Stockwinners Market Radar for April 23, 2018 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

21:02 EDT Astellas Pharma submits NDA for approval of Gilteritinib in AML - Astellas Pharma announced that it submitted on March 23, 2018, a new drug application for marketing approval of gilteritinib in Japan for the treatment of adult patients with FLT3 mutation-positive relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia. Astellas also submitted a NDA for approval of gilteritinib in the same patient population to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on March 29, 2018 following the submission in Japan. The applications for marketing approval for gilteritinib are based on data from the ongoing pivotal Phase 3 ADMIRAL study investigating gilteritinib in adult patients with FLT3mut+ relapsed or refractory AML.

19:15 EDT Fortescue Metal reports Q3 iron ore production 41.6M tons vs. 47.5M last year

18:37 EDT United Continental chairman Milton will not stand for reelection - According to a regulatory filing, United Continental chairman Robert Milton and board director Laurence Simmons will not stand for reelection to the board at the Annual Meeting and will retire retire from the board at the end of their current terms as director. Following the Annual Meeting, the board will elect a new, independent chairman and the size of the board will be reduced from 16 directors to 14 directors.

17:50 EDT Einhorn says Assured Guaranty has a lot of exposure to Puerto Rico - Says Assured Guartany's (AGO) self-grading could result in bias. Says Puerto Rican debt is troubled as population is shrinking and default is not traditional. Says Puerto Rico can only support so much debt. Says it doesn't appear company took hurricane into account. David Einhorn, president, Greenlight Capital (GLRE) is presenting at the 2018 Sohn Investment Conference.

17:42 EDT Greenlight Capital's Einhorn says Assured Guaranty has no room for losses - Says Assured Guaranty (AGO) survived financial crisis "relatively unscathed." Says business is shrinking. Says tax bill eliminated benefits of advanced refundings.Says David Einhorn, president, Greenlight Capital (GLRE) is presenting at the 2018 Sohn Investment Conference.

17:36 EDT Charles Schwab chairman Charles Schwab sells 250K shares - The chairman of brokerage Charles Schwab, Charles Schwab, disclosed in a filing that he had sold 250,000 shares of company stock at an average price of $54.99 per share on April 23. The value of the transaction was $13,747,475.

17:32 EDT Safeguard Scientifics enters agreement with Sierra Capital - Safeguard Scientifics announced that it has entered into an agreement with Sierra Capital Investments, L.P. and its affiliates, which currently own approximately 5.1% of the company's outstanding common stock. Under the terms of the agreement, the Safeguard Board of Directors has appointed two new independent directors, Russell D. Glass and Ira M. Lubert, to the Safeguard Board, effective immediately, and will support their re-election at the 2018 Annual Meeting of Shareholders as part of a five-person slate of nominees recommended by the Safeguard Board. Under the terms of the cooperation agreement, Sierra will vote its shares in favor of all of Safeguard's director nominees, including the new independent directors, at the Company's 2018 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Sierra will also abide by certain customary standstill provisions until the date that is the earlier of 10 calendar days prior to the expiration of the advance notice period for the submission of shareholder nominations to be considered at Safeguard's 2019 Annual Meeting of Shareholders pursuant to Safeguard's Bylaws and 100 days prior to the first anniversary of Safeguard's 2018 Annual Meeting of Shareholders.

17:26 EDT Mangrove's August says has questions around Eros' receivables - Says Eros is suing him. Says sees discrepancies between independent estimates of theatrical revenues and that reported by the company. Nathaniel August, founder and president, Mangrove Partners is presenting at the 2018 Sohn Investment Conference.

17:16 EDT Epizyme trading resumes

17:15 EDT Cigna, Express Scripts receive DOJ request for additional information - As previously announced, on March 8, Cigna (CI) and Express Scripts (ESRX) and certain of Cigna's affiliates entered into a definitive agreement whereby Cigna will acquire Express Scripts. Completion of the transaction is subject to the expiration or termination of the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended and the satisfaction or waiver of certain other closing conditions. Cigna and Express Scripts filed notification and report forms in connection with the transaction with the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission pursuant to the HSR Act on March 22. On April 23, Cigna and Express Scripts each received a request for additional information and documentary material from the DOJ in connection with the DOJ's review of the transaction.The effect of the Second Request is to extend the waiting period imposed by the HSR Act until 30 days after Cigna and Express Scripts have substantially complied with the Second Request, unless that period is extended voluntarily by the parties or terminated sooner by the DOJ. Both companies look forward to continuing to work cooperatively with the DOJ to discuss the many benefits of the transaction, and expect to secure regulatory approval. The anticipated issuance of a Second Request was taken into account by the parties in the previously communicated transaction timing. Both companies continue to expect the transaction to close by December 31, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of all closing conditions, including approval of the transaction by the stockholders of each of Cigna and Express Scripts.

17:06 EDT La Quinta long idea named as winner of Sohn Idea Contest

17:06 EDT Alphabet says Waymo's progress still 'very early' - Says remains focused on investing in publishing partners. Says remains "very excited" about progress with Waymo. Says still "very early" in Waymo's progress. Says expanding Waymo testing to more states. Says working with cities to expand public transportation.

17:02 EDT Sinovac Biotech resumes production of hepatitis A vaccine at Shangdi - Sinovac Biotech announced that hepatitis A vaccine and seasonal flu vaccine production has resumed at the Shangdi manufacturing facility of its controlled Chinese subsidiary, Sinovac Biotech. Production, R&D and quality assurance resumed under regulatory supervision, ensuring that the Company can satisfy the medical needs of Chinese and international organizations with vaccines that are vital to people's lives and the national economy. The successful resumption of regular production and operations at Sinovac Beijing's Shangdi manufacturing facility follows the events of April 17, 2018, when Aihua Pan, the Chairman of the Board of Sinovac Beijing appointed by Sinobioway, forcibly entered Sinovac Beijing's corporate offices along with dozens of unnamed individuals in an attempt to wrongfully take control of Sinovac Beijing's operations.

17:00 EDT Alphabet says Google Home continues to be 'super popular' - Says Google Home continues to be "super popular." Says making Google Home in "many more" countries.

16:57 EDT Alphabet says possibilities of AI in healthcare 'truly exciting' - Says Coachella livestream had over 41M views globally.

16:55 EDT Trimble to acquire Viewpoint for $1.2B - Trimble announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held Viewpoint from Bain Capital in an all-cash transaction valued at $1.2B. Viewpoint is complementary to Trimble's e-Builder business, and will extend Trimble's ability to provide more complete and integrated project, jobsite and business workflows across the construction lifecycle. Viewpoint is a provider of scalable construction management software, which integrates a contractor's financial and resource management to their project operations and to their jobsite and field. Currently managing over $400B of construction project value, Viewpoint has approximately 8,000 customers worldwide, including many from the Engineering News-Record, or ENR, 400. The acquisition will round out Trimble's construction technology portfolio. With Viewpoint, Trimble will be able to offer customers a central workflow platform for delivering integrated, end-to-end construction management, while further enabling connectivity across the complete construction lifecycle. In addition, Viewpoint will complement Trimble's recent acquisition of e-Builder, a leading SaaS-based construction program management solution for capital program owners and program management firms. Viewpoint will further extend these capabilities with focus on general, specialty and heavy civil contractors, and link project data into the owner-facing e-Builder suite for end-to-end project transparency.

16:52 EDT Rush Enterprises up 3% after Q1 reporting Q1 earnings

16:51 EDT Alphabet 'pleased' with continued momentum in earnings growth - Says pleased with continued momentum in earnings growth. Says remains focused on moving towards commercial applications of many Other Bets. Says commitment to growth is evident in CapEx investment. Comments taken from Q1 earnings conference call.

16:46 EDT Robbins says does not believe Amazon's entry into pharamacy is imminent - Larry Robbins, founder, portfolio manager and CEO, Glenview Capital Management is presenting at the 2018 Sohn Investment Conference.

16:46 EDT NCR Corp.entered into a Master Services Agreement with Jabil - On April 23, NCR (NCR) entered into a Master Services Agreement with Jabil (JBL). The Agreement provides for NCR to obtain manufacturing services from Jabil for NCR's automated teller machines and self-service checkout solutions, primarily for NCR's customers in the Americas. Once manufacturing is transitioned, the outsourced manufacturing services will cover products that the company is currently producing in its two Columbus, Georgia area manufacturing plants, which will be closed.

16:42 EDT Epizyme trading halted, news pending

16:37 EDT Whirlpool says intends to repurchase stock throughout the remainder of 2018

16:36 EDT Whirlpool sees FY18 tax rate approximately 20% - The company's updated full-year expected tax rate of approximately 20% and favorable product price/mix is expected to be partially offset by lower global revenue growth and increased raw material inflation.

16:35 EDT Donegal Group trading resumes

16:33 EDT BWX Technologies awarded CAD 642M contract - BWX Technologies announced that its subsidiary BWXT Canada Ltd. has been awarded a contract valued at approximately CA$642 million from Bruce Power to design and supply 32 steam generators for Bruce Power's Major Component Replacement Project. The original contract for Bruce Power's Unit 6 steam generators, previously announced in July 2016 and amended in August 2017, has been amended to include an additional 24 steam generators for Bruce Units 5, 7 and 8. This steam generator contract represents the largest contract ever to be awarded to BWXT Canada and will secure many jobs in both engineering and skilled labour in Cambridge through 2030. Commencing in 2020, MCR is part of Bruce Power's Life-Extension Program, which will allow the eight-unit site to operate to 2064, and provide over 30 percent of Ontario's electricity for decades. Work related to this contract will commence immediately with deliveries occurring through 2030.

16:32 EDT Tandem Diabetes announces insulin pump distribution deals in Australia and NZ - Tandem Diabetes Care announced that it has entered into distribution agreements with Australasian Medical & Scientific Ltd and New Zealand Medical & Scientific Ltd to commercialize Tandem's t:slim X2 Insulin Pump in Australia and New Zealand, respectively. Under the terms of the arrangements, the diabetes divisions of AMSL and NZMS will perform all sales, marketing, and customer training and support for Tandem's products in the regions. Timing for availability of Tandem products in Australia and New Zealand has not yet been announced.

