Stockwinners Market Radar for October 12, 2017 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

19:00 EDT Buenaventura reports Q3 Orcopampa gold production 51,672 ounces - Reports Q3 Tambomayo gold production 24,225 ounces. Reports Q3 La Zanja gold production 33,569 ounces. Reports Q3 Tantahuatay gold production 43,320 ounces. Reports Q3 Yanacocha gold production 247,321 ounces.

18:24 EDT Domino's Pizza CEO: We feel great about Q3 - Says international strength remains where we want it to be. Says Alexa, Google Home doing well. Says carry-out still a big part of the business. Patrick Doyle is speaking on CNBC.

17:54 EDT Applied Optoelectronics collapses after Q3 view, peers dragged lower - Shares optical equipment makers are trading lower in the after-hours after peer Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) reported Q3 preliminary results that fell short of estimates. The maker of fiber-optic networking products dramatically lowered both its profit and revenue view for the quarter. The company now anticipates Q3 earnings per share of 91c-96c, down from its prior view of $1.30-$1.43. Revenue is expected to be $88M-$89M, lower than prior expectations of $107M-$115M. Analysts were expecting EPS of $1.31 on revenue of $111.58M for Q3. MANAGEMENT COMMENTARY: "Our preliminary results for the third quarter fell short of prior estimates and were negatively impacted by lower than expected sales to one of our large datacenter customers. Despite this shortfall, we maintained a strong gross margin profile in the quarter, and continued to experience solid demand with our other top datacenter customers," said Dr. Thompson Lin, Applied Optoelectronics founder, president, and CEO. "Although we are disappointed with these preliminary results, we continue to feel good about our leadership position in advanced optics and remain optimistic based on the customer traction we are seeing with our 100G products, especially our 100G CWDM transceivers." RECENT ANALYST VIEWS: On October 3, Craig-Hallum analyst Richard Shannon lowered his price target for Applied Optoelectronics to $80 from $95 on 40G transition acceleration and Intel (INTC) competitive threat. Nonetheless, the analyst says 100G+ remains robust, and Applied Optoelectronics' cost structure enables it to compete effectively. He reiterated a Buy rating on Applied Optoelectronics' shares at the time. Just a day before, on October 2, BWS Financial analyst Hamed Khorsand said he believed Applied Optoelectronics sales to Amazon (AMZN) have softened even more as the company moves away from 40G. He also thinks Intel's start of shipments of competing CWDM4 transceivers poses a threat to 100G revenue Applied has been generating from Facebook (FB). Khorsand kept his Sell rating on Applied Optoelectronics shares. PRICE ACTION: Shares of Applied Optoelectronics are down more than 18% to $48.10 per share in after-hours trading. OPTICAL PEERS LOWER: Shares of other companies in the space are all lower in post-market action, with Lumentum (LITE) down 2% to $57.80 per share, Finisar (FNSR) lower by 1.5% to $21.96 per share, and Oclaro (OCLR) falling 2.2% to $8.42 per share.

17:38 EDT On The Fly: After Hours Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: EXFO (EXFO), up 12.4%. ALSO HIGHER: Spark Therapeutics (ONCE), up 6.5% after it confirmed that an FDA committee supports approval of LUXTURNA... Qiagen (QGEN), up 1.3% after it announced a bioinformatics collaboration with Centogene... Equifax (EFX), up 1.1% after CNBC reported that the company said its systems were not compromised in a recent reported issue. LOWER: Antares Pharma (ATRS), down 38.3% after it said that the FDA has identified deficiencies that preclude the continuation of the discussion of labeling and postmarketing requirements/commitments of XYOSTED at this time... Tandem Diabetes (TNDM), down 26.3% after it announced an offering of common stock and warrants... Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI), down 17.9% after its third quarter preliminary results missed consensus estimates... Endocyte (ECYT), down 8.9% after it filed to sell 5.28M shares of common stock for holders... AXT, Inc. (AXTI), down 4.9% after it said in a regulatory filing that COO Wilson Lin has resigned from the company... Patterson-UTI (PTEN), down 1.4% after it filed to sell 8.8M shares of common stock for holders.

17:27 EDT Mirati's mocetinostat included in SU2C Catalyst program - Mirati Therapeutics (MRTX) announced that the company has been included in the SU2C Catalyst program, a cutting-edge research initiative led by Stand Up To Cancer designed to bring innovative cancer treatments to patients quickly through novel collaborations between industry and academia. A clinical trial research grant has been awarded to the Van Andel Research Institute to evaluate the potential of epigenetic agents to improve patient responses to immunotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer. The $2.5M research grant will support a Phase 1/1b study combining Mirati's mocetinostat, an orally-bioavailable, spectrum-selective Class 1 & IV HDAC inhibitor, guadecitabine, a DNA methyltransferase inhibitor from Astex, and pembrolizumab, a PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor from Merck (MRK). The grant is provided by Merck, a SU2C Catalyst Founding Supporter.

17:23 EDT WEC Energy CEO Leverett hospitalized over stroke, Klappa to serve as interim CEO - WEC Energy Group said that CEO Allen L. Leverett is currently hospitalized and receiving medical treatment as he recovers from an apparent stroke. On Oct. 12, the board of directors of the company appointed Gale E. Klappa to serve as CEO on an interim basis, until Leverett can return to his normal duties.

17:21 EDT Everest Re sees Q3 catastrophe losses $900M after tax - Everest Re Group announced that it expects to incur pretax catastrophe losses, net of reinsurance and reinstatement premiums of $1.2B, with a net economic impact of $900M after taxes. This estimate includes losses from Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, as well as estimated losses from the earthquake events in Mexico. The company's view of its losses from these events assumes an aggregate industry loss in the range of $100B for the quarter and is based on a combination of modeled information, underwriter analysis, preliminary client discussions, and a profile of exposed limits within the affected regions. Losses are arising from both the reinsurance and insurance segments. There is considerable uncertainty in these estimates and it is expected that it will be several months before relative clarity emerges with respect to the underlying losses from these multiple events. However the company advises that it has significant unused retrocessional capacity, including aggregate protections, which provide coverage above the estimated levels.

17:07 EDT Zion Oil & Gas launches new unit purchase program - Zion Oil & Gas is launching a new $250 Unit Program under its Dividend Reinvestment and Direct Stock Purchase Plan. This Unit Program seeks to ensure adequate cash flow to properly test hydrocarbon zones already encountered and those the company hopes to encounter. Starting Monday, October 16, and ending December 6, Zion is offering this new Unit Program to purchase Units of securities where each Unit, priced at $250.00, is comprised of: shares of ZN common stock determined by dividing $250 by the average of the high and low sale prices of the Company's common stock on the Unit purchase date, and 15 common stock purchase warrants. Each warrant (symbol affords participants the opportunity to purchase one share of ZN common stock at a warrant exercise price of $1.00. The warrants will become exercisable beginning January 8, 2018, the 31st day following the Unit Program termination date, and continue to be exercisable through January 8, 2021 at a per share exercise price of $1.00. If the company's Common Stock closing price trades above $5.00 per share for 15 consecutive trading days at any time prior to the warrant expiration date, Zion may provide a notice to warrant holders of an early warrant termination within 60 days of the notice.

