Stockwinners Market Radar for July 27, 2017 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

18:22 EDT Eldorado Gold cuts FY17 gold production view to 290K-340K ounces from 365K-400K - In 2017 Eldorado expects to produce 290,000 - 340,000 ounces of gold, including pre-commercial ounces from Olympias Phase II. Cash costs are forecasted at $500 per ounce, with all-in sustaining cash costs expected to be approximately $900 per ounce.

18:18 EDT Meta Financial agreement with H&R Block not renewed in 2018 - Meta Financial Group and MetaBank will not be providing interest-free Refund Advance loans for H&R Block tax preparation customers during the 2018 tax season. The company's relationship with H&R Block represented approximately $12.0M in net earnings during FY17. Given the loss of this relationship, the company is reviewing the carrying value of intangible assets for potential impairment, preliminarily estimating a pre-tax impairment charge of $9.0M-$11.0M.

18:07 EDT Noble Midstream increases dividend 8.5% to 44.6c per share - Noble Midstream Partners declared a cash distribution of $0.4457 per unit for Q2, an 8.5% increase above the Q1 distribution. The distribution will be payable on August 14 to unitholders of record as of August 7.

18:00 EDT On The Fly: After Hours Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Boston Beer (SAM), up 14%... Principal Financial (PFG), up 12.6%... First Solar (FSLR), up 12.1%... Gigamon (GIMO), up 9.4%... Ultra Clean (UCTT), up 7.6%... Baidu (BIDU), up 6.6%... Cypress Semiconductor (CY), up 3.8%... Align Technology (ALGN), up 3.7%... Cerner (CERN), up 2.6%... Expedia (EXPE), up 2.4%... Intel (INTC), up 0.8%. ALSO HIGHER: Agile Therapeutics (AGRX), up 12.4% after it announced FDA acceptance of the NDA resubmission of Twirla. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Ellie Mae (ELLI), down 21.8%... Cabot Microelectronics (CCMP), down 18.5%... NuVasive (NUVA), down 13.9%... Wix.com (WIX), down 10.3%... MobleIron (MOBL), down 9.9%... Flowserve (FLS), down 8.9%... Echo Global (ECHO), down 7.8%... PDF Solutions (PDFS), down 7.3%... Flex (FLEX), down 6.7%... Leggett & Platt (LEG), down 6.4%... Bojangles (BOJA), down 6.4%... Western Digital (WDC), down 6.4%... Starbucks (SBUX), down 5.9%... Mattel (MAT), down 4%... Electronic Arts (EA), down 3.8%... Amazon (AMZN), down 2.2%.

18:00 EDT Amgen says FDA grants priority review for sBLA for Repatha - Amgen announced that the U.S. FDA has granted priority review for Amgen's supplemental Biologics License Application for Repatha, a PCSK9 inhibitor. If approved by the FDA, the U.S. Prescribing Information for Repatha will be updated to include risk reduction of major cardiovascular events based on data from the large cardiovascular outcomes study. The FDA has set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act action date of Dec. 2, 2017.

17:53 EDT Amgen says FDA grants priority review for sBLA for Repatha - Amgen announced that the U.S. FDA has granted priority review for Amgen's supplemental Biologics License Application, a PCSK9 inhibitor. If approved by the FDA, the U.S. Prescribing Information for Repatha will be updated to include risk reduction of major cardiovascular events based on data from the large cardiovascular outcomes study. The FDA has set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act action date of Dec. 2, 2017.

17:48 EDT Amazon: Experimenting with a number of formats in physical retail - The CFO mentions that Amazon bookstore used to showcase hardware.

17:46 EDT Amazon CFO says Q3 tends to be a bigger investment quarter - The CFO says that video content spending will be higher in Q3. alos notes that additional fulfillment centers will be coming online.

17:40 EDT Starbucks says tea 'core focus' of company - Says tea "core focus" of the company. Says has already shipped over 2.5M bottles of Teavana ready-to-drink products so far. Says "excited" about expanding ownership of mainland China market. Says Teavana closures will include charges.

17:26 EDT NextEra Energy comments on North Carolina House Bill 589 - NextEra Energy issued a statement regarding Governor Cooper's signing of House Bill 589: "As the nation's leader in wind and solar energy, we believe renewable energy can benefit North Carolina, because we know it benefits communities across America. Renewable energy projects help stimulate economic growth in rural communities and help boost state and local tax revenues. In addition, these projects have direct and indirect economic impacts that help support local small businesses" (...) "We applaud Governor Cooper's efforts through the signing of HB 589 to create new opportunities for solar development in the state. We share Governor Cooper's view that the wind moratorium is unnecessary, appreciate his Executive Order to mitigate its negative consequences, and are hopeful that the study of the potential impacts of wind projects on military bases is completed expeditiously. We have successfully sited a number of wind projects near military bases throughout the country, working with local and federal agencies as well as other stakeholders, and are certain that any potential issues or concerns can be resolved quickly to ensure a timely end to the moratorium."

17:21 EDT Great Panther Silver provides update on Topia Mine permission process - Great Panther Silver announced that, to the best of its knowledge, it has fulfilled the outstanding condition required by SEMARNAT - the Mexican environmental permitting agency - in connection with the Phase II Tailings Storage Facility at its Topia Mine. The company has resubmitted the permit application and expects a response within 60 business days. The company believes that it will be able to obtain this permit without interruption of operations, but advises that the deposition of dry tailings on the Phase I TSF cannot continue indefinitely and the company cannot assure avoidance of a disruption.

17:19 EDT Morgan Stanley reports 5.1% passive stake in RH

17:15 EDT Starbucks sees selling $1.6B of Teavana drinks in Starbucks stores over the year - Says expects to sell over $1.6B of Teavana-branded beverages in Starbucks (SBUX) stores throughout the year. Says continues to innovate around tea. Says extends Teavana brand through partnership with Anheuser Busch (BUD). Says food plays important role in growth agenda.

17:07 EDT Simpson Manufacturing backs FY17 gross profit margin 45%-46% - The company is currently uncertain whether the market price for steel will remain stable during the third quarter of 2017. Subject to changing economic conditions, future events and circumstances, the company is reiterating its outlook for gross profit margin to be in the range of 45% to 46% for the full year ending December 31, 2017.

17:05 EDT Sigma Labs appoints Mark Cola CTO - Sigma announced changes in senior management. Mr. Cola, who serves as President, has been appointed as Sigma Labs' Chief Technology Officer, responsible for building and implementing the Sigma Labs technological strategy and guiding key technical advancements towards digitalization in the context of the Industrial Internet of Things . Together with the other executive team members, Mr. Cola will seek to expand and grow the Company through next-generation products and key customer development in a broad range of industries. John Rice, Chairman of the Board since his appointment in April 2017, will now serve as Interim CEO, replacing Mark Cola. As Chairman and Interim CEO, Mr. Rice will oversee Sigma Labs' implementation of internal and external growth. He brings substantial operating and investment experience to the tasks.

17:04 EDT Baidu reports Q2 adjusted EBITDA $886M - Representing a 41.4% increase from the corresponding period in 2016.

17:00 EDT MobileIron issued 15 new patents in 2017 - MobileIron has been issued 15 new patents in 2017 by the USPTO, bringing the company total to 55. These new patents relate to enterprise data security, including data loss prevention controls for mobile apps, trusted access to cloud services, optimized data encryption, secure copy and paste, and multi-factor authentication.

16:59 EDT Starbucks CFO: Company 'cautious' going in Q4 - "Starbucks once again reported record operating and financial performance in Q3 - reflecting the back-half acceleration we've been anticipating," said Scott Maw, Starbucks cfo. "Nonetheless, despite posting record performance in Q3 and further extending our lead compared to the industry overall, the combination of trends in the quarter and ongoing macro pressures impacting the retail and restaurant sectors has us a bit more cautious going into Q4."

16:57 EDT Morgan Stanley appoints Thomas Grocer as Independent Lead Director of the Board - Morgan Stanley announced that Thomas Glocer has been appointed Independent Lead Director of Morgan Stanley's Board of Directors, taking over from Erskine Bowles effective September 1. Glocer was appointed by the independent directors of the Board. His appointment reflects the Board's governance policy of rotating Lead Directors after a period of time. Glocer has served as a director since May 2013 and as Chair of the Operations and Technology Committee since February 2014. Glocer served as CEO of Thomson Reuters Corporation from 2008 through 2011 and as CEO of Reuters Group PLC from 2001 to 2008. The Board of Directors also appointed two new committee chairs - Jami Miscik will chair the Operations and Technology committee and Rayford Wilkins will chair the Nominating and Governance committee, both effective September 1.

16:55 EDT Senator Investment reports 5.82% passive stake in Hyatt

16:54 EDT Avianca suspends flights to and from Caracas - Due to operational limitations reported in the past few hours, Avianca has decided to suspend its operations to and from Venezuela as of today, and not beginning on August 16th as previously announced. This includes ending the sale of tickets on routes connecting Caracas with Bogota and Lima. Avianca said it will make every effort to assist passengers with reservations on flights to Venezuela scheduled for this week. These passengers are being accommodated on flights from other airlines based on availability. Passengers with reservations that cannot be accommodated on other airlines will be reimbursed 100% of the value paid for their tickets.

16:51 EDT Sound Financial Bancorp declares 20c per share special dividend - Sound Financial Bancorp, the holding company for Sound Community Bank, announced that the board has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of 10c per share and a special cash dividend in the amount of 20c per share. The dividends will be payable on August 25 to common shareholders of record as of August 11.

