Stockwinners Market Radar for July 30, 2018 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:50 EDT Samsung says Q2 memory demand remained solid - In its Q2 earnings report, Samsung (SSNLF) said "demand for high-density products remained strong amid solid demand from data centers", saw NAND shipments respond actively to growing demand for 128GB mobile storage, and saw China demand for high-performance computing chips increasing. Expects Memory market conditions to stay "solid" on "strong demand". In Display segment, Samsung said LCD earnings weakened due to declines in sales volume and ASPs of TV panels. Samsung also saw OLED earnings decrease due to slow demand for flexible panels. Expects "increased shipments of flexible panels to boost earnings" even as competition intensifies with LTPS panels. Flexible OLED panels are the screens used inside Apple's (AAPL) iPhone X, and those are supplied exclusively by Samsung. In IT & Mobile segment, Samsung said the demand for smartphones and tablets grew slightly, but earnings decreased due to increased marketing expenses. Expects the business environment to remain tough due to growing competition and lower prices. In Consumer Electronics segment, Samsung said earnings improved significantly one the back of growing sales of premium products like UHD TVs and new QLED models. Expects to keep earnings growing under "strong year-end seasonal demand". Reference Link

17:30 EDT Oasis Management reports 5.3% passive stake in Renren

17:26 EDT Tenable Holdings insiders buy shares of company stock - Tenable Holdings directors Brooke Seawell and Kimberly Hammonds announced they had purchased shares of company stock. Brooke Seawell purchased 30,000 shares at $23 per share on July 30 and Kimberly Hammonds purchased 21,739 shares at $23 per share on July 30. Another director at the company Arthur Coviello Jr. disclosed that he too had purchased 7,500 shares at $23 per share on July 30.

17:13 EDT Electronics for Imaging down 7.5% afterhours following Q3 guidance

17:10 EDT Avalon Holdings CEO says no plans to divest any holdings - Avalon Holdings has announced today that the company has received numerous inquiries regarding recent trading activity in the company's stock. The company has reviewed the Form 3 filed with the SEC on July 27, 2018. The entity filing the Form 3 is not affiliated with the company and Avalon has no information about that entity's intentions regarding its holdings. In response to inquiries regarding a potential change in control, Ronald Klingle, Chairman and CEO of the company, holds approximately 67% of the voting power in Avalon, and has advised the company that he has no present plans to divest any of his holdings. Further information regarding the voting rights of the company's shareholders is included in the company's filings with the SEC, including its most recent proxy statement filed on March 16, 2018. While the company is confident in its business plan, it has made no recent material changes to that plan and is unaware of any information or events that would warrant the stock activity over the last five days other than the purchases disclosed in the Form 3.

17:04 EDT Range Resources backs FY18 production growth outlook of ~11%

17:02 EDT Toyota announces second iteration of hydrogen fuel cell electric Class 8 truck - Toyota unveiled the second iteration of its hydrogen fuel cell electric Class 8 truck during the Center for Automotive Research Management Briefing Seminars in Northern Michigan. The new truck, known internally as "Beta," expands on the capabilities of Toyota's first Project Portal test vehicle by increasing the estimated range to more than 300 miles per fill. The truck also enhances versatility and maneuverability with the addition of a sleeper cab and a unique fuel cabinet combination that further increases cab space without increasing wheelbase. Since it first began operation in April 2017, the Project Portal "Alpha" truck has logged nearly 10,000 miles of testing and real-world drayage operations in and around the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles while emitting nothing but water vapor. The Beta vehicle will begin drayage operations in the fall, increasing the Ports' zero emission trucking capacity and further reducing the environmental impact of drayage operations.

16:58 EDT Pulse Biosciences treats first patient in Nano-Pulse Stimulation study - Pulse Biosciences treated the first patient in a clinical study to evaluate Nano-Pulse Stimulation, NPS, in a common skin cancer, Basal Cell Carcinoma or BCC. Patients in the study will be treated with NPS prior to resection of the BCC lesion, which is the standard of care for BCC lesions. Post resection tissue samples will be assessed for elimination of the BCC lesion in the NPS treatment zone and for biomarkers indicating an immune response to the NPS-treated BCC lesions. NPS is a non-thermal therapy that utilizes ultra-short, nanosecond pulsed electric fields that directly affect and disrupt intracellular structures and have been shown to induce immunogenic cell death in pre-clinical cancer models.

16:55 EDT Kadant sees 'headwinds from the stronger U.S. dollar' - "The strong start to the first half of 2018 has positioned us for another record year of financial performance," CEO Painter continued. "However, we expect headwinds from the stronger U.S. dollar and recently implemented tariffs to negatively impact our reported financial results. Since we announced our first quarter results, our full year diluted EPS guidance has been negatively impacted by an unfavorable foreign currency translation effect of $0.19 per diluted share and additional costs of $0.09 per diluted share related to the trade tariffs and, as a result, we are lowering our diluted EPS guidance for 2018. Without these negative factors, we would have raised our full year EPS guidance."

16:49 EDT AK Steel sees Q3 flat-rolled shipments to rise ~5% from Q2 - AK Steel anticipates that market conditions will remain strong in the third quarter. Accordingly, the company expects: An increase in flat-rolled shipments in the third quarter of approximately 5% compared to the second quarter of 2018. The company expects relatively flat automotive shipments despite the seasonal July automotive plant downturns and higher carbon steel shipments to the distributors and converters market. An average selling price per flat-rolled ton of $1,105. The estimated average selling price reflects an anticipated change in mix as a result of increased shipments to the distributors and converters market tempering the effect of automotive, stainless and electrical steel shipments at relatively higher selling prices. Planned outage costs of approximately $8.0 million in the third quarter of 2018, compared to $17.9 million in the second quarter. The anticipated improvements in pricing and shipments will be partially offset by the continued outage of one of the company's temper mills, which is expected to be operating by late September, as well as from higher costs for certain raw materials and supplies including graphite electrodes. Accordingly, the company expects margins to improve by about 50 basis points from the second quarter of 2018.

16:41 EDT Castlight Health initiating restructuring program to reduce expenses 10%-15% - The company is announcing a restructuring program to align its operations with its evolving business needs. This is also due, in part, to the recent unexpected churn of a large customer. Under this program, the company intends to reduce operating expenses by 10%-15%. The actions associated with this program are expected to be largely completed by September 30. The company expects to take a restructuring charge in Q3, which will be excluded from its FY18 non-GAAP operating loss and non-GAAP net loss per share calculation.

16:34 EDT Retrophin appoints Noah Rosenberg as Chief Medical Officer - Retrophin announced the appointment of Noah Rosenberg as Chief Medical Officer, where he will oversee the clinical development of Retrophin's product pipeline. Rosenberg brings to Retrophin more than 20 years of clinical and therapeutic development experience, including advancing several mid- and late-stage programs across therapeutic areas through to commercialization. Rosenberg joins Retrophin from Medimetriks Pharmaceuticals.

16:33 EDT Rent-A-Center says continues to make progress on strategic plan - The company's strategic plan focuses on several improvement areas including a cost savings plan, a more targeted value proposition and a robust franchising program. The company continues to make significant progress to strengthen its financial profile and improve results. The cost savings initiatives are significantly ahead of the original schedule and are expected to generate over $100 million in annual run-rate savings, with approximately $70 million expected to be realized in 2018. During the second quarter, the Company implemented substantially all the remaining cost saving initiatives as previously outlined.

16:29 EDT Brixmor backs previous FY18 NAREIT FFO, same property NOI growth outlook - Affirms previously provided NAREIT FFO per diluted share and same property NOI growth expectations for 2018.

