Stockwinners Market Radar for September 20, 2019 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

17:41 EDT SPDR Gold Shares holdings rise to 894.15MT from 883.60MT - This is the highest level of holdings since September 4th.

17:29 EDT II-VI to enter S&P 400; Callon Petroleum, PriceSmart to enter S&P SmallCap600 - S&P SmallCap 600 constituent II-VI (IIVI) will replace Callon Petroleum Co (CPE) in the S&P MidCap 400, Callon Petroleum will replace II-VI in the S&P SmallCap 600, and PriceSmart Inc. (PSMT) will replace Finisar Corp. (FNSR) in the S&P SmallCap 600. II-VI is acquiring Finisar in a transaction expected to be completed soon pending final conditions. Post-merger, II-VI will have a total market capitalization that is more representative of the mid-cap market space. Callon Petroleum has a market capitalization that is more representative of the small-cap market space.

17:24 EDT Northrop Grumman subsidiary awarded $1.12B Missile Defense Agency contract - Orbital Sciences, or OSC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Northrop Grumman, has been awarded a competitive fixed-price-incentive-fee contract. The total value of this contract is $1.12B. Under this new contract, OSC will provide the Missile Defense Agency with threat-representative subscale targets with simple and re-entry vehicles as well as storage, surveillance, maintenance of delivered hardware and software and range execution of end items. The work will be performed in Chandler, Arizona, with a performance period from September 2019 through September 2027. This contract was competitively procured via publication on the Federal Business Opportunities website with two proposals received. FY19 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $7.41M are being obligated at the time of contract award. The Missile Defense Agency is the contracting activity.

17:22 EDT II-VI to replace Callon Petroleum in the S&P400 at open on September 26

17:12 EDT Norsk Hydro discloses federal court in Brazil lifts embargo on Alunortes - The Federal Court in Belem, Brazil, September 20, lifted the embargo on Alunortes new bauxite residue disposal under the civil lawsuit. Alunorte is still subject to an embargo on DRS2 imposed by the same court in a parallel criminal lawsuit, but Alunorte is expecting an extension of the civil decision to the criminal case shortly. Alunorte will continue utilizing the old bauxite residue disposal area until the DRS2 embargo under the criminal case is lifted. The decision to lift the DRS2 embargo in the civil case against Alunorte came after Ministerio Publico and Alunorte submitted a joint petition to the federal court on August 30, requesting the embargoes to be lifted.

16:33 EDT Altria Group recommends rejection of amended mini-tender by TRC - Altria Group states it "has become aware that TRC Capital has amended its unsolicited "mini-tender offer" to purchase in cash up to 3M shares, or less than 0.2% of Altria's outstanding common stock, such that the purchase price is now $40.00 per share, rather than $44.25 per share pursuant to TRC's original offer. TRC's amended offer remains subject to numerous conditions and Altria believes that the offer is unlikely to be completed at any time when the offer price is above the then-current market price of Altria common stock. Altria further cautions shareholders that TRC can extend the offer and delay payment beyond the scheduled expiration of the offer, which is currently scheduled for 12:01 a.m., New York City time, on Friday, October 4, 2019."

16:24 EDT Post files IPO for active nutrition unit BellRing Brands - Post Holdings, Inc. announced that its active nutrition business will be named BellRing Brands, Inc. following the completion of the previously announced proposed initial public offering of approximately 20% of its ownership. Post also announced that BellRing has publicly filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission related to BellRing's proposed IPO of its Class A common stock. The number of shares of Class A common stock to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined. The IPO is expected to be completed in the fall of 2019, subject to market and other conditions. BellRing has applied for its Class A common stock to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "BRBR". Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, Citigroup, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC are acting as the lead bookrunning managers for the proposed offering. BofA Merrill Lynch, Barclays Capital Inc., BMO Capital Markets Corp., Credit Suisse Securities LLC, Evercore Group L.L.C., Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc. and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC are acting as bookrunning managers. HSBC Securities Inc., Nomura Securities International, Inc., PNC Capital Markets LLC, Rabo Securities USA, Inc. and UBS Securities LLC are acting as co-managers for the proposed offering.

