Stockwinners Market Radar for June 12, 2018 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

19:06 EDT Rent-A-Center reviewing $14 per share proposal from Vintage Capital - Rent-A-Center confirmed it has received a proposal from Vintage Capital Management, LLC to acquire all outstanding shares of Rent-A-Center. The Company issued the following statement: "Vintage filed a Schedule 13D amendment this morning containing a letter to the Rent-A-Center Board of Directors offering to acquire the Company for $14.00 per share in cash. Subsequently, Vintage provided Rent-A-Center with an equity commitment letter and other necessary supporting documentation related to its bid. Consistent with its fiduciary duties, the Rent-A-Center Board is reviewing Vintage's latest offer, with the assistance of outside financial and legal advisors, to determine the course of action that is in the best interest of the Company and all its stockholders. As previously announced, the Board is prepared to enter into a transaction that it believes will achieve its objectives of maximizing value for stockholders and providing certainty of closing. Rent-A-Center stockholders do not need to take any action at this time. "

19:01 EDT Arthur J. Gallagher acquires Finergy Solutions, terms not disclosed - Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. announced the acquisition of Finergy Solutions Pty Ltd and Avantek Pty Ltd in Australia. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Finergy Solutions is an employee benefit and retirement consultant business with a focus on offering superannuation consulting services. Avantek is a technology-based sister firm that develops highly customized financial and benefit reports for large groups of individuals, including its Super Score technology, which engages employees in taking a more active role in managing their superannuation.

18:40 EDT AbbVie presents additional Upadacitinib Phase 3 data at EULAR 2018 - AbbVie presented new patient-reported outcome data during the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology (EULAR 2018) in Amsterdam from three Phase 3 trials evaluating upadacitinib, an investigational, once-daily oral JAK1-selective inhibitor, in adult patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis.Improvements in pain, physical function and morning joint stiffness were reported after 12 weeks of treatment with upadacitinib in SELECT-NEXT and SELECT-BEYOND and after 14 weeks of treatment in SELECT-MONOTHERAPY. Additionally, improvements were reported in fatigue and work instability in SELECT-NEXT and patients' physical component of health-related quality of life in SELECT-NEXT and SELECT-BEYOND at 12 weeks. Upadacitinib is not approved by regulatory authorities and its safety and efficacy have not been established.

18:06 EDT After judge clears AT&T-Time Warner deal, other deal stocks pop - After a federal judge cleared the way for AT&T's (T) $85.4B purchase of Time Warner (TWX), other publicly traded companies with pending deals are moving higher. WAVE OF TAKEOVERS EXPECTED: The New York Times said "A federal judge on Tuesday approved the blockbuster merger between AT&T and Time Warner, rebuffing the government's effort to block the $85.4b deal, in a decision that is expected to unleash a wave of takeovers in corporate America." PENDING MEGA-DEALS: This past April, Cigna (CI) said that its proposed $54B acquisition of Express Scripts (ESRX) will be reviewed by the U.S. Department of Justice. Currently CVS (CVS) and Aetna (AET) are awaiting regulators approval of their merger: PRICE ACTION: Shares of Time Warner are up, while AT&T shares are down 3%. OTHERS: Shares of Cigna and Express Scripts are up 1% and 5%, respectively, while CVS and Aetna are up 2.5% and 4%.

18:00 EDT Supervalu announces proposal to reorganize corporate structure - Supervalu announced a proposal to reorganize the Company's corporate structure to further facilitate the Company's strategic transformation, among other benefits to stockholders. This proposal, as outlined in SUPERVALU's preliminary proxy statement/prospectus filed today, would result in a reorganization of the Company's corporate structure into a holding company structure. The holding company structure is being proposed to: Organize and further segregate SUPERVALU's wholesale and retail operations in an operationally efficient and strategic manner, including to separate the wholesale and retail operations held by SUPERVALU, our current public company entity; facilitate the Company's previously announced strategic transformation plan to sell certain retail assets to third parties; better segregate the liabilities of the Company into their respective business segments; Increase SUPERVALU's strategic, business and financial flexibility; and enable the Company to achieve its strategic transformation plan in a tax efficient manner that may facilitate the ability to utilize a material portion of SUPERVALU's capital loss carryforward, which could generate approximately $300 million of cash tax benefits for the Company over the next approximately 15 years.

17:53 EDT Scotts Miracle-Gro up 1.5% after announcing record May consumer purchases

17:31 EDT Salesforce to invest more than $2.5B in U.K. over 5 years - Salesforce plans to invest more than $2.5 billion over the next five years to fuel the growth of its UK business. The company is making the announcement ahead of participating in Prime Minister May's Tech Investment Roundtable hosted at 10 Downing Street. Salesforce is experiencing rapid growth in the UK. Salesforce is the #1 Customer Experience and Customer Relationship Management market share leader worldwide and the #1 Customer Experience and Customer Relationship Management in the UK based on 2017 total software revenue, according to Gartner. As part of this investment, Salesforce plans to increase headcount, data centre capacity and office space to support its rapidly growing customer base in the country.

17:10 EDT U.S. Assistant AG 'disappointed' with court's decision on AT&T-Time Warner deal - After a judge approved AT&T's (T) acquisition of Time Warner (TWX), U.S. Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim said he was "disappointed" with the court's decision. "We continue to believe that the pay-TV market will be less competitive and less innovative as a result of the proposed merger between AT&T and Time Warner," Delrahim said. "We will closely review the Court's opinion and consider the next steps in light of our commitment to preserving competition for the benefit of American consumers." Reference Link

17:04 EDT vTv Therapeutics falls 28.5% after resumption of trading to $1.35 per share

17:04 EDT Fox, Sprint, T-Mobile higher after judge clears AT&T-Time Warner deal - Following the approval of AT&T's (T) proposed takeover of Time Warner (TWX), other companies seeking approval of large transactions were moving in after hours trading. Class A shares of 21st Century Fox (FOXA), which has agreed to sell film and TV assets to Disney (DIS), are 5.5% higher after the news, while Disney shares are about 1.3% lower. Shares of Comcast (CMCSA), which was reportedly preparing to announce a bid for Fox if the AT&T-Time Warner deal got approved, are down 3.3% in after hours trading. Meanwhile, shares of Sprint (S) and T-Mobile (TMUS), whose proposed merger has reportedly drawn DOJ antitrust scrutiny, have risen 3.8% and 1.7%, respectively.

17:00 EDT First Mid-Illinois Bancshares to acquire SCB Bancorp for stock or cash - First Mid-Illinois Bancshares and SCB Bancorp announced the execution of a definitive agreement under which First Mid will acquire all of the outstanding shares of SCB. Under the terms of the agreement, SCB shareholders may elect to exchange each share of SCB common stock for either 8.0228 shares of First Mid common stock or $307.93 in cash, subject to certain potential adjustments. Overall elections are subject to proration such that, depending on the number of shares of SCB common stock electing First Mid common stock between 19 and 32.5 percent of the SCB shares will be exchanged for cash, and between 67.5% and 81% will be exchanged for First Mid common stock. Additionally, SCB's outstanding stock options will be fully vested upon consummation of the merger, and all outstanding SCB options that are unexercised prior to the closing will be cashed out. Based upon First Mid's 10-day volume weighted average price through June 8th of $38.38 per share, the aggregate consideration paid by First Mid is approximately $70.4 million. In addition, SCB intends on issuing an aggregate of $25 million of its cash as a special dividend to its shareholders, and as a corresponding reduction to the exercise price of outstanding options, immediately prior to the close of the transaction.

16:59 EDT AT&T applauds court decision on Time Warner deal - AT&T General Counsel David McAtee said in a statement, "We are pleased that, after conducting a full and fair trial on the merits, the Court has categorically rejected the government's lawsuit to block our merger with Time Warner. We thank the Court for its thorough and timely examination of the evidence, and we compliment our colleagues at the Department of Justice on their dedicated representation of the government. We look forward to closing the merger on or before June 20 so we can begin to give consumers video entertainment that is more affordable, mobile, and innovative."

16:52 EDT Intuitive Surgical reaches settlement in principal for payment of $42.5M - On June 11, Intuitive Surgical reached an agreement in principle to enter into a settlement agreement, subject to approval by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, with respect to previously disclosed class action lawsuits, referred to as In re Intuitive Surgical Securities Litigation, No. 5:13-cv-1920. The agreement in principle stipulates a payment of $42.5M by Intuitive.

16:41 EDT H&R Block reverses, now down about 9% to $26.98 after Q4 earnings

16:33 EDT Cellectis publishes an update on development of CubiCAR - Cellectis announced the publication of a study in Scientific Reports, a Nature Publishing Group journal, describing the development of the CubiCAR, an all-in-one Chimeric Antigen Receptor architecture with an embedded multi-functional tag for purification, detection and elimination of CAR T-cells. This added versatility has the potential to streamline the manufacturing of CAR T-cells to allow their tracking and efficiently eliminate CAR T-cells in clinical settings.

