Stockwinners Market Radar for September 06, 2017 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

19:13 EDT Global Payments completes ACTIVE Network acquisition - Global Payments announced that it completed the previously announced acquisition of the communities and sports divisions of ACTIVE Network from Vista Equity Partners. For the third quarter of calendar 2017, the company expects ACTIVE Network to contribute revenue in a range of approximately $13M-$14M and have no impact on earnings per share.

18:38 EDT TrueBlue exec Larkin sells 10,000 common shares - In a regulatory filing, TrueBlue executive VP of Strategic Accounts Wayne W. Larkin disclosed the sale of 10,000 common shares of the company at a price of $20.38 per share. The transaction, dated September 1, 2017, brings Larkin's total direct common stock ownership in the company to 62,061 shares.

18:13 EDT DuPont Fabros director sells 8,000 common shares - In a regulatory filing, DuPont Fabros Technology director Michael A. Coke disclosed the sale of 8,000 common shares of the company at a price of $63.8714 per share. The transaction brings Coke's total direct common stock ownership to 20,258 shares.

18:04 EDT Cabela' jumps after bank unit sale, optimism for Bass Pro Shops deal - According to the Fed statement earlier, "The board considered this proposal with and without regard to the proposed sale of the assets and liabilities of World's Foremost Bank to Capital One Bank (COF) by Synovus Bank (SNV)." According to a report out earlier from Bloomberg, before the Fed statement, Dealreporter said that Cabela's (CAB), Synovus and Capital One are continuing to work on securing Federal Reserve approval for the proposed sale of the outdoor retailer's credit card bank. The source told Dealreporter there is a sense of optimism that Cabela's merger with Bass Pro Shops will go through, Bloomberg added. Cabela's is up 14.41% to $61.14 per share in after-hours trading.

18:02 EDT Celanese reports acetyl intermediates, vinyl acetate-based emulsions price hikes - Celanese Corporation will increase list and off-list selling prices for the following acetyl intermediates products. The price increases will be effective immediately, or as contracts otherwise allow, and are incremental to any previously announced increases.

17:51 EDT Tellurian to acquire natural gas producing assets, acreage in Louisiana - A wholly-owned subsidiary of Tellurian has entered into an agreement with a private seller to acquire natural gas producing assets and undeveloped acreage in northern Louisiana for $85.1M. The transaction is scheduled to close by the end of November 2017 subject to customary closing conditions. Assets include: 9,200 net acres with up to 138 operated Haynesville and Bossier drilling locations, approximately 1.3T cubic feet of total natural gas resource potential, 19 producing operated wells with net current production of 4M cubic feet per day, associated natural gas gathering and processing facilities with substantial additional capacity. The assets are 100% held by production and 92% operated, allowing Tellurian to control the pace of development for its multi-year drilling inventory. Covering more than 5M acres, the Haynesville shale is one of the most "prolific" resource plays in the United States with over 13T cubic feet of historical production, more than 44 active drilling rigs, access to multiple pipelines and close proximity to Gulf Coast consumers and exporters.

17:47 EDT Dominion Diamond reports results of Fox Deep prelim. economic assessment - Dominion Diamond reported the results of a preliminary economic assessment on the development of an underground operation below the mined out Fox open pit at the Ekati Diamond Mine in the Northwest Territories of Canada. The Fox kimberlite pipe is located in the Core Zone Joint Venture in which the company has an 88.9% participating interest. Highlights include: Preliminary economic assessment on Fox Deep project based on underground incline caving mining method, with incremental post-tax net present value at 7% discount rate of $187 million and internal rate of return of 23%; PEA based on processing of 31.3 million tonnes and recovery of 11.0 million carats from Fox Deep; Fox Deep would extend the mine life at Ekati to fiscal 2042 from fiscal 2035, which reflects inclusion of the recently-approved Misery Deep project; Initial capital development of $628 million, sustaining capital of $192 million, and total operating expenses of $1.4 billion or $51 per dry metric tonne processed; Base case diamond price of $232 per carat based on the company's July 2017 Price Book, increased at 2.5% per annum during the life of the mine; Pre-feasibility study on Fox Deep underway and on track for completion in late fiscal 2018.

17:32 EDT Bristol-Myers: FDA places partial clinical hold on three Opdivo-based studies - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has placed a partial clinical hold on CheckMate-602, CheckMate-039 and CA204142, three clinical trials investigating Opdivo, nivolumab,-based combinations in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.This partial clinical hold is related to risks identified in trials studying another anti-PD-1 agent, pembrolizumab, in patients with multiple myeloma. The FDA determined data currently available from non-Opdivo studies indicate the risks of PD-1/PD-L1 treatment plus pomalidomide or lenalidomide and possibly PD-1/PD-L1 treatments alone or with other combinations outweigh potential benefit for patients with multiple myeloma. As part of the terms of the partial clinical hold, patients currently enrolled in CheckMate-602, CheckMate-039 and CA204142 who are experiencing clinical benefit can continue treatment. No new patients will enroll in the studies at this time. Bristol-Myers Squibb remains steadfast in our commitment to improve outcomes for patients with multiple myeloma, and will work closely with the FDA to address concerns. Other studies of Opdivo outside of multiple myeloma will continue as planned. Empliciti, elotuzumab, is approved in the US in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone, for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma who have received one to three prior therapies. Reference Link

17:20 EDT Trian says P&G should be organized into three autonomous business units - Trian believes P&G should be organized into three largely autonomous business units under a lean holding company: 1) Beauty, Grooming and Healthcare with revenues of approximately $26B; 2) Fabric and Home Care with revenues of approximately $21B; and 3) Baby, Feminine and Family Care with revenues of approximately $18B. Each of the three business units should have regional leaders with full and clear control of their businesses and the entire profit and loss statement for their geography, including sales, marketing, manufacturing, distribution & logistics and G&A. "Each of these P&G business units will be able to operate like nimbler, smaller companies to maximize accountability, bring about faster decision-making and better responsiveness to local trends, all while preserving appropriate and logical synergies between the units," Trian said.

17:14 EDT Cabela's jumps 14% after Fed approves its World's Foremost Bank sale

17:02 EDT Infinity Property sees $10M-$15M in losses in connection with Hurricane Harvey - Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation announced estimated catastrophe losses related to Hurricane Harvey. Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas on Friday, August 25, 2017, as a Category 4 hurricane. The storm produced unprecedented rainfall and significant flooding. Infinity writes private passenger and commercial automobile insurance policies in Texas. Claims handling is on-going and, through September 5, the company has received 2,506 reported claims. Based on current information available, the company anticipates that it will exceed the retention on our catastrophe reinsurance program and have total losses of approximately $10M to $15M before-tax and $6.5M to $9.8M after-tax, net of reinsurance recoveries and including reinstatement premium, for all product lines in connection with this historic event. "For 2017, our catastrophe reinsurance protection is $95M in excess of $5M per event," the company said. "The first $10M of coverage is reinsured at 50% with the remaining layers at 100%. Each layer has one reinstatement. All reinsurers on the program are rated "A" or better by A. M. Best."

16:40 EDT Green Plains Partners announces resignation of John Chandler from its board - Green Plains Partners announced that it has accepted the resignation of John D. Chandler from the board of directors of its general partner, Green Plains Holdings LLC. Chandler informed the partnership he was leaving to accept a chief financial officer position at The Williams Companies. His departure is not due to any disagreement with the partnership's operations, policies or practices. "I would like to thank John for his leadership on the partnership's board of directors," commented Todd Becker, president and chief executive officer of Green Plains Partners. "John's contributions during the partnership's early years were integral to firmly establishing our growth strategy."

16:36 EDT AK Steel announces price increase for carbon steel products - AK Steel said that it will increase current spot market base prices for all carbon flat-rolled steel products by a minimum of $30 per ton, effective immediately with new orders.

16:31 EDT Natural Alternatives to contest preliminary beta-alanine patent ruling - Natural Alternatives International announced that it would appeal and vigorously contest preliminary rulings by a California judge that some of NAI's beta-alanine patents were not eligible for patent coverage. The rulings ignored science and misapplied the law and NAI expects to prevail on appeal. NAI sells its branded CarnoSyn beta-alanine product to customers throughout the United States and in other countries. The CarnoSyn product is covered by a robust portfolio of trademark, copyright, and patent rights. The rulings came in cases filed by NAI against Allmax Nutrition, Inc., HBS International Corp., Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Creative Compounds, LLC for patent infringement and other claims. The defendants moved to dismiss the patent claims, arguing that the patents asserted by NAI at issue were invalid because they were drawn to laws of nature or natural phenomenon. NAI presented the court with well-established scientific evidence that the patented invention was not drawn to a law of nature. NAI believes that District Judge Marilyn Huff ignored that evidence and misapplied the law in finding the dietary supplement patents were not eligible for coverage. While the judge ruled that U.S. Patent Nos. 5,965,596, 7,504,376, 7,825,084, RE45,947, 8,993,610, and 8,470,865 were invalid, all but one of those patents have already expired. NAI said that it would appeal the district court's ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. NAI said that no other court in the United States has invalidated a human dietary supplement patent as covering a law of nature. The NAI patents at issue invented taking beta-alanine as a human dietary supplement in an effective amount over a period of time to improve athletic and workout performance. The inventions cover the novel process of forcing the body to produce and use beta-alanine in a beneficial way. Mark A. LeDoux, NAI's CEO and Chairman of the Board, said that, "NAI is confident that the appellate court -- which has much more experience in this area of patent law -- will look at the body of science NAI put into the record, properly apply the law, and find NAI's patents are valid." LeDoux, who is also the current Chairman of the Natural Products Association, said that, "The California judge's ruling, if not vigorously contested on appeal, would adversely impact the supplement industry. Telling our industry through the judicial system that it cannot avail itself of U.S. patent laws to protect its substantial investment in clinical research, product development, substantiation and testing for innovative products and uses that knowingly benefit consumers every day cannot stand and is very bad public policy."

16:25 EDT Tailored Brands makes new appointments to executive team - Tailored Brand (TLRD) announced the appointment of Frank Hamlin as executive VP and CMO and Boris Sherman as executive VP and CTO, to drive the company's marketing and omni-channel innovation strategies. Both executives bring to Tailored Brands extensive experience developing and overseeing successful omni-channel marketing and technology strategies for large retailers with robust loyalty programs. Hamlin most recently served as CMO for GameStop (GME). Sherman joins the company from L Brands (LB) where he was senior VP of omni-channel technology and oversaw all customer-facing digital, store, credit and call center technologies for the L Brands portfolio of retail brands.

