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

20:01 EDT Johnson & Johnson responds to $4.69B verdict against company - The company states: "Johnson & Johnson is deeply disappointed in the verdict, which was the product of a fundamentally unfair process that allowed plaintiffs to present a group of 22 women, most of whom had no connection to Missouri, in a single case all alleging that they developed ovarian cancer. The result of the verdict, which awarded the exact same amounts to all plaintiffs irrespective of their individual facts, and differences in applicable law, reflects that the evidence in the case was simply overwhelmed by the prejudice of this type of proceeding. Johnson & Johnson remains confident that its products do not contain asbestos and do not cause ovarian cancer and intends to pursue all available appellate remedies. Every verdict against Johnson & Johnson in this court that has gone through the appeals process has been reversed and the multiple errors present in this trial were worse than those in the prior trials which have been reversed."

19:27 EDT Johnson & Johnson confirmed subject to $4.69B verdict in talk-cancer link case - A jury has awarded $4.69 billion to 22 women and their families who alleged that decades of daily use of Johnson & Johnson's asbestos-laden talcum powder products caused their ovarian cancer. The six-man, six-woman jury in Judge Rex M. Burlison's 22nd Judicial Circuit Court in St. Louis heard six weeks of testimony and deliberated eight hours before returning the verdict. The jury award includes $550M in compensatory damages and $4.14B in punitive damages against the company. While there have been other trials in which juries have determined that talc products contained asbestos and caused mesothelioma cancer, this case marks the first talc/asbestos-induced ovarian cancer verdict in the United States. Jurors heard evidence that Johnson & Johnson's Baby Powder and Shower to Shower products have been laced with asbestos for decades, in spite of the representations J&J made to the FDA and others. Mark Lanier, lead trial counsel for the women and their families, introduced evidence from scientific experts to explain how asbestos, a well-known carcinogen, is intermingled with the mineral talc. Talc is the primary ingredient in Johnson's Baby Powder and Shower to Shower products. Medical experts testified that microscopic asbestos fibers enter the body when talcum powder is inhaled or applied to the genital area. Asbestos fibers and talc particles were found in the ovarian tissues of many of the women. Many of the women took the stand at trial to talk about their use of the products and how ovarian cancer affected their quality of life. Six of the plaintiffs have died and were represented at trial by husbands and family members.

19:01 EDT Apple launches new $300M clean energy fund in China - Apple announced a new first-of-its-kind investment fund in China to connect suppliers with renewable energy sources. As part of Apple's commitment to address climate change and increase the use of renewable energy within its supply chain, 10 initial suppliers and Apple will jointly invest nearly $300M over the next four years into the China Clean Energy Fund. The fund will invest in and develop clean energy projects totaling more than 1 gigawatt of renewable energy in China, the equivalent of powering nearly 1M homes.

18:27 EDT Golden Minerals discovers additional high-grade veins at Santa Maria - Golden Minerals announced that surface mapping and sampling have identified the eastern extension to the Santa Maria vein system and discovered additional high-grade veins on the adjacent Cervantes property that was acquired by Golden Minerals in August 2017. The veins were discovered during a project-wide mapping and sampling program conducted during 2017 and 2018 in which a total of 542 samples were collected, and this program has identified several high-grade silver-gold and base metal veins located outside of the current resource area as defined in the March 30, 2017 Preliminary Economic Assessment and NI 43-101 Technical Report.

18:08 EDT Parker Drilling implements 1-for-15 reverse stock split - Parker Drilling announced that its board has voted to implement a previously-approved reverse stock split and adopt a short-term shareholder rights plan. The reverse stock split at a ratio of 1 for 15 will be effective when the markets open on July 27, 2018, at which time the Company's common stock will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis under the existing trading symbol "PKD." The reverse stock split will increase the market price per share of the Company's common stock, bringing the Company into compliance with the listing requirements of the New York Stock Exchange. The new CUSIP number for the common stock following the reverse stock split will be 701081 408. The Company's shareholders previously approved the reverse stock split at the Annual Shareholders' Meeting on May 10, 2018. As a result of the reverse stock split, every 15 pre-split shares of common stock outstanding will automatically combine into one new share of common stock.

17:54 EDT SPDR Gold Trust holdings fall to 795.19MT from 799.02MT - This is the lowest level of holdings since August 15th, 2017.

17:43 EDT Twitter CEO Dorsey loses 200,000 followers - Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey said in a tweet that he has lost 200,00 followers. The move comes as the company said it will be removing locked Twitter accounts from follower counts across profiles globally. Reference Link

17:32 EDT Mammoth Energy extends Gulfport Energy contract for pressure pumping services - Mammoth Energy Services (TUSK) announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Stingray Pressure Pumping, LLC , and Gulfport Energy Corporation (GPOR) have extended the term of their existing contract under which Stingray provides pressure pumping services to Gulfport to December 31, 2021 - an additional 39 months beyond the original September 30, 2018 termination date. The service area of the contract was also expanded to include both Ohio and Oklahoma and certain suspension rights were included.

17:27 EDT Buenaventura reports Q2 Orcopampa gold production 35,694 ounces - Reports Q2 Tambomayo gold production 31,173 ounces.

17:21 EDT Helius Medical names Jennifer Laux Chief Commercialization Officer - Helius Medica (HSDT) announced the appointment of Jennifer Laux as Chief Commercialization Officer, or CCO, effective July 9. Laux brings extensive experience in leading successful global commercialization strategies and new product launches. Prior to joining Helius, Laux was VP at Inovio (INO) where she headed commercial, launch, and new product strategy and was instrumental in prioritizing the portfolio of commercial assets and developing the go-to-market strategy for the company's lead asset.

17:15 EDT McDonald's falls after Illinois DPH probes salads and cyclosporiasis link - The Illinois Department of Public Health has received confirmation of approximately 90 cases of cyclosporiasis, an intestinal illness caused by the microscopic Cyclospora parasite. Cases have been reported in counties across Illinois with people becoming ill starting in mid-May. The initial investigation indicates a link to consumption of McDonald's salads produced for McDonald's restaurants. Shares of McDonald's are down 1.5% or $2.34 to $156.78 in after-hours trading.

17:11 EDT SSR Mining reports Q2 production results - SSR Mining reports Q2 operating results at its three mines. The Marigold mine produced 49,436 ounces of gold, an increase of 15% compared to Q1, the company stacked a record 7.9 million tons of ore at an increased grade of 0.42 g/t. Gold sales totaled 46,644 for the quarter, reflecting an increase in bullion inventory. Expects total material mined and gold production to increase during the second half of 2018. At Seabee, the company produced 23,582 ounces of gold, with all ore sourced from the high-grade Santoy mine. Gold sales were 20,500 ounces, lower than production as gold ounces poured at the end of Q2 will be sold in Q3. Q2 production was impacted by planned maintenance, the transition of mining activities to the high-grade Santoy mine, and a forest fire. Mill throughput is expected to increase through the second half of the year relative to Q2. Gold recovery for the quarter remained consistent at 97.3%. Puna operations produced 1.0 million ounces of silver, for a total of 1.9 million ounces of silver produced in the first half of 2018, exceeding guidance. Silver sales were 1.1 million ounces for the quarter, as concentrate inventories were further reduced. Its attributable share of silver production and sales in the second quarter were 0.7 million ounces and 0.9 million ounces, respectively. Average silver recovery in the second quarter was 64%, 6% lower than the previous quarter. No zinc sales occurred during the quarter.

