Stockwinners Market Radar for October 29, 2018 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

19:18 EDT Rowan Companies awarded Gulf of Mexico contract by Fieldwood Energy - Rowan Companies announced that the Rowan Reliance, an R-Class ultra-deepwater drillship, has been awarded a contract in the United States Gulf of Mexico by Fieldwood Energy LLC with a firm term of one year plus three 90-day options at then market rates. The contract is expected to commence the first quarter of 2019. The Rowan Reliance is currently warm stacked offshore Louisiana in the US Gulf of Mexico. In addition, Cantium has extended its previously announced contract for the EXL III in the US Gulf of Mexico by three months. The firm term of this contract is now nine months followed by two six-month options with increasing day rates.

18:53 EDT Fly Intel: After Hours Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Chegg (CHGG) up 8.5%... Akamai (AKAM) up 8.4%... DryShips (DRYS) up 6.2%... Harmonic (HLIT) up 3.3%... Continental Resources (CLR) up 3.2%... Varonis Systems (VRNS) up 3.1%... Mondelez (MDLZ) up 2.5%... Ensco (ESV) up 2.2%... Transocean (RIG) up 1.9%... Sanmina (SANM) up 1.2%... Integrated Device Tech (IDTI) up 1.1%... Wingstop (WING) up 1.1%. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Trex Company (TREX) down 11.6%... Apptio (APTI) down 11.0%... Texas Roadhouse (TXRH) down 10.8%... Cognex (CGNX) down 9.4%... Allison Transmission (ALSN) down 9.3%... Rambus (RMBS) down 7.4%... Viper Energy (VNOM) down 5.4%.

18:37 EDT Horizon Bancorp and Salin Bancshares sign merger agreement - Horizon Bancorp and Salin Bancshares announced that they have executed a definitive agreement whereby Horizon will combine with Salin, and Horizon's wholly-owned subsidiary, Horizon Bank, will combine with Salin's wholly-owned subsidiary, Salin Bank and Trust Company. This merger will enhance Horizon's core deposit base, expand Horizon's presence throughout Central and Northeast Indiana, add new offices in the growth markets of Fort Wayne and Columbus, Indiana, and expand its existing presence in the vibrant markets of Indianapolis and Lafayette, Indiana. In the merger, shareholders of Salin will receive $87,417.17 in cash and 23,907.5 shares of Horizon common stock for each share of Salin common stock, which, based upon the October 26, 2018 Horizon closing price of $16.95 per share, the transaction has an implied valuation of approximately $135.3M.

18:10 EDT Tesla's Musk says he's 'now the Nothing of Tesla' - Tesla founder and CEO Elon Musk tweeted that he has "deleted" his Tesla titles last week "to see what would happen. "I'm now the Nothing of Tesla," Musk tweeted. "Seems fine so far." The CEO added that legally required officers of a corporation are president, treasurer and secretary, and that he has to "keep" the president title or it will "confuse the authorities." Reference Link

17:55 EDT Archer Daniels to form JV with Cargill - Archer Daniels Midland and Cargill have agreed to form a technology joint venture, Grainbridge LLC. The joint venture intends to provide grain marketing decision support, e-commerce and account management software for North American farmers. This includes the development of digital tools designed to help farmers across the U.S. and Canada consolidate information on production economics and grain marketing activities into a single digital platform, at no cost to them. One of the first tools being developed by Grainbridge will give farmers secure access to their combined ADM and Cargill transactions, including contracts, scale tickets and payment information. This dashboard is being designed to provide farmers with insights into their current grain position and real-time opportunities. Soon after, the new venture intends to introduce a simple and easy way for farmers to execute grain transactions on their own schedule. With this platform, farmers will have access to automated intelligence that illustrates changing break-even levels, margin price targets, total current grain and risk management positions, revenue at risk and access to benchmark and historical insights. The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to close in the next few months. Terms of the joint venture are not being disclosed.

17:47 EDT Akamai up nearly 9% after Q3 results beat estimates, FY18 outlook raised - In after-hours trading, shares are up 8.78% to $67.50.

17:36 EDT DryShips to purchase four vessels for $198.5M - DryShips agreed to purchase four vessels from entities that may be deemed to be beneficially owned by the company's chairman and CEO. George Economou, for an aggregate purchase price of $198.5M. The vessels to be acquired are three Newcastlemax drybulk carriers, two of which built in 2016 and one built in 2017 and one coated Aframax tanker built in 2010. The purchase includes existing financing in place and will be effected by way of stock purchase agreements and/or long-term bareboat charter parties with purchase obligations. All vessels are expected to be delivered to DryShips before the end of 2018 and in connection with the transaction, entities that may be deemed to be beneficially owned by Economou, have also agreed to time charter the three Newcastlemaxes on index-linked time charters of flexible durations, with optionality for DryShips to convert these index-linked time charters to fixed rate charters. TMS Dry and TMS Tankers entities that may be deemed to be beneficially owned by Economou, have agreed to forgo all commissions effective under the various respective management agreements in connection with the aforementioned vessel purchases. The vessel purchases were approved by the independent directors of the company's board of directors, based on the fair market value of each vessel as determined by independent third party broker valuations.

17:31 EDT SPDR Gold Trust holdings rise to 754.94MT from 749.64MT - This is the highest level of holdings since August 31st.

17:20 EDT J.C. Penney announces interim CFO transition - J. C. Penney Company announced that Michael Fung is temporarily joining the company as interim CFO effective October 30, succeeding Jerry Murray who will resume his responsibilities as senior VP of finance. Fung recently served as interim CFO for Neiman Marcus Group and 99 Cents Only Stores following his retirement from Walmart Stores.

17:14 EDT Cushman & Wakefield arranges $110M sales of Tampa City Center - Cushman & Wakefield has arranged the sale and financing of Tampa City Center, a 38-story, 757,425-square-foot office tower in downtown Tampa. The Class A property sold for $110 million to a partnership between Banyan Street Capital and Oaktree Capital. Banyan Street Capital is a Miami-based firm that owns and operates premier office assets in multiple markets in the eastern United States. Oaktree Capital is an institutional investment advisor with offices nationally and abroad.

17:06 EDT Peoples Bancorp, First Prestonsburg announce $45.4M merger pact - Peoples Bancorp, parent company of Peoples Bank, and First Prestonsburg Bancshares Inc., the parent company of First Commonwealth Bank of Prestonsburg, Inc., jointly announced the signing of a definitive agreement and plan of merger. Under the terms of the Merger Agreement, First Prestonsburg will merge with and into Peoples, and First Commonwealth will subsequently merge with and into Peoples Bank, in a transaction valued at approximately $45.4M. Founded in 1904, First Commonwealth operates eight full service branches in and around the Prestonsburg and Pikeville markets in eastern Kentucky, and is scheduled to open a ninth full service branch in Georgetown, Kentucky by the end of this year. As of September 30, 2018, First Prestonsburg had, on a consolidated basis, approximately $310M in total assets, which included approximately $139M in total loans, and approximately $244M in total deposits. Upon consummation of the Merger, shareholders of First Prestonsburg will receive 12.512 shares of Peoples common stock for each share of First Prestonsburg common stock. In addition, immediately prior to the closing of the Merger, First Prestonsburg will pay a special aggregate cash distribution of $11.275M to its shareholders. Based upon the twenty day volume-weighted average closing price of Peoples common stock through October 26, 2018, the Stock Consideration plus the Special Dividend has a combined transaction value of $45.4M to the holders of First Prestonsburg's common stock. The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to Peoples' estimated earnings before one-time costs, with a tangible book value earn back of approximately two years, and an internal rate of return which exceeds internal thresholds. The acquisition is expected to close during the second quarter of 2019 and is subject to First Prestonsburg shareholder approval, regulatory approval and other conditions set forth in the merger agreement.

17:02 EDT Sanchez Energy names Cameron George interim CFO - Sanchez Energy announced the appointment of an interim CFO and two new independent members to its board of directors. The board also appointed Tony Sanchez, III, president of Sanchez Energy in addition to his current position of CEO. Cameron W. George has been appointed interim CFO of Sanchez Energy, effective immediately. George joined Sanchez Energy in 2016 as Senior Vice President of Capital Markets and has more than 15 years of investment banking and industry experience encompassing corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, financial reporting, treasury, risk management and investor relations. George will succeed Howard J. Thill, who resigned from the company to pursue other opportunities. Thill's departure is not related to any disagreements regarding financial disclosures, accounting matters or other business issues.

16:57 EDT NJ American Water granted new rates by NJ BPU - The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities approved a settlement between New Jersey American Water and the N.J. Division of Rate Counsel and BPU Staff for new water and wastewater rates for New Jersey American Water. The new rates represent a $40M annual increase in water and wastewater revenues for New Jersey American Water. The company's rate request, which was filed September 15, 2017, was driven by more than $868M in needed investment in treatment and distribution system upgrades statewide since the company's last rate increase in 2015. Due to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and today's order, most customers can expect to see a one-time credit on their bills beginning in November. The cost of water service for the company's customers remains about a penny per gallon. The approximate bill for an average water customer using 6,000 gallons of water per month will be $53.45 and the approximate bill for an average wastewater customer will be $58.70.