16:16 EDT Royal Caribbean increases quarterly dividend 25% - The board of Royal Caribbean Cruises declared a quarterly dividend of 60c per common share payable on October 11 to shareholders of record at the close of business on September 22. This move reflects the company's continuing efforts to increase shareholder returns.

16:14 EDT Autobytel authorizes additional $3M for share repurchases - Autobytel announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the company to repurchase up to $3M of the company's common stock. This new authorization follows the completion of an earlier stock repurchase program. The company may repurchase shares of its common stock from time to time on the open market and/or in private transactions. The company will fund any repurchases through the use of available cash. The timing and actual number of shares repurchased will depend upon a variety of factors, including price, market conditions and other legal, regulatory and corporate considerations at the company's sole discretion. The repurchase authorizations do not obligate the company to repurchase any particular number of shares. The authorizations may be increased or otherwise modified, renewed, suspended or terminated by the company at any time, without prior notice.

16:12 EDT ClearSign Combustion demonstration funding approved by California regulator - ClearSign Combustion announced unanimous approval for funding by the Board of the South Coast Air Quality Management District to demonstrate ClearSign's Duplex products within the Torrance Refinery. The collaborative project which includes shared funding by the air district, ClearSign, and the Torrance Refinery, will demonstrate ClearSign's Duplex technology as a best available control technology candidate to achieve ultra-low emissions levels in refinery process heaters and boilers. The project, as approved, is slated to span one year.

16:10 EDT Trecora Resources provides update on operations after Hurricane Harvey - "While I am pleased to report that our facilities at both Trecora Chemical and South Hampton Resources (SHR) sustained no material damage from the storm, our number one focus was the safety of our employees and their families," stated Simon Upfill-Brown, president and CEO. "In fact, it is due to the dedication and commitment of our employees that our facilities became operational so quickly once the storm passed. To update the progress, our Pasadena facility was fully operational as of this past Thursday and continues to produce and ship product. Although SHR was not operational until this past Sunday and sporadic power issues remain, we have been able to continue production and are making shipments of our high purity hydrocarbon products at our standard high-level specifications. With only temporary disruption to operations, our primary focus remains on assisting our employees and communities recover from the devastating damage caused by Harvey."

16:10 EDT RH re-conceptualizes Outlet, reverse logistics business - "As we've said, our goal is to architect a new operating platform in 2017 that will simplify our business, enhance the customer experience, and amplify decision quality and speed," the company said. "Our initial efforts will focus on our distribution center network, decision data, and the home delivery experience. As a result of our work to redesign our distribution network and optimize inventory, we were able to forego building a fifth furniture distribution center planned to open this year, and now believe we can operate our business with even fewer facilities. Our plan is to consolidate our current furniture distribution center network from four to three locations by the fourth quarter. Managing our business in fewer facilities will reduce inventory risk, increase turns, and should result in higher merchandise margins over time. This change will also eliminate the occupancy and overhead of approximately 900,000 square feet of distribution space. Additionally, we have re-conceptualized our Outlet and reverse logistics business. Previously product returns would go from a customer's home and be returned to a distribution center, then eventually transferred to one of our outlet locations. We believe by rerouting customer returns away from our distribution centers, in favor of in-market alternatives, we will reduce transportation and handling costs, plus improve selling margins across our Outlet network. Our early tests indicate that this initiative could yield substantial savings and margin enhancement opportunity in the range of $15 million to $20 million annually."

15:42 EDT Endo patents for Vasostrict listed in FDA Orange Book - Endo International previously reported on June 28, 2016 that one of its operating companies, Par Pharmaceutical, was issued a new patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office relating to Vasostrict and that the patent was submitted to the FDA's Approved Drug Products with Therapeutic Equivalence Evaluations, commonly known as the Orange Book. Reference Link

15:02 EDT Saga Communications reports closing of TV station sales, radio station purchases - Saga Communications announced that on September 1 it closed on the previously announced sale of its television stations to the Evening Telegram Company d/b/a Morgan Murphy Media for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $66.6M. The company also announced that effective September 1, it completed the previously reported purchase of the assets of WCKN(FM), WMXZ(FM), WXST(FM), WAVF(FM), WSPO(AM), W261DG and W257BQ, serving the Charleston, SC radio market, and WVSC(FM), WLHH(FM), WOEZ(FM), W256CB and W293BZ, serving the Hilton Head, Bluffton and Beaufort, SC radio market, from Apex Media Corporation for approximately $23.0M.

14:34 EDT Mattel, Hasbro slip as Toys R Us said to consider bankruptcy - Shares of toymakers Mattel (MAT) and Hasbro (HAS) are slipping in afternoon trading after CNBC reported, citing sources, that Toys R Us has hired a firm to help restructure its roughly $400M in debt due in 2018 and could file for bankruptcy protection. Shares of Hasbro are down nearly 2% after the news while Mattel is down a bit over 1%. Reference Link

13:51 EDT Delta CFO: Q4 advance yields 'coming in nicely' - Delta CFO Paul Jacobsen said that Q4 advance yields are "coming in nicely." Says increase in completion factor in August entirely driven by outage a year ago. Says first phase of new data center to open late this month. Says invested $250M in new data center. Says has "great relationships" with all domestic hubs. Says TransAtlantic business unit a "bright spot." Comments taken from the Cowen 10th Annual Global Transportation Conference.

13:13 EDT STRATA Skin gets response letter from FDA on paths for OTD 510k clearance - STRATA Skin Sciences disclosed in a regulatory filing that on September 5, it received a response letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration concerning possible paths for 510k clearance of its new Optimal Dosing Technology, OTD, proposed to be used for the treatment of psoriasis, vitiligo and other skin conditions."The FDA response letter proposes two alternative paths for seeking regulatory clearance. The first path requires a clinical trial to substantiate potential claims for the OTD, and the second path is to seek regulatory clearance with no new claims regarding treatment or efficacy. Should the company take the second path, we will likely consider initiatives to develop potential proprietary features for the OTD technology. The Company is assessing the alternatives for proceeding and is considering related costs and the availability of cash resources. The Company's ability to finance either path or a combination of them and other product development would be enhanced from the additional cash resources that would result from the proposed conversion of its outstanding convertible debentures due in 2021, including the interest savings of approximately $4.0 million over the next four years," said the company.

12:33 EDT Landstar System says flat bed market picking up due to mining and fracking - Comments are from the Cowen and Company 10th Annual Global Transportation Conference

12:20 EDT Accenture buys IBB to enhance media and technology advisement - Accenture has signed an agreement to acquire IBB Consulting, a premier consulting firm that helps leading broadband and mobile operators, media companies and technology providers identify emerging industry shifts, adapt to market changes and capitalize on new business and technology opportunities. IBB Consulting will strengthen the ability of Accenture Strategy to advise clients in the Communications, Media & Technology industries by designing business and technology strategies to create future value, drive new growth and transform operations as they seek to become fully digital businesses. Following completion of the acquisition, approximately 160 of IBB Consulting's highly skilled professionals are expected to join the Accenture Strategy CMT industry practice. The majority of IBB Consulting's workforce are based in North America, with the balance based in Australia. The acquisition will expand Accenture's capabilities in delivering strategy services for CMT clients with pioneering strategic thinking around key industry issues such as networks, digital video and IPTV, digital transformation, next generation mobility, internet of things, M&A, cloud, advanced advertising, data analytics and insights, marketing optimization, and international growth.

11:59 EDT Airbus: Aug. A350 deliveries confirm targeted rate of 10 per month by 2018-end - The August deliveries - for 33 customers - were composed of 35 A320 Family jetliners, three A330-300s, seven A350-900s -- confirming Airbus' ramp-up to the targeted rate of 10 A350 XWB deliveries per month by the end of 2018 -- and one A380. This brought overall Airbus deliveries since the company's creation to above the 10,600 mark: reaching a total of 10,607.

11:55 EDT Airbus: New agreement with United increases A350 XWB order to 45 - United Airlines (UAL) has increased the number of A350 (EADSY) XWB aircraft it will bring into its fleet, updating and expanding its previously existing order for 35 A350-1000 to 45 A350-900 widebody aircraft to replace older, less efficient aircraft, supporting future growth at the airline. The A350-900 aircraft typically seats 325 passengers in a standard three-class configuration. These aircraft will be the first Airbus widebodies to join United's global fleet. The 100th A350 was delivered at the end of July 2017, just some 30 months after the first delivery of the world's most modern widebody aircraft in December 2014. To date, Airbus has recorded a total of 848 firm orders for the A350 XWB from 45 customers worldwide.

11:32 EDT Qorvo says aerospace and defense business in U.S. strong

11:28 EDT Qorvo expecting a strong 2H in China, sees modest recovery there

11:19 EDT Kohl's boosted by Amazon smart home partnership - Shares of Kohl's (KSS) popped in morning trading after the company announced a partnership with Amazon (AMZN). PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT: Kohl's announced plans this morning to roll out a "smart home experience" in 10 stores across the Los Angeles and Chicago areas. Beginning in October, shoppers at these stories will be able to purchase Amazon devices, accessories and smart home devices and services directly from Amazon. Kohl's said 1,000-square-foot "zones" within its stores will be dedicated to Amazon products, including the Echo, Echo Dot, Fire TV and Fire tablets. Customers can then schedule an Amazon expert to come to their home and install smart home devices, Kohl's said. "We believe in the power of our store portfolio and know that our future as a best-in-class omnichannel retailer will be driven by how inventive, compelling and unique we can make our store experience," said Michelle Gass, Kohl's chief merchandising and customer officer. "Kohl's and Amazon share a customer obsession and we've joined together to leverage each other's strengths," she added. WHAT'S NOTABLE: Earlier this year, Amazon partnered with Sears (SHLD) to integrate the full line of Kenmore Smart appliances with Amazon Alexa. Following its acquisition by Amazon, Whole Foods also sells Echo devices in its stores, and Best Buy (BBY) sells some Amazon and Alexa-enabled items in its stores. In August, Kohl's reported quarterly earnings, with EPS and revenue narrowly beating estimates, though its comp sales declined 0.4% from the year ago period. Kohl's said recently it will open four small format, 35,000-square-foot stores in the third quarter in support of efforts to enhance store profitability. By the end of 2017, nearly half of Kohl's stores will be operationally smaller, it said. PRICE ACTION: Shares of Kohl's are up 5.2% in late morning trading to $42.50.

