Stockwinners Market Radar for September 07, 2017 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

19:04 EDT ChinaCache interim CFO Naijiang Zhou steps down - ChinaCache International announced that Naijiang Zhou stepped down from his role as the company's interim CFO, effective September 6, 2017. Fengye Gao, Financial Controller of the company, will assume the responsibilities as the company's principal financial and accounting officer following Zhou's resignation as the interim CFO. The company intends to search for a permanent CFO.

18:23 EDT Clovis Phase 3 ARIEL3 rucaparib study achieves primary and secondary endpoints - Clovis Oncology announced the first presentation of a comprehensive dataset from its Phase 3 ARIEL3 study of rucaparib at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress in Madrid. The ARIEL3 study successfully achieved its primary endpoint and key secondary endpoint, demonstrating improved progression-free survival by both investigator review and blinded independent central review in each of the three populations studied. The data will be presented by Jonathan Ledermann, European and ROW Principal Investigator for the ARIEL3 study, during the proffered paper session on gynecological cancers the afternoon of Friday, September 8. "The comprehensive ARIEL3 results presented for the first time today demonstrate the potential of rucaparib to extend the time during which the disease is controlled for women with platinum-sensitive, advanced ovarian cancer," said Patrick Mahaffy, president and CEO of Clovis Oncology.

18:13 EDT Ciena lower after Finisar sees Q2 telecom revenue headwinds - Shares of telecom equipment maker Ciena are down 0.60% to $21.52 in after-hours trading.

18:00 EDT Finisar says capital raise from last December was for M&A opportunities - On its Q1 earnings call, Finisar said that last year's capital raise was done to provide financial flexibility "in times like these when there are M&A opportunities and our currency isn't where we would like it to be. So I think we're going to continue to explore those opportunities, and we do believe in continued consolidation in the space. But certainly, when your stock currency is down, your more likely to use cash than stock than any sort of transaction," said a company executive on the call. The Fly notes that on December 19, 2016, after Finisar (FNSR) announced a few days earlier that it would raise $575M by issuing convertible senior notes, versus its previous target of $512.5M, two research firms, Northland and Stifel, speculated that the company could be looking to make a significant acquisition. Oclaro (OCLR), Neophotonics (NPTN) and Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) were named as possible takeover targets for Finisar, and both firms agreed that Oclaro is the most likely target among those possibilities.

17:44 EDT On The Fly: After Hours Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Zumiez (ZUMZ), up 11.4.1%... Bazaarvoice (BV), up 6.4%... Redfin (RDFN), up 3.5%... Okta (OKTA), up 2.9%. ALSO HIGHER: Kura Oncology (KURA), up 26.3% after it said its Phase 2 study for Tipifarnib met its primary endpoint prior to enrollment completion... KEYW (KEYW), up 17.6% after it announced an $18M task order to deliver Department of Defense business systems software engineering support. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Cherokee (CHKE), down 17.2%... American Outdoor Brands (AOBC), down 17.1%... Tintri (TNTR), down 13.2%... Finisar (FNSR), down 6.3%... SAIC (SAIC), down 6%... Verifone Systems (PAY), down 5%. ALSO LOWER: Equifax (EFX), down 6% after it announced a cybersecurity incident that potentially affects 143M U.S. consumers... Gladstone Land (LAND), down 4.6% after it filed to sell common stock.

17:36 EDT Finisar: OEM sources says recent China Mobile tender 'relatively small' - Company says "we'll see some impact" from tender, "but not expecting a move in China." Comments are from the company's Q1 earnings conference call.

17:31 EDT Finisar sees 3D sensing contibuting low-single-digit millions of dollars in Q2 - Comments are from the company's Q1 earnings conference call.

17:28 EDT TransCanada seeks 30-day suspension of project applications - TransCanada announced it has filed a letter with the National Energy Board seeking a 30-day suspension of the Energy East Pipeline and Eastern Mainline Project applications. The suspension will allow time to conduct a careful review of recent changes announced by the NEB regarding the list of issues and environmental assessment factors of the projects while understanding how these changes impact the projects' costs, schedules and viability. Due to the significant changes to the regulatory process introduced by the NEB and the request for a 30-day suspension of the applications, TransCanada will cease recording Allowance for Funds Used During Construction on the projects effective August 23, 2017, being the date of the NEB's announcement altering the terms of their assessment. Should TransCanada decide not to proceed with the projects after a thorough review of the impact of the NEB's amendments, the carrying value of its investment in the projects as well as its ability to recover development costs incurred to date would be negatively impacted.

17:26 EDT Finisar says revenue decline for two quarters in a row 'problematic for us' - Comments are from the company's Q1 earnings conference call.

17:17 EDT Finisar inventory build up due to growth expectations - Doesn't see a meaningful risk of product obsolescence.

17:08 EDT Adams Resources & Energy chairman, president and CEO Smith to retire - Adams Resources & Energy announced that Thomas S. Smith has informed the company of his intent to retire as president and CEO of the company as of September 30, 2017, and as chairman of the board of directors effective as of the date hereof. The board of directors has appointed Townes G. Pressler, a member of the board of directors to the position of executive chairman and chairman of the board of directors. Smith will assist in the orderly transition of his duties and responsibilities to Pressler, who has served as an independent director of the company since 2011 and as vice chairman of the board of directors for the last 18 months. The company also announced the formation of the Office of the Chairman to be led by Pressler, whose additional members are Josh C. Anders, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the company, Sharon C. Davis, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the company, and Geoffrey L. Griffith, President of Gulfmark Energy, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the company. In addition, certain officers of the company, including the members of the Office of the Chairman, will report to Pressler.

17:02 EDT Williams-Sonoma to recruit for over 4,000 jobs on National Hiring Day - Williams-Sonoma announced its first-ever National Hiring Day, slated to take place on Thursday, September 14, from 2 p.m. - 7 p.m. local time at all Williams-Sonoma, Inc. branded stores across the U.S. and Canada. The company will also be accepting online applications for open positions at corporate offices and across supply chain management offices. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. expects to interview for approximately 4,000 positions across a variety of roles at Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn Kids, PBteen, Rejuvenation, and West Elm stores, as part of WSI's National Hiring Day.

16:51 EDT Finisar drops almost 8% after telecom revenues decline - "We experienced strong demand in our first fiscal quarter for our 100G QSFP28 transceivers for datacenter applications," said Jerry Rawls, Finisar's CEO. "However, our overall revenues for our first fiscal quarter were $341.8M, a decrease of $15.7M, or 4.4%, compared to the fourth quarter of fiscal 2017. This decrease resulted primarily from a decline in telecom revenues as well as a decrease in 10G and below datacom transceivers."

