Stockwinners Market Radar for May 09, 2019 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:23 EDT Tronox reports Q1 adjusted EBITDA $80M vs. $120M last year - Sees Q2 adjusted EBITDA $125M-$135M.

19:55 EDT Penn Virginia sees Q2 production 27.0K-28.0K BOE/D - Sees FY19 production 27.1K-28.3K BOE/D.

19:15 EDT Fly Intel: After Hours Movers - UP AFTER EARNINGS: Zillow (Z) up 18.2%... GoPro (GPRO) up 8.1%... Fly Leasing (FLY) up 7.6%... Noodles & Co (NDLS) up 6.4%... Sierra Wireless (SWIR) up 6.4%... Catasys (CATS) up 5.9%... Asure Software (ASUR) up 5.1%... CarGurus (CARG) up 5.1%... Dropbox (DBX) up 4.8%... PennantPark Investment (PNNT) up 4.8%... Manitowoc (MTW) up 4.5%... Booking Holdings (BKNG) up 4.2%... Joint Corp (JYNT) up 3.5%... Sonos (SONO) up 3.5%... Callaway Gold (ELY) up 1.9%... Air Lease (AL) up 1.2%. ALSO HIGHER: Huntsman (HUN) up 3.0% after being upgraded to Buy at Goldman Sachs. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Puma Biotech (PBYI) down 30.9%... Verastem (VSTM) down 25.4%... ShotSpotter (SSTI) down 21.7%... Symantec (SYMC) down 14.3%... Airgain (AIRG) down 14.1%... ForeScout Technologies (FSCT) down 13.2%... TrueCar (TRUE) down 11.4%... Nevro (NVRO) down 11.2%... QuinStreet (QNST) down 9.7%... Northern Oil and Gas (NOG) down 9.5%... Halcon Resources (HK) down 6.6%... Osmotica Pharma (OSMT) down 6.6%... ScanSource (SCSC) down 6.6%... Omeros Corp (OMER) down 6.0%... Yelp (YELP) down 5.6%... Wynn Resorts (WYNN) down 4.5%... Alarm.com (ALRM) down 3.8%... Senseonics (SENS) down 3.4%... Clean Energy (CLNE) down 3.3%... SunPower (SPWR) down 2.4%... Vivint (VSLR) down 1.7%. ALSO LOWER: SpartanNash (SPTN) down 5.9% after cutting Q1 guidance. Movers as of 18:45ET.

18:43 EDT Etsy CEO: We thought it was a great quarter - In an interview on CNBC's Mad Money, Etsy CEO Josh Silverman said: Q1 started a little rocky, but ended strong... Automation is causing economic stress, not trade and immigration... We offer hand-crafted products, you can't get that anywhere else... Everything can be customized with us... We're zero carbon emissions... Our sellers work hard to recycle things... People don't know all the occasions they can use us for, and that is our next opportunity.

18:33 EDT Approach Resources still sees 2019 average production 9.4-9.6 MBoe/day - Average production guidance assumes no new well completions during 2019.

18:01 EDT United Community Banks increases quarterly cash dividend - United Community Banks reported that its board approved an increase of its regular quarterly cash dividend to 17c per common share. The dividend is payable July 5 to shareholders of record on June 15. This represents a 13% increase over the quarterly dividend a year ago.

17:53 EDT Mosaic CEO buy 10K shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, Mosaic disclosed that its CEO James O'Rourke purchased 10K shares of common stock on May 8th at $24.03 per share. The total transaction size was $240K.

17:46 EDT TreeHouse CAO sells 10,618 common shares - In a regulatory filing, TreeHouse Foods CAO Thomas Emmet O'Neill III disclosed the sale of 10,618 common shares of the company at a price of $56.95 per share.

17:34 EDT Medtronic to acquire Titan Spine, terms not disclosed - Medtronic announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which it will acquire Titan Spine, a privately-held titanium spine interbody implant and surface technology company. The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved the transaction. Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed. The acquisition is expected to close during Medtronic's first fiscal quarter ending July 26, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions including receipt of regulatory clearances. The transaction is expected to be immaterial to Medtronic's fiscal 2020 adjusted earnings per share and is expected to meet Medtronic's long-term financial metrics for acquisitions.

17:26 EDT Axon backs FY19 adjusted EBITDA view $80M-$85M - Which represents 34% year-over-year growth at the midpoint. Adjusted EBITDA in Q2 is expected to be approximately flat sequentially and year over year.

17:16 EDT Ritchie Bros. announces $10)m share repurchase program - On May 8, the company's board of directors authorized a share repurchase program for the repurchase of up to $100M worth of common shares of the company over the next 12 months. The share repurchases will primarily be used to offset dilution from options. The company intends to make an application to the TSX for approval of a Normal Course Issuer Bid in May.

17:14 EDT FibroGen announces topline results from pooled analyses of roxadustat program - FibroGen (FGEN) announced topline results from the pooled safety analyses of the global Phase 3 program for roxadustat, an inhibitor of hypoxia-inducible-factor, or HIF, prolyl hydroxylase activity, or HIF-PHI. The global pivotal Phase 3 trials were conducted by FibroGen and collaboration partners AstraZeneca (AZN) and Astellas Pharma (ALPMY), for treatment of anemia in chronic kidney disease, or CKD, patients across the non-dialysis-dependent, or NDD, incident dialysis, and dialysis-dependent, or DD, CKD populations, enrolled from more than 50 countries. These pooled analyses of adjudicated events for safety assessment of roxadustat are part of the overall benefit-risk assessment. For the planned new drug application, or NDA, submission to the FDA, one of the safety endpoints to be evaluated is Major Adverse Cardiac Events, or MACE, a composite endpoint of all-cause mortality, stroke and myocardial infarction, in pooled analyses against placebo in NDD and against epoetin alfa in DD from the pivotal Phase 3 trials. The NDA submission package to the FDA will be based on the totality of evidence, and the company will continue to discuss the specific statistical standards with the FDA. For the European Medicines Agency, it was agreed that the primary safety assessment is MACE+, a composite endpoint of MACE plus heart failure requiring hospitalization and unstable angina requiring hospitalization. In the pooled analyses of around 4,000 dialysis patients, the upper bound of the 95% confidence interval was below the pre-specified non-inferiority margin for the time to first MACE+ analyses. Based on the MACE safety analyses of this population, the company believes there is no clinically meaningful difference in risk of MACE between roxadustat and epoetin alfa. The roxadustat global Phase 3 program enrolled over 1,500 incident dialysis patients, a subpopulation of DD-CKD population, which the company believes offers a better setting for comparing roxadustat to epoetin alfa than the stable dialysis population, that is stable on both dialysis and erythropoiesis stimulating agent. Roxadustat demonstrated superiority to epoetin alfa in the time to first MACE+ in this subpopulation. In the MACE analysis, there is a trend toward reduced risk for patients on roxadustat, compared to epoetin alfa. In the non-dialysis pool of approximately 4,300 patients, non-inferiority was demonstrated for roxadustat compared to placebo in the time to first MACE+, based on the upper bound of the 95% CI being below the prespecified non-inferiority margin. Based on the MACE safety analyses of this population, the company believes there is no clinically meaningful difference in risk of MACE between roxadustat and placebo. Of note, multiple MACE and MACE+ analyses in NDD-CKD from the roxadustat global Phase 3 program are being performed in intent-to-treat analyses that demonstrated comparability of roxadustat to placebo. ITT is among the several statistical methods that the company will discuss with the FDA. In these analyses, roxadustat was comparable based on a commonly applied non-inferiority margin of 1.3.

17:10 EDT GAIN Capital reports April operating metrics - In the retail segment in April, OTC Trading Volume was down 13.4% sequentially and down 34.2% y/y. OTC Average Daily Volume was down 16.3% sequentially and down 36.8% y/y. 12 Month Trailing Active OTC Accounts were down 0.1% sequentially and were down 7.9% y/y. 3 Month Trailing Active OTC Accounts were down 1.6% sequentially and down 8.9% y/y.

