Stockwinners Market Radar for October 25, 2018 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

19:38 EDT Flexsteel Industries sees sequential revenue and earnings growth - The company states: "The company expects sequential near-term revenue and earnings growth, subject to the impact of current and impending tariffs. The company remains committed to its core strategies, which include providing a wide range of quality product offerings and price points to the residential and contract markets, combined with a conservative approach to business. We strive for an agile business model and supply chain to adapt to changing customer requirements in all the markets we serve with the expectations that the company grows faster than the market. The company will maintain its focus on a strong balance sheet through emphasis on cash flow and increasing profitability. The company believes these core strategies are in the best interest of its shareholders."

19:13 EDT Yamana Gold to sell 100% interest in Gaulcamayo mine - Yamana Gold announced it has entered into a definitive purchase agreement to sell 100% of its interest in the Gualcamayo mine located in San Juan Province, Argentina to Mineros. Separately, the company has agreed to grant Mineros an option to acquire up to a 51% interest in the La Pepa project, located in the Maricunga gold belt, Chile, over an earn in period of four years, and then the remaining 49% interest pursuant to a call option. The total value of the consideration for Gualcamayo resulting from the Sale Transaction is in line with recent market valuations for comparable assets. These valuations are reflective of the current commodity price environment, which is approximately $100 per ounce of gold lower than as of December 31, 2017. This total value is estimated at approximately $85.0 million and, as such, the carrying value of Gualcamayo has been reduced to this amount. The Sale Transaction is subject to customary regulatory and third party approvals and other customary closing conditions and is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2018.

19:04 EDT Fly Intel: After Hours Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: MicroVision (MVIS) up 10.1%... LogMeIn (LOGM) up 9.4%... Expedia (EXPE) up 4.6%... Boston Beer (SAM) up 3.7%... Netgear (NTGR) up 3.2%... Chipotle (CMG) up 1.6%... Cypress Semi (CY) up 1.3%... Intel (INTC) up 1.1%... Mattel (MAT) up 0.5%. ALSO HIGHER: Mellanox (MLNX) up 15.5% after CNBC report that the company is seeking a sale. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Flex Ltd (FLEX) down 19.2%... Mohawk Industries (MHK) down 17.9%... Seattle Genetics (SGEN) down 15.8%... Lattice Semi (LSCC) down 14.4%... Proofpoint (PFPT) down 14.1%... AK Steel (AKS) down 13.5%... Ellie Mae (ELLI) down 13.3%... Western Digital (WDC) down 12.1%... Snap (SNAP) down 10.0%... First Solar (FSLR) down 9.5%... Arlo Technologies (ARLO) down 8.6%... Amazon (AMZN) down 7.6%... Power Integration (POWI) down 5.9%... Alphabet (GOOG) down 3.3%... Stryker (SYK) down 2.6%... Boot Barn (BOOT) down 2.3%... Cerner (CERN) down 1.7%... Discover Financial (DFS) down 1.7%... Century Aluminum (CENX) down 1.5%.

18:45 EDT Nutrien and Nutrien comment on Chilean Constitutional Court ruling - Nutrien Tianqi and Lithium have stated that they are "pleased with Chile's Constitutional Court decision to dismiss the Pampa Group's constitutional claim concerning the pending sale of a 24% minority stake in SQM to Tianqi. This allows the Tribunal de Defensa de la Libre Competencia to rule on the reconsideration motions filed by the Pampa Group, SQM and Conadecus against the TDLC's initial decision. That unanimous decision upheld Tianqi's agreement with Chile's antitrust enforcement authority on Tianqi's purchase of Nutrien's minority stake in SQM. Nutrien and Tianqi expect to close the sale by the end of the year as previously planned".

18:31 EDT Mellanox surges 14.5% after CNBC reports company seeking sale

18:30 EDT Eldorado Gold raises 2018 gold production view to 160K-170K oz. - Previous guidance was 140K-150K oz. Lowers 2018 guidance of cash cost per oz. sold to $650-$700 from $700-$800.

18:04 EDT Syndax falls over 21% after Phase 3 breast cancer study results - Shares of Syndax are down 21.35% to $4.75 per share in after-hours trading.

17:53 EDT Syndax says PFS analysis did not show statistically significant benefit - Syndax Pharmaceuticals announced it will provide an update on E2112, its NCI-sponsored, ECOG-ACRIN led pivotal trial of entinostat plus exemestane in hormone receptor positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 negative breast cancer as well as its registration strategy for entinostat in combination with KEYTRUDA in patients with non-small cell lung cancer, NSCLC, on Thursday, October 25 at 4:15 p.m. ET. As planned, ECOG-ACRIN is confidentially holding the findings from the PFS analysis until reporting final OS results. After recently performing the third interim OS analysis, ECOG-ACRIN informed the Company that the trial will continue as planned until either it observes an OS benefit or the final target number of events occur. The next interim analysis for the OS primary endpoint is scheduled for 2Q19 with additional interim analyses every six months. Based on the trial design, any positive OS assessment would enable the Company to file for full regulatory approval."While the PFS analysis did not show a statistically significant benefit, E2112 was primarily designed to determine whether the combination of entinostat and exemestane could improve OS based on the compelling OS results obtained in the Phase 2b ENCORE 301 trial," said Briggs W. Morrison, M.D., Chief Executive Officer of Syndax. "It was Phase 2b OS results that led to the FDA granting Breakthrough Therapy Designation for this indication and we remain confident in the opportunity for a positive OS trial."

17:41 EDT Snap extending afterhours decline following Q3 earnings call, now down over 10%

17:34 EDT Government Properties announces Jeffrey Leer as CFO - Government Properties Income Trust announced that David M. Blackman has been appointed as Managing Trustee of GOV, and Jeffrey C. Leer has been appointed as CFO and Treasurer, both effective January 1. Mr. Blackman joined The RMR Group in 2009 and has been a member of the senior executive team since that time. Mr. Blackman will continue to serve as President and Chief Executive Officer of GOV, Executive Vice President of The RMR Group (Nasdaq, Managing Trustee, President and Chief Executive Officer of Select Income REIT, and Managing Trustee, President and Chief Executive Officer of Tremont Mortgage Trust. Prior to joining RMR in 2009, Mr. Blackman was a real estate banker at Wachovia Corporation and its predecessors for over 20 years. Mr. Leer was recently promoted to Senior Vice President of RMR and he is currently responsible for the day to day oversight of the accounting and finance support functions of RMR and various affiliates. Mr. Leer has been with RMR for over five years in various accounting leadership functions. Prior to joining RMR, Mr. Leer held accounting and finance positions at several Fortune 500 companies as well as practiced for several years in public accounting. Mr. Leer is also a certified public accountant.

17:33 EDT Industrial Logistics Property Trust appoints John Murray as CEO - Industrial Logistics Properties Trust (ILPT) has appointed John G. Murray as Managing Trustee, President and CEO of ILPT, effective December 1. Murray joined The RMR Group (RMR) in 1993 and has been a member of its senior executive team since that time. Murray will continue to serve as Executive VP of RMR and Managing Trustee, President and CEO of Hospitality Properties Trust (HPT). Prior to joining RMR in 1993, Murray worked at Fidelity Investments and Ernst & Young LLP. Murray succeeds John Popeo, who is retiring and therefore resigning from his positions with both ILPT and RMR, effective November 30. Popeo has been with ILPT since its founding earlier this year, and he has been with RMR since 1997. To ensure a smooth transition, Popeo will remain a non-executive employee of RMR until his retirement on March 30, 2019.

17:31 EDT Select Income REIT appoints Jeff Leer CFO - Select Income REIT announced that Jeffrey Leer has been appointed as CFO and Treasurer, effective December 1. Leer succeeds John Popeo, who is retiring and therefore resigning from his positions, effective November 30.

17:26 EDT OceanFirst Financial increases quarterly dividend 13% - The company declared a quarterly cash dividend on common stock. The dividend, related to the three months ended September 30 of 17c per share will be paid on November 16 to stockholders of record on November 5.

17:25 EDT Nevsun Resources raises 2018 zinc production view to 245M-265M pounds - Had seen 210M-2140M pounds of zinc production in 2018. Raises 2018 copper production view to 33M-38M pounds from 20M-30M.

17:22 EDT First Solar plunges 8% after lowering yearly guidance on softer module sales - First Solar reported Q3 profit and revenue ahead of analyst expectations but lowered its yearly outlook due to reduced expectations for module sales higher manufacturing ramp costs and the revised expectation that the Ishikawa project in Japan will now be sold in 2019. First Solar said it sees FY18 revenue between $2.3B and $2.4B, compared with a prior guidance of revenue between $2.5B and $2.6B. First Solar said it expects EPS for FY18 between $1.40 and $1.60, versus a prior forecast of 1.50-$1.90. Analysts were expecting FY18 EPS of $1.65. Shares of First Solar are down over 8% or $3.52 per share in after-hours trading to $40 per share.

17:18 EDT Snap CFO says will focus on operating efficiencies and unit cost economics

17:15 EDT Mattel CEO says 'We are on track with the execution of our strategy' - Ynon Kreiz, Chairman and CEO of Mattel, said: "We are on track with the execution of our strategy and have made meaningful progress towards restoring profitability, as we transform Mattel into an IP-driven, high-performing toy company. In the quarter, we achieved Operating Income of $122 million, up 41% versus the same period last year, which is the first time in eight quarters that we have posted year-over-year growth. We are proud to say that we recaptured our position as the number one toy company globally in each of the last four months through September, according to NPD. We were also the number one toy company in the U.S. and Latin America year-to-date through September. We continued to make progress in reshaping our organization and are actively exploring strategic alternatives for our manufacturing footprint as we move toward a capital-light model. Additionally, we have taken meaningful steps to drive future growth and capitalize on our iconic brands and IP. This includes the creation of a new theatrical film division and a global franchise management organization." Joseph Euteneuer, CFO of Mattel, added: "We continue to be on-track to achieve or exceed our $650 million targeted run-rate cost savings exiting 2019 and are clearly seeing the benefits of Structural Simplification materializing in the P&L. The actions taken through the third quarter resulted in approximately $120 million of savings and we expect to deliver annual run-rate savings of over $500 million exiting 2018. We remain focused on value creation for our shareholders through our comprehensive actions to restore profitability and regain topline growth."