16:22 EDT Destination Maternity extends CEO contract - Destination Maternity announced that the company and Chief Executive Officer Marla Ryan have extended from July 30, 2018 to September 30, 2018 the date by which they intend to enter into a new and more complete employment agreement. In tandem, the Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors has commenced a formal review of Destination Maternity's corporate compensation and benefits program. The company believes the review process will take approximately three months. As such, Ms. Ryan's annual and long-term incentives, as well as her total compensation package will be designed to align with the company's new policies following the review.

16:20 EDT SunPower narrows FY18 adjusted EBITDA view to $95M-$125M from $75M-$125M - Sees FY18 GAAP net loss of $830M-$860M.

16:19 EDT UDR raises FY18 AFFO view to $1.78-$1.81 from $1.76-$1.80, consensus $1.93

16:17 EDT Unum Group backs Fy18 after-tax adjsuted ops income growth view 17%-23%

16:16 EDT Illumina reports Q2 gross margin 70.3% vs. 67.0% last year

16:11 EDT TrueBlue CEO Steven Cooper to step down and become Executive Chairman - TrueBlue announced that Chief Executive Officer Steven C. Cooper will become Executive Chairman of the Board, succeeding Joe Sambataro Jr. This transition will take place September 1, 2018 and Mr. Sambataro will remain on the board. Cooper will step down from his role as CEO to be succeeded by President and Chief Operating Officer Patrick Beharelle, who has been named President and CEO and a member of the board, effective September 1, 2018. Mr. Cooper will also retire as an executive of the company at year-end and continue to serve as Chairman of the Board.

16:10 EDT Qiagen, Hamilton launch new collaboration over QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus - Qiagen and Hamilton Robotics, a privately held leader in automation and liquid handling technology, today announced a new collaboration to improve processing of Qiagen's QuantiFERON-TB Gold Plus diagnostic test through the integration of Hamilton's Microlab STAR automated liquid handling workstation into the QFT-Plus assay workflow.

16:04 EDT Sanmina CEO says 'Our pipeline continues to be strong' - "We achieved a significant milestone in our third quarter with revenue of $1.81 billion, the highest quarterly revenue since 2008 when the company refined its strategy to focus on our customers' mission critical products, services and supply chain needs," stated Bob Eulau, CEO of Sanmina Corporation. "Revenue was up 8.2 percent sequentially and 6 percent year over year driven by new program ramps and solid demand across all of our end-market segments. Despite strong revenue, profitability was negatively impacted by unfavorable costs and inefficiencies associated with the ongoing supply constrained environment. As we look to the fourth quarter, I am confident in our team's ability to grow revenue on a sequential and year over year basis and I expect margins to improve as we reduce our cost inefficiencies. Our pipeline continues to be strong and we are optimistic about closing fiscal 2018 on a strong note."

15:59 EDT CBS selecting counsel for probe, no other action taken on matter at meeting - CBS Corporation announced that its board of directors is in the process of selecting outside counsel to conduct an independent investigation. "No other action was taken on this matter at today's board meeting," CBS' board stated. Additionally, the board determined to postpone CBS Corporation's 2018 annual meeting of stockholders that was previously scheduled to be held on August 10. The board will determine a new record date for the 2018 annual meeting of stockholders and will publicly disclose the new date, time and location. At the same time, the board approved a quarterly dividend on the company's stock of 18c per share. The dividend is payable on Oct. 1 to shareholders of record on Sept. 10.

15:32 EDT Hanover Insurance names Eric Cernak head of cyber practice - The Hanover Insurance Group announced Eric C. Cernak has been appointed as the head of its cyber practice. In this role, Cernak is responsible for overseeing The Hanover's corporate cyber strategy across all of its commercial lines and specialty businesses, to ensure a cohesive offering of products and services for the company's independent insurance agent partners.

15:17 EDT Progenics' Azedra approved by FDA - Azedra has been approved for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients 12 years and older with iobenguane scan positive, unresectable, locally advanced or metastatic pheochromocytoma or paraganglioma who require systemic anticancer therapy, according to a label posted to the FDA's website. The FDA PDUFA Date for Progenics' Azedra is today, July 30. Reference Link

15:02 EDT Progenics trading halted, volatility trading pause

14:49 EDT Sinclair says DGA no longer representing directors at WJLA - Sinclair Broadcast Group announced that the Directors Guild of America is no longer representing directors at WJLA in the Washington, D.C. area. The union had represented eight employees working at the station before providing notice of unconditional and complete withdrawal of representation effective on July 10. Dan Mellon, General Manager of WJLA, said, "Our most vital resources are our people, and we appreciate the trust they place in us and are incredibly pleased we can deal directly with them."

14:44 EDT Entercom announces end to reseller agreement with United States Traffic Network - Entercom Communications announced that its reseller agreement with United States Traffic Network, or USTN, has ended. In April, Entercom took back a portion of its broadcast inventory from USTN and said it is "achieving great success selling that inventory through its own sales channels." The company also noted that USTN filed a related lawsuit against Entercom on Friday. "Entercom believes the lawsuit is entirely baseless, frivolous and frankly insulting. Entercom has worked tirelessly and constructively with USTN over the past six months to help USTN work through its significant financial issues. Entercom is owed substantial amounts of money by USTN, and the company intends to defend itself vigorously and assert all of its rights," the company said. David Field, President and CEO of Entercom, added: "We are relieved to no longer be mired by the difficult USTN situation that was inherited as part of the CBS Radio merger. We will move quickly to augment our strong internal sales organization to ensure that we realize the full value of this inventory. With leading news brands like 1010 WINS in New York, KNX in Los Angeles, and WBBM in Chicago, Entercom has the industry's most valuable traffic inventory and we are pleased to be in control of our own destiny as we pursue opportunities in this attractive market segment."

14:34 EDT Topspin Fund reports 6.9% passive stake in Constellation Pharmaceuticals

14:05 EDT Jonathan M. Glaser reports 5.12% passive stake in Jaguar Health

13:04 EDT Surface Oncology anti-CD47 monoclonal antibody granted orphan designation - Surface Oncology's anti-CD47 monoclonal antibody was granted orphan designation as a treatment of multiple myeloma, according to a post to the FDA website. Reference Link

12:46 EDT Ryanair invites FORSA to meeting after 4th strike by 25% of Irish pilots - Ryanair said in a press release that it invieted FORSA and its Pilot Committee to meet to discuss FORSA's requirements, after next Fridays 4th strike by just 25% of Irish pilots, which has disrupted another 3,500 Irish customers flights. Since all these passengers have now been re-accommodated or refunded, these 20 cancelled flights cannot be restored even if this 4th strike is called off, as the damage to Ryanair's Irish business has already been done. Ryanair also released details of FORSA's 11 requirements, 9 of which have already been agreed by Ryanair. Only 2 of these, no.6, and no.11 are not agreed. Given how much Ryanair has already agreed to, it is irresponsible of FORSA to call repeated strikes of Irish pilots and refuse to meet Ryanair, which has damaged Ryanair's Irish business and led to 300 pilots and cabin crew receiving protective notices, the company said. "The 20 cancelled flights next Friday cannot be recovered even if this unnecessary strike is called off," Ryanair COO Peter Bellew said. "We hope FORSA will accept our invitation to meet either next Saturday or any day the following week commencing Mon 6 Aug, as long as no more strikes are called while we meet, and no Aer Lingus pilots are involved in these negotiations. FORSA's call for a meeting lacks credibility when we invited them to meet us last Wednesday, and their only response was to refuse, and instead call a 4th strike. We apologise to the 3,500 Irish customers, but who have now been re-accommodated or refunded. We share their frustration at these strikes, which are unnecessary when we have already agreed to 9 of FORSA's 11 requirements."

12:15 EDT Vivendi 'confident' in outlook for the second half of 2018 - Vivendi said it is confident in its outlook for the second half of 2018. "In particular, Canal+ Group confirms that its target EBITA before restructuring charges could reach close to EUR450M in 2018. In addition, Havas expects better organic growth of net revenues for the second half of 2018, thanks to major account wins in the first half of the year," the company said.

