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

18:02 EDT Celanese announces price increases in Asia - Celanese will increase list and off-list selling prices for acetyl intermediate products, raising Acetic Acid price by $100 per ton and Acetic Anhydride by $125 per ton. The price increases below will be effective immediately or as contracts otherwise allow, and are incremental to any previously announced increases.

17:22 EDT Sigma Designs to delay filing Annual Report on Form 10-K - Sigma Designs is unable to file its annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 3, 2018 within the prescribed period due to the recently completed sale of its assets related to the Company's Z-Wave business, which transaction was completed on April 18, 2018. The process of compiling and reporting the information required to be included in the Form 10-K, as well as the completion of the required review of its financial information, could not be completed by the filing deadline without incurring undue hardship and expense. In accordance with Rule 12b-25 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant will file the Annual Report no later than the fifteenth calendar day following the prescribed due date.

17:12 EDT AeroVironment awarded $44.7M U.S. Army contract modification - AeroVironment was awarded a $44,691,196 modification to contract W31P4Q-17-C-0193 for hardware and parts for Block 10C inert training vehicles, Block 10C all up rounds, multi pack launchers, and modular battery payloads. Work will be performed in Simi Valley, California, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 19, 2019.

17:03 EDT Walmart announces McDonald's Steve Easterbrook as independent nominee to board - "This year's Proxy materials seek shareholders' votes on 11 director nominees, two company proposals and two shareholder proposals. Dr. James Cash is retiring from the Board, and Kevin Systrom will not stand for re-election. As Walmart maintains its commitment to an independent Board, it announced Steve Easterbrook, CEO of McDonald's, as a new independent nominee."

16:39 EDT HNI Corporation CEO says 'seeing increased inflationary pressures' - "We continue to project solid top line growth and strong productivity improvement in 2018. We are seeing increased inflationary pressures. While we are working to offset these cost increases, they will have a negative impact on our results, particularly in the second quarter. We continue to be excited about our competitive position and expect to deliver solid profit improvement for the year," said CEO Askren.

16:33 EDT Southern National Bancorp appoints Jeffrey Culver COO - Southern National Bancorp of Virginia announced that Jeffrey Culver has been appointed president and COO of Southern National, effective May 7. Culver most recently served as executive VP and COO of Access National Bank.

16:32 EDT Encompass Capital Advisors reports 5.4% passive stake in Penn Virginia

16:16 EDT Trimble acquires assets of FabSuite, terms not disclosed - Trimble announced that it has acquired the assets of Williamsburg, Virginia-based FabSuite, a North American supplier of Management Information System solutions for steel fabrication. With the acquisition of FabSuite software, Trimble's portfolio now includes the complete structural steel workflow for planning, managing, designing, modeling and automating the fabrication processes to maximize constructability. Financial terms were not disclosed.

16:15 EDT Seaspan COO/General Counsel Mark Chu steps down - Seaspan Corporation announced that Mark Chu has notified the company that he plans to step down from his roles as General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer to pursue other opportunities. Mr. Chu will remain in his current roles through August 31st, 2018 to help facilitate a seamless transition.

15:36 EDT Alexion says no licence of Soliris was requested or granted in Brazil - Recent media reports have incorrectly stated that the Brazilian Superior Court of Justice has granted a compulsory license of Soliris. Alexion would like to clarify that no compulsory license of Soliris was requested or granted in Brazil. The recent decision by the court refers to a different legal matter with the Brazilian Patent Office related to a Soliris mailbox patent that expired in 2015. Alexion is evaluating the full decision by the court in this patent case before exploring the options to respond. Alexion continues to have patent applications pending in Brazil that would provide additional protection to Soliris. Brazil represents a low single digit percentage of Alexion's worldwide sales. This patent matter has no implications for intellectual property outside of Brazil.

15:25 EDT M&G Investment Management lowers stake in Methanex to 15.9% from 20.8%

15:08 EDT Value Line raises quarterly dividend 5.56% to 19c per common share - Value Line announced that its board of directors declared on April 20, 2018 a quarterly cash dividend of 19c per common share, payable on May 10, 2018, to stockholders of record on April 30, 2018. The company has 9,691,620 shares of common stock outstanding as of April 20, 2018.

14:02 EDT Wendy's announces 2020 goal of opening over 600 new restaurants globally - The Wendy's Company has announced a 2020 goal of opening more than 600 new restaurants across the globe. As part of its efforts to grow and differentiate the brand while keeping energy stewardship at the forefront, Wendy's recently unveiled a new "Smart Family of Designs," providing a portfolio of development options to franchisees, including buildings that fit into smaller footprints. These designs provide more access to real estate, the ability to customize needs for specific trade areas and reduces the development investment for franchisees looking to build new restaurants. Wendy's recently introduced the Smart 2.0 design, which reduces environmental impact with an even smaller footprint and features that promote energy efficiency, while targeting an additional $150,000 of savings in development costs. This next generation of Wendy's Smart designs, which were first introduced in 2017, complements the company's commitment to reduce the amount of energy used in company-owned and operated restaurants by 20% by 2025, as part of its participation in the Department of Energy's Better Buildings Challenge.

13:18 EDT Wabtec rises after report of talks for GE rail business deal - Shares of Wabtec (WAB) have risen to their session highs after Bloomberg reported that the company is in talks to potentially buy General Electric's (GE) locomotive business. GE is considering a deal to combine its rail business with Wabtec, according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. Following the report, Wabtec shares are up about 3%.