17:14 EDT Boeing awarded $131.56M Naval Air Systems Command contract - Boeing awarded not-to-exceed $131.56M for order N0001919F2410 against a previously issued basic ordering agreement. This undefinitized contract action is for the procurement and upgrade of weapon replaceable assemblies to optimize the Block I low-rate initial production F/A-18E/F infrared search and track systems, including technical risk reduction in support of engineering change proposal development and F/A-18 integration and tactics development. Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida and St. Louis, Missouri and is expected to be completed in April 2022. FY18 aircraft procurement funds in the amount of $42.97M will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command is the contracting activity.

17:07 EDT Identiv to acquire Thursby Software Systems - Identiv has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Thursby Software Systems, a provider of security software for mobile devices. The acquisition is expected to strengthen Identiv's identity offerings with complete solutions for secure and convenient logical access across smart cards and derived credentials on Apple iOS and Android mobile devices. Identiv's acquisition of Thursby is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected to close on or about November 1.

17:04 EDT Synergy does not believe it will obtain higher offers than those received - Synergy Pharmaceuticals provided a business update. In May 2018, Synergy announced that it was running a strategic review process. As part of this extensive review, the company, assisted by outside strategic and financial advisors, has been exploring multiple options and alternatives to create and enhance shareholder value. The company held in-depth discussions with numerous potential counterparties regarding various strategic alternatives during this process. To date, the offers received to acquire Synergy have been significantly below the company's current market value, and it has been unable to consummate any partnership opportunities. At this time, Synergy does not believe that it will obtain any offers that are significantly higher in value than those received to date. Nevertheless, Synergy remains committed to the continued evaluation of all opportunities to enhance shareholder value, and there is no set timetable for completing this process.

17:00 EDT SAP says Chief Innovation Officer Juergen Mueller to join SAP SE Board - SAP SE announced today that Chief Innovation Officer Juergen Mueller will join the company's Executive Board as head of Technology and Innovation, effective Jan. 1, 2019. Mueller has held his current role since 2016. He will retain his existing areas of responsibilities, and as member of the board he will also oversee SAP's platform and development business.

16:57 EDT International Game signs five-year agreement with Penn National - International Game Technology (IGT) announced that the company signed a five-year agreement with Penn Online Entertainment, LLC, a subsidiary of Penn National Gaming's (PENN) Penn Interactive Ventures for its PlayDigital division to provide a full suite of digital gaming products, including the platform, and services for the newly regulated Pennsylvania online gaming market. IGT's PlayDigital solutions for Penn National in Pennsylvania are targeted for deployment in the first quarter of 2019.

16:54 EDT Alphabet Class A says results were led by mobile search. - Says it has built on early rider program for Waymo. Says pleased with momentum in advertising businesses. Says AI makes Pixel camera "best in class". Says hardware efforts are picking up momentum. Says daily active users for Google home has increased five-fold. Says working with Ubisoft to stream Assassins Creed via Chromecast from laptops. Says educational content is a focus for YouTube. Comments taken from Q3 earnings conference call.

16:53 EDT Ellie Mae down over 11% afterhours at $70.30 after cutting FY18 guidance

16:50 EDT Stonepine Capital reports 6.1% passive stake in Scynexis

16:49 EDT Expedia sees 'more subdued' adjusted EBITDA growth in Q4 - Says certain adjusted EBITDA drivers "more seasonal" than other parts of business.

16:48 EDT TimkenSteel provides Q4 outlook - Normal seasonality will impact fourth-quarter outlook as customers balance inventories. Shipments are expected to be similar to fourth-quarter 2017 with continued improvement in mix. Raw material spread is expected to be similar to third-quarter 2018. Higher manufacturing costs and consumables inflation will be a headwind. Adjusted EBITDA is projected to be between $15 million and $25 million. At this time, the company is unable to reconcile its fourth-quarter outlook for Adjusted EBITDA to a comparable GAAP range due to an expected full re-measurement of its pension and OPEB plan assets and obligations at December 31, 2018. The amount of the gain or loss from the re-measurement cannot currently be estimated.

16:44 EDT Expedia narrows FY18 adjusted EBITDA growth view to 10%-12% from 7%-12% - Says expects to deliver good leverage and G&A in the quarters to come. Says "solid" operational performance led to "very robust" EPS growth. Comments taken from Q3 earnings conference call.

16:41 EDT First Light Asset Management reports 9.8% passive stake in Oxford Immunotec

16:36 EDT ServiceMaster names Michael Bisignano as new General Counsel - Bisignano joined ServiceMaster from CA Technologies, a leading global technology company, where he served as executive vice president, general counsel and secretary. There he managed a global team that supported a multi-billion dollar business enterprise, oversaw a range of domestic and international M&A transactions, administered an intellectual property portfolio of more than 1,200 patents, implemented a global data privacy and security program, and successfully resolved several critical litigations. Prior to joining CA, he was senior vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary for Blackboard Inc., a multinational technology company.

16:33 EDT Natural Resource Partners, Foresight Energy resolve legal disputes - Natural Resource Partners L.P. (NRP) and Foresight Energy LP (FELP) announced the settlement of the litigations regarding Foresight Energy's Hillsboro Energy Deer Run mine and Foresight Energy's Macoupin Energy Shay mine. Upon execution of final documents, NRP will receive a payment of $25M from Foresight Energy in consideration of disputed past due amounts. In addition, NRP and Foresight Energy will amend the Hillsboro Energy coal mining lease to provide $11M of non-recoupable annual minimum payments to NRP and extend the current lease term through the end of 2033. All claims will be dismissed in both the Hillsboro Energy and Macoupin Energy litigations.

16:31 EDT Snap assumes daily active users will decline sequentially in Q4 - Snap said in prepared remarks for today's earnings call, "Similar to last quarter, we are not giving specific DAU guidance, although our outlook assumes that Q4 DAUs will decline sequentially.

16:28 EDT USD Partners raises quarterly distribution 0.7% to 35.75c per unit - USD Partners LP announced that the board of directors of its general partner declared a quarterly cash distribution of 35.75c per unit for the third quarter of 2018, representing an increase of 0.25c per unit or 0.7% over the prior quarter and 3.6% over the third quarter of 2017. The distribution is payable on November 14, 2018, to unitholders of record at the close of business on November 6, 2018.

16:27 EDT Flex CEO Mike McNamara to retire, effective December 31 - The company announced that Michael McNamara, its CEO and a member of the company's Board of Directors, has decided to retire as CEO, effective December 31, 2018. The Board has engaged Heidrick & Struggles International to conduct a search for a new CEO and will be considering both internal and external candidates. Michael Capellas, Chairman of the Board, will actively assist the company's management with the CEO transition.

16:24 EDT Gardner Denver backs FY18 adjusted EBITDA guidance - "We are reaffirming our full year 2018 Adjusted EBITDA guidance range of $690 million to $705 million. Reaffirming our guidance range despite the known headwinds of FX and tariffs as well as some temporary flattening of demand in the upstream energy business due to the current Permian dynamic speaks to the expectation of ongoing commercial and operational execution across our three segments as well as prudent cost control. In addition, given strong cash generation and continued working capital discipline, we expect improvement in our leverage ratio and are targeting a net debt to Adjusted EBITDA ratio of approximately 2.0x by year end," the company stated.

16:21 EDT Hess Midstream Partners increases quarterly distribution - Hess Midstream Partners announced that the Board of Directors of its general partner declared a quarterly cash distribution of 35.75c per common unit for the quarter ended September 30, 2018. The distribution represents a 15% increase compared to the prior year quarter and a 3.6% increase compared to the second quarter of 2018. The distribution will be payable on November 13 to unitholders of record as of the close of business on November 5.

16:16 EDT Snap says investing in long-term growth opportunities - The company said, "We're investing in long-term growth opportunities and driving operational efficiencies. We achieved record revenue and strong bottom-line results this quarter and expect a record fourth quarter, as we continue to invest in innovation for our community and scale our business."

16:14 EDT Comfort Systems USA raises quarterly dividend by 0.5c to 9c - The dividend is payable on November 20, 2018 to stockholders of record at the close of business on November 9, 2018.

16:12 EDT Chipotle sees 2019 new restaurant openings 140-155

16:11 EDT Boyd Gaming still sees FY18 adjusted EBITDAR $660M-$675M

16:09 EDT Amazon.com down nearly 5% following earnings report

16:09 EDT Alphabet drops 3% to $1,066.47 after Q3 sales misses estimates

16:08 EDT Mohawk sees 1Q19 operating income $225M-$250M

16:07 EDT Amazon CEO says Business unit now at $10B annual sales run rate - "Amazon Business has now reached a $10 billion annual sales run rate and is serving millions of private and public-sector organizations in eight countries. And we're not slowing down - Amazon Business is adding customers rapidly, including large educational institutions, local governments, and more than half of the Fortune 100. These organizations are choosing Amazon Business because it increases transparency into business spending and streamlines purchasing, with increased control. The team is doing a fantastic job building and innovating for customers," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon founder and CEO.