17:05 EDT BioCryst completes Phase 1 clinical trial of Galidesivir - BioCryst Pharmaceuticals announced the completion of a randomized, placebo-controlled Phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate intravenous, or IV, Galidesivir in healthy volunteers. In the trial, Galidesivir was generally safe and well tolerated. This placebo-controlled trial evaluated the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics of escalating doses of Galidesivir in four single-dose cohorts of 5mg/kg, 10 mg/kg, 15 mg/kg and 20 mg/kg, with a total of 24 volunteers receiving Galidesivir by IV infusion. "These results for the IV route of administration of Galidesivir, which build on a previous successful Phase 1 trial for the IM route, support its continued development for serious and life-threatening infections from RNA viruses. We appreciate the government's continued financial support for and collaboration on the program as we advance Galidesivir into a trial in patients with Yellow Fever in Brazil during the upcoming Yellow Fever season," said Dr. William Sheridan, Chief Medical Officer of BioCryst.

17:05 EDT Yelp backs long-term annual revenue growth target in 'mid-teens' - Sees long-term adjusted EBITDA margin 30%-35% vs. 13%-19% range in 2013-2018. Reference Link

17:03 EDT Southside Bancshares increases quarterly dividend 3.3% - The board of Southside Bancshares, parent company of Southside Bank, approved a 3.3% increase to the regular quarterly cash dividend of 1c, to 31c per common share and declared a regular quarterly cash dividend of 31c. The cash dividend is scheduled for payment on June 6 to common stock shareholders of record on May 23.

16:58 EDT Northeast Bancorp announces regulatory, shareholder approvals for reorganization - Northeast Bancorp announced that the bank has received all required regulatory approvals for its previously announced corporate reorganization, pursuant to which the company will merge with and into the bank, with the bank continuing as the surviving entity. In addition, at a special meeting held on May 9, the shareholders of the company voted to approve the reorganization. After completion of the reorganization, the bank holding company structure will be eliminated and the bank will become the top-level company, with no change to the directors or executive officers of the bank. The company and the bank anticipate closing the reorganization on May 15, subject to customary closing conditions including approval for listing of Bank's common stock on the NASDAQ Global Market.

16:56 EDT Mercury Systems receives $2.1M order - Mercury Systems announced it received a $2.1M order from a leading defense prime contractor for custom-engineered radio frequency amplifiers delivering industry-leading performance required for an advanced naval electronic support program.

16:51 EDT InfraREIT says acquisition by Oncor Electric approved by PUCT - InfraREIT announced that the Public Utility Commission of Texas voted to approve the acquisition of InfraREIT by Oncor Electric Delivery Company LLC. The approval by the PUCT marks the final regulatory approval required to close the pending transaction with Oncor pursuant to which InfraREIT will be acquired for $21.00 per share in cash, valued at approximately $1.275B, plus the assumption of approximately $940M of InfraREIT's net debt as of March 31. The PUCT also approved the asset exchange between InfraREIT's regulated subsidiary, Sharyland Distribution & Transmission Services, L.L.C., and its tenant, Sharyland Utilities, L.P., and the other related transactions that are conditions to the closing of the sale of InfraREIT to Oncor. The company anticipates closing the transaction by the end of the month.

16:43 EDT Basic Energy sees FY19 EBITDA of $70M-$75M - CEO Roe Patterson said, "We remain bullish on our business for 2019 and are focused on maintaining capital flexibility and allocation discipline; therefore, we are moderating our plans for capital expenditures this year from $94 million to $69 million. Under the new capital expenditure plan, we anticipate that growth capital will be spent judiciously on long-lived water assets and equipment to support 24-hour rig packages with the expected highest return to Basic. Due to a combination of capital efficiency, timing and expected performance, we do not expect a degradation in 2019 EBITDA, while anticipating a significantly improved free cash flow generation for the year. Based on our new capital plan, we expect to generate EBITDA of $70 to $75 million for full year 2019, or adjusted EBITDA of $84 to $89 million which excludes $14 million of non-cash stock compensation expense. Under this scenario, we forecast a 2019 year-end cash balance of $60 to $65 million and total liquidity of $135 to $140 million, with our New ABL Facility remaining undrawn. We believe this guidance remains conservative in nature especially with respect to frac activity with significant upside potential to these projections if completion activity accelerates over the course of the year."

16:38 EDT Boston Beer, Dogfish Head Brewery to merge in $300M transaction - The Boston Beer Company and Dogfish Head Brewery today announced that the companies have signed a definitive merger agreement, bringing together two founders and brewers, Jim Koch and Sam Calagione. The transaction is expected to close late in the second quarter, subject to customary closing conditions. Sam Calagione and his family will receive approximately 406,000 shares of Boston Beer stock based on a share price of $314.60. Dogfish Head shareholders will also receive $173M in cash, most all of which is for the benefit of Dogfish Head's financial investors, with the exception of certain transaction-related expenses. Boston Beer expects that its current cash on hand and available line of credit will be more than sufficient to fund the cash component of the transaction. It is expected that Sam Calagione will join Boston Beer's Board of Directors beginning in 2020. A copy of the definitive transaction agreements will be filed with the SEC. Dogfish Head is on pace to sell nearly 300 thousand barrels for the full year 2019, which would represent high single digit growth versus the prior full year. Net sales for the full year 2019 are expected to be between $110M- $120M. Dogfish Head employs approximately 400 employees, produces most of its beer at its brewery in Milton, DE, and sells its beer in more than 40 states. Boston Beer plans to consolidate Dogfish Head results into Boston Beer's financial results beginning late in the second quarter and Boston Beer currently estimates that the transaction will be neutral to slightly accretive in 2019 and will not have a material impact on full-year 2019 earnings per diluted share.

16:33 EDT Cool Holdings to acquire Simply Mac from GameStop, terms not disclosed - Cool Holdings (AWSM) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase all of the outstanding capital stock of Simply Mac from its parent company GameStop (GME). Simply Mac, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, is the largest Apple (AAPL) Premier Partner in the United States, and operates 43 stores in 18 states. Consideration for the purchase will be based in part on the value of inventories and other working capital at the date of closing. The transaction is expected to close by early August.

16:29 EDT National Bank raises quarterly dividend 12% to 19c from 17c per share - The dividend will be payable on June 14 to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 31.

16:27 EDT Park City Group announces $4M share repurchase program - Park City Group announced that its board has approved the repurchase of up to $4M of the company's common stock. Randall Fields, Chairman and CEO of Park City Group, commented, "We continue to strategically focus on maximizing profitability and cash flow. Given the inherent leverage of our operating model, we expect that as we continue to expand the scale and scope of our network, we will generate sufficient net income and free cash flow to allow us to allocate capital to this share repurchase program while continuing to strengthen our cash position. The Board has authorized this program because we believe our shares represent an attractive investment opportunity and that this investment in our own business is an appropriate option for driving value for all shareholders."

16:24 EDT Verastem discloses 'Boxed Warning' for Copiktra - Verastem Oncology launched COPIKTRA, an oral inhibitor of phosphoinositide 3-kinase, and the first approved dual inhibitor of PI3K-delta and PI3K-gamma, in the United States following FDA approval for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory CLL/SLL after at least two prior therapies. COPIKTRA also received accelerated approval for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory FL after at least two prior systemic therapies. COPIKTRA contains a BOXED WARNING for fatal and/or serious toxicities including infections, diarrhea or colitis, cutaneous reactions, and pneumonitis. Verastem Oncology has implemented a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy to provide appropriate dosing and safety information to better support physicians in managing their patients on COPIKTRA. Additionally, use of COPIKTRA is associated with other adverse reactions which may also require dose reduction, treatment delay or discontinuation of COPIKTRA.

16:23 EDT Barings BDC raises quarterly dividend to 13c from 12c per share - Record date is June 12 with payment date of June 19.

