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

18:50 EDT Boeing to establish new technology research center in Korea - Boeing announced the company's intention to establish a new research center in the Republic of Korea; the company is currently in discussion with the Korean government regarding the center opening. The research center will focus on accelerating autonomy, artificial intelligence, avionics, analytics, smart cabin, smart factory and other technologies for future aerospace products. Boeing plans to staff the center with locally-hired technology experts when the facility opens this year in a location to be announced at a later date, with the cooperation of the local government.

18:31 EDT AutoZone announces additional $1B share repurchase authorization - AutoZone announced its Board of Directors authorized the repurchase of an additional $1B of the company's common stock in connection with its ongoing share repurchase program. Since the inception of the repurchase program in 1998, and including the above amount, AutoZone's Board of Directors has authorized $19.7B.

18:06 EDT Nordstrom board ends talks with Nordstrom family about potentially going private - The special committee of the board of directors of Nordstrom announced that it has terminated discussions with members of the Nordstrom family - Company Co-Presidents Blake W. Nordstrom, Peter E. Nordstrom, and Erik B. Nordstrom, President of Stores James F. Nordstrom, Chairman Emeritus Bruce A. Nordstrom, and Anne E. Gittinger - regarding the Group's acquisition of the outstanding shares of common stock of the Company. The Special Committee took this action because it could not reach agreement with the Group on an acceptable price for the company. The Special Committee believes that Nordstrom is well positioned to capitalize on future opportunities to gain market share through its customer strategy, centered on three strategic pillars: providing a differentiated product offering; delivering exceptional services and experiences; and leveraging the strength of its brand. Nordstrom continues to integrate its digital and physical assets to deliver best-in-class capabilities across supply chain, technology, marketing, product and services to better serve customers on their terms. The company is uniquely positioned in the industry and has generated market share gains and industry leading e-commerce penetration fueled by investments in digital capabilities to expand customer reach and engagement. The Special Committee is confident that the company's ability to leverage its digital capabilities and its local market assets of people, product, and place will support growth across both its full-price and off-price businesses.

17:57 EDT FedEx says to expect Tesla (TSLA) electric vehicle purchases in the near future

17:40 EDT Toro CEO says company is well positioned in 2018 to continue positive momentum - In today's Analyst Day presentation, Toro Company CEO also said that the company goal is for new products to represent at least 35% of sales. Reference Link

17:36 EDT SiteOne Landscape acquires Three Village Nurseries Landscape Centers - TreeTown USA announced the sale of its Village Nurseries Landscape Centers in Orange, Huntington Beach, and Sacramento, California to SiteOne Landscape Supply (SITE), the largest and only national wholesale distributor of landscape supplies in the United States.

17:24 EDT FedEx says revenue growth driven by international business - Says TNT acquisition was the most important in the company's history. Says TNT integration is accelerating. Says freight segment is having its best run in a decade.

17:10 EDT KEYW sees 84% of FY18 revenue guidance coming from existing business - Backs FY18 revenue outlook of $495M-$515M. In the long term, aims to deliver double digit revenue growth from organic initiatives and expedite margin expansion. Comments from the slides of today's Investor Day presentation. Reference Link

17:03 EDT Point72 stake in Build-A-Bear higher resulting from Build-A-Bear repurchases - As of the close of business on March 19 ,Point72 beneficially owned an aggregate of 2,983,825 shares of Build-A-Bear common Stock, representing approximately 20% of the shares of common stock outstanding. This increase in the percentage of shares of common stock owned by Point72 resulted not from acquisitions of common stock by Point72 but a decrease in the number of shares of common stock outstanding as a result of Build-A-Bear 's repurchase program.

17:01 EDT Turquoise Hill announces completion of Shaft 5 sinking at Oyu Tolgoi - Turquoise Hill Resources announced that Oyu Tolgoi has achieved a significant underground development milestone with the completed sinking of Shaft 5 at a final depth of 1,178 metres. During Q4'17, installation of the shaft exhaust fan commenced and is on target to be finished in early Q2'18. Shaft 5 is 6.7 metres in diameter and will be dedicated to ventilation thereby increasing the capacity for underground activities. Jeff Tygesen, Turquoise Hill Chief Executive Officer, said, "Underground development momentum continues to progress with the completed sinking of Shaft 5. Each milestone achieved takes Oyu Tolgoi closer to becoming the world's third largest copper mine."

17:00 EDT Hudson Executive Capital reports 14.2% stake in Corindus

16:38 EDT NorthWestern acquires 9.7MW Two Dot Wind Farm in Montana for $18.5M - NorthWestern Energy has reached an agreement to acquire Two Dot Wind Farm LLC, a 9.7-megawatt wind project near the central Montana community of Two Dot for a purchase price of $18.5 million. Pending approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the transaction is anticipated to close sometime in late April and is expected to be nominally accretive to net income but neutral to earnings per share in 2018. The purchase agreement is with NJR Clean Energy Ventures. While the remaining terms of the agreement were not immediately disclosed, NorthWestern's Montana customers will enjoy lower energy costs from the project as a result of the purchase. In addition to lowering customers' costs, NorthWestern also anticipates that the purchase of Two Dot Wind will help it comply with the Community Renewable Energy Project component of Montana's Renewable Portfolio Standard. NorthWestern currently buys the energy produced by the wind project under a Qualifying Facilities agreement. With this purchase agreement, NorthWestern anticipates continuing to include the electricity produced at this project in its regulated portfolio that serves Montana customers.

16:35 EDT EQT says Schlotterbeck resigned over compensation issue - On March 15, EQT Corporation (EQT) announced that Steven Schlotterbeck, President and CEO resigned from the company and stepped down from the Board, effective March 14 and that Schlotterbeck also resigned from his positions with the general partners of EQT GP Holdings (EQGP), EQT Midstream Partners (EQM) and Rice Midstream Partners (RMP). Schlotterbeck has stated that he resigned because he was unsatisfied with the amount of his compensation. The company also announced that the Board appointed David Porges, the Chairman of the Board, as Interim President and CEO of the company. Porges will serve as Interim President and CEO until the Board elects a permanent President and CEO.

16:33 EDT BWX Technologies subsidiary receives $151M U.S. Navy contract - BWX Technologies announced that the U.S. Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program has exercised contract options with BWXT subsidiary Nuclear Fuel Services totaling more than $151M for fuel manufacture, development activities and decommissioning work in support of the nation's nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers. The contract options were awarded in Q4. Work under these contracts has already commenced, and the vast majority of it will be completed during the remainder of 2018.

16:31 EDT Fulton Financial raises quarterly dividend to 12c from 11c per share - Payable on April 13 to shareholders of record as of April 2.

16:28 EDT CSRA declares 10c cash dividend - CSRA (CSRA) announced that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 10c per share on CSRA's common stock. In addition, the Board of Directors declared an additional cash dividend for the period commencing on April 1 and ending on the date on which Red Hawk Enterprises, a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (GD), accepts shares that are tendered pursuant to its previously-announced tender offer for all outstanding shares of common stock of CSRA, in an amount per share equal to the product of (i) 10c and (ii) the quotient of (A) the number of days from and including April 1 to and including the date of the Acceptance Time divided by (B) 91. The Dividend will be payable five business days following the Acceptance Time, to stockholders of record at 5:00 p.m. ET March 29.