16:07 EDT Cerner reports Q3 bookings $1.588B

16:06 EDT Mattel on track to achieve or exceed $650M run-rate savings exiting 2019

16:05 EDT Alphabet reports Q3 traffic acquisition cost $6.58B vs. $5.5B last year

16:04 EDT Alphabet reports Q3 properties revenues $24.05B vs. $19.72B last year - Reports Q3 Network Members' properties revenues $4.9B vs. $4.34B last year. Reports Q3 Other Bets revenues $146M vs. $117M last year.

16:02 EDT Amazon.com reports Q3 AWS net sales $6.68B vs. $4.58B last year - Reports Q3 AWS operating income $2.08B vs. $1.17B a year ago.

15:57 EDT KCAP Financial trading resumes

15:45 EDT JD.com announces new parcel delivery service for Chinese consumers - JD.com announced that it opened its logistic network to consumers last week with its new parcel delivery service. "Now people across China can use JD's service to send parcels around the country, marking the first entry by an e-commerce company into that nation's parcel delivery business," the company stated. Users who live in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou can now use JD's app to arrange to send items intracity and throughout Mainland China, JD stated. The company said it aims to expand the program to include high-value items like luxury products and high-end consumer electronics. Additionally, JD hopes to offer consumers residential and business deliveries for shipments from nearly any point to any other within Mainland China in the future.

15:27 EDT Manning & Napier trading halted, news pending

14:06 EDT UPS to launch 'first-of-its-kind' U.S. urban delivery solution In Seattle - In an effort to address growing traffic congestion and air quality concerns, UPS and Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan today announced the deployment of an innovative downtown delivery pilot project using pedal-assist cargo eBikes and customized, modular trailers. The cargo eBikes will operate in the historic Pike Place Market and downtown Seattle area on sidewalks and in designated bike lanes. "While we have launched cycle logistic projects in other cities, this is the first one designed to meet a variety of urban challenges," said Scott Phillippi, UPS's senior director of maintenance and engineering, international operations. "The modular boxes and trailer allow us to expand our delivery capabilities and meet the unique needs of our Seattle customers. It's exciting to return to our roots - UPS started in Seattle in 1907 as a bicycle messenger company. We're looking forward to being able to offer these customizable urban delivery solutions to other cities nationwide."

13:56 EDT Southwest says ongoing engine fan blade inspections have found one crack - Says expects to find a "couple" cracks in engine fan blades every year.

13:34 EDT ChemoCentryx announces avacopan presentations at ASN - ChemoCentryx announced presentations of its lead drug candidates avacopan, a complement 5a receptor inhibitor, and CCX140, an inhibitor of the chemokine receptor known as CCR2, during the American Society of Nephrology, ASN, Kidney Week 2018, the world's premier nephrology meeting, being held October 23-28 in San Diego. Primary endpoints of the Phase III ADVOCATE trial are proportion of patients in remission at week 26 based on a Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score of zero and not taking glucocorticoid steroids within 4 weeks prior to week 26 and proportion of patients who sustain remission from week 26 through week 52 and not taking GCS within 4 weeks prior to week 52. Quality of life will also be assessed over the 52 weeks. Other endpoints include adverse events, requirement for rescue medications, renal disease markers, GCS Toxicity Index, and Vasculitis Damage Index.ChemoCentryx recently announced the completion of patient enrollment in the ADVOCATE Phase III pivotal trial with 316 patients enrolled with topline data expected in Q4 2019.

13:17 EDT AptarGroup names Shiela Vinczeller chief human resources officer - AptarGroup (ATR) announced that Shiela Vinczeller was named chief human resources officer. Shiela will join Aptar on November 1, 2018 and will become a member of Aptar's Executive Committee. Prior to joining Aptar, Shiela spent 12 years in human resources leadership roles at International Paper (IP).

13:12 EDT AstraZeneca says Phase 3 HARMONIZE trial confirms efficacy of Lokelma - AstraZeneca presented the results from the HARMONIZE Global Phase 3 trial, which investigated the safety and efficacy of Lokelma vs. placebo in patients with hyperkalaemia in Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Russia. The results were presented at the American Society of Nephrology Kidney Week 2018, San Diego, California. Patients who achieved normokalaemia during the first 48 hours with Lokelma 10g three times daily progressed to the 28-day maintenance phase of the trial. Patients in the maintenance phase were randomized to receive Lokelma 5g or 10g, or placebo, administered once daily. Results show normokalaemia was maintained with statistically-significant differences observed, irrespective of dose, for Lokelma vs. placebo in terms of mean potassium levels during days 8-29 of the maintenance phase. The safety profile of Lokelma observed in HARMONIZE Global was consistent with previous trials.

13:05 EDT CARBO Ceramics, PicOnyx in pact to produce M-Tone black pigments - PicOnyx and Carbo Ceramics plan to establish a strategic partnership for the production of M-Tone, an innovative family of unique, high performance black pigments. M-Tone addresses customer needs for black pigments with higher performance and greater functionality, that are more environmentally friendly. PicOnyx will receive assets and services from CARBO and CARBO will become a strategic shareholder in the company. The partnership provides PicOnyx with significant manufacturing capacity, production capabilities and resources to support its aggressive growth plans for M-ToneTM. The manufacturing operation is expected to be operational in early 2019 and will be capable of supporting PicOnyx's future production needs for the next several years. "This partnership is a significant milestone for PicOnyx and provides a platform for delivering value to the market, our customers and shareholders," said Dave Bening, CEO of PicOnyx. "With a world class manufacturing partner and consolidated supply chain, we can provide customers with sustainable product economics, capacity for long term supply and confidence in our ability to consistently deliver high quality products. We look forward to working with Carbo as our growth partner."

12:39 EDT Southwest sees 'very strong' y/y earnings growth in Q4, consensus $1.06

12:33 EDT Quest to acquire outreach lab services operations of Marin General Hospital - Quest Diagnostics and Marin General Hospital have entered into a definitive agreement for Quest to acquire the outreach laboratory services operations of Marin General Hospital. The transaction will enhance the delivery of innovative, high-value diagnostic information services to communities in Marin County, Calif. Physicians and patients will benefit from an enhanced test menu, which includes advanced diagnostic services, and an expanded network of conveniently located patient service centers. The acquisition is not subject to government review, and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2018. Additional terms were not disclosed.

12:02 EDT Network-1 Technologies issued another U.S. patent - Network-1 Technologies announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued U.S. Patent No. 10,108,642. The claims of the newly issued '642 patent are generally directed towards systems used for content extraction and identification, including performance of actions following therefrom. The newly issued '642 patent arises from a patent application contained in the patent portfolio acquired by Network-1 from Professor Ingemar Cox in 2013. The Cox Patent Portfolio includes patents relating to enabling technology for identifying media content, such as music and videos, and taking further actions to be performed based on such identification including, among others, the insertion of advertisements and the facilitation of the purchase of goods and services relating to the media content. Since the acquisition of the Cox Patent Portfolio, Network-1 has filed thirty-two additional patent applications, twenty-four of which have been issued bringing the total Cox Patent Portfolio of granted patents to twenty-eight. Eight applications relating to the original specification are still pending and Network-1 anticipates further issuances of additional claims for its Cox Patent Portfolio.

11:42 EDT HHS says drug prices in U.S. 1.8x higher than in other countries for top drugs - The HHS released a report today discussing drug prices in the U.S., noting that prices charged by drug manufacturers to wholesalers and distributors in the United States are 1.8 times higher than in other countries for the top drugs by total expenditures separately paid under Medicare Part B. U.S. prices were higher for most of the drugs included in the analysis, and U.S. prices were more likely to be the highest prices paid among the countries in the study. In the paper, the HHS found that overall, the prices paid for Medicare Part B drugs with the greatest expenditures in the U.S. exceeded the prices paid in countries with similar economic conditions. The amount by which U.S. prices exceeded those of international comparators varied significantly by product, and there was no clear pattern as to which countries were consistently paying lower prices. "We find these higher U.S. prices mean that the Medicare program pays nearly twice as much as it would pay for the same or similar drugs in other countries," the HHS said. Publicly traded companies in the space include AstraZeneca (AZN), Bristol-Myers (BMY), Eli Lilly (LLY), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Merck (MRK), Novartis (NVS), Pfizer (PFE), Roche (RHHBY) and Sanofi (SNY). Reference Link

11:35 EDT General Electric, E.ON partner on repowering project in West Texas - E.ON (EONGY announced it is partnering with GE (GE) to repower its Panther Creek I and Panther Creek II wind farms in West Texas. The repowering includes the replacement of a significant portion of the components, effectively increasing the annual production for all 172 wind turbine generators totaling 258 megawatts on the sites.

11:22 EDT Shopify platform 'natural fit' for recreational use cannabis, COO says - Shopify (SHOP) COO Harley Finkelstein said on this morning's earnings call, "In October, Shopify Plus entered new retail territory in Canada, when cannabis was legalized here on October 17. While we don't normally call out specific verticals, we have been fielding several questions about this one given how new it is and the fact it is a highly regulated industry. We have actually already been the platform of choice for licensed producers of medical cannabis in Canada for years. So with the legalization of cannabis for recreational use, Shopify was a natural fit. We are now powering recreational cannabis sales for the largest Canadian provincial governments as well as the leading licensed producers and private retailers. These retailers recognize that Shopify's technology is uniquely positioned to help them adapt to the demands of regulators and fulfill key requirements. We are proud of what we've been able to accomplish in a tight period of time, given the complexities in introducing a new and regulated industry." Shares of Shopify, a multi-channel commerce platform, are up 7%, or $8.55, to $130.78 following this morning's Q3 earnings report. Publicly traded companies in the cannabis space include Aurora Cannabis (ACB), CV Sciences (CVSI), CannTrust Holdings (CNTTF), Canopy Growth (CGC), Cronos Group (CRON), General Cannabis (CANN), India Globalization Capital (IGC) and Tilray (TLRY).

