Stockwinners Market Radar for August 17, 2018 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

17:33 EDT SPDR Gold Trust holdings fall to 772.24MT from 773.41MT - This is the 5th consecutive decline and also the lowest level of holdings since February 26th, 2016.

17:10 EDT Boeing awarded $152.5M U.S. Navy contract - Boeing is awarded a $152,485,214 cost-plus-incentive-fee contract to design, development, integrate and test the Infrared Search and Track System Block II, Phase II engineering change as a replacement to the IRST Block I system in support of the F/A-18E/F aircraft.

17:08 EDT L3 Technologies awarded $240M Defense Department contract - L-3 Communications was awarded a non-competitive firm-fixed-price contract to provide senior leaders and their support staff with high throughput military Ka-band communications while traveling via aircraft. The face value of this action is $5,781,475 funded by fiscal 2018 operations and maintenance funding. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $240,000,000.

16:51 EDT Penn National CEO acquires 100,000 common shares - In a regulatory filing, Penn National Gaming CEO Timothy J. Wilmott disclosed the purchase of 100,000 common shares of the company at a price of $30.85 per share.

16:42 EDT Avista Healthcare Public Acquisition Corp., Organogenesis announce combination - Avista Healthcare Public Acquisition Corp and Organogenesis announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement, under which Organogenesis will become a wholly owned subsidiary of AHPAC. Affiliates of Avista Capital Partners have agreed to invest $92M in the combined company in conjunction with the transaction. Following the closing of the transaction, Organogenesis will be listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol (ORGO) The combined company will have an anticipated initial enterprise value of approximately $673M. Organogenesis' mission is to provide integrated healing solutions that improve medical outcomes and the lives of patients, while lowering the overall cost of care. Organogenesis' product portfolio is designed to treat a variety of patients with repair and regenerative needs across the continuum of care. Organogenesis has over 600 employees worldwide and is led by a management team of with more than 75 years of collective regenerative medicine experience. This transaction will be funded through a combination of cash, stock, and rollover debt financing. Organogenesis' key existing shareholders will remain committed long-term partners by rolling over their equity into the combined company. The boards of directors of AHPAC and the company have unanimously approved the proposed transaction and shareholders of the company representing approximately 89% of the outstanding stock of the company have agreed to support approval of the proposed transaction in any consent solicitation or shareholders' meeting in connection with the transaction. Completion of the proposed transaction, which is expected before the end of the year, is subject to customary and other closing conditions, including regulatory approvals and receipt of approvals from AHPAC's shareholders.

16:32 EDT MidSouth Bancorp says 'will carefully review' letter sent by Jacobs Asset Mgt. - MidSouth Bancorp issued the following statement in response to the letter sent to the Board of Directors of MidSouth by Jacobs Asset Management dated August 15, 2018 and filed publicly with the SEC on Schedule 13D: "MidSouth's Board of Directors welcomes open communications with all of our shareholders and appreciates their views on enhancing shareholder value. The Board will carefully review with its legal and financial advisors the letter sent by Jacobs Asset Management and remains committed to act in the best interests of all MidSouth shareholders."

16:27 EDT HUD files formal housing discrimination complaint against Facebook - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced a formal complaint against Facebook for violating the Fair Housing Act by allowing landlords and home sellers to use its advertising platform to engage in housing discrimination. HUD claims Facebook enables advertisers to control which users receive housing-related ads based upon the recipient's race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, disability, and/or zip code. Facebook then invites advertisers to express unlawful preferences by offering discriminatory options, allowing them to effectively limit housing options for these protected classes under the guise of "targeted advertising," according to HUD. "The Fair Housing Act prohibits housing discrimination including those who might limit or deny housing options with a click of a mouse," said Anna Maria Farias, HUD's Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. "When Facebook uses the vast amount of personal data it collects to help advertisers to discriminate, it's the same as slamming the door in someone's face." Reference Link

16:11 EDT MGE Energy increases quarterly dividend 5% to 33.75c per share - The board of MGE Energy increased the regular quarterly dividend rate by nearly 5% to 33.75c per share on the outstanding shares of the company's common stock. The dividend is payable September 15 to shareholders of record September 1. This raises the annual dividend rate by 6c from $1.29 per share to $1.35 per share.