16:56 EDT Spark Therapeutics presents analyses from Phase 3 trial of Luxturna - Spark Therapeutics announced findings from three post-hoc analyses of data from the Phase 3 clinical trial of LUXTURNA at the American Academy of Ophthalmology Annual Meeting in Chicago. LUXTURNA is a one-time gene therapy for the treatment of patients with vision loss due to inherited retinal dystrophy caused by confirmed biallelic RPE65 mutations and viable retinal cells. In the Phase 3 clinical trial of LUXTURNA, visual acuity was measured using a scale adapted from the Holladay method, which assigns LogMAR values for off-chart vision measurements. Best-corrected visual acuity improvement averaged over both eyes for participants in the intervention group was not statistically significant as compared to the control group at year one. In this post-hoc analysis, visual acuity data were revisited using the Lange method, which is a less conservative off-chart vision scale when quantifying the difference between counting fingers and hand motions. Results at year one using this method showed a statistically significant improvement from baseline versus the control group in best-corrected visual acuity averaged over both eyes. No adverse events associated with a reduction in visual acuity have been reported across the LUXTURNA clinical development program. In the post-marketing setting, one adverse event of reduced visual acuity has been reported within the immediate post-operative period following administration. It was considered non-serious and is reported to be resolving.

16:46 EDT Blueprint Medicines appoints Christina Rossi as Chief Commercial Officer - Blueprint Medicines announced the appointment of Christina Rossi as Chief Commercial Officer, effective October 29. Blueprint Medicines also announced the appointment of Paul Beresford as General Manager, International. In her new role, Rossi will join the executive management team and have overall responsibility for commercial strategy and operations, including sales and marketing, for a potential commercial launch of avapritinib in the United States in 2019 and pre-commercial planning across Blueprint Medicines' pipeline. Rossi brings nearly 20 years of global pharmaceutical and biotechnology experience. Most recently, Rossi served as the Multiple Sclerosis Business Unit Head, North America, at Sanofi (SNY) Genzyme. In this role, she was responsible for all aspects of the financial performance of Sanofi Genzyme's MS franchise and increased market share for existing products, led the launch of new therapies and optimized operations to accelerate patient access. Prior to that Rossi served as Vice President, MS Sales at Sanofi Genzyme and Vice President, MS Patient and Provider Services at Sanofi Genzyme.

16:44 EDT Waste Connections CEO says 'on track' to meet or exceed FY guidance - "Solid waste pricing up 120 basis points year over year plus 140 basis points sequential volume improvement drove better than expected results in the quarter. This price-led solid waste growth, along with continued strength in E&P waste activity, enabled us to overcome the toughest quarterly comparison for recycled commodity values in the year and certain continuing cost pressures. More importantly, adjusted free cash flow remains strong at over $675 million year-to-date, or 18.5% of revenue, and 57.8% of adjusted EBITDA," said Ronald J. Mittelstaedt, Chairman and CEO. "Our third quarter performance puts us firmly on track to meet or exceed the increased expectations for the full year we communicated in July." Mittelstaedt added, "The pace of acquisition activity remains elevated, as we recently signed our largest deal year to date, a multi-market collection company with annualized revenue of approximately $175 million, with operations in three states, including two new markets. This acquisition, which is expected to close by year end, along with deals already closed, is expected to bring total acquired annualized revenues to approximately $360 million in 2018. Rollover contribution from these acquisitions plus price-led organic growth already position us for between 8% and 10% revenue growth and continued margin expansion in 2019, with any additional transactions providing further growth. Moreover, we announced another double-digit percentage increase in the quarterly cash dividend, once again demonstrating that we remain well-positioned to increase our return of capital to shareholders while continuing to fund above average acquisition activity."

16:41 EDT Micron Solutions names William Laursen as new CEO - Micron Solutions announces the appointment of Mr. William J. Laursen as its President and Chief Executive Officer, effective November 29, 2018. Mr. Laursen was formerly the Executive Vice President, Sales and Strategy of The Coghlin Companies based in New England. Mr. Laursen's sales leadership at CCI contributed to healthy growth and client diversification during his 6 years with the company. Mr. Laursen brings to Micron over 25 years of experience focused on innovation in highly automated manufacturing environments in many industries such as medical devices, instrumentation, plastics, consumables and consumer products as well as his experience and expertise in technical sales, business development, marketing, strategic client development and operational excellence.

16:38 EDT Simpson Manufacturing sees volatile price for steel in Q4 - The Company currently believes the market price for steel could continue to be volatile during the Q4, due to uncertainty related to steel tariffs. The Company is updating its FY18 gross profit margin estimate to be in the range of approximately 45.5%-46.0% from its previous estimate of 45.0%-46.0%. The Company estimates that its FY18 effective tax rate will be between approximately 26%-27%, including both federal and state income tax rates.

16:35 EDT W.P. Carey announces shareholder approval of proposed merger with CPA:17 - W. P. Carey announced that its proposed merger with one of its managed funds, Corporate Property Associates 17 - Global Incorporated, and related transactions were approved by its stockholders and the stockholders of CPA:17. The transaction is expected to close at 12:01 a.m. on October 31, 2018.

16:31 EDT Intellia Therapeutics names Glenn Goddard CFO - Intellia Therapeutics named Glenn Goddard its executive VP and CFO. Goddard will be a member of Intellia's executive management team and will oversee all financial functions and investor relations, as well as information technologies and facilities. Before Intellia, Goddard was the CFO at Generation Bio Company.

16:30 EDT Alexandria Real Estate reports Q3 Same Property net operating income up 3.4% - Reports same property net operating income growth 3.4% and 8.9% on cash basis for Q3 compared to Q3 of FY17.

16:28 EDT PL Capital Advisors reports 6.2% stake in Independent Bank

16:27 EDT CRF3 Investments reports 5.04% passive stake in Ascent Capital

16:26 EDT Lennar to sell Rialto Management Business for $340M - Lennar announced that it has agreed to sell its Rialto Investment and Asset Management business to investment funds managed by Stone Point Capital for $340M. The transaction is scheduled to close on November 30, 2018 or as soon after that as the conditions to the transaction are fulfilled. The transaction is subject to consent by the funds managed by Rialto or the investors in those funds and customary closing conditions. Lennar will retain its Rialto Mortgage Finance business, which Lennar expects will move into its Financial Services business at the beginning of fiscal 2019. Lennar will also retain its fund investments ($294 million as of August 31, 2018) along with its carried interests in various Rialto funds, as well as investments in other legacy Rialto balance sheet assets. The Rialto Investment and Asset Management Business will continue to be led by its current management.

16:22 EDT Continental Resources sees continuing to use free cash flow to lower debt - "Continental's strong third quarter and early fourth quarter results reflect our strategic decision to focus operations on oil-weighted production growth. Continental is poised to deliver a strong exit rate, increase our oil production growth and continue to use significant free cash flow to further reduce debt toward our long-term target of $5 billion or below," said CFO John Hart. On September 30, 2018, non-GAAP net debt was $5.94B. Net debt is projected to be between $5.4B-$5.6B at year end 2018, driven by strong cash flow. The company's third quarter annualized net-debt-to-EBITDAX ratio was 1.49x and has now reached levels seen prior to the three-year commodity down cycle, Continental added.

16:16 EDT Assertio Therapeutics CFO Phillip Donenberg to retire - Assertio Therapeutics announced that Phillip Donenberg, senior VP and CFO, will retire effective November 30. Replacing Donenberg will be Daniel Peisert, who has been appointed senior VP and CFO.. Peisert was previously serving as senior VP, Business Development, for Assertio.

16:15 EDT Jernigan Capital names John Good as new CEO - Jernigan Capital announced the promotions of John A. Good to Chief Executive Officer and Jonathan Perry to President and Chief Investment Officer. The promotions follow a two-year period of succession planning begun in October 2016 by Dean Jernigan, Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and concluding with the hiring of Mr. Perry as Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer in June 2018. Mr. Jernigan will continue as Executive Chairman of the Company and will continue his active involvement in the Company's investment activities as a member, along with Messrs. Good and Perry, of the Company's investment committee. The changes are effective immediately.

16:12 EDT Rambus names Luc Seraphin president, CEO - Rambus announced that its board of directors has appointed Luc Seraphin as president and chief executive officer, effective immediately. Seraphin has been performing as interim CEO since June 2018.

16:09 EDT Waste Connections raises quarterly dividend 14.3% to 16c from 14c per share - To be paid on November 27 to shareholders of record on the close of business on November 13.

16:07 EDT Texas Roadhouse reports Q3 comparable restaurant sales increase - Q3 comparable restaurant sales increased 5.5% at company restaurants and 4.2% at domestic franchise restaurants.

16:07 EDT 8x8 sees Q3 service revenue $84.5M-$85.5M - Sees Q3 adjusted pre-tax loss $5M-$6M.

