Stockwinners Market Radar for August 23, 2018 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:14 EDT Facebook names Antonio Lucio new Chief Marketing Officer - In a Facebook post, Chief Product Officer Chris Cox said: "I am thrilled to announce today that we have hired Antonio J Lucio to be our new Chief Marketing Officer. Sheryl, Gary, and I have worked hard on finding the best person for this role, and we're excited to say that we've found him. Antonio will join us from HP (HPQ), where he led their marketing team for three years. Before that he was the CMO at Visa and at PepsiCo. He has an extraordinary reputation in the industry as a leader, a marketer, an operator, and a wise, gracious, and deeply principled human being. He has been outspoken on the need to build authentic global brands with integrity and from places of principle, and also on the importance of building diverse teams at every level in the organization. From all our interactions with him, he is a force of nature, and we are lucky to have him. Facebook's story is at an inflection point. We have never faced bigger challenges, and we have never had more opportunities to have a positive impact on the world - in our families, our friendships, our communities, and our democracy - by improving our products at their core, and then by telling the story outside that we all know to be true inside. Along with Mark, Sheryl, and our leadership, I want to take the chance to thank Gary for all the work he's done in building our brand and our marketing team over the past five years. Gary, you have most importantly brought in an amazing team, and beyond that taken us well into the first several chapters of the journey with gusto, and with an honesty and humility that is uniquely your own. We thank you, and we will miss you".

19:16 EDT Shire announces FDA approval of TAKHZYRO - Shire announced that following priority review, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved TAKHZYRO injection, for prophylaxis to prevent attacks of hereditary angioedema in patients 12 years of age and older. HAE is a rare, genetic and potentially life-threatening disorder that can result in recurrent attacks of edema in various parts of the body. "HAE attacks are painful, debilitating, and potentially life threatening. TAKHZYRO provides the HAE community with a new option for the prevention of HAE attacks," said Anthony J. Castaldo, President, U.S. Hereditary Angioedema Association. "We are grateful for the time and effort put forth by the patients and researchers who participated in the clinical trial program that enabled this important addition to the HAE treatment landscape."

19:05 EDT Grupo Supervielle announces organizational changes in Consumer Finance - Grupo Supervielle S.A. announced organizational changes to streamline its consumer finance business and align it to the new macro environment in Argentina. With these changes, the Company aims to accelerate the offering of a wide range of consumer products tailored to each target segment, enhance customer experience through digital transformation, and increase cross selling to drive higher efficiency and profitability. Effective August 24, 2018, the consumer finance units of Grupo Supervielle, which include: Cordial Compania Financiera S.A., Espacio Cordial de Servicios S.A., Tarjeta Automatica S.A., and the recently acquired car lending business Micro Lending S.A., will now all be managed under the leadership of Mr. Juan Martin Monteverdi, current CEO of Espacio Cordial de Servicios S.A. He will report to Supervielle's Chief Executive Officer.

18:44 EDT Deutsche Bank takes stake in payments tech startup Modo - Deutsche Bank announced that it has acquired an equity stake in US-based ModoPayments, LLC, an "industry leader" in digital payments innovation. "Modo's technology will allow us to provide new transaction services and payment alternatives for the rapidly growing digital economy, for example, vendors who provide products or services like entertainment content or application development and want to be paid in their mobile wallets, an important area of growth," said Michael Spiegel, Global Head of Deutsche Bank's Cash Management.

18:11 EDT S&P announces changes to S&P 500, S&P SmallCap 600 indices - S&P Dow Jones Indices will make the following changes to the S&P 500 and S&P SmallCap 600: Arista Networks (ANET) will replace GGP (GGP) in the S&P 500 effective prior to the open of trading on Tuesday, August 28. Brookfield Property Partners (BPY) is acquiring GGP in a deal expected to be completed soon pending final conditions. Ichor Holdings (ICHR) will replace Super Micro Computer (SMCI) in the S&P SmallCap 600 effective prior to the open of trading on Monday, August 27. Super Micro Computer no longer meets NASDAQ continued listing requirements and has been suspended on that exchange, making it no longer eligible for continued inclusion in the S&P SmallCap 600.

17:44 EDT iRobot chief legal officer sells 10,000 common shares - In a regulatory filing, iRobot chief legal officer Glen Daniel Weinstein disclosed the sale of 10,000 common shares of the company at a price of $96.77 per share.

17:35 EDT Ichor Holdings to replace Super Micro Computer in S&P 600 at open on 8/27 - Super Micro Computer no longer meets NASDAQ continued listing requirements and has been suspended on that exchange, making it no longer eligible for continued inclusion in the S&P SmallCap 600.

17:28 EDT Whitefort Capital Master Fund reports 5.5% passive stake in Novelion Therapeutics

17:23 EDT HP Inc. says it earned market share of 24% during Q3 - Says outperforming PC market. Says new gaming laptop sold out in 20 minutes in China. Says monitoring global trade environment. Says Apogee acquisition will close by the end of calendar 2018. Comments taken from Q3 earning conference call.

17:19 EDT General Atomics awarded $123M U.S. Air Force contract - General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., Poway, California, has been awarded a $123,000,000 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the France 3rd/4th Systems MQ-9 Block 5 procurement program. Work will be performed in Poway, California, and is expected to be completed May 1, 2020.

17:16 EDT SAIC awarded position on Navy's Naval Air Systems Command Contract - The U.S. Navy awarded Science Applications International Corp. an indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract to deliver a broad range of training system products and services to the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division. The multiple-award contract has a five-year base ordering period and three option ordering periods spanning four years. The contract is potentially worth approximately $980M total for all awardees. SAIC is one of 22 awardees and work will be performed primarily in Orlando, Florida.

17:03 EDT ACM Research introduces 'Ultra-C Tahoe' wafer cleaning tool - ACM Research announced the Ultra-C Tahoe, a new addition to its line of advanced single-wafer cleaning tools.Today's conventional high-temperature single-wafer cleaners provide good cleaning performance at advanced nodes, but consume significant amounts of sulphuric acid and hydrogen peroxide. During normal cleaning processes, only a fraction of the acid reacts with the wafer surface, while the majority is wasted as acid spins off the wafer and cannot be recycled. The excessive acid usage causes unnecessary cost, greater safety requirements, and more waste treatment for modern fab operations. Dr. Wang continued, "Our current megasonic cleaning platforms, SAPS and TEBO, address an estimated 30 percent of the approximately $2.7 billion total annual market for semiconductor cleaning equipment. We believe the Ultra-C Tahoe product line expands our addressable market by another 25 percent, bringing our total addressable market opportunity to more than 55 percent of the $2.7 billion total. We are experiencing high interest for the Ultra-C Tahoe from all of our existing, and several new potential customers." ACM also announced today that it has received its first purchase order from a major customer to deliver an Ultra-C Tahoe evaluation tool during the fourth quarter of 2018. The Company expects to recognize revenue for the product in 2019, upon customer acceptance.