17:07 EDT Arcus Biosciences saysTaiho exercises option to devlop AB928 in its areas - Arcus Biosciences announced that Taiho Pharmaceutical exercised its option under the Option and License Agreement entered into in September 2017 to obtain an exclusive development and commercialization license to the company's adenosine receptor antagonist program, which includes AB928 and back-up compounds, in Japan and certain other territories in Asia. In addition to an option exercise payment, Arcus is eligible to receive clinical and regulatory milestones totaling up to $130M as well as commercialization milestones and royalties on net sales for this program. Arcus and Taiho entered into an option and license agreement in September 2017. Taiho will provide $35M of cash payments to Arcus during the first three years of the agreement in exchange for an exclusive option, over a five-year period, to in-license the development and commercialization rights to clinical stage product candidates from Arcus's portfolio for Japan and certain other territories in Asia. Taiho is obligated to pay an option exercise payment for each option exercise of between $3M to $15M, with the amount dependent on the development stage of the applicable Arcus program for which the option is exercised. In addition, Taiho is obligated to pay to Arcus clinical, regulatory and commercialization milestones up to $275M per program as well as royalties ranging from high single digits to mid-teens on net sales in Taiho's territories.

17:05 EDT Samsung renews multi-year licensing agreement with DivX - DivX announced the renewal of a multi-year licensing agreement with Samsung. Samsung, a DivX licensee since 2003, will offer consumers the ability to enjoy DivX video files on a variety of devices. With over 1B DivX playback devices shipped worldwide from various consumer electronics brands, and over 1B downloads of DivX desktop software. Products bearing the DivX logo have undergone a testing program to ensure interoperability, smooth playback and visual quality. DivX products enable consumers to play, convert and cast high-quality video content across a range of devices and platforms.

16:59 EDT Armistice Capital reports 4.9% passive stake in Oramed

16:52 EDT Sabby Management reports 8.29% passive stake in ReShape Lifesciences

16:47 EDT Immunomedics in discussions with Italy's BSP to acquire sacituzumab govitecan - On July 6, Immunomedics entered into a letter agreement with BSP Pharmaceuticals. Pursuant to the Letter Agreement, BSP and the company will negotiate in good faith to execute and deliver a definitive agreement for the commercial supply by BSP to the company of the company's antibody-drug conjugate sacituzumab govitecan by manufacturing batches of bulk drug substance and drug product, and the company reserved capacity with BSP for the production of bulk drug substance and drug product for production in 2018, and the Company and BSP agreed upon minimum purchase and supply obligations for batches of bulk drug substance and drug product for 2018. As consideration for the Supply Activities, the Company will pay to BSP a reservation fee of EURO$ 3,407,500 within thirty days of its receipt of invoice from BSP.

16:35 EDT Clarus Corporation intends to implement 10c per share annual dividend - Warren Kanders, Clarus' Executive Chairman. "We continue to remain confident in the future of Clarus and will be opportunistic in further share repurchases through our $30 million share repurchase program, which still has approximately $14.4 million available. Further supporting our confidence, we continue to anticipate implementing an annual dividend of $0.10 per share after the filing of our second quarter results."

16:32 EDT IGT extends deal to provide INTELLIGEN for Louisiana's video gaming program - International Game Technology PLC announced that its subsidiary, IGT Global Solutions Corporation, signed a 9.5-year contract extension to provide a video gaming monitoring system upgrade for the Video Gaming Division of the Louisiana State Police's Department of Public Safety and Corrections video gaming program. The contract extension commenced on June 30, 2018. The Louisiana DPS&C has been a valued IGT system customer since 2005. Under the extension, IGT will upgrade the DPS&C's current central system to the INTELLIGEN central system that will monitor approximately 13,100 video gaming devices at more than 1,700 distributed locations in the state of Louisiana.

16:22 EDT Preferred Apartment names John Isakson as CFO - Preferred Apartment announced that the company has elected John Isakson, who currently serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Capital Officer, as Executive Vice President and CFO. John Isakson has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Capital Officer of the company since 2014. He also serves as CEO of Main Street Apartment Homes, an indirect subsidiary of the company, since its commencement of operations in 2015. Prior to his roles at the company, he was CEO of Williams Asset Management, an investment and asset management firm for a multifamily private equity fund he co-founded with John Williams, from 2006 to 2013.

16:19 EDT Terex announces $300M share repurchase program - Terex Corporation announced that its board authorized a new share repurchase program of up to $300M. The company completed its previous share repurchase program at the end of Q2.

16:17 EDT John Bean Technologies acquires FTNON - JBT Corporation announced it has purchased FTNON, a provider of equipment and solutions for the fresh produce, ready meals, and pet food industries. The purchase price is EUR32M, before customary post-closing adjustments. Privately held FTNON is headquartered in Almelo, The Netherlands.

16:17 EDT Nike names Cathleen Benko to board of directors - Nike announced that Cathleen Benko has been appointed to the company's Board of Directors. Benko, 59, is Vice Chairman and Managing Principal of Deloitte LLP.

16:16 EDT Waddell & Reed reports preliminary AUM $78.7B as of June 30 - Compared to $79.8B on May 31.

16:11 EDT Unifi to serve as Founding Sustainability Partner of Pac-12 Team Green - Unifi and the Pac-12 announced a long-term partnership, with Unifi serving as the Founding Sustainability Partner of Pac-12 Team Green and as a sponsor of the Pac-12 Sustainability Conference. As part of the partnership, Unifi will provide grant funding to all 12 of the Conference's member institutions to support sustainability initiatives and increase recycling efforts; work with the Pac-12 and Pac-12 Networks on creating custom content and media assets to feature sustainability programs and support efforts to recycle billions of plastic bottles into fiber; and will serve as an official sponsor for all Pac-12 championship events. Pac-12 Team Green is a collegiate athletics conference sustainability platform set to promote all greening efforts taking place on and around Pac-12 campuses.

16:06 EDT Manning & Napier reports preliminary AUM $22.8B as of June 30 - Which included approximately $15.6B in separately managed accounts and approximately $7.2B in mutual funds and collective investment trusts.

16:05 EDT Great Lakes Dredge announces $69.8M award - Great Lakes Dredge & Dock Corporation announced the receipt of a $69.8M award on the San Jacinto River in Houston, Texas. This is the first major Houston-area flood-control project after Hurricane Harvey and will restore a 2 mile-long stretch of the San Jacinto River to its pre-Harvey state.

16:02 EDT Insulet extends diabetes data partnership with Glooko in Europe - Insulet announced that it has partnered with Glooko(R), Inc. to connect Insulet's Omnipod System user data with Glooko+diasend, the most comprehensive diabetes data management system available, across Europe. Insulet's partnership with Glooko is further proof of its commitment to putting customers first, as it ensures Insulet can continue to be closer to the diabetes community and provide personalised support for Podders across Europe.

15:38 EDT SJW says committed to supporting CPUC's OII of Connecticut Water merger - SJW Group (SJW) said is committed to supporting the California Public Utilities Commission's decision - confirmed today by the CPUC - to issue an Order Instituting Investigation of SJW Group's merger with Connecticut Water Service, Inc. (CTWS). The OII is a fact-finding initiative by which the CPUC will determine whether the transaction is subject to its review. Robert A. Van Valer, the lead independent director of SJW Group's Board of Directors and trustee of the Roscoe Moss Jr. Revocable Trust, which is the largest stockholder of the company, said: "We will comply with the CPUC's OII and its additional request to consider the ratemaking impacts of the proposed merger as part of San Jose Water Company's current general rate case that was filed this past January and is scheduled to conclude this December. The CPUC has said it will complete the OII within the next five months, which keeps us on track to complete our proposed merger with Connecticut Water during the fourth quarter of 2018. We look forward to supporting the CPUC's review of the significant benefits we believe our transaction will provide our customers, employees, shareholders and the communities we serve by creating a combined company with scale, geographic diversity, and financial strength."

