Stockwinners Market Radar for December 17, 2018 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

19:06 EDT Fly Intel: After Hours Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Oracle Corp (ORCL) up 5.3%... Heico (HEI) up 0.9%. ALSO HIGHER: Marin Software (MRIN) up 50.7% after disclosing 3-year partnership with Google... Puma Biotech (PBYI) up 10.9% after disclosing Phase 3 NALA trial results... Smart Global Holdings (SGH) up 5.9% after announcing entry into S&P SmallCap 600 index... Boeing (BA) up 2.0% after announcing new $20B stock buyback and raising dividend by 20%... CBS (CBS) up 1.5% after the Board concluded that former CEO Moonves can be terminated for cause and denied $120M severance... Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) up 0.9% after announcing a $5B stock buyback... Royal Dutch Shell (RDS.A) up 0.9% after Bloomberg report that it is in talks to acquire Enveavor for about $8B... Marathon Oil (MRO) up 0.6% after being initiated at But at SunTrust... Barrick Gold (ABX) up 0.4% after receiving court approval to merge with Randgold and raising its dividend. ALSO LOWER: eHealth (EHTH) down 1.9% after mixed shelf offering... Achillion Pharma (ACHN) down 1.7% after disclosing interim data for ACH-4471 phase 2 trials.

18:30 EDT J&J CEO says $5B buyback reflects 'confidence' and 'conviction' - Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky said in an interview on CNBC's "Mad Money" that the company's recent announcement of a $5B buyback is a reflection of "confidence" and "conviction" in the company and that he "can't be more excited" about J&J's future.

18:15 EDT CBS board determines there are grounds to terminate Moonves for cause - CBS' board of directors issued the following statement: "The Board of Directors of CBS has completed its investigation of former Chairman and CEO Leslie Moonves, CBS News, and cultural issues at CBS. With regard to Mr. Moonves, we have determined that there are grounds to terminate for cause, including his willful and material misfeasance, violation of Company policies and breach of his employment contract, as well as his willful failure to cooperate fully with the Company's investigation. Mr. Moonves will not receive any severance payment from the Company. As a result of their work, the investigators also concluded that harassment and retaliation are not pervasive at CBS. However, the investigators learned of past incidents of improper and unprofessional conduct, and concluded that the Company's historical policies, practices and structures have not reflected a high institutional priority on preventing harassment and retaliation. The investigation determined that the resources devoted to the Company's Human Resources function, to training and development, and to diversity and inclusion initiatives have been inadequate, given the size and complexity of CBS' businesses. Employees also cited past incidents in which HR and the Company did not hold high performers accountable for their conduct and protect employees from retaliation. The Board, which includes six new members, and the Company's new management have already begun to take robust steps to improve the working environment for all employees. Among other things, the Company appointed a new Chief People Officer, is actively engaged in ways to enhance and reimagine the Human Resources function, and has retained outside expert advisors to develop other initiatives for promoting a workplace culture of dignity, transparency, respect and inclusion. These efforts will continue to be a high priority for the Board and the Company's management, and we will continue to work together to communicate with our workforce in that regard."

18:08 EDT FibroGen says roxadustat approved in China for treatment of anemia - FibroGen announced that FibroGen Medical Technology Development Co., Ltd. has received marketing authorization from the National Medical Products Administration for roxadustat, a first-in-class hypoxia-inducible factor prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor for the treatment of patients with anemia caused by chronic kidney disease in patients who are dialysis-dependent. The medicine can be prescribed to patients who use hemodialysis or peritoneal dialysis. Anemia caused by CKD is associated with cardiovascular disease, hospitalization, cognitive impairment, and reduced quality of life, and has been shown consistently to increase the mortality risk in patients with CKD. Anemia becomes increasingly common among individuals with CKD as their disease progresses, affecting nearly all patients at the dialysis-eligible stage.

17:53 EDT Boeing jumps in after-hours trading after repurchase, dividend raise - Shares of aerospace firm Boeing (BA) are spiking in after-market trading, and are currently up more than 1.8% after the company announced would be replacing its existing share repurchase program with a new $20B authorization, raised from the $18B approved last December. This year, the company repurchased $9B worth of its shares from the $18B authorization approved in December 2017. Additionally, the company said it will be raising it's quarterly dividend by 20% to $2.055 per share from $1.71 per share. PRICE ACTION: Shares of Boeing are up 1.86% in after-hours trading to 322.00 per share.

17:49 EDT BAE Systems awarded $375.93M Army contract - BAE Systems was awarded a $375.93M hybrid contract for mobile protected firepower middle tier acquisition and rapid prototyping effort with low-rate initial production options. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Sterling Heights, Michigan, with an estimated completion date of October 15, 2025. FY19 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $175.97M were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command is the contracting activity.

17:46 EDT Johnson & Johnson up over 1% after announcing buyback, affirming FY18 EPS view

17:37 EDT Connection announces special dividend of 32c per share - The dividend is payable on January 11, 2019, to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 28, 2018.

17:29 EDT Oracle up 5% to $48.05 after Q2 results, Q3 guidance beat estimates

17:18 EDT Smart Global to replace XO Group in S&P 600 at open on 12/24 - WeddingWire is acquiring XO Group in a deal expected to be completed soon pending final approvals

17:12 EDT Oracle says Q2 'another solid quarter' - Says expects gross margins to increase as Cloud business scales. Comments from company's Q2 earnings conference call.

17:09 EDT Four Corners Property Trust acquires six Red Lobster properties for $25.9M - Four Corners Property Trust announced the acquisition of six Red Lobster restaurant properties in Delaware, Indiana, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi and North Dakota for $25.9M. The six newly acquired properties are under a single, triple-net master lease which includes two other Red Lobster properties previously acquired by FCPT in November 2017. The 8-unit master lease has approximately 21 years of term remaining and annual rent escalations of 2.0%. The transaction was priced at a similar going-in cash capitalization rate as previously announced transactions. Red Lobster operates over 700 restaurants across the country and is the largest casual dining seafood brand in the U.S. Bill Lenehan, CEO of FCPT, stated, "This transaction marks over $510M in closed deals since our investment platform launched in July 2016. To date, FCPT has closed $449M of acquisitions across 197 properties and sold seven Darden-leased properties for $63M."

17:05 EDT Canadian Pacific chairman Reardon to retire from board - Andrew F. Reardon has notified Canadian Pacific Railway Limited that he will be retiring from CP's board of directors as of CP's 2019 Annual General Meeting on May 7, 2019. Isabelle Courville, a current member of the board, has been designated by the board as its next chair. Reardon has been a director of CP since May 1, 2013 and chairman of the board since July 20, 2015.

17:02 EDT Marin Software announces 3-year revenue sharing agreement with Google - Marin Software (MRIN) announced that it has entered into a three-year revenue sharing agreement with Google (GOOGL) to further develop Marin's enterprise tech platform and software products. The agreement with Google extends through September 30, 2021, at which time the agreement may be terminated or renewed. Future guidance from Marin will incorporate all expected revenues and reinvestments required under this agreement.

16:56 EDT RealPage VP William Chaney sells 3,000 shares of company stock - RealPage VP William Chaney disclosed in a regulatory filing that he sold 3,000 shares of company stock at an average price of $51.01 per share on December 13. The total transaction value of the sale was $153,030.

16:46 EDT Allstate enters $1B share buyback pact with Wells Fargo - In a regulatory filing, Allstate said that on December 14, 2018, it entered into an accelerated share repurchase agreement with Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, to purchase $1B of its outstanding common stock. The majority of the shares to be repurchased under this agreement will be received by Allstate at the agreement's inception. It is expected that Wells Fargo will purchase the shares that it delivers under the agreement in the market no later than May 3, 2019. The final purchase price per share and number of shares to be delivered by Wells Fargo will be determined at the conclusion of the agreement and settlement will consist of the company receiving shares based on the average of the daily volume weighted average prices of the company's common stock during the period of Wells Fargo's purchases. If the company is required to pay a settlement amount, the company may settle in shares of its common stock or, under certain circumstances, may elect to settle in cash. All of the shares acquired by Allstate under the agreement will be placed into its treasury. The agreement is part of Allstate's repurchase program totaling $3B that was announced on October 31, 2018. Excluding repurchases under this agreement, during 2018 the Registrant has repurchased 14.2M common shares in total as of December 13, 2018, for an aggregate amount of $1.35B.

16:39 EDT Platform Specialty Products chairman Martin Franklin buys $2.2M in shares - Platform Specialty Products chairman Martin Franklin disclosed in a filing that he had purchased 200,000 shares of company stock at an average price of $10.96 per share on December 14. The total transaction value of the purchase was $2,192,000.

16:36 EDT Limbach Holding names Michael McCann as Co-COO - The company's Board of Directors approved the appointment of Michael McCann as Co-COO, effective as of January 1, 2019. McCann, an employee since 2010, has successfully operated other business units within Limbach Holdings and is now taking on additional responsibilities including operational oversight as the business continues to grow through both organic and acquisition initiatives. Kris Thorne remains the other COO within the business.

16:35 EDT Calyxt receives EU patent for use of CRISPR/Cas9 for genome editing - Calyx (CLXT) announced the issuance of European patent number 3008186, which claims methods to create gene-edited plants by the transient delivery of sequence-specific nucleases, including CRISPR/Cas9. This patent, granted by the European Patent Office, is owned by Cellectis and licensed exclusively to Calyxt (CLLS).

16:33 EDT Barrick announces Jersey Court approval of merger with Randgold - Barrick Gold (ABX) announced that the Royal Court of Jersey has sanctioned the scheme of arrangement by which the recommended share-for-share merger of Barrick and Randgold (GOLD) is being implemented. All conditions of the scheme have now been satisfied or waived, and the merger is expected to close on January 1, 2019, following the delivery of a copy of the court order to the Jersey Registrar. Barrick intends to change its ticker symbol on the New York Stock Exchange from "ABX" to "GOLD" beginning on the merged company's first day of trading on January 2, 2019. GOLD is currently the ticker symbol for Randgold American Depositary Shares traded on the NASDAQ exchange. Barrick will continue to trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "ABX" following the completion of the merger.

