Stockwinners Market Radar for August 08, 2018 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:07 EDT Rite Aid and Albertsons agree to terminate merger agreement - Rite Aid announced that it has mutually agreed with Albertsons Companies to terminate their previously announced merger agreement. As a result, the special meeting of Rite Aid's stockholders, which was to be held on August 9, 2018, will not take place. Under the terms of the merger agreement, neither Rite Aid nor Albertsons will be responsible for any payments to the other party as a result of the termination of the merger agreement. The company also announced its board of directors is evaluating governance changes at the company. As it considers these changes, Rite Aid will continue to engage with stockholders to ensure alignment between the company and its investors.

19:47 EDT DowDuPont CEO Breen discloses purchase of $2M in common stock - DowDuPont CEO Edward Breen disclosed the purchase of 29.6K shares of company stock at an average price of $67.61 per share on August 8. The total transaction value was $2.0M.

18:53 EDT Teck's Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 project receives regulatory approval - Teck Resources announced that it has received regulatory approval for its Quebrada Blanca Phase 2 project in the Tarapaca Region in northern Chile. The regional Environmental Committee of Tarapaca has voted to approve the project Environmental Impact Assessment. Receipt of the Environmental Qualification Resolution is expected in the coming weeks. The QB2 project is expected to be a tier one asset in Teck's portfolio, with low "all in" sustaining costs, an initially permitted mine life of 25 years utilizing only a quarter of reserves and resources, and significant potential for further growth. The approval of the EIA is a key step forward towards a potential construction sanction decision, which could be considered as early as the fourth quarter of 2018.

18:20 EDT CA Technologies elects Mike Gregoire as board chairman - CA Technologies announced that CEO Mike Gregoire has been elected as chairman of its board of directors. Former chairman Art Weinbach retired from the board of directors earlier today, at the CA Technologies 2018 annual meeting of stockholders. Additionally, the CA board of directors designated Rohit Kapoor to serve as the lead independent director of the board of directors. Gregoire joined CA Technologies in 2013. Under his direction, CA accelerated its software leadership, with innovative offerings, a renewed brand and strengthened market presence. He has invested in developing, retaining, and hiring talent; and has built a winning team focused on the success of CA customers in today's rapidly changing technological landscape.

17:57 EDT Apple offers free Music for Verizon Unlimited customers - Verizon (VZ) and Apple (AAPL) announced an exclusive partnership, the first step of which brings Apple Music to Verizon's wireless customers. Beginning August 16, Verizon Unlimited customers can sign up for a special offer of six months of Apple Music free. The offer from Verizon is available to new and current Verizon Unlimited customers. Once registered, Verizon customers will have full access to Apple Music and can either stream their favorite songs over 4G or WiFi, or download for offline playback - all ad-free. Apple Music subscribers can enjoy more than 45 million songs anytime, anywhere, across iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple TV, Mac, HomePod, CarPlay and PC, or on Android devices.

17:48 EDT WestRock to acquire Schluter Print Pharma Packaging, terms not disclosed - WestRock announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Schluter Print Pharma Packaging, a German-based supplier of a full range of leaflets and booklets. Schluter will become part of WestRock's Multi Packaging Solutions business. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.

17:44 EDT Stamps.com discloses risk that USPS may renegotiate compensation arrangements - In a regulatory 10Q filing, Stamps.com said: "The USPS could decide to amend, renegotiate, discontinue or terminate one or more of our financial compensation arrangements that exist now or in the future. If the USPS decides to amend, renegotiate, discontinue or terminate any of our agreements or our integration partners' agreements under which we are compensated directly or indirectly by the USPS or integration partners for shipping customers who print a certain amount of postage, or our credit card cost sharing agreements which govern the allocation of credit card fees paid by the USPS and us, then our revenue and operating results would suffer. In the history of our relationship with the USPS, we have had many of these important agreements renewed only on short-term extensions and without assurances of any long-term commitments by the USPS. During the previous calendar quarter, the USPS provided a notice requiring the renegotiation of one of our important financial compensation arrangements. While we believe that this agreement is mutually beneficial to the USPS and to us, there is a risk that renegotiation is unsuccessful and leads to materially less favorable terms or that the USPS decides to not renew one or more of these financial compensation arrangements. In such case, our revenue and operating results will be materially affected unless we are successful in timely replacing the lost revenue with similar compensation from other potential partners."

17:34 EDT Murphy Oil raises FY18 production view 1,000 BOE/d to 168,500-170,500 BOE/d - Full year capital expenditure guidance is being increased by 6% from $1.11B to $1.18B.

17:33 EDT Medallion Financial applauds NYC decision to cap the number of for-hire vehicles - Medallion Financial announced that the New York City Council approved legislation to cap the number of for-hire vehicles as the Taxi and Limousine Commission conducts a study on the impact these vehicles have on New York City. In addition, the legislation waives licensing fees for wheelchair accessible taxis and for-hire vehicles, creates a high-volume for-hire service license category which the TLC will regulate, and requires the TLC to set a minimum wage that high-volume for-hire services pay their drivers.

17:33 EDT Rudolph Technologies names David Miller chairman following Greig's resignation - Rudolph Technologies announces the appointment of David B. Miller to the role of chairman of the board with an effective date of August 5. Miller's appointment is subsequent to the company's receipt of Thomas G. Greig's resignation from the position. "I am grateful for and enjoyed the opportunity to have served as Lead Director and Chairman of the Rudolph Board of Directors," said Tom Greig. "Dave Miller brings the right skills and industry background to the chairmanship role in order to continue to drive Rudolph's success. I look forward to supporting him as I continue to serve on our Board of Directors." "

17:23 EDT Sun Life Financial to commence normal course issuer bid - Sun Life Financial announced that the Toronto Stock Exchange has accepted its normal course issuer bid to purchase, for cancellation, up to 14M common shares, representing approximately 2.31% of the 607,011,966 common shares outstanding as at July 31. The bid remains subject to approval from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions. The normal course issuer bid is expected to commence on August 14, 2018 and continue until August 13, 2019, or such earlier date as the company completes its purchases pursuant to the normal course issuer bid. Under its current normal course issuer bid, which expires on August 13, the company is authorized to purchase, for the purpose of cancellation, up to 11,500,000 common shares, and has purchased 7,373,286 common shares for cancellation at a volume weighted average price of approximately $51.63 per common share.

17:16 EDT Camping World to acquire Holiday Hour RV, terms not stated - Camping World Holdings announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Holiday Hour RV located in the greater Dekalb, Illinois area. Camping World recently announced the planned expansion of its RV sales locations by more than 30% through the launch of Gander RV Sales, new store openings and continued acquisitions. The acquisition of Holiday Hour RV is in line with the Company's future growth plans. Holiday Hour RV will be Camping World's second Illinois location, joining the SuperCenter in the Wauconda/Island Lake area that focuses on RV sales, service and retail accessories.

17:13 EDT Pan American Silver reports Q3 silver production 6.29M oz vs 6.30M oz last year

17:10 EDT Belmond announces review of strategic alternatives - Belmond announced that its board has initiated a comprehensive review of strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value. No assurances can be given regarding the outcome or timing of the review process. The company does not intend to make any further public comment regarding the review until it has been completed or the company determines that disclosure is required or beneficial. The board has engaged Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan Securities as financial advisors and Weil, Gotshal & Manges as legal advisor to assist in its review.