16:25 EDT CSRA declares additional cash dividend of 10c per share - CSRA (CSRA) announced that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 10c per share on CSRA's common stock. In addition, the Board of Directors declared an additional cash dividend for the period commencing on April 1 and ending on the date on which Red Hawk Enterprises, a wholly-owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (GD), accepts shares that are tendered pursuant to its previously-announced tender offer for all outstanding shares of common stock of CSRA, in an amount per share equal to the product of (i) 10c and (ii) the quotient of (A) the number of days from and including April 1 to and including the date of the Acceptance Time divided by (B) 91. The Dividend will be payable five business days following the Acceptance Time, to stockholders of record at 5:00 p.m. ET March 29.

16:19 EDT FedEx sees Q4 consolidated ops income beforre MTM adjustements $1.84B-$1.94B - Before year-end MTM pension accounting adjustments, fourth quarter fiscal 2018 consolidated operating income and margin are projected to be $1.84 billion to $1.94 billion and 10.4% to 11.1%, respectively. Excluding year-end MTM pension accounting adjustments and TNT Express integration expenses, fourth quarter consolidated operating income and margin are projected to be $1.95 billion to $2.05 billion and 11.0% to 11.8%, respectively.

16:18 EDT Johnson & Johnson CFO Dominic Caruso to retire, Joseph Wolk to succeed - Johnson & Johnson announced that Dominic Caruso, Executive Vice President, CFO, has elected to retire in September after a distinguished 19-year career with the company. Caruso was named CFO in 2007, and served as CFO longer than anyone in the company's 132- year history. Joseph Wolk, Vice President of Johnson & Johnson Investor Relations, has been appointed Executive Vice President, CFO, effective July 1. He will report to Gorsky and become a member of the Executive Committee. Caruso and Wolk will work closely during the six-month transition. Wolk has been with Johnson & Johnson for 19 years and has served on the Finance Leadership team, reporting directly to Caruso since 2014. Previously, he was Vice President, Finance and CFO of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson and was a member of the Janssen Group Operating Committee. Prior to this role, he held many senior roles in Pharmaceuticals, Medical Device and Supply Chain.

16:17 EDT Laureate Education sees FY18 total enrollments 955K-959K

16:16 EDT Johnson & Johnson CFO Dominic Caruso to retire, Joseph Wolk to succeed

16:10 EDT FrontFour sent open letter to Obsidian Energy sharholders - FrontFour Capital Group together with its affiliates, a significant shareholder of Obsidian Energy issued an open letter to the Company's stockholders. The letter included: "Since issuing our first public letter to shareholders on January 17, 2018, Obsidian's shareholders have expressed a common theme of frustration with Obsidian's inconsistent and unsound strategic plan, flawed hedging strategy and poor leadership team. Accordingly, we are announcing our intention to nominate four highly qualified directors for election at Obsidian's 2018 annual general meeting. We intend to formally nominate our highly qualified candidates once the meeting has been called. In the weeks to come, FrontFour will release its detailed value creation strategy at Obsidian, initially centered on streamlining the Company's organizational profile via: the disposition of the Company's remaining non-core legacy gas-weighted production; and the divestiture of Obsidian's operations in the Alberta Viking and Peace River."

16:10 EDT Prothena in collaboration deal with Celgene, will get $100M upfront payment - Prothena (PRTA) announced a global collaboration with Celgene Corporation (CELG) through a subsidiary, to develop new therapies for a broad range of neurodegenerative diseases. The multi-year research and development collaboration is focused on three proteins implicated in the pathogenesis of several neurodegenerative diseases, including tau, TDP-43 and an undisclosed target. For each of the programs, Celgene has an exclusive right to license clinical candidates in the U.S. at the investigational new drug filing and if exercised, would also have a right to expand the license to global rights at the completion of Phase 1. Following the exercise of global rights, Celgene will be responsible for funding all further global clinical development and commercialization. Under the terms of the collaboration, Prothena will receive a $100M upfront payment and a $50M equity investment by Celgene, plus future potential exercise payments and regulatory and commercial milestones for each licensed program. Prothena will also receive additional royalties on net sales of any resulting marketed products.Prothena will receive an upfront payment and equity investment, and is eligible to receive exercise payments and regulatory and commercial milestones, plus additional royalties on net sales.

16:09 EDT SCYNEXIS: Data demonstrates inhibitory activity of SCY-078 against C. auris - SCYNEXIS announced new pre-clinical data supporting the potential of SCY-078, the company's lead product candidate, for the treatment of Candida auris at Superbugs and Superdrugs 2018, March 19-20, 2018, in London, UK. SCY-078, the first representative of a novel oral and intravenous triterpenoid antifungal family, is in clinical development for the treatment of several serious fungal infections, including vulvovaginal candidiasis, invasive candidiasis, invasive aspergillosis and refractory invasive fungal infections. The oral presentation, titled "C. auris - a difficult to treat, emerging pathogen," delivered by Stephen A. Barat, Ph.D., Executive Director of Pre-clinical Research and Early Clinical Development at SCYNEXIS, briefly describes the history and experimental models of C. auris, a pathogen recently classified as a global emerging threat by worldwide health authorities, and highlights the potential of SCY-078 as a novel treatment for this pathogen. "C. auris is an emerging, multidrug-resistant pathogen associated with a significant mortality rate of up to 60%," said David Angulo, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of SCYNEXIS. "C. auris strains demonstrated resistance to all three currently available classes of antifungal therapies, underlining the substantial, global, unmet medical need to address this emerging health threat. These data show that SCY-078, a representative of a novel triterpenoid antifungal class, has demonstrated pre-clinical activity against C. auris, including inhibition of C. auris biofilms, interruption of cell division and destruction of internal cellular structures. We remain committed to exploring SCY-078's potential utility as a treatment for this pathogen, as we work to advance both our global, open-label FURI and CARES trials, evaluating oral SCY-078 for the treatment of fungal infections, including those caused by C. auris, in patients who are refractory to or intolerant of standard therapies." SCYNEXIS believes compelling data from the FURI and/or CARES trials could allow oral SCY-078 to become eligible for the regulatory Limited Population Pathway for Antibacterial and Antifungal Drugs, potentially resulting in an initial NDA based on streamlined development. SCYNEXIS remains on track to conduct a preliminary data review in both trials in the fourth quarter of 2018.

16:07 EDT REV Group authorizes share repurchase program of up to $50M - REV Group announced that its board of directors has approved the authorization of a share repurchase program. The authorization allows the repurchase of up to $50M of the company's outstanding common stock, effective immediately. The repurchase authorization expires in 24 months and gives management the flexibility to determine conditions under which shares may be purchased.

16:03 EDT AAR Corp. to pursue sale of COCO business - "As a result of winning the INL/A WASS contract and ramping up our services during the transition period, we have repositioned our key resources to focus on this program into our government-owned, contractor-operated business and have decided to pursue the sale of our COCO business. The COCO business has been reported as discontinued operations for all periods presented. We have recognized a goodwill impairment charge of $9.8 million within discontinued operations related to the COCO business." Holmes continued, "Our decision to shift our focus and essential resources to the GOCO business is designed to deliver superior service to our government customers. This shift is also important to delivering world class service to the DoS on the recently commenced INL/A WASS program. We expect to be fully operational on the INL/A WASS program in May at which point the program will be a contributor to earnings."

