Stockwinners Market Radar for August 17, 2017 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

18:04 EDT Sanchez Energy to sell Javelina asset in Eagle Ford shale for about $105M - Sanchez Energy announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Javelina asset in the Eagle Ford Shale for approximately $105M in cash. The transaction is subject to customary terms and conditions and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2017. "This transaction highlights the value creation that our grass roots leasing program has delivered," said Tony Sanchez, III, Chief Executive Officer of Sanchez Energy. "Over the last eighteen months we leased approximately 70,000, largely contiguous, net acres in the dry gas window of the Eagle Ford. This transaction accelerates the value of the asset, while building our liquidity and providing value to our shareholders."

17:32 EDT On The Fly: After Hours Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Sportsman's Warehouse (SPWH), up 15%... Ross Stores (ROST), up 10.9%... Globant (GLOB), up 8.9%... Gap (GPS), up 5.8%... Applied Materials (AMAT), up 3.7%. ALSO HIGHER: Fluidigm (FLDM), up 4.4% after it licensed a CFTR next-generation sequencing assay. LOWER: Senseonics (SENS), down 5.7% after it announced an offering of common stock.

17:21 EDT Control4 to replace Albany Molecular in S&P 600 at open on 8/22 - The Carlyle Group (CG) and GTCR are acquiring Albany Molecular Research (AMRI) in a deal expected to be completed soon, pending final conditions.

17:15 EDT Cigna's Bacus sells 2,236 common shares - In a regulatory filing, Cigna executive VP and chief marketing & customer officer Lisa R. Bacus disclosed the sale of 2,236 common shares of the company at a price of $179.949 per share. The transaction brings Bacus' total direct common stock ownership in the company to 18,501 shares.

16:59 EDT General Motors' Jacoby sells 20,000 common shares - In a regulatory filing, General Motors executive VP Stefan Jacoby disclosed the sale of 20,000 common shares of the company at $35.60 per share. The transaction brings Jacoby's total direct common stock ownership to 60,379 shares.

16:50 EDT Dillard's raises quarterly dividend to 10c from 7c per share - The dividend is payable on the Class A and Class B Common Stock of the company on October 30 to shareholders of record as of September 29.

16:43 EDT Gabelli reports 10.94% stake in Core Molding

16:41 EDT Gabelli reports 6.66% stake in Materion

16:32 EDT Cellectis: First patient with BPDCN dosed in Phase I TALEN trial - Cellectis announced that the first patient with Blastic Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cell Neoplasm, or BPDCN, has been dosed in Cellectis' Phase I clinical study using the company's wholly controlled TALEN gene edited product candidate UCART123 at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. UCART123 is the first allogeneic, "off-the-shelf" gene edited CAR T-cell product candidate targeting CD123 to be investigated in U.S. clinical trials. The clinical trial will investigate the safety and efficacy of UCART123 in patients with BPDCN in the relapsed, refractory and front-line setting. BPDCN is a rare and aggressive hematological malignancy classified in the myeloid diseases among the acute leukemias that are derived from plasmacytoid dendritic cell precursors. It is a bone marrow disease that also often affects skin and lymph nodes.

16:30 EDT Blackstone agrees to acquire Harvest Fund Advisors, terms not disclosed - Blackstone announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Harvest Fund Advisors, independent investment management firm with over $10B in assets under management. Harvest primarily invests capital raised from institutional investors in separately managed accounts and pooled vehicles, investing in public master limited partnerships holding U.S. midstream energy assets. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2017.

16:27 EDT Morgan Stanley reports 5.2% passive stake in PHH Corp.

16:21 EDT Myriad Genetics' EndoPredict gets positive decisions from Medicare and Anthem - Myriad Genetics (MYGN) announced that Palmetto GBA, the Medicare contractor who oversees the MolDx program and Anthem (ANTM), have announced positive coverage decisions for EndoPredict testing. "We now have nearly full coverage for EndoPredict testing in the United States which was accomplished in an unprecedented time of less than six months after our launch," said Mark C. Capone, president and CEO, Myriad Genetics. "We believe this rapid expansion of coverage reflects the strong scientific evidence and compelling head-to-head data where the EndoPredict test markedly outperformed the leading first-generation test, and the value of avoiding frustrating and costly intermediate results." Following the full implementation of these decisions, Myriad will now have coverage for over 90 percent of breast cancer patients. "We are seeing increased physician interest in EndoPredict testing and broad reimbursement only strengthens their conviction to use a second generation test with clear superiority in predicting recurrence in the critical five to ten year timeframe," said Johnathan Lancaster M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer, Myriad Genetics.

16:17 EDT Kirby CFO C. Andrew Smith resigning September 7 - Kirby CFO and Executive VP C. Andrew Smith is resigning from his position effective September 7 to accept another opportunity. Kirby has commenced a search for a successor CFO. Smith will continue in his role as CFO until the effective date of his resignation. CEO David Grzebinski will then serve in the dual roles of CEO and CFO on an interim basis until Kirby identifies a new CFO.

16:12 EDT Ross Stores up 10% after earnings, guidance

16:11 EDT Portolan Capital reports 5.4% passive stake in Emcore

16:06 EDT Atlantic Capital announces 3.11M share common stock offering - Atlantic Capital Bancshares, the parent company of Atlantic Capital Bank, announced the launch of the underwritten secondary public offering of a total of 3.11M shares of its common stock, all of which will be offered by selling shareholders, Trident IV, L.P. and Trident IV Professionals Fund. Atlantic Capital will not receive any proceeds from the offering. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, a Stifel Company, is serving as the sole underwriter on the offering.

