Stockwinners Market Radar for May 31, 2018 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

19:31 EDT Toshiba withdraws from South Texas Project Units 3 and 4 - Toshiba announced that its board of directors resolved that Toshiba America Nuclear Energy Corporation will withdraw from South Texas Project Units 3 and 4, a project to construct two advanced boiling water reactors in Texas. Toshiba will proceed with the necessary procedures for the withdrawal with all related parties, and targets its early completion. The company scrapped the plan after long delays in which the company did not find investors because of lower electricity rates and increased global regulation.

18:54 EDT Armstrong World acquires Plasterform, terms not disclosed - Armstrong World announced that it has acquired the business and assets of Plasterform, a 31-year manufacturer of ultra-expressive, durable, custom architectural cast ceilings, walls, facades, columns and moldings, located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, with annual revenues of roughly $10M. Plasterform products are made of glass-reinforced gypsum, concrete and polyester resin, and will continue to be sold in Canada, the U.S. and Latin America, now as part of the Armstrong Architectural Specialties custom portfolio. The acquisition enhances AWI's interior accent capabilities, and further supports the company's growth strategy of selling into more spaces and selling more into every space. Armstrong expects to serve existing and future Plasterform customers out of its Mississauga manufacturing facility, as well as through its current distribution channels. Armstrong funded the acquisition with available cash. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

18:48 EDT On The Fly: After Hours Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Zuora (ZUO), up 6.5%... lululemon (LULU), up 6.2%... VMware (VMW), up 2.8%. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Ulta Beauty (ULTA), down 4.4%... Workday (WDAY), down 3.7%... GameStop (GME), down 3.6%... Costco (COST), down 2%. ALSO LOWER: Endologix (ELGX), down 6.4% after it filed a $100M mixed securities shelf... FireEye (FEYE), down 1.1% after The Hill reported that a FireEye executive said the firm continues to monitor North Korean hackers targeting financial institutions.

18:09 EDT S&P announces changes to S&P 400, 500, 600 indices - S&P Midcap 400 constituent Westar Energy (WR), to be renamed Evergy (EVRG), will replace Navient Corp. (NAVI) in the S&P 500, Navient will replace Westar Energy in the S&P Midcap 400, S&P SmallCap 600 constituent Integra Lifesciences Holdings (IART) will replace Great Plains Energy (GXP) in the S&P MidCap 400, and Ambac Financial Group (AMBC) will replace Integra Lifesciences Holdings in the S&P SmallCap 600 effective prior to the open of trading on Tuesday, June 5. Westar Energy is acquiring Great Plains Energy in a deal expected to be completed soon pending final conditions. Post-merger, the combined company, which will be renamed Evergy and trade under the symbol "EVRG," will have a market capitalization more representative of the large-cap market space. Navient has a market capitalization more representative of the mid-cap market space.

18:00 EDT Pentair names Phil Rolchigo Chief Technology Officer - Pentair has named Phil Rolchigo, Ph.D., to its executive leadership team as Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer. Rolchigo leads the company's global research, development and engineering functions and will report to John Stauch, Pentair President and CEO.

17:37 EDT VMware says market is demanding product faster than the company can engineer - Says objective is to be more cloud-based and more subscription-based in the future. Says hyper-converged infrastructure is becoming more and more important for customers. Says VMware cloud partner program grew 30% in Q1. Says market is demanding product faster than the company can engineer.

17:33 EDT Preferred Apartment acquires student housing community in Orlando - Preferred Apartment Communities announced that it acquired The Retreat at Orlando, a 221-unit, 894-bed, cottage-style student housing community serving the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. PAC acquired this asset through its wholly-owned subsidiary Preferred Campus Communities.. "This acquisition increases the size of the PCC portfolio to six student housing communities across four states," said Daniel M. DuPree, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Preferred Apartment Communities, Paul Cullen, Chief Executive Officer of PCC, the Company's student housing subsidiary, added, "The gated community features high-end, student-focused amenities including an 11,000-square-foot clubhouse with a cafe, business center, 24-hour fitness center and resident study rooms. Other amenities include a resort-style, multi-tiered swimming pool with cabanas and hammocks, sand volleyball court, bocce ball court, and golf simulator." The Company financed the acquisition by assuming a non-recourse first mortgage loan from Fannie Mae originated by PNC Bank. The first mortgage loan is approximately $47.1 million, bears interest at a fixed rate of 4.09%, has 7.5 years of term remaining and amortizes based on a 30-year schedule. There are no loan guaranties provided by PAC or our operating partnership.

17:25 EDT Ambac Financial to replace Integra LifeSciences in S&P 600 at open on 6/5

17:23 EDT Navient to replace Westar Energy in S&P 400 at open on 6/5

17:22 EDT GameStop interim CEO says he's not a candidate for top job

17:21 EDT Synchronoss completes acquisition of honeybee software business - Synchronoss Technologies announced it has completed the acquisition of the honeybee software business from UK-based multinational electrical and telecommunications retailer and services company Dixons Carphone. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. "Our honeybee acquisition reflects our deep commitment to helping our customers across all sectors become digital first," said Glenn Lurie, President and CEO, Synchronoss. "The honeybee platform collects granular insights on guided customer journeys; interfaces with legacy systems; and offers new levels of simplicity, transparency and, most critically of all, customer engagement. Both Synchronoss and honeybee enjoy a rich, proven heritage in device and service activation, and we are now combining our expertise to create a digital experience platform that is capable of evolving with new and existing customer buying habits and expectations."

17:18 EDT Simon to continue to reclaim Sears locations throughout its portfolio - Simon (SPG) announced that it expects to continue to reclaim Sears (SHLD) locations throughout its portfolio and execute transformational redevelopments that will significantly enhance these shopping destinations. "As Sears continues to liquidate its stores, it's a terrific opportunity for us to recapture this real estate and redevelop it in a brand-positive way," said Michael E. McCarty, Chief Operating Officer, Simon Malls. "Our team is fully engaged in capitalizing on this opportunity and continues to pursue plans to replace Sears stores with new and compelling ways for consumers to live, work, play, stay and shop at these Simon destinations nationwide."

17:14 EDT GameStop fals after Q1 revenue miss, comparable store sales decrease 5.3% - Total global sales decreased 5.5% to $1.93B,down 7.5% in constant currency, resulting in a consolidated comparable store sales decrease of 5.3%; a 2.6% decrease in the U.S. and 11.6% decrease internationally. Consistent with the company's expectations, new hardware sales decreased 7.9% while new software sales decreased 10.3%, with each of these categories impacted by the highly successful launch of the Nintendo Switch in the first quarter of fiscal 2017. Software sales were further impacted by the strength of titles across platforms that launched in the prior fiscal year. Pre-owned sales declined 5.8% and worldwide omnichannel sales decreased 46.0% due to limited allocation of the Nintendo Switch at launch, which drove a 92.9% increase in omnichannel sales in the first quarter of fiscal 2017. Shares of GameStop are down almost 3% to $12.87 in after-hours trading.

17:14 EDT GameStop says Q1 comp decline due to stronger gaming lineup last year - GameStop (GME) says Q1 comp decline due to stronger hardware and software lineup from last year. Says video game hardware business declined due to Nintendo Switch (NTDOY) launch last year. Says saw nice growth in Xbox One (MSFT) and PlayStation 4 (SNE) sales this quarter. Says "God of War" and Ubisoft's (UBSFY) "Far Cry 5" have been solid sellers so far this year, but competed with a stronger software slate last year. Comments taken from Q1 earnings conference call.

17:07 EDT Westport names Mike Willis as CFO, effective June 11 - Westport Fuel Systems announced the appointment of Mike Willis as CFO, effective June 11, 2018. Ashoka Achuthan, Westport Fuel Systems current CFO, will step down from his position but continue to serve as an advisor to the leadership team through a transition period. Willis has had a distinguished career in corporate finance, private equity and investment banking, with unique expertise in the renewable energy sector. Prior to joining Westport Fuel Systems, he served as CFO of Gevo (GEVO), a Nasdaq-listed renewable chemical and advanced biofuels company, from 2013 to 2018.

17:04 EDT Manitowoc and Kobelco Construction ending supply agreement in November - Manitowoc and Kobelco Construction Machinery of Tokyo, Japan, manufacturer of construction equipment, will not renew their OEM supply agreement, under which Kobelco supplies Manitowoc-branded lattice-boom crawler crane models with lift capacities under 150 tons to the worldwide Manitowoc distribution network, and Manitowoc supplies Kobelco-branded all-terrain crane models for marketing in Japan. The global alliance began in November 2003 and will end on November 9, 2018. Kobelco will continue to support Manitowoc and its customers, and Manitowoc will continue to support Kobelco and its customers, with service parts for a period of 10 years.

