Stockwinners Market Radar for February 20, 2018 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

18:44 EDT Aegean Marine to acquire H.E.C. Europe for approximately $367M - Aegean Marine is pleased to announce that today it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all of the outstanding share capital of H.E.C. Europe Limited, the parent company of Hellenic Environmental Center S.A. and a group of companies that together provide global port reception facilities services, from the shareholders of H.E.C., for aggregate consideration of approximately $367M, including the assumption of certain indebtedness, which consideration is payable in the form of a combination of debt, the assignment of certain accounts receivables, cash and shares of Aegean common stock, which will represent approximately 33% of the issued and outstanding common stock of Aegean after giving effect to the issuance. The Sellers are companies owned and controlled by Dimitris Melisanidis and certain members of his family, and members of the Agiostratitis family. Aegean expects the acquisition, which results from several months of negotiations, to be immediately accretive to adjusted earnings per share in year one. The acquisition was unanimously approved by the Aegean Board upon the recommendation of a special committee of independent directors. In making its recommendation, the Special Independent Committee consulted with its independent financial advisor, Clarksons Platou Securities and outside legal counsel. The acquisition does not require the approval of Aegean's shareholders. Aegean expects the acquisition to be immediately accretive to adjusted EPS in year one. Post-closing of the transaction, expected additional 2018E Revenues will amount to approximately $60M-$65M and 2018E EBITDA will amount to approximately $35M-$40M, which assumes timely closing of the transaction and completion of targeted acquisitions in 2018. In addition, Aegean expects to appoint one additional independent director to the Aegean Board, effective as of the closing of the acquisition, creating an eight member Board of Directors.

18:22 EDT Potlatch, Deltic Timber completer merger, change name to PotlatchDeltic - PotlatchDeltic announced the successful completion of the previously announced merger of Potlatch (PCH) with Deltic Timber (DEL) in an all-stock transaction, creating a leading domestic timberland owner and top-tier wood products manufacturer. All closing conditions for the deal have been met. The combined company has changed its name to PotlatchDeltic Corporation and its shares will trade on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker "PCH."

17:38 EDT Hain Celestial says uniquely positioned to capture growth from millenials

17:23 EDT Hain Celestial will look at divestitures and small acquisitions - The company is presenting at CAGNY Conference.

17:15 EDT Devon Energy sees accelerating growth in Delaware Basin in early FY18 - The company states: "In early 2018, production growth has accelerated in the company's Delaware Basin and STACK assets, with current daily rates from these assets approximating 195,000 oil-equivalent barrels per day. The combined daily production rates from these two franchise growth assets represent greater than a 10% increase compared to the fourth quarter of 2017 and nearly a 20% increase compared to the full-year 2017 average. The substantial increase in daily production is driven by higher operated completion activity in the Delaware Basin and tie-in of more than 50 non-operated wells in the STACK around year end. In aggregate, these two high-growth assets remain on plan to increase oil production by greater than 35% in 2018 compared to 2017."

17:13 EDT Devon Energy Three-year Outlook sees $2.5B in free cash flow through FY20

17:02 EDT MSA Safety expects tailwind from U.S. tax reform during FY18 - The company said, "As we look ahead to 2018, we are highly focused on generating revenue growth and investing in the programs, people and technology that will help us reach our growth and profitability targets. With an expected tailwind from U.S. tax reform, combined with healthy conditions in our end markets and a strong balance sheet, we are well positioned to create value for our stakeholders in 2018 and beyond," he concluded.

16:50 EDT Newfield Exploration sees FY18 total domestiv production 170mboepd-183mboepd - Sees total CAPEX $1,300B compared to $1,153B in FY17.

16:43 EDT American Water sees FY18 dividend 'at top of long-term EPS CAGR range'

16:36 EDT PNM Resources narrows FY19 EPS view to $2.04-$2.16 from $2.00-$2.16

16:35 EDT Mindbody acquires FitMetrix, terms not disclosed - Mindbody announced the acquisition of FitMetrix, the creator of performance tracking solutions designed to help wellness businesses increase retention, and provide wellness seekers with an engaging, more interactive fitness experience.

16:32 EDT Foot Locker raises dividend 11% to 34.5c - Foot Locker announced that its Board of Directors authorized two capital allocation initiatives to both sustain meaningful investment in the business and reward long-term shareholders. First, its Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend on the Company's common stock of 34.5 per share, which will be payable on May 4 to shareholders of record on April 20. The 11% increase in the dividend is the eighth consecutive year with a dividend increase in the 10% range and is equivalent to an annualized rate of $1.38 per share.

16:32 EDT Ditech names Jeffrey Baker interim CEO and President - Ditech Holding announced that Jeffrey Baker has been appointed interim CEO and President of Ditech Holding, effective immediately. Baker succeeds Anthony N. Renzi, who has left the company. Baker will also continue to serve as President of Reverse Mortgage Solutions, but will no longer have the title of COO of the Company. The Company is continuing its previously announced process to identify and evaluate internal and external candidates to serve as permanent CEO, and has engaged Heidrick & Struggles, an executive search firm, to assist the Company with the process.

16:29 EDT NuVasive's SpineTRACK Registry receives QCDR designation - NuVasive announced that the Company's SpineTRACK Registry has received the designation of Qualified Clinical Data Registry, or QCDR, by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, for the 2018 Merit-based Incentive Payment System, or MIPS, reporting year. As a result, SpineTRACK participants can now use the platform to earn Medicare payment incentives. The SpineTRACK Registry is a NuVasive-sponsored prospective, multicenter, observational data collection quality improvement tool established in 2011.

16:27 EDT Flagstar Bank to acquire mortgage warehouse loan portfolio from Santander Bank - Flagstar Bancorp (FBC) announced that its wholly owned subsidiary Flagstar Bank, FSB, has signed a definitive agreement to purchase a mortgage warehouse loan portfolio from Santander Bank (SAN). As part of this transaction, Flagstar will hire the existing relationship managers, adding depth and experience to its warehouse business. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2018.

16:25 EDT Univar, Cargill reach agreement for select Food Ingredients business units - Univar has entered into a strategic long-term agreement with Cargill's Food Ingredients & Bio Industrial business in the United States and Canada. Customers will enjoy the combined value of Cargill's respected product lines and Univar's extensive distribution network and access to food innovators.

16:19 EDT Evans Bancorp raises semi-annual dividend 15% to 46c per share - Evans Bancorp announced that its board declared a cash dividend of 46c per share on its outstanding common stock. This semi-annual dividend represents a $0.06, or 15%, increase from its previous semi-annual dividend paid in October 2017. The dividend is payable on April 3, 2018 to shareholders of record as of March 13, 2018.

16:17 EDT ServisFirst increases quarterly dividend by 120% - ServisFirst Bancshares, the holding company for ServisFirst Bank, announced that its board raised the company's quarterly cash dividend to 11c per share from 5c per share. The dividend is payable on April 13 to stockholders of record as of April 2.

16:15 EDT QTS Realty Trust increases dividend 5.1% to 41c - QTS Realty Trust announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a cash dividend of 41c per share on its common stock for the Q1. The 41c per share dividend is payable on April 5 to common stockholders of record at the close of business on March 22. The 41c per share dividend rate represents an increase of 5.1% over the 2017 quarterly per share dividend rate of 39c per share

16:12 EDT Hackett Group announces annual dividend increase of 13% - Hackett Group announced the company's board of directors authorized a 13% increase in its annual dividend to 34c from 30c per share, to be paid semi-annually.

16:10 EDT Matson sees FY18 EBITDA below he $296.0M achieved in FY17 - The Company expects flat-to-modest volume growth in 2018, reflecting a growing Hawaii economy and stable market share. For 2018, the Company expects pricing to remain as favorable as 2017 and volume to be modestly lower compared to the levels achieved in 2017. For 2018, the Company expects a continued heightened competitive environment and lower volume when compared to levels achieved in 2017. The Company expects FY18 Ocean Transportation operating income to approximate the level achieved in 2017. For the FY18 the Company expects Logistics operating income to increase modestly compared to the level achieved in 2017. For the FY18, the Company expects depreciation and amortization expense to be approximately $135M, inclusive of dry-docking amortization of approximately $36M. The Company expects interest expense for the FY18 to be approximately $22M. For the FY18 the Company expects its effective tax rate to be approximately 28%, which is based on the Company's initial analysis of the Tax Act and is subject to change based on guidance issued by the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Department of the Treasury as well as clarifications of state tax law. For the FY18, the Company expects to make maintenance capital expenditure payments of approximately $68M vessel construction expenditures of approximately $436M, and dry-docking payments of approximately $18M.

