Stockwinners Market Radar for September 22, 2017 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

18:47 EDT Avista receives commission decision in Oregon natural gas rate case - Avista's natural gas rate case has concluded with an order from the Public Utility Commission of Orego that approves the all-party settlement filed in May 2017. The Commission approved rates designed to increase annual billed revenues by 3.7% or $3.5M. A rate adjustment of $2.6M will be effective Oct. 1, 2017, and a second adjustment of $0.9M will be effective Nov. 1, 2017 to cover specific capital projects identified in the settlement agreement, which are expected to be completed in October. The Commission's decision reflects a 9.4% return on equity, and a 50% equity layer. The rate of return is 7.35%. Including both the Oct. 1 and Nov. 1 rate adjustments, a residential customer using an average of 47 therms per month would see a $1.57 per month increase, or 2.8%, for a revised monthly bill of $57.75, effective by Nov. 1, 2017. The bill change reflects an increase in the monthly basic charge from $9.00 to $10.00.The actual percentage increase will vary by customer class and will depend on how much energy a customer uses. Avista serves approximately 99,000 customers in Oregon.

18:12 EDT Bristol-Myers announces FDA approval of Opdivo - Bristol-Myers announced the U.S. FDA has approved Opdivo injection for intravenous use for the treatment of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma who have been previously treated with sorafenib. Approval for this indication has been granted under accelerated approval based on tumor response rate and durability of response. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in the confirmatory trials. In the CheckMate -040 trial, 14.3%* (95% CI: 9.2-20.8; 22/154) of patients responded to treatment with Opdivo. The percentage of patients with a complete response was 1.9% (3/154) and the percentage of patients with a partial response was 12.3% (19/154). Among responders (n=22), responses ranged from 3.2 to 38.2+ months; 91% of those patients had responses of six months or longer and 55% had responses of 12 months or longer.

17:21 EDT General Dynamics Electric Boat awarded $341.2M government contract modification - General Dynamics Electric Boat Corp., Groton, Connecticut, is being awarded a $341,161,778 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to a previously awarded contract to exercise the option for design agent, planning yard, engineering and technical support for in-service nuclear submarines. Work is expected to be completed by September 2018. Foreign military sales; and fiscal 2017 other procurement funding in the amount of $6.5M will be obligated at the time of award and funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity.

16:58 EDT Chemours files appeal concerning SNAP 20 rule to regulate HFCs - The Chemours Company (CC) announced that Chemours and Honeywell (HON) filed a petition for rehearing of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals decision concerning the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Significant New Alternatives Policy program. Chemours believes that the legal basis of the SNAP 20 rule was well-founded, and the Court's ruling exceeded its jurisdiction, effectively invalidating a decades-old EPA regulation and failing to take into account the EPA's original directive to ensure that safer alternatives are used to replace ozone-depleting substances. The Court unanimously agreed with the EPA's determination that these and other alternatives developed by U.S. companies have a lower overall risk to human health and the environment.

16:51 EDT Honeywell, Chemours seek rehearing of D.C Court decision regarding SNAP program - Honeywell (HON) and Chemours (CC) filed a petition for rehearing of the August D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals' ruling regarding the EPA's Significant New Alternative Policy program. The Court's decision ignored the original intent to direct the Environmental Protection Agency to replace ozone depleting substances with the safest alternatives for various uses. The decision undermines the innovation and private sector investment that American businesses have made to create and transition to safer alternative chemicals.

16:36 EDT Agilent receives expanded FDA approval for the use of Dako PD-L1 IHC 22C3 - Agilent Technologies announced its Dako PD-L1 IHC 22C3 pharmDx assay has an expanded label approved by the FDA, for use as an aid in identifying gastric or GEJ adenocarcinoma patients for treatment with Keytruda, an anti-PD-1 therapy manufactured by Merck (MRK). The expanded approvals for PD-L1 IHC 22C3 pharmDx and Keytruda means that these patients now have the possibility of receiving a targeted anti-PD-L1 immunotherapy. PD-L1 IHC 22C3 pharmDx was used to assess PD-L1 expression in patients treated with Keytruda in the KEYNOTE-059 trial. KEYNOTE-059 is a registrational, phase 2, global, multicenter, non-randomized, open-label multicohort trial investigating the use of Keytruda in patients with advanced gastric or GEJ adenocarcinoma.

16:34 EDT Appliance Recycling gets written notice of default - On September 20, Appliance Recycling Centers of America received a written notice of default, dated September 20, from MidCap Funding X Trust, asserting that events of default had occurred with respect to that certain Credit and Security Agreement dated May 10, 2017, by and among the Agent and certain other Lenders, and the company and certain of its subsidiaries. The Agent alleges in the Notice of Default that, as a result of the company's recent acquisition of GeoTraq, and the issuance of promissory notes to the stockholders of GeoTraq in connection with such acquisition, the Borrowers have failed to comply with certain terms of the Loan Agreement, and that such failure constitutes one or more Events of Default under the Loan Agreement...The Agent has not declared the amounts outstanding under the Loan Agreement to be immediately due and payable but has imposed the default rate of interest 10.73%, which is 5% in excess of the rates otherwise payable under the Loan Agreement), effective as of August 18, 2017 and continuing until the Agent notifies the Borrowers that the specified Events of Default have been waived and no other Events of Default exist. As of the filing of this Current Report on Form 8-K, the outstanding balance of borrowings under the Loan Agreement was approximately $3,021,375. The company strongly disagrees with the Lenders that any Event of Default has occurred and is reserving all of its options with respect to the Loan Agreement. The company and the Agent have begun discussions for forbearance of the default, however there can be no assurance the company and the Agent will be able to agree on terms of the forbear

16:31 EDT Appliance Recycling gets written notice of default

16:16 EDT TSYS announces resignation of COO Pamela Joseph - TSYS announced that Pamela Joseph has resigned as President and COO, and as a member of its Board of Directors, effective September 30. CEO Troy Woods will assume the additional role of TSYS President and the heads of the company's three business segments will report directly to him. TSYS also announced that Woods has committed to remain CEO of the company at least through the end of 2020.

