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- Adobe Systems (ADBE 79.11, -0.83): -1.0% after below-consensus guidance overshadowed a bottom-line beat.
- FedEx (FDX 180.00, -2.13): -1.2% after missing earnings and revenue estimates.
Reviewing overnight developments:
- Asian markets ended mostly higher. Hong Kong's Hang Seng +0.7%, China's Shanghai Composite +1.7%, and Japan's Nikkei -0.2%
- In economic data:
- Japan's May Trade Balance -JPY216 bln (expected -JPY226 bln; prior -JPY53 bln) as Exports +2.4% year-over-year (expected +3.5%; prior +8.0%) and Imports -8.7% year-over-year (expected -7.5%; prior -4.2%)
- Australia's MI Leading Index -0.1% month-over-month (prior 0.0%)
- Singapore's May Trade Balance SGD6.61 bln (expected SGD7.02 bln; prior SGD5.91 bln) and Non-Oil Exports -3.1% month-over-month (expected -5.7%; prior -8.6%); -0.2% year-over-year (expected +3.1%; prior +2.2%)
- In news:
- China's Shanghai Composite remained volatile, falling to a two-week low in morning trade before rallying into the close
- Major European indices trade lower across the board. UK's FTSE -0.5%, Germany's DAX -0.7%, and France's CAC -1.1%. Elsewhere, Italy's MIB -0.5% and Spain's IBEX -0.6%
- Participants received several data points:
- Eurozone May CPI +0.2% month-over-month; +0.3% year-over-year. Separately, Core CPI +0.9% year-over-year. All readings matched expectations
- UK's May Claimant Count -6,500 (expected -12,300; prior -7,800) while the Unemployment Rate held at 5.5%. Separately, April Average Earnings Index + Bonus 2.7% (consensus 2.1%; prior 2.3%)
- Italy's April Trade Balance EUR3.74 billion (expected EUR3.27 billion; prior EUR4.01 billion)
- Swiss ZEW Expectations ticked up to 0.1 from -0.1
- Among news of note:
- The Bank of England released the minutes from its latest policy meeting, which revealed a unanimous vote in favor of maintaining the current policy stance
- European investors remain focused on Greece as another day goes by without a deal with EU creditors
7:37 am FedEx misses by $0.03, misses on revs; guides FY16 EPS in-line (FDX) : - Reports Q4 (May) earnings of $2.66 per share, excluding non-recurring items, $0.03 worse than the Capital IQ Consensus of $2.69; revenues rose 2% year/year to $12.1 bln vs the $12.32 bln consensus.
- Adjusted operating income improved 5% during the quarter, due to base yield growth in all three transportation segments, higher ground and U.S. domestic express volume, and benefits from profit improvement program initiatives. These improvements offset increased employee variable incentive compensation and unfavorable net impacts from fuel and weather.
- FedEX Express rev -4% to $6.7 bln; adj. OI +12% to $598 mln
- FedEX Ground rev +19% to $3.6 bln; OI +0.3% to $603 mln.
- Quarterly consolidated earnings have been adjusted for previously announced changes in pension accounting ($4.88 per diluted share), aircraft impairments ($0.62 per diluted share), a legal reserve increase ($0.47 per diluted share) and changes in segment reporting (favorable $0.15 per diluted share).
- Co issues in-line guidance for FY16, sees EPS of $10.60-11.10 vs. $10.88 Capital IQ Consensus, driven by continued improvement in base pricing and benefits from profit improvement program.
- The outlook assumes continued moderate economic growth and does not include any operating results or costs related to TNT Express (TNTEY).