17:08 EDT Conifer Holdings reports Q2 net earned premiums decreased 2.3% to $23.94M

17:07 EDT Belmond sees FY18 same store RevPAR growth of 2%-6%

17:06 EDT Belmond reports Q2 same store RevPAR up 5% from prior-year quarter

16:47 EDT Enviva backs FY18 per-unit distribution guidance of at least $2.53 - The Partnership reaffirms full-year 2018 per-unit distribution guidance of at least $2.53, with continued quarter-over-quarter increases expected throughout the year. Despite the impact from the Chesapeake Incident, the Partnership expects that the full-year adjusted EBITDA and distributable cash flow guidance provided in our February 22, 2018 earnings release remains achievable. However, the actual amounts we report for any specific quarter and for full-year 2018 are subject to the amount of recoveries from insurers and other responsible parties, the timing and performance of which are not entirely within the Partnership's control. In addition, quarterly distribution coverage ratios may not be comparable to the Partnership's previously reported periods or targets, as costs and recoveries associated with the Chesapeake Incident may not fall within the same periods. The guidance amounts do not include the impact of any additional acquisitions by the Partnership from the sponsor's joint ventures or third parties. In addition, although deliveries to our customers are generally ratable over the year, the Partnership's quarterly income and cash flow are subject to seasonality and the timing and mix of customer shipments made, which vary from period to period. As such, the Board evaluates the Partnership's distribution coverage ratio on an annual basis when determining the distribution for each quarter.

16:46 EDT Pegasystems sees revenue from existing contracts for remainder of 2018 $213.3M - Consensus for 2018 revenue is $948.99M. Sees 2019 revenue from existing contracts $140.21M, consensus for total 2019 revenue $1.05B.

16:40 EDT Evertec CFO Peter Smith to leave company - EVERTEC announced that Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Peter J.S. Smith has decided to leave the Company effective September 6, 2018 and pursue other opportunities. While Evertec conducts a search for a successor CFO, Vice President of Finance, Joaquin Castrillo, will serve as interim CFO. Mr. Castrillo joined the company in 2012 and has held positions of increasing responsibility, currently leading the financial planning and treasury functions. Mr. Castrillo is also a certified public accountant and previously worked for PwC. The Company has retained an executive search firm and begun a formal search for a successor CFO. The Company plans to evaluate internal and external candidates.

16:39 EDT BancorpSouth names Ty Lambert as chief data analytics officer - In the new role, he will oversee the company's data analytics operations, providing strategic guidance on data insights and driving data-related business change across the organization. Prior to joining BancorpSouth, he was an investment portfolio manager.

16:36 EDT Greenbrier acquires majority interest in Rayvag - The Greenbrier Companies announced that it has completed an agreement between Rayvag Vagon Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S. and Greenbrier's European subsidiary, Greenbrier-AstraRail, to take an approximately 68% ownership stake in the railcar manufacturer and provider of railcar repair and parts services. Rayvag is a railcar manufacturing company based in Adana, Turkey. Rayvag also provides maintenance services for railcars and manufactures bogies and spare parts for railcars in the region. It was founded in 2007 by Asim Suzen who retains a 32% equity interest in the business. Suzen continues to serve Rayvag as its Managing Director and is also a member of the Turkish Minister of Transportation's Railway Transportation Association

16:32 EDT Roku rallies 7%, or $3.13, to $5.38 following Q2 results

16:26 EDT Stage Stores announces departure of CFO Oded Shein - Stage Stores, Inc. announced that Oded Shein, its Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, resigned his position effective August 10, 2018 to pursue another opportunity. The company has appointed Jason Curtis as interim Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer. Mr. Curtis has been with Stage since 2011, most recently serving as its Senior Vice President, Finance and Credit since March 2017. Mr. Curtis also held the roles of Group Vice President, Finance and Credit from May 2016 to March 2017, Vice President, Finance and Accounting from November 2013 to April 2016, and Vice President, Finance and Treasurer from May 2011 to November 2013. Prior to joining Stage, Mr. Curtis served in various financial roles at Belk, Inc. and The May Department Stores Company. Mr. Curtis earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Pittsburgh.

16:26 EDT Wave Life Sciences' Duchenne muscular dystrophy treatment granted orphan status - Wave Life Sciences' treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy treatment was granted FDA orphan status, according to a post to the agency's website. Reference Link

16:26 EDT Moda Midstream to buy Oxy Ingleside Energy Center Terminal from Occidental - Liquids terminaling and logistics provider Moda Midstream announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Oxy Ingleside Energy Center and certain crude oil and LPG infrastructure from Occidental Petroleum . The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2018, subject to customary closing conditions. IEC is a storage and export terminal that provides access to global markets for crude oil and LPG producers and marketers. IEC is strategically located in Ingleside, Texas, near the mouth of Corpus Christi Ship Channel with minimal transit times to the Gulf of Mexico. The terminal links Eagle Ford Shale and Permian Basin production to key domestic and international markets. IEC will be connected directly to multiple "next generation" long-haul crude pipelines that allow for batching and segregation of crude oil deliveries at some of the most competitive tariffs available to shippers. IEC is designed to handle a wide range of vessels, including very large crude carriers ("VLCCs"), at high loading rates to maximize shipping economics for its customers. IEC has approximately 2.1 million barrels of oil storage capacity and three deep-water berths for crude oil. The facility currently is undergoing expansion to add storage capacity and infrastructure for contracted customer growth and to facilitate additional development. IEC has ample footprint for additional expansion opportunities at the 900-acre site.

16:21 EDT Ceridian appoints Erik Zimmer as Chief Strategy Officer - Ceridian HCM Holding announced that its board has appointed Leagh Turner to the position of president of the company, and Erik Zimmer to the position of executive VP, Chief Strategy Officer of the company. Further, the company announced that it has decided to separate the roles of president and COO, with Paul Elliott serving as COO of Ceridian until May 1, 2019 and then as a consultant until June 30, 2020.

16:19 EDT Stifel Financial announces new COO, CFO - Stifel Financial Corp. announced a number of organizational changes that will better align the firm's management structure with its ongoing growth strategies. Effective August 7, David Sliney was appointed COO, and Jim Marischen was appointed CFO. Marischen will take over the CFO role from James Zemlyak, who will now focus exclusively on leading the firm's Global Wealth Management business, which he has been the head of since 2011. Zemlyak will remain co-president of Stifel Financial Corp. with Victor Nesi, who will continue to lead Stifel's Institutional Group.

16:18 EDT Monster Beverage announces new $500M share repurchase program - Monster Beverage says that as of August 7, approximately $196.7M remained available for repurchase under the May 2018 repurchase program. On August 7, the company's board authorized a new repurchase program for the repurchase of up to an additional $500M of the company's outstanding common stock. The company expects to make the share repurchases from time to time in the open market or through privately-negotiated transactions, or otherwise, subject to applicable laws, regulations and approvals.

16:16 EDT Sarepta in license and option with Lacerta Therapeutics - Sarepta Therapeutics announced that it has made a strategic investment and entered into a license and option agreement with Lacerta Therapeutics, a gene therapy company using a constellation of proprietary adeno-associated virus vector technologies to develop CNS-targeted treatments and lysosomal storage diseases. Sarepta expects to benefit from Lacerta's expertise in AAV-based CNS-targeted gene therapies, will gain access to Lacerta's capsid screening and proprietary OneBac manufacturing platform and process for the licensed products, and bolsters its pipeline to 11 gene therapy programs, with three CNS-focused programs from Lacerta."Today's investment with Lacerta bolsters Sarepta's position as a leader in precision genetic medicine and moves us forward on our mission is to deliver life-enhancing therapies to those living with underserved diseases and in so doing to become one of the most meaningful global genetic medicine companies in the coming few years," said Doug Ingram, Sarepta's president and chief executive officer.