16:52 EDT Nortech Systems announces stock repurchase plan - Nortech Systems announced that its board has approved another installment of a stock repurchase program similar to the company's inaugural repurchase program that expired last month. The approved program authorizes the company to repurchase shares of its common stock in an amount up to $250,000 up through July 2019, in amounts of up to $62,500 per quarter. Under the prior repurchase program, which started in August 2017, the company spent substantially all of the $250,000 that was authorized.

16:40 EDT ValueAct Holdings sells 30K shares of Armstrong World - Beneficial owner ValueAct Holdings disclosed in a filing that it had sold 30,000 shares of Armstrong World at an average price of $70.11 on August 21. The transaction value of the sale was $2,103,300 .

16:34 EDT VMware falls almost 2% after Q2 report

16:31 EDT Immunomedics CFO Michael Garone resigns - In a regulatory filing, Immunomedics said that on August 23, it entered into a Transition Agreement with Michael Garone, the company's Vice President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer. Pursuant to the Transition Agreement, Garone resigned as the company's Chief Financial Officer, effective August 23, 2018. Garone shall remain the company's Vice President, Finance, and will provide transition services as needed, until May 18, 2019, which represents one year from the date that the company filed a Biologics License Application for IMMU-132 with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, subject to earlier termination by the company or by Garone for any reason upon 60 days' prior written notice. For the period of time commencing on the Effective Date and ending on the Termination Date, Garone will continue to receive his base salary, continue to participate in company employee benefit plans in accordance with their terms and continue to vest into outstanding equity awards. Garone's resignation is not the result of any disagreement with the company, the board of directors of the company, or management, or any matter relating to the company's operations, policies or practices.

16:22 EDT Gap down about 7% afterhours following Q2 results and affirmed FY18 guidance

16:22 EDT Gap CEO says growth strategy supports improved profitability - CEO Art Peck states: ""We delivered our seventh consecutive quarter of positive comparable sales growth, led by the strength of Old Navy... Our balanced growth strategy supports continued growth and improved profitability, and our investments are focused on leveraging the advantages of our scaled operating platform and accelerating the impact of our significant data assets." CFO Teri List-Stoll says: "The second quarter played out largely as expected, and we are reaffirming our guidance on the yea. We are pleased with the meaningful improvement at Banana Republic, and our work to increase productivity is funding investments in the business to drive differentiation and continued growth."

16:19 EDT VMware reports Q2 License revenue grew 19% year-over-year - License revenue plus sequential change in unearned license revenue grew 19% year-over-year. "Q2 was another strong quarter as we continue to see good momentum across our product and services portfolio in every region," commented Pat Gelsinger, CEO, VMware. "As we begin another exciting VMworld season, customers are increasingly relying on VMware to be their essential, ubiquitous digital foundation enabling their business transformation.""Our results in Q2 were driven by successful execution of our strategy and strong operational performance across the business," said Zane Rowe, executive vice president and chief financial officer, VMware. "Product license bookings grew double-digits year-over-year in all major product categories."

16:18 EDT GWG Holdings appoints Brian Bailey as CIO, Craig Opp as General Counsel - GWG Holdings announced that Brian Bailey has joined the company as its Chief Investment Officer. Bailey joins GWGH after serving as Managing Director of Beal Bank's Longevity Group for the past nine years. Prior to joining Beal Bank, Bailey founded and led a start-up group at Wells Fargo Foothill. ADditionally, Craig Opp has joined the firm as its General Counsel. Opp has worked on multimillion dollar transactions, restructurings and acquisitions at Ditech, Incenter and Green Tree Investment Management.

16:13 EDT Just Energy releases statement on recent market activity - Just Energy issued the following statement regarding recent market activity: "In recent weeks, shares of Just Energy have come under unwarranted market pressure, and the management team believes it is prudent to provide a mid-quarter update on the health of our business and our second fiscal quarter that will close on September 30, 2018. We are pleased with our progress against our fiscal year plan, as year-to-date results are aligning with the expectations of Base EBITDA guidance of $200 million to $220 million, as well as longer-term performance expectations. The core commodity business continues to perform well and the embedded gross margin on our existing book of business rivals all-time Company record levels at $2.0 billion. During the summer months in ERCOT, we successfully implemented pricing and cost reduction actions as a result of the volatility and opportunities presented to us. As a result, we expect the second fiscal quarter to be relatively in line with the same period of fiscal 2018. However, we expect to see the results of the recent pricing and cost actions to contribute in the fiscal third and fourth quarters, driving performance beyond historical levels and supporting guidance for the current fiscal year and earnings growth into the future. The balance sheet remains strong. Furthermore, we remain fully committed to returning capital to shareholders through dividend distributions. Upon achieving the stated guidance range for fiscal 2019, we will have a dividend payout ratio of approximately 75% which is well within our expectations and offers support for the dividend moving forward. In addition, our healthy core business, combined with the growing offering of value-added products and services, will generate significant capital to not only support future dividend payments, but also the pursuit of growth opportunities that support our strategic shift to be a consumer-focused company."

16:10 EDT OSI Systems reports Q4 baclog $976M, up 32% from last year - Deepak Chopra, OSI Systems' Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, said, "We are pleased to announce a strong finish to fiscal 2018 highlighted by impressive sales and bookings in the Security division. We are proud to have surpassed $1 billion in annual sales for the first time in our history. We enter fiscal 2019 with a strong backlog, an enhanced leadership team, and heightened focus on our core strengths."

16:08 EDT Autodesk CEO says seeing 'broad-based strength in customer demand' - "Broad-based strength in customer demand and continued execution across our business helped accelerate growth in ARR and annualized revenue per subscription (ARPS)," said Andrew Anagnost, Autodesk president and CEO. "A superior user experience is motivating new customers to turn to Autodesk subscription and cloud offerings, and we continue to see a steady stream of existing maintenance customers migrating to subscription." "We posted strong results for several key metrics including billings, revenue, total deferred revenue, and earnings," said Scott Herren, Autodesk CFO. "We also generated positive cash flow from operating activities and expect to be cash flow positive for the year. We're pleased with our performance in the first half of the fiscal year and are confident in our ability to drive results for the remainder of the year."

16:07 EDT Fortune Brands to acquire Fiberon for $470M - Fortune Brands Home & Securit announced it has signed an agreement to acquire Fiberon, LLC, a leading manufacturer of outdoor performance materials used primarily in decking, railing and fencing products. Fiberon will join Fortune Brands' new Doors & Security segment on closing and has agreed to be acquired for approximately $470 million. The closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to occur within the next 30 days.

