Stockwinners Market Radar for October 19, 2017 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

18:30 EDT Macquarie Infrastructure CEO to become CEO of Macquarie Atlas Roads in 2018 - Macquarie Infrastructure announced that its CEO, James Hooke, is expected to be appointed CEO of Macquarie Atlas Roads in early 2018. MIC announced in September of this year that Hooke is expected to step down from his current position with MIC in early 2018. Hooke's appointment as Macquarie Atlas Roads CEO is expected to be effective on February 1, 2018. He will remain a member of the MIC board of directors. Macquarie Atlas Roads is an Australian Stock Exchange listed owner and operator of toll roads in France, Germany, Switzerland and the U.S. Hooke will assume the role currently held by Peter Trent, MQA's chief executive for the past eight years.

18:27 EDT IBERIABANK to acquire Gibraltar Private Bank & Trust - IBERIABANK Corporation and Gibraltar Private Bank & Trust Co. jointly announced the signing of a definitive agreement for IBKC to acquire Gibraltar through the merger of Gibraltar with and into IBERIABANK. The proposed merger has been approved by the board of directors of each company and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018. Completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of required regulatory approvals and the approval of Gibraltar's shareholders. Under the terms of the merger agreement, each share of Gibraltar common stock, including restricted stock awards (whether vested or not vested) will be exchanged for 1.9749 shares of IBKC common stock, subject to certain adjustments provided for in the merger agreement. Options to acquire Gibraltar common stock, whether or not vested, will be cashed out at the consummation of the merger. Based on the closing share price for IBKC common stock of $80.15, on October 19, 2017, Gibraltar shareholders will receive IBKC shares valued at approximately $158.29 per Gibraltar common share and IBKC expects to issue approximately 2.79M shares of IBKC common stock in the transaction, valuing the transaction at $223M for the equity, or 1.56x tangible book value at June 30, 2017. IBKC currently estimates annual pre-tax expense reductions associated with the transaction will be in excess of 60% of Gibraltar's run-rate expenses in 2017. The expense savings are anticipated to be fully achieved, on a run-rate basis, within six months of closing. Acquisition and conversion related costs are estimated to be approximately $34.2M on a pre-tax basis. The transaction is expected to be 2%-3% accretive to IBKC's fully diluted earnings per share in 2019 and 2020. The transaction is anticipated to have no material effect on IBKC's capital ratios which are expected to remain well in excess of adequate regulatory levels and consistent with past operating levels of the company. In addition, the transaction is expected to be less than 1% dilutive to tangible book value per share on a pro forma basis at closing. The tangible book value dilution is anticipated to be earned back in approximately two years after closing. The estimated internal rate of return for the transaction is expected to be greater than 20%, and, therefore, in excess of IBKC's cost of capital.

18:03 EDT BHP Billiton CEO sees challenges around geopolitical uncertainty remaining - In annual shareholder address, BHP Billiton CEO Andrew Mackenzie says that several commodities are trading above long-term price forecasts. Says long-term view for markets remains positive. [Full speech]:[http://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20171020/pdf/43ndbjdjnqs43x.pdf]

17:49 EDT Titan Pharmaceuticals presents non-clinical data from liothyronine implant - Titan Pharmaceuticals is presenting non-clinical data on the use of its ProNeura subdermal implant for the long-term, sustained delivery of liothyronine at the 87th annual conference of the American Thyroid Association in Victoria, Canada. The data indicate that these ProNeura implants continuously released L-T3 dose dependently for more than six months, providing important initial in vivo information for the potential development as a treatment of hypothyroidism.

17:37 EDT Quest Diagnostics acquires Cleveland HeartLab, terms not disclosed - Advantage Capital portfolio company Cleveland HeartLab announced its acquisition by Quest Diagnostics. Concurrent with the acquisition, Cleveland HeartLab and Quest Diagnostics announced Quest's commitment to maintain Cleveland HeartLab's clinic location in Cleveland's budding Midtown area, while also establishing the clinic as the "first national center of excellence in diagnostic information services" in the nation.

17:28 EDT Durect trading halted, news pending

17:26 EDT Frontier Communications named a Qualified Vendor with Choice Hotels Internationa - Frontier Communications (FTR) announced it has been named a Qualified Vendor with Choice Hotels International (CHH) - one of the world's largest hotel companies. Choice Hotels franchises approximately 6,500 hotels, representing more than 500,000 rooms worldwide across 11 brands, including the Ascend Hotel Collection, Cambria, Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites, Sleep Inn, Quality, Clarion, MainStay Suites, Suburban Extended Stay Hotel, Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inn. This agreement enables Choice branded properties access to Frontier's turnkey hospitality communication solutions. Available services include phone systems, network connectivity service and nationwide support.

17:07 EDT MVC Capital: Glass Lewis, Egan-Jones against proposal to cease new investments - MVC Capital announced that leading independent proxy advisory firms Glass Lewis and Egan-Jones Rating Company have recommended that MVC shareholders vote "AGAINST" the shareholder proposal to cease new investments at the company's upcoming 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders on October 31, 2017. "We are pleased that both Glass Lewis and Egan Jones recognize the active steps the Company is taking to execute on our long-term investment strategy and increase shareholder distributions," said Michael Tokarz, Chairman and Portfolio Manager of MVC. "MVC has a strong and consistent track record of returning value to our shareholders, totaling $221.4 million since 2003 including open market repurchases totaling $22 million. As we continue to redeploy capital from equity to yield investments, through our recently announced unanimously approved Board plan, and increase our shareholder distributions, we are confident that we will be able to further reduce our discount to NAV, which has already been narrowed this past year to 22% from 30%. We firmly believe we are well positioned to build on the positive momentum we have created this year, and look forward to continuing to drive value for all of our shareholders."

17:03 EDT New Gold says Rainy River Mine achieves commercial production - New Gold reported that its Rainy River Mine has achieved commercial production, approximately two weeks ahead of schedule. "Achieving commercial production is a major milestone for New Gold and the Rainy River team," stated Hannes Portmann, President and Chief Executive Officer. "With the hard work, dedication and commitment of our workforce, and the strong support of our local communities and Indigenous partners, we are now focused on continuing to successfully ramp up the operation through the balance of the year."

17:00 EDT Green Plains Partners raises quarterly distribution 1c to 46c per unit - Green Plains Partners announced that the board of directors of its general partner declared a quarterly cash distribution of 46c per unit on all of its outstanding common and subordinated units, or $1.84 per unit on an annualized basis, for the third quarter of 2017. The 1c increase over the previous quarterly distribution of 45c per unit is the eighth consecutive increase since the partnership's inception. The distribution is payable on Nov. 10, 2017, to unitholders of record at the close of business on Nov. 3, 2017.

16:58 EDT Intuitive Surgical raises FY17 procedure growth view 15%-16% from 14%-15% - Sees FY17 pro forma gross profit margin view at high end of 71%-71.5% of net revenue. Sees FY17 other income view at top end of $35M-$40M range. Guidance taken from Q3 earnings conference call.

16:47 EDT Equity Bancshares mergers with Eastman National and Patriot Bank approved - Equity announced mergers with Eastman National Bank of Newkirk, Oklahoma and Patriot Bank of Tulsa, Oklahoma on July 17, 2017, and on October 2, 2017 announced receipt of the necessary regulatory approvals to complete each merger. The respective shareholders of Eastman National Bancshares, parent company of Eastman National Bank, and Cache Holdings, , parent company of Patriot Bank also have approved the mergers. Equity expects each transaction to close on November 10, 2017. The mergers with Eastman and Cache add Oklahoma to Equity's Midwestern footprint, each with markets in close proximity to Equity's corporate office in Wichita. Eastman's corporate office in Ponca City is 55 miles from Wichita and Cache's headquarters in Tulsa is 170 miles from Wichita. Following completion of the mergers, Equity will operate 42 Equity Bank offices across a four-state footprint of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.