16:16 EDT Sangamo's candidate for Hemophilia A shows positive Phase 1/2 safety data - Sangamo Therapeutics (SGMO) announced 'positive' preliminary data from the Phase 1/2 clinical trial evaluating SB-525, a cDNA gene therapy candidate for Hemophilia A. SB-525 is being developed as part of a global collaboration between Sangamo and Pfizer (PFE) for the development and commercialization of potential gene therapy programs for Hemophilia A. The Alta study is a clinical trial designed to assess the safety and tolerability of SB-525 in up to 20 adult subjects with severe Hemophilia A. To date, five patients have been treated at three dose levels. A sixth patient is scheduled for treatment later this month. During the initial dose escalation phase, this study enrolls two patients per dose cohort. A dose dependent effect has been observed in the study, with patients in the second dose cohort reporting reduced use of factor replacement. Sangamo and Pfizer expect to present detailed data from the Alta study at a hematology conference in Q4.

16:12 EDT Booking Holdings reschedules Q2 earnings call - Booking Holdings intends to hold a conference call to discuss its second quarter 2018 financial results on Thursday, August 9 at 8:00 am ET. This conference call was originally scheduled for 4:30 pm ET today, August 8. "Although the company's financial results are finalized and ready to report at this time, the company is confirming certain business metrics that it also reports on a quarterly basis," Booking Holdings stated.

16:11 EDT Diamondback Energy raises FY18 production guidance to 115-119 Mboe/d - Pro forma for the pending Ajax acquisition, Diamondback is increasing its full year 2018 production guidance to a range of 115.0 Mboe/d to 119.0 Mboe/d, up 4% from the midpoint of the prior range. Additionally, Diamondback is narrowing full year 2018 CAPEX guidance to a range of $1.4B-$1.5B from $1.3B-$1.5B previously.

16:09 EDT Diamondback to buy all leasehold interests and related assets of Ajax Resources - Diamondback Energy announced it has entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire all leasehold interests and related assets of Ajax Resources for $900M in cash and 2.58M shares of Diamondback common stock, subject to certain adjustments. The cash portion of this transaction is expected to be funded through a combination of cash on hand, cash proceeds from the previously announced drop down sale of mineral interests to Viper Energy Partners LP, borrowings under the company's revolving credit facility and/or proceeds from one or more capital markets transactions, which may include a debt offering.

16:05 EDT Aerie Pharmaceuticals backs FY18 Rhopressa net revenue view $20M-$30M

16:03 EDT Neuralstem granted orphan status for Angelman syndrome treatment - The FDA granted Neuralstem orphan status for its treatment of Angelman syndrome. Reference Link

15:39 EDT Alliance Investment Management reports 5.69% stake in Microbot Medical

15:13 EDT Tronc trading resumes

14:53 EDT Paratek says FDA AdComm votes 'positive' for both omadacycline indications - Paratek Pharmaceuticals announced earlier that the Antimicrobials Drug Advisory Committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted in favor of the approval of intravenous and oral omadacycline for the treatment of acute bacterial skin and skin structure infections, by a vote of 17-1, and community-acquired bacterial pneumonia, by a vote of 14-4. Omadacycline is a modernized tetracycline being developed as a once-daily IV and oral, broad spectrum antibiotic for the treatment of serious community-acquired infections. The Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) date for both new drug applications is in early October 2018. As part of its recommendation, the Advisory Committee considered data from the omadacycline global development program, which included three completed Phase 3 studies evaluating the safety and efficacy of the once-daily IV and oral formulations of omadacycline for the treatment of ABSSSI and CABP. In all three studies, omadacycline met all primary and secondary efficacy outcomes designated by the FDA and was generally safe and well-tolerated. Paratek CEO Michael Bigham said, "Today's recommendations from the Advisory Committee move us one step closer to making this important new treatment option available to patients and physicians. We look forward to working with the FDA as it considers the comments from the committee members and completes its review of the omadacycline new drug applications."

14:40 EDT CAE to invest C$1B in innovation over next five years - CAE announced that it will be investing C$1B over the next five years in innovation to "stay at the forefront of the training industry." One of the main objectives of the investment is to fund Project Digital Intelligence, a digital transformation project to develop the next generation training solutions for aviation, defence & security and healthcare. In partnership with the Government of Canada and the Government of Quebec, the project will allow CAE to continue to play a key role in making air travel safer, defence forces mission ready, and helping medical personnel save lives. Other benefits include reducing aviation's environmental footprint and addressing the worldwide demand for aircrews. The Government of Canada and the Government of Quebec will provide a combined investment of close to C$200M over the next five years. "As a powerhouse of innovation, CAE has been at the forefront of the training industry, including digital technology, for years. This strategic investment will take our company to the next level," said Marc Parent, President and Chief Executive Officer of CAE. "By seizing new technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, or augmented reality, as well as many others, and applying them to the science of learning, we will revolutionize the training experience of pilots, aircrews and healthcare professionals, as well as improve safety. We are committed to investing C$1B over the next five years to help position CAE, Quebec and Canada as leaders in digital technology."

14:10 EDT Icahn says he shorted some shares of Express Scripts - Carl Icahn is speaking on Fox Business.

14:04 EDT Icahn says Cigna well-run company, Express Scripts deal doesn't make sense - Carl Icahn is speaking on Fox Business.

13:46 EDT Tesla under pressure as analysts debate if Musk should take carmaker private - Shares of Tesla (TSLA) jumped yesterday after CEO Elon Musk said he would like to see the company go private, but have since stepped into negative territory as analysts debate the idea. While Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois believes going private "feels like the right thing to do," his peer at Morgan Stanley questions the feasibility of Musk actually being able to achieve that goal. TAKING TESLA PRIVATE: Yesterday, Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted that he is considering taking the electric carmaker private. In an email to the company's employees, the executive explained: "Earlier today, I announced that I'm considering taking Tesla private at a price of $420/share. [...] As a public company, we are subject to wild swings in our stock price that can be a major distraction for everyone working at Tesla, all of whom are shareholders. Being public also subjects us to the quarterly earnings cycle that puts enormous pressure on Tesla to make decisions that may be right for a given quarter, but not necessarily right for the long-term. Finally, as the most shorted stock in the history of the stock market, being public means that there are large numbers of people who have the incentive to attack the company." Meanwhile, members of Tesla's board said on Wednesday that they have "met several times over the last week" and are "taking the appropriate next steps to evaluate" Musk's desire to take the company private. Their talks with Musk, which started last week, included "discussions as to how being private could better serve Tesla's long-term interests, and also addressed the funding for this to occur," the board members stated in a press release. 'RIGHT THING TO DO': Commenting on the news, Jefferies' Houchois told investors in a research note that the move "feels right" even if Musk is downplaying how supportive public markets have been. With Tesla unable to take on more debt, the analyst wonders who may fund the potential deal and end up as a new large shareholder. While the second quarter de-stressed the near-term outlook, Houchois pointed out that Tesla did not reassure about sustained demand for Model 3 at high prices and that profitability can support organic funding of investments in future products and manufacturing capacity. He continues to think Tesla will need additional capital to fund these or risk being caught with a narrow and ageing product range within 2 years. Noting that his discounted cash flow fair value points to $300 per share, the analyst raised his price target on the stock to $360 from $250, "bridging the gap" to the $420 potential going private bid. The analyst reiterated a Hold rating on Tesla. BUT WILL IT BE FEASIBLE?: While Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas sympathizes with Elon Musk's argument that Tesla could be better off as a private company, he questions the feasibility of the CEO actually being able to achieve that goal. Taking the company private would assume either that the company is on the verge of generating self-sustaining cash flows or that it can tap into a range of strategic sources of capital not previously at its disposal, said Jonas, who sees strategic value at Tesla, but thinks the "LBO math required to support [a price of] $420 is extremely aggressive." The benefits of being private are outweighed by the risks of added financial leverage, which could be even more strategically limiting, added Jonas, who reiterated an Equal Weight rating and a $291 price target on Tesla shares. Meanwhile, his peer at JPMorgan raised his price target for Tesla to $308 from $195 to reflect the possibility of the company going private. However, analyst Ryan Brinkman told investors that he still believes that Tesla's valuation based on fundamentals alone "is worth no more than $195" per share. The analyst added that he is not as certain as CEO Elon Musk on Tesla going private, and assigns only a 50% probability to such a scenario, while reiterating an Underweight rating on the shares. PRICE ACTION: In afternoon trading, shares of Tesla have dropped 1.6% to $373.63.

