Stockwinners Market Radar for October 11, 2018 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

19:19 EDT Fly Intel: After Hours Movers - HIGHER: Corium International (CORI) up 50.4% after being acquired by Gurnet Point... Tetraphase (TTPH) up 13.0% after U.S. commercial launch of Xerava... Abeona Therapeutics (ABEO) up 6.9% after being initiated at Buy at Mizuho... Foamix Pharma (FOMX) up 5.4% after being initiated with Overweight at Cantor Fitzgerald... Progenics (PGNX) up 4.5% after advancing I-131 1095 prostate cancer treatment to Phase 2... Iovance Biotherapeutics (IOVA) up 3.3% after providing clinical update on C144-01 and C-145-04... AbbVie (ABBV) up 1.7% after settling Humira patent dispute with Sandoz. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: EXFO (EXFO) down 15.7%.

17:40 EDT Trevena trading resumes

17:27 EDT Oaktree Optical reports 12.1% stake in Infinera

17:22 EDT McEwen Mining reports Q3 gold production 43,742 gold equivalent oz. - McEwen Mining reports Q3 consolidated production of 33,806 gold ounces and 745,172 silver ounces, or 43,742 gold equivalent ounces,. Consolidated production for the nine months ended Sept. 30 was 135,344 GEOs, which is 48% higher than the comparable period in 2017. At the Gold Bar Mine, Nevada, construction is advancing on schedule for completion by the end of 2018, targeting production in 1Q19. During the first three years of operation beginning with 2019, Gold Bar is projected to produce 55,000, 74,000 and 68,000 ounces of gold respectively. Black Fox produced 11,618 GEOs in Q3, and 37,751 GEOs year to date, in line with FY production guidance for 2018 of 48,000 GEOs. At the San Jose Mine, Argentina, production is in line with full year guidance for 2018 of 91,000 GEOs. Q3 attributable production from San Jose was 11,768 gold ounces and 743,100 silver ounces, for a total of 21,676 GEOs. At El Gallo Project, Mexico, production has exceeded full year production guidance for 2018 of 32,000 GEOs.

17:14 EDT Aecom awarded share in $120M Army contract for architect-engineer services - Aecom, Black & Veatch and Ecology and Environment will share in a $120M cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price contract for multiple environmental government acquisition unrestricted architect-engineer services. Bids were solicited via the internet with 11 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of October 10, 2023. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is the contracting activity.

17:10 EDT Leidos to share in $25T Army contract - Leidos will share in a $25T cost, cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price contract for worldwide logistics support services. Bids were solicited via the internet with 10 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of October 11, 2028. U.S. Army Contracting Command is the contracting activity.

17:06 EDT Trevena announces negative outcome of AADPAC meeting on oliceridine - Trevena announced the outcome of the meeting of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Anesthetic and Analgesic Drug Products Advisory Committee, or AADPAC to review and discuss oliceridine. At the meeting, the Advisory Committee voted 8 against, and 7 in favor of, the approval of oliceridine for the management of moderate to severe acute pain in adult patients for whom an intravenous opioid is warranted. The Advisory Committee reviewed data from oliceridine's full clinical development program with a focus on the Phase 3 APOLLO 1 and APOLLO 2 efficacy studies, as well as the Phase 3 ATHENA open-label safety study that was intended to emulate real world use of oliceridine in a broad spectrum of surgical and medical acute pain conditions. In controlled clinical trials, oliceridine demonstrated efficacy compared to placebo along with a safety and tolerability profile consistent with the class. Trevena's New Drug Application submission for oliceridine was accepted for review by the FDA on January 2, 2018 with a Prescription Drug User Fee Act target date for completion of review by the FDA of November 2, 2018. The FDA is not bound by the Advisory Committee's recommendations but takes its advice into consideration when making its decision.

16:53 EDT Immune Design to focus on development of G100 - Immune Design announced program updates for its G100 intratumoral TLR4 agonist and CMB305 cancer vaccine programs in development for the treatment of cancer.The company has completed a portfolio review and determined that, given advances in G100 and its broad potential, new CMB305 data, and existing capital, it should focus on accelerating and expanding the development of G100. "Finally, the company plans to evaluate the safety and efficacy of G100 in solid tumors, initially through supporting investigator-sponsored studies." Based on a recent review of the CMB305 program, including an early analysis of the ongoing Phase 2 study that showed the combination of CMB305 and Tecentriq is not likely to show a survival benefit in relapsed synovial sarcoma patients, the company has decided to discontinue the SYNOVATE trial. Immune Design will seek external collaborations to explore the continued development of CMB305 in sarcoma. This portfolio prioritization and an associated company re-structuring extends Immune Design's cash runway into 2021, which enables significant potential value creation from the focus on, and expanded development of, G100. "

16:47 EDT Ouray Capital Management reports 5.2% passive stake in Red Lion Hotels

16:41 EDT Angi Homeservices to acquire Handy Technologies, terms not stated - ANGI Homeservices announced it has agreed to acquire New York-based Handy Technologies, Inc., an on-demand platform and gig marketplace connecting people looking for household services with independent, pre-screened professionals at a fixed price. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Handy Co-Founder and CEO Oisin Hanrahan and COO and Co-Founder Umang Dua will remain with Handy in their current roles and continue to be based out of Handy's New York City location. The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval, is expected to close later this month.

16:39 EDT PolyOne increases quarterly dividend 11% - The board of PolyOne Corporation has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 19.5c per share on the common stock outstanding, representing an 11% increase to the quarterly cash dividend. The 19.5c per share will be paid on January 9, 2019 to stockholders of record on December 14, 2018. On an annualized basis, the dividend will increase to 78c per share from 70c per share on the common stock outstanding.

16:35 EDT Corium trading resumes

16:34 EDT SunLink Health Systems sells medical building for $935,000 in net proceeds - SunLink Health Systems announced the sale of a medical office building and approximately two adjacent acres of undeveloped land in Dahlonega, Georgia. After expenses, the company expects net proceeds from the sale of approximately $935,000, which will be retained for working capital and general corporate purposes. The company expects to recognize a pre-tax gain on the sale of approximately $452,000.

16:32 EDT VSE Corp. reports $46.3M in new awards in September - VSE Corporation reported several new awards in September to the Federal Services Group totaling approximately $46.3M. The awards include several delivery orders to provide services under its Foreign Military Sales support contract by the Naval Sea Systems Command International Fleet Support Program Office. VSE will provide maritime program support to four allied countries. The combined funded value for all delivery orders is approximately $40.8M. Awards also include task orders to provide the Department of Justice with various maritime logistics support services. The combined funded value for the DOJ International Asset Recovery Support Services Time & Materials task orders is approximately $5.5M over a twelve month period of performance.

16:31 EDT Wynn Resorts enters U.S. sports betting partnership with BetBull Limited - Wynn Resorts announced that it has entered into a strategic partnership with BetBull Limited, a Europe-based digital sports betting operator, to pursue sports betting opportunities in the emerging U.S. market. The strategic partnership will position both parties to capitalize on the developing U.S. opportunity by combining Wynn Resort's nationally recognized brand with BetBull's digital sports betting operations capabilities and technology. In conjunction with the formation of the strategic partnership, Wynn Resorts will make a minority equity investment in BetBull. Wynn Resorts will own 22.5% of BetBull on a fully-diluted basis upon closing of the investment which will occur in due course subject to customary closing conditions.

16:29 EDT Birch Grove Capital reports 5.6% passive stake in Independence Contract Drilling

16:20 EDT Crestview Partners reports 13.8% passive stake in Northern Oil and Gas

16:18 EDT Iovance reports 27% objective response rate in study of cervical carcinoma - Iovance Biotherapeutics said that enrollment continues in other Iovance studies. Patient dosing in Europe was initiated in the C-145-04 study of cervical carcinoma. The study design is based on Simon's two-stage design. Stage one has now been completed and enrollment in the study continues, the company said. To date, preliminary data for 15 patients yields an objective response rate of 27% with an early look at the duration of response ranging from 2.4 to 2.5+ months. In the C-145-03 study of head and neck cancer, to date, preliminary data for 13 patients yields an ORR of 31% with a DOR ranging from 2.8 to 7.6 months. "The safety findings from these studies remain consistent with previous reports," Iovance noted.

16:17 EDT Barings BDC raises quarterly dividend to 10c per share - Barings BDC announced that its board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 10c per share. This represents a 7c increase from the third quarter dividend of 2018 and a dividend yield of approximately 4%. Record date is December 14, 2018 with payment date of December 21, 2018.

