Stockwinners Market Radar for April 19, 2017 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

19:40 EDT Rio Tinto backs 2017 Pilbara shipments 330M-340M tonnes - Cuts 2017 mined copper production to 500-550 thousand tonnes from 525-665 thousand tonnes "as a result of industrial action at Escondida and the curtailment of production at Grasberg."

19:11 EDT Encana says 'firmly on track' to maximize Montney asset - Encana issued the following statement: "Encana continues to successfully advance its five-year plan which it expects will deliver industry-leading cash flow growth and returns. The company's Montney asset plays an integral part in this plan and will contribute significant high-value condensate, non-GAAP cash flow and margin growth. The company has made significant recent progress adding further value to this asset... Our world-class, condensate-rich Montney asset keeps getting better and we believe there is opportunity for significant upside to our five-year plan." The company continued, "By 2019, Encana expects its Montney asset will produce approximately 70,000 barrels per day of liquids, of which the majority will be high-margin condensate. Throughout the growth period the plan is fully self-funding. Over the course of its five-year plan, at flat $55 WTI and $3 NYMEX prices, Encana expects its drilling program will generate non-GAAP operating margins of approximately $14 per barrel of oil equivalent. Across Encana's condensate-rich areas of the Montney, the company's latest completion designs are delivering 60-day initial production rates of between 500 bbls/d to 1,200 bbls/d of condensate. Encana now has four wells in Pipestone which have each produced over 100,000 barrels of condensate in under 100 days. Beginning in 4Q17 and continuing into 2018, new midstream infrastructure and downstream capacity is expected to unlock significant cash flow growth... The company expects that its total net Montney production by 2019 will be over 70,000 bbls/d of liquids and 1.2B cubic feet per day of natural gas."

18:47 EDT AMC Entertainment sees EPS impacted by expenses from recent acquisitions - AMC Entertainment providing financial disclosure primarily related to its three recent acquisitions. The company expects adjusted EBITDA to exceed the current FACTSET EBITDA consensus estimate for Q1. EPS is expected to be impacted by expenses related to AMC's three recent acquisitions. Depreciation and amortization expense for 2017 is expected to increase vs. 2016 as a result of an increase in depreciable assets related primarily to the Odeon Cinemas Group and Carmike Cinemas acquisitions, 2016 CapEx and an anticipated increase in 2017 CapEx. For Q1, depreciation and amortization expense is expected to be $125.0M-$130.0M. 2017 interest expense is expected to increase vs. 2016 as a result of additional borrowings related to the Odeon, Carmike and Nordic acquisitions. Q1 interest expense is expected to be $62.0M-$65.0M. Q1 merger and acquisition expense is expected to increase year-over-year. Q1 merger and acquisition expense is expected to be $40.0M-$43.0M. 2017 average shares outstanding is expected to increase vs. 2016. Q1 average diluted shares outstanding are expected to be between 121.0M-123.0M shares.

18:14 EDT DGSE Companies enters non-binding LOI to acquire Elemetal Recycling assets - DGSE Companies announced that it has entered into a non-binding Letter of Intent with Elemetal, LLC to acquire the tangible personal-property assets of Elemetal and Elemetal Recycling at 2101 W. Belt Line Road, Carrollton, Texas, the equipment at 10707 Composite Drive, Dallas, and certain accounts receivable of Recycling. The total estimated cash proceeds to Elemetal and Recycling from the sale and from the payment by DGSE of approximately $3.8M of obligations owed by DGSE to Elemetal is $19.8M. In addition, DGSE would assume certain accounts payable of Recycling. No definitive agreement has been reached, and there can be no assurance that a definitive agreement will be reached. DGSE Board of Directors approval would be required for such definitive agreement. Elemetal currently holds an approximately 49% interest in DGSE.

18:06 EDT Suncor provides update on return to service plan for Syncrude Mildred Lake - Suncor today provided an update on the Syncrude Mildred Lake Oil Sands facility following the March 14 incident. Syncrude has developed a repair schedule and return to service plan that includes the completion of a planned turnaround which Syncrude advanced in order to minimize the impact of the outage. The plant is currently operating at reduced rates and Suncor will continue to assist in inventory management. The investigation and inspection show that damage was largely isolated to a piperack adjacent to the hydrotreater. An accelerated repair schedule has been developed to achieve restart of pipeline shipments at approximately 50% capacity in early May and production is expected to return to full rates by the end of June. Suncor does not expect this outage to result in a change to overall production guidance for 2017 as strong production from oil sands and offshore operations is expected to offset the impact.

18:04 EDT Celanese increases specific product prices in Asia and Europe - Celanese will increase list and off-list selling prices for vinyl acetate monomer in Asia and Ethyl Acetate in Europe in view of recent market conditions. The price increases will be effective immediately, or as contracts otherwise allow. Vinyl acetate monomer will increase by 300 RMB/MT in East China, by 350 RMB/MT in East China and by $100/MT in Asia Outside China. Ethyl Acetate will increase by EUR125/MT in Europe.

18:02 EDT Booz Allen, others awarded $231M government contract - Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH), McLean, Virginia; Cubic Global Defense (CUB), San Diego, California; General Dynamics Information Technology (GD), Fairfax, Virginia; Logistics and Technology Services, Huntsville, Alabama; Beshenich Muir and Associates, Leavenworth, Kansas; nFocus Solutions, Phoenix, Arizona; Training Technologies and Support, Leavenworth, Kansas; Trideum, Huntsville, Alabama; Yorktown Systems Group, Huntsville, Alabama; and Leidos (LDOS), Reston, Virginia, will share in a $231M firm-fixed-price contract for non-personal services in support of the Army Combined Arms Center to help it accomplish its mission to develop and produce training and education strategies; scientific human subject studies; doctrine; concepts; instruction; and products for the current and future force. Bids were solicited via the Internet with 26 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of April 19, 2022. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Fort Eustis, Virginia, is the contracting activity.

18:00 EDT East West Bancorp still sees 2017 loan loss provision $40M-$50M - Sees FY17 end of period loansup at in the low double digits, an increase from previous outlook of loan growth in the high single digits. Raises FY17 net interest margin view to 3.35%-3.45% from previous outlook of 3.20%-3.40%.

17:54 EDT Adeptus Health collaborates with Deerfield for debt restructuring plan - Adeptus Health has collaborated with Deerfield Management and certain of its other creditors on the terms of a comprehensive financial restructuring plan expected to significantly reduce the outstanding debt under the company's existing credit facility. To implement the restructuring, Adeptus filed voluntary petitions for relief under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division, to pursue a plan of reorganization. While Adeptus Health's wholly-owned subsidiaries are included in the court-supervised restructuring process, the joint venture entities to which Adeptus is a party are not part of the court-supervised process. Through this restructuring, it is expected that ownership of the company will transition to Deerfield. Deerfield is a 23-year-old firm focused on advancing healthcare care through investment, information and philanthropy with over $8B in assets. All of the company's owned and joint-venture freestanding emergency rooms are continuing to operate as normal. Adeptus has also received a commitment from Deerfield for $45M in debtor-in-possession inancing, which is expected to support the company's operations during the court-supervised restructuring process. Upon completion of the restructuring, it is also expected that Deerfield will provide the company with additional funding and support. The Company intends to pay vendors for goods and services provided after the filing date, April 19.

