Stockwinners Market Radar for May 17, 2018 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

21:03 EDT Ctrip partners with Hyatt on first online and mobile store - Ctrip Group (CTRP) announces its collaboration with Hyatt (H), to open its first flagship store on its website and mobile application. The online flagship store allows over 300 million Ctrip members to access Hyatt hotels in the Greater China region and will extend to Hyatt hotels globally in the near future.

20:19 EDT Adverum Biotechnologies presents ADVM-022 preclinical data at ASGCT - Adverum Biotechnologies announced the presentation of additional long-term efficacy data from a preclinical study of ADVM-022 in wet age-related macular degeneration in a poster session today at the ASGCT 21st Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL. "It is exciting to see that a single administration of ADVM-022 has the potential to provide long-term protection against choroidal neovascularization, which is associated with vision loss in wAMD," said Mehdi Gasmi, Ph.D., chief science and technology officer of Adverum Biotechnologies. "Our poster presentation at this year's ASGCT Annual Meeting includes the most robust set of data to date on ADVM-022. Based on the results from these studies and our ongoing Investigational New Drug-enabling studies, we are on track to submit an IND Application for ADVM-022 in the second half of 2018. We are eager to get ADVM-022 into the clinic to advance this gene therapy that may offer convenient, long-term protection for patients living with wAMD."

19:08 EDT Amgen's Aimovig priced at $575 per month or $6,900 annually - Amgen further states: "Amgen (AMGN) and Novartis (NVS) are committed to supporting the migraine community and to helping appropriate patients with affordable access to Aimovig. The Aimovig Ally product support program has been created to help patients navigate insurance coverage and identify potential access resources for those who are uninsured or underinsured. The U.S. list price of Aimovig is $575 for once monthly 70 or 140 mg single-use prefilled SureClick autoinjector, or $6,900 annually. The price of Aimovig reflects the value it brings to patients and society, including the financial impact on sufferers, caregivers and employers, while also factoring in critical issues such as patient affordability, and fair and timely access. While out-of-pocket costs will vary depending on insurance status, the Aimovig Copay Program may be able to help reduce a patient's out-of-pocket costs to as little as $5 per month for eligible patients with commercial insurance."

19:01 EDT On The Fly: After Hours Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: voxeljet (VJET) up 7.7%. ALSO HIGHER: Auotient (QTNT) up 13.0% after starting Europe blood grouping trials for MosaiQ... Cerner (CERN) up 9.2% after signing up-to-$10B VA contract... AmTrust Financial (AFSI) up 5.7% after disclosed Icahn stake... Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) up 2.0% after Buy initiation at Cowen... PayPal (PYPL) up 1.0% after assumed Buy at UBS and $2.2B iZettle purchase. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Nordstrom (JWN) down 6.7%... Applied Materials (AMAT) down 4.6%. ALSO LOWER: Riot Blockchain (RIOT) down 4.8% after disclosing SEC subpoena... Boot Barn (BOOT) down 3.6% after equity offering for holders.

18:37 EDT PayPal confirms acquisition of iZettle for $2.2B - PayPal announced that it has agreed to acquire iZettle, the leading small business commerce platform in Europe and Latin America, for $2.2B. The acquisition of iZettle significantly expands PayPal's in-store presence, strengthening PayPal's platform to help millions of small businesses around the world grow and thrive in an omnichannel retail environment. The transaction is expected to be approximately $0.01 dilutive to PayPal's previously communicated full year 2018 non-GAAP EPS. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018. The completion of this transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals. The two companies will continue to operate independently until close.

18:32 EDT Air Lease announces delivery of Boeing 737 MAX 8 to SmartWings - Air Lease (AL) announced the delivery of one new Boeing (BA) 737 MAX 8 aircraft on lease to Travel Service. This aircraft is the first of two 737 MAX 8 aircraft scheduled for delivery to Travel Service, with the next aircraft delivering in 2019.

18:15 EDT Cerner rises over 8% afterhours following VA contract announcement

18:03 EDT Applied Materials falls 5% after quarterly report, peers follow lower - Shares of semiconductor equipment-makers are lower, including KLA-Tencor (KLAC), Lam Research (LRCX), Brooks Automation (BRKS), Kulicke & Soffa (KLIC) in after-hours trading after Applied Materials' (AMAT) reported quarterly results. Shares of Applied are down approximately 5% or $2.54 to $51.42.

17:56 EDT Northwest Natural Gas subsidiary acquires two water utilities in Washington - NW Natural Water, a subsidiary of NW Natural Gas, announced that it has entered into agreements to acquire two water utilities in Washington state. Both are located on Whidbey Island near Seattle in Puget Sound. Lehman Enterprises serves about 900 customers and Sea View Water serves just under 200 customers. The assets and operations of Lehman and Sea View will be combined under a newly-formed subsidiary of NW Natural Water. The transactions are subject to certain conditions, including approval by the Washington Transportation and Utilities Commission, and are expected to close in 2018. The planned acquisitions further the company's strategy to expand into the regulated water utility sector. In addition to Washington, NW Natural Water has pending water utility acquisitions in Oregon and Idaho.

17:38 EDT Nordstrom down 7% to $47.30 after Q1 results, FY18 guidance

17:24 EDT RGM Capital lowers stake in Cornerstone OnDemand to 3.5% from 5.3%

17:12 EDT Riot Blockchain gets subpoena from SEC for documents pursuant to investigation - Riot Blockchain disclosed in a regulatory filing, that on April 9, the company received a subpoena requesting documents from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to a formal order of investigation. As part of its ongoing review of the Company's SEC filings, the company has received and responded to comments from the staff of the SEC regarding certain developments and the company's ongoing development of a blockchain/cryptocurrency business model. These inquires include the proper asset classification, applicability of the Investment Company Act or 1940, to the Company's business and affairs and accounting treatment of its cryptocurrency. The resolution of these matters is ongoing and has been described in more detail under "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31.

17:00 EDT Valvoline acquires Great Canadian Oil Change - Valvoline announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the business assets of Great Canadian Oil Change, which franchises 73 quick-lube stores in five Canadian provinces, primarily in British Columbia and Saskatchewan. The acquisition is expected to be completed within 60 days. Financial terms were not disclosed.

17:00 EDT Grana y Montero trading halted, news pending

16:57 EDT Nordstrom sees full-price business stabilizing - Says Nordstrom Rack store sales underperformed relative to expectations. Sees full-price business stabilizing.

16:52 EDT AmTrust jumps 6.2% after Icahn discloses 9.38% stake

16:33 EDT Marriott, Simon expand relationship - Marriott International and Simon announced their plans to open at least five new hotels at Simon shopping centers over the next several years. From South Florida to New York's Long Island, Simon's premier shopping, dining, entertainment and mixed-use destinations are increasingly becoming ideal hotel destinations - offering consumers amenities steps from their room and providing both companies a powerful combination that optimizes real estate values.

16:33 EDT Mannatech to conduct Dutch auction cash tender offer for up to $16M in stock - Mannatech intends to conduct a modified Dutch auction cash tender offer to purchase up to $16M of its outstanding common stock, par value $0.0001 per share. The company anticipates that Georgeson Securities Corporation will be the dealer manager for the tender offer, Georgeson LLC will serve as the information agent for the tender offer, and Computershare Trust Company, N.A. will serve as the depositary for the tender offer.

