Stockwinners Market Radar for July 24, 2018 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:46 EDT Kraft Heinz recalls Taco Bell Salsa Con Queso Mild Cheese Dip - As a precaution, approximately 7,000 cases of Taco Bell Salsa Con Queso Mild Cheese Dip are being voluntarily recalled because the affected product is showing signs of product separation which can lead to a potential health hazard. This could create conditions that could allow for the growth of Clostridium botulinum, a bacterium which can cause life-threatening illness or death. Consumers are warned not to use the product even if it does not look or smell spoiled.

19:09 EDT On The Fly: After Hours Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: iRobot (IRBT) up 18.0%... USANA Health (USNA) up 14.5%... Vicor Corp (VICR) up 13.0%... Knowles Corp (KN) up 11.3%... Teradyne (TER) up 9.0%... Superior Energy (SPN) up 5.3%... SLM Corp (SLM) up 4.3%... Robert Half (RHI) up 3.7%... IDEX Corp (IEX) up 2.9%... Inphi (IPHI) up 1.5%... RenaissanceRe (RNR) up 1.5%... Canadian National (CNI) up 1.3%... Ameriprise Financial (AMP) up 1.2%. ALSO HIGHER: ViewRay (VRAY) up 10.0% after preliminary Q2 revenue. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Navient (NAVI) down 6.7%... Manhattan Associates (MANH) down 4.7%... MKS Instruments (MKSI) down 3.6%... CoStar Group (CSGP) down 3.1%... Stryker (SYK) down 2.6%... AT&T (T) down 1.1%... Texas Instruments (TXN) down 0.4%. ALSO LOWER: Veracyte (VCYT) down 4.5% after equity offering... Merit Medical (MMSI) down 1.5% after equity offering.

18:20 EDT USW ratifies tentative agreement with Kimberly-Clark - Members of Local 2-482 of the United Steelworkers ratified a tentative agreement with Kimberly-Clark with the goal of preserving and expanding employment at the company's Fox Crossing plant. Earlier this year, the governor and State Assembly committed as much as $115M in taxpayer money to entice Kimberly-Clark to remain in Wisconsin. KC indicated that it would not ask elected officials to vote on the enormous subsidy package until it was able to renegotiate a contract with its workers. Following the passage of a massive federal tax cut, the multinational personal hygiene and paper product giant announced plans in January to shut down up to 10 plants around the world and eliminate 5,500 jobs. Those cuts included the company's plants in Neenah and Fox Crossing, Wis. Last week, Kimberly-Clark was said to be considering selling its tissue business in Europe, while other financial publications have speculated that the company was contemplating much broader asset sales as well. The handling of the announcement by KC has sparked outrage in the global labor community leaving workers on five continents wondering about their future, according to USW. Since KC's January announcement, the USW has been meeting with company officials in an effort to negotiate a deal that would preserve good jobs.

17:44 EDT AT&T says added 3M subscribers In Mexico over the last year - Says added 3M subscribers In Mexico over the last year. Says success will depend on additional sources of inventory for advertising. Says will reinvest some of the efficiencies of the combination. Says vertical integration allows the company to innovate advertising. Says has the ability to advertise with less interruption to the customer and emphasize different ad platforms.

17:31 EDT Summit Financial to acquire Peoples Bankshares in roughly $25.5M deal - Summit Financial and Peoples Bankshares announced the signing of a definitive merger agreement between Summit and Peoples. Pursuant to the terms of the merger agreement, Summit will acquire all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Peoples in exchange for cash in the amount of $47.00 per share or 1.7193 shares of Summit common stock, resulting in an aggregate transaction value of approximately $25.5M. Peoples shareholders will have a right to receive cash, Summit's common stock or a combination of cash and Summit common stock, subject to proration to result in approximately 50% cash and 50% stock consideration in the aggregate. Total merger consideration received by Peoples shareholders is subject to an adjustment if Peoples' adjusted shareholders' equity as of the effective date of the merger deviates from the range mutually determined by the parties. The transaction has been unanimously approved by each company's board of directors and is expected to close early in 2019, pending regulatory approvals and the approval of Peoples' shareholders. Following consummation of the merger, Peoples' wholly-owned subsidiary First Peoples Bank, Inc. will be consolidated with Summit's bank subsidiary, Summit Community Bank, Inc.

17:26 EDT FTD Companies announces Scott Levin appointed interim CEO - On July 18, Scott D. Levin, then-current EVP, General Counsel and Secretary of FTD Companies, was appointed interim President and CEO of the company. Levin succeeds John C. Walden, who stepped down from these positions and from the company's Board of Directors, effective immediately.

17:18 EDT Vicor Corporation reports Q2 EPS 19c vs. (1c) in Q2 last year - Reports Q2 revenue $74.2M versus $57.71M in Q2 last year. Gross margin increased to $35,883,000 for the second quarter of 2018, compared to $25,930,000 for the corresponding period a year ago, and increased from $30,211,000 for the first quarter of 2018. Gross margin, as a percentage of revenue, increased to 48.4% for the second quarter of 2018, compared to 44.9% for the corresponding period a year ago, and increased from 46.3% for the first quarter of 2018. Total backlog at the end of the second quarter of 2018 was $103,100,000, compared to $89,975,000 at the end of the first quarter of 2018 and $73,054,000 at the end of 2017.Commenting on second quarter performance, Dr. Patrizio Vinciarelli, Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Demand for Factorized Power solutions, including PRM-VTM systems powering CPUs directly from 48V in high efficiency datacenters, led to sequentially higher bookings and shipments. Having made their debut next to a high performance GPU, high density Power-on-Package MCD-MCM systems are finding new homes next to 7nm, high current ASICs for Artificial Intelligence ("AI") applications extending parallel computing beyond the limits of Moore's Law.

17:15 EDT Northern Trust executive VP Parker sells 5,606 common shares - In a regulatory filing, Northern Trust executive VP Teresa Parker disclosed the sale of 5,606 common shares of the company at a price of $108.23 per share.

17:11 EDT Leidos awarded $620M U.S. Air Force contract - Leidos has been awarded a $620,000,000 firm-fixed-price requirements contract, with a cost reimbursement line for travel, for the avionics intermediate shop product support integration program. The contract is for an independent, prime non-manufacturing product support integrator to provide single-point solutions for the F-16 advanced avionics intermediate shop, improved avionics intermediate shop, rackmount improved avionics intermediate shop, AIS automated test equipment components, ancillary support equipment, and test program set system hardware and software sustainment and procurement activities.

17:10 EDT Community Trust raises quarterly dividend to 36c from 33c per share - The dividend is payable October 1, 2018 to shareholders of record on September 15, 2018.

17:08 EDT AT&T says wireless service revenue grew for the first time since 2014 - Says wants to increase Turner premium content. Says a key intiative is to deliver on merger synergies of $2.5B run-rate by end of 2021. Says it saw wireless service revenue growth for the first time since 2014. Says WatchTV will be included in some wireless plans, but will be available for $15 per month for non-wireless customers. Says timing to disrupt advertising industry is right, but must have assets to do so. Says content distribution and data must be combined.

17:02 EDT Comerica names Jay Oberg Chief Risk Officer upon Michael Michalak's retirement - Comerica announced that Jay Oberg, executive VP, Corporate Development, Strategy and Capital Planning, will be named Chief Risk Officer, effective Jan. 1, 2019. Michael Michalak, who currently holds that position, has announced his plans to retire on Jan. 31, 2019. From Jan. 1, 2019, to Jan. 31, 2019, Michalak will remain an executive VP at Comerica.

16:53 EDT Mercury Systems announces next-generation high density server modules - Mercury Systems announced the launch of its third generation RES HD modules featuring the newest Intel Xeon( Scalable processors and three additional storage, PCIe expansion, and managed switch modules. The new XR6 RES HD modules maximize performance with the latest commercial-off-the -shelf components and plug into three scalable and extendible RES HD chassis.

16:51 EDT Kite Realty Group announces opening of Bluemercury at Rampart Commons - Kite Realty Group announced that Bluemercury has opened at Rampart Commons in Las Vegas, Nevada. The luxury beauty retailer joins the lifestyle center's dynamic tenant lineup, including Pottery Barn, Athleta, Williams-Sonoma, Redemption Fitness, Talbots, and Club Champion, along with acclaimed restaurants Honey Salt, North Italia, and Flower Child. Rampart Commons recently underwent an extensive transformation as part of KRG's 3-R initiative. The redevelopment effort created an enhanced consumer experience and has introduced five first-to-market tenants. "We are excited to open our first Nevada store in Las Vegas and the Rampart Commons shopping center was the obvious choice for us. It has been an exciting challenge to find the exact right location and presence for each new store, as we have transitioned from a best kept secret to an iconic luxury brand and household name. Our mission has always been to bring luxury beauty and skincare to our clients and be the best in the world at giving beauty advice. With this latest Bluemercury store, we bring luxury beauty products to the doorstep of the powerful women of Las Vegas," said Barry Beck, COO & Co-Founder, of Bluemercury. Rampart Commons is located at the corner of Charleston and Rampart Boulevard in west Las Vegas, within one of the most affluent retail trade areas in the metro area.

16:44 EDT Anson Funds Management reports 9.9% passive stake in ContraVir Pharmaceuticals

16:41 EDT BeiGene announces first patient dosed in Phase 3 trial of tislelizumab - BeiGene announced that the first patient was dosed in a Phase 3 clinical trial of tislelizumab, an investigational anti-PD-1 antibody, combined with chemotherapy, as a potential first-line treatment in Chinese patients with Stage IIIB or IV non-squamous non-small cell lung cancer, or NSCLC. Tislelizumab is also being studied in global Phase 3 trials in solid tumors, including second-line non-small cell lung cancer, first-line hepatocellular carcinoma, and second-line esophageal squamous cell carcinoma; two global Phase 2 trials in previously treated advanced hepatocellular carcinoma and relapsed/refractory mature T- and natural killer-cell lymphomas; and two pivotal Phase 2 trials in China in relapsed/refractory classical Hodgkin's lymphoma and second-line urothelial cancer.

