Stockwinners Market Radar for April 06, 2018 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

18:32 EDT Ellington Financial announces estimated book value per share $19.56 on March 31 - Ellington Financial announced that its estimated book value per common share as of March 31 was $19.56, or $19.24 on a diluted basis.

18:02 EDT Comcast teams up with Chicago Cubs on multi-year technology partnership - The Chicago Cubs announced that it is teaming up with Comcast on a new, multi-year technology and marketing partnership that will provide WiFi, video and voice services at Wrigley Field and the team's surrounding properties, including the Cubs' new front office at 1101 W. Waveland. The agreement also makes Xfinity Mobile the Cubs' exclusive wireless partner. A number of these new branding and service elements will be on display when the Cubs take on the Pittsburgh Pirates in their home opener on April 9. Comcast eventually plans to provide exclusive in-game video services as well, including live game feeds and other content throughout Wrigley Field and the park.

17:37 EDT Pacira announces FDA approval of sNDA to expand use of EXPAREL - Pacira announced that the U.S. FDA has approved its supplemental new drug application to broaden the use of EXPAREL to include administration via interscalene brachial plexus block to produce postsurgical regional analgesia. With this approval, EXPAREL is the first long-acting, single-dose nerve block available for patients undergoing upper extremity surgeries, such as total shoulder arthroplasty or rotator cuff repair.

17:27 EDT Pacira trading halted, news pending

16:59 EDT Michael Brauser reports 13.2% stake in Red Violet

16:30 EDT Spruce House Investment reports 6.5% passive stake in Wayfair

15:39 EDT Monmouth Real Estate acquires building in Daytona Beach, FL for $30.75M - Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corporation announced the acquisition of a brand new 399,440 square foot industrial building located at 1341 N. Clyde Morris Boulevard, Daytona Beach, FL at a purchase price of $30.75M. The property is net-leased for 10 years to B. Braun Medical Inc., a Pennsylvania corporation. The building is situated on approximately 27.5 acres.

15:07 EDT NewLink Genetics announces review of clinical programs after Incyte news

14:50 EDT Oragenics trading resumes

14:21 EDT Facebook announces changes to ads, pages policies to 'increase transparency' - Facebook announced "important changes" to the way it manages ads and Pages on Facebook as well as Instagram. Such changes are designed to "increase transparency and accountability, as well as prevent election interference." Facebook said it is extending the requirement that only authorized advertisers be able to run electoral ads on Facebook or Instagram to anyone that wants to show "issue ads," such as political topics being debated across the country. Facebook noted it is working with third parties to develop a list of key issues, which the company will refine over time. "To get authorized by Facebook, advertisers will need to confirm their identity and location," the company said. "Advertisers will be prohibited from running political ads - electoral or issue-based - until they are authorized." In addition, such ads will be clearly labeled in the top left corner as "Political Ad." The company is also investing in artificial intelligence and adding more people to help find advertisers that should have gone through the authorization process but did not. Facebook also said that it has been testing a new feature in Canada called view ads that lets users see the ads a Page is running, even if they are not in one's News Feed. Facebook said it plans to launch view ads globally in June and plans to release a public, searchable political ads archive in June. Facebook also announced that people who manage Pages with large numbers of followers will need to be verified. Those who manage large Pages that do not clear the process will no longer be able to post. This will make it much harder for people to administer a Page using a fake account, which is strictly against our policies. Facebook will also show users additional context about Pages to effectively assess their content. "We know we were slow to pick-up foreign interference in the 2016 US elections," Facebook said. "Today's updates are designed to prevent future abuse in elections - and to help ensure you have the information that you need to assess political and issue ads, as well as content on Pages. By increasing transparency around ads and Pages on Facebook, we can increase accountability for advertisers - improving our service for everyone." Reference Link

14:10 EDT Oragenics trading halted, news pending

14:01 EDT Supervalu jumps after Bloomberg says company exploring potential sale

13:23 EDT Pacira jumps as FDA site posts update on Exparel - Shares of Pacira have surged by as much as 22% after the FDA posted an update to its site that includes a link to an update label for the company's Exparel drug. That link, however, currently is not working. The Fly notes that today was the FDA's PDUFA date for potential expansion of Exparel's label to specify nerve block. Reference Link