16:36 EDT Equifax reports cybersecurity incident potentially impacting 143M U.S. consumers - Equifax announced a cybersecurity incident potentially impacting approximately 143M U.S. consumers. Criminals exploited a U.S. website application vulnerability to gain access to certain files. Based on the company's investigation, the unauthorized access occurred from mid-May through July 2017. The company has found no evidence of unauthorized activity on Equifax's core consumer or commercial credit reporting databases. The information accessed primarily includes names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and, in some instances, driver's license numbers. In addition, credit card numbers for approximately 209,000 U.S. consumers, and certain dispute documents with personal identifying information for approximately 182,000 U.S. consumers, were accessed. As part of its investigation of this application vulnerability, Equifax also identified unauthorized access to limited personal information for certain UK and Canadian residents. Equifax will work with UK and Canadian regulators to determine appropriate next steps. The company has found no evidence that personal information of consumers in any other country has been impacted. Equifax discovered the unauthorized access on July 29 of this year and acted immediately to stop the intrusion. The company promptly engaged a leading, independent cybersecurity firm that has been conducting a comprehensive forensic review to determine the scope of the intrusion, including the specific data impacted. Equifax also reported the criminal access to law enforcement and continues to work with authorities. While the company's investigation is substantially complete, it remains ongoing and is expected to be completed in the coming weeks.

16:27 EDT Kura Oncology says study met primary endpoint prior to enrollment completion - Kura Oncology announced positive topline results from a Phase 2 trial for its lead product candidate, tipifarnib, in patients with HRAS mutant relapsed or refractory squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck, HNSCC. The Phase 2 trial achieved its primary endpoint prior to the completion of enrollment.The trial protocol requires four confirmed, partial responses, per RECIST 1.1 criteria, out of 18 patients to meet its primary endpoint. Four confirmed, partial responses and two patients with disease stabilization have been observed among the first six evaluable HNSCC patients enrolled in the trial. In addition, objective responses greater than one year in duration have already been observed in two patients. All patients joined the study upon progression on prior therapy, including chemotherapy, cetuximab or immune therapy. Kura will continue to enroll HRAS mutant HNSCC patients and plans to present data from the study at an upcoming scientific or medical conference. "We have observed rapid and, in some cases, dramatic responses in patients with relapsed and/or refractory HNSCC who do not appear to benefit from other therapies," said Antonio Gualberto, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Medical Officer of Kura Oncology. "Based on these very encouraging results, we are exploring available options to advance the development of tipifarnib in this patient population as quickly as possible."

16:22 EDT Integrated Core Strategies reports 5.6% passive stake in Adamas Pharmaceuticals

16:20 EDT Cempra provides merger process update - As described in the press release announcing the proposed merger, Cempra and Melinta will work together through a joint selection committee to identify the CEO leadership of the combined company, who will be able to build on strong experience and the shared vision of the board to continue growing one of the world's leading anti-infectives companies. An executive search firm has been retained to identify the CEO for the combined company and the search is ongoing. Cempra has filed a preliminary proxy statement related to the proposed merger with Melinta. The preliminary proxy statement includes significant additional information, including: A description of the financial and strategic rationale for the transaction. Details on the background of the merger, including a description of the comprehensive process conducted to evaluate potential strategic opportunities. Information on the combined company's potential market opportunities and commercial and business strategies.

16:18 EDT KEYW announces $18M task order to deliver DOD business software - The KeyW Holding announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Sotera Defense Solutions was awarded a three-year, $18M Task Order to provide business systems software engineering and sustainment services to the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command, CECOM, Software Engineering Center. This is the fifth Task Order awarded to the combined company under the $7 billion Software and Systems Engineering Services Next Generation indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract. For this contract, awarded during the second quarter of the company's fiscal year, KeyW will support software engineering, development and sustainment, business consulting, IT infrastructure, procurement management and administrative services for the CECOM SEC Enterprise Information Systems Directorate.EISD's mission is to execute program management and lifecycle sustainment functions within cost, schedule and performance for all assigned enterprise resource planning, logistics IT, satellite communications and Department of Defense/Department of the Army enterprise business applications. "KeyW is mission-focused," said Bill Weber, KeyW's chief executive officer. "And we're honored to continue this work that ultimately supports the Army's mission to provide quality software solutions for Warfighters."

16:14 EDT Mueller Water's CFO Evan Hart to retire as of December 31 - Marietta Edmunds Zakas, who currently serves as Senior Vice President, Strategy, Corporate Development, HR and Communications, will take over as the Company's CFO immediately following Mr. Hart's retirement.

16:11 EDT American Outdoor Brands reports Q1 non-GAAP EPS ,2c consensus 11c - Reports Q1 revenue $129.0M, consensus $147.38M.

16:10 EDT Mueller Water announces strategic reorganization

16:06 EDT Zumiez reports August comparable sales increased 7.4% - Total net sales for the four-week period ended August 26 increased 10.1% to $98.6M, compared to $89.5M for the four-week period ended August 27, 2016. The company's comparable sales increased 7.4% for the four-week period ended August 26.

16:04 EDT Hawaiian Holdings reports August traffic up 2.8% year-over-year - RPMs in August were up 1.0% and ASMs down 1.1% compared with August 2016. Load factor was 86.2%, up 1.8 points.

15:01 EDT Knight Transportation holders approved proposed tie-up with Swift Transportation - Knight Transportation (KNX) announced that its stockholders approved its merger with Swift Transportation Company (SWFT) at a special meeting of Knight stockholders held earlier today. Knight stockholders approved all proposals put forward at the special meeting. As previously announced, on April 9, 2017, Knight and Swift entered into a merger agreement, pursuant to which they agreed to a combination transaction after which their respective businesses will be operated separately under a single combined company. The combined company will be named Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings Inc. and will trade under the ticker "KNX." Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, each Swift share will convert into 0.72 shares of Knight-Swift by means of a reverse stock split and each share of Knight will be exchanged for one Knight-Swift share. Knight expects the merger to close tomorrow, September 8, 2017.

14:31 EDT Allegiant reports August total system passengers up 9.2% - Reports August total system RPM up 5.3% and ASM up 6.5%. Reports August total system load factor down 0.8 points and departures up 10.1%.

13:46 EDT FDA, for first time, recognizes health claim to prevent a food allergy - FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb issued a statement on a new qualified health claim advising that early introduction of peanuts to certain high-risk infants may reduce risk of peanut allergy. The statement reads in part, "Recognizing the importance of science-based food decisions, the FDA has responded to a petition for a new qualified health claim that states 'for most infants with severe eczema and/or egg allergy who are already eating solid foods, introducing foods containing ground peanuts between 4 and 10 months of age and continuing consumption may reduce the risk of developing peanut allergy by 5 years of age.' This is the first time the FDA has recognized a qualified health claim to prevent a food allergy. Our goal is to make sure parents are abreast of the latest science and can make informed decisions about how they choose to approach these challenging issues. The new claim on food labels will recommend that parents check with their infant's healthcare provider before introducing foods containing ground peanuts. It will also note that the claim is based on one study. The FDA will continue to monitor the research related to peanut allergy. If new scientific information further informs what we know about peanut allergy, the FDA will evaluate whether the claim should be updated." Among the public companies seeking treatments for food allergies are DBV Technologies (DBVT) and Aimmune (AIMT). Reference Link

13:28 EDT Mylan lower after FDA sends warning letter to EpiPen manufacturer - Shares of Mylan (MYL) moved lower after the FDA posted a warning letter sent on September 5 to Pfizer's (PFE) manufacturing facility, Meridian Medical Technologies. The warning letter summarized "significant violations" of current good manufacturing practice requirements for combination products. Meridian, among other products, manufactures two epinephrine auto-injectors at the facility, Mylan's EpiPen and EpiPen Jr. "You failed to thoroughly investigate multiple serious component and product failures for your EpiPen products, including failures associated with patient deaths and severe illness," the FDA wrote. The agency added, "You also failed to expand the scope of your investigations into these serious and life-threatening failures or take appropriate corrective actions, until FDA's inspection." Shares of Mylan are down 20c, or 1%, to $32.04 in afternoon trading.