16:31 EDT Ameriprise Q1 total assets under management rose 9% to $887B - Q1 Ameriprise retail client assets grew 12% to $557 billion. Advisor productivity increased 13% to $586,000 per advisor on a trailing 12-month basis after normalizing for the net impact from eliminating 12b-1 fees in advisory accounts. Variable annuity cash sales increased 20%, with 30%of sales in products without living benefit guarantees. Indexed Universal Life sales increased 9%.

16:28 EDT Ameriprise CEO says generating strong earnings across the firm - CEO Jim Cracchiolo says: "Ameriprise delivered a strong first quarter and a good start to the yeat. We are generating strong earnings across the firm, and our momentum in Advice and Wealth Management continues with double-digit revenue growth, increased client activity and one of our strongest quarters of client net inflows. We're serving more clients in personal advice relationships and continue to invest to deliver an exceptional client and advisor experience. As we grow, we continue to generate significant free cash flow that we invest in the firm and return to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases. During the quarter, we increased our repurchases opportunistically, while also increasing our excess capital. And today, we announced another increase in our regular quarterly dividend - the eleventh increase over the past nine years."

16:26 EDT Adage Capital Partners reports 5.2% passive stake in Ferroglobe

16:21 EDT Cooper Companies promotes Brian Andrews to CFO - The Cooper Companies announced that Brian Andrews has been promoted to senior VP, CFO and Treasurer of The Cooper Companies effective May 1. Andrews will succeed Albert White as CFO who, as previously announced, will assume the role of president and CCEO on May 1.

16:19 EDT Agree Realty says 2018 outlook for acquisition volume remains $250M-$300M - The company's outlook for acquisition volume in 2018, which assumes continued growth in economic activity, moderate interest rate growth, positive business trends and other significant assumptions, remains between $250M-$300M of high-quality retail net lease properties. The company's disposition guidance for 2018 remains between $25M-$50M.

16:17 EDT Natus confirms Voce's intent to nominate candidates to replace 50% of board - Natus Medical confirmed that Voce Capital Management, which has indicated that it owns approximately 2.0% of the company's outstanding shares of common stock, has nominated two candidates to stand for election for the two seats on the Natus board, which terms expire at the company's 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, and is seeking to remove the chairman of the Natus board and replace him with a third candidate. The date of the company's Annual Meeting has not yet been announced.

16:14 EDT Morgan Stanley reports 8.2% passive stake in Atlantic Power

16:13 EDT SRC Energy reports preliminary Q1 boepd 45,397

16:10 EDT TD Ameritrade falls over 2% afterhours following Q2 earnings

16:09 EDT ChromaDex says Rob Fried will succeed Frank Jaksch as CEO in June - ChromaDex Corp. announced a new management structure including the appointment of Frank Jaksch to executive chairman of the ChromaDex board, effective June 22 after the 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Jaksch succeeds Stephen Allen, the non-executive chairman of the ChromaDex board, who on February 13 announced his intention to retire at the end of his current term. ChromaDex also announced that Rob Fried, the company's current president and COO, has been named CEO of the company, effective after the June 22 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Fried will succeed Frank Jaksch as CEO.

16:07 EDT Alphabet reports Q1 paid clicks on Google properties up 59% - Reports paid clicks on Google properties up 59% year-over-year, with cost-per-click on Google properties down (19%) year-over-year. Reports Impressions on Google Network Members' properties flat year-over-year, with cost-per-impression on Google Network Members' properties up 18%.

16:06 EDT Zymeworks, Celgene expand bispecific antibody collaboration - Zymeworks (ZYME) announced that Celgene (CELG) has exercised its right to expand its collaboration agreement for the research, development, and commercialization of bispecific antibody therapeutics using Zymeworks' Azymetric platform. Under the terms of the original collaboration agreement signed in 2014 which enabled Celgene to research and develop multiple bispecific antibodies based on the Azymetric platform, Celgene has now exercised its right to increase the number of potential products it can develop and commercialize from eight to ten, and extended the research program term by two years. Zymeworks will receive an expansion fee and is now eligible to receive up to $164M in development and commercial milestones for each of up to 10 products plus royalties on worldwide sales. In total, Zymeworks is now eligible to receive up to $1.64B in future payments for the entire collaboration.

16:04 EDT Luxoft builds blockchain adapter for Appian app development platform - Luxoft (LXFT) announced it has built a blockchain adapter for Appian's (APPN) rapid application development platform. It is now available exclusively to businesses using Appian's business process management, or BPM tool and will allow its users to integrate a blockchain network into their day-to-day business processes, creating a secure, digital environment that facilitates data sharing. Luxoft will demonstrate how the adapter can be used to benefit the healthcare sector for the first time at Appian World. In particular, Luxoft will show how the blockchain adapter can reduce claims processing errors and inaccurate medical bills. The blockchain creates a secure, reliable and auditable way for medical and pharmacy systems to share and update real-time accumulators, meaning medical insurers, healthcare providers and pharmacies using the Appian Platform instantly have access to the same claim data. Luxoft built the Adapter on Appian's platform, as it's used extensively across a variety of industries, from financial services to healthcare, in areas such as provider data management, medical management and clinical trials. The move is part of a push to commercialize Distributed Ledger Technologies and accelerate its deployment in established business processes.

16:03 EDT TD Ameritrade reports Q2 net new client assets $22.2B, up 8% - Q2 Record average client trades per day of approximately 943,000, up 82% year over year. Q2 total Client assets of approximately $1.2T, up 40 percent year over year.

16:01 EDT Biostar receives not in compliance with Nasdaq listing rules - Biostar Pharmaceuticals announced that on received a notification letter from Nasdaq Listing Qualifications advising the Company that, since it had not filed its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, the Company was not in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250 for continued listing. The Company is required within 60 calendar days of the Nasdaq notification to submit a plan of compliance with the foregoing continued listing deficiency.

15:44 EDT Acasti Pharma trading halted, news pending

15:36 EDT Pfeffer Capital's Pfeffer says bitcoin 'a good bet despite substantial risks' - John Pfeffer, partner, Pfeffer Capital is presenting at the 2018 Sohn Investment Conference.

15:16 EDT Williams Partners raises quarterly distribution to 61.4c from 60c per unit - Williams Partners announced a regular quarterly cash distribution of 61.4c per unit for its common unitholders. The new amount is a 2.33% increase from the partnership's previous quarterly distribution of 60c per unit paid in February 2018. The board of directors of the partnership's general partner has approved the quarterly cash distribution, which is payable on May 11 to common unitholders of record at the close of business on May 4.

15:01 EDT Chipotle ticks lower as blog post regarding alleged food safety event circulated - According to a post to iwaspoisoned.com, a restaurant patron claims to have fallen ill after eating at a Chipotle Mexican Grill in Lexington, Kentucky. Reference Link

14:50 EDT Stephens-Davidowitz says Facebook data 'does not correspond to reality' - Says Google (GOOG, GOOGL) is "digital truth serum". Says Facebook (FB) is "brag to my friends about how good my life is serum". Says Facebook data does not correspond to reality. Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, New York Times op-ed contributor, visiting lecturer at The Wharton School and former Google data scientist is presenting at the 2018 Sohn Investment Conference.

14:41 EDT Netflix to issue debt as it looks to add content with acquisitions, production - Earlier Monday, Netflix announced plans to offer $1.5B in debt notes for general corporate purposes, which may include content acquisitions, production and development, capital expenditures, investments, working capital and potential acquisitions and strategic transactions. ADDING INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: The streaming giant reported first quarter results last week that included the addition of 7.4M subscribers in Q1, beating expectations. Netflix said the large number of new subscribers is attributable to the "growing breadth of our content and the worldwide adoption of internet entertainment." With its earnings report, the company indicated an interest in adding to intellectual property. During its earnings presentation, Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos confirmed the company's ambitions, saying "In terms of using M&A to acquire intellectual property, it could be a very useful tool." PRICE ACTION: Currently, shares of Netflix are down around 2.5% to $319.44 per share.

14:27 EDT Light Street's Kacher expects Palo Alto Networks' revenue to re-acclerate - Expects gross margins to hold steady, while sales and marketing expenses drop. Sees a chance for 164% upside. Glen Kacher, founder and CIO, Light Street Capital is presenting at the 2018 Sohn Investment Conference.

14:22 EDT Light Street's Kacher says Palo Alto Networks is 'surpassing competitors' - Says cyber attack could cause next great financial crisis. Says protecting data is becoming more difficult. Sees Palo Alto Networks as "winner" of cybersecurity industry. Says rapidly gaining market share and surpassing competitors. Glen Kacher, founder and CIO, Light Street Capital is presenting at the 2018 Sohn Investment Conference.

14:02 EDT Synalloy announces Specialty Chemicals Group awarded $7M in new business - Synalloy announces that its Specialty Chemicals Group has been selected by a global chemical company to manufacture a product line for the construction market. The product will be produced at Synalloy's CRI facility, using existing equipment and personnel. Full production will commence in May and will contribute approximately 4M pounds of additional volume to the CRI facility for the balance of the year. This represents a 20% increase in previously forecasted volume for this facility in 2018. Volume in subsequent years should approach 6M pounds annually, contributing $10M in revenue, the company stated.

13:33 EDT E.W. Scripps appoints Danyelle S.T. Wright Chief Diversity Officer - The E.W. Scripps Company has appointed Danyelle S.T. Wright to the newly created role of VP, employment and labor law, and Chief Diversity Officer. In this role, Wright will lead Scripps' enterprise-wide diversity and inclusion strategies. She will work closely with human resources leadership to bring these strategies to life and will provide guidance to the company's senior management on labor practices. Wright will continue to serve as the employment attorney for the company, a role she has held for three years.

13:18 EDT Box soars after Social Capital's Palihapitiya names top pick - Shares of Box (BOX) jumped after Social Capital's (IPOA) Chamath Palihapitiya called the company his best idea at today's Sohn Conference. The stock in afternoon trading is up 14%, or $2.85, to $23.50. Palihapitiya believes Box's core business "unbelievably stable" and thinks will benefit from the adoption of artificial intelligence.

