Stockwinners Market Radar for November 17, 2017 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

17:58 EDT Tactile Systems to replace Lumos Networks in S&P 600 at open on 11/22 - EQT Infrastructure acquired Lumos Networks in a deal completed on November 17.

17:55 EDT MKS Instruments to replace Brocade in S&P 400 at open on 11/22 - S&P 500 constituent Broadcom (AVGO) acquired Brocade Communications Systems (BRCD) in a deal completed on November 17.

17:18 EDT Ligand director sells 5,000 common shares - In a regulatory filing, Ligand Pharmaceuticals director John Kozarich disclosed the sale of 5,000 common shares of the company at a price of $141.71 per share.

17:17 EDT Ligand CEO sells 5,269 common shares - In a regulatory filing, Ligand Pharmaceuticals CEO John Higgins disclosed the sale of 5,269 common shares at a price of $142.53 per share.

17:03 EDT Bandera Partners reports 9.5% stake in Rubicon

16:51 EDT Mid Penn Bancorp, Scottdale shareholders approve merger - Mid Penn Bancorp and The Scottdale Bank & Trust Company announced that shareholders from both Mid Penn and Scottdale, at special meetings of their respective shareholders held earlier, approved Mid Penn's proposed acquisition of Scottdale. The proposed transaction will expand Mid Penn's footprint into western Pennsylvania, including Westmoreland and Fayette counties. On a pro forma basis, the consolidated assets of the combined company would be approximately $1.4B at Sept. 30, 2017. The acquisition is subject to various conditions to closing, including receipt of all regulatory approvals.

16:42 EDT General Electric CEO acquires 60,000 common shares - In a regulatory filing from this morning, General Electric chairman and CEO John Flannery disclosed the purchase of 60,000 common shares of the company at a price of $18.27 per share.

16:33 EDT First Horizon, Capital Bank agree to sell two branches to Apex Bank - First Horizon (FHN) and Capital Bank Financial (CBF) announced that, in connection with their proposed merger, Capital Bank Corporation will sell two branches in Greene County, totaling approximately $34M in deposits and $2.5M in loans, to Apex Bank, a Tennessee banking corporation. Apex Bank's purchase includes both branches slated for divestiture under First Horizon's agreement with the United States Department of Justice and commitments to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, which were entered into in connection with a customary review of First Horizon's pending merger with Capital Bank Financial. Apex Bank has $517M in assets and currently operates 11 branches in Tennessee, including two branches in Greene County. Apex Bank expects to retain all current branch employees when the purchase closes.

16:31 EDT Territorial Bancorp declares special cash dividend of 30c per share - Payable on December 20. This is an increase from the 20c special dividend paid a year ago in December 2016. The dividend will be paid to shareholders of record as of December 6.

16:25 EDT KS Bancorp CEO: Best interests of shareholders served by remaining independent - KS Bancorp (KSBI) issued a statement regarding the unsolicited indications of interest received earlier this year from First Citizens BancShares (FCNCA). On June 30, 2017 and then again on July 13, 2017, First Citizens wrote to KS Bancorp, expressing interest in pursuing a possible acquisition of KS Bancorp. KS Bancorp's Board of Directors subsequently engaged a nationally-recognized investment banking firm, with particular experience advising financial institutions across the United States, to conduct a detailed analysis of the Non-binding Indication of Interest and to advise the Board as to whether the financial interests of KS Bancorp's shareholders are better served by pursuing a sale or continuing to operate KS Bancorp as an independent company. After thorough and extended consideration of the advice of the investment banking firm and other relevant information, the Board unanimously determined to reject the Non-binding Indication of Interest and further determined that the continued independent operation of KS Bancorp is in the best interests of its shareholders. Harold Keen, President and CEO of KS Bancorp, commented: "I commend the Board of Directors for the very deliberate and careful manner in which it considered the Non-binding Indication of Interest and indeed the future independence of KS Bancorp and the Bank. After its thorough and extended considerations, our Board has determined the best interests of our shareholders will be served by KS Bancorp remaining an independent company. We look forward to continuing to serve our customers and local communities, firmly establishing KS Bank as their independent community bank of choice and further enhancing the value of our shareholders' investments. I believe the future is very bright for KS Bancorp and KS Bank."

16:16 EDT Bunge, Grupo Minsa agree to terminate agreement - Bunge North America, the North American operating arm of Bunge Limited, announced that Bunge and Grupo Minsa S.A.B. de C.V. have mutually decided to terminate the share subscription agreement which would have given Bunge a controlling financial interest in Minsa. Transaction discussions were previously suspended because of delays in obtaining authorizations needed to close. During this time, a change in Minsa's business model in Mexico led the two companies to agree to cancel the transaction. "We remain committed to strengthening our Food and Ingredients segment by expanding our value-added food products lines," said Todd Bastean, CEO, Bunge North America. "We will continue to look for investment opportunities that position Bunge for growth by enabling us to deliver a high quality, reliable supply of food ingredients to our customers around the globe." The two companies have agreed to terminate all obligations under the subscription agreement and release each other from all associated liabilities.

