Stockwinners Market Radar for November 20, 2017 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

18:19 EDT Muddy Waters says Alibaba numbers 'obviously fake' - Short seller Muddy Waters Research just tweeted, "Entertaining and coherent dissection of how obviously fake $BABA's numbers are. Points out Singles Day claimed GMV exceeds ANNUAL rev of Sears/K-mart... Have to also love the blatant sell side co-option on display on the $BABA call. BAML, Barclays, CS analysts in Q&A have dropped any pretense of professional skepticism by referring to company as 'we', 'us', 'our'." Muddy Waters included a link to a November 17 blog post by an anonymous writer titled "Deep Throat." Reference Link

18:04 EDT Customers Bancorp: Flagship could raise capital in IPO transaction in 1H18 - Customers Bancorp, the parent company of Customers Bank, provided updates on its planned spin-off and merger of its BankMobile business and progress at the core bank. Additionally, this morning Customers disclosed the execution of the definitive agreement relating to the spin-off and merger with Flagship Community Bank in a Form 8-K filing with the SEC. The spin-off and merger are currently expected to close in mid-2018. Customers expects that Flagship could raise capital in an IPO transaction in the first half of 2018. Compared to a private placement, an IPO structure would offer investors greater transparency with a publicly filed registration statement, reduces execution risk, and likely narrows the window of time for investors between committing capital and owning an exchange traded security. After closing, Customers Bancorp shareholders are expected to own over 50% of outstanding shares in BankMobile/Flagship. Customers also commented that it is already operating with approximately $10B in total assets, on track with its plans. Customers expects December 31, 2017 total assets to be below $10B, allowing the company to strengthen its capital ratios, and continue to qualify as a small issuer of debit cards and maintain our current interchange revenues through June 30, 2019. "We expect that the reduction in assets, coupled with retained earnings should result in a sequential increase of at least 50 basis points in all capital ratios during the fourth quarter, making our capital ratios much stronger; however, we expect that the temporary reduction in assets will have a short-term adverse effect on Q4 earnings," commented Jay Sidhu, Chairman and CEO of Customers Bancorp, Inc.

18:02 EDT New Gold announces sale of Peak Mines for $58M - New Gold announces that it has entered into a binding agreement with Aurelia Metals Limited to sell the Peak Mines located in Cobar, New South Wales, Australia for cash consideration of $58M. Aurelia intends to fund the Transaction through a combination of an A$45M debt facility provided by the Investec Group and an equity placement in the order of A$70M. Aurelia's largest shareholder, Pacific Road Capital Management Pty Ltd, has committed to Aurelia to subscribe for up to A$35M in the equity raising and increase their interest in Aurelia to 36.7% from 33.6%, subject to shareholder approval. Aurelia will pay at least a $3M deposit, which will be retained by New Gold in certain circumstances if the Transaction is not completed. The Transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including Aurelia shareholder approval of a portion of the equity financing and consent from the New South Wales Minister responsible for the Mining Act 1992 for the transfer of control of certain exploration licenses, and is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018.

17:59 EDT Mellanox up nearly 6% after Starboard discloses a 9.8% stake in the company - In after-hours trading, shares are up 5.78% to $54.00.

17:46 EDT Telemark Asset Management reports 6.72% passive stake in Codexis

17:43 EDT AT&T CEO says DOJ suit 'defies logic' - Says has offered solutions for the deal. Says no intention of backing down from DOJ's lawsuit. Says doesn't know if the suit is about CNN. Randall Stephenson is speaking on CNBC.

17:31 EDT Starboard Value reports 9.8% stake in Mellanox - Starboard has been following the company for years as part of their coverage of the semiconductor industry, and have been noting the growing disparity between the company's margins, growth, and stock price performance compared to its peer group. Starboard's interest in the company is solely based on their view that tremendous value can be created through operational improvements or other strategic alternatives.

17:23 EDT CTI Industries names Frank Cesario CFO - CTI Industries announced that Frank J. Cesario has been appointed and has joined the company as CFO. Most recently, Cesario served as CFO of Nanophase Technologies Corporation.

17:20 EDT Stanley Furniture trading resumes

17:07 EDT Lockheed Martin awarded $122.3M U.S. Navy contract - ockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Manassas, Virginia, is being awarded a $122,259,347 cost-plus-incentive-fee contract modification to a previously awarded contract to exercise an option period for the procurement of Technical Insertion 18-20 Acoustic Rapid Commercial Off-the-Shelf Insertion engineering services. Work will be performed in Manassas, Virginia and Clearwater, Florida and is expected to be completed by December 2018. Fiscal 2018 research, development test and evaluation funding in the amount of $11,028,049 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

16:59 EDT Armistice Capital reports 9.2% passive stake in Vical

16:51 EDT Stanley Furniture to sell substantially all its assets to Churchill Downs - Stanley Furniture Company (STLY) announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell substantially all of its assets to Churchill Downs (CHDN) for $11.5M in cash, a $4.6M subordinated secured promissory note of Buyer, a 5% equity interest in Buyer's post-closing parent company and the assumption of substantially all the Company's liabilities. The company will retain certain assets, including cash in an amount up to $1.5M, net operating loss carryforwards and any remaining payments under the Continued Dumping and Subsidy Offset Act. Buyer is a Delaware limited liability company formed by Walter Blocker, chairman of Vietnam Trade Alliance in Ho Chi Minh City, to acquire the Stanley assets. The closing of the asset sale, which is subject to approval by the company's stockholders, Buyer obtaining financing pursuant to existing financing proposals from North Mill Capital and Endurance Capital Group, and other customary closing conditions, is expected to occur in Q1 of 2018. Upon the signing of the agreement, Buyer delivered into escrow a $750,000 deposit towards the $11.5M cash consideration for the sale. If Buyer is unable to obtain financing or the agreement is terminated for certain other reasons, the company is entitled to receive the deposit as a termination fee. The company does not intend to liquidate following the closing of the transaction. The company's board will evaluate alternatives for use of the $11.5M cash consideration, which are expected to include using a portion of the cash to either repurchase company common stock or pay a special dividend to stockholders, and also using a portion of the cash to acquire non-furniture related assets that will allow the company to potentially derive a benefit from its substantial net operating loss carryforwards. The company anticipates transaction costs including professional fees and change in control payments to be approximately $2.5M.

16:47 EDT Palo Alto Networks sees Q2 CapEx approximately $30M; FY18 CapEx $100M

16:43 EDT Palo Alto Networks says Q1 deferred revenue grew 37% y/y to $1.9B - Q1 billings grew 15% y/y to $596.5M; product revenue grew 14% y/y to $186.5M; and subscription and support revenue grew 36% y/y to $319M.

16:40 EDT Park West AM reports 5.8% passive stake in Quantum

16:37 EDT Synchronoss receives anticipated Nasdaq letter, to request hearing - Synchronoss Technologies announced that it has received an anticipated letter from the Listing Qualifications Department of The Nasdaq Stock Market stating that, unless the company requests a hearing before the Nasdaq Hearings Panel by November 22, 2017, the company's common stock is subject to suspension and delisting procedures based upon its inability to maintain compliance with Nasdaq's filing requirement, as set forth in Listing Rule 5250c1. Nasdaq's staff determination letter was issued in accordance with standard Nasdaq procedures due to the delayed filing of the company's Forms 10-Q for the quarters ended March 31, June 30 and September 30, 2017 with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Synchronoss intends to timely request a hearing before the Panel. A hearing request will automatically stay the suspension and delisting of the company's common stock for a period of 15 days. The stay may be extended at the option of the Panel upon the company's request. Concurrent with the hearing request, the company intends to ask the Panel for an extension pending the issuance of the Panel's decision following the hearing.