16:03 EDT Amgen and Humana partnering for health care efficiency improvement - Humana (HUM) and Amgen (AMGN) have teamed up to identify opportunities to improve health outcomes and improve efficiency by unlocking new insights from the real world health care experiences of Humana's 13 million members. In the collaboration agreement between Amgen and Humana, six projects are currently underway or planned, with more expected over the term of the agreement. The collaboration will initially target multiple serious conditions, including cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, neurologic disorders, inflammatory diseases and cancer. Prospective observational studies are also planned.

15:54 EDT Engine Capital reports 5% stake in PFSweb, says shares 'undervalued'

14:44 EDT Feuerstein says Lynparza approval shows FDA sees no differences in PARPs - STAT's Adam Feuerstein just tweeted, "Lesson from today's expanded Lynparza approval (ovarian cancer maintenance) is FDA doesn't see differences in the PARPs. $AZN $CLVS $TSRO."

14:16 EDT Goodyear Tire names Christopher Helsel Chief Technology Officer - The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company announced that Christopher Helsel has been named VP and Chief Technology Officer, effective September 1. Helsel currently serves as director, North America commercial and global off-highway technology and brings a wealth of experience in key research and development, technology and business roles in Goodyear.

14:02 EDT Pfizer receives FDA approval for Besponsa for ALL treatment - Pfizer announced that the FDA has approved Besponsa for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia, ALL. Besponsa was reviewed and approved under the FDA's Breakthrough Therapy designation and Priority Review programs. "The approval of Besponsa is an important step forward for adult patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a rare disease that can be fatal within a matter of months if left untreated," said Liz Barrett, global president, Pfizer Oncology. Besponsa will help address a significant need for new treatment options in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and may help more patients reach stem cell transplant, which provides the best chance for long term remission. We're proud to build on our continued commitment to patients with hematologic malignancies, and will continue our work to find new treatments in acute lymphoblastic leukemia and other blood cancers." The approval was based on results from the Phase 3 INO-VATE ALL trial, a randomized, open-label, international, multicenter study evaluating the safety and efficacy of Besponsa compared with Investigator's choice of chemotherapy in 326 adult patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell ALL.1

13:44 EDT Clovis, Tesaro drop after FDA gives Lynparza broader approval - Shares Clovis Oncology (CLVS) and Tesaro (TSRO) moved lower after the FDA approved a broader label for AstraZeneca's (AZN) PARP inhibitor Lynparza. The PARP can now be used for the maintenance treatment of adult patients with recurrent epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube or primary peritoneal cancer, who are in a complete or partial response to platinum-based chemotherapy, the FDA's newly approved label shows. Shares of Clovis are down 5% to $68.24 while Tesaro is down 4% to $108.42.

13:32 EDT Ally Bridge raises stake in Biocept to 14.46% from 8.76% - In a regulatory filing out earlier, Ally Bridge disclosed that it had raised its stake in oncology diagnostics company Biocept to 14.46% from 8.76%. Ally Bridge said it acquired the shares of the company and warrants for investment purposes. "Ally Bridge may acquire additional shares of the company or other securities of Biocept convertible into common stock. In addition, Ally Bridge may explore a potential business relationship with Biocept. Ally Bridge reserves the right to, and may in the future choose to, change their purpose with respect to their investment. Ally Bridge may take such actions as they deem appropriate in light of the circumstances including, without limitation, to dispose of, in the open market, in a private transaction or by gift, all or a portion of the warrants which they now own or may hereafter acquire," said Ally Bridge. Shares of Biocept are up 3% to $1.22 per share in afternoon trading.

13:27 EDT Werner CEO says business has been improving throughout the year - The trucking firm's CEO is speaking in a CNBC interview.

13:16 EDT FDA posts approval of new dosage form for AstraZeneca's Lynparza - Reference Link

13:12 EDT CenturyLink says working to finalize Level 3 deal by end of Q3

12:55 EDT Medovex names Charlie Farrahar as CFO - Medovex reported it has named Charlie Farrahar as its CFO. Farrahar was the first CFO of the company from its inception through IPO. He remained with the company as its Secretary only from January 2015 until August 2017, when he agreed to resume the CFO role. Farrahar currently serves as CFO for several small private biotech companies in the research and development stage. Jeffery Wright, the former CFO, agreed to become the company's first Controller.

12:32 EDT Chapman says making dollar going against Ackman feels as good as $10 - Robert Chapman of Chapman Capital is on CNBC discussing his short position in ADP. The investor said making a dollar going against an Ackman name feels as good as making $10 in other names.