16:08 EDT Anthera receives Nasdaq listing determination notice, plans to appeal - Anthera Pharmaceuticals announced that it has received a letter from the Listing Qualifications Staff of The NASDAQ Stock Market indicating that, based upon its non-compliance with Listing Rule 5450(b)(1)(A), Anthera's securities would be delisted from Nasdaq unless Anthera timely requests a hearing before the Nasdaq Hearings Panel. Anthera plans to appeal the Staff's determination and intends to timely request a hearing, which request will stay any suspension or delisting action by the Staff at least pending the conclusion of the hearing process and expiration of any extension that may be granted to Anthera by the Panel. If the Panel does not grant Anthera's request for continued listing on The Nasdaq Global Market, Anthera may request that the Panel transfer the listing of its securities to The Nasdaq Capital Market pursuant to an extension provided Anthera meets the inclusion requirements for that market. Anthera's common stock will continue to trade on Nasdaq under the symbol "ANTH" at least pending the ultimate conclusion of the hearing process. Anthera intends to provide further update when additional relevant information becomes available.

16:06 EDT D.E. Shaw reports 5% passive stake in RH

15:16 EDT The Intersection: Crypto and Wall Street This Week - As bitcoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrencies get increasing attention from investors, Wall Street and its traditional banks continue to adjust to the shift. Catch up on this week's top stories highlighting the intersection of these old guard and new school areas of finance with this recap compiled by The Fly: 1. BITCOIN DROPS AMID DEVELOPER DISPUTE: Bitcoin fell 15% to $5,507 from roughly $6,500 Saturday before rising close to $6,400 amid a dispute among developers about the future of the cryptocurrency, CNBC reported Sunday. Supporters of bitcoin cash, which split off from bitcoin in August via an upgrade to increase the block size to eight megabytes from one, have been promoting the offshoot on Twitter (TWTR). Bitcoin cash rose to a high of roughly $2,477 before dropping about 50% to a $1,224 low Sunday. Additionally, bitcoin gold, designed to make mining less dependent on specialized technology, launched Sunday. 2. BITCOIN HITS HIGH: Bitcoin hit an all-time high on Friday amid reports that a small number of miners might attempt to go forward with the Segwit2x software upgrade, which had been suspended last week, Reuters reported, citing a Coinbase statement. "To protect customer funds, Coinbase will disable Bitcoin sends and receives at 2 a.m. PT on November 17, and disable buys and sells an hour before the fork, which is currently predicted to occur between 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. PT. All functionality will be re-enabled shortly afterwards," said Coinbase, which also announced on Thursday that it would launch Coinbase Custody, a company enabling institutional investors to securely store digital assets. 3. SQUARE TESTS BITCOIN BUYING: Square (SQ) is now offering users the option to buy, sell or hold cryptocurrency on its Cash app, Forbes reported Tuesday. "We're always listening to our customers and we've found that they are interested in using the Cash App to buy bitcoin," a company spokesperson said. "We're exploring how Square can make this experience faster and easier, and have rolled out this feature to a small number of Cash App customers. We believe cryptocurrency can greatly impact the ability of individuals to participate in the global financial system and we're excited to learn more here." Credit Suisse analyst Paul Condra said while the impact of Square adding the bitcoin feature is uncertain, he believes it could place Square in an early-mover position as a mainstream fin-tech company providing cryptocurrency services. Condra reiterated a Neutral rating and $31 price target on Square shares. 4. CME CEO SEES TOUGH RISK STANDARDS: CME Group (CME) chief executive officer Terry Duffy said traders attracted to bitcoin futures will face tougher risk standards due to the cryptocurrency's high volatility, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. The CEO said traders of CME bitcoin futures may have to deposit close to 30% of their value as collateral and no bitcoin futures trading will be allowed at prices 20% above or below the previous day's settlement. "Listen, it's no mystery, this is a different product," Duffy said. "We want to get out something that's safe." The comments come as Chicago competitor CBOE Global Markets (CBOE) prepares a rival offering for bitcoin futures. 5. CRYPTO CHATTER: On Wednesday, David Gledhill, group chief information officer for DBS (DBSDY) told CNBC the bank sees "bitcoin as a bit of a Ponzi scheme" adding transactions are "incredibly expensive" and "all the fees are hidden through the crypto-mechanisms." Additionally, Morgan Stanley (MS) CEO James Gorman told CNBC on Thursday that bitcoin it getting more attention than it deserves."Something that goes up 700% in a year - it's by definition speculative," he said. "So anybody who thinks they're buying something that it's a stable investment is deluding themselves." UBS (UBS) chief investment officer Mark Haefele said Friday that bitcoin has not attained the critical mass necessary to be considered a viable currency for investment and added it lacks regulation, Bloomberg reported. "All it would take would be one terrorist incident in the U.S. funded by bitcoin for the U.S. regulator to much more seriously step in and take action, " he said. "That's a risk, an unquantifiable risk, bitcoin has that another currency doesn't." Meanwhile British hedge fund Man Group (MNGPY) said it could enter cryptocurrencies if CME launches bitcoin futures, Reuters reported Tuesday. "Conceptually digital currencies are an interesting thing," CEO Luke Ellis said. "It's not part of our investment universe today - it could be. If there is a CME future on bitcoin, it would be." 6. BITCOIN STOCK PLAYS: Cryptocurrency revenues have been pointed to as reasons to be bullish on Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Nvidia (NVDA) in select research. PRICE ACTION: As of time of writing, bitcoin rose about 18.4% this week, or $1,209, to $7,794 in U.S. dollars according to CoinDesk. Meanwhile, AMD shares rose 1.8% to $11.45 this week and Nvidia dropped 2% on a weekly basis to $211.33. Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC) rose 6.2% this week to $919. WANT BITCOIN NEWS ALERTS?: To receive alerts on stories relating to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, Fly subscribers can enter "Bitcoin" into the "Add symbols" box of their portfolios.

