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

19:55 EDT Avita Medical announces first U.S. sales of Recell system - AVITA Medical announced that it has received the first commercial sales orders from U.S. burn centers for the RECELL Autologous Cell Harvesting Device and has commenced commercial shipment of the product. The FDA approved on 20 September 2018 the RECELL System to treat acute thermal burns in patients 18 years and older.

18:22 EDT Vectrus names Kevin Boyle chief legal officer - Vectrus announced that Kevin Boyle has been appointed senior vice president, chief legal officer and general counsel. Boyle has a proven track record of delivering innovative, strategic, and business-oriented solutions to complex legal, business, and regulatory issues. Boyle succeeds Michele Tyler, who will remain employed by the company as a senior vice president to assist the company during a transition period.

18:05 EDT Talos Energy reaches pact with Hokchi to cross-assign interests - Talos Energy Inc. announced that the company entered into a transaction with Hokchi Energy, S.A. de C.V., a subsidiary of Pan American Energy LLC, to cross assign the company's Participating Interest in Block 2 and Hokchi's PI in Block 31, both in the Sureste Basin offshore Mexico. Under the agreed conditions for the swap, Talos will assign a 25% PI in Block 2 to Hokchi in exchange for a 25% PI in Block 31, which is immediately to the south of Block 2. Once the transaction is completed, Hokchi will be the operator of both blocks and Talos will own a 25% PI on Block 2 and a 25% PI on Block 31. The transaction is subject to approval by the Mexican oil & gas regulator, the National Commission of Hydrocarbons, and has not yet been approved by CNH. Talos was awarded the Production Sharing Contract for Block 2 in September of 2015 as part of the competitive bidding process in the historic Round 1.1 auction. Hokchi was awarded the PSC for Block 31 as part of a competitive bidding process on Round 3.1 in June of 2018. Both blocks had multiple bids.

18:02 EDT Steel Dynamics CEO: We believe steel consumption will continue to be strong - "We remain confident that macroeconomic and market conditions are in place to benefit domestic steel consumption in 2019," said CEO Millett. "Based on strong domestic steel demand fundamentals and customer optimism, we believe steel consumption will continue to be strong. In combination with our expansion initiatives, we believe there are firm drivers for our continued growth. We are excited about the potential benefits that the recent Heartland acquisition brings to us. Integration of Heartland is going well, and the teams are on track to achieve our expectation to reach an annual run-rate of between 800,000 tons and 900,000 tons by mid-year 2019. We continue to strengthen our financial position through strong cash flow generation and the execution of our long-term strategy. We are well-positioned for growth, and remain focused on delivering shareholder value through organic and transactional growth opportunities," concluded Millett.

17:32 EDT Bank of Princeton declares initial cash dividend of 3c per share - This dividend will be paid on November 23 to shareholders of record at the close of business on November 5.

17:14 EDT Crown Holdings CEO says Q3 performance 'solid' - Commenting on the quarter, Timothy Donahue, President and CEO, stated, "The company's performance was solid, and we remain on plan for the remainder of the year. Growth in our global beverage can businesses continued to be robust, offsetting soft European food can volumes reflecting the extremely challenging weather conditions which resulted in poor harvest yields. Growth in beverage cans is underpinned by the can's increasing popularity among customers and consumers due to its many inherent benefits, including being the world's most sustainable form of beverage packaging. Equally important, our global growth projects remain on schedule. We commenced production in July at a new one-line beverage can plant in Yangon, Myanmar. The first line of the beverage can plant in Valencia, Spain began operations in October, with the second line to begin in December. We will also start up a third beverage can line at the Company's existing plant in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in November. We continue to expect the combined results of our business portfolio will generate significant cash this year and next which will be used, as planned, to reduce the floating rate portion of our debt."

17:10 EDT Crown Holdings sees FY18 adjusted free cash flow approximately $625M - Sees FY19 adjusted free cash flow $775M.

17:07 EDT Crown Holdings says Q3 global beverage can volumes grew 3%, grew 4% YTD

16:58 EDT Spotify launches Wear OS app, partners with Fossil - In a blog posting, Spotify (SPOT) said: "Music moves people. But having to control pop, jazz, and rock all from your phone can feel restrictive. Sometimes you need the freedom to dive into any song at any moment. Starting today, Spotify's new app for smartwatches on Wear OS by Google (GOOG) takes the work out of your hands (literally) and puts it on your wrist, leaving you free to run, dance, shop, socialize-and control your music at the same time. We've also partnered with Fossil Group (FOSL) to bring the Spotify experience in a standalone app for Wear OS by Google smartwatches to even more users. Starting in November, Spotify will be auto-installed on all Fossil Gen 4 Smartwatches and Michael Kors Access Runway Smartwatches...This new experience will be rolling out to users with smartwatches on Wear OS by Google over the coming week, so make sure that you get the latest version of Spotify on Wear OS on Google Play. Look out for more updates coming soon." Reference Link

16:53 EDT Earthstone Energy acquires Northern Midland Basin asset for $950M - Earthstone Energy has entered into an agreement with Sabalo Holdings, whereby Earthstone will acquire all of Sabalo Holdings' interests in Sabalo Energy, LLC and Sabalo Energy, Inc., whose assets include both producing and non-producing oil and gas assets in the northern Midland Basin. Sabalo is a privately-held oil and gas company based in Corpus Christi, Texas. Earthstone expects to acquire 20,800 net acres located in the Midland Basin and an estimated 488 gross operated horizontal drilling locations and 349 gross non-operated horizontal drilling locations for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $950M which consists of $650M in cash and $300M in stock at approximately $9.28 per share comprised of 32,315,695 shares of Earthstone Class B common stock and corresponding membership interests of Earthstone Energy Holdings, LLC. Sabalo's and Shad's combined average estimated production for the month of September 2018 was approximately 11,200 Boe/d with approximately 83% being oil. The Sabalo Acquisition is expected to close in late 2018 or 1Q19. Sabalo's asset base and operations include net production of 11,200 Boe/d, 83% oil, for the month of September, predominantly from 29 gross operated and 57 gross non-operated horizontal Lower Spraberry and Wolfcamp A wells, net operated oil production growth of over 300% over trailing twelve months on the acreage, strip price PV-10 of proved reserves of ~$1,228M. The combined Earthstone and Sabalo asset base and operations include production of 21,850 Boe/d, 75% oil and 89% liquids, and proved reserve volumes of 174 million Boe and PV-10 of $2,193M. Based on an assumed closing of the Sabalo Acquisition on January 1, 2019, Earthstone expects FY19 production to range from 25K-29K Boe/d, ~70% oil, with CapEx $425M-$500M. Earthstone intends to fund the cash portion of the Sabalo Acquisition with the net proceeds from a combination of: a fully committed $225M preferred stock issuance, an approximately $500M unsecured senior notes issuance, a committed amended and restated senior secured revolving credit facility with a minimum initial borrowing base of $475M.

16:39 EDT Canadian Pacific inteds to launch new share repurchase program - Canadian Pacific intends to seek Toronto Stock Exchange acceptance of a new normal course issuer bid. Subject to TSX acceptance, CP's Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to approximately 5.68 million of its common shares, for cancellation, representing approximately 4% of CP's "public float" of common shares as at October 11.In total, CP has repurchased 35.32 million of its common shares since 2014, approximately 25% of its public float, as at March 31.

16:36 EDT Zillow names Aimee Johnson Chief Marketing Officer - Zillow Group(ZG) announced current COO Amy Bohutinsky has been elected to join the company's Board of Directors, effective immediately, and will step away from her role as COO in January 2019. The company also announced that Aimee Johnson, most recently SVP, customer relationship management at Starbucks (SBUX), will join Zillow Group as chief marketing officer in November. In addition, Zillow Group's interim Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Rock will become the company's permanent chief accounting officer. The company is conducting a search for its new CFO.Bohutinsky was an early team member at Zillow Group, joining in 2005 and holding a variety of leadership roles, including chief marketing officer, before becoming COO. She will serve as both a board member and COO through the end of the year, at which point she will step away as COO. Bohutinsky is also on the boards of The Gap Inc., effective Nov. 1, and HotelTonight.