16:07 EDT Avista makes annual price adjustment requests in Washington - Avista has made several annual rate adjustment filings with the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission that would, if approved, result in an overall decrease in electric and natural gas rates, effective Nov. 1, 2018. These annual filings have no impact on the company's earnings, and are not related to the proposed acquisition of Avista by Hydro One. If approved by the Commission, residential electric customers in Washington using an average of 938 kilowatt hours per month would see their monthly bills change from $87.33 to $82.07, a decrease of $5.26 per month, or approximately 6.0 percent. Residential natural gas customers using an average of 65 therms per month would see their monthly bills change from $50.66 to $45.29, a decrease of $5.37 per month, or approximately 10.6 percent. The percentage change for electric and natural gas customers varies by rate schedule and is dependent upon how much energy customers on the respective rate schedules use.

16:06 EDT Altimeter Capital Management reports 10.7% passive stake in Trivago

16:03 EDT Levin Capital reports 5.4% passive stake in Summit Materials

15:09 EDT Atlantic Power corrects consultant misstatement, says no agreements in place - Atlantic Power provides the following clarification regarding the status of plans for its North Bay and Kapuskasing power plants in Ontario: "As previously disclosed, the Company is marketing both of the North Bay and Kapuskasing sites to a range of potential customers or alternate users of the sites. On August 14, 2018, there was a North Bay City Council hearing to consider the Company's application for a change in zoning for the North Bay plant, which would allow for a broader range of possible uses for the site. At the hearing, although the town planning official reported accurately on the Company's plans for the site, a consultant for the Company incorrectly indicated that the Company had a data center tenant for the North Bay site. This comment was also reported by local press the following day. The Company wishes to correct this misstatement by the consultant by indicating that it does not have any agreements in place or any prospective agreements for either the North Bay or Kapuskasing plants. Although its marketing efforts are continuing, discussions have not progressed beyond an initial stage. The Company has no plans to re-start operations at either plant in the near term."

14:47 EDT OneSpan's Hunt sells 282,486 common shares - In a regulatory filing, OneSpan director T. Kendall Hunt disclosed the sale of 282,486 common shares of the company at a price of $17.70 per share.

13:02 EDT Baker Hughes reports U.S. rig count unchanged at 1,057 rigs - Baker Hughes reports that the U.S. rig count is unchanged at 1,057 rigs, with oil rigs unchanged at 869, gas rigs unchanged at 186, and miscellaneous rigs unchanged at 2. The U.S. Rig Count is up 111 rigs from last year's count of 946, with oil rigs up 106, gas rigs up 4, and miscellaneous rigs up 1. The U.S. Offshore Rig Count is up 1 rig to 21 and up 5 rigs year-over-year. The Canada Rig Count is up 3 rigs from last week to 212, with oil rigs up 1 to 141 and gas rigs up 2 to 71. The Canada Rig Count is down 2 rigs from last year's count of 214, with oil rigs up 20 and gas rigs down 22.

12:27 EDT California Water Service withdraws $70 per share offer to buy SJW Corp. - California Water Service Group (CWT) announced that it has withdrawn its revised proposal to acquire SJW Group (SJW) for $70.00 per share in cash after it was rejected by the SJW Board. California Water will also terminate its tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of SJW common stock. "California Water is financially disciplined, and after repeated attempts to engage with the SJW Board of Directors, we believe it is in our stockholders' best interests to withdraw our proposal and focus on other opportunities," said Martin A. Kropelnicki, President and CEO of California Water. Kropelnicki continued, "It is unfortunate that the SJW Board concluded that our offer was not likely to lead to a superior transaction without availing themselves the opportunity to enter into a single discussion with us. Although we are disappointed by their unwillingness to engage, we are confident we have an excellent growth strategy in place that will continue to deliver long-term stockholder value. As we build on our long track record of success, we will remain committed to enhancing the quality of life for our customers, communities, and employees."