16:04 EDT AxoGen receives RMAT designation from FDA for Avance Nerve Graft - AxoGen reported that the FDA has granted the regenerative medicine advanced therapy, or RMAT, designation to Avance Nerve Graft. The RMAT designation, under the 21st Century Cures Act, aims to streamline development of regenerative medicine therapies intended for the treatment of serious diseases and life-threatening conditions. A regenerative medicine therapy is eligible for the designation if it is intended to treat, modify, reverse or cure a serious or life-threatening disease or condition, and preliminary clinical evidence indicates that the product has the potential to address unmet medical needs for such a disease or condition. AxoGen continues to enroll its pivotal study, RECON, under the investigational new drug, or IND, program and anticipates enrollment to be complete by the end of 2018. RECON is the company's prospective, randomized study in support of the BLA submission, and is expected to enroll 170 patients upon completion.

16:02 EDT Headlands Strategic OF reports 6.01% passive stake in ServiceSource

15:52 EDT Middlesex Water COO Risoldi to retire effective July 1 - Middlesex Water Company announced several executive leadership changes in connection with the company's continued succession planning initiatives. Richard M. Risoldi, Vice President - Operations & Chief Operating Officer, has announced he will be retiring effective July 1, 2019 after 29 years of service. Risoldi will assume the additional title of Senior Vice President effective January 1, 2019 in connection with an expanded role managing numerous leadership transitions and operational initiatives across a variety of functions prior to his retirement in July 2019. Gerard L. Esposito, President - Tidewater Utilities, Inc., a Middlesex Water subsidiary, has announced he will be retiring effective January 1, 2019 after 20 years of service. Mr. Esposito will be supporting several critical ongoing Company initiatives in a consulting capacity subsequent to his retirement. A. Bruce O'Connor, Vice President - Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer will assume the title of Senior Vice President - Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer as well as President - Tidewater Utilities, Inc., effective January 1, 2019. Mr. O'Connor has been with the Company for 28 years.

15:09 EDT Walmart introduces Sam's Club Now store, new app with 'Scan & Go' feature - "In June, we shared a key part of our innovation strategy when we announced we'd open a new club in Dallas. Today - just four months later - we're very close to opening this location we're calling Sam's Club Now, which will be the epicenter of innovation for Sam's Club. There won't be another club like it. It will be a mobile-first shopping experience powered by the new Sam's Club Now app. At its core, Sam's Club Now will be a technology lab that doubles as a live, retail club. It's where we will incubate, test and refine technologies to help define the future of retail. And here's what we already know - the future of retail is as much about people as it is about technology. So, we're taking Scan & Go and making it the foundation of the new Sam's Club Now app, which all members will use to shop here. This will be an interactive experience and they'll help us test and refine new features before we launch them nationally. There will always be something new to test as we'll regularly add new functionality to the app. When it opens, here are some things we can't wait for members to try," said By Jamie Iannone CEO, SamsClub.com and Executive Vice President of Membership and Technology. Reference Link

14:07 EDT VW, Mobileye and Champion Motors collaborate on self driving EVs in Israel - Volkswagen Group (VLKAY), Mobileye (MBLY) and Champion Motors have announced plans to commercialize Mobility-as-a-Service MaaS with self-driving vehicles in Israel. Volkswagen Group will provide the electric vehicles, EVs, as well as its in-depth knowledge about the design and deployment of mobility services. Mobileye, an Intel (INTC) company, will provide a full turn-key hardware and software self-driving system validated for level-4, driverless capability. Champion Motors will be responsible for fleet logistics and infrastructure of the MaaS deployment and scaling. The Israeli government supports the project proposal of the three partner companies. Development will begin in early 2019 and roll out in phases reaching full commercialization in 2022. "We are delighted to embark on a joint venture with a world-leading automotive OEM, aimed at delivering a transformational mobility service," said Professor Amnon Shashua, Mobileye CEO and senior vice president at Intel. "Our service aims to intelligently and dynamically adapt to the urban mobility needs of the 21st Century, catering to the mobility-mileage demands within the city while minimizing the direct/indirect incurred societal costs - air/noise pollution, congestion and safety."

13:17 EDT LiveRamp targets $1B in revenue over next five years - LiveRamp says its goal is to reach $1B in sales over the next five years. The company is speaking at its investor day.

13:07 EDT AstraZeneca reports 12.6% stake in PhaseBio

12:48 EDT Agilent sends letter to SEC about misstatements by Twist Bioscience in its S-1 - Agilent Technologies announced that it sent a letter to the Division of Corporation Finance of the SEC regarding misstatements in the S-1 Registration Statement filed by Twist Bioscience. The letter informs the SEC that "Twist's S-1 Fails to Disclose that Twist CEO Emily Leproust Formed Twist While an Employee at Agilent, and Became its CEO 17 Months Prior to Resigning from Agilent." The letter also informs the SEC that "Twist's S-1 Fails to Disclose the Material Fact that its CEO Emily Leproust and Other Twist Employees Took and Retained Hundreds of Confidential Documents Containing Agilent's Trade Secrets and Proprietary Information." Ms. Leproust admitted under oath that she secretly became Twist's CEO 17 months prior to leaving Agilent. Agilent's Proposed Second Amended Complaint describes in detail Agilent's allegations that during that time, Ms. Leproust raised money to start a competitive company that would misappropriate Agilent's innovations of the past 20 years, poach Agilent's employees, and compete in the same markets with the same basic technology-all while owing a statutory duty of loyalty to Agilent.

12:34 EDT Genworth spikes after insurance regulator sets meeting for proposed merger - Shares of mortgage insurer Genworth Financial (GNW) surged in early afternoon trading after the Delaware Department of Insurance, DDI, announced on Friday evening that it has scheduled a public hearing on Wednesday, November 28 on the proposed acquisition of control of Delaware-domiciled Genworth Life Insurance Company, GLIC, by entities affiliated with China Oceanwide Holdings Group in connection with the merger of Oceanwide and Genworth Financial. Genworth and Oceanwide have agreed that Genworth Holdings will contribute $175M to GLIC. This $175M previously had been committed by Genworth to be used as partial consideration for unstacking Genworth Life and Annuity Insurance Company, GLAIC, from GLIC, which the parties decided not to pursue. The $175M will be contributed in three equal tranches, with the first contribution completed before the end of March 2019, the second contribution completed before the end of September 2019 and the final contribution completed by the end of January 2020. As a result of the contribution of the $175M from Genworth Holdings and the receipt of at least $200M from the purchase by GLAIC of the Genworth Holdings note, GLIC will have improved liquidity by $375M. PUBLIC HEARINGS SET: "We are pleased that the hearing has been scheduled and look forward to highlighting the benefits of the merger to our policyholders," said Tom McInerney, president and CEO of Genworth. Added Lu Zhiqiang, chairman of Oceanwide: "We are very pleased that Delaware has set the public hearing for November 28 and look forward to closing the transaction in the fourth quarter." In addition to approval by the state of Delaware, the closing of the transaction remains subject to other conditions, including the receipt of other required regulatory approvals in the U.S., China and other international jurisdictions. Genworth and Oceanwide are actively engaged with the relevant regulators regarding their pending applications, the companies said. PRICE ACTION: Shares of Genworth Financial are up 14.7% to $4.14 in early afternoon trading.

12:00 EDT Stoneridge rises 18.5% - Stoneridge is up 18.5%, or $4.17 to $26.73.

12:00 EDT Red Hat rises 45.5% - Red Hat is up 45.5%, or $53.12 to $169.80.

11:17 EDT National Hockey League announces sports betting partnership with MGM Resorts - The National Hockey League has formed a multi-year strategic relationship in the sports betting category with MGM Resorts International.As an official sports betting partner as well as an official resorts partner of the NHL, MGM Resorts will have the ability to market many of MGM Resorts' world-class products and services to the League's millions of fans via the League's various media platforms and events. MGM Resorts will also use official NHL branding to amplify the relationship across a range of the company's land-based and digital sports betting offerings within the United States. As part of the relationship, MGM Resorts will receive access to previously unseen enhanced NHL proprietary game data that will be generated by the League's state-of-the-art tracking systems currently under development. Access to this data will allow MGM Resorts to provide its customers with specialized NHL game insights, as well as unlocking new and innovative interactive fan engagement and betting opportunities for its U.S. customers wherever legally available. MGM Resorts will also reach NHL fans through communications to subscribers from the NHL's robust fan database that will market MGM Resorts' portfolio of destination resort brands, as well as promote MGM Resorts' M life Rewards program, which currently has 31 million members. In addition, MGM Resorts will leverage promotional opportunities in connection with the NHL's calendar of marquee events to showcase a variety of offerings across its portfolio.

11:07 EDT Align gets FDA clearance for Invisalign treatment with mandibular advancement - Align Technology announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared Invisalign treatment with mandibular advancement for commercial availability in the U.S. As previously announced on March 5, 2017, Invisalign treatment with mandibular advancement is the first clear aligner solution for Class II correction in growing tween and teen patients that combines the benefits of the most advanced clear aligner system in the world with features for moving the lower jaw forward while simultaneously aligning the teeth. This new solution for Invisalign doctors offers a simpler, more efficient and patient-friendly treatment option than functional appliances typically used to treat teen Class II patients.