12:09 EDT Organovo falls after started with 'Strong Sell' rating by Cliffside - Cliffside Research issued a new short report on Organovo, placing a "Strong Sell" rating and 34c price target on the shares. The company "essentially admitted on their recent earnings call that their current business will never be profitable" and is purely a "funding mechanism" for advancing NovoTissue, which Cliffside does not believe will ever receive FDA approval, the firm said in its report. Organovo shares are down 10c, or 8%, to $1.12 near midday. Reference Link

12:01 EDT Community West Bancshares appoints Paul Ulrich as Chief Credit Officer - Community West Bancshares, parent company of Community West Bank, announced that Paul Ulrich has joined the bank as Executive Vice President, Chief Credit Officer. He will be responsible for the overall credit quality of the bank's loan portfolio. He most recently served as Senior Vice President and Chief Credit Officer at Evans Bank.

12:00 EDT Care.com falls -15.0% - Care.com is down -15.0%, or -$3.12 to $17.64.

12:00 EDT Alliance One rises 9.5% - Alliance One is up 9.5%, or $1.30 to $15.00.

12:00 EDT Horizon Global rises 12.2% - Horizon Global is up 12.2%, or 66c to $6.06.

11:39 EDT United Continental strengthens domestic route network - United Airlines announced it will begin new daily service between its hub at Washington Dulles International Airport and Miami International Airport. United's newest route announcement builds on the airline's focus to offer its customers more opportunities to conveniently connect to more domestic and international destinations than ever before by boosting connectivity and expanding service from its seven U.S. gateways. United is also increasing flying between its Washington Dulles hub and Orlando and Tampa. Beginning Nov. 28, through Jan. 6, 2019, United will increase to five daily flights to Orlando, and between Dec. 26, through Jan. 26, 2019, the airline will increase to four daily flights to Tampa. From Dec.19, through March 30, 2019, United will offer daily service between Washington Dulles and Miami and twice daily service during peak holiday travel, Dec. 24, through Jan. 6, 2019, with Airbus A319 aircraft. Tickets are now available for purchase. In addition to its new service between Washington Dulles and Miami, United offers up to 16 daily flights to Miami from its hubs in Chicago, Denver, Houston, New York/Newark and San Francisco. In the last four months, United has launched service to 33 destinations in 18 states from its domestic hubs. From each hub, the new flights offer customers hundreds of connection opportunities to destinations throughout the United States and to more than 110 international destinations in more than 50 countries around the world. In addition to new destinations, United has expanded service to more than 40 U.S. cities by adding either more flights or larger aircraft.

11:32 EDT Care.com acquires Town + Country, Galore,Trusted - Care.com announced that it has acquired three Bay Area-based companies to enhance its suite of product offerings: Town + Country, Galore, and Trusted. Care.com CEO Sheila Lirio Marcelo said, "Our mission has always been to leverage technology to help families find the care solutions that fit their needs and to provide the best options and support for our corporate clients and care businesses. Each of these acquisitions builds on that promise, while improving our user experience and adding great talent to our team."

11:27 EDT Caterpillar expects freight costs to remain elevated - Says believes mining customers have yet to begin full-scale fleet replacement. Says expects freight costs to remain elevated. Says intends to largely offset impacts through mid-year price increases and using the Operating & Execution Model. Says using the model coupled with restructuring activity has made Caterpillar a higher-performing company. Says confident in end markets and will remained focused on structural cost control while investing for long-term profitable growth.

11:11 EDT Loews CEO says demand for offshore drilling rigs 'increasing' - Loews CEO Jim Tisch says CCC "performing well," expects the unit to produce double digits cash on cash returns on equity investment in 2018. Tisch says CCC is not in the business of producing single-use plastic items. Says that 97% of CCC's packaging is fully recyclable. Says that YTD, Loews has repurchased 16.6M shares of stock, or 5% of outstanding shares. Says demand for offshore drilling rigs "increasing." Comments taken from the Q2 earnings conference call.

11:02 EDT Lockheed selected as Integrated Systems Developer for Army ExLF program - Lockheed Martin announced the company was selected by the U.S. Army's Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center as the Integrated Systems Developer for its Expedient Leader Follower, or ExLF, program. In this role, Lockheed Martin will lead a three-year effort to develop, integrate and test unmanned prototype systems for supporting leader/follower convoy activities within an asymmetric threat environment, the company said.

10:42 EDT Street Fight: BofA ups AT&T rating to Buy after peer moves to sideline - Shares of AT&T (T) are on the rise after Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst David Barden upgraded the stock to Buy on low valuation, Time Warner deal benefits and favorable emerging wireless business trends. Earlier this month, his peer at Raymond James had downgraded AT&T to Market Perform on deal concerns, arguing that the Department of Justice appeal of the Time Warner case is a negative catalyst for the stock. BOFA SAYS BUY AT&T: In a research note this morning, BofA/Merrill's Barden upgraded AT&T to Buy from Neutral, with a $37 price target. The analyst told investors that his positive view on the name is based upon a 20-year low P/E multiple, immediate and expanding cash and earnings accretion from the Time Warner merger, better than expected wireless business trends that are emerging, and positive optionality on extracting value from the merger of AT&T's distribution network and Time Warner's content and advertising inventory. Barden expects AT&T to file pro forma financial statements in the coming weeks, which should improve Street models and add conviction to numbers. Third quarter results may see a modest recasting of financials as the advertising unit is extracted from the legacy Turner and Entertainment business units, he contends, adding that he believes the first full combined company quarterly results should emerge in late October. He expects continued positive momentum in wireless, improved margin performance in entertainment, and seasonal strength in Warner Media at that time. RAYMOND JAMES MOVES TO SIDELINES: Back on July 13, Raymond James analyst Frank Louthan downgraded AT&T to Market Perform from Outperform, saying he sees the Department of Justice's appeal of the Time Warner case as a negative catalyst for the stock. While the analyst is a "firm advocate" that the court got the original decision correct and this is a "frustrating" delay, he sees the action as a "significant overhang" for an extended period, calling it "not conducive" to share price appreciation. For investors with longer-time horizons, an entry point is likely to emerge during this time, he added. The analyst pointed out that the court can look at the "Yosemite-sized" stack of evidence, but is likely to focus specifically on how Judge Leon applied the law, which should give AT&T "the hare's advantage." Nonetheless, investors will likely be unenthusiastic in holding the shares during the process, as they did during the last trial, he contended. PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, shares of AT&T gained about 2.5% to $31.86.

10:07 EDT Health Insurance Innovations rises as OIRA final rule posting circulated - A posting to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs shows that OIRA concluded its EO 12866 Regulatory Review on July 27. The final rule amends the definition of short-term, limited-duration insurance for purposes of its exclusion from the definition of individual health insurance coverage. "This action is being taken to lengthen the maximum period of short-term, limited-duration insurance, which will provide more consumer choice for health coverage," OIRA stated. Shares of Health Insurance Innovations are up $1.45, or 4.7%, to $32.45 in early trading as the OIRA posting is circulated. Reference Link

10:03 EDT FDA approves Roche's cobas HPV Test for first-line cervical cancer screening - Roche announced that it has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval for the cobas HPV Test to be used as the first-line screening test for cervical cancer in women 25 and older using cervical specimens collected in SurePath preservative fluid, a collection medium commonly used for Pap tests. The Roche test is now the only Human Papillomavirus test approved for use as a primary screening test with both SurePath and ThinPrep PreservCyt Solution, the two types of liquid media used to collect samples for the vast majority of Pap or HPV tests in the U.S. With this FDA decision, the cobas HPV Test is now approved for all of the cervical cancer screening indications that are supported by professional society guidelines-primary screening in women 25 and older, reflex testing of unclear Pap test results in women 21 and older and co-testing with a Pap test in women 30 and older-with both of the primary collection media types.