13:15 EDT Social Capital's Palihapitiya names Box as 2018 Sohn pick - Sees artificial intelligence is next wave of innovation. Says GPUs are great at linear algebra. Says next gen ASICs are even better. Says computing power has been dominated by Nvidia (NVDA) and Google (GOOGL, GOOGL). Says Google and Amazon (AMZN) dominate infrastructure. Says Google and Nvidia dominate algorithms. Says Box builds on all these areas. Believes Box can generate an "enormous amount of value" over the coming years. Chamath Palihapitiya, founder and CEO, Social Capital is presenting at the 2018 Sohn Investment Conference.

12:58 EDT DoubleLine's Gundlach says go short Facebook - Jeffrey Gundlach, CEO, DoubleLine Capital is presenting at the 2018 Sohn Investment Conference.

12:55 EDT DoubleLine's Gundlach calls apology by Facebook's Zuckerberg 'disingenuous' - Jeffrey Gundlach, CEO, DoubleLine Capital is presenting at the 2018 Sohn Investment Conference.

12:41 EDT Consolidated Communications launches DDoS mitigation solution - Consolidated Communications Holdings launched its Distributed Denial of Service Mitigation solution. Using an innovative, multi-stage approach to monitor, detect and mitigate the most complex DDoS attacks, businesses partnering with Consolidated Communications can proactively identify and thwart intrusions before they cause costly business disruptions. "Security is paramount for our business customers," said Doug Abolt, vice president of commercial product management at Consolidated Communications. "With more than half of all businesses experiencing a DDoS attack at least once a year and these attacks becoming more sophisticated, Consolidated Communications provides an enhanced level of DDoS protection. Our turnkey installation and proactive monitoring ensures increased productivity and cost savings as we guard businesses from attacks that could cripple their network and systems."

12:30 EDT Half Sky's Ran says GrubHub is "attractive investment idea" - Li Ran, CIO, Half Sky Capital is presenting at the 2018 Sohn Investment Conference.

12:26 EDT Long Pond's Khoury sees D.R. Horton at $71.50 per share - Says incredibly strong narrative that DHI and other homebuilders are uninvestable due to interest rates. Khoury says he believes that narrative is priced in. John Khoury, founder and managing partner, Long Pond Capital is presenting at the 2018 Sohn Investment Conference.

12:11 EDT Long Pond's Khoury believes there is 63% potential upside to D.R. Horton - John Khoury, founder and managing partner, Long Pond Capital is presenting at the 2018 Sohn Investment Conference.

11:58 EDT Contango Ore extends rights agreement, resets ownership trigger to 15%

11:54 EDT Aceto receives subpoena from antitrust division of the DOJ - In a regulatory filing, out earlier, Aceto disclosed the following: In connection with the DOJ's ongoing investigation into marketing and pricing practices throughout the generic pharmaceutical industry, Aceto received a subpoena from the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. The company is one of many operating companies in the generic pharmaceutical industry to receive a subpoena from the DOJ relating to its years-long investigation into the industry.The company is currently preparing its response to the subpoena.

11:33 EDT Orexigen agrees to sell substantially all assets for $75M in cash - Orexigen Therapeutics (OREX) announced that it has entered into an asset purchase agreement with Nalpropion Pharmaceuticals to sell substantially all of the assets of the company, subject to court approval. Under the terms of the agreement, Orexigen will sell the world-wide rights to Contrave/Mysimba and certain other Orexigen assets for $75M in cash. The deal is subject to higher and better offers. Nalpropion Pharmaceuticals is a newly formed special purpose entity capitalized by an investor group that includes Pernix Therapeutics (PTX). "We are encouraged that our work has culminated in this agreement to acquire Orexigen's global rights to Contrave/Mysimba. Our goal is to ensure Contrave/Mysimba will continue to be available world-wide to help improve the health and lives of patients struggling to lose weight. Through our interactions with the investor group and Pernix, we have seen that they recognize the value and the growth trajectory that Orexigen has created for Contrave and that we have a shared commitment to serve this patient population. Orexigen will continue to work with other prospective bidders and will accept offers through June 21 with a goal to complete a successful strategic acquisition of Orexigen in mid-July," said Michael Narachi, President and CEO of Orexigen.

11:26 EDT Spectrum announces publication of Poziotinib data in Nature Medicine - Spectrum Pharmaceuticals announced a publication entitled, "Mechanisms and clinical activity of an EGFR and HER2 exon 20-selective kinase inhibitor in non-small cell lung cancer." The Nature Medicine publication summarizes the current preclinical and clinical data with poziotinib for EGFR and HER2 exon 20 mutations. MD Anderson utilized in silico, in vitro, and in vivo testing to model structural alterations induced by exon 20 mutations and identify potentially effective inhibitors. 3-D modeling indicated alterations restricted the size of the drug binding pocket, limiting the binding of large, rigid inhibitors. It was found that poziotinib, due to its small size and flexibility, can circumvent these steric changes, and is a potent inhibitor of the most common EGFR and HER2 exon 20 mutants. Poziotinib demonstrated greater activity than approved EGFR TKIs in vitro and in EGFR or HER2 exon 20 mutant patient-derived xenograft models, and genetically engineered mouse models of NSCLC. According to the Nature Medicine publication, the first 11 NSCLC patients with EGFR exon 20 mutations receiving poziotinib in MD Anderson's Phase 2 clinical trial had a confirmed objective response rate of 64%. At the time of the publication, the median progression-free survival had not been reached, with a median follow up of 6.6 months. 55% of patients received a dose reduction, with the two most common adverse events being known EGFR inhibitor-related toxicities: skin rash and diarrhea. At the World Conference on Lung Cancer in October 2017, MD Anderson presented that all of the 11 patients had a radiologic improvement in their disease, and 8 out of the 11 patients had a partial response. In the Nature Medicine publication it was reported that 7 out of those 11 patients had confirmed partial response. The MD Anderson Phase 2 clinical trial is nearing completion of enrollment in the EGFR cohort, and the Spectrum Phase 2 study is enrolling at approximately 20 centers in the United States today, with further study center expansion in the U.S. and other countries in progress.

11:13 EDT EU opens in-depth investigation into Apple's acquisition of Shazam - The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to assess the proposed acquisition of Shazam by Apple under the EU Merger Regulation. The Commission is concerned that the merger could reduce choice for users of music streaming services. Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: "The way people listen to music has changed significantly in recent years, with more and more Europeans using music streaming services. Our investigation aims to ensure that music fans will continue to enjoy attractive music streaming offers and won't face less choice as a result of this proposed merger." The proposed transaction involves Apple's acquisition of Shazam. It would combine two significant and well known players in the digital music industry that are mainly active in complementary business areas. In particular, Apple offers the music streaming service "Apple Music", which in the last three years has become the second largest music streaming service provider in Europe. Shazam offers the leading music recognition app for mobile devices in the European Economic Area and worldwide. Music recognition applications allow consumers to recognise music based on a short audio sample by using microphones built into their mobile devices. At this stage, the Commission is concerned that, following the takeover of Shazam, Apple would obtain access to commercially sensitive data about customers of its competitors for the provision of music streaming services in the EEA. Access to such data could allow Apple to directly target its competitors' customers and encourage them to switch to Apple Music. As a result, competing music streaming services could be put at a competitive disadvantage. Reference Link

11:05 EDT Boeing ventures fund invests in 3D printing startup Morf3D - Boeing announced its investment in Morf3D, a California-based company specializing in metal-based additive engineering and manufacturing that enables lighter and stronger 3D-printed parts for aerospace applications. Boeing HorizonX Ventures co-led the company's Series A funding round, the aerospace company announced.

10:44 EDT EcoR1 Capital's Nodelman says Ascendis Pharma is a 'golden goose' - Oleg Nodelman, founder and managing director, EcoR1 Capital is presenting during Sohn Next Wave at the 2018 Sohn Investment Conference.

10:36 EDT Medifast signs licensing agreement with Gatheredtable - Gatheredtable, a Seattle-based software startup, announced that it signed a perpetual licensing agreement for its software platform with Medifast (MED). Terms of the deal were undisclosed.

10:23 EDT Kimberly-Clark says China is 'single largest growth opportunity'

10:20 EDT CRISPR stocks slide after Merck KGaA gets patent in China - Merck KGaA (MKGAY) of Germany announced that the Chinese Patent Office has issued a notice granting a patent application for the company's CRISPR technology used in a genomic-integration method for eukaryotic cells. This forthcoming patent in China covers chromosomal integration, or cutting of the chromosomal sequence of eukaryotic cells, such as mammalian and plant cells, and insertion of an external or donor DNA sequence into those cells using CRISPR. CRISPR genome-editing technology, which allows the precise modification of chromosomes in living cells, is advancing treatment options for a variety of medical conditions. "Including China, we have received seven crucial patents for our foundational CRISPR technology, which defines an exciting new path for medical research and treatments for some of the toughest medical conditions, including cancer, hereditary and rare diseases," said Udit Batra, Member of the Executive Board and CEO, Life Science business of Merck KGaA. Shares of other companies developing CRISPR-based therapies are weak in early trading after the announcement, with shares of Editas Medicine (EDIT) down 5% to $32.60, Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA) down 4.5% to $20.68 and Crispr Therapeutics (CRSP) down 9% to $49.18.

10:06 EDT Woodford sees options for Prothena, Muddy Waters likens firm to lame horse - Woodford Investment Management, a shareholder of Prothena, posted a blog post today, saying in part, "Over recent months, Prothena's share price has been volatile with the market pricing in the prospect of a trial failure but, despite this, we should expect the market to react badly in the short term to today's announcement. We have always been clear why we have backed Prothena and, given the positive progress throughout the development of this drug, we have been increasingly confident it would be successful. Such trial results are symptomatic of early-stage investing, however, and with specific regard to biotech companies, trial outcomes are binary. Nevertheless, the result of this trial is undoubtedly a blow and we will be working with the company and its management team on its strategy beyond Pronto. Prothena has options. It still has an early and mid-stage clinical pipeline. It has a technology platform and a world-leading specialism in misfolding proteins, which are implicated in a number of different neurological disorders. This research platform has been validated by two major pharmaceutical companies - Roche (which is partnering Prothena in PRX002 in Parkinson's disease, currently in Phase II trials) and Celgene (which has recently collaborated with Prothena on three earlier stage clinical assets). The company also has its own, unpartnered assets about to enter the clinic and, with more than $500m on its balance sheet, it is very well-funded." Muddy Waters, who last year issued a short call on the stock, responded to the blog post by tweeting, "Neil Woodford with an iron grip on his $PRTA bag 'The company has options'. @woodfordfunds: When it comes to biotech investing, if you were a horse, they'd shoot you." Prothena shares in early trading are down 69%, or $25.31, to $11.53.