16:16 EDT Fiat Chrysler COO Paul Alcala to retire effective September 30 - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles announced the retirement of Paul Alcala as Chief Operating Officer, APAC excluding China, after 32 years of service to the company. Massimiliano Trantini will continue to serve as ad interim APAC COO as well as President of the joint venture between FCA and Guangzhou Automobile Group. The changes are effective 30 September 2019.

16:08 EDT BioPharmX receives extension to regain compliance with NYSE - BioPharmX received a notice from the NYSE granting the company an extension until March 24, 2020 to regain compliance with certain NYSE continued listing standards related to its stockholders' equity balance. The company's common stock will continue to be listed and traded on NYSE during the extended cure period, subject to the company's compliance with NYSE's other applicable continued listing standards.

16:01 EDT Future FinTech submits compliance plan to Nasdaq - Future FinTech Group announced that on September 18, 2019, the company submitted its plan of compliance in connection with its failure to meet the requirement of maintaining a minimum of $2,500,000 in shareholders' equity for continued listing on the NASDAQ Capital Market, as set forth in NASDAQ Listing Rule 5550b1. On September 4, 2019, the company received written notice from the NASDAQ Stock Market stating that the company does not meet the requirement of maintaining a minimum of $2,500,000 in stockholders' equity for continued listing on the NASDAQ Capital Market, as set forth in NASDAQ Listing Rule 5550b1, the company also does not meet the alternative of market value of listed securities of $35 million under NASDAQ Listing Rule 5550b2 or net income from continuing operations of $500,000 in the most recently completed fiscal year or in two of the last three most recently completed fiscal years under NASDAQ Listing Rule 5550b3, and the company is no longer in compliance with the NASDAQ Listing Rules. The NASDAQ notification letter provides the company until September 18, 2019 to submit a plan to regain compliance. If the plan is accepted, NASDAQ can grant the company an extension up to 180 calendar days from the date of NASDAQ letter to demonstrate compliance. If NASDAQ does not accept the company's compliance plan, the company will have the opportunity to appeal that decision to a Hearing Panel per NASDAQ Listing Rule 5815a. The compliance plan is currently under review by NASDAQ. The company will continue to cooperate with NASDAQ staff and provide information and documents requested by NASDAQ. The company will provide timely updates to the market upon NASDAQ's decision regarding the company's compliance plan.

15:04 EDT YouTube CEO apologizes to creators for 'new approach to verification' - YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki tweeted, "To our creators & users-I'm sorry for the frustration & hurt that we caused with our new approach to verification. While trying to make improvements, we missed the mark. As I write this, we're working to address your concerns & we'll have more updates soon." Reference Link

14:31 EDT USA Technologies trading resumes

14:26 EDT USA Technologies trading halted, volatility trading pause

14:07 EDT Fitbit rises after report of hiring bank to consider sale - Shares of Fitbit are rising in afternoon trading after Reuters reported that the wearable device maker has held talks with investment bank Qatalyst Partners about whether it should engage with potential buyers about a sale. Following the report, which cites people familiar with the matter, shares of Fitbit are up 21c, or 6%, to $3.89.

13:19 EDT BTI says product, to its knowledge, not involved in vaping deaths - British American Tobacco issued a statement "highlighting the need for robust and effective regulation of vapour products, following the recent tragic consumer cases reported in the media." Dr David O'Reilly, Director of Scientific Research at British American Tobacco, said: "As the world's second largest vapour company, providing high quality products to more than 9 million consumers worldwide, we take consumer safety very seriously. Quality and safety testing are a crucial part of the way we develop and manufacture our products and we scrutinise the ingredients we use in them. We are fully supportive of the efforts of the various government agencies in the US, Canada and around the world who are working to understand the exact cause of the recent tragic consumer cases. To the best of our knowledge, no product developed or manufactured by BAT has been involved in these cases. However, these cases clearly demonstrate the need for robust and effective regulation which ensures high product standards, particularly with regard to the testing and reporting of the ingredients used in vaping liquids. Governments also need to ensure relevant authorities enforce manufacturer compliance with these regulations." Other names in the tobacco space include Altria Group (MO), Imperial Brands (IMBBY) and Philip Morris (PM). Reference Link