13:01 EDT RadNet director sells 25,000 common shares - In a regulatory filing, RadNet director David L. Swartz disclosed the sale of 25,000 common shares of the company in three tranches at a price range of $10.90-$11.05 per share.

12:40 EDT Wells Fargo acquires roughly 51B in MSRs from Seneca Mortgage Investment - Wells Fargo announced that it has acquired approximately $51B in mortgage servicing rights from Seneca Mortgage Investment. The loans underlying the MSRs are conventional/conforming loans guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The MSRs will be reflected in the company's third quarter results. Additional financial details regarding the transaction were not disclosed.

12:35 EDT SQM says lithium is an abundant resource - Other companies that produce lithium, which is used in the production of lithium-ion batteries, include Albemarle (ALB) and FMC Corporation (FMC).

12:27 EDT FDA posts warning letter sent to Pfizer over Meridian manufacturing - Reference Link

12:19 EDT Disney slides after CEO comments on guidance, streaming service - During Bank of America Merrill Lynch's Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference, Disney (DIS) CEO Bob Iger said that he expects the company's 2017 earnings per share to be roughly in line with last fiscal year, sending the stock into negative territory. The executive also said Marvel and Star Wars will go exclusively to the company's upcoming streaming service. GUIDANCE: Disney CEO Bob Iger expects the company's fiscal year 2017 earnings per share to be roughly in line with last fiscal year. In 2016, Disney reported adjusted earnings per share of $5.72, according to Bloomberg data. The consensus estimate for 2017 prior to Iger's comments today was for 2017 earnings per share of $5.88, according to First Call. "I think you have to look at the year as being roughly in line with an EPS basis that we delivered in fiscal '16, and that's for a few reasons, some, by the way, very topical. We mentioned all the way at the beginning of the year the impact of the NBA, big growth in cost to ESPN on the rights front. We also did not have a big Star Wars movie. [...] In addition to that, we have had some impact already from Hurricane Irma. There, we've seen cancellations in Orlando, and we've also had to cancel three cruise itineraries and shorten a couple of others. Lastly, there will be some expense us in fiscal '17 that are tied to the BAMTech acquisition," the executive said during the media conference. DISNEY STREAMING SERVICE: During the presentation, CEO Bob Iger also said that Marvel and Star Wars titles will go exclusively to the new Disney streaming platform, a service that is set to launch in late 2019. "We're going to launch it in late 2019. We're doing that for two reasons. First of all, as we exit the Netflix (NFLX) output deal, we don't get access to our theatrical release movies until the beginning of '19. Secondly, we wanted time to actually develop and build up original programming for the platform. So late '19, we'll launch a Disney-branded service. It will have -- it will be the output distributor for the theatrical release movies. [...] We've now decided that we will put the Marvel and Star Wars movies on this app as well. So it will have the entire output of the studio: animation, live action, Disney including Pixar, Star Wars and all the Marvel films," he explained. Additionally, it will also have four to five original Disney series as well as three to four exclusive Disney movies. "We are going to make less costly movies that are going to be on our proprietary service," he said. ESPN: Discussing the company's ESPN sports network, Iger pointed out that he expects its own streaming service to launch sometime in the Spring, and that ultimately each user will be able to choose the events and sports he wants to watch. "We will launch with 10,000 live sporting events that are not currently on ESPN's linear channels. And those will include Major League Baseball, the National Hockey League, MLS, some other tenants and a lot of college in sports that we own the rights to already. [...] It will be an ESPN app that exists today. Today, on that ESPN app, you can watch ESPN's linear channels live authenticated. That will continue to exist. On top of that in the same app, you'll be able to subscribe to, let's call it, a plus service. You'll be able to subscribe to significantly more sports programming than you get just through the linear channels. [...] Over time, I think the way you have to look at this is this will be a sports marketplace platform. You'll be able to pick and choose over time what it is you want. It won't necessarily be a one-size-fits-all. We may launch it that way, but the goal eventually is to create something that the sports fan can essentially use to design what their sports media experience can be," Iger stated. PRICE ACTION: Near noon, shares of Disney have dropped about 3% to $98.26, while Netflix's stock is fractionally up to $179.73.

12:15 EDT Verizon raises quarterly dividend by 2.2% to 59c per share - The board of Verizon declared a quarterly dividend of 59c per outstanding share, an increase of 1.25c per share, or 2.2%, from the previous quarter. The quarterly dividend is payable on November 1, to Verizon shareowners of record at the close of business on October 10.

12:08 EDT Comcast shares are down 6% as company presents at BofA media conference

12:08 EDT Comcast sees losing 100K-150K video subscribers in Q3 due to competition, storms - Comcast is presenting at Bank of America Merrill Lynch's Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference.

11:49 EDT MiMedx says not target of VA OIG investigation

11:37 EDT Lockheed Martin's Sikorsky awarded contract for two S-70i Black Hawk helicopters - Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, received a contract from the County of Los Angeles for two S-70i Black Hawk helicopters in a baseline configuration. Sikorsky is assembling the two new S-70i Black Hawk helicopters for delivery to L.A. County in December 2017. Compared to the S-70A model, the S-70i aircraft will feature wide chord rotor blades for enhanced lift, a stronger airframe, a digital glass cockpit with flight management system for enhanced situation awareness, and a cockpit voice and flight data recorder. An Integrated Vehicle Health Management system will monitor the aircraft's operational health. In addition to aerial firefighting, a Firehawk helicopter also performs command and control of other firefighting aircraft, EMS transport, search and rescue, and logistic support.

11:13 EDT State Street agrees to pay $35M to settle fraud charges - "The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that State Street has agreed to pay more than $35M to settle charges that it fraudulently charged secret markups for transition management services and separately omitted material information about the operation of its platform for trading U.S. Treasury securities. An SEC order finds that State Street's scheme to overcharge transition management customers generated approximately $20M in improper revenue for the firm. State Street used false trading statements, pre-trade estimates, and post-trade reports to misrepresent its compensation on various transactions, especially purchases and sales of bonds and other securities that trade outside large transparent markets. When one customer detected some hidden markups and confronted State Street employees, they falsely called it a "fat finger error" and "inadvertent commissions" in order to conceal the scheme. In a separate SEC order, the agency finds that State Street failed to inform subscribers to its government securities trading platform called GovEx that despite marketing the system as "fair and transparent" it provided one subscriber with a "Last Look" trading functionality that allowed a short period of time for the subscriber to reject a match to a submitted quote. The subscriber used Last Look to reject 57 matches that each had a $1 million face value. State Street did not inform the counterparties that their orders had been rejected with Last Look. While developing Last Look, State Street even told one subscriber that the platform did not have Last Look functionality at all," said the SEC. Reference Link