16:35 EDT Standard Motor authorizes new $10M stock repurchase plan - Standard Motor announced that its board has authorized the purchase of up to $10M of its common stock under a stock repurchase program. Stock will be purchased from time to time, in the open market or through private transactions, as market conditions warrant. The company intends to fund the stock repurchase program through its revolving credit facility.

16:34 EDT Hormel Foods raises quarterly dividend by 10% to 18.75c - The board authorized the first quarterly dividend of eighteen and three fourths cents 18.75c a share to be paid on Feb. 15, 2018, to stockholders of record at the close of business on Jan. 16, 2018.

16:32 EDT Dynegy to sell former site of Brayton Point Power Station, terms not disclosed - Dynegy Inc announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell the 307-acre site of the former Brayton Point Power Station in Somerset, Massachusetts to Commercial Development Company, Inc. The transaction, which includes Commercial Development Company's assumption of environmental responsibilities associated with the site, is expected to be completed by the end of 2017. The Brayton Point facility was one of 10 power generation facilities purchased by Dynegy from Energy Capital Partners in April 2015. The plant ceased operations at the end of May 2017.

16:32 EDT Cellectis shows 'fine and predictable' tuning of TALEN gene editing - Cellectis announced the publication of a study in Molecular Therapy - Nucleic Acids describing the educated engineering of highly specific and efficient TAL nucleases targeting PD1, a key T-cell immune checkpoint. In this report, Anne-Sophie Gautron, Ph.D., Alexandre Juillerat, Ph.D., and their collaborators used a strategy developed by Cellectis to control TALEN(R) targeting based on a proprietary technology leveraging the exclusion capacities of non-conventional RVDs. This approach allows combined disruptions of the desired TRAC and PDCD1 loci by TALEN while eliminating low frequency off-site processing. By adjusting a few RVDs, they provided a rapid and straightforward redesign of optimal TALEN combinations for multiplex gene editing. This approach can greatly benefit gene editing for therapeutic applications where high editing efficiencies need to be associated with maximal specificity and safety.

16:27 EDT NewLink Genetics presents Indoximod data in Phase 1 study for children - NewLink Genetics announced the presentation of data from a Phase 1 study of indoximod, in combination with radiation, for children with progressive brain tumors. The presentation entitled, "Radio-chemo-immunotherapy using the IDO-inhibitor indoximod for children with progressive brain tumors in the phase 1 setting" showed the combination of indoximod plus radiation was well-tolerated.

16:22 EDT Palo Alto Networks names Kathy Bonanno as next CFO - The company announced the appointment of Kathy Bonanno as the company's next CFO. Kathy has held senior finance positions at Palo Alto Networks (PANW) since 2014 and, most recently, had responsibility for financial planning, treasury, enterprise risk management and facilities. In her 30 years of business experience, she has held a variety of senior finance positions, including at Symantec (SYMC) and American Airlines (AAL).

16:20 EDT CenturyLink wins spot on $50B GSA Alliant 2 contract - CenturyLink recently won a coveted spot on the General Services Administration's 10-year, $50B Alliant 2 program that government agencies can use to purchase information technology services and IT services-based solutions. Alliant 2 is a multiple-award, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity program that federal agencies can use to buy IT services. Known as a government-wide acquisition contract, Alliant 2 offers agencies customizable hardware, software and IT solutions that can be purchased as a package.

16:19 EDT AT&T 'confident' court will reject Government's claims in antitrust lawsuit

16:17 EDT Fluor JV selected for Boston Green Line rail extension project - Fluor Corporation announced that a Fluor-led joint venture was selected by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority as the design-build team for the estimated $2B Green Line Light Rail Extension in Boston. Fluor will book its share of the contract value into backlog in the fourth quarter of 2017. Working in partnership with MBTA, the project is slated to begin construction in 2018 and open for service in late 2021. The project includes seven new stations including the relocated Lechmere Station, a vehicle storage and maintenance facility and two distinct branches: a mainline branch operating within the existing right-of-way for the MBTA Lowell Line beginning at a relocated Lechmere Station in Cambridge and traveling north to Medford; and a branch line operating within the existing right-of-way for the MBTA Fitchburg Line to Union Square in Somerville.

16:17 EDT Palo Alto Networks names Kathy Bonanno as CFOSymantec American Airlines - The company announced the appointment of Kathy Bonanno as the company's next CFO. Kathy has held senior finance positions at Palo Alto Networks (PANW) since 2014 and, most recently, had responsibility for financial planning, treasury, enterprise risk management and facilities. In her 30 years of business experience, she has held a variety of senior finance positions, including at Symantec (SYMC) and American Airlines (AAL).

16:11 EDT Revance: FDA grants orphan drug designation for RT002 - Revance Therapeutics announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted orphan drug designation for the company's product candidate, DaxibotulinumtoxinA for Injection, to treat cervical dystonia, a movement disorder of the neck, in adults. "Cervical dystonia is a chronically painful and debilitating condition that can dramatically impact a patient's quality of life. In our Phase 2 trial, RT002 appeared to be generally safe and well-tolerated and showed a clinically significant reduction and long-lasting improvement of subjects' symptoms," said Dan Browne, President and Chief Executive Officer at Revance. "We are pleased that the FDA granted Orphan Drug Designation for this promising therapy. Once we integrate the Orphan Drug Designation benefits into our development plans and receive feedback from both the FDA and the European regulatory authority on our proposed clinical path, we plan to announce the next steps for our cervical dystonia program in early 2018."

16:05 EDT Arconic to install new horizontal heat treat furnace at Davenport Works facility - Arconic announced plans to install a new horizontal heat treat furnace at its Davenport Works facility in Iowa. Heat treatment is a required step in the production of certain high-strength products, and is essential for products intended for large aerospace and industrial applications. This new furnace will enable Arconic to heat treat longer and thicker plate than ever before, including material for Arconic's recently installed Thick Plate Stretcher, which began commercial production this year and is the largest thick plate stretcher in the world. Need for thick aluminum plate is growing, particularly as demand for composite wings, made with monolithic thick plate wing ribs, increases. The $137M investment is supported by economic development financial assistance from the Iowa Department of Economic Development and the City of Riverdale. Once the contract is finalized, the assistance will include tax, financing and R&D credits as well as training grants for the Davenport workforce and new employees.

16:02 EDT Neurocrine names Matt Abernethy as CFO - Neurocrine Biosciences (NBIX) announced that Matt Abernethy is joining the executive management team as CFO. Abernethy has nearly 15 years of experience in the financial sector and investor relations with expertise in the healthcare industry. He joins Neurocrine from Zimmer Biomet (ZBH), where he held various positions over the past nine years including Vice President, Investor Relations and Treasurer and Vice President of Finance for the Americas and Global Product Engines. In December 2016, Neurocrine announced plans for Timothy Coughlin to step down as the CFO in 2017. Coughlin has remained with Neurocrine through this transition period and will continue with the company into 2018 to facilitate a smooth transition.