12:28 EDT Robert Chapman discusses ADP short position on CNBC

12:07 EDT MiMedx updates on litigation with terminated employees - MiMedx Group provided an update on its litigation with certain former employees. As previously disclosed in the company's quarterly report on Form 10-Q as filed with the SEC on July 31, 2017, the company filed lawsuits against certain former employees on December 13, 2016 for, among other things, selling competing products while full-time employees of MiMedx. The company has already been successful in obtaining court orders enforcing the non-compete and other restrictive covenants against two of the former employees. The company is also seeking monetary damages in an amount to be determined at trial. In response, these former employees sued the company and the company's Chairman and CEO. In their lawsuits, the former employees claimed, among other things, that the company terminated their employment in retaliation for their complaints about the company's alleged business practices. It appears that those allegations were designed to intimidate the company into eliminating the former employees' non-competition agreements and paying a large settlement. As previously disclosed, all of these allegations were fully investigated over a three-month period by the board and its Audit Committee and an external team, which included outside legal counsel, the company's independent auditors, and a nationally-recognized expert on revenue recognition. No credible evidence of incorrect processes, procedures or wrongdoing by the company or MiMedx management was found. Also, there was no credible evidence to indicate that any changes to the company's previously issued financial statements were necessary in light of the former employees' allegations... The cases involving the terminated employees have now proceeded to the discovery phase of litigation. In discovery, the company has been successful in identifying additional evidence that the terminated employees violated their restrictive covenants, and that their counterclaims lack merit... Two terminated employees admitted in sworn declarations to selling competitive products to MiMedx customers on behalf of a competitor while they were employed full-time by MiMedx. One terminated employee admitted in sworn testimony that a company controlled by him received commissions for sales made on behalf of a competitor during the time he worked for MiMedx. Finally, one terminated employee admitted he has been dishonest. He admitted that he was actually lying in various emails regarding his sales activities. Additionally, he testified that he told one other terminated employee to lie to VA doctors about whether or not he would get commissions for selling to them a competing product. Moreover, that terminated employee admitted that he kept his limited liability company a secret from MiMedx... Additionally, the company has become aware of a recent "short-sale thesis" suggesting improprieties in certain VA procurement documents. The company understands that it has been suggested that a MiMedx employee is listed as the "contact person" in a VA procurement document between AvKARE and the VA hospital. Although the company does not typically comment on these types of theories and rumors, MiMedx believes it is appropriate to note here that the form was intended to be filled out by VA personnel and MiMedx was not a party to such a document and did not review it. This type of document would be forwarded to AvKARE for product fulfillment as AvKARE was solely responsible for distribution activities in the VA hospitals per its contract with MiMedx until MiMedx obtained its own FSS contract in 2015, which allowed it to do business directly as well. It should be noted that MiMedx was the manufacturer of the products, and as such, did manage product support inquiries, so MiMedx personnel were known to the procurement agents in the VA hospitals. These civil cases are proceeding at a rapid pace toward trial and/or settlement; however, certain of these terminated employees are continuing their attempts to publicly defame the company through misinformation, which has resulted in tortious interference civil actions taken against some of these individuals, and potentially further tortious interference civil actions against the others involved in the spread of fabricated information.

11:50 EDT Pershing lays out transformation plan for ADP - Pershing Square, on slide 140 of its presentation, laid out a transformation plan for ADP. The plan includes fixing the corporate structure, accelerating investments in product and back-end improvements, accelerating product migrations and sun-setting back-end systems, reducing excess support personnel, and increasing sales force productivity with a better product offering. Pershing wants ADP to focus on maximizing long-term value as opposed to continuous dividend raises. The activist believes that dividends can continue to be raised given the company's small leverage position.

11:31 EDT Time Inc. names Lori Leibovich editor-in-chief of Health, effective immediately - Time Inc. appointed Lori Leibovich Editor-in-Chief of HEALTH, effective immediately. Leibovich will also oversee digital for TIME HEALTH, a new company-wide initiative that draws on the full portfolio of Time Inc.'s brands, including TIME, HEALTH, FORTUNE, COOKING LIGHT, REAL SIMPLE, MY RECIPES, SOUTHERN LIVING and PEOPLE. In addition, Clare McHugh has been named Senior Director for Edit Operations. Leibovich succeeds McHugh as HEALTH Editor-in-Chief, overseeing content and editorial operations for the brand across platforms. Most recently, Leibovich was Time Inc.'s Digital Director of Women's Content.

11:15 EDT Gold Fields jumps after saying Q2 production at South Deep up 61% - In an update on projects Gold Fields said: "After a challenging start to 2017, with a number of incidents impacting Q1, production at South Deep in Q2 2017 increased by 61% QoQ. The recovery continued into the July month, during which 1,008kg was produced. Despite the slow start to the year, the integrity of the rebase plan is still intact and largely on track. We strongly believe that the production schedule of the rebase plan over the next few years is on track. For the six months to 30 June, production at South Deep decreased by 15% to 3,710kg from 4,356kg in H1 2016, driven by decreased volumes and grade. Two fatalities and three falls of ground impacted negatively on the March quarter's production output. However, the June quarter demonstrated a significant improvement. AIC in H1 2017 increased 7% YoY to R662,973/kg." Shares of Gold Fields are up over 3% to $4.13 in morning trading.

11:10 EDT Boeing reports 14 new orders in weekly update - Boeing on its website announced 14 new orders for the week, including BOC Aviation for ten 737s and unidentified customers for four 737s. Year to date information: 737 net orders: 69 NG and 220 MAX; 777 net orders: 17 777 and 20 777X.

10:55 EDT United Rentals climbs following acqusition agreement with Neff - Shares of United Rentals (URI) are in moving higher after the company announced plans to acquire Neff Corporation (NEFF), topping H&E Equipment Services' (HEES) $1.2B offer. UNITED TO ACQUIRE NEFF: United Rentals and Neff said in a statement that United will buy Neff for $25 per share in cash, or about $1.3B. The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to cash earnings per share and free cash flow, the companies said. The boards of directors of United Rentals and Neff unanimously approved the agreement and private investment funds managed by Wayzata Investment Partners, which hold approximately 62.7% of the outstanding common shares of Neff, have executed a written consent to approve the transaction. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter, they said. United said it expects to realize approximately $220M in net present value of tax benefits included in the purchase price. Neff CEO Graham Hood commented that "United Rentals is an industry leader in equipment rentals, and as a result of this transaction, our employees and customers will benefit from the combined company's expanded geographic footprint and diversified offering." FAILED H&E OFFER: Immediately prior to entering into the agreement with United Rentals, Neff terminated its previously announced merger agreement with H&E Equipment Services. Neff said on Monday it had received a "superior offer," beating H&E's $21.07 per share cash offer, which represented a total enterprise value of $1.2B, including debt. H&E said on Tuesday that it decided not to submit a revised proposal to acquire the company. In connection with the of the Neff-H&E termination, United Rentals said it has paid H&E a termination fee of approximately $13.2M on behalf of Neff. ANALYST COMMENTARY: RBC analyst Seth Weber said in a note to clients this morning that United's deal to buy Neff the deal bolsters United's "market-leading position" as Neff is a profitable operator with a strong presence in a high-return equipment area. He added that while LTM valuation is higher than recent industry transactions, pro forma net leverage will be manageable due to a favorable view on the cycle and United Rental's significant free cash. Weber has an Outperform rating and a $144 price target on the stock. On Wednesday, following the announcement H&E would not raise its offer, Weber said he does not believe the decision was a call on the cycle, but a move by management to retain its valuation framework. Weber said H&E has indicated it will instead focus on a strategy of green-field expansions and opportunistic roll-up acquisitions, which will clearly take longer than the purchase of Neff. The analyst has an Outperform rating and $32 price target on the stock. PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, United Rentals rose 1.1% to $113.54, Neff rose 1% to $24.80 and H&E was up 0.7% to $21.43.

