Stockwinners Market Radar for September 19, 2018 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

21:04 EDT Cathay Pacific to partner with Salesforce on digital transformation - Salesforce (CRM) announced that Cathay Pacific (CPCAY) is using Salesforce to accelerate digital transformation, generate new revenue streams and improve customer experiences with personalized engagements. An existing Salesforce Sales Cloud and Service Cloud customer since 2014, Cathay Pacific is deploying Salesforce Marketing Cloud to unify sales, service and marketing, and deliver connected, personalized customer experiences across any channel, including email, social, digital advertising and more. With the addition of Marketing Cloud, Cathay Pacific will focus on three key areas: acquiring new customers, personalizing all touch-points along the traveler's journey and getting a complete 360-degree view of the members of its Marco Polo loyalty program. Cathay Pacific's digital transformation is led by a vision that recognizes and caters to the evolving needs of its customers in order to increase its competitiveness in the airline industry.

20:40 EDT Equifax UK arm fined GBP500K for security breach in 2017 - The Information Commissioner's Office issued Equifax Ltd with a GBP 500,000 fine for failing to protect the personal information of up to 15 million UK citizens during a cyber attack in 2017. The incident, which happened between 13 May and 30 July 2017 in the US, affected 146 million customers globally. The ICO investigation found that, although the information systems in the US were compromised, Equifax Ltd was responsible for the personal information of its UK customers. The UK arm of the company failed to take appropriate steps to ensure its American parent Equifax Inc, which was processing the data on its behalf, was protecting the information. The ICO's probe, carried out in parallel with the Financial Conduct Authority, revealed multiple failures at the credit reference agency which led to personal information being retained for longer than necessary and vulnerable to unauthorised access. Reference Link

19:07 EDT Rimini Street obtains Australian single touch payroll certification - Rimini Street announced it has obtained Single Touch Payroll certification by the Australian Government's Australian Taxation Office for PeopleSoft Global Payroll and SAP HCM Payroll. The new certification enables Rimini Street's Australian clients to submit their payroll data via a 'pay event,' either on or before pay day, to the ATO. Rimini Street's tax, legal and regulatory division passed the complex, rigorous qualification process with the first file submission for both PeopleSoft and SAP software products, well ahead of the deadline set by the ATO.

18:49 EDT MintBroke International reports 3.6% passive stake in Lannett

18:11 EDT British American Tobacco CEO Durante to retire April 1, 2019 - British American Tobacco announced that after nearly 37 years with the company, and eight years as CEO, Nicandro Durante has informed the board of his intention to retire on April 1, 2019. The board has been considering successors for some time and, having reviewed a "strong" list of internal and external candidates over the past few months, it has identified a lead candidate to succeed Nicandro. The company will make a further announcement in due course.

18:00 EDT Avista, Hydro One extend merger end date - Hydro One Limited and Avista Corporation announced that Hydro One has received a notice from Avista to extend the transaction End Date to March 29, 2019, as provided for in the merger agreement. Under the merger agreement, the transaction End Date was originally September 30, 2018. Either party has the right to unilaterally extend that date by up to six months. Hydro One and Avista continue to expect to close the transaction in the fourth quarter of 2018.

17:29 EDT New Gold sells Mesquite Mine to Eqiunox Gold for $158M - New Gold has entered into a definitive share purchase agreement with Equinox Gold to sell its Mesquite Mine located in California. New Gold will receive $158M in cash upon completion of the transaction. Equinox intends to fund the transaction through a combination of committed debt and equity. The proceeds of the transaction will be used to strengthen the balance sheet and enhance the overall financial flexibility of the company. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including completion of the debt and equity financings by Equinox, but it does not require an Equinox shareholder vote. Completion of the transaction is expected to occur during Q4. Equinox Gold will also assume bonding obligations with the applicable environmental regulatory authorities with respect to Mesquite's long-term reclamation obligations.

17:17 EDT Red Hat CFO sees FY19 effective tax rate of 22.9%

17:08 EDT Coinbase names Brian Brooks chief legal officer - Coinbase said in a blog post that it has named Brian Brooks as its new chief legal officer. Brooks' arrival is part of the company's effort to expand its legal, compliance and government affairs capabilities as its heads "into this next chapter for the company and the cryptocurrency industry as a whole." Brian most recently served as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Fannie Mae, Coinbase said. Reference Link

17:06 EDT Red Hat says 24 of its 25 top deals renewed in Q2

16:58 EDT Rayonier Advanced Materials sells resins business to LRBG Chemicals for $16.5M - Rayonier Advanced Materials announced that it has sold its resins business to LRBG Chemicals, a company to be led by the current resins business management team, for a purchase price of approximately $16.5M. The business, with manufacturing locations in Longueuil, Quebec and Toledo, Ohio, produces chemical resins used in the manufacturing of oriented strand board, or OSB, hardboard and other engineered wood products. The business was originally acquired as part of the company's acquisition of Tembec in November of 2017.