16:41 EDT Agile Therapeutics announces FDA acceptance of Twirla NDA resubmission - Agile Therapeutics announced that the FDA has accepted for review the company's New Drug Application, or NDA, resubmission for Twirla, an investigational low-dose combined hormonal contraceptive patch. The NDA resubmission was submitted on June 26 and is intended to address a Complete Response Letter, or CRL, issued by the FDA in February 2013, which recommended that Agile conduct a new clinical trial and provide additional information on the manufacturing process for Twirla. The FDA stated that it considers the resubmission to be a complete response to the CRL and established December 26, 2017 as the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, or PDUFA, goal date.

16:39 EDT Engaged Capital issues letter regarding Rent-A-Center CEO - Engaged Capital issued the following statement regarding its investment in RCII. Letter began "We find the statements made by RCII's CEO, Mark Speese, on today's earnings call regarding the Board's evaluation (or lack thereof) of inbound interest from multiple parties to acquire the Company to be highly misleading to stockholders and underscores precisely what is wrong with the Board and governance of RCII." And ended: "While we cannot know what is occurring in the boardroom, we continue to believe that the four incumbent directors: Steven L. Pepper, former president of YUM Brands Mexico; J.V. Lentell, Vice Chairman of Intrust Bank, N.A.; Michael J. Gade, Founding Partner of Challance Group, LLP; and Rishi Garg, Partner at Mayfield Fund have abrogated their duties as fiduciaries to stockholders and we call on them to either heed the unequivocal voices of stockholders or resign immediately".

16:38 EDT RGM Capital urges Board of Cornerstone OnDemand to consider strategic options - RGM Capital released the letter it sent on July 24 to the Board of Directors of Cornerstone OnDemand. It calls on the Board to create an independent strategic review committee immediately and hire financial and legal advisors to assist in the process.

16:37 EDT CalAtlantic reports Q2 backlog of $3.6B - The dollar value of homes in backlog increased 4% to $3.6 billion, or 7,534 homes, compared to $3.4 billion, or 7,456, homes, for the 2016 second quarter, and increased 9% compared to $3.3 billion, or 7,109 homes, for the 2017 first quarter. The increase in year-over-year backlog value was driven by the 3% increase in the average home price in our backlog, to $473 thousand and a 1% increase in units in backlog. As of June 30, 2017, the average gross margin of the 7,534 total homes in backlog was 20.8%, up 40 basis points compared to the total homes in backlog as of March 31, 2017.

16:36 EDT Holly Energy increases dividend 8.1% to 63.25 - The Board of Directors of Holly Energy Partners has declared a cash distribution of 63.25 per unit for the Q2, an 8.1% increase compared to the 58.50c per unit distribution declared for the Q2 of FY16.

16:34 EDT Verisk Analytics to acquire G2 Web Services at price of $112M - Verisk Analytics has signed a definitive agreement to acquire G2 Web Services, an industry-leading provider of merchant risk intelligence solutions for acquirers, commercial banks, and other payment system providers. G2 Web Services will become part of Argus, a Verisk Analytics business, which will allow Argus to enhance its offerings to clients and partners, providing unprecedented market-leading solutions in merchant and consumer fraud and reputational risk detection.G2 provides acquiring banks, payment companies, and commercial banks the solutions they need to identify, mitigate, and monitor payments risk in their merchant and business customer portfolios. G2 Web Services has gathered more than a decade of merchant-specific data, which is incorporated in the G2 Merchant Map, the industry's most extensive fraud and compliance database. Combining data science, industry-leading technology, and deep domain expertise, the company leads the payments industry in the identification of third-party merchant risk for hundreds of the world's largest financial institutions. "We're thrilled to have G2 join the Verisk family," said Nana Banerjee, group president of Verisk Analytics. "Both G2 and Argus share the same focus on deploying sophisticated data-driven solutions and making business safer for our clients, including banks, payment platforms, networks, and acquirers. G2 is changing the way the financial sector identifies and mitigates risk and fraud, and we firmly believe that our many other client companies across the globe will benefit from being part of the G2 platform.""By joining with Argus, we will take our proprietary data assets, powerful technology, and deep domain expertise to the next level in helping clients fight fraud, transaction laundering, and reputational risk within the global payments and e-commerce ecosystem," said Allison Guidette, chief executive officer at G2 Web Services. "Together we will expand our capabilities to map bad-actor networks, predict payments risk, and provide clients with the best opportunity to reduce losses and fines due to merchant and business fraud and compliance violations." "G2 is an excellent fit for the Verisk Analytics family of businesses and a great opportunity to add a unique data set that will allow us to do even more to help our customers combat fraud in the payments space," added Scott Stephenson, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of Verisk Analytics. The purchase price is $112 million, to be paid in cash to stockholders of G2. The transaction is expected to close during the third quarter of 2017, subject to the completion of customary closing conditions.

16:31 EDT Papa John's raises quarterly dividend 12.5% to 22.5c per share - Papa John's International announced that the board of directors has approved a 12.5% increase in the quarterly dividend payable on Papa John's International, Inc. common stock, resulting in a quarterly dividend rate of 22.5c per share, or 90c on an annual basis. The board of directors declared the 22.5c dividend per common share, payable August 18, 2017, to shareholders of record at the close of business on August 7, 2017.

16:26 EDT Mohawk says investing at 'record levels' this year - Mohawk said: "To enhance our long-term performance, we are investing at record levels this year to expand our product offering and capacity, improve our efficiencies and extend our geographic reach. In the fourth quarter, we will incur higher start-up costs as our production expansions ramp up and we elevate our marketing activities to increase our sales. The expansion of our LVT, ceramic, laminate, sheet vinyl and carpet tile capacity will increase our future growth and profitability, strengthening our position as the global leader in flooring."

16:23 EDT USD Partners raises quarterly distribution 1.5% to 34c per unit - USD Partners announced that the board of directors of its general partner declared a quarterly cash distribution of 34c per unit for the second quarter of 2017, representing an increase of 0.5c per unit or 1.5% over the prior quarter and 7.9% over the second quarter of 2016. The distribution is payable on August 11, 2017, to unitholders of record at the close of business on August 7, 2017.

16:18 EDT Destination Maternity, Orchestra-Premaman announce termination of merger - Destination Maternity and Orchestra-Premaman announced that the merger agreement, entered into by the parties on December 19, 2016, has been terminated. Despite substantial and sustained efforts by both parties since execution of the merger agreement in December 2016, and in light of the challenges of satisfying applicable securities regulations in France and in the U.S. as well as the uncertainty as to whether those regulatory requirements could be satisfied without unreasonable effort and expense, particularly in connection with the completion of the registration and listing of Orchestra securities in the U.S., where such securities previously have not been publicly traded, the parties determined that it was in the best interests of their respective stockholders to terminate the merger transaction. Orchestra has agreed to reimburse Destination Maternity and Destination Maternity has agreed to reimburse Orchestra for certain costs incurred by each of them, respectively, in connection with their effort to implement the merger agreement. Orchestra and its affiliates continue to own 1,922,820 shares of the outstanding common stock of Destination Maternity and have agreed to certain standstill restrictions in connection with termination of the merger agreement.

16:15 EDT WisdomTree enters into strategic agreements with Questrade - WisdomTree Investments announced that two of its wholly-owned subsidiaries, WisdomTree Asset Management Canada, and WisdomTree Asset Management, have entered into a series of agreements with both Questrade Wealth Management and its sister company, Questrade, Canada's fastest growing online brokerage. WisdomTree Canada will become a premier provider of ETFs available for purchase on a commission-free basis on Questrade's self-directed platform. This will include all of the WisdomTree Canadian ETFs. In addition, both companies will work together to develop and deploy a variety of ETF-focused educational initiatives and resources for Questrade clients, including webinars, newsletters and reports on investing topics. WTAM will become a consultant for Questrade's Portfolio IQ, a professionally and actively managed low-cost online investment service. WisdomTree Canada has agreed to acquire the right to manage QWM's eight ETFs with approximately CAD $89M in assets under management, subject to obtaining unitholder and regulatory approvals.

16:11 EDT Expedia reports Q2 trivago revenue $328M, up 64% y/y - HomeAway delivered $224M of revenue, representing an increase of 31% year-over-year.

16:11 EDT Republic Services increases dividend by 8% to 34.5c - Republic Services announced that its Board of Directors has approved a 2.5c increase in the company's regular quarterly dividend. The quarterly dividend of 34.5c per share will be paid on Oct. 16 to shareholders of record on Oct. 2.

16:09 EDT Amazon.com drops $28.24 to $1,017.76 after Q2 earnings miss

16:07 EDT Seattle Genetics sees FY17 ADCETRIS sales in U.S. and Canada $290M-$310M - Seattle Genetics increased its expectations for 2017 ADCETRIS net product sales in the U.S. and Canada to a range of $290M-$310M.

16:05 EDT Expedia reports Q2 gross bookings up 12% y/y - Gross bookings, including HomeAway, increased $2.5B or 12% year over year to $22.8B.

16:02 EDT First Solar trading halted, news pending

15:53 EDT Time Inc. announces sale of INVNT, terms not disclosed - Time Inc. announced the sale of INVNT, an experiential company that specializes in live events and creative services, headquartered in New York City. The business was purchased back by INVNT founding partners Scott Cullather and Kristina McCoobery as part of Time Inc.'s strategy to rationalize its portfolio and focus on key assets that are core to the company's growth strategy. The sale closed July 27. No terms were disclosed.