15:01 EDT Financial Institutions raises quarterly dividend to 22c from 21c per share - The dividend is payable January 2, 2018, to shareholders of record on December 14, 2017.

13:59 EDT PFSweb rallies after Ancora discloses activist stake - Ancora Advisors earlier today disclosed a 5.2% activist stake in PFSweb saying the shares are "undervalued and represented an attractive investment opportunity." Ancora added that it may make proposals to PFSweb concerning changes to the capital allocation strategy or ownership structure, including a sale of the company as a whole or in parts. Shares of omni-channel commerce solutions provider are up 5% to $7.14 in afternoon trading.

13:03 EDT Baker Hughes reports U.S. rig count up 8 to 915 rigs - Baker Hughes reports that the U.S. rig count is up 8 rigs from last week to 915, with oil rigs unchanged at 738, gas rigs up 8 to 169, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged. The U.S. Rig Count is up 327 rigs from last year's count of 588, with oil rigs up 267, gas rigs up 61, and miscellaneous rigs down 1 to 1. The U.S. Offshore Rig Count is up 3 rigs from last week to 21 and down 2 rigs year-over-year. The Canada Rig Count is up 5 rigs from last week to 208, with oil rigs up 1 to 109 and gas rigs up 4 to 99. The Canada Rig Count is up 24 rigs from last year's count of 184, with oil rigs up 9 and gas rigs up 15.

11:50 EDT Box Office Battle: 'Justice League' to vanquish 'Thor' in debut - The major release opening in theaters this weekend is Warner Bros. (TWX) superhero flick "Justice League," the latest entry in the DC Comics Extended Universe. The film, which grossed $13M from its Thursday night opening, is expected to lead the weekend with a domestic gross of $115M-$118M. Meanwhile, after achieving the number one spot at the box office in the prior two weekends, Disney's (DIS) Marvel Comics movie "Thor: Ragnarok" is expected to come in second place this weekend, with a domestic gross of about $26M. Lionsgate's (LGF.A) "Wonder," an adaptation of the New York Times bestselling novel by R.J. Palacio, is anticipated to reach third place in its debut this weekend and gross roughly $16M, while Fox's (FOXA) mystery drama "Murder on the Orient Express" is expected to come in fourth in its second weekend of release with a domestic gross of $15M-$16M. Rounding out the top five this weekend is Paramount's (VIAB) "Daddy's Home 2," a holiday comedy starring Mark Wahlberg, Will Ferrell, John Lithgow, and Mel Gibson, which is also expected to gross $15M-$16M a week after its debut. Other publicly traded companies in filmmaking include Comcast (CMCSA, CMCSK) and Sony (SNE).

11:01 EDT Electronic Arts halts in-game purchases for 'Battlefront II' right before launch - Shares of Electronic Arts (EA) dropped in morning trading after the video game developer announced that it was temporarily suspending micropayments features in the new "Star Wars" game hours before the game's launch. IN-GAME PURCHASE CHANGE: Just hours before its full launch, Electronic Arts announced in a blog post that it will turn off all in-game purchases for the "Star Wars Battlefront II" title, one of the company's biggest releases this year, until further notice. Oskar Gabrielson, the GM of EA game developer DICE, said in the post that the company's goal "has always been to create the best possible game for all of you - devoted Star Wars fans and game players alike. We've also had an ongoing commitment to constantly listen, tune and evolve the experience as it grows." However, Gabrielson said that "it's clear that many of you feel there are still challenges in the design. We've heard the concerns about potentially giving players unfair advantages. And we've heard that this is overshadowing an otherwise great game. This was never our intention. Sorry we didn't get this right." As a result, Gabrielson said EA is turning off all in-game purchases, adding that "the ability to purchase crystals [currency] will become available at a later date, only after we've made changes to the game." Electronic Arts said in a regulatory filing that the change is not expected to have a material impact on its fiscal year 2018 guidance, which includes earnings per share of roughly $3.63 and revenue of about $5.08B. GAMER CRITIQUES: The controversy centered around the in-game purchases that allow players to spend real money to "unlock" characters like Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader. Many fans were outraged, taking to Reddit and other social media outlets to claim that Electronic Arts was introducing a "pay-to-win" culture, CNBC said. Earlier this week, EA said it was reducing the cost to unlock key characters by 75%. "Unlocking a hero is a great accomplishment in the game, something we want players to have fun earning. We used data from the beta to help set those levels, but it's clear that more changes were needed," EA said this week. ANALYST COMMENTARY: Baird analyst Colin Sebastian, who kept an Outperform rating and $130 price target on EA shares, said he believes the company is taking the right step in suspending in-game purchases. He believes the game will still attract a large Star Wars fan base as well as holiday gift givers despite recent negative publicity and expects it to remain a top-seller for the holiday season. Should Battlefront II underperform amid recent negative publicity, Sebastian sees Activision Blizzard (ATVI) and Ubisoft (UBSFY) benefiting. Morgan Stanley analyst Brian Nowak said the change reduces the risk of a unit sales miss due to negative headlines but also speaks to how EA needs to refine its microtransaction strategy. BofA Merrill Lynch's Justin Post thinks unit sales could come in below EA's earlier outlook for around 14M units in FY18, but believes FY18 EPS estimates are still achievable with other game franchises offsetting any Battlefront shortfall. PRICE ACTION: Electronic Arts is down nearly 3% in morning trading to $108.34. Year-to-date, however, shares are up nearly 38%.