16:21 EDT Barings BDC announces joint venture with SCRS - On May 8, the company entered into an agreement with SCRS to create and co-manage Jocassee Partners, a joint venture, which will invest in a highly diversified asset mix including senior secured, middle-market, private debt investments, syndicated senior secured loans, structured products and real estate debt. The company and SCRS have committed to initially provide $50M and $500M, respectively, of equity capital to Jocassee. Equity contributions will be called from each member on a pro-rata basis, based on their equity commitments.

16:21 EDT TiVo to separate into two independent companies - TiVo reported that the company's Board has unanimously approved a plan to separate its Product and IP Licensing businesses. Based upon an extensive review of strategic alternatives, TiVo's Board of Directors decided that separating its Product and IP Licensing businesses is believed to be the best strategy to maximize shareholder value. Accordingly, TiVo intends to spin out its Product business to shareholders. Throughout the separation process, the Board of Directors will continue to be open to strategic transactions for each business that could create additional stockholder value and is actively engaged in discussions with parties interested in each of the businesses. "In the rapidly evolving market landscape we now operate in, we have determined that our Product and IP Licensing businesses will be better positioned as standalone separate entities," said Raghu Rau, Interim President and Chief Executive Officer. "Operating independently, these two businesses will have increased flexibility to pursue new and growing market opportunities. We believe this separation is the best way to maximize shareholder value, while also enhancing the possibility of value-creating strategic transactions." The separation is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including, among others, obtaining final approval from the TiVo Board of Directors, receipt of tax opinions, and the effectiveness of an applicable registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

16:12 EDT Symantec names Richard Hill as interim CEO, Vincent Pilette as new CFO - Symantec (SYMC) announced the following leadership changes: Richard Hill, current Symantec director and former chairman and CEO of Novellus Systems, has been appointed Interim President and Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Mr. Hill succeeds Greg Clark, who has stepped down as President and CEO and as a member of the Symantec Board, also effective immediately. The company will commence a search process to find a permanent CEO. Vincent Pilette, CFO of Logitech (LOGI) and former VP of Finance for Hewlett Packard Enterprise's server, storage and networking business, has been appointed Executive Vice President and CFO of Symantec.

16:08 EDT Axon sees 'significantly higher growth rates' in 2H19 - "We continue to expect to deliver significantly higher growth rates in the second half of 2019, driven by an anticipated acceleration of TASER 7 shipments and initial Axon Body 3 shipments. Q2 2019 revenue is expected to increase approximately 16% to 17% year over year."

16:07 EDT Yelp reports Q1 adjusted EBITDA $39M vs. $33M last year

16:05 EDT Melinta Therapeutics will update FY19 guidance with Q2 earnings report - Melinta Therapeutics says sNDA submission to FDA for Baxdela for treatment of CABP in adult patients in April 2019; awaiting official acceptance and PDUFA date from the FDA. In light of the first quarter results, and to provide the Company with additional time to evaluate the impact of its new strategic commercial initiatives, the Company will update 2019 financial guidance as part of its second quarter 2019 earnings communications. Previous revenue guidance should no longer be relied upon.

15:11 EDT First Merchants raises dividend to 26c from 22c per share - First Merchants declared a cash dividend on May 9 of 26c per share. The dividend is payable on June 21 to shareholders of record as of May 20. For purposes of broker trading, the ex-date of the cash dividend is May 17, the company said.

14:39 EDT Old Republic's Zucaro to retire as CEO, Smiddy named new CEO - Old Republic International Corporation announced several changes in its senior executive ranks effective October 1, 2019. President and COO Craig Smiddy will assume the position of president and CEO, and will concurrently join the board of directors and its executive committee. R. Scott Rager, the company's executive vice chairman, will retire effective October 1, 2019, the company said. In addition, chairman and CEO Aldo C. Zucaro will retire as CEO. He will continue as chairman of the board and its executive committee.

14:16 EDT SEGA Europe acquires developer Two Point Studios - SEGA Europe announced the acquisition of Two Point Studios, the Farnham-based game developer behind "Two Point Hospital." Two Point Studios had been working with SEGA Europe in a publishing partnership capacity since January 2017 as part of SEGA Europe's Searchlight programme. Following the acquisition, Two Point Studios becomes a wholly owned SEGA studio and a fully integrated SEGA Europe pillar, alongside Creative Assembly, Sports Interactive, Relic Entertainment, Amplitude Studios and HARDlight.

13:27 EDT Jumia slides after Citron Research accuses newly-public company of fraud - Shares of Jumia Technologies (JMIA) are sliding after Citron Research said that it has "never seen such an obvious fraud as Jumia." Calling the stock "worthless," Citron added that investors should not rely on reported numbers and a "restatement of financials is on the horizon." 'OBVIOUS FRAUD': In a report published on its website, Andrew Left's Citron Research said that in 18 years of publishing it has "never seen such an obvious fraud as Jumia." "Worse than being the most expensive U.S. listed ecommerce company, Jumia reported financials show us a stagnant business that has burned through $1B and has moved the suckers game to the U.S. Markets," the report reads. Calling the equity "worthless," Citron warned investors to not rely on reported numbers and predicted that a "restatement of financials is on the horizon." CONFIDENTIAL INVESTOR PRESENTATION: Citron said it has obtained a copy of Jumia's confidential investor presentation from October 2018 that was being used to market to investors late last year and "is NOT what they told the SEC," with many "material discrepancies" in reported key financial metrics when comparing the document with Jumia's F-1 filing from last month. "In order to raise more money from investors, Jumia inflated its active consumers and active merchants figures by 20%-30%. The most disturbing disclosure that Jumia removed from its F-1 filing was that 41% of orders were returned, not delivered, or cancelled. This was previously disclosed in the company's October 2018 confidential investor presentation. This number is so alarming that is screams fraudulent activities," the report reads. PRICE ACTION: In afternoon trading, shares of Jumia have dropped over 11% to $29.51.

13:06 EDT Jumia Technologies plummets after Citron calls shares 'worthless' - Shares of Jumia Technologies moved lower after Andrew Left's Citron Research said the shares are "worthless." In a report posted on its website, the firm known for selling short the ideas if writes about called Jumia a "fraud that "deserves immediate SEC attention." Citron went on, "If you're reading this report, Amazon knows more about ecommerce than you and Naspers knows more about Africa than you. Both companies have either divested or avoided investing regardless of valuation in the Nigerian ecommerce market, which is the growth story behind Jumia." Shares of Jumia Technologies are down 12%, or $4.00, to $29.32 in afternoon trading. Reference Link

12:57 EDT Cooperman says has not sold a share of Largo Resources - Leon Cooperman of Omega Advisors is speaking on CNBC.

12:33 EDT CMS Energy VP Catherine Reynolds sells over $330K in company shares - CMS Energy VP Catherine Reynolds disclosed in a filing that she had sold 6,203 shares of company stock at an average price of $54.63 per share on May 8. The total transaction value of the sale was $338,846.

12:21 EDT Cooperman sees WPX Energy worth 50% above current share levels - Leon Cooperman of Omega Advisors is speaking on CNBC.

12:04 EDT Cooperman says conditions for stock market top 'don't exist' - Leon Cooperman of Omega Advisors is speaking on CNBC.

12:03 EDT Cooperman sees 'more room' for the stock market to run - Leon Cooperman of Omega Advisors is speaking on CNBC.

10:32 EDT Philips announces PAF collaboration with Medtronic - Royal Philips (PHG) announced a collaboration with Medtronic (MDT) to further advance treatment of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, or PAF, a common heart rhythm disorder. Through the agreement, Medtronic will facilitate sales of products on behalf of Philips to provide an integrated image guidance solution for cryoablation procedures. Philips will bring to market the KODEX-EPD cardiac imaging and navigation system with cryoablation specific features to enable electrophysiologists to perform cryoablation procedures with reduced need for X-ray imaging, the company stated.

