Stockwinners Market Radar for September 24, 2018 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:15 EDT Portola granted orphan status for cerdulatinib - The FDA granted Portola Pharmaceuticals orphan status for cerdulatinib, its treatment of peripheral T-cell lymphoma. Reference Link

19:20 EDT Vornado now owns 100% interest in retail condo at Marriott Marquis Times Square - Vornado Realty Trust announced that it has acquired from Host Hotels & Resorts an approximate 46% interest in the retail condominium located at the base of the New York Marriott Marquis Times Square hotel for $442M. Vornado had previously acquired a 54% interest and redeveloped the property. The original transaction provided that Vornado would become the 100% owner through a put/call arrangement, based on a pre-negotiated formula. This transaction satisfies the put/call arrangement. Vornado now owns 100% of the fee in 45,000 square feet of retail which is 100% leased to T-Mobile, Invicta, Swatch, Levi's and Sephora, the 1,611 seat Marquis Theater leased to the Nederlander Organization, as well as the largest digital sign in New York with a 330 linear foot, 25,000 square foot display. The property is located at 1535 Broadway in the heart of the bow-tie of Times Square and spans the entire block front from 45th Street to 46th Street on Broadway. It is directly across from Vornado's 1540 Broadway iconic block front retail property. Vornado had previously accounted for its interest in the property as a capital lease. Vornado's basis in the property now totals approximately $663M, inclusive of all capital previously invested and pro forma for approximately $17M of tenant improvements to be paid through 2019. The property will generate an 8.5% stabilized Cash NOI yield on Vornado's $663M investment beginning in the first quarter of 2019.

18:54 EDT Petrobras reports August output of 2.47MMBOE/D, down 5.1% from prior month

18:21 EDT KKR announces intra-quarter Q3 monetization activity - KKR announced monetization activities for the period from July 1, 2018 through September 24, 2018. Driven by secondary and strategic sale activity, the Firm estimates having earned gross realized carried interest of approximately $450M and total realized investment income of approximately $225M, both on a segment basis. As disclosed earlier this year, as part of the Firm's effort to increase transparency of monetization activities and quarterly financial progress, KKR intends to periodically disclose the expected impact of material monetization activities during a given fiscal quarter.

17:31 EDT John K. Scott, Jr. reports 12.2% passive stake in Navidea

17:25 EDT Armistice Capital reports 7.2% passive stake in Progenics

17:18 EDT Camden Property completes acquisition of Florida apartment community - Camden Property Trust announced that it has completed the acquisition of a recently constructed 299-home apartment community in Orlando for a total purchase price of approximately $90M. The community is a 9-story high-rise in downtown Orlando built in 2016 featuring a 4th floor pool and amenity deck, 24-hour concierge, retail space and a 3-story parking garage. The community will be renamed Camden Thornton Park and is adjacent to Camden Lake Eola, a new development community which recently started construction.

17:13 EDT Boeing awarded $375.6M U.S. Air Force contract - Boeing has been awarded a $375,550,368 firm-fixed-price contract for the non-developmental item integration of four aircraft to replace the UH-1N. This is the basic award of a contract (including options) valued at approximately $2,380,000,000, which will provide for the acquisition and sustainment of up to 84 MH-139 helicopters, training devices, and associated support equipment. The location of performance is predominantly in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. If all options are exercised, the work is expected to be completed by September 2031.

17:11 EDT EMCOR among bidders for $475M U.S. Army contract - EMCOR Government Services, Facility Services Management Inc., Hospital Housekeeping Systems LLC, J&J Maintenance Inc,; Jones Lang LaSalle Americas Inc., Valiant Government Services, and VW International Inc. will compete for each order of the $475,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for operations and maintenance, incidental repair and minor construction to support the U.S. Army Medical Command facilities. Bids were solicited via the internet with seven received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 23, 2023.

17:03 EDT Link Motion receives noncompliance notice from NYSE - Link Motion announced that it was notified by the New York Stock Exchange, or NYSE, that Link Motion is no longer in compliance with the listing standard set forth in section 802.01C of the NYSE listed company manual. This standard requires the trailing 30-day average closing share price to remain at or above $1.00. As outlined in section 802.01C, upon receiving notice, Link Motion has a six-month cure period to regain compliance. Within this cure period, Link Motion must have a closing share price of $1.00 or higher on the last trading day of a given month or at the end of the cure period. In addition, Link Motion's coinciding trailing 30-day average closing share price must also be $1.00 or higher. The company has notified the NYSE of its intention to regain compliance within the six-month cure period. During the cure period, Link Motion's stock will continue to be listed on the NYSE, subject to its ability to remain in compliance with other continued listing standards. The notice received from the NYSE does not affect the ongoing business of Link Motion.

17:00 EDT Key Energy Services proposes tie-up with Basic Energy in all-stock deal - Key Energy Services (KEG) announced that it has proposed to combine with Basic Energy Services, Inc. (BAS) in an all-stock merger. On September 20, 2018 and again on September 23, 2018, Key sent letters to management and the Board of Directors of Basic outlining its merger proposal and its strong desire to negotiate a transaction. Key believes that the proposed combination is attractive strategically and financially for both companies given the highly complementary nature of their respective businesses and significant cost synergies that could be realized in the combination. Under the terms of the proposal, Key shareholders would own approximately 51% of the combined company and Basic shareholders would own 49%, representing a 15% premium to the 10-day VWAP1 before consideration of synergies .

16:45 EDT Senator Investment Group reports 5.43% passive stake in Americold Realty Trust

16:40 EDT Park West Asset Management reports 6.2% passive stake in Semler Scientific

16:37 EDT Jaguar Health, Knight Therapeutics announce strategic partnership - Knight Therapeutics and Jaguar Health announced that they have entered into a Distribution, License and Supply Agreement that grants Knight the exclusive right to commercialize Mytesi and related products in Canada and Israel and a right of first negotiation to commercialize Mytesi and related products in specified Latin American countries. Mytesi is an FDA-approved product in the U.S. indicated for the symptomatic relief of noninfectious diarrhea in adult patients with HIV/AIDS on antiretroviral therapy. Jaguar is also pursuing possible follow-on indications for Mytesi in cancer therapy-related diarrhea, an important supportive care indication for patients undergoing cancer treatment; for rare disease indications for infants and children with congenital diarrheal disorders and short bowel syndrome; for irritable bowel syndrome; for supportive care for inflammatory bowel disease; and as a second-generation anti-secretory agent for use in cholera patients. Under the terms of the Agreement, Knight will be responsible for all regulatory and commercial activities for Mytesi and related products in the licensed territories. Upon achievement of certain regulatory and sales milestones defined in the Agreement, Jaguar may receive payments from Knight Therapeutics in an aggregate amount of up to $18,019,743 payable throughout the initial 15-year term of the Agreement.

16:33 EDT Kirkland's announces new $10M share repurchase program - Kirkland's announced that the Board of Directors has authorized a new stock repurchase plan providing for the purchase in the aggregate of $10M of the company's outstanding common stock. As of September 21, 2018, the company had repurchased 733,201 shares totaling $7.1M leaving an additional $2.9M remaining under the previous authorization.

16:32 EDT Kirkland's names Steve Woodward as CEO, Mike Cairnes as COO - Kirkland's announced a major step in enhancing its senior management team with the addition of Steve "Woody" Woodward as CEO. Woodward, who is currently President and Chief Merchant of Crate and Barrel, will join the Kirkland's team and the Board of Directors effective as of October 22, 2018. The company's Acting CEO, Mike Cairnes, will be promoted from his previous position of Executive Vice President to President in addition to resuming his previous role as COO.

16:23 EDT Curis names James Dentzer as new CEO effective immediately - Curis announced a change in leadership with the appointment of James E. Dentzer as President and Chief Executive Officer effective immediately. In addition, Mr. Dentzer will become a member of the Curis Board of Directors. He replaces Ali Fattaey, Ph.D., who is leaving the Company. Mr. Dentzer, who joined Curis in 2016, was promoted earlier this year to Chief Operating Officer to manage all functions outside of research and development, including business development, manufacturing, quality, human resources, finance, legal, IT, and investor and public relations. Mr. Dentzer is also leading the pre-commercial strategic planning for fimepinostat, which received Fast Track designation from the FDA earlier this year for the treatment of patients with Relapsed/Refractory DLBCL.

16:21 EDT Femsa enters Ecuador drug business with acquisition of Corporacion GPF - Fomento Economico Mexicano announced that through its majority-owned subsidiary Socofar, it has reached an agreement to acquire Corporacion GPF. GPF is a leading drugstore operator based in Quito, Ecuador, with almost 90 years of solid trajectory, operating more than 620 points of sale nationwide mainly under the Fybeca and SanaSana banners. This transaction represents a new building block of FEMSA Comercio's drugstore strategy in South America, following its successful acquisition of a controlling stake in the drugstore and distribution platform of Chile-based Socofar in 2015. Today's announcement marks another important step for FEMSA Comercio as it brings its considerable retail expertise and Socofar's deep industry knowledge to the Ecuadorian market and its more than 16 million consumers. The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close during the first quarter of 2019.

16:19 EDT Dominion announces divestments in three merchant generation assets - Dominion Energy announced that it has executed definitive agreements to divest its interests in three merchant electric generation assets for total proceeds of $1.32B. The interests being sold in two separate transactions include:100% interest in the Fairless Power Station, a 1,240-megawatt combined-cycle gas turbine located in Pennsylvania; 100% interest in the Manchester Street Power Station, a 468-megawatt combined-cycle gas turbine located in Rhode Island; and 25% interest in the Catalyst Old River Hydroelectric Limited Partnership, which owns a 192-megawatt hydroelectric generating station in Louisiana. Fairless and Manchester are being sold to an affiliate of Starwood Energy for cash consideration of approximately $1.23B, which includes no working capital. The sale will require the approval of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust clearance. The partial interest in Catalyst Old River Hydroelectric is being sold for cash consideration of approximately $90M. oth transactions are expected to close by year-end 2018.