16:05 EDT Autodesk reports total subscriptions of 3.94M at Q2-end - Total subscriptions increased 119,000 from the first quarter of fiscal 2019 to 3.94M at the end of the second quarter.

15:53 EDT SEC charges former Sangamo executive, others with insider trading - The Securities and Exchange Commission has charged a former Sangamo BioSciences (SGMO) executive and others with participating in a scheme that generated $1.5M of illegal profits on insider trading ahead of the announcement of a licensing agreement between Sangamo and Biogen (BIIB). In its complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan, the SEC alleges that late in 2013, Winson Tang, then a Vice President of Clinical Research for Sangamo, tipped his close friend and business associate Deshan Govender about the agreement, knowing that Govender was in the business of selling non-public information to traders. According to the complaint, Govender tipped former day trader Steven Fishoff and others in Fishoff's insider-trading ring who purchased stock and options and made $1.5M in illegal profits when the licensing agreement was announced in January 2014, causing Sangamo's stock price to jump 38%. Reference Link

15:10 EDT Insteel VP Richard Wagner sells over $500K in company shares - Insteel VP Richard Wagner disclosed in a filing that he had sold 13,379 shares of stock at an average price of $39.42 per share on August 23. The total transaction value of the sale was $527,407.

14:32 EDT Iowa commission approves Penn National acquisition of Pinnacle - Penn National Gaming (PENN) announced that at a meeting held today, the company received approval from the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission in connection with its pending acquisition of Pinnacle Entertainment (PNK), subject to customary conditions. The completion of the proposed transaction is contingent on receipt of additional regulatory approvals, as well as certain other conditions, Penn said. Timothy Wilmott, CEO r of Penn National, commented, "We are grateful to the Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission for its thorough and diligent review of the application and filings related to our pending transaction with Pinnacle Entertainment. We look forward to securing additional regulatory approvals in the near term and today's approval marks another step forward toward completing the transaction early in the fourth quarter." Inclusive of the approval from the IRGC, Penn National has received approvals from eleven gaming regulatory bodies in connection with its proposed acquisition of Pinnacle Entertainment.

14:12 EDT Google, with help from FireEye, takes down accounts linked to Iran - In a blog post titled "An update on state-sponsored activity," Google (GOOG, GOOGL) said today, "To complement the work of our internal teams, we engage FireEye, a leading cybersecurity group, and other top security consultants, to provide us with intelligence. For the last two months, Google and Jigsaw have worked closely with FireEye on the influence operation linked to Iran that FireEye identified this week. We're grateful to FireEye for identifying some suspicious Google accounts (three email accounts, three YouTube channels, and three Google+ accounts), which we swiftly disabled. FireEye's full report has just been published today." Google added that its technical research has identified evidence that these actors are associated with the IRIB, the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting. It added, "We identified and terminated a number of accounts linked to the IRIB organization that disguised their connection to this effort, including while sharing English-language political content in the U.S.: 39 YouTube channels that had 13,466 total US views on relevant videos; 6 blogs on Blogger; 13 Google+ accounts." Following Google's blog post, shares of FireEye are up 8%, or $1.16, to $16.06. Reference Link

14:07 EDT Google hires FireEye to help with state-sponsored activity - Google said in a blog post, "To complement the work of our internal teams, we engage FireEye, a leading cybersecurity group, and other top security consultants, to provide us with intelligence. For the last two months, Google and Jigsaw have worked closely with FireEye on the influence operation linked to Iran that FireEye identified this week. We're grateful to FireEye for identifying some suspicious Google accounts (three email accounts, three YouTube channels, and three Google+ accounts), which we swiftly disabled. FireEye's full report has just been published today."

13:46 EDT Kala Pharmaceuticals announces FDA approval of Inveltys

13:06 EDT AMD rises as analyst boots target to Street high on growth potential - Shares of AMD (AMD) are on the rise after Rosenblatt analyst Hans Mosesmann increased his price target on the shares to $30 from $27 on renewed conviction in the company's multi-year double-digit growth profile. SUSTAINABLE DOUBLE-DIGIT GROWTH: After hosting institutional investor meetings last week with management, Rosenblatt's Mosesmann raised his price target for AMD shares to $30 from $27 on renewed conviction of a multi-year double-digit growth profile. The analyst added that he was "impressed by the deep dives long-focused investors are doing in the name after many years of disregard." Along with both key game console wins to stabilize the business and CFO Devinder Kumar's expertise on the financial side this multi-year effort is paying off, he contended. Mosesmann also highlighted that AMD CEO Lisa Su's "understated and strong leadership" along with consistent messaging to investors/customers has garnered "significant accolades." Datacenter server unit share goal for the fourth quarter is "solid," he argued, adding that 10% of the server market 4-5 quarters thereafter will be the next goal, which management believes will be driven by both EPYC 14nm and 7nm. Additionally, Mosesmann told investors this morning that "contrary to conventional wisdom," AMD is not basing its server strategy on lower prices but are focused instead on compute "performance." Given AMD's success over the past several quarters, consolidation, and disarray in certain quarters in Silicon Valley, the company is seeing an important influx of engineering and management candidates, the analyst noted. He views heightened interest within the industry to desire to be at the company as a good indicator for investors to consider going forward. PRICE ACTION: In afternoon trading, shares of AMD have gained about 5.3% to $22.02.

12:54 EDT DHI rallies after TCS Capital says prepared to buy at $2.50 per share - TCS Capital Management disclosed earlier that it delivered today a letter to DHI Group's board. In the letter, TCS Capital expressed their "disappointment with, and concern about" the company's future under the continued control of existing management. TCS stated that in light of the board's "refusal to seriously consider" an earlier acquisition proposal made in private, it is publicly disclosing, "for the benefit of their fellow shareholders," that it is prepared to buy DHI Group for $2.50 per share in cash. TCS Capital stated that it has financing available and are prepared to proceed immediately to negotiating definitive acquisition documents with the board. TCS also cautioned the board that if it is unwilling to engage "to maximize value for all shareholders," it "will be forced to take whatever steps are necessary to ensure the best interests of all shareholders are protected," including a proxy contest against the existing board at DHI's 2019 annual meeting of shareholders. TCS requested a response from the company on whether it is willing to pursue a transaction by the close of business on September 5. Shares of DHI Group are up 13%, or 25c, to $2.22 in midday trading. TCS Capital Management holds a 9.3% stake in DHI.

12:33 EDT Akorn drops 9% to $16.51 after judge comments on Fresenius case

12:00 EDT Hertz falls -10.1% - Hertz is down -10.1%, or -$2.17 to $19.22.

12:00 EDT Cato Corp. falls -19.8% - Cato Corp. is down -19.8%, or -$4.72 to $19.06.

12:00 EDT Cango rises 9.6% - Cango is up 9.6%, or 79c to $9.00.

