Stockwinners Market Radar for January 26, 2018 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service |
UNP CSX | Hot Stocks18:21 EDT Union Pacific names former CSX exec Sanborn as regional VP - Union Pacific (UNP) named Cindy Sanborn regional vice president of Transportation for its Western Region, effective February 16, 2018. She succeeds Richard Castagna, who will retire after nearly 25 years of service. Sanborn was the first woman to hold an executive operating leadership role at a Class I Railroad, recently serving as executive vice president and chief operations officer at CSX (CSX).
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TGC | Hot Stocks18:03 EDT Tengasco sells Carter Valley, Tennessee methane facility assets - Tengasco announced that together with its wholly owned subsidiary Manufactured Methane Corporation, the company had today closed the sale of all of the methane facility gas treatment facilities and electricity generation facilities located at the Carter Valley landfill owned by Republic Services, Inc. in Hawkins County, Tennessee. These assets and all related supply contracts and sales agreements related to the assets were purchased by Tennessee Renewable Group LLC, a Tennessee limited liability company, effective December 31, 2017, for cash in amount of $2.65M. Following this sale, the company neither owns nor operates any assets in Tennessee and no longer has any employees in that state. The company intends to utilize the proceeds of the sale for general corporate purposes.
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NCMI | Hot Stocks17:32 EDT National CineMedia says board will evaluate proposed director nominees - National CineMedia, the managing member and owner of 49.5% of National CineMedia, LLC, announced that it received a notice from Standard General L.P., a fund that owns approximately 16.9% of NCM's outstanding common stock, regarding its intent to nominate two candidates to stand for election to the NCM Board of Directors at NCM's 2018 annual meeting of stockholders. The Board of Directors of NCM will evaluate the proposed director nominees and, in due course, will make a recommendation based on the best interest of the Company and all of its stockholders. NCM stockholders are not required to take action at this time.
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VSTM | Hot Stocks17:31 EDT Biotechnology Value Fund reports 5.7% passive stake in Verastem
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CELG | Hot Stocks17:21 EDT Celgene, Actavis in settlement to terminate litigation, IPR relating to Abraxane - Celgene has entered into a settlement with Actavis to terminate the pending patent litigation and Inter Partes Review, IPR, challenges between the parties relating to certain patents for Abraxane. As part of the settlement, the parties will file a Consent Judgment with the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey that enjoins Actavis from marketing generic paclitaxel protein-bound particles for injectable suspension before expiration of the patents-in-suit, except as provided for in the settlement. In the settlement, Celgene has agreed to provide Actavis with a license to Celgene's patents required to manufacture and sell its generic paclitaxel protein-bound particles for injectable suspension product in the United States beginning on March 31, 2022.
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LMT | Hot Stocks17:11 EDT Lockheed Martin awarded $150M government contract - Lockheed Martin Aculight Corp., Bothell, Washington, is being awarded a $150,022,901 cost-plus-incentive-fee contract for Surface Navy Laser Weapon System Increment 1, High Energy Laser and Integrated Optical-dazzler with surveillance system. Under this contract Lockheed Martin Aculight Corp. will develop, manufacture, and deliver two test units in fiscal 2020. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $942,818,114. Work is expected to be completed by April 2020. Fiscal 2018 research, development, testing, and evaluation funds in the amount of $3.5M will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with four proposals received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington Navy Yard, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity.
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LMT | Hot Stocks17:09 EDT Lockheed Martin awarded $459.2M government contract modification - Lockheed Martin Corp. Missiles and Fire Control, Dallas, Texas, is being awarded a $459,230,468 modificatio to a previously-awarded contract to exercise an option for the production of additional Lot 10 Terminal High Altitude Area Defense interceptors (one-shot devices); and to provide associated production support efforts under fixed-price incentive-firm target contract line item numbers. The value of this contract is increased from $826,614,843 to $1,285,845,311. The work has an expected completion date of June 25, 2021. Fiscal 2018 procurement funds in the amount of $459,230,468 are being obligated at time of award. The Missile Defense Agency, Huntsville, Alabama, is the contracting activity.
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NCMI... | Hot Stocks17:07 EDT On The Fly: After Hours Movers - HIGHER: National CineMedia (NCMI), up 4.9% after Standard General reported a 16.9% stake in the company... Lowe's (LOW), up 0.7% after it announced a new $5B share repurchase program. LOWER: Pinnacle Foods (PF), down 1.4% following earlier gains after Reuters reported that Third Point has built a stake in the company.
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CASI | Hot Stocks17:01 EDT Casi Pharmaceuticals acquires ANDA portfolio from Sandoz - CASI Pharmaceuticals announced that it has acquired a portfolio of 25 U.S. FDA-approved abbreviated new drug applications, one ANDA that FDA tentatively approved, and three ANDAs that are pending FDA approval. CASI intends to select and commercialize certain products from the portfolio that have unique market opportunity and cost-effective manufacturing in China and/or in the U.S.
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CSLT | Hot Stocks16:56 EDT SAP SE reports 4.8% stake in Castlight Health - As of January 17,SAP Technologies ceased to be the beneficial owner of more than five percent of the Shares.
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KPTI | Hot Stocks16:44 EDT Ridgeback Capital Investments reports 5.5% passive stake in Karyopharm
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PE | Hot Stocks16:44 EDT Bryan Sheffield reports 11.3% passive stake in Parsley Energy
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NCMI | Hot Stocks16:39 EDT Standard General reports 16.9% stake in National CineMedia - In a regulatory filing, Standard General reported a 16.9% stake in National CineMedia and said it concluced that holders of the shares would benefit from the active participation of a direct representative of stockholder interests on the board of directors of the company as well as new perspectives from additional, experienced, highly qualified directors. In that connection, on January 24, 2018, Standard General chief investment officer Kim discussed with the Issuer the potential appointment, by the Board, of any two of the following three highly qualified individuals as directors of the company: Colleen B. Brown, a highly experienced former media executive with substantial public company board experience; Andrew Glaze, a research analyst at Standard General with extensive investment experience; and Kurt C. Hall, the former President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of National CineMedia and the beneficial owner of 1,702,338 shares of Common Stock. Standard General added that it expects engage in future discussions with management, the Board, other stockholders of the Issuer and other relevant parties concerning the business, operations, capital structure, governance, management and strategy of the company and other matters concerning the company.
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ARLP | Hot Stocks16:39 EDT Alliance Resource Partners raises quarterly distribution to 51c per unit - Payable on February 14 to all unitholders of record as of the close of trading on February 7.
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AHGP | Hot Stocks16:39 EDT Alliance Holdings raises quarterly distribution to 74.25c per unit - Payable on February 20 to all unitholders of record as of the close of trading on February 13.
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GNCA | Hot Stocks16:34 EDT Vivo Opportunity reports 9.99% passive stake in Genocea
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BA... | Hot Stocks16:33 EDT U.S. ITC: 150-seat aircraft from Canada do not injure U.S. industry - The United States International Trade Commission determined that a U.S. industry is not materially injured or threatened with material injury by reason of imports of 100- to 150-seat large civil aircraft from Canada that the U.S. Department of Commerce has determined are subsidized and sold at less than fair value. Chairman Rhonda K. Schmidtlein, Vice Chairman David S. Johanson, and Commissioners Irving A. Williamson and Meredith M. Broadbent voted in the negative. As a result of the USITC's negative determinations, no antidumping or countervailing duty orders will be issued. Reference Link
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LOW | Hot Stocks16:31 EDT Lowe's announces new $5B share repurchase program - Reflecting its commitment to return excess cash to shareholders, the Board of Directors for Lowe's Companies authorized a new $5B repurchase program for the company's common stock. This new repurchase program has no expiration date and is additive to the previous program's remaining balance, which was $2.1B as of Nov. 3, 2017, the end of the company's third fiscal quarter.
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ISNS | Hot Stocks16:27 EDT Image Sensing Systems receives award related to arbitration with Econolite - Image Sensing Systems has received a binding arbitration award related to its arbitration with Econolite Control Products, the exclusive distributor of ISS' Autoscope products in North America. In the award, ISS is to pay Econolite $262,000 for unused RTMS inventory and $246,000 for RTMS royalties. ISS was awarded $205,000 for RTMS royalties already paid to Econolite. ISS had recorded $303,000 of expense in its financial statements as of and for the quarter ended December 31, 2017, which will be reflected in its financial statements to be included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017.
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KHC | Hot Stocks16:26 EDT Kraft Heinz announces time change for Q4 earnings conference call - The Kraft Heinz Company announced that its conference call to review and discuss fourth quarter and full year 2017 financial results will now begin at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on Feb. 16, 2018. The adjustment is being made to accommodate the investor community in light of other consumer product group companies hosting conference calls during the originally scheduled time.
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ISNS | Hot Stocks16:24 EDT Image Sensing Systems receives reward related to arbitration with Econolite - Image Sensing Systems has received a binding arbitration award related to its arbitration with Econolite Control Products, the exclusive distributor of ISS' Autoscope products in North America. In the award, ISS is to pay Econolite $262,000 for unused RTMS inventory and $246,000 for RTMS royalties. ISS was awarded $205,000 for RTMS royalties already paid to Econolite. ISS had recorded $303,000 of expense in its financial statements as of and for the quarter ended December 31, 2017, which will be reflected in its financial statements to be included in its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017.
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CZWI | Hot Stocks16:22 EDT Citizens Community Bancorp reports Q1 net interest margin 3.42% - Compared to 3.36% for Q1 fiscal 2017 and 3.29% for Q4 fiscal 2017, largely due to the full quarter impact of the Wells acquisition.
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CZWI | Hot Stocks16:20 EDT Citizens Community Bancorp raises annual dividend 25% to 20c per share - The dividend will be payable on March 8 to shareholders of record on February 9.
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HF | Hot Stocks16:18 EDT HFF Inc. declares special cash dividend of $1.75 per common share - Payable February 21 to shareholders of record on February 9.
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YUM | Hot Stocks16:17 EDT Yum! Brands raises quarterly dividend 20% to 36c per share - The dividend ill be distributed March 9 to shareholders of record at the close of business on February 14.
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FBMS | Hot Stocks16:16 EDT First Bancshares raises quarterly dividend 33.3% to 5c per share - To be paid on February 22 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on February 5.
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ESRX | Hot Stocks16:14 EDT Express Scripts announces retirement of COO Christine Houston - On January 24, Express Scripts announced the retirement of Christine Houston and the appointment of Neal Sample as Executive Vice President & COO. Ms. Houston will remain with the company as Executive Vice President for a period to be determined to conclude several key initiatives. The company also announced the appointment of Everett Neville as Executive Vice President, Strategy, Supply Chain & Specialty
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FBIZ | Hot Stocks16:11 EDT First Business Financial raises quarterly dividend 7.7% to 14c per share - This regular cash dividend is payable on February 15 to shareholders of record at the close of business on February 5.