15:12 EDT General Dynamics awarded new Landsat contract valued at up to $155M - General Dynamics Mission Systems received a contract from the U.S. Geological Survey to 'fly' the current Landsat 8 mission from the existing Landsat mission operations center at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Seabrook, Maryland. Concurrently, the company will design and integrate a new Landsat Multi-satellite Operations Center at GSFC while continuing the flight of the current Landsat 8 satellite and be ready to provide flight and mission operations following the launch of the new USGS Landsat 9 satellite in 2020. The contract is valued up to $155M over five years with five additional, one-year options.

14:46 EDT Biogen agrees to value-based reimbursement contract Abarca for MS therapies - Abarca Health, a pharmacy benefit management and technology company that serves more than two million lives, announced that it has signed a value-based reimbursement contract with Biogen for select products in Biogen's multiple sclerosis portfolio. "This first-of-its-kind agreement between the companies offers an innovative approach to connecting outcomes with the effective net cost of the products. The agreement places accountability on Biogen to deliver safety, efficacy, and value for the patients who receive these life-impacting therapies and for the payers who finance them," Abarca said.

14:20 EDT Retailers advance after new tax plan will be without border tax - Shares of retailers are higher on Thursday after Republican leader backing tax reform say that they are not going to include the border adjustment in the broader tax adjustment plan.

13:04 EDT Legendary investor Howard Marks cautions investors in latest memo - Howard Marks, co-chairman of Oaktree Capital (OAK), penned a memo out on Wednesday urging investors to proceed with caution. Marks notes that the end of the current bull market may not come today or soon but that risks are elevated and investors may be ignoring them. "My observations are always indicative, not predictive ... an eventual increase in risk aversion - should happen, but they don't have to happen. And they certainly don't have to happen soon," said Marks. Marks contends the point that bull markets seem to focus on a few stocks as "the greatest." He mentions the FAANG's as the current bull market's "anointed stocks." The acronym FAANG is used to describe the current "super stocks": Facebook (FB), Amazon(AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Netflix (NFLX) and Google (GOOG). In his 22 page memo, Marks says, "I'm not saying the FAANGs aren't great, or that they'll suffer such a fate. Just that their elevated status today is a sign of the kind of investor optimism for which we must be on the lookout." Marks also turns his sights on digital currencies. "Some businesses accept Bitcoin as payment. Some buyers want to own Ether because it can be used to pay for computing power on the Ethereum network. Some people are eager to speculate on digital currency for profit. Others want to put a little money into these to-date-profitable phenomena rather than run the risk of missing out. But they're not real!," Marks explained. Mark's ends his discussion by pointing out that the four components of today's market, "high uncertainty, low prospective returns, high prices and pro-risk behavior - are indisputable." Because of this Marks says this may be a good time to curtail investments, however he points out that large institutional investors do not have the option to stop investing, especially "especially true when the return on cash is as low as it is today." Reference Link

12:50 EDT Global Partner Acquisition, Purple Innovation sign LOI for combination - Global Partner Acquisition and Purple Innovation jointly announced that on July 24, they entered into a non-binding letter of intent relating to a business combination, pursuant to which Purple would become a publicly traded company. Under the terms of the LOI, GPAC and Purple intend to enter into a definitive agreement, pursuant to which GPAC would acquire Purple based on an enterprise value of $1.1B, with GPAC paying a portion of the purchase price in cash to the current equity holders and with the remainder being paid in rollover equity interests in the combined public company, subject to customary adjustments. Additional cash will be going to the balance sheet of Purple. As contemplated by the LOI, Purple founders Terry and Tony Pearce would retain a majority shareholder position in the combined public company with Sam Bernards continuing to lead the combined company as CEO. Founders Terry and Tony Pearce will remain with the combined company. The net cash proceeds from this transaction that are not distributed to Purple's shareholders are expected to provide Purple with additional growth capital, allowing Purple to continue executing its long-term growth plan while providing Purple with greater access to capital to fund future innovation and acquisitions.

12:44 EDT Southwest sees Q3 fuel price per gallon $1.95-$2.00 - Says achieved milestone with completion of new international concourse at Ford Lauderdale airport. Says opened Cincinnati flights in Q2. Says in "final lap" preparing for launch of 737 MAX 8 in October. Says Q4 capacity increase will add to profits. Says sequential trends appear to be in-line with historical trends. Sees another year-over-year increase in Other Revenues in Q3. Sees Q3 fuel price per gallon $1.95-$2.00. Sees Q4 economic fuel price per gallon down year-over-year.

12:37 EDT Southwest sees 'modest' capacity growth in Q4 in 1%-2% range - Says Q3 outlook in line with Q2. Says aircraft being delivered earlier than planned. Sees 1%-2% capacity growth in Q4. Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call.

12:36 EDT Southwest sees Q3 unit costs ex-items up 2%-3% y/y - Based on current cost trends, the company estimates third quarter 2017 unit costs, excluding fuel and oil expense, special items, and profitsharing expense, will increase in the 2%-3% range, year-over-year. As of July 25, 2017, the scheduled grounding of the company's remaining Classic aircraft in third quarter 2017 included 21 leases that are being retired prior to the end of their lease terms. Therefore, the company expects to record a charge of approximately $60M, primarily related to the remaining lease payments due as of the cease-use date. Additional charges could be recorded in third quarter 2017 associated with certain lease return requirements that may have to be performed on such aircraft prior to their return to the lessor; however, the company does not expect the charges to be significant. The company expects these grounding-related charges will be considered special items. The company continues to expect the accelerated retirement of its Classic aircraft in 2017 to produce significant incremental cost savings and improved pretax profits of at least $200M, cumulatively, by the end of 2020.

12:04 EDT Westamerica announces announces stock repurchase plan - Westamerica Bancorporation's board approved a plan to repurchase, as conditions warrant, up to 1.75M shares of the company's common stock on the open market or in privately negotiated transactions prior to September 1, 2018. The repurchase plan represents approximately 6.7% of the company's common stock outstanding as of June 30.

11:56 EDT Tembec shareholders approve deal with Rayonier Advanced Materials - Rayonier Advanced Materials and Tembec announced that the holders of record of its common shares have approved the resolution authorizing the previously announced statutory arrangement under Section 192 of the Canada Business Corporations Act pursuant to which Rayonier Advanced Materials will acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Tembec. The Arrangement Resolution was approved by 95.04% of the votes cast by Tembec Shareholders at the special meeting held earlier today. The completion of the Transaction remains subject to approval by the Quebec Superior Court at a final hearing, which is expected to take place on August 7, 2017. In addition to court approval, the Transaction remains subject to other closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals. It is expected that the Transaction will be completed in the fourth quarter of 2017.

11:55 EDT Classic Fund Management reports 6.1% passive stake in Fossil

11:43 EDT International Paper reverses higher during earnings call - Share of International Paper are trading almost 1.5% higher after an initially opening lower on Thursday. IP sharply reversed during the Q2 earnings conference call after comments on expectations of a strong 2H due to volume increases and pricing. The company also referred to an FX charge that impacted Q2 EPS related to a JV. Shares of International Paper are up 1.5% to $57.23 in late morning trading.

11:31 EDT Ford recalls about 117,000 vehicles in North America over seatbelts - Ford Motor announced it is issuing a safety recall for approximately 117,000 Ford F-150, E-Series, Escape and Lincoln MKC vehicles to replace improperly tempered seat, seatback, seatbelt and/or seatbelt buckle attaching bolts. The recall involves approximately 116,796 vehicles in North America, including 94,605 in the United States and federalized territories, 20,681 in Canada and 1,510 in Mexico. Ford is not aware of any accidents or injuries associated with this issue. Dealers will replace affected bolts at no cost to the customer.

11:31 EDT Turkcell trading halted, news pending

11:26 EDT New York Times says not ruling out 'classic' steps to reduce costs - Says has no immediate plans regarding cost cuts.

11:24 EDT Infinity Pharmaceuticals amends license agreement with Takeda for IPI-549 - Infinity Pharmaceuticals (INFI) announced that it has amended its license agreement with Takeda Oncology (TKPYY) for IPI-549, Infinity's potentially first-in-class immuno-oncology product candidate that selectively inhibits phosphoinositide-3-kinase gamma. Under the amended agreement, Infinity will no longer have an obligation to pay Takeda future royalties on worldwide net sales of selective inhibitors of PI3K-gamma, including IPI-549. In exchange for eliminating the royalty obligation, Infinity issued to Takeda an unsecured $6M convertible note that matures on July 27, 2018, and accrues interest at an annual rate of eight percent. The company is obligated to pay the principal amount together with any accrued interest on or before the maturity date in cash or in shares of Infinity common stock, at the election of Takeda. The share payment price would equal the average closing price of Infinity's common stock for the 20 days prior to the payment date. Infinity remains obligated to pay development, regulatory and commercial milestones to Takeda for IPI-549. The remaining milestones comprise up to a total of $5M in development milestones, up to $50M in success-based regulatory milestones, and up to $115M in commercial milestones, which are due once certain sales thresholds have been met. Under a previous agreement, Infinity is obligated to pay Mundipharma International Corporation Limited and Purdue Pharmaceutical Products L.P. a 4% royalty in the aggregate on worldwide net sales of IPI-549, which steps down to 1% in the U.S. after a certain sales threshold is met.

