4:47 pm BIND Therapeutics to present preclinical and clinical pharmacokinetic data for BIND-014, BIND-510 and Merck's (MRK) MK-2206 at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference (BIND) :  

4:46 pm First Interstate Bancsystem reports Q3 core net income per share of $0.52, ex items, vs $0.52 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; NIM of 3.47% was unchanged from the prior quarter (FIBK) :  

4:45 pm Omega Health completes the redemption of its outstanding 6.75% senior notes due 2022 (OHI) :  

4:43 pm HomeStreet misses by $0.13 (HMST) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) core earnings of $0.42 per share, $0.13 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.55.
• Co states: "... After closing a record volume of $2.02 billion in single family mortgages in second quarter, we continued our strong production with $1.93 billion in single family closed loan volume in third quarter. Overall, lower profit margins on mortgage originations reduced our results for the quarter; however, excluding after-tax merger-related items, our Commercial and Consumer Banking segment net income of $6.3 million for the third quarter compared to net income of $5.0 million for the second quarter of 2015 reflects substantial progress toward our strategic objectives."

4:40 pm Agios Pharma to present clinical data from ongoing AG-120 phase 1 trial in advanced solid tumors at AACR-NCI-EORTC (AGIO) : Co announces  that the first results from the Phase 1 study of AG-120 in patients with IDH1-mutant positive advanced solid tumors will be presented in an oral presentation and featured in the press program at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics taking place November 5-9, 2015, in Boston.

4:37 pm River Valley Bancorp to be acquired by German American Bancorp (GABC) for $33.00/share, or ~$83.5 mln (shares halted) (RIVR) :

Cos announced they have entered into a definitive agreement to merge River Valley into German American (GABC).

• Under terms of the definitive agreement, River Valley common shareholders will receive 0.770 shares of German American common stock for each share of River Valley in a tax free exchange, plus a cash payment of $9.90 per River Valley share. The transaction has a value of $33.00 per River Valley common share.
• Based on River Valley's number of common shares currently outstanding, German American expects to issue approximately 1.94 million shares of its common stock, and pay ~$25 million cash.
• German American Bancorp stated: "We expect that this strategic transaction will be accretive to German American's earnings per share during the 12 months following completion of the transaction, and will have a quick tangible book value earn back. The transaction is expected to be completed in early 2016."

4:35 pm Brixmor Property also declared quarterly cash dividend of $0.245 per common share, up from $0.225 per common share (BRX) :  

4:34 pm InterActiveCorp beats by $0.23, beats on revs; extends partnership with Google for four more year, will complete Match (:MTCH) IPO this quarter (IACI) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $1.01 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.23 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.78; revenues rose 7.2% year/year to $838.6 mln vs the $806.18 mln Capital IQ Consensus. 
• The Match Group revenue increased 19%, or 25% excluding the effects of foreign exchange, driven by 17% growth in Dating Average PMC to nearly 4.2 million globally and the contribution from The Princeton Review. The Match Group Adjusted EBITDA increased 37% versus Q3 2014.
  • The Match (MTCH) IPO is expected to be completed during Q4.
• In the Media segment, Vimeo grew paid subscribers 22% to over 650,000 with revenue increasing 27%. Vimeo also expanded its Vimeo on Demand content catalog to nearly 27,000 titles from over 8,000 creators, with over one million buyers using the service in 217 countries and territories cumulatively.
• In the eCommerce segment, HomeAdvisor domestic revenue (84% of total HomeAdvisor revenue) increased 46%, the 8th consecutive quarter of accelerated growth, driven by a 53% increase in service requests and over 30% growth in paying service professionals. Total eCommerce Adjusted EBITDA increased 100% versus the prior year period driven by total HomeAdvisor revenue growing 32%.
• IAC also announced that it has extended its partnership with Google for four more years.

4:34 pm CTI BioPharma announces an underwritten public offering of its Series N-1 Preferred Stock (CTIC) : Co plans to use the net proceeds from this Offering to support the commercial launch of pacritinib in the U.S. for patients with myelofibrosis, to conduct additional research concerning the possible application of pacritinib in indications outside of myelofibrosis, to advance the commercialization of PIXUVRI and to support the development of tosedostat in registration-directed trials, as well as for general corporate purposes

4:33 pm Artisan Partners Asset Mgmt misses by $0.02, reports revs in-line (APAM) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.67 per share, $0.02 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.69; revenues fell 6.2% year/year to $198.4 mln vs the $199.98 mln Capital IQ Consensus. 
• Adjusted operating margin was 40.9% for the September quarter of 2015 compared to 44.0% for the September quarter of 2014. The decrease in adjusted operating margin was primarily a result of lower revenues and increased post-IPO equity compensation expense, partially offset by decreased operating expenses. The additional equity compensation expense reduced adjusted operating margin by 140 basis points.

4:32 pm Loxo Oncology to present clinical and preclinical data from its pipeline of oncology medicines at the EORTC-NCI-AACR Symposium on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics (LOXO) :

New results from the Phase 1 study of Loxo Oncology's tropomyosin receptor kinase (TRK) inhibitor, LOXO-101, will be reported in a late-breaking oral presentation.

• Co will also present two preclinical posters containing the first publicly disclosed data for its Rearranged during Transfection (:RET) and Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor (:FGFR) programs. The posters will include in vitro and in vivo data on chemistry series showing potential best-in-class selectivity and target coverage profiles for these exciting emerging targets.

4:32 pm The Medicines Co presents results of first-in-man study with investigational anesthetic ABP-700 (MDCO) :

ANVN-01 was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial that evaluated the agent's safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in 60 healthy adult volunteers.

• ABP-700 was given as a single bolus intravenous injection of 0.03 to 1.0mg/kg. Pharmacokinetics were linear and dose-proportional. Depth and duration of sedation were dose dependent as measured by both Modified Observer's Assessment of Alertness/Sedation scale and bispectral index and rapidly reversing at all doses. There was no observed blood pressure reduction associated with ABP-700. Nausea or vomiting, common side effects from anesthesia, were reported in less than 2 percent of ABP-700 subjects. Adverse events related to involuntary muscle movement, tachycardia and respiratory effects were dose dependent and consistent with the mechanism of action of ABP-700. A
• lso shown were data about ABP-700 effects on adrenal gland function.
• These data derive from two separate Phase I studies. In one study, subjects received placebo or a 0.03-1.0mg/kg bolus of APB-700; in the other, subjects received placebo or a 30-minute IV infusion of either ABP-700 (0.9 to 1.97 mg/kg) or propofol (2.25 mg/kg). Results showed that in adrenocortical responsiveness to synthetic ACTH stimulation one hour after bolus doses or 30-minute infusion doses was normal and indistinguishable from placebo or propofol.
• These results suggest that with ABP-700, any impact on adrenocortical steroid synthesis in humans after single bolus administration or short-term continuous infusion is likely to be brief, clinically unimportant, and equivalent to the current clinical standard of care, propofol.
• ABP-700 results will be discussed on a telephone and WebEx conference call on October 27th at 5:30 am PST

4:31 pm Gold Resource reports preliminary Q3 production of 6,825 ounces of gold and ~562k ounces of silver; lowers FY15 outlook to 29.6k ounces of gold and 2.5 mln silver ounces (GORO) :

• Co reports preliminary production results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2015 of approximately 6,825 ounces of gold and 561,985 ounces of silver, along with significant base metals.
• The Company saw improvements during the third quarter in mine development, water management and mining conditions, which were all prior second quarter challenges; however, overall production for the third quarter was less than targeted largely due to lower than projected grades and higher mining dilution sustained during the quarter predominantly in the month of August. Production during the third quarter was strongest in July, weakest in August, followed by a rebound in September.
• The Company has revised its 2015 Outlook to 29,600 gold ounces and 2,500,000 silver ounces. The revised annual production ranges represent a reduction to the low end of the original 2015 Outlook of 6% for gold ounces produced and 16% for silver ounces produced. Production during the fourth quarter to date has thus far delivered within expected revised parameters.

4:31 pm Southern and AGL Resources (GAS) file to request regulatory approval of their pending merger in Virginia (SO) : The companies expect to complete the transaction in the second half of 2016.

4:30 pm Hartford Financial misses by $0.13, misses on revs (HIG) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) core earnings of $0.86 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.13 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.99; revenues fell 4.3% year/year to $4.56 bln vs the $4.87 bln single analyst estimate.
• Third quarter 2015 core earnings decreased 24% from third quarter 2014 principally due to lower net investment income, unfavorable prior year loss reserve development and higher catastrophe losses; third quarter 2015 core earnings per diluted share* decreased 19%

4:29 pm Kite Realty closes on a new $200 mln, seven year unsecured term loan with maturity in 2022 and a rate of LIBOR plus 160 bps (KRG) :  

4:26 pm Hi-Crush Partners misses by $0.04, reports revs in-line; announces temporary distribution suspension (HCLP) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.15 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.19; revenues fell 20.3% year/year to $81.5 mln vs the $80.9 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• The Partnership reiterated the guidance for capital expenditures in the range of $50-$55 million for 2015 of which $48 million was spent in the first nine months of the year.
• Capital expenditures for 2016 are expected to be in the range of $15-$25 million for the continued development of new terminal facilities.
• Since August 1, 2015, Hi-Crush has reduced operational and administrative staffing levels by ~16%, including the most recent reductions at the Augusta facility.

Distribution Temporarily Suspended

• The Partnership announced a temporary suspension of its quarterly distribution due to challenging market conditions.
• Co paid distributions of $2.40 per unit on all common and subordinated units for 2014, $0.675 per unit for the first quarter 2015, and $0.475 per unit for the second quarter 2015.

4:25 pm AvalonBay beats by $0.09; guides Q4 FFO in-line (AVB) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) funds from operations of $2.02 per share, $0.09 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.93. The Company's annualized Net Debt-to-Core EBITDA for the third quarter of 2015 was 4.9 times.
• Co issues in-line guidance for Q4, sees FFO of $1.95-2.01, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.99 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:23 pm Edwards Lifesciences beats by $0.09, beats on revs; guides Q4 EPS in-line, revs in-line (EW) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $1.07 per share, $0.09 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.98; revenues rose 1.3% year/year to $615.5 mln vs the $597.75 mln Capital IQ Consensus. For the quarter, the co's gross profit margin was 76.2%, compared to 72.3% last year. The strong U.S. dollar continued to have a significant negative impact on reported sales.
• Co issues in-line guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $1.11-1.21 vs. $1.14 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q4 revs of $620-660 mln vs. $631.18 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:22 pm First Data reports Q3 results -- FDC went public less than two weeks ago (FDC) :

• Q3 adj. net income $191 mln, up $5 mln YoY as improved operating performance and reduced interest expense was largely offset by the non-recurrence of tax benefits in the year-ago period.
• Consolidated revenue for Q3 was +5% to $2.9 bln vs. $2.87 bln consensus.
  • Segment revenue, which modifies consolidated revenue for pass-through items and other impacts, was $1.8 billion for the quarter, up 4% versus the prior year period, or up 7% excluding currency impacts.

4:21 pm Waste Connections beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; increased dividend (WCN) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.54 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.53; revenues rose 0.2% year/year to $547.9 mln vs the $546.53 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co also increased dividend 11.5% from $0.13 per share to $0.145 per share

4:20 pm Fidelity Southern to acquire American Enterprise Bankshares for ~$27 mln (LION) :

As of September 30, 2015, AEB reported approximately $205 million in assets, $156 million in loans, and $177 million in deposits. Upon completion of the transaction, Fidelity is expected to have approximately $4.0 billion in assets, $3.3 billion in loans, and $3.4 billion in deposits. The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to Fidelity's fully diluted earnings per share and tangible book value per share, excluding transaction costs. 

• Under the terms of the agreement, which has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies, AEB shareholders will receive $5.50 for each share of AEB common stock, payable in shares of Fidelity common stock based upon the twenty-day volume weighted average price of Fidelity common stock prior to the closing of the merger, subject to minimum and maximum exchange ratios. If the VWAP immediately prior to the merger is equal to or less than $18.98, then each share of AEB common stock will be converted into 0.290 of a share of Fidelity common stock. If the VWAP immediately prior to the merger is equal to or greater than $23.20, then each share of AEB common stock will be converted into 0.237 of a share of Fidelity common stock.

4:20 pm Plum Creek beats by $0.07, misses on revs; guides Q4 EPS below consensus; narrows FY15 EPS guidance in-line with consensus (PCL) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.58 per share, $0.07 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.51; revenues rose 10.4% year/year to $414 mln vs the $428.59 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Adjusted EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure of operating performance, for the first nine months of 2015 was $472 million, higher than the $389 million in the same period of 2014.
• During the third quarter of 2015, the company repurchased $50 million of common stock, approximately 1.3 million shares at an average price of $39.20 per share.
• Co issues downside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.13-0.18 vs. $0.24 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• Co issues in-line guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $1.06-1.11 (narrowed from $1.05-1.20) vs. $1.10 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  • The company expects housing starts to increase approximately 14 percent in 2016 to about 1.25 million starts, with continued growth beyond 2016 to demographically supportable levels of about 1.5 million starts.
  • During the fourth quarter, harvest levels in the Northern and Southern Resources segments are expected to be similar to third quarter levels, but less than original plans. As a result, overall harvest levels for the year are expected to be between 18.5 and 19.0 million tons, which is lower than the initial harvest plans for the year.

4:19 pm Everest Re beats by $0.50, beats on revs (RE) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $4.53 per share, $0.50 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $4.03; revenues rose 10.7% year/year to $1.7 bln vs the $1.51 bln two analyst estimate. 
• Gross written premiums were $1.7 billion, an increase of 3% compared to the third quarter of 2014. Eliminating the unfavorable effects of foreign currency fluctuations, total premiums were actually up 6%. Worldwide reinsurance premiums, including the Mt. Logan Re segment, were down 2%, on a constant dollar basis, while insurance premiums were up 34%, quarter over quarter.
• The combined ratio for the quarter was 89.0% compared to 85.7% in the third quarter of 2014. During the quarter, the Company had incurred losses of $40 million for the Chile earthquake and $60 million for the explosion in the port of Tianjin, China. Excluding these events and related reinstatement premiums, the current quarter's normalized attritional combined ratio was 82.1% compared to 83.7% for the same period last year.

4:19 pm Eagle Materials misses by $0.07, misses on revs (EXP) :

• Reports Q2 (Sep) earnings of $1.11 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.07 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.18; revenues rose 15.5% year/year to $329.0 mln vs the $336.6 mln Capital IQ Consensus.

4:19 pm Sterling Bancorp reports Q3 net income per share of $0.25 vs $0.25 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; revs 52.1% y/y to $109.4 mln vs $112.1 mln Captial IQ Consensus Estimate. (STL) :  

4:19 pm Eastman Kodak and Collins Inkjet reported the settlement of an on-going court case, brought by Collins against Kodak, concerning the use of Collins inks on Kodak Versamark printheads (KODK) : While terms of the settlement remain confidential, Collins' ink will now be approved for use in KODAK VERSAMARK Systems such as the D-series and 6240 range of imprinting solutions.

4:18 pm Taubman Centers beats by $0.08, beats on revs; guides FY15 FFO above consensus (TCO) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) adjusted funds from operations of $0.86 per share, $0.08 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.78; revenues fell 20.5% year/year to $140 mln vs the $137.18 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Comparable center NOI, including lease cancellation income, was up 3.4% for the quarter, bringing year-to-date growth to 2.8%. Excluding lease cancellation income, comparable center NOI was up 2.8% for the quarter, bringing year-to-date growth to 3%.
• Average rent per square foot for the quarter was $60.53, up 1.4% from $59.68 in the comparable period last year. Year-to-date, average rent per square foot was up 2.3%.
• Trailing 12-month releasing spreads per square foot for the period ended September 30, 2015 was 21.4%.
  
• Co issues upside guidance for FY15, sees adjusted FFO of $3.36-$3.44 vs. $3.34 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:18 pm NBT Bancorp beats by $0.02 (NBTB) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.45 per share, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.43.
• FTE net interest margin was 3.48% for the three months ended September 30, 2015, down from 3.51% for the previous quarter and down from 3.61% for the third quarter of 2014.

4:18 pm Cheesecake Factory beats by $0.03, misses on revs (CAKE) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.59 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.56; revenues rose 5.5% year/year to $526.7 mln vs the $535.35 mln Capital IQ Consensus. 
• Comparable restaurant sales at The Cheesecake Factory restaurants increased 2.2% in the third quarter of fiscal 2015.
• "We experienced similar cost dynamics to the second quarter, with favorability in costs that affected our results last year helping to offset some of the wage inflation that many restaurants and retailers are experiencing."

4:18 pm InterActiveCorp enters into a new agreement with Google to extend their long-term relationship through March 2020 (IACI) :

The new agreement will take effect on April 1, 2016 (following expiration of the current services agreement in place between the parties) and run through March 31, 2020.

• Under the new agreement, Google will continue to provide IAC and its affiliate partners with sponsored listings and other search-related services for display on both desktop and mobile platforms. The new agreement is largely exclusive with respect to desktop platforms, with economics for IAC consistent with the current arrangement between the parties. With respect to mobile platforms, the arrangement is non-exclusive, but at a lower revenue share for IAC.

4:17 pm Voya Financial names C. Landon Cobb, Jr. as Chief Accounting Officer effective November 1 (VOYA) : Cobb succeeds Joseph Horan, who had served in the role on an interim basis since August 2015 in connection with Voya's previous chief accounting officer and controller, Steven Pierson, becoming chief auditor that same month. Cobb joins Voya from Fidelity & Guaranty Life (FGL), where he served as chief accounting officer since 2014.