11:55 EDT Craig A. Drill reports 6% passive stake in Viveve

11:12 EDT American Express, Marriott debut new Starwood Preferred Guest Luxury Card - American Express (AXP) and Marriott International (MAR) announced that the much-anticipated, new Starwood Preferred Guest American Express Luxury Card is now available. Eligible new Card Members who apply for the Card through October 31, 2018 can receive a rich welcome bonus of 100,000 points when they spend $5,000 after three months. As first unveiled in April, the Starwood Preferred Guest American Express Luxury Card is designed for the most premium SPG loyalists, as well as Marriott Rewards and The Ritz-Carlton Rewards loyalists, and is packed with rich benefits and rewards to enhance Card Members' travel journey. The Starwood Preferred Guest American Express Luxury Card has an annual fee of $4502 and comes with benefits including up to $300 in statement credits each year of Card Membership for eligible purchases at more than 6,700 participating SPG and Marriott Rewards hotels, complimentary Gold Elite Status with the ability to earn Platinum Elite Status after spending $75,000 on the Card in a calendar year, an annual free night award every year after the Card account anniversary, Priority Pass Select membership, Global Entry or TSA PreCheck fee credit and more opportunities to earn points, including: For each dollar of eligible purchases charged to the Card, Card Members can earn: 6X points at participating SPG and Marriott Rewards hotels; 3X points at U.S. restaurants and on flights booked directly with airlines; 2X points on other eligible purchases.

10:45 EDT Square says has introduced Square Payroll to six more states - Square tweeted: "Today we introduced Square Payroll to 6 more states: Maine, Michigan, Nebraska, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island. Around 96% of U.S. employers now have access to Square Payroll."

10:25 EDT L Brands slides after slashing earnings forecast, PINK brand CEO departure - Shares of L Brands (LB) are sliding after the parent of Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works reported better than expected quarterly earnings and revenue but lowered its profit outlook. While Jefferies analyst Randal Konik reduced his price target for L Brands and recommended investors sell the shares, his peer at Citi argued that the guidance cut was expected and reiterated a Buy rating on the stock. QUARTERLY RESULTS: Last night, L Brands reported second quarter adjusted earnings per share of 36c and revenue of $2.98B, both above the consensus of 34c and $2.93B, respectively. The company also lowered its FY18 earnings per share view to $2.45-$2.70 from $2.70-$3.00, with consensus at $2.77. Additionally, L Brands said second quarter consolidated same-store sales for Stores and Direct were up 3%, while same-store sales for the quarter at Victoria's Secret were down 1% and up 10% at at Bath & Body Works. Alongside quarterly results, the company announced that Denise Landman, CEO of Victoria's Secret PINK, has made the decision to retire at the end of this year. Amy Hauk, currently president for merchandising and product development of Bath & Body Works, will replace Landman as CEO of Victoria's Secret PINK. JEFFERIES SAYS SELL SHARES: In a research note to investors this morning, Jefferies' Konik lowered his price target for L Brands to $20 from $23 and recommended investors sell the shares. The analyst argued that the company's fiscal year earnings guidance cut is still not low enough, and sees PINK on "precipice of massive declines." Further, the analyst thinks L Brands' free cash flow guidance is too high as its net debt continues to grow. The dividend is at risk in the medium-term and the company needs to save cash now "before the next recession," Konik contended. The analyst reiterated an Underperform rating on the stock. Meanwhile, his peer at JPMorgan also lowered his price target for L Brands to $26 from $28. While the stock was bracing for an earnings forecast reduction, the magnitude of management's near-term third quarter cut was greater than expected, calling for break-even earnings at the low-end, the first time in more than a decade, analyst Matthew Boss contended. He reiterated a Neutral rating on the shares. Voicing a similar opinion, Wells Fargo analyst Ike Boruchow lowered his price target for L Brands to $30 from $42 and kept a Market Perform rating on the shares as the core Victoria's Secret concept continues to struggle. Pointing out that the second quarter results "raised a number of red flags," including "severe" margin contraction, "bloated" inventory, Bath & Body Works returning to margin contraction and issues at PINK, Nomura Instinet analyst Simeon Siegel reiterated a Neutral rating and $31 price target on L Brands' shares. CITI SAYS RISK/REWARD STILL ATTRACTIVE: Still bullish on the stock, Citi analyst Paul Lejuez told investors that while the turnaround path for Victoria's Secret "remains unclear," the market expected last night's fiscal 2018 guidance cut. With a 7.5% dividend yield, the stock's risk/reward is attractive, particularly given actions by management that suggest "they have more than enough liquidity to continue funding the dividend," Lejuez argued. The analyst reiterated a Buy rating on the shares and said he views the dividend as safe. While lowering her price target for L Brands to $44 from $49, B. Riley FBR analyst Susan Anderson kept a Buy rating on the stock as she believes Bath & Body Works continues to excel and Victoria's Secret remains a work in progress. While weaker PINK performance is "disappointing," the analyst believes management is taking steps to correct lounge performance as well as improve performance in lingerie. Further, Anderson highlighted that L Brands reiterated its commitment to share repurchases and dividend, and reiterated that the company has substantial liquidity to fund the dividend and other expenditures. PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, shares of L Brands have plunged over 12% to $28.50.

10:00 EDT Qudian falls -10.7% - Qudian is down -10.7%, or -83c to $6.90.

10:00 EDT Fly Leasing rises 5.9% - Fly Leasing is up 5.9%, or 82c to $14.70.

10:00 EDT Williams-Sonoma rises 9.0% - Williams-Sonoma is up 9.0%, or $5.63 to $68.24.

09:47 EDT Puxin Limited falls -8.5% - Puxin Limited is down -8.5%, or -$1.35 to $14.55.

09:47 EDT Qudian falls -11.3% - Qudian is down -11.3%, or -87c to $6.86.

09:47 EDT Fly Leasing rises 5.5% - Fly Leasing is up 5.5%, or 76c to $14.64.

09:41 EDT SPI Energy reports resignation of deputy chairman Min Xiahou, CFO Tairan Guo - SPI Energy Co. announced changes to the senior management team and board of directors of the company. Min Xiahou resigned as the Deputy Chairman and director on the Board of Directors for personal reasons and was appointed consultant to the Board. Michael Kim has been appointed to the position of Vice President and Finance Controller. Tairan Guo, who has served as the company's CFO since February 2017, resigned from that position and has been appointed special assistant to the Chairman and will continue to oversee the company's green power consumption business and power plant assets.

09:32 EDT Kratos Defense selected for Navy's $980M training systems contract - Kratos Defense announced that it was awarded an Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity Training Systems Contract IV by the Naval Air Warfare Center Training System Division. TSC IV is a multiple-award contract for new training systems, modifications and upgrades to existing training systems, complementary Instructional Systems Development and complementary Training Systems Support. The contract has a potential value of $980M and a potential performance period of up to nine years. TSC IV will be the Naval Air Systems Command's primary source of such systems.