16:38 EDT First Hawaiian discloses results of Dodd-Frank Act stress test - [Full report]:[http://ir.fhb.com/static-files/d5901dd6-d3c5-4b01-a63d-f562fc8b3539]

16:29 EDT Sensient announces share repurchase authorization of 3M shares - Sensient's board has approved a resolution to increase the authorization under its share repurchase program by 3M shares. This new authorization supplements the existing authorization, which has approximately 600,000 shares remaining available for repurchase

16:27 EDT Sensient increases quarterly dividend 10% per share - The board of Sensient has declared a regular quarterly cash dividend on its common stock of 33c per share, an increase of 10% per share. The dividend will be paid on December 1 to shareholders of record on November 6.

16:21 EDT Waters chairman Bethiaume to retire, O'Connell named next chairman - Waters Corporation announced that Douglas A. Berthiaume will retire as chairman of the board of directors of the company, effective December 31, 2017. The board of directors has elected Christopher J. O'Connell, president and CEO, as its new chairman effective January 1, 2018. Thomas P. Salice will continue to serve as the Company's Independent Lead Director.

16:20 EDT PayPal reports Q3 Venmo TPV up 93% - PayPal reports Person-to-Person volume grew 47% to $24B, and represented approximately 21% of TPV. Venmo, the company's social payments platform, processed approximately $30B of TPV over the past twelve months, growing 106% over the same period last year. In the third quarter, Venmo processed approximately $9B of TPV, growing 93% over the same period last year.

16:19 EDT PayPal CEO calls Q3 one of 'strongest quarters since becoming independent' - "PayPal delivered one of its strongest quarters since becoming an independent company. Putting our customers first in everything we do, enhancing our suite of products and services, and partnering with some of the world's most popular brands are delivering tangible results. In addition to our solid financial performance, we also reported record customer growth with the addition of 8.2 million net new actives. As the world rapidly accelerates to digital payments, we have a tremendous opportunity in front of us," said Dan Schulman, President and CEO of PayPal.

16:17 EDT MetLife holders approve changes to dividend payment tests - MetLife announced that the company's shareholders today approved changes to dividend payment tests in the company's charter. These changes avoid potential restrictions on preferred stock and common stock dividends and repurchases of common stock, which could have occurred as a result of the Aug. 4, 2017 spin-off of Brighthouse Financial, Inc. The MetLife board of directors recommended a vote in favor of the proposal.

16:16 EDT Intuitive Surgical reports Q3 da Vinci procedures grew approximately 15% - Worldwide da Vinci procedures grew approximately 15% compared with the third quarter of 2016, driven primarily by growth in U.S. general surgery procedures and worldwide urologic procedures. The company shipped 169 da Vinci Surgical Systems compared with 134 in the third quarter of 2016.

16:16 EDT SiriusXM signs multi-year exclusive broadcasting agreement wth Formula1 - SiriusXM and Formula 1 have entered into a multi-year agreement that makes SiriusXM the exclusive North American radio broadcaster of all Formula 1 races, starting with the upcoming U.S. Grand Prix. The four remaining 2017 Formula 1 races will all air on SiriusXM. Starting with the 2018 Formula 1 season and beyond SiriusXM will air every Grand Prix race on the calendar.

16:12 EDT PayPal reports Q3 total payment volume up 30% - PayPal reports 8.2 million active customer accounts added in Q3, with net new actives up 88%; 218 million active customer accounts, with more than 17 million merchant accounts; 1.9 billion payment transactions, up 26%; 32.8 payment transactions per active account on a trailing twelve months basis, up 9%; and $114 billion in total payment volume, up 30%, or 29% on an FX-neutral basis.

16:10 EDT Immune Design granted Orphan Drug Designation for G100s by the EMA - Immune Design announced that the European Medicines Agency has granted Orphan Drug Designation for G100, Immune Design's investigational intratumoral therapy, for the treatment of follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. G100 has also been granted orphan drug designation by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. G100 is a product candidate from Immune Design's GLAAS discovery platform. It contains a potent synthetic small molecule toll-like receptor-4 agonist, Glucopyranosyl Lipid A, and is the lead product candidate in Immune Design's Antigen Agnostic approach. G100 activates innate and adaptive immunity in the tumor microenvironment to generate an immune response against the tumor's preexisting diverse set of antigens. A growing set of clinical and preclinical data have demonstrated the ability of G100 to activate tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes, macrophages and dendritic cells, and promote antigen-presentation and the recruitment of T cells to the tumor.

16:08 EDT athenahealth to reduce workforce by 9% - athenahealth announced an increase to its previously identified cost savings target. On October 13, the board approved a comprehensive strategic plan to generate $100M-$115M of gross pre-tax expense savings. The company expects to realize substantially all of these savings by the end of 2018. They expect to achieve these savings through a new organizational design, marketing program rationalization, real estate optimization, including the closure of offices in San Francisco and Princeton, and other reduced overhead. As a result of the redesign, athenahealth expects to reduce its workforce by approximately 9%. It expects to incur total pre-tax charges of approximately $15M-$25M, the majority of which will be recognized in Q4, primarily related to these workforce reductions. While athenahealth plans to reinvest a portion of the $100M-$115M of savings to drive innovation and fund its highest priority initiatives, it expects the majority of the savings to flow to the bottom line and drive margin improvement, consistent with its commitment to sustainable profitable growth and value creation. athenahealth remains committed to significantly increasing operating margins in 2018.

16:05 EDT Maxim Integrated reports Q1 adjusted gross margin 66.9%

16:04 EDT Covenant Transportation sees strong freight demand and tight trucking capacity - Covenant CEO David Parker says: "Overall, freight demand was strong and trucking capacity was tight during the third quarter. The market improved each month and has continued at a strong level in October. Equipment utilization measured by miles per tractor improved in July and August. However, significant disruption of freight activity from the two hurricanes depressed September utilization. Consistent with a favorable balance of supply and demand, we experienced significant growth in our average rate per total mile for the quarter sequentially and on a year-over-year basis. On a year-over-year basis from a cost perspective, our margins were pressured by increasing employee pay and equipment maintenance, somewhat offset by improved net fuel expense and capital costs."

16:01 EDT Ameriserve Financial Bank, USW announces new labor contract - AmeriServ Financial Bank and United Steelworkers Local 2635-06 have agreed to a new four-year contract. Unionized employees voted to accept the contract at a meeting held on Sunday, October 15, 2017 in Johnstown. The new contract covers the workforce through October 15, 2021. Key financial terms of the new contract include annual wage increases of 3% and the movement of union employees to a new exclusive provider organization health care plan that will promote better control of future health care costs.

15:49 EDT Spirit Realty weakness attributed to report of Sun Capital seeking Shopko buyer - The weakness in shares of Spirit Realty (SRC), which are down about 4% in afternoon trading, is being attributed to a report by Debtwire that claims Shopko has been put up for sale by Sun Capital, according to contacts. In Spirit Realty's last quarterly report on form 10-Q, Sprit stated: "Shopko operates in the general merchandise industry and is the Company's largest tenant as a percentage of rental revenue. Total rental revenues from properties leased to Shopko for the three months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016, contributed 7.6% and 9.5% of the rental revenue."

15:25 EDT Analysis of buyer shopping patterns shows Amazon Prime has 90M members - Consumer Intelligence Research Partners has released its analysis of buyer shopping patterns for Amazon for the third quarter of 2017, which indicates that Amazon Prime now has 90M U.S. members. Shoppers continue to spend on average about $1,300 per year, compared to about $700 per year for non-member customers, the report noted, adding that CIRP estimates that in the U.S., 63% of Amazon customers are Prime members.Reference Link

15:02 EDT Apex Group, Genstar announce acquisition of Deutsche Bank AFS business - Apex Group and Genstar Capital jointly announced the acquisition of the Deutsche Bank Alternative Fund Services, or AFS, business. The transaction will add $170B in AUA, "propelling Apex to become the eighth largest administrator in the world and the largest independent administrator," the company stated. Terms of the agreement are not being disclosed. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter 2018.