16:28 EDT Morgan Stanley reports 5.3% passive stake in Auris Medical

16:23 EDT United Continental CEO: 'We remain confident in our existing financial guidance' - "I personally want to thank Andrew for his contributions to United. He leaves the company in a stronger financial position and with a clear strategy and framework in place. Our exceptional operational performance and our focus on productivity are driving improved profitability despite anticipated fuel headwinds and we remain confident in our existing financial guidance," said CEO Oscar Munoz. "Gerry's deep experience and financial acumen mean that he is ideally suited to lead our finance organization during this transitional period. Gerry will work with the rest of the team to continue delivering on our financial strategy as we search for a permanent CFO."

16:20 EDT Icahn opposes Amtrust Financial's proposed going-private transaction - In a regulatory filing, Carl Icahn reported a 9.38% stake in Amtrust Financial, adding that he and his firm "strongly oppose" the proposed going-private transaction pursuant to which the Zyskind/Karfunkel families would acquire the publicly held shares of Amtrust Financial for $13.50 per share. "We decided to look into the situation and found that what we had been told was correct: The Zyskind/Karfunkel families, with the help of the "independent" Special Committee of the Board, are blatantly taking advantage of AmTrust's minority shareholders. Going-private transactions are rarely without controversy, but the law is clear: Non-controlling shareholders must be treated fairly, both in terms of process and price," Icahn said in a letter to Amtrust. "The Zyskind/Karfunkel squeeze-out transaction completely fails to satisfy these criteria. You have structured your take-over to ensure that the transaction is reviewed under the lower, more deferential "business judgment" standard, as opposed to the enhanced, more stringent "entire fairness" standard." "We are currently engaged in discussions with our Delaware litigators and are assessing our options to correct the manifest injustice that will occur if the Board fails to change the record and special meeting dates," Icahn continued.

16:17 EDT Synchrony announces $2.2B stock repurchase program - Synchrony Financial approved a share repurchase program of up to $2.2 billion through June 30, 2019.

16:16 EDT Construction Partners completes acquisition of The Scruggs Company - Construction Partners announced it has completed the acquisition of The Scruggs Company, a privately-owned civil infrastructure company headquartered in Hahira, GA, for $51.1M in cash, excluding certain working capital adjustments. The Scruggs Company is expected to contribute revenue of approximately $65M-$75M over the next twelve months.

16:10 EDT Momenta announces presentation on potential for anti-FcRn therapeutics - Momenta announced the upcoming presentation describing the broad potential for anti-FcRn therapeutics and the discovery of M281. The presentation will be part of the 11th International Congress on Autoimmunity.

16:06 EDT United Airlines CFO Andrew Levy to depart, Gerry Laderman named acting CFO - United Airlines announced Gerry Laderman has been named acting CFO. He succeeds Andrew Levy, who has decided to leave United. UAL will immediately begin a search for a new CFO. Laderman currently serves as senior vice president of finance, procurement and treasurer and as a member of the senior executive leadership team. He has held legal and financial positions of increasing responsibility at the company for nearly 30 years and will be responsible for continuing to execute United's overall financial strategy, including cost management, capital allocation and balance sheet optimization.

16:04 EDT Applied Materials down 2.2% after reporting Q2 earnings, Q3 guidance

16:01 EDT Sealed Air elects Jerry Whitaker as Chairman of the Board - Air Corporation announced that Jerry R. Whitaker, a member of the Sealed Air Board of Directors, has been elected as non-executive Chairman of the Board. Effective May 17, Whitaker succeeds William J. Marino, who has retired from the Board after serving as Chairman since 2014. Whitaker was first elected to the Board in January 2012. Previously, Whitaker served as President of Power Components & Systems Group from 2004 through 2009 and as President of Electrical Sector-Americas, Eaton Corporation, a global manufacturer of highly engineered products, until his retirement in June 2011.

15:31 EDT Delaware moving forward to implement full-scale sports gaming - The Delaware Department of Finance, in consultation with the Attorney General's Office, has determined that there are no legal obstacles to moving forward with full-scale sports betting in Delaware, including head-to-head-betting, which permits single-game wagering, the Department announced. The Department will begin training lottery and casino staff next week in preparation for a June launch of full-scale sports betting in Delaware. Finance Secretary Rick Geisenberger issued the following statement: "Following Monday's ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court and consultation with the Delaware Attorney General's Office, we are confident that Delaware has the legal and regulatory authority to authorize sports gaming in Delaware. The Delaware Lottery has had plans in place for months, and we will begin training lottery and casino staff early next week. We will continue to provide public updates as we prepare to launch full-scale sports gaming in Delaware next month." Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment, whose operations consist of the Dover Downs Hotel & Casino and Dover Downs Raceway, has seen its shares rise 28c, or about 16%, to $2.05 in afternoon trading following the announcement. Reference Link

14:24 EDT Paccar VP Dozier sells 10,000 common shares - In a regulatory filing, Paccar vice president C. Michael Dozier disclosed the sale of 10,000 common shares of the company at a price of $63.52 per share.

14:10 EDT Lake Shore Bancorp announces new stock repurchase program - Lake Shore Bancorp announced that its board has adopted a new stock repurchase program. Under the repurchase program, the company may repurchase up to 121,190 shares of its common stock, or approximately 5% of its outstanding shares, excluding the shares held by Lake Shore, MHC. As of May 16, 2018 there were 34,101 shares remaining in the existing repurchase plan. The existing repurchase plan was terminated as a result of the new plan.

13:51 EDT Altria board authorizes $1B expansion to $1B share buyback program - Altria's Board has authorized a $1B expansion to the existing $1B share repurchase program. Altria now expects to complete the expanded $2B share repurchase program by the end of the second quarter of 2019. The timing of share repurchases depends upon marketplace conditions and other factors. This program remains subject to the discretion of the Board.

13:44 EDT Agenus to present data on AGEN1884 and AGEN2034 at ASCO meeting - Agenus announced that data on its proprietary AGEN1884 and AGEN2034 antibodies have shown consistent clinical activity with a number of partial responses, stable disease and currently, one complete responder. Updated data on these agents will be presented at the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, being held June 1-5. "Our lead CTLA-4 and PD-1 are advancing rapidly in the clinic with more than 100 patients treated. AGEN1884 is the most advanced anti-CTLA-4 antibody in the clinic with the potential to be the second to market. We are pleased to report that after the first 100 patients have been treated, our antibodies are clinically active and are advancing in combination in second-line cervical cancer, an indication for which patients have no effective therapies, and presents a path to BLA filing," said CEO Garo Armen.

13:34 EDT Essendant adopts stockholder rights plan - Essendant (ESND) announced that its Board of Directors has adopted a stockholder rights plan. The Rights Plan does not prevent any action the Board determines to be in the best interest of the company and its stockholders and is structured such that it will not be triggered by the definitive merger agreement to combine the company and the S.P. Richards business of Genuine Parts Company (GPC), announced on April 12, 2018. Essendant's Chairman of the Board, Charles Crovitz, stated: "The Board believes that given current circumstances, it is in the best interests of stockholders that no one person or group acquire undue influence or control through purchases of Essendant stock." Pursuant to the Rights Plan, one preferred stock purchase right will be distributed as a dividend on each share of the company's common stock held of record as of the close of business on May 27. Each right initially will entitle stockholders to buy a unit representing one one-thousandth of a share of a new series of preferred stock of the company for $33. The rights generally will be exercisable only if a person or group acquires beneficial ownership of 10% or more of the company's common stock or commences a tender or exchange offer upon consummation of which such person or group would beneficially own 10% or more of the company's common stock. If a person or group acquires beneficial ownership of 10% or more of the company's common stock, each right will, unless the rights are redeemed by the company, become exercisable upon payment of the exercise price of $33 for common stock of the company having a market value of twice the exercise price of the right. The Rights Plan will expire on May 17, 2019.