16:37 EDT UPS announces voluntary retirement plan for eligible employees - UPS announced the results of its voluntary retirement plan, or VRP, introduced on April 25. Under the VRP, a select group of U.S. based, retirement-eligible employees were offered a financial buyout to retire. Participants in the plan will depart on a staggered schedule over the next twelve months to maintain business continuity. The company does not expect significant savings in 2018 from the VRP, full savings from the program will be realized upon completion after 2Q19. UPS recorded a pre-tax transformation charge of $263M in Q2, due primarily to VRP severance expense. This initiative will reduce UPS headcount and lower ongoing staffing expense. At full run rate, the initiative will generate annual savings of around $200M. The VRP program is one of a number of initiatives under the company's transformation strategy. These initiatives will also create new opportunities for UPS employees and strengthen shareowner returns.

16:35 EDT Ultra Clean to acquire Quantum Global Technologies in $342M transaction

16:34 EDT General Dynamics awarded $594.4M CLS contract - Gulfstream Aerospace announced the U.S. Air Force has awarded the company a contract to provide contractor logistics support services, or CLS, for the Air Force, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Army and U.S. Coast Guard C-20 and C-37 fleets. The competitively awarded CLS contract includes a seven-year period of performance and is valued at $594.4M.

16:33 EDT ViewRay names Scott Drake as CEO, Shar Matin as COO - ViewRay announced the appointment of medical device industry veterans Scott Drake as its President and CEO and Shar Matin as its COO, effective immediately. In connection with his appointment, Drake has also been appointed to the ViewRay Board of Directors. In addition, ViewRay announced the appointment of D. Keith Grossman to the ViewRay Board of Directors. The company also announced the departures of current President and CEO Chris Raanes and COO Doug Keare. Drake formerly served as the President and CEO of the Spectranetics Corporation. Matin previously worked for Spectranetics starting in 2007, serving as its COO from 2014 until its acquisition by Royal Philips in 2017.

16:31 EDT Radius Health says CHMP will likely keep negative view of Abaloparatide-SC MAA - Radius Health announced that after an oral explanation following a re-examination procedure, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, the scientific committee of the European Medicines Agency, has communicated a negative trend vote for the Company's marketing authorization applicationfor abaloparatide-SC for the treatment of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women at increased risk for fracture. A negative trend vote means that it is likely that the CHMP will maintain its negative opinion for the MAA at its formal final vote, which it has indicated will occur prior to the end of its meeting this week. "We are disappointed with this assessment on behalf of the estimated 22 million women in Europe who are diagnosed with osteoporosis. No new anabolic bone-building agent has been approved in Europe for the treatment of this debilitating disease in almost 10 years," said Jesper Hoiland, President and Chief Executive Officer of Radius Health. "We remain confident in abaloparatide-SC and focused on the commercialization of TYMLOS in the U.S., the largest market in revenues for anabolics globally, and continue our efforts to make abaloparatide-SC available in Japan through our collaboration with Teijin Limited, as well as in other markets through partnership agreements."TYMLOSinjection was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in April 2017, for the treatment of postmenopausal women with osteoporosis at high risk for fracture, multiple risk factors for fracture, or patients who have failed or are intolerant to other available osteoporosis therapy. Since then, over 10,000 patients have been treated with TYMLOS in the U.S.

16:29 EDT Equity Residential raises midpoint of FY18 same-store revenue to 2.1% from 1.6% - Raises FY18 same-store occupancy view to 96.1% from 96.0%. Raises FY18 same-store NOI to 1.0%-1.8% from 0.0%-1.5%.

16:26 EDT Continental Resources reports preliminary Q2 results 25.8M Boe - Continental Resources announced preliminary Q2 production results. Q2 production totaled 25.8M barrels of oil equivalent, or Boe, or 284,059 Boe per day, with average daily oil production of 157,000 barrels of oil, or Bo, per day, which increased 25% from Q2 of FY17. Q2 production would have been just above 289,000 Boe per day except for abnormally wet weather in the Bakken and the voluntary curtailment of Midcontinent production to gain access to premium North Texas markets via the Company's previously announced Wildcat pipeline agreement.

16:24 EDT Hawaiian Holdings sees FY18 ASMs up 5.5%-7.5% - Sees FY18 cost per ASM excluding fuel and special items up 1%-3%.

16:23 EDT New Leaf Biopharma Opportunities II reports 6.2% passive stake in Versartis

16:19 EDT Robert Half CEO says 'We saw across-the-board strength' in Q2 - "We saw across-the-board strength in our U.S. and international staffing and Protiviti operations during the second quarter, as year-over-year growth rates accelerated versus the first quarter," said Harold Messmer, Jr., chairman and CEO of Robert Half. "Favorable global economic trends, a robust job market, and positive business sentiment among our small and midsize client base contributed to the strong quarter."

16:19 EDT AT&T CEO says Q2 'exciting quarter' for company - "It was an exciting quarter for AT&T as we completed the acquisition of Time Warner on June 14 and created a modern media company built around premium content, 170 million direct-to-customer relationships, advertising technology and high-speed networks," said Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and CEO. "Time Warner joins us coming off an impressive second-quarter. Turner turned in solid subscription and advertising revenue growth, Warner Bros. is in high gear with a record number of series in production, and HBO delivered strong subscriber revenue growth. Since we closed the Time Warner deal, we've also announced an agreement to acquire ad-tech leader AppNexus, which will be an important step to strengthen our leadership in advanced TV advertising. Our goal is to reshape the way media and entertainment work for consumers, and you will see us continue to do exactly that."

16:18 EDT AT&T reports Q2 wireless net adds 3.8M - Reports Q2 prepaid phone net adds 356,000. Reports Q2 postpaid phone churn of 0.82%. Reports 219,000 total video net adds in Q2. Says Turner ad revenues up 3%. Reports "record" number of series in production at Warner Bros. Reports 342,000 DIRECTV NOW net adds.

16:17 EDT Holly Energy Partners announces feasibility study for new Permian pipeline - Holly Energy Partners announced it has engaged AECOM, a third party engineering firm, to perform a feasibility study on a potential refined product pipeline from Orla, TX to Midland, TX. This potential pipeline is part of HEP's continuous efforts to serve the growing distillate demand in the Permian Basin with additional infrastructure projects. The pipeline would complement HEP's existing footprint in the Permian Basin and the recently announced truck loading rack project in Orla, TX. HEP expects the pipeline to have an initial capacity of 40,000 barrels per day and be in service as early as the third quarter of 2019, subject to receipt of necessary regulatory approvals, permits and commercial support.

16:17 EDT Ingevity to acquire remaining interest in Purification Cellutions JV for $80M - Ingevity has signed an agreement to acquire the remaining 30 percent interest in the joint venture Purification Cellutions, LLC, Waynesboro, Georgia, from its partner Applied Technology Limited Partnership, Doraville, Georgia. The purchase price is approximately $80 million. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter. Ingevity currently owns 70% of Purifications Cellutions. The joint venture manufactures "honeycomb" scrubbers which are key components of Ingevity's technology used by the automotive industry to comply with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Tier 3 and California LEV III gasoline vapor emission control standards.

16:13 EDT Chubb CEO says 'strong performances in many of our businesses globally' in Q2 - Evan Greenberg, Chairman and CEO of Chubb Limited, commented: "Chubb's second quarter after-tax core operating income per share was up over 7% from prior year, driven by excellent underwriting and investment results. Our 88.4% P&C combined ratio benefited from current accident year results and positive prior year reserve releases, while adjusted net investment income was up 4%. P&C net premiums written increased 5.6% in the quarter, with strong performances in many of our businesses globally such as our U.S. commercial and personal lines divisions and our Asia and Latin America P&C operations, both of which generated double-digit growth. We are benefiting from contributions that are only possible because of the scale and capabilities created by today's Chubb. This includes a number of growth initiatives, by example, in our North American and international middle market and small commercial divisions, and the level of investment we are making in our digital efforts to improve our competitive profile. We are taking advantage of market conditions that continue to improve in the U.S. and some territories outside the U.S. with commercial P&C price increases this quarter in those locations the best we've seen in some time. We wrote more new business while renewing our customers at record retention levels. In sum, our organization is running on all cylinders and we're optimistic about our ability to continue to perform at a high level."

16:12 EDT Nabriva Therapeutics announces Ted Schroeder to succeed Colin Broom as CEO - Upon closing of the Zavante Therapeutics acquisition, Ted Schroeder was appointed as CEO of Nabriva Therapeutics to succeed Colin Broom, and Schroeder's employment agreement with Nabriva Therapeutics provides that he will be appointed to Nabriva Therapeutics' board of directors effective immediately following Nabriva Therapeutics' 2018 annual meeting, scheduled to be held on August 1. Broom will continue to serve on Nabriva Therapeutics' board of directors and will work closely with Mr. Schroeder and the management team as a consultant. Prior to serving as president, CEO, founder and director of Zavante Therapeutics, Schroeder co-founded Cadence Pharmaceuticals and served as president, CEO and a member of the board of directors until the company's acquisition. Upon closing of the acquisition, Steven Gelone, Nabriva's CSO and VP, business & corporate development, has been named president and COO of Nabriva, reporting to Schroeder. Along with his current responsibilities, Dr. Gelone will oversee Nabriva's technical operations and quality organizations. Gelone joined Nabriva in December 2014.