11:15 EDT International Paper seeing 'strong' start to July - International Paper says for box system, "as of today our cutoff is running 5-plus percent year-over-year and we're also seeing strong demand continue in the export market as well. So it feels like it's pretty robust at the moment." Comments are from quarterly earnings presentation.

11:12 EDT Boeing reports two new orders in weekly update - Boeing on its website announced two new orders for the week, from business jet/VIP customers for one 737 and from an unidentified customer for one 787. Boeing also identified flydubai for one 737 previously listed as unidentified. Year to date information: 737 net orders: 65 NG and 198 MAX; 777 net orders: 17 777 and 20 777X.

10:57 EDT Cliffs CEO says 'only way' iron ore prices go down is if Australia overproduces - Cliffs (CLF) CEO says the 'only way' iron ore prices will go down is if "Australia plus Vale (VALE)" continues to produce more iron ore than China can digest.

10:51 EDT AstraZeneca plunges following failed lung cancer study - Shares of AstraZeneca (AZN) are dropping sharply after the company said its MYSTIC trial failed to show its two-drug combination extended progression-free survival compared with standard-of-care chemotherapy for lung cancer patients. Leerink analyst Seamus Fernandez downgraded the stock to Market Perform following the news, while noting that this could have a negative read-through for Bristol-Myers (BMY), which is testing a similar combination. MYSTIC TRIAL: AstraZeneca has announced progression-free survival, or PFS, results for the Phase III MYSTIC trial, which is testing Imfinzi monotherapy or Imfinzi in combination with tremelimumab versus platinum-based standard-of-care chemotherapy in previously-untreated patients with metastatic first line non-small cell lung cancer. The combination did not meet the primary endpoint of improving PFS compared to standard-of-care in patients whose tumors express PD-L1 on 25% or more of their cancer cells. MOVING TO THE SIDELINES: Following the news, Leerink's Fernandez downgraded AstraZeneca to Market Perform from Outperform and lowered his price target on the shares to $31 from $36, citing the company's "continued reliance on externalization profits and deteriorating earnings quality." The analyst also pointed out that he is surprised that AstraZeneca did not have a major cost restructuring plan in place following the MYSTIC trial failure. Further, selling off 50% of the Lynparza opportunity raises near-term concerns about the sustainability of the company's cash flow, Fernandez contended. READ-THROUGH FOR BRISTOL-MYERS: Leerink's Fernandez argued in a separate note that the MYSTIC trial failure is an obvious negative read-through for Bristol-Myers' combo of Opdivo + Yervoy in the ongoing CheckMate-227 trial. He pointed out that while there are several key differences in trial design between MYSTIC and CM-227, they are unlikely to result in meaningfully different outcomes. Also commenting on AstraZeneca's news, Goldman analyst Jami Rubin said Bristol-Myers could test the $50 level. Confidence gets hit for Bristol's PD-L1+CTLA4 thesis in first line non-small cell lung cancer and for its own registration phase 3 trial, CM-227, with a potential interim readout not expected till later in the year, he added. The analyst told investors that he does not have any contribution from first line non-small cell lung cancer in his estimates, while noting that Bristol's assets and trial are very different from MYSTIC. POSITIVE FOR MERCK: On the other hand, Goldman's Rubin expects Merck (MRK) to trade up approximately $5 based on sentiment following AstraZeneca's MYSTIC failure as it partially de-risks longer-term estimates for Keytruda. Merck's drug has already been approved for the same population. The analyst raised his price target on Merck's shares to $74 from $70. Nonetheless, Rubin cautioned that long-term estimates could be at risk if other competitor trials are successful. The analyst reiterated a Neutral rating on Merck's stock. RESULTS: This morning, AstraZeneca reported second quarter core earnings per share of 87c and revenue of $5.05B, with consensus at 80c and $5.07B, respectively. The company also reiterated its 2017 outlook and announced that AstraZeneca and Merck have entered a global strategic oncology collaboration to co-develop and co-commercialize AstraZeneca's LYNPARZA for multiple cancer types. Bristol-Myers also announced second quarter results this morning. The company reported adjusted earnings per share of 74c and revenue of $5.1B, with consensus at consensus 74c and $5.09B, respectively. Bristol also raised its 2017 earnings per share view to $2.90-$3.00 from $2.85-$3.00. CEO DEPARTURE RUMORS: Earlier this month, a media report said that AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot would be moving to Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA). According to a more recent report, Soriot sent an internal memo this week to his employees saying that he intends to attend September's European Society for Medical Oncology annual meeting in Madrid. PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, shares of AstraZeneca have dropped over 15% to $28.72, while Bristol's stock has slipped almost 5% to $53.23. Meanwhile, Merck is up over 3% to $63.75.

10:45 EDT Alkermes sent subpoena from U.S. Attorney over Vivitrol - Alkermes disclosed earlier in its quarterly filing that on June 22, 2017, it received a subpoena from an Office of the U.S. Attorney for documents related to Vivitrol. The company said it is cooperating with the government. The shares are down 5%, or $2.86, to $54.71 following the Q2 earnings report. Vivitrol is an injection that blocks opioid receptors in the brain for one month at a time, helping patients to prevent relapse to opioid dependence.

10:41 EDT Tembec shareholders approve Rayonier Advanced Materials transaction - Rayonier Advanced Materials and Tembec announced that the holders of record of its common shares have approved the resolution authorizing the previously announced statutory arrangement under Section 192 of the Canada Business Corporations Act pursuant to which Rayonier Advanced Materials will acquire all of the outstanding common shares of Tembec. The Arrangement Resolution was approved by 95.04% of the votes cast by Tembec shareholders at the special meeting. The completion of the transaction remains subject to approval by the Quebec Superior Court at a final hearing, which is expected to take place on August 7. In addition to court approval, the transaction remains subject to other closing conditions, including receipt of regulatory approvals. It is expected that the transaction will be completed in Q4.

10:35 EDT Cliffs Natural CEO recognizes the condition for iron ore prices to trend upward - Sees China demand intact. Also notes raised political uncertainty in the world, thereby raising the need for steel for military uses. One negative is if BHP (BHP) continues "same failed play book," said the CEO. The CEO sees steel demand continuing to increase.

10:22 EDT Cliffs Natural says section 232 will help end customers

10:10 EDT Cliffs Natural sees FY17 adjuted EBITDA $650M

10:07 EDT Procter & Gamble tested company store, other direct to consumer methods

10:06 EDT NXP Semiconductors, Amazon Web Services launch cooperation in IoT - NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) announced it is working with Amazon Web Services (AMZN) to complete the integration of Amazon Greengrass on its Layerscape Intelligent Gateway platform.

10:04 EDT Bayer lowers FY core EPS, sales outlook - Due to the current business and currency development, Bayer is adjusting its forecast for the fiscal year 2017. Sales of the Bayer Group are now expected to increase to more than EUR 49 billion; previously: around EUR 51 billion. This now corresponds to a mid-single-digit percentage increase on a currency- and portfolio-adjusted basis. EBITDA before special items is now targeted to increase by a high-single-digit percentage. The company now aims to grow core earnings per share from continuing operations by a low- to mid-single-digit percentage; previously: mid- to high-single-digit percentage. Here it must be noted that Bayer's interest in Covestro amounts to only 41 percent as of June 2017. Excluding capital and portfolio measures, net financial debt is targeted to be around EUR 7 billion at the end of 2017. For its Life Science businesses, Bayer is now budgeting for sales of between EUR 35 billion and EUR 36 billion. Despite negative currency development, Bayer is confirming its February forecast for Pharmaceuticals, and continues to expect sales of more than EUR 17 billion. For Consumer Health, Bayer forecasts a weak second half of the year and now expects to generate full-year sales of about EUR 6 billion. For Crop Science, Bayer is now budgeting sales of below EUR 10 billion; previously: more than EUR 10 billion. For Animal Health, the Reconciliation and Covestro, Bayer confirms the forecasts published in February and April 2017.

10:00 EDT Bayer says Monsanto acquisition 'on track' - As regards the planned acquisition of Monsanto (MON), Bayer (BAYRY) CEO Werner Baumann believes the company remains on track. "We are making progress in our discussions with regulatory authorities and are on schedule," he said. On June 30, 2017, Bayer had filed an application with the European Commission seeking approval for the planned acquisition of Monsanto, representing a further significant milestone in the transaction.

09:55 EDT Procter & Gamble e-commerce sales are 'about $3B' - Procter & Gamble management said they see foreign exchange headwinds moderating. CFO Jon Moeller said potential acquisitions are "part of the toolbox." CEO David Taylor said he doesn't think the company is set up for slower growth. Comments made during Q4 earnings conference call.

09:35 EDT Diana Shipping announces time charter contract for m/v Maia with Glencore - Diana Shipping (DSX) announced that, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it has entered into a time charter contract with Glencore Agriculture (GLNCY), Rotterdam, for one of its Kamsarmax dry bulk vessels, the m/v Maia. The gross charter rate is $10,125 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period of minimum twelve months to maximum fifteen months. The charter is expected to commence later today. The m/v Maia is currently chartered, as previously announced, to RWE Supply & Trading, Essen, at a gross charter rate of$7,500 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties. The "Maia" is a 82,193 dwt Kamsarmax dry bulk vessel built in 2009. This employment is anticipated to generate approximately $3.65M of gross revenue for the minimum scheduled period of the time charter.

09:33 EDT Nevada reports June gaming win up 0.9% to $895.43M - Reports June Las Vegas Strip gaming win up 1.65% to $496.99M. Publicly traded companies in the casino gaming space include Boyd Gaming (BYD), Caesars (CZR), Las Vegas Sands (LVS), MGM Resorts (MGM), Penn National (PENN) and Wynn Resorts (WYNN).