16:07 EDT Quotient announces sale and leaseback of Edinburgh facility - Quotient announced it has entered into definitive agreements for the sale and leaseback of its recently completed Biocampus facility located near Edinburgh, Scotland.Biocampus is a state-of-the-art facility designed to house Quotient's rapidly growing liquid reagent manufacturing operations, research and development laboratories and related management offices. These activities are currently spread over three sites. The Biocampus facility was designed and built with the support of Scottish Enterprise. Under the terms of the definitive sale and leaseback agreements, Quotient will receive gross proceeds from the sale totaling GBP 14.95 million, or $20.9 million. After deducting the rental deposit required under the lease and selling costs, net proceeds available to the Company for working capital purposes will be approximately GBP 10.9 million, or $15.3 million. In return, Quotient has entered into a 35-year lease over the Biocampus facility. Completion of the sale and commencement of the lease is expected on March 16, 2018.

16:06 EDT Boyd Gaming sees FY18 adjusted EBITDA $600M-$620M - This guidance includes the anticipated impact of a new competitor near Blue Chip in Indiana. It does not include any contributions from the company's pending acquisitions.

16:02 EDT Innophos Holdings names Robert Sklans as Chief Human Resources Officer - Innophos Holding announced that the Board of Directors has appointed Robert Sklans as SVP, Chief Human Resources Officer. Sklans will have responsibility for driving the Company's global human resources strategy and will report to Innophos' Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Kim Ann Mink, Ph.D. He will also become a member of the Company's Executive Leadership Council.

15:04 EDT FirstEnergy announces CFO transition, other senior management changes - James Pearson, currently executive VP and CFO, becomes executive VP, Finance Steven Strah, currently senior VP and president, FirstEnergy Utilities, becomes senior VP and CFO, reporting to Pearson. He will oversee Accounting, Corporate Risk, Internal Auditing, Investor Relations and Treasury. Jason Lisowski, controller and treasurer, FirstEnergy Solutions, becomes VP, controller and Chief Accounting Officer, reporting to Strah. Lisowski will be responsible for the controller, tax, and accounting functions across FirstEnergy. He joined the company in 2004 and was named to his current position in 2017.

13:40 EDT Mondelez says 'well-positioned' in improving categories - CFO Brian Gladden says company should be growing faster. Says 2018 will be "another year of heavy lifting for the supply chain." Says continues to identify incremental opportunities to reduce costs. Says cost efficiencies will continue to be fundamental part of playbook. Expects Keurig/Dr. Pepper Snapple (DPS) deal to be accretive to earnings. Expects effective tax rate to remain in the low to mid 20's. Says confident in commitment to deliver about $2.8B in FCF in 2018.

13:14 EDT Marcus & Millichap division brokers $74M property sale in Ventura, CA - Marcus & Millichap announced its Institutional Property Advisors division closed the sale of Via Ventura, a 192-unit apartment complex in Ventura, California. The property sold for $74M, which equates to $385,417 per unit, the highest price per unit for a multifamily asset in the city of Ventura.

13:03 EDT Xerox: Combination with Fuji Xerox 'clearly the superior path forward'

13:02 EDT Xerox: Combining with Fuji Xerox to create 'global industry leader' - Xerox issued the following statement in response to the letter released by Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason on February 20: "Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason's letter is consistent with their misguided campaign to undermine Xerox's combination with Fuji Xerox. The Xerox Board and management team evaluated a range of strategic options for the company and determined that the combination with Fuji Xerox is clearly the superior path forward for Xerox. Combining with Fuji Xerox will create a global industry leader that leverages the respective strengths of Xerox and Fuji Xerox, maximizes the new company's ability to innovate and compete in today's market, and unlocks trapped value by eliminating duplicative efforts between the existing joint venture partners. The result is a significant opportunity for shareholders to realize long-term, sustainable value as holders of a stronger company, in addition to receiving the near-term substantial dividend payment at closing. The Xerox Board and management team remain focused on delivering value for shareholders through this transaction and the ongoing improvement of our business. We will continue to engage directly with our shareholders on the merits of the transaction."

12:48 EDT Hub Group will partner with the Blockchain in Transportation Alliance - Hub Group announced it will partner with the Blockchain in Transportation Alliance, BiTA. Since its inception in 2017, BiTA has endeavored to unite the foremost leaders in the trucking industry to establish a blockchain standards framework and drive its adoption and advancement. By partnering with BiTA, Hub Group will join a growing consortium of tech and transportation executives dedicated to driving blockchain applications through education, research and training. "The understanding of Blockchain's impact in our industry is at a very nascent state," said Vava Dimond, Chief Information Officer of Hub Group. "A growing number of companies are identifying compelling use cases beyond solving the traditional challenges of complex supply chains. We're excited to fully explore how its applications may enhance our own service offerings, or how we can participate in our customers' use of the technology. Joining BiTA means we can help create blockchain standards as well as collaborate on industry applications that will help shape the future of our industry."

12:33 EDT Toyota recalls some Sequoia and Tundra vehicles - Toyota Motor North America announced that it is conducting separate safety recalls in the U.S. of approximately 8,800 Model Year 2017 Tundra and approximately 65,000 Model Year 2018 Sequoia and Tundra vehicles. Reference Link

11:42 EDT Snap slides after Citi says sell on redesign concerns - Shares of Snap (SNAP) are sliding after Citi analyst Mark May downgraded the stock to Sell from Neutral, citing negative pushback against Snapchat's redesign that could result in a decline in users and user engagement, and may negatively impact financial results. SELL SNAP: In a research note to investors, Citi's May downgraded Snap to Sell from Neutral and lowered his price target on the shares to $14 from $18. The analyst argued that while the recent redesign of its flagship app could produce positive long-term benefits, the significant jump in negative app reviews since the redesign was pushed out a few weeks, which could result in a decline in users and user engagement, and could negatively impact financial results. Additionally, he noted that the near-term transition of its creative ad tools to self-service may pressure pricing and create additional revenue headwind, and possible estimate risk. Despite 10% revenue upside in the fourth quarter and 72% year over year revenue growth, Snap's adjusted EBITDA loss and negative free cash flow both worsened year over year, he pointed out, adding that its current valuation of 20 times forward revenue is highest among his coverage universe. WHAT'S NOTABLE: Over the weekend, Recode reported that Snap CEO Evan Spiegel sold about 2.7M shares of stock, worth over $50M. The sale was a small amount of the executive's overall holdings at a little more than 1%, the report noted, adding that it is not uncommon for public company executives to sell stock. Spiegel's sale was his first since the company went public. PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, shares of Snap have dropped more than 4% to $19.55.

11:04 EDT Teva announces exclusive launch of two strengths of generic Solodyn in U.S. - Teva Pharmaceutical Industries announced the exclusive launch of two strengths of a generic version of Solodyn, minocycline HCl, Extended Release Tablets, 65 and 115 mg, in the U.S. Minocycline Hydrochloride Extended-Release Tablets are a tetracycline-class drug indicated to treat only inflammatory lesions of non-nodular moderate to severe acne vulgaris in patients 12 years of age and older.

10:52 EDT Nicholas Financial names Chad Steinorth interim CFO - Nicholas Financial announced that Chad Steinorth will be rejoining the company as VP and interim CFO effective on or before March 1, 2018. Steinorth originally spent 13 years with Nicholas Financial from November 1993 to November 2006, holding several positions including controller and VP of finance. Steinorth most recently served as VP of finance at Platinum Auto Finance. Steinorth will serve as the interim CFO while the company completes a search for a permanent replacement. Once that replacement is named and installed, Steinorth will remain with the company and assist with many other special projects and initiatives.