13:19 EDT Vuzix files defamation lawsuit against short seller Richard Pearson - Vuzix announces that the company has filed a defamation lawsuit against Ricardo Antonio Pearson in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, County of New York. Vuzix is seeking damages in excess of $80M including punitive damages, money damages and interest. The company said, "Ricardo Antonio Pearson, who uses the pseudonym 'Richard Pearson,' is a veteran short seller. Pearson recently published two 'Short and Distort' articles on March 16, 2018 and March 20, 2018, respectively, that are riddled with false, misleading and defamatory statements about Vuzix." CEO Paul Travers said, "The filing of this lawsuit is a necessary course of action to defend the interests of the company and all of the company's shareholders, customers and business partners against false, misleading and defamatory statements made about Vuzix by a malicious short seller. The decision to pursue legal action against the short seller was a unanimous decision by our Board of Directors and is not something that any of us take lightly. Vuzix employees are an extremely proud and humble group of individuals that have and continue to work hard to do things 'the right way' and we will not stand idly by when clearly false and misleading statements and attacks are made against our company."

13:19 EDT Mnuchin says going after Amazon not about Bezos owning Washington Post - Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is speaking on CNBC.

13:13 EDT Mnuchin says investors sill have 'big gains' in stock market - Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is speaking on CNBC.

13:08 EDT Mnuchin says 'of course' he knew about Trump's $100B statement on China - Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is speaking on CNBC.

13:06 EDT Oracle 'pleased' court accepted guilty pleas in Terix case - Oracle released a statement on the Terix criminal sentences: "Oracle is pleased that the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio accepted the guilty pleas of James Olding and Bernd Appleby, the principals of Terix, for their roles in misappropriating Oracle's intellectual property and sentenced them both to prison for their criminal acts," says Oracle spokesperson Deborah Hellinger. "Oracle takes violations of its intellectual property rights very seriously and, as demonstrated by Oracle's lawsuits against Terix, Rimini Street and other IP violators, Oracle will not hesitate to go after those who do so. Oracle appreciates the fine work of the law enforcement officials whose efforts led to the criminal penalties assessed against Terix's principals." In June 2015, Oracle obtained a judgment against Terix for copyright infringement based on Terix's theft of patches and updates to Oracle's Solaris operating system.

12:58 EDT Turtle Beach announces 1-for-4 reverse stock split - Turtle Beach Corporation announced that its board has approved a 1-for-4 reverse split of its common stock, effective at the close of business. As a result of the reverse stock split, every four shares of the company's common stock will be converted into one share of common stock, reducing the number of issued and outstanding shares from approximately 49.4M to approximately 12.4M. No fractional shares of common stock will be issued in connection with the reverse stock split, and any fractional shares created as a result of the reverse stock split will be rounded up to one additional whole share. Turtle Beach expects its common stock to commence trading on a split-adjusted basis as of the open of trading on Monday, April 9. Turtle Beach's trading symbol will remain "HEAR."

12:50 EDT Clovis near highs, up 5% to $55.26

12:38 EDT Longfin CEO's view on short sellers same as NYSE's Farley, Muddy Waters says - Muddy Waters Research just tweeted, "See how often short sellers are wrongly blamed for stocks going down? $LFIN CEO blames shorts just two days before the SEC accuses insiders of illegally whacking bids w/ their stock. Unfortunately GREAT PATRIOT Tom Farley of @NYSE shares the same view on shorts as LFIN CEO." Tom Farley is the president of the New York Stock Exchange, which is owned by IntercontinentalExchange (ICE). Shares of Longfin (LFIN) were halted today for information with the stock up 47% to $28.19. The SEC announced earlier that it has obtained a court order freezing more than $27M in trading proceeds from allegedly illegal distributions and sales of restricted shares of Longfin stock involving the company, its CEO, and three other affiliated individuals.

12:20 EDT Takeda says CEO comments over Shire aligned with previous statements - Takeda Pharmaceutical (TKPYY) notes media reports about comments attributed to Takeda's CEO Christophe Weber regarding the company's possible offer for Shire (SHPG). Takeda confirms that Weber's comments were "aligned with the statements in the company's previous press releases." The company added, "As set out in the press releases 'Takeda Statement Regarding Shire plc' on March 28, 2018 in English and 'Takeda's official statement on Shire's stock fluctuation' on March 29, 2018 in Japanese, clearly defined strategic and financial objectives are core to Takeda's disciplined approach to acquisitions, including in relation to its dividend policy and credit rating, which are well-established. Any potential offer for Shire, if made, would have to align with this strict investment criteria."

