Stockwinners Market Radar for May 14, 2018 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:24 EDT Eco-Stim Energy says frac fleet utilization difficult to forecast - The company states: "The company has a limited operating history, with less than one full year working in the US and only three years of operations in Argentina in a difficult but improving market environment. While the market in both Argentina and the U.S. is now stronger, utilization of our frac fleets is difficult to accurately predict and therefore the company does not plan to provide any earnings guidance for 2018 at this time. As the company's capacity additions made over the past year are deployed and the company develops a longer operating history in the US, management may decide to provide guidance in the future. Factors that may influence our outlook and performance include the reliability and performance of our equipment, utilization of our assets in both the US and Argentina markets, the size of each job, pricing levels, and the service and product components of each job, as well as other factors."

20:08 EDT Star Bulk Carriers acquires 3 dry bulk carriers in all-share deal - Star Bulk Carriers Corp announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Oceanbulk Container Carriers LLC, an entity affiliated with Oaktree Capital Management L.P. and with family members of our CEO, Mr. Petros Pappas, pursuant to which the company will acquire three Newcastlemax vessels for an aggregate of 3.39 million common shares of Star Bulk. Under the terms of the agreement with OCC, the consideration is determined based on the average vessel valuations by independent vessel appraisers. The transaction has been approved by the disinterested members of the Board of Directors of the company, based upon the recommendation of a transaction committee of disinterested directors established by the Board of Directors of the company, which considered the OCC Vessel Purchase Transaction in coordination with the company's management team. The OCC Vessel Purchase Transaction, which is expected to be consummated in the second quarter of 2018, remains subject to customary closing conditions.

19:16 EDT Steel Dynamics to acquire CSN Heartland for $400M - Steel Dynamics announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Companhia Siderurgica Nacional, LLC from CSN Steel, S.L.U., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Companhia Siderurgica Nacional. Located in Terre Haute, Indiana, Heartland produces various types of higher-margin, flat roll steel by further processing hot roll coils into pickle and oil, cold roll, and galvanized products. Steel Dynamics has agreed to purchase Heartland for $400 million in cash inclusive of $60 million of normalized working capital, subject to customary transaction purchase price adjustments. Steel Dynamics believes the purchase price approximates current replacement value. The transaction is expected to be accretive to near-term earnings and cash flow per share. The acquisition will expand Steel Dynamics' annual flat roll steel shipping capacity to 8.4 million tons and total shipping capability to 12.4 million tons. The additional exposure to lighter-gauge and greater width flat roll steel offerings will broaden the Company's value-added product portfolio, enhancing Steel Dynamics position as a leading North American steel producer.

18:01 EDT Amazon.com to open new fulfillment center in West Jefferson, Ohio - Amazon.com announced plans to open its sixth Ohio fulfillment center in West Jefferson, which will create more than 1,500 full-time positions by the end of 2019. In addition to the company's fulfillment centers that are currently operating in Etna and Obetz, Amazon will launch operations at previously announced fulfillment centers in North Randall and Monroe by the end of 2018, and in Euclid in 2019.

17:51 EDT Overstock.com adds Bruce Fenton to tZero Board of Directors - Overstock.com subsidiary t0.com, Inc. - tZERO - announced that Bruce Fenton, distinguished blockchain pioneer, will join the tZERO Board of Directors. In addition, due to significant international interest in the offering as a result of an Asia roadshow, tZERO announced the extension of the Subsequent Sale Period for its tZERO Preferred Equity Token (tZERO Security Token) Offering. Pursuant to the extension, the Subsequent Sale Period is now expected to run through, and including, June 29, 2018.

17:44 EDT Altra Industrial Motion director James Woodward sells shares - James Woodward, a director at Altra Industrial Motion, discloserd in a filing that he had sold 13,523 shares of company stock at an average price of $42.85 per share on May 11.

17:36 EDT Target names William Foudy as president Target Sourcing Services - Target named William J. Foudy, Jr. as president, Target Sourcing Services. Foudy will oversee Target's global sourcing organization, including strategy, operations, quality assurance, product safety and responsible sourcing initiatives. He will report to Target's executive vice president and chief merchandising officer, Mark Tritton.

17:34 EDT CatchMark Timber to acquire 1.1M acres of East Texas timberlands for $1.39B - CatchMark Timber announced an agreement to acquire 1.1M acres of prime East Texas timberlands for approximately $1.39B in a joint venture with a consortium of institutional investors, including BTG Pactual Timberland Investment Group, Highland Capital Management, Medley Management, and a major Canadian institutional investor. The property is being sold by Campbell Global, on behalf of the institutional owners of the property, in a transaction expected to be completed within 45 to 60 days, subject to customary closing conditions.For an investment of up to $227.5M, CatchMark will more than triple the number of acres under its control and management to approximately 1.6M acres. This innovative transaction fits CatchMark's profile for acquiring interests in properties which can provide durable growth for its stockholders: The highly productive timberlands have an attractive site index and feature a rapidly accelerating inventory profile, projected to grow from the current 2.8M tons of annual harvest volume to more than five million tons by 2028. The joint venture will assume existing long-term sawtimber and pulpwood supply agreements with Georgia-Pacific and International Paper, which run through 2029 and 2027, respectively. International Paper has an option to extend its agreement until 2032. The timberlands are located near top quartile mills and within approximately 100 miles of three of the top five U.S. homebuilding markets: Austin, Dallas, and Houston. These markets provide strong, growing, and compelling demand fundamentals.

17:15 EDT Symantec sees FY20 Enterprise revenue growth high single to low double digits

17:02 EDT Zymeworks increasing immuno-oncology partnership with Daiichi Sankyo - Zymeworks (ZYME) and Daiichi Sankyo (DSNKY) announced that they entered into a new license agreement, building upon their 2016 cross-licensing and collaboration agreement. Under the terms of the second agreement, Daiichi Sankyo will acquire licenses to Zymeworks' Azymetric and EFECT technology platforms to develop two additional bispecific antibody therapeutics. In exchange, Zymeworks will receive an upfront technology access fee of US$18 million and may receive up to US$466.7 million in potential clinical, regulatory and commercial milestone payments. In addition, Zymeworks will receive up to double-digit tiered royalties on global product sales.

16:50 EDT Symantec sees FY20 EPS growth in low-double digits - Sees FY20 organic revenue growth in mid-to-high single digits. Sees FY20 operating margin in the mid-30% range.

16:47 EDT Louisiana-Pacific sees a rebound in single family starts in Q2 - Sees multi-family starts extending its Q1 recovery in Q2. Sees OSB sheathing inventory below normal levels due to constrained supply and strong average selling prices. Sees SmartSide Strand demand remaining solid across all market segments. Comments from the company's Investor Day presentation slides. Reference Link

16:42 EDT Symantec says has heard shareholders 'loud and clear' - Says cannot predict outcome of investigation. Says has heard shareholders "loud and clear." Says "pleased" with prospects for continued growth. Comments taken from Investor Briefing.

16:36 EDT United Natural Foods COO Sean Griffin to retire on October 1 - Sean Griffin, COO, will transition from his current role on August 1, and retire from the company on October 1st. Following his retirement, Sean plans to remain engaged with the company as a strategic advisor.

