Stockwinners Market Radar for May 08, 2019 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

21:04 EDT R1 RCM selected by Quorum Heath for revenue cycle management - R1 RCM (RCM) announced that a wholly owned subsidiary of Quorum Health (QHC) has selected R1 RCM to provide end-to-end revenue cycle management services across Quorum Health's portfolio of hospitals and outpatient centers. After conducting a "competitive search", Quorum Health selected R1 and anticipates going live in the second half of 2019.

19:17 EDT Fly Intel: After Hours Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: NV5 Global (NVEE) up 12.0%... Roku (ROKU) up 8.4%... Fossil Group (FOSL) up 7.8%... Copa Holdings (CPA) up 7.5%... Collegium Pharma (COLL) up 6.8%... ShockWave Medical (SWAV) up 6.8%... For Corp (FOX) up 6.0%... Dynavax (DVAX) up 5.7%... SMTC Corp (SMTX) up 5.5%... Luna Innovations (LUNA) up 5.0%... Glaukos (GKOS) up 4.3%... Carvana (CVNA) up 4.0%... Inseego (INSG) up 3.5%... Resideo Technologies (REZI) up 3.2%... Hostess Brands (TWNK) up 2.5%... SurveyMonkey (SVMK) up 2.5%... Curtiss Wright (CW) up 2.3%... Kratos Defense (KTOS) up 2.3%... SilverBow (SBOW) up 1.9%... Turtle Beach (HEAR) up 1.8%... Sunoco (SUN) up 1.6%... Nuance Communications (NUAN) up 1.5%... Disney (DIS) up 0.5%. ALSO HIGHER: Costco (COST) up 1.0% after April SSS. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Stamps.com (STMP) down 45.0%... SailPoint (SAIL) down 23.9%... Green Dot (GDOT) down 22.6%... e.l.f. Beauty (ELF) down 16.7%... Infinera (INFN) down 11.8%... Revance Therapeutics (RVNC) down 8.9%... Applied Optoelectronics (AAOI) down 7.6%... Etsy (ETSY) down 7.1%... Trivity Health (TVTY) down 7.1%... Angi Homeservices (ANGI) down 5.3%,... Sangomo (SGMO) down 4.5%... Sunrun (RUN) down 3.3%... Everspin Technologies (MRAM) down 3.2%... Redfin Corp (RDFN) down 2.7%... Unity Biotech (UBX) down 2.5%... Upwork (UPWK) down 2.3%... CenturyLink (CTL) down 2.1%... PetIQ (PETQ) down 1.6%. Movers as of 18:45ET.

18:53 EDT Latam Airlines reports April traffic up 8% y-o-y - Latam Airlines reported preliminary monthly traffic statistics for April. System passenger traffic measured in revenue passenger kilometers increased 8.0%, while capacity rose by 8.0%. Load factor for the month fell 0.1 percentage points to 83.3%. The 30.1% increase in capacity in Spanish-speaking domestic markets is mainly explained by the strike in Chile last year. Excluding Chile, Domestic SSC capacity rose 10.4%, in line with the rise of the first three months of the year. International passenger traffic accounted for approximately 58% of the month's total passenger traffic.

18:34 EDT Under Armour CEO: We have cut product made in China to 15% from 30% - In an interview on CNBC's Mad Money, Under Armour CEO Kevin Plank said: The brand has to come through in everything we do... We are highly focused on gross margin, it's a great indicator of brand health... We have reduced product made in China to 15% from 30%... Athletes are winning in our brand... We are proud of the progress we've made in our transformation... I love the way our future looks.

18:32 EDT Technip to sell TachoSil Fibrin Sealant Patch to Ethicon

18:30 EDT Quintana Energy Services reports Q1 EPS (26c), consensus (6c) - Reports Q1 revenue $141.67M, consensus $152.73M. Rogers Herndon, QES' President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "Despite a challenging market backdrop and challenging weather conditions, we had a strong quarter across our Directional Drilling, Wireline and Pressure Control businesses. While the performance in our Pressure Pumping business has been negatively impacted by weak fundamentals, we are taking the steps needed to adjust capacity and utilization levels to better position Pressure Pumping for success in the current market."

17:57 EDT SL Green Realty director Betsy Atkins sells over $550M in company shares - SL Green Realty director Betsy Atkins disclosed in a filing that she had sold 6,470 shares of company stock at $86.08 per share on May 6. The total transaction value of the sale is $556,938.

17:50 EDT SAIC awarded $234.74M Navy contract - SAIC has been awarded a $234.74M indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for professional technical and management support services to establish and maintain cyberspace operations and enable product lines, programs and projects to include interoperability of systems, services and capabilities at the tactical, operational and strategic levels. This is one of nine multiple award contracts. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This three-year contract includes two two-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to an estimated $569.18M. All work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed May 6, 2022. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through May 6, 2026. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using research, development, test, and evaluation; other procurement; operations and maintenance; and potential other funding to include Defense Working Capital Fund and foreign military sales funding. This contract was competitively procured via request which was published on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce Central website. Eighteen offers were received and nine were selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center is the contracting activity.

17:45 EDT Booz Allen awarded $273.94M Navy contract - Booz Allen has been awarded a $273.94M indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for professional technical and management support services to establish and maintain cyberspace operations and enable product lines, programs and projects to include interoperability of systems, services and capabilities at the tactical, operational and strategic levels. This is one of nine multiple award contracts. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This three-year contract includes two two-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to an estimated $672.03M. All work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed May 6, 2022. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through May 6, 2026. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using research, development, test, and evaluation; other procurement; operations and maintenance; and potential other funding to include Defense Working Capital Fund and foreign military sales funding. This contract was competitively procured via request which was published on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce Central website. Eighteen offers were received and nine were selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center is the contracting activity.

17:42 EDT BAE Systems awarded $276.57M Navy contract - BAE Systems has been awarded a $276.57M indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for professional technical and management support services to establish and maintain cyberspace operations and enable product lines, programs and projects to include interoperability of systems, services and capabilities at the tactical, operational and strategic levels. This is one of nine multiple award contracts. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This three-year contract includes two two-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to an estimated $677.77M. All work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed May 6, 2022. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through May 6, 2026. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using research, development, test, and evaluation; other procurement; operations and maintenance; and potential other funding to include Defense Working Capital Fund and foreign military sales funding. This contract was competitively procured via request which was published on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce Central website. Eighteen offers were received and nine were selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center is the contracting activity.

17:39 EDT Perspecta awarded $303.57M Navy contract - Perspecta has been awarded a $303.57M indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for professional technical and management support services to establish and maintain cyberspace operations and enable product lines, programs and projects to include interoperability of systems, services and capabilities at the tactical, operational and strategic levels. This is one of nine multiple award contracts. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This three-year contract includes two two-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to an estimated $739.94M. All work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed May 6, 2022. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through May 6, 2026. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using research, development, test, and evaluation; other procurement; operations and maintenance; and potential other funding to include Defense Working Capital Fund and foreign military sales funding. This contract was competitively procured via request which was published on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce Central website. Eighteen offers were received and nine were selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center is the contracting activity.

17:36 EDT Pan American Silver reports Q1 silver production 6.1M ounces - Gold production was 80.5 thousand ounces, which was an increase reflecting the 38-day contribution from the Acquired Mines since acquisition. Zinc, lead and copper production were 16.8 thousand tonnes, 6.5 thousand tonnes, and 2.0 thousand tonnes, respectively. Base metal production is on track to achieve annual 2019 production guidance.

17:33 EDT ICF International awarded $330.71M Navy contract - ICF has been awarded a $330.71M indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for professional technical and management support services to establish and maintain cyberspace operations and enable product lines, programs and projects to include interoperability of systems, services and capabilities at the tactical, operational and strategic levels. This is one of nine multiple award contracts. All awardees will have the opportunity to compete for task orders during the ordering period. This three-year contract includes two two-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to an estimated $802.05M. All work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed May 6, 2022. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through May 6, 2026. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as task orders are issued using research, development, test, and evaluation; other procurement; operations and maintenance and potential other funding to include Defense Working Capital Fund and foreign military sales funding. This contract was competitively procured via request which was published on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command e-Commerce Central website. Eighteen offers were received and nine were selected for award. Naval Information Warfare Center is the contracting activity.

17:18 EDT Proteostasis sees funds sufficient for operations into 2021 - Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaled $105.3M as of March 31, 2019, compared to $118.4M as of December 31, 2018. The company believes that existing cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments are sufficient to fund operations into 2021, allowing it to complete our Phase 2 studies and initiate key activities to support our Phase 3 program.

17:15 EDT Stars Group trading resumes

17:09 EDT Sun Life Financial raises dividend 5% to 52.5c per share - Payable June 28 to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 29.

17:03 EDT TransUnion completes CEO succession plan - TransUnion announced that the company's board confirmed the appointment of Christopher Cartwright to the position of president and CEO of TransUnion, effective immediately. Cartwright was also elected to the board. This completes the CEO succession plan as initially announced November 14, 2018. James Peck remains on the TransUnion board and will serve in a consultancy role until February 2020.

17:01 EDT Peabody Energy raises quarterly dividend to 14c from 13c per share - Payable on June 12 to shareholders of record on May 22.