17:01 EDT Antares Pharma: FDA identifies deficiencies in XYOSTED - Antares Pharma announced that, on October 11, 2017, the Company received a letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration stating that, as part of their ongoing review of the Company's New Drug Application for XYOSTED injection, they have identified deficiencies that preclude the continuation of the discussion of labeling and postmarketing requirements/commitments at this time. The letter does not specify the deficiencies identified by the FDA and there has been no further clarification of the deficiencies by the FDA at this time. The company anticipates receiving further clarification from the FDA on or before the Prescription Drug User Fee Act date of October 20, 2017. The company intends to work with the FDA to understand the nature of the deficiencies once identified and resolve them as quickly as possible.

16:50 EDT Asur receives regulatory approval to complete Airplan acquisition - Asur announced that it has received regulatory approval to consummate its acquisition of Airplan, S.A. Airplan has concessions to operate the following airports in Colombia: the Enrique Olaya Herrera Airport and Jose Maria Cordova International Airport in Medellin, the Los Garzones Airport in Monteria, the Antonio Roldan Betancourt Airport in Carepa, the El Carano Airport in Quibdo and the Las Brujas Airport in Corozal. Following consummation of the acquisition, Asur will own approximately 92.42% of the capital stock of Airplan. The consummation of the Airplan acquisition is expected by the end of October.

16:38 EDT Omega Healthcare increases dividend 1.6% to 65c per share - Omega Healthcare declared a common stock dividend of 65c per share, increasing the quarterly common dividend by 1c per share, or 1.6%, over the previous quarter. The common stock dividend is payable Wednesday, November 15 to common stockholders of record as of the close of business on Tuesday, October 31.

16:35 EDT Applied Optoelectronics trading resumes

16:33 EDT MGM Resorts recommends rejection of mini-tender offer by TRC Capital - MGM Resorts announced that it received notice of an unsolicited "mini-tender" offer by TRC Capital to purchase up to 3M shares of the company's common stock at a price of $29.50 per share in cash. The offering price is 4.25% below the closing price per share of the company's common stock on October 6, the last trading day before the offer was commenced. The offer is for approximately 0.52% of the company's outstanding common stock. The company does not endorse TRC Capital's unsolicited mini-tender offer and recommends that stockholders do not tender their shares because the offer is at a price below the current market price for the company's common stock and subject to numerous conditions. The company is not affiliated or associated in any way with TRC Capital, its mini-tender offer or the offer documentation.

16:31 EDT Hostess Brands CEO Bill Toler to retire, effective March 1, 2018 or sooner - Hostess Brands announced that Bill Toler has informed the company that he plans to retire as President and CEO effective March 1, 2018 or sooner if a replacement is appointed. He will remain on the company's Board of Directors. The Board of Directors has created a subcommittee of the Board to identify and evaluate internal and external candidates with the assistance of an executive search firm to fill the President and CEO position.

16:20 EDT Baxter: 3 Puerto Rico sites sustained minimal damages from Hurricane Maria - Baxter International shared updates regarding recovery efforts following the impact of Hurricane Maria on its Puerto Rico operations. While the company currently anticipates a reduction in revenue for fourth quarter 2017 as a result of the storm, the company expects to mitigate the related earnings impact through positive performance in other areas of the business. The company will provide its financial outlook for the fourth quarter on its third quarter earnings conference call scheduled for October 25, 2017. Baxter's three Puerto Rico manufacturing sites sustained minimal structural damage from the impact of Hurricane Maria, and limited production activities resumed across its facilities within one week of the storm. Manufacturing operations are being driven by diesel generators designed to power the facilities and satellite communications are also being used to restore connectivity and support plant operations.

16:19 EDT Allergan announces Restasis settlement with InnoPharma - Allergan and its subsidiaries announced that the company has reached an agreement with InnoPharma. As a result of the settlement, all InnoPharma Hatch-Waxman litigation regarding RESTASIS patents will be dismissed. Pursuant to the terms of the settlement, Allergan will grant InnoPharma licenses to market a generic version of RESTASIS in the United States beginning on February 24, 2024, or earlier under certain circumstances. Additionally, under certain circumstances, Allergan will supply and authorize InnoPharma to launch an authorized generic version of RESTASIS on August 28, 2024. Additional details regarding the settlement were not disclosed.

16:17 EDT PGT Innovations names Jeff Jackson CEO - PGT Innovations announced that its board of directors has appointed Jeff Jackson to become CEO, effective January 1, 2018. Rod Hershberger, who is retiring as CEO, will continue to serve as the chairman of the board of directors. Jackson joined PGT Innovations in November 2005 as Vice President and CFO.

16:15 EDT AXT, Inc. COO Wilson Lin resigns from the company - According to a regulatory filing, on October 7, 2017, Wilson Lin informed AXT, Inc. of his decision to resign as COO of the company, effective October 5, 2017.

16:13 EDT Balchem appoints Terry Coelho as CFO effective October 23rd - Balchem appointed Terry Coelho as CFO, effective October 23. Coelho will succeed William Backus in the CFO role. Coelho joins the company from Diversey, where she was COO since September 2017. The announcement concludes an external search process conducted by the company for the succession of the CFO role. As part of this plan, Backus, who has served as Balchem's CFO since 2014, will remain with the company in the role of Chief Accounting Officer.

16:11 EDT Student Transportation and Zonar partner for school bus fleet management - Student Transportation division SafeStop and Zonar, a provider of smart fleet management technology, announced a strategic partnership to further expand their collective reach in school bus tracking and analytics. Zonar is integrating the SafeStop school bus tracking app into its fleet management offerings for pupil transportation.

16:07 EDT First Financial to acquire Commercial Bancshares - First Financial Bankshares announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Commercial Bancshares and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Commercial State Bank, Kingwood, Texas. Subject to the terms and conditions of the definitive agreement, First Financial Bankshares anticipates that the acquisition consideration will consist solely of First Financial Bankshares common stock totaling $59.4M. In addition, prior to closing, Commercial Bancshares, Inc. expects to pay a special dividend of approximately $15.6M to its shareholders, which may be increased or decreased in accordance with the terms of the definitive agreement. Pending regulatory and shareholder approval, the acquisition is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2018. The acquisition of Commercial State Bank expands First Financial Bankshares' growing Texas footprint into the cities of Kingwood, Fulshear, El Campo and Palacios, Texas, all located just outside the Houston metroplex.