09:31 EDT Neptune Technologies receives Nasdaq notification regarding minimum bid rules - Neptune Technologies announces that on July 21, 2017 it received notification from Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Department for failing to maintain a minimum bid price of $1.00 per share for the last 30 consecutive business days, as required by Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) - bid price. The Nasdaq notification has no immediate effect on the listing of the Company's shares. Under Nasdaq rule 5810(c)(3)(A) - compliance period, the Company has 180 calendar days, or until January 17, 2018, to regain compliance. If at any time over this period the bid price of Neptune's shares closes at $1.00 per share or more for a minimum of ten consecutive business days, Nasdaq will provide written confirmation of compliance and the matter will be closed.

09:27 EDT Sen. McCaskill adds drugmakers, distributors to opioid investigation - To seek information from "additional companies involved in opioid manufacturing and entities responsible for drug distribution," Senator Claire McCaskill announced the sending of letters to drugmakers Mallinckrodt (MNK), Endo International (ENDP), Teva Pharmaceutical (TEVA) and Allergan (AGN) as well as to distributors McKesson (MCK), AmerisourceBergen (ABC) and Cardinal Health (CAH). The Senator is expanding her inquiry to focus on "diversion" of opioid products for illicit use following reports that hundreds of millions of opioid pills have entered the black market, according to a statement.

09:26 EDT MasterCard sees foreign exchange headwinds moderating in 2H - MasterCard CFO Martina Hund-Mejean made the comments on the company's earnings call.

09:24 EDT On The Fly: Pre-market Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Procter & Gamble (PG), up 2%... GNC (GNC), up 6.5%... Facebook (FB), up 6.4%... Cliffs Natural (CLF), up 1.8%... Comcast (CMCSA), up 2.2%... Mastercard (MA), up 1.5%... Anheuser Busch Inbev (BUD), up 6%... Verizon (VZ), up 3.7%... Innoviva (INVA), up 7.3%. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Southwest Airlines (LUV), down 1.7%... UPS (UPS), down under 1%... Spirit Airlines (SAVE), down 4.4%... Rent-A-Center (RCII), down 6.1%... Fortinet (FTNT), down 3.9%... Boston Scientific (BSX), down 1.5%... Discover (DFS), down 4.2%.

09:17 EDT Verizon CFO, on M&A, says 'very comfortable with the assets we have today'

09:07 EDT Verizon says Q2 drop in wireless service revenue to be low point for year - Commenting on Verizon's small cell rollout, CFO Matt Ellis said the company is "exactly where we planned to be." The 6.7% drop in wireless service revenue in Q2 will be the low for the year, drop will be less than 4% by Q4, Ellis said.

09:01 EDT Tegna announces talk show 'Sister Circle' - TEGNA announced that "Sister Circle," a live, daily talk show hosted by a panel of four female hosts, will premiere on Monday, September 11 in 12 TEGNA markets and live nationally from 9-10 a.m. ET on TV One, a cable network offering a broad range of programming for a diverse audience of adult black viewers. This is the first time TV One, which reaches 59M households, will carry original programming from a local station group. "Sister Circle" will be produced out of TEGNA's WATL in Atlanta and reach 60% of U.S. television households.

08:59 EDT UPS says expects 'strong' 2H17 - Says "confident" in 2H guidance.

08:53 EDT Verizon CFO Matt Ellis says capital allocation plans have not changed - Verizon CFO Matt Ellis said on the company's Q2 call says Verizon sees the working capital headwind subsiding in 2018. Says capital allocation plans have not changed. Sees improvement in rate of decline in line access revenue continuing in 2H. Commenting on the integration of AOL and Yahoo, Verizon said it expects to realize $1B in cumulative operating expense synergies through 2020. Says "in early stages" of leveraging scale of the combined assets. Expects Oath division to have about $7B in annual revenue. Says "confident" in network, says 5G strategy "progressing." Comments taken from the Q2 earnings conference call. Verizon is up 3.5% in premarket trading.

08:51 EDT DSP Group sees sequential increase in revenues in Q3 - Ofer Elyakim, CEO of DSP Group, stated: "Looking ahead to the third quarter, we expect a sequential increase in revenues, propelled by an increase in shipments of our SmartVoice products for voice user interface in non-smartphone applications and demand for Office/VoIP products. More importantly, DSP Group is uniquely positioned to become a leader in the bourgeoning market of voice user interface by leveraging our proven leadership and expertise in voice processing and low power design. We are making solid progress in augmenting our diverse engagement pipeline with leading OEMs. This pipeline is materializing, evidenced by commercial shipments to two new customers, and paving a promising path for long term growth."

08:48 EDT Dr. Reddy's, CHD Bioscience announce global license agreement - Dr. Reddy's Laboratoriesand CHD Bioscience announced a global licensing agreement for the clinical development and commercialization of Dr. Reddy's Phase III clinical trial candidate, DFA-02. It is intended to be used for the prevention of surgical site infections, following non-emergency, elective colorectal surgery. Phase II studies for DFA-02 have been successfully completed, and the product will be transitioning to pivotal Phase III registration studies. Under the terms of the agreement, Dr. Reddy's would receive equity in CHD valued at $30M upon an IPO of CHD or a minimum of $30M in cash within 18 months of execution of the agreement. Dr. Reddy's will also receive additional milestone payments of $40M upon USFDA approval. In addition, CHD will pay Dr. Reddy's double-digit royalties on sales and commercial milestones.

08:41 EDT UPS says investing heavily in new technology - Says International segment continues to produce "outstanding results." Says global economy expected to grow modestly this year. Says growth in China has improved, now exceeding prior forecast. Comments from Q2 earnings conference call.

08:38 EDT Staples announces early termination of HSR waiting period - Staples announced that on July 26, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission granted early termination of the waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 with respect to the pending acquisition of Staples by investment funds managed by Sycamore Partners, a leading private equity firm. The termination of the waiting period under the HSR Act satisfies one of the conditions to the closing of the pending acquisition, which remains subject to other customary closing conditions, including Staples' stockholder approval.

08:36 EDT Granite Construction awarded $20M dam project in Northern California - Granite Construction announced it has been awarded a $20M contract by the South Feather Water & Power Agency for the Lost Creek Dam Crest Modification Project in Strawberry Valley, CA. The contract will be included in Granite's 2Q17 backlog. Scope of work includes increasing the dam spillway openings, raising the crest outside of the spill section, reinforcing the downstream face, protecting the plunge pool area to prevent scouring of the foundation material, and replacing the dam crossing road. Due to the remote area of the dam, all concrete materials will be batched on-site. Once complete, the rehabilitated dam is estimated to withstand potential floods and earthquakes for another century. Work began in spring and is scheduled to be complete by fall 2018.

08:34 EDT New York Times sees Q3 subscription revenues up at rate similar to Q2 - Total subscription revenues in the third quarter of 2017 are expected to increase at a rate similar to that of the second quarter of 2017. Total advertising revenues in the third quarter of 2017 are expected to decrease in the mid- to high-single digits compared with the third quarter of 2016. Operating costs and adjusted operating costs are expected to increase in the mid-single digits in the third quarter of 2017 compared with the third quarter of 2016. The Company expects the following on a pre-tax basis in 2017: Depreciation and amortization: $60 million to $65 million, Interest expense, net: $18 million to $20 million, and Capital expenditures: $85 million to $90 million.

08:32 EDT WWE says WWE Network averaged over 1.63M average paid subscribers in Q2

08:32 EDT Party City acquires majority interest in Print Appeal - Party City Holdco announced that it has acquired a majority interest in Print Appeal, a leading privately held manufacturer and wholesaler of printed personalized products, based in Dallas. Under the terms of the agreement, Party City has purchased a 60% interest in Print Appeal valued at $2.8M, with an agreement to purchase the remaining interest over the next four to five years.

08:30 EDT Global Partner Acqusition trading resumes

08:20 EDT NV5 Global announces public infrastructure wins in Florida, California - NV5 Global announced that it has been awarded two infrastructure contracts totaling approximately $6M in fees from public agencies in Florida and California.

08:18 EDT Imprimis' ophthalmic formulations reach half million patient mark - Imprimis' core patent-pending ophthalmic formulations have now served more than one million patient eyes. Imprimis first began offering ophthalmic solutions to physicians three years ago with the launch of its GoDropless campaign for cataract surgery. Dropless injectable formulations have now been dispensed more than 500,000 times.

08:13 EDT Intec Pharma promotes Nadav Navon to COO - Intec Pharma promoted Nadav Navon, Executive VP -R&D and Operations to COO. Dr. Navon has been with Intec Pharma since March 2006 and has served as the company's Executive Vice President of Research & Development and Operations since March 2015.

08:12 EDT Pingtan Marine Enterprise enters supply agreement with JD.com - Pingtan Marine Enterprise has entered into a strategic cooperation framework agreement with JD.com, China's largest retailer. Pursuant to the Agreement, JD will become the exclusive online retailer for Pingtan to sell its fishing products, and the company will serve as JD's sole supplier for ribbonfish, tiger prawn and conger eel products harvested from the Arafura Sea, the Bay of Bengal and the Indo-Pacific Waters.

08:10 EDT Camping World agrees to acquire TheHouse.com; terms not disclosed - Camping World Holdings announced to purchase TheHouse.com, an online retailer specializing in bikes, sailboards, skateboards, wakeboards, snowboards and outdoor gear.