16:07 EDT Waste Connections raises FY18 outlook

16:04 EDT Texas Instruments CEO says demand for Analog and Embedded Processing 'strong' - Regarding the company's performance and returns to shareholders, Rich Templeton, TI's chairman, president and CEO, made the following comments: "Revenue increased 9 percent from the same quarter a year ago. Demand for our Analog and Embedded Processing products continued to be strong in the industrial and automotive markets. Our cash flow from operations of $6.6 billion for the trailing 12 months again underscored the strength of our business model. Free cash flow for the trailing 12 months was $5.7 billion, or 36.6 percent of revenue. This reflects the quality of our product portfolio, as well as the efficiency of our manufacturing strategy, including the benefit of 300-millimeter Analog production. We have returned $5.6 billion to owners in the past 12 months through stock repurchases and dividends, and our strategy to return to owners all of our free cash flow remains consistent. Over the last 12 months, our dividends represented 41 percent of free cash flow, emphasizing their sustainability. TI's third-quarter outlook is for revenue in the range of $4.11 billion to $4.45 billion, and earnings per share between $1.41 and $1.63, which includes an estimated $10 million discrete tax benefit. We continue to expect our ongoing annual operating tax rate to be about 20 percent in 2018 and 16 percent starting in 2019."

16:00 EDT Nabriva Therapeutics trading halted, news pending

15:46 EDT Nevro plunges after noninfringement judgment granted to Boston Scientific - Shares of Nevro (NVRO) are sharply lower in afternoon trading after a judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California ruled that patent claims 18, 34, and 55 of the '125 patent, claims 5 and 34 of the '357 patent, claims 7, 12, 35, 37, and 58 of the '533 patent, and claims 1 and 22 of the '842 patent are invalid as indefinite. "Therefore, summary judgment is granted to Boston Scientific on those claims. For the remaining asserted claims, summary judgment of noninfringement is granted to Boston Scientific," a court order states. In afternoon trading following news of the court judgement, shares of Nevro are down $19.08, or 31.8%, to $40.92.

15:34 EDT Wells Fargo reports termination of SCRA consent order - Wells Fargo reports that it has successfully completed the requirements of a September 2016 consent order with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency related to compliance with provisions of the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, or SCRA. On Friday, July 20, the OCC announced in a posting on its website that the consent order had been terminated. "Through the termination of this consent order, the OCC has validated Wells Fargo's efforts to strengthen our processes to deliver SCRA benefits and protections proactively and consistently, enhance efforts to identify eligible customers and improve our oversight. This is another important step in our journey to fix issues, build a better bank, and most importantly ensure we are caring for the hard working men and women who bravely serve and defend our country," said Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan.

15:14 EDT Nevro drops as much as 11% in afternoon trading before coming off low - Shares of Nevro had fallen $6.40, or 10.7%, to $53.60 in afternoon trading, though the stock is coming off its low and is now down about 6%.

15:02 EDT Astec to make payments totaling $68M to Highland and affiliates - In a regulatory filing, Astec disclosed that on July 20 the company entered into an agreement with Highland Pellets, Highland LLC, Arkansas Teachers Retirement System and GIP Caps Pine. Under the agreement, the Astec parties will make certain payments totaling $68M to the Highland parties, the last such payment being made 120 days after the date of the agreement and forgive approximately $7M in accounts receivables due from Highland Pellets. In exchange, the Highland parties and the Astec parties agreed, among other things, to terminate the sale and construction contract between Highland Pellets and Astec, and the Astec parties' performance and completion guarantee in connection therewith, and mutually released each other from any and all claims, liabilities, obligations, costs and agreements in connection therewith. In addition, Highland and Highland LLC agreed to pay the Astec parties $7M should the Highland wood pellet plant, the subject of the sale agreement, satisfy certain emissions targets prior to May 1, 2019.

14:35 EDT Wells Fargo announces redemption of Series J Preferred Stock - Wells Fargo announced it will redeem on September 17 of all of its 8.00% Non-Cumulative Perpetual Class A Preferred Stock, Series J, and the corresponding depositary shares, each representing a 1/40th interest in a share of Series J Preferred Stock. The Series J Preferred Stock will be redeemed at a redemption price equal to $1,000.00 per share, or $25.00 per depositary share. Because the redemption date is also the dividend payment date, the redemption price does not include declared and unpaid dividends. Regular quarterly dividends in the amount of $20.00 per share of Series J Preferred Stock, or $0.50 per depositary share, will be paid separately in the customary manner on September 17 to holders of record at the close of business on August 31.

14:07 EDT Helios and Matheson announces 1-for-250 reverse stock split - Helios and Matheson Analytics, the 92% owner of MoviePass, announced that the company will effect a reverse stock split of its issued and outstanding common stock. At a special meeting of stockholders held on July 23, shareholders approved an amendment to effect a one-time reverse stock split of its common stock, at a ratio of 1 share-for-2 shares up to a ratio of 1 share-for-250 shares, such ratio to be selected by its board. The board of directors approved the implementation of a reverse stock split, determined the appropriate reverse stock split to be a ratio of 1-for-250 and approved the filing to effectuate the reverse stock split. The company will effect a reverse stock split of its issued and outstanding common stock at an exchange ratio of 1-for-250, at 4:01 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, July 24. The company's common stock will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis on Wednesday, July 25, under a new CUSIP number and will remain listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol "HMNY".

14:03 EDT Vonage launches integration with Google Cloud Contact Center AI - Vonage (VG) has launched an integration with Google Cloud's (GOOG) new Contact Center AI, a solution that combines multiple AI products to improve the customer experience and the productivity of contact centers. The new integration is being made available as part of Vonage's new CX Enablement Suite, which encompasses several new Nexmo powered contact center capabilities including programmable building blocks, chatbots and open source skills-based communications router and real-time sentiment analysis. With the Google Cloud partnership, Vonage expands its programmable contact center capabilities by integrating Google Cloud Contact Center AI with the company's programmable voice and skills-based router to drive more meaningful customer interactions. Google Cloud's solution is currently in beta through Q3 2018, and is expected to be generally available in Q4 2018.

13:34 EDT Pfizer investing $465M to build sterile injectable facility in Michigan - Pfizer announced it will increase its commitment to U.S. manufacturing with a $465M investment to build one of the most technically advanced sterile injectable pharmaceutical production facilities in the world in Portage, Michigan. This U.S. investment will strengthen Pfizer's capability to produce and supply critical, life-saving injectable medicines for patients around the world. Known as Modular Aseptic Processing, the new, multi-story, 400,000-square-foot production facility will also support the area economy by creating an estimated 450 new jobs over the next several years. This expands Pfizer's presence in Portage, located in Kalamazoo County, where the company now employs more than 2,200 people at one of its largest plants. MAP will incorporate the most technically advanced aseptic manufacturing equipment, systems and design, including multiple, self-contained modular manufacturing lines. This allows the manufacturing line in each module to be entirely separate from all other manufacturing lines. Groundbreaking is planned for spring 2019, with construction expected to be completed in 2021. After the facility is validated by regulatory agencies, production should begin in 2024.

12:49 EDT Largo jumps 36% to $1.77 after Cooperman announces long position - Shares of Largo Resources are up 36% to $1.77 Leon Cooperman of Omega Advisors announced a new long position on the company on CNBC. Largo is a Toronto-based mineral company focused on the production of vanadium flake, high purity vanadium flake and high purity vanadium powder at the Maracas Menchen Mine located in Bahia State, Brazil.

12:42 EDT Ross Stores recalls about 2,300 Bistro chairs due to fall hazard - Ross Stories has notified the CPSC that it is recalling about 2,300 Bistro chairs, as the chair's frame can break, posing a fall hazard to consumers. Ross has received two reports of the chair frames breaking, including two reports of minor injuries.

12:31 EDT Cooperman positive on PayPal, says not one of largest holdings - Leon Cooperman of Omega Advisors is speaking on CNBC.

12:27 EDT Crispr Therapeutics drops 11%, leads Crisper stocks lower - Shares of Crispr Therapeutics (CRSP), Editas Medicine (EDIT) and Intellia Therapeutics (NTLA) are moving lower in midday trading. Crispr Therapeutics is down 11%, or $6.31, to $50.96 while Editas is down 8% to $32.51 and Intellia is down 7% to $28.26. The stocks sold off last week when Nature Biotech published a study that raised concerns about the genetic damage that can be caused by gene editing.

12:09 EDT Worldpay, Global Payments slide after U.K. regulator announces review - Shares of First Data (FDC), Global Payments (GPN) and Worldpay (WP) are all lower near midday after the U.K.'s Payment Systems Regulator announced that it plans to carry out a market review into the supply of card-acquiring services in the country "to ensure that the supply of these services is competitive and works in the interests of merchants, and ultimately consumers." Hannah Nixon, Managing Director of the Payment Systems Regulator, stated that the regulator wants "to make sure that retailers that accept card payments can access card-acquiring services that are competitive, offer value for money and are innovative - working in both their interests, and consumers' interests too" and "will look to make changes if we think improvements should be made." The draft terms of reference for the market review is open for consultation until September 14, PSR noted. In early afternoon trading, First Data is down 1.5%, Global Payments has slid 3% and Worldpay has dropped nearly 5%.

12:00 EDT CSX resolves liability from 2015 oil spill for $2.2M - The Department of Justice, Environmental Protection Agency and State of West Virginia announced a settlement with CSX Transportation to resolve its liability for state and federal water pollution violations related to a 2015 oil spill caused by a train derailment in Mount Carbon, West Virginia. Under the terms of the settlement, CSX will pay penalties of $1.2M to the United States and $1M to West Virginia. Reference Link

12:00 EDT FCB Financial falls -9.8% - FCB Financial is down -9.8%, or -$5.80 to $53.40.

12:00 EDT PGT, Inc. rises 10.6% - PGT, Inc. is up 10.6%, or $2.25 to $23.55.

12:00 EDT BlueLinx rises 13.1% - BlueLinx is up 13.1%, or $4.72 to $40.82.