17:53 EDT U.S. Steel falls as recovery in energy sector falters - Shares of U.S. Steel (X) closed lower, along with the price of crude oil. With U.S. Steel's prospects so closely tied to crude prices, shares of the steel maker fell with the drop in crude, after stockpiles dropped less than expected in the latest week. U.S. oil prices almost 4% percent Wednesday with an intraday low of $50.28 per barrel. JOINED AT THE HIP WITH CRUDE: The rate of oil and gas production in the U.S.is closely aligned with U.S. Steel's Tubular Products sales. The Tubular Products unit produces and sells seamless and electric resistance welded steel casing and tubing known in the industry as, oil country tubular goods or OCTG. the company also provides OCTG rig site services.TUBULAR OUTLOOK: With its Q4 earnings report back in January, the company said it sees results for its Flat-Rolled, European, and Tubular segments to be higher than 2016. On its Q4 earnings call, the CEO of U.S Steel commented on the segment: "I would start by saying, we believe we hit bottom for sure in that particular segment. What has been inspiring I would say, is the fact that if you go back to May, we were running about half the number of rigs that we're running right now. The tendency should be to continue to increase. From that perspective, we're going to be utilizing our assets much better." Following its Q4 results, BofA/Merrill upgraded U.S. Steel to Buy from Neutral. Analyst Timna Tanners raised her 2017 EBITDA estimate to $1.3B from $1.1B, versus consensus of $1.2B, at the time, to reflect improving Tubular ops results from rising U.S. rig count and rising oil country tubular good prices. The analyst said a recovery in Tubular is not incorporated in management guidance and cost pressures are now known, providing an attractive buying opportunity in U.S. Steel shares. FADING TRUMP TRADE: Recently shares of U.S steel, along with other steel-makers, lost their post-election mojo after President Trump's efforts to amend current health care legislation failed. Also contributing to the the slide in U.S Steel's stock price was the new presidents recent budget proposals hinted at cuts to the Department of Transportation's spending and Amtrak subsidy plans in addition to sluggish demand from China. On March 29, Cowen analyst Novid Rassouli sand the sentiment in steel stocks has deteriorated following the drop in oil prices, the non-repeal of ACA, and tightening Chinese credit. Rassouli said U.S. HRC prices may come under near-term pressure due to widening domestic versus international spreads and failing scrap prices, leading to additional downside in steel names. The analyst said U.S. Steel and AK Steel (AKS) are the most levered to HRC prices, ArcelorMittal (MT) could see additional downside if iron ore prices continue lower, and views Steel Dynamics (STLD) and Nucor (NUE) as defensive plays given lower fixed cost structures. BUY AMERICAN: On Tuesday, the White House published President Donald Trump's "Buy American and Hire American" executive order, which was also signed on Tuesday. The order directs the executive branch to buy American goods and products and hire American workers. The order adds that all agencies must "scrupulously monitor, enforce, and comply with Buy American Laws," and asks that any waivers to the rules "take appropriate account of whether a significant portion of the cost advantage of a foreign-sourced product is the result of the use of dumped steel, iron, or manufactured goods. PRICE ACTION: Shares of U.S Steel closed down over 1% to $28.42 per share.

17:43 EDT On The Fly: After Hours Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Select Comfort (SCSS), up 13.1%... Datawatch (DWCH), up 12.7%... Sallie Mae (SLM), up 8.4%... CSX (CSX), up 2.8%... American Express (AXP), up 2.5%... Qualcomm (QCOM), up 2.5%... Kaiser Aluminum (KALU), up 1.3%. ALSO HIGHER: Sorrento Therapeutics (SRNE), up 9.4% after president and CEO Henry Ji disclosed the purchase of 100,000 shares of common stock... AIG (AIG), up 0.9% after it said it sees an estimated nominal pre-tax deferred gain of $2.6B in connection with the adverse development cover entered into with Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A). DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Plexus (PLXS), down 10.7%... United Rentals (URI), down 6%... Texas Capital (TCBI), down 5.7%... eBay (EBAY), down 2%. ALSO LOWER: Westar (WR), down 8.4% after the Kansas Corporation Commission rejected Great Plains' (GXP) application to acquire the company... Whitestone REIT (WSR), down 5.5% after it filed to sell 8.1M shares of common stock... TCP Capital (TCPC), down 3% after it announced an offering of 5M shares of common stock.

17:40 EDT Qualcomm: 'Seeing strong demand exceeding supply' for Snapdragon 835

17:29 EDT Sorrento Therapeutics CEO discloses purchase of 100,000 common shares - In a regulatory filing, Sorrento Therapeutics president and CEO Henry Ji disclosed the purchase of 100,000 common shares at a price of $2.00 per share. The transaction brings Ji's total direct common stock ownership to 139,776 shares.

17:26 EDT Select Comfort sees accelerating EPS growth, shareholder returns in 2017 - Says "confident" company grew market share in Q1. Says increased media spending by 7% in Q1. Says has strengthened in-house digital capabilities. Says planning price increases only on ancillary items. Says on the cusp of delivering new drivers of leverage. Sees another record year of operating cash flows in 2017. Sees accelerating earnings growth and returns to shareholders in 2017. Comments taken from Q1 earnings conference call.

17:13 EDT Diplomat Pharmacy selected to dispense Zejula - Diplomat Pharmacy (DPLO) has been selected to the specialty pharmacy panel to distribute Zejula for women with recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer. The FDA recently approved Zejula as a once-daily oral maintenance treatment for women with recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer who are in a complete or partial response to platinum based chemotherapy. Zejula is the first poly ADP-ribose polymerase inhibitor to be approved by the FDA that does not require BRCA mutation or other biomarker testing. Zejula is manufactured by Tesaro (TSRO). Tesaro anticipates launching Zejula in the U.S. in late April.

17:03 EDT Turquoise Hill: Oyu Tolgoi production seen at 130K-160K tons of copper for FY17 - Oyu Tolgoi is expected to produce 130,000 to 160,000 tonnes of copper and 100,000 to 140,000 ounces of gold in concentrates for 2017. Open-pit operations are expected to mine in Phases 4 and 6 during the year. In addition, stockpiled ore will be processed during the year. The lower production when compared to 2016 is primarily the result of approximately one-quarter less copper head grade and approximately one-half less gold head grade. During 2016, the mine plan for Phase 4 was divided into two stages, referred to as Phases 4A and 4B, in expectation of reaching the high-grade gold zone of Phase 4 around mid-2018. Accordingly, mine stripping for 2017 will focus on Phase 4A.

17:02 EDT Turquoise Hill reports Q1 average daily throughput 112,100 tonnes - During Q1'17, open-pit operations focused mainly on Phase 6, which has higher copper grades but relatively low gold grades. Ore treated during Q1'17 increased 2.7% over Q4'16 and average daily throughput of 112,100 tonnes for Q1'17 increased 5.1% over Q4'16. Copper production for Q1'17 decreased 16.3% over Q4'16 and Q1'17 gold production decreased 49.0% over Q4'16 due to lower grade and recoveries at the lower end of the grade recovery curve.

17:01 EDT Devon Energy promotes Jeff Ritenour as CFO - Devon Energy has elected Jeff Ritenour, most recently Devon's senior VP of corporate finance, investor relations and treasurer, to the position of executive VP and CFO. Ritenour has been with Devon since 2001 and has served in his most recent role since 2016. Devon's incumbent CFO, Tom Mitchell, is leaving the company to pursue other interests. His departure is not related to any issues regarding financial disclosures, accounting matters or business issues.

16:55 EDT Select Comfort targets EPS of $2.75 by FY19 - Says targeting roughly $800M in adjusted EBITDA from 2016-2019. Says targeting roughly $750M in cash flow from operations from 2016-2019. Says targeting high single digit CAGR for net sales by 2019. Comments taken from April Investor Presentation slides.

16:38 EDT Xilinx says Virtex UltraScale+ FPGAs available in Amazon EC2 F1 instances - Xilinx (XLNX) announced that its high-performance Xilinx Virtex UltraScale+ FPGAs are available in Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud F1 instances. This instance provides programmable hardware acceleration with FPGAs and enables users to optimize their compute resources for the unique requirements of their workloads.

16:36 EDT Tesaro says ZEJULA 200mg wholesale cost $9,833 per month - Tesaro announced that the Wholesale Acquisition Cost of ZEJULA is $9,833 for a one-month supply of ZEJULA at a dose of 200 milligrams once per day, the most commonly administered dose over the course of the Phase 3 NOVA clinical trial. The approved starting dose of ZEJULA is 300 milligrams once per day.

16:34 EDT CSX says CEO Harrison will also assume title of President - On April 19, CSX announced that E. Hunter Harrison, the company's Chief Executive Officer, will also assume the title of President, effective immediately. Fredrik J. Eliasson, who assumed the title of President during the transition phase prior to Mr. Harrison's appointment as CEO, will continue to serve as Executive Vice President and Chief Sales and Marketing Officer of the Company. As previously disclosed by the Company in a Current Report on Form 8-K, dated March 7, 2017, Mr. Harrison was appointed as CEO of the Company on March 6.

16:29 EDT Law firm says reaches $28.25M settlement in Harman securities suit - Law firm Cohen Milstein, lead counsel in a class action lawsuit against Harman, announced a $28.25M settlement in a securities class action suit led by the Arkansas Public Employees' Retirement System. The case was brought on behalf of a class of investors who purchased Harman stock between April 26, 2007 and February 5, 2008. "The suit alleged that Harman repeatedly issued false and misleading statements about the state of its Personal Navigation Devices business, causing its common stock to trade at artificially inflated prices," the firm said. Last month, Samsung Electronics announced that it had completed its acquisition of Harman.