17:00 EDT Fulton Financial trading resumes

16:39 EDT Mirati Therapeutics to present new data on sitravatinib at ASCO - Mirati Therapeutics announced that new data from the ongoing Phase 1b clinical trial of single agent sitravatinib will be presented at the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology, or ASCO, annual meeting. The data will highlight initial results from the cohort evaluating sitravatinib in the treatment of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma, or mRCC, who are refractory to anti-angiogenic therapy.

16:36 EDT Symantec receives Nasdaq notification for delayed Annual Report - Symantec received a standard notice from Nasdaq stating that, as a result of not having timely filed its annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 30, Symantec is not in compliance with Nasdaq listing rules. The Nasdaq notice has no immediate effect on the listing or trading of Symantec's common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. Symantec has 60 calendar days from the date of the letter to submit a plan to regain compliance. If the plan is accepted by Nasdaq, Symantec can be granted an exception of up to 180 calendar days, or until November 26, to regain compliance. Symantec expects to submit a plan to regain compliance or file its Form 10-K within the timeline prescribed by Nasdaq.

16:33 EDT Celgene names David Elkins CFO - Celgene (CELG) announced the hiring of David V. Elkins as Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer. Elkins will join Celgene on July 1, 2018, and become CFO effective August 1, 2018. Elkins will succeed current CFO Peter N. Kellogg, who will become Celgene's EVP, Chief Corporate Strategy Officer until his retirement, planned for mid-2019. Elkins joins Celgene from Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), where he was Worldwide Vice President and CFO for Consumer Products, Medical Devices and Corporate Functions.

16:31 EDT Tonix says Phase 2 study shows Tonmya reduces PTSD symptoms - Tonix Pharmaceuticals presented data from the Phase 2 AtEase study of Tonmya for the treatment posttraumatic stress disorder. The presentation focused on the rationale for including suicidal individuals in the clinical trial of a treatment for PTSD. "There are several examples in major psychiatric disorders in which pharmacological treatment of the underlying disorder may decrease suicidal behaviors," said Gregory Sullivan, M.D., Chief Medical Officer of Tonix. "Individuals with military-related PTSD have an elevated risk for suicidal behaviors, and it was hypothesized that addressing underlying PTSD with Tonmya might have an impact on reducing suicidal behaviors. Suicidal individuals were included in the AtEase study as it provided for a more representative sample of the condition for evaluating the efficacy Tonmya 2.8 mg and 5.6 mg as a potential treatment for military-related PTSD." "Taken nightly at bedtime and absorbed by a sublingual route, Tonmya is believed to reduce PTSD symptoms through improvement in sleep quality, potentially also addressing suicidal behaviors via upstream effects on sleep improvement," Dr. Sullivan continued "While rates of suicidal ideation and behaviors were not high enough to allow meaningful statistical analyses in AtEase, these data, combined with other datasets acquired by similar methodology, may provide important new information and insights leading to better prediction of, and interventions to prevent, suicides in PTSD."

16:28 EDT W. R. Berkley raises quarterly dividend 7.1% to annual rate of 60c per share - W.R. Berkley Corporation announced that its board of directors has voted to increase the cash dividend to an annual rate of 60c per share, representing a 7.1% increase from the present rate. The first quarterly dividend at the new rate of 15c per share will be paid on July 5, 2018 to stockholders of record at the close of business on June 15, 2018.

16:25 EDT Fulton Financial trading halted, news pending

16:23 EDT GameStop says Q1 SSS down 5.3% - Total global sales decreased 5.5% to $1.93B, resulting in a consolidated comparable store sales decrease of 5.3%. Consistent with the company's expectations, new hardware sales decreased 7.9% while new software sales decreased 10.3%, with each of these categories impacted by the highly successful launch of the Nintendo Switch in the first quarter of fiscal 2017. Software sales were further impacted by the strength of titles across platforms that launched in the prior fiscal year. Pre-owned sales declined 5.8% and worldwide omnichannel sales decreased 46.0% due to limited allocation of the Nintendo Switch at launch, which drove a 92.9% increase in omnichannel sales in the first quarter of fiscal 2017.

16:22 EDT Costco reports Q3 comparable store sales up 10.2%

16:16 EDT Scotiabank to acquire MD Financial Management - Scotiabank and the Canadian Medical Association announced that Scotiabank will acquire MD Financial Management, Canada's leading provider of financial services to physicians and their families, with more than $49B in assets under management and administration. The purchase price of $2.585B is payable in cash at the closing of the Acquisition. A public offering of 19.7M common shares at $76.15 per share on a bought deal basis for gross proceeds of $1.50B will fund a portion of the purchase price for the Acquisition. At the closing of the Acquisition, Scotiabank and CMA will enter into a 10-year collaboration pursuant to which CMA will exclusively promote Scotiabank as the preferred provider of financial products and services to physicians and their families in Canada and, as part of the arrangement, both parties will jointly support philanthropic initiatives and other programs for physicians and the communities they serve. "In tandem with this Acquisition, we are also pleased to enter into an affinity agreement with the CMA," added James O'Sullivan, Group Head, Canadian Banking. "Under the terms of this agreement, Scotiabank will invest $115 million over the next ten years to support the advancement of the medical profession and health care in Canada. Scotiabank has a strong tradition of supporting the medical community and is proud to substantially enhance that commitment to help underscore CMA's strategic vision of a vibrant profession and a healthy population."

16:14 EDT Nokomis sends letter to Layne board on Granite deal - The text of the letter follows in part: "To Layne Christensen Company Board of Directors...The Granite Construction (GVA) offer from February 1 substantially undervalues the Layne Christensen Company(LAYN). This becomes clear in reading the background of the merger, which describes an egregiously mishandled process. Nokomis Capital controls 758,444 shares of Layne. The Granite Construction Incorporate This becomes clear in reading the background of the merger, which describes an egregiously mishandled process. Nokomis Capital LLC controls 758,444 shares of Layne. We asked Layne CEO Michael Caliel about the lack of bidders. We noted that the Layne board did not discuss a transaction with any other potential bidder after signing the Delaware Basin water asset agreement. As we have shown, the Delaware Basin water asset represents about half of the 2021 estimate Layne presented to Greentech. Mr. Caliel responded by saying that anybody could have brought them a bid, and no one has. We are concerned by the passiveness of this response. It demonstrates an extraordinary lack of initiative and a poor use of a competitive bidding process to capture shareholder value. This lack of basic fiduciary effort compelled us to write, and point out our disappointment with the price, the process, and the effort. "

16:11 EDT SJW says remains committed to agreement to merger with Connecticut Water - SJW Group (SJW) issued the following statement regarding its amended merger agreement with Connecticut Water Service (CTWS). "SJW Group's Board of Directors continues to believe that SJW Group's merger with Connecticut Water has the potential to create significant immediate and long-term value for SJW Group's stockholders and benefits for the company's customers, all of its employees and the communities SJW Group serves. The waiver of the non-solicitation covenant in our merger agreement underscores our confidence in the superior value and strategic merits of our transaction with Connecticut Water. Our merger agreement has been amended to allow Connecticut Water to speak with other companies over the next 45 days to verify and validate the value of our merger. Predictably, California Water Service Group's criticism ignores the fact that the SJW Group Board of Directors has already determined that Cal Water's non-binding indication of interest is neither a superior proposal nor reasonably likely to lead to one. Unlike Connecticut Water's shareholders, who are being asked to vote in favor of a transaction that would see their shares of Connecticut Water exchanged for shares of SJW Group, SJW Group stockholders will remain invested in their shares of SJW Group following completion of the merger with Connecticut Water. Under these circumstances, SJW Group's Board of Directors believes that there is no need for SJW Group to have a "go-shop" provision, and Cal Water's inferior, non-binding indication of interest does nothing to alter that belief. We remain committed to our signed, definitive agreement to merge with Connecticut Water as the superior path forward for our stockholders and all of our constituents. We continue to work toward completing the merger during the fourth quarter 2018."

16:10 EDT Regeneron's investigational Ebola treatment shipping to Congo - Regeneron Pharmaceuticals' investigational therapy that combines three fully-human monoclonal antibodies, REGN-EB3, is being shipped to the Democratic Republic of the Congo for use in the current Ebola virus infection outbreak. REGN-EB3 is one of several investigational therapeutics evaluated for use by a panel of independent scientific experts convened by the World Health Organization and selected for inclusion in a potential WHO-coordinated clinical trial. A new publication from the Journal of Infectious Diseases describes development of REGN-EB3 and efficacy results at different doses in animal models. In three preclinical studies, REGN-EB3 was seen to treat advanced Ebola virus disease and prevent mortality of infected non-human primates. Regeneron worked with the WHO and FDA to develop an Expanded Access Program protocol to support use of this treatment in the most recent outbreak in the Congo. Regeneron has secured various regulatory approvals, country approvals and import licenses and has hundreds of doses of REGN-EB3 ready to ship beyond the initial shipment currently in process. REGN-EB3 has received orphan drug designation from both the FDA and European Medicines Agency. It is currently under clinical development, and its safety and efficacy have not been fully evaluated by any regulatory authority.