4:16 pm 3D Systems receives a decision from a private arbitration dispute (must pay~11.3 mln), arising out of the co's acquisition of Print3D Corporation; intends to appeal the decision (DDD) :

Co announces that it has received a decision from a private arbitration dispute arising out of the company's acquisition of Print3D Corporation in 2011 and that it intends to challenge the decision in federal court.

• Pursuant to the arbitral award, the Co is to pay ~$11.3 mln which includes actual damages of $7.3 mln, fees and expenses of $2.3 mln and prejudgment interest of $1.7 mln.
• Co expect to record an expense provision for this matter in the quarter ending September 30, 2015.
  • The provision is subject to adjustment based on the ultimate outcome of our appeal.

4:16 pm Waste Connections increases dividend 11.5% from $0.13/share to $0.145/share (WCN) :  

4:14 pm PMC-Sierra beats by $0.02, beats on revs -- co being acquired by Skyworks (SWKS) (PMCS) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.13 per share, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.11; revenues fell 1.4% year/year to $133.6 mln vs the $130.84 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Q3 Storage product revenues reached a quarterly record of $97.6 mln, or 73% of revenues.

4:13 pm Integrated Device to acquire ZMDI for $310 mln; transaction will add $20 mln of quarterly revenues and be accretive to earnings in first full quarter following close (IDTI) : Co announced an agreement to acquire privately held ZMDI (Zentrum Mikroelektronik Dresden AG) for total consideration of $310M in cash. The transaction has been unanimously approved by the board of directors of both companies, with closing expected before calendar end. The transaction adds $20 mln of quarterly revenues to IDT at 57% gross margins and will be accretive to earnings in first full quarter following close 

4:13 pm Amkor beats by $0.08, beats on revs; guides Q4 EPS below consensus, revs below consensus (AMKR) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.12 per share, $0.08 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.04; revenues fell 9.7% year/year to $734 mln vs the $725.02 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co issues downside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of ($0.02)-$0.05 vs. $0.08 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q4 revs of $660-710 mln vs. $740.84 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• "In response to the generally soft end market demand for electronic devices, we expect customers to cautiously manage inventories through the fourth quarter of 2015," said Kelley.
• "We are tightly controlling capital expenditures and working capital in line with the demand environment. Accordingly, we are reducing our estimate of full year 2015 capital expenditures from around $550 million to around $525 million, including around $150 million of spending for our new K5 facility."

4:13 pm Giga-tronics reports Q2 prelim revenue of $2.9-3.1 mln compared to quarterly net sales ranging from $4.3-5.1 mln over the past four quarters (GIGA) :

• Net loss for the second quarter is expected to be between $1.0 mln to $1.4 mln. These preliminary, unaudited financial results are based on management's initial review of operations for the quarter ended September 26, 2015, and remain subject to change based on management's ongoing review of the second quarter results.
• In Q2, co experienced delays in shipments due to late arriving materials from its suppliers and technical issues associated with the new Advanced Signal Generator.
• Many of the delayed Q2 shipments have been delivered to customers this month, including multiple units of the Advanced Signal Generator.
• Co's Q2 ending backlog remained substantial at $15.8 mln, of which $6.5 mln is shippable within a year.

4:12 pm Torchmark beats by $0.02 (TMK) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) net operating income of $1.08 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.06.

4:11 pm Gladstone announces an underwritten public offering of 2 mln common stock shares; net proceeds to be used to repay existing indebtedness and for general corporate purposes (GLAD) :  

4:11 pm Broadcom beats by $0.04, beats on revs -- being acquired by Avago (AVGO) (BRCM) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.77 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.73; revenues fell 3.2% year/year to $2.19 bln vs the $2.14 bln Capital IQ Consensus. 
• In light of Broadcom's pending transaction with Avago (AVGO), Broadcom has discontinued conducting conference calls with analysts and investors to discuss its financial results.

4:10 pm American Campus Communities beats by $0.01, beats on revs; guides FY15 FFO in-line (ACC) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) funds from operations of $0.43 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.42; revenues fell 0.6% year/year to $180.8 mln vs the $178.03 mln Capital IQ Consensus. 
  • Increased same store wholly-owned net operating income by 5.9% over the third quarter 2014, as compared to 5.6% same store wholly-owned NOI growth reported in the third quarter prior year.
• Co issues in-line guidance for FY15, sees FFO of $2.32-2.36 vs. $2.35 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 

4:09 pm Cyclacel Pharma to present preclinical data from a study of CYC065 at the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics November 5-9 (CYCC) :  

4:09 pm Allison Transmission beats by $0.14, beats on revs; reaffirms FY15 guidance (ALSN) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.80 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.14 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.66; revenues fell 10.9% year/year to $493 mln vs the $487.61 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • The decrease in adj. net income was principally driven by decreased sales volume and unfavorable product warranty adjustments partially offset by price increases on certain products, favorable material costs, lower incentive and stock based compensation expense, reduced global commercial spending activities and decreased cash interest expense.
• Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees FY15 revs (8)-(6%) to ~$1.96-2.0 bln vs. $1.98 bln Capital IQ Consensus; Adj EBITDA margin of 34.75 to 35.75 percent, an Adjusted Free Cash Flow of $470 to $500 million, capital expenditures of $60 to $70 million and cash income taxes of $10 to $15 million.

4:09 pm MicroStrategy reports Q3 results, misses on revs (MSTR) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $2.06 per share. This may not compare to the Capital IQ Consensus of $2.16; revenues fell 14.4% year/year to $129.5 mln vs the $137.8 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Non-GAAP income from operations, which excludes share-based compensation expense and restructuring costs, was $35.4 million for the third quarter of 2015 versus $8.5 million for the third quarter of 2014.
• As of September 30, 2015, MSTR had cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments of $456.9 million, as compared to $345.5 million as of December 31, 2014, an increase of $111.4 million.

4:09 pm NovoCure reports Q3 EPS ($2.09) vs ($1.45) year ago; revs 104.7% y/y to $8.953 mln (no estimates) (NVCR) : 354 prescriptions were received in the quarter, an increase of 149% versus the prior year quarter. These gains were achieved prior to FDA approval of Optune for newly diagnosed GBM. There were 468 active patients on Optune therapy at quarter end, an increase of 161% versus the prior year quarter.

4:09 pm 2U beats by $0.06, beats on revs; guides Q4 EPS below consensus, revs in-line (TWOU) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) loss of $0.12 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.18); revenues rose 30.6% year/year to $37.1 mln vs the $36.2 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co issues guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $(0.04)-(0.03), excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.01 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q4 revs of $41.7-42.1 mln vs. $42.0 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• While its 2016 budget cycle is not complete, co provides a preliminary view into 2016 based on its early expectations: 2016 revenue is expected to increase by 30-32% over 2015. Revenue distribution across the 2016 quarters is expected to be similar to 2015.

4:09 pm XL Group plc misses by $0.27, beats on revs (XL) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.23 per share, $0.27 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.50; revenues rose 69.5% year/year to $2.09 bln vs the $2.01 bln Capital IQ Consensus. P&C combined ratio of 95.3% for the quarter, compared to 90.1% in the prior year quarter.
• Annualized operating return on average ordinary shareholders' equity excluding and including average unrealized gains and losses on investments was 7.0% and 6.2%, respectively, for the year to date.
• Fully diluted tangible book value per ordinary share of $31.95 at September 30, 2015, a decrease of $0.58, or 1.8%, from June 30, 2015.
• The P&C combined ratio excluding prior year development and the impact of natural catastrophe losses for the quarter was 95.1%, compared to 90.4% for the prior year quarter. The Insurance segment combined ratio on this basis was 96.3% for the quarter compared to 94.8% for the prior year quarter, while the Reinsurance segment combined ratio on this basis was 92.7% for the quarter compared to 80.1% for the prior year quarter, with the increases in both segments, driven by the Tianjin loss and the impact of a change in business mix from the combination with Catlin.

4:09 pm Brixmor Property beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; narrows FY15 FFO in-line (BRX) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) funds from operations of $0.51 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.50; revenues rose 2.1% year/year to $313 mln vs the $314.45 mln Capital IQ Consensus. Same property NOI for the three months ended September 30, 2015 increased 3.6% from the comparable 2014.
• Results include the impact of ~$4.1 million, or $0.01/share, of a $3.9 million adjustment of pre-IPO tax reserves and $0.1 million gain related to the prepayment of debt.
• Co issues in-line guidance for FY15, narrows FFO of $1.96-1.98 from $1.94-2.00  vs. $1.96 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Co sees FY15 same property NOI of 3.5-3.7% vs 3.0-3.7% prior guidance.

4:08 pm Integrated Device beats by $0.04, beats on revs (IDTI) :

• Reports Q2 (Sep) earnings of $0.35 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.31; revenues rose 23.6% year/year to $169.5 mln vs the $166.12 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Revenue growth was driven by a strong rebound in sales of our communications products, continued market leadership in memory interface, as well as solid contributions from our wireless charging business

4:08 pm Endologix to offer $150 mln aggregate principal amount of its convertible senior notes due 2020 (ELGX) : The Company expects to use approximately $56 million of the net proceeds from the offering of Notes to repay indebtedness of TriVascular Technologies contemporaneously with the consummation of the Company's previously announced anticipated acquisition of TriVascular

4:07 pm NASDAQ reports mid-month open short interest positions, showing short interest of ~9.35 bln shares in all its securities, at the October 15th settlement date (NDAQ) :

• At the end of the settlement date of October 15, 2015, short interest in 2,306 Nasdaq Global Market securities totaled 8,499,493,606 shares compared with 8,608,257,302 shares in 2,299 Global Market issues reported for the prior settlement date of September 30, 2015.
• Short interest in 728 securities on The Nasdaq Capital Market totaled 857,150,100 shares at the end of the settlement date of October 15, 2015 compared with 867,605,483 shares in 724 securities for the previous reporting period.
• Short interest in all 3,034 Nasdaq securities totaled 9,356,643,706 shares at the October 15, 2015 settlement date, compared with 3,023 issues and 9,475,862,785 shares at the end of the previous reporting period.

4:07 pm Cadence Design beats by $0.02, beats on revs; guides Q4 EPS in-line, revs slighly below consensus; guides FY15 EPS above consensus, revs in-line (CDNS) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.28 per share, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.26; revenues rose 8.5% year/year to $434 mln vs the $429.31 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co issues guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.28-0.30 vs. $0.28 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q4 revs of $434-444 mln vs. $446.68 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• Co issues guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $1.06-1.08 vs. $1.04 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY15 revs of $1.695-1.705 bln vs. $1.7 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:07 pm Alexandria RE announces that its leasing activity for the nine months ended September 30, aggregating ~4 mln rentable square feet is the highest nine-month leasing volume in its 20-year history (ARE) :  

4:07 pm Closing Market Summary: Stocks Post Slim Losses Amid Weakness in Energy (:WRAPX) :

The stock market began the trading week on a quiet note with the S&P 500 (-0.2%) spending the session inside a nine-point range. The benchmark index settled right above the midpoint of that range while the Nasdaq Composite (+0.1%) outperformed throughout the session.

Generally speaking, the Monday affair was very quiet and free of noteworthy earnings. Accordingly, the benchmark index opened with a two-point loss and traded in sideways fashion until the closing bell. Seven sectors registered losses between 0.2% (consumer staples and industrials) and 2.5% (energy) while consumer discretionary (+0.8%), health care (+0.5%), and telecom services (+0.1%) outperformed.

Notably, the energy sector fell to the bottom of the leaderboard at the start and remained there throughout the day. The daylong retreat caused the sector to narrow its October gain to 9.0% while crude oil fell 1.4% to $43.98/bbl.

Elsewhere among cyclical groups, heavily-weighted financials (-0.3%) and technology (-0.3%) underperformed while the consumer discretionary sector (+0.8%) displayed relative strength thanks to a rebound in retail names. The SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 45.23, +0.24) added 0.5%.

On the downside, the technology sector kept the market under pressure after spiking more than 3.0% on Friday. Chipmakers paced today's pullback with the PHLX Semiconductor Index sliding 2.0%.

That being said, the Nasdaq was able to overcome the weakness in technology thanks to relative strength in biotech. To that point, the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 317.01, +0.73) advanced 0.2% while the health care sector added 0.5%.

Unlike stocks, Treasuries inched higher throughout the session with the 10-yr yield slipping three basis points to 2.06%.

Unsurprisingly, today's participation was below average with fewer than 850 million shares changing hands at the NYSE floor.

Today's economic data was limited to the New Home Sales report for September, which hit an annualized rate of 468,000. This was down from the revised August rate of 529,000 (from 552,000), and worse than the rate of 550,000 that had been broadly expected by the Briefing.com consensus. The September report was a bit surprising, considering the latest homebuilder surveys have shown strong improvement in current and expected sales growth. The September drop in sales brought inventories back into alignment with sales trends.

Tomorrow, the September Durable Goods (Briefing.com consensus -1.3%) report will be released at 8:30 ET, August Case-Shiller 20-city Index (expected 0.2%) will be released at 9:00 ET, and October Consumer Confidence (expected 102.5) will be reported at 10:00 ET.

• Nasdaq Composite +6.3% YTD
• S&P 500 +0.6% YTD
• Dow Jones Industrial Average -1.1% YTD
• Russell 2000 -3.8% YTD

4:07 pm Heartland Finl beats by $0.02 (HTLF) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.69 per share, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.67. 
• Return on average tangible common equity of 13.22%
• Net interest margin of 4.01%

4:06 pm Team Health Holdings acquires three affiliated medical groups in Las Vegas; terms not disclosed (TMH) :

Co acquires the operations of three affiliated medical groups: Fremont Emergency Services, Advanced Care Emergency Services and Advanced Care Emergency Specialists, which collectively manage and staff eight hospital emergency departments in the Las Vegas, Nevada, market.

• In conjunction with this transaction, co will assist Fremont Emergency Services with starting a new hospital medicine contract at an existing emergency department client hospital.

4:06 pm Globus Maritime Limited receives notice of non-compliance from Nasdaq relating to the minimum market value requirement, has until April 19 to regain compliance (GLBS) :  

4:06 pm TriVascular Technologies sees Q3 revs of ~$9.5 mln vs $9.28 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate (TRIV) :

Co reports preliminary unaudited financial results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2015. Preliminary revenue for the third quarter of 2015 is expected to be approximately $9.5 million (vs $9.28 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate), reflecting growth of 20% over the third quarter of 2014 on a reported basis and 23% on a constant currency basis. Based on these preliminary estimates, US revenue is expected to be $6.5 million, reflecting growth of 20% year-over-year, and revenue from international customers is expected to be $3.0 million, reflecting growth of 19%, or 31% on a constant currency basis.

• "Our third quarter revenue demonstrates continued adoption of the Ovation platform, a clinically proven, less invasive solution for treatment of the broadest range of AAA anatomies," said President and Chief Executive Officer, Chris Chavez. "This afternoon we announced that we entered into a definitive merger agreement with Endologix, Inc. We are pleased to join Endologix, as we believe the combined capabilities and differentiated technologies of both companies following the closing of the merger, currently expected to be in early 2016, will allow us to more effectively advance our goal to improve and expand EVAR safely for more patients."

4:05 pm Rent-A-Center beats by $0.02, misses on revs; guides Q4 EPS below consensus; guides FY15 EPS below consensus (RCII) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.47 per share, $0.02 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.45; revenues rose 3.6% year/year to $791.6 mln vs the $802.73 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co issues downside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.52-0.62 vs. $0.68 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• Co issues downside guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $2.00-2.10 vs. $2.15 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:05 pm Ophthotech completes patient recruitment for its second Phase 3 trial of Fovista in combination with Lucentis for the treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (OPHT) : The Company expects to announce initial, topline data from both Phase 3 trials of Fovista in combination with Lucentis in the fourth quarter of 2016.

4:05 pm ICF International awarded $100 mln blanket purchase agreement by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (ICFI) :

Co was recently awarded a new multiple-award blanket purchase agreement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office of the Associate Director for Communication.

• The BPA has a ceiling of $100 mln and a term of 10 years, including five base years and five 12-month option periods.
• co will provide a full range of health communication services.

4:05 pm Endologix beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line (ELGX) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) loss of $0.13 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of ($0.14); revenues rose 2.7% year/year to $38.2 mln vs the $38.1 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Gross profit was $27.0 million in the third quarter of 2015, which represents a gross margin of 71%, compared to gross margin of 63% in the third quarter of 2014.
• Total cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities were $68.3 million as of September 30, 2015, compared to $86.7 million as of December 31, 2014.
  
