Stockwinners Market Radar for June 18, 2017 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

19:13 EDT MB Aerospace announces potential $1B contract with United Technologies - MB Aerospace announced it has signed a new 10-year contract with United Technologies (UTX) with a potential value of up to $1B over the life of the contract. The new contract will see MB Aerospace supply aero-engine components and assemblies for content across the full range of Pratt & Whitney engine programs. MB Aerospace recently secured investment support from Blackstone (BX) when it was acquired by Blackstone and management in a transaction in December 2015.

17:40 EDT Google outlines renewed anti-extremism, anti-terrorism efforts - In an op-ed published in the Financial Times, Google and YouTube outlined four ways they will help tackle extremism. Namely, the companies will increase their use of technology to help identify extremist and terrorism-related videos; "greatly" increase the number of independent experts in YouTube's Trusted Flagger program; take a tougher stance on videos that do not clearly violate its policies; and expand YouTube's role in counter-radicalisation efforts. The companies remarked: "Google and YouTube are committed to being part of the solution. We are working with government, law enforcement and civil society groups to tackle the problem of violent extremism online. There should be no place for terrorist content on our services... The uncomfortable truth is that we, as an industry, must acknowledge that more needs to be done. Now." Reference Link

17:32 EDT Vertex granted Orphan designation for tezacaftor-ivacaftor combination - The FDA granted Vertex Orphan designation for its tezacaftor and ivacaftor combination therapy in the treatment of cystic fibrosis. The designation was granted June 15. Reference Link

17:18 EDT Epizyme granted Orphan designation for tazemetostat - The FDA has granted Epizyme Orphan designation for its tazemetostat product in the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma. The designation was granted June 15. Reference Link

17:16 EDT Celanese, Blackstone to form acetate tow joint venture - Celanese (CE) and funds managed by Blackstone (BX) announced a definitive agreement to form a JV that will create a global acetate tow supplier. Celanese and Blackstone will own 70% and 30% of the JV, respectively. Under the agreement, Celanese will contribute its Cellulose Derivatives unit, including its equity interest in existing JVs with China National Tobacco, and Blackstone will contribute its Rhodia Acetow unit, which it recently acquired from Solvay. The new company is expected to generate 2017 annual pro forma revenue of approximately $1.3B with around 2,400 employees. The JV will have an extended global footprint that includes eight wholly-owned manufacturing facilities and three existing JV sites. "The complementary nature of the tow businesses and a combination of technology expertise will result in synergies mainly from optimization of supply chain networks and procurement of raw materials, energy, equipment, and other services," the companies noted. "This transaction gives us the opportunity to partially monetize Cellulose Derivatives and reallocate significant capital to higher growth businesses within Celanese to accelerate our growth momentum," Celanese commented. The JV will be governed by a board consisting of three directors appointed by Celanese and two by Blackstone. The board, management team, and name of the new company will be decided at a later date. Related to the transaction, commitments for $2.2B of debt have been received by the partners on behalf of the JV. The debt is expected to be supported by cash generation at the JV and is largely non-recourse to Celanese and Blackstone. An initial dividend of approximately $1.6B will be distributed to Celanese following the formation of the JV. "Celanese is expected to deploy the proceeds in value uplift opportunities, including investment in organic growth, acquisitions, share repurchases and debt reduction... Celanese is committed to maintaining its investment grade rating," the companies said. Once approved and upon closing, Celanese is expected to consolidate JV results in its financial statements, subject to Blackstone's minority interest. The companies declined to provide an expected close date, stating that "the formation of the JV is subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions, which will determine the timing of close."

17:10 EDT Sanofi granted Orphan designation for alirocumab - The FDA has granted Sanofi-Aventis Orphan designation for its alirocumab product in the treatment of homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia. The designation was granted June 15, according to an online notice from the agency. Reference Link

17:04 EDT Elon Musk: 'Promising conversations' with L.A. mayor on tunnel network - Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted Sunday: "Promising conversations with @MayorOfLA regarding tunnel network that would carry cars, bikes & pedestrians. Permits harder than technology." Reference Link