11:50 EDT MoviePass, Flix Brewhouse announce official partnership - MoviePass, a majority-owned subsidiary of Helios and Matheson Analytics (HMNY), announced a partnership with Flix Brewhouse, the nation's only cinema circuit that pairs full service in-theater dining with a craft brewery at every location. Started in 2011, Flix Brewhouse is based in Round Rock, Texas and operates locations there as well as in Iowa, Indiana, New Mexico, and the DFW metroplex, which is expected to open in April 2018. As of the time of the announcement of the partnership, MoviePass is fully integrated into the POS ticketing systems at all Flix Brewhouse theaters. MoviePass members can now use the service at Flix Brewhouses for additional benefits and features, including e-ticketing, in-app reserved seat selection, advance screening booking. The announcement comes as MoviePass continues to expand its exhibitor presence by focusing on partnering with exciting and innovative exhibitors around the country.

11:27 EDT The Intersection: Crypto and Wall Street This Week - As bitcoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrencies get increasing attention from investors, Wall Street and its traditional banks continue to adjust to the shift. Catch up on this week's top stories highlighting the intersection of these old guard and new school areas of finance with this recap compiled by The Fly: 1. BITMAIN UNVEILS MINING SYSTEM: China-based Bitmain unveiled a specialized digital currency mining system for ethereum, which analysts predicted could harm demand for graphics cards, potentially impacting AMD (AMD) and Nvidia (NVDA), CNBC reported Tuesday. The system will ship in mid-to-late July for $800 each. Analysts now expect the company will dominate the ethereum mining market, which is estimated to account for roughly 20% of AMD's sales and 10% of Nvidia's revenue. 2. SEC FREEZE OF LONGFIN STOCK SALES: The Securities and Exchange Commission announced on Friday it has obtained a court order freezing more than $27M in trading proceeds from allegedly illegal distributions and sales of restricted shares of Longfin (LFIN) stock involving the company, its chief executive officer, and three other affiliated individuals According to the SEC's complaint, Longfin's founding CEO and controlling shareholder, Venkata Meenavalli, caused the company to issue more than two million unregistered, restricted shares to Altahawi, who was the corporate secretary and a director of Longfin, and tens of thousands of restricted shares to two other affiliated individuals, Penumarthi and Tammineedi, who were allegedly acting as nominees for Meenavalli. The subsequent sales of those restricted shares violated federal securities laws, said the SEC. Meanwhile, Longfin shares have been halted for additional information requested by Nasdaq. 3. COINBASE LAUNCHES VENTURE FUND: In a Friday blog post, Coinbase said, "Here at Coinbase, we're committed to creating an open financial system for the world...That's why today, we're announcing the formation of Coinbase Ventures. We'll be providing financing to promising early stage companies that have the teams and ideas that can move the space forward in a positive, meaningful way. At least in the beginning, our goal is simply to help the most compelling companies in the space to flourish....You may also see us invest in companies that ostensibly look competitive with Coinbase." 4. COINCHECK ACCEPTS MONEX TAKEOVER OFFER: Tokyo-based cryptocurrency exchange Coincheck, which suffered a $530M theft in January, has accepted a takeover from Japanese online brokerage Monex Group, Nikkei Asian Review reported Friday. Coincheck will restructure its management in an attempt to regain investor trust with Monex COO Toshihiko Katsuya being appointed as new president. 5. RBI BANS CRYPTO DEALINGS: The Reserve Bank of India announced that regulated financial institutions in the country can no longer legally deal with cryptocurrencies, CNBC reported Thursday. "In view of the associated risks, it has been decided that, with immediate effect, entities regulated by RBI shall not deal with or provide services to any individual or business entities dealing with or settling [virtual currencies]," the bank said. 6. SOROS PREPARES TO TRADE CRYPTO: George Soros' $26B family office, Soros Fund Management, is planning to trade digital assets despite Soros previously calling cryptocurrencies a bubble in January, Bloomberg reported Friday. Adam Fisher, who oversees macro investing at the firm, has secured internal approval to trade the virtual currency in the last few months, although he has yet to make a wager. 7. RIPPLE STRUGGLES TO LIST: Ripple, which controls the world's third-largest cryptocurrency XRP, has been unable to close deals to list on U.S. cryptocurrency exchanges Gemini and Coinbase even after offering to pay financial incentives to the venues, Bloomberg reported Wednesday. The company, which has had banks sign onto its networks and purchase equity stakes in it business, has faced a major headwind from warnings by U.S. officials to unlicensed exchanges to not list tokens that could be deemed securities. CRYPTO STOCK PLAYS: Cryptocurrency revenues have been pointed to as reasons to be bullish on Advanced Micro Devices and Nvidia in select research. Overstock (OSTK), DPW Holdings (DPW), Long Blockchain (LBCC), Kodak (KODK), Seven Stars Cloud Group (SSC), Riot Blockchain (RIOT), Longfin, Pareteum (TEUM) and Social Reality (SRAX) are other stocks that have been touted, or promoted themselves, as a way to play the crypto theme PRICE ACTION: As of time of writing, bitcoin dropped roughly 0.7% this week to $6,596 in U.S. dollars according to CoinDesk. WANT BITCOIN NEWS ALERTS?: To receive alerts on stories relating to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, Fly subscribers can enter "Bitcoin" into the "Add symbols" box of their portfolios.