15:44 EDT New York, Massachusetts attorneys general send demand letter to Facebook - New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman released the following statement: "Consumers have a right to know how their information is used - and companies like Facebook have a fundamental responsibility to protect their users' personal information. Today, along with Massachusetts Attorney General Healey, we sent a demand letter to Facebook - the first step in our joint investigation to get to the bottom of what happened. New Yorkers deserve answers, and if any company or individual violated the law, we will hold them accountable." Reference Link

15:02 EDT Cambridge Analytica board suspends CEO Nix with immediate effect - The board of Cambridge Analytica has announced that it has suspended CEO Alexander Nix with immediate effect, pending a full, independent investigation. In the view of the board, Nix's recent comments secretly recorded by Channel 4 and other allegations do not represent the values or operations of the firm and his suspension reflects the seriousness with which the firm views this violation. The firm has asked Dr. Alexander Tayler to serve as acting CEO while an independent investigation is launched to review those comments and allegations. Facebook shares are down 3.7% in afternoon trading. Reference Link

14:55 EDT Greenhaven Road Capital Fund reports 6.4% passive stake in SharpSpring - In a regulatory filing, Greenhaven Road Capital Fund I disclosed a 6.4% stake in SharpSpring, representing 541,550 shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

14:21 EDT Zosano strength attributed to patent for rapid treatment of migraines - The United States Patent and Trademark Office posted a Zosano Pharma patent for a "method of rapidly achieving therapeutic concentrations of triptans for treatment of migraines." The abstract reads, "Compositions, devices and methods employing therapeutic concentrations of a triptan for treatment of migraine are described. Also described are methods and apparatuses for delivery of zolmitriptan for achieving a T.sub.max as quick as 2 minutes and not later than 30 minutes in the majority of subjects." Shares of Zosano Pharma are up 56c to $17.21 in afternoon trading.

13:55 EDT Analyst says Roku no longer looks like 'compelling short,' ups rating - Shares of Roku (ROKU) are on the rise after Oppenheimer analyst Jason Helfstein upgraded the stock to Perform as he believes it no longer appears to be a "compelling short" given its lower valuation and potential catalysts. Meanwhile, the company has announced that the Roku Channel is expected to be available this summer on select Samsung (SSNLF) smart TVs. NO LONGER 'COMPELLING SHORT': In a research note to investors, Oppenheimer's Helfstein upgraded Roku to Perform from Underperform saying the stock "no longer appears to be a compelling short" after the shares declined to $34 from a peak of $57. Further, the analyst noted that he now sees risk-reward as neutral to favorable as 2018 guidance now reflects the negative impact of ASC 606, while potential positive catalysts include The Roku Channel being pulled forward to 2018, and marketing dollars associated with the acceleration of skinny bundle adoption and potential ACR monetization. Helfstein also pointed out that the Roku Channel is gaining significantly more traction with consumers than expected at IPO as he estimates it could already account for 9%-13% of monetizable AVOD/video ad-supported monetizable AVOD hours. Nonetheless, the analyst acknowledged that the lockup expiration later this month creates a short-term technical hurdle, but believes many of the incremental shares are insider-owned. ROKU CHANNEL ON SAMSUNG TVS THIS SUMMER: Roku has announced that The Roku Channel, an AVOD app, is expected to be available this summer on select Samsung smart TVs. Launched late last year, The Roku Channel features films from leading studios and content partners. Samsung customers will enjoy award winners and big screen classics, whenever they want at no cost. There are no subscriptions, fees or logins required to access The Roku Channel. It is ad-supported and features approximately half the advertising per programming hour as compared to traditional linear TV. PRICE ACTION: In afternoon trading, shares of Roku have gained 1.8% to $34.47.

13:18 EDT Vivendi to sell entire 27.3% stake in Ubisoft - Ubisoft (UBSFY) announced that it has signed an agreement with Vivendi (VIVHY) for its full exit from Ubisoft's share capital, with the sale of all Vivendi's 30,489,300 shares. The transaction includes an investment by two new long-term investors, the Relationship Investing arm of Ontario Teachers' Public Equities division, and Tencent (TCEHY), a share buy-back by Ubisoft, an acquisition of shares by Guillemot Brothers SE and an Accelerated Bookbuilding with institutional investors. Following the implementation of the transaction, Vivendi will no longer hold any shares in Ubisoft, and has committed not to acquire any shares in Ubisoft for 5 years. As part of the transaction, Ubisoft and Tencent have also announced today a strategic partnership that will significantly accelerate the reach of Ubisoft franchises in China in the coming years. Ubisoft agreed to buy back up to 9,090,909 of its own shares, or 8.1% of capital, from Vivendi through a structured transaction taking the form of a forward sale of Vivendi shares to Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, and a forward buy-back mechanism of shares from CACIB by Ubisoft, enabling Ubisoft to progressively buy-back shares from 2019 to 2021. These acquisitions will be made at a price of EUR66 per share. As part of the transaction, Guillemot Brothers SE agreed to acquire 3,030,303 shares, or 2.7% of capital, at a price of EUR66 per share, bringing Guillemot Brothers SE's ownership to 17,406,414 shares representing 19.4% of voting rights and 15.6% of share capital and the Guillemot concert to 20,636,193 shares, representing 24.6% of voting rights and 18.5% of share capital. The remainder of Vivendi's stake, representing 8,988,741 shares, or 8.0% of capital, will be sold at a price of EUR66 per share through an Accelerated Bookbuilding with institutional investors. Based on the level of interest in the placement, the size of the Accelerated Bookbuilding could be increased up to 1,500,000 shares, reducing accordingly the number of shares bought back by Ubisoft. Ubisoft confirms its financial targets for 2017-18 and 2018-19, as well as its long-term growth perspectives.

13:02 EDT Black Box selected for U.S. Army SWA-OSP engineering and modernization program - Black Box Corporation announced that it has been awarded a new five-year task order contract for the development and implementation of the US Army's requirements for Unified Capability Sets for Outside Plant, Inside Plant and Area Distribution Node modernization and implementation throughout Southwest Asia. With this award, the Army provided initial funding of $18,996,373.36. The total contract value over the five year period of performance is $166,057,336.00. Under this contract, Black Box will perform upgrades of OSP, ISP, and Data Center infrastructure in order to bring the US Army Communications infrastructure into standard with the Defense Information Systems Network Enterprise Network Installation Campus Area Network Design & Implementation architecture, and to support the implementation of the Joint Information Environment. The modernization required for this effort will take place in the US Army's SWA theater sites in the CENTCOM AOR.

12:42 EDT CDK Global, Auto/Mate terminate planned transaction - CDK Global and Auto/Mate Dealership Systems have jointly agreed to terminate the previously announced acquisition of Auto/Mate by CDK. The planned transaction, announced on May 24, 2017, was subject to regulatory review and other customary closing requirements. Under the terms of the original agreement, there is no termination fee. The Federal Trade Commission had notified the parties of its opposition to the proposed acquisition, leading to the decision to terminate. Both companies expressed disappointment at not being able to complete the transaction in a timely fashion, citing the desire, in the face of regulatory resistance, to redirect their resources and attention to their businesses.