16:31 EDT vTv says Part B of STEADFAST Study did not meet co-primary efficacy endpoints - vTv Therapeutics announced that results from Part B of the company's STEADFAST Study of the investigational medication azeliragon in people with mild Alzheimer's disease did not meet co-primary efficacy endpoints. The prespecified subgroup consisted of azeliragon-treated patients with maximal azeliragon plasma concentrations of less than 7.5 ng/mL and baseline Mini Mental State Examination scores between 19 and 27, and the endpoints were statistically significant improvement in cognitive or functional outcomes as measured by the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale and Clinical Dementia Rating Scale Sum of Boxes at 12-months compared to placebo. However, consistent with findings in Part A and the Phase 2b trial, lower maximal plasma concentrations of azeliragon in Part B were associated with improvements in efficacy relative to placebo. For example, when pooling the results of Part A and Part B and comparing change from baseline at 12 months, the azeliragon subgroup had a 1.8 point improvement in ADAS-cog, a 0.4 improvement in CDR-sb and a 2.3 improvement in Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study-Activities of Daily Living relative to placebo. Relying upon the program's Fast Track Designation status and study results to date, the company will pursue expedited discussions with the Food and Drug Administration to propose a pathway for further clinical development in support of regulatory approval of azeliragon. "We are eager to obtain early feedback from the FDA based on the results we have achieved and the data that we have observed associating lower plasma levels of the drug and improved efficacy," said Steve Holcombe, chief executive officer, vTv Therapeutics. "As a result, we believe that azeliragon has the potential to address the pressing unmet need in Alzheimer's disease."

16:30 EDT vTv Therapeutics trading halted, news dissemination

16:22 EDT Paul Marciano to resign as Executive Chairman of Guess board - In a regulatory filing, Guess said that, as previously disclosed, in February 2018, the board of directors of Guess established a special committee to investigate allegations of improper conduct by Paul Marciano, Executive Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of the company. The Special Committee, with the assistance of independent legal counsel, has conducted and now concluded the investigation. On June 7 and 11, the Special Committee presented its determinations and recommendations to the Board. On June 11, Paul Marciano notified the board of his decision to resign as Executive Chairman of the board, although he will remain on the board, and the board unanimously, without the participation of Paul Marciano and Maurice Marciano, each of whom recused himself from the vote, appointed Maurice Marciano, as Chairman. At the same time, Paul Marciano also notified the board that, as contemplated by the company's succession plan and in anticipation of the expiration of his employment agreement with the company on January 30, 2019, he has begun transitioning all of his duties and responsibilities at the company to Victor Herrero, Chief Executive Officer of the company, and will fulfill the remainder of his contract. On June 11, after considering the Special Committee's determinations and recommendations, and Paul Marciano's voluntary decision to immediately resign as Executive Chairman of the board and to fully transition all of his duties and responsibilities at the company as of the expiration of his employment agreement with the company on January 30, 2019, the Board unanimously authorized that Paul Marciano will fulfill his duties and responsibilities through the expiration of his employment agreement to effect a smooth transfer of responsibilities of his role as Chief Creative Officer.

16:21 EDT Mercury Systems expands C2I, AI processing solutions with four times the memory - Mercury Systems announced the expansion of their secure command, control and intelligence, or C2I, and artificial intelligence, or AI, processing solutions with configurations that feature up to four times as much system memory as previous generations. Modern defense systems are using UAVs and other smart platforms to gather increasing amounts of ISR data. Processing can now be performed on-platform, to form real-time battlespace situational awareness interfaces that are powered by evolved artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms.

16:17 EDT Pivotal Software up over 6% afterhours following Q1 earnings and FY19 guidance

16:16 EDT Waddell & Reed reports May AUM $79.8B, up from $79.2B in April - Waddell & Reed Financial reported preliminary assets under management of $79.8 billion for the month ended May 31, 2018, compared to $79.2 billion on April 30, 2018.

16:10 EDT Merck confirms FDA approves Keytruda as second-line option for cervical cancer - Merck announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Keytruda, the company's anti-PD-1 therapy, for the treatment of patients with recurrent or metastatic cervical cancer with disease progression on or after chemotherapy whose tumors express PD-L1 as determined by an FDA-approved test. This indication is approved under the FDA's accelerated approval regulations based on tumor response rate and durability of response. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in the confirmatory trials. "Keytruda is now the first anti-PD-1 therapy approved for the treatment of advanced cervical cancer, providing an important new second-line option for certain patients with this disease. This approval also marks the first indication for Keytruda in a gynecologic cancer and reflects our ongoing commitment to bring forward innovative treatment options across a broad range of cancers, including cancers that disproportionately affect women," said Dr. Roy Baynes, senior vice president and head of global clinical development, chief medical officer, Merck Research Laboratories.

16:09 EDT Enphase Energy to acquire SunPower 's microinverter business for $25M - Enphase Energy (ENPH) and SunPower (SPWR) announced a definitive agreement for Enphase to acquire SunPower's microinverter business for $25M in cash and 7.5M shares of Enphase common stock. Key highlights of the acquisition include advances in AC Modules, or ACM, as the future of residential solar and enhances in SunPower's Equinox Home Solar System with a custom line of Enphase's IQ microinverters for use with SunPower AC Modules. Enphase expects to add $60M-$70M annualized revenue in second half of 2019 at 33%-35% gross margin and add over 140 patents to Enphase's IP portfolio The acquisition expects to close by end of Q3 with initial IQ shipments in Q4. Also, $25M cash is to be funded from Enphase's balance sheet in two installments. The transaction is expected to close at the end of Q3 subject to product qualification and other closing conditions under the definitive asset purchase agreement.

16:06 EDT Esperion Study 4 results presented at ISA - Esperion announced that the full Phase 3 results from Study 4 were presented at the International Symposium on Atherosclerosis, ISA, in Toronto. The late-breaking oral presentation was delivered by Christie M. Ballantyne, M.D., chairman of Esperion's Phase 3 Executive Committee and Professor and Chief of Cardiology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Simultaneously, the full results of Study 4 were published in the journal Atherosclerosis. This Phase 3 study evaluated bempedoic acid versus placebo in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease,ASCVD, or at high risk for ASCVD with hypercholesterolemia inadequately treated with background ezetimibe 10 mg and up to the lowest daily starting dose of a statin. Topline results were announced in March 2018.

16:06 EDT Manning & Napier reports preliminary AUM $23B as of May 31 - Compared with $22.9B at April 30, and $23.4B at March 31.

16:04 EDT Gener8 Maritime trading resumes

16:03 EDT Johnson & Johnson accepts offer from Platinum Equity to acquire LifeScan - Johnson & Johnson announced that it has accepted the binding offer from Platinum Equity, previously announced on March 16, 2018, to acquire its LifeScan business for approximately $2.1B. LifeScan is a world leader in blood glucose monitoring and maker of the OneTouch brand of products. This acceptance was made after consultation with relevant works councils and trade unions. The transaction is expected to close by the end of 2018, subject to the satisfaction of regulatory clearances and other customary closing conditions. The Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies will continue to serve those impacted by diabetes through innovative products, services and solutions from its Medical Device, Pharmaceuticals and Consumer businesses. These include important leadership and innovation in areas such as bariatric surgery and through medicines such as INVOKANA ( and INVOKAMET.

15:13 EDT Aerojet Rocketdyne awarded $2.6M Phase I contract by Office of Naval Research - Aerojet Rocketdyne has been awarded a $2.6M Phase I contract by the Office of Naval Research to develop a prototype torpedo propulsion system under the agency's Torpedo Advanced Propulsion System program. The primary goal of the program is to improve the engine efficiency of the U.S. Navy's MK48 Heavyweight Torpedo. Phase I of the TAPS program, which could last up to 24 months with options, will explore increasing the efficiency of the Otto-fueled engine that currently powers the MK48. If awarded, Phase II of the program would include integrated full-scale system testing in an MK48 propulsion section.

14:08 EDT iStar completes repositioning, sale of the Westgate Entertainment District - iStar announced it has completed the repositioning and sale of the Westgate Entertainment District, Arizona's premier sports and entertainment destination, to YAM Properties LLC for $133M. The transaction is the culmination of iStar's long-term vision to transform a struggling retail center in the Phoenix metropolitan area surrounded by 70-plus acres of undeveloped land and empty parking lots into one of the most successful mixed-use entertainment destinations in the Southwest region.

13:58 EDT Tesla off highs following reports of 9% workforce reduction - Shares of Tesla are off of the day's highs after Bloomberg and CNBC reported that the company is laying off 9% of its workforce as part of a previously announced restructuring. The layoffs consist almost entirely of salaried workers, so the cuts will not affect the company's ability to reach Model 3 production targets in the coming months, CEO Elon Musk said in a statement, according to Bloomberg. Tesla will also not renew its residential solar power sales pact with Home Depot (HD) in order to focus on selling solar power in its stores and online, Bloomberg added. Shares of Tesla remain up 4%, or $13.39, to $345.48 in afternoon trading.