15:05 EDT Intel to acquire eASIC to expand portfolio with structured ASICs - In an opinion editorial provided by Dan McNamara of Intel, he announced that Intel plans to expand its programmable solutions portfolio to include structured ASICs by acquiring eASIC, which McNamara called "a leading structured ASICs provider headquartered in Santa Clara, California." eASIC has a "proven, 19-year success record, leading products and a world-class team, which will join Intel's Programmable Solutions Group. The addition of eASIC will help us meet customers' diverse needs of time-to-market, features, performance, cost, power and product life cycles," stated McNamara. Reference Link

15:02 EDT Vuzix CEO says smart glasses niche markets could be 'fantastic,' in 'billions' - In an exclusive interview with The Fly, Vuzix's (VUZI) CEO Paul Travers addressed Maxim analyst Brian Kinstlinger's concerns over a potential "slower ramp of smart glasses sales" and discussed the market opportunity for the company's products: "The Maxim comments come from the fact that there's not an analyst out there that understands this industry that isn't projecting billions of dollars in revenue. The question is when that curve is really starting to happen. Admittedly, Vuzix is at the front end of the curve. But it is happening. If you just look at our numbers... two years ago we had maybe $2M in revenues and last year was $5.5M, let's say, and this year is going to be a lot more. I will say that the Maxim analyst was a bit aggressive with his numbers. All of us are hoping that this happens sooner rather than later. I can only tell you that this stuff is happening. And you know you look at the analysts' projections often they get a tad over their skis when they actually think it's going to happen. But they're often not wrong that it's going to happen. And there are niche markets that I think are going to be fantastic, that will be in the billions." "Meet the Company" is The Fly's recurring series of exclusive short interviews with Executive Officers to offer a deeper look inside the company. The remainder of this interview to follow.

14:34 EDT Moody's upgrades Electronic Art's Sr. unsecured ratings to Baa1;outlook positive

13:52 EDT Vuzix CEO sees AR 'changing everything' - In an exclusive interview with The Fly, Vuzix's (VUZI) CEO Paul Travers discussed the augmented reality industry, and commented on his expectations for both the enterprise and consumer markets: "There's the enterprise side of this business and by that we mean people at work, whether you're sitting at a desk job or you're out in the field working in construction or you're picking parts out of warehouses. I don't think there's going to be a part of enterprise that ultimately doesn't get touched by augmented reality at some point. And then there's the consumer's side of the business. This is going to change everything. But because of the form factors, today we see it first starting in enterprise; and is well underway. You typically start with a thing called a pilot - I'm going to test it and see if it works. Then it graduates from a pilot into a rolled-out program. Last year, we may have had 350 pilots happening, and one or two small rollouts. Maybe five or six but they were small rollouts. In the first three or four months of this year, Vuzix's pilot count has gone up to about 700 and we are now seeing the pilots convert in a bigger way. Each successive quarter, we are seeing growing revenues up from previous quarter and a year over year jump. It's starting to accelerate. In Enterprise, we see the business accelerating now and over the next three to five years, most sectors of industry will be employing AR in some form. On the consumer side it's a bit more of a challenge. If you look like you just stepped off the Starship Enterprise with this science fiction looking stuff, we don't think it will ever happen. You've got to have the look and feel of something people will wear. That said, the other piece that has to happen is you've got to convince a consumer to deal with a completely different paradigm for how computing works. We went from computers that were switches that you threw that would set instructions to keyboards to the laptop computer today, with a mouse and keyboard, to the phone. And each one of those changes required the user to do something completely different and it took time. But when it finally happened it flew and the same thing is starting to happen in the consumer space today. Look at Google Maps for example. People now take their phone, type the address but they hold the phone up to look through the back of the phone. The phone is pointing down the street and there are street signs that are not real, there's an arrow telling you which way to go and you can even get a virtual dot to help you get to your location. That is a completely new paradigm for using a computer. There are now, I think, 300M phones that do this trend of new experience. So, Augmented Reality is already becoming a billion dollar industry. The problem is you have to hold your phone up while walking down the street. It's a very unnatural interface that is just waiting for a sexy pair of glasses. We've been trying to solve that problem since the early days, when we were working with the U.S. military and the Special Forces asked if you could make glasses with computers. This will happen fast but you really need the glasses to get you there." "Meet the Company" is The Fly's recurring series of exclusive short interviews with Executive Officers to offer a deeper look inside the company. The remainder of this interview to follow.

13:39 EDT Meet Vuzix: A talk with CEO Paul Travers - Vuzix (VUZI) is a supplier of Smart Glasses and augmented reality technologies and products for the consumer and enterprise markets. In an exclusive interview with The Fly, CEO Paul Travers talked about the augmented reality industry, Vuzix's recently announced partnerships with Plessey and Qualcomm (QCOM), the completion of FCC and EU CE certification for the Blade Smart Glasses, the market opportunity for this product, and much more. Here are some of the highlights: AUGMENTED REALITY: Discussing the industry as more sectors start to embrace AR products, Vuzix's CEO Paul Travers sees two distinct markets, namely the markets for the enterprise and the consumer. The chief executive believes there is not going to be "a part of enterprise that ultimately doesn't get touched by augmented reality at some point." On the consumer side of business, while "a bit more of a challenge," Travers expects augmented reality to eventually "change everything." "Augmented Reality is already becoming a billion-dollar industry," he added. QUALCOMM PARTNERSHIP: Commenting on the company's recently announced partnership with Qualcomm, Travers said he believes the latter is "ahead of everybody" in the industry regarding motion-to-photon latency. "I don't know what Apple [AAPL] is doing behind closed doors, but quite frankly [the Qualcomm] chipset is a beautiful chipset to [develop Next Generation AR Smart Glasses] with," he said. FCC, EU CE CERTIFICATION: Earlier this month, Vuzix announced completion of FCC and EU CE certification for its Blade Smart Glasses, allowing the company to fully sell them in Europe and North America. "This is the beginning of a rollout of a product that is really quite revolutionary," the CEO contended. BILLION DOLLAR INDUSTRY: Discussing the industry and some Wall Street analysts' concerns over the ramp up in Smart Glasses sales, the executive pointed out that the question is not if but "when that curve is really starting to happen." "All of us are hoping that this happens sooner rather than later," he said, adding that he sees niche markets for Smart Glasses that could be "fantastic" and "in the billions." INTELECTUAL PROPERTY UNDERESTIMATED: Vuzix has 135 patents and patents pending, but Travers believes the company's intellectual property and experience is still being "underestimated." "Another thing, people underestimate is how much you can get done on limited capital. Compared to some of these companies with billions Vuzix is a small, small player but the products that we're delivering are the winning products today," he argued. "Meet the Company" is The Fly's recurring series of exclusive short interviews with Executive Officers to offer a deeper look inside the company. A more detailed version of this interview to follow. This version corrects a prior version that included an incorrect figure for the company's patent holdings.

13:31 EDT South Korean watchdog says Samsung BioLogics violated accounting standards - South Korea's Securities and Futures Commission on July 12, 2018 announced its ruling on Samsung BioLogics (SSNLF): The SFC concluded that Samsung BioLogics had violated accounting standards by intentionally omitting information regarding its joint venture agreement with Biogen (BIIB) in its public disclosure; therefore, the SFC approved measures against Samsung BioLogics - request for dismissal of executives in charge; designation of external auditors for three years; and referral of the case to prosecutors. The SFC also decided to restrict Samjong KPMG, Samsung BioLogics' auditor, from auditing the company for four years; and report the accounting company and its accountants to prosecutors for violation of auditing standards.