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EKSO | Hot Stocks16:09 EDT Ekso Bionics says co-founder Russ Angold to step down - Ekso Bionics Holdings announced that its industrial division will now report solely to Thomas Looby, President and CEO. Concomitant with this news, the company also announced that co-founder Russ Angold, after 13 years with Ekso Bionics, has decided to step down. Mr. Angold will continue to work with the company in order to facilitate a smooth transition. His responsibilities will be merged with the already established engineering, EksoWorks and leadership teams."As a co-founder, Russ has made significant contributions to the business from conception to commercialization of our industry-changing technologies," said Mr. Looby. "He has set the team up for long term success as we continue to innovate and drive adoption. We thank him for his dedication and wish him all the best in his future endeavors." "When starting the company in 2005, few people knew what exoskeletons were," commented Mr. Angold. "We've come a long way - it's not science fiction anymore - now people are embracing how Ekso's technology can augment human capabilities. This is still only the beginning and while I am leaving to pursue other opportunities, I am confident the right team is in place to drive the business forward."
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ILMN RHHBY | Hot Stocks16:07 EDT Illumina awarded $26.7M in patent suit against Ariosa Diagnostics - Illumina (ILMN) announced that a federal jury in San Francisco has ruled in its favor in a patent infringement suit filed against Ariosa Diagnostics, Inc., now owned by Roche (RHHBY). The jury found that both Ariosa's previous and current version of the Harmony non-invasive prenatal test infringe US Patent 8,318,430 and US Patent 7,955,794. The jury awarded Illumina approximately $26.7M for past damages. The jury rejected counterclaims by Ariosa that Illumina had breached a supply agreement between the companies by bringing the lawsuit. The US Patent and Trademark Office previously upheld the validity of the patents rejecting multiple challenges filed by Ariosa. "We are pleased with the outcome reached by the jury," said Charles Dadswell, Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Illumina. "This verdict again validates these patents, the hard work and ingenuity of the inventors, and their significant contribution to the field of NIPT." Illumina intends to seek injunctive relief for ongoing infringement by Ariosa's continuing sale of its Harmony test.
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RPRX | Hot Stocks16:02 EDT Repros Therapeutics: EMA issues negative opinion for enclomiphene - Repros Therapeutics announced that, consistent with the previously disclosed guidance from the European Medicines Agency, the CHMP, a committee of the EMA, has formally issued a negative opinion for the centralized marketing authorization application for enclomiphene for the treatment of secondary hypogonadism previously submitted to the EMA by the company's U.K. subsidiary, Renable Pharma Limited.
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AVIR | Hot Stocks16:00 EDT Aviragen says ISS report contains errors, reaches wrong conclusion - Aviragen Therapeutics issued the following statement in response to a report by Institutional Shareholder Services, or ISS, regarding the company's proposed merger with Vaxart, Inc.: "ISS's report contains numerous factual errors and we strongly believe that ISS has reached the wrong conclusion in failing to recommend that Aviragen stockholders vote FOR our proposed merger with Vaxart...Aviragen's Board and management team continue to believe approving the proposed merger with Vaxart represents the best path forward for Aviragen and its stockholders. Accordingly, Aviragen strongly recommends stockholders vote FOR the proposed merger with Vaxart."
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CINF | Hot Stocks15:50 EDT Cincinnati Financial raises quarterly dividend to 53c per share from 50c - Cincinnati Financial announced that, at today's regular meeting, the board of directors declared a 53c per share regular quarterly cash dividend, increasing from the previous 50c per share dividend paid on January 16, 2018. The dividend is payable April 16, 2018, to shareholders of record as of March 21, 2018.
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CVGI | Hot Stocks15:43 EDT Arnold B. Siemer reports 6.86% passive stake in Commercial Vehicle Group - In a regulatory filing, Arnold B. Siemer disclosed a 6.86% stake in Commercial Vehicle Group, representing 2,126,564 shares. The filing does not allow for activism.
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CXW GEO | Hot Stocks15:42 EDT Bureau of Prisons calls for inmates to be moved to private facilities - In a memo date January 24 from F. Lara, the Assistant Director of the Correctional Programs Division of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the bureau called for eligible inmates to be submitted for potential re-designation to private contract facilities to "alleviate the overcrowding at Bureau of Prisons' institutions and to maximize the effectiveness of the private contracts." Private prison contractors include Geo Group (GEO) and CoreCivic (CXW). Reference Link
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KO | Hot Stocks15:34 EDT Staples names former Coca-Cola exec Douglas CEO - Staples announced the appointment of J. Alexander (Sandy) Douglas as Chief Executive Officer, effective April 2, 2018. Douglas will succeed Shira Goodman as CEO. John Lederer, Executive Chairman of Staples, Inc. and its separate United States and Canadian Retail Businesses, will lead the Company on a day-to-day basis during the transition. Douglas most recently served as President of Coca-Cola North America.
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ZION | Hot Stocks15:16 EDT Zions Bancorp raises dividend to 20c from 16c per share - Zions Bancorporation announced that its board of directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of 20c per common share. The dividend is payable February 22, 2018 to shareholders of record on February 15, 2018. Previously, on June 28, 2017, Zions Bancorporation announced that the Federal Reserve does not object to Zions' board-approved 2017 capital plan for the period spanning July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018, which included plans to increase the common dividend to 24c per share by 2Q18, following the path of 12 per share in 3Q17, 16c per share in 4Q17, 20c per share in 1Q18, and 24c per share in 2Q18.
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FOXA... | Hot Stocks15:10 EDT Box Office Battle: 'Maze Runner' sequel likely to win weekend - Opening this weekend, and expected to take the top spot, is 21st Century Fox's (FOX, FOXA) "Maze Runner: The Death Cure," the third and final movie in the dystopian science fiction action thriller series based on the novels by James Dashner. "Maze Runner: The Death Cure" grossed $1.5M in Thursday night previews, and is expected to domestically earn $20M-$21M over the weekend. Sony's (SNE) action comedy "Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle," which has domestically grossed over $300M to date, is expected to earn an additional $13M this weekend. 21st Century Fox's "The Post," in its third weekend at theaters, is expected to earn $11M-$12M. Time Warner's (TWX) Warner Bros. war drama "12 Strong," starring Chris Hemsworth, Michael Shannon, and Michael Pena, is expected to gross $7M-$9M at just over 3,000 theaters. Other publicly traded companies in filmmaking include Comcast (CMCSA, CMCSK), Disney (DIS), Lionsgate (LGF.A, LGF.B), and Viacom (VIA, VIAB).
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SCG D | Hot Stocks15:08 EDT Scana rises after Dominion CEO says 'will make this combination work' - Scana Corporation (SCG) disclosed in a regulatory filing that the company distributed a message from Thomas F. Farrell, II, President, Chairman and CEO of Dominion Energy (D) to all Scana employees. In the email from Dominion's CEO that was distributed, Farrell stated in part: "I suspect morale may be down a bit during a tough week, so I am writing to ask you to let your team know this: Dominion Energy's resolve is stronger than ever. We will make this combination work...We are working to shape a better future for this company, for your employees and retirees, for your customers, and for the long-term economic health of South Carolina. This cause matters...Please let your colleagues know that tenacity is a core competency at Dominion Energy! We have a lot of work ahead. We are all in this together." Following the disclosure of the email, Scana shares are up $1.16, or 2.8%, to $43.16.
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IBKC | Hot Stocks14:58 EDT Iberiabank announces wage increase, $1,000 bonuses to associates after tax bill - Iberiabank announced that, following the passage of the new federal tax reform legislation, the company will invest a portion of savings in its associates in two meaningful ways: pay raise of $2/hour will be given to non-exempt, non-commissioned associates, who currently earn $15 per hour or less, ranging from an average of 12% to as much as a 23% increase, in base compensation; $1,000 cash bonus will be paid to all part-time and full-time associates who currently earn between $15/hour and $100,000 annually in base pay. "In total, these investments benefit nearly 80% of our associates. We are very proud of our team, and we are pleased to reward those who take care of our clients and our communities every day in extraordinary ways," says Daryl G. Byrd, President and CEO of IBERIABANK Corporation. "Continuing to invest in our people helps us to attract and retain high quality associates, which translates into strong financial performance and positive results for our shareholders."
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VSTM | Hot Stocks14:57 EDT Verastem announces presentation of preclinical data on duvelisib combination - Verastem announced that a poster highlighting the synergistic effects of duvelisib in combination with immune checkpoint or co-stimulatory antibodies in preclinical models of B cell lymphoma was presented at ASCO-SITC Clinical Immuno-Oncology Symposium being held January 25-27. Jonathan Pachter, Chief Scientific Officer of Verastem, said, "Our research presented this year at ASCO-SITC indicates that the dual PI3K-delta/PI3K-gamma inhibitory activity of duvelisib enables duvelisib to reduce both T-regulatory and myeloid immunosuppressive cells in a murine A20 B cell lymphoma model. As a result of these beneficial changes within the tumor microenvironment, we observed a striking enhancement by duvelisib of the anti-tumor efficacy of immune checkpoint or co-stimulatory antibodies in this preclinical B cell lymphoma model. These data support further exploration of duvelisib in combination with immunotherapeutic agents for the treatment of aggressive lymphomas."
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NI | Hot Stocks13:43 EDT NiSource increases dividend to an annualized 78c per share - The Board of Directors of NiSource declared a quarterly common dividend payment of 19.5c per share payable Feb. 20, 2018 to shareholders of record as of Feb. 9, 2018. This represents an annualized dividend of 78c per share. NiSource's previous dividend increase was announced in January 2017.
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ONP | Hot Stocks13:20 EDT Orient Paper trading resumes
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ONP | Hot Stocks13:06 EDT Orient Paper announces temporary suspension of production - Orient Paper announced that it will temporarily suspend all of its production lines due to mandated restriction/suspension of natural gas supply for all natural gas consumption industries, including the paper manufacturing industry in order to secure adequate natural gas to households uses in urban and rural areas in Hebei Province. The Restriction is in accordance with the second highest alert over supply shock of natural gas which has been in place since November 27, 2017. Multiple cities in the province including Baoding and Xingtai where the company's facilities located have successively issued notices about the restriction of natural gas supply to their industrial users. The suspension is expected to last into February, 2018, when the company expects the Restriction to be eased. The company is going to implement equipment maintenance during the temporary suspension of production. The temporary suspension of production will impact the cmpany's current corrugating medium paper, offset printing paper and tissue paper operations.
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NVS | Hot Stocks13:03 EDT Novartis subsidiary receives FDA approval for Lutathera - Novartis announced that Advanced Accelerator Applications, a subsidiary of Novartis Groupe S.A., has received US Food and Drug Administration approval of its new drug application for Lutathera for the treatment of somatostatin receptor positive gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, including foregut, midgut, and hindgut neuroendocrine tumors, in adults. Lutathera, which received orphan drug designation from the FDA, is a first-in- class drug and the first available FDA-approved Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy, a form of treatment comprising of a targeting molecule that carries a radioactive component. The approval was based on a Phase 3 study which demonstrated a 79% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death within the Lutathera plus best standard of care arm compared to 60 mg of octreotide LAR alone. Novartis recently completed a successful tender offer for Advanced Accelerator Applications to become a subsidiary within the Novartis Group. "The approval of Lutathera marks an important achievement and an innovation greatly needed for the NET cancer community," said Susanne Schaffert, Ph.D., Chairperson and President, Advanced Accelerator Applications. "For 30 years, Novartis has supported the NET community with the development of therapeutics in NET and carcinoid syndrome. I cannot think of a better way to commemorate the joining of two organizations and our future together as we advance new nuclear medicine therapeutics in NET as well as across other tumor types."
