Stockwinners Market Radar for August 11, 2017 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

18:30 EDT Manitowoc clarifies DLA contract announcement - The Manitowoc Company commented that the company was awarded a fixed-price with economic price adjustment contract SPE8EC-17-D-0008 from DLA with a maximum estimated value of $121.9M for procurement of commercial type cranes. This contract does not require the agency to order cranes from Manitowoc. The contract is a multiple award schedule-type contract that allows the services that use these cranes to place future delivery orders under the contract. The contract is active through August 10, 2022. This award is not to be confused with the US Army Type II Heavy Crane award announced on June 18, 2015.

17:36 EDT Northrop Grumman, Aurora Flight Sciences awarded $499M government contract - Aurora Flight Sciences Corp., Manassas, Virginia; and Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Redondo Beach, California, have been awarded a $499M indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity shared ceiling for six contracts for the Aerospace Systems Air Platform Technology Research program. These contracts provide research for affordable, revolutionary capabilities for the warfighter. Work will be performed in Manassas, Virginia; and Redondo Beach, California, and is expected to be completed by 2025. This award is the result of competitive acquisition and six offers were received. Fiscal 2017 research and development funds in the amount of $100,000 are being obligated to each company at time of award. Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting office.

17:31 EDT Gaylon M. Lawrence, Jr. reports 6.2% stake in CapStar Financial

17:17 EDT Carlson Capital reports 4.97% stake in Vitamin Shoppe

17:11 EDT Potbelly names Peter Bassi chairman of the board - According to a regulatory filing, on August 9, 2017, the board of directors of Potbelly Corporation appointed Peter Bassi, who at that time served as lead director of the company, to succeed Aylwin Lewis as chairman of the board of directors. As previously reported on Form 8-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 31, 2017, Lewis resigned from his position on the board of directors and as chairman of the board of directors effective August 8, 2017.

17:01 EDT Logitech closes acquisition of ASTRO Gaming - Logitech announced that it has closed its acquisition of ASTRO Gaming, a leading console gaming brand with a history of producing award-winning headsets for professional gamers and enthusiasts. Logitech first announced its agreement to acquire ASTRO in July 2017, as the company invests in an adjacent gaming market - the console gaming market.

16:42 EDT TerraForm Global COO Studebaker, interim CAO Rawden resign - According to a regulatory filing, on August 9, 2017, Thomas Studebaker resigned as Chief Operating Officer of TerraForm Global, Inc. and David Rawden resigned as Interim Chief Accounting Officer of TerraForm Global. Studebaker and Rawden had been appointed as officers of TerraForm Global, effective July 7, 2016, as part of TerraForm Global's engagement of AP Services, a subsidiary of AlixPartners, for certain consulting services.

16:33 EDT TerraForm Power announces receipt of Nasdaq letter - TerraForm Power announced that on August 10, it received a notification letter from a Senior Director of Nasdaq Listing Qualifications. The Notification Letter stated that because the company has not yet filed its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2017, this serves as an additional basis for delisting the company's securities from the Nasdaq Stock Market under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1), which requires timely filing of periodic reports with the SEC. The Notification Letter has no immediate effect on the listing of the Company's Class A common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. The Company continues to work to regain compliance with Nasdaq's continued listing requirements as soon as practicable. However, there can be no assurance that the Company will file its Forms 10-Q for the first and second quarters of 2017 and regain compliance with Nasdaq's continued listing requirements on or before the respective deadlines.

15:28 EDT AzurRx BioPharma reports sublicense agreement with TransChem - In a regulatory filing, AzurRx Biopharma reported that the company entered into a sublicense agreement with TransChem, pursuant to which TransChem granted to the company an exclusive license to patents and patent applications relating to Helicobacter pylori 5'-methylthioadenosine nucleosidase inhibitors currently held by TransChem. Unless terminated earlier under the provision of the sublicense agreement, the agreement will expire upon the expiration of the last agreement patent. The company paid an upfront signing fee to TransChem and agreed to reimburse TransChem for certain expenses previously incurred in connection with the preparation, filing and maintenance of the agreement patents. The company also agreed to pay to TransChem periodic sublicense maintenance fees, which, in the event the company becomes obligated to pay certain royalties under the agreement, such fees may be credited against those royalties. In addition to the sublicense maintenance fees, the company may be obligated to pay to TransChem additional payments and royalties in the future, in the event certain performance-based milestones and commercial sales involving the agreement patents are achieved.