13:15 EDT Aetna, CVS jump after report says DOJ won't oppose merger - Shares of Aetna (AET) are rallying after Reorg Research, according to Bloomberg, reported that the Department of Justice is not, "at this point," looking to challenge in court CVS Health's (CVS) planned takeover of the company. Reorg cited an official with Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner for story. Shares of Aetna are up $4.25 to $191.81 in midday trading while CVS is up $2.15 to $69.45. Express Scripts (ESRX), which reached an agreement to be acquired by Cigna (CI), is up $1.43 to $82.00.

13:03 EDT Maxim analyst 'a bit aggressive with his numbers,' Vuzix CEO says

13:03 EDT Travers says Vuzix delivering 'the winning products' despite larger competition

13:03 EDT Vuzix CEO believes Qualcomm is 'ahead of everybody' in AR chipsets

12:54 EDT Aetna, CVS Health shares move higher in afternoon trading - Shares of Aetna (AET) have had a sudden move higher, giving the stock an advance of about 2.5% a bit before 1 pm ET. Shares of CVS Health (CVS) are also showing recent strength, up over 2% at time of writing.

12:27 EDT Netflix most nominated network at upcoming Emmy Awards - The 70th Emmy Awards Nominees were announced today, with representation from Netflix (NFLX), Comcast (CMCSA), Amazon (AMZN), Fox (FOXA), HBO (T), Disney (DIS), CBS (CBS), and Hulu, as well as others. Netflix was the most nominated network for the first time, with "Black Mirror," "Godless," "The Crown," "Stranger Things," and "GLOW" receiving multiple nominations. In addition, Amazon's "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" was nominated for several awards, including Best Comedy Series. Overall, HBO's "Game of Thrones" led all shows with 22 nominations, followed by HBO's "Westworld" and NBC's "Saturday Night Live," which each had 21.

12:02 EDT China Commercial Credit to change NASDAQ ticker symbol to 'GLG' - China Commercial Credit announced that its ticker symbol on the Nasdaq Capital Market will change to "GLG" from "CCCR." Trading under the new ticker symbol will begin at market opening on Friday, July 13, 2018. No action is needed from the company's shareholders in connection with the change of the ticker symbol.

12:00 EDT The Buckle falls -9.5% - The Buckle is down -9.5%, or -$2.40 to $22.95.

12:00 EDT Cato Corp. falls -17.2% - Cato Corp. is down -17.2%, or -$4.28 to $20.62.

12:00 EDT Engility rises 12.0% - Engility is up 12.0%, or $3.80 to $35.46.

11:34 EDT Cannell Capital reports 6% passive stake in Build-A-Bear

10:47 EDT Netflix sinks after analyst hits 'pause on binge buying' - Shares of Netflix (NFLX) are under pressure this morning after UBS analyst Eric Sheridan downgraded the stock to Neutral, citing valuation and his view that there is no "pronounced upside" expected to come with its second quarter results. The analyst believes his new rating now reflects the 117% year-to-date advance in Netflix shares and recommends "hitting pause on binge buying." MOVING TO THE SIDELINES: In a research note to investors, UBS' Sheridan downgraded Netflix to Neutral from Buy, while raising his price target on the shares to $425 from $375, citing valuation. The analyst pointed out that the stock has appreciated 35% since the first quarter earnings report and 117% year-to-date, and argued it already reflects a 40 times GAAP EBITDA multiple on 2022 estimates. The analyst believes any good news is "all priced in," and recommends "hitting pause on binge buying." In addition to valuation, Sheridan does not see a "pronounced upside" to second quarter results versus prior quarters. While acknowledging that trading momentum might care little about valuation as growth and industry leadership remain in focus and that Netflix could surprise with better second quarter results and third quarter guidance, he thinks the stock reflects little in the way of any risks to the downside from competition, free cash flow burn and dependence on capital markets for content spending goals. Based on UBS Evidence Lab data and Sheridan's analysis, the analyst now estimates that Netflix will likely report an in-line domestic subscription result versus guidance with solid upside in international subscriptions driven predominantly by India strength. His U.S. credit and debit card spend tracker also shows persistent stability in Netflix's monthly brand incidence rate, indicating no material churn even under the recent U.S. rate hike. Additionally, Sheridan pointed out that UBS Evidence Lab Google search trends analysis suggests sequel seasons for many core franchises in the second quarter are underperforming prior seasons. Nonetheless, Netflix has a "very robust" third quarter slate already announced, which could reinvigorate consumption/search trends but likely means the realization of content and marketing spend, he added. Meanwhile, his peer at B. Riley FBR told investors in a research note of his own that searches for new Netflix shows slowed to flattish versus the year-ago period, and year-over-year growth in global searches for the term "Netflix" also slowed somewhat. Analyst Barton Crockett pointed out that this is the first time he has detected flattish growth since the "big originals ramp started." Amid heightened expectations, the analyst finds the flattish search volume as "potentially cautionary." Crockett reiterated a Neutral rating and $313 price target on Netflix shares. WHAT'S NOTABLE: Bullish on Netflix, Canaccord analyst Michael Graham raised his price target on the stock to $500 from $350 and reiterated a Buy rating ahead of the company's earnings on Monday, which will kick off FANG earnings season. In a research note to investors, Graham said that while the Netflix valuation and recent stock doubling make him "nervous," he sees scope to increase subscriber estimates. PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, shares of Netflix have slipped about 2% to $410.36.

10:43 EDT Netflix slips as UBS sees good news 'all priced in,' cuts rating - Shares of Netflix (NFLX) are under pressure this morning after UBS analyst Eric Sheridan downgraded the stock to Neutral, citing valuation and his view that there is no "pronounced upside" expected to come with its second quarter results. The analyst believes his new rating now reflects the 117% year-to-date advance in Netflix shares and recommends "hitting pause on binge buying." MOVING TO THE SIDELINES: In a research note to investors, UBS' Sheridan downgraded Netflix to Neutral from Buy, while raising his price target on the shares to $425 from $375, citing valuation. The analyst pointed out that the stock has appreciated 35% since the first quarter earnings report and 117% year-to-date, and argued it already reflects a 40 times GAAP EBITDA multiple on 2022 estimates. The analyst believes any good news is "all priced in," and recommends "hitting pause on binge buying." In addition to valuation, Sheridan does not see a "pronounced upside" to second quarter results versus prior quarters. While acknowledging that trading momentum might care little about valuation as growth and industry leadership remain in focus and that Netflix could surprise with better second quarter results and third quarter guidance, he thinks the stock reflects little in the way of any risks to the downside from competition, free cash flow burn and dependence on capital markets for content spending goals. Based on UBS Evidence Lab data and Sheridan's analysis, the analyst now estimates that Netflix will likely report an in-line domestic subscription result versus guidance with solid upside in international subscriptions driven predominantly by India strength. His U.S. credit and debit card spend tracker also shows persistent stability in Netflix's monthly brand incidence rate, indicating no material churn even under the recent U.S. rate hike. Additionally, Sheridan pointed out that UBS Evidence Lab Google search trends analysis suggests sequel seasons for many core franchises in the second quarter are underperforming prior seasons. Nonetheless, Netflix has a "very robust" third quarter slate already announced, which could reinvigorate consumption/search trends but likely means the realization of content and marketing spend, he added. Meanwhile, his peer at B. Riley FBR told investors in a research note of his own that searches for new Netflix shows slowed to flattish versus the year-ago period, and year-over-year growth in global searches for the term "Netflix" also slowed somewhat. Analyst Barton Crockett pointed out that this is the first time he has detected flattish growth since the "big originals ramp started." Amid heightened expectations, the analyst finds the flattish search volume as "potentially cautionary." Crockett reiterated a Neutral rating and $313 price target on Netflix shares. WHAT'S NOTABLE: Bullish on Netflix, Canaccord analyst Michael Graham raised his price target on the stock to $500 from $350 and reiterated a Buy rating ahead of the company's earnings on Monday, which will kick off FANG earnings season. In a research note to investors, Graham said that while the Netflix valuation and recent stock doubling make him "nervous," he sees scope to increase subscriber estimates. PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, shares of Netflix have slipped about 2% to $410.36.