08:10 EDT Twitter sees 'great momentum' with advertisers coming out of upfronts - Twitter executives are speaking on the company's Q2 earnings call.

08:09 EDT Trovagene announces FDA approval of IND for Phase 1b/2 Trial of PCM-075 - Trovagene announced that the U.S. FDA has accepted its Investigational New Drug Application for PCM-075, a Polo-like Kinase 1 inhibitor, and has provided authorization to proceed with the treatment of patients with AML. Trovagene submitted its IND for a Phase 1b/2 clinical trial of PCM-075 in patients with AML to the FDA on June 27, 2017.

08:08 EDT Patrick Industries sees 'growth in all four of our primary end markets' in 2H17 - "As we look ahead to the second half of 2017, and the expected continued growth in all four of our primary end markets, we are focused on continuing to drive strong growth on both the top and bottom line, make strategic acquisitions in our existing businesses and similar markets, reinvest in our business through capital expenditures and workforce planning, and maximize efficiencies to support our long-term strategic growth initiatives," CEO Cleveland stated. "The capital capacity and flexibility provided by our recent equity offering and credit facility expansion provide us with a strong financial foundation and, when combined with the exceptional commitment and dedication of our 6,000+ team members, position us to focus on the execution of our strategic plan and to further drive shareholder value."

08:06 EDT Lilis Energy provides Permian Basin operations update - Lilis Energy announced that the Hippo #1H reached a 30-day initial production rate of 1,506 Boepd on a three-stream basis, at 367 Boepd per 1,000 ft., or 1,406 Boepd on a two-stream basis. The well currently is producing at 63% oil; 76% liquids on a three-stream basis. The Hippo #1H has been online for 86 days. Lilis has drilled and completed its first three operated horizontal Wolfcamp B wells with IP rates exceeding internal projections. Lilis has successfully completed its fourth operated horizontal Wolfcamp B well and is scheduled to complete its fifth operated horizontal Wolfcamp B horizontal well this week.

08:03 EDT Eiger's pegylated interferon lambda granted Fast Track designation by FDA - Eiger BioPharmaceuticals announced that the FDA has granted Fast Track designation for pegylated interferon lambda 1a as a potential treatment for chronic hepatitis delta virus infection. Eiger licensed worldwide rights to Lambda from Bristol-Myers Squibb in April 2016. Lambda has been administered in HBV / HCV clinical trials involving over 3,000 subjects. Lambda has not been approved for any indication.

07:54 EDT Trian says Procter & Gamble 'needs to address root causes' of underperformance - Trian Fund Management, which currently beneficially owns approximately $3.3 billion of shares of The Procter & Gamble Company, issued the following statement on P&G's earnings report for the quarter ending June 30, 2017 and fiscal year 2017: "Over the past 10 years, P&G's total return to shareholders is less than half that of its peers and it has been in the bottom quartile over most recent time frames.1 Trian believes P&G needs to address the root causes of this consistent underperformance, including deteriorating market share across most of its categories and excessive cost and bureaucracy. While P&G says it is addressing the underperformance issue, shareholders have heard similar promises in the past and results have not materially improved. Trian believes P&G can once again be a best-in-class performer but it must take decisive action that goes above and beyond what it has previously announced, including committing to significantly changing its overly complex organizational structure and slow moving and insular culture. Nelson Peltz has been involved with numerous successful turnarounds of consumer brands and businesses, and adding him to the P&G Board will help P&G become best-in-class. He will seek to ensure increased management accountability, a greater sense of urgency, sharper cost discipline, and a less insular corporate culture. As a motivated independent director, he will have a laser focus on long-term shareholder value creation that can accelerate positive change at P&G. Indeed, consumer companies where he has served on the board have produced materially higher earnings per share growth and greater total shareholder returns compared to the S&P 500."

07:49 EDT Materion affirms guidance for FY17

07:44 EDT MagneGas receives first order for wastewater treatment in Italy - MagneGas announced that a MagneGas distributor in Italy has completed several years of application testing on reducing the disposal costs of landfill wastewater, otherwise known as leachates. This distributor has now moved to the commercialization phase and has made an initial purchase order for sterilization equipment. As part of a limited licensing agreement to reduce landed costs in Europe, the distributor will assemble the unit using local components and install it at a purpose-built facility that will sterilize leachates in return for a disposal fee. Following an initial period of operation, MagneGas and its distributor intend to deploy the technology to multiple sites for leachates throughout Italy.

07:41 EDT Cytokinetics starts FORTITUDE-ALS Phase 2 clinical trial - Cytokinetics (CYTK) announced the start of FORTITUDE-ALS, Functional Outcomes in a Randomized Trial of Investigational Treatment with CK-2127107 to Understand Decline in Endpoints - in ALS. The Phase 2 clinical trial, now open to enrollment, is designed to assess the change from baseline in the percent predicted slow vital capacity and other measures of skeletal muscle function after 12 weeks of treatment with CK-2127107. In collaboration with Astellas Pharma (ALPMY, APMF) Cytokinetics is developing CK-2127107, a next-generation fast skeletal muscle troponin activator, as a potential treatment for people living with debilitating diseases and conditions associated with skeletal muscle weakness and/or fatigue.

07:39 EDT USA Today Network, Sequential Brands announce multiyear strategic partnership - USA TODAY NETWORK, part of Gannett (GCI), and Sequential Brands Group (SQBG) announced a multi-year strategic partnership to license the Martha Stewart brand in connection with the USA TODAY NETWORK Food & Wine Experience event series, kicking off in Detroit on Sept. 16th.

07:37 EDT Qualcomm extends cash tender offer to acquire NXP Semiconductors - Qualcomm (QCOM announced that Qualcomm River Holdings B.V., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm, has extended the offering period of its previously announced cash tender offer to purchase all of the outstanding common shares of NXP Semiconductors (NXPI). The tender offer is being made pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, dated as of October 27, 2016, by and between Qualcomm River Holdings B.V. and NXP. The tender offer is now scheduled to expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on August 24, 2017, unless extended or earlier terminated, in either case pursuant to the terms of the Purchase Agreement.

07:28 EDT Arbutus Biopharma says Alexion terminates LNP license agreement - Arbutus Biopharma (ABUS) announced that it has received notice of termination from Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN) for the companies' LNP license agreement, which was signed and announced in March 2017. Alexion's termination of the LNP license agreement was driven by a strategic review of Alexion's business and research and development portfolio, which included a decision to discontinue development of mRNA therapeutics."While we are disappointed to have our collaboration with Alexion come to an end, we are encouraged by the positive preclinical efficacy data generated and the advances in the platform made in the short time we worked on this project," said Dr. Mark J Murray, Arbutus' President and CEO. "The work we did with Alexion provided a great opportunity to refine the LNP formulation process for mRNA-based therapeutics at larger scale. We continue to see a high level of interest in our LNP technology from companies in the mRNA therapeutics and gene editing fields. This collaboration confirms our belief that our high quality LNP is a critical component for successful development of an mRNA-based therapy. We expect to complete additional LNP transactions to generate non-dilutive capital to support our HBV R&D activities.""Our decision to end our collaboration with Arbutus was driven by a strategic realignment of our R&D portfolio," said Jim Loerop, Alexion's SVP, Global Business Development. "We were pleased with the technology and service we received from Arbutus and we view Arbutus' LNP as a valuable delivery solution for mRNA therapeutics."

07:26 EDT Blueprint to evaluate FOP opportunities after Alexion discontinues collaboration - Blueprint Medicines (BPMC) announced plans to evaluate opportunities to advance its rare disease discovery program in fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva, FOP, which was the subject of Blueprint Medicines' collaboration with Alexion Pharma (ALXN). On July 26, Blueprint Medicines received written notice from Alexion of its decision to discontinue the collaboration following a strategic review of Alexion's business and research and development portfolio. Pending its evaluation of opportunities to advance this program, Blueprint Medicines continues to believe its existing cash, cash equivalents and investments, excluding any potential option fees and milestone payments under its existing collaboration with Roche, will be sufficient to enable it to fund its operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements into the second half of 2019. "We believe our discovery research program in fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva represents a potential opportunity to improve the understanding and treatment of this severe rare disease, and we intend to evaluate options to advance preclinical activities within our disciplined portfolio strategy. We thank Alexion and its research team for their support over the last two years, and we wish them well as they chart a new course for their research and development programs," said Jeff Albers, CEO of Blueprint Medicines.

07:24 EDT Soligenix initiates pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial of SGX942 - Soligenix announced that patient enrollment has been opened for its Phase 3, multinational, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluating SGX942 (dusquetide) as a treatment for severe oral mucositis in patients with head and neck cancer receiving chemoradiation therapy.

07:22 EDT Milacron sees FY17 organic sales flat to up 2%, adjusted EBITDA $219M-$225M - Milacron forecasts 0% to 2% organic sales growth in 2017, which is in line with current market conditions. Adjusted EBITDA is forecasted to be between $219 million and $225 million. Free Cash Flow before restructuring is forecasted to be between $90 million and $100 million.