11:16 EDT Online travel agencies slide after Trivago cuts guidance - The shares of online travel agencies are falling after one of the companies in the sector, Trivago (TRVG), lowered its 2017 guidance. GUIDANCE CUT: Trivago now estimates that its 2017 revenue will increase 40%, down from its previous estimate of a 50% gain. The company predicted that its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization, excluding certain items, would decline in 2017 versus 2016. Trivago blamed the reduced guidance primarily on lower than expected revenue per qualified referral, or RPQR, and overspending on TV advertising in light of the RPQR miss. The company said that tough comps, given the "exceptionally strong summer period" in 2016, and adverse foreign exchange fluctuations also negatively impacted its guidance. PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, Trivago tumbled 20% to $11.85, while Expedia (EXPE) and Tripadvisor (TRIP) each fell about 3% and Priceline (PCLN) lost a bit over 1%.

11:05 EDT T-Mobile to include Netflix for free with family plan - T-Mobile (TMUS) CEO John Legere announced in a video that the company's family plan offering will now include free access to Netflix (NFLX). Reference Link

11:02 EDT BioMarin presents interim Phase 1/2 BMN 250 study data at ICIEM 2017 - BioMarin Pharmaceutical announced that it presented interim data from the dose escalation arm of a Phase 1/2 trial for BMN 250, an investigational enzyme replacement therapy using a novel fusion of recombinant human alpha-N-acetylglucosaminidase with a peptide derived from insulin-like growth factor 2, for the treatment of Sanfilippo B syndrome or mucopolysaccharidosis IIIB at the 13th International Congress of Inborn Errors of Metabolism 2017. Discovered by BioMarin, BMN 250 is being studied in a multicenter, international clinical trial evaluating safety and tolerability, as well as cognitive function of patients with Sanfilippo B receiving BMN 250. Designed to restore functional NAGLU activity in the brain, BMN 250 is administered via intracerebroventricular nfusion. In the completed dose escalation portion of the study (Part 1), which was primarily designed to determine safety and pharmacodynamic activity of BMN 250, three patients received escalating doses of BMN 250 over 9 to12 months. Cerebrospinal fluid heparan sulfate levels, which were markedly elevated at baseline, were reduced to the non-affected or normal range in all three patients, whether assessed as total or disease-specific HS. Sanfilippo B patients are missing one of four enzymes for HS degradation. In those same patients, abdominal MRI scans showed significantly enlarged liver size at baseline followed by rapid decreases in liver size into the normal range for age with BMN 250 treatment, suggesting that ICV-administered BMN 250 reaches the peripheral circulation and may have activity in somatic organs. In contrast, most Sanfilippo B patients enrolled in BioMarin's concurrently-running observational study had increased liver size at baseline and experienced further increases in liver size over time.

11:00 EDT Battleground: Morgan Stanley more bearish than peers on Mallinckrodt ruling - Several research firms defended the shares of drug maker Mallinckrodt (MNK) today, saying that the 15% decline in its stock yesterday following the announcement of an adverse patent ruling was overdone. However, Morgan Stanley downgraded the shares to Equal Weight from Overweight, as the firm warned that a generic version of the company's Inomax product could be launched much sooner than expected in the wake of the ruling. NEWS: A U.S. federal court ruled that certain patents held by Mallinckrodt for its Inomax respiratory treatment product are invalid. The court made the ruling in the context of a lawsuit that Mallinckrodt had filed against Praxair (PX), which is looking to sell a competing version of such a system. Mallinckrodt reportedly said that it would appeal the decision. DEFENSES: The decline in Mallinckrodt's stock yesterday was a "sharp overreaction," wrote Canaccord analyst Dewey Steadman. Although Inomax had been one of the company's "least controversial" and "most durable" products, the launch of a generic product by Praxair isn't "imminent," as it could take "a year or more" for the litigation to be resolved, the analyst stated. Moreover, since sales of Inomax are driven by relationships with neonatal intensive care units, or NICUs, Mallinckrodt will probably be able to retain at least half of the revenue it obtains from the device, the analysts believes. Calling Mallinckrodt "one of the most creative dealmakers in specialty pharma," Steadman says that it could reach a settlement with Praxair or make "creative deals that could make (yesterday's) stock reaction appear clearly overblown." The analyst kept a $77 price target and a Buy rating on the shares. UBS analyst Marc Goodman wrote that Praxair's product would actually not be a generic version of Inomax, but a competing branded product. Moreover, Praxair's nitric oxide product would be incompatible with NICUs' drug delivery devices, meaning that the hospitals would have to implement new technology in order to adopt Praxair's system, the analyst stated. Additionally, Mallinckrodt has signed contracts with "many" hospitals, and some of the contracts are multi-year deals, wrote Goodman. He kept a $70 price target and a Buy rating on the stock. DOWNGRADE: The court's ruling has increased the chances that a generic version of Inomax will be released as soon as October 2018, warned Morgan Stanley analyst David Risinger. The analyst noted that he had previously not expected a generic version of the product to be released until 2031. Estimating that Inomax provides 25% of Mallinckrodt's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, Risinger now expects the company's adjusted EBITDA to fall at a compound annual growth rate of 1% from 2018-2022, and he projects that its revenue CAGR will be flat over the same period. Moreover, the analyst warned that the ruling will result in the company being more reliant on its controversial Acthar drug, which he believes is given a lower multiple by the market. Risinger slashed his price target on the shares to $40 from $65. PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, Mallinckrodt fell an additional 0.75% to $35.85. On Friday, the stock closed at $41.17.

10:56 EDT SBA Communications cancels conference presentation due to Hurricane Irma - SBA Communications announced that, due to the varied and potentially major implications associated with the approach of Hurricane Irma, it is canceling its participation and the speaking appearance of Brendan Cavanagh at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 2017 Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference previously scheduled for Thursday, September 7.

10:48 EDT Stanley Fischer resigns from Federal Reserve citing personal reasons - Stanley Fischer submitted his resignation Wednesday as Vice Chairman and as a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, effective on or around October 13, 2017, the Federal Reserve announced. He has been a member of the Board since May 28, 2014. Fischer cites "personal reasons" in his resignation letter to President Trump. Reference Link

10:44 EDT Yangtze River Development trading halted, volatility trading pause

10:35 EDT Pitney Bowes agrees to acquire Newgistics for $475M - Pitney Bowes announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Newgistics, a Texas-based provider of parcel delivery, returns, fulfillment and digital commerce solutions for retailers and ecommerce brands. Newgistics, best known for its returns-processing capabilities, provides a range of ecommerce solutions on behalf of nearly 500 retail clients. It is a workshare partner of the United States Postal Service and processes nearly 100M parcels annually, including more than 50% of all Parcel Returns Select packages shipped through the USPS. Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Pitney Bowes will purchase all shares of the privately held company for approximately $475M. "The acquisition of Newgistics meets all of the financial criteria for acquisitions that the Company has previously presented. The transaction is expected to close by late third or early fourth quarter subject to customary closing conditions. It is Pitney Bowes' intention to continue to operate the businesses as independent units through the remainder of 2017 and into the first quarter of 2018 to avoid any disruptions during the busy holiday shipping season," the company stated.

10:30 EDT Facebook betting on TV as new ad reach concerns emerge - As Facebook (FB) continues to establish itself as a premium video content destination with the launch of Watch, new concerns about its advertising metrics have re-emerged. Pivotal Research analyst Brian Wieser told investors in a research note that AdNews found that the company claims to reach more 16-39 year-olds in Australia than live in the country according to its census. Further, his analysis of Facebook Ads Manager data compared to the U.S. consensus revealed a similar outcome. In a statement to Reuters, the company said ad reach numbers "are designed to estimate [...] not to match population." BETTING ON TV: Facebook is establishing itself as a destination for premium video content, and demonstrating a willingness to pay significant amounts of money for that content, Pivotal Research's Wieser told investors this morning. The analyst noted that the company has long sought to expand beyond the digital advertising budgets, and television budgets are a natural target. Facebook has rolled out its new Watch tab of original video content to all U.S. users following last months' limited rollout, TechCrunch has reported. Wieser pointed out that Discovery Communications (DISCA) announced last week that it would develop "premium mid-form shows" for Watch. Meanwhile, news emerged saying that Facebook bid $610M for five years of digital rights associated with IPL cricket within the Indian sub-continent and lost out on the deal. His read-through is that Facebook is likely willing to spend billions of dollars to buy rights for content that might otherwise appear on TV, with these efforts to be entirely ad-supported. AD REACH CLAIMS LOOK INFLATED: As Facebook is positioning itself to compete for TV budgets, Pivotal Research's Wieser told investors he thinks the large marketers who dominate TV advertising will only consider a move to Facebook after applying significant scrutiny to the metrics associated with its campaigns. Measurement issues at Facebook have been top-of-mind for many of those given revelations around over-stated average video viewing time, video viewing completions, miscalculations of organic page reach and other data which impacts how budgets are planned, the analyst pointed out. Wieser noted that last week Australian trade publication AdNews said that Facebook claims to reach 1.7M more 16-39 year-olds in Australia than exist in the country according to its census bureau. The analyst attempted to replicate the study for the U.S. and found a similar outcome, a gap likely not widely known. While Facebook's measurement issues will not deter advertisers from spending money with the company, they will help traditional TV sellers justify existing budget shares and could restrain Facebook's growth in video ad sales on the margins, he contended, adding that awareness of general measurement issues causes larger advertisers to require the use of third party services, including Nielsen's (NLSN) DAR and comScore's (SCOR) vCE. The analyst reiterated a Sell rating and $140 price target on Facebook's shares. BY DESIGN: According to a report by Reuters, Facebook stated that its audience estimates did not match census data, but that this was by design as ad reach numbers "are designed to estimate how many people in a given area are eligible to see an ad a business might run. They are not designed to match population or census estimates." PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, shares of Facebook are fractionally down to $170.32.