14:25 EDT athenahealth falls to session lows, down 4% after report of layoffs

13:34 EDT Immune Design lymphoma treatment granted EU orphan designation - The European Commission posted on its website that Immune Design's treatment of follicular lymphoma, Glucopyranosyl lipid A, has been granted orphan designation. Reference Link

13:32 EDT United drops as CEO acknowledges need to dig out of competitive 'hole' - Shares of United Continental (UAL) fell sharply in afternoon trading after fourth quarter guidance disappointed investors. On an earnings call discussing the current quarter and forecast, CEO Oscar Munoz said "We have dug ourselves in a hole from a competitive perspective." EARNINGS AND GUIDANCE: After the market close on Wednesday, United reported third quarter adjusted earnings per share of $2.22 on a revenue of $9.9B, beating analysts' estimates of $2.12 and $9.87B, respectively. The company reported Q3 passenger revenue per available seat mile down 3.7% and consolidated unit cost per available seat mile increased 3% compared to 3Q16 due largely to higher fuel and labor expense. Consolidated CASM, excluding special charges, increased 2.6% year-over-year, driven mainly by higher labor expense. United forecast Q4 PRASM down 1%-3% and consolidated capacity growth at about 3.5% year-over-year and CASM, excluding fuel and expenses up 2.5%-3.5%. Adjusted pre-tax margin for Q4 is expected to be up 3%-5%. The carrier also predicted fiscal year 2017 consolidated capacity growth of roughly 3.5% and a CASM excluding fuel and expense up 3.3%-3.5%. Commenting on the weak guidance, CEO Oscar Munoz told analysts and investors on a conference call that "We have dug ourselves in a hole from a competitive perspective." WHAT'S NOTABLE: United peer Delta Airlines (DAL) reported better than expected Q3 earnings on October 11, forecasting Q4 passenger unit revenue up 2%-4%, normalized CASM-Ex, including profit sharing, up 4%-5% and system capacity up about 2%. The company said it does expect continued pressure on margins as unit revenue momentum reaches the rise in fuel prices. ANALYST REACTION: In a post-earnings analyst note, Stephens' Jack Atkins said he views the company's Q4 guidance as "mixed." He said the company's expected PRASM decline is better-than-expected, but noted that the CASM increase continues to weigh on pre-tax margins regardless of increased capacity growth, which will widen the gap between United and its peers. He reiterated an Equal Weight rating on the stock. Barclays analyst Brandon Oglenski said the company's margin guidance was "less than inspiring" and that United's headwinds are "largely company-specific" and a result of strategy. The analyst said United's performance has trailed its peers following the company's decision to increase capacity at a pace greater than demand, which will continue into Q4. He has an Overweight rating and $80 price target on the name. Cowen analyst Helane Becker wrote on Thursday that United's unit revenue forecast shows that prices are improving, but the company's forecast is not as optimistic as peer Delta and may not be as optimistic as American (AAL) when it reports next week. She said that United's PRASM outlook is "mostly in line" with her estimates, adding that Q4 estimates may decrease due to higher costs. She said she views the company's cost guidance as "disappointing" but said it is due to costs and not the weakened fare environment. She has a Market Perform rating and a $70 price target on the stock. OTHERS TO WATCH: Publicly traded companies in the space trading lower this afternoon include Delta, American Airlines, JetBlue (JBLU) and Southwest (LUV). PRICE ACTION: United fell about 10% to $61.20 in afternoon trading. Year-to-date, shares are down about 16%.

13:02 EDT Manchester United signs MOU for football development in Saudi Arabia - Manchester United and the General Sports Authority of Saudi Arabia have agreed a Memorandum of Understanding, which will see the 20-time English League champions help the GSA develop its football industry, as part of its 2030 Vision. The new strategic partnership will involve United lending its business and sporting expertise to clubs, sporting authorities and individuals in Saudi Arabia. The partnership forms part of Saudi Vision 2030; the plan to diversify the Saudi economy and to develop its public sectors, announced last year by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.

13:01 EDT Lockheed Martin awarded contract by DOTC for LTAMDS prototypes - The Department of Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium awarded Lockheed Martin a contract for the technology maturation of Lower Tier Air & Missile Defense Sensor, or LTAMDS, prototypes. Lockheed Martin is using its AESA Radar for Engagement and Surveillance prototype investment program to mature technology and capabilities necessary for the future LTAMDS mission. Combined DOTC funding and Lockheed Martin investment will continue to mature technology for the prototype, including AESA and dual-band technology. The prototype will include mature Gallium Nitride transmitter technology and advanced signal processing techniques including Lockheed Martin's proven 360-degree rotational capability.

12:59 EDT NJ seeks to revoke doctor's license over Insys drug prescriptions - New Jersey Attorney General Christopher Porrino announced that the state is seeking to revoke the license of a Warren County doctor Kenneth Sun, who allegedly accepted more than $136,000 from Insys Therapeutics (INSY) "while indiscriminately prescribing the powerful fentanyl painkiller 'Subsys' to patients who did not meet the federal criteria for receiving the highly addictive cancer pain medication." In a complaint filed with the state Board of Medical Examiners yesterday, the state alleges that a "reasonable person would recognize that Sun received those payments for his prescribing of Subsys, in violation of Board regulations." Porrino added, "While paying Sun, Insys closely monitored Sun's prescribing habits, frequently reminding him of the need to keep prescribing Subsys; notifying Sun when the number of his prescriptions dipped too low; and encouraging him to "keep them rolling" when a patient received insurance approval to start another patient on the drug." The Attorney General says, ""We contend that Dr. Sun and Insys were working together to make money in the cruelest and sickest way possible, by pushing a dangerous and addictive opioid painkiller on patients who didn't need it and weren't approved to receive it." Reference Link

12:33 EDT Concert Pharmaceuticals up after favorable decision in patent fight with Incyte - Shares of Concert Pharmaceuticals (CNCE) are up about 4% after the USPTO denied an inter partes review request made by Incyte (INCY).

12:29 EDT Lazard Asset Management reports 19.95% passive stake in Taiwan Fund

12:12 EDT United Continental falls after Q4 guidance implies earnings miss - United Continental's (UAL) fourth quarter outlook implies earnings per share of 60c-$1.00, below the consensus estimate of $1.13, UBS analyst Darryl Genovesi wrote last night in a research note to investors. Jamie Baker of JPMorgan, however, said after last night's earnings report that United's outlook "appears to have squarely nailed the buyside guidance PRASM bogey." The analyst thought the company's guidance for Q4 looked "sufficient." Trading action today would argue otherwise. Shares of United Continental are down over 10% in to $60.90 in midday trading. In addition, American Airlines (AAL) is down 4% to $50.18 while both Delta Air Lines (DAL) and Alaska Air (ALK) are down 2%.

11:57 EDT United Continental declines over 10%, or $7.16, to $60.80

11:47 EDT National Beverage attributes volatility to 'falsehoods' and 'rumors' - National Beverage Chairman and CEO Nick Caporella commented on recent market volatility: "FIZZ revenues have grown 60% over the last ten years - ALL ORGANIC GROWTH - NO ACQUISITIONS! Organic growth has now ACCELERATED! What's creating the volatility relative to the stock market with FIZZ? Today less than 15% of the daily volume traded on major exchanges is financially driven by company fundamentals. Over 50% of all daily exchange volume is driven by traders gambling on fleeting price moves and stocks paired with derivatives. Are perpetrators stimulating self-serving movement by stating falsehoods, creating rumors and deliberately manipulating FIZZ value? We think so!"

11:30 EDT Blackstone expects pace of AUM growth to accelerate in Q4, into 2018 - Expects Q4 AUM to "significantly surpass" today's reported number. Says 2017 is progressing to be one of the best years in firm's history. Says capital deployment "active" despite "tricky" market environment. Expects pace of AUM growth to accelerate in Q4 and into 2018. Comments taken from the Q3 earnings conference call. Blackstone is up 2.2% to $34.22 in late morning trading.

