Stockwinners Market Radar for February 13, 2018 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

19:08 EDT Presbia names Casey Lind COO - Presbia announced that Casey Lind has been appointed as Chief Operating Officer effective February 12, 2018. As Chief Operating Officer, Lind is responsible for the Company's manufacturing, engineering, quality and IT departments. Lind brings over 30 years of experience, including 29 years at Alcon where she was in senior leadership positions across manufacturing, global supply chain, and research & development. In addition, the Company announced that Dr. Magda Michna, PhD will become Chief Clinical Officer, also effective February 12, 2018. Dr. Michna will increase her responsibility overseeing clinical affairs to also include the Company's medical affairs and regulatory functions. Dr. Michna joined the Company in February 2017 as VP of Clinical Affairs, bringing more than 12 years of experience in ophthalmic clinical research and development.

18:37 EDT K12 CEO Stuart Udell resigns, Nathaniel Davis to succeed - K12 announces that Nathaniel Davis was appointed by the Board of Directors as the company's CEO and will remain Chairman of the K12 Board of Directors. Davis joined the K12 Board of Directors in 2009. He has served as Chairman of the Board since June 2012 and as Executive Chairman since January 2013. Davis previously served as K12's CEO from January 2014 through February 2016. Stuart Udell resigned as CEO and as a member of the company's Board of Directors effective March 2 due to the Board's decision to redefine his responsibilities. "Excluding the impact of the severance amounts as provided in Mr. Udell's employment agreement, K12 is reaffirming its financial guidance for both the third quarter and full year of fiscal year 2018," said Davis. "We are right where we need to be at midyear to achieve our objectives for fiscal year 2018 and beyond."

18:29 EDT Phillips 66 to buy back 35M shares from Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary

18:07 EDT EnPro sees FY18 adjusted EBITDA $216M-$222M - The company said "We are encouraged by the strong financial performance throughout the company in the Q4 of 2017. With the exception of the sluggish demand in the industrial gas turbine market, demand in the majority of the industries we serve continues to be strong in the early stages of 2018. On the whole, the macroeconomic drivers and key indicators we track that affect our businesses suggest modest demand growth over the course of 2018. As usual, our guidance excludes impacts from future acquisitions, restructuring costs, the impact of changes driven by foreign exchange and any litigation or environmental charges. Given current macroeconomic forecasts and continued strength in most of our end markets, we expect 2018 consolidated sales to be up between 3%-5% over our 2017 pro forma sales. We also expect adjusted EBITDA of between $216M-$222M for the year."

17:34 EDT On The Fly: After Hours Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Fossil Group (FOSL), up 66.5%... Century Communities (CCS), up 8.8%... Twilio (TWLO), up 6.9%... Carbonite (CARB), up 6%... Baidu (BIDU), up 4.8%... Diamondback Energy (FANG), up 4.3%... Western Union (WU), up 3.7%. ALSO HIGHER: Chipotle (CMG), up 11.6% after it named Taco Bell's Brian Niccol as its next CEO... Infinity Property (IPCC), up 7% after it agreed to be acquired by Kemper (KMPR) in a $1.4B transaction. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: ChannelAdvisor (ECOM), down 11.8%... Neurocrine Biosciences (NBIX), down 5.7%... Occidental Petroleum (OXY), down 3.5%... Omega Healthcare (OHI), down 3.2%. ALSO LOWER: Tetraphase (TTPH), down 59.1% after it said that its IGNITE3 trial did not achieve its co-primary endpoints... Pieris Pharmaceuticals (PIRS), down 10.1% after it filed to sell common stock.

17:15 EDT State Street reports 5.83% passive stake in Archer Daniels

17:09 EDT Lockheed Martin unit Sikorsky Aircraft awarded $126.5M contract by U.S. Navy - Sikorsky Aircraft is being awarded $126,500,000 for modification P00007 to a previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-firm target, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. This modification provides for long lead items in support of the low rate initial production of seven Lot III CH-53K aircraft. Work will be performed in Stratford, Connecticut, and is expected to be completed in January 2019.

17:07 EDT Hilltop Holdings to acquire The Bank of River Oaks for $85M - Hilltop Holdings announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately held, Houston-based The Bank of River Oaks in an all-cash transaction. Under the terms of the definitive agreement, Hilltop Holdings has agreed to pay cash in the aggregate amount of $85 million to the shareholders and option holders of The Bank of River Oaks. The Bank of River Oaks operates three full-service branch locations in the Houston area and, as of December 31, 2017, reported total assets of approximately $454 million, total loans of approximately $344 million, total deposits of approximately $406 million and total equity capital of approximately $46 million.

16:55 EDT Kemper to acquire Infinity Property in $1.4B deal - Kemper (KMPR) and Infinity Property and Casualty Corporation (IPCC) announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Kemper will acquire Infinity in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $1.4B, or $129.00 per share; the exchange ratio for stock consideration to be issued in the merger is fixed and was determined based on Kemper's 20-trading day volume weighted average price as of February 12, 2018 of $64.40. Based on Kemper's February 12, 2018 closing stock price of $57.75, the implied total consideration is approximately $1.3B, or $121.01 per Infinity share. The transaction creates a company with increased scale in nonstandard auto insurance and enhanced ability to serve policyholders. Combined company will have a more diversified portfolio with approximately $2.2B in nonstandard auto insurance premiums, an expanded customer reach through deeper agency relationships and greater efficiencies. The transaction is expected to be accretive to Kemper's EPS in the first year, excluding Value of Business Acquired and one-time items, and is expected to be accretive to year two EPS by more than 10%, excluding restructuring and one-time items. Additionally, we expect the transaction to be accretive to return on average common equity by more than 30bps and accretive to return on average tangible common equity by more than 400bps in year two following close. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of applicable closing conditions, including the approval of shareholders of both companies and receipt of required regulatory clearances and approvals. Upon completion of the transaction, Infinity's senior management team will be integrated into the newly-combined organization. Additionally, at closing, Kemper will increase its current Board of Directors by one seat and select a Director from Infinity to join the Kemper Board of Directors.

16:54 EDT Matrix Service awarded Master Products and Services Contract by Chevron Products - Matrix Service (MTRX) announced that Chevron Products Company (CVX) has awarded Matrix NAC, the company's union subsidiary, a Master Products and Services Contract for turnaround and plant services for its U.S. refineries, including mechanical work, welding and piping work and other turnaround-related services, as well as tank repair and maintenance services. This award expands Matrix NAC's geographic reach into California to provide its customers with the high level of services needed to complete their storage and refining construction, maintenance and repair projects.

16:51 EDT Robert Half authorizes repurchase of up to 10M shares of common stock - Robert Half International announced that its board of directors has authorized the repurchase, from time to time, of up to an additional 10 million shares of the company's common stock on the open market or in privately negotiated transactions, depending on market conditions. Today's 10 million share authorization is in addition to the approximately 2.3 million shares that remain under Robert Half's existing share repurchase plan.

16:45 EDT Chipotle spikes 11% after naming Taco Bell's Brian Niccol as CEO

16:40 EDT Cenveo names Mark Hiltwein as new CFO - Cenveo announced the appointment of Mark S. Hiltwein as Chief Financial Officer, effective March 2018. Mr. Hiltwein rejoins Cenveo from Rand Logistics, Inc., where he served as Chief Financial Officer. Previously, Mr. Hiltwein held several senior positions at Cenveo, including Chief Financial Officer, President of the Envelope Group, and President of Field Sales and Manufacturing.

16:39 EDT Chipotle names Brian Niccol CEO - Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Brian Niccol as CEO and a member of the Board, effective March 5. Niccol most recently served as CEO of Yum! Brands' (YUM)Taco Bell Division, where he was responsible for the highly successful turnaround of the business. Chipotle Chairman, CEO and Founder Steve Ells, who will become executive chairman, said, "Brian is a proven world-class executive, who will bring fresh energy and leadership to drive excellence across every aspect of our business. His expertise in digital technologies, restaurant operations and branding make him a perfect fit for Chipotle as we seek to enhance our customer experience, drive sales growth and make our brand more relevant. The Board is confident that Brian's passion and skillset ideally position him to make the bold moves needed to improve operations and take the company to the next level, all while remaining true to our purpose and the values that are essential to our customers."

16:37 EDT Baidu reports Q4 adjusted EBITDA $1.05B, up 78% y/y - 29% of total revenues.

16:35 EDT Baidu says plans to continue to exit non-core businesses - "We delivered solid financial performance in the fourth quarter with revenues up 29% year over year to RMB 23.6 billion, exceeding our guidance," said Herman Yu, CFO of Baidu. "Entering 2018, we plan to continue our strategy to exit non-core businesses and increase investments in Baidu's mobile and new AI businesses, which we believe play to Baidu's strengths as a technology leader and will sow the seed for Baidu's future growth in autonomous driving and conversational AI, particularly in the home environment."