10:24 EDT Gap jumps after another standout quarter aided by 'crown jewel' Old Navy - Gap (GPS) jumped in morning trading after the retailer posted better than expected quarterly results as well as an increase in comparable store sales. The company's adjusted earnings per share guidance also topped expectations. BEAT AND RAISE: After the market close on Thursday, Gap reported third quarter EPS of 58c on revenue of $3.84B, handily beating analysts' consensus estimates of 54c and $3.76B, respectively. Comparable sales for the quarter were up 3% vs. a decrease of 1% last year. Old Navy SSS were up 4%, in line with last year, SSS at the namesake Gap brand were up 1% vs. down 4% last year, and Banana Republic SSS fell 1% vs. a 6% decline last year. Looking ahead, Gap raised its fiscal 2017 adjusted EPS view to $2.08-$2.12 from $2.02-$2.10, higher than the $2.06 analysts expected. The company now predicts comp sales for the year will be up low single digits vs. its previous view of flat to up slightly. This is the second quarter in a row Gap has raised its guidance. FUTURE GROWTH PLANS: On September 6, Gap said that over the next three years, it expects to close about 200 underperforming Gap and Banana Republic locations and add about 270 Old Navy, Athleta locations. The company also said it expects Old Navy, a consistent bright spot for the retailer, to exceed $10B and Athleta to exceed $1B in net sales in the "next few years," driven by growth in online and mobile channels, U.S. store expansion, and continued market share leadership in loyalty categories. The company expects about $500M in savings over the next three years by better leveraging its scale. OTHER RETAILERS: Gap's focus on growth comes amid a slowdown of mall traffic that has hurt many mall-based retailers reflecting a shift to fast-fashion retailers like Zara, Forever 21 and H&M as well as an increase in online shopping on sites such as Amazon (AMZN). Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) this morning reported results that beat expectations. While Gap reported upbeat quarterly results, Macy's (M) reported slightly worse than expected quarterly sales, but better than expected earnings. Kohl's (KSS) earnings missed the consensus forecast, it raised the low end of its FY17 earnings view and said sales turned positive in October, particularly in the back half of the month. J.C. Penney, which previously slashed its 2017 profit forecast, reported an adjusted loss per share that was better than it previously forecast. ANALYST COMMENTARY: In a note to clients, Jefferies analyst Randal Konik noted Gap's "high quality" quarter and pointed out that Old Navy remains the "crown jewel" with the namesake brand offering "free upside." BMO Capital analyst John Morris said that while the company is making strides in "high-grading" its store fleet with 30 closures this year and ramping up its pre-holiday marketing spending, 2018 will be a challenge for Gap as tough retail environment weighs on its revenue. Baird analyst Mark Altschwager said he'd be hesitant to chase Gap shares at current levels until the longer term earnings growth algorithm becomes clearer. PRICE ACTION: Gap is up 9% in early trading to $29.99. Shares are up over 33% year-to-date. The broader retail sector is also higher this morning, including Abercrombie, which is up nearly 20%, and American Eagle (AEO).