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BHGE | Hot Stocks13:02 EDT Baker Hughes reports U.S. rig count up 11 to 947 rigs - Baker Hughes reports that the U.S. rig count is up 11 rigs from last week to 947, with oil rigs up 12 to 759, gas rigs down 1 to 188, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged. The U.S. Rig Count is up 235 rigs from last year's count of 712, with oil rigs up 193, gas rigs up 43, and miscellaneous rigs down 1 to 0. The U.S. Offshore Rig Count is down 2 rigs at 17 and down 4 rigs year-over-year. The Canada Rig Count is up 13 rigs from last week to 338, with oil rigs up 12 to 220 and gas rigs up 1 to 118. The Canada Rig Count is down 7 rigs from last year's count of 345, with oil rigs up 20 and gas rigs down 27.
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PRGO VRX | Hot Stocks12:55 EDT Perrigo receives tentative FDA approval for Onexton Gel generic - Perrigo Company (PRGO) announced it has received tentative approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the generic version of Onexton Gel. Perrigo previously settled litigation with Valeant Pharmaceuticals North America LLC (VRX) and Dow Pharmaceutical Sciences, Inc. for this product. Onexton Gel is a prescription medicine indicated for the topical treatment of acne vulgaris in patients 12 years of age and older. Branded market sales for the last 12 months were approximately $115M.
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SSB | Hot Stocks12:50 EDT South State announces $2.7M employee bonus - South State Bank announced that as a result of excellent financial performance and the recent federal tax reform efforts, it will be rewarding its teams with $2.7M. South State will distribute $1,000 to full-time employees and $500 to part-time employees on Feb. 9 and will benefit more than 2,800 South State employees. South State recently announced the completion of its merger with Park Sterling, bringing total assets to more than $14B and providing increased accessibility and convenience for its customers across the Carolinas, Georgia and Virginia.
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BTC... | Hot Stocks12:49 EDT The Intersection: Crypto and Wall Street This Week - As bitcoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrencies get increasing attention from investors, Wall Street and its traditional banks continue to adjust to the shift. Catch up on this week's top stories highlighting the intersection of these old guard and new school areas of finance with this recap compiled by The Fly: 1. SEC ISSUES WARNING ON ICOS: On Monday, Securities and Exchange chairman Jay Clayton said, "Market professionals, especially gatekeepers, need to act responsibly and hold themselves to high standards. To be blunt, from what I have seen recently, particularly in the initial coin offering space, they can do better. Legal advice, or in the cases I will cite, the lack thereof, surrounding ICOs helps illustrate this point...I have instructed the SEC staff to be on high alert for approaches to ICOs that may be contrary to the spirit of our securities laws and the professional obligations of the U.S. securities bar...The SEC is undertaking significant efforts to educate the public that unregistered securities investments offered by unregistered promoters, with no securities lawyers or accountants on the scene, are, in a word, dangerous." Clayton added that the SEC is also looking closely at public companies that shift their business models to capitalize on distributed ledger technology. 2. MNUCHIN, MAY MULL REGULATION: U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said cryptocurrencies need more regulation, CNBC reported Thursday. "My No. 1 focus on cryptocurrencies, whether that be digital currencies or bitcoin or other things, is that we want to make sure that they're not used for illicit activities. So in the U.S., our regulations state if you're a bitcoin wallet, you're subject to the same regulations as a bank...We want to make sure the rest of the world, and many of the Group of 20 countries are already starting on this, have the same regulations." Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Theresa May said she would consider cracking down on cryptocurrency, Bloomberg reported Thursday. "In areas like cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, we should be looking at these very seriously," she said, adding regulation may be needed "precisely because of the way they are used, particularly by criminals."3. COINBASE BOOKS $1B IN REVENUE: Bitcoin broker Coinbase hit $1B in revenue in 2017, leading to overwhelming interest from outside investors, including venture capitalists and private brokers, looking to acquire a portion of the company, Recode reported Monday. Coinbase has warned its shareholders not to engage in conversations with those investors. The company said,"As a private company, Coinbase does not allow trading of stock on secondary markets for a variety of reasons, including the fact that there is not full and equal information available to the market. We will take appropriate action if we find people have sold Coinbase shares in violation of our agreements not to do so." 4. STRIPE ENDS BITCOIN SUPPORT: Tom Karlo, Stripe's product manager, payment methods, said in a blog post Tuesday, "In 2014, we became the first major payments company to support Bitcoin payments...Over the past year or two, as block size limits have been reached, Bitcoin has evolved to become better-suited to being an asset than being a means of exchange...This has led to Bitcoin becoming less useful for payments, however. Because of this, we've seen the desire from our customers to accept Bitcoin decrease...Therefore, starting today, we are winding down support for Bitcoin payments. Over the next three months we will work with affected Stripe users to ensure a smooth transition before we stop processing Bitcoin transactions on April 23, 2018." 5. BITCOIN BASHED AT DAVOS: At the World Economic Forum, UBS (UBS) chairman Axel Weber said the bank will not trade in bitcoin or offer it to retail clients as increased regulation may result in a "massive" drop in value, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. In addition, billionaire fund manager George Soros took a dig at cryptocurrency while addressing an audience at Davos, the Financial Times reported Thursday. "Cryptocurrency is a typical bubble, which is always based on some misunderstanding," he said. "It is not a currency." Meanwhile, CNBC reported Thursday that Stephen Poloz, governor of the Bank of Canada, said, "There is no intrinsic value for something like bitcoin so it's not really an asset one can analyze. It's just essentially speculative or gambling." 6. CRYPTO STOCK PLAYS: Cryptocurrency revenues have been pointed to as reasons to be bullish on Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Nvidia (NVDA) in select research. Overstock (OSTK), Digital Power (DPW), Long Blockchain (LBCC), Kodak (KODK), Seven Stars Cloud Group (SSC), Riot Blockchain (RIOT), Longfin (LFIN), Pareteum (TEUM) and Social Reality (SRAX) are other stocks that have been touted, or promoted themselves, as a way to play the crypto theme. PRICE ACTION: As of time of writing, bitcoin was down roughly 1.8% this week to $11,054 in U.S. dollars according to CoinDesk. Meanwhile, Nvidia rose 4.7%, Overstock dropped 2.8%, Long Blockchain fell 24%, Seven Stars Cloud Group was down 9% and Social Reality fell 11%, all on a weekly basis. Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC) fell about 2% this week to $1,656. WANT BITCOIN NEWS ALERTS?: To receive alerts on stories relating to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, Fly subscribers can enter "Bitcoin" into the "Add symbols" box of their portfolios.
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TWTR | Hot Stocks12:47 EDT Twitter at highs of day, up 8% as Citron's Left discusses long call - Andrew Left of Citron Research is on CNBC discussing his long thesis on Twitter, which is up 8% to $23.93 in early afternoon trading.
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ONP | Hot Stocks12:42 EDT Orient Paper trading halted, news pending
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AAAP NVS | Hot Stocks12:03 EDT Advanced Accelerator announces FDA approval for Lutathera - Advanced Accelerator Applications (AAAP), a Novartis (NVS) company, announced that it has received US Food and Drug Administration approval of its new drug application for Lutathera for the treatment of somatostatin receptor positive gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, or GEP-NETs, including foregut, midgut, and hindgut neuroendocrine tumors in adults. Lutathera is a first-in-class drug and the first available FDA-approved Peptide Receptor Radionuclide Therapy, a form of targeted treatment comprising a targeting molecule that carries a radioactive component, the company said.
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DXYN | Hot Stocks11:42 EDT Kopion Asset Management reports 5.3% passive stake in Dixie Group - In a regulatory filing, Kopion Asset Management disclosed a 5.3% passive stake in Dixie Group, representing 806,958 shares. The filing does not allow for activism.
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ATVI... | Hot Stocks11:40 EDT Credit Suisse ups targets on gaming giants ahead of 'mobile game renaissance' - Shares of the "big three" U.S. game makers were all trading higher after a Credit Suisse analyst raised his price targets on their stocks, saying he expects incremental steps for the mobile-driven globalization of the game makers' "best content." "MOBILE GAME RENAISSANCE": In a research note to investors, Credit Suisse analyst Stephen Ju said that 2018 brings us a step closer to realizing the larger scale total addressable market expansion of mobile gaming, as Activision Blizzard (ATVI) intends to release mobile versions of Blizzard franchises, Electronic Arts (EA) is moving to optimize "FIFA Mobile" and release "Sims Mobile," and Take-Two (TTWO) will likely better integrate existing studios with Social Point, its mobile gaming subsidiary. The analyst added that the cycle of the "mobile game renaissance" is now just beginning. ACTIVISION: Ju maintained an Outperform rating on Activision Blizzard and raised his price target on the shares to $81 from $77, adding that he believes mobile versions of the company's franchises will exert the greatest influence on the company's growth trajectory. While he does not expect any releases in 2018, the analyst said that this year could see "greater details" on this initiative, and noted that the firm has modeled five mobile games to start arriving in 2019 and beyond, assuming around $200M in bookings each. ELECTRONIC ARTS: The analyst also backed an Outperform rating on Electronic Arts and raised his price target to $131 from $130. Ju said that, as the microtransactions controversy for "Star Wars Battlefront II" is "increasingly in the rear view mirror," his firm has changed its product release assumptions for fiscal 2019, moving its release prediction for "Anthem" to the fourth quarter of 2019 and pushed its "Sims 5" release estimate to fiscal 2020. TAKE-TWO: In addition, Ju reaffirmed a Neutral rating on Take-Two and raised his price target to $125 from $116, noting that the more important aspect of the upcoming release of "Red Dead Redemption 2" is not so much the units it will sell but rather the live services and recurrent consumer spending in the aftermath. While the firm continues to model the upcoming game's potential microtransactions as being additive to its projections, reflecting zero cannibalization for "Grand Theft Auto Online," there is a potential for users to eventually pick one game over the other, the analyst said. PRICE ACTION: Near midday, Activision Blizzard is up 1% to $71.52, EA is up 1.5% to $116.21, and Take-Two is up 1.4% to $118.79. OTHERS TO WATCH: Companies in the mobile gaming sector include Zynga (ZNGA) and Glu Mobile (GLUU), up 1.22% and 0.1%, respectively. Meanwhile, shares of Nintendo (NTDOY), which began releasing mobile games in 2016, are up nearly 1.3% in New York.