16:33 EDT CafePress announces cost saving initiatives - CafePress announced certain actions taken to drive reductions of approximately $4M in normalized, annual fixed costs. The company will continue to align its cost structure, cash balances and operational objectives each quarter to maintain discipline in the company's operation. The company will remain focused on completing a new and modern CafePress.com website and expanding retail partner channels into new marketplaces and geographies. Additionally, in 2018, the company expects to leverage its manufacturing platform by launching fulfillment services for other consumer-facing, on demand, custom product providers. The company has taken the following steps: On February 12, the board appointed Alan Howe as an independent director, following the retirement of Patrick Connolly from the board. As of January 9, the company has reduced the workforce at its Louisville headquarters by 5%. Effective as of February 5, the annual base salary of the company's co-founder, chairman and CEO, Fred Durham III, is reduced from $300,000 to $125,000. CafePress' board and management team consistent with its fiduciary duty continues to carefully consider all options to enhance stockholder value.

16:32 EDT Stantec signs letter of intent to acquire TDG, terms not disclosed - Stantec said it has signed a letter of intent to acquire transportation engineering firm Traffic Design Group, or TDG. With more than 80 team members, TDG has offices located in markets throughout New Zealand, including Auckland, Tauranga, Hamilton, Napier, Wellington, Nelson, and Christchurch. The firm also has an office in Sydney, Australia. The transaction is expected to close April 1.

16:30 EDT EnPro raises quarterly dividend from 22c to 24c per share - The dividend is payable March 21, 2018 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on March 7, 2018.

16:29 EDT Sun Communities announces 2018 annual distribution increase - Sun Communities announced that its board has approved setting the 2018 annual distribution rate at $2.84 per common share, an increase of 16c, or 6.0%, over the current $2.68 per common share for 2017. This increase will begin with the Q1 distribution to be declared in March 2018 and paid in April 2018.

16:24 EDT Antero Resources announces 12% increase in estimated proved reserves - Antero's estimated proved reserves at December 31, 2017 were 17.3 Tcfe, a 12% increase compared to estimated proved reserves at December 31, 2016. Proved, probable and possible, or "3P," reserves at year-end 2017 totaled 54.6 Tcfe, which represents an 18% increase compared to the previous year.

16:23 EDT Adesto Technologies sees s Q1 revenue $14.7M-$15M, consensus $15.3M

16:23 EDT Antero Resources sees Q1 net production flat with Q4 - The company's first quarter 2018 net production is estimated to be flat with the fourth quarter 2017 net production due primarily to the timing of completions throughout 2018, the impact from severe winter weather on the Sherwood processing plant operations in the West Virginia Marcellus in the early part of January, and a shutdown for several days at the Seneca plant in the Ohio Utica due to a third-party downstream pipeline rupture. Both of these processing plant issues have since been rectified. The company continues to expect to meet its full year 2018 net production guidance of approximately 2.7 Bcfe/d. Additionally, the extreme cold weather in January resulted in attractive pricing on natural gas sales and the ability to generate significant marketing revenues during the first quarter of 2018 that more than offset the reduced production. Antero is now forecasting a net marketing gain for the first quarter of 2018 and is reducing its net marketing expense guidance for the full year of 2018 to a range of $0.10/Mcfe to $0.125/Mcfe.

16:20 EDT Service Corp. raises share repurchase authorization, quarterly dividend - Service Corporation International announced that its Board of Directors has increased the authorized level of repurchases of its common stock by approximately $298M. When combined with approximately $102M of authority remaining under the existing program, this represents a total of $400M of current share repurchase authority effective today. The Company also announced that its Board of Directors has approved an increase in its quarterly cash dividend to 17c per share of common stock. This quarterly cash dividend declared represents a 13.3% increase from the previously declared quarterly dividend of 15c per share of common stock per quarter. The quarterly cash dividend announced is payable on March 30 to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 15.

16:18 EDT Carbonite acquires Mozy for $148.5M - -- Carbonite announced financial results for the quarter and full year ended December 31, 2017. The Company also announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Mozy from a subsidiary of Dell Technologies. The deal expands Carbonite's customer base and better positions Carbonite to offer its data protection platform to every segment of the market.The total purchase price for Mozy is $145.8 million in cash. The Company will fund the transaction with existing cash and newly secured financing commitments in the form of a $120.0 million revolving credit facility. The credit agreement will allow the Company to borrow, as needed, for general corporate purposes, including acquisitions. The transaction is expected to close during the first quarter of 2018 and is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Barclays acted as financial advisor to the Company for the acquisition of Mozy. Stifel also acted as an advisor.

16:17 EDT HubSpot announces departure of CFO John Kinzer - The company announced that John Kinzer, its CFO, will be leaving at the end of 2018. The Company has initiated a search for a new CFO, and Mr. Kinzer will work to ensure a smooth transition of his duties once a new CFO is appointed.

16:12 EDT Denny's Q4 system-wide same-store sales rose 2.5% - Q4 domestic system-wide same-store sales grew 2.2%, including an increase of 2.1% at company restaurants and 2.2% at domestic franchised restaurants.

16:09 EDT Quotient delivers 3.5B digital offers in 2017 - Quotient Technology said it achieved another breakout year in 2017 as it further expanded its retail reach and added millions of shoppers to its network. Quotient ended the year with about 60 million registered shoppers - people who can save money through Coupons.com or the retailer apps and websites powered by our Quotient Retailer iQ platform. In the past five years, Quotient has delivered more than 10.5 billion digital offers.

16:09 EDT Aflac announces two-for-one stock split in form of 100% stock dividend - Aflac announced that its Board of Directors has declared a two-for-one stock split of the company's common stock in the form of a 100% stock dividend payable on March 16 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on March 2.

16:08 EDT Tetraphase says IGNITE3 trial did not achieve its co-primary endpoints - Tetraphase Pharmaceuticalsannounced that its IGNITE3 clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of once-daily intravenouseravacycline compared to ertapenem for the treatment of patients with complicated urinary tract infections did not achieve statistical non-inferiority of eravacycline to ertapenem. The study failed to meet the co-primary efficacy endpoints of responder rate in the microbiological intent-to-treat (micropopulation at the end-of-IV treatment visit and at the test-of-cure (TOC) visit, which were evaluated using a 10% non-inferiority margin. Eravacycline was well tolerated in IGNITE3, with a safety profile consistent with prior studies. "We are surprised and obviously very disappointed that the IGNITE3 trial did not achieve its co-primary endpoints and are fully analyzing the data to understand this outcome," said Guy Macdonald, President and CEO of Tetraphase. "Independent of this outcome, we continue to move forward with our registration strategy for eravacycline in complicated intra-abdominal infections. We currently have an NDA under review with the FDA as well as an MAA under review by the EMA in Europe, which are based on the positive outcomes demonstrating high cure rates and favorable tolerability in the IGNITE1 and IGNITE4 phase 3 clinical trials of IV eravacycline in cIAI. We are actively preparing for the commercialization of eravacycline as a treatment in cIAI in both the U.S and in Europe, assuming regulatory approvals."

16:07 EDT Xperi sees FY18 billings $415M-$445M

16:06 EDT GAIN Capital says 'engagement has been strong in the early part of the year' - GAIN Capital commented on recent market volatility while presenting at the Credit Suisse 19th Annual Financial Services Forum. "It is encouraging to see active traders embrace recent market volatility, as uncertainty around the direction of the equities markets is leading customers to consider alternative trading venues," commented Glenn Stevens, GAIN Capital's CEO. "As evidenced in our January 2018 monthly metrics report, client engagement has been strong in the early part of the year, with retail OTC and institutional average daily volume up 38 percent and 33 percent, respectively, over the same metrics in December. While macroeconomic uncertainty and increased market speculation creates a positive operating environment for GAIN, we remain focused on positioning the Company for growth in both low and high volatility markets."

16:04 EDT Genesco initiates process to explore sale of Lids Sports Group - Genesco announced that the Company is initiating a formal process to explore the sale of its Lids Sports Group business. The Company's board of directors concluded through a strategic review process that it is in the best interest of the Company and its shareholders to focus on its industry-leading footwear businesses, which it believes is the optimal platform to deliver enhanced shareholder value over the long term. The board has established a special committee, consisting of four independent directors, to oversee the Lids Sports Group sale process and has retained PJ SOLOMON to advise the special committee and the board in this matter. James W. Bradford, the Company's lead independent director and chairman of the special committee, said, "The steps announced today reflect the results of an examination by Genesco's board and management of strategic alternatives with the intent to enhance shareholder value. The Lids Sports Group has been an important part of Genesco, and we still see significant potential for the business. We believe, however, that it is in the best long-term interests of the Company and its shareholders to focus on building upon our core footwear platform, in which the businesses share common strategic characteristics and where we believe we can generate greater operating efficiencies and synergies. Additionally, we believe Lids Sports Group is undervalued as part of Genesco and that its sale would generate capital that the Company can deploy productively to further enhance shareholder value."

16:03 EDT Neurocrine sees FY18 operating expenses $365M-$395M - Sees FY18 milestones under the AbbVie agreement $40M contingent on an FDA approval of elagolix for endometriosis. The 2018 anticipated expenses include an estimated $50M of share-based compensation expense. The increase in operating expenses is largely attributable to increased investment in INGREZZA sales and marketing activities coupled with increased R&D efforts for Tourette syndrome, opicapone, new early stage programs, and post-marketing clinical activities.