16:09 EDT Marvell: Q2 revenue view excludes about $7M due to trade restrictions - Revenue is expected to be $600M-$630M. The guidance range excludes approximately $7M in revenue from a Chinese OEM due to the trade restrictions imposed by the U.S. government.

16:08 EDT Air Transport Services delivers leased 767 freighter to Amerijet - Air Transport Services Group (ATSG) announced the delivery by its Cargo Aircraft Management subsidiary of a Boeing (BA) 767-300 converted freighter to Amerijet International Airlines under an eight-year dry lease. CAM now leases six 767 freighters to Amerijet, including five 767-300s and one 767-200.

16:07 EDT Ellie Mae CFO Matthew LaVay to leave company for personal reasons - Ellie Mae announced that Matthew LaVay, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, is leaving the company effective June 15, 2018 for personal reasons. There are no issues involving the company's financial results, internal controls or financial reporting procedures that led to LaVay's departure. The company also announced that there is no change to its financial guidance for the second quarter and full year 2018 which it first provided when it reported its first quarter earnings on April 26, 2018. The company has commenced an executive search process for a successor.

16:05 EDT Marvell reports Q1 adjusted gross margin 62.5%

16:04 EDT Amgen and MD Anderson collaborate on early stage cancer treatments - Amgen and The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center announced two multi-year collaboration agreements aimed at accelerating development of a variety of Amgen's early-stage oncology therapies for patients with leukemia, myelodysplastic syndromes, multiple myeloma, small-cell lung cancer, and other non-lung cancers with small-cell histologies. The agreements combine Amgen therapies nearing clinical development or those that have already begun the process with MD Anderson's translational medicine capabilities. The collaborations will focus on Amgen's bispecific T cell engager, chimeric antigen receptor T cell and small molecule programs. The five-year collaboration will begin with Phase 1 clinical studies for BiTE antibody constructs and CAR T cell therapies for multiple myeloma and small cell lung cancer. The second agreement spans four years and will study BiTE antibody constructs, CAR T and small molecule treatments in leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes.

15:25 EDT TriCo Bancshares, FNB Bancorp merger approved by shareholders, FDIC - TriCo Bancshares (TCBK) and FNB Bancorp (FNBG) announced that each company has received the requisite shareholder approval for the merger of FNB with and into TriCo that was announced on December 11, 2017. In addition, TriCo and FNB announced the receipt of regulatory approval from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation regarding the merger of First National Bank of Northern California with and into Tri Counties Bank, the wholly owned subsidiaries of FNB and TriCo, respectively. The California Department of Business Oversight had previously approved the transaction. The transaction remains subject to receipt of regulatory approval from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and satisfaction of customary closing conditions, and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018. Upon closing of the Merger, the banking subsidiaries of each will also merge, with Tri Counties Bank as the surviving entity.

15:08 EDT Chipotle to sponsor TSM's competitive 'Fortnite' team - Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) announced that it will be fueling the preeminent esports organization, TSM, as its first-ever TSM Fortnite House sponsor. This partnership brings together the most prolific players in the "Fortnite" community and one of America's most popular fast-casual restaurants in a unique content-focused partnership. The TSM Fortnite House includes Myth - team captain and the second biggest Fortnite streamer on Twitch - Daequan, Camills, and Hamlinz. Combined, the team boasts more than 10M social followers. This partnership will feature multiple integrations, streaming exposure and "some exciting surprises for fans along the way," Chipotle said. Epic Games, the publisher of "Fortnite," is 40% owned by Tencent (TCEHY) and is part of Disney's (DIS) Accelerator Program.

14:54 EDT Citron's Left sees 'good chance' Snap could be a takeover candidate - Citron Research's Andrew Left is discussing his long call on Snap, which he disclosed earlier today, on Bloomberg TV.

14:26 EDT Deutsche Bank says 'ultimate parent' is 'very well capitalized' - Deutsche Bank issued a statement on the recent media reports: "As a matter of policy, we do not comment on specific regulatory feedback. The ultimate parent of the Deutsche Bank Group, Deutsche Bank AG, is very well capitalized and has significant liquidity reserves. The entities named in the article are three specific U.S. subsidiaries - DB USA Corp, Deutsche Bank Trust Corporation, and Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, our principal U.S. banking subsidiary, which has a very robust balance sheet as disclosed in our annual and quarterly regulatory filings. We have previously indicated that our regulators have identified various areas for improvement relating to our control environment and infrastructure. We are highly focused on addressing identified weaknesses in our U.S. operations." Reference Link

14:01 EDT ICONIQ Strategic Partners reports 13.3% passive stake in Pluralsight

13:56 EDT Canada announces new surtaxes on U.S. steel and aluminum - Publicly traded stocks in the metals space include US Steel (X), AK Steel (AKS), Nucor (NUE), Steel Dynamics (STLD), Alcoa (AA), Century Aluminum (CENX), and Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF). Canada's Minister of Foreign Affairs Christina Freeland is announcing the new surtaxes in a press conference.

13:34 EDT Walmart announces launch of curated shop-by-text service 'Jetblack' in NYC - Walmart announced the launch of Jetblack, which it calls "a new shopping service that combines the convenience of eCommerce with the customized attention of a personal assistant," in limited release to customers in Manhattan and part of Brooklyn. Jetblack offers its members the ability to text nearly any shopping request and Jetblack will find the right products and deliver them the same or next day for no additional charge, said Walmart, which noted that the service is the first to launch from Walmart's technology incubator, Store No 8.

13:29 EDT Goldman Sachs sees chance to add $120B in client assets in asset management unit - Sees chance to add $120B in client assets in asset management unit. Says continuing to grow institutional and third-party businesses. Says aiming to add $65B client assets in wealth management by 2020. Says intends for Marcus to be big consumer finance brand. Says Marcus could offer, distribute mortgages and insurance.

13:14 EDT Micron CEO says industry supply and demand balance 'healthy' - Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said industry fundamentals are "healthy" given the structural changes that are contributing to sustained positive dynamics. Demand is being driven by "diverse" markets such as data center, mobile, automotive and Internet of Things while the industry supply outlook supports "long-term stability," said Mehrotra. Micron expects annual DRAM industry supply growth of about 20% beyond calendar 2018 and forecasts NAND industry annual growth of about 40% beyond 2018, slides for the presentation state. Mehrotra is presenting at the Bernstein Strategic Decisions Conference.

13:08 EDT Sidus: Glass Lewis recommends Acacia investors vote for Alfred Tobia election - Sidus Investment Management, LLC and BLR Partners LP, collectively one of the largest stockholders of Acacia Research, announced that proxy advisory firm Glass, Lewis & Co has recommended that stockholders of Acacia support the election of Alfred V. Tobia Jr. to Acacia's Board of Directors at the upcoming 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, scheduled to be held on June 14, 2018. Glass Lewis recommended stockholders vote on Sidus' BLUE proxy card FOR the election of Mr. Tobia to the Board, AGAINST the company's advisory vote on executive compensation and AGAINST Approval of the Company's 2018 Stock Incentive Plan. Glass Lewis clearly recommended that stockholders not vote for the company's nominees. Sidus also urges stockholders to vote on the BLUE proxy card FOR the election of its highly-qualified nominee Clifford Press.In its report, Glass Lewis affirmed Sidus' view that the Board must be held accountable for Acacia's abysmal underperformance and corporate governance shortcomings, which have ultimately destroyed stockholder value. Glass Lewis performed a detailed analysis of both sides' positions and carefully considered, among other things, the company's total stockholder return, operating performance and financial performance, as well as the strong experience and qualifications of Sidus' nominees. Glass Lewis concluded that stockholders should vote on the BLUE proxy card, saying: "In this case, we believe the Dissident fairly highlights a range of material issues at Acacia, including laggard shareholder returns, a pattern of questionably timed changes to the board's composition, atypical compensation arrangements and certain fundamental corporate governance issues. We believe these factors collectively support the need for a fresh, shareholder-first perspective in the Acacia board room."

13:01 EDT Sanderson Farms increases share repurchase program to 2M shares - Sanderson Farms announced that its board of directors has extended to May 31, 2021, its stock repurchase program. The board has also increased the number of shares of the company's common stock that may be purchased under the program to 2M shares, an increase from the 1M shares previously authorized. Repurchases, if any, will be made from time to time at prevailing prices in open market transactions or in negotiated purchases, subject to market conditions, share price and other considerations. The repurchase program was originally approved October 22, 2009, and extended on February 16, 2012, February 24, 2014 and April 23, 2015. The company has repurchased 1,482,099 shares under this stock repurchase program since its inception. The repurchase program does not obligate the company to make any repurchases and may be suspended for periods or discontinued at any time. "We plan to use our stock repurchase program to offset shares issued through our equity compensation programs and as a strategic use of the Company's cash," stated Joe F. Sanderson, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of Sanderson Farms, Inc. "We believe this program represents a good use of corporate funds and can minimize potential dilution related to our equity compensation programs."