10:39 EDT Barington/Hilco Acquisition enters letter of intent with Papa Gino's parent - In a regulatory filing earlier, Barington/Hilco Acquisition Corp. disclosed that on February 14 the company and its partners entered into a letter of intent with Specialty Brands Holdings. Under the terms of the LOI, SBH has agreed in principle to sell 100% of the capital stock of PGHC Holdings, Inc., a Delaware corporation that is a holding company that owns 100% of the capital stock of Papa Gino's Holding Corp., which together with its direct and indirect subsidiaries, including Papa Gino's, Inc., owns, operates and franchises 148 company owned pizzeria restaurants and one venue licensee, under the trade name Papa Gino's and 93 company owned sandwich restaurants, 31 franchised locations and three venue licensees under the trade name, D'Angelo's; in each case, throughout New England. The contemplated acquisition of the Company's capital stock is intended to occur in two separate closings. At the first closing, contemplated to occur on or before April 30, 2018, Holdings shall pay to the Seller the sum of $17.5M in cash, less the sum of $1.0M, representing a contract deposit to be paid by Holdings simultaneous with the execution of the Agreement, and the amount of the company's transaction expenses, including existing contractually required employee sale/retention bonuses and legal and other professional fees and expenses, which will be paid directly by Holdings. The second closing shall occur on a date which shall be not later than 90 days following receipt of the audited consolidated financial statements of the company, Papa Gino's and its direct and indirect subsidiaries for the two fiscal years ended February 2017 and the ten months ending December 31, 2017. At the second closing, BHAC shall acquire from Holdings 100% of the company shares. As an additional payment of the Purchase Price, BHAC shall issue a to the senior secured lenders for the Seller a total of 500,000 shares of the Common Stock of BHAC, having an indicative value of $10.82 per share. In the event that, for any reason, other than the inability to audit the Company Group's financial statements for the year ended February 25, 2018, BHAC shall not issue the BHAC Shares, then and in such event Holdings shall be obligated to pay in cash an additional $5,410,000.

10:25 EDT Helix Energy expects 2018 to be a 'meaningfully better' year than 2017 - Says assuming benefits from Siem Helix 1 & Siem Helix 2 operations in Brazil. Says Siem Helix 1 is forecasted to incur some downtime as a result of 17 day scheduled maintenance in 2Q18. Says Q4000 has backlog into 2Q18. Says Q5000 forecasted work for BP for 270 days, out of service approximately 21 days for regulatory underwater inspection in 1Q18. Sees Robotics segment improving through reduction in charter vessel fleet with return of Deep Cygnus in 1Q18 and increased trenching work. Expects significant improvement in Robotics starting in Q2. Expects continued strengthening of North Sea Market. Comments taken from Q4 earnings conference call.

10:20 EDT Coca-Cola says has clear strategy on taxation - Says food and beverage, consumer products industry will be subject to more regulation.

10:08 EDT Eros International trading resumes

10:05 EDT Coca-Cola CEO says believes company has reached inflection point - Comment taken from the Consumer Analyst Group of New York 2018 Conference.

10:00 EDT Fogo de Chao trading resumes

09:57 EDT Reliance Industries to acquire 5% stake in Eros International for $15 per share - Reliance Industries Limited and Eros International announced that RIL, through a subsidiary, has agreed to subscribe to a 5% equity stake in NYSE listed Eros at a price of $15.00 per share, which represents an 18% premium to last closing price. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory and other approvals. Furthermore, RIL and Eros International Media Limited announced that they have agreed to partner in India to jointly produce and consolidate content from across India. The parties will equally invest up to approximately $150M to produce and acquire Indian films and digital originals across all languages. In addition, it was announced that Jyoti Deshpande, Group CEO and MD of Eros will be stepping down from her Executive role after more than 17 years in Eros and move on to head the Media and Entertainment business at RIL as President of the Chairman's Office. Deshpande will start her role at RIL from April 2018, but will continue to remain as a Non-Executive Director on the Board of Eros. Kishore Lulla will resume his position of Group Chairman and CEO of Eros.

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

09:41 EDT Broadcom 'evaluating options' after Qualcomm raised bid for NXP Semiconductors - Broadcom Limited (AVGO) issued a statement regarding Qualcomm's (QCOM) decision to raise its offer price for NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) to $127.50 per share, stating in part: "By raising its offer for NXP from $110 per NXP share to $127.50 per NXP share, Qualcomm's board of directors and management have transferred $4.10 per Qualcomm share from Qualcomm stockholders to NXP stockholders, representing approximately $6.2 billion of value. This revised price for NXP is well beyond what Qualcomm has repeatedly characterized as a "full and fair" price. We believe any responsible board would have seriously engaged with Broadcom regarding Broadcom's value-maximizing offer and the terms of the NXP acquisition, particularly in light of the recent recommendations from ISS and Glass Lewis. Broadcom believes the price increase demonstrates the Qualcomm board's disregard for its fiduciary duty to maximize value for Qualcomm stockholders. In light of Qualcomm's decision to transfer value from its own stockholders to NXP stockholders, Broadcom is evaluating its options."

09:35 EDT Fogo De Chao to be acquired by Rhone for $15.75 per share in cash - Fogo de Chao announced an agreement to be acquired by investment entities affiliated with Rhone Capital. Under the terms of the agreement, Rhone will acquire the Company in an all cash transaction valued at $560M. The Company's stockholders will receive $15.75 per share, representing a 25.5% premium to the closing share price of the Company's shares on February 16, 2018. The transaction is the result of a comprehensive strategic alternatives review process taken by the Company's Board of Directors. The transaction has been unanimously approved by Fogo's Board of Directors. Funds affiliated with Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. and certain of Fogo's directors and executive officers, which collectively hold more than 60 percent of Fogo's shares, have approved the transaction by written consent. The acquisition is expected to be completed during the second calendar quarter of 2018, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

09:31 EDT Sikorsky begins final assembly of first HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter - Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, is beginning final assembly of the first HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter, which will bring unprecedented capability enhancements to the U.S. Air Force rescue mission. The timing of final assembly supports the program's accelerated schedule and positions the aircraft's first flight for the end of this year, two months ahead of schedule. This Engineering Manufacturing Development, or EMD, aircraft is the first to be assembled at the Sikorsky headquarters in Stratford, Connecticut. A total of nine aircraft will be built in Connecticut during the EMD phase of the program four EMD aircraft and five System Demonstration Test Articles, or SDTA. The $1.5B EMD and SDTA contract includes development and integration of the next generation combat rescue helicopter and mission systems, including delivery of nine HH-60W helicopters as well as six aircrew and maintenance training devices, and instructional courseware designed specifically for the HH-60W aircraft.

09:31 EDT Home Depot continues to see housing as a tailwind in 2018

09:29 EDT Guess co-founder relinquishes duties during investigation

09:27 EDT Home Depot says sees FY18 gross margin 'about the same' as 2017 - Sees FY18: operating margin approximately 14.5%; effective tax rate approximately 26%; cash flow approximately $14.1B; approximately $4.1B in share repurchases.

09:22 EDT Eros International trading halted, news pending

09:18 EDT MiMedx down 31% after resuming trading - After resuming trading, MiMedx shares are down $4.46, or 31%, to $10.01 in pre-market trade.

09:16 EDT Pivot3 expands technology partnerships with VMware, Zerto, Redington Value - Pivot3 announced that it has expanded its technology partnerships with Zerto, VMware and Redington Value. These broadening partnerships bring new capabilities to Pivot3's customers by supporting a wider range of use cases on a single infrastructure, including business continuity, workforce mobility and business analytics applications. VMware Horizon 7, the leading platform for virtual desktops and applications, is now available on Pivot3.

09:12 EDT Home Depot says Q4 big ticket sales up 9.8%

09:10 EDT On The Fly: Pre-market Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Home Depot (HD), up 3%... Live Ventures (LIVE), up 4.7%... PGT Innovations (PGTI), down 10.3%... Golden Ocean Group (GOGL), down 7.8%. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Walmart (WMT), down 7.2%... Cracker Barrel (CBRL), down 1%... MGM Resorts (MGM), down 1.7%... Domino's Pizza (DPZ), down 1%... Cooper Tire (CTB), down 4.5%... Kirkland's (KIRK), down 6.2%... HSBC Holdings (HSBC), down 3.9%... DineEquity (DIN), down 4.2%. NOTABLE: Qualcomm (QCOM), down 3% after entering an agreement with NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) to increase purchase price to $127.50 per share. NXP Semiconductors is up 6.2%.

09:07 EDT Home Depot says Q4 online sales up 21%, accounting for 6.7% to total sales

09:07 EDT Home Depot says continues to see 'broad based growth' - Says saw growth in Pro and DIY categories, with Pro outpacing DIY. Says investments in digital have increased traffic. Says seeing "significant growth" in online sales. Comments from Q4 earnings conference call.