09:50 EDT JA Solar trading resumes

09:33 EDT JA Solar enters into definitive agreement for going private transaction - JA Solar announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement and plan of merger with JASO Holdings Limited, JASO Parent Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Holdco, and JASO Acquisition Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Parent, pursuant to which the company will be acquired by an investor consortium in an all-cash transaction implying an equity value of the company of approximately $362.1M. Pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, at the effective time of the merger, each ordinary share of the company issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time will be cancelled and cease to exist in exchange for the right to receive $1.51 in cash without interest, and each American depositary share of the company, representing 5 Shares, will be cancelled in exchange for the right to receive $7.55 in cash without interest, except for Shares owned by Jinglong Group Co., Ltd., Chin Tien HUANG, Chi Fung WONG and Pak Wai WONG, which will be rolled over in the transaction, cancelled and cease to exist without any conversion thereof or consideration paid therefor, and Shares held by shareholders who have validly exercised and not effectively withdrawn or lost their rights to dissent from the merger pursuant to Section 238 of the Companies Law of the Cayman Islands, which will be cancelled and cease to exist in exchange for the right to receive the payment of fair value of the Dissenting Shares in accordance with Section 238 of the Companies Law of the Cayman Islands. At the Effective Time, each outstanding and unexercised option to purchase Shares under the company's share incentive plans will be cancelled, and each holder of a company Option will have the right to receive an amount in cash determined by multiplying the excess, if any, of $1.51 over the applicable exercise price of such Company Option by the number of Shares such holder could have purchased had such holder exercised such Company Option in full immediately prior to the Effective Time, net of any applicable withholding taxes, and each restricted share and each restricted share unit granted under the company's share incentive plans shall be cancelled, and each holder thereof will have right to receive a cash amount equal to $1.51, net of any applicable withholding taxes. The merger consideration represents a premium of 18.2% to the closing price of the company's ADSs on June 5, 2017, the last trading day prior to the company's announcement of its receipt of a revised "going-private" proposal, and a premium of 17.2% to the average closing price of the company's ADSs during the 3-month period prior to its receipt of a revised "going-private" proposal. The Buyer Group comprises Baofang Jin, chairman and CEO of the company, Jinglong, a British Virgin Islands company of which Baofang Jin is the sole director, and/or its affiliates, and the other Rollover Shareholders. The Buyer Group intends to fund the merger with a combination of debt and equity. The Buyer Group has delivered an executed debt commitment letter to the company pursuant to which CSI Finance Limited, Credit Suisse AG, Singapore Branch and certain other parties will provide, subject to the terms and conditions set forth therein, a loan facility to fund the merger in the amount of $160M. The company's board, acting upon the unanimous recommendation of a committee of independent and disinterested directors established by the board, approved the Merger Agreement and the merger and resolved to recommend that the company's shareholders vote to authorize and approve the Merger Agreement and the merger. The Special Committee negotiated the terms of the Merger Agreement with the assistance of its financial and legal advisors. The merger is currently expected to close during the first quarter of 2018.

09:29 EDT JA Solar enters into definitive agreement for going private transaction

09:27 EDT Black Box announces Joel Trammell as CEO - Black Box announced that its board has named Joel Trammell as President and CEO of Black Box, effective immediately, replacing E.C. Sykes, who is retiring. Trammell has been on the board of Black Box since March 27, 2013.

09:25 EDT Foot Locker announces new strategic partnership with Nike - Details to follow.

09:20 EDT On The Fly: Pre-market Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF), up 20.4%... Foot Locker (FL), up 25.8%... MiMedx (MDXG), up 1.2%... Buckle (BKE), up 7%... Hibbett Sports (HIBB), up 25.3%... Fang (SFUN), up 6.6%... Ross Stores (ROST), up 7.9%... Gap (GPS), up 7.4%... Applied Materials (AMAT), up 4.3%... Splunk (SPLK), up 15.5%. ALSO HIGHER: Tesla (TSLA), up 4.3% after unveiling its new semi-truck and Roadster. LOWER: Williams-Sonoma (WSM), down 10.9% after reporting quarterly results... Vascular Biogenics (VBLT), down 17.2% after its 2.5M share Spot Secondary priced at $7.50... Bridgepoint Education (BPI), down 5.2% after its 7.563M share Spot Secondary priced at $8.20... Lipocine (LPCN), down 9.1% after announcing that the FDA extended the review period for the New Drug Application of TLANDO.

09:16 EDT Foot Locker says 'on track' for FY17 CapEx of $277M

09:12 EDT Foot Locker says U.S. traffic declined mid single digits in Q3

09:09 EDT Entercom completes merger with CBS Radio - Entercom Communications (ETM) announced that it has completed its merger with CBS Radio (CBS, CBS.A). Entercom is now the #1 creator of live, original, local audio content in the United States and the nation's unrivaled leader in news and sports radio. With a nationwide footprint of 235 stations, Entercom will engage over 100 million people weekly with a premier collection award-winning radio stations, digital platforms and live events.

09:07 EDT Broadcom completes acquisition of Brocade - Broadcom (AVGO) announced that it has completed its acquisition of Brocad (BRCD). Brocade's common stock will now cease to be traded on NASDAQ. Brocade will operate as an indirect subsidiary of Broadcom and will be led by Jack Rondoni as General Manager. Previously, Rondoni served as Senior Vice President of Storage Networking at Brocade, having joined the company in 2006. Rondoni brings over 20 years of experience in storage, networking and technology.

09:04 EDT MoviePass launches one year movie theater subscription plan for $6.95/month - Helios and Matheson Analytics and MoviePass, a movie theater subscription service in which HMNY has agreed to purchase a majority stake, announced today that MoviePass is offering a one year subscription plan for a flat fee of $89.95 -- including a $6.55 processing fee. Existing MoviePass customers will receive 25% savings from their current $9.95 per month plan if they subscribe to the new one year MoviePass subscription plan. The one year subscription plan will be available only for a limited time, giving movie-lovers an opportunity to attend the movies they want at an even lower price for an entire year. MoviePass introduced its $9.95 per month subscription plan in August 2017, following a significant investment from HMNY.

09:03 EDT Amgen announces ENBREL Mini with AutoTouch now available in U.S. - Amgen announced that the ENBREL Mini with AutoTouch is now available in the United States. Awarded the Arthritis Foundation Ease of UseSM Commendation, this new and innovative delivery system provides an additional administration option for appropriate ENBREL patients.