15:19 EDT Hain Celestial trading resumes

15:14 EDT Hain Celestial trading halted, volatility trading pause

15:06 EDT Atlantic American Corp names Ross Franklin as CFO - Atlantic American Corporation announced that the Board of Directors has appointed J. Ross Franklin to serve as Vice President and CFO, and Corporate Secretary, of the company. He has been serving as Interim CFO since August 1, 2017. Franklin has more than 18 years of accounting and financial management experience. Since 2000 he has held various roles of increasing responsibility with Atlantic American and its subsidiaries, serving as Vice President, Accounting and Treasurer of Bankers Fidelity since 2009.

15:03 EDT Jana Partners discloses 8.7% stake in Bloomin' Brands, to hold talks

14:53 EDT Double Eagle: TDR Capital enters pact with Algeco holders to dismiss litigation - Double Eagle Acquisition announced that it was informed that TDR Capital, the sponsor of Algeco/Scotsman Holding S.a r.l., has entered into an agreement with certain holders of the Algeco Group's 10.75% senior unsecured notes due 2019, pursuant to which the holders of the Senior Unsecured Notes have instructed the Senior Unsecured Notes trustee to immediately dismiss, in its entirety, the litigation against Double Eagle, certain members of the Algeco Group and TDR Capital, among others, currently pending in the Supreme Court for the State of New York with respect to the previously announced business combination between Double Eagle and Williams Scotsman International, Inc. and to withdraw the complaint made against all defendants, including Double Eagle, the Algeco Group and TDR Capital in that litigation. The agreement does not require any action on the part of Double Eagle or change the terms of the business combination. Double Eagle continues to expect the closing of the business combination to occur in a timely manner.

14:35 EDT Google Cloud announces price cuts for GPUs - Google Cloud (GOOGL) announced in a blog post that it is cutting the price of NVIDIA (NVDA) Tesla GPUs attached to on-demand Google Compute Engine virtual machines by up to 36%. In US regions, each K80 GPU attached to a VM is priced at $0.45 per hour while each P100 costs $1.46 per hour. "As an added bonus, we're also lowering the price of preemptible Local SSDs by almost 40% compared to on-demand Local SSDs. In the US this means $0.048 per GB-month. We hope that the price reduction on NVIDIA Tesla GPUs and preemptible Local SSDs unlocks new opportunities and helps you solve more interesting business, engineering and scientific problems," Google's post added. Other cloud computing services providers that compete with Google include Amazon Web Services (AMZN) and Microsoft (MSFT). Reference Link

14:04 EDT Kelly Services names Pete Boland chief marketing officer - Kelly Services announced the appointment of Pete Boland to chief marketing officer effective January 1, 2018. A seasoned executive with more than 20 years of brand management experience, Boland will oversee the planning and execution of Kelly Services marketing initiatives including global brand communications; sales and marketing alignment; and technology enablement. He replaces Carolyn Palmer, who retired earlier this year, and will report to Teresa Carroll, executive vice president of Kelly Services. Boland joins Kelly Services from BHC Consulting.

13:57 EDT M3 Partners reports 5.84% passive stake in California First National Bankcorp

12:00 EDT Carlyle Group to acquire BenefitMall, terms not disclosed - Carlyle Group announced that it has agreed to acquire BenefitMall, a provider of employee benefits and payroll services to small and medium sized businesses across the U.S., from an investor group led by Austin Ventures. The transaction is subject to customary conditions and is expected to close by year-end. Financial terms were not disclosed.

11:44 EDT Cardinal Health slides as Morgan Stanley says sell on Amazon risk - Shares of Cardinal Health (CAH) are sliding after Morgan Stanley analyst Ricky Goldwasser downgraded the stock to Underweight, a sell-equivalent rating, as he believes Amazon (AMZN) is looking to scale its medical supply distribution efforts and Cardinal's potential earnings risk from the e-commerce giant's effort is larger than its peers. Patterson (PDCO) and Henry Schein (HSIC) are also lower following Morgan Stanley's comments on Amazon's entry into healthcare. SELL CARDINAL HEALTH: In a research note to investors, Morgan Stanley's Goldwasser downgraded Cardinal Health to Underweight from Equal Weight, saying the company has an "outsized exposure" to Amazon risk compared to its peers. Recent hires and public statements make it clear that Amazon is looking to scale its medical supply distribution efforts by deepening existing infrastructure and relationships with hospitals, the analyst contended, adding that it is only a matter of time until it competes head-to-head with primary source distributors such as Cardinal. Further, Goldwasser believes that Cardinal's potential earnings risk is still underappreciated despite the recent selloff. The analyst also lowered his price target on the shares to $51 from $72. AMAZON DISRUPTION OF HEALTHCARE: Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley's U.S. Internet and Healthcare teams collaborated on a report exploring Amazon's entry into healthcare, stating that it will likely take time but that the e-commerce giant's "disruption of healthcare is a foregone conclusion." Healthcare distribution, encompassing medical, dental and drug distributors, drug retailers, and pharmacy benefit managers, has the best fit with the Amazon playbook, the firm contended, adding that manufacturing and specialty players look insulated but may invite Amazon to disintermediate distribution. While retail plays to Amazon's strengths with the highest profits and lowest barriers to entry, retailers like CVS (CVS) and Walgreens (WBA) have the most opportunities to adjust their business models and lower costs to defend against Amazon, the teams told investors. Medical supply and Life Sciences distribution are "less rich" targets, but look like "low-hanging fruit," the analysts added. Morgan Stanley noted that Cardinal Health has the most exposure via its medical supply distribution segment, while McKesson (MCK) also has some, but less, risk. AmerisourceBergen (ABC), which does not distribute medical supplies, remains immune in the near-term, the firm concluded. Others in healthcare distribution facing the most share and/or margin risk from Amazon include Thermo Fisher (TMO), Henry Schein and Patterson, the team of analysts pointed out. Overall, Morgan Stanley envisions Amazon entering the supply chain in four phases, namely opening a retail pharmacy and establishing an infrastructure, contracting with generic manufacturers, building relationships with branded manufacturers, and building out claims processing capabilities. In this scenario, the e-commerce giant could transform the drug supply chain, unlocking savings for patients and plan sponsors while putting drug retailer, distributor, and PBM profit pools at risk over time, the analysts added. PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, shares of Cardinal Health have dropped 3.5% to $55.53, while Patterson has slipped about 3% and Henry Schein has slid more than 2%.

11:12 EDT Nebraska approves TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline

11:08 EDT Tyson Foods to expand chicken production in Western Tennessee - Tyson Foods has accepted the invitation of city, county and state leaders to build a new chicken production complex in the City of Humboldt, which is part of Gibson County in western Tennessee. The announcement was made this morning at a news conference hosted by Tennessee, Humboldt and Gibson County officials. The $300M project is expected to create more than 1,500 local jobs once the new complex begins operations in late 2019 and will help the company meet strong consumer demand for its chicken. Tyson Foods chose western Tennessee over potential sites in other states; however, company officials say some of those other sites will remain under consideration for future poultry production expansion. This is the second major economic development project Tyson Foods has initiated in Tennessee this year. In August, the company announced an $84M expansion of its Union City operations, which is expected to create about 300 jobs, which is in addition to the more than 1,000 jobs currently at the facility.