16:17 EDT Sutherland Asset Management to change name to 'Ready Capital Corporation' - Sutherland Asset Management announced that, effective 12:01 a.m. Eastern Time on September 26, 2018, it will change its name to "Ready Capital Corporation." In connection with the name change, effective on October 1, 2018, the Company's trading symbols on the New York Stock Exchange will change from "SLD" to "RC" for shares of the Company's common stock, and from "SLDA" to "RCA" for the Company's 7.00% convertible senior notes due 2023, and from "SLDD" to "RCP" for the Company's 6.50% senior notes due 2021. Following the name change, the new CUSIP number for the Company's common stock will be 75574U101, the new CUSIP number for the Company's 7.00% convertible senior notes due 2023 will be 75574U200, and the new CUSIP number for the Company's 6.50% senior notes due 2021 will be 75574U309.

16:15 EDT R. Ted Weschler reports 5.25% passive stake in Optical Cable Corporation

16:07 EDT Syndax announces updated results from ongoing ENCORE 601 trial - "The observation of durable responses seen with the entinostat-pembrolizumab combination in NSCLC patients previously treated with both chemotherapy and PD-1 therapy is an important result, and we look forward to more fully characterizing patient selection tools to identify those who are most likely to respond," said Peter Ordentlich, Ph.D., Syndax co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer. "The exploratory finding that baseline peripheral classical monocytes may predict clinical benefit to the combination provides an opportunity to potentially correlate a readily measurable circulating biomarker with the state of the tumor microenvironment and supports the use of this approach for patient selection in future studies." The Company previously presented a subset of data from the first 57 patients in the Phase 2 ENCORE 601 NSCLC cohort, which enrolled patients whose disease had progressed after prior chemotherapy and anti-PD-1 treatment, at the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting this past June. The updated data set presented today includes data from all 76 patients who enrolled in this cohort prior to the close of enrollment in December 2017, and highlights the durability of the observed responses independent of prior treatment history or PD-1 status. At the time of data cut-off, there were 7 confirmed partial responses among the overall population of 72 efficacy-evaluable patients, for a 10% objective response rate (95% CI: 4-19%), a median duration of response of 5.3 months, and a median progression free survival of 2.8 months. The results did not meet the prespecified ORR endpoint. Six of the 7 responders had low or negative PD-1 expression at study entry. At the time of data cut-off, 6 patients remain on study. Updated data continue to demonstrate a manageable toxicity profile for the entinostat-pembrolizumab combination, with treatment emergent adverse events observed consistent with those previously reported. Exploratory analysis of baseline biomarkers in the fully enrolled cohort supports the previous observation from the first 57 patients that elevated pre-treatment baseline levels of peripheral classical blood monocytes (CD14+CD16-HLA-DRhi) are associated with enhanced clinical benefit to the entinostat-pembrolizumab combination. Baseline peripheral classical monocyte data were available for 65 of the 72 NSCLC patients evaluable for efficacy and were divided into a group of high baseline monocytes ("monocyte high" n = 19) and low baseline monocytes ("monocyte low" n = 46). The monocyte high subset showed an improved median PFS (5.3 months vs 2.7 months), and an enhanced ORR (21% vs 7%), with 5 of 19 (26%) patients remaining on study compared to only 1 of 46 (2%) in the monocyte low group.

16:04 EDT Pluristem treatment of graft failure granted FDA orphan designation - Pluristem's ex-vivo expanded placental adherent stromal cells were granted FDA orphan designation as a treatment of graft failure and incomplete hematopoietic recovery, following hematopoietic cell transplantation, according to a post to the agency's website. Reference Link

16:03 EDT Cellectar granted orphan status for osteosarcoma treatment - The FDA granted Cellectar Biosciences orphan status for its treatment of osteosarcoma. Reference Link

16:02 EDT Arena Pharmaceuticals reports 'positive' Phase 2a results for olorinab - Arena Pharmaceuticals announced positive topline results from its Phase 2a trial of olorinab, an investigational, peripherally restricted, highly selective, full agonist of the cannabinoid receptor 2 in development for the treatment of gastrointestinal pain. This was a randomized, open-label, 8-week study investigating two doses of olorinab (25 mg and 100 mg) administered TID (three times daily). All patients were diagnosed with quiescent to mild active Crohn's disease associated with chronic abdominal pain defined as a baseline Average Abdominal Pain Score (AAPS) greater than or equal to4. Fourteen patients were enrolled with a mean baseline AAPS of 5.6. Reductions in pain were seen within the first week of treatment with olorinab and statistically significant improvement from baseline in AAPS was observed at weeks 4 and 8. In the 11 patients evaluable at 8 weeks of treatment (baseline AAPS of 6.0), there was an improvement in AAPS of -4.6 (pless than0.001) from baseline at peak effect (1.5 hours post morning dose). At peak effect, 11 out of 13 patients (85%) with evaluable data at week 4, and 11 out of 11 patients (100%) with evaluable data at week 8, exhibited a clinically relevant improvement (greater than or equal to30% change from baseline) in AAPS. Results in all patients randomized (intent-to-treat) demonstrated 11 out of 14 patients (79%) with clinically relevant improvement at both weeks 4 and 8. The improvement in pain was consistent at both the 25 mg and 100 mg olorinab dose levels and a statistically significant improvement in AAPS was also observed at trough levels (before the morning dose). Olorinab appeared safe and generally well tolerated in this study with no clinically significant changes in heart rate or blood pressure, no psychotropic effects, and no discontinuations due to adverse events.

15:51 EDT Verastem receives FDA approval of Copiktra capsules - Verastem announced that the FDA has approved Copiktra, an oral inhibitor of phosphoinositide 3-kinase, and the first approved dual inhibitor of PI3K-delta and PI3K-gamma. Copiktra is approved for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma after at least two prior therapies. Copiktra also received accelerated approval for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma after at least two prior systemic therapies. The indication in FL is approved under accelerated approval based on overall response rate. Continued approval for this indication may be contingent upon verification and description of clinical benefit in confirmatory trials. Use of Copiktra is associated with a boxed warning for four fatal and/or serious toxicities: infections, diarrhea or colitis, cutaneous reactions, and pneumonitis. Verastem Oncology is implementing an informational Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy to provide appropriate dosing and safety information to better support physicians in managing their patients on COPIKTRA.

14:58 EDT First Reserve GP XIII reports 8.1% passive stake in Kosmos

14:48 EDT Amarin CEO says Vascepa 'more analogous' to statins than PCSK9 inhibitors - Amarin CEO John Thero said his company's omega-3 pill Vascepa is "more analogous" to statins, which address a broad market, than to PCSK9 inhibitor's such as Sanofi (SNY) and Regeneron's (REGN) Praluent, which address a narrower market. Asked about pricing of Vascepa, Thero said he believes it is appropriate for the drug to be priced similar to how statins were priced prior to generic versions being made available. Thero made the comments while being interviewed on CNBC.

14:39 EDT Verastem's Duvelisib approved by FDA - Duvelisib capsules for oral use, under the brand name Copiktra, were approved by the FDA for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma after at least two prior therapies and relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma after at least two prior systemic therapies, according to a post to the FDA website. Reference Link

14:20 EDT Express Scripts calls Gilead action 'step in the right direction' - Express Scripts (ESRX) says in a statement on its website, "Our reimbursement system for medications is complex, but our intentions are clear: we want to ensure affordable access for patients and payers. In our response to the Administration's Drug Pricing Blueprint, we suggested a pathway for drug makers to introduce lower list prices for products that currently have high list prices and high rebates in way that will not destabilize the drug supply chain, while giving cash-paying patients immediate access to more affordable medicine. Today's action by Gilead Sciences is a step in the right direction, and we are encouraged that a drug maker is finally taking meaningful action to bring prices down for cash-paying customers." The statement is titled "We Offered a Path to Lower Drug Prices And Gilead Listened." Reference Link

13:08 EDT Quad/Graphics Europe acquires Peppermint Warszawa, terms not disclosed - Quad/Graphics Europe, the Poland-based subsidiary of Quad/Graphics, has acquired Peppermint Warszawa, a strategic and creative agency specializing in creating and implementing print and digital campaigns. The acquisition bolsters Quad's transformation to a marketing solutions provider with an industry-differentiating integrated marketing platform that helps brand owners worldwide reduce complexity, and improve process efficiencies and marketing spend effectiveness across all media channels. Peppermint Warszawa is headquartered in Warsaw, Poland, near Quad/Graphics' growing base of European operations, and serves clients in multiple countries. Peppermint will continue to operate under its existing brand. The acquisition was completed on Friday, August 3, 2018. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

12:49 EDT Diamondback Energy VP Paul Molnar sells 5K shares of company stock - Diamondback Energy VP Paul Molnar disclosed in a filing that he had sold 5,000 shares of company stock at an average price of $127.64 per share on September 20. The total transaction value of the sale was $638,183.

12:45 EDT Google expands Reserve service to allow booking activities directly from Google - Google has expanded its Reserve With Google service. The company in an earlier blog posting said: "The next time you're looking for something fun to do, Google can help you take that surfing class you've been dreaming of or visit that amazing museum you've been thinking about. You can now book top attractions, activities, and more, directly from Google Search, Maps, and the Assistant via Reserve with Google. From the UNESCO World Heritage Site Casa Batllo in Barcelona to urban kayaking in Chicago, booking an activity is easier than ever before.Just look for the "Find tickets" button on a place listing (or the "Schedule" button on the Assistant) and tap it. From there you can explore your options, select the number of tickets you need, prepay, and be on your way." Reference Link

12:35 EDT Genfit announces resignation of Chief Medical Officer Sophie Megnien - Genfit announces leadership changes which it says continues its "evolution from an R&D biotechnology company to a fully-integrated biopharmaceutical company." Dean Hum, Chief Scientific Officer since 2000, has been appointed Deputy CEO. On the clinical front, Sophie Megnien, Chief Medical Officer, is stepping down from her current role. The company said, "While GENFIT regrets her decision, the Company fully understands it and wishes Sophie best of luck in her professional and personal life. The Company is confident in the high quality clinical team in place, now led by Pascal Birman, MD, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, to ensure a seamless transition."