12:35 EDT Arcturus names Dr. Farrell as Chairman, reinstates Joseph Payne as CEO - Arcturus Therapeutics earlier today announced that Dr. Peter Farrell has been named as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company. Further, Joseph Payne has been reinstated as President and CEO and Dr. Pad Chivukula has been reinstated as Chief Scientific Officer and Chief Operating Officer. "I am extremely pleased to resume my role as President and CEO of Arcturus," stated Joseph Payne. "With the litigation behind us, the team is 100% committed to developing our pipeline of novel RNA therapeutics, to strengthening and advancing all of our pharmaceutical partnerships and to creating value for our shareholders." The company earlier this week announced that, as part of a settlement agreement, it has appointed four new independent directors, Dr. Peter Farrell, Andrew Sassine, James Barlow and Dr. Magda Marquet, to its board, effective as of May 27. In connection with these appointments, Dr. Stuart Collinson, Daniel Geffken, Dr. David Shapiro, and Craig Willett resigned from the board. Other key terms of the settlement agreement included mutual releases of all parties and the agreement by the company and Joseph Payne to terminate all pending litigation.

12:24 EDT Crown Holdings CEO buys 10,000 shares at price of $43.25 - Crown Holdings CEO Timothy Donahue disclosed the purchase of 10,000 shares at a price of $43.25. The executive now owns a total of 492,802 shares of Crown Holdings.

12:12 EDT California Water comments on amendment to SJW/Connecticut Water merger deal - California Water Service Group (CWT) issued the following statement in response to Connecticut Water Service, Inc.'s (CTWS) amendment to its pending merger agreement with SJW Group (SJW): "Connecticut Water announced this morning a one-sided amendment to its merger agreement with SJW Group that allows it - but not SJW - to conduct a 45-day go shop process, during which Connecticut Water can actively solicit alternative acquisition proposals from third parties. We believe this is a clear indication of the lack of stakeholder support for the SJW/Connecticut Water transaction and reflects the entrenchment of the SJW Board. In fact, the announcement comes only hours after California Public Utilities Commission Administrative Law Judge Karl Bemesderfer disclosed at a Public Participation Hearing that CPUC's legal division has decided to review the SJW/Connecticut Water transaction. It is time for the SJW Board to acknowledge the untenable uncertainty and risks associated with its transaction with Connecticut Water and engage with us on our $68.25 per share all-cash proposal. As we have noted previously, our proposal represents a 30% premium to the $52.41 closing price of SJW on April 3, 2018, the day prior to delivery of our proposal. In addition, our proposal is 10% higher than the high end of the range of implied stand-alone equity values per SJW share resulting from the discount cash flow analysis conducted by SJW's own financial advisor. Especially in a so-called 'merger of equals', we believe the SJW Board owes its stockholders a clear and candid explanation of why only Connecticut Water shareholders get the benefits of a go-shop period."

12:05 EDT Harris awarded $130M IDIQ contract from U.S. Air Force - The U.S. Air Force has awarded Harris a five-year, $130 million ceiling, single-award IDIQ contract to develop and deliver Hand Held Video Data Link, or HH-VDL, radios that will significantly increase situational awareness and connectivity for warfighters. The new Harris HH VDL radio will securely deliver data to and from multiple airborne assets - creating an expanded, mobile communications network. This enables real-time intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance information - such as full-motion video - to be distributed from the air to warfighters on the ground. HH VDL radios will replace existing incumbent ground ISR terminals operating at the tactical edge of the battlespace, providing increased capability in a more mobile solution. The radios will leverage next-generation, proven Harris technology via Bandwidth Efficient Common Data Link - a communications waveform that enables secure, real-time distribution of time-critical data and full-motion video. Additionally, the HH VDL radio will be fully Cryptographic Modernization Initiative compliant.

12:02 EDT Up to 62K additional Chrysler Pacifica minivans to join Waymo's driverless fleet

11:58 EDT Dialog Semiconductor updates 2018 outlook due to Apple dual sourcing of PMICs - Dialog Semiconductor (DLGNF) announced that it has been provided with a reduced share of the volume forecast from Apple (AAPL) for the main Power Management IC, or PMIC, for the 2018 smartphone platform. The projected volume for the sub-PMIC in the 2018 smartphone platform and all other PMICs including those for tablets, wearables, notebooks, remains unchanged. "This is the first time one of our custom PMICs for the smartphone platform is being dual sourced and it is estimated to reduce the FY 2018 revenue by approximately 5%. The company still expects revenue growth in FY 2018. As in previous years, revenue performance will be strongly weighted towards the second half of the year. Dialog understands its continued role as Apple's main PMIC supplier is contingent on Dialog meeting Apple's technology, quality, price and volume expectations, as well as continuing to develop advanced technology to meet Apple's requirements. Dialog also intends to continue to explore new mixed signal opportunities outside of power management for future Apple products," the company stated.

11:35 EDT Zebra Technologies announces debt restructuring actions - Zebra Technologies announced it has completed additional actions to restructure its debt, which reduce interest costs while maximizing financial flexibility. The company amended its Term Loan B facility maturing Oct. 2021. The facility size has been decreased to $825M, from $1.125B, and the interest rate has been reduced by 25 basis points to LIBOR + 1.75%, from LIBOR + 2.00%. The company also amended its senior secured credit facility maturing July 2021, currently priced at LIBOR + 1.75%. This facility includes its $670M Term Loan A, and an $800 million revolving credit facility, on which $537M is currently drawn. Under the terms of the amended agreement, the interest rate spread over LIBOR will be reduced by an additional 12.5 basis points upon certification of attainment of a certain debt leverage threshold, which is expected to result in the lower rate spread pricing before the end of 2018. These restructuring actions are expected to result in annualized interest expense savings of approximately $4-5M. In the second quarter of 2018, the company expects to incur approximately $3M of transaction fees and $5-6M of accelerated amortization of debt issuance and discount costs. These actions follow the previously announced comprehensive restructuring of the company's debt during the second half of 2017, which drove more than $45M of annualized interest savings.

10:48 EDT ESPN, Atlantic 10 Conference announce media rights deal - ESPN and the Atlantic 10 Conference reached a multi-year media rights deal for more than 500 conference events each year to be carried on ESPN+, Disney's direct-to-consumer subscription streaming service The new deal makes ESPN+ the exclusive streaming home for a number of the Atlantic 10 Conference's sports and includes exclusive games from multiple A-10 Championships including men's and women's basketball, men's and women's soccer, field hockey, women's volleyball, baseball, softball and lacrosse.

10:26 EDT Micron slides as Morgan Stanley cuts rating with 'storm clouds on the horizon' - Shares of Micron (MU) are under pressure on Thursday after Morgan Stanley analyst Joseph Moore downgraded the stock to Equal Weight as he sees "storm clouds on the horizon." The analyst argued that the continued strength in DRAM looks priced in and a NAND recovery in the second half of the year looks "increasingly unlikely." MOVING TO THE SIDELINES: In a research note to investors, Morgan Stanley's Moore downgraded Micron to Equal Weight from Overweight, while keeping his $65 price target on the shares. The analyst noted that he believes DRAM strength looks priced in and the NAND recovery that bulls are looking for in the second half of the year looks "increasingly unlikely." Acknowledging that his call will likely be "a bit early" and there is not an urgent need to sell stocks, Moore pointed out that he would ratter err on the side of caution in an environment where he can see "storm clouds on the horizon." While data points have not meaningfully changed, the analyst is hearing less conviction about a seasonal rebound from industry contacts than he heard just a few weeks ago. For DRAM, his industry contacts suggest that pricing can be up slightly in the third quarter and about flat in the fourth quarter, but shortages and the sense of urgency have meaningfully eased, and the third quarter is lower than a couple of weeks ago amid some cloud pushouts. Conversations with cloud buyers indicate more of a "mixed picture" than in recent quarters, he added. For NAND, Moore pointed out that he shifted to a negative view in November of last year and is seeing signs of the first half of the year optimism fading. Overall, the analyst highlighted that with the rally in Micron after the analyst day, the stock is discounting operating margins of 30% plus beyond this peak 50%-55% period, which is high enough for him to move to the sidelines. PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, shares of Micron have dropped almost 6% to $58.96.