13:36 EDT California Insurance Commissioner reports legal action against Athene, Accordia - Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones announced the California Department of Insurance has served an Order to Show Cause and Accusation against Accordia Life and Annuity Company and Athene Annuity and Life Company for "failing to service over 50,000 policies issued to California consumers and imperiling the benefits to which they are entitled." The department is seeking an order suspending both companies' certificates of authority for one year and to cease and desist from practices harming California consumers, with Jones stating: "Consumers should have confidence that companies selling insurance in California are delivering on their promises and are doing so in compliance with our consumer protection laws." Reference Link

13:28 EDT Tesla rises after KeyBanc finds signs of Model 3 delivery pace improving - Shares of Tesla (TSLA) are on the rise after KeyBanc analyst Brad Erickson told investors that his checks with the company's sales centers showed Model 3 deliveries tracking ahead of his prior expectations for the quarter. As a result, the analyst raised his Model 3 deliveries estimate for the second quarter by 50% to 30,000. MODEL 3 VOLUMES SHOWING MEANINGFUL RAMP: In a research note to investors, KeyBanc's Erickson said his checks with 20 Tesla sales centers across the U.S. indicate Model 3 volumes are showing a "meaningful ramp," with deliveries tracking about 50% higher than his prior estimates for the quarter. With three weeks to go in the quarter, the analyst estimates the company is tracking to something between 30K-35K Model 3 deliveries in the quarter versus his prior view of 20K-25K. Following the positive checks, Erickson raised his Model 3 deliveries estimate for the second quarter to 30,000 from 20,000 and his 2018 estimate to 118,182 from 98,182. The analyst noted that he continues to expect gross margins on the Model 3 to turn positive in the third quarter and thinks evidence to support the bear case that Model 3 demand is softening or that production is not ramping is not likely to emerge in the near-term. Additionally, Erickson pointed out that concerns surrounding perceived safety quality seem to remain anecdotal. Based on his checks, he believes the perceived quality of Model 3s coming off the lines continues to improve relative to prior checks, and views this as one of the critical factors in Tesla maintaining its "almost legendary status" in the eyes of customers. Nonetheless, the analyst reiterates a Sector Weight rating on Tesla shares, citing his "core belief" there is a significant premium built into the stock on perceptions of the company's innovative superiority around the "five critical aspects" of the story; namely manufacturing, batteries, software, artificial intelligence and competition. PRICE ACTION: In early afternoon trading, shares of Tesla have gained $19.20, or nearly 6%, to $351.30.

13:03 EDT Game On: Microsoft, EA, Nintendo on display at E3 - Welcome to "Game On," The Fly's weekly recap of the stories powering up or beating down video game stocks. EA AT E3: This year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, began over the weekend with a presentation from Electronic Arts (EA), during which the game giant announced a new "Star Wars" game titled "Jedi: Fallen Order," set for release in holiday 2019, and confirmed that its upcoming World War II shooter "Battlefield V" will include a battle royale mode. In addition, the company said that "FIFA 19" will come out on September 28 and showcased more gameplay footage of its upcoming online action RPG "Anthem," which is slated to roll out on February 22, 2019. MICROSOFT AT E3: Microsoft (MSFT) held its press conference on Sunday afternoon, during which the company announced that it had purchased four gaming studios for an undisclosed amount in an effort to bring more exclusive games to its Xbox One line of consoles. In addition, the company said it will create a new studio of its own called The Initiative and announced further expansion of its Game Pass subscription service. On the software side, Microsoft showed trailers for over 50 games, including a teaser for "Halo Infinite" and a trailer for "Forza Horizon 4," both of which will be Microsoft exclusives. NINTENDO AT E3: At Nintendo's (NTDOY) E3 showcase, which was conducted via a Nintendo Direct video presentation, the Japanese game giant confirmed that Epic Games' "Fortnite" is coming to its Switch consoles starting today. Epic Games is 40% owned by Tencent (TCEHY) and is part of Disney's (DIS) Accelerator Program. Nintendo also provided further details on its upcoming fighter "Super Smash Bros. Ultimate," which will include every single character from all previous iterations of the franchise. The game is set for release on December 7 of this year. In addition, the company unveiled "Super Mario Party," out this October, and "Fire Emblem: Three Houses," out in Spring of 2019. OTHERS AT E3: Sony (SNE), as expected, focused its conference last night on just a handful of games, most of which had already been announced. The company showed more footage of upcoming exclusives "The Last of Us: Part II," "Ghost of Tsushima," "Death Stranding," and "Spider-Man," and unveiled that a remake of Capcom's (CCOEY) "Resident Evil 2" is coming to PlayStation 4 on January 25, 2019. Ubisoft (UBSFY) held its conference yesterday as well, giving more details on "Assassin's Creed Odyssey," "The Division 2," and "Skull & Bones" while also announcing "Trials Rising" and "Just Dance 2019." In addition, game publisher Bethesda unveiled "Fallout 76," an online action RPG set for release this November on PC, Xbox One, and PS4, and announced a new "Elder Scrolls" game for mobile.

12:51 EDT Shapiro Capital reports 14.77% passive stake in ChannelAdvisor

12:00 EDT Enzo Biochem falls -9.6% - Enzo Biochem is down -9.6%, or -64c to $6.06.

12:00 EDT Griffon falls -11.4% - Griffon is down -11.4%, or -$2.60 to $20.30.

12:00 EDT Kadmon rises 15.5% - Kadmon is up 15.5%, or 52c to $3.87.

11:58 EDT Northern Oil and Gas reports exchange agreements to reduce debt - Northern Oil and Gas earlier announced that it has entered into two independent, separately negotiated exchange agreements with institutional holders of its 8% senior unsecured notes due 2020. Together the agreements represent a debt reduction of $20,950,000 par value of notes. "We continue to take concrete steps to strengthen our balance sheet. As signified by our recently closed Salt Creek acquisition, we continue to grow cash flow through both acquisitions and the drill bit, and driving down absolute leverage will further enhance our competitive position. This represents a permanent reduction of fixed charges, a key to driving increased returns for our shareholders over the long term, with a lower risk profile," said Northern's CFO Nick O'Grady.

11:53 EDT ADP announces CFO intends to leave company - In a regulatory filing, ADP disclosed that on June 12, Jan Siegmund, Chief Financial Officer of Automatic Data Processing, notified the company of his intention to leave. His departure date has not been determined, the filing stated.

11:48 EDT Schlumberger says Russia revenue 'well short' of expectations in Q2 - Schlumberger in conference presentation slides said Q2 revenue in Russia is "flat sequentially so far and well short of our expectations as we have experienced delays in the start-up of the summer offshore campaigns." Further, the weakness in the ruble exchange rate has also impacted revenue, the company adds.

11:34 EDT PBM association calls for increased competition among drug companies - The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association released a statement on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing, "The Cost of Prescription Drugs: Examining the President's Blueprint 'American Patients First' to Lower Drug Prices:" The statement reads: "We share the Administration's goal of reducing drug prices. The key is to increase competition among drug companies so pharmacy benefit managers can negotiate even more aggressively to reduce drug costs for patients. As such, we applaud the Administration's efforts to cut through the red tape that keeps competing drugs from coming to market. We support the Administration's call for greater flexibility in benefit design to encourage better price negotiations, including allowing Medicare Part D plan sponsors to promote lower cost generics and biosimilars. The easiest way to lower costs would be for drug companies to lower their prices. Manufacturers have chosen to negotiate price concessions with PBMs using rebates, which are calculated and paid months after a drug has been dispensed. Simply getting rid of rebates and other price concessions would leave patients and payers, including Medicaid and Medicare, at the mercy of drug manufacturer pricing strategies. Rebates are used by payers to reduce premiums and out-of-pocket costs for patients. A recent Medicare Part D report by the Office of Inspector, Health and Human Services debunks the myth that drugmakers have somehow been compelled to raise prices because of the discounts and rebates health plans and PBMs demand to reduce overall costs. We look forward to working with the Administration and Congress to continue the Part D success story, explore ways to introduce more competition into Medicare Part B, and avoid policies that increase costs and undermine quality." Pharmacy benefit managers include Express Scripts (ESRX), CVS Health (CVS) and UnitedHealth (UNH).

11:02 EDT BNP Paribas names Sonja Volpe president, CEO for Canada - BNP Paribas is pleased to announce that effective July 1, 2018 it has appointed Sonja Volpe as its new president and CEO for Canada. Volpe will be responsible for overseeing the full breadth of the Canadian business while continuing to lead Financial Institutions Coverage in Canada. Volpe first joined BNP Paribas in 2015 as Head of Financial Institutions Coverage in Canada and has been instrumental in managing global relationships and developing our client franchise in the region. She is replacing Monique Vialatou who becomes CEO of BNP Paribas Switzerland in July 2018.

11:01 EDT Green Brick commences new business relationship with PrimeLending - Green Brick Partners announced a newly developed affiliated business arrangement with PrimeLending. This prestigious partnership has formed new residential mortgage lender, Green Brick Mortgage, LLC. The company plans to begin offering home loan solutions in the DFW metroplex in early fall 2018, and will begin servicing other markets in the fourth quarter of 2018. Green Brick Mortgage will offer an extensive range of home loan options and is excited to help aspiring homebuyers achieve their homeownership goals.