13:42 EDT AMA urges DOJ to challenge CVS-Aetna merger - The American Medical Association urged the U.S. Department of Justice to block the proposed acquisition of Aetna (AET) by CVS Health (CVS), and shared with federal regulators an exhaustive AMA analysis indicating the proposed merger would likely substantially diminish competition in many health care markets to the detriment of patients. "The CVS-Aetna deal is popularly described as a vertical merger involving two companies that don't operate in the same markets," said AMA President Barbara L McAneny, M.D. "But in fact, CVS and Aetna do operate as rivals in some of the same markets, raising substantial concerns that are specific to horizontal mergers. A merger of these two rivals would risk a substantial reduction of competition in the stand-alone Medicare Part D prescription drug plan market and the pharmacy benefit management services market." The AMA analysis also notes that Aetna and CVS each have their own share of the highly concentrated market for PBM services. According to the AMA, the combined impact of the proposed merger on the PBM services market raises significant competitive concerns under federal antitrust guidelines. With the acquisition of Aetna the PBM market would lose a national health insurance company with an established brand, a significant customer base, expertise, capital, and years of experience as a major player in the PBM market.

12:44 EDT ORIX Corp to acquire 30% shareholding of Avolon Holdings Limited - ORIX Corporation announced that it, via its group company in Ireland, ORIX Aviation Systems Limited, has signed an agreement to acquire 30% of the outstanding shares of Ireland-based Avolon Holdings Limited, which it calls "a leading global aircraft leasing company." The acquisition is expected to be completed after the necessary approvals and/or licenses are obtained. "By virtue of the acquisition of the shares of Avolon, ORIX aims to achieve sustainable long term growth of its business by way of strengthening its access to the manufacturer order positions that Avolon holds and also further expanding its aircraft leasing business investment universe. ORIX strives to further increase its presence in the global aircraft leasing market via its collaboration with Avolon and by utilizing of the considerable experience and knowledge that ORIX has gained through its long involvement in both aircraft leasing and financing," the company said.

12:33 EDT Sempra unit settles natural gas leak claims with California for $119.5M - Southern California Gas Company, an indirect subsidiary of Sempra Energy, has entered into a settlement agreement with the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office, the County of Los Angeles, the California Office of the Attorney General, and the California Air Resources Board to resolve all outstanding claims by those government bodies against the company related to the natural gas leak at the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility that the company discovered in October 2015, which was filed in the Los Angeles County Superior Court on August 8. This settlement also fully resolves SoCalGas' commitment to mitigate the actual natural gas released during the leak. The terms of the $119.5M settlement agreement provide for the following: $26.5M of funding for a program supervised by CARB to provide loans to dairy methane capture and pipeline injection projects in California; $7.6M of funding for a greenhouse gas mitigation reserve account; $45.4M of funding for local environmental benefit projects of the Government Plaintiffs' choosing; $21M payment of civil penalties; $19M of reimbursement for costs associated with response to the leak. SoCalGas also agreed to continue its fence line methane monitoring program and hire an independent ombudsman to monitor and report on safety at the facility, Sempra Energy disclosed in a regulatory filing. SoCalGas expects to pay the full amount of this settlement in Q4. The settlement requires the approval of the Los Angeles County Superior Court overseeing the cases in the coordinated proceedings.

12:02 EDT Rockstar to release 'Red Dead Redemption 2' gameplay video on Thursday - Rockstar Games, a subsidiary of Take-Two, tweeted from its official Twitter account that an official gameplay video for its upcoming game "Red Dead Redemption 2" will be released on Thursday, August 9 at 11:00 am ET. The Fly notes that, while the game itself was announced in 2016, none of the subsequently released trailers or images have shown any actual gameplay. Reference Link

12:00 EDT Vitamin Shoppe rises 26.2% - Vitamin Shoppe is up 26.2%, or $2.13 to $10.23.

11:41 EDT Ford says focusing capital on high-margin, high-growth business - Says shifting spending to more profitable vehicles. Says improving operating leverage, $25.5B cost and efficiencies identified. Says expected PD fitness impact over five year plan period includes approx. $7B engineering/PD cost reduction, 20%-plus less time from sketch to showroom, approx. $1B manufacturing cost reduction and approx. $12B improved material cost. Says improving efficiency and effectiveness through module reuse. Comments taken from slides to be presented at J.P. Morgan's Auto Conference 2018.

11:01 EDT Mylan says intent to give guidance 'we certainly believe we are going to meet' - Asked by Morgan Stanley analyst David Risinger whether the company's new guidance midpoint is "conservative," Mylan CEO Heather Bresch reiterated her prior comment that she believes that it "incorporates the worst-case scenario at the bottom end and we should be able to grow from here." Bresch added: "I can assure you, our intent is to be giving you guidance that we certainly believe that we are going to meet."

10:35 EDT Analyst says Benioff not going anywhere soon as Salesforce appoints co-CEO - Last night, Salesforce (CRM) appointed Keith Block as its co-chief executive officer, joining Marc Benioff, who will remain the Chairman of the board. Commenting on the news, Jefferies analyst John DiFucci told investors he does not believe Benioff is going anywhere soon, but the company is well positioned if he decided to do so. CO-CEOS: Salesforce announced yesterday that the company's board has promoted Keith Block to co-CEO. Block now reports to Salesforce's Board of Directors, and remains a member of the board. Block served as Salesforce's Vice Chairman, President and as a Director since joining the company in June 2013, and most recently served as the company's COO since February 2016. In their respective roles as co-CEOs, Benioff, who continues as Chairman of the Board, will lead Salesforce's vision and innovation in areas including technology, marketing, stakeholder engagement and culture. Block will lead the company's growth strategy, execution and operations. CO-CEO BENIOFF LIKELY NOT LEAVING: In a research note to investors following the news, Jefferies' DiFucci said he does not believe co-CEO Marc Benioff is "going anywhere soon." However, Salesforce is well positioned if he decided to do so, DiFucci added. Overall, DiFucci views the news as a "much deserved promotion" for Block, as he is "rightfully credited with transforming" Salesforce into a company that enterprises view as a strategic partner. The analyst also noted that this action appears logical as the number of responsibilities have increased for the management team as the company looks to grow toward its future 2022 target of $23B in revenue while also integrating MuleSoft. While DiFucci acknowledged that co-CEOs can sometimes cause confusion within a company, he believes that this is unlikely in this circumstance given the clear delineation of roles, which also happen to play to each co-CEO's strengths. He reiterated a Buy rating and $155 price target on Salesforce shares. KEY MAN RISK: Earlier this week and before Salesforce's announcement, Morgan Stanley analyst Mark Savino told investors that the recent increase in CEO turnover highlights the importance of understanding "key man" risk, and identified companies that he believes are most exposed to it. The analyst noted that about 12% of CEO jobs among S&P 500 companies turned over in 2017, which was the highest level of CEO departures since before the financial crisis. The 59 stocks of S&P 500 companies that had CEOs depart in 2017 underperformed the market by 11% over the next 12 months, or since the departure for instances that were less than 12 months ago, Savino added. Salesforce was one of the companies identified by the analyst and his team as one of those facing the greatest level of "key man risk." Other names on the long list include Boeing (BA), Tesla (TSLA), Coca-Cola (KO), Monster Beverage (MNST), Microsoft (MSFT), Amazon (AMZN), Activision Blizzard (ATVI), Facebook (FB), Alphabet (GOOGL), Apple (AAPL), Square (SQ), Broadcom (AVGO) and Nvidia (NVDA). PRICE TARGET: In morning trading, shares of Salesforce are fractionally up to $144.83.