16:15 EDT Iovance reports objective response rate of 37% in Cohort 2 of C-144-01 trial - Iovance Biotherapeutics reported that data from 46 patients of Cohort 2 of trial C-144-01 will be provided at SITC 2018. For these 46 patients, an objective response rate of 37% has been observed in the cohort, with duration of response ranging from 1.3+ to 14+ months depending on time of enrollment. The ORR includes one complete response and 16 partial responses, six of which are unconfirmed and pending patient's upcoming second assessments. Enrollment in the global Phase 2 metastatic melanoma study, C-144-01, has reached the predefined sample size. Enrollment into the existing Cohort 2 will be closed and a new Cohort 4 will be initiated in early 2019. The company plans on initiating enrollment into Cohort 4 in early 2019 and expects to fully enroll the necessary patients into Cohort 4 by late 2019/early 2020.

16:09 EDT Gurnet Point buys Corium for $12.50 per share in $504M deal - Corium International announced that it has entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Gurnet Point Capital, a private investment firm focused on the healthcare and life sciences sectors, will acquire Corium. The transaction is structured as a tender offer followed immediately by a merger. Corium's board of directors has unanimously approved the transaction. Under the terms of the merger agreement, GPC will pay $12.50 per share in cash upon the closing.The agreement also provides for a Contingent Value Right of 50c per share that is payable based on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's approval of Corium's lead product candidate, Corplex Donepezil, for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, prior to March 31, 2020. Including the CVR payment, the transaction is valued at up to $504M. The total offer amount, including the CVR amount, represents a 42% premium over the 30-day volume-weighted average price of Corium's common stock. The $12.50 per share closing amount represents a 50% premium over the closing price on October 10, 2018. Following the transaction, which is expected to close by the end of 2018, Corium will also offer to repurchase all of its $120 million in convertible notes."After an extensive evaluation of potential partnering opportunities, we concluded that the value and certainty provided in the proposed transaction is in the best interests of Corium's shareholders, and provides Corium with the financial and other resources needed to bring Corplex Donepezil through regulatory approval and commercialization," said Peter Staple, President and Chief Executive Officer of Corium. "Our management, R&D and product manufacturing teams look forward to working with GPC as we prepare to submit our regulatory application for Corplex Donepezil, and extend our leadership position in developing new transdermal products that address significant patient need."

16:06 EDT PGT Innovations names John Engelstad as new CIO - PGT Innovations recently appointed John Engelstad to the position of Chief Information Officer. With more than 15 years of experience, Engelstad is a seasoned technology executive with demonstrated expertise leading all facets of information technology teams. In his new senior-level role, he will set the objectives and strategies for the I.T. department, oversee the selection and implementation of new technology to streamline internal operations, and identify technological opportunities to improve the customer experience across all brands for PGT Innovations. Most recently, Engelstad served as the Chief Information Officer for Western Window Systems, which was acquired by PGT Innovations in August 2018. In his role, he oversaw the development and implementation of the company's technology strategy and programs, including CustomView, Western Window Systems' online quoting and manufacturing resource planning system. His team was also responsible for central I.T. infrastructure, applications and information security.

16:06 EDT Mesabi Trust raises current distribution to 94c per unit from 64c - The Trustees of Mesabi Trust declared a distribution of 94c per Unit of Beneficial Interest payable on November 20, 2018 to Mesabi Trust Unitholders of record at the close of business on October 30, 2018. This compares to a distribution of 64c per Unit for the same period last year. The 30c per Unit increase in the current distribution, as compared to the distribution announced by the Trust at the same time last year, is primarily attributable to higher average iron ore sales prices during the six months period ended June 30, 2018 compared to the same period of 2017, and to the Trust's receipt of total royalty payments of $13,058,856 on July 27, 2018 from Cliffs Northshore Mining Company, which was higher than the total royalty payments of $8,356,736 received by the Trust from Cliffs Northshore Mining Company in July 2017.

16:04 EDT Tetraphase announces U.S. commercial launch of Xerava - Tetraphase Pharmaceuticals announced the U.S. commercial launch of Xerava for the treatment of complicated intra-abdominal infections, or cIAI. The wholesale acquisition cost of Xerava will be $175 per day of therapy to support the company's strategy of having Xerava used for the empiric treatment of cIAI.

16:02 EDT HealthCor Management reports 5.5% passive stake in Dynavax

15:57 EDT Envision Healthcare trading resumes

15:36 EDT FDA advisors vote 7-8 against supporting approval of Trevena's oliceridine - An advisory committee convened by the FDA voted 7 "Yes" to 8 "No" on the question of if they would recommend approval of the proposed dose of oliceridine for the proposed indication of the management of moderate- to-severe acute pain in adults for whom an intravenous opioid is warranted, according to media reports of the meeting. Trevena announced this morning that Nasdaq has halted trading of the company's common stock ahead of the FDA Anesthetic and Analgesic Drug Products Advisory Committee, or AADPAC, meeting.

15:26 EDT Gilead to present data from NASH, HBV and HCV programs at Liver Meeting - Gilead Sciences announced that data from the company's liver disease research and development programs in nonalcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH, primary sclerosing cholangitis, or PSC, hepatitis B virus, or HBV, infection and hepatitis C virus, or HCV, infection will be presented at The Liver Meeting 2018 from November 9-13. Gilead is advancing multiple investigational compounds for the treatment of advanced fibrosis due to NASH. Data being presented at the meeting further elucidate the potential role and safety profile of three compounds in development. Data will be presented from a Phase 2 trial evaluating the investigational non-steroidal farnesoid X receptor agonist GS-9674 in PSC. GS-9688, an investigational oral selective toll-like receptor 8 agonist, is the subject of several studies to be presented, including first-in-human clinical results and Phase 1b results from evaluation in patients with chronic hepatitis B. Viral hepatitis presentations include studies of Epclusa and Harvoni in difficult to cure HCV populations and data demonstrating the role of Vemlidy in the management of chronic hepatitis B.

15:08 EDT Provention Bio sees results of inflammatory bowel disease trials in 2H19 - In an exclusive interview with The Fly, Provention Bio (PRVB) CEO Ashleigh Palmer discussed some of the company's most important upcoming events: "Among the most important upcoming events for Provention are the top-line results in the second half of next year from our two ongoing inflammatory bowel disease programs, PRV-6527 for Crohn's disease and PRV-300 for ulcerative colitis. Also, next year, the commencement of enrollment in our Phase 3 PRV-031 trial in new onset type 1 diabetes patients and our Phase a1b/2a PRV-3279 trial in lupus and lupus nephritis." "Meet the Company" is The Fly's recurring series of exclusive short interviews with Executive Officers to offer a deeper look inside the company.

14:52 EDT Stamps.com rises as USPS seeks record price hike amid Trump criticism - Shares of Stamps.com (STMP) are on the rise after the U.S. Postal Service proposed the biggest price jump on stamps in its history. Facing pressure from President Trump and his administration, USPS is looking to raise the price of 1-oz. letters to 55c from 50c. If approved by regulators, the Postal Service is said to plan to also increase the shipping service cost used by Amazon (AMZN) by 9%-12%, just months after President Donald Trump criticized USPS for giving too good of a deal to the e-commerce giant. NEW PRICES FOR 2019: In a statement published on its website, the USPS said it filed notice with the Postal Regulatory Commission of price changes to take effect January 27, 2019. The proposed prices, approved by the Governors of the Postal Service, would raise Mailing Services product prices approximately 2.5%. Shipping Services price increases vary by product. For example, Priority Mail Express will increase 3.9% and Priority Mail will increase 5.9%. "Although Mailing Services price increases are based on the Consumer Price Index, Shipping Services prices are primarily adjusted according to market conditions. The Governors believe these new rates will keep the Postal Service competitive while providing the agency with needed revenue. First-Class Package Service, a lightweight expedited offering used primarily by businesses for fulfillment purposes, will move to zone-based pricing to better align with the cost of service and improve value based on distance. The Postal Service has some of the lowest letter mail postage rates in the industrialized world and also continues to offer a great value in shipping. Unlike some other shippers, the Postal Service does not add surcharges for fuel, residential delivery, or regular Saturday or holiday season delivery," the company said. WHAT'S NOTABLE: Back in April, President Trump issued an executive order to examine the USPS, claiming that it was on an "unsustainable financial path." Trump also criticized the Postal Service for giving Amazon too good of a deal. "I have stated my concerns with Amazon long before the Election. Unlike others, they pay little or no taxes to state & local governments, use our Postal System as their Delivery Boy (causing tremendous loss to the U.S.), and are putting many thousands of retailers out of business," he wrote in a tweet earlier this year. A USPS spokesperson told CNBC, however, that the Postal Office's proposed changes are not a response to Trump's criticism. PRICE ACTION: In a down day for the broader market, shares of Stamps.com have jumped over 4.5% to $211.98.

14:32 EDT Provention's Palmer sees prevention approach as favorable in regards to pricing - In an exclusive interview with The Fly, Provention Bio (PRVB) CEO Ashleigh Palmer talked about drug pricing as President Trump continues to be very vocal on the healthcare industry: "While specific pricing for each of the therapeutics in Provention's pipeline has yet to be determined, we believe the economics of our approach, to prevent or intercept immune-mediated disease before it is too late, will be favorable when compared with the conventional industry approach of treating symptoms chronically once the full-blown disease and corresponding tissue damage has become established." "Meet the Company" is The Fly's recurring series of exclusive short interviews with Executive Officers to offer a deeper look inside the company. The remainder of this interview to follow.