10:49 EDT Mylan finalizes settlement on Medicate rebate classification for EpiPen - Mylan announced that its subsidiaries, Mylan Inc. and Mylan Specialty L.P., have signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice and two relators finalizing the Medicaid drug rebate settlement that the company announced on Oct. 7, 2016 for $465M. The settlement resolves claims relating to the classification of EpiPen Auto-Injector and EpiPen Jr Auto-Injector for purposes of the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program. The question in the underlying matter was whether the EpiPen products were properly classified with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as a non-innovator drug under the applicable definition in the Medicaid Rebate statute and subject to the formula that is used to calculate rebates to Medicaid for such drugs. EpiPen Auto-Injector has been classified with CMS as a non-innovator drug since before Mylan acquired the product in 2007 based on longstanding written guidance from the federal government. The settlement provides for resolution of all potential Medicaid rebate liability claims by the federal government, as well as potential claims by certain hospitals and other covered entities that participate in the 340B Drug Pricing Program. The settlement allocates money to the Medicaid programs of all 50 states and establishes a framework for resolving all potential state Medicaid rebate liability claims within 60 days. In connection with the settlement, Mylan also has entered into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Office of Inspector General of the Department of Health and Human Services. The settlement does not contain an admission or finding of wrongdoing. Mylan will reclassify EpiPen Auto-Injector for purposes of the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program and pay the rebate applicable to innovator products effective as of April 1, 2017. Mylan CEO Heather Bresch commented, "As we said when we announced the settlement last year, bringing closure to this matter is the right course of action for Mylan and our stakeholders to allow us to move forward. Over the course of the last year, we have taken significant steps to enhance access to epinephrine auto-injectors, including bringing a solution to the fast-changing healthcare landscape in the U.S. by launching an authorized generic version at less than half the wholesale acquisition cost of the brand and meaningfully expanding our patient access programs. Mylan has always been committed to providing patients in the U.S. and around the world with access to medicine, and we look forward to continuing to deliver on this mission."

10:36 EDT Ebix to acquire MTSS business of Wall Street Finance for $7.4M - Ebix announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Money Transfer Service Scheme Business of Wall Street Finance Limited along with the acquisition of its subsidiary company Goldman Securities Limited, for $7.4M. The agreement while approved by the Wall Street Board, is subject to its shareholders approval. The customary process for such approval can take a timeline of 45 to 75 days. The acquisition once approved, is expected to be accretive to Ebix earnings immediately. The company funded the transaction using its internal cash reserves.

10:33 EDT Mylan to pay $465M to Resolve False Claims Act liability over EpiPen - The U.S. Attorney's Office announced that Mylan (MYL) have agreed to pay $465M to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by knowingly misclassifying EpiPen, a branded epinephrine auto-injector drug, as a generic drug to avoid paying rebates owed to Medicaid. As part of this settlement, Mylan has also entered into a corporate integrity agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General that requires, among other things, an independent review organization to annually review multiple aspects of Mylan's practices relating to the Medicaid drug rebate program. Sanofi (SNY) raised this matter with the United States Attorney's Office in 2014. As a result of today's settlement, Sanofi will receive $38.7M as its share of the federal recovery, plus a share of the states' recovery.

10:21 EDT J & J Snack Foods acquires Labriola Baking Company - J & J Snack Foods announced the acquisition of Labriola Baking Company; a premium bakery of breads and artisan soft pretzels, located just outside Chicago in Alsip, IL. Labriola Baking began in 1993, as a local delivery bakery in the Chicago suburbs, and has grown into a provider of superior prebaked breads, rolls and soft pretzels for retail in-store bakery and foodservice outlets, nationwide. Jerry Law, J&J's Senior Vice President, comments: "The Labriola Baking Company was built upon high quality, authentic products. We have been a longtime admirer of the company and we're eager to have Labriola join our J&J Snack Foods family of brands and bakeries. We look forward to marrying Labriola's quality product offerings with our current portfolio, thus providing additional opportunities for our customers and consumers."

10:06 EDT Freddie Mac names Stacey Goodman CIO, effective September 25 - Freddie Mac (FMCC) announced that Stacey Goodman will join Freddie Mac as executive vice president and chief information officer on September 25. Goodman will lead the Information Technology division and provide corporatewide leadership for all the company's technology activities. Goodman will be a member of the senior operating committee and will report directly to CEO Donald H. Layton. Most recently, Goodman was EVP, chief information and operations officer at CIT (CIT).

09:54 EDT Pershing says 'complex accounting' has concealed ADP's underperformance - Pershing Square continues to speak on its conference call on ADP.

09:50 EDT FRONTEO Inc (ADS) trading resumes

09:45 EDT FRONTEO Inc (ADS) trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:42 EDT ADP losing 'material' amount of clients in enterprise HCM, Pershing says - Says ADP "still largely" a processing company, not an innovative software and technology company. Says ADP losing significant market share, "material" amount of clients in enterprise HCM. Says Vantage's adoption rate "very weak," trailing competitors. Says ADP has insular culture and lacks innovation.

09:31 EDT CACI says looking at M&A that will be 'technologically differentiating' - Says could make some "small acquisitions" in FY18.