12:33 EDT President Trump says arms race 'getting out of control' - President Trump said his conversation with President Putin today included a conversation about the arms race between the two companies. The race is "getting out of control," Trump said during a press conference at the White House. Trump added that the U.S. will remain well ahead of other countries in terms of defense. He noted the U.S. is spending $700B this year on defense. Trump plans on meeting with Putin in the not too distant future. Publicly traded companies in the defense space include BAE Systems (BAESY), Boeing (BA), General Dynamics (GD), Lockheed Martin (LMT), Northrop Grumman (NOC), Raytheon (RTN) and United Technologies (UTX).

11:59 EDT Empery Asset Management reports 9.22% passive stake in Immuron - In a regulatory filing, Empery Asset Management disclosed a 9.22% stake in Immuron, representing 13,162,744 ordinary shares and 7,897,647 Ordinary Shares issuable upon exercise of Warrants. The filing does not allow for activism.

11:35 EDT Iberiabank raises dividend 3% to 38c per share - The Board of Directors of Iberiabank announced the declaration of a quarterly cash dividend of 38c per common share, an increase of approximately 3% compared to the common dividend declared in December 2017. The dividend is payable on April 27 to shareholders of record as of March 30.

11:32 EDT Twitter drops almost 9% after Bloomberg reports Israel weighing legal action - According to Bloomberg, Israel is considering legal action against Twitter for online incitement. Shares of Twitter are down almost 9% to $31.90 per share in morning trading.

11:31 EDT Kennedy Wilson announces $250M share repurchase program - Kennedy Wilson announced that its Board of Directors has approved the repurchase of up to $250M of the company's common stock. The company intends to fund the share repurchase program primarily with proceeds from future sales of non-core assets. The company currently expects to complete the repurchase program within the next 18 months.

11:25 EDT MuleSoft trading resumes

11:20 EDT MuleSoft trading halted, volatility trading pause

11:11 EDT Franklin Templeton acquires Random Forest Capital, terms not disclosed - Franklin Resources, which operates as Franklin Templeton Investments, announced the acquisition of Random Forest Capital, an investment firm with expertise in data science and non-bank marketplace lending. Following the acquisition, the Random Forest team will join the Franklin Templeton Fixed Income Group investment team. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

10:33 EDT Street Fight: Analysts diverge on Oracle following quarterly results - Shares of Oracle (ORCL) are sliding after the company reported better than expect third quarter results, but disappointed some Wall Street analysts with its guidance for cloud-computing revenue. Both Stifel and Bank of America Merrill Lynch downgraded the stock to Neutral-equivalent ratings in the wake of the quarterly report. However, not all were as bearish, as MUFG analyst Stephen Bersey was among those on the Street saying shares should be bought on the post-earnings selloff. RESULTS: Last night, Oracle reported third quarter adjusted earnings per share of 83c and revenue of $9.8B, both above consensus of 72c and $9.78B, respectively. The company also said Cloud Software as a Service revenues were up 33% to $1.2B in the quarter, while Cloud Platform as a Service plus Infrastructure as a Service revenues were up 28% to $415M. Total Cloud Revenues were up 32% to $1.6B. Additionally, Oracle reported third quarter adjusted operating margin of 44%, and announced that short-term deferred revenues were up 8% to $8B. For the fourth quarter, the company sees adjusted EPS of 92c-95c in USD, revenue growth between 1%-3%, and cloud revenue growth of 19%-23%, or 17%-21% in constant currency. MOVING TO THE SIDELINES: In a research note to investors, Stifel analyst Brad Reback downgraded Oracle to Hold from Buy, with a $53 price target, citing quarterly results. The analyst noted that he finds the "lackluster results/guidance concerning," especially in contrast to the strong results posted by Microsoft (MSFT), Salesforce (CRM), Adobe (ADBE), Workday (WDAY), ServiceNow (NOW), Splunk (SPLK), and Nutanix (NTNX). Overall, Reback argued that while Oracle has a strong cash engine from its installed maintenance base, the PaaS/IaaS business will remain in a "state of transition" in coming years, and the 18c Autonomous Database will likely not drive an upgrade cycle until at least 2020, and more likely 2021-2022. Meanwhile, his peer at Bank of America Merrill Lynch also downgraded Oracle to Neutral from Buy on the weaker than he expected quarterly results. Analyst Kash Rangan points out that while both partner and customer sentiment is improving, it will take longer for progress to impact the numbers than he had expected. Nonetheless, the analyst acknowledged that the long-term set up is positive. Rangan also lowered his price target on Oracle shares to $57 from $62. SELLOFF A BUYING OPPORTUNITY: Still bullish on the stock, MUFG analyst Stephen Bersey argued that Oracle had "solid" third quarter results and noted that he was "pleased to learn" that the business-software maker believes it is still taking market share in the cloud. The company's growth story is intact, but could have been better communicated on the earnings call, Bersey contended. The analyst recommended using the selloff as a buying opportunity, reiterating an Overweight rating and $58 price target on the shares. Meanwhile, his peer at Piper Jaffray argued that while Oracle's fourth quarter guidance for both revenue and cloud revenue was slightly below consensus, he remains confident that its Software as a Service revenues are set to accelerate in fiscal 2019. Analyst Alex Zukin noted that with shares trading 19% below the peer group, the valuation is attractive. The analyst lowered his price target on Oracle's shares to $55 from $57 but reiterated an Overweight rating on the stock. PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, shares of Oracle have dropped almost 9% to $47.41.

10:01 EDT Comtech awarded $2M contract for MTTS deployable troposcatter system - Comtech Telecommunications announced that during its third quarter of fiscal 2018, its Orlando, Florida-based subsidiary, Comtech Systems, Inc., which is part of Comtech's Government Solutions segment, has received an order totaling approximately $2M to provide 50 Mb/s tactical troposcatter equipment to a leading supplier to the UAE Armed Forces. The Modular Transportable Transmission System troposcatter terminals purchased will be delivered to the UAE Armed Forces as a proof of concept vehicle to determine how the MTTS fits into their existing military communications scenario. Comtech's advanced 50 MB tropo modem was chosen because of its excellent field record with both international customers and the U.S. Military, as well as the unmatched performance of the Comtech CS67500 modem.

09:48 EDT Proteostasis sinks after Kerrisdale predicts 70%-90% share downside - Kerrisdale Capital this morning announced a new short position in Proteostasis Therapeutic (PTI). In a short report posted on its website, Kerrisdale writes, "With an ineffective lead drug and unpromising pipeline, Proteostasis has little value; we estimate 70-90% downside, based on cash per share. There is little value in PTI's misleadingly spun data, bizarrely noisy biomarkers, and selectively disclosed results. Alas, it's far easier to inflate weak data than it is to inflate ailing lungs." STAT's Adam Feuerstein supports the short call. He said via Twitter, "I'm in agreement with Sahm & crew re: $PTI. The magically deteriorating placebo patients undermine what little CF data they have + $VRTX makes them basically irrelevant." Shares of Proteostasis are down 17%, or $1.22, to $5.77 in early trading. Reference Link

09:33 EDT Caterpillar sees underground hard rock mining as area of growth - Says its hard to know what the impacts of tariffs will be. Says the larger the equipment, the slower demand has recovered. Says underground mining has seen some resurgence in demand. Sees underground hard rock mining as an area of growth. Says investing in underground hard rock mining. Sees autonomous technology is an area of growth. Says seeing recovery of mining industry broaden geographically. Says building up copper mines is an area of focus. Says miners are being disciplined. Says pricing environment is improving for North American construction but says its still a market where buyers have the pricing power. Says seeing lead times extend out for some mining equipment. Says started 2018 believing material costs would be higher. Sees some risk to P&L from steel tariffs but there are a lot of things the company is doing to limit that. Says company feels like it has all the capacity it needs for the foreseeable future. Says focusing on taking out structural costs where it can. Says should wrap up initial restructuring plan by end of 2018. Comments taken from Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Industrials Conference.