11:07 EDT Talanta raises stake in Lincoln Educational to 6.7% from 6.4%

11:00 EDT Pershing's Ackman speaks of working with ADP after meeting with board - Pershing Square Capital Management disclosed in a regulatory filing that it sent a letter today to ADP's board of directors. The letter, signed by Pershing's Bill Ackman, reads, "Thank you for the opportunity to present our analysis and ideas to the full board. We greatly appreciated the iterative dialogue and your insightful questions. We left the meeting with the strong impression that we could work together very effectively to build on ADP's strengths to greatly improve the company's competitiveness, profitability, and growth. To that end as we discussed in the meeting, it is our strong preference that we end the proxy contest and come to a resolution on governance. We have proposed an expansion of the board by three seats and the addition of our nominees. This would eliminate the need for us to replace existing directors and we could begin working together immediately. We have met with a substantial number of shareholders over the past few weeks. They would strongly prefer that the company embrace its significant potential for improvement and that we work together in the best interest of the company and all of its stakeholders. Please let us know how you would like to proceed." Pershing owns 8.3% of ADP's outstanding shares.

10:56 EDT Generac sees 'base case' organic sales growth of 5%-6% in 2017-2020 - Generac, in investor day slides, laid out "base case" 2020 targets for net sales of about $1.85B, adjusted EBITDA margin of about 21.0% and capital spending of 2%-2.5% of sales. The company noted it expects +100 bps operating leverage on 5%-6% organic growth.

10:46 EDT NuVasive announces acquisition of Vertera Spine, terms not disclosed - NuVasive announced the acquisition of Vertera Spine, a privately-held medical device company developing and commercializing highly innovative interbody implants for spinal fusion using patented porous polyetheretherketone technology. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The acquisition of Vertera Spine reflects NuVasive's continued commitment to pursue strategic opportunities as it builds out its advanced materials science portfolio to complement the Company's position as the innovation leader in spine. As a result of this acquisition, NuVasive is now the only medical device company to offer porous interbody technology across both PEEK and titanium materials, thereby addressing the spectrum of surgeons' needs and preferences for interbody implants. Vertera Spine's technology provides a unique three-dimensional porous PEEK architecture to help elicit and encourage bone ingrowth based on pre-clinical studies, a key factor in improved patient outcomes in spinal fusion procedures, using a proprietary processing method that retains strength and durability.

10:41 EDT Fifth Third temporarily closes 40 banking centers amid Hurricane Irma - Fifth Third Bank has closed 40 banking centers and office locations in Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Collier, Lee and Charlotte counties Thursday, September 7 through Sunday, September 10 in preparation for Hurricane Irma. "The safety and security of Fifth Third employees and customers is our highest priority," said David Call, Florida regional president. "We know access to bank accounts is critical in a time of crisis. Therefore, we want to make sure our customers are aware of the many access points to accounts and ATMs, and that they have the most up-to-date information regarding closings."

10:29 EDT Achaogen lower after Empire starts with Sell rating, $9 target - Shares of Achaogen are moving lower after Empire Asset Management analyst Cathy Reese last night initiated the shares with a Sell rating and $9 price target. The analyst believes the company, which is developing antibiotics for multi-drug resistant gram-negative bacterial infections, will not meet investor expectations. She expects the treatment of gram-negative infections to move more towards the use of drug combinations so that they can be treated with a wider range of antibiotics. Achaogen in early trading is down 4%, or 78c, to $17.60.

09:56 EDT DDR Corp. reports minimal damage in Puerto Rico from Irma - DDR Corporation announced that upon initial inspection, the company's shopping centers in Puerto Rico have sustained only minor damage as a result of Hurricane Irma. "Beyond power outages at all properties, the scope of damage has been limited to tree and debris removal and minor roof leaks, and there appears to be no major structural damage to report," the company reported.

09:40 EDT Fred's COO-Front Store to resign - Fred's disclosed in a regulatory filing that Craig Barnes notified the company on September 1 of his intention to resign as Chief Operating Officer-Front Store. As part of the transition, Barnes will remain with the company for a period of up to six months, during which he will be entitled to his regular compensation and benefits as provided under his existing employment agreement. Barnes will not be entitled to severance upon the termination of his employment and the company did not enter into, amend or modify any material compensatory plans or arrangements in connection with his resignation.

09:25 EDT On The Fly: Pre-market Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: RH (RH), up 39.1%... Conn's (CONN), up 2.1%... Verint (VRNT), up 7%... Vince Holding (VNCE), up 2%. ALSO HIGHER: Bristol-Myers (BMY), up 1.1% after the CheckMate-214 study was stopped early for meeting its co-primary endpoint and a secondary endpoint of improved OS versus sunitinib in all randomized patients... Amazon.com (AMZN), up marginally after announcing that it is searching for a new city to launch H2, a second headquarters. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Barnes & Noble (BKS), down 12.1%... NCI Building Systems (NCS), down 16.7%... ABM Industries (ABM), down 7.6%.

09:22 EDT Fastenal reports August net sales up 12.8% to $411.49M - Fastenal reports net sales grew 12.8% compared to last year to $411.49M in August. Daily sales of $17.89M were up 12.8% as well.

09:19 EDT Eli Lilly sees 80c per share after-tax charge from streamlining plans - Eli Lilly Lilly expects to incur charges of approximately $1.2B pre-tax, or 80c per share after-tax, which includes the estimated participation of the U.S. voluntary early retirement program, global severance and facility closures. These charges will be reflected as asset impairment, restructuring and other special charges in the third and fourth quarters of 2017. The company's reported EPS guidance in 2017 will be reduced by the amount of the charges. There will be no change to the company's non-GAAP earnings per share guidance as a result of these initiatives. The annualized workforce savings of approximately $500M will be about equally split to improve the company's cost structure and reinvest in the business, including product launches and clinical development for new indications and line extensions. Lilly confirmed these savings would improve upon its previous commitment and now expects to achieve an OPEX-to-revenue ratio of 49% or less in 2018.

09:17 EDT Inseego's Ctrack selected by Northumbrian Water to target fleet improvements - Inseego announced that Northumbrian Water Limited, one of the largest water utilities in the U.K., has teamed up with Ctrack, an Inseego company, to develop and implement an advanced telematics solution that will help improve road safety, increase asset utilization and reduce fuel costs. The web-based Ctrack Online system will be used, in combination with driver identification and real-time feedback tools, across a fleet of 900 vans used by the mobile workforce of Northumbrian Water and Essex & Suffolk Water that operate in the north-and south-east of England. The win resulted in Ctrack adding its 8th water utility in the UK to its client base. The Ctrack solution was selected following a competitive tender process based on the superior functionality and ease-of-use of the technology, along with Ctrack's core values and partnership approach. With Ctrack Online, NWL replaces a legacy system and will significantly expand its tracking capabilities, increase the availability of operational insight and business intelligence within the organization.