16:05 EDT CatchMark Timber acquires 14,923 acres of timberlands for $43.3M - CatchMark Timber Trust announced an agreement to acquire 14,923 acres of prime timberlands near the southeast coast of Georgia for $43.3M, excluding closing costs. The to-be-acquired timberlands in Long and McIntosh counties, the Coastal Georgia Acquisition, will expand CatchMark's positioning in one of the most competitive wood baskets of the U.S. South, increasing its regional holdings by 36%. Closing of the Coastal Georgia transaction is expected by the end of the year.Jerry Barag, CatchMark's President and CEO, said: "This acquisition will not only provide synergies in pricing power, haul distances, and management, but also will meet CatchMark's objectives for continuing to establish the highest quality timberland portfolio in the industry. In particular, we will benefit from the enhanced merchantability of our harvests to a significant number of local mill customers within a 60-mile radius and a favorable supply agreement. Most importantly, the superior stocking and premier growing conditions on these plantations also meet our criteria and targets for producing durable earnings for our shareholders." The Coastal Georgia Acquisition includes 72% pine plantations with stocking of 81 tons per acre. Approximately 92% of the inventory volume is pine and 65% of the inventory volume is chip-n-saw or sawtimber. The transaction's harvest productivity is expected to be 7.6 tons per acre per year, adding approximately 110,000 tons per year to CatchMark's harvest over the next decade. CatchMark today also announced that earlier this week the company closed on the purchase of 4,641 acres of premier timberlands located in southeastern South Carolina-the Carolina Midlands V Acquisition-for $10.9 million, exclusive of closing costs. Carolina Midlands V comprises high-quality, heavily-stocked southern pine timberlands close to strong coastal mill and export markets. Based on current estimates, the Carolina Midlands V tracts contain approximately 224,000 tons of merchantable timber, comprised of 94% pine plantations or convertible natural pine stands by acreage and 65% chip-n-saw or sawtimber by tons. Barag said: "Carolina Midlands V adds extremely high-quality sites to our existing South Carolina timberlands with the acquisition's stocking averaging 47 tons per acre. Again, this transaction meets CatchMark's stringent criteria for building the highest quality timberlands portfolio in the industry."

15:58 EDT Eaton Vance reports consolidated AUM $419.3B as of September 30 - This compares to $405.6B on July 31, the close of the company's third fiscal quarter.

15:27 EDT Eaton Vance raises quarterly dividend to 31c from 28c per share - The dividend is payable November 15 to shareholders of record on October 31. The increase marks the 37th consecutive fiscal year that the company has raised its regular quarterly dividend, which has grown at a compound annual rate of 17% over that period.

14:49 EDT Citron covers Helios and Matheson short amid 31% selloff - Citron Research says via Twitter, "Covering $hmny. Don't like to stay short companies that are expected to lose money high borrow $ hit tgt price in one day. all timing". Citron yesterday tweeted, "$hmny stock to trade back to $20 Retail investors are warned. You might like product but $1+bill it isn't. Giving away $1 for .90 no biz". Helios and Matheson Analytics is down 31%, or $10.10., to $22.80 in afternoon trading.

14:41 EDT Palo Alto Investors reports 17.43% passive stake in Alimera Sciences

14:21 EDT Xilinx announces selection by Alibaba for FPGA acceleration - Xilinx (XLNX) announced at the Computing Conference that Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing arm of Alibaba Group (BABA), has chosen Xilinx for next generation FPGA acceleration in their public cloud. "Based on Xilinx FPGAs, the new 'F2' instances give Alibaba Cloud customers access to acceleration for data analytics, genomics, video processing, and machine learning workloads," Xilinx stated, adding that access to F2 instances on Alibaba Cloud is available today.

13:45 EDT Salisbury Bancorp appoints Peter Albero as EVP, CFO - Salisbury Bancorp announced that Peter Albero was appointed to serve as EVP and CFO of the company and the bank effective October 20. He previously served as Director, Financial Services Advisory Practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, New York, NY since September 2015.

13:02 EDT Georgia Power: Second steam generator safely placed for Vogtle Unit 3 - Georgia Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company, announced that the second steam generator has been safely placed for Unit 3 at the Vogtle nuclear expansion near Waynesboro, Georgia. The 1.4M-pound steam generator was lifted into the Unit 3 nuclear island on Tuesday and positioned adjacent to the unit's other steam generator, which was placed in August. With the completion of this week's lift, both steam generators are now in place for the new unit.

13:00 EDT Siemens says FDA clears Magnetom Terra 7T MRI scanners - The FDA has cleared the MAGNETOM Terra magnetic resonance imaging scanner from Siemens Healthineers -- the first-ever 7 Tesla MRI cleared for diagnostic imaging. This advanced ultra-high-field scanner produces cross-sectional images of the head and knee, and is intended for patients over 66 lbs. The system's neurological and musculoskeletal applications have the potential to help physicians achieve unprecedented breakthroughs in clinical care by revealing functional and anatomical details not visible at lower magnet field strengths.

12:34 EDT Clear Channel Outdoor unit announces 10-year contract with Port of Seattle - Clear Channel Airports, a brand division of Clear Channel Outdoor Americas and a subsidiary of iHeartMedia, announced it has signed a new 10-year agreement with the Port of Seattle to provide a benchmark-setting media program at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. CCA has been a display advertising provider for Sea-Tac since 2007 and was awarded the new 10-year contract via a competitive request for proposal process against other outdoor media companies. The new partnership went into effect August 1, 2017 with the new advertising program launching in 2018, the company noted.

11:43 EDT Alaska Air reports September traffic up 8.4% - Alaska Air reported September operational results on a consolidated basis, for its mainline operations operated by subsidiaries Alaska Airlines and Virgin America, and for its regional flying operated by subsidiary Horizon Air Industries and third-party regional carriers SkyWest Airlines and Peninsula Airlines. Air Group's acquisition of Virgin America took place on Dec.14, 2016. Operational results include Virgin America results from pre-acquisition periods for comparison. On a combined basis for all operations, Air Group reported an 8.4% increase in traffic on a 10.1% increase in capacity compared to September 2016. Load factor decreased 1.3 points to 82.9%.

11:17 EDT Citi says cards 'not the only engine for growth that we have' - Citi is down 1.4% to $73.90 in late morning trading.

11:14 EDT Eversource to sell nine hydroelectric facilities to Hull Street for $83M - As a result of the proposed sale of the company's power plants, Eversource New Hampshire customers will realize the benefits of a comprehensive restructuring and rate stabilization agreement entered into in 2015. In a filing today with the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission, Eversource outlined the details of the agreements to sell the plants to two buyers. Following NHPUC and other necessary approvals, closings on the transactions are expected by late December or early 2018. This change in power plant ownership will mark the completion of electric deregulation in New Hampshire and a shift in how the company procures energy for customers in the future. The NHPUC in 2016 established the power plant auction process, which is being managed by J.P. Morgan. Under the proposed sales, which must be reviewed and approved by the NHPUC, Eversource's three large fossil generation facilities and two remote combustion turbines will be purchased by Granite Shore Power LLC, a newly-formed 50-50 partnership between Atlas Holdings of Greenwich, CT and Castleton Commodities International of Stamford, CT for a price of $175M. The company's nine hydroelectric facilities will be acquired by Hull Street Energy, LLC and affiliates for $83M. Consistent with the 2015 settlement agreement, customers will also benefit from Eversource's agreement to forego recovery of $25M related to the Merrimack Station emission reduction 'scrubber,' and from the financing of stranded costs remaining after the sales through the use of securitization bonds. These bonds take advantage of low interest rates. In addition, Eversource has agreed to provide $5M from its shareholders to establish a Clean Energy Fund. Details regarding the Clean Energy Fund will be established via a collaborative process overseen by NHPUC Staff and the Office of Energy and Planning.