  

4:04 pm Agree Realty reports Q3 funds from operations of $0.61 vs $0.61 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; revs $17.85 mln vs $18.21 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate (ADC) :  

4:04 pm American Capital Agency reports Q3 (Sep) results (AGNC) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) net spread and dollar roll income of $0.51 per share, may not be comparable to the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.60; net interest income fell 19.0% year/year to $218 mln vs the $240.41 mln Capital IQ Consensus. Includes $0.21 per common share of dollar roll income associated with the Company's $9.4 billion average net long position in forward purchases and sales of agency mortgage-backed securities ("MBS") in the "to-be-announced" ("TBA") market, excludes $(0.10) per common share of estimated "catch-up" premium amortization cost due to change in projected constant prepayment rate ("CPR") estimates
• $23.00 net book value per common share as of Sept 30, 2015
  • Decreased $(1.00) per common share, or -4.2%, from $24.00 per common share as of June 30, 2015
• $0.60 dividend declared per common share during the quarter.
• 1.7% economic loss on common equity for the quarter, or -6.6% annualized

4:04 pm Swift Transportation misses by $0.01, misses on revs; guides Q4 EPS below consensus; announces $100 mln share repurchase (SWFT) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.31 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.32; revenues fell 0.9% year/year to $1.06 bln vs the $1.08 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co issues downside guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.47-0.51, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.51 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• Board of Directors approved the repurchase of up to $100 million of our outstanding Class A common stock. The repurchase is expected to be funded through free cash flow, the reduction in planned capital expenditures explained above, and borrowings on the Company's existing credit facilities.

4:04 pm Knowles beats by $0.05, reports revs in-line; guides Q4 EPS in-line, revs below consensus (KN) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.16 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.11; revenues fell 2.1% year/year to $294.6 mln vs the $296.5 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co issues guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.18-0.24 vs. $0.24 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees Q4 revs of $290-310 mln vs. $316.0 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• "We are pleased to report Q3 revenues were up over 20% sequentially, with gross margin and earnings per share coming in at the high-end of our expectations...In our mobile consumer segment, we saw a strong sequential sales increase driven by significant growth at a North American OEM, new product launches from a Korean OEM and normal seasonality. This growth was partially offset by lower sales to Chinese OEMs."
• "For Q4, we anticipate a solid finish to the year with the midpoint of guidance highlighting sequential revenue growth in both of our business segments and improved operating margins. Our core microphone business has improved significantly from the beginning of the year, and we look forward to continued multi mic adoption and increased traction with intelligent audio solutions to fuel future growth."

4:03 pm Monolithic Power beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; guides Q4 revs in-line (MPWR) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.55 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.54; revenues rose 16.5% year/year to $91.2 mln vs the $90.8 mln Capital IQ Consensus.  Non-GAAP gross margin was 55.1%, compared with 54.9% in the third quarter of 2014.
• Co issues in-line guidance for Q4, sees Q4 revs of $84-88 mln vs. $85.48 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
  • Sees Non-GAAP R&D and SG&A expenses between $25.0-26.0 mln. This excludes an estimate of stock-based compensation expenses in the range of $9.2 million to $10.2 million.

4:03 pm Bio Blast Pharma will report interim Phase 2 clinical study results of Cabaletta to treat Oculopharyngeal Muscular Dystrophy, on Tuesday, October 27th via an 8:30 am ET call/webcast (ORPN) :  

4:02 pm TriVascular Technologies to be acquired by Endologix (ELGX) for $9.10/share, or ~$211 mln (TRIV) :

Endologix (ELGX) and TriVascular Technologies announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Endologix and TriVascular will combine in a stock and cash transaction. The transaction is valued at $9.10 per TriVascular share, or a total of approximately $211 million, based on Endologix's closing stock price of $13.81 per share on October 23, 2015.

• In addition to existing products, the combined company will have a deep pipeline of new devices including AFX2 and the Ovation iX system that are both planned for market introduction by the first quarter of 2016. These new products are expected to be followed by additional new technologies including the launch of Nellix in the U.S., which is expected to receive PMA approval by the end of 2016.
• Under the terms of the agreement, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of directors of both Endologix and TriVascular, Endologix will acquire TriVascular through the merger of a wholly-owned subsidiary of Endologix with and into TriVascular. 
• As consideration for the merger, each outstanding TriVascular share will be entitled to receive a number of shares of Endologix common stock and an amount of cash, each to be determined at the closing of the merger. The stock portion of the consideration will equal in the aggregate 19.999% of Endologix's outstanding shares of common stock as of the effective time of the merger, and is expected to be tax-free to TriVascular stockholders.

4:00 pm PriceSmart receives all permits required for the construction and operation, of its seventh Warehouse Club in Colombia; club opening expected in Fall, 2016 (PSMT) :  

3:57 pm Pericom Semi: Montage Technology Group responds to PSEM's rejection of its proposed acquisition, reiterates commitment to its $18.50/share cash offer (PSEM) :

Highlights of Montage's response:

• "We are disappointed, and frankly quite surprised, that the Pericom Board of Directors would reject our superior $18.50 per share all cash offer and deny their shareholders the value of our offer. Montage's offer of $18.50 per share in cash represents a highly attractive premium of approximately 52% to the unaffected closing price on September 2, 2015, and a premium of approximately 9% to Diodes Incorporated ("Diodes") offer, which we believe Pericom's Board is irrationally defending.... In light of the apparent intransigence of the Pericom Board, Montage will solicit votes against the Diodes transaction so that Pericom shareholders can decide for themselves whether they would prefer to receive the significantly higher value offered by Montage. Montage will begin to mail its definitive proxy materials shortly to Pericom shareholders."

3:45 pm UQM Technologies signs a ten year supply agreement with ITL Efficiency Corporation in China, with revenues to the company potentially exceeding $400 million (Shares Still Halted) (UQM) :

Co announced the signing of a ten year supply agreement with ITL Efficiency Corporation in China, a subsidiary of Eastlake New Energy.

• Over the term of the Agreement, revenues could exceed $400 million based on projected volume shipments.
• Production is expected to begin in early 2017 following development, test and certification programs during 2016, and timing will be dependent on the successful completion of the test and certification processes, followed by orders under the Agreement.
• The Company has received the first purchase order under the Agreement for the initial 3,000 units which are expected to ship in 2017.
• UQM will manufacture its electric propulsion systems in Colorado through 2017 with plans to produce product in China beginning in 2018.
• UQM will host a conference call to discuss this announcement tomorrow morning, October 27, 2015 at 8:00 a.m. ET

3:30 pm Earnings Calendar (:SUMRX) :

Today after the close look for the following companies to report:

• CAKE, PMCS, HMST, ACC, AGNC, ALSN, AMKR, AVB, BRX, CDNS, CR, CTS, HIG, HTLF, KN, MPWR, MSTR, NBTB, PCL, PRE, RCII, RE, SWFT, TMK, UDR, WCN, WRB, APAM, EW, IACI, NEU, BRCM, TCO, ELGX, EXP, IDTI, XL, AGII, TWOU, JBSS

Tomorrow before the open look for the following companies to report:

• SCHN, MSM, NVS, AMTD, BEAV, LXK, MDSO, WSO, RDN, UCBI, BMY, CMCSA, GPI, TNC, WM, MNI, SAVE, SPG, AVX, BP, MGLN, POL, POR, QSR, AHGP, AIXG, AKS, ARG, ARLP, AXE, BTU, CMI, CNC, CNX, CPLA, CRY, CTG, CVLT, CYNO, DD, F, FBC, FCH, FDP, FELE, FMER, GLW, GRUB, HSII, ICLR, IPGP, IPI, IR, JBLU, LPT, MAS, MMC, MRK, NAP, NCI, PCAR, PCH, PFE, PROV, RAI, SIR, ST, TXT, UPS, UTHR, WAT, WDR, WYN, BAX, HUN, SPR, ERJ, PCRX, SEE, STAY, SUI, TMUS, YNDX, IMGN, TREX, AME, COH, IIVI, LRN, MDC, TWIN, HCA, ONE, BABA, GK

3:22 pm Treasury Market Summary: Modest Gains in Wait-and-See Trade (BONDX) :

• It was a pretty easy-going session on Monday for the Treasury market, which saw greater interest at the back end of the curve than the front end.  By and large, there wasn't much movement during normal trading hours as most of the day's modest gains were forged in the overnight trade.
  • 2-yr -2 bps at 0.63%
  • 5-yr -2 bps at 1.39%
  • 10-yr -3 bps at 2.06%
  • 30-yr -4 bps at 2.87%
    
    
• A wait-and-see attitude prevailed through most of Monday as traders were looking ahead to the Federal Open Market Committee's policy decision on Wednesday while keeping a close eye on the present-day performance of the stock market
  • The major indices were mixed and demonstrating relatively good resilience to selling efforts when the Treasury market settled today, although the small-cap Russell 2000 (-0.6%) remained in a noticeable spot of underperformance vis-a-vis the Dow (-0.1%), Nasdaq (+0.04%), and S&P 500 (-0.2%)
    
    
• Another spot of concentration was oil.  Crude prices remained on the defensive, piercing the $44.00/bbl mark and settling down 1.4% at $43.98/bbl
  • Natural gas was the biggest laggard of note in the commodity space, declining 9.0% to $2.08/MMBtu on concerns about excess supply which have been exacerbated lately by warmer-than-normal temperatures
    
    
• The lone piece of data today was the New Home Sales report for September and it was quite disappointing
  • New home sales declined 11.5% month-over-month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 468,000, which was well below the Briefing.com consensus estimate of 550,000.  Furthermore, August new home sales were revised down to 529,000 from 552,000.
  • The September decline was driven a by a huge 61.8% decline in sales in the Northeast, yet all regions saw sales decline versus Augus
    • Midwest -8.3%
    • South -8.7%
    • West -6.7%
  • The months supply of inventory jumped to 5.8 months at the current sales pace versus 4.9 months in August
  • The median new home price was up 2.7% month-over-month to $296,900 and up 13.5% from the same period a year ago
    
    
• The weak housing data provided some underlying support for the Treasury market, yet it didn't cause any rush of buying interest in its wake
  
  
• The US Dollar Index (-0.3% at 96.84) lost some ground today after last week's big uptick as both the yen and euro bounced back a bit from their recent losses against the greenback
  • USD/JPY -0.4% at 121.01
  • EUR/USD +0.3% at 1.1051
    
    
• Looking ahead to Tuesday
  • Featured economic reports out of the US on Tuesday include the September Durable Orders report (08:30 ET), the August Case-Shiller Home Price Index (09:00 ET), and the October Consumer Confidence report (10:00 ET)
  • The UK will report its preliminary reading for third quarter GDP (05:30 ET) 
  • Start of the two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting
  • Apple (AAPL) earnings report after Tuesday's close

2:58 pm Insys Therapeutics issues a statement regarding its use of specialty pharmacies (INSY) :

Co distributes Subsys through both specialty and traditional retail pharmacies. All pharmacies that fulfill Subsys prescriptions are fully independent.

• Co's relationships with every pharmacy that fulfills Subsys prescriptions are non-exclusive, in that each of these pharmacies may also fulfill prescriptions for other pharmaceutical manufacturers
• Insys does not own or have any ownership interest in any pharmacy and does not possess an option to acquire any pharmacy.

2:33 pm Currency Commentary: Lingering Below 97 (:SUMRX) :

• The Dollar Index has been trading in a tight range over the course of the U.S. trading session. The greenback came under early selling pressure as New Home Sales data saw a double digit decline. But the DXY held 96.70 and continues to do so over the session. Trade is likely to remain quiet as markets await the latest Fed directive (Wed). But we do have Durable Orders and Consumer Confidence due out tomorrow.
• The euro was able to steady itself at the 1.10 level and was able to move over 60 pips from the low. The single currency is showing signs of stabilizing following the post-ECB sell off. Money Supply and Private Loans data is due out tomorrow morning but it is unlikely to have a big impact on the euro trade.
• The pound is sitting on its 200 sma (1.5360) in uneventful trade. The Q3 GDP number will be released tomorrow with expectations for a 0.6% increase from Q2. This is a slight decline from the Q2 sequential increase of 0.6%.
• The yen is sitting on the 121 level. The yen has been under some pressure in the risk on environment but it has been able to hold the 121 level throughout the course of the trading sessions (BONDX, FOREX).

1:12 pm Vivendi comments on stakes in Ubisoft (UBSFY) and Gameloft (GLOFY), says is considering continuing to acquire shares, cannot rule out possibility of considering a takeover (VIVHY) :

In commenting on its recently raised stakes in Ubisoft (UBSFY) and Gameloft (GLOFY), Vivendi clarified the following:

• Its acquisitions were financed through its disposable cash.
• Vivendi is not acting together with any third party in connection with its investments in Ubisoft and Gameloft and has not entered into a temporary sale agreement concerning the shares or voting rights of either of the two companies.
• The Group is considering continuing to acquire shares depending on market conditions. These acquisitions were not specifically designed as a preparatory step for a plan to takevover Ubisoft and Gameloft. Nevertheless, over the six coming months, Vivendi cannot rule out the possibility of considering such a plan.
• Vivendi might request, in due time, to be represented on the Board of Directors of the two companies.

12:55 pm Notable movers of interest (SCANX) :

The following are some of today's most notable movers of interest, categorized by market capitalization (large cap over $10 billion and mid cap between $2-10 billion) and ranked by % change (all stocks over 100K average daily volume).

Large Cap Gainers

• CTRP (89.48 +20.37%): Announced a share exchange transaction with Baidu (BIDU) to acquire shares it owns in Qunar (QUNR), now holds 45% of Qunar's aggregate voting interest; also entered into a business cooperation with Baidu and was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
• YPF (19.42 +7.12%): Argentinian stocks boosted following election results which pushed the president race into a runoff.
• VFC (66.53 +4.36%): Upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray, upgraded to Outperform at Telsey Advisory Group.

Large Cap Losers

• SWKS (77.99 -5.52%): Semiconductors underperforming after Dialog Semi (DLGNF) reported its Q3 sales which landed near the low end of its previous guidance range and fell short of analyst estimates, guided for Q3 revs below expectations (NXPI, AVGO, BRCM, FSL, MU, ADI also lower).
• TSN (44.76 -5.65%): Slumping following a report from the International Agency for Research on Cancer which stated that processed meats can cause cancer; downgraded to Neutral from Overweight at JP Morgan.
• WFM (30.63 -5.11%): Downgraded at Cleveland Research and OTR Global.

Mid Cap Gainers

• PNY (57.52 +36.24%): Announced it would be acquired by Duke Energy (DUK) for $60/share or ~$4.9 bln.
• P (13.46 +8.64%): Upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Macquarie.
• NTI (26.15 +7.93%): Received a non-binding acquisition proposal from Western Refining (WNR) for aggregate consideration of $17.50 in cash and 0.2266 of a share of Western common stock, or ~$27.62 /share; Western already owns ~38% of NTI's common units

Mid Cap Losers

• SFM (20.44 -8.73%): Downgraded to Negative at OTR Global.
• ATHN (151.11 -7.5%): Downgraded to Hold at Topeka Capital Markets, downgraded to Mkt Perform from Outperform at Leerink Partners.
• RRC (29.32 -6.39%): Energy companies with heavy exposure to natural gas underperforming as the commodity drops over 8% on warmer fall forecasts (SM, CHK also lower).

12:53 pm Nasdaq Comp +10 and Nasdaq 100 +11 set new session highs -- Dow -8, S&P -1.9 (:TECHX) :  

12:52 pm Midday Market Summary: Little Changed (:WRAPX) :

The major averages are little changed at midday after spending the first half of the trading day inside narrow ranges. The S&P 500 is lower by 0.1% while the Nasdaq Composite (+0.2%) trades a bit ahead.

The benchmark index has meandered in the red amid losses in eight of ten sectors with energy (-1.8%) trading well behind its peers. The cyclical sector has been pressured by a 0.9% decline in crude oil, which hovers near $44.17/bbl at this juncture.

Similar to energy, four of the remaining five cyclical groups trade in the red with top-weighted technology (-0.3%) and financials (-0.4%) trailing the broader market. To be fair, today's underperformance in the tech sector comes after the top-weighted group surged 3.1% on Friday. Accordingly, today's weakness has been broad-based with the likes of Apple (AAPL 115.60, -3.48) and Cisco Systems (CSCO 28.90, -0.45) down 2.9% and 1.5%, respectively, while the PHLX Semiconductor Index has surrendered 1.8%.

That being said, the relative weakness in the tech sector has been offset by a rebound in health care (+0.7%) with biotechnology contributing to the strength in the countercyclical sector. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 319.88, +3.60) is currently higher by 1.1%, helping the Nasdaq stay above its flat line.

Broadly speaking, corporate news has been limited today, but it is worth noting that IntercontinentalExchange (ICE 244.21, -4.59) has agreed to acquire Interactive Data Corporation for $5.20 billion.

Treasuries hover near their session highs with the 10-yr yield down three basis points at 2.06%.

Today's economic data was limited to the New Home Sales report for September, which hit an annualized rate of 468,000. This was down from the revised August rate of 529,000 (from 552,000), and worse than the rate of 550,000 that had been broadly expected by the Briefing.com consensus. The September report was a bit surprising, considering the latest homebuilder surveys have shown strong improvement in current and expected sales growth. The September drop in sales brought inventories back into alignment with sales trends.

12:46 pm European Markets Closing Prices (:SUMRX) : European markets are now closed; stock markets across Europe performed as follows:

• UK's FTSE:-0.4%
• Germany's DAX:+0.1%
• France's CAC:-0.5%
• Spain's IBEX:+0.1%
• Portugal's PSI:-0.2%
• Italy's MIB Index:-0.5%
• Irish Ovrl Index:-0.7%
• Greece ASE General Index: +0.8%

12:19 pm IAMGOLD files a draft friendly public tender offer in France to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of EURO Ressources that it does not already own for cash consideration of EUR 2.84/share (IAG) :  Presently, IAMGOLD owns approximately 86% of the share capital of EURO representing 86% of the voting rights.