09:16 EDT Eli Lilly sees workforce reductions to impact approximately 3,500 positions

09:15 EDT Tyme Technologies reports data on SM-88 for metastatic cancer - Tyme Technologies announced long-term updated data analyses from its first-in-human clinical trial evaluating investigational drug candidate, SM-88, for the treatment of progressive metastatic cancer in 30 patients. The analysis showed a median overall survival of 29 months in the 19 patients who had achieved a stable disease response. This study enrolled 30 late-stage metastatic cancer patients across a range of cancer types that had progressed or relapsed with prior cancer treatment. Eight patients, 27%, in the trial achieved a complete or partial tumor response with SM-88 monotherapy, and a further 19 patients achieved stable disease. These stable disease patients had a median overall survival of 29 months, with the average patient having received approximately five months of SM-88 monotherapy, despite failing two prior cancer therapies before entering the trial. Additional analyses included the survival of patients based on certain cancer types, independent of their response to treatment. In patients with breast, lung, and pancreatic cancer, the median overall survival of these subgroups was 35, 25, and 24 months, respectively. The median overall survival for the entire 30-patient trial increased to 27.5 months from a previous 25.7 months, following the update of several patients that survived beyond the prior assessment cut-off.

09:10 EDT American Express, Delta Air Lines launch Blue Delta SkyMiles credit card - American Express (AXP) and Delta Air Lines (DAL) are launching the new Blue Delta SkyMiles Credit Card, the only no annual fee credit card from a U.S.-based global carrier that offers two miles per dollar spent at U.S. restaurants and on eligible Delta purchases, and one mile per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases. Designed for consumers who are just beginning to explore the world of travel, the Card makes it easy to earn miles while running everyday errands or enjoying the local food scene. Available starting Sept. 7, the new Blue Delta SkyMiles Credit Card is linked to Delta's award-winning Delta SkyMiles loyalty program in which miles don't expire and can be used globally with no blackout dates on Delta flights.

09:07 EDT McClatchy announces completion of Sacramento sale-leaseback - McClatchy announced that in the last week it has completed the sale of The Kansas City Star's office building and land to 1729 Grand Boulevard, LLC, a 3D Development company, and The Sacramento Bee building and surrounding land in Sacramento, California to affiliates of Shopoff Advisors L.P. Together, the two transactions resulted in gross proceeds of $56.75M. The Sacramento transaction is a sale-leaseback of the company's buildings and land with initial annual rent payments of $4.365M over a 15-year term beginning on September 6. Separately, McClatchy announced that its Class A common stock has been approved for listing on the NYSE American, and the listing will be transferred from the New York Stock Exchange. The company's Class A shares will continue to trade under the symbol "MNI." McClatchy shares are expected to begin trading on the NYSE American on September 12 and will continue to trade on the NYSE's "Big Board" until that time. Finally, McClatchy has entered into an agreement with Recruitology to provide employment services to customers across its 30 markets.

09:05 EDT Perry Ellis enters into cigar accessories license agreement - Perry Ellis has entered into a license agreement with Roma Industries for cigar accessories under the Cubavera trademark in the USA and Canada. The collection will be available in Spring 2018.

09:04 EDT Microsoft, Adobe expand e-signatures strategic partnership - Adobe (ADBE) and Microsoft (MSFT) announced they are expanding their strategic alliance to increase workforce productivity and drive more efficient business processes. Beginning today, Adobe Sign, the e-signature service in Adobe Document Cloud, is now Microsoft's preferred e-signature solution across the company's portfolio. In addition, Microsoft Teams, the new chat-based workspace in Microsoft Office 365, is now the preferred collaboration service for Adobe Creative Cloud, Document Cloud and Experience Cloud. In addition to product integrations, Adobe will make Microsoft Azure its preferred cloud platform for Adobe Sign.

09:02 EDT WWE, TVA Sports announce broadcast agreement - WWE and TVA Sports announced a multi-year agreement to televise a weekly, one-hour edition of WWE's flagship program Raw, in French, beginning Wednesday, October 18 at 10 p.m. All of the action for TVA Sports' presentation of Raw will be called by Patric Laprade, who will be joined on commentary by social media sensation Kevin Raphael.

08:59 EDT Obalon Therapeutics appoints Kelly Huang, Ph.D. as COO - Obalon Therapeutics announced that Kelly Huang, Ph.D., has joined as its COO. In this new role, Dr. Huang will be responsible for the key commercial functions of sales, marketing, operations, and quality assurance. Dr. Huang was most recently the General Manager for Galderma Laboratories, L.P., Aesthetic & Corrective.

08:58 EDT Mallinckrodt CEO says 'surprise level very high' regarding Inomax rulings - Mallinckrodt (MNK) CEO Mark Trudeau says "nothing changes likely in the near-term" from the rulings that went in Praxair's (PX) favor, adding the Inomax IP process is likely to be a long one. Trudeau cites regulatory and manufacturing barriers to competitors that hope to challenge Inomax. If, in the worst case, Mallinckrodt cannot prevail, it is "going to be very difficult" for accounts to trade out from Inomax to a competing offering, he added. Trudeau is speaking at the Wells Fargo Securities Healthcare Conference.

08:49 EDT Celgene CEO says FDA clinical holds represent 'cautionary approach' - Mark Alles is speaking on CNBC.

08:44 EDT Synlogic presents new data from Synthetic Biotic drug programs at ICIEM - Synlogic announced the presentation of new preclinical data from programs investigating the company's novel Synthetic Biotic drug candidates at the 13th International Congress of Inborn Errors of Metabolism. The data, generated in mouse and non-human primates, demonstrate that Synlogic's Synthetic Biotic medicines are active in the gastrointestinal tract and are able to break down both dietary and systemic sources of metabolites that build to toxic levels in patients with UCD, PKU and MSUD. PKU, caused by a defect in phenylalanine hydroxylaseactivity, is characterized by the accumulation of systemic phenylalanine, which can lead to severe neurological deficits unless patients are placed on a strict low-Phe diet. SYN-PKU is an investigational Synthetic Biotic medicine that can metabolize Phe into easily excreted compounds, including hippurate, which is then excreted in the urine and serves as a useful biomarker of SYN-PKU activity in mouse models and non-human primates. In a mouse model of PKU challenged with subcutaneous administration of Phe, oral dosing with SYN-PKU resulted in significant reduction of Phe plasma levels compared to controls. In studies in which NHPs were administered labeled Phe by feeding, the data demonstrate that oral administration of SYN-PKU enabled a significant decrease in blood Phe levels. Systemically delivering labeled Phe to NHPs resulted in excretion of labeled hippurate in the urine. These data suggest that systemic Phe recirculates in the GI tract and is metabolized by SYN-PKU. These data will be used to design the early phase clinical studies which are planned to start in 2018. Other studies were performed using SYN-MSUD, an investigational Synthetic Biotic candidate for the treatment of MSUD, a rare genetic disorder associated with the inability to break down certain branch chain amino acids. In a mouse model of MSUD challenged with a high-protein diet, oral delivery of SYN-MSUD resulted in significantly reduced plasma levels of the BCAA leucine. In addition, a reduction in physical symptoms of disease and reduced levels of leucine in the brains of these animals was observed with SYN-MSUD treatment as compared with controls. Urea cycle disorders are a group of inherited diseases in which the inability to efficiently convert waste nitrogen into urea leads to the toxic accumulation of systemic ammonia. An in vitro study demonstrated that SYNB1010 and SYNB1020, investigational Synthetic Biotic candidates designed for the treatment of UCD, were able to consume ammonia and produce a beneficial metabolite, arginine. The systemic effects of SYNB1010 were also studied in a UCD mouse model. The data demonstrated that orally administered SYNB1010 functioned in the GI tract and prevented systemic hyperammonemia caused by a high-protein diet, significantly increasing survival of these animals.