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GATX | Hot Stocks11:37 EDT GATX board approves additional share repurchase authorization of $170M - The board of directors of GATX Corporation has approved an additional share repurchase authorization of $170M, bringing GATX's aggregate repurchase authorization to $250M. Brian A. Kenney, president and chief executive officer of GATX stated, "2018 will mark our 100th consecutive year of paying a dividend, a track record that few companies can match. Over the past ten years, GATX has invested over $7B in our business and returned over $1.2B to our shareholders through dividends and share repurchase. We have done so while maintaining a strong balance sheet and steady investment grade credit rating. Both the dividend increase and share repurchase authorization reflect the board's confidence in GATX's long-term outlook and demonstrates the company's continued commitment to return capital to our shareholders."
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GATX | Hot Stocks11:36 EDT GATX raises quarterly dividend 5% to 44c per share - The board of directors of GATX Corporation declared a quarterly dividend of 44c per common share, payable March 31, 2018, to shareholders of record on March 5, 2018. GATX has paid quarterly dividends without interruption since 1919, and the dividend amount announced today represents a 5.0% increase from the prior year's dividend.
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AAAP | Hot Stocks11:36 EDT FDA approves Advanced Accelerator treatment for certain digestive tract cancers - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Lutathera for the treatment of a type of cancer that affects the pancreas or gastrointestinal tract called gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, or GEP-NETs. This is the first time a radioactive drug, or radiopharmaceutical, has been approved for the treatment of GEP-NETs, said the FDA. Lutathera is indicated for adult patients with somatostatin receptor-positive GEP-NETs. The FDA granted the approval of Lutathera to Advanced Accelerator Applications.
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SPY SPX | Hot Stocks11:35 EDT New York, New Jersey, Connecticut launch coalition to sue over tax bill - New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut have launched a coalition to sue the federal government to challenge the new GOP tax bill that eliminates full state and local tax deductibility. This provision effectively preempts the states' ability to govern by reducing the ability to provide for their own citizens and unfairly targets New York and similarly situated states in violation of the Constitution. "New Yorkers will not stand idly by as the federal government fires an economic missile at the fiscal health of our state," he said. "The elimination of full state and local deductibility is a blatantly partisan and unlawful attack on New York that uses our hardworking families and tax dollars as a piggy bank to pay for tax cuts for corporations and other states. This coalition will take the federal government to court to protect our residents from this assault."The launch of a multi-state coalition to sue the federal government is the first step in Governor Cuomo's three-pronged effort to fight the federal tax assault on New York, as announced in his 2018 State of the State Address.The second prong of the effort is to launch a repeal-and-replace strategy, and the third prong is to explore the feasibility of a major shift in the structure of State tax policy. Reference Link
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AHL | Hot Stocks11:31 EDT Aspen Insurance CEO Stephen Postlewhite is leaving the company - Aspen Insurance Holdings announced that David Cohen, President and Chief Underwriting Officer of Aspen Insurance, will lead the day-to-day management of the Insurance business, reporting to Group Chief Executive Officer, Chris O'Kane. Chris O'Kane said: "David joined Aspen in November 2015. Since his arrival, he has upgraded the underwriting talent in our Insurance segment, is refocusing our underwriting book and is positioning Aspen Insurance for success in the next stage of its development. David is a strong and well-respected leader and I am confident that as we move forward, he will drive improvements across our Insurance business." Stephen Postlewhite, CEO of Aspen Insurance, is leaving the business with immediate effect.
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REN | Hot Stocks11:11 EDT Resolute Energy says 'well positioned' to create significant value for investors - Resolute Energy issued the following statement in response to the public filing of a Schedule 13D and the issuance of a letter to the Board of Directors of Resolute by Monarch Alternative Capital LP: "Resolute welcomes open communications with its stockholders and considers input that may advance the company's goal of enhancing value. While it is the Company's policy not to comment on specific discussions with stockholders, it is important to note that members of Resolute's senior management team have held multiple discussions with Monarch to better understand its views. While we expect communications with Monarch may continue, the Company is focused on executing its proven strategy to enhance value for all Resolute stockholders. With the completion of the 2017 Bronco acquisition, the recent closing of the sale of Resolute's Aneth Field properties, and the success of our 2017 drilling program, we have completed our strategic transformation to a growing Delaware Basin pure play producer. As we move forward, we intend to concentrate on accelerating our development program, generating strong production and cash flow growth, reducing our cost structure and delivering among the best returns on capital in the Permian Basin, all while strengthening our balance sheet. The Resolute Board and management team are confident that we are well positioned to create significant value for stockholders."
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BBBY... | Hot Stocks10:39 EDT Bed Bath & Beyond sinks after analyst says sell with competition rising - Shares of Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) dropped in morning trading after an analyst downgraded the stock to his firm's equivalent of a Sell rating, citing concerns over the growth and margin outlook relative to peers. ANALYST TURNS BEARISH: JPMorgan analyst Christopher Horvers downgraded Bed Bath & Beyond to Underweight, his firm's equivalent of a Sell rating, and cut his price target for the shares to $18 from $21. In a note to clients titled "If you can't comp positively now...", Horvers noted that the stock has run up 16% since the House passed the tax bill in November, and recent estimate revisions suggest the Street is assuming 50% flow through of tax savings. He believes this could prove "aggressive" considering the increased competition in the home furnishings space and Bed Bath & Beyond's need to invest in advertising, price and infrastructure. Horvers doesn't see a turn "in sight" for the company's comps given that the retailer was unable to post positive same-store sales during the critical holiday season despite a "robust" consumer backdrop. Bed Bath & Beyond posted a 0.3% decline in SSS last quarter despite including November, "which was arguably the best month of the year for retailers." Additionally, the analyst noted that his work indicates that trends have slowed sequentially quarter-to-date, in contrast to a string of positive pre-announcements from retailers. He sees margin pressure getting worse before getting better and believes that sales may take longer to rebound. COMPETITORS: Bed Bath & Beyond competes with offerings from Amazon (AMZN) and Target (TGT), as well as companies including Kohl's (KSS), Overstock (OSTK) and Wayfair (W). Earlier this month, Loop Capital said Amazon has become "more aggressive" in its pricing strategy, and that in a study across a basket of 50 items for both companies, Bed Bath & Beyond prices were on average 19.8% more expensive than Amazon. Target recently said that its comparable sales in the combined November/December period grew 3.4%, which was better than the company previously said that it expected, and Target raised its FY17 earnings view. Kohl's, meanwhile, said that its total and comparable sales for the November and December combined period were up 6.9% over last year. Kohl's Chief Executive Officer Kevin Mansell noted that "All lines of business and all regions reported positive comp sales" for the critical holiday period. In December, Bed Bath & Beyond beat analysts' estimates on the top and bottom line and backed its FY17 adjusted EPS view. The company forecast FY17 revenue flat to slightly positive and SSS down in the low single-digit percentage range. PRICE ACTION: Bed Bath & Beyond is down about 6% in morning trading to $21.70.
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F | Hot Stocks10:36 EDT Ford files for patent on autonomous police car - Ford has filed for a patent on an autonomous police car. The patent describes an autonomous police vehicle that would be able to detect infractions performed by another vehicle, either on its own or in conjunction with surveillance cameras and/or road-side sensors. Reference Link
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BNPQY | Hot Stocks10:35 EDT BNP Paribas USA reports settlement agreement with U.S. DoJ - BNP Paribas USA announces a settlement agreement with the US Department of Justice relating to past misconduct in the Bank's foreign exchange business. The settlement includes an agreement to a guilty plea by BNP Paribas USA to a single violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act and a fine of $90M, which will be covered by existing provisions. This follows an admission by a former BNP Paribas Securities Corp. employee to an antitrust conspiracy that covered his tenure with BNP Paribas Securities Corp. and other banks. This settlement completes investigations into BNP Paribas' foreign exchange business conducted by the DoJ, the New York State Department of Financial Services and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. In reaching this settlement, the DoJ acknowledged BNP Paribas' Group-wide remediation efforts and the full cooperation of BNP Paribas during the investigation. The conduct which led to this settlement occurred during the period from 2011 to 2013. Since this time, BNP Paribas has proactively implemented extensive measures to strengthen its systems of control and compliance, has increased resources and staff dedicated to these functions, conducted extensive staff training and launched a new Code of Conduct which applies to all staff.
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OA | Hot Stocks10:26 EDT Orbital ATK's Al Yah 3 commercial communications satellite in 'good health' - Orbital ATK announced the Al Yah 3 commercial communications satellite, built by the company for Al Yah Satellite Communications Company PrJSC, is in good health after a launch deviation occurred shortly after liftoff on January 25 from Kourou, French Guiana. The launch is a key milestone in Yahsat's strategy to expand its Ka-band coverage across Africa and to establish a presence in Latin America. The mission experienced some challenges during the launch stages which resulted in the Al Yah 3 satellite being inserted into an orbit that differed from the flight plan. The satellite was successfully acquired by the Orbital ATK mission operations team and is healthy and operating nominally. A revised flight plan will be executed in order to achieve the operational orbit and fulfill the original mission. "Based on data from initial communications, I can report that Al Yah 3 is in orbit, healthy and responding to commands from our mission operations team," said Frank Culbertson, President of Orbital ATK's Space Systems Group. "We will continue to work closely with our customer, Yahsat, to meet their mission objectives and remain confident that we will deliver a fully operational satellite to the planned orbit." Al Yah 3 is due to begin delivering commercial services later in 2018.
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EA DIS | Hot Stocks10:18 EDT Electronic Arts, ESPN, NFL announce multi-event competitive gaming network pact - Electronic Arts (EA) and the National Football League announced they are teaming up with ESPN and Disney XD (DIS) for exclusive broadcasts of the upcoming EA SPORTS Madden NFL 18 Championship Series. This starts with the final rounds of the EA SPORTS Madden NFL 18 Club Championship and the brand-new EA SPORTS Madden NFL Ultimate League, marking ESPN's first-ever long-term, multi-event competitive gaming agreement. Between Super Bowl LII and the 2018 NFL Draft, Disney XD and the ESPN App will become the weekly home to Madden NFL 18 competitive gaming content. The Madden NFL Ultimate League champion will be crowned at the Madden Bowl, live from the 2018 NFL Draft on ESPN2. Beginning in April, ESPN2 will also broadcast an Ultimate League Episodic Series.
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GOOG GOOGL | Hot Stocks10:06 EDT Google testing Bulletin app for hyperlocal stories - Google says, "Bulletin is an app for contributing hyperlocal stories about your community, for your community, right from your phone. Bulletin makes it effortless to put a spotlight on inspiring stories that aren't being told. What's special about a story on Bulletin? Bulletin stories are public and easy to discover: on Google search, through social networks, or via links sent by email and messaging apps." The app is in "early access" mode, it says on the website. Reference Link
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ABBV | Hot Stocks09:51 EDT AbbVie sees 2018 GAAP tax rate of 9% gradually increasing to 13% over 5 years
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SBUX | Hot Stocks09:47 EDT Starbucks' Johnson says testing cashless store in Seattle - Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson is speaking on CNBC.
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SBUX | Hot Stocks09:43 EDT Starbucks has 'always' had competition in U.S., says CEO - Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson said the company has "always" had competition in the U.S. but that it is currently gaining share here. Johnson is being interviewed on CNBC.