11:04 EDT Carter's recalls wind-up musical toys due to choking hazard - Carter's is recalling about 587,000 Carter's, Child of Mine, Guess How Much I Love You and Just One You brands of wind-up musical plush toys. The toys have a metal wind-up mechanism that can be turned to play music. They were sold in variety of animal characters and colors. The model number and batch code are printed on the smallest white sewn-in label behind the care label. Additionally, about 1,000 were sold in Canada, the CPSC noted. The metal post and/or handle of the wind-up mechanism can detach, posing a choking hazard to young children. The firm has received six reports of parts from the wind-up handle detaching from the toy. No injuries have been reported.

10:45 EDT United Continental says investor day initiatives 'generally performing well' - Says all investor day initiatives performing well, with the exception of segmentation due to headwinds from basic economy. Says in early stages of revenue management improvements. Says costs have been challenged by high labor rates and higher fuel prices. Says experienced headwinds from ULCC competitive pricing, Q3, storms, softer demand in China/Hong Kong and Guam geopolitical tension.

10:40 EDT United Continental says Q3 involuntary denied boardings down 92% y/y - Says employees "delivered record setting operational performance" despite natural disasters. Says continuing to improve mobile tools. Says 28 days of zero involuntary denied boardings in the quarter. Says investor day initiatives "on track". Says Pacific was a lot weaker than expected in Q3, says scaling back operations in Guam. Expects holiday return to be pushed into January. Comments taken from Q3 earnings conference call.

10:33 EDT Monsanto's Climate Corp announces data connectivity agreement with Agco - The Climate Corporation, a subsidiary of Monsanto Company (MON), announced a data connectivity agreement with AGCO (AGCO), providing farmers around the globe more options to connect their equipment to The Climate Corporation's Climate FieldView digital agriculture platform. The agreement will provide farmers three ways to connect to the Climate FieldView platform: Enables real-time data connectivity between the AGCO Connectivity Module; Expands compatibility across all lines of AGCO equipment for The Climate Corporation's Climate FieldView Drive device; Continues to enable Climate FieldView data connectivity with Precision Planting's 20/20 monitors.

10:29 EDT Goldman Sachs cuts Nike rating ahead of investor day on excess inventory - This morning, Goldman Sachs analyst Lindsay Drucker Mann downgraded Nike to Neutral as she expects shares to trade in a range as the company works through excess inventory in the U.S. Further, the analyst believes Nike's upcoming investor day is unlikely to be a positive catalyst, an opinion shared by her peer at Citi, who also sees it as likely to be a neutral event. MOVING TO THE SIDELINES: In a research note to investors this morning, Goldman Sachs' Mann downgraded Nike to Neutral from Buy, with an unchanged price target of $54. The analyst expects shares to trade in a range as Nike works through excess inventory in the U.S. While the underpinnings of the company's business remain compelling, driven by an opportunity to further consolidate market share in the growing athletic apparel and footwear market, near-term dynamics are challenging with an inventory overhang in the U.S. hampering Nike's ability to "reset" the market, she noted. Additionally, Mann believes that beyond the company's domestic overhang, there are incremental signs of weakness emerging overseas, where it generates around half of sales. The analyst also pointed out that she views next week's investor day as an opportunity for management to lower its multiyear growth targets, which look stretched in the face of industry headwinds. While this event may not be an explicit negative catalyst, it is unlikely to be a positive event, she contended. INVESTOR DAY LIKELY 'NEUTRAL': Earlier this week, Citi analyst Kate McShane had also told investors that she believes Nike's investor day on October 25 will likely be a neutral event for the shares. The analyst argued that the company's previous long-term target of $50B in revenue by fiscal year 2020 is at risk. While she expects long-term targets to be pushed out, this reduction seems likely anticipated. Additionally, McShane noted that Nike shares are down 15% off of year-highs amid ongoing concerns around a slowdown in North America and improved momentum from competitor adidas (ADDYY). She reiterated a Buy rating and a $65 price target on Nike's shares. DISCOUNTS SIGNAL TROUBLE: Last week, Bloomberg reported that while Nike traditionally has not relied on discounts until now, the sneaker giant had announced a 48-hour sale of as much as 40% on more than 200 items on its website, which the company also advertised through Groupon (GRPN) site. The markdowns may signal trouble and come as teens shy away from Nike and opt for rivals adidas, the publication noted, citing a survey released by Piper Jaffray. PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, shares of Nike are fractionally higher at $52.33. Over the last three months the Dow member's stock has fallen by over 9%.

10:15 EDT Pershing Square releases additional questions for ADP - Pershing Square Capital Management released two new questions for ADP. "ADP has yet to answer any of the first four questions we have asked. Today, Pershing Square released the following questions: Why does ADP continue to claim a 203% Total Shareholder Return during Mr. Rodriguez's tenure when this number includes an inaccurate start date, the increase in the stock price due to Pershing Square's involvement, and the performance of CDK when it was no longer managed by Mr. Rodriguez? In recent shareholder communications, ADP is now claiming that it is implementing a plan to deliver 500bps of operational margin improvement. ADP's recently released guidance shows only 100bps to 200bps of actual operating margin expansion by 2020 which compares with our estimated potential margin opportunity of 1,200bps by 2022. Investors cannot reconcile this 500bps calculation. Please provide support for this calculation and explain why these supposed savings do not translate into better operating margins."

10:09 EDT Magellan Midstream raises quarterly distribution to 90.5c per unit - The board of directors of the general partner of Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P, has increased the partnership's quarterly cash distribution to 90.5c per unit for the period July 1 through Sept. 30, 2017, representing the 62nd distribution increase since its initial public offering in 2001. The third-quarter 2017 distribution is 8% higher than the third-quarter 2016 distribution of 83.75c per unit and represents a 2% increase over the second-quarter 2017 distribution of 89c. The new distribution, which equates to $3.62 per unit on an annualized basis, will be paid Nov. 14 to unitholders of record at the close of business on Nov. 2.

09:44 EDT EnerJex Resources trading halted, news pending

09:32 EDT American River expands stock repurchase program for 2017 - American River Bankshares announced that the board has approved an increase to the Stock Repurchase Program for 2017. In January 2017, the board approved a 5% target for the 2017 Program. During the first six months of 2017, the company successfully acquired 5% of its outstanding common stock at an average price of $14.99 per share. The increase authorizes the repurchase of up to an additional 5% of the outstanding shares of the company's common stock or approximately 319,624 shares, of the 6,392,480 shares outstanding as of September 30.

09:20 EDT Verizon says 2017 CapEx likely in the $17B range

09:19 EDT KeyCorp says 'committed' to generating positive operating leverage - Expects loan growth to be stronger in Q4. Sees FY average loan growth around 3% excluding the impact of First Niagara, lower than originally expected but says it is "reflective of the environment." Says Q4 "historically" one of the strongest quarters. Expects to conclude First Niagara cost savings by early 2018, says "confident" in achieving targeted revenue synergies. Sees core NIM relatively stable in Q4. Expects loan yields to be stable in Q4 and says deposit costs will continue to increase. Says "committed" to generating positive operating leverage. Comments taken from the Q3 earnings conference call. KeyCorp is down 3% in premarket trading.

09:17 EDT Carnival increases quarterly dividend 12% to 45c per share - Carnival increased its quarterly dividend 12% to 45c per share from the previous dividend amount of 40c per share. The board approved a record date for the quarterly dividend of November 24 with a payment date of December 15. Holders of Carnival common stock and Carnival plc ADSs will receive the dividend payable in U.S. dollars. The dividend for Carnival plc ordinary shares will be payable in U.S. dollars or sterling.

09:12 EDT Lockheed Martin to upgrade IRST21 sensor system for U.S. Navy fighter aircraft - Lockheed Martin received two contracts to upgrade its IRST21 sensor system for use on the U.S. Navy's F/A-18E/F fleet. Awarded by aircraft prime contractor Boeing, the Block II contracts provide up to $100M for developing advanced software, performing hardware upgrades and delivering prototypes.