10:03 EDT Raytheon, Virsec in government cybersercurity alliance - Raytheon announced an alliance with Virsec to bring commercial cybersecurity tools to global government and critical infrastructure customers. Combined with Raytheon's decades of cybersecurity defense expertise, Virsec's patented Trusted Execution technology protects networks by detecting deviations in software applications caused by cyber intrusions.

09:59 EDT Kimberly-Clark says 'on track' with restructuring program, overall capital plan - Sees FY dividend payments and share repurchases totaling $2.1B-$2.3B. In North America, says offered voluntary severance plan to most salaried employees and adds that this plan now closed. Says more specifics will soon be shared with workforce, primarily in North America, about redesigned organization and resulting implications. Sees $50M-$70M of restructuring savings in 2018, primarily in 2H as workforce reductions ramp up. Says taking actions to improve net realized revenue and reduce costs to offset commodity headwinds, which should help improve margins from Q1 levels, particularly in 2H. Comments from slides that will be presented on the Q1 earnings conference call.

09:47 EDT Halliburton says sees strong sales, margin growth for C&P in Q2

09:32 EDT Arcturus Therapeutics founder Payne dismisses board's 'baseless' lawsuit - Joseph Payne, Founder and largest shareholder of Arcturus Therapeutics, owning approximately 13.7% of the issued and outstanding shares, strongly rejects Arcturus' board of directors' latest lawsuit against him and calls on the company to stop wasting shareholder money on frivolous litigation. "On February 12, 2018, Payne filed a formal request calling for an Extraordinary General Meeting of shareholders for the purpose of revitalizing the Company with a new board of highly qualified independent and experienced nominees. In contravention of Israeli law, no meeting has been called to date. Instead of allowing shareholders to have their say on the future of the company, Arcturus' board is obfuscating their shortcomings by falsely alleging that Payne and the highly qualified professionals Payne has nominated to serve on the company's board, and certain other significant independent shareholders, violated securities regulations relating to reporting ownership. The Arcturus board knows these claims are baseless. The allegations in the lawsuit filed by Arcturus against Payne and the several other individuals are baseless and without merit and are merely another hollow attempt by Arcturus' entrenched board to distract the public and intimidate shareholders who have voiced the need for change. It is undisputed that Payne is attempting to change the composition of the board and that Payne nominated Peter Farrell, Andrew Sassine, James Barlow and Magda Marquet for election to the board. These facts have been disclosed in public filings made by Mr. Payne. However, there is no agreement of any kind between the persons identified in the lawsuit to vote, hold, acquire or dispose of shares. Without such an agreement, the board's allegations become ridiculous."

09:27 EDT Hasbro doesn't see a negative impact from Fortnite video game

09:24 EDT Halliburton sees Q2, FY18 effective tax rate approximately 22%

09:15 EDT Prothena says capital raise not needed to support pipeline - Prothena on this morning's conference call said has the resources to thoroughly support its current pipeline. The company does not expect to raise capital.

09:14 EDT Hasbro declines to comment on whether sales in 2018 will decline, grow

09:13 EDT McDermott confirms rejecting unsolicited $7/ share takeover offer from Subsea 7 - McDermott International (MDR) confirmed that on April 20, 2018 its Board of Directors rejected an unsolicited, non-binding proposal received from Subsea 7 on April 17, 2018 to acquire all of the outstanding shares of McDermott common stock for $7.00 per share, payable entirely in cash or up to 50% in Subsea 7 stock and the balance in cash. The proposal was subject to, among other things, the completion of due diligence, the termination of McDermott's business combination agreement with CB&I (CBI) and regulatory approvals. "McDermott's Board of Directors carefully reviewed and considered the proposal in consultation with its outside financial advisors and legal counsel. The Board concluded that the proposal was not in the best interests of the company or its stockholders as it significantly undervalued McDermott and was not an attractive alternative to the proposed combination with CB&I. Accordingly, the company's Board rejected the proposal. McDermott is fully committed to completing the transformational combination with CB&I. The Company's Board believes the combination with CB&I is in the best interest of McDermott and its stockholders, and has reaffirmed its recommendation that McDermott stockholders support the transaction. McDermott and CB&I have received all necessary regulatory approvals and have completed a key financing milestone with the closing of the notes offering. Additionally, Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass, Lewis & Co., two leading independent proxy advisory firms, recommended that McDermott stockholders vote "FOR" each of the proposals relating to the combination with CB&I," the company stated. The combination is expected to close in May 2018. It remains subject to customary conditions, including approval by McDermott's and CB&I's stockholders and other closing conditions. McDermott's special meeting of stockholders is scheduled to be held on May 2, the company noted.

09:11 EDT Entravision announces affiliation partnership for KMCC-TV with Azteca America - Entravision Communications (EVC) announced an affiliation partnership for Entravision's KMCC-TV with Azteca America, a U.S.-based, Spanish-language network wholly-owned by HC2 Network, a subsidiary of HC2 Holdings (HCHC). KMCC-TV will air all current Azteca America programming, servicing Las Vegas Nevada. This includes Azteca America's premier entertainment, adventure reality, and sports programming, as well as its popular primetime programming and "Hechos" news franchises.

09:09 EDT Granite Construction CFO Laurel Krzeminski to retire - Granite Construction announced the planned retirement of executive VP and CFO, Laurel J. Krzeminski, in the second half of 2018. Krzeminski will continue in her role as CFO until her successor is appointed. An internal and external search is underway. Krzeminski has played an integral role in Granite's evolution and growth over the past decade, after joining Granite as controller in 2008, and serving as CFO since 2010.

09:07 EDT Perry Ellis enters into a license agreement with Kennek FZE in North Africa - Perry Ellis International announced that it has entered into a license agreement with Kennek FZE in North Africa to source and distribute a full range of products from surf boards and wetsuits to casual wear and footwear under the Gotcha brand. Kennek plans to open eight Gotcha mono-brand stores in Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria in the next four years and further African expansion on a franchise basis in the future with the first launch in November 2018.

09:07 EDT Hasbro sees Walmart, Target expanding toy offerings

09:04 EDT Citi establishes service to support new SEC regulations for mutual funds - Citi has established a service for clients facing the SEC's Rule changes affecting the U.S. mutual fund industry later this year. The SEC's sweeping reporting modernization and liquidity risk management rules place an added operational burden on asset managers. Compliance with the rules requires additional market data, analytics and new reporting infrastructure. The upcoming rule changes will have a dramatic impact on mutual funds as they will substantially increase automation, data collection and reporting requirements. Regulators and investors will have a level of visibility into mutual funds never before obtained. Citi has partnered with MSCI and Confluence to help clients satisfy the SEC's reporting modernization and liquidity risk management rules. This collaboration will result in an efficient and effective model that will assist Citi's clients in meeting the new requirements.

09:03 EDT BAE Systems, Dell EMC collaborate on miss-ready cloud solution for government - BAE Systems (BAESY) and Dell EMC (EMC) announced a collaboration to offer the first scalable, hybrid cloud solution of its kind for the U.S. government. The federated secure cloud is flexible enough to power agency-level IT modernization or support smaller, forward-operating units.

09:01 EDT Voce Capital nominates three directors to Natus Medical board - Voce Capital Management, a long-term owner of Natus Medical, announced that it has nominated three highly-qualified, independent candidates for election to the Board of Directors at the Company's 2018 Annual Meeting. "As Natus stockholders are painfully aware, the Company is in the throes of a multi-year syndrome of poor strategic decisions, deteriorating business fundamentals, sloppy execution and negative stock price performance. What may not be as apparent to stockholders, at least not yet, is just how culpable the Board of Directors of Natus has been in permitting and even rewarding the questionable choices that have led Natus to this point. We strongly believe: The destruction of value at Natus is serious, urgent and was entirely foreseeable and preventable; Natus has failed stockholders through strategic errors, inconsistent execution and a lack of leadership; Natus' senescent Board should be held accountable for these failures, as its independence has been compromised by the excessive tenures of its members, conflicts of interest, hostility towards stockholders and self-entrenchment behavior, including its filing of false and misleading documents with the SEC; and Voce is committed to pursuing changes at Natus that will maximize value for all stockholders, starting with the nomination of the three highly-qualified, independent Director candidates that we are announcing today." Voce is nominating Mark Gilreath, Lisa Wipperman Heine and Joshua Levine.

08:53 EDT AzurRx BioPharma announce positive interim data for MS1819-SD Phase II in EPI - AzurRx BioPharma provided an update on the first nine treated patients in its ongoing Phase IIa trial of MS1819-SD, a recombinant lipase, for the treatment of exocrine pancreatic insufficiency, or EPI, caused by chronic pancreatitis. The Company observed both clinical activity and a clear dose response, where the highest MS1819-SD dose cohort continued to show greater than 21% improvement in CFA in evaluable patients. Additionally, maximal absolute CFA response to treatment was up to 57%, with an inverse relationship to baseline CFA. Favorable trends were also observed on other evaluated endpoints, such as Bristol stool scale, number of daily evacuations and weight of stool, and these were consistent with the CFA results. With regard to safety, no serious adverse events or notable mild to moderate events have been reported in the open-label, ascending dose Phase IIa trial. Other markers relating to nutritional status including patients' plasma albumen were unchanged with treatment. Similarly, fecal nitrogen assessments and nitrogen output showed favorable trends. "We remain encouraged by this Phase IIa data as the results continue to be consistently positive on both the intent to treat and per protocol groups" said Thijs Spoor, CEO of AzurRx BioPharma. "The data further confirms the activity of MS1819-SD and demonstrate its dose response characteristics. Additionally, secondary efficacy endpoints are consistently aligning with the CFA data and the safety profile of MS1819-SD remains favorable."