10:49 EDT Day after UBS says sell Micron, Nomura sticks by shares doubling - Shares of Micron Technology (MU) are in focus after a Nomura analyst kept a $100 target on the stock following "positive" meetings with management. Nomura's confidence is of particular note as it comes in sharp contrast to the opinion of UBS, which started coverage of the stock with a Sell rating yesterday. POSITIVE MANAGEMENT MEETINGS: After spending two days meeting investors with Micron's new chief financial officer David Zinsner and head of investor relations Shanye Hudson, Nomura Instinet analyst Romit Shah maintained a Buy rating on the shares with a $100 price target. In a research note on Friday, Shah says he left the meetings with "several positive takeaways." The analyst does not anticipate a "massive step-up" in capital expenditures next fiscal year. Further, management did not seem concerned that NAND selling price declines in the February period would persist and they dispelled concerns about mergers and acquisitions, Shah said. He adds that Micron continues to expect dynamic random-access memory suppliers to be rational about capacity expansion in an effort to sustain high margins and cash flow. UBS SAYS SELL: On Thursday, UBS analyst Timothy Arcuri started coverage on the U.S. Semiconductors and Semi Equipment sector, expressing the view that consolidation and a slowdown in Moore's Law should actually lead to pricing power and inflationary effects that are still in the early innings. However, the analyst told investors he also believes semis are still cyclical and sees some signs of caution moving into later 2018 and 2019 as inventory is likely to start growing faster than revenue and year over year compares start to become unfavorable. For memory, Arcuri is cautious on the cycle near-term, but expects structurally higher profitability levels to ultimately drive a re-rating of the memory and SPE complex. The analyst started coverage of Micron with a Sell rating and a $35 price target, citing cyclical memory concerns and his expectation for "big estimate cuts." In his analysis, Arcuri argued that artificial intelligence is a huge driver for semis, but in the near-term, memory has driven about two-thirds of the revenue growth across the space and "pricing is about to roll over, potentially worse than 2015/2016." PRICE ACTION: Micron rose about 0.7%, or 32c, to $50.16 in morning trading.

10:08 EDT Longfin trading halted for information by Nasdaq - Longfin shares have been halted for additional information requested by Nasdaq.

09:25 EDT NewLink Genetics plunges after competitor IDO drug fails in trial - Shares of NewLink Genetics (NLNK), a clinical-stage company focused on developing and commercializing immunotherapeutic products for the treatment of cancer, are plunging in pre-market trading after a competitor exploring the same areas of cancer treatment reported a clinical trial that did not succeed in achieving its goal. INCYTE/MERCK COMBO MISSES MARK: Incyte (INCY) and partner Merck (MRK) announced this morning that an external Data Monitoring Committee, or eDMC, review of the pivotal Phase 3 ECHO-301/KEYNOTE-252 study results evaluating Incyte's epacadostat in combination with Merck's Keytruda in patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma determined that the study did not meet the primary endpoint of improving progression-free survival in the overall population compared to Keytruda monotherapy. Epacadostat belongs to a class of drugs called IDO inhibitors. NewLink's Indoximod is an investigational, orally available small molecule targeting the IDO pathway. NEKTAR DOWN TOO: Shares of Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR), whose clinical programs include immuno-oncology and immunology are also sliding this morning. Adam Feuerstein of STAT has tweeted this morning: "$NKTR is the new $INCY. Anyone worried about that now?" PRICE ACTION: In pre-market trading, Nektar shares are down about 6%, Incyte is down 21% and NewLink has plunged about 37.5%.