09:04 EDT Discover announces new rewards program for Cashback Checking - Discover announces the launch of a new and innovative rewards program for its Cashback Checking product where customers can earn cash back for making everyday debit card purchases. Discover Cashback Checking customers now earn 1% cash back on up to $3,000 in qualifying debit card purchases each month. The new rewards program is one of the many distinctive features that set this product apart in the industry, including no monthly fees, no minimum balances and access to no-fee ATMs in the U.S. Customers can redeem their Checking Cashback Bonus via a credit to their Cashback Checking account or transfer it to a Discover credit card Cashback Bonus account. In addition to the new rewards structure, in which customers earn 1% cash back on up to $3,000 in qualifying debit card purchases each month, the product also offers: No monthly fees, including no minimum opening deposit or balance requirement, No-fee access to over 60,000 Allpoint and MoneyPass ATMs in the U.S., 24/7 customer service from a 100% U.S.-based customer service team, Secure online and mobile access for easy account management, such as depositing checks and viewing account activity and No-fee online bill pay.

09:02 EDT Textainer completes $300M asset backed financing - Textainer announced that Textainer Marine Containers VI Limited, an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, closed a $300M, seven year fixed rate term financing with a lender group comprised of a financial institution and an institutional investor. The facility partially amortizes and the remaining principal is due in full in seven years. The weighted average life of the deal is approximately five years and is secured by a pledge of TMCL VI's intermodal shipping container assets. The proceeds of the financing were used to pay down certain short-term debt.

09:01 EDT Fat Brands names Toni Bianco as president and COO - FAT Brands announces the hiring of Toni M. Bianco as President and COO of Fatburger. As the newest addition to the Fatburger executive team, Toni will work side-by-side with longstanding CEO Andy Wiederhorn to further expand Fatburger's presence worldwide. In addition, after 15 years of outstanding service, former Fatburger President and COO Don Berchtold will be transitioning to a new role as Executive Vice President and Chief Concept Officer for FAT Brands, where he will assist in the development of innovative new concept designs across FAT Brands' portfolio.

08:52 EDT Peoples Bancorp raises quarterly dividend to 13c per share from 11c per share - The board of Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina declared the company's regular cash dividend for Q1 in the amount of 13c per share. This is an increase of 2c per share from the regular quarterly cash dividend paid in Q4 of 2017, of 11c per share after adjusting for the 10% stock dividend paid December 15, 2017. The cash dividend will be paid on March 15, 2018 to shareholders of record on March 5, 2018.

08:46 EDT Thomson Reuters says CEO Jim Smith 'remains under observation' in hospital - Jim Smith, President and CEO of Thomson Reuters remains under observation in a Toronto hospital following what has been diagnosed as an arrhythmia incident on Monday, February 12. Smith's condition is stable and doctors expect a full recovery. It is expected that Smith will be released from the hospital within the next two weeks, followed by a period of further recovery. In his immediate absence, Stephane Bello, Executive Vice President and CFO of Thomson Reuters, continues to oversee Smith's responsibilities alongside his own, in line with the company's practice.

08:43 EDT MiMedx trading halted, news dissemination

08:37 EDT Xenon Pharmaceuticals initiates Phase 1 clinical trial of XEN901 - Xenon Pharmaceuticals announced the initiation of a Phase 1 clinical trial of its proprietary epilepsy product candidate, XEN901, which is an orally administered, small molecule, highly selective Nav1.6 sodium channel inhibitor. The Clinical Trial Application, or CTA, for XEN901 was accepted by the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, or MHRA, in the United Kingdom, and the first subject has now been dosed in the Phase 1 clinical trial.

08:36 EDT Walmart sees ecommerce losses 'about the same' in FY19 vs. FY18 - Walmart CFO Brett Biggs, on the company's Q4 earnings conference call, said the company sees a cash benefit of $2B for FY from tax reform. CEO Doug McMillon sees ecommerce losses "about the same" this year. Says will continue to invest in price.

08:34 EDT Imax announces record $35M global debut of Marvel Studios' Black Panther - IMAX announced that Marvel Studios' Black Panther pounced into IMAX theatres with a record-setting $35M four-day global debut on 676 screens, making it the largest opening ever for an IMAX release in February. Domestically, Black Panther set a new February and Marvel IMAX record, grossing $23.5M in four days on 404 IMAX domestic screens.

08:28 EDT Gladstone announces sale of Arlington, TX $5.6M - Gladstone announced that it sold its 64,000 square foot industrial property located in Arlington, Texas for gross proceeds of $5.6M. The single tenant class C bakery facility was purchased by the tenant. Gladstone Commercial purchased the property in 2005 for $5.3M and upon its exit recognized a levered internal rate of return of approximately 15% on its investment.

08:25 EDT Athenex announces Phase II clinical study results for KX2-391 ointment - Athenex announced that the Phase II clinical study data for KX2-391 for the treatment of actinic keratosis was presented by Dr. Seth Forman of Forward Clinical Trials, Tampa, at the American Academy of Dermatology Annual Meeting on February 17, 2018 in San Diego, California. Actinic keratosis is a common skin condition that is induced through ultra-violet light damage, resulting in patches of thick, scaly or crusty skin. Left untreated, the lesions have risk of progression to squamous cell carcinoma and consequently treatment by a dermatologist is recommended. Actinic keratosis is the most common pre-cancerous condition in dermatology and affects more than 55 million Americans. Actinic keratosis constitutes between 14%-29% of dermatologist visits in the USA. KX2-391, also known as KX-01, is a first-in-class dual Src kinase and tubulin polymerization inhibitor being developed as a topical medicinal product for the treatment of actinic keratosis. This Phase II clinical study aims to determine the activity, safety and pharmacokinetics of KX2-391 ointment 1% in adults with actinic keratosis on the face or scalp. This is an open-label, multicenter study conducted in adults who had 4-8 actinic keratosis lesions within a 25 cm area on the face or scalp. A cohort of subjects was given once daily application for 5 days and was assessed through Day 57 for actinic keratosis lesion counts, local skin reactions, or LSRs, and adverse events, or AEs. LSRs were scored on a scale of 0 to 4. A second cohort of 3-day treatment was enrolled after the 5-day treatment regimen demonstrated activity and safety.

08:20 EDT Delek Logistics, Green Plains Partners announce formation of logistics JV - Delek Logistics Partners (DKL) and Green Plains Partners (GPP) announced the companies have formed DKGP Energy Terminals, or DKGP, a 50/50 joint venture engaging in the light products terminalling business. DKGP signed a membership interest purchase agreement to acquire two light products terminals from an affiliate of American Midstream Partners, L.P. These light products terminals are located in Caddo Mills, Texas and North Little Rock, Arkansas. The total purchase price for these assets is $138.5M in cash. Subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, this transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2018. DKGP will consist of the assets purchased from an affiliate of American Midstream and assets contributed by Delek Logistics, with a total value of approximately $162.5M. Taking into consideration the combination of the assets, synergies and future growth, the joint venture is expected to generate an annualized earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, of approximately $19.2M in 2019. Immediately prior to the closing of the acquisition by the joint venture of the two terminals from American Midstream, Delek Logistics will contribute to the joint venture its North Little Rock, Arkansas terminal with throughput capacity of 17,100 barrels per day and its Greenville tank farm located in Caddo Mills, Texas with approximately 330,000 barrels of aggregate shell capacity, which will be valued at approximately $24M, along with approximately $57.25M in cash. Green Plains Partners will contribute approximately $81.25M in cash to DKGP. The DKGP board will oversee the newly formed joint venture and will appoint an affiliate of Delek Logistics as the operator with day-to-day operational responsibilities for the four terminals.

08:17 EDT Steel Dynamics raises dividend 21% to 18.75c - Steel Dynamics announced that the company's board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 18.75c per common share, a 21% increase over the company's 2017 quarterly rate. The dividend is payable to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 31 and is payable on or about April 13, 2018.

08:16 EDT PTC Therapeutics: FDA's OND denies PTC's appeal of CRL on NDA for ataluren - PTC Therapeutics announced that the Office of New Drugs of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has reiterated the FDA's prior position and denied PTC's appeal of the Complete Response Letter in relation to the New Drug Application for ataluren. In its letter, the Office of New Drugs recommended a possible path forward for the ataluren NDA submission based on the accelerated approval pathway. This would involve a re-submission of an NDA containing the current data on effectiveness of ataluren with new data to be generated on dystrophin production in nonsense mutation Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients' muscles, as quantified by procedures to be agreed upon between PTC and the FDA and using newer technologies. The letter adds that PTC's Study 041, which is currently enrolling, could serve as the confirmatory post-approval trial required in connection with the accelerated approval framework. In a clarification teleconference with the FDA promptly after receiving the letter, PTC indicated its intent to follow the FDA's recommendation and preliminarily discussed methods to collect such dystrophin data and expedite this potential path forward. Based on these interactions, PTC currently intends to maintain patients in the U.S. currently receiving ataluren for nmDMD through an expanded access clinical program during this process.