16:54 EDT Vinik Family Investments reports 6.4% passive stake in Turtle Beach

16:44 EDT Mercury Systems announces 1st volume production shipment of BuiltSECURE - Mercury Systems announced the first volume production shipment of BuiltSECURE high density double data rate fourth-generation synchronous dynamic random-access memory to a leading defense prime contractor. The devices will be integrated into the radar warning receiver of a Command, Control, Communications, Computer and Intelligence, C4I,system. The rugged devices embed 8GB of high-speed secure DDR4 into an ultra-compact ball grid array, BGA, package optimized for reliability in SWaP-constrained, processing-intense military environments. The company's low-profile DDR4 devices are ideal for backside printed circuit board placement, providing system architects valuable real estate to incorporate additional on-board functionality. Advanced three-dimensional packaging technology delivers military-hardened, high-density devices supporting today's fastest processors and field programmable gate array, FPGA, devices with data transfer rates of up to 2666 MB/s while operating over an extended temperature range of -55 to +125 degrees C without sacrificing performance.

16:37 EDT S&W Seed creates SeedVision SA joint venture with AGT Foods Africa - S&W Seed announced that it has created a joint venture with Canadian-based AGT Food and Ingredients, or AGT, subsidiary, AGT Foods Africa, to form a new company registered in South Africa to operate under the name of SeedVision SA. S&W provides expertise in agricultural breeding, production and processing for the alfalfa, sunflower, sorghum species, and stevia industries. AGT is one of the largest suppliers of value-added pulses, staple foods and food ingredients in the world. SeedVision plans to leverage AGT Foods Africa's production and processing facilities to produce S&W's hybrid sunflower, grain sorghum and forage sorghum for sale by SeedVision in the African continent, Middle East countries and Europe. AGT Foods Africa has agreed to utilize its production resources in South Africa, Zambia and Tanzania, and its seed cleaning and warehousing facilities at Krugersdorp, South Africa. S&W has created a portfolio of hybrid sorghum and hybrid sunflower germplasm that is suited for the African market. S&W accessed grain sorghum germplasm from around the world to develop and bring to market varieties of field performance with attributes such as high yield, tolerances to extreme weather conditions, insect and disease resistance, grain quality and harvestability. As sorghum is grown in drier zones where corn cannot be grown, yield, drought tolerance, standability, and disease resistance are important attributes for sorghum growers. S&W's Australian based sorghum breeding program provides products for the African environments.

16:31 EDT Avon Products announces workforce reduction of approximately 100 positions - Avon Products announced that as a further step in its ongoing plan to streamline the business to fuel growth, the company plans to consolidate its U.S. operations into its existing facilities in Suffern, New York. This will include the sale of the company's offices in Rye, New York, which is projected to be completed in 2019. The planned consolidation will also include workforce reductions of approximately 100 positions, consistent with the company's previous restructuring disclosures.

16:31 EDT Equidebt reports 6.19% passive stake in Zomedica

16:24 EDT Red Hat falls over 4% afterhours following Q2 results and guidance

16:19 EDT Darden adds Timothy Wilmott to board of directors - Darden Restaurants has added Timothy Wilmott to its Board of Directors. Wilmott has served as the CEO of Penn National Gaming, an operator and owner of gaming and racing facilities and video gaming terminal operations with a focus on slot machine entertainment, since November 2013. Previously, he served as the company's President and COO. Prior to that, Wilmott served as COO of Harrah's Entertainment, now Caesars Entertainment.

16:16 EDT Apple Hospitality REIT says NC hotels felt some minor damage from hurricane - Apple Hospitality REIT provided an update on operations at its hotels in the path of Hurricane Florence. "Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by Hurricane Florence," said Justin Knight, President and Chief Executive Officer of Apple Hospitality REIT. "We are incredibly proud of the operating teams at our hotels who have worked tirelessly to ensure the safety and well-being of our guests. We will continue to support them and the surrounding communities as recovery from this storm continues." Apple Hospitality owns five hotels that were in the primary path of Hurricane Florence in eastern North Carolina. Preliminary reports from initial property inspections have indicated some minor wind- and water-related damage at these hotels; however, at this time the overall damage and impact does not appear to be material. All of the company's hotels are now operational. The company remains focused on the welfare of guests and associates at its hotels and will continue to assess the overall impact of the storm as the situation evolves at each of its hotels. The company maintains comprehensive insurance coverage for property, business interruption and other risks with respect to all of its hotels, with industry standard deductibles in each of the locations.

