Stockwinners Market Radar for January 18, 2021 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

21:23 EST Logitech does not expect level of margin expansion to sustain - Logitech said in prepared earnings remarks, "Our Q3 non-GAAP gross margin expanded 760 basis points to 45.2%, driven by higher sales volume, favorable product mix, continued focus on maintaining low promotional spending, and currency exchange rate tailwinds. While gross margin has been above our target range of 36-40%, we continue to expect to see increased promotional spend as supply stabilizes and we are actively exploring opportunities to reinvest our gross margin rate upside into economically attractive online and retail initiatives. As a result, we do not expect this level of gross margin to sustain."

18:04 EST Cardiovascular Systems receives CE Mark for Diamondback 360 - Cardiovascular Systems announced today that it has received CE Mark for its Diamondback 360 Coronary Orbital Atherectomy System and ViperWire Advance Coronary Guide Wire with Flex Tip. Diamondback "combines differential sanding and pulsatile forces to treat all calcium modalities, including nodular, eccentric (irregular) and concentric (ring-shaped)," the company said in a statement.

17:49 EST American Campus announces quarterly dividend of 47c - American Campus Communities announced that on January 18, 2021 its Board of Directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of 47c per share of common stock, payable on February 19, 2021, to shareholders of record at the close of business on January 28, 2021.

16:01 EST Chart Industries announces transfer from Nasdaq to NYSE - Chart Industries announced that it intends to transfer the listing of its common stock to the New York Stock Exchange from the Nasdaq stock exchange effective February 1, 2021. Chart's common stock will continue to trade under the ticker symbol GTLS. "We are pleased to join the NYSE, the world's largest stock exchange with world-class listed companies, to further reach global investors and shareholders," stated Jill Evanko, Chart's CEO and President. "With four of our top five customers also listed on the NYSE, we believe this will enhance our exposure to them and further develop new and existing partnerships."

13:06 EST Biohaven's troriluzole did not differentiate from placebo in Alzheimer's trial - Biohaven Pharmaceutical announced that it has completed a focused analysis of the topline co-primary and key secondary data from its Phase 2/3 clinical trial of troriluzole as a symptomatic treatment in mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease. Additional secondary and exploratory efficacy analyses and biomarker data including neurofilament light chain, neurogranin, tau and amyloid are still pending and expected in the coming months. Troriluzole did not statistically differentiate from placebo at 48 weeks on the study's prespecified co-primary endpoints on the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-Cognitive Subscale 11 and the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale Sum of Boxes in study participants with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease. Troriluzole also did not differentiate from placebo on the key secondary measure of hippocampal volume assessed by magnetic resonance imaging in the overall population, Biohaven added. A subgroup analysis consisting only of mild Alzheimer's patients did, however, reveal that troriluzole exhibited a "nonsignificant numerical difference" of a potential benefit at week 48 on both the ADAS-cog and hippocampal volumetric MRI. Troriluzole treated participants with mild AD had a mean deformation change from baseline hippocampal volume of -1.1% versus -1.6% for placebo treated participants at week 48, Biohaven said. The company added, "Our goal was to efficiently assess whether troriluzole could benefit patients relatively late in the disease process with mild-to-moderate AD. This study was well-conducted but unfortunately it is clear from this preliminary analysis that troriluzole is not efficacious as a symptomatic treatment in a mixed population of patients with mild and moderate AD. We are awaiting additional biomarker data and other secondary analyses that will help inform whether troriluzole may provide benefit in early AD as a disease modifying agent."

13:00 EST Equinox announces positive drill results from Piaba Underground target - Equinox Gold announced positive drill results from the Piaba Underground target and the Genipapo target at the company's 100%-owned Aurizona Gold Mine in Brazil. "The 2020 Piaba underground drill program delivered exceptional results, with 96% of the holes intersecting significant gold mineralization. Drilling extended over 3 km of strike of the currently 4 km-long Piaba deposit and tested depths up to 1 km below surface," said Scott Heffernan, EVP Exploration for Equinox Gold. "These results further strengthen the Company's conviction that the Piaba underground deposit presents a substantial opportunity to both extend the mine life and increase annual production at Aurizona. Drilling at the Genipapo target also continues to demonstrate the potential to define open-pit, near-surface saprolite resources that could further extend the Aurizona mine life. "The Company has planned a $7.3 million exploration program for 2021 at Aurizona, including 49,000 metres of drilling, with the objective of further expanding the Piaba resource and advancing the numerous high-priority, high-potential near-mine and regional targets in the Aurizona district. In addition, a prefeasibility study is underway to assess the potential to operate an underground mine concurrent with the existing open-pit mine, with completion of the study targeted for late 2021."

12:56 EST Quest enters agreement with CDC for genomic sequencing of Covid variants - Quest Diagnostics announced that it has entered into an agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide genomic sequencing to identify new mutations in, and patterns of transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Financial terms of the agreement are not disclosed. The goal of the collaboration is to aid the CDC in conducting a large-scale longitudinal genomic survey of the SARS-CoV-2 virus using a random set of samples collected from Quest's labs across the United States, the company said said. Quest will perform the sequencing from its advanced diagnostics laboratory in San Juan Capistrano, California. Quest Diagnostics will sequence the viral genomes of random de-identified samples that test positive in the course of providing molecular diagnostic testing for SARS-CoV-2 for providers and patients, and provide the CDC with completed whole viral sequences. These data will be combined with the results of other data provided to the CDC by national, state, academic, and commercial labs to help meet the CDC survey's aims.