09:16 EDT ADP 'missing the big picture,' threatening competitive position, Ackman says - Bill Ackman said on Pershing Square's conference call discussing the results of research on ADP that he consulted 85 industry executives, including former employees. Ackman said ADP's own targets are creating issues at the company. Says ADP has "missed the big picture" with its "focus on hitting the numbers," threatening its competitive position.

09:10 EDT On The Fly: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: Alibaba (BABA), up 5.3% after reporting quarterly results... Altaba (AABA), up 4.2% following Alibaba's quarterly earnings report... CommScope (COMM), up 7.2% after being upgraded to Overweight on strong fiber builds at Morgan Stanley. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Wal-Mart (WMT), down 2.5%... L Brands (LB), down 7.7%... Cisco (CSCO), down 2%... NetApp (NTAP), down 2.4%... Golden Ocean (GOGL), down 2.5%.

09:05 EDT CACI says FY18 CapEx to be driven by new contract awards

09:01 EDT Sprint announces pre-order for Essential Phone begins today - Sprint and Essential Products announced the beginning of pre-order for Essential Phone, the first smartphone from Essential Products, started by Andy Rubin, co-founder of Android.

08:48 EDT Current, powered by GE to help Home Depot expand rooftop solar energy - The Home Depot (HD) has selected Current, powered by GE (GE) to support a significant expansion of its rooftop solar energy program. Current partnered with Home Depot on site selection, project implementation plans, financing and incentive capture for 20 solar installations in New Jersey, as well as 10 additional stores in Connecticut, Maryland and Washington, DC. The 11.9 Megawatt portfolio will deploy approximately 30,000 rooftop solar panels and reduce electricity grid demand by an estimated 30 to 35 percent annually at each Home Depot store. Current by GE has begun construction on the selected stores, which will continue throughout 2017.

08:43 EDT CACI says bidding fewer opportunities and winning more of them - Says winning larger contracts with focus on solution content.

08:42 EDT CACI says 'very pleased' with Q4, FY17 results - Says FY18 pipeline "healthy," prospects "remain strong." Comments from Q4 earnings conference call.

08:37 EDT CVS Health's CVS Pharmacy obtains URAC reaccreditation in Community Pharmacy - CVS Health's retail division CVS Pharmacy has earned reaccreditation in Community Pharmacy from URAC, a provider of health care quality accreditation, certification and measurement. All CVS Pharmacy, Longs Drugs and Navarro Discount Pharmacy locations nationwide have earned this accreditation. Organizations that earn URAC's Community Pharmacy Accreditation are recognized as providers of comprehensive patient care and medication management programs, and as leaders in quality and patient safety.

08:34 EDT Roka Bioscience to sell assets to Institute for Environmental Health unit - Roka Bioscience announced that it has entered into an asset purchase agreement with Rokabio, a newly formed, wholly-owned subsidiary of Institute for Environmental Health, for the sale of substantially all of the assets of Roka Bioscience in an all-cash transaction for an aggregate purchase price of $17.5M, subject to certain adjustments set forth in the asset purchase agreement. IEH's focus is to provide comprehensive risk management services to the food industry. In addition, the IEH family of companies is involved in the production and distribution of reagents, supplies, test kits and equipment to food testing laboratories and food companies. The IEH group operates in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Germany, Austria, England, China and Australia. The closing of the transactions contemplated by the asset purchase agreement is subject to certain customary conditions, including the receipt of consent of Roka Bioscience's lender and approval by the stockholders of Roka Bioscience of the transactions contemplated by the asset purchase agreement. As part of the transaction, Roka Bioscience will be required to make a $2.5M milestone payment pursuant to its license agreement. The asset sale is the initial step in a contemplated liquidation of Roka Bioscience. Stockholder approval will also be required for the plan of liquidation. Pursuant to the terms of the asset purchase agreement, Roka Bioscience is required to provide transition services to the buyer through no later than December 31, 2017, with the intention of ensuring a successful transition of Roka Bioscience's business to the buyer. Assuming stockholder approval, liquidating distributions, in an amount to be determined, are expected to begin shortly after the completion of the transition services period.

08:32 EDT Protalex awarded grant from FDA's OOPD for PRTX-100 - Protalex announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Office of Orphan Products Development has awarded the Company a $403,000 grant to support future clinical development activity of PRTX-100 as a treatment for Immune Thrombocytopenia. PRTX-100 is a highly purified form of Staphylococcal protein A, which is an immunomodulatory protein known to modify aspects of the human immune system. PRTX-100 is a new generation immunomodulatory therapy and has been granted Orphan Drug Designation as a potential treatment for ITP in both the U.S. and Europe. Protalex is currently enrolling patients into two Phase 1/2 dose-escalating studies of PRTX-100 as a potential new treatment for ITP at several sites in the U.S. and in Europe and has so far seen patients in each completed lower dose cohort achieve a protocol-defined platelet response.

08:31 EDT Granite Construction awarded $21M bridge reconstruction project in Chicago - Granite Construction said that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Kenny Construction, has been awarded a $21M contract by the Illinois Department of Transportation for the reconstruction and widening of the Van Buren Street Bridge in Chicago, Illinois. The contract will be included in Granite's third quarter 2017 backlog. Kenny will be responsible for the replacement of the Van Buren Street Bridge over Interstate 90/94, construction of a retaining wall at the northwest quadrant of the Jane Byrne Interchange, improvements to the southeast corner of Elysian Field, and relocation of the existing Greektown monument from Quincy Street to the project site. Work is scheduled to begin in August 2017 and be complete by September 2019.