16:28 EDT Qualcomm says NXP Semiconductors acquisition expected to close by 2017-end - The company said, "On October 27, 2016, we announced a definitive agreement to acquire NXP Semiconductors N.V. for estimated total cash to be paid to shareholders of $38 billion. NXP is a leader in high-performance, mixed-signal semiconductor electronics in automotive, broad-based microcontrollers, secure identification, network processing and RF power products. The transaction is expected to close by the end of calendar 2017 and is subject to receipt of regulatory approvals in various jurisdictions and other closing conditions. We intend to fund the transaction with cash held by foreign entities, which will result in the use of a substantial portion of our cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, and new debt."

16:26 EDT Qualcomm Q2 estimated reported 3G/4G device shipments 398M-402M, up 19% y/y - Up 20% sequentially. Estimated Q2 reported 3G/4G average selling price $204-$210, up 10%, sequentially.

16:25 EDT CPS Technologies shareholder Horton Capital Partners issues shareholder letter - CPS Technologies shareholders Horton Capital Partners Fund, with ownership of approximately 5% of the common stock, has published a presentation urging the company's shareholders to vote against the company's current slate of directors at the upcoming Annual Meeting of Shareholders on May 5. Horton states that it "believes CPS has significant potential but has continually and significantly underperformed its comparable peer group by a differential of at least 100% over the past 1, 3, 5 and 10 years". Since going public with its concerns last December, Horton has received encouraging, positive feedback from approximately 25% of the shareholder base who are also supportive of meaningful change (...) This year's shareholder vote matters more than ever as the company has recently adopted Horton's majority voting proposal for the election of Directors. Horton urges CPS shareholders to send a clear message to the Board that the status quo is no longer acceptable by voting 'AGAINST' the company's current nominees for Directors".

16:21 EDT Tesaro announces availability of Zejula in U.S. - Tesaro announced that Zejula, an oral, once-daily poly polymerase inhibitor, is now available by prescription in the United States. The FDA approved Zejula on March 27 for the maintenance treatment of adult patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer who are in a complete or partial response to platinum-based chemotherapy. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network recently added Zejula to the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology Ovarian Cancer as maintenance therapy for patients with platinum-sensitive disease who are in partial or complete response after completion of two or more lines of platinum-based therapy.

16:20 EDT Qualcomm CEO says delivered 'strong results' - "We delivered strong results this quarter, with healthy year-over-year growth across our QTL licensing and QCT semiconductor businesses, especially in the important automotive, networking and IoT growth areas," said Steve Mollenkopf, CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated. "Our performance reflects continued execution of our strategy to lead the mobile industry across a broad set of technologies, including advanced LTE and 5G, and accelerate our growth opportunities beyond mobile into automotive, IoT, security and networking." Mollenkopf added, "We will continue to protect the value of our technologies, which enables today'srobust mobile communications ecosystem, and invest in R&D that will drive the leading edge of mobile computing and connectivity for decades to come - focusing on areas where our technologies will have the most impact and generate the best returns. With our leading technology roadmap and pending acquisition of NXP, we are positioned to address a larger set of opportunities ahead than any other time in our history."

16:20 EDT Walgreens Boots Alliance names Jose Almeida to board of directors - Walgreen Boots Alliance (WBA) announced that Jose E. Almeida, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Baxter International (BAX), has been elected to its board of directors effective immediately. Almeida, who joins the board as an independent director, becomes the board's 11th member. Almeida has more than 25 years of experience in health care, including medical devices, consumer health products, surgical instruments and biopharmaceuticals. He has an extensive background in public company governance and has handled a wide range of issues, including risk management, talent development, executive compensation and succession planning. Almeida has served as chairman and chief executive officer of Baxter, a global medical products company, since January 2016. From May 2015 to October 2015 he served as an operating executive with The Carlyle Group, a global investment firm.

16:19 EDT eBay reports Q1 GMV up 2% to $20.9B - eBay reports Q1 gross merchandise volume, or GMV, of $20.9B, increasing 2% on an as-reported basis and 5% on a foreign exchange neutral basis. The Marketplace platforms delivered $20.0B of GMV. Marketplace GMV was up 2% on an as-reported basis and 5% on an FX-Neutral basis, driven by growth of active buyers, continued expansion of new user experiences and brand advertising, which led to revenue growth of 2% on an as-reported basis and 5% on an FX-Neutral basis. StubHub drove GMV of $916M, up 6%.

16:18 EDT Exponent sees expect modest top-line growth for year - "While our first quarter results were better than expected, we continue to expect modest top-line growth due to the adjustment in headcount during the second half of 2016 and market conditions in a few industry sectors. As we previously discussed, we expect 2017 revenues before reimbursements to grow in the low to mid-single digits and EBITDA2 margin to decline by approximately 25 to 75 basis points, as compared to 2016," commented Richard Schlenker, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "Although our growth will be modest in 2017, our long-term value proposition remains strong. Exponent continues to be retained by a diversified portfolio of marquee clients for engagements spanning a wide range of industry sectors. Our unique multi-disciplinary team provides solutions to improve reliability and safety of technologically complex products and processes. We believe we are well positioned for long-term growth and are committed to delivering value to our clients and stakeholders," concluded Dr. Johnston.

16:18 EDT Qualcomm sees Q3 MSM chip shipments 180M-200M - Sees Q3 total reported device sales approximately $59B-$67B.

16:16 EDT American Express says acquired 2.6M new cards across global issuing businesses

16:15 EDT Cartesian in letter agreement to end Farncombe deferred consideration - Cartesian has entered into a letter agreement with the sellers of Farncombe agreeing to a final determination of the remaining consideration payable to the sellers. Under the Share Purchase Agreement entered into on July 22, 2015, the purchase consideration for the capital stock of Farncombe included, in addition to consideration payable at closing, deferred consideration payable in cash after closing upon determination of the net working capital of Farncombe and the contingent right of the sellers to receive additional cash and shares of Cartesian stock pursuant to a two-year earn-out based upon the performance of Farncombe after closing. In the letter agreement, Cartesian and Farncombe have agreed to a final determination of the deferred consideration. The parties have also agreed that the earn-out target is expected to be achieved, and that Cartesian will pay to the sellers of Farncombe the full amount of the earn-out in cash and shares of Cartesian stock by no later than July 31, 2017. The earn-out amount, including the value of the stock component, was set at the time of the acquisition of Farncombe by Cartesian. "After two years of strong performance from Farncombe, we are pleased to finally bring this consideration process to a close and officially consolidate the two corporate entities," said Cartesian CEO, Peter Woodward. "Farncombe's ability to achieve its full earn-out target is a testament to not only its impeccable reputation in the video delivery space, but also to the managerial strength of the unit's principals who have collectively guided the company towards continued growth and success. Looking ahead, we will continue to leverage Farncombe's expertise in OTT and other video services and the network competencies to drive additional cross-selling opportunities."

16:13 EDT American Express says Q1 Global Merchant Services net income up 2% to $363M - Reports Q1 Global Merchant Services revenues net of interest expense down 2% to $1.1B.

16:12 EDT American Express says Q1 Intl. Consumer, Network net income up 16% to $218M - Reports Q1 International Consumer and Network Services revenues net of interest expense up 6% ex-currency to $1.4B. "The increase primarily reflected higher Card Member spending, net card fees and loans." Reports International Consumer and Network Services provisions for losses totaled $66M, down 7%.

16:10 EDT Alcoa consolidates administrative locations - Alcoa announced that it will consolidate administrative locations around the globe as it continues to streamline the Company and lower costs. Alcoa will close its New York City office and move its global headquarters and principal executive office to its existing location in Pittsburgh as of September 1, 2017. In addition, within the next 18 months, another seven administrative locations across the U.S., Europe and Asia will also close and affected employees will relocate to remaining office locations or operating facilities or will telecommute. As a result of today's announcement, Alcoa expects annual savings of $5M in corporate overhead once the changes are fully implemented. As part of its strategic priority to reduce complexity, earlier this year, Alcoa consolidated its business units. The company combined the aluminum smelting, cast products and rolled products businesses, along with the majority of the energy segment assets, into a new Alcoa Aluminum business unit. The company's three business units are Alcoa Bauxite, Alcoa Alumina and Alcoa Aluminum.