17:00 EDT Veritone CEO says 'growing momentum in all businesses', 'excited' about 2019 - CEO Chad Steelberg says: "During the first quarter, we delivered strong top line growth across the board, resulting in record net revenues of $12.1 million, above the high end of our guidance range. Advertising net revenues were up 83%, and aiWARE SaaS revenues were up 117%, versus the first quarter of 2018, reflecting both the contributions of our recent acquisitions and organic growth. Our new products are driving new market penetration and an acceleration in customer engagements. We are benefitting from a diversification of revenues both within our product offerings and across new channels and geographies. With growing momentum in all of our businesses, the amazing customer response to our new applications and our pipeline of exciting products under development, we are very excited about our growth prospects for 2019."

16:56 EDT La-Z-Boy promotes Darrell Edwards to COO - La-Z-Boy Incorporated announced the promotion of Darrell Edwards to senior VP and COO, effective immediately. Edwards joined La-Z-Boy in 2004 and has held positions of increasing responsibility, most recently as senior VP and Chief Supply Chain Officer.

16:53 EDT Etsy down 6.7% to $63.51 after Q1 results, FY19 guidance

16:50 EDT PlayAGS still sees 2019 adjusted EBITDA $160M-$164M - Continues to expect 2019 capital expenditures to be in the range of $64M-$69M, compared to $66.6M in 2018.

16:50 EDT World Fuel Services raises quarterly dividend by 66% to 10c per share - The dividend increase declared is for the next regular quarterly dividend payable in July 2019.

16:49 EDT PetIQ sees $3M in cost synergies by 2020 from Perrigo Animal Health acquisition - Sees more than $5M in cost synergies by 2021.

16:47 EDT PetIQ to acquire Perrigo Animal Health for $185M - PetIQ (PETQ) and Perrigo Animal Health announced they have executed a definitive agreement under which PetIQ will acquire Perrigo Animal Health, a leading manufacturer of vet quality products for pet parents, from Perrigo Company (PRGO). The $185M cash transaction has been unanimously approved by PetIQ's board. The purchase price reflects an adjusted EBITDA multiple of 9.0x, based on estimated FY20, including expected run-rate cost synergies. PetIQ expects that this acquisition will be accretive to earnings in the first twelve months following the closing and thereafter. The acquisition is expected to close during Q3 of 2019 subject to customary closing conditions, including the receipt of U.S. antitrust approval.

16:46 EDT Franco-Nevada says expects 'even stronger numbers in the second half' - "Franco-Nevada's diversified portfolio performed very well in the first quarter delivering record revenue and net income," stated David Harquail, CEO. "We expect even stronger numbers in the second half as Cobre Panama begins its initial deliveries, Candelaria returns to normal operations and our U.S. energy royalties continue to grow. It is a testament to both the portfolio and our business model that today Franco-Nevada has increased its dividend for the 12th consecutive year adding to the over $1 billion of dividends already paid." Pierre Lassonde, Chair, added: "I would like to welcome Jennifer Maki who was elected today at our AGM as the newest member of the Franco-Nevada board. Jennifer is the former CEO of Vale Canada and Executive Director of Vale Base Metals and is a Chartered Professional Accountant. She brings a depth of mining and financial experience to our board. On a separate note, today at the AGM, I announced my intention to step down as Chair at the next annual meeting in May 2020. At that point, I will have served as chair for over 12 years. Both announcements are part of an orderly and long-term succession planning process being led by the board."

16:45 EDT Franco-Nevada raises quarterly dividend to 25c from 24c per share - The dividend will be paid on June 27 to shareholders of record on June 13.

16:43 EDT Aimmune continues to work with FDA on 'expeditious review' of AR101 - The company said, "We are well on track to introduce AR101 as potentially the first-ever approved treatment for peanut allergy, a significant milestone for our Company, the allergist community, and the millions of people who live with the daily risk of serious reactions to accidental peanut exposure. The FDA's acceptance of our BLA was a key step forward and now we continue to work with the FDA to facilitate an expeditious review. In parallel, in the U.S., we are continuing our medical education through our MSL Team and are fully ramping up our commercial efforts and scaling our organization to be launch-ready by Q4 this year. Recent market research has provided additional focus to this effort. For example, we have found that the approximately 30 percent of allergists who are most eager and ready to offer AR101 to their patients, if approved, today see approximately 70 percent of peanut allergic patients. We also continue to advance efforts toward submitting a marketing authorization application for AR101 to the European Medicines Agency in mid-2019, following our positive ARTEMIS European phase 3 study. We are excited to present the full ARTEMIS results at EAACI in early June. In addition, we expect to initiate a phase 2 trial of AR201 in egg allergy in mid-2019. Moreover, we remain in a strong financial position to commercialize AR101 and advance our pipeline programs."

16:42 EDT Houlihan Lokey raises quarterly dividend 15% to 31c per share - The dividend will be payable on June 14, 2019 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on June 3, 2019.

16:40 EDT Perrigo to divest Animal Health business to PetIQ for $185M in cash - Perrigo (PRGO) announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to sell its Animal Health business to PetIQ (PETQ) in a transaction valued at $185M in cash. This transaction is consistent with Perrigo's plans to transform itself into a consumer-focused, self-care company. In calendar year 2018, Perrigo realized $94M in net sales and 8c of adjusted diluted EPS from the Animal Health business. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.

16:40 EDT CenturyLink initiates strategic alternatives process for Consumer business - CenturyLink said that as part of its regular evaluation of its asset portfolio, it has initiated a strategic alternatives process for its Consumer business and has engaged external advisors to assist in the review. It added, "The company cannot predict the outcome or timing of this work, whether any transactions will be consummated or, if they are, what the form of those transactions may be. The Company does not plan to modify its normal operations or investment patterns in these businesses while it undertakes this review." Jeff Storey, CEO of CenturyLink, said, "Our Consumer business continues to make significant contributions to our profitability and Free Cash Flow and we are performing well where we are investing. We are comfortable operating this business for the long term, but the strategic review will help us better understand whether there are opportunities to better maximize the value of this asset." The company does not intend to comment further regarding the strategic review process until it is complete or further disclosure is required.

16:36 EDT Conduent CEO Ashok Vemuri stepping down - Conduent CEO Ashok Vemuri intends to step down as CEO and as a member of the Board of Directors. To ensure an orderly transition, Vemuri will continue in his current role as CEO and as a member of the board until his successor is appointed, which the board expects to occur during Q3. The Conduent board has initiated a search to identify the next CEO and is considering internal and external candidates as part of the process. The search will be led by a special committee of the board, which has retained an executive search firm to assist with the process.

16:36 EDT United Rentals names new CCO and COO - United Rentals announced that its president and chief executive officer, Matthew Flannery, has finalized his executive leadership team. Mr. Flannery succeeded Michael Kneeland as CEO on May 8, 2019, at which time Mr. Kneeland became chairman of the board. Two United Rentals executives have been promoted to new roles, effective immediately: Paul McDonnell was named Chief Commercial Officer. Mr. McDonnell's tenure with United Rentals began in district management in 1999, followed by his appointment as region vice president. Dale Asplund was named Chief Operating Officer. Mr. Asplund has served in senior positions with United Rentals since joining the company in 1998, including strategic leadership roles in supply chain operations, fleet management, shared services and acquisition integration.

16:29 EDT Paratek says Nuzyra generated $1.3M in net sales in first eight weeks - Paratek Pharmaceuticals provided an update on corporate activities for the quarter ended March 31. "We are pleased with the results from the first eight weeks of the Nuzyra launch in the United States. We have achieved several of our early benchmarks that we believe are necessary to create a strong foundation for long-term commercial success," said Paratek CEO Michael Bigham. "The organization is motivated and focused on the launch of Nuzyra. We appreciate that it takes sustained effort and patience to establish momentum for any new antibiotic in the hospital setting. To date, our efforts have been focused on establishing a robust supply chain and distribution channel, actively educating and building awareness with the key stakeholders on the potential benefits Nuzyra offers and ensuring patients have access to this potential life-saving therapy." After an early February launch, Nuzyra generated $1.3M in net revenues in the U.S. in its first approximately eight weeks on the market. The company estimates approximately 85% of Nuzyra revenues were related to the initial inventory build of the oral formulation in the channel. Approximately 1/3 of commercial lives in U.S. had access to Nuzyra by the end of Q1.

16:27 EDT Cimarex Energy sees Q2 production volume 263 - 275 MBOE per day - Second quarter production volumes are expected to average 263 - 275 MBOE per day with oil volumes estimated to average 79.5 - 85.5 MBbls per day, up four percent sequentially at the midpoint. Total 2019 daily production volumes are now expected to average 260 - 275 MBOE per day, with annual oil volumes estimated to average 80.0 - 88.0 Mbbls per day. Estimated 2019 exploration and development investment is $1.35B-1.45B, unchanged from guidance given in February. Midstream investments are estimated to total $60M-70M in 2019.

16:26 EDT Regional Management announces authorization of new $25M share buyback - "Lastly, we are pleased to announce that our Board of Directors has approved a new $25M share repurchase program. This program will allow us to return value to our shareholders and underscores our belief in our strong financial performance and future prospects, while still providing ample capital to expand our operations," said CEO Peter Knitzer.