10:22 EDT Novartis prevails in Gilenya patent challenge brought by Teva and Apotex - The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office's Patent Trial and Appeal Board wrote that petitioners Apotex, Teva (TEVA) and Sun Pharmaceutical failed to show, by a preponderance of the evidence, that claims 1-6 of U.S. Patent No. US 9,187,405 held by Novartis (NVS) related to its Gilenya are unpatentable, according to a decision dated July 11 that was posted to the USPTO site.

10:00 EDT L Brands falls -9.5% - L Brands is down -9.5%, or -$3.51 to $33.26.

10:00 EDT Accenture acquires Kogentix, terms not disclosed - Accenture has acquired Kogentix, a company providing big data and AI services and solutions that help enterprises make better decisions with their data. Kogentix, headquartered in Schaumburg, Ill., will strengthen Accenture Applied Intelligence's growing data engineering business, particularly in North America, as companies are increasingly looking to harness open source big data and advanced analytics technologies to identify revenue growth and cost reduction opportunities across the enterprise. Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

10:00 EDT Engility rises 7.4% - Engility is up 7.4%, or $2.34 to $34.00.

09:49 EDT Farmland Partners bounces after analysts, company push back on short report - Shares of Farmland Partners (FPI), a real estate company that owns and seeks to acquire farmland throughout North America, jumped in early trading after the company responded to allegations from a short-seller that sent shares lower by nearly 40% on Wednesday. BACKGROUND: On Wednesday, Seeking Alpha contributor "Rota Fortunae" said in a post on the financial-focused website that the company's loans to related-party tenants introduce "significant risk of insolvency." Fortunae, who called the stock "uninvestible," claimed that the company has "neglected to disclose that the majority of its loans have been made to two members of the management team, including Jesse Hough, CEO Paul Pittman's long-time business partner." FARMLAND DENIES ALLEGATIONS: Farmland Partners took to defending itself on Wednesday, saying in a statement that Fortunae's allegations are "false" and "unfounded." While the company said it will issue a more detailed response in the coming days, Farmland said that the loans in question were about 1% of its revenue, adding that "None of the borrowers under the program as of March 31, 2018 were related parties, or have other business relationships with the company, other than as borrowers and, in some cases, tenants." CEO Pittman, commenting on the claims, said "It is horrifying the amount of damage that this self-interested, anonymous party's false allegations caused today to the company's stockholders," adding that the company is "evaluating what avenues are available to the company and its stockholders to remedy the damage inflicted." Additionally, Pittman told Reuters that "We're not near insolvent. We're not overpaid. Our properties are valuable... Our rents are in fact going up." ANALYST DEFENSE: Two analysts this morning jumped to the defense of Farmland Partners, with B. Riley FBR upgrading shares to Buy and Baird calling the stock a "Fresh Pick." In a research note, B. Riley FBR analyst Craig Kucera cited valuation, telling investors that the Seeking Alpha article had "questionable" valuation assumptions and "nonexistent, in our view" concerns about solvency. Meanwhile, Baird analyst David Rodgers said the reaction in shares yesterday, aside from new-found shorts, reflects "the ongoing frustration of longer-term investors at a company that has been unable to deliver on a promise of delivering farmland returns to public investors." However, Rodgers said he believes the negative Seeking Alpha article raised questions about Farmland's loan program and valuation, "but may reach too far." PRICE ACTION: In early trading, shares of Farmland Partners are up 17% to $6.18.

09:16 EDT Bassett Furniture raises quarterly dividend to 12.5c per share - Bassett Furniture announced that its board has declared a dividend of 12.5c per share of outstanding common stock payable on August 24, to shareholders of record at the close of business on August 10.

09:10 EDT Ticketmaster extends official ticketing partnership with NFL's Baltimore Ravens - Ticketmaster announced an extension of its official ticketing partnership with the National Football League's Baltimore Ravens. The renewed agreement includes all events at M&T Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. Ticketmaster will continue to provide a safe and secure marketplace for fans to buy, sell, and transfer verified tickets. Beginning in the 2018 season, all fans will be able to use digital tickets for entry. Ravens fans will now be able to conveniently access tickets on their mobile device, download to a digital wallet, receive personalized event information, and enjoy a streamlined venue entry experience. Starting in 2019, at M&T Stadium, fans will be able to use their mobile device to enter the venue using simple tap-and-go technology. The Baltimore Ravens and M&T Bank Stadium will ultimately move to Ticketmaster Presence as their venue access control system and provide the team and venue with improved security and streamlined venue operations, delivering insights into the ticket lifecycle and fan engagement and reducing fraud.

09:08 EDT Imax with Laser systems expands to 20 Les Cinemas Pathe Gaumont venues - IMAX and Les Cinemas Pathe Gaumont, exhibition theatres in France, the Netherlands and Switzerland, announced hybrid joint revenue share agreements for 20 IMAX with Laser systems. IMAX's new laser experience for commercial multiplexes and 12-channel immersive sound system will be added to a combination of new and existing Pathe and Gaumont sites across Europe. Under these agreements, Les Cinemas Pathe Gaumont will upgrade 11 IMAX digital theatres in operation to IMAX with Laser along with renewed 10-year lease terms. In addition, seven IMAX with Laser systems will replace IMAX theatre systems that are currently contracted to open. Les Cinemas Pathe Gaumont will also add IMAX with Laser systems to two new IMAX theatres to be located in France. Under the agreements, the new technology is slated to be installed between 2018 and 2023, with 10 IMAX with Laser systems to be added to IMAX theatres in France, seven in the Netherlands and three in Switzerland. With these agreements, Les Cinemas Pathe Gaumont has a total of 30 IMAX theatres that are currently open or contracted to open.

09:05 EDT Virtus Investment reports total AUM of $91.6B as of June 30 - Virtus Investment reported preliminary long-term and total assets under management as of June 30 of $89.8B and $91.6B - including $1.8B of liquidity assets -, respectively. Total AUM weere $89.09B as of March 31.

09:04 EDT Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: CA Technologies (CA), up 18% after confirming its has agreed to be acquired by Broadcom (AVGO) for $44.50 per share in a deal with an enterprise value of approximately $18.4B... Zogenix (ZGNX), up 25% after achieving the primary endpoint in second Phase 3 clinical trial of ZX008... Papa John's (PZZA), up 5% after founder John Schnatter resigned as Chairman a day after it came to light that he had used a racial slur on a company conference call... Freeport-McMoRan (FCX), up 2% after Indonesia and the company reached a preliminary deal for the Grasberg mining operations. UP AFTER EARNINGS: Delta (DAL), up 1.6%... Commerce Bancshares (CBSH), up 5%. LOWER: Broadcom, down 14% after the CA Technologies buyout, which prompted analysts at RBC Capital, B. Riley FBR and Macquarie to downgrade the stock... Zion Oil & Gas (ZN), down 12.5% after disclosing its receipt of a subpoena from the SEC... L Brands (LB), down 7.5% after reporting its June same-store sales were up 3%.

09:04 EDT Ferrellgas announces acquisition of Diamond Propane, terms not disclosed - Ferrellgas Partners announced the acquisition of Diamond Propane, an independent propane retailer based in Potsdam, New York. The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive and allows the partnership to strategically grow its footprint in northern New York. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 1995, Diamond Propane serves residential, agricultural, industrial, and commercial customers in and around St. Lawrence County.