11:34 EDT Mateon Therapeutics receives notice of partial clinical hold for OX1222 study - Mateon Therapeutics announced earlier that the U.S. FDA placed a partial clinical hold on Study OX1222 during a telephone conversation held with the Company on August 16, 2018. OX1222 is the Company's clinical trial of OXi4503 in combination with cytarabine for the treatment of relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndromes. The partial clinical hold applies to the 12.2 mg/m2 dose of OXi4503. The FDA is allowing the study to continue to treat and enroll patients using a dose of 9.76 mg/m2 of OXi4503, which the Company previously tested in cohort 5 of Study OX1222. The partial clinical hold follows two potential dose-limiting toxicities observed at the 12.2 mg/m2 dose level that was being evaluated in cohort 6 of Study OX1222. These DLTs consist of one patient experiencing hypotension shortly following initial treatment with OXi4503, and another patient experiencing acute hypoxic respiratory failure approximately two weeks after receiving OXi4503 and cytarabine. Both events were deemed "possibly-related" to OXi4503, and both patients recovered following treatment. The protocol for Study OX1222 generally defines a DLT as any grade 3 serious adverse event where a relationship to OXi4503 cannot be ruled out. The FDA has indicated that additional data on patients receiving 9.76 mg/m2 of OXi4503 must be evaluated before the company resumes dosing at 12.2 mg/m2. "Although it is disappointing that we are not currently continuing with the higher dose of OXi4503, we look forward to gathering more safety and efficacy data at the previous dose level, where we observed two complete remissions in the four patients that we treated," said William D. Schwieterman, M.D., CEO of Mateon.

11:13 EDT The Intersection: Crypto and Wall Street This Week - As bitcoin, ethereum and other cryptocurrencies get increasing attention from investors, Wall Street and its traditional banks continue to adjust to the shift. Catch up on this week's top stories highlighting the intersection of these old guard and new school areas of finance with this recap compiled by The Fly. 1. LOWEST MARKET VALUE SINCE NOVEMBER: A widespread investor retreat pushed the market for digital currencies down 70% from its January high, signaling user frustration over their modest inroads into commerce and a general shakeout in speculative investments, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. The value of all cryptocurrencies in circulation this week dropped below $200B for the first time in 2018, its lowest since November and of the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market value, 98 were down over 24 hours. 2. TSMC SEES CRYPTO MINING CHIP DEMAND: TSMC (TSM) has seen a pick up in orders for cryptocurrency mining chips, despite mining chill, according to DigiTimes reported Thursday. China's Bitmain, Canaan Creative and Ebang Communication, which command approximately 90% of the global Bitcoin mining devices, have unveiled new devices with higher performance application-specific integrated circuits to extend market share and a lot of smaller China suppliers of ASICs have also placed orders with TSMC for fabrication. 3. NVIDIA SEES NO CRYPTO CONTRIBUTIONS 'GOING FORWARD': On Thursday, Nvidia (NVDA) CFO Colette Kress, commenting on second quarter results, said, "OEM and IP revenue was $116M, down 54% from a year ago and down 70% sequentially, driven by lower demand for cryptocurrency mining...Our revenue outlook had anticipated cryptocurrency-specific products declining to approximately $100M, while actual crypto-specific product revenue was $18M. Whereas we had previously anticipated cryptocurrency to be meaningful for the year, we are now projecting no contributions going forward." 4. RIPPLE TARGETS CHINA: Ripple is targeting the Chinese market with its distributed ledger technology designed to accelerate cross-border payments, CNBC reported Wednesday. The blockchain company struck a deal with Hong Kong-based financial services firm LianLian International earlier this year, aimed at powering the firm's cross-border transactions between China, the U.S. and Europe. 5. COINBASE REBRANDS TOSHI: Coinbase said in a Wednesday blog post that Toshi is becoming Coinbase Wallet. "This is not just a new name, but part of a larger effort to invest in products that will define the future of the decentralized web and make that future accessible to anyone. At Coinbase, we believe that the applications of the future will be built on a decentralized internet. Everyone will own a crypto wallet that allows them to access decentralized applications and that wallet will be their gateway to the open financial system... Coinbase Wallet is one part of our effort to accelerate the adoption of crypto and dapps around the world." CRYPTO STOCK PLAYS: Cryptocurrency revenues have been pointed to as reasons to be bullish on Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and Nvidia in select research. Overstock (OSTK), DPW Holdings (DPW), Kodak (KODK), Seven Stars Cloud (SSC), Riot Blockchain (RIOT), Pareteum (TEUM) and Social Reality (SRAX) are other stocks that have been touted, or promoted themselves, as a way to play the crypto theme. PRICE ACTION: As of time of writing, bitcoin rose about 1.6% this week to $6,469 in U.S. dollars, according to CoinDesk. WANT BITCOIN NEWS ALERTS?: To receive alerts on stories relating to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, Fly subscribers can enter "Bitcoin" into the "Add symbols" box of their portfolios.