13:02 EDT Baker Hughes reports U.S. rig count down 18 to 868 rigs - Baker Hughes reports that the U.S. rig count is down 18 rigs from last week to 868, with oil rigs down 14 to 719, gas rigs down 5 to 148, and miscellaneous rigs up 1 to 1. The U.S. Rig Count is down 185 rigs from last year's count of 1,053, with oil rigs down 147, gas rigs down 38, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 1. The U.S. Offshore Rig Count is down 1 rig to 25 and up 5 rigs year-over-year. The Canada Rig Count is down 15 rigs from last week to 119, with oil rigs down 11 to 82 and gas rigs down 4 to 37. The Canada Rig Count is down 78 rigs from last year's count of 197, with oil rigs down 53 and gas rigs down 25.

12:50 EDT cbdMD trading resumes

12:35 EDT cbdMD discloses presentation in conjunction with convertible preferred offering - cbdMD disclosed in a regulatory filing that it is offering 8% Series A Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock. The offering includes 1.25M shares on a firm commitment basis with 187,500 additional shares available if needed for over-allotment. The book running manager is ThinkEquity and Benchmark is the co-manager. The company also disclosed the presentation made available to investors in the offering process for shares of the 8% Series A Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock by cbdMD.

12:34 EDT L'Oreal announces settlement with French tax authorities - L'Oreal announces the conclusion of "constructive discussions" with the French tax authorities concerning the tax base of its subsidiaries Lancome Parfums et Beaute, Cosmetique Active International and Prestige & Collections International, for fiscal years 2014 to 2018, without incurring tax penalties. The yearly financial impact amounts approximately to 65M euros over this period. For the five years, the impact for each subsidiary is respectively 47M euros, 115M euros and 158M euros. This will be recorded as an exceptional charge for 2019, "and will have no significant recurrent impact in the future," L'Oreal said in a statement.

12:19 EDT cbdMD trading halted, news pending

12:00 EDT ICICI Bank rises 10.2% - ICICI Bank is up 10.2%, or $1.10 to $11.87.

11:46 EDT Commerzbank develops draft of new strategy, to cut 4,300 jobs - Commerzbank announced that its board of directors has developed a draft of its new strategy "Commerzbank 5.0" and submitted it to the Supervisory Board for consideration. The draft will be discussed with the Supervisory Board later this month and then presented at press and investor conferences. In the segment Private and Small Business Customers, Commerzbank will focus on the expansion of its mobile banking capabilities and the possible merger of comdirect bank Aktiengesellschaft into Commerzbank. In the Corporate Clients segment the Bank intends to strengthen its distribution capability, also in particular with corporates in the Mittelstand segment. The draft strategy also foresees total investments of around EUR1.6B. Investments in digitalisation, IT infrastructure and growth account for an estimated EUR750M of this, while restructuring costs in connection with necessary headcount reduction and planned modifications to the branch network account for the remaining EUR850M. The Bank will retain a nationwide presence in Germany with around 800 branches, which reflects a reduction of 200 compared to today. A further Group-wide headcount reduction is regrettable but inevitable. An estimated additional 4,300 full-time positions would be shed across the Group. The planned increase of around 2,000 full-time positions in strategic areas would take the anticipated net Group-wide headcount reduction to around 2,300 full-time positions. The details will be worked out over the next few months in consultation with the employee representative committees. The aim would be to implement the planned headcount reduction as socially responsible as possible. The company added that the draft strategy foresees the sale of Commerzbank's majority stake in mbank and envisages the merger of Comdirect into Commerzbank. The further development of the strategy is intended to help the Bank achieve additional growth in customers and assets, and higher revenues by 2023, even if the market environment continues to deteriorate. Commerzbank would aim for a cost level in 2023 of around 600 million euros lower than in the current year. This would result in a cost base of no more than 5.5 billion euros in 2023 following the sale of mBank. After the implementation of its strategy, the Bank is targeting a Return on Tangible Equity of more than four percent in the medium-term. The capital ratio is set to remain at 12 to 13 percent.