16:34 EDT Kaiser Aluminum sees mid-single-digit growth in shipments in 2018 - "For the full year 2018, we continue to anticipate mid-single-digit growth in shipments and value added revenue with adjusted EBITDA margin in the mid-20 percent range," stated CEO Hockema. "We expect continued underlying demand strength in the fourth quarter 2018 with moderating destocking in the aerospace supply chain and normal seasonality in industrial demand. Planned major maintenance expense in the fourth quarter is expected to be similar to the third quarter 2018; however, the one week of planned downtime for maintenance on the hot line and large stretcher at Trentwood that was previously planned for the fourth quarter 2018 has been re-scheduled for mid-2019. As we begin to look to 2019, we expect demand across our end markets to be strong. Although sales margins have improved, they remain at historical lows. We will continue to monitor market conditions to determine timing for further price increases to restore our sales margins to a level more reflective of the strong overall demand climate. Longer-term, we remain well-positioned in our served markets to capitalize on the secular demand growth for our aerospace and automotive applications and are encouraged by the growing demand for our general engineering products. In addition, we expect to continue to achieve steady improvement in manufacturing cost efficiency to further drive value for all of our stakeholders," concluded Hockema.

16:32 EDT Air Lease announces lease pact for Airbus A320-200neo with Atlantic Airways - Air Lease Corporation (AL) announced a long term lease agreement for one Airbus (EADSY) A320-200neo with Atlantic Airways, the national airline of the Faroe Islands. This A320-200neo is the second of two A320neo aircraft leased to Atlantic Airways and will deliver in April 2020 from ALC's order book with Airbus.

16:29 EDT Onex acquires 42% inerest in Ryan, LLC for $317M - Onex Corporation announced it acquired a 42% interest in Ryan, LLC for $317M, which values the company at $1.1B. Onex invested $86M of equity as a limited partner in Onex Partners IV. Onex expects to begin accruing fees on Onex Partners V, a $7.15B fund raised in 2017, once its previously announced acquisition of KidsFoundation closes later this year.

16:22 EDT United Rentals reports Q3 adjusted EBITDA $1.06B vs. $0.88B last year. - Adjusted EBITDA margin was 50.0% and 49.8% for the three months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively, and 47.8% and 47.0% for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, respectively.

16:19 EDT United Rentals to pause share repurchase program after completing BlueLine deal - In July 2018, the company commenced its previously announced $1.25B share repurchase program. As of September 30, 2018, the company has repurchased $210 million of common stock under the program. The company expects to pause repurchases under the program following the completion of the pending BlueLine acquisition discussed above. The company intends to complete the share repurchase program; however, it will continue to evaluate its decision to do so as it integrates BlueLine.

16:17 EDT Orrstown Financial increases cash dividend 8.3% to 13c per share - The board of Orrstown Financial declared a cash dividend of 13c per common share, payable November 5, to shareholders of record as of October 29, an 8.3% increase over the dividend declared in October, 2017.

16:14 EDT Adverum Biotechnologies promotes Leone Patterson to CEO - Adverum Biotechnologies (ADVM) announced the promotion of Leone Patterson as the company's president and CEO. Patterson has served as Adverum Biotechnologies' interim president and CEO since May 3. Patterson was also named to the Adverum Biotechnologies board as a director. Patterson joined Adverum Biotechnologies in June of 2016 as the company's CFO and has been acting as interim president and CEO since May. Patterson will continue to serve as the company's CFO until a new CFO is hired. During her tenure, Adverum entered into a collaboration with Editas Medicine (EDIT) to explore genome editing medicines to the eye, closed a $69M public offering, and advanced the development of its gene therapy pipeline.

16:12 EDT Alcoa reports Q3 adjusted EBITDA $795M vs. $582M last year

16:10 EDT Eiger BioPharmaceuticals reports Phase 2 results of HDV infection candidate - Eiger BioPharmaceuticals announced 'positive' data with Pegylated Interferon Lambda in the Phase 2 LIMT HDV - Lambda Interferon MonoTherapy in Hepatitis Delta Virus - Study. LIMT HDV enrolled a total of 33 patients. Lambda is a first in class, type III interferon, in development for the treatment of HDV. At Week 48, patients in the 180 mug Lambda treated group experienced a -2.4 log10 mean decline in HDV-RNA, with 6 of 10 experiencing greater than or equal to greater than or equal to2log10 decline, 2 of 14 patients were HDV-RNA negative at end of treatment. The most common adverse events included mild to moderate flu-like symptoms and elevated transaminase levels. Lambda is now dosing in combination with Lonafarnib boosted with Ritonavir in HDV-infected patients in the Phase 2 LIFT study at the National Institutes of Health. The company expects end of treatment data from this proprietary Lambda-Lonafarnib combination in 2019.

16:09 EDT Central Valley Community raises quarterly dividend to 9c from 8c per share - The dividend is payable on November 16, 2018 to shareholders of record on November 2, 2018.

16:08 EDT Kinder Morgan backs FY18 adjusted EBITDA view of roughly $7.5B - For 2018, KMI's budget contemplates declared dividends of $0.80 per common share, DCF of approximately $4.57 billion and Adjusted EBITDA of approximately $7.5 billion. The company currently expects to exceed those DCF and Adjusted EBITDA targets. KMI forecasts to invest $2.5 billion in growth projects during 2018, up $300 million from the budget, to be funded with internally generated cash flow without the need to access capital markets. KMI also expects to beat its budgeted leverage metric of a year-end Net Debt-to-Adjusted EBITDA ratio of approximately 5.1 times and expects to end the year with a ratio of 4.6 times, consistent with the current quarter. The KML distribution of the Trans Mountain sale proceeds is expected to occur on January 3, 2019, after a special meeting of KML shareholders on November 29, 2018. KMI consolidates all of the proceeds on its balance sheet, but only owns an approximately 70 percent interest in KML. KMI plans to use its approximately $2 billion share of proceeds to pay down debt.

16:08 EDT SRC Energy lowers FY18 production guidance to 50 MBoe/d - The Company has tightened its full year 2018 production guidance to approximately 50 Mboe/d as a result of gas processing developments and incremental increases reflecting the second closing of the GCII acquisition. In addition, SRC has adjusted guidance for drilling and completion capital expenditures to approximately $580 million from prior guidance of $540 million. The increase reflects a combination of the additional wells that are now expected to be completed during the year due to efficiency gains,recent acreage trades and acquisitions that have led to higher working interests across our operating areas, as well as higher than expected non-operated activities.

16:06 EDT SL Green Realty to sell Upper East Side properties for $143.8M - SL Green Realty announced it has entered into a contract to sell its fee interest in 1231 Third Avenue and an Upper East Side Assemblage consisting of 4 properties on East 72nd Street and 31,076 square feet of development rights, for a combined sales price of $143.8M. SL Green took possession of 1231 Third Avenue during the third quarter of 2018 when the Company's mezzanine debt investment on the property was converted to equity. The mixed use property is comprised of 20 residential units, which are currently 100% occupied, and 16,418 square feet of retail space, which is currently 70% occupied, inclusive of 8,159 square feet at grade.

15:27 EDT MEG Energy rejects Husky Energy's offer - MEG Energy announced its board of directors has unanimously determined that Husky Energy's unsolicited bid to acquire MEG significantly undervalues the common shares of MEG and is not in the best interests of MEG or the holders of common shares. On October 2, 2018, Husky made a formal offer to acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares, at the election of the MEG shareholder, for C$11.00 in cash or 0.485 of a common share of Husky for each common share, subject to a maximum aggregate cash consideration of C$1B and a maximum aggregate number of Husky shares of approximately 107M. "The Husky Offer significantly undervalues MEG's assets, technology, expertise and business prospects. Over the last few years, there has been a substantial transformation of our business, culminating in the appointment of a top-rated CEO and the strengthening of our management team. Since the start of 2017, the Company has successfully sold non-core assets, reduced debt and significantly extended our remaining debt maturities. MEG is now at an inflection point with a low risk business plan and a clear line of sight to significant free cash flow generation commencing in 2019," said MEG Chairman Jeffrey McCaig.

15:07 EDT Phillips 66 Partners raises quarterly distriution 5.3% to 79.2c per unit - Phillips 66 Partners announced that the board of directors of its general partner declared a third-quarter 2018 cash distribution of 79.2c per common unit. This quarter's distribution represents an increase of 5.3% over the previous quarterly distribution of 75.2c per unit and a 22.6% increase over third-quarter 2017. The distribution increase is consistent with previous guidance that the partnership expects a 30 percent compound annual distribution growth rate from the last quarter of 2013 through 2018. This is the twentieth consecutive quarterly distribution increase since Phillips 66 Partners' initial public offering in 2013. The third-quarter distribution is payable Nov. 13, 2018, to unitholders of record as of Oct. 31, 2018.