14:13 EDT Provention CEO says creating new pharmaceutical category for autoimmunity - In an exclusive interview with The Fly, Provention Bio (PRVB) CEO Ashleigh Palmer discussed the company's approach of aiming at intercepting and preventing immune-mediated diseases, and its focus on product candidates that have undergone clinical testing but may have been underdeveloped or deprioritized at other companies: "Provention is creating a new pharmaceutical category for autoimmunity; one in which the therapeutics we are developing interrupt the disease process before it begins, reappears or progresses. Provention carefully selects clinical-stage therapeutic candidates from our partners' pipelines that may have been stalled or under-developed because of budget constraints or competing programs, or mis-targeted at a conventional industry market opportunity due to mindset or commercial prioritization. Provention's strategy is distinct from, and somewhat disruptive to, the conventional industry approach toward autoimmunity, which primarily targets the treatment of established chronic disease, once full-blown symptoms and tissue damage appear. Provention's goal is to reduce the morbidity, mortality, suffering and escalating costs of debilitating diseases such as type 1 diabetes, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's and celiac disease, lupus and lupus nephritis, by preventing, interrupting, slowing or reversing the progression of the underlying immune-mediated disease processes." "Meet the Company" is The Fly's recurring series of exclusive short interviews with Executive Officers to offer a deeper look inside the company. The remainder of this interview to follow.

13:40 EDT Meet Provention: A talk with CEO Ashleigh Palmer - Provention Bio (PRVB) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing novel therapeutics aimed at intercepting and preventing immune-mediated diseases. In an exclusive interview with The Fly, CEO Ashleigh Palmer talked about the company, its pipeline, upcoming events, the current drug pricing environment, and much more. Here are some of the highlights: FOCUS ON UNDERDEVELOPED OR DEPRIORITIZED PRODUCTS: Provention aims to "interrupt the disease process before it begins, reappears or progresses," CEO Ashleigh Palmer said. "Provention's strategy is distinct from, and somewhat disruptive to, the conventional industry approach toward autoimmunity, which primarily targets the treatment of established chronic disease, once full-blown symptoms and tissue damage appear," the executive added. Additionally, the company focuses on product candidates that have undergone clinical testing but may have been "underdeveloped or deprioritized" at other companies. DRUG PRICING: President Trump has been very vocal on drug pricing and the healthcare industry. Noting that pricing for each of the therapeutics in Provention's pipeline has yet to be determined, CEO Palmer pointed out that "the economics of our approach, to prevent or intercept immune-mediated disease before it is too late, will be favorable when compared with the conventional industry approach of treating symptoms chronically once the full-blown disease and corresponding tissue damage has become established." 'ATTRACTIVE' ORPHAN DRUG REVENUE OPPORTUNITY: Provention's most advanced product candidate, PRV-031, is expected to begin a Phase 3 clinical trial for the interception of type 1 diabetes in the second half of 2019. If successful, PRV-031 would be the first ever disease modifying therapy in type 1 diabetes and the first new drug for the disease since recombinant insulin. "This represents for Provention an attractive orphan drug revenue opportunity with life-cycle expansion potential in combination therapy and use in other serious autoimmune diseases," CEO Palmer contended. UPCOMING EVENTS: Looking out over the remainder of the year and into next year, Provention's Palmer sees the top-line results in the second half of 2019 from two ongoing inflammatory bowel disease programs, PRV-6527 for Crohn's disease and PRV-300 for ulcerative colitis, as some of the most import upcoming events for the company. Following the recent IPO back in July, the company expects to have enough capital to continue developing their pipeline over the next two years, he noted. "Meet the Company" is The Fly's recurring series of exclusive short interviews with Executive Officers to offer a deeper look inside the company. A more detailed version of this interview to follow.

13:34 EDT Provention Bio expects results of inflammatory bowel disease trials in 2H19

13:34 EDT Provention's CEO sees prevention approach as favorable in regards to pricing

13:24 EDT Chicago Venture Partners reports 9.99% passive stake in Inpixon

13:04 EDT Loxo Oncology granted orphan status for pancreatic cancer treatment - The FDA granted Loxo Oncology orphans status for its treatment of pancreatic cancer. Reference Link

12:59 EDT Gundlach says 'just not true we've had tremendous wage growth' - Doubleline Capital's Jeffrey Gundlach is speaking on CNBC.

12:56 EDT Gundlach says equities are going lower if rates go higher - Doubleline Capital's Jeffrey Gundlach is speaking on CNBC.

12:50 EDT Gundlach says Fed 'on autopilot,' likely to continue tightening - Doubleline Capital's Jeffrey Gundlach is speaking on CNBC.

12:46 EDT Malvern Bancorp CEO Anthony Weagley buys almost 7K shares of company stock - Malvern Bancorp CEO Anthony Weagley disclosed in a filing that he had purchased 6,665 shares of Malvern Bancorp stock at an average price of $21 per share on October 19. The total transaction value of the purchase was $139,965.

12:25 EDT Pyxus jumps after Citron puts $65 short-term price target on shares - Pyxus (PYX) is the greatest beneficiary of yesterday's report that Altria Group (MO) is in talks to buy a stake in cannabis producer Aphria (APHQF), Citron Research writes in a new report posted on its website. Assuming Pyxus' legacy tobacco business is worth $500M, its cannabis opportunity is only valued at about $150M, according to Citron. "Given yesterday's news, this makes the risk/reward for Pyxus very compelling especially as Altria gets involved with Aphria formally at a $5 billion valuation or you can instead by this call option in Pyxus," writes Citron. The firm, best known for its short positions, put a $65 short-term price on the stock. Shares of Pyxus are up 14%, or $5.69, to $45.74 in midday trading. Reference Link

12:02 EDT CBS names Dana McClintock Chief Communications Officer - Dana McClintock will become EVP, Chief Communications Officer, CBS Corporation, it was announced by Joe Ianniello, President and Acting CEO, CBS Corporation. McClintock, who previously served as the Company's Executive Vice President of Communications, succeeds Gil Schwartz, who recently announced he would be retiring. McClintock's appointment will be effective on Schwartz's last day, Nov. 1. "Handing the reins from Gil to Dana will be a natural transition," said Ianniello. "I have been relying on Dana's expertise for many years now, and I am extremely pleased to have him as a senior member of my management team. I am confident that he and the very strong bench we have in CBS Communications will continue to operate at the top of their field."

12:00 EDT Square falls -12.0% - Square is down -12.0%, or -$9.31 to $68.14.

12:00 EDT Sibanye Gold rises 10.1% - Sibanye Gold is up 10.1%, or 28c to $3.06.

12:00 EDT Murphy Oil rises 10.4% - Murphy Oil is up 10.4%, or $3.31 to $35.08.

11:50 EDT Thor Industries increases quarterly dividend 5% to 39c per share - Thor Industries announced that its Board of Directors approved, at their October 11, meeting, an increase in the amount of Thor's regular quarterly dividend to 39c per share from 37c per share, an increase of 5%. The regular dividend is payable on November 9 to shareholders of record at the close of business on October 25.

11:05 EDT Southern reports 175,000 without power in Georgia following Hurricane Michael - As Hurricane Michael clears Georgia, Georgia Power begins its first day of full-scale damage assessment Thursday, parent Southern Company announced. "There has been significant damage due to high winds, heavy rain and fallen trees in the hardest hit areas including Albany, Americus, Bainbridge, Macon, Valdosta, Vidalia and other areas leaving nearly 175,000 customers without power. Damage assessment marks the first phase of the restoration process and Georgia Power has crews in the field assessing damage to begin the restoration process, followed by repair crews," the company stated.

11:03 EDT GameStop to hire over 15,000 associates this holiday - GameStop revealed its plan to hire more than 15,000 seasonal associates nationwide as the company prepares for the 2018 holiday shopping season. To manage the anticipated increase in consumer spending this holiday season, the company is currently recruiting for more than 15,000 retail sales positions within its more than 3,800 GameStop video game and more than 40 ThinkGeek pop culture U.S. store locations. In addition to the retail sales roles, the company also is recruiting for more than 400 warehouse positions within its two distribution centers based in Grapevine, Texas, and Louisville, Kentucky. Seasonal jobs will begin Oct. 21 to Jan. 8, with many seasonal hires becoming permanent associates. Each position will offer part-time, flexible work schedules during the week that include the potential for up to 10-25 hours of work weeknights, weekends and days. In addition, all seasonal associates will receive a 15 percent discount on select merchandise purchases at GameStop, as well as its Spring Mobile, Simply Mac and ThinkGeek stores and online.