09:02 EDT PayPal, BigCommerce announce expanded relationship - BigCommerce, an ecommerce platform for fast-growing and established brands, announced an expanded relationship with PayPal to provide businesses with a suite of products and services to help drive increased sales opportunities. Starting today, BigCommerce customers can more easily offer shoppers flexible consumer financing options with PayPal Credit, access innovative business financing through PayPal Working Capital and gain increased insight into their shoppers with the recently-launched PayPal Marketing Solutions through a new exclusive app for BigCommerce customers. BigCommerce and PayPal have partnered since 2013 to help merchants grow through a comprehensive solution for accepting payments online.

09:01 EDT Yum! Brands announces authorization of up to $1.5B in share repurchases - Yum! Brands Board of Directors authorized repurchases of up to $1.5B in shares of common stock through year end 2018. This is in addition to the prior outstanding authorization.

08:52 EDT Abercrombie & Fitch says North America stores posted positive Q3 SSS - Says U.S. tourist stores saw negative Q3 SSS.

08:47 EDT Upland Software raises FY17 guidance to reflect Qvidian acquisition

08:39 EDT Cerecor announces leadership changes - Cerecor announced key leadership changes, following the company's recent acquisition of TRx Pharmaceuticals. TRx co-founders Randal Jones and Robert Moscato Jr. have been appointed to the Cerecor board, and Moscato will assume the roles of president and COO, effectively immediately. Concurrent with the new appointments, John Kaiser, interim CEO, and Dr. Ronald Marcus, chief medical officer, have resigned, effective immediately.

08:31 EDT Agios Pharmaceuticals presents updated ivosidenib Phase 1 study data - Agios Pharmaceuticals presented updated data from the dose expansion cohort of the Phase 1 study evaluating single agent ivosidenib in patients with progressive low grade isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 mutant, or IDH1m, glioma. The data were presented today in an oral presentation at the Society for Neuro-Oncology, or SNO, Annual Meeting in San Francisco. "Glioma is a difficult-to-treat disease with many patients diagnosed at a young age and exposed to surgery, radiation and chemotherapy and their associated side effects," said Ingo Mellinghoff, M.D., Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, an investigator for the study. "The median treatment duration of 16 months and reduction in tumor growth rates compared to a pre-treatment interval is a signal of ivosidenib's clinical activity in this population. I look forward to working with Agios and the neuro-oncology community to further refine imaging methodology and to assess the biological effects of IDH inhibitors in a perioperative study planned for the first half of 2018." Ivosidenib is being evaluated in an ongoing Phase 1 dose escalation and expansion trial in advanced IDH1 mutant positive solid tumors, including glioma. Enrollment was completed in January 2016 and data from the glioma dose escalation and expansion cohorts were presented in November 2016.

08:13 EDT MiMedx CEO: HCT/P Guidance document should facilitate IND/BLA studies - "In summary, the finalization of this HCT/P Guidance document is generally in a form that MiMedx anticipated, and it should facilitate our continued progression with our IND/BLA studies. We expect to have completed the prerequisites and be in a position to file our first BLA within the next two years or earlier if we get the RMAT designation. Importantly, we do not expect our forecasted revenue to change. Reimbursement for our sheet allografts is established for wound care and studies are completed. With micronized and RMAT guidance, we believe this could be a pathway to reducing timelines and accelerate our five-year revenue growth. MiMedx is clearly the leader in our market sector; this reinforces and enhances our position in relation to the rest of the market," concluded CEO Petit.

08:07 EDT Celldex initiates Phase 2 combination study of CDX-3379, Cetuximab - Celldex Therapeutics announced that enrollment has opened in its open-label Phase 2 study of CDX-3379 in combination with cetuximab in patients with cetuximab-refractory, advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, or HNSCC. CDX-3379 is Celldex's human monoclonal antibody that selectively binds and inhibits the activity of ErbB3, also known as HER3. ErbB3 may be an important receptor regulating cancer cell growth and survival as well as resistance to targeted therapies, and it is expressed in many cancers, including HNSCC. Cetuximab, which is marketed under the brand name Erbitux, is a monoclonal antibody that specifically binds EGFR and inhibits its signaling pathway.

08:06 EDT Ameris Bancorp to acquire Atlantic Coast Financial in $145M transaction

08:05 EDT Atlantic Coast Federal trading halted, news dissemination

08:03 EDT Wells Fargo: Dismissal did not involve sales practices at company

08:03 EDT Alaska Air reports October traffic up 11% - Alaska Air Group reported October 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. On a combined basis for all operations, Air Group reported an 11% increase in traffic on an 11.6% increase in capacity compared to October 2016. Load factor decreased 0.4 points to 83.8%.