11:18 EDT Resolute Forest investing $40M in Northwestern Ontario operations - Resolute Forest Products announced $40M in investments at its Northwestern Ontario operations, in addition to $13.5M in major maintenance and the creation of 25 new jobs. The investment plan includes $14.7M for the company's Thunder Bay pulp and paper mill to improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as well as $14.3M to improve pulp capacity, reduce costs and maintain assets. Resolute also expects to spend $13.5M in major maintenance at the facility in 2018. An additional $5.6M is earmarked for the modernization of the planer line at the company's Thunder Bay sawmill, located on Fort William First Nation land, as well as $5.4M to optimize its Atikokan, Ignace and Thunder Bay sawmills. These initiatives are expected to increase the annual production capacity of the facilities by a combined 50M board feet of lumber. Twenty-five full-time jobs have been created. Close to 90% of the new lumber and pulp capacity is destined for export markets. More than half of project expenditures are slated for the last quarter of 2018.

10:44 EDT Tesla rises as analysts digest first profit in two years - Shares of Tesla (TSLA) are on the rise after the company reported third quarter results, with a net profit of $312M, the electric-vehicle maker's largest ever. Tesla also said deliveries of its Model 3 grew to 56,000, adding that it "was the best-selling car in the U.S. in terms of revenue and the 5th best-selling car in terms of volume." Following the announcement, Wolfe Research analyst Dan Galves upgraded Tesla to Outperform, while several other firms raised their targets on the stock. Nonetheless, some Wall Street analysts remain bearish on Tesla, telling investors to "not get used to [this quarter's profitability.]" RESULTS: Last night, Tesla reported third quarter adjusted earnings per share of $2.90 and revenue of $6.82B, both above consensus of (19c) and $6.3B, respectively. The company said that, "Model 3 quarterly production and deliveries should continue to increase in the fourth quarter compared to the third quarter. Our target of delivering 100,000 Model S and X vehicles this year remains unchanged. We expect gross margin for Model 3 to remain stable in the fourth quarter as manufacturing efficiencies and fixed cost absorption offset a slightly lower trim mix and the negative impact of tariffs from Chinese sourced components. For all three vehicles, additional tariffs in the fourth quarter on parts sourced from China will impact our gross profit negatively by roughly $50M [...] The third quarter of 2018 was a truly historic quarter for Tesla. Model 3 was the best-selling car in the U.S. in terms of revenue and the 5th best-selling car in terms of volume. With average weekly Model 3 production through the quarter, excluding planned shutdowns, of roughly 4,300 units per week, we achieved GAAP net income of $312M." WOLFE RESEARCH SAYS BUY TESLA: In a post-earnings research note, Wolfe Research's Galves upgraded Tesla to Outperform from Peer Perform, with a $410 price target. Saying that "Tesla became a real company," the analyst argued that third quarter non-GAAP earnings of $2.90 and free cash flow of $881M are proof that Tesla's earnings power is likely to outperform traditional automakers. Management's focus on cost and capital efficiency boosted Galves' confidence that priorities have changed from unit growth at all cost to profitable growth and self-funding. Further, the analyst argued that demand and margin outlook appear "very positive" and the fact that 50% of trade-ins on the Model 3 are non-luxury vehicles indicates the buyer base is likely bigger than expected. Also bullish on the stock, Piper Jaffray analyst Alexander Potter raised his price target for Tesla to $396 from $389 as he believes the company reported a "milestone quarter," with margins, earnings, and cash flow easily beating expectations. While there is a still a lot of "hair" on the company, bears will struggle to poke holes in the results, Potter contended, adding that Tesla appears increasingly likely to achieve financial self-sufficiency. The analyst reiterated an Overweight rating on Tesla shares. Oppenheimer, JMP Securities, and RBC Capital also raised their price targets on the stock. 'DON'T GET USED TO IT': Still bearish on Tesla shares, UBS analyst Colin Langan reiterated a Sell rating on the stock in a research note titled "Profitability at last, just don't get used to it." The analyst continues to expect Model 3 average selling prices to decline into fourth quarter and 2019 as Tesla begins delivering the new $46,000 mid-range model. Voicing a similar opinion, Needham analyst Rajvindra Gill told investors that while Tesla posted its first quarterly profit and positive free cash flow in over two years thanks to higher-margin Model 3 sales, he remains concerned over margin in the first half of 2019 given an "unfavorable mix shift of Model 3s, decline in ZEV sales, service margins stay in -35%-40% and pricing pressure on Model S/X." Gill also questions the speed and profitability of Tesla's production of a $45K car, "not to mention the $35K version", in order to match its backlog of orders. The analyst reiterated an Underperform rating on the shares. PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, shares of Tesla have gained about 5% to $302.46.

10:08 EDT Standex raises dividend to 20c from 18c per share - Standex announced that its board of directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of 20c per share, which is payable November 27 to shareholders of record November 8. The dividend represents a 2c per share increase over the last four quarterly dividends, the company noted.

10:00 EDT WPP falls -17.5% - WPP is down -17.5%, or -$12.26 to $57.75.

10:00 EDT Curo Group falls -27.4% - Curo Group is down -27.4%, or -$6.25 to $16.61.

10:00 EDT CVR Refining rises 13.2% - CVR Refining is up 13.2%, or $2.36 to $20.28.

09:59 EDT Southwest CEO says well positioned for y/y unit revenue growth in 2019 - Gary C. Kelly, Chairman of the Board and CEO, stated, "With our new reservation system in place since last year, we have more capabilities and are well-positioned to drive revenue growth. We expect $80 million to $90 million of year-over-year improvement in fourth quarter 2018 pre-tax results from these enhanced capabilities, which is in line with our annual 2018 pre-tax goal of $200 million. On the cost side, our third quarter 2018 unit cost performance was in line with our expectations. Our fuel hedge portfolio mitigated a significant portion of market jet fuel price increases, and we are pleased with the fuel hedge in place for both fourth quarter 2018 and annual 2019. Based on current trends, we continue to expect modest year-over-year inflation in our annual 2018 unit costs, excluding fuel and oil expense and profitsharing expense. Based on our second half 2018 revenue trends, we are well-positioned for year-over-year unit revenue growth in 2019, with easier year-over-year comparisons in first half. We also will continue to experience year-over-year unit cost inflation in 2019, excluding fuel and oil expense and profitsharing expense, of at least three percent, as we continue investing in and deploying new operations, technology, and airport infrastructure to support future growth. With the 2017 retirement of our Boeing 737-300 Classic fleet, launch of the 737 MAX, and implementation of our new reservation system, we continue with our efforts to modernize our fleet, optimize our network, and pursue additional revenue opportunities. Given our healthy revenue outlook, and despite expected cost increases, our 2019 goal is to expand margins year-over-year. We are refocusing our efforts to control costs and drive efficiency, and, as ever, we remain steadfast in our efforts to produce industry-leading margins and superior returns in excess of our cost of capital. For next year, Hawaii is our expansion focus, and we continue to expect 2019 available seat miles to increase no more than five percent, year-over-year."

09:56 EDT AB InBev says 'optimistic' on Argentina near-term

09:49 EDT Pluralsight trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:47 EDT GrubHub falls -16.1% - GrubHub is down -16.1%, or -$17.65 to $91.97.

09:47 EDT WPP falls -18.0% - WPP is down -18.0%, or -$12.57 to $57.44.

09:47 EDT Knowles rises 15.3% - Knowles is up 15.3%, or $2.10 to $15.82.

09:44 EDT KCAP Financial trading halted, news dissemination

09:36 EDT 111 forms partnerships with Mentholatum China, Zhongxin Pharmaceuticals - 111, Inc. announced it has established strategic partnerships with Mentholatum Pharmaceuticals, the Chinese branch of The Mentholatum Company, and Tianjin Zhongxin Pharmaceuticals Group. 111 will leverage its online distribution channels and data solutions to directly support the digital integration strategies for each brand. 111's experience in growing into a leading online and offline healthcare platform serves as an ideal example for many pharmaceutical suppliers and manufacturers looking to gain market share in a quickly transforming digitally integrated industry. 111's integrated online and offline healthcare platform leverages a proven business model to provide suppliers with a strong distribution ecosystem that comprises of an array of comprehensive product and service channels, a large-scale user base, and supply chain management expertise. Since 2010, this has included 111's online retail pharmacy "1 Drugstore", online medical services through its internet hospital "1 Clinic", and online wholesale pharmacy "1 Drug Mall". Mentholatum China and Zhongxin Pharmaceuticals will work with 1 Drug Mall to expand online wholesale distribution, increase collaboration with both retail pharmacies and private medical institutions as well as leverage 111's smart supply chain and data intelligence solutions. Under the terms of the partnership, 111 will act as the primary distributor for Mentholatum China and Zhongxin Pharmaceuticals' core products in China.

09:32 EDT AB InBev says cost of sales increases concentrated in 2H

09:27 EDT AMD CEO says margins will be 41% in Q4 despite GPU channel inventory - AMD CEO Lisa Su is speaking on CNBC.

09:23 EDT AB InBev says first priority of cash is to invest in brands - Says will look at M&A "if and when it arrives."

09:22 EDT AMD says GPU inventories 'ended up being larger than expected' - AMD CEO Lisa Su is speaking on CNBC.

09:21 EDT Charles & Colvard announces strategic retail partnership with Macy's - Charles & Colvard (CTHR) announced a new strategic retail partnership with Macy's (M) to provide customers with a curated collection of Charles & Colvard lab-created moissanite jewelry. "This new relationship with a premier, iconic retailer provides broad access to an attractive and large customer base driving nearly $25 billion in annual sales," said Charles & Colvard president and CEO, Suzanne Miglucci. "Our initial focus is providing a custom collection of fine and fashion moissanite jewelry in Macy's online store at Macys.com. As we validate the alignment of customer and product, our partnership provides the opportunity to expand through other Macy's customer channels."