08:12 EDT DarioHealth to sell Dario Blood Glucose Monitoring System on Amazon.com - DarioHealth (DRIO) announced the launch and first sales of its Dario Blood Glucose Monitoring System on Amazon (AMZN). DarioHealth is committed to offering people with diabetes more access to its product to help them manage the disease. Distribution on Amazon strengthens DarioHealth's online retail presence, as it provides its users and potential clients with additional purchasing and shipping options, including shipping via Amazon Prime, as all fulfillment is being managed by Amazon.

08:11 EDT Fate Therapeutics announces first subject treated with FATE-NK100 - Fate Therapeutics announced that the first subject has been treated in the DIMENSION study of FATE-NK100 for the treatment of advanced solid tumors. The clinical trial is intended to evaluate the safety and determine the maximum dose of FATE-NK100, the company's first-in-class, allogeneic donor-derived adaptive memory natural killer, or NK, cell cancer therapy, when administered as a monotherapy and in combination with trastuzumab or cetuximab, two FDA-approved targeted monoclonal antibody therapies that are widely used today to treat various cancers.

08:10 EDT Menlo Therapeutics Phase 2 study for chronic pruritus published in JAAD - Menlo Therapeutics announced that data assessing the safety and efficacy of serlopitant, the company's NK-1 receptor antagonist, in treating chronic pruritus was published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. The manuscript describes results from the company's phase 2 study, or TCP-101, evaluating the safety and efficacy of serlopitant in patients with chronic pruritus. The 257-patient multi-center, randomized, placebo-controlled, study evaluated treatment with once-daily, orally administered serlopitant 0.25 mg, 1 mg, and 5 mg tablets compared with placebo for 6 weeks. The study was conducted at 25 clinical study sites in the United States. All enrolled patients had severe pruritus as determined by a visual analog scale, or VAS, pruritus score of greater than or equal to 70mm at screening. The study successfully met its primary efficacy endpoint, demonstrating a statistically significant difference in the change from baseline in pruritus, in subjects treated with either 1 mg or 5 mg serlopitant compared with placebo.

08:04 EDT Philip Morris, Scuderia Ferrari partner to advance vision of smoke-free world - Philip Morris International (PM) and Scuderia Ferrari (RACE) have extended their partnership until 2021. Their successful collaboration spans more than 40 years. The partnership will be exclusively focused on advancing the cause of a smoke-free world - a world in which all people who would otherwise continue smoking switch from the most harmful form of nicotine consumption - cigarettes - to scientifically substantiated less harmful alternatives that are smoke-free. Creating global awareness of the opportunity presented by innovation, science and technology to achieve a smoke-free world is of paramount importance. In addition to PMI's unwavering commitment to this goal, it is critical that governments, public health experts, the scientific community and civil society embrace the challenge and help put in place a sensible regulatory plan. The companies said, "Burning tobacco generates smoke and the vast majority of harmful toxicants generally associated with smoking-related diseases. Since we became a public company in 2008, we have spent more than USD 4.5B to develop, substantiate and build manufacturing capacity for a wide portfolio of smoke-free products. In 2017, after only two years since commercialization started, nearly 40% of our worldwide commercial expenditure was dedicated to these innovative products. We are proud that in such a short period, according to our estimates nearly 5M people have already stopped smoking and made the change to the most advanced of our smoke-free products. Our short term ambition is that at least one out of three of our consumers, 40M men and women, will do the same by 2025. With appropriate regulatory support, this number could be much higher by then. We hope today's announced initiative will be an important catalyst.

08:02 EDT Cracker Barrel raises FY18 outlook

08:01 EDT Cracker Barrel reports Q2 comparable restaurant sales growth of 1.1% - Comparable restaurant sales growth of 1.1% and traffic of -0.9% outperformed the casual dining industry.

07:51 EDT MGM Resorts raises quarterly dividend 9% to 12c from 11c per share - The dividend will be payable on March 15 to holders of record on March 9.

07:48 EDT MGM Resorts sees Q1 Las Vegas Strip REVPAR down 4%-6% - CEO continued, "Consistent with our prior guidance, after taking into consideration the tough year-over-year citywide convention comparison and continued construction disruption at Monte Carlo, we expect our Las Vegas Strip REVPAR to decrease 4 to 6 percent, and our Las Vegas Strip net revenues to decrease 3 to 5 percent in the first quarter. As a result, we anticipate that our Las Vegas Strip Adjusted Property EBITDA margins will decline approximately 250 basis points." Murren concluded, "As we look at the underlying fundamentals of our business, the first quarter is not reflective of our outlook for the full year. We remain optimistic about the rest of 2018, driven by the demand we see for our resorts, our strong group and event calendar, and a healthy U.S. economic backdrop, which we believe will drive year-over-year increases in Las Vegas Strip net revenues and profitability. We expect Las Vegas Strip REVPAR for the year to be up a healthy 2 to 4 percent."

07:39 EDT Qualcomm subsidiary and Hatch Entertainment announce collaboration - Qualcomm Datacenter Technologies,a subsidiary of Qualcomm, and Hatch Entertainment announced they will collaborate on delivering next-generation cloud-based gaming experiences on servers based on the Qualcomm Centriq 2400 - the world's first 10nm server processor. Hatch's innovative online streaming delivery model, coupled with the highly scalable 48-core Qualcomm Centriq 2400, offers a disruptive new solution that delivers cloud-based games in real-time and improved economics to users.

07:35 EDT Domino's Pizza reaffirms three to five year outlook - In January, the company reaffirmed its three to five-year outlook as follows: Domestic SSS growth of 3%-6%; International SSS growth of 3%-6%; Net unit growth of 6%-8%; Global retail sales growth of 8%-12%.

07:33 EDT Domino's Pizza raises quarterly dividend to 55c per share - On February 14, the Board of Directors declared a 55c per share quarterly dividend for shareholders of record as of March 15, to be paid on March 30. This represents an increase of approximately 20% over the previous quarterly dividend amount.

07:32 EDT Domino's Pizza reports Q4 International same store sales growth of 2.5%

07:30 EDT Voyager Therapeutics trading resumes

07:29 EDT Recro Pharma announces publication of supportive Phase II IV meloxicam - Recro Pharma announced the publication of previously reported Phase II clinical data for intravenous, or IV, meloxicam for the treatment of pain following bunionectomy surgery. The article, titled "Evaluation of the safety and efficacy of an intravenous nanocrystal formulation of meloxicam in the management of moderate-to-severe pain after bunionectomy," was published online in the Journal of Pain Research.

07:26 EDT Melinta Therapeutics submits MAA for delafloxacin in Argentina - Melinta Therapeutics announced that Eurofarma Laboratorios has submitted a marketing authorization application for delafloxacin in Argentina with the Ministry of Health's National Administration of Drugs, Foods and Medical Technology. Eurofarma Laboratorios is Melinta's commercialization and distribution partner for all countries in South and Central America and the Caribbean, including Argentina. The proposed indication for delafloxacin in Argentina is for the treatment of adult patients with acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections.

07:24 EDT Noble Midstream announces updated long-term outlook through 2022 - Long-Term Outlook Highlights include: Extension of the outlook period by two years to 2022, now providing five forward looking years 20%; DPU annual growth target excluding drop downs extended through 2022; DCF coverage exceeding 1.3x in each year through 2022; Portfolio positioned for self-funding, with potential for DCF to fund approximately 90% of distributions and capex cumulatively from 2019 - 2022E in the base organic plan; Return on average capital employed, ROACE2, of between 13 - 16%; Gathering business represents approximately 76% of cumulative net EBITDA between 2019-2022E; Reaffirming target of 50% Partnership EBITDA contribution from the Permian by the end of 2020.

07:23 EDT DBV drops 10% after Aimmune peanut study meets endpoint - Shares of DBV Technologies (DBVT) are down 10%, or $2.64, to $23.22 in premarket trading after Aimmune (AIMT) announced that its Phase III peanut allergy study met its primary endpoint.