08:52 EDT Hasbro doesn't expect more material expenses from Toys "R" Us

08:51 EDT Ocean Rig UDW agrees to postpone delivery of Drillship Ocean Rig Santorini - Ocean Rig UDW announced that its subsidiary that is party to the shipbuilding contract for the construction of its 7th generation newbuilding drillship the Ocean Rig Santorini reached an agreement with Samsung Heavy Industries, or SHI, to postpone the delivery of such newbuilding drillship to September 2019. Under the agreement reached with SHI the expected delivery date will be September 30, 2019 but may be brought forward at the option of the company. The remaining yard installments are expected to total $372M of which $360M will be financed by non-recourse seller's credit that matures in June of 2023.

08:48 EDT SPX Corporation agrees to purchase CUES - SPX Corporation (SPXC) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase CUES, headquartered in Orlando, Florida. Under the agreement, a subsidiary of SPX will be merged with CUES' parent company, ELXSI. As a result of the merger, stockholders of ELXSI will receive cash consideration equal to $51 per share of common stock outstanding as of the effective time of the merger, or a total of approximately $189M. ELXSI's common stock is currently quoted on the Pink Open Market operated by OTC Markets Group, Inc. under the ticker "ELXS". ELXSI's 2017 annual net sales were approximately $90 million, and following completion of the transaction, ELXSI's results will be reported with SPX's Radiodetection business within its Detection & Measurement segment. The acquisition is expected to be modestly accretive to SPX's previously announced 2018 guidance for Adjusted EPS in a range of $2.03 to $2.18. SPX anticipates excluding the effect of one-time costs and purchase accounting items associated with the transaction when reporting adjusted results. The transaction is expected to close in Q2 2018 and is subject to regulatory approval, customary closing conditions, and approval by ELXSI's stockholders. Under the terms of the definitive agreement ELXSI may, until June 7, 2018 entertain and engage in negotiations with respect to unsolicited acquisition proposals which constitute or may be reasonably expected to lead to superior proposals and, in certain circumstances, terminate the agreement to accept a superior acquisition proposal subject to the payment of a termination fee.

08:47 EDT Cabot announces CFO Eduardo Cordeiro to retire, Erica McLaughlin to succeed - Cabot announced that Eduardo Cordeiro, executive VP, CFO and president of the Americas Region, will retire from Cabot at the end of 2018. He will step down from these roles effective May 15 at which time Erica McLaughlin, the company's VP of business operations for Cabot's Reinforcement Materials segment and general manager of the tire business, will become senior VP and CFO. Cordeiro will remain with Cabot in an advisory capacity through the end of the year to assist in a smooth transition. Cordeiro, who joined Cabot in 1998, has been the company's CFO since 2009. McLaughlin joined Cabot in April 2002, and has held a variety of roles within the finance organization and Cabot's global businesses. Erica started in Cabot's finance organization and held positions of increasing responsibility, including global finance director for the carbon black business. She then served as vice president of investor relations and corporate communications. In her current role as vice president of business operations for the Reinforcement Materials segment and general manager of the tire business.

08:44 EDT Alder Biopharmaceuticals appoints Dr. Eric Carter Interim Chief Medical Officer - Alder Biopharmaceuticals announced that Eric Carter, Ph.D., M.D., has been named Interim Chief Medical Officer, effective immediately. His primary responsibilities will include leading the company through its ongoing Biologics License Application, or BLA, submission process for eptinezumab, Alder's lead investigational product candidate for migraine prevention, and facilitating other clinical and commercial advancement activities. He will report to Paul Cleveland, Interim President and CEO. Dr. Carter has served as a consultant to the company since March 2018.

08:43 EDT Subsea 7 confirms $7/share proposal to buy McDermott conditioned on CB&I break - Subsea 7 S.A. confirms that it made a proposal to the Board of Directors of McDermott International (MDR) on April 17 to acquire the entire issued share capital of McDermott. Subsea 7 proposed to acquire McDermott common stock for USD 7.00 per share, payable entirely in cash or up to 50% in Subsea 7 stock and the balance in cash. This proposal represents a premium of 16% to the latest closing share price of McDermott on April 20, 2018 and a premium of 15% over the volume weighted average share price of McDermott over the previous 20 trading days. The letter states that Subsea 7 will consider increasing its proposed price upon further assessment of McDermott's business through discussions with McDermott management. Additionally, for any stock consideration, Subsea 7 is open to discussing listing options for the shares of the combined company. The proposal is subject to the termination of McDermott's pending transaction with CB&I (CBI). On April 20, 2018, the Board of Directors of McDermott rejected Subsea 7's proposal. Jean Cahuzac, Subsea 7's CEO, stated, "Given the attributes of the proposed transaction and our stated ability to further enhance our proposed terms, we encourage the McDermott Board of Directors to reconsider this compelling opportunity to combine two complementary businesses. Our proposal provides equity upside in a company with a robust financial position, as well as a meaningful premium. We see significant merit in such a transaction for all shareholders, and with our financial and legal advisors continue to be open to discussions."

08:41 EDT Hasbro: Operating margins 'sustainable,' will improve over next 3-4 years

08:39 EDT Hasbro sees Toys "R" Us revenue impact 'most pronounced' in 1H18 - Says expects Toys "R" Us liquidation in U.S. to end during Q2. Sees Toys "R" Us revenue impact most pronounced in 1H, lesser impact in 2H, including the holiday season. Says expects it will take "about a year" to work through this disruption. Says online POS growing "significantly faster" than total POS. Notes that Toys "R" Us situation is "not something that's happening to our company." Comments taken from the Q1 earnings conference call. Hasbro is down about 7% in pre-market trading.

08:37 EDT MDU Resources acquires operations of Teevin & Fischer Quarry, terms undisclosed - MDU Resources announced it has acquired the operations of Teevin & Fischer Quarry, a leading aggregate producer on the north Oregon coast. Teevin & Fischer will become part of Knife River Corporation, the construction materials subsidiary of MDU Resources. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed. MDU Resources anticipates the acquisition will be accretive to 2018 earnings per share. Teevin & Fischer provides crushed rock and gravel to construction and retail customers in the Clatsop County area.

08:34 EDT AstroNova recieves FAA certificate for installation on new Boeing aircrafts - AstroNov (ALOT) announced that it has received an FAA supplemental type certificate, or STC, for the retrofit installation of its ToughWriter 5 flight deck data printer on six models of the Boeing (BA) 737 next generation aircraft. The STC approval allows retrofits of existing flight deck printers. The ToughWriter 5 is the world's "smallest" and "lightest" ARINC 744A flight deck printer. At less than 9 pounds and just 7.3 inches deep, the ToughWriter 5 meets the commercial transport aircraft demands for efficient design without sacrificing quality or capability.

08:27 EDT Oramed began screening patients in Pivotal Phase 2b HbA1c study of ORMD-0801 - Oramed Pharmaceuticals announced it has begun screening patients in its 90-day dose-ranging Pivotal Phase 2b HbA1c clinical study of its oral insulin capsule, ORMD-0801. A statistically significant improvement in HbA1c, a long-term gauge of blood glucose control, was observed in just 28 days of treatment with ORMD-0801 in Oramed's prior Phase 2 study. The purpose of this study is to measure this effect over 90 days of treatment at different doses. The study will enroll approximately 240 patients with type 2 diabetes in multiple centers throughout the U.S. The primary end points are safety evaluating adverse and hypoglycemic events, and efficacy specific to HbA1c levels over 90 days of treatment.

08:24 EDT ESL urges Sears to divest Kenmore, SHIP, and PartsDirect businesses - Sears Holdings announced that its Board of Directors has received a letter from ESL Investments expressing the view that the company should pursue a divestiture of all or a portion of the Kenmore brand and related assets, the Sears Home Improvement business of the Sears Home Services division, or "SHIP," the PartsDirect business of the Sears Home Services division. The letter notes that Kenmore, SHIP, and PartsDirect have substantial value and that divesting one or more of them would enable the company to improve its debt profile and liquidity position. The letter further states that if the company determines to pursue a divesture of any of Kenmore, SHIP, or PartsDirect, ESL would be interested in participating as a buyer. In pertinent part, the letter outlines the following: ESL's non-binding proposal to acquire SHIP and PartsDirect based on an enterprise value of $500M and on the other terms set forth in the letter; ESL's willingness to submit a proposal to acquire Kenmore; and ESL's willingness to make an offer for certain real estate owned by the company, including the assumption of certain debt obligations secured by that real estate, with the expectation of entering into an ongoing master lease for some or all of the stores to allow for their continued operation. The letter emphasizes that ESL's principal interest is seeing that the Kenmore, SHIP, and PartsDirect businesses are divested in the near term at a full and fair value, regardless of whether ESL or a third party is the ultimate buyer. To ensure a fair process, ESL confirmed that: It will not participate in any transaction as a buyer unless such transaction is both recommended by a committee of independent directors of the company's Board that is fully empowered to consider such transaction, and approved by the holders of a majority of the shares of common stock of the company held by disinterested stockholders; Edward S. Lampert and Kunal S. Kamlani will not participate on behalf of the company, as officer or director, in any discussions, deliberations, negotiations, or decisions with respect to a potential transaction in which ESL participates as a buyer, except to the extent specifically requested by that committee; and it would accept that any transaction in which ESL participates as a buyer would be subject to a "go shop" process on reasonable terms. "The letter from ESL will be reviewed and considered by a committee of independent directors of the company's Board. There can be no assurance that this letter will result in a transaction or on what terms any transaction may occur. The company does not intend to comment further unless and until it determines that additional disclosure is appropriate," Sears stated.

08:21 EDT ESL urges Sears to pursue sale of Kenmore, willing to submit a proposal

08:19 EDT Abeona: FDA grants RMAT designation to ABO-102 gene therapy in MPS IIIA - Abeona Therapeutics announced that the FDA has granted Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy, or RMAT, designation to ABO-102, the Company's AAV-mediated gene therapy for the treatment of Sanfilippo syndrome Type A, or MPS IIIA, a rare autosomal-recessive lysosomal storage disease.