10:51 EDT LifePoint stockholders approve merger with RCCH HealthCare Partners - LifePoint Health (LPNT) announced that its stockholders approved the proposed agreement to merge LifePoint and RCCH HealthCare Partners, which is owned by certain funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management (APO). Upon closing of the transaction, LifePoint shareholders will receive $65.00 per share in cash for each share of LifePoint common stock they own. Holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of LifePoint's common stock voted in favor of adopting the merger agreement. The final voting results for all proposals will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in a Current Report on Form 8-K. The acquisition is expected to be completed during the fourth quarter of calendar year 2018, subject to satisfaction of the remaining closing conditions.

10:37 EDT PSAM intends to vote against DVMT transaction unless consideration is increased - P. Schoenfeld Asset Management, a registered investment adviser that advises clients who own more than $150M of shares of Dell Technologies (DVMT) Class V Common Stock released a letter that was delivered to the Dell Board of Directors on October 26 reaffirming PSAM's view that the consideration offered in the definitive proxy statement for the proposed conversion of DVMT into publicly traded Dell Class C Common Stock is "grossly inadequate." As a result, PSAM intends to vote AGAINST the transaction as currently proposed. The adviser said, "As outlined in the letter, PSAM states its firm belief that Dell must increase the offered consideration by at least 20% to narrow the discount and value the DVMT stock more fairly. Further, the letter outlines that: The Company's valuation of the Class C Shares as part of the consideration to DVMT holders is unsupportable and contrary even to Dell's recent valuations of such shares. A conventional IPO without a simultaneous Class V conversion introduces substantial risk, including a potential complexity discount, a substantial overhang for Class C shares as well as a potential discount associated with the extremely limited governance rights of the Class C shares. A negotiated transaction to convert Class V into Class C can be completed with or without an IPO, and the letter outlines the basic principles of a constructive solution. VMware's (VMW) Special Dividend should NOT be contingent on the DVMT Transaction. Instead the Dell Board of Directors, who have a fiduciary duty to act in the best interest of all Dell shareholders, should work with VMware's Board and independent directors to eliminate the conditionality of the Special Dividend so it is paid regardless of whether the DVMT Transaction is approved or consummated. The market value of the Class C shares would benefit from improved governance. Specifically, PSAM believes that both the new Class C investors and the investors that receive Class C shares in the Class V exchange deserve representation on the Dell Board. "

10:28 EDT Clearside Biomedical says PEACHTREE data further supports potential of XIPERE - Clearside Biomedical announced that additional data from PEACHTREE, the company's pivotal Phase 3 trial of XIPERE in patients with uveitic macular edema, were presented at the American Academy of Ophthalmology 2018 Annual Meeting by Rahul N. Khurana, MD, Vitreoretinal Surgeon at Northern California Retina Vitreous Associates, Clinical Associate Professor in Ophthalmology at UCSF Medical Center, and a Principal Investigator for PEACHTREE. At the meeting, Dr. Khurana shared XIPERE's efficacy data in resolving uveitic inflammation for the first time at a scientific congress. Dr. Khurana also presented new analyses of resolution of clinically significant vitreous haze, as well as the mean change from baseline in best corrected visual acuity in patients with uveitis in each anatomical location, providing further support for the clinical profile of XIPERE in the potential treatment of uveitic macular edema.In the PEACHTREE trial, at week 24, 40.9% of patients with baseline scores of 2+ vitreous haze, based on the Standardization of Uveitis Nomenclature scale, experienced resolution in the XIPERE arm, compared to 0% of patients in the control arm who underwent a sham procedure. Additionally, in the XIPERE arm, 68% of patients with any baseline level of vitreous haze, 72% of patients with anterior chamber cell inflammation and 74% of patients with anterior chamber flare had their inflammation resolve, compared to 23%, 17% and 20%, respectively, of patients in the control arm. Resolution was defined as achieving a score of zero on the applicable SUN scale, implying no measureable inflammation was present.

10:19 EDT Xcel Energy, Google launch effort to develop new energy solutions - Xcel Energy (XEL) announced it is working with Google (GOOG, GOOGL) to deliver tools customers can use to manage their energy use and save money. Through this collaboration, Xcel Energy is launching its first set of voice actions using the Google Assistant as a seamless way for customers to access information about improving energy efficiency in their homes. Working with new products like the Google Home Hub, Xcel Energy will expand its Google Assistant capabilities to give customers the ability to access their account information, receive notifications and personalize their energy management using voice-enabled devices, such as the Nest thermostat.

10:01 EDT CIT Group names Alla Whitston as Chief Technology Officer - CIT Group (CIT) announced that Alla Whitston has joined the company, effective October 29, as the chief technology officer reporting to Denise Menelly, executive vice president and head of technology and operations. Whitston joins CIT from Bank of America (BAC) where she was most recently the managing director and chief technology officer for enterprise functions.

10:00 EDT Genworth rises 19.7% - Genworth is up 19.7%, or 71c to $4.32.

09:59 EDT Invisalign System with Mandibuler Advancement judged 'substantially equivalent' - The FDA issued a decision of "substantially equivalent" to the 510(K) number K181739 for Align Technology's Invisalign System with Mandibuler Advancement Feature, according to a post to the agency's website. Reference Link

09:47 EDT First Data falls -9.5% - First Data is down -9.5%, or -$2.05 to $19.55.

09:47 EDT VelocityShares 3x Inv Natural Gas ETN rises 9.6% - VelocityShares 3x Inv Natural Gas ETN is up 9.6%, or $1.41 to $16.09.

09:47 EDT Red Hat rises 49.0% - Red Hat is up 49.0%, or $57.13 to $173.81.

09:25 EDT Blink Charging, Hubject form partnership for expanded charging coverage for EVs - Blink Charging (BLNK) and Hubject, a joint venture formed by companies in the automotive, energy and technology sectors that includes BMW Group (BMWYY), Daimler (DDAIF), Siemens (SIEGY), and Volkswagen (VLKAY) announced that they have formed a strategic partnership to provide electric vehicle, or EV, drivers in the United States with expanded charging coverage and communication capabilities. As a result of this partnership, Blink's nationwide network of chargers will become accessible to all EV drivers participating in Hubject's charging platform using their provider's membership card and app. Furthermore, Blink's base of approximately 135,000 members will now be able to quickly and easily access charging stations on Hubject participating networks while driving in the U.S., without having to register with any other charging companies. The partnership's mission is to provide seamless charging interoperability for all EV drivers participating in Hubject's international multi-network intercharge platform, dramatically expanding where EVs can charge as well as facilitate essential two-way telemetric communication between EVs, charging networks and car manufacturers. The partnership between Blink and Hubject, which will become operational in early 2019, will provide new opportunities for Blink and auto dealers by providing enhanced access for Blink to car buyers at the point of sale. By reaching buyers at the time of their EV purchase, Blink can ensure a seamless and enhanced experience for drivers across the U.S., making EV ownership more convenient than ever before. Working with OEM automobile-manufacturers in implementing the ISO 15118 communication protocol is envisioned to be the first step in implementing seamless communication between electric vehicles and charging networks without the need for any human interaction during the charging process. This telemetry between electric vehicles, charging networks and OEMs is also designed to allow the OEMs to incorporate critical EV data into future EV design as well as to layout the groundwork for enhanced EV ownership programs and develop transportation as a service business model.

09:18 EDT Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: Red Hat (RHT), up 49% after announcing an agreement to be acquired by IBM (IBM) for $190 per share, or about $34B... Dicerna (DRNA), up 26% after the company and Eli Lilly (LLY) announced a global licensing and research collaboration focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of potential new medicines in the areas of cardio-metabolic disease, neurodegeneration and pain... Esperion (ESPR), up 9% after announcing completion of its Phase 3 LDL-C lowering development program... Petrobras (PBR), up 6% after the Brazilian election result was largely as expected and Bolsonaro's victory speech was relatively market-friendly. Additionally, the company settled various disputes with Teekay Offshore Partners. UP AFTER EARNINGS: Yandex (YNDX), up 5%. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: TowerJazz (TSEM), down 16%... First Data (FDC), down 6%. LOWER: IBM (IBM), down 5% after announcing Red Hat acquisition... Denbury (DNR), down 8% after announcing that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Penn Virginia (PVAC) in a transaction valued at approximately $1.7B.

09:12 EDT Anacor begins patent litigation against Perrigo for generic version of Kerydin - Perrigo Company announced that Anacor Pharmaceuticals, initiated patent litigation on October 25 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware regarding Perrigo's Paragraph IV Abbreviated New Drug Application for tavaborole topical solution, 5%, asserting patents listed in the Orange Book for Kerydin. This action formally initiates the litigation process under the Hatch-Waxman Act. Kerydin topical solution, 5% is indicated for the treatment of onychomycosis of the toenails due to Trichophyton rubrum or Trichophyton mentagrophytes.