10:01 EDT Honeywell names Vimal Kapur as president and CEO of Building Technologies - Honeywell announced that Vimal Kapur has been named as President and CEO of Building Technologies, effective immediately. He will succeed Gary Michel, who has announced plans to leave Honeywell to become CEO of a non-competing publicly traded company. Kapur will serve as a company officer and report to Chairman and CEO Darius Adamczyk.

09:58 EDT Northrop Grumman says sees strong cash flow growth going forward - Says expects to generate enough cash to do all the things they want to do from a capital deployment perspective. Sees FY18, FY19 as "strong" CapEx years.

09:36 EDT Vuzix partners with Plessey Semiconductor on AR Smart Glasses - Vuzix is pleased to announce that the company is partnering with Plessey Semiconductor, a leading developer of award-winning optoelectronic solutions. The two companies are partnering to develop advanced display engines for Vuzix waveguide optics to enable next generation AR Smart Glasses. The combination of Vuzix' extensive expertise and IP in smart glasses and waveguide optic technologies along with Plessey's microLED light source product family, Quanta-Brite will be the basis for a new generation of AR Smart Glasses with the sleekest form factors to date.

09:33 EDT Nevada reports April statewide gaming win up 7.57% to $953.7M - Nevada's Gaming Control Board reports Las Vegas Strip gaming win was up 5.1% in April to $499.5M. Publicly traded companies in the casino gaming space include Boyd Gaming (BYD), Caesars (CZR), Las Vegas Sands (LVS), MGM Resorts (MGM), Penn National (PENN) and Wynn Resorts (WYNN).

09:31 EDT American Eagle says AEO Connected rewards program has over 20M members

09:29 EDT Northrop Grumman says sees increased support for defense spending by U.S. allies - Sees strong growth internationally.

09:25 EDT American Eagle expects FY19 cap-ex $180M-$190M - Says body positivity is at the core business of Aerie and beloved by customers. Says Aerie is at the very early stage of growth. Says digital sales reached 29% of revenue in Q1. Says expects capital expenditures $180M-$190M for the year. Says store fleet is healthy.

09:22 EDT Tyler Technologies and FairWay Resolution partner in New Zealand - Tyler Technologies has signed an exclusive partnership agreement with FairWay Resolution in New Zealand for Tyler's Modria online dispute resolution software. Under the five-year agreement, FairWay will be Tyler's sole Modria partner in New Zealand. FairWay is the largest alternative dispute resolution provider in New Zealand and delivers services for all aspects of the conflict management cycle.

09:18 EDT GM President Ammann says talks with SoftBank occurred over several months - GM (GM) Chairman and CEO Mary Barra confirmed the automaker's plans to launch an autonomous ride-hailing vehicle in 2019. President Dan Ammann noted that talks with SoftBank occurred over the course of several months. He said GM wasn't looking for a partner, but found one that was "uniquely aligned" with it. Ammann added that the Cruise team has grown to over 800 since the acquisition two years ago. He said the decision to report GM Cruise as a standalone segment is intended to enhance transparency around this part of the business. Comments taken from GM's conference call discussing SoftBank Vision Fund's (SFTBF) $2.25B investment in GM Cruise. GM is up 11.4% ahead of the market open.

09:13 EDT American Eagle says growth was 'exceptional' in digital sales in Q1 - Says has successfully grown market share during a period of industry turmoil. Says growth was "exceptional" in digital sales, growing 20%. Says stores outpaced mall traffic in Q1. Comments taken from Q1 earnings conference call.

09:11 EDT Tesla confirms hiring Senior VP of Energy Operations, VP of Tesla Europe - Tesla (TSLA) stated in a corporate blog post: "As we continue to bring new talent to Tesla, today we're pleased to welcome Sanjay Shah and Jan Oehmicke. Sanjay Shah is joining Tesla as our Senior Vice President of Energy Operations, responsible for worldwide deployment and operations of Tesla's energy products, including Solar, Powerwall and Powerpack...Jan Oehmicke will join Tesla in July as our Vice President of Tesla Europe, managing finance, sales and operations for the greater Europe region." Sanjay Shah was Amazon's (AMZN) VP of North American Fulfillment Centers before leaving to join Tesla. Jan Oehmicke will remain CEO of BMW Financial Services France for another month before joining Tesla, the company noted.

09:07 EDT Icahn urges SandRidge shareholders to vote against executive compensation - Carl Icahn released an open letter to stockholders of SandRidge Energy, which states in part: "We are the largest stockholder of SandRidge Energy, Inc., with a position of 4.8 million shares constituting 13.6% of the company's outstanding stock. We recently filed our definitive proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission regarding our campaign to replace the entire board of directors of SandRidge at the upcoming 2018 annual meeting of stockholders. We believe this drastic measure is warranted because, since emerging from bankruptcy, the board has exhibited a clear and consistent pattern of failure. Time and again the board has failed to understand and address the concerns of stockholders and has only acted when threatened with legal process or open stockholder revolt. And yet, remarkably, they still seem not to have gotten the message... The choice is yours. Do you wish to allow the current board to run your investment in SandRidge? We certainly do not. After our experience with these directors and judging how they have disregarded the interests of stockholders, we do not trust them and want absolutely nothing to do with them. The company's representatives have reached out to us on numerous occasions offering us minority representation on the board, but we have advised them in no uncertain terms that the only satisfactory resolution of our differences will be the replacement of the entire board." Icahn urges shareholders to vote for his director nominees, against the board's proposal to ratify and extend the poison pill and against the board's proposal to approve the company's executive compensation.

09:04 EDT XPO Logistics investing up to $90M in North American road fleet - XPO Logistics announced plans to invest approximately $90M in 770 new tractors for its less-than-truckload network in 2018. The company expects to integrate the new units into its fleet throughout the year.

09:00 EDT scPharmaceuticals Inc trading resumes

08:54 EDT Autoliv backs 2020 target of more than $10B in sales ahead of investor day - Autoliv will hold an Investor Day in Stockholm ahead of the spin-off of Veoneer, the trusted partner in mobility, which is to be completed on June 29, at which time Autoliv and Veoneer will become two independently listed companies, with the first day of trading of Veoneer common stock and SDRs planned for July 2. During the Investor Day members of management of Autoliv and Veoneer will outline corporate strategy, operational strengths, technologies and innovation roadmaps and financial plans for their respective companies as stand-alone companies. Ahead of the event, Autoliv is reiterating its 2020 targets of more than $10B in sales and an adjusted operating margin of around 13%. After providing Veoneer with total cash liquidity of approximately $1.0B, Autoliv estimates its leverage ratio of net debt to EBITDA will be approximately 1.5x at the time of the completion of the spinoff. Adjusted for any discrete items, it aims to be close to its leverage ratio target of 1x by end of 2019. Veoneer shared a 2020 sales target of around $3B and around $4B by 2022. Both companies also reiterated financial targets originally set forth at Autoliv's capital markets day held in September 2017.

08:49 EDT Abeona Therapeutics opening gene & cell therapy manufacturing facility in Ohio - Abeona Therapeutics is opening The Elisa Linton Center for Rare Disease Therapies, the commercial GMP manufacturing facility for gene and cell therapies in Cleveland, Ohio. The GMP facility will have the capability to manufacture clinical and commercial grade products over Abeona's multiple programs, including recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa and Sanfilippo syndrome. In addition to the production of the EB-101 and ABO-102 therapies and the AIM AAV vector lab, the 6,000 square foot facility will satisfy the necessary chemistry, manufacturing and controls requirements for commercial development. The second stage of the company's manufacturing strategy has been initiated with the construction of an additional 20,000 square foot facility that will be used to further meet the anticipated commercial demand for development programs in the longer term.

08:45 EDT GM: Investment by SoftBank Vision Fund values GM Cruise at $11.5B - GM (GM) says in slides being presented on its investor conference call that the investment by SoftBank Vision Fund (SFTBF) values GM Cruise at $11.5B. As a result of the investment, SoftBank will receive one of six GM Cruise directors' seats, the company said. GM will hold decision rights over liquidity event for seven years, while SoftBank has an optional conversion right/GM call right thereafter. Beginning in Q2, GM says GM Cruise will be reported as a standalone segment, and notes that GMNA, GMI and GM Financial segments are unaffected by this change. GM shares are up 10% in pre-market trading.

08:40 EDT Hemispherx and Roswell Park plan Phase I/II study of Ampligen - Hemispherx Biopharma and Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center plan to expand their existing scientific collaboration to advance the clinical development of Ampligen - an investigational immune-enhancing TLR3 agonist - which has shown promise in preclinical studies when combined with checkpoint inhibitors. The parties have executed a Memorandum of Understanding designed to further assess the clinical potential of Ampligen in treating certain cancers. A contemplated phase I/II study will evaluate the potential of Ampligen to enhance the immune mediated effects of CPIs in patients with advanced solid tumors. The study will seek to validate prior research that has demonstrated synergy with this combination in preclinical models.