09:06 EDT Napo Pharmaceuticals establishes scientific advisory boards for Mytesi - Jaguar Health announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Napo Pharmaceuticals has established a scientific advisory board for each potential follow-on indication currently planned for Mytesi, Napo's FDA-approved, first-in-class anti-secretory human prescription drug. Additionally, Jaguar announced that Dr. Lee Schwartzberg, MD, FACP, a medical oncologist and hematologist, has joined Napo's scientific advisory board for cancer therapy-related diarrhea. Mytesi is approved by the FDA for the symptomatic relief of noninfectious diarrhea in adults with HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy. Napo is pursuing a follow-on indication for Mytesi in CTD, an important supportive care indication for patients undergoing primary or adjuvant therapy for cancer treatment. Mytesi is also in development for rare disease indications for infants and children with congenital diarrheal disorders and short bowel syndrome; for irritable bowel syndrome; for supportive care for inflammatory bowel disease; and as a second-generation anti-secretory agent for use in cholera patients. Mytesi has received orphan-drug designation for SBS. Napo has identified more than 30 physicians, pharmacists and patient advocates around the world who are recognized specialists and key opinion leaders in the planned Mytesi follow-on indications listed above, and is conducting outreach efforts to discuss the possibility of membership in Napo's new scientific advisory boards with these individuals. Napo has also established a scientific advisory board for HIV. This board will focus primarily on physician education and community awareness regarding the importance and availability of solutions for neglected comorbidities, such as the first-in-class anti-secretory mechanism of action of Mytesi for its currently approved indication.

09:05 EDT Nucor says 'our liquidity position remains strong' - "Our liquidity position remains strong with $1.6 billion in cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments, as of September 30, 2017, and an untapped $1.5 billion revolving credit facility that does not expire until April 2021. During the third quarter of 2017, we repurchased approximately 1.6 million shares of the Company's common stock for an average share price of $56.76."

09:03 EDT Nutanix selected by Canadian Solar for Enterprise Cloud Platform - Nutanix (NTNX) announced that Canadian Solar (CSIQ) has chosen the Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Platform to run its mission-critical enterprise applications including MS Exchange, SQL, SharePoint, enterprise applications and the company intranet. Using the Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Platform, including Nutanix's Prism management solution with VMWare ESXi virtualization, Canadian Solar has seen increased application performance for end users, greater productivity from the IT team, major cost savings and reduced rackspace from 14U to 4U. Canadian Solar first decided to switch to Nutanix after struggling to manage its previous NetApp storage system with the IT team's limited resources and time. After reviewing three options for an upgraded infrastructure solution, Canadian Solar chose Nutanix to run the company's workloads at one of its primary data center and remote offices in the Americas and EMEA regions. The entire process of migrating VMs from its NetApp solution to Nutanix took just a few days. As part of its deployment, the team is also using Nutanix's management solution, Prism, to manage storage, compute and virtualization, proactively monitor storage capacity and enable one-click software upgrades.

09:00 EDT Fluor wins $240M USACE contract to support Puerto Rico power grid repair - Fluor Corporation announced that the company was awarded a contract by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Huntsville Engineering Center to help restore electric power to Puerto Rico. The six-month single award task order is valued at approximately $240M. The contract includes equipment evaluation and repair, as well as work towards the re-energization and recommissioning of substations and switching stations.

08:53 EDT Verizon says targeting $10B of cost cuts over four years - Says "off to good start" with the plan, will provide more details as it unfolds.

08:50 EDT Shell Midstream raises quarterly distribution by 4.6% to 31.8c per unit - Shell Midstream announces that the board of its general partner declared a cash distribution of 31.8c per limited partner unit for Q3. This represents an increase of 4.6% over the previous quarterly distribution of 30.41c per unit and a 20.6% increase over the distribution paid with respect to Q3 of 2016. The distribution will be paid November 14, to unitholders of record as of October 31.

08:47 EDT Scientific Games' casino management system selected by Snoqualmie Casino - Scientific Games will be installing its suite of system products and devices at Snoqualmie Casino located in Snoqualmie, Washington. Scientific Games' slot, table and casino management systems will manage Snoqualmie Casino's 51,000-square-foot gaming floor, replacing the current competitive system.

08:39 EDT Genuine Parts announces two industrial and automotive acquisitions - Genuine Parts announced acquisitions for both its Industrial Group, Motion Industries, and its U.S. Automotive Parts Group. Motion Industries has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Apache Hose & Belting Company, with an effective close date of November 1. Apache, founded in 1963 and based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, specializes in value-added fabrication of belts, hoses and cut and molded products. The company expects Apache to generate estimated annual revenues of $100M. In addition, the company has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Monroe Motor Products, with an effective close date of November 1. The addition of Monroe is expected to generate approximate annual revenues of $25M.

08:35 EDT Celestica appoints Mandeep Chawla as CFO - Celestica announced the appointment of Mandeep Chawla as the company's CFO, effective immediately. Chawla has been Celestica's interim CFO since June and was appointed following a search process that included both external and internal candidates.

08:34 EDT Arena Pharmaceuticals reports Phase 2 results of ralinepag in hypertension - Arena Pharmaceuticals announced results of the Phase 2 clinical study of ralinepag, the company's next-generation, oral, selective prostacyclin receptor agonist, intended for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension, to be presented at the American College of Chest Physicians 2017 Annual Meeting October 28 - November 1 in Toronto. The primary efficacy analysis in the Phase 2 study demonstrated a statistically significant absolute change from baseline in pulmonary vascular resistance with ralinepag compared to placebo. Ralinepag also demonstrated a numerical improvement in 6-minute walk distance. Adverse events observed in the study were consistent with other prostacyclin receptor agonists used for the management of PAH. The primary efficacy analysis was absolute change from baseline in pulmonary vascular resistance at week 22. Ralinepag is an investigational compound that is not approved for any use in any country. Arena discovered and developed this drug candidate internally.

08:31 EDT UQM Technologies to collaborate with Lightning Systems for eQVM program by Ford - UQM Technologies (UQM) announced that it will collaborate with Lightning Systems to support the Ford Transit concept vehicles for Lightning Systems' beta programs for the Advanced Fuel Qualified Vehicle Modified program by Ford (F). The Ford eQVM program provides recognition to aftermarket equipment installers that meet manufacturing guidelines and best practices for alternative fuels and advanced technologies. This early production program supports the initial vehicles that are expected to be delivered to customers during the first quarter of 2018.

08:19 EDT Silicom provides update on major cloud design win - Silicom provided an update on its Design Win reported in March. The top-10 Cloud player which granted Silicom the DW is currently in the process of qualifying an additional Tier-1 server manufacturer as a second subcontractor for building its Cloud infrastructure, and, as part of the process, this server manufacturer is now integrating the Silicom 100-Gigabit-Switch-Fabric-On-A-NIC product into its solution. For the purpose of the qualification effort, and in preparation for expected future demand, this giant manufacturer has already placed purchase orders totaling approximately $10M for the Silicom product. According to the customer, once all challenges are resolved and the new Cloud infrastructure is made widely available to users, deployment is expected to ramp up to a higher revenues than the $30M per year originally forecast. The company now believes that at a full deployment run rate, expected to be reached in 2019, revenues from this Design Win will exceed $75M per year.

08:13 EDT Calithera reports first patient treated in Phase 1 cohort of INCB01158, Keytruda - Calithera Biosciences (CALA) announced that the first patient has been treated in the Phase 1 cohort of INCB01158, also known as CB-1158, in combination with Keytruda, an anti-PD1 immune checkpoint inhibitor. INCB01158 is a potent, selective, oral inhibitor of arginase being developed pursuant to a global collaboration and license agreement with Incyte Corporation (INCY). The Phase 1 trial is designed to evaluate the safety and recommended Phase 2 dose of INCB01158 as a monotherapy, and in combination with immune checkpoint therapy. The trial was initiated in September 2016 and is designed to enroll monotherapy expansion cohorts of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, colorectal cancer and other solid tumors. The recommended Phase 2 monotherapy dose has been selected, and several cohorts of additional tumor types have been added to the trial design. Expansion cohorts of INCB01158 dosed in combination with Keytruda are expected to enroll patients diagnosed with non-small cell lung cancer, melanoma, urothelial cell carcinoma, colorectal cancer, gastroesophageal cancer, squamous cell head and neck cancer and mesothelioma.