12:17 pm Stocks/ETFs that traded to new 52 week highs/lows this session - New highs (129) outpacing new lows (95) (SCANX) : Stocks that traded to 52 week highs: AAME, ABCB, ACN, ADBE, ADP, AGII, AMSWA, AMWD, ATNI, AZO, BBCN, BLKB, BNCL, BSQR, CACB, CALL, CB, CBNJ, CBZ, CCU, CEVA, CHDN, CINF, CNBKA, CNO, CONE, CORE, CTAS, CTRP, CTXS, DRAD, EBF, EDGW, EDN, EFSC, ENVI, EVC, EXLS, EXPD, FB, FBIZ, FBNC, FISV, FLO, FONR, FRC, FSBW, GABC, GAME, GGAL, GIG, GSBC, HBNC, HCKT, HCSG, HOMB, HRB, HSIC, HTBI, ICE, IGLD, IPG, JAXB, JBT, JKHY, JNPR, KEP, KRNY, LMT, MANH, MATW, MCD, MEET, METR, MLHR, MO, MTN, MTS, NBBC, NBHC, NKSH, NWBI, ORLY, OZRK, PAM, PAYX, PBY, PCBK, PCLN, PNY, POOL, PSA, PSCU, QTS, RAI, RCL, ROP, SBUX, SHBI, SIFI, SIGI, SIRI, SIRO, SKYW, SSS, STL, STRS, SVBI, TBNK, TFSL, TOWN, TRV, TSS, TTC, TTWO, UFCS, ULTI, V, VIRT, VNTV, VVI, WAFD, WAL, WGL, WNS, WSFS, WSO, XRAY, XUE 

Stocks that traded to 52 week lows: AIMT, AMS, ATLS, ATOS, AVH, BDR, BKD, BOOT, CAB, CBYL, CRDC, CRR, CSTM, CUR, DECK, DK, DOM, ENZN, ERA, ESMC, FCFS, FDEU, FMSA, FOSL, FREE, FRGI, GLRE, GNK, GNMK, GNVC, GOGL, HBI, HBIO, HEB, IFON, JMP, JWN, KIQ, KODK, LPSN, M, MCEP, MHR, MPLX, MWE, NC, NETE, NGL, NM, NNBR, NRG, NRP, NSPR, NTG, OLLI, ORIG, ORN, OSTK, OZM, PSG, PSUN, PTCT, PULM, PXLW, QDEL, RCKY, REDF, REE, RGNX, RICE, RKDA, RLOC, ROYT, RPRX, RRC, SAVE, SCON, SDPI, SIEN, SVU, SXC, SYRX, TLN, TOR, TST, TWER, UNIS, UPL, USAP, USG, VCEL, VOXX, WDC, WLB, WMT                                   

ETFs that traded to 52 week highs: FDN

ETFs that traded to 52 week lows: UNG

12:08 pm iShares Nasdaq Biotech ETF pauses at top of range (IBB) : The IBB provided leadership on the market's move off first hour lows but it stalled at resistance at the top of the Oct range (321-323, session high 322) and has drifted back. Movers on the upside include: CELG, JUNO, PROG, AMGN, REGN, SGEN, MDVN, OTIC, GILD, CHRS, CLVS, VRTX. Underperforming stocks include: VRX, GENE, ALXN, NBIX, ABMD, MYGN, ICPT, BIIB.

12:02 pm Northrim Bank announces that Joe Schierhorn will become CEO; effective January 1, 2016 (NRIM) :

Co announces that Marc Langland will be retiring from the Board of Directors of both the Bancorp and Northrim Bank effective December 31, 2015.

• Joe Beedle, President, CEO and a director will assume the duties of Chairman of the Board for both the Bancorp and Northrim Bank.
• Joe Schierhorn, COO and co's President, will be appointed to fill Langland's seat on both the Bancorp and Northrim Bank's boards and will become the CEO of co.
• The appointments for Mr. Beedle and Mr. Schierhorn will become effective January 1, 2016.

12:02 pm Cerner: Truman Medical Centers and Cerner announce expansion of strategic relationship (CERN) : Truman Medical Centers ("TMC") and Cerner have formed a strategic relationship dedicated to, "The transformation of health care in Kansas City and across the world. By working closely, the organizations will pilot innovations using progressive health care information technology (IT). The expanded relationship will promote opportunities to create and research advancements in technology to enhance cutting-edge patient care, and will further support TMC's mission to provide quality, safe and customer-focused care in both of its hospitals and its growing number of clinics throughout the area."

11:31 am Air Products announces it will invest $350-$400 mln, to build, own and operate a steam methane reformer in Baytown, Texas (APD) :  

11:27 am Market action mixed with top performing Nasdaq 100/Comp stalling shy of Friday's highs -- Dow -24, S&P -5, Nasdaq Comp +1.8 (:TECHX) :  

11:11 am Currency Commentary- DXY Challenging 97 (:SUMRX) :

• The Dollar Index begins the week testing the 97 level for resistance. A weak New Home Sales report that showed an 11% fall month over month is helping keep the dollar below the 97 level. Market focus will be on the Wednesday Fed meeting. The FOMC is not expected to take any action but market participants will be looking closely at the language for any hints of a potential rate hike in the December meeting.
• The euro is holding the 1.10 level after seeing a 2% decline last week. The single currency is finally showing signs of stabilizing after seeing some aggressive selling following a dovish ECB meeting. A slightly better than expected German Ifo survey has helped provide some temporary support. It will be a busy week on the data front for the region with Consumer and Business surveys, CPI and Employment Data (Tue-Thu) providing further evidence into the health of the region.
• The pound is settling on its 200 sma as we enter the week. Tomorrow's first look at Q3 GDP data will help set the tone for the pound direction this week.
• The yen is also challenging its 200 sma for support to start the week. The Bank of Japan will also meet this week (Thu). Expectations for the central bank to further ease have dried up despite concerns of a China slow down and general weakness in the area (BONDX, FOREX).

11:01 am General Electric to invest up to $1 bln in Indonesia's power, oil and gas, and healthcare sectors (GE) :  

10:55 am Nasdaq Comp +12 pushes to new session high along with Nasdaq 100 +11 (:TECHX) :  

10:51 am Blue Square-Israel issues a proposed framework to holders of its Series C Debentures, regarding short-term payments to creditors (BSI) :  

10:41 am Carlyle and Vinci Partners acquire the stock of Uniasselvi, a subsidiary of the Kroton Educacional group (CG) : Equity for the investment will come from Carlyle's South America Buyout Fund and Fundo Brasil de Internacionalizao de Empresas II FIP, a local fund advised by Carlyle and Banco do Brasil. The transaction is expected to close in the next several months. Additional financial terms were not disclosed.

10:36 am Stock indices attempting to work off morning lows -- Dow -16, S&P -5, Nasdaq Comp -5 (:TECHX) : The S&P has thus far held above support at 2065/2063 (10:00, The Technical Take) with the S&P/Dow not confirming the new Nasdaq Comp low (10:19). This set-up is potentially constructive intraday while above 2067 (currently at 2070). Initial resistance of interest to breach/hold above is at 2072/2073.

10:21 am Vringo's fliCharge subsidiary, will extend and expand its license agreement with Bretford Manufacturing, for integration of fliCharge's wire-free tech into furniture applications (VRNG) :  

10:19 am New session low for Nasdaq Comp -16, S&P -7 and Dow -28 are still hovering just above their lows (:TECHX) :  

10:09 am Homebuilders fall ~2% after September New Home Sales miss expectations (ITB) : DHI -3.2%, TOL -2.4%, CAA -2.7%, TPH -2.3%, MTH -2.5%, LEN -2.1%, WLH -2.1%, HOV -2.1%, MDC -1.8%, ITB -1.7%, TMHC -1.6%, MHO -1.1%, BZH -1.2%, PHM -1.7%, XHB -0.9%, UCP -0.3%.

10:06 am Relative sector weakness (:TECHX) : Housing XHB / ITB pressured after data with relative weakness (underperforming the S&P) also noted in Semi SMH, Materials XLB, Energy XLE, Casino (MPEL -3.3%, WYNN -2.5%, LVS -1.8%, MCRI -1%, IGT -1%).

10:01 am Comtech Telecom is awarded a $3.2 mln contract from a U.S. military integrator, for the supply of traveling wave tube amplifiers (CMTL) :  

10:00 am Relatively limited pullback thus far for major averages -- Dow -28, S&P -67, Nasdaq Comp -14 (:TECHX) : First level support from The Technical Take is in the 2065/2063 area for the S&P (session low 2067).

9:50 am IntercontinentalExchange to acquire Interactive Data Corporation for ~$5.2 bln, expects adj-earnings accretion of ~5% in first year post-closing (shares halted) (ICE) :

The co announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Interactive Data Corporation, a provider of financial market data, analytics and related trading solutions, from Silver Lake and Warburg Pincus. The acquisition is valued at approximately $5.2 billion, including $3.65 billion in cash and $1.55 billion in ICE common stock. The deal is expected to close by yearend 2015 Highlights of the transaction include:

• Last twelve months revenues for IDC are expected to be $945 million and LTM adjusted EBITDA was $378 million. For the third quarter of 2015, IDC revenues are expected to be $238 million and adjusted EBITDA was $99 million.
• IDC's recurring revenue, which excludes any revenue derived from hardware sales, set-up and implementation fees, and one-time sales such as historical data files, has exceeded 98% of total revenue in each of the years from 2011 to 2014.
• Expense synergies of $150 million to be largely completed by year three post-closing. Adjusted earnings accretion of approximately 5% is expected in the first year post-closing, excluding deal-related amortization. 

Earlier this month, Interactive Data filed an S-1 to pursue an IPO

9:40 am Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico reports that no major damages have been sustained from Hurricane Patricia; expects continued operation to be ongoing (PAC) :

Co undertook preventive emergency measures as Hurricane Patricia moved over the states of Jalisco and Colima, with the potential to impact the Manzanillo, Puerto Vallarta and Guadalajara airports. The aviation authorities announced the suspension of operations at the Manzanillo and Puerto Vallarta airports on the morning of Friday, October 23.

• The hurricane caused no damage to the Puerto Vallarta airport and minimal damage to the Manzanillo airport, where GAP has already begun repairs. The Puerto Vallarta airport reinitiated operations with commercial flights on Saturday at 8:00 am, and the Manzanillo airport reinitiated operations at 3:00 pm that same day.
• Operations at the Guadalajara airport were not affected. This airport operated normally and without interruptions, reporting no damage as a result of the storm.

9:38 am Sector Watch (:TECHX) : Sectors on the defensive have been led by: Biotech IBB, Crude Oil USO, Gold Miners GDX, Semi XSD / SMH, Utility XLU, Pharma PPH, Energy XLE. Sectors displaying some early relative strength include: Coal KOL, Home Const ITB, Casino, Retail XRT, Silver SLV, Internet FDN.

9:38 am Opening Market Summary: Energy Sector Paces Opening Dip (:WRAPX) :

The major averages have dipped in the early going with the S&P 500 trading lower by 0.2%.

Seven sectors sport opening losses with energy (-0.6%), health care (-0.4%), and technology (-0.3%) pacing the move lower while consumer discretionary (+0.1%), industrials (+0.2%), and materials (+0.1%) hover just above their flat lines.

The energy sector has slipped to the bottom of the leaderboard amid a pullback in crude oil. To that point, WTI crude has surrendered 1.0%, sliding to $44.18/bbl.

Elsewhere, Treasuries have ticked to new highs with the 10-yr yield down three basis points at 2.06%.

9:34 am Mixed start turns slightly weaker -- Dow -3, S&P -3, Nasdaq Comp -4 (:TECHX) :  

9:29 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• PRA Health Sciences (PRAH)  announced the opening of its brand new Bioanalytical Laboratory in Assen, the Netherlands
• AudioCodes (AUDC) entered into a global distribution agreement with Fujitsu Network Solutions Limited (FJTSY). Fujitsu will sell co's products and solutions with a particular focus on AudioCodes One Box 365 all-in-one Microsoft UC appliance. The collaboration has already yielded positive results, having secured a significant order from a leading Japanese telecom service provider
• Southern Company (SO) subsidiary Southern Power and Turner Renewable Energy, announced the acquisition of the 15 MW Morelos del Sol Solar Facility from Solar Frontier Americas
• Triple-S Management Corporation (GTS) announced the appointment of Hernando Ruiz-Jimenez, as Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, effective October 5, 2015.
• Harte Hanks (HHS) announced the appointment of Frank Grillo as its Chief Marketing Officer, effective immediately
• Jaguar Animal Health (JAGX) announced that the USPTO has issued Notices of Allowance in two pending patent applications, licensed exclusively by the Company for veterinary use, covering NP-500 and its use
• XBiotech (XBIT) announced the launch of a research and development program to develop a first-in-class oral monoclonal antibody against Clostridium difficile infection. Using its proprietary True Human technology, the co has begun screening human blood samples from donors to identify and clone a therapeutic antibody candidate from individuals with natural immunity to C. difficile infection

9:20 am Eros International comments on the recent volatility in its stock, states that nothing has materially changed to its business fundamentals (EROS) :

Highlight's of the company's statement include:

• "Given the recent price volatility in our stock, we would like to confirm that nothing has materially changed to the strong business fundamentals of the Company communicated previously.....The positive growth and momentum in our Q1 results continued into Q2 with a further string of hits under our belt. We will be announcing what we expect to be strong second quarter results in the first half of November (specific date to follow), which will allow us to demonstrate growth in revenues, profitability and cash flow from operations. As previously announced, we expect that the Company will be free cash flow positive by the end of fiscal 2016."

9:18 am Edgewater: AMERI Holdings delivers a merger proposal to Edgewater valuing it at a price of $8.50/share (EDGW) :

Ameri notes that based on Edge's rejection of Ameri's previous proposal that was submitted privately, and its refusal to engage in discussions, they are concerned that Edgewater's incumbent Board of Directors will once again reject this now public proposal, despite the significant premium and strategic benefits to Edgewater shareholders.  Therefore, Ameri100 is announcing the formation of a group with Lone Star Value Management, LLC for the purposes of reconstituting the Edgewater Board for the benefit of all Edgewater shareholders.  The Shareholder Group owns 625,000 shares of EDGW, representing an approximate 5.3% ownership stake in Edgewater.

• "As a result of the Edgewater Board rejecting our $8.50 per share proposal and refusing to even meet with us to discuss a potential business combination, we have reluctantly come to the conclusion that Edgewater shareholders need a new independent Board for shareholder value to be maximized.  If elected as the new directors of Edgewater, our nominees will work to create an independent special committee, retain a reputable financial adviser, and conduct a full and fair process to explore strategic alternatives, including the sale of the Company to the highest qualified bidder."

9:14 am Rexahn Pharmaceuticals receives a US patent, for claims related to the synthesis of RX-3117 (RNN) :  

9:09 am S&P futures vs fair value: -2.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -0.70. (:WRAPX) :

The stock market is on track for a modestly lower open with S&P 500 futures trading two points below fair value after spending the night in a tight range.

Overall, the pre-market action has been very quiet with participants responding to just a handful of quarterly reports. Most notably, LendingTree (TREE 116.59, +18.59) has surged 19.0% in pre-market in reaction to better than expected earnings and upbeat guidance.

Unlike stocks, Treasuries have inched higher, pushing the 10-yr yield down three basis points to 2.06%.

Today's economic data will be limited to the 10:00 ET release of the September New Home Sales report (Briefing.com consensus 550K).

9:09 am Lockheed Martin confirms the award of a $784 mln contract from the Missile Defense Agency to develop, build and test the Long Range Discrimination Radar (LMT) : The radar system will support a layered ballistic missile defense strategy to protect the U.S. homeland from ballistic missile attacks.The nine-year contract, with options, will have the potential contract value of approximately $784 million. Work on the contract will be primarily performed in New Jersey, Alaska, Alabama, Florida, and New York.

9:03 am Manitowoc to close Cleveland facility and Irwindale, CA distribution warehouse (MTW) :

• Co announced the next steps in its global Foodservice manufacturing strategy that includes the company's intention to move products currently manufactured at its Cleveland, Ohio facility to other locations, along with an anticipated shutdown of this facility. These operational changes are part of a strategic initiative to address production overcapacity and align the company's global manufacturing footprint for improved operational agility, enhanced product quality, and financial performance.
• In addition to the intended closure of the Cleveland facility, The Manitowoc Company expects to close its Irwindale, California distribution warehouse.
• The company will discuss these restructuring activities in its third-quarter 2015 earnings release and conference call, as well as the anticipated costs and potential savings generated by these efforts.

9:03 am Vermillion announces registration of the CE mark for its OVA1 test, for marketing in the European Union (VRML) : Co announced registration of the CE mark for and clearance to market in the European Union the next generation of Vermillion's OVA1 test for detecting risk of malignancy for ovarian cancer. The next-generation test, previously referred to as OVA2, has been trademarked "Overa." Results of validation testing for Overa were made public with the presentation of two posters at the 2015 American Society for Clinical Oncology's Annual Meeting in May.

9:03 am Digi Intl sells its Etherios unit for $9 mln (DGII) : Co announces the sale of Etherios for $9 mln in cash payable ($4 mln at closing, $3 mln on the first anniversary of closing and US$2 million on the second anniversary of closing) to West Monroe Partners.