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SBUX | Hot Stocks09:40 EDT Starbucks CEO says holiday merchandise weakness cost about 1 point of U.S. comps - Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson is being interviewed on CNBC.
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ABBV | Hot Stocks09:37 EDT AbbVie sees Q1 adjusted effective tax rate approaching 8%
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ABBV | Hot Stocks09:31 EDT AbbVie says Mavyret has become 'major growth driver' for company - Sees "strong" top and bottom line growth for 2018. Says tax reform enables more efficient access to foreign cash, ability to deploy it in the U.S. Says will accelerate pension funding by $750M in 2018. Says Mavyret has become a "major growth driver" for company, has become a leader in most geographic markets where it is approved. Says growth story "has only just begun." Says believes Upadacitinib has the potential to be best-in-class therapy in RA; sees data from two additional trials in 1H, regulatory submission in 2H. Expects to see data from several Imbruvica combination studies this year. Says Venclexta AML approval could come two years ahead of initial expectations. Comments taken from the Q4 earnings conference call. AbbVie is up 5.3% to $113.98 in early trading.
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HON... | Hot Stocks09:29 EDT On The Fly: Pre-market Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Honeywell (HON), up just under 1%... AbbVie (ABBV), up 5.3%... Gentex (GNTX), up 5.1%... Lear (LEA), down 2.3%. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Hill-Rom (HRC), down 2.2%... Colgate-Palmolive (CL), down 3.9%... Air Products (APD), down 1.2%.
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TMP | Hot Stocks09:13 EDT Tompkins Financial to raise minimum wage due to tax reform - The company said, "Tompkins has a history of being a high performing company with a long-term focus. In keeping with this approach, we plan to leverage the benefits of reduced taxes from the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 in a way that is consistent with our strategy of creating long-term value for our clients, shareholders, communities and employees. This includes planned investments to modernize our facilities, improve customer-facing technology and expand staff in support of these initiatives. We have always given generously to the communities we serve and expect to continue to increase that level going forward. We have a long history of paying profit sharing to our employees and we have raised the profit sharing payout that will be paid in 2018 to 9.0% of employee annual pay. We also plan to raise the minimum wage paid by our company to $14.00 - $15.00 per hour based on geography and we are committed to increasing compensation for all employees earning less than $18.00 per hour. We are investing just in excess of $1M to increase our wages to these levels."
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JACK | Hot Stocks09:10 EDT Jack in the Box brand president Frances Allen to resign - Jack in the Box announced two leadership changes at the Jack in the Box brand: Frances Allen has informed the company of her decision to resign as brand president, effective February 9, and Marcus Tom will join the company on February 12 as VP and COO. Tom will oversee operations for company and franchise restaurants as well as Strategic Initiatives & Operations Services. Tom will join Jack in the Box with more than 15 years of experience in operations leadership positions, most recently at JAB Beech, where he was SVP, operations of its Caribou Coffee brand.
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CDOR | Hot Stocks09:07 EDT Condor Hospitality Trust sells non-core legacy hotel for $2.1M - Condor Hospitality Trust announced the closing on the sale of a legacy hotel asset, the 41-room Supertel Inn located at 800 Laurel Street in Creston, Iowa for $2.1M. Net proceeds from the sale will be applied to outstanding debt on the company's $150M secured credit facility.
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TMP | Hot Stocks09:06 EDT Tompkins Financial raises quarterly cash dividend 2.1% to 48c per share - Tompkins Financial Corporation announced that its Board of Directors approved payment of a regular quarterly cash dividend of 48c per share, payable on February 15, 2018, to common shareholders of record on February 6, 2018. The current dividend represents a 2.1% increase over the 47c cash dividend paid in Q4 and a 6.7% increase over the 45c cash dividend in Q1.
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HON | Hot Stocks09:04 EDT Honeywell says 'extremely bullish' on China - Says planning on double digit growth rate in China. Also says "making similar progress in India."
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FDX | Hot Stocks09:03 EDT FedEx: No change to FY18 earnings, CapEx guidance
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FDX | Hot Stocks09:03 EDT FedEx investing over $200M in increased compensation
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FDX | Hot Stocks09:03 EDT FedEx to invest $1.5B to expand FedEx Express Indianapolis hub
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FDX | Hot Stocks09:02 EDT FedEx announces $1.5B voluntary contribution to pension plan
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TLGT | Hot Stocks09:02 EDT Teligent appoints Damian Finio as CFO - Teligent announced that Damian Finio has been appointed CFO of Teligent, effective February 5. Finio is currently the CFO of Virtus Pharmaceuticals, and will succeed Jenniffer Collins, who is leaving Teligent to pursue personal and professional opportunities and has agreed to stay on through May in a transitional capacity.
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ANFI | Hot Stocks09:01 EDT Amira Nature Foods receives license to convert land use to residential - Amira Nature Foods announced that on January 23, Amira Foods India, the company's subsidiary received approval of a license from the Directorate of Town & Country Planning of Haryana India to monetize nine acres of its 17 wholly owned acres of real estate property currently used as factory to residential use. Amira India applied for the license early last year for all 17 acres, and the license for the remaining 8 acres is pending. As previously disclosed, and in connection with the receipt of the license, Amira India will begin the planned process of re-locating its existing manufacturing facility to a new location. The company believes that the re-location of the facility will allow it to improve operational effectiveness and flexibility, provides the opportunity to reduce operating costs, and provides the opportunity to realize what the company believes is significant unrealized value through converting its owned real-estate from commercial to residential use. The company is currently exploring options to maximize the value of this owned real estate asset. The conversion of the real-estate asset from factory to residential will require the company's existing lenders to amend and/or refinance their existing debt to include the repurposed collateral. The company has begun those discussion with existing lenders. There can be no assurance the existing lenders will agree to amend or refinance the existing debt on terms acceptable to the company, and the company may need to seek additional sources of financing. The company is actively considering its options with regards to financing.
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AJG | Hot Stocks09:01 EDT Arthur J. Gallagher acquires Crystal Lake for undisclosed amount - Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced the acquisition of Crystal Lake, Illinois-based Market Financial Group and its affiliate, Austin Consulting Group, Inc. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
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FDX | Hot Stocks09:01 EDT FedEx committing more than $3.2B in wage increases, bonuses, pension funding - FedEx Corporation is announcing three major programs following the recently enacted U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: 1) Over $200M in increased compensation, about two-thirds of which will go to hourly team members by advancing 2018 annual pay increases by six months to April 1st from the normal October date. The remainder will fund increases in performance-based incentive plans for salaried personnel. 2) A voluntary contribution of $1.5B to the FedEx pension plan to ensure it remains one of the best funded retirement programs in the country. 3) Investing $1.5B to significantly expand the FedEx Express Indianapolis hub over the next seven years. The Memphis SuperHub will also be modernized and enlarged in a major program the details of which will be announced later this spring. FedEx believes the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will likely increase GDP and investment in the United States. The company has made no change to its fiscal 2018 earnings or capital expenditure guidance as issued on December 19, 2017, as a result of these actions.
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HON | Hot Stocks09:00 EDT Honeywell: Tax reform to have positive demand impact from business jet clients
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MGTI | Hot Stocks08:48 EDT MGT Capital ends relationship with John McAfee, weighs cybersecurity sale - MGT Capital Investments announced the end of its business relationship with John McAfee. Since August 2017,McAfee had served as Chief Cybersecurity Visionary of the company. MGT said its board will consider various options for its cybersecurity business, including a sale or spinoff. MGT added, "This move will position MGT as a pure play cryptocurrency mining operation, led by Stephen Schaeffer, President of MGT Cryptocurrency Strategies. The Company currently owns or operates approximately 5,000 Bitmain Antminer S9 Bitcoin mining rigs and 50 GPU-based Ethereum miners, capable of generating over 65 Ph/s of computing power when fully deployed by the end of February. Moreover, MGT is in negotiations that would triple its mining power over the next several months. From a financial standpoint, the Company has never been stronger, ending last year with $9.5 million of cash, no debt and minimal payables." MGT Capital Investments closed yesterday up 7c to $3.68.
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MGTI | Hot Stocks08:47 EDT MGT Capital Investments ends relationship with John McAfee - MGT Capital Investments announced the end of its business relationship with legendary cybersecurity pioneer John McAfee. Since August 2017, McAfee had served as Chief Cybersecurity Visionary of the company, guiding the development of the Company's cybersecurity business, including Sentinel, an enterprise class network intrusion detector released in October 2017 and the previously announced privacy phone. MGT's board will consider various options for its cybersecurity business, including a sale or spinoff. This move will position MGT as a pure play cryptocurrency mining operation, led by Stephen Schaeffer, President of MGT Cryptocurrency Strategies. The company currently owns or operates approximately 5,000 Bitmain Antminer S9 Bitcoin mining rigs and 50 GPU-based Ethereum miners, capable of generating over 65 Ph/s of computing power when fully deployed by the end of February. Moreover, MGT is in negotiations that would triple its mining power over the next several months. From a financial standpoint, the company has never been stronger, ending last year with $9.5 million of cash, no debt and minimal payables. McAfee summarized today's actions by stating, "I would like to thank Steve, Rob Ladd and the entire board for giving me the opportunity to return to corporate life, but I am very happy with my decision. I am looking forward to toiling in obscurity as the world's foremost authority of all things cyber and crypto! In all candor, the past two years have been action-packed and productive, and I want to thank all shareholders for their support. I leave MGT in much stronger condition than when I arrived and remain a major stakeholder."
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AIV | Hot Stocks08:40 EDT Aimco subsidiaries appeal in Airbnb case - Four subsidiaries of Apartment Investment and Management, or Aimco, filed an appeal with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in California in an effort to stop Airbnb from brokering illegal short-term rentals at four of Aimco's Southern California properties. Aimco is taking this action after the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California dismissed a lawsuit that the company filed against Airbnb in February 2017, after Airbnb ignored Aimco's previous requests to stop booking short-term rentals of Aimco apartments, in violation of its leases and Los Angeles housing codes. A separate lawsuit Aimco filed against Airbnb in Florida is still pending.
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ABCB | Hot Stocks08:39 EDT Ameris Bancorp sees normalized ROTCE of 14%-15% for 2018 - Says will evaluate M&A opportunities "that fit within our culture." Says goals include managing momentum to produce 15%+ growth in loans and deposits in 2017, managing stable margins in various growth and rate scenarios. Comments from slides that will be presented on the Q4 earnings conference call.
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HON | Hot Stocks08:35 EDT Honeywell says organic sales growth impacted by delayed deliveries - Says Aerospace OEM deliveries pushed into Q1.
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HON | Hot Stocks08:29 EDT Honeywell sees FY18 CapEx $900M or less - Says expects CapEx to continue to decrease going forward.
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HON | Hot Stocks08:27 EDT Honeywell says tax reform to provide 'sustainable, long-term benefit' - Says not a one quarter benefit.