09:23 EDT Tyler Technologies expands re:Search portal to New Mexico - Tyler Technologies announced that it has signed an agreement with the New Mexico Administrative Office of the Courts for Tyler's re:SearchNM portal. re:SearchNM provides a more efficient way for attorneys, judges, and other constituents to access important case records and documents at any time and on any device. re:SearchNM is a web-based portal that provides immediate and secure access to a consolidated database of case information. The solution provides a simple, consistent way to view and obtain case records and documents from courts across the state. The first phase of implementation will include clerks, judges, attorneys, self-represented litigants, media, and justice partners, including the district attorney offices and law enforcement agencies. After a successful implementation, Tyler and the New Mexico AOC expect to make re:SearchNM available to the public for even greater transparency and access to justice. re:SearchNM will be modified to maintain security and confidentiality over sensitive information in order for the public to access the solution.

09:13 EDT Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: The Medicines Co. (MDCO), up 4.5% after Citi analyst Joel Beatty raised his price target on the stock to $50 as he believes the ongoing phase 3 inclisiran trial will be a success and that the drug can take significant share, if approved. UP AFTER EARNINGS: Alibaba (BABA), up 3.4%... Williams Sonoma (WSM), up 7.3%... LexinFintech (LX), up 13.2%. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: L Brands (LB), down 8%... Hormel Foods (HRL), down 4.8%... Sanderson Farms (SAFM), down 4%... Stein Mart (SMRT), down 8%... Children's Place (PLCE), down 1%. LOWER: Duluth Holdings (DLTH), down 2% after the stock was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at Baird.

09:08 EDT Ctrip and Ocean Link Consortium wins arbitration in eHi Car Services transaction - Ctrip.com and the consortium of Ocean Imagination, Ctrip Investment Holdings and other investors - the "Ocean Link Consortium" - has won the arbitration initiated by eHi Car Services and Crawford Group relating to Ocean Link's purchase of shares in eHi. The arbitration award is final. With the dispute over Ocean Link's share ownership resolved, the Ocean Link Consortium confirms its over 33% voting power in eHi, which represents a blocking vote for approving the take-private transaction at eHi's EGM. Ctrip reserves all rights to take legal action against the Ignition transaction. On August 9, Crawford filed a Schedule 13D/A disclosing that it entered into a Secondary Stock Purchase Agreement with Ignition Growth Capital I pursuant to which Crawford purchased all of the shares held by Ignition in eHi. Ignition proceeded with such transaction disregard of the right of first offer notice that it served to Ctrip under the IRA and Ctrip's binding acceptance to purchase shares pursuant to such notice. The Ocean Link Consortium is in active discussion to purchase the shares held by GS Car Rental HK which currently holds 4,632,952 Class B Common Shares in eHi. The Ocean Link Consortium urges the special committee of eHi to open up due diligence access in support of its superior offer.

09:05 EDT Standex acquires Tenibac-Graphion, terms not disclosed - Standex International Corporation announced that it has acquired Michigan-based Tenibac-Graphion, a provider of chemical and laser texturing services. Privately held Tenibac-Graphion reported revenues of $25M for the year ended December 31, 2017 and estimated revenues of $13M for the six-month period ending June 30, 2018. The acquisition is expected to be accretive to earnings per share by 16c to 20c in FY19 and 26c to 30c in FY20, excluding purchase accounting and acquisition costs. Standex defines purchase accounting as step-up of inventory and backlog. Tenibac-Graphion's management team will be continuing with the company. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

09:02 EDT Nielsen and Meredith renew multi-year agreement for local TV measurement - Nielsen (NLSN) and Meredith (MDP) have reached a multi-year renewal agreement for Nielsen TV ratings across all Meredith Local Media Group television stations and markets. The agreement includes a range of audience measurement and analytical services.

08:53 EDT Biostar Pharmaceuticals announces receipt of additional delisting determination - Biostar Pharmaceuticals announced that on August 16, 2018, it received a notification letter from Nasdaq Listing Qualifications advising the company that, since it had not filed its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the second quarter ended June 30, 2018, this matter serves as an additional basis for delisting the company's securities from The Nasdaq Stock Market. Previously, on April 19, 2018 and May 23, 2018, the company received notification letters from Nasdaq advising the company that, since it had not filed its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017 and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2018, the company was not in compliance with Nasdaq Listing Rules. On July 19, 2018, the company received a delisting determination letter from the Nasdaq advising the company that following review of the company's plan of compliance, the Nasdaq staff determined to delist the Company's common stock from the Nasdaq Capital Market. On July 26, 2018, the company requested a hearing before the Nasdaq Hearings Panel to appeal the delisting determination from the Nasdaq staff. On August 10, 2018, the company was granted an extended stay as to the suspension of the company's common stock from trading by the Panel until the company's scheduled hearing before the Panel on September 13, 2018 and issuance of a final Panel decision. As a result of the latest Form 10-Q filing delinquency, the Panel will consider this matter in rendering a determination regarding the company's continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market. Pursuant to Listing Rule 5810(d), the company plans to present its views with respect to this additional deficiency at the hearing. The company is working assiduously to complete its delinquent filings with SEC and to regain compliance with the Rule as soon as possible.

08:41 EDT Avinger completes enrollment in SCAN study - Avinge announced that it has completed enrollment in the SCAN clinical study, a post-market study comparing optical coherence tomography, or OCT, with intravascular ultrasound, or IVUS, as a diagnostic imaging tool in the peripheral arteries. Enrollment in the SCAN study was initiated at two centers in the United States in June with the goal of acquiring at least 115 matched images generated by OCT and IVUS from up to 20 subjects diagnosed with PAD. The study exceeded this goal with greater than 115 OCT and IVUS matched images captured at identical positions within vessel segments from 14 subjects.

08:37 EDT Coca-Cola Bottling appoints David Katz as COO - Coca-Cola Bottling announced that its board unanimously approved the recommendation of chairman and CEO J. Frank Harrison, III to appoint David Katz as president and COO and Henry Flint as a vice chairman of the board, effective December 31. The board also approved the appointment of Katz to the board and to succeed Flint on the executive committee of the board. These changes are also effective as of December 31. Following Katz's succession to the position of president and COO, Flint will remain a member of the board and an officer of the company.

08:34 EDT Toro Company reports Q3 EPS 68c, consensus 66c - Reports Q3 revenue $655.8M, consensus $664.76M.