16:25 EDT Sunrun says in Q2 sees deployments to be 102 MW-104 MW - Sees deployments to grow in a range between 16% and 18% year-over-year in 2019

16:25 EDT CSS Industries announces restructuring plan, to reduce cost base by $20M - CSS Industries, Inc. announced a comprehensive restructuring plan to significantly reduce its cost base, while streamlining the organization in a manner designed to improve business performance, profitability and cash flow generation. Development of this restructuring plan initially began in connection with the company's previously announced management project. Under the restructuring plan, ongoing run-rate spending is expected to be reduced approximately $22 million by the end of fiscal 2020, representing an approximate 10 percent reduction in total spending. Half of the total savings are expected to be generated from an approximate 12 percent workforce reduction. The remainder of the total savings will be driven through the implementation of aggressive cost savings initiatives across the organization, though heavily focused on its legacy business. Associated with this change, the Company expects to record a restructuring charge of approximately $2 million, mainly attributable to severance costs to be incurred during the first quarter of the Company's fiscal 2020. "The announced restructuring is a comprehensive plan developed over the last several months, seeking to address the ongoing declines within our legacy categories and to implement steps and strategies necessary to drive the business forward," commented Christopher J. Munyan, President and Chief Executive Officer. "We are taking immediate and decisive actions to execute this plan and to address the cost base. These changes will further optimize our cost base, while ensuring we maintain and focus on our core capabilities. In addition, we continue to work on other initiatives to drive shareholder value."

16:20 EDT AmpliPhi announces stockholder approval of combination with C3J - AmpliPhi Biosciences Corporation announced that its stockholders voted to approve the proposals required to complete the business combination with C3J Therapeutics at a special meeting of AmpliPhi Biosciences stockholders held earlier today. Approximately 94% of the shares voted at the special stockholder meeting voted in favor of the transaction, with each of the other related proposals also receiving sufficient votes for approval.

16:17 EDT SilverBow Resources backs FY19 CAPEX outlook $250M-$260M - Backs FY19 production guidance of 225-239 MMcfe/d.

16:13 EDT Etsy reports 2.23M active sellers in Q1, up 13% y/y

16:11 EDT Etsy raises FY18 GMS view to ~$4.6B-$4.8B from ~$4.6B-$4.7B

16:09 EDT e.l.f. Beauty announces $25M share repurchase program - e.l.f. Beauty announced that its board approved a share repurchase program authorizing the company to repurchase up to $25M of its common shares. "We are pleased to be in a position to return excess cash to shareholders while still investing in our key growth initiatives," said Mandy Fields, Chief Financial Officer.

16:09 EDT Roku reports Q1 ARPU up 27% from last year - Roku reports Q1: Platform revenue up 79% to $134.2 million; Active accounts up 2.0 million incrementally to 29.1 million; Streaming hours up 1.6B from Q4 to 8.9B; Average Revenue Per User, or ARPU $19.06 on a TTM basis, up $1.11 vs. Q4, and up 27% from last year.

16:08 EDT Disney reports Q2 Media Networks revenue $5.53BB vs. $5.51B last year - Media Networks revenues for the quarter were comparable to the prior-year quarter at $5.5B and segment operating income decreased 3% to $2.2B. Cable Networks revenues for the quarter increased 2% to $3.7B and operating income increased 2% to $1.8B. Higher operating income was due to an increase at ESPN. The increase at ESPN was due to higher affiliate revenue, partially offset by an increase in programming and production costs and a decrease in advertising revenue. Broadcasting revenues for the quarter decreased 2% to $1.8B and operating income decreased 29% to $247M. The decrease in operating income was due to higher programming costs, lower program sales and a decrease in advertising revenue, partially offset by higher affiliate revenue from contractual rate increases.

16:06 EDT AcelRx "on track" to 125 hospital formulary approvals by end of 2019 - AcelRx stated that it remains on track to achieve 125 hospital formulary approvals by the end of 2019. The acceleration of the second phase of hiring 25 additional hospital account managers to the beginning of Q3 from Q4 also remains as planned. Quarterly combined R&D and SG&A expense for the remaining quarters of 2019 is expected to remain in the range of $15M-$18M, which includes approximately $2M of non-cash stock-based compensation per quarter.

16:02 EDT Craft Brew Alliance cuts FY19 CapEx view to $13M-$17M from $15M-$19M - Says maintaining gross margin rate of 34.5% to 36.5%, reflecting increases in net revenue per barrel, continued improvements in brewery operations, lower fixed overhead, and ongoing efforts to stabilize our pub operations.

15:55 EDT Intel sees high-single digit growth for data-centric business over next 3 years - Sees PC-centric business flat to slightly down over next 3 years. Guidance from investor day slides.

15:39 EDT Catalyst Pharmaceuticals awarded Department of Veterans Affairs contract - A post to FedBizOpps.gov shows that Catalyst Pharmaceuticals was awarded a contract with a value of $920,000 from the Department of Veterans Affairs on May 8. Reference Link

14:16 EDT Phillips 66 increases quarterly dividend 12.5% to 90c per share - The board of directors of Phillips 66 has declared a quarterly dividend of 90c per share on Phillips 66 common stock, representing a 12.5% increase. The dividend is payable on June 3 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on May 20.

13:56 EDT General Finance's Pac-Van acquires Pier Mobile Storage assets - General Finance Corporation's subsidiary, Pac-Van, Inc., announced its acquisition on Tuesday, May 7th of the assets of Pier Trailer Rentals, Inc. dba Pier Mobile Storage. Pier Mobile Storage provides its customers with storage containers, storage trailers and ground level offices from its three locations in central Kentucky. "The acquisition of Pier Mobile Storage expands Pac-Van's already strong presence in Kentucky by growing our current operations in Lexington and adding new locations for Pac-Van in Danville and Corbin, Kentucky. Pac-Van acquired more than 500 additional rental units and added four new staff members to our team," said Jody Miller, CEO of General Finance Corporation. "Pac-Van now operates throughout Kentucky from six locations and is well positioned to continue delivering high quality portable storage and office space solutions throughout the state."

13:02 EDT AT&T, EPIX reach distribution agreement - EPIX and AT&T announced that they have reached a distribution agreement that will make EPIX available on a subscription basis to customers for $5.99 beginning Sunday, May 19th. The network will also be available soon on the streaming service DIRECTV NOW. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

12:54 EDT LivePerson targets greater than 25% revenue growth in 3-5 years - LivePerson outlined its growth strategy and announced its 2020 and 3 to 5 year financial targets at an Investor Day, the company announced. Chris Greiner, LivePerson's CFO, stated, "with Conversational Commerce entering the mainstream, we have invested in our technology to extend our leadership, and expanded our sales capacity and marketing programs to better serve rising demand. As a result, LivePerson has crossed an inflection point. We expect to exit 2019 at a high teens to 20% run rate in revenue growth and accelerate to growth of at least 25% over the next 3 to 5 years. During that same timeframe, we anticipate steadily increasing profitability and are targeting achieving an adjusted EBITDA margin of at least 15%. We expect the achievement of these goals to drive stockholder value."

12:33 EDT Eagle Materials to review Sachem Head director nominations - Eagle Materials confirmed that Sachem Head Capital Management has submitted nominations for two candidates for election to the Company's Board of Directors at its 2019 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, scheduled for August 6, 2019. Eagle shareholders are not required to take any action at this time. The Eagle Board of Directors issued a statement in response: "Eagle's Board is committed to delivering long-term value for all shareholders, and is open-minded and receptive toward ideas that advance this objective. As announced on April 18, 2019, following consultation with and input from the Company's largest shareholders, including Sachem Head, the Eagle Board and management team commenced a strategic review of the Company's portfolio of businesses to help ensure the Company's inherent value is appropriately reflected in the marketplace and the Company is best positioned to unlock that value. The Board's independent directors, who have extensive operational, financial and transactional experience, are deeply involved with the strategic portfolio review and believe that execution of the review already underway with the existing Board will result in the most efficient, thorough and timely result. The review is ongoing and the Company does not intend to publicly discuss or disclose developments with respect to this process unless and until the Board has approved a definitive action, or the process is otherwise concluded...The Eagle Board will continue to take actions that it believes are in the best interests of the Company and all of its shareholders." The Eagle Board will review Sachem Head's materials and will present its formal recommendation regarding director nominations and any shareholder proposals in the Company's definitive proxy materials that will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and mailed to shareholders eligible to vote at the 2019 Annual Meeting.

12:33 EDT GM confirms talks with Workhorse to sell Lordstown Complex in Ohio - General Motors (GM) announced that it is creating more than 450 manufacturing jobs in three Ohio cities. GM also said it is in discussions with an Ohio-based company that it said could bring significant production and electric vehicle assembly jobs to the Lordstown Complex. "The U.S. economy and our core business are strong, so we can expand our commitment to U.S. manufacturing and Ohio and create job opportunities for our employees," said GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra. "We also expect to bring more jobs to the U.S. over time in support of the expected provisions of the USMCA." Manufacturing investments in Ohio totaling approximately $700M will help expand GM's operations in Toledo, Parma and Moraine and create approximately 450 new manufacturing jobs. The DMAX plant in Moraine is expanding diesel engine production for GM's all-new heavy-duty pickups,which go on sale later this year. Toledo Transmission will expand production of the company's all-new 10-speed automatic transmission for trucks and SUVs. The Parma Metal Center will expand production of stamped parts and deploy laser cell welding technology. Hourly employees from GM plants may request a transfer to other UAW-represented sites as jobs are created. More than 1,350 employees from GM's unallocated plants, including Lordstown, have already accepted transfers. GM's discussions to sell the company's Lordstown Complex in Lordstown, Ohio, to Workhorse Group (WKHS), Inc. and an affiliated, newly formed entity that could bring significant production and electric vehicle assembly jobs to the Mahoning Valley. Workhorse is a Cincinnati-based manufacturer of battery electric vehicles. Including today's Ohio news, GM has announced the creation of 2,650 new jobs so far in 2019, GM said in a statement.