10:43 EDT CBS announces launch of experiential events division - CBS Corporation announced the formation of CBS Experiences, or CBSX, a new experiential events division with a focus on "expanding the reach of CBS programming and properties through live, entertaining and interactive encounters." CBSX will create a range of ticketed and sponsored events to help "drive fans deeper into the experience" and provide CBS with an opportunity to expand on its merchandising strategy, the company said.

10:27 EDT Shutterstock plans to initially hire 40 employees for Dublin office - Shutterstock announced the launch of its Dublin office with the intent to initially hire 40 professionals including engineering roles, and to potentially grow the team further over the coming years. This project is supported by the Irish Government through IDA Ireland. The Shutterstock Dublin team will support the global business need for highly skilled, international technical talent. They will initially focus on certain products including the company's Bigstock business and continued development of its editorial platform, Shutterstock Editorial. The team will use advanced techniques from machine learning, computer vision, cloud computing and analytics to drive the development of capabilities around advanced search, personalisation, recommendation, and intelligent digital rights management. In addition to its new Ireland office, Shutterstock has been licensing content to Ireland based businesses, media organizations and production companies for a number of years and has a robust contributor network that sells their images, videos and music through Shutterstock's creative platform. Since the company's founding in 2003, it has paid out more than $5M to Irish based artists, photographers, videographers and musicians. Shutterstock is currently recruiting for engineering roles in Dublin.

10:20 EDT Vistra Energy board authorizes $500M share buyback plan - In slides for its investor day meeting, Vistra Energy announced board authorization of a $500M share repurchase program, stating it intends to execute repurchases "on an opportunistic basis." The slides also state that after achieving its 2.5x net debt / EBITDA target by year-end 2019, Vistra estimates it will have about $1B in capital available for allocation. The $500M in additional capital forecast to be available for allocation through year-end 2019 may be allocated to dividends, buybacks or "opportunistic growth," the slides note.

10:02 EDT Hyatt announces plans for 'Hyatt Centric' branded hotels - Hyatt Hotels announced further global growth of the Hyatt Centric brand with new hotels announced for Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Portland, Ore. These hotels are in addition to previously announced plans for Hyatt Centric hotels in Dakar, Senegal, San Salvador, El Salvador and Melbourne, Australia. The Hyatt Centric brand currently has 22 properties across seven countries, the company stated.

10:00 EDT Kadmon rises 10.4% - Kadmon is up 10.4%, or 35c to $3.70.

09:48 EDT Randolph Bancorp names Kenneth Quigley Jr. chairman of the board - Randolph Bancorp announced that Kenneth Quigley, Jr. has been named chairman of the Board of Directors of Randolph Bancorp and its subsidiardy Envision Bank. Quigley has been a member of the Board since 2013 and assumes the position from outgoing chairman, Louis Trubiano, who will remain on the Board.

09:47 EDT Jernigan Capital falls -7.9% - Jernigan Capital is down -7.9%, or -$1.60 to $18.68.

09:47 EDT Huami rises 5.8% - Huami is up 5.8%, or 81c to $14.87.

09:47 EDT RH rises 21.1% - RH is up 21.1%, or $25.04 to $143.77.

09:40 EDT Vintage Capital submits 'best and final' $14 per share offer for Rent-A-Center - In a regulatory filing, Vintage Capital disclosed that it has submitted a letter to the board of Rent-A-Center concerning its "best and final" offer to acquire the company for $14.00 in cash per share of common stock. The letter disclosed in the filing states: "This letter confirms our best and final offer to acquire RCII for $14.00 per share in cash. At this time, RCII is in possession of all requested documentation concerning our proposal, including (1) a draft merger agreement that we are prepared to sign; and (2) an equity commitment letter and ample supporting documentation to evidence our ability to complete an acquisition of RCII. As previously communicated, we believe that our proposed merger agreement resolves all open points in a manner satisfactory to RCII. As we have communicated on numerous occasions, we are committed to completing an acquisition of RCII as quickly as possible. We strongly believe that our proposal represents a value-maximizing outcome for RCII stockholders. It delivers immediate and certain value without any business execution risk. We are confident that RCII stockholders will agree that the right path for RCII at this time is for our offer to be accepted. Our offer will remain open and capable of acceptance until 5:00 p.m., Eastern time, on Friday, June 15, 2018. If our offer is not accepted by that time, we will terminate our consideration of an acquisition of RCII."

09:25 EDT Knowles SmartMic selected by vivo for new NEX AI smartphone - Knowles announced its solution was selected by global smartphone leader vivo for its new flagship vivo NEX AI smartphone. The Knowles SmartMic combines the company's SiSonicTM MEMS technology with a audio DSP into a single, miniature package. The result is a microphone solution ideal for applications that require always-on voice-wake as well as low power voice control. This includes mobile phones, headsets and battery operated consumer products as well as plugged-in devices requiring energy compliance.

09:20 EDT Arotech subsidiary receives $28.9M contract award from U.S. Marine Corps - FAAC Incorporated, a subsidiary of Arotech Training and Simulation Division, announced that it has received a competitive award to modernize the U.S. Marine Corps' Combat Convoy Simulators, or CCS. The contract from Marine Corps Systems Command Program Manager Training Systems is valued at up to $28.9M with a maximum contract duration of 57 months. The initial award funding is $17.7M with up to an additional $11.2M in contract options.

09:17 EDT Tahoe Resources CEO Ronald Clayton to retire, James Voorhees to succeed - Tahoe Resources announced that Ronald Clayton will retire as President, CEO and director of the company, effective June 15, and that current director, James Voorhees will assume the position of President and CEO. Voorhees has been a director of the company since its inception in 2010, and he will remain on the Board following this appointment.

09:14 EDT On The Fly: Pre-market Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: RH (RH), up 20%... Dave & Buster's (PLAY), up 14%. ALSO HIGHER: Galmed (GLMD), up 168% after announcing top-line, 52-week results from the global Phase 2b ARREST study in NASH patients... Pluristem (PSTI), up 6% after reporting top-line results from its multinational Phase 2 clinical study of PLX-PAD cells in the treatment of Intermittent Claudication... Sage Therapeutics (SAGE), up 4% after announcing its expedited development plan for SAGE-217 following a Breakthrough Therapy meeting with the FDA... Twitter (TWTR), up 3% after JPMorgan analyst Doug Anmuth raised his price target on the stock to $50 from $39... Tesla (TSLA), up 3% after KeyBanc analyst Brad Erickson raised his Model 3 deliveries estimate for the second quarter to 30,000 from 20,000 following checks with Tesla sales centers. LOWER: Idera Pharmaceutical (IDRA), down 13% after reporting its Phase 2 clinical trial of IMO-8400 in adult patients with dermatomyositis did not meet its primary endpoint of statistically significant change from baseline in the CDASI activity score versus placebo... Immunomedics (IMMU), down 3.5% after filing to sell $275M in common stock... Sotheby's (BID), down 3% after the stock was downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Sidoti.

09:14 EDT Harris awarded two contracts $26M to upgrade the CBP - Harris has been awarded two contracts totaling $26M to upgrade the U.S. Customs and Border Protection's, or CBP, mission-critical communications to safeguard the nation's borders. Harris will supply its XL-200P advanced digital handheld radios that have an intuitive and customizable user interface. The radios are packed with features ideal for mission-critical users: built-in active noise cancellation, Bluetooth and GPS. They also meet and exceed the stringent MIL-SPEC standards for explosive atmospheres, fluid contamination and immersion.

09:11 EDT Honeywell and FlightAware partner to improve flight tracking tools - Honeywell is joining forces with FlightAware, to bring a new level of advanced flight tracking support to operations control centers and business jet owners. This partnership will provide customers of Honeywell's GoDirec Flight Services with access to more real-time information - including aircraft speed, altitude, position and estimated time of arrival - at no additional cost.

09:06 EDT Generac to hire 300 position at its Wisconsin locations - Generac Power Systems is hiring for nearly 300 positions at six of their Wisconsin locations this month. The new roles are being added as the company works to meet consumer demand for Generac products. This demand continues to grow as the need for backup power gets stronger and the aging power grid fails. The open positions include roles in manufacturing, welding, warehouse and assembly. Applicants have flexibility when it comes to choosing shifts, as first, second and third shift positions are needed. Generac also recently instituted a new program specifically for these positions that offers regular wage increases during the first two years of the employees' tenure, in addition to continuing to offer generous and comprehensive benefits to meet the needs of a changing workforce. To jumpstart recruitment for these positions, hiring events will be held from June 12 to June 14 with interviews onsite at the Generac facilities in Berlin, Oshkosh, Whitewater, Jefferson, Eagle and Waukesha.