16:13 EDT IDACORP raises quarterly dividend 7.3% to 59c per share - The dividend declaration, ex-dividend, record, and payable dates will be announced during the fourth quarter of 2017.

16:11 EDT Diana Containerships announces one-for-three reverse stock split - Diana Containerships announced that its Board of Directors has determined to effect a reverse stock split of the Company's common shares, par value 1c per share, at a ratio of one-for-three. The Company's shareholders approved the reverse stock split and granted the Board the authority to determine the exact split ratio and proceed with the reverse stock split at the Company's Annual Meeting of Shareholders held on June 29, 2017. The reverse stock split will take effect, and the Company's common stock will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis on The Nasdaq Global Select Market, as of the opening of trading on or around September 25, 2017 under the existing trading symbol "DCIX." The new CUSIP number for the Company's common stock following the reverse stock split is Y2069P143.

16:06 EDT Chubb CEO issues statement on EU-U.S. covered agreement - Evan Greenberg, Chairman and CEO of Chubb, provided the following statement in support of the announcement by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative that they have signed the Bilateral Agreement between the United States of America and the European Union on Prudential Measures Regarding Insurance and Reinsurance: "Chubb congratulates regulators and trade officials in both the European Union and the United States for reaching an agreement that respects the legitimacy of each other's regulatory structure and allows insurers and reinsurers to operate on a level and more predictable playing field. The agreement recognizes the soundness of the U.S. state-based insurance regulatory system and allows U.S.-supervised insurers to compete in Europe on the same basis as European insurers. The agreement also reflects U.S. recognition of the soundness of the EU regulatory environment and will allow EU-based reinsurers to operate under the same conditions as U.S. companies. We applaud the spirit and intent of this agreement, which is a de facto acknowledgment by the European regulatory community that there is indeed more than one way to regulate the insurance industry." "This agreement represents a critically important, mutually beneficial recognition among the United States and the European Union that insurance and risk are often global in nature."

15:33 EDT The Intersection: Crypto and Wall Street This Week - As bitcoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrencies get increasing attention from investors, Wall Street and its traditional banks continue to adjust to the shift. Catch up on this week's top stories highlighting the intersection of these old guard and new school areas of finance with this recap compiled by The Fly: 1. DIMON DOUBLES DOWN: Following comments by JPMorgan (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon that bitcoin is a "fraud", JPMorgan Securities bought large amounts of Bitcoin XBT through Swedish Bitcoin exchanges on behalf of clients when the price dropped, according to a report. Dimon's remarks drew criticism from bitcoin experts, bankers and former JPMorgan executives, including former head of global macro Alex Gurevich. In a tweet, Gurevich said, "Jamie, you're a great boss and the GOAT bank CEO. You're not a trader or a tech entrepreneur. Please, STFU about trading $BTC." However, in an interview with CNBC India, Dimon doubled down on his comments saying cryptocurrencies "are kind of a novelty" and said governments would impede the growth of digital coins as currency requires government backing. "It's creating something out of nothing that to me is worth nothing," he said. "It'll end when people lose a lot of money." 2. DALIO CAUTIOUS TOO: In addition, Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, had similar views in an interview with CNBC on September 19, saying "bitcoin is a bubble". "It's not an effective storehold of wealth because it has volatility to it, unlike gold," he said. "Bitcoin is a highly speculative market." 3. SWITZERLAND SHUTTERS 'FAKE' E-COIN: Switzerland's financial watchdog FINMA shuttered the QUID PRO QUO Association, a provider of fraudulent cryptocurrency called E-Coins, which had secured funds of approximately 4M Swiss francs, or $4.2M, from several hundred users. The regulator, which is currently conducting investigations into roughly a dozen other potential fake virtual currencies, said E-Coin was not real as it was not stored on distributed networks using blockchain technology, instead being kept locally on the association's servers. 4. CHINA CONTINUES CRACKDOWN: Chinese authorities reportedly have decided on a comprehensive ban of channels trading in bitcoin, following a September 15 meeting in Beijing, going beyond plans to close commercial exchanges. The move comes as a surprise to industry executives, who thought authorities might shutter only commercial trading activity while allowing peer-to-peer bitcoin platforms. Amid China's cryptocurrency crackdown, bitcoin traders and blockchain-technology experts gathered for a two-day conference in Hong Kong, originally scheduled to be in Beijing, as conference organizer Bitkan wanted "to lower the risks of [the event] being canceled." John McAfee, founder of the McAfee antivirus, said "We are fugitives here," but added, "The creators designers and innovators will find a way around it. They always do and always will." 5. NVIDIA TO GAIN FROM CHINA BAN: In a September 15 research note, RBC Capital analyst Mitch Steves said he believes that Nvidia (NVDA) will be boosted by China's ban on cryptocurrency, since it is still legal there "to mine them with computing power," the analyst stated. He thinks that individuals in China who want to obtain cryptocurrency will purchase more crypto-related graphics processing units, benefiting Nvidia. The analyst believes that "decentralized exchanges" will be created for crypto trading in China. He keeps an Outperform rating on Nvidia. In prior research, Jefferies' analyst Mark Lipacis told investors that he estimates cryptocurrency revenues accounted for about 3% of quarterly sales for Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and about 10% for Nvidia in the second quarter. PRICE ACTION: As of time of writing, Bitcoin is down about 1.9% this week, or $72, to $3,575 in U.S. dollars. Meanwhile, AMD shares rose 6% to $13.26 this week and Nvidia dropped 0.6% on a weekly basis to $179.24. Additionally, Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC) fell roughly 10% this week to $638.47. WANT BITCOIN NEWS ALERTS?: To receive alerts on stories relating to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, Fly subscribers can enter "Bitcoin" into the "Add symbols" box of their portfolios.