10:13 EDT Cruise line operators slammed as Irma prepares to make landfall - Shares of cruise line operators are in focus amid concerns about the potential impact of Hurricane Irma on the cruise and travel industries, as well as the lingering effect of Hurricane Harvey. HURRICANE IRMA: Hurricane Irma, which has intensified into a Category 5 storm, is forcing cruise operators to cancel or divert ships as it heads towards the Caribbean and the Florida coast. The National Hurricane Center has said Irma is a "potentially catastrophic storm" with winds up to 185 miles an hour that will move toward the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico later this week and then make its way toward Turks and Caicos, the Bahamas and Cuba before heading toward the Florida coast. Hurricane Harvey recently caused widespread damage when it hit the Houston area, with cruise operators rerouting some vessels and canceling other voyages to avoid the storm. IMPACT ON CRUISE OPERATORS: Cruise line operators are monitoring the storm, canceling voyages that haven't left port and rerouting other ships to avoid stops at islands that may be affected. According to reports, Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH) will bring its two Miami-based ships back home ahead of schedule to avoid the storm. Both the 2,004-passenger Norwegian Sky and 4,248-passenger Norwegian Escape will return to Miami from Caribbean trips on Thursday instead of Friday and Saturday, respectively. The cruise operator also canceled sailings of the ships that were scheduled to begin on Friday and Saturday. Yesterday, Royal Caribbean (RCL) canceled two sailings of Port Canaveral and Miami-based vessels to the Bahamas scheduled to begin on Friday and is rerouting one ship to the west and evaluating other sailings to the Caribbean, Cuba and Bermuda. Carnival (CCL, CUK) has rerouted four vessels from an Eastern Caribbean to a Western Caribbean itinerary for the week, with a spokeswoman saying "We are watching Irma closely, but we are not canceling any sailings as of now." ANALYST COMMENTARY: Morgan Stanley analyst Jamie Rollo said on Tuesday that cruise demand is "solid," but softened "a little" in August from July due to adverse weather, terror attacks and a U.S. travel warning for parts of Mexico. The analyst thinks Carnival, which reports earnings on September 26, will guide to slower yields in Q4. The firm remains "relatively cautious" on cruise stocks, but raised its price target on Carnival to $61 from $59. OTHERS TO WATCH: Airline stocks, including American Airlines (AAL), United Continental (UAL), Southwest Airlines (LUV) and Delta Air Lines (DAL) are also on hurricane watch, and will likely be canceling flights in the affected areas. This morning, United CFO Andrew Levy said Hurricane Harvey was the "largest operational impact we've had in the company's history" and lowered its third quarter pre-tax margin and PRASM guidance. American Airlines President Robert Isom said the company is "keeping an eye" on Irma. PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, shares of Norwegian are down about 1%, Carnival shares trading in New York are down 0.5% and Royal Caribbean is down 1.2%.

10:02 EDT United Airlines, Chase announce launch of new rewards credit card - Chase, the U.S. consumer and commercial banking business of JPMorgan Chase (JPM), and United Airlines (UAL) announced the launch of a no annual fee credit card to reward leisure travelers. The United TravelBank Card allows customers to earn 2% on United purchases and 1.5% on all other purchases in TravelBank cash - and to redeem it toward United flights.

10:00 EDT Southwest estimates $40M-$60M negative impact from Hurricane Harvey - Says business resumes at all affected airports after Hurricane Harvey. Says cancelled 2,800 flights due to Hurricane Harvey. In Q3, estimates negative impact in the $40M-$60M range from Hurricane Harvey. Sees RASM down 1% to up slightly year-over-year. Expects to see $200M in incremental EBIT benefits from reservation system. Sees Q3 capacity growth up 3.5%-4.5% year-over-year. Says remarks do not include impact of Hurricane Irma. Comments made by EVP and CFO Tammy Romo at the Cowen and Company 10th Annual Global Transportation Conference.

09:48 EDT Alarm.com down 8% to $41.87 in early trading

09:39 EDT American Airlines says not updating guidance, will provide update next week

09:33 EDT Kellogg repeats 2017 guidance in conference slides - In slides prepared for its attendance at the Barclays Consumer Staples Conference, Kellogg repeated its previously issued guidance for 2017 net sales to be down about 3% on a currency-neutral comparable basis. The company still expects to generate EPS growth of 8-10% off a 2016 base and sees cash flow of $1.1-1.2B.

09:30 EDT JinkoSolar sees FY17 solar module shipments of 8.5-9.0 GW - For the full year 2017, the company estimates total solar module shipments to be in the range of 8.5 GW and 9.0 GW. JinkoSolar CEO Kangping Chen said, "We already have strong visibility in our order book through the rest of the year and have already begun to take orders for next year. We expect ASPs to remain stable during the second half of the year. With our focus now shifting towards profitability, I am confident that we will benefit from the long-term growth prospects of the industry while generating sustainable returns for our shareholders."

09:29 EDT JinkoSolar sees Q3 solar module shipments of 2.1-2.3 GW - Sees Q3 solar module shipments to be in the range of 2.1 GW to 2.3 GW.

09:26 EDT TransCanada extending Keystone System Open Season due to Harvey - TransCanada is extending the Keystone System Open Season to October 26 due to the flooding and catastrophic impacts to Houston and parts of the U.S. Gulf Coast. The Open Season, which was launched on July 27 is to solicit additional binding commitments from interested parties for transportation of crude oil on the Keystone Pipeline and for the Keystone XL Pipeline Project from Hardisty, Alberta to markets in Cushing, Oklahoma, and the U.S. Gulf Coast.

09:23 EDT Eagle Bancorp to acquire Ruby Valley Bank, Twin Bridges Montana - Eagle Bancorp Montana signed a definitive merger agreement through which it will acquire Ruby Valley Bank, Twin Bridges Montana. The acquisition of the $90M Ruby Valley will make Opportunity Bank the fifth largest Montana based bank with approximately $800M in assets. Ruby Valley's parent corporation, TwinCo, Inc., will merge with and into Eagle with Eagle as the surviving entity, and its wholly own subsidiary Ruby Valley Bank will merge with and into Opportunity Bank. Ruby Valley Bank will add approximately $90M in assets, $78M in deposits, and $55M in gross loans to Opportunity Bank. Upon completion of the transaction, Ken Walsh, currently President and CEO of TwinCo, will join the Boards of Directors of both Eagle and Opportunity Bank and will lead the new branch efforts in southwest Montana.Under the terms of the definitive agreement, TwinCo shareholders will have the right to receive, at their election, the combination of $247.16 in cash and 11.1540 shares of Eagle common stock, $449.38 in cash or 24.7866 shares of Eagle common stock. The deal is expected to close during 1Q18.

09:22 EDT On The Fly: Pre-market Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: HD Supply (HDS), up 2.8%... Duluth Holdings (DLTH), up 9.9%... Coupa Software (COUP), up 8.1%... HealthEquity (HQY), up 7.6%... HP Enterprise (HPE), up 1.4%. ALSO HIGHER: Sarepta (SRPT), up 13.9% after announcing muscle biopsy results from its 4053-101 study, a Phase 1/2 first-in-human study conducted in Europe to assess the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and efficacy of golodirsen in 25 boys with confirmed deletions of the DMD gene amenable to skipping exon 53... Landauer (LDR), up 9.9% after announcing that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Fortive Corporation (FTV) for $67.25 per share. LOWER: Dave & Buster's (PLAY), down 4.5% after reporting quarterly results... Liberty Tax (TAX), down 16.7% after terminating CEO and Chairman John Hewitt and reporting quarterly results.

09:21 EDT Sealed Air completes sale of Diversey Care, food hygiene and cleaning divisions - Sealed Air Corporation announced that it has completed the sale of its Diversey Care division and the food hygiene and cleaning business within its Food Care division to Bain Capital Private Equity for approximately $3.2B. "We will use the proceeds of the sale to repay debt, maintain our net leverage ratio in the range of 3.5 to 4.0 times, repurchase shares and invest in our core business and targeted M&A activity," said Jerome Peribere, president and CEO. "Sealed Air is well positioned for profitable growth and strong cash flow. We will be driven by a proven business model, enhanced strategic focus and improved ability to optimize capital allocation and invest in new disruptive technologies."

09:19 EDT HP Enterprise CEO Whitman says 'no question' she had interest in Uber - Meg Whitman is speaking on CNBC.

09:18 EDT HP Enterprise CEO admits to being interested in Uber position - Meg Whitman is speaking on CNBC.

09:18 EDT Valero and Magellan Midstream to build central Texas pipeline and terminals - Valero's (VLO) indirect wholly owned subsidiary V-Tex Logistics has signed an agreement with Magellan Pipeline, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Magellan Midstream (MMP) to jointly build an approximately 135-mile, 16-inch products pipeline from Houston to Hearne, Texas. In addition, Valero will separately build a terminal in Hearne, a terminal in Williamson County, Texas, and an approximately 70-mile, 12-inch pipeline connecting the two terminals. Valero's expected cost for the projects is $380M with targeted completion in mid-2019. The new pipelines and terminals are expected to supply up to 60,000 barrels per day into Williamson County.

09:17 EDT HP Enterprise CEO Whitman says 'no plans to leave' company - Meg Whitman is speaking on CNBC.

09:16 EDT Condor Hospitality Trust announces sale of non-core legacy hotel - Condor Hospitality Trust announced the closing on the sale of a legacy hotel asset, the 81-room Quality Inn Morgantown located at 225 Comfort Inn Dr., Morgantown, WV 26508 for $2.6M. Net proceeds from the sale will be applied to outstanding debt on the company's $150M secured credit facility.

09:14 EDT Gap sees continued 'significant investment' in Online and Digital - Gap, ahead of its planned presentation at the Goldman Sachs 24th Annual Global Retailing Conference, stated: "The company has built a highly profitable online and mobile business with double-digit sales growth and industry leading capabilities. Gap Inc. sites are built on a proprietary e-commerce platform that enables wide-ranging capabilities, including cross-brand shopping, omni-channel services, and an upcoming buy online, pick-up in store service, as well as a new personalization engine powered by customer data. Over the next three years, Gap Inc. will accelerate this work with a continued significant investment in areas including direct fulfillment capacity, loyalty, personalization, omni-channel services, artificial intelligence and other data-driven customer experiences."

09:13 EDT Carnival begins construction of fully LNG-powered cruise ship - Carnival marked the official beginning of construction for the first of its seven next-generation cruise ships that will be fully-powered by liquefied natural gas. These new ships will be the first in the cruise industry that can use LNG to generate 100 percent of their power both in port and on the open sea - an innovation that will reduce exhaust emissions to help protect the environment and support Carnival Corporation's aggressive sustainability goals. These seven ships, with delivery dates between 2018 and 2022, will be built by German and Finnish shipbuilders Meyer Werft and Meyer Turku.