09:27 EDT FTC probing Facebook over possible consent decree violation, Bloomberg reports - The Federal Trade Commission is probing Facebook over whether it violated terms of a consent decree over its use of personal data, Sara Forden of Bloomberg reports, citing a person familiar with the matter. The investigation involves whether the social media giant allowed Cambridge Analytica to receive some user data in violation of its policies, the source told Forden. Shares of Facebook are down 3% to $167.71 in trading just before the open.

09:23 EDT Ford South Africa: Focus vehicles could suffer clutch pressure plate fracture - Ford Motor South Africa said that it has learned that certain derivatives of Focus; Kuga; and Transit Connect and Tourneo Connect with manual gearboxes could suffer a clutch pressure plate fracture, with the risk of fire. Ford commented that "Safety is always a top priority and we are acting quickly to address this issue. Ford is also working on a software calibration remedy that will detect excessive clutch slippage and warn the driver to take the vehicle to their preferred Ford dealer. When the software becomes available, Ford will notify customers. The software is anticipated to be available beginning in May. We want to reassure our customers that the affected vehicles remain safe to drive."

09:22 EDT Monsanto announces $100M collaboration with Pairwise Plants - Monsanto and Pairwise Plants, an agricultural startup, have announced a collaboration to advance agriculture research and development by leveraging gene-editing technology. Under the agreement, Pairwise will work in corn, soybeans, wheat, cotton and canola crops exclusively with Monsanto. The companies bring expertise and complementary intellectual property to a strategic alliance expected to drive new and needed solutions to help farmers produce better harvests, protect crops from evolving threats, and conserve resources in the face of mounting environmental challenges. Under the companies' collaboration and licensing agreement, Monsanto would contribute $100M to access and develop Pairwise IP in row crop applications, including an option to commercialize products resulting from the research collaboration.

09:19 EDT Hudson Global holders approve strategic divestitures - Hudson Global held a special meeting of stockholders on March 20, 2018. Both proposals voted on today were approved by stockholders. The proposed sales of the recruitment and talent management businesses in Europe and Asia Pacific received 78.2% of outstanding shares and 99.9% of votes cast in favor of the proposal. The company expects to close the transactions at the end of this month, subject to customary closing conditions.

09:15 EDT M III Acquisition announces new meeting date for special meeting of stockholders - M III Acquisition announced that it has entered into several additional financing agreements to offset redemptions in anticipation of the special meeting of the Company's stockholders to approve the Company's proposed business combination with IEA Energy Services. The Company has entered into commitment agreements or backstop agreements with a total of 11 investors who have agreed to support the transaction by either not redeeming shares of common stock of the Company owned by such investors, rescinding their election to redeem shares of Common Stock owned by such investors, purchasing shares of Common Stock from other stockholders that elected to redeem and causing the redemption election to be rescinded or purchasing shares directly from the Company. In addition, the Company has negotiated and expects to enter into an additional agreement in principal with an additional party who has agreed to purchase shares of Common Stock from stockholders that have elected to redeem and who will withdraw their redemption elections, resulting in approximately $11.0M of additional proceeds in the trust account of the Company. Giving effect to these transactions, investors have agreed to purchase new shares of Common Stock or not redeem shares of Common Stock in connection with the closing of the business combination resulting in cash available to fund the purchase price in the proposed business combination of approximately $73.0M. In addition, at the closing of the business combination, the combined company expects to borrow approximately $21M under the revolving credit facility and $24M under the term loan facility. The Company has decided to postpone the special meeting until Wednesday, March 21 at 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time to allow sufficient time to finalize these agreements. The record date for the meeting has not changed.

09:12 EDT Quanterix announces collaboration with DestiNA Genomcs - Quanterix announced a collaboration with DestiNA Genomics, a manufacturer of patented reagents for nucleic acid detection. Both companies are pioneering microRNA detection and this collaboration brings together high-specificity and ultra-sensitivity for the first time, enhancing RNA biomarker detection. The collaboration's initial efforts are focusing on the development of a nucleic acid assay for direct detection and quantification of the liver toxicity biomarker microRNA-122, which is shown to have earlier and more specific performance than current protein biomarker assays. DestiNA has also purchased the SR-X for its research and development center in the Science Park of Granada, Spain, and is poised to become the first company in Europe to offer novel circulating RNA-based assays. Among new assays planned are those based on detection of exosomal RNA such as ALK variants, and a range of simplified, robust RNA-based assays.

09:10 EDT Senator Warner says time for Facebook CEO to testify before Congress - Senator Mark Warner tweeted earlier today, "It's time for Mr. Zuckerberg and the other CEOs to testify before Congress. The American people deserve answers about social media manipulation in the 2016 election."

09:07 EDT General Dynamics raises CSRA offer to $41.25 from $40.75 per share in cash - General Dynamics (GD) and CSRA (CSRA) announced that they have entered into an amendment to their definitive merger agreement under which General Dynamics will acquire all outstanding shares of CSRA for $41.25 per share in cash, an increase from the prior $40.75 per share offer. The transaction is now valued at $9.7B, including the assumption of $2.8B in CSRA debt. In connection with the amended merger agreement, CSRA's Board of Directors determined that the previously announced unsolicited proposal from CACI International, Inc to acquire CSRA could not reasonably be expected to lead to a Company Superior Proposal. In reaching that determination, CSRA's Board of Directors took into account various factors, including among others, the value, certainty of value, certainty of closing and speed to closing of the General Dynamics offer, as amended, as compared to the CACI proposal. CSRA's Board of Directors recommends that CSRA stockholders tender their shares of CSRA common stock pursuant to the General Dynamics tender offer. Under the terms of the merger agreement, as amended, on March 5, 2018, General Dynamics commenced a cash tender offer to purchase all of the outstanding shares of CSRA common stock. Today, the offer price was increased from $40.75 per share to $41.25 per share in cash. The tender offer and any withdrawal rights will expire at 11:59 pm, New York City time, on Monday, April 2, 2018, unless extended. If the tender offer is completed, the parties expect to complete the merger as soon as practicable thereafter. At the effective time of the merger, CSRA will become a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics.

09:05 EDT Rambus signs license agreement for DPA Countermeasures to Beijing Tongfang - Rambus announced that it has signed a patent license agreement with Beijing Tongfang Microelectronics Co., Ltd., a fabless chip design company focusing on smart cards and related technologies. The agreement includes the use of Rambus patents such as Differential Power Analysis, or DPA, Countermeasures, which protect devices and integrated circuits against DPA and other related side-channel attacks. Specific terms of the agreement are confidential.

09:04 EDT McClatchy names Peter Farr as Controller and Chief Accounting Officer - The McClatchy Company (MNI) announced Peter Farr will join the company as corporate controller and chief accounting officer on April 16. Peter is currently the Northwest Accounting Policy Director for The Boeing Company (BA) in Seattle, WA, where he has spent the past ten years in increasingly senior leadership roles.