11:38 EDT Ryanair U.K. pilots union cancels five further strike days - The British Airline Pilots Association said it has cancelled five further days of strike action in Ryanair. This comes despite the fact that the relationship between Ryanair and its pilots in the UK and elsewhere remains acrimonious, the union said. "Instead of engaging in negotiations Ryanair has reverted to type, electing to punish pilots by withdrawing their travel benefits," BALPA said. "Despite this, UK pilot representatives consulted striking members yesterday and agreed to suspend any further strikes in order to pave the way for meaningful negotiations under the auspices of the UK conciliation service, ACAS. Despite a strong turnout for strike action and a high level of commitment among pilots in Ryanair, the pilot representatives took the decision to allow a breathing space in the hope that constructive negotiations could get underway. BALPA retains the ability to set new strike dates should it be necessary." Strikes were due to be held on 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th and 29th September. Reference Link

11:20 EDT Adage Capital Partners reports 5.09% passive stake in Farmer Bros. - In a regulatory filing, Adage Capital Partners disclosed a 5.09% stake in Farmer Bros., which represents 869,699 common shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

10:26 EDT Novo Nordisk up 2% to $52.93 after FDA approves type 2 diabetes treatment

10:14 EDT Beyond Meat hires Sanjay Shah, formerly of Tesla, as COO - Beyond Meat (BYND) last night announced that Sanjay Shah has been named its COO. Effective September 18, Shah assumed responsibility for Beyond Meat's global operations and production. "It is with great enthusiasm that I welcome Sanjay Shah to Beyond Meat as our Chief Operating Officer. Sanjay brings a wealth of experience in scaling and operating very high growth businesses, none more important in our consideration than Amazon, where Sanjay managed a majority percentage of North American fulfillment over the course of his career. Sanjay's focus on making operational excellence a sustained competitive advantage, his experience in and appetite for global expansion, along with shared values and a tireless work ethic, makes him a welcome addition to the Beyond Meat family," said Ethan Brown, President and CEO of Beyond Meat. Shah has more than 25 years of experience in operations, manufacturing, engineering and supply chain management. Before joining Beyond Meat, Shah served as Senior Vice President of Energy Operations at Tesla (TSLA), where he was responsible for the worldwide Energy business and led the North America Sales/Services/Delivery for Automotive. From January 2011 to May 2018, Shah held a variety of leadership roles at Amazon (AMZN).

10:00 EDT Borr Drilling falls -8.1% - Borr Drilling is down -8.1%, or -52c to $5.93.

10:00 EDT HDFC Bank rises 9.2% - HDFC Bank is up 9.2%, or $9.48 to $112.03.

10:00 EDT California Resources rises 17.7% - California Resources is up 17.7%, or $1.75 to $11.64.

09:50 EDT Pareteum falls 12% to $1.62 after $40M registered direct offering

09:47 EDT PG&E falls -8.6% - PG&E is down -8.6%, or -$1.05 to $11.15.

09:47 EDT HDFC Bank rises 9.1% - HDFC Bank is up 9.1%, or $9.32 to $111.87.

09:47 EDT California Resources rises 21.3% - California Resources is up 21.3%, or $2.11 to $12.00.