16:31 EDT Whirlpool Chairman Jeff Fettig to retire, CEO Marc Bitzer to succeed - Whirlpool Chairman Jeff Fettig announced that he will retire from the company on December 31, 2018 after 38 years of service. The Board of Directors has elected CEO Marc Bitzer to succeed Fettig as Chairman of the Board, effective January 1, 2019.

16:31 EDT Fate Therapeutics director Amir Nashat sells 17,788 shares of company stock - Fate Therapeutics director Amir Nashat disclosed in a filing that he sold 17,788 shares of company stock at an average price of $16.67 per share on /December 13. The total transaction value was $296,563.

16:27 EDT Masonite CEO Fred Lynch to retire by end of 2Q19 - Masonite announced that Fred Lynch plans to retire as President and CEO of the company by the end of the second quarter of 2019. Lynch also plans to leave the company's Board of Directors in connection with his retirement. As part of Masonite's succession planning, Masonite's Board of Directors has initiated a process to identify a successor to Lynch, which will consider both internal and external candidates. Spencer Stuart has been engaged to assist with the process. In order to ensure an orderly transition, Lynch is expected to remain in his current positions until the appointment of his successor.

16:26 EDT Boeing announces new $20B share repurchase program - The Boeing board replaced the existing share repurchase program with a new $20B authorization, up from the $18B approved last December. This year, the company repurchased $9 billion worth of its shares from the $18 billion authorization approved in December 2017.

16:23 EDT Johnson & Johnson announces $5B share repurchase program - Johnson & Johnson announced that the Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to $5B of the company's common stock. "Based on our continued strong performance and, more importantly, the confidence we have in our business going forward, the Board of Directors and management team believe that the company's shares are an attractive investment opportunity," said Alex Gorsky, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Our strong cash flow enables us to simultaneously return value to shareholders through our regular quarterly dividend and share repurchases, while at the same time continuing to deploy capital that will further strengthen our robust enterprise pipeline and drive long-term growth."

16:23 EDT Galapagos NV initiates ISABELA Phase 3 program - Galapagos NV announced that it has dosed its first patient in the worldwide ISABELA Phase 3 program with autotaxin inhibitor GLPG1690 in IPF. "Today's news again demonstrates our commitment to the rapid advancement of our IPF franchise, including the ISABELA and the PINTA trials. We are excited by the feedback received from participating sites and KOLs, which underscores the need for novel treatments to address the remaining high unmet need in IPF," said Galapagos Chief Medical Officer Dr. Walid Abi-Saab.

16:21 EDT Black Hills requests renewable tariffs, approval for $57M wind project - Black Hills Corp. announced its Black Hills Energy electric utility subsidiaries in South Dakota and Wyoming filed for approval of new, voluntary renewable energy tariffs to serve customer requests for renewable energy resources. In addition, Black Hills Energy South Dakota and Wyoming electric utilities filed a joint application with the Wyoming Public Service Commission for a certificate of public convenience and necessity to construct a new $57M, 40-megawatt wind generation project near Cheyenne, Wyoming.

16:19 EDT Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc. chairman Charles J. Urstadt to step down - Charles J. Urstadt, chairman of the board of directors of Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc., will step down as chairman effective January 1, 2019, having served in that capacity since 1986. Urstadt joined the company as a director in 1975 and served as Chief Executive Officer from 1989 to 2013. The board of directors has appointed Charles D. Urstadt to succeed Charles J. Urstadt as chairman of the board of directors.

16:16 EDT Kroger announces succession plan for CFO J. Michael Schlotman - The Kroger Co. announced its succession plan for CFO. J. Michael Schlotman, Kroger's CFO since 2000, has decided to retire in December of 2019. Schlotman will continue as CFO through the end of Kroger's fiscal 2018 and up to April 3, 2019. He will then remain an executive vice president of the company and continue to sit on the senior leadership team to support the company during this transition period until December 28, 2019. Gary Millerchip, CEO of Kroger Personal Finance, will succeed Schlotman as Senior Vice President and CFO of Kroger, effective April 4, 2019.

16:12 EDT Zayo to expand East Coast data center presence - Zayo Group Holdings, Inc. will expand its East Coast data center presence with a new location in Piscataway, New Jersey. The carrier-neutral facility will add more than 47,000 total square feet and up to five megawatts of critical power, addressing strong demand for colocation in the tri-state area. The anchor agreement with a leading financial services tenant includes space and power in the data center and two dark fiber rings. Zayo will renovate the remaining space and upgrade critical power to sell to additional customers. The facility tethers to Zayo's data center at 165 Halsey St. in Newark and includes connectivity to local carrier hotels and more than 1,000 data centers globally.

16:08 EDT Oracle reports Q2 adjusted operating margin 43%

16:07 EDT Amira Nature Foods receives continued listing standard letter from NYSE - Amira Nature Foods announced that New York Stock Exchange Regulation, Inc. by letter dated November 16, 2018 notified the company that its Ordinary Shares did not satisfy one of the standards for continued listing on the NYSE. The NYSE requires a listed company's stock to maintain an average closing price per share in excess of $1.00 for a consecutive 30-trading-day period. As of November 13, 2018, the average closing price per share of the company's Ordinary Shares over the preceding 30-trading-day period was $0.99.

16:06 EDT Puma Biotechnology reports top-line results from Phase III NALA trial - Puma Biotechnology, Inc. announced top line results from the Phase III NALA trial of the company's lead drug candidate PB272 in patients with HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer who have failed two or more prior lines of HER2-directed treatments in the setting of metastatic disease. The Phase III NALA trial is a randomized controlled trial of neratinib plus capecitabine versus Tykerb plus capecitabine in patients with third-line HER2-positive metastatic breast cancer. The trial enrolled 621 patients who were randomized to receive either neratinib plus capecitabine or lapatinib plus capecitabine. The trial was conducted globally at sites in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and South America. The co-primary endpoints of the trial are centrally confirmed progression free survival and overall survival. An alpha level of 1% was allocated to the PFS and 4% allocated to OS. The study was to be considered positive if either of the co-primary endpoints was positive. Puma reached agreement with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration under a Special Protocol Assessment for the design of the Phase III clinical trial and the European Medicines Agency also provided follow-on scientific advice consistent with that of the FDA regarding the company's Phase III trial design and endpoints used in the trial. For the primary analysis of centrally confirmed PFS, treatment with neratinib plus capecitabine resulted in a statistically significant improvement in centrally confirmed PFS compared to treatment with lapatinib plus capecitabine. For the primary analyses of OS, neratinib plus capecitabine resulted in an improvement in OS that did not achieve statistical significance but trended positively in favor of the neratinib plus capecitabine arm of the study. For the secondary endpoint of time to intervention for symptomatic central nervous system disease, the results of the trial showed that treatment with neratinib plus capecitabine led to an improvement over the combination of lapatinib plus capecitabine. The safety profile of neratinib in the Phase III NALA study was consistent with previous clinical trials of neratinib. Full results of the trial will be submitted to health authorities around the world, including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and European Medicines Agency. Results of the trial will be submitted for presentation at a major medical conference in 2019.

16:06 EDT Kinder Morgan approves $49M investment in Plantation Pipe Line System - Kinder Morgan announced a successful open season on its Roanoke Expansion projects on the Plantation Pipe Line System. Following the open season, Plantation Pipe Line secured long-term committed volumes of 20,000 barrels per day (bpd). The Plantation Pipe Line Company's investment in the project is approximately $49 million. In addition, Kinder Morgan Southeast Terminal's investment, fully backed by 10,000 bpd of long-term committed volumes, is approximately $9 million. With the successful open season, Plantation Pipe Line will submit the Petition for Declaratory Order to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for approval of commercial terms for the project. Pending all regulatory approvals, the project is expected to be in full service by April 1, 2020. The Plantation Pipe Line Roanoke Expansion will provide approximately 21,000 bpd of incremental refined petroleum products capacity on Plantation from the Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Collins, Mississippi, origin points to the Roanoke, Virginia, area. The expansion will primarily consist of additional pump capacity and operational storage on the Plantation system.

16:05 EDT Oracle reports Q2 short-term deferred revenue $8.2B, up 3% y/y - Short-term deferred revenues were up 3% to $8.2B compared to a year ago. Operating Cash Flow was up 5% to $15.2B during the trailing twelve months.

16:04 EDT Oracle reports Q2 Cloud Services and License Support revenues $6.6B - Total Cloud Services and License Support plus Cloud License and On-Premise License revenues were up 1% to $7.9B. Cloud Services and License Support revenues were $6.6B, while Cloud License and On-Premise License revenues were $1.2B.

16:03 EDT First Business Financial board approves $5M share repurchase program - First Business Financial Services announced that the board has approved a stock repurchase program for the Company. The program authorizes the repurchase by the Company of up to $5 million of its total outstanding shares of common stock over a period of approximately twelve months, ending on December 31, 2019.

15:38 EDT Fin Cen announces $14.5M assessment against UBS for vioations against BSA - The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, FinCEN, announced an assessment against UBS Financial Services for willful violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, BSA. FinCEN assessed a $14.5M civil money penalty, of which $5M will be paid to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the remainder will be concurrent with penalties for similar or related conduct imposed by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. As described in the assessment, UBSFS failed to develop and implement an appropriate, risk-based anti-money laundering program that adequately addressed the risks associated with accounts that included both traditional brokerage and banking-like services. UBSFS failed to implement appropriate policies and procedures to ensure the detection and reporting of suspicious activity through all accounts-particularly for those accounts that exhibited little to no securities trading. The firm did not adequately structure its AML program to address the use of securities accounts for the purpose of moving funds rather than trading securities. Reference Link

15:09 EDT Madison Square Garden CEO says 'no plans to sell Knicks' - In response to speculation about the New York Knicks sparked by a press story, The Madison Square Garden Company issued the following statement from James Dolan, the company's executive chairman and CEO. "As we have previously stated, there are no plans to sell the Knicks."