11:11 EDT Brian Krebs notes Equifax page mentioned in Ars article 'down for maintenance' - Krebs on Security's Brian Krebs tweets, "The Equifax page mentioned in Ars article as spreading adware/spyware now 'down for maintenance' also. pretty soon won't be much site left." Reference Link

11:06 EDT FDA clears first seven tesla MRI device from Siemens - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the first seven tesla, or 7T, magnetic resonance imaging device, more than doubling the static magnetic field strength available for use in the United States, the agency announced. The Magentom Terra is the first 7T MRI system cleared for clinical use in the U.S. The FDA granted clearance of the Magnetom Terra system to Siemens Medical Solutions.

11:02 EDT Boeing reports no new orders in weekly update - Boeing reported no new orders in the weekly update posted on its website. Year to date information: 737 net orders: 64 NG and 296 MAX; 777 net orders: 23 777 and 20 777X.

10:38 EDT Target to expand nationally on Google Express - Target Corporation (TGT) announced it is deepening its partnership with Google (GOOG, GOOGL) to make online shopping even easier. The partnership includes Target's nationwide expansion on Google Express, including voice- activated shopping, as well as the addition of Target REDcard as a payment option in 2018. Target and Google also will partner to explore and develop future digital experiences focused on Target's signature style categories. The expansion of Google Express follows Target's successful trial of the home delivery shopping service in California and New York City. By expanding Google Express nationally, more guests will be able to shop Target's assortment, including exclusive brands that are only available at Target. And since items are shipped from a nearby Target store, guests will receive their orders in just two days. Google's announcement that shopping will soon be available via the Google Assistant on eligible Android phones and iPhones, joining Google Home and Android TV, will allow Target guests to make their "Target Run" from a phone solely using voice commands, a first for the company. Target will further deepen its partnership with Google in 2018, as Target plans to make the Target REDcard debit or credit card available as an option for Google Express shoppers. That means guests shopping Target through Google Express will enjoy the convenience of REDcard benefits, including 5% off most purchases and free shipping. Beginning in 2018, guests will have the option to pick up their orders in a Target store, where orders are ready in just two hours. Guests also will be able to choose to link their Target.com accounts with Google for a more personalized shopping experience.

10:36 EDT Citi sees medium-term retail services NCL rate up 5.1%-5.25%

10:35 EDT Citi sees Q4 loss reserve build for U.S. branded cards back to normal levels

10:24 EDT Domino's Pizza to launch loyalty program ad campaign - Says "Piece of the Pie" loyalty program has meaningful impact on revenue. Says program continues to benefit top-line performance. Says Amazon Alexa is becoming most popular ordering platform. Says excited about Ford consumer research collaboration.

10:15 EDT Citi CFO says retail services NCL rates may reach 500bps in 2018

10:09 EDT Citi CEO says geopolitical tensions may begin to weigh on growth

10:05 EDT Sun Life Financial enters partnership with Pareto Captive Services - Sun Life and Pareto Captive Services have partnered to offer a new stop-loss group captive solution, designed to reduce claims volatility for small and medium self-funded employers or fully-insured employers transitioning to self-funding. The new stop-loss group captive solution, Legend Re, will be available for January 1, 2018, policy effective dates.

10:02 EDT Target expands partnership with Google Express

10:00 EDT Lloyds agrees to buy Zurich's U.K. workplace pensions and savings business - Lloyds Banking Group (LYG) announces it has entered into an agreement with Zurich (ZURVY) to acquire its UK workplace pensions and savings business with assets under administration of GBP 19B. The transaction enhances Scottish Widows' current offering and broadens its participation in the financial planning and retirement segment whilst delivering a modern, flexible workplace savings platform. Scottish Widows already manages more than GBP 124B of funds of which GBP 35B is workplace pensions business. The transaction is in line with the Group's targeted growth strategy and accelerates the development of its financial planning and retirement business. The acquisition is expected to partially close in the first quarter of 2018, with subsequent completion and transfer of assets following the required regulatory and legal approvals.

09:47 EDT ResMed wins German patent infringement case brought by Fisher & Paykel - ResMed announced that the Munich District Court decided that ResMed's AirSense 10, AirCurve 10, Lumis and their humidifiers do not infringe a Fisher & Paykel German utility model, DE 20 2013 012 358 U1. Although ResMed's products do not infringe, ResMed will continue its challenge of the validity of the German utility model before the German Patent and Trademark Office. To date, no German court has found that ResMed's products infringe a Fisher & Paykel patent in any of the three cases brought by Fisher & Paykel against ResMed in Germany. By contrast, the same German court concluded in September that Fisher & Paykel's Simplus, Eson and Eson 2 masks infringe ResMed patents, while staying the proceedings pending the outcome of invalidation proceedings. ResMed is now defending its own patents in the European Patent Office. This ruling in Germany has no impact on ResMed and Fisher & Paykel's patent infringement litigation in other jurisdictions.

09:30 EDT QVC Group announces plans for new leadership team - QVC President and CEO Mike George announced plans for a new organizational structure and senior executive team for the QVC Group (QVCA, QVCB), to be effective once Liberty Interactive (LVNTA, LVNTB) completes its previously announced acquisition of HSN, Inc. (HSNi), which is expected later this year. The combined group will consist of five business units and eight global functions. Global Merchandising -- Doug Howe will be Chief Merchandising Officer. Howe is currently Executive Vice President of Merchandising, QVC. Interactive Commerce Experiences -- Mary Campbell will be Chief Interactive Experience Officer. Campbell is currently Executive Vice President of Commerce Platforms, QVC. New Ventures -- Darrell Cavens will be President, New Ventures. Cavens is currently President and CEO, zulily. Operations -- Bob Spieth will be COO. Speith is currently Executive Vice President of Customer & Business Services, QVC and zulily. People, Communications & Community -- Beth Rubino will be Chief People Officer. Rubino is currently Executive Vice President of Human Resources, QVC. Technology -- Karen Etzkorn will be Chief Information Officer. Etzkorn is currently Chief Information Officer, HSNi. Finance -- Ted Jastrzebski will be CFO. Jastrzebski is currently Executive Vice President and CFO, QVC. Legal & Compliance -- Larry Hayes will be General Counsel. Hayes is currently Senior Vice President and General Counsel, QVC. Until the transaction closes, all leaders at HSNi, QVC, and zulily will continue in their current roles, and QVC and HSNi will continue to operate as separate companies.

09:14 EDT JPMorgan CFO on tax reform: 'It's neither holding up business nor spurring it' - Commenting on tax reform, CFO Lake says "It's not front and center int he dialogue we're having with our clients about whether they should or shouldn't do a strategic deal."