16:32 EDT Wynn Resorts says John Hagenbuch will not stand for re-election to board - Wynn Resorts announced that Director John J. Hagenbuch has decided not to stand for re-election to the Board of Directors at the Annual Meeting of Shareholders on May 16, 2018. Director Robert J. Miller has also tendered his resignation from the Board. These departures, along with the previously announced departures of directors Steve Wynn, Ray Irani, and Ted Virtue, and the upcoming departure of director Alvin Shoemaker in 2019, represent 60% of the Board that was serving at the beginning of the year and will reduce the median tenure of directors to less than three years. In April 2018, the Board elected three new female directors, resulting in a current representation of female Board members of almost 50%.

16:31 EDT Arch Capital names Francois Morin CFO - Arch Capital Group announced Francois Morin will assume the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the company effective May 25, 2018. He will report to Marc Grandisson, President and Chief Executive Officer of ACGL. Morin will replace outgoing Chief Financial Officer Mark Lyons, who is leaving Arch to become Senior Vice President and Chief Actuary, General Insurance at AIG in New York.

16:30 EDT Ares Management announces new partnership for Kleen Energy - Ares Management announced that its energy infrastructure strategy, Ares EIF, has created a new investment vehicle to manage Kleen Energy Systems, LLC on behalf of four strategic investors. The investor group, comprised of subsidiaries of The Chugoku Electric Power Co., Inc., Kyushu Electric Power Co., Inc., Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. and Sojitz Corporation, acquired majority ownership interests in Kleen Energy simultaneously with the closing of the new Ares EIF investment vehicle. Kleen Energy is a 620-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant located in Middletown, Connecticut. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

16:25 EDT Vipshop down 14.3% to $12.93 after Q1 results, Q2 guidance

16:20 EDT Highbridge Capital reports 4.1% passive stake in Heat Biologics

16:19 EDT Vipshop CEO says 'delivered solid operational results' in Q1 - Chairman and CEO of Vipshop, stated, "In the first quarter of 2018, we delivered solid operational results as demonstrated by the continued improvement in customer stickiness and loyalty. We made further progress with our strategic collaboration with Tencent and JD.com, opening up the entry on JD's app homepage in mid-March and the WeChat wallet entry in early April. Looking ahead, we will continue to work closely with Tencent and JD.com in order to improve the traffic flow and conversion rates, which will contribute meaningfully to our long-term customer and revenue growth." Donghao Yang, CFO of Vipshop, further commented, "We finished the first quarter of 2018 with a solid 25% year-over-year increase in topline, which was at the high-end of our guidance range. Our average revenue per customer increased by 25% year over year, driven by improved customer shopping frequency. Leveraging the support from Tencent and JD.com, we will continue to grow our topline and expand our market share."

16:16 EDT Itron signs pact with Mississippi Power to deploy, manage smart meters - Itron (ITRI) announced a new agreement with Mississippi Power-a subsidiary of Southern Company (SO)-to support the utility's grid modernization plans and continued leadership in technical innovation within the utility space. Itron will deploy and manage its standards-based Gen5 IPv6 network platform to connect approximately 193,000 advanced metering infrastructure devices to help improve operational efficiencies and increase grid reliability for Mississippi Power customers across southeast 23 Mississippi counties. Itron will also deliver back-office capabilities to Mississippi Power through a five-year Software-as-a-Service model to aid in the utility's operational and customer engagement transformation efforts. "AMI will allow Mississippi Power to serve our customers more efficiently from an operational standpoint, which in turn increases the value we provide to the communities we serve," Mississippi Power Vice President of Customer Services Organization Nicole Faulk said. "This technology, and our partnership with Itron, will benefit our customers in many ways. From real-time usage reporting to remote connect and disconnect and more, we will be installing meters that will help us enhance our customers' experience and prepare for emerging smart grid applications."

16:13 EDT Par Investment Partners raises stake in Trivago to 13.4% from 9.9%

16:09 EDT President Trump says ZTE buys 'big percentage' of individual parts from U.S. - President Donald Trump just tweeted: "ZTE, the large Chinese phone company, buys a big percentage of individual parts from U.S. companies. This is also reflective of the larger trade deal we are negotiating with China and my personal relationship with President Xi."

16:08 EDT Chiasma announces FDA agreement to redefine secondary endpoints in trial - Chiasma announced it has reached agreement with the FDA to redefine certain secondary endpoints of its recently initiated CHIASMA OPTIMAL Phase 3 clinical trial for its octreotide capsules product candidate, conditionally trade-named MYCAPSSA, for the maintenance therapy of adult patients with acromegaly. Chiasma has received a Special Protocol Assessment, or SPA, Agreement Modification letter from the FDA to formalize these changes.

16:03 EDT Pfenex reports 'positive' top-line PF708 study results - Pfenex announced top-line results from its PF708-301 study, which showed comparable overall profiles between PF708 and Forteo after 24 weeks of daily injection in osteoporosis patients. Pfenex expects to submit an New Drug Application to the U.S. FDA in the third quarter of 2018. "We are pleased with the results of the PF708-301 study, which show comparable overall profiles between PF708 and Forteo," said Eef Schimmelpennink, CEO of Pfenex. "We expect that these results from the PF708-301 study, along with the previously announced bioequivalence findings from the PF708-101 study in healthy subjects, will support the PF708 NDA submission. We are on-track for submission to the FDA in the third quarter of 2018, with a potential commercial launch in the United States as early as the third quarter of 2019, subject, of course, to FDA approval of the application."

15:35 EDT Boston Properties executive VP Koop sells 10,560 common shares - In a regulatory filing, Boston Properties executive vice president Bryan J. Koop disclosed the sale of 10,560 common shares of the company at a price of $124.2696 per share.

15:16 EDT Pfenex trading halted, news pending

15:03 EDT SMOF II Investment Manager reports 5.3% passive stake in ZAIS Group Holdings

14:49 EDT Caesars to expand U.S. sports betting business wherever legalized - Caesars Entertainment "applauded" the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to strike down the federal Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, likely leaving regulation to the states. Caesars currently has licensed gaming operations in thirteen states and currently manages a successful legal sports wagering business in Nevada, the company noted, stating that it plans to expand its U.S. sports betting business wherever secure and responsible wagering on sporting events is legalized. Caesars President and CEO Mark Frissora said, "The Supreme Court's landmark PASPA ruling creates a golden opportunity to end illegal sports wagering once and for all by creating a well-regulated alternative that sports fans can trust. Caesars is a leader in legalized gaming in the U.S. As a result, we expect to be able to provide safe, exciting sports wagering experiences to consumers across the country, as we do today in Nevada. We plan to announce our specific approach to this business as we better understand the opportunities and regulations which evolve from today's Supreme Court decision."

14:16 EDT WildHorse Resource trading resumes

14:01 EDT CBS, Nielsen announce collaboration on dynamic ads in live broadcasts - CBS (CBS) and Nielsen (NLSN) announced that they are working on a collaboration that will deliver Dynamic Ad Insertion in live linear national broadcast television. "CBS has been at the forefront of using Nielsen data and measurement to prove the value of television, and now we are working on taking the next step with Nielsen to go beyond age and gender by bringing targeted dynamic ad insertion to national live TV inventory. This will create a more relevant ad experience for our viewers and better outcomes for our clients," said Jo Ann Ross, President and Chief Advertising Revenue Officer, CBS Corporation.