9:02 am Green Plains acquires an ethanol production facility in Hopewell, Virginia, located ~20 miles south of Richmond, from Future Fuels LLP; terms not disclosed (GPRE) : Operating at full capacity, the facility's dry mill ethanol plant will increase the company's annual production capacity by ~60 mln gallons to nearly 1.1 bln gallons per year. Production is expected to resume by the end of the year and corn oil processing is expected to be operational during the second quarter of 2016

9:02 am TASER announces partnership agreement with Microsoft (MSFT) to bring together the combined capabilities of the Microsoft Azure's cloud platform, and Windows 10 devices with TASER's Axon Platform and Evidence.com solution (TASR) : This partnership will provide a security-enhanced digital evidence management experience for law enforcement in an efficient and low-cost environment. As part of their work together, TASER and Microsoft will create an integrated approach to capturing and managing evidence including ingesting, retrieving, sharing, analyzing and archiving video, sensor and other data to support law enforcement and criminal justice officials as they work toward creating safer communities.

9:02 am Bank of Hawaii misses by $0.16 (BOH) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.79 per share, $0.16 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.95.
• NIM was 2.77% for Q3 of 2015, a 4 basis point decrease from the net interest margin of 2.81% in the second quarter of 2015.

9:01 am Legacy Reserves: Board of Directors has decided to reduce the distribution from an annualized $1.40 per unit to $0.60 per unit. (LGCY) :

• "The management team and Board of Directors have decided to reduce the distribution from an annualized $1.40 per unit to $0.60 per unit. This difficult decision was not based on this quarter's, next quarter's or next year's distribution capability. It was also not based on our financial liquidity as we project more than ample headroom to run the business. However, as commodity prices and our financial markets have continued to erode, we believe the right step for Legacy is to better position the balance sheet in the event this depressed market persists. While we expect higher commodity prices over time as a result of a more balanced supply and demand environment, we have prioritized a number of objectives including reducing debt, maximizing liquidity, and being positioned to capitalize on opportunities in the current market environment. We intend to monitor our markets actively and may further alter our distributions accordingly.
  
• Legacy will provide additional context of its decision to reduce its distribution along with details of its third quarter 2015 operating and financial performance with its earnings report which is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, November 4, 2015, following the close of NASDAQ trading.

9:01 am DS Healthcare Group Names Renee Barch-Niles CEO (DSKX) :

Prior to joining DS Healthcare, Barch-Niles held the position of President & General Manager of Emilia Personal Care.

• Barch-Niles succeeds Daniel Khesin, co's founding CEO.
• Khesin will continue to serve as Chairman and will lead product innovation.

9:01 am Merck announces topline results from the Keynote-010 study of Keytruda; Keytruda associated with longer overall survival compared with docetaxel treatment (MRK) :

• Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, today announced topline results from the KEYNOTE-010 study of KEYTRUDA (pembrolizumab) in advanced non-small-cell lung cancer (:NSCLC) demonstrating that the trial met its primary objective.
• KEYNOTE-010 is a randomized, pivotal Phase 2/3 trial comparing two doses of KEYTRUDA (the FDA-approved 2mg/kg dose and a higher, investigational 10mg/kg dose, each given every 3 weeks), to docetaxel, a commonly used chemotherapy.
• Outcomes were assessed in patients whose tumors were strongly PD-L1 positive (defined as TPS of 50% or more), and in all PD-L1 positive patients.
• A topline analysis revealed that treatment with KEYTRUDA was associated with longer overall survival (:OS) compared with docetaxel treatment.
  
• This was true for both the approved and the investigational dose of KEYTRUDA, which showed similar efficacy. It was also true in both the first set of patients analyzed -- those with a TPS of 50% or greater -- and for all enrolled patients, all of whom had a TPS of 1% or greater.
• Treatment with KEYTRUDA, at both doses, also provided superior progression-free survival (PFS) versus that achieved following treatment with docetaxel in patients whose tumors had TPS values equal to or greater than 50%.
• For PFS, KEYTRUDA treatment was numerically but not statistically superior to docetaxel in the all PD-L1 positive group, again at both doses. The safety profile of KEYTRUDA in this trial was consistent with that observed in previously reported studies in patients with advanced NSCLC.

9:01 am Mannkind announces the termination of a stock lending agreement with Bank of America, whereby 9 mln common shares were returned to the company (MNKD) : The stock lending agreement was entered into to facilitate the establishment of hedge positions by investors in MannKind's offering Senior Convertible Notes due 2015. 

8:57 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• CareFusion, a BD company (BDX), announced its Vital Signs anesthesia delivery and patient monitoring business has entered into an exclusive agreement with AAM Healthcare to distribute its APA video laryngoscope in the U.S. and 12 other countries
• Corning Incorporated (GLW) announced that Samsung (SSNLF) has chosen Corning Lotus NXT Glass for its line of low- temp. polysilicon, organic light-emitting diode panels
• Carver Bancorp (CARV) announced today that Michael Pugh, the Company's President and CEO, has been appointed to the Board of Directors, effective October 23, 2015

8:55 am S&P futures vs fair value: -2.60. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -2.00. (:WRAPX) :

The S&P 500 futures trade three points below fair value.

Markets in the Asia-Pacific region started the new week on a somewhat mixed note. Profit-taking efforts kicked in for some markets while other markets saw only modest gains after some big moves last week. Chinese officials began their fifth plenum planning meetings. Market participants are anxious to hear if officials temper China's GDP growth target. In the interim, the Shanghai Composite logged a 0.5% gain to begin the week, drawing a measure of support from the PBOC easing measures announced following the close of trading on Friday.

• In economic data:
  • Singapore's September Industrial Production +0.5% month-over-month (expected 1.0%; prior -3.7%); -4.8% year-over-year (consensus -4.6%; last -7.1%)

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• Japan's Nikkei increased 0.7% after being up 1.4% earlier in the session. Gains in the technology (+1.3%), health care (+1.1%), and materials (+0.8%) sectors helped pace the advance. Panasonic (+6.1%), Hitachi (+6.1%), and Minebea (+5.1%) were the top-performing issues while Nippon Yusen (-3.3%), Haseko (-2.9%), and Yokogawa Electric Corp (-2.4%) were the worst-performing issues. Out of the 225 index members, 169 ended higher, 46 finished lower, and 10 were unchanged.
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.2%, giving back all of a 1.2% opening gain. There wasn't a specific news catalyst for the turnaround, which was viewed as a general profit-taking effort. China Resources Power Holdings (-4.8%), BOC Hong Kong Holdings (-2.5%), and PetroChina (-2.1%) paced the losers. Sands China (+2.5%), Belle International holdings (+2.3%), and China Resources Land (+2.1%) topped the list of winners. Out of the 50 index members, 18 ended higher, 31 finished lower, and 1 was unchanged.
• China's Shanghai Composite increased 0.5%, benefiting from a late-day bump to finish in positive territory. The market was up 1.3%, but fell prone to selling efforts through much of the post-lunch session. The early push was helped along by the stimulus measures the PBOC announced after the market closed on Friday. Separately, Chinese officials started the fifth plenum planning session for economic and social policies. It is thought officials could lower the GDP growth target coming out of the meeting.

Major European indices trade mostly lower while Germany's DAX (+0.3%) outperforms. According to the Ifo Institute, the Volkswagen scandal has had no impact on Germany's auto industry as the domestic economy remains vigilant.

• Participants received several data points:
  • Germany's October Ifo Business Climate Index 108.2 (expected 107.8; prior 108.5) as Business Expectations rose to 103.8 from 103.3 (expected 102.4) and Current Assessment fell to 112.6 from 114.0 (consensus 113.5)
  • UK's BBA Mortgage Approvals 44,500 (expected 46,200; prior 46,600) and CBI Industrial Trends Orders fell to -18 from -7 (consensus -8)
  • Spain's PPI -3.6% year-over-year (prior -2.2%)

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• Germany's DAX has added 0.3% thanks to gains in about 70% of its components. Lufthansa, Fresenius SE, Linde, and Adidas appear among the leaders, having added between 0.3% and 1.2%.
• UK's FTSE is lower by 0.1% with media and consumer names on the defensive. Burberry Group, Barratt Developments, Sky, and ITV are all down between 1.2% and 2.3%. On the upside, Aberdeen Asset Management has jumped 3.8%.
• In France, the CAC is lower by 0.4% with most components in the red. Peugeot, Safran, Valeo, and Total hold losses between 1.3% and 2.0%. On the flip side, Credit Agricole outperforms with a gain of 1.0%.

8:37 am EZchip mails letter to shareholders, reiterates its support for the merger proposal with Mellanox Tech (MLNX), says Raging Capital's interests are not aligned with other EZChip shareholders (EZCH) : Since the public announcement of the merger agreement on September 30, 2015, the Board has not been approached by any other potential buyer.

8:33 am XOMA initiates a Phase 2 proof-of-concept study to evaluate XOMA 358, in patients with congenital hyperinsulinism (XOMA) :

Co initiated a Phase 2 proof-of-concept study to evaluate the safety and ability to prevent hypoglycemia (dangerously low blood sugar) of a single dose of XOMA 358 in patients with congenital hyperinsulinism.

• Two cohorts of patients are planned, with the first cohort receiving a dose of XOMA 358 chosen based on the results from XOMA's Phase 1 study in healthy subjects. The second cohort of patients may receive a higher or lower dose dependent on the results seen in cohort 1. Patients will serve as their own control.
• The study is open for patient enrollment at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and an additional international site is expected to open in the near-term.

8:32 am VBI Vaccines to be acquired by SciVac Therapeutics (shares halted) (VBIV) :

Pursuant to the Agreement, a newly-formed wholly owned subsidiary of SciVac will merge with and into VBI, with VBI surviving the Merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of SciVac, and SciVac will change its name to VBI Vaccines Inc. At the effective time of the Merger, each share of VBI common stock will be converted into the right to receive 20.808356 common shares of SciVac. In aggregate, VBI stockholders will receive approximately 541,573,712 common shares of SciVac, representing approximately 42% of the issued and outstanding shares and voting power of the combined company after giving effect to the Merger. Holders of options and warrants to purchase VBI common stock will receive options and warrants to purchase common shares of SciVac in exchange for their VBI options and warrants, as adjusted based on the Exchange Ratio but otherwise on the same terms and conditions as in the original VBI options and warrants. 

• In total, upon consummation of the Merger, holders of VBI's securities will receive shares, options and warrants of SciVac representing approximately 46% of the fully diluted outstanding shares of the combined company. 
• OPKO Health (OPK) will be the largest shareholder of the combined company, with approximately 14% of the issued and outstanding shares of the combined company. 

8:31 am Gapping down (SCANX) : Gapping down
In reaction to disappointing earnings/guidance: SOHU -1.3%, GLRE -0.6%

Select EU financial related names showing weakness (Credit Suisse (unchanged) priced its capital raise - share offering today) : NBG -5.4%, DB -2.7%, SAN -1.4%, HSBC -1%

Other news: ZINC -11.9% (announces $50 mln at-the-market equity program), VRX -5.2% (conference call amid flurry of articles this weekend discussing Philidor and Valeant's purported relationship; issues a statement, confirming the appropriateness of related revenue recognition and accounting treatment for its arrangement with Philidor), X -1.9% (in symp with peer AKS dg), MA -1.8% (USAA to switch accounts to Visa (V) from Mastercard (MA)), SNY -1.6% (still checking), KMI -1.3% (offering of 32 mln depositary shares,), ASML -1.1% (small pullback following last week's strength)

Analyst comments: AKS -6% (downgraded to Underperform from Neutral at BofA/Merrill), JNPR -3.5% (downgraded to Hold at Stifel), ATHN -2.5% (downgraded to Hold at Topeka Capital Markets), AXP -2.1% (downgraded to Sell at UBS), JOE -2% (downgraded to Mkt Perform from Outperform at Raymond James), DSW -1.7% (downgraded to Hold at Canaccord Genuity), KORS -1.6% (downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Cowen), M -1% (downgraded to Market Perform from Outperform at Cowen), C -0.9% (downgraded to Equal-Weight from Overweight at Morgan Stanley), VTR -0.8% (downgraded to Hold from Buy at Evercore ISI)

8:31 am Pep Boys to be acquired by Bridgestone Americas for $15.00/share or ~$835 mln; expected to close in the beginning of 2016 (PBY) :

• This represents a premium of 23% over Pep Boys' closing price of $12.15 on October 23, 2015 and a premium of 62% over Pep Boys' unaffected (prior to market speculation of a potential transaction) price of $9.25 on May 19, 2015.
• The transaction is structured as a tender offer. Under the terms of the agreement, which has been unanimously approved by the boards of both Bridgestone and Pep Boys, a wholly owned subsidiary of BSRO will commence a tender offer for all outstanding shares of Pep Boys at $15.00 per share in cash.  The transaction is expected to close in the beginning of 2016. 

8:31 am Kimco Realty redeems its 6.90% Class H Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock (KIM) :

Co announces redemption of all 7,000,000 outstanding depositary shares of the Co's 6.90% Class H Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Stock, $1.00 par value per share on November 25, 2015.

• The Class H Preferred Stock will be redeemed at the redemption price of $25.00 per depositary share plus $0.191667 in accumulated and unpaid dividends.

8:30 am Pericom Semi's Board unanimously rejects the unsolicited revised offer from Montage Technology Group; reaffirms recommendation in support of transaction with Diodes (DIOD) (PSEM) :

Co's Board of Directors, after continued consultation with its independent financial advisors and outside legal counsel, has unanimously rejected the unsolicited revised acquisition offer that Pericom received from Montage Technology Group Limited. 

• Consistent with its fiduciary duties to the Company's shareholders, the Board determined that Montage's revised offer is inferior to the transactions contemplated by Pericom's previously announced Merger Agreement with Diodes Incorporated (DIOD) and that Montage's revised offer is not in the best interests of Pericom's shareholders.
• The Board cited Financing and Regulatory and Timing risk as factors in its decision

8:27 am Gapping up (SCANX) : Gapping up
In reaction to strong earnings/guidance: TREE +14.3%, CSIQ +6.1%, FBP +3.3%, XRX +1.4%, CXRX +1.1%, CHKP +0.7%

M&A news: PNY +36.2% (to be acquired by Duke Energy (DUK) for $60/share or ~$4.9 bln), NTI +7.1% (announces the receipt of a buyout proposal from Western Refining (WNR) for consideration valued at $27.62/unit)

Select Brazil related names showing strength: YPF +11.4%, BFR +8.7%, GGAL +8%, TEO +7.4%, OIBR +5% (receives proposal from Letter One to enter into exclusive negotiations with respect to a potential transaction with the objective of a possible consolidation of the Brazilian telecommunications sector),TSU +3.2%, VIV +2.5%, ITUB +1.6%

Chinese names involved in trasnaction: QUNR confirms Baidu (BIDU) share exchange with Ctrip.com (CTRP): QUNR +27.3%, CTRP +20.4%, BIDU +7.4%

Other news: OPTT +35.5% (Ocean Power Tech and Gardline Environmental announced a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly develop innovative metocean monitoring and maritime security systems),BDSI +16.1% (received a $50 million milestone payment from Endo International (ENDP) for FDA approval of Belbuca),TOUR +10.3% (likely in symp with CTRP),RDHL +4.9% (positive top-line results from its Phase 1 study of Yeliva),WTW +2.7% (cont strength),SKX +1.5% (modestly higher pre-mkt after last week's decline),V +0.9% (USAA to switch accounts to Visa (V) from Mastercard (MA))

Analyst comments: VFC +2.7% (upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray),PYPL +2.7% (added to Conviction Buy List at Goldman),AWAY +2.5% (upgraded to Outperform at Cowen),P +1.7% (upgraded to Outperform from Neutral at Macquarie),AMAT +1.3% (upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Nomura),CVLT +0.9% (upgraded to Overweight from Neutral at Piper Jaffray),GS +0.7% (upgraded to Overweight from Equal-Weight at Morgan Stanley)

8:26 am S&P futures vs fair value: -5.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -9.50. (:WRAPX) :

U.S. equity futures remain just below their flat lines as the quiet morning continues.

The trading week is on course for a subdued start with investors responding to a few quarterly reports that have crossed this morning; however, none of today's reports have come from market-moving names.

Last week, the Dollar Index (96.95, -0.18) returned to levels last seen in August, but today, the index is lower by 0.2% with the dollar giving up 0.5% to the Japanese yen (120.90) and trading lower by 0.1% against the euro (1.1023).

8:25 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Matinas BioPharma Holdings (MTNB) announced that it received a Notice of Allowance from the USPTO for U.S. Patent Application entitled, "Cochleate Compositions Directed Against Expression of Proteins." The allowed patent claims cover the Company's proprietary methods related to the composition and the formation of encochleated siRNA for potential use as therapy for regulating gene expression
• Amunix Operating, a company operating in the area of protein half-life extension, announced that its partner Roche (RHHBY) has extended the collaborative evaluation of Amunix's XTEN technology. This evaluation with focus on an undisclosed indication was initiated in 2013 and has now been extended into 2017
• Allscripts (MDRX) has expanded its business relationship with Catholic Health Initiatives, one of the nation's largest nonprofit health systems. Beginning in Autumn, 2015, Allscripts Managed Services, through its TouchWorks EHR and Allscripts Practice Management solutions, will provide CHI complete system support and operational management. CHI also added the Allscripts FollowMyHealth patient engagement platform
• Northern Trust (NTRS) Asset Management has named Hazel McNeilage as Managing Director for Europe, Middle East and Africa
• Momenta Pharmaceuticals (MNTA) announced the recent publication of two peer-reviewed manuscripts that summarize the structural and biological assays used to evaluate equivalence between Glatopa and daily COPAXONE 20 mg
• TiVo Research, a subsidiary of TiVo (TIVO) confirmed that it will be giving away basic TV ratings data for free for anyone starting in the first quarter of 2016
• Vericel Corporation (VCEL) announced that it has signed a long-term supply agreement with Matricel GmbH for the ACI-Maix collagen membrane used in the manufacture of MACI, Vericel's investigational third-generation autologous cultured chondrocyte implant
• Chanticleer Holdings (HOTR) announced today that it has received an additional $180K in cash distribution from its investment in Hooters of America, bringing the total 2015 distribution received to $543K

8:22 am Silicom Limited beats by $0.13, beats on revs (SILC) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.57 per share, $0.13 better than the single analyst estimate of $0.44; revenues rose 22.3% year/year to $19.41 mln vs the $18.5 mln single analyst estimate.