10:39 EDT Deere says cash use priorities have not changed

10:31 EDT Deere expects FY18 net operating cash flows from equipment operations $3.5B - Says had another "solid" quarter. Says overall crop value of production in EU is still expected to increase in 2018. Says value of agriculture production in Brazil is projected to be the same as about last year. Sees continued growth in Brazil. Says intelligent solutions group is advancing Deere's Precision Ag strategy. Says Autotrac now available in 100 countries. Says Deere has nearly 100M engaged acres globally. Says using technology to enhance customer service capabilities. Says economic environment for worldwide construction & forestry looks "strong." Says construction investment in the U.S. is expected to grow 3.8% in FY18. Says crude oil price per barrel is forecast to be $67.40. Says expects worldwide financial services net income to be approx. $815M in FY18 and adj. net income is expected to be $583M. Says expects net operating cash flows from equipment operations to be about $3.5B in FY18. Says farmers have shown continued interest in investing in new technologies. Says confident in ability to deliver results even in fluctuating market conditions. Says will continue to work on delivering strong results for the remainder of this year and beyond. Comments taken from Q3 earnings conference call.

10:00 EDT Dean Foods falls -8.0% - Dean Foods is down -8.0%, or -69c to $7.94.

10:00 EDT Nordstrom rises 9.9% - Nordstrom is up 9.9%, or $5.16 to $57.44.

10:00 EDT Zoe's Kitchen rises 34.2% - Zoe's Kitchen is up 34.2%, or $3.27 to $12.82.

09:47 EDT Nordstrom rises 6.7% - Nordstrom is up 6.7%, or $3.51 to $55.79.

09:47 EDT Zoe's Kitchen rises 33.2% - Zoe's Kitchen is up 33.2%, or $3.17 to $12.73.

09:06 EDT Verizon, Nokia complete first 5G NR mobility call - Verizon (VZ) and Nokia (NOK) continue to advance the development and deployment of 5G technology by achieving the first successful transmission of a 3GPP New Radio, or NR, 5G signal to a receiver situated in a moving vehicle, seamlessly handing off the signal from one radio sector to another. The test took place at Nokia's campus in Murray Hill, New Jersey. It follows the companies' completion of a series of outdoor data sessions over the 5G NR standard, and the successful multi-carrier aggregation to boost those signals into Gbps range, that took place in June. In the test, a data transmission on 28 GHz spectrum was sent from two 5G NR radios on the Nokia building to a vehicle outfitted with a receiver and equipment to measure transmission statistics. The vehicle traveled between the two radios, achieving 5G NR Layer 3 3GPP-compliant mobility handoff of the signal between the two sectors.