13:05 EDT Westport agrees to sell CNG Compressor Business to Snam for EUR12.5M - Westport Fuel Systems announced that it has entered into an agreement to sell its compressed natural gas compressor business based in Cherasco, Italy to Snam S.p.A. for a cash purchase price of EUR12.5M, subject to certain customary adjustments and closing conditions. The transaction is expected to close by the end of July. As a consequence of the divestiture, the results from the CNG compressor business will be reclassified to discontinued operations in future external reporting for the full year. Therefore, the company is revising its consolidated revenue guidance from continuing operations to a range of $235M-$255M for FY18. "We are proud to have Snam agreeing to purchase our CNG compressor business given their leadership in the development of natural gas fuelling infrastructure in Italy. This business will be in good hands as they will be able to grow the CNG fuelling infrastructure further, which will ultimately benefit our core business. This divestiture is also aligned with our strategic review of our product portfolio. Not only does the sale strengthen our balance sheet, but it also enables us to concentrate on our key priorities to grow our core business, delivering innovative, ready-now products that address the market's need for alternative fuel solutions," stated Nancy Gougarty, CEO of Westport.

12:44 EDT WWE shares surge after Hollywood Reporter says ''Smackdown' Up for Grabs' - Shares of World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) are higher after a Hollywood Reporter story that said that "WWE's Smackdown is being shopped to various networks after [Comcast's (CMCSA, CMCSK)] NBCUniversal -- whose USA Network airs the highly rated pro wrestling matches -- declined to re-up its deal." SMACKDOWN OPEN TO BIDDING: According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Smackdown franchise is available to bidding as NBCU will be concentrating on renewing its agreement for Raw, another WWE wrestling franchise. According to the story, Raw "is expected to close at as much as three times its current value." ANALYST VIEW: Guggenheim analyst Curry Baker said he is keeping his Buy rating and $48 price target on WWE, noting he is "bullish" on the company's TV renewal prospects based on the terms about to be achieved by UFC. Baker says UFC is "on the verge" of renewing its TV right at over $350M in average annual value, which he calls a "baseline minimum" for WWE considering that its RAW and SmackDown programs provide more hours of content -- 260 vs. UFC's 105 -- and at much higher TV ratings than UFC. PRICE ACTION: Shares of World Wrestling Entertainment are up 15% to $50.21 per share in early afternoon trading.

12:32 EDT Kinetic Catalyst urges Marin Software to pursue sale process - In a regulatory filing, Kinetic Catalyst Partners disclosed a 5.1% stake in Marin Software and sent a letter to the company's board saying the "best course of action" is to sell the company. "Given what we believe is the complete failure of the CEO to even remotely meet his own predictions, we have awaited action by the board," the letter reads. "Inexplicably, the action the board has recently taken is to reward the management team with stock options, RSUs, and golden parachute agreements. These are assets of shareholders being given to a failed management team by an outside board that has never invested in the stock. We believe the best course of action is to sell the company. The company's largest holder, ESW Capital, has acquired over 60 software companies. Their ownership would seem to be a natural starting point for an open and competitive sales process. Alternatively, if the board does not wish to pursue a sales process, we believe the board would best serve shareholders by voluntarily reconstituting the board with representatives of outside shareholders. Four outside shareholders own 45% of the company and have zero board representation. The one course of action completely unacceptable is to stay the course. We believe the existing management team and board will destroy remaining shareholder value through continued destruction of the balance sheet and top line revenue."

12:23 EDT Ubisoft backs 2018-2019 non-IFRS operating income view roughly EUR440M - Backs 2018-2019 free cash flow view roughly EUR300M. Cuts 2018-2019 net bookings view to roughly EUR2.05B from EUR2.1B, based on the release of three new AAA games, namely "The Crew 2," "The Division 2," and an unannounced franchise title, representing 19M units. In line with previous practices and in view of the acceleration of the company's digital transformation, growth in back-catalog sales and excellent momentum of recent releases, Ubisoft has decided to give itself more time to develop "Skull & Bones" to offer players an even more engaging experience. "Skull & Bones" is now scheduled for release in 2019-20.

11:39 EDT Facebook partners with Atlantic Council to prevent election meddling - In an earlier statement Facebook said: " Facebook is investing heavily to prevent our service from being abused during elections. We're doubling the number of people who work on safety and security and using technology like artificial intelligence to more effectively block fake accounts - the source of many bad ads and a lot of misinformation. In addition, we're more actively working with outside experts, governments and other companies because we know that we can't solve these challenges on our own. For example, last month we announced an independent commission to help fund and organize research into the impact of social media on society - starting with elections. Today, we're excited to launch a new partnership with the Atlantic Council, which has a stellar reputation looking at innovative solutions to hard problems. Experts from their Digital Forensic Research Lab will work closely with our security, policy and product teams to get Facebook real-time insights and updates on emerging threats and disinformation campaigns from around the world. This will help increase the number of "eyes and ears" we have working to spot potential abuse on our service - enabling us to more effectively identify gaps in our systems, preempt obstacles, and ensure that Facebook plays a positive role during elections all around the world." Reference Link

11:28 EDT Fox names Suzanne Scott CEO of Fox News, Fox Business - Suzanne Scott has been named Chief Executive Officer of FOX News and FOX Business Network, announced Lachlan Murdoch, Chairman of 21st Century Fox and the Chairman and CEO of the proposed New Fox. Scott will report jointly to Lachlan Murdoch and Rupert Murdoch, 21st Century Fox Executive Chairman, Executive Chairman of FOX News and Co-Chairman of the proposed New Fox. Additionally, Jay Wallace has been appointed President of FOX News and Executive Editor, while Jack Abernethy will continue as CEO of the newly expanded FOX Television Stations Group, an essential component of New Fox. Abernethy will relocate to Los Angeles to work closely with FOX Broadcasting Company and FOX Sports.