15:14 EDT FalconStor announces common stock to be moved from Nasdaq to OTC - FalconStor Software has announced its common stock will transfer from being traded on The Nasdaq Stock Market to being quoted on OTC Market Group's OTCQB marketplace effective September 25.

14:27 EDT Spectrum lower after Twitter highlights failed trial in Korea - Shares of Spectrum Pharmaceuticals are lower after Twitter handle Art Doyle tweeted, "POZI just failed in Korea. And NO ONE HAS SAID ANYTHING UNTIL NOW !...Why are they hiding Phase 2 ESMO data for Poziotinib?" Doyle's handle says, "Expertise in immune oncology, statistics and James Beard award winning restaurants. What Wall Street wants and what is fact are parallel paths." STAT's Adam Feuerstein retweeted Doyle's tweet. Shares of Spectrum are down 4% in afternoon trading to $9.40. Reference Link

13:57 EDT Trump thanks American Airlines for 'fantastic job' with hurricane flights - President Donald Trump tweeted: "Thank you to Doug Parker and American Airlines for all of the help you have given to the U.S. with Hurricane flights. Fantastic job!" Reference Link

13:17 EDT SiriusXM completes $480M strategic investment in Pandora - SiriusXM (SIRI) and Pandora (P) announced that SiriusXM has purchased $307.5M of Series A preferred stock in Pandora, completing the $480M strategic investment announced on June 9. Under the terms of the agreement, a subsidiary of SiriusXM purchased $172.5M of Series A preferred stock upon execution of the agreement on June 9 and purchased an additional $307.5M of the Series A preferred stock. The Series A preferred stock is convertible into common stock at a purchase price of $10.50 per share. The Series A preferred stock bears a 6% cumulative dividend, payable in cash, accretion of the Series A preferred stock or a combination thereof. The Series A preferred stock represents a stake of 19% of Pandora's currently outstanding common stock, and a 16% interest on an as-converted basis. Upon the closing of this second investment, Gregory Maffei, the chairman of SiriusXM, James Meyer, the CEO of SiriusXM, and David Frear, the eenior EVP and CFO of SiriusXM, were named to the Pandora Board of Directors. Maffei was also named chairman of Pandora. With these additions, Elizabeth Nelson concluded her tenure on Pandora's board, effective immediately. Nelson has served on Pandora's board since 2013. The Pandora Board now consists of nine directors.SiriusXM may require Pandora to redeem the Series A preferred stock beginning on September 22, 2022, the fifth anniversary of the closing, for an amount equal to its liquidation preference plus all accrued and unpaid dividends. Pandora may also redeem the Series A preferred stock at any time after September 22, 2020, the third anniversary of the closing, if the daily volume weighted average price of Pandora's common stock is greater than or equal to 175% of the then applicable conversion price for a period of at least 20 days during a 30 day trading window prior to the notice of redemption.

13:04 EDT Baker Hughes reports U.S. rig count down 1 to 935 rigs - Baker Hughes reports the U.S. rig count is down 1 rig from last week to 935, with oil rigs down 5 to 744, gas rigs up 4 to 190, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 1.

13:02 EDT 3M files patent, trademark infringement lawsuit against Thunder Finish - 3M and 3M Innovative Properties filed a lawsuit in the Western District of Wisconsin against China-based Thunder Finish alleging infringement of patent and trademark rights related to 3M's PPS technology used in the automotive collision repair industry. The suit alleges certain Thunder Finish after-market spray gun paint cup products, which are made in China and sold in the U.S., infringe 3M patent rights directed to 3M PPS technology that enables the efficient mixing and spraying of coatings for automotive collision repair and other applications. The suit also alleges that Thunder Finish's marketing materials for these products infringe 3M's registered trademarks.

12:49 EDT Dominion Diamond receives court approval for plan with The Washington Companies - Dominion Diamond announced that the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has issued a final order approving its previously-announced plan of arrangement pursuant to which Northwest Acquisitions ULC, an entity affiliated with The Washington Companies, has agreed to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of the company for $14.25 per share in cash. The closing of the arrangement remains subject to the company having a minimum cash balance of $150M if closing occurs on or before November 30, or $200M if closing occurs after November 30 and certain other customary closing conditions, including the receipt of Investment Canada Act approval. Assuming the timely satisfaction of these closing conditions, the arrangement is expected to close in Q4 of calendar 2017.

12:02 EDT Wayfair sinks after Citron highlights academic paper with $10.24 valuation - Shares of Wayfair (W) are lower after short seller Citron Research highlighted on Twitter an academic paper on the company's valuation. The paper states, "We begin by applying the proposed customer-based valuation methodology to data from Overstock (OSTK), an e-commerce retailer selling a wide assortment of products. We validate the model's fit, compare the results to alternative methodologies, estimate Overstock's valuation, then obtain a valuation distribution which accounts for uncertainty in the fitted model parameters. We then apply the methodology to data from Wayfair, a large and fast-growing internet-based home goods seller." The paper's authors, Daniel McCarthy and Peter Fader, estimate that Overstock earned approximately $9 per acquired customer, while Wayfair incurred a loss of approximately $10 per customer in Q1 of 2017. They write, "While we anticipate that the unit economics of Wayfair's newly acquired customers will improve in the future as their variable contribution margin is expected to expand, challenging unit economics are a reality for the business, and are an important driver behind their relatively modest valuation." They estimate a valuation for Overstock of $16.88 per share and a fair valuation for Wayfair of $10.24 per share. For Wayfair, the writers explain, "We project revenues over the next 50 years to drive our model for Wayfair's overall valuation. We assume the long-term growth rate of the labor forces in Canada, the UK, and Germany are equal to their historical averages of 1.2%, 0.9%, and 0.4%, respectively." On Twitter, Citron wrote, "Smartest piece EVER written on $W. Not by a short or long. By a team of Ivy League scientists who specialize in predictive models. $10 tgt...Cannot argue with this analysis- target $10 Smarter work than ANYONE on Wall Street has ever done on Wayfair." The firm has disclosed publicly in the past a short position in Wayfair. The online retailer in midday trading is down 7%, or $6.04, to $75.71. Reference Link