08:39 EDT Immersion, Perception collaborate to bring haptics to human machine interfaces - Immersion and Perception announced their collaboration to bring high-quality tactile effects to human machine interfaces and content experiences. The team at Perception functions as strategic design advisor, visionary ideation consultant and architect of the future. Working with Immersion, Perception is incorporating haptic effects into design projects to enable clients to leverage high-quality touch technologies that enhance consumer interactions and reach key audiences with brand experiences.

08:36 EDT Newell Brands to acquire Chesapeake Bay Candle for $75M - Newell Brands announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Chesapeake Bay Candle from its founders, for a purchase price of $75M subject to customary working capital adjustments. Based in Rockville, Maryland, Chesapeake Bay Candle is a developer, manufacturer and marketer of premium candles and other home fragrance products, focused on consumer wellness and natural fragrance. The company has annual net sales of approximately $55M. The acquisition will be reported as part of Newell Brands' Live segment. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and will be funded from cash on hand at the time of closing, which is expected to occur in Q4.

08:34 EDT FNF Group announces record, distribution date for Black Knight distribution - Fidelity National Financial (FNF) announced that the FNF Board of Directors has set the record date and distribution date for the previously announced distribution of all of the outstanding shares of common stock of New BKH Corp. to FNF Group shareholders. New BKH will hold all of the shares of Class B common stock of Black Knight Financial Services (BKFS) beneficially owned by FNF and all of the Class A units of Black Knight Financial Services beneficially owned by FNF. The Distribution will be made on September 29 to FNF Group shareholders as of the close of business on September 20. Immediately following the Distribution, New BKH and Black Knight will engage in a series of transactions ending with a new publicly-traded holding company, Black Knight, Inc., formerly known as Black Knight Holdco Corp. FNF Group shareholders will ultimately receive a total of approximately 83.3M shares of New Black Knight common stock, or approximately 0.3067225 shares of New Black Knight common stock for each share of FNF Group common stock that they own. Commencing on October 2, New Black Knight's shares will be traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the trading symbol "BKI". New BKH's shares will not trade on the NYSE.

08:33 EDT Barnes & Noble reports Q1 SSS down 4.9% - Comparable store sales decreased 4.9%, as declines in non-book categories outpaced improved book trends during the quarter. The company also experienced lower online and NOOK sales during the quarter, which were impacted by the prior year eBook settlement and lower promotional activity.

08:24 EDT Hooker Furniture to acquire domestic upholstery maker Shenandoah - Hooker Furniture has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Valdese, N.C.-based Shenandoah Furniture, an upscale domestic upholstery manufacturer, for $40M. The acquisition agreement includes substantially all of the assets and certain liabilities of Shenandoah, which has plants in Valdese and Mt. Airy, N.C. and Martinsville, Va. Shenandoah is well-positioned as a supplier to what is known in the furniture industry as the lifestyle specialty retail distribution channel, which offers furnishings and decor in the upper-medium price points, both in brick and mortar stores and online. The $40M purchase price consists of $32M in cash, of which approximately $12M is expected to be in the form of additional bank debt, and $8M in newly issued HOFT common shares, the company said. The cash portion of the purchase price is subject to customary working capital adjustments. As an S Corp, Shenandoah earned $8M in pretax income in FY16. The company expects the acquisition to be accretive to earnings in the first full fiscal year, which will start January 29, 2018. Short-term, the company expects a nominal reduction to EPS for the balance of FY18, and some short-term additional expenses related to the acquisition. Shenandoah is expected to operate as an autonomous, stand-alone business.

08:14 EDT Celgene, AstraZeneca report FDA clinical holds on FUSION program

08:12 EDT Zebra Technologies partners with NFL, Wilson Sporting Goods - Zebra Technologies Corporation announced analytics enhancements will allow fans to gain a deeper understanding of the game by accessing new visualizations, stats and fantasy recommendations never available before. In collaboration with Wilson Sporting Goods, supplier of the Official Game Football of the NFL, Zebra will engineer and deploy RFID tagged footballs for every game during the 2017 NFL season. This enables the collection of real-time location, speed, and rotation data for the footballs. As the "Official On-Field Player Tracking Provider" of the NFL, Zebra marks the fourth year of its partnership with the NFL this season. To enable data collection during NFL games, Zebra and Wilson attach RFID tags in player equipment to track their movements and provide enlightening and interesting information. As part of "Next Gen Stats", data from the instrumented Wilson footballs has the potential to be leveraged on media platforms, such as NFL.com and in-game telecasts, to enhance the fan experience. Beyond media platform use, the NFL's Competition Committee will evaluate the football data to determine how the NFL Clubs can best leverage the data in the future. Working with the NFL and Wilson, Zebra successfully tested the tagged football during all last year's preseason and Thursday Night Football games.

08:10 EDT Genpact acquires consulting firm TandemSeven - Genpact announced that it has acquired TandemSeven, a Boston-headquartered company that delivers customer and digital experience innovation consulting. "TandemSeven's ability to design better customer experiences complements Genpact's digital capability aimed at transforming business processes end-to-end," the company said. Terms of the deal are not disclosed.

08:09 EDT MiMedx allowed by FDA to proceed with Phase 3 Achilles Tendonitis trial - MiMedx announced that the company has been notified by the Food and Drug Administration that the Investigational New Drug Phase 3 Achilles Tendonitis clinical study may proceed. The Achilles Tendonitis clinical trial will study MiMedx's AmnioFix Injectable in a Phase 3, prospective, double blinded, randomized controlled trial of the Micronized dHACM, or dehydrated Human Amnion Chorion Membrane, Injection as compared to saline placebo injection in the treatment of Achilles Tendonitis. The trial will enroll approximately 158 study patients with moderate to severe pain due to Achilles Tendonitis with failed conservative treatment of at least one month. The company expects patient enrollment to commence in the next quarter.

08:08 EDT SPI Energy co-COO Minghua Zhao resigns, Hoong Khoeng Cheong assumes COO role - SPI Energy announced that Minghua Zhao had resigned as the Co-COO of the company's China business and a director of the board of directors of the company due to personal health reasons. Zhao's resignation took effect on September 6. The company's COO Hoong Khoeng Cheong has assumed Minghua Zhao's role and been appointed as director of the board, effective September 6.

08:05 EDT Seanergy Marine regains NASDAQ listing compliance - Seanergy Maritime announced that Nasdaq has confirmed that the company has regained compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule concerning the minimum bid price of the company's common stock. This matter is now considered closed.