09:05 EDT Intel achieves goal of full U.S. workforce representation - The company said, "Intel has achieved full representation in its U.S. workforce two years ahead of its 2020 goal. The company's workforce now reflects the percent of women and underrepresented minorities available in the U.S. skilled labor market. This achievement was the result of a comprehensive strategy that took into account hiring, retention and progression, and is just the beginning for Intel's work in this space. Along with this announcement, Intel is releasing its 2018 Diversity & Inclusion report, highlighting progress made over the course of this journey and the current composition of its workforce...Intel's 2018 Annual Diversity & Inclusion report illustrates the progress of women and minorities across all levels of the company as company leaders strive to sustain a collaborative, supportive and inclusive work environment. Since setting the goal, the number of underrepresented minorities and women in Intel's U.S. workforce has increased for the fourth consecutive year. Overall representation of underrepresented minorities at Intel in the U.S. is now at 14.6%. Intel's last report in March noted that the remaining gap to full representation was with African American employees. This has been successfully closed due to continuous efforts in hiring, retention and progression. In fact, African Americans had the highest overall underrepresented minority percentage point increase in the U.S. employee population and now make up 4.6% of employees overall... In 2016, Intel instituted a program called Warmline, a confidential employee hotline designed to help employees with career advancement and improve the overall employee experience. It has increasingly gained traction as a resource for employees, and as a result has also become a source of insight into creating a more inclusive environment. Since its inception, the Warmline has received more than 20,000 cases with a retention rate of 82%. It's an example of Intel's data-driven principles underpinning correlations between a more diverse and inclusive organization and improved morale. Retention of women also continues to be priority at Intel. Women account for nearly 27% of Intel's total U.S. employee base, with almost 24% of women in technical roles. The company offers several programs to support women through career progression, including "Pay It Forward," a mentoring program scaled to support 6,000 female mid-level employees, and "Women at Intel Network," the company's largest employee resource group that supports more than 7,000 employees globally...Intel's work does not stop here. In 2019, Intel plans to offer its Warmline service globally, drive leadership parity and focus on women of color. Data shine a light on the importance of focusing more acutely on the unique challenges women of color face. Intel is already taking steps to address this issue and recently joined industry partners as a founding member of the Reboot Representation Tech Coalition, an initiative spearheaded by Melinda Gates' investment and incubation company, Pivotal Ventures. The coalition will align existing philanthropic donations and increase funding to double the number of women of color graduating with computing degrees in the U.S. by 2025."

09:03 EDT IBM CEO says 'won't be shy' about acquisitions and divestitures

09:02 EDT SEI Investments announces partnership with AGB - SEI announced its strategic partnership with the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges, or AGB, an organization centered on governance in higher education. AGB's membership boasts 1,300 boards, representing 1,900 colleges, universities and institutionally-related foundations.

08:45 EDT iFresh announces strategic retail initiatives for supermarkets - iFresh announced its strategic initiative to improve its retail supermarket experience. The new strategic plan announced follows constructive dialogue and an improvement plan discussed with the board of directors at the board meeting held on September 28. First, underperforming stores will be closed or sold. Second, iFresh will remodel and update all other iFresh stores pursuant to the plan outlined by Long Deng, chairman and CEO of iFresh, at the meeting. These improved stores are expected to include expanded dietary options, improved onsite fresh food preparation, improved payments systems, included unattended retail offerings, and expanded delivery options with a delivery range intended to serve customers within 4.5 miles of the upgraded stores. These upgraded stores will highlight the new technology and analytics intended to offer a superior retail experience by improving the in-store shopping environment, developing an online platform, and enhancing the customer experience. As part of this transition, Rainbow Tang has signed a sublease agreement with iFresh Glen Cove. Rainbow Tang will be responsible for making and selling ready-to-eat food in the iFresh Glen Cove supermarket that iFresh plans to open in Q4. Rainbow Tang will offer traditional Chinese dishes, noodles, pastries, fried foods, and baked goods. Furthermore, customers will be able to purchase fresh fish, meat, and produce in the iFresh Glen Cove supermarket and have Rainbow Tang prepare a meal from the fresh food on premises.

08:38 EDT ElectraMeccanica announces vehicle pre-orders now exceed 64,000 units - Electra Meccanica Vehicles provided a corporate update on vehicle pre-orders the company has received. As of October 22, 2018 Electra Meccanica had a total of 64,154 vehicle pre-orders across all models. As of October 22, 2018 the Company had 23,030 pre-orders for the SOLO single-passenger electric vehicle, which has a $15,500 target MSRP, and 41,124 pre-orders for the Tofino two-seat roadster sports car, which has a $50,000 target MSRP. All retail pre-orders require a refundable deposit, $250 for the SOLO and $1,000 for the Tofino. Dealer pre-orders require a letter of credit or letters of interest and all orders are non-binding.

08:37 EDT Avadel: Noctiva reduced INTU overall at end of 12 weeks in Phase 3 study - Avadel Pharmaceuticals announced details of its poster presentation detailing quality of life health-related outcomes data from a Phase 3 randomized, double-blind pivotal study of AV002, NOCTIVA Nasal Spray, in patients with nocturia due to nocturnal polyuria on October 28, 2018 at the American Urological Association Western Section annual meeting in Maui, Hawaii.Nocturia, waking two or more times to urinate, is a highly prevalent, under-recognized condition associated with disrupted sleep, reduced productivity, and negative impacts on overall health and health-related quality of life. Nocturia is one of the most bothersome lower urinary tract symptoms, and an increase in frequency of nocturic voids is correlated with an increase in the degree of bother experienced by patients. Nocturnal polyuria, or the overproduction of urine at night, is the most common cause of nocturia, occurring in up to 80 percent of patients. NOCTIVA is the lowest effective and safe dose of desmopressin available to treat nocturia due to NP in adults. At the end of 12 weeks, both doses of NOCTIVA reduced INTU overall. 41 percent of patients treated with 1.66 mcg and 35 percent of those treated with 0.83 mcg reported no difficulty getting enough sleep, compared to only 14 and 15 percent at baseline, respectively. In addition, 40 percent of the patients treated with 1.66 mcg and 35 percent treated with 0.83 reported no bother due to nocturia, compared to 8 and 12 percent at baseline, respectively. These results show that NOCTIVA has an effective therapeutic impact on quality of life as measured by INTU.

08:36 EDT Dana selected by Ford to supply AWD systems for global Ford Edge Program - Dana (DAN) announced that it has been selected by Ford (F) to supply Spicer SmartConnect disconnecting all-wheel-drive systems for the global Ford Edge Program. Starting with the 2019 model year, the company will be the exclusive worldwide supplier of rear drive units for all versions of the Ford Edge in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific.

08:34 EDT BioDelivery Sciences announces enhanced title of Scott Plesha to President, CCO

08:34 EDT BioDelivery Sciences names James Vollins as Chief Compliance Officer - BioDelivery Sciences International appointed James Vollins as General Counsel and member of its Executive Leadership Team effective November 5, 2018. Mr. Vollins will also serve as the Company's Chief Compliance Officer and Corporate Secretary. Jim brings over 25 years of extensive legal experience including serving as general counsel and assistant general counsel for several successful healthcare companies and as senior external counsel covering a variety of legal matters. The company also announced the retirement of Ernest R. DePaolantonio, Chief Financial Officer and Corporate Secretary, which is expected to occur by mid-2019. This time will allow the company to hire a new CFO and provide for a smooth transition with Mr. DePaolantonio well before his retirement. Finally, the company announced the enhanced title of Scott Plesha to President and Chief Commercial Officer of the Company.

08:32 EDT Bio-Rad receives FDA clearance for the IH-Reader 24 - Bio-Rad Laboratories announced that it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the IH-Reader 24, a semi-automated blood typing instrument designed for medium- to small-volume laboratories. A combination centrifuge and reader, the IH-Reader 24 automatically reads and transfers blood type and antibody screening results to Bio-Rad's IH-Com patient data management software, offering improved efficiencies for transfusion medicine laboratories that use manual methods to test blood. The system offers standardized interpretation of results that are independent of user assessment. With the addition of the IH-Reader 24, Bio-Rad's portfolio of blood typing platforms offers transfusion medicine laboratories and lab networks of any size a way to standardize automated, semi-automated, and manual blood typing using products from one supplier.

08:31 EDT ViewRay announces collaboration with GenesisCare - ViewRay announced a collaboration with GenesisCare, the largest provider of cancer services in the UK, Spain and Australia, to introduce the first MRIdian MRI-guided radiotherapy system in the UK to benefit cancer patients. As part of the formal agreement, multiple MRIdian linear accelerators will be deployed within the GenesisCare network, with the first two systems to be installed in the UK. MRIdian leverages the soft-tissue imaging capabilities of MRI to allow oncologists to visualize tumors and personalize treatment more accurately than is possible with conventional technology. The agreement will allow GenesisCare to advance its vision of precision radiation medicine by contributing to the evidence base for, and delivering, high quality image-guided, adaptive radiotherapy.

08:26 EDT Enphase Energy, LONGi Solar announce partnership to develop ACMs - Enphase Energy and LONGi Solar announced a strategic partnership to develop Enphase Energized LONGi Solar AC Modules, or ACMs, based on seventh-generation Enphase IQ microinverters. The Enphase and LONGi Solar developed ACMs will be available in the U.S, starting Q4. LONGi Solar will initially develop two Enphase Energized ACMs: LONGi Solar's mono technology for 300-320W 60-cell will be paired with the Enphase IQ 7 Microinverter and LONGi Solar's high-efficiency mono technology 340-375W 72-cell modules will be paired with the Enphase IQ 7+ Microinverter. Both the 60- and 72-cell LONGi Solar AC modules have received UL certification.