08:38 EDT Attis Industries acquires clean technology licensing business - Attis Industries closed on a series of transactions with GreenShift effective May 25, resulting in the company's acquisition of an 80% stake in FLUX Carbon, or JVCo, a new joint venture company that holds the rights to an expansive portfolio of clean technologies and manages an existing engineering and licensing business. The existing business generated approximately $7M per year in sales with gross margins of about 70% for the three-year period ending December 31, 2017. It can be expected to initially contribute $2M-$3M per year to the company's earnings. The joint venture also holds various investments in early-stage technology development companies, and the rights to many proprietary, patented, and patent-pending technologies. The company agreed to pay an earn-out based purchase price with a floor of $18M. An initial payment was paid at closing in the form of restricted shares of the company's stock, including 180,000 shares of the Company's Series G preferred stock. JVCo's rights cover a series of patents granted to GreenShift's wholly-owned subsidiary, GS CleanTech, involving the extraction of oil from corn ethanol coproducts. Some of those patents are the subject of litigation which CleanTech has asserted against about 10% of the industry alleging infringing use since 2010. The purchase price and other JVCo transaction terms were designed to value the transaction on the basis of JVCo's existing business, investments, and multi-sector intellectual property rights - not including any matters that are subject to current or anticipated patent litigation, or CleanTech's various contract and other claims involving more than $50M in damages.

08:33 EDT Camping World declares special cash dividend of 7.32c per share - Camping World declared a cash dividend of 15.32c per share on the company's Class A Common Stock and a cash distribution of 8c per common unit on CWGS Enterprises, LLC's common units. Payment is expected to be made on June 29 to stockholders of record at the close of business on June 15. The CWH Class A common stock cash dividend is comprised of a regular quarterly cash dividend of 8c per share funded by the 8c per common unit cash distribution by CWGS Enterprises, to all holders of its common units, and a 7.32c per share special cash dividend representing a portion of excess tax distributions from CWGS Enterprises.

08:30 EDT Turkcell and Mail.Ru Group enter strategic parternship for digital solutions - Turkcell and Russian internet company Mail.ru Group announced their cooperation in efforts to expand their digital footprint globally. Turkcell Group, including its subsidiary Lifecell Ventures, and Russian Mail.ru Group have begun to evaluate cooperation on internet services such as social media and e-mail solutions.

08:28 EDT LiveXLive signs livestream, content partnership with Sziget Festival - LiveXLive Media and Sziget Festival announced that they have signed a five-year agreement that establishes LiveXLive as the official livestreaming and content partner for the annual festival. The Sziget Festival is held every August in northern Budapest, Hungary, on Old Buda Island, a leafy 266-acre refuge on the Danube River. More than 1,000 performances take place each year, and the weeklong occurrence has grown to be one of the most prominent European festivals.

08:25 EDT Nektar announces NDA application submission for NKTR-181 - Nektar announced submission of a new drug application, or NDA, to the FDA for NKTR-181, a new molecular entity and the first analgesic opioid molecule to exhibit a reduced incidence of specific CNS-mediated side effects, such as euphoria, through the targeted alteration of brain-entry kinetics. The NDA is supported by an extensive clinical and nonclinical data package. The clinical data submitted in the NDA comprised 15 studies in 2,234 subjects and includes: a 600-patient efficacy study in patients with chronic low back pain who are new to opioid therapy; a 630-patient long-term 52-week safety study in patients with noncancer pain, who are new to opioid therapy, as well as those who are experienced with opioid therapy; pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic studies in over 450 subjects; and two human abuse potential studies evaluating both therapeutic and supratherapeutic doses of NKTR-181 versus an oxycodone control in recreational drug users.

08:20 EDT Entellus Medical's Latera featured in publication showing 'positive' results - Entellus Medical announced the publication of positive data from prospective, multicenter OR and Office studies of Latera for patients with symptoms of Nasal Valve Collapse due to lateral wall insufficiency. Results show that patients treated with Latera had statistically significant improvements in symptom burden at 1,3, and 6 months post-procedure. For these first 101 patients, symptom reduction of Latera alone and plus additional procedures is within the range of other nasal obstruction techniques. Key findings from the study include: 89.7% of patients were deemed to be responders to Latera at 6 months postoperatively. Positive responder rates at 6 months were 89.2% and 90% for the subgroups of standalone and concomitant procedures, respectively. Positive reductions in NOSE scores were observed at 6 months postoperatively in patients receiving Latera. Similar reductions were observed in the subgroups of standalone and concomitant procedures. The study also affirmed the strong safety profile for Latera, with no major adverse device events and no unresolved minor events.

08:19 EDT Boeing says sees 777X flight testing beginning next year - Says customer interest in new mid-grange jet "firming up." Sees new jet family entering market in 2025.

08:16 EDT Ultra Petroleum names Jay Stratton as COO - Ultra Petroleum announced that Jay Stratton has joined the company as COO. In this role, Stratton will provide strategic oversight of the company's day-to-day operations, with a focus on continuing Ultra's operational excellence and contributing his leadership and expertise to help optimize the value of the company's assets. Stratton assumes the chief operations role from Ultra's Interim CEO Brad Johnson, who previously held this position as Senior Vice President, Operations.

08:14 EDT Boeing says sees five-month production rate as 'floor' for 777 program

08:11 EDT Boeing says oversold for 737 Max jets through 2023 - Says has not missed any customer deliveries and does not expect to.

08:10 EDT Melinta Therapeutics making 20 presentations at ASM Microbe meeting - Melinta Therapeutics announced that 20 presentations are planned at the American Society for Microbiology's annual ASM Microbe 2018 meeting June 7-11 in Atlanta, GA. Presentations of note include pharmacoeconomic analyses of Vabomere and Orbactiv, and analyses showing the rising incidence of Gram-negative pathogens in skin and skin structure infections and the changes to empiric therapy that may be considered to improve outcomes. In addition, Melinta will have multiple presentations on the potential of its experimental, pre-clinical pyrrolocytocines, including in the treatment of bio-threats such as Yersinia pestis - plague - and Bacillus anthracis - anthrax -.

08:06 EDT Cambrex begins $5M expansion of laboratory facilities in Sweden - Cambrex is to commence a $5M expansion of laboratory facilities at its Karlskoga, Sweden site, to augment capability and capacity for process development and scale up, handling of potent substances, crystallization studies and solid phase characterization. Construction work on the three story, 600 m2 building will commence at the end of Q2, with completion due in Q2 2019. In addition to the technical laboratory, the expansion will feature two analytical development and quality control laboratories and additional office space for 12 additional scientists and chemists, taking the total headcount to 60.

08:05 EDT Heidrick & Struggles promotes Corinna Christophorou to Chief Marketing Officer - Heidrick & Struggles has appointed Corinna Christophorou as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. Based in London, Christophorou has been working as Vice President for Market Development with Heidrick & Struggles in Europe and Africa. She has led the firm's business development, communications and marketing activities in the region for over three years. Previously, she has held senior leadership roles with global professional services firms, focusing on improving performance and profitability.

08:04 EDT Boeing says sees strength in services market - Says remains committed to return 100% of free cash flow to shareholders. Says sees need for 41,000 new airplanes over next decade. Comments from Bernstein Thirty-Fourth Annual Strategic Decisions Conference 2018.

07:50 EDT Jacobs Engineering awarded FEMA Puerto Rico response contract worth $65M - Jacobs Engineering, in a joint venture with CDM Smith, has been awarded a $65M one-year contract with a $35M six-month option to provide the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, public assistance recovery operations, construction and project management and technical support services for Puerto Rico in response to Hurricane Maria. Jacobs will support FEMA with construction and project management support to conduct site visits and damage assessments of important infrastructure. The company will collaborate with the Government of Puerto Rico and other stakeholders to develop scopes of work and cost estimates for restoring damaged infrastructure and providing cost-effective hazard mitigation measures. Since November 2017, Jacobs has been delivering on three task orders to support FEMA's mission on several critical grant programs focused on infrastructure projects, housing inspections and other related professional services for the hurricane recovery efforts on St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John. This contract award supports Jacobs' strategy to be a comprehensive solutions provider to national governments on critical programs and allows for recovery work on the islands at least through April 2019.

07:43 EDT Ormat Technologies provides update on Puna Power Plant after Hawaii eruption - Ormat Technologies provides an update that on May 30 due to the approaching lava, the substation of the Puna complex and an adjacent warehouse that stored a drilling rig were burned. Both items are expected to be covered by the company's insurance policies. Due to the long lead time of constructing a new substation and the extent of the damage to HELCO's transmission lines, the company cannot asses when the Puna complex will be able to resume operation and deliver power to the grid. An alternative access road is currently open. The approaching lava covered the wellheads of two geothermal wells. The company cannot assess at this stage the extent of the damage to the future functionality of these wells. The lava continues to flow and may reach other wells and areas of the Puna facility. The 38 MW Puna power plant reflects approximately 4.5% of Ormat's total generating capacity. In 2017, PGV accounted for an aggregate of approximately $11M of net income and approximately $20M of Adjusted EBITDA annually. Ormat has property and business interruption insurance policies that include insurance coverage in a combined amount of up to $100M in the event of volcanic eruptions and earthquake. As of March 31, the Puna complex represented approximately $90M of net assets on the company's balance sheet. In addition, PGV is required to pay an aggregate of approximately $22M of future lease payments until 2027.