09:27 EDT Brookdale Senior Living responds to letter to stockholders from Land & Buildings - Brookdale Senior Living issued the following statement in response to the letter to Brookdale stockholders published on September 19 by Land & Buildings: "Brookdale is surprised that Land & Buildings attempts to suddenly distance its nominee from the OpCo/PropCo financial engineering plan that Land & Buildings had consistently publicly advocated for since 2018. In its previous public communications, Land & Buildings had explicitly linked its nominee, James ("Jay") F. Flaherty III, with its risky OpCo/PropCo financial engineering plan. Land & Buildings' prior letters to Brookdale stockholders on July 16, 2019, July 30, 2019 and August 13, 2019, made it very clear to both the Company and its stockholders that Jay Flaherty, Land & Buildings' real estate executive nominee, was being put forward for the Board to advance the execution of Land & Buildings' real estate-focused proposals, including to separate Brookdale's real estate from its operations... As announced earlier this year and more recently, the Brookdale Board of Directors (the "Board") and the three-member Investment Committee of the Board, in consultation with nationally recognized outside advisors (including advisors recommended by Land & Buildings), have carefully considered a range of potential sales or spin-offs of all or a substantial portion of the Company's real estate assets and have each unanimously determined that undertaking an OpCo/PropCo transaction would be unlikely to generate additional value for Brookdale's stockholders, as compared to the Company's ongoing execution of its strategic plan. Brookdale determined at that time that a separation would result in an operating company with uncertain viability and a single-operator PropCo REIT that is unlikely to trade well in the market, due to key structural deficiencies. Moreover, the Investment Committee includes two independent directors appointed to the Board as a result of stockholder recommendations, including Marcus Bromley, appointed to the Board in July 2017, at the recommendation of Land & Buildings as a candidate with substantial real estate experience. Brookdale has made numerous attempts to engage with Land & Buildings and to avoid Land & Buildings' unnecessary proxy contest. Since concluding our strategic review in early 2018 and committing to the execution of our comprehensive operational turnaround, members of the Company's Board and management team have held more than 30 telephonic, in-person or video meetings with Land & Buildings... The Brookdale Board of Directors unanimously recommends that stockholders vote on the WHITE proxy card "FOR" both of Brookdale's new, independent and highly qualified Class II director nominees, Victoria Freed and Guy Sansone. Stockholders should simply discard and NOT vote using any blue proxy card you may receive from Land & Buildings."

09:22 EDT Blink Charging deploys first EV charging stations in Greece - Blink Charging Hellas, a Greek entity that Blink Charging owns together with Eunice Energy Group and others, announced its first deployment of Blink electric vehicle charging stations in Greece, as part of the green energy electrification of the Rio-Antirrio "Charilaos Trikoupis" Bridge. The electrification of the bridge is an initiative of WE ENERGY, a member of Eunice Energy Group that is dedicated to the development and widespread use of renewable energy. In the coming months, Blink intends to deploy additional EV charging stations, both level 2 and DC fast chargers, across Greece.

09:15 EDT Comtech awarded $3.7M in orders for SSPAs - Comtech Telecommunications announced that during Q4, its Santa Clara, California-based subsidiary, Comtech Xicom Technology, which is part of Comtech's Commercial Solutions segment, received multiple orders valued at more than $3.7M for solid-state power amplifiers, or SSPAs, for the commercial in-flight connectivity market.

09:05 EDT VERB completes CRM integration into 17 direct sales back-office providers - VERB Technology Company announced that it has completed the integration of its interactive video-based CRM with 17 direct sales back-office provider systems. Direct sales back-office systems provide many of the support functions required for direct sales operations, including payroll, customer genealogy management, statistics, rankings, and earnings, among other direct sales financial tracking capabilities. Integration into these back-end platforms accelerates the adoption of VERB's CRM application by large direct sales enterprises that rely on these systems.

08:59 EDT Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: McDermott (MDR), up 56% after announcing that it recently received unsolicited approaches to acquire all or part of Lummus Technology, with valuations exceeding $2.5B... California Resources (CRC), up 23% after Bloomberg reported the company said it is not considering restructuring, refuting a report published yesterday afternoon... Etsy (ETSY), up 2% after RBC Capital analyst Shweta Khajuria upgraded shares to Outperform from Sector Perform with a price target of $68. The analyst, who admits there's some risk to estimates in the second half of 2019, views the stock's risk/reward as attractive. UP AFTER EARNINGS: Steelcase (SCS), up 3%. LOWER: Xilinx (XLNX), down 3% after announcing CFO Lorenzo Flores is stepping down in October... Wayfair (W), down 2% after Berenberg analyst Graham Renwick initiated coverage of the stock with a Sell rating and $100 price target. Wayfair has been a success story and "disruptive force" in home and living, however its "first-mover advantages are being eroded as competition intensifies," Renwick tells investors in a research note.