09:02 EDT IES Holdings acquires Azimuth Communications - IES Holdings announced that its subsidiary IES Communications has acquired Azimuth Communications, a Portland, Oregon-based provider of design and integration services for structured cabling, physical security, access control systems, distributed antenna systems, wireless access, and audio visual systems.

08:57 EDT Teamsport Parent to acquire eHi Car Services for $6.75 per share - eHi Car Services announced that it has entered into a definitive Agreement and Plan of Merger with Teamsport Parent Limited and Teamsport Bidco Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Parent. Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, Parent will acquire the company for cash consideration equal to $6.75 per common share of the Company or $13.50 in cash per American depositary share of the Company, each of which represents two Class A common shares of the Company, other than Rollover Shares and ADSs representing Rollover Shares, as applicable. This represents a 15.4% premium over the closing price of $11.70 per ADS as quoted by the NYSE on November 24, 2017, and a premium of 20.8% and 22.8%, respectively, over the Company's 30- and 60- trading day volume-weighted average price as quoted by the NYSE prior to November 24, 2017, the last trading day prior to the Company's announcement on November 27, 2017 that it had received a non-binding "going private" proposal (which announcement was updated on January 2, 2018 to reflect the proposal from an affiliate of MBK Partners Fund IV, L.P. and Ray Ruiping Zhang, the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Company). The merger consideration also represents an increase of approximately 1.1% from the original $6.675 per Share and $13.35 per ADS offer price in the non-binding "going private" proposal dated January 1, 2018 from an affiliate of MBK Partners Fund IV, L.P. and Mr. Zhang. The consideration to be paid to holders of Shares and ADSs implies an equity value for the Company of approximately $937.5 million. Immediately following the consummation of the transactions contemplated under the Merger Agreement, Parent will be beneficially owned by a consortium comprising new investors, including certain affiliates of MBK Partners Fund IV, L.P., Baring Private Equity Asia Limited and Redstone Capital Management Limited, and certain existing shareholders of the Company, including L&L Horizon, LLC, an affiliate of Zhang, The Crawford Group, and Dongfeng Asset Management Co. Ltd. As of the date of the Merger Agreement, the members of the Consortium beneficially own in the aggregate 15,528,160 Class A common shares, which includes 5,264,080 ADSs that BPEA Teamsport Limited, an affiliate of Baring Private Equity Asia Limited, has the right to acquire pursuant to the terms of a Securities Purchase Agreement, dated as of February 23, 2018, between Tiger Global Mauritius Fund and BPEA Teamsport, and 25,836,435 Class B common shares, which represent in aggregate approximately 29.6% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company and 37.5% of the outstanding voting power of the Company. The Company's board of directors, acting upon the unanimous recommendation of the special committee formed by the board of directors, approved the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, including the Merger, and resolved to recommend that the Company's shareholders authorize and approve the Merger Agreement and the Transactions, including the Merger. The closing of the Merger is currently expected to occur during the second or third quarter of 2018, and is subject to the satisfaction or waiver of the closing conditions set forth in the Merger Agreement, including the requisite approval of the shareholders of the Company and the consent of requisite holders of the senior unsecured notes issued by the Company in 2015 and 2017, if applicable, as well as certain other customary closing conditions.

08:53 EDT Teamsport Parent to acquire eHi Car Services for $6.75 per share

08:44 EDT On The Fly: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: Wynn Resorts (WYNN), up 2% after The New York Post reported, citing sources, that MGM Resorts (MGM) has expressed interest in acquiring its rival casino operator... Crispr Therapeutics (CRSP), up 3% after Goldman Sachs initiated the stock with a Buy rating and $86 price target. UP AFTER EARNINGS: Greenbrier (GBX), up 4.5%. LOWER: Merck (MRK), down 1% after reporting that the Phase 3 ECHO-301/KEYNOTE-252 study evaluating Incyte's (INCY) epacadostat in combination with Merck's Keytruda in patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma did not meet the primary endpoint of improving progression-free survival compared to Keytruda monotherapy. Shares of Incyte are down 22% following the news... Codexis (CDXS), down 10% after a 3.75M share spot secondary offering priced at $9.25... New Media (NEWM), down 7% after a 6M share spot secondary priced at $16.50... Sunrun (RUN), down 7% after BofA Merrill Lynch downgraded the stock two notches to Underperform from Buy... Xilinx (XLNX), down 4% after JPMorgan downgraded the stock to Underweight.