08:17 EDT Destination Maternity investors file preliminary proxy statement for new board - Nathan Miller and Peter O'Malley, collective holders of 8.7% of the outstanding common stock of Destination Maternity Corporation announced the filing of a preliminary proxy statement with the SEC for the election of Holly Alden, Christopher Morgan, Marla Ryan and Anne-Charlotte Windal to the board of the company at the 2018 annual meeting of stockholders. The investors said, "As the Investors' preliminary proxy statement details, the investors believe that it is necessary to replace the board in order to unlock the company's full potential and hold the company's management accountable for its repeated failures to deliver promised financial and operating targets despite the company's announcement of a "turnaround plan." Stockholders of Destination Maternity have an opportunity to ensure that the Board is focused on improving its financial and operational performance by electing the highly experienced, independent Nominees to the Board who possess the skills, retail operating expertise and commitment to take the necessary steps to return value to all stockholders."

08:13 EDT KBS released letter to Whitestone REIT shareholders - KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT released an open letter to its fellow Whitestone REIT shareholders, calling on them to vote for its nominees Kenneth Fearn, Jr. and David Snyder, and the advisory vote to declassify the staggered board, at this year's annual meeting. KBS's letter said "That despite Whitestone's claims that it has reigned in executive compensation and costs, provided extraordinary shareholder returns and reformed its governance, its claims do not stand up to scrutiny. KBS is one of the largest shareholders in Whitestone REIT, with approximately 9.61% of the outstanding shares. KBS believes that Whitestone has an attractive business and is worthy of a substantial investment, but also believes that Whitestone's executive compensation, G&A and governance is seriously misaligned with shareholder interests. KBS believes shareholder values can be meaningfully enhanced by Whitestone bringing these practices into line and has nominated individuals, Kenneth H. Fearn, Jr. and David E. Snyder, to Whitestone's Board of Trustees who are independent and not picked by the current Board. KBS is not seeking control or any change in management, but wants effective oversight of management compensation and good corporate governance. KBS is seeking only two of the seven seats on the Board, for the purpose of giving shareholders a voice on the issues summarized above."

08:11 EDT China Information enters into exclusive distribution agreement with NowNews - China Information announced that the company has entered into an exclusive distribution agreement with NowNews Digital Media Technology, a U.S. listed media holding company focusing on the global Chinese market that provides news and multimedia platform services. The new partnership is belived to be a strong strategic fit, leveraging the two leading companies' strengths to dig into the ditigal advertising market in Taiwan. According to the agreement, NDMT will act as the exclusive partner of CNIT in Taiwan to promote CNIT's new-media sharing business. NDMT's majority-owned subsidiary NOWnews is the largest online self-produced news content provider in Taiwan and the only Taiwanese online news website fully accessible in Mainland China.

08:09 EDT Command Security announces $23M contract award with LaGuardia Gateway Partners - Command Security through its Aviation Safeguards Division announced the award of a new five-year contract to provide security and merchandise screening services for LaGuardia Gateway Partners at the new LaGuardia Airport Central Terminal Building. Total revenues associated with this award are estimated to be approximately $23M over the five year contract period. Work under the contract will commence on or about June 1, 2018.

08:08 EDT Flotek sees Q1 revenue $59M-$62M, one estimate $73.4M - Flotek Industries provided an update on the Company's revenue and EBITDA expectations regarding its results for the three months-ended March 31. Flotek expects its consolidated revenues for the Q1 to be in the $59M-$62M range. Energy Chemistry Technologies, or ECT, segment revenues are expected to be in the $40M-$42M range and Consumer and Industrial Chemistry Technologies, or CICT, segment revenues are expected to be in the $19M-$20M range. Flotek expects to report negative EBITDA for the Q1.

08:07 EDT Melinta Therapeutics presents Phase 3 TANGO II trial at ECCMID - Melinta Therapeutics has presented detailed results from the VABOMERE Phase 3 TANGO II trial at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases 2018, or ECCMID, meeting. TANGO II was a randomized, open-label study of VABOMERE compared with best available therapy in patients with serious infections due to known or suspected carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae infections. VABOMERE was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2017 for the treatment of adult patients with complicated urinary tract infections, or cUTI, including pyelonephritis, caused by designated susceptible Enterobacteriaceae. The majority of patients enrolled in TANGO II presented at baseline with severe co-morbidities including compromised immune systems or renal insufficiency, each of which can complicate treatment and have a negative impact on clinical outcomes. At ECCMID, Melinta presented additional data from TANGO II highlighting outcomes in these vulnerable patient populations.

08:05 EDT Pfizer granted FDA breakthrough therapy designation for Trumenba in MenB - Pfizer announced that TRUMENBA received Breakthrough Therapy designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for active immunization to prevent invasive disease caused by Neisseria meningitidis group B in children ages 1 through 9 years. This is the first Breakthrough Therapy designation for a MenB vaccine to help protect children as young as 1 year of age. TRUMENBA previously received Breakthrough Therapy designation in 2014 for the prevention of MenB in adolescents and young adults ages 10 through 25 years, and later the same year received FDA approval as the first MenB vaccine approved in the U.S. As noted in the October 2014 Approval Letter, Pfizer was required to assess the safety and effectiveness of TRUMENBA in children down to 1 year of age. Pfizer has successfully completed Phase 2 studies in this investigational age group and these data have been submitted to the FDA. These data supported Pfizer's request for Breakthrough Therapy designation.

08:04 EDT Newell Brands says three new independent directors to join board

08:04 EDT Newell Brands announces agreement with Starboard to end proxy contest - Newell Brands (NWL) announced that it has entered into an agreement with Starboard Value LP to end its current proxy contest. As part of the agreement, the Board of Directors has appointed two new independent directors, Gerardo I. Lopez and Robert A. Steele, effective immediately. Additionally, the company intends to nominate Bridget Ryan Berman from Starboard's slate, who has been mutually-agreed upon by Starboard and Carl C. Icahn, Chairman of Icahn Enterprises LP (IEP), for election to the Board of Directors at the company's 2018 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. In connection with the director appointments, Andrew Langham has agreed to step down from the Board, effective immediately and David Atchison will not stand for election. Carl C. Icahn, Chairman of Icahn Enterprises, L.P. commented, "The Company reached out to us and requested that we give up two board seats to avoid a potentially disruptive proxy fight, which could have been especially bad at this important time for the Company. We spoke to Jeff Smith and determined we both have similar goals and objectives to enhance shareholder value, and we therefore agreed to give up two of our seats to avoid a damaging proxy fight. I am pleased that we were able to facilitate peace between the Company and Starboard. Given that the Company has so many more pressing priorities, this is clearly the best outcome for all shareholders. Newell has a great future and we look forward to working with the Board, management team and Starboard." With these immediate changes, and the expected election of Ms. Ryan Berman, in addition to Judith Sprieser, at the 2018 Annual Meeting, Newell Brand's Board will be expanded to comprise 12 highly qualified and experienced directors, 11 of whom will be independent and all of whom will be experienced leaders. Pursuant to the Agreement, Starboard has agreed to withdraw its slate of directors and vote all of its shares in favor of the Newell Brands nominees at the 2018 Annual Meeting of Shareholders.

08:02 EDT Newell Brands announces agreement with Starboard to end proxy contest

08:01 EDT Advaxis names Kenneth Berlin as president and CEO - Advaxis (ADXS) announced that Kenneth A. Berlin has been appointed as President and CEO, effective April 23, 2018, and will also serve as a Director of the company. Interim CEO Anthony Lombardo will remain with Advaxis for a period of time to ensure a smooth transition to Berlin. In addition, Andres A. Gutierrez, M.D., Ph.D. has been named Executive Vice President, Chief Medical Officer, effective April 23, 2018. Advaxis also announced that CFO Sara Bonstein will be leaving the company as of April 30, 2018 to pursue a new professional opportunity. The company is actively engaged in the search for a new CFO, and will announce an interim appointment shortly. Berlin joins Advaxis from Rosetta Genomics (ROSG), where since 2009 he was President and CEO.

07:55 EDT Elliott on Telecom Italia: Ruling is 'merely democracy delayed' - In a statement on Telecom Italia, Elliott Advisors UK Limited said it "believes today's ruling is merely democracy delayed, not democracy denied; shareholders will get to express their will at the EGM on May 4th."

07:47 EDT Pfizer: FDA highlighted need for additional technical information in CRL

07:41 EDT Ashford Hospitality Prime announces rebranding to Braemar Hotels & Resorts - Braemar Hotels & Resorts (BHR), formerly Ashford Hospitality Prime (AHP), announced that it will change its name from Ashford Hospitality Prime to Braemar Hotels & Resorts, trading under the New York Stock Exchange ticker symbol "BHR," effective before the market opens on April 24.

07:40 EDT Biogen to present new Spinraza findings at AAN - Biogen announced new findings detailing the benefits that Spinraza demonstrates for both infantile- and later-onset spinal muscular atrophy, or SMA, populations, including improvement in motor function as well as increased survival for the most severely affected. These findings are based on interim results from the SHINE open-label extension study and an analysis of Spinraza's effects on mobility and fatigability in later-onset participants from the CS2/CS12 studies. The research will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology, or AAN, annual meeting.The SHINE analysis reported interim results as of June 30, 2017, from the open-label extension study for patients with infantile-onset SMA who transitioned from the Phase 3 ENDEAR study. Participants either initiated Spinraza treatment in ENDEAR and continued treatment through SHINE or transitioned from the sham-control arm in ENDEAR to active treatment with Spinraza in SHINE. The interim results showed that participants who initiated Spinraza in ENDEAR and continued in SHINE, as well as those who received sham in ENDEAR and initiated Spinraza in SHINE, experienced improvements in HINE-2 motor milestones and general motor function as measured by CHOP INTEND. The median time to death or permanent ventilation for participants who initiated Spinraza in ENDEAR and continued in SHINE was 73 weeks. Among participants who received sham, the median time to death or permanent ventilation was 22.6 weeks within ENDEAR. The majority of subjects who were alive and did not require permanent ventilation after they received sham in ENDEAR remained event-free after receiving Spinraza in SHINE for a median time of 9.2 months.

07:39 EDT McDermott: Glass Lewis joins ISS in recommending holders vote for CB&I proposals - McDermott (MDR) announced that Glass Lewis has joined ISS in recommending that McDermott stockholders vote "FOR" each of the proposals relating to the combination with CB&I (CBI) to be voted on at the special meeting of stockholders on May 2, 2018. In its report dated April 20, 2018, Glass Lewis states the following: "Combining with CB&I will enable the Company to fulfill several key strategic objectives, namely, increasing its scale, diversifying its business and geographic mix, and adding a portfolio of proprietary technologies that could provide strong differentiation. The Combination could also enable the combined company to gain new revenue opportunities and generate meaningful cost synergies, which in turn could help to drive EBITDA growth and free cash flow generation."