08:38 EDT Dave & Buster's raises quarterly cash dividend by 7% to 16c per share - Dave & Buster's Entertainment announced that the Company's Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 16c per common share, which represents an approximately 7% increase over the previous quarterly cash dividend of 15c per share. This cash dividend is payable on November 11, 2019 to shareholders of record on October 11, 2019.

08:35 EDT Novan awarded approximately $1.1M grant by DoD - Novan announced that the company has received a grant from the U.S. Department of Defense's, DoD, Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs, CDMRP,of approximately $1.1M as part of its Peer Reviewed Cancer Research Program. The grant will support the development of a product candidate,WH504, for the treatment of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia, CIN, with well-characterized physical chemical properties suitable for intravaginal administration. In addition, the grant will support the evaluation of the effect of varying concentrations and treatment durations of berdazimer sodium, NVN1000, against HPV-18 in human raft cell culture in vitro studies. There are, currently, no FDA-approved therapeutics indicated to treat CIN. The current standard of care is "watch and wait" or in-office procedures depending on severity. This targeted research aims to create a disease-altering treatment that could be used upon detection and the early signs of high-risk HPV infection to intervene before progression to cervical cancer. This grant is in addition to the previously announced National Institute of Health Phase 1 grant of approximately $223,000 for the development of a separate product candidate. Both product candidates will represent core initiatives within the previously announced Novan women's health business unit.

08:20 EDT Calumet Specialty Products CFO West Griffin to leave role - Calumet Specialty Products announced that West Griffin, the company's CFO since January 2017, will be leaving his role as CFO by the end of the year. Griffin is expected to complete the remaining milestones associated with his position in the next few months. Griffin has agreed to serve in a consulting role through the closing of the financial process for FY19 to ensure an orderly transition to the next CFO. The company is nearing the conclusion of its search process for a new CFO with a finance and chemicals background who can help guide Calumet through the next phase of its transformation.

08:14 EDT Pfizer, EMD Serono announce CHMP opinion recommending approval of Bavencio - EMD Serono and Pfizer announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, of the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, adopted an opinion recommending approval of Bavencio in combination with axitinib for the first-line treatment of adult patients with advanced renal cell carcinoma, or RCC. The opinion was based on findings from the Phase III JAVELIN Renal 101 study, which demonstrated a extension in median progression-free survival and a clinically meaningful improvement in objective response rate for the combination across all prognostic risk groups compared with sunitinib. The CHMP opinion will be reviewed by the European Commission, with a decision anticipated in Q4. EMD Serono and Pfizer have a global strategic alliance to jointly develop and commercialize Bavencio.

08:05 EDT CareDx launches AlloSeq Tx 17 at ASHI/BANFF meeting - CareDx will launch AlloSeq Tx 17 during the American Society for Histocompatibility and Immunogenetics and Banff Foundation for Allograft Pathology's Joint meeting. AlloSeq Tx is a NGS HLA typing solution utilizing hybrid capture technology. This technology enables comprehensive sequencing, covering more of the HLA genes than current solutions and adding coverage of non-HLA genes that may impact transplant patient matching and management. Additionally, CareDx solutions will be featured in the oral presentation, "Genetic Matching for Transplantation using Capture Probes: Comprehensive and Flexible Targeted Gene Sequencing Methodology for Human Leukocyte Antigen Genes and Beyond" and the poster abstract "Allelic Dropout in Next Generation Sequencing Resolved by Next Generation Hybrid Capture Technology."

07:09 EDT McDermott soars after saying Lummus unit received unsolicited approaches - Shares of McDermott International are surging after the company announced that it recently received unsolicited approaches to acquire all or part of Lummus Technology, with valuations exceeding $2.5B. "Based on the receipt of these approaches, McDermott is exploring strategic alternatives to unlock the value of Lummus Technology while maintaining the strategic rationale of engineering, procurement and construction pull-through," the company said in a statement. Lummus Technology is a licensor of proprietary petrochemicals, refining, gasification and gas processing technologies, and a supplier of proprietary catalysts and related engineering. David Dickson, CEO of McDermott, noted, "The process of exploring strategic alternatives is part of our ongoing efforts intended to improve McDermott's capital structure, and we plan to use the proceeds from any transaction involving Lummus Technology to strengthen our balance sheet. While Lummus is an important business within McDermott, we have decided to undertake a process to fully realize its strategic and financial value." Separately, McDermott's previously announced processes to sell the remaining portion of its pipe fabrication business and its industrial storage tank business are ongoing, the company added. McDermott has retained Evercore as the lead advisor on the strategic alternatives process for Lummus Technology. Shares of McDermott are u p 46%, or 72c, to $2.30 in premarket trading.