10:56 EDT Loxo gains, Jounce plunges after cancer meeting abstracts released - Shares of Loxo Oncology (LOXO) jumped in morning trading after the biotech company released data in abstracts in anticipation of the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting that is being held June 1-5 in Chicago. The data showed that its experimental LOXO-292 cancer drug shrunk tumors in nearly 70% of patients regardless of where their cancer originated. Meanwhile, Jounce Therapeutics (JNCE) said it is planning to unveil data from a trial evaluating JTX-2011 monotherapy and in combination with Bristol-Myers' (BMY) nivolumab, which is marketed as Opdivo. WINNER: According to preliminary data from an abstract released on Wednesday, Loxo Oncology's LOXO-292 drug, a highly selective RET inhibitor, shrunk tumors in almost 70% of patients regardless of cancer origination. LOXO-292 is an oral and selective investigational new drug in clinical development for the treatment of patients with cancers that harbor abnormalities in the rearranged during transfection kinase. According to Loxo, the drug was well-tolerated and had "marked antitumor activity in patients with RET-altered cancers, including those with resistance to prior treatments." Blueprint Medicines (BPMC), which is developing a drug that rivals LOXO-292, plunged this morning after certain of Loxo's ORR figures were said by analysts to have topped Blueprint's previously released figures from a past conference. Blueprint will present two abstracts at ASCO supporting plans for rapid development of avapritinib, a selective KIT and PDGFRa inhibitor, in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors and systemic mastocytosis. LOSERS: Meanwhile, an abstract was released for Jounce Therapeutics' ICONIC trial, which is comparing JTX-2011 on its own and in combination with Bristol-Myers Squibb's Opdivo in ICOS-positive tumors. The abstract published online reflects data as of January 27 and updated results will be presented on June 2. Jounce said it has met its target enrollment for the Phase 1/2 trial in combination cohorts across gastric cancer, triple negative breast cancer, head and neck squamous cell cancer and nonsmall cell lung cancer. Elizabeth Trehu, Jounce's chief medical officer, commented that "the preliminary data from patients across multiple solid tumor types enrolled in the ICONIC trial show that JTX-2011 is well-tolerated alone and in combination with nivolumab and has demonstrated evidence of biologic activity and tumor reductions in heavily pre-treated patients who have failed all available therapies." In addition, she added that a potential surrogate biomarker of response has been identified that "may help to guide JTX-2011 development." Another ASCO loser this morning is Nektar Therapeutics (NKTR), which released abstracts that included updated data from the Phase 1/2 PIVOT study evaluating NKTR-214 plus Bristol-Myers' Opdivo in patients with advanced solid tumors, which showed an overall response rate of 52% in melanoma and disease control rate of 78%. ANALYST COMMENTARY: Stifel analyst Stephen Willey raised his price target on Loxo Oncology to $190 from $145, telling investors that the LOXO-292 data should further distance the candidate from other competitive RET inhibitors. Willey noted that the ORR of 52% reported for the 46 evaluable patients harboring RET-altered tumors tops the 46% ORR previously-reported for competitor Blueprint Medicines' BLU-667 at AACR. Jounce was downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Wells Fargo by analyst Jim Birchenough following the "underwhelming" JTX-2011 data, saying that the results were "not competitive with other investigational drugs." JPMorgan analyst Jessica Fye said Nektar's NKTR-214 update was not definitive as it relates to the ultimate profile for the product, telling investors that management emphasized in advance that follow up would be limited for the new patients in the abstract, and this was "abundantly evident" with 22 of the 30 Phase II patients having had only one scan. While the limited follow up in the abstract was well-telegraphed, Nektar shares trading modestly lower today would not be surprising, Fye wrote. PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, Loxo Oncology is up over 21% to $169.36, while Jounce Therapeutics is down 32% to $12.06. Blueprint Medicines is lower by about 8% and Nektar Therapeutics is down 8.5%.

10:28 EDT Valeant, Gilead among many on FDA list of drugmakers 'gaming' generic entry - The FDA, working toward the Trump Administration's priority of advancing policies that increase competition as a way to help make drugs more affordable and improve access, has released a list of brand companies that it sees having created obstacles for generic developers in purchasing samples of their brand drugs. The FDA stated "Ee're making public a list of companies that have potentially been blocking access to the samples of their branded products. We hope that this increased transparency will help reduce unnecessary hurdles to generic drug development and approval. We often hear of these tactics when it comes to generic drug developer access to samples when the brand products are subject to limited distribution programs." Among the many drugmakers on the FDA's list are: Valeant (VRX), Pfizer (PFE), Biogen (BIIB), Insys Therapeutics (INSY), VIVUS (VVUS), Celgene (CELG), Bayer (BAYRY), Gilead (GILD), BioMarin (BMRN), Novelion Therapeutics (NVLN) - formerly Aegerion, Mallinckrodt's (MNK) Questcor, Shire (SHPG), Merck's (MRK) Cubist, Jazz Pharmaceuticals (JAZZ), Teva (TEVA), AstraZeneca (AZN), Acorda Therapeutics (ACOR), Mylan (MYL), Novartis (NVS), Roche (RHHBY) and Galena (GALE). Reference Link

10:01 EDT U.S. Concrete falls after Spruce Point predicts up to 90% share downside - Shares of U.S. Concrete are falling after short-selling research firm Spruce Point Capital Management put a "Strong Sell" recommendation on the name. It is "easy to justify" 60%-90% downside risk in the share price, Spruce Point wrote in a report posted on its website. The firm believes it is time for "significant change" at the company and is calling for the immediate resignation of its CEO. It explains, "Given our analysis that shows distortions in USCR's Non-GAAP figures, we believe the best way to value the Company is on Free Cash Flow. We expect further deterioration which began three years ago, and apply a 20x - 25x multiple to reflect a discount to the peer average for its above average exposure to ready-mix, poor roll-up economics, and growing liquidity risk. Secondly, we adjust USCR's book value for an estimated $60 - $85 million of overcapitalized costs to its vehicle property accounts and apply a 1.0x - 1.5x multiple range. These valuation perspectives indicate 60% to 90% downside or approximately $6.00 to $25.00 per share." US Concrete in morning trading is down 3% to $59.20. Reference Link

09:49 EDT Google confirms YouTube Music streaming service to launch May 22 - In a post last night to the official YouTube blog, Google confirmed that on Tuesday, May 22, the company will be introducing YouTube Music, which it calls "a new music streaming service made for music with the magic of YouTube: making the world of music easier to explore and more personalized than ever." The post stated: "While fans can enjoy the new ad-supported version of YouTube Music for free, we're also launching YouTube Music Premium, a paid membership that gives you background listening, downloads and an ad-free experience for $9.99 a month." Publicly traded companies that already offer music streaming services include Spotify (SPOT), Pandora (P) and Apple (AAPL). Reference Link

09:39 EDT Emerson to acquire Aventics from Triton for EUR527M cash - Emerson announced it has agreed on terms to acquire Aventics from Triton for a cash purchase price of EUR527M. Aventics is among the global leaders in smart pneumatics technologies that power machine and factory automation applications. The acquisition is expected to close in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2018 subject to regulatory approvals, Aventics' finalization of necessary consultations and other customary closing conditions.

09:26 EDT VirnetX enters non-exclusive reseller agreement with TITAN Commerce - VirnetX announced that it has entered into a non-exclusive reseller agreement with TITAN Commerce Continental Services GmbH, a German based seller and marketer of international products and services in the European and African markets, to sell VirnetX's Gabriel Collaboration Suite as well as VirnetX's Secure Domain Name technology to its international customer base.

09:21 EDT Wells Fargo announces retirement of Commercial Capital head Ed Blakey - Wells Fargo & Company announced that EVP Ed Blakey will retire as head of its Commercial Capital business, part of the company's Wholesale Banking group. As head of Commercial Capital, Blakey oversaw the company's Asset-Backed Finance & Securitization, Capital Finance, Commercial Distribution Finance, Corporate Trust Services, and Equipment Finance divisions. Wells Fargo also announced that David Marks, who has been with the company for 31 years and is currently head of Wells Fargo Capital Finance, will succeed Blakey as head of Commercial Capital starting June 30, 2018. In addition, ABF, which dual-reported into Commercial Capital and the Wells Fargo Securities business, will continue to be led by Chris Pink, and going forward, will solely report into the Wells Fargo Securities business under Mary Katherine DuBose, managing director and head of Debt Capital Markets. Blakey will remain in his current role through the transition.

09:18 EDT LRAD Corporation receives $780k in follow-on U.S. Navy orders - LRAD Corporation announced follow-on U.S. Navy LRAD 500X and LRAD SoundSaber orders totaling $780,000. LRAD systems help determine the intent of vessels not responding to radio calls, alter threat behavior and enlarge vessel standoff zones for ships underway, pier side or at anchor. LRAD's unmatched long-range communication and voice broadcast intelligibility is also used during search and rescue operations, boarding vessels, and interdictions at sea.