11:27 EDT Lockheed Martin sees three year cash flow greater than or equal to $17.3B

11:08 EDT Intel to collaborate with SiTime on MEMS timing for 5G modems - Intel and SiTime Corporation, a provider of MEMS timing solutions, have announced that they will work together on robust, tiny and low-power microelectromechanical timing solutions for Intel's 5G modem platforms. SiTime's MEMS solutions provide enhanced reliability and withstand environmental stressors. They are used in consumer electronics, networking and telecom infrastructure, healthcare, and industrial and automotive applications.

11:03 EDT Ford expects to invest $4B in AV efforts through 2020

11:00 EDT Street Fight: Analysts split on whether to buy or sell Infinera after deal - Following Infinera's (INFN) announcement that the company is acquiring Coriant, Northland analyst Tim Savageaux upgraded the stock to a Buy-equivalent rating, as he believes the acquisition gives Infinera a double-digit market share in 100G+ optical systems. Meanwhile, his peer at Raymond James downgraded the stock to a Sell-equivalent rating, calling the transaction "good news for the optical systems market, but not for Infinera." CORIANT DEAL: Last night, Infinera announced its intent to acquire Coriant, a privately held global supplier of open, hyperscale network solutions. Under the terms of the definitive purchase agreement, subject to customary adjustments, Infinera will pay approximately $150M in cash at closing, and estimated additional amounts of $25M in the two quarters post-closing and $55M over a period of years. Infinera will issue approximately 21M shares, which results in total transaction consideration of approximately $430M. The acquisition is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018. NORTHLAND SAYS BUY: In a research note to investors, Northland's Savageaux upgraded Infinera to Outperform from Market Perform, with a $12 price target. The analyst noted that at the heart of his March downgrade of the stock were concerns about the viability of pursuing a vertically integrated strategy in 100G+ optical systems at mid-single digit market share. However, Savageaux believes that the calculus changes with the addition of $750M in Coriant revenues, aided by an attractive deal price and a model that appears viable even with more conservative synergy assumptions, reflecting significant execution challenges and Infinera's struggles with previous deals. Also bullish on the deal, William Blair analyst Dmitry Netis told investors in a research note of his own that he believes the positives of Infinera's acquisition of Coriant "meaningfully" outweigh the risks. If nothing else, the deal removes a "nonsensical price disrupter" from the market, he contended. Additionally, the analyst argued that the deal could be very accretive, if management can execute, which is "no slam dunk." Netis reiterated an Outperform rating on Infinera. RAYMOND JAMES SAYS SELL: Bearish after the Coriant deal, Raymond James analyst Simon Leopold downgraded Infinera to Underperform from Market Perform. The analyst told investors that he sees the transaction as "good news for the optical systems market, but not for Infinera." The added risks, including integration, synergies and balance sheet, justify a more cautious stance on the stock, he contended. At 0.6-times sales, Leopold does not consider this a terrible deal, but "a bit much for the acquisition" of what he believes is a "broken business." Nonetheless, he acknowledged that this might also be Infinera's best chance to improve scale. Meanwhile, his peer at Piper Jaffray argued that while Infinera's acquisition of Coriant will nearly double the size of the company's current revenue base, it also brings "significant" integration risk. The transaction will be "extremely beneficial" to Infinera in the long-term, but its size and complexity will likely create a challenging integration for the company and the potential for a pause in purchasing while Infinera consolidates product lines and integrates operations, analyst Troy Jensen contended. Noting that he sees the deal being dilutive in the near-term, the analyst reiterated a Neutral rating and $12 price target on Infinera shares. PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, shares of Infinera have gained 4% to $9.19.

10:37 EDT Square partners with eBay to expand lending for 'underserved' small businesses - eBay (EBAY) and Square Capital (SQ) announced a new partnership that will soon enable eBay's sellers in the US to access funding that can help them grow their businesses. "While many small businesses still struggle to obtain the financing they need, Square Capital will provide eligible eBay sellers with a simple, seamless, and transparent funding experience," the companies said in a statement. "eBay is deeply committed to partnering with our sellers to help them grow their business, and our agreement with Square Capital is a great example of how we are helping our sellers succeed by offering them a fast and easy way to access funding," said Scott Cutler, Senior Vice President, Americas at eBay. "eBay sellers in the US will be able to apply for as little as $500 or as much as $100,000 to help with whatever their business needs might be - from payroll and inventory to equipment and marketing. We will continue to invest in our financial service offerings for our sellers." "Expanding access to capital, including to those who have been underserved when seeking funding, is core to Square's purpose of economic empowerment," said Jacqueline Reses, Head of Square Capital. Select eBay customers will begin receiving email invitations to apply for a loan through Square Capital in the third quarter of 2018. eBay and Square Capital will work together to market Square Capital directly to eBay sellers. Square Capital will assess eligibility and risk, and determine appropriate sized loan offers by taking a holistic view of an applicant's financial profile.

10:23 EDT JetBlue says has achieved $154M of $250M-$300M cost cut program by 2020

10:00 EDT FCB Financial falls -7.4% - FCB Financial is down -7.4%, or -$4.38 to $54.83.

10:00 EDT Whirlpool falls -11.8% - Whirlpool is down -11.8%, or -$17.74 to $132.97.

10:00 EDT Constellium rises 14.4% - Constellium is up 14.4%, or $1.60 to $12.70.

09:56 EDT 22nd Century: Study finds nondaily smokers who use VLNC reduced smoking by 51% - 22nd Century Group announced that an independent clinical trial published this summer in JAMA Psychiatry found that nondaily smokers who switch to 22nd Century's proprietary Very Low Nicotine Content cigarettes "reduced their smoking by 51%." In conducting this important clinical trial, study authors Saul Shiffman, Ph.D., Brenda Kurland, Ph.D., Sarah Scholl, MPH, and Jason Mao, B.S. used 22nd Century's proprietary SPECTRUM VLNC cigarettes and standard nicotine content cigarettes. The 12-week, randomized, controlled, double-blind intervention trial enrolled 297 adult U.S. smokers who do not smoke daily; this clinical trial is the first published study to focus on occasional smokers. Intermittent smokers assigned to VLNC cigarettes reduced both the overall number of cigarettes smoked and the number of days on which they smoked. Reporting that 25% to 33% of all U.S. smokers do not smoke daily, Dr. Shiffman, et al. believe that this substantial fraction of the smoking public must be included in all tobacco policy considerations.

09:47 EDT FCB Financial falls -8.3% - FCB Financial is down -8.3%, or -$4.90 to $54.30.

09:47 EDT Allegheny Technologies rises 7.7% - Allegheny Technologies is up 7.7%, or $2.07 to $28.87.

09:47 EDT Constellium rises 17.1% - Constellium is up 17.1%, or $1.90 to $13.00.

09:26 EDT Sienna Biopharmaceuticals completes maximal use safety study of SNA-120 - Sienna Biopharmaceuticals announced results from a Phase 1b maximal use pharmacokinetic and safety study of SNA-120, a Phase 2b drug candidate being evaluated as a topical, nonsteroidal therapy to treat itch associated with psoriasis. SNA-120 is a topical tropomyosin receptor kinase A inhibitor that blocks nerve growth factor signaling, which plays an important role in the pathogenesis of itch and psoriasis. SNA-120 was developed using Sienna's Topical by Design platform, which yields new chemical entities designed to deliver high local drug concentration in the target tissue and minimal to no systemic exposure for patients. SNA-120 directly targets the peripheral itch pathway in the psoriatic plaque.The multicenter, open-label, Phase 1b study evaluated the PK and safety of 0.5% SNA-120 administered topically twice daily for four weeks. Circulating plasma levels of SNA-120 were measured in a total of 30 male and female subjects 18 years or older who had moderate to severe itch associated with moderate to severe psoriasis covering 20 percent or more body surface area. The study, using an assay five times more sensitive than previously available, demonstrated minimal to no detectable systemic exposure after BID topical application of SNA-120 under maximal use conditions, with no accumulation of SNA-120 in the plasma. There were no associated clinically relevant changes in overall safety parameters. A total of nine subjects reported 12 adverse events, only one of which was deemed related to the study drug and which was categorized as mild pruritus. Additionally, there were no dermal tolerability issues, no subject discontinuations due to an AE and no severe AEs or serious AEs. Improvements in pruritus and psoriasis were observed in exploratory efficacy analyses. For example, in a post hoc analysis, approximately 57 percent of subjects had at least a 4-grade improvement in the Itch Numeric Rating Scale. However, these efficacy data should be interpreted with caution, as this was a small, four-week study in patients with high body surface area involved and no vehicle comparator.

09:18 EDT Apellis receives Fast Track designation from FDA for APL-2 - Apellis Pharmaceuticals announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Fast Track designation to the company's APL-2, a novel inhibitor of complement factor C3 as a next generation monotherapy, for the treatment of patients with geographic atrophy, an advanced form of age-related macular degeneration. Apellis plans to initiate a Phase 3 trial for patients with GA later this year which will consist of two identical, prospective, multicenter, randomized, double-masked, sham-injection controlled studies to assess the efficacy and safety of multiple intravitreal injections of APL-2 in patients with GA.

09:14 EDT Leading Brands shareholders approve acquisition of Liquid Media Group - Leading Brands is pleased to announce the results of its special meeting of shareholders which was held on July 23, 2018 to consider matters proposed in the Company's Information Circular dated June 8, 2018 related to the previously announced plan of arrangement involving the Company and Liquid Media Group. At the Meeting, LBIX shareholders approved all the Arrangement resolutions, including the issuance of LBIX common shares forming the consideration to be paid to acquire LMG. The Arrangement is expected to close in the coming weeks, subject to remaining customary closing conditions, including the receipt of Canadian court approval.

09:12 EDT Comtech receives $10.6M in orders from U.S. Army - Comtech announced that during Q4, its Command & Control Technologies group has received new orders totaling $10.6M from the U.S. Army PM Tactical Network to provide Manpack Satellite Terminals and networking equipment to the Defense Logistics Agency SATCOM Program Office and Headquarters United States Marine Corps.