14:47 EDT Badger Meter increases dividend 13% to 13c per share - Badger Meter announced a 13% increase in its quarterly common stock dividend to 13c per share from 11.5c per share. The increased dividend is payable September 15 to shareholders of record August 31.

13:44 EDT OrbiMed reports 34.15% stake in Clementia Pharmaceuticals

13:05 EDT Baker Hughes reports U.S. rig count down 5 to 949 - Baker Hughes reports that the U.S. rig count is down 5 rigs from last week to 949. The Canadian rig count is up 3 from last week to 220 rigs and the international rig count is down one from last week to 959.

12:47 EDT Game publishers rise as Piper notes eSports growth potential - Shares of video game makers were trading higher after an analyst from Piper Jaffray discussed in a research note the growth prospects of the Electronic Sports industry, noting that the phenomenon has "significant growth potential" despite some early skepticism. ESPORTS POTENTIAL: Piper Jaffray analyst Michael J. Olson said that the eSports sector has significant growth potential, noting that the majority of eSports revenue presently is from sponsorships and advertising as companies seek to target to a hard-to-reach demographic that is generally not as well captured in traditional sports advertising. Olson said that, for public video game publishers such as Activision Blizzard (ATVI), Electronic Arts (EA), and Take-Two (TTWO), the opportunity from eSports over the next 1-2 years will primarily be tied to a "marketing halo" created by events that utilize these game makers' titles. Over the long term, Olson said he sees potential for additional revenue from broadcast rights, advertising, sponsorships, live events and more, but this would be additive to current Wall Street estimates, as opposed to being already baked into analyst models. The analyst said that total revenue from eSports is expected to surpass $1B in 2017, with a global audience of over 200M gamers. WHAT'S NOTABLE: Activision Blizzard has more titles among the top eSports titles than any other publisher, and the company has been investing in leagues and platforms, Olson said. According to the Piper note, Activision Blizzard, which is comprised of Activision Publishing and Blizzard Entertainment, is responsible for four of the top eight games in eSports, namely "Call of Duty," "Overwatch," "StarCraft II," and "Heroes of the Storm." Meanwhile, Electronic Arts has shifted focus on using eSports as a driver for engagement, with several competitions tied to its traditional sports games, the analyst said. Notably, at this year's E3 conference this past June, EA centered much of its presence at the event on demonstrating the competitive gaming aspects of its upcoming release "Star Wars Battlefront II." In addition, Olson noted that Take-Two intends to enter the eSports sector this year with its basketball simulation series "NBA 2K." Piper maintained an Overweight rating on all three stocks. PRICE ACTION: In early afternoon trading, Activision Blizzard was up 0.9%, EA rose 1.4%, and Take-Two was trading 1.4% higher.

11:31 EDT Sell Kroger given challenges facing conventional grocers, says Stephens - Research firm Stephens started coverage of grocery store chain Kroger (KR) with an Underweight rating, its equivalent of a sell rating. The firm initiated coverage of Kroger's competitor Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) with a neutral equivalent and also began coverage of a retailer and supplier to the space, United Natural Foods (UNFI). KROGER: The company has "one of the best management team in...food retail," and its operations are "best-in-class," wrote Stephens analyst Ben Bienvenu. However, its status as a price competitive conventional grocer will weigh on its financial results in the near-term, the analyst stated. Increasing price competition and higher labor costs could also hurt its results, Bienvenu believes. He placed a $20 price target on the shares. UNITED NATURAL: The increasingly widespread availability of natural and organic food at "numerous grocery channels" will weigh on United Natural Foods' results, warned Bienvenu. Whole Foods' (WFM) struggles will also hurt United Natural's results, he stated, adding that Amazon's (AMZN) purchase of Whole Foods increases the risk facing United. He set a $40 price target on the shares. SPROUTS: The chain's products and "price position" are among the best in the market, Bienvenu stated. However, the stock's valuation reflects the company's strengths as well as a possible takeover, contends the analyst, who set a $25 price target on the name. PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, Kroger rose fractionally to $23.50, United Natural was down fractionally at $36, and Sprouts gained 0.5% to about $24 per share.