10:00 EDT Yirendai falls -7.4% - Yirendai is down -7.4%, or -$1.43 to $17.90.

10:00 EDT US Foods falls -12.6% - US Foods is down -12.6%, or -$5.13 to $35.47.

10:00 EDT Triton International rises 7.5% - Triton International is up 7.5%, or $2.32 to $33.30.

09:50 EDT LKQ Corp. mentioned positively at Off Wall Street

09:47 EDT KBR rises 6.1% - KBR is up 6.1%, or $1.15 to $19.86.

09:47 EDT Triton International rises 8.3% - Triton International is up 8.3%, or $2.58 to $33.56.

09:29 EDT Colony Bankcorp appoints T. Heath Fountain as CEO - Colony Bankcorp, the holding company for Colony Bank, announced the appointment of T. Heath Fountain as its President & CEO. Fountain most recently served as President & CEO of Planters First Bank. Fountain succeeds Edward P. Loomis, Jr., who is retiring from the company after six years of service. Loomis will remain on the company's board through his current term ending in May of 2019.

09:27 EDT PlayAGS awarded order by AGLC - PlayAGS announced that after a highly successful field trial, Alberta Gaming, Liquor & Cannabis, or AGLC, has awarded the Company its first large order. AGS will install 132 Orion Portrait cabinets and four of its best-performing games in 24 locations throughout the Canadian province. The AGS contract award follows a field trial of 24 Orion Portrait games that generated performance above house average and provided a positive player experience.

09:20 EDT InnerWorkings enters agreement with Engine Capital, adds two new directors - InnerWorkings announced that it has entered into an agreement with Engine Capital. As part of the agreement, the company confirmed the addition of two new independent directors, Lindsay Corby and Adam Gutstein, to the board. Also, the company has agreed to engage a third-party consultant to review the company's entire cost structure in connection with the company's internal cost reduction planning. Engine Capital has withdrawn a notice of intention to nominate three candidates for election at the 2018 annual meeting of stockholders and has agreed to vote its shares in favor of all of the company's director nominees at the annual meeting. Additionally, Engine Capital has agreed to other customary standstill and related provisions.

09:17 EDT MYnd Analytics partners with Gulf Coast on behavioral health solutions launch - MYnd Analytics announced its wholly owned subsidiary, Arcadian Telepsychiatry Services, recently launched a new program, through its provider network, offering behavioral health solutions for skilled nursing and assisted living facilities. In connection with the launch, Arcadian announced plans to deploy the program at the Bayside Health and Rehabilitation skilled nursing facility in Florida this July. Bayside is a subsidiary of Gulf Coast Health Care, which operates 42 skilled nursing and assisted living centers throughout Florida and Mississippi, MYnd noted.

09:15 EDT InnerWorkings: Jack Greenberg to return to role as chairman - InnerWorkings announced that following the company's September 6, 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, the company's Lead Independent Director, Jack Greenberg, will return to his role as Chairman of the Board of Directors, a role he previously held from June 2010 to April 2018. The company's current Executive Chairman of the Board, Eric Belcher, will continue to serve on the Board through December 31, 2018, at which time he will retire from the Board. Additionally, the Board of Directors has resolved to appoint Lindsay Corby and Adam Gutstein as independent directors to the Board.

09:12 EDT Pebblebrook Hotel comments on LaSalle Hotel's rejection of merger - Pebblebrook Hotel (PEB) commented on the decision by the board of trustees of LaSalle Hotel (LHO) to reject Pebblebrook's revised merger offer, valued at $36.21 per share and their continued support of the LaSalle-Blackstone (BX) merger agreement at its take-under price of $33.50 per share. "We are incredibly disappointed that the LaSalle Board has again rejected our superior proposal for a value-maximizing strategic merger with Pebblebrook and reaffirmed its commitment to a clearly inferior take-under offer from Blackstone. LaSalle's Board has failed in its fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of its shareholders by moving forward with a merger at a price that continues to be materially lower than Pebblebrook's offer, and against the clear desires of its shareholders," said Jon Bortz, chairman, president and CEO of Pebblebrook Hotel . "As one of LaSalle's largest shareholders, we believe the LaSalle Board's decision to move forward with the Blackstone merger agreement would, but for the will of its shareholders to vote it down, otherwise result in an egregious transfer of value away from LaSalle shareholders. As we have previously stated, we intend to vote our 10.8 million (9.8%) LaSalle common shares 'AGAINST' the Blackstone proposal. We have spoken with the owners of the vast majority of LaSalle common shares, who have all expressed their support for our offer over the Blackstone proposal, and we see no scenario in which shareholders approve Blackstone's take-under deal. As such, we are reconfirming that our outstanding offer will continue to be available for the LaSalle Board's consideration for a reasonable period of time following a rejection of the Blackstone proposal by shareholders - which we believe is inevitable. We remain prepared to move quickly to execute a merger agreement."

09:08 EDT Comtech awarded $3M by an international space, communications customer - Comtech announced that during Q4, its Command & Control Technologies group was awarded an order in excess of $3M by an international space and communications customer.

09:06 EDT Newtek announces shareholder approval to reduce asset coverage requirement - Newtek Business Services announced that at the company's special meeting of shareholders, held on July 26, 2018, its shareholders approved, among other things, the application of the modified asset coverage requirements set forth in Section 61(a)(2) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended by the Small Business Credit Availability Act. As a result, the company's asset coverage requirements for senior securities will be reduced from 200% to 150%, effective July 27, 2018.

09:05 EDT Booz Allen receives $885M task order from GSA FEDSIM - The General Services Administration Federal Systems Integration and Management Center recently awarded Booz Allen Hamilton an $885M contract to provide an eMAPS solution that will enable the USG Program Office, Defense Department partners and the intelligence community to rapidly employ artificial intelligence, neural and deep neural networks - over a five-year period. The new contract expands on Booz Allen's legacy supporting the USG Program Office community. It will focus on integrating machine learning capabilities with a full spectrum of Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance systems that support military operations.

09:04 EDT Motorola Solutions files copyright infringement complaint against Hytera - Motorola Solutions announced it has filed a motion to add a claim for copyright infringement to its litigation pending in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against Hytera Communications Corporation Limited, Hytera America, Inc. and Hytera Communications America, Inc. The new claim asserts that Hytera has unlawfully copied Motorola Solutions' source code into the source code used in Hytera products in violation of U.S. copyright laws, which only became known to Motorola Solutions during hearings related to the trade secret litigation. As previously announced, in March 2017 Motorola Solutions filed complaints against Hytera in the District Court asserting that Hytera's two-way radios, base stations, repeaters and dispatch systems, as well as its related commercialization and sales activities, are infringing patents owned by Motorola Solutions and utilizing stolen Motorola Solutions trade secrets. Motorola Solutions' new claim asserts that Hytera illegally obtained Motorola Solutions' source code for its software computer programs-among the most confidential and carefully guarded of Motorola Solutions' proprietary technology-and copied portions of it verbatim into Hytera's digital two-way radio products. Motorola Solutions believes this claim represents clear additional evidence that Hytera's employees copied Motorola Solutions' proprietary technologies. As a result, Motorola Solutions is bringing this new claim against Hytera for copyright infringement as part of its efforts to protect its valuable intellectual property from Hytera's copying and theft.