15:07 EDT Mustang Bio blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm drug gets orphan status - The FDA granted orphan designation to Mustang Bio's treatment of blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm, according to a post to the agency's website. Reference Link

15:03 EDT Bristol-Myers treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis granted orphan status - The FDA granted orphan designation to Bristol-Myers' treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, according to a post to the agency's website. Reference Link

14:36 EDT Globalstar jumps over 23% after litigation setttlement and 3GPP approval - Shares of mobile satellite voice and data services worldwide Globalstar (GSAT) are up over 23% in afternoon trading after announcing a settlement of litigation and news around 3GPP. SETTLEMENT OF LITIGATION: Globalstar, together with Mudrick Capital Management and Warlander Asset Management and all other litigation parties, announced that they have entered into a settlement agreement related to the litigation brought by Mudrick Capital and Warlander in Delaware Chancery Court involving Globalstar and certain of its directors, officers and employees. As a result of the agreement, the parties have agreed to the addition of three new seasoned telecom executives to the company's board -- Keith Cowan, Ben Wolff, and Mike Lovett. Additionally, Timothy Taylor, VP of Thermo and Globalstar's VP of Finance, Business Operations and Strategy will join the board to fill a vacancy left by a fourth board member retiring from his position on the board. 3GPP: Globalstar announced that the Third Generation Partnership Project has approved a global standard for terrestrial use of Globalstar's spectrum at 2483.5-2495 MHz. 3GPP has designated Globalstar's terrestrial S-band as Band 53, which now permits LTE services in the U.S. with additional geographies expected to be added in 2019. PRICE ACTION: Shares of Globalstar are up 23.4% to 37c per share in afternoon trading.

14:30 EDT Cruiser Caiptal criticizes Ashland for rejecting its board nominees - Cruiser Capital Advisors, which nominated four chemical executives to the board of Ashland Global Holdings (ASH), issued the following statement responding to Ashland's recent actions regarding the composition of the company's board: "Ashland's Governance and Nominating Committee has supposedly completed a thorough process for reviewing and evaluating Cruiser's director nominees. Yet in its recently filed proxy materials, the Board decided not to recommend any of these highly-qualified Nominees - Dr. Bill Joyce, Allen Spizzo, Carol Eicher, and Pat Gottschalk - for election to the Board. This decision was made without a single member of the Committee speaking to any of these Nominees and without anyone from the Company or its representatives even asking them how they would seek to improve Ashland. In our view, their review process was anything but thorough, and this lack of engagement is not in the best interest of stockholders. Furthermore, while Ashland's recently-announced plan to add a new independent director may sound like a positive development, we believe it is a disingenuous scheme to fundamentally retain the status quo on the Board. To be clear, under Ashland's announced plan, the Board will be able to appoint a new 11th member after the 2019 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, thereby depriving stockholders in the contested 2019 election of the opportunity to vote for their own Board of Directors."

14:02 EDT General Dynamics awarded $5B Navy SeaPort NxG contract - General Dynamics Information Technology announced it will support the U.S. Navy through a new contract vehicle known as SeaPort NxG. The multiple-award, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract holds a total value of $5B. It includes a five-year base period with one five-year option.

13:32 EDT Twitter drops 5% to $34.09 after disclosing issue related to support forms

13:30 EDT Twitter: Issue did not expose full phone numbers, other personal data

13:30 EDT Twitter discloses issue related to support forms - Twitter says that "We have become aware of an issue related to one of our support forms, which is used by account holders to contact Twitter about issues with their account. We began working to resolve the issue on November 15 and it was fixed by November 16. This could be used to discover the country code of people's phone numbers if they had one associated with their Twitter account, as well as whether or not their account had been locked by Twitter. We lock an account if it appears to be compromised or in violation of the Twitter Rules or our Terms of Service. More on what it means when an account is in a locked state here. Importantly, this issue did not expose full phone numbers or any other personal data. We have directly informed the people we identified as being affected. We are providing this broader notice as it is possible that other account holders we cannot identify were potentially impacted. Since we became aware of the issue, we have been investigating the origins and background in order to provide you with as much information as possible. During our investigation, we noticed some unusual activity involving the affected customer support form API. Specifically, we observed a large number of inquiries coming from individual IP addresses located in China and Saudi Arabia. While we cannot confirm intent or attribution for certain, it is possible that some of these IP addresses may have ties to state-sponsored actors. We continue to err on the side of full transparency in this area and have updated law enforcement on our findings. No action is required by account holders and we have resolved the issue." Reference Link

13:00 EDT Gundlach says Facebook has 'symstemic problems,' short call was right - Jeffrey Gundlach of DoubleLine Capital is speaking on CNBC.

12:59 EDT Apple not giving iPhone numbers anymore 'can't be a good sign,' says Gundlach - Jeffrey Gundlach of DoubleLine Capital is speaking on CNBC.

12:49 EDT Gundlach says 'capital preservation' is best idea for 2019 - Jeffrey Gundlach of DoubleLine Capital is speaking on CNBC.

12:34 EDT Gundlach reiterates view that next big move for U.S. dollar is down - Jeffrey Gundlach of DoubleLine Capital is speaking on CNBC.

12:14 EDT Gundlach says Federal Reserve should not raise rates this week - Jeffrey Gundlach of DoubleLine Capital is speaking on CNBC.

12:09 EDT Almost no real economic growth happening away from deficit, Gundlach says - Jeffrey Gundlach of DoubleLine Capital is speaking on CNBC.

12:06 EDT Gundlach thinks bear market 'lasts a long time' - Jeffrey Gundlach of DoubleLine Capital is speaking on CNBC.

12:02 EDT Jeffrey Gundlach says 'pretty sure' stocks in bear market - Jeffrey Gundlach of DoubleLine Capital is speaking on CNBC.

12:00 EDT Farfetch falls -10.6% - Farfetch is down -10.6%, or -$2.54 to $21.34.

12:00 EDT Molina Healthcare falls -13.2% - Molina Healthcare is down -13.2%, or -$17.38 to $114.34.

12:00 EDT VelocityShares 3x Inv Natural Gas ETN rises 11.4% - VelocityShares 3x Inv Natural Gas ETN is up 11.4%, or $8.98 to $87.67.

11:55 EDT ProQR Therapeutics announces publication of QR-110 data in Nature Medicine - ProQR Therapeutics announced the publication of a peer-reviewed manuscript describing the previously announced interim results of a clinical trial of QR-110 for the treatment of Leber's congenital amaurosis 10, or LCA10, in the journal Nature Medicine. "It was enormously gratifying to see robust improvements in visual acuity and significant augmentations in the patient's ability to detect lights, and impressive to observe these effects within the first three months following a single injection," said Professor Artur V. Cideciyan, Ph.D., who was one of the co-investigators at the Scheie Eye Institute of the University of Pennsylvania. "LCA10 is a severe form of childhood blindness and this is a major step forward in the treatment of these previously incurable conditions," said Professor Samuel G. Jacobson, M.D., Ph.D, who is the ophthalmologist caring for four of the patients enrolled in the study and is also a co-investigator at the Scheie Eye Institute. Published results detail a planned interim analysis of the ongoing PQ-110-001 first-in-human clinical study, evaluating QR-110 in patients with LCA10. The publication focused on a landmark analysis of eight subjects who reached three months of single dose treatment experience. Results demonstrate a substantive overall improvement in best corrected visual acuity with a mean improvement of -0.67 LogMAR in the treated eye versus 0.02 LogMAR in the contralateral eye. The majority of patients showed an increase of at least -0.3 LogMAR in the treated eye, which is generally considered clinically meaningful, and equivalent to 15 letters, or three lines of improvement for individuals able to read a standard eye chart. Visual acuity improvements were also associated with concordant improvements in full-field stimulus thresholds to both blue and red light, improved mobility course navigation and ocular instability measurement.

11:10 EDT Walt Mossberg says he's quitting Facebook, Instagram, Messenger - Walt Mossberg, the co-founder of AllThingsD and Recode, the former executive editor at The Verge and a former columnist at the Wall Street Journal, tweeted that "I've decided to quit Facebook (FB) around the end of the year. I am doing this - after being on Facebook for nearly 12 years - because my own values and the policies and actions of Facebook have diverged to the point where I'm no longer comfortable there. I am also quitting Facebook-owned Instagram and Messenger. I will remain on Twitter (TWTR), and will continue to communicate via iMessage, email and SMS text." He added that "I am hardly the first person to quit Facebook and I am not urging anyone else to do so, or trying to spark some dump-Facebook movement. Nor am I judging anyone who remains, or everyone who works there. This is just a personal decision about where online I wish to participate." Reference Link

10:49 EDT Mylan announces U.S. launch of generic Lialda delayed-release tablets - Mylan N.V. (MYL) announced the U.S. launch of Mesalamine Delayed-Release Tablets USP, 1.2 g, a generic version of Shire's (SHPG) Lialda Delayed-Release Tablets. Mylan Pharmaceuticals received final approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its Abbreviated New Drug Application for this product, which is indicated for the induction of remission in patients with active, mild to moderate ulcerative colitis and for the maintenance of remission of UC. U.S. sales for Mesalamine Delayed-Release Tablets USP, 1.2 g, were approximately $842M for the 12 months ending October 31, 2018, according to IQVIA.