11:20 EDT Gardner Lewis reports new 5.5% stake in TerraForm Global

10:24 EDT MFA Financial co-CEO William Gorin passes away

10:13 EDT Retail wreckage continues with J.C. Penney report, dragging Nordstrom lower - Shares of J.C. Penney (JCP) added to the retail wreckage of the last few days after reporting a larger than expected loss for the latest quarter, adding to concerns about the broader sector following disappointing reports yesterday from peers Macy's (M) and Kohl's (KSS). Separately, higher-end peer Nordstrom (JWN) bucked the trend of declining sales in the sector, reporting a comparable store sales gain for its latest quarter and raising guidance. While Nordstrom shares briefly went into the green, they declined following the market open as the sector gives back some of the gains seen in the run-up to this week's reports. J.C. PENNEY: J.C. Penney reported an adjusted loss per share for the second quarter of (9c), compared to forecasts for a (5c) loss. Comp sales slid 1.3%, falling below the retailer's fiscal year guidance. The comp sales decline for the quarter resulted in a positive two-year stack of 0.9%, the company said. Despite misses on the EPS and comp sales lines, revenue of $2.96B beat forecasts of $2.84B. CEO Marvin Ellison said that while the broader retail sector "remains challenged," all categories delivered improved sales results during the quarter, with beauty, home refresh and omnichannel continuing to deliver positive sales growth. On the company's earnings call, Ellison said there was greater margin and EPS dilution than expected during the quarter following the liquidation of inventory in 127 closing stores, but said he believes this was "isolated" to Q2. Looking ahead, J.C. Penney backed its guidance for fiscal 2017 adjusted EPS of 40c-65c and SSS down 1%-up 1% and said it expects improved results in the back half of the year. Ellison said that July's sales trend has carried into the early back-to-school season. NORDSTROM: Nordstrom, meanwhile, yesterday reported EPS of 65c, beating analysts' estimates of 64c, and total revenue of $3.79B also beat the $3.75B consensus. Comp sales for the quarter were up 1.7% compared to last year and followed an 0.8% decline last quarter. Nordstrom raised its FY17 adjusted EPS view to $2.85-$3.00 from $2.75-$3.00, revenue growth view to roughly 4% from 3%-4% and backed its SSS growth view of approximately flat. Nordstrom said that its recent Anniversary Sale, historically its largest event of the year, performed better than recent trends. WHAT'S NOTABLE: Mall-based retailers have been hurt by the increasing popularity of fast-fashion retailers like Zara, Forever 21 and H&M, as well as an increase in online shopping. Nordstrom said in June that members of its founding family formed a group to explore the possibility of pursuing a "going private" transaction, but Women's Wear Daily recently said that the retailer is not in negotiations with "anybody" regarding a potential sale. Talks continue with potential parties to a deal, though they are described as informal, the report noted. PEERS: Yesterday, sector peer Macy's (M) sunk after reporting another quarter of declining comps, though its EPS and revenue were above analysts' estimates. While Macy's backed its guidance for FY17, it forecast third quarter comp sales on an owned plus licensed basis down 2.5% "or worse" and fall season comp sales on an owned plus licensed basis to be down 0.8% to down 2.6%. Gross margin for the year is expected to be down 50-70bps vs. last year, better than previous guidance. CFO Karen Hoguet said that there was "not a lot new" on Macy's real estate initiatives since June's investor meeting and that work on its Herald Square location "continues." Kohl's also reported earnings yesterday, with EPS and revenue narrowly beating estimates, though its comp sales declined 0.4% from the year ago period. "The traffic momentum that we saw in the combined March/April period accelerated in the second quarter," CEO Kevin Mansell said in a statement. "Though transactions for the quarter were lower than last year, July transactions increased. We are also excited by the sequential sales trend improvement in all our lines." Kohl's said it is "on track" to achieve its financial goals for the year. On its earnings call, Mansell reiterated that Kohl's sees an opportunity to capture sales from competitors' stores that are closing, which may include closing stores from Macy's and J.C. Penney. Another peer, Dillard's (DDS), also reported earnings yesterday, reporting much weaker than expected EPS on sales that missed estimates. CEO William Dillard, commented that "Significant markdowns led to a disappointing loss as we dealt with inventory, which was up 2% at quarter end." ANALYST COMMENTARY: Credit Suisse analyst Christian Buss said this morning that "continued caution is in order" following J.C. Penney's Q2 report, as he sees core operating profitability declining and underlying demand still being "tepid." UBS analyst Michael Binetti said that while Macy's results were better than expected, guidance for the second half has damaged confidence that positive trends are sustainable. The analyst maintained his Neutral rating on Macy's but cut his price target to $21 from $23. Meanwhile, Kohl's was upgraded to Hold from Reduce at Gordon Haskett and to Neutral from Underperform at Credit Suisse. PRICE ACTION: In morning trading, J.C. Penney is off earlier lows, but still down 17% to $3.91, while Nordstrom is down 2% to $44 per share.