- FedEx also announced that independent members of its Board of Directors have approved a change to FedEx's Corporate Governance Guidelines to increase the mandatory retirement age for directors from age 72 to age 75, effective immediately..6 bln; OI
7:32 am Overnight Treasury Summary (BOND) : Treasuries Pull Back
- The U.S. Treasury complex gave back some of Tuesday's gains overnight. The FOMC rate decision and statement will be released today, followed by a press conference with Fed Chair Janet Yellen. Given that the economic data show a sluggish recovery from the soft patch seen in Q1, as previously predicted by the Fed, markets seem confident that today will offer few surprises
- Yield Check:
- 2-yr: +1 bp to 0.70%
- 5-yr: +1 bp to 1.67%
- 10-yr: +1 bp to 2.32%
- 30-yr: +1 bp to 3.05%
- International News:
- The Bank of England released the minutes from its June Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting
- The decision not to raise rates was unanimous, but "finely balanced" for two of the members who ultimately voted in favor of holding steady
- The central bank also removed text that left open the door for further rate cuts
- The U.K.'s unemployment rate remained steady in April at 5.5%, as expected
- The Average Earnings Index including bonuses rose 2.7% in April, greater than expected and also more than the 2.3% growth in March
- Eurozone inflation metrics came out in line with estimates. Core CPI grew 0.9% y/y and headline CPI grew 0.3% y/y
- The FOMC ends its 2-day meeting today. Market consensus is for policy normalization to begin in September
- While it all but guaranteed that the Fed will hold rates steady today, some market observers are talking about an outside chance of dissent from Jeffrey Lacker, president of the Richmond Fed
- Data out Today:
- MBA Mortgage Index for the week ending 6/13: -5.5% vs. +8.4% for the prior week
- Crude Inventories for the week ending 6/13 (10:30 ET)
- FOMC Rate Decision (14:00 ET)
7:31 am Mitel Networks is selected by T-Mobile (TMUS) as the preferred supplier of T-Mobile's new cloud solution, Cloud & Clear, launched in the Netherlands (MITL) : 7:31 am Brown & Brown acquires the assets of Strategic Benefit Advisors; terms not disclosed (BRO) : Strategic Benefit Advisors is a health and welfare benefit advisory and brokerage firm providing advice and assistance to organizations with large employee populations. SBA has annual revenues of ~$11.5 million. The SBA assets will continue to be operated out of the existing SBA headquarters located in Southborough, Massachusetts 7:31 am Arrowhead Research receives regulatory clearance in Germany to begin additional phase 2b studies of HBV candidate ARC-520 (ARWR) : Co announces that its Clinical Trial Application for ARC-520, its clinical candidate for chronic hepatitis B infection (:HBV), has been approved by Germany's Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices. The company now has regulatory clearance in Germany for two additional Phase 2b multiple-dose studies of ARC-520 to be conducted in parallel. Co awaits final IRB approval from the sites, which are expected shortly, and in addition, the co is engaged with regulatory authorities from Hong Kong and South Korea to open additional sites for these studies. 7:30 am Celgene announces additional $4 billion share repurchase authorization (CELG) : Co announces it has authorized the repurchase of up to an additional $4 billion of common stock. This open-ended program is effective immediately. Purchases may be made in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions from time to time. Co now has a total of approximately $5.2 bln remaining from previous authorizations plus the new authorization. Since 2009, Celgene has returned approximately $12.3 billion to shareholders through the repurchase program. 7:30 am TASER announces new orders for its smart weapons; includes a New Orleans Police Department order for 350 TASER X2 smart weapons (TASR) : Orders listed were received and shipped in the second quarter. Significant orders included:
- Atlanta Police Department (:GA): 200 X2s with TASER Cam HD recorders
- Cook County Sheriff's Office (IL): 95 X2s and 100 X26Ps
- New Orleans Police Department (:LA): 350 X26Ps with TASER Cam HD recorders
- Ontario Provincial Police (ON): 279 X2s
7:30 am Derma Sciences announces that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has reinstated coverage and assigned a reimbursable code for MEDIHONEY dressings effective immediately (DSCI) : An amended policy article, adopted by all four DME MACs and effective October 1, 2015, specifically confirms that coverage of multi-component dressings that contain medicinal honey will be based on the underlying covered components. 7:25 am CYREN is awarded a $930K government grant, from the Office of the Chief Scientist at the Ministry of Economy of Israel (CYRN) : The grant will offset some R&D expenses for the period from January 2015 through December 2015 and will support the research and development of the Company's Cyber Threat Protection platform 7:22 am On the Wires (:WIRES) : - xG Technology (XGTI) announced the successful installation and initial deployment of an xMax broadband network in Escazu, Costa Rica by Itellum, LLC
- Globalstar (GSAT) announced that Lockheed Martin (LMT) Flight Service will integrate its automated position monitoring for VFR (Visual Flight Rules) flights
- Synacor (SYNC) announced a multiyear agreement with Mediacom Communications Corporation that includes Synacor's next-generation portal, TV Everywhere authentication, and advertising solutions.
- SolarCity (SCTY) and Sunrise Energy Ventures have partnered to create a new community solar program that allows renters, schools, municipalities and other current Xcel Energy customers in Minnesota to purchase renewable energy without installing solar panels on their properties.