09:02 EDT T-Mobile, Nokia sign $3.5B multi-year 5G network agreement - T-Mobile (TMUS)) and Nokia (NOK) announced a landmark $3.5B agreement to accelerate the deployment of a nationwide 5G network. Nokia will provide T-Mobile with its complete end-to-end 5G technology, software and services portfolio, assisting the Un-carrier in its efforts to bring its 5G network to market for customers in the critical first years of the 5G cycle. "We are all in on 5G," said Neville Ray, Chief Technology Officer at T-Mobile. "Every dollar we spend is a 5G dollar, and our agreement with Nokia underscores the kind of investment we're making to bring customers a mobile, nationwide 5G network. And together with Sprint, we'll be able to do So. Much. More." As part of the agreement, Nokia will help build T-Mobile's nationwide 5G network with 600 MHz and 28 GHz millimeter wave 5G capabilities compliant with 3GPP 5G New Radio standards. T-Mobile will leverage multiple products across Nokia's end-to-end 5G technology, software and services portfolio, including commercial AirScale radio platforms and cloud-native core, AirFrame hardware, CloudBand software, SON and 5G Acceleration Services. Using 5G, Nokia and T-Mobile will develop, test and launch the next generation of connectivity services that will cover a wide range of industries, including enterprise, smart cities, utilities, transportation, health, manufacturing, retail, agriculture and government agencies.

09:02 EDT T-Mobile, Nokia sign $3.5B multi-year 5G network agreement

08:57 EDT Diana Shipping announces time charter contract for m/v Seattle with Koch - Diana Shipping announced that, through a separate wholly-owned subsidiary, it has entered into a time charter contract with Koch Shipping, Singapore, for one of its Capesize dry bulk vessels, the m/v Seattle. The gross charter rate is $24,000 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties, for a period of minimum four months to maximum six months. The charter commenced earlier today. The m/v Seattle was chartered, as previously announced, at a gross charter rate of $11,700 per day, minus a 5% commission paid to third parties. The "Seattle" is a 179,362 dwt Capesize dry bulk vessel built in 2011. This employment is anticipated to generate approximately $2.88M of gross revenue for the minimum scheduled period of the time charter.

08:47 EDT DSP Group sees Q3 revenue $32M-$34M, consensus $32.5M

08:44 EDT DSP Group sees Q3 VOIP revenue $10M-$12M

08:37 EDT Ranger Energy increases board to nine directors, appoints Michael Kearney - Ranger Energy (RNGR) announced that the board voted to increase the size of the board from eight directors to nine directors. Ranger also announced the appointment of Michael Kearney to the board to fill the newly created vacancy. Kearney was also appointed to the board's audit committee. Kearney currently serves as Frank's International's (FI) chairman, president and CEO, a position he has held since September 2017. Kearney has served as a member of Frank's International supervisory board since 2013 and has over 25 years of upstream energy executive and board experience in the oil services sector.

08:35 EDT Nevro and Boston Scientific propose dismissal of claims in patent dispute - Nevro announced that it has filed with Boston Scientific a joint statement proposing dismissal of the declaratory judgment claims that remain outstanding in their patent dispute on the basis of Boston Scientific's representations to the court that it has no plans to launch a high frequency product in the U.S. Nevro's complaint in this case, filed in November 2016, relied in part on Boston Scientific's announced plans to release early in 2017 the results of its ACCELERATE study of high-frequency SCS therapies. The complaint anticipated that, based on those study results, Boston Scientific would imminently seek FDA approval and commercially launch a high-frequency product.

08:34 EDT Capstone Turbine announces 3.4 MW order in Kuwait - Capstone Turbine announced it secured a new 3.4 megawatt order for a gas processing facility in Kuwait. The order includes a new C600 Signature Series microturbine, a new C800 Signature Series microturbine and two remanufactured C1000R microturbines, which will provide prime power for the facility. SPECTO International, Capstone's distributor in Kuwait, secured the project, which is expected to be commissioned in late 2018. The combination of factory remanufactured turbines, and new Signature Series turbines allowed Capstone to provide a full factory warranted solution at an extremely competitive price to meet the end-use customer's tight project budget and delivery timeline. The C1000R packages will receive a rigorous factory inspection, be upgraded to include the latest Signature Series product updates and will receive a full factory performance and acceptance test prior to their shipment and installation in Kuwait.

08:33 EDT Mercury General declares quarterly dividend of 62.5c per share - The dividend will be paid on September 27 to shareholders of record on September 13.

08:33 EDT CGI Group awarded $530M task order by DHS - CGI announced that it has been awarded a six-year, $530M task order contract to continually enhance the cybersecurity posture and risk awareness of federal government agencies participating in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's, or DHS, Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation, or CDM, Dynamic and Evolving Federal Enterprise Network Defense - Group C. The contract was awarded via the U.S. General Services Administration's Alliant government-wide acquisition contract through an acquisition conducted by GSA FEDSIM.

08:31 EDT Bilibili announces updates on recent online content inspection - Bilibili announced that in accordance with the recent Central Cyberspace Administration of the People's Republic of China nationwide inspection of major internet platforms providing short-video content, the Company has been notified by certain smartphone APP stores in China that Bilibili mobile APP has been temporarily removed from July 26, 2018 till August 25, 2018. The company expects to quickly implement the required measures and reinstate the mobile APP downloads from those app stores.

08:31 EDT MSCI announces sale of InvestorForce to Resurgens Technology Partners - MSCI Inc. announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell InvestorForce to Resurgens Technology Partners. Resurgens Technology Partners intends to merge InvestorForce with its portfolio company Investment Metrics, a provider of investment reporting and analytical solutions. The terms of the transaction, including the purchase price, were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to close within the next three months and is subject to customary closing conditions.

08:17 EDT LaSalle Hotel's board recommends shareholders vote for Blackstone merger - LaSalle Hotel (LHO) announced that its board has determined that the unsolicited proposal received from Pebblebrook Hotel (PEB) on July 20 to acquire the company, which contained substantially identical terms as the unsolicited proposal received from Pebblebrook on June 11, does not constitute, and could not reasonably be expected to lead to, a "Superior Proposal" as defined in LaSalle's merger agreement with affiliates of Blackstone (BX). As previously announced on May 21, LaSalle entered into the Blackstone merger agreement, under which Blackstone will acquire all outstanding common shares of beneficial interest of LaSalle for $33.50 per share in an all-cash transaction valued at $4.8B. The board remains committed to completing the Blackstone transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, including the approval of LaSalle's shareholders. In that regard, and as separately announced, the company filed its definitive proxy statement with the SEC, which includes the board's unanimous recommendation that LaSalle shareholders vote "FOR" the proposal to approve the merger and the other transactions contemplated by the Blackstone merger agreement by voting the White proxy card.

08:13 EDT ManTech awarded $47M contract for H053 technical support - ManTech announced a four-year $47M award with the DoD Information Analysis Center's Defense Systems Technical Area Task Multi-Award Contract to provide technical support and collaboration for the U.S. Navy Naval Air Systems Command H-53 Heavy Lift Helicopter program. ManTech will provide PMA-261 and collaborating programs with digital technical data products including interactive electronic technical manuals, common source data tools, and integration capabilities for logistics technical data solutions in Aviation Logistics Environment systems. ManTech's work will ensure the effective and optimized integration of legacy technical data into digital solutions including maximizing the use of automation.

08:12 EDT Seagate names Kathryn Scolnick as interim CFO

08:10 EDT Soleno Therapeutics receive FDA Fast Track designation for DCCR - Soleno Therapeutics announced that the FDA has granted Fast Track designation to Diazoxide Choline Controlled-Release, or DCCR, for the treatment of Prader-Willi Syndrome, or PWS. Soleno is currently conducting a Phase III clinical trial of DCCR for the treatment of PWS.