09:12 EDT Gap sees Old Navy topping $10B, Athleta over $1B net sales 'in next few years' - Gap said it expects Old Navy to exceed $10B and Athleta to exceed $1B in net sales in the "next few years," driven by growth in online and mobile channels, U.S. store expansion, and continued market share leadership in loyalty categories. "Over the past two years, we've made significant progress evolving how we operate - starting with getting great product into the hands of our customers, more consistently and faster than ever before. With much of this foundation in place, we're now shifting our focus to growth. We will leverage our iconic brands and significant scale to deliver growth by shifting to where our customers are shopping - online, value and active," said Gap CEO Art Peck.

09:06 EDT Land and Buildings calls on RLJ to evaluate strategic alternatives - Land and Buildings Investment Management issued a letter to shareholders of RLJ Lodging Trust which included: "Since the close of the FelCor Lodging Trust and RLJ merger on August 31, Land and Buildings has become a significant shareholder of RLJ, owning approximately 2% of the company's outstanding shares. Our engagement with the leadership team at RLJ since the announcement of the merger with FelCor on April 25 has been underwhelming, but does not alter our view that the true value of the company is well in excess of where the shares currently trade. Land and Buildings believes that RLJ should immediately provide a strategic roadmap outlining how the Board expects to deliver value to shareholders that is materially better than Blackstone's1 reported offer to buy RLJ for as much as $25 per share. In the more than four months since the merger was announced, RLJ has failed to communicate a comprehensive strategy for the combined company, and, as a result, shares have significantly underperformed the company's Lodging REIT Peers by 13% since the announcement...Given RLJ's recent underperformance, and the troubling indications that it did not adequately explore potential interest from acquirers, we are concerned that the company's shareholders are not receiving the value they deserve. We call on the company to immediately outline the value creation opportunity from the FelCor combination and simultaneously run a true process to evaluate all strategic alternatives."

09:04 EDT Easterly Government Properties to acquire FBI field office in Salt Lake City - Easterly Government Properties announced that it has agreed to acquire a 169,542-square foot Federal Bureau of Investigation Field Office in Salt Lake City, Utah. Strategically located near the Salt Lake City International Airport with convenient access to highway I-80, FBI - Salt Lake City is a state-of-the-art, mission critical facility that was built to the detailed specifications and design standards of the FBI. The FBI has had a presence in Salt Lake City since 1914 and is one of 56 field offices located strategically throughout the United States. These field offices provide regional coverage for the nation's federal criminal investigative body and intelligence agency. This Class A, LEED Gold certified, four-story single tenant facility located on a 7.5-acre campus houses the FBI's Salt Lake City Division, which oversees federal operations in all of Utah, Idaho and Montana. This build-to-suit construction was completed in 2012 and is 100% occupied by the FBI through October 2032 for a total initial, non-cancelable lease term of 20 years. "We feel this accretive acquisition, specifically built for a highly important U.S. Government security organization, serves as a hallmark of the Easterly portfolio," said Darrell Crate, Easterly's chairman. "Stable cash flow, a young, mission-critical building, and U.S. Government tenancy serve as the foundation for a great Easterly acquisition. FBI - Salt Lake City categorically meets these investment criteria."

09:02 EDT Magellan Midstream to expand Texas refined petroleum products pipeline system - Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P. (MMP) plans to expand its refined petroleum products pipeline system to handle incremental demand for transportation of gasoline, diesel fuel and jet fuel to central and north Texas markets. Supported by long-term customer commitments, Magellan plans to build an approximately 135-mile, 16-inch pipeline from its terminal in East Houston to Hearne, Texas. Magellan will own the newly-constructed pipeline from East Houston to Hearne via an undivided joint interest agreement with Valero Energy Corporation (VLO). Magellan's ownership interest in this new pipe will provide the ability to deliver additional product north to Temple, Waco and Dallas as well as Magellan's Midcontinent markets, including Little Rock, Arkansas. Magellan plans to reverse an existing pipeline which will connect to the new pipeline segment, providing Magellan an incremental 85,000 barrels per day of refined products capacity originating from the Houston area, for an increase of nearly 50% to service Magellan's Texas, Midcontinent and Little Rock markets. In addition, Magellan will make a number of enhancements to its existing pipeline and terminal infrastructure, including construction of 1 million barrels of refined products storage on a combined basis at its facilities in Dallas, East Houston and Hearne, and additional connections to third-party refineries, pipelines and terminals within the Houston Gulf Coast region, including Magellan's new Pasadena, Texas marine terminal that is currently under construction and expected to be operational in early 2019. Magellan currently expects to spend approximately $375M for its share of the project, with the expanded capacity available in mid-2019, subject to receipt of necessary permits and regulatory approvals. If warranted by additional customer demand, Magellan's pipeline capacity originating in the Houston area could be further increased.

09:00 EDT Terex authorizes share repurchase program up to $225M - Terex Corporation announced that its Board of Directors authorized a new share repurchase program of up to $225M. The company completed its previous share repurchase program at the end of August. The timing of the share repurchase program will be based on available liquidity, cash flows and general market conditions. The repurchase program may be executed through various methods, including open market purchases.

08:58 EDT Micron CFO says DRAM pricing environment 'good' - Micron CFO Ernie Maddock says DRAM contract pricing continues to trail spot pricing, that Micron continues to see "very strong" demand from customers and the pricing environment continues to be "good." Maddock is speaking at Citi's Global Technology Conference.

08:52 EDT EnLink sees 'minimal' financial impact to Q3 from Hurricane Harvey - The EnLink Midstream companies, EnLink Midstream Partners, LP (ENLK) and EnLink Midstream, LLC (ENLC), reported that storm-related impacts to date from Hurricane Harvey on EnLink's assets, finances, and operations have been minimal, and, most importantly, all employees are safe. EnLink operates a number of assets in South Texas and along the Gulf Coast, in addition to having a regional office in Houston. To date, EnLink experienced only superficial damage to its facilities, minimal financial impact to its third quarter, and limited operational impact. Prior to the storm, EnLink proactively shut down its Victoria Express Pipeline System, Port of Victoria barge loading facility, and Cuero Terminal in South Texas to ensure employee and public safety, as these assets were in the direct path of the storm. These facilities are now ready to provide services again as EnLink's producer customers bring volumes back online. EnLink partially curtailed volumes at its Northridge system in Oklahoma and reduced recovery of natural gas liquids across its Texas and Oklahoma plants due to NGL takeaway constraints; EnLink is working with producer customers to minimize that impact. EnLink is also working directly with its downstream NGL partners to ensure the continued optimization of EnLink's Cajun-Sibon pipeline, which is currently operating near full capacity. In addition, EnLink's Louisiana gas assets are performing well with virtually no disruption.

08:46 EDT Scientific Games awarded contract to provide iVIEW4 controllers to Pechanga - Scientific Games announced it will soon outfit the West Coast's largest resort-casino with 4,200 new iVIEW4 on-device player-interface controllers. Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, Calif. awarded Scientific Games the contract to install the award-winning technology units inside all slot machines across its 200,000 square foot casino floor. iVIEW4 provides unrivaled marketing opportunities and player experiences through its interactive and personalized player content capabilities.

08:44 EDT United: Harvey the 'largest operational impact we've had in company's history' - Commenting on Hurricane Harvey, United (UAL) CFO Andrew Levy says operations at IAH were suspended for over four days with over 7,400 flights cancelled. Levy notes that all facilities at IAH are open and UAL anticipates operating at full schedule by the end of the week. He noted that local demand will be impacted in the near-term. Expects some impact in Q4, depending on pace of recovery on local IAH demand. Levy says Basic Economy was rolled out broadly in domestic system at the end of May, but "we underappreciated that incremental revenue from buy-up would be more than offset by share loss to legacy carriers without similar Basic Economy offering." Says has scaled back breadth of offering to a portion of its domestic network and is offering Basic Economy only in the bottom five fare classes instead of entire fare ladder. Commenting on the Airbus (EADSY) A350 order, says the A350-900 a "better fit and size" for the United network. Says the A350-900 is a good replacement aircraft for the Boeing (BA) 777-200ER fleet. Says "feels good" about United's progress despite near-term challenges, will provide a quantitative update on strategic initiatives in November. Says "confident" in ability to drive earnings improvement in 2018.

08:38 EDT Marrone Bio partners with AgShift for digital assessment of pesticide impact - Marrone Bio has joined a pilot project with AgShift, a Santa-Clara based agriculture technology startup, to assess the impact of the use of biological pesticides on the quality of fresh produce. AgShift has developed a digital tool to rapidly assess the quality of fresh produce that MBI is piloting to determine the effectiveness of its biopesticides. This pilot test is being implemented this year on strawberries in Watsonville, CA. This aims to help MBI access the efficiency and efficacy of their biopesticides.

08:35 EDT OSI Systems receives $21M order for cargo and vehicle inspection systems - OSI Systems announced that its Security division received a delivery order valued at approximately $21M from U.S. Customs and Border Protection to provide Z Portal cargo and vehicle screening systems. The delivery order was issued under the indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract received in October 2016 from CBP. The company has now received approximately $56M in orders under this IDIQ contract since its inception.

08:34 EDT Liberty Tax announces termination of Chairman, CEO John Hewitt

08:33 EDT WellCare of Connecticut, Iora Health announce partnership - WellCare of Connecticut, a subsidiary of WellCare Health Plans, and Iora Health announced a new partnership to deliver relationship-based care to WellCare's Medicare Advantage members in Connecticut. WellCare and Iora will partner to provide coordinated care with a deep focus on the power of relationships with the goal of improving patient health and well-being. Iora began serving WellCare members with Medicare Advantage plans effective Sept. 1, 2017.

08:32 EDT IntercontinentalExchange reports August ADV up 12% y/y - Intercontinental Exchange reports ICE ADV up 12% y/y driven by energy ADV up 17% y/y and interest rates ADV up 14% y/y; Open Interest up 13% y/y.

08:32 EDT Huntsman sees Harvey production stop impacting sales, posing no long-term risk - In a regulatory filing earlier, Huntsman disclosed the contents of an interview conducted by Peter Huntsman, CEO of Huntsman and designated CEO of HuntsmanClariant, with NZZ am Sonntag. Discussing Hurricane Harvey, the CEO stated that the company had idled all its Texas plants for safety reasons, adding in the September 3 interview that it "it will stay like that for a few more days." Huntsman continued: "We had to do this because our employees couldn't get to work and, in the case of about 1500 of them, their homes are under water as well. The production stop will have an impact on Huntsman's sales and we'll have extra costs that no insurer will cover. That said, there is no risk of long-term damage."