07:38 EDT vTv Therapeutics signs licensing agreement for PDE4 inhibitor in Pacific Rim - vTv Therapeutics has entered into an exclusive licensing agreement with Newsoara Biopharma Co. for rights to develop and commercialize vTv Therapeutics' PDE4 Inhibitor program in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and other Pacific Rim countries covering Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Brunei and South Korea. vTv Therapeutics will receive an upfront payment and will be eligible to receive future development and commercialization milestones as well as royalties on sales of approved products. Newsoara will develop HPP737 in the covered territories for respiratory and other inflammatory diseases. In phase 1 studies, HPP737 was well tolerated with little or no gastrointestinal distress. Preclinical and clinical data suggest that HPP737 may be able to expand the therapeutic use for this target, which has been limited by the side-effects of currently-available PDE4 inhibitors.

07:35 EDT Clearside Biomedical's Phase 2 clinical trial of CLS-TA meets primary endpoint - Clearside Biomedical announced positive topline results from its Phase 2 clinical trial evaluating suprachoroidal CLS-TA used with intravitreally administered Eylea - aflibercept - in patients with diabetic macular edema over a 6-month evaluation period. The trial met its primary endpoint of mean improvement in best corrected visual acuity from baseline over six months as measured using the Early Treatment of Diabetic Retinopathy Trial scale. Patients in the combination arm gained an average of 12.3 ETDRS letters compared to 13.5 ETDRS letters in the Elyea alone control arm. Additionally, administration of suprachoroidal CLS-TA together with intravitreal Eylea met a key secondary endpoint with a mean reduction from baseline of 208 microns in central subfield thickness of the retina at six months, compared to a 177 micron mean reduction in the control arm. Further, 93% of patients in the combination arm had a greater than 50% reduction in excess CST at six months, compared to 73% of patients in the control arm. Suprachoroidal CLS-TA used together with intravitreal Eylea was generally well tolerated, with no treatment-related serious adverse events reported in the TYBEE trial through the 24 week evaluation period. Elevated intraocular pressure adverse events were reported for 8.3% of patients in the combination arm, compared to 2.9% of patients in the control arm. Clearside is continuing to analyze data from the TYBEE trial.

07:33 EDT Madrigal soars 67% after Phase 2 NASH data, Intercept falls - Shares of Madrigal Pharmaceuticals (MDGL) are soaring after the company announced positive top-line, 36-week results from a Phase 2 clinical trial in patients with biopsy-proven non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. In the trial, MGL-3196 demonstrated statistical significance in the primary endpoint, relative reduction of liver fat on magnetic resonance imaging-estimated proton density fat fraction at 12 weeks and statistically significant results in multiple week 36 endpoints. Shares of Madrigal are up 67%, or $66.57, to $175.00 in premarket trading. Viking Therapeutics (VKTX), which has a thyroid beta agonist in Phase 2 development for the treatment of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and hypercholesterolemia, is trading up 38% to $6.86. Intercept Pharmaceuticals (ICPT), which has a competing, and further along than Madrigal's, drug to treat non-alcoholic steatohepatitis is trading down 6% to $69.01.

07:31 EDT SoftBank Vision Fund to invest $2.25B in GM Cruise

07:30 EDT Myriad Genetics' GeneSight guided treatment shows improvement in depression - Myriad Genetics' wholly-owned subsidiary Assurex Health announced results from the Individualized Medicine: Pharmacogenetics Assessment and Clinical Treatment study highlighted at the 2018 ASCP annual meeting in Miami Beach. The key finding is that patients with depression whose medication selection was guided by the GeneSight Psychotropic genetic test saw improvements in remission, response and symptoms when treated by both primary care physicians and psychiatrists. Additionally, patients treated by primary care physicians exhibited 33% more symptom improvement, 34% increased response and 57% greater remission than those treated by psychiatrists. This study evaluated the clinical utility of the GeneSight test in selecting medications for 2,025 patients with moderate-to-severe major depressive disorder who were enrolled in the IMPACT study. Patients saw a 28% mean reduction in symptoms. Additionally, 26% of patients responded to treatment and 17% achieved remission, which is consistent with previously reported studies.

07:24 EDT Dollar General down 6.3% to $90.45 after Q1 results, FY18 guidance

07:14 EDT Aptose Biosciences enters $20M share purchase agreement with Aspire Capital Fund - Aptose Biosciences announced that it has entered into a Common Share Purchase Agreement of up to $20M with Aspire Capital Fund. Under the terms of the Agreement, Aspire Capital has committed to purchase up to $20M of common shares of Aptose, at Aptose's request from time to time until April 7, 2020.

07:14 EDT Dova Pharmaceuticals announces availability of Doptelet in the U.S. - Dova Pharmaceuticals announced the availability of Doptelet in the U.S. for the treatment of thrombocytopenia in adult patients with chronic liver disease who are scheduled to undergo a procedure. Doptelet was approved by the FDA on May 21. Doptelet can now be ordered for patients through a network of Specialty Pharmacies. At launch, through Dova 1Source, Dova will be providing a host of reimbursement support programs.

07:11 EDT Scholar Rock completes dosing of first cohort in Phase 1 trial of SRK-015 - Scholar Rock has completed dosing of the first cohort and is continuing enrollment of healthy volunteers in its Phase 1 clinical trial of SRK-015, the company's lead antibody product candidate. SRK-015 is a selective inhibitor of the activation of myostatin, which Scholar Rock believes has the potential to be the first muscle-directed therapy to reverse or prevent further muscle atrophy in patients with spinal muscular atrophy and could be used as a monotherapy or in conjunction with the current standard of care. The placebo-controlled, double-blind Phase 1 clinical trial will evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of single- and multiple-ascending doses of intravenous SRK-015 in healthy adult volunteers. Assuming the successful completion of the Phase 1 trial, the company plans to initiate a Phase 2 proof-of-concept trial in 1Q19 to evaluate the efficacy and safety of SRK-015 in patients with later-onset SMA as a monotherapy or in conjunction with an approved SMN upregulator therapy as background standard of care.

07:01 EDT Ciena to acquire privately-held Packet Design - Ciena also announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire privately-held Packet Design, a provider of network performance management software focused on Layer 3 network optimization, topology and route analytics. The acquisition is intended to accelerate Ciena's Blue Planet software strategy, extending its intelligent automation capabilities into IP with critical new features that help customers optimize service delivery and maximize network utilization.

06:59 EDT Dollar General reports total merchandise inventories $3.59B vs. $3.3B a year ago - As of May 4, 2018, total merchandise inventories, at cost, were $3.59B compared to $3.30B as of May 5, 2017, an increase of approximately 0.4% on a per store basis.

06:53 EDT Citizens Financial to purchase Franklin American Mortgage for $511M - Citizens Financial Group announced a definitive agreement to purchase the assets of Franklin American Mortgage Company, a Franklin, Tennessee-based national mortgage servicing and origination firm with a leading position among private, non-bank mortgage companies. As of March 31, 2018, Franklin American Mortgage managed a $41.4B mortgage servicing portfolio and generated approximately $13.7B in annualized originations for the first quarter 2018, nearly 100% of which was conforming. "The addition of Franklin American Mortgage triples the size of Citizens' off-balance sheet mortgage servicing portfolio, providing significantly more balance sheet leverage. The transaction also more than doubles Citizens' origination platform while significantly diversifying its origination capabilities with the addition of correspondent and wholesale channels, which complement Citizens' strong retail capabilities," the bank said. Under the terms of the asset purchase agreement, Citizens' wholly-owned subsidiary, Citizens Bank, N.A., will purchase assets with a net book value of approximately $488M, which includes a mortgage servicing rights portfolio valued at $550M, for $511M in cash, or approximately 1.1 times tangible book value. The transaction is expected to improve fee income, produce attractive returns and have a crossover earnback period of less than three years. The transaction is expected to reduce the company's Basel III common equity tier one ratio by approximately 18 basis points at the transaction close. This transaction has no impact on the execution of Citizens' previously announced planned share repurchases under its 2017 capital plan. The company expects to achieve annual expense synergies of approximately $50M by 2020 with total estimated after-tax integration costs of $30M-$45M. Return on average tangible common equity accretion is expected to be approximately 30 basis points in 2019 and approximately 45 basis points in 2020 with earnings per diluted common share accretion of approximately 2% in 2019 and approximately 3% in 2020. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018, subject to customary closing terms and conditions and regulatory approval.