07:17 EDT Most Albertsons pharmacies to be rebranded as Rite Aid

07:15 EDT Takeda announces collaboration agreement with Wave Live Sciences - Takeda Pharmaceutical (TKPYY) announced that it has entered into a research, development and commercial collaboration and multi-program option agreement with Wave Life Sciences Ltd. (WVE) to develop antisense oligonucleotides for genetically-defined neurological diseases. This partnership supports Takeda's externalization strategy, which focuses on collaborations that complement its internal pipeline of programs, and represents the next generation of innovative therapies to treat diseases with no current treatment options. The first component of the collaboration with Wave will focus on programs targeting Huntington's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, frontotemporal dementia and spinocerebellar ataxia type 3. Wave is developing oligonucleotide therapeutics to target diseases that have been historically difficult to treat with small molecules or biologics. Their molecules are designed to reduce the expression of disease-promoting proteins or to transform the production of dysfunctional mutant proteins into the production of functional proteins, with the potential of treating the targeted disease. The first component of this collaboration will investigate the following potential therapies with the option to co-develop and co-commercialize after demonstration of clinical proof of mechanism: WVE-120101 and WVE-120102, which selectively target mutant huntingtin and are currently in Phase 1b/2a clinical trials for the treatment of HD; WVE-3972-01, which targets C9ORF72 and is expected to be evaluated in clinical studies for the treatment of ALS and FTD beginning in Q4 2018; Program targeting ATXN3 for the treatment of SCA3. The second component of the collaboration provides Takeda with the rights to exclusively license multiple preclinical programs targeting other neurological disorders including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. At any one time during a four-year term, the companies may collaborate on up to six preclinical programs.

07:13 EDT Garmin acquires Trigenic, terms not disclosed - Garmin Ltd. announced that it has acquired Trigentic AB, a privately-held provider of intelligent products, solutions and services in the areas of embedded systems, power supply and power distribution for the marine and recreational vehicle market. The Trigentic components are marketed and sold under the EmpirBus brand. Trigentic is headquartered near Gothenburg, Sweden. Garmin plans to retain the facility and combine the talent of both teams to serve the marine market. Financial terms of the acquisition will not be released.

07:12 EDT Kimco sees further opportunity from Albertsons Companies investment - Kimco Realty Corp (KIM) confirms its participation as an investor in connection with today's announced execution of a definitive agreement under which Albertsons Companies will acquire all outstanding shares of Rite Aid Corporation (RAD). Following the close of the transaction, the combined company is expected to trade on the New York Stock Exchange. The merger is expected to close early in the second half of 2018, subject to the approval of Rite Aid's shareholders, regulatory approvals, and other customary closing conditions. "Today's announced agreement between Albertsons and Rite Aid will result in a stronger, more diversified company that combines health, wellness and convenience to deliver an enhanced customer experience, demonstrating what we believe is the future of retail," stated Conor Flynn, Kimco's CEO. "Additionally, this merger underscores how we continue to benefit from our highly successful investment in Albertsons. Upon completion, we will have a clear indication of the resulting market value of our stake." Flynn continued, "Beyond the strong returns we have already generated, we will have greater flexibility and liquidity with our investment via the public markets." As of December 31, 2017, Kimco maintains a 9.74 percent ownership interest in the existing Albertsons, with a cumulative investment of $140 million that is on the cost method of accounting. Once the merger transaction is consummated, the company will treat this investment as a marketable security with the resulting change in market value reflected in the company's statement of operations, with proceeds from a potential future sale of the company's investment accretive to cash flow. Should Kimco decide to monetize its investment in the coming years, consistent with its 2020 Vision, it would expect to utilize proceeds to further reduce leverage, fund future development and redevelopment activity, or buy back shares under the recently authorized stock repurchase program.

07:11 EDT Brown & Brown acquires assets of yourPFO Consulting - Brown & Brown announced that Brown & Brown of New York, a subsidiary of Brown & Brown, has acquired substantially all of the assets of yourPFO Consulting. yourPFO represents many large company clients in the design and implementation of life insurance and employee benefits plans and has annual revenues of approximately $4.5M. The yourPFO team will become part of the Westchester, New York profit center, which operates under the leadership of Don McGowan, Regional President of Brown & Brown.

07:11 EDT Crestwood Equity sees FY18 adjusted EBITDA $390M-$420M - Crestwood's 2018 guidance is provided as net income of $35M to $65M, Adjusted EBITDA of $390M to $420M, distributable cash flow available to common unitholders of $195M to $225M, full-year 2018 coverage ratio of 1.2x to 1.3x, full-year 2018 leverage ratio between 4.0x and 4.5x, frowth project capital spending and joint venture contributions in the range of $250M to $300M and maintenance capital spending in the range of $15M to $20M. Robert T. Halpin, EVP and CFO commented, "2017 marked another year of operational and financial execution for Crestwood as we delivered results at the upper end of our increased financial guidance for Adjusted EBITDA and distributable cash flow and achieved our long-term targets for leverage and coverage. Looking into 2018, Crestwood remains committed to maintaining our targeted distribution coverage and leverage goals as we complete our organic growth projects in the Bakken and Delaware Basin. Our growth capital is fully funded with excess cash flow, revolver borrowings and capital from joint venture partners, and as a result, we do not expect to access the equity markets to fund our current project backlog. As expected, 2017 was a trough year for cash flow and as we execute our business plan, we expect 2018 cash flow will be approximately 10% above 2017, adjusted for the divestiture of US Salt. As we bring our highly accretive organic capital projects online we anticipate significant cash flow ramps in the latter half of 2018 and 2019 and believe Crestwood will be in a position to re-evaluate its distribution growth objectives in the second half 2018."

07:07 EDT Ionis Pharmaceuticals licences new antisense drug to AstraZeneca - Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS) announced that it has licensed IONIS-AZ5-2.5 (AZD2373) to the global, science-led biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca (AZN). IONIS-AZ5-2.5 is a Generation 2.5 antisense drug, discovered by Ionis and designed to inhibit an undisclosed target to treat a genetically associated form of kidney disease. AstraZeneca will be responsible for developing and commercializing IONIS-AZ5-2.5. Ionis will receive a $30M upfront payment from AstraZeneca for IONIS-AZ5-2.5 and may also receive up to $300M in additional development and regulatory milestone payments and tiered, low double-digit royalties from sales of this potential new medicine.

07:05 EDT Cooper Tire sees unit volume growth in 2018 vs. 2017 - Management expectations for 2018 include: Unit volume growth compared to 2017. Full year operating profit margin near the low end of the 9 to 11 percent range, with improvement throughout the year following a first quarter which is expected to be below that range. The adoption of Accounting Standards Update 2017-07 - Compensation - Retirement Benefits, which became effective January 1, 2018, will result in the reclassification of net periodic benefit costs, excluding service costs, outside of operating profit to other pension costs. In 2018, the company expects this to be approximately $28 million. Effective tax rate in a range between 23 and 26 percent. The decrease in the effective tax rate from 2017 is driven by the reduced U.S. tax rate as a result of the Tax Act and the predominance of the company's earnings in the U.S. The 23 to 26 percent range does not include the discrete impact of any tax adjustments that may be recorded during the 2018 measurement period prescribed under SAB 118 as a result of the Tax Act. Capital expenditures to range between $215 and $235 million.

07:04 EDT Computer Task Group on track to achieve $400M in revenue by FY19 - CTG has made significant progress on its three-year strategic plan as the guidance for 2018 includes revenue ranging from $340M-$360M, GAAP diluted EPS 25c-37c. The plan, announced in early 2017, established financial performance targets to be reached by year-end 2019, including: annual revenue of $400M; operating margin ranging from 3.0% to 3.5%; diluted EPS between 45c-55c. The plan outlines a series of objectives designed to drive fundamental improvement in specific areas of the business, including business development, healthcare, Europe, staffing, solutions offerings and cost structure. Specific achievements against those objectives include: added several key executives to bolster CTG's business development team and enhance its effectiveness across the organization as part of the Company's intense focus on expanding solutions offerings; expanding the selling and delivery of existing solutions across all lines of business; and maintaining disciplined cost management and limiting or reducing fixed costs over the last year; and entering into new client engagements, demonstrating the Company's ability to convert its robust pipeline of opportunities.