12:05 EDT AvalonBay officer and treasurer Keri Shea sells over $220K in shares - AvalonBay officer and treasurer Keri Shea disclosed in a filing that she had sold 1,131 shares of company stock at $200.09 per share on May 6, for a total transaction value of $226,303.

12:02 EDT Nutanix announces expansion of multicloud solution portfolio - Nutanix announced that it is extending its Xi Frame desktop-as-a-service solution from the public cloud to the private cloud, "enabling the delivery of apps and desktops in a true hybrid cloud environment." In addition, the company is announcing new functionality and additional planned availability zones for its cloud-based disaster recovery service, Xi Leap. Nutanix Xi Frame for Nutanix Enterprise Cloud Platform deployments using AHV is available now. Xi Leap services are currently live in several availability zones including US West, US East and the U.K. Additional availability zones are planned for Italy, Germany and Japan in the second half of 2019, the company said.

12:01 EDT Hi-Crush Partners falls -16.2% - Hi-Crush Partners is down -16.2%, or -58c to $3.02.

12:00 EDT Livent falls -22.6% - Livent is down -22.6%, or -$2.43 to $8.30.

12:00 EDT LendingClub rises 14.4% - LendingClub is up 14.4%, or 47c to $3.69.

11:30 EDT Walmart, Sam's Club raise minimum age to buy tobacco products to 21 - John Scudder, U.S. Chief Compliance and Ethics Officer at Walmart, announced today, "First, as of July 1, 2019, across our entire U.S. business - Walmart and Sam's Club - we are raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco products, including all e-cigarettes, to 21. Secondly, we are in the process of discontinuing the sale of fruit- and dessert-flavored electronic nicotine delivery systems." He explained that these actions followed a letter from the FDA about the policies Walmart has in place to prevent the sale of tobacco and electronic nicotine delivery systems to anyone under age. "While we have implemented a robust compliance program, we are not satisfied with falling short of our company-wide goal of 100% compliance. Even a single sale to a minor is one too many, and we take seriously our responsibilities in this regard. So today, we sent a letter back to the FDA outlining additional measures we're taking to keep tobacco out of the hands of minors," said Scudder. Reference Link

11:22 EDT Trump says General Motors agrees to sell Lordstown Plant to Workhorse - President Donald Trump tweeted: "GREAT NEWS FOR OHIO! Just spoke to Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors, who informed me that, subject to a UAW agreement etc., GM will be selling their beautiful Lordstown Plant to Workhorse, where they plan to build Electric Trucks. GM will also be spending $700,000,000 in Ohio...in 3 separate locations, creating another 450 jobs. I have been working nicely with GM to get this done. Thank you to Mary B, your GREAT Governor, and Senator Rob Portman. With all the car companies coming back, and much more, THE USA IS BOOMING!" Reference Link

10:46 EDT Brunswick approves new $450M share repurchase authorization - Brunswick Corporation announced that its board of directors has approved a new share repurchase authorization of $450M and declared a regular quarterly dividend. The $34.8M of remaining availability under the previous $300M authorization approved in February 2016 has been fully utilized, due to recent repurchase activity. "The Fitness divestiture, which is expected to close in the second quarter, will provide $455M to $465M of additional cash to deploy against our capital strategy," said CEO David Foulkes. "In addition to share repurchases, we plan to deploy additional capital for mergers and acquisitions and accelerate certain debt repayments previously planned for later in the year. The benefits of the planned actions will provide incremental benefits to our current 2019 capital plan and guidance. This announcement underscores the attractive opportunities to deploy capital from the recently announced Fitness sale. The additional share repurchase authorization is testament to our continued commitment to enhancing shareholder value and is consistent with our objective of deploying capital and free cash flow to drive long-term shareholder value. Consistent with our objective to strengthen the balance sheet, we plan to execute debt reductions of at least $150M in 2019, with actions now planned to occur upon the closing of the Fitness divestiture. After executing this action, the Company's longer-term objective for debt retirement is now approximately $300M by the end of 2021, including the impact of recently completed refinancing activity."

10:25 EDT GE CEO says working with Boeing to support 737 MAX return to flight

10:16 EDT GE CEO says Power still facing 'significant, multiyear turnaround' - Comments from GE's Annual Meeting of Shareowners.

10:03 EDT Plug Power CEO says 'disappointed' with Q1 gross billing numbers - Comments from Q1 earnings conference call.

10:00 EDT 3D Systems falls -22.8% - 3D Systems is down -22.8%, or -$2.41 to $8.18.

10:00 EDT Community Health rises 9.2% - Community Health is up 9.2%, or 29c to $3.44.

10:00 EDT Avalara rises 23.9% - Avalara is up 23.9%, or $14.21 to $73.78.

09:47 EDT Invitae falls -16.7% - Invitae is down -16.7%, or -$3.98 to $19.88.

09:47 EDT Community Health rises 7.6% - Community Health is up 7.6%, or 24c to $3.39.

09:47 EDT Avalara rises 11.3% - Avalara is up 11.3%, or $6.73 to $66.30.

09:38 EDT Google changes should have neutral/low single-digit negative impact on Criteo - Following Google's (GOOG) announcement of future new functionalities in its Chrome browser, designed to provide users with transparency and control, Criteo (CRTO) said in a filing that, "Based on our initial read, we understand [...] there will be no immediate change in Chrome. In line with our expectations, no change is planned to be made to the default settings with respect to third-party cookies in Chrome. Chrome will allow flexibility in how it categorizes cookies, including for cross-site tracking. We understand these changes should be progressively rolled out later this year. However, Google did not disclose specific timeline for the roll out. As no demo of the new Chrome user interface was provided, some technical details will still need further clarification over time. Based on our understanding as of today, we believe that these changes should have an impact on our business ranging from neutral to potentially low single-digit negative. We will be following technical implementations going forward and evaluate any potential impact as more information becomes available. We plan to provide additional information in the normal course of our communication with the investment community."

09:16 EDT Shineco announces update on cooperation with Xingshan People's Government - Shineco announced that the company has completed seeding its industrial hemp seeding base in Heilongjiang Province following the strategic cooperation agreement with the Xingshan People's Government of Hegang City of Heilongjiang Province for industrial hemp industrialization agreed to by the two parties in April. Pursuant to the agreement, both parties agree to actively promote the development of the industrial hemp industry including industrial hemp planting, R&D and finished product construction to form a local industry network and to achieve a new industrial scale economy. According to the agreement, both parties plan to develop approximately 3,295-4,943 acre industrial hemp project and expect to complete the cultivation of the first 500 mu in 2019. Besides conducting joint research and development on several new varieties of industrial hemp, both parties also agree to establish an industrial hemp farm, a CBD extraction industrial park, an Industrial hemp research center affiliated with the China's Academy of Science, and an industrial hemp workstation sponsored by the City of Hegang of Heilongjiang Province. As part of the agreement, both parties expect to invest approximately $22M to establish an CBD extraction industrial park with annual production of 30 tons of CBD extract, and other raw medical materials from our industrial hemp project, along with 2,000 tons of industrial hemp fiber, 500 tons of industrial hemp seed oil and 4,000 to 6,000 tons of hemp leaves.

09:13 EDT Sachem Head nominates two candidates to Eagle Materials board - Sachem Head Capital Management, a beneficial owner of approximately 9% of the outstanding common stock of Eagle Materials, announced that it has nominated two candidates - Wendy Lane and Scott Ferguson - for election to the Eagle Board of Directors at the Company's 2019 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Sachem Head sent a public letter to the Company's shareholders in connection with its nominations, which read in part, "We have also given notice that we intend propose a non-binding resolution at the 2019 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to declassify the Company's Board. Our proposals follow several weeks of engagement with the Eagle management team and its newly appointed Chairman, Mike Nicolais...As we have discussed with the Company, we believe that Eagle's core cement and wallboard businesses are well-run, valuable assets that are well positioned within their respective industries. Eagle's stock price, however, does not reflect the true value of these businesses. While both of these assets have industry-leading margins and generate significant cash flow, the diversion of the Company's resources and cash flow to fund Eagle's expansion into Oil & Gas Proppants has resulted in substantial underperformance in relation to peers. Given the lack of synergies among Eagle's assets, we believe that the public markets have applied a discount to the Company's trading price. In our view, this discount can be eliminated by separating these respective businesses into more focused entities. Given their unique competitive positions, we believe that both the cement and wallboard businesses may have a range of attractive strategic alternatives that could provide more value to shareholders than a simple separation of these assets. While we are encouraged by the Company's announcement of a strategic review, the fact remains that the Company, by its own admission, has undertaken similar reviews in the past and has never taken action to unlock value. Without changes in the Company's boardroom, there can be no assurances that this time will be different. We particularly note that this review has apparently been initiated in reaction to shareholder pressure as opposed to stemming from an initiative of management and the Board to independently pursue these alternatives. We have not proposed a simple sale of the Company but instead a full strategic review which will require the Board to assess complex multivariate alternatives, and understand the financial, legal, and value nuances of each outcome. We have done significant work on these topics, and our strong belief is that having a shareholder in the room with the analytical capacity and alignment to consider these alternatives would help ensure the optimal outcome. Furthermore, conflicts of interest between various constituents often exist in these situations. Shareholder representation can help mitigate these issues should they arise...We believe that our nominees will bring sorely needed skills, fresh thinking and strong shareholder alignment to the Company's boardroom. We look forward to discussing our nominees and ideas further with our fellow shareholders soon."