07:19 EDT Advanced Accelerator completes resubmission of NDA for lutetium Lu 177 dotatate - Advanced Accelerator Applications announced that the resubmission of the New Drug Application, or NDA, for investigational drug lutetium Lu 177 dotatate to the FDA was completed. AAA resubmitted the NDA following receipt of a complete response letter from the FDA in December 2016, in which the Agency cited issues with the format, traceability, uniformity, and completeness relating to the NETTER-1 and Erasmus clinical datasets, which precluded FDA reviewers from performing the required independent analysis of these clinical studies. The CRL also requested subgroup analyses for gender, age and racial subgroups, as well as other stratification factors and important disease characteristics, and a safety update on clinical and non-clinical studies. In addition, the CRL noted that any observations made during inspections of manufacturing facilities supporting the NDA need to be resolved prior to approval of the NDA. No additional clinical studies were requested in the CRL and there were no comments at that time on other sections of the NDA submission.

07:18 EDT NewLink Genetics doeses first patient in NLG802 Phase 1 study - NewLink Genetics announced first patient dosed in the Phase 1 study of NLG802, a novel prodrug of indoximod. NLG802 is an investigational agent targeting the IDO pathway and represents an important step in the company's strategic planning and intellectual property management. The NLG802 trial is a Phase 1 open-label clinical trial for patients with advanced solid tumors designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of escalating oral doses. The trial will utilize a standard 3+3 dose-escalation design.

07:18 EDT Tempur Sealy sees FY17 adjusted EBITDA $425M-$450M

07:16 EDT AstraZeneca: Tagrisso showed statistically significant PFS benefit in trial - AstraZeneca announced that the Phase III FLAURA trial showed a statistically-significant and clinically-meaningful progression-free survival benefit with TAGRISSO compared to current 1st-line standard-of-care treatment in previously-untreated patients with locally advanced or metastatic epidermal growth factor receptor mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer. The efficacy, safety and tolerability profiles for TAGRISSO, erlotinib and gefitinib were consistent with current knowledge. A full evaluation of the FLAURA data is ongoing. Further results will be presented at a forthcoming medical meeting. TAGRISSO once-daily tablets are approved for the treatment of patients with metastatic EGFR T790M mutation-positive NSCLC, as detected by an FDA-approved test, whose disease has progressed on or after an EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy. TAGRISSO is the first and only approved medicine in the US indicated for NSCLC patients who have tested positive for the EGFR T790M mutation.

07:15 EDT Valeant announces U.S. launch of SILIQ Injection - Valeant Pharmaceuticals announced the launch of SILIQ Injection during the Summer American Academy of Dermatology meeting taking place in New York from July 27-30, 2017. SILIQ, a monoclonal antibody that targets the IL-17 receptor A, is indicated for the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis in adult patients who are candidates for systemic therapy or phototherapy and have failed to respond or have lost response to other systemic therapies. Valeant also announced that its dermatology unit will be renamed Ortho Dermatologics, effective immediately, under the new senior leadership team lead by Bill Humphries, executive vice president and company group chairman, Ortho Dermatologics.

07:12 EDT Alkermes says ALKS 5461 rolling submission on track after FDA meeting - Alkermes said in today's earnings release, "We are executing on our strategy and making rapid progress as we continue to invest in our future growth drivers. Following a pre-NDA meeting with FDA for ALKS 5461 earlier this week, we are on track to begin the rolling submission of the ALKS 5461 New Drug Application next month and expect to complete the submission by year-end 2017. We are excited to bring this important, potential, new proprietary medicine to patients struggling with major depressive disorder...We continue to advance our pipeline of late-stage product candidates and were also pleased to report positive preliminary topline data from the ALKS 3831 phase 3 antipsychotic efficacy study as well as the approval and launch of the ARISTADA two-month dose in June."

07:11 EDT Alkermes reports Q2 Vivitrol sales $66.1M vs. $47.2M last year - Reports Q2 Aristada sales $22.7M vs. $10.3M last year.

07:09 EDT Twitter changing how it calculates non-GAAP provision for income taxes - Twitter said in today's earnings release, "Beginning this quarter, Twitter is changing how it calculates its non-GAAP provision for income taxes in accordance with the SEC guidance on non-GAAP financial measures. In order to assist investors to better understand the change, the company is providing the calculations under its prior method and the new method later in this press release under non-GAAP financial measures. The 'New Method' consists of current and deferred income tax expense commensurate with the non-GAAP measure of profitability using its blended U.S. statutory tax rate (which was 37%). The 'Prior Method' consists of current and deferred income tax expense on a GAAP basis excluding the income tax effects related to acquisitions. This change will not affect the company's non-GAAP income before income taxes, actual cash tax payments, or cash flows, but will result in significantly higher non-GAAP provision for income taxes. Twitter, however, does not expect to pay substantial taxes on a GAAP basis in the U.S. and certain other foreign jurisdictions for the foreseeable future due to its net operating loss carryforward balances. As of December 31, 2016, the company had U.S. federal net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $3.5 billion and state net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $1.4 billion. Over the near term, most of its cash taxes will continue to be mainly driven by the tax expense of its foreign subsidiaries, which amounts have not historically been significant. Twitter also believes that its long-term effective GAAP tax rate will be lower than the U.S. statutory tax rate based upon its established tax structure. Under the prior method, non-GAAP net income for the quarter would have been $87 million and non-GAAP diluted EPS would have been $0.12."

07:08 EDT MagneGas to purchase up to $850,000 of common stock, warrants - MagneGas announced that it has entered into a securities purchase agreement with certain existing and new institutional accredited investors to purchase up to approximately $850,000 of its common stock and warrants to purchase Series D convertible preferred stock. At the initial closing under the securities purchase agreement, the Company will issue to the investors a total of 150,000 shares of common stock at a purchase price of $1.00 per share. The remainder of the funding will be made available to the Company through the exercise of the warrants being issued in the offering based on market conditions. The warrants will be exercisable for up to 694,422 shares of the Company's Series D convertible preferred stock at an exercise price of $1.00 per share. Terms of the financing and related agreements were disclosed in the Company's Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 24, 2017.

07:06 EDT Masco board announces intent to raise annual dividend to 42c per share - Masco says, "Reflecting confidence in our plans and Masco's outlook, our Board of Directors intends to increase our annual dividend by 2c per share to 42c per share, beginning with the quarterly dividend to be paid in the fourth quarter of 2017."

07:04 EDT SiriusXM reaches 32M subscribers - The company added 466,000 net new self-pay subscribers in the second quarter 2017 to end with nearly 26.7 million self-pay subscribers. Total net additions in the quarter were 445,000, after giving effect to the decline of approximately 20,000 paid promotional subscribers. The company ended the quarter with approximately 32.0 million total subscribers.

07:04 EDT SiriusXM reports Q2 total subscribers exceed 32M - Net Self-Pay Subscribers Grow 466,000. "In the second quarter, SiriusXM continued its strong track record of execution, and demand for our premium content bundle pushed our listener base to an all-time high of more than 32 million paying subscribers. We are pleased to raise our full-year guidance for net self-pay subscriber additions, revenue, and adjusted EBITDA. We also made tremendous progress on strategic initiatives in the second quarter with the closing of our recapitalization of SiriusXM Canada, our acquisition of Automatic Labs, and our agreement to acquire a minority stake in Pandora Media," said Jim Meyer, CEO, SiriusXM.

06:57 EDT EQT Corporation sees Q3 total production sales volume 205-210 Bcfe

06:55 EDT Changyou announces special committee retains financial advisor, legal counsel - Changyou.com announced that the special committee of the company's board has retained Duff & Phelps as its financial advisor and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom as its United States legal counsel in connection with its review and evaluation of the previously-announced non-binding proposal that the board of the company received on May 22, 2017 from Dr. Charles Zhang, the Chairman of the Board, for the acquisition of all outstanding shares in the company, including shares represented by American depositary shares, by an acquisition vehicle to be formed by Dr. Zhang.

06:52 EDT Reliance Steel reports tons sold up 1.4% - Tons sold were up 1.4% from the second quarter of 2016 and flat with the first quarter of 2017, with the average selling price per ton sold up 11.3% from the second quarter of 2016 and up 2.4% from the first quarter of 2017.

06:48 EDT Dow Chemical reports Q2 volume up 11%, or 3% Ex-M&A - Broad-Based Growth in all Segments and Geographies. Price Increases 5% with Gains in all Geographies. EBITDA of $2.8B; Operating EBITDA Increases 12%, or $295M.

06:47 EDT Dow Chemical CEO: 'economic activity is increasing' - Commenting on the company's outlook, CEO Liveris said: "Global economic activity is increasing, with notable strength in manufacturing, investment and trade. Robust growth fundamentals continue to fuel expansion in the U.S., led by the strength of the consumer. Europe's improvement is expected to remain on a steady path. Latin America is stabilizing with particular upside from its agriculture sector, and Brazil is showing early signs of recovery from a prolonged recession, though political uncertainty persists. China and India continue to establish themselves as consumption economies, underpinned by fiscal stimulus and infrastructure investments, which are driving domestic growth. Dow remains well-positioned to capture consumer-led demand and deliver superior solutions to customers around the world through our narrower and deeper end-market focus, industry-leading innovation and broad geographic reach. Our track record of disciplined execution and outperformance these last several years underscores the resilience, agility and value creation power of our business model. Looking forward, our team remains focused and disciplined, with a sharp execution mindset on the successful close of our merger with DuPont, rapid achievement of the synergies and realizing the value-creation of the intended companies, as well as a strong focus on delivering the materials science company, with a portfolio that will be unrivaled versus its peer group. Going into the merger close, Dow is coming from a position of incredible strength, with a proven track record of success. We have the right strategy, the right long-term growth drivers and the right portfolio. Dow has never been better positioned to continue delivering for our customers, employees, communities and shareholders."