11:02 EDT Motorola Solutions, LexiNexis Risk Solutions announce strategic partnership - Motorola Solutions announced an exclusive partnership with the government division of LexisNexis Risk Solutions. The partnership will bring LexisNexis Risk Solutions data and analytics into Motorola Solutions' public safety software platform, enabling users to better focus investigations, detect patterns, anticipate events and deploy resources more efficiently. Bringing LexisNexis Risk Solutions data into the public safety workflow will accelerate the process of gathering public information to support incidents and investigations, which today can be a manual process involving multiple databases and disconnected information. The partnership will allow public safety users to quickly discover, visualize and use connections between pieces of data. The joint solution is expected to be available in the U.S. as part of Motorola Solutions' public safety software suite in early 2019.

10:48 EDT Fortuna Silver Mines reports overflow in contingency pond at San Jose Mine - Fortuna Silver Mines reports that in the early morning of October 8, abnormally high rainfall caused a contingency pond to overflow at the dry stack tailings facility at the San Jose mine located in Oaxaca, Mexico. The overflow occurred for about two hours at approximately 4:00 am and resulted in the spill of approximately 1,500 cubic meters of water carrying sediment and minor amounts of fine tailings from the facility's drainage system into the nearby Coyote Creek. "The company wants to emphasize that no industrial process water was discharged in this incident and that the San Jose operation uses a cyanide-free process to produce concentrate," Fortuna stated in its press release. The company is mitigating the risk of future overflows by immediately increasing its pumping capacity at the contingency pond. No damage has occurred to the tailings dam or to the dry stack infrastructure and both are fully operational. Officials at the Procuraduria Federal de Proteccion al Ambiente, or PROFEPA, were notified of the overflow on the day of the incident. The company is currently working with federal, state and local authorities as they conduct inspections of facilities at San Jose and the Coyote Creek, Fortuna noted.

10:36 EDT 'Failing' New York Times gets price target boost as 'Trump bump' seen continuing - Shares of New York Times (NYT) are on the rise after JPMorgan analyst Alexia Quadrani raised her price target on the stock to $32, citing ongoing digital subscriber growth as the "Trump bump continues." Since taking office, President Donald Trump has been very critical of the New York Times and many of its media peers, frequently using the term "fake news" to deride their reporting. DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER GROWTH: In a research note to investors this morning, JPMorgan's Quadrani raised her price target for New York Times to $32 from $27 and reiterated an Overweight rating on the shares ahead of the company's third quarter results. The analyst argued that while quarterly subscriber growth may continue to be volatile, influenced by the timing of marketing campaigns and uneven news cycles, she believes the longer-term trends are positive and expects growth to remain at elevated levels for the foreseeable future. Looking at results for the second half of the year, Quadrani projects a ramp in digital subscriber growth in part driven by the Kavanaugh hearings, Trump tax stories, and midterm elections. Additionally, the analyst noted that she believes churn remains relatively low. As attention moves further onto 2019, the financial benefits of the building repurchase will become more of a focus, creating another possible catalyst for the shares. The stock has always been a challenge to value given a historic warranted premium to other newspaper stocks due to its national presence and brand value, she acknowledged, adding that newspaper peers are even less relevant now as 36% of The New York Times revenues and all of its growth comes from an unmatched digital business. She looks for the multiple to further migrate to more similar digital comps over time. 'FAILING' NEW YORK TIMES: Earlier this month, President Trump criticized a New York Times investigation into his and his family's use of "dubious tax schemes" over the years and the origins of his own wealth, calling the article an "old, boring and often told hit piece." In a tweet, the President said "The Failing New York Times did something I have never seen done before. They used the concept of "time value of money" in doing a very old, boring and often told hit piece on me. Added up, this means that 97% of their stories on me are bad. Never recovered from bad election call!" This is not the first time Trump calls the publication "failing New York times." Denouncing what he referred to as a "gutless editorial" posted by the New York Times last month, in which an unnamed administration official alleged that advisers to the President were intentionally attempting to thwart this misguided impulse from the inside, Trump tweeted: "Does the so-called "Senior Administration Official" really exist, or is it just the Failing New York Times with another phony source? If the GUTLESS anonymous person does indeed exist, the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to government at once!" PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, shares of New York Times have gained about 1.5% to $25.17.

10:32 EDT Dropbox, Zoom announce strategic partnership to expand remote collaboration - Dropbox and Zoom Video Communications announced a strategic partnership to expand remote collaboration for teams and users. The two companies will develop a series of cross-platform features that facilitate real-time communication around shared Dropbox content, making teamwork more effective. Additionally, Dropbox will make a strategic investment in Zoom to support both companies' development of deeply integrated product experiences that help customers stay in sync. The partnership also supports customer discovery and adoption of each others' products, as both companies will initially deliver two unique integrations, available for all users, on Dropbox and Zoom surfaces. These capabilities will make the right content more accessible, save time, and help meetings become more effective: Within Dropbox, users will have the option to initiate or join a Zoom Meeting while viewing and working on shared content. This new integration will be built into the existing Dropbox viewer info feature, which shows who is accessing shared files or folders, enabling users to stay in sync with teammates and collaborators. With Zoom features integrated into Dropbox, users can seamlessly communicate, discuss content in real-time, and move projects forward. During a Zoom Meeting, users will be able to share content such as documents, slides, and images from Dropbox and display them on-screen. Accessed content can be saved back to Dropbox from the on-screen display. For example, while a conversation occurs within a video call, Zoom users can reference shared content saved in Dropbox and easily communicate real-time changes that need to be made as it is being presented. These integrations are expected to be available starting in the first half of 2019.

10:21 EDT Origin Agritech announces two new JVs for Origin ecommerce network - Origin Agritech announced the establishment of two new joint ventures: Anhui Aoyu Zhongye Technology Ltd. in Anhui province and Xuzhou Aoyu Agricultural Technology Ltd. in Jiangsu province. Origin holds 50% of equity in Anhui Aoyu and 51% of equity in Xuzhou Aoyu. Five agricultural product distributors are the investing partners in each of these two JVs. The establishment of these two joint ventures, along with the Hubei Aoyu Agricultural Technology Limited announced previously are the cornerstone of the Origin e-Commune Network, which is based on the e-commerce technologies and Origin's strong brand equity across rural China. Origin commented, "The successful development of these three joint ventures demonstrated the acceptance of the major distributors toward revolutionary e-commune network philosophy in providing integrated and customized technology solution to the farmers across China."

10:03 EDT Amgen granted orphan status for multiple myeloma treatment - The FDA granted Amgen orphan status for its treatment of multiple myeloma. Reference Link

10:00 EDT Fortuna Silver Mines falls -16.0% - Fortuna Silver Mines is down -16.0%, or -68c to $3.58.

10:00 EDT Fluor falls -11.7% - Fluor is down -11.7%, or -$6.60 to $49.62.

10:00 EDT L Brands rises 12.1% - L Brands is up 12.1%, or $3.44 to $31.96.

10:00 EDT Vital Therapies trading resumes

09:47 EDT Square falls -4.9% - Square is down -4.9%, or -$3.77 to $73.68.

09:47 EDT Fluor falls -14.5% - Fluor is down -14.5%, or -$8.15 to $48.07.

09:47 EDT L Brands rises 8.0% - L Brands is up 8.0%, or $2.28 to $30.80.

09:31 EDT Vital Therapies retains financial advisor to explore strategic opportunities - Vital Therapies announced updates on the company's ongoing strategy to preserve its cash and maximize shareholder value. To further that objective, the company has retained Ladenburg Thalmann & Co as its strategic financial advisor to assist in the review of the company's business and assets and exploration of strategic opportunities for enhancing stockholder value, including the potential sale or merger of the company. The company cannot guarantee that this process will culminate in a transaction. As reported last month, the company's VTL-308 study of ELAD in the treatment of severe alcoholic hepatitis failed to meet either its primary or secondary endpoints, and that the Company was ceasing any further development of the ELAD System and would explore strategic options. In an effort to preserve cash while the company assesses its options, the company underwent a reduction in force of approximately 80% of its workforce and will continue to evaluate the need for its remaining personnel throughout this process. In furtherance of the goal to conserve cash, the board has now also reduced its size from nine to four members.

09:29 EDT Nordic American Tankers CEO says tanker market up strongly - Nordic American Tankers Chairman and CEO Herbjorn Hansson said: "Recently, the tanker industry has suffered from deteriorating earnings, lower dividends and stock prices. We are happy to inform our friends that the spot market for our ships now has tripled from just a few months back, and doubled just from 10 days ago. That's good for all of us... If spot markets increase another 25% and stays there for 12 months, we could earn 25% of our market cap in a year. Spot market earnings are volatile, but volatility is usually a sign of an improved underlying market balance and we have been firm believers in a market turnaround this year."