16:02 EDT DaVita sees FY18 effective tax rate approximately 26.5%-27.5% - Previous guidance for 2018 effective tax rate attributable to DaVita was approximately 26.0% to 27.5%.

16:00 EDT Tetraphase trading halted, news pending

15:52 EDT Twitter CEO says service could be valuable to 'every single person on planet' - Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is speaking at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference.

15:34 EDT Dorsey says 'trying to get out of bucket' of being considered social network - Dorsey said the company is trying to make sure that all of its messaging is being built around what people "really come to Twitter for," namely to see what is happening with their interests. "While we have social things happening around those interests, you won't come to us and see" a social network, Dorsey said. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is speaking at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference.

14:45 EDT AWM reports stake 8.7% passive stake in Aqua Metals - In a regulatory filing, AWM Investment Company disclosed an 8.7% stake in Aqua Metals, representing 2,405,046 shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

14:35 EDT LSV Asset Management reports 5.2% passive stake in Sanmina - In a regulatory filing, LSV Asset Management disclosed a 5.2% stake in Sanmina, representing 3,707,389 shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

14:16 EDT Exactech shareholders approve merger agreement with TPG Capital - Exactech announced that at a special meeting of shareholders Exactech's shareholders approved the previously announced merger agreement with TPG Capital and certain of its affiliates, and approved the other two proposals described in Exactech's proxy statement relating to the meeting. Upon completion of the transaction, Exactech shareholders will receive an amount in cash equal to $49.25 per share of Exactech common stock. The transaction remains subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close on or around February 14, at which time Exactech will become a private company and its common stock will no longer trade on the NASDAQ.

14:08 EDT Roche receives FDA clearance for cobas Factor II, Factor V Test - Roche announced that it has received FDA clearance for the cobas Factor II and Factor V Test for use on the cobas 4800 system. The test enables laboratories to simultaneously assess Factor II and Factor V gene mutations from a single patient sample, which can reduce hands-on time when testing patients for inherited thrombophilia.

13:47 EDT FDA sends warning letter to Bayer over response to manufacturing violations - The FDA this morning posted a warning letter sent to Bayer regarding the company's response to "significant violations of current good manufacturing practice regulations." The FDA said, "Your response was inadequate. You did not sufficiently assess" whether U.S.-shipped products were cross-contaminated. "Additionally, you did not reevaluate your cleaning procedures, practices, and validation for other non-dedicated manufacturing equipment." Bayer told Bloomberg that it is "diligently addressing" the issues raised in the letter. Reference Link

13:45 EDT Premier League reports Sky awarded four U.K. rights packages, BT awarded one - The Premier League's U.K. broadcast rights sales process has not yet concluded, but the league said that it can announce that five of the seven live packages have been awarded. "The successful broadcasters - BT and Sky - are listed companies and are required to announce publicly the details of their acquisitions. Therefore, the Premier League is providing this progress update...The value realised at this stage of the process is GBP 4.464B, with two live packages still to be sold with interest from multiple bidders," the league said. BT Sport was awarded Package A and Sky was awarded Packages B,C, D and E for Premier League UK live broadcasting rights for seasons 2019/20-2021/22, the league noted. Premier League Executive Chairman Richard Scudamore said: "Both broadcasters are fantastic partners for the Premier League and have a track record of making our competition available to fans across the country through their high-quality and innovative programming. To have achieved this investment with two packages of live rights remaining to sell is an outcome that is testament to the excellent football competition delivered by the clubs...We will now continue the sales process to deliver the best possible outcome for the remaining packages of rights in the UK and throughout the rest of the world." Reference Link

13:30 EDT Guaranty Bancorp raises quarterly dividend 30% to 16.25c per share - Guaranty Bancorp announced that its board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 16.25c per common share. For five consecutive years the company has increased the dividend since it began paying dividends in May 2013. The dividend is payable on March 2, 2018 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on February 23, 2018.

12:57 EDT Coinbase: Current PayPal offering 'not meeting' customers' expectations - Bitcoin broker Coinbase said in a blog post: "Over the last few weeks, USD withdrawals into PayPal accounts from Coinbase have not been operational. While you may have seen these updates on our status page, we understand that we should have proactively messaged this change more broadly. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Our current PayPal offering is not meeting many customers' expectations. Our plan is to re-enable support for 2 weeks and then disable PayPal entirely until we can overhaul the entire experience. We want to ensure all customers relying on PayPal have enough time to add a new withdrawal method and conduct any desired PayPal transactions. We know many customers prefer PayPal as their USD withdrawal method, and we're planning to re-enabling PayPal later this year." Reference Link

12:41 EDT Gildan Activewear full collection of men's underwear now available on Amazon - Gildan Activewear (GIL) is making all of its full assortment of Gildan Men's underwear styles available on Amazon (AMZN) for the first time. The newly available collection, launched January 22nd on Amazon, includes popular styles of men's briefs, boxer-briefs, underwear t-shirts, tank tops and socks made from U.S. Cotton, sustainably grown and ethically harvested.

12:40 EDT For The Win: Google working on gaming service, Treyarch making next 'COD' - Welcome to "For The Win," The Fly's weekly recap of the stories powering up or beating down video game stocks. NEW RELEASES: Among this week's biggest game releases is "Dynasty Warriors 9," an action game from Japanese publisher Koei Tecmo that launches today on the Xbox One (MSFT), PlayStation 4 (SNE), and PC. Also coming out today is "Kingdom Come: Deliverance," a medieval role-playing game from independent developer Warhorse Studios that is available on Xbox One, PS4, and PC. The game launches roughly four years after Warhorse Studios launched a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter to develop the project. TAKE-TWO, ACTIVISION EARNINGS: Two of the "big three" U.S. game makers reported quarterly results last week, with Take-Two (TTWO) reporting third quarter GAAP earnings per share of 21c, with net bookings of $653.9M, compared to analysts' estimates of $663.83M. The company also provided fourth quarter guidance that was above consensus estimates and boosted its outlook for fiscal 2018. Meanwhile, Activision Blizzard (ATVI) reported Q4 adjusted EPS of 94c on net bookings of $2.64B, compared to analysts' estimates for 93c and $2.55B, respectively. The company also provided a first quarter outlook above Wall Street estimates and raised its calendar year 2018 guidance. NEXT 'CALL OF DUTY' GAME: Two days before Activision reported quarterly results, Eurogamer reported the next game in the company's highly successful "Call of Duty" series would be called "Black Ops 4." According to Eurogamer, the game is currently in development at Treyarch, the studio behind the previous "Call of Duty: Black Ops" games. Activision Blizzard confirmed in its quarterly conference call later on that the next "COD" game will be made by Treyarch, but did not say what the title would be or if it was part of the "Black Ops" subseries. GOOGLE's 'YETI' SERVICE: Last Wednesday, The Information reported that Google (GOOG) is developing a subscription-based video game streaming service that could work on either Google's Chromecast or possibly a Google-made console still in development. The service has been codenamed "Yeti," according to The Information.

12:37 EDT Xerox says Darwin Deason lawsuit 'without merit' - Xerox issued a statement regarding a lawsuit filed by Darwin Deason today in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County. The company said, "Mr. Deason's allegations are without merit and the company will vigorously defend itself. After having considered all strategic alternatives available to the company, Xerox's Board of Directors remains steadfast in its belief that the combination with Fuji Xerox is the best path to create value for the company and its shareholders. It is unfortunate that Mr. Deason is seeking to interfere with Xerox shareholders' right to decide and is relying on meritless legal claims. Xerox has fully disclosed the joint venture agreements, and the company will respond to Mr. Deason's legal claims through the appropriate legal channels in due course."

12:33 EDT Cuban says Facebook must address 'so many' issues - Mark Cuban, while speaking on CNBC, said Facebook must address "so many" issues, including Russia and mental health.

12:32 EDT Cuban says Netflix and Amazon are two largest holdings - Mark Cuban is speaking on CNBC.

12:24 EDT Howard Bancorp receives all regulatory approvals for 1st Mariner acquisition - Howard Bancorp announced that it has received all of the requisite regulatory approvals to finalize its acquisition of 1st Mariner Bank. The transaction is expected to close on February 28 and 1st Mariner customers will become Howard Bank customers on March 1.