10:00 EDT SailPoint falls -26.7% - SailPoint is down -26.7%, or -$7.29 to $20.05.

10:00 EDT Tenneco falls -30.0% - Tenneco is down -30.0%, or -$6.05 to $14.09.

10:00 EDT Party City rises 12.0% - Party City is up 12.0%, or 87c to $8.13.

09:47 EDT Conduent falls -25.8% - Conduent is down -25.8%, or -$3.23 to $9.27.

09:47 EDT SailPoint falls -27.7% - SailPoint is down -27.7%, or -$7.57 to $19.76.

09:47 EDT Tapestry rises 14.2% - Tapestry is up 14.2%, or $4.37 to $35.12.

09:19 EDT Cinedigm acquires North American distribution rights to 'The Outsider' - Cinedigm announced that it has acquired all North American distribution rights to "The Outsider", a western starring Trace Adkins, Sean Patrick Flanery, Jon Foo and Danny Trejo. Directed by Timothy Woodward and written by Sean Ryan, "The Outsider" is a look at the trials and tragedies that shaped the American frontier.

09:12 EDT Eastside Distilling announces authorizations to offer whiskey in Walmart stores - Eastside Distilling (EAST) announced new mandated authorizations to stock Redneck Riviera Whiskey in 856 Walmart stores in California, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Washington, Wisconsin, North Dakota, Nebraska, Nevada, Arizona, Kentucky, Massachusetts, and New Mexico. The initial stocking order will be two cases of the 750ml Redneck Riviera Whiskey per store in each of the 856 stores, effective with their new product set on June 2nd. The new authorization mandate from Walmart (WMT) comes on the heels of, and is in addition to, earlier distribution into more than 350 locations in the U.S.

09:10 EDT Easterly Government Properties acquires U.S. JSC facility in Suffolk, Virginia - Easterly Government Properties announced today that it has acquired a 403,737-square foot U.S. Joint Staff Command facility located in Suffolk, Virginia. JSC - Suffolk is comprised of two modern, Class A buildings 100% leased to the GSA and occupied by the Department of Defense's U.S Joint Staff Command division. The JSC is responsible for the unified strategic direction of U.S. combatant forces. Due to the sensitive nature and importance of JSC's function in the DoD hierarchy, the U.S. Government has made a significant financial investment in the facility's infrastructure, ensuring a highly secured and classified work environment. Under a lease that expires in June 2028, this Level IV Security facility was recently re-leased to the GSA for a firm term of 10 years with an additional five-year option.

09:08 EDT Regions Bank appoints Lee Byrd as head of fraud - Regions Bank announced it has hired Lee Byrd as Head of Fraud. In this newly created role, Byrd will focus on protecting customers and the company from financial fraud. Byrd will report to Logan Pichel, Head of Enterprise Operations. Byrd joins Regions from BBVA Compass where he was Director of Fraud and Physical Security.

09:06 EDT Corteva Agriscience backs FY19 operating EBITDA of about $2.8B - Corteva Agriscience, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont, will host a meeting with investors and analysts on May 9 in Johnston, Iowa. At the meeting, Corteva Agriscience will also reaffirm financial guidance for the full year 2019. Consistent with the guidance provided on May 2 with DowDuPont's first quarter results, the DowDuPont Agriculture division guided full year guidance of operating EBITDA of about $2.8B. Sales are expected to be flat with organic sales up low single digits percentage. The division expects to overcome the first half decline through the realization of new product launches, price opportunities on high demand products, accelerated cost synergy delivery, and incremental productivity opportunities - resulting in an improvement in second half performance versus prior year. As part of an update on standalone financials, Greg Friedman will provide its full-year 2019 operating EBITDA guidance on a standalone basis. As previously communicated, Corteva Agriscience projects dividends of $400M with increases over time. Immediately following the spin, the new board is anticipated to approve a share repurchase authorization consistent with a commitment to return excess capital to shareholders.

09:02 EDT Tapestry says continues to believe Kate Spade can approach $2B in sales - Says continues to believe Kate Spade can approach $2B in sales over 3-year planning horizon.

09:01 EDT Fly Intel: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: Chevron (CVX), up 3% after announcing that it will not make a counterproposal for Anadarko Petroleum (APC) and will allow the four-day match period to expire. Chevron anticipates that Anadarko will terminate the merger agreement and pay Chevron a termination fee of $1B... The Stars Group (TSG), up 20% after after announcing a sports wagering partnership with Fox Sports (FOX). UP AFTER EARNINGS: Tapestry (TPR), up 17%... Party City (PRTY), up 3%. DOWN AFTER EARNINGS: Cardinal Health (CAH), down 2%... Trade Desk (TTD), down 2%... CommScope (COMM), down 11%... AMC Entertainment (AMC), down 6%... Becton Dickinson (BDX), down 3%. LOWER: Occidental Petroleum (OXY) and Anadarko (APC), down 6% and 3%, respectively, after Chevron said it will not increase takeover offer for Anadarko.

08:53 EDT NinePoint Medical announces publication of 1000 patient registry study - NinePoint Medical announced the publication of their 1000 patient Volumetric Laser Endomicroscopy Registry study focused on Barrett's Esophagus. The 18 site study, published in Diseases of the Esophagus, enrolled 1000 patients between 2014 and 2016 for imaging using the NvisionVLE Imaging System. The study was designed to determine usage patterns of VLE in clinical practice and to estimate quantitative and qualitative performance metrics, with this publication focused on Barrett's Esophagus. All enrolled patients were examined with standard upper endoscopy, followed by the use of VLE to identify focal areas of concern for targeted biopsy. Across the Barrett's Esophagus patient population, inclusion of VLE imaging to the endoscopy procedure increased neoplasia detection by 55% beyond the standard of care. In a treatment naive cohort of patients with no concerning findings on endoscopy, biopsies based only on VLE findings identified 700% more neoplasia than random biopsies of the Barrett's Esophagus segment, the current standard of care. Overall, study investigators reported that VLE improved the Barrett's Esophagus management process when used as a tool for targeting biopsies and guiding treatment. The NvisionVLE Imaging System is distributed by Merit Medical Systems.

08:45 EDT Tapestry remains on track to achieve run-rate synergies of $100M-$150M in FY19 - Tapestry (TPR) says "committed" to capital allocation priorities. Says remains on track to achieve run-rate synergies of $100M-$150M in FY19. Says Noam Paransky joining company as chief digital officer. Paransky was previously with Gap (GPS), Tapestry said. Comments from Q3 earnings conference call.

08:39 EDT Medtronic announces publication of SMILE study in The Lancet - Medtronic announced the publication of the SMILE study in The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology. The SMILE study is the largest randomized controlled trial to investigate the effectiveness and safety of the MiniMed 640G system with SmartGuard Suspend before low technology compared to insulin pump therapy without continuous glucose monitoring in decreasing hypoglycemia. "The study demonstrated the MiniMed 640G system with SmartGuard Suspend before low was associated with significant reduction in both biochemical and severe hypoglycemia compared to insulin pump therapy. This reduction, including 84 percent fewer events of severe hypoglycemia, was achieved without increasing HbA1c levels. The clinical outcomes improvements were more pronounced during the night, when hypoglycemic episodes are most problematic," said Professor Emanuele Bosi, from the Diabetes Research Institute, Vita Salute San Raffaele University & San Raffaele Hospital, Milan, Italy. "Another important conclusion is that patients using SmartGuard Suspend before low showed less fear of hypoglycemia and higher satisfaction with their treatment. Hypoglycemia unawareness and fear of hypoglycemia has a major impact on people with diabetes and their loved ones' lives. These results confirm the confidence that I have in this advanced technology, and the improvement it provides to my patients in glycemic control and quality of life."