08:04 EDT Potash and Agrium provide update for proposed merger - Potash (POT) and Agrium (AGU) provided an update on the status of the proposed merger of equals transaction. The regulatory review and approval process has progressed in all remaining jurisdictions. In Canada and the US, the parties are working with the Canadian Competition Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission to resolve final issues in superphosphoric acid and nitric acid. The companies have also been informed that the Ministry of Commerce in China and, independently, the Competition Commission of India intend to condition their respective approvals of the proposed transaction on the divestment of certain of PotashCorp's offshore minority ownership interests. The remedies under consideration are not expected to impact the estimated $500M of annual operating synergies. Both companies now expect to close the transaction by the end of Q4. Upon closing the merger transaction, the new company will be named Nutrien.

08:01 EDT ViaSat announces U.S. DOD AIMS certification for VRG-1000 - ViaSat announced the Department of Defense AIMS Program Office has certified the ViaSat Radio Frequency Generator 1000. The VRG-1000 replicates a crowded airspace, enabling organizations to perform realistic Identification, Friend or Foe testing.

07:37 EDT Volaris reports August RPMs up 5.1% y-o-y, ASMs up 6.6% - During August, Volaris increased total capacity, as measured in Available Seat Miles, by 6.6% year over year. Total demand, as measured in Revenue Passenger Miles, in August 2017 increased 5.1% year over year, reaching 1.4B. Volaris transported a total of 1.4M passengers during the month, an increase of 2.2% year over year. Year-to-date, Volaris has transported 11M passengers, an increase of 11.0% year over year. Network load factor for August was 85.4%, a decrease of 1.2 percentage points year over year.

07:35 EDT GlaxoSmithKline exercises option to license Adaptimmune's T-cell therapy - GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) has exercised its option under a collaboration and license agreement signed in 2014 to exclusively license the right to research, develop, and commercialize Adaptimmune's (ADAP) NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell therapy program. Adaptimmune will receive up to GBP48M, around $61M, from GSK over the course of the transition period. This includes development milestones of up to GBP18M, and the option payment of GBP30M, which also allows GSK to nominate two additional targets following completion of the transition. Successful continuation of development and subsequent commercialization of NY-ESO would trigger additional payments for development milestones, tiered sales milestones, and mid-single to low double-digit royalties on worldwide net sales.

07:32 EDT MiMedx allowed by FDA to proceed with Phase 3 Achilles Tendonitis trial

07:24 EDT Neuralstem issued two U.S. patents - Neuralstem announced that it has been awarded two additional patents by the USPTO. These patents broadly protect methods for using neural stem cells to treat neurodegenerative disorders, a key component of the company's platform. The first new patent, U.S. Patent No. 9,744,194, covers methods of treating neurodegenerative disorders through transplantation of neural stem cells. The second new patent, U.S. Patent No. 9,750,769, covers neural stem cells engineered to express IGF-1, a neurotrophic molecule with broad therapeutic potential in the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders.

07:22 EDT Bristol-Myers says CheckMate-214 study stopped early for demonstrating benefit

07:19 EDT Intra-Cellular reports positive data for lumateperone in schizophrenia - Intra-Cellular announced "positive" topline data from the first part of an open-label safety switching study in which 302 patients with stable symptoms of schizophrenia were switched from standard-of-care antipsychotic medications to lumateperone with no dose titration of lumateperone required for a 6-week treatment duration, then switched back to standard-of-care. In this study, lumateperone was generally well tolerated with a favorable safety profile. Statistically significant improvements from standard-of-care baseline were observed in body weight, cardiometabolic and endocrine parameters in patients with stable symptoms of schizophrenia when switched to lumateperone and worsened again when switched back to standard-of-care medication. Additionally, treatment with lumateperone was not associated with the motor or cardiovascular disturbances often associated with other antipsychotic medications. Statistically significant improvement from baseline was observed in the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale mean total score. Greater improvements were observed in subgroups of patients with elevated symptomatology such as those with comorbid symptoms of depression and those with prominent negative symptoms.

07:17 EDT Alnylam suspends dosing in all ongoing fitusiran studies after patient death - Alnylam Pharmaceuticals announced today an update on the company's fitusiran and givosiran investigational RNAi therapeutic programs. With fitusiran, an RNAi therapeutic in development for the treatment of hemophilia A and B with or without inhibitors, Alnylam is reporting a fatal thrombotic event in a patient with hemophilia A without inhibitors in the Phase 2 open-label extension study of fitusiran. As a result, the company has suspended dosing in all ongoing fitusiran studies pending further review of the safety event and development of a risk mitigation strategy. "Based on overall consideration of fitusiran's benefit-risk profile, Alnylam is guiding that it aims to resume dosing as soon as possible upon agreement with global regulatory authorities and with appropriate protocol amendments in place for enhanced patient safety monitoring." With givosiran, an RNAi therapeutic in development for the treatment of acute hepatic porphyrias, Alnylam said it has reached alignment with the FDA on a Phase 3 study design which includes an interim analysis based on reduction of a urinary biomarker, aminolevulinic acid, as a surrogate endpoint reasonably likely to predict clinical benefit. Based on the new givosiran Phase 3 design, the company is now guiding that pending FDA review of the program at the time of interim analysis and assuming positive results, it expects to submit a new drug application at or around year-end 2018. Based on today's update, Alnylam will postpone its fitusiran RNAi Roundtable webinar previously scheduled for September 12 until a later date. "We are deeply saddened to learn of this patient's death, and we extend our sympathies to his family," said Akshay Vaishnaw, M.D., Ph.D, Executive Vice President of R&D at Alnylam. "We believe that fitusiran holds great promise as a potential treatment option for patients with hemophilia, and we remain fully committed to its ongoing development. Following further investigation of this safety finding, implementation of a risk mitigation strategy, and alignment with global regulatory authorities, we expect to resume fitusiran dosing in our clinical studies as soon as possible, potentially as early as late 2017, with a goal of advancing this innovative investigational medicine to hemophilia patients in need."

07:14 EDT Alnylam suspends Fitusiran dosing due to thrombotic event

07:11 EDT EXFO Inc. reports exclusive negotiations to acquire Yenista Optics - EXFO Inc. announced the company has signed an agreement to acquire Yenista Optics, subject to a number of conditions to be completed before closing. Yenista Optics, a privately held company based in Lannion, France, supplies advanced optical test equipment for the R&D and manufacturing markets. The company generated revenue of EUR$5.2M in 2016 and was profitable. "Yenista Optics has built an impressive product portfolio over the years for the high-end laboratory and manufacturing markets. This transaction, if completed, would allow EXFO to leverage Yenista's best-in-class technology across its global sales channels to expand market share," said Executive Chairman of EXFO's Board of Directors Germain Lamonde.

07:10 EDT GoPro jumps after guiding Q3 revenue to high-end of view - In pre-market trading following the guidance, GoPro is up $1.40, or 16%, to $10.30.