09:30 EDT Check Point announces extension to share repurchase program - Check Point announced that its board has authorized an extension to the company's on-going share repurchase program. Under the updated plan, effective immediately, Check Point is authorized to continue to repurchase up to $250 million of ordinary shares each quarter, up to an aggregate of $1 billion. From April 1, 2016 through June 30, 2017, Check Point repurchased approximately 14 million shares for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $1.2 billion, which represented an average repurchase per quarter of $247.3 million. As of June 30, 2017, Check Point has approximately 162.8 million ordinary shares outstanding. Check Point began its share repurchase program in 2003, and since then has repurchased approximately 144.9 million shares for a total purchase price of approximately $6.3 billion. The updated plan extends the previous repurchase plan adopted in May 2016, which provided for the repurchase of up to $250 million shares each quarter, up to an aggregate of $1.5 billion.

09:19 EDT GM Financial launches retail term notes program - GM Financial announced the launch of GM Financial Term Notes, a program targeted to retail investors that offers medium-term notes through broker-dealers and registered investment advisers. The notes will be issued on a periodic basis, beginning in the third quarter of 2017. GM Financial Term Notes will be issued at par value, at competitive market-based rates. Maturities will range from nine months to 30 years. Unless otherwise stated, the notes will contain a "survivor's option" feature providing for repayment prior to maturity in the event of the beneficial owner's death, and issuances will have a minimum investment of $1,000. The specific terms of each series of notes will be set prior to the time of sale and will be described in a publicly available pricing supplement.

09:16 EDT Caterpillar names Suzette Long as general counsel, corporate secretary - Caterpillar announced its board of directors has appointed Suzette Long as the company's general counsel and corporate secretary. Long has provided interim leadership to Caterpillar's Law and Public Policy group since mid-February. The group she will lead includes Caterpillar's Legal Services Division and Global Government & Corporate Affairs Division. Long will also be Caterpillar's corporate secretary.

09:09 EDT J.C. Penney: Store closures putting company in better inventory position - Ellison said he is "pleased" with J.C. Penney's ongoing partnership with Sephora. New CFO Jeff Davis noted that store closures put company in a better inventory position. Expects net debt to EBITDA ratio to be 3x by end of year. Ellison said that Fenty Beauty by Rihanna will launch later this quarter and will be exclusive to both Sephora and Sephora Inside JCPenney. By the end of the year, J.C. Penney expects to have nearly 650 Sephora locations.

09:01 EDT Digital Realty COO Jarrett Appleby departing mid-September - Digital Realty COO Jarrett Appleby will be leaving the company to pursue other opportunities, effective September 15. The company has initiated a search for a new COO and expects to retain an executive search firm to assist with the search. Members of Digital Realty's management team will assume Appleby's duties in the interim until a successor is identified.

08:47 EDT Birks Group trading halted, news pending

08:40 EDT J.C. Penney: July's sales trend has carried into early BTS selling season - Chairman and CEO Marvin Ellison said on the company's Q2 earnings conference call that J.C. Penney had positive comps in May, low single digit negative comps in June and approximately flat comps in July. Ellison said the sales trend in July has carried into the early back-to-school selling season. Ellison noted that omnichannel was "a bit win" in Q2. He also said that there was much greater margin dilution that expected in Q2 following the liquidation of stores, believes this is isolated to Q2. He added that Q2 was a "unique quarter" based on the large number of liquidated stores. There has been no negative impact to ecommerce in zip codes where stores have closed, Ellison said. J.C. Penney is down over 23% in premarket trading.

08:34 EDT RLJ Entertainment acquires Brawl In Cell Block 99 - RLJ Entertainment's RLJE Films brand has acquired all North American rights to the film Brawl In Cell Block 99. Los Angeles-based XYZ Films will handle foreign sales and serve as executive producers on the project. The film stars Vince Vaughn, Jennifer Carpenter, Marc Blucas, Udo Kier and Don Johnson. The film will make its World Premiere at the 2017 Venice International Film Festival and will continue on to screen at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival and Fantastic Fest. RLJE Films plans to release Brawl In Cell Block 99 in theaters on Oct. 6.