08:36 EDT Catasys expands OnTrak use to help identify, address loneliness - Catasys announced that it is expanding the use of its OnTrak solution to help identify and address loneliness. Catasys continues to utilize its proprietary analytics to identify emerging behavioral health care conditions that are impacting a wider populace while also greatly increasing health plan medical costs. The epidemic of social isolation and loneliness has risen to a level where the Company feels an expansion of its solution is both value-additive to its customers and necessary for its core goal of improving member health.

08:34 EDT Kandi Technologies announces cooperation agreement with Northpoint Commercial - Kandi Technologies said it has signed a Strategic Cooperative Agreement with Northpoint Commercial Finance LLC on May 8th 2019, a leader in commercial finance, supplying flexible inventory financing for clients in a variety of industries. Kandi is planning on bringing several models of pure electric vehicles from China to the North American market.

08:33 EDT Chevron says will not increase takeover offer for Anadarko

08:32 EDT Westwater Resources regains Nasdaq listing compliance - Westwater Resources announced that it has received notification from Nasdaq that the Company has regained compliance with the minimum $1.00 per share bid price requirement for continued listing, and further, that the Company complies with all other applicable standards for continued listing of its securities on the Nasdaq Stock Market. On April 18, 2019, at the 2019 annual general meeting, the Company's shareholders approved a proposal that empowered the Company's Board of Directors to make a decision on a reverse split of not less than 1-for-5 and not more than 1-for-50. Subsequently, the Company's Board of Directors approved a 1-for-50 reverse split, which was effectuated after market close on April 22, 2019. On May 2, 2019, the Company attended a hearing of the Nasdaq Hearings Panel to discuss its stock price, which at the time of the hearing had been trading above the $1.00 per share minimum bid price for seven trading days. On May 6, 2019, the Company's stock price had traded above the $1.00 per share minimum bid price for 10-consecutive trading days, and the Company notified Nasdaq of the same. On May 8, 2019, Nasdaq wrote a letter informing the Company that it had regained compliance with the $1.00 per share minimum bid price requirement, that the Company's listing on Nasdaq would be continued, and the matter was closed.

08:31 EDT Red Hat expands alliance with Nvidia to scale AI/ML workloads - Red Hat (RHT) announced it has deepened its alliance with NVIDIA (NVDA) to accelerate the enterprise adoption of AI, machine learning and data analytics workloads in production environments, and is launching an early access program for prospective customers. By combining Red Hat's leading enterprise open source software solutions with NVIDIA's innovative GPU hardware, CUDA-X acceleration libraries, and NGC container registry, the companies are demonstrating new capabilities for running GPU-accelerated workloads across the hybrid cloud. The NGC container registry provides a rich catalog of GPU-accelerated AI/ML and data analytics containers that can run on a foundation of Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform with supported NVIDIA GPUs on-premise and in the cloud

08:31 EDT Neptune Technologies trading resumes

08:29 EDT CACI wins $415M contract to develop, deploy intelligence systems for U.S. Army - CACI International announced it has been awarded a $415 million prime contract to design and deploy new technologies for the U.S. Army's Tactical Exploitation of National Capabilities office.

08:28 EDT HP Inc., Siemens expand strategic alliance - HP (HPQ) and Siemens (SIEGY) announced an expansion of their strategic alliance to help customers transform their businesses with industrial additive manufacturing. Siemens and HP will expand their integrated additive manufacturing solution, incorporating new systems and software innovations including overall product lifecycle management, AM factory optimization, industrial 3D printing and data intelligence, manufacturing execution, and performance analytics. The integration of HP's new Jet Fusion 5200 Series 3D printing solution with Siemens' Digital Enterprise offerings enables industrial companies to bring 3D printed parts to market faster, more cost-effectively, more sustainably, and at higher volumes than ever before. The companies announced the expanded alliance at an event to celebrate the addition of a new Polymer Competency Center to the Siemens Additive Manufacturing Experience Center in Erlangen, Germany, where HP also unveiled its new industrial-performance HP Jet Fusion 5200 Series 3D printing solution.

08:24 EDT Raytheon awarded$15.3M Navy contract - Raytheon is awarded a $15,267,422 cost-plus-incentive-fee, firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, and cost-only contract for design agent and engineering services efforts to support the Cooperative Engagement Capability. The CEC program provides a sensor network with integrated fire control capability that significantly improves strike force air and missile defense capabilities by coordinating measurement data from strike force air search sensors on CEC-equipped units into a single, integrated real-time, composite track air picture. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $279,340,117.

08:23 EDT BioHiTech Global receives initial order for food waste digester - BioHiTech Global has received an initial multi-unit product order for its new BioHiTech Sapling food waste digester from a regional grocery chain operating 19 locations in three Northeastern states. The Sapling Digester is a larger capacity addition to BioHiTech's line of Revolution Series Digesters which aim to provide a cost-effective, regulatory-compliant food waste disposal solution.The six Sapling units to be installed at these grocery locations, are capable of diverting from landfills as much as 1,750,000 pounds of food waste each year.

08:18 EDT Global Partners sees FY19 adjusted EBITDA $200M-$225M

08:15 EDT Varian Medical acquires CyberHeart, terms not disclosed - Varian announced it has acquired CyberHeart, a privately-held company with intellectual property that covers the use of radiation in the heart and other forms of radiosurgery for cardiovascular disease. Varian's acquisition of CyberHeart involved the transfer of IP.

08:13 EDT Select Medical, Alternate Solutions Health Network enter joint venture - Select Medical announced a joint venture agreement with Alternate Solutions Health Network to bring home health and hospice services to its patients and families in select markets nationwide. Called Select At Home, the new collaboration will extend the recovery and care continuum post-discharge from Select Medical's specialty hospitals.

08:11 EDT Conroy Media, Nielsen reach agreement for local TV and audio ratings services - Conroy Media has entered into a multi-year agreement with Nielsen for Local TV and Audio electronic ratings services in multiple markets across the country. Conroy Media, a long-time Nielsen Scarborough subscriber, has expanded its relationship with Nielsen, citing a number of reasons, notably accuracy and accountability.

08:09 EDT Neptune Wellness to acquire substantially all assets of SugarLeaf for $18M - Neptune Wellness announced the signing of a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of SugarLeaf Labs and Forest Remedies, a registered North Carolina-based commercial hemp company providing extraction services and formulated products. Neptune will acquire SugarLeaf on a debt-free basis for initial consideration at closing of $18M, paid as $12M in cash and $6M in common shares. By achieving certain annual adjusted EBITDA and other performance targets, additional consideration of up to $132M would be paid over each of the next three years as a combination of cash and shares for a maximum aggregate purchase price of up to $150M. The Transaction is expected to close on or before July 31st, upon completion of standard closing requirements, including regulatory and stock exchange approvals.

08:09 EDT Veritiv lowers 2019 adjusted EBITDA view to $165M-$180M from $190M-$200M - Expects to see a significant improvement in free cash flow for 2019 when compared to 2018, and, as a result, now expects free cash flow of at least $85M for the year, up from previous guidance of at least $55M.

08:08 EDT Overstock.com boosts 2019 Retail adjusted EBITDA view to $15M from $10M - Raises 2019 contribution from Retail view to $165M from $160M. Says retail is "returning to be a source of positive cash flow rather than a consumer of it."

08:05 EDT Keurig Dr Pepper says Q1 results 'represent a good start to the year' - Commenting on the quarter, Keurig Dr Pepper Chairman and CEO Bob Gamgort stated, "Our first quarter results represent a good start to the year, with strong EPS delivery and all four segments registering underlying net sales growth. In addition, our in-market performance was also solid, as we grew retail dollar consumption across the majority of our portfolio and held or grew market share in nearly all categories. Our cash flow generation remains strong and we continue to reduce debt in line with our deleveraging targets. We remain confident in our targets for 2019 and our long-term value creation framework."