16:10 EDT Marlin acquires Fleet Financing Resources - Marlin announced that it has acquired Fleet Financing Resources, or FFR, a provider of equipment finance credit products focused on the commercial vehicle market. Exact terms of the transaction were not disclosed but Marlin expects the transaction to be accretive to the company's FY18 EPS and to generate strong returns on invested capital by accelerating growth and further leveraging the company's fixed infrastructure costs. FFR specializes in the leasing and financing of both new and used commercial vehicles, with an emphasis on livery equipment and other types of commercial vehicles used by small businesses. With the acquisition, FFR will become Marlin's commercial vehicle group, which will now be headed by David Reynolds, FFR's co-founder, president and CEO.

16:08 EDT Herman Miller reports Q1 gross margin 36% - Consolidated gross margin in the first quarter of fiscal 2019 totaled 36.0%, representing a 140 basis point decrease from the level reported in the same quarter of last fiscal year. Approximately 60 basis points of the year-over-year decrease in gross margin related to the adoption of the new revenue recognition standard (ASC 606) at the beginning of fiscal 2019. This adoption required recording certain product pricing elements as expenses within cost of goods sold that were previously classified on a net basis within sales. Excluding this impact, gross margin decreased by 80 basis points compared to the same quarter last year.

15:32 EDT Duke says tests show water quality still protected at Sutton after hurricane - Duke Energy issued the following update following Hurricane Florence: "Water samples collected from various locations demonstrate that coal ash released from a landfill under construction has not impacted water quality in Sutton Lake in Wilmington, N.C. In addition, the company continues to monitor water levels in the Cape Fear River, which flows near Sutton Lake, a cooling pond built by the company to support plant operations. Before, during and after the storm, the company has been managing water levels inside the cooling pond, performing maintenance and conducting regular inspections to help ensure it operates safely. That work continues as the river levels continue to fluctuate."

15:02 EDT Tilray trading resumes

14:52 EDT Tilray trading halted, volatility trading pause

14:29 EDT Duke Realty VP Peter Harrington sells almost 17K shares - Duke Realty VP Peter Harrington disclosed in a filing that he had sold 16,500 shares of company stock at an average price of $28.98 per share on September 17. The total transaction value of the sale was $478,170.

14:09 EDT Sanderson Farms reports on impact to operations from Hurricane Florence - Sanderson Farms reported that it continues to assess damage to its North Carolina assets and live production infrastructure caused by Hurricane Florence. "The company is pleased to report that it has still received no report of serious injuries or loss of life among its employees and growers. However, many employees and growers have lost homes and property, and in some cases are being housed in shelters...While the company is pleased its employees and growers have remained safe, the company deeply regrets the loss of animals under its care. Although the company and family farmers who care for its chickens did everything possible to prevent the loss of birds, the unprecedented rainfall from Hurricane Florence caused serious flooding that affected the company's live grow out operations," Sanderson stated. As earlier reported, the Company did not experience any significant damage to either of its processing facilities, feed mill or hatcheries in North Carolina. The Kinston, North Carolina, processing plant resumed one shift of operations on Tuesday, September 18. The company will resume operations at its St. Pauls processing plant once it is safe for employees to navigate roads and highways. The company continues to assess the extent of damage to its independent contract farms and the loss of live birds. Current information indicates that 70 broiler houses out of 880 in North Carolina have flooded. Those farms housed 2.1M chickens. Of that number, 1.35M were in the company's St. Pauls, North Carolina, big bird deboning division, and 755,000 birds were associated with the Kinston, North Carolina, tray pack division. The company has been able to reach most of the farms previously isolated by flood waters to ensure adequate care and feed is available to the chickens on those farms. Electrical power continues to be restored at a steady pace, and the company believes power will be fully restored to all of its independent farms in short order.

12:55 EDT Online retailers slide as Amazon reportedly testing recommendation service - Shares of several retailers and online personal shopping services are slipping in afternoon trading after CNBC reported that Amazon (AMZN) is testing a new on-site recommendation service known as Scout. WHAT'S NEW: CNBC reported that Amazon is testing a new service called Scout, a shopping site for consumers who don't know specifically what they want to buy but are willing to take some automated recommendations. Scout asks shoppers to like or dislike a product and responds by showing other products based on user responses, according to CNBC. Scout is currently available for home furniture, kitchen and dining products, women's shoes, home decor, patio furniture, lighting and bedding, with more categories coming soon. "This is a new way to shop, allowing customers to browse millions of items and quickly refine the selection based solely on visual attributes," an Amazon spokesperson said in an emailed statement. "Amazon uses imagery from across its robust selection to extract thousands of visual attributes for showing customers a variety of items so they can select their preferences as they go." WHAT'S NOTABLE: The CNBC report noted that Amazon is utilizing machine learning technology to address one of the major criticisms of its service, namely that it's a great place to buy things but not a great place to browse. While Amazon is easily the biggest U.S. e-commerce company, e-retailers such as Stitch Fix (SFIX) and Walmart's (WMT) Bonobos provide a more personalized experience and have given social media services such as Instagram (FB) and Pinterest more room to use their large collections of data in turning their networks into fledgling commerce sites, CNBC said. PRICE ACTION: Following the news, Wayfair (W) slipped 4.3%, Williams-Sonoma (WSM) fell 1.9%, Stitch Fix dropped nearly 9%, and Steven Madden (SHOO) slid 1.3%. Meanwhile, Amazon (AMZN) shares are 1.5% lower in afternoon trading.