09:13 EDT AWS, Microsoft announce Gluon deep learning library

09:11 EDT On The Fly: Pre-market Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: HIGHER: JPMorgan Chase (JPM), up 1%... Citigroup (C), up marginally. ALSO HIGHER: Anavex Life Sciences (AVXL), up 9.5% after Anavex2-73 demonstrates "desirable" PK/PD properties in Phase 2a study... Ardelyx (ARDX), up 43.4% after its tenapanor study hit its primary and secondary endpoints... Infinity (INFI), up 43.5% after being upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Wells Fargo. LOWER: AcelRx Pharmaceuticals (ACRX), down 61% after receiving a Complete Response Letter from the FDA for DSUVIA New Drug Application... Domino's (DPZ), down 5.3% after reporting quarterly results... Hawaiian Holdings (HA), down 4.8% after initiating a quarterly dividend of 12c per share.

09:08 EDT Cincinnati Financial expects Q3 catastrophe losses of $102M-$114M - Cincinnati Financial's property casualty group expects its Q3 results to include pretax catastrophe losses of approximately $102M-$114M, representing an impact on the Q3 combined ratio of 8.6-9.6 percentage points, based on estimated property casualty earned premiums. The company's 10-year historical average contribution of catastrophe losses to the combined ratio is 4.8 percentage points for Q3. This estimate for catastrophe losses includes approximately $20M for Hurricane Harvey. For Hurricane Irma, it includes $54M-$66M. For Hurricane Maria, it includes approximately $6M for Cincinnati Re. The estimate for all other Q3 catastrophe losses incurred is approximately $11M each for commercial lines and personal lines. The company estimates its Q3 property casualty combined ratio will be in the range of 98.5%-101.5% including the effect of catastrophe losses.

09:05 EDT SecurityScorecard secures $27.5M in Series C round led by Nokia Growth Partners - SecurityScorecard has raised $27.5M in Series C funding. The financing round was led by Nokia (NOK) Growth Partners with participation from Moody's (MCO), AXA Strategic Ventures, and Intel (INTC) Capital. Existing investors Sequoia Capital, Google (GOOG) Ventures, Boldstart Ventures, Two Sigma Ventures, and Evolution Equity Partners also participated. The SecurityScorecard platform provides CISOs, security practitioners, risk management professionals, and boards of directors with a comprehensive view of the security posture of their entire ecosystem. It then assigns an A to F rating and provides security professionals with actionable intelligence.

09:04 EDT Helios and Matheson: MoviePass sees receiving 'doubt qualification' from auditor - In a regulatory filing, Helios and Matheson stated: "MoviePass has incurred losses since inception and has a present need for additional funding, which may be unavailable to it. As such, MoviePass expects it will receive a qualification on its audited financial statements for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 from its independent registered public accounting firm expressing substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern." Helios and Matheson Analytics announced earlier that it has agreed to increase the purchase price for its stake in MoviePass from $27M to $28.5M, which will increase its ownership stake in MoviePass from 53% to 53.71% upon the closing of the transaction. In conjunction with the additional investment, MoviePass also granted HMNY an option to purchase additional shares of MoviePass common stock for $20M in cash based on the agreed $210M pre-money valuation of MoviePass, pursuant to an option agreement, which, if exercised in full, would amount to an additional 8.7% ownership stake as of the date of the option agreement.

09:03 EDT JPMorgan says 'branches still matter'

09:01 EDT First Foundation promotes Lindsay Lawrence to COO - First Foundation announced the promotion of Lindsay Lawrence from EVP, Chief Banking Officer to EVP COO of First Foundation Bank.

08:52 EDT JPMorgan CFO on Equifax breach, says "there will be others now or over time" - Says not seeing a specific increase in fraud, says spending money to "keep ahead of the curve."

08:39 EDT Great Panther Silver reaffirms 2017 production view of 4.0-4.1 million Ag eq oz - Great Panther Silver is maintaining its 2017 guidance of 4.0 - 4.1 million Ag eq oz, based on a 70:1 silver:gold ratio. The company has not yet received final approvals for the Topia Phase II tailings facility. A response to the resubmitted IP and the overall permitting is expected within two months of filing. The company believes that it will be able to obtain the permit for the Phase II tailings facility at Topia without interruption of operations, however, the company cannot provide complete assurance that a disruption can be avoided. The company is also maintaining its previously issued 2017 guidance for cash cost and all-in sustaining cost guidance of $5-$6 per payable silver ounce, and $14-$16 per payable silver ounce, respectively. The company is currently working on an updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the recently acquired Coricancha Mine Complex in Peru, which is expected to be completed in the current quarter.

08:37 EDT Great Panther Silver reports Q3 production results from Mexican operations - Great Panther announced Q3 production results from its two wholly-owned Mexican silver mining operations: the Topia Mine in Durango and the Guanajuato Mine Complex, which includes the San Ignacio Mine. Consolidated metal production increased 13% to 1,080,483 silver equivalent ounces; silver production increased 4% to 532,803 silver ounces; gold production increased 8% to 5,848 gold ounces; lead and zinc production increased 78% and 74%, respectively, and ore processed decreased 1%, with 94,080 tons milled.

08:35 EDT Pioneer Natural reports Q3 average realized price $45.35 per barrel - Pioneer Natural Resources Company announced that production for Q3 was 276 thousand barrels oil equivalent per day, an increase of 17 MBOEPD, or 6% from Q2. Total oil production for the quarter was 162 thousand barrels per day, an increase of 15 MBPD, or 10% from Q2. Total Spraberry/Wolfcamp and horizontal Spraberry/Wolfcamp oil production increased 11% and 15%, respectively, compared to Q2, both driven by the company's successful Spraberry/Wolfcamp horizontal drilling program. Total natural gas liquids production for the third quarter was 57 MBPD and total gas production for the third quarter was 340M cubic feet per day. Q3 production was negatively impacted by 3,500 barrels oil equivalent per day due to the effects of Hurricane Harvey on the company's Spraberry/Wolfcamp and South Texas operations and unplanned downtime at the third-party facility where gas from the company's West Panhandle field in Texas is processed. The production lost from these curtailments was mostly gas and NGLs. Adjusting for the lost production related to the hurricane and the unplanned downtime at the third-party gas processing plant, Pioneer's third quarter production would have been at the top end of Pioneer's production guidance range of 274 MBOEPD to 279 MBOEPD. Despite the lost production during the third quarter related to the hurricane and unplanned downtime at the third-party gas processing plant, Pioneer continues to expect full-year 2017 production growth to be within its targeted growth range of 15% to 16%. In addition, oil production for full-year 2017 continues to be targeted within a range of 156,000 barrels oil per day to 158,000 BOPD, or an increase of 17% to 18% compared to 2016. During the third quarter, the average realized price for oil was $45.35 per barrel. The average realized price for NGLs was $18.96 per barrel, and the average realized price for gas was $2.58 per thousand cubic feet.

08:32 EDT SteadyMed receives notice of allowance for European patent - SteadyMed announced that it has received a Notice of Allowance from the European Patent Office for Patent Application No. 13720085.3 related to enhanced infusion-site pain reduction for drug delivery devices.