09:16 EDT Blackwells Capital issues letter on 'continued value destruction' at Supervalu - Blackwells Capital, one of the largest shareholders of Supervalu with an approximate 5.2% ownership interest, issued the following open letter to the company's Board of Directors. The letter read, in part: "We believe there is significant value in Supervalu's assets, people and business relationships. But, after years of continuous value destruction, as a result of what in our view has been a misguided and haphazard strategy overseen by this Board, we are compelled to drive change that unlocks value for the benefit of all of Supervalu's shareholders. Our repeated, good-faith attempts over the past eight months to engage management and this Board about specific ways to reverse the Company's precipitous decline in value have been consistently and systematically rejected, and this continues today. The Company has reacted to our suggestions with what believe are ineffective half measures. With the share price still trading near six-year lows after the recent fourth quarter earnings, it is more evident than ever that the markets have lost all confidence in Supervalu's current strategy, and in a Board that does not lead, but simply reacts. In order to unlock value for all shareholders, as we have previously expressed, the Company must change fundamentally, beginning at the Board level. In March, we privately notified you that we intend to nominate six exceptionally talented, independent candidates, who each bring desperately needed experience in retail and wholesale grocery, logistics, sustainability and corporate turnarounds, as well as fresh perspectives for your boardroom. Rather than enter into a constructive discussion, however, this Board preemptively publicized, only part, of our nomination notice, mischaracterizing our intentions and our rights as a shareholder. Nevertheless, Blackwells has continued in its attempt to constructively engage the Company, proposing reasonable changes to strengthen this Board for the benefit of all Supervalu shareholders...Meanwhile, the Company has yet to give shareholders notice or set a record date for the Supervalu annual meeting, which typically occurs in mid-July... Enter into constructive discussions about ways to strengthen this Board. Take the time to meet with each of our extraordinary board nominees. Fulfill your fundamental duties by scheduling an annual meeting...If not, we are determined to provide every Supervalu shareholder with the last say at the upcoming annual meeting. There they will have what we believe is a clear choice: between the status quo, with an entrenched Board that has proven itself unable to set a winning strategy, or a slate of highly qualified, independent board candidates who are prepared and committed to unlock value for all shareholders. "

09:10 EDT Investor Group says Egan-Jones supports nominees for Destination Maternity board - Nathan Miller and Peter O'Malley, collective holders of approximately 9% of the outstanding common stock of Destination Maternity Corporation, announced that Egan-Jones Proxy Services has recommended that shareholders vote on the GOLD proxy card in support of all four of the Investors' director nominees: Holly N. Alden; Christopher B. Morgan; Marla A. Ryan and Anne-Charlotte Windal. In its report, Egan-Jones noted the following: "Based on our review of publicly available information, we believe that voting FOR the election of the Investors' nominees is in the best interest of the Company and its shareholders...We believe that change is warranted to correct the Company's flawed strategy in executing its "go-forward" plan. As evident in the Company's persistent underperformance - missed targets, bloated costs and poor financials, the incumbent Board and management's approach in maximizing shareholder value has been ineffective...In our view, the election of the Investors' nominees will endow the Board with diversity and the right mix of skills, experience and qualifications in the retail industry. We commend the Investors' slate, which is comprised of three females, whom we believe, are appropriate given the Company's nature of business and therefore, are positioned to execute the right strategy to unlock shareholder value...Given the Investors' and their nominees combined ownership in the Company, we believe that they will work towards the alignment of their interests with the shareholders, and will unlock the Company's growth potential versus the current status quo of underperformance...Given the foregoing, we believe that the nominees appear qualified and we recommend a vote FOR this Proposal on the GOLD Proxy Card."

09:07 EDT Seattle Genetics appoints Roger Dansey as CMO - Seattle Genetics (SGEN) announced the appointment of Roger Dansey as CMO. Dansey brings extensive experience in cancer drug development, most recently from Merck (MRK) where he was therapeutic area head for late stage oncology, responsible for the ongoing registration efforts for Keytruda across multiple tumor types. Dansey was senior VP at Merck from January 2015 to April 2018.

09:05 EDT BioLineRx reports Phase 2 results on BL-8040 for stem cell mobilization - BioLineRx announced "positive" results from a Phase 2 clinical trial assessing BL-8040 as a single agent for hematopoietic stem cell mobilization in an allogeneic transplantation setting. Mobilization of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells for the purpose of donor transplantation after high-dose chemotherapy is currently performed using a 4-5 day treatment cycle with G-CSF and a 1-2 day apheresis procedure. Single-agent treatment with BL-8040, a novel, high-affinity CXCR4 antagonist with rapid HSPC mobilizing kinetics, showed similar efficacy in only one administration. In addition, BL-8040 showed non-inferiority in recipient engraftment, with all transplanted recipients successfully engrafting with BL-8040-mobilized grafts. Of the 21 evaluable donors that have been enrolled in the study to date, 11 out of 13 donors, 85%, treated at the 1 mg/kg dose and 8/8 donors, 100%, treated at the 1.25 mg/kg dose of BL-8040 reached the primary goal of greater than or equal to2x106 CD34 cells/kg of recipient weight in up to 2 leukapheresis sessions. BL-8040 was safe and well tolerated. 13 transplanted recipients have reached the secondary endpoint of 100 days post-transplant. Results of the lead-in period from the Phase 3 trial are expected in the next few months.

08:52 EDT On The Fly: Pre-market Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Walmart (WMT), up 1.7%. ALSO HIGHER: Loxo Oncology (LOXO), up 13% after announcing data on LOXO-292 ahead of a planned presentation at the upcoming ASCO meeting of cancer researchers... NXP Semiconductors (NXPI), up 1% amid optimism about its deal with Qualcomm (QCOMM) on the heels of the report that China will allow the proposed $18B sale of Toshiba's (TOSBF) chip unit to a Bain Capital-led consortium... WWE (WWE), up 10% after Guggenheim analyst Curry Baker presented a "bullish" view on the company's TV renewal prospects in a note to investors. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: J.C. Penney (JCP), down 10%... Cisco (CSCO), down 4%... NetEase (NTES), down 9%... Children's Place (PLCE), down 3%. ALSO LOWER: Jounce Therapeutics (JNCE), down 33% after the company's report of 'underwhelming' JTX2011 data ahead of the ASCO meeting led to a downgrade of the stock at Wells Fargo... Blueprint Medicines (BPMC), down 7% after last night's release of abstracts ahead of the upcoming ASCO meeting.

08:46 EDT Pareteum adds $3M Global Cloud Services contract - Pareteum announced that an established UK-based enterprise has selected Pareteum and Global Cloud Services Platform to empower their global security service offering. This new customer provides an array of global security services in over 90 countries, including home, fire, and security monitoring, as well as, business enterprise solutions ranging from employment screening and facilities management to enhanced tactical operations. Under the terms of the 3-year agreement, Pareteum will be paid monthly revenue for each wireless connected device managed by the Pareteum Global Cloud Services Platform. GCSP services provided to our customer enables secure connectivity, application provisioning, and monitoring for their more than 30 thousand subscribers.

08:37 EDT Blue Apron appoints Tim Bensley CFO - Blue Apron announced the appointment of Tim Bensley as CFO, with an expected start date of May 21. A veteran finance executive, Bensley brings to Blue Apron over 30 years of diverse finance and strategy leadership experience, including expertise in the consumer packaged goods and food retail industries. As CFO, he will lead financial operations across the company, reporting directly to CEO Brad Dickerson and serving on the company's executive leadership team. Bensley most recently served as CFO of Acosta, a private-equity backed company with more than 30,000 employees in 100 locations globally that provides multi-channel sales, marketing and business intelligence services to many of the world's food and consumer packaged goods companies.