16:07 EDT Kinder Morgan backs FY17 adjusted EBITDA view of roughly $7.2B - For 2017, KMI expects to declare dividends of 50c per share, achieve distributable cash flow of approximately $4.46B and Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $7.2B. KMI also expects to invest $3.2B in growth projects during 2017, to be funded with internally generated cash flow without the need to access equity markets, and to end the year with a net debt-to-Adjusted EBITDA ratio of approximately 5.4 times. KMI's 2017 budget assumes a joint venture partner on the Trans Mountain expansion project and contributions from that partner to fund its share of growth capital, but does not include any potential proceeds in excess of the partner's share of expansion capital to recognize the value created in developing the project to this stage. KMI does not provide budgeted net income attributable to common stockholders due to the inherent difficulty and impracticality of predicting certain amounts required by GAAP, such as ineffectiveness on commodity, interest rate and foreign currency hedges, unrealized gains and losses on derivatives marked to market, and potential changes in estimates for certain contingent liabilities.

16:06 EDT SRC Energy converts to three-stream reporting - Beginning with Q1, SRC will report production using a 3-stream sales reporting method. Previously SRC reported production on a 2-stream wellhead sales reporting method. The conversion should more accurately convey the company's production metrics and provide more comparable results versus SRC's peers, as well as conform to industry convention. The conversion results in an uplift to barrels of oil equivalent volumes as natural gas liquids and dry gas volumes will be disclosed separately whereas previously SRC only disclosed wet gas volumes. This has no material impact on revenues as NGL revenues will replace the premium to benchmark Henry Hub prices that the company realized historically on its wet gas sales volumes.

16:05 EDT Canadian Pacific CEO 'cautiously optimistic' demand environment improving - Keith Creel, CP's President and CEO said, "We turned a corner in March and are now seeing positive volumes, which makes us cautiously optimistic that the demand environment is improving. CP's strong focus on developing its bench strength resulted in a seamless leadership transition and a seasoned executive team that is focused on leveraging CP's proven operating model."

15:53 EDT Toyota unveils zero-emission heavy truck system - Toyota (TM) revealed "Project Portal" Wednesday, a hydrogen fuel cell system designed for heavy duty truck use. "The zero-emission truck proof of concept will take part in a feasibility study examining the potential of fuel cell technology in heavy duty applications. The study will begin this summer... The truck generates more than 670 horsepower and 1325 pound feet of torque from two Mirai fuel cell stacks and a 12kWh battery, a relatively small battery to support class 8 load operations. The concept's gross combined weight capacity is 80,000 lbs., and its estimated driving range is more than 200 miles per fill, under normal drayage operation," the company noted. On April 13, Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk tweeted: "Tesla Semi truck unveil set for September. Team has done an amazing job. Seriously next level." Reference Link

15:39 EDT Credit Suisse gets bullish on Coca-Cola with many M&A opportunities seen - In a research note this morning, Credit Suisse analyst Laurent Grandet upgraded Coca-Cola (KO) to Outperform, citing the arrival of incoming CEO James Quincey, who takes over next month, and the company's nearly complete refranchising. Further, the analyst sees several strategic M&A opportunities to bolster Coca-Cola's portfolio. COKE TO BE SUCCESSFUL AGAIN: Credit Suisse's Grandet upgraded Coca-Cola to Outperform from Neutral and raised his price target on the shares to $49 from $44. With incoming CEO James Quincey taking over on May 1, the analyst noted that the executive already revealed his desire to build a total beverage portfolio. Moreover, he pointed out that he has heard the phrase "total beverage company" a few times from Quincey and is encouraged by the more open approach to managing the company as an integrated beverages business, willing to go where the consumer wants with "new disruptive offerings." Additionally, now that the refranchising is nearly complete, Coca-Cola is on the path to defining its "new frontier," Grandet contended, adding that he thinks the company has "all the pieces in place to be successful again." The analyst believes Coca-Cola's key competitive advantages are the "strength and breadth of its global system," its dominance in the on-premise channel that can be leveraged to roll out new brands and explore new categories, and its significant balance sheet flexibility to invest in the business and fill the gaps in the current portfolio. M&A OPPORTUNITIES: Credit Suisse's Grandet also told investors that he expects the new growth agenda will unlock revenue streams coming from existing regional winners such as Smartwater, Honest, Innocent, AdeS, and Georgia coffee. Moreover, the analyst noted that he sees several strategic M&A opportunities to bolster the portfolio and expand the global platform for future growth, potentially including AriZona, General Mills' (GIS) Yoplait, La Croix, which is distributed by a subsidiary of National Beverage (FIZZ), and Monster Beverage (MNST). WHAT'S NOTABLE: Late last year, the beverage sector saw some consolidation. On November 22, Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS) announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire Bai Brands and its complete portfolio of high-growth premium antioxidant infused beverages for $1.7B in cash. PRICE ACTION: In afternoon trading, shares of Coca-Cola have dropped about 0.5% to $43.25.

15:22 EDT Fox News announces schedule changes following departure of O'Reilly - As previously reported, Bill O'Reilly will depart Fox News Channel, effectively immediately. Beginning Monday, April 24, Tucker Carlson Tonight will take over the 8 pm timeslot, broadcasting live from FNC's Washington, DC bureau. The Factor will continue for the remainder of this week at 8 pm ET with guest hosts Dana Perino tonight and Thursday night and Greg Gutfeld on Friday night. Additionally, The Five will move into the 9 pm timeslot starting Monday, Fox News has announced. Fox News Channel is owned by 21st Century Fox.

14:30 EDT Sio Capital reports 5.42% passive stake in Catalyst Biosciences - Sio Capital Management disclosed a new 5.42% stake in Catalyst Biosciences, which represents 168,000 shares. The filing does not allow for activism. Catalyst shares are up 10c to $5.47 in afternoon trading.

14:09 EDT Amazon says named preferred cloud provider by mapping company HERE - Amazon (AMZN) Web Services announced that HERE Technologies, a provider of maps and location services, has disclosed that AWS is its preferred cloud infrastructure provider. "HERE has been using AWS for its core infrastructure and applications for several years, assisting HERE through the rapid growth in its business. HERE has now chosen to build its newest business extensions on AWS... This year, HERE is introducing its first location services that collect and use real-time sensor data from connected vehicles, including brands like Audi (AUDVF), BMW (BAMXY), and Mercedes-Benz (DDAIF)," the company said.

14:03 EDT Amazon's Twitch tests high-priced subscription options - Amazon's videogame-focused livestream service Twitch.tv announced: "We're introducing two additional ways for communities to support their favorite partnered streamers: $9.99 and $24.99 subscriptions. These new subs allow you to support streamers you love, while Partners are able to reward their super fans with perks like special emotes. This program will be launching soon as an opt-in beta." Reference Link

13:49 EDT Norges Bank reports 5.16% passive stake in CyrusOne

13:33 EDT Waterstone Financial declares special dividend of 50c per share - On April 18, 2017 the board of directors of Waterstone Financial declared a special dividend of 50c per common share. "The company has significantly improved profitability over the past few years and achieved record pretax income for the year ending December 31, 2016," said Doug Gordon, CEO of Waterstone Financial, Inc. "We feel that it is appropriate to return our strong earnings to our shareholders in the form of a one-time special dividend. This dividend reflects our efforts to actively manage our capital while maintaining ample capacity to grow organically and pursue potential strategic acquisitions in the future." The dividend is payable on June 2, 2017, to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 12, 2017.

13:22 EDT Alphabet subsidiary Verily launches 'Project Baseline' study - Alphabet life sciences subsidiary Verily announced the launch of the "Project Baseline" study. The company explained: "Verily Life Sciences, an Alphabet company, in partnership with Duke School of Medicine and Stanford Medicine, announced today the initiation of the Project Baseline study, a longitudinal study that will collect broad phenotypic health data from approximately 10,000 participants, who will each be followed over the course of at least four years. The study is the first initiative of Project Baseline, a broader effort designed to develop a well-defined reference, or 'baseline,' of health as well as a rich data platform that may be used to better understand the transition from health to disease and identify additional risk factors for disease. Beyond this initial study, Project Baseline endeavors to test and develop new tools and technologies to access, organize and activate health information... The Project Baseline study will begin enrolling participants at the Stanford and Duke study sites within the next few months." Reference Link

13:14 EDT Rite Aid lower after report says FTC weighing lawsuit - Shares of Rite Aid (RAD) moved lower after Capitol Forum reported, according to Bloomberg, that the Federal Trade Commission is mulling a lawsuit to block the company's planned takeover by Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA). Rite Aid is trading down 7% to $4.15. Shares of Fred's, which is buying Rite Aid stores as part of the deal, is down 6% to $14.22.