08:32 EDT NuVasive receives expanded FDA 510(k) clearance for PRECICE system - NuVasive announced that it has received expanded 510(k) clearance from the U.S. FDA for the company's PRECICE system from NuVasive Specialized Orthopedics with expanded indications that now include open and closed fracture fixation, pseudoarthrosis, malunions, nonunions, and bone transport. Prior to the expanded FDA clearance, the PRECICE system was indicated for limb lengthening of the femur and tibia. The system is now indicated for bone transport of long bones in addition to limb lengthening. Bone transport is a technique that allows for regeneration of bony tissue and is typically used to fill segmental bone loss due to trauma or infection, i.e. infected nonunions, segmental defect, and chronic bone infections. The expanded indications for use allows the company to continue to build a platform for further growth in the limb reconstruction and trauma markets.

08:22 EDT Hawaiian Holdings initiates quarterly dividend of 12c per share - Hawaiian Holdings will initiate a quarterly cash dividend. The company's board declared a 12c per share dividend to be paid on November 30 to all shareholders of record as of November 17. The dividend will be in addition to the $100M share repurchase program announced in April 2017. As of the end of Q3, Hawaiian has repurchased approximately $50.5M in shares.

08:11 EDT Helios and Matheson increases investment in MoviePass - Helios and Matheson Analytics announced that, since August 15, it has received aggregate gross cash proceeds of approximately $12.8M from the holder of its senior secured convertible notes, thereby satisfying the $10M financing condition to HMNY's pending acquisition of a majority stake in MoviePass, which was announced in August. HMNY also announced that it has agreed to increase the purchase price for its stake in MoviePass from $27M to $28.5M, which will increase its ownership stake in MoviePass from 53% to 53.71% upon the closing of the transaction. HMNY agreed to make the additional $1.5M investment in MoviePass for an additional 0.71% ownership stake based on an agreed $210M pre-money valuation of MoviePass. In conjunction with the additional investment, MoviePass also granted HMNY an option to purchase additional shares of MoviePass common stock for $20M in cash based on the agreed $210M pre-money valuation of MoviePass, pursuant to an option agreement, which, if exercised in full, would amount to an additional 8.7% ownership stake in MoviePass as of the date of the option agreement. If HMNY were to exercise the option in full prior to the closing of the transaction, its total ownership stake in MoviePass would be 62.41% as of the date of the option agreement. In connection with increasing its investment commitment to MoviePass, HMNY provided $6.5M in cash to MoviePass on October 6, consisting of an advance payment of $5M that would have otherwise been due within 90 days after closing the acquisition transaction with MoviePass plus the additional $1.5M investment amount, for which HMNY received an amended and restated convertible promissory note of MoviePass in the amount of $11.5M, which superseded and replaced the $5M convertible promissory note issued by MoviePass to HMNY on August 18

08:10 EDT Steel Partners completes exchange offer to acquire Handy & Harman shares - Steel Partners Holdings (SPLP) announced that it has successfully completed its exchange offer to acquire the remaining shares of Handy & Harman (HNH), a diversified global industrial company, it does not own. The offer expired at 12:00 midnight, New York City time, at the end of October 11, 2017. As of the expiration, 2,352,456 shares had been validly tendered and not validly withdrawn, representing approximately 89.5% of Handy & Harman's outstanding shares of common stock and approximately 58.6% of Handy & Harman's outstanding shares of common stock not owned by Steel Partners or any of its affiliates. The conditions to the offer were satisfied, and Steel Partners has accepted for payment and will promptly pay for all validly tendered shares. Steel Partners expects to complete the acquisition of the remaining shares of Handy & Harman later today through a merger without a vote or meeting of Handy & Harman's stockholders, pursuant to Section 251 of the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware. Each remaining share of Handy & Harman common stock subject to, but not purchased in, the offer will be converted into the right to receive the same 1.484 6.0% Series A preferred units of Steel Partners that will be paid in the offer. Upon completion of the merger, Handy & Harman will become an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Steel Partners. Handy & Harman's common stock will no longer be listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

08:06 EDT Lightbridge receives approval for key patent in Europe for fuel design - Lightbridge announced that it has received a Notice of Allowance from the European Patent Office for an additional patent relating to Lightbridge's innovative metallic fuel design. The patent is the latest among the company's growing patent assets worldwide as it prepares for the full-scale deployment of fuel assemblies based on its metallic fuel rod design.

08:10 EDT Sinovac Biotech completes 23-valent Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine Phase 3 - According to the latest announcement from CFDA, and Sinovac Beijing, the principal operation subsidiary of Sinovac Biotech (SVA) has accomplished its 23-valent Pneumococcal Polysaccharide Vaccine Phase III clinical trial and filed the New Drug Application to CFDA on August, 3rd. This vaccine is used to prevent streptococcus pneumoniae infections, such as pneumonia and septicemia among adults aged 65 or older, adults with serious long-term health problems, smokers, and children older than two years with serious long-term health problems. Only Merck Sharp & Dohme (MRK), Sanofi Pasteur (SNY), Chengdu Institute of Biological Products and Walvax Biotechnology have launched the 23-valent PPV so far. Sinovac will be the third in the domestic vaccine industry.

08:06 EDT OPKO Health enters into exclusive agreement with Japan Tobacco - OPKO Health announced that its subsidiary EirGen Pharma has entered into an exclusive agreement with Japan Tobacco, or JT, for the development and commercialization in Japan of RAYALDEE for the treatment of secondary hyperparathyroidism, or SHPT, in non-dialysis and dialysis patients with chronic kidney disease, or CKD. Under the terms of the agreement, JT will make an upfront payment to OPKO of $6M with another $6M payment to be made upon initiation of OPKO's planned phase 2 study of RAYALDEE in U.S. dialysis patients. In addition, OPKO will be eligible to receive up to an additional $31M in development and regulatory milestones and $75M in sales based milestones. JT will also pay OPKO tiered, double digit royalties on net product sales. JT will be responsible for all regulatory approvals and commercial activities pertaining to RAYALDEE in Japan. According to JT, an estimated 13.3M people in Japan have CKD and more than 300,000 are undergoing dialysis, with both patient populations increasing due to the aging population.

08:05 EDT Zayo Group selected by wireless carrier for small cell densification - A major wireless carrier has selected Zayo Group Holdingsfor deployment of more than 500 small cell sites in two major metro areas. The multimillion-dollar agreement includes small cell siting, placement and installation, part of Zayo's portfolio of turnkey mobile infrastructure solutions. The small cells are part of the carrier's densification strategy to increase coverage and capacity in major metro areas. The projects will leverage Zayo's distributed network of field operations teams, existing pole infrastructure and strong relationships with municipalities across the U.S. Zayo's fiber-to-the-tower and small cell solutions are addressing wireless carriers' requirements for infrastructure to expand coverage and capacity. The trend has resulted in growth in small cells over the past year and favorable economics for all elements of Zayo's mobile infrastructure solution set.