09:03 EDT Amazon announces zulily moving to AWS - Amazon Web Services, an Amazon company announced that online retailer zulily is moving its infrastructure to AWS to further enhance the online shopping experience for its more than 6.1M active customers. zulily moved business critical workloads to AWS, including its store, mobile application, and supply chain, and the online retailer has since seen a 30-40 percent performance improvement per request made across its website and mobile application. In addition, many of zulily's core production databases have been upgraded to Amazon Aurora, resulting in higher fault tolerance and better performance for zulily customers. zulily is using the breadth and depth of AWS services, including database, serverless, and analytics, to continually enhance its services in the cloud. AWS enables every part of the business-marketing, merchandising, vendor operations, security, CI/CD automation, and supply chain-to make real-time decisions and continuous improvements. By moving from standalone image generation servers running custom code and several terabytes of local storage to a single Lambda function backed by Amazon Simple Storage Service and fronted by Amazon CloudFront, zulily created a truly scalable architecture on top of AWS. zulily developed a DevOps practice on AWS, enabling the team to push code multiple times a day across a variety of applications and services, testing and verifying system functionalities every five minutes and cutting down the code-to-production push time by over 30%.

09:02 EDT United Renewable Energy and Constellation complete project in Hunter Farms - United Renewable Energy and Constellation, an Exelon company, announced the completion of a 1.8-megawatt solar generation project located at Hunter Farms, a 360-acre, family-owned cattle farm in Jakin, Georgia. The Hunter family will benefit from lease payments from a tracking solar array - situated within marginal and over-used land. The system - comprised of 5,305 photovoltaic panels - operate under a 30-year Power Purchase Agreement, or PPA, with Constellation selling all energy and environmental attributes to Georgia Power. It is part of the nationally recognized Georgia Power Company Advanced Solar Initiative, which has helped to make Georgia a top 10 solar state. Constellation now owns and operates 17.8 MW of solar projects in Georgia.

08:55 EDT Naked Brand Group jumps after holders approve merger with Bendon - Naked Brand Group yesterday held a special meeting of stockholder to consider certain proposals related to the agreement and plan of reorganization by the company and Bendon, which allow for the consummation by Holdco and Bendon of a reorganization, pursuant to which all of the shareholders of Bendon will exchange all the outstanding ordinary shares of Bendon for ordinary shares of Holdco and immediately thereafter, a merger of Merger Sub and Naked, with Naked surviving as a wholly owned subsidiary of Holdco and the Naked stockholders receiving Holdco ordinary shares. At the special meeting, shares representing approximately 54% of Naked's issued and outstanding shares were voted with more than 98% of the votes cast in favor of the merger proposal, representing more than 53% of Naked Brand Group's outstanding shares. Holdco, which is not currently a public company, has applied for listing on the Nasdaq to be effective at the time of the completion of the business combination. The parties will look to consummate the transactions as soon as possible. "We are very pleased with the affirmative vote at the special meeting of stockholders concerning our business combination with Bendon and we now look forward to closing this transaction," stated Carole Hochman, Naked's Chairwoman, Chief Executive Officer and Chief Creative Officer.

08:54 EDT Heico announces 5-for-4 stock split - Heico announced that its board approved a 5-for-4 stock split and a 7% effective increase in the semi-annual cash dividend on both its Class A Common Stock and Common Stock. The stock split will be effected in the form of a 25% stock dividend on each class of the company's shares as they are respectively held. The stock dividend is payable on June 27 to shareholders of record in the same class of shares at the close of business on June 21. Cash will be paid in lieu of fractional shares based on the last sale price of each share class on the record date.

08:44 EDT Capstone Turbine announces new 1 MW C1000 Signature Series order - Capstone Turbine Corporation announced it sold a C1000S, representing its fourteenth C1000 Signature Series unit, which includes the C1000S, C800S and C600S, into the oil and gas market since February 2018. The latest order is for a 1 megawatt unit to power a gas processing facility in Southern Texas. The unit will provide prime power at a remote gas processing facility. Horizon Power Systems secured the order, which is expected to be commissioned in late 2018. The natural gas-fueled Signature Series C1000 microturbine will be used to provide primary power to critical equipment at the gas processing plant. The plant is located in a remote area of Texas with no utility power available at the site.

08:42 EDT FTE Networks awarded new contracts totaling about $36.8M - FTE Networks announced that it has been awarded approximately $36.8 million in new projects in May of 2018, bringing the Company's year-to-date total to approximately $197.8 million. The new contract awards cover a variety of projects, including a $26 million project for one of the 50 largest law firms in the world.

08:40 EDT Amyris signs UCP in Porto/AICEP consortium project agreement valued at $50M - Amyris announced that it has executed an agreement for a significant project consortium in Europe with the Universidade Catolica Portuguesa Porto Campus and AICEP Portugal Global. UCP is a university system, including the leading biotech school in Portugal, and operates 15 research centers. AICEP is an independent public entity of the Government of Portugal, focused in encouraging the best foreign companies to invest in Portugal. Today's announcement is a follow up to the announcement Amyris made on January 17 regarding grants in both Europe and with the National Institute of Health, with the grant in Europe tied to the project consortium announced today. The project goals entail collaboration in advancing the use of Amyris's leading technology platform and capabilities to, among other things: Explore means of using waste from fermentation to develop new products and applications from co-products. This valorization of co-products is expected to significantly reduce production cost and create additional sustainability in the production process. Advance Amyris's artificial intelligence and Informatics platform. This includes providing a cloud-based interface whereby universities and companies could utilize aspects of the company's advanced platform to design genes for potential molecule development. Amyris would be positioned to take development and testing of marketable target molecules to the next level and commercial scale. The overall multi-year project is valued up to approximately $50M including investment funding and incentives allotted across the parties involved. Amyris believes this is the largest biotechnology grant ever awarded in Portugal and one of the largest ever approved by the AICEP for commercial applications. Amyris has sole responsibility for commercialization and majority ownership of all IP generated.

08:38 EDT Hertz Italy includes Maserati models in its collection - Hertz Europe announced that Hertz Italy has added highly sought after Maserati vehicles to its "Selezione Italia". Selezione Italia now features the Maserati Quattroporte, Maserati Ghibli and Maserati Levante.

08:37 EDT FDA grants rare pediatric disease desgination to Albireo Pharma's A4250 - Albireo Pharma announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted rare pediatric disease designation to lead product candidate A4250, an ileal bile acid transporter inhibitor, for the treatment of progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis, a rare and life-threatening liver disease with no approved pharmacologic treatment option. Albireo recently announced the enrollment of the first patient in PEDFIC-1, a single, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 clinical trial designed to evaluate A4250 in 60 patients aged 6 months to 18 years with PFIC who have elevated serum bile acid levels and pruritus. If successful, data from the Phase 3 trial and an open-label extension study are expected to form the basis of the drug approval applications for A4250 in the U.S. and E.U. for the treatment of patients with PFIC. The FDA grants rare pediatric disease designation for diseases with serious or life-threatening manifestations that primarily affect people aged from birth to 18 years, and that affect fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S. Under the FDA's Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher program, a sponsor who receives an approval of a new drug application or biologics license application for a product for the prevention or treatment of a rare pediatric disease may be eligible for a voucher, which can be redeemed to obtain priority review for any subsequent marketing application, and may be sold or transferred. In addition to the rare pediatric disease designation, A4250 received orphan drug designation for PFIC in the U.S. and E.U. in 2012, and Albireo was granted access in 2016 to the EMA's PRIority MEdicines program for the treatment of PFIC.

08:36 EDT Iteris receives $3.2M sub-contract agreement from Lucent - Iteris announced that it has been awarded a $3.2M sub-contract agreement to provide operations services and staff to the Florida Department of Transportation, or FDOT, District 7 regional traffic management center, or RTMC, in Tampa, Florida, representing an expansion of Iteris' operations services business in a key geographic market. Under the terms of the sub-contract, with Lucent , Iteris will supply traffic management center operations services and staff for a minimum of five years. The program supports FDOT's commitment to a "proactive operations culture," which takes a more purposeful approach to seeking and anticipating traffic-related issues with the goal of improving road safety and efficiency for travelers. Tasks may also include integrating future I-75 managed lanes to the RTMC, co-management of arterial and freeway operations, and design and construction oversight of the new operator workstations' floor layout.

08:35 EDT Hebron Technology to expand into a provider in the healthcare field - Hebron Technology announced its strategic business development plan, designed to allow the company to expand from being a pharmaceutical production equipment and process pipeline provider into an integrated service provider in the healthcare field. As previously disclosed, on March 10 Hebron acquired 49% of Xuzhou Weijia Biotechnology for R&D, sales of health foods, nutritional supplements, and other health related products, and access to distribution channels and relationships with major pharmaceutical and health care related product manufacturers. In addition, as part of its growth plan, management of the Company plans to introduce advanced medical equipment and medical technology as well as invest in healthcare related upstream and downstream companies.