08:04 EDT Tractor Supply increases share repurchase program by $1.5B - The Board also authorized a $1.5B increase to its existing share repurchase program, bringing the total amount authorized to date under the program to $4.5B. As of March 30, 2019, the company had repurchased 62.8 million shares of common stock for approximately $2.6B since the inception of its share repurchase program in 2007. "Tractor Supply has a strong track record of returning capital to our shareholders through share repurchases and dividends. The strength of the Company's balance sheet and free cash flow gives us the flexibility to execute a balanced capital allocation strategy that includes reinvesting in our business, growing our dividend and executing on our share repurchases. Today's expanded capital return for shareholders is based on the confidence of the Tractor Supply Board of Directors in the Company's ONETractor strategy and long-term growth outlook," said Cynthia Jamison, Tractor Supply's Chairman of the Board.

08:03 EDT Magenta Therapeutics sees cash, cash equivalents 'sufficient' through 2H21 - Magenta anticipates that its cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, including the proceeds from this recent financing, will be sufficient to fund operations and capital expenditures into the second half of 2021.

07:59 EDT Magenta Therapeutics presents updated Phase 2 clinical data on MGTA-456 - Magenta Therapeutics announced that the Company presented Phase 2 clinical data on its cell therapy, MGTA-456, at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. MGTA-456 is a cell therapy designed to provide a high dose of hematopoietic stem cells that are well-matched to the patient. The Company plans to enroll 12 patients in the ongoing Phase 2 study in inherited metabolic disorders, which include cALD, Hurler syndrome, metachromatic leukodystrophy and globoid cell leukodystrophy. The primary endpoint of the study is neutrophil engraftment after transplantation. The study is also collecting both short- and long-term disease-specific outcomes. Data from the first five evaluable patients treated in this study were highlighted in a poster presented by Ashish Gupta, MBBS, M.P.H., Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Division of Blood and Marrow Transplantation, University of Minnesota. In a separate oral presentation, Kevin Goncalves, Ph.D., Magenta Therapeutics, will highlight preclinical data demonstrating that the high stem cell dose in MGTA-456 accelerates and improves engraftment of human microglia in the brains of transplanted mice. Patients with Inherited Metabolic Disorders transplanted with MGTA-456, a CD34+ Expanded Cell Therapy Product, Show Rapid Engraftment in Preliminary Phase 2 Trial Results Key results in patients with cALD: Both patients had stable neurological function scores, which remained unchanged between baseline and six months post-transplant, suggesting progress of the disease has been arrested. The Loes score, a method for quantifying the severity of brain abnormalities and atrophy found on MRI, also remained stable in both patients after six months. Both patients showed resolution of gadolinium enhancement on MRI, an indicator of brain inflammation, by one month post-transplant, and the resolution persisted at six months. Durable resolution of gadolinium enhancement is correlated with long-term disease benefit in patients with cALD. Key results in patients with Hurler Syndrome: As previously reported, all three patients with Hurler syndrome achieved normal levels of blood leukocyte IDUA enzyme, the enzyme that is deficient in untreated patients with Hurler syndrome, by Day 42 post-transplant. This suggests that transplant with MGTA-456 is affecting the disease process in these patients. Normalization of blood leukocyte IDUA enzyme after transplant has been significantly associated with improvement in disease. Patients showed a marked decline in urine total glycosaminoglycan, the toxic metabolites implicated in disease, after transplant. Both of these findings are correlated with improved long-term disease outcomes. Overall results: All five patients met the primary endpoint of neutrophil engraftment. MGTA-456 was well tolerated.

07:56 EDT Control4 trading halted, news pending

07:51 EDT FDA accepts Takeda's BLA for subcutaneous formulation of Vedolizumab - Takeda Pharmaceutical Company announced that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration has accepted for review a Biologics License Application for a subcutaneous formulation of vedolizumab for maintenance therapy in adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis. Takeda proposes to make vedolizumab SC available in both pre-filled syringe and pen options. The application is based on the pivotal VISIBLE 1 phase 3 study, which assessed the safety and efficacy of a SC formulation of vedolizumab as maintenance therapy in 216 adult patients with moderately to severely active UC who achieved clinical response at week 6 following two doses of open-label vedolizumab intravenous therapy at weeks 0 and 2.1 The results of VISIBLE 1 were presented at the 2018 United European Gastroenterology Week Congress in Vienna, Austria. In evaluating the primary endpoint of VISIBLE 1, a statistically significant proportion of patients receiving vedolizumab SC 108 mg maintenance therapy administered every two weeks achieved clinical remission compared to patients receiving placebo at week 52. A similar rate of clinical remission was observed in the vedolizumab IV 300 mg reference arm at week 52. Furthermore, adverse event rates, including severe adverse events and infections, were similar between the SC and IV groups at week 52. Injection-site reactions were generally mild and experienced by 10.4% of patients in the vedolizumab SC treatment arm, with none leading to treatment discontinuation.

07:49 EDT Spectrum announces asset purchase, license for immuno-oncology platform - Spectrum Pharmaceuticals announced the closure of an asset purchase and license agreement with ImmunGene, Inc., a privately held biotechnology company. The deal includes an exclusive license for the intellectual property related to the FIT antibody-interferon fusion technology drug delivery platform originally developed by scientists at UCLA. The license also includes two novel assets derived from this platform. The first asset is an antibody-interferon fusion molecule directed against CD20 . This drug candidate is in Phase 1 development for treating relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma, including diffuse large b-cell lymphoma patients where a considerable unmet medical need exists. Research for this program received financial support through the Therapy Acceleration Program of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Inc, and an LLS research grant to UCLA. The second asset is an antibody-interferon fusion molecule directed against GRP94, a target for which currently there are no existing approved therapies. It has the potential for treating both solid and hematologic malignancies. Under the terms of the agreement, Spectrum will pay an upfront cash payment of approximately $3 million, up to $156 million in development and sales milestones, and royalties on net sales in the high-single digits.

07:46 EDT Cardinal Health increases quarterly dividend 1% to 48.11c per share - Cardinal Health board of directors approved a 1% increase in the company's quarterly dividend from 47.63c per share to 48.11c per share, or $1.92 on an annualized basis. The dividend will be payable on July 15 to shareholders of record on July 1.

07:44 EDT Compass Diversified confirms sale of Clean Earth to Harsco for $625M in cash - Compass Diversified Holdings (CODI) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its majority owned subsidiary, CEHI Acquisition Corporation, the parent company of Clean Earth, to a wholly-owned subsidiary of Harsco (HSC). Under the terms of the Agreement, Clean Earth will be sold to Harsco for approximately $625M in cash. The closing of this transaction is subject to customary terms and conditions, including regulatory approval, and is expected to occur within the next few months. The company expects to realize a gain on the sale of Clean Earth of approximately $200M and intends to use the net proceeds to repay the remaining outstanding debt under the company's revolving credit facility and for general corporate purposes.

07:40 EDT World Acceptance says intends to cooperate fully with SEC, DOJ - As previously disclosed, World Acceptance retained outside legal counsel and forensic accountants, upon receipt of an anonymous letter regarding compliance matters, to conduct an investigation of the company's operations in Mexico. The investigation focuses on the legality under the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and certain local laws of certain payments related to loans, the maintenance of the company's books and records associated with such payments, and the treatment of compensation matters for certain employees. The company voluntarily contacted the SEC and the U.S. Department of Justice in June 2017 to advise both agencies that an investigation was underway. The company is committed to compliance with applicable laws and regulations and intend to cooperate fully with both the SEC and the DOJ.

07:36 EDT Hain Celestial CEO says 'on track to achieve our fiscal year 2019 outlook' - "We are encouraged by our third quarter financial results that demonstrate sequential performance improvements in many key areas of our business, and we are on track to achieve our fiscal year 2019 outlook," commented Mark Schiller, Hain Celestial's President and CEO. "Our team is in the early innings of executing on our transformational strategic plan to simplify our portfolio, strengthen our core capabilities, reinvigorate profitable top-line growth, and expand margins, return-on-invested-capital and cash flow. We remain committed to delivering consistency in our operational and financial results to drive long-term shareholder value."