14:28 EDT Ever-Glory chairman Yihua Kang buys 175K shares of company stock - Ever-Glory chairman Yihua Kang disclosed in a filing that he had purchased 174,800 shares of company stock at an average price of $3.00 per share on October 9. The total transaction value of the purchase was $524,400.

13:38 EDT Boeing launches DC&N, a new organization to develop computing solutions - Boeing announced a new Disruptive Computing and Networks, DC&N, organization to develop computing and communications solutions for advanced commercial and government aerospace applications. By leveraging core technologies in quantum communications and computing, neuromorphic processing and advanced sensing, the new organization will enable Boeing to develop breakthrough solutions in secure communications, artificial intelligence and complex system optimization. In addition to building internal capabilities, DC&N will also work closely with Boeing HorizonX, the company's innovation cell, to identify external partners for collaboration to accelerate growth. "Advanced computing and communications technologies are increasingly at the core of all aerospace innovation," said Greg Hyslop, Boeing's chief technology officer and senior vice president of Engineering, Test & Technology. "We're excited to stand up the Disruptive Computing and Networks organization because it will help us develop new businesses and partnerships in this rapidly-expanding field, delivering more value to our customers and helping further define our second century of aerospace leadership" DC&N will be based in Southern California and operate as a part of Boeing Engineering, Test & Technology. Charles Toups, formerly the vice president and general manager of Boeing Research & Technology, BR&T, will lead the organization as vice president and general manager.

13:32 EDT Spirit Airlines appoints Scott Haralson as CFO - Spirit Airlines announced that its board of directors has promoted Scott Haralson to the position of SVP and CFO effective October 16, 2018. Haralson has over 18 years of airline experience and most recently served as Spirit's VP of Financial Planning and Analysis and Corporate Real Estate. Haralson succeeds Edward Morgan Christie as CFO. Christie was promoted to president earlier this year and will become Spirit's CEO on January 1, 2019, succeeding Bob Fornaro. In this expanded role, Haralson will serve as a key member of the senior leadership team and oversee Treasury, Investor Relations, Accounting, Financial Planning and Analysis, and Corporate Real Estate.

13:30 EDT Twitter adds new notices to reported Tweets - Twitter said in a blog post that, starting today, it is adding new notices to make it easier to see when it has taken enforcement action on a Tweet. "Now, once we've required a Tweet to be deleted, we will display a notice stating that the Tweet is unavailable because it violated the Twitter Rules along with a link to the Rules and an article that provides more detail on how we enforce our rules," Twitter said. "This notice will be displayed on both the account's profile and the specific Tweet for 14 days after the Tweet is deleted. You'll see this change rolling out to both the app and on Twitter.com in the coming weeks." In addition, the company said that once a user has reported a Tweet, it will be hidden behind a notice. If there's a need to see the Tweet the user reported, they can tap the notice to view it.

13:12 EDT Twilio announces Autopilot AI platform for building custom bots - Twilio announced Twilio Autopilot, the first fully programmable, conversational AI platform for building custom bots, IVRs and home assistant apps. Consumers want a quick, self-service option when interacting with businesses but are often frustrated when that experience does not connect them to the information they need. Autopilot uses best-in-class conversational patterns to automate the initial, information-gathering conversation with customers. If a conversation with an agent is required, Autopilot can smoothly hand off the conversation to a contact center agent, sharing the context of that initial interaction so customers never have to repeat themselves. Autopilot is designed so that developers can write their applications once and deploy to any support channel -- including IVRs, SMS, chat, Alexa, Slack and Google Assistant -- without additional code. To learn more about Twilio Autopilot, visit www.twilio.com/autopilot. "Machine learning is the most transformative technology of our time," said Nico Acosta, director of product and engineering at Twilio. "However, until now, the tools available for building machine learning-powered conversational experiences have been too complex and not optimized for developers, which has led to poor customer experiences. We built Autopilot to make companies successful in building bots that delight users, instead of frustrating them."

13:04 EDT MoviePass and Helios and Matheson name Nave global communications chief - MoviePass and parent company Helios and Matheson Analytics announced that it has named Maayan Nave as Executive Director and President of Global Communications. Nave will lead all marketing, strategic communications and public relations initiatives for HMNY, MoviePass, MoviePass Films and MoviePass Ventures with existing communications teams in New York and California. Ted Farnsworth, Chairman and CEO of HMNY said, "Maayan is an inspirational strategic leader, his global experience and proven success are a major asset to HMNY's and MoviePass' disrupting mission." Mitch Lowe, CEO of MoviePass added, "Maayan is an epic disrupter with vast experience in both financial and consumer worlds and the right person to lead our marketing and communications efforts."

12:39 EDT Cooperman calls Nabors Industries his 'sleeper' pick in energy - Leon Cooperman of Omega Advisors is speaking on CNBC.

12:38 EDT Sabre bolsters partnership with Jet Airways - Sabre Corporation announced a renewed, full content, distribution agreement with Jet Airways - India's premier, full service international airline. Effective April 2019, Sabre's extended agreement with Jet Airways provides Sabre-connected agents across India and the world a path to access the full content of Jet Airways into year 2024.

12:34 EDT Aslan Pharmaceuticals enrolls first subject in Phase 1 study for ASLAN004 - ASLAN Pharmaceuticals announced the enrollment of the first subject in a phase 1 study investigating ASLAN004 as a therapeutic antibody for atopic dermatitis.The phase 1 trial is the first clinical study of ASLAN004 and will be conducted in Singapore, Australia and the United States. The single ascending dose portion of the study will recruit healthy volunteers and the multiple ascending dose component will recruit moderate to severe atopic dermatitis patients. The single ascending dose study is expected to complete in the first half of 2019. ASLAN004 is a fully human monoclonal antibody that targets the IL-13 receptor alpha1 subunit and has demonstrated inhibition of interleukin 4 and interleukin 13 in preclinical investigations. IL-4 and IL-13 are central to triggering symptoms of atopic dermatitis, such as redness and itching of the skin. By targeting IL-13Ralpha1, ASLAN004 has the potential to offer both a lower dose and dosing frequency than currently available treatments for moderate to severe atopic dermatitis which target the same pathways. The selective binding of ASLAN004 may also offer a more favourable side effect profile.

12:26 EDT NYSE approves Aurora Cannabis for listing - As previously reported, Aurora Cannabis announced that the company has filed an application to list its common shares on the New York Stock Exchange. Aurora anticipates that, subject to receipt of all required approvals, trading in its common shares on the NYSE will commence before the end of October, it has said. Aurora's shares will trade on the NYSE under ticker symbol "ACB", the same symbol the company's common shares currently, and will continue to, trade under on the Toronto Stock Exchange. Aurora will also continue to trade on the OTCQX under the ticker symbol "ACBFF" until completion of the NYSE listing, the company has stated. Reference Link

12:07 EDT Shopify drops almost 8% following report Trump ending China shipping treaty - Shares of ecommerce platform Shopify (SHOP) are down in midday trading after a New York Times report that the Trump administration plans to withdraw from the Universal Post Office Treaty. NEW YORK TIMES REPORT: The paper reported this morning that President Trump plans to withdraw from The Universal Postal Union treaty, a postal treaty from 1874 that has allowed Chinese companies to "ship small packages to the United States at a steeply discounted rate," citing an announcement by the White House. The announcement will "most likely inflame tensions with China," the Times added, although is not clear if China will retaliate if the United States pulls out of the treaty. BAIRD DEFENDS SHOPIFY, CALLS FEARS 'OVERBLOWN': Baird analyst Colin Sebastian, who has an Outperform rating and $165 price target on Shopify shares, noted that Shopify was under a lot of pressure after the New York Times report, but called the fears "way overblown," and noted that Shopify's total exposure in China is low. "Management has previously stated that drop shipping represents a low percentage of GMV... and China inbound volume is a fraction of that small percentage. As such, we believe today's move represents a reaction to headlines, with minimal risks to company fundamentals," the analyst wrote in a research note titled "Fears Around China Shipping Rate Impact Way Overblown." STOCK REACTION: Shares of Shopify are down 7.91% in midday trading.