13:45 EDT ADMA Biologics rises 2% to $5.10 after resuming trading

13:42 EDT ADMA Biologics trading to resume at 1:45 pm ET - ADMA Biologics is scheduled to resume trading at 1:45 pm ET, according to Nasdaq.

13:19 EDT ADMA Biologics retires approximately 8.6M shares previously issued to Biotest - ADMA Biologics announced that it has negotiated the receipt and immediate retirement of approximately 8.6M shares of its non-voting common stock previously issued to Biotest Pharmaceuticals and its former parent, Biotest AG, as consideration for the waiver and release of certain ADMA rights under the master purchase and sale agreement, dated as of January 21, 2017, among ADMA and Biotest and certain of their subsidiaries. "We believe the retirement of the non-voting common stock simplifies ADMA's capital structure, while reducing our total common stock outstanding by approximately 19%, from 45.3 million shares to 36.7 million shares. We are very pleased to assist Biotest as our partner, who is finalizing its pending divestiture of U.S. assets, and return this value to our stockholders," stated Adam Grossman, ADMA's President and CEO.

13:01 EDT Boxlight announces acquisition of Cohuborate - Boxlight announced it has completed the acquisition of United Kingdom-based Cohuborate from a family trust of Tony Cann, founder of Promethean. Cohuba is a developer of touch display technology for the education, business and government markets. Boxlight acquired Cohuba for approximately $1.8M through the issuance of 257,200 shares of common stock at a price of $7 per share. Effective immediately, the Cohuba sales team will begin distributing Boxlight's Mimio interactive classroom solution suite to the U.K. education market , the company noted. Boxlight plans to relaunch the Cohuba brand later this year as its global business and government solution, complete with hardware and software solutions tailored to the specific needs of those industries.

12:40 EDT Coherus says FDA accepts, acknowledges BLA for CHS-1701 - Coherus BioSciences announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted and acknowledged for review the re-submission of the biologics license application for CHS-1701, a pegfilgrastim biosimilar candidate. In the communication, FDA indicated that they consider the resubmission a complete response to their June 9, 2017 action letter. FDA provided a biosimilar user fee act action date of November 3, 2018. The letter did not indicate the need to prepare for an advisory committee meeting. "We appreciate FDA's prompt action on our file and look forward to working with them on the review," said Denny Lanfear, President and CEO of Coherus BioSciences. "We believe that CHS-1701 is well-positioned to deliver greater access to oncology patients and savings to the healthcare system. We are continuing to make good progress in building inventory of CHS-1701 and in preparing for commercial launch in the U.S."

12:31 EDT Roche announces FDA approval of subcutaneous formulation of Actemra - Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the subcutaneous formulation of Actemra for the treatment of active polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis, or PJIA, in patients two years of age and older. Actemra can be given alone or in combination with methotrexate in patients with PJIA. In 2013, FDA approved the intravenous formulation of Actemra for patients two years of age and older with active PJIA.

12:24 EDT Mutual of America Capital reports 7.02% passive stake in Richardson Electronics

12:11 EDT UPS opens new delivery center in U.K., will create over 500 jobs - UPS officially opened its new 32,000 square metre package sorting and delivery facility in the south east of England. At GBP120M, the new London Hub is one of UPS's largest single infrastructure investments outside of the United States in the company's history. Located at the DP World London Gateway Logistics Park, the new building will act as a UK package processing hub and distribution centre for the local area as well as a gateway to UPS's global logistics network, with capacity to process up to 28,000 packages per hour and room for further expansion. More than 500 employees will operate out of the new operations hub that spans the space of approximately five football pitches. With over four miles of conveyor belts, the facility features advanced package scanning and sortation equipment that increase the flexibility to efficiently route packages to their final destinations. The new London Hub is part of a $2B infrastructure and network investment programme by UPS across Europe to add capacity and provide even faster services across the region. Recent investments as part of this programme include the announcement of a EUR130M facility in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, the opening of an $80M facility in Bielefeld, Germany, and the construction of a $100M hub in Evry, France.

11:14 EDT Acacia, Oclaro rise after Trump extends olive branch to China's ZTE - Shares of Acacia Communications (ACIA) and Oclaro (OCLR), both suppliers to ZTE Corp. (ZTCOY), are on the rise after President Donald Trump tweeted that he was working to give the Chinese tech company a "way to get back into business." ZTE had recently been blocked from buying U.S. components due to sanctions violations. TRUMP SEEKS TO HELP ZTE: Over the weekend, President Donald Trump said in a tweet that, "President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast. Too many jobs in China lost. Commerce Department has been instructed to get it done!" This comes after the U.S. Department of Commerce recently banned U.S. companies from selling components to Chinese telecom equipment maker ZTE for seven years for violating the terms of a sanctions violation case. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal on Sunday, ZTE told U.S. authorities that failure to fully comply with a settlement agreement resolving sanctions-busting charges was due to faults in the company's internal controls, not deception. ZTE SANCTION RELIEF MAY BENEFIT SEMI SALES: In a research note to investors, Bank of America Merrill Lynch analyst Vivek Arya said that President Trump's tweet appears to offer some sanctions relief for China's ZTE. While not completely settled, any U.S. trade resolution with ZTE could signal less potential risk of confrontation with China's other vendor Huawei, he contended, adding that thawing of trade tensions could be a positive for Skyworks (SWKS), Integrated Device (IDTI), Qorvo (QRVO), Xilinx (XLNX), and Broadcom (AVGO). Additionally, Arya argued that it could also help in clearing the path for some recent announced deals that are currently undergoing China regulatory review, such as between NXP Semiconductors (NXPI) and Qualcomm (QCOM), Cavium (CAVM) and Marvell Technology (MRVL) and Microsemi (MSCC) and Microchip Technology (MCHP). WHAT'S NOTABLE: China's Ministry of Commerce has restarted its review of Qualcomm's application to acquire NXP Semiconductors after previously shelving the review due to growing trade tensions with the U.S., according to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter. Officials were asked to speed up the review of the purchase and Qualcomm's proposed remedies to protect local companies, which came after Chinese companies expressed concern that the combined entity would expand Qualcomm's patent licensing business into areas like mobile payments and autonomous driving. PRICE ACTION: In late morning trading, shares of Acacia and Oclaro have gained about 12% and 6%, respectively. Also higher are shares of NXP Semiconductors, which have advanced about 10% to $108.87. Qualcomm previously revised its agreement to propose to acquire NXP for $127.50 per share.