08:04 EDT Soleno Therapeutics receives positive opinion from EMA COMP for DCCR - Soleno Therapeutics announced that the European Medicines Agency's, or EMA, Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products, or COMP, has issued a positive opinion recommending Diazoxide Choline Controlled-Release Tablet, or DCCR, for designation as an orphan medicinal product for the treatment of Prader-Willi Syndrome, or PWS. PWS is a rare and complex genetic neurobehavioral/metabolic disorder affecting appetite, growth, metabolism, cognitive function, and behavior.

08:02 EDT Codexis, Nestle Health Science enter into partnership - Codexis (CDXS) and Nestle Health Science (NSRGY) announce a strategic collaboration encompassing multiple projects accessing Codexis' CodeEvolver protein engineering platform. The collaboration includes an option for the global development of Codexis' novel, orally delivered, enzyme, CDX-6114, for the management of phenylketonuria, or PKU, an orphan metabolic disorder. In addition, Nestle Health Science has secured strategic access to the CodeEvolver protein engineering platform for the discovery of biotherapeutics for other metabolic disorders, and for the development of novel enzyme products for Nestle Health Science's Medical Nutrition and Consumer Care business areas. Under the terms of the option agreement, Nestle Health Science will make an upfront payment of $14M. Codexis will be eligible to receive clinical development, approval and commercial milestone payments related to CDX-6114 as well as tiered royalties on product sales. Codexis will be responsible for the clinical development costs for CDX-6114 up to and including phase 1 in healthy volunteers. Thereafter, Nestle Health Science will have an option to obtain an exclusive global license to CDX-6114 and will be responsible for all future development and commercialization. Beyond CDX-6114, Nestle Health Science secures a right of first negotiation over enzyme therapies for inborn errors of amino acid metabolism, which Codexis has in its pipeline or may discover over the next five years. The partnership also includes a strategic collaboration where Codexis and Nestle Health Science will leverage the CodeEvolver platform technology to develop novel enzymes for Nestle Health Science's established Consumer Care and Medical Nutrition business areas.

08:02 EDT Federal Signal absolved in Pittsburgh firefighters lawsuit - Federal Signal has been absolved by a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania jury from any liability in a lawsuit brought by four Pittsburgh firefighters. In reaching its verdict, the jury dismissed the firefighters' claims that the company's siren product was defective. The jury deliberated for less than 2 hours before reaching its verdict in favor of the company.

08:01 EDT Citi reports Q3 ROTCE ex. DTA 9.9%, CET1 capital ratio 13% - Reports Q3 SLR 7.1%.

07:47 EDT Sasol Group Technology selects Jacobs Matasis for project management services - Jacobs Engineering Group through its South African joint venture Jacobs Matasis Limited, was awarded a two-year agreement with Sasol Group Technology for project management services and specialized resources. Sasol is one of South Africa's largest investors in capital projects, skills development and technological research and development. Sasol Group Technology manages Sasol's research and development, engineering services and capital project execution portfolios. As part of this agreement, which follows a previous four-year deal, Jacobs Matasis will continue to provide project management services and specialized resources in disciplines of engineering, safety management, construction management and quality management, as well as project controls services for the execution of Sasol's small projects.

07:33 EDT Spark Therapeutics trading halted as FDA committee reviews Luxturna - Spark Therapeutics announced that NASDAQ has halted trading of its common stock. The FDA Cellular, Tissue and Gene Therapies Advisory Committee is meeting today to review Luxturna, an investigational, potential one-time gene therapy, for the treatment of patients with vision loss due to confirmed biallelic RPE65-mediated inherited retinal disease, or IRD. The advisory committee meeting is scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. ET. The briefing materials may be found on FDA's website, here. Luxturna is under Priority Review with FDA, with an assigned Prescription Drug User Fee Act, or PDUFA, date of Jan. 12, 2018. Luxturna has received orphan drug, breakthrough therapy and rare pediatric disease designations from FDA. The advisory committee vote will be non-binding, but FDA takes its recommendations into consideration when reviewing related applications for marketing approval.

07:32 EDT Domino's Pizza reports Q3 global net store growth of 217 stores - The company had global net store growth of 217 stores in the quarter, comprised of 53 net new domestic stores and 164 net new stores internationally, and has added 1,182 net new stores over the trailing four quarters.

07:31 EDT Domino's Pizza reports Q3 domestic same store sales growth of 8.4% - Reports Q3 International same store sales growth of 5.1%.

07:15 EDT DBV announces completion of blinded portion of Realise trial - DBV Technologies announced that the blinded portion of the Realise trial was completed. Realise is the company's Phase III study designed to assess the safety and routine clinical use of Viaskin Peanut or the treatment of peanut-allergic children four to 11 years of age, including patients with a history of severe anaphylaxis. The company anticipates announcing topline results from the blinded portion of the trial in November. Patients completing the double-blinded, placebo-controlled six-month treatment period in Realise can continue receiving treatment for up to 36 months in the open-label portion of the study. The first part of the trial enrolled 393 patients, and 383 patients, or 97.5%, continued in the open-label portion of the study. All patients in Realise are now receiving Viaskin Peanut. Shares of DBV Technologies are up 2% to $50.45 in premarket trading.

07:03 EDT Global Power Equipment sells Mechanical Solutions unit for approx. $43.3M - Global Power Equipment announced the sale of its Mechanical Solutions segment, which was comprised of its Braden North America, Braden Europe and Consolidated Fabricators businesses, for approximately $43.3M in cash resulting in net proceeds of about $41M. The businesses were sold to Innova Global Ltd., a portfolio company of TriWest Capital Partners. Global Power has used the net proceeds of the sale primarily to pay down debt. Following a $34M prepayment of debt with the proceeds from the sale, Global Power has $27.6M in debt and $19.6M in cash, of which $12.2M was restricted.

07:02 EDT GeoPark reports Q3 oil and gas production up 28% to 28,325 boepd - GeoPark announced its operational update for the three-month period ended September 30. Highlights include: Consolidated oil and gas production up 28% to 28,325 boepd. Oil production increased by 37% to 23,237 bopd. Colombian oil production increased by 43% to 22,301. Gas production declined by 1% to 30.5 mmcfpd. Current production exceeds 29,000 boepd, with the year-end exit production goal of 30,000+ boepd on target and average annual 2017 production close to the high end of the range, 26,500 - 27,500.

07:01 EDT JPMorgan reports Q3 Asset & Wealth Management revenue up 6% - JPMorgan reports Q3 Asset & Wealth Management revenue was $3.2B, an increase of 6%, reflecting higher market levels and strong banking results driven by higher deposit spreads. Assets under management were $1.9T, up 10%, reflecting higher market levels and net inflows into liquidity and long-term products.

07:00 EDT JPMorgan sees 2017 net interest income up about $4B y/y - Expects 2017 net interest income to be up ~$4B YoY, market dependent. Expects 2017 adjusted expense to be ~$58B. Expects 2017 net charge-offs to be ~$5B. Expects 2017 average core loan growth to be ~8%. Comments from slides that will be presented on the Q3 earnings conference call.