08:24 EDT Amazon to create 1,000 permanent jobs with opening of Bristol fulfilment center - Amazon announced plans to open a new fulfilment center in Bristol in 2018, creating more than 1,000 new permanent jobs in the local area. Recruitment will begin next year for a range of new roles, including operations managers, engineers, HR and IT specialists. All permanent Amazon fulfilment centre employees start on GBP7.65 an hour or more. This increases over their first two years of employment when all employees earn GBP8.15 an hour or more. In addition, all permanent employees working in the company's fulfilment centers receive stock grants, which over the last five years were equal to GBP1,000 or more per year per employee. Employees are offered a comprehensive benefits package, including private medical insurance, life assurance, income protection, subsidized meals and an employee discount, which combined are worth more than GBP 700 annually, as well as a company pension plan. Amazon is increasing the size of its UK fulfilment center network to meet increasing customer demands, expand selection and enable small businesses selling on Amazon Marketplace to scale their operations. The Bristol site will be fitted out with advanced Amazon Robotics technology. The 1,000 new jobs that will be created in Bristol from 2018 are in addition to the 5,000 new permanent roles that Amazon is creating this year, bringing its total workforce to 24,000 across its head office, three development centres as well as its fulfilment and customer service centers by the end of 2017.

08:12 EDT Biocept evaluating Target Selector platform with UT Southwestern Medical Center - Biocept has entered into a clinical study agreement with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. The study is designed to evaluate the clinical utility of Biocept's Target Selector platform for patients diagnosed with ALK-positive non-small cell lung cancer and treated with ALK-inhibitor therapy. A second arm of the study will evaluate patients with rare cancers such as anaplastic thyroid cancer to determine if driver mutations such as ALK rearrangements can be identified and treated with targeted therapy to improve patient outcomes.

08:09 EDT MER Telemanagement regains conditional NASDAQ listing compliance - Mer Telemanagement has been notified by NASDAQ that the company complies with Nasdaq listing rule Listing Rule 5550(b) after completing the conversion of approximately $1.2M of debt incurred in connection with the acquisition of Vexigo Ltd. into warrants to acquire 1,200,000 of the company's ordinary shares. The warrants have a term of five years and are exercisable at an exercise price of $0 per ordinary share commencing on the second anniversary of their issuance. During the two year period following issuance, the company has an option to purchase all or a portion of such warrants at a price per share of $1.00. In addition the company completed the sale of 602,409 of its ordinary shares for an aggregate purchase price of $400K in a private placement to certain directors of the company, certain former beneficial holders of the shares of Vexigo Ltd. and a former officer of the company. If the company fails to evidence compliance upon filing its next periodic report it may be subject to delisting. The company has until August 21 to regain compliance with the $1.00 minimum bid price requirement of NASDAQ. The company is eligible for an additional 180 calendar days' extension to regain compliance once it meets the continued listing requirement for market value of publicly held shares and all other listing standards for the Nasdaq Capital Market, with the exception of the bid price requirement. The company will seek the 180 days extension, based on its compliance with the continued listing requirements and its intention to cure the deficiency during the second compliance period, by affecting a reverse stock split, if necessary.

08:07 EDT Alibaba still plans to invest 'heavily' in cloud for market share

08:03 EDT China Commercial Credit reaches settlement in securities class action - China Commercial Credit has entered into a stipulation and agreement of settlement to settle the securities class action litigation pending against it in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. On June 1 the Court entered a final judgment and order that dismisses with prejudice the claims asserted in the Securities Class Action against all named defendants in connection with the Securities Class Action, including the company, and releases any claims that were or could have been asserted that arise from or relate to the facts alleged in the Securities Class Action, such that every member of the settlement class will be barred from asserting such claims in the future; and approves the payment of $220K in cash and the issuance of 950,000 shares of its common stock to members of the settlement class. The settlement does not constitute any admission of fault or wrongdoing by the company or any of the individual defendants.

08:02 EDT Endologix notes 'trend toward better performance' for AFX/AFX2 in study

07:58 EDT Alibaba says 'optimistic' about growth perspectives for FY18 - Says will continue to increase competitive position in digital entertainment through a combination of licenses to premium content as well as self-produced and jointly produced programming. Says "optimistic" about growth perspectives for FY18.

07:55 EDT Alibaba reiterates FY18 revenue growth guidance of 45%-49%

07:52 EDT CACI says expects 'strong awards' in September quarter - Assumes that the government's FY18 will start under a continuing resolution. Says unchanged market environment since the June guidance call. Comments from slides presentation for Q4 earnings conference call.

07:41 EDT Computer Services announces retirement of president R. Stanley Eckenberg - Computer Services announced that R. Stanley Eckenberg, the company's president, plans to retire in June 2018. As Eckenberg plans for retirement, CSI has identified a succession plan for its leadership team. In April 2017, CSI promoted David Culbertson to the role of COO; he will succeed Eckenberg and assume the role of president and COO in June.

07:35 EDT Wal-Mart drops 2.3% in premarket trading following Q2 results

07:31 EDT Golden Entertainment completes syndication of financing to fund American deal - Golden Entertainment announced that it has successfully completed syndication of its financing commitments to fund its pending acquisition of American Casino & Entertainment Properties and to refinance Golden's outstanding debt at closing. The syndicated commitments consist of a $800M 1st lien term loan priced at L+300 with 0.5% OID and a $200M 2nd lien term loan priced at L+700 with 1.5% OID. Maturities on the 1st and 2nd lien term loans are seven and eight years, respectively. In addition, the credit facilities will provide for a $100 million unfunded revolver to support future growth opportunities. Based on the syndicated pricing of the new term loans, the company's expected weighted average interest rate on its funded debt at closing will be approximately 5%. The transactions remain subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals, and are expected to close in Q4. JP Morgan, Credit Suisse, Macquarie Capital and Morgan Stanley acted as joint lead arrangers for the syndication of the credit facilities.