12:06 EDT Cooperman says stock market not cheap, but not expensive - Leon Cooperman of Omega Advisors is speaking on CNBC.

11:32 EDT Shutterstock says Editorial content on eCommerce Platform available for license - Shutterstock announced Editorial content on its eCommerce Platform is now available for license. Shutterstock Editorial offers images that capture the world around us, including a live feed of curated news, sports, entertainment and royal family images, along with access to a multi-decade archive of iconic images. Previously available only to Enterprise customers with Shutterstock Premier accounts, this collection is now available to all Shutterstock customers through Shutterstock.com/editorial.

11:08 EDT OncoMed rises after abstract for ESMO presentation posted - Shares of OncoMed are jumping after an abstract for its planned presentation at the ESMO Congress was posted online. The conclusions section of the posting stated: "The efficacy data in these heavily pre-treated platinum resistant ovarian cancer pts are encouraging & enrollment is ongoing. The safety profile appears to be manageable with hypertension being the most common adverse event related to navicixizumab." Of 18 patients treated, "Eight pts (44%) had a PR, 6 (33%) had SD, 2 (11%) had PD & 2 (11%) were NE," the results section of the posting stated. In morning trading, OncoMed shares jumped 36c, or 16%, to $2.65. Reference Link

10:53 EDT Caesars jumps after Fertitta said to approach about possible merger - Golden Nugget Casinos owner Tilman Fertitta has approached Caesars Entertainment about merging it with his own gaming empire, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Following Reuters' report on the approach, Caesars shares have jumped about 7% to $9.70.

10:49 EDT United Continental says trade disruptions have not impacted demand to Asia

10:46 EDT United Continental expects to return to margin growth in 2019 - Management said the company is in one of the best revenue climates they have ever seen.

10:37 EDT Street Fight: KeyBanc cuts Netflix rating as peers say 'growth story is back' - In a research note to investors, KeyBanc analyst Andy Hargreaves downgraded Netflix (NFLX) to Sector Weight as he believes improving investment efficiency or significant ancillary opportunities are needed to drive upside from current levels, and he does not anticipate either over the next year. Meanwhile, several other Wall Street analysts raised their price targets on the stock, saying Netflix's growth story is back after the streaming giant announced that it had picked up nearly 7M subscribers in the third quarter. LACK OF UPSIDE: KeyBanc's Hargreaves downgraded Netflix to Sector Weight from Overweight saying its investment efficiency trend must reverse to justify upside. While the analyst remains positive on Netflix's opportunity to grow subscribers, he argued that both revenue growth and accelerating margin expansion are needed to drive substantial upside from here. The latter has not developed at a pace that exceeds his expectations, which suggests upside is more limited. Netflix's leadership position in subscription video provides long-term opportunities to build revenue in consumer products, advertising, broad theatrical releases, and mobile-only subscriptions, he contended, but noted that they will likely take several years to develop. As such, he views the opportunities as roughly offset by risks associated from rising interest rates and growing competition over the next year. Still bearish on the stock following quarterly results, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter reiterated an Underperform rating on Netflix's shares and raised his price target to $150 from $125 following quarterly results. The analyst told investors that he expects content acquisition spending to trigger substantial cash burn for many years. Notwithstanding three Netflix price increases in the last five years, cash burn continues to grow, he noted. Further, the analyst said international profits may remain elusive due to competition for content and subscriptions, and last year's price increases could cause a deceleration in subscriber growth. NETFLIX 'GROWTH STORY BACK ON TRACK': Bullish on the stock, Credit Suisse analyst Douglas Mitchelson told investors that he believes the Netflix subscriber growth story is back on track with 2018 net additions now estimated at 29.0M, accelerating 22% from 2017's 23.8M, and the content slate expansion potentially driving further acceleration in 2019. The analyst also argued that growth from Asia is kicking in, more mature markets seem to be holding in and Europe likely continues to expand. He reiterated an Outperform rating and $470 price target on the shares. Voicing a similar opinion, Bernstein analyst Todd Juenger noted that while Netflix's rare subscriber miss last quarter caused investors to question whether it as just a blip or an early warning of deceleration, this quarter's blow out result seems to put that debate to rest. The pace of Netflix subscriber growth is "astounding," he contended. The analyst also noted that it took 10 years to go from 0 to 100M paid subscriptions, but he projects it will take only 2 years to go from 100M to 150M. Meanwhile, his peer at Stifel raised his price target for Netflix to $474 from $395 and reiterated a Buy rating on the stock. Analyst Scott Devitt said he believes the company is positioned to add 29M net new subscribers this year and forecasts it will attract 29M next year as well. Reiterating an Outperform rating on the shares, Goldman Sachs analyst Heath Terry also raised his price target for Netflix to $480 from $430. The correlation between content spend and subscriber net additions strengthened for the sixth consecutive quarter, Terry contended, adding that he believes the shares will "significantly outperform" as Netflix subscriber adds continue to exceed expectations and it approaches an inflection point in cash profitability. BMO Capital, Morgan Stanley, RBC Capital, Canaccord, Barclays, and JP Morgan also increased their price targets on Netflix's stock. PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, shares of Netflix have gained almost 5% to $363.45.

10:07 EDT Fresenius Medical drops after again cutting FY18 outlook - Shares of Fresenius Medical Care (FMS) dropped in early trading after the company cut its outlook for fiscal 2018. LOWERED OUTLOOK: Fresenius Medical Care, a provider of dialysis products and services, now sees FY18 net income up 11%-12% at constant currency versus its previous outlook of 13%-15% growth. Adjusted net income is now seen up 2%-3% at constant currency versus its prior 7%-9% growth view. Revenue growth on a comparable basis for the fiscal year is now seen up 2%-3% at constant currency due to weaker than expected growth in the Health Care Services business in North America and the "difficult" economic environment in certain emerging countries, the company said. Previously, Fresenius forecast FY revenue growth of 5%-7%. The company said it was adjusting its outlook for the year as the business development in the third quarter was "below the company's expectations." The updated targets exclude the effects of the planned acquisition of NxStage Medical (NXTM) and effects related to divestitures of Care Coordination activities and do not include the contributions to the opposition to the ballot initiatives in the U.S., it added. WHAT'S NOTABLE: This is the second time Fresenius has lowered its fiscal year outlook. In April, the company cut its revenue growth outlook "mainly driven by the change in calcimimetic drugs." PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, shares of Fresenius Medical Care dropped nearly 17% to $41.46. Shares of NxStage Medical declined 2.5% to $27.50.

10:00 EDT Centrais Electricas falls -8.0% - Centrais Electricas is down -8.0%, or -47c to $5.39.

10:00 EDT Fresenius Medical falls -17.7% - Fresenius Medical is down -17.7%, or -$8.85 to $41.01.

10:00 EDT Discovery Communications trading resumes

10:00 EDT Winnebago rises 14.7% - Winnebago is up 14.7%, or $4.66 to $36.41.

09:56 EDT Tilray CEO says cannabis could disrupt $150B-$200B from other markets - Tilray CEO Brendan Kennedy said he believes cannabis could disrupt $150B-$200B from other markets, including alcohol and pharmaceutical markets. Discussing the price of his company's shares, Kennedy said he anticipated significant interest in Tilray following its IPO, but the level of interest in the stock has exceeded his expectations. Kennedy is being interviewed on CNBC.

09:53 EDT Fresenius Medical drops 17% to $41.25 after cutting 2018 outlook

09:47 EDT Pivotal Software falls -10.4% - Pivotal Software is down -10.4%, or -$2.08 to $17.84.

09:47 EDT Fresenius Medical falls -17.8% - Fresenius Medical is down -17.8%, or -$8.86 to $41.00.

09:47 EDT Kadmon rises 9.7% - Kadmon is up 9.7%, or 28c to $3.17.

09:46 EDT GE's Unison Industries signs exclusive 5-year extension with StandardAero - Unison Industries has signed a five-year extension with StandardAero to an exclusive, long-term material services agreement. The extension has an option for an additional five years. The original agreement, signed in 2013, covered StandardAero's MRO locations in Maryville, TN, and Winnipeg, Canada. Unison components are removed from CFM56-7B and CF34 engines, then routed to Unison facilities for repair, overhaul or exchange services. The extension covers other engines and auxiliary power units such as Pratt &Whitney PT6, PW100, JT15D, Honeywell GTCP331, RR M250, etc.