10:33 EDT Air Products announces NA price increase for liquid and bulk industrial gases - Effective January 1, 2019, or as contracts permit, Air Products announces it will increase product pricing, monthly service charges, and surcharges for merchant customers in North America. The pricing adjustments include increases of: Up to 20% for liquid argon; Up to 10% for liquid nitrogen, liquid oxygen, liquid carbon dioxide and monthly service charges. "Some price adjustments may be outside of these ranges based on specific situations. Helium prices will also be increased based on supply/demand and cost situations and may be customer specific. These adjustments are in response to increases in sourcing, production and delivery costs, and support continued investments in reliability, security, and safety," the company stated.

10:09 EDT David Gao 'disappointed' over dismissal of lawsuit against China Biologic - David Gao, a shareholder of China Biologic Products Holdings, issued the following statement on the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands' recent decision regarding his lawsuit against the company: "I am disappointed that my lawsuit was dismissed and will evaluate all options as I continue my efforts to protect my and other minority shareholders' interests in the company. It is unfortunate that the legal process is hindered because of a Cayman law technicality with regard to my standing to file such a lawsuit before the court can hear the substance of the case regarding the improper purpose of the Board's actions. The Board's hastily arranged private placement to a small group of handpicked investors, including Centurium Capital, Chairman David Li's private equity fund, improperly transferred voting power away from the minority shareholders. With the assigned voting rights from the new investors, the Board can block any decision or action it does not support, which should be alarming given their poor track record. The Board has taken a number of questionable actions, including failing to engage on an US$118.00 all-cash proposal to acquire the Company and instead moving forward with a value destructive private placement that resulted in China Biologic's stock falling to the lowest at $60.08. I believe the minority shareholders have lost confidence in the Board's ability to act on behalf of their interests. While it is quite clear that all shareholders would have been best served if the Board had accepted the $118 offer just months ago, I am particularly concerned that David Li may be capable of using his concentrated voting power to take China Biologic private at a price lower than what the Board claimed did not reflect the intrinsic value of the company. The best interests of the Company, its customers and its shareholders are at stake and I appreciate the continued support of my fellow shareholders as I take all the necessary steps to ensure China Biologic's Board acts in a responsible manner."

10:07 EDT Avis Budget to connect additional 75,000 cars though I.D. Systems devices - Avis Budget Group (CAR) will connect an additional 75,000 vehicles to its cloud-based, next generation platform through the installation of in-vehicle telematics devices provided by I.D. Systems (IDSY). The new agreement builds on the successful deployment of 50,000 units during the past year. I.D. Systems' wireless in-vehicle management system permits two-way data communications between a vehicle and Avis Budget Group's cloud-based system and its mobile apps, effectively "connecting" the car. The new units will support both the Avis and Zipcar mobile apps, meaning Avis Budget Group can more easily position vehicles across the brands to meet periods of high demand or for other business reasons. They also enable utilization in Europe, and Avis Budget Group will begin testing them in select markets in 2019.

10:03 EDT Dova Pharmaceuticals trading halted, volatility trading pause

10:00 EDT Centene falls -8.4% - Centene is down -8.4%, or -$10.76 to $116.77.

10:00 EDT VelocityShares 3x Inv Natural Gas ETN rises 8.1% - VelocityShares 3x Inv Natural Gas ETN is up 8.1%, or $6.39 to $85.08.

10:00 EDT Alamos Gold rises 9.1% - Alamos Gold is up 9.1%, or 27c to $3.24.

09:52 EDT Vuzix announces voluntary dismissal of class action lawsuit - Vuzix is pleased to announce the consolidated class action filed in the United States District Court Southern District of New York was voluntarily dismissed, without prejudice and without costs against all the defendants, by the plaintiff and their counsel on December 14, 2018. Vuzix had vigorously denied the class action allegations as meritless and is pleased that plaintiff and their counsel agreed to voluntarily dismiss the case.

09:47 EDT Gol Linhas rises 4.9% - Gol Linhas is up 4.9%, or 57c to $12.30.

09:35 EDT Altus Midstream Company (Class A Stock) trading resumes

09:25 EDT Court approves Point 360 second amended disclosure statement - Point.360 announced that United States Bankruptcy Court approved the company's second amended disclosure statement and scheduling plan confirmation status hearing and related deadlines.

09:24 EDT Independent Bank receives regulatory approval for Guaranty Bancorp merger - Independent Bank (IBTX) announced that it has received all regulatory approvals necessary to complete its merger with Guaranty Bancorp (GBNK) by January 1, 2019.

09:19 EDT Genius Brands licenses rights to Gershwin Entertainment for Rainbow Rangers live - Genius Brands new animated adventure preschool series, Rainbow Rangers, will be heading to the live stage following a rights acquisition deal for live touring shows by diversified entertainment production and marketing agency Gershwin Entertainment. The live theater production debut of Rainbow Rangers is timed to coincide with the preschool brand's U.S. retail launch in 2019. The announcement was made jointly by Genius Brands' and Gershwin.

09:16 EDT Honeywell announces new e-commerce platform 'GoDirect Trade' - Honeywell is bringing the ease of everyday online buying and selling to the aviation parts industry with GoDirect Trade. The new e-commerce platform will improve access to new and used aircraft parts for airlines, air transport and business aviation customers by offering transparent pricing and the option to buy inventory directly from its website - a first-of-its-kind experience.

09:15 EDT Pluristem provides recap of KOL meeting on PAD - Pluristem provided a recap of the key opinion leader, or KOL, meeting on peripheral artery disease, or PAD, that the company hosted. The meeting focused on the current treatment landscape, unmet medical need, economic impact and potential market opportunities for treating patients with PAD, a serious but common circulatory problem characterize by a blockage of the arteries and reduced blood flow to the limbs. Risk factors include smoking, diabetes, heavy weight, cardiovascular problems & hypertension. In addition to a management update on the company's ongoing late-stage development of PLX-PAD, the meeting featured presentations. PAD represents a significant unmet medical need. Major amputation and death are the ultimate consequences of critical limb ischemia; a one-year amputation and mortality rates range from 30-40%. PAD carries a five-year mortality rate higher than most cancers. The 5-year mortality rate from PAD is higher than most of cancers. Many CLI patients do not benefit from, or are not candidates for, current revascularization techniques. 85% of CLI patients undergo surgical or endovascular procedures to restore blood flow, however, 20% of these do not benefit. The remaining 15% are not candidates for revascularization. Allogenic placental cell therapies such as PLX-PAD appear to be more potent and efficient then autologous cell and gene therapies. It is estimated that 19.8 million people suffer from PAD in the U.S. alone. This is expected to increase to 24.5 by 2030.

09:13 EDT ResMed subsidiary Brightree acquires Apacheta, terms not disclsoed - Brightree announced it has acquired privately held mobile delivery and cloud-based software-as-a-service provider Apacheta Corporation, further expanding the SaaS portfolio of Brightree's owner, ResMed. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

09:11 EDT Overstock.com, tZERO to develop commodity contract token for GSR Capital - Overstock.com announced that Hong Kong-based private equity firm GSR Capital has retained tZERO to develop a smart contract token that will be utilized for an upcoming sale of cobalt. Subject to compliance with applicable regulatory requirements, the sale is expected to offer recurring tranches of electric vehicle, or EV, battery-grade cobalt, with up to $200M of the material projected to be available for sale in 2019, with more planned for 2020. tZERO and GSR Capital intend to build an ecosystem in Asia for tokenized commodity purchase contracts that would simplify the process of identifying, purchasing and tracking the supply of rare minerals. The companies also envision adding a security token trading platform in the region, subject to compliance with applicable regulatory requirements. To accommodate an additional key partner in that project, the companies will be extending the deadline to finalize their previously-announced equity investment until February 28, 2019.

09:09 EDT PlayAGS to acquire Integrity Gaming for $49M in cash - PlayAGS announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all issued and outstanding common shares of Integrity Gaming Corp. for a cash payment of C$0.46 per share or a total transaction value of $49M, which includes repaying $36M of Integrity's outstanding debt. The transaction is expected to be funded with cash on the balance sheet and to close in the first half of 2019, subject to approval by Integrity's shareholders, receipt of applicable regulatory, court, and third-party approvals, and other customary closing conditions. In fiscal 2017, Integrity generated revenue of approximately $16M and pre-synergy EBITDA of approximately $9M. As a result of revenue optimization and other efficiencies, the company expects that adjusted EBITDA will grow at approximately 15% on an annualized and non-GAAP basis, beginning in fiscal 2019.

09:09 EDT Jury finds non-infringement of Claim 10 of Finjan's '494 patent by Juniper - Finjan Holdings (FNJN) announced that its subsidiary Finjan, Inc.'s first in a series of trials for infringement of several of its U.S. patents against Juniper (JNPR) resulted in a jury verdict of non-infringement. Specifically, a jury found that Juniper's SRX gateway network appliances with SkyATP cloud-based scanning systems did not infringe claim 10 of Finjan's U.S. Patent No. 8,677,494. No decision has been made on additional asserted claims of the '494 Patent.

09:06 EDT BAE Systems receives $96.6M U.S. Army contract modification - BAE Systems has received a U.S. Army contract modification valued at $96.6M, bringing the total contract value to $158M, to design, build, and commission a natural gas-fired steam facility at Holston Army Ammunition Plant, an Army-owned, contractor-operated site located in Kingsport, Tennessee. The modernization project will replace an existing coal-fired power supply and greatly reduce the facility's environmental footprint when the new natural gas plant is commissioned. The construction of the natural gas facility is part of a long-term, U.S. Army-driven modernization requirement for the HSAAP installation, in part meant for more efficient energy production. The estimated completion date is late 2021.