08:02 EDT Wells Fargo announces dismissal of head of Consumer Lending Franklin Codel - Wells Fargo & Company announced that Franklin Codel, a senior executive vice president and head of its Consumer Lending organization, has been dismissed from the company, effective immediately. The company said the dismissal was the result of Codel's acting in a manner that was contrary to the company's policies and expectations of its senior leaders during a communication he had with a former team member regarding that team member's earlier termination. The company said the reasons for the dismissal did not involve the business or operations of Consumer Lending, the servicing of its customers, or its performance or financial results. The dismissal also did not pertain to sales practices at the company. "Difficult as this situation is, the decision reflects our commitment to our values and culture and to executive accountability," said President and CEO Tim Sloan. "We have a strong team in Consumer Lending and I am fully confident that the transition will be smooth and that its businesses will continue to operate normally in serving our customers." The company said it expects to announce a permanent successor to head Consumer Lending by the end of the year. In the interim, the heads of the group's four main lines of business will report to Sloan. His interim direct reports from Consumer Lending will include Michael DeVito, who has been named interim head of Wells Fargo Home Lending and served most recently as head of Mortgage Production; Laura Schupbach, head of Wells Fargo Dealer Services; John Rasmussen, head of Personal Lending; and Laurie Nordquist, head of Personal and Small Business Insurance.

07:56 EDT Abercrombie & Fitch expects to close up to 60 stores in the U.S. by year-end - On a full year basis, the company expects the effective tax rate to reflect a core tax rate in the mid 30s, which is highly sensitive at lower levels of pre-tax earnings. Additionally, the company expects the full year effective tax rate to reflect discrete non-cash income tax charges of approximately $11 million related to a change in share-based compensation accounting standards. The company now expects capital expenditures to be approximately $110M for the full year, up from the company's prior expectation of $100M. In addition to the five stores opened year to date, including two outlet stores, the company expects to open four new full-price stores in the fourth quarter. The company anticipates closing up to 60 stores in the U.S. by year-end through natural lease expirations, including 14 stores closed to date.

07:52 EDT Foot Locker CFO: 'We maintained our solid management of inventory in Q3' - Lauren Peters, Executive Vice President and CFO, added, "In addition to taking meaningful steps to create an even more flexible and efficient organization, we maintained our solid management of inventory in the third quarter, which is enabling us to flow improving merchandise assortments into the business for the holiday season. We also significantly accelerated the pace of share repurchases in the quarter given the value we perceived in the price of the company's shares."

07:39 EDT Ebix, VARA announce joint venture in India - Ebix announced that its Indian subsidiary Ebix Software India Private Limited and Vara Technologies Private Limited, a Kanoria Foundation entity, have entered into a joint venture strategic partnership to target IT & BPO Outsourcing in the Financial & Insurance Sector in India. VARA and Ebix executed a partnership agreement wherein Ebix agreed to infuse capital in Vara Tech's subsidiary Vara United Private Limited through subscription of newly issued shares, enabling Ebix to hold 50% stake, on the Closing of the Transaction. Ebix has valued VARA's Enterprise Value at approximately $46M. VARA at present has an annual revenue run rate of approximately $31M. Closing of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected over the next few weeks.

07:32 EDT UnitedHealthcare, Qualcomm integrate wearable devices into wellness program - UnitedHealthcare (UNH) and Qualcomm (QCOM), through its subsidiary Qualcomm Life, have integrated wearable devices from Samsung Electronics America (SSNLF) and Garmin International (GRMN), into UnitedHealthcare Motion. UnitedHealthcare Motion is a national wellness program that provides eligible plan participants access to activity trackers and enables them to earn more than $1,000 per year by meeting certain daily walking goals. The Samsung Gear Fit2 Pro and Gear Sport, and the Garmin vivosmart 3, have been integrated and validated with Qualcomm Life's 2net platform for medical-grade connectivity that features multiple safeguards to help keep data secure. UnitedHealthcare Motion participants who already own one of these devices may be able to use them with the program.

07:25 EDT Rowan reports notice of early termination from Anadarko for Resolute drillship - In a regulatory filing last night, Rowan Companies (RDC) disclosed that on November 13 a subsidiary of the company received a notice of early termination from Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (APC) pursuant to the company's drilling contract for the drillship Rowan Resolute. Pursuant to the terms of the drilling contract, the termination will become effective on June 1, 2018, two hundred calendar days from the date of the termination notice. Following the termination, the company expects to receive a lump sum payment from Anadarko for the remainder of the term of the Drilling Contract at a rate of $418,400 per day. The drilling contract was originally scheduled to terminate on August 6, 2018.

07:06 EDT Acorda announces $53M in royalty monetization transactions - Acorda Therapeutics (ACOR) announced a $40M royalty monetization with HealthCare Royalty Partners and a $13M royalty monetization with H. Lundbeck (HLUYY). In return for the payment to Acorda, HCR obtains the right to receive royalty revenue on FAMPYRA payable by Biogen (BIIB), up to an agreed upon threshold of royalties. After this threshold is met, if ever, Acorda will continue to receive FAMPYRA royalty revenue until this revenue stream ends. The transaction does not include potential future milestones to be paid by Biogen. H. Lundbeck and Acorda have amended the license agreement for Selincro to eliminate future royalty and milestone obligations on sales of Selincro outside of the U.S.

07:02 EDT Cleveland-Cliffs announces planned retirement of EVP, COO Tompkins - Cleveland-Cliffs announced that P. Kelly Tompkins, EVP and COO will retire effective Dec. 31. Tompkins assumed his current position in January, after having served as EVP and CFO since April 2015.