08:34 EDT Northwest Bancshares to acquire and Donegal Financial Services for $85M - Northwest Bancshares and Donegal Financial Services announced the signing of a definitive agreement pursuant to which Northwest will acquire DFSC in a cash and stock transaction for total consideration valued at $85M. In addition to the $85M deal consideration, given DFSC's substantial capital position, DFSC will pay a dividend of approximately $30M to its two shareholders, Donegal Group and Donegal Mutual Insurance Company, immediately prior to the closing of the merger. Northwest's presence in Lancaster County will increase from six to 16 offices, while deposits will increase to $640M from $150M, elevating Northwest to the sixth highest market share in the county. It is anticipated that four of the branches of the combined entity will be consolidated with nearby offices. It is also expected that this acquisition, combined with Northwest's anticipated organic growth in 2018, will result in the company crossing the $10B asset threshold in 2019. When the transaction is consummated, the combination of the two banking companies will create an institution that provides banking services through 182 branch locations and 297 ATMs in three states. Under the terms of the agreement, payment will be 50% cash and 50% stock, with the stock portion consisting of a fixed exchange of 137.84 Northwest shares for each of DFSC's 17,864 outstanding shares. The exchange ratio was based upon the average per share closing price of Northwest's stock for the ten trading days ended June 4, 2018, which was $17.26. The agreement provides that the exchange ratio will switch to a floating basis if the value of Northwest's shares during a period ending the fifth trading day prior to closing is less than $15.53 or greater than $18.99, in an effort to provide protection to both parties such that the total purchase price shall not be less than $80.75M or more than $89.25M. Northwest also has the right to alter the mix of cash and stock to be received if the value of Northwest's shares during the calculation period is less than $15.53. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019. The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to Northwest's earnings, excluding one-time costs. Upon achieving anticipated annual cost savings of approximately 40% of DFSC's expenses, annual earnings are projected to increase approximately $0.05 per share beginning in 2019, excluding merger-related expenses. Using those cost savings assumptions, the purchase price represents approximately 10.6 times the earnings contributed by the acquisition. Based on DFSC's actual earnings (annualized) for the quarter ending March 31, 2018, the purchase price equates to 16.2 times earnings. Taking into consideration the aforementioned dividend payment, the purchase price represents 172% of DFSC's tangible book value as of March 31, 2018. The tangible book value per share dilution is estimated to be less than 3% with an estimated earn back period of less than 4 years. The acquisition is expected to increase Northwest's return on average common equity from approximately 8.4% to approximately 8.7% in the first year of combined operations.

08:32 EDT Planet Fitness appoints Ray Miolla as Chief Development Officer - Planet Fitness (PLNT) announced the appointment of Ray Miolla as chief development officer. Miolla will be responsible for driving strategic initiatives to fuel Planet Fitness' overall system-wide growth, overseeing market analysis, planning and development, real estate, construction and design, and franchise sales. Miolla joins Planet Fitness with over 20 years of real estate and development experience in domestic and international franchising from global brands like Gap, Burger King and Jamba Juice. Most recently, he served as Senior Vice President, Global Real Estate, Store Development and Franchise Services at Gap (GPS).

08:19 EDT VivoPower announces signed PPA, interconnection agreement - VivoPower announced the completion of all major development milestones, including an executed power purchase agreement, or PPA, and interconnection agreement, as well as land lease and all permits for a 28 MWdc solar project in Allendale County, South Carolina. Sales under the PPA will start upon the facility reaching commercial operation. VivoPower is currently evaluating the substantial interest from potential financing parties for current and future funding of projects.

08:17 EDT Amdocs announces extended partnership with Softrax - Vindicia, an Amdocs company announced an expanded partnership and product integration with Softrax. The inclusion of Softrax's automated revenue recognition software into Vindicia's subscription business platform and Amdocs digital monetization suite, enhances and simplifies accounting operations, making both complex manual manipulations and expensive enterprise resource planning customizations a thing of the past. By combining Softrax's revenue recognition software and Vindicia's subscription business platform with Amdocs digital monetization suite, companies will be able to bring their innovative products to the market quickly and launch any-play bundles of products and services with flexible product and pricing parameters, all while the client focuses on business goals.

08:12 EDT Tyme Technologies released detailed data from FHS and SM-88 programs - Tyme Technologies release detailed patient data and analyses from both the First Human Study, or FHS, and Compassionate Use Program of SM-88 in metastatic cancer patients following the completion of review of all available data by blinded radiologists. The First Human Study was conducted in 2012, and enrolled thirty metastatic cancer patients who had failed or refused all approved/available therapies. The analyses focused on tumor response rates (RECIST 1.1 in solid tumors) and overall survival (OS) in several important subgroups. Some of the key findings from these analyses were: There were confirmed tumor responses observed in 15 different cancer types across the two programs: the objective response rate (ORR; CR+PR) in the FHS and Compassionate use program were 33% and 45%, respectively; a majority of PRs and CRs occurred in patients receiving monotherapy SM-88; the ORR in all breast cancer patients was 44%, and appeared consistent across patients with different hormonal status, including triple-negative breast cancer where two of five patients experienced a response; patients with stable disease had a median OS of 43 months, suggesting to us that RECIST 1.1 may not be the only predictor of clinical benefit with SM-88.

08:08 EDT Lockheed Martin Canada awarded three-year extension to ISS Navy contract - Lockheed Martin Canada has been awarded a three-year extension to its In-Service Support contract for the Royal Canadian Navy's 12 Halifax Class Frigates. The Lockheed Martin Canada In-Service Support team has provided uninterrupted support to the Halifax Class Combat System, Command and Control System and Trainers for 25 years. The existing In-Service Support contract commenced in November 2008 with the award of the Halifax Class Modernization project. The In-Service support contract also included support of the legacy Halifax Class system prior to ships entering the shipyard for modernization.

08:08 EDT NV5 Global awarded $3M commissioning contract for Texas Facilities Commission - NV5 Global announced that is has been selected by the Texas Facilities Commission, or TFC, to provide professional commissioning services on the Texas Capital Complex, Phase 1 in Austin. The project is broken into multiple packages and will include a central utility plant expansion and new utility tunnel, two new office buildings with five levels of underground parking, and the Texas Mall, which will serve as the northern gateway to the Texas Capitol Complex. NV5 fees for this project will be approximately $3 million over five years.

08:06 EDT OncoMed doses first patient in Phase 1b portion of anti-TIGIT clinical trial - OncoMed Pharmaceuticals announced that the first patient has been dosed in the company's Phase 1b portion of the Phase 1a/1b clinical trial of anti-TIGIT, or OMP-313M32, in combination with anti-PD1. TIGIT, or T-cell immunoreceptor with Ig and ITIM domains, is a next generation checkpoint receptor, and upon activation by the PVR ligand, a protein broadly expressed on tumor cells, it blocks T-cell activation. OncoMed's anti-TIGIT candidate is an IgG1 monoclonal antibody checkpoint inhibitor which binds to the human TIGIT receptor on T-cells with a goal of improving the activation and effectiveness of T-cell and NK cell tumor-killing activity.

08:05 EDT Protalex says mouse study supports advancement of PRTX-100 into 3rd indication - Protalex announced preliminary findings that its lead drug candidate PRTX-100 reduced disease activity in a second, confirmatory mouse study of myasthenia gravis, an autoimmune disorder mediated by anti-self antibodies that react with the neuromuscular junction. The study was conducted by the Laboratory for Myasthenia Gravis Research at George Washington University. "We are encouraged by the data readout on our second confirmatory preclinical study for PRTX-100 in MG and hope to use it to advance our path to clinical development in this indication...It is our hope to advance PRTX-100 in MG, with the goal of offering a new treatment option. We expect a detailed analysis of the final study results will be presented for scientific presentation later this summer and subsequently for publication," said Michelle Catalina, Preclinical Director of Protalex.

08:05 EDT Aevi Genomics Medicine to increase sample size in Phase 2 Ascend clinical trial - Aevi Genomic Medicine announced that it will increase the sample size for Part A of its Phase 2 ASCEND clinical trial, which is enrolling a mGluR mutation positive genetic subset of pediatric and adolescent patients with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD, to confirm response to AEVI-001 in these patients. The decision to increase the sample size was made according to the protocol defined sample size re-estimatation design, which allows an adjustment in the sample size after an interim analysis of the placebo arm to ensure the trial is appropriately powered. As a result of the interim analysis performed by an independent unblinded statistician, the sample size will be increased from 42 to 64 patients.

08:03 EDT Omnicell announces results from STOMPP clinical study - Omnicell announced the results of the STOMPP clinical study. This randomized controlled trial compares the use of adherence medication packaging and medication therapy management, or MTM,services to the use of traditional pill bottles. The results indicate a clear improvement in clinical outcomes and adherence rates when using multimed blister card packaging and MTM services. In the STOMPP study, patients were randomly assigned to one of four groups based on whether they received their medications dispensed in vials vs. multimed blister packaging, and whether or not they received pharmacist-provided MTM. While improvements with use of multimed packaging and MTM services were proven individually and in combination, study participants who received multimed blister cards had the most marked change in adherence scores when compared to pill bottle groups, achieving adherence scores greater than 45% above baseline.