08:08 EDT Apricus Biosciences announces merger agreement with Seelos Therapeutics - Apricus Biosciences (APRI) announced the signing of a definitive agreement to merge with Seelos Therapeutics in an all-stock transaction. The merged company will focus on the development and commercialization of central nervous system therapeutics with known mechanisms of action in areas with a highly unmet medical need. Upon completion of the proposed merger, the name of the merged company will be Seelos Therapeutics, Inc., and the company is expected to begin trading on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker symbol "SEEL." Seelos will maintain its headquarters in New York, New York. With a broad product pipeline, Seelos is well-positioned to address unmet needs in multiple CNS disorders. The Company is advancing late-stage therapeutic candidates with proven mechanisms of action. In 2016, Seelos established a multi-program partnership with Ligand Pharmaceuticals, Incorporated (LGND) forming the basis for Seelos' lead programs. Ligand has an established track record of licensing foundational assets at the early stages of company formation. The license agreement grants Seelos worldwide rights to develop and commercialize the SLS-006, -008, -010 and -012 programs from Ligand. Ligand is expected to be a shareholder of Seelos at the closing of the merger by way of an equity milestone payment from Seelos and is entitled to other potential future milestones and royalties for licensed programs. Under the terms of the merger agreement, the holders of Seelos' outstanding capital stock immediately prior to the merger will receive shares of common stock of Apricus upon closing of the merger. On a pro forma and fully-diluted basis, Seelos shareholders are expected to own approximately 86% of the merged company and current Apricus shareholders are expected to own approximately 14% of the merged company, subject to customary adjustments of net cash upon closing. Upon closing, current Apricus shareholders will receive one Contingent Value Right per share of Apricus common stock owned. The CVR is comprised of the following payments: Upon successful out-licensing of Vitaros assets, 90% of any cash amount exceeding $500,000 will be distributed to Apricus shareholders as of the record date immediately prior to the closing of the proposed merger transaction. If any consideration is received other than cash, 90% of the fair market value of such consideration shall be paid to Apricus shareholders as of the record date, as fully described in the CVR Agreement that will be entered into among Apricus, Seelos, and the Rights Agent. In order to be eligible for the CVR, an Apricus shareholder must be a holder of record at the close of business immediately prior to the closing of the merger between Apricus and Seelos. The proposed merger has been unanimously approved by the board of directors of each company and is expected to close during the second half of 2018, subject to approval of the transaction by the shareholders of both companies, and other customary closing conditions.

08:06 EDT Dish to offer $5 per month credits to certain subscribers - With Univision renewal talks in an apparent deadlock, DISH has announced it will be offering $5 per month credits to DishLATINO and Sling Latino package subscribers. On June 30, Univision Communications blocked DishLATINO and DISH customers from accessing three of its channels: Univision, UniMas and Galavision, and blocked Sling customers from accessing all of its channels on the service.

08:05 EDT NAPCO Security announces 195 locks order from Florida school district - NAPCO Security Technologies announced that a large South Florida school district has ordered 195 Survivor Series Locks for use in its schools. The Survivor Series Locks will be installed in the school buildings throughout this school district.

08:04 EDT Frontier Communications announces new labor agreement with CWA - Frontier Communications and the Communications Workers of America District 9, or CWA, announced the signing and ratification of a new labor agreement amending and extending existing contracts with CWA in California through September 2020. The ratified agreement will benefit CWA-represented employees with extended job security and other improvements. Frontier's customers in California are assured of uninterrupted service from experienced telecommunications employees. Under the new agreement, Frontier has agreed to extend current collective bargaining agreements. Highlights of the revised agreement include extending the existing contracts by 18 months with a no layoff provision and pay increases of 2.25% and 2%.

08:04 EDT Thales Alenia Space and Maxar Technologies sign agreement - Thales Alenia Space, a Joint Venture between Thales and Leonardo, and SSL, a Maxar Technologies company have signed a consortium agreement to pursue the development and manufacture of Telesat's highly advanced global LEO satellite constellation and end-to-end system. In addition the consortium, led by Thales Alenia Space, announced today that they have been awarded a contract by Telesat for a System Design and Risk Management Project for the Telesat LEO constellation.

08:02 EDT Seagate: Results reflect 'strong' demand for mass storage products - "We achieved our third consecutive quarter of year-over-year revenue growth and exceeded our financial performance expectations for both the June quarter and this fiscal year. Seagate's year-over-year revenue and profitability growth results for fiscal year 2018 reflect solid execution and strong demand for our mass storage products. Looking ahead, we are confident that storage infrastructure demand will continue to grow with the Data Age digital transformations being fueled by new technologies, emerging industries and growing businesses. We believe Seagate has expanding opportunities to support the marketplace in these transformations and that we have the vision, products, technology and operational experience to ensure our long-term success and grow shareholder value," said Dave Mosley, Seagate's CEO.

08:02 EDT Durect announces Indivior reported FDA approval of NDA for Perseris - DURECT announced that Indivior has reported that the FDA has approved the New Drug Application, or NDA, for PERSERIS, which was formerly known as RBP-7000. As described by Indivior, PERSERIS is the first once-monthly subcutaneous risperidone-containing, long-acting injectable for the treatment of schizophrenia in adults.

07:51 EDT Kitov Pharmaceuticals announces settlement of shareholder class action lawsuit - Kitov Pharma announced that it has entered into a Stipulation of Settlement with respect to the shareholder class action lawsuits pending against it in Cohen v. Kitov Pharmaceuticals Holdings, Ltd., et al., Civil Action No. 1:17-cv-00917-LGS, and Ng, v. Kitov Pharmaceuticals Holdings, Ltd., et al., Case No. 17CIV00620 and Zulch v. Kitov Pharmaceuticals Holdings, Ltd., et al., Case No. 17CIV01173. As previously disclosed, these lawsuits were filed against the Company alleging violations of U.S. federal securities laws. Under the terms of the proposed settlement, the classes in all of the Actions will receive aggregate consideration of $2.0 million. The settlement consideration, as well as ancillary expenses, is expected to be funded by Kitov's insurance carriers. The company expects that the proposed settlement will have no impact on the company's Statement of Operations. The proposed settlement contains no admission of wrongdoing, and reiterates that Kitov has always maintained, and continues to believe, that it did not engage in any wrongdoing or otherwise commit any violation of federal or state securities laws or other laws, including, vigorous denials that the company's public statements were misleading; that it failed to disclose any material information from investors; or that it acted in any deceitful manner. Kitov has agreed to the proposed settlement on the basis of the advice and recommendations of its insurance carriers who are indemnifying Kitov for the expenses of conducting a defense in the Actions, as well as paying judgments which may be assessed as a result of the Actions. As such, Kitov believes that further litigation of the Actions would be protracted, burdensome, and expensive for Kitov as well as its insurers, and that it is desirable and beneficial that the claims asserted in the Actions be fully and finally settled and terminated in the manner of the proposed settlement, with no additional costs to Kitov.

07:39 EDT Caterpillar sees 2H18 share repurchases 'similar' to 1H18 - In January 2014, the board of directors authorized the repurchase of $10B of Caterpillar common stock. The current program expires at the end of this year. Under this authorization, the company repurchased $1.25B in common stock in the first half of 2018, of which $750M was repurchased in the second quarter. As of June 30, 2018, $4.2B remained on the current authorization. The company currently expects share repurchases during the second half of 2018 to be in a similar range as the first half, but the amount could vary depending upon market conditions and investing priorities. Aligned with the cash deployment strategy, the company plans to be in the market for share repurchases on a fairly consistent basis. In July 2018, the board of directors authorized the repurchase of up to $10B of Caterpillar common stock effective January 1, 2019, with no expiration date.

07:37 EDT Caterpillar says supply chain challenges to continue to pressure freight costs - Most end markets continue to improve, order rates are healthy, and the backlog remained solid in the quarter. For certain applications, particularly in oil and gas and mining, the company is seeing strong demand and taking orders for delivery well into 2019. The company is raising the outlook range primarily due to the continued strength in many end markets. Recently imposed tariffs are expected to impact material costs in the second half of the year by approximately $100M-$200M, and the company expects supply chain challenges to continue to pressure freight costs. However, the company intends to largely offset these impacts through announced mid-year price increases and using the Operating & Execution Model to further drive operational excellence and structural cost discipline.