08:13 EDT Atara Biotherapeutics initiates 60 patient Phase 1 clinical study of ATA188 - Atara Biotherapeutics announced that the company initiated a multinational, multicenter Phase 1 clinical study to evaluate allogeneic ATA188 in patients with progressive or relapsing-remitting MS. Allogeneic ATA188, the company's next generation T-cell immunotherapy licensed from QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, selectively targets specific Epstein-Barr virus antigens believed to play an important role in the pathogenesis of MS. The primary objective of Atara's Phase 1 clinical study is to assess the safety of allogeneic ATA188 in subjects observed for at least 1 year after the first dose. Key secondary endpoints in the study include measures of clinical improvement such as expanded disability status scale and annualized relapse rate as well as MRI imaging. The open-label, single-arm study is expected to enroll a total of 60 patients: 30 patients with progressive forms of MS, either primary progressive MS or secondary progressive MS, and 30 patients with relapsing-remitting MS across Australia, the US, and Europe.

08:11 EDT PolarityTE says SkinTE approved for use by multiple medical institutions - PolarityTE announced that multiple value analysis committees have approved SkinTE for use at their respective medical institutions as the company continues its commercialization efforts and manufacturing scale-up. Clinical application is expected in the fourth quarter of 2017, and data is planned to be released through multiple channels in the first half of 2018.

08:06 EDT Hawaiian Electric selects Willdan Group's LoadSEER for modernization app - Willdan Group announced that Hawaiian Electric Company has selected Integral Analytics' LoadSEER software application to provide foundational forecasting, planning and distributed energy resource intelligence in support of the utility's Grid Modernization Strategy. Integral Analytics was acquired by Willdan in July. LoadSEER will be used across the organization for short- and long-term circuit-level planning; renewables, storage, efficiency, investment impacts, electric vehicles all impact forecasts for each island. The multi-year license agreement envisions a staged deployment, with Hawaiian Electric deployed on Oahu in early 2018, followed by Hawaii Electric Light and Maui Electric companies. As part of this plan, LoadSEER will integrate directly to multiple utility data sources and existing engineering and forecasting tools, delivering dynamically-updated, granular load profiles, value and impact analysis for solar, electric vehicle, demand response and other DER for up to 30 years. LoadSEER's configurable user experience allows for live scenario analysis and risk-modeling leveraging cloud computing to evaluate thousands of grid impacts and create the most capital-efficient plan.

08:03 EDT Zayo Group selected by multinational bank to optimize core infrastructure - A U.S.-based multinational bank has selected Zayo Group Holdings for a colocation, dark fiber and wavelength solution. The project is part of the bank's initiative to optimize its core infrastructure and leverages Zayo's existing infrastructure in several regions.

08:01 EDT Aimmune to present data on peanut allergy at ACAAI, PAAM medical meetings

08:01 EDT Endologix names John Onopchenko as COO, effective October 30 - Endologix has appointed John Onopchenko as the company's COO, effective October 30. Onopchenko will be responsible for managing Endologix's manufacturing, supply chain, and quality organizations. Most recently, Onopchenko was Executive Vice President for Acutus Medical, where he was responsible for program management/product development, quality, marketing, and sales.

07:49 EDT KeyCorp sees FY17 net interest income $3.8B-$3.9B, no additional rate increases - Sees Q4 average loan balances $87B-$87.5B. For deposits, sees FY17 average balances $102.5B-$103B. Sees FY17 net interest income in the range of $3.8B-$3.9B assuming no additional rate increases in 2017. Sees FY17 noninterest income $2.35B-$2.45B. Sees FY noninterest expense $3.7B-$3.8B, including the impact of merchant services, HelloWallet, Cain Brothers acquisitions. Expects net chargeoffs to average loans below target range of 40-60bps. Expects provisions to slightly exceed net chargeoffs to provide for loan growth. Sees GAAP tax rate 26%-28%. Long-term, KeyCorp sees positive operating leverage, cash efficiency ratio of less than 60%, ROTCE of 13%-15%. Comments from slides that will be presented on the Q3 earnings conference call.

07:40 EDT Pluristem granted orphan drug designation for PLX-R18 cell therapy from FDA - Pluristem Therapeutics announced that the FDA has granted the company an orphan drug designation for its PLX-R18 cell therapy for the prevention and treatment of acute radiation syndrome, or ARS. ARS results from exposure to high levels of radiation, such as in the case of a nuclear accident or attack, and can lead to severe health consequences including death. The Orphan Drug Act provides for granting special status to a drug or biological product, to treat a rare disease or condition. The benefits of achieving Orphan Drug Designation include close guidance by the FDA, which may accelerate the path to potential marketing approval, orphan drug grants, tax credits, and 7-year market exclusivity upon marketing approval.

07:36 EDT Alliance Data says help for hurricane impacted cardholders may pressure yields - CEO Ed Heffernan said, "Our third quarter results also reflect the early impact of hurricanes Harvey and Irma, which prompted us to provide a two-month leniency period for cardholders in FEMA-designated 'individual assistance' disaster areas. During this period, affected cardholders are not required to make payments, nor will interest or late fees be assessed. As a result, our gross yields on card receivables decreased over 100 basis points compared to the third quarter of 2016. As we continue to sort through the impacts of the hurricanes, we will do all that we can to lessen the burden on impacted cardholders. These actions may pressure gross yields, and the continued disruption from the hurricanes will likely reduce card spending in the fourth quarter. Despite this influence, and because of better than expected loss rates, we remain comfortable with maintaining our core EPS guidance of $18.10 for 2017 and $21.50 for 2018, representing a 19% growth rate."

07:35 EDT Accuray: European court rejects appeal filed by Varian Medical - Accuray (ARAY) announced that the Court of Appeal of Nantes has rejected the appeal filed by Varian Medical Systems (VAR) opposing the purchase of the Accuray TomoTherapy System by University Hospital of Tours. This most recent legal ruling marks the final appeal by Varian in their efforts to overturn CHU's tender award and block their use of the TomoTherapy technology. CHU is the first public hospital in the Centre-Val de Loire region and the first hospital in France to install both the TomoTherapy and CyberKnife Systems. The Court of Appeal has confirmed the CHU Tours decision on all points, concluding that: The tender award in favor of TomoTherapy Europe should not be cancelled; The medical needs expressed by CHU Tours were well-defined in the administrative documents of the tender; The TomoTherapy System is the only radiation therapy device which provides continuous helical delivery of radiation from 360 degrees around the patient, a unique method for delivering image-guided IMRT which enables clinicians to modulate the dose in an optimal way and to irradiate large fields without repositioning the patient.

07:33 EDT Celgene to present efficacy and safety data for ozanimod at MSParis2017 - Celgene Corporation announced that new data on the efficacy and safety of ozanimod, a novel, oral, selective, sphingosine 1-phosphate 1 and 5 receptor modulator, in relapsing multiple sclerosis were accepted for the MSParis2017 - 7th Joint ECTRIMS - ACTRIMS Meeting, which is being held in Paris, October 25. Full results from the phase III SUNBEAM and RADIANCE Part B studies evaluating two doses of oral ozanimod compared with Avonex in people with RMS will be presented as an oral and a late-breaking oral presentation, respectively. SUNBEAM is a pivotal, phase III, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, active-controlled trial evaluating the efficacy, safety and tolerability of two doses of oral ozanimod against weekly intramuscular interferon beta-1a over a 12-month treatment period. The study included 1,346 people living with RMS across 152 sites in 20 countries. The primary endpoint of the trial was ARR during the treatment period. The secondary MRI endpoints were number of new or enlarging hyperintense T2-weighted brain MRI lesions over 12 months, number of gadolinium-enhanced brain MRI lesions at month 12 and percent change from baseline in brain volume at month 12. An analysis of the time to onset of disability progression was pre-specified using pooled data from both the SUNBEAM and RADIANCE Part B phase III trials. RADIANCE Part B is a pivotal, phase III, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, active-controlled trial evaluating the efficacy, safety and tolerability of two doses of oral ozanimod against weekly intramuscular interferon beta-1a over a 24-month treatment period. The study included 1,320 people living with RMS across 147 sites in 21 countries. The primary endpoint of the trial was ARR over 24 months. The secondary MRI endpoints were number of new or enlarging hyperintense T2-weighted brain MRI lesions over 24 months, number of gadolinium-enhanced brain MRI lesions at month 24 and percent change from baseline in brain volume at month 24. An analysis of the time to onset of disability progression was pre-specified using pooled data from both the SUNBEAM and RADIANCE Part B phase III trials.