12:44 EST Zomedica regained compliance with NYSE American's listing standards - Zomedica said in a letter to shareholders: "We at Zomedica are excited as we enter 2021 ready for a year of positive events. As a result of the recent increase in the price of our common shares over the last several weeks, investors have been exercising their outstanding warrants, which has resulted in Zomedica receiving more than $40 million of additional cash though January 15, 2021. This additional infusion of cash further enhances our already very healthy balance sheet. Our cash and cash equivalents now are in excess of $90 million, net of all capital and operating expenditures from the fourth quarter. We expect that this amount will be sufficient to fund operations at least through calendar year 2023. Our goal is to be cash-flow positive at that point. On January 12, 2021, the NYSE American LLC notified Zomedica that it successfully has regained compliance with the NYSE American's continued listing standards related to price per share set forth in Section 1003 of the NYSE American Company Guide...We are, of course, approaching our planned March 30th commercial launch of TRUFORMA, our point-of-care diagnostic platform. Commercialization plans remain on track and we are beginning to build inventory."

12:38 EST Tronox intends to increase annualized dividend to 32c from 28c - The company said, "The Board intends to increase our annualized dividend to $0.32 per share from $0.28 per share, which equates to a 14 percent increase effective with the regular first quarter 2021 dividend. This reflects the confidence we have in the trajectory of the recovery in the sector and in our differentiated business model and is consistent with our previously stated goal to increase dividends as business conditions permit."

12:34 EST Grifols to begin clinical trial in Spain for new COVID-19 drug - Grifols announced it will begin a clinical trial in Spain to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a new COVID-19 drug based on the Grifols immunoglobulin Gamunex-C and containing anti-SARS-CoV-2 polyclonal antibodies from plasma donors who have recovered from the disease. "The new drug would provide immediate post-exposure protection against the virus and would be especially useful as a complement to the vaccine in the early phase after vaccination. In addition, it could protect the elderly and healthcare workers as well as immunocompromised patients for whom vaccination isn't recommended. It could also help contain outbreaks in places where the vaccination hasn't begun or is still underway," the company said. Grifols expects this clinical trial, led by the researchers Oriol Mitja and Bonaventura Clotet, from Germans Trias i Pujol Hospital in Barcelona, to begin in February 2021, with the possibility of results in the spring.

12:30 EST Partner says lawsuit against subsidiary recognized as class action - Partner Communications announces that on January 15, 2021, the Lod-Central District Court ruled to recognize the lawsuit against a subsidiary of the company, 012 Smile Telecom, as a class action, which concerns the claim that 012 Smile sold to its customers data browsing packages at a specified speed, which is not possible for them to achieve since the infrastructure does not support this speed. A similar decision was also given in a lawsuit against a competing company. "The causes of action for which the motion was approved are, among others, misleading acts and breach of contract," the company said in a statement. 012 Smile is studying the decision and will treat it in accordance with the dates set by law, it added.

12:28 EST Calliditas says Phase 1 setanaxib trial shows favorable pharmacokinetic profile - Genkyotex SA, a subsidiary of Calliditas Therapeutics, announced "positive Phase 1 data demonstrating a favorable safety and pharmacokinetic profile of high-dose setanaxib, Genkyotex's lead asset." The Phase 1 study demonstrated that setanaxib is well tolerated at the doses tested, with no safety signal or dose-limiting toxicity being identified, the company said. The results provide an opportunity for the company to pursue a pivotal Phase 2/3 clinical trial in patients with primary biliary cholangitis (PBC), based on interactions with the FDA, it added. The study assessed the safety and pharmacokinetics of oral setanaxib at selected doses in 46 healthy adult male and female subjects. The trial consisted of a single ascending dose part and a multiple ascending dose part with dosing up to 1600mg/day. Previously, doses of up to 800 mg/day were evaluated in a 24-week Phase 2 trial in PBC patients. In that trial, setanaxib dosed at 800 mg/day achieved reductions in markers of cholestasis, including alkaline phosphatase, and in multiple non-invasive markers of liver fibrogenesis, including liver stiffness and PRO-C3 and C3M. Significant improvement in fatigue was also achieved. All doses tested in that trial were well-tolerated, with no safety signal compared to placebo. Calliditas controls 86.2% of the share capital and total number of votes of Genkyotex.

09:06 EST AkzoNobel offers to acquire Tikkurila for EUR 1.4B, invites negotiation - Akzo Nobel said it has made a "comprehensive non-binding proposal" to acquire Tikkurila. The proposed combination of AkzoNobel and Tikkurila "could create a strong platform for future growth, better able to serve customers with more innovative and sustainable solutions, building on a shared European heritage," the company said. The proposal includes an all-cash public offer for all issued and outstanding shares of Tikkurila at an offer price of EUR 31.25 per share and total equity value of around EUR 1.4B. This represents a premium of 113% to Tikkurila's volume weighted average share price for the undisturbed three-month period ending December 17, 2020 and is 13% higher than the current offer made on January 5, 2021, Akzo noted. To obtain merger clearance and ensure deal certainty for Tikkurila and its shareholders, AkzoNobel has agreed with Hempel key terms for the sale of assets, including the decorative paints business of AkzoNobel in the Nordics and the Baltics, to be completed after closing of AkzoNobel's proposed public offer for Tikkurila. The transaction is expected to be earnings accretive in 2022 and will be financed using existing cash and credit lines. AkzoNobel said will continue its current EUR 300M share buyback program and maintains a target leverage ratio of 1-2 times net debt/EBITDA. AkzoNobel "invites the Board of Directors of Tikkurila to enter into negotiations with a view to reaching agreement on a recommended voluntary public cash tender offer."