Stockwinners Market Radar for December 11, 2017 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

19:15 EDT TriCo to acquire FNB in transaction valued at roughly $315.3M - TriCo Bancshares and FNB Bancorp announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which TriCo, parent company of Tri Counties Bank, will acquire FNB, parent company of First National Bank of Northern California, in a stock transaction valued at approximately $315.3M in aggregate, or $40.81 per share based on the closing price of TriCo's common stock of $41.64 per share on December 8, 2017. The transaction extends Tri Counties Bank's meaningful presence throughout Northern California into the San Francisco peninsula adding key growth markets and opportunities to serve customers in and around the Bay Area. The combination provides customers on the peninsula with access to a premier community banking franchise committed to the businesses, consumers and the communities it serves. Based on financial information as of September 30, 2017, the combined company will have approximately $6.1B in assets, $5B in deposits, $3.7B in gross loans, and 78 branches throughout California -- spanning from Bakersfield in the south to near the Oregon border in the north. The transaction, which was unanimously approved by the boards of directors of TriCo and FNB, is subject to approval by the shareholders of both companies and federal and California banking regulatory agencies. Under the terms of the merger agreement, FNB shareholders will receive 0.980 shares of TriCo common stock in exchange for each share of FNB common stock they hold. The exchange ratio is fixed, subject to a trading collar. In total, FNB shareholders will own approximately 24% of the common stock of the combined company once the transaction is complete. The merger is expected to qualify as a tax-free reorganization. The merger agreement includes a trading collar that allows TriCo to terminate the merger agreement if the weighted average price of TriCo common stock, determined in accordance with the merger agreement, exceeds $49.78 and outperforms the KBW Regional Banking Index by more than 20%, unless FNB agrees to reduce the exchange ratio. Conversely, FNB has the right to terminate the merger agreement if the weighted average price of TriCo common stock is less than $33.18 and underperforms the KBW Regional Banking Index by more than 20%, unless TriCo agrees to increase the exchange ratio. The merger agreement provides for two directors of FNB to join TriCo's Board of Directors. TriCo expects the transaction to be 2% accretive to earnings in 2018, excluding transaction costs, and 8% accretive to earnings in 2019. The earnings per share accretion estimates are based on estimated cost savings of approximately 28% of FNB's non-interest expense, with an estimated 75% realized in 2018 and 100% phased-in during 2019. The earnings per share accretion estimates do not include any impact due to potential revenue synergies although opportunities have been identified. TriCo is expected to recover the tangible book value dilution resulting from this transaction in 4.7 years via the crossover method.

18:49 EDT Archrock names Raymond Guba Interim CFO - Archrock announced that Raymond Guba has been appointed Interim CFO, effective December 12, 2017. Guba brings extensive financial executive experience to Archrock having previously served as the Senior Vice President, CFO of Global Power, a publicly-traded energy products and services business; Executive Vice President, CFO at FTS International, a private equity well completion company; and Executive Vice President, Chief Financial and Administrative Officer for Integrated Electrical Services, a publicly-traded electrical contracting services company.

18:33 EDT Advantage Oil & Gas announces 2018 capital budget of $175M - Advantage Oil & Gas is pleased to announce that its Board of Directors has approved a 2018 capital budget of $175M funded through cash flow that prudently advances our industry leading low cost Montney development and results in increasing liquids production growth through 2018 and beyond from our assets at Glacier, Valhalla, Wembley and Progress. Advantage's significant and growing inventory of commercial liquids rich natural gas development opportunities was recently extended by a 4 well pad at Valhalla which demonstrated a combined initial production flow rate of 6,410 boe/d comprised of 32 mmcf/d gas and 1,075 bbls/d of liquids (based on Glacier gas plant shallow cut extraction process) with certain liquid yields comprised of 90% free condensate/oil in excess of 100 bbls/mmcf. Middle Montney results at Glacier in 2017 also extended our liquids rich fairway and confirmed well performance improvements from frac design technology changes which will be applied to high liquids rich areas and reservoir layers within our Montney lands. In addition, well results from our liquids rich lands at Wembley and Progress are expected to be available by early 2018. The Corporation's 2018 budget has been designed with significant flexibility to modify capital expenditures, capital allocation and production in H2 2018 or 2019 while advancing our liquids development initiative. The Corporation's 2018 capital budget of $175M maintains a year-end 2018 total debt to cash flow of 1.3x (AECO price of Cdn $1.75/mcf & WTI $55 US/bbl).

18:02 EDT Editas Medicine reports results from expanded CRISPR genome editing strategies - Editas Medicine announced results from experiments to demonstrate expanded CRISPR genome editing strategies in hematopoietic stem cells for the treatment of hematologic diseases such as sickle cell disease and beta-thalassemia. In these proof of concept experiments, the company demonstrated CRISPR/Cas9 homology directed repair and CRISPR/Cpf1-directed editing in human CD34+ cells. The company reported these data today in a poster presentation at the 59th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology in Atlanta. In experiments, CRISPR/Cas9 caused efficient and reproducible HDR in CD34+ cells with minimal impact on cell viability. In separate studies, CRISPR/Cpf1 efficiently edited at multiple sites, including targets associated with hereditary persistence of fetal hemoglobin. These results confirm that Cpf1-directed editing expands the number of genomic sites accessible to develop genome editing medicines.

17:43 EDT SEC Chairman says no initial coin offerings have been registered - Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Jay Clayton issued a statement on cryptocurrencies and initial coin offerings, or ICOs. It reads in part, "Investors should understand that to date no initial coin offerings have been registered with the SEC. The SEC also has not to date approved for listing and trading any exchange-traded products (such as ETFs) holding cryptocurrencies or other assets related to cryptocurrencies. If any person today tells you otherwise, be especially wary." Clayton goes on, "We at the SEC are committed to promoting capital formation. The technology on which cryptocurrencies and ICOs are based may prove to be disruptive, transformative and efficiency enhancing. I am confident that developments in fintech will help facilitate capital formation and provide promising investment opportunities for institutional and Main Street investors alike." He then lays out some sample questions for which investors should be asking, including, "Who exactly am I contracting with" and "Where is my money going and what will be it be used for?" Also, "Is my money going to be used to 'cash out' others?" Reference Link

17:18 EDT James E. Flynn reports 5.17% passive stake in Natera

17:16 EDT Boxer Capital reports 5.9% passive stake in Aradigm

17:06 EDT RBC Global reports 10.08% passive stake in TransAlta

17:03 EDT Verastem presents Phase 1 Duvelisib combination data in T-Cell lymphomas - Verastem announced the presentation of new preclinical and Phase 1 clinical data from an investigator-sponsored study evaluating the safety and activity of oral duvelisib in combination with romidepsin or bortezomib in relapsed or refractory T-cell lymphomas at the American Society of Hematology 2017 Annual Meeting held December 9-12, 2017 in Atlanta. Duvelisib is a first-in-class oral dual inhibitor of phosphoinositide-3-kinase-delta and PI3K-gamma which is currently being developed for the treatment of relapsed or refractory Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma and Follicular Lymphoma. In addition, duvelisib is being studied in other hematologic malignancies including both peripheral and cutaneous T cell lymphoma. In arm A, there were 15 patients evaluable for efficacy (PTCL, n=11; CTCL, n=4). Of these, nine responded and 5 partial responses for an overall response rate of 60%. Seven of the 11 patients with PTCL responded or an ORR of 64%. Among the 9 patients evaluable for safety (25mg, n=3; 50mg, n=3; 75mg, n=3), there were no dose limiting toxicities (DLT), therefore oral duvelisib 75mg BID in combination with romidepsin 10mg/m2 IV was defined as the maximum tolerated dose. The most common Grade 1/2 adverse events were fatigue (n=9), nausea (n=8), altered taste (n=8) and diarrhea (n=6), rash (n=5), dysphagia (n=4) and anorexia (n=4). The most common Grade 3/4 adverse events were neutropenia (n=6), thrombocytopenia (n=1), lung infection (n=1), pleural effusion (n=1) and hyponatremia (n=1). There were two deaths (sepsis and diffuse alveolar hemorrhage following allogeneic stem cell transplant) that were both assessed as unrelated to study drug. In arm B, there were 17 patients evaluable for efficacy (PTCL, n=10; CTCL, n=7). Of these, six responded (3 CRs and 3 PRs) for an ORR of 35%. Five of the 10 patients with PTCL responded (3 CRs and 2 PRs) for an ORR of 50%. Among the 14 patients evaluable for safety (25mg, n=6; 50mg, n=3; 75mg, n=5), there was one DLT (pneumonia) in the 25mg group. The MTD was determined to be oral duvelisib 25mg BID in combination with bortezomib 1mg/m2 IV. The most common Grade 1/2 adverse events were diarrhea/colitis (n=11), nausea/vomiting (n=4), chills (n=4) and fatigue (n=4). The most common Grade 3/4 adverse events were ALT and AST elevation (n=6), rash (n=2) and neutropenia (n=2). There was a case of Stevens-Johnson syndrome resulting in death which was assessed by the investigator as possibly related to bortezomib, duvelisib, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, a medication that was initiated at the start of the study.

16:59 EDT Nicholas Financial names Douglas Marohn as President, CEO - December 8, the Board of Nicholas Financial appointed Douglas Marohn as President and CEO of the company effective as of December 12. Marohn most recently served as President / CEO of ML Credit Group, LLC (dba Metrolina Credit Company) since January 2014.

16:52 EDT PDC Energy announces 2018 capital investment budget of $850M-$920M - 2018 Budget Highlights: Year-over-year production growth of approximately 25% to an estimated 38M-42M barrels of oil equivalent. Oil production to account for approximately 42% of total production, representing a year-over-year oil volume increase of approximately 30%. Year-over-year Delaware Basin production growth estimated to exceed 80%. Anticipated capital investment between $850M-$920M with an expected outspend of approximately $130M utilizing a $50 oil and $3 gas price deck. Anticipate operating in a cash flow neutral environment over the second half of 2018, including an anticipated cash flow positive fourth quarter assuming $50 oil and $3 gas. Spud approximately 153 operated wells and turn-in-line approximately 161 operated wells.

16:49 EDT Aileron Therapeutics presents new data on ALRN-6924 - Aileron Therapeutics announced two oral presentations of preclinical data from collaborators on ALRN-6924 in T-cell lymphomas and acute myeloid leukemia. ALRN-6924, a stapled peptide therapeutic, is believed to be the first product candidate undergoing clinical evaluations that has been shown to disrupt both MDMX- and MDM2-mediated inhibition of the wild type p53 tumor suppressor gene. The data were reviewed in separate oral presentations by researchers from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine during the 2017 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting. "We are encouraged by these positive preclinical data from our collaborators, which demonstrate that dual inhibition by ALRN-6924 induces strong p53 activity that leads to anti-cancer effects," said Dr. Manuel C. Aivado, Chief Medical Officer. "These data support the clinical results we saw in our Phase 1 all-comers trial, and we look forward to continuing to evaluate ALRN-6924 in our ongoing PTCL and AML clinical trials."