08:33 EDT MyoKardia announces HCM data from SHaRe - The Sarcomeric Human Cardiomyopathy Registry, or SHaRe, and MyoKardia announced the publication of results from a multicenter, international, longitudinal study of data from nearly 4,600 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or HCM, the largest comprehensive HCM cohort assembled to date. Analyses of SHaRe data revealed that HCM patients are at substantially elevated risks of long-term complications and comorbidities, such as atrial fibrillation and heart failure. HCM patients also have significantly higher mortality rates compared to that of the general U.S. population. Further, patients with genetic HCM exhibited clinical disease at younger ages and were more likely to experience HCM-related complications and early death than patients with non-genetic HCM. Researchers from eight high-volume HCM centers associated with SHaRe analyzed clinical information collected from 4,591 patients diagnosed with HCM to understand the cumulative burden of disease over a lifetime. The data set reflects more than 24,000 patient-years. Data from SHaRe demonstrate that the burden of disease and complications increased progressively over time for HCM patients, with most HCM-related complications occurring later in life between the ages of 50-70 years. The late onset of severe comorbidities implies that adverse remodeling of the HCM heart is occurring throughout life. The most frequently reported comorbidities were heart failure and atrial fibrillation. Mortality among HCM patients was shown to be approximately three-fold higher than the United States general population at similar ages. Compared to the U.S. general population, mortality was four times higher among young HCM patients.

08:28 EDT Krystal Biotech announces RPDD from FDA for KB105 - Krystal Biotech announced that the FDA has granted a rare pediatric disease designation, or RPDD, to the company's gene therapy candidate KB105, for the treatment of patients with TGM-1-deficient autosomal recessive congenital ichthyosis. ARCI is associated with neonatal morbidity and neonatal mortality as well as the following manifestations that primarily affect older infants and children: hypohidrosis, ectropion, alopecia, digital contractures, failure to thrive and short stature. The RPDD makes the KB105 program eligible for a Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher upon approval of KB105 by the FDA.

08:13 EDT Eidos Therapeutics announces preclinical characterization of AG10 - Eidos Therapeutics announced publication of the design and preclinical characterization of its lead product candidate, AG10, in the Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. AG10 is designed to prevent progression of transthyretin, or TTR, amyloidosis, or ATTR, by stabilizing tetrameric TTR in the blood. AG10 is currently being evaluated in a Phase 2 study in patients with symptomatic ATTR cardiomyopathy. The published paper demonstrates that AG10's binding to TTR is driven by molecular interactions that mimic the structure of the T119M TTR variant that is known to protect carriers from developing ATTR and leads to prolonged lifespan in otherwise healthy individuals. Using in vitro and ex vivo assays, the data indicated that AG10 demonstrated more potent activity than other clinical candidates in binding and stabilizing the TTR tetramer at clinically relevant concentrations, the binding of AG10 to TTR was not significantly affected by the presence of additional plasma proteins such as albumin, and AG10 exhibited a predictable relationship between pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in animal studies.

08:08 EDT Honeywell reviews accounting treatment of legacy asbestos liabilities - In the course of preparing the Garrett spin and through the SEC review process, Honeywell reviewed the accounting treatment of its legacy asbestos liabilities. After careful deliberation, a decision was made to revise the accounting related to the time period associated with the determination of appropriate accruals for the legacy Bendix asbestos-related liability for unasserted claims. The prior accounting treatment applied a five-year time horizon; the revised treatment reflects the full term of the epidemiological projections through 2059. The change was made in consideration of a number of factors, including the subjective nature of applying a five-year or any other fixed time horizon when estimating liability for unasserted claims, recent changes by several other registrants to accrue for unasserted asbestos claims over the full term of the epidemiological projections, and the desire to facilitate comparability among Honeywell, Garrett, and the companies' respective peers. Honeywell's historic earnings per share in certain periods increased as a result of the changes to legacy liability expenses, with no impact on cash flow in any historical period. The accounting revision will have an immaterial positive impact to Honeywell's full-year 2018 adjusted earnings per share as referenced above, but has no material impact on operating income and no impact to net sales, segment margin, or operating cash flow. The Company anticipates an immaterial increase to future earnings. It also does not impact Honeywell's A/A-2 credit rating.

08:06 EDT Honeywell: Garrett Motion, Resideo Technologies files Form 10 statements - Honeywell announced that Garrett Motion, the spin-off of Honeywell's Transportation Systems business, and Resideo Technologies, the spin-off of Honeywell's Homes and ADI Global Distribution business, have publicly filed Form 10 registration statements with the U.S. SEC. The filings mark an important step toward the companies' planned separations from Honeywell and the creation of two independent, publicly-traded companies. The Garrett spin is scheduled to be complete at the end of the third quarter, and the Resideo spin is scheduled to be complete by the end of the year. Following the spins, Honeywell will have a simpler, more focused portfolio that operates in fewer end markets as we transform into a software-industrial company. The announced transactions are expected to strengthen Honeywell's already-strong financial position through a combination of one-time dividends and ongoing reimbursements from the spin companies for the majority of Honeywell's environmental and Bendix asbestos payments. On or around the effective date of each spin, Honeywell will receive one-time dividends from Garrett and Resideo, totaling approximately $3 billion. Honeywell intends to use the proceeds to pay down its debt and repurchase Honeywell shares. In addition, the Company intends to eliminate all of Honeywell's redundant functional, corporate and shared services costs caused by the two transactions by the end of 2019. Garrett and Resideo will make payments to Honeywell under separate indemnification and reimbursement agreements that largely offset Honeywell's related legacy liability spending, including the Bendix asbestos liability that arises from the operations of the legacy Transportation Systems business. Under the indemnity agreements, 90% of Honeywell's Bendix asbestos and a subset of its environmental spending (net of 90% of related insurance receipts and certain other recoveries) is expected to be offset by future payments from Garrett and Resideo. In total, the indemnity agreement payments are expected to offset Honeywell's future legacy liability payments by as much as $315 million in respect of any year once both spins are complete. Assuming $350 million of expense in a year, the offset would be $315 million for such expenses, or approximately $0.40 of earnings per share (based on Honeywell's projected full-year 2018 weighted average share count of 754 million shares). Each spin's payment is capped to limit future uncertainty regarding their cash payment obligations to Honeywell. The Garrett payment is capped at $175 million, and the Resideo payment is capped at $140 million in respect of any year. Under the agreements, Honeywell will continue to effectively manage its Bendix and other asbestos claims and legacy environmental liabilities until such matters are resolved. Honeywell carefully considered the financial operating requirements and capital needs of both spins in determining an appropriate capital structure for the new entities, and anticipates that the entities will have a strong financial foundation as independent, publicly-traded companies. Both companies are anticipated to have high-yield corporate credit ratings.

