimated net proceeds from the January 2020 follow-on public offering, together with anticipated product revenues but excluding any additional potential option fees, milestone payments or other payments under its collaboration or license agreements, will be sufficient to enable it to fund its operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into the second half of 2022.

07:07 EST PennyMac announces transfer of stake by BlackRock to charitable entities - PennyMac Financial Services (PFSI) announced that BlackRock (BLK) has contributed its remaining 20% ownership stake in PFSI to two charitable entities, the BlackRock Charitable Fund and The BlackRock Foundation. Subsequently, the BlackRock Charitable Fund sold 7.8M shares of PFSI common stock in an unregistered private sale yesterday. Following the sale, 50% of PFSI's market capitalization of approximately $2.9B now consists of public float, up from 17% after its initial public offering in 2013. Since the IPO, PFSI's book value per share has increased at a compound annual growth rate of more than 22%. In the last two years, PFSI's total return to shareholders has been 72% and average daily trading volume has increased from 183,000 shares to over 400,000 shares.

07:05 EST TreeHouse appoints William Kelley Jr. as CFO - TreeHouse Foods announced that its board elected William Kelley Jr. as Executive Vice President and CFO. Kelley has been serving as Interim CFO since November 2019.

07:03 EST Orthofix announces FDA approval of STIM onTrack mobile app version 2.1 - Orthofix announced the FDA approval of the STIM onTrack mobile app version 2.1 for use with the company's bone growth stimulators. The STIM onTrack technology works with the Orthofix Bone Growth Therapy devices. The mobile device app is an accessory designed to help patients adhere to their prescriptions and improve their clinical outcomes. The new version of the app hosts patient reported outcome measure questionnaires which enable patients to remotely share the status of their quality of life and functional well-being with their physician. This is in addition to the daily treatment reminders and device usage calendar that allows physicians to remotely view patient data to monitor treatment.

07:03 EST Bristol-Myers: FDA accepts for priority review BLA for lisocabtagene maraleucel - Bristol-Myers announced that the U.S. FDA has accepted for Priority Review its Biologics License Application for lisocabtagene maraleucel, the company's autologous anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T-cell immunotherapy with a defined composition of purified CD8+ and CD4+ CAR T cells for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma after at least two prior therapies. The FDA has set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act goal date of August 17, 2020.

07:01 EST Brookfield appoints Nicholas Goodman as CFO - Brookfield appointed Nicholas Goodman as CFO. Goodman joined Brookfield in London in 2010 and has since held a number of senior finance roles across the organization, most recently as Treasurer for Brookfield Asset Management. Prior to that, he was CFO of Brookfield Renewable Partners. Goodman succeeds Brian Lawson as CFO, who will continue to serve as a director of Brookfield and will provide guidance and advice on the company's finance and risk management activities as a Vice Chair.

06:55 EST Alpha Pro Tech receives over $10.4M in orders for N-95 face mask - Alpha Pro Tech has booked over $10.4M in orders for APT's proprietary N-95 Particulate Respirator face mask since January 27, 2020 as a result of increased customer demand due to the outbreak of the novel Wuhan coronavirus. CEO Lloyd Hoffman commented, "Since January 27th, we have received orders for our proprietary N-95 Particulate Respirator face mask representing roughly 24 times the revenue that we have recorded from sales of this product for each year since 2016. We have already commenced additional production of our N-95 face mask at our Salt Lake City, Utah facility, and we expect to continue to increase our production capacity. Despite our rapid increase in production capacity, backlog of orders continues to expand, in dollar amount and fulfillment time. We expect to fulfill approximately 30% of the currently booked orders in Q1, and we expect further revenue growth after Q1 as additional orders are shipped. We are committed to allocating the necessary resources and procuring the necessary raw materials in an effort to meet this unprecedented demand for our N-95 face mask and to aid communities around the world as they address this ongoing healthcare crisis."

06:52 EST Alibaba says annual active consumers on China marketplaces reaches 711M

06:49 EST AIG CEO says improvement in financial performance 'broad-based' - Brian Duperreault, AIG's CEO, said: "Our financial results for the fourth quarter and for full year 2019 reflect the significant progress we made over the course of 2019 to position AIG for long-term, sustainable and profitable growth. For the full year 2019, after-tax income attributable to common shareholders was $4.1 billion, or $4.59 per diluted share, and Adjusted ROCE was 8.3%. The improvement in our financial performance over the course of last year was broad-based, with contributions from all of our segments, but most notable was the return to underwriting profitability in General Insurance. The full year combined ratio was 99.6% and the accident year combined ratio, as adjusted, was 96.0%. Life & Retirement also delivered solid results in the face of continued headwinds from low interest rates and tightening credit spreads. Finally, we were pleased to announce that we reached an agreement to sell a majority stake in Fortitude Re, our legacy insurance business, which is scheduled to close mid-year, subject to regulatory approvals." "As we look to 2020, we will continue to be laser focused on executing on our strategy to position AIG as both a leading insurance franchise and a top-performing company and we remain committed to achieving a 10% Adjusted ROCE by the end of 2021. In addition to continued work as part of the turnaround of General Insurance, AIG 200 will be a top priority. AIG 200 is our multi-year, enterprise-wide transformation program focused on the long-term strategic positioning of AIG and designed to achieve operational excellence. I remain confident we are on the right path at AIG and am very proud of what our colleagues accomplished since I joined the company in 2017. We entered 2020 with great momentum and excitement about what the future holds for AIG," Duperreault added.