11:02 EDT Hill International awarded contract to provide program support services for SFO - Hill International announced it has received a contract from the City and County of San Francisco Airport Commission to provide Capital Program Support Services for San Francisco International Airport's, or SFO, $7.3B Capital Improvement Program. The initial term will be $8.5M for the first year of services, and can be renewed annually by SFO up to 4 additional years, not to exceed 5 years and $40M.

10:58 EDT Air Products announces second long-term oxygen, nitrogen supply contract - Air Products announced that it has signed a second long-term oxygen and nitrogen supply contract with a leading global materials supplier in the province. The latest supply contract will further strengthen Air Products' strong position in this strategic industrial base, as well as the relationship with this global customer. Under the new contract, Air Products will build two sets of state-of-the-art cryogenic air separation plants in Guangdong to produce both gaseous oxygen and nitrogen. The new plants are scheduled to come on-stream in 2018. Together with an existing plant, which started-up earlier this year and was the company's first of its kind built in China, Air Products will significantly increase gas supply capacity for the customer.

10:09 EDT Acorda drops Parkinson's drug less than a week after reporting deaths in study - Shares of Acorda Therapeutics (ACOR) are in focus in morning trading after the biopharmaceutical company scrapped development of an investigational treatment for Parkinson's disease less than a week after reporting five deaths in a clinical study. DISCONTINUATION OF TOZADENANT PROGRAM: Acorda Therapeutics announced this morning that it will stop developing tozadenant, its investigational drug for Parkinson's diease. Acorda said it will immediately discontinue dosing all participants that are currently enrolled in the drug studies. The company made its decision after reviewing new information from its Phase 3 program related to agranulocytosis, an acute condition involving a severe and dangerous lowered white blood cell count, and associated serious adverse events. Citing a lack of confidence that it could ensure patient safety by weekly white blood cell count screening, Acorda said it decided to discontinue the clinical development program. Data from the patients who completed the CL-05 study will be available in the first quarter 2018 and will be submitted for presentation at future medical conferences. FIVE DEATHS REPORTED IN STUDY: The news of the tozadenant study discontinuation comes less than week after Acorda said five people died in trials for the drug. The company said it would stop enrolling patients for two long-term safety studies on tozadenant after it found seven cases of sepsis in mid- and late-stage trials, five of which were fatal; four of the sepsis cases were associated with agranulocytosis. At the time, Acorda CEO Ron Cohen said he was "committed to continuing" the tozadenant program and that he believed the drug could still be a "meaningful product." This morning, Cohen said that "While we are deeply disappointed by this outcome, we remain committed to the Parkinson's community, which is in great need of new therapeutic options." ACORDA'S DRUGS: Tozadenant, which the company acquired last year when it bought Biotie Therapies for $363M, belongs to a class of drugs called A2a receptor antagonists that can help improve motor symptoms in patients with Parkinson's disease. In addition to tozadenant, Acorda has faced the loss of exclusivity on its Ampyra drug for multiple sclerosis and a refusal to file letter from the Food and Drug Administration for Inbrija, its other Parkinson's drug. ANALYST COMMENTARY: In a note to clients, H.C. Wainwright analyst Raghuram Selvaraju reiterated his Buy rating on the stock, saying the impact of tozadenant on Acorda's valuation was being "overstated." He attributed only a small contribution of about $1 per share from tozadenant in his valuation and considers recent weakness in Acorda's stock price as overdone and a buying opportunity. PRICE ACTION: After dropping nearly 8% in pre-market trading, Acorda has reversed earlier losses and is now up nearly 7% to $18.98. Shares are up just over 1% year-to-date.

09:58 EDT Honeywell to provide cryogenic gas processing plant to EagleClaw Midstream - Honeywell announced that EagleClaw Midstream Ventures, LLC will use UOP Russell modular cryogenic equipment to process 200 million standard cubic feet per day of natural gas at its gas processing facility in the Permian Basin in Reeves County, Texas.

09:42 EDT Banco Santander acquires additional 10% stake in Santander Consumer - In a regulatory filing, Banco Santander (SAN) disclosed that on November 15, 2017, Santander purchased 34,598,506 shares of common stock of Santander Consumer USA (SC) from DDFS LLC for an aggregate purchase price of $941,945,420. Santander purchased the shares of common stock with its working capital. On November 15, 2017, Santander contributed the 34,598,506 shares of common stock to SHUSA as a capital contribution. Prior to the call transaction, SHUSA owned approximately 58.7% of the outstanding common stock of SC. Following the transaction, Santander may be deemed to beneficially own the common stock owned directly by SHUSA. These 245,593,555 shares represent approximately 68.3% of the outstanding shares of common stock of Santander Consumer.

09:32 EDT Medtronic announces FDA approval, U.S. launch of Azure pacemakers - Medtronic announced FDA approval and U.S. commercial launch for its portfolio of Azure pacemakers with BlueSync technology. Available in both single chamber and dual chamber models, the Azure XT MRI and Azure S MRI pacemakers offer improved longevity, estimated at 13.7 years or 27 percent longer than its predecessor, so patients likely need fewer device replacements. The new pacemakers also allow patients to have MRI scans in either 1.5 or 3 Tesla machines.

09:29 EDT Trade Desk appoints Susan Vobejda as Chief Marketing Officer - Trade Desk announced the appointment of Susan Vobejda as Chief Marketing Officer. Prior to joining Trade Desk, Susan served as EVP and Chief Marketing Officer of Tory Burch. Based in The Trade Desk's New York City office, Susan will report directly to CEO and Co-founder, Jeff Green.

09:09 EDT Amazon announces original anthology series Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams - Amazon announced that its new sci-fi anthology series Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams will premiere on Friday, January 12, exclusively on Prime Video. Based on various writings from author Philip K. Dick, each of the ten standalone episodes are set in a different and unique world - some which lay in the far reaches of the universe, and others which are much closer to home. While the stories may be worlds apart, central to each is the poignant and warm exploration of the importance and significance of humanity. From five to 5000 years in the future, each compelling tale will both illustrate Philip K. Dick's prophetic vision and celebrate the enduring appeal of the prized sci-fi novelist's work. Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams will be available as a Prime Exclusive Series in the U.S., as well as in select territories globally, including Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Latin America, Spain and Turkey, among others. Dick's Emmy award-winning The Man in the High Castle, the most-watched scripted series in the history of Prime Video, will begin its third season in 2018. The entire first season of Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams will be available to stream and members can also download the series to mobile devices for offline viewing at no additional cost to their membership. The series will be available exclusively on Amazon Prime Video for members to watch via the Prime Video app for popular smart TVs, Fire TV, Fire Tablets and Android and iOS phones and tablets.

09:05 EDT Hyatt, Folio Fine Wine Partners launch new addition to Canvas wine label - Hyatt announced the launch of Canvas Blanc de Blancs Spumante, a sparkling addition to the Canvas wine brand that was developed in collaboration with Folio Fine Wine Partners, a Napa Valley, Calif.-based wine company. Folio Fine Wine Partners, owned by the Michael Mondavi Family, has partnered with Venetian sparkling wine producer Villa Sandi to create this new sparkling wine to complement the successful Canvas portfolio, featuring a total of six signature wines. The refreshing Canvas Blanc de Blancs, sourced from Villa Sandi's extensive fruit resources owned by the Moretti Polegato family, is a blend of 100% white grape varieties with dry, fresh flavors paired with flower, fruity aromas and delicate hints of unique golden apple. Hyatt guests will be able to enjoy the sparkling wine while visiting restaurants, bars and in-room dining at all Grand Hyatt, Hyatt Centric, Hyatt Regency, Hyatt Place and Hyatt House hotels in the United States, starting January 1, 2018. In addition to the Blanc de Blancs, Hyatt hotels offer five other signature Canvas wines: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio and Pinot Noir.