8:16 am Exterran Partners raises its cash distribution to $0.5725/unit, up from $0.5675/unit (EXLP) :  

8:16 am European Markets Update: DAX +0.2%, FTSE -0.1%, CAC -0.5% (:SUMRX) :

Major European indices trade mostly lower while Germany's DAX (+0.2%) outperforms. According to the Ifo Institute, the Volkswagen scandal has had no impact on Germany's auto industry as the domestic economy remains vigilant.

• Participants received several data points:
  • Germany's October Ifo Business Climate Index 108.2 (expected 107.8; prior 108.5) as Business Expectations rose to 103.8 from 103.3 (expected 102.4) and Current Assessment fell to 112.6 from 114.0 (consensus 113.5)
  • UK's BBA Mortgage Approvals 44,500 (expected 46,200; prior 46,600) and CBI Industrial Trends Orders fell to -18 from -7 (consensus -8)
  • Spain's PPI -3.6% year-over-year (prior -2.2%)

------

• Germany's DAX has added 0.2% thanks to gains in about 70% of its components. Lufthansa, Fresenius SE, Linde, and Adidas appear among the leaders, having added between 0.3% and 1.2%.
• UK's FTSE is lower by 0.1% with media and consumer names on the defensive. Burberry Group, Barratt Developments, Sky, and ITV are all down between 1.2% and 2.3%. On the upside, Aberdeen Asset Management has jumped 3.8%.
• In France, the CAC is lower by 0.5% with most components in the red. Peugeot, Safran, Valeo, and Total hold losses between 1.3% and 2.0%. On the flip side, Credit Agricole outperforms with a gain of 1.0%.

8:16 am Pearson Plc names former Eli Lilly (LLY) CEO Sidney Taurel as Chairman (PSO) : Sidney Taurel is a board director and chairman of the Compensation Committee at both IBM Corporation and McGraw Hill Financial, Inc.

8:13 am Sharp sees H1 EPS of (JPY 50.78) vs 2.80 last year -- lowers H1 rev guidance to JPY 1.27 trillion from JPY 1.30 trillion prior vs JPY 1.327 trillion last year (SHCAY) :

• Co also lowers FY16 revenue guidance to JPY 2.7 trillion vs 2.8 trillion prior guidance vs 2.786 trillion last year.
• Operating results downturned from the previous announce, due to sales decline and further drop in the market price from intensified competition in small- and medium- size LCDs for the smartphone business in the Chinese market.  
• Sharp Group intends to announce the forecast of net income attributable to Sharp Corporation, once it becomes possible to make a reasonable estimate of the impact on consolidated financial statements arising from materialization of structural reforms currently under consideration or in progress.

8:11 am Treasury Market Morning Summary: Slow and Flatter Start (BONDX) :

• Some early flattening action with longer-dated maturities showing some modest gains and shorter-dated securities pretty much unchanged.  Not much conviction, though, in the early going as participants wait to see how the stock market trades.  Additionally, central bank meetings later in the week for the Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan have also capped the participation rate to begin the week.
  
  
• Yield check:
  • 2-yr unch at 0.65%
  • 5-yr unch at 1.42%
  • 10-yr -2 bps at 2.07%
  • 30-yr -2 bps at 2.88%
    
    
• International news
  • Germany's Ifo Business Climate Index for October was better than expected at 108.2 (expected 107.8), but down slightly from the prior month's reading of 108.5
  • Spain's Producer Price Index declined 3.6% year-over-year versus a 2.2% decline in the prior reading
  • Singapore's Industrial Production increased 0.5% month -over-month (expected +1.0%), which marked an improvement from thje prior month's 3.7% decline
  • Chinese officials began their fifth plenum planning meetings.  It is thought that officials will eventually communicate a curtailed GDP growth target.
  • European sovereign bonds are sporting modest gains to begin the week
    • Germany's bund -2 bps at 0.49%
    • France's OAT -1 bp at 0.84%
    • Spain's Bonos unch at 1.64%
    • UK's gilt -1 bp at 1.75%
      
      
• Commodity Check
  • Crude oil +0.1% at $44.66/bbl
  • Gold +0.4% at $1167.10/troy oz.
  • Copper +1.0% at $2.37/lb.
    
    
• Dollar losing a little steam this morning after a big run last week.  US Dollar Index -0.2% at 96.95.
  • EUR/USD unch at 1.1016
  • USD/JPY -0.5% at 120.98
    
    
• Today's data
  • September New Home Sales (10:00 a.m. ET)

8:08 am Silicom Limited to delist its ordinary shares from trading on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (SILC) :  

8:06 am Theravance Biopharma announces the purchase of ~3.85 mln common shares at $14.25/share, by Woodford Investment Management, through a registered direct offering (TBPH) : The net proceeds will be used for general corporate purposes

8:05 am Canadian Solar follow-up; co raises guidance to reflect higher than expected solar demand (CSIQ) :

• Co issues upside guidance for Q3 (Sep), sees Q3 (Sep) revs of $805-815 vs. $610.54 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate, up from previous guidance for $570-620 mln.
  • For the third quarter of 2015, Canadian Solar now expects its total solar module shipments to be in the range of approximately 1.18 GW to 1.23 GW, compared to its previous guidance, which was in the range of 970 MW to 1.02 GW.
  • Gross margin for the third quarter of 2015 is expected to be at or slightly above the high end of previous guidance, which was in the range of 12% to 14%.
• Updated guidance reflects higher than expected solar demand in the quarter and the sale of 51% of the 200 MW Tranquillity solar power project in California by the Company's wholly owned subsidiary, Recurrent Energy, to Southern Power, a subsidiary of Southern Company (SO).

8:04 am Alaska Air signs codeshare and lounge agreement with Emirates (ALK) : Emirates today announced a new codeshare and lounge agreement with Alaska Airlines (:AS). Pending governmental approval, Emirates will begin marketing up to 300 daily Alaska Airlines flights, which will allow customers to purchase connecting flights on both airlines using one reservation, and a seamless ticketing, check-in, boarding and baggage check experience during the entire journey.

8:03 am Mast Therapeutics initiates a Phase 2 study of Vepoloxamer for the treatment of patients with chronic heart failure (MSTX) :

• Co announced that it has initiated its Phase 2 study of vepoloxamer for the treatment of patients with chronic heart failure.
• Dr. Edwin L. Parsley, Chief Medical Officer of the Company, said: "Previously-announced positive results from multiple randomized, placebo-controlled studies of vepoloxamer in a well-established model of chronic heart failure, including a repeat-treatment study, as well as recommendations from medical experts in the field, strongly support clinical development of vepoloxamer in this setting. If the promising results observed in non-clinical studies translate to patients with chronic heart failure, vepoloxamer may offer a novel way of directly improving left ventricle contractile function by restoring cardiomyocyte membrane integrity and increasing cardiomyocyte survival."

8:03 am Old Ntnl Bancorp beats by $0.01 (ONB) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) adj earnings of $0.26 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.25.
• Co reported Q3 NIM of 3.94% vs 3.75% last year.

8:03 am Vertex Pharma and CRISPR Therapeutics enter strategic research collaboration (VRTX) : Vertex Pharma and CRISPR Therapeutics announce that the two cos have entered into a strategic research collaboration focused on the use of CRISPR's gene editing technology, known as CRISPR-Cas9, to discover and develop potential new treatments aimed at the underlying genetic causes of human disease. Vertex made an up-front commitment of $105 mln to CRISPR, including $75 mln in cash and a $30 mln equity investment. CRISPR is also eligible to receive future milestones and royalty payments on future sales.

8:02 am Recro Pharma provided a clinical and regulatory update on its pipeline candidates; intends to initiate a pivotal Phase III clinical development program with IV meloxicam (REPH) :

In the first quarter of 2016, the Company intends to initiate a pivotal Phase III clinical development program with IV meloxicam, a long-acting, preferential COX-2 inhibitor, for the treatment of moderate to severe acute post operative pain. For Dex-IN, Recro's intranasal formulation of the selective alpha-2 agonist analgesic, dexmedetomidine, the Company plans to continue to study Dex-IN in painful conditions with a focus on the treatment of peri-procedural pain.

• Co recently met with the U.S. FDA to obtain feedback for its proposed IV meloxicam Phase III clinical development program. Co expects that the Phase III program will include two pivotal clinical trials, as well as other trials. We expect to enroll a total of approximately 1,300 patients in all these trials. One pivotal clinical trial will be designed to demonstrate pain relief over a 48-hour period in a hard tissue, post op pain model, and the other pivotal trial will be designed to demonstrate pain relief over a 24-hour period in a soft tissue, post op pain model. Co expects to commence the Phase III clinical program during the first quarter of 2016.

8:02 am First Bancorp misses by $0.02 (FBP) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.07 per share, $0.02 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.09. 
• Net interest income decreased by $1.6 million to $124.9 million. Adjusted net interest income, excluding fair value adjustments on derivative instruments of $0.1 million, decreased by $1.7 million to $124.8 million. The related net interest margin remained almost flat, an increase of 1 basis point to 4.19% in the third quarter of 2015.
• As of September 30, 2015, the Corporation has $371.1 million of direct exposure to loans and obligations of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico central government and instrumentalities, of which $199.5 million, or 54%, represents exposure to municipalities.

8:02 am FedEx predicts it will move 317 mln shipments between Black Friday and Christmas Eve, up 12.4% y/y (FDX) : The season, which includes one more day than last year, is expected to be bolstered by three volume spikes, including Cyber Monday and the first two Mondays in December, in which the company expects to move more than double its average daily volume. Peak projections are included in FedEx earnings guidance for FY16.

8:01 am Lakeland Financial reports Q3 net income per share of $0.69 vs $0.70 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; NIM 3.16% vs 3.31% year ago (LKFN) :  

8:01 am RedHill Biopharma announces positive top-line results from its Phase 1 study of Yeliva in advanced solid tumors; successfully met its primary and secondary endpoints (RDHL) :

Co announces positive top-line results from the Phase I study with YELIVA in patients with advanced solid cancers.

• The study successfully met its primary and secondary endpoints.The top-line results from the Phase I study with YELIVA , demonstrating achievement of primary and secondary endpoints, were provided to RedHill by Apogee Biotechnology Corporation and remain subject to the completion of an independent review and analysis of the underlying data, including all safety, secondary and other outcome measures, and completion of the clinical study report, expected by the end of the year or early 2016. 
• The primary objectives were all met and the drug was found to be safe and well tolerated, with grade 1-2 fatigue and nausea being the most common side effects.
• The secondary objectives of the study, to determine the pharmacokinetic (:PK) and pharmacodynamic (:PD) properties of YELIVA and to assess its antitumor activity, were also met.
• The results demonstrated that YELIVA can be safely administered to cancer patients at doses that provide circulating drug levels that are predicted to have therapeutic activity, based on levels required in preclinical models.
• A Phase I/II study with YELIVA for the treatment of refractory or relapsed multiple myeloma is planned to be initiated by early 2016.

8:01 am Catabasis Pharmaceuticals: European Commission grants orphan medicinal product designation for CAT-1004 (CATB) :

Co announces that the European Commission (EC) has granted orphan medicinal product designation to CAT-1004 for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD). CAT-1004 is designed to inhibit activated NF-kB, a protein that plays an important role in muscle health. The FDA has previously granted Fast Track, Orphan Drug, and Rare Pediatric Disease Designations for CAT-1004 for the treatment of DMD.

"We look forward to presenting our clinical development program for CAT-1004, including the ongoing Phase 1 / 2 MoveDMDSM trial, at the Action Duchenne International Conference in London on November 6." Co says it's highly encouraged by the European Commission's leadership in their designation of CAT-1004. Co feels this may facilitate the future development of the compound in Europe, and most importantly, may give the boys a different treatment approach for Duchenne.

7:58 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• TPG Specialty Lending (TSLX) sent a letter to all stockholders of TICC Capital Corp (TICC) negatively commenting on the ordered postponement of the upcoming TICC special meeting of stockholders, originally scheduled for October 27, 2015. Co also urged shareholders to vote for its Gold proxy card against TICC mgmt's proposals
• Primoris Services Corporation (PRIM) announced a new water contract valued at $16 million with a municipal customer.The project consists of the construction of a new re-use treatment train for the City of Sunrise Florida's Sawgrass facility The work is scheduled to commence in the fourth quarter of 2015 and should be completed in the third quarter of 2017
• Cellceutix Corporation (CTIX) announced that the Kevetrin trial for advanced solid tumors is providing important data on the pharmacokinetic profiles of the drug when administered in single doses over a wide range of concentrations and over differing durations of the intravenous infusion. The dose-ranging trial is near completion. Data is being used to design the Kevetrin dosing regimen for the planned studies in patients with advanced ovarian carcinoma. The FDA meeting request is planned to be submitted this week
• Yahoo (YHOO) announced that Bob Lord will join as the Company's Chief Information Security Officer. Lord was most recently the CISO-in-Residence at Rapid 7

7:54 am S&P futures vs fair value: -5.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -10.50. (:WRAPX) :

U.S. equity futures trade modestly lower amid mixed action overseas. The S&P 500 futures hover five points below fair value after spending the night in a six-point range.

Meanwhile, Treasuries hold slim gains with the 10-yr yield down two basis points at 2.07%.

Today's economic data will be limited to the 10:00 ET release of the September New Home Sales report (Briefing.com consensus 550K).

In U.S. corporate news of note:

• Check Point Software (CHKP 80.80, +0.37): +0.5% after beating earnings estimates.
• Lending Tree (TREE 108.90, +10.90): +11.1% in reaction to better than expected earnings and upbeat guidance.
• Xerox (XRX 10.48, +0.14): +1.4% after reporting a one-cent beat on below-consensus revenue. The company's Board of Directors has authorized a review of business portfolio and capital allocation options.
• Sohu.com (SOHU 44.77, -0.58): -1.3% after below-consensus revenue and below-consensus revenue guidance overshadowed earnings of $1.27/share that may not compare to estimates.

Reviewing overnight developments:

• Asian markets ended mixed. Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.2%, China's Shanghai Composite +0.5%, and Japan's Nikkei +0.7%
  • In economic data:
    • Singapore's September Industrial Production +0.5% month-over-month (expected 1.0%; prior -3.7%); -4.8% year-over-year (consensus -4.6%; last -7.1%)
  • In news:
    • China's Premier Li Keqiang said that the country's 7.0% growth target is not one that should be "defended to the death," and that 6.9% Q3 growth represents a reasonable reading

• Major European indices trade mostly lower. Germany's DAX +0.1%, France's CAC -0.6%, and UK's FTSE -0.2%. Elsewhere, Italy's MIB -0.5% and Spain's IBEX -0.2%
  • Participants received several data points:
    • Germany's October Ifo Business Climate Index 108.2 (expected 107.8; prior 108.5) as Business Expectations rose to 103.8 from 103.3 (expected 102.4) and Current Assessment fell to 112.6 from 114.0 (consensus 113.5)
    • UK's BBA Mortgage Approvals 44,500 (expected 46,200; prior 46,600) and CBI Industrial Trends Orders fell to -18 from -7 (consensus -8)
    • Spain's PPI -3.6% year-over-year (prior -2.2%)
  • Among news of note:
    • According to the Ifo Institute, the Volkswagen scandal has had no impact on Germany's auto industry as the domestic economy remains vigilant

7:53 am Asian Markets Close: Japan's Nikkei +0.7%; Hong Kong's Hang Seng -0.2%; China's Shanghai Composite +0.5% (:SUMRX) :

Markets in the Asia-Pacific region started the new week on a somewhat mixed note. Profit-taking efforts kicked in for some markets while other markets saw only modest gains after some big moves last week. Chinese officials began their fifth plenum planning meetings. Market participants are anxious to hear if officials temper China's GDP growth target. In the interim, the Shanghai Composite logged a 0.5% gain to begin the week, drawing a measure of support from the PBOC easing measures announced following the close of trading on Friday.

Economic data

• Singapore
  • September Industrial Production +0.5% month-over-month (expected +1.0%; prior -3.7%; -4.8% year-over-year (expected -4.6%; prior -7.1%)

Equity Markets

• Japan's Nikkei increased 0.7% after being up 1.4% earlier in the session. Gains in the technology (+1.3%), health care (+1.1%), and materials (+0.8%) sectors helped pace the advance. Panasonic (+6.1%), Hitachi (+6.1%), and Minebea (+5.1%) were the top-performing issues while Nippon Yusen (-3.3%), Haseko (-2.9%), and Yokogawa Electric Corp (-2.4%) were the worst-performing issues. Out of the 225 index members, 169 ended higher, 46 finished lower, and 10 were unchanged.