07:16 EDT Rogers Communications declares quarterly dividend of C$0.48 - The quarterly dividend will be paid on January 2, 2018 to shareholders of record on December 11, 2017.

07:15 EDT Arcturus, Johnson & Johnson announce strategic collaboration for RNA medicines - Arcturus Therapeutics announced that it has entered into a research collaboration and worldwide license agreement with Janssen Pharmaceuticals, one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson (JNJ). The two companies will work together to develop and commercialize nucleic acid-based drug products for the treatment of Hepatitis B, using Arcturus' UNA Oligomer chemistry and LUNAR lipid-mediated delivery platform. The agreement also includes an option to expand into other infectious and respiratory diseases. The deal was facilitated by the Johnson & Johnson Innovation center, in California.Under the agreement, Arcturus will receive an upfront cash payment, R&D support, and pre-clinical, development, and sales milestone payments, as well as royalty payments on any future licensed product sales. Janssen will assume responsibility for development costs and all commercialization costs associated with the program. On September 27, Arcturus and Alcobra (ADHD) entered into an agreement and plan of merger and reorganization pursuant to which a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alcobra will merge with and into Arcturus, with Arcturus becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alcobra and the surviving corporation of the merger, and the holders of Arcturus outstanding capital stock immediately prior to the merger will receive ordinary shares representing approximately 60% of the outstanding shares of Alcobra.

07:09 EDT uniQure plans to initiate study with enhanced AMT-061 in 2018 - uniQure N.V. announced that following multi-disciplinary meetings with the U.S. FDA and the European Medicines Agency, the company plans to expeditiously advance AMT-061, which combines an AAV5 vector with the FIX-Padua mutant, into a pivotal study in 2018 for patients with severe and moderately severe hemophilia B. AMT-061 and AMT-060, the latter of which has been tested in 10 patients in an ongoing Phase I/II clinical trial, are identical in structure apart from two nucleotide substitutions in the coding sequence for FIX. The FDA has agreed that AMT-061 will be included under the existing Breakthrough Therapy designation and Investigational New Drug for AMT-060. The EMA also has agreed that AMT-061 will be included under the current PRIME designation. The Company achieved general agreement with the FDA and EMA on the proposed pivotal trial plan for AMT-061. The study is expected to be an open-label, single-dose, multi-center, multi-national trial investigating the efficacy and safety of AMT-061 administered to adult patients with severe or moderately severe hemophilia B. The primary objective of the trial is to evaluate AMT-061 for prevention of bleedings. Secondary objectives include additional efficacy and safety aspects. Patients will serve as their own control, with a baseline established during a six-month observational lead-in phase prior to treatment with AMT-061. Concurrent with the start of the six-month lead-in phase of the pivotal study, a short dose-confirmation study is expected to begin in the third quarter of 2018. Based on a statistical analysis of the AMT-061 and AMT-060 non-human primate data, as well as the clinical data from the Phase I/II trial of AMT-060, the Company believes that AMT-061 administered at a dose of 2 x 1013 gc/kg may lead to mean FIX activity of approximately 30 to 50 percent of normal. uniQure has initiated production of multiple clinical-grade batches of AMT-061 in its state-of-the-art Lexington, MA manufacturing facility. Material is being produced at commercial scale and utilizing current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP). uniQure expects to begin releasing product for the pivotal trial by the first quarter of 2018. The manufacturing process, controls and methods utilized for AMT-061 are consistent to those previously used for AMT-060.

07:08 EDT Denny's to expand into U.K. with ten locations - Denny's Corporation announced its expansion into Europe through a franchise agreement with Denny's Magic Diners U.K., led by seasoned franchise executive Leon Esfahani. The agreement will bring 10 locations to the United Kingdom over the next several years, with the first expected to open in Wales by the end of the year. Esfahani's first Denny's location is expected to open in Swansea, Wales, by the end of 2017.

07:07 EDT YogaWorks acquires seven Houston studios - YogaWorks announced its purchase of YogaOne's seven Houston-based studios. The company continues its national expansion strategy with this acquisition, increasing YogaWorks' portfolio to 62 studios across the U.S. and marking its entrance into Texas. As part of its acquisition strategy, YogaWorks is devoted to the continuity of YogaOne's operations and maintaining its local community. While YogaOne's website and studio name will be rebranded to YogaWorks in the coming months, current teachers and staff will be retained and YogaOne's existing programming will continue to be enjoyed by students. Additionally, YogaOne students will receive a month of free access to MyYogaWorks.com, an online video library of over 1,000 yoga and meditation videos to help people enjoy yoga anytime and anywhere.

07:07 EDT Rogers Communications backs FY17 free cash flow growth of 2%-4%

07:05 EDT Philip Morris CEO says Q3 results 'very strong' - "As expected, our third-quarter financial results were very strong, including double-digit currency-neutral EPS growth. We recorded a sequential improvement in our total volume performance, driven by both our combustible and reduced-risk products, and grew our international market share. Despite pressure on profitability from adverse developments in Russia and Saudi Arabia, as well as significant investments behind IQOS, which continues its stellar performance, we are on track to deliver full-year currency-neutral adjusted diluted EPS growth of approximately 9% to 10%, highlighting both the strength of our combustible business and the exciting potential of a smoke-free future," said CEO Andre Calantzopoulos.

07:04 EDT Trump thinks Republicans have votes for budget approval - President Trump just tweeted, "Republicans are going for the big Budget approval today, first step toward massive tax cuts. I think we have the votes, but who knows?"

06:59 EDT Travelers reports Q3 record net premiums $6.66B up 4% y/y

06:56 EDT Nike drops 2% to $51.15 after Goldman downgrades to Neutral

06:54 EDT PPG sees 'moderate global economic growth' in Q4 - "Looking ahead to the fourth quarter, we expect moderate global economic growth to continue. Given the after-effects from the natural disasters, we no longer expect any notable decline in the level of raw material cost inflation for the remainder of this year. We are continuing to work with our customers to address the inflationary environment and expect to realize additional selling price increases. Lastly, we continue to execute on our restructuring program and remain on track to deliver full-year savings of more than $45 million as we continue to manage all aspects toward margin recovery," CEO McGarry commented. The company announced today that it expects the recent natural disasters will unfavorably affect fourth quarter diluted earnings-per-share by up to 5c.

06:53 EDT PPG committed to spend $3.5B on acquisitions, share repurchases in 2017-2018 - With more than $700M spent to date.

06:43 EDT Insteel sees improved business conditions in FY18 - "Looking ahead to FY18, we expect improved business conditions driven by higher state and local infrastructure funding, modest increases in nonresidential construction and continued expansion of the housing market," commented H.O. Woltz III, Insteel's president and CEO. "We should also benefit from the deferral of business resulting from the adverse weather in many of our markets during the second half of fiscal 2017. We expect spreads to remain under pressure until the anticipated rebound in demand is reflected in our order book." The strategic investments we have made in our people, facilities and systems have enabled us to achieve market and cost leadership positions in our industry. We will continue to focus on realizing further improvements in our productivity and costs through our ongoing initiatives in the coming year."