08:35 EDT EyeGate completes enrollment for Phase 3 clinical study of EGP-437 - EyeGate Pharmaceuticals (EYEG) announced completion of patient enrollment for the pivotal Phase 3 clinical study of its EGP-437 combination product for the treatment of non-infectious anterior uveitis. Non-infectious anterior uveitis is characterized by the inflammation of the anterior chamber of the eye. Symptoms may include redness, soreness and inflammation of the eye, blurring of vision, sensitivity to light and a small pupil. If untreated anterior uveitis can cause permanent damage and vision loss. The double-masked, randomized, positive-controlled trial enrolled 250 patients in the United States. The trial was designed to assess the safety and efficacy of iontophoretically-delivered EGP-437 in patients with unilateral or bilateral non-infectious anterior segment uveitis. The primary efficacy endpoint of the trial was the proportion of subjects with an anterior chamber cell count of zero at day 14. Subjects were provided three treatments of either EGP-437 iontophoresis treatment or a placebo iontophoresis treatment. Patients enrolled in the EGP-437 arm were provided placebo eye drops, while patients receiving placebo iontophoresis treatment are given prednisolone acetate drops. Eye drops for both arms were administered for a period of up to 28 days and for up to 8 drops per day. In 2015, EyeGate and a subsidiary of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (VRX) entered into an exclusive, worldwide licensing agreement, through which EyeGate granted Valeant worldwide commercial and manufacturing rights, as part of its Bausch + Lomb business, to its EyeGate II Delivery System and EGP-437 combination product in the field of uveitis. Completion of patient enrollment has triggered a milestone payment from Valeant under this licensing agreement.

08:13 EDT Kyocera files complaint relating to haptic feedback against Preh in Germany - Kyocera filed a complaint in the Regional Court of Dusseldorf, Germany against Preh GmbH, a Germany-based automotive supplier. Kyocera is of the opinion that Preh infringes a Kyocera patent relating to its haptic feedback technology. Kyocera has been creating haptic technologies through its own research and development since 2008. Utilizing ergonomics and virtual reality technology that Kyocera has developed over the years as well as its proprietary haptic feedback technology, Kyocera's Haptivity technology contains a virtual reality innovation that enables real touch sensation on any human-machine interface. Kyocera has introduced its Haptivity devices in Japanese, U.S. and European tradeshows, and holds patents on this technology in multiple countries. Although Kyocera has offered on several occasions to license its patented technology to Preh for use in the "All-in-Touch" multimedia interface that Preh manufactures and provides for automobiles, licensing negotiations have been unsuccessful to date.

08:09 EDT Alamo Group announces settlement of strike at Gradall Industries - Alamo Group was notified that on April 5, 2018, the unionized workers at its subsidiary, Gradall Industries, located in New Philadelphia, Ohio, had formally approved a three year labor agreement with the company, ending the previously announced strike that commenced on March 12, 2018. The unionized workers are part of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, District Lodge 54, Local Lodge 1285. The workers are expected to commence work under the new labor agreement on Monday April 9, 2018.

08:08 EDT Safeguard Scientifics sees 2018 OpEx approximately $8M-$9M - With the organizational changes announced, along with the aggressive cost reduction initiatives previously announced and implemented, Safeguard currently projects that its ongoing annualized operating expenses excluding interest, depreciation, severance and stock-based compensation, will approximate $8M-9M, in comparison to approximately $15M for 2017.

08:05 EDT Safeguard Scientifics CEO Stephen Zarrilli to retire, Brian Sisko to succeed - Safeguard Scientifics announced a series of management changes intended to streamline the Company's organizational structure and reduce operating costs. These aggressive cost-reduction initiatives are intended to better align Safeguard's cost structure with the strategy the Company announced in January 2018 to reduce its operating costs, monetize its Partner Company interests and maximize the net proceeds distributable to Safeguard's shareholders. Stephen Zarrilli, who has served as Safeguard's President and CEO since November 2012, will retire from Safeguard, effective September 30, 2018. Safeguard's Board of Directors has appointed Brian Sisko to succeed Zarrilli as President and CEO, effective July 1, 2018. Sisko joined Safeguard as Senior Vice President and General Counsel in August 2007, and currently serves as Executive Vice President, COO and Managing Director of Safeguard. Zarrilli will remain with the Company as a non-executive employee until September 30, 2018 to ensure a smooth transition. He will continue to serve on the Safeguard Board until the 2018 Annual Meeting, but will not stand for re-election.