12:01 EDT Re Advisors reports 6.17% passive stake in Kinsale Capital - In a regulatory filing, Re Advisors disclosed a 6.17% stake in Kinsale Capital, representing 1,298,571 shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

11:55 EDT Michaels agrees to pay $1.5M to settle CPSC claim - Michaels Stores and Michaels Stores Procurement agreed to enter into a consent decree and pay $1.5M, the Justice Department announced. The decree resolves allegations that Michaels failed timely to report to the Consumer Product Safety Commission information regarding a large glass vase that injured consumers between 2007 and 2009. Reference Link

11:46 EDT Joseph Payne reports 13.7% stake in Arcturus, requests GM for proposal vote

11:42 EDT Sarissa Capital reconstitutes Innoviva board following termination of CEO Aguiar - Sarissa Capital Management LP announced that Sarissa Capital has entered into an agreement with Innoviva, Inc. (INVA) to reconstitute the entire board of directors as follows: Effective immediately Jules Haimovitz, Sarah Schlesinger, M.D. and Mark DiPaolo will be added to the Innoviva board, joining recently added Sarissa designees George Bickerstaff, III and Odysseas Kostas, M.D. Effective as of the upcoming stockholder meeting, the Innoviva board will consist of five directors: Jules Haimovitz, Sarah Schlesinger, M.D., Mark DiPaolo, George Bickerstaff, III and Odysseas Kostas, M.D. Mark DiPaolo and Odysseas Kostas, M.D. are principals of Sarissa Capital. Jules Haimovitz, Sarah Schlesinger, M.D. and George Bickerstaff, III served together on the board of directors of ARIAD Pharmaceuticals (TKPYY) and were instrumental in the turnaround efforts at ARIAD which culminated in the sale of the company for over $5B last year. Sarissa Capital was one of ARIAD's largest shareholders and Alex Denner, Ph.D., Sarissa Capital's founder and Chief Investment Officer, was the chairman of ARIAD at the time of its sale. This outcome is the result of a proxy contest Sarissa Capital waged in connection with Innoviva's 2017 annual stockholder meeting and Sarissa Capital's necessary subsequent litigation against Innoviva. In December 2017, Sarissa Capital prevailed in its litigation when the Delaware Court ruled that Innoviva breached its agreement with Sarissa Capital to add George Bickerstaff and Odysseas Kostas, M.D. to the board and ordered Innoviva to add them to the board immediately. Following that ruling, Sarissa engaged in discussions with Innoviva that resulted in the termination of CEO Mike Aguiar and this reconstitution of the board of directors.

11:32 EDT Schlumberger: Oil markets now balanced due to OPEC and Russian cuts

11:25 EDT Patterson, Henry Schein sliding after FTC alleges anti-discount conspiracy - Shares of Patterson Companies (PDCO) and Henry Schein (HSIC) are sliding after the Federal Trade Commission said it is suing the dental products distributors for conspiring to refuse to provide discounts. Commenting on the lawsuit, William Blair analyst John Kreger argued that the complaint will likely exacerbate investor concerns about the sustainability of the companies' pricing and margins, an opinion shared by his peer at Leerink. DISCOUNT-EVADING CONSPIRACY: The FTC filed a complaint against the nation's three largest dental supply companies - namely Benco, Henry Schein and Patterson Companies - alleging that they violated U.S. antitrust laws by conspiring to refuse to provide discounts to or otherwise serve buying groups representing dental practitioners. These buying groups sought lower prices for dental supplies and equipment on behalf of solo and small-group dental practices, seeking to gain discounts by aggregating and leveraging the collective purchasing power and bargaining skills of the individual practices. The complaint also alleges an FTC Act Section 5 violation against Benco for inviting a fourth competing distributor to join the conspiracy. The alleged agreement among Benco, Henry Schein and Patterson deprived independent dentists of the benefits of participating in buying groups that purchase dental supplies from national, full-service distributors, the FTC said. PATTERSON, HENRY SCHEIN DENY ALLEGATIONS: Patterson Companies said it "believes that the allegations as described are meritless" and that it intends to defend itself vigorously. The company added that the complaint seeks injunctive relief and does not seek monetary damages. "The company does not anticipate that this matter will have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations," Patterson added. Meanwhile, Henry Schein has also denied the FTC's anti-trust allegations, saying: "Contrary to the FTC's allegations, the company was a leader in supplying buying groups, has consistently done business with buying groups, has a dedicated team to serve buying groups, and never entered into an agreement with others to refuse to do business with buying groups. [...] The company believes that the allegations as described in the press release are meritless and intends to defend itself vigorously." Henry Schein also said it does not anticipate that this matter will have a material adverse effect on its financial condition or results of operations. SUIT MAY WORSEN CONCERNS: In a research note to investors, William Blair's Kreger pointed out that this is not the first time such anti-competitive allegations have been leveled against Henry Schein, Patterson, and other leading dental distributors. However, the analyst noted that the FTC complaint may add credence to the anti-trust argument, increase the visibility of the risk, and exacerbate investor concerns about the sustainability of the companies' pricing and margins. Kreger also believes this could put further pressure on the valuations of Henry Schein and Patterson in the near-term, particularly until there is some clear evidence of a spending rebound in dental. Meanwhile, Leerink analyst David Larsen told investors that he views the news as being "very serious," and believes it could result in longer-term margin headwinds and multiple compression for Henry Schein. While a trial could take months to resolve and may ultimately end in a settlement or fine, Henry Schein and Patterson should trade down on the news, he contended. PRICE ACTION: In late morning trading, shares of Henry Schein and Patterson have dropped about 10% and 9% to $64.99 and $30.10, respectively.

11:07 EDT Boeing reports 11 new orders for month through January 31 - Year to date information: 737 net orders: 10 NG and 1 MAX; 777 net orders: 0 777 and 0 777X.

11:01 EDT Blackstone names Tony James as Executive Vice Chairman

10:46 EDT Medical suppliers slide as Amazon looms, Walgreens pursues AmerisourceBergen - Two news reports are moving several names in the medical supply space this morning. Namely, Amazon (AMZN) is said to be looking to expand its medical supplies business, while Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) has approached AmerisourceBergen (ABC) about a potential takeover. Shares of Owens & Minor (OMI), McKesson (MCK), and Cardinal Health (CAH) are all slipping following the two Wall Street Journal scoops. AMAZON RAMPS UP IN MEDICAL SUPPLY: Amazon is seeking to expand its medical supplies business into being a major distributor to hospitals and outpatient clinics, according to The Wall Street Journal. The e-commerce giant is currently running a pilot with a Midwestern hospital system to supply its 150 outpatient facilities, the publication said. Typically, hospitals sign contracts to buy supplies directly from manufacturers or distributors like Owens & Minor, McKesson, Cardinal Health and Medline Industries. WALGREENS DEAL INTEREST: Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal separately reported, citing sources, that Walgreens reached out several weeks ago to Amerisource to discuss the possibility of buying the portion of the company it doesn't already own. The sources added, though, that there is not an offer on the table. In a research note to investors, Jefferies analyst Brian Tanquilut pointed out that while Walgreens acquiring AmerisourceBergen would be EPS-accretive and would allow the former to take advantage of its strong free cash flow and balance sheet, the rationale for such a deal is a bit of a "headscratcher" as both companies already have a joint venture that affords them the strategic value that combining would provide. Leerink analyst David Larsen told investors in a note of his own that he is surprised that talks of such a large transaction have surfaced so quickly following the Rite Aid (RAD) deal being blocked, but says he has always believed that Walgreens at some point would seek to acquire either Express Scripts (ESRX) or AmerisourceBergen. His peer at Loop Capital added that a full merger would have similar attributes to that of the vertically integrated pharmacy model that Walgreens operates in the U.K., which lowers product costs and working capital requirements to the benefit of all customers. Ultimately, analyst Andrew Wolf views this strategic response positively as it would better position a combined company to navigate in the face of industry change and possibly even be a disrupter, he said. Wells Fargo analyst Peter Costa also commented on The Journal report, saying he believes the acquisition makes sense given the already existing long-term partnership and limited ability to merge laterally. Further, the analyst argued that a potential combination could help lower costs and wring out synergies in the U.S. drug distribution channel, and better position Walgreens in the face of increasing competitive threat from a possible Amazon entry. However, a merger might risk alienating AmerisourceBergen's retail pharmacy customers that compete with Walgreens' pharmacies, he contended. PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, shares of Amazon have gained over 2% to $1,415, while Walgreens is fractionally higher and AmerisourceBergen shares have jumped 8%. Moving in the opposite direction, Owens & Minor is sliding 8%, McKesson is slipping 2% and Cardinal Health is down 4%.

10:02 EDT PSEG appoints Barb Short as Chief Diversity Officer - PSEG announced that Barb Short will be the company's new Chief Diversity Officer. In addition, Short will head the PSEG Foundation and oversee the company's community involvement as Senior Director, PSEG Corporate Citizenship and Culture. She will replace Ellen Lambert, who has retired.

09:50 EDT Liberty Expedia Holdings (Series B) trading resumes

09:42 EDT Energous issued U.S. patent for wireless tool charging - Reference Link

09:29 EDT Patterson Companies denies allegations in FTC administrative complaint - Patterson Companies announced that the Federal Trade Commission has issued an administrative complaint against Patterson alleging an agreement with its competitors not to sell to "buying groups" in violation of federal antitrust laws. Patterson said, "The company believes that the allegations as described are meritless and intends to defend itself vigorously. The complaint seeks injunctive relief and does not seek monetary damages. The company does not anticipate that this matter will have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations. Patterson maintains the highest levels of integrity and ethical standards and has a 140 year history of partnering with all types of customers to grow their businesses and provide outstanding care to their clients."