09:25 EDT Pivotal Software weakness attributed to lock-up expiration - Shares of Pivotal Software are down 7% in pre-market trading, which is being attributed to the expiration of a lock-up related to its IPO. Pivotal Software came public on April 20 and a 180-day lock-up on 37.82M shares related to its initial public offering expires today, according to Bloomberg data.

09:23 EDT Neonode regains compliance with Nasdaq minimum bid price requirement - Neonode received a letter from The Nasdaq Stock Market notifying Neonode that it has regained compliance with The Nasdaq Capital Market's minimum bid price continued listing requirement because Neonode evidenced a closing bid price of its common stock in excess of the $1.00 minimum requirement for at least ten consecutive trading days.

09:19 EDT Restoration Robotics announces results of ARTAS iX case study at ASDS - Restoration Robotics announced results from a real-world evaluation study of the new ARTAS iX Robotic Hair Restoration System demonstrating clinical efficiency in hair harvesting and implantation. ARTAS iX is the only solution to offer precise, minimally invasive, repeatable harvesting with simultaneous sitemaking and implantation functionality in one compact platform. The results are from a real-world case study conducted by David Berman during the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, or ASDS. These results suggest that the robotic, image-guided ARTAS iX System provides a practical alternative to manual FUE procedures, whose limitations include human fatigue, pain and discomfort associated with long, repetitive procedures and capricious human vision that can potentially lead to human error during manual hair transplant procedures.

09:15 EDT Qurate Retail announces long-term iniatitives - Qurate Retail Group announced a series of initiatives designed to better position its HSN and QVC US businesses and accelerate the company's digital transformation, building on the integration strategy following the HSNi acquisition in December 2017. Initiatives include: combining the HSN and QVC US business units into a new business unit that will be referred to as QXH; streamlining operations, principally at HSN; approximately 350 positions will be eliminated by year-end 2018; integrating the HSN and QVC US fulfillment networks. The first phase includes opening a new fulfillment center in Bethlehem, PA in 2019 as well as anticipated closures of fulfillment centers in Lancaster, PA, Roanoke, VA, and Greeneville, TN in 2020. Approximately 1,725 positions will be eliminated in these centers upon closure, partially offset by the anticipated hiring of 1,200 - 1,500 positions at the new Bethlehem facility. Additionally, QRG will evolve toward a leased vs. owned model for many of its fulfillment facilities. Taken together, HSN and QVC US generated $8.5B in revenue in 2017. Team members impacted by these reductions and closures will receive support to aid in their transition. The initiatives are expected to deliver an additional $120M-$125M of synergies from the HSNi acquisition, bringing total estimated run-rate operating synergies to $320M-$345M by 2022. Incremental one-time costs include: $40M-$45M severance and restructuring expense in Q3; $30M startup and dual running costs of new facilities over the course of 2019-2021 and $200M one-time net capital investment through 2022 for new fulfillment centers, automation, and technology investments, net of anticipated proceeds from sale of existing facilities.

09:10 EDT Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Netflix (NFLX), up 9%... Lam Research (LRCX), up 6%... United Continental (UAL), up 5%... Winnebago (WGO), up 9.5%. ALSO HIGHER: vTv Therapeutics (VTVT), up 47% after after announcing presentations for CTAD conference. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: IBM (IBM), down 5.5%... M&T Bank (MTB), down 1%... Del Taco (TACO), down 12%. ALSO LOWER: U.S. Silica (SLCA), down 5% after Jefferies analyst Bradley Handler downgraded the stock to Hold citing "sinking" white sand demand... Smart Sand (SND), down 11% after Jefferies' Handler also downgraded the stock to Underperform and lowered his price target for the shares to $2.50 from $7... CNH Industrial (CNHI), down 4% after BofA Merrill Lynch downgraded the stock to Neutral from Buy, with analyst Ross Gilardi stating that Class 8 truck order numbers haven't been weak yet and he believes cancellations could start to pick up.

09:06 EDT Shell agrees to sell upstream interests in Denmark to Noreco for $1.9B - Royal Dutch Shell, through its affiliate Shell Overseas Holdings Limited, has reached an agreement with publicly listed Norwegian Energy Company ASA, or "Noreco," to sell its shares in Shell Olie-og Gasudvinding Danmark B.V. for a consideration amount of $1.9B. SOGU is a wholly-owned Shell subsidiary that holds a 36.8% non-operating interest in the Danish Underground Consortium. The sale is subject to regulatory approval and expected to be completed in 2019. The transaction's effective date is 1 January 2017. As part of the agreement, Noreco will assume all of Shell's existing commitments and obligations, including the Tyra redevelopment and the decommissioning costs associated with the assets. The sale represents production of some 67,000 boe/d in 2017. Under the agreement, Shell Trading and Supply and Shell Energy Europe Limited will continue to have oil and gas lifting rights from the SOGU assets for a period after completion. The transaction is a share sale which means that, upon completion, local SOGU staff primarily dedicated to DUC will continue to be employed by their current entity, which will be owned by Noreco at completion. Andy Brown, Shell's Upstream Director, said: ''Today's announcement is consistent with Shell's strategy to simplify its portfolio through a $30 billion divestment programme, and contributes to our goal of reshaping the company into a world class investment case.''

09:05 EDT Kingstone Companies appoints Dale Thatcher as CEO to succeed Barry Goldstein - Kingstone Companies announced that Dale Thatcher has been appointed CEO, effective January 1, 2019. He will continue to serve on the company's Board of Directors and will remain president of Kingstone Insurance Company. The members of the Kingstone Leadership Team will now report to Thatcher, who is succeeding Barry Goldstein. Additionally, the company announced that Goldstein has been named executive chairman of the Board of Directors and will remain actively involved with the company, with a particular focus on the continued development of its "Selected Producer" distribution network in the Northeast. Both Thatcher and Goldstein have extended their employment agreements through 2021.

09:03 EDT Accenture acquires TargetST8 Consulting, terms not disclosed - Accenture has acquired TargetST8 Consulting, a privately held financial services consulting firm specializing in corporate and commercial lending, with offices in New York. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 2013, TargetST8 focuses exclusively on the financial markets. Serving leading banks and investment firms in the U.S. and Europe, the company helps its clients leverage proprietary digital lending solutions, including deploying artificial intelligence and robotic process automation. The addition of TargetST8 - with its deep commercial and corporate lending expertise and innovative solutions - will complement and enhance Accenture's commercial and corporate lending capabilities and bolster its Credit Consulting practice.

09:01 EDT New York Times and Scribd launch new dual subscription - New York Times and Scribd, the reading subscription service, have collaborated to offer a subscription bundle for $12.99 per month. Available to new subscribers, the joint subscription provides unlimited access to Scribd's library of books, audiobooks and articles as well as unlimited access to the NYTimes.com, The New York Times Digital Archive, and The New York Times app via its Basic Digital Access plan.

08:49 EDT OptimizeRx acquires CareSpeak Communications - OptimizeRx has acquired CareSpeak Communications. With CareSpeak, the company expands its reach to communicate directly to patients, resulting in greater medication adherence, persistence and affordability. This strategic acquisition follows a year of record growth for OptimizeRx, diversifying its revenue streams and scaling its current solution.

08:47 EDT Tesla says court approves SEC settlement, Musk intends to buy $20M in stock - In a regulatory filing, Tesla disclosed that on October 16, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York entered a final judgment approving the terms of a settlement filed with the court on September 29 in connection with the action taken by the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to Elon Musk's prior consideration of a take-private proposal for Tesla. "Separate and apart from the settlement, Elon has notified Tesla that he intends to purchase from Tesla, and Tesla expects that it will issue and sell to Elon, $20M of Tesla's common stock during the next open trading window at the then-current market price," the company added in the filing.