09:03 EDT MicroVision's new CEO says plans to continue executing business plan - Perry Mulligan issues a statement as he assumes the CEO role at MicroVision: "As I start my first full week as MicroVision CEO, I want to share my thoughts on the opportunities ahead. Through my time on the company's board of directors, I am familiar with the management team and the business plan and that has been an advantage while stepping into the CEO role. I am now getting the chance to meet more of the MicroVision team working on the development programs for both our engine products and the custom display solution for a major technology company. We have top-tier technical talent working on these programs, and I am impressed with the people in place, the plans to supplement existing expertise and the progress being made. My plan is to continue executing the business plan while surveying the market, meeting our current and potential customers and evaluating the technology platform to determine where it can be applied to best advantage in addition to the opportunities we are already pursuing. One of the things that made a big impression on me as I talked to employees last week is the enthusiasm and optimism for the opportunities to apply our PicoP scanning technology to the mobility, IoT, and LiDAR markets and the pride in the developments this team is making to the platform to align to those opportunities. I look forward to leading the team as we go after these opportunities and to getting to know the shareholders who have been the backbone of our company for many years."

09:03 EDT Condor Hospitality Trust announces $7.8M contract to sell non-core hotel - Condor Hospitality Trust announced that one of its legacy hotels, the 127-room Comfort Suites in Fort Wayne, IN, is now under contract to sell for $7.8M and is expected to close in early 2018. Net proceeds from the anticipated sale will be applied to outstanding debt on the company's $150M secured credit facility. "Upon completing the sale of the seven planned dispositions for 2017, we announced that we would accelerate the sale of four additional legacy hotel dispositions. With the signing of this contract, we now have three of these four under contract for sale, representing $14.M of potential gross sales proceeds," said Bill Blackham, CEO. "Our objective is to have the fourth asset that is currently being marketed for sale under contract by year-end 2017. With the completion of these four additional asset sales, only two of the legacy assets will remain and Condor will essentially be complete with its portfolio transformation as the remaining two legacy hotels are being held in order to fully capture the intrinsic value of the assets. Please note there can be no guarantee that any of these planned dispositions will actually close."

09:02 EDT Shire, Bioverativ fall after Roche hemophilia A study hits goals - Shares of Shire (SHPG) and Bioverativ (BIVV) are lower after Roche's (RHHBY) Genentech unit said its Phase III 3 study evaluating Hemlibra in adults and adolescents with hemophilia A without inhibitors to factor VIII met its primary and key secondary endpoints. The study showed a statistically significant and clinically meaningful reduction in the number of treated bleeds over time in people receiving Hemlibra prophylaxis every week compared to those receiving no prophylaxis, Genentech announced earlier today in a statement. Following the news, shares of Shire are down 3% to $142.53 and Bioverativ (BIVV) is down 6% to $52.80 in pre-market trading.

09:00 EDT Shire, Bioverativ fall after Roche hemophilia A study meet goals - Shares of Shire (SHPG) and Bioverativ (BIVV) are lower after Roche's (RHHBY) Genentech unit said its Phase III 3 study evaluating Hemlibra in adults and adolescents with hemophilia A without inhibitors to factor VIII met its primary and key secondary endpoints. The study showed a statistically significant and clinically meaningful reduction in the number of treated bleeds over time in people receiving Hemlibra prophylaxis every week compared to those receiving no prophylaxis, Genentech announced earlier today in a statement. Following the news, shares of Shire are down 3% to $142.53 and Bioverativ (BIVV) is down 6% to $52.80 in pre-market trading.

08:58 EDT Marvell says Cavium deal 'many months in the making'

08:43 EDT EU extends license for Janssen's Zytiga plus prednisone - Janssen-Cilag International NV announced that the European Commission has granted approval to broaden the existing marketing authorisation for ZYTIGA plus prednisone / prednisolone to include an earlier stage of metastatic prostate cancer than its current indications. Abiraterone acetate plus prednisone / prednisolone can now be used for the treatment of newly-diagnosed high-risk metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate cancer in adult men in combination with androgen deprivation therapy. The EC's decision follows a recommendation from the Committee for Medical Products for Human Use that was based on data from the multinational, multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 study, LATITUDE. The trial was designed to determine if newly diagnosed patients with metastatic prostate cancer, who are naive to castration and have high-risk prognostic factors, would benefit from the addition of abiraterone acetate and prednisone to androgen deprivation therapy vs ADT alone. In the LATITUDE study, the safety profile of ADT in combination with abiraterone acetate plus prednisone was consistent with prior studies in patients with mCRPC. Most common adverse events were elevated incidences of mineralocorticoid-related hypertension and hypokalemia in the ADT in combination with abiraterone acetate plus prednisone arm compared with ADT and placebos.

08:37 EDT Marvell: Cavium deal doesn't include divestitures, changes to Cavium's portfolio - On the conference call discussing its proposed acquisition of Cavium (CAVM), Marvell (MRVL) said the companies' portfolios are "very complementary," says companies "together equal more than the sum of their parts." Says management teams already working together to ensure a smooth transition, says looking at deal as "merging of management teams." Sees opportunities to rationalize R&D spending. Says goals are to grow revenue high single digits, achieve operating margin of 35%, EBITDA margin of approx. 40%. Says deal does not currently include divestitures or changes to Cavium's portfolio. Says "almost no overlap" between two companies, doesn't see regulatory challenges. Cavium is up 8.6% in premarket trading, while Marvell is up 2.7%.

08:34 EDT Genius Brands signs multiple content sales deals for children's programming - Genius Brands expands the reach of its children's series worldwide with multiple new content licensing agreements signed with Da Vinci Learning, Azoomee and the American Forces Network. The deals follow Genius Brands robust presence at the global content market, MIPJunior/MIPCOM, in Cannes, France where the company exhibited and initiated dialogue with a broad range of international networks and digital platforms to license its programs.

08:32 EDT On Track Innovations: UNO 6 selected by CityEV as cashless payment solution - On Track Innovations announced its UNO 6 Ultra Compact NFC Contactless Reader had been chosen by UK-based CityEV, a leading provider of electric vehicle charging solutions, as the cashless payment solution for its Cityline 100 electric vehicle charging stations.

08:18 EDT Aegion CFO David Martin resigns, David Morris appointed interim CFO - Aegion announced that, effective November 18, David Martin has resigned his positions as Executive Vice President and CFO of the company. The company further announced that David Morris has been appointed as the company's interim CFO to serve until a permanent CFO is hired. The company intends to consider both internal and external candidates in its search for a permanent CFO. During the company's search, Morris will also maintain his current responsibilities with Aegion. Morris has been with Aegion for more than 13 years and currently serves as the company's Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, and is responsible for the company's legal, administrative, corporate governance, safety and compliance functions.