07:37 EDT Kanye West says 'I really love my Tesla. I'm in the future' - Rapper, songwriter, record producer, fashion designer and entrepreneur Kanye West tweeted: "I really love my Tesla. I'm in the future. Thank you Elon." Reference Link

07:36 EDT Advisor recommends CB&I shareholders to vote FOR transaction with McDermott - CB&I announced that leading independent proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis has joined Institutional Shareholder Services, or ISS, in recommending that CB&I shareholders vote "FOR" the previously announced transaction with McDermott International at the Company's upcoming Special General Meeting of Shareholders on May 2.

07:35 EDT Pfizer announces European Commission approval of Mylotarg combination - Pfizer announced that the European Commission has approved Mylotarg in combination with daunorubicin and cytarabine for the treatment of patients age 15 years and above with previously untreated, de novo, CD33-positive acute myeloid leukemia, or AML, except acute promyelocytic leukemia. Mylotarg is the first and only AML therapy approved in the European Union, or EU, that targets CD33, an antigen expressed on AML cells in up to 90% of patients. The goal of AML treatment is for the patient to achieve a complete, prolonged remission. Longer periods of remission prior to relapse are associated with better long-term outcomes for patients. Thus, medicines that delay the time until the disease comes back and extend life can provide meaningful clinical benefit. The European Commission's approval of Mylotarg was based on data from an investigator-led, Phase 3 randomized, open-label study in previously untreated, de novo patients. Mylotarg received approval by the FDA in September 2017 for adults with newly diagnosed CD33-positive acute myeloid leukemia, and adults and children 2 years and older with relapsed or refractory CD33-positive AML.

07:33 EDT xG Technology CEO George Schmitt to retire, Gary Cuccio named interim CEO - xG Technology announced that George Schmitt has elected to retire from his roles as CEO and Executive Chairman, effective immediately. The Board of Directors has appointed current xG Technology board member Gary Cuccio as Executive Chairman and interim CEO. As part of its leadership succession plan, the Board was already in discussions with potential candidates for the permanent CEO role, and has initiated a formal search for a new permanent CEO. The search is expected to take no longer than 90 days.

07:32 EDT Theravance Biopharma announces new data of VIBATIV presented at ECCMID - Theravance Biopharma announced that positive new data from multiple studies of VIBATIV, or telavancin, were presented at the 28th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, or ECCMID, which is being held in Madrid, Spain on April 21 - 24. Two presentations were made reporting new data from the Telavancin Observational Use Registry, or TOUR, study, which is designed to report how VIBATIV is being used by healthcare practitioners to treat patients in real-world clinical settings. The presented findings, which focus on data from registry patients classified as elderly or obese, report positive clinical responses for VIBATIV treatment ranging from 76.5% to 78.8% in these patient subgroups. Positive clinical response was defined as cure or improvement leading to step-down oral therapy.

07:30 EDT Kamada trading resumes

07:19 EDT Sapiens enters into partnership with EasySend - Sapiens International announced that it has entered into a partnership with EasySend , an insurtech company offering a SaaS-based Digital Transaction Management, or DTM, platform for smart and digital forms. EasySend's DTM will integrate with the Sapiens Digital Engagement Suite across Sapiens' Life, Pension and Annuities and Property and Casualty/General Insurance platforms and will enable insurers to rapidly transform forms and documents into a customer-driven, digital experience that can be used via multiple channels and devices.

07:12 EDT Humana, TPG Capital, WCAS to acquire Curo Health Services for approx. $1.4B - Humana (HUM), TPG Capital, Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe announced a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Curo Health Services. The Consortium is purchasing Curo for approximately $1.4B, in which Humana will have a 40 percent minority interest. The Curo transaction, which is anticipated to close during the summer of 2018, is subject to customary state and federal regulatory approvals as well as other customary closing conditions. The Consortium previously announced a pending transaction to acquire the Kindred at Home Division of Kindred Healthcare (KND). The Curo transaction is not conditioned upon the closing of the Consortium's separate acquisition of Kindred at Home and is expected to occur after the closing of Kindred at Home. Upon the closing of these transactions, the Consortium intends to merge Curo with the hospice business of Kindred at Home to create the country's largest hospice operator. Humana expects to fund its portion of the transaction through the use of parent company cash and does not anticipate a material impact to earnings in 2018 from this pending transaction. Evercore is acting as the exclusive financial advisor to Humana. Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP and Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP are acting as legal advisors to Humana. Debevoise & Plimpton LLP and Mintz Levin are acting as legal advisors to TPG and WCAS. Ropes & Gray LLP is also acting as legal advisor to WCAS. Jefferies LLC is acting as the exclusive financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP is acting as legal advisor to Curo.

07:11 EDT Humana, TPG Capital, WCAS to acquire Curo Health Services for approx. $1.4B

07:08 EDT Ducommun sees Certified Thermoplastics acquisition accretive to earnings - Ducommun announced that it has completed the acquisition of Certified Thermoplastics, based in Santa Clarita, CA. Founded in 1978, Ducommun expects the acquisition to be accretive to earnings within the first year following closing and financed the purchase through its existing revolving credit facility.

07:06 EDT Elaine Wynn urges Wynn shareholders to withhold board votes from Hagenbuch

07:03 EDT Elaine Wynn says Wynn board shouldn't decide on Boston until board reconstituted - Elaine Wynn, co-founder and the largest shareholder of Wynn Resorts, filed preliminary proxy materials with the Securities and Exchange Commission and released a letter addressed to all shareholders urging that they join her in withholding votes from Wynn director candidate John Hagenbuch, who is up for re-election at Wynn's Annual Meeting scheduled for Wednesday, May 16. The letter stated in part: "I am deeply concerned by what I view as the lack of independence and responsible oversight demonstrated by the current board of directors. Given my significant interest in the Company, and my concerns about its most senior leadership, I am seeking to reconstitute the board and reform the Company's corporate governance. I believe that this is the only path to restoring the Company's reputation, improving its standing with regulators and maximizing shareholder value. To be clear, I am not looking for a board seat for myself or anyone who is closely associated with me. My focus is solely on enhancing and protecting our investment in the Company. To achieve these goals, we need a new era at Wynn Resorts. Although the board recently unilaterally appointed three new directors and indicated its intention to add more new directors in the coming months, I do not believe these steps go far enough toward changing 'business as usual' in Wynn's boardroom. In particular, they do not address the number of longstanding legacy directors who will remain on the board...I am concerned that the board would consider selling Wynn Boston Harbor at all given the unique and strategic nature of the property. The Company sought and achieved this market leading position and has considered the property a core strategic asset. Moreover, the possibility that the Company might sell Wynn Boston Harbor for less than its full long-term value in an attempt to "mitigate risk" by limiting the investigation is of even greater concern. I fear that longstanding legacy directors such as Mr. Hagenbuch, who have close personal ties to Mr. Wynn, will endorse just such short-sighted action. I believe that before any decisions about Wynn Boston Harbor are made, or any other material actions are taken that could have an adverse impact on long-term shareholder value, a reconstituted board must be in place. In my opinion, regulators would look favorably upon a change in a majority of the board."

07:02 EDT comScore names Bryan Wiener as CEO, effective May 30 - comScore announced the appointment of Bryan Wiener as CEO. A current member of the comScore board of directors, Wiener brings more than 25 years of leadership experience in the media and technology industry to his new role as CEO of comScore. Most recently, Wiener served as executive chairman at 360i, a 1,000-plus-employee advertising agency known for its ability to help brands capitalize on change through innovation and a data-driven approach to marketing. With the appointment of Wiener as CEO, Bill Livek, comScore's current executive vice chairman and president, will transition to the new role of vice chairman of the board and special advisor to the CEO. Wiener and Livek will assume their new positions on May 30. The CEO position at comScore has been unoccupied since former CEO, Gian Fulgoni, retired in November 2017.

07:01 EDT Sage Therapeutics submits NDA for SAGE-547 for treatment of PPD - Sage Therapeutics announced the company has submitted a New Drug Application to the U.S. FDA for its lead product candidate, an intravenous formulation of brexanolone, SAGE-547, for the treatment of postpartum depression. Brexanolone IV received Breakthrough Therapy Designation in September 2016, underscoring the significant unmet need in women with PPD. Breakthrough Therapy Designation is intended to offer a potentially expedited development path and review for promising drug candidates intended to treat serious conditions, including increased interaction and guidance from the FDA. The NDA submission is supported by data from the Hummingbird Program. This clinical program included three multicenter, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group, placebo-controlled trials -- Study 202A, Study 202B and Study 202C -- each designed to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of brexanolone in women with moderate or severe PPD, aged between 18 and 45 years who were less than or equal to6 months postpartum at screening in the United States.

06:56 EDT Hasbro Q1 revenue impacted by liquidation of Toys"R"Us in U.S., U.K. - Hasbro's total gaming category, including all gaming revenue, most notably MAGIC: THE GATHERING and MONOPOLY, which are included in Franchise Brands in the table above, totaled $203.5 million for the first quarter 2018, down 20%, versus $253.3 million for the first quarter 2017. Hasbro believes its gaming portfolio is a competitive differentiator and views it in its entirety. First quarter 2018 revenues were negatively impacted across all Brand Portfolio categories by the liquidation of Toys"R"Us in the U.S. and U.K., along with uncertainty in its other operations, as well as retail inventory overhang, primarily in Europe. First quarter 2018 Franchise Brand revenues decreased 19% to $361.7 million. Growth in MONOPOLY was offset by declines in all other Franchise Brands in the quarter. Franchise Brand revenues grew in the Entertainment and Licensing segment and declined in the U.S. and Canada and International segments. Partner Brand revenues declined 6% to $200.6 million. Revenue growth in MARVEL and BEYBLADE was more than offset by declines in other Partner Brands. Partner Brand revenues increased slightly in the U.S. and Canada segment, but declined in the International segment. Hasbro Gaming revenue decreased 22% to $105.2 million. Revenue gains in DUNGEONS AND DRAGONS, JENGA and several new game launches were offset by declines in other properties. Hasbro's total gaming category was down 20% to $203.5 million. Hasbro Gaming revenues declined in all three major operating segments. Emerging Brands revenue declined 6% to $48.8 million. Revenue increases from STRETCH ARMSTRONG and LITTLEST PET SHOP products were offset by declines in other Emerging Brands. Emerging Brands revenues grew in the Entertainment and Licensing segment and declined in the U.S. and Canada and International segments.