07:35 EDT Perrigo says 'actively' pursuing CBD - With the cannabidiol market growing at approximately 50% per year with a total market opportunity estimated at $2B by 2022, the company is announcing that it is in active discussions with "several leading CBD companies to identify the best partner to create high-quality reliable CBD products. Several of the largest U.S. retailers have already announced plans to sell CBD-containing products and are looking for partners such as Perrigo to deliver a safe and reliable product."

07:34 EDT Perrigo CEO says company has committed over $1B to transformation plan - Perrigo Company is holding its Investor Day at the New York Stock Exchange in New York City, outlining its strategy to drive long-term growth and build shareholder value. CEO and President Murray S. Kessler, along with several key members of his leadership team, will share the Company's strategic plan, vision, and financial objectives while introducing their priorities for transforming Perrigo from a healthcare company to a consumer self-care company. Kessler commented, "We have begun the process of transformation to recapture what we call 'The Perrigo Advantage'. The team has been hard at work during my first six months as CEO, analyzing our challenges and most importantly, building actionable plans to reinvent the company. Our financial objective is to deliver long-term, consistent, and sustainable total shareholder returns in-line with our CPG peers. Notably, the Company and its Board of Directors has committed over $1 billion to the transformation plan, which encompasses infrastructure improvements, innovation initiatives, technology upgrades and a significant bolt-on acquisition. We believe that successfully transforming Perrigo to a consumer self-care company and relentlessly pursuing our new vision - To Make Lives Better by Bringing "Quality, Affordable, Self-Care Products(TM)" that Consumers Trust Everywhere they are Sold - will unlock significant shareholder value."

07:29 EDT Alpine Immune Sciences expects cash to fund operations into 2021 - Alpine expects to have sufficient cash to fund operations into 2021, including the clinical advancement of Alpine's lead autoimmune/inflammatory program, ALPN-101, and its lead oncology program, ALPN-202.

07:28 EDT McDermott awarded 'sizeable' contract by ADNOC - McDermott announced it has been awarded a sizeable contract by ADNOC to provide FEED services on a design-competition basis for phase one of the Umm Shaif Gas Cap Condensate Development Project. The scope of work also includes the preparation and submission of an EPCI proposal reflecting the design of the offshore facilities developed by McDermott through this FEED work. The FEED project is scheduled to be executed from McDermott's London office with support from its Dubai and Chennai locations. Work on the project will begin immediately and the contract award was reflected in McDermott's first quarter backlog.

07:24 EDT Athenex says 'on track' to achieve revenue guidance on products sales - At March 31, 2019, the Company had cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments aggregating $71.3 million, compared to $107.4 million at December 31, 2018. Based on the current operating plan, the Company expects that its cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments as of March 31, 2019, together with proceeds it has recently raised from the private placement and cash to be generated from operating activities, will enable it to fund its operating expenses and capital expenditure requirements through at least the next twelve months. Athenex reaffirms the product sales guidance issued in March 2019. Athenex is forecasting that product sales in 2019 will increase by between 25% and 30% year-over-year from $56.4 million in 2018.

07:23 EDT Immunomedics: Cash, cash equivalents 'adequate' to support development plan - As of March 31, 2019, the company had $442.7 million in cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities, which it believes is adequate to support its clinical development plan for sacituzumab govitecan; further build its clinical and manufacturing infrastructure and fund its operations through 2020.

07:21 EDT Tradeweb Markets sees FY19 adjusted expenses $460M-$475M - Assumed non-GAAP tax rate of 26.4%. Capital expenditures and capitalization of software of $42 - $48 million. Acquisition and Refinitiv Transaction related depreciation and amortization expense of $98 million. Net interest income of approximately $(0.4) million in the second quarter of 2019 and $0.5 - $1.0 million for the full year.

07:18 EDT Canopy Growth announces offtake agreement with PharmHouse - Canopy Growth is pleased to announce that has signed an offtake agreement with PharmHouse, a 49% owned joint venture of Canopy Rivers. Under the terms of the agreement, PharmHouse has agreed to allocate high quality cannabis flower from an additional 20% of the flowering space available at its Leamington greenhouse facility over the next three years.

07:15 EDT Cato Corp. reports April SSS up 16% - The Cato Corporation reported sales of $81.5M for the four weeks ended May 4, a 14% increase from sales of $71.8M for the four weeks ended May 5, 2018. Same-store sales for the four weeks ended May 4, increased 16% from the four weeks ended May 5, 2018. Sales for the first quarter ended May 4, were $228.1M, a 3% decrease from sales of $236M for the first quarter ended May 5, 2018. Same-store sales for the first quarter decreased 1% compared to last year. April sales were impacted by the shift of Easter from March last year to April this year. Because of this shift, the best measure for sales performance is the combined sales for the two months, which was flat overall but increased 3% to the prior year on a same-store basis for the nine weeks ended May 4. "Although we are pleased with our Easter performance, we remain cautious" stated John Cato, Chairman, President, and CEO.

07:14 EDT Party City to close 45 stores in FY19 - Party City announced the planned closing of approximately 45 of its approximately 870 Party City locations in 2019. The store closures will take place throughout the year.

07:09 EDT Perrigo to acquire Ranir Global Holdings in $750M transaction - Perrigo announced that it has reached a definitive agreement to purchase privately-held Ranir Global Holdings in a transaction valued at $750M on a cash-free, debt-free basis, or approximately $685M net of cash tax benefits on a present value basis. Ranir is the largest private label oral care company globally, with a comprehensive portfolio of 300+ highly customized oral care solutions including power toothbrush heads, power toothbrush handles, whitening strips, manual toothbrushes, floss, dentures and travel kits that it sells into over 50 countries worldwide. Perrigo has identified multiple opportunities to drive annual operating synergies of approximately $10M by 2021 in addition to capturing tax value due to the structure of the deal. Beyond the addition of approximately 650 talented employees and a strong bench of seasoned executives with over 200 years of combined leadership experience, the acquisition will also further diversify Perrigo's revenue and cash flow. The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to standalone Perrigo net sales growth, adjusted operating income growth and adjusted EPS. The proposed transaction has been unanimously approved by the respective Boards of Directors of Perrigo and Ranir and is subject to the satisfaction of closing conditions, including customary regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of calendar year 2019.

07:06 EDT Norwegian Cruise Line says remains 'confident' in outlook - "The strong demand environment we have been experiencing for some time is continuing throughout 2019 and into 2020," said Mark A. Kempa, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. "We remain confident in our outlook to achieve our Full Speed Ahead 2020 targets and have opportunistically executed $200 million in share repurchases in the quarter, bringing our total shareholder capital returns to $600 million over the last four quarters."

07:04 EDT Bristol-Myers' Opdivo+radiation CheckMate-498 GBM trial did not meet OS endpoint - Bristol-Myers announced the Phase 3 CheckMate -498 trial evaluating Opdivo, or nivolumab, plus radiation versus temozolomide plus radiation in patients with newly diagnosed O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase -unmethylated glioblastoma multiforme, or GBM, did not meet its primary endpoint of overall survival at final analysis. The safety profile of Opdivo was consistent with previously reported studies in solid tumors. Opdivo is also being studied in patients with newly diagnosed MGMT-methylated GBM in the Phase 3 CheckMate -548 study, in which Opdivo is added to the current standard of care, radiation plus temozolomide.

07:02 EDT Cardinal Health extends agreements with CVS Health to distribute pharmaceuticals - Cardinal Health (CAH) extended its agreements with CVS Health (CVS) to distribute pharmaceuticals to retail pharmacies and distribution centers through June 30, 2023.