08:14 EDT Sunrun, others to install solar on five additional fire station in Puerto Rico - Sunrun and Empowered by Light, in partnership with Aireko Energy Group, announced an expansion of their collaboration to bring solar power to critical fire stations in hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico as part of a continuing effort to provide emergency relief to residents on the island. The initiative will equip a total of eight fire stations on the island with solar power and battery storage, which will power critical emergency systems 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

08:07 EDT Marvell sees Cavium deal as 'significantly accretive' to revenue, non-GAAP EPS - As previously reported, Marvell Technology Group (MRVL) and Cavium (CAVM) announced a definitive agreement, unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, under which Marvell will acquire all outstanding shares of Cavium common stock in exchange for consideration of $40.00 per share in cash and 2.1757 Marvell common shares for each Cavium share. Upon completion of the transaction, Marvell will become a leader in infrastructure solutions with approximately $3.4B in annual revenue. The transaction combines Marvell's portfolio of leading HDD and SSD storage controllers, networking solutions and high-performance wireless connectivity products with Cavium's portfolio of leading multi-core processing, networking communications, storage connectivity and security solutions. The combined product portfolios provide the scale and breadth to deliver comprehensive end-to-end solutions for customers across the cloud data center, enterprise and service provider markets, and expands Marvell's serviceable addressable market to more than $16B. "This transaction also creates an R&D innovation engine to accelerate product development, positioning the company to meet today's massive and growing demand for data storage, heterogeneous computing and high-speed connectivity," the company stated. The transaction is expected to generate at least $150M-$175M of annual run-rate synergies within 18 months post close and to be significantly accretive to revenue growth, margins and non-GAAP EPS.

08:05 EDT Zions Bancorp to merge parent company into banking subsidiary - Zions Bancorp announced its intention to streamline its corporate structure by merging the parent company into its banking subsidiary, ZB, N.A or one of its subsidiaries. The resulting entity will bear the name Zions Bancorporation, N.A. and will continue to operate with its existing local brand names and management teams in markets throughout the western United States. Concurrently with the simplification of its corporate structure, Zions will file an application with the Financial Stability Oversight Council seeking a determination that the resulting banking organization is not "systemically important" as defined by provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Although under Section 117 of the Dodd-Frank Act the successor organization to a bank holding company with assets of over $50B that ceases to exist as a bank holding company would otherwise be treated as a nonbank financial company that has been designated as systemically important under Section 113 of the Act, Section 117(c) of the Act provides that a firm may appeal such treatment as a nonbank financial company to the FSOC. Zions expects to initiate the filings and other actions required in connection with this project, including filing a proxy statement and other proxy materials with the Securities and Exchange Commission and scheduling a shareholder vote to approve the combination, before the end of the year. Assuming a favorable result from the FSOC, receipt of required regulatory approvals and an affirmative vote by shareholders, Zions expects to consummate the transaction within six months from the date the appeal request is filed with the FSOC, provided that Congressional hearings are not held under Section 117(c)(2)(b)(ii) of the Dodd-Frank Act. Zions is represented in this matter by the law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP.

08:03 EDT Acasti says development, commercialization talks progressing with China partner - Acasti Pharma announced that the company recently entered into a non-binding term sheet with a leading China-based pharmaceutical company. Completion of the transaction is subject to further negotiation and execution of a definitive agreement, which once signed would grant an exclusive license to the Chinese pharmaceutical company to commercialize CaPre in certain Asian countries, including China. With the high prevalence of hypertriglyceridemia in Asia, this potential partnership presents a significant opportunity for Acasti and CaPre. If a definitive agreement is reached and signed, the term sheet contemplates that Acasti would receive an upfront payment of $8 million upon signing, plus potential additional regulatory and commercial milestone payments in excess of $125 million, and tiered double-digit royalties on net sales. The term sheet is preliminary and non-binding at this stage and the license, upfront payment, possible milestone payments, and royalties contemplated by it will only become operative if definitive documents are executed. It is possible that no definitive agreement will be reached or, if a definitive agreement is reached, that its terms or conditions may differ from those described above.

08:02 EDT Jury finds in favor of Federal Signal for seventh consecutive hearing loss win - Federal Signal announced that on Friday, November 17, a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania jury absolved the company from any liability in a lawsuit brought by a former Philadelphia firefighter who claimed he developed hearing loss due to the company's warning siren on Philadelphia fire trucks. Following a one-week trial, the jury deliberated for less than two hours before returning a verdict in favor of the company, finding that the company's siren was neither defective nor was the company negligent in its design of the siren.

08:00 EDT Digital Ally trading resumes

07:43 EDT Americas Silver commences production at San Rafael Mine - Americas Silver announced it has commenced production from the San Rafael Mine as the sole source of mill feed at the Company's Cosala Operations in Sinaloa, Mexico. Initially, the Company is targeting a throughput of 1500 tonnes per day. The mine is currently producing over 1000 tonnes per day as it continues its ramp-up. There is a stockpile in excess of 25,000 tonnes of San Rafael ore and a further 50,000 tonnes of Nuestra Senora ore at the mill, if required. The San Rafael Mine is expected to drive significant earnings and cash flow at current metals prices for shareholders starting in 1Q18 and over the life of the mine. It is projected to provide a meaningful reduction in the consolidated cash costs and all-in sustaining costs. The Company expects that it will declare commercial production at the mine before the end of 4Q17.

07:37 EDT Flexion announces full commercial launch, nationwide availability of Zilretta - Flexion Therapeutics announced the full commercial launch of Zilretta, the company's new therapy for the management of pain associated with osteoarthritis, or OA, of the knee. On October 6, 2017, Zilretta was approved by the FDA, and the product has been available on a limited basis since October 23. Flexion has hired and trained more than 100 field sales representatives, known as Musculoskeletal Business Managers, who are now deployed across the country.

07:33 EDT Digital Ally announces 'significant' developments in litigation against Axon - Digital Ally (DGLY) announced that the Federal District Court of Kansas has rejected the request of Axon Enterprise (AAXN) to maintain the stay of the patent lawsuit brought by Digital against it. With this significant ruling, the parties will now proceed towards trial. The U.S. Patent Office previously had rejected Axon's attempts to invalidate Digital's Patent No. 9,253,452 through two separate petitions for inter partes review, or IPR. This was Axon's final attempt to invalidate the '452 Patent before the Patent Office. Despite its loss before the Patent Office, Axon desperately sought to convince the Court to maintain the stay of the litigation to avoid answering to Digital and a jury for its willful infringement of Digital's '452 Patent. On Friday, November 17, 2017, the Court rejected Axon's request and lifted the stay of the litigation. In ruling on the motion regarding the stay, the Court found that the evidence submitted by Digital "weigh heavily against continuing the stay of the '452 patent" and that "the Court denies Defendant's [Axon's] request to continue the stay of this case with respect to the '452 patent." The Court has set a hearing for December 14, 2017, to discuss a schedule for moving the case forward to trial. "We are very pleased with the Court's ruling. This is a significant win for us that vindicates the positions we have taken," said Digital's CEO, Stanton Ross. "The '452 Patent represents a pioneering invention that has become or is quickly becoming a standard feature utilized by the law enforcement industry. Axon has recognized the value of the '452 Patent by incorporating our technology into its products and then trying to justify its wrongful actions by attempting to invalidate the Patent. With its efforts having been rejected by the Patent Office, and the Court rejecting Axon's attempts to maintain the stay of the litigation, we can finally move this case forward towards trial where Axon will have to answer to a jury for its conduct. We hope these favorable rulings by the Federal District Court and the Patent Office will clear the confusion of the many customers who have relied upon Axon's assertions that it could deliver the auto-activation technology covered by Digital Ally's patents that Axon wrongfully incorporated into its own products," concluded Ross.