16:44 EDT Iron Mountain to acquire IO Data Centers U.S. operations for about $1.3B - Iron Mountain announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the U.S. operations of IO Data Centers, a leading colocation data center services provider based in Phoenix, Arizona, for $1.315B plus up to $60M based on future performance and subject to customary adjustments. With the transaction, Iron Mountain will acquire the land and buildings associated with four state-of-the-art data centers in Phoenix and Scottsdale, Arizona; Edison, New Jersey; and Columbus, Ohio. The existing data center space in the four owned facilities totals 728,000 square feet, providing 62 megawatts of capacity with expansion potential of an additional 77 MW in Arizona and New Jersey. This agreement follows the acquisition of FORTRUST data center on September 1, 2017 and the announcement of Iron Mountain's international data center expansion through the planned acquisition of two Credit Suisse data centers in the London and Singapore markets. Upon closing of the Credit Suisse and IO transactions in early 2018, Iron Mountain's data center portfolio will total more than 90 MW of existing capacity, with an additional 26 MW of capacity currently under construction and planned and future expansion potential of another 135 MW. The transaction is anticipated to close in January 2018, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions. The total consideration of $1.315B, which does not include up to $60 million of potential additional payments, represents a multiple of 15x synergized 2018 EBITDA, post integration. While data center acquisitions of this magnitude were not part of the company's previously disclosed 2020 plan, the company expects the transaction to accelerate its revenue and Adjusted EBITDA growth. Following this transaction and anticipated financing, the company remains on track to reduce its lease adjusted leverage ratio to approximately 5x, and lower its dividend payout as a percentage of Adjusted Funds From Operations to 70-75%, assuming annual dividend per share growth of approximately 4%, all of which are consistent with its 2020 plan. The acquisition is expected to be modestly accretive to AFFO in 2019. The company will provide specifics of the impact of the transaction on 2018 full-year expectations when it provides guidance for next year on its fourth quarter/year-end reporting conference call in February 2018.

16:42 EDT Iron Mountain to acquire IO Data Centers U.S. operations for about $1.3B

16:41 EDT uniQure added to NASDAQ Biotechnology Index - uniQure announced that the company has been added to the NASDAQ Biotechnology Index. The addition is part of NBI's annual review of biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market that meet NBI's eligibility criteria. uniQure will be added to the NBI effective prior to market open on Monday, December 18, 2017.

16:41 EDT Boeing raises dividend 20%, announces new $18B share repurchase program - The Boeing board of directors declared the company's quarterly dividend will increase 20% to $1.71 per share. The board also replaced the existing share repurchase program with a new $18B authorization. With the latest increase to the dividend, Boeing has raised its quarterly dividend more than 250% over the past five years. The company has consistently paid dividends to shareholders each quarter for more than 75 years. The new dividend will be payable March 2, 2018, to shareholders of record as of February 9, 2018. The company this year has repurchased $9.2B worth of its shares from the $14B authorization approved in December 2016. The new repurchase program replaces the existing one, bringing the total authorization to $18B. The timing and volume of repurchases are at the discretion of Boeing management, however it is expected that repurchases under the new share authorization will be made over the next 24-30 months.

16:39 EDT Proteostasis announces positive data from PTI-428, PTI-801 and PTI-808 studies - Proteostasis Therapeutics announced positive study results across all three of the company's CF pipeline programs. These include a study in CF subjects for PTI-428, a cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator amplifier; interim data for a study in CF subjects for PTI-801, a new generation CFTR corrector; and studies in healthy volunteers for PTI-808, a CFTR potentiator, and the combination of PTI-428, PTI-801 and PTI-808. The results support the goal of studying the company's novel CFTR modulators in doublet and triplet combinations in CF subjects.

16:38 EDT Verizon CEO McAdam resigns from GE board - According to a regulatory filing, Verizon (VZ) chairman and CEO Lowell C. McAdam resigned from the board of directors of General Eletric (GE). McAdam informed GE that he was no longer able to allocate the time necessary to continue to serve on the board.

16:36 EDT Ventas raises quarterly dividend 2% to 79c per share - The dividend is payable in cash on January 12, 2018 to stockholders of record on January 2, 2018.

16:35 EDT Franklin Resources announces preliminary AUM $753.2B as of November 30 - Compared to $750.7B at October 31. The increase in assets under management was due to net market gains that more than offset slight net outflows. Preliminary average assets under management for the quarter, through November 30 were $752.4B.

16:33 EDT Canadian Pacific to purchase shares under specific share repurchase programs - Canadian Pacific Railway announced that it will repurchase common shares from two third-party sellers under two share repurchase programs. The Programs will form part of CP's normal course issuer bid for up to 4,384,062 common shares announced on May 10. CP will enter into share repurchase agreements with the two third parties to purchase common shares through daily purchases between December 14, 2017 and May 14, 2018, subject to a maximum, in aggregate, of 755,000 common shares under the Programs. The Programs will be carried out in succession, such that share purchases from each of the third parties will not be overlapping. A maximum number of 134,000 common shares may be purchased under the first Program. Purchases under the second Program, up to a maximum of 621,000 common shares, will take place beginning on the trading day following completion of all purchases under the first Program.

16:31 EDT Sonoco-Alcore to raise paperboard prices in Europe - Sonoco-Alcore, which is wholly-owned by Sonoco, announced it will again raise prices by a further EUR50 per tonne on all recycled paperboard grades sold in the company's Central European regions. The price change is effective with shipments on or after January 1st, 2018. "The continued strong demand for core board across Europe, along with expectations that already elevated raw material and energy prices will continue to rise into the New Year, leave us little choice but to implement this increase," said Phil Woolley, Director - Paper Europe.

16:23 EDT Zoetis raises quarterly dividend 20% to 12.6% per share - The board of directors of Zoetis has declared a first quarter 2018 dividend payable to holders of the company's common stock of 12.6c per share, an increase of 20% from the quarterly dividend rate paid in 2017. The dividend is to be paid on Thursday, March 1, 2018, to holders of record on Friday, January 19, 2018.

16:18 EDT Thor Industries eletcs Christopher Klein to board, Alan Siegel retires - Thor Industries (THO) announced the appointment of Christopher Klein, currently CEO of Fortune Brands Home & Security (FBHS), to serve on its Board of Directors. Additionally, the company announced that Alan Siegel retired as a member of its Board after nearly 35 years of service. Both the appointment and retirement are effective December 12, and maintains the total size of Thor's Board at eight members.

16:15 EDT AllianceBernstein reports preliminary AUM $549B as of November 30 - AllianceBernstein announced that preliminary assets under management increased to $549B during November from $542B at the end of October. The 1.3% increase was predominantly due to market appreciation, though modest firmwide net inflows from the Retail, Institutions and Private Wealth client channels contributed as well.

16:14 EDT Seagate announces restructuring plan, will cut about approximately 500 jobs - On December 8, Seagate Technology committed to an additional restructuring plan to reduce its cost structure. Pursuant to the Plan, the company intends to reduce its global headcount by approximately 500 employees. This action, which the company expects to be substantially completed by the end of the fiscal year 2018, is expected to result in total pre-tax charges of approximately $50M in fiscal year 2018. These charges are expected to consist of cash expenditure of approximately $25M of employee termination costs and $10M of other exit costs, as well as other non-cash charges related to the Plan of approximately $15M. The savings generated from the Plan are expected to be recognized beginning in the March 2018 quarter and will represent approximately $65M in savings on an annual run-rate basis.

16:12 EDT Flexion appoints Scott Kelley Chief Medical Officer - Flexion Therapeutics announced that Scott Kelley, M.D., has been named Chief Medical Officer. Kelley previously served as the company's VP of Medical Affairs, and in his new role, he assumes responsibility for all medical matters at Flexion, including Medical Affairs, Clinical Research and Clinical Operations. Kelley succeeds Yamo Deniz, M.D., who has left the company to pursue other opportunities.

16:10 EDT Reed's trading resumes

16:08 EDT RCM Technologies declares $1.00 per share special cash dividend - RCM Technologies announced that its board declared a special cash dividend of $1.00 per share, payable on December 28 to stockholders of record at the close of business on December 22. RCM expects 100% of the special dividend to be characterized for tax purposes as return of capital to shareholders.

16:06 EDT Veeco announces $100M common stock buyback - Veeco Instruments announced that its board has authorized the repurchase of up to $100 million of the company's outstanding common stock to be completed over the next two years. The repurchases will be funded using the Company's available cash balances and cash generated from future operations.

16:05 EDT YRC Worldwide sees October tonnage up 1.7%, November tonnage up 1.1% - At YRC Freight, October 2017 tonnage per day increased approximately 1.7% compared to October 2016 and November 2017 tonnage per day increased approximately 1.1% compared to November 2016. Quarter-to-date through November 2017, revenue per hundredweight increased approximately 3.7% compared to a year ago. Revenue per shipment increased approximately 5.0% quarter-to-date through November 2017, compared to the same period last year. At the Regional Segment, October 2017 tonnage per day increased approximately 5.5% compared to October 2016 and November 2017 tonnage per day increased approximately 6.0% compared to November 2016. Quarter-to-date through November 2017, revenue per hundredweight increased approximately 0.8% compared to a year ago. Revenue per shipment increased approximately 4.1% quarter-to-date through November 2017, compared to the same period last year.

16:02 EDT Amgen shows 'positive' overall survival findings from Phase 3 ASPIRE trial - Amgen announced new results showing the positive overall survival findings from the final analysis of the Phase 3 ASPIRE trial. The study met the key secondary endpoint of OS, demonstrating that the addition of KYPROLIS to lenalidomide and dexamethasone reduced the risk of death by 21% versus lenalidomide and dexamethasone alone and extended survival by 7.9 months in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (median OS 48.3 months for KRd versus 40.4 months for Rd, HR = 0.79, 95 percent CI, 0.67 - 0.95; p = 0.0045). These results were presented today during an oral presentation at the 59th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting & Exposition in Atlanta. "While significant advances have recently been made in treating relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, most reported clinical trials have focused on how long a new treatment helps prevent recurrence of disease rather than on survival," said Keith Stewart, M.B., Ch.B., Mayo Clinic in Arizona and principal investigator of the ASPIRE trial. "Results from the ASPIRE trial are among the first to show a significant overall survival advantage resulting from adding carfilzomib to lenalidomide and dexamethasone treatment in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. The data support the early use of carfilzomib as an effective therapy at first relapse, regardless of prior treatment with Velcade or transplant." Based on the ASPIRE results, Amgen has submitted a supplemental New Drug Application to the U.S. FDA to include the OS data from ASPIRE in the product information for KYPROLIS.