09:05 EDT Neurotrope announces publication of data from Phase 2 study of Bryostatin-1 - Neurotrope announced that data from its Phase 2, multidose, exploratory trial evaluating Bryostatin-1 as a treatment of cognitive deficits in moderate to severe Alzheimer's disease were published online in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. The double-blind, placebo-controlled, Phase 2 trial, which was completed in May 2017, randomized patients 1:1:1 into 20 mug Bryostatin-1, 40 mug Bryostatin-1, and placebo arms. This peer-reviewed article provides what we believe is the first comprehensive data presentation of the Phase 2 trial of a drug with a new mechanistic approach for advanced AD. The study was designed to assess the safety and efficacy of Bryostatin-1 as a treatment of cognitive deficits in patients with moderate to severe AD. Patients enrolled in the study were allowed to continue on background therapy, including cholinergic and/or anti-glutamatergic treatment. These therapies are known to yield symptomatic efficacy, but their effect has not been shown to treat underlying disease progression. The primary efficacy analysis for this Bryostatin-1 trial was change in Severe Impairment Battery scores. For patients in the 20 microg Bryostatin-1 dose group, SIB scores were greater than baseline, indicating persistence of improvement in cognitive function. A pre-specied ANCOVA for baseline memantine interaction with Bryostatin-1 and positive post-hoc trend analyses were statistically signicant. The magnitude of improvement was greater in a pre-specified exploratory analysis of patients not on memantine therapy. Analyses of patients in this group showed evidence of sustained SIB improvement over baseline compared to placebo patients not on memantine. Individual patient SIB scores over time revealed that 15 out of 16 patients in the 20 mug Bryostatin-1, non-memantine group showed improvement in SIB at 2 - 4 weeks post-dosing. For placebo patients and for patients on baseline memantine, there were no consistent increases in SIB measures over time. In addition, the safety profile was similar for patients treated with 20 mug Bryostatin-1 and placebo. Neurotrope is currently evaluating Bryostatin-1 in 100 moderate to severe AD patients not on memantine in a confirmatory, placebo-controlled, Phase 2 trial, initiated in July 2018. Enrollment is proceeding as planned, and data from this study are expected during the third quarter of 2019.

09:02 EDT Amgen submits BLA for ABP 710 to FDA - Amgen announced the submission of a Biologics License Application to the U.S.FDA for ABP 710, a biosimilar candidate to REMICADE.

08:45 EDT Fidelity Southern trading resumes

08:41 EDT Acer Therapeutics appoints Salma Jutt as CCO - Acer Therapeutic announced that it has appointed Salma Jutt as CCO. If Edsivo is approved by the FDA for the treatment of vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, or vEDS, Jutt will lead its launch and commercialization. Jutt will report directly to Chris Schelling, CEO and founder of Acer. Jutt brings over 20 years of experience in life sciences managing U.S. and global P&Ls, building and leading integrated teams across all commercial functions for large-scale product launches at companies.

08:37 EDT Enbridge, Spectra Energy Partners complete merger - Enbridge (ENB) and Spectra Energy Partners (SEP) announced that they have completed the previously announced merger pursuant to an Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as of August 24, 2018. The Merger resulted in Enbridge acquiring all of the outstanding public common units of SEP and SEP becoming an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Enbridge. Also effective December 17, the SEP common units will be suspended from trading on, and delisted from, the New York Stock Exchange. Common shares of Enbridge will continue to trade on both the NYSE and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol "ENB".

08:36 EDT BrightSphere names executive chairman Guang Yang as CEO - BrightSphere Investment Group announced that it has appointed Guang Yang as its CEO, effective immediately. This appointment follows Yang's appointment as executive chairman of the Board of Directors on November 30, 2018. Yang will succeed Steve Belgrad as CEO. Yang's experience in asset management spans nearly two decades, including a long and distinguished tenure at Franklin Templeton as EVP of Franklin Templeton Global Equities and chairman of Franklin Templeton China. Yang was a member of the BrightSphere Board from May 2017 to September 2018; he rejoined the BrightSphere Board and was appointed Executive Chairman in November 2018.

08:34 EDT Resideo leaders purchase more than $900,000 in company shares - Leadership of Resideo Technologies, including president and CEO Mike Nefkens, and CFO Joe Ragan, purchased 43,914 shares of company stock in November and December, representing a combined $935,528 of open market purchases.

08:33 EDT Fiesta Restaurant appoints Louis DiPietro as General Counsel - Fiesta Restaurant Group, parent company of the Pollo Tropical and Taco Cabana fast casual restaurant brands, announced the appointment of Louis DiPietro as the company's Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, effective December 17, replacing Maria Mayer, who has left the company. Most recently, DiPietro served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Panera Bread.

08:33 EDT Heico raises semi-annual cash dividend 17% to 7c per share - HEICO Corporation announced that its Board of Directors approved a 17% increase in the semi-annual cash dividend to 7c per share from 6c per share, payable on both classes of common stock. The dividend is payable on January 17, 2019 to shareholders of record as of January 3, 2019.

08:32 EDT Vertex CFO Thomas Graney resigned last week with immediate effect - Vertex Pharmaceuticals disclosed that on December 13, Thomas Graney notified the company that he is resigning as Chief Financial Officer effective immediately. Graney will continue as an employee and assist in the transition through February 2019. Ian Smith, Vertex's Chief Operating Officer and former CFO, assumed the additional role of interim CFO on December 13.

08:30 EDT Sophiris Bio trading resumes

08:29 EDT Focus Financial Partners announces Altman, Greenfield & Selvaggi to join Focus - Focus Financial Partners announced that Altman, Greenfield & Selvaggi has entered into a definitive agreement to join Focus. Focus also announced that Alpern Wealth Management and Griffon Financial Planning have entered into definitive agreements to join Focus partner Buckingham Strategic Wealth. Each of these transactions is expected to close on or about January 1, 2019, subject to customary closing conditions.

08:19 EDT Ameris Bancorp, Fidelity Southern to merge in all-stock transaction - Ameris Bancorp (ABCB) and Fidelity Southern (LION) jointly announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which Fidelity will merge with and into Ameris in an all-stock transaction. Based on September 30, 2018 results, and excluding purchase accounting adjustments, the combined company will have approximately $16.2B in assets and a branching network across four states. Pro forma for the merger, 72 branches and $4.7B of deposits are located in the Atlanta MSA; 26 branches and approximately $1.8B of deposits are located in the Jacksonville MSA. Upon completion of the merger, James B. Miller, Jr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity, will become Executive Chairman of Ameris and Ameris Bank and H. Palmer Proctor, Jr., President of Fidelity and Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Bank, will become President of Ameris and Chief Executive Officer of Ameris Bank. Dennis J. Zember Jr. and Lawton E. Bassett, III will remain Chief Executive Officer of Ameris and President of Ameris Bank, respectively. Nicole S. Stokes will continue as Chief Financial Officer of both Ameris and Ameris Bank. Five Fidelity directors, including Messrs. Miller and Proctor, will join the Ameris board, which will be increased in size to 14 members upon completion of the merger. Under the terms of the definitive merger agreement, each share of Fidelity common stock, including restricted shares, will be converted into the right to receive 0.80 shares of Ameris common stock. Outstanding options to purchase shares of Fidelity common stock will be converted into options to purchase shares of Ameris common stock, with the exercise price and number of shares underlying each option adjusted to reflect the exchange ratio of 0.80. The transaction is valued at $27.22 per share, or approximately $750.7M in the aggregate, based on Ameris's closing stock price of $34.02 as of December 14, 2018. The merger agreement has been unanimously approved by the board of directors of each company. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2019 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals and the approval of the Ameris and Fidelity shareholders.

08:17 EDT Ameris Bancorp, Fidelity Southern to merge in all-stock transaction

08:16 EDT Darling Ingredients opens new organic fertilizer plant in Turlock, CA - Darling Ingredients announces the opening on January 2, 2019, of its second organic fertilizer production facility in Turlock, CA. The new state-of-the-art facility is located on a 21-acre site and will have the ability to annually produce 35,000 tons of Nature Safe Natural & Organic Fertilizer. The new plant will also provide 4,500 tons of storage capacity to meet the needs of organic growers operating in California and the entire western region of the United States. Darling has operated Nature Safe out of its original Henderson, Kentucky plant since the early 1990's, where it will continue to produce its premium fertilizer for customers in the rest of the country. The strength of the organic fertilizer market in the western U.S. has Nature Safe already working on plans to double the new Turlock plant's production capacity by end of year 2019.

08:13 EDT AirMedia provides update on CEO Man Guo's share purchase plan - AirMedia Group announced that its Chairman and CEO Herman Man Guo had proceeded with his previously announced share purchase plan, which was previous announced by the company on March 28, 2018 and updated on September 28, 2018. As of December 14, 2018, Guo had purchased an aggregate of 228,352 American depositary shares over the period of Dec. 7, 2018 to Dec. 14, 2018 at an average purchase price of approximately 25c per ADS.

08:12 EDT Innovate evaluates proposals for first ever Phase 3 trial in celiac disease - Innovate Biopharmaceuticals will evaluate various funding proposals for commencing the first ever Phase 3 registration trial for celiac disease. Celiac disease affects approximately 1% of the U.S. population, more than 3M Americans, and is a high unmet need with no FDA approved treatments available.

08:11 EDT Arthur J. Gallagher acquires Preston-Patterson Co., terms not disclosed - Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced the acquisition of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania-based Preston-Patterson Co. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 1947, Preston-Patterson is a retail property/casualty insurance broker offering a broad range of coverages and services to broadcasters and media clients throughout the United States.

08:10 EDT Fidelity Southern trading halted, news pending

08:08 EDT Nasdaq, NRC Health announce partnership between businesses - The Governance Institute, a service of NRC Health (NRC), announced a new partnership with Nasdaq Governance Solutions, a business of Nasdaq (NDAQ), to provide members of The Governance Institute with access to Nasdaq Boardvantage, a board portal and collaboration software solution. Nasdaq Boardvantage is designed with security features to help executive administrators, board members and leadership teams achieve their meeting management and governance needs.