10:01 EDT Cinemark says Movie Club surpasses 350,000 members - Cinemark Holdings announced that Movie Club, the first exhibitor-sponsored subscription program, continued its growth momentum and reached 350,000 active members, 45% of which were new to the exhibitor's existing loyalty program. Movie Club members represent approximately 6% of Cinemark's box office revenues and remain highly engaged with a 75% redemption rate of Movie Club ticket credits.

10:00 EDT Camping World falls -11.5% - Camping World is down -11.5%, or -$2.56 to $19.64.

10:00 EDT Turning Point Brands falls -18.5% - Turning Point Brands is down -18.5%, or -$6.31 to $27.79.

10:00 EDT Vitamin Shoppe rises 22.8% - Vitamin Shoppe is up 22.8%, or $1.85 to $9.95.

09:50 EDT FRONTEO Inc (ADS) trading resumes

09:47 EDT StarTek falls -9.4% - StarTek is down -9.4%, or -74c to $7.09.

09:47 EDT Best Inc. falls -10.2% - Best Inc. is down -10.2%, or -95c to $8.35.

09:47 EDT Entercom rises 13.7% - Entercom is up 13.7%, or 95c to $7.90.

09:46 EDT Cigna CEO says he has had no inbound calls from Carl Icahn - Cigna (CI) CEO David Cordani is being interviewed on CNBC about the company's deal with Express Scripts (ESRX) and Icahn's recently voiced opposition to the transaction.

09:45 EDT FRONTEO Inc (ADS) trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:41 EDT Cordani says combination with Express Scripts will further improve affordability - Cigna (CI) CEO David Cordani said combining his company with Express Scripts (ESRX), as proposed, would further improve healthcare affordability for patients. Cordani said sitting on the sidelines and buying back stock is "not a strategy," that is "financial engineering." Cordani is being interviewed on CNBC about the deal and Icahn's recently voiced opposition to the transaction.

09:31 EDT B.O.S. Better Online supply chain division receives $340,000 order - B.O.S. Better Online announced that its supply chain division has received a $340,000 order for electronic components from an aircraft manufacturer. The order is for delivery in 2018. The customer has a two-year option to increase the order by an additional $433,000, at the same component prices.

09:28 EDT Dish appoints Kevin Arrix to lead Dish Media Sales Group - Dish has tapped Kevin Arrix to lead the Dish Media Sales group, including its operations, analytics and advertising sales for DishTV and Sling TV. He is the former chief revenue officer of mobile advertising platform Verve and will join Dish as a senior vice president. While at Verve, Arrix was responsible for building out the mobile marketing platform's sales, sales operations and customer success services.

09:21 EDT Michael Kors: 'Ahead of where we thought we'd be' on Runway 2020 plan

09:18 EDT Bluegreen continues 'zero tolerance strategy' against timeshare exit firms - Bluegreen Vacations Corporation announced that multiple third-party timeshare exit firms ceased pursuit of contract termination claims on behalf of over 175 Bluegreen Vacation Club owners. Bluegreen intends to continue its zero tolerance policy towards abusive practices by so-called "timeshare exit firms." The company says: "Bluegreen believes that if the exit firms disclosed that the exit plan was to assert generic and frivolous claims and the potential resulting harm to the owners' credit profile, few timeshare owners would pay to engage those firms. Bluegreen has adopted a zero tolerance approach for dealing with false and abusive claims. Bluegreen has and will continue to evaluate every claim presented to it on the merits. However, if a meritless claim is presented, Bluegreen will not respond or negotiate with the exit firms and will instead vigorously seek to enforce its contractual rights, including but not limited to, filing suit in a court of law where appropriate. While this decision has increased legal expenses, Bluegreen believes this is a long-term strategy that will result in supporting vacation owners and will deter abusive practices on the part of the timeshare exit companies and timeshare exit attorneys. Bluegreen Vacations is committed to helping its owners avoid the pitfalls of dealing with abusive timeshare exit firms by providing education on alternative options available to them based on their individual situations. As a leading vacation ownership company for over 20 years, Bluegreen Vacations takes pride in providing over 215,000 owners with unique vacation ownership experiences across 69 Club and club associate resorts and the fact that approximately 50% of Bluegreen's sales volume is from existing owners is evidence of the happiness of its owner base."

09:15 EDT ATA Inc. trading halted, news pending

09:13 EDT Tesla board says taking 'appropriate next steps' to evaluate going private - Tesla's board said in a statement, "Last week, Elon opened a discussion with the board about taking the company private. This included discussion as to how being private could better serve Tesla's long-term interests, and also addressed the funding for this to occur. The board has met several times over the last week and is taking the appropriate next steps to evaluate this." The statement is from board members Brad Buss, Robyn Denholm, Ira Ehrenpreis, Antonio Gracias, Linda Johnson Rice, and James Murdoch.

09:09 EDT Tesla board says Musk opened discussion with board last week

09:04 EDT Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: United Therapeutics (UTHR), up 9% after announcing that preliminary analysis indicates that the FREEDOM-EV clinical study of Orenitram extended-release tablets in patients suffering from pulmonary arterial hypertension has met its primary endpoint of delayed time to first clinical worsening event. UP AFTER EARNINGS: Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI), up 24%... 3D Systems (DDD), up 16%... Vitamin Shoppe (VSI), up 9%. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Mylan (MYL), down 4.5%... Snap (SNAP), down 4%... Beacon Roofing, (BECN), down 16%... Hostess Brands (TWNK), down 16%... Papa John's (PZZA), down 8%. LOWER: TPG RE Finance (TRTX), down 3% after a 7M share spot secondary priced at $20.00... Kraft Heinz (KHC), down 2.5% after a 20.63M share block trade priced at $60.00... Axon (AAXN), down 1% after Craig-Hallum analyst Steve Dyer downgraded the stock to Hold from Buy.

09:03 EDT CollPlant voluntarily delisting from Tel Aviv Stock Exchange - CollPlant is voluntarily delisting its ordinary shares and Series I Warrants and Series K Warrants from trading on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. The last trading day on TASE will be on October 29. The company's ADS, each of which represents 50 ordinary shares, will continue to trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market. The Series I Warrants and Series K Warrants will not trade on the Nasdaq Capital Market.

08:57 EDT Charles River raises FY18 organic revenue growth view to 7%-8% from 5.7%-6.7% - Comment taken from Q2 earnings conference call.

08:51 EDT Champions Oncology's new facility granted full accreditation by the AAALAC - Champions Oncology's new facility in Rockville, MD has been granted Full Accreditation by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care. AAALAC International is a private, nonprofit organization that promotes the humane treatment of animals in science through voluntary accreditation and assessment programs. The new facility was designed and constructed in 1H17 with operations initiated in July 2017.

08:42 EDT CVS Health says having 'productive discussions' with regulators - Comments from Q2 earnings conference call.