09:09 EDT Yelp, NEBGH announce partnership to add maternity care measures to Yelp pages - Northeast Business Group on Health, or NEBGH, and Yelp announced a partnership to add onto Yelp pages maternity care measures for the roughly 50 New York City and Long Island hospitals that provide maternity care services. Under the partnership, NEBGH will provide Yelp with maternity care data from ExpectNY.com, a website NEBGH runs that includes publicly-available, searchable data on maternity procedures and practices at all New York City and Long Island hospitals that deliver babies. The maternity care measures that Yelp will display on the New York City and Long Island hospitals' pages are among the most important ones for expecting mothers and families to learn about and take into consideration when planning to give birth.

09:09 EDT Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: Zayo Group (ZAYO), up 9% after announcing an agreement to be acquired by affiliates of Digital Colony Partners and the EQT Infrastructure IV fund for $35 in cash per share... Andeavor Logistics (ANDX), up 4% after entering into a definitive merger agreement whereby MPLX (MPLX) will acquire Andeavor in a unit-for-unit transaction at a blended exchange ratio of 1.07x. This represents an equity value of approximately $9B and an enterprise value of $14B for the acquired entity. MPLX is down 4% following the deal announcement. UP AFTER EARNINGS: Electronic Arts (EA), up 8%... Office Depot (ODP), up 3%... Wendy's (WEN), up 2%... McKesson (MCK), up 3%. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Coty (COTY), down 5%... HubSpot (HUBS), down 3%... Inogen (INGN), down 31%... Potbelly (PBPB), down 16%.

09:06 EDT Alteryx appoints Alan Jacobson as Chief Data and Analytics Officer - Alteryx has hired Alan Jacobson, former director of global analytics at Ford Motor, as Chief Data and Analytics Officer. Prior to joining Alteryx, Alan held a variety of leadership roles at Ford Motor across engineering, marketing, sales and new business development; most recently leading a team of data scientists to drive digital transformation across the enterprise. As an Alteryx customer at Ford, Alan spent many years leveraging the Alteryx Platform across the company.

09:03 EDT CytRx issued patent covering use of aldoxorubicin for treatment of brain cancer - CytRx highlighted that it has been issued a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office covering the use of aldoxorubicin intravenously, intra-arterially or intramuscularly for the treatment of brain cancer, which patent was exclusively licensed by CytRx to NantCell in July 2017. The new patent issued on May 7, as U.S. Patent No. 10,278,981, is titled "Cytotoxic Agents for The Treatment of Cancer."

09:03 EDT Cardlytics appoints Nate Bucholz as VP of e-commerce advertising partnerships - Cardlytics (CDLX) announced the appointment of Nate Bucholz as vice president of eCommerce advertising partnerships. In this new leadership role, Bucholz will develop and expand advertising partnerships and product offerings for eCommerce businesses in an effort to build their customer loyalty and increase sales. Prior to joining Cardlytics, Bucholz was industry lead for eCommerce and global marketing solutions at Facebook (FB), where he managed eCommerce industry sales and partnerships with Facebook's largest global clients.

08:59 EDT Sarepta receives exclusive option to CAPN-3 from Nationwide Children's Hospital - Sarepta announced it has recently signed an agreement with the Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital giving Sarepta the exclusive option to a Nationwide Children's gene therapy candidate, calpain 3, or CAPN-3, to treat Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type 2A, or LGMD2A. LGMDs represent a group of distinct genetic neuromuscular diseases with a generally common set of symptoms, including progressive, debilitating weakness and wasting that begins in muscles around the hips and shoulders before progressing to muscles in the arms and legs. Many LGMD sub-types are life-limiting and often life-ending diseases. Also known as calpainopathy, LGMD2A is caused by mutations in the CAPN-3 gene and is the most common type of LGMD, accounting for almost a third of cases. Like Sarepta's micro-dystrophin and five other LGMD programs, the LGMD2A program employs the AAVrh74 vector, designed to deliver treatment to skeletal muscle, including the diaphragm, without crossing the blood brain barrier. The CAPN-3 program is currently in pre-clinical trials.

08:46 EDT Perspecta to provide cyber electronic warfare support on $982M Army contract - Perspecta has been selected to provide cyber electronic warfare support to the U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare, and Sensors on the R4 program. R4 is a 10-year, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity, multiple-award contract with a maximum ceiling value of $982M. Under the program, Perspecta will develop and deploy a comprehensive suite of non-kinetic cyber electronic warfare capabilities in support of the Army's cyber-electromagnetic activities mission.

08:44 EDT Genprex retains Addison Whitney for drug nomenclature branding - Genprex announced it has retained the services of pharmaceutical branding agency, Addison Whitney. Addison Whitney, a Syneos Health company, will oversee the proprietary and non-proprietary drug naming process for Genprex's lead drug candidate, currently known as Oncoprex immunogene therapy, for non-small cell lung cancer. Oncoprex immunogene therapy has shown promise in targeting and treating non-small cell lung cancer through its proprietary technology platform, which transports cancer-fighting genes to cancerous cells by encapsulating the genes into nanoscale hollow spheres, called nanovesicles, which are then administered intravenously. Genprex is conducting a Phase I/II clinical trial of drug candidate Oncoprex in combination with erlotinib against non-small cell lung cancer at a major academic cancer center in Houston, Texas. The company is also conducting preclinical studies to evaluate Oncoprex in combination with immunotherapies at the same cancer center.

08:42 EDT Catasys announces partnership with Circulation, Lyft - Catasys (CATS) announced a strategic partnership with Circulation (PRSC). Catasys' OnTrak solution will now incorporate transportation services provided by Lyft (LYFT) and other specialty transportation network companies to further address member needs relating to social determinants of health. The partnership will leverage the OnTrak Care Team's ability to engage members with Circulation's ability to provide safe and secure transportation through Lyft and other providers. When the OnTrak Care Team identifies a transportation barrier to a member getting to psychosocial or medical visits, they can activate the Circulation service. This transportation is provided as part of the OnTrak program, at no additional cost to the member or the health plan. These provider visits can be helpful to the member developing coping mechanisms and building self-management skills.

08:41 EDT IntercontinentalExchange launces ICE Credit Risk - Intercontinental Exchange announced that ICE Data Services has launched ICE Credit Risk, an innovative new suite of analytics. These analytics measure credit risk by combining daily market credit risk analytics with monthly fundamental credit views from financial institutions. Consensus estimates will be provided on an exclusive basis by Credit Benchmark.

08:38 EDT Accenture selected by Hawaiian Airlines to support recruiting efforts - Accenture (ACN) has been selected by Hawaiian Airlines (HA) to support recruiting efforts for the company's recently opened information technology center in greater Phoenix.

08:35 EDT Revolution Lighting receives delisting determination letter from Nasdaq - Revolution Lighting announced that the company received a delisting determination letter from the staff of the Listing Qualifications Department of Nasdaq, informing the company that the staff has determined to delist the company's common stock from Nasdaq as a result of the company's not being in compliance with Listing Rule 5250 due to the company's delay in filing its annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018 and its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2018. The financial reporting rule requires listed companies to timely file all required periodic financial reports with the SEC. The determination letter further noted that, unless the company requests an appeal, trading of the company's common stock on Nasdaq will be suspended at the opening of business on May 13 and a Form 25-NSE will be filed with the SEC removing the company's common stock from listing and registration on Nasdaq. The company intends to timely request a hearing before a Nasdaq Hearings Panel to present its plan to regain compliance with the financial reporting rule, which request will stay the suspension of the company's common stock for a period of 15 days from the date of the request. In connection with its request for a hearing, the company also intends to request a stay of the suspension of trading and delisting of the company's common stock while the appeals process is pending. The panel will notify the company of its decision to allow the company's common stock to continue to trade on Nasdaq pending the panel's decision no later than 15 days following the deadline to request the hearing. The panel may, in its discretion, determine to continue the company's listing pursuant to an exception to the financial reporting rule for a maximum of 360 calendar days from the due date of the first delayed report, which would be through November 4. There can be no assurance that the Panel will grant a stay of the suspension of trading and delisting while the appeals process is pending or any exception to the financial reporting rule.

08:32 EDT Sensus Healthcare awarded Brachytherapy Products agreement with Premier - Sensus Healthcare has been awarded a group purchasing agreement for Brachytherapy Products with Premier. Effective August 1, the new agreement allows Premier members, at their discretion, to take advantage of special pricing and terms pre-negotiated by Premier for Sensus' SRT-100 Superficial Radiation Therapy systems.