08:53 EDT On The Fly: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: Apple (AAPL) and IBM (IBM) are both up marginally after announcing an expansion to their existing partnership that will allow customers to roll out advanced in-app machine learning capabilities through Apple's Core ML and IBM's Watson technology... Roku (ROKU), up 5.3% after announcing the Roku app will be available on Samsung (SSNLF) smart TVs... Arena Pharmaceuticals (ARNA), up 29.4% after it said that its ulcerative colitis drug met its primary, secondary, and clinical remission endpoints in a Phase 2 trial... Blackberry (BB), up 5.4% after it announced a strategic partnership with Microsoft (MSFT). DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Oracle (ORCL), down 9.1%... Childrens Place (PLCE), down 8.4%. ALSO LOWER: Facebook (FB) continued lower by 1.1% amidst continuing headlines regarding the company's data privacy controversy.

08:45 EDT Tabula Rasa HealthCare to provide MRM technology to national provider group - Tabula Rasa HealthCare announced that it has entered into an agreement with a national provider group to deliver Medication Risk Mitigation technology and services that will enable a more personalized approach to prescribing for their patients medication regimen, involving personalizing medication selection, dosage levels, time-of-day administration and reducing the total medication burden by eliminating unnecessary prescriptions.Avoidable adverse drug events caused by dangerous drug interactions and the imprecise use of prescriptions are the fourth leading cause of death in the U.S. TRHC's MRM technology identifies patients' risk for multi-drug interactions before they occur, helping physicians make safer prescribing choices, including the best time of day for patients to take each medicine to avoid potential harm. TRHC will offer the provider group MRM services that include a Medication Safety Review-that utilizes TRHC's proprietary MedWise Advisor platform which analyzes simultaneous, accumulative, multi-drug interactions. It also includes the option for pharmacogenomics analysis which allows prescribers to understand how a patient's genes affect their response to medications.

08:39 EDT Restoration Robotics receives FDA clearance for implantation function - Restoration Robotics announced that the company has received US FDA 510(k) clearance to expand the ARTAS technology to include implantation. The company plans to begin offering this additional functionality before the end of 2018.

08:32 EDT iFresh signs LOI to acquire Fujian Fuding Seagull Fishing Food - iFresh announced that it has signed a non-binding, letter of intent, or LOI, to acquire Fujian Fuding Seagull Fishing Food, a company located in Fujian Province, China, that specializes in seafood breeding, farming, fishing, processing and trade. The acquisition price has been set at a level of approximately RMB 525M, with a combination of cash and stock. According to the letter of intent, the company will proceed with a formal due diligence and expects to sign a definitive agreement within 90 days.

08:32 EDT Vonage introduces new comprehensive channel partnership program - Vonage has introduced a new comprehensive channel partnership program, The Vonage Partner Network. The new program was built to enable partners to solve their customers' communication needs by leveraging Vonage's unique combination of unified communications solutions and embedded communications APIs. Vonage recognized the need for a specific program to help partners capitalize on this powerful combination of cloud communications technology. Partners can now offer customers innovative ways to collaborate more productively and to engage their customers in more meaningful ways to create better business outcomes.

08:17 EDT Interpace Diagnostics expands LabCorp national agreement - Interpace Diagnostics Group (IDXG) announced that the company has executed a new agreement with LabCorp (LH) to further expand the company's national network of cytology providers in support of its Thyroid molecular business unit. The arrangement builds on the parties' 2016 agreement, which established electronic ordering and result reporting through LabCorp for the Interpace's proprietary ThyGenX and ThyraMIR tests, which can provide physicians and patients with more specific diagnostic information about the presence of thyroid cancer in patients whose initial biopsy does not conclusively indicate whether a thyroid nodule is malignant or benign.Under the parties' new agreement, physicians will be able to order both thyroid biopsy analysis and molecular testing from Interpace. Dianon Pathology, a member of the LabCorp Specialty Testing Group, will be available to the biopsy analysis, and in the event of an indeterminate result, Interpace will then perform its molecular tests. In addition, physicians who order thyroid biopsy analysis services from Dianon can request an automatic reflex to Interpace's tests in the event of an indeterminate biopsy result, in which case Dianon will then automatically refer those samples to Interpace to perform the Company's proprietary assays, ThyGenX and ThyraMIR. Since Interpace first started offering integrated cytology services to customers, a significant percentage of cases ultimately deemed indeterminate have been referred to Interpace's molecular testing, providing physicians and patients with greater diagnostic clarity and reduced turnaround times, helping physicians and patients to more quickly learn whether there is a diagnosis of cancer, and allowing treatment to be commenced earlier when necessary.

08:16 EDT AES Corp. upgraded by S&P to BB+ - The AES Corporation's credit rating was upgraded one notch by S&P Global Ratings, to BB+ from BB. The upgrade was a direct result of accelerated debt reduction from asset sale proceeds. "We are pleased that in recognition of our substantial de-levering, S&P has upgraded our credit rating to BB+. We remain committed to achieving investment grade credit metrics by 2019," said Tom O'Flynn, AES EVP and CFO. "Our continued credit improvement should enhance our financial flexibility and improve our equity valuation." AES closed the sale of its entire equity interest in its businesses in the Philippines, to SMC Global Power Holdings Corp. for $1.05B in proceeds. The sale included AES' equity interest in the 630 MW Masinloc coal-fired power plant in operation, the 335 MW Masinloc 2 coal-fired power plant under construction and the 10 MW Masinloc energy storage project in operation.

08:15 EDT Inovio closes license and collaboration agreement with ApolloBio for VGX-3100 - Inovio Pharmaceuticals announced it has closed an agreement providing ApolloBio with the exclusive right to develop, manufacture and commercialize VGX-3100, Inovio's DNA immunotherapy product designed to treat precancers caused by human papillomavirus, within Greater China. ApolloBio, which has garnered all regulatory and board approvals for the agreement, will immediately make an upfront payment to Inovio of $23M as well as potential future payments up to $20M upon meeting certain milestones. In addition, Inovio is entitled to receive double-digit tiered royalty payments on sales. This collaboration of VGX-3100 encompasses the treatment and/or prevention of precancerous HPV infections and HPV-driven dysplasias and excludes HPV-driven cancers and all combinations of VGX-3100 with other immunostimulants. The agreement also provides for potential inclusion of the Republic of Korea during the next three years.

08:13 EDT Motus GI Holdings secures European patent for Pure-Vu System - Motus GI Holdings announced that the European Patent Office, or EPO, has issued a patent No. 3079556 related to the Pure-Vu System, a medical device that cleans the colon to facilitate improved visualization during a colonoscopy procedure to enable a quality exam. The Pure-Vu System is currently being introduced on a pilot basis in the U.S. market. Motus is planning to initiate a full commercial launch in the U.S. and select international markets in 2019. The company recently announced CE mark approval for the Pure-Vu System in Europe and expects to continue to involve key European clinical centers in the post-approval clinical trials that it plans to conduct during the next 12 months and beyond.

08:11 EDT Roku app to be available on Samsung smart TVs - Roku (ROKU) announced that The Roku Channel, an AVOD app, is expected to be available this summer on select Samsung (SSNLF) smart TVs. Launched late last year, The Roku Channel features films from leading studios and content partners. Samsung customers will enjoy award winners and big screen classics, whenever they want at no cost. There are no subscriptions, fees or logins required to access The Roku Channel. It is ad-supported and features approximately half the advertising per programming hour as compared to traditional linear TV.