12:37 EDT Wayfair down 5% to $136.47 after CNBC report of new Amazon shopping site

12:20 EDT Great Southern Bancorp raises quarterly dividend 14% to 32c per share - The Board of Directors of Great Southern Bancorp declared a 32c per common share dividend for the third quarter of the calendar year ending December 31, 2018. This dividend represents a 14% increase from the previous quarter's dividend of 28c per common share. The dividend will be payable on October 15, 2018, to shareholders of record on October 1, 2018. This dividend represents the 115th consecutive dividend paid by the Company to common shareholders.

12:02 EDT PVH targets sourcing 100% renewable electricity by 2030 - PVH Corp. joined RE100, a global corporate leadership initiative moving businesses toward 100 percent renewable electricity. PVH has set an ambitious target to source 100 percent renewable electricity throughout owned-and-operated offices, distribution centers and stores globally by 2030, with an interim goal of 50 percent renewable electricity by 2025. RE100 is led by The Climate Group in partnership with CDP.

12:00 EDT Medifast falls -7.8% - Medifast is down -7.8%, or -$17.70 to $208.45.

12:00 EDT Nexa Resources rises 8.0% - Nexa Resources is up 8.0%, or 88c to $11.89.

12:00 EDT Loma Negra rises 9.5% - Loma Negra is up 9.5%, or 73c to $8.43.

11:11 EDT Nordic American Offshore announces receipt of notice from NYSE - Nordic American Offshore said that on August 31 it received notice from the NYSE. "It was noted by NYSE that the NAO stock price had been under $1 per share which is required by the NYSE continued listing rules. NAO has a program to correct this. NAO has a six-month cure period as from end August 2018 and the issue would go away following the implementation of such a cure program."

10:31 EDT Fitbit in focus amid expanded strategic partnership with Humana - Shares of smartband and smartwatch maker Fitbit (FIT) are higher after the company announced it is expanding its strategic partnership with Humana (HUM) to drive healthy habits and manage chronic disease. STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP EXPANSION: On Wednesday, Fitbit and Humana announced that they are expanding their partnership to help members adopt and implement healthy behaviors to help prevent and manage chronic conditions. Humana has selected Fitbit Care as a preferred health coaching solution for Humana's employer group segment and through this partnership, over five million Humana members will have the potential to access Fitbit wellness solutions or health coaching. Fitbit Care is a connected health platform, launched today, that combines health coaching and virtual care, Fitbit's wearable devices and self-tracking and personalized digital interventions. The Fitbit Care health coaching solution has coaches working with participants to create personalized care plans and connecting with members through multiple channels that include in-app communications, phone and in-person meetings. Users who already have health coaches can connect with them through the platform or they can opt for "a fully wrapped solution" where the company provides the technology and wellness advice. Fitbit and Humana also announced the availability of the Humana Go365 clock face on Fitbit Versa and Fitbit Ionic devices, making members' Go365 activity data accessible right from the wrist. EXECUTIVE COMMENTARY: "Working with Fitbit, we have been able to provide our members with wearable devices, data and insights they can use to achieve their best health and wellness. By adding Fitbit Care's new health coaching capabilities, we can offer even more personalized, meaningful support to our members who are focused on specific health goals, such as smoking cessation or weight loss, or the management or prevention of chronic conditions," said Jeff Reid, Humana's senior vice president of Wellness Solutions. "Fitbit's intuitive technology and human coaches are powerful tools to engage and motivate members, creating more frequent, convenient touch-points that support our members beyond the walls of a doctor's office." Adam Pelligrini, general manager of Fitbit Health Solutions, said, "We're already seeing proof points that the solutions we're building are taking hold and are resonating with our health plan and employer customers." Pelligrini added Fitbit already works with over 100 health plans and its health solutions business unit currently represents less than 10% of the company's overall revenue. WHAT'S NOTABLE: Shares of Fitbit fell on September 12 after Apple (AAPL) unveiled its new Watch Series 4 at its product event. The device features a larger display, new user interface, digital crown with haptics, faster performance, louder speaker and electrical heart sensor with electrocardiogram app and an optical heart sensor. In addition, the company said it received Food and Drug Administration approval for the built-in ECG scanner and it is the first over-the-counter ECG product. Following the fall, Morgan Stanley analyst Yuuji Anderson told investors that he believes the drop "rightly reflects" concerns over the pace of software and sensor improvements at Fitbit. However, the analyst added that he is more concerned that the functionalities of Fitbit's Versa and Charge 3 are not sufficiently differentiated to avoid cannibalization and their aggregate demand will not sufficiently offset legacy product declines. 'SIGNIFICANT EVOLUTION:' Craig-Hallum analyst Alex Fuhrman called Fitbit's Fitbit Care launch a "significant evolution" in the company's strategy to add value as a healthcare partner and to increase its recurring revenues. He also views the concurrent Humana (HUM) partnership announcement as evidence of the strong market demand for companies and healthcare providers to partner with Fitbit and integrate its data into users' other care plans. PRICE ACTION: Fitbit is up 2.1% to $5.92 in morning trading.