07:04 EDT Alcoa announces USW members ratified new labor agreement at 5 locations - Alcoa announced that members of the United Steelworkers, or USW, have ratified a new labor agreement, covering approximately 1,700 active employees at five U.S. locations. The company and the union leadership tentatively agreed on August 30 to the terms of the four-year contract, subject to ratification by the union's members. The USW announced the outcome of that vote on Thursday, September 19. The new agreement, which is now in effect, covers employees represented by the USW at Warrick Operations in Indiana, Massena Operations in New York, Gum Springs in Arkansas, Wenatchee Works in Washington, and Point Comfort in Texas. Alcoa expects additional operating expenses only in Q3 of approximately $10M, or 5c per share, related to the ratification of the agreement.

07:03 EDT AC Immune receives first milestone payment of CHF30M from Eli Lilly - AC Immune (ACIU) announced that it will receive the first milestone payment of CHF30M from Eli Lilly and Company (LLY) on or before October 7, 2019. This payment is a recognition of progress in the collaboration between the two companies and follows initiation in July 2019 of the Phase 1 study of ACI-3024, a first-in-class investigational oral small molecule Tau Morphomer in development for treatment of Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative disorders. A second milestone payment of CHF30 million is scheduled in Q1 2020 linked to achievement of further development milestones. ACI-3024 is the lead molecule being developed in the license and collaboration agreement between AC Immune and Lilly to research and develop small molecule Tau aggregation inhibitors for the treatment of AD and other neurodegenerative diseases. The collaboration combines AC Immune's proprietary Morphomer discovery platform and early development experience with Lilly's established clinical development expertise and commercial capabilities in central nervous system disorders. Under the agreement AC Immune is conducting the initial Phase 1 development of the Morphomer Tau aggregation inhibitors while Lilly will fund and conduct additional research and further clinical development. The Phase 1 trial initiated in July is a randomized, placebo controlled, double blind, sequential single and multiple ascending dose study that aims to assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics of ACI-3024 in healthy volunteers.

06:53 EDT Regeneron, Sanofi announce CHMP positive opinion for Dupixent - Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) and Sanofi (SNY) announced that the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, has adopted a positive opinion for Dupixent in a third indication. The CHMP recommended Dupixent be approved as an add-on therapy with intranasal corticosteroids for the treatment of adults with severe chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyposis for whom therapy with systemic corticosteroids and/or surgery do not provide adequate disease control. If approved, Dupixent would be the first biologic medicine available in the European Union to treat these patients. The positive CHMP opinion is based on two pivotal Phase 3 trials that evaluated Dupixent 300 mg every two weeks plus standard-of-care intranasal corticosteroids compared to placebo plus intranasal corticosteroids. A final decision on the Dupixent application by the European Commission is expected in the coming months.

06:49 EDT Eli Lilly announces CHMP opinion recommending update to Trulicity label - Eli Lilly announced that the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, issued an opinion recommending an update to the Trulicity label and indication statement. The committee agreed the label should include results from the REWIND cardiovascular outcomes trial, which achieved a 12% risk reduction in major adverse cardiovascular events, or MACE. The CHMP has recommended updating the Trulicity indication to reflect both glycemic control and the impact on cardiovascular events as fundamental considerations in a treatment for people with type 2 diabetes. Additionally, the updated label will reflect the consistent MACE risk reduction with Trulicity across major demographic and disease subgroups.

06:05 EDT Trump says 'nice meeting with' Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg - President Donald Trump said last night via Twitter: "Nice meeting with Mark Zuckerberg of @facebook in the Oval Office today." Reference Link