08:24 EDT Tilray announces $32.6M investment to expand Canadian production, manufacturing - Tilray announced an investment of $32.6M to increase the company's Canadian cannabis production and manufacturing footprint by 203,000 square feet across three facilities. This investment will expand Tilray's total production and manufacturing footprint from 1.1 million to 1.3 million square feet worldwide. As a result of the investment announced today, High Park Gardens will add an additional 127,000 square feet of production space. Once the expansion is complete and licensed by Health Canada, High Park Gardens' footprint will increase by 82 percent, utilizing up to 282,000 square feet of state-of-the-art cultivation space with room to expand further in the future. The expansion project is expected to create more than 40 job opportunities over the course of the next year. High Park London will double in size from 56,000 square feet to 112,000 square feet. The expansion project will enhance the site's R&D, processing and packaging capabilities and is expected to generate 60 additional jobs. The Nanaimo facility will increase its footprint from 60,000 square feet to 80,000 square feet.

08:21 EDT Anavex announces Australian approval to initiate AVATAR study - Rett Syndrome Association of Australia and Anavex announced the approval by the Australian Human Research Ethics Committee to initiate an approximately 30 patient Phase 2 double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, study of ANAVEX2-73 for the treatment of Rett syndrome, called AVATAR. The AVATAR study is scheduled to initiate this quarter. The Phase 2 study will use a once-daily oral liquid ANAVEX2-73 formulation to treat Rett syndrome. Safety and efficacy will be investigated in approximately 30 patients over a 7-week treatment period including ANAVEX2-73-specific precision medicine biomarkers. All patients who participate in the study will be eligible to receive ANAVEX2-73 under a voluntary open label extension protocol. This study is part of a planned Anavex Rett syndrome program including further studies of ANAVEX2-73 in wider age range and other geographic regions.

08:20 EDT 8x8, Inc. names Michael Armer VP, chief information security officer - 8x8 announced the appointment of Michael Armer as VP and Chief Information Security Officer and the completion of its third successful FISMA/NIST compliance audit by a federally certified auditor. Armer was most recently VP and CISO at Barrick Gold Corporation. In his global role, Armer is responsible for 8x8's corporate-wide information security management activities, including compliance, strategic planning, governance, and controls. This includes identifying, evaluating, and reporting on 8x8's overall security performance and posture in connection with regulatory requirements, industry best practices and threat landscape.

08:19 EDT Chanticleer Holdings partners with Beyond Meat for plant-based burger launch - Chanticleer Holdings (BURG) announced that it has partnered with Beyond Meat (BYND) to offer its guests at its multiple better burger brands and Just Fresh locations a 100% plant-based Beyond Burger patty. Participating brands include Little Big Burger, American Burger Company, Burgers Grilled Right and Just Fresh comprising 50 plus individual store locations. Each brand will be designing and testing its own unique burger build using fresh local ingredients. The Beyond Burger patty is free from GMOs, gluten and soy and has lower saturated fat than regular beef, but still delivers flame-broiled flavor and 20g of plant-based protein.

08:17 EDT Dare Bioscience announces DARE-FRT1 data published - Dare Bioscience announced the article entitled "Pharmacokinetics and tolerability of a novel progesterone intravaginal ring in sheep" was published online in the journal Drug Delivery and Translational Research. The goal of the research was to characterize the in vitro release, pharmacokinetics and local tolerability of DARE-FRT1, a novel ethylene-vinyl acetate intravaginal ring, or IVR, drug delivery technology delivering progesterone, in drug-naive ovariectomized female Dorset crossbred sheep. DARE-FRT1 is being developed as an optimized IVR technology capable of delivering bio-identical progesterone hormone for the prevention of preterm birth and for pregnancy maintenance and support as part of an assistive reproductive technology procedure. DARE-FRT1 is designed to allow for convenient non-invasive, non-oral administration of bio-identical progesterone over a 14-day period.

08:16 EDT User-Friendly urges Rand stockholders to vote against East transaction - User-Friendly Phone Book, the largest shareholder of Rand Capital Corporation owning 1,455,993 shares or approximately 23.0% of the Company, urged Rand shareholders to vote AGAINST the proposed transaction with East Asset Management, LLC using the WHITE proxy card at the special meeting of shareholders scheduled to take place on May 16, 2019. The company said, "Rand shareholders have a choice and the opportunity to exercise that choice by voting against the East deal. By voting against the transaction, Rand will be able to pursue a true strategic alternatives process that could lead to: 1. A higher and fairer offer from East Asset Management; 2. A higher and fairer offer from a third party; or 3. An orderly sale of Rand's portfolio Should Rand pursue an orderly sale of its portfolio, which as of March 31, 2019, had an NAV of $5.06 per share, User-Friendly believes that shareholders should demand that the salaries of Rand management be reduced by 50% and that the board should consider implementing incentive bonus structures equal to 2-3% of the value of the assets sold, if they are sold within 6 months, dropping to 1-2% if they are sold between 6-12 months."

08:13 EDT CEL-SCI says length of Phase 3 study could be sign of Multikine's efficacy - CEL-SCI Corporation issued a letter to its shareholders, which read in part, "The first 4 months of this year have already been very positive for us. Our Phase 3 head and neck cancer study is continuing and we are moving forward with our Rheumatoid Arthritis product development. Since January 1, we have received about $9.6 million from the conversion of warrants to finance our ongoing projects. We believe the following developments with regard to the Multikine* Phase 3 trial have contributed to additional investments in our Company: We have not yet hit the primary endpoint of our 928 patient Phase 3 study with our investigational cancer immunotherapy drug Multikine. That endpoint will be reached when 298 events (deaths) have occurred and are recorded in the two main comparator arms of the study. Since the scientific literature does not suggest an improvement in the survival rates for oral head and neck cancer patients receiving standard of care only, we believe a delay in reaching these 298 events could be a good sign for the potential effectiveness of Multikine...At the end of March 2019, we had an official review of the Phase 3 study by the IDMC. The IDMC recommended to "continue the trial until the appropriate number of events has occurred". The IDMC reviews all the study results at the time of each IDMC meeting. Had the study results indicated that meeting the primary survival endpoint of the study would no longer be possible, the study could have been deemed futile. The IDMC recommended to continue the study. In our Phase 3 trial the primary endpoint is met by reaching a 10% improvement in the overall survival of the group of patients receiving the Multikine treatment regimen plus the Standard of Care versus the overall survival of the group of patients receiving the Standard of Care only. Futility has been on the minds of investors a lot more recently, because finding futility in the case of a Phase 3 Alzheimer study by Biogen in March 2019 resulted in a loss to shareholders of close to $30 billion...We are benefiting from renewed interest in CEL-SCI's Multikine cancer immunotherapy by meeting with new investors weekly. What is striking is that hardly any of them have ever heard of CEL-SCI, even though we have been running the largest study ever in head and neck cancer. We think that the absence of new clinical data for over 8 years (we are blinded to the Phase 3 results and therefore could not announce clinical data) is probably the reason for CEL-SCI being virtually unknown. But, while that presented a problem in the past, it now represents a fantastic opportunity. New investors are very interested for two reasons: 1) during our Phase 3 study cancer immunotherapy has become accepted as a new treatment modality for cancer; and 2) investors prefer investing near the end of this long trial. It has taken decades to get to this point in time, but we are finally near the end, and we feel good about it. Each of the last few years I have purchased more CEL-SCI stock. And I did so again this week when I purchased $100,000 worth of restricted CEL-SCI stock at $6.86 directly from the Company at the full market price. Several others from our senior management team and one member of the Board of Directors have joined me and purchased another $110,000 worth of CEL-SCI stock on the same terms. "

08:09 EDT Future FinTech regains compliance with Nasdaq listing requirements - Future FinTech has received a letter from the NASDAQ Listing Qualifications Staff notifying the company that it has regained compliance with NASDAQ's minimum bid price requirements for continued listing on the Nasdaq Capital Market. The letter noted that as a result of the closing bid price of the company's common stock having been at $1.00 per share or greater for at least ten consecutive business days, from April 11 to May 6, the company has regained compliance with Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) and the matter is now closed.

08:05 EDT Zayo Group to be acquired by Digital Colony, EQT in deal valued at $14.3B - Zayo Group Holdings announced that it has signed a definitive merger agreement to be acquired by affiliates of Digital Colony Partners and the EQT Infrastructure IV fund. The transaction would result in Zayo transitioning from a public company to a private company. Under the new ownership, the Zayo team would continue to execute the Company's strategy and remain headquartered in Boulder, Colorado. Under the terms of the agreement, which was unanimously approved by Zayo's Board of Directors, shareholders will receive $35.00 in cash per share of Zayo's common stock in a transaction valued at $14.3 billion, including the assumption of $5.9 billion of Zayo's net debt obligations. The offer price represents a 32% premium to the volume-weighted price average of the last six months of $26.44. Dan Caruso, Zayo's Chairman and CEO, said, "Digital Colony and EQT share our vision that Zayo's Fiber Fuels Global Innovation. Both are experienced global investors in the communications infrastructure space, and they appreciate our extraordinary fiber infrastructure assets, our highly talented team and our strong customer base. I am confident this partnership with EQT and Digital Colony will empower Zayo to accelerate its growth and strengthen its industry leadership." "Following a comprehensive review of strategic alternatives, the Zayo Board of Directors concluded that the sale of Zayo to Digital Colony and EQT Infrastructure is in the best interest of Zayo and all its stakeholders," said Yancey Spruill, Zayo's Lead Independent Director. "The transaction delivers immediate and substantial value to shareholders and will strengthen Zayo's financial flexibility, enabling the company to increase investments and better position itself for long-term growth and profitability." The closing of the deal is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory clearance and Zayo shareholder approvals. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of calendar 2020. Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan are serving as financial advisors to Zayo Group in connection with the transaction and Skadden Arps is serving as legal counsel. Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank are acting as financial advisors to Digital Colony and EQT Infrastructure, and Simpson Thacher is serving as legal advisor.