07:03 EDT Rite Aid CEO John Standley to become CEO of combined Rite Aid, Albertsons - Albertsons Companies and Rite Aid Corporation (RAD) announced a definitive merger agreement under which privately held Albertsons Companies will merge with publicly traded Rite Aid. Under the terms of the agreement, in exchange for every 10 shares of Rite Aid common stock, Rite Aid shareholders will have the right to elect to receive either (i) one share of Albertsons Companies common stock plus approximately $1.83 in cash or (ii) 1.079 shares of Albertsons Companies stock. Depending upon the results of cash elections, upon closing of the merger, shareholders of Rite Aid will own a 28.0 percent to 29.6 percent stake in the combined company, and current Albertsons Companies shareholders will own a 70.4 percent to 72.0 percent stake in the combined company on a fully diluted basis. Immediately following completion of the merger and assuming that all Rite Aid shareholders elect to receive shares plus cash, Albertsons Companies will have approximately 392.9 million shares outstanding on a pro forma and fully diluted basis. Following the close of the transaction and the share exchange, Albertsons Companies' shares are expected to trade on the New York Stock Exchange. Albertsons Companies is backed by an investment consortium led by Cerberus Capital Management, L.P., which also includes Kimco Realty Corporation (KIM), Klaff Realty LP, Lubert-Adler Partners LP, and Schottenstein Stores Corporation. Current Rite Aid Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Standley will become CEO of the combined company, with current Albertsons Companies Chairman and CEO Bob Miller serving as Chairman. The combined company is expected to be comprised of leadership from both companies and will be dual headquartered in Boise, Idaho, and Camp Hill, Pennsylvania. The name of the combined company will be determined by transaction close. The integrated company will operate approximately 4,900 locations, 4,350 pharmacy counters, and 320 clinics across 38 states and Washington, D.C., serving 40+ million customers per week. Most Albertsons Companies pharmacies will be rebranded as Rite Aid, and the company will continue to operate Rite Aid stand-alone pharmacies. The combined company expects to deliver annual run-rate cost synergies of $375 million in approximately three years and access potential annual revenue opportunities of $3.6 billion. Over 60 percent of the cost synergies are expected to be realized within the first two years post-close. Identified revenue opportunities primarily include partnering with payors, including Rite Aid's PBM, EnvisionRx, through preferred networks to drive additional high-value customers, connecting Rite Aid's reliable pharmacy customer base to Albertsons Companies through loyalty programs and targeted marketing, leveraging Albertsons Companies' grocery capabilities and Rite Aid's pharmacy expertise to enhance the customer offering, and driving traffic through the omni-channel experience. Cost synergies will be achieved primarily through procurement savings, leveraging efficiencies realized by a combined supply chain, combined distribution and fulfillment channels, and leveraging manufacturing capabilities. The board of directors will be comprised of nine directors, four of whom will be named by Albertsons Companies, four of whom will be named by Rite Aid (including John Standley), and one of whom will be a jointly selected director. A majority of the Board will be independent. Lenard Tessler will serve as Lead Director.

07:02 EDT Computer Task Group sees FY18 non-GAAP EPS 30c-42c, consensus 27c - Sees FY18 revenue $340M-$360M, consensus $310.35M

06:58 EDT Voyager Therapeutics trading halted, news pending

06:58 EDT Newmont Mining raises quarterly dividend to 14c per share - Payable on March 22 to holders of record at the close of business on March 8.

06:54 EDT Gilat to deliver multi-million dollar project to deliver broadband in Mexico - Gilat Satellite Networks announces that Hispasat selected Gilat's innovative platform for a multi-million dollar project to provide broadband commercial services in Mexico using Hispasat's Ka HTS capacity of the Amazonas-5 Satellite. A potential of tens of thousands of Gilat's VSATs are estimated to be deployed over the next few years, as Internet Service Providers, or ISPs, ramp up their service. Gilat's SkyEdge II-c, multi-service platform, optimally utilizes the high throughput satellite resources delivering cost efficient bandwidth while providing excellent user experience. The platform was selected to commercialize the full capacity of Hispasat's Amazonas-5 Ka beams over Mexico, enabling Hispasat and its customers to offer a variety of services such as broadband Internet services, WiFi connectivity in semi-urban and rural locations, and mobility applications to government and private sector clients.

06:53 EDT General Mills raises FY18 EPS view to rise 3%-4% from 1%-2% - Sees FY18 sales growth flat, at high end of prior -1% to flat view. At the Consumer Analyst Group of New York conference today, executives of General Mills outlined the company's approach to long-term shareholder value creation and its key priorities for returning to consistent topline growth. Compete Effectively on All Brands, Across All Geographies. This includes excellent execution of consumer marketing campaigns, new product innovation, and in-store merchandising; rapid global idea sharing; and building new capabilities such as E-commerce and strategic revenue management that create advantage and enable future growth. Harmening said that competing effectively and growing in line with category growth would translate to a 1% to 2% organic sales growth opportunity, based on the company's current mix of categories and geographies. Accelerate Differential Growth Platforms. The company is investing to drive differential growth on four key platforms - snack bars, Haagen-Dazs ice cream, Old El Paso Mexican food, and its portfolio of natural and organic food brands - that play in faster-growing categories where General Mills has leading positions. These platforms represented approximately $4B in net sales in fiscal 2017, or 25% of General Mills worldwide net sales, and Harmening said he expects them to grow at a mid single-digit rate or better over the next three years. Reshape the Portfolio for Growth. Portfolio shaping includes adding businesses that enhance the company's growth profile and divesting businesses that are growth dilutive. Harmening said attractive acquisition targets fall into one of three areas: bolt-on plays in existing categories in North America and Europe; businesses that enhance scale in emerging markets such as China, Brazil, or India; and new growth platforms where the company can leverage existing capabilities and create value. Harmening also said the scope of possible divestiture candidates totals roughly 5% of company sales. General Mills has made notable portfolio changes over the years including the acquisition of Annie's in fiscal 2015 and the divestiture of Green Giant in North America in fiscal 2016. Mulligan also provided an update on the company's full-year fiscal 2018 targets: Organic net sales are now expected to be in line with last year, at the high end of the previous range of flat to down 1%. The company continues to see broad-based improvement in topline momentum, including in the U.S., where it grew Nielsen-measured retail sales 1% and gained market share in 6 of its top 9 categories in the latest three months through January. Constant-currency total segment operating profit is now expected to be in a range between down 1 percent and flat, below the prior range of flat to up 1 percent, driven by increased input cost pressure, including freight and logistics costs in North America, and slower-than-expected performance improvement in Brazil. Currency translation is expected to round up to a 1% benefit to full-year total segment operating profit. The full-year fiscal 2018 adjusted effective tax rate is now expected to be approximately 27%. This is 2 percentage points lower than prior guidance, driven by the impact of the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Including the benefit of the lower tax rate, constant-currency adjusted diluted EPS are now expected to increase 3% to 4%, up from previous guidance of a 1% to 2% increase.

06:49 EDT Corindus receives FDA 510(k) clearance for CorPath GRX System - Corindus Vascular Robotics announced that it received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. FDA for use of its CorPath GRX System in peripheral vascular interventions. The CorPath System is the first and only FDA-cleared medical device to bring robotic precision to both percutaneous coronary intervention and peripheral vascular intervention procedures.

06:48 EDT Walmart sees FY19 CapEx approximately $11B

06:47 EDT ChromaDex announces two new collaborative human clinical studies on NIAGEN - ChromaDex announced that two new collaborative human clinical studies on NIAGEN Nicotinamide Riboside have registered and are now underway at the University of Cambridge and the University of Washington. ChromaDex Co-Founder and CEO, Frank Jaksch, commented, "With nearly 140 collaborative agreements in place, we continue to shape the landscape of NR and NAD research, ensuring that each study helps to quantify the value of NIAGEN and its role in human health."

06:45 EDT Tailored Brands launches three week custom delivery - Men's Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank, subsidiaries of Tailored Brands, announced an upgrade to their Made-in-America custom clothing programs by narrowing the delivery timeframe on premium custom suits from four weeks to just three weeks. The change comes in response to the growing consumer demand for personalization in mens' tailored goods, which drove more than $100M of custom clothing sales in fiscal 2017 for Tailored Brands.

06:42 EDT Transocean receives approvals, commences acquisition of remaining Songa shares - Transocean announced that Transocean Ltd. along with Transocean Inc. received all required regulatory approvals and has commenced a compulsory acquisition of all shares in Songa Offshore SE that are not already owned by Transocean. Transocean expects to complete the compulsory acquisition by the end of the first quarter of 2018. The subscription period in the compulsory acquisition commences on February 20, 2018, and expires at 6:59 p.m. EDT, 11:59 p.m. CET on March 20, 2018.