13:04 EDT Baker Hughes reports U.S. rig count up 5 to 1,013 - Baker Hughes reports that the U.S. rig count is up 5 rigs from last week to 1,013, with oil rigs up 5 to 820, gas rigs unchanged at 192, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 1. U.S. Rig Count is up 156 rigs from last year's count of 857, with oil rigs up 132, gas rigs up 25, and miscellaneous rigs down 1 to 1. The U.S. Offshore Rig Count is up 2 rigs to 18 and down 2 rigs from last year's count of 20. The Canada Rig Count is down 9 rigs from last week to 93, with oil rigs down 3 to 38 and gas rigs down 6 to 55. The Canada Rig Count is down 6 rigs from last year's count of 99, with oil rigs up 5 and gas rigs down 11.

12:51 EDT Ionis CEO says takeover by Biogen previously discussed - Ionis Pharmaceuticals CEO Stanley Crooke said on CNBC that a takeover by Biogen (BIIB) was discussed in the past. The companies this morning announced an expanded partnership.

12:37 EDT 'Big 3' video game makers in focus as Piper sees E3 catalyst - Shares of the "big three" U.S. video game publishers, namely Activision Blizzard (ATVI), Electronic Arts (EA), and Take-Two (TTWO), were in focus after an analyst from Piper Jaffray said that this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, could prove more of a catalyst this year than in prior years. The analyst noted that video game stocks typically outperform the broader market in the 60 days leading up to E3. PIPER SEES STRENGTH HEADING INTO E3: In a research note to investors, Piper Jaffray analyst Michael J. Olson said that, in the midst of "Fortnite" fears reaching a fever pitch, it was worth looking back at how game stocks typically perform ahead of E3, which is scheduled for June 12-14 in Los Angeles, California. The analyst highlighted that this has historically been a time that the group consistently outperforms the broader market, noting that the main three publishers have an average 5-year move of up 15% in the 60 days heading into E3. Olson added that this year's E3 could prove more of a catalyst than previous years due to a high likelihood of announcement and discussion of so-called battle royale modes being added to major titles later this year, which will help fend off some of the real and perceived risk of share loss to Epic Games' "Fortnite." The analyst said he would "not be surprised" to see battle royale modes added to EA's "Battlefield" and "Star Wars Battlefront II," Activision's "Call of Duty," and Take-Two's "Red Dead Redemption 2." He noted that while not all of these additions would be announced at E3, he expects a mix of announcements and "chatter" on the subject of battle royale efforts. Olson reiterated Overweight ratings on Activision Blizzard, EA, and Take-Two. PREVIOUS PIPER NOTE: Today's Piper note reaffirms a similar sentiment from the same analyst a month ago, when Olson said bigger publishers will catch up quickly to the battle royale trend made famous by "Fortnite" and "PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds," whose mobile version is published by Tencent (TCEHY) and console version is published by Microsoft (MSFT). Olson said at the time that "Fortnite" and "PUBG" may have had some short-term impact on time/wallet share for big publishers, but that he expected this impact to be temporary as these publishers incorporate similar battle royale modes into existing titles. WHAT'S NOTABLE: Earlier this week, Kotaku reported that Activision's upcoming shooter "Call of Duty: Black Ops 4" will be multiplayer-only and feature a battle royale mode. PRICE ACTION: In afternoon trading, Activision Blizzard and EA fell 2%, and Take-Two slipped about 3.1%.

12:14 EDT Penns Woods Bancorp extends stock repurchase program - Penns Woods Bancorp announced that the company's board has authorized the extension of its repurchase plan. The repurchase plan is for an additional year ending April 30, 2019 and allows for the repurchase of up to 482,000 shares of which approximately 29% has been repurchased to date. Repurchases are authorized to be made by the company from time to time at the prevailing market prices on the open market, in block trades or in privately negotiated transactions as, in management's opinion, market conditions warrant.

12:06 EDT Shire spikes up 1.6% after commenting on latest Takeda proposal

12:01 EDT Chipotle names Marissa Andrada as Chief Human Resources Officer - Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) announced that it has hired Marissa Andrada as its chief human resources officer. Andrada will begin on April 23 and will report to Brian Niccol, the company's chief executive officer. Andrada comes to Chipotle from Kate Spade & Company (TPR), where she served as senior vice president of human resources and chief human resources officer.

11:57 EDT Adage reports 6.04% stake in AveXis - Adage Capital Partners reports a 6.04% stake in AveXis, which represents 2.225M shares.