12:47 EDT AkzoNobel announces new strategy, special dividend plan, increased 2020 guidance - AkzoNobel (AKZOY) today outlined a new strategy to "accelerate growth and value creation with two focused, high-performing businesses - Paints and Coatings and Specialty Chemicals." Highlights from AkzoNobel's plan include: "Separation of Specialty Chemicals to take place within 12 months; project teams in place. Dual-track process with active consideration of a separate listed entity or sale;" "EUR 150M annual savings resulting from ongoing continuous improvement programs in Paints and Coatings. Additional EUR 50M expected cost savings related to the separation of Specialty Chemicals;" "EUR 1.6B to be returned to shareholders for 2017 via a EUR 1B special dividend combined with a 50% increase to the regular dividend;" "2017 EBIT to be around EUR 100M ahead of 2016 due to significant growth momentum across all Business Areas. Increased 2020 guidance: Paints and Coatings 15% ROS, ROI greater than 25%; Specialty Chemicals 16% ROS, ROI greater than 20%, reflecting continued growth in profitability equivalent to AkzoNobel's current portfolio of 14% ROS and greater than 20% ROI;" "Vast majority of net proceeds from the separation of Specialty Chemicals to be returned to shareholders." PPG (PPG) is pursuing a possible combination with AkzoNobel. Reference Link

12:26 EDT Midland States says Federal Reserve approves Centrue acquisition - Midland States Bancorp (MSBI) announced it has received approval from the Federal Reserve to acquire Centrue Financial Corporation (CFCB) and its wholly owned subsidiary, Centrue Bank. "We believe the transaction provides a tremendous opportunity to expand our presence in our Illinois and St. Louis market," the company remarked. The transaction is expected to close in mid-2017, and remains subject to the approval of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, the approval of Midland's and Centrue's shareholders, and the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions.

11:46 EDT Sonoco Products raises dividend 5.4% to 39c per share - The Board of Directors of Sonoco declared a 39c per share quarterly common stock dividend, a 5.4% increase from the previous quarterly dividend of 37c per share. The dividend will be paid on June 9, to shareholders of record as of May 12. According to Jack Sanders, president and chief executive officer, this is the 35th consecutive year that Sonoco has grown common stock dividends and the 368th consecutive quarter, dating back to 1925, that the Company has paid dividends to shareholders. Over the past three years, Sonoco has increased dividends by a combined 20.5%, or 6.8% per year. "Today's dividend increase further demonstrates our 92-year commitment to returning cash to our shareholders," said Sanders. "I am proud to say that over the past five years, we have returned nearly $900 million to shareholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases."

11:34 EDT Spruce Point sees 50%-60% downside in Wix.com shares - Short seller Spruce Point Capital says via Twitter, "Spruce Pt is pleased to release a short thesis on, $WIX 50%-60% downside, live sprucepointcap.com...$WIX was early mover in freemium website space, landscape set to become increasingly competitive with many new entrants including $ADBE."

10:57 EDT ADTRAN sees gross margins return to mid-to high 40s as year progresses

10:53 EDT ADTRAN says had two 10% of revenue customers in Q1 - One of these customers was domestic, the other international.

10:40 EDT ADTRAN says Q1 international revenue up 97% YoY - Domestic revenue was up 3% YoY in Q1.

10:37 EDT ADTRAN says growth this quarter attributed to Tier 1 business

10:27 EDT Fulton Financial backs FY17 NII guidance of mid-to-high single-digit growth - Backs FY17 Loan and Deposit annual growth rate guidance of mid-to-high single digit growth. Backs FY17 asset quality guidance of provision driven primarily by loan growth. Fulton updated the following guidance: The company now sees modest improvement in Q2 net interest margin. The company now sees quarterly improvement of 3 to 9 basis points during Q3 and Q4 with variability within that range based on further changes in the federal funds rate and competitive presure on deposit pricing. Guidance provided in presentation slides accompanying the company's Q1 earnings conference call.

09:54 EDT Nasdaq announces launch of venture investment program - Nasdaq announced the launch of a venture investment program, Nasdaq Ventures, dedicated to discovering, investing in and partnering with unique fintech companies worldwide. "The program's main objective is to identify and collaborate on new technologies and groundbreaking services and solutions which align with Nasdaq's clients' needs and the company's long-term objectives in the global capital markets...The minority stake investments made by Nasdaq Ventures are expected to range from less than $1M to approximately $10M and will include seed to late-stage venture rounds," Nasdaq stated.

09:46 EDT Finisar down 8% in early trading - Shares of Finisar are down 8%, or $1.88, to 21.96 in early trading. Oclaro (OCLR) and Lumentum Holdings (LITE), other providers of optical components, are both down 3%.

09:28 EDT Abbott says not changing launch dates, approval expectations on FDA - Says product portfolio 'much more robust' than in years past. Says growth prospects 'stronger than they've ever been."

09:21 EDT DryShips acquires three Kamsarmax drybulk vessels for $68M - DryShips has entered into agreements with unaffiliated third parties to acquire three Kamsarmax drybulk carrier vessels. The first 81,918 DWT Kamsarmax drybulk carrier was built in 2014 and the company expects to take delivery during Q2. The other two 81,129 DWT Kamsarmax drybulk carriers were built in 2014; their purchase was previously announced. The company expects to take delivery of the vessels during Q2. The company will finance the total gross purchase price of approximately $68M using cash on hand, which currently stands at $429M.

09:19 EDT Abbott CEO says planning to divest some parts of Alere

09:18 EDT Abbott targets closure of Alere acquisition by 'end of summer'

09:13 EDT On The Fly: Pre-market Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Lam Research (LRCX), up 5%... Morgan Stanley (MS), up 2.1%... ADTRAN (ADTN), up 4.6%... Abbott Laboratories (ABT), up 1.8%. ALSO HIGHER: CytRx (CYTR), up 13.6% after reaching an agreement with the FDA on a regulatory pathway for aldoxorubicin... Nivalis Therapeutics (NVLS), up 6.1% after it announced a merger deal with Alpine Immune Sciences... Ultragenyx (RARE), up 8.5% after the Phase 3 study of burosumab met its primary endpoint. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: IBM (IBM), down 5.3%... Interactive Brokers (IBKR), down 2.4%. ALSO LOWER: Libbey (LBY), down 14.6% after reporting preliminary first quarter results... Adeptus Health (ADPT), down 20.4% after Wexford Capital exited the stake it disclosed on April 12... Agios Pharmaceuticals (AGIO), down 1.8% after its 5.1M share Secondary priced at $49.50.

09:10 EDT Abbott says 'on track' to achieve synergy targets with St. Jude acquisition - Comments from company's Q1 earnings conference call.

09:08 EDT Juno Therapeutics announces addition of Celgene president to board - Juno Therapeutics (JUNO) announced it has appointed to its Board of Directors Dr. Rupert Vessey, President of Research and Early Development of Celgene (CELG). Hans Bishop, Juno's President and CEO, said, "Our collaboration with Celgene is an important component of our business, and we are pleased to have Rupert's extensive skills added to our Board."

09:06 EDT Exxon Mobil, SABIC select San Patricio for proposed petrochemical project - ExxonMobil Chemical and SABIC each announced the selection of a site in San Patricio County, Texas for potential development of a jointly owned petrochemical complex on the U.S. Gulf Coast. The proposed multibillion dollar investment would include a world-scale ethane steam cracker capable of producing 1.8 million tonnes of ethylene per year, which would feed a monoethylene glycol unit and two polyethylene units. "The proposed project, one of 11 ExxonMobil announced as part of its 10-year, $20B Growing the Gulf initiative, is expected to create thousands of jobs during the construction phase, as well as 600 new, full-time jobs and 3,500 indirect jobs during operations. It is also expected to generate more than $22B in economic output during the construction phase and more than $50B in economic output during the first six years of operations," Exxon said.

08:48 EDT CyrusOne appoints Schildkraut as chief strategy officer - CyrusOne announced the hiring of Jonathan Schildkraut as the company's new executive VP and chief strategy officer, reporting directly to CEO Gary Wojtaszek. In this role, Schildkraut will help refine the company's digital infrastructure strategy, overseeing new investments, mergers and acquisitions, as well as joint venture arrangements. Most recently, Schildkraut served as senior managing director in equity research at Guggenheim Partners.