06:48 EST Airbus reports FY19 net commercial aircraft orders of 768 aircraft - Net commercial aircraft orders increased to 768 aircraft vs. 747 aircraft last year, including 32 A350 XWBs, 89 A330s and 63 A220s. At the end of 2019, the order backlog reached 7,482 commercial aircraft. Airbus Helicopters achieved a book-to-bill ratio by value above 1 in a difficult market, recording 310 net orders in the year. This included 25 helicopters from the Super Puma family, 23 NH90s and 10 H160s. Airbus Defence and Space's order intake by value of EURO$ 8.5 billion was supported by A400M services contracts and key contract wins in Space Systems.

06:47 EST Tempur Sealy raises share repurchase authorization to $300M - Tempur Sealy announced that its board has increased the authorization under the company's share repurchase program by over $190M to a total of $300M. Since the program was announced in 2016, the company has repurchased approximately 10.8M shares for a total investment of approximately $691.6M at an average price per share of $63.84. The company expects to purchase at least $50M of its common stock per quarter in the near term. At the company's current market capitalization, that would represent approximately 4% of outstanding shares in 2020.

06:46 EST First American to acquire Docutech - First American and Docutech, a provider of document, eClose and fulfillment technology for the mortgage industry, signed an agreement for First American's acquisition of Docutech. Founded in 1991, Docutech leverages technology to help financial institutions provide regulatory-compliant loan documents for mortgage and home equity lending. Docutech's management team, including President and CEO Amy Brandt, will continue to lead the company's operations. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to First American's earnings in 2020. The transaction is expected to close by the end of March.

06:43 EST TherapeuticsMD, Afaxys enter pact to expand access to ANNOVERA - TherapeuticsMD and Afaxys Pharma announced that they have entered into an agreement to expand access to ANNOVERA in the United States public health sector. The arrangement combines Afaxys' unique experience and capabilities serving the United States public health contraception market with TherapeuticsMD's commitment to supply ANNOVERA to the United States public health system. TherapeuticsMD and Afaxys believe the arrangement will make ANNOVERA more widely accessible to patients in the United States. ANNOVERA is the first FDA-approved long-lasting reversible birth control that is patient-controlled and procedure free to provide a full year of protection against unintended pregnancy while fully under a woman's control.

06:42 EST Credit Suisse 'cautiously optimistic' about prospects for the year ahead - Says believes underlying fundamentals of the global economy remain intact.

06:41 EST Credit Suisse's Thiam says has turned bank around - Says 2019 results "show we can be sustainably profitable."

06:41 EST Credit Suisse's Thiam says 'proud' of what bank has achieved during tenure

06:37 EST Nestle CEO says 'too early to quantify' financial impact of coronavirus - Nestle CEO Mark Schneider said: "In the past few weeks, the spread of the coronavirus has required extraordinary effort from our team in China. We have focused on ensuring the safety of our people and their families and introducing protective measures for all our facilities. We are working closely with the Chinese authorities as they take measures to contain this epidemic, building on our significant experience and expertise on the ground. Our immediate thoughts are with the people directly impacted by this global health emergency. We stand in solidarity with the Chinese people and are working hard to ensure our nutritious food and beverages continue to be widely available, particularly those for the most vulnerable, the youngest and the oldest in society. The Greater China region is our second largest market, representing about 8% of global sales. It is too early to quantify the financial impact of this outbreak at the present time."

06:29 EST Irish DPC: Facebook postpones roll-out of Dating feature in Europe - The Irish Data Protection Commission said in a statement: "Facebook Ireland first contacted the Irish Data Protection Commission in relation to its intention to roll-out a new Dating feature in the EU on Monday 3 February. We were very concerned that this was the first that we'd heard from Facebook Ireland about this new feature, considering that it was their intention to roll it out tomorrow, 13 February. Our concerns were further compounded by the fact that no information/documentation was provided to us on 3 February in relation to the Data Protection Impact Assessment or the decision-making processes that were undertaken by Facebook Ireland. In order to expedite the procurement of the relevant documentation, authorised officers of the DPC conducted an inspection at Facebook Ireland Limited's offices in Dublin on Monday last, 10 February and gathered documentation. Facebook Ireland informed us last night that they have postponed the roll-out of this feature." Reference Link