08:47 EDT Revolution Lighting CEO proposes acquisition of all common stock of the company - CEO Robert LaPenta has proposed to acquire all of the common stock of Revolution Lighting that he and his affiliates do not currently own. The text of LaPenta's letter to the company's independent directors is as follows: "We write to you in connection with your roles as independent, disinterested members of the Board of Directors of Revolution Lighting Technologies, Inc. (the "Company") and on behalf of RVL 1, LLC (together with its affiliates and certain related persons, "we" or "us"). As you are aware, we beneficially own approximately 46% of the Company's outstanding common stock and have provided various capital support to the Company in the form of letters of support, guarantees under the Company's Revolving Credit Facility and promissory notes.We are constantly evaluating our investment in the Company and the Company's business, financial performance and liquidity situation. The Company's recent financial performance has made clear to us that, in our opinion, the Company can no longer continue to operate in the way it historically has operated. The Company's ongoing liquidity needs, which we do not believe can be addressed through third party funding, are likely to require us to provide additional funding, which we are reluctant to do at this time given the Company's current operations and cost structure. Without additional funding, we believe that the Company may be forced to consider various restructuring alternatives in the near term. Simply put, we do not believe that it is in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders to continue as a publicly traded enterprise, as we believe it currently lacks sufficient scale and the ongoing costs of maintaining the reporting and related infrastructure necessary for public reporting are a significant financial burden on the Company. In addition, we believe the constant pressure to meet quarterly earnings targets has been a significant distraction to the Company's management and has prevented management from appropriately focusing on the long term growth and the development of the Company's business. As a result of the above factors, we propose to acquire all of the common stock of the Company that we do not currently own for a price of $2.00 per share. Given our familiarity with the Company, we would not need to conduct any further due diligence on the Company and would be in a position to sign a definitive transaction agreement quickly. Our proposal is conditioned on the Board of Directors forming a fully empowered and properly constituted special committee of independent directors, which is empowered to select its own advisors, to consider the fairness to the Company's stockholders of our proposal (or any other strategic alternatives) and negotiate the terms of any definitive documentation with respect to any resulting transaction. Our proposal is further conditioned on the approval of holders of a majority of the Company's disinterested stockholders. We have sufficient cash and liquid assets on hand to fund the transaction consideration and satisfy the related fees and expenses in connection therewith. While we recognize that our offer represents a discount to the current trading price of the Company's common stock, we do not believe that the current trading price accurately reflects the Company's current financial performance or liquidity situation. We believe that our offer represents the best value that the Company's stockholders could reasonably expect given the current circumstances. However, we are supportive, and in favor, of the Company exploring and potentially pursuing other strategic alternatives that maximize stockholder value. We are available at your convenience to discuss our proposal and look forward to constructively working with you to determine the best path for the Company to realize value for all of its shareholders." The board has formed a transaction committee, consisting of each of Revolution Lighting's independent directors, for the purpose of reviewing, evaluating and negotiating, and recommending and approving, or declining to approve, any proposed transaction with LaPenta and his affiliates, or any alternative transaction or other strategic alternative on behalf of the company. The board has resolved to not take any action prior to a recommendation by the transaction committee. The transaction committee is in the process of engaging a financial adviser to assist in its evaluation. Revolution Lighting does not intend to disclose developments during the process unless and until the board approves a specific transaction.

08:39 EDT LLA acquires remaining 40% of Liberty Cablevision of Puerto Rico - Liberty Latin America announced that it has acquired the remaining 40% stake in Liberty Cablevision of Puerto Rico from funds affiliated with Searchlight Capital Partners in exchange for 9,500,000 Liberty Latin America Class C shares. Following the acquisition, Liberty Latin America owns 100% of Liberty Cablevision of Puerto Rico. The transaction is expected to be accretive on a free cash flow per share basis for LLA shareholders.

08:37 EDT Equity Energy Transfer Partners expected to be removed from Alerian Index Series - Energy Transfer Partners (ETP) is expected to be removed from the Alerian Midstream Energy Index, Alerian US Midstream Energy Index, Alerian MLP Index, Alerian MLP Equal Weight Index, Alerian MLP Infrastructure Index, Alerian Large Cap MLP Index, and Alerian Natural Gas MLP Index in a special rebalancing. In addition, Energy Transfer Equity (ETE) is expected to be added to the AMZ, AMZE, AMZI, and ANGI. Pending unitholder approval, ETP will cease to trade due to its merger with ETE. If approved, the rebalancing will take place one full trading day after the issuance of a press release indicating all needed merger votes have passed. Each index will be rebalanced in accordance with its existing methodology.

08:37 EDT Prudential 'pleased' with removal of SIFI label - Prudential Financial issued the following company statement after the Financial Stability Oversight Council, or FSOC, announced that it has voted to rescind Prudential's designation as a nonbank systemically important financial institution: "We are pleased with this decision, which affirms our longstanding belief that Prudential never met the standard for designation. This outcome reflects Prudential's sustainable business model, capital strength and comprehensive risk management, which have and continue to enable us to fulfill our promises to our customers, deliver consistent performance and meet regulatory obligations. "Prudential's approach - working through the FSOC's rigorous review process - resulted in the Council's appropriate conclusion that Prudential does not pose systemic risk. We will continue to work with regulators to improve and strengthen the FSOC's processes and other measures to help address potential risks to financial stability. We also will continue our engagement with the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance - in its expanded regulatory role as our group-wide supervisor - to ensure better, informed public policy outcomes that benefit our clients, customers and other stakeholders."

08:35 EDT Nordson acquires Clada Medical Devices, terms not disclosed - Nordson has acquired Clada Medical Devices, a Galway, Ireland based design and development operation primarily focused on balloons and balloon catheters. The transaction is not material to Nordson results and terms of the deal were not disclosed.

08:35 EDT Albireo Pharma announces fast track designation for A4250 from FDA - Albireo Pharma announced the FDA has granted Fast Track designation to lead product candidate A4250, an ileal bile acid transporter inhibitor, which is being developed for the treatment of progressive familial intrahepatic cholestasis, or PFIC, a rare and life-threatening liver disease with no approved pharmacologic treatment option. In addition to Fast Track designation, A4250 has received several other special regulatory designations for development in PFIC. The FDA has granted A4250 orphan drug designation and rare pediatric disease designation with eligibility to apply for a priority review voucher. The European Medicines Agency has granted A4250 orphan drug designation, as well as access to the PRIority MEdicines program, and its Pediatric committee has agreed to Albireo's A4250 pediatric investigation plan.

08:33 EDT Pareteum announces $8M in new agreements - Pareteum announced agreements with four new customers valued at $8M, including monogoto and Nextelle, a Global Software Defined Cloud Platform and SuperAPI solution for an international water technologies company handling smart metering, and another for a pet device monitoring company to connect its internet of things devices wirelessly, and securely manage massive volumes of data with real-time access for monitoring and billing solutions.

08:30 EDT Revolution Lighting trading halted, news dissemination

08:25 EDT Achaogen submits MAA to EMA for Plazomicin for cUTI treatment - Achaogen announced the submission of a marketing authorization application, or MAA, to the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, for plazomicin. Plazomicin is marketed as Zemdri in the United States and was approved by the FDA in June as a once-daily aminoglycoside for use in adults with complicated urinary tract infections, or cUTI, including pyelonephritis, due to certain enterobacteriaceae. The MAA is supported by data from both the EPIC and CARE clinical trials. EPIC was the first randomized controlled study of once-daily aminoglycoside therapy for the treatment of cUTI, including pyelonephritis. CARE was the first-of-its-kind investigation looking at the efficacy and safety of plazomicin in patients with serious infections due to carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae.

08:17 EDT DESRI acquires Willow Springs Solar Project from First Solar - First Solar and D. E. Shaw Renewable Investments, or DESRI, announced the acquisition by a DESRI affiliate of the 100 Megawatt AC Willow Springs Solar Project in Kern County, California. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The project, which was developed by First Solar, is currently under construction, with completion estimated at the end of 2018. The project will supply power to Southern California Edison through a long-term renewable power purchase and sale agreement.

08:13 EDT Intra-Cellular to present results from ITI-214 study in patients with PD - Intra-Cellular announced it will present top line results from the company's Phase 1/2 clinical study of ITI-214, its potent and selective phosphodiesterase 1, or PDE1, inhibitor, in patients with mild to moderate Parkinson's disease, or PD, being maintained on stable PD medication, at the American Neurological Association Annual Meeting. This multiple ascending dose cohort study was designed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of ITI-214 and to explore the potential for ITI-214 to treat both motor and nonmotor symptoms associated with PD.

08:10 EDT Smith & Nephew's Intertan nail featured in two new studies on hip fractures - Smith & Nephew announced at the Orthopaedic Trauma Association Annual Meeting in Orlando two new studies on patients recovering from hip fractures, showing 'positive' clinical results and cost savings through using its Intertan Intertrochanteric Antegrade. In a meta-analysis published in Rheumatology and Orthopedic Medicine, the Intertan implant significantly reduced the risk of implant related failures by 81% and revision surgery by 65% when compared to single screw nails. According to a further study, published in Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery and Research, the improved clinical outcomes from the meta-analysis also led to a cost savings of $2700 per patient when using the Intertan nail compared to single screw nails.