08:04 EDT PayPal down 1.6% after report Amazon may use Alexa as payment system - Shares of PayPal (PYPL) are lower in pre-open trading after a WSJ report said that Amazon (AMZN)may use Alexa to start person-to-person payments feature. Shares of PayPal are down 1.6% to $75.74 in pre-market trading.

08:03 EDT Zayo Group acquires data center in McLean, Virginia - Zayo Group has acquired a data center in McLean, Virginia. The acquisition, which includes tenants, data center systems, and long-term leases, was driven by strong demand in the Washington, D.C. area for low-latency colocation, interconnection and access to fiber infrastructure. The facility, Zayo's second colocation facility. Zayo plans to upgrade the critical power at the site to three megawatts and enhance systems resiliency, security, audit certifications, and network connectivity. The facility, which is on-net to Zayo fiber, will provide a low-latency colocation option for government agencies, web-scale companies, cloud providers and other large enterprises, especially those located in downtown Washington, D.C. The data center will tether directly to Zayo's data center in Ashburn, Virginia and to Zayo's network point of presence.

08:01 EDT PriceSmart reports March net warehouse club sales increased 8.9% to $261.3M - PriceSmart announced that for the month of March 2018, net warehouse club sales increased 8.9% to $261.3M, from $239.9M in March a year earlier. For the seven months ended March 31, 2018, net warehouse club sales increased 5.5% to $1,823.3 million from $1,728.2 million for the seven months ended March 31, 2017. There were 40 warehouse clubs in operation at the end of March 2018 and 39 warehouse clubs in operation at the end of March 2017. For the four weeks ended April 1, 2018, comparable net warehouse club sales for the 40 warehouse clubs open at least 13 1/2 full months increased 3.5%, compared to the same four-week period last year. For the thirty-week period ended April 1, 2018, comparable net warehouse club sales increased 3.2%, compared to the comparable thirty-week period a year ago.

07:58 EDT Bombardier awarded $452M contract to provide 40 high-speed trains to Vasttrafik - Bombardier Transportation announced that it has signed a contract with Vasttrafik to supply 40 high-speed electric multiple unit trains to cater to growing regional traffic in Sweden's region of Vastra Gotaland. The estimated revenue for this contract is about $452M and includes an option for 60 additional trains. Delivery is planned to begin in 2021.

07:37 EDT Incyte, Merck announce ECHO-301/KEYNOTE-252 study did not meet endpoints - Incyte (INCY) and Merck (MRK) announced that an external Data Monitoring Committee, or eDMC, review of the pivotal Phase 3 ECHO-301/KEYNOTE-252 study results evaluating Incyte's epacadostat in combination with Merck's Keytruda in patients with unresectable or metastatic melanoma determined that the study did not meet the primary endpoint of improving progression-free survival in the overall population compared to Keytruda monotherapy. The study's second primary endpoint of overall survival also is not expected to reach statistical significance. Based on these results, and at the recommendation of the eDMC, the study will be stopped. The safety profile observed in ECHO-301/KEYNOTE-252 was consistent with that observed in previously reported studies of epacadostat in combination with Keytruda. Incyte and Merck will inform investigators of the results and work with investigators to appropriately conclude the study in a manner consistent with the best interests of each patient. Data from this study will be analyzed and submitted for presentation at an upcoming scientific congress.

07:33 EDT Qualcomm extends cash offer for NXP Semiconductors to April 13 - Qualcomm (QCOM) announced that Qualcomm River Holdings has extended the offering period of its previously announced cash tender offer to purchase all of the outstanding common shares of NXP Semiconductors (NXPI). The tender offer is being made pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, dated as of October 27, 2016, by and between Qualcomm River Holdings B.V. and NXP, as amended. The tender offer is now scheduled to expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on April 13, 2018, unless extended or earlier terminated, in either case pursuant to the terms of the Purchase Agreement.