09:19 EDT Vital Therapies trading halted, news pending

09:13 EDT Lowe's increases 2018 hurricane relief to $4M - Lowe's pledged $2M in disaster relief support for associates, customers and communities impacted by Hurricane Michael's devastation in the Gulf Coast states, increasing the company's 2018 hurricane aid to $4M. Lowe's will work with nonprofit partners and government agencies to deploy the additional $2M committed to short-term relief and long-term recovery needs in the wake of Hurricane Michael. Lowe's has immediately donated $250K to the American Red Cross for disaster relief efforts.

09:07 EDT SolarEdge to acquire Kokam - SolarEdge Technologies announced that it has entered into definitive agreements to acquire a major stake in Kokam. Headquartered in South Korea, Kokam is a provider of Lithium-ion battery cells, batteries and energy storage solutions. Founded in 1989, Kokam has been manufacturing Lithium-ion cells and providing reliable, safe, high-performance battery solutions for the past twenty-nine years. Kokam provides battery solutions for a wide-variety of industries, including ESS, UPS, electric vehicles, aerospace, marine and more. The acquisition of approximately 75% of outstanding equity shares of Kokam reflects an aggregate investment of approximately $88M, including related transaction expenses. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the coming weeks. Over time, the company intends to purchase the remaining outstanding equity shares of Kokam that are currently listed on the Korean over the counter exchange through open-market purchases and otherwise, eventually resulting in Kokam becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of SolarEdge.

09:05 EDT Boise Cascade reaches agreement to acquire Arling Lumber - Boise Cascade announced an agreement to acquire Arling Lumber, Inc., headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. Arling is a third generation, family-owned and operated wholesale distributor of top quality lumber as well as plywood, OSB and engineered wood products. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. The acquisition is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter.

09:04 EDT Fortinet added to S&P 500 - Fortinet announced that Standard & Poor's has added Fortinet to the S&P 500 Index just prior to the market open.

09:01 EDT Comtech announces contract renewal of about $6.8M - Comtech Telecommunications announced that during its first quarter of fiscal 2019, its Enterprise Technology group, which is part of Comtech's Commercial Solutions segment, has received a contract renewal to provide a GPS-enabled application to a key Fortune 100 customer. This contract renewal is for approximately $6.8 million, extending the relationship for a one-year period.

08:58 EDT Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: Crispr Therapeutics (CRSP), up 12% after after announcing the FDA lifted its hold on CTX0016... Compugen (CGEN), up 20% after announcing a collaboration with Bristol-Meyers (BMY) to evaluate a combination for solid tumors... Energy XXI Gulf Coast (EGC), up 5% after extending a merger closing date with Cox Oil affiliates... TransEnterix (TRXC), up 13% after receiving FDA 510(k) clearance for 3mm diameter instruments. UP AFTER EARNINGS: Delta (DAL), up 3.6%. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), down 5%. ALSO LOWER: Fluor (FLR), down 12% after Q3 revenue guidance trailed consensus... Atomera (ATOM), down 20% after announcing a common stock offering... Square (SQ), down 7% after news that its CFO is leaving to become CEO at another company...Audentes Therapeutics (BOLD), down 4% after its 5.2M share secondary offering priced at $29.00 per share.

08:51 EDT ADMA Biologics: FDA establishes target action date of Dec. 18 for Bivigam PAS

08:50 EDT Walgreens Boots Alliance says Q4 pharmacy market share was 22.3% - Says Q4 gross margin due to transition to specialty. Says total retail sales are up 8.3% year-over-year. Says taking action to address UK retail environment. Says Rite Aid integration is going well. Says it aims to complete store optimization program in FY19. Anticipates $650M per annum benefit from store optimization. Comments taken from Q4 earnings conference call.

08:47 EDT Envision Healthcare trading halted, news dissemination

08:42 EDT MTech Acquisition and MJ Freeway announce merger - MTech Acquisition and MJ Freeway, a seed-to-sale technology provider and developer of the cannabis industry's first enterprise resource planning platform, have entered into a definitive merger agreement. Following the consummation, MTech and MJ Freeway will become subsidiaries of a newly-formed holding company to be listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market. Following the closing of the transaction, it is currently anticipated that the combined entity will be debt free and have over $60 M of balance sheet cash to take advantage of strategic growth opportunities. MJ Freeway is a seed-to-sale technology provider, with more than 30% of the global cannabis technology market based on management's estimates. MJ Freeway has tracked more than $10B in sales for its clients in Australia, Europe, South America, New Zealand, Africa, Canada, and the United States. MJ Freeway equityholders will receive new shares of Pubco and MTech security holders will exchange their securities of MTech for securities of Pubco. The shares of Pubco common stock to be issued to the MJ Freeway equity holders will have an aggregate value equal to $70M, with each share of Pubco common stock valued at $10.16 per share. Cash proceeds released from MTech's trust account, which trust account currently has approximately $58 M in cash, will remain with the combined company. MJ Freeway equityholders are rolling 100% of their equity into the combined entity. The transaction is currently anticipated to close by early 2019.

08:36 EDT InterDigital announces Kai Oistamo as COO - InterDigital (IDCC) announced an enhancement of its customer focus and licensing efforts with the addition of Kai Oistamo as COO and Jeffrey Belk as executive VP, business development, and president, InterDigital China. Oistamo and Belk, who have both stepped off the company's board to assume their new roles, will contribute senior executive experience and relationships gained through their respective careers. Their addition to the executive team marks a dramatic expansion of the company's industry relationships and customer-driven experience. Oistamo gained recognition globally as a mobile industry executive worldwide over the course of more than two decades at Nokia (NOK), including nine years on the Nokia leadership team. At Nokia, he led corporate strategy and business development as executive VP, CDO from 2010 until his departure in 2014, with responsibility for strategic partnerships and alliances.

08:36 EDT Revance appoints Tobin Schilke as CFO - Revance Therapeutics announced that it has strengthened its leadership team with the appointment of Tobin Schilke as CFO, effective November 5. He joins Revance from Achaogen, where he was CFO since 2016.

08:34 EDT Resolute Energy continues to evaluate all alternatives available to company - Resolute's Board of Directors, in conjunction with its financial advisors, has continued to monitor the company's competitive positioning in the Permian Basin in light of the improving industry conditions, the strong macroeconomic backdrop and recent transactional activity. As part of its ongoing effort to maximize stockholder value, the Board continues to evaluate all alternatives available to the company, including potential strategic combinations, while the company continues its Delaware Basin drilling program.

08:32 EDT Turtle Beach jumps 16%, or $2.80, to $20 after boosting Q3 outlook

08:30 EDT MTech Acquisition Corporation (Class A Stock) trading halted, news dissemination

08:24 EDT Turtle Beach seeing 'strong increase in demand for gaming headsets' - Speaking on the company's increased guidance, Turtle Beach said, "The momentum we built in the first half of the year continued through the third quarter, further extending our record financial results. The strong increase in demand for gaming headsets that occurred with the rise of the 'battle royale' genre has continued, drawing new gamers into the market, leading veteran gamers to upgrade their gear, and increasing the overall usage rate and installed base of gaming headsets. Exciting launches such as Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 and Red Dead Redemption 2, coming this month, should provide another set of high headset usage games. And given the fact that our surveys show gamers, on average, replace their headsets every 20 to 24 months, which we believe was driving the majority of the core headset market prior to the battle royale phenomenon, we anticipate that the increase in gaming headset users will be reflected in the market size going forward. We also expect to have once-again outpaced the overall market based on increased year-over-year share in Q3, further adding to our revenue and profit. Our product portfolio of great headsets for every level of gamer continues to perform well across the board. According to NPD, year-to-date through August, Turtle Beach sold more console video gaming headsets than any other competitor in any other calendar year since 2006. We expect our strong results to enable us to further reduce debt over time and fuel various long-term growth investments, which we will address on our upcoming third quarter call."

08:13 EDT Northern Technologies partners with Splash for sustainable garment packaging - Splash has partnered with Natur-Tec, a business unit of Northern Technologies, or NTIC , to pioneer a new sustainable biopolymer-based packaging solution in the Middle East and South Asian region. The brand's 80M polybags a year have been replaced with "bioplastics", a biobased and compostable plastic alternative to conventional plastics. The biobased carbon is helping reduce 298 Tons of carbon dioxide emissions a year. At the end of useful life, these eco-friendly bags are safely and completely digested by macro- and micro-organisms in natural composting and soil disposal. This approach reduces the carbon footprint of the company's packaging and provides for an environmentally responsible end-of-life through composting. The company's new approach is in line with the circular economy model and eliminates leakage into the ocean environment and landfills.