11:50 EDT ITC finds injury to U.S. solar product makers, moves to remedy phase - The U.S. International Trade Commission has determined that Crystalline Silicon Photovoltaic Cells. Whether or Not Partially or Fully Assembled Into Other Products, are being imported into the United States in such increased quantities as to be a substantial cause of serious injury, or threat of serious injury, to the domestic industry producing an article like or directly competitive with the imported article in the United States. As a result, the investigation will move to a remedy phase. More information will be provided in a news release to be issued later. Deutsche Bank analyst Vishal Shah recently said he sees upside in First Solar shares to $110 should the ITC's section 201 decision find injury to U.S. producers. Publicly traded companies in the space include Bought by TSLA (SCTY), Canadian Solar (CSIQ), First Solar (FSLR), JA Solar (JASO), SunEdison (SUNEQ), SunPower (SPWR), Trina Solar (TSL) and Yingli Green Energy (YGE). Reference Link

11:16 EDT Wells Fargo says time to buy Equifax shares - Wells Fargo upgraded Equifax (EFX) to Outperform, the firm's equivalent of a buy rating, from Market Perform. The firm believes that the recent decline in the stock has created an attractive entry point. CORE BUSINESS SAFE: Equifax's core business to business operations probably won't be impacted by the company's recently announced data breach, according to Wells Fargo analyst William Warmington, Jr. In a base case scenario, the company will have to pay a $500M fine and will lose 50% of its consumer business, while its operating costs will rise by $25M and its regulatory costs will increase $30M, the analyst stated. Additionally, the margins of its remaining U.S. consumer business will drop by 50% because it will have to pay for free credit monitoring service for consumers, he estimated. In this scenario, the company's 2018 earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization will be 8% lower than Warmington previously expected, he estimated. In a bear case scenario, Equifax will have to pay a $1B fine and lose all of its U.S. consumer business, he believes. Its operating costs would rise by $50M and its regulatory costs would jump by $65M, he estimated. This scenario would cause Equifax's EBITDA to drop by 23% versus Warmington's previous outlook. TARGET: The analyst trimmed his price target on the shares to $127 from $135. PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, Equifax climbed 4% to $102.75. The stock is down nearly 30% since the day after the company disclosed on September 7 that it had been the victim of a cybersecurity incident potentially impacting approximately 143M U.S. consumers.

11:12 EDT First Solar trading resumes

11:09 EDT Solar City agrees to pay $29.5M to resolve alleged False Claims Act violations - The Justice Department announced that SolarCity has agreed to pay $29.5M to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by submitting inflated claims on behalf of itself and affiliated investment funds to the U.S. Department of the Treasury pursuant to Section 1603 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Section 1603). As part of the settlement, SolarCity and its affiliates will also release all pending and future claims against the United States for additional Section 1603 payments. SolarCity was purchased by Tesla Motors in November of 2016, after the alleged conduct at issue in this case. As part of the settlement, SolarCity has agreed to dismiss a lawsuit filed in the Court of Federal Claims by two investment funds affiliated with SolarCity arising from allegations that Treasury underpaid certain Section 1603 applications, and to release any other potential claims for additional Section 1603 payments. The lawsuit is captioned Sequoia Pacific Solar I, LLC v. United States, No. 13-139C (Fed. Cl.). The claims resolved by the settlement agreement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability. Reference Link

11:07 EDT First Solar trading halted, volatility trading pause

10:47 EDT Barclays, UBS positive on airlines following recent slide - Two research firms issued bullish notes on airlines recently. Barclays upgraded American Airlines (AAL) to Overweight from Equal Weight today, while UBS yesterday wrote that airlines stocks have multiple positive catalysts. BARCLAYS: American has "a bright future," according to Barclays analyst Brandon Oglenski. The company's management team is "focused and properly incentivized," while its valuation "more than reflects current headwinds," Oglenski wrote. Moreover, changes to the company's labor contracts and systems should enable it to obtain greater benefit from the assets it acquired from US Airways, according to Oglenski. Now that the company can devote less time to integrating assets it acquired, it can spend more time focusing on revenue enhancing opportunities, the analyst stated. He raised his price target on the name to $65 from $55. UBS: Airline stocks covered by UBS have dropped an average of about 15% this quarter, reflecting higher fuel costs, lower unit revenue forecasts, and the larger airlines' decision to match the fares of low-cost carriers, according to analyst Darryl Genoves. The analyst noted that he had cut his estimates for the sector's 2018 results by just 10%. Moreover, he believes that the sector has positive catalysts, given what he sees as "very low" revenue per available seat mile expectations for next quarter, "reasonable" consensus 2018 earnings estimates, and his belief that capacity growth will decelerate as soon as the second half of next year. He identified Delta (DAL) and United Continental (UAL) as his favorite names in the sector. United is betting that the revenue hit it will take from capacity gains will be offset by higher margins, driven by share gains and a greater percentage of revenue from the U.S., the analyst stated. OTHERS TO WATCH: Other publicly traded companies in the space include JetBlue (JBLU) and Southwest (LUV). PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, American rose 1.8%, Delta added 0.7% and United Continental gained 0.5%.