09:04 EDT Assurant CCO Doris Vigo to retire, names John Palowski as successor - Assurant announced the appointment of John Pawloski to senior VP, CCO. Reporting to Carey Roberts, Assurant's CLO, Pawloski will be based in Assurant's Atlanta office and succeeds Doris Vigo, who will remain with Assurant until her retirement at the end of 2019. As CCO Pawloski will lead Assurant's global compliance team and have responsibility for the company's global corporate and regulatory compliance programs. Prior to joining Assurant, Pawloski served as CCO for USAA's Enterprise Staff Agencies group. In that role, he led a team of professionals who managed the compliance risks facing their insurance, banking and investment operations.

09:02 EDT United Technologies says 'all options are on the table' for strategic review

09:02 EDT Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Alphabet Class A shares (GOOGL), up 4%... Allegheny Technologies (ATI), up 7%... Biogen (BIIB), up 7%... Lockheed Martin (LMT), up 3%... Harley-Davidson (HOG), up 3%... Verizon (VZ), up 2%. ALSO HIGHER: Eli Lilly (LLY), up 3% after reporting earnings and announcing plans to file a registration statement in the coming weeks with the SEC for a potential initial public offering of a minority ownership stake in Elanco Animal Health as a separate company. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Whirlpool (WHR), down 10%... Quest Diagnostics (DGX), down 5%... Kimberly-Clark (KMB), down 3%. ALSO LOWER: Synovus (SNV), down 7% after reporting earnings and announcing plans to acquire FCB Financial (FCB) in an all-stock transaction valued at $2.9B.

09:00 EDT JetBlue sees CASM ex-fuel inflection during 2H - In slides being presented on its Q2 earnings conference call, JetBlue said it is reducing Q4 capacity growth by 2 points. Says factoring higher fuel prices in preliminary capacity planning for 2019. Says replacing E190 fleet by 2025 to enhance earnings power and returns and carry cost momentum into the next decade. Says Q3 RASM slowing driven by ancillary, says close-in demand remains strong in peaks. Says taking actions to address trends, says will make additional ancillary changes over the coming weeks. Sees CASM ex-fuel inflection during 2H, sees CASM ex-fuel growth negative by 2H. Sees 2H CASM ex-fuel down (3.5%)-(1.5%), including storm impact and one-time Crewmember bonus. Says CASM ex-fuel trends lower in 2H as structural cost program benefits ramp up. Says 2019 and 2020 to see further CASM ex-fuel benefits. Sees Q3 aircraft CapEx $275M-$310M and FY18 aircraft CapEx $850M-$1B; sees Q3 non-aircraft CapEx $35M-$50M, FY18 $150M-$200M.

08:59 EDT Verizon says poised to achieve first mover advantage in 5G - Says expects to gain significant market share in 5G.

08:54 EDT Verizon says making 'significant strides' in strengthening balance sheet

08:52 EDT United Technologies expects Rockwell Collins transaction to close in Q3 - Says on track with regulatory approvals for Rockwell Collins transaction. Expects deal to close in Q3. Says confident in ability to deliver $500M in net cost synergies from the combination. Says Pratt & Whitney is continuing to ramp new engine deliveries. Says needs to watch some risks, especially tariffs. Says going to stay focused on "what we can control." Says end market activity levels remain "robust". Says each of the businesses saw growth in orders. Says "very confident" in the future of the portfolio. Says believes will have a decision on analysis of portfolio in Q4. Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call.

08:44 EDT Verizon says intends to use benefits from tax reform to strengthen balance sheet

08:42 EDT Verizon says wireless business 'continues to be primary driver of growth'

08:39 EDT eBay to roll out Apple Pay acceptance on Marketplace platform this fall - As eBay (EBAY) begins to manage payments on its Marketplace platform, Apple Pay (AAPL) will be among the first forms of payment offered in its new payments experience. Earlier this year, eBay announced it will manage the end-to-end payments flow on its platform to further simplify and improve the buying and selling experience. The company is on track to start managing payments on a limited scale in the US early this fall, at which time buyers will be able to use Apple Pay to purchase items from sellers participating in the initial phase of the new payments experience. Using Apple Pay on Apple iOS and Safari, consumers will be able to check out on eBay via the app and mobile web. eBay will continue to expand its payments initiative in 2019 and expects to have transitioned a majority of its Marketplace customers to its new payments experience by 2021. As the company scales its new payments experience to include more volume in more geographies, Apple Pay will be available to more customers, on more items and in more regions.

08:36 EDT Visa, MoneyGram announce strategic agreement for overseas money transfers - Visa (V) and MoneyGram (MGI) announced a strategic agreement that will modernize and digitize the process of sending and receiving money overseas. Utilizing Visa Direct, Visa's real-time push payments platform, the agreement will enable secure cross border remittances; once live, MoneyGram's service will enable its users to choose their preferred method of sending and receiving funds. Visa Direct allows companies to leverage Visa's global reach and scale to transform domestic and cross-border payments for businesses and consumers. The agreement with MoneyGram is the first cross-border use case for Visa Direct transactions originating in the U.S. The initial phase includes two priority corridors and Visa and MoneyGram intend to later expand the agreement to enable MoneyGram to speed up transactions to additional markets. By collaborating with MoneyGram, one of the largest money transfer providers in the world, Visa is poised to enable the process of sending and receiving money internationally quickly and seamlessly for customers around the world, regardless of borders or location.

08:34 EDT Applied Materials team selected by DARPA to develop technology for AI - Applied Materials announced it has been awarded a contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop a new type of electronic switch for artificial intelligence that mimics the way the human brain works to enable dramatic improvements in performance and power efficiency. The project is being supported by DARPA's Electronics Resurgence Initiative, a multi-year research effort intended to achieve far-reaching improvements in electronics performance well beyond the limits of traditional Moore's Law scaling. Applied is working with Arm and Symetrix to develop a new neuromorphic switch based on CeRAM memory that can allow data to be stored and processed in the same material. The goal of the project is to enable a major improvement in artificial intelligence compute performance and power efficiency with the use of analog signal processing as compared to current digital approaches.

08:32 EDT Dolby, Cinescape to bring first Dolby Cinemas to Kuwait - Dolby Laboratories and the Kuwait National Cinema Company have entered into a three-screen agreement for the first deployments of Dolby Cinema in Kuwait. The first site is expected to open later in 2018 at the 360 Mall in Kuwait City with KNCC operating under the Cinescape brand.

08:32 EDT AbbVie and Neurocrine announce FDA approved Orilissa - AbbVie (ABBV) in cooperation with Neurocrine Biosciences (NBIX), announced that the FDA approved ORILISSA the first and only oral gonadotropin-releasing hormone, or GnRH, antagonist specifically developed for women with moderate to severe endometriosis pain. The FDA approved ORILISSA under priority review. ORILISSA represents the first FDA-approved oral treatment for the management of moderate to severe pain associated with endometriosis in over a decade and is expected to be available in U.S. retail pharmacies in early August.

08:26 EDT Oramed announces Japanese Office plans to grant patent for Exenatide - Oramed Pharmaceuticals announced that the Japanese Intellectual Property Office has publicized its intent to grant Oramed a patent titled, "Methods and Compositions for Oral Administration of Exenatide." The patent covers Oramed's proprietary invention of an oral glucagon-like peptide-1 analog.

08:25 EDT Waters says discovery series has long runway ahead of it - Says pleased with product portfolio, especially new releases. Says Prosolia's DESI technology acquisition bolsters ionization mass spectrometers. Says DESI acquisition highly complementary to existing products. Sees FY18 effective tax rate 13%-15%. Says after slow start to the year, delivered strong Q2. Says back-half revenue growth will be stronger than first half. Comments taken from Q2 earnings conference call.

08:17 EDT LiveXLive Media grows subscribers base to 489,000 - LiveXLive Media announced that the company has achieved significant milestones across key viewing and content KPIs, including: LiveXLive achieved 25MM+ livestreams in 2018 to date; these livestreams were generated from views of 8 music festivals, across 10 unique streaming events, including EDC Las Vegas, Rock On The Range, Country 500, Montreux Jazz Festival, Rock in Rio Lisbon and more; more than 175 artists of nearly every music style have been streamed on the company's platform, including Katy Perry, Demi Lovato, Jesse J, the Killers, Jack White, Muse, DeadMau5 and Gucci Mane; and over 120 hours of live music festival content was streamed to fans globally. The Company has grown its subscriber base to over 489,000.

08:13 EDT Europe fines Asus, Denon Marantz, Philips, Pioneer for fixing prices - The European Commission has fined, in four separate decisions, consumer electronics manufacturers Asus, Denon & Marantz, Philips and Pioneer for imposing fixed or minimum resale prices on their online retailers in breach of EU competition rules. The fines totaling over EUR111M were in all four cases reduced due to the companies' cooperation with the Commission. Asus, Denon & Marantz, Philips and Pioneer engaged in so called "fixed or minimum resale price maintenance" by restricting the ability of their online retailers to set their own retail prices for widely used consumer electronics products such as kitchen appliances, notebooks and hi-fi products. Philips, headquartered in the Netherlands, engaged in resale price maintenance in France between the end of 2011 and 2013 with respect to a range of consumer electronics products such as kitchen appliances, coffee machines, vacuum cleaners, home cinema and home video systems, electric toothbrushes, hair driers and trimmers. All four companies cooperated with the Commission by providing evidence with significant added value and by expressly acknowledging the facts and the infringements of EU antitrust rules. The Commission therefore granted reductions to the fines depending on the extent of this cooperation ranging from 40 % (for Asus, Denon & Marantz and Philips) to 50 % (for Pioneer).

08:10 EDT Amazon announces Manifold serverless blockchain partnership - Manifold Technology, a company engaged in highly scalable blockchain infrastructure, has expanded its collaboration with Amazon Web Services and is now available on the AWS Marketplace in limited release. The new Manifold offering enables AWS customers to deploy their own blockchain infrastructure more quickly, easily, and at lower operational cost than ever before.