08:57 EDT Zion Oil & Gas discloses subpoena from SEC related to fact-finding inquiry - In a regulatory filing last night, Zion Oil & Gas disclosed that on Thursday, June 21, 2018, the company received a subpoena to produce documents from the Fort Worth office of the Securities and Exchange Commission, informing Zion of the existence of a non-public, fact-finding inquiry into the company. "Zion, an SEC-reporting company with audited financial statements in the US and Israel for over a decade, will fully cooperate with this investigation. Until receipt of the subpoena on June 21, 2018, Zion had no previous communication with the SEC on this issue and was unaware of this investigation. The SEC stated that "the investigation and the subpoena do not mean that we have concluded that [Zion] or anyone else has violated the law." While we acknowledge that our response to the subpoena will necessarily entail significant costs and management's attention, it should have no effect on Zion's ongoing testing procedures on its Megiddo-Jezreel #1 well. The company does not intend to comment further on this matter unless in the company's judgment, it merits further comment or public disclosure," Zion stated in the filing.

08:51 EDT Kaman announces purchasing agreement for KCW with Bell Helicopter - Kaman announced that Bell Helicopter has signed a purchasing agreement for Kaman Composites Wichita, or KCW, to build flight critical skin and skin to core composite assemblies for Bell model 407, 409 and 412 helicopters. KCW, a subsidiary of Kaman Aerospace and part of its Aerosystems Division, is a supplier of complex composite structures, components, and assemblies for the commercial and defense aerospace industry.

08:36 EDT VOXX Automotive forms strategic partnership with UniKey - VOXX Automotive and UniKey Technologies announced a strategic partnership that will see the two companies bring secure, keyless products, and vehicle access solutions to the automotive market. VOXX Automotive is a business unit of VOXX International. A contract awarded to VOXX Automotive by an electric vehicle maker has the two companies already working on a keyless solution for an EV model to be delivered in 2019. Looking ahead, this partnership is expected to yield family key-sharing and car-sharing services as well as similar uses by car rental firms and auto fleet operators.

08:35 EDT Polar Power enters wireless infrastructure market in Namibia, Africa - Polar Power has entered the wireless infrastructure market in Namibia, Africa with the creation of its new wholly owned subsidiary, Polar Power Africa, headquartered in Windhoek, Namibia. Subsequent to the completion of the Polar Power Africa subsidiary, the company received its first telecom tower site purchase order from Mobile Telecommunications Limited, the largest mobile operator in Namibia, Africa, with over two million active subscribers, in conjunction with its 081 Every1 project. The MTC 081 Every1 project, which aims to erect 524 new towers over the next two years in rural Namibia is a N$1.2B project and was officially launched in July 2017, by Deputy Minister of ICT, Stanley Simataa. It was initiated in response to MTC's desire to bridge the digital divide between urban and rural Namibia, ensure that all Namibians have access to quality networks, mobile connectivity, broadband accessibility and access to the information superhighway in line with the spirit of Harambee. Multiple contractors have also been selected and those contractors with the best performance will continue with the 524-site rollout. The Polar Power Africa subsidiary will be led by two of Polar Power's international sales directors, Andre Herbst and Michael Mullen. Both have a combined 50 years' experience in cell site and tower installations in remote locations across the globe. The complete cell site project will encompass two phases: Phase 1: Tower installation with average project duration of two months and Phase 2: Component installation with average project duration of three months. Polar Power Africa receives 25% of the tower site installation cost upfront and the balance after Phase 1 project completion. Phase 2 places Polar Power Africa in a strategic position to incorporate its lithium battery powered hybrid solar systems to complete the new cell site. Polar Power Africa currently has $0.8M in Phase 1 purchase orders for new telecommunications sites in Namibia and anticipates more cell site tower construction purchase orders this year before Phase 2 purchase orders for Polar's hybrid solar DC power systems begin.

08:34 EDT Coupa Software selected by Zurich Insurance - Coupa Software announced that Switzerland's largest insurer and global top 100 company, Zurich Insurance Group, selected Coupa's business spend management platform to manage the company's procurement spend with greater visibility, smarter analytics, and better processes. The first phase of the rollout, which included source-to-contract, was deployed in just two months. Procure-to-pay and expenses management will be rolled out later this year.

08:33 EDT T. Rowe Price reports preliminary AUM $1.04T at June 30 - Client transfers from mutual funds to other portfolios, including trusts and separate accounts, were $2.2B in June and $4.7B for the quarter-ended June 30. This brings total client transfers for the year-to-date period ended June 30, to $13.6B.

08:32 EDT Gulf Resources announces receipt of equipment for natural gas drilling - Gulf Resources announced that it has received the equipment it ordered for its natural gas project. It is completing the installation and will soon commence testing. The first major piece of equipment is the natural gas separator. This equipment separates dust, dirt, sand and pipe scale, water, high octane value hydrocarbon, etc. The gas collects at the top of the natural gas separator where it is removed and decompressed. Separators often have to be customized to treat the specialized conditions of each drilling area. The second major piece of equipment is the water jacket furnace. It maintains an even temperature, while saving significant amounts of energy and reducing emissions. This equipment can heat up the natural gas to ensure the normal operation of the following equipment. The installation, including providing piping and electricity will be completed in July. The company hopes to begin testing in August and trial production in September.

08:08 EDT Cue Biopharma produces Immuno-STAT biologic candidate under Merck collaboration - Cue Biopharma (CUE) announced progress in its ongoing strategic collaboration with Merck (MRK) to develop Immuno-STATs for treating particular autoimmune diseases. Cue Biopharma has generated the first collaborative Immuno-STAT against an autoimmune disease target, establishing the end-date of Merck's exclusivity period on Immuno-STATs in all areas of autoimmune disease as no later than December 14, 2019. After the end-date, Cue Biopharma will work exclusively with Merck to continue to develop product candidates targeting certain autoimmune disease indications specified under the agreement. This is pursuant to a collaboration with Merck announced in November, 2017.

08:08 EDT Seattle Genetics announces first patient dosed in phase 2 innovaTV 207 trial - Seattle Genetics announced dosing of the first patient in the phase 2 innovaTV 207 clinical trial evaluating the activity, safety and tolerability of tisotumab vedotin as monotherapy in selected solid tumors with high tissue factor expression. Tissue factor is overexpressed in a broad range of solid tumors that are associated with a poor prognosis. Tisotumab vedotin is an investigational antibody-drug conjugate, or ADC, designed to target the Tissue Factor antigen on the surface of cancer cells and deliver the cell-killing agent monomethyl auristatin E directly inside cancer cells. Tisotumab vedotin is being developed in collaboration with Genmab A/S. The potentially pivotal phase 2 trial innovaTV 204 evaluating tisotumab vedotin for patients with cervical cancer who have relapsed and/or progressed after standard of care treatment was recently initiated. The phase 2 innovaTV 207 trial is a global, multicenter, open label basket trial that will enroll up to 200 adult patients with relapsed, locally-advanced or metastatic disease in one of four cohorts: colorectal cancer, squamous non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC, pancreatic adenocarcinoma, and squamous cell cancer of the head and neck. Patients will be treated with single-agent tisotumab vedotin every three weeks. The primary endpoint of the trial is confirmed objective response rate, or ORR, defined as the proportion of patients who achieve a confirmed complete or partial response. Key secondary endpoints include confirmed and unconfirmed ORR, disease control rate, duration of response, progression-free survival, overall survival, safety and tolerability.