10:35 EDT GrubHub dips after Amazon teams up with competitor - Shares of GrubHub (GRUB) are sliding in early trading after Olo, which offers an online food ordering solution for the restaurant industry, announced earlier this morning that it is teaming up with Amazon (AMZN). WHAT'S NEW: Earlier, Olo said its new partnership with Amazon will enable thousands of Olo restaurant customers to "gain easy integration" with Amazon Restaurants. "We are excited to leverage Olo's digital ordering technology and continue rapidly growing our network of restaurants to give Amazon Prime members more options for fast delivery from their favorite brands. This integration will enable Amazon Restaurants to onboard new restaurants with ease, as well as quickly add more new choices and delivery options for customers," said Gus Lopez, general manager of Amazon Restaurants. Olo restaurants can offer guests counter and curbside pickup for orders placed by phone, web, mobile web, app, Amazon's Alexa-enabled devices and more, as well as delivery through Olo Dispatch and Olo Rails, the companies noted. PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, GrubHub shares are down 2% to $52.40, which is improved from the stock's earlier session low of $49.60.

10:00 EDT Paper stocks lower with International Paper adding capacity in 2019 - Names in the containerboard space are moving lower after International Paper (IP) announced plans to invest $300M to convert its No. 15 paper machine at the Riverdale Mill in Selma, Ala. from uncoated freesheet to high quality whitetop linerboard and containerboard. The conversion is targeted to be completed by mid-year 2019. The investment will add 450,000 tons of annual capacity, with flexibility to shift between containerboard products, International Paper said in a press release. Following the announcement, shares of WestRock (WRK) are down 3% to $55.86, Packaging Corp. Of America (PKG) is down 2% to $2.47 and KapStone (KS) is down 3% to $21.97 in early trading. International Paper is down 3% to $55.58.

09:47 EDT Aradigm spikes in early trading, shares up 37% to $2.69

09:28 EDT International Paper to invest about $300M to convert Riverdale paper machine - International Paper announced plans to invest approximately $300M to convert its No. 15 paper machine at the Riverdale Mill in Selma, Ala. from uncoated freesheet to high quality whitetop linerboard and containerboard. The conversion is targeted to be completed by mid-year 2019. The investment will add 450,000 tons of annual capacity, with flexibility to shift between containerboard products. Converting Riverdale No. 15 will position International Paper to grow its Industrial Packaging business, continue to provide attractive jobs to Riverdale team members and remain a significant supplier of uncoated freesheet in North America. As a result of the machine conversion, the company will reduce its annual uncoated freesheet capacity by 235,000 tons. The remaining machine at the Riverdale Mill will continue to produce uncoated imaging paper products.

09:21 EDT On The Fly: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: T-Mobile US (TMUS), up 1.3% after Reuters reported that the company and Sprint (S) are close to a merger agreement. Sprint is up 3.6%... Auris Medical (EARS), up 8.4% after announcing it completed patient recruitment for its Phase 3 TACTT3 clinical trial of Keyzilen in acute and post-acute inner ear tinnitus... Ascendis Pharma (ASND), up 47.4% after Versartis (VSAR) reported its Phase 3 of somavaratan did not meet its primary endpoint. LOWER: Versartis is down 85.2% after its Phase 3 of somavaratan did not meet its primary endpoint... Finish Line (FINL), down 8.8% after reporting quarterly results... Foot Locker (FL), down marginally after Finish Line reported its quarterly results.

09:10 EDT Finish Line still sees product margins down in Q3

09:04 EDT Bharat Parikh & Associates responds to Key Tronic's allegations - Bharat Parikh & Associates responded to Key Tronic's (KTCC) allegations contained in the news release dated September 15, 2017 and titled, "Key Tronic Corporation Comments on Cemtrex Release," regarding the Firm and its audit of the financials of Cemtrex (CETX). The Firm responds to Key Tronic's maligning allegations as follows: "Key Tronic's skepticism of the accuracy of Cemtrex's reported financial information is self-serving in nature and baseless. Key Tronic Corporation needs to consider the global business environment before making allegations about our internationally reputed firm. The Firm is recognized, registered and in good standing with PCAOB as a 'Non-US' Public Accounting firm. The Firm, just like any other PCAOB registered firm, follows the same standards, rules and guidelines as issued by the PCAOB and SEC to perform any public company audits in USA whether a smaller reporting company or a large filer. The firm since its inception 3 decades ago has performed multiple US GAAP and IFRS Audits of globally located private and public companies and has remain in good standing with the professional regulatory body ICAI without receiving such allegations before. The Firm is a Category-I Registered Chartered Accounting firm with Reserve Bank of India The Firm has a diversified client base and wide audit experience of various companies, including banking and insurance companies, and government and semi-government organizations. Also, of note, is the Firm's experience of conducting 'Special Audits,' which are governed by the World Bank. The Firm is also a registered Peer Reviewer with the ICAI's 'Peer Review Board' and is authorized to peer review any firm including the multinational public accounting firms as allotted by the ICAI." "Key Tronic's publicly made allegations against our firm are false, unsubstantiated and defamatory in nature. Furthermore, these allegations are made with an intention of harming our global reputation by questioning the accuracy of our audit practice and the audited financial statements of our client, Cemtrex," stated CA Bharat Parikh, the Senior Managing Partner.

08:55 EDT Finish Line: Comps down 0.6% in June, down 9% in July, down 4.2% in August - Finish Line (FINL) says Macy's (M) on track to hit high end of long-term goal of annual sales of $350M in sales for FY18, ahead of original timetable. Says Finish Line comps were down 0.6% in June, down 9% in July and down 4.2% in August. Says increased markdown cadence to be competitive in a highly promotional environment, to clear slow-moving inventory. Says the company did not repurchase any shares in Q2 "as we decided to preserve our cash position" based on the challenging retail environment. For FY18, plans to close 15-20 stores, remodel 40-50. Says Hurricane Harvey temporarily closed 54 Houston area stores, Irma had 110 temporary closures; says all but 4 stories reopened within a week, all stores now open. Doesn't expect temporary closures to have any material impact on Q3 sales.