09:18 EDT Terreno Realty acquires Kent, Washington property for $12.4M - Terreno Realty Corporation acquired an industrial property located in Kent, Washington on October 24, 2018 for a purchase price of approximately $12.4M. The property consists of one 12.7-acre improved land parcel. A new rear-load industrial distribution building is under development on the site and will contain approximately 220,000 square feet when completed prior to year end 2019. The property is at 8615 South 192nd Street, adjacent to Washington State Route 167 in the Northern Kent Valley and will provide 47 dock-high and two grade-level loading positions, 36-foot clear height, and parking for 137 cars and 30 trailers. The estimated stabilized cap rate of the property is 5.6% and the total expected investment is $33.9M.

09:15 EDT American Airlines says seen no falloff in corporate travel share - Says three times more customers buying up from basic economy. Says seen no falloff in corporate travel share. Says domestic corporate revenue up 10% in Q3.

09:13 EDT AB InBev rebasing dividend payout to accelerate deleveraging - AB InBev stated: "Consistent with [our] long-standing capital allocation priorities and in light of recent currency volatility, we are rebasing our dividend payout to accelerate deleveraging toward our optimal capital structure of around a 2x net debt to EBITDA ratio while continuing to prioritize investment in organic growth opportunities and creating greater financial flexibility. The AB InBev Board has approved an interim dividend of 0.80 EUR per share for the fiscal year 2018. In addition, the AB InBev Board intends to propose a final dividend of 1.00 EUR per share for the fiscal year 2018, to be paid in May 2019, subject to the annual shareholders' meeting approval, which would result in a total dividend payment for the fiscal year 2018 of 1.80 EUR per share. Following this rebase of 50%, we expect dividends to be a growing flow over time in line with the non-cyclical nature of our business. However, growth in the short term is expected to be modest given the importance of deleveraging."

09:12 EDT Abbott introduces new influenza assays - Abbott's next-generation Influenza A & B 2 and Strep A 2 molecular assays for point-of-care testing has been cleared by the FDA. These new assays enable faster time to molecular influenza A & B and Strep A results at the point of care. Currently available on the ID Now platform, both assays have been granted a Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments certificate of waiver.

09:06 EDT Pareteum, global Australasia carrier sign $4M agreement - Pareteum announced a three-year, $4M contract with an Asia, Pacific and Australasia-based global communications carrier to provide its cloud platform product suite for a major prepaid international voice services market.

09:04 EDT Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Twitter (TWTR), up 11%... Tesla (TSLA), up 10%... Ford (F), up 4%... Mellanox (MLNX), up 10%... Xilinx (XLNX), up 12%... Knowles (KN), up 13%. ALSO HIGHER: Hilton (HLT), up 6% after Pershing Square acquires 3.7% stake. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: AMD (AMD), down 21%... Align Technology (ALGN), down 20%... Southwest (LUV), down 8%... AB InBev (BUD), down 10%... WPP (WPP), down 19%.

09:04 EDT Ovid Therapeutics announces additional data from STARS trial at AACAP - Ovid Therapeutics announced additional exploratory efficacy data and analyses from the company's Phase 2 STARS trial that further support the potential of OV101, a novel selective extrasynaptic GABAA receptor agonist that is being investigated to treat Angelman syndrome. Angelman syndrome is a life-long genetic disorder that is characterized by a variety of signs and symptoms, and for which there are no FDA-approved medicines or an established treatment paradigm. The additional efficacy data and analyses are being presented in a poster at the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, or AACAP, annual meeting. The additional data and analyses revealed changes in certain sleep parameters and motor domains in both adults and adolescents in the OV101 15 mg once-daily dose group as further described in the detailed STARS data summary below. Ovid believes these observed changes may have contributed to the statistically significant improvement observed in the clinician-rated clinical global impressions of improvement, or CGI-I, symptoms overall in the 15 mg once-daily OV101 dose group compared to placebo after 12 weeks of treatment, as reported in the topline data from the STARS trial on August 6. CGI-I is a global measure commonly used in clinical trials that allows the clinician to capture improvement in a constellation of clinical symptoms.

09:02 EDT AB InBev sees 'strong' revenue, EBITDA growth in FY18 - AB InBev says, "While recognizing volatility in some of our key markets, we expect to deliver strong Revenue and EBITDA growth in FY18, driven by the solid performance of our brand portfolio and strong commercial plans. Our growth model is now far more focused on category development, and as a consequence, we expect to deliver revenue per hl growth ahead of inflation based on premiumization and revenue management initiatives, while keeping costs below inflation. We remain confident that growth will accelerate in the balance of the year. We maintain our 3.2 billion USD synergy and cost savings expectation on a constant currency basis as of August 2016. From this total, 547 million USD was reported by former SAB as of 31 March 2016, and 2 174 million USD was captured between 1 April 2016 and 30 September 2018. The balance of roughly 500 million USD is expected to be captured by October 2020... We expect dividends to be a growing flow over time starting from the rebased level, although growth in the short term is expected to be modest given the importance of deleveraging."

08:59 EDT Ford recalls approximately 1.5M 2012-2018 Ford Focus vehicles - Ford is issuing a recall for approximately 1.5 million select 2012-18 Ford Focus vehicles equipped with 2.0-liter GDI and 2.0-liter GTDI engines for a malfunctioning canister purge valve. Affected vehicles are equipped with a canister purge valve that may become stuck in an open position. If this occurs, an excessive vacuum in the fuel system could cause deformation of the vehicle's plastic fuel tank. As a result, the customer could observe a malfunction indicator light or a fuel gauge with fluctuating or inaccurate fuel levels. This could lead to a stall while driving and/or an inability to restart the vehicle, which can increase the risk of a crash. Ford is not aware of any accidents, injuries or fires as a result of this condition. Affected vehicles include 2012-18 Ford Focus 2.0-liter GDI vehicles built at Michigan Assembly Plant prior to April 13, 2017 and 2.0-liter GTDI vehicles built prior to Feb. 2, 2018. There are approximately 1,463,389 vehicles in North America relating to this concern, with 1,282,596 in the United States and federalized territories, 136,272 in Canada and 44,521 in Mexico.

08:49 EDT American Airlines sees FY capacity growth just over 2% - Sees $300M cost improvement in 2019. Says excited about near and long-term future. Says "confident" will return to revenue out performance and earnings growth in 2019. Says financed all mainline deliveries through June 2019. Says did not repurchase any stock in Q3. Sees FY capacity growth just over 2%. Says reviewing 2019 capacity plans as fuel costs remain high. Says still sees 2019 growth in line with or below GDP. Says will continue to focus on growing network opportunities. Comments taken from Q3 earnings conference call.

08:48 EDT BGC Partners CFO Steven McMurray resigning, interim CFO named - BGC Partners announced changes and additions to its finance team. CFO Steven R. McMurray has informed the board of his intention to resign, effective as of December 15. McMurray will remain in his current role until this date in order to help oversee the planned spin-off of Newmark from BGC in addition to his ordinary duties. McMurray is stepping down for personal and family reasons, and is not pursuing another position at this time. The board has appointed Sean Windeatt, who is currently COO and Executive VP, as Interim CFO, effective December 16. Windeatt will serve as Interim CFO in addition to his current duties until a permanent replacement is named. Windeatt has been BGC's COO since January 2009. Windeatt has also served in various other roles for the company since 1997.

08:46 EDT Altria removing pod-based e-vapor products from market until approved by FDA - In September, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a number of additional steps to address underage use of e-vapor products. The FDA also asked several companies, including Altria, to provide plans to address underage use of e-vapor products. "Altria welcomed FDA's action and recently met with FDA Commissioner Gottlieb to discuss actions that could be taken," the company stated. Today, Altria announced the following actions: Nu Mark will remove from the market MarkTen Elite and Apex by MarkTen pod-based products until these products receive a market order from the FDA or the youth issue is otherwise addressed; For its remaining MarkTen and Green Smoke cig-a-like products, Nu Mark will sell only tobacco, menthol and mint varieties. Nu Mark will discontinue the sale of all other flavor variants of our cig-a-like products until these products receive a market order from the FDA or the youth issue is otherwise addressed; and Altria will support federal legislation to establish 21 as the minimum age to purchase any tobacco product.

08:42 EDT ElectraMeccanica announces partnership with The Meriwether Group - Electra Meccanica announced that they are partnering with The Meriwether Group services organization based in Portland, Oregon, to help expand business opportunities and brand exposure. Electra Meccanica recently launched their new single-passenger SOLO EV to audiences in Southern California and is opening a dealership/showroom in the Studio City suburb of Los Angeles with plans for expansion up the West Coast.

08:40 EDT Shell Midstream increases quarterly distribution 4.7% to 38.2c per share - Shell Midstream announced that the board of its general partner declared a cash distribution of 38.2c per limited partner unit for Q3. This represents an increase of 4.7% over the previous quarterly distribution of 36.5c per unit and a 20% percent increase over the distribution paid with respect to the third quarter of 2017. The distribution will be paid November 14 to unitholders of record as of November 5.

08:39 EDT Deluxe increases share repurchase program to $500M

08:37 EDT Kimball International says Kristine Juster to succeed Bob Schneider as CEO - Kimball International announced that Kristine L. Juster, a member of the Kimball International Board of Directors since 2016, has been appointed CEO, effective November 1, 2018. Juster succeeds Bob Schneider, who previously announced his intent to retire as CEO and Chairman effective October 31, 2018.