08:31 EDT HP's Indigo Division, VerifyMe announce global contract agreement - VerifyMe and the Indigo Division of HP Inc. announced that they have signed a five-year global contract whereby the companies will incorporate VerifyMe's pigment products with HP Indigo's ElectroInk to be used for packaging, label authentication, anti-counterfeiting and covert item level serialization for supply chain and distribution security.

08:25 EDT Liberty Tax trading halted, news pending

08:22 EDT GNC Holdings: Michael Hines to step down as chairman, will remain on board

08:21 EDT GNC Holdings names Ken Martindale permanent CEO, succeeding Bob Moran - GNC Holdings (GNC) announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Ken Martindale CEO. Martindale succeeds interim CEO Bob Moran, who has been elected Non-Executive Chairman of the GNC Board and will work closely with Martindale to ensure a smooth leadership transition and continued execution of GNC's transformation plan. As part of the transition, Michael F. Hines will step down as Chairman, but will remain on the Board. These changes are effective September 11. Martindale most recently served as CEO of Rite Aid Stores and President of Rite Aid Corporation (RAD).

08:17 EDT ION Geophysical, PlanSea announce collaboration agreement - PlanSea Solutions Limited and ION Geophysical Corporation announced a collaboration to improve the efficiency of offshore supply vessel logistics. By embedding PlanSea's logistics optimization algorithms into ION's innovative Marlin offshore operations optimization software, the two companies aim to provide a comprehensive, real-time solution for marine logistics management that significantly reduces costs and risks.

08:14 EDT Ignyta provides update on Entrectnib ROS1 lung cancer development program - Ignyta announced that, based on recent FDA guidance, Ignyta has completed enrollment of the NDA registration efficacy data set of over 50 patients with ROS1 fusion-positive NSCLC for entrectinib, an orally bioavailable, CNS-active, tyrosine kinase inhibitor currently being studied in a registration-enabling Phase 2 clinical trial known as STARTRK-2. In total, Ignyta has treated more than 70 ROS1 fusion-positive NSCLC patients with entrectinib across its ALKA, STARTRK-1, and STARTRK-2 studies. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's most recent guidance confirmed that these studies will form the basis of a registrational dataset in ROS1 fusion-positive NSCLC; no additional studies were requested by FDA. The latest interaction with FDA has clarified the regulatory pathway for entrectinib in ROS1 NSCLC: Written feedback from the FDA confirmed that the NDA submission for ROS1-positive NSCLC will be based on three single arm studies, including two Phase 1 studies, ALKA and STARTRK-1, and the Phase 2 STARTRK-2 basket trial. No additional studies or confirmatory data were requested. Objective response rate as assessed by blinded independent central review, was confirmed as the primary endpoint. FDA requested that all responding patients be followed for 12 months to assess durability of response. Entrectinib was intentionally designed to cross the blood-brain barrier and has demonstrated CNS activity. Specific guidance was provided by FDA on inclusion of entrectinib CNS efficacy data in future prescribing information. Interim data from STARTRK-2 on entrectinib in ROS1 lung cancer were shared in an investor update call in April 2017. An update on these data, including an additional six months of follow-up, will be presented at an upcoming medical conference in Q4.

08:13 EDT Payment Data sees Singular Payments immediately contributing $10M+ in revenue - Payment Data Systems announced that the acquisition of Singular Payments, LLC was finalized on September 1, 2017. The transaction will add over 1,200 new merchant customers, which are primarily health care related, and over $500M in annual payment processing volume to Payment Data Systems. "We expect Singular to immediately contribute over $10M in annualized revenue to Payment Data Systems. The result should cause Payment Data Systems to record all-time high revenues in Q4, and a 10%-15% increase in revenues in Q3 as compared to the same period in 2016." Payment Data Systems acquired Singular with a combination of cash generated from operations and common stock, for a total consideration of $5M. The total cash consideration was $1.5M which included $600,000 for the repayment of the Singular note that was due to Payment Data Systems. The stock consideration was 1,515,152 shares of common stock of the Company valued at $3.5M or $2.31 a share. The stock is subject to a minimum lock-up period of 24 months.

08:09 EDT MabVax engages Greenhill & Co to explore strategic alternatives - MabVax Therapeutics Holdings (MBVX) announced that it has engaged Greenhill & Co. (GHL) to serve as a financial advisor to assist the Company in exploring and evaluating strategic options with the goal of maximizing shareholder value. "As part of our ongoing evaluation and prioritization of our portfolio of assets, and in response to inbound inquiries, we have engaged an industry-leading firm to advise us on potential alternatives and strategies that will have the potential to unlock shareholder value," said David Hansen, MabVax's President and CEO. "We will also continue to advance our clinical programs including the recent commencement of patient dosing in our Phase 1 MVT-1075 Radioimmunotherapy clinical trial for the treatment of pancreatic, colon and lung cancers, and we remain committed to this continued progression." Greenhill will be assisting the company in evaluating transaction options currently being considered as well as identifying new opportunities which could include the acquisition of MabVax by another company, the sale or divestiture of specific assets coupled with a reverse merger, merging with another company, or licensing of selected technologies. MabVax does not have a defined timeline for the exploration of strategic alternatives and is not confirming that the evaluation will result in any strategic alternative being announced or consummated. The company does not intend to discuss or disclose further developments during this process unless and until its Board of Directors has approved a specific action or otherwise determined that further disclosure is appropriate.

08:08 EDT Blue Hills Bancorp raises quarterly dividend to 15c per share from 5c per share - Blue Hills Bancorp announced that its board voted to increase the regular quarterly cash dividend to 15c per share from 5c per share. The dividend will be payable on October 4, to stockholders of record as of September 20.

08:07 EDT Zayo Group acquires data center in Colorado - Zayo Group Holdings has purchased a colocation facility located at 7579 W 103rd Avenue in Westminster, Colorado. The acquisition is driven by strong customer demand in the area, specifically along a high-tech corridor located between Boulder and Denver and the underserved Northwest Corridor. The facility includes 29,500 total square feet and features diverse fiber entrances, extensive interconnectivity, robust security, and highly efficient power and cooling systems. The new data center expands Zayo's infrastructure footprint in the state, which now includes four data centers and more than 4,000 fiber route miles, including extensive metro fiber in Denver, Colorado Springs and Boulder. In addition to serving existing and new customers, Zayo plans to support the infrastructure needs of the Front Range startup and accelerator community from this facility. This facility will be directly linked to zColo's data center at 1500 Champa.

08:06 EDT Ironwood CFO Tom Graney to depart - Ironwood Pharmaceuticals announced that Tom Graney, CFO and SVP, finance and corporate strategy will leave the company, effective September 13, to pursue another opportunity. Gina Consylman, Ironwood's vice president of finance and chief accounting officer, will serve as the company's interim CFO. Ironwood has initiated a search for a senior business strategy and finance executive to complement its current leadership team.

08:05 EDT Williams Partners identifies no major damage following Hurricane Harvey - Williams Partners announced that its facilities that serve gas and oil producers in the Gulf Coast area experienced no major damage as a result of Hurricane Harvey. The majority of the partnership's facilities required to handle offshore production have been inspected and are ready for service. However, as of Sept. 6, some production remains shut-in pending a pre-start test and the restart of the third-party operated Quintana Crude Oil Terminal. Williams Partners said it is starting to see some offshore production come back online. For the Transco system, there is now about 200 MMcf/d of offshore gas supply being shut in by Gulf producers feeding the Transco system. Transco anticipates offshore production to resume over the next few days and will confirm nominations from previously impacted locations. Transco has not experienced any operational issues; assessments remain ongoing, but no significant facility damage has been identified during the partnership's inspections. Williams Partners' gathering systems in the Gulf Coast area are also ready for service following post-hurricane inspections and expect third-party producers to resume flow into these systems in the next 24-48 hours. Discovery's Keathley Canyon Connector resumed normal operations on Aug. 28.

08:04 EDT CSX reports progress in implementing Precision Scheduled Railroading - CSX CEO E. Hunter Harrison said, "CSX has made very good progress in the last 60 days in transitioning its operating model to Precision Scheduled Railroading, and I'm confident that many of the challenges we and our customers have recently faced are behind us. (...) The railroad is now returning to a normal operating rhythm, and our performance metrics are improving. Fluidity in our terminals largely has been restored and we are appropriately resourced to continue making progress." The company continues to expect free cash flow before dividends of around $1.5B and record efficiency gains for 2017; the company is refining its 2017 full-year guidance from an operating ratio in the mid-60s to an operating ratio around the high end of the mid-60s and earnings per share growth from around 25 percent to a range of 20-25 percent, in each case after excluding restructuring charges.

08:02 EDT AbbVie submits NDA for investigational oral treatment elagolix - AbbVie (ABBV), in cooperation with Neurocrine Biosciences (NBIX), announced that it has submitted a New Drug Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for elagolix, an investigational, orally administered gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist, being evaluated for the management of endometriosis with associated pain. In two replicate Phase 3 clinical studies, elagolix demonstrated superiority compared to placebo in reducing three types of endometriosis-associated pain - daily menstrual pelvic pain, non-menstrual pelvic pain and painful intercourse. The NDA is supported by data from the largest prospective randomized endometriosis clinical trials conducted to date, which evaluated the safety and efficacy of elagolix in nearly 1,700 women with moderate-to-severe endometriosis-associated pain. The data from two replicate Phase 3 studies demonstrated that, at month three and month six, both elagolix doses resulted in a statistically significant higher proportion of responders for menstrual pain and non-menstrual pelvic pain associated with endometriosis as measured by the Daily Endometriosis Pain Impact scale versus placebo. Significant improvements compared to placebo were also observed at month three for the 200 mg twice daily dose in scores for painful intercourse. A reduction in the amount and frequency of rescue pain medication use, including nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and opioids, compared to placebo was also seen in the higher dose at month three and six. In clinical studies, elagolix treatment decreased endometrial proliferation in a dose-dependent manner after six months of treatment with no adverse endometrial findings.