09:03 EDT Izea reports new contract wins - IZEA is reporting several large new contract wins thus far in Q3. IZEA recently secured a high six-figure influencer marketing services contract to support a product launch for a new Fortune 200 client. In addition, the company signed a number of six-figure contracts earlier in the quarter for a variety of clients including a Fortune 10 retailer, a Fortune 100 healthcare company, and Fortune 1000 software company. The company saw new commitments from repeat clients including a Fortune 50 automobile manufacturer and Fortune 500 consumer packaged goods company.

09:01 EDT GigaMedia CEO purchases 111,387 shares of company stock - GigaMedia announced that its CEO Cheng-Ming Huang a.k.a. James Huang has purchased a total of 111,387 shares of GigaMedia stock by Pacific Star Universal Group Ltd. at an average price of $2.9540 on August 14th,15th, and 16th 2018. The purchases were made during an open window period and in full compliance with all company and legal guidelines. Cheng-Ming Huang now holds a total of 480,099 shares, an ownership of around 4.34% in the company.

09:01 EDT WWE, Nine extend partnership to televise Raw, SmackDown in Australia - WWE and Nine announced an agreement to continue broadcasting WWE's flagship programs Raw and SmackDown on free-to-air television in Australia. Channel 9GO! will continue airing a weekly one-hour version of Raw between 11:15 p.m. and 12:15 a.m. on Thursdays and a weekly one-hour version of SmackDown between 11:15 p.m. and 12:15 a.m. on Fridays. Raw and SmackDown will also be available on 9NOW, Nine's platform for authenticated subscribers, for a VOD catch-up window.

08:11 EDT Zoes Kitchen trading resumes

08:06 EDT CEL-SCI announces NYSE American approves plan - CEL-SCI announces that the NYSE American the company's plan to bring itself into compliance with the Exchange's continued listing standards. The company previously received notice from the Exchange on July 12, 2018, indicating the company is below compliance with Section 1003(a)(i), Section 1003(a)(ii) and Section 1003(a)(iii) since it reported a stockholders' equity deficit as of June 30, 2018 and had net losses in its 5 most recent fiscal years ended September 30, 2017. Additional information and provisions regarding the NYSE American requirements are found in Part 10 of its Company Guide. The company was afforded the opportunity to submit a plan to regain compliance, and on July 30, 2018 the company submitted its plan to the Exchange. On August 16, 2018 the Exchange notified the company that it accepted the company's plan of compliance and granted the company until January 14, 2019 to regain compliance with the continued listing standards. The company will be subject to periodic review during this period. Failure to make progress consistent with the plan or to regain compliance with the continued listing standards by the end of the period could result in the company being delisted from the NYSE American. The company may then appeal a staff determination to initiate such proceedings in accordance with the exchange's Company Guide.

08:04 EDT Evolus announces Health Canada approval of DWP-450 - Evolus announced that Health Canada has granted approval of DWP-450 for the temporary improvement in the appearance of moderate to severe glabellar lines in adult patients under 65 years of age. The first marketing approval for Evolus' DWP-450 product candidate represents a major milestone achievement for the company. Evolus will market DWP-450 in Canada through its partner Clarion Medical Technologies.

08:02 EDT Abeona reports draft version of EB-101 Phase 3 trial protocol posted prematurely - In a regulatory filing last night, Abeona Therapeutics stated that it is "working closely" with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to confirm the final protocol guidance for the EB-101 Phase 3 pivotal trial in recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa. The company noted that a draft version of the protocol for the trial had been prematurely posted by its collaborator on the FDA clinical trial online portal, www.clinicaltrials.gov, and the collaborator has agreed to either retract or withdraw the posting. Based on FDA input, the planned Phase 3 clinical trial will be a single-center, randomized, controlled study conducted at Stanford University School of Medicine, Abeona stated.