15:43 EDT Rovida Advisors reports 5.158% passive stake in Orion Engineered

15:23 EDT Spark Therapeutics CEO says trial results so far 'encouraging' and 'exciting' - Marrazzo said data shared over the weekend is "incredibly encouraging." Spark Therapeutics CEO Jeff Marrazzo is being interviewed on CNBC. Shares of Spark are down about 35% in afternoon trading.

14:49 EDT Bioverativ: BIVV009 trial data achieves primary, secondary endpoints - Bioverativ presented data demonstrating that BIVV009, its first-in-class monoclonal antibody currently in Phase 3 clinical development for the treatment of cold agglutinin disease, was generally well tolerated, rapidly halted hemolysis, and improved anemia in six of six severely anemic primary CAgD patients in a Phase 1b clinical trial. The data were shared in an oral presentation at the 59th Annual Meeting of the American Hematology Society. Primary and secondary outcome measures were achieved in the six patients with primary CAgD in the study. Hemoglobin levels increased in all six patients, eliminating the need for transfusions while on treatment. Endpoints included tolerability, pharmacokinetic profile supporting biweekly dosing, classical complement pathway inhibition as evidenced by decreased total complement activity, and improved biomarkers associated with rapid hemolysis resolution and corresponding improvement in hemoglobin levels. Hemolysis and anemia recurred upon clearance of BIVV009 from circulation, and efficacy was restored in all patients upon re-exposure to BIVV009 during a subsequent Named Patient Program. Maintenance therapy has demonstrated a sustained response for more than 18 months, including control of hemolysis. Safety data through December 21, 2016 demonstrated that BIVV009 was generally well tolerated. Five of 6 patients in the primary CAgD group experienced at least one adverse event; no AE was reported by more than one patient. One unrelated, serious AE occurred in a patient with CAgD who was hospitalized for a pre-existing condition. There were no serious AEs assessed as related to BIVV009 by the investigator.

14:46 EDT T. Rowe Price reports 10.3% passive stake in Stitch Fix

14:42 EDT FTC, FCC agree to coordinate efforts after Restoring Internet Freedom Order - The Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission announced their intent to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding under which the two agencies would coordinate online consumer protection efforts following the adoption of the Restoring Internet Freedom Order. The draft MOU, which is being released today, outlines a number of ways in which the FCC and FTC will work together to protect consumers, including: The FCC will review informal complaints concerning the compliance of Internet service providers, or ISPs, with the disclosure obligations set forth in the new transparency rule. Those obligations include publicly providing information concerning an ISP's practices with respect to blocking, throttling, paid prioritization, and congestion management. Should an ISP fail to make the required disclosures-either in whole or in part-the FCC will take enforcement action; The FTC will investigate and take enforcement action as appropriate against ISPs concerning the accuracy of those disclosures, as well as other deceptive or unfair acts or practices involving their broadband services; The FCC and the FTC will broadly share legal and technical expertise, including the secure sharing of informal complaints regarding the subject matter of the Restoring Internet Freedom Order. The two agencies also will collaborate on consumer and industry outreach and education. The FCC's proposed Restoring Internet Freedom Order, which the agency is expected to vote on at its December 14 meeting, would reverse a 2015 agency decision to reclassify broadband Internet access service as a Title II common carrier service. Publicly traded Internet Service Providers include Comcast (CMCSA), Verizon (VZ), AT&T (T) and Charter (CHTR).

14:34 EDT Briggs & Stratton announces acquisition of assets of Ground Logic - Briggs & Stratton announced that it has acquired the assets of Ground Logic, Inc., a designer and manufacturer of premium stand-on commercial spreaders and spreader/sprayers for fertilizer and pesticide-herbicide lawn applications on mid- to large-sized residential and commercial properties. Briggs & Stratton financed the transaction from cash on hand. It expects that the acquisition will not have a material effect on fiscal 2018 earnings or cash flows.

14:10 EDT Marcato calls out Deckers for trying to gain 'tactical advantage' - Deckers Brands received today a letter from Marcato Capital Management which stated, "We are in receipt of your letter, dated December 7, 2017, in which you noted that the Board of Directors of Deckers Outdoor Corporation would be willing to interview Marcato's nominees for election to the Board at the 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. We were surprised to have received your letter, particularly in light of recent communications between Deckers and Marcato during which Deckers, through its counsel, rejected Marcato's offer to make its nominees available for interviews with the Board as recently as December 1, 2017. This offer, as you know, was made in connection with a proposal by Marcato to amicably resolve the proxy contest through an agreement with Deckers to place three of Marcato's nominees on the Board. Unfortunately, Deckers swiftly rejected Marcato's settlement proposal and made clear, through its counsel, that Deckers was not interested in pursuing any settlement discussions with Marcato. Given these communications, as well as recent public announcements made by Deckers denouncing the qualifications and experience of Marcato's nominees, we are left to assume that your request to interview our nominees is nothing more than a record building exercise and an effort to gain a tactical advantage in the proxy contest. Of course, Marcato would be willing to make its nominees available for interviews, but only in the context of a mutually agreeable settlement arrangement."

14:00 EDT AK Steel announces price increase for carbon steel products - AK Steel announced that it will increase current spot market base prices for all carbon flat-rolled steel products by a minimum of $30 per ton, effective immediately with new orders.

13:31 EDT CEL-SCI reaches full enrollment in Phase 3 head and neck cancer study - CEL-SCI Corporation announcedthat no further patient enrollment is required in the pivotal Phase 3 head and neck cancer study of its investigational immunotherapy Multikine. The accrual and treatment phases of this Phase 3 study are complete. All of the 928 enrolled patients in the study are being followed-up as required by the study protocol. CEL-SCI recently announced that the study's Independent Data Monitoring Committee completed its most recent review of the data from all 928 patients enrolled in the study, and recommended continuing the study as there was no evidence of any significant safety questions. The primary endpoint of the study, a 10% improvement in overall survival of the Multikine treatment regimen plus Standard of Care vs. Standard of Care alone, will be determined after a total of 298 deaths have occurred in these two main comparator arms of the study and have been recorded in the study database. The last patient was enrolled in the study in September 2016. Approximately 135 patients were enrolled in the study from 2011 to 2013, about 195 were enrolled in 2014, about 340 in 2015, and about 260 in 2016. The study protocol assumed an overall survival rate of about 55% at 3 years for the SOC treatment group alone.

13:11 EDT FDA approves Sanofi's Admelog - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Sanofi's Admelo, the first follow-on insulin lispro to help people living with diabetes manage blood sugar levels at mealtime. "Sanofi has a deep heritage and broad experience in providing treatments for people living with diabetes. Complementing our existing insulin portfolio, Admelog will offer a more affordable option for those who require control of their blood sugar levels at mealtime," said Stefan Oelrich, Executive Vice President and Head, Global Diabetes and Cardiovascular, Sanofi. "The approval of Admelog is an important milestone for Sanofi in our mission to serve patients living with chronic diseases such as diabetes."

12:00 EDT Athenex trading resumes

11:43 EDT Reed's trading halted, news pending

11:35 EDT Quest Diagnostics announces support for lawsuit against HHS - Quest Diagnostics announced its support for a lawsuit filed by the American Clinical Laboratory Association charging that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services failed to follow a congressional directive to implement a market-based laboratory payment system. Quest is a member of ACLA. "We fully support the legal action taken today by ACLA," said Steve Rusckowski, Chairman, President and CEO of Quest Diagnostics. "From the beginning, the process established by CMS was highly flawed. Instead of reforming Medicare reimbursement rates to reflect the broad commercial insurance market, CMS prohibited more than 99 percent of labs from contributing private payer data. Instead of protecting access to the critical laboratory services our industry provides, the damage caused by this reckless process will ultimately limit Medicare beneficiaries' access to lab testing."The lawsuit by ACLA asserts that CMS, operating under the purview of HHS, ignored congressional intent and instituted a highly flawed data reporting process in advance of setting market rates under the Protecting Access to Medicare Act. Contrary to Congress's directives, the overwhelming majority of laboratories were prohibited from reporting private payer data. As a result, CMS failed to protect access to laboratory services for Medicare beneficiaries. This flawed process could cause serious financial harm to potentially thousands of hospital, independent and physician office laboratories, and make it harder for Medicare beneficiaries to get access to medical testing, particularly in remote rural areas and in nursing homes that depend on laboratory testing services.

11:32 EDT BioMarin rises, Spark sinks after updates from hemophilia studies - Shares of BioMarin (BMRN) are on the rise after the company announced updated data from its program investigating valoctocogene roxaparvovec, a gene therapy treatment for severe hemophilia, at the American Society of Hematology annual meeting. Meanwhile, shares of Spark Therapeutics (ONCE) are sliding after its own updates at the meeting. Commenting on the announcements, Piper Jaffray analyst Christopher Raymond argued that the competitive outlook for BioMarin's BMN 270 looks a lot better after Spark reported "underwhelming" data in hemophilia A. HEMOPHILIA A STUDY UPDATE: BioMarin has announced an update to its previously reported results of an open-label Phase 1/2 study of valoctocogene roxaparvovec - formerly BMN 270 - an investigational gene therapy treatment for severe hemophilia A. The data showed that the experimental gene therapy reduced bleeding episodes and sustained normal or near-normal Factor VIII levels in severe hemophilia A for most patients with a maximum follow up of 19 months. The company also announced that the New England Journal of Medicine published an independent, peer-reviewed article on the ongoing Phase 1/2 study of valoctocogene roxaparvovec in men with severe hemophilia A. The objective of the study was to determine the comparative pharmacodynamics of valoctocogene roxaparvovec when given as a single intravenous bolus injection to cynomolgus monkeys with varying baseline anti-AAV5 total antibody levels and transduction inhibition titers. The results demonstrated no evidence for decreased FVIII expression in animals with non-antibody based transduction inhibition, while baseline AAV5 antibody positive animals had a range of FVIII expression. BIOMARIN TARGET UPPED: Following the announcement, SunTrust analyst Edward Nash raised his price target on BioMarin to $130 from $115 as he believes BMN 270 continues to demonstrate a sustained clinical benefit with no safety issues. Moreover, the analyst told investors that he believes the lack of cytotoxic T-cell response and neutralizing antibodies to Factor VIII further underscore the efficacy and safety of BMN 270. He reiterated a Buy rating on the shares. COMPETITIVE OUTLOOK IMPROVED: Meanwhile, Piper Jaffray's Raymond told investors in a research note of his own that the competitive outlook for BioMarin's BMN 270 looks a lot better after Spark Therapeutics reported "underwhelming" data in hemophilia A. While noting that Spark's program has served as a key overhang on BMN 270, the analyst argued that the "disappointing" update is likely to provide even more lift to BioMarin's treatment story, which had a positive update over the weekend. Raymond highlighted Spark's high variability, lackluster activity, little evidence of a dose response and now concomitant steroids. The analyst reiterated an Overweight rating and $113 price target on BioMarin shares. WHAT'S NOTABLE: Jefferies analyst Michael Yee lowered his price target for Spark Therapeutics to $72 from $95 saying that the update on four patients treated with SPK-8011 "was not what investors expected." Updated Factor VIII Hemophilia A data showed unexpected variability of responses versus the goal of consistency of responses, he noted. Nonetheless, Yee noted that expectations are now much lower and the next update, which is likely to happen mid-2018, should show "they still have a good product." The analyst reiterated a Buy rating on Spark shares. PRICE ACTION: In late morning trading, shares of BioMarin have gained about 7% to $87.63, while Spark's stock has dropped over 37% to about $46 per share.