06:45 EDT Roche raises FY17 sales outlook to up MSD from low to mid single digits - In 2017, Roche now expects sales to grow mid-single digit, at constant exchange rates. Core earnings per share are targeted to grow broadly in line with sales, at constant exchange rates. Roche expects to further increase its dividend in Swiss francs.

06:42 EDT Marathon Petroleum raises quarterly dividend 11% to 40c per share

06:38 EDT Nestle confirms FY guidance, with organic growth in lower half of 2%-4% range - CEO Mark Schneider says, "We confirm our 2017 guidance with organic growth likely to be in the lower half of the 2-4% range. Our 2020 mid-range expectations for organic growth remain unchanged."

06:35 EDT Nielsen sees FY17 free cash flow about $900M

06:30 EDT W.R. Grace licenses UNIPOL PP Process Technology to CKPC - W. R. Grace (GRA) has contracted to license its UNIPOL PP Process Technology to Canada Kuwait Petrochemical Corporation, or CKPC, a 50/50 joint venture between Pembina Pipeline Corporation (PBA) of Canada and Petrochemical Industries Company K.S.C. of Kuwait. The new installation will be part of CKPC's proposed integrated propane dehydrogenation/PP facility located in Sturgeon County, Alberta. If built, the PP line would be the world's largest single train, capable of producing 550,000 metric tons per year of PP, including homopolymer, random copolymer, and impact copolymer thermoplastic resins.

06:27 EDT CARBO Ceramics continues to 'execute strategy to drive revenue growth' - CEO Gary Kolstad commented on the outlook for CARBO stating, "We continue to execute on our strategy to drive both revenue growth and profitability improvement. The second quarter resulted in a 26% sequential revenue increase and strong sequential incremental operating margins. We anticipate technology products, industrial ceramic products and mineral processing opportunities to lead our revenue growth and return to profitability, and now believe our revenue growth in 2017 will be at least a 60% increase over 2016. Although the commodity price environment remains tenuous in the oil and gas industry, we are optimistic about our oilfield business for the second half of 2017. Technology product sales are tracking as expected and existing second half of 2017 opportunities are strong compared to the first half of 2017. KRYPTOSPHERE HD continues to see success in deep wells, specifically the Lower Tertiary Gulf of Mexico, where all super majors have now selected the product for use. Currently, there are several wells slated for completion with KRYPTOSPHERE HD in the second half of 2017. Additional technologies, such as SCALEGUARD, continue to grow as well. We expect the base ceramic business to see higher volumes in the second half as compared to the first half of 2017. We are focused on improving the pricing. We have had modest price increases in base ceramic over the last couple of quarters, and we expect this trend to continue as the industry should move from an inventory liquidation mode, into a mode of increased pricing to produce profit on manufactured proppant. We believe the negative returns throughout the base ceramic industry should lead to increased industry pricing moving forward, given the basic logic that companies want to provide a positive economic return on business. The frac sand business has grown substantially this year and is part of delivering a complete suite of product offerings to our oil and gas clients. Given the strong demand for frac sand, we ramped to full utilization at our Marshfield, Wisconsin sand plant during the second quarter of 2017. We anticipate similar levels of sand sales in the third quarter of 2017 as compared to the second quarter of 2017. In addition to increased sand volumes, we are also benefiting from rail car revenue generated from leased rail cars dedicated to this business. We believe the work completed in the second quarter of 2017, to solidify our industrial product offering and increase our sales channels, will allow us to continue to grow industrial products and services in the second half of 2017. Our current product suite, including new products we are introducing in the industrial arena, should allow us to grow this business over the long-term. We believe AssetGuard, our environmental business, will generally follow industry activity in the second half of 2017. Industrial product sales continue to be identified as we focus resources on growing this business. Given the sequential improvement in EBITDA in the second quarter of 2017, our expected revenue increases and benefits from fixed cost reductions, we believe our second half of 2017 cash burn and EBITDA should improve. We are focused on returning CARBO to profitability, and believe our strategy to reduce reliance on any single business line will make us a stronger company in the future," Kolstad concluded.

06:23 EDT Helmerich & Payne raises FY17 CapEx view to $400M from $350M - FY17 CapEx view increase is due to more rigs being upgraded than initially anticipated and higher levels of maintenance capital expenditures as a result of more rigs working than previously estimated. FY17 general and administrative expenses are now expected to be approximately $150M primarily due to the acquisition of MOTIVE Drilling Technologies, and to a higher level of resources required to support a much higher active rig count than originally anticipated.

06:20 EDT INC Research: Backlog grew by 20.1% to $2.29B as of June 30

06:11 EDT First Cash Financial to open or acquire approximately 65 to 85 stores in 2017 - The Company currently plans to open or acquire approximately 65 to 85 stores in 2017. Approximately 50 to 65 stores will be de novo openings with the remaining additions contingent on opportunistic acquisitions. The Company recently signed its first store lease in Colombia and expects to have stores open in late 2017 or early 2018.

06:04 EDT Praxair announces backlog of $1.4B - Includes new project win in U.S. Gulf Coast.

05:56 EDT UniCredit says hackers stole 400,000 clients' personal loan data - UniCredit announced it has been the victim of a security breach in Italy due to unauthorized access through an Italian third party provider to Italian customer data related to personal loans only. A first breach seems to have occurred in September and October 2016 and a second breach which has just been identified in June and July 2017. Data of approximately 400,000 customers in Italy is assumed to have been impacted during these two periods. No data, such as passwords allowing access to customer accounts or allowing for unauthorized transactions, has been affected, whilst some other personal data and IBAN numbers might have been accessed. UniCredit has launched an audit and has informed all the relevant authorities. In the morning, UniCredit will also file a claim with the Milan Prosecutor's office. The bank has also taken immediate remedial action to close this breach. Customer data safety and security is UniCredit's top priority and as part of Transform 2019, UniCredit is investing EUR 2.3B in upgrading and strengthening its IT systems.

05:49 EDT AstraZeneca says Tagrisso showed statistically-significant benefit in study - AstraZeneca announced that the Phase III FLAURA trial showed a statistically-significant and clinically-meaningful progression-free survival benefit with Tagrisso compared to current 1st-line standard-of-care treatment in previously-untreated patients with locally-advanced or metastatic epidermal growth factor receptor mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer. The efficacy, safety and tolerability profiles for Tagrisso, erlotinib and gefitinib were consistent with current knowledge, the company added. A full evaluation of the FLAURA data is ongoing. Further results will be presented at a forthcoming medical meeting. Sean Bohen, Executive Vice President, Global Medicines Development and Chief Medical Officer at AstraZeneca, said: "The strong results from the FLAURA trial are very exciting news for patients with EGFR mutation-positive non-small cell lung cancer, providing physicians with a potential new first-line treatment option to improve outcomes in this disease. We will now initiate discussions with global health authorities on the data and regulatory submissions."

05:47 EDT Amazon.com announces Prime Now in Singapore - Amazon.com announced the launch of Prime Now in Singapore, which offers free two-hour delivery on tens of thousands of items right from your phone. Customers can shop on the Prime Now app for everything on their list from eggs, cold beer and ice cream to baby strollers, toys, and consumer electronics. Local favorites such as Tiger Balm, Milo, Scotch-Brite and MamyPoko diapers as well as products from iconic brands including L'Oreal, Pampers, and Samsung are also available for ultra-fast delivery right to your door with free two-hour delivery on orders of S$40 or more.

05:47 EDT KKR enters partnership agreement with LS Group - LS Group and KKR announced the signing of a definitive agreement under which KKR will become joint partners with LS in LS Automotive, an electrical auto parts maker for the global automotive industry, and will additionally acquire LS Group affiliate LS Mtron's copper foil and flexible copper clad laminate business. Under the terms of the agreement, an affiliate of KKR and LS will together invest to create a new joint venture holding company and acquire the business of LSA. LS will maintain the control of the LSA JV owning 53% of the LSA JV's voting shares and the LSA JV will remain as an affiliate of LS Group. KKR will own 47% of the LSA JV's voting shares. Concurrently, KKR will acquire full ownership of LSM's CF/FCCL Business segment. KKR's investment implies a combined enterprise value of the LSA and the CF/FCCL Business of approximately $923.6M.

05:44 EDT AstraZeneca says Phase III MYSTIC trial did not meet primary endpoint - AstraZeneca announced progression-free survival results for the Phase III MYSTIC trial, a randomized, open-label, multi-center, global trial of Imfinzi monotherapy or Imfinzi in combination with tremelimumab versus platinum-based standard-of-care chemotherapy in previously-untreated patients with metastatic1st-line non-small cell lung cancer. The combination of Imfinzi and tremelimumab did not meet the primary endpoint of improving PFS compared to SoC in patients whose tumors express PD-L1 on 25% or more of their cancer cells. As a secondary endpoint, although not formally tested, Imfinzi monotherapy would not have met a pre-specified threshold of PFS benefit over SoC in this disease setting. The trial will continue to assess two additional primary endpoints of overall survival for Imfinzi monotherapy and OS for the Imfinzi plus tremelimumab combination. Final OS data from both primary endpoints are expected during the first half of 2018. Sean Bohen, Executive Vice President, Global Medicines Development and Chief Medical Officer at AstraZeneca, said: "While the results from the MYSTIC trial for progression-free survival in first-line Stage IV non-small cell lung cancer compared with standard of care are disappointing, the trial was designed to assess overall survival and we look forward to evaluating the remaining primary endpoints of overall survival for both mono- and combination therapy."