11:09 EDT Before the Move: Nomura worries about Incyte's RA drug after 'ominous' docs - Shares of Incyte (INCY) are in focus after the Food and Drug Administration released briefing documents on baricitinib, a rheumatoid arthritis treatment developed by Incyte and submitted for review by Eli Lilly (LLY), ahead of an advisory panel vote on Monday. FDA DOCUMENTS: On Thursday, the FDA released its advisory committee meeting briefing documents for baricitinib. Baricitinib, proposed trade name Olumiant, is an oral small molecule inhibitor of the Janus associated kinases being proposed for the treatment of adult patients with moderately to severely active RA who have had an inadequate response or are intolerant to methotrexate. The drug was developed by Incyte and licensed to Eli Lilly, who holds the New Drug application. According to the documents, "Phase 2 trials evaluated doses of baricitinib ranging from 1 mg to 10 mg. While there was some evidence that all doses of baricitinib were efficacious compared to placebo with respect to ACR20 response in patients with RA, Lilly chose to carry forward two doses of baricitinib into the phase 3 clinical program...There was a general agreement by the FDA review team that the data submitted demonstrated the efficacy for baricitinib in RA at doses of 2 mg and 4 mg once daily for signs and symptoms assessed by ACR response, as well as for physical function assessed by HAQ-DI response. In trials that included both doses of baricitinib, the data were not consistent in showing a benefit of 4 mg over the 2 mg dose... One of the challenges of the baricitinib clinical program is assessment of safety. As with other RA programs, there was a limited placebo control period and patients could escape and/or cross over to baricitinib 4 mg. When most of the safety data are from baricitinib treatment groups and there are limited control group data, interpretation of imbalance in adverse reactions between treatment groups is problematic...The FDA reviews identified a safety profile of baricitinib consistent with that of a potent immunosuppressant with major safety risks of serious and some fatal infections, including opportunistic infections and tuberculosis, malignancy, laboratory abnormalities of increase in platelet counts, decrease in neutrophil counts, and increases in lipid parameters, and serum creatine phosphokinase. Many of these adverse reactions appeared to be dose-dependent...Because the majority of the safety data are with the higher dose of baricitinib, the identified safety issues raised concern regarding the 4 mg dose of baricitinib. The limited safety database with the lower dose complicated the benefit/risk assessment of the 2 mg dose of bariticitinib...Lilly submitted a response to the CR action on December 4...In the re-submission, Lilly proposed a different dosing strategy for baricitinib....The proposed dosing strategy in the resubmission is more complicated and deviates from labeling for other non-biologic DMARD RA products. This is also problematic, given that the clinical development program was not designed to support the proposed dosing strategy." ANALYST VIEW: Nomura Instinet analyst Christopher Marai says yesterday's briefing documents indicate that approval is unlikely. However, he does expect new clinical data on the lower dose of the drug to better assess the risk/benefit of that dose. The analyst calls the FDA document "ominous" but keeps a Buy rating on Incyte with a $102 price target. Conversely, William Blair analyst Y. Katherine Xu said there is a high chance baricitinib can obtain a positive outcome at the meeting and she remains confident in the drug's demonstrated efficacy. Xu does believe that safety remains a key question for baricitinib and the remainder of the second-generation JAK inhibitor class. The analyst has a Market Perform rating on Incyte. Meanwhile, UBS analyst Carter Gould said while the risk/benefit summary assessment was more positive and supportive of the 4mg dose approval, the documents did include negative commentary from a division head questioning approvability of the 2mg or 4mg dose. However, he believes the panel could be more "accommodating" than the division head on the epidemiological data to put the thrombotic risk with the 4mg dose in context. Additionally, Raymond James analyst Reni Benjamin said the documents "typically read negatively" as additional data in the resubmission of the NDA did not appear to significantly change the FDA's view on efficacy and safety. However, the analyst said the U.S. approval of baricitinib will likely have little impact on Incyte and he maintains an Outperform on the stock while continuing to recommend shares to long-term, risk-tolerant investors. PRICE ACTION: Incyte fell 0.8% to $68.47 in morning trading. From its closing level of $70.07 on April 18, the stock is down about 2% since the release of the briefing documents ahead of Monday's review.

10:32 EDT Gogo names Jon Cobin Chief Strategy Officer - Jon Cobin will serve as Chief Strategy Officer and EVP Corporate Development. In this newly created role, Cobin will be responsible for leading Gogo's companywide business, strategic planning and corporate development efforts as Gogo seeks to leverage the CA and BA product portfolios to drive growth and shareholder value. Cobin joined Gogo in 2010 and has held various leadership positions in the CA division, most recently serving as executive VP and Chief Commercial Officer.

10:22 EDT Cleveland-Cliffs says Q2 'looks really good' - On its Q1 earnings conference call, Cleveland-Cliffs said that as a result of the adoption of the new revenue recognition standard and the annual winter closure of the Soo Locks, revenues and net income will be relatively higher than historical levels for the last three quarters of the year. Says has "a lot to be excited about" this year. Says "never felt comfortable" with Australia-China trade situation. Says exiting APIO "quickly and efficiently." Says company "headed in the right direction." Says Q2 "looks really good."

10:12 EDT Cinedigm announces signing cooperation agreements with Chinese partners - Cinedigm announced six new Chinese entertainment partnerships that were formalized at a signing ceremony at the Beijing International Film Festival. Chris McGurk Cinedigm Chairman and CEO, said, "In addition to our already established relationships with Bison Capital and Starrise Media, these new partners will help provide significant, quality Chinese content and business understanding to help us jump start the flow of movies, TV and short-form programming into and out of China. We are particularly pleased to have announced our new Chinese content OTT channel for an American audience here and to have also signed an important Belt and Road cooperation agreement to participate with China in that key cultural exchange initiative."

09:57 EDT GE off highs after JPMorgan's Tusa reiterates bear thesis on CNBC - Shares of General Electric moved off their highs after well-followed analyst Stephen Tusa reiterated his bearish thesis during an interview on CNBC. Tusa continues to believe consensus estimates are too high and that the stock is worth between $10 and $11. The analyst from JPMorgan noted that GE Power's results in Q1 were weaker than expected. Shares of General Electric are up 64c to $14.63 in early trading, off the highs seen on the open.

09:51 EDT Takeda raises takeover offer for Shire to GBP47.00 per share

09:50 EDT JPMorgan's Tusa still thinks GE shares are worth $10-$11 - JPMorgan analyst Steve Tusa is speaking on CNBC.