08:43 EDT IBM's Aspera selected by Telstra for media file transfer capability - IBM's (IBM) Aspera has been selected by Australia's Telstra (TLSYY) to deliver media file transfer capability for Telstra Global Media Network over the internet powered by Aspera Files. As an alternative to traditional media delivery, GMN utilizes Aspera Files to share and exchange content.

08:40 EDT Morgan Stanley CEO says 'hard to imagine' regulatory burden increasing further - Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman stated on the bank's Q1 earnings call that it is "too early to predict" how the "political and geopolitical uncertainties that exist on the domestic front as well as abroad" will impact markets during the rest of the year, adding that the bank will "remain nimble should the macro environment change materially." Gorman also called out two "notable policy areas that could meaningfully affect [Morgan Stanley] in a positive way in the next several years" - namely, the potential for reduction of the domestic corporate tax rate and prospective regulatory changes. "At the very least, it is hard to imagine the regulatory burden increasing from this point forward, and some of the policy proposals being floated make good common sense. Given Morgan Stanley's very strong capital and liquidity position, potential modifications could substantially impact us over the coming years, Gorman stated. He also noted that Morgan Stanley, along with its peers, recently submitted capital plans for the 2017 CCAR cycle, stating that "strong capital return remains a critical element to our future success."

08:39 EDT ANI Pharmaceuticals launches Indapamide Tablets for hypertension - ANI Pharmaceuticals is launching Indapamide Tablets, 1.25mg and 2.5mg, which is used in the treatment of hypertension and swelling associated with congestive heart failure. The annual U.S. market for Indapamide Tablets is approximately $9M per IMS Health. It is the second product that the company is launching from the basket of 22 previously marketed generic products acquired in July 2015.

08:37 EDT CGI Group awarded enterprise IT modernization contract by Aerojet Rocketdyne - CGI (CGI) has been awarded an enterprise contract from Aerojet Rocketdyne (AJRD) for transformation of the aerospace company's legacy information technology systems to a hybrid IT environment. CGI will provide the technology, consulting services, frameworks and practices needed to secure and manage the organization's entire IT portfolio. In addition, CGI will perform work on behalf of Aerojet Rocketdyne through its network of U.S. onshore IT services delivery centers.

08:33 EDT Cemtrex initiates payment of cash dividend on common stock - Cemtrex is paying its first ever cash dividend on common stock to shareholders of record on March 31. The company has already paid a prorated portion of $1.00 per share per year, cash dividend on its outstanding Series 1 Preferred shares on March 31.

08:31 EDT Parkland Fuel to acquire Chevron Canada's downstream fuel business - Parkland Fuel Corporation announced that it has entered into an agreement with Chevron Canada Limited to acquire all of the shares of Chevron Canada R&M ULC, which operates its Canadian integrated downstream fuel business. The deal consists of 129 Chevron-branded retail service stations principally located in Metro Vancouver, which complement Parkland's existing 44 Chevron-branded sites in British Columbia, 37 commercial cardlock and three marine fueling locations, a complimentary refinery in Burnaby, terminals located in Burnaby, Hatch Point, and Port Hardy, British Columbia, and a wholesale business which includes aviation fuel sales to the Vancouver International Airport. Subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions, Parkland will pay approximately C$1.46B, or US$1.1B, plus an estimated C$186M in working capital for the Acquired Business.

08:21 EDT Lion Biotechnologies parterning with MD Anderson Center for TIL clinical trials - Lion Biotechnologies and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, announced a multi-year strategic alliance agreement involving multi-arm clinical trials to evaluate the safety and efficacy of TIL therapy in ovarian cancer, various sarcomas, and pancreatic cancer. In addition, preclinical research will explore the expansion of TIL in other rare tumor types. A related preclinical research collaboration will focus on the expansion of TIL from additional tumor types to identify new indications for future clinical research. Lion and MD Anderson will both have manufacturing responsibilities for production of TILs used in the planned cellular therapy trials.

08:13 EDT Unisys selected by Taiwanese bank for disaster recovery banking system - Unisys has signed a new agreement with Far Eastern International Bank of Taiwan to upgrade and modernize the bank's disaster recovery environment for its core banking system. The contract was signed in 4Q16. FEIB is part of the Far Eastern Group, one of the biggest conglomerates in Taiwan. Under the new contract, Unisys will provide a ClearPath Forward system for the disaster recovery environment, along with hardware and software maintenance and licenses and refreshed EMC storage systems.

08:12 EDT Arcadia Biosciences reports FDA completes review of Sonova GLA oil - Arcadia Biosciences announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has completed its review of Arcadia's food additive petition for the use of the company's high gamma-linolenic acid - GLA - safflower oil in dog diets. The FDA concluded that the data provided by Arcadia supports the safety and functionality of GLA safflower oil as a source of omega-6 fatty acids in dry food for adult dogs. The petition will be approved when the final rule is published in the Federal Register. "The FDA's approval of Arcadia's petition opens up an expanded opportunity for SONOVA GLA safflower oil as a source of omega-6 fatty acids in pet nutrition, a growing specialty market," said, Raj Ketkar, president and CEO of Arcadia.

08:11 EDT Cypress Semiconductor issues letter to stockholders - Cypress Semiconductor has filed definitive proxy materials with the SEC in connection with its upcoming Annual Meeting of Stockholders on June 8, and sent a letter to stockholders urging them to vote in favor of all of the company's director nominees. In the letter, the company states, "You have a choice between supporting Cypress' current Board of Directors, which is driving Cypress forward, or allowing T.J. Rodgers - a disgruntled former CEO who was forced to resign from Cypress last year - to regain influence by putting his two handpicked nominees on the Board (...) Moving Cypress forward required replacing its former CEO, who had become ineffective and offered no clear strategic direction for the company (...) In the beginning of 2016, Cypress was a stagnant, founder-led company. During this time, Cypress' stock price was meaningfully underperforming compared to the industry (...) Cypress' stock price had declined by approximately 50% between 1Q15, when the Spansion merger closed, and 1Q16 (...) After careful consideration, the Cypress Board asked Rodgers to resign as Cypress as CEO in April 2016 and as a Director in August 2016. Disgruntled with that outcome, Rodgers declared war on the Cypress Board and has launched a proxy campaign motivated by a personal vendetta, rather than what is in the best interests of all Cypress stockholders (...) Cypress' gross margin expansion and stock-price performance have both improved significantly since Rodgers stepped down as CEO, and they've accelerated further with Hassane El-Khoury as CEO and Ray Bingham as Executive Chairman (...) In an attempt to regain influence of your company and Board, Rodgers has undertaken a series of disingenuous tactics to manipulate stockholders (...)".

08:09 EDT Huntington Bancshares reports Q1 net interest margin 3.3%, up 19 bps y/y

08:08 EDT Ipsen announces five poster presentations of Dysport at AAN meeting - Ipsen Biopharmaceuticals, an affiliate of Ipsen, announced that five abstracts regarding Dysport data have been accepted for poster presentations at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology on April 22-28.

08:04 EDT CB&I announces additional award for ZPC's refinery in China - CB&I (CBI) announced it has been awarded a contract by Zhejiang Petroleum and Chemical Co. Ltd. for the license and engineering design of a single-train 220 kta diphenyl carbonate unit, based on Versalis technology, for a refining and petrochemical complex in China. CB&I previously announced the CDAlky license and two Chevron Lummus Global hydrocracking units for the project. CLG is a joint venture between Chevron (CVX) and CB&I.

08:02 EDT Omnicell acquires InPharmics - Omnicell has completed the acquisition of InPharmics, a Mississippi-based technology and services company that provides advanced pharmacy informatics solutions to hospital pharmacies. InPharmics currently serves more than 150 hospitals with tools that analyze drug cost by patient diagnosis. Financial details on the acquisition were not disclosed. Omnicell expects the transaction will be immaterial and does not expect it to impact Omnicell's 2017 financial guidance.

07:56 EDT Adeptus Health sinks after Wexford quickly exits stake - Shares of Adeptus Health are moving lower after Wexford Capital exited the stake it disclosed only last week. On April 11, the investment advisor run by Charles Davidson disclosed an 8.5% stake in the emergency room operator. Last night, however, Wexford disclosed it no longer owned a position in Adeptus. Wexford, which specializes in bankruptcy and distressed assets, sold 1.4M shares of Adeptus in open market transactions, according to a filing last night with the SEC. In premarket trading, Adeptus Health shares are down 17%, or 25c to $1.22.