07:34 EDT AMC Networks to acquire RLJ Entertainment - AMC Networks (AMCX) and RLJ Entertainment (RLJE) announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for AMC Networks to acquire RLJ Entertainment in a going-private merger. The aggregate enterprise transaction value is approximately $274M, and pursuant to the merger agreement, AMC Networks will pay, in cash, an aggregate of approximately $65M to holders of RLJ Entertainment's outstanding common stock, preferred stock and warrants not currently owned by AMC Networks, Robert Johnson and their respective affiliates. Upon completion of the merger, RLJ Entertainment will become an indirect subsidiary of AMC Networks, with Johnson and his affiliates owning a stake of 17%.

07:32 EDT Alliance Data business signs agreement with Samsung Electronics Canada - Alliance Data Systems (ADS) announced that its LoyaltyOne Canadian loyalty business signed an agreement with Samsung Electronics Canada, which operates as a subsidiary of Samsung Electronics (SSNLF)) to issue AIR MILES Reward Miles to consumers in Canada when they use their AIR MILES Collector Cards via Samsung Pay.

07:26 EDT RLJ Entertainment trading halted, news pending

07:22 EDT Bombardier to supply 36 additional Francilien trains to Ile-de-France Mobilites - Bombardier Transportation has received an order for 36 Francilien train sets from the French national railway corporation, Societe nationale des chemins de fer francais on behalf of the Greater Paris public transport authority, Ile-de-France Mobilites. The order, a call off from a contract signed in 2006 with SNCF for a maximum of 372 trains, is valued at approximately EUR261M, or $303M. These trains, entirely financed by Ile-de-France Mobilites, will be rolled out on lines L, J and P on the SNCF Transilien network to continue modernizing the fleet. Bombardier supports Ile-de-France rolling stock renewal program by accelerating production pace from September 2019 onwards. This new order consists of 18 short trains sets, totaling 126 cars, to operate on lines L and J from and to Paris Saint-Lazare station; and 18 long trainsets, 144 cars, for line P from Paris Est station. Altogether, SNCF will operate a fleet of 313 Francilien commuter trains. To date, 230 Francilien trains are in operation.

07:18 EDT Williams announces two transactions to enter DJ Basin, exit FCA - Williams (WMB) announced two midstream transactions that will result in its entry into Colorado's Denver-Julesburg, or DJ, Basin and the exit of Williams Partners (WPZ) from the Four Corners Area in New Mexico and Colorado. Williams and KKR (KKR) announced that they have entered into an agreement to purchase Discovery DJ Services from TPG Growth, the middle market and growth equity platform of alternative asset firm TPG, for $1.173B, subject to customary closing conditions and purchase price adjustments. Discovery is a Dallas-based provider of natural gas and oil gathering and natural gas processing services in the southern portion of Colorado's DJ Basin. When the acquisition closes, which is expected to occur in early August, Williams and KKR will own the entirety of the Discovery midstream business through a joint venture. Williams' initial economic contribution and ownership will be 40% of the purchase price while KKR's initial economic contribution and ownership will be 60%. Under the terms of the agreed-to joint venture, Williams will be the operator of Discovery and will hold a majority of governance voting rights. Williams has committed to fund additional capital as required to bring its economic ownership to 50/50. Additionally, Williams at its option, may acquire a portion of KKR interests at predetermined, agreed-to terms until the sixth anniversary of close. Williams will use the equity method of accounting for this acquisition. Williams expects the Discovery transaction to represent a 5-6 times multiple to Williams' investment inclusive of additional investments of approximately $250M between 2018 and 2020 and based on expected 2020 EBITDA forecast; with opportunities for additional improvement based upon the success of natural gas liquids, or BGL, opportunities. Discovery, whose management team is partnering with Williams and KKR to continue executing for the customers of the DJ Basin, provides midstream services to producers drilling the prolific Niobrara and Codell stacked-pay zones of the basin. Discovery's infrastructure and related facilities are strategically located in Weld and Adams counties in Colorado. The Discovery system includes both natural gas and crude oil gathering pipelines, cryogenic gas processing, liquids handling and crude oil storage. The Discovery assets include 60 million cubic feet per day of gas processing capacity with an additional 200 MMcf/d plant that is fully permitted and under construction and is expected to be in service by the end of 2018. The Discovery assets also include 130 miles of natural gas pipeline and approximately 260,000 acres dedicated for gas gathering and processing plus an additional 60,000 acres for oil gathering. Concurrent with the announcement of the Discovery transaction, Williams is also announcing the combined sale of assets and equity comprising WPZ's Four Corners Area , or FCA, business in New Mexico and Colorado to Harvest Midstream for $1.125B in cash, subject to customary closing conditions. The cash proceeds from the FCA transaction will contribute to funding Williams' portfolio of growth capital and investment expenditures, including those opportunities associated with the Discovery acquisition. The FCA assets being divested of by Williams are located in San Juan and Rio Arriba Counties in New Mexico and in La Plata County in Colorado and include 3,700 miles of pipeline, two gas processing plants, and one CO2 treating facility. In 2017, the Modified EBITDA contribution from the FCA assets was approximately $85M and is forecast to be $82M annualized in 2018. This transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2018, following the closing of the previously-announced merger of WPZ into WMB.

07:13 EDT Sienna says two trials with SNA-001 did not meet primary, secondary endpoints - Sienna Biopharmaceuticals announced that two pivotal acne trials with SNA-001 in conjunction with 1064 nm and 810 nm lasers did not show statistical significance on the primary and secondary endpoints. SNA-001 is a topical medical product derived from Sienna's proprietary Topical Photoparticle Therapy platform. These two, independent, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, split-face studies enrolled subjects 12 years and older with moderate to severe acne vulgaris. Subjects were treated three times over the course of two weeks on each side of the face with laser and either SNA-001 or Vehicle. The primary endpoint was evaluated three months after the last treatment, with no intervening therapies. Details of the two pivotal trials included: SNA-001+810 nm laser: Primary endpoint: At 12 weeks following the last treatment, SNA-001+Laser and Vehicle+Laser demonstrated a 37.4 percent and a 36.5 percent reduction from baseline in inflammatory lesion count, respectively. The difference between treatments was not significant.Secondary endpoints: Neither change from baseline in absolute inflammatory lesions nor Investigator Global Assessment 1-grade responder rate were statistically significant. SNA-001+1064 nm laser: Primary endpoint: At 12 weeks following the last treatment, SNA-001+Laser and Vehicle+Laser achieved a 38.7 percent and a 41.9 percent reduction from baseline in inflammatory lesion count, respectively. The difference between treatments was not significant. Secondary endpoints: Neither change from baseline in absolute inflammatory lesions nor IGA 1-grade responder rate were statistically significant. In both trials, SNA-001 was well-tolerated, with no clinically meaningful differences in adverse events (AEs) observed between SNA-001 and Vehicle treatment areas. AEs were mostly mild. The most frequently reported AEs were erythema, discoloration and edema. Results from a third, independent pivotal trial in acne using SNA-001 in conjunction with a 755 nm laser are expected in the fourth quarter of 2018.

07:11 EDT Centene and Ascension to explore a joint venture to establish Medicare Advantage - Centene and Ascension have signed a letter of intent to explore a joint venture to establish a leading Medicare Advantage, or MA, plan. The MA plan would be established as a preferred model for the respective systems and affiliates for Centene and Ascension in multiple geographic markets beginning in 2020.

07:10 EDT PPDAI Group enters strategic agreement with Zhejiang University - PPDAI Group announced its has entered into a strategic agreement with Zhejiang University to develop an AI research and development center. Through the agreement, the research teams from both parties will embark on a series of research in AI that can be used in the financial sector.

07:07 EDT DSP Group reports Q2 Office/VoIP segement revenues up 14% to $9.8M - Reports Q2 SmartVoice segment revenues of $2.2M, a year-over-year increase of 147%. Reports Q2 SmartHome segment revenues of $3.8M, a year-over-year decrease of 27%.