08:34 EDT Turtle Beach becomes offical BLAST Pro Series Copenhagen partner - Turtle Beach announced it is the Official Partner of the highly-anticipated BLAST Pro Series Copenhagen tournament. Taking place in Copenhagen, Denmark on November 3, 2018 the tournament will showcase six of the world's top Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams -including local favorite, and current World #1, Astralis - battling it out to be crowned tournament champion.

08:28 EDT Fibrocell Science completes Type C meeting with FDA on FCX-007 trial design - Fibrocell Science announced completion of a Type C meeting with the FDA to discuss the design of a Phase 3 clinical trial protocol of FCX-007, the company's gene therapy candidate for the treatment of recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, or RDEB. The meeting was facilitated by the current data in Fibrocell's ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial of FCX-007 and the recent publication of draft guidance from the FDA in the areas of gene therapy and epidermolysis bullosa. The FDA provided guidance on various design aspects of Fibrocell's proposed Phase 3 clinical trial. In addition, Fibrocell received guidance on chemistry, manufacturing and control, or CMC, requirements for the proposed Phase 3 clinical trial and a potential future biologics license application, or BLA, for FCX-007. Based on the feedback from the meeting, Fibrocell plans to submit the protocol in the Q4 and will provide details on the clinical trial design once it is finalized.

08:26 EDT Clearside Biomedical appoints Thomas Ciulla to CMO - Clearside Biomedical (CLSD) announced the appointment of Thomas Ciulla. to the position of CMO. A board certified ophthalmologist and retinal specialist, Ciulla brings over 27 years of clinical practice, academic and executive management experience within the global ophthalmic industry to Clearside. Prior to joining Clearside, Ciulla served as VP, ophthalmic strategy lead at Spark Therapeutics (ONCE).

08:25 EDT Nielsen weighing new approaches to financial reporting - NLSN CFO Dave Anderson said some potential enhancements the company is considering in adding to its financial reporting are adding non-GAAP EPS, organic revenue growth, maintaining focus on key segments and sub-segments/simplify message. Providing annual guidance with color on quarterly expectations, as opposed to only providing annual guidance. Comments provided during Q3 earnings conference call and presentation slides.

08:18 EDT Baxter announces U.S. regulatory filing for PrisMax acute care system - Baxter International announced it has submitted the PrisMax system for 510(k) clearance to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Baxter intends to provide demonstrations of the PrisMax system at booth #1719 as well as present data on 15 abstracts on HDx therapy enabled by Theranova and Sharesource remote patient management innovations at the American Society of Nephrology's: Kidney Week 2018 meeting this week. PrisMax is the company's most advanced technology for continuous renal replacement therapy, which is performed when a patient experiences acute kidney injury. With input from more than 650 healthcare practitioners around the world, the acute care system was designed to make delivering therapy simpler and more efficient while improving treatment accuracy. Baxter also intends to highlight 13 data presentations on the safety, efficacy and health-related quality of life associated with HDx therapy, and two additional presentations on a reported reduction in hospitalizations and an increase in cost efficiencies for PD therapy associated with the use of remote patient management technology.

08:15 EDT Allena to highlight poster on design of URIROX-1 trial at ASN Kidney Week - Allena Pharmaceuticals announced that it will present clinical data characterizing the significant unmet need in patients with enteric hyperoxaluria in a poster presentation at ASN Kidney Week 2018, held October 23-27, 2018 in San Diego, CA. The poster presentation includes composite data, details on kidney stone burden, and case studies from 33 patients with enteric hyperoxaluria who enrolled across Allena's three Phase 2 clinical trials of reloxaliase. Data from these 33 patients confirmed that a majority experienced persistently high 24-hour urinary oxalate excretion, despite following standard-of-care guidance for diet and hydration. Among 20 patients for whom kidney stone burden was assessed by CT scan, 16 had at least one kidney stone detected at enrollment, with an average of three stones present. Additionally, 20% of patients presenting with KS had very large stones, which could require urological intervention. Also at ASN Kidney Week, Allena will present a poster describing the design of URIROX-1, its ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating reloxaliase in patients with enteric hyperoxaluria. Allena expects to report initial data from this trial in the second half of 2019. Pending ongoing interactions with the U.S. FDA, Allena expects to initiate URIROX-2, the second, larger Phase 3 clinical trial of reloxaliase in patients with enteric hyperoxaluria, in the fourth quarter of 2018.

08:13 EDT Magna acquires Haptronik; financial terms not disclosed - To continue developing advanced technologies for the automotive market, Magna has signed a deal to acquire Haptronik GmbH, further investing in advanced motion-control software. Haptronik is a technology company that specializes in software to control the motion of mechatronic products. Based in Dresden, Germany, the company develops algorithms that enhance motion control and the touch and feel of power systems such as doors and liftgates. Pending standard closing conditions, the deal is expected to be finalized in the first quarter of 2019.

08:11 EDT Shaw Communications sees FY19 free cash flow in excess of $500M - Shaw is introducing its fiscal 2019 guidance, which includes consolidated operating income before restructuring costs and amortization growing 4% to 6% over fiscal 2018; capital investments of approximately $1.2 billion; and free cash flow in excess of $500 million. The Company's guidance also includes assumptions related to cost reductions that will be achieved through TBT initiatives that are expected to amount to $140 million of operating and capital savings in fiscal 2019.

08:10 EDT Union Pacific CEO says 'reported solid financial results' - "While we reported solid financial results, we did not make the service and productivity gains that we expected during the quarter. However, we are making progress implementing our new Unified Plan 2020 and we are well positioned to drive improvement going forward," said Lance Fritz, Union Pacific chairman, president and CEO. "I am confident we have the right people and plans in place to improve our operations, provide more reliable service for our customers, and achieve industry-leading financial performance."

08:08 EDT Charles River, Distributed Bio enter partnership for antibody discovery platform - Charles River Laboratories International announced that it has entered into an exclusive partnership with Distributed Bio. This partnership will grant Charles River's clients access to Distributed Bio's antibody libraries and integrated antibody optimization technologies. Distributed Bio's libraries are computationally optimized for both sequence diversity and engineering fitness through the analysis of thousands of human antibody repertoires and all known monoclonal therapeutics in clinical trials. A combination of Distributed Bio's antibody libraries and Charles River's extensive drug development expertise will create a unique end-to-end platform for therapeutic antibody discovery and development. With a focus on speed and design, this partnership will help increase the probability of success for delivering high-quality antibody candidates.

08:07 EDT Kellogg announces new global sustainable packaging goal - Kellogg announced that it is expanding its Global Sustainability Commitments to include a goal of working towards 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable packaging by the end of 2025. This aspiration builds on Kellogg's current sustainable packaging commitment, as part of its Sustainability 2020 goals, to continue to ensure 100% of all timber-based packaging is either recycled or certified as sustainably sourced.

08:05 EDT Expedia acquires Pillow and ApartmentJet, terms not disclosed - Expedia Group announced the acquisitions of Pillow, a software solution that helps building owners and managers empower their long-term residents to rent their residences, and ApartmentJet, a software solution enabling the rental of guest suites in multifamily communities.

08:02 EDT Chembio determintes not to proceed with proposed public offering of stock - Chembio Diagnostics announced that it has determined not to proceed with the proposed public offering of $25M of its common stock previously announced on October 22, 2018. The determination results from an assessment by the company's management that current equity market conditions are not conducive for an offering on terms that would be in the best interests of the company's stockholders.

07:59 EDT New Oriental Education announces founder share purchase plan - New Oriental Education announced that its founder and executive chairman Michael Minhong Yu has informed the company of his intention to use his personal funds to purchase the company's American depositary shares on the open market for an aggregate amount up to a maximum of $30M within the next three months. Yu has agreed not to sell any shares or ADS of the company held by him or his affiliates for a period of six months commencing today.

07:45 EDT Watsco increases annual dividend rate 10% to $6.40 per share - Watsco announced a 10% increase in its annual dividend rate to $6.40 per share on each outstanding share of its common stock and Class B common stock effective January 2019.

07:42 EDT Merck sees FY18 adjusted tax rate 19%-20%, GAAP tax rate 26%-27%

07:38 EDT American Airlines jumps 4.7% after Q3 results

07:38 EDT American Airlines: Revenue improvement offset by increase in fuel prices

07:35 EDT Aurora Cannabis receives first cannabis import permit from Polish MoH - Aurora Cannabis announced that Polish Ministry of Health granted the Company approval for its first shipment of medical cannabis to Poland. In the coming days, Aurora Deutschland GmbH will ship the products to a pain treatment center and a hospital in Warsaw. This is an important milestone for medical patients in Poland, as it is believed to be the first time a non-government run business has been granted approval to supply medical cannabis products in the country. Under Polish legislation, physicians can prescribe medical cannabis products to patients who can then access it through registered pharmacies. In specific instances, products will be covered under statutory health insurance, thus establishing a new and significant medical market for Aurora.

07:34 EDT T. Rowe Price reports AUM $1.084T at Q3-end - Assets under management increased $39.7B in the third quarter of 2018 to $1.084T at September 30, 2018.

07:31 EDT Cubic appoints Grace Lee as Chief Human Resources and Diversity Officer - Cubic appointed Grace Lee as senior VP and Chief Human Resources and Diversity Officer. Lee will be responsible for the strategic leadership of global human resources for Cubic, including talent acquisition, organizational learning and development, talent management, total rewards and HR systems. Lee will also oversee the development and advancement of the company's diversity strategy. Prior to joining Cubic, Lee was senior vice president of global human resources for Charles River Laboratories, a biotechnology company with 14,000 employees across the Americas, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

07:28 EDT Agribusinesses seek to modernize agricultural commodity trade operations - Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM), Bunge (BG), Cargill and Louis Dreyfus Company are investigating ways to standardize and digitize global agricultural shipping transactions for the benefit of the entire industry. The companies also seek broad-based industry participation to promote global access and adoption. Initially, ADM, Bunge, Cargill and LDC are focused on technologies to automate grain and oilseed post-trade execution processes, as they represent a highly manual and costly part of the supply chain, with the industry spending significant amounts of money every year moving documents around the globe. Eliminating inefficiencies would lead to shorter document-processing times, reduced wait times and better end-to-end contracting visibility. Longer term, the companies want to drive greater reliability, efficiency and transparency by replacing other manual, paper-based processes tied to contracts, invoices and payments, with a more modern, digitally based approach.