08:10 EDT Cue Biopharma announces collaboration with Albert Einstein College of Medicine - Cue Biopharma announced that the company has entered into a strategic research collaboration with Albert Einstein College of Medicine to advance the next generation of Immuno-STAT biologics for chronic infectious diseases.

08:07 EDT Textron Aviation selects UTC Aerospace Systems' Goodrich de-icing solution - UTC Aerospace Systems announced that it has been selected by Textron Aviation to provide Goodrich brand pneumatic de-icers and support services for the Cessna SkyCourier twin-engine turboprop program. UTC Aerospace Systems is a unit of United Technologies Corp.

08:05 EDT AbbVie's sNDA for Imbruvica combination granted priority review by FDA - AbbVie's (ABBV) supplemental New Drug Application for Imbruvia in combination with obinutuzumab in previously untreated adult patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma has been accepted for Priority Review by the FDA. If the sNDA is approved, the use of Imbruvica with obinutuzumab could become the first chemotherapy-free, anti-CD20 combination approved by the FDA for the first-line treatment of CLL/SLL. Imbruvica is currently FDA-approved to treat adults with CLL/SLL as a single-agent for all lines of therapy and in combination with bendamustine and rituximab. Imbruvica is a once-daily, first-in-class Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor that is administered orally, and is jointly developed and commercialized by Pharmacyclics, an AbbVie company, and Janssen Biotech, a Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) company. The sNDA submission is based on positive results from the Phase 3 iLLUMINATE trial announced in May 2018, which showed Imbruvica plus obinutuzumab was associated with significantly longer progression-free survival versus chlorambucil plus obinutuzumab in adults with previously untreated CLL/SLL, as assessed by an Independent Review Committee.

08:04 EDT Workiva enters strategic partnership with Lionpoint - Workiva and Lionpoint Group, a global advisory firm specialising in alternative investments, jointly announce a strategic partnership to combine Lionpoint's business strategy, technology and operational expertise with the Workiva Wdesk platform to help global investment managers automate financial reporting and regulatory compliance. Lionpoint Group will offer solutions built on the Wdesk platform to give investment managers cloud-based capabilities for synchronised data, controlled collaboration and real-time data monitoring. Wdesk enables users to link narrative with numbers and work simultaneously in the same version, which saves time, reduces errors and gives them confidence in their data when reporting to boards, regulatory bodies and other stakeholders.

08:03 EDT Cypress Semiconductor expands collaboration with Arm - Cypress Semiconductor announced that it has expanded its collaboration with Arm to enable secure, easy-to-use management of Internet of Things edge nodes based on Cypress' leading compute and connectivity hardware. The solution integrates the Arm Pelion IoT Platform with Cypress' ultra-low power, dual-core PSoC 6 microcontrollers and CYW4343W Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combo radios for robust wireless connectivity. PSoC 6 provides Arm v7-M hardware-based security that adheres to the highest level of device protection defined by the Arm Platform Security Architecture.

07:50 EDT Abbott CEO say expects to achieve 'upper end of our initial full-year guidance' - "We achieved another quarter of strong growth and our new product pipeline continues to be highly productive," said Miles White, chairman and CEO, Abbott. "In spite of increasing currency headwinds, we're well-positioned to achieve the upper end of our initial full-year guidance."

07:43 EDT Penske Automotive increases quarterly dividend to 37c per share - Penske Automotive Group announced that its Board of Directors has approved an increase in the cash dividend to 37c per share for the third quarter of 2018. The dividend is payable on December 4, 2018, to shareholders of record on November 12, 2018.

07:34 EDT Allergan completes two positive safety studies for migraine candidate Ubrogepant - Allergan completed two positive safety and tolerability studies of ubrogepant for the acute treatment of migraine. The first study evaluated the long-term safety and tolerability of ubrogepant compared to usual care for the acute treatment of migraine in adults for one year.The second study evaluated the hepatic safety and tolerability of ubrogepant 100 mg compared to placebo in healthy study participants over eight weeks. Based on the completion of these safety studies and previous efficacy and safety results, Allergan will submit a New Drug Application to the FDA by 1Q19. Allergan anticipates that the ubrogepant NDA will be the first oral CGRP receptor antagonist submitted in the U.S. for the acute treatment of migraine with or without aura.

07:32 EDT E.W. Scripps to acquire Triton for $150M - The E.W. Scripps Company is acquiring Triton, the global leader in digital audio technology and measurement services. Financial highlights include: The purchase price is $150M. The transaction will be financed with cash on hand. Triton will be immediately accretive to company margins. Triton's 2018 revenue is projected to be approximately $40M, with EBITDA projected in the mid-teen millions. Triton's 2019 revenue is projected to grow in the low to mid-teens percent range over 2018. The revenue multiple for the transaction is about 3.7x; the EBITDA multiple is about 9x. This is a stock acquisition, and therefore there is no step-up in the assets for tax purposes. The transaction is set to close before year end. Moelis & Company served as financial advisor to Triton for the transaction.

07:18 EDT uniQure presents new data on gene therapy manufacturing at ESGCT - uniQure presented new data demonstrating its ability to manufacture gene therapies using a 500 liter single-use, stirred tank reactor. This presentation was featured at the European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy, or ESGCT. uniQure produces its adeno associated virus, or AAV-based gene therapies in its Lexington-based manufacturing facility using a proprietary baculovirus expression vector system, or BEVs. The company recently initiated the development of a 500 liter stirred tank reactor process that has the potential to significantly increase manufacturing capacity and enhance scalability. Analysis of drug substance produced using the 500 liter stirred tank reactor showed that overall process performance, biological activity, content and product purity were comparable to material produced by smaller scale, wave-based reactors.

07:11 EDT Ultra Petroleum says production averaged 734 MMcfe per day in Q3 - During the third quarter of 2018, the company's production averaged 734 million cubic feet equivalent per day, which is above the mid-point of guidance. Production volumes include 63.8 billion cubic feet of natural gas and 624.2 thousand barrels of oil and condensate. "I am pleased with our team's execution and production coming in above the mid-point of guidance," said Ultra Petroleum Interim CEO Brad Johnson. "The combination of premier assets, a focused team, an improved capital structure after the Exchange Agreement, and stronger commodity prices are all contributing to a significantly improving outlook for the Company." The Company closed on the previously announced sale of its Utah assets for $75 million cash, with customary closing adjustments resulting in net proceeds of $69.3 million. The Company used most of the proceeds from the sale to fully pay down its revolving credit facility and as of September 30, 2018 had liquidity of approximately $338 million.Earlier this month, Ultra completed its relocation of its headquarters from Houston, Texas to Englewood, Colorado, a suburb of Denver. Ultra now has 71 employees based in Colorado and 84 employees in Wyoming.

07:10 EDT Aeglea BioTherapeutics announces new data on pegzilarginase at ASHG - Aeglea BioTherapeutics announced new interim clinical data at the 2018 American Society of Human Genetics, or ASHG, from its ongoing Phase 1/2 trial of pegzilarginase, its lead investigational therapy, in patients with the rare genetic disease Arginase 1 Deficiency, or ARG1-D. Overall, 100% of patients who completed Part 2 of the study achieved consistent levels of reduced arginine, which was also accompanied by marked and sustained decreases in guanidino compounds. Comprehensive baseline profiling of patients with ARG1-D demonstrated quantifiable abnormalities in mobility and/or adaptive behavior in 94% of patients. Pegzilarginase was well tolerated; most treatment-related AEs were mild, and hypersensitivity reactions were manageable with standard measures and all patients continued study treatment. A total of 67% of patients had clinically meaningful improvements in mobility and/or adaptive behavior after only eight weeks of repeat dosing with pegzilarginase.

07:08 EDT EU passenger car registrations down 23.5% in September - In September, registrations of new passenger cars in the European Union fell by 23.5%, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. "However, this should not come as a surprise, as the introduction of the new WLTP test at the beginning of last month caused an exceptional surge in registrations in August. As a result, most EU countries suffered double-digit losses in September, including the five major markets," said the ACEA. Publicly traded automakers include Daimler AG (DDAIF), Fiat Chrysler (FCAU), Ford (F), General Motors (GM), Honda (HMC), Nissan (NSANY), Toyota (TM) and Volkswagen (VLKAY).