07:06 EDT Caesars to introduce sports betting in Atlantic City, Gulf Coast and Tunica - Caesars Entertainment announced that it will introduce sports betting into its Atlantic City, Gulf Coast and Tunica properties in July and August. The introduction of sports betting in these jurisdictions is the first step in Caesars Entertainment's plan to expand its sports betting offering following the Supreme Court's landmark PASPA ruling and the subsequent legalization of sports betting in New Jersey and Mississippi.

07:05 EDT Astec authorizes $150M share repurchase program - Astec announced the company's board has authorized the repurchase of up to an aggregate $150M of the company's outstanding common stock.

07:02 EDT KKR, Williams to acquire Discovery Midstream from TPG Growth for $1.2B - KKR (KKR) announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Discovery Midstream from TPG Growth for approximately $1.2B. KKR is acquiring the provider of natural gas and oil gathering and natural gas processing services company through a newly formed joint venture with Williams (WMB). The transaction is being funded primarily through KKR's energy and infrastructure funds. Upon close, which is subject to customary closing conditions and expected to occur in the third quarter of 2018, Discovery will be led by its existing management team and Williams' initial economic contribution and ownership will be 40 percent of the purchase price, while KKR's initial economic contribution and ownership will be 60 percent of the purchase price. Williams will be the operator of Discovery and will hold a majority of governance voting rights. Williams has committed to fund additional capital as required to bring its economic ownership to 50/50.

06:57 EDT US Foods CEO: Volume growth with independent restaurants below expectations - "Our focus on improving profitability across our customer base is continuing to deliver positive results, with gross profit per case expanding $0.16 from the prior year," said Chairman and CEO Pietro Satriano. "Adjusted EBITDA grew a solid 4.9% for the quarter. While our volume growth with independent restaurants was solid, it fell below our expectation, mostly due to some operational challenges. We are working diligently to address these and we expect to see accelerating volumes in the second half of the year."

06:51 EDT First Data raises FY18 outlook

06:49 EDT Merck: EMA adopts positive opinion for KEYTRUDA combination - Merck announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency has adopted a positive opinion recommending approval of KEYTRUDA, Merck's anti-PD-1 therapy, in combination with pemetrexed and platinum chemotherapy for the first-line treatment of metastatic nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer in adults whose tumors have no EGFR or ALK genomic tumor aberrations, regardless of PD-L1 expression. If approved, this would mark the first approval in Europe for an anti-PD-1 therapy in combination with chemotherapy, and is based on overall survival and progression-free survival data from the Phase 3 KEYNOTE-189 trial.

06:47 EDT Alliance Data announces stock repurchase program - Alliance Data Systems announced that its board has approved a new $500M share repurchase program beginning August 1, to replace the current program that expires July 31. Repurchases will be financed primarily through free cash flow. The Company expects to maintain moderate levels of debt over the course of the repurchase program, providing flexibility to pursue tuck-in acquisitions or portfolio purchases.

06:45 EDT Booz Allen reports Q1 backlog of $17.1B

06:34 EDT US Foods sees SGA's Food Group of Companies acquisition accretive in year two - US Foods expects to achieve approximately $55M in annual run-rate cost synergies by the end of fiscal 2022, primarily driven by savings in distribution, procurement and administrative expenses. The purchase price reflects a multiple of 12.5x SGA's Food Group of Companies 2018E Adjusted EBITDA of $123 million, after taking into account the approximately $260 million estimated present value of cash tax benefits to be realized as a result of the acquisition. Including $55M in annual run-rate synergies, the price reflects a 2018E Adjusted EBITDA multiple of 8.6x. Excluding amortization, the transaction is expected to become accretive to US Foods' Adjusted EPS in the second full year following closing.

06:30 EDT US Foods to acquire SGA's food group of companies for $1.8B

06:15 EDT IBM, CLS trial blockchain platform aimed at banks - CLS, a market infrastructure group delivering settlement, processing, and data solutions, and IBM (IBM) announced a collaboration on a proof of concept for LedgerConnect -- a distributed ledger technology platform for the financial services industry designed to enable banks, buy and sell side firms, FinTechs and software vendors to deploy, share and consume services hosted on a shared distributed ledger network. On LedgerConnect financial institutions will be able to access services in areas such as, but not limited to, know your customer processes, sanctions screening, collateral management, derivatives post-trade processing and reconciliation and market data. By hosting these services on a single, enterprise-grade network, organizations can focus on business objectives rather than application development, enabling them to realize operational efficiencies and cost savings across asset classes. Nine financial institutions, including Barclays (BCS) and Citi (C), are participating in the PoC and have selected services from a number of vendors including Baton Systems, Calypso, Copp Clark, IBM, MPhasis, OpenRisk, SynSwap and Persistent Systems to participate in the PoC. On completion of a successful PoC, generation of market demand, and receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals, CLS and IBM plan to make the platform widely available to the industry.

06:08 EDT Armada Hoffler to develop and construct Wills Wharf mixed-use building - Armada Hoffler Properties announced that it will develop and construct the new 12-story Wills Wharf mixed-use building adjacent to Point Street Apartments as part of the Harbor Point development. Harbor Point is a 27-acre mixed-use, multi-asset development located between the historic Fell's Point neighborhood and the dynamic Inner Harbor East area. Wills Wharf will comprise over 325,000 square feet of class A office, retail, and hotel space that will offer stunning waterfront views of Baltimore's Inner Harbor. The Company expects to deliver the building in the Q1 of FY20.

06:07 EDT Insignia Systems shareholders voted in favor of Item #6 proposed by Air T - Air T(AIRT) commented on the voting results of the 2018 Annual Meeting of Shareholders of Insignia Systems (ISIG) held on July 20 where an overwhelming 85% of Insignia shares voted were in favor of Air T's proposal "Item #6, Approval of Voting Rights." Air T Group together owns approximately 32% of Insignia's outstanding shares. According to the Inspector's Final Report of Insignia's Annual Meeting, the shareholders of Insignia Systems approved both prongs of the voting requirement regarding "Item #6, Approval of Voting Rights." This approval signified that all Insignia shareholders received one vote for each share owned, as long as the total ownership by such shareholder was 33.3% or less of the total outstanding shares.

06:06 EDT CNA Financial raises quarterly dividend by 17% to 35c per share - CNA Financial declared a quarterly dividend of 35c per share, payable August 29, to stockholders of record on August 13.

06:01 EDT Care.com reports Q2 non-GAAP EPS 14c, consensus 11c - Reports Q2 revenue $46.0M, consensus $45.93M.

05:22 EDT MGM Resorts, Boyd Gaming announce online gaming partnership - MGM Resorts (MGM) and Boyd Gaming (BYD) announced an unprecedented partnership to significantly increase each company's market access and customer base throughout the United States. Under this partnership, MGM Resorts and Boyd Gaming will both have the opportunity to offer online and mobile gaming platforms - including sports betting, casino gaming and poker - in jurisdictions where either Boyd Gaming or MGM Resorts operate physical casino resorts and online licenses are available. Under this market access agreement, each company will have a path to expand their online and mobile gaming presence across 15 states. As states continue to legalize interactive gaming, both MGM Resorts, through its newly formed joint venture, and Boyd Gaming will be poised to offer products in mobile and online sports betting, real money casino gaming and poker products where legally applicable.

05:19 EDT Dana to purchase Drive Systems segment of Oerlikon Group for $600M - Dana announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to purchase the Drive Systems segment of the Oerlikon Group, a global manufacturer of high-precision gears; planetary hub drives for wheeled and tracked vehicles; and products, controls, and software that support vehicle electrification across the mobility industry. Under the terms of the agreement, Dana will acquire Oerlikon's Drive Systems business for approximately $600M. Committed financing has been arranged to complete the transaction, which will be immediately accretive to earnings upon closing. Subject to customary regulatory approvals, the acquisition is expected to close in late 2018 or the first quarter of 2019.