09:21 EDT Blue Apron says 'starting to turn the dial' on marketing in FY18

09:19 EDT MainSource Financial to sell five branches to German American Bancorp - First Financial Bancorp (FFBC) and MainSource Financial Group (MSFG) announced that, in connection with their proposed merger, MainSource Bank will sell 5 branches in the Decatur and Bartholomew, Indiana Counties, with approximately $160M in total deposits and $134M in total loans as of December 31, 2017, to German American Bancorp, the banking subsidiary of German American Bancorp (GABC). The sale is in connection with a previously-announced agreement between First Financial, MainSource and the U.S. Department of Justice in order to resolve the Department's competitive concerns about First Financial's proposed acquisition of MainSource. In addition, the sale of the branches to German American is subject to the receipt of regulatory approvals from the relevant federal and state banking agencies. Employees of the five branches to be divested, approximately 28, will join the workforce of German American following the receipt of required regulatory approvals. First Financial and MainSource will be providing additional information to customers of the branches slated for divestiture about the divestiture, although branch conversions are not anticipated to be completed until the Q2.

09:18 EDT Mondelez appoints Debra Crew, Peter May to board, Nelson Peltz to step down

09:13 EDT Griffon unit acquires Kelkay Limited for approximately $56M - Griffon Corporation announced that its subsidiary, The AMES Companies acquired Kelkay Limited, a United Kingdom manufacturer and distributor of decorative outdoor landscaping products sold to leading garden centers, retailers and grocers in the U.K. and Ireland. The purchase price for Kelkay is approximately $56M, and is expected to contribute approximately $40M in annualized revenue and be immediately accretive to Griffon's earnings in its first full year of operations

09:09 EDT Charles River sees FY18 free cash flow $250M-$260M - Says increasing DSA long-term target to the mid-20% range, from more than 20% previously, driven by higher revenue growth and continuing efficiency initiatives. Says believe trends will continue, so reaffirming long-term target of low-double-digit organic revenue growth for manufacturing segment. Says believes the Microbial business will be able to continue to deliver low-double digit organic revenue growth for the foreseeable future. Says plans to expand into new facility near existing Pennsylvania site for Biologics. Says increasing Manufacturing operating margin target to the mid-30% range, from more then 30% previously. Sees RMS 2018 reported revenue growth low-single digits, organic growth low-single digits, sees DSA reported revenue growth high-single digits, organic growth in same range as 2017. Sees 2018 manufacturing reported revenue growth above 10%, sees organic revenue growth above 10%. Says will continue to add staff to support growth across many of businesses to keep pace with demand in 2018. Expects to generate efficiency savings of $60M-$65M before the benefit of expected MPI synergies in 2018. Expects net interest expense to be $29M-$31M in 2018. Expects 2018 tax rate to be 25%-26%, excluding MPI. Sees 2018 CapEx approximately $100M before factoring in MPI capital requirements.

09:07 EDT Caterpillar reports retail machines sales up 34% in three months end January - Caterpillar reported in a regulatory filing that its total retail machines sales were up 34% on a three month rolling basis in January. For reference, retail sales of machines were up 34% in the period ending in December and up 26% in the period ending in November. The company reported world Resources Industries sales up 49% in the January-end period, compared to a December period increase of 50%. Construction Industries world sales were up 30% in the January-end period, versus than the 31% increase in the prior three-month period. Total Energy & Transportation Retail Sales were up 16% in the January-end period, down from a 19% increase in the prior three-month period.

09:06 EDT Altice USA and Starz announced affiliation agreement - Altice USA (ATUS) and Starz, a Lionsgate company (LGF.A), announced a new multi-year affiliation agreement. The comprehensive agreement secures rights for Altice USA, one of the largest broadband communications and video services providers in the United States, to offer the full suite of STARZ and STARZ ENCORE premium linear and HD channels, On-Demand, HD On-Demand and online services across the Optimum and Suddenlink cable systems. The agreement also allows for Altice USA to sell the STARZ App to their customers on the new Altice One entertainment service, as well as broader digital rights including TV Everywhere.

09:04 EDT Teva slips after launch of second generic Copaxone - As previously reported, Novartis (NVS) division Sandoz announced the FDA approval and U.S. launch of Glatopa 40 mg/mL. Glatopa 40 mg/mL is FDA-approved as a fully-substitutable, AP-rated generic version of Copaxone and was developed under a collaboration agreement between Momenta Pharmaceuticals (MNTA) and Sandoz. Shares of Teva (TEVA), the maker of branded Copaxone, are down 59c, or 3%, to $18.68 in pre-market trading following the announcement.

09:03 EDT Blue Apron sees FY18 results similar to FY17 - Sees 50% EBITDA loss improvement in FY18. Says cost structure in "good place." Says doesn't see need for "drastic cost cuts," but still looking to improve efficiencies, margins.

09:02 EDT Wells Fargo adds AI enhancement to mobile app - Wells Fargo & Company announced that mobile banking deposit customers nationwide now have access to a predictive banking feature that analyzes account information, providing mobile app users with tailored account insights and personalized financial guidance. The feature is the latest in a series of innovations aimed at providing customers a more comprehensive view of their finances, and increased control to advance their financial health and meet financial goals. Insights range from flagging higher-than-normal automatic monthly payments so that customers may look into a change to a reoccurring bill, to reminding a customer to transfer money from savings to a checking account to avoid a possible upcoming overdraft. Conversely, if a customer has more money than usual in a particular month, they may be prompted to transfer money into savings. Currently there are over 50 different prompts a customer can receive based on past and expected future account activity, with plans to continue adding new insights regularly. The feature will expand to small business and credit card customers later this year. Visit Wells Fargo Stories to see this technology in action.

09:01 EDT Dr Pepper Snapple and Major League Baseball announce partnership - Snapple and Major League Baseball announced a new partnership, with Snapple becoming the Official Tea and Juice Drink of MLB beginning with the 2018 season. The two-year partnership supplies Snapple with marketing and activation rights across MLB special events. As part of the sponsorship, Snapple and MLB will be releasing a new, baseball themed product that will be offered for a limited time.

09:01 EDT Fitbit to acquire Twine Health, terms not disclosed - Fitbit announced that it will acquire Twine Health, an innovative, proven health coaching platform that empowers people to achieve better health outcomes and helps health systems, health plans and workplace health providers lower healthcare costs. A HIPAA-compliant connected health platform, Twine Health delivers an engaging and user-friendly experience to help people manage chronic conditions, such as diabetes and hypertension, and aid in lifestyle interventions, such as weight loss and smoking cessation, by making it easy for care teams of providers, coaches, friends and family to collaborate on care plans.The Twine Health platform brings a scalable approach to health coaching, allowing a single coach to work with a large number of patients, driving efficiencies while helping more people reach their goals. With this acquisition, Fitbit further extends its reach into healthcare and lays the foundation to expand its offerings to health plans, health systems and self-insured employers, while creating opportunities to increase subscription-based revenue. The acquisition will combine the power of the Fitbit platform to drive lasting behavior change with Twine Health's clinical expertise and proven ability to help patients better manage their care through a highly scalable platform and coaching model. In the longer term, Fitbit will have the opportunity to extend the benefits of the Twine platform to its more than 25 million users and expand into new condition areas. As part of the acquisition, the Twine Health team will join Fitbit as part of its Health Solutions group. Dr. Moore will serve as Fitbit's Medical Director. The acquisition is expected to close in Q1 2018.

08:58 EDT Blue Apron see FY18 adjusted EBITDA loss ($69M) - Sees Q1 adjusted EBITDA loss ($32M)-($30M).

08:53 EDT Under Armour sees SG&A up mid-single digits in 2018

08:51 EDT Charles River says well-positioned to address strong demand - Says investments have positioned CRL well to address continued strong demand, which is basis for 2018 outlook.Says Non-GAAP EPS guidance includes a 14c gain on venture capital investments and 14c for excess tax benefits associated with stock compensation. Says adjusting both 2017 and 2018 non-GAAP EPS for both VC gains and the excess tax benefit, non-GAAP EPS y-o-y growth would be 8%-11. Says including MPI, non-GAAP EPS range is $5.67-$5.82, a 13.5%-16.5% growth rate on the same adjusted basis. Says in both cases, the projected EPS growth rates are in line with goal of greater than 200 basis points higher than the organic revenue growth rate. Says plans to continue to expand in China. Expects trends to continue: Declining demand for large biopharma, Increasing demand from biotechs, Strong growth in China, Modest price increases, Demand for services. Reaffirms our long-term target of low-single-digit revenue growth for RMS. Expects Discovery to generate higher revenue growth in 2018 and beyond. Says continues to expand services and demand for outsourced services trends higher. Sees improved revenue growth for Early Discovery in 2018. Sees continued Safety Assessment growth in 2018.

08:44 EDT TSMC board proposes NT$8 cash dividend per share - The TSMC Board of Directors adopted a proposal recommending distribution of a NT$8 cash dividend per common share, the company announced. The proposal is scheduled to be discussed and decided at the company's Annual General Meeting in the morning of June 5, 2018. The board also approved a capital appropriation of approximately $2.834B for purposes including: Installation, upgrading and expanding advanced technology capacity; Conversion of logic capacity to specialty technology; Second quarter 2018 R&D capital investments and sustaining capital expenditures.