08:09 EDT iCAD announces clinical results for DBT cancer detection software - iCAD announced outstanding clinical results of its new, leading-edge digital breast tomosynthesis, or DBT, cancer detection software. The study demonstrated significant positive results for clinical performance and workflow efficiency. The findings confirmed that the latest artificial intelligence, or AI, software solution to support DBT increased improvements in both reader sensitivity and specificity. In addition, when reading tomosynthesis cases with the solution, radiologists' reading times were reduced by more than half. iCAD's concurrent read, cancer detection and workflow solution for breast tomosynthesis delivers benefits to both radiologists and their patients. The new technology is trained to detect malignancies and determine the probability of malignant findings, providing radiologists with a "certainty of finding" score for each case and each detected lesion. These scores represent the algorithm's confidence that the detected soft tissue densities and calcifications are malignant. The solution is pending clearance by the FDA. The company will showcase its latest innovations in cancer detection at The European Society of Breast Imaging.

08:09 EDT Pulse Biosciences initiates clinical feasibility study using NPS platform - Pulse Biosciences announced the initiation of a clinical feasibility study using its novel Nano-Pulse Stimulation, or NPS, platform to treat patients with cutaneous warts. The initiation of this feasibility study reflects the Company's continued efforts to develop a portfolio of dermatologic applications building on the success of recently completed and ongoing clinical studies. Nano-Pulse Stimulation is a novel, precise non-thermal treatment technology delivering nanosecond duration energy pulses that impact cells in treated tissue while sparing surrounding acellular tissue. With its broadly applicable cell-targeting mechanism, NPS disrupts the functions of internal cell structures while maintaining the outer cell membrane. The unique NPS mechanism of action has been shown in previous clinical studies to eliminate treated cells with mild inflammatory response that results in favorable healing and cosmetic outcomes, making NPS well suited for a broad range of skin lesions.

08:08 EDT Walmart, Eko announce strategic entertainment joint venture - Walmart announced a strategic entertainment joint venture with Eko, a developer of interactive video technology. The joint venture includes plans to develop original, interactive content that will enable Walmart to connect with customers in new and more meaningful ways, with the goal of driving deeper and more frequent engagement. The content, which could include a range of offerings, from cooking shows to interactive toy catalogues, will go beyond the basic personalization available today, allowing viewers to participate in and shape stories as they are being told. The result will be an experience unique to each participant, creating more engaged and emotionally-connected audiences. In connection with the joint venture, Walmart has agreed to participate in Eko's next funding round. The joint venture, known as W*E Interactive Ventures, will be led by Eko CEO Yoni Bloch, with input from several industry experts. Tribeca Productions co-founder Jane Rosenthal will serve as strategic advisor. Rosenthal, producer of films such as Meet the Parents, Meet the Fockers, About a Boy, Wag the Dog and the upcoming Scorsese film The Irishman, helps create a bridge for both established and emerging artists looking for an outlet for their work. Nancy Tellem, chief media officer and executive chairwoman of Eko, will serve on the board of the joint venture.

08:07 EDT QAD Inc partners with YASH Technologies - QAD Inc. announced it has signed a system integrator agreement with YASH Technologies, a leading global consulting, technology and outsourcing company, to provide functional consulting and implementation globally.

08:05 EDT Spero Therapeutics receives QIDP designation for SPR206 from FDA - Spero Therapeutics announced that SPR206, a product candidate within Spero's potentiator platform, has been granted qualified infectious disease product, or QIDP, designation by the FDA for the treatment of complicated urinary tract infections, or cUTI, and hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia. SPR206 is designed as a single agent to treat multidrug resistant and extensively drug-resistant bacterial strains, including carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Enterobacteriaceae, for which there is a significant unmet medical need. Based on promising results from preclinical toxicology studies for SPR206, Spero plans to initiate a Phase 1 clinical trial to assess the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of SPR206 in 2019. The QIDP designation was created by the Generating Antibiotic Incentives Now, or GAIN, Act and creates incentives for the development of certain antibiotics that treat serious or life-threatening infections. The primary incentives are an additional five-year extension of Hatch-Waxman Act exclusivity, as well as the opportunity for a priority review of the marketing application for SPR206 once submitted and to request fast track designation for SPR206.

08:04 EDT Celanese to acquire India-based Next Polymers, terms not disclosed - Celanese Corporation announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire India-based Next Polymers, one of the country's largest domestic engineering thermoplastics compounders. Next Polymers specializes in custom compounding of various ETP materials and is headquartered in Mumbai, India, with an approximate 20 kilo tons per annum compounding production facility in Silvassa, located in the union territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli. The company has extensive experience in compounding polymers with post-industrial content, an increasingly important capability for Celanese that reinforces our commitment to waste minimization and sustainability. Celanese expects to operate Next Polymer's thermoplastic compounding product portfolio and production capabilities within the Celanese engineered materials business to include the following polymers, all marketed under the Next Polymers Ltd., brand: Nylon 6 and Nylon 66: for automotive, electrical/electronic and consumer applications; Polypropylene: for automotive and electrical/electronic applications; Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene: for automotive and industrial applications; Polycarbonate: for automotive, electrical/electronic and industrial applications; Polymethyl methacrylate: for automotive applications. Celanese expects to complete the transaction early in the first quarter of 2019, pending customary closing conditions. Financial details of the transaction are not being disclosed at this time. Until closing, Celanese and Next Polymers will continue to operate as independent businesses.

08:02 EDT Spherix to merge with CBM BioPharma - Spherix announced that it has entered into a merger agreement with CBM BioPharma that will transform Spherix into an innovative pharmaceutical company with pioneering drugs and treatments focused on the multibillion dollar oncology therapeutics market. CBM is a privately held pharmaceutical company with exclusive drug development rights from world-renowned partners including Wake Forest Innovations and the University of Texas at Austin. CBM has a team of leading drug development scientists who will be joining Spherix as advisors to advance the technology. The CBM platform focuses on the treatment of numerous cancers, including acute myeloid leukemia, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and pancreatic cancer.

07:59 EDT Biogen seeks to improve outcomes for patients with MS - Biogen aims to identify new ways to manage and monitor multiple sclerosis, or MS, disease progression and provide physicians with real-world evidence to help inform treatment decisions. Data show serum neurofilament light, or sNfL, is a potential biomarker of disease activity and treatment response, and results from MS PATHS support the use of technology to broadly monitor for clinically important outcomes, including cognitive changes. New analyses of ongoing studies continue to support the long-term benefits of Tecfidera and Tysabri, particularly when initiating treatment early within the disease course. These findings are being presented at the Congress of the European Committee for Treatment and Research in MS, or ECTRIMS. Biogen is engaged in research to evaluate sNfL, a protein that reflects neuronal damage and is elevated in the blood of people with MS, as a biomarker of disease activity. Results from a retrospective analysis of more than 1,000 patients support the clinical relevance of sNfL levels in the blood to predict disease severity and monitor treatment response in MS patients. Data indicate that sNfL levels above a certain threshold are associated with ongoing disease activity and negative clinical and radiologic outcomes, such as more disability progression and brain atrophy. Researchers also found that introducing disease-modifying therapies significantly reduced sNfL levels, and greater reduction was associated with better treatment outcomes. Biogen is working to transition these results into a potentially valuable resource for clinical practice, and has expanded its collaboration with Siemens Healthineers to develop an sNfL blood test as an additional tool to monitor MS. A highly sensitive, robust and validated assay will allow physicians to measure sNfL levels in the blood of MS patients with the goal of better understanding disease activity and monitoring treatment response. Biogen recognizes the importance of real-world evidence to help guide decisions in clinical practice and optimize patient care. The company continues to evaluate its leading MS therapies, Tecfidera and Tysabri, to better understand the benefits of using these treatments, including when initiated early within the disease and treatment course. Results from the ENDORSE study demonstrate that the clinical benefits of Tecfidera in reducing MS relapses and disability progression in newly diagnosed patients were maintained throughout nine years of continuous Tecfidera treatment, with relapse rates remaining low and more than 90% of patients maintaining walking abilities. An analysis from the Tysabri observational program, the largest ongoing, real-world study of Tysabri-treated patients, reinforces the long-term safety and consistent effectiveness of Tysabri over 10 years, especially for patients with minimal or mild disability and those who were previously treated with fewer disease-modifying therapies.

07:43 EDT L Brands pursuing all alternatives for La Senza business - L Brands announced that it is pursuing all alternatives for its La Senza business. La Senza currently has 126 company-owned and operated stores in North America and 188 non-company owned international stores. Operating results for La Senza are included in the company's other segment for financial reporting. The company estimates that La Senza's FY18 revenues and operating loss will be approximately $250M and $40M, respectively.

07:38 EDT Monro expands tire installation services collaboration with Amazon - Monro (MNRO) announced it has expanded its collaboration with Amazon (AMZN) to provide tire installation services at over 330 additional Monro retail tire and automotive service locations in 10 states across the eastern United States. Initially launched in the greater Baltimore area, these tire installation services are now available to customers who purchase tires from Amazon.com and select the ship-to-store option at nearly 400 locations operating under a number of Monro brands in Georgia, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Tennessee and Virginia. Over the course of the next year, Monro plans to make these services available to Amazon customers at more than 1,170 retail locations across 28 states.