10:10 EDT Rimini Street Inc trading resumes

10:08 EDT The Stilwell Group urges Wheeler REIT shareholders to vote for its nominees - The Stilwell Group, the largest shareholder of Wheeler Real Estate Investment Trust, announced that it has delivered an open letter to shareholders of the company. The full text of the letter follows: "The legacy directors have consistently demonstrated their lack of competence and sound judgment. In our estimation, they have no business being directors of any public company, and, as best we can tell, two of them have never been directors anywhere other than at WHLR. Why the Company renominated any of the legacy directors baffles us. Our plan for WHLR is to relentlessly focus on maximizing value for the common shareholders -- something that the legacy directors have clearly failed at. We have been involved as activist investors in 64 other small cap financial companies over the past 18 years -- 60 of them have been profitable. If elected, we hope to do the same at WHLR. Let's take a big step towards turning our Company around on October 3rd by removing the legacy directors. Please vote the GREEN proxy today FOR our three nominees."

09:45 EDT Overstock.com introduces lease-to-own service through Progressive Leasing - Overstock.com (OSTK) recently launched its newest addition to Overstock Financial Services, a fully integrated lease-to-own purchase option provided through Progressive Leasing, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Aaron's, Inc. (AAN). The company said, "This new service adds a simple and affordable purchase option for Overstock customers to lease products for up to 12 months. The lease-to-own program expands Overstock's financial services, which already provides lending, investment, credit cards, and insurance services to Overstock customers. The lease-to-own option is currently available on more than three million lease eligible products on Overstock.com."

09:19 EDT Hill to provide project, construction management for Brazilian projects - Hill International announced it has received two contracts from Millenium Bioenergia S.A. to provide project management and construction management services for the construction of two ethanol plants. The two plants have a combined total project value of $300M. Located in Jaciara and Tabapora, Brazil, the ethanol plants are anticipated to be operational in late 2019. Millenium Bioenergia specializes in ethanol fuel production from sugarcane and corn, dried distillers grains with solubles production, and cogeneration of electricity, and is expecting the Jaciara Plant to produce 600,000 liters of fuel per day and the Tabapora Plant 900,000 liters per day.

09:12 EDT Netflix to be added to new Sky service bundle in November - Sky (SKYAY) announced that Netflix (NFLX) is coming to Sky Q in November along with a new Ultimate On Demand package that the company said "will be the UK's biggest on demand TV service, bringing together for the first time Sky Box Sets, which boasts 400 of the best UK and US series, and the full Netflix service with its great range of global entertainment." Ultimate On Demand will be GBP10 a month for all new and existing customers alongside their Sky Q subscription, Sky said. Reference Link

09:08 EDT Aduro Biotech CMO Natalie Sacks to resign - Aduro Biotech announced that Natalie Sacks has resigned from her position as the company's CMO effective October 1. Sacks will continue to provide counsel to the company and facilitate her transition through a consulting agreement.

09:05 EDT Fitbit, Humana expand strategic partnership - Fitbit (FIT) and Humana (HUM) are expanding their partnership to help members adopt and implement healthy behaviors to help prevent and manage chronic conditions. Humana has selected Fitbit Care as a preferred health coaching solution for Humana's employer group segment. Through this partnership, more than 5M Humana members will have the potential to access Fitbit wellness solutions or health coaching. Fitbit Care is a connected health platform that maximizes health outcomes across the spectrum of care, from wellness and prevention to condition management and complex care, by helping drive behavior change and improving care team collaboration.