07:06 EDT Whiting Petroleum announces plan for reverse stock split - Whiting Petroleum Corporation announced that it plans to undertake a reverse stock split of Whiting's common stock at a ratio ranging from any whole number between 1-for-2 to 1-for-6, as determined by Whiting's Board of Directors, and a reduction in the number of authorized shares of its common stock. The reverse stock split will reduce the number of Whiting shares of common stock outstanding and is expected to increase the per share trading price of the common stock, which may improve marketability and facilitate its trading. When the reverse stock split becomes effective, each number of shares between two to six shares of Whiting's common stock will automatically be converted into one share of common stock. Whiting does not anticipate issuing fractional shares as a result of the reverse stock split; stockholders entitled to receive fractional shares as a result of the reverse stock split will receive cash payments in lieu of such shares. The reverse stock split will not change the proportionate equity interests or voting rights of holders of common stock, subject to the treatment of fractional shares. Whiting will hold a special meeting of stockholders in Q4 to seek approval of a proposal to authorize the reverse stock split and authorized share reduction. The affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the shares entitled to vote at the special meeting is required to adopt and approve such proposal. Holders of record of Whiting's common stock as of the close of business on September 18, will be entitled to notice of and to vote at the special meeting.

07:01 EDT GoPro says HERO6, Fusion cameras tracking for 2017 launch

06:54 EDT GAP Airports reports August traffic up 9.9% - Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico reported preliminary terminal passenger traffic figures for August vs. August 2016. During August 2017, total terminal passengers increased 9.9% in the company's 13 airports, compared to the same period of the previous year. Domestic passenger traffic increased by 9.2%, while international passenger traffic increased by 10.9%. In August 2017, GAP registered an 8.5% increase in the number of seats available compared to August 2016. Load factors for the month increased by 1.1%, from 81.5% in August 2016 to 82.6% in August 2017. Due to Tropical Storm Lidia impacting the Pacific region of Mexico, the Los Cabos, La Paz and Los Mochis airports reported operating impacts from August 30 to September 2. As a result, 13,160 seats that were previously scheduled in August did not operate, in addition to the 15,980 seats previously scheduled in September. The 3 airfields suffered minimal infrastructure damages, and are currently operating at 100%. At the end of August, Hurricane Harvey impacted the state of Texas, causing airport closures in Houston. To date, this closure has affected 34,400 previously-programmed seats, which were canceled as a result of the weather phenomenon. Hurricane Irma is not expected to affect infrastructure at the Montego Bay airport, however traffic originating from North America will be affected.

06:47 EDT Destination Maternity CEO Anthony Romano steps down, interim CEO named - Destination Maternity appointed Allen Weinstein, an independent director of the company, as Interim CEO. The Board and Anthony M. Romano mutually agreed that Romano will step down from his role as President, CEO and Board Member, effective immediately. The board will immediately launch a search to identify a qualified candidate to serve as the company's permanent CEO. Additionally, Barry Erdos, an independent director, has been elected to succeed Arnaud Ajdler as non-executive Board Chair, effective immediately. Interim CEO Allen Weinstein has served as a director of the Destination Maternity Board since January 2010. Weinstein is currently Executive Chairman and a director of Villa, a privately owned footwear and apparel retailer. Non-executive Chairman Barry Erdos has served as a director of the Destination Maternity Board since January 2010. He is currently a consultant in the retail industry, after having served as Chief Executive Officer of F.A.O. Schwarz from March 2009 until its acquisition by Toys "R" Us in May 2009.

06:35 EDT Synovus's acquisition of Cabela's assets receives regulatory approval - Synovus Financial's (SNV) wholly-owned subsidiary Synovus Bank received regulatory approval from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System to acquire certain assets and assume certain liabilities of World's Foremost Bank, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cabela's (CAB), pursuant to the previously announced Framework Agreement by and among Synovus Bank, Cabela's, WFB, Capital One Bank USA, National Association, and Capital One, National Association.

06:33 EDT LSC Communications acquires Publishers Press - LSC Communications has acquired Publishers Press, a leading family-owned printing and digital solutions provider based in Lebanon Junction, Kentucky from Publishers Printing Company and certain of its affiliates. Publishers Press' capabilities include web-offset printing, prepress and distribution services for magazine and retail brands, with nearly 1,200 employees in Kentucky.

06:10 EDT Amazon plans to open Amazon H2, to invest $5B in second headquarters

06:07 EDT Forterra appoints Charlie Brown as CFO - Forterra announced the appointment of Charlie Brown as Executive Vice President and CFO, to begin his employment on or before September 25. Brown is an industry veteran with over 25 years of experience driving growth and improvement at manufacturing and construction materials companies. Brown will report to CEO Jeff Bradley and serve on the company's executive leadership team. He will succeed Matt Brown, who has resigned from the company to pursue other opportunities. Charlie Brown previously served as CFO of Oldcastle Materials Company, the North American materials division of CRH plc.

05:48 EDT AstraZeneca Phase III Amplify trial in COPD met primary endpoints - AstraZeneca announced "positive" top-line results from the Phase III Amplify trial for Duaklir, which met its primary endpoints, demonstrating a "statistically-significant" improvement in lung function in patients with moderate to very severe stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease compared to each individual component. In addition, aclidinium bromide achieved its primary bronchodilation endpoint of demonstrating non-inferiority to tiotropium bromide. "The efficacy, safety and tolerability profiles for aclidinium bromide and formoterol were consistent with current experience. A full evaluation of the AMPLIFY data is ongoing and further results will be presented at a forthcoming medical meeting," the company said in a press release. AstraZeneca is expected to submit a new drug application during the first half 2018 to the FDA for Duaklir, based on the Amplify data.

05:38 EDT IBM, MIT to pursue joint research in AI, establish new MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab - IBM and MIT announced that IBM plans to make a 10-year, $240M investment to create the MIT-IBM Watson AI Lab in partnership with MIT. The lab will carry out fundamental artificial intelligence, or AI, research and seek to propel scientific breakthroughs that unlock the potential of AI. The collaboration aims to advance AI hardware, software and algorithms related to deep learning and other areas, increase AI's impact on industries, such as health care and cybersecurity, and explore the economic and ethical implications of AI on society. IBM's $240M investment in the lab will support research by IBM and MIT scientists. The new lab will be one of the largest long-term university-industry AI collaborations to date, mobilizing the talent of more than 100 AI scientists, professors, and students to pursue joint research at IBM's Research Lab in Cambridge-co-located with the IBM Watson Health and IBM Security headquarters in Kendall Square, in Cambridge, Massachusetts-and on the neighboring MIT campus.

05:30 EDT Shell Midstream: 'large portion' of Gulf Coast assets returned to service - Shell Midstream Partners reports that a large portion of its Gulf Coast assets have been returned to service after a comprehensive assessment of the asset integrity of each system following Hurricane Harvey. Gulf of Mexico Pipelines: All systems are operating as normal. Auger and Mars Pipelines had minor unplanned downtime due to hurricane preparedness procedures. Operations in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico were not impacted. Zydeco Pipeline: Progress has been made toward returning Zydeco to service. We continue to assess the line between Houston and Port Neches expecting a return to service later this week. Operations and maintenance crews are continuing to assess the facilities and right of ways for the remainder of the system, which could to be available by early next week. Refined Products Systems: Colonial Pipeline and portions of the Explorer Pipeline have been restored. Bengal is operating as normal. Refinery Gas Pipelines: Louisiana pipelines are operating as normal. The Texas lines are expected to return to service when the Deer Park Plant is operating. Lockport Terminal: Operating as normal. Shell Midstream Partners' primary focus continues to be the safety of its employees and the protection of the environment.