08:37 EDT Mylan board forms review committee, evaluating 'wide range of alternatives' - Mylan N.V.'s board of directors released the following statement: "Over the past decade, Mylan's Board of Directors and management team have turned Mylan into a leading global platform with a highly-diversified portfolio of products across broad therapeutic areas and geographies. Our long-term strategy and management's continued execution have consistently served the best interests of all of our stakeholders. Our international business, in which we expect continued growth, now represents more than 60% of the company's global sales. These global growth expectations are in contrast to the negative trends and dynamics playing out in the US market place - which we believe are unsustainable for the healthcare system over the long-term but which we believe Mylan is uniquely well positioned to successfully weather and navigate. Our confidence in the future is bolstered by the fact that the company continues to generate significant, global durable cash flows, enabling us to continue investing in new initiatives for further long-term growth and building on our unique global platform. Over the last several years, the combination of our internal initiatives, outstanding execution and external M&A strategy have completely diversified and changed the profile of our company by shifting the core from a US-centric operation to a sustainable global presence. With this said, we believe that the US public markets continue to underappreciate and undervalue the durability, differentiation and strengths of Mylan's global diversified business, especially when compared to our peers around the globe. Therefore, while we will continue to execute on our best-in-class, long-term focused sustainable strategy, the Board has formed a strategic review committee and is actively evaluating a wide range of alternatives to unlock the true value of our one-of-a-kind platform. The Board has not set a timetable for its evaluation of alternatives and there can be no assurance that any alternative will be implemented."

08:36 EDT Mylan says 'actively evaluating a wide range of alternatives' - Mylan N.V.'s board of directors released the following statement: "Over the past decade, Mylan's Board of Directors and management team have turned Mylan into a leading global platform with a highly-diversified portfolio of products across broad therapeutic areas and geographies. Our long-term strategy and management's continued execution have consistently served the best interests of all of our stakeholders. Our international business, in which we expect continued growth, now represents more than 60% of the company's global sales. These global growth expectations are in contrast to the negative trends and dynamics playing out in the US market place - which we believe are unsustainable for the healthcare system over the long-term but which we believe Mylan is uniquely well positioned to successfully weather and navigate. Our confidence in the future is bolstered by the fact that the company continues to generate significant, global durable cash flows, enabling us to continue investing in new initiatives for further long-term growth and building on our unique global platform. Over the last several years, the combination of our internal initiatives, outstanding execution and external M&A strategy have completely diversified and changed the profile of our company by shifting the core from a US-centric operation to a sustainable global presence. With this said, we believe that the US public markets continue to underappreciate and undervalue the durability, differentiation and strengths of Mylan's global diversified business, especially when compared to our peers around the globe. Therefore, while we will continue to execute on our best-in-class, long-term focused sustainable strategy, the Board has formed a strategic review committee and is actively evaluating a wide range of alternatives to unlock the true value of our one-of-a-kind platform. The Board has not set a timetable for its evaluation of alternatives and there can be no assurance that any alternative will be implemented."

08:35 EDT Yield10 Bioscience signs research license agreement covering CRISPR-Cas9 - Yield10 Bioscience (YTEN) announced it has signed a non-exclusive research license agreement jointly with the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and Pioneer, part of Corteva Agriscience Agriculture Division of DowDuPont (DWDP), for the use of CRISPR-Cas9 genome-editing technology for crops. The joint license covers intellectual property consisting of approximately 48 patents and patent applications on CRISPR-Cas9 technology controlled by the Broad Institute and Pioneer. Under the agreement, Yield10 has the option to renew the license on an annual basis and the right to convert the research license to a commercial license in the future, subject to customary conditions as specified in the agreement. CRISPR technology is uniquely suited to agricultural applications as it enables precise changes to plant DNA without the use of foreign DNA to incorporate new traits. Recent public comments by USDA-APHIS indicate that plants developed using CRISPR genome-editing technology have the potential to be designated "non-regulated" by the agency for development and commercialization in the U.S., which could result in shorter timelines and lower costs associated with commercialization of new traits in the U.S. as compared to regulated crops.

08:34 EDT Attis Industries closes acquisition of Quality Rx Returns - Attis Industries announced that it closed the acquisition of Quality Rx Returns, a full service provider of pharmaceutical reverse logistic solutions, serving pharmacies, hospitals, and healthcare providers nationwide. Attis currently offers blood and toxicology panel, molecular diagnostic, and pharmacogenetic testing services for over 200 physician clinics, long-term care facilities, hospitals, and laboratories located from California to Florida. With this acquisition, Attis will be able to offer these same partners the additional value of controlled and non-controlled pharmaceutical destruction and redistribution. Attis plans to grow the Quality Rx business through its existing robust sales infrastructure, including its recently announced partnership with a new nationwide representative group. The Company's potential network now includes the 4,749 hospitals and 45,000 long term care facilities located in the United States. In addition, the Quality Rx acquisition is expected to expand the Company's service capability for large quantity generators and manufacturers of pharmaceutical waste by the third quarter of 2018, and enable the Company to expand its licensing to include high margin services for the return and destruction of DEA pharmaceuticals. The addition of the Quality Rx pharmaceutical solutions provider will add to the Company's Healthcare division's company-managed facilities, which already include fully operational hospital and company-owned laboratories.

08:28 EDT Novan adopts incentive plan, agrees to CEO contract - Novan provided a comprehensive business update in its Form 10-Q for Q2 and announced that it has implemented the Tangible Stockholder Return Plan. The Performance Plan is a performance-based incentive compensation plan designed to directly align the long-term interests of Novan's employees, including executive officers, with the interests of Novan's stockholders. The design of the Performance Plan is intended to accomplish two key objectives: Align future incentive compensation awards with the creation of stockholder value based on achieving specific stock price targets. Reduce the utilization of the existing 2016 Incentive Award Plan share pool by replacing the current practice of granting annual equity incentive awards to employees with the Performance Plan. Novan's product, clinical drug and business development activities drive certain developmental timelines and strategic activities which depend on successful company-wide execution in order to potentially enable value creation for the Company's stockholders. With respect to key product candidates, top line results for SB414and SB206 are targeted to be released in the third and fourth quarters of 2018 respectively; and the Company is still awaiting receipt of the FDA's written feedback for SB204. This new incentive plan is intended to directly align management's execution and accountability for Company objectives with stockholder returns. The foundational metric of the Performance Plan is the achievement of two share price goals for Novan's common stock, which if achieved, would represent measurable increases in stockholder value. Payments under the Performance Plan will occur only if these share price targets are achieved. The two plan targets are:Target # 1: $ 11.17 per share; reaching this objective over the life of the plan will generate a bonus pool of $ 25M to be distributed to the employees. Target # 2: $ 25.45 per share; reaching this objective over the life of the plan will generate a bonus pool of $50M to be distributed to the employees. For computational purposes, both share price targets will be measured as the average publicly traded share price of the Company's common stock on the Nasdaq stock exchange for thirty consecutive trading days, and may be adjusted to reflect any stock splits, dividends, reorganizations or similar events. While the Performance Plan provides for each bonus pool to be paid out in cash, our board has the discretion to pay any bonus all or in part in shares, subject to approval of our stockholders. The Performance Plan became effective August 2, 2018, following approval by the Company's board of directors, and expires on March 1, 2022. Additionally, CEO Kelly Martin and the Company's board of directors have reached agreement on the terms of Mr. Martin's employment contract. Since his appointment as interim CEO in June of 2017, Mr. Martin has performed CEO duties and responsibilities while receiving compensation only for his services as a director under the Company's non-employee director compensation policy. Mr. Martin's employment contract is designed to link his potential incentive compensation to stockholder value creation based on future stock price increases. Under the terms of his employment contract, Mr. Martin will receive a one-time signing bonus in recognition of previous contributions and an agreement to continue in this role, and an annual base salary. These are the only fixed components of his compensation. By design, Mr. Martin will not receive an annual cash bonus, annual equity awards or other discretionary annual bonuses under the terms of this agreement. Rather, in order to achieve maximum alignment with stockholders and demonstrate his commitment to the Company overall, Mr. Martin's potential incentive compensation will take the form of participation in the Performance Plan and an award of stock appreciation rights, which will vest at the end of the initial term of the employment contract in February of 2020.