07:18 EDT Cavium up 7% to $81.15 after agreeing to be acquired by Marvell

07:15 EDT Tesaro receives EC approval of Zejula - Tesaro announced that the European Commission, or EC, has granted marketing authorization for Zejula as a monotherapy for the maintenance treatment of adult patients with platinum-sensitive relapsed high grade serous epithelial ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer who are in complete response or partial response to platinum-based chemotherapy. Zejula is the first once-daily, oral poly polymerase /2 inhibitor to be approved in Europe that does not require BRCA mutation or other biomarker testing.

07:12 EDT Ziopharm announces 'positive' data for Ad-RTS-hIL-12 plus veledimex - Ziopharm Oncology announced positive data updates supporting survival benefit and the underlying immune system mechanism for Ad-RTS-hIL-12 plus veledimex, the Company's controlled human interleukin-12, or hIL-12, gene therapy candidate for brain cancer, at the 22nd Annual Meeting and Education Day of the Society for Neuro-Oncology, or SNO. This gene therapy has demonstrated a targeted, anti-tumor immune response for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma, or rGBM. New data presented shows median overall survival, or mOS, of 12.5 months has been sustained for patients treated with Ad-RTS-hIL-12 plus 20mg of veledimex at a longer mean follow-up time of 11.1 months as of October 18, 2017. This mOS of 12.5 months continues to compare favorably to the 5 to 8 months survival established in historical controls for patients with rGBM. Furthermore, the four patients with rGBM who received low-dose steroids maintained 100 percent survival at a mean follow-up time of 11.1 months. An anti-tumor effect was also evident with centralized review of magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, showing decreasing size of brain tumor lesions in several patients.

07:09 EDT NewStar Financial announces completion of 'Go Shop' process - NewStar Financial announced the expiration of the 30 day "go shop" period included in the previously announced merger agreement between First Eagle Investment Management and NewStar and related asset purchase agreement with a newly formed investment fund sponsored by GSO Capital Partners LP. During the "go shop" period, NewStar, with the assistance of its financial advisors Credit Suisse Securities LLC and Houlihan Lokey Capital, Inc., actively solicited alternative proposals to acquire the Company. More than 50 parties were contacted and seven other parties made unsolicited inquiries. NewStar entered into confidentiality agreements with 22 of those parties, which were provided access to additional information. NewStar did not receive any acquisition proposals during the go-shop period.

07:08 EDT Kamada, Chiesi Farmaceutici agree to terminate EU distribution agreement - Kamada announced that the company and Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A. have mutually agreed to terminate the parties' European distribution agreement related to Kamada's inhaled Alpha-1 Antitrypsin, or AAT, therapy for the treatment of Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency, or AATD. Following Kamada's recent withdrawal of the Marketing Authorization Application, or MAA, for this product candidate with the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, a European distribution agreement within the pact's defined timeframe is not currently warranted. Kamada now maintains full, worldwide commercial rights to its inhaled AAT. There are no financial implications related to the termination of this agreement.

07:06 EDT Summit Therapeutics completes initial 24 weeks of dosing in PhaseOut DMD trial - Summit Therapeutics announces the completion of the initial 24-weeks of dosing of ezutromid in patients with DMD in the company's Phase 2 clinical trial called PhaseOut DMD. With the achievement of this milestone, Summit continues to expect to report results from this initial 24-week dosing period in the first quarter of 2018.

07:04 EDT Marvell to acquire Cavium for $40.00 per share in cash, stock - Marvell Technology Group (MRVL) and Cavium (CAVM) announced a definitive agreement, unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both companies, under which Marvell will acquire all outstanding shares of Cavium common stock in exchange for consideration of $40.00 per share in cash and 2.1757 Marvell common shares for each Cavium share. Upon completion of the transaction, Marvell will become a leader in infrastructure solutions with approximately $3.4B in annual revenue. The transaction combines Marvell's portfolio of leading HDD and SSD storage controllers, networking solutions and high-performance wireless connectivity products with Cavium's portfolio of leading multi-core processing, networking communications, storage connectivity and security solutions. The combined product portfolios provide the scale and breadth to deliver comprehensive end-to-end solutions for customers across the cloud data center, enterprise and service provider markets, and expands Marvell's serviceable addressable market to more than $16B. This transaction also creates an R&D innovation engine to accelerate product development, positioning the company to meet today's massive and growing demand for data storage, heterogeneous computing and high-speed connectivity. The transaction is expected to generate at least $150M-$175M of annual run-rate synergies within 18 months post close and to be significantly accretive to revenue growth, margins and non-GAAP EPS. Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Marvell will pay Cavium shareholders $40.00 in cash and 2.1757 Marvell common shares for each share of Cavium common stock. The exchange ratio was based on a purchase price of $80 per share, using Marvell's undisturbed price prior to November 3, when media reports of the transaction first surfaced. This represents a transaction value of approximately $6B. Cavium shareholders are expected to own approximately 25% of the combined company on a pro forma basis. Marvell intends to fund the cash consideration with a combination of cash on hand from the combined companies and $1.75B in debt financing. Marvell has obtained commitments consisting of an $850M bridge loan commitment and a $900M committed term loan from Goldman Sachs Bank USA and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, in each case, subject to customary terms and conditions. The transaction is not subject to any financing condition. The transaction is expected to close in mid-calendar 2018, subject to regulatory approval as well as other customary closing conditions, including the adoption by Cavium shareholders of the merger agreement and the approval by Marvell shareholders of the issuance of Marvell common shares in the transaction. Matt Murphy will lead the combined company, and the leadership team will have strong representation from both companies, including Marvell's current CFO Jean Hu, Cavium's Co-founder and COO Raghib Hussain and Cavium's Vice President of IC Engineering Anil Jain. In addition, Cavium's Co-founder and CEO, Syed Ali, will continue with the combined company as a strategic advisor and will join Marvell's Board of Directors, along with two additional board members from Cavium's Board of Directors, effective upon closing of the transaction.

07:03 EDT Alnylam receives FDA breakthrough therapy designation for Patisiran - Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY) announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Breakthrough Therapy Designation for patisiran, an investigational RNAi therapeutic targeting transthyretin for the treatment of adults with hereditary transthyretin-mediated ATTR amyloidosis with polyneuropathy. BTD is intended to expedite the development and review of drugs for the treatment of serious or life-threatening conditions based on clinical evidence indicating that the drug demonstrates substantial improvement on clinically significant endpoints over available therapy. Alnylam has initiated a rolling New Drug Application for patisiran and expects the last submission by the end of 2017. Patisiran previously received Fast Track Designation in the U.S., and was recently granted accelerated assessment by the European Medicines Agency. Alnylam, in alliance with Sanofi Genzyme (SNY), intends to file a marketing authorization application in the European Union around year-end. Pending regulatory approvals, Alnylam will commercialize patisiran in the U.S., Canada and Western Europe, with Sanofi Genzyme commercializing the product in the rest of the world.