09:02 EDT Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: Tilray (TLRY), up 48% following CEO Brendan Kennedy's appearance last night on Jim Cramer's Mad Money... Command Security (MOC), up 46% after signing a definitive agreement to be acquired by Prosegur SIS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Prosegur, for $2.85 in cash per share... SunPower (SPWR), up 7% after receiving a solar tariff exclusion... Juniper (JNPR), up 2% after Nomura Instinet analyst Jeffrey Kvaal upgraded the stock to Buy from Neutral and raised his price target for the shares to $34 from $28. The analyst believes Juniper "will finally be able to catch the webscale capex growth tailwind in 2019."... Aerpio (ARPO), up 2% after Guggenheim analyst Adnan Butt started the stock with a Buy rating and $10 price target... MGM Resorts (MGM), up 1.5% after the New York Post reported that Starboard Value took at least a $500M stake in the casino chain. LOWER: LyondellBasell (LYB), down 2.5% after JPMorgan analyst Jeffrey Zekauskas downgraded the stock to Underweight from Neutral and lowered his price target for the shares to $95 from $110. Consensus expectations have the company facing a "shallow trough" in petrochemical pricing leading to flat to lower consolidated EBITDA in 2019, Zekauskas tells investors... G1 Therapeutics (GTHX), down 9% after a 3M share secondary priced at $60.00 per share... Novartis (NVS), down 1% after the U.K.'s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence said it "encourages further discussions on Kymriah for adult lymphoma," but in draft guidance, NICE says "CAR-T is too expensive to recommend as a treatment for adults with lymphoma."... Resolute Forest (RFP), down 1% after the stock was downgraded to Neutral from Outperform at CIBC.

08:55 EDT Tilray shares go mad after CEO appears on CNBC's Mad Money - Shares of Tilray (TLRY), which have already garnered significant attention for their rapid ascent following the Canadian cannabis company's recent IPO, are flying even higher this morning after CEO Brendan Kennedy was a guest last night on Jim Cramer's Mad Money program on CNBC. WANT TO BE NEXT ANHEUSER-BUSCH: "Cannabis is a substitute for prescription painkillers, prescription opioids, and so if you're an investor in a pharmaceutical company or you're a pharmaceutical company, you have to hedge the offset from cannabis substitution," Kennedy told Cramer during his appearance. He also said he thinks "all the alcohol companies need to enter this industry," adding that investing in cannabis is "a great hedge for them." Commenting on the potential for partnership interest from the likes of Anheuser-Busch InBev (BUD) and other beverage giants, Kennedy responded: "We don't want to partner with ABI. We want to build ABI. Our intent is to build a company that dominates part of this $150 billion industry. I think you'll see multiple hundred-billion-dollar companies." PRICE ACTION: In pre-market trading, Tilray shares are up $75.02, or 48%, to $230.00.

08:37 EDT Zosano Pharma releases three registration batches of M207 to support NDA - Zosano Pharma announced the release of three registration batches of M207, the company's lead development candidate. The registration batches will be used to support Zosano's new drug application, or NDA, filing with the FDA. Twelve months of room temperature stability for a product candidate are typically required in order for the FDA to assess manufacturability and stability of a drug product. Zosano's batches have been placed on stability per regulatory requirements and will complete the 12-month timepoint in September of 2019.

08:33 EDT Amtech Systems receives order for N-type solar cells from Trina Solar - Amtech Systems' solar subsidiary, Tempress Systems, has received an order for the first of a potentially multi-phase capacity expansion project from Trina Solar for its planned production of high efficiency N-type solar cells. Trina Solar is a mass producer of high-efficiency solar cells. Tempress and Trina have collaborated on the development of the technology with the common goal of quickly ramping up TopCon technology for mass production. The combined value of this and another N-Type order is greater than $11M. This order is expected to be shipped and installed in 1H19. The company also expects to receive an order for the second phase of this expansion project, upon the successful installation and testing of Phase I.

08:14 EDT PetIQ appoints Susan Sholtis president - PetIQ (PETQ) announced it has appointed Susan Sholtis, a multinational animal health and consumer products executive, as president, effective October 1. In conjunction with this new executive role, Sholtis will simultaneously resign from her duties as a member on the company's board. Sholtis will report directly to Cord Christensen, chairman and CEO. Sholtis has served as a global marketing head in the health division at Reckitt Benckiser (RBGLY) since 2017.

08:07 EDT Molecular Templates, Takeda Pharmaceutical to co-develop ETBs - Molecular Templates (MTEM) announced an agreement with Takeda Pharmaceutical (TKPYY) for the joint development of CD38-targeted engineered toxin bodies, or ETBs, for the treatment of patients with diseases such as multiple myeloma. The lead development candidate is a CD38-targeted ETB that resulted from a previous discovery collaboration between the two companies. The parties developed preclinical stage ETBs targeting CD38 under the prior discovery collaboration. Takeda and Molecular Templates will further develop the ETBs for the treatment of multiple myeloma under this new license, development and commercialization agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, Takeda will make an upfront payment of $30M and Molecular Templates is eligible to receive development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments of up to $632.5M if Molecular Templates exercises its co-development option or $337.5M if Molecular Templates does not exercise or opts out of its co-development option. Takeda has also agreed to pay royalties on sales of the commercial product developed through the collaboration. Molecular Templates and Takeda will share equally in the development costs.