08:30 EDT Dryships trading resumes

08:18 EDT J.C. Penney backs FY17 free cash flow view of $300M-$400M - J.C. Penney (JCP) says women's Adidas (ADDYY) apparel now in over 400 stores for back-to-school season. Says has expanded ship from store fulfillment strategy to 100% of store network and implemented free ship-to-store with no minimum threshold. Comments from slides that will be presented on the Q2 earnings conference call.

08:08 EDT Andeavor receives sufficient commitments to construct Conan pipeline system - Andeavor announced that it received sufficient commitments from third party shippers to warrant construction of the Conan Crude Oil Gathering Pipeline system in the Delaware Basin. As previously announced, the Conan Crude Oil Gathering Pipeline system will be approximately 130 miles in length and transport crude oil from origins in Lea County, New Mexico and Loving County, Texas to a terminal to be constructed in Loving County, Texas, where the gathering system interconnects with long-haul pipeline carriers. The first phase of the Conan Crude Oil Gathering Pipeline system will provide capacity of approximately 250,000 barrels per day. Future phases of the system may expand capacity up to 500,000 barrels per day. The system is under construction and is expected to begin commercial service in mid-2018. The estimated capital investment for the first phase of the gathering system is approximately $225 million of which $75 million is expected to be spent in 2017.

08:03 EDT Simply Good Foods: CFO Shaun Mara to leave company at end of November - The Simply Good Foods Company announced an executive leadership transition plan. Shaun Mara, Chief Administrative Officer and CFO, will step down from his role as of the fiscal year-end on August 26, and Todd Cunfer, Vice President Finance, will succeed him as CFO, effective August 27. Mara will assist with the executive team transition and continue to support the company on strategic initiatives in an advisory role through November 30. In addition, the company announced Robert Gandert, Chief Customer and Business Development Officer will step down from his role as of fiscal year-end on August 26, and Jill Short, Senior Vice President of Sales, will be promoted to Chief Customer Officer, effective August 27.

07:34 EDT J.C. Penney now sees FY COGS up 30-50bps vs. 2016

07:32 EDT J.C. Penney reaffirms FY EPS guidance

07:04 EDT Ionis Pharmaceuticals retains all rights to inotersen, IONIS-FB-L - Ionis Pharmaceuticals (IONS) reported that the company has retained all rights to inotersen and IONIS-FB-L. As part of a reprioritization of its pipeline and strategic review of its Rare Diseases business, GSK (GSK) declined its options on both drugs. Ionis plans to file for marketing authorization for inotersen this year to support a commercial launch of inotersen in 2018. Inotersen is a drug designed to treat patients with TTR amyloidosis. The first indication Ionis is pursuing for inotersen is to treat patients with polyneuropathy due to hereditary TTR amyloidosis. Ionis completed the Phase 3 NEURO-TTR study of inotersen in which the drug demonstrated significant benefit on both primary clinical endpoints of neurological disease progression and quality of life in patients with hATTR-PN.

07:02 EDT Fly Leasing names Julie Ruehl as CFO - Fly Leasing announced it has appointed Julie Ruehl as its CFO, succeeding Gary Dales, who served as FLY's CFO for ten years. Prior to joining FLY, Ruehl previously served as the Vice President and Chief Accounting Officer for Big Heart Pet Brands and for its predecessor, Del Monte Corporation.

06:46 EDT Brookfield Business Partners commences limited partnership unit NCIB - Brookfield Business Partners announced that the Toronto Stock Exchange has accepted a notice filed by Brookfield Business Partners of its intention to commence a normal course issuer bid for its limited partnership units. Brookfield Business Partners believes that in the event the units trade in a price range that does not fully reflect their value, the acquisition of units may represent an attractive use of available funds. Under the normal course issuer bid, the Board of Directors of the general partner of Brookfield Business Partners authorized the partnership to repurchase up to 5% of the issued and outstanding units, or 2,592,264 units. At the close of business on August 9, 2017, there were 51,845,298 units issued and outstanding. Under the normal course issuer bid, Brookfield Business Partners may purchase up to 14,580 units on the TSX during any trading day, which represents 25% of the average daily trading volume of 58,321 units on the TSX for the period February 1, 2017 to July 31, 2017. Repurchases are authorized to commence on August 15, 2017 and will terminate on August 14, 2018, or earlier should Brookfield Business Partners complete its repurchases prior to such date.