10:58 EDT Xerox falls after terminating deal with Fujifilm under activists' pressure - Shares of Xerox Corp. (XRX) are falling after the company announced the termination of its deal with Fujifilm (FUJIY) and a new settlement agreement with billionaire investors Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason. FUJIFILM DEAL TERMINATED: On Sunday, Xerox announced that it notified Fujifilm that the agreement to combine Xerox with Fuji Xerox is being terminated due to the failure by Fujifilm to deliver audited financials of Fuji Xerox by April 15, material deviations from unaudited statements when delivered and other circumstances limiting the ability of the company, Fujifilm and Fuji Xerox to consummate a transaction. The Xerox board said, "Over the past several weeks, the Xerox Board has repeatedly requested that Fujifilm immediately enter into negotiations on improved terms for a proposed transaction. Despite our insistence, Fujifilm provided no assurance that it will do so within an acceptable timeframe. The Xerox Board believes that the transaction cannot reasonably be expected to be completed under these circumstances, particularly given the court's injunction of the transaction and the lack of shareholder support for the transaction on current terms, as well as the unresolved accounting issues at Fuji Xerox." In a statement, Fujifilm said Xerox did not have the right to terminate the deal and the company will consider all options including legal action seeking damages. SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT: In addition, Xerox entered into a new settlement agreement with Icahn and Deason, resolving the pending proxy contest in connection with the company's 2018 Annual Meeting of Shareholders and Deason's litigation against Xerox and its directors. The agreement does not affect any claims of Deason or other Xerox shareholders against Fujifilm for aiding and abetting, Xerox said. Under the terms of the agreement, Xerox appointed Jonathan Christodoro, Keith Cozza, Nicholas Graziano, Scott Letier and John Visentin to its board. Gregory Brown, Joseph Echevarria, Cheryl Krongard and Sara Martinez Tucker will continue to serve as members of the board and Robert Keegan, Charles Prince, Ann Reese, William Curt Hunter, and Stephen Rusckowski resigned. Jeff Jacobson resigned from his role as chief executive officer and as a member of the board. Keith Cozza, the CEO of Icahn Enterprises (IEP), is expected to be appointed as the new chairman and John Visentin is expected to be appointed as the vice chairman and new CEO. WHAT'S NOTABLE: Xerox and Fujifilm previously announced a $6.1B deal to combine Xerox with their Asia joint venture Fuji Xerox in January drawing criticism from Icahn and Deason, who urged shareholders to vote against the merger as they felt it undervalued the company. In February, Deason sued both companies for fraud seeking to block the deal from being completed and sought to nominate a full slate of directors to the Xerox's board. Xerox and Fujifilm reopened discussions in April over the merger to consider increasing financial consideration for Xerox shareholders. Additionally in April, a judge temporarily blocked the deal saying the transaction was negotiated by "massively conflicted" CEO Jacobson. The company reached an agreement with Icahn and Deason to resolve the proxy contest and ongoing litigation in May, however, that agreement expired as Xerox believed it had the flexibility to renegotiate the deal with Fujifilm. The company also filed an appeal against the court's decision to block the deal in May but ultimately lost that appeal. Additionally, Xerox was reportedly approached by Apollo Global (APO) over a possible takeover and Icahn and Deason issued a statement saying they would consider a $40 per share or more cash bid. ANALYST COMMENTARY: JPMorgan analyst Paul Coster downgraded Xerox to Neutral from Overweight as he believes it is unlikely that the new board will find an alternative acquirer for Xerox in the next few months after the company terminated its planned merger with Fuji-Xerox. Meanwhile, he sees Xerox being at risk of losing key enterprise accounts and sees more risk, particularly for the JV with Fuji-Xerox. PRICE ACTION: Shares of Xerox fell 8.8% to $27.52 in morning trading.

10:20 EDT Alta Mesa Resources delays release of Q1 report, reaffirms guidance - Alta Mesa Resources provided an operations update, including a review of the company's first quarter production and operational performance for its wholly owned subsidiaries, Alta Mesa Holdings and Kingfisher Midstream. "As a result of the recent complex business combination, the company has determined additional time is required to complete the financial presentation of the predecessor and successor entities. Therefore, it will not release First Quarter 2018 financials today but expects to do so shortly," Alta Mesa stated. Total production for the first quarter of 2018 was 2,162 MBOE, or an average of 24.0 MBOE per day, up 24% compared to the first quarter of 2017. AMHLP production for 2018 is expected to average between 33 and 38 MBOE per day, the company stated.

10:02 EDT U.S. Gold plans to commence 2018 drill programs at Copper King - U.S. Gold Corp. announced the Copper King drilling program for 2018. This program, comprised of two phases, will begin with an initial phase of 10 reverse circulation drill holes for a total of about 10,000 feet. Primarily, the program will focus on last year's newly discovered zone of mineralization, the West Zone, which was a 200-meter step out from the Main Zone at Copper King. The program will also target additional new discoveries on the Copper King project; drill testing several geophysical anomalies obtained from ground magnetics and IP surveys conducted in 2017. The mineralization at the Copper King deposit remains open in multiple directions.

09:39 EDT Galectin Therapeutics proceeding with plans Phase 3 clinical trial program - Galectin Therapeutics announced it is proceeding with plans for a Phase 3 clinical trial program with its galectin-3 inhibitor GR-MD-02 in NASH cirrhosis, incorporating advice and guidance obtained in a meeting with the FDA. The target population of the Phase 3 clinical trial will be patients with NASH cirrhosis without esophageal varices. The primary endpoint will be chosen from two endpoints that the FDA agreed may be acceptable: The change in hepatic venous pressure gradient, or HVPG, which is a measure of liver blood pressure, or the progression to esophageal varices. Both primary endpoints may be considered surrogate endpoints for clinical outcomes in the target population with NASH cirrhosis. Details of the Phase 3 clinical trial design, including projected timings and costs, will be announced once the planning phase has been completed and the company has a final clinical trial protocol that is acceptable to the FDA.

09:29 EDT CBS, Special Committee file suit alleging breach of duty by National Amusements - CBS and the Special Committee of its Board of Directors, today filed a lawsuit in Delaware Court of Chancery alleging breaches of fiduciary duty by National Amusements, and seeking to prevent it from interfering with a special meeting of the Board of Directors, at which meeting the directors will consider declaring a dividend of shares of Class A common stock to all of the Company's Class A and Class B stockholders, as is permitted under CBS's charter. The dividend, if issued, would dilute National Amusements's voting interest from approximately 79% to 17%. The dividend would not dilute the economic interests of any CBS stockholder. The Special Committee has taken this step because it believes it is in the best interests of all CBS stockholders, is necessary to protect stockholders' interests and would unlock significant stockholder value. If consummated, the dividend would enable the Company to operate as an independent, non-controlled company and more fully evaluate strategic alternatives.

09:26 EDT Sienna Biopharmaceuticals reports Q1 EPS (85c), consensus (71c)

09:18 EDT Sears up 12.5% to $3.85 after announcing formal process to sell assets

09:14 EDT Sears announces initiation of formal process to explore potential sale of assets - Sears Holdings announced that a special committee of the board of directors of the Company is initiating a formal process to explore the sale of its Kenmore brand and related assets, the Sears Home Improvement Products business of the Sears Home Services division and the Parts Direct business of the Sears Home Services division. As previously reported, the Board received a letter from ESL Investments expressing interest in participating as a purchaser of all or a portion of the Sale Assets. The Board established the Special Committee, which consists solely of independent directors, to evaluate ESL's proposal, to actively solicit third-party interest in the Sale Assets, and to explore any other alternatives with respect to the Sale Assets that may maximize value for the Company. The Special Committee has retained Centerview Partners LLC to serve as its investment banker and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP to serve as its legal counsel. All inquiries from potential third party purchasers concerning the Sale Assets should be directed to Centerview Partners LLC. The Company does not intend to comment further with respect to the Sale Assets unless and until it determines that additional disclosure is appropriate. As previously disclosed in the annual report, the Company is exploring ways to unlock value across a range of assets, including the Sale Assets.