07:35 EDT Pain Therapeutics announces Eric Schoen as CFO - Pain Therapeutics (PTIE) announced that Eric Schoen will join its management team as CFO, effective on or before November 7. Schoen joins the company with over 19 years of finance experience with growth companies. Most recently, he was SVP, finance and CAO of Vermillion (VET). Schoen also spent nine years with PricewaterhouseCoopers in the assurance, transaction services and global capital markets groups.

07:33 EDT Rigel Pharma's MAA for fostamatinib validated by European Medicines Agency - Rigel Pharmaceuticals' Marketing Authorization Application for fostamatinib in adult chronic immune thrombocytopenia has been validated by the European Medicines Agency. The validation was received on October 4 and initiated the MAA review process. The company anticipates a decision from the Committee on Human Medicinal Products by 4Q19. Currently, fostamatinib is commercially available in the U.S. under the brand name Tavalisse.

07:26 EDT Square CFO resignation seen adding uncertainty to story - Shares of payments company Square (SQ) dropped in pre-market trading after the company said its chief financial officer will step down to become the chief executive officer of another company. Following the news, analysts at two firms said they expect increased uncertainty to Square's story. CFO SARAH FRIAR STEPPING DOWN: On Wednesday, Square, which is run by Twitter (TWTR) CEO Jack Dorsey, announced that CFO Sarah Friar will step down in order to become the CEO of Nextdoor, a social network for neighborhoods founded in 2010. Nextdoor's current CEO, Nirav Tolia, announced plans to step down from his role after almost eight years. Dorsey tweeted, saying he is "proud" of Friar, who helped take Square public in 2015. In a memo to employees shared on Twitter, Dorsey said he is "saddened" by the news, adding that "I was unrealistically expecting to be working with Sarah well into our late 90s (swapping the standup tables for rocking chairs). Unrealistic because I knew of Sarah's lifelong ambition to run her own company." Dorsey said Square will search for a new CFO, with that effort being led by board member David Vinar and Roelof Botha. Dorsey also said Square will move Payroll, Customer Success and Business Platform Engineering to Seller, and will move Corporate Development to Counsel "until we hire our CFO." Friar will stay on as CFO into December to ensure a smooth transition, Dorsey said. RESIGNATION ADDS UNCERTAINTY: Mizuho analyst Thomas McCrohan lowered his price target for Square to $90 from $95 after the announcement that Friar will step down, telling investors in a research note that he sees increased uncertainty following the departure of the "well-respected" CFO. The analyst pointed out that he considered Friar as the "key instrumental force that built overall credibility with the investment community." Still, McCrohan believes Square's human capital advantage extends beyond a single person. BTIG analyst Mark Palmer said in a research note of his own that the surprise resignation of Friar adds uncertainty to Square's story that may further weigh on its valuation, as she had been viewed by many observers as serving in a role "more expansive and crucial than that of a typical CFO." Palmer said he continues to believe the stock is overvalued and that Square's increasing dependence on the extension of credit to its customers has made its business model "increasingly vulnerable" to volatility in the credit markets. PRICE ACTION: In pre-market trading, shares of Square are down about 10%.

07:13 EDT Trevena stock halted for FDA's AADPAC meeting to review oliceridine - Trevena announced that Nasdaq has halted trading of the company's common stock. The FDA Anesthetic and Analgesic Drug Products Advisory Committee, or AADPAC, is meeting to review oliceridine, an investigational product developed by Trevena for the management of moderate to severe acute pain in adult patients for whom an intravenous, or IV, opioid is warranted. Trevena's new drug application, or NDA, submission for oliceridine was accepted for review by the FDA on January 2 with a Prescription Drug User Fee Act, or PDUFA, target date for completion of review by the FDA of November 2. The AADPAC reviews and evaluates available data concerning the safety and effectiveness of marketed and investigational human drug products for use in anesthesiology and surgery and makes appropriate recommendations to the FDA. The FDA is not bound by the committees recommendations but takes its advice into consideration when making its decisions.

07:10 EDT Ansys names Prith Banerjee as Chief Technology Officer - ANSYS announced that industry veteran Prith Banerjee is joining the executive team as its chief technology officer. Banerjee will lead the evolution of ANSYS' technology and will champion the company's next phase of innovation and growth.

07:09 EDT Delta Air Lines CEO: 'We are on a path to deliver continued top-line growth' - "Our solid eight percent revenue growth, combined with flat non-fuel unit cost performance, helped offset 85 percent of the $655 million fuel cost increase in the quarter. These achievements are a testament to the strength of the Delta business model and the hard work of the Delta people, and I am pleased to recognize their performance with an additional $395 million toward 2018 profit sharing," said Ed Bastian, Delta's CEO. "Our commercial momentum and improved cost trajectory give us confidence that we are on a path to deliver continued top-line growth and expand margins as we move into 2019."

07:08 EDT DMC Global subsidiary defends patent from Oil States segment - DynaEnergetics, a business of DMC Global (BOOM), announced it has successfully defended itself in an alleged patent infringement case brought by GeoDynamics, the Downhole Technologies segment of Oil States (OIS). This was the third consecutive successful defense by DynaEnergetics of a patent infringement allegation brought by GeoDynamics. The latest GeoDynamics case alleged infringement of U.S. Patent No. 8,220,394 based on DynaEnergetics' sales of its DPEX and HaloFrac shaped charges. Yesterday, a jury in the Marshall Division of the Eastern District of Texas found in favor of DynaEnergetics, and also determined all asserted claims of GeoDynamics' 394 patent are invalid.

07:07 EDT Delta Air Lines reports Q3 TRASM up 4.3% - Total unit revenues excluding refinery sales (TRASM) increased 4.3% during the period driven by strong demand and improving yields. Foreign exchange benefit of approximately half a point was offset by the impact of Hurricane Florence. "We generated record revenues in the September quarter on strong demand across the business and a favorable yield environment. In the December quarter we expect total unit revenue growth of three to five percent, driving full year revenue growth to eight percent, the high end of our guidance," said Glen Hauenstein, Delta's President. "The benefits of our brand, industry-leading network, and relentless focus on the customer are driving revenue growth, improving margins and accelerating the pace of our recapture of higher fuel costs."

07:05 EDT Delta Air Lines sees Q4 pre-tax margin 9%-11% - Sees Q4: Fuel price, including taxes, settled hedges and refinery impact $2.47 - 2.52; Total unit revenue excluding refinery sales (year-over-year) up 3% - 5%; CASM - Excluding fuel and profit sharing (year-over-year) flat - down 1%; System Capacity (year-over-year) up ~4%.

07:04 EDT RingCentral agrees to acquire Dimelo, terms not disclosed - RingCentral announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Dimelo, a leading cloud-based digital customer engagement platform. Dimelo enables enterprises to manage all their digital customer interactions through a single platform. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The acquisition is expected to close in Q4, 2018 and is not estimated to have a material financial impact for the year ending December 31, 2018.

07:04 EDT Wespath, BlackRock collaborate to launch low-carbon economy investment strategy - Wespath Benefits and Investments and BlackRock have launched a new approach to low-carbon investing. The "Transition Ready" strategy seeks to deliver long-term competitive financial returns relative to standard performance benchmarks and directs capital to companies best positioned to facilitate the global transition to a low-carbon economy. The strategy was co-designed by Wespath and BlackRock, and incorporates proprietary data and insights to evaluate a company's transition readiness. Wespath, which invests over $23B on behalf of United Methodist pension participants and institutions, has committed $750M across US domestic and International equity market accounts, replacing a portion of its market cap-weighted index exposures. The strategy was built on the investment conviction that public policies, emerging technologies, and physical impacts associated with concerns about climate change are creating winners and losers across companies, industries and countries, impacting long-term investment performance. Wespath and BlackRock developed a new investment framework and "Transition Readiness" methodology to evaluate a company's core business involvement and natural resource management practices associated with the low-carbon transition. The framework seeks to reflect a company's future preparedness for the transition and considers a variety of measures, including a company's exposure to energy production, carbon efficient technology, energy management, water consumption, and waste production. BlackRock will manage the new Transition Ready investment strategy in separate accounts for Wespath, and will offer the strategy to other BlackRock institutional clients. Wespath's participants and institutional clients will benefit from this strategy by investing in funds managed by Wespath. BlackRock and Wespath plan to focus next on developing enhanced Transition Ready analytics and additional strategies.

06:58 EDT Navidea to present data on Manocept Platform at ACR Annual Meeting - Navidea Biopharmaceuticals will present a poster detailing results from the company's clinical trials assessing Tc 99m tilmanocept in rheumatoid arthritis at the American College of Rheumatology 2018 Annual Meeting, being held October 19-24, 2018 in Chicago, Illinois. Tc 99m tilmanocept is the first product developed and commercialized by the company based on the Manocept platform. The Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical trials enrolled subjects with active, moderate-to-severe RA and healthy controls. Results from the completed clinical trials show that Tc 99m tilmanocept is well-tolerated with no drug-related adverse events observed. Additionally, static planar images of joints in active RA subjects demonstrated significant Tc 99m tilmanocept localization to disease-involved joints of the shoulders, knees, hands, and feet.