11:06 EDT Cleveland-Cliffs announces acquisition of real estate interests in Minnesota - Cleveland-Cliffs announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Cleveland-Cliffs Minnesota Land Development LLC, completed an acquisition of certain real estate interests located in Itasca County west of Nashwauk, Minnesota from Glacier Park Iron Ore Properties. The interests include a combination of undivided and whole fee interests as well as mineral and surface leases, all lying within the Biwabik Iron Formation. The acreage acquired is approximately 553 acres and the acreage being leased is approximately 3,215 acres. Cliffs expects to be able to leverage the acquired real estate interests to develop a financially sustainable plan for the site, which may be considered as other iron ore resources deplete. Lourenco Goncalves, Chairman, President and CEO, said, "We are enthused about the acquisition of this property, which came into play after Chippewa failed to follow through on its obligation to obtain financing and a bankruptcy exit for Mesabi Metallics by October 31. Despite several botched attempts by others, it is now the time for Cleveland-Cliffs to sit at the table with other responsible parties and develop a realistic solution for this site."

10:49 EDT MacroGenics data supports combination with MGA012 - MacroGenics announced the presentation of clinical data from its ongoing Phase 1 study of flotetuzumab in an oral session at the 59th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology in Atlanta, Georgia. John E. Godwin, M.D., Program Leader, Hematologic Malignancies at Earle A. Chiles Research Institute at Providence Cancer Center in Portland, Oregon presented "Preliminary Results of a Phase 1 Study of Flotetuzumab, a CD123 x CD3 Bispecific DART Protein, in Patients with Relapsed/Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Myelodysplastic Syndrome." The ongoing Phase 1, first-in-human study of flotetuzumab was designed to determine safety, tolerability, maximum tolerated dose and initial anti-leukemic activity in patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia or intermediate-2/high risk myelodysplastic syndrome. To date, a total of 57 patients have been enrolled, including 11 AML patients in the dose expansion cohort. Consistent with the dose escalation data that was previously presented at ESMO Congress 2017 in September, flotetuzumab has continued to demonstrate acceptable tolerability in patients treated to date in the dose expansion cohort. Infusion-related reaction and cytokine release syndrome were the most common adverse events observed, with Grade 3 CRS occurring in 9 of 57 patients. Implementation of a two-step, lead-in dose as well as early intervention with anti-cytokine therapy has helped to limit the severity and incidence of CRS. "We continue to be encouraged by the tolerability and anti-leukemic activity of flotetuzumab as well as by the early data regarding the durability of responses observed in patients from our ongoing Phase 1 study of flotetuzumab," said Scott Koenig, M.D., Ph.D., President and CEO of MacroGenics. "In addition, given the data-supported rationale for combining flotetuzumab with anti-PD-1, we intend to initiate a combination study with the anti-PD-1 mAb, MGA012, in the coming months, while we continue to enroll the AML and MDS dose expansion cohorts. We look forward to sharing additional flotetuzumab clinical data in 2018."

10:33 EDT Seattle Genetics, Bristol Myers: Data showed 83% ORR in Adcetris, Opdivo study - Seattle Genetics (SGEN) and Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY) highlighted updated interim results from an ongoing phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating the combination of ADCETRIS and Opdivo in relapsed or refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma at the 59th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition taking place in Atlanta, Georgia, December 9-12, 2017. The data were also simultaneously published online in the journal Blood. The data reported from 62 patients, including 60 evaluable for response, were featured in an oral presentation and selected to be included in the 2018 Highlights of ASH post-meeting program. Patients were treated once every three weeks, with up to four cycles of combination therapy in the outpatient setting. After completion of the fourth cycle of treatment, patients were eligible to undergo an autologous stem cell transplant. The median age of patients was 36 years. The majority of patients were refractory or had relapsed after receiving the standard of care frontline treatment ABVD or some variation of the standard of care. Key findings presented include: Of 60 response-evaluable patients, 50 patients had an objective response, including 37 patients with a complete response and 13 patients with a partial response. Five patients had stable disease and five patients had progressive disease. Median follow-up time was eight months and median duration of response was not yet reached. The estimated six-month progression-free survival rate was 89 percent. Of the 62 patients enrolled, 58 patients completed all four cycles of study treatment and four patients discontinued prior to the end of treatment. At the time of data analysis, 54 patients received an ASCT. Preliminary analysis shows no impact of combination treatment with ADCETRIS and Opdivo on stem cell mobilization or engraftment.

10:31 EDT Mattel sees Q4 gross sales hurt by tighter inventory management at key retailers - In a regulatory filing earlier, Mattel stated: "Based on preliminary quarter-to-date data for the fourth quarter, Mattel currently anticipates its gross sales during the fourth quarter of 2017 will continue to be negatively impacted by key retail partners moving toward tighter inventory management and by challenges in the Toy Box and certain underperforming brands. Due to these factors, Mattel expects its full year 2017 gross sales will decline by a percentage in at least the mid-to-high single digits compared to 2016."

10:27 EDT Qualcomm calls Elliott Management value assertion for NXP 'unsupportable' - Qualcomm (QCOM) issued the following statement in response to Elliott Management regarding NXP Semiconductors (NXPI): "Elliott's value assertion for NXP is unsupportable and is clearly nothing more than an attempt to advance its own self-serving agenda. We remain fully committed to closing the acquisition of NXP and believe that the agreed-upon price of $110 is full and fair."

10:07 EDT Kura Oncology findings supoort tipifarnib development in bone marrow cancers - Kura Oncology reported new findings supporting the development of lead candidate tipifarnib, a potent and selective inhibitor of farnesyl transferase, in the treatment of certain bone marrow cancers. These results were featured in presentations at the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition in Atlanta. Among the findings presented at ASH were the identification of CXCR4/CXCR2 expression ratio and bone marrow homing of myeloid cells as potential biomarkers of tipifarnib activity across the bone marrow cancers, myelodysplastic syndromes, acute myeloid leukemia and chronic myelomonocytic leukemia, further showing that the CXCL12/CXCR4 pathway is a potential therapeutic target of farnesyl transferase inhibitors. Previously, Kura Oncology reported preliminary results from an ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial of tipifarnib in patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma identifying the CXCL12/CXCR4 pathway as a potential target of tipifarnib. Specifically, high levels of CXCL12 gene expression and absence of single nucleotide gene variations in the 3'-untranslated region of the CXCL12 gene were associated with observed clinical activity of tipifarnib in these PTCL patients. In the ASH presentation entitled, "The CXCL12/CXCR4 Pathway As a Potential Target of Tipifarnib: Preliminary Results from an Open-Label, Phase II Study in Relapsed or Refractory Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma," Kura Oncology extends these observations and provides data supporting the observed tipifarnib-derived clinical benefit for the CXCL12-positive population. In the ASH presentation entitled, "The CXCL12/CXCR4 Pathway As a Potential Target of Tipifarnib in Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Myelodysplastic Syndromes," Kura Oncology presented results that identify the ratio of CXCR4/CXCR2 gene expression and bone marrow homing of myeloid cells as potential biomarkers of the activity of tipifarnib in certain bone marrow tumors. The results were obtained by analyzing data from previous studies of tipifarnib in AML and MDS, as well as data from the ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial of tipifarnib in CMML.

10:03 EDT BioMarin highlights new results for valoctocogene roxaparvovec at ASH - BioMarin Pharmaceutical announced updates on valoctocogene roxaparvovec -- formerly BMN 270, an investigational gene therapy treatment for severe hemophilia at ASH. With the 4e13 vg/kg dose, the three patients with the longest follow-up have Factor VIII activity levels that are in or near to the normal range with both median and mean values of 49%. Median annualized bleed and factor VIII use rates for the 4e13 vg/kg cohort were zero after Week 4 and when their Factor VIII activity rose above 5%. Mean annualized bleed and factor VIII use rates for the 4e13vg/kg cohort were 0.6 and 2.0, respectively. With the 6e13 vg/kg dose, at 78 weeks post infusion, the median and mean Factor VIII levels of the 6e13 vg/kg cohort were 90 and 89%, respectively. Median annualized bleed and factor VIII use rates for the 6e13 vg/kg were zero after Week 4. Mean annualized bleed and factor VIII use rates for the 6e13 vg/kg cohort were 0.5 and 6.1, respectively. The company also announced that the New England Journal of Medicine published an independent, peer-reviewed article on the ongoing Phase 1/2 study of valoctocogene roxaparvovec, an investigational gene therapy, in men with severe hemophilia A. The article assessed the safety and efficacy of valoctocogene roxaparvovec at the 6e13 dose, after 52 weeks. As presented at ASH on December 10, the objective of this study was to determine the comparative pharmacodynamics of valoctocogene roxaparvovec when given as a single intravenous bolus injection to cynomolgus monkeys with varying baseline anti-AAV5 total antibody levels and transduction inhibition titers. The results demonstrated no evidence for decreased FVIII expression in animals with non-antibody based transduction inhibition, while baseline AAV5 antibody positive animals had a range of FVIII expression.