09:48 EDT JPMorgan's Tusa says GE Power reported weaker than expected results - JPMorgan analyst Steve Tusa is speaking on CNBC.

09:45 EDT TORM PLC (Class A Stock) trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:32 EDT General Electric gains 7.4% to $15.02 in early trading following Q1 results

09:28 EDT CVS Health Pharmacy offering Hepatitis A vaccine to Kentuckians - CVS Pharmacy is encouraging unvaccinated Kentucky residents to receive the Hepatitis A vaccine following an increase in confirmed cases of the virus. According to the Kentucky Department for Public Health, more than 300 Hepatitis A cases have been confirmed across the state since 2017. Most recently, cases have been confirmed in Ashland, Berea and Louisville. All 79 CVS Pharmacy locations in Kentucky, including the nine CVS Pharmacy in Target locations, have the Hepatitis A vaccine available for people who have not yet been vaccinated. CVS Pharmacy stores located along the Kentucky border, such as those in Ironton, OH and Kenova, WV have the vaccine in stock as well, as do the three MinuteClinic locations in Kentucky.

09:17 EDT Eastside Distilling announces RNDC to distribute Redneck Riviera in Kentucky - Eastside Distilling announced that Republic National Distributing Company, or RNDC, is distributing Redneck Riviera Whiskey in Kentucky. RNDC is the second largest spirits distributor in the US and Kentucky is the 15th state where Redneck Riviera Whiskey is in distribution since the initial product roll-out in February 2018. Redneck Riviera Whiskey is a joint collaboration between Eastside and John Rich, the multi-platinum country-music artist and one-half of the duo Big & Rich. In addition to Kentucky, Redneck Riviera Whiskey is currently distributed in Texas, California, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Florida, North Carolina, North and South Dakota, Oregon, Tennessee, Oklahoma and Nebraska.

09:11 EDT CFPB announces settlement with Wells Fargo, assesses $1B fine - The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection announced a settlement with Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. in a coordinated action with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The Bureau found that Wells Fargo violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act in the way it administered a mandatory insurance program related to its auto loans. The Bureau also found that Wells Fargo violated the CFPA in how it charged certain borrowers for mortgage interest rate-lock extensions. Under the terms of the consent orders, Wells Fargo will remediate harmed consumers and undertake certain activities related to its risk management and compliance management. The Bureau assessed a $1B penalty against the bank and credited the $500M penalty collected by the OCC toward the satisfaction of its fine. Reference Link

09:09 EDT State Street says 'well positioned' to achieve FY18 objectives - Says approximately $1.6T of servicing assets remaining to be installed at quarter end will support revenue growth. Says making continued progress on Beacon. Says solid capital and leverage ratios to support business expansion. Comments from slides presentation for Q1 earnings conference call.

09:08 EDT SunTrust to offer free identity protection after potential contact data theft - SunTrust Banks is now offering Identity Protection for all current and new consumer clients at no cost on an ongoing basis. Experian IDnotify will be provided to those who sign up for the service. The company became aware of potential theft by a former employee of information from some of its contact lists. Although the investigation is ongoing, SunTrust is proactively notifying approximately 1.5 million clients that certain information, such as name, address, phone number and certain account balances may have been exposed. The contact lists did not include personally identifying information, such as social security number, account number, PIN, User ID, password, or driver's license information. SunTrust is also working with outside experts and coordinating with law enforcement. The IDnotify product by Experian is being offered in addition to existing SunTrust security protocols.

09:06 EDT GE sees sale of value-based care solutions unit completed in Q3 - The sale of GE's healthcare digital value-based care solutions division to Veritas Capital is expected to close in Q3, GE said.

09:05 EDT Bluegreen Vacations renews Quorom purchase facility - Bluegreen Vacations, along with Bluegreen/Big Cedar Vacations, a joint venture in which Bluegreen Vacations has a majority interest, announced the renewal of the non-recourse VOI notes receivable purchase facility with Quorum Federal Credit Union. Under this renewal, Quorum has agreed to purchase, on a revolving basis, eligible VOI notes receivable in an aggregate purchase price of up to $50M. As of April 6, $21.1M was outstanding under the Quorum Purchase Facility. The amendment to the Quorum Purchase Facility extended the purchase period from June 30 to June 30. As part of this amendment, Quorum agreed to an interest rate of 4.95% per annum on advances made through September 30, 2018. The interest rate on advances made after September 30, 2018 will be set at the time of funding based on rates mutually agreed upon by all parties. The amendment also reduced the loan purchase fee applicable to future advances from 0.50% to 0.25% and extended the maturity of the Quorum Purchase Facility from December 2030 to December 2032.

09:04 EDT Kroger announces $1.2B accelerated share repurchase program - The Kroger Co. (KR) announced it has completed the sale of its convenience store business unit to EG Group for $2.15B. After tax proceeds total $1.7B. $1.2B of the proceeds will be used to fund an accelerated share repurchase program. Kroger entered into an ASR agreement with Goldman Sachs & Co. (GS), pursuant to which on April 24, 2018, Kroger will pay $1.2B to Goldman, who will make an initial delivery to Kroger of approximately 36.1M Kroger common shares. The total number of shares that Kroger ultimately will receive under the ASR will be based generally on the average of the daily volume-weighted average prices of shares traded during the term of the agreement, subject to a collar provision that will establish minimum and maximum numbers of shares to be repurchased. The $1.2B ASR is an additional repurchase authorization approved by Kroger's Board of Directors, which is incremental to the $1B share repurchase program announced on March 15, 2018. Kroger will use the balance of the after tax proceeds to lower its net total debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio.