08:04 EDT Zayo Group to be acquired by Digital Colony, EQT in deal valued at $14.3B

07:48 EDT TripAdvisor says 'on track' to deliver FY double digit adj. EBITDA growth - In prepared remarks ahead of its earnings conference call, TripAdvisor reiterated its expectation of double-digit consolidated adjusted EBITDA growth for 2019. "In 2019, we expect to: Drive strong double-digit adjusted EBITDA growth for the Hotels Media & Platform segment. We also expect revenue trends to improve in the second half versus the first half. Generate positive absolute-dollar adjusted EBITDA in 2019 in the Experiences and Dining segment, though lower than 2018 given our accelerated investment priorities. These investments will enable us to capture revenue and profit potential in 2020 and beyond. As we've consistently outlined, our focus is on growth as opposed to maximizing near-term profit. Maintain Other adjusted EBITDA at a similar level to 2018." Additionally, TripAdvisor said it believes in three to five years it can: "Return to double-digit growth in both consolidated revenue and adjusted EBITDA. Grow Hotel, Media & Platform segment while maintaining very healthy adjusted EBITDA margin. Achieve a significantly larger Experiences & Dining segment with attractive profit margins and adjusted EBITDA contribution."

07:45 EDT SAIC awarded $58M U.S. Air Force contract for laser research - The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory selected Science Applications International to research laser bioeffects, advance vision science, conduct modeling and simulation, and perform safety engineering, awarding the company a $58 million Optical Radiation Bioeffects and Safety contract. The research program will enhance airman combat survivability by enabling U.S. forces to counter optical hazards and threats.

07:35 EDT Rexford Industrial acquires two industrial properties for $30.3M - Rexford Industrial acquired two industrial properties for a combined $30.3M. The acquisitions were funded using cash on hand. In an off-market sale-leaseback transaction, the company acquired a 71,467 square foot single tenant industrial property located in the LA - Greater San Fernando Valley submarket for $16.8M, or $235 per square foot. The company acquired a property within the LA - South Bay submarket, in an off-market transaction for $13.5M, or $77 per land square foot.

07:33 EDT Sinclair Broadcast sees FY19 CapEx, including Repack $246M-$256M

07:32 EDT MSA Safety increases quarterly dividend 11% to 42c per share - MSA Safety declared a Q2 dividend of 42c per share on common stock, payable June 10 to shareholders of record on May 20. This represents an 11% increase from the previous quarterly dividend of 38c. The board also declared a dividend of 56.25c per share on preferred stock, payable June 1 to shareholders of record on May 20..

07:28 EDT MGIC Investment issues April operating statistics - MGIC Investment issued an operational summary of its insurance subsidiaries for the month of April for their primary mortgage insurance. The beginning primary delinquent inventory was 30,921 in April with ending primary delinquent Inventory of 29,962. April insurance in force was $212.5B. The information concerning new delinquency notices and cures is compiled from reports received from loan servicers. The level of new notice and cure activity reported in a particular month can be influenced by, among other things, the date on which a servicer generates its report, the accuracy of the data provided by servicers, the number of business days in a month, transfers of servicing between loan servicers and whether all servicers have provided the reports in a given month.

07:26 EDT Nabriva Therapeutics submits MAA for lefamulin to EMA - Nabriva Therapeutics announced that the company's marketing authorization application, or MAA, for both the intravenous and oral formulations of lefamulin, a semi-synthetic pleuromutilin antibiotic, for the treatment of community-acquired pneumonia in adults 18 years of age and older, has been submitted to the European Medicines Agency, or EMA. If approved, Nabriva intends to work with a commercial partner to make lefamulin available to patients in the EU.

07:23 EDT Protagonist Therapeutics reports Q1 EPS (58c), consensus (59c) - Reports Q1 revenue $1.56M, consensus $4.9M.

07:17 EDT AstraZeneca says Phase 2 DESTINY-Breast01 trial met primary endpoint - AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo Company announced top-line results for the pivotal Phase 2 DESTINY-Breast01 trial of trastuzumab deruxtecan. The HER2-targeting antibody drug conjugate and potential new medicine was evaluated in patients with HER2-positive, unresectable and/or metastatic breast cancer previously treated with trastuzumab emtansine. The response rate in DESTINY-Breast01, as assessed by an independent review committee, confirms in a heavily-pretreated, global patient population the unprecedented clinical activity in the recently-published Phase I trial. The safety and tolerability profile of trastuzumab deruxtecan was also consistent with previous experience. These results are expected to support planned global regulatory submissions, including a Biologics License Application with the US Food and Drug Administration anticipated in the second half of 2019, the companies stated. AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo plan to present the data from DESTINY-Breast01 at a forthcoming medical meeting.

07:15 EDT Protagonist Therapeutics expands PTG-200 collaboration agreement with Janssen - Protagonist Therapeutics (PTGX) announced the expansion of its worldwide license and collaboration agreement with Janssen Biotech (JNJ) for the co-development and commercialization of PTG-200, Protagonist's first-in-class, oral peptide IL-23 receptor antagonist, for all indications including inflammatory bowel disease. The expanded agreement builds upon Protagonist's ongoing development collaboration with Janssen on PTG-200 and triggers a $25M milestone payment to Protagonist. The new agreement expands the scope of the original collaboration with Janssen established in 2017 by supporting efforts towards second generation IL-23 receptor antagonists. Under the terms of the amended license and collaboration agreement, Protagonist will receive a $25M milestone payment triggered on signing of the amendment and will be eligible to receive over $1B in additional research, development, regulatory and sales milestones. As part of the new research collaboration, Janssen will pay certain costs and milestones related to advancing pre-clinical candidates through Phase 1 studies, including funding a number of full time equivalent employees at Protagonist for a set period of time. Protagonist will continue to receive clinical development, regulatory and commercial milestones if Janssen elects to retain its license following completion of Phase 2a and/or Phase 2b studies with PTG-200 and/or second generation compounds. Janssen will receive exclusive, worldwide rights to develop and commercialize PTG-200 and any second-generation compounds derived from the research collaboration, and Protagonist will receive tiered royalties on net product sales. Protagonist Therapeutics and Janssen will jointly conduct the development of PTG-200 through completion of Phase 2 clinical proof-of-concept in Crohn's disease. Janssen will be responsible for further development and commercialization activities beyond Phase 2 development. According to the terms of the agreement, Protagonist will have the right to co-detail PTG-200 and second generation compounds derived from the collaboration in the U.S. market.

07:13 EDT Pareteum acquires Devicescape, terms not disclosed - Pareteum announced it has acquired Devicescape, the San Francisco-based mobile location and engagement solutions provider. The acquisition strengthens Pareteum's intellectual property portfolio considerably, with the addition of 33 patents globally, and adds key engineering and executive talent, including Devicescape CEO Dave Fraser, and CTO John Gordon. "The acquisition of Devicescape will be fully accretive from day one," said Pareteum President Denis McCarthy, who is leading the acquisition process. "It enhances our engineering capability as we continue to accelerate customers into production, and it promises to drive yet more of the innovation which keeps customers buying from us."

07:13 EDT Vonage sees Q2 Vonage business revenues $194M-$196M - Sees Q2 consumer revenues $96M-$97M. Consensus for Q2 total revenue $287.8M.

07:06 EDT Intercept raises FY19 Ocaliva net sales view to $235M-$245M - Intercept said: "Based on our first quarter results and our current outlook for the remainder of 2019, we are increasing our 2019 Ocaliva net sales guidance range to between $235 million and $245 million. In addition, we are updating our 2019 non-GAAP adjusted operating expenses guidance range to between $470 million and $500 million in connection with the acceleration of our NASH NDA filing and launch preparation activities."

07:00 EDT Canada Goose CCO Rick Wood to change positions, Ana Mihaljevic to succeed - Canada Goose announced the promotion of Ana Mihaljevic to chief commercial officer, or CCO. In her new role, Mihaljevic will oversee the company's global commercial business including sales planning and operations, with a strong focus on driving continued growth in wholesale and direct to consumer channels, as well as international expansion. Rick Wood, who previously served as CCO will move into a new role, serving as executive advisor on key strategic projects. Mihaljevic joined Canada Goose in 2015 and most recently served as senior VP, planning and sales operations.

06:54 EDT Zynerba sees cash and equivalents sufficient into 1Q21

06:53 EDT Office Depot cuts FY19 adjusted EBITDA view to $525M-$550M from ~$575M - Cuts FY19 free cash flow view to $300M-$325M from ~$350M.

06:46 EDT Pfizer acquires Therachon Holding for $340M upfront - Pfizer announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire all the shares of Therachon Holding AG, a privately-held clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on rare diseases, with assets in development for the treatment of achondroplasia and short bowel syndrome. Under the terms of the agreement, Pfizer will acquire Therachon for $340M upfront with an additional $470M in additional payments contingent on the achievement of key milestones in the development and commercialization of TA-46 for the treatment of achondroplasia, a genetic condition and the most common form of short-limbed dwarfism. Achondroplasia can result in serious cardiovascular, neurological and metabolic complications for approximately 250,000 people worldwide. There are currently no approved treatments for achondroplasia. Prior to the closing of the transaction with Pfizer, Therachon will spin-off its apraglutide development program into a separate, independent company. Apraglutide is a once-weekly, potential best-in-class GLP-2 analog in Phase 2 development for short bowel syndrome. Pfizer Ventures, the venture capital arm of Pfizer, currently holds a minority stake and will continue to hold an equity stake in the new company.