08:21 EDT WSFS Financial announces merger with Beneficial Bancorp in deal valued at $1.5B

08:15 EDT Wayfair announces launch of MR commerce experience on Helio - Wayfair announced the launch of its mixed-reality, or MR, commerce experience on Helio, the first-ever spatial computing web browser by Magic Leap. This first-of-its-kind, immersive shopping experience brings the search and discovery of furniture and decor off the screen and into the home, allowing shoppers to browse their favorite products through a boundless display and bring them to life in their physical space. The Wayfair web-based MR commerce experience is now available on Magic Leap One, Creator Edition. The Wayfair MR experience, powered by Helio, will be a featured bookmark that will ship with Magic Leap One, Creator Edition.

08:11 EDT Ribbon Communications partners with Over.ai - Ribbon Communications announced that it has partnered with Over.ai to incorporate its natural language voice Artificial Intelligence platform into Ribbon's UCaaS and CPaaS offers. The partnership will initially focus on improving employee productivity by incorporating virtual assistant services into Unified Communications clients and enhancing customer engagement by streamlining contact center services.

08:10 EDT Allergan names Michael Greenberg, PhD to board of directors - Allergan announced that Michael Greenberg, PhD will join its Board of Directors effective immediately, as part of the company's ongoing board refreshment process. Dr. Greenberg is the Nathan Marsh Pusey Professor of Neurobiology at Harvard University and the Co-Lead of the Allen Discovery Center for Human Brain Evolution at Harvard Medical School. He brings a nearly 35-year track record of groundbreaking scientific discoveries in neurobiology to Allergan's Board.

08:07 EDT E-Trade announces passing of board member Frederick Kanner - E*TRADE Financial Corporation announced the unexpected passing of Frederick Kanner, a member of the Company's Board of Directors. Kanner served on the Board since 2008.

08:04 EDT iCAD receives FDA clearance of PowerLook Density Assessment - iCAD announced FDA clearance of its latest Artificial Intelligence software solution; PowerLook Density Assessment Version 3.4. The software is compatible with iCAD's digital breast tomosynthesis platform on both GE and Hologic systems, enhancing the Company's comprehensive suite of breast health solutions available in a single platform. iCAD's PowerLook Density Assessment 3.4 delivers automated, rapid and reproducible assessments of breast density to help identify patients that may experience reduced sensitivity to digital mammography due to dense breast tissue. This innovative technique, based on machine learning, calibrates the patient's breast density to the appropriate category corresponding to the American College of Radiology's Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System reporting system.

08:03 EDT Q2 Holdings announces agreement to acquire Cloud Lending - Q2 Holdings has announced an agreement to acquire San Mateo, California-based Cloud Lending, Inc., a privately-held SaaS company that provides an integrated end-to-end lending and leasing platform. The transaction has been approved by the boards of directors of both Q2 and Cloud Lending. Consummation of the proposed transaction is subject to customary closing conditions. The closing of the transaction is expected to occur in the fourth quarter 2018.

08:02 EDT CynergisTek extends managed print services contract with Yale New Haven Health - CynergisTek announced that Yale New Haven Health System has renewed and extended its Managed Print Services contract with the company. YNHHS, the largest health system in Connecticut, initially engaged with CynergisTek in 2015 to leverage its MPS services to drive financial and operational improvements.

07:43 EDT Regenxbio sees year-end cash and cash equivalents and securities $250M-$260M

07:37 EDT Axon announces strategic agreements with Verizon, AT&T - Axon (AAXN) announced a strategic agreement with Verizon (VZ) to bring connectivity to public safety solutions for the benefit of first responders and the communities they serve. Axon also announced a strategic relationship with AT&T (T) to cooperate, exchange information and negotiate terms to connect Axon's wireless product offerings to FirstNet - a communications platform dedicated to first responders and public safety entities. Working with these two world-class companies will help give customers reliable mobile broadband connectivity when using Axon's body-worn and in-car cameras in the field.

07:35 EDT Depomed raises FY18 adjusted EBITDA view $145M-$155M from $125M-135M

07:34 EDT Cars.com names Doug Miller as Chief Revenue Officer - Cars.com President and CEO Alex Vetter announced that Doug Miller, a seasoned marketplace executive with more than 20 years of experience building digital businesses, has been appointed Chief Revenue Officer, succeeding John Clavadetscher.

07:26 EDT Southern Nuclear revises estimate of cost to complete Vogtle 3 & 4 construction - As work continued at the site uninterrupted during the transition from Westinghouse to Southern Nuclear, project leadership made a series of decisions, such as providing craft labor incentives to both attract and retain adequate staffing levels and increased field supervision and engineering oversight, in an effort to lower project risk and maintain project momentum. As a result, and based on a year's worth of experience managing the project, Southern Nuclear has revised its estimate of the cost to complete the project. This revised forecast includes approximately $700M in additional projected costs which will be absorbed by the company and have no impact on customer bills. While it is believed the increased projected costs are reasonable, necessary and prudent, the company has decided not to ask the Georgia Public Service Commission to approve those costs so soon after receiving the Georgia PSC's approval of the capital forecast last year. Additionally, based on the latest estimate, the previous contingency for the project has been determined to be insufficient to fully offset forecasted cost increases resulting in an increased contingency of approximately $400M, which may be presented to the Georgia PSC for evaluation as and when appropriate in the future.

07:25 EDT Charles River eliminates COO role, David Molho leaves company - In a regulatory filing, Charles River Laboratories announced that, in conjunction with efforts to streamline its organizational structure and decision-making process, it has eliminated the role of COO. Accordingly, effective August 2, Davide A. Molho, Corporate Executive Vice President, President & COO has left the company, and James C. Foster has assumed the function of President of Charles River in addition to Chairman of the Board and CEO.

07:19 EDT Pluristem initiates 2 pivotal Phase III studies in Israel - Pluristem Therapeutics announced that Israel's Ministry of Health has cleared the company to commence patient recruitment in Israel for two ongoing pivotal Phase III trials of PLX-PAD cell therapy, one for the treatment of Critical Limb Ischemia and another for the treatment of muscle injury following hip fracture surgery. Both trials have been accepted to accelerated approval pathways and have received a total of $16.7 million in grants from the European Union's Horizon 2020 Program.

07:17 EDT Georgia Power: Southern Nuclear makes significant progress on Vogtle 3 & 4 - Georgia Power announced that Southern Nuclear has made significant progress on construction of Vogtle 3 & 4 since assuming project management on behalf of the project co-owners from Westinghouse following its bankruptcy in 2017. The company also announced that its revised capital and construction cost forecast for its share of the project has increased from $7.3B-$8.4B, based on a revised cost-to-complete estimate from Southern Nuclear. The new nuclear units are the first to be built in the United States in a generation and the only new units currently under construction in this country. With projected in-service dates still expected in November 2021 (Unit 3) and November 2022 (Unit 4), the new units will generate enough emission-free electricity to power approximately 500,000 homes and businesses. More than 7,000 workers from across the country are onsite working to complete the new units and focused on safety, quality construction and productivity. Milestones over the past 60 days alone have included a major concrete placement lasting more than eight continuous hours inside the Unit 3 shield building and the placement of a 52,000-pound Q233 piping module for Unit 4, a critical piece of the overall passive core cooling system, inside the containment vessel allowing large quantities of specialized piping to now be installed. Georgia Power is the largest electric subsidiary of Southern Company.

07:14 EDT Seeco Holding announces strategic partnership with JD.com - Secoo Holding (SECO) announced that it has entered into a business cooperation agreement with JD.com (JD) to establish a strategic partnership. Through the partnership, JD and Secoo will leverage their respective resources and expertise to explore opportunities for collaboration and synergy in a range of areas, including, among others, user growth and traffic flow, partnerships with luxury brands, omnichannel retail initiatives, Internet finance, logistics and procurement.