08:04 EDT Tocagen's Toca 5 Phase 3 trial for brain cancer continuing without modification - Tocagen'sToca 5 pivotal Phase 3 trial continues without modification following a planned first interim analysis of data conducted by an Independent Data Monitoring Committee. The IDMC completed its analysis at 50% of events occurring in patients with brain cancer and recommended the trial continue without modification. The global trial is enrolling robustly and nearing full enrollment. Toca plan to conduct the second interim analysis in 1H19 after 75% of events have occurred. Toca 5 is a Phase 3, randomized, multi-center study evaluating the safety and efficacy of Toca 511 & Toca FC compared to standard of care in patients undergoing resection for recurrent high grade glioma. The primary endpoint of the trial is overall survival. The FDA has granted Toca 511 & Toca FC Breakthrough Therapy Designation for the treatment of recurrent HGG and the EMA has granted Toca 511 PRIME designation for the treatment of glioma.

08:02 EDT CACI awarded prime position on $980M multiple-award contract to support NAWCTSD - CACI International announced that it was awarded a prime position on a multiple-award, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract to support the design and manufacture of training systems and related equipment for the Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division. The nine-year contract, with a ceiling value of $980M, represents new work for CACI in its Logistics and Material Readiness market area. NAWCTSD is the principal source of a wide spectrum of training solutions for the U.S. Navy that advance training systems and improve performance. Under the contract, CACI will offer a broad range of support for non-commercial training and simulation systems, including the design, development, production, test and evaluation, delivery, and modification of new and existing systems, helping to expand system core competencies beyond current capabilities.

07:46 EDT Alibaba reports cloud computing revenue up 93% y/y - "Cloud computing revenue grew 93% year-over-year to $710M, driven by both revenue mix towards higher value-added products and services and robust growth in paying customers. In the June 2018 quarter, Alibaba Cloud's product innovation focused on big data analytics, artificial intelligence, security and Internet-of-Things applications. As part of deepening our relationship with customers, we have launched products that enable customers to achieve fast, cost effective and secure data migration from on premise data centers onto the public cloud. For example, enterprises can leverage Lightning Cube, our cloud migration solution that enables uninterrupted migration of petabytes-scale data."

07:40 EDT Alibaba says growth of Chinese middle class to drive results for years to come - Says has "substantial confidence" in ability to capture more wallet share. Says has made "substantial progress" in emerging markets. Says expects China's economy to "continue to be resilient." Comments from Q1 earnings conference call.

07:35 EDT Lancaster Colony CEO sees FY19 commodity costs less unfavorable than FY18 - Lancaster Colony CEO David A. Ciesinski "Looking ahead to fiscal 2019, Retail sales will benefit from new product introductions planned for launch throughout the year (...) In the Foodservice segment, we expect to continue to strengthen our existing customer base and pursue new opportunities for profitable growth (..) Based on our current assessment, commodity costs are projected to remain unfavorable in FY19, although to a lesser extent than we experienced in FY18. Freight costs are also expected to persist as a headwind through the first half of the fiscal year. Higher pricing in both the Retail and Foodservice segments will help to offset these increased costs. In addition, our supply chain team will remain focused on cost-saving initiatives and opportunities throughout the coming year."

07:33 EDT Enterprise, American Midstream enter agreement to optimize Gulf Coast assets - Enterprise Products Partners (EPD) and American Midstream Partners (AMID) announced they have entered into an agreement under which American Midstream may elect to purchase a 25% interest in Enterprise's Pascagoula natural gas processing plant. The purchase option is subject to certain conditions, including American Midstream completing modifications to certain facilities on its High Point pipeline system that will provide incremental natural gas volumes with access to the Pascagoula plant. American Midstream's High Point pipeline system currently delivers offshore natural gas production to the Enterprise-operated Toca Gas Plant in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana for processing services. As the result of the pending modifications to the High Point facilities, the Toca plant owners have voted to discontinue operations. Enterprise, along with other Toca plant owners, expect to realize significant operating expense savings from idling the Toca facility and utilizing existing processing capacity at the more efficient Pascagoula plant. Customers of the Toca plant will have the option to enter into similar processing arrangements with the Pascagoula facility, which should provide customers with higher netbacks in the form of improved NGL recoveries and reduced energy costs. Locke Lord LLP served as legal counsel for Enterprise and Sidley Austin LLP served as legal counsel for American Midstream for this transaction.

07:23 EDT PHI, Inc shareholder group calls for exploring of strategic alternatives - A shareholder group consisting of Alesia Asset Management and private investor Timothy Stabosz who, combined, control 4.7% of PHI Inc. nonvoting stock and 0.2% of PHI voting stock announced their filing of a Form 13D. Included in the filing was a letter to the board. In the letter, the shareholder group calls on the company to explore strategic alternatives, such as a complete or partial sale of the company, and to improve communications with investors. The investor group further concludes that the break-up value of the company is over $1B or over $28 per share in equity value.

07:18 EDT uniQure announces first patient treated in AMT-061 study - uniQure announced that it has treated the first patient in its Phase IIb dose-confirmation study of AMT-061, an investigational AAV5-based gene therapy incorporating the FIX-Padua variant for the treatment of patients with severe and moderately severe hemophilia B. AMT-061 has been granted breakthrough therapy designation by the FDA and access to priority medicines regulatory initiative by the European Medicines Agency.

07:06 EDT Ritchie Bros. sells over $44M of equipment in Houston auction - Ritchie Bros. sold over $44M of equipment and trucks over two days at its latest Houston, TX unreserved auction. More than 5,100 people from 58 countries registered to bid in the August 21 - 22, 2018 auction, including 3,600+ people registering to bid online. U.S. buyers purchased approximately 90%, while international buyers from such countries as Mexico, Australia, and the United Kingdom purchased 10% of the equipment. Online buyers purchased 53% of the assets.

07:03 EDT Bristol-Myers' elotuzumab application granted Priority Review by FDA - Bristol-Myers (BMY) announced that the FDA accepted its supplemental Biologics License Application for Empliciti - elotuzumab - in combination with pomalidomide and low-dose dexamethasone for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma who have received at least two prior therapies, including lenalidomide and a proteasome inhibitor. The FDA granted the application priority review with an action date of December 27. The application is based on data from ELOQUENT-3, a randomized Phase 2 study evaluating the addition of Empliciti to pomalidomide and low-dose dexamethasone in patients with RRMM. Bristol-Myers Squibb and AbbVie (ABBV) are co-developing Empliciti, with Bristol-Myers Squibb solely responsible for commercial activities.

06:58 EDT Alibaba reports annual active customers reached 576M - Annual active consumers on China retail marketplaces reached 576M, an increase of 24M from the 12-month period ended March 31, 2018.