08:35 EDT Ultragenyx says Phase 3 study of Crysvita met primary endpoint - Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical announced that the Phase 3 study of Crysvita met its primary endpoint demonstrating that Crysvita was superior to oral phosphate and active vitamin D in improving rickets in children with X-linked hypophosphatemia, or XLH, after 40 weeks of treatment. The study also showed improvement in important metabolic and functional measures with Crysvita treatment, and a safety profile similar to that observed in other Crysvita pediatric XLH studies. Crysvita is an antibody that blocks fibroblast growth factor 23, or FGF23, a hormone that causes phosphate urinary excretion and suppresses active vitamin D production by the kidney.

08:34 EDT Capstone Turbine secures 1 MW CHP order - Capstone Turbine announced an order for a C1000 Signature Series microturbine to provide combined heat and power, or CHP, to a chemical manufacturer located in the Mid-Atlantic United States. E-Finity Distributed Generation, Capstone's distributor for the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast regions, secured the order. When the chemical manufacturer needed to expand and improve their operational efficiency, they turned to Capstone microturbine technology for the solution. The C1000S microturbine will operate 24/7, reducing peak energy demand at the facility, significantly reducing their energy costs.

08:32 EDT Veru announces publication of data from 3 cancer studies as part of ASCO meeting - Veru Inc. announced the publication of data from preclinical studies of VERU-111, a novel oral alpha and beta tubulin inhibitor, that showed efficacy in chemotherapy resistant tumor types. Specifically, VERU-111 reduced tumor growth in a paclitaxel sensitive and resistant triple negative breast cancer model, as well as ovarian cancer and pancreatic cancer models. Three abstracts, which include data related to each of the three cancers, were published as part of the upcoming 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting in Chicago. Triple negative breast cancer is highly aggressive and has poor prognosis due to the frequent development of drug resistance. The study being published evaluated oral administration of VERU-111 compared with IV docetaxel in a paclitaxel resistant TNBC model. IV docetaxel had little impact on tumor growth whereas oral VERU-111 resulted in almost complete inhibition of TNBC tumor growth at 12.5 mg/kg, as well as significantly reduced tumor metastasis. Metastatic ovarian cancer is a highly lethal gynecological malignancy. Although many patients with ovarian cancer initially respond to treatment with taxane therapies, resistance is common. The study being published evaluated oral administration of VERU-111 in an orthotopic ovarian cancer model. Orally administered VERU-111 had a significant reduction in ovarian tumor growth and the animals receiving oral VERU-111 had no identifiable liver or spleen metastases. Likewise, the prognosis for pancreatic cancer is poor since pancreatic cancer usually does not cause recognizable symptoms in its early stages and the disease is typically not diagnosed until it has spread beyond the pancreas itself. The study being published evaluated oral administration of VERU-111 compared with paclitaxel, vinorelbine and colchicine in a pancreatic cancer model. Orally administered VERU-111 had significant impact on pancreatic tumor growth and mechanistically arrested the cell cycle and induced apoptotic pathways in this model.

08:28 EDT Allstate reports April estimated pre-tax catastrophe losses of $211M - Allstate announced estimated catastrophe losses for the month of April 2018 of $211M, pre-tax ($167M after-tax). Catastrophe losses occurring in April comprised 10 events at an estimated cost of $195M, pre-tax, plus unfavorable reserve reestimates of prior reported catastrophe losses. Two severe wind and hail events, primarily impacting Texas and certain Southeastern states, accounted for approximately 60% of April event catastrophe losses.

08:27 EDT BioDelivery Sciences announces agreement with Broadfin Capital - BioDelivery Sciences (BDSI) announced that it has entered into an agreement with an affiliate of Broadfin Capital LLC, a large BDSI stockholder, to reconstitute BDSI's board and to significantly strengthen BDSI's financial position. The closing of this agreement is subject to and effective upon the closing of BDSI's $50M equity financing announced earlier. Under the agreement, at the closing, Broadfin Managing Partner Kevin Kotler will join BDSI's board, along with pharmaceutical industry veterans Todd Davis and Peter Greenleaf, who were selected by Broadfin. Mr. Davis recently served as Founder, Managing Partner and President of RoyaltyRx Capital, LLC, a special opportunities investment firm focused on pharmaceuticals. Mr. Greenleaf is currently the CEO of Cerecor, Inc. (CERC), and previously served as the CEO of Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (SCMP) through its sale to Mallinckrodt PLC (MNK) in February 2018. Both individuals have strong commercial and merger and acquisitions experience, which BDSI believes will be essential as it looks to potentially expand in the pain space and accelerate BELBUCA sales in an effort to create significant stockholder value. Chairman of the Board Dr. Frank O'Donnell, Vice Chairman of the Board Dr. Mark Sirgo, and W. Mark Watson will remain on BDSI's board in their existing roles, along with BDSI's newly appointed Chief Executive Officer, Herm Cukier. Four existing members of the BDSI board, Thomas D'Alonzo, Barry Feinberg, Samuel Sears and Timothy Tyson, will voluntarily retire from the BDSI board as part of the agreement. Kevin Kotler, Managing Partner of Broadfin, stated, "As a large BDSI stockholder, Broadfin is pleased to reach this agreement with BDSI that strengthens the company's balance sheet and reconstitutes the board through the addition of three highly-qualified independent directors, each of whom will support BDSI's positive commercial and strategic growth. Once appointed to the board, I look forward to working with newly appointed CEO Herm Cukier, my fellow directors and management to help build on the early commercial success of BELBUCA and enhance value for all stockholders." Pursuant to the agreement, at the closing, Broadfin will withdraw its notice of nomination of persons for election as directors at BDSI's 2018 annual meeting of stockholders. Broadfin also agreed to vote its shares at the annual meeting for BDSI's director nominees and otherwise in accordance with the board's recommendations, and to certain customary standstill restrictions through the 30th day prior to the nomination deadline for BDSI's 2019 annual meeting. Mr. Davis and Mr. Greenleaf will join the BDSI board as Class I directors who will be up for election at BDSI's 2018 annual meeting of stockholders. Mr. Kotler will join the Board as a Class II director who will be up for election at BDSI's 2019 annual meeting of stockholders. The $50 million equity financing is being led by Broadfin Capital and includes participation by new and existing shareholders of the company including Stonepine Capital LP, Armistice Capital and CRG Capital. BDSI also announced that it has entered into an amendment to its senior credit facility with affiliates of CRG Capital that provides BDSI with certain positive accommodations. This amendment is also subject to and effective upon the closing of BDSI's $50 million equity financing. Under the terms of the loan amendment, the interest only period of the loan and BDSI's ability to defer a portion of the interest under the loan to maturity will be extended by one year. In addition, the loan agreement provides that if BDSI achieves and maintains a predetermined market capitalization, payment of the entire loan principal may be deferred until the December 21, 2022 maturity date. Also, the loan amendment provides for certain favorable modifications to the minimum revenue covenants. BDSI has previously drawn $60 million of the $75 million that is potentially available under the CRG facility. The complete agreement between BDSI and Broadfin as well as agreements related to the equity financing and CRG loan amendments have been or will be included as exhibits to BDSI's Current Reports on Form 8-K which have been or will be filed with the SEC.

08:20 EDT Varian Medical providing training and education to Brazil Ministry of Health - Varian has signed a software technology training and education cooperation agreement with the Brazil Ministry of Health and seven universities and science and technology institutions in Brazil. This agreement is part of Varian's commitment to partner with the MOH to increase the access to and quality of radiotherapy treatment in the fight against cancer in Brazil and across Latin America. The participating ICTs were selected from the group of candidates who responded to the MOH's call for entries and passed through a selection process conducted by Varian. Researchers from these ICTs will begin training sessions in June 2018 with Varian's global engineering teams in Switzerland, Finland and the U.S.