07:08 EDT Townsquare Media says Q2 results 'exceeded our previously issued guidance' - "We are pleased to announce that our second quarter financial results exceeded our previously issued guidance, continuing the momentum we experienced in the first quarter of the year. In the first six months of 2018, net revenue increased 2.6%, and 2.2% excluding political revenue, and Adjusted EBITDA increased 6.6%," commented Bill Wilson, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Townsquare. "Our second quarter and year to date revenue growth was primarily the result of the continued stability in our broadcast products and the strong revenue growth of our digital solutions." "Through internal reorganization and the divestiture of North American Midway Entertainment, we have concluded the strategic reset that we initiated in late 2017 and have largely reoriented the Company towards the stability, profitable growth, and cash generation of the advertising, marketing solutions, and live events businesses in our local market footprint," commented Dhruv Prasad, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Townsquare. "Our strong performance in the first half of this year reinforces that this was the right strategy, and we remain committed to this plan moving forward."

07:00 EDT CVS Health reports Q2 pharmacy same store sales up 8.3%

06:58 EDT ITG reports July U.S. trading volume 2.7B shares - ITG announced that July 2018 U.S. trading volume was 2.7 billion shares and average daily volume was 127 million shares, compared to 3.3 billion shares and ADV of 157 million shares in June 2018 and 2.6 billion shares and ADV of 129 million shares in July 2017. There were 21 trading days in both July 2018 and June 2018 and 20 trading days in July 2017.

06:55 EDT Paratek Pharmaceuticals trading halted, news pending

06:53 EDT Starwood Property to acquire GE Capital Project Finance Debt Business for $2.56B

06:51 EDT Alliance One German subsidiary enters agreement with France Tabac - Alliance One announced that its German subsidiary, Alliance One Rotag, and France Tabac Union de Societes Cooperatives Agricoles have entered into an agreement for the sourcing, processing and marketing of high-quality flue-cured Virginia shisha style tobacco. Together, the two organizations will provide customers with the flue-cured Virginia shisha style tobacco that the European region is recognized for producing. Alliance One Rotag intends to continue sourcing German and Polish flue-cured Virginia tobaccos, which will be processed with the French-origin tobaccos sourced from France Tabac in its processing facility located in Sarlat, France.

06:44 EDT Michael Kors says Jimmy Choo's revenue exceeded expectations - Jimmy Choo's revenue exceeded expectations due to strong performance in footwear, as well as a shift in timing of certain wholesale shipments from second quarter into first quarter. At June 30, 2018, Jimmy Choo operated 191 retail stores, including concessions, and an additional 61 retail stores, including concessions, were operated through licensing partners. Including licensed locations, there were 252 Jimmy Choo stores worldwide at the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2019.

06:42 EDT Michael Kors CEO says 'We are encouraged by our first quarter performance' - John D. Idol, the company's CEO, said, "We are encouraged by our first quarter performance, with growth in revenues, gross margin, operating margin as well as earnings per share all exceeding our expectations. Our fashion leadership remains strong, which drove consumers to respond favorably to both new fashion introductions and core products. Our global fashion luxury group continues to see the benefits of our long term growth strategy which is driven by both the Michael Kors and Jimmy Choo brands. Looking ahead we remain optimistic about our business for the remainder of fiscal 2019 and beyond."

06:36 EDT Michael Kors reports Q1 flat comparable store sales for Michael Kors - Positive comparable store sales growth in the Americas; Positive comparable store sales growth in Accessories, Footwear and Women's Ready to Wear.

06:30 EDT Fluor to design and build Quellaveco Copper Project in Peru - Fluor has received the full notice to proceed for the engineering, procurement and construction management of Anglo American's Quellaveco copper project in the Moquegua region in the south of Peru. Fluor will book the undisclosed contract value in Q3. The project will be an open pit mine that will process 127,500 tons per day of ore via conventional crushing, grinding and flotation technology to produce 300,000 tonnes of copper per year. First copper production is expected in 2022.

06:17 EDT Coinbase is giving users higher cryptocurrency trading limits - Coinbase said in a blog post on Tuesday: "Today we're announcing immediate trading and significantly higher default limits for Coinbase accounts. Starting today, we are rolling out the ability to trade cryptocurrency immediately after a purchase -- no more waiting five days for funds to settle. Most customers will also see their trading limits increased to $25,000 per day. This functionality will be available for US customers over the next few weeks... With this update, customers will receive an immediate credit for the funds being sent from their bank account. They can then buy and sell crypto to and from their USD wallet right away, but cannot send their funds off the Coinbase platform until the funds coming from their bank have settled. We are also increasing limits for the majority of our US customers. Until now, the maximum allowable purchase was $25,000 weekly. For verified customers, the limit will now be $25,000 daily, a 7x increase over our prior limits. And once your funds are transferred to Coinbase, there are no longer any limits to how much you can buy or sell at a time." Reference Link

06:13 EDT STERIS CEO anticipates 'record year' in FY19 - "We are pleased with another strong start to a new fiscal year, with revenue growth at the high-end of our full year expectations and earnings in-line with our plan," said Walt Rosebrough, President and CEO of STERIS. "Based on our performance in the quarter and expectations for the rest of the year, we continue to anticipate a record year consistent with our previous guidance."

06:09 EDT Samsung expects to create 40,000 new jobs over next three years

06:07 EDT Macerich enters partnership with Industrious - Macerich announced a national partnership with premium workplace operator Industrious. This is the first time a major mall owner has partnered with a coworking company targeting a multi-property rollout. Under the terms of the partnership, Industrious will operate coworking locations at select Macerich properties.

06:01 EDT STERIS raises quarterly dividend to 34c per share - The dividend is payable September 27 to shareholders of record at the close of business on August 29.

05:54 EDT Manchester United announces gloabal partnership with Chivas - Manchester United and Chivas have announced a multi-year global partnership. The collaboration will see the two global names join forces to celebrate their collective belief that blended is better - in life, football and Scotch. The partnership will mean Chivas' portfolio of award-winning blends will be available throughout Old Trafford's hospitality suites, becoming part of the Manchester United matchday experience. The partnership will also see Chivas branding displayed on digital perimeter boards as well as throughout the stadium.

05:43 EDT Agilent announces pdate on PD-L1 CE-IVD in urothelial carcinoma in Europe - Agilent Technologies (A) announced that its PD-L1 IHC 22C3 pharmDx assay is now labeled for an updated use in urothelial carcinoma in Europe. Physicians in Europe can now use the assay as an aid to identify urothelial carcinoma patients who are ineligible for cisplatin and may respond to KEYTRUDA as a first-line treatment option. KEYTRUDA is a targeted anti-PD-1 immunotherapy manufactured by Merck (MRK). It is a humanized monoclonal antibody that may increase the ability of the body's immune system to help detect and fight tumor cells. "We are pleased that PD-L1 IHC 22C3 pharmDx will help physicians identify urothelial carcinoma patients for whom KEYTRUDA may be an appropriate first-line treatment option. Being able to support the use of immuno-oncology therapeutics by bringing their associated diagnostics to market is truly encouraging," said Sam Raha, president of Agilent's Diagnostics and Genomics Group.

05:21 EDT New Relic signs definitive agreement to establish Japanese JV with Japan Cloud - New Relic announced it has signed a definitive agreement to establish a new joint venture in Tokyo, Japan, known as New Relic K.K.. The joint venture will enable New Relic to meet the demands of the growing number of companies in Japan that are looking to solve business-critical issues around mastering the complexity of modern software. Japanese businesses are increasingly embracing the cloud for the scale and agility necessary to compete in the digital era. New Relic K.K. will be a joint venture between New Relic, Inc. and Japan Cloud. Japan Cloud partners with leading U.S. software businesses to succeed in the Japanese market. The founders at Japan Cloud have led successful Japan joint ventures for Salesforce, Concur, Marketo, Kyriba and Demandware, as well as the launch of Oracle Japan.