08:17 EDT 8x8, Inc. acquires Jitsi video communications technology from Atlassian - 8x8 (EGHT) announced that it has acquired the Jitsi open source video communications technology and its highly skilled team of open source video technology experts. The Jitsi technology further extends 8x8's cloud technology platform and adds to the company's video collaboration capabilities. 8x8 acquired Jitsi's technology and engineering team from leading enterprise software company Atlassian (TEAM). 8x8 is acquiring Jitsi's set of modular open-source projects that allow businesses to easily build and deploy secure video communication solutions. At the heart of Jitsi is the Jitsi Videobridge conferencing server and Jitsi Meet conferencing and collaboration application. Jitsi is designed to run thousands of video streams from a single server, and it's fully open source with a community of developers supporting the project as well as 100 percent standards compliant using technologies like WebRTC. Jitsi's video communications technology will remain open source, ensuring that Jitsi stays in the forefront of Video Conferencing industry developments, including new application use cases. Jitsi's video communication solutions are intended to be integrated into 8x8 Meetings, which already enables thousands of businesses worldwide to collaborate from anywhere on any device with integrated video and audio conferencing. The financial terms of the acquisition are not disclosed.

08:12 EDT MDC Partners sees FY18 covenant EBITDA $200M - The company said "We expect approximately 1% growth in organic revenue, whose definition excludes the impact of the adoption of ASC 606 in the reconciliation of reported revenue. The adoption of ASC 606 resulted in certain client contracts previously being accounted for as principal, now being accounted for as agent. This results in a reduction in full year gross revenue of approximately $65M with a corresponding reduction in direct costs, with no impact on profit."

08:12 EDT Metropolitan Bank appoints Michael Giorgio as CTO - Metropolitan Bank Holding announced that the company has promoted Nick Rosenberg as EVP and head of global payments. Rosenberg, who was previously the company's EVP and chief technology officer, will lead the bank's newly-formed Global Payments Group, which will ensure that the bank's end-to-end global payment processing services implement the latest technology to ensure efficient and reliable service to our customers. Rosenberg will continue to report to Mark DeFazio, president and CEO. His promotion is effective immediately. The bank has also appointed Michael Giorgio as its new SVP and CTO to succeed Rosenberg. Most recently, Giorgio was the SVP and CTO for Laurel Road.

08:11 EDT MDC Partners reports Q3 EPS (32c) with items, consensus 20c - Reports Q3 revenue $375.8M, consensus $373.08M. The net loss is largely attributable to a goodwill and other asset impairment charge of $21.0M. The impact of the adoption of ASC 606 was a reduction in net loss attributable to MDC Partners common shareholders of $4.7M, or 8c per share.

08:09 EDT Avon Products launches Personalised Beauty App - Avon Products announced the launch of its Personalised Beauty App - a revolutionary beauty industry digital tool that will allow Representatives to deliver a whole new level of personalised service to customers quickly, conveniently and with confidence. Avon's Personalised Beauty App - a beauty industry first - will deliver diagnostics that promise more accuracy than ever, regardless of ethnicity, skin tone and type using just a phone camera and a unique calibration card exclusively available to Avon Representatives. By taking the guesswork out of finding the right shade to perfectly complement the diversity of our customer's colouring, Avon's Personalised Beauty App will provide the Company's network of approximately six million Representatives access to digital technology designed specifically to enhance the effectiveness of her business, and ultimately Avon's millions of customers worldwide.

08:08 EDT Collegium: Intact Xtampza had lower peak 'Drug Liking' vs. IR oxycodone - Collegium Pharmaceutical announced the publication of "Evaluation of the oral human abuse potential of Oxycodone DETERx formulation," in the peer-reviewed medical journal, Journal of Opioid Management. The publication presents the results from a human abuse potential study, which was designed to evaluate the abuse potential and pharmacokinetics of oral administration of intact Xtampza ER oral administration of chewed Xtampza ER, and oral administration of crushed immediate-release oxycodone in non-dependent, recreational drug abusers. The results demonstrated that intact and chewed Xtampza ER had statistically significantly lower peak "Drug Liking" when compared with crushed immediate-release oxycodone. Furthermore, Xtampza ER zx) and area under the curve. Intact and chewed Xtampza ER also demonstrated statistically significant lower "Take Drug Again" scores when compared with crushed immediate-release oxycodone. Additionally, statistically significant differences in peak effects between intact and chewed Xtampza ER treatments compared with crushed IR oxycodone were seen for other secondary endpoints such as "Overall Drug Liking," "Feeling High," "Any Drug Effects" and "Good Drug Effects."

08:06 EDT HyreCar appoints Henry Park as COO - HyreCar announced the appointment of Henry Park as COO. As part of HyreCar's growth plan, Henry Park will be working with the Company's leadership team to improve HyreCar's end-to-end user funnel, streamline the rideshare insurance claims process and optimize customer service to improve the overall user experience. Prior to joining HyreCar, Park was COO and Head of Marketing at SearchForce.

08:05 EDT Rigel Pharmaceuticals announces collaboration, license agreement with Kissei - Rigel Pharmaceuticals announced that it had entered into an exclusive license and supply agreement with Kissei Pharmaceutical Co. to develop and commercialize TAVALISSE in all current and potential indications in Japan, China, Taiwan and the Republic of Korea. Kissei is a Japan-based pharmaceutical company addressing patients' unmet medical needs through its research, development and commercialization efforts, as well as through collaborations with partners. TAVALISSE is commercially available in the U.S. for the treatment of thrombocytopenia in adult patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenia who have had an insufficient response to a previous treatment. Under the terms of the agreement, Rigel will receive an upfront cash payment of $33M, with the potential for an additional $147M in development and commercial milestone payments, and will receive product transfer price payments in the mid to upper twenty percent range based on tiered net sales for the exclusive supply of TAVALISSE. Kissei receives exclusive rights to TAVALISSE in ITP and all future indications in Japan, China, Taiwan, and the Republic of Korea. Rigel retains the global rights, excluding these Asian countries, to develop and commercialize TAVALISSE in ITP and any additional indications.

08:03 EDT Jazz Pharmaceuticals announces FDA approval of Xyrem - Jazz Pharmaceuticals announced that the U.S. FDA approved its supplemental new drug application on October 26, 2018, to revise labeling for Xyrem oral solution, CIII, to include an indication to treat cataplexy or excessive daytime sleepiness in patients with narcolepsy ages seven and older.

08:03 EDT Genomic Health and Epic Sciences announces positive LCD for Oncotype test - Epic Sciences and Genomic Health announced that Palmetto GBA, a Medicare Administrative Contractor that assesses molecular diagnostic technologies, has issued a positive final local coverage determination, or LCD, for the Oncotype DX AR-V7 Nucleus Detect test. The final LCD recommends Medicare coverage for use of the test effective December 10, 2018, throughout the United States to help determine which patients with metastatic castrate resistant prostate cancer, or mCRPC, may benefit from continued androgen receptor signaling inhibitor, or ARSi, therapy, such as enzalutamide, abiraterone and apalutamide, as well as those who are resistant who may benefit from chemotherapy.

07:48 EDT First Data down 9.7% to $19.50 after lowering FY18 outlook

07:45 EDT Aehr Test Systems to present FOX-XPTM test at ITC - Aehr Test Systems announced that it will be showcasing its FOX-XPTM next generation multi-wafer test and burn-in systems for high volume production and early failure rate, or EFR, test at the International Test Conference, or ITC. ITC is the conference dedicated to electronics test. This year features numerous topics including emerging test needs for artificial intelligence, automotive and IoT, hardware security, system test, analog and mixed-signal test, yield learning, test analytics, test methodology, benchmarks, test standards, memory and 3D test, diagnosis, DFT architectures, and functional and software-based test.

07:36 EDT ProQR in-licenses rights to QR-1123 from Ionis - ProQR Therapeutics N.V. (PRQR) announced the signing of an agreement with Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS) to license QR-1123, formerly "IONIS-RHO-2.5Rx," an RNA medicine for autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa caused by the P23H mutation in the rhodopsin gene. Under the terms of the agreement, ProQR was granted an exclusive worldwide license to QR-1123 and relevant patents. ProQR made an upfront payment in ordinary shares in the aggregate amount of $2.5M, at $22.23 per share, which represents a 20% premium to its common stock, to Ionis upon signing the agreement. ProQR will also make future milestone payments, certain of which will be made in equity and others in cash or equity at ProQR's discretion, and royalties on net sales of 20% through the royalty term. Preclinical activities have been completed by Ionis and were presented at the 2015 annual meeting of the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology and published in a peer-reviewed article, Murray et al 2015, IOVS. A natural history study in patients with P23H adRP has been conducted. The results of this study provide valuable information on disease progression in these patients, which is important data for designing the clinical development plan. ProQR expects to start a Phase 1/2 clinical trial in patients with adRP in 2019, pending submission and clearance of the IND application by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

07:33 EDT Invitae expands partnership with Alnylam - Invitae (NVTA) announced it has expanded its partnership with Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY) to provide genetic testing at no cost to patients through the Alnylam Act program for individuals who may carry gene mutations associated with primary hyperoxaluria, an ultra-rare genetic disorder affecting the kidneys that most often presents in childhood.