08:44 EDT Capstone microturbines continue to power though Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, Maria - Capstone Turbine announced that the majority of their microturbine based distributed generation installations have powered through Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and now Maria, much like they did with Hurricane Sandy back in 2012, with little or no downtime. Both Hurricane Harvey and Irma have killed more than a hundred people, destroyed thousands of homes and caused flooding that has lasted weeks in some areas. The hurricanes also exposed the failings of the aging utility and sewer systems that were unable to cope with the heavy rainfall, flooding and downed power lines. As a result, electric utilities experienced wide-scale outages and some wastewater treatment plants released untreated sewage into streets, rivers and homes of affected towns and counties. Hurricane Harvey caused substantial electrical outages as power plants and transmission infrastructure-particularly in South Texas and along the Gulf Coast-had been severely affected by high winds and significant flooding. At its peak, more than 10,000 megawatts of electricity generating capacity in the Electric Reliability Council of Texas grid and a substantial number of transmission and distribution lines experienced forced outages. Capstone reported that the overwhelming majority of their customer's installations in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic and the U.S. Virgin Islands not only survived the storms but are fully operational providing critical power, which in some cases provides the power needed to pump water. This result is similar to what Capstone microturbines did back in late October 2012 when Hurricane Sandy devastated the states of New York and New Jersey and a then estimated 93, out of 95 microturbines, remained fully operational.

08:43 EDT VolitionRx announces initial sale of new Nu.Q research kits - VolitionRx announced its strategy for a new range of Clinical Research Use Only kits based on its proprietary Nucleosomics technology and the receipt of an order of RUO kits from a large multinational pharmaceutical company. CEO of Volition, Cameron Reynolds, commented, "This is a very important milestone for Volition as it represents our first revenue from the Nu.Q platform. The RUO kits could be used to develop a companion diagnostic to a pharmaceutical company's therapeutic product, so could represent an additional potential revenue stream beyond the commercialization of our blood-based cancer tests on the same platform of assays. After the initial sale of the RUO kits, a significant licensing arrangement is possible if the assays become a crucial component of another company's product." The RUO kits use the same platform as Volition's cancer diagnosis panels but may be used for many other purposes, for example as an aid to drug development and treatment selection. This first sale followed a request for a bespoke kit and precedes the launch of the first series of Volition's products. Volition aims to offer off-the-shelf kits initially with a Total Nucleosome assay in the first quarter of 2018, followed in the second quarter of 2018 by a range of kits initially developed for its own internal cancer diagnostic development programs. The RUO range will allow researchers to explore patterns of epigenetic modifications in circulating nucleosomes across a broad range of clinical applications including cancers, inflammatory and infectious diseases.

08:41 EDT Finish Line sees sales, margin trends to remain 'difficult' for rest of year - Finish Line says Q2 was more challenging than expected, as the marketplace for athletic footwear became much more promotional in July and August, putting pressure on sales and gross margins. In footwear, comps were down mid single digits, with men's down low singles, women's down mid singles and kid's down high singles. For the quarter, running comps were up mid singles, basketball down mid singles, lifestyle down midteens. Says decrease in footwear primarily driven by the slowdown in more mature platforms. Expects sales, margin trends to remain difficult throughout the remainder of the year. Says 70% of customer traffic has shifted toward mobile. Comments taken from the Q2 earnings conference call. Finish Line is down 8.5% in premarket trading.

08:33 EDT CRH Medical announces majority purchase of North Carolina anesthesia practice - CRH Medical announces that it has completed an accretive transaction whereby CRH has acquired a 51% interest in a gastroenterology anesthesia practice in Raleigh, North Carolina. Highlights include: Total 2018 annual estimated revenue of $5.3M; EBITDA and cash flow accretive; Structured as joint venture with CRH acquiring a 51% interest.

08:27 EDT Nevsun Resources announces COO Frazer Bourchier to step down - Nevsun Resources announced that COO, Frazer Bourchier, will step down from the company to pursue a position with a gold company based in Toronto. Bourchier continues with the company until December 31, 2017. Nevsun has a de-centralized model with strong Eritrean and Serbian teams who will manage the business during a successor search. As part of his transition through December 31, 2017, Bourchier will work closely with Nevsun management to transition key relationships in Eritrea and Serbia.

08:09 EDT Auris Medical completes patient recruitment for Phase 3 TACTT3 trial - Auris Medical announced that it has completed the recruitment of patients for the Phase 3 TACTT3 clinical trial of Keyzilen in acute and post-acute inner ear tinnitus. The trial enrolled more than 365 patients during both the acute tinnitus stage and the post-acute tinnitus stage. Top-line results from the TACTT3 trial are expected in Q1 of 2018.

08:08 EDT 8point3 Energy announces 3% increase in quarterly distribution - 8point3 Energy Partners announces that the Board of Directors of its general partner declared a cash distribution for its Class A shares of 27.21c per share for the third quarter. This represents an increase of approximately 30% over the minimum quarterly distribution and an increase of 3% over the previous quarter's distribution of 26.42c per share. The third quarter distribution will be paid on October 13 to shareholders of record as of October 3.

08:06 EDT Ardagh Group announces CEO Ian Curley to resign at end of 2017 - Ardagh Group announces that Ian Curley, CEO, has informed the Board that he is resigning to pursue other business opportunities. He will leave the Group at the end of the year. The Board thanks Ian for his contribution and support during his time with Ardagh and wishes him well for the future. Paul Coulson, currently Executive Chairman, will become Chairman and CEO.

08:04 EDT Time Inc. says received SEC subpoena in July - In a regulatory filing, Time Inc disclosed that in July, the company received a subpoena from the Enforcement Division of the staff of the SEC requiring it to provide documents relating to certain goodwill and asset impairments and to certain restructuring and severance costs. The company is cooperating with the SEC in the investigation. Management cannot at this time predict the eventual scope or outcome of this matter.