08:04 EDT Veritiv joins Amazon Packaging Network - Veritiv (VRTV) has officially joined the Amazon Packaging Support and Supplier Network. Amazon (AMZN) designed the APASS program to help sellers, merchants, and manufacturers obtain certification of their products as Frustration Free Packaging, Ships-in-Own-Container, and Prep-Free Packaging.

08:02 EDT Tocagen completes enrollment in Toca 5 pivotal Phase 3 trial - Tocagen announced that it has completed the planned enrollment of 380 patients in the global Toca 5 pivotal Phase 3 trial approximately three months ahead of schedule. Toca 5 is a 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 principal investigator is Timothy Cloughesy, M.D., director of the University of California, Los Angeles Neuro-Oncology Program.

07:32 EDT Senmiao Technology names Xiaoyuan Zhang as CFO, succeeding Rong Zhu - Senmiao Technology announced the appointment of Xiaoyuan Zhang as CFO and Treasurer of Senmiao, effective September 17. Zhang replaces Rong Zhu who resigned from her positions as CFO and Treasurer of Senmiao. Zhu will remain with the company as CFO of Sichuan Senmiao Ronglian Technology Co., Ltd., Senmiao's Chinese operating entity. Zhang joined Senmiao from Ernst & Young Hua Ming LLP where she had served as senior auditor and assurance manager since October 2010.

07:13 EDT EU passenger car registrations up 10.5% in July, up 31.2% in August - In July, demand for new passenger cars in the EU grew by 10.5%, with almost 1.3M cars registered, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association, which noted that growth was recorded in all major EU markets. August usually is the lowest sales month of the year, but the EU passenger car market grew significantly by 31.2% in August, counting more than 1.1M new vehicles, said the ACEA. "The most likely explanation for this exceptional growth, is the introduction of the new WLTP test that applies to all new car registrations from 1 September 2018. Hence, some auto manufacturers offered pre-WLTP vehicles at extremely attractive prices. As a result, double-digit percentage gains were registered in many EU countries, as well as in the five major markets," the group stated. Publicly traded automakers include Daimler AG (DDAIF), Fiat Chrysler (FCAU), Ford (F), General Motors (GM), Honda (HMC), Nissan (NSANY), Toyota (TM) and Volkswagen (VLKAY).

07:08 EDT Helius Medical announces partnership with Wexner Medical Center for PoNS clinic - Helius Medical announced that it has partnered with The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center to establish the company's first clinical experience program for the company's portable neuromodulation stimulator, or PoNS, an investigational medical device. Helius' clinical experience programs, or CEPs, are being sponsored by the company to be implemented in partnership with leading, early-adopter, neurorehabilitation centers in the United States, including academic and research institutions, hospital systems and high-volume independent neurorehabilitation centers. CEPs will allow the company to offer an open label clinical study of PoNS therapy in patients suffering from chronic balance deficit due to mild- to moderate-traumatic brain injury.

07:05 EDT Hydrogenics to supply 2.5-megawatt energy storage solution for Haeolus project - Hydrogenics announced that it, along with a European consortium consisting of SINTEF, the Universite Bourgogne Franche-Comte, Tecnalia, UniSannio, Varanger Kraft and KES will deliver a 2.5-megawatt electrolyzer-based energy storage system directly connected to a 45-megawatt wind farm in Norway. Varanger Kraft's wind farm, located in Raggovidda, is already one of the most efficient in Europe. However, due to limitations within the local transmission grid, the project's capacity of 200 megawatts cannot currently be realized. The consortium, named Haeolus, will enable the production of clean hydrogen using some of the excess power produced from wind in the region. Hydrogenics' PEM-based electrolyzers are customizable and scalable for multi-megawatt applications and the compactness of the company's technology delivers energy storage in a significantly smaller plant footprint. The Haeolus system will be remotely controlled and monitored due to environmental conditions at the wind farm and lack of accessibility during winter, when the area is covered by a thick layer of snow.

07:02 EDT Canadian Solar to supply 164 MW of modules to project in Spain - Canadian Solar has been awarded a contract to supply 164 MW of photovoltaic modules to the 350 MWp Escatron Solar power project owned by COBRA Group, a subsidiary of ACS Group in Spain. ACS Group will serve as the EPC provider of the project that was awarded in the recent round of Spain's renewables auction in July. Over 481,900 Canadian Solar's MaxPower modules will be installed. Module shipments will commence in September 2018 and the project is expected to reach commercial operation in 2019.

06:48 EDT Zymeworks names Anthony Polverino Chief Scientific Officer - Zymeworks has named Anthony Polverino, Ph.D., Executive VP of Early Development and Chief Scientific Officer. From 2016 until 2018, Polverino was at Kite Pharma, which was acquired by Gilead Sciences in 2017. While at Kite he served as the interim Chief Scientific Officer and before that as Vice President of Research. Prior to Kite, he was at Amgen from 1994 to 2014, serving in a number of research leadership roles of increasing responsibility.