12:18 EDT Jewelers drop as Amazon applies for 'For Keeps by Amazon' patent - Shares of publicly traded companies in the jewelry space including Tiffany & Co (TIF), Signet Jewelers (SIG), DGSE Companies (DGSE), and Birks Group (BGI) dropped after a report said Amazon (AMZN) applied for a trademark for "For Keeps by Amazon." NEW TRADEMARK: Amazon applied for a patent on September 19 with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for "For Keeps by Amazon," Business Insider reported. The filing indicates that the patent would be used for both "precious metals and their alloys and goods in precious metals" the "online retail sales of jewelry," according to the report. Amazon has not responded to BI's request for comment. WHAT'S NOTABLE: Though it is unclear where Amazon may take the filing, it could further solidify its presence in the online jewelry space. Amazon currently sells jewelry on its website, including its "Amazon Collection," which sells jewelry at value prices, and another private label brand would allow it to compete with other jewelry sellers like Tiffany & Co and Signet, which do not sell their entire collections online. PRICE ACTION: At midday, shares of Tiffany & Co fell 1.1%, while Signet dropped 3%, DGSE declined 4.5%, and Birks was lower by 2.3%.

12:14 EDT Highbridge Capital reports 9.79% passive stake in Ditech

12:06 EDT Bombardier CRJ Series certified for higher maintenance intervals - Bombardier Commercial Aircraft announced that the Federal Aviation Agency has granted approval for the maintenance intervals escalation of the CRJ700, CRJ900 and CRJ1000 aircraft. The line maintenance interval is extended to 800 flight hours, and the heavy maintenance interval at 8,000 flight hours. "With the longest maintenance intervals on the regional jet market, the CRJ aircraft family continues to deliver more value to operators, along with its excellent reliability and its proven outstanding operational capability", said Charles Comtois, Head of CRJ Series Program, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft. "We are thrilled that our operators are benefitting from our continuous improvement mindset as with this evolution, the CRJ Series operators can now take advantage of 14 per cent less maintenance days,meaning more days of revenue flying."

12:00 EDT Vipshop falls -8.2% - Vipshop is down -8.2%, or -54c to $6.01.

12:00 EDT PPDAI Group falls -8.9% - PPDAI Group is down -8.9%, or -59c to $6.01.

12:00 EDT Seabridge Gold rises 15.9% - Seabridge Gold is up 15.9%, or $1.80 to $13.10.

11:55 EDT Boston Therapeutics starts study of BTI320 on type 2 diabetics on metformin - Boston Therapeutics announces the start of a new double-blind, placebo-controlled study that will confirm the potential of the newly patented investigative material to support and possibly enhance current anti-diabetic regimen of glycemic control in subjects with type diabetes. First subject in the multicenter trial was consented on September 18. The objective of this confirmatory, proof of concept adaptive study is to assess appropriate efficacy of clinical benefit and contribute to the growing safety of BTI320.It is hypothesized that BTI320, through this simple immediate post-meal effect on blood sugar, may help stall or delay the progression of diabetes and other related complications. BTI320 is designed to reduce glycemic variabilities, as shown by indices captured through the rapidly emerging continuous glucose monitoring systems. CGMS is an innovative way to limit "finger sticking "for blood sampling, and replace it with a system that provides reliable immediate understanding of the direct effect of the food and drinks that are being consumed. The current multicenter clinical study is designed to confirm the appropriate outcome effects of BTI320 on specific postprandial glucose excursions and possibility of better control of variability in type 2 diabetics. We have employed the innovative, "Big Data" approach through the use of the Abbott Freestyle Libre Pro, which will be used to collect glycemic parameters hourly for several days and over the variable meal programs of each individual. This commercially available CGMS is factory-calibrated, and thereby eliminates subject finger prick calibration. It also assures a high degree of data integrity and reduces both the trial time to assessment and the time to expand and complete the registration trials.

11:38 EDT JPMorgan's Dimon says hasn't spoken to president since election comments - JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who previously said he could beat Donald Trump in an election because he's "smarter" and saw the president issue his response via Twitter, said during an interview on CNBC that he has not spoken with the president since then. Dimon repeated during the interview with Jim Cramer that he does not plan to run for president and should not have made the comments.

11:32 EDT Ericsson secures CBRS certification from FCC - Ericsson announced that the company has received the United States Federal Communications Commission, FCC, Citizens Broadband Radio Service, CBRS,certification for its CBRS portfolio. The 3.5 GHz CBRS band for LTE will be used to improve wireless broadband access and performance in the U.S. Comprising 150 MHz of 3.5 GHz shared spectrum, the CBRS band has been used by the federal government for radar systems and commercial fixed satellite systems. Portions of the band have been approved for shared use and radio equipment supporting CBRS is now available, including Ericsson's indoor and outdoor small cell offerings, part of the industry-leading Ericsson Radio System:

11:16 EDT Apple completes acquisition of Shazam - Apple announced it has completed its acquisition of Shazam, a music apps used by hundreds of millions of people worldwide. "Apple and Shazam have a long history together. Shazam was one of the first apps available when we launched the App Store and has become a favorite app for music fans everywhere," said Oliver Schusser, Apple's vice president of Apple Music. "With a shared love of music and innovation, we are thrilled to bring our teams together to provide users even more great ways to discover, experience and enjoy music." Shazam lets users identify songs simply by listening to the music playing around them. The app will soon offer its experience ad-free for all users so everyone can enjoy the best of Shazam without interruption. Shazam has been downloaded over 1 billion times around the world, and users identify songs using the Shazam app over 20 million times each day, Apple said.

11:09 EDT Microsoft, Adobe, SAP announce Open Data Initiative - The CEOs of Adobe (ADBE), Microsoft (MSFT) and SAP (SAP) introduced the Open Data Initiative at the Microsoft Ignite conference earlier, stating that they are "joining forces to empower their mutual customers" with a common approach and set of resources for customers based on three guiding principles: Every organization owns and maintains complete, direct control of all their data; Customers can enable AI-driven business processes to derive insights and intelligence from unified behavioral and operational data; A broad partner ecosystem should be able to easily leverage an open and extensible data model to extend the solution. "Together with Adobe and SAP we are taking a first, critical step to helping companies achieve a level of customer and business understanding that has never before been possible. Organizations everywhere have a massive opportunity to build AI-powered digital feedback loops for predictive power, automated workflows and, ultimately, improved business outcomes," said Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft. To deliver on the Open Data Initiative, the three partners are enhancing interoperability and data exchange between their applications and platforms - Adobe Experience Cloud and Adobe Experience Platform, Microsoft Dynamics 365, SAP C/4HANA and S/4HANA - through a common data model. The data model will provide for the use of a common data lake service on Microsoft Azure. This unified data store will allow customers their choice of development tools and applications to build and deploy services.

10:58 EDT Nutrien announces Jochen Tilk will step down as Executive Chair - Nutrien announced that Jochen Tilk will be stepping down as Executive Chair and as a director of the company, effective September 30, 2018 to pursue other opportunities. "Jochen's key objectives are well on track and he and the Board have decided that it would be the right time to hand over the leadership of the Board to an independent Chair," the company stated. Effective September 30, Nutrien's current Lead Director, Derek Pannell will assume the role of non-executive Chair of the Board through the 2019 AGM. It is expected that the plans regarding the new independent Chair, post the 2019 AGM, will be contained in the proxy circular for that meeting.

10:34 EDT Apollo Medical Holdings Inc trading halted, volatility trading pause

10:22 EDT Comcast slides after topping Disney in bid to buy Sky - Shares of Comcast (CMCSA) are sliding following the announcement that the company outbid 21st Century Fox (FOXA) in the auction for Sky (SKYAY) held this weekend. Meanwhile, Disney's (DIS) shares are on the rise as Bernstein analyst Todd Juenger argued that this weekend's outcome was "the best possible result" for the company. In a separate transaction, Fox is selling Disney its 39% stake in Sky as part of a $71.3B deal announced earlier this year. COMCAST WINS WAR FOR SKY: Over the weekend, Comcast published an announcement containing the terms of a second increased superior cash offer for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Sky at GBP17.28 per share, implying a value of $40B for the fully diluted share capital of Sky. The announcement follows the conclusion of an auction process in relation to Sky in which Comcast prevailed with the highest offer price. The other bidder was 21st Century Fox. The offer, which opened on July 13, remains open for acceptances by Sky shareholders until 1:00 p.m. on October 11, 2018. MOVING TO THE SIDELINES ON COMCAST: In a research note this morning, Oppenheimer analyst Timothy Horan downgraded Comcast to Perform from Outperform and removed his $42 price target after the company won the auction to acquire Sky for 14 times EBITDA, or double its own multiple. The analyst cited the relatively high new pro forma valuation and expected increased competitive pressures from new technologies, namely fixed/mobile wireless and over-the-top video/compression. Horan noted he sees Comcast using Sky's OTT platforms itself and good cross-selling. However, Comcast will need to invest in U.S. wireless/OTT capabilities and ultimately consolidate the U.S. cable industry to protect its franchise here, he contended. 'BEST POSSIBLE RESULT' FOR DISNEY: Commenting on the news, Bernstein's Juenger told investors that this weekend's outcome of the bidding war for Sky was "the best possible result" for Disney. The analyst argued that he never understood why Disney would want to operate a European DBS business, and never understood how Sky would contribute to Disney's direct-to-consumer strategy. Rather than pay such a premium like Comcast, Disney can now get "paid" that premium, assuming Fox agrees to sell its stake and deliver the proceeds to Disney in lieu of the shares they had promised, the analyst contended. This morning, his peer at Loop Capital also commented on what Comcast-Sky deal could mean for both Fox and Disney. While Disney should also rise on the news, analyst Alan Gould believes "asymmetrical returns" favor Fox as the former's stock price "approaches the high end of the collared range for the Fox transaction." The analyst is positive on Fox "as an attractive way to buy Disney and create shares in the spinoff New Fox," and added that while missing on Sky "complicates" Disney's direct-to-consumer Europe strategy, investors will likely reward its stronger balance sheet and its independent efforts of launching a global streaming business. Gould reiterated a Buy rating and $51 price target on 21st Century Fox shares. PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, shares of Comcast have dropped 7.5% to $35.04, while Class A shares of Fox have gained about 1% to $44.69. Disney's stock has also advanced almost 2% to $112.37.