08:02 EDT Abbott gets FDA approval for MRI-compatibility for Ellipse ICD - Abbott announced U.S. FDA approval for magnetic resonance-conditional labeling for one of Abbott's most widely-used implantable cardioverter defibrillators and associated high voltage leads. The approval of MR-conditional labeling for the Ellipse ICD with the Tendril MRI pacing lead and Durata and Optisure high voltage leads adds another patient-centric benefit to the device and will help further improve access for patients suffering from abnormally fast heart rhythms who need an ICD and who may need an MRI scan in the future. The new MR-conditional labeling for the Ellipse ICD allows patients to undergo an MRI scan if needed. In addition, patients previously implanted with an Ellipse device and Durata or Optisure leads can now undergo MRI scans.

08:01 EDT Eleven Biotherapeutics completes Vicinium manufacturing for clinical trials - Eleven Biotherapeutics announced that it has completed the manufacturing of all Vicinium necessary for its ongoing Phase 3 registration trial in patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, and for its Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with the National Cancer Institute. In conjunction with this achievement, Eleven is ending its large-scale manufacturing activities and redirecting resources toward completing its Phase 3 trial and preparing for discussions with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration regarding, as appropriate, the submission of a Biologics License Application for Vicinium in patients with NMIBC. This change will include a reduction of headcount and associated cost savings. For commercialization, the Company plans to engage an external, Current Good Manufacturing Practice compliant, contract manufacturer.

07:59 EDT Wal-Mart tests delivering groceries straight to fridge - In a blog post, Sloan Eddleston, VP, Walmart eCommerce Strategy & Business Operations, says: "We asked the question: what if Walmart could help busy families like mine ensure my fridge was always well-stocked? What if we created a service that not only did my grocery shopping and brought everything to my home, but even went so far as to put it directly into my fridge? And, what if it was even more convenient because this in-fridge delivery happened while I was at work or off doing other things? In setting out to solve this challenge, we're excited to be testing new delivery ideas with companies like August Home. As one of the leading providers of smart locks and smart home accessories, they're a great partner to test these new concepts, like delivering packages inside customers' homes and putting groceries away in their refrigerators. Here's how the test will work: I place an order on Walmart.com for several items, even groceries. When my order is ready, a Deliv driver will retrieve my items and bring them to my home. If no one answers the doorbell, he or she will have a one-time passcode that I've pre-authorized which will open my home's smart lock. As the homeowner, I'm in control of the experience the entire time - the moment the Deliv driver rings my doorbell, I receive a smartphone notification that the delivery is occurring and, if I choose, I can watch the delivery take place in real-time. The Deliv associate will drop off my packages in my foyer and then carry my groceries to the kitchen, unload them in my fridge and leave." Reference Link

07:48 EDT Phillips 66 Partners announces $2.4B acquisition of interests from Phillips 66 - Phillips 66 Partners (PSXP) has reached agreement with Phillips 66 (PSX) to acquire its 25% interest in each of Dakota Access and Energy Transfer Crude Oil Company and 100% interest in Merey Sweeny the owner of fuel-grade coke processing units at the Phillips 66 Sweeny Refinery. The acquisition is expected to be immediately accretive to the Partnership and its unitholders and is anticipated to close in early October. The total transaction value of $2.4B includes $625M in proportional non-consolidated, non-recourse Bakken Pipeline debt and $100M of MSLP debt. The value reflects an approximate 8.9 times multiple, based on the acquired assets' forecasted full year 2018 adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of approximately $270M. In connection with the MSLP acquisition, Phillips 66 Partners will enter into a new 15-year tolling agreement that includes a base throughput fee and minimum volume commitment from Phillips 66. Consideration for the acquisition is $1.7V. The Partnership plans to fund the acquisition through a combination of debt, proceeds from a private placement of equity units, and PSXP units issued to Phillips 66. As part of the transaction, the Partnership will assume certain Phillips 66 term loans and notes payable to Phillips 66, which the Partnership expects to repay with a combination of proceeds from the private placement of equity and long-term debt. The Partnership will also issue $240 million in new PSXP units to Phillips 66, allocated proportionately between common units and units issued to the general partner to maintain its 2% general partner interest.

07:47 EDT Phillips 66 Partners to buy 100% interest in Merey Sweeny

07:47 EDT Phillips 66 Partners to buy interests in Bakken pipeline, Merey Sweeny for $2.4B

07:32 EDT Axon receives multiple orders for TASER X26P, TASER X2 smart weapons - Axon announced the receipt of multiple orders for its TASER X26P and TASER X2 Smart Weapons. These orders were received and expected to ship in the third quarter of 2017.

07:31 EDT Qualcomm extends cash tender offer for shares of NXP Semiconductors - Qualcomm (QCOM) announced that Qualcomm River Holdings B.V., an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm, has extended the offering period of its previously announced cash tender offer to purchase all of the outstanding common shares of NXP Semiconductors (NXPI). The tender offer is being made pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, dated as of October 27, 2016, by and between Qualcomm River Holdings B.V. and NXP. The tender offer is now scheduled to expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on October 20, 2017, unless extended or earlier terminated, in either case pursuant to the terms of the Purchase Agreement.

07:28 EDT Trump says greatest influence over election was 'Fake News Media' - President Donald Trump just tweeted, "The greatest influence over our election was the Fake News Media 'screaming' for Crooked Hillary Clinton. Next, she was a bad candidate!"

07:08 EDT Finish Line names Staples CTO Faisal Masud to board - The Finish Line (FINL) announced that its Board of Directors appointed Faisal Masud as a director of the company effective September 19, 2017. Masud, Chief Technology Officer for Staples (SPLS), will serve as a Class II director for a term expiring at Finish Line's 2018 annual meeting of shareholders. He will serve on the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors. With the appointment of Masud, the Board of Directors increases from 7 to 8 directors.