06:51 EDT Burlington Stores reports merchandise inventories $787M vs. $726M last year - Merchandise inventories were $787M vs. $726M last year. The increase was primarily due to inventory related to 51 net new stores opened since the end of the first quarter of Fiscal 2017, and an increase in pack and hold inventory, which was 27% of total inventory at the end of the first quarter of Fiscal 2018 compared to 26% at the end of the first quarter of Fiscal 2017. Comparable store inventory turnover improved 12%, and comparable store inventory was down 7% at the end of the first quarter of Fiscal 2018.

06:47 EDT Sears says committed to restoring positive adjusted EBITDA - Edward S. Lampert, Chairman and CEO, said that "As we look to the remainder of 2018 and beyond, we remain committed to restoring positive Adjusted EBITDA and will continue to explore opportunities to unlock the full potential of our assets for our shareholders. This includes exploring third-party partnerships involving several of our businesses - such as Sears Home Services, Innovel, Kenmore and DieHard - and gaining further momentum around our new smaller store formats that blend brick and mortar and online experiences. We believe these initiatives, among others, will help us to strengthen the Company and better position it for the future."

06:33 EDT CorePoint Lodging completes spin-off from La Quinta Holdings - CorePoint Lodging (CPLG) announced the completion of its spin-off from La Quinta Holdings (LQ) into a stand-alone public company that holds a geographically diverse portfolio of 316 hotels that were previously owned by La Quinta. CorePoint elected to become a real estate investment trust effective following the completion of the spin-off. CorePoint will begin "regular way" trading on the New York Stock Exchange on May 31, 2018, under the ticker symbol "CPLG."

06:04 EDT Brink's raises FY19 adjusted EBITDA view to $685M from $625M - The company's 2018 non-GAAP operating profit guidance of $365M-$385M, initially disclosed in February and affirmed on April 25, is based on currency rates as of year-end 2017 (constant currency), with the exception of the Argentine peso. Brink's expects the year-to-date decline in the peso, and potential further declines, to be fully offset in 2018 by inflation-driven price increases and organic growth, which has been the case over the last five years. The translation impact of currencies other than the Argentine peso, assuming current exchange rates through the end of 2018, is estimated to be approximately 2% negative. Notably, organic growth of revenue and profits in local currency continues to meet or exceed management's expectations, as do the integration efforts and synergy capture from completed acquisitions. Brink's will update its April 25 guidance when it reports second-quarter earnings in July. Brink's increased its 2019 target for adjusted EBITDA from $625M to $685M, which assumes the Dunbar acquisition is completed by the end of 2018 and that partial cost synergies will be achieved in 2019.

06:02 EDT Brink's to acquire Dunbar Armored for approximately $520M in cash - The Brink's Company announced it has agreed to purchase Dunbar Armored, the fourth largest U.S. cash management company, for approximately $520M in cash. The transaction will be funded from the company's available cash and is expected to close by the end of 2018, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval. Based in Hunt Valley, Maryland, Dunbar employs approximately 5,400 people, operates 78 branches throughout the U.S. and has more than 1,600 armored trucks in its fleet. Over the last 12 months, the privately-held company generated revenue of approximately $390 million and adjusted EBITDA of approximately $43M. The acquisition will expand and differentiate Brink's customer base with Dunbar's complementary focus on small-to-medium sized retailers and financial institutions. Brink's expects the combined entity to achieve substantial cost and operational synergies driven by improved route density, branch optimization and administrative efficiencies. In addition, Brink's expects to invest approximately $50M in capital expenditures over three years to support branch rationalization and the integration of Dunbar's fleet. The combination of Dunbar and Brink's U.S. operations is expected to yield annual cost synergies of $40M-$45M, resulting in a post-integration adjusted EBITDA multiple between 6.5 and 7 times, including the incremental capital investment. Full integration and synergies are expected to be achieved over three years, with the majority achieved by the end of the second year. Brink's expects the acquisition to be accretive to non-GAAP earnings in 2019 and to increase annual non-GAAP earnings by approximately 90c per share within two years. The transaction is expected to facilitate utilization of the company's existing tax attributes and reduce its non-GAAP effective tax rate by 100 to 200 basis points in the first full year after the acquisition. Combined with other actions, Brink's expects to reduce its effective tax rate by 400 to 600 basis points over the next several years. Brink's does not expect to pay U.S. federal cash taxes for at least six years due to utilization of its existing tax attributes and the benefit of an IRC 338(h)(10) election on this transaction.

05:48 EDT Canada Goose announces strategy for long-term growth in Greater China - Canada Goose announced its expansion plans for Greater China, including establishing a regional head office in Shanghai and appointing Scott Cameron as President, Greater China. To meet growing consumer demand, Canada Goose will also launch its direct-to-consumer business including opening two retail stores - in Beijing and Hong Kong - with operating partner ImagineX Group, and e-commerce operations via Alibaba Group's Tmall, China's largest consumer platform for brands and retailers, in fall 2018. To grow national market development efforts, Canada Goose has appointed Scott Cameron to President, Greater China and will open a regional head office in Shanghai, which will be home to a cross-functional business unit, with local expertise and capabilities in marketing and commercial operations. Scott previously served as EVP, eCommerce, Stores and Strategy where he was responsible for all operational elements of the Canada Goose direct-to-consumer business, and led the Strategy team. With strategic wholesale distribution partners in the market, Canada Goose has seen positive local demand for its authentic heritage, premium craftsmanship, and timeless, function-first designs for a number of years. To build on that and enable consumers to experience the brand's full assortment, Canada Goose will open a flagship store in Beijing in the prestigious Taikoo Li Sanlitun North Mall. The company will also open a store in ifc mall, a world-class business and leisure destination in Hong Kong. Both stores will open in fall 2018. With premier locations, curated store assortments and high touch personal service, the stores will serve as gathering places for fans to explore the company's rich heritage and discover the latest collections through the brand's unique and unfiltered lens. Canada Goose has selected ImagineX, a retail brand management and distribution company that is part of The Lane Crawford Joyce Group - Asia's pre-eminent luxury lifestyle group specializing in fashion retail, brand management and distribution, to support the operational buildout of its retail presence. ImagineX will be responsible for staffing world-class retail brand ambassadors and managing day-to-day retail operations. Building on the successes and learnings of its cross-border e-commerce pilot project in China, Canada Goose will transition its online Chinese distribution to a flagship store in the luxury pavilion of Alibaba Group's Tmall platform, in fall 2018.

05:42 EDT Elbit Systems subsidiary awarded contract to supply USSS to South Korea - Elbit Systems announced that its wholly owned subsidiary in Canada, GeoSpectrum Technologies, or GTI, was awarded a contract from STX Engine Co., to deliver a full end-to-end Underwater Sound Source System, or USSS, and software package to the Republic of Korea, or ROK, Navy. The systems will be supplied by the end of 2018. The contract is in an amount that is not material to Elbit Systems. This fully integrated, end-to-end system is based on GTI's Towed Acoustic Target, which has already been delivered to other Defence customers. It consists of an acoustic projector body, winch, handling package and power amplifier and will be used to test sonar systems for the ROK Navy's Harbor Underwater Surveillance System.

05:27 EDT Autoliv holders show support for Veoneer spin-off - Autoliv announced that its top three shareholders, Cevian Capital, Alecta and AMF, have each individually agreed with Autoliv and Veoneer to remain as major owners of Veoneer for a period of time after the spin-off. Under each of the agreements, the three shareholders, who together represent more than 20% of Autoliv's outstanding shares, have each committed to hold more than 80% of the shares of Veoneer it receives in the spin-off, for a period of nine months after the spin-off, which is planned to be completed on June 29, 2018.

05:23 EDT KIFS enters partnership with Tranzmute in India - KKR India Financial Services, or KIFS, KKR's alternative credit business in India, and Narayan Seshadri of Tranzmute Capital & Management announced the formation of a partnership to provide business management and transformation services to latent but high-potential businesses in India in addition to restructuring and turnaround services to stressed companies. The partners primarily look to provide their services to mid-market companies with the aim of enhancing their business strategies, capital structures and organizational and operational capabilities. It will leverage Tranzmute's business model, established by Mr. Seshadri, of helping companies achieve their growth ambitions by aligning economic incentives with the delivery of successful business outcomes. The partnership will adopt an open architecture model servicing third-party businesses as well as select companies within KIFS' credit portfolio. Mr. Seshadri assumes the role of Managing Partner and will oversee the day-to-day activities of the partnership. Tranzmute's operating management team will additionally be brought in to service companies, and experienced senior professionals will lead long-term transformational projects.