08:08 EDT Sophiris Bio provides update on Phase 2b localized prostate cancer trial - Sophiris Bio provides an update from its Phase 2b study of topsalysin for localized prostate cancer, including top-line safety and biopsy results from the patients who received a second administration of study drug, which appeared to be safe and generally well-tolerated. Additional benefit was not observed on targeted biopsy six months after re-treatment with a second administration of topsalysin. As previously stated, a total of 27% of patients demonstrated a clinical response six months following a single administration of topsalysin. Six of the ten clinical responders experienced a complete ablation of their tumor. Based on these results, the company is moving forward with its plans to propose a single Phase 3 registration trial design using a single administration of topsalysin, which it will discuss with regulatory agencies in the coming months.

08:06 EDT Alliance Resource Partners to acquire oil, gas mineral interests for $175.96M - Alliance Resource Partners announced that it has entered into definitive agreements to acquire the general partner interests in AllDale Minerals and AllDale Minerals II and all of the limited partner interests in AllDale not currently owned by ARLP's affiliate, Cavalier Minerals JV. ARLP also announced that it has begun development of the Excel Mine No. 5, an extension of its MC Mining operation in Pike County, Kentucky. Currently, ARLP owns a 96% interest in Cavalier, which owns approximately 72% of the limited partner interest in AllDale. Upon closing the transaction, ARLP will own 100% of the general partner and approximately 97% of the limited partner interests in AllDale, therefore controlling approximately 42,000 net royalty acres strategically positioned in the core of the Anadarko, Permian, Williston and Appalachian basins. The acquired acreage is concentrated in the SCOOP/STACK, Delaware Basin, Midland Basin, Bakken and Appalachian Basin. The acquired acreage position will provide ARLP with diversified exposure to industry-leading operators. ARLP will acquire the Partnership Interests for a cash purchase price of $175.96M, which will be funded with cash on hand and borrowings under its credit facility. The agreements provide for an effective date of November 1, 2018 and the transaction is expected to close in early January 2019. In addition, ARLP also owns approximately 3,950 net royalty acres through its limited partner interest in AllDale Minerals III, LP. ARLP has begun development activity for the Excel Mine No. 5 and currently anticipates deploying total capital of approximately $45M to $50M over the next 18 to 24 months. ARLP's subsidiary, MC Mining, controls the estimated 15 million tons of coal reserves assigned to the Excel Mine No. 5 and will own the new mining complex, and our Excel Mining, subsidiary will conduct all mining operations. The underground operation will utilize continuous mining units employing room-and-pillar mining techniques and annual production capacity is expected to be approximately 1.3 million tons of high BTU, low-sulfur coal.

08:04 EDT Kratos Defense receives $5.2M in specialized product awards - Kratos Defense announced that it has recently received approximately $5.2M in specialized product awards in support of certain C5ISR programs. Kratos provides specialized systems and products in support of unmanned aerial drone, ballistic missile defense, missile, radar, communication and other platforms and systems. Work under these new contract awards will be performed in secure Kratos manufacturing facilities. Due to customer related, competitive and other considerations, no additional information will be provided related to these recent contract awards.

08:03 EDT Nxt-ID says proposed spin-off of payments division delayed - Nxt-ID announced that the proposed spin-off of its payment and other assets into an independent publicly traded company and distribution of shares of the new company to Nxt-ID shareholders has been delayed. Nxt-ID intends to proceed with the spin-off and to establish a new record date for the transaction in the first quarter of 2019. Shares of NXT-ID are currently trading with all the rights of shareholders of Nxt-ID common stock, including the right to receive dividends and distributions as determined by the Board of Nxt-ID. "The reason for the delay in completing the transaction is that, after much effort, we were unable to come to terms with our primary lender regarding the release of their security interest in assets that we are proposing to spin off," said Gino Pereira, Chief Executive Officer of Nxt-ID. "We are currently working with a number of other lenders to replace the existing long-term facility to remove the security interest. We will announce a new record date when we have better clarity on the timing to complete the transaction and to receive various regulatory approvals. We are now targeting to conclude the spin-off before the end of the first quarter of 2019."

08:00 EDT KCAP Financial trading resumes

07:54 EDT Sophiris Bio trading halted, news pending

07:53 EDT KCAP Financial announces 67c per share transaction agreement with BC Partners - KCAP Financial announced that it has entered into a stock purchase and transaction agreement with private equity firm BC Partners, whereby an affiliate of BC Partners will become the external manager of KCAP. Under the terms of the agreement, if the new advisory agreement is approved by stockholders and the other conditions to closing are satisfied, stockholders will receive a direct cash payment from an affiliate of BC Partners of $25M, or approximately 67c per share. In addition, BC Partners has agreed to contribute up to 100% of incentive fees earned, if necessary, to achieve net investment income of 40c per share for a one-year period after closing and to use up to $10M of the incentive fees it earns to purchase newly-issued KCAP common stock over the next two years at a price equal to net asset value per share at the time of the purchases. On November 8, KCAP agreed to sell its asset manager affiliates to LibreMax Capital. LibreMax will take a minority stake in the BC Partners affiliate that will act as the external manager of KCAP.

07:51 EDT Verint to acquire ForeSee - Verint Systems announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire ForeSee, a cloud voice of the customer vendor. The Verint-ForeSee combination will create the market's most comprehensive omnichannel cloud VoC portfolio available-an analytics-rich offering that will allow organizations to better measure and understand customer experiences and prioritize the improvements that will have the greatest business impact. The acquisition will add ForeSee's causal modeling, predictive analytics and benchmarking to Verint's existing omnichannel VoC portfolio. The combination will create a new standard for customer experience, marketing and operational executives who want a unified view of the voice of their customers across digital, voice, surveys, email, chat and social media. Both Verint and ForeSee customers will benefit from an innovative vision, backed by the resources and commitment to building the next generation of VoC solutions for organizations looking to elevate their customer experience.

07:45 EDT TransCanada to sell Coolidge Generating Station for $465M - TransCanada announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell its Coolidge Generating Station to SWG Coolidge Holdings, a wholly owned subsidiary of Southwest Generation Operating, for approximately $465M, subject to closing adjustments and customary regulatory approvals. Located in Coolidge, Arizona, the Coolidge Generating Station is a 575-megawatt natural gas-fired power facility that is underpinned by a long-term power purchase agreement, or PPA. When combined with the sale of Cartier Wind and the reimbursement of pre-development costs on the Coastal GasLink pipeline project earlier this year, the company expecta to realize approximately $1.7B that will be used to help fund near-term capital program. Under the terms of the PPA, Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District, the counterparty to the agreement, has a right of first refusal on a sale to a third party, which will determine next steps in the sale and closing process.

07:36 EDT Travelzoo to open office in Milan, Italy, sees increase in Q4 profitability - Travelzoo announced that it will shortly open a sales office in Milan, Italy. Travelzoo's office will be located at Via Bernardino Luini 7, 20123 Milan. Management expects the new sales office to make a quick positive impact on Travelzoo's operating income. For the current fourth quarter, the company expects to report a significant year-over-year increase in profitability.

07:35 EDT TG Therapeutics announces publication of Phase 1/1b umbralisib results - TG Therapeutic and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute announced the publication of results from the multicenter Phase 1/1b trial of umbralisib, TG Therapeutics' once-daily PI3K delta inhibitor, in combination with ibrutinib, the oral Bruton's tyrosine kinase, or BTK, inhibitor, in Lancet Haematology. This investigator-initiated trial was conducted at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and four additional academic and community sites across the USA in collaboration with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Blood Cancer Research Partnership with funding by TG Therapeutics. The publication includes safety and efficacy information from a total of 42 relapsed or refractory patients, 21 with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, or CLL, and 21 with mantle cell lymphoma, or MCL. In this study, the combination of umbralisib and ibrutinib was well tolerated and consistent with the additive toxicity profile of the two drugs individually. No dose-limiting toxicities were observed, and the maximum-tolerated dose of umbralisib when combined with ibrutinib was not reached. The recommended phase 2 dose of umbralisib when given in combination with ibrutinib was 800 mg once daily. Importantly, serious immune-mediated toxicities were not observed with this combination, as had previously been reported with combinations of different agents targeting this pathway, with only one case of transient Grade 3 transaminitis and no Grade 3/4 colitis or pneumonitis. The combination of umbralisib and ibrutinib was also clinically active, with 90% of relapsed/refractory CLL patients achieving an overall response, of which 62% achieved a partial response or partial response with lymphocytosis, and 29% achieved a complete response. Of the 21 patients treated with MCL, 67% achieved an overall response, of which 48% achieved a partial response and 19% achieved a complete response.

07:34 EDT IT Tech Packaging announces launch of tissue paper production - IT Tech Packaging announced the commercial launch of tissue paper production, following the completion of construction and equipment installation, the receipt of proper approvals, including wastewater discharge permit, from local authorities, and the success of trial production of its first tissue paper production line. The PM8 Production Line is located at Wei County Industrial Park in Hebei Province, China, with annual production capacity of 15,000 tonnes. The company also plans to start the construction of another tissue paper production line with annual production capacity of additional 15,000 tonnes in the next several months.

07:32 EDT Bovie Medical appoints Tara Semb as CFO - Bovie Medical Corporation announced the appointment of Tara Semb as CFO, effective January 2, 2019. Prior to joining Bovie Medical, Semb was the CFO for AVAIL Vapor, a manufacturer and retailer of e-liquid for use in electronic vapor devices, from 2015 until 2018.

07:31 EDT JPMorgan reports November net credit losses 2.26% vs. 2.19% last month - Reports November 30-plus day delinquency rate 1.19% vs. 1.18 last month.