08:43 EDT Under Armour announces additional 2018 restructuring plan - Under Armour says on its Q4 earnings call that 2017 was "tough." Says DTC represented 35% of revenue for FY17. Says "very difficult to unpack five years of investing to scale in just five quarters." Sees more stable operating environment in 2018. Under Armour announced this morning that it has identified further opportunities to optimize operations in 2018. In conjunction with this plan, approximately $110M-$130M of pre-tax restructuring and related charges are expected to be incurred, including: Up to $105M in cash related charges, consisting of up to $55M in facility and lease terminations and up to $50M in contract termination and other restructuring charges; and up to $25M in non-cash charges comprised of up to $10M of inventory related charges and up to $15M of asset related impairments. Based on the restructuring efforts in 2017 and 2018, the company anticipates a minimum of $75M in savings annually from these efforts in 2019 and beyond.

08:39 EDT Blue Apron says worked 'relentlessly' to improve Linden, NJ facility - Says OTIF rates for Linden now comparable to other facilities.

08:37 EDT Celsius Holdings announces Celsius Heat is available at 7-Eleven stores - Celsius Holdings announced that CELSIUS HEAT is now available for purchase by franchisee and corporate 7-Eleven stores nationwide. Two flavors are available, Cherry Lime and Strawberry Dragonfruit.

08:33 EDT Advaxis submits conditional MAA to EMA for axalimogene filolisbac - Advaxis has submitted a conditional Marketing Authorization Application to the European Medicines Agency for the company's lead Lm Technology product candidate, axalimogene filolisbac, for the treatment of adult women who progress beyond first-line therapy of persistent, recurrent or metastatic carcinoma of the cervix. The MAA submission is built around data from the GOG-0265 study which examined overall survival rates in 50 women and showed a 12-month overall survival rate of 38% in women with PRmCC, representing a 55% improvement over an expected, model-predicted,12-month survival rate of 24.5%.2 More than 50% of treated women in this study had previously received multiple prior lines of therapy including treatment with bevacizumab and subsequently experienced progression of their disease. In the GOG-0256 study, axalimogene filolisbac was generally well-tolerated with mostly Grade 1 and 2 flu-like adverse events associated with cytokine release which were managed with standard medical care. This safety profile is consistent with the ongoing clinical experience of axalimogene filolisbac across all clinical trials. The EMA will evaluate the totality of the data, including results from GOG-0265 as well as supportive data from other clinical trials evaluating axalimogene filolisbac. In parallel with the MAA review process, the company will continue assessing partnership opportunities for the potential commercialization of axalimogene filolisbac in Europe. The company has also decided to align and simplify its strategy by using axalimogene filolisbac exclusively in all ongoing and planned HPV-related cancer clinical trials, including the upcoming ADVANCE trial, previously planned with ADXS-DUAL.

08:32 EDT Thomson Reuters CEO Jim Smith taken to hospital, remains under observation - Jim Smith, President and CEO of Thomson Reuters, was taken to a Toronto hospital yesterday after feeling unwell. Jim remains in the hospital, under observation. In his immediate absence, Stephane Bello, Executive Vice President and CFO of Thomson Reuters, will oversee Jim's responsibilities alongside his own, in line with the company's practice.

08:31 EDT JetBlue reports preliminary January traffic down 1.7%, capacity up 0.1% - JetBlue Airways reported its preliminary traffic results for January 2018. Traffic in January decreased 1.7% from January 2017, on a capacity increase of 0.1%. Load factor for January 2018 was 81.9%, a decrease of 1.4 points from January 2017. JetBlue's preliminary completion factor was 94.1% and its on-time performance was 65.8%.

08:26 EDT Starboard and BLR nominate directors to Monotype Imaging board

08:14 EDT PepsiCo CEO says 'sticking to strategy' of tuck-in M&As

08:14 EDT PepsiCo: Looking to understand strategy behind Dr Pepper Snapple, Keurig deal

08:11 EDT Cellectis announces issuance of two U.S. patents for CRISPR use in T-cells - Cellectis announced the issuance of two U.S. patents - US 9,855,297 and US 9,890,393 - for the invention of certain uses of RNA-guided endonucleases, such as Cas9 or Cpf1, for the genetic engineering of T-cells. Both patents claim methods by which T-cells are gene edited using transient expression of CRISPR/Cas9 components. The patents came into force on January 2, 2018 and February 13, 2018, respectively.

08:10 EDT Abiomed receives approval for expanded PMA for Impella pumps - Abiomed that it has received an expanded FDA Pre-Market Approval, or PMA, for its Impella 2.5, Impella CP, Impella 5.0, and Impella LD heart pumps to provide treatment for heart failure associated with cardiomyopathy leading to cardiogenic shock. This approval expands the previous FDA indication for acute myocardial infarction, or AMI, cardiogenic shock and post-cardiotomy cardiogenic shock, or PCCS, received in April 2016.

08:09 EDT BioLife Solutions executes OEM agreement with Millipore - BioLife Solutions (BLFS) announced that it has executed an OEM agreement to supply its CryoStor cell freeze media and HypoThermosol cell storage and shipping media under private label to MilliporeSigma, the life science business of Merck KGaA (MKGAY), Darmstadt, Germany.

08:08 EDT Ares Capital, Varagon Capital to expand SDLP to $6.4B - Ares Capital Corporation (ARCC) and Varagon Capital Partners announced an increase in the investment capacity of their joint venture, the Senior Direct Lending Program, or SDLP, to approximately $6.4B from $2.9B. AIG (AIG), an existing investor in SDLP, increased its capital available to the program by $500M to $2.75B and another leading global insurance company newly made available $2B. Ares Capital and Varagon have agreed to make available an incremental approximately $1B on a pro rata basis based on their respective ownership of subordinated certificates in the SDLP.

08:06 EDT PepsiCo says rate of EPS, organic revenue growth to be higher in 2H18 vs. 1H18 - PepsiCo CFO Hugh Johnston says the company will accelerate some capital projects in 2018. Sees total CapEx of $3.6B for 2018. Says will make a $1.4B discretionary pension contribution in Q1. Says the rate of organic revenue growth, core constant EPS growth to be higher in 2H18 vs. 1H18.

08:05 EDT Xerox says Icahn, Deason letter 'misleading and inaccurate' - Xerox announced that its board has reviewed the February 12 letter signed by Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason, stating: "To date, the Board has chosen not to engage in a public debate with our two large shareholders. However, we believe their misleading and inaccurate Letter warrants a written response to ensure the facts are clear for all Xerox shareholders." In its response, Xerox added in part: "Mr. Icahn and Mr. Deason suggest through suspect math that investors are "selling control of Xerox for a cash flow multiple barely exceeding 2.3x." This analysis is just plain wrong. As discussed in prior presentations to investors, Xerox shareholders receive in the Transaction (i) a $2.5 billion dividend at closing; (ii) 49.9% of the combined Xerox and Fuji Xerox; and (iii) 49.9% of the benefit of the value created from at least $1.7 billion of annual cost savings, including $1.25 billion in cost synergies that are only achievable via this Transaction...Mr. Icahn's and Mr. Deason's suggestion of 'freeing the company from the shackles of the Fuji Xerox joint venture' is not a viable strategy...The agreement is a binding legal document that cannot be simply wished away, renegotiated or dissolved because Mr. Icahn and Mr. Deason desire it so...We believe the existence of the Fuji Xerox joint venture negatively impacts value in any other merger transaction. More likely, it would simply make such a transaction unattractive to any other strategic buyer. It is also not something that needs speculation: since the public speculation of a potential transaction with Fujifilm on January 10, 2018, no potential strategic buyer contacted Xerox, or its advisors, with any credible proposal or alternatives...As we made clear numerous times in our disclosures, of the $1.7 billion in total annual cost reductions by 2020, $1.25 billion is related to what we can achieve only by integrating the two companies, while the remaining $450 million comes from a Fuji Xerox-specific cost reduction program...Both Xerox and Fujifilm have a proven track record of executing significant transformations in the past, and are fully committed to realizing the full synergy upside from the combined company...Our full-year 2017 results clearly demonstrate that the strategy we have implemented is working as we met or exceeded every financial metric we guided to in 2017...In conclusion, Mr. Icahn and Mr. Deason fail to provide an actionable plan or any cogent ideas to make their scheme a reality. Following their playbook would be both highly irresponsible and unlikely to succeed, particularly given the terms and constraints of the existing Fuji Xerox joint venture agreement, and the realities of today's competitive environment."

08:04 EDT TiVo's Next-Gen Platform selected by Service Electric Cablevision - TiVo Corporation announced that Service Electric Cablevision Inc., serving internet, TV, phone residential and commercial services to Pennsylvania, has chosen TiVo's Next-Gen Platform to bring entertainment solutions to its customers.