08:09 EDT Cue Biopharma appoints Bethany Mancilla as Chief Business Officer - Cue Biopharma (CUE) announced the appointment of Bethany Mancilla as Chief Business Officer and Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Strategic Planning. Mancilla, who most recently served as Vice President, Business Development at Amgen, brings extensive experience in immuno-oncology and more than 20 years of broad, multi-national business development experience to Cue Biopharma. Mancilla will oversee corporate strategy, financing initiatives, and business development, including the implementation of strategic collaborations based on Cue Biopharma's Immuno-STATTM platform. Prior to joining Cue Biopharma, she served as Vice President, Business Development at Amgen (AMGN).

08:07 EDT Canadian National appoints Jean-Jacques Ruest as CEO - The board of CN announced the appointment of Jean-Jacques Ruest as President and CEO of CN effective immediately. Ruest has also been appointed to CN's board. Ruest has been with the company for 22 years, the last eight as Executive Vice-President and Chief Marketing Officer.

08:07 EDT Sabre extends strategic relationship with Red Hat - Sabre (SABR) announced that the company has extended its existing strategic relationship with Red Hat (RHT) to leverage Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform as the foundation for its Next Generation Platform initiative. OpenShift will be the basis of modern architecture that includes microservices, development and operations, DevOps, and a multi-faceted cloud strategy to accelerate Sabre's transition to the Next Generation Platform and lead an industry evolution in the future of retailing, distribution and fulfillment through innovative technology.

08:06 EDT BioXcel Therapeutics announces article highlighting DDP8/9 inhibition - BioXcel Therapeutics announced that dipeptidyl peptidase 8/9 inhibition, the primary mechanism of action of its lead immuno-oncology candidate, BXCL701, was highlighted in an article in the July 2018 edition of the peer-reviewed journal Nature Medicine. BXCL701 is a potential first-in-class, highly potent oral small molecule immuno-modulator that has demonstrated single agent activity in melanoma, with an established safety profile from 700 healthy subjects and cancer patients. It is designed to stimulate both the innate and acquired immune systems by inhibiting DPP8/9 and blocking immune evasion by inhibiting Fibroblast Activation Protein. The paper titled "DPP8/DPP9 inhibitor-induced pyroptosis for treatment of acute myeloid leukemia" by Darren C. Johnson, et al., concluded that activation of caspase recruitment domain-containing protein 8 acts as an inflammasome sensor to activate caspase-1 and mediates DPP8/9 inhibitor-induced cell death in myeloid cells. This therapeutic strategy serves as a potential pathway for direct cytotoxicity of acute myeloid leukemia cells and indirect response to solid tumors. Multiple prior studies have established DPP8/9 as a novel immune checkpoint that controls the activation of the innate immune system. BTI expects to initiate Phase 2 proof of concept studies evaluating BXCL701 in pancreatic cancer and tNEPC later this year. BTI is also evaluating BXCL701's potential in additional indications, both as a monotherapy and in combination with other immuno-oncology agents and partnering strategies.

08:04 EDT HP Inc., R.R. Donnelley announce deal for HP Indigo High-Definition Presses - HP Inc. (HPQ) announced R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company (RRD) is expanding its digital printing footprint with a strategic investment in the HP Indigo 12000HD Digital Presses across its nationwide network of commercial print facilities. The addition of six HP Indigo 12000HD Digital Presses-the first units purchased in the US-is designed to enhance RRD's ability to deliver high-quality print products for its customers, and significantly bolsters its capacity to more responsively meet their communications needs. The HP Indigo 12000 HD Digital Press supports the widest range of commercial print applications in the industry, servicing virtually any substrate up to 29 inches with sophisticated variable data capabilities, and high-definition image printing setting a new benchmark for digital print quality. The installations, to be completed this summer, will also provide the broader RRD organization and its more than 50,000 customers direct access to the HP Indigo 12000HD's high-performance capabilities. The HP Indigo HD Imaging System, a new high-definition writing head solution, doubles print resolution and uses high screen sets up to 290 LPI for the smoothest photo and high-end commercial print, including art gallery-quality pieces with extensively detailed reproduction specifications.

08:03 EDT Peabody Energy provides Q3 guidance - Relative to the second quarter, Peabody expects the longwall move at North Goonyella to impact third quarter metallurgical segment Adjusted EBITDA margins by about $15 per ton related to costs and sales mix. These impacts are anticipated to be partly offset by increased export thermal coal sales, higher U.S. volumes and positive Resource Management results related to the sale of exploration tenements in Australia. Australian export thermal volumes are expected to continue to increase sequentially, with the fourth quarter anticipated to be the segment's strongest shipping quarter. The North Goonyella longwall has commenced and is expected to be completed in the third quarter. PRB volumes are expected to improve on exit from the rain-affected second quarter shoulder season. In recognition of the company's focus on value over volume, Peabody has tightened its annual PRB volume guidance range to 115M-120M tons. In addition, Peabody continues to focus on its stated financial approach, including investing wisely and returning cash to shareholders.

08:02 EDT Citius Pharmaceuticals receives notice that USPTO allowed issuance of patent - Citius Pharmaceuticals received notice from MD Anderson Cancer Center that the US Patent and Trademark Office, or USPTO, has reviewed and examined the patent application US 2017/051373 A1 and that it is allowed for issuance as a patent. The new invention overcomes limitations in mixing antimicrobial solutions in which components have precipitated because of physical and/or chemical factors, thus limiting the stability of the post-mix solutions.

07:58 EDT Current by GE partners with Nokia to bring smart city technology to Canada - Nokia (NOK) is teaming up with Current, powered by GE (GE) to bring smart city technology to cities across Canada. The two companies have announced a commercial partnership that will help Canadian cities improve operational infrastructure and expand new services to citizens. Under the terms of the agreement, Nokia will gain access to Current by GE's CityIQ platform technology across Canada. The system will repurpose outdoor street lighting into digital infrastructure that collects data and distributes valuable insights to cities via Nokia's safe and secure communications networks.

07:40 EDT GSK, Adaptimmune complete transition of NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell therapy program - GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Adaptimmune Therapeutics (ADAP) announced the transition of the development program for GSK3377794, an NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell therapy, to GSK. As a result of the transition, GSK assumes full responsibility for future research, development, and potential commercialization of this pioneering therapy, and Adaptimmune will receive $27.5M from GSK. GSK '794 is an engineered T-cell therapy, for which a patient's own cells have been genetically modified to express a T-cell receptor recognizing with high affinity the tumor-specific antigen, NY-ESO. When the modified cells are re-infused into the patient, they recognize and kill tumor cells that express the NY-ESO antigen. NY-ESO is expressed at various levels across different tumors, and appears to be expressed at high levels in defined sub-types of soft tissue sarcomas, melanoma, multiple myeloma, bladder cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, ovarian cancer and gastro-intestinal cancers. Effective immediately, GSK will assume responsibilities for all ongoing studies of NY-ESO SPEAR T-cells, including those in NSCLC, and the combination study with KEYTRUDA in multiple myeloma. Successful continuation of development and subsequent commercialization of GSK '794 will trigger additional payments for development milestones, tiered sales milestones, and mid-single to low double-digit royalties on worldwide net sales.

07:38 EDT Kimberly-Clark down 4% to $101.49 after Q2 results, FY18 guidance

07:34 EDT Home Bancorp raises dividend 12% to 19c - The Company announced that its Board of Directors increased the quarterly cash dividend on shares of its common stock to 19c per share payable on August 17 to shareholders of record as of August 6.

07:32 EDT Verizon reports Q2 retail postpaid churn 0.97% vs. 0.94% last year - Reports Q2 retail churn 1.18% vs. 1.18% last year.

07:30 EDT Verizon reports Q2 total wireline revenue $7.5B - Excluding the impact of the revenue recognition standard, total wirelines revenues decreased 3.4 percent year over year in Q2. Total Fios revenues were $3.0 billion, an increase of 2.0 percent year over year. Excluding the impact of the revenue recognition standard, total Fios revenues grew 2.3 percent year over year, driven by Verizon's broadband offerings. In second-quarter 2018, Verizon added a net of 43,000 Fios Internet connections, indicative of strong demand as customers value broadband connections more than ever. Verizon lost 37,000 Fios Video connections in second-quarter 2018 amid pressures from cord-cutting of video bundles.

07:14 EDT Biogen CEO says 'we continued to execute on our strategy' - "We continued to execute on our strategy to be the leader in neuroscience, as exemplified by our progress in our growth areas of Alzheimer's disease, neuromuscular disease and acute neurology," said Michel Vounatsos, Biogen's CEO. "Overall, revenues grew nine percent to a record $3.4 billion in the second quarter. The number of patients treated with our MS therapies globally remained relatively stable compared to last year. We saw an increase of over 20 percent in the number of adult SPINRAZA patients in the U.S. versus last quarter, as we work to increase access and adoption in older patients. Outside the U.S., the pace of reimbursement for SPINRAZA across multiple geographies supported meaningful revenue growth, and we look forward to introducing the therapy to new markets worldwide. In addition, we have made advancements in Alzheimer's disease, with the completed enrollment in the aducanumab Phase 3 studies and encouraging topline data for BAN2401. We also continued to expand our neuroscience pipeline with new assets targeting stroke and muscle enhancement."

07:09 EDT Rexford Industrial acquires two industrial properties for $20.3M - Rexford Industrial Realty announced the acquisition of two industrial properties for $20.3M. The acquisitions were funded using available cash on hand. The Company acquired 10747 Norwalk Boulevard, located in Santa Fe Springs within the LA - Mid-Counties submarket for $10.8M, or $206 per square foot. The single-tenant building contains 52,691 square feet on 2.56 acres of land and is leased at a below-market rate to a strong tenant. Rexford Industrial also acquired 29003 Avenue Sherman, located in Valencia within the LA - San Fernando Valley submarket, for $9.5M, or $139 per square foot. The modern building contains 68,123 square feet on 2.78 acres of land and features 26' clear height with ESFR fire sprinklers.