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HON | Hot Stocks08:23 EDT Honeywell says preferred use of cash is for acquisitions
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RLH | Hot Stocks08:22 EDT Red Lion Hotels announces execution of five hotel purchase, sale agreements - RLH announced the execution of five hotel purchase and sale agreements resulting from the previously disclosed listing for sale of 11 company-owned hotels. The five sales are currently anticipated to close in February or early March, 2018, subject to standard contingencies and closing conditions. The sale prices contracted on these five assets exceeded the company's expectations. The real estate market conditions remain robust and RLH Corporation was able to negotiate pricing for these first five hotels reflecting single-digit cap rates. The company expects to maintain Red Lion Hotel franchises going forward on all five of the contracted hotels. Based on these contracts and the current negotiations for remaining hotels in the sales program, the company is happy to reiterate its expectation that aggregate pricing for the 11 hotels will be in the $165 million to $175 million range.
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HON | Hot Stocks08:20 EDT Honeywell says will gradually accelerate share repurchase absent M&A activities
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VZ | Hot Stocks08:06 EDT Oath names Vanessa Wittman CFO - Oath, a Verizon subsidiary and the parent company of Yahoo, AOL, HuffPost, announced that Vanessa Wittman will join the company as CFO. Wittman previously served as CFO at Dropbox. Wittman will lead global financial strategy and operations. She will partner with Oath CEO Tim Armstrong to help propel Oath's strategic expansion. Oath's former CFO Holly Hess will take on a newly created role at Verizon where she will lead Verizon's previously announced $10B cost savings initiative. Hess will report to Verizon CFO Matt Ellis.
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HON | Hot Stocks08:05 EDT Honeywell says order rates continue to grow, backlog strong heading into 2018 - Comments from Q4 earnings conference call.
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NVIV | Hot Stocks08:03 EDT InVivo reports purchase agreement for up to $15M with Lincoln Park Capital - InVivo Therapeutics Holdings announced that it has entered into a common stock purchase agreement with Lincoln Park Capital Fund, LLC, a Chicago-based institutional investor, under which the company has the right to sell up to $15M in shares of common stock to Lincoln Park over a twenty-four-month period. "We are pleased to enter into this purchase agreement with Lincoln Park, which offers us financial flexibility on favorable terms to the company and its shareholders," said Richard Toselli, M.D., Acting CEO. "We welcome their investment as we pursue our near-term strategic objectives and continue our discussions with the FDA regarding a randomized controlled study in acute complete thoracic spinal cord injury that evaluates the Neuro-Spinal Scaffold compared to standard of care."
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ALK | Hot Stocks08:02 EDT Alaska Air employees to receive $118M in incentive bonuses - Employees of Alaska Air Group companies Alaska Airlines, Virgin America and Horizon Air are receiving $118M in incentive bonuses. For most employees, this equates to an average of more than 7% of their annual pay in 2017. In addition, 23,000 Air Group employees will receive a one-time $1,000 bonus on Jan. 29 from additional tax savings the company expects to receive this year. The company's annual bonus, called Performance Based Pay (PBP), is determined by meeting or exceeding specific company-wide goals for safety, customer satisfaction, cost control, customer loyalty and profit. For the ninth year in a row, employees will enjoy a payout of about an additional month's pay.
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ATVI TMUS | Hot Stocks08:01 EDT Overwatch League names T-Mobile to growing partner roster - Activision's (ATVI) Overwatch League says in a statement, "T-Mobile (TMUS) has signed a multi-year agreement to become the official wireless provider of the Overwatch League in the United States. As a part of the agreement, the Un-carrier will be the exclusive title sponsor of the Overwatch League Regular Season MVP and Finals MVP awards. Throughout the season, T-Mobile will give its customers and esports fans alike more of the sport they love, with exclusive perks, an insider's look at the top MVP candidates, and more."
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CMCSA CMCSK | Hot Stocks08:00 EDT Comcast names Dana Strong President, Consumer Services - Comcast announced that it has named Dana Strong President, Consumer Services. Strong will be responsible for the go-to-market strategy of the residential business of Comcast Cable. She will oversee Comcast's Xfinity brand and products, including its video, broadband, voice, home and mobile products as well as the consumer sales and marketing, digital, Xfinity.com and data intelligence groups that support the strategy and growth of the Consumer business. The current leaders of those business units will remain in their positions and report to her. Strong will report to Dave Watson, President and CEO, Comcast Cable.
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ABBV | Hot Stocks07:58 EDT AbbVie CEO says poised to launch differentiated products over next 12-18 months - "2017 reflects another year of top-tier performance, demonstrating the strong momentum in our business," said Richard A. Gonzalez, chairman and CEO, AbbVie. "Our guidance for 2018 underscores our confidence in our ability to continue to deliver industry-leading performance. This is an exciting time for AbbVie -- we are poised to launch a number of differentiated products over the next 12 to 18 months that will fuel significant growth in the coming years. We remain committed to delivering on our long-term strategic vision for AbbVie."
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ABBV | Hot Stocks07:56 EDT AbbVie reports Q4 adjusted gross margin 79%, GAAP gross margin 70.5%
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ABBV | Hot Stocks07:56 EDT AbbVie reports Q4 IMBRUVICA net revenues $708M - With U.S. sales of $585 million and international profit sharing of $123 million for the quarter, reflecting growth of 38.7 percent.
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ABBV | Hot Stocks07:55 EDT AbbVie reports Q4 global HUMIRA sales increased 14% on reported basis - Global HUMIRA sales increased 14.0 percent on a reported basis, or 12.3 percent operationally, excluding a 1.7 percent favorable impact from foreign exchange. In the U.S., HUMIRA sales grew 15.1 percent in the quarter. Internationally, HUMIRA sales grew 6.5 percent, excluding a 5.2 percent favorable impact from foreign exchange.
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ABBV | Hot Stocks07:55 EDT AbbVie to invest approximately $2.5B in capital projects over next five years - Over the next five years, AbbVie plans to invest approximately $2.5 billion in capital projects in the U.S. and the company is currently evaluating additional expansion of its U.S. facilities. Also, in 2018, the company plans to make a one-time charitable contribution of approximately $350 million to select not-for-profit organizations based in the United States. The company also plans to accelerate pension funding by $750 million, as well as enhance non-executive employee compensation.
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ABBV | Hot Stocks07:54 EDT AbbVie sees FY18 effective tax rate approximately 9% - AbbVie is raising its previously announced adjusted EPS guidance range for the full-year 2018 from $6.37 to $6.57 to $7.33 to $7.43 to reflect the impact of U.S. tax reform and stronger operating performance. The midpoint of this guidance reflects year-over-year growth of 32 percent, more than half of which is driven by growth in the underlying business. Relative to the previously issued 2018 guidance provided in October 2017, this guidance includes an increase of $0.08 as a result of stronger operating dynamics. AbbVie's adjusted EPS guidance range reflects an effective tax rate of approximately 9 percent in 2018. In 2018, AbbVie will experience a one-time net tax benefit related to the timing of the phase in of provisions of the new legislation on certain subsidiaries. This benefit has been excluded from the adjusted EPS guidance, and included in the GAAP guidance range. AbbVie anticipates the company's adjusted effective tax rate to increase to 13 percent over the next five years as a result of increased domestic income and investment.
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ABBV | Hot Stocks07:53 EDT AbbVie to invest approximately $2.5B in capital projects over next five years
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NEE | Hot Stocks07:38 EDT NextEra Energy extends longer-term growth outlook to 2021 - With the certainty provided by the new tax reform legislation and the anticipated continued strength of the investment opportunities at both FPL and NextEra Energy Resources, NextEra Energy is also extending its longer-term growth outlook to 2021," NextEra said. The company expects a compound annual growth rate in adjusted earnings per share to be in a range of 6 to 8 percent through 2021, off a revised base at the midpoint of the new 2018 range, or $7.70 per share. In 2019, the company now expects adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $8.00 to $8.50. For 2020 and 2021, the company now expects adjusted earnings per share to be in the range of $8.55 to $9.05 and $9.20 to $9.75, respectively.
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NEP | Hot Stocks07:38 EDT NextEra Energy Partners reaffirms 12%-15% growth view through FY22 - NextEra Energy Partners continues to expect 12%-15% per year growth in limited partner distributions as being a reasonable range of expectations through at least 2022. The partnership expects the annualized rate of the Q4 distribution, which is payable in February 2019, to be in a range of $1.81-$1.86 per common unit. The NextEra Energy Partners portfolio ended the year with adjusted EBITDA and CAFD run rates in line with the expectations previously shared for Dec. 31, 2017, reflecting calendar year 2018 expectations for the forecasted portfolio at year-end 2017. Due to a reduction in the federal income tax rate from 35% to 21% the pre-tax value of the partnership's tax credits, which are included in adjusted EBITDA, will change. While tax reform impacts the calculation of NextEra Energy Partners' adjusted EBITDA, it has no effect on CAFD. NextEra Energy Partners now expects it's previously announced Dec. 31, 2017, run rate expectations for adjusted EBITDA of $875M-$975M to be $830M-$930M as a result of the federal income tax rate reduction. However, the Dec. 31, 2017, run rate range for CAFD of $310M-$340M remains unchanged. Adjusted EBITDA, CAFD and limited partner distribution expectations assume, among other things, normal weather and operating conditions, public policy support for wind and solar development and construction, market demand and transmission expansion support for wind and solar development, market demand for pipeline capacity and access to capital at reasonable cost and terms.
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HON | Hot Stocks07:29 EDT Honeywell expects to repatriate about $7B of funds within two years - Says repatriation timing dependent on tax planning and rate of U.S. capital deployment. Expects eventual flow of cash repatriation regularly.
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HON | Hot Stocks07:27 EDT Honeywell says 'strong momentum' for 2018 - Says "outstanding finish to 2017" with "strong sales, profit, and free cash flow growth." Says "spins preparation on track."
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HON | Hot Stocks07:25 EDT Honeywell sees FY18 free cash flow $5.2B-$5.9B, up 5%-20% - Sees FY18 segment margin 19.3%-19.6%, up 30-60 bps.
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ASH | Hot Stocks07:23 EDT Ashland to increase prices for composites products in EMEA - Ashland announced it will increase the price of its portfolio of UPR and gelcoat products in Europe, the Middle East and Africa by 100 Euros per metric ton and its portfolio of epoxy vinyl ester products by 150 Euros per metric ton. This increase will take effect February 1, 2018, or as soon as possible thereafter as contracts allow. This increase is in addition to the increase announcement of December 8, 2017.
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CL | Hot Stocks07:11 EDT Colgate-Palmolive CEO says intends to increase advertising investment in 2018 - Ian Cook, Chairman, President and CEO, commented on the fourth quarter results, "We finished the year with an acceleration of our top-line growth worldwide. Net sales in the fourth quarter increased 4.5% and organic sales grew 2.0%. This growth was driven by healthy volume increases across Latin America, North America and Europe. Advertising investment increased both absolutely and as a percent to sales versus year ago across every operating division in the fourth quarter and for the year. We intend to increase our advertising investment in 2018 and to maintain the continuity of that investment throughout the year in support of new products, our base businesses and longer-term consumption-building activities. Colgate's leadership of the global toothpaste market continued during the quarter with our global market share now at 43.3% year to date. Our global leadership in manual toothbrushes also continued with Colgate's global market share in that category now at 32.6% year to date."