09:00 EDT Synchrony sees FY18 NIM 15.75%-16.25% - Says continues to generate strong deposit growth. Says capital position remains strong. Says important objective is to extend the utility of cards. Says making strategic investments to ensure cardholders can easily use cards. Says digital sales penetration for retail card business is growing. Says continued to deliver growth across all sales platforms in Q1. Expects loyalty program expense to trend near 100%, with some quarterly fluctuation. Expects expenses to be largely driven by growth, including strategic investments and direct deposit program. Says sees FY18 NIM about 15.75%-16.25%, including the impact of the PayPal (PYPL) credit portfolio acquisition. Expects loan loss reserve builds in Q2 to be similar to Q1 in the $175M range. Says credit normalization continues to moderate. Expects FY18 efficiency ratio around 31%. Expects to grow deposits in line with receivables growth. Says continues to execute on capital plan announced in May. Expects to continue deploying capital through dividends and share buybacks. Expects core reserve builds to continue to moderate throughout the year which will help EPS growth. Comments taken from Q1 earnings conference call.

08:56 EDT Ameris Bancorp sees normalized ROTCE of 16%-18% for 2018 - Ameris Bancorp says efficiency ratio below 60% ahead of pending M&A deals that should drive additional operating leverage. Regarding M&A opportunities, the company notes, "current capital position gives us significantly more flexibility in driving consideration mix and metrics." Comments from Q4 earnings presentation slides.

08:51 EDT Sellas Life Sciences appoints Gene Mack as CFO, Treasurer - Sellas Life Sciences Group announced the appointment of Gene Mack as CFO and Treasurer. Mack joins Sellas having served as a consulting chief financial officer for a number of private and publicly traded biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. Interim CFO Aleksey Krylov will remain with SELLAS until July 15 in order to facilitate the transition.

08:50 EDT SunTrust discloses attempt by former employee to steal data from 1.5M clients - SunTrust CEO William Rogers said on the company's first quarter earnings call that, in conjunction with law enforcement, the bank discovered that a former employee, while employed at SunTrust, may have attempted to print information on approximately 1.5 million clients and share this information with a criminal third-party. "We believe this information included names and account balances, but it did not include personally identifiable information, such as social security members, account numbers, pins, user ids, passwords or driver's license numbers. We and third parties have done forensic analysis on these accounts, and we've not identified significant fraudulent activity regarding the affected accounts. All that said, we're guided by our purpose of lighting the way to financial well-being and this applies to client information activity as well. So for this reason, we're going to offer a broad set of ongoing identity protection services to all of our clients free of charge, not just those potentially impacted. Given the increased performance and importance of information security and our client-first principle, I was convinced that this comprehensive and proactive approach was the right decision. There'll be modest costs for this and other investments in clients financial confidence, but we expect to be able to absorb those in our normal course of business. More broadly, I remain optimistic about our company's future both in 2018 and beyond," stated Rogers on the call. In pre-market trading as the call continues, SunTrust shares are down about 3% to $65.05.

08:46 EDT GE says overall market for new gas orders in 2018 trending to less than 30GW - In Power, says came into the year expecting overall market for new gas orders in 2018 to be 30-34GW, but now says this is trending to less than 30GW.

08:39 EDT Red Violet subsidiary partners with Berkshire Hathaway Home Service - Forewarn, a red violet company (RDVT), announced that Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A, BRK.B) HomeServices Colorado Properties has secured Forewarn for all 100+ of its affiliated agents in an effort to promote proactive real estate agent safety. Available both online and through a mobile application, Forewarn analyzes billions of data points and provides users with the ability to mitigate risks by verifying identity using just a phone number, searching for criminal histories, and validating information provided by potential clients such as financial and asset information. The Forewarn services purchased by BHHS Colorado Properties will be available at no cost to affiliated agents.

08:38 EDT The China Fund sareholder City of London responds to annual meeting postponement - The China Fund shareholders City of London Investment Management Company, which represents clients who are the beneficial owners of approximately 27.6% of the outstanding shares of common stock of The China Fund, issued a response to the announcement that the Board of Directors of China Fund has again postponed China Fund's 2018 annual meeting of stockholders, now to May 23. City of London states, among other things, that it believes "(...) the actions of the Board can only be viewed as further attempts to block China Fund's stockholders from exercising their fundamental right to vote and thereby replace the two incumbent Directors, including Joe Rogers, China Fund's Chairman who has served on the Board for 26 years, and terminate the investment manager. (...) The Board's ongoing posturing, multiple annual meeting postponements, entrenchment actions and never-ending litigation are extremely expensive and are a waste of China Fund assets. These costs are reducing China Fund's NAV, with costs increasing on a daily basis as a result of the Board's actions, and gradually will erode the share price of China Fund. (...) The latest postponement comes even after the federal court in New York found China Fund's claims challenging City of London's proxy materials to be without merit. The Board also announced a change to China Fund's Bylaws in an apparent attempt to retroactively permit the Board's meeting postponements under China Fund's governing documents. (...) We encourage all China Fund stockholders to vote their shares on the blue proxy card. (...)"