07:06 EDT Hancock Jaffe receives Ethics Committee approval for VenoValve study - Hancock Jaffe Laboratories announced that it has received approval from the Ethics Committee at Fundacion Santa Fe de Bogota, in Bogota Colombia, for the first-in-human testing of its VenoValve bioprosthetic medical device. Hancock Jaffe Laboratories is also waiting for approval from FSFB's Medical Research Committee. Hancock Jaffe is developing the VenoValve to treat severe cases of Chronic Venous Insufficiency. CVI occurs when the valves within the deep venous system of the leg are injured or destroyed, causing blood to pool in the lower extremities. CVI may result in swelling, debilitating pain, and skin ulcerations. Practitioners rate the severity of CVI based upon a system called Clinical-Etiology-Anatomy-Pathophysiology, a rating system of C0 to C6, with C4, C5, and C6 being the most severe cases. Approximately 4.5 million people in the U.S. suffer from severe CVI and the condition results from between 400,000 to 700,000 hospitalizations per year. There are currently no FDA approved treatments for deep venous CVI.

07:05 EDT JetBlue sees FY18 capacity up 6.5%-7.5% - For the full year 2018, JetBlue expects capacity to increase between 6.5% and 7.5%, including a 2 point reduction to capacity in the fourth quarter of 2018. For the full year 2018, JetBlue expects year over year CASM Ex-Fuel to be between (1.0)% and 1.0%. CASM Ex-Fuel guidance includes accelerated depreciation of approximately $0.4 million per quarter for the balance of 2018, related to the E190 asset impairment. "I'd like to thank our 22,000 Crewmembers, for everything they do to deliver an outstanding JetBlue experience to our Customers. Our financial performance was impacted by the holiday calendar, but more importantly, by fuel prices that increased over 40% year over year. The team is focused on mitigating the impact of higher fuel in order to stabilize and improve our margins. We are planning a series of adjustments to both capacity and our ancillary revenue to take effect over the coming months," said Robin Hayes, JetBlue's CEO. "We continue to target a mid-to-high single digit capacity growth, and are taking a number of actions to adjust to higher oil prices. We are updating our 2018 capacity guidance, including a 2-point reduction to our fourth quarter growth that will run through our schedules over the next few days," said Marty St. George, JetBlue's EVP Commercial and Planning. "By the end of the quarter we achieved $154 million in 2020 run rate savings as a result of our Structural Cost Program. We continue to expect an inflection in our unit cost trends in the second half as the benefits of the Structural Cost Program build," said Steve Priest, JetBlue's EVP Chief Financial Officer.

07:03 EDT Protalix, Chiesi Farmaceutici expand partnership to include PRX-102 rights - Protalix BioTherapeutics announced the expansion of its partnership with Chiesi Farmaceutici S.p.A., or Chiesi. Protalix and Chiesi entered into an exclusive U.S. license and supply agreement which grants to Chiesi the United States rights for the development and commercialization of PRX-102, the company's chemically modified version of the recombinant protein alpha-Galactosidase-A protein, for the treatment of Fabry disease. In October 2017, Protalix announced an exclusive partnership with Chiesi for the development and commercialization of PRX-102 for the treatment of Fabry disease outside the United States. Under the terms of the U.S. license and supply agreement, Protalix is entitled to an upfront payment of $25M from Chiesi and additional payments of up to a maximum of $20M in development costs, capped at $7.5M per year. Protalix is also eligible to receive an additional up to a maximum of $760M, in the aggregate, in regulatory and commercial milestone payments, and tiered royalties ranging from 15% to 40% on net sales as consideration for product supply. Protalix will continue to be the manufacturer of PRX-102 for clinical development and commercial purposes. In pre-clinical trials, PRX-102 demonstrated a significantly enhanced circulatory half-life and higher enzyme activity in the target organs affected by Fabry disease when compared to currently available versions of the molecule. In clinical development, PRX-102 demonstrated strong positive safety and efficacy data in a phase I/II clinical trial. Fabry patients are currently being enrolled in a global, pivotal phase III clinical trial, and Protalix anticipates starting to report data from these studies in the first half of 2019.

07:02 EDT AstraZeneca to divest Atacand in Europe to Cheplapharm - AstraZeneca has agreed to sell the commercial rights to Atacand and Atacand Plus in Europe to Cheplapharm Arzneimittel GmbH, the company announced. The agreement is expected to complete in the third quarter of 2018. AstraZeneca will continue to manufacture and supply Atacand and Atacand Plus under a supply agreement and will continue to commercialise the medicines in all markets where it still holds the rights. Mark Mallon, Executive Vice President, Global Product & Portfolio Strategy at AstraZeneca, said: "This agreement forms part of our strategy of streamlining our portfolio of mature medicines to enable reinvestment in our main therapy areas and bringing new medicines to patients. Cheplapharm's strong European presence will help expand the commercial potential of Atacand."

07:01 EDT BeiGene initiates Phase 3 clinical trial of pamiparib - BeiGene announced that the first patient was dosed in a global Phase 3 clinical trial of pamiparib, an investigational PARP inhibitor, as maintenance therapy in patients with inoperable locally advanced or metastatic gastric cancer who responded to platinum-based first-line chemotherapy.

06:58 EDT Harley-Davidson backs Q3 motorcycle shipments view of 45,000-50,000 vehicles

06:58 EDT Harley-Davidson reports Q2 motorcycle shipments down 11% to 72,593 vehicles

06:54 EDT Timken to acquire Cone Drive - Timken announced that it has reached an agreement to acquire Cone Drive. Cone Drive sales are expected to be slightly above $100M for FY18. Cone Drive is headquartered in Traverse City, Michigan and has manufacturing operations in the United States and China. The company has a global customer base and employs approximately 500 people. The business produces a broad range of highly customizable precision drive products that include Cone Drive and H-Fang branded high-torque worm gears, harmonic solutions and precision slew drives. Timken expects the acquisition to be accretive to earnings per share excluding one-time costs in the first year of ownership. The transaction, which is subject to customary government and regulatory approvals, is expected to close near the end of August and will be funded with debt.

06:50 EDT Merck announces results from Phase 3 Drive-Forward clinical trial - Merck announced Week 96 results from the Phase 3 DRIVE-FORWARD clinical trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of doravirine, or DOR, the company's investigational non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor, or NNRTI, in combination with other antiretroviral agents, for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adult patients with no prior antiretroviral treatment history. At Week 96, 73.1% of the group treated with once-daily DOR achieved viral suppression as measured by the proportion of patients who achieved HIV-1 RNA of less than 50 copies/mL, compared to 66.0% of the group treated with once-daily ritonavir-boosted darunavir. These study results were presented today as a late-breaking abstract at the 22nd International AIDS Conference taking place July 23-27 in Amsterdam.

06:48 EDT Descartes Systems announces utilization from Wizard Distribution - Descartes Systems announced that Michigan-based Wizard Distribution is using the cloud-based Descartes ShipRush solution to streamline the fulfillment of e-commerce orders. Descartes ShipRush consolidates and executes orders for Wizard by integrating with the company's online storefronts in the U.S. and more than 25 international distributors. The cloud-based Descartes ShipRush solution helps small-to-medium ecommerce businesses, like Wizard Distribution, and omnichannel retailers ship parcels efficiently and cost-effectively. Using the system, companies can automatically receive customer orders from multiple carts, marketplaces and CRM/accounting solutions in one dashboard; compare carrier rates and delivery options in real-time; print shipping labels for major U.S. and global carriers; and track shipments through to final delivery. Integrated with over 70 business systems, including leading ERP, e-commerce, and supply chain systems, Descartes ShipRush helps to streamline order fulfillment and reduce shipping costs.

06:45 EDT LyondellBasell announces Jacques Aigrain to succeed Robert Gwin as chairman - LyondellBasell announced that Robert Gwin, chairman of its board of directors, will resign from the board on November 30. Jacques Aigrain, currently vice chairman, will succeed Gwin as chairman, effective September 24. Aigrain, a director since 2011, is a senior advisor at Warburg Pincus and a director of the London Stock Exchange. He has extensive executive and board experience, including as CEO of Swiss Re. During his tenure as a LyondellBasell director, Aigrain served on multiple committees and is the current chairman of the compensation committee. Gwin has served on LyondellBasell's board of directors since 2011 and has been chairman since August 2013.

06:42 EDT Biogen raises FY18 outlook

06:39 EDT Eli Lilly reports gross margin as a percentage increased to 72.3% in Q2 - Gross margin increased 9 percent, to $4.653B, in Q2 compared with the second quarter of 2017. Gross margin as a percent of revenue was 73.2%, an increase of 0.2 percentage points compared with the second quarter of 2017. The increase in gross margin percent was primarily due to manufacturing efficiencies, largely offset by the effect of foreign exchange rates on international inventories sold and the timing of manufacturing production.