10:03 EDT Choice Hotels, Oz Management agree to co-investment framework for Cambria brand - Choice Hotels (CHH) announced that the company entered into a letter of intent with an affiliate of Oz Real Estate, the real estate platform of Oz Management (OZM), that sets forth a framework for a co-investment platform to accelerate the development of Cambria Hotels throughout the United States. To help support this planned joint venture and other growth opportunities for Cambria Hotels, the Choice Hotels Board of Directors has authorized an additional $250M in capital investment, the company stated. Choice Hotels is in the process of identifying sites in key locations, as well as developers and management companies to build and operate these hotels, in anticipation of entering into a definitive agreement. "The Cambria Hotels brand continues to drive success for Choice Hotels and, as evidenced by signing this LOI, we are attracting some of the largest institutional real estate investment groups in the world. The LOI with Oz Real Estate signals our companies' commitment to the brand through a contemplated 50-50 joint-venture agreement that could result in building as many as 50 Cambria Hotels in strong corporate travel markets. We believe this will propel the Cambria brand to the next level and rapidly deliver Choice's sought-after upscale brand," said David Pepper, chief development officer of Choice Hotels.

10:00 EDT Britannia Bulk falls -5.7% - Britannia Bulk is down -5.7%, or -34c to $5.54.

10:00 EDT Seabridge Gold rises 12.9% - Seabridge Gold is up 12.9%, or $1.46 to $12.76.

10:00 EDT Intrexon rises 17.5% - Intrexon is up 17.5%, or $2.53 to $17.03.

09:47 EDT Yext falls -5.4% - Yext is down -5.4%, or -$1.34 to $23.43.

09:47 EDT Britannia Bulk falls -5.3% - Britannia Bulk is down -5.3%, or -31c to $5.57.

09:47 EDT Pandora rises 6.2% - Pandora is up 6.2%, or 56c to $9.65.

09:47 EDT Seabridge Gold rises 10.6% - Seabridge Gold is up 10.6%, or $1.20 to $12.50.

09:32 EDT OpGen teams with NYDOH, ILundefinedM to spot antimicrobial-resistant infections - OpGen (OPGN) announced a collaboration with the New York State Department of Health , or DOH and ILundefinedM Health Solutions, a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck's (MRK) healthcare services and solutions, to develop a research program to detect, track, and manage antimicrobial-resistant infections at healthcare institutions statewide. OpGen will work together with DOH's Wadsworth Center and ILundefinedM to develop an infectious disease digital health and precision medicine platform that connects healthcare institutions to DOH and uses genomic microbiology for statewide surveillance and control of antimicrobial resistance. The DOH, ILundefinedM and OpGen will work collaboratively to build a sustainable, flexible infectious diseases reporting, tracking and surveillance tool for antimicrobial resistance that can be applied across New York State. The goal of this project is to improve patient outcomes and save healthcare dollars by integrating real-time epidemiologic surveillance with rapid delivery of resistance results to care-givers via web-based and mobile platforms. ILundefinedM is leading the project with the implementation of its technology platform. OpGen is providing its Acuitas AMR Gene Panel for rapid detection of multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens along with its Acuitas Lighthouse Software for high resolution pathogen tracking. The OpGen Acuitas AMR Gene Panel, a distributed, rapid diagnostics platform capable of detection and identification of multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens in under three hours and for use with the Acuitas Lighthouse Software. Together, these products can rapidly identify and locate antibiotic resistance threats in healthcare institutions and networks. Both systems are commercially available for Research Use Only (RUO) and are anticipated to be submitted for FDA clearance after completion of ongoing and planned clinical trials. In future iterations, OpGen's Acuitas technologies are anticipated to provide custom testing solutions to supplement evolving Wadsworth Laboratory testing and New York State's DOH surveillance needs. The OpGen acuitas lighthouse software includes acuitas lighthouse epidemiology dashboards with high-resolution pathogen tracking through healthcare facilities, to cities, regions, as well as the entire state. ILundefinedM's technology platform, a commercial off the shelf solution which assembles and streams analyzed health data from across locations and health care systems. This data includes laboratory test results, pharmacy, orders, and ADT. The platform offers patient and program-specific data analytics and visualization capabilities to users via a web application and a mobile device application. Also, it enables case browsing, patient monitoring, detection and prioritization and performance monitoring and reporting for disease management, including actionable insights in support of quality improvement efforts, disease surveillance, pathway adherence, and ultimately impacting outcomes.

09:27 EDT VirnetX files notice regarding agreed bill of costs, interest in Apple suit - VirnetX (VHC) announced that on September 20, 2018, pursuant to a Court's order, attorneys from VirnetX and Apple (AAPL) have conferred and agree without dispute amounts for Bill of Costs and Prejudgment Interest totaling $93,351,141 to be added to the $502,567,709 jury verdict for VirnetX in the ongoing patent infringement action between VirnetX and Apple.

09:17 EDT Fortive sets final exchange ratio in split-off exchange offer - Fortive Corporation (FTV) announced the final exchange ratio for its split-off exchange offer for Fortive common stock in connection with the previously announced separation of Fortive's Automation and Specialty platform and merger of Stevens Holding Company, the Fortive subsidiary holding its A&S Business, with a subsidiary of Altra Industrial Motion (AIMC) will be 2.2117 shares of Stevens Holding Company common stock for each share of Fortive common stock validly tendered and not properly withdrawn and accepted by Fortive pursuant to the terms of the exchange offer. After Fortive's acceptance of shares in the exchange offer, a subsidiary of Altra will merge with and into Stevens Holding Company with Stevens Holding Company surviving the merger and each share of Stevens Holding Company common stock will automatically convert into the right to receive one share of Altra common stock. The exchange offer will expire at 8:00 a.m., New York City time, on September 26, 2018, unless terminated or extended, and the closing of the Merger is expected to occur promptly after expiration of the exchange offer. Based on the final exchange ratio, Fortive expects to accept for exchange 15,824,931 shares of its common stock if the exchange offer is fully subscribed. Because the exchange offer will be subject to proration if the exchange offer is oversubscribed, the number of shares of Fortive common stock that Fortive accepts in the exchange offer may be less than the number of shares validly tendered by shareholders.

09:16 EDT Dun & Bradstreet announce expiration of 'Go Shop' period - Dun & Bradstreet announced the expiration of the 45-day "go-shop" period pursuant to the terms of the previously announced agreement and plan of merger, dated as of August 8, 2018, by and among the Company, Star Parent, L.P. and Star Merger Sub, Inc. The "go-shop" period expired at 11:59 p.m., New York City time, on September 22, 2018. Starting at 12:01 a.m., New York City time, on September 23, 2018, the Company became subject to customary "no shop" provisions that limit its ability to solicit alternative acquisition proposals from third parties or to provide confidential information to third parties, subject to customary "fiduciary out" provisions that would permit the Company to provide confidential information to, and discuss and negotiate with, third parties with respect to unsolicited alternative acquisition proposals and to terminate the merger agreement to enter into a superior proposal, in each case, if the Company's board of directors determines in good faith, after consultation with outside legal counsel, that failure to take such action would be inconsistent with the directors' fiduciary duties under applicable law, and subject to other terms and conditions of the merger agreement. Dun & Bradstreet has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission preliminary proxy materials related to the special meeting of shareholders to vote on the proposed transaction. Details regarding the date, time and place of the special meeting of shareholders will be announced when determined and will be included in the definitive proxy materials when filed. The proposed transaction with Star Parent, L.P. and Star Merger Sub, Inc. is expected to close no later than during the first quarter of 2019, subject to Dun & Bradstreet shareholder approval, regulatory clearances and other customary closing conditions.

09:11 EDT Comtech receives $9.1M contract to supply troposcatter equipment to Iraqi Navy - Comtech Telecommunications announced that during its first quarter of fiscal 2019, its Orlando, Florida-based subsidiary, Comtech Systems, Inc., which is part of Comtech's Government Solutions segment, has received a $9.1M sole-sourced contract from The Program Executive Office, or PEO, Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence, or C4I, International C4I Integration Program Office, or PMW 740, to supply equipment and services in support of an existing C4I Surveillance and Reconnaissance Maritime Surveillance System owned by the Iraqi Navy. Comtech will be supplying thermal imaging radar in conjunction with Comtech's advanced digital troposcatter communications systems and backhaul microwave terminals. The communications network will provide radar and sensor data to an existing Command and Control facility.