06:58 EDT The Buckle reports April SSS up 2%, April net sales up 1.7% - The Buckle announced that comparable store net sales, for stores open at least one year, for the 4-week period ended May 4, increased 2% from comparable store net sales for the 4-week period ended May 5, 2018. Net sales for the 4-week fiscal month ended May 4, increased 1.7% to $59.6M from net sales of $58.6M for the prior year 4-week fiscal month ended May 5, 2018. Comparable store net sales for the 13-week fiscal quarter ended May 4, decreased 1.3% from comparable store net sales for the 13-week period ended May 5, 2018. Net sales for the 13-week fiscal quarter ended May 4, decreased 1.7% to $201.3M from net sales of $204.9M for the prior year 13-week fiscal quarter ended May 5, 2018.

06:55 EDT Tapestry reports Kate Spade global SSS down 3%

06:53 EDT Boston Scientific to acquire Vertiflex for $465M upfront, milestone payments - Boston Scientific announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Vertiflex, a privately-held company which has developed and commercialized the Superion Indirect Decompression System, a minimally-invasive device used to improve physical function and reduce pain in patients with lumbar spinal stenosis, or LSS. The procedure is expected to reach $60M in sales in 2019. The transaction consists of $465M in upfront cash and additional payments contingent on commercial milestones for the next three years. The Superion System, pproved by the FDA in 2015 for patients with moderate degenerative LSS, creates space between the spinous processes of the vertebrae. The creation of this space reduces pressure on the nerves and can thereby improve patient mobility and relieve pain, numbness and cramping in the legs. This procedure is a treatment option for patients who have not responded positively to first-line therapies, such as oral pain medication and steroid injections, but do not have severe enough symptoms to require spinal fusion or laminectomy. The transaction is expected to be immaterial to adjusted earnings per share in 2019 and 2020, and accretive thereafter. On a GAAP basis, the transaction is expected to be less accretive, or more dilutive as the case may be, due to amortization expense and acquisition-related net charges. The acquisition is projected to close late in Q2, subject to customary closing conditions.

06:42 EDT CenterPoint Energy backs FY19 average production view 170,000-174,000 boe/d

06:41 EDT CenterPoint Energy backs FY19 average production view 170,000-174,000 boe/d

06:39 EDT Covia backs Q2 industrial volumes view of 3.8M tons, energy volumes 5M-5.3M tons

06:35 EDT Employers Mutual to acquire remaining shares of EMC Insurance for $36.00 share - Employers Mutual Casualty Company and EMC Insurance Group announced that, following an extensive and thorough negotiation process conducted by an independent Special Committee of the EMCI Board of Directors, they have entered into a definitive merger agreement pursuant to which EMCC, which currently owns approximately 55% of EMCI's outstanding shares, will acquire all of the remaining shares of EMCI for $36.00 per share in cash. The transaction has an equity value of approximately $356M based solely upon the outstanding shares of EMCI not owned by EMCC. To effect the transaction, EMCC formed a new wholly-owned subsidiary to be merged into EMCI. The $36.00 per share purchase price represents an approximate 50% premium to the $23.99 closing market price of EMCI's common stock on November 15, 2018, the last trading day prior to the public announcement of EMCC's original proposal to acquire 100% ownership of EMCI. It also represents a 27% premium to EMCI's $28.44 book value per share as of March 31, 2019, a 16% premium to EMCI's 52-week closing high prior to the public announcement of EMCC's original proposal and an increase of 20% over EMCC's originally proposed purchase price of $30.00 per share. In response to EMCC's original proposal, the EMCI Board formed a Special Committee comprised of independent directors. Bruce G. Kelley, President, Chief Executive Officer and a director of both EMCI and EMCC, recused himself from all of EMCI's and EMCC's respective discussions, considerations, recommendations and votes with respect to the proposed transaction. The Special Committee reviewed EMCC's proposal and considered other options available to EMCI. The EMCI Special Committee was advised by independent financial and legal advisors, and the Special Committee received an opinion from its financial advisor that the $36.00 per share cash purchase price is fair, from a financial point of view, to EMCI's minority shareholders. The Special Committee ultimately determined that EMCC's proposed transaction is in the best interests of EMCI and its minority shareholders and unanimously recommended the transaction to EMCI's Board, which approved the transaction. The proposed transaction is anticipated to close in the second half of 2019.

06:16 EDT PQ Group backs FY19 adjusted free cash flow view $125M-$145M

06:08 EDT Harsco to acquire Clean Earth from Compass Group Diversified for $625M in cash - Harsco (HSC) announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Clean Earth, from Compass Group Diversified Holdings LLC and certain other minority stockholders for $625M in cash, subject to post-closing adjustments. In 2019, Clean Earth is expected to generate approximately $300M of revenue and approximately $65M of adjusted EBITDA. Following the close of the transaction, Clean Earth will operate as a standalone business segment of Harsco and will be led by its current President and Chief Executive Officer, Chris Dods. Harsco plans to maintain Clean Earth's headquarters in Hatboro, PA. The acquisition will be an all cash transaction. Harsco expects to finance the acquisition with a combination of borrowings under its revolving credit facility and new debt financing. The transaction is expected to close in the next few months, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.

05:58 EDT Toyota, Panasonic to set up joint venture for 'connected' homes - Panasonic (PCRFY) and Toyota Motor (TM) have concluded contracts aimed toward the establishment of a new joint venture related to the town development business, the companies said in a statement. Both companies aim to fuse the mobility services initiatives promoted by Toyota and the "lifestyle updates" initiatives spearheaded by Panasonic through collaboration based on the establishment of the joint venture, thereby creating new value for the entire town as a whole, they said. In the town development business, Panasonic, together with various companies, has led the development of sustainable smart towns as advanced models of town development. Meanwhile, Toyota has been proceeding with the construction of a "mobility service platform" while enhancing the development of "connected cars." In addition, Toyota has also been collaborating with various domestic and overseas companies to create new mobility services. Reference Link

05:52 EDT Orion Group CEO says 'we anticipate improving results as 2019 progresses' - "With respect to our first quarter results, our revenues increased compared to last year as our Concrete segment resumed project activity at more normal levels following several months of delays due to heavy rains and disruptive weather patterns throughout our key Texas markets," stated Mark Stauffer, Orion Group Holding's President and CEO. "Concrete margins remained depressed, however, as the weather-related delays from the second half of 2018 and into the first quarter this year translated into substantial increased labor cost that weighed on the profitability of a number of jobs in progress over the course of the first quarter. With that said, we are pleased with the $90 million of concrete projects booked in the first three months of the year that should lead to improving margins as the year progresses. Revenues for our Marine segment were down slightly relative to the first quarter of 2018 reflecting the timing of the start-up of projects in backlog. Marine margins were lower year-over-year as a result of the timing and mix of projects, which resulted in an increase in unabsorbed labor and equipment costs during the first quarter of 2019 and work on certain higher margin projects in the first quarter of 2018." Stauffer continued, "While the first quarter is normally our seasonally weakest quarter, our results did not meet our expectations. However, given the project activity we are currently engaged in across both of our segments, coupled with our backlog, which was approximately 16% higher at the end of the first quarter of 2019 than the same point last year, and sizeable new project awards we have won since the end of the first quarter, we expect to generate year-over-year top-line growth in 2019, and we anticipate improving results as 2019 progresses with improved EBITDA for full year 2019 relative to the prior year."

05:31 EDT Facebook to stop blocking some blockchain ads - A year after banning all blockchain-related ads, Facebook reopening to ones for "blockchain technology, industry news, education or events related to cryptocurrency" without the need for pre-approval, the company announced. The company said: "And starting June 5, we will update our Prohibited Financial Products and Services policy to no longer allow ads promoting contracts for difference, complex financial products that are often associated with predatory behavior. These products, due to their complexity, often mislead people. We'll also continue to ban ads for initial coin offerings as well as ads for binary options. As with all ads on Facebook, we require the ad's text, targeting, positioning, images and content on the landing page comply with this updated policy as well as with all of our Advertising Policies and Community Standards... We're committed to preventing misleading advertising on our platforms, especially in the area of financial products and services. Because of this, people who want to promote cryptocurrency and closely related products like cryptocurrency exchanges and mining software and hardware, will still have to go through a review process." Reference Link