06:58 EDT MVC Capital announces details of modified Dutch Auction tender offer - MVC Capital announced the details of its intended modified Dutch Auction tender offer to purchase up to $25M of its common stock at a price per share not less than $10.40 and not greater than $11.00 in $0.10 increments. This announcement follows the October 23, 2017 announcement by the MVC Board of Directors that it had approved a $25M cash tender offer, to be commenced in November 2017. The Tender Offer is expected to be commenced on November 22, 2017. It is currently intended that the Tender Offer will expire on December 21, 2017, unless extended. If the Tender Offer is fully subscribed, MVC intends to purchase between 2,403,846 shares and 2,272,727 shares, or between 11.4% and 10.8%, respectively, of MVC's outstanding shares of its common stock. Based on the number of shares tendered and the prices specified by the tendering shareholders, MVC will determine the lowest per-share price that will enable it to acquire up to $25M of its common stock. All shares accepted in the Tender Offer will be purchased at the same price even if tendered at a lower price.

06:36 EDT Buckeye Partners announces start of open season for Line 602 expansion - Buckeye Partners announced that one of its operating subsidiaries, Buckeye Pipe Line Company, launched a binding open season to solicit commitments for the transportation of distillate on an expansion of its Line 602 which transports refined petroleum products from Linden, New Jersey to destination points in Inwood and Long Island City, New York. Buckeye expects that the Project will provide approximately 12,000 barrels per day of distillate expansion capacity on or before April 1, 2018 with a potential subsequent expansion increasing to 30,000 barrels per day of capacity on or before December 1, 2019. Distillate shippers electing to make long-term volume commitments to the Project during the open season will be eligible to receive firm service for their committed volumes. The binding open season will commence on November 17, 2017, and is scheduled to conclude at 5:00 p.m. Central Time on December 20, 2017.

06:33 EDT Hibbett Sports CEO says, 'We were very pleased with the results for the quarter' - Jeff Rosenthal, President and CEO, stated, "We were very pleased with the results for the quarter. Sales in equipment and accessories remained soft, but were offset by positive comparable store sales in footwear and significant improvement in branded apparel. Our e-commerce sales exceeded even our high expectations, as we experienced good response from early marketing initiatives and strong conversion from online traffic. We are confident that our initiatives surrounding e-commerce, improved assortments, and ongoing store rationalization are working, and we are well positioned now to compete effectively in a difficult retail environment." For the quarter, Hibbett opened 13 new stores, expanded one high-performing store and closed 11 underperforming stores, bringing the store base to 1,082 in 35 states as of October 28.

06:15 EDT Ford to invest over EUR750M in Valencia plant to build Ford Kuga SUV - Ford is investing more than EUR750M in to build the next-generation Ford Kuga medium-sized Sports Utility Vehicle in Valencia, Spain. The new investment brings the total sum invested in Ford's Valencia operations to around EUR3B since 2011. "This major investment of more than EUR750M reconfirms in the clearest way our continuing commitment to the Valencia region and to Spain as one of our most important manufacturing locations in Europe," said Steven Armstrong, president and CEO, Ford of Europe, Middle East and Africa. Employing more than 8,000 people across all of its operations, the new investment will help to secure employment at Ford's Valencia site. The investment builds on cost efficiency and productivity improvements by the management team, union partners and workforce.

06:06 EDT Williams-Sonoma acquires Outward, Inc for $112M - Williams-Sonoma and Outward, Inc. announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Williams-Sonoma will acquire Outward, a 3-D imaging and augmented reality platform for the home furnishings and decor industry, for an all cash consideration of $112M. This strategic acquisition will enable WSI to enhance and extend its high-touch customer service platform, and to develop technologies with Outward that further transform the shopping experience for home furnishings. Following the close of the transaction, which is expected by the end of this calendar year, Outward will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of WSI, and will be managed by Outward's current leadership team. The company will maintain existing operations under the Outward brand, while expanding its digital capabilities and servicing its customers around the world. Clarence Chui will remain as President and Founder, and Outward's headquarters will remain in San Jose, CA.

06:04 EDT Tesla's Elon Musk teases new Roadster, says '0 to 100 km/h in 1.9 sec' - https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/931407490889084928

05:22 EDT Fang Holdings sees 'profitable' Q4 - Fang is continuing its transformation back to a technology-driven open platform model and expects a profitable fourth quarter.

05:14 EDT TimkenSteel says second agreement with USW Local 1123 voted down - TimkenSteel employees who are members of the United Steelworkers (USW) Local 1123 have failed to ratify a second tentative agreement between their bargaining representatives and the company. "We're extremely disappointed because both the company and the union returned to the bargaining table a few weeks ago and once again worked hard to arrive at a fair and realistic agreement focused on benefitting our employees and the community," said Bill Bryan, TimkenSteel's executive vice president of manufacturing and supply chain. "The agreement, which was voted down despite recommendation from the union's bargaining committee, offered our employees the ability to continue to earn some of the best wages and benefits packages in Stark County, while allowing TimkenSteel to stand stronger against the significant competitive pressures the company faces as an independent steel producer in today's global marketplace." The tentative agreement that was not ratified in today's vote offered TimkenSteel's Canton-based bargaining employees annual increases to base wages as well as competitive and flexible healthcare and retirement benefits for all members, and it supported a continued focus on operating safety and employee wellbeing. The USW Local 1123 represents approximately 1,650 employees at the company's facilities in Canton, Ohio.