07:47 EDT Abbott CEO says 'integration of St. Jude is going well' - "Our first quarter results reflect a strong start to the year," said Miles White, chairman and CEO, Abbott. "The integration of St. Jude is going well and recently launched products are contributing to double-digit sales growth across several areas of our Medical Devices business."

07:47 EDT Abbott reports Q1 worldwide sales of $6.3B, up 29.7% on reported basis - Increased 3.2% on a comparable operational basis.

07:39 EDT Montecito acquires DaVita clinic in Albuquerque - Montecito Medical Real Estate has acquired the newly constructed DaVita Medical Group clinic in Albuquerque, N.M. Formerly known as ABQ Health Partners, DaVita Medical Group is a multi-specialty medical group and division of DaVita, a provider of kidney-care services in the U.S.

07:34 EDT Heico shares begin post-split trading - HEICO reported that all shares of both its Class A Common Stock and its Common Stock will commence trading on a "post-split" basis to reflect the company's previously announced 5-for-4 stock split. Accordingly, the prices of both the Class A Common Stock and the Common Stock will automatically be adjusted downward by 25% from the New York Stock Exchange closing price on April 18, 2017 for the split at the opening of New York Stock Exchange trading this morning. The split is effective April 19, 2017 to shareholders of record on April 7, 2017. Cash will be paid in lieu of fractional shares.

07:31 EDT KAR Auction acquires DRIVIN in $43M stock purchase transaction - KAR Auction Services announced the acquisition of CarCo Technologies, Inc., d/b/a DRIVIN. The $43M stock purchase transaction adds innovative data analytical capabilities to KAR's global portfolio of automotive remarketing solutions. The combination will focus on meeting the increasing market demand for data-driven tools and decision-support among wholesale used-vehicle sellers and buyers. By integrating the companies' unique data sets and capabilities, KAR will expand its product offerings to help customers reduce risk and improve the speed, predictability and outcomes of their transactions.

07:20 EDT AkzoNobel reports EUR1.6B to be returned to shareholders for 2017 - As part of outlining a new strategy to "accelerate growth and value creation," AkzoNobel announced earlier a 50% increase to the regular dividend per share to EUR2.50 per share. The company also said the "vast majority" of net proceeds from the separation of Specialty Chemicals will be returned to shareholders. Akzo additionally announced a EUR1B special dividend to be paid in November, "reflecting confidence in the planned separation."

07:17 EDT Gulfport Energy provides update for Q1, reports Q1 production 849.6 MMcfe/day - Gulfport Energy provided an update for the quarter ended March 31, 2017. Key information includes the following: Net production during the first quarter of 2017 averaged 849.6 MMcfe per day, an 8% increase over the fourth quarter of 2016 and a 23% increase versus the first quarter of 2016. Realized natural gas price, before the impact of derivatives and including transportation costs, averaged $2.68 per Mcf during the first quarter of 2017, a $0.63 per Mcf differential to the average trade month NYMEX settled price. Realized oil price, before the impact of derivatives and including transportation costs, averaged $47.52 per barrel during the first quarter of 2017, a $4.34 per barrel differential to the average WTI oil price. Realized natural gas liquids price, before the impact of derivatives and including transportation costs, averaged $0.63 per gallon, equivalent to $26.46 per barrel, during the first quarter of 2017, or approximately 51% of the average WTI oil price.

07:09 EDT Trilogy Metals repots results from Arctic deposit - Trilogy Metals announced results of a recently completed metallurgical test work program using sample material from the Arctic deposit collected during the 2016 field season. This metallurgical test program was carried out as a follow-on program to confirm previous metallurgical results completed in 2012 and in support of advancing the project to a pre-feasibility study planned for completion in Q1 2018. Highlights of recoveries and concentrate grades improved from the previous study: copper recoveries improved from 87% to 92%: zinc recoveries improved from 87% to 88%; copper concentrate average grade remains high at 29%; zinc concentrate average grade improves from 56% to 60%; in-pit geotechnical and hydrology studies are now completed to a PFS level. Results demonstrate that excellent recoveries and clean concentrates of copper and zinc can be generated from the polymetallic copper-lead-zinc-gold-silver ores at Arctic. Neither concentrate contains significant deleterious penalty metals. The lead concentrate contains significant precious metals and is still undergoing further test work to determine optimal recoveries for lead, gold and silver. The Arctic deposit is a high-grade copper-zinc-lead volcanogenic massive sulfide deposit which also contains significant amounts of precious metals. The company is proposing a 10,000 tonne per day, open pit mining operation. The revenue stream in the PEA showed that copper produced 60% of the revenue stream, with zinc contributing 21%, silver at 9% and gold at 6%.

07:05 EDT CytRx reaches agreement with FDA on regulatory pathway for aldoxorubicin - CytRx and the FDA have reached an agreement on preparations for a New Drug Application submission for aldoxorubicin in soft tissue sarcomas. STS remains a high unmet medical need. The company's goal is to submit a rolling NDA to the FDA for soft tissue sarcomas in Q4. CytRx also plans to discuss with the European Medicines Agency a path to filing a Marketing Authorization Application. The commercial launch of aldoxorubicin is still projected for 2018 in the U.S. Aldoxorubicin has received Orphan Drug Designation by the FDA for the treatment of STS. European regulators granted aldoxorubicin Orphan Medicinal Product Designation for STS which confers ten years of market exclusivity among other benefits. The proposed product label would include the treatment of soft tissue sarcomas. CytRx is also working on a market expansion strategy which could include other indications for aldoxorubicin including combinations with other chemotherapeutics and immunotherapies.

07:03 EDT Synthetic Biologics: Data shows SYN-005 provides protection from pertussis - Synthetic Biologics announced positive data for SYN-005, the company's orphan drug program for the prevention and treatment of pertussis (whooping cough). SYN-005 combines two highly synergistic humanized monoclonal antibodies (hu1B7 and hu11E6) to target and potentially inactivate the life-threatening pertussis toxin that causes disease symptoms. To assess the potential of SYN-005 to prevent pertussis, a non-human primate study was designed to determine if administration of hu1B7, one component of SYN-005, at two days of age could protect animals from a subsequent pertussis infection. Control animals (n=6), infected with Bordetella pertussis (B. pertussis) at five weeks of age, demonstrated marked elevations in white blood cell counts and most exhibited behavioral signs of pertussis, including coughing and diminished activity. In contrast, the experimental animals (n=7), who were treated with hu1B7 at two days of age and then infected five weeks later, had significantly lower peak white blood cell counts (p=0.004) that remained within the normal range or were only slightly elevated. Importantly, all seven of the animals that received prophylactic hu1B7 appeared healthy and none exhibited any behavioral signs of pertussis. An additional animal received hu1B7 at two days of age; however, infection with B. pertussis was delayed to a time point when hu1B7 was no longer detectable in the blood. As expected, in the absence of hu1B7, the animal developed a high white blood cell count and behavioral signs of pertussis. These data further support that protection from pertussis was, in fact, due to hu1B7. Building on this early success, the Company has initiated preclinical testing of a modified version of hu1B7 that has the potential to extend the plasma half-life and substantially reduce the required dose of SYN-005. The Company previously reported that SYN-005 was highly efficacious as a therapeutic in non-human primates infected with B. pertussis. The current study expands the potential clinical utility beyond therapy to also include prophylaxis. "We are greatly encouraged by these results, which clearly demonstrate hu1B7, a humanized anti-pertussis toxin monoclonal antibody, protected neonatal primates from developing pertussis for at least five weeks," said Dr. Jennifer Maynard. "These data give us increased confidence that pertussis prophylaxis using hu1B7 may be a viable option to protect newborns for several months after birth when the risk of pertussis mortality is highest."

06:58 EDT Morgan Stanley reports AUM $421B as of March 31

06:56 EDT Morgan Stanley reports Q1 Institutional Securities net revenues $5.2B - Q1 Wealth Management net revenues were $4.1B and pre-tax margin was 24%. Fee-based asset flows for the quarter were $18.8B. Q1 Investment Management net revenues were $609M with assets under management of $421B.