08:07 EDT Pioneer Power receives $1.4M order from electrical distributor - Pioneer Power announced it has received an order of $1.4M, its largest order for dry type distribution solutions received from an electrical distributor to date, for its dry-type transformers for use at a multi-use, corporate facility in downtown Toronto. The new $1.4M order was awarded as part of a redevelopment project of a high-profile, multi-use facility in downtown Toronto that includes the corporate headquarters of a major media company, indoor and outdoor event space, meeting rooms and luxury apartments. The first shipment valued at approximately $800,000 is scheduled to ship in the second half of 2018 with the remainder scheduled for the first half of 2019.

08:04 EDT CVS Health expands initiatives to fight opioid abuse in Maryland - As part of CVS Health's national commitment to address and prevent opioid abuse and misuse, the company announced it has installed 19 safe medication disposal units in CVS Pharmacy locations across Maryland and the CVS Health Foundation has provided $85,000 to Total Health Care in Baltimore, a community health center dedicated to supporting opioid addiction recovery.

08:03 EDT Legg Mason reports AUM $744.6B as of June 30th - Legg Mason reported preliminary assets under management of $744.6B as of June 30. This month's AUM included net long-term outflows of $0.9B, driven by net outflows in equity of $1.4B, partially offset by net inflows in fixed income of $0.5B. Alternative flows were breakeven. Fixed income inflows included a $1.0B low-fee subscription. Alternative AUM reflects $0.1B of realizations. Liquidity net outflows were $0.2B and this month's AUM included a negative foreign exchange impact of $2.0B.

08:02 EDT ManTech awarded $959M defense agency contract for Enterprise IT support - ManTech announced the award of a managed services contract to provide Enterprise IT solutions for a Department of Defense agency. The $959M single award IDIQ contract has a 10-year period of performance and will support agency users worldwide.

07:57 EDT Manchester United agree to multi-year partnership with Kohler - Manchester United and Kohler have agreed to a multi-year global partnership. The Kohler brand logo will feature on the sleeve of the most iconic and best selling club shirt, for both the men's and women's teams. The partnership also includes joint participation on game day activities, innovative improvements to club facilities, global sustainability and social responsibility projects and other partner collaborations with Manchester United fans and Kohler customers and associates.

07:50 EDT Jacobs Engineering granted technical role on Etihad Rail Project in UAE - Jacobs Engineering has been selected by Etihad Rail to deliver critical technical and program consulting services for the UAE's largest national freight and passenger railway network. The project will be built in phases to link the principal centers of population and industry of the UAE. Jacobs will deliver engineering and design services for the 900 kilometer network, review and provide critical oversight for the detailed designs to be prepared by a network of design and build contractors, and provide construction supervision for the entire project.

07:35 EDT Axon receives multiple orders for TASER Smart Weapons - Axon received multiple orders for its TASER X26P and TASER X2 Smart Weapons. These orders were received in Q1 and Q2 and will ship in multiple phases. Some of the larger orders include: British Transport Police, UK,: 357 X2s; Detroit Police Department: 2500 X2s and 1000 TASER CAM HD recorders, TASER 60; Hampshire Constabulary, UK: 301 X2s, TASER 60; Lubbock Police Department, TX: 450 X2s, TASER 60; Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, AZ: 700 X2s, OSP; Milwaukee Police Department, WI: 500 X2s, Officer Safety Plan; Ministry of Interior Dubai: 100 X2s; New South Wales Police, Australia: 200 X26Ps and 200 TASER CAM HD recorders; New Zealand Police: 195 X2s and 195 TASER CAM HD recorders; State Border Guard Service of Lithuania: 100 X26Ps.

07:19 EDT Attunity awarded renewed digital supplier status by UK Government - Attunity has been awarded renewed Supplier Status on the G-Cloud 10 Framework, which sits within the Crown Commercial Service Digital Marketplace, by the CCS, an executive agency and trading fund of the Cabinet Office of the UK Government. Under the Cloud Software classification, public sector organisations can procure Attunity's Data Integration Platform. The CCS' vision for the Digital Marketplace is to support its policy to centrally manage the procurement of common goods and services through an integrated commercial function, enabling them to identify efficiencies and savings opportunities for the country's public sector.

07:16 EDT L Brands reports June SSS up 3% - Reports June net sales up 6% to $1.28B vs. $1.21B last year.

07:13 EDT Delta Air Lines reports Q2 CASM-ex up 2.9% - CASM-Ex increased 2.9% for the June 2018 quarter compared to the prior year period, a one point improvement from the March quarter. Cost pressures were driven by higher revenue-related costs and increased aircraft rent and depreciation associated with Delta's fleet initiatives. "We expect the sequential improvement in cost trends to continue in the second half of the year as we see additional benefits from our fleet restructuring, our One Delta initiatives, and annualization of accelerated depreciation as well as prior investments in our product," said Paul Jacobson, Delta's CFO. "Our cost structure is an essential component of sustainable performance, and by keeping our cost growth below 2 percent for the year, we are positioning the company to expand margins by year end."

07:12 EDT Acceleron announces orphan drug designation for ACE-083 by FDA - Acceleron announced that the FDA has granted orphan drug designation for ACE-083, the company's locally acting "Myostatin+" muscle agent, for the treatment of patients with facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy, or FSHD. Orphan designation is granted by the FDA Office of Orphan Products Development to advance the evaluation and development of safe and effective therapies for the treatment of rare diseases or conditions affecting fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S. Under the Orphan Drug Act, the FDA may provide grant funding toward clinical trial costs, tax advantages, FDA user-fee benefits, and seven years of market exclusivity in the United States following marketing approval by the FDA. The granting of an orphan designation request does not alter the standard regulatory requirements and process for obtaining marketing approval. In May, the FDA granted ACE-083 Fast Track designation for FSHD, which could facilitate its development and potentially expedite its review.

07:10 EDT Victory Capital reports Q2 AUM $62.3B vs. $60.9B in Q1 - Victory Capital Holdings reported assets under management of $62.3B on June 30, 2018. This compares to $60.9B on March 31, 2018.

07:08 EDT Izea reaches agreement to acquire TapInfluence for $7.08M consideration - Izea announced it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire TapInfluence, in a part-cash, part-stock transaction. TapInfluence is a platform and online marketplace for brands and agencies to execute influencer marketing campaigns. The acquisition will augment IZEA's software as a service customer base, and provide additional technology capabilities which will eventually be integrated into IZEAx. TapInfluence operates a SaaS based online marketplace that enables marketers to access an opt-in network of more than 87,000 registered online influencers. The TapInfluence network will complement IZEA's own opt-in network of more than 700,000 registered creator accounts ranging from online influencers to freelance journalists. Total consideration for the transaction in cash and stock is estimated at $7.08M based on IZEA's stock price as of market close on July 11. IZEA will issue $1.5M in cash, subject to working capital adjustments, and 1.15M shares of common stock at closing. One additional payment of $1M will be due in cash or stock at IZEA's option six months after closing. A second additional payment of $3.5M will be due in cash or stock at IZEA's option twelve months after closing.