09:09 EDT Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: Disney (DIS), up 1% after Bernstein analyst Todd Juenger says this weekend's outcome of the bidding war for Sky (SKYAY) was "the best possible result" for the company. Class A shares of Fox (FOXA) are also up about 1% following the news... Amarin (AMRN), up 280% after the REDUCE-IT study met its primary endpoint... Epizyme (EPZM), up 18% after announcing the FDA has lifted the partial clinical hold that had paused U.S.-based enrollment of new patients in its tazemetostat clinical trials... Pandora (P), up 7.5% after announcing a definitive agreement under which SiriusXM (SIRI) will acquire Pandora in an all-stock transaction valued at approximately $3.5B... Rangold (GOLD), up 7% after Barrick (ABX) agreed to acquire the company in all-stock deal... Intrexon (XON), up 13% after announcing advances in production of medical cannabis. LOWER: Nutanix (NTNX), down 9% after filing to sell 2.45M shares of common stock for holders and seeing its stock downgraded to Negative from Neutral at Susquehanna... Bilibili (BILI), down 6% after Morgan Stanley analyst Alex Poon downgraded the stock to Equal Weight from Overweight, telling investors that he thinks the company's transformation from a game-centric company to a profitable social platform is still in its early stages... AnaptysBio (ANAB), down 3% after announcing topline proof-of-concept data for etokimab, its investigational anti-IL-33 therapeutic antibody... Comcast (CMCSA), down 4.5% after announcing that it has prevailed with the highest offer price in the auction to acquire the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Sky with an offer price of GBP17.28 per share.

09:07 EDT Caesars names Monica Digilio as Chief Human Resources Officer - Caesars Entertainment announced the appointment of Monica Digilio as Executive Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer. Digilio joins Caesars from Montage Hotels and Resorts where she has served in the same capacity since 2012. Her appointment at Caesars is effective immediately and is subject to normal regulatory approvals.

09:01 EDT Sirius XM doesn't see any changes in return of capital strategy

09:01 EDT Sirius XM says company, Pandora to pay royalties approaching $2B in 2019 - Sirius XM (SIRI) says company, Pandora (P) to pay royalties approaching $2B in 2019 to the various music companies.

08:50 EDT Sirius XM: Pandora talks the 'worst kept secret of a courtship' - Sirius XM (SIRI) says it held a conversation with Pandora (P) 15 months ago, but the companies could not come to an agreement on a sale, but did reach an agreement on preferred stock.

08:48 EDT Sirius XM says let Pandora get 'ship righted' before making any moves

08:44 EDT SiriusXM: Pandora CEO Roger Lynch 'joins us going forward'

08:39 EDT Gilead subsidiary to launch authorized generics of Epclusa, Harvoni - Gilead Sciences announced plans to launch authorized generic versions of Epclusa and Harvoni, Gilead's leading treatments for chronic hepatitis C virus, in the United States, through a newly created subsidiary, Asegua Therapeutics. The authorized generics will launch at a list price of $24,000 for the most common course of therapy and will be available in January 2019. Since the launch of Gilead's first HCV medication in 2013, the average price paid for each bottle of medicine in the U.S. has decreased by more than 60 percent off of the public list prices, across health insurers and government payers. Due to the complexity and structure of the U.S. healthcare system, however, these discounts provided by Gilead may not always translate into lower costs for patients. Further, existing contracts, together with laws associated with government pricing policies, make it challenging to quickly lower a product's list price once it is on the market.The authorized generics are priced to more closely reflect the discounts that health insurers and government payers receive today. Insurers will have the choice of offering either the authorized generics or the branded medications for both Epclusa and Harvoni. In the Medicare Part D setting, the authorized generics could save patients up to $2,500 in out-of-pocket costs per course of therapy. The authorized generics will also offer substantial savings to state managed Medicaid plans that do not currently benefit from negotiated rebates and that represent a significant number of people in need, potentially opening up access to our medications to beneficiaries who were previously denied coverage. Beyond the company's efforts to reduce patient costs, Gilead is continuing to pursue innovative collaborations and long-term financing models, such as a potential subscription model, that could not only expand access, but aim to eliminate HCV in the U.S. and around the world.

08:36 EDT Ovid Therapeutics, Takeda announce initiation of two Phase 2 trials - Ovid Therapeutics (OVID) announced initiations of the Phase 2 ELEKTRA and ARCADE trials for OV935/TAK-935 in pediatric patients with rare epilepsies. The company reports that the first patient has been randomized to receive either OV935 or placebo in the ELEKTRA trial and that patient screening is underway for the ARCADE trial. These trials are being conducted together with Ovid's collaboration partner Takeda (TKPYY).

08:35 EDT L3 Technologies acquires ASV Global - L3 Technologies announced that it acquired ASV Global, LLC, a leading unmanned surface vessel, or USV, and autonomous vessel control systems company on September 20. This acquisition strategically enhances L3's full spectrum of unmanned maritime capabilities, including integrated anti-submarine warfare, or ASW, solutions, future surface combatant unmanned off-board sensors, and integrated unmanned surface and undersea vessel, or USV/UUV, operations. The new company will be known as L3 ASV.

08:34 EDT XBiotech completes enrollment for Phase 2 bermekimab study for HS - XBiotech announced that it had completed enrollment in the U.S. for its Phase 2, open label clinical study evaluating subcutaneous administration of bermekimab in patients with moderate to severe Hidradenitis Suppurativa, or HS. Enrollment has exceeded the planned limit for the study in just over two months, significantly outpacing expectations. XBiotech plans to accept a limited number of additional patients in Europe prior to study completion. The phase 2 study involves a 13-week treatment regimen. Two groups of patients are being treated with bermekimab: those who have had and failed prior anti-TNF therapy; and those with no prior anti-TNF treatment history.

08:33 EDT Pareteum awarded $38M contract in Asia - Pareteum announced that its Managed Service Platform has been chosen in a five-year, $38M contract with an IoT and MVNO provider in Asia. This new enterprise customer will use IoT services powered by the Pareteum MSP, and thereby be able to offer a fully-integrated software solution that delivers flexibility through multi-country branded services, digital applications, data services, and traditional mobile services to its subscribers. Under the terms of the contract, Pareteum will support this new customer's efforts to expand its business throughout southern Asia, including its plans to add WiFi, Blockchain, M2M, and Smart City solutions.

08:27 EDT Symantec audit committee ends probe, restatement not anticipated - Symantec Corp. earlier announced that the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors has concluded its internal investigation, which was originally announced in May 2018. The Audit Committee, assisted by independent legal counsel and a forensic accounting firm, conducted a thorough investigation of the allegations raised by a former employee. The company does not anticipate a restatement or adjustment of any audited or unaudited, filed or previously announced, GAAP or non-GAAP financial statements. No employment actions with respect to any Section 16 officer have been recommended as a result of the investigation. The Audit Committee noted relatively weak and informal processes with respect to some aspects of the review, approval and tracking of transition and transformation expenses. The Audit Committee also observed that beginning in the second quarter of fiscal year 2018, the company initiated a review by an outside accounting firm of, and took other steps to enhance, the company's policies and procedures regarding non-GAAP measures. In addition to the matters announced in May 2018, the Audit Committee reviewed a transaction with a customer for which $13 million was recognized as revenue in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2018. After subsequent review of the transaction, the Company has concluded that $12 million of the $13 million should be deferred. Accordingly, the previously announced financial results for the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2018 and the first quarter of fiscal year 2019 will be revised to take into account this deferral and any other financial adjustments required as a result of this revision. The Audit Committee also reviewed certain allegations concerning, and identified certain behavior inconsistent with, the company's Code of Conduct and related policies. The Audit Committee referred these matters to the company for, and the Company intends to take, appropriate action. The Audit Committee proposed certain recommendations which the Board of Directors has adopted, including: appointing a separate Chief Accounting Officer; appointing a separate Chief Compliance Officer reporting to the Audit Committee; clarifying and enhancing the Code of Conduct and related policies; and adopting certain enhanced controls and policies related to the matters investigated. As previously disclosed, due to the internal investigation the Company has not filed its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 30, 2018 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the first fiscal quarter ended June 29, 2018 with the SEC. The company is working diligently to complete the preparation of the Form 10-K and the Q1 Form 10-Q and to facilitate the audit of the fiscal year 2018 financial statements and the review of the Q1 quarterly financial statements by its outside auditors. Shares of Symantec are up 3.6% in pre-market trading.

08:17 EDT OncoMed announces publication of Phase 1a data for navicixizumab - OncoMed announced that the results of its Phase 1a study with single-agent navicixizumab in patients with refractory solid tumors were published in Investigational New Drugs. The results showed that 19 of the 66 patients with various types of refractory solid tumors had tumor shrinkage following treatment with navicixizumab. Notably, 3 of the 12 ovarian cancer patients treated in the trial achieved a partial response with single-agent navicixizumab therapy. Navicixizumab is a bispecific antibody that was designed to enhance the anti-tumor effect observed with inhibition of DLL4 or VEGF alone. This Phase 1a multicenter, open-label, dose-escalation trial enrolled sixty-six patients with previously treated solid tumors. The primary endpoint was to determine the maximum tolerated dose. Secondary endpoints included safety, pharmacokinetics, immunogenicity and antitumor activity. The most commonly enrolled tumor types were ovarian, colorectal and cancers of the breast, pancreas, uterus and endometrium. Four patients had a partial response, and 17 patients had stable disease. There were 19 patients that had a reduction in the size of their target lesions, including seven patients with ovarian cancer. Six of these seven ovarian cancer patients had prior bevacizumab. Four patients remained on study for greater than 300 days and two of these patients were on study for greater than 500 days. The most common drug related adverse events of any grade were hypertension, headache, fatigue and pulmonary hypertension. Infusion reactions associated with anti-drug antibodies impacting drug exposure occurred in 11% of patients. The maximum tolerated dose for navicixizumab was not determined based on protocol-defined criteria, but doses of 3-4 mg/kg once every 2 weeks were chosen for the subsequent Phase 1b studies.