08:07 EDT Arcadia Biosciences names Sarah Reiter CCO - Arcadia Biosciences announced that Sarah Reiter has joined the company's executive team as CCO. Reiter has more than 20 years of experience in the agriculture and food industries. Most recently, Reiter was US country head for STK Bio-ag Technologies, where she managed sales, distribution and business development functions

08:05 EDT Accenture and SAP to go to market with manufacturing industry solutions - Accenture (ACN) and SAP (SAP) plan to co-innovate, co-develop and jointly go to market with extended planning solutions based on SAP S/4HANA for the manufacturing industry. This collaboration will expand the capabilities of SAP S/4HANA and help companies optimize return on investment with more responsive, real-time digital supply chains. Accenture's team will provide best practices, business case analysis and deployment support capabilities to accelerate customer adoption of Demand Driven MRP in the supply chain management space.

08:02 EDT OncoSec announces strategic relocation of office and lab in San Diego - OncoSec Medical announced a strategic relocation of its office and lab in San Diego that is expected to provide immediate and significant cost-savings of approximately $65,000 per month. On March 16, the company assigned its existing 7.6-year lease obligation in San Diego to a third party and entered into a new office and lab sublease in San Diego with the same third party. The assignment / new sublease transaction eliminates the company's existing long-term lease of approximately 34,000 square feet, obligated through October 2025 with costs of approximately $145,000 per month or approximately $14M over the life of the lease. The new, shorter-term sublease of approximately 12,422 square feet is committed through September 2020 and costs approximately $80,000 per month or approximately $2.2M over the life of the lease. The assignment / new sublease transaction results in an immediate cash savings of approximately $65,000 per month in rent and associated expenses.

08:02 EDT Axcelis announces order for Purion H high current system from new customer - Axcelis Technologies announced that it has penetrated a new customer with the Purion H high current system with an order from a leading advanced logic chip manufacturer. The Purion H will be used to develop and manufacture sub 10nm logic devices. The system shipped in the Q1.

07:34 EDT KemPharm announces 'positive' topline results from KP415 pharmacokinetic study - KemPharm announced that topline results from its ongoing pediatric and adolescent pharmacokinetic study suggest that following oral administration of its KP415 product candidate, exposure to d-methylphenidate is predictable in patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder between the ages of 6 and 17 years. Study KP415.105 was single-dose, single-period, PK study with a KP415/d-methylphenidate capsule in children 6-12 years and adolescents 13-17 years old with ADHD. Each subject received one of two dose levels: 28/6 mg KP415/d-MPH or 56/12 mg KP415/d-MPH. PK data were available and analyzed from 30 subjects: 10 children 6-8 years old received the 28/6 mg KP415/d-MPH capsule; 10 children 9-12 years old received the 56/12 mg KP415/d-MPH capsule; 10 adolescents 13-17-year-old received either the 28/6 or 56/12 mg KP415/d-MPH capsule. Body weights ranged from 21 kg to 73 kg. Consistent with published studies of methylphenidate pharmacokinetics, exposure of d-MPH decreased with age due to body weight differences between younger children and adolescents based on topline data. When normalized by dose and body weight, d-MPH exposure and PK parameters were comparable between age groups. KP415 is KemPharm's d-MPH prodrug composition product candidate designed for the broad treatment needs of the ADHD population. KemPharm believes the prodrug may also demonstrate a lower abuse potential as well as less variability in the delivery of d-MPH compared to current methylphenidate products.

07:31 EDT Repligen announces market launch of OPUS 80R - Repligen Corporation announced the commercial launch of its next-generation OPUS column, the OPUS 80R, which is the largest pre-packed column on the market and is suitable for late-stage clinical into commercial-scale manufacturing of biological drugs. OPUS columns are used in downstream manufacturing processes, to purify biologics including monoclonal antibodies, recombinant proteins, vaccines and gene therapies. The OPUS product line is the industry's broadest and most scalable with packed bed volumes now ranging from 50 microliters to 150 liters. The groundbreaking OPUS 80R columns are being highlighted in a Technology Workshop on March 21st at the BioProcess International West conference in San Francisco.

07:21 EDT Children's Place down 9.3% to $126.00 after Q4 results, FY18 guidance

07:12 EDT Cardiome board 'unanimously' approves agreement with Cipher Pharmaceuticals - The Board of Directors of Cardiome, after receiving financial and legal advice, has unanimously approved the arrangement agreement and unanimously determined that the arrangement is fair to the shareholders of Cardiome and is in the best interests of Cardiome. Further, the Board of Directors of Cardiome will recommend that shareholders of Cardiome vote in favour of the arrangement.

07:06 EDT New analyses confirms patients with Medtronic AdaptivCRT experience less AF - Two real-world analyses featuring the Medtronic AdaptivCRT algorithm reinforce that its use is linked to a reduction in atrial fibrillation, or AF, episodes, as well as tied to higher patient activity levels. The results, involving 408 patients with heart failure and a Medtronic cardiac resynchronization therapy, or CRT, device at 26 centers in Italy, were unveiled at the European Heart Rhythm Association, or EHRA, Scientific Sessions 2018 in Barcelona, Spain. The first analysis revealed a significant reduction in the incidence of AF episodes of all measured durations in 210 patients with AdaptivCRT ON compared to 198 patients with conventional CRT.

07:05 EDT Merus, Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology form strategic research collaboration - Merus and the Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology announced a strategic research collaboration to develop novel agents for therapeutic applications. The collaboration will combine Merus' proprietary Biclonics technology platform and VHIO's expertise in clinical, translational and preclinical research. Josep Tabernero, M.D., Ph.D., M.Sc., Director of VHIO, has served as a scientific advisor to Merus for the past six years.

07:04 EDT Trillium Therapeutics receives FDA Orphan Drug Designation for TTI-621 - Trillium Therapeutics announced that the FDA Office of Orphan Products Development has granted an Orphan Drug Designation to TTI-621 for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

07:03 EDT Cipher to acquire Canadian business portfolio of Cardiome

07:02 EDT Boston Scientific: Data show safety, effectiveness of RHYTHMIA Mapping System - Boston Scientific announced real-world data from the TRUE-HD study during a late-breaking clinical trial session at the annual congress of the European Heart Rhythm Association in Barcelona, Spain. The data demonstrated the RHYTHMIA Mapping System, when paired with the INTELLAMAP ORION Mapping Catheter, continues to be safe and effective for mapping and to support treatment of a wide variety of arrhythmias, including a cohort of patients who had unsuccessful ablation of atrial fibrillation using other techniques. The global TRUE-HD study examined procedural process, acute success and safety for the mapping and ablation of various clinical arrhythmias. Depending on the arrhythmia type, study data showed an acute success rate of up to 95.7%. In 222 patients, procedure process included the creation of validation maps to confirm the termination of an arrhythmia. Utilization of the RHYTHMIA Mapping System vMap feature allowed physicians to rapidly assess therapy efficacy and determine if other arrhythmias were present. When completed, validation mapping identified the need for additional ablations in 73.0% of patients.