07:18 EDT Wal-Mart sees FY EPS impact from currency 'less' than previously expected - The initial guidance for FY18 EPS assumed a negative currency impact of about 5c per share, but Wal-Mart now expects the EPS impact from currency will be less given current exchange rates. The company continues to assume a full-year effective tax rate around 32%. Guidance assumes the economic conditions in key markets remains "relatively consistent."

07:13 EDT Telstra, News Corp. to combine Foxtel, Fox SPORTS Australia - Telstra (TLSYY) and News Corp. (NWSA) announced their intention to combine Foxtel and Fox SPORTS Australia into a new company, one that is well positioned to deliver premium sports as well as homegrown, original and international entertainment in a rapidly evolving and competitive marketplace. Subject to the conclusion of definitive agreements, regulatory review and satisfaction of certain other conditions, the following key changes will be implemented as part of the new arrangement: News Corp will have 65% shareholding in the new company and Telstra will have 35%. News Corp will appoint the chairman, majority of the new company's board and senior executives and Telstra will appoint the remaining directors.The proposed arrangements will better position the new company for an initial public offering in the future, with News Corp having a majority stake. If the transaction between Telstra and News Corp is concluded on the proposed terms, News Corp expects to consolidate the new company into its financial statements. At this stage certain key commercial terms of the proposed transaction have been agreed on a non-binding basis. Telstra and News Corp have signed a binding process agreement under which they will prepare long form agreements to give legal effect to the commercial principles. Telstra and News Corp will work to finalise the transaction, including obtaining regulatory approval, to be completed in the first half of 2018.

07:10 EDT Wal-Mart: Comp sales, traffic 'solid' across Hardlines, Home in Q2 - Wal-Mart said on slides in conjunction with its Q2 earnings conference call that food and consumables at Walmart U.S. had strong traffic throughout the quarter with solid unit growth. Slight market inflation in food, excluding price investments, benefited food comp sales by approximately 30 basis points. Customer traffic, branded drug inflation and script growth contributed to solid performances in pharmacy and over-the-counter for the period, the company said, adding that comp sales and traffic were "solid" across Hardlines and Home during Q2. At Walmart International, the divestitures of Yihaodian and Suburbia created a headwind to sales of nearly $520M vs. last year and inventory grew at a slower rate than sales.

07:08 EDT RedHill announces commercialization agreement for Esomeprazole Strontium - RedHill Biopharma announced that it has entered into a commercialization agreement with ParaPRO, an Indiana-based specialty pharmaceutical company, granting RedHill the exclusive rights to promote Esomeprazole Strontium Delayed-Release Capsules to gastroenterologists in certain U.S. territories. Esomeprazole Strontium DR Capsules 49.3 mg is a prescription proton pump inhibitor, or PPI, indicated for adults for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD, risk reduction of NSAID-associated gastric ulcer, H. pylori eradication to reduce the risk of duodenal ulcer recurrence and for pathological hypersecretory conditions, including Zollinger-Ellison syndrome1. Esomeprazole Strontium DR Capsules 49.3 mg is a proprietary prescription drug approved by the FDA under a New Drug Application.

07:03 EDT BioTime's AgeX Therapeutics closes $10M capital raise - AgeX Therapeutics, a subsidiary of BioTime, announced that it has closed its round of equity financing, raising net proceeds of $10M, valuing AgeX at approximately $68M post-money. Post-closing, BioTime owns approximately 85% of the outstanding shares of AgeX. The financing, first announced on August 2, is expected to fund AgeX's general operations and product development well into 2019, while saving BioTime approximately $5M annually on these programs and associated operational expenses. The majority of the investors participating in the financing were new to the BioTime group of companies.

07:02 EDT Wal-Mart reports Q2 ecommerce GMV up 67% - E-commerce growth at Walmart U.S. remained strong, led by organic growth through Walmart.com. Net sales and GMV grew 60% and 67%, respectively, as customers continued to respond well to new initiatives and an expanded assortment of more than 67 million SKUs. et sales at Walmart International were $28.3 billion, a decrease of 1.0%. Excluding currency, net sales were $29.3 billion, an increase of 2.5%. Nine of eleven markets posted positive comp sales. Second quarter EPS included a charge of $0.17 for loss on extinguishment of debt in connection with the company's recently completed debt tender offers. This discrete charge was partially offset by the gain from the sale of the Suburbia business in Mexico, which benefited EPS by $0.05. "Thanks to the team for delivering another solid quarter. Our customers are responding to the improvements in stores and online, and our results reflect this. Traffic increases at store level and the eCommerce growth rate are key highlights. We are moving faster and becoming more creative as we strive to make every day easier for busy families," President and CEO Doug McMillon said.

07:02 EDT Roadrunner announces divestiture of Unitrans - Roadrunner Transportation Systems announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to sell its wholly-owned Unitrans subsidiary to Quick International Courier for a purchase price of $95M in cash. Based in Los Angeles, Unitrans is an international cold chain logistics company with a core competency in serving highly demanding and fast-growing life sciences end markets. The transaction is expected to close in the current calendar quarter, subject to customary closing conditions. "We have agreed to divest Unitrans, Inc., which is an excellent business but did not integrate within our portfolio. We expect to use the proceeds from this transaction to reduce outstanding debt, redeem certain of our outstanding preferred stock, lower our leverage, and reduce interest expense. We wish the Unitrans management team and team members well and know that they will have exciting new opportunities as they become part of Quick International Courier," said CEO Curt Stoelting.

06:54 EDT Alibaba says Alibaba Cloud exceeded 1M paying customers in Q1 - Alibaba Cloud reached a key milestone of exceeding 1M paying customers, an increase of 137,000 from the previous quarter. Cloud computing revenue grew 96% year-over-year to $359M, driven by robust paying customer growth and improving revenue mix of higher valued-added services, as reflected by ongoing ARPU expansion. "Market expansion remains our top priority, and we will continue to invest to acquire customers by developing innovative solutions and deploying efficient and cost effective products and services."