10:02 EDT Alexion reports results from Phase 1b/2 studies of ALXN1210 - Alexion Pharmaceuticals announced the presentation of comprehensive dose-ranging data from two Phase 1b/2 studies of ALXN1210, the company's investigational long-acting C5 complement inhibitor, in patients with paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria, a chronic, progressive, debilitating and potentially life-threatening ultra-rare blood disorder characterized by complement-mediated hemolysis. Treatment with ALXN1210 for up to eight months resulted in rapid and sustained reduction of plasma lactate dehydrogenase levels, a direct marker of hemolysis, with reductions in mean LDH levels from Baseline (BL) ranging from 73% to 88%. ALXN1210 was generally well tolerated with a safety profile that is consistent with that seen historically in patients with complement inhibition. The data were presented at the 59th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting & Exposition in Atlanta. All patients from the Phase 1b study and from Cohorts 1, 2, and 3 of the Phase 2 study have been successfully transitioned to the Phase 3 dosing regimen, after which plasma LDH levels have remained suppressed.

09:26 EDT On The Fly: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: Fitbit (FIT), up 1.2% after reaching a global settlement agreement with Jawbone... Cboe Global Markets (CBOE), up 1.4% after CBOE Bitcoin futures open for trading... NXP Semiconductors (NXPI), up 1.1% after Elliott Advisors said it believes NXP is worth $135 per share on a standalone basis... Uniqure (QURE), down 1.6% after announcign long-term data from Phase I/II trial of AMT-060... Canadian Solar (CSIQ), up 5.5% after receiving a go-private offer of $18.47 per share. LOWER: PhaseRx (PZRX), down 50.3% after commencing voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection proceeding... W.P. Carey (WPC), down marginally after being downgraded to Underperform from In Line at Evercore ISI.

09:21 EDT Broadcom files proxy materials in connection with Qualcomm's annual meeting - Broadcom (AVGO) announced that it has filed preliminary proxy materials with the SEC in connection with its planned solicitation of proxies to elect 11 independent, highly qualified nominees to the Qualcomm Incorporated (QCOM) Board of Directors at Qualcomm's 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which Qualcomm has announced will be held on March 6, 2018. Broadcom also announced that it has filed a premerger notification under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 with the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division and the Federal Trade Commission regarding its proposed acquisition of Qualcomm. Hock Tan, President and CEO of Broadcom, stated, "Our Board and management team are committed to consummating this transaction as soon as possible. We continue to receive positive feedback from stockholders and customers, and we have made clear to Qualcomm that it remains our strong preference to engage in constructive dialogue regarding the value-enhancing proposal we put forward more than a month ago. We are seeking the election of the 11 independent, highly qualified nominees to the Qualcomm Board because we believe that Qualcomm stockholders would be better served by these candidates than the current directors of Qualcomm who have refused to engage with us on a compelling, value-enhancing opportunity for Qualcomm stockholders."

09:18 EDT Shineco enters share exchange, acquisition agreement with Xinjiang Tiansheng - Shineco announced that the company, through its joint venture company, Xinjiang Shineco Taihe Agriculture Technology Ltd., has entered into a definitive Share Exchange and Acquisition Agreement with Western Xinjiang Tiansheng Agricultural Development Co., Ltd, a leading nursery and agricultural company with extensive industry experience in Xinjiang, China. As previously disclosed on November 16, 2017, Xinjiang Taihe and Xinjiang Tiansheng both agreed to engage in strategic cooperation on the following activities and objectives, such as upgrading nursery greenhouses, establishing a large-scale, mechanized, intelligent modern apocynum base as well as deepening related follow-up cooperation, including building a National Apocynum Park along the 300-kilometer-long Tarim River. Pursuant to the Agreement, Xinjiang Taihe will receive 51% equity ownership in Xinjiang Tiansheng for further investment in apocynum business expansion in Xinjiang, China, in exchange for a combination of 14% equity ownership in Xinjiang Taihe and cash payments in three separate installments. The Acquisition Consideration in the aggregate is valued at RMB 23.8M contingent upon certain milestones in the next years.

09:17 EDT Citi names Catherine Mann global chief economist - Citi announced the hire of Dr. Catherine Mann who will be joining Citi Research in February as global chief economist, based in New York, overseeing the global Economics team and leading research across all areas of economics. Dr. Mann joins Citi from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development where she has been chief economist since 2014. From February, Citi's current global chief economist, Willem Buiter, will move to become Citi's special economic adviser with a focus on direct client service and on major economics research projects published through Citi's Global Perspectives and Solutions series.

09:08 EDT Digi International: Trailcon Leasing signs agreement to implement Digi SafeTemps - Digi International announced that Trailcon Leasing has signed a multiyear agreement to implement Digi SafeTemps to modernize its fleet with precise usage tracking for optimized maintenance and increased efficiency. With this agreement, Trailcon is implementing Digi's advanced, technology-supported solution to fulfill its main objective of providing exceptional service to its customers, which includes many of Canada's largest for-hire carriers, private fleets and major grocery and retail chains, with a high-performing, reliable fleet of equipment. The selection of SafeTemps allows Trailcon to offer benefits from improved maintenance procedures based on precise distance and usage tracking - features that also guarantee accurate invoicing and increased efficiency for customers.

09:06 EDT RCI Hospitality may delay filing annual report due to Hurricane Harvey - RCI Hospitality Holdings said it may require additional time to complete the audit for the year ended September 30, 2017. The potential delay is due to issues RCI encountered as a result of Hurricane Harvey combined with the implementation of a new accounting system. As a result, the company may request a filing extension for its annual report. "We hope we will be able to report on December 14 as scheduled," said Eric Langan, President and CEO. "Everyone is working diligently to make up for the two weeks we lost in September due to the hurricane and then the transition to the new accounting system in October. But we wanted investors to know that we may need more time to file our Form 10-K."

09:05 EDT Phillips 66, Enbridge announce open season for Gray Oak Pipeline - Phillips 66 (PSX) and Enbridge (ENB) announced an open season for the Gray Oak Pipeline. The Gray Oak Pipeline will provide producers and other shippers the opportunity to secure crude oil transportation from West Texas to the destination markets of Corpus Christi, Freeport, and Houston, Texas, with connectivity to over 3 million barrels per day of refining capacity and multiple dock facilities capable of crude oil exports. Shippers will have the option to select from origination stations in Reeves, Loving, Winkler, and Crane counties in West Texas. The Gray Oak Pipeline is expected to have an initial throughput capacity of 385,000 BPD. Phillips 66 and Enbridge will evaluate expansion of the system beyond 385,000 BPD, depending on shipper interest in the open season. The pipeline system is anticipated to be placed in service in the second half of 2019. The open season will commence at 12 p.m. CST on Dec. 11, 2017. Prior to participating in the open season, interested parties must execute a confidentiality agreement to govern the receipt of the open season documentation.

09:04 EDT LiqTech receives three new orders for marine scrubber water treatment systems - LiqTech is pleased to announce that the company has received three new orders for the company's standardized systems for treatment of waste water from marine scrubbers. The orders came from two different customers. Sune Mathiesen, LiqTech CEO, remarked, "We are pleased to receive these three new orders for our marine scrubber water treatment systems. We have experienced a significant ramp-up in our marine scrubber business in the second half of 2017, and we believe that we will see a further ramp-up in the coming quarters."

09:03 EDT Terminix announces departure of COO Marty Wick - Terminix, a ServiceMaster company, announced COO Marty Wick has left the company to pursue other career opportunities. With Wick's departure, in the interim, all of Terminix Residential's field operations will report to Augusto Titarelli, who has served since 2015 as vice president of Terminix's North and International divisions.

09:02 EDT eHi Car Services forms special committee to evaluate Goliath Advisors proposal - eHi Car Services announced that, in response to the non-binding proposal from Goliath Advisors Limited received by the Company's Board of Directors on November 26th, the Board of Directors of eHi has formed a special committee comprised of independent directors Qian Miao, Andrew Xuefeng Qian and David Jian Sun, to evaluate the Proposal. Since the company's announcement of receipt of the Proposal on November 27, GAL has further indicated that its taking-private acquisition proposal is conditional on certain management and existing shareholders of the Company participating in the transaction contemplated by the Proposal, subject to other conditions set forth in the Proposal. No decisions have been made by the Special Committee with respect to the Company's response to the Proposal. The Special Committee has not set a definitive timetable for the completion of its evaluation of the Proposal or any other alternative transactions and does not currently intend to announce developments unless and in the event a definitive agreement has been reached. There can be no assurance that any definitive offer will be made, that any agreement will be executed or that the transactions contemplated by the Proposal or any other transaction will be approved or consummated.

09:01 EDT American Express to eliminate signature requirements for merchants - American Express announced it is eliminating the requirement for merchants to collect Card Members' signatures for all purchase transactions at the point of sale beginning in April 2018. The move, which applies globally to all American Express-accepting merchants, will help provide a more consistent and simplified checkout experience for merchants and Card Members in regions around the world, speed up the process of paying in store and help reduce merchants' operating expenses associated with retaining signatures. "The payments landscape has evolved to the point where we can now eliminate this pain point for our merchants," said Jaromir Divilek, EVP, Global Network Business, American Express. "Our fraud capabilities have advanced so that signatures are no longer necessary to fight fraud. In addition, the majority of American Express transactions today already do not require a signature at the point of sale as a result of previous policy changes we made to help our merchants." The elimination of American Express' signature requirements will apply to purchase transactions of all amounts at the point of sale.

08:54 EDT Corning sees 3M transaction adding 7c-9c to FY19 EPS - Corning (GLW) announced that it has entered into agreements with 3M (MMM) to purchase substantially all of 3M's Communication Markets Division in a cash transaction valued at approximately $900M. The acquisition is expected to close during 2018, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval. Corning's Optical Communications segment will acquire approximately $400M in annual sales of high bandwidth and optical fiber products. The effective enterprise value of the transaction is less than 7 times the Communication Markets Division's estimated forward-annual adjusted EBITDA, including expected run-rate synergies. Corning expects the transaction to add 7c-9c to 2019 EPS.

08:51 EDT Corning to acquire almost all of 3M communications, markets division

08:48 EDT Puma Biotechnology announces European Patent Office upholds patent claims - Puma Biotechnology (PBYI) announced that the European Patent Office has upheld the claims in Puma's licensed European patent, which were being opposed by Hexal. The intellectual property portfolio that was licensed from Pfizer (PFE) in 2011 when Puma licensed neratinib included patents in a number of countries including Europe relating to methods of use of neratinib for the extended adjuvant treatment of early stage HER2 overexpressed/amplified breast cancer following adjuvant trastuzumab-based therapy. On August 3, 2016, Hexal filed an opposition to this patent asking for this patent to be revoked. A panel of the Opposition Division of the European Patent Office met in Munich, Germany on December 8. The decision of the European Patent Office was to uphold the granted claims in European Patent No. EP 2416774, which cover, inter alia, the use of neratinib in extended adjuvant treatment of early stage HER2 overexpressed/amplified breast cancer following adjuvant trastuzumab-based therapy. In rejecting the opposition to the patent, the OD confirmed that the claims currently in force meet all of the requirements of the European Patent Convention. Puma has exclusive license rights to EP 2416774 from Pfizer.