08:12 EDT Cellectar Biosciences provides update on FDA import alert - Cellectar Biosciences announced that the FDA has initiated direct talks with the company concerning a possible exemption for CLR 131 from the import alert placed on the Centre for Probe Development and Commercialization, or CPDC, the sole supplier of Cellectar's drug CLR 131. Cellectar was informed by CPDC of the import alert on August 7 and further learned that the basis for the alert was not related to CLR 131 or to CPDC's production facility associated with CLR 131. Since notification of the alert, Cellectar has been actively assisting CPDC to secure the timely removal of the alert. Recently, the FDA initiated direct talks with Cellectar on a potential pathway to remove CLR 131 from the import alert and allow CPDC to resume supply of CLR 131.

08:09 EDT Boxlight acquires EOS Education - Boxlight announced it has completed the acquisition of EOSEDU, a consulting and professional development company for the K-12 education market. Boxlight acquired EOS Education for 100,000 shares of Boxlight common stock. With the acquisition, it's expected that Boxlight's professional services division will produce as much as 10 percent of its total revenues with gross profit margins greater than 50 percent. It also brings significant management talent to Boxlight by adding Daniel Leis and Dr. Aleksandra Leis. Together, with decades of experience managing high-growth professional services businesses in emerging markets and sectors, they will bring an incredible synergy to Boxlight. Daniel will fill the role of Vice President of Global Services for Boxlight while Aleksandra will continue in her role as the CEO of EOS Education, which will now be a wholly owned subsidiary of Boxlight.

08:08 EDT JPMorgan opening 50 new branches in Philadelphia, Delaware, South Jersey - JPMorgan Chase announced an expansion of its branch network to Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley and several new commitments that support economic growth and workforce development in the region. This expansion is part of the firm's recent $20B, five-year investment in its business and local economic growth. Over the next five years, JPMorgan Chase intends to open approximately 50 new branches and hire 300 new employees in the Delaware Valley region, giving local customers access to its banking services while creating local job opportunities for residents. Currently, the firm has nearly 5,100 branches in 23 states and plans to open 400 new branches and hire as many as 3,000 employees in new markets in the next five years. This expansion will add to the firm's current base of more than one million consumers and over 30,000 business clients in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley region. The bank has been doing business in the region for nearly 20 years with more than 11,000 current employees, including in its major credit card hub in Wilmington, Delaware. The firm is actively hiring staff to support its new branches in the Delaware Valley. Entry-level employees in Philadelphia branches will be paid no less than $16.50/hour and will receive the firm's full benefits package, which is valued at an average of $12,000 annually per employee in this pay range. It includes health care coverage and retirement savings, as well. To help ease the burden of out-of-pocket medical expenses, the firm also recently reduced medical plan deductibles by $750 per year for employees making less than $60,000. In addition to expanding its branch network to the region, JPMorgan Chase will bring the best of its business and philanthropic efforts through new local commitments including: Home & Small Business Lending: The bank will invest $3B for mortgage and small business lending in the region over the next five years. Philanthropic Commitment: JPMorgan Chase will also commit $5M to support the revitalization of the Kensington Avenue commercial corridor to bring much needed resources to one of Philadelphia's most underserved communities.

08:07 EDT Kratos Defense receives $4.2M contract award for 50 specialized systems - Kratos Defense announced that it has received a $4.2M contract award for the production of approximately 50 specialized systems in support of a command, control, communications, computing, combat, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, or C5ISR, program for a national security related customer. Kratos Modular Systems Division, which received this contract award, provides specialized systems in support of unmanned aerial drone system, missile defense, radar, satellite communications and other C5ISR platforms and programs. Work under this recent contract award will be performed in a secure Kratos manufacturing facility. Due to customer related, competitive and other considerations, no additional information will be provided related to this recent contract award.

08:06 EDT Synergy Pharmaceuticals strengthens coverage for Trulance - Synergy Pharmaceuticals announced several new formulary wins improving TRULANCE 2018 and 2019 coverage status across major U.S. Commercial, Medicare Part D and Managed Medicaid plans. "We are excited to announce several new formulary wins for TRULANCE, which we believe demonstrate our ongoing efforts to improve patient access and support future sales growth," said Troy Hamilton, CEO of Synergy Pharmaceuticals Inc. "We believe the progress we've made towards strengthening market access is a result of our continued focus and commitment to optimizing the value of TRULANCE. As it relates to our ongoing strategic review, we continue to work with our outside advisors to identify and pursue opportunities that we believe will maximize the long-term value of Synergy. We will provide additional information on this process as we move forward."

08:05 EDT Biocept awarded patent in Hong Kong - Biocept announces that it has been awarded Hong Kong Patent No. HK1222901 entitled, DEVICES AND METHODS OF CELL CAPTURE AND ANALYSIS. The issued patent covers the use of antibodies for the capture of any cell of interest, including circulating tumor cells, within a microchannel.

08:05 EDT Barrick Gold announces agreement with Shandong gold for cross shareholding - Barrick Gold announced that it has entered into a mutual investment agreement with Shandong Gold Group Co., Ltd., further strengthening Barrick's partnership with one of China's leading mining companies. Under the Agreement, Shandong Gold will purchase up to $300M of Barrick shares, and Barrick will invest an equivalent amount in shares of Shandong Gold Mining Co., Ltd., a publicly listed company controlled by Shandong Gold. Shares will be purchased in the open market. Barrick and Shandong Gold are 50-50 joint venture partners at the Veladero mine in Argentina, the first step in the partnership between the two companies. As a second step, Shandong Gold is currently carrying out an independent evaluation of Barrick's Lama project, including an analysis of potential synergies between Lama and the nearby Veladero operation. Barrick and Shandong Gold have also created internal working groups that are sharing technical expertise and best practices focused on best-in-class mining practices and innovation.

08:02 EDT Eiger BioPharmaceuticals announces FDA guidance on HDV Phase 3 study design - Eiger BioPharmaceuticals announced the receipt of written guidance from the FDA, confirming concurrence on a pivotal trial design, including the primary endpoint for D-LIVR, the first-ever, registration study for Hepatitis Delta Virus infection. A combined primary endpoint of greater than or equal to 2 log10 decline in HDV RNA and normalization of alanine aminotransferase at the end of 48 weeks of treatment has been accepted by the FDA as the primary endpoint and would be supportive of an accelerated approval of two lonafarnib-based, ritonavir-boosted regimens. An all-oral arm of lonafarnib boosted with ritonavir and a combination arm of lonafarnib boosted with ritonavir combined with pegylated interferon-alfa will each be compared to placebo in the D-LIVR study. Accelerated approval could be based on successful achievement of this surrogate endpoint in this single pivotal study in addition to a post-marketing confirmatory trial to evaluate clinical benefit.

07:52 EDT Artesian Resources expands board, appoints Michael Houghton - Artesian Resources announced the expansion of the board by appointing Michael Houghton. The expansion of the board recognizes Houghton's areas of specific expertise as a new addition to the current board. Houghton, a partner with the law firm of Morris Nichols Arsht & Tunnell in Wilmington, Delaware has experience representing governmental entities, banks, trust companies, insurance companies and public utilities, including Artesian Water, in commercial transactions and before regulatory authorities.

07:34 EDT FTI Consulting's technology segment teams up with Kira Systems - FTI Consulting announced the company's technology segment has entered into a teaming agreement with Kira Systems. The collaboration will provide FTI Technology's contract intelligence practice with a tool that automates the extraction and analysis of key provisions from both structured and unstructured corporate contract populations. With Kira Systems' software, FTI Technology's team of experts will be further equipped to streamline processes that support the elimination of risk and creation of value. Kira will be used to help FTI Technology streamline the due diligence of contracts process, forensic analysis of deals, compliance with lease accounting standards, and other complex review projects.

07:31 EDT Engility wins prime spot on $28B research & development contract - Engility won a prime position in August on the U.S. Department of Defense's $28B Information Analysis Center Multiple Award Contract, also known as IAC MAC. The company will now bid on task orders valued over $15M for work in 23 technical focus areas, such as cybersecurity, weapon systems, autonomous systems, critical infrastructure, biometrics and medical-related services.

07:25 EDT BioXcel Therapeutics, Nektar expand research collaboration into partnership - BioXcel Therapeutics (BTAI) and Nektar (NKTR) announced that the companies are expanding their ongoing research collaboration into a new clinical partnership. The collaboration will clinically evaluate the novel combination of BTI's BXCL701, a small molecule immune-modulator, DPP 8/9 and FAP inhibitor; Nektar's NKTR-214, a CD122-biased agonist; and a checkpoint inhibitor as a potential therapy for pancreatic cancer. Under the terms of the expanded collaboration agreement, BTI will be responsible for initiating and managing the clinical program. The primary objectives of the study are to evaluate safety and efficacy of the triplet combination of BXCL701, NKTR-214 and a checkpoint inhibitor for the treatment of patients with unresectable or metastatic pancreatic cancer. Additionally, correlative immune activation markers will also be evaluated in blood and tumor tissue. BTI and Nektar Therapeutics initially announced a preclinical research collaboration in November 2017. This collaboration focused on utilizing the complementary mechanisms of BXCL701 and NKTR-214 to stimulate the body's own immune system to overcome immunosuppressive mechanisms in the tumor microenvironment.

07:20 EDT Equity Bancshares enters into purchase, assumption agreement for three banks - Equity Bancshares announced it has entered into a definitive purchase and assumption agreement to acquire the assets and assume the deposits of two bank locations in Guymon, Oklahoma, and one bank location in Cordell, Oklahoma from MidFirst Bank. Equity anticipates closing the acquisition in Q1 of 2019. The announcement occurs after Equity's recent entry into Guymon, acquiring City Bank and Trust, or CBT from parent company Docking National Bancshares. Equity completed the merger with CBT on August 23, with the platform conversion scheduled to conclude in October. The additional bank locations in Guymon and Cordell provide additional market presence for Equity in its Southwest and Oklahoma regions. Equity merged with Kansas Bank Corporation in May 2018, adding bank locations in Liberal and Hugoton, Kansas, and previously expanded into Oklahoma through mergers with Cache and Eastman National Bancshares, Inc. in November 2017. The MidFirst bank location acquisitions will mark 19 business combinations for Equity since 2003, and nine since the company's initial public offering in November 2015. Equity's combined Guymon and Cordell market is expected to include approximately $225M in deposits and will continue to rank number one in market share in Texas County, Oklahoma. Equity's pro forma franchise of 52 full-service bank locations, following the addition of the three MidFirst bank locations, is expected to have approximately $3.9B in total assets with $2.9B in deposits.