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LEA | Hot Stocks07:08 EDT Lear CEO: We are in the strongest overall competitive position in our history - "In 2017, we continued to deliver superior results, as the investments that we have made in our business are paying off. We achieved record performance in all key financial metrics, and we further strengthened our product capabilities in both business segments. Today, we are in the strongest overall competitive position in our history. Our total return to shareholders last year was 35%. Over the last five years, we have delivered a total return to our shareholders of approximately 300%, almost three times the return of the S&P 500," said Matt Simoncini, Lear's president and CEO. "Going forward, our unique product capabilities and industry-leading cost structure will allow Lear to continue to deliver profitable sales growth and superior value to our customers and shareholders."
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BAX | Hot Stocks07:08 EDT Baxter to import IV saline bags from Mexico amid U.S. shortage, Reuters reports - Baxter International has received approval from U.S. regulators to import large saline bags from its Mexico plant in an effort to relieve hospital shortages of the product amid a severe flu season, Reuters reports, citing a letter addressed to customers. The company has been facing supply issues with its small-volume saline bags, produced in two plants in Puerto Rico, due to the power outages caused by Hurricane Maria but the problems have started to ease as production improves following the connection of the plants to the commercial electric grid. Reference Link
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MPLX | Hot Stocks07:07 EDT MPLX raises quarterly distribution 3.4% to 60.75c per unit - The distribution will be paid Feb. 14 to common unitholders of record as of Feb. 5.
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ABCB | Hot Stocks07:06 EDT Ameris Bancorp to acquire remainder of outstanding shares of US Premium Finance - Ameris Bancorp, the parent company of Ameris Bank, announced the signing of a definitive stock purchase agreement under which Ameris will acquire the remainder of the outstanding shares of US Premium Finance Holding Company, or USPF. Since early 2017, the business of USPF has operated as a division of Ameris Bank, the banking subsidiary of Ameris. Ameris has held a minority ownership position in USPF during that time. The acquisition is scheduled to close in the Q1. Rogers & Hardin LLP provided legal counsel to Ameris and Vedder Price P.C. provided legal counsel to USPF.
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ABCB | Hot Stocks07:05 EDT Ameris Bancorp announces agreement to acquire Hamilton State Bancshares - Ameris Bancorp, the parent company of Ameris Bank, announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement under which Ameris will acquire Hamilton State Bancshares, the parent company of Hamilton State Bank, Hoschton, Georgia. Upon completion of the transaction, and including the previously announced acquisition of Atlantic Coast Financial Corporation, the combined company will have approximately $11.3B in assets and a branching network across four states. Hamilton has $1.8B in assets and currently operates 28 banking locations, 24 of which are located within the Atlanta MSA, two of which are in the Gainesville, Georgia MSA and the other two of which are in Georgia just outside of the Atlanta MSA. Combined with Ameris's existing Atlanta location, the combined bank will have approximately $1.4B of deposits in the Atlanta MSA and be the thirteenth largest bank in the market. Under the terms of the definitive merger agreement, each share of Hamilton common stock and each restricted stock unit will be converted into the right to receive 0.16 shares of Ameris common stock and 93c in cash. The consideration mix is approximately 90% stock and 10% cash. The transaction is valued at approximately $405.7M in the aggregate based on Ameris's closing stock price of $53.45 as of January 25, 2018. The merger agreement has been unanimously approved by the board of directors of each company. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals and the approval of the shareholders of Hamilton.
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MRUS | Hot Stocks07:04 EDT Merus announces first patient dosed in Phase 2 MCLA-128 trial - Merus N.V. announced that the first patient has been dosed in a Phase 2, open-label, multi-center international clinical trial to evaluate MCLA-128 in two metastatic breast cancer populations including HER2-positive MBC patients and hormone receptor positive/HER2-low MBC patients. The MCLA-128 Phase 2 clinical trial is expected to enroll approximately 120 patients in total across the U.S. and Europe. The first cohort, HER2-positive MBC patients who are progressing on anti-HER2 therapies including TDM-1, will receive MCLA-128 in combination with trastuzumab and chemotherapy. In preclinical studies, synergistic activity of MCLA-128 and trastuzumab has been demonstrated to inhibit heregulin-driven tumor cell growth. The second cohort, MBC patients with confirmed hormone receptor positive status and HER2-low who are progressing on hormone therapies and CDK4/6 inhibitors, will receive MCLA-128 in combination with endocrine therapy. In preclinical models, blocking of signaling through the HER3 pathway has been shown to synergize with endocrine therapy. The primary endpoint for both cohorts is the clinical benefit rate at 24 weeks. Additional details about the study can be found on ClinicalTrials.gov, using identifier NCT: NCT03321981.
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HRC | Hot Stocks07:04 EDT Hill-Rom announces CEO retirement, transition plan - Hill-Rom announced that John Greisch, president and CEO, has informed the board of his intention to retire from Hill-Rom during the company's fiscal Q3. At the effective time of the retirement, Greisch will also step down from the board of the company. Hill-Rom's board has initiated a search process to identify a successor for Greisch, which is expected to be completed during Hill-Rom's Q3. The process will include a review of both internal and external candidates.
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DGLY AAXN | Hot Stocks07:03 EDT Digital Ally says 'confident' will prevail in lawsuit against Axon - Digital Ally, Inc. (DGLY) provided an update on the potential damages accruing in its patent infringement lawsuit against Axon Enterprise, Inc. (AXON). The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court of Kansas, accuses Axon of willfully infringing Digital's U.S. Patent No. 9,253,452. The products accused of infringement in this lawsuit cover Axon's camera products sold with Axon's Signal functionality, which Digital Ally alleges incorporate its patented auto-activation technology. Axon has continued to increase its sales of products utilizing Digital's patented technology while the lawsuit is pending. For example, in 2016 and 2017, Axon's public filings show $37.85M in total net sales of the accused Axon Body and Axon Flex cameras. Net sales of Evidence.com, which drives the sales of the accused products and is sold in conjunction with nearly every camera sale, totaled $69.96M in those years. Finally, Axon's public filings indicate that "bookings," which Axon believes to be the best statistical measure of future contractual sales attributable to the company segment responsible for the accused cameras and evidence.com subscriptions, totaled $254.09M in 2016 and $219.99M in 2017. In November 2017, the Court rejected Axon's request to maintain a stay of the litigation and the case is now proceeding towards trial. The measure of Digital Ally's potential damages may be derived from Axon's reported sales from the infringing products and Digital will determine and provide a full accounting of the damages owed to it when it submits its expert report on damages. Digital will be seeking a reasonable royalty applied to the sales of Axon's products that have been accused of infringement, which it believes will amount to significant monetary damages, as well as an injunction and/or an accounting of damages for future sales. Digital also has alleged that Axon's infringement has been willful and, as such, Digital is also seeking that any damages awarded by a jury be tripled.
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LEA | Hot Stocks07:02 EDT Lear reports three year backlog of $3.2B - "We presented our 2018-2020 sales backlog at the Deutsche Bank Global Auto Industry Conference in Detroit on January 16, 2018. The consolidated three-year backlog of $3.2 billion is the largest in the Company's history and will drive continued global revenue growth and sales diversification. E-Systems represents 41% of the backlog, reflecting market share gains as well as accelerating growth aligned with emerging industry trends, especially vehicle electrification and connectivity. In addition to our consolidated backlog, we have $700 million in backlog at our non-consolidated joint ventures, primarily in China."
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AQUA | Hot Stocks07:01 EDT Evoqua Water's CoMag system selected by Severn Trent Water - Evoqua Water Technologies has been selected by Severn Trent Water and its design and construction partner, Costain Ltd., to supply Evoqua's CoMag ballasted clarification system to reduce phosphorus at the Finham Sewage Treatment Works in Coventry. Finham will be Europe's first wastewater treatment plant with a permanent installation of Evoqua's ballasted settling technology, which has been proven in facilities throughout the United States for more than a decade.
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CL | Hot Stocks06:59 EDT Colgate-Palmolive reports Q4 gross profit margin 59.8% vs. 60.4% a year ago - Excluding charges resulting from the Global Growth and Efficiency Program in both periods, Gross profit margin was 60.4% in fourth quarter 2017, a decrease of 40 basis points versus the year ago quarter, as higher raw and packaging material costs and lower pricing were partially offset by cost savings from the Company's funding-the-growth initiatives.
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CL | Hot Stocks06:58 EDT Colgate-Palmolive reports global unit volume increased 3.0% in Q4 - Global unit volume increased 3.0%, pricing decreased 1.0% and foreign exchange was positive 2.5%. Organic sales increased 2.0%.
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AZN | Hot Stocks06:52 EDT AstraZeneca reports top-line Phase III KRONOS trial results - AstraZeneca announced top-line results from the Phase III KRONOS trial that showed PT010, budesonide/glycopyrronium/formoterol fumarate 320/14.4/9.6microg, using Aerosphere Delivery Technology, in a pressurised metered-dose inhaler or pMDI, demonstrated a statistically significant improvement in eight out of nine lung function primary endpoints based on forced expiratory volume in one second assessments in patients with moderate to very severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. There were no unexpected safety or tolerability signals for PT010 identified in the trial, the company noted. The KRONOS trial results will be presented at a forthcoming medical meeting. AstraZeneca anticipates making regulatory submissions in Japan and China in the second half of 2018, followed by potential submissions in the US and Europe in 2019.
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SEII | Hot Stocks06:49 EDT Sharing Economy International to partner with Business Office Operation Limited - Sharing Economy International announced that its wholly-owned subsidiary, EC Rental Limited, has entered into a cooperation agreement with Business Office Operation Limited, or BOO, regarding the joint development of Sharing Workspace Business Club. BOO's founder and CEO Tony Yu, who served for the APAC expansion of Regus Business Centre, has extensive experience in the sharing and temporary workspace market. Operating his own workspace business in Hong Kong under BOO, the company has attracted many high-profile international customers, who need convenient workspaces for their regional expansion and operations.
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DPW | Hot Stocks06:46 EDT DPW Holdings appoints William Horne as CFO - DPW Holdings stated that William B. Horne, a member of the Board of Directors, has been appointed CFO and Executive Vice President for DPW and all its subsidiaries. Horne will remain a member of the Board of Directors for DPW and replaces Amos Kohn who served as interim CFO. Kohn will remain President and a member of the Board of Directors for DPW. The Company was pleased to also report a few changes with its Board of Directors including the addition of its newest independent director, Jeff Bentz. Bentz is an experienced businessman who has served since 1994 as President of North Star Terminal & Stevedore Company, a full-service stevedoring company located in Alaska and whose major areas of business include terminal operations and management, stevedore services, and heavy equipment operations. He also has served as a director and advisor to several private companies and agencies.