08:03 EDT MagneGas generates $1.04M in sales for May - MagneGas Corporation announced that the company generated sales of $1.04M for the month of May, surpassing last year's sales during that same time by 182% year-over-year The strong growth was largely due to strong results in San Diego and Sacramento, where the Company has been actively expanding the sales team and continues to promote MagneGas2 as a differentiating product for accelerated market expansion. "We are very pleased to see continued strong results across our three major markets," said CEO Ermanno Santilli. "California in particular has experienced strong sales results recently. MagneGas' sales in the San Diego market have experienced 49% revenue growth from January, following the acquisition and absorption of San Diego-based Complete Welding, to May, which was Complete Welding's best month under MagneGas management to date. Our highly-accretive acquisition strategy has already lent new networks of clients and strengthening existing relationships. For example, we are expanding our existing relationships around the Coronado Bay industrial complex in particular. We are also seeing good sales results in Sacramento driven primarily by an expanding our customer base among the region's agricultural companies. We firmly believe that moving into the California and Texas markets will give us access to a very robust target market for MagneGas2, the world's only renewable metal cutting fuel. We are committed to expanding in these markets to become an innovation leader in the industrial gas industry."

08:02 EDT FICO awarded seven patents related to AI, fraud and advanced analytics - FICO has been awarded seven new patents related to fraud, artificial intelligence, or AI, and advanced analytics. In total, FICO currently holds 188 US and foreign patents, and has 89 pending patent applications. Three of the patents awarded are innovations in the FICO Falcon Platform, which uses machine learning to detect transactional fraud by providing deep behavioral analytic insight into transaction activity. The Falcon Platform is the world's most intelligent payment fraud detection solution, protecting more than 2.6 billion cards worldwide.

07:38 EDT Howard Hughes acquires property in Lower Manhattan for $180M - The Howard Hughes announced that it has acquired the property at 250 Water Street in Lower Manhattan from Peck Slip Associates, an entity controlled by the Milstein family. The one-acre site, currently used as a parking lot, encompasses a full city block bounded by Peck Slip, Pearl Street, Water Street, and Beekman Street. The company purchased the site for $180M plus closing costs, consisting of an initial payment of $53 million and a mortgage for the balance. The financing has an initial interest-free term of six months, with three six-month extension options at a rate of 6% per annum. The second and third extension options each require a $30M paydown. The acquisition is in addition to the approximately 450,000 square feet of property and a joint venture interest in a 66-room Mr. C hotel that together span several city blocks and comprise The Howard Hughes Corporation's interest in the Seaport District.

07:34 EDT Moleculin Biotech, Jagiellonian University enter agreement for WP1732 - Moleculin Biotech announced that it has entered into an agreement with the Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland, for the development of its STAT3 inhibitor, WP1732, for the treatment of ocular tumors. "Today there are very limited options for the treatment of ocular tumors," said CEO Walter Klemp. "And, these tumors are believed to involve a significant upregulation of the activated form of STAT3. It is important to note that, in addition to the ability of WP1732 to inhibit the proliferation and survival of cancer cells in preclinical studies, as STAT3 inhibitor, it is designed to potently block cancer stem cells and induce immune system function to overcome tumor-induced immune tolerance. This could make WP1732 an ideal candidate for targeting these unique and highly metastatic tumors. We remain committed to targeting accelerated approval pathways for WP1732 by focusing on significant unmet needs. This includes niche indications like ocular tumors and AML, as well as high-profile indications like pancreatic cancer."

07:32 EDT Idera Pharmaceuticals Phase 2 trial of IMO-8400 did not meet primary endpoint - Idera Pharmaceutical announced topline results from the Phase 2 clinical trial of IMO-8400 in adult patients with dermatomyositis. The objective of the multi-center, global, Phase 2, randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled trial was to assess the efficacy, safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, disease-specific autoantibodies and immunogenicity of IMO-8400 in adult patients with dermatomyositis. The primary objective of the trial was to assess the change from baseline in the Cutaneous Dermatomyositis Disease Area and Severity Index activity score, an outcome measure of skin disease severity, versus placebo. 30 eligible subjects were randomized to 1 of 3 treatment groups to receive once weekly subcutaneous injections of 0.6 or 1.8 mg/kg of IMO-8400 or placebo for up to 24 weeks. The mean CDASI activity score was in the severe range in all three cohorts despite background treatment with immunosuppressive drugs and/or systemic corticosteroid drugs in 17 of the 30 subjects. The trial did not meet its primary endpoint of statistically significant change from baseline in the CDASI activity score versus placebo. The company would like to recognize the efforts of the investigators from this trial and importantly the patients who entered this trial in the hope that IMO-8400 may have been an effective treatment for their disease.

07:15 EDT Galmed reports 52-week results from Phase 2b ARREST study - Galmed announced top-line, 52-week results from the global Phase 2b ARREST study. In the ARREST study, patients underwent MRS and biopsy at baseline and week 52, which were centrally read, blinded to treatment allocation. The primary endpoint of the study was the change from baseline to end of study in liver triglycerides ratio as measured by MRS (Aramchol 600mg vs. placebo). Secondary endpoints, demonstrated through biopsy, included fibrosis improvement by at least one stage or more without worsening of NASH (defined by an increase of inflammation and or ballooning) and NASH resolution (defined by ballooning score 0 and inflammation score 0-1 at termination) without worsening of fibrosis. Other secondary endpoints included improvement (2 points or more) in NASH activity index, as measured by NAS or SAF, without worsening fibrosis and change in baseline to week 52/termination in ALT. 247 patients with biopsy-proven NASH who were overweight or obese and had pre-diabetes or type II diabetes mellitus were randomized in a ratio of 2:2:1 (600mg, 400mg and placebo). Baseline histology of enrolled patients demonstrated a population with advanced disease, with 60% having stage 2 and 3 fibrosis and 70% having NASgreater than or equal to5 at baseline. Results from the study showed a statistically significant reduction in liver fat by MRS with Aramchol 400mg vs. placebo and not with 600mg. Further, analysis of MRS responders defined by a reduction of greater than or equal to5% absolute change from baseline demonstrated a clinically and statistically significant effect of Aramchol 600mg vs placebo. Results for the two biopsy endpoints, which may currently constitute a primary endpoint for a Phase 3 trial to support an FDA marketing application, demonstrated the following: (i) significantly more patients treated with Aramchol 600mg vs. placebo achieved NASH resolution without worsening of fibrosis (16.7% vs. 5.0%; p=0.0514) and NASH resolution; and (ii) a higher proportion of patients showed at least one-point improvement in fibrosis score without worsening of NASH in Aramchol 600mg vs. placebo. Statistically significant reductions in live enzymes alanine transaminase and aspartate transaminase were demonstrated in both Aramchol arms vs. placebo, respectively. Secondary endpoints based on NAS and SAF activity score, greater than or equal to 2 points improvement, show a higher proportion of patients with improvement in the Aramchol arms. At 52 weeks of treatment, Aramchol continues to show a favorable safety and tolerability profile. Serious Adverse Events were reported in 12.5%, 8.9% and 9.2% of patients in placebo, Aramchol 400mg and 600mg arms, respectively. No clustering of event type or atypical events for the studied population were reported in either Aramchol arms. Early terminations due to adverse events occurred in 4.2%, 3.0% and 4.1% in placebo, Aramchol 400mg and 600mg arms, respectively.

07:13 EDT Acacia to resume business relationship with ZTE only when permitted - Acacia Communications commented on recent announcements regarding a settlement agreement between the U.S. Department of Commerce and Zhongxing Telecommunications Equipment, or ZTE, of Shenzhen, China and ZTE Kangxun Telecommunications, or ZTE Kangxun, of Hi-New Shenzhen, China that may ultimately allow Acacia to resume its business relationship with ZTE. Unless and until the U.S. Department of Commerce implements the settlement by expressly removing ZTE from the Denied Persons List, the timing of which is uncertain, Acacia will continue its suspension of all affected transactions. Acacia has no knowledge about the impact of the ban on ZTE and its broader supply chain or the amount and timing of any demand that ZTE may have for Acacia products. If, at any time, Acacia determines that it is permitted to resume its business relationship with ZTE, it will do so only in full compliance with applicable rules and regulations published by the U.S. Department of Commerce in the Federal Register. Acacia is also reaffirming the guidance it announced on May 18 with respect to the Q2.

07:09 EDT CytoSorbents approved to begin production of CytoSorb in New Jersey facility - CytoSorbents announced receipt of regulatory approval to begin production of CytoSorb in its new manufacturing facility in Monmouth Junction, New Jersey, under the company's ISO 13485:2003 certificate.

07:08 EDT Pfizer extends donation of Zithromax to ITI through 2025 - Pfizer announced it will extend its donation of the antibiotic Zithromax to the International Trachoma Initiative, or ITI, through 2025, building on the company's 20-years of work to help eliminate the world's leading infectious cause of blindness. Approximately 163M people are at risk of developing the disease and this recommitment ensures that Pfizer, through the International Trachoma Initiative, will continue to provide trachoma endemic countries with donated antibiotics that are a critical component of the global strategy to eliminate this neglected tropical disease. Pfizer's continued donation program will help accelerate significant progress made in the last decade to reduce trachoma through increased donations, resulting in a roughly 50% decrease in the number of people at risk of trachoma worldwide today compared to 2011.