06:57 EDT JPMorgan reports Q3 book value per share $66.95, up 5% - Book value per share of $66.95, up 5%; tangible book value per share of $54.03, up 5%. Reports Basel III common equity Tier 1 capital2 of $187 billion and ratio of 12.5%. The provision for credit losses was $1.5 billion, up from $1.3 billion in the prior year. The increase reflected a net reserve build of $303 million in the Consumer portfolio, driven by Card, and higher net charge-offs of $148 million, partially offset by a net reserve release of $116 million in the Wholesale portfolio, primarily driven by Energy and Commercial Real Estate. The prior year included a net reserve build in the Consumer portfolio of $226 million and a net reserve release in the Wholesale portfolio of $76 million, primarily driven by Energy.

06:55 EDT Spark Therapeutics trading halted, news pending

06:49 EDT AcelRx down 62.6% after receiving CRL from FDA for DSUVIA NDA

06:48 EDT Lindsay CEO sees stabilization in domestic market - Lindsay CEO Rick Parod commented, "U.S. irrigation equipment revenues were improved for a second consecutive quarter, a further indication that we may have reached a level of stabilization in the domestic market. The market recovery in Brazil and increased project activity in developing markets continue to drive growth in international irrigation. Commodity prices have stabilized, but are expected to remain under pressure as generally favorable weather conditions during the 2017 growing season are expected to result in above average crop production levels and ending stocks. The latest USDA estimate of net farm income for 2017 is projected to be 3% higher than last year, following three years of significant decline. Grower sentiment in the U.S. is showing signs of improvement and we expect modest growth in our U.S. irrigation business in the upcoming year. We also expect continued growth in international irrigation markets. In our infrastructure business, we expect continued global growth in Road Zipper system sales and leasing as well as our road safety products. The longer-term drivers for our markets of population growth, expanded food production and efficient water use, and infrastructure upgrades and expansion support our expectations for growth."

06:43 EDT lHC2 Holdings company to acquire Fugro's trenching and cable laying business - HC2 Holdings' operating subsidiary Global Marine Group, a provider of offshore engineering services to the telecommunications, oil & gas, and renewables industries, has entered into an agreement with Fugro N.V. under which GMG will acquire Fugro's trenching and cable lay services business. The acquisition of Fugro's trenching and cable lay services business involves the transfer to GMG of 23 Fugro employees located in Aberdeen, as well as one vessel, two Q1400 trenchers, and two work class remotely operated vehicles. As part of this transaction, Fugro will become the preferred provider of marine site characterization and asset integrity services to GMG. The purchase consideration, valued at approximately $73M, consists of the issuance to a subsidiary of Fugro of a 23.6% equity interest in Global Marine Holdings valued at $65M, and an obligation of GMSL to pay Fugro $7.5M within one year pursuant to a secured vendor loan. GMG believes that the acquisition will be accretive, and is expected to close in Q4.

06:34 EDT Cleantech Solutions enters into exclusivity agreement with 3D Discovery - Cleantech Solutions announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Sharing Economy, or SEI, has entered into an exclusivity agreement with 3D Discovery, regarding a potential acquisition by SEI of not less than 51% of 3D Discovery.

06:32 EDT Hecla Mining reports 3.3M oz of silver, 63,046 oz of gold produced in Q3 - Hecla Mining announced preliminary silver and gold production results for the third quarter. Silver production of 3.3M ounces and gold production of 63,046 ounces, the second highest level since 2003. Silver equivalent production of 11.1M ounces, the highest equivalent production quarter this year. Lead production of 5,368 tons; zinc production of 14,498 tons. Record gold production and monthly throughput (September) at Casa Berardi since its acquisition. Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of approximately $205M at September 30, an increase of about $3M over the second quarter. "Operational performance was exceptional in the third quarter with record throughputs at Greens Creek and in September at Casa Berardi. San Sebastian continues to operate at the upper end of our expectations with the highest quarterly silver production of the year so far. The mines' performance has led to substantial increases in production of all four metals over the second quarter and puts us well on our way to achieving their production guidance and improving per-ounce cost performance," said Phillips S. Baker, Jr., Hecla's President and CEO. "With operating performance and substantially higher zinc and lead prices, our cash position is $7 million greater than at the end of the year."

06:20 EDT Sepang Aircraft Engineering becomes fully-owned Airbus subsidiary - Sepang Aircraft Engineering, an MRO centre based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, partially owned by Airbus since 2011, has become a fully owned Airbus subsidiary, following the acquisition by Airbus of its remaining shares. With this acquisition, SAE becomes an integral part of the Airbus Customer Services network and is set to represent a key element of Services by Airbus' growth strategy in the dynamic Asia Pacific market.

06:04 EDT Video shows stamping Tesla Model 3 body panels in real-time, Musk says - Elon Musk posted a video on Instagram showing "Stamping Model 3 body panels (real-time)." Reference Link

06:01 EDT BlackBerry, BLU Products enter into patent license agreement - BlackBerryand BLU Products announced they have entered into a patent license agreement. This will result in settlement of all existing patent litigation between the two companies and withdrawal of pending actions in the United States. The financial structure of the agreement includes on-going payments from BLU Products to BlackBerry. Additional terms of the agreement are confidential.

05:29 EDT Weyerhaeuser redeems ownership in Twin Creeks JV, announces sale of 100K acres - Weyerhaeuser announced the redemption of its 21% ownership interest in the Twin Creeks Timber, LLC joint venture for $107.5M in cash. The company also announced an agreement to sell 100,000 acres of Southern Timberlands to Twin Creeks for $202.5M. The sale includes 80,000 acres of timberlands in Mississippi and 20,000 acres in Georgia and is expected to close by year end. Effective December 31, the company will also terminate the agreements under which it has managed the Twin Creeks timberlands. Following termination of these agreements, Weyerhaeuser will have no further responsibilities or obligations related to Twin Creeks. The company does not expect to recognize a material gain or loss on the redemption of its ownership interest.

05:21 EDT Sanofi invests EUR 170M in new vaccine production facility in France - Sanofi is investing EUR 170M to expand a vaccine manufacturing site in Val de Reuil, France. The expansion further strengthens Sanofi's position as one of the world's leading seasonal flu vaccine providers. The new facility will allow Sanofi Pasteur, the Vaccines global business unit of Sanofi, to expand supply of VaxigripTetra to up to 70 countries in six continents. The new quadrivalent influenza vaccine contains two A strains and two B strains of influenza virus, as per World Health Organization recommendation. The new Val de Reuil facility will be the only site of its kind in France and Sanofi Pasteur remains the sole influenza vaccine producer in the country. Sanofi plans to complete the expansion by 2021, subject to relevant health authority approvals, and will begin producing vaccines in this new facility in 2022.

05:17 EDT Grana y Montero, MEM sign agreement for delivery of project assets - Grana y Montero announced that on October 11 an agreement for the delivery of the assets of the Peruvian Southern Gas Pipeline concession was signed between the concessionaire company and the Ministry of Energy and Mines, or MEM. By virtue of this act, GSP will deliver -as possession- the assets to the administrator appointed by MEM for custody and conservation. The mentioned assets include all the works, equipment and facilities provided for the execution of the project, as well as the engineering studies that were elaborated by the concessionaire company.