07:16 EDT Ionis Pharmaceuticals announces results from Phase 2 study of AKCEA-APO-L - Akcea Therapeutics (AKCA), an affiliate of Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS), announced positive topline results from a Phase 2 clinical study of AKCEA-APO-L in patients with established cardiovascular disease, or CVD, and elevated levels of lipoprotein, or Lp. Additional data from the Phase 2 study will be presented as a late-breaking clinical trial presentation at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions. The goal of the Phase 2 study was to characterize the safety and tolerability of AKCEA-APO-L and to inform dose and dose frequency selection for the planned Phase 3 cardiovascular outcomes study. The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-ranging study included 286 patients with established CVD and high Lp. All patients were treated for at least six months, with some patients treated up to one year. Results from the study show statistically significant dose-dependent reductions of Lp compared to placebo at all dose levels, including low monthly doses of AKCEA-APO-L. Treatment emergent adverse events were balanced between the active and placebo groups. Approximately 90% of patients completed treatment and the rate of treatment discontinuation was comparable between the active and placebo groups.

07:14 EDT Aridis Pharmaceuticals reports additional patent coverage for product candidates - Aridis Pharmaceuticals announced the further strengthening of its intellectual property estate with the issuance of additional broad patent coverage for two of its product candidate mAbs, AR-201and AR-401.

07:10 EDT Victory Capital to acquire Harvest Volatility Management - Victory Capital announced that it has entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire Harvest Volatility Management. Harvest, which had approximately $12B in assets under management, or AUM, as of July 31, specializes in yield enhancement overlay, risk reduction, alternative beta and absolute return investment strategies. Based on AUM for both firms as of July 31, Victory Capital would on the closing of the transaction have approximately $75B in firmwide AUM. This includes approximately $16B, or 21% of total AUM, in its solutions platform strategies. Victory Capital's integrated multi-boutique business model will enable Harvest to continue to employ its structured investment process while remaining an independent brand. Harvest's investment team will continue to leverage its proprietary technology platform, which supports its analytic, trading and risk management functions. Victory Capital and Harvest are both committed to employee ownership as a means to ensure alignment with current and future clients. Following the acquisition, Harvest's senior management will be meaningful equity investors in Victory Capital. They also will continue to be significant investors in the strategies that they manage. The transaction, which is expected to be accretive to earnings per share, will be financed through a combination of debt, equity and cash on the balance sheet, with the potential for an earn-out, payable to the sellers, over time if certain growth objectives are met. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of Q1 of 2019, and is subject to regulatory and other customary approvals, conditions and consents, including approval by Harvest's clients.

07:07 EDT MediWound awarded additional BARDA contract valued up to $43M - MediWound announced that the U.S. Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority has awarded MediWound a new contract to develop NexoBrid for the treatment of Sulfur Mustard injuries as part of BARDA preparedness for mass casualty events. Sulfur Mustard is a chemical warfare agent, typically dispersed as a fine mist of liquid droplets that causes thermal burns and skin injuries.The contract provides approximately $12M of funding to support research and development activities up to pivotal studies in animals under the U.S. FDA Animal Rule. The up to eight-year contract also contains options for additional funding of up to $31M for additional development activities, animal pivotal studies, and the FDA Biologics License Application submission for approval of NexoBrid for the treatment of Sulfur Mustard injuries.

07:06 EDT General Finance Corp unit to acquire assets of Instant Storage - General Finance Corporation subsidiary Pac-Van announced its acquisition of the assets of Instant Storage, with locations in both Miami, Florida and Bakersfield, California. Instant Storage provides its customers with portable storage containers, storage trailers and office containers.

07:04 EDT Aclaris Therapeutics initiates Phase 3 wart program for A-101 - Aclaris Therapeutics announced the initiation of a Phase 3 wart program evaluating A-101 topical solution 45% in patients with common warts. The program consists of the THWART-1 and THWART-2 pivotal studies and will include a long term safety extension study.

07:02 EDT Sirius XM to acquire Pandora in all-stock deal valued at about $3.5B

07:01 EDT Mylan, Atomo Diagnostics announce strategic partnership - Mylan and Atomo Diagnostics announced a strategic partnership to commercialize CE-Marked in vitro HIV rapid diagnostic tests for self-testing in low- and middle-income countries. The tests will allow individuals to confidently screen themselves in the privacy of their own homes with a device engineered for simplicity and accuracy. The tests are designed to detect the presence or absence of HIV antibodies in a single drop of blood obtained from a fingertip. Results are delivered in just 15 minutes, which is essential for access to early treatment and care. Under the terms of the agreement, Mylan has exclusive rights to commercialize the products in more than 100 countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the Commonwealth of Independent States and Latin America. Mylan plans to launch the Mylan HIV Self-Test in global markets in early 2019.

06:57 EDT Interpace Diagnostics approved to lauch newest thyroid product, ThyGeNEXT - Interpace Diagnostics announced that it has received approval to launch its newest thyroid product, ThyGeNEXT, in the States of Pennsylvania and New York. The Pennsylvania approval is final and the New York State approval is conditioned upon receipt of additional information requested. In the interim, Interpace is able to sell its unique ThyGeNEXT/ThyraMIR combination test to physicians in these States, which represent two of the largest state populations in the U.S. These approvals now enable physicians and patients in these markets where coverage has recently been granted by numerous payers to access ThyGeNEXT.

06:56 EDT EyeGate completes enrollment in both PRK, PE pilot studies - EyeGate Pharmaceuticals announced that patient enrollment is complete in the next two pilot studies using the Hyaluronic Acid polymer for both photorefractive keratectomy and punctate epitheliopathies. The company is also on track to report top-line data from both studies in the fourth quarter of 2018, which evaluate the efficacy of EyeGate's Ocular Bandage Gel HA in wound healing.

06:53 EDT Digital Realty buys controlling interest in Ascenty for a valuation over $1.8B - Great Hill Partners announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its controlling interest in Ascenty to Digital Realty (DLR). The transaction values the company at over $1.8B. Ascenty's data center and fiber network knowledge, as well as its client service, have helped the company become the provider for hyperscale cloud companies and multinational corporations seeking comprehensive data center solutions in the region. Digital Realty separately expects to enter into a joint venture with Brookfield Infrastructure (BIP) related to the Ascenty transaction.

06:36 EDT Walker & Dunlop structures $9.8M for construction of SpareSpace Storage - Walker & Dunlop announced that it structured $9.8M in financing for the construction of SpareSpace Storage. Located in the Wynwood/Allapattah neighborhood of Miami, Florida, the self-storage facility will be completed by the summer of 2019. Walker & Dunlop's capital markets team worked with Generation4 Partners, the sponsor, to place the debt assignment. Generation4 specializes in self storage and mixed-use commercial development in Florida's major markets. The company is focused on developing a portfolio containing over 1M square feet of net rentable area in the coming years. SpareSpace Storage is positioned within the Wynwood market, which is experiencing population growth fueled by new condo and rental projects with small unit sizes that will fuel demand for self-storage use. One of the major drivers for the SpareSpace Storage development is Mana Wynwood, a 23.6-acre assemblage that will include 10M square feet of commercial, civic, and residential units. With many other projects underway in the area, this location is positioned to serve current and expected future growth. The property will consist of a seven-story building that will feature controlled access storage units, as well as personal and commercial wine storage spaces in a secure section of the building.

06:36 EDT Digital Realty to acquire 424 acres in Loudoun County, Virginia - Digital Realty announced it has reached an agreement to acquire 424 acres of undeveloped land in Loudoun County, Virginia for a total purchase price of $236.5 million, or approximately $558,000 per acre. The site is adjacent to Washington Dulles International Airport and located near bulk transmission lines as well as a major fiber path. The site is also located less than four miles from Digital Realty's existing data center campuses in Ashburn, Virginia. Commencement of development will be subject to market demand, and delivery will be phased to meet future customer growth requirements upon build-out and lease-up of the company's existing Ashburn campus capacity.

06:35 EDT AnaptysBio announces 'positive' topline proof-of-concept data for etokimab - AnaptysBio announced positive topline proof-of-concept data for etokimab, its investigational anti-IL-33 therapeutic antibody, in an ongoing single dose Phase 2a clinical trial in adult patients with severe eosinophilic asthma. Patients administered with etokimab rapidly improved their Forced Exhaled Volume In One Second which is a measure of lung function, with an 8 percent FEV1 improvement over placebo at Day 2. FEV1 improvement was sustained through Day 64, with an 11% increase over placebo. Blood eosinophil reduction was sustained through the interim analysis period, with a 31% reduction at Day 2 and a 46% reduction at Day 64 over placebo, which was consistent with FEV1 improvement observed in this trial. Etokimab was generally well tolerated in all patients and no serious adverse events were reported as of this interim analysis.