09:09 EDT On The Fly: Pre-market Movers - HIGHER: Acacia Communications (ACIA), up 17% after President Donald Trump said in a tweet over the weekend that "President Xi of China, and I, are working together to give massive Chinese phone company, ZTE, a way to get back into business, fast." ZTE, a major customer of Acacia, has recently been blocked from buying U.S. components due to sanctions violations. Oclaro (OCLR), another supplier to ZTE, is up 9%... NXP Semiconductors (NXPI), up 10% after China reportedly restarted its review of Qualcomm's (QCOM) acquisition of the company. The view on the review is also being helped by Trump's tweets about ZTE. Qualcomm shares are up over 2%... Symantec (SYMC), up 7% after announcing that it will host a conference call later today to provide more information on the previously announced internal investigation. The company's CEO and CFO will answer questions from the financial community during the call, Symantec noted. LOWER: Xerox (XRX), down 3.7% after abandoning its previously announced transaction agreement to combine Xerox with Fuji Xerox (FUJIY)... Perrigo (PRGO), down 6% after the company's announcement on Friday that it expects to receive a CRL from the FDA regarding its ProAir generic ANDA... Boston Scientific (BSX), down 2% after CBS' 60 Minutes included a report on lawsuits against the company over gynecological mesh.

09:05 EDT Roku celebrates ten years with free premium content, retail discounts - In celebration of ten years of TV streaming, Roku announced it has unlocked free content for Roku customers and is offering discounts on select streaming players. The celebration falls just ahead of National Streaming Day on May 20, which encourages people to stream entertainment and recognizes the massive change in the TV industry. This year marks the 10th anniversary of the first Roku player, the first ever device to stream Netflix to the TV. For the first time, content from select channel partners including SHOWTIME, FOX, EPIX, Smithsonian Earth and more, is available for free in The Roku Channel. The Roku Channel is dedicated to giving customers free access to a wide range of films, TV episodes and live news. There are no subscriptions, fees or logins required. Consumers can enjoy special savings on several Roku streaming players in the U.S. For a limited time, customers can get $10 off the Roku Streaming Stick and the Roku Ultra, as well as $15 off the Roku Streaming Stick+.

09:03 EDT U.S. Silica announces new $200M share repurchase program - U.S. Silica Holdings announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a new $200M share repurchase program and declared the company's twenty-first consecutive quarterly cash dividend.

09:00 EDT Key Energy announces CEO resignation, Marshall Dodson named interim CEO - Key Energy Services announced that president and CEO Robert Drummond notified the company of his decision to resign from his role as CEO to pursue another opportunity effective May 11. While Drummond was prepared to continue in his position for 90 days, the board has determined to name Key's current Senior Vice President and CFO, Marshall Dodson, as interim CEO. Dodson will continue to fulfill his current responsibilities during the interim period. Drummond will continue to remain on Key's Board of Directors. Key will be engaging an executive search firm to conduct a comprehensive search for its next CEO.

08:59 EDT PolarityTE acquires preclinical biomedical research facility - PolarityTE announced the acquisition of a preclinical biomedical research facility in order to accelerate research and development of PolarityTE pipeline products. The facility is an already fully-functional, operational and profitable contract research organization, or CRO, which is regulated and compliant under both Good Laboratory Practices, or GLP, and United States Department of Agriculture standards.

08:51 EDT Agilent acquires Genohm, terms not disclosed - Agilent Technologies announced that it has completed the acquisition of Lausanne, Switzerland-based Genohm, a developer of highly differentiated, on-premise and cloud-based software solutions for laboratory management. Genohm's main laboratory software automation suite, SLIMS, is a digital platform that provides laboratories with a rapidly deployable and seamless laboratory information management system and electronic lab notebook environment that is used in biobanks, research labs and next gen sequencing facilities. This acquisition enhances Agilent's current software portfolio, adding LIMS and workflow management, while expanding ELN capability. This combination will allow Agilent to bring greater context to analytical data, enabling scientists to generate results more efficiently.

08:49 EDT Wayside Technology announces CEO departure, Steve DeWindt named interim CEO - Wayside Technology announced that Simon Nynens has resigned as the company's President and CEO and also as a director and the Chairman of the board of the company, effective May 11. Nynens does not intend to stand for election as a director at the company's 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. Steve DeWindt, the Company's current Lead Director, will serve as the company's interim President and CEO until a permanent successor has been named. Nynens will remain available for the next 30 days to assist DeWindt with the transition. The board also elected Jeffrey Geygan to serve as Chairman of the Board. The company will continue to execute on its previously announced strategic initiatives.

08:48 EDT Zosano Pharma announces enrollment milestone in M207-ADAM study - Zosano Pharma announced that the 250th subject has enrolled and received M207 in the M207-ADAM study, a long-term safety study for the acute treatment of migraines. Enrollment in the Study will close on May 18th; however, the investigators will continue enrolling subjects that are scheduled or currently in the run-in period.

08:46 EDT Pareteum secures worldwide license to embed iPass technology - Pareteum has signed a worldwide license purchase agreement to fully embed the iPass SmartConnect technology into the Pareteum Global Cloud Services Platform for a total consideration of $3M. Under the terms of the license purchase agreement, Pareteum will have an unlimited license to enable their global subscribers to seamlessly switch between mobile and WiFi connectivity.

08:45 EDT Ominto trading resumes

08:37 EDT Mellanox says ISS, Glass Lewis recommend shareholders vote for proposals - Mellanox Technologies announced that independent proxy advisory firms, Institutional Shareholder Services and Glass, Lewis & Co. have recommended that Mellanox shareholders vote "FOR" both of the Company's best-in-class governance proposals at the extraordinary general meeting scheduled to be held on May 24, 2018. In its May 11, 2018 report, ISS stated: "A majority vote standard in uncontested director elections, with a plurality "carve out" for contested elections, is widely regarded as the best practice among U.S.-listed companies...Because the article amendment proposed here will help to ensure that the candidates with the greatest degree of support are elected, even if their support falls short of a majority, the amendment will help to ensure that shareholders' preferences are more accurately reflected. Support for this proposal is warranted...The use of a universal proxy card in a contested director election will enable shareholders to choose exactly which nominees they prefer; whether that is the complete slate of management nominees, the complete slate of dissident nominees, or a combination of the two slates in any proportion. Support for this proposal is warranted." In its May 11, 2018 report, Glass Lewis stated: "We agree with the board's rationale that a plurality voting standard is appropriate in the context of a contested election...We recommend that shareholders vote FOR this proposal...All other things held equal, we believe a universal proxy can create a more level playing field for the nominees and adds clarity and transparency for shareholders during the voting process...We recommend that shareholders vote FOR this proposal." Mellanox urges all shareholders to vote "FOR" the company's governance proposals.