08:34 EDT RealPage to acquire ClickPay - RealPage announced its agreement to acquire ClickPay, an electronic payment platform servicing 2.3M units across the multifamily, HOA, condominium and co-op segments of real estate. ClickPay significantly expands RealPage's footprint into the HOA owner-occupied segment of real estate, broadens the company's presence in the New York metropolitan market and solidifies the integration of its front-end leasing platform into third-party property management systems. The acquisition adds nearly $1.0B to the company's total addressable market. The HOA market is estimated to contain over 16M units, and RealPage estimates that current and future solutions applicable to the market aggregate to a total opportunity of approximately $60 per unit per year. Including the HOA market, the holistic RealPage platform is expected to serve multiple segments of real estate, from rentals to owner occupied units, totaling over 62M units. Total current and future applicable solutions for those units represent nearly $205 per unit per year, for a total addressable market of over $12.7B. It also creates one of the largest payment processing platforms for real estate assets with over $55B of annual run-rate transaction volume.

08:34 EDT General Electric: Power continues to be company's biggest challenge - Says Power will be "multi-year fix." Comments taken from the Q1 earnings conference call.

08:32 EDT TripAdvisor acquires Bokun, terms not disclosed - TripAdvisor announced it acquired Bokun, a leading provider of business management technology for the tours, attractions and experiences industry. With the acquisition, TripAdvisor expands its offering, now providing suppliers with technical solutions in addition to the sector's largest distribution channel. Bokun will remain based in Iceland, with immediate plans to expand the team. Terms of the acquisition will not be disclosed.

08:22 EDT Crescent Point Energy holder Cation Capital says ISS supports agenda - Cation Capital, a private investment firm and shareholder of Crescent Point Energy, announced that Institutional Shareholder Services, has come out in support of Cation's call for change at Crescent Point. ISS recommends shareholders vote for Cation's board nominees, Dallas J. Howe and Herbert C. Pinder, and withold votes for Crescent Point directors Rene Amirault and Mike Jackson, as well as recommending that all Crescent Point shareholders use Cation's universal BLUE proxy or BLUE VIF to vote on ALL matters. In a further rebuke to the Crescent Point Board, ISS also recommends shareholders vote AGAINST the advisory vote on executive compensation, because of "high concern based on relative degree of pay-and-performance alignment measure, which concern is evident even when the Company's self-selected peer group is utilized."

08:18 EDT Varian's Calypso transponder for lung granted FDA 510k clearance - Varian has received FDA 510(k) clearance for its Calypso Anchored Beacon transponder. Used with a Varian TrueBeam, Edge and Clinac C-series medical linear accelerators, the Calypso system and Anchored Beacon transponder detects even slight movements of a tumor and helps clinicians deliver lung stereotactic body radiotherapy more precisely.

08:14 EDT Cleveland-Cliffs makes changes to FY18 Cap-ex budget - The Toledo HBI Project spend expectation was reduced by $25M to $225M due to further development and refined timing of the project spending plan. The sustaining capital expectation of $85M was maintained and the Northshore Mine upgrade spend expectation of $50M was maintained.

08:08 EDT Honeywell says 'aggressively' pursuing acquisitions - Says does not anticipate "mega deals." Says deals will likely be in the $3B or less range.

08:02 EDT Platinum Group receives final government approval for Maseve mine sale - Platinum Group Metals reports that government approval has been received for Royal Bafokeng Platinum Limited to acquire 100% of the shares in Maseve Investments 11 Ltd., the holding company of the Maseve Mine, and all shareholder loans owed by Maseve, for an aggregate consideration in cash and RBPlat common shares, valued on September 6, 2017 at approximately $16M. The South African Department of Mineral Resources has granted consent in terms of section 11 of the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act to transfer the entire issued share capital in Maseve held by the Company and one minority shareholder to RBPlat. Maseve is the holder of the mining right underlying the Maseve Mine. With the grant of section 11 approval all conditions precedent to the completion of the sale of Maseve to RBPlat have now been met.

07:53 EDT Honeywell says exposure to tariffs 'relatively minimal' - Says actively implementing mitigation programs. Says guidance reflects potential impact of tariffs.

07:43 EDT Honeywell says 'preference' is to deploy capital for M&A - Says in the absence of any M&A opportunities, will continue to focus on dividend and share buybacks.

07:36 EDT Honeywell expects FY18 to be 'a very strong year' - Says expects more than $4B of cash repatriated in FY18. Comments from Q1 earnings conference call.

07:29 EDT Honeywell says 'actively managing impact of enacted tariffs'

07:19 EDT Honeywell sees FY18 free cash flow $5.3B-$5.9B, up 7%-20% - Sees FY18 segment margin 19.3%-19.6%, up 30-60 bps.

07:10 EDT State Street reports Q1 fee revenue $2.36B vs. 2.2B last year - The estimated Basel III standardized common equity tier 1 ratio for Q1 was 10.8% and estimated tier 1 leverage ratio was 6.9%.