07:30 EDT Capital One reports November net charge-offs 4.72% vs. 4.25% last month - Reports November 30-plus day performing delinquencies 4.08% vs. 3.99% last month.

07:25 EDT Acadia chairman, CEO removed by board, Debbie Osteen named CEO - Acadia Healthcare (ACHC) announced that Debbie Osteen, former President of the Behavioral Health Division of Universal Health Services (UHS), has joined Acadia as CEO. She replaces Joey Jacobs, who has been removed by the board from his roles as CEO and chairman of the board. Reeve Waud, Lead Director of Acadia's board, has been elected chairman of Acadia.

07:24 EDT Mechel expands sales agreement for coking, thermal coal with Itochu Corporation - Mechel reported expansion of the sales agreement with a Japanese universal trading company Itochu Corporation. The agreement stipulates that Mechel and Itochu Corporation agreed on potential sales of up to 800,000 tonnes of coking and thermal coal between December and March 2020. The coal will be shipped from Mechel's Southern Kuzbass Coal Company and Elgaugol. The price will be determined by mutual agreement. Japan's major consumers and Asian steelmaking and power facilities will be the end consumers of Mechel's products.

07:22 EDT Gran Tierra sees FY19 production of 40,000-42,000 boepd - Gran Tierra expects FY19 average production of 40,000-42,000 boepd, representing organic growth of 12%-18% over average production in the first nine months of 2018 and an increase of 27%-34% over 2017 average production. Guidance represents an average production growth rate of approximately 15% per year since 2015 and includes only forecasted volumes from existing operations and expected development and appraisal projects, with no volumes assumed for any exploration success including Pomorroso-1. Sees FY19 capital budget of $350M-370M and FY19 cash flow of $365M-375M.

07:16 EDT Shire announces FDA approval of Motegrity for treatment of CIC - Shire announced that the FDA has approved Motegrity, a once-daily, oral treatment option for adults with Chronic Idiopathic Constipation, or CIC. Motegrity, a selective serotonin-4, or 5-HT4, receptor agonist, provides a different class of treatment for CIC that works by enhancing colonic peristalsis to increase bowel motility. Motegrity is expected to launch in 2019 in the United States, where an estimated 35M adults are living with CIC. While not all patients may be right for treatment, Motegrity represents a new option. The efficacy of once-daily treatment with Motegrity was evaluated in six double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, multicenter clinical studies lasting 12 weeks or 24 weeks. Of the 2,484 patients, most were female and caucasian, with an average age of 47. During studies, significantly more patients taking Motegrity achieved the primary endpoint than those in the placebo group across five of six trials. A rapid response was seen with Motegrity as early as week 1, with improvements maintained throughout 12 weeks of treatment. The FDA has requested that Shire conduct five post-marketing studies evaluating the pharmacokinetics, efficacy and safety of Motegrity in pediatric patients with CIC and pregnant and lactating women with CIC treated with Motegrity. Motegrity is contraindicated in patients with a history of hypersensitivity to Motegrity. Reactions include dyspnea, rash, pruritus, urticaria and facial edema have been observed. Motegrity is also contraindicated in patients with intestinal perforation or obstruction due to structural or functional disorder of the gut wall, obstructive ileus, severe inflammatory conditions of the intestinal tract such as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and toxic megacolon/megarectum. In clinical trials, suicides, suicide attempts, and suicidal ideation have been reported. A causal association between treatment with Motegrity and an increased risk of suicidal ideation and behavior has not been established. Most common adverse reactions are headache, abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, abdominal distension, dizziness, vomiting, flatulence and fatigue. Overall, discontinuation due to adverse events was low. If reported, adverse events of diarrhea or headache typically resolved within a few days. In addition, cardiovascular safety was evaluated in a MACE analysis of the double-blind, placebo-controlled and open-label studies. It was also assessed in a retrospective observational study, which demonstrated no increase in the risk of MACE with Motegrity relative to polyethylene glycol.

07:07 EDT Canadian Solar, TrailStone sign 10-year PPA for solar portfolio in Italy - Canadian Solar and TrailStone announced they entered into a 10-year power purchase agreement for the electricity produced by a 17.6 MWp solar PV plant portfolio in Sicily, Italy. The portfolio is jointly owned by Canadian Solar (51% stake) and Manni Energy (49% stake), a renewable energy company devoted to engineering, O&M services, and energy efficiency and part of Manni Group, which will also provide turnkey EPC services for the project. This landmark PPA will cover 100% of the electricity generated and is believed to be the longest-term PPA for a fully unsubsidized solar PV portfolio signed to date in Italy. The PPA provides stable and predictable power sales revenues via a fixed price floor but also higher generation-weighted power prices due to an upside-sharing mechanism. As part of the agreement, TrailStone will also act as market representative for the portfolio on the Italian wholesale market. The solar PV portfolio is expected to start producing electricity in the second quarter of 2019. The expected production is approximately 34 GWh per annum, equivalent to the annual consumption of 12,000 households in Italy.

07:05 EDT Target says eligible Target.com orders will be delivered for free by Xmas Eve - Target is taking the stress out of the season for last-minute shoppers by guaranteeing eligible Target.com orders will be delivered for free by Christmas Eve.

07:03 EDT Proteostasis announces global license agreement with Genentech - Proteostasis Therapeutics (PTI) announced a worldwide, exclusive license agreement with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group (RHHBY), for rights to potential therapeutic small molecule modulators of an undisclosed target within the proteostasis network. The agreement does not include cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator modulators and is unrelated to PTI's investigational medicines or other ongoing research programs in cystic fibrosis. Under the terms of the agreement, in exchange for rights to these small molecule modulators, Proteostasis is eligible to receive upfront and milestone payments of over $100M. In addition, Proteostasis is eligible to receive tiered royalties on sales of medicines resulting from the license agreement. Genentech is responsible for all further research and development expenses related to the program. Full financial terms, the therapeutic target and disease areas of focus are not disclosed.

07:01 EDT Jack in the Box trading halted, news pending

07:01 EDT Bristol-Myers announces positive CHMP opinion recommending Sprycel - Bristol-Myers Squibb announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, of the European Medicines Agency has recommended the expanded approval of Sprycel, in combination with chemotherapy, to include the treatment of pediatric patients with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The positive opinion includes the tablet form of Sprycel and the powder for oral suspension formulation, which was first approved by the European Commission in July 2018, making Sprycel the only tyrosine kinase inhibitor with a formulation developed for administration in pediatric patients and patients who cannot swallow tablets. The CHMP recommendation will now be reviewed by the EC, which has the authority to approve medicines for the European Union.

06:55 EDT Weatherford announces $50M sale of surface data logging business - Weatherford announced it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its surface data logging business to Excellence Logging for $50M in cash. As part of the agreement, Weatherford will sell all of its surface data logging equipment, technology and associated contracts and will transfer the related personnel to Excellence Logging. While with this transaction Weatherford will exit the surface data logging business, it plans to continue to maintain a close and collaborative relationship with Excellence Logging to provide bundled and integrated services to its customers including surface data logging. This transaction is designed to maximize Weatherford shareholder value by refocusing the company's portfolio on the businesses most closely aligned with its long-term strategy and is expected to close in the first half of 2019. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and the purchase price is subject to customary post-closing working capital adjustments. Upon closing, Weatherford will use the net proceeds to reduce its debt. This transaction is one in a series of planned divestitures that will help deleverage the company's capital structure. During Q3, Weatherford announced the sale of its international land rigs business for $287.5M, of which it has received $215.5M in cash proceeds to date. During Q4, the company also announced an agreement to sell its laboratory services business for $205M in cash.

06:50 EDT Eli Lilly announces Taltz meets primary, secondary endpoints in SPIRIT-H2H study - Eli Lilly announced Taltz met the primary and all major secondary endpoints in the Phase 3b/4 SPIRIT-H2H study, which evaluated the efficacy and safety of Taltz versus Humira in patients with active psoriatic arthritis, or PsA, who are biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug, or DMARD-naive. The SPIRIT-H2H trial is the first completed large head-to-head, or H2H, superiority study in active PsA. This open-label, randomized, controlled trial is the first and only H2H study that utilizes on-label dosing for both Taltz and Humira and includes concomitant conventional DMARDs. At 24 weeks, patients treated with Taltz met the primary endpoint by demonstrating superiority in improving the signs and symptoms of active PsA compared to Humira as measured by the proportion of patients simultaneously achieving at least a 50% reduction in disease activity, as defined by the American College of Rheumatology, or ACR50, as well as complete skin clearance as measured by the Psoriasis area and severity index. In addition, Taltz met the major secondary endpoints. A total of 566 active PsA patients were enrolled in the study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Taltz compared to Humira. Patients with active PsA were randomized to receive Taltz at the approved dose, or Humira for a total of 52 weeks, with the primary analysis conducted at 24 weeks. Patients meeting criteria for moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis received the approved dose of Taltz or Humira.

06:39 EDT ChromaDex launches TRU NIAGEN in Canada - ChromaDex announced it has officially launched TRU NIAGEN in Canada, having received regulatory approval for sale by Health Canada.

06:36 EDT Baytex Energy announces 2019 capital budget of $550M-$650M - Baytex Energy announces that its Board of Directors has approved a 2019 capital budget of $550M-$650M, which is designed to generate average annual production of 93,000-97,000 boe/d. "The 2019 program is approximately 45% weighted to the first half of the year and we have the operational flexibility to adjust our spending plans based on changes in commodity prices. The budget is 90% weighted to drilling and completion activities. Based on the mid-point of our guidance range of 95,000 boe/d, approximately 62% of our production is in Canada with the remaining 38% in the Eagle Ford. Our production mix is forecast to be 83% liquids (46% light oil and condensate, 27% heavy oil and 10% natural gas liquids) and 17% natural gas, based on a 6:1 natural gas-to-oil equivalency."