08:32 EDT Surmodics acquires thrombectomy technology assets from Embolitech - Surmodics announced today it has reached an agreement with Embolitech to acquire an innovative thrombectomy platform technology and related intellectual property with broad potential peripheral vascular applications. Under the agreement, Surmodics will pay $5M up front, and additional amounts related to various regulatory milestones. The addition of this technology to the Surmodics peripheral vascular pipeline strengthens the company's focus on developing highly differentiated whole-product solutions for its medical device customers. The Embolitech technology platform is designed to remove difficult, organized blood clots. Surmodics will leverage its design, development and manufacturing capabilities to advance the technology platform for a variety of peripheral and vascular applications. Surmodics anticipates recording a 49c per share charge to earnings in the third quarter of fiscal 2018 related to in-process research and development expense and deal costs associated with this agreement

08:15 EDT Ominto trading halted, news dissemination

08:13 EDT Perion Network appoints Eyal Kaplan as chairman of the board - Perion Network announced that Eyal Kaplan has been appointed as the new Perion chairman of the board, effective as of May 9. Kaplan is the chairman of Expand Investments, an advisory and consulting firm focusing on growth-through-innovation and corporate strategies. Prior to that, he was managing general partner with Walden Israel, a venture capital firm, during which time he was director and chairman of numerous portfolio companies. In 1990 he co-founded Geotek Communications, an international wireless communications company, and served as senior VP with broad strategic, managerial and operational responsibilities until 1995. Kaplan has been a member of the Technion Council since January 2014, where he chairs the finance committee and is a member of the endowment investment committee. Since 2012 he has been a member of the Technion board of governors.

08:10 EDT Acacia Research urges shareholders to elect Graziadio, Walsh to board - The Board of Directors of Acacia Research Corporation announced that it has filed its definitive proxy materials, including a WHITE proxy card, and issued an open letter to stockholders recommending the election of Louis Graziadio and Frank Walsh, two large individual stockholders of Acacia, to the Board. The company's letter describes the conditions that have affected the patent licensing and enforcement industry and that have necessitated a shift in strategy for Acacia. The letter also describes the significant progress Acacia has made in executing its strategy shift under the leadership of Mr. Graziadio and the current Board and management team. Finally, the letter recommends that stockholders vote in favor of Acacia's director nominees at the Company's 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders scheduled to be held on June 14, 2018, by returning the WHITE proxy card. The letter read, in part, "This year's annual meeting is a particularly important one. As you may know, two hedge funds are seeking to replace Louis Graziadio and Frank Walsh, the two incumbent directors that are up for election this year, with their hand-picked candidates. Our Board has unanimously determined to recommend the incumbent directors, both of whom bring important expertise and are significant personal investors in the Company. We encourage you to support Mr. Graziadio and Mr. Walsh by returning the enclosed WHITE proxy card today. Acacia historically operated as a patent licensing and enforcement company. Much of our business is still focused on pursuing licensing transactions and prosecuting litigation with parties that are using technology that Acacia owns or to which we have rights. But the patent licensing and enforcement business has become very difficult. Legislative and legal changes have increased the complexity of patent enforcement and reduced the supply of suitable patents for acquisition. Over the last five years alone, we have seen no fewer than four patent licensing and enforcement companies effectively exit the sector. Our remaining peers have seen their stock prices collapse. Those publicly-traded direct competitors have lost approximately 98% of their peak value over the last decade before recovering somewhat....In early 2016, Acacia began its diversification into activities other than patent enforcement and licensing. Mr. Graziadio was officially appointed as Executive Chairman in August of 2016 and Mr. Walsh was appointed to the Board that year as well. After evaluating the conditions of the industry and the Company's portfolio, Mr. Graziadio and the Board determined that it was necessary to further diversify and ultimately transform the business in order to preserve and enhance value for our stockholders....We have made great strides at transforming Acacia and developing a new strategy to benefit all stockholders. Our Board and compensation structure have evolved to match this new strategy. Our Board and management team, which collectively beneficially own approximately 11% of the stock, are true partners with our stockholders in creating and participating in value that is created....We believe it would be a mistake to replace our Executive Chairman, who is leading the Company's transformation, and Mr. Walsh, a key member of the Board, with the BLR Group's hand-picked nominees who do not appear to understand our existing licensing business, the challenges we face or our new strategy. Despite their public criticism of our strategy, the BLR Group has not proposed any specific plan for addressing the challenges facing our patent licensing business. In our opinion, if elected to the Board, the BLR Group's nominees would not bring anything to the table...Please help re-elect our Executive Chairman and Mr. Walsh to the Board. The company's transformation is under way, and these Board members are critical to the development of that strategy and its execution."

08:07 EDT Soleno Therapeutics initiates DCCR Phase III clinical trial - Soleno Therapeutics announced that it has initiated its multi-center Phase III clinical trial of Diazoxide Choline Controlled-Release, or DCCR, for the treatment of Prader-Willi Syndrome, or PWS. Seattle Children's Hospital is the first site to be activated and Parisa Salehi, M.D., is the Principal Investigator for the trial at this site. The Phase III clinical trial is a multi-center, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study for DCCR that will treat approximately 100 PWS patients at 10-15 sites in the U.S. This trial is anticipated to take approximately 9-12 months to complete. DCCR has orphan designation for the treatment of PWS in the US and in the EU.

08:06 EDT Edgewell Personal Care names Marisa Iasenza as Chief Legal Officer - Edgewell Personal Care announced the appointment of Marisa Iasenza as chief legal officer. Iasenza joins Edgewell from Harman International Industries, Incorporated where she served as senior vice president, general counsel and secretary. Beginning on June 4, 2018, Iasenza will be based in the company's Shelton, Conn. office reporting to David Hatfield, CEO, president and chairman of the board of directors.

08:05 EDT Synchronoss common stock to be suspended from trading on Nasdaq - Synchronoss Technologies announced that, as expected, Synchronoss received a notification letter from the Nasdaq Hearings Panel on May 11, 2018, indicating that trading in Synchronoss' common stock will be suspended effective at the open of business on May 14, 2018. Synchronoss previously announced that it did not expect to regain compliance with the continued Nasdaq listing requirements prior to May 10, 2018, the deadline previously set by the Panel. Synchronoss continues to work diligently to complete the restatement of its financial statements and regain compliance with its Securities and Exchange Commission reporting obligations, which it expects to occur no later than June 30, 2018. Although Synchronoss believes its auditors are in the final stages of completing their audit, some matters have taken longer to finalize than initially anticipated. The notification letter also stated that the Panel has determined to delist Synchronoss shares from Nasdaq after applicable appeal periods have lapsed. Synchronoss plans to appeal the decision to the Nasdaq Listing and Hearing Review Council. During the appeal period, trading in Synchronoss common stock on Nasdaq will remain suspended, and Nasdaq will not affect a delisting. While Synchronoss' common stock is suspended from trading on Nasdaq, its shares will be quoted on the OTC Markets under the trading symbol SNCR. Once Synchronoss has regained compliance with its SEC reporting obligations, it intends to request the Panel lift the suspension and allow the company's common stock to recommence trading on Nasdaq.