06:55 EDT Trevena trading halted, news pending

06:52 EDT The Buckle reports September comparable store net sales down 2.4% y-o-y - The Buckle reported comparable store net sales, for stores open at least one year, for the 5-week period ended October 6, decreased 2.4% from comparable store net sales for the 5-week period ended October 7, 2017. Net sales for the 5-week fiscal month ended October 6, 2018 decreased 3.2 percent to $75.4M from net sales of $77.9M for the prior year 5-week fiscal month ended September 30, 2017.

06:48 EDT Energy XXI Gulf Coast and Cox Oil affiliates extend merger closing date - Energy XXI Gulf Coast provided an update regarding the closing of the merger with affiliates of Cox Oil. The companies have agreed to extend the required closing date to October 17. This extension is not a waiver of obligations under the merger agreement. The closing of the transaction is not subject to a financing condition. Pursuant to the terms of the merger agreement, Cox agreed to acquire all the outstanding shares of EGC common stock for $9.10 per fully diluted share in cash, for a total consideration of approximately $322M.

06:34 EDT Gold Standard Ventures reports high-grade oxide gold values at Carlin Trend - Gold Standard Ventures has identified another highly prospective oxide gold target, known as the LT target, on Gold Standard's 100%-owned/controlled Railroad-Pinion project in Nevada's Carlin Trend. The LT target is located 3 km north-northwest of Gold Standard's Pinion oxide gold deposit. Highlights include assay values ranging from less than 0.005 to 12.90 g Au/t, including 12.90 g Au/t, 11.20 g Au/t, 6.65 g Au/t and 4.50 g Au/t in individual rock samples collected from surface outcrops over a 400m by 200m area. A geologic mapping program is currently underway to identify the extent of the altered multilithic breccia host and structural controls on the mineralization. This information will be used to develop a 2019 drilling program. Eight samples returned values greater than 1.0 g/t Au, and 9 samples returned fire assay values ranging from 0.1 to 1.0 g Au/t.

06:32 EDT 200,000 Georgia Power customers without power Thursday morning due to hurricane - Hurricane Michael continues to impact service to Georgia Power customers with severe weather expected to continue. As the storm clears the state, the company has secured additional resources and is prepared to respond with approximately 3,900 personnel from the company, other Southern Company operating companies and assisting utilities ready to restore power as quickly and safely as possible following the storm. All of Georgia Power's resources are being held and dedicated to storm restoration efforts in the state following Hurricane Michael. Once the storm leaves affected areas, the company must wait until conditions are safe for damage assessment teams to enter the field and begin the restoration process, followed by repair crews, which could take several days, or longer, depending on the amount of damage and safe access to the area. As weather conditions improve, restoration efforts will accelerate, but it could take an extended period of time for all customers to be restored. As of 5:30 a.m. Thursday, there are more than 200,000 customers without power in Georgia and more than 2,700 individual cases of damage, including broken poles and lines, the company is working to repair. Damage and outages are primarily concentrated in Middle, South and West Georgia.

06:22 EDT Gartner: Worldwide PC shipments experienced flat growth in Q3 - Worldwide PC shipments totaled 67.2 million units in the third quarter of 2018, a 0.1 percent increase from the third quarter of 2017, according to preliminary results by Gartner, Inc. The global market has shown modest stability for two consecutive quarters. "The PC market continued to be driven by steady corporate PC demand, which was driven by Windows 10 PC hardware upgrades. We expect the Windows 10 upgrade cycle to continue through 2020 at which point the upgrade demand will diminish," said Mikako Kitagawa, principal analyst at Gartner. "Despite the third quarter typically showing strong consumer PC sales due to the back-to-school season, weakness in consumer PC demand continued, offsetting the strong sales in the business market... Although the third-quarter results did not show any material impact, the Intel (INTC) CPU shortage could influence the PC market moving forward with price increases and changes to the vendor landscape. While this shortage will have some short-term impacts, Gartner does not see any lasting impact on overall PC demand.. In the meantime, AMD (AMD) will pick up the part of the market where Intel cannot supply CPUs." Lenovo (LNVGY) secured the top spot in the worldwide PC market with growth of 10.7%, driven by regained traction in the commercial market and its joint venture with Fujitsu (FJTSY). HP Inc. (HPQ) dropped to the second position, but recorded its fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year shipment growth.

06:16 EDT BMW to take control of Chinese joint venture BMW Brilliance Automotive - In the context of the 15th anniversary of BMW Brilliance Automotive, the BMW Group (BMWYY) announced together with its partner Brilliance China Automotive Holdings (BCAUY) the early extension of the joint venture contract and the further deepening of the existing successful collaboration. The extended contract is valid for 22 years from 2018 to 2040. Furthermore, the BMW Group intends to increase its stake in BBA from 50% to 75% and both partners have signed a corresponding agreement. This transaction is subject to the approval of the relevant authorities and the consent of the CBA Shareholders' Meeting. At the same time, the joint venture also announced an investment of more than EUR3B in new and existing plant structures in Shenyang over the coming years. In Tiexi, a new plant on the existing plant ground will double the site's capacity, while extensive remodelling and expansion measures will target the neighbouring plant in Dadong. Production capacity there will remain the same, but the structure of the plant will gradually be expanded for future BMW model variants and the expected market growth. As a result, the total annual production capacity of BMW automobiles at the BBA plants will gradually increase to 650,000 units from the early 2020s, creating 5,000 new jobs. In 2017, the BBA automotive plants in Tiexi and Dadong produced almost 400,000 vehicles. Currently, six BMW models are produced in Shenyang: Plant Tiexi manufactures the BMW 1 Series Sedan, the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer, the BMW 3 Series Sedan and the BMW X1. At Plant Dadong, the BMW 5 Series Long Wheelbase version and the BMW X3 are manufactured. From 2020, the fully-electric BMW iX3 will also roll off the production line at Plant Dadong, its sole production location, and be exported from China to markets worldwide.Reference Link

06:11 EDT Ingenico Group initiates review of options following preliminary approaches - Payments company Ingenico Group indicates that it has received preliminary approaches for a strategic transaction. Ingenico Group has initiated a review of its options and of their respective merits. In this context, Ingenico Group will not make any further comment. The Fly notes that French banking group Natixis is examining a bid for the company, according to several reports.

06:08 EDT Royal Caribbean signs agreement with Southern Power for Reading Wind Facility - Royal Caribbean (RCL) announced it has signed an agreement with Southern Power, a leading U.S. wholesale energy provider and subsidiary of Southern Company (SO), for Southern Power's 200-megawatt, or MW, Reading Wind Facility. This initiative, which will offset up to 12% of Royal Caribbean's emissions beginning in 2020, is the latest addition to the company's extensive sustainability efforts, which include programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through innovations at sea and in port. This project, Southern Power's eleventh wind facility, is located in Osage and Lyon Counties, Kansas, and is Southern Power's first to be validated as a carbon offset project under the verified carbon standard. The agreement with Royal Caribbean provides Southern Power with the economic basis to construct the project. The facility is expected to generate roughly 760,000 megawatt hours per year over the duration of the 12-year agreement, which translates to enough clean energy to offset 10%-12%of Royal Caribbean's annual carbon emissions starting in 2020. With this program, Royal Caribbean is able to apply a new approach while continuing its primary initiatives to advance sustainability efforts across the company's fleet. The 200-MW project was originally developed by RES who will lead the construction of the project alongside Southern Power. The project is expected to break ground in Q2 of 2019 and is expected to be complete by the second quarter of 2020. Southern Power will operate and maintain the facility upon completion.

06:03 EDT Commerce Bancshares reports Q3 return on average assets 1.81% - For the quarter, the return on average assets was 1.81%, the return on average common equity was 16.4%, and the efficiency ratio was 55.7%.

06:02 EDT Clean Energy and BP expand renewable natural gas supply agreement - BP (BP) and Clean Energy (CLNE) announced an agreement which will secure an increased supply of renewable natural gas for Clean Energy through Clean Energy's extensive fueling infrastructure as more fleets are requesting the clean fuel. The agreement enables BP to flow larger volumes to Clean Energy stations as the supply of RNG is expected to rapidly grow over the next several years with a number of new RNG production facilities under construction and more announced. In turn, Clean Energy will share in the incremental environmental credit revenues generated from the incremental RNG volume.

05:41 EDT Musk says FT story on James Murdoch in lead for chairman is incorrect - In response to the Financial Times tweeting, "James Murdoch has become the lead candidate to replace Elon Musk as Tesla's chairman," Musk himself tweeted, "This is incorrect."