08:02 EDT Eisai, Merck announce approval of LENVIMA capsules for treatment of HCC - Eisai Inc. (ESALY) and Merck (MRK) announced that the U.S. FDA approved the kinase inhibitor LENVIMA for the first-line treatment of patients with unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma. This approval was based on results from REFLECT where LENVIMA demonstrated a proven treatment effect on overall survival by statistical confirmation of non-inferiority, as well as statistically significant superiority and clinically meaningful improvements in progression-free survival and objective response rate when compared with sorafenib in patients with previously untreated unresectable HCC.

07:38 EDT DAVIDsTEA 12% shareholder TDM sends letter to independent directors - TDM Growth Partners, a 12% shareholder in DAVIDsTEA, has sent the following letter to the Independent Directors of DAVIDsTEA. "TDM owns over 12% of the issued capital of DTEA, and believes it is constructive to bring to the attention of fellow shareholders some concerning recent developments at DavidsTea. Immediately following DTEA's Annual General Meeting ("AGM") on 14 June 2018, Herschel Segal replaced the Board of Directors and appointed himself as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DTEA. In the short period of time since Mr Segal has controlled the business:The previous CEO, Mr Joel Silver was terminated immediately after the AGM. Three out of the six most senior executives in the Company have resigned - Head of Marketing/Ecommerce; Head of Logistics & Supply Chain; and Head of Human Resources. Two of the five independent directors have resigned, including the lead independent director Bill Clemen. DTEA is in breach of the NASDAQ listing requirements, having an insufficient number of Independent Directors on its Audit Committee - NASDAQ has warned that DTEA will be delisted unless the breach is cured. The share price has declined from $3.95 on the day prior to the AGM to $2.52 as at the date of this letter, a 36% decline. These developments appear to confirm the fears which TDM and its fellow shareholders expressed prior to Mr Segal taking control of the Company. We request the following responses from the Independent Directors of DavidsTea, being Ludwig Max Fisher, Pat De Marco and Peter Robinson: Following the departure of Mr Clemen, which of Ludwig Max Fisher, Pat De Marco, and Peter Robinson has assumed the position of lead Independent Director?Following the departure of Mr Roland Walton, head of Human Resources and Compensation Committee, who will replace him as Chair to lead the search for a new CEO? We understand DTEA only appointed a search firm in the last two weeks. What explains the delay in starting the recruitment process for a new CEO? Mr Joel Silver was terminated as CEO immediately after the AGM on 14 June. What has caused the delay in disclosure of the particulars of his termination? The Company has stated simply that Mr Silver has "left the Company". Related party arrangements are typically a sensitive issue for shareholders. Mr Segal's daughter, Sarah Segal, was previously employed as Head of Product and Innovation at DTEA. Prior to the AGM Ms Segal was placed on paid leave. Is Ms Segal continuing to receive compensation from DTEA and if so, what is her role? Directors Bill Clemen and Roland Walton resigned from the board only 6 weeks after they joined the board, with no explanation. What is the reason for their resignations? Please confirm that the independent directors have discussed and set performance goals for the CEO, Mr Segal, as required by the Human Resources & Compensation Committee charter. Please confirm that the Audit Committee is currently able to fulfil its role which includes "overseeing the process for approval of all related-party transactions involving executive officers and directors", in light of the Audit Committee now having an insufficient number of independent directors? If the Audit Committee is not currently performing this role, how is the obligation being met? We note that on 31 July 2018 DTEA issued a press release rejecting a lawsuit brought against Hershel Segal and his private company Rainy Day Investments, by 12.8% shareholder Porchlight Equity. Specifically, in relation to this lawsuit, please advise: The basis on which DTEA is "categorically rejecting" a lawsuit in which it is not a defendant. Whether Company has incurred or intends to incur legal or other expenses which are for the benefit of the defendants, Mr Segal and his private investment company Rainy Day Investments, as opposed to DTEA. Has a separate committee of the Board been formed to handle the clear conflict of interest between Mr Segal and DTEA in addressing the lawsuit? If not, please confirm Mr Segal has not personally promoted or authorized the Company's response to the lawsuit. We understand law firm Fasken is currently acting for DTEA and that Fasken was acting for Mr Segal and Rainy Day Investments in the lead up to the AGM. Please confirm that DTEA is using separate legal counsel to that of Mr Segal and Rainy Day, recognizing the conflicts that using the same counsel would create. Finally, we note that in his campaign to gain control of DTEA, Mr Segal made a statement that: "In order to improve operations and effect a financial turnaround, a unified Board of Directors is needed, one which shares a common vision for DavidsTea's future." With the departure of two of the five independent directors, within 6 weeks of their appointment, the DTEA board appears anything but unified. This is yet another indication that Mr Segal's leadership is ineffective and not supported within DTEA. In our opinion, DTEA is an outstanding brand, however, for as long as Mr Segal is leading the business, as Executive Chairman or Chief Executive Officer, in our opinion the business will continue to lose good people and fall further and further behind its true potential. The Independent Directors are ultimately responsible for managing the difficult governance situation precipitated by Mr Segal taking control of DTEA and appointing himself as Executive Chairman and CEO. We request that the Company responds to the questions and concerns raised in this letter within five business days. I have no doubt all shareholders will take a keen interest in additional information provided by DTEA."