08:04 EDT Myomo application for Medicare codes receives favorable preliminary decision - Myomo announces that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has published a favorable preliminary decision regarding the Company's application for Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System "L" codes. Myomo had filed its application in December 2017 to have CMS establish two new Level II HCPCS codes to describe "microprocessor-controlled, custom fabricated upper extremity braces." If the decision is made permanent, the codes will become effective on January 1, 2019. The assignment of unique L-Codes, if followed by appropriate payment terms, would offer greater access to the MyoPro for Medicare beneficiaries.

07:48 EDT Vedanta receives approval for acquisition of Electrosteel Steels Limited - Vedanta has filed a communication with the stock exchanges in India, informing that it has received the approval from the Competition Commission of India for the application made by it for the acquisition of Electrosteel Steels Limited.

07:45 EDT Eli Lilly to acquire AurKa Pharma

07:35 EDT Digital Ally receives 'significant' FleetVu.com/DVM-250 order from zTrip - Digital Ally announced that it has received an order from Kansas City based zTrip, to connect approximately 450 deployed DVM-250 Video Event Recorders to the FleetVu cloud-based driver monitoring and management platform. This order represents the initial stage of zTrip's overall passenger/driver safety strategy which addresses safety concerns of both passengers and drivers. This order demonstrates zTrip's commitment to new technology that will set it apart from other ride-share and taxi services by providing audio/video recordings of passenger/driver interactions and events. Significantly, zTrip has designated the DVM-250 as the preferred Video Event Recorder for its nationwide fleet of more than 5,000 vehicles.

07:33 EDT Ironwood urges shareholders to vote for director nominees - Ironwood Pharmaceuticals announced that it has mailed a letter to shareholders highlighting the experience and personal perspectives of the company's director nominees: Lawrence Olanoff, M.D., Ph.D., Amy Schulman and Douglas Williams, Ph.D. The Ironwood Board of Directors strongly recommends that shareholders vote on the WHITE proxy card "FOR" Ironwood's experienced, diverse and independent nominees. The letter read, in part, "Over the past 20 years, Ironwood has grown into a strong commercial biotech company that is bringing important medicines to millions of patients, advancing a robust pipeline of innovative drug candidates, and cultivating a team of talented and passionate employees. We are taking action designed to realize the value we are generating from accelerating revenue growth and advancement of our promising drug candidates through our recently announced intent to separate into two independent, publicly traded companies. This is an exciting and critical period for Ironwood as we work to complete the separation, which is now underway. Importantly, we believe we have the right Board in place to oversee that value creation opportunity and effectively execute this process with urgency and stability...At our Annual Meeting on May 31, 2018, your Board has three highly qualified independent directors up for election: Lawrence Olanoff, M.D., Ph.D., Amy Schulman, and Douglas Williams, Ph.D. Ironwood's director nominees, each of whom joined the Board within the last four years, offer an expansive skill set and are active in driving the company's long-term strategy. All three directors are world-renowned leaders in their chosen specialty. They have each served as C-level executives in large global biopharmaceutical companies and as CEOs of smaller, entrepreneurial biotech companies. In this letter, we invite you to hear from Larry, Amy and Doug about their experience and why they believe Ironwood is on the right path to deliver substantial value creation. We are excited about the opportunities ahead for Ironwood, and thank you for your continued support."

07:12 EDT CytoSorbents adds bilirubin, myoglobin to EU approved indications for use - CytoSorbents announced that it has received European Union regulatory approval to expand the use of CytoSorb to reduce elevated bilirubin and myoglobin from blood.

07:10 EDT Colliers International to acquire 75% of Harrison Street Real Estate - Colliers International Group announced it has agreed to make a transformational, strategic investment in Harrison Street Real Estate Capital, one of the largest real estate investment firms dedicated to the education, healthcare and storage sectors with approximately $14.6B in assets under management. The transaction, which is fully financed and subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close by the third quarter of 2018. Under the terms of the transaction, Colliers will acquire 75% of Harrison Street from its founders for $450M, with an additional $100M payable in 2022, based on the company achieving certain accelerated performance targets. The senior management team of Harrison Street will hold the balance of the equity. Colliers expects the annual run rate of management fee revenue to be between $100M-115M. Harrison Street's Co-Founder and CEO, Christopher Merrill, will serve as CEO, lead the operations and remains the largest individual shareholder. Harrison Street's senior management team will continue to operate the firm's day-to-day business as it always has, providing long-term stability for all the firms' stakeholders.

07:07 EDT Destination Maternity urges shareholders to vote for four director nominees - Destination Maternity announced that it has sent a letter to its stockholders urging them to vote for all of Destination's highly qualified director nominees on the White proxy card.

07:05 EDT ICON, DuPage Medical Group announce clinical research partnership - ICON announced that PMG Research, part of ICON Site and Patient Recruitment, and DuPage Medical Group of Chicago, Illinois have finalised a Master Agreement formalising a clinical research partnership. Effective May 2018, PMG Research will assume the research infrastructure at the DuPage Medical Group. The expansion of the PMG Research network enhances ICON's ability to increase access and engagement with investigator sites and patients, helping customers to reduce the overall time and cost associated with drug development. The addition of DuPage Medical Group provides investigator and patient access in the greater Chicago area, while bringing clinical research as a care option to the communities served. DuPage Medical Group is the largest independent, multi-specialty physician group in the Chicagoland area, with practice sites in more than 100 locations in DuPage, Cook, Grundy, Kane, Kendall and Will Counties. DuPage Medical Group provides patients with access to more than 700 physicians in over 50 clinical specialties ranging from primary care to specialty care in areas such as cardiology and oncology.

07:03 EDT KKR increases investment in Toorak Capital Partners to $250M - Toorak Capital Partners announced that KKR has increased its investment in the company to a total of $250M after initially committing $75M in 2016. The investment comes at a momentous time for Toorak as the company recently reached the $1B milestone of total loans purchased since inception. Founded in 2016 by John Beacham, Toorak invests in small balance real estate loans throughout the U.S. and the U.K., including single family rental loans, commercial and residential bridge loans. The company offers a range of efficient capital solutions through a series of loan acquisition and financing programs designed to meet the needs of its lending partners. For KKR, the investment was primarily funded by KKR Private Credit Opportunities II. Since its launch, Toorak has invested in more than 3,500 loans in 43 US states and throughout England and Wales.

07:02 EDT Brown & Brown acquires substantially all assets of Automotive Development Group - Brown & Brown and the principals of Automotive Development Group, or ADG, announced that Brown & Brown of Kentucky, Inc., a subsidiary of Brown & Brown, Inc., has acquired substantially all of the assets of ADG. ADG is a performance improvement company providing F&I training and auto warranty and related products for auto dealer clients across the United States. ADG has annual revenues of approximately $11M. The ADG team will become part of the Brown & Brown auto, RV and powersports practice, which operates under the leadership of Mike Neal, President of Brown & Brown of Kentucky, Inc.

06:50 EDT Waste Connections names Worthing Jackman president, Mary Anne Whitney CFO - Waste Connections announced that, effective July 1, Worthing Jackman, executive VP and CFO, will succeed Steve Bouck as president, and Mary Anne Whitney, senior VP Finance, will succeed Jackman as CFO While Bouck transitions into retirement, he will provide ongoing strategic advice and focus on certain growth and technology initiatives.