16:34 EDT Box Office Battle: 'Cars 3' wins weekend as 'Wonder Woman' shows staying power - Disney (DIS) and Pixar's "Cars 3" earned $53.5M in its U.S. debut over the June 18 weekend, slightly underperforming against estimates of $55M-$58M as well as the $66M launch of its 2011 predecessor. The film, a computer-animated comedy featuring anthropomorphic cars, received an A in audience polls from CinemaScore, holds a critics rating of 65% on reviews aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, and was produced with a reported budget of $175M. In international markets, "Cars 3" grossed $21M. BOX OFFICE RUNNERS-UP: Time Warner's (TWX) "Wonder Woman" added $40.8M in its third weekend, beating expectations for $30M-$35M and showing notable resiliency as it climbs towards a global take of $600M. Taking third place, Lionsgate's (LGF.A) "All Eyez On Me" debuted at $27.1M against forecasts of $15M-$22M. The Tupac Shakur biopic was scored A- in audience polls and holds a 24% critics rating. Rounding out the top five, Comcast's (CMCSA) "The Mummy" grossed $13.9M in its second weekend alongside $53M in foreign receipts, while horror movie "47 Meters Down" from privately held Entertainment Studios opened at $11.5M. Sony's (SNE) "Rough Night," a dark comedy starring Scarlett Johansson and Kate McKinnon, opened in seventh place with a less-than-expected $8.1M. Other publicly traded companies in filmmaking include 21st Century Fox (FOX) and Viacom (VIA).

14:37 EDT L3 Technologies says commercial training unit secured $115M in 2017 contracts - L3 Technologies announced that its Commercial Training Solutions business secured contracts in 2017 from commercial operators and airline partners worldwide for commercial aviation training, resourcing and simulation solutions valued at more than $115M. The awards include contracts to deliver airline pilot training programs, airline pilot resourcing, mid-level and classroom devices, and the sale of eight full flight simulators to date in this calendar year.

14:33 EDT Cypress Semiconductor publicizes settlement proposal with activist group - Cypress Semiconductor issued Saturday the following statement regarding the status of settlement discussions with T.J. Rodgers, who was forced to resign as CEO in April 2016, and CypressFirst: "From the beginning, we recognized that a prolonged proxy contest would be a costly distraction and have attempted to resolve this situation in a constructive manner. In response to stockholder inquiries, we have decided to make public our final settlement proposal to T.J. Rodgers and CypressFirst, which is not subject to any confidentiality restrictions. Our final proposal includes expanding Cypress' board to eight members and immediately adding Dan McCranie and Camillo Martino, who will be appointed to appropriate committees. Importantly, the proposal is consistent with our position that any settlement agreement must include durable and meaningful standstill and non-disparagement provisions, lasting through Cypress' 2019 Annual Meeting."

14:25 EDT Celgene reports updated data from 'MAGNIFY' study of Revlimid - Celgene announced results from an interim analysis of MAGNIFY, a phase IIIb study of REVLIMID plus rituximab combination therapy in patients with relapsed or refractory marginal zone lymphoma. Results were presented at the International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma, and expanded upon data presented earlier in the month at the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting. At ASCO, interim data were presented from an analysis of a subset of patients from the MAGNIFY study with relapsed or refractory FL with early relapse and double-refractory disease. Data being presented at ICML in a separate analysis focused on patients with MZL, including nodal MZL, splenic MZL and mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue lymphoma. At a median follow-up of 13.8 months from initiation of therapy with the R2 combination, evaluable patients with MZL achieved an ORR of 66% with a CR/CRu rate of 44%. Evaluable nodal MZL patients had an ORR of 57% with a CR/CRu rate of 57%. Evaluable splenic MZL patients had an ORR of 63% with a CR of 25%; and evaluable MALT patients had an ORR of 80% with a CR/CRu rate of 40%. Median duration of response was not reached for any group. The most common grade 3 or 4 adverse events observed in patients with MZL were neutropenia, thrombocytopenia and leukopenia.

14:12 EDT The Buckle warns of data security incident - The Buckle issued the following statement Friday: "We became aware that The Buckle, Inc. was a victim of a security incident in which a criminal entity accessed some guest credit card information following purchases at some of our retail stores. We immediately launched a thorough investigation and engaged leading third-party forensic experts to review our systems and secure the affected part of our network. Through that investigation we learned that our store payment data systems were infected with a form of malicious code, which was quickly removed. Based on the forensic investigation, we believe that no social security numbers, email addresses or physical addresses were obtained by those criminally responsible. There is also no evidence that the buckle.com website or buckle.com guests were impacted. All Buckle stores had EMV -- "chip card" -- technology enabled during the time that the incident occurred and we believe the exposure of cardholder data that can be used to create counterfeit cards is limited. However, it is possible that certain credit card numbers may have been compromised... We are cooperating fully with card brands and forensic investigation services."