08:10 EDT China Information receives $1M cloud-based ad terminal order in China - China Information Technology announced that it has entered into contracts for the sales of 3,000 CNIT cloud-based elevator ad terminals to be installed in office buildings and residential communities throughout two prefecture-level cities Qingyuan, a major economic and transportation hub of Guangdong Province and Qujing, an important industrial and commercial city of Yunnan Province in China. Signed with Qingyuan Taoping IoT Technology and Qujing Taoping IoT Limited, the contracts are expected to generate sales and service revenue to CNIT of about $1 million. Today's news is the thirtieth in a series of announcements since May of 2017 on CNIT's sales of its cloud-based ad terminals. Each transaction is expected to generate recurring service and commission revenue from customers' use of the company's Yunfa advertising distribution system and Taoping Net/ App ad screen sharing platform.

08:09 EDT Tyme Technologies announces five clinical abstracts at ASCO annual meeting - Tyme announced the availability of additional clinical data from the company's lead candidate SM-88 being presented in five abstracts at the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology, or ASCO, Annual Meeting, to be held June 1-5, 2018 in Chicago, IL.

08:08 EDT Cheniere Energy Partners LP receives merger proposal from Cheniere Energy - Cheniere Energy Partners LP Holdings (CQH) announced that its board of directors has received a proposal from Cheniere Energy (LNG) pursuant to which Cheniere would acquire the publicly held shares of Cheniere Partners Holdings not already owned by Cheniere in a stock for stock exchange. Subject to negotiation and execution of a definitive agreement, Cheniere is proposing consideration of 0.4500 Cheniere shares for each outstanding publicly-held share of Cheniere Partners Holdings as part of a transaction that would be structured as a merger of Cheniere Partners Holdings with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cheniere. The proposed consideration represents a value of $28.24 per common share of Cheniere Partners Holdings based on the closing price of Cheniere's shares as of May 16, 2018. The proposed transaction is expected to be a tax-free exchange to Cheniere Partners Holdings' shareholders. Cheniere owns approximately 91.9% of the issued and outstanding shares of Cheniere Partners Holdings.The proposed transaction is subject to the negotiation and execution of a definitive agreement and approval of such definitive agreement and transactions contemplated thereunder by the board of directors of Cheniere, the board of directors of Cheniere Partners Holdings, and a conflicts committee established by the board of directors of Cheniere Partners Holdings, and the consummation of the proposed transaction would be subject to customary closing conditions. There can be no assurance that any such approvals will be forthcoming, that a definitive agreement will be executed, or that any transaction will be consummated.

08:07 EDT Cheniere Energy offers to acquire Cheniere Energy Partners LP outstanding shares - Cheniere Energy (LNG) announced that it has submitted a proposal to the board of directors of Cheniere Energy Partners LP Holdings (CQH) to acquire the publicly held shares of Cheniere Partners Holdings not already owned by Cheniere in a stock for stock exchange. Subject to negotiation and execution of a definitive agreement, Cheniere is proposing consideration of 0.4500 Cheniere shares for each outstanding publicly-held share of Cheniere Partners Holdings as part of a transaction that would be structured as a merger of Cheniere Partners Holdings with a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cheniere. The proposed consideration represents a value of $28.24 per common share of Cheniere Partners Holdings based on the closing price of Cheniere's shares as of May 16, 2018. The proposed transaction is expected to be a tax-free exchange to Cheniere Partners Holdings' shareholders. The proposed transaction is subject to the negotiation and execution of a definitive agreement and approval of such definitive agreement and transactions contemplated thereunder by the board of directors of Cheniere, the board of directors of Cheniere Partners Holdings, and a conflicts committee established by the board of directors of Cheniere Partners Holdings, and the consummation of the proposed transaction would be subject to customary closing conditions. There can be no assurance that any such approvals will be forthcoming, that a definitive agreement will be executed, or that any transaction will be consummated.

08:04 EDT Barclays appoints Adam Kelleher as Chief Data Scientist for Research - Barclays announces the appointment of Adam Kelleher as director and Chief Data Scientist for Research. In this newly created role, he will be responsible for building a new global team of data scientists with expertise in sourcing, normalizing, and utilizing alternative data sets to support Barclays' Research franchise. Kelleher joins Barclays from BuzzFeed, where he was principal data scientist, responsible for advancing Buzzfeed's machine learning and alternative data capabilities. During his tenure at Buzzfeed, Kelleher led various initiatives around data pipeline development, research methodology, and advertisement effectiveness.

08:03 EDT Minerva announces publication of roluperidone Phase 2B trial results - Minerva Neurosciences announced that The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry has published online results demonstrating cognitive improvements in patients with schizophrenia treated with roluperidone, or MIN-101. The results also demonstrated that cognitive improvements correlate with previously reported improvements in negative symptoms. The manuscript is entitled "Cognitive Effects of MIN-101 in Patients with Schizophrenia and Negative Symptoms: Results from a Randomized Controlled Trial." Roluperidone is a novel compound with affinities for 5HT2A and sigma2 receptors and no direct binding to dopamine receptors. In this regard, roluperidone differs from drugs currently indicated for schizophrenia, all of which directly interfere with dopamine neurotransmission. Results presented in this publication suggest a benefit of roluperidone on cognitive performance in schizophrenia patients with stable positive symptoms and moderate to severe negative symptoms. Researchers hypothesized that because roluperidone lacks the detrimental effects associated with currently available medications that do not benefit cognitive performance in patients with schizophrenia, the potential beneficial effects on cognition induced by 5HT2A antagonism and sigma antagonism would not be disrupted or diminished by other aspects of the compound's mechanism of action.

07:37 EDT Duck Donuts selects PAR Technology's Cloud-Based Brink POS Software - ParTech announced Duck Donuts has selected PAR's Cloud-Based Brink POS Software and EverServ 8115 terminals for all of its nearly 200 current locations and future stores, as well. Duck Donuts was seeking a new solution with an open API interface that would allow the Company to seamlessly launch online ordering and integrate an upcoming loyalty program for its customers. Duck Donuts' focus was to find a cost-effective solution to improve overall service for its franchisees, including an easier way to manage enterprise level reporting.

07:34 EDT Dillard's reports Q1 comparable store sales up 2% - Total merchandise sales increased 2% for the 13-week period ended May 5, 2018. Sales in comparable stores for the period also increased 2%. Sales of home and furniture, ladies' accessories and lingerie and juniors' and children's apparel were above the average company sales trend during the quarter. Sales were slightly above trend in men's apparel and accessories, on trend in ladies' apparel, slightly below trend in cosmetics and notably below trend in shoes. Sales were strongest in the Western region followed by the Eastern and Central regions, respectively.

07:31 EDT Kirkland Lake Gold announces renewal of NCIB - Kirkland Lake Gold announced that it has received acceptance from the Toronto Stock Exchange to renew its normal course issuer bid, or NCIB. The NCIB allows Kirkland Lake Gold to purchase up to 16,456,561 common shares of the company, representing 10% of the current issued and outstanding Shares in the public float as of May 15, 2018. As at May 15, 2018, the Company had 211,199,478 Shares issued and outstanding.

07:24 EDT BeiGene initiates Phase 3 trial of pamiparib in China - BeiGene announced that the first patient was enrolled in a Phase 3 clinical trial in China of pamiparib, an investigational PARP inhibitor, in patients with platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer.