06:32 EDT Digital Realty to acquire Ascenty from Great Hill Partners for $1.8B

06:28 EDT AstraZeneca says Farxiga reduced heart risks in Phase III DECLARE-TIMI 58 trial - AstraZeneca announced results from the Phase III DECLARE-TIMI 58 cardiovascular outcomes trial for Farxiga, the broadest SGLT2 inhibitor CVOT conducted to date. The trial evaluated the CV outcomes of Farxiga vs. placebo over a period of up to five years, across 33 countries and in more than 17,000 adults with type-2 diabetes who have multiple CV risk factors or established CV disease. In the DECLARE-TIMI 58 trial, Farxiga met its primary safety endpoint of non-inferiority for major adverse cardiovascular events. Farxiga achieved a statistically-significant reduction in the composite endpoint of hospitalisation for heart failure or CV death, one of the two primary efficacy endpoints. Additionally, fewer MACE events were observed with Farxiga for the other primary efficacy endpoint, however, this did not reach statistical significance. Data from DECLARE-TIMI 58 confirmed the well-established safety profile of Farxiga. Elisabeth Bjork, Vice President, Head of Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolism, Global Medicines Development said: "Farxiga has achieved a statistically-significant and clinically-important reduction in hospitalization for heart failure or CV death in a broad range of patients with type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular risk. The results from this landmark trial are especially important since heart failure is an early and frequent complication of diabetes and associated with hospitalizations that result in a considerable societal and economic burden."

06:13 EDT WellCare elects former Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal to board - WellCare Health Plans (WCG) announced it appointed Bobby Jindal, former governor of Louisiana, to its board of directors. Jindal was elected as the nation's youngest governor in 2007 and spent two terms as Louisiana's chief executive officer from 2008 until 2016. Prior to serving as governor, Jindal served in the U.S. House of Representatives for the state of Louisiana from 2005 to 2008. He previously held positions as assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; president of the University of Louisiana System; secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals; and executive director of the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare.

06:10 EDT Seabridge Gold says KSM Project in British Columbia meeting objectives - Seabridge Gold announced that this summer's program at its 100%-owned KSM Project in north western British Columbia, Canada is meeting its objectives after early delays due to adverse weather and the impact of BC fire season on equipment and labour availability. The 2018 program includes confirmation work to ensure that the project is ready for final feasibility when a partner is secured and exploration drilling to further define the higher grade core of the Iron Cap deposit down-plunge from the existing inferred resource. The confirmation work has consisted of drilling to substantiate our reserve model (completed), waste characterization drilling and geotechnical drilling (nearly completed). Six diamond drill rigs have been employed to ensure that objectives are met.

06:08 EDT Hancock Jaffe Laboratories submits application to INVIMA for VenoValve trial - Hancock Jaffe Laboratories announced that it has completed and submitted its application to INVIMA for approval of its first-in-human trial for the VenoValve. INVIMA is the last regulatory approval that HJLI needs in order to begin its first-in-human testing in Colombia. HJLI expects to receive a response from INVIMA within 60 days. In order to facilitate the INVIMA application process and its first-in-human trial in Columbia, HJLI has hired Bioaccess, a U.S. based contact research organization that specializes in obtaining regulatory approval and in facilitating clinical trials in Colombia. Bioaccess will continue to provide CRO assistance to HJLI throughout its trial in Colombia.

06:05 EDT Maxar Technologies receives $3.2M contract from DARPA for GCA Hub - DigitalGlobe, a Maxar Technologies company, announced that it has been awarded a contract valued at $3.2M by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, to provide an unclassified environment with multi-source content for geospatial cloud analytics. This platform, called the geospatial cloud analytics hub, or GCA Hub, will enable military and intelligence end users to leverage machine learning to extract insights at scale and make critical decisions. MDA, also a Maxar company, will provide RADARSAT-2 synthetic aperture radar, or SAR, data and SAR data curation and processing tools to help DARPA users detect features and change faster and more accurately within GCA Hub. DigitalGlobe's Geospatial Big Data platform, or GBDX, a commercially-developed, cloud-based analytics platform, will serve as the foundation for DARPA's GCA Hub. GBDX provides access to DigitalGlobe's 100-petabyte library of high-resolution satellite imagery as well as open-source and commercial data provided by the company's growing list of content ecosystem partners. MDA's RADARSAT-2 SAR dataset permits users to observe valuable features and changes that go undetected with other imaging techniques, and provides day and night coverage regardless of weather.

06:03 EDT Enable Midstream plans new interstate natural gas transportation project - Enable Midstream Partners announced the development of the Gulf Run Pipeline, an interstate natural gas transportation project, by its wholly-owned subsidiary Enable Gulf Run Transmission, LLC. The Gulf Run Pipeline project is designed to connect abundant U.S. natural gas supplies to growing liquefied natural gas export markets on the Gulf Coast. The project is backed by a precedent agreement with a cornerstone shipper for a 20-year, 1.1B cubic feet per day of capacity firm transportation service. Subject to a final investment decision by the cornerstone shipper for the LNG export facility to be served by this project and approval of the project by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, up to an estimated 165 miles of large-diameter pipeline will be constructed from northern Louisiana to Gulf Coast markets. In addition, the Gulf Run Pipeline project will utilize existing Enable Gas Transmission, LLC transportation infrastructure to provide access to some of the most prolific natural gas producing regions in the U.S., including the Haynesville, Marcellus, Utica and Barnett shales as well as the Mid-Continent region. The project is expected to be placed into service in 2022.

05:54 EDT KBRwyle awarded seat on $28B DoD IAC MAC - KBR announced that its global government services business, KBRwyle, has won a seat on the $28B Department of Defense Information Analysis Center Multiple Award Contract, or AC MAC. KBRwyle was one of 15 prime contractors selected by the Air Force Installation Contracting Agency, or AFICA, for the Unrestricted/Full and Open Competition pool on this nine-year indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity, or IDIQ, contract. Under this contract, KBRwyle will offer its research, development, test, and evaluation, or RDT&E, expertise to meet urgent U.S. defense needs. KBRwyle will have the opportunity to bid on task orders focused on a wide breadth of technical areas, including weapons systems, military sensing, cybersecurity, C4ISR, sustainment and systems engineering, autonomous systems, modeling and simulation, biometrics, and critical infrastructure protection.

05:25 EDT Comcast announces terms of increased 'superior' cash offer for Sky - Comcast (CMCSA, CMCSK) published an announcement containing the terms of a second increased superior cash offer for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Sky plc (SKYAY) at GBP 17.28 per share. This implies a value of $40B for the fully diluted share capital of Sky. The announcement follows the conclusion of an auction process in relation to Sky in which Comcast prevailed with the highest offer price. Comcast is pleased with the outcome of the auction and is excited by the opportunities that a combination of Sky and Comcast will bring to shareholders and consumers. Sky's Independent Committee has unanimously recommended Comcast's superior cash offer and urged its shareholders to accept immediately. The offer, which opened on July 13, remains open for acceptances by Sky shareholders until 1:00 p.m. on October 11, 2018. Comcast has committed financing available to satisfy the full cash consideration payable to Sky shareholders under the terms of the acquisition. Comcast has received all required regulatory approvals to complete the acquisition.

05:15 EDT Roche announces global availability of blood-based genomic profiling test - Roche announced the global availability of FoundationOne Liquid, a liquid biopsy test. FoundationOne Liquid can identify circulating tumour DNA in the blood of people living with cancer and can identify 70 of the most commonly mutated genes in solid tumours, including microsatellite instability, a genomic signature which may help inform cancer immunotherapy based treatment decisions. From a single blood sample, the liquid biopsy offers a quick and convenient option for some patients with solid tumours.

05:09 EDT 21st Century Fox considering options for 39% stake in Sky - 21st Century Fox (FOXA) announced that auction process announced by the Panel in respect of Sky (SKYAY) between Fox and Comcast (CMCSA) was concluded. Under the terms of 21st Century Fox's revised cash offer for the fully diluted share capital of Sky which Fox and its affiliates do not already, Sky shareholders will be entitled to receive for each Sky share GBP 15.67 in cash. Comcast's offer was increased to a price of GBP 17.28 per Sky share and has been recommended by the Independent Committee of Sky, Fox points out. The company added that it is "considering its options" regarding its own 39% shareholding in Sky and "will make a further announcement in due course." Fox and Disney (DIS) have entered into a replacement Consent and Reimbursement Agreement, pursuant to which Disney has consented to the increased indebtedness that would be incurred by Fox as a result of the revised offer and agreed to reimburse Fox an amount equal to the difference between the price per Sky share of the revised offer and GBP 13.00 for each Sky share purchased by Fox pursuant to the revised offer which applies if the Disney transaction does not complete due to the failure to obtain regulatory approval.

04:57 EDT Barrick acquires Randgold in all-stock deal, sees 'industry-leading' company - Barrick Gold (ABX) announced that it has reached agreement on the terms of a recommended share-for-share merger of Barrick and Randgold Resources Limited (GOLD). The merger is subject to approval by both sets of shareholders, regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. It is intended that the merger will be implemented by means of a court-sanctioned scheme of arrangement of Randgold Resources and the Randgold shareholders under Article 125 of the companies Law 1991, with the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Randgold being acquired by Barrick. Under the terms of the merger, each Randgold shareholder will receive 6.1280 new Barrick shares for each Randgold share. Following completion of the merger, Barrick shareholders will own approximately 66.6% and Randgold shareholders will own approximately 33.4% of the new Barrick Group on a fully-diluted basis. The company said, "The Merger will create an industry-leading gold company with the greatest concentration of Tier One Gold Assets in the industry, led by a proven management team of owners. Superior operating metrics, including the highest Adjusted EBITDA margin and the lowest total cash cost position among Senior Gold Peers, will support sustainable investment in growth and shareholder returns." The merger is expected to close by Q1 2019. Following completion of the merger: John Thornton, Executive Chairman of Barrick, will become Executive Chairman of the New Barrick Group; Mark Bristow, Chief Executive Officer of Randgold, will become President and Chief Executive Officer of the new Barrick Group; Graham Shuttleworth, Finance Director and Chief Financial Officer of Randgold, will become Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the new Barrick Group; Kevin Thomson, Senior Executive Vice President, Strategic Matters of Barrick, will become Senior Executive Vice President, Strategic Matters of the new Barrick Group; Two-thirds of the directors of the board of the new Barrick Group will be nominated by Barrick, and one-third will be nominated by Randgold.