07:08 EDT ConnectOne Bancorp to merge with Greater Hudson Bank in $76.3M deal - ConnectOne Bancorp and Greater Hudson Bank are pleased to jointly announce that ConnectOne and Greater Hudson Bank have entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which Greater Hudson will merge into ConnectOne in an all-stock transaction. Greater Hudson's commercial lending and deposit rich franchise is consistent with ConnectOne's stated growth strategy and enhances its strong franchise in the NY/NJ metro market by extending C&I lending capabilities, adding experienced bankers, and enhancing core deposit funding. The combination is strategically compelling with Greater Hudson's loan-to-deposit ratio of approximately 85%, solid noninterest-bearing deposits and CRE concentration ratio of 336% complementing ConnectOne's financial profile. Key Financial Impact Highlights: EPS accretive: Approximately 2.5% accretive to ConnectOne's earnings per share, excluding the impact of potential revenue enhancement opportunities. Minimal tangible book value dilution: Approximately 1% dilutive to tangible book value per share at closing. Short earn back period: Earn back of tangible book value dilution projected to be approximately two years using the cross-over method. Strong internal rate of return: Projected to be over 20%. Capital neutral transaction; results in strong pro forma capital ratios to support future growth. Pro forma combined company total assets of $5.7B, deposits of $4.2B, and loans of $4.5B. Under the terms of the agreement Greater Hudson Bank will merge with and into ConnectOne Bank and each outstanding share of Greater Hudson Bank common stock will be exchanged for 0.245 shares of ConnectOne common stock. The transaction is presently valued at $76.3M, or approximately $6.16 per GHDS share, based upon the closing common stock price of $25.15 for ConnectOne Bancorp as of July 11, 2018. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the Board of Directors of both companies and is expected to be completed early in the first quarter of 2019, subject to approval by Greater Hudson's shareholders, as well as regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. Effective at the closing of the transaction, one current director of Greater Hudson's board will join the Board of Directors of both ConnectOne Bancorp, Inc. and ConnectOne Bank.

07:07 EDT Delta Air Lines sees Q3 CASM ex-fuel approximately flat - Sees Q3 system capacity up 3%-4% y/y. Sees total unit revenue excluding refinery sales up 3.5%-5.5%.

07:05 EDT Delta Air Lines raises dividend 15%, declares 35c dividend for September quarter - The Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of 35c per share, an increase of 15% over previous levels. This change will bring the total annualized dividend commitment to approximately $950M, consistent with the company's target of returning 20%-25% of free cash flow to owners over the long-term. The September quarter dividend will be payable to shareholders of record as of the close of business on July 26, to be paid on August 16.

07:03 EDT Rio Tinto signs heads of agreement to sell interest in Grasberg mine for $3.5B - Rio Tinto (RIO), PT Indonesia Asahan Aluminium, or Inalum, and Freeport McMoran (FCX) have signed a non-binding agreement in relation to the future ownership of the Grasberg mine in Indonesia. The Heads of Agreement details the proposed principal terms for the sale of Rio Tinto's entire interest in Grasberg to Inalum, Indonesia's state mining company, for $3.5B. Separately, the agreement sets out a proposed transaction between FCX and Inalum for the latter to buy an additional stake in Grasberg as well as additional terms relating to the future ownership and operation of Grasberg. All parties have committed to work towards agreeing and signing binding agreements before the end of the second half of 2018.

07:02 EDT Delta Air Lines raises dividend 15%, declares 35c dividend for September quarter

06:56 EDT China New Borun withdraws going private proposal - China New Borun announced that the special committee of the board has recently received a notice from Jinmiao Wang, CEO and chairman of the board, and King River Holding, a British Virgin Island company and a majority shareholder of the company, stating that they have withdrawn the non-binding going private proposal dated January 10. The notification stated that Wang and King River had determined not to proceed with the proposal. As a result, the special committee was dissolved.

06:17 EDT Starboard Value lowers stake in Mellanox to 8.6% from 10.5% - Starboard has undertaken the sales in large part to effectuate a rebalancing of its portfolio in light of the significant appreciation in the company's stock price since Starboard filed its initial Schedule 13D in the company in November 2017. The shares sold by Starboard represent approximately 16% of its total equity position in the company. Starboard intends to remain a large shareholder of the company and to monitor its progress towards the minimum performance thresholds included in the Starboard settlement agreement as well as the company's public commitment to drive profitable growth.

06:04 EDT CenterPoint Energy delivers natural gas service to Panama City, Florida - CenterPoint Energy Mobile Energy Solutions, or MES, provided natural gas service to Panama City, Florida during a planned transmission pipeline outage due to pipeline integrity testing. MES is part of CenterPoint Energy Services, Inc., a wholly-owned commercial subsidiary of CenterPoint Energy. Using natural gas-fired and ambient liquid natural gas, or LNG, vaporizers, MES was able to deliver high-pressure natural gas at flow rates up to 500 thousand cubic feet per hour to the local distribution system. During the seven-day service, MES' vaporizers provided the primary natural gas feed to more than 35,000 residents and businesses in Panama City. The LNG was sourced from a natural gas liquefaction plant, 270 miles away. More than 20 semi-truck loads of LNG were delivered to the site and injected to the system. MES technicians were onsite 24-hours-a-day operating the vaporizers to ensure safe and reliable delivery of natural gas.

05:57 EDT KBRwyle awarded $41.7M task order by U.S. Air Force - KBR announced that its global government services business, KBRwyle, has been awarded a $41.7 million task order to assist the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology Graduate School of Engineering and Management, or AFIT/EN, in providing defense-focused graduate and professional continuing education and research. KBRwyle will study, analyze, provide advice, and develop materials to advance scientific and technical information. KBRwyle's efforts will contribute to AFIT's multidisciplinary strategy to address emerging technical challenges facing America and its allies. Specifically, KBRwyle will conduct graduate-level research, engineering and technical analyses, and technical evaluations and assessments for faculty and staff. KBRwyle will dissect and study the design, development, and testing of military and commercial research and development efforts, including military-critical technologies in their earliest stages of discovery. This work will be primarily performed at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, as well as other locations around the world. The task order award period is 50 months.

05:32 EDT Maxar Technologies appoints Biggs Porter as CFO - Maxar Technologies (MAXR) announced the appointment of Biggs Porter as Executive Vice President and CFO, effective August 15. Porter most recently served as Executive Vice President and CFO at Fluor (FLR) from 2012 to 2017.

05:23 EDT AbbVie announces submission of sNDA to FDA for venetoclax - AbbVie (ABBV) announced it submitted a supplemental New Drug Application, or sNDA, to the FDA for venetoclax in combination with a hypomethylating agent, or HMA, or in combination with low-dose cytarabine, or LDAC, for the treatment of newly diagnosed patients with acute myeloid leukemia, or AML, who are ineligible for intensive chemotherapy. The sNDA submission is based on investigational data from two studies: M14-358, a Phase 1b trial evaluating venetoclax in combination with an HMA, and M14-387, a Phase 1/2 trial of venetoclax in combination with LDAC. In addition to CLL and AML, venetoclax is being studied in a range of hematologic malignancies including multiple myeloma, or MM, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, or NHL, and myelodysplastic syndrome, or MDS. Venetoclax is being developed by AbbVie and Roche and is jointly commercialized by AbbVie and Genentech, a member of the Roche Group (RHHBY), in the U.S. and by AbbVie outside of the U.S. Together, the companies are committed to BCL-2 research with venetoclax, which is currently being evaluated in clinical trials in several hematologic cancers.

05:19 EDT Genentech submits sNDA to FDA for Venclexta - Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, announced submission of a supplemental New Drug Application, or sNDA, to the FDA for Venclexta, in combination with a hypomethylating agent or in combination with low dose cytarabine, or LDAC, for treatment of people with previously untreated acute myeloid leukemia, or AML, who are ineligible for intensive chemotherapy. The submission is based on the results of two Phase Ib/II studies that evaluated Venclexta in combination with azacitidine or decitabine or LDAC in this patient population. Venclexta is being developed by AbbVie and Genentech, a member of the Roche Group. It is jointly commercialized by the companies in the U.S. and commercialized by AbbVie outside of the U.S.

05:13 EDT Papa John's announces resignation of John Schnatter as Chairman - Papa John's announced that the independent directors of the company have accepted the resignation of John Schnatter as Chairman of the board. Olivia Kirtley acts as the company's Lead Independent Director. Papa John's will appoint a new Chairman of the Board in the coming weeks.