07:31 EDT Hain Celestial names Mark Schiller as new CEO, effective November 5 - The Hain Celestial Group announced that its Board of Directors has named veteran consumer packaged foods executive Mark Schiller as the company's new President and CEO, effective November 5, 2018, and Schiller will be nominated as a director of the company at its Annual Meeting of Shareholders on December 5, 2018. Schiller will succeed Irwin D. Simon, Hain Celestial's Founder, President and CEO. Schiller joins Hain Celestial with a proven track record of strategic leadership including more than 25 years of executive experience in key consumer packaged foods leadership roles at Pinnacle Foods, PepsiCo, Inc. and other companies.

07:20 EDT bebe stores partners with Bluestar Alliance to acquire Brookstone brand - bebe stores announced that it has partnered with Bluestar Alliance to acquire the Brookstone brand and related assets. The acquisition closed on October 19, 2018. The acquisition opens the way for expanding the wholesale distribution of Brookstone products to some of the largest retailers in America and across the world. It also keeps open 30 Brookstone airport stores, retaining 350 jobs, which will serve as showcases for the Brookstone brand and products. bebe stores and Bluestar have successfully worked together since 2016 when Bluestar acquired an interest in the bebe brand, trademarks, and intellectual property. As part of the acquisition, Apex Digital will operate the 30 airport stores, as well as Brookstone.com and e-commerce business.

07:14 EDT Evogene subsidary, Fantini develop mechanical harvesting solution for castor - Evofuel, a wholly owned subsidiary of Evogene and Fantini announced the successful development of a mechanical harvesting solution for castor bean plants. The solution developed has shown a significant decrease in yield losses, from up to 50% with the current solutions to as low as 5% with the combination of the harvester and Evofuel proprietary castor varieties and growth protocols in two consecutive year field trials in Israel during 2017-2018. The global castor oil and derivatives market is expected to reach $2.3B by 2024. The oil and its derivatives are used in various industrial applications such as: lubricants, surface coatings, cosmetics & pharmaceuticals, plastics & resins and biodiesel. Most of the global castor supply is from India where castor is grown in traditional methods and the harvesting is done manually, creating an unstable supply of castor oil and leading to high price volatility in the market. An industrial mechanized harvesting solution is projected to convert the castor bean into a commercially viable crop which is expected to support stabilizing the supply and to meet the growing demand for castor oil. The new mechanical harvester is being developed by a consortium of Evofuel and Fantini s.r.l, together with Castor Oil Argentina and BioFields SAPI. In the coming months semi-commercial scale field trials are expected to take place with Castor Oil Argentina and BioFields SAPI. The harvester will be commercialized by Fantini s.r.l to Evofuel's global partners.

07:10 EDT Athenex announces FDA allowance of Eribulin ORA IND to begin trials - Athenex announced that the FDA has allowed the investigational new drug, or IND, application for Athenex's oral version of Eribulin currently named Eribulin ORA. This FDA action allows Athenex to commence its clinical trial program, currently planned for first half of 2019. Eribulin, a treatment for metastatic breast cancer and liposarcoma, is currently limited to intravenous administration. Utilizing Athenex's proprietary Orascovery platform with Eribulin, Athenex was able to demonstrate that good oral absorption of Eribulin is possible, based on preclinical studies. In addition, the Eribulin active pharmaceutical ingredient,or API, has been developed internally using a novel synthetic approach.

07:09 EDT Triumph Bancorp announces $25M stock repurchase program - Triumph Bancorp announced hat its board of directors has authorized the company to repurchase up to $25M of its outstanding common stock. Aaron Graft, the company's Vice Chairman, President and CEO, said "We are pleased to announce the authorization of the share repurchase program by our Board of Directors. We believe the program provides an additional tool to enhance value for our shareholders. Any purchases pursuant to this program will be accretive to earnings per share and will be funded through available cash and retained earnings. Maintaining strong capital ratios to support our long-term strategic plans, including our organic growth opportunities and potential future acquisitions, remains our priority."

07:08 EDT Cooper Tire sees FY18 CapEx $200M-$220M - "We continue to make good progress on our strategic priorities and are seeing some benefits as our initiatives begin to take hold. We expect unit volume growth in the U.S. in the fourth quarter, which is expected to be offset by continued volume declines in our other regions, driven by economic and political challenges," said CEO Brad Hughes. "We continue to expect an impact from higher raw material costs. In the fourth quarter, our raw material index is projected to be flat sequentially, but up more than 10 percent on a year-over-year basis. Tariffs have been enacted on certain materials and tire imports from China, and there are proposed tariffs that represent further potential risk. We have implemented price increases to partially offset some of these higher costs. As a result, we would expect fourth quarter operating margin to be close to what we achieved in the third quarter, excluding the benefit from lower product liability costs." Additional management expectations for 2018 include: Effective tax rate in a range between 23 and 26 percent, and Capital expenditures in a range between $200M and $220M. Cooper Tire Europe recently announced its decision to enter an employee consultation period to explore ceasing light vehicle tire production at its Melksham, England facility and obtaining such tires from other locations in the broader, global Cooper production network. The fourth quarter outlook does not include any one-time charges related to actions resulting from potential outcomes of this process.

07:05 EDT Salix, Alfasigma to initiate late-stage program to study rifaximin - Salix Pharmaceuticals, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bausch Health, announced it has entered into an amendment to its existing license agreement with Alfasigma S.p.A. to initiate a late-stage clinical program to study an investigational formulation of rifaximin in patients with postoperative Crohn's disease, an area of unmet medical need. Additionally, the companies have agreed to resolve the outstanding arbitration regarding another development project for a formulation of rifaximin. The companies have agreed to resolve the outstanding arbitration regarding performance under an Amended and Restated License Agreement between Alfasigma and Salix concerning another development project for a new formulation of rifaximin. As a result of the resolution, all claims related to the arbitration will be released.

07:03 EDT McDermott, Saipem to partner in bid for NextDecade - McDermott announced that it plans to partner with the Italian oil and gas industry contractor Saipem S.p.A. to bid for NextDecade's planned Rio Grande LNG project in Brownsville, Texas. "Our joint bid with Saipem will feature optimized execution strategies that result in increased certainty on schedule and cost as compared to other LNG projects on the U.S. Gulf Coast," said David Dickson, President and CEO of McDermott. "Pursuant to NextDecade's competitive process, we plan to submit our joint EPC proposal in the second quarter of 2019." NextDecade has previously disclosed it expects to achieve a final investment decision on the project in the third quarter of 2019.

06:58 EDT Northrop Grumman announces $1B accelerated share repurchase agreement - Northrop Grumman (NOC) announced that it has entered into an accelerated share repurchase agreement with Goldman Sachs & Co. (GS) to repurchase $1B of Northrop Grumman's common stock. Under the ASR agreement, Northrop Grumman will receive initial deliveries of approximately 3 million shares on Oct. 31, representing approximately 80% of the expected share repurchases under the ASR agreement, based on the company's closing price of $269.84 on Oct. 26, 2018. The final number of shares to be repurchased will be based on Northrop Grumman's volume-weighted average price during the term of the transaction, less a discount, and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2019. The ASR will be completed under the company's current share repurchase authorization, under which $2.1B remained at Sept. 30, 2018.

06:52 EDT Signet Jewelers appoints Zackery Hicks to Board of Directors - Signet Jewelers (SIG) announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Zackery A. Hicks as an Independent Director, effective October 26. Hicks currently serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Digital Officer of Toyota Motors (TM) North America, and President and CEO of Toyota Connected. In his role as Chief Digital Officer, Hicks leads Toyota's Digital Transformation and Mobility group which oversees the strategy, development and operations of all systems and technology for the company's North American operations. Hicks is also President and CEO of Toyota Connected, the company's global data science unit responsible for its connected car ecosystem development by utilizing machine learning and artificial intelligence to create seamless, personalized experiences. After achieving strong early success, the program is expanding to Europe, where Hicks has been appointed Chairman of Toyota Connected Europe.

06:47 EDT Booz Allen reports Q2 total backlog of $21.4B - Total backlog increased by 28.1% over the prior year period to $21.4B and the book-to-bill ratio for the second quarter was 3.66x; each represented a record performance since the company's IPO. As of September 30, 2018, headcount was more than 1,100 higher than the prior year, and increased by more than 780 since the end of the prior quarter.