08:34 EDT Veru Inc. acquires world-wide rights to oral granule formulation for solifenacin - Veru Inc. announced that it has acquired world-wide rights to a novel, proprietary oral granule formulation for solifenacin from Camargo Pharmaceuticals Services, LLC. Solifenacin is the active ingredient in a leading drug VESIcare for the treatment of overactive bladder in men and women. Solifenacin Delayed Release Granule addresses the large population of men and women who have overactive bladder and who have dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing tablets. The FDA recently confirmed in a meeting with the company that regulatory approval for Solifenacin DRG will require a single bioequivalence study and that no additional nonclinical, clinical efficacy and/or safety studies will be required to support the approval of Solifenacin DRG product for the treatment of overactive bladder.

08:32 EDT net2phone partners with TeleDomani - net2phone, a division of IDT Corporation, announced a partnership with TeleDomani. Through the partnership, TeleDomani agents will offer net2phone's hosted PBX and SIP Trunking solutions to their rapidly growing base of enterprise customers.

08:32 EDT Anthera announces 'positive' outcome of RESULT Phase 3 interim futility analysis - Anthera Pharmaceuticals announced a positive outcome of the pre-specified interim futility analysis for the RESULT Phase 3 clinical study of Sollpura for the treatment of Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency, or EPI. The interim futility analysis was conducted by RESULT's Data Monitoring Committee which is comprised of experts appointed by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's Therapeutics Development Network. Anthera completed patient recruitment in the RESULT study in November 2017, and based on the interim futility analysis, the study will proceed, as planned, with topline data expected in Q1 2018.

08:30 EDT Intersect ENT trading resumes

08:18 EDT Patrick Industries sees Nickell Moulding acquisition immediately accretive - Patrick Industries announced that it has completed the acquisition of the business and certain assets of Elkhart, Indiana-based Nickell Moulding Company, a custom manufacturer of hardwood and wrapped mouldings and trim, custom wood frames, and door components for the recreational vehicle, retail and hospitality, manufactured housing, and other markets. The company projects Nickell's full-year 2017 revenues to be approximately $21M. The total cash consideration paid was approximately $11M and the company expects the acquisition to be immediately accretive to 2017 net income per share.

08:13 EDT Ashford Hospitality expects to pay quarterly dividend of 12c per share in 2018 - The Board approved the company's dividend policy for 2018. The company expects to pay a quarterly cash dividend of 12c per share for 2018, or 48c per share on an annualized basis. The Board will continue to review its dividend policy on a quarter-to-quarter basis.

08:12 EDT Marriott poised to open nearly 40 luxury hotels in 2018 - Marriott International announced the company is set to open nearly 40 luxury hotels in 2018 as the company continues to cater to a new affluent traveler, offering an unmatched variety of transformative travel experiences. Providing globetrotters with a truly global perspective and an unparalleled portfolio of eight distinct luxury brands, Marriott International Luxury Brands include world-renowned hospitality hallmarks The Ritz-Carlton, Ritz-Carlton Reserve, St. Regis, W Hotels, The Luxury Collection, EDITION and JW Marriott. With an unrivaled network of landmark hotels and resorts in 60 countries today, Marriott International is set to expand its luxury footprint yet further with 200 hotels in the development pipeline, representing 25 new countries, from Iceland and Nepal to Cuba and the Philippines.

08:10 EDT Genomic Health presents new data showing value of Oncotype DX - Genomic Health announced results of ten studies that reinforce the unmatched value of the Oncotype DX Breast Recurrence Score test and Oncotype DX DCIS Score test in optimizing patient treatment across the breast cancer disease continuum. The data were recently presented at the 2017 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

08:08 EDT Amazon's Whole Foods offering variety of last-minute gifting options - Whole Foods Market is offering customers a variety of last minute gifting options for family and friends. Ranging from Amazon devices, to beauty and body care sets that benefit charitable foundations, to an exclusive collection of sustainable holiday gift wrap from Paper Source, all can be picked up during your weekly grocery shopping trip. As an added convenience, shoppers can also pick up and return eligible Amazon purchases and holiday gifts from Amazon Lockers, now available at nearly 400 Whole Foods Market stores nationwide.

08:07 EDT Western Union announces additional site in Denver - The Western Union Company announced additional details on plans to move its global headquarters from Englewood, Colo. to new, highly-visible locations in Denver. In addition to securing One Belleview Station at 7001 E. Belleview Ave., the company has signed a long-term lease at 7979 E. Tufts Ave., where critical business operations will be conducted.

08:06 EDT Deckers Brands urges shareholders to vote for director nominees - Deckers Brands urged stockholders to vote TODAY "FOR" ALL of Deckers' highly qualified, experienced nominees on the WHITE proxy card. The company said, "Deckers' 2017 Annual Meeting of Stockholders is just a few days away and will be held on December 14, 2017. It is imperative that stockholders vote as soon as possible. All stockholders' votes are extremely important, no matter how many shares they own...Deckers encourages stockholders to vote for continued value creation, focused execution of a long-term strategic, transformation plan, and highly qualified directors with relevant experience. The best choice for stockholders is clear: vote "FOR" ALL of Deckers' nominees on the WHITE proxy card...Do NOT allow Marcato to derail Deckers' progress: Marcato's nominees are unvetted and unqualified. Marcato's three director nominees lack the relevant skills, experience and fundamental understanding of Deckers' global, multi-brand business and the evolving retail industry necessary to add value. Only one has ever served on the board of a public company, and that same nominee is the only one with any C-level executive experience. The Deckers Board will not benefit from the addition of a retired investment banker, a retired non-luxury marketer, and a public relations consultant. If Marcato's nominees are elected, we would immediately lose the experience and guidance of our Chairman and two critical committee members with exceptional industry knowledge....We are confident that the current Deckers Board is well positioned to guide Deckers into the future and maximize value for all stockholders. Leading independent proxy advisory firms agree: both Glass, Lewis & Co. and Egan-Jones Ratings Company recommend that stockholders vote "FOR" ALL of Deckers' nominees on the WHITE proxy card....The Deckers Board unanimously urges stockholders to vote "FOR" ALL of Deckers' nominees on the WHITE proxy card TODAY. Discard any Gold proxy card materials that you may receive from Marcato. If you have already returned a Gold proxy card, you can change your vote by voting the WHITE proxy card TODAY by telephone or by Internet. Only your latest-dated proxy card will be counted."

08:05 EDT Verizon announces expanded partnership with NFL to stream games on mobile - The National Football League and Verizon announced a multi-year partnership in which Verizon's portfolio of digital and mobile media properties, including Yahoo Sports, will stream in-market and national games, including national pre-season, regular season, playoff games, and the Super Bowl nationwide to sports fans - regardless of mobile network. The partnership kicks off in January 2018 with streaming of the NFL playoffs on Yahoo and Yahoo Sports, in addition to go90 and the NFL mobile app. In addition to the expanded availability of live games, the new agreement will provide fans mobile access to NFL highlights, coverage of NFL throughout the week and year, and a set of jointly-developed original content. Lowell McAdam, Chairman and CEO of Verizon Communications, said, "The NFL is a great partner for us and we are excited to take its premier content across a massive mobile scale so viewers can enjoy live football and other original NFL content where and how they want it. We believe that partnerships like this are a win for fans, but also for partners and advertisers looking for a mobile-first experience."

08:04 EDT Fortune Brands increases dividend, announces $250M repurchase authorization - Fortune Brands Home & Security announced that on Friday, December 8, 2017, its Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of 20c per common share. The dividend is payable on March 14, 2018, to stockholders of record as of the close of business on February 23, 2018. The 11% increase in the quarterly dividend, from 18c to 20c, represents the fifth consecutive year the company has had a double digit increase in its dividend rate. On December 8, Fortune Brands' Board of Directors also authorized the repurchase of up to $250M of shares of the company's common stock over the next two years on the open market or in privately negotiated transactions in accordance with applicable securities laws. The purchases, if made, will occur from time to time depending on market conditions. The company has approximately $300M existing from a prior authorization that expires February 28, 2019, bringing the total share repurchase authorization to approximately $550M. This authorization is in effect until December 8, 2019, and may be suspended or discontinued at any time.

08:03 EDT Verizon announces deal with NFL to stream live games over mobile devices

08:02 EDT Altimmune submits IND application to FDA for NasoShield - Altimmune announced the company has submitted an Investigational New Drug, or IND, application to the FDA for NasoShield, the company's next generation anthrax vaccine. In animal models, a single dose of NasoShield induces rapid and durable antibody responses and protects against lethal challenge likely in half the time as the current FDA approved anthrax vaccine, which requires multiple doses.

08:01 EDT AES Corp. announces 8.3% increase in quarterly dividend to 13c per share - The Board of Directors of The AES Corporation approved an increase of 8.3% in the company's quarterly common stock dividend, from 12c per share to 13c per share, beginning in the first quarter of 2018. "We are increasing our dividend for the fifth consecutive year, following its inception in 2012," said Tom O'Flynn, AES EVP and CFO. "This increase represents our confidence in our ability to generate strong and growing cash flow, as well as our commitment to drive value for our shareholders." The company's first quarter 2018 common stock dividend of 13c per share is payable on February 15, 2018 to shareholders of record at the close of business on February 1, 2018.

07:57 EDT Reata Pharmaceuticals presents interim Phase 1b data for omaveloxolone - Reata Pharmaceuticals announced the presentation of interim data from the ongoing Phase 1b portion of the REVEAL study of omaveloxolone in combination with approved checkpoint inhibitor, or CI, therapies, ipilimumab or nivolumab, for the treatment of Stage III or IV unresectable or metastatic melanoma. The data were presented in an oral presentation at the European Society for Medical Oncology Immuno Oncology Congress 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland by lead author Dr. Sapna Patel, Assistant Professor, Department of Melanoma Medical Oncology, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. All enrolled patients were required to have biopsy positive inducible nitric oxide synthase, or iNOS, which is an independent predictor of poor survival in melanoma patients. Emerging translational data suggest that iNOS is a key mediator of myeloid-derived suppressor cells, or MDSCs, whose presence has been shown to correlate with reduced activity of CIs. Of the 30 patients enrolled in REVEAL with evaluable tumor restaging, 7/30 of patients were checkpoint inhibitor-naive, while 23/30 of patients were refractory to prior checkpoint inhibitor therapy. The overall response rate observed in all evaluable patients was 8/30. In CI-naive patients, 4/7 had objective responses including 1 CR. 3/18 patients treated with omaveloxolone + nivolumab who were refractory to prior checkpoint inhibitor therapies had objective responses, including 1 CR. The majority of responses have been durable and are ongoing. Omaveloxolone treatment was associated with decreases in tumor iNOS, programmed death ligand 1, and indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase expression. No serious AEs considered related to omaveloxolone have been reported to date. Commonly reported treatment-related adverse events included fatigue, nausea, pruritus, transaminase increases, and decreased appetite.