06:47 EDT Halliburton CEO says 'optimistic' on relative performance for remainder of year - "We achieved total company revenue of $5.7 billion, representing a 34% increase compared to the first quarter of 2017. Adjusted operating income was $619 million, primarily driven by robust market conditions in North America," remarked Jeff Miller, President and CEO. "Our Completions and Production division was negatively impacted by delays in sand delivery, due to weather related rail interruptions during the quarter, but achieved a strong March exit with margins in the mid-upper teens. Our Drilling and Evaluations division had strong year over year revenue growth of 15% while operating income grew 54%. "I am very pleased with the way our North America business exited the quarter. Activity in U.S. land remains resilient as our customers have a large portfolio of economically viable projects in today's commodity price environment. As a result of the improved activity in U.S. land, in March we achieved a new record for stages per spread as the pressure pumping market remains tight. Our North America business exited the quarter in a strong position and I am confident in our ability to reach normalized margins in North America this year. "Turning to the international markets, Halliburton has never been better positioned for a recovery than it is today. I am confident in the strength and performance our business will demonstrate as the international recovery unfolds. "Overall, I am optimistic about Halliburton's relative performance for the remainder of the year, and our ability to grow our North America margins and to maximize the value of our global footprint. We are executing our strategy, it is working well and it resonates with our customers. Our strategy is delivering industry leading returns and I am confident that it will continue to do so," concluded Miller.

06:43 EDT CenterPoint, Vectren: Scott Prochazka to serve as CEO of combined company

06:41 EDT Old National Bancorp to sell 10 branches, consolidate an additional 10 branches - "Our record start to 2018 was driven by continued strong commercial loan growth, disciplined expense management, controlled deposit costs and excellent credit quality," said Old National Bancorp Chairman and CEO Bob Jones. "In keeping with our ongoing focus on improving the operating dynamics of the franchise, we also announced our decision to sell 10 branches and consolidate an additional 10 branches throughout our franchise."

06:39 EDT Vectren investors to receive $72/share cash for each share in CenterPoint deal - CenterPoint Energy (CNP) and Vectren Corporation (VVC) announced they have entered into a definitive merger agreement to form an energy delivery, infrastructure and services company serving more than 7 million customers across the United States. Under the terms of the agreement, which have been unanimously approved by both CenterPoint Energy's and Vectren's Boards of Directors, Vectren shareholders will receive $72.00 in cash for each share of Vectren common stock. CenterPoint Energy will also assume all outstanding Vectren net debt. The combined company is expected to have electric and natural gas delivery operations in eight states with assets totaling $29 billion and an enterprise value of $27 billion. With the merger, CenterPoint Energy expects to maintain an annual guidance basis EPS growth target of 5 to 7 percent in 2019 and 2020, excluding any one-time charges related to the merger. At the closing of the transaction, Scott M. Prochazka will serve as president and CEO of the combined company. The full executive team for the combined company will be announced prior to or in conjunction with the closing of the merger. The natural gas utilities operations of the combined company, as well as that businesses' lead executive, will be headquartered in Evansville. Additionally, CenterPoint Energy will establish a chief business officer for Vectren's electric business who will directly report to CenterPoint Energy's CEO and spearhead southwestern Indiana's electric grid modernization and generation transition initiatives recently underway. In addition to utility field employees, CenterPoint Energy will retain key operational activities in support of the utilities in Evansville. Pursuant to the merger agreement, CenterPoint Energy will contribute an additional $3 million per year for a minimum of five years after the closing of the merger to the Vectren Foundation, which will continue to operate out of Evansville. The closing of the transaction is subject to Vectren shareholder approval, approvals from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Federal Communications Commission, and expiration or termination of the Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period. In addition to these conditions, the company will make certain regulatory filings in Indiana and Ohio. Subject to these conditions, the merger is expected to close by the first quarter 2019. Until the closing, CenterPoint Energy and Vectren will remain separate companies.

06:37 EDT WidePoint awarded follow-on federal contracts for IdM - WidePoint announced four follow-on federal contract awards valued at more than $770,000 to provide Identity Management, or IdM, services including certificate issuance and credentialing.

06:36 EDT Christopher & Banks signs corporate headquarters sale-leaseback agreement - Christopher & Banks announced that it has entered into a purchase agreement with a private, unaffiliated investor group to sell and lease back its Plymouth, MN corporate headquarters for a purchase price of $13.65M. The completion of the sale-leaseback transaction is subject to customary closing conditions. The company estimates that the net expense impact in year one of the lease will be approximately $300,000, including rent expense, net of depreciation expense and the amortized gain on the sale.

06:32 EDT Hasbro CEO says Q1 'challenging' - "The Hasbro teams executed extremely well during a challenging first quarter," said Brian Goldner, Hasbro's chairman and CEO. "Hasbro brands are resonating with consumers and consumer takeaway is positive. However, as we discussed earlier in the year, our first quarter was expected to be difficult. We are working to put the near-term disruption from Toys"R"Us behind us. Our global retailers view this as an opportunity in a key consumer category and are partnering with Hasbro to develop growth plans for our brands. New Hasbro initiatives shipping in this quarter and beyond won't be caught up in the Toys"R"Us liquidation process. With the rapid shift to a converged retail environment, we accelerated plans we originally had spread throughout the year to transform our commercial organization on a more immediate basis. Our underlying financial strength is sound, and despite the near-term challenges associated with a major customer liquidation, Hasbro is positioned to manage a challenging 2018 and drive growth in 2019 and beyond," said Deborah Thomas, Hasbro's chief financial officer. "The quarter's revenue and profits were negatively impacted by lower revenues and higher expenses associated with events that do not reflect the health of our underlying business. We remain on track to meet our goal of generating $600 to $700 million in operating cash flow this year while investing to build our brands, transform our organization and return cash to shareholders."

06:11 EDT Alaska Air sees Q2 total air group ASMs about 8.5% - Sees Q3 total air group ASMs about 6%, Q4 about 4%.

06:10 EDT Helios and Matheson considering merger for MoviePass - In a regulatory filing, Helios and Matheson said that "Pursuant to Section 253 of the Delaware General Corporation Law, so long as Helios owns shares representing at least 90% of each class of stock of MoviePass entitled to vote, Helios will have the right to effectuate a merger of MoviePass with Helios without a vote of the board of directors or stockholders of MoviePass. MoviePass has only common stock outstanding. Helios is currently evaluating the terms and conditions upon which it may effectuate such a merger with MoviePass. If Helios elects to effectuate such a merger with MoviePass, Helios plans to structure the merger such that MoviePass would become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Helios. If the merger consideration in such a merger consists of common stock or securities convertible into or exercisable for common stock of Helios, Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635 may require a Helios stockholder vote to effectuate the merger."

06:09 EDT Alaska Air sees FY19, FY20 CapEx approximately $750M

06:08 EDT Alaska Air sees FY18 total air group ASMs approximately 6.5%

06:06 EDT Southwest has cancelled 99 flights today, FlightAware reports - Reference Link

06:02 EDT Innovus Pharmaceuticals names Ryan Selhorn as CFO - Innovus Pharmaceuticals announced the hiring of Ryan Selhorn, CPA as its new Vice President, CFO effective as of April 27. Selhorn is an industry veteran whose financial and public accounting skills as well as his experience as the CFO consultant for Dare Biosciences (DARE), the CFO for MediciNova (MNOV), and the CFO and Chief Accounting Officer for Signature Analytics provides the company with the needed skill set to help the company move into its next level of growth and revenues.

05:46 EDT Fresenius Medical sells Sound Inpatient for $2.15B to Summit Partners - Fresenius Medical Care signed a definitive agreement to divest its controlling interest in Sound Inpatient Physicians Holdings to an investment consortium led by Summit Partners for total transaction proceeds of $2.15B. Sound is a physician organization providing services across the acute episode of care - through emergency medicine, critical care, hospital medicine, transitional care and advisory services. In 2017, Sound generated revenues of around EUR 1.25B and EBIT of around EUR 90M. The divestment is expected to generate a pre-tax book gain for Fresenius Medical Care of approximately EUR 800M. Closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and anticipated late in 2018.

05:34 EDT Amarin promotes Aaron Berg to Chief Commercial Officer - Amarin announced that Aaron Berg has been promoted to the position of Senior Vice President, Chief Commercial Officer. Berg previously served the company as Senior Vice President, Marketing and Sales. Berg joined Amarin in November of 2012 and has played a leading role in U.S. prescription and related revenue growth of the company's lead product, Vascepa capsules.

05:30 EDT Genentech says 4 years of continuous Ocrevus treatment reduces RMS activity - Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, announced that new Ocrevus data were presented at the 70th American Academy of Neurology, or AAN, Annual Meeting from April 21-27 in Los Angeles, California. The data showcase the efficacy of OCREVUS in relapsing multiple sclerosis, or RMS, through several measures of underlying disease activity and disability progression, including magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI, cognitive function, and spinal fluid biomarkers of inflammation and neurodegeneration. New safety data remain consistent with OCREVUS' favorable benefit-risk profile in both relapsing and primary progressive multiple sclerosis, or PPMS. "The OCREVUS data shared at AAN show the impact of this targeted B cell therapy on slowing disability progression in MS, and further support the approach of early treatment. In the extension studies, patients who received OCREVUS continuously experienced less disease progression than those who began treatment at a later time point," said Stephen Hauser, M.D., chair of the Scientific Steering Committee of the OPERA studies, director of the Weill Institute for Neurosciences and chair of the Department of Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco. "It is encouraging that with up to four years of data, we continue to see a robust effect and a consistent safety profile." After four years of continuous treatment, the benefits of OCREVUS in reducing underlying disease activity in RMS were sustained, as shown in a platform presentation measuring brain MRI activity through the randomized and open-label extension periods of the Phase III studies.