06:55 EDT Cardiome trading halted, news pending

06:35 EDT ReneSola forms strategic partnership with Green City Energy - ReneSola announced that it formed a strategic partnership with Green City Energy to jointly develop four solar parks in the south of France with a total installed capacity of 69 MW, generating approximately 105M kWh of solar power per year. Now, it's a turning point for solar power production in southern France. The resident photovoltaic system operators can offer green electricity at competitive prices, and thus the projects can be economically feasible without government subsidies. Under the terms of the partnership agreement, ReneSola and Green City Energy AG have formed a joint holding company. ReneSola owns 95% of the joint holding company during the development period that is estimated to be approximately two years. Following the project development phase, Green City Energy AG will take control of the solar plants entirely.

06:27 EDT Facebook's Alex Stamos says 'still fully engaged with my work at Facebook' - Alex Stamos, Facebook's security chief rumored to be leaving amid disagreements with top execs over disinformation, tweeted, "Despite the rumors, I'm still fully engaged with my work at Facebook. It's true that my role did change. I'm currently spending more time exploring emerging security risks and working on election security." Reference Link

06:17 EDT Children's Place announces license agreement with Zhejiang Semir Garment - The Children's Place announced that it has signed an exclusive license agreement for the Greater China market, covering Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, with Zhejiang Semir Garment Co., parent of Balabala, China's largest specialty children's apparel retailer. Jane Elfers, President and CEO said, "Today's announcement unites two of the world's largest children's apparel retailers, both with long and outstanding track records of success. Entering the China market through this strategic partnership is a game-changer for our international business and is clearly a case where one plus one equals three." Elfers continued, "The young children's apparel market is already one of the fastest growing categories in China. It is currently estimated at $24 billion and, with China's two child policy firmly in place, is forecasted to double by 2025. Semir, through their Balabala brand, currently operates and franchises approximately 4,400 children's apparel stores as well as having the largest children's apparel ecommerce business in China through their partnership with third party platforms, such as Tmall, JD and VIP.com. Over the first five years of this agreement, Semir will execute an omni-channel strategy by opening at least 300 Children's Place locations in Greater China and operating The Children's Place ecommerce business. This partnership is projected to generate $125 million to $150 million in retail sales in year five."

06:11 EDT Apple, IBM partnership expands with new machine learning integrations - Apple and IBM announced an expansion to their existing partnership that will allow customers to roll out advanced in-app machine learning capabilities through Apple's Core ML and IBM's Watson technology. Reference Link

06:08 EDT Children's Place announces $125M accelerated share repurchase program - The Children's Place (PLCE) announced it intends to enter into an Accelerated Share Repurchase program with Goldman Sachs & Co. (GS) to repurchase an aggregate of $125M of the company's common stock under its current authorization using cash repatriated from its foreign subsidiaries. This ASR program is part of the Company's existing share repurchase program previously authorized by the Board of Directors. Under the terms of the ASR program, the Company will repurchase an aggregate of $125 million of its common stock with an initial delivery of approximately 80% of the shares expected to be repurchased. The Company intends to retire these initial shares as soon as practical after receipt. The final number of shares to be repurchased under the ASR will be based on a discount to the volume-weighted average stock price and will be determined at the completion of the ASR program. Purchases under the ASR are expected to be completed

06:06 EDT Pinnacle Bancshares signs license agreement with Zhejiang Semir Garment - The Children's Place announced that it has signed an exclusive license agreement for the Greater China market, covering Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, with Zhejiang Semir Garment, parent of Balabala, China's largest specialty children's apparel retailer.

06:03 EDT Smart Sand enters into Master Product Purchase Agreement with large company - Smart Sand announced that, in anticipation of its recent acquisition of the rights to a unit train capable transloading terminal in Van Hook, North Dakota, it entered into a multi-year Master Product Purchase Agreement with a large exploration and production company. The products will be sold through the newly acquired transloading terminal, and the obligations under the Agreement will commence after such facility is operational, which we expect will be in April 2018. The Agreement is structured as a take-or-pay agreement.

05:33 EDT McDonald's announces target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions - McDonald's announces it will partner with franchisees and suppliers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions related to McDonald's restaurants and offices by 36% by 2030 from a 2015 base year in a new strategy to address global climate change. Additionally, McDonald's commits to a 31% reduction in emissions intensity, per metric ton of food and packaging, across its supply chain by 2030 from 2015 levels. This combined target has been approved by the Science Based Targets initiative, or SBTi. Through these actions, McDonald's expects to prevent 150 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions from being released into the atmosphere by 2030. This is the equivalent of taking 32 million passenger cars off the road for an entire year or planting 3.8 billion trees and growing them for 10 years. The target will enable McDonald's to grow as a business without growing its emissions. To reach its target, McDonald's will work across its supply chain, offices and restaurants to be more innovative and efficient through improvements such as LED lighting, energy efficient kitchen equipment, sustainable packaging, restaurant recycling, and by elevating and supporting sustainable agriculture practices. In collaboration with thousands of franchisees, suppliers and producers, McDonald's will prioritize action on the largest segments of its carbon footprint: beef production, restaurant energy usage and sourcing, packaging and waste. These segments combined, account for approximately 64% of McDonald's global emissions.

05:26 EDT Shopify announces expanded integration with Instagram - Shopify (SHOP) announces its expanded integration with Instagram (FB). The "shopping on Instagram" feature that allows businesses to tag products in Instagram posts is now enabled for merchants in eight additional markets: UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Brazil. This strategic expansion unlocks potential for Shopify's merchants to sell to Instagram users all over the world. With the objective of helping our merchants reach more shoppers around the world, Shopify continues to invest in social commerce so brands and small businesses can sell to shoppers wherever they are. With its 500 million daily active users, Instagram is a natural integration alongside Shopify's other sales channels like Facebook, BuzzFeed, Pinterest and eBay, and will help brands leverage mobile to reach consumers around the world.

05:20 EDT Ctrip, Royal Caribbean to end SkySea JV - Ctrip.com (CTRP) and Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL) announced that they are ending the SkySea Cruise Line joint venture in the autumn of 2018. TUI AG's Marella Cruises has agreed to purchase Golden Era, with delivery expected in December 2018, subject to satisfaction of closing conditions. Ctrip and RCL currently each own a minority of SkySea, with the balance owned by SkySea management and a private equity fund. SkySea Cruise Line, the first smart contemporary cruise line specifically developed for the Chinese market, has been operating SkySea Golden Era since May 2015. By the time of the final voyage, SkySea Cruise Line will have operated close to 300 cruises and carried nearly 500,000 guests in just over three years. SkySea Cruise Line will continue operations with the final voyage to be confirmed in the coming weeks. During this time, the brand is committed to delivering the same outstanding cruise vacations to its guests and support to its travel agent partners and vendors as it has since its inception. SkySea's final China season will offer exciting theme cruises and truly memorable experiences for Golden Era vacationers. The cruise market in China is still in early stages but holds big potential. In 2017, there were less than 3 million cruise passengers in China, which is much less than the over 10 million passengers for the US market. The cruise business on Ctrip group's platforms generated over 70% revenue growth year-over-year in 2017. The cruise business will continue to be an essential part of Ctrip's one-stop platform and the company will continue to work closely with all the cruise lines in the world, including Royal Caribbean, to better service the growing number of Chinese cruise travelers. Through its Royal Caribbean International brand, RCL will continue to serve the Chinese market, with the largest fleet deployment in the region and a strong collaborative relationship with Ctrip.