06:21 EST Facebook suspends accounts in Russia, Iran, Myanmar for misinformation - Facebook said it removed dozens of fake accounts from countries including Myanmar, Iran and Russia that were spreading misinformation, the latest effort by the social-media company to curb manipulation of its platforms. The company said in a blog post that it suspended pages and groups on Facebook as well as fake accounts on Instagram for violating its policies. The actions removed false and misleading content on a range of topics including U.S. elections and foreign-related topics. In some cases, Facebook removed content that may have been factually correct but was presented in a misleading way or posted by people posing as someone else. "We are making progress rooting out this abuse, but as we've said before, it's an ongoing challenge. We're committed to continually improving to stay ahead. That means building better technology, hiring more people and working closer with law enforcement, security experts and other companies." The company said it "removed 78 Facebook accounts, 11 Pages, 29 Groups and four Instagram accounts for violating our policy against foreign or government interference. This activity originated in Russia and focused primarily on Ukraine and neighboring countries. We also removed 6 Facebook accounts and 5 Instagram accounts that were involved in foreign interference as part of a small network originating in Iran that primarily focused on the US. Finally, we removed 13 Facebook accounts and 10 Pages for violating our policy against coordinated inauthentic behavior. This Myanmar-focused activity originated in Myanmar and Vietnam." Reference Link

06:13 EST JMU Limited changes ticker symbol changed to MFH - JMU Limited announced that the company's ticker symbol on the Nasdaq Capital Market has changed to "MFH" from "JMU." Trading under the new ticker symbol began on Wednesday, February 12.

06:12 EST Insulet issues Medical Device Correction for all Omnipod DASH PDMs - Insulet announced a voluntary Medical Device Correction for all Omnipod DASH Personal Diabetes Managers distributed globally. The company said, "Consumer safety is Insulet's top priority and this action is taken voluntarily with the knowledge of the FDA. As part of our ongoing quality monitoring processes, we have identified that on rare occasions, the Omnipod DASH PDM may suggest an inaccurate bolus amount based on a blood glucose value that is more than 10 minutes old when the user does not exit the bolus calculator as designed or when a system alarm interrupts a bolus calculation. If the user delivers the bolus, this may result in over or under delivery of insulin which may lead to hypoglycemia or hyperglycemia. No injuries have been reported as a result of this potential issue and the Omnipod DASH System is safe for continued use and distribution. This notice does not affect the Omnipod DASH Pods or the widely distributed Omnipod Insulin Management System. All affected Omnipod DASH users are being notified by email and local mail and replacement devices will be made available starting in March to all Omnipod DASH users."

05:59 EST Himax sees strength in Q1 accelerating into Q2, rest of FY20 - "When Himax hosted its third quarter earnings call this past November, the company was facing trends in the marketplace that created headwinds for the company. Specifically, at that time the company's performance and forecast reflected challenges Himax faced in its smartphone TDDI business. This was exacerbated by an oversupply of capacity in the LCD industry that negatively impacted its display driver IC sales and margin. As a result, the company's overall sales and outlook were weak. Since that time, the company has started to see major turnaround in literally all aspects of its businesses and is seeing strength across all major product lines for the first quarter. The strength the company is seeing in Q1 is expected to accelerate into Q2 and throughout the rest of 2020."

05:48 EST FCA, PRA investigating Barclays CEO relationship with Jeffrey Epstein - Barclays announced that in deciding whether to recommend CEO Jes Staley for re-election, the board has had regard to media reports in the past six months that have highlighted historical links between Staley and Jeffrey Epstein. As has been widely reported, earlier in his career Staley developed a professional relationship with Epstein, Barclays said in a statement. "In the summer of 2019, in light of the renewed media interest in the relationship, Mr. Staley volunteered and gave to certain executives, and the Chairman, an explanation of his relationship with Mr. Epstein. Mr. Staley also confirmed to the Board that he has had no contact whatsoever with Mr. Epstein at any time since taking up his role as Barclays Group CEO in December 2015," Barclays added. The relationship between Staley and Epstein was the subject of an inquiry from the Financial Conduct Authority, it noted, to which the company responded. The FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority subsequently commenced an investigation, which is ongoing, into Staley's characterization to the company of his relationship with Epstein and the subsequent description of that relationship in the company's response to the FCA. "Based on a review, conducted with the support of external counsel, of the information available to us and representations made by Mr. Staley, the Board believes that Mr. Staley has been sufficiently transparent with the Company as regards the nature and extent of his relationship with Mr. Epstein. Accordingly, Mr. Staley retains the full confidence of the Board, and is being unanimously recommended for re-election at the Annual General Meeting," Barclays said. The board will continue to cooperate fully with the regulatory investigation, and will provide a further update as and when it is appropriate to do so, it added. Shares of Barclays are down 2% to $9.04 in premarket trading.