06:34 EDT Coty declares quarterly cash dividend of 12.5c per share - Payable on June 28 to shareholders of record on June 6. Coty is initiating a stock dividend reinvestment program giving shareholders the option to receive their full dividend in cash or to receive their dividend in 50% cash / 50% common stock. Shareholders will be able to make this election on a quarterly basis, beginning with the June dividend payment, for which the election deadline is expected to be June 20. For purposes of determining the common stock dividend, the number of shares of common stock will be calculated on the basis of the average share price on the New York Stock Exchange over the period of five trading days up to and including June 6.

06:29 EDT Biohaven reports new safety and efficacy data of rimegepant in migraine - Biohaven Pharmaceutical announced additional safety and preliminary efficacy results from its ongoing long-term, open-label safety study of its oral calcitonin gene-related peptide receptor antagonist, rimegepant. Based upon this interim analysis, rimegepant was well tolerated with long-term dosing up to one year in patients with migraine. Interim hepatic data concluded that there was no liver safety signal and compared to placebo arms of other migraine treatments, there was a very low incidence of overall elevations of liver laboratory abnormalities through the data analysis cut-off date. Biohaven also reported the safety and preliminary efficacy data from the scheduled dosing cohort. In this cohort of patients with a history of 4 to 14 moderate to severe migraine attacks per month, patients were treated with rimegepant 75 mg every other day for up to 12 consecutive weeks. During the on-treatment period, none of the 281 rimegepant-treated patients experienced ALT or AST levels greater than3x the ULN. There were also no rimegepant-treated patients who experienced alkaline phosphatase or bilirubin greater than2x the ULN. With regard to efficacy, 48.4% of subjects in the scheduled dosing cohort experienced a greater than or equal to 50% reduction in the frequency of monthly migraine days with moderate-to-severe pain intensity during the third month of treatment. The company also presented the first clinical reports suggesting that oral rimegepant has the potential to be safe and consistently effective for the treatment of breakthrough migraine attacks in patients taking injectable CGRP-targeting monoclonal antibody preventive therapy. One patient prescribed erenumab and another taking fremanezumab for prevention successfully treated breakthrough migraine attacks with oral rimegepant 75 mg without requiring additional acute treatments during those episodes. No treatment-related adverse events occurred with oral rimegepant in combination with erenumab or fremanezumab in these two patients.

06:24 EDT Biohaven updates clinical programs and targets from neuroinnovation platforms - Biohaven Pharmaceutical announced progress in its glutamate modulating platform with enrollment expected to complete in three Phase 2/3 clinical trials of troriluzole in Alzheimer's disease, generalized anxiety disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder by the end of 2019. Enrollment in the spinocerebellar ataxia Phase 3 clinical trial is expected to complete by 1Q20. In addition, the first Phase 3 trial from the company's myeloperoxidase inhibition platform is set to begin by 3Q19. The study of verdiperstat will examine efficacy and safety of the drug in multiple system atrophy, MSA. Troriluzole, a product candidate in Biohaven's glutamate modulation platform, is currently being studied in four ongoing clinical trials that are expected to complete enrollment this year: the Phase 2/3 clinical trial of troriluzole in Alzheimer's disease, which has already enrolled over 100 patients; a Phase 3 clinical trial of troriluzole in SCA, an inherited form of ataxia, a rare and progressive neurological disease; a Phase 2/3 clinical of troriluzole in generalized anxiety disorder; a Phase 2/3 clinical of troriluzole in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Additionally, Biohaven's first clinical trial from its MPO platform for verdiperstat is expected to enter a Phase 3 clinical trial in MSA in 3Q19. A previous Phase 2 clinical trial of Verdiperstat was observed to be generally well tolerated in a previous Phase 2 clinical trial of patients with MSA. Patients with MSA have a life expectancy of 6 to 10 years from the time of symptom onset and there are currently no disease modifying treatments available for MSA.

06:18 EDT Durect reports preliminary data from ongoing Phase 2a hepatitis candidate trial - Durect announced preliminary data from the ongoing DUR-928 alcoholic hepatitis Phase 2a clinical trial. Ten patients have completed dosing with DUR-928 to date in the ongoing open label, dose-escalation, multi-center U.S. trial. Eight patients - 4 moderate and 4 severe - have been treated with DUR-98 at the 30 mg dose, and two patients -1 moderate and 1 severe - at the 90 mg dose. Lille scores are used in clinical practice to help determine the prognosis for AH patients after 7 days of treatment. The lower the Lille score, the better the prognosis is for the AH patient. The median Lille score for the 9 AH patients treated with DUR-928 who returned for their Day 7 visit is 0.04, with a range of 0.01 to 0.19. The median Lille score among a cohort of 15 patients treated with either supportive care or supportive care with corticosteroids is 0.41.Model of End-Stage Liver Disease - MELD - score is another common scoring system used to assess the severity and prognosis of AH patients. Median reduction from baseline in MELD in the DUR-928 treated patients was 4% at Day 7 and 21% at Day 28 compared to a 4% increase at Day 7 and 6% reduction at Day 28 in the UL patients (as historical control. To date there is no statistical difference in the pharmacokinetic profiles between moderate and severe AH patients treated with DUR-928. There have been no drug-related adverse events in the DUR-928 treated patients to date. The data presented in this press release are preliminary and will be finalized upon completion of the trial.

06:16 EDT Hookipa Pharma achieves reserach milestone in HBV collaboration with Gilead - HOOKIPA Pharma (HOOK), announced that it has achieved a further research milestone in its collaboration and license agreement with Gilead (GILD) for development of a therapeutic hepatitis B virus vaccine. Based on the terms of the agreement, HOOKIPA is entitled to a milestone payment from Gilead. HOOKIPA has completed the research milestone for HBV by designing and delivering 10 research-grade vectors to Gilead, along with the characterization of these vectors and delivery of a data package for the HBV program. This follows the delivery of 14 research-grade vectors for the human immunodeficiency virus program in January. The research vectors delivered by HOOKIPA will be subject to further pre-clinical testing in order to validate a clinical candidate for novel combination therapies for the treatment of HBV. The research collaboration and license agreement - entered in June 2018 - grants Gilead exclusive rights to HOOKIPA's TheraT and VaxWave investigational arenavirus-based immunization technologies for the development of immunotherapies against HBV and HIV. Under the terms of the agreement, Gilead provided an upfront payment of $10M and will fund all research and development activities. HOOKIPA will be eligible to receive milestone payments based upon the achievement of specified research, development, regulatory, and commercial milestones up to a total of approximately $400M. HOOKIPA will also be eligible to receive tiered royalties on net sales.

06:14 EDT Bunge CFO Thomas Boehlert to depart, John Neppl to succeed - Bunge (BG) announced that it has appointed John Neppl as CFO, effective May 29. He will succeed Thomas Boehlert who has served as CFO since 2017 and will remain for a transition period. Neppl joins Bunge from Green Plains (GPRE) where he served as CFO.

06:05 EDT Green Plains names Patrich Simpkins as CFO, effective May 13 - Green Plains (GPRE) announced that Patrich Simpkins, Chief Development Officer, will take over as CFO of Green Plains and Green Plains Partners LP (GPP) effective May 13. Simpkins promotion to CFO comes as current CFO John Neppl, has been appointed Executive Vice President and CFO of Bunge Limited (BG). Neppl will transition his responsibilities to Simpkins over the coming weeks. Prior to joining Green Plains, Simpkins held a number of senior management positions with SensorLogic, TXU Corporation, Duke Energy, and Louis Dreyfus Energy.

05:55 EDT Air Transport Services sees FY19 adjusted EBITDA $450M - The company said, "ATSG now projects that its Adjusted EBITDA for 2019 will grow sharply from $312 million in 2018 to $450 million in 2019. Nearly all of CAM's freighter deployments this year will be in the second half. As a result, most of the Adjusted EBITDA growth that stems from aircraft leasing will occur later in the year. Our strong 2019 start coupled with recent guidance from our largest customers on their flying requirements for the balance of the year is allowing us to increase our full-year Adjusted EBITDA guidance. Along with indications for heavier second-half flying schedules, however, we now project that the $1.5 million in ramp-up costs we projected in February will increase to $7 million, most of which will be incurred in the second quarter. We continue to anticipate leasing at least nine 767 freighters during 2019, including five we have contracted to deploy with Amazon (AMZN) and at least four with United Parcel Service (UPS). ATSG (ATSG) projects that 2019 capital expenditures will increase to approximately $475 million in 2019, principally to purchase and modify Boeing (BA) 767 aircraft for freighter deployments. The revised plan, also based on our latest customer demand projections, includes the purchases of four more 767s in 2019 than we indicated last quarter for modification and delivery by early 2020. We already have customers for six aircraft for deployment in 2020, including five 767s for Amazon. ATSG also expects to continue investing in its joint venture with Precision for development of a freighter variant of the Airbus (EADSY) A321-200. ATSG's contributions to the venture are likely to approximate $12 million during 2019, with the goal of FAA approval in early 2020 of the certificate application to produce the new freighters."