07:55 EDT Intersect ENT trading halted, news pending

07:35 EDT FS Investment, EIG Global Energy Partners to form partnership - FS Investments announced that it has entered into an agreement to create a joint venture with EIG Global Energy Partners. The FS Investments / EIG joint venture is expected to create a platform with the scale, flexibility and energy industry expertise to offer energy and infrastructure companies flexible financing solutions across the capital structure. As a result, following the formation of the venture, the FS Investments / EIG team expects to generate enhanced deal flow - particularly directly originated deals - that positions the portfolio to create long term value for FS Energy and Power Fund investors. Under the terms of the agreement, following shareholder approval, FS Investments and EIG will provide investment advisory services to FSEP. In addition, EIG has filed an application for a new exemptive relief order that will allow FSEP to co-invest with EIG's other funds and accounts. The board of trustees of FSEP has approved the new investment advisory agreement with the joint venture. FSEP currently intends to begin soliciting shareholder approval of the new investment advisory agreement in January 2018. EIG will provide non-advisory services to FSEP until FSEP's entry into the new investment advisory agreement with the joint venture. FS Investments and GSO Capital Partners have entered into an agreement to conclude their relationship with respect to all of FS Investments' sponsored funds that are sub-advised by GSO. FS, GSO and EIG will work together to ensure a smooth transition.

07:33 EDT FS Investment, KKR partner on middle market alternative lending platform - FS Investments (FSIC) and KKR (KKR) announced that they have entered into an agreement to create the largest business development company platform, with $18B in combined assets under management. The platform will offer differentiated origination capabilities and expertise in capital markets that provides sponsors and corporates with broad product solutions and delivers value to investors through enhanced deal flow and expanded proprietary investment opportunities. Under the terms of the agreement, FS Investments and KKR will seek stockholder approval for the partnership to provide investment advisory services to the BDCs that FS Investments sponsors, FS Investment Corporation (FSIC), FS Investment Corporation II, FS Investment Corporation III, and FS Investment Corporation IV , and to the BDC currently advised by KKR, Corporate Capital Trust (CCT). Corporate Capital Trust II, currently advised by CNL and sub-advised by KKR, will also be offered the opportunity to be included subject to board and shareholder approval. The FSIC funds will be able to co-invest with KKR's other funds and accounts. The board of directors or trustees have approved the new investment advisory agreements for each FSIC fund and CCT, and each fund will seek stockholder approval. The funds currently intend to begin soliciting stockholder approval of the new investment advisory agreements, as applicable, in January 2018. KKR will provide non-advisory services to FS Investments through a sourcing and administrative services agreement until stockholder approvals for the new investment advisory agreements are obtained. As part of this transaction, FS Investments and GSO Capital Partners have entered into an agreement to conclude their relationship with respect to all of FS Investments' sponsored funds sub-advised by GSO. FS, GSO and KKR will work together to facilitate a smooth transition.

07:30 EDT Canadian Solar trading resumes

07:13 EDT uniQure announce long-term data from Phase I/II trial of AMT-060 - uniQure announced updated results from its ongoing, dose-ranging Phase I/II trial of AMT-060, its investigational gene therapy in patients with severe hemophilia B. The data includes up to two years of follow-up from the low-dose cohort and up to 18 months of follow-up from the second, higher-dose cohort. The AAV5-based AMT-060 remains safe and well-tolerated with up to two years of follow-up, with no new serious adverse events and no development of inhibitors. No patient in the study has had any loss of Factor IX activity or capsid-specific, T-cell-mediated immune response. Eighteen-month follow-up data from the second-dose cohort continue to show stable FIX activity with substantial improvement in disease state in all five patients, including the discontinuation of routine prophylactic FIX infusions in all patients that previously required chronic replacement therapy. The annualized spontaneous bleeding rate for the second dose cohort declined 89% to a mean of 0.3 bleeds after gene transfer. In the last year of follow-up, no patient in the second cohort has reported any spontaneous bleeds. These clinical data were presented this morning in an oral presentation at the 58th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting taking place in Atlanta, Georgia.

07:12 EDT Juno Therapeutics, Celgene report additional data from TRANSCEND study - Juno Therapeutics (JUNO) and Celgene Corporation (CELG) released additional data from the TRANSCEND study of JCAR017 in patients with relapsed or refractory aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma. TRANSCEND is an open-label, multicenter Phase 1 study to determine the safety, pharmacokinetics, and antitumor activity of JCAR017 in adult patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B cell lymphoma, primary mediastinal B-cell lymphoma, follicular lymphoma Grade 3B, and mantle cell lymphoma. As with previous readouts, the TRANSCEND data were presented for both the core and full groups. The core group includes 29 patients who received dose level two, 34 patients who received dose level one, and 4 patients who received dose level one twice, approximately 14 days apart. The core group includes patients with DLBCL who are ECOG Performance Status 0-1. These patients represent a high-risk patient population, with approximately 90% of treated patients having one or more predictors of poor survival, including double or triple hit lymphoma, being chemorefractory to front-line or subsequent therapies, never reaching a complete remission with prior treatments, or never having undergone an autologous transplant. Enrollment of the pivotal cohort is ongoing with the core group at DL2. The full analysis group represents evaluable r/r patients in the DLBCL cohort, which includes an additional 24 patients with poor performance status or with niche subtypes of aggressive NHL. In both analysis groups all efficacy data are based on at least one month of follow-up with a 28-day restaging scan and all safety evaluable data are based on having received JCAR017 with at least one month of follow-up. Product was available for 98% of patients apheresed in the DLBCL cohort. Topline data from the presentation as of the October 9 data cutoff date included: Responses in core group: At DL2, the data showed a 3 month overall response rate of 74% and a 3 month complete response rate of 68%. Of patients that have reached 6 months of follow-up, 50% were in CR. Across doses, 80% of patients with CR at 3 months stayed in CR at 6 months, and 92% of patients in response at 6 months remain in response as of data cutoff. Across doses, median duration of response was 9.2 months and median durability of CR was not reached. Tolerability in core group:1% experienced severe cytokine release syndrome and 15% experienced severe neurotoxicity. 36% had any grade CRS and 21% had any grade NT. 58% had no CRS or NT of any grade. At dose level 1, 3% experienced severe CRS and 21% experienced severe NT. At dose level 2, 0% experienced severe CRS and 7% experienced severe NT. 13% received tocilizumab and 18% received corticosteroids. Tolerability across doses in full group:1% experienced severe CRS and 12% experienced severe NT. 35% had any grade CRS and 19% had any grade NT. 60% had no CRS or NT of any grade. The most common treatment-emergent adverse events other than CRS and NT that occurred at greater than or equal to 25% included neutropenia, anemia, fatigue, thrombocytopenia, nausea, and diarrhea. The most common TEAEs were similar between core and full groups.

07:10 EDT Attunity wins $1M of business with Fortune 100 healthcare company - Attunity announced that one of its existing customers, a Fortune 100 healthcare company, has re-invested in Attunity Replicate to facilitate and scale its data ingestion initiative from hundreds of sources, including mainframe, to its Hadoop data lake. This $1M expansion of use will enable the Customer to accelerate its strategic analytics initiative and reduce impact on operational business systems. The Customer, who serves the health benefits and services markets worldwide, had previously used multiple data integration products to support data ingestion into their data lake. They realized that the tools increasingly required too much manual effort to support, and they had to install agents on the mission-critical source application system, which caused overhead and hindered its performance. The Customer decided to standardize on Attunity Replicate as a common platform to accommodate its larger-scale initiative, increase efficiency, improve performance, and reduce the resources required to support large scale deployment.

07:07 EDT Mitcham Industries, Langfang Dynamic Technologies announce rental partnership - Mitcham Industries and Langfang Dynamic Technologies Co. announced an Equipment Lease Agreement whereby Mitcham will offer DTCC's SmartSolo land seismic recording system for rental to customers worldwide. Financial terms of the arrangement were not disclosed.

07:07 EDT LKQ Corp. agrees to acquire Stahlgruber GmbH - LKQ Corporation has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Stahlgruber GmbH from Stahlgruber Otto Gruber AG for an enterprise value of approximately EUR 1.5B. Headquartered in Germany, Stahlgruber is a leading European wholesale distributor of aftermarket spare parts for passenger cars, tools, capital equipment and accessories with operations in Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Italy, Slovenia, and Croatia with further sales to Switzerland. Stahlgruber's facilities include 228 sales centers, six warehouses, and an approximately 128,000 square meter advanced logistics center that is strategically located in Germany, serving more than 100,000 professional clients and offering over 500,000 SKUs. LKQ expects to complete the transaction late in the first quarter or early in the second quarter of 2018, subject to required regulatory approvals.

07:05 EDT PhaseRX trading halted, news dissemination

07:04 EDT Xerox confirms reciept of director nominations from Carl Icahn - Xerox Corporation announced that Jonathan Christodoro, former managing director of Icahn Capital, has resigned from the company's Board of Directors in order to allow Carl Icahn and his affiliated funds to submit nominations for the election of director candidates at the 2018 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. In connection with Christodoro's resignation, the standstill arrangement between the company and the Icahn Group entered into on June 27, 2016 was terminated, and Xerox received notice from the Icahn Group of its nomination of four director candidates to stand for election at the company's 2018 Annual Meeting. The company said,"Since our December 2016 separation of Conduent, we have delivered on our commitments to shareholders and are ahead of plan relative to our well-defined Strategic Transformation. In 2017 alone, we expect to meet or exceed our target of $600M of gross cost savings, a critical step as we continue our journey to improving our revenue trajectory. Xerox has just introduced the largest product launch in the company's history, which should further enhance the company's revenue trajectory. Xerox today reaffirmed its full year guidance for adjusted operating margin, earnings per share, cash flow and revenue provided on October 26 in connection with the company's Q3 financial results...Xerox shareholders are not required to take any action at this time. The Corporate Governance Committee of the Xerox Board of Directors will carefully review and consider the Icahn Group's director candidates and make a formal recommendation regarding director nominees in the company's definitive proxy statement and other materials to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and mailed to all shareholders eligible to vote at the 2018 Annual Meeting. The 2018 Annual Meeting has not yet been scheduled."