06:39 EDT Genesee & Wyoming reports April traffic by segment - North American Operations: Traffic in April 2018 was 135,938 carloads, an increase of 5.3% compared with April 2017, including carloads from the Heart of Georgia Railroad, which was acquired on May 31, 2017. On a same-railroad basis, North American traffic increased 4.9%, primarily due to increased coal & coke and minerals & stone traffic. Australian Operations: Traffic in April 2018 was 48,229 carloads, a decrease of 2.6% compared with April 2017, primarily due to decreased metallic ores and coal & coke traffic. Carload information for G&W's 51.1% owned Australian Operations is presented on a 100% basis. U.K./European Operations: Traffic in April 2018 was 85,934 carloads, an increase of 5.0% compared with April 2017, primarily due to increased minerals & stone traffic in the U.K. and Poland.

06:33 EDT TAT Technologies appoints Ehud Ben Yair as CFO - TAT Technologies (TATT) announced that Ehud Ben Yair has been appointed as its new CFO, effective May 13. Ben Yair has held several CFO positions in Israeli companies. From 2016 - 2017 he was the CFO of SHL Telemedicine, engaging in the field of digital health. From 2013 - 2016 he was the CFO of Opgal Optronics, a subsidiary of Elbit Systems (ESLT). Opgal develops and manufactures thermal imaging cameras for military and civilian aerospace markets.

06:22 EDT Facebook says has suspended about 200 apps as part of data misuse audit - Ime Archibong, VP of Product Partnerships at Facebook, provided an update on the app investigation and audit that Mark Zuckerberg promised on March 21. In a blog post, Archibong said: "As Mark explained, Facebook will investigate all the apps that had access to large amounts of information before we changed our platform policies in 2014 -- significantly reducing the data apps could access. He also made clear that where we had concerns about individual apps we would audit them -- and any app that either refused or failed an audit would be banned from Facebook. The investigation process is in full swing, and it has two phases. First, a comprehensive review to identify every app that had access to this amount of Facebook data. And second, where we have concerns, we will conduct interviews, make requests for information -- which ask a series of detailed questions about the app and the data it has access to -- and perform audits that may include on-site inspections.We have large teams of internal and external experts working hard to investigate these apps as quickly as possible. To date thousands of apps have been investigated and around 200 have been suspended -- pending a thorough investigation into whether they did in fact misuse any data. Where we find evidence that these or other apps did misuse data, we will ban them and notify people via this website. It will show people if they or their friends installed an app that misused data before 2015 -- just as we did for Cambridge Analytica. There is a lot more work to be done to find all the apps that may have misused people's Facebook data - and it will take time. We are investing heavily to make sure this investigation is as thorough and timely as possible. We will keep you updated on our progress." Reference Link

06:06 EDT Amphastar receives FDA approval for calcium chloride injection - Amphastar Pharmaceuticals announced that the U.S. FDA granted approval of the company's abbreviated new drug application for Calcium Chloride injection 10% in the 10 mL Luer-Jet Prefilled Syringe System. For the past 40 years, the company has sold and marketed the product under the "grandfather" exception to the FDA's "Prescription Drug Wrap-Up" program. Net revenues for the company's Calcium Chloride injection for the year ended December 31, 2017 were $13.5M.

06:04 EDT Cummins, JAC Motors form joint venture - Cummins (CMI) and Anhui Jianghuai Automobile Co. announced that the two parties will form a 50:50 joint-venture after Cummins purchased Navistar's (NAV) 50% equity of the JAC-Navistar Diesel Engine Company. The new joint venture will continue its operations at the manufacturing facility in Hefei. Cummins currently supplies light-duty, mid-range and heavy-duty engines to JAC Motors for its domestic market in China as well as its global operations. The JV will continue offering customers leading NS V diesel engines and focus on developing new products that meet NS VI standards. The ownership change of the joint venture is subject to regulatory approval and the operations of the new joint venture are expected to commence following completion of all approvals.

05:57 EDT KBR awarded EPCM contract by BOC - KBR announced it has been awarded a contract by Basra Oil Company, or BOC, for the development of the Majnoon Oil Field in Basra, Iraq. Under the terms of the contract, KBR will provide overall project management, multi-discipline engineering support, procurement and construction management services to BOC under a two plus one year extendable service contract. Estimated revenue will be booked into the Hydrocarbons Services business segment as work orders are released.

05:53 EDT Masimo announces finding of recently published study of SpHb - Masimo announced the findings of a recently published study in which researchers evaluated the utility of Masimo noninvasive and continuous hemoglobin, or SpHb, in reducing the number of unnecessary blood transfusions, thus reducing costs and improving quality of care. In the study, Dr. Ribed-Sanchez and colleagues at HM Hospitales, ETSII-Universidad Nacional de Educaion a Distancia, or UNED, and CEU San Pablo University in Spain compared the transfusion outcomes of two groups of patients undergoing hip trauma surgery: those whose hemoglobin levels were measured using traditional invasive blood draws and those whose levels were monitored continuously using Masimo SpHb. The researchers' goal was to determine whether there was a difference in the percentage of patients transfused and the number of units transfused per patient between the two groups. 115 control group patients had hemoglobin levels intermittently checked through invasive blood draws and laboratory analysis. 122 experimental group patients had hemoglobin levels monitored continuously with Masimo Radical-7 Pulse CO-Oximeters with SpHb. The researchers found a decrease in the percentage of patients receiving a transfusion from 48.7% in the control group to 45.1% in the experimental group, a 7.4% reduction. The number of units transfused per patient dropped from 1.322 to 1.156, a 12.56% decrease. Based on the average cost of a unit of blood in Spain and taking sensor cost into account, they calculated that on an annual and national level, the reduction could lead to an estimated savings of 1.756 million euros and 13,500 fewer units of blood transfused.

05:48 EDT FDA approves additional claim for Roche cobas Zika test - Roche announced today FDA approval of an additional claim for the cobas Zika test for use on the cobas 6800/8800 Systems. The newly approved claim allows for the streamlined screening of multiple individual blood or plasma donations that have been pooled together. The new claim follows the screening recommendations made at the December 1, 2017 meeting of the Blood Products Advisory Committee, or BPAC), an appointed group of key medical & scientific advisors to the FDA. In addition to supporting the most recent BPAC recommendations, the extended claims for cobas Zika facilitate a simplified testing workflow for blood screening laboratories utilizing the cobas(R) 6800/8800 Systems with the cobas Synergy software solution in the United States.

05:35 EDT DHX Media forms strategic partnership with Sony in Penuts - DHX Media (DHXM) and Sony Music Entertainment (SNE), or SMEJ, announce that they have entered into a definitive agreement whereby SMEJ will indirectly purchase 49% of DHX Media's 80% interest in Peanuts for $185M in cash, subject to customary working capital adjustments. Pro forma for the transaction, DHX Media will own 41% of Peanuts, SMEJ will own 39%, and the members of the family of Charles M. Schulz will continue to own 20%. DHX Media and SMEJ have also agreed to extend the duration of the current Licensing and Syndication Agency agreement with SMEJ's consumer products division, Sony Creative Products Inc. in Japan. A leading intellectual property management company in Japan, SCP has represented Peanuts since 2010, and is currently spearheading multiple licensing programs celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Peanuts' launch in Japan.