08:00 EDT Francesca's trading resumes

07:48 EDT Saia provides Q3 to date LTL operating data - Saia is providing LTL shipment and tonnage data for the first two months of Q3. In July, LTL shipments per workday increased 2.5% and LTL tonnage per workday increased 2.8% compared to July 2016. LTL shipments per workday increased 4.3% and LTL tonnage per workday increased 4.6% in July compared to July 2016. In August, LTL shipments per workday increased 1.9% and LTL tonnage per workday increased 2.3% compared to August 2016. Adjusting for the estimated impact of Hurricane Harvey, the company believes August shipments and tonnage would have increased approximately 3% and 4% respectively.

07:46 EDT Moleculin Biotech to combine brain cander drug candidate with Roche's avastin - Moleculin Biotech (MBRX) has entered into a collaborative agreement with the University of Bergen to test WP1122 in combination with the drug Avastin(made by Roche (RHHBY). Roche Pharma is not a party to the collaborative agreement. Moleculin CEO Walter Klemp stated, "Avastin showed early promise in the treatment of brain tumors, but its usefulness has been hampered by the ability of brain tumors to develop resistance to anti-vascular therapy. (...) it is logical to consider that WP1122 could potentially be an effective way to deal with Avastin resistance, as a follow up treatment, or in combination with Avastin."

07:36 EDT Allergan to present new data on chronic migraine at IHC2017 - Allergan plc announced that data on Chronic Migraine and the Company's Chronic Migraine treatment will be featured in 11 presentations at the upcoming 18th Congress of the International Headache Society taking place September 7-10, 2017 in Vancouver, BC. Among the highlights are one oral podium presentation and two poster presentations on Chronic Migraine disease awareness from the CaMEO and PREDICT studies, as well as one poster on migraine treatment patterns and opioid use among episodic and Chronic Migraine patients and one poster evaluating the Identify Chronic Migraine screener in an accountable care organization. Additionally, Allergan will be presenting six posters from the COMPEL, FORWARD and REPOSE studies containing data on the safety, efficacy and real-world effectiveness for BOTOX treatment for Chronic Migraine.

07:33 EDT 1-800-Flowers.com increases share repurchase program to $30M - 1-800-FLOWERS.COM announced that its Board of Directors has authorized an increase in the company's share repurchase program to $30M. The company said that it had approximately $15M remaining on its previous Board authorization, issued in October, 2016.

07:32 EDT Rite Aid president Ken Martindale to depart - Rite Aid Corporation has announced that president of Rite Aid Corporation and CEO of Rite Aid stores Ken Martindale, will leave Rite Aid, effective immediately, in order to assume a leadership position at another company. Rite Aid also announced it has promoted Bryan Everett, currently EVP in charge of store operations, to the newly created position of COO of Rite Aid stores. In this position, Everett will be responsible for the company's store operations, merchandising, distribution and logistics. Everett will report to Rite Aid's Chairman and CEO John Standley.

07:28 EDT Home Depot says to join Google Express, allowing customers to shop through voice - The Home Depot (HD) will join Google Express (GOOG) this fall, "adding the ability for its customers to shop through voice with the Assistant on Google Home, making it more convenient than ever for customers to shop however they want." The Home Depot offers customers flexibility with its 2,282 stores and digital endless aisle. Later this fall, customers will have an additional way to purchase innovative products - with the Assistant on Google Home or on the Google Express website or app.

07:25 EDT Francesca's trading halted, news pending

07:16 EDT Fred's CEO says starting to gain momentum, seeing progress - Fred's CEO Michael Bloom said, "Our overall comparable store sales represent the best quarterly performance in the past year. In addition, EPS and EBITDA, excluding non-operating charges, improved over the prior year period. We are starting to gain momentum and are seeing progress across the business...While we are encouraged by our progress and performance trends, we recognize there is more work to be done...Our turnaround strategy is now expanded to focus on reducing SG&A and driving free cash flow. By lowering our SG&A to be more in line with our peers and embracing our roots of succeeding in small to mid-sized rural markets where we have a track-record of generating free cash flow, we are well-positioned to grow our bottom line and enhance shareholder value."

07:13 EDT Fred's Chairman Tashjian to retire, to be replaced by Freeman - Fred's announced that it has appointed Heath Freeman Chairman of the Board of Directors, effective immediately. Freeman succeeds Thomas Tashjian, who is retiring from the Board. Michael Bloom, CEO and Member of the Board, said "As President of Alden, the company's largest investor, Heath brings a strong shareholder perspective to the role of Chairman. I am confident that under his leadership, coupled with the oversight of our high-quality and experienced Board, we will be well positioned to drive Fred's long-term success."

07:12 EDT Kamada collaborating with BGN Technologies for AAT research - Kamada announced a collaboration for advanced research on Alpha-1 Antitrypsin, or AAT, with a focus on mechanism of action with BGN Technologies, the business arm of Ben-Gurion University. As part of this collaboration, BGN will provide various services to Kamada, including a thorough evaluation of AAT's attributes, beyond its anti-protease characteristics, such as effectively interfering with inflammatory responses, immuno-modulatory effect and protection from cell death.

07:10 EDT RXi Pharmaceuticals announces completion of enrollment in Phase 2 trial - RXi Pharmaceuticals announced the completion of enrollment in its Phase 2 clinical trial, RXI-SCP-1502, with Samcyprone. This study is evaluating the safety and clinical activity of Samcyprone for the clearance of cutaneous warts. Expanding its dermatology franchise in 2015, the Company completed an exclusive global license to Samcyprone from Hapten Pharmaceuticals, LLC. After the transfer of the IND to RXi, the Company completed a process to optimize the topical formulation followed by the initiation of its Phase 2 study, RXI-SCP-1502. This study is a multi-center, multi-dose trial conducted in subjects with at least one cutaneous, plantar or periungual wart present for at least four weeks. In this Phase 2 trial, subjects are first treated with a sensitization dose on the inner arm and one or more preselected wart lesions. Once the sensitization response is confirmed, subjects continue with weekly treatments for 10 weeks. Wart clearance will be evaluated based on Investigator's Global Assessment Score and wart measurements over time during the treatment period.

07:09 EDT Entegris, Hubei Jingxing sign manufacturing agreement for 3D NAND material - Entegris announced that it has signed an agreement with Hubei Jingxing Science & Technology, a specialty chemical manufacturer in Suizhou, China to manufacture Entegris' high-purity deposition products. These high-purity deposition products include TEOS, a material particularly critical to enabling 3D NAND technology.

07:07 EDT Graphic Packaging announces closure of Santa Clara paperboard mill - Graphic Packaging announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Graphic Packaging International, Inc., will close its coated recycled paperboard mill in Santa Clara, California by year end. This decision was made as a result of a thorough assessment of the facility's manufacturing capabilities and associated costs in the context of the Company's overall mill operating capability. The closure will affect approximately 120 employees. "The closing of the Santa Clara facility was a difficult decision. We are working closely with the affected employees to provide support and assistance," said President and CEO Michael Doss. "Following the closure, we expect to meet our external and internal paperboard commitments previously serviced by our Santa Clara mill by redistributing production across our lower cost Midwest coated recycled mills, as well as our West Monroe, Louisiana, and Macon, Georgia coated unbleached kraft paper mills. Our ability to redistribute our production underscores the flexibility that we have across our mill system that has been greatly enhanced over the last several years through targeted and strategic capital investments."

07:07 EDT Lightbridge, AREVA NP sign agreement for U.S. JV - Lightbridge and AREVA NP in North America signed a binding Heads of Terms Agreement for a joint venture, or JV, that summarizes all material terms and conditions to develop, manufacture and commercialize Lightbridge's advanced metallic fuel technology. Lightbridge is a U.S. nuclear fuel development company and AREVA NP is a leader in servicing and fueling today's reactor fleet and advancing the future of nuclear energy. The parties agreed that the cash and non-cash contributions to the JV will be balanced and that the JV will be owned on a 50-50 basis. The result will be equal economics for the respective JV owners. The JV will be the exclusive vehicle through which Lightbridge and AREVA NP will research, develop, demonstrate, fabricate, license, market and sell nuclear fuel assemblies that utilize Lightbridge's proprietary metallic fuel designs and other advanced nuclear fuel intellectual property contributed by both Lightbridge and AREVA NP.

07:06 EDT Natural Alternatives patents related to Beta-Alanine invalidated by Hi-Tech - Hi-Tech Pharmaceuticals says, "Today we eviscerated five Natural Alternatives International patents related to Beta-Alanine. NAI alleges to be a leading formulator, manufacturer and marketer of customized nutritional supplements. However, Hi-Tech had warned NAI that their patent portfolio was bogus and they proceeded with filing a lawsuit anyway. NAI had sued dozens of supplement manufacturers and raw material importers over the past 5 years trying to intimidate them into stopping selling beta alanine."

07:04 EDT Cubic awarded $25M contract for development of combat training centers - Cubic Global Defense, a business division of Cubic Corporation, announced it received a contract award worth more than $25M from a customer in the Asia-Pacific region for the delivery of three mobile combat training centers. Cubic will provide its latest generation laser-based simulation equipment for dismounted soldiers, vehicles and numerous weapon configurations. The contract also includes the implementation of communication system components, after action review capabilities and exercise control system integration. Engineering and production for the contract will be performed in San Diego, California. The first deliveries will be executed in 2018 and will continue through 2019.

07:04 EDT Aehr Test Systems receives $900K upgrade order - Aehr Test Systems has received a $900K order from one of its lead FOX-XP Test and Burn-in System customers to provide additional test capability and power handling capacity to their FOX-XP system in order to meet that customer's new device requirements.

07:03 EDT Concordia announces DELIVER strategy - Concordia International announced the details of DELIVER, its long-term growth strategy. "At its essence, the DELIVER strategy will focus Concordia's efforts on becoming a leading European specialty 'off-patent' medicines player," said Concordia CEO Allan Oberman. "The development of this strategy was a multi-month initiative that was done internally, reflecting contributions from more than 50 Concordia employees including our senior management team, and our board of directors. It is the culmination of a holistic team effort that we are very excited about."

07:01 EDT Canadian Solar acquires 80.6MWp of solar power project in Brazil - Canadian Solar announced an acquisition of an 80.6 MWp solar photovoltaic project in Guimarania, in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Canadian Solar will build the project and provide the modules from its local factory in Brazil. The Guimarania project received a 20-year Power Purchase Agreement from the second Reserve Energy Auction at R$290.00/MWh, or approximately $91.77/MWh. Once connected to the grid, the plant will generate approximately 143,664 MWh of electricity per year, which will be sold to CCEE. Construction will start in early 2018 and reach commercial operation in Q4 2018.