06:38 EDT General Electric CEO John Flannery purchases 103,983 shares at $25.56 per share - General Electric CEO John Flannery disclosed in a regulatory filing that on August 8 he purchased 103,983 shares of GE at an average purchase price of $25.56 for his 401(k) retirement plan.

06:33 EDT Genesee & Wyoming reports July traffic up 14.1% year-over-year - Genesee & Wyoming reports traffic volume for July was 277,140 carloads, up 14.1%, compared with July 2016. G&W's July 2017 same-railroad traffic was 239,365 carloads, down 1.5%, vs. July 2016. In North American operations, traffic was 133,822 carloads, up 2.0% compared with July 2016, including carloads from acquisitions. On a same-railroad basis, North American traffic decreased 1.0%, primarily due to decreased agricultural products traffic, partially offset by increased metals and coal & coke traffic.

06:11 EDT Enerplus raises 2017 average production view to 84,000-86,000 BOE/d - Previous guidance was 81,000-85,000 BOE/d. Raises 2017 annual average liquids guidance to 39,500-41,500 barrels per day from 38,500 to 41,500 barrels per day.

06:03 EDT Providence Service selling Mission Providence joint venture to Konekt - Providence Service is selling Mission Providence to Konekt Limited, a provider of return to work solutions throughout Australia. Mission Providence was formed in 2014 as a joint venture between Providence and Mission Australia to provide employment services under the Australian Government Department of Employment's jobactive programs. Konekt will acquire 100% of Mission Providence for total consideration of approximately $23M of which Providence is expected to receive approximately $17M for its 75% interest in the joint venture. For the twelve months ended December 31, 2016, Mission Providence generated revenues of $37M and a net loss of $11M. The joint ventures financial results are not consolidated with Providence's reported revenue, Adjusted EBITDA, or Adjusted Net Income. The transaction is expected to close in Q4.

05:43 EDT Apollo Endosurgery provides update, clarity to FDA letter to providers - Apollo Endosurgery provided an update and clarifications to a letter the FDA sent to Health Care Providers dated August 10, 2017 relating to potential risks with liquid-filled intragastric balloons, including the company's ORBERA intragastric balloon system. In relation to the ORBERA balloon, the facts are: ORBERA is approved by the FDA as safe and effective in assisting adult patients suffering from obesity with a body mass index of 30 to 40 in losing and maintaining weight. There have been five reported deaths of patients who had received the ORBERA intragastric balloon in four different countries since ORBERA's FDA approval in August of 2015. Apollo self-reported all five cases to the FDA as part of its Global Product Surveillance program. The FDA's letter to Health Care Providers does not indicate that the patient deaths were related to the ORBERA device or the insertion procedures. While the cause of death has not been provided or determined in all cases, Apollo has not received any communication or indication from the attending physicians or hospitals that the deaths have been due to the ORBERA device. Apollo has received no product liability-related claims in connection with these five cases. As stated in the ORBERA Directions For Use, in the period from January 1, 2006 through March 31, 2017, there have been 21 reported deaths of patients while they had an ORBERA, which is an incident rate of less than one one-hundredth of one percent of the more than 277,000 ORBERA balloons distributed in the same time period. Since receiving FDA approval in August 2015, the incident rate remains less than 0.01%. ORBERA remains the only intragastric balloon that meets the American Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy's, or ASGE, threshold standards for the treatment of obesity. Todd Newton, CEO of Apollo states: "Patient safety is a key priority in everything we do at Apollo Endosurgery and we take adverse event reporting obligations related to our products very seriously. The FDA letter is an important reminder to the physician community that obesity is a serious disease and many obese patients are affected by one or more co-morbid conditions due to their obesity. In our physician training, we are diligent to emphasize the factors that support the safe and effective use of ORBERA and we will continue to do so."

05:32 EDT Grana y Montero extends mining services contract with Minera La Zanja for $30M - Grana y Montero announced that STRACON GyM, a subsidiary of Grana y Montero Group, formalized an extension to the contract signed in 2010 with Minera La Zanja SRL, a subsidiary of the company Buenaventura, for approximately $30M, to extend the term of mining services for an additional 12 months, counted from January 1 to December 31, 2018. La Zanja is an open pit gold and silver mine located in Cajamarca department, Pulan district, Peru, and is located between 3,200 and 3,600 m.a.s.l., which represents a technical and human challenge for the more than 500 workers working on the project.