06:41 EDT Walmart: Smaller part of slowdown in Walmart U.S. ecommerce sales 'unexpected' - In its Q4 earnings presentation, Walmart President and CEO Doug McMillon said strength at Walmart U.S. was broad-based across merchandise categories, formats, and regions, and holiday sales were solid. Overall, he said, he was "pleased" with most aspects of the quarter. He noted that the slowdown in Walmart U.S. ecommerce sales in Q4 was expected as the company fully lapped the Jet acquisition, but said a smaller part of the slowdown was "unexpected, as we experienced some operational challenges that negatively impacted growth." He expects ecommerce growth to increase from Q4. Beginning this week, McMillon said Walmart raised the U.S. starting hourly wage rate to $11 and said adoption benefits for associates went into effect earlier this month in addition to expanded paid parental leave for all associates that will take effect in March.

06:38 EDT Rayonier sees FY18 maintenance capital expenditures $100M-$110M - The Company anticipates that it will spend approximately $100M-$110M in maintenance capital expenditures across its businesses in 2018. In addition, the Company has identified approximately $90M of potential strategic capital expenditures in its facilities with attractive payback periods of 1 to 3 years which may be acted upon over the next 3 years. These capital investment opportunities are predominantly in the High Purity Cellulose and Forest Products segments and the Company currently anticipates spending approximately $45M on high-return projects in 2018, with an average pay-back of less than 2 years.

06:37 EDT QuickLogic announces partnership with Aldec for eFPGA Simulation Flow - QuickLogic announced that it has partnered with Aldec, a leading design verification EDA company, to provide seamless simulation support for its embedded FPGA, or eFPGA, technology. Now QuickLogic eFPGA customers can perform design verification using Aldec's industry-proven Active-HDL FPGA Design and Simulation software.

06:36 EDT Qualcomm agrees with NXP Semiconductors to increase purchase price to $127.50/sh - Qualcomm (QCOM) announced that Qualcomm River Holdings, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm, has reached an agreement with NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NXPI) to increase to $127.50 per share its previously announced cash tender offer to purchase all outstanding shares of NXP. The amended agreement, which was approved by the Qualcomm and NXP Boards of Directors, also lowers the minimum tender condition from 80% of NXP's outstanding shares to 70%. Qualcomm also announced that Qualcomm River Holdings B.V. has entered into binding agreements with nine NXP stockholders who collectively own more than 28% of NXP's outstanding shares (excluding additional economic interests through derivatives) to tender their shares at $127.50 per share. These stockholders include funds affiliated with Elliott Advisors Limited and Soroban Capital Partners LP. Under the terms of the revised agreement, the currently pending tender offer of Qualcomm River Holdings B.V. to acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of NXP will be amended as described above and the expiration time for the offer will be extended to the end of day, one minute after 11:59 p.m. New York City time, on March 5, 2018. Qualcomm intends to fund the additional consideration with cash on hand and new debt. The amended tender offer is not subject to any financing condition. The offer is conditioned on at least 70% of the outstanding ordinary shares of NXP being validly tendered and not withdrawn prior to the expiration of the offer. Qualcomm's acquisition of NXP has received antitrust clearance from eight of the nine required government regulatory bodies around the world. The transaction remains contingent on clearance from the Ministry of Commerce in China. Qualcomm is optimistic it will receive MOFCOM clearance in the near term.

06:34 EDT Walmart reports FY18 ecommerce sales, GMV at Walmart U.S. up 44%, 47%

06:20 EDT Energen sees production up from 107mboepd in Q4 of FY18 to 135mboepd in FY19 - Sees production up to 170mboepd in 2020.

06:18 EDT CytoDyn: Primary endpoint achieved in PRO 140 pivotal combination therapy trial - CytoDyn reports the successful achievement of the primary endpoint in its CD02 Phase 2b/3 pivotal clinical trial with PRO 140 in combination with existing antiretroviral therapy in patients failing their current HIV therapy. The trial data show a statistically significant reduction in HIV-1 RNA viral load of greater than 0.5log with PRO 140 versus placebo. CytoDyn is developing PRO 140, a humanized CCR5 monoclonal antibody, to combat human immunodeficiency virus infection and certain immunologic disorders.

06:16 EDT Vical initiates Phase 2 Trial of VL-2397 antifungal for invasive aspergillosis - Vical announced the initiation of a Phase 2 trial of the Company's VL-2397 novel antifungal compound. The multicenter, open label randomized clinical study, will compare the efficacy and safety of VL-2397 to standard treatment for invasive aspergillosis in acute leukemia patients and recipients of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant. The U.S. FDA has advised that VL-2397 would be eligible for a Limited Use Indication assuming a successful outcome of a single Phase 2 trial carried out in accordance with a protocol and statistical analysis plan consistent with the Agency's advice. The final determination whether the drug is approvable will be made by FDA after review of all relevant data. The LUI is a provision of the Limited Population Pathway established under the 21st Century Cures Act of 2016.

06:14 EDT Egalet issued new U.S. patent for proprietary Guardian Technology - Egalet announced it has received a U.S. patent for its proprietary Guardian Technology. The patent covers the Guardian Technology two-component tablet architecture which provides precise drug delivery and can confer abuse-deterrent properties. The United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued patent number 9,884,029 covering Egalet-002. The patent offers protection through March 2024.

06:08 EDT TRI Pointe authorizes new $100M stock repurchase program

06:06 EDT SiteOne Landscape sees FY18 adjusted EBITDA $180M-$192M

05:28 EDT Anadarko announces Mozambique LNG sale, purchase agreement - Anadarko Petroleum announced Mozambique LNG1 Company, the jointly owned sales entity of the Mozambique Area 1 co-venturers, has entered into a long-term LNG Sale and Purchase Agreement with Electricite de France, S.A. The off-take agreement calls for the supply of 1.2M tonnes per annum, or MTPA, for a term of 15 years. The Anadarko-operated Mozambique LNG project will be Mozambique's first onshore LNG development, initially consisting of two LNG trains with total nameplate capacity of 12.88 MTPA to support the development of the Golfinho/Atum fields located entirely within Offshore Area 1.

05:21 EDT Adamas Pharmaceuticals announces declaratory judgment action filed by Osmotica - Adamas Pharmaceuticals announced that it has learned that Osmotica Pharmaceuticals LLC and Vertical Pharmaceuticals LCC filed an action in Delaware federal court on February 16, 2018 requesting a declaratory judgment that Osmotica's newly-approved product OSMOLEX ER extended-release tablets does not infringe certain of Adamas' patents. Adamas has not received service of a summons and complaint. The complaint does not allege patent infringement against Adamas or otherwise pertain to Adamas' product GOCOVRI extended release capsules. OSMOLEX ER was approved by the FDA on February 16, 2018 for the treatment of Parkinson's disease and drug-induced extrapyramidal reactions in adult patients, indications approved for immediate release amantadine in 1972. As Osmotica states in the complaint, drug-induced extrapyramidal reaction is a separate and distinct disorder from dyskinesia in Parkinson's disease patients. According to the package insert attached to the complaint, the approval was based on three bioavailability studies comparing OSMOLEX ER to immediate release amantadine syrup in healthy volunteers. The package insert does not include any new clinical safety or efficacy data specific to OSMOLEX ER to support its use in the approved indications. Osmotica alleges that OSMOLEX ER does not infringe certain of Adamas' patents covering compositions and uses of amantadine. Adamas is evaluating Osmotica's non-infringement assertions based on the limited information in the complaint. Adamas' approved product GOCOVRI is the first and only FDA-approved medicine for the treatment of dyskinesia in Parkinson's disease patients on levodopa-based therapy, with or without concomitant dopaminergic medicines. GOCOVRI is taken at bedtime with a pharmacokinetic (PK) profile that delivers low concentrations of amantadine in nighttime, slowly rising to high concentrations (1,500 ng/ml) before awakening, and throughout the day. Use of GOCOVRI in this Parkinson's disease patient population is supported by robust efficacy and safety data, required by the FDA for approval, that demonstrate statistically significant and clinically meaningful reductions in dyskinesia and OFF time in three controlled clinical studies and an ongoing two-year, open-label safety study. Neither OSMOLEX ER nor any other therapy has been approved for the treatment of dyskinesia in Parkinson's disease patients on levodopa-based therapy.