07:01 EDT Acorda discontinues tozadenant development program - Acorda Therapeutics announced that it is discontinuing its clinical development program for tozadenant, an investigational treatment for Parkinson's disease, including immediately discontinuing dosing of all participants currently enrolled in its tozadenant studies. The company made this decision based on new information obtained from the Phase 3 program related to previously disclosed agranulocytosis and associated serious adverse events. After analyzing this additional information, the company concluded that it could not be confident that weekly white blood cell count screening would sufficiently ensure patient safety. Acorda has informed regulatory authorities and trial investigators regarding the orderly closure of ongoing studies. "Patient safety is our top priority," said Ron Cohen, M.D., Acorda's President and CEO. "While we are deeply disappointed by this outcome, we remain committed to the Parkinson's community, which is in great need of new therapeutic options. We are grateful to the patients who volunteered for the tozadenant studies and to their care partners, clinical investigators, and the internal and external study teams." Over 90% of the participants in the placebo-controlled Phase 3 efficacy and safety study, CL-05, have completed the study. The company expects data from these participants in the first quarter of 2018 and to present these at appropriate medical/scientific venues.

06:46 EDT WidePoint awarded $4.4M task order by USCIS - WidePoint announced a task order option year award from United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, for more than $4.4M. WidePoint will deliver cellular wireless managed services to USCIS through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Cellular Wireless Management Services Blanket Purchase Agreement.

06:34 EDT Altice says will not pursue any new meaningful M&A opportunities

06:18 EDT Roche: Study showed Tecentriq, Avastin plus chemotherapy reduced disease risk

06:13 EDT Toshiba to proceed with financing transaction to close on December 5 - Toshiba Corporation, as approved at its Board of Directors, has decided to proceed with a financing transaction expected to close on December 5, 2017. The proceeds from the Financing will be used to offer to make full payment of parent company guarantee related to nuclear power construction project of Westinghouse Electric Company LLC. By obtaining funds necessary to offer to make early payment of the parent company guarantee and settling the obligations to creditors, Toshiba can obtain the right against Westinghouse to demand reimbursement of the amount paid by Toshiba. Toshiba intends to sell its claims, including reimbursement, against Westinghouse and interests held by it related to Westinghouse to a third party. If such sale is successfully made, Toshiba is expected to be able to significantly reduce its internal resources it had to allocate to the rehabilitation proceedings of Westinghouse and focus its internal resources on its new businesses after the sale of the Memory Business. In addition to the above, Toshiba is expected to be able to avoid currency fluctuation risk related to the maximum amount of the parent company guarantee specified in US dollar by making full payment of the parent company guarantee. Further, if the sale of the claims, including reimbursement, against Westinghouse and interests related to Westinghouse is completed by the end of March 2018, Toshiba is expected to be able to reduce the tax impact recorded as a result of the value of the memory business having been determined, and at least approximately JPY 240 billion will contribute to further enhancing Toshiba's capital base. If the Financing successfully completes and the claims against Westinghouse and interests related to Westinghouse are sold, it is expected that JPY 750 billion of negative consolidated balance sheet will be remedied as of the end of March 31, 2018 and thereby Toshiba's pressing challenge will be resolved. After the closing of the transfer of the Memory Business, Toshiba will consider appropriate measures to return to shareholders while considering Toshiba group's financial situation, business risks and other factors. The successful completion of the Financing will remedy a negative consolidated balance sheet and enable Toshiba to avoid the delisting of its shares, both of which have been pressing challenges of Toshiba. Subsequently, Toshiba group, as the new Toshiba, will focus on four business domains, Social Infrastructure as a core, along with Energy, Electronic Devices and Digital Solutions. Toshiba will pursue to strengthen its revenue base and achieve stable growth in each business domain and to recover its diminished financial base.

06:09 EDT Egalet receives grant to develop novel application of Guardian Technology - Egalet announced the company was awarded a grant from InnoBooster to develop a novel oral delivery system using a new application of Egalet's Guardian Technology to develop products in therapeutic areas outside of pain.

06:03 EDT TowerJazz to install solar panels in areas comprising nearly 100,000 square feet - TowerJazz announced its increased presence into renewable energy and green initiatives for its specialty IC analog foundry business with a roadmap of several initiatives for infrastructure improvement, furthering its activities in becoming a more eco-friendly and green company. TowerJazz has invested in several key projects in company fabrication sites which enable improvement in water and electricity usage. TowerJazz has finalized an agreement to install solar panels in areas comprising nearly 100,000 square feet. The yearly production of renewal green energy is estimated to be 1700MWh which equals 4.5 days of the facility's consumption and a year's consumption of about 100 private residences. Construction is set to begin in January 2018 and to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2018. In addition to the solar project, several global initiatives have resulted in electricity savings of 18,000 MWh/year. Projects included: installing smart devices that regulate power consumption, upgrading chillers which are used to control temperature (important in the production of semiconductor devices), replacing the cooling tower, and replacing neon light bulbs with LED bulbs to reduce electricity consumption. The total electricity savings per year is equivalent to annual electricity consumption of about 1600 private households or 16M pounds of coal burned. TowerJazz has also implemented creative recycling projects leading to overall water consumption reduction. A total of 74,500 m3/year were reduced, which is equal to the annual water consumption of a town with a population of 2,100 people.

06:01 EDT Earthstone Energy to sell Bakken assets for approximately $27M in cash - Earthstone Energy announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Bakken assets for approximately $27M in cash to an unaffiliated party. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and adjustments. The effective date will be December 1, 2017 and is expected to close by year-end 2017.

05:33 EDT Manchester United enters multi-year partnership with Melitta - Manchester United and coffee specialists Melitta have announced a multi-year partnership which will see the brand become the Club's first Official Coffee Partner. Melitta, part of the family owned Melitta Group, will be the club's exclusive coffee partner in Europe, with the partnership covering UK, Ireland and Germany. As part of the agreement more than 200 fully automatic Melitta coffee machines and makers will be installed within Executive Club boxes and hospitality areas around Old Trafford. In addition to this, Melitta played a major role in the refurbishment of the Club's Red Cafe at its famous Old Trafford stadium. The new offering includes a sleek coffee bar, as well as a new dining area within the main restaurant. Fans will also be pleased to hear that Melitta will not only be equipping Old Trafford but will also provide attractive offers for Manchester United coffee lovers with club branded machines becoming available to purchase soon, as well as many exciting competitions and giveaways.

05:29 EDT Biohaven receives agreement from FDA on iPSP for oral Rimegepant - Biohaven Pharmaceutical announced that the company has received agreement from the FDA on the initial pediatric study plan, or iPSP, for orally-dosed rimegepant. Rimegepant is a second-generation, small molecule, calcitonin gene-related peptide, or CGRP, receptor antagonist being developed for the acute treatment of migraine. Agreement on an iPSP is one of the regulatory requirements that must be met prior to submitting a new drug application.

05:22 EDT Novartis drug Tasigna gets EU approval for treatment of Ph+ CML-CP in children - Novartis announced that the European Commission approved Tasigna for the treatment of pediatric patients with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive chronic myeloid leukemia in the chronic phase, or Ph+ CML-CP, and pediatric patients with Ph+ CML-CP with resistance or intolerance to prior therapy including imatinib. Tasigna is the only second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor currently approved in the European Union for the treatment of Ph+ CML-CP in children. The approval follows a positive opinion issued by the European Medicines Agency's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use on September 14, 2017 and applies to all EU member states.