06:26 EDT KPMG admits misconduct on BNY Mellon reports, says watchdog - The Financial Reporting Council announces that KPMG Audit Plc and Richard Hinton have admitted Misconduct under the FRC's Accountancy Scheme in relation to their reports to the FCA on compliance by The Bank of New York Mellon Limited and The Bank of New York Mellon London Branch with the FCA's Client Assets Sourcebook for the year ended 31 December 2011. Accordingly, a Formal Complaint has been delivered by the FRC's Executive Counsel. A Disciplinary Tribunal will be convened to decide what sanctions should be imposed. KPMG and Hinton failed to give adequate consideration on whether the records of custody relationships maintained by BNY Mellon were compliant with certain rules, the FRC said.

06:18 EDT Novartis' Kymriah for adult lymphoma 'to expensive to recommend,' says NICE - The U.K.'s National Institute for Health and Care Excellence said it "encourages further discussions on Kymriah for adult lymphoma," but in draft guidance, NICE says "CAR-T is too expensive to recommend as a treatment for adults with lymphoma." However, NICE adds that it "does recognize that Novartis' tisagenlecleucel-T, also known as Kymriah, has significant clinical benefits, and would welcome further discussions on its cost-effectiveness. NICE's independent technology appraisal committee considered tisagenlecleucel-T for adults who have relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma after 2 or more lines of systemic therapy. The committee will consider comments on the draft guidance, together with any new evidence, at its next meeting on October 23." Meindert Boysen, director of the Centre for Health Technology Evaluation at NICE, says: "We have seen promising results for CAR-T therapies in early trials and believe there is great potential for tisagenlecleucel-T to help people who have not responded to other forms of therapy. Although we could not recommend tisagenlecleucel-T for adults with lymphoma, we welcome further discussions around the cost-effectiveness of the treatment and engagement with stakeholders." he company had offered a confidential discount on the list price of GBP 282,000, however, the cost-effectiveness estimates were still above the range that NICE considers an acceptable use of NHS resources. Reference Link

06:04 EDT Wabco partners with Nidec for electrified drivetrain brake control solutions - Wabco has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Nidec Motor, a subsidiary of Nidec, a Comprehensive Motor Manufacturer, to define, develop, manufacture and commercialize fully integrated electric drivetrain and brake control solutions for longitudinal control of commercial vehicles. Developing a fully integrated, electric drive train solution by combining Wabco's vehicle dynamics and controls with Nidec's leading edge motors and inverter technologies aims to enable efficiencies across all operating modes for fully electric operated buses, trucks and trailers. The intent is to first develop these technologies for city buses as well as for electric trailer solutions as demonstrated in Wabco's eTrailer prototype.

05:37 EDT Wabco signs strategic agreement with RIO - WABCO Holdings has signed a strategic agreement with RIO, the groundbreaking digital brand of global commercial vehicle manufacturer, the TRATON GROUP. Under the agreement, RIO will leverage WABCO's advanced Fleet Management Solutions, or FMS, within its fast-growing cloud-based connectivity environment to support the European logistics industry. This important agreement extends WABCO's FMS portfolio into a fully digital, cloud-based open platform for freight transport that supports all brands of truck. RIO, which is rapidly expanding its customer base across Europe, matches leading suppliers with the best tailored solutions to support fleets and enable them to "pick and choose" from a broad range of cutting-edge digital tools.

05:33 EDT Wabco, Valeo sign MoU to develop sensor technologies - Wabco announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding, or MoU, with Valeo, an automotive technology leader at the center of several automotive industry innovations. Within the scope of this agreement, the parties intend to develop sensor technologies helping pave the way for Valeo to supply WABCO with advanced short and mid-range sensors, including 77GHz radar and solid-state LiDAR, to develop and industrialize the next generation of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, or ADAS, among the key building blocks for vehicle autonomy. WABCO and Valeo bring complementary competencies to this strategic agreement. While Valeo is a technology leader for ADAS sensors in the automotive industry, specifically the passenger car segment, WABCO is a leader in commercial vehicle ADAS, covering trucks, buses and trailers. This agreement will enable Valeo to expand its presence in the commercial vehicle industry benefiting from the access, domain expertise and customer relationships that WABCO has cultivated. For WABCO, this would mean exclusive access to best-in-class short and mid-range ADAS sensors that will help advance its ADAS roadmap toward autonomous driving. Also, given the high-volumes of sensor demand in the passenger car segment, WABCO will benefit from the economies of scale.

05:14 EDT Collectors Universe announces termination of COO David Hall - Collectors Universe announced the termination of David Hall's employment as the company's President and COO, effective as of the close of business on September 18. Joseph Orlando, the company's CEO, will assume Hall's duties.