07:26 EDT Sonoma Pharmaceuticals announces Performance Stabilized HOClTM results published - Sonoma Pharmaceuticals announced newly published results from a study into the use of the company's proprietary Performance Stabilized HOClTM for the management of scars. The newly published data, sponsored by Sonoma Pharmaceuticals, was presented at the Beaver Creek Dermatology Conference.The original double-blind, multi-center randomized scar study was conducted in 2013. The 40-patient study was conducted at four U.S. investigative sites over 16 weeks, ending March 2013. Qualified scars included linear or widespread hypertrophic or keloid scars. Scars were evaluated using the validated Vancouver Scar Scale, or VSS. The investigator and each subject completed the VSS and symptom evaluators at each of the five evaluation visits. Overall efficacy was assessed with the Investigator Global Assessment at baseline and again on day 56 and on day 112.

07:23 EDT Shire submits second FDA submission for Georgia manufacturing facility - Shire announced that it has filed its second submission to FDA for its new plasma manufacturing facility near Covington, Georgia. This second submission is for the manufacturing of Flexbumin 25%, USP, 25% Solution, a treatment primarily used as plasma-volume replacement therapy in immune disorders, trauma and other critical conditions. The Georgia facility received its first FDA approval, to manufacture Gammagard Liquid 10% Solution. The Georgia site currently employs approximately 900 full-time colleagues and contract employees. Since the beginning of 2018, Shire has ramped up hiring to fill roles in manufacturing, quality, engineering, maintenance, utilities, warehouse, and various support and facility roles.

07:19 EDT Regeneron says FDA issues CRL for EYLEA pre-filled syringe - Regeneron announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a complete response letter, or CRL, regarding the Chemistry, Manufacturing and Controls Prior-Approval Supplement for the EYLEA pre-filled syringe. The CRL requested additional information regarding manufacturing and supply processes and the completion of a usability study evaluating a single injection of the EYLEA pre-filled syringe in approximately 30 patients. Regeneron expects to compile all the requested information and resubmit the PAS in early 2019 and continues to expect a 2019 launch of the EYLEA pre-filled syringe.

07:17 EDT Newmont Mining names Tom Palmer President and COO - Newmont Mining announced that Tom Palmer has been promoted to President and COO, effective November 1, in recognition of his strong performance and expanded organizational responsibilities in the execution of the company's strategy. Palmer continues to report directly to Gary Goldberg, CEO, and lead the company's global operations, projects, and health, safety and security teams.

07:15 EDT McKesson expects $300M-$400M in annual savings from cost actions by end of FY21 - As previously announced on April 25, 2018, McKesson launched a multi-year strategic growth initiative, inclusive of plans to optimize the company's operating and cost structures. The company expects these cost actions will strengthen McKesson's ability to focus resources, reduce complexity and improve efficiency and cost-competitiveness, enhancing and optimizing operations. McKesson expects these initiatives and actions will generate approximately $300 million to $400 million in annual pre-tax gross savings that will be substantially realized by the end of Fiscal 2021.

07:14 EDT WageWorks names Scanlon to board, Dawood as permanent CFO - WageWorks announced the appointment of George P. Scanlon to the Board of Directors. In addition, Interim CFO Izzy Dawood was appointed as WageWorks' CFO effective October 15, 2018. Dawood has been with the company since April 2018.

07:09 EDT Aaron's narrows FY18 CapEx view to $70M-$80M from $70M-$90M

07:08 EDT Novan creates dedicated women's health business unit - Novan announced the formation of a dedicated women's health business unit as well as a foundational collaboration with Health Decisions, Inc. Health Decisions is a full-service contract research organization specializing in clinical studies of therapeutics for women's health indications. This therapeutically-focused unit will be led by Paula Brown Stafford, Chief Development Officer of Novan.

07:05 EDT Twitter reports average monthly active users 326M in Q3 - Average monthly active users were 326 million for Q3, compared to 330 million in the same period of the previous year and compared to 335 million in the previous quarter, impacted by a number of factors including: GDPR, decisions made to prioritize the health of the platform and not move to paid SMS carrier relationships in certain markets, as well as a product change that reduced automated usage and a technical issue that temporarily reduced the number of notifications sent.

07:04 EDT Twitter sees Q4 adjusted EBITDA $320M-$340M - Sees Q4 adjusted EBITDA margin to be between 39% and 40%; Capital expenditures to be between $60 million and $85 million; Stock-based compensation expense to be in the range of $85 million to $90 million.

07:02 EDT Broadridge, UBS Americas form strategic partnership for wealth management tech - Broadridge Financial Solutions (BR) and UBS (UBS) announced an innovative strategic partnership where UBS Wealth Management USA will be the anchor client on Broadridge's new wealth management industry platform. The Broadridge Wealth Platform is a next-generation open platform that will solve a key financial services challenge by creating a modern, industry-level wealth management best-in-class technology solution. The platform enables wealth managers to drive their business to the next level while mutualizing investments in technology, innovation and security. With the Broadridge Wealth Platform, UBS WM USA will be able to deploy an integrated and modern front- to -back office solution that optimizes Financial Advisor productivity, creates a richer client experience, and digitizes enterprise-wide operations. Adopting an industry-standard, open solution will enable UBS to provide unique value to its advisors while sharing the cost of adapting to ongoing technology innovation, regulatory and industry change, and cybersecurity requirements.

06:50 EDT Crescent Point Energy sees 2019 CapEx $.155B-$1.60B

06:49 EDT Merck announces 15% dividend raise, $10B share repurchase plan - Merck announced that its Board of Directors has approved a 15% increase to the company's quarterly dividend, raising it to 55c per share from 48c per share of the company's outstanding common stock. Payment will be made on Jan. 8, 2019, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Dec. 17, 2018. The Board also authorized an additional $10B of treasury stock purchases with no time limit for completion. The company has entered into a $5B accelerated share repurchase program under its expanded authorization.

06:45 EDT Southwest sees Q4 economic fuel costs $2.30-$2.35 per gallon - Based on the company's existing fuel derivative contracts and market prices as of October 19, annual 2019 economic fuel costs are estimated to be in the range of $2.35-$2.40 per gallon, including 4c per gallon in premium expense and an estimated 8c per gallon in favorable cash settlements from fuel derivative contracts. Based on the company's existing fuel derivative contracts and market prices as of October 19, Q4 economic fuel costs are estimated to be in the range of $2.30-$2.35 per gallon, including 7c per gallon in premium expense and an estimated 14c per gallon in favorable cash settlements from fuel derivative contracts, compared with $2.16 per gallon in Q4 2017, as recast, which included 7c per gallon in premium expense and 19c per gallon in unfavorable cash settlements from fuel derivative contracts. As of October 19, 2018, the fair market value of the Company's fuel derivative contracts settling in Q4 was an asset of approximately $82M and the fair market value of the hedge portfolio settling in 2019 and beyond was an asset of approximately $521M. Based on current cost trends, the company estimates Q4 CASM, excluding fuel and oil expense and profitsharing expense, to be flat to up 1%, compared with Q4 2017's 8.82 cents, as recast, which excluded fuel and oil expense, profitsharing expense, and special items. The company continues to estimate annual 2018 CASM, excluding fuel and oil expense and profitsharing expense, to be flat to up 1%, compared with annual 2017's 8.47 cents, as recast, which excluded fuel and oil expense, profitsharing expense, and special items.

06:38 EDT Valero Energy Partners sees FY18 CapEx $30M-$40M - Which includes $15M-$20M for expansion and $15M-$20M for maintenance.

06:33 EDT Comcast reports Q3 adjusted EBITDA $7.31B vs. $7.13B last year

06:32 EDT Naked Brand Group to postpone proposed transaction with Sapinda Holding B.V. - Naked Brand Group has determined to postpone its previously announced proposed $25M strategic investment from Sapinda Holding B.V., a leading European investment firm and owner of the globally recognized Italian luxury-lingerie firm La Perla, due to current market conditions. "Unfortunately, the recent stock market volatility has compromised our ability to maximize our proposed investment relative to substantial dilution based upon Naked's current share price," said Lars Windhorst, Co-Founder and CEO of Sapinda. "We hope to re-evaluate the proposed transaction once market conditions stabilize and look forward to building a long-term partnership with Naked in the future." "We remain committed to our e-commerce initiatives and look forward to working with Sapinda in the future," said Justin Davis-Rice, Chief Executive Officer of Naked Brand Group Limited. "While we can't control market conditions, we always keep the interests of our shareholders paramount and expect to provide a comprehensive update on our soon to be announced shareholder update call in November," concluded Davis-Rice.

06:29 EDT Daimler AG sees group EBIT 'significantly' lower than previous year - On October 19, 2018, as a result of current developments, Daimler reassessed its earnings outlook for the year 2018 for the Mercedes-Benz Cars and Daimler Buses divisions and for the Daimler Group. The main factor is an increase in expected expenses in connection with ongoing governmental proceedings and measures taken in various regions with regard to Mercedes-Benz diesel vehicles. In addition, Mercedes-Benz Vans is posting lower unit sales due to delays in vehicle deliveries. Furthermore, against the backdrop of a recent ruling by the European Court of Justice, provisions have been recognized for the possible need to take action on certain vehicles still operating with the previously used refrigerant R134a. Additionally, Daimler Buses is facing decreasing demand in some markets. On the basis of these effects as well as expected market developments and the current assessments of the divisions, Daimler now assumes that Group EBIT in 2018 will be significantly lower than in the previous year.