07:10 EDT Ritchie Bros. sells over $44M of equipment in Fort Worth, TX auction - Ritchie Bros. sold over $44M of equipment and trucks over two days at its live, unreserved auction in Fort Worth, TX this week. More than 4,750 people from 59 countries registered to bid in the May 15 - 16, 2018 event, including 3,450+ people registering to bid online. U.S. buyers purchased approximately 87% of the equipment. Online buyers purchased 54% of the assets. In total, Ritchie Bros. sold 3,750+ items for 565+ owners in Fort Worth this week.

07:08 EDT Walmart says on track to increase online grocery pickup by around 1,000 stores - In the company's Q1 earnings presentation, President and CEO Doug McMillion said: "Walmart's (WMT) first quarter results were solid. We're encouraged by the progress made across the business and the continued momentum we've experienced. Total revenue, on a constant currency basis, increased approximately 2.7 percent and adjusted EPS grew 14 percent. Each of our business segments delivered solid sales growth." He noted that eCommerce sales accelerated in the first quarter with 33 percent growth, and "we expect to grow sales about 40 percent for the full year." Commenting on Asda, he said: "Recently, we took some strategic actions to further position our portfolio for long-term growth. We were pleased with the response of our colleagues in the U.K. following our announcement of the proposed merger of Asda with Sainsbury's (JSAIY). We believe this proposed combination is good for customers and colleagues as well as shareholders." McMillon also said: "Overall, the stores business is getting stronger. We're using technology in more ways to simplify work for associates so they can better serve customers." He said that Walmart is "on track to increase online grocery pickup by around 1,000 stores this year to reach more than 2,100 locations across the U.S. with this service. We're also rolling out grocery delivery to about 800 stores by year-end, allowing us to cover 40 percent of the U.S. population with delivery."

07:06 EDT Rocket Pharmaceuticals announces strategic collaboration with Stanford Medical - Rocket Pharmaceuticals and the Stanford University School of Medicine announced a strategic collaboration to support the advancement of Fanconi Anemia, or FA, and Pyruvate Kinase Deficiency, or PKD, gene therapy research. Rocket's lentiviral vector, or LVV-based gene therapy program for FA is currently in clinical trials with academic partners in the U.S. and Europe. The LVV-based gene therapy program for PKD is currently in preclinical development in Europe. Under the terms of the agreement, Stanford will serve as a lead clinical trial research center in the United States for a planned upcoming registrational trial for FA, and would also be the lead site for PKD clinical trials. Maria Grazia Roncarolo will lead the school's effort. The center is a joint initiative of the School of Medicine, Stanford Health Care and Stanford Children's Health and is focused on bench to bedside development of innovative cell- and gene-based therapies.

07:03 EDT Nutrien sells SQM shares to Tianqi Lithium for $4.07B - Nutrien (NTR) and Tianqi Lithium announced that they have signed an agreement, whereby Tianqi Lithium has agreed to purchase 62,556,568 "A shares" of Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile S.A. (SQM) held by Nutrien for consideration of $65 per share in cash. The announced transaction represents the entirety of Nutrien's "A shares" at a gross valuation of approximately $4.07B. SQM is an integrated producer and distributor of lithium, iodine, specialty plant nutrients, potassium-related fertilizers and industrial chemicals. Nutrien still retains ownership of 20,166,319 SQM "B shares" and expects to divest these shares in due course. Nutrien's sale of its SQM holdings was required by the Competition Commission of India and Ministry of Commerce in China in providing their clearance for the merger of Agrium and PotashCorp which formed Nutrien. The agreement is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals and Tianqi Lithium shareholder approval, and is expected to be completed by Q4 this year.

06:50 EDT EU passenger car registrations up 9.6% in April - In April, the EU passenger car market showed a strong return to growth, rising 9.6% after demand declined in March, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. 1,306,273 new cars were registered in the European Union last month. All five major EU markets saw substantial increases, said the ACEA. Publicly traded automakers include Daimler AG (DDAIF), Fiat Chrysler (FCAU), Ford (F), General Motors (GM), Honda (HMC), Nissan (NSANY), Toyota (TM) and Volkswagen (VLKAY).

06:32 EDT Azure Power wins 130 MW solar power project in Maharashtra, India - Azure Power has won a 130 MW solar power project which was recently auctioned by Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company. MSEDCL supplies electricity to 22 million consumers in Maharashtra and was declared as a load shedding free state in December 2012. Azure Power will sign a 25 years Power Purchase Agreement with MSEDCL, at a tariff of INR 2.72, or 4c per kWh. The project is expected to be developed by Azure Power outside a solar park and is expected to be commissioned in 2019.

06:17 EDT Leidos awarded task order by USACE - Leidos was awarded a task order by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, or USACE, Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville, AL, to provide information technology support services to more than 37,000 USACE customers around the world. The single-award, firm-fixed-price task order has a one-year base period of performance and two option years with a total contract value of approximately $239.5M if all options are exercised. Work will be performed nationwide.

06:11 EDT Enbridge proposes to acquire all outstanding sponsored vehicle equity securities - Enbridge announced it has made, on behalf of itself and certain of its wholly owned US subsidiaries, separate all-share proposals to the respective boards of directors of its sponsored vehicles, Spectra Energy (SEP), Enbridge Energy (EEP), Enbridge Energy Management (EEQ), and Enbridge Income Fund, to acquire, in separate combination transactions, all of the outstanding equity securities of those sponsored vehicles not beneficially owned by Enbridge. The proposed exchange ratios reflect a value for all of the publicly held equity securities of the sponsored vehicles of C$11.4B, or 272M Enbridge common shares, if all are completed on the terms offered based on the closing price of Enbridge's common shares on the Toronto Stock Exchange on May 16. The transactions as proposed are expected to be approximately neutral to Enbridge's three-year financial guidance and positive to Enbridge's post-2020 outlook due to tax and other synergies. In December 2017, Enbridge outlined its 2018-2020 plan that emphasized several priorities, one of which was to assess the potential streamlining and simplification of its corporate structure. Enbridge has a long history of maximizing shareholder value through strong operational performance and efficient capital management, including the sponsorship of its high-payout investment vehicles in the U.S. and Canada. The recent FERC income tax allowance policy reversal and the regulatory rate impact from the U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, as well as the market reactions across the MLP landscape, have challenged the standalone viability of SEP, EEP and EEQ as reliable and cost effective sources of capital to support Enbridge's growth. Similarly, ENF has lost its cost of capital advantage and is no longer an effective funding vehicle. After evaluating options to mitigate the effects of these recent actions and the resulting capital markets' response, and to advance Enbridge's priority to simplify and streamline its corporate structure, Enbridge believes the proposals are strategically and economically attractive to each of the sponsored vehicles and to Enbridge shareholders. Enbridge expects to discuss the merits of each of the separate proposals with the respective independent committees of each vehicle, upon formation of these committees. If the transactions are completed, all equity security holders of Enbridge and its sponsored vehicles would benefit from holding a single security that provides direct ownership in the largest energy infrastructure company in North America with assets, a profile and attractive growth. Without this restructuring, and in light of the challenging capital markets conditions and the resulting impact on MLP cash flows, Enbridge's view is that EEP and SEP will face the cessation of distribution growth, and compromised distribution outlook to unitholders as early as 2019. Similarly, Enbridge's view is that ENF's uncompetitive cost of capital will inhibit future dividend growth.

06:01 EDT Williams to acquire all public equity of Williams Partners

05:22 EDT IBM, Keio U. announce collaborations with JSR, Mizuho, Mitsubishi Chemical - IBM and Keio University announced the first clients to join as members of the IBM Q Hub at Keio University. They include: JSR, MUFG Bank, Mizuho Financial Group, and Mitsubishi Chemical. The first IBM Q Hub in Asia, which officially opened today, Keio University will work with IBM to help organizations explore quantum applications important to business and science.