07:05 EDT Procter & Gamble responds to Glass Lewis report - The Procter & Gamble Company issued a statement in response to the report issued by Glass Lewis regarding the election of directors to the P&G Board at the Company's Annual Meeting of Shareholders to be held on October 10, which included: "Glass Lewis fails to recognize that P&G has delivered consistently strong operating results over the last five years, excluding the effects of currency, while executing its transformation of the company...We are disappointed that Glass Lewis failed to recognize the significant transformation that the P&G Board and management team are implementing for the benefit of all shareholders. We have the right plan, the right structure and the right team in place to continue to deliver results and shareholder value for the short-, mid- and long-term. We believe that now is not the time to risk derailing that progress. The P&G Board has done its homework and concluded that Nelson Peltz is NOT the right director for P&G. Mr. Peltz lacks specific qualities P&G is looking for in Board members. The P&G Board and management team have talked to numerous directors, CEOs and senior executives who have worked with Mr. Peltz, and positive recommendations were not forthcoming. People would only speak candidly about their experiences with Mr. Peltz if those discussions were kept confidential, for fear of retribution. We believe that putting the wrong person like Mr. Peltz on the P&G Board represents a risk of derailment. The consequences of derailment can be quite damaging. The weighted average shareholder return of companies on which Mr. Peltz serves as a board member is 4%. One company has NEGATIVE 10% returns. That company has had negative volume growth every year since Mr. Peltz joined the board, and current year-to-date organic sales growth is NEGATIVE 1.0%, versus POSITIVE 3.9% the year before Mr. Peltz joined. The P&G Board and management team strongly recommend shareholders vote "FOR" ALL of P&G's highly qualified Directors on the BLUE Proxy Card."

07:02 EDT Transocean announces retirement of six floaters - Transocean announced its intent to retire the ultra-deepwater floaters GSF Jack Ryan, Sedco Energy, Sedco Express, Cajun Express, and Deepwater Pathfinder, and the deepwater floater Transocean Marianas. The rigs will be classified as held for sale and will be recycled in an environmentally responsible manner. All six rigs were previously cold stacked. The company will recognize an impairment charge of approximately $1.4B during Q3 of 2017 associated with these actions.

07:01 EDT Dova Pharmaceuticals announces NDA submission to FDA for avatrombopag - Dova Pharmaceuticals announced the submission of a New Drug Application, or NDA, to the FDA for avatrombopag, a second generation orally administered thrombopoietin receptor agonist, or TPO-RA, for the treatment of thrombocytopenia in patients with chronic liver disease, or CLD, who are scheduled to undergo a procedure.

06:56 EDT Lannett CEO Arthur Bedrosian prevails in lawsuit with IRS - Arthur Bedrosian, CEO of Lannett, has prevailed in his lawsuit with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Bedrosian filed a lawsuit against the IRS, after the IRS claimed Bedrosian failed to properly and timely report a foreign bank account, which he opened in 1973. The IRS filed a counterclaim, seeking payment of a penalty, plus interest totaling $1,007,346. After a one day trial, Senior United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Michael M. Baylson, found that Bedrosian was credible and that he did not willfully fail to identify one of two foreign accounts on a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, which he filed in 2008. The Court also found that the IRS had illegally extracted the sum of $9,758 from Bedrosian. The Court thus entered judgment in favor of Bedrosian and against the IRS in the amount of $9,758 and in favor of Bedrosian and against the IRS on the IRS' counterclaim.

06:14 EDT Microsoft to launch flagship Microsoft Store in London - David Porter, Head of Microsoft Stores, said in a blog post, "We are pleased to announce plans to open a flagship store in London on Regent Street at Oxford Circus. This is one of the world's most exciting shopping destinations and represents another step in our journey to meet our customers. The United Kingdom is home to some of our most passionate fans. We already enjoy connecting through our partners and in our digital stores, and look forward to bringing a physical store to the region as another great choice for customers to experience the best technology from Microsoft. We are proud to see the impact that our physical stores have on the communities where we operate, from greater confidence in customers who visit in person and then shop online, to our partner ecosystem. Our customer experience in our physical stores generates confidence and trust in our products and services." Reference Link

06:01 EDT Amazon to add 359,000 square foot office in New York City - Governor Andrew M. Cuomo yesterday announced that Amazon will expand its presence in New York City with the addition of a 359,000 square-foot administrative office at 5 Manhattan West. This latest investment and expansion will create 2,000 new, high-paying jobs in finance, sales, marketing, and information technology. To encourage Amazon's expansion in New York State, the company was offered up to $20M in performance-based taxed credits through Empire State Development's Excelsior Jobs Program. Amazon will invest $55M to outfit the 359,000 square-foot office space at 5 Manhattan West using energy-efficient standards. The expansion will create 2,000 new jobs in finance, sales, marketing, and information technology that will earn an average of $100,000 annually. Amazon will also retain over 1,800 jobs in New York State. "We're excited to expand our presence in New York - we have always found great talent here," said Paul Kotas, Amazon's Senior Vice President of Worldwide Advertising. "Last January we announced our plans to create 100,000 full-time, full-benefit jobs in the U.S. by mid-2018 - and we are on track to reach that goal."

05:47 EDT Glass Lewis recommends Procter & Gamble holders vote for Nelson Peltz - Trian Fund Management, whose investment funds beneficially own approximately $3.5B of shares of Procter & Gamble, announced that Glass Lewis has recommended that P&G shareholders vote "FOR" Nelson Peltz on the WHITE proxy card at the company's annual meeting on October 10. Trian is gratified that Glass Lewis supports its efforts to revitalize P&G. Glass Lewis' voting recommendation underscores Trian's view that Nelson Peltz brings the ownership mentality and expertise needed on the P&G Board to help the company regain lost market share, improve performance for the long-term and restore P&G to its industry-leading position. Trian strongly urges fellow shareholders to revitalize their investment by voting "FOR" Nelson Peltz on the WHITE proxy card.