06:27 EDT West Pharmaceutical backs its long-term financial construct, expectations - For 2019 and beyond, West Pharmaceutical reiterates its long-term financial construct and expectations for above-market sales growth with expanding gross and operating profit margins. As has been its practice, the company will provide full-year 2019 guidance on its Q4 conference call.

06:26 EDT Iron Mountain raises quarterly dividend 4% to 61.1c per share - Based upon continued demonstration of growth and durability of cash flows, Iron Mountain's board of directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of 61.1c per share for Q4 for shareholders of record on December 17, up 4% from Q3 dividend per share of 58.75c per share.

06:20 EDT Pershing Square acquires 3.7% stake in Hilton - Pershing Square Capital Management has announced a new investment in Hilton Worldwide Holdings. PSCM has acquired 10.9 million shares of Hilton, representing a 3.7% stake in the company. At its current market value, this investment represents approximately 13.9% of the Net Asset Value of Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd, and a substantially smaller percentage of the PSCM private funds' portfolios. Pershing Square intends to discuss this investment in greater detail in its third quarter letter and investor call.

06:19 EDT EQT Corporation sees Q4 production 365-385 Bcfe

06:14 EDT Former Forest City CEO Ratner urges holder to vote against Brookfield deal - Albert Ratner, co-Chairman emeritus and former CEO of Forest City Realty Trust, (FCEA), issued an open letter to Forest City shareholders publicly announcing, for the first time, his intention to vote all of the Forest City shares he controls against the company's pending acquisition by Brookfield Property Partners (BPY), and urging his fellow shareholders to vote to reject the transaction at the special meeting of Forest City stockholders scheduled for November 15, 2018. Mr. Ratner's letter cites five key considerations related to the pending transaction that he believes every Forest City shareholder should consider carefully in voting their shares: 1. It is the wrong price; 2. It is the wrong timing; 3. It resulted from a flawed process; 4. Forest City has a high quality/low debt structure; 5. There are the superior value opportunities available to Forest City shareholders if they reject the transaction. Ratner stated, "Forest City shareholders have only one question to decide: is it better to accept an effective $24.99 per share price from Brookfield now, or maintain the ability to receive an estimated $46.03 per share (minus potential transaction costs) on an undiscounted basis - which is 84% more than the $24.99 effective price -- over the coming roughly 26 months?" Ratner's letter notes that strategic alternatives such as those cited above would become available again to Forest City shareholders if the Brookfield transaction is rejected.

06:09 EDT LKQ Corp. cuts FY18 cash flow from operations to $610M-$660M from $660M-$710M - Cuts FY18 CapEx view to $240M-$260M from $255M-$285M.

06:06 EDT Dunkin' Brands reports Q3 Dunkin' U.S. comparable store sales up 1.3% - Reports Q3 Baskin-Robbins U.S. comparable store sales increase of 1.8%. "For the third quarter 2018, we delivered positive comparable store sales for all four of our business segments. Dunkin' U.S. comparable store sales growth was led by strong beverage sales, coupled with new product innovation, and the Dunkin' Run snacking platform which delivered our highest afternoon comparable store sales growth in more than two years," said David Hoffmann, Dunkin' Brands CEO and President Dunkin' U.S. "Additionally, our new simplified branding for Dunkin' and our recently announced plans to transform the espresso experience at Dunkin' demonstrate our commitment to our beverage-led strategy and, importantly, we have strong alignment with our franchisees around the world, as evidenced by their record attendance at our 2018 Global Convention." "Earlier this year we announced that we would be investing approximately $100 million into Dunkin' U.S., a substantial amount of which will be in equipment to support our multi-year plan to expand our beverage portfolio beyond traditional drip coffee, including new espresso equipment. We, along with our franchisees, who are significantly investing in this new program, are excited to introduce the new Dunkin' espresso to America in the fourth quarter," said Kate Jaspon, Dunkin' Brands CFO. "We are also pleased to have completed our previously announced $650 million accelerated share repurchase program during the third quarter, demonstrating our continued commitment to utilizing our strong balance sheet to return capital to shareholders."

06:05 EDT Stanley Black & Decker announces exclusive partnership with Home Depot - Stanley Black & Decker (SWK) announces that the Home Depot (HD) will now be the exclusive home improvement retailer for its Stanley hand tools and storage product portfolio, both in store and online, beginning in 2019. In addition, The Home Depot will also garner exclusivity across the Stanley FATMAX product line, the world's leading tape measure brand known for innovation and durability. With a 175-year history in designing and manufacturing the most reliable tools for all users, the Stanley brand, including Stanley FATMAX, is now entering into one of the largest exclusivity partnerships in the tools and storage industry.

06:03 EDT Xcel Energy raises long term EPS growth objective to 5%-7%

05:50 EDT Green Plains agreest to sell Fleischmann's Vinegar to Kerry Group for $350M cash - Green Plains announced that it has entered into a stock purchase agreement with Kerry Group to sell the Fleischmann's Vinegar Company, Inc. for $350M in cash, subject to certain post-closing working capital adjustments. The closing of the transaction, which is expected to occur during the fourth quarter of 2018, is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. The purchase agreement contains normal and customary representations and warranties, and indemnification obligations.

05:48 EDT Axovant Sciences doses first patient in AXO-Lenti-PD clinical study - Axovant Sciences announced dosing of the first patient in a clinical study of AXO-Lenti-PD, an investigational gene therapy for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. AXO-Lenti-PD is a novel gene therapy that enables the expression of a set of three critical enzymes required for end-to-end dopamine synthesis in the brain. AXO-Lenti-PD was administered to the first patient in the study at the Clinical Research Facility affiliated with the National Institute for Health Research and University College London Hospitals. The patient experienced no complications related to the surgery or to administration of the vector and was discharged home as planned.

05:36 EDT UBS reaffirms strategy and ambitions, outlines plans for profit growth - UBS will intensify its focus on delivering growth with further emphasis on capital and cost efficiency. The firm expects to grow revenues at least as fast as real GDP growth, while delivering positive operating leverage. UBS remains strongly positioned to benefit from positive long-term secular growth trends, including global wealth creation and economic expansion in Asia Pacific. UBS's business model is capital efficient and highly capital accretive. The firm remains committed to its attractive capital returns policy. UBS targets to grow its ordinary dividend per share at mid-to-high single digit percent per annum. The bank expects to return excess capital, after dividend accruals, likely in the form of share repurchases after considering its outlook and subject to regulatory approval. In the first quarter of 2018, UBS announced a share repurchase program and an intention to repurchase up to CHF 550 million of shares this year. The firm has already exceeded its target for 2018 by repurchasing CHF 650 million of its shares. Global Wealth Management outlines plans to deliver PBT growth at the higher end of its 10-15% target PBT growth range : It reaffirmed its plan to deliver 10-15% pre-tax profit growth over the cycle in its Global Wealth Management business division. UBS's ambition is to grow profits at the upper end of the target range over the 2019-2021 period. The business division will also target net new money growth of 2-4% per annum while aiming for at least 3% growth by 2021. The strategic plan for Global Wealth Management focuses on accelerating growth in key geographies, including the Americas and Asia Pacific, as well as strengthening its leadership position in the ultra-high net worth segment. Expansion in the American ultra-high net worth segment alone is expected to contribute significant net new money over the next three years. The business also aims to grow through higher penetration in mandates and banking products. Global Wealth Management further plans to deliver total annualized gross savings of around CHF 250 million including the CHF 100 million savings announced earlier this year, to be reinvested to support future growth, including technology solutions to improve client experience and enhance advisor capabilities. Refined efficiency targets for Group and business divisions; aiming for approximately 72% adjusted Group cost/income ratio in 2021. UBS expects to reduce reported Corporate Center costs, including restructuring, by CHF 800 million over the next three years. Targeting Group reported return on CET1 capital of approximately 15% in 2019 and approximately 17% ambition for 2021, even as CET1 capital increases.

05:29 EDT UBS to change presentation currency to U.S. dollars beginning in Q4 - Beginning in Q4 of 2018, UBS Group AG will change its presentation currency to U.S. dollars following changes in the functional currencies of UBS Group AG, formerly CHF, UBS AG's Swiss Head Office, and its London Branch operations, formerly GBP. There will be no material changes to prior-period profit and loss or total equity attributable to UBS shareholders; future net interest income is expected to increase by around $0.3B annually from 2019.

05:15 EDT MyoKardia to create HCM community in collaboration with 23andMe - MyoKardia announced that it has entered into a collaboration with 23andMe to advance research for patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or HCM, a progressive and frequently debilitating disease characterized by excessive contractility of the heart. MyoKardia is committed to raising awareness and supporting patients and families suffering from this devastating disease, a commitment shared by 23andMe. The goal of this initiative is to deepen disease understanding and build resources intended to benefit patients and their caregivers. Together, the companies will collaborate to improve the baseline understanding of unmet need in the HCM disease area, including patient burden, quality of life, standard of care and variability of symptoms, improve knowledge of disease progression and natural history, and empower patient advocacy. The companies will create a patient community where 23andMe customers can access regularly-updated disease information and HCM research opportunities. More than 6,000 HCM patients are currently 23andMe customers. In addition, a custom survey will be deployed to collect baseline and follow-up longitudinal data from participants with HCM who have opted-in to participate in further research. MyoKardia and 23andMe intend to study this set of de-identified, population-scale phenotypic and genotypic data in order to gain unique insights that may support the broader HCM ecosystem. Summary results will be made available to patients through the 23andMe platform.