07:27 EDT Deere sees FY18 company worldwide agriculture & turf sales up approx. 15% - Compares to previous view of up approx. 14%. Sees FY18 U.S./Canada Ag industry sales up approx. 10%, in line with prior view. Sees EU 28 Ag sales up 5%-10%. compared with previous view of approx. 5%. Continues to see South American Ag flat to up 5%. Sees Asia Ag about flat, in line with prior view. Continues to see U.S. and Canada turf and utility flat to up 5%. Sees Worldwide Construction & Forestry net sales up about 81%. Sees R&D expense up about 21%. Sees SG&A up about 16%. Sees FY18 effective tax rate about 55%, FY19 effective tax rate 25%-27%. Comments from slides that will be presented on the Q3 earnings conference call.

07:06 EDT Auryn Resources announces drilling commencement at Homestake Ridge - Auryn Resources announced that drilling has commenced at its 100% owned Homestake Ridge project located in northwestern British Columbia. The program, which began on August 7th, consists of approximately 3,000 meters of core drilling to target gold mineralization along the high-grade South Reef deposit. In the 2017 drill program, Auryn intercepted zones of high-grade gold mineralization at South Reef's down plunge. These intercepts included 30 meters of 2.00 g/t Au and 10 meters of 4.12 g/t Au. This year's program aims to expand the known resource at South Reef by targeting the down plunge extension along the bottom of a graben, which defines the mineralized corridor. The drill program will test 500 meters of strike extension along a one-kilometer gold-in-soils anomaly targeting multiple mineralized structures within the graben. CEO Ivan Bebek said, "The fourth quarter of 2018 will be exciting for Auryn shareholders as we are drilling two fully-funded opportunities for significant gold discoveries in Canada. We have also made great progress in Peru over the summer at our Sombrero project, where we recently identified several drill targets. Updates can be expected in the coming weeks. With respect to our recently announced funding, we appreciate the support from existing shareholders and welcome new shareholders. We plan to remain judicious with our treasury in these less-than-optimal market conditions."

07:02 EDT Regeneron: FDA approves sBLA for EYLEA Injection in patients with wet AMD - Regeneron Pharmaceuticals announced that the U.S. FDA has approved a supplemental Biologics License Application for EYLEA Injection in patients with wet age-related macular degeneration. The sBLA was based on second-year data from the Phase 3 VIEW 1 and 2 trials in which patients with wet AMD were treated with a modified 12-week dosing schedule. These data are now included in the updated EYLEA label. EYLEA is also approved in wet AMD for every four- or eight-week dosing intervals after three initial monthly doses.

07:00 EDT Zoes Kitchen trading halted, news pending