07:06 EDT Asterias doses first patient in first-in-human Phase 1 trial of AST-VAC2 in UK - Asterias Biotherapeutics announced enrollment and dosing of the first subject in the first-in-human Phase 1 clinical trial of AST-VAC2 in the United Kingdom. This initial clinical trial, which is being sponsored, managed and funded by Cancer Research UK, will examine the safety and tolerability of AST-VAC2 in non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC, as the study's primary endpoints. Secondary and tertiary endpoints of the study include evaluations of the immunogenicity of AST-VAC2 in NSCLC.

07:05 EDT Arcus Biosciences promotes Jennifer Jarrett to COO - Arcus Biosciences announced the promotion of Jennifer Jarrett from CBO and CFO to COO. In this new role, Jarrett will be responsible for several key areas, including finance, investor relations, corporate communications, business and corporate development, strategic planning and human resources. Jarrett will also continue to be the company's CFO. Jarrett joined Arcus in 2017 and has over 20 years of experience in biotechnology. Prior to joining Arcus, Jarrett was the CCFO of Medivation, through its acquisition; there, she was responsible for finance and accounting, investor relations, business development and information technology.

07:03 EDT DexCom receives CE Mark for G6 glucose monitoring system - Dexcom announced that the company has received CE Mark for its Dexcom G6 System for people with diabetes ages two years and up. The groundbreaking Dexcom G6 will be available in the U.K. and Ireland this month and is expected to be introduced into other European countries later this year. Furthermore, with the Dexcom G6 app, users can share their glucose information with up to five people.

07:02 EDT ProQR Therapeutics receives up to $5M in partnership to develop QR-313 - ProQR Therapeutics announced a collaboration with nonprofit organizations EB Research Partnership and EB Medical Research Foundation to develop QR-313 for patients with dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa caused by mutations in exon 73 of the COL7A1 gene. Under the agreement, EBRP and EBMRF will provide up to approximately $5M in matching funding to ProQR under a venture philanthropy model, to co-fund the clinical development of QR-313. DEB is a rare debilitating skin disease caused by the absence of a protein called collagen type VII. Symptoms are present from birth and include easy blistering of the skin, poorly healing wounds, skin infections and, in adulthood, some patients develop very aggressive forms of skin cancer. There are currently no approved treatment options for DEB. The WINGS trial, a first-in-human Phase 1/2 clinical trial of QR-313 in patients with DEB, is expected to initiate enrollment of patients in the first half of 2018. The trial is expected to report interim proof of mechanism results later this year, with full results expected in 2019.

06:52 EDT Land's End up 6.4% to $25.00 after Q1 results

06:49 EDT Land's End CEO: 'We are pleased to be starting off the year on a strong note' - Jerome Griffith, CEO and President, stated, "We are pleased to be starting off the year on a strong note. Our first quarter results represent the fourth straight quarter of top line growth and third quarter of profitability growth, demonstrating the continued progress we have made across our strategic initiatives. We saw excellent growth in our uniform business with the successful launch of our Delta Airline business." Griffith continued, "Looking ahead, data analytics will remain the driving force behind everything we do as a customer-centric organization. As we further refine our product assortment, advance our digitally-driven efforts, enhance our distribution network, and further elevate our infrastructure to support the business, we remain well positioned to achieve our long-term objectives."

06:47 EDT Land's End reports inventory $304.5M as of May 4 - Compared to $309.9M as of April 28, 2017.

06:32 EDT Sage Therapeutics announces pivotal Phase 3 trial for SAGE-217 - Sage Therapeutics announced its expedited development plan for SAGE-217 following a Breakthrough Therapy meeting with the FDA. This development plan is intended to support a potential filing for approval of SAGE-217 in the U.S. for the treatment of major depressive disorder, or MDD, and postpartum depression, or PPD. The expedited development plan for SAGE-217 includes a single additional placebo-controlled Phase 3 pivotal trial in patients with MDD and the ongoing placebo-controlled trial in women with PPD, now designated a pivotal trial. Sage plans to initiate the placebo-controlled Phase 3 trial in MDD during the second half of 2018. F

06:10 EDT ASP FML Holdings reports 7.2% passive stake in Covia

06:03 EDT DAVIDsTEA urges shareholders to vote Yellow Proxy - DAVIDsTEA expressed its appreciation for the support it has received from shareholders and customers in advance of the company's upcoming Annual General Meeting. DAVIDsTEA will host its Annual General Meeting at 9:30 a.m. ET on Thursday, June 14 in Montreal, QC. Joel Silver, President and CEO of DAVIDsTEA, said, "We are grateful for the votes on management's yellow proxy and urge shareholders to vote today if they have not already voted on the yellow proxy. We are down to the wire and any shareholders who need help voting should contact Laurel Hill at 1-877-452-7184. Every vote counts." DAVIDsTEA urges shareholders, no matter how many shares they own, to vote the YELLOW Proxy or Voting Information Form today to support the DAVIDsTEA director nominees.

06:02 EDT AbCellera announces completion of Phase 1 of collaboration with Denali - AbCellera Biologics announced the successful completion of the first phase of its collaboration with Denali Therapeutics. Under the collaboration, AbCellera applied its single-cell screening technology to discover hundreds of novel monoclonal antibodies with specific binding properties against a genetically-validated target for neurodegenerative disease.

05:41 EDT Amarin enters collaboration with Mochida - Amarin announced that it has entered into a multi-faceted collaboration with Mochida Pharmaceutical. The collaboration is focused on the development and commercialization of early-stage drug products and indications based on the omega-3 acid, EPA. Amarin and Mochida are recognized worldwide as the leading, innovation-driven companies committed to the research and development of EPA-based drug products to treat the needs of tens of millions of patients who are at-risk of cardiovascular disease. Amarin developed and markets Vascepa capsules in the United States, the first and only FDA-approved, prescription pure EPA drug product. Vascepa is indicated as an adjunct to diet to reduce triglyceride levels in adult patients with severe hypertriglyceridemia. Amarin's clinical development program for Vascepa includes the REDUCE-IT cardiovascular outcomes study, an 8,175-patient study commenced in 2011.1 REDUCE-IT is the first multinational cardiovascular outcomes study evaluating the effect of prescription pure EPA therapy, or any triglyceride lowering therapy, as an add-on to statins in patients with high cardiovascular risk who, despite stable statin therapy, have elevated triglyceride levels. Amarin expects to announce top-line results of this landmark study before the end of Q3 2018. Mochida is an integrated Japanese pharmaceutical company that developed and markets a prescription pure EPA drug product, Epadel, as a treatment for hyperlipidemia and arteriosclerosis obliterans in Japan. Mochida sponsored and successfully completed a cardiovascular outcomes trial with Epadel in Japan, JELIS. JELIS was the world's first large-scale randomized controlled cardiovascular outcomes trial of a prescription pure EPA drug product and showed beneficial effects of the drug in further reducing cardiovascular events in statin-treated, hypercholesterolemic Japanese patients.

05:18 EDT Eli Lilly: IDMC says lanabecestat is unlikely to meet primary endpoints - Eli Lilly (LLY) and AstraZeneca (AZN) are discontinuing the global Phase 3 clinical trials of lanabecestat, an oral beta secretase cleaving enzyme, or BACE, inhibitor, for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The decision is based on recommendations by an independent data monitoring committee, or IDMC, which concluded that both the AMARANTH trial, in early Alzheimer's disease, and the DAYBREAK-ALZ trial, in mild Alzheimer's disease dementia, were not likely to meet their primary endpoints upon completion and therefore should be stopped for futility. As a result of this decision, the related AMARANTH extension trial will also be discontinued. "The complexity of Alzheimer's disease poses one of the most difficult medical challenges of our time, and we are deeply disappointed for the millions suffering from this devastating disease," said Daniel Skovronsky, M.D., Ph.D., president of Lilly Research Labs. "We are grateful for the contributions of the study participants and their families and encourage them to consider other Alzheimer's disease clinical trials. Lilly remains dedicated to Alzheimer's disease research as we have been for the last three decades. We won't give up on finding a solution for Alzheimer's patients." The IDMC recommendation to stop the studies was not based on safety concerns. The Lilly and AstraZeneca BACE Alliance for lanabecestat remains in place, and the companies will now work with the clinical trial sites involved to implement the discontinuations. Lilly does not anticipate significant costs associated with this decision and is reaffirming both its financial guidance for 2018 and its mid-term guidance for the remainder of this decade.

05:09 EDT Amazon expands grocery delivery from Whole Foods Market - Amazon and Whole Foods Market launched free two-hour delivery of natural and organic products from Whole Foods Market through Prime Now in Baltimore, Boston, Philadelphia and Richmond. Starting today, Prime members in those cities can shop through Prime Now for bestselling items including fresh produce, high-quality meat and seafood, everyday staples and other locally sourced items from Whole Foods Market. The service launched earlier this year with plans for continued expansion across the U.S. throughout 2018. Delivery from Whole Foods Market through Prime Now is available daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.