07:31 EDT Federal District Court rules in favor of Axon in PhaZZer infringement suit - Axon announced that a Florida federal district court has ruled in favor of Axon against PhaZZer Electronics for its willful infringement of Axon's patent and trademark rights concerning its sale of the PhaZZer Enforcer CEW and probe cartridges. The award follows the court's judgment and permanent injunction issued in July 2017 prohibiting PhaZZer from making, using, offering for sale, selling, donating, distributing, importing, or exporting the Enforcer CEW and associated cartridges. The court's ruling makes clear that all Enforcer CEWs are covered by the ban, whether or not they have dataports. Axon previously obtained CEW patent infringement injunctions against Stinger Systems in 2010 and Karbon Arms in 2014.

07:03 EDT Aclaris, Cipher partner to commercialize A-101 40% topical solution in Canada - Aclaris Therapeutics announced that it has licensed the Canadian rights to commercialize A-101 40% topical solution for the treatment of raised seborrheic keratoses to Cipher Pharmaceuticals. A-101 40% was approved by the FDA in December 2017 and is marketed by Aclaris in the U.S. under the tradename Eskata. Under the terms of the license agreement, Aclaris will receive an upfront payment of $1M and upon achievement of certain milestone events, may receive additional regulatory and commercial milestone payments, as well as royalties from product sales of A-101 40% in Canada. Cipher will be responsible for all regulatory and commercial activities and expenses for A-101 40% in Canada.

07:01 EDT Colony Industrial acquires Enterprise Industrial Park in San Antonio for $52.1M - Colony Industrial announced that it has acquired Enterprise Industrial Park in San Antonio, TX for $52.1M. Colony Industrial is the industrial platform of Colony NorthStar. Enterprise Industrial Park, located at 17745 Lookout Road, is a two building, Class A light industrial complex totaling 639,797 square feet. The buildings are currently 88% leased to nine high-quality tenants with a weighted average lease term remaining of 5.3 years. The property is conveniently located within one mile of a full-diamond interchange of Interstate 35, the city's major North-South interstate highway.

06:51 EDT Avista, Hydro One receive antitrust clearance for proposed merger - Hydro One and Avista announced that the 30-day waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, for the merger of the two companies expired on Thursday, April 5, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. This expiration of the waiting period means that the parties have received antitrust clearance for their proposed merger and satisfies one of the closing conditions of the transaction. Applications for regulatory approval of the transaction are still pending with utility commissions in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana and Alaska. An all-party, all-issues settlement agreement was filed with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission on March 27, 2018. An all-party, all-issues settlement agreement was filed with the Regulatory Commission of Alaska on April 3, 2018. Approval must be obtained from the Federal Communications Commission. Also required is clearance by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, as well as the satisfaction of other customary closing conditions. The transaction received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on January 16, 2018 and from Avista shareholders on November 21, 2017. Hydro One and Avista continue to anticipate closing the transaction in the second half of 2018.

06:31 EDT Buckeye Partners announces first shipment of oil from Buckeye Texas Hub terminal - Buckeye Partners and Trafigura Trading announced the first shipment of crude oil by Suezmax tanker from the Buckeye Texas Hub terminal located along the ship channel in the Port of Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S. Recently completed modifications allow the terminal to berth Suezmax class vessels, enabling an incremental 1M barrels of crude oil to be exported each month from the terminal. The Suezmax Mt Astra, which finished loading at the terminal on March 31, was chartered by Motiva Enterprises, headquartered in Houston, Texas.

06:21 EDT Eni SpA, Qatar in discussions for pact on 'giant' Mexico field, Bloomberg says - People familiar with the situation says that Eni SpA is in discussions to sell a stake in its giant oil discovery in Mexico to Qatar Petroleum International, according to Bloomberg. Reference Link

06:18 EDT Greenbrier board increases quarterly dividend 9% to 25c per share - The dividend is payable on May 16, to shareholders as of April 25.

06:01 EDT Baker Hughes reports March international rig count 972, down 7 rigs from Feb. - Baker Hughes announced that the Baker Hughes international rig count for March 2018 was 972, down 7 from the 979 counted in February 2018, and up 29 from the 943 counted in March 2017. The international offshore rig count for March 2018 was 185, down 9 from the 194 counted in February 2018, and down 12 from the 197 counted in March 2017. The average U.S. rig count for March 2018 was 989, up 20 from the 969 counted in February 2018, and up 200 from the 789 counted in March 2017. The average Canadian rig count for March 2018 was 218, down 105 from the 323 counted in February 2018, and down 35 from the 253 counted in March 2017. The worldwide rig count for March 2018 was 2,179, down 92 from the 2,271 counted in February 2018, and up 194 from the 1,985 counted in March 2017.