06:34 EDT NICE inContact selected for 2,300 seat cloud transformation - NICE inContact, a NICE business, announced that a global research and technology company that serves customers in more than 130 countries is moving 2300 agents to NICE inContact CXone - the world's #1 cloud customer experience platform - after an exhaustive review of cloud options. The technology innovator, with five divisions spread across more than 20 locations, selected NICE inContact CXone to replace on-premises technology. With CXone advanced application capabilities, the company aims to unify systems, gain agility, and transform customer experience while driving down costs.

06:31 EDT Merck: EC approves KEYTRUDA for treatment of stage III melanoma - Merck announced that the European Commission has approved KEYTRUDA, the company's anti-PD-1 therapy, for the adjuvant treatment of adults with stage III melanoma and lymph node involvement who have undergone complete resection. This approval is based on data from the pivotal Phase 3 EORTC1325/KEYNOTE-054 trial, conducted in collaboration with the European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer. An updated recurrence-free survival data analysis, conducted at the request of the European Medicines Agency, demonstrated that KEYTRUDA significantly prolonged RFS, reducing the risk of disease recurrence or death by 44% compared to placebo in the overall population of patients with resected, high-risk stage III melanoma. The approval allows marketing of KEYTRUDA in this new indication in all 28 EU member states plus Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway, at the approved dose of 200 mg every three weeks until disease recurrence, unacceptable toxicity, or for a duration of up to one year. KEYTRUDA is also approved in Europe as a monotherapy for the treatment of advanced melanoma in adults.

06:17 EDT ABB confirms plans to sell Power Grids unit to Hitachi - ABB (ABB) announces that Hitachi (HTHIY) will acquire ABB's Power Grids business, an expansion of its existing partnership with Hitachi. The agreed price represents a transaction Enterprise Value of $11B for 100% of Power Grids, the equivalent to an EV/op. EBITA multiple of 11.2x1, before share of corporate cost. ABB will initially realize a levered consideration of ~$9.1B from the sale of 80.1% of Power Grids, including pre-sale net leverage, before one-time transaction and separation related costs as well as cash tax impacts. In the fast-changing world of energy infrastructure, with a shifting customer landscape and the need for financing and increased government influence, ABB believes Hitachi is the best owner for Power Grids. ABB will initially retain a 19.9% equity stake in the joint venture, allowing a seamless transition. The transaction agreement includes a pre-defined option for ABB to exit the retained 19.9% share, exercisable three years after closing, at fair market value with floor price at 90% of agreed Enterprise Value. Hitachi holds a call option over the remaining 19.9% share at fair market value with floor price at 100% of agreed Enterprise Value. The joint venture will be headquartered in Switzerland, with Hitachi retaining the management team to ensure business continuity. ABB will record $350-400 million of stranded and other carve-out related costs, which are currently predominately recorded as part of the Power Grids cost base. ABB expects to incur one-time non-operational transaction and separation related costs of $500-600 million. ABB anticipates $800-900 million related cash tax impact. The completion of the transaction is expected by first half of 2020, subject to regulatory approvals and fulfillment of closing conditions. ABB intends to return 100 percent of the estimated net cash proceeds of $7.6-7.8 billion from the 80.1 percent sale to shareholders in an expeditious and efficient manner through share buyback or similar mechanism.

06:13 EDT Boeing to acquire 80% of new joint venture with Embraer for $4.2B - Embraer (ERJ) and Boeing (BA) have approved to the terms of a strategic partnership. The approved terms define the joint venture comprising the commercial aircraft and services operations of Embraer, in which Boeing will hold an 80% ownership stake and Embraer will hold the remaining 20%.The transaction remains subject to approval by the Government of Brazil, after which Embraer and Boeing intend to execute definitive transaction documents. The closing of the transaction will then be subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. Under the terms of the proposed partnership, Boeing will acquire an 80% ownership stake in the joint venture for $4.2B. The partnership is expected to be neutral to Boeing's earnings per share in 2020 and accretive thereafter. Estimated annual pre-tax cost synergies of approximately $150M are anticipated by the third year of operations. Once the transaction has closed, the commercial aviation joint venture will be led by Brazil-based management, including a president and CEO. Boeing will have operational and management control of the new company, which will report directly to Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing chairman, president and CEO. Embraer will retain consent rights for certain strategic decisions, such as transfer of operations from Brazil. The companies have also agreed to the terms of another joint venture to promote and develop new markets for the multi-mission medium airlift KC-390. Under the terms of this proposed partnership, Embraer will own a 51% stake in the joint venture, with Boeing owning the remaining 49%. The transaction is subject to approval by the Government of Brazil, ratification by the Embraer board of directors and its further authorization to execute the definitive transaction documents. Once the parties have executed the definitive transaction agreements, the strategic partnership will then be subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals, as well as other customary closing conditions. Assuming the approvals are received in a timely manner, the transaction is intended to close by the end of 2019.

06:07 EDT BeiGene initiates two global Phase 3 trials of tislelizumab - BeiGene announced that the first patients have been enrolled in two global Phase 3 clinical trials of its investigational anti-PD-1 antibody, tislelizumab. These trials are evaluating tislelizumab combined with chemotherapy as potential first-line treatments in patients with locally advanced unresectable or metastatic gastric or gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma, and in patients with unresectable, locally advanced recurrent or metastatic esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

06:05 EDT Evofem AMPOWER Phase 3 trial meets primary endpoint - Evofem announced that its Phase 3 clinical trial of Amphora for the prevention of pregnancy, AMPOWER, successfully met its primary endpoint. AMPOWER assessed the efficacy, safety and subject satisfaction with Amphora in approximately 1,400 healthy women aged 18-35 years at 112 centers in the U.S. The primary endpoint of the study was the pregnancy rate over seven cycles of use as assessed by the Kaplan-Meier statistical method. Top-line data analysis demonstrates a cumulative pregnancy rate of 14% over seven cycles of use. This corresponds to an 86.0% efficacy rate, which meets the pre-determined endpoint of this clinical trial. In women who correctly used Amphora per study protocol, the cumulative pregnancy rate was 1.3% over seven cycles of use. This corresponds to a 98.7% efficacy rate. The results demonstrate that when Amphora is used as directed, the efficacy in which women can have confidence is similar to other frequently used contraceptive methods. Overall in the AMPOWER study there were more than 24,000 acts of intercourse in which Amphora use was reported. Of these, Amphora was used as directed 88.9% of the time. There were minimal side effects reported by AMPOWER study participants, and there were no serious treatment-related adverse events reported. This outcome supports the potential of Amphora, Evofem's multipurpose vaginal pH regulator, to become the first non- hormonal, on-demand, woman-controlled prescription birth control vaginal gel.

06:03 EDT Wynn Resorts says Maurice Wooden stepping down as Wynn Las Vegas president - Wynn Resorts Limited on Friday announced several changes to its senior executive team, including the return of Marilyn Spiegel as the President of Wynn Las Vegas. Spiegel previously served as president of the Las Vegas resort from 2010 to 2013. She will replace Maurice Wooden, who has elected to step down as the resort's president at year-end. Maurice Wooden, who has been President of Wynn Las Vegas since 2013, announced he was stepping down from his current position. In addition, the company has appointed Scott Moore as Chief Marketing Officer. Additionally, Michael Weaver, has been appointed Chief Communications Officer. Wynn Resorts has also recently made leadership changes to its Legal and Human Resources departments: Ellen Whittemore was recently named General Counsel of Wynn Resorts. Rose Huddleston recently joined Wynn Resorts as Senior Vice President of Human Resources, North America, a new position.

05:36 EDT SPI Energy receives delinquency notice from Nasdaq - SPI Energy announced that it received a notification letter Listing Qualifications Department of The Nasdaq Stock Market on December 12, 2018 indicating that the company is not in compliance with NASDAQ Listing Rule 5450(b)(3)(C) (the "Rule") for continued listing because the market value of its publicly held shares was less than $15 million. Normally, a company that fails to comply with the Rule would be eligible for a 180 day compliance period. However, in its November 19, 2018 decision, the Nasdaq Hearings Panel determined to impose a Panel Monitor lasting through 2019. The Panel noted that if at any time during the monitor period the company fails any listing standard, Nasdaq would issue a delisting determination and the hearings department would schedule a new hearing. Therefore, the company is not eligible for the 180 day compliance period and the Panel will notify the company of its newly scheduled hearing date in the coming days.

05:27 EDT Incyte, Innovent announce strategic collaboration, licensing agreement - Incyte and Innovent Biologics announced that the companies, through their respective subsidiaries, have entered into a strategic collaboration agreement for three clinical-stage product candidates discovered and developed by Incyte-pemigatinib, itacitinib and parsaclisib. Under the terms of the agreement, Innovent will pay Incyte $40M in cash up front, and Incyte shall be eligible to receive an additional $20M in consideration in connection with the first investigational new drug application by Innovent in China, which is expected to be achieved in 2019. Innovent will receive the rights to develop and commercialize the three assets in hematology and oncology in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Per the terms of the collaboration agreement, Innovent will pay Incyte $40M in cash up front and Incyte will be eligible to receive an additional $20M in consideration in connection with the first IND filing in China, which is expected to be achieved in 2019. Innovent will receive rights to develop and commercialize three product candidates in hematology and oncology in the Innovent territory of Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. In addition, Incyte will be eligible to receive up to $129M in potential development and regulatory milestones, and up to $202.5M in potential commercial milestones. Incyte will also be eligible to receive tiered royalties from the high teens to the low twenties on future sales of products resulting from the collaboration. Incyte retains an option to assist in the promotion of the three product candidates in China. The transaction is effective immediately upon the execution of the strategic collaboration agreement. Further financial details were not disclosed.