07:08 EDT Schlumberger CEO Kibsgaard: Oil market 'is in balance' - Schlumberger Chairman and CEO Paal Kibsgaard commented, "Looking at the global oil market, the absence of global stock builds in the first quarter, supported by the OPEC- and Russia-led production cuts, confirm that the oil market is in balance. More importantly, after three consecutive years of dramatic underinvestment in global E&P spending, the worldwide production base has started to show the anticipated signs of weakness with noticeable year-over-year production declines appearing in several countries such as Angola, Norway, Mexico, Malaysia, China, and Indonesia. With Libya and Nigeria producing at near-full capacity, Venezuelan production in free fall, the potential of new sanctions against Iran, and rising geopolitical risks, the only major sources of short-term supply growth to address global production decline and strong worldwide demand are Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Russia, and the US shale oil industry. However, production challenges in US shale are emerging that are linked to infill drilling well-to-well interference, the potential lower production of step-out drilling from Tier 1 acreage, and significant infrastructure constraints. It is, therefore, becoming increasingly likely that the industry will face growing supply challenges over the coming year and a significant increase in global E&P investment will be required to minimize the impending deficit. We remain optimistic about the outlook for sustainable activity growth in our global business over the course of 2018 and into 2019. This is driven by higher customer activity and our ability to capture a major share of the emerging opportunities as performance-based contracts and integrated projects continue to gain traction as the preferred business models for many of our customers. Recent contract awards, which include the major lump-sum turnkey contracts in Saudi Arabia, additional wins elsewhere in the Middle East and Latin America, and new projects in the US Delaware Basin, are examples of this market trend. Our increased R&E focus in recent years on systems innovation and design is now enabling us to create additional value for both our customers and Schlumberger on these projects. This is achieved by integrating a new generation of purpose-built hardware and software with our deep domain expertise and the latest advances in digital technologies. Therefore, we are excited about the outlook for Schlumberger. We are ready and primed to deliver superior growth, financial returns, and free cash flow in the coming years by building on the broadest technology offering and expertise in the industry, our unmatched scale and operational efficiency, strong capital discipline, and a clear desire to provide industry-leading cash returns to our shareholders."

07:04 EDT Valeritas, Glooko partner for V-Go SIM - Valeritas Holdings announced it has entered into an agreement with Glooko. With this agreement, Valeritas will provide future V-Go SIM users with Glooko's cloud-based mobile and web diabetes data management platform to help track and analyze their diabetes care plan. Users can also share their data with their providers. V-Go SIM is a new, durable accessory that will snap onto Valeritas' flagship product, V-Go Wearable Insulin Delivery device, and is designed to provide one-way Bluetooth communication from the V-Go SIM to a patient's smart device. The V-Go SIM's onboard electronics will provide information regarding V-Go's use and wirelessly transmit such data via a V-Go SIM application on a mobile device. This app will have the functionality to store, display, and share recorded on-board insulin delivery data and the status of V-Go to the patient and his or her healthcare provider. By partnering with Glooko, the patient can use the Glooko application not only to upload and analyze insulin usage data, but to also upload blood glucose levels and daily patient carbohydrate, food, and medication intake. Combining this patient diabetes management data within the Glooko platform will give V-Go SIM users and their healthcare providers a more robust view of how each patient is managing his or her diabetes and will enable better informed regimen and behavior modifications. The V-Go SIM is investigational and not expected to be available for full commercial use in the U.S. until 1H19. Valeritas and Glooko will be working collaboratively to ensure a seamless experience for V-Go SIM users and healthcare providers using the new platform when it becomes available.

06:59 EDT Lannett names Maureen Cavanaugh to CCOO position - Lannett (LCI) announced the appointment of Maureen Cavanaugh to the newly created position, senior VP and CCOO, effective May 7. In this role, Cavanaugh will be responsible for sales and marketing, research and development and regulatory affairs. For the last 11 years, Cavanaugh worked for Teva Pharmaceuticals (TEVA) USA, most recently as senior VP, CCO, North America Generics, where she had oversight responsibility for leading trade sales, new product planning and portfolio management teams, as well as the long range planning and strategy development processes for the company's U.S. generics business. In conjunction with the appointment of Cavanaugh, the company re-aligned management responsibilities to further strengthen operational execution and empowerment. John Kozlowski has been named chief of staff and strategy officer and John Abt,, has been promoted to VP and CQOO. Kozlowski, who joined Lannett in 2009 and most recently served as COO, will be responsible for business development, strategy, project management and human resources. Abt, who has served for the last three years as VP of quality and previously served as VPof U.S. operations for Teva, will now have overall responsibility for production, supply chain and quality.

06:53 EDT ZTE Corp. calls 'most severe penalty' by U.S. an unfair punishment - ZTE said in a statement, "The Bureau of Industry and Security (hereinafter referred to as "BIS") activated the Suspended Denial Order on 16 April 2018, on the ground that ZTE did not timely reduce bonus of and issue letters of reprimand to certain employees involved in past violation of export control and made false statements in correspondence with the U.S. Government. ZTE has been working diligently on Export Control Compliance program and has invested tremendous resources in export compliance and has made significant progress since 2016. It is unacceptable that BIS insists on unfairly imposing the most severe penalty on ZTE even before the completion of investigation of facts, ignoring the continuous diligent work of ZTE and the progress we have made on export compliance and disregarding the fact that (1) ZTE self-identified the issues in the correspondence and self-reported by ZTE immediately; (2) the Company has taken measures against the employees who might have been responsible for this incident; (3) corrective measures has been taken immediately; and (4) a prestigious U.S. law firm has been engaged to conduct independent investigation. The Denial Order will not only severely impact the survival and development of ZTE, but will also cause damages to all partners of ZTE including a large number of U.S. companies. In any case, ZTE will not give up its efforts to resolve the issue through communication, and we are also determined, if necessary, to take judicial measures to protect the legal rights and interests of our Company, our employees and our shareholders, and to fulfill obligations and take responsibilities to our global customers, end-users, partners and suppliers. As a global company originating in China, ZTE will unite all of its employees as one with full confidence to work together taking best efforts to facilitate a final resolution."Reference Link

06:50 EDT Hugoton Royalty Trust declares no April cash disttribution - Simmons Bank, as trustee of the Hugoton Royalty Trust, declared there would not be a cash distribution to the holders of its units of beneficial interest for April due to the excess cost positions on all three of the Trust's conveyances of net profits interests. Underlying gas sales volumes attributable to the current month were primarily produced in February.