• Hong Kong's Hang Seng declined 0.2%, giving back all of a 1.2% opening gain. There wasn't a specific news catalyst for the turnaround, which was viewed as a general profit-taking effort. China Resources Power Holdings (-4.8%), BOC Hong Kong Holdings (-2.5%), and PetroChina (-2.1%) paced the losers. Sands China (+2.5%), Belle International holdings (+2.3%), and China Resources Land (+2.1%) topped the list of winners. Out of the 50 index members, 18 ended higher, 31 finished lower, and 1 was unchanged.
  
  
• China's Shanghai Composite increased 0.5%, benefiting from a late-day bump to finish in positive territory. The market was up 1.3%, but fell prone to selling efforts through much of the post-lunch session. The early push was helped along by the stimulus measures the PBOC announced after the market closed on Friday. Separately, Chinese officials started the fifth plenum planning session for economic and social policies. It is thought officials could lower the GDP growth target coming out of the meeting.
  
  
• India's Sensex declined 0.4% after being up 0.5% shortly after the start of trading. The Sensex closed near its lows for the day, led by declines in the energy (-1.5%) and financials (-1.2%) sectors. Coal India (-2.5%), Bharti Airtel (-1.9%), and Housing Development & Finance Corp (-1.9%) led all declining issues while Bharat Heavy Electricals (+3.6%), Vedanta (+2.6%), and Bajaj Auto (+2.4%) paced the winners. Out of the 30 index members, 15 ended higher and 15 finished lower.
  
  
• Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.1% after being 0.6% at the start of trading. A steady retreat took place after the opening push and the market closed at its lows for the session. The telecom services (-1.1%), industrials (-0.7%), and utilities (-0.6%) sectors paced the pullback. Out of the 200 index members, 86 ended higher, 95 finished lower, and 19 were unchanged.
  
  
• Regional advancers: South Korea +0.4%, Taiwan +0.8%, Indonesia +0.8%, Singapore +0.5%, Thailand +0.7%, Philippines +1.2%
• Regional decliners: Malaysia -0.2%, Vietnam -0.5%

FX

• USD/CNY +0.02% to 6.3521
• USD/INR +0.2% to 64.9650
• USD/JPY -0.4% to 120.99

7:45 am WPX Energy Promotes Clay Gaspar to COO (WPX) :

• Co has promoted Clay M. Gaspar to Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, effective Nov. 2, 2015
• Gaspar joined WPX in October 2014 as Senior Vice President of Operations and Resource Development
• Under Gaspar's leadership, WPX has significantly decreased its development costs and operating expenses in support of the company's plan to increase margins

7:31 am Ocean Power Tech and Gardline Environmental announced a Memorandum of Understanding to jointly develop innovative metocean monitoring and maritime security systems (OPTT) : Under this agreement, Co and Gardline will work closely to investigate, develop, test and market advanced innovative solutions enabled by both companies' technologies.

7:31 am Medical Staffing reports key observations from patients enrolled in its ongoing study evaluating Ganaxolone, to treat PCDH19 female pediatric epilepsy (MRNS) :

Observations included:

• To-date, 63% (5/8) of patients have experienced a greater than 50% reduction for at least one 28-day treatment period compared to baseline.
• Safety data to-date are consistent with earlier studies where ganaxolone has been shown to be generally safe and well-tolerated and the most commonly reported side-effects were sedation, agitation and dizziness. One seizure-free responder discontinued treatment due to a rash that was deemed to be possibly drug related, and another responder showed large variability in response and later discontinued from the study. Two patients were non-responders.
• Patients enrolled in the study are continuing to receive treatment and have received ganaxolone for durations ranging from one to four months of the planned six month treatment period. Improvements in behavior and cognitive skills have been reported to and observed by investigators for some patients.
• Enrollment is continuing in the study with full data expected in 2016.

7:28 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• JA Solar Holdings Co (JASO) announced the launch of its 400MW photovoltaic solar cell manufacturing facility in Penang, Malaysia
• FLY Leasing Limited (FLY) has acquired a new Boeing 777-200LRF aircraft in a sale and 12-year leaseback transaction with a leading flag carrier
• xG Technology (XGTI) received an order from Department of Defense agency for xMax mobile broadband wireless equipment and services. The order was received following field evaluations conducted at a Technical Experimentation Event that took place at the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center in Indiana
• Solaria announced that SunEdison (SUNE) has agreed to license Solaria's manufacturing technology to cost effectively mass produce its new line of UH efficiency 400 watt solar modules
• Casella Waste Systems (CWST) announced that Institutional Shareholder Services (:ISS), an independent proxy advisory firm, has issued a report recommending that Casella stockholders vote the White proxy card for all three of Casella's director-nominees
• CEVA Technology Symposium (CEVA) announced that Vatics Inc., a multimedia SoC solutions provider in Taiwan, has licensed the CEVA imaging and vision DSP for its next-generation SoCs targeting surveillance and smart network cameras. 

7:23 am Comcast announces its Board has approved a proposal to reclassify each share of Class A Special Common Stock (CMCSK) into one share of Class A Common Stock, subject to shareholder approval (CMCSA) : The co believes that the Reclassification will benefit Comcast's shareholders by, among other things, eliminating investor confusion caused by having two classes of publicly traded stock and improving the trading liquidity of Comcast's publicly traded stock.

7:15 am Qunar confirms Baidu (BIDU) share exchange with Ctrip.com (CTRP), announces changes to the Board (QUNR) :

The co confirmed the sale by Baidu (BIDU) of 178,702,519 Class A ordinary shares and 11,450,000 Class B ordinary shares of its ownership interest in the Company to Ctrip.com I(CTRP). The exchange ratio is 1 Qunar ADS to 0.725 Ctrip ADSs. After the completion of the transaction, Ctrip will own 190,152,519 Class B ordinary shares of Qunar.

• Qunar also announced today the changes to its Board composition following the sale of Baidu's ownership interest. Mr. James Jianzhang Liang, Ms. Jane Jie Sun, Ms. Maria Maohua Sun and Mr. Xing Xiong have been appointed to the Board of Qunar. Ms. Helen He, Mr. Liang Zeng, Mr. Yuming He and Mr. Fang Wei have stepped down from the Board. These changes became effective on October 26, 2015.

7:11 am OCI Resources to change its name to Ciner Resources LP, ticker will become CINR effective November 6 following completion of OCI Enterprises' sale of General Partner and Limited Partner interests in OCIR (OCIR) :  

7:06 am LendingTree beats by $0.21, beats on revs; raises FY15 rev & EBITDA guidance; sees FY16 revs above consensus (TREE) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.79 per share, $0.21 better than the two analyst estimate of $0.58; revenues rose 69.0% year/year to $69.8 mln vs the $60.54 mln two analyst estimate. Co reported Q3 Adjusted EBITDA of $11.0 million; up 90% YoY. My LendingTree enrollment exceeds 2 mln users.
• Co issues raised guidance for FY15, sees FY15 revs of $244-247 mln from $225-230 mln vs. $228.33 mln two analyst estimate. Co sees FY15 Adjusted EBITDA of $38.3-38.8 mln vs prior guidance of $35-36 mln
• Co issues upside guidance for FY16, sees FY16 revs of $315-320 mln vs. $284.52 mln two analyst estimate. Co sees FY16 adjusted EBITDA of $50-52 mln

7:06 am Anavex (AVXLD) approved for uplisting to Nasdaq (AVXL) : Anavex's common stock will begin to trade on NASDAQ under the symbol "AVXL" at the opening of market hours on October 28, 2015.

7:04 am Nu Skin changes Q3 reporting date to Thursday, Oct 29 from November 5 (NUS) : Co lowered Q3 guidance on October 6.

7:04 am Spectrum Pharma initiates a Phase 3 clinical study for Apaziquone, with the first patient having been already dosed (SPPI) :

Co stated: "This Phase 3 study has been specifically designed to address important lessons learned from the previous apaziquone Phase 3 studies, as well as recommendations from the FDA that improve chances of a successful study outcome."

• In accordance with the SPA agreement, this Phase 3 trial will be a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial that will enroll patients with Ta, G1-G2 NMIBC. Patients will be randomized to receive either one instillation of apaziquone, two instillations of apaziquone, or placebo with a primary endpoint of Time to Recurrence.

7:04 am Concordia Healthcare sees 2016 prelim revenue at $1.02-1.06 bln vs. $964.5 mln Capital IQ Consensus Est, sees prelim EPS at $6.29-6.77 vs $6.87 consensus (CXRX) :

• With the close of the acquisition of Amdipharm Mercury Limited on Oct 21, 2015, Concordia is expected to more than double the size of its business, with expected revenues of more than $1 bln.
• In 2016, the Co anticipates that ~60% of revenues will be generated outside the U.S., with U.S. government payors expected to account for less than 10% of overall revenue
• Management expects high single-digit revenue growth of the combined business over the next three years (2015-2018), driven primarily by expected organic volume growth through continued promotion of its legacy products and up to 60 new product launches.
• During this period, the Co's non-U.S. revenues are expected to grow at mid-teen rates, with anticipated double-digit organic volume growth, while Concordia's U.S. base legacy business is expected to remain stable, growing at low single digits, in roughly equal parts price and volume.

7:04 am BioDelivery Sciences announces it has received a $50 million milestone payment from Endo International (ENDP) for FDA approval of Belbuca (BDSI) :  

7:03 am Ctrip.com completes Qunar (QUNR) share exchange transaction with Baidu (BIDU); Ctrip will own ~45% of Qunar, Baidu will own 25% of Ctrip representing ~25% (CTRP) :

CTRP announced that it has completed a share exchange transaction with Baidu (BIDU), and as a result of the transaction, Baidu will own ordinary shares of Ctrip representing approximately 25% of Ctrip's aggregate voting interest, and Ctrip will own ordinary shares of Qunar (QUNR) representing approximately 45% of Qunar's aggregate voting interest?  

• The share exchange ratio for the transaction is 0.725 Ctrip ADSs per Qunar ADS.
• Baidu and Ctrip have also agreed to a business cooperation across a broad base of products and services. Baidu expects to continue its existing business cooperation with Qunar.

7:02 am Opus Bank reports Q3 net income per share of $0.44 vs $0.51 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate (OPB) : Additionally, Opus announced that its Board of Directors approved increasing its quarterly cash dividend by 20% to $0.12 per share payable on November 19, 2015 to common and preferred shareholders of record as of November 5, 2015.

7:01 am ISIS Pharm receives a $5 mln milestone payment from GSK, related to the initiation of a Phase 1 study of ISIS-GSK4-L (ISIS) :  

7:00 am Roper beats by $0.04, reports revs in-line; guides Q4 EPS in-line; acquires CliniSys for GBP 170 mln (ROP) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $1.61 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.04 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.57; adj. revenues rose 0.1% year/year to $886 mln vs the $891.82 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co issues in-line guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $1.83-1.89, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $1.85 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• "We have now deployed over $1.7 billion in acquisitions in 2015. We continue to execute on our disciplined acquisition strategy focused on companies with leadership positions in niche markets with high recurring revenue, strong cash returns and excellent management teams."
• Roper has signed a definitive agreement to acquire CliniSys Group Ltd., a leading European provider of laboratory information management systems, for 170 million. CliniSys expands Roper's suite of diagnostic-related software.

6:59 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company (RRD) announced that it has made a minority investment in Mediant Communications, a provider of electronic and printed shareholder communications. Under the terms of the agreement, which formalizes and expands an existing strategic partnership, the companies will continue sales and development of their joint proxy services and post-sale fulfillment offering to broker dealers and advisors.
• Microsoft Corp (MSFT) opened the doors to its first flagship store in the heart of Manhattan at Fifth Ave. and 53rd St. The five-floor, 22,369 square-foot store features an assortment of products and in-store services familiar at the company's more than 110 retail locations, while offering new interactive experiences to customers

6:56 am ExOne enters into a five-year, $15 mln revolving credit agreement with RHI Investments (XONE) :

Co entered into a five-year revolving credit agreement with RHI Investments, which is controlled by ExOne's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, S. Kent Rockwell. The agreement provides for a $15 million revolving credit facility with the opportunity, subject to certain conditions, to increase the facility by an additional $15 million.Loans drawn against the facility will bear interest at LIBOR plus 7%.

• The credit agreement permits ExOne to use loan proceeds for providing lease financing to customers of its 3D printing machines, which will increase its global installed base beyond the current 200+ machines in service, and for working capital and general corporate purposes.

6:52 am Primero Mining announces an update on drilling at its Black Fox mine (PPP) :

Co announced further extensions to the Deep Central Zone at the Company's Black Fox mine, located near Timmins, Ontario, Canada.

• Co stated that Black Fox continues to grow at depth; wide intercepts demonstrate the continuation of high-grade mineralization at depth and include highlights of 16.0 grams per tonne gold over 11.9 metres (520-EX482-76) and 15.4 g/t gold over 10.9 metres (located over 800 metres below surface.
• Results from the Deep Central Zone including 10.9 g/t gold over 10.5 metres, 8.7 g/t gold over 9.1 metres and 9.2 g/t gold over 8.4 metres have given co increased confidence in the wide, high-grade mineralization characteristics of this zone.
• Recent drilling from the Froome zone, located 1 kilometre west of the Black Fox open-pit, include long mineralized intercepts of 5.1 g/t gold over 56.7 metres

6:52 am Laboratory Corp beats by $0.01, beats on revs; narrows FY15 guidance (LH) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $2.07 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $2.06; revenues rose 46.3% year/year to $2.27 bln (total revs including Reimbursable out-of-pocket expenses of $2.317 bln) vs the $2.25 bln Capital IQ Consensus. Co reported Q3 Net orders of $811 mln, representing a net book-to-bill of 1.21.
• Co issues in-line guidance for FY15, narrows EPS to $7.80-7.95 from $7.75-8.00 vs. $7.88 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.
• FY15 Guidance Details: Net revenue growth (assuming foreign exchange rates effective as of September 30, 2015) of ~41%, after the impact from ~220 basis points of negative currency. Net revenue growth in LabCorp Diagnostics of 4.5% to 5.5%, after the impact of ~90 basis points of negative currency. The change in net revenue in Covance Drug Development is expected to be -0.5% to 0.5% versus full year 2014 revenue after the impact of ~350 basis points of negative currency.

6:50 am Xerox beats by $0.01, misses on revs; guides Q4 EPS in-line; Board authorizes review of business portfolio and capital allocation options (XRX) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.24 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.23; revenues fell 7.2% year/year to $4.45 bln vs the $4.55 bln Capital IQ Consensus.
• Co issues in-line guidance for Q4, sees EPS of $0.28-0.30, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $0.29 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. 
• Xerox expects full-year 2015 cash flow from operations of $1.6 to $1.7 billion and free cash flow from operations of $1.3 to $1.4 billion.
• Board of Directors has authorized a review of the company's business portfolio and capital allocation options, with the goal of enhancing shareholder value.
  • "Xerox's Board of Directors and management team continually review the company's strategy and consider a range of opportunities regarding our businesses and operations with the goal of maximizing value for shareholders," said Ursula Burns, Xerox Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Although we already have taken steps to accelerate cost reductions and prioritize investments to drive improved productivity and higher margins, our Board determined that undertaking a comprehensive review of structural options for the company's portfolio is the right decision at this time."

6:46 am Penn Virginia announces the retirement of President and CEO Baird Whitehead (PVA) : Whitehead had previously indicated his intention to retire this year. Edward B. Cloues, II, who has served as the Company's Chairman of the Board since May 2011 and a director since 2001, will assume the additional role of interim Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. Mr. Whitehead will continue to serve as a director of the Company.

6:46 am Energy Transfer increases its quarterly cash distribution by $0.02 to $1.055/unit; Energy Transfer Equity (ETE) increases its quarterly cash distribution by $0.02 to $0.285/unit (ETP) :  

6:45 am Oi SA receives proposal from Letter One to enter into exclusive negotiations with respect to a potential transaction with the objective of a possible consolidation of the Brazilian telecommunications sector (OIBR) : The co announced that it received a letter from a company of the investment group Letter One, containing a proposal for the Company to enter into exclusive negotiations with Letter One with respect to a potential transaction with the objective of a possible consolidation of the Brazilian telecommunications sector, involving a potential business combination with TIM Participacoes S.A. In accordance with the proposal from Letter One, sent by BTG Pactual to the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Company's board of directors, Letter One would be willing to make a capital contribution of up to $4.0 bln in the Company, subject to the consolidation activities. The proposal will be carefully evaluated by the Company, jointly with its legal and financial advisors.

6:41 am Del Taco announces a secondary offering of 3,372,016 shares of common stock by entities affiliated with Goldman Sachs, Leonard Green & Partners and Charlesbank Capital Partners (TACO) :  

6:31 am Piedmont to be acquired by Duke Energy (DUK) for $60/share or ~$4.9 bln (PNY) :

Duke Energy (DUK) and Piedmont Natural Gas announced the boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved a definitive agreement for Duke Energy to acquire Piedmont for approximately $4.9 billion in cash. Duke Energy expects the transaction to be accretive to its EPS in the first full year after posting. Duke further believes the merger will enchance its long-term 4-6% EPS growth rate target

• Upon transaction closing, Piedmont shareholders will receive $60 in cash for each share of Piedmont Natural Gas common stock. This represents an approximate 40 percent premium to Piedmont's Oct. 23, 2015, closing stock price.
• Duke Energy will also assume approximately $1.8 billion in Piedmont Natural Gas existing net debt, representing a total enterprise value of approximately $6.7 billion. A fully underwritten bridge facility is in place with Barclays to complete the transaction. Duke Energy will finance the transaction with a combination of debt, between $500 million and $750 million of newly issued equity and other cash sources.
• Duke Energy will add one member of Piedmont's board of directors to its board after the transaction is closed. An existing member of Piedmont's management team will lead Duke Energy's natural gas operations in the Carolinas, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky, and report to Good. 