06:39 EDT Holly Energy and HollyFrontier enter IDR simplification agreement - HollyFrontier's (HFC) wholly-owned subsidiary HEP Logistics Holdings and Holly Energy Partners (HEP) have entered into a definitive agreement to eliminate the incentive distribution rights held by HEP Logistics and convert HEP Logistics' 2% general partner interest in Holly Energy into a non-economic interest in exchange for the issuance by Holly Energy of 37,250,000 of its common units to HEP Logistics, representing total equity value of $1.25B based on Holly Energy's previous closing day price of $33.56. In addition, HollyFrontier has agreed to waive $2.5M of limited partner cash distributions for each of twelve consecutive quarters beginning with the first quarter the units issued as consideration are eligible to receive distributions. Upon closing of the transaction, HollyFrontier will hold approximately 59.6 million Holly Energy common units, representing approximately 59% of the outstanding common units, with a market value of $2.0B based on Holly Energy's previous closing day price. The terms of the transaction were unanimously approved by the boards of HollyFrontier and Holly Logistic Services. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions. Closing of the transaction is expected to occur in Q4.

06:35 EDT Dynavax initiates phase 1B dose escalation clinical trial of DV281 - Dynavax Technologies announced initiation of dosing in a phase 1B dose escalation clinical trial of its investigational inhaled toll-like receptor 9, or TLR9, agonist, DV281, in patients with non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC. This multi-center, open label trial is designed to evaluate safety and identify the optimal dose for a potential expansion phase of the study. The dose escalation study is expected to enroll approximately 24 patients in 5 cohorts with advanced NSCLC that has progressed on previous therapy. Dynavax engineered DV281 specifically for inhalation to facilitate local administration of a TLR9 agonist to lung tumors which are not easily accessible for intratumoral injection. NSCLC is the third tumor type, in addition to melanoma and squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck, where Dynavax is studying aTLR9 agonist in combination with an anti-PD-1 therapy.

06:34 EDT BNY Mellon reports Q3 book value per share $36.11 - Reports Q3 Basel III CET1 capital ratio 12.3%. Reports Q3 Basel III Tier 1 capital ratio 14.6%.

06:32 EDT Roche confirms FY17 outlook, sees sales up mid-single digits - In 2017, Roche expects sales to grow mid-single digit, at constant exchange rates. Core earnings per share are targeted to grow broadly in line with sales, at constant exchange rates. Roche expects to further increase its dividend in Swiss francs.

06:23 EDT OncoSec up 29.1% after presenting ImmunoPulse IL-12/pembrolizumab data

06:16 EDT OncoSec presents 'positive' ImmunoPulse IL-12/pembrolizumab combo Phase 2 data - OncoSec announced updated Phase 2 clinical and immune monitoring data from patients treated with its investigational therapy, ImmunoPulse IL-12 as a monotherapy versus the combination of ImmunoPulse IL-12 and the approved anti-PD-1 therapy pembrolizumab. These data were presented in an oral presentation at the 2017 9th World Congress of Melanoma - A Joint Meeting with the Society for Melanoma Research, and continue to support the rationale for the Company's recently initiated global, open-label, Phase 2b registration directed trial, PISCES/KEYNOTE-695. The Phase 2 OMS-I100 monotherapy and Phase 2 OMS-I102 combination with pembrolizumab studies included 51 and 22 patients, respectively, with metastatic melanoma. The combination study patients were selected based on their baseline biomarker data, which predicted that patients would not respond to anti-PD-1 therapy. Monotherapy patients were treated with ImmunoPulse IL-12 alone and patients in the combination study also received pembrolizumab every 3 weeks per protocol. Fewer than 10% of patients in both studies reported treatment related serious adverse events (9.8% in the monotherapy and 8.7% in the combination studies). Data also demonstrate that ImmunoPulse IL-12 can trigger key immunologic events driving a cellular response leading to an inflamed tumor with increased TIL frequency whether as a monotherapy or combined with pembrolizumab, converting "cold" tumors to "hot", which were further enhanced with the addition of an anti-PD1 antibody. Reports 50% best overall response rate, or BORR, observed at 24 weeks. Reports 41% complete responders, 9% partial responders, and 9% stable disease for a total disease control rate of 59%. Data demonstrate that the combination of ImmunoPulse IL-12 and pembrolizumab prime a coordinated innate and adaptive immune response, suggesting a synergistic relationship with anti-PD-1.

06:04 EDT ContraVir Pharmaceuticals doses first patient in Phase 1 renal impairment study - ContraVir Pharmaceuticals has dosed its first patient in the IND opening, Phase 1 study of tenofovir exalidex in renally-impaired patients. The study to be conducted in the U.S. will assess the safety and pharmacokinetics of TXL in patients with renal impairment, a condition that affects many patients with advanced HBV infection.

06:02 EDT Cenovus Energy reaches agreement to sell Palliser assets for $1.3B - Cenovus Energy (CVE) has entered into an agreement to sell its Palliser crude oil and natural gas assets in southeastern Alberta to Torxen Energy and Schlumberger (SLB) for cash proceeds of $1.3B. The sale is expected to close in the fourth quarter of this year, subject to customary closing conditions. As with other recently announced divestiture agreements, proceeds from the Palliser sale will be used to deleverage the company's balance sheet. Net proceeds from the sale of Cenovus's Pelican Lake assets, which closed on September 29, 2017, have been used to retire the first tranche of the company's $3.6B asset-sale bridge facility and to pay down a portion of the second tranche. Net proceeds from the Palliser sale and the recently announced Suffield asset sale, which is also expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2017, will be applied against the outstanding balance of the bridge facility. The sale process for Cenovus's Weyburn carbon-dioxide enhanced oil recovery operation in Saskatchewan is proceeding as expected. Cenovus anticipates reaching a sale agreement for the Weyburn asset in the fourth quarter of 2017. In addition, Cenovus has certain other non-core assets that are currently being evaluated for potential sale. Credit Suisse and Scotiabank acted as financial advisors to Cenovus for the Palliser transaction.

05:56 EDT BB&T reports Q3 CET1 capital ratio 10.1% - Reports Q3 Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio 11.8%. Nonperforming loans were 0.42% of loans held for investment, down one basis point compared to the prior quarter. Average deposits were $157.4B compared to $160.3B for Q2.

05:47 EDT TechnipFMC acquires Wellhead exploration equipment and services unit from Plexus - TechnipFMC announces that an agreement has been reached with Plexus Holding to acquire Plexus's Wellhead exploration equipment and services business for jack up applications. In conjunction with TechnipFMC's global footprint and market presence, this portfolio expansion in the mudline and high pressure high temperature, or HPHT, arena enables TechnipFMC to be a leading provider of products and services to the global jack up exploration drilling market. The business will be integrated into the TechnipFMC Surface Technologies segment and will include the transfer of key personnel from Plexus, with their specialized know-how, to ensure continuity and ongoing customer support. The business will continue to operate from the existing location in Dyce, Aberdeen, UK. Completion of the transaction is subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions.

05:17 EDT Nokia announces strategic collaboration with Amazon Web Services - Nokia (NOK) announced a strategic collaboration with Amazon Web Services, or AWS, (AMZN) that will accelerate the migration of service provider applications to the cloud and drive digital innovation for large enterprise customers. Nokia and AWS are working together to bring a unique and powerful set of solutions that will enable service providers to implement cloud strategies faster leveraging Nokia's expertise in wireless, wireline and 5G technologies. The two companies will work to deliver differentiated solutions using Nokia SD-WAN and its IMPACT IoT platform in combination with AWS Greengrass, machine learning and artificial intelligence services. The scope of the agreement announced today covers four areas of collaboration: Nokia will support service providers in their AWS implementation strategy with a complete suite of services including consulting, design, integration, migration and operation for infrastructure and applications. Nokia and AWS will work together to generate new 5G and Edge Cloud strategies and guidance for customers including reference architectures that enable both service providers and enterprises to benefit. Nokia and AWS are working to bring an improved user experience for Nuage Networks SD-WAN customers who use AWS. Enterprises can benefit from this seamless integration with AWS and launch secure branch connectivity in hybrid environments with "Single Pane of Glass" capabilities. Finally, the companies are commercializing IoT use cases with AWS Greengrass, Amazon Machine Learning, Nokia Multi-access Edge Computing and Nokia IMPACT platform.