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HON | Hot Stocks06:38 EDT Honeywell sees FY18 effective tax rate 22%-23%
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HON | Hot Stocks06:37 EDT Honeywell reports $3.8B provisional charge from U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act - Honeywell recorded a provisional charge of $3.8B in Q4 to reflect the estimated impacts of the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, including the U.S. tax on deemed repatriated earnings of non-U.S. subsidiaries, the writedown of net U.S. deferred tax liabilities at lower enacted corporate tax rates, and the effects of the implementation of the territorial tax system. The impacts of the legislation may differ from this estimate, possibly materially, due to changes in interpretations and assumptions the company has made, guidance that may be issued, and actions the company may take as a result of the tax legislation. Honeywell has been a strong supporter of this legislation and is encouraged by the significantly enhanced capital mobility, lower U.S. corporate income tax rates, and more appealing investment environment in the U.S., which the legislation enables.
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HEP | Hot Stocks06:33 EDT Holly Energy raises dividend 1c to 65c - The Board of Directors of Holly Energy Partners has declared a cash distribution of 65.00c per unit for the Q4. The distribution will be paid on February 14 to unitholders of record on February 5. In 2018, Holly Energy expects to increase the quarterly distribution by 00.50c per unit, resulting in an annual distribution growth rate of 4%.
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COL | Hot Stocks06:31 EDT Rockwell Collins CEO: FY18 'off to a great start' - "I'm proud of our execution this quarter, as we achieved 9% organic revenue growth, highlighted by strong sales performance in our Commercial Systems and Government Systems businesses. Our fiscal year 2018 is off to a great start," said Rockwell Collins CEO and President, Kelly Ortberg. "In addition, Rockwell Collins' shareowners overwhelmingly approved the acquisition of Rockwell Collins by United Technologies Corporation. This milestone brings us one step closer to combining our capabilities to offer more integrated and innovative solutions to our customers."
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AZRE | Hot Stocks06:06 EDT Azure Power wins 11.35 MWs solar rooftop power project - Azure Power announced it has won a 11.35 MWs solar rooftop power project. This is the largest allocation for this auction, 60% of the total. Azure Power will sign the power purchase agreement with Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, an autonomous body under Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. Azure Power qualifies for a capital incentive from Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti, which is expected to result in a weighted average levelized tariff of 7.7c per kWh. The solar rooftops will be spread across 152 schools and six states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Kerala.
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CLNE | Hot Stocks06:05 EDT Clean Energy sales up 32% in FY17 YoY - Clean Energy Fuels announced that sales of Redeem grew by 32% in 2017, from 60M gallons in 2016 to 79M gallons in 2017. The 2017 volume from Clean Energy represents over half of the overall United States RNG production as reported by the Environmental Protection Agency through December. Clean Energy also announced that it had been awarded a three-year Redeem RNG fueling agreement with North County Transit District (NCTD), the public transportation provider in North San Diego County, California, servicing 11 million passengers annually. The contract calls for Clean Energy to provide 1.5M gasoline gallon equivalents per year to NCTD's fleet of 167 buses.
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SRLP | Hot Stocks06:04 EDT Sprague Resources raises quarterly cash distribution to 63.75c per unit - Sprague Resources announced that the Board of Directors of its general partner, Sprague Resources GP, has declared a cash distribution of 63.75c per unit for the quarter ended December 31, 2017. The fourth quarter distribution represents a 2% increase over the distribution declared for the quarter ended September 30, 2017 and an increase of 10% over the quarterly distribution of 57.75c per unit paid in February 2017. The announced distribution will be paid on February 12 to unitholders of record as of the close of business on February 6.
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JAKK | Hot Stocks06:03 EDT JAKKS Pacific receives expression of interest from Meisheng to acquire 51% stake - JAKKS Pacific announced today that the company had received a letter dated January 25, 2018 from Hong Kong Meisheng Cultural Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Meisheng Cultural and Creative Corp., containing a non-binding proposal expressing Meisheng's interest in acquiring additional shares of JAKKS common stock for $2.95 per share. Upon completion of the transaction, Meisheng's shareholdings and voting rights would increase to 51%. The Proposal states that it is subject to due diligence, and that Meisheng intends to fund the transaction through a combination of existing cash on hand and/or other financing sources to the extent required for the restructuring or refinancing of JAKKS' outstanding senior convertible senior notes. The Expression of Interest also states that the transaction is subject to approval by Meisheng's Board of Directors, shareholders and Chinese regulatory authorities. Hong Kong Meisheng currently owns 5,239,538 shares of JAKKS common stock constituting 18% of JAKKS issued and outstanding shares of common stock. The board of JAKKS Pacific has authorized a Special Committee comprised solely of independent directors to evaluate the Expression of Interest. The Special Committee intends to engage independent legal counsel and an independent financial advisor to assist in its evaluation of the Expression of Interest.
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JAKK | Hot Stocks06:02 EDT JAKKS Pacific receives expression of interest from Meisheng - JAKKS Pacific announced that the company had received a letter dated January 25, 2018 from Hong Kong Meisheng Cultural Company Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Meisheng Cultural and Creative Corp., containing a non-binding proposal expressing Meisheng's interest in acquiring additional shares of JAKKS common stock for $2.95 per share. Upon completion of the transaction, Meisheng's shareholdings and voting rights would increase to 51%. The Proposal states that it is subject to due diligence, and that Meisheng intends to fund the transaction through a combination of existing cash on hand and/or other financing sources to the extent required for the restructuring or refinancing of JAKKS' outstanding senior convertible senior notes. The Expression of Interest also states that the transaction is subject to approval by Meisheng's Board of Directors, shareholders and Chinese regulatory authorities. Hong Kong Meisheng currently owns 5,239,538 shares of JAKKS common stock constituting 18% of JAKKS issued and outstanding shares of common stock. The Board of Directors of JAKKS Pacific has authorized a Special Committee comprised solely of independent directors to evaluate the Expression of Interest. The Special Committee intends to engage independent legal counsel and an independent financial advisor to assist in its evaluation of the Expression of Interest.
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MDP TIME | Hot Stocks05:57 EDT Meredith extends offer to acquire Time Inc. - Meredith (MDP) announced that it has extended its previously announced tender offer to purchase all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Time (TIME) for $18.50 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at $2.8B. The Offer will now expire one minute after 11:59 p.m. on January 30, 2018, unless further extended. All other terms and conditions of the Offer remain unchanged. Computershare Trust Company, N.A., the depository for the Offer, has advised Meredith that as of the close of business on January 25, 2018, approximately 65,987,804 shares of common stock of Time have been validly tendered and not properly withdrawn pursuant to the Offer, representing approximately 65% of the outstanding shares of common stock of Time.
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NCTY | Hot Stocks05:52 EDT The9 appoints Yue Dong as Chief Technology Officer - The9 announced that Yue Dong has joined The9 recently as the new Chief Technology Officer. Before joining The9 as the new Chief Technology Officer, Yue Dong has been acting as the Chief Technology Officer in various artificial intelligence, big data and blockchain related projects for two years.
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GSK INVA | Hot Stocks05:49 EDT GSK announces CHMP positive opinion for labeling update to Relvar Ellipta - GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Innoviva (INVA) announced that the European Medicines Agency's, or EMA, Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, has issued a positive opinion recommending a label update for the use of once-daily Relvar Ellipta an inhaled corticosteroid, or ICS, / long-acting beta2-agonist, or LABA, combination, in patients whose asthma is already adequately controlled on both an inhaled corticosteroid and long-acting beta2-agonist. A positive CHMP opinion is one of the final steps before marketing authorisation is updated by the European Commission. A final decision is anticipated towards the end of Q1.
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ALV | Hot Stocks05:41 EDT Autoliv sees $100M non-cash charge in Autoliv Nissin JV Brake Systems in Q4 - Autoliv announces a one-time, non-cash, goodwill impairment charge and specifies expected one-time costs related to the planned spin-off and public listing of its Electronics business. A non-cash impairment of goodwill in the Autoliv Nissin Brake Systems joint venture, of which Autoliv owns 51%, with a net income effect to Autoliv of approximately $100M in Q4. The total impairment, affecting reported operating income is $234M. There is no effect on adjusted operating income or adjusted earnings per share. It is a non-cash item, which will not affect cash flow, financial targets or the business plan of the Electronics business. It is the outcome of a weaker sales development than anticipated at the start of operations of the ANBS brake control joint venture. Project costs for the separation and spin-off are expected to be up to $70M. Mainly related to accounting, finance, legal, IT and listing. Project costs will be booked in the quarter in which they occur, the majority are not expected to be tax deductible. Tax related costs from the separation of the legal entities in preparation for the spin-off are estimated to be up to $80M. Tax related costs will be recorded at the time of the separation of the legal entities, expected in the first half of 2018. The spin-off of Electronics is progressing according to schedule and is expected to be completed during the third quarter of 2018, subject to market, regulatory and certain other conditions, including approval by Autoliv's board. The spin-off is as previously communicated expected to be tax free to Autoliv shareholders.
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EPIX | Hot Stocks05:37 EDT ESSA Pharma announces departure of Chief Medical Officer - ESSA Pharma announced that Frank Perabo, M.D., Ph.D., will depart ESSA as the company's Chief Medical Officer to pursue other opportunities, effective January 31, 2018. Dr. Perabo will continue to serve the company in an advisory capacity, and as a member of ESSA's medical advisory committee.
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AGCO | Hot Stocks05:22 EDT Agco raises quarterly dividend to 15c per share from 14c per share - Agco announced that it has increased the company's quarterly dividend to 15c per outstanding share, up 1c from 14c per outstanding share paid last quarter. Payment will be made on March 15, to all stockholders of record as of the close of business on February 15.
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WMT | Hot Stocks05:21 EDT Walmart, Rakuten announce new strategic alliance - Walmart president and CEO Doug McMillon and Rakuten, Inc. Chairman, president and CEO Hiroshi Mikitani met in Tokyo to announce a new strategic alliance that leverages each company's unique strengths and assets to expand consumer reach and enhance how customers are served in Japan and the U.S. The collaboration includes the launch of a new online grocery delivery service in Japan beginning in the third quarter of 2018. In addition, Walmart and Rakuten Kobo Inc. have formed an exclusive retail alliance that will enable Walmart to begin selling eBooks and audiobooks, as well as offer Rakuten Kobo eReaders, in Walmart stores and online at Walmart.com in the United States starting later this year. Rakuten and Seiyu GK, a subsidiary of Walmart, have reached a basic agreement to establish a joint venture with the aim of launching a new online grocery delivery service in Japan, to be known as "Rakuten Seiyu Netsuper." The new service is planned to be launched in the latter half of 2018. Rakuten and Seiyu will launch a new online grocery delivery service leveraging each of the companies' strengths to offer a more convenient shopping experience that meets the changing needs of customers in Japan. Rakuten Seiyu Netsuper will aim to increase fulfillment capacity, enrich the merchandise offering and improve convenience for the customer. The service will aim to increase capacity in 2018 with the establishment of a dedicated fulfilment center, in addition to offering deliveries from Seiyu stores. As part of this alliance, Walmart will become Rakuten Kobo's exclusive mass retail partner for the Kobo brand in the U.S., offering Kobo's nearly six million titles from thousands of publishers and hundreds of thousands of authors to Walmart.com customers. Walmart.com will offer eBooks and audiobooks for sale later this year.
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