07:06 EDT Fulton Financial sees Q4 NIM flat to up 3bps over Q3 - Fulton Financial said in slides being presented on its Q3 earnings conference call that it still sees average annual loan and core deposit growth rates in the low to mid single digits for FY18. The company sees flat to low single digit non-interest income, and still sees low single digit growth in non-interest expense including amortization of tax free investments. For Q4, Fulton sees NIM flat to up 3bps over Q3. Its FY18 effective tax rate is anticipated to range between 11% to 14% depending on level of tax credits realized.

07:04 EDT Cars.com's Dealer Inspire expands in Canada - Dealer Inspire, a Cars.com company that provides disruptive technology and digital marketing solutions to the automotive industry, announced today that it has become an official business entity in Canada. As a formally established Canadian business, DI brings more freedom of choice to innovative Canadian car dealers looking to power their dealerships with a connected suite of technology solutions that drive modern consumers from search to signature while making internal operations more efficient and cost-effective. The company has been working with approximately 300 Canadian dealers since 2013, but this news allows for deeper relationships and more rapid growth to reach the approximately 4,300 dealers in the market. Dealer Inspire is a certified provider for the Mazda, Volkswagen, Mercedes and Volvo Canada programs, which provides a short list of best-in-class partners for dealers to work with for their digital marketing needs.

07:01 EDT AMERI Holdings appoints Barry Kostiner CFO - AMERI Holdings appointed Barry Kostiner as its CFO effective immediately. Kostiner succeeds Viraj Patel, who will remain with the company through December 15 to ensure a smooth transition. Kostiner previously held senior leadership roles at growth companies primarily in the energy and energy trading sectors. Most recently, Kostiner was an advisor on capital markets and business development matters to LinKay Technologies and an advisor on data analytics and mergers and acquisitions strategy for a national skilled nursing facilities company.

06:51 EDT Auris Medical reports Phase 1 clinical trial results for intranasal betahistine - Auris Medical announced 'positive' results from the second Phase 1 trial evaluating intranasal betahistine in healthy volunteers. The study results demonstrated superior bioavailability over a range of four intranasal betahistine doses compared to oral betahistine, with plasma exposure being 6 to 29 times higher. Further, it confirmed the good safety profile of intranasal betahistine and showed that the treatment was well tolerated when administered three times daily for three days. The company plans to initiate two randomized double blind placebo controlled proof-of-concept studies with intranasal betahistine in 1Q19. In the Phase 2 "TRAVERS" clinical trial, the company will enroll patients suffering from acute vertigo following vestibular schwannoma resection. In the next step for the AM-201 program, the company will conduct a Phase 1 pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic study in healthy volunteers to evaluate intranasal betahistine in the prevention of olanzapine-induced weight gain.

06:49 EDT U.S. Bancorp CEO: Strong underlying momentum in each of our business lines - Andy Cecere, Chairman, President and CEO, U.S. Bancorp said, "Strong underlying momentum in each of our business lines drove record revenue, net income and EPS this quarter. We remain vigilant in our expense discipline while continuing to prudently invest in our core businesses as well as in our digital and payments capabilities. In the third quarter, we expanded our commercial banking presence, launched a new digital platform to serve our small business customers and acquired new capabilities in our payments business. At the same time, our focus on optimization allowed us to deliver positive operating leverage and a best-in-class efficiency ratio, while growing our industry leading return on tangible common equity ratio to 19.9%. I am thankful for our U.S. Bank team members who work every day to put the customer in the center with the goal of delivering outstanding results for each of our stakeholders."

06:47 EDT U.S. Bancorp reports Q3 return on average assets of 1.58% - Reports average common equity of 15.5%.

06:46 EDT U.S. Bancorp reports Q3 net interest margin 3.15% vs. 3.14% a year ago

06:41 EDT ArcelorMittal makes pavement to ensure Essar Steel offer is eligible - ArcelorMittal, in-line with the Indian Supreme Court ruling dated 4 October, has approved a payment of 7,469 crore rupees or around $1B to the financial creditors of Uttam Galva and KSS Petron to clear overdue debts in order that the offer it submitted for Essar Steel India on 2 April 2018 is eligible and can be considered by ESIL's Committee of Creditors. ArcelorMittal's Board of Directors concluded that, given the significant benefits that ESIL would bring to ArcelorMittal, making this payment was an appropriate course of action under the circumstances. ESIL's CoC now has an eight-week period to accept what it considers to be the best resolution plan from eligible applicants.

06:06 EDT Maxar Technologies subsidiary awarded up to $7M NASA contract - DigitalGlobe, a Maxar Technologies company announced that National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA, awarded the company a sole-source contract for high-resolution commercial electro-optical and synthetic aperture radar, or SAR, satellite imagery valued at up to $7M. NASA-funded researchers will use this data to advance the agency's science and application development goals to understand and explore Earth, improve lives, and safeguard our future. This one-year blanket purchase agreement includes four option years. Under this contract, NASA is able to purchase a variety of DigitalGlobe data and services, including DigitalGlobe's 18-year, 100-petabyte imagery library, new imagery collected by its WorldView constellation, analytics on the company's geospatial big data, or GBDX, platform and RADARSAT-2 SAR imagery from MDA, another Maxar company. DigitalGlobe's WorldView constellation includes sensors that collect near infrared imagery, providing information about plant health; shortwave infrared imagery, which identifies materials, detects heat and sees through smoke; and an instrument known as CAVIS, which corrects inconsistencies caused by clouds, aerosols, water vapor, ice and snow. MDA's RADARSAT-2 satellite allows users to observe features and changes regardless of weather or time of day. NASA's Earth science division is evaluating how Maxar's DigitalGlobe and MDA commercial data can augment or supplement the data from its own aging fleet of orbiting Earth science missions. DigitalGlobe's partnership with NASA extends back to 2001, during which time the two organizations have worked on Earth science research through the NASA scientific data Purchase program and Earth monitoring, imaging and mapping to help improve environmental decision-making among developing nations through the SERVIR program.

05:57 EDT Tesla's Musk vows to fix 'foolish oversight' in service locations - Tesla CEO Elon Musk tweeted last night, "Just reviewed Tesla's service locations in North America & realized we have major gaps in geographic coverage! Sorry for this foolish oversight. Tesla will aim to cover all regions of NA (not just big cities) within 3 to 6 months...Same goes for all countries within which we officially operate by end of next year."

05:50 EDT Samsung to acquire Zhilabs to expand AI-based automation portfolio - Samsung Electronics announced its acquisition of Zhilabs, known for its Artificial Intelligence-based network and service analytics, to further enhance its 5G capabilities. The acquisition lays the foundation for Samsung to foster its 5G offerings of automation and network analytics to finely tune the customer experiences in the 5G era. Zhilabs, fully owned by Samsung, will operate independently under its own management. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed. Samsung is looking forward to joint capabilities to create new cutting-edge technology in the transformation from 4G to 5G. In addition to the acquisition, Samsung will continue to strengthen its automation solutions that measure the quality of each user service and can also automatically optimize service quality without human intervention. The company will also explore and invest in other business opportunities powered by the emerging technologies. In August, Samsung announced plans to boost investments in businesses that will drive its future growth, committing to a KRW 25 trillion investment over the next three years in the areas of artificial intelligence, 5G, automotive electronics components and biopharmaceuticals.

05:25 EDT Royal Dutch Touring Club ANWB selects Pratt & Whitney for EMS fleet renewal - Pratt & Whitney, a division of United Technologies, announced that Royal Dutch Touring Club ANWB has selected Pratt & Whitney Canada's PW206B3 engine to power the three new Airbus H135P3s, the club is acquiring to renew its fleet of emergency medical services, or EMS, helicopters.

05:22 EDT iQIYI signs international distribution agreement with Viacom - iQIYI (IQ ) announced it has signed an agreement with Viacom International Media Networks, or VIMN, a division of Viacom (VIA, VIAB), to produce and distribute the second season of iQIYI's original animated children's series Deer Run. Viacom company Nickelodeon will assist in creative production of the show, which upon completion will air on Nickelodeon's international networks outside of China, with further opportunities for Deer Run's licensing potential outside of China to be explored.