08:03 EDT Aecom, SNC-Lavalin preferred consortium for the design of the REM - AECOM announced that the NouvLR General Partnership, of which AECOM is a partner of the design team, has been selected by CDPQ Infra Inc. as the preferred proponent for the infrastructure engineering, procurement and construction of the Reseau express metropolitain. As part of the project, AECOM will design tunnels, bridges, stations, railway infrastructure, road improvements, intermodal equipment and other structures as well as work on obtaining environmental permits, environmental monitoring and urban integration.

08:02 EDT Catabasis: Edasalonexent substantially slowed DMD progression in study - Catabasis Pharmaceuticals reported new efficacy and safety results showing preservation of muscle function and sustained disease-modifying effects in boys with Duchene muscular dystrophy in the MoveDMD trial open-label extension following 48 and 60 weeks of treatment with edasalonexent. Consistent improvements in all assessments of muscle function were observed after more than a year of oral 100 mg/kg/day edasalonexent treatment compared to the rates of change in the pre-specified control period for boys prior to receiving edasalonexent treatment. Additionally, supportive changes in non-effort based measures of muscle health were seen, with significant longer-term reductions in muscle enzymes and C-reactive protein, supporting the durability of edasalonexent treatment effects. Edasalonexent continued to be well tolerated with no safety signals observed in the trial. These data will be presented on Saturday, February 17, 2018, at 14:15 CET at the XVI International Conference on Duchenne and Becker Muscular Dystrophy in Rome, Italy, and detailed at future scientific conferences. Catabasis plans to initiate a single global Phase 3 trial with edasalonexent in patients with DMD regardless of mutation type in the first half of 2018 with top-line results expected in 2020. Edasalonexent is a potential oral foundational therapy that is being developed for all patients affected by DMD.

08:02 EDT Magal Security to acquire 55% controlling interest in Baz - Magal Security Systems announced it has signed an agreement to acquire a 55% controlling interest in ECS BAZ, an Israeli-based company, focused on the development and manufacturing of military-grade smart Security Video Observation and Surveillance systems. Magal has the option to acquire the remaining outstanding shares from BAZ's shareholder and General Manager, Benny Zviran. Zviran will continue to serve as the General Manager of BAZ. The closing of the acquisition is pending the approval of the Israeli anti-trust authority. It is anticipated that BAZ's operation coupled with the expected synergies will positively contribute to Magal's revenues and will be accretive to earnings.

07:59 EDT PepsiCo: U.S.-based front-line associates to receive bonuses of up to $1,000 - PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi said on the company's Q4 earnings conference call that the company has a "robust" innovation pipeline for beverages in 2018. Nooyi says North America Beverages improved sequentially, but still has room to improve. She noted that PepsiCo's e-commerce business is approximately $1B in annualized sales. She expects tax reform to have positive impact on the economy overall, but still sees a "dynamic" retail landscape. Nooyi said the global economy growing, with developed markets stable and developing markets are accelerating. Nooyi also said its U.S.-based front-line associates will receive bonuses of up to $1,000 tied to U.S. tax reform. The company will also invest in global workforce training, e-commerce and digital, Nooyi added.

07:34 EDT Aehr Test Systems receives orders over $2.5M for burn-in, test productions ADAS - Aehr Test Systems announced that it has received orders totaling more than $2.5 million for products and services from a leading multi-national manufacturer of advanced logic integrated circuits, or ICs, for automotive applications. The products in these orders add capabilities required to burn-in and test the latest automotive parts, which implement features such as advanced driver assistance systems, or ADAS. Services within the orders reflect the support that Aehr Test offers to its production customers at their sites worldwide, which includes on-site service and applications engineers. Aehr Test service and applications engineers partner with customers to ensure effective production operation and integration with factory data and traceability systems in addition to support for qualification of new devices and the transition from development to production.

07:11 EDT EnSync announces partnership with Lower Electric - EnSync announced a partnership with licensed agent, broker and consultant Lower Electric to offer solar energy-based electricity solutions to its nearly 4,000 clients in Illinois. The Illinois clean energy market is poised for rapid growth due to the state's Long-Term Renewable Resource Procurement Plan, which mandates that investor-owned electric utilities source at least 25% of their electricity sales from solar and wind sources by 2025. The plan is currently under consideration by the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) and is expected to go into effect on April 3. EnSync Energy will cover customer origination, project development, design, construction and operation of photovoltaic-based installations for two key customer groups in Illinois: community solar subscribers and C&I operators. The systems will be up to 2MW in size and the projects will be sold either directly to the customer or as power purchase agreements to the ultimate asset owners.

07:08 EDT Diebold sees FY18 adjusted EBITDA $380M-$410M

07:06 EDT Meredith partners with Google on launch of new product, AMP stories - Meredith (MDP) announced that it is among the beta publishers launching AMP Stories, which was created in collaboration with the open source AMP project and Google (GOOG, GOOGL). AMP Stories provides a mobile-focused format for delivering news and information as visually rich, tap-through stories. PEOPLE is the first Meredith brand to work on developing the format for the developer preview at the AMP conference in Amsterdam.

07:03 EDT Charles River names DAvide Molho as president and COO, effective immediately - Davide Molho, Corporate Executive Vice President and President, Global Research Models & Services, Safety Assessment and Biologics, will become President and COO of Charles River, effective immediately, and will add Discovery Services to his responsibilities. Birgit Girshick, Corporate Senior Vice President, Global Discovery Services, has been appointed Corporate Executive Vice President, Discovery and Safety Assessment.

07:01 EDT Blue Apron says customers decreased by 15% y/y, 13% q/q - Average Revenue per Customer was $248 in the fourth quarter of 2017 compared to $246 in the fourth quarter of 2016, and $245 in the third quarter of 2017.

06:58 EDT Dollar General appoints Tim McGuire and Ralph Santana to board of directors - Dollar General announced the appointment of Tim McGuire and Ralph Santana to its board of directors effective February 12, 2018. The election of McGuire and Santana to Dollar General's board of directors will bring the total number of directors to 10. McGuire will serve on the compensation committee and Santana will serve on the nominating and governance committee. McGuire has served as Chairman of the Board of Mobile Service Center Canada, a chain of professional smartphone repair stores specializing in professional "while you wait" repair and care of smartphones and tablets, since June 2017. He retired from McKinsey & Company, a worldwide management consulting firm, after serving as a leader of its global retail and consumer practice for almost 28 years. Since April 2013, Santana has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Harman International Industries, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics with responsibility for all aspects of Harman's worldwide marketing strategy. Prior to joining Harman, Santana served as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, North America for Samsung Electronics from June 2010

06:56 EDT Cogint announces early spin-off of Red Violet - Cogint announced its plan to spin-off its data and analytics business, Red Violet, earlier than previously anticipated. As the Company works towards the closing of its business combination with BlueFocus International Limited, including meeting the remaining closing conditions and obtaining all regulatory approvals, the Company expects to announce a record date for the spin-off within the next 30 days, subject to the SEC's clearance of the Red Violet Registration Statement on Form 10 and meeting all other conditions to the spin-off. The Company's Board of Directors has authorized management to establish a record date for the spin-off at the time all such conditions have been met and expects to declare a spin-off dividend of one share of Red Violet common stock for every four to five shares of Cogint common stock held on the record date, subject to the requirements of the Delaware General Corporation Law. Upon the spin-off, Red Violet expects to have approximately $20M in cash and no debt. Post spin-off, the Company expects cogint, which will include its digital marketing company, Fluent, to be profitable from day one. Fluent will continue to provide industry-leading, people-based digital marketing and customer acquisition to leading consumer brands and direct marketers, leveraging its mobile-first platform and performance-based model.

06:50 EDT Tallgrass Energy Partners sees FY18 adjusted EBITDA $755M-$835M - Sees FY18 maintenance capital expenditures $20M-$30M. Additionally, management expects distribution growth of 7%-10% percent for TEP and 37%-40% for TEGP if they were to each remain standalone entities for all of 2018. Tallgrass Energy Adjusted EBITDA includes the Adjusted EBITDA for the assets owned by TEP as of Dec. 31, 2017, the additional 2% of Pony Express and the distributions attributable to the additional 25.01% membership interest in REX. Tallgrass Energy Adjusted EBITDA does not include our estimate of approximately $15M-$25M of shipper deficiency payments that would be included in Distributable Cash Flow.

06:46 EDT Henry Schein denies FTC anti-trust allegations - Henry Schein issued the following statement in response to allegations made about the Company by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in a press release dated Feb.12, 2018: "Based on the FTC's press release, the Company is being accused of participating in a conspiracy to refuse to provide discounts to, or compete for, the business of buying groups. Contrary to the FTC's allegations, the Company was a leader in supplying buying groups, has consistently done business with buying groups, has a dedicated team to serve buying groups, and never entered into an agreement with others to refuse to do business with buying groups. Based on the FTC's original definition of buying groups, the Company does business with more than 100 buying groups. Even under a narrower definition recently advanced by the FTC, the Company has done business, and continues to do business, with the very groups it is now accused of boycotting. The Company believes that the allegations as described in the press release are meritless and intends to defend itself vigorously. The Company does not anticipate that this matter will have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations."