06:52 EDT Mallinckrodt announces fast track designation for NPXe's xenon gas trial - Mallinckrodt and NPXe Limited announced that the FDA recently granted fast track designation to NPXe's Phase 3 trial of xenon gas for inhalation in post cardiac arrest patients. Fast Track designations are provided to drug candidates that "treat a serious condition and fill an unmet medical need." Xenon gas for inhalation is an investigational drug, the safety and effectiveness of which have not yet been established. The companies anticipate the trial will commence in the coming months, with the first patients enrolled in the U.S.

06:48 EDT Mednax appoints Stephen D. Farber as CFO in November - Mednax appointed Stephen D. Farber as Executive VP, effective August 27. The company anticipates that Farber will assume the additional role of CFO in November, following the company's release of its operating results for the period ending September 30, to succeed Vivian Lopez-Blanco, who recently announced her planned retirement from the company. Farber most recently was CFO of Kindred Healthcare. Earlier in his career, Farber served as CFO of Tenet Healthcare.

06:43 EDT Gold Standard Ventures reports Dark Star drilling results - Gold Standard Ventures reported results from 25 reverse-circulation and 2 core holes at the Dark Star deposit on its 100%-owned/controlled Railroad-Pinion Project in Nevada's Carlin Trend. Two holes in the northern portion of Dark Star intersected important grades and thicknesses: 229.8m of 2.08 g Au/t and 56.4m of 2.94 g Au/t. These results confirm oxide gold resource expansion potential in the footwall of the Ridgeline fault, and continuity to higher-grade mineralization in the hanging wall of the Ridgeline fault. A core hole in the northern portion of Dark Star, intersected 229.8m of 2.08 g Au/t, including 11.0m of 5.04 g Au/t, 12.4m of 4.94 g Au/t, 6.5m of 9.17 g Au/t and 14.3m of 4.60 g Au/t; in the northern portion of Dark Star, drill holes returned thick, oxide gold intercepts in the footwall of the Ridgeline fault; in the northern portion of Dark Star, a stepout RC hole intersected 56.4m of 2.94 g Au/t, including 16.8m of 8.67 g Au/t; in the southern portion of Dark Star, RC hole DR18-96 intersected 125.0m of 0.58 g Au/t starting at the topographic surface.

06:34 EDT ReneSola announces change of auditor to Grant Thornton - ReneSola announced that it has appointed Grant Thornton as the company's independent registered public accounting firm with immediate effect on August 21. Grant Thornton replaces PricewaterhouseCoopers Zhong Tian, the former independent auditor. The appointment of Grant Thornton was made after careful consideration and evaluation process by the Company and approved by the Board of Directors and the Audit Committee of the Company. The company is working closely with PwC and Grant Thornton to ensure a seamless transition.

06:33 EDT Bluebird Bio and Gritstone Oncology partner to develop cancer cell therapies - bluebird bio and Gritstone Oncology will collaborate to research, develop and commercialize products for the treatment of cancer using cell therapy. Gritstone Oncology will leverage its proprietary Edge artificial intelligence platform to analyze specific tumor types to identify tumor-specific targets and natural T-cell receptors directed to those targets for use in bluebird bio's established cell therapy platforms. bluebird bio will conduct all development, manufacturing and commercial activities. Gritstone Oncology will utilize its proprietary technology platform to enable patient selection for clinical development of such therapies. Gritstone Oncology will receive $20M in an upfront payment and an additional $10M in the form of a Series C preferred equity investment. In addition, Gritstone Oncology is eligible for significant development, regulatory and commercial milestones on any therapies, and tiered royalties on certain approved therapies.

06:32 EDT Merck, Eisai: EC grants marketing authorization for LENVIMA to treat HCC - Eisai (ESALY) and Merck (MRK) announced that the European Commission has granted a marketing authorization for the oral receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor LENVIMA as a single agent for the first-line treatment of adult patients with advanced or unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma who have received no prior systemic therapy. Treatment options for this type of liver cancer are limited, and the prognosis is poor. LENVIMA is the first new, first-line treatment for advanced or unresectable HCC in a decade to show an overall survival treatment effect by statistical confirmation of non-inferiority against standard of care.

06:20 EDT Praxair, Linde AG proposed merger receives antitrust clearance in Brazil - In accordance with the exchange offer document published on August 15, 2017, Linde plc announced that the proposed business combination between Praxair and Linde AG received antitrust clearance in Brazil after the purchaser of the divestment business in Brazil was approved by the competition authority, satisfying a closing condition. Linde plc is a public limited company formed on April 18, 2017, that will become the parent company of Praxair and Linde AG upon the completion of the business combination.

05:55 EDT KBRwyle awarded $71M task order by DHA - KBR announced that its global government services business, KBRwyle, has been awarded a $71M task order to provide cybersecurity services for the Defense Health Agency, or DHA. The Navy's Space and Naval Warfare, or SPAWAR, Systems Center, or SSC, Atlantic awarded this three-year, cost-plus-fixed-fee task order under the SeaPort Enhanced, or SeaPort-E, contract. KBRwyle has held a seat on SeaPort-E since 2005. KBRwyle will assist SSC Atlantic with its cybersecurity and risk management framework, or RMF, initiatives and provide support to the DHA Assessment and Authorization, or A&A, Division. This work will help DHA provide secure healthcare to U.S. Air Force, Army, and Navy warfighters and their families. Under this task order, KBRwyle will provide cybersecurity A&A support. This will include ensuring DHA IT is compliant with information assurance, or IA, directives and processes; preparing and reviewing RMF packages, supporting IA test procedure standardization, and performing risk assessments.

05:49 EDT Volkswagen starts 'We Share' e-mobility car sharing in Berlin - he Volkswagen brand is to launch an extensive all-electric car sharing offering in selected major cities under its "We Share" sub-brand. The first fleet of vehicles will be rolled out in the German capital Berlin, and will comprise 1,500 e-Golf when the service begins operating in the second quarter of 2019, with an additional 500 e-up following later. These vehicles will gradually be replaced by the first models from the new Volkswagen I.D. family from 2020. Jurgen Stackmann, Volkswagen Brand Board Member for Sales, commented: "We want to motivate young, urban users to engage with e-mobility. The people of Berlin will be the first to enjoy the electrifying experience of our 'We Share' car sharing offering." Following the launch in Berlin, "We Share" is initially scheduled to roll out in further major cities in Germany. In parallel, there are plans to expand into core European markets and selected cities in North America from 2020. The primary focus will be on cities with a population of over one million.

05:25 EDT Cognizant to acquire SaaSfocus, terms not disclosed - Cognizant announced it has agreed to acquire SaaSfocus, a privately-held consulting firm specializing in digital transformation, leveraging the Salesforce Platform. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2018, subject to certain closing conditions. Financial details were not disclosed. SaaSfocus is one of the largest independent Salesforce Platinum consulting partners in the Asia-Pacific region with operations across Australia and India. The acquisition will expand Cognizant's end-to-end digital transformation services and Salesforce cloud capabilities in these growing markets.