The companies are targeting a closing by the end of 2016.

6:27 am On the Wires (:WIRES) :

• Dehaier Medical Systems (DHRM) announced that it has been awarded a medical equipment procurement agreement from China's Health & Anti-Poverty Program Committee. According to the agreement, Dehaier will provide anesthesia equipment systems, mobile C-Arm X-Ray machines and medical molecular sieve oxygen generators to hospitals that are financed by the HAPP
• Applied DNA Sciences (APDN) announced it has partnered with Hi-Rel Group, a manufacturer of highly specialized metal components for the microelectronic packaging industry, to offer SigNature DNA-marked hermetic lids and support components to manufacturers of electronic devices

6:24 am Johnson & Johnson's Janssen announced the CHMP adopted a positive opinion recommending a change to the terms of the marketing authorisation for EDURANT in the European Union (JNJ) : Janssen-Cilag International NV announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use of the European Medicines Agency adopted a positive opinion recommending a change to the terms of the marketing authorisation for EDURANT (rilpivirine) in the European Union, to extend the indication to adolescent patients aged 12 to

6:20 am Pepco Hldgs misses by $0.13, misses on revs (POM) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $0.33 per share, $0.13 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.46; revenues rose 3.7% year/year to $1.36 bln vs the $1.77 bln single analyst estimate. 
• "Our earnings continue to be impacted by increased operation and maintenance costs, primarily driven by higher system maintenance costs and the implementation of a new customer information system. We continue to invest and spend to further improve electric system reliability while our merger with Exelon is pending."
• On October 15, 2015, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities issued an order extending the effectiveness of its merger approval until June 30, 2016.

6:16 am Valeant Pharma issues a statement, confirming the appropriateness of related revenue recognition and accounting treatment for its arrangement with Philidor (VRX) :

Co announced that its Audit and Risk Committee and the full Board of Directors have reviewed the company's accounting for its Philidor arrangement and have confirmed the appropriateness of the company's related revenue recognition and accounting treatment.

• Based on its review conducted to date, Valeant also believes that the company is in compliance with applicable law. In light of the recent allegations made regarding Philidor, however, the Board of Directors has decided to establish an ad hoc committee of the board to review allegations related to the company's business relationship with Philidor and related matters.
  • The committee will be chaired by Robert Ingram. Other members will include Norma Provencio, chairman of the audit and risk committee; Colleen Goggins; and Mason Morfit, who has been appointed to the Board as an independent director.

6:10 am Equity Res beats by $0.01, reports revs in-line; raises FY15 FFO in-line (EQR) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) normalized funds from operations of $0.89 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.88; revenues rose 4.8% year/year to $696.3 mln vs the $689.79 mln Capital IQ Consensus. On a same store third quarter to third quarter comparison, which includes 97,737 apartment units, revenues increased 5.4%, expenses increased 2.8% and NOI increased 6.7%.
• Co issues in-line guidance for FY15, raises FFO of $3.43-3.47 from $3.39-3.45 vs. $3.44 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Co sees FY15 NOI of +6.2% vs +5.5-6.0% prior guidance.

6:06 am Pacific Exploration and Production updates on Q3 operational results (PEGFF) : Total net production for the quarter is expected to be in the range of 152 to 154 Mboe/d, approximately 5% higher than during the same period in 2014. Sales volumes in the third quarter are expected to be in the range of 140 to 142 Mboe/d, which remained stable in comparison with the previous quarter. The OFT volumes are expected to be in the range of 2 to 3 Mbbl/d (compared to 10.8 Mbbl/d in the second quarter 2015). The volumes acquired for dilution were approximately 53 bbl/d (compared to 600 bbl/d in the second quarter 2015). During the third quarter of 2015, the Company drilled or was a partner in one exploration well and three appraisal wells in Colombia and Papua New Guinea. All wells encountered economic hydrocarbons, for an overall success rate of 100% for the period and 87% year to date.

6:04 am JAKKS Pacific beats by $0.01, misses on revs; reaffirms FY15 EPS guidance, revs guidance (JAKK) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $1.12 per share, $0.01 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $1.11; revenues fell 3.5% year/year to $337 mln vs the $344.12 mln Capital IQ Consensus.
  • Gross margin improved 390 basis points
  • Operating margin improved 70 basis points
• Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $0.71-0.75 vs. $0.78 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY15 revs of $730-740 mln vs. $744.45 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

6:04 am Valeant Pharma adds President of ValueAct Capital G. Mason Morfit to its Board effective immediately (VRX) : Morfit had originally served on the Valeant Board of Directors from May 2007 to May 2014.

6:04 am Check Point Software beats by $0.06, reports revs in-line (CHKP) :

• Reports Q3 (Sep) earnings of $1.04 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.06 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.98; revenues rose 9.0% year/year to $403.9 mln vs the $402.88 mln Capital IQ Consensus. 
• As of Sept. 30, 2015, deferred revenues were $772 mln compared to $660 million as of Sept. 30, 2014.

6:02 am BioDelivery Sciences and Endo Intl (ENDP) announce that the FDA has approved BELBUCA buccal film for use in patients with chronic pain; expected to be commercially available in US during 1Q16 (BDSI) :

Endo Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ENDP) and BioDelivery Sciences International (BDSI) announces that the FDA has approved BELBUCA buccal film for use in patients with chronic pain severe enough to require daily, around-the-clock, long-term opioid treatment and for which alternative treatment options are inadequate.

• BELBUCA is expected to be commercially available in the U.S. during the 1Q16 in seven dosage strengths.
• The FDA approval of BELBUCA was based on two double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, enriched-enrollment Phase 3 studies in patients with moderate to severe chronic low back pain.
• In both studies, BELBUCA demonstrated a consistent, statistically significant improvement in patient-reported pain relief at every week from baseline to week 12, compared to placebo. The most common adverse reactions (>5%) reported by patients with BELBUCA in the clinical trials were nausea, constipation, headache, vomiting, fatigue, dizziness, somnolence, diarrhea, dry mouth, and upper respiratory tract infection.

6:01 am Equity Res confirms it will sell 72 properties, consisting of 23,262 apartment units to Starwood Capital Group for $5.365 bln; proceeds to be used to pay a special dividend between $9-11/share (EQR) :

Equity Residential is selling assets in the following markets: South Florida 33 properties (10,742 units), Denver 18 properties (6,635 units), Washington DC 10 properties (3,020 units), Seattle 8 properties (1,721 units) Inland Empire, CA 3 properties (1,144 units).

• In 2016, Equity Residential intends to sell an additional 26 assets located in various submarkets, consisting of 4,728 apartment units, 3,364 of which are all of the company's assets in Connecticut and in non-core submarkets in Massachusetts. Co expects to sell these assets in individual and small portfolio sales for ~$700 million
• Equity Residential intends to use the majority of the proceeds from these sales to pay a special dividend to its shareholders of between $9.00 and $11.00 per share and anticipates that dividend being paid during the second quarter of 2016.
• The company also expects to use proceeds from this sale to reduce aggregate indebtedness in order to make the transaction leverage neutral.

6:01 am Cesca Therapeutics appoints as Michael Bruch Chief Financial Officer (KOOL) : Bruch was appointed Interim Chief Financial Officer in May 2015. Prior to that he had served as Controller since joining the Company in 2003.

6:01 am Sinovac Biotech's subsidiary Sinovac Dalian receives approval by the China FDA, to begin human clinical trials on its varicella vaccine candidate (SVA) : In preparation to begin human clinical trials, Sinovac Dalian is currently finalizing the trial protocol, confirming the site, training staff and preparing for volunteer screening. The Company expects to complete the trial in 2017. Simultaneously, Sinovac Dalian is renovating of an existing building on its Dalian campus, which will serve as the commercial production plant for the varicella vaccine. The plant will have a designed annual capacity of 5 million doses.

6:00 am Blackstone to acquire MB Aerospace; terms not disclosed (BX) : Co announced that its funds have agreed to acquire MBAe, a Tier I engine component manufacturer and repair business, from Arlington Capital Partners.

5:52 am S&P futures vs fair value: -6.30. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: -12.60. :

5:52 am European Markets : FTSE...6429.47...-14.60...-0.20%.  DAX...10822.69...+28.20...+0.30%.

5:52 am Asian Markets : Nikkei...18947.12...+121.80...+0.70%.  Hang Seng...23116.25...-35.70...-0.20%.

5:50 am Qunar announces partnership with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide (HOT) (QUNR) : Under the new partnership, Qunar's travel user base will get instant and direct access to Starwood's global hotel inventory through Qunar's mobile and PC transaction platform.

5:46 am Northern Tier Energy announces the receipt of a buyout proposal from Western Refining (WNR) for consideration valued at $27.62/unit (NTI) :

Co received a non-binding proposal from Western Refining (WNR) whereby Western would acquire all of NTI's outstanding publicly traded common units in exchange for aggregate consideration of $17.50 in cash and 0.2266 of a share of Western common stock.

• Western currently owns approximately 38% of the common units and 100% of the general partnership interest of NTI. According to the proposal, Western intends to fund the cash portion of the offer with a combination of cash-on-hand, capital markets debt or a bank-sponsored bridge loan.
• It is anticipated that the Board of Directors of NTI's general partner will delegate to its Conflicts Committee, the authority to consider and respond to the proposal and that the Conflicts Committee will engage its own independent legal and financial advisors in connection with considering the proposal.

5:29 am Credit Suisse increases rights offering to up to CHF4.7 bln; prices offering of 58 mln new shares at CHF22.75 (CS) :  

5:09 am On The Wires (:WIRES) :

• The Este Lauder Companies (EL) announced that it has signed an agreement to purchase an interest in Have & Be Co. Terms of the investment were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close in December 2015.
• Oracle (ORCL) introduced its Exa Your Power Program to help customers migrate Oracle Database from IBM Power systems to Oracle Engineered Systems using Intel technology.
• Platts, McGraw Hill Financial (MHFI) company announced the launch of Platts Analytics. The new offering combines the company's analytical capabilities into a new product portfolio which helps customers to make better informed trading and business decisions.
• The Royal Australian Air Force has extended its contract with Northrop Grumman (NOC) to provide logistics support for its F/A-18 Hornet Target Designation Systems, which use the AN/AAQ-28 LITENING pod.
• Agilent Technologies (A) introduced the Agilent 5977B High Efficiency Source GC/MSD System, a tandem gas chromatograph and mass spectrometer that delivers lower limits of detection than any other instrument in its class.
• FXCM (FXCM) announced that is has upgraded its Index CFD and Spread Bet market making technology which enhances its index trading offering. 
• Infoblox (BLOX) announced enhancements to its carrier-grade DNS solution portfolio to block more types of attacks against service providers and deliver a better subscriber experience. These attacks can reduce network performance or even disrupt subscriber services, damaging brand reputation and reducing revenue. 
• TASER International (TASR) announced its disruptive entry into the in-car video market with Axon Fleet. Axon Fleet will be available for pre-orders starting this week and available for shipment in Q1 2016.

3:46 am Manchester United appoints Cliff Baty as CFO (MANU) :

Co announced that Cliff Baty will be joining the Club as Chief Financial Officer.

• Since 2013, Baty has served as Chief Financial Officer and member of the Board of Directors of Sportech plc, a pool betting operator and technology supplier

3:39 am Transocean to delay the operating and delivery contracts of two newbuild ultra-deepwater drillships (RIG) :

Transocean (RIG) announced a mutual agreement with its customer, Shell EP Wells Equipment Wells Services B.V. (RDS.A), and the shipyard, Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co, to delay the operating and delivery contracts of two newbuild ultra-deepwater drillships - the Deepwater Pontus and the Deepwater Poseidon - by 12 months each.

• The delay has no impact on the duration or dayrate of the original 10-year operating contracts for each of the two newbuild ultra-deepwater drillships. Parties will be compensated for the postponement. The specific terms are not disclosed.
• The delivery and operating agreements for Shell's two other contracted Transocean newbuild, ultra-deepwater drillships, the Deepwater Thalassa and Deepwater Proteus, are not impacted by this agreement.

3:30 am Genmab receives $3 mln from JNJ's Jansen for DuoBody platform milestone achievement (GNMSF) :

Genmab A/S announced today it has achieved a milestone in its DuoBody technology platform collaboration with Janssen Biotech, a unit of JNJ, triggering a $3 million milestone payment.

• The milestone payment is for pre-clinical progress with a DuoBody product candidate targeting cancer. Janssen has optioned 11 programs out of a total of 20 programs under the bispecific DuoBody platform collaboration with Genmab.
• Including the collaboration with Janssen, Genmab has five commercial partnerships for its DuoBody technology.

3:23 am Diebold divests its North Am electronic security business to Securitas (DBD) :

Diebold announced it has entered into an agreement to divest its North America-based electronic security business to accelerate its transformation and better position the company to pursue growth opportunities in the dynamic self-service industry.

• Securitas has agreed to acquire the business in a transaction with a purchase price of $350 million.
• Ten percent of the price is contingent on successful transference of certain customer relationships to Securitas.

3:19 am Randgold Resources reports Tongon gold mine has paid off shareholder loans, moving it into dividend paying position (GOLD) : Co announced its Tongon gold mine has paid off its shareholders' loans of $448 million, used to partially fund its capital investment of $580 million, thereby moving it into a dividend-paying position

3:11 am GNC Holdings reponds to Oregon Attorney Gen'l claims; believes suit filed without merit (GNC) :

Co announced that it has filed a motion to remove to Federal Court the lawsuit filed against it by the Oregon Attorney General. In making the filing the company issued the following statement: "GNC believes that the lawsuit filed by the Oregon Attorney General is without merit, and the Company intends to defend itself vigorously against this unfair action.

• Co also states it was unable to reach an agreement with the Oregon Attorney General. As a next step, the Company filed to have the action moved to Federal court. Products sold by GNC are regulated by the FDA.
• GNC's vendors certify that they are in full compliance with the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, and to guarantee that their products meet all applicable Federal and state laws.

3:08 am AstraZeneca confirms FDA committee recommends approval of Lesinurad (AZN) :

AstraZeneca announced that the FDA's Arthritis Advisory Committee voted 10-4 to recommend the approval of lesinurad 200 mg tablets for the treatment of hyperuricemia associated with gout, in combination with a xanthine oxidase inhibitor.

• The AAC reviewed safety and efficacy data from the pivotal Phase III combination therapy program trials, representing the largest clinical trial data set of gout patients treated with combination urate lowering therapy.
• The FDA is not bound by the Advisory Committee's recommendation but takes its advice into consideration when reviewing the application for a potential medicine.
• The PDUFA target goal date for lesinurad is December 29, 2015

3:03 am U.S. Concrete hires Ronnie Pruitt as COO (USCR) :

Co announced that it has hired Ronnie Pruitt as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

• Pruitt comes from Martin Marietta Materials (MLM), where he served as Vice President of Cement Sales, and has over 20 years of industry experience.

2:49 am Celgene reports positive results from the maintenance phase of the TOUCHSTONE phase 2 clinical trial of Ozanimod (CELG) :

Co presented results from the maintenance phase of the TOUCHSTONE phase 2 clinical trial of Ozanimod, an investigational compound, in patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis

• The primary endpoint was the proportion of patients in remission at week 8. Secondary endpoints were: the proportion of patients achieving a clinical response, the proportion of patients with mucosal improvement and the change from baseline in Mayo score.
• Previously reported results showed TOUCHSTONE met its primary endpoint and secondary endpoints with statistical significance for patients on the 1 mg dose of Ozanimod versus placebo in the 8-week induction phase.

2:33 am Sandstorm Gold acquires new royalty package on from Alexandria Minerals (SAND) :

Sandstorm announced it has acquired a royalty package on properties in Quebec, Canada from Alexandria Minerals for consideration of C$300,000.

• The royalty package consists of a 1% NSR on certain claims in Alexandria's Cadillac Break property group, the assignment of a 2% NSR on the Roc d'Or claim owned by Integra Gold Corp, and the assignment of existing NSR buy-back rights, ranging from 1% to 1.25% on select claims in the Val d'Or area.
• In addition, Sandstorm has subscribed for C$1 million in Alexandria common shares as part of a non-brokered private placement that is expected to close within the next 30 days

2:27 am Blue Square-Israel Board approves sale of Dor Alon shares for NIS50 mln (BSI) :  

2:25 am Keysight initiates exhange offer (KEYS) : Co offers to exchange up to $500 million of 3.300% Senior Notes due 2019 for a like principal amount of its outstanding $500 million unregistered 3.300% Senior Notes due 2019 and $600 million of 4.550% Senior Notes due 2024

2:14 am TICC Capital receives favorable ruling; Court finds that NexPoint Directors not eligible for election at the special meeting (TICC) :

TICC Capital announced that the United States District Court for the District of Connecticut has denied NexPoint Advisors, L.P.'s motion for preliminary injunction seeking to have its director nominees recognized on the ballot for TICC's previously announced special meeting of stockholders.

• The Court recognized that, as disclosed in TICC's proxy materials, TICC's board would only be expanded if TICC's stockholders voted in favor of the new investment advisory agreement with an affiliate of Benefit Street Partners.
• The Court rejected NexPoint's claim that it had the right to put six directors up for election at the special meeting.