06:50 EDT Alibaba CEO says had 'strong start to fiscal 2018' - "Alibaba had a strong start to fiscal 2018, reflecting the strength and diversity of our businesses and the value we bring to customers on our platforms. Our technology is driving significant growth across our business and strengthening our position beyond core commerce," said Daniel Zhang, CEO of Alibaba Group. "We are excited about the future as we continue to innovate and drive synergies among the businesses throughout the Alibaba ecosystem." "We delivered excellent results in the first quarter, with robust revenue growth of 56%. The significant growth in customer management revenue represents the differentiated business value we provide to our customers," said Maggie Wu, CFO of Alibaba Group. "It is our intention to continue investing in long-term growth opportunities, some of which are already delivering significant value to customers and investors."

06:48 EDT Alibaba reports Q1 annual active consumers on China retail marketplaces 466M - Annual active consumers (formerly annual active buyers) on China retail marketplaces reached 466M, an increase of 12M from the 12-month period ended March 31, 2017.

06:34 EDT Trump says public learning 'how dishonest the Fake News is' - President Donald Trump said in a series of tweets this morning, "Publicity seeking Lindsey Graham falsely stated that I said there is moral equivalency between the KKK, neo-Nazis & white supremacists...... ...and people like Ms. Heyer. Such a disgusting lie. He just can't forget his election trouncing.The people of South Carolina will remember! The public is learning (even more so) how dishonest the Fake News is. They totally misrepresent what I say about hate, bigotry etc. Shame!"

06:20 EDT Publishers to receive credit for viewing on Facebook, July through Nielsen DCR - Nielsen (NLSN) announced it will begin crediting video content distributed on Facebook (FB), Hulu (DIS, FOXA, CMCSA, TWX) and YouTube (GOOG) in Digital Content Ratings. Through this capability, participating TV and digital publisher clients can now capture incremental viewing of their content within their reported audience numbers.

06:12 EDT Facebook shuts down anonymous discussion board for employees, WSJ says - Facebook has shut down FB Anon, a popular anonymous discussion board for employees, in December, after it became a hub for conservative political debate that sometimes degenerated into racist or sexist comments, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter. "A cornerstone of our culture is being open," Facebook's head of people, Lori Goler, says, adding that "The FB Anon internal Facebook group violated our terms of service, which require people who use Facebook (including our employees) to use an authentic identity on our platform." Reference Link

06:01 EDT Gilead receives approval in Canada for Vosevi - Gilead Sciences Canada announced that Health Canada has granted a Notice of Compliance for Vosevi tablets, a pan-genotypic single-tablet regimen for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C virus, or HCV, infection in adults with genotype 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6 previously treated with an NS5A inhibitor-containing regimen, or with genotype 1, 2, 3 or 4 previously treated with sofosbuvir-containing regimen without an NS5A inhibitor. The approval is based on data from the Phase 3 POLARIS-1 and POLARIS-4 studies that evaluated 12 weeks of Vosevi in direct-acting antiviral-experienced chronic HCV-infected patients without cirrhosis or with compensated cirrhosis.

05:54 EDT KBR awarded pre-FEED engineering, project support contracts for Torture Project - KBR (KBR) announced it has been awarded pre-front end engineering design, or FEED, and project support services contracts by BP (BP) for the development of the Tortue / Ahmeyim field offshore Mauritania and Senegal. Under KBR's global services agreement with BP, KBR has won these new contracts to provide pre-FEED and project support covering design of the subsea, pre-treatment floating production storage and offloading facility, inshore hub/terminal, and interfaces for floating liquefied natural gas for the Tortue Project. This new work will build on the earlier concept phase work for the development of the field already completed by KBR's subsidiary Granherne for BP's partner, Kosmos. KBR's pre-FEED work is expected to be performed over the next six months, with KBR supporting BP in the Optimize Stage of the Tortue field development. The work will be executed from KBR's London office which has played a key role in multiple recent BP projects including the Glen Lyon FPSO and Shah Deniz Phase II projects. Revenue from this contract is undisclosed and will be booked into backlog for KBR's Engineering & Construction business segment in Q3.

05:34 EDT United Rentals to acquire Neff for $25 per share - United Rentals (URI) and Neff Corporation (NEFF), operating as Neff Rental, announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which United Rentals will acquire Neff for $25 per share in cash, representing a total purchase price of approximately $1.3B. The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to cash EPS and free cash flow. For the full year 2017, Neff is expected to generate $207 million of adjusted EBITDA at a 49.5% margin on $419 million of total revenue. As of June 30, 2017, Neff had approximately $867 million of fleet based on original equipment cost. The boards of directors of United Rentals and Neff unanimously approved the agreement. Private investment funds managed by Wayzata Investment Partners LLC, which hold approximately 62.7% of the outstanding common shares of Neff, have executed a written consent to approve the transaction, thereby providing the required stockholder approval. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017, subject to Hart-Scott-Rodino clearance and customary conditions. Immediately prior to entering into the definitive merger agreement with United Rentals, Neff terminated its previously announced merger agreement with H&E Equipment Services, Inc. In connection with this termination, United Rentals has paid H&E a termination fee of approximately $13.2 million on behalf of Neff. The company plans to update its 2017 financial outlook to reflect the combined operations upon completion of the transaction. The company expects to realize significant cost synergies in operational efficiencies and corporate overhead, with a targeted adjusted EBITDA impact of approximately $35 million by the end of year two. The company expects to realize approximately $220 million in net present value of tax benefits included in the $1.3 billion purchase price. Net of synergies, the purchase price represents a multiple of 5.4 times adjusted EBITDA for the year ended December 31, 2017, and an adjusted purchase multiple of 4.5 times, including the net present value of acquired tax benefits. The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to cash earnings per share and to free cash flow generation.