06:37 EDT Veritex, Green Bancorp to merge - Veritex Holdings (VBTX) and Green Bancorp (GNBC) jointly announced the entry into a definitive agreement pursuant to which Green and Green Bank, N.A. will merge with and into Veritex and Veritex Community Bank, respectively. The transaction will create a leading Texas community bank, with 43 branches across Texas, ranking as the tenth largest Texas-based banking institution by deposit market share. The combined franchise would have approximately $7.5B in assets, $5.6B in loans and $5.9B in deposits, based on the companies' balance sheets as of June 30, 2018. Under the terms of the merger agreement, upon completion of the merger, shareholders of Green will receive 0.79 shares of Veritex common stock for each share of Green common stock, valuing the transaction at approximately $1B, or $25.89 per Green share, based on the closing share price of Veritex of $32.77 on July 23, 2018. Legacy Veritex and Green shareholders will collectively own approximately 45% and 55% of the combined company, respectively. Upon completion of the merger, C. Malcolm Holland, current Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Veritex, will continue to serve as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the combined company. Terry Earley, current Chief Financial Officer of Green, will serve as Chief Financial Officer of the combined company, and Geoffrey Greenwade, current President of Green, will serve as the Houston President of the combined company. The board of directors of the combined company will consist of nine members, six from Veritex's current board of directors and three from Green's current board of directors. Veritex expects this acquisition to be approximately 25% accretive to earnings per common share, excluding one-time charges. The transaction is expected to produce approximately 12.0% tangible book value per share dilution at closing with an earnback period of approximately 2.8 years. The merger agreement has been unanimously approved by the board of directors of both Veritex and Green. The merger agreement contains customary representations and warranties and covenants by Veritex and Green. Closing is subject to customary approvals by regulatory authorities and the shareholders of both Veritex and Green, and is expected to occur in the first quarter of 2019.

06:35 EDT Synovus, FCB Financial transaction valued at $58.15 per FCB share

06:34 EDT Synovus and FCB Financial announce merger agreement - Synovus Financial (SNV) and FCB Financial Holdings (FCB) jointly announced their entry into a definitive merger agreement under which Synovus will acquire FCB Financial Holdings, owner of Florida Community Bank, Florida's largest community bank. With the addition of FCB, Synovus will become a top five regional bank by deposits in the Southeast region with pro forma $36B in deposits and $44B in assets. The transaction is expected to close by the Q1 of FY19. Under the terms of the merger agreement, FCB shareholders will receive a fixed ratio of 1.055 shares of Synovus common stock for each common share of FCB in an all-stock transaction. Based on Synovus' closing share price on July 23 the transaction is valued at $58.15 per FCB share or $2.9B in aggregate. Following completion of the merger, former FCB shareholders will own approximately 30% of the combined company. In addition, based on the exchange ratio, Synovus' most recent quarterly dividend translates to a pro forma annualized dividend of $1.06 per FCB share. The transaction is expected to be tax free to FCB shareholders.

06:32 EDT Veritex, Green Bancorp to merge -

06:21 EDT Eli Lilly to separate Elanco Animal Health with IPO - Eli Lilly announced that the company has completed its strategic review of Elanco Animal Health, and will file a registration statement in the coming weeks with the SEC for a potential initial public offering of a minority ownership stake in Elanco as a separate company. The offering is expected to represent an ownership stake of less than 20 percent. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering have not yet been determined. The company expects to complete the IPO process during the second half of 2018. For Lilly's financial reporting, Lilly will continue to consolidate Elanco in its financial results. Lilly plans to divest its remaining ownership through a tax-efficient transaction. Execution of the IPO is dependent upon - and subject to - a number of factors and uncertainties, including business and market conditions.

06:18 EDT Tencent to adapt WebMD's content to Chinese consumers - China's Tencent (TCEHY) has struck a deal to provide WebMD's health-care content to the more than 1B users on its WeChat social network. "Our agreement leverages WebMD's comprehensive, objective content and brings together two of the largest and most credible digital brands to provide it to the Chinese consumer," said Jeremy Schneider, WebMD's Senior Vice President, Corporate Development and Global Strategy. "More than 75 million people in the U.S. rely on WebMD every month to learn about symptoms, wellness, and health news and trends. Now, Chinese consumers can do the same, knowing they can put their trust and confidence in WebMD content on Tencent platforms." "The agreement between WebMD and Tencent has the power to make a difference in the health of the Chinese people," said Meng Zhang, General Manager of the Tencent Healthcare Information Center. "Inaccurate and poor-quality health information has been a longstanding concern in China. Our collaboration with WebMD has the potential to address this issue." WebMD is owned by KKR (KKR). Reference Link

06:12 EDT Johnson & Johnson announces data for Symtuza for treatment of HIV-1 - Janssen Pharmaceutical of Johnson & Johnson announced new data reinforcing the safety and efficacy of switching to Symtuza for the treatment of HIV-1 regardless of prior treatment regimen among treatment-experienced patients. Data presented from another Phase 3 study also provide evidence to support a darunavir-based regimen when rapidly initiating treatment in people who are newly diagnosed with HIV-1. Analyses from the pivotal Phase 3 EMERALD trial further support the efficacy and safety of switching from boosted protease inhibitor-based regimens for the treatment of HIV-1 regardless of prior treatment regimen in virologically suppressed, treatment-experienced adults as previously published. Results from EMERALD showed similar virologic response rates at week 48 and rates of virologic rebound were demonstrated with Symtuza compared to continuation of previous treatment in the overall population. In the new analyses, data is presented in subgroups according to baseline regimen. Results were consistent across subgroups based on bPI regimens used at screening. The EMERALD trial investigates the proportion of patients with virologic rebound cumulative through Week 48. Additionally, interim results from the Phase 3 DIAMOND study provide evidence to support the use of a darunavir-based regimen when rapidly initiating treatment in newly diagnosed HIV-1 patients, as recommended by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services guidelines. DIAMOND is the first Phase 3 trial for a single-tablet regimen conducted in a rapid initiation scenario. In this study, no patients met predefined resistance stopping rules and 81% of patients achieved virologic suppression at Week 24 in an intent-to-treat analysis. 90% of patients achieved virologic suppression based on as-observed analysis. Analysis at 24 weeks is interim, and the primary endpoint will be at 48 Weeks. No patients stopped due to protocol-defined virologic failure, or lack of efficacy, and only one patient discontinued due to an adverse event.

06:06 EDT Forterra announces organizational realignments - Forterra announced an organizational realignment of its Water Pipe & Products segment. Rich Hunter, COO, will direct the operations team and Vik Bhatia, Executive Vice President, will lead the commercial team. In their new capacities, Rich and Vik will continue to report to Jeff Bradley, CEO, and will succeed Bill Kerfin, previously the President of the Water segment, who has left the Company. This organizational realignment is expected to accelerate the execution of the Company's commercial and operational initiatives focused on driving higher margins. Rich, a seasoned operational leader, has been integrally involved with the operations team to reduce cost and improve productivity. Vik brings significant experience driving successful commercial and customer service efforts and has been working closely with the sales team on their commercial approach.

05:45 EDT ViiV Healthcare: landmark GEMINI studies met their primary endpoint - ViiV Healthcare presented at the 22nd International AIDS conference in Amsterdam 48-week results from the phase III GEMINI 1 & 2 studies, assessing the safety and efficacy of a two-drug regimen, or 2DR, of dolutegravir, or DTG, and lamivudine, or 3TC, compared to a three-drug regimen of dolutegravir and two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, or NRTIs, tenofovir disoproxil fumarate/emtricitabine, or TDF/FTC, in treatment-naive, HIV-1 infected adults with baseline viral loads up to 500,000 copies per millilitre, or c/mL. The studies met their primary endpoint for non-inferiority based on plasma HIV-1 RNA less than50c/mL, a standard measure of HIV control, at Week 48. In a pooled analysis, 91% of patients taking DTG + 3TC had HIV-1 RNA less than50 copies/mL compared with 93% of patients taking DTG +TDF/FTC. Pedro Cahn, principal investigator for the GEMINI study programme said: "For the last 15-20 years, the standard of care for HIV has revolved around three-drug regimens. Now that we have more potent drugs, the focus is shifting to tolerability and convenience. The GEMINI studies show that we can get the efficacy of three drugs in a two-drug regimen with the tolerability and drug interaction profile of DTG and 3TC. These are important findings for people living with HIV who will spend their lifetime taking drugs to suppress their virus. The studies have the potential to expand the treatment paradigm for first-line therapy of people living with HIV."

05:35 EDT New Oriental Education reports Q4 student enrollments up 44.9%

05:33 EDT Biohaven receives FDA may proceed letter, initiates trigriluzole Phase 2/3 trial - Biohaven Pharmaceutical announced that it initiated a Phase 2/3 clinical trial of trigriluzole, a novel glutamate modulator, in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease, or AD. The initiation of this trial follows Biohaven's filing of an investigational new drug application, or IND, for trigriluzole in AD and receipt from FDA of authorization to proceed with clinical investigation in this indication. The trial is being conducted in collaboration with the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study, or ADCS, as previously announced, and the first AD patient is expected to enroll in the coming weeks.

05:27 EDT UBS continues to see USD interest rates rise which is likely to support NII - UBS provided the following outlook in their Q2 earnings release: "Global economic growth prospects continue to provide a supportive backdrop to markets, although ongoing geopolitical tensions and rising protectionism have dampened investor confidence and remain a threat. We continue to expect U.S. dollar interest rates to rise gradually, which, despite margin pressure, is likely to support net interest income in Global Wealth Management. In addition to typical seasonality factors in the third quarter, market volatility remains muted overall which is usually less conducive to client activity. Funding costs related to long-term debt and capital instruments issued to comply with regulatory funding and liquidity requirements will be higher than in the previous year, but should be broadly stable compared with the second quarter. As in the first half of the year, our diversified business model should help us make continued progress towards achieving our strategic and financial targets."

05:08 EDT Amazon expands grocery delivery from Whole Foods Market to Long Island, NYC - Amazon and Whole Foods Market launched delivery of natural and organic products from Whole Foods Market through Prime Now in Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Palm Beach, parts of Long Island and select areas in New York City, beginning with lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. 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 and will expand to additional neighborhoods in New York City, and across the U.S. throughout 2018. Customers can start shopping from the Whole Foods Market selection at www.primenow.com or by using the Prime Now app available on Android and iOS devices. Prime members can shop thousands of items across fresh and organic produce, bakery, dairy, meat and seafood, floral and everyday staples from Whole Foods Market, all of which are available for delivery in as little as an hour. Select alcohol is also available for delivery. Delivery from Whole Foods Market through Prime Now is available daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.