06:45 EDT Baker Hughes reports Q1 orders of $5.2B - Down 8% sequentially and up 9% year-over-year on a combined business basis.

06:38 EDT GE CEO: On track to exceed cost reduction goal of $2B in 2018

06:35 EDT GE says plans to end 2018 with $15B+ of cash

06:35 EDT General Electric reports Q1 GE Capital revenue $2.17B, Aviation revenue $7.11B - Reports Q1 Oil and Gas revenue $5.39B, Health Care revenue $4.7B, Power revenue $7.22B, Renewable Energy revenue $1.65B, Transportation revenue $872M.

06:34 EDT GE CEO: No change to framework for 2018

06:33 EDT General Electric CEO: Working to resolve legacy matters in discontinued ops

06:32 EDT Synchrony reports Q1 net interest margin 16.05% - Return on assets was 2.7% and return on equity was 18.2%. Efficiency ratio was 30.9%.

06:08 EDT Stanley Black & Decker CEO say Q1 organic growth up 4% - Stanley Black & Decker's President and CEO, James Loree, commented, "We had a strong start to 2018, with high-single digit EPS expansion in the face of significant commodity headwinds. We also reported healthy, above-market organic growth of 4%, backed by 6% organic growth from Tools & Storage as well as Industrial outperforming our expectation. The organic growth outlook remains robust as we execute a series of opportunities including Lenox and Irwin revenue synergies, FlexVolt, emerging markets and the rollout of the Craftsman brand, all while the organization remains focused on generating new core and breakthrough innovations. In addition to organic growth, we continue to focus on strategic capital allocation actions. The Nelson Fastener Systems acquisition was completed in early April. We continue to see a strong acquisition pipeline and are exploring multiple opportunities to create significant value."

06:07 EDT Clean Energy to build three CNG stations in Ontario for Union Energy Solutions - Clean Energy Fuels has been awarded a contract to construct three compressed natural gas fueling stations in Ontario, Canada for Union Energy Solutions, an unregulated affiliate of Union Gas - an Enbridge Company, a Canadian natural gas storage, transmission and distribution company. The three stations are expected to initially distribute an estimated 600,000 gasoline gallon equivalents per year.

06:03 EDT China Yuchai announces 800 buses exported to Saudi Arabia - China Yuchai, through its main operating subsidiary, Guangxi Yuchai Machinery Company Limited, or GYMCL, announced that 800 buses manufactured by Anhui Ankai Automobile and powered by GYMCL engines were recently exported to Saudi Arabia. GYMCL was the sole supplier for the heavy-duty engines to propel these 800 buses, 600 of which were installed with YC6MK engines, which are 6-cylinder turbocharged diesel engines with a displacement of 10.34 liters. The remaining 200 buses were equipped with GYMCL's heavy-duty diesel engine model YC6L, which is a compact, lightweight designed 6-cylinder turbocharged engine with a displacement of 8.42 liters.

06:02 EDT Regions Financial reports Q1 net interest margin 3.46%

05:24 EDT Novartis announces new analyses from Phase III EXPAND study of oral siponimod - Novartis today announced new analyses from the Phase III EXPAND study of oral, once-daily siponimod in patients with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, or SPMS. In pre-specified statistical analyses, treatment with siponimod consistently reduced the risk of confirmed disability progression in SPMS patients, with and without relapses. In addition, new post-hoc analyses using more accurate methods to estimate the treatment effect on disability progression, now substantiate that the risk reduction with siponimod is largely disassociated from relapses. Siponimod also showed a significant benefit on cognitive processing speed, the key cognitive function impacted by MS, which frequently deteriorates in people with the disease. These results are being presented at the 70th American Academy of Neurology Annual Meeting, in Los Angeles, April 21-27, 2018. As previously reported for the overall study population, treatment with siponimod resulted in a statistically significant risk reduction in disability progression sustained for three- and six-months. The new EXPAND study analyses, using a more advanced model-based approach, show an estimated risk reduction for disability progression, sustained at three-months that ranged from 14%-20% compared to placebo for non-relapsing patients. For disability sustained at six-months, estimated risk reduction was even greater, spanning from 29%-33%. Other complementary statistical approaches assessing the effect of siponimod on disability progression disassociated from relapses showed consistent results.

05:19 EDT SJW Corp. remains committed to merger of equals with Connecticut Water - SJW Group (SJW) today issued the following statement regarding Connecticut Water Service's (CTWS) receipt and rejection of an unsolicited, non-binding indication of interest from Eversource Energy (ES) regarding a potential proposal to acquire Connecticut Water. "SJW Group and Connecticut Water previously announced on March 15, 2018, that they have entered into an agreement to combine through a merger of equals. Under the terms of the agreement, Connecticut Water shareholders will receive 1.1375 shares of SJW Group common stock for each share of Connecticut Water common stock they own, the equivalent of $63.70 per share, based on SJW Group's closing stock price on April 19, 2018. Connecticut Water's shareholders would benefit not only from an immediate 21% premium to the closing share price on March 14, 2018 - the day prior to the merger announcement - but, importantly, will retain future upside through a 40 percent ownership of the combined company. SJW Group is committed to the existing merger agreement with Connecticut Water, which remains on track to close by year-end 2018. The SJW Group Board continues to believe the merger of equals provides the shareholders of both companies with the best opportunity for value creation over the long term."