06:32 EDT Google unveils AMP stories for visual storytelling in the mobile web - In a blog post, Google said, "The AMP story format is a recently launched addition to the AMP Project that provides content publishers with a mobile-focused format for delivering news and information as visually rich, tap-through stories...Some stories are best told with text while others are best expressed through images and videos. On mobile devices, users browse lots of articles, but engage with few in-depth. Images, videos and graphics help publishers to get their readers' attention as quickly as possible and keep them engaged through immersive and easily consumable visual information...AMP stories aim to make the production of stories as easy as possible from a technical perspective. The format comes with preset but flexible layout templates, standardized UI controls, and components for sharing and adding follow-on content. Yet, the design gives great editorial freedom to content creators to tell stories true to their brand. Publishers involved in the early development of the AMP stories format - CNN, Conde Nast, Hearst, Mashable, Meredith, Mic, Vox Media, and The Washington Post - have brought together their reporters, illustrators, designers, producers, and video editors to creatively use this format and experiment with novel ways to tell immersive stories for a diverse set of content categories. Today AMP stories are available for everyone to try on their websites. As part of the AMP Project, the AMP story format is free and open for anyone to use. To get started, check out the tutorial and documentation. We are looking forward to feedback from content creators and technical contributors alike."Reference Link

06:13 EDT Yangtze River Development changes ticker to "YRIV" - Yangtze River Port and Logistics announced that its common stock will begin trading under the new ticker symbol "YRIV" on The Nasdaq Global Select Market effective as of the market open on February 14. The Company's new ticker symbol will be associated with the previously announced new CUSIP number of 98475Y105 and new corporate name of "Yangtze River Port and Logistics Limited."

06:09 EDT Seagate, RackTop Systems form strategic partnership - RackTop Systems announced its strategic partnership with Seagate Technology with the immediate availability of their joint product, the Secure Data Protection Platform. Engineered to solve key cyber security and compliance issues facing governments, SDP2 is a high-performance, simple, drop-in data storage solution to solving NIST 800-171 and the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation security and compliance requirements. The two companies are undertaking this new partnership to create data security solutions that meet evolving risk management standards.

06:07 EDT Nationstar CEO sees WMIH merger immediately cash accretive - Jay Bray, CEO and Chairman of Nationstar, said, "We expect this merger to create value for our shareholders in both the near and long-term, including immediate accretion on a cash EPS basis and a cash premium for those of our stockholders who elect to receive the cash merger consideration. I am passionately committed to continuing and accelerating our growth and investment as a leader in our industry, leveraging our best-in-class integrated servicing and originations platform. The Nationstar Board and management team have taken considerable steps to make homeownership simpler and more rewarding for our three million customers and we look forward to identifying additional opportunities to enhance value for the combined company's shareholders." The operating business will retain the Nationstar Mortgage name and Dallas Headquarters and, at least initially, be traded on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol "WMIH". Nationstar's operations will continue as normal and its valued employees will join the combined enterprise. Nationstar's senior leadership team will lead the combined company. Upon completing the transaction, the combined company's Board of Directors will comprise 7 members, including 3 from WMIH and 4 from Nationstar.

06:06 EDT WMIH, Nationstar enter definitive merger agreement - WMIH Corp. (WMIH) and Nationstar Mortgage Holdings (NSM) with its flagship brand Mr. Cooper announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, Nationstar shareholders may elect to receive $18.00 in cash or 12.7793 shares of WMIH common stock for each share of Nationstar common stock they own, subject to an overall proration to ensure that 32% of the total outstanding Nationstar shares are exchanged for the stock consideration. Upon completion of the transaction, Nationstar shareholders will own approximately 36% of the combined company and WMIH shareholders will own approximately 64%. The aggregate consideration payable to Nationstar shareholders will consist of $1.2 billion in cash and WMIH shares currently anticipated to be valued at approximately $702 million. In addition, approximately $1.9 billion of Nationstar's existing senior unsecured notes will be refinanced at closing. WMIH has secured $2.75 billion of financing commitments in connection with the transaction. Upon closing the Transaction, all outstanding WMIH Series B Preferred Stock and all outstanding warrants to purchase shares of WMIH common stock will be converted into common stock of WMIH. The shares issued pursuant to these conversions are included in the pro forma ownership percentages referenced above. Holders of WMIH's Series B 5% Convertible Preferred Stock (the "Series B Stock") will receive approximately 444 million shares of common stock following the mandatory conversion of the Series B Stock at a fixed conversion price of $1.35 per share. Between signing and closing of the transaction, we expect that holders of the Series B Stock will receive approximately 21 million shares of common stock in accordance with the terms of the Series B Stock. Finally, upon closing of the transaction, holders of the Series B Stock also will receive a special distribution of approximately 11 million shares of common stock. As a result, upon consummating the transaction, and on a pro forma basis, holders of the Series B Stock will be expected to own approximately 477 million shares of common stock or approximately 43% of the combined company. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of both companies and is subject to approval by the shareholders of both companies, as well as regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. An entity owned by investment funds managed by an affiliate of Fortress Investment Group LLC, holding approximately 68% of Nationstar's voting shares, has contractually agreed to support the transaction and elect cash consideration for approximately 34 million shares, subject to proration. KKR, which owns 24% of WMIH's voting shares, has also agreed to support the transaction. The transaction is anticipated to close in the second half of 2018.

06:04 EDT PepsiCo announces new $15B share repurchase program - The company also announced a new share repurchase program providing for the repurchase of up to $15B of PepsiCo common stock commencing on July 1, 2018 and expiring on June 30, 2021. This will replace the $12B repurchase program which commenced on July 1, 2015 and expires on June 30, 2018.

06:04 EDT PepsiCo announces 15% increase in annualized dividend per share to $3.71 - The company announced a 15% increase in its annualized dividend per share to $3.71 from $3.22 per share, effective with the dividend expected to be paid in June 2018. This represents the company's 46th consecutive annual dividend per share increase. Total dividends to shareholders are expected to be approximately $5B and share repurchases are expected to be approximately $2B.

06:03 EDT PepsiCo reports Q4 adjusted EPS $1.31, consensus $1.30 - Reports Q4 revenue $19.53B, consensus $19.39B. "We are pleased with our performance for the fourth quarter and full year 2017. We met or exceeded most of the financial goals we set out at the beginning of the year. We delivered these results in the midst of a dynamic retail environment and rapidly shifting consumer landscape," said Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi. "The provisions of recently enacted tax legislation are expected to result in lower income taxes in 2018 for our operations in the United States, our largest market. We expect the benefits of the TCJ Act will enable us to further strengthen our business by enhancing the skills of our front line associates to ready them for the future; adding new digital and ecommerce capabilities to become more competitive; accelerating capital investments to add manufacturing capacity and make our operations more efficient; and enhancing cash returns to our shareholders over time. "As a reflection of our confidence in the growth prospects for our business, we expect to deliver 9percent growth in core constant currency earnings per share in 2018 and we announced today a 15 percent increase in our annualized dividend per share beginning with the June 2018 payment, representing our 46th consecutive annual increase."

06:02 EDT Sequans reports cash and equivalentes $3.3M at December 31 - Cash, cash equivalents and short-term deposit at December 31, 2017 totaled $3.3M compared to $13.3M at September 30, 2017. The cash balance does not reflect the $20.9M of net proceeds from the January 2018 public offering.

05:35 EDT Sina sees FY18 revenue $2.23B-$2.38B, consensus $2.15B

05:21 EDT Sandoz announces FDA approval, launch of Glatopa 40 mg/mL 3 times-a-week option - Sandoz, a Novartis (NVS) division, announced the FDA approval and launch of Glatopa 40 mg/mL. Glatopa 40 mg/mL is FDA-approved as a fully-substitutable, AP-rated generic version of Copaxone 40 mg/mL three times-a-week therapy for relapsing forms of multiple sclerosis, or MS. Glatopa was developed under a collaboration agreement between Momenta Pharmaceuticals (MNTA) and Sandoz and is produced in the U.S.

05:11 EDT GM Korea announces first step in restructuring, closing Gunsan plant - GM Korea announced that it will cease production and close its Gunsan plant by the end of May. The Gunsan facility has been increasingly underutilized, running at about 20% of capacity over the past three years, making continued operations unsustainable. This announcement occurs after a careful review of the company's operations, which have sustained significant losses for the past several years. GM has been aggressively addressing underperforming businesses globally, and is now focused on finding a solution for its South Korean operations. The company has proposed to its key stakeholders - including its labor union, the South Korean Government and key GM Korea shareholders - a concrete plan to stay in the country and turn the business around that requires the full support of all parties. The proposal includes significant product-related investments in South Korea and would preserve thousands of jobs. As a result of this action, GM expects to take charges of up to $850M, including approximately $475M of non-cash asset impairments and up to $375M of primarily employee-related cash expenses. Substantially all of these charges will be recorded by the end of the second quarter of 2018, and will be treated as special and excluded from the company's EBIT-adjusted and EPS-diluted-adjusted results.