07:03 EDT Regeneron announces FDA acceptance of sBLA for 12-week dosing of EYLEA - Regeneron announced that the U.S. FDA has accepted for review the company's supplemental Biologics License Application for a 12-week dosing interval of EYLEA Injection in patients with wet age-related macular degeneration based on physician's assessment. Under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, the goal for a standard review of an sBLA is ten months from submission for a target action date of August 11, 2018.

07:02 EDT Alnylam announces expansion of orphan drug designation for Patisiran - Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY) announced that the U.S. FDA has granted a request to amend the orphan drug designation for patisiran to the treatment of transthyretin-mediated amyloidosis. This is an expansion to patisiran's prior designation which was for the treatment of familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy. As reported previously, Alnylam initiated the rolling submission of a New Drug Application to the FDA for patisiran, which previously received Fast Track and Breakthrough Therapy designations. The company intends to complete the NDA submission by year-end. The expansion of the orphan drug designation demonstrates the recognition of ATTR amyloidosis as a broad-spectrum disease impacting multiple body organs and tissue. We look forward to completing the NDA submission by year-end and working with the FDA to potentially bring the first FDA-approved RNAi therapeutic to patients living with hereditary ATTR amyloidosis," said Eric Green, Vice President and General Manager of the TTR program. Patisiran also has been granted accelerated assessment by the European Medicines Agency. Alnylam, in collaboration with Sanofi Genzyme (SNY), intends to file a Marketing Authorization Application in the European Union around year-end. Sanofi Genzyme is currently preparing for regulatory filings for patisiran in Japan, Brazil and other countries, to begin in the first half of 2018. 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, including certain Central and Eastern European countries of the European Union.

07:01 EDT Solaris Oilfield announces acquisition of Railtronix - Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure announced it recently acquired the assets of Railtronix, LLC, a provider of real-time inventory management solutions for proppant mining, rail shipping and transloading operations. Railtronix is based in Houston and provides mission critical data to some of the most active proppant suppliers and oilfield service companies across the U.S. Concurrent with the closing of the transaction, Railtronix's founder and CEO Alfonso Olvera has joined Solaris as Senior Vice President of Technology. Solaris expects the transaction to be accretive to earnings per share in 2018. Solaris funded the acquisition with available cash and through the issuance of Class B Shares.

06:56 EDT Canadian Solar trading halted, news pending

06:48 EDT Eli Lilly says FDA accepts BLA to review galcanezumab - Eli Lilly announced that the FDA has accepted a Biologics License Application, or BLA, to review galcanezumab for the prevention of migraine in adults. Galcanezumab has been submitted for use as a once-monthly, self-administered injection via auto-injector pen or prefilled syringe. Lilly announced the submission of the BLA on its third-quarter earnings call in October 2017. The application includes positive data from three Phase 3 studies, which evaluated 2,901 patients. In these studies, patients treated with galcanezumab experienced a statistically significantly greater decrease in the average number of monthly migraine headache days compared to placebo. The most commonly-reported adverse events were injection site reactions, including pain.

06:35 EDT Ingersoll-Rand names Kirk Arnold, Karen Peetz to board of directors - The Board of Directors of Ingersoll-Rand (IR) elected Kirk Arnold and Karen Peetz as members of the Board. Arnold and Peetz will join the Board in February and April 2018, respectively. Arnold recently retired as the CEO of Data Intensity. Peetz served as president of BNY Mellon (BK).

06:33 EDT Actinium Pharmaceuticals achieves positive Phase 2 results for Actimab-A - Actinium Pharmaceuticals announced positive preliminary data from its ongoing Phase 2 trial of Actimab-A in patients newly diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia who are over the age of 60 and not able to tolerate induction chemotherapy. Patients in the Phase 2 trial had an Overall Response Rate of 69% when treated with 2.0 microCi/kg/fraction of Actimab-A administered as a single agent via two infusions administered on day 1 and day 8. In addition, patients that were evaluable had a median reduction in bone marrow blasts of 98%. Actinium had previously reported a 56% response rate in patients that were evaluable at time of the abstract submission when data were available on 9 patients compared to the 13 patients reported in the poster. The Phase 2 trial of Actimab-A is designed to enroll 53 patients, with a formal interim analysis scheduled when 31 patients have been enrolled with the target ORR for the study being thirty-five percent. This hurdle rate has been exceeded with the first thirteen patients treated at 2.0 microCi/kg/fraction and the number of responses needed at the interim analysis of 31 patients to progress the trial to the full 53 patients was also cleared in these initial 13 patients.

06:33 EDT Cleantech enters sale, purchase agreement to acquire 60% of 3D Discovery - Cleantech Solutions announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, EC Technology & Innovations, has entered into a sale and purchase agreement with the major shareholders of 3D Discovery, to acquire a 60% interest in the issued share capital of 3D Discovery for consideration of HK$3M, which shall be satisfied by the allotment and issuance of 68,610 unregistered shares of the company at a price of $5.606 per share.

06:10 EDT Ford's November China sales drop 8% y/y to 118,000 vehicles - Ford sales in China total nearly 118,000 vehicles in November, an 8% decrease compared to November 2016. Among the highlights are: Monthly sales for CAF total more than 84,000 vehicles, down 12% compared to November last year. JMC sold more than 26,000 vehicles in November, which was about flat year over year. Lincoln sold more than 6,000 vehicles in November, a 70% increase compared to November 2016. Lincoln set a new monthly sales record in China.

06:04 EDT Eclipse Resources CEO comments on Utica area acquisition - Benjamin Hulburt, Chairman, President and CEO of Eclipse Resources, commented on the Company's acquisition, "Eclipse Resources has today announced it has entered into definitive agreements to acquire a strategic Utica acreage acquisition in north, central Pennsylvania that is expected to significantly increase the Company's inventory of highly economic drilling locations and allow the Company to continue to leverage its innovative drilling and completions techniques while remaining Appalachian basin focused. We are excited to begin operating in this project area, which we term the 'Flat Castle' Project Area, with our first well anticipated to spud during the first quarter of 2018 and the full scale development anticipated to start in the fourth quarter of 2018. We believe the additional scale from this largely contiguous acreage acquisition will be enhanced through the efficiency gains generated by our 'Super-Lateral' development as we apply our operational and technical learnings from the Ohio Dry Gas Utica to the Flat Castle Project Area. From a geological perspective, this area is similar in depth to our Ohio Dry Gas acreage and is well delineated with a meaningful number of offset results, while lying within what we believe to be the highest gas in place of the prospect area. We believe that the location of the Flat Castle Project Area, which is significantly west of the more currently constrained Northeastern Pennsylvania peers, will support our ability to reliably move gas out of the Flat Castle Project Area for the foreseeable future. The Company anticipates that the gas it produces in the Flat Castle Project Area will be transported through the Dominion and Tennessee gathering systems, which are exposed to improving Appalachian price differentials. We have been patient and extremely rigorous in our acquisition efforts to ensure we pursue opportunities for our shareholders that will enhance our inventory of highly returning, core drilling locations at attractive valuations. We believe the Flat Castle Project Area is located in one of the best underdeveloped areas of the Appalachian Basin and will nicely complement our existing asset base, with the potential returns on these wells competing with those in our core Utica Dry Gas acreage."

06:02 EDT Eclipse Resources to acquire New Utica Development area in PA - Eclipse Resources is pleased to announce that the company and Eclipse Resources-PA, LP, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, have entered into a definitive Purchase and Sale Agreement to acquire certain oil and gas leases, wells and other oil and gas rights and interests covering approximately 44,500 net acres located in the counties of Tioga and Potter in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from Travis Peak Resources. The aggregate purchase price for the Flat Castle Acquisition is $93.7M and is payable entirely in shares of Eclipse Resources' common stock. In addition, the Company announced today that the Company and Eclipse Resources Midstream, LP, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, have entered into a definitive option agreement pursuant to which Eclipse Resources Midstream. LP acquired the exclusive right to purchase all of the outstanding equity interests of Cardinal NE Holdings, LLC for an aggregate purchase price of $18.3M from Cardinal Midstream II, LLC. The Transactions were approved by a special committee of the Company's board of directors composed entirely of independent directors and the Flat Castle Acquisition is expected to close in January 2018, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions; provided that the Flat Castle Acquisition will have an effective date of September 1, 2017 and contemplates a second closing for purposes of curing any title or environmental defects with respect to the properties being acquired.

05:32 EDT Genentech says Phase III IMmotion151 Study rhowed reduced risk of worsening - Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, announced that the Phase III IMmotion151 study met its co-primary endpoint of investigator-assessed progression-free survival, or PFS, and demonstrated that the combination of TECENTRIQ and Avastin provided a statistically significant and clinically meaningful reduction in the risk of disease worsening or death, or PFS, in people whose disease expressed the PD-L1 protein compared with sunitinib for the first-line treatment of people who have advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma, or mRCC. Observations of a pre-specified subgroup analysis of the TECENTRIQ and Avastin combination indicated that, in people whose disease expressed PD-L1, a numerical difference favoring TECENTRIQ was seen across all patient risk factor groups compared to sunitinib; however, due to the study design these data could not be assessed for statistical significance and are descriptive only. Assessment of secondary endpoints is ongoing. Safety for the TECENTRIQ and Avastin combination appeared consistent with the known safety profile of the individual medicines and what was previously reported in the Phase II IMmotion150 study. No new safety signals were identified with the combination. Results will be presented at an upcoming oncology conference in 2018. Top-line results from the co-primary endpoint of overall survival, or OS, are not mature.

05:24 EDT Georgia Power restoration efforts nearing completion following winter storm - Throughout the day, Georgia Power has largely completed restoration efforts following this weekend's winter weather. Crews have worked around the clock in difficult conditions, including snow, freezing rain and ice since the storm hit, restoring power to hundreds of thousands of customers since Friday. Teams will remain engaged in restoration and repair work in the field until all customers, who can accept power, are reconnected. Customers in some of the hardest hits areas of North Georgia may not be able reconnect to Georgia Power service due to extensive damage. Since noon Friday, restoration crews have been in field and have safely restored power to approximately 365,000 customers. As of 7:30 p.m. Sunday, approximately 13,000 customers are without power statewide according to Georgia Power's Online Outage Map. Georgia Power is the largest electric subsidiary of Southern Company.