06:51 EDT Aldeyra treatment of congenital ichthyosis granted orphan status - Aldeyra's treatment of congenital ichthyosis was granted orphan designation by the FDA, according to a post to the agency's website. Reference Link

06:50 EDT U.S. Bancorp reports estimated common equity tier 1 ratio 9.2% - At March 31, 2017, the estimated common equity tier 1 capital to risk-weighted assets ratio was 9.2% using the Basel III fully implemented standardized approach and was 11.5% using the Basel III fully implemented advanced approaches method.

06:49 EDT U.S. Bancorp reports Q1 return on average assets of 1.35% - Reports Q1 average common equity of 13.3%. Net interest income (taxable-equivalent basis) grew 3.7% year-over-year and declined slightly on a linked quarter basis due to fewer days in the quarter. Net interest margin of 3.03% for the first quarter of 2017 decreased 3 basis points from the first quarter of 2016, due to loan mix and reinvestment yields, and grew 5 basis points over the fourth quarter of 2016, due to the favorable impact of higher interest rates. Average total loans grew 4.1% over the first quarter of 2016 and 0.2% linked quarter.

06:47 EDT TherapeuticsMD expects FDA to inform deficiency in NDA for TX-004HR - TherapeuticsMD expects that, based on continued correspondence with the FDA, the FDA will finalize an action on the New Drug Application for TX-004HR, an investigational bio-identical 17beta-estradiol vaginal softgel capsule for the treatment of moderate-to-severe vaginal pain during sexual intercourse, a symptom of vulvar vaginal atrophy in postmenopausal women, including informing the company of the deficiencies in the NDA identified by the FDA, on or before the originally scheduled Prescription Drug User Fee Act target action date of May 7. At this time, the company is not aware of the nature of the deficiencies in the NDA identified by the FDA. The company continues to communicate with the FDA to understand the nature of the deficiencies and intends to resolve them as quickly as possible.

06:35 EDT BlackRock reports Q1 long-term net inflows of $80B - "First quarter long-term net inflows of $80 billion, representing annualized organic asset growth of 7%, were positive across product type, client type and region. Our commitment to investing for future growth and leveraging the benefits of scale for clients and shareholders also resulted in a 12% increase in Aladdin revenue and 100 basis points of margin expansion year-over-year."

06:34 EDT BlackRock confirms quarterly dividend increase of 9% to $2.50 per share

06:32 EDT Enanta reports new preclinica data on NASH and PBC candidate EDP-305 - Enanta announced new data from its lead FXR agonist candidate EDP-305 for Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis and Primary Biliary Cholangitis, being presented during The International Liver Congress in Amsterdam. Data from three poster presentations being presented at the Congress will demonstrate that EDP-305 is "a potent Farnesoid X Receptor agonist that has been shown to reduce expression of fibrogenic genes, reduce fibrosis progression and improve non-alcoholic fatty liver disease activity scores in a variety of preclinical models". NAFLD is widely considered to be the liver expression of metabolic disease associated with type 2 diabetes, insulin resistance, obesity, and hyperlipidemia. The first poster "demonstrates that EDP-305 reduced fibrosis progression in a choline-deficient, high-fat-diet mouse model of NASH and a rat model of PBC induced by bile duct ligation". The second poster "demonstrates that EDP-305 exerts beneficial pharmacological effects in a dietary-induced NASH mouse model that mimics the human NAFLD/NASH physiological setting", "suggesting that EDP-305 may have potential beneficial effects in treating NASH". The third poster "demonstrates that treatment with EDP-305 potently improved pre-established liver injury and hepatic fibrosis in biliary and metabolic models of liver disease in mice". The company expects to present clinical data from its ongoing clinical study in healthy volunteers and presumed NAFLD subjects and to initiate NASH-enabling studies in the second half of this year, and also to begin phase 2 studies in PBC in Q4, and is planning for phase 2 studies in NASH in early 2018. EDP-305 is currently in Phase 1 clinical development.

06:03 EDT China Yuchai announces ownership changes in subsidiaries - China Yuchai announced that its indirect subsidiary, Guangxi Yuchai Machinery Monopoly Development Co., Ltd, has made ownership changes in two subsidiaries. Yuchai MM has acquired the remaining 47.53% equity interest in Sichuan Yuchai Machinery Industrial Development Company Limited ("Sichuan MI"), from its joint venture partners, Sichuan Yuhua Automobile Business Trading Company Limited and Sichuan Quanxin Automobile Spare Parts Company Limited, for an aggregate consideration of RMB 8,922,900. Yuchai MM currently holds a 52.47% shareholding interest in Sichuan MI. With this acquisition, Sichuan MI now becomes a wholly-owned subsidiary. The consideration for the Sichuan MI Acquisition was arrived at on a "willing-buyer willing-seller" basis based on the asset value of Sichuan MI set out in an independent valuation report dated 18 July 2016 from China Enterprise Appraisals Co., Ltd which was commissioned by Yuchai MM. Yuchai MM has also acquired the remaining 20% equity interest in Chongqing Yuchai Machinery Monopoly Company Limited, from its joint venture partner, Chongqing Kehai Material Company Limited, for a consideration of RMB154,000. Yuchai MM currently holds a 80% shareholding interest in Chongqing MM. With this acquisition, Chongqing MM now becomes a wholly owned subsidiary. The consideration for the Chongqing MM Acquisition was arrived at on a "willing-buyer willing-seller" basis and computed based on the net asset value of Chongqing MM as set out in its audited report dated 31 August 2016. The consideration for the above two acquisitions were satisfied in cash funded through internal sources. In addition, Guangxi Yulin Chijia Cars Spare Parts Company Limited and Guangxi Yulin City Yubin Commerce Trading Co., Ltd, both indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries of CYI were both de-registered from the Companies Registry in the People's Republic of China.

06:01 EDT KBR to provide services for Chevron operating fields in Sumatra - KBR (KBR) announced it has been awarded a contract by PT Chevron Pacific Indonesia (CVX) for engineering, project and construction management services for Chevron's operating fields in Sumatra, Indonesia. The five year contract will be executed through a consortium formed between KBR and its Indonesian partner, PT Singgar Mulia Engineering Consultants. As part of the consortium, KBR's project scope includes project and portfolio management, engineering design and construction management for Chevron's hydrocarbon production surface facilities at the Minas, Duri and Dumai fields in Sumatra, Indonesia. The consortium will provide in-country services to manage daily operational activities for Chevron's production facilities; including providing local and global personnel, tools and procedures, best work practices and processes, as well as establishing and maintaining infrastructure and providing health, environment and safety training to the workforce. Through this project, the consortium will conduct training programs to help the local work community develop essential skills for current and future employees on these projects.

05:31 EDT Baidu announces project Apollo, opening up autonomous driving platform - Baidu announced a new project named "Apollo" which will provide an open, complete and reliable software platform for its partners in the automotive and autonomous driving industry to develop their own autonomous driving systems with reference vehicles and hardware platform. By opening up its secure autonomous driving technology to the industry, Baidu aims to build a collaborative ecosystem, utilizing its strengths in artificial intelligence technology to work together with other companies to promote the development and popularization of autonomous driving technology. The "Apollo" project provides a complete hardware and software service solution that includes a vehicle platform, hardware platform, software platform and cloud data services. Baidu will open source code and capabilities in obstacle perception, trajectory planning, vehicle control, vehicle operating systems and other functions, as well as a complete set of testing tools. The company will also initiate a partnership alliance, working with partners who will provide the best and most compatible vehicles, sensors, and other components, to achieve broad participation and collaboration and to provide references and recommendations to participants of a rapidly expanding ecosystem enabled by Project Apollo. This will lower the barriers to entry for research and development of autonomous driving technologies, making it more accessible to the general public, and accelerate the overall pace of innovation. Baidu will first open its autonomous driving technology for restricted environment in July; it will then share its technology for cars running autonomously in simple urban road conditions towards the end of the year; and, finally, it will gradually introduce fully autonomous driving capabilities on highways and open city roads over time by 2020.

05:27 EDT Box announces Fujitsu as official reseller in Japan - Box (BOX) announced that Fujitsu (FJTSY) has become an official Box reseller in Japan. The reseller relationship, started in March 2017, will enable Fujitsu to help accelerate sales of Box in the country. It also strengthens the relationship between the two companies who are working on additional ways to partner in the cloud content management space. Becoming a Box reseller in Japan is the first part of the strategic partnership previously announced by Box and Fujitsu, and the companies are exploring additional areas for collaborating, including developing Fujitsu solutions that integrate with Box.