06:35 EDT BGC Partners to acquire Ed Broking Group - BGC Partners announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Ed Broking Group, an independent Lloyd's of London insurance broker. Under the terms of the agreement, BGC will acquire 100% of Ed, which includes broking operations under the Ed brand in UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai, Miami and China; Ed's German marine broking arm Junge & Co., Ed's managing general agent operations Globe Underwriting Limited and Cooper Gay based in Paris. The deal expands BGC's insurance division, which was established in 2017 with the acquisition of Besso Insurance. Ed expects to report revenues of around $100M in 2018. With the addition of Ed 's brokers and back office personnel, Ed and Besso combined are expected to place approximately $2B of premium in 2018 and have approximately 300 combined brokers operating across 10 countries. Further details of the transaction were not disclosed, and completion of the transaction is subject to legal and regulatory approvals and certain closing conditions.

06:32 EDT PotlatchDeltic to pay special distribution of $3.54 per share in Q4 - "All three of our business segments delivered strong results in the third quarter and the financial objectives of the Deltic merger have exceeded our expectations," said Mike Covey, chairman and CEO. "In the fourth quarter we will pay a special distribution of $3.54 per share. Lumber market fundamentals remain strong despite the recent decline in lumber prices," stated Covey.

06:19 EDT Twitter apologizes for not responding to threat made from account tied to Sayoc - Twitter apologized for not responding when a threat was made from an account tied to pipe bomb suspect Cesar Sayoc. Twitter said it "made a mistake" and that the tweet "clearly violated our rules." Reference Link

06:12 EDT Kazia Therapeutics announces update on GDC-0084 - Kazia Therapeutics provided an update to shareholders regarding progress with GDC-0084, which is currently in human trials for glioblastoma and several other forms of brain cancer. Phase II clinical trial of GDC-0084 in glioblastoma is progressing with all sites open to recruitment and the first cohort of patients fully enrolled and undergoing treatment. Investigator-initiated clinical collaborations launched with St Jude Children's Research Hospital in diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, or DIPG, and with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in breast cancer brain metastases, or BCBM. A poster on the Kazia glioblastoma study is to be presented at upcoming Society for Neuro-Oncology meeting. Also, the company is manufacturing an additional batch of GDC-0084 capsules for clinical trial use. In accordance with FDA requirements, Kazia has been undertaking a 13-week toxicology study of GDC-0084 in two animal species. This is a routine requirement to support long-term use of the drug in human patients. Kazia has applied to the World Health Organisation, or WHO, for an international non-proprietary name, or INN for GDC-0084. It is common for drugs to be referred to by a code number during early development, but companies typically seek allocation of an INN around the initiation of phase II development. Kazia expects to receive the INN for GDC-0084 in late calendar 2019.

06:08 EDT Yandex sees FY18 results up 35%-38% vs last year - The company said "Based on our recent performance and taking into account the deconsolidation of Yandex.Market from our consolidated financial results, we would like to update the revenue outlook for the FY18, which excludes Yandex. Market from prior periods. We currently expect our ruble-based revenues excluding Yandex. Market from 2017 and 2018 results to grow in the range of 35%-38% for the FY18 compared with 2017. Based on the recent performance of Search and Portal, we now expect our Search and Portal ruble-based revenue growth to be in the range of 21%-23% in the FY18 compared with 2017. This outlook reflects our current view, based on the trends that we see at this time, and may change in light of market and economic developments in the business sectors and jurisdictions in which we operate."

06:07 EDT Black Stone Minerals raises cash distribution to 37c per unit - The Board of Directors of the general partner has approved cash distributions attributable to the third quarter of 2018 of 37c per unit for both common and subordinated units. This represents an approximate 10% increase to the distribution for common and subordinated unitholders from the previous quarter and an 18% increase to the common distribution paid with respect to the third quarter of 2017. Distributions will be payable on November 21, 2018 to unitholders of record on November 14, 2018.

06:05 EDT NanoString, MacroGenics enter translational research collaboration - NanoString Technologies (NSTG) announced that MacroGenics (MGNX) and NanoString have entered into a translational research agreement to identify and develop biomarkers for MacroGenics' MGD013 program. MGD013 is an IgG4 bispecific DART(R) molecule designed to simultaneously block the PD-1 and LAG-3 pathways. In preclinical studies, MGD013 provides enhanced T-cell activation compared to single or combination monoclonal antibody blockade. Disrupting these non-redundant inhibitory pathways may further restore exhausted T-cell function and enhance anti-tumor efficacy. MGD013 is currently in the dose escalation portion of a Phase 1/2 study in which tolerability and preliminary safety in advanced solid tumors and hematologic malignancies are being evaluated. MacroGenics and NanoString will conduct joint research using the PanCancer IO 360 Panel to explore potentially predictive signatures for MGD013 clinical applications. Under the terms of the collaboration, NanoString will develop and evaluate the Tumor Inflammation Signature and novel predictive gene expression signatures for MGD013. In the event that a predictive biomarker is identified, the parties may develop a companion diagnostic for specific clinical applications of MGD013.

06:02 EDT TherapeuticsMD announces FDA approval of TX-001HR: BIJUVA - TherapeuticsMD announced that the United States FDA has approved BIJUVA capsules, 1 mg/100 mg, the first and only FDA-approved bio-identical* hormone therapy combination of estradiol and progesterone in a single, oral capsule for the treatment of moderate to severe vasomotor symptoms (commonly known as hot flashes or flushes) due to menopause in women with a uterus. TherapeuticsMD expects that BIJUVA will be available in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2019.

05:51 EDT AC Immune: new data supporting crenezumab as potential Alzheimer's therapy - AC Immune announced the presentation of in vitro data that underscores the clinical rationale for crenezumab, an anti-beta amyloid antibody, as a potential treatment for Alzheimer's disease. Furthermore, the results of a study on PET eligibility supported the use of either amyloid PET or the Elecsys b-Amyloid CSF immunoassay as eligibility criteria in the CREAD Phase 3 studies of crenezumab in patients with prodromal-to mild AD.

05:35 EDT Denbury Resources to acquire Penn Virginia in cash, stock deal valued at $1.7B - Denbury Resources (DNR) and Penn Virginia Corporation (PVAC) announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which Denbury will acquire Penn Virginia in a transaction valued at approximately $1.7B, including the assumption of debt. The consideration to be paid to Penn Virginia shareholders will consist of 12.4 shares of Denbury common stock and $25.86 of cash for each share of Penn Virginia common stock. Penn Virginia shareholders will be permitted to elect all cash, all stock or a mix of stock and cash, subject to proration, which will result in the aggregate issuance of approximately 191.6M Denbury shares and payment of $400M in cash. The transaction was unanimously approved by the board of directors of each company, and Penn Virginia shareholders holding 15% of the outstanding shares signed a voting agreement to vote "for" the transaction. Under the terms of the definitive merger agreement, shareholders of Penn Virginia will receive, subject to proration, a combination of 12.4 shares of Denbury common stock and $25.86 of cash for each share of Penn Virginia common stock, representing consideration to each Penn Virginia shareholder of $79.80 per share based on the closing price of Denbury common stock on October 26, 2018. Penn Virginia shareholders will have the option to receive all stock or all cash, subject to proration such that the overall mix of consideration does not result in more or less than $400M in cash being paid. The overall mix of consideration will be 68% Denbury common stock and 32% cash. The stock portion of the consideration received by Penn Virginia's shareholders is expected to be tax-free. Upon closing of the transaction, Denbury stockholders will own approximately 71% of the combined company, and Penn Virginia shareholders will own approximately 29%. The transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2019, is subject to the approval of Penn Virginia shareholders and is subject to approval by Denbury's stockholders of the issuance of common stock and an amendment to Denbury's charter to increase its authorized shares. The transaction is also conditioned on clearance under the Hart-Scott Rodino Act and other customary closing conditions. The merger agreement contains a covenant that upon its closing, Denbury's board will be expanded from eight directors to ten directors, to include two independent members of Penn Virginia's board of directors who are mutually agreed upon by Denbury and Penn Virginia.

05:30 EDT Pfizer announces clinical development agreement with Novartis - Pfizer (PFE) announced that it has entered into a non-exclusive clinical development agreement with Novartis (NVS) to investigate one or more combination therapies for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, or NASH. The companies will conduct both non-clinical and Phase 1 clinical studies of Pfizer's investigational therapies, including an Acetyl CoA-Carboxylase Inhibitor, a Diacylglycerol O-Acyltransferase 2 Inhibitor and a Ketohexokinase Inhibitor, together with Novartis's tropifexor, a non-bile acid, Farnesoid X receptor agonist. With three assets in development, and several first-in-class pre-clinical candidates under investigation, Pfizer is building a robust NASH program, which was entirely developed in-house and targets NASH through multiple, diverse pathways of the disease. The collaboration with Novartis helps Pfizer to explore combination approaches at an early stage.

04:55 EDT Boeing issues statement on 787 Max Jet crash that killed 189 people - Boeing said in a statement, "The Indonesia Ministry of Transportation has confirmed it has located the wreckage of Lion Air Flight JT 610, a 737 MAX 8 en route from Jakarta to Pangkal Pinang. The Boeing Company is deeply saddened by the loss of Flight JT 610. We express our concern for those on board, and extend heartfelt sympathies to their families and loved ones. Boeing stands ready to provide technical assistance to the accident investigation. In accordance with international protocol, all inquiries about aviation accident investigations must be directed to the Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee (NTSC)."