06:54 EDT AmpliPhi receives $2M R&D tax incentive - AmpliPhi has received a Research and Development Tax Incentive cash rebate of $2.0M from the Australian Tax Office based on the company's R&D spending in Australia during 2016. The company will recognize the $2.0M payment received in its financial statements for the quarter ending September 30.

06:47 EDT Hebron Technology awarded $7.4M contract in China - Hebron Technology has been awarded a contract for approximately $7.4M to provide holistic process pipeline solution for Zhuhai Zhaoli Food Technology.The contract is related to five fermentation production lines to be installed at Zhaoli's new production facility in Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province and is expected to be completed within ten months.

06:45 EDT Denbury Resources restores 90% of production impacted by Harvey - Denbury Resources has restarted production over the last several days at five of its six fields impacted by Tropical Storm Harvey. As of today, the company estimates that approximately 90% of the 16,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day of net production shut-in as of August 27 has been returned to production, and the company has not identified any significant damage at these impacted fields. The only field that remains shut-in is Thompson Field, which had net production just prior to the storm of approximately 1,000 BOE per day. Production at Thompson Field is expected to return to full capacity over the next eight weeks, as flooding in that area subsides and personnel are able to access the field. The company does not expect any insurance recovery related to the storm. The impact of Tropical Storm Harvey on Q3 production is estimated to be 2,000-2,200 BOE per day, and full-year production is still expected to be within our previously updated guidance of 60,000-62,000 BOE per day.

06:41 EDT SAIC awarded two NASA contracts for potential value of $161M - SAIC has been awarded two contracts by NASA for development, sustainment, and maintenance of information technology software, systems, and support for the Flight Operations Directorate at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The combined contracts have a total potential value of approximately $161M.

06:37 EDT Simon Property still sees FY17 net cash $575M-$590M - Spectrum Brands continues to expect FY17 net cash provided from operating activities after purchases of property, plant and equipment, or adjusted free cash flow, will be $575M-$590M.

06:23 EDT Verastem's duvelisib shows superior PFS to standard of care in Phase 3 study - Verastem reported "positive" top-line results from the Phase 3 DUO study evaluating the efficacy and safety of duvelisib in patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma. Regarding primary endpoint of progression free survival, oral duvelisib monotherapy showed superiority over ofatumumab, an approved standard of care treatment for patients with CLL/SLL, achieving a statistically significant improvement in median PFS of 13.3 months, compared to 9.9 months for ofatumumab with a hazard ratio of 0.52, representing a 48% reduction in the risk of progression or death. Verastem plans to share these clinical data with the FDA with the goal of filing a New Drug Application with the FDA during the first half of 2018. The duvelisib NDA submission will be supported by favorable results from both the DUO study in CLL/SLL and the DYNAMO study in indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which also achieved its primary endpoint with an ORR of 46%. Duvelisib monotherapy had a manageable safety profile, with results from this study consistent with the well-characterized safety profile of duvelisib monotherapy in patients with advanced hematologic malignancies. Verastem intends to submit detailed results from the Phase 3 DUO study for publication in a peer-reviewed medical journal and for presentation at an upcoming scientific meeting.

06:18 EDT Verastem expanding duvelisib development program after Fast Track designation - Verastem announced the expansion of its duvelisib development program to include targeting the treatment of patients with Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma. Duvelisib has been granted Fast Track designation by the FDA for the treatment of patients with PTCL who have received at least one prior therapy. Duvelisib, Verastem's lead drug candidate, is an oral inhibitor of phosphoinositide-3-kinase-delta and PI3K-gamma being investigated for the treatment of hematologic cancers, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma, indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma and other T cell lymphomas. Development of duvelisib in PTCL is supported by Phase 1 clinical data which demonstrated a 50% investigator-assessed overall response rate in 16 heavily pre-treated patients with relapsed or refractory PTCL. Verastem intends to initiate an open-label, multicenter, Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of duvelisib in patients with relapsed or refractory PTCL by year end 2017. Verastem expects that the Phase 2 study will be conducted in both the U.S. and Japan.

06:11 EDT Brazil's Petrobras to sell 90% of natural gas transport unit - Petrobras reports that it has initiated the opportunity disclosure stage related to the sale process of 90% of its stake in Transportadora Associada de Gas S.A, a wholly-owned Petrobras subsidiary. TAG is a company that operates in the natural gas transportation sector, and currently holds long-term permits to operate and manage a gas pipeline system of about 4500 km in extension, located mainly in the North and Northeastern regions of Brazil. The company's transport capacity is 74.7 MMm3/d, a volume that is fully employed through long-term contracts with ship-or-pay clauses. Currently, most of the operation and maintenance services is run by Petrobras Transporte S.A., a wholly-owned Petrobras subsidiary, through contracts with TAG for this purpose.

06:08 EDT Dril-Quip: facilities sustained 'no material damage' from Harvey, backs guidance - Dril-Quip announced the resumption of normal operations at its Houston locations as of Tuesday, September 5. Despite devastating floods in the Houston area resulting from Hurricane Harvey, the company's offices and manufacturing facilities sustained no material damage. Blake DeBerry, Dril-Quip's President and CEO, stated, "We extend our deepest sympathies to those affected by Hurricane Harvey as we focus on the wellbeing of our employees and work to minimize any impact on our customers. While there may be some changes in delivery schedules in the short term, our previous revenue guidance for the second half of 2017 remains unchanged."

06:05 EDT SkyWest purchases 25 new aircraft to fly with Delta and Alaska Air - SkyWest (SKYW) has entered into aircraft purchase agreements and capacity purchase agreements to acquire and fly 15 new aircraft with Delta Air Lines (DAL) and 10 new aircraft with Alaska Airlines (ALK), of which five aircraft with Alaska were previously discussed. Expected delivery dates of the 25 aircraft run from March 2018 through the end of 2018. SkyWest expects to invest approximately $90M in cash to acquire these 25 new aircraft, and to finance the balance of the purchase price with 12-year fixed rate debt. These aircraft will be operated by SkyWest Airlines, Inc. a wholly owned subsidiary of SkyWest.

05:55 EDT Boeing raises China 20 year new plane demand forecast to 7,240, valued at $1.1T - Boeing projects a demand for 7,240 new airplanes in the country over the next 20 years valued at nearly $1.1T. Boeing's annual China Current Market Outlook, or CMO, was released today in Beijing, with total airplane demand rising 6.3% over last year's forecast. "China's continuous economic growth, significant investment in infrastructure, growing middle-class and evolving airline business models support this long-term outlook," said Randy Tinseth, vice president of Marketing, Boeing Commercial Airplanes. "China's fleet size is expected to grow at a pace well above the world average, and almost 20 percent of global new airplane demand will be from airlines based in China." Single-aisle airplanes continue to be the foundation of domestic and regional fleets in China. Boeing sees the need for 5,420 new single-aisle airplanes through 2036, accounting for 75 percent of the total new deliveries. Full-service airlines and low-cost carriers have been adding new single-aisle airplanes and expanding new point-to-point services to cater for both leisure and business travel demand in China and throughout Asia. Tinseth said the backlog from Chinese customers demonstrates that the new 737 MAX 8 remains at the heart of the single-aisle market. Boeing forecasts the widebody fleet over the next 20 years will require 1,670 new airplanes. Airlines continue to shift to small and medium widebody airplanes for long-haul expansion and flexibility. Primary demand for very large widebodies going forward will be in the freighter market. "China's outbound travel market continues its rapid growth toward 200M passengers annually," said Tinseth. "With new technologies, superior capabilities and advanced efficiency, the 787 and 777X families will play a key role in supporting the growth of China's long-haul market."

05:45 EDT Bioverativ enters strategic research collaboration with Bicycle Therapeutics - Bioverativ and Bicycle Therapeutics announced a research collaboration focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative therapies for hemophilia and sickle cell disease. Bicycle Therapeutics will be responsible for leading initial discovery activities through lead optimization to candidate selection for two programs. Bioverativ will lead preclinical and clinical development, as well as subsequent marketing and commercialization. Bioverativ will reimburse Bicycle for internal and external program-related costs. Upon execution of the agreement, Bicycle will receive a $10M upfront payment and near-term research and development funding of $4.2M. Bicycle is eligible to receive up to $410M related to development, regulatory and commercialization milestones for products planned under the two programs, as well as tiered single to low double-digit royalties related to product sales. Additional terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.

05:31 EDT Kratos Defense announces $46M single award training contract to support RSNF - Kratos Defense announced that it received a Foreign Military Sales, or FMS, sole-source, three-year, single award indefinite delivery indefinite quantity, or IDIQ, contract to provide training-related products and services in a variety of disciplines to Royal Saudi Naval Forces, or RSNF, the Naval Force of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The award, issued by Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, or NAWCTSD, is contained in a U.S. FMS agreement with a potential value to Kratos of $100M, depending on the number of task orders issued and anticipated contract modifications under the FMS agreement. Kratos' initial award is $46M over three years. Kratos will provide Manpower, Personnel & Training, or MPT, planning as well as instructional services for a broad array of missions, functions and tasks. The first task order, valued at $24.1M, is to provide Contractor Support Services to all levels of RSNF training along with other logistical requirements in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Across future task orders, Kratos will deploy personnel in-country to provide training related products and services for a three-year period. The mission of this single award contract is to sustain levels of military preparedness and performance, increase the protection of critical industrial infrastructure and further strengthen defense interoperability with U.S. and other allied forces. Additionally, the award is expected to enhance U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives by helping to improve the security of a strategic regional partner.

05:27 EDT Peabody Energy agrees to sell majority of Burton Mine to Lenton Joint Venture - Peabody announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell the majority of its Burton mine and related infrastructure to the Lenton Joint Venture for approximately $11M. The Lenton Joint Venture will assume the reclamation obligations associated with the assets being acquired by the Lenton Joint Venture, reducing Peabody's asset retirement obligation by approximately $53M while also releasing an estimated $30M of restricted cash. The Burton mine, located in Queensland's Bowen Basin, entered a care, maintenance and rehabilitation phase in December 2016. The transaction is conditional on a number of regulatory and other requirements and completion is expected to take place in the first half of 2018.