- Imagination Technologies announced it has adopted ANSYS (ANSS) integrated circuit power analysis and optimization solutions.
7:21 am On the Wires (:WIRES) : - BioLineRx (BLRX) announced that it will present positive safety results of its Phase 1/2 study for BL-7010, a novel polymer for the treatment of celiac disease, at the 16th International Celiac Disease Symposium
- Scientific Games Corporation (SGMS) announced that through its wholly owned subsidiary, Bally Gaming, it has reached an agreement to provide at least 2,000 video lottery terminals (VLTs) to the Oregon Lottery.
- Albany Molecular Research (AMRI) and PerkinElmer announced the formation of a strategic collaboration in connection with the opening of AMRI's drug discovery center as part of the new Buffalo Medical Innovation and Commercialization Hub (:BMIC). AMRI will be working closely with BMIC and off-campus customers and partners to provide solutions for their drug discovery and translational science needs while PerkinElmer will deploy technical and informatics experts to facilitate technological and drug discovery innovations
- Canadian Solar (CSIQ) announced that it served as the supplier of photovoltaic modules for the 42.9 MW Takataya Hibiki PV plant in Kitakyushu, Japan. In total, Canadian Solar provided 168,240 Canadian Solar CS6P-255P solar panels.
- Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding (TNXP) reported that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has conditionally accepted the proposed trade name Tonmya for TNX-102 SL (cyclobenzaprine HCl sublingual tablets), 2.8 mg, for the management of fibromyalgia. Tonix recently launched the Phase 3 AFFIRM study of Tonmya in fibromyalgia, from which top-line results are expected to be reported in the second half of 2016.
7:19 am Realty Income declared increase in common stock monthly cash dividend to $0.19 per share from $0.1895 per share from $0.1895 per share (O) : 7:14 am Asian Markets Close: Japan's Nikkei -0.2%; Hong Kong's Hang Seng +0.7%; China's Shanghai Composite +1.7% (:SUMRX) : Markets in the Asia-pacific region were mostly higher on Wednesday, bolstered by Wall Street's positive showing on Tuesday and a recovery effort in the Chinese market following two days of substantive declines. Japan bucked the trend with a modest decline that followed some disappointing data for exports and imports in May.
Economic data
- Japan
- May Trade Balance JPY -216 bln (expected JPY -226 bln; prior JPY -53 bln)
- Exports +2.4% year-over-year (expected +3.5%; prior +8.0%)
- Imports -8.7% year-over-year (expected -7.5%; prior -4.2%)
- Australia
- MI Leading Index -0.1% month-over-month (prior 0.0%)
- Singapore
- May Trade Balance SGD 6.61 bln (expected SGD 7.02 bln; prior SGD 5.91 bln)
- Non-Oil Exports -3.1% month-over-month (expected -5.7%; prior -8.6%); -0.2% year-over-year (expected +3.1%; prior +2.2%)
Equity Markets
- Japan's Nikkei declined 0.2% following some weaker than expected data for exports and imports in May. The utilities (-1.6%) and financial (-0.7%) sectors were the worst-performing areas. Unitika (-3.3%), Sumco Corp (-3.1%), and Tokyo Electric Power (-2.9%) paced the decliners. NTN Corp (+7.2%) led advancing stocks. Out of the 225 index members, 62 ended higher, 157 finished lower, and 6 were unchanged.
- Hong Kong's Hang Seng increased 0.7%, led by strength in its consumer cyclical (+1.2%), consumer non-cyclical (+0.9%), and financial (+0.7%) sectors. Individual standouts included Want Want China Holdings (+2.8%), Bank of China (+2.4%), and Cathay Pacific Airways (+2.3%). CNOOC (-1.1%) led decliners and was the only stock to drop more than 1.0%. Out of the 50 index members, 40 ended higher, 8 finished lower, and 2 were unchanged.
- China's Shanghai Composite increased 1.7%, overcoming an early 2.5% decline. The rebound followed a 5.5% decline in the first two days of the trading week. All sectors rebounded in the Chinese market on Wednesday. Standout performers in the CSI 300 Index were the technology (+5.1%), utilities (+4.9%), and energy (+2.7%) sectors.
- India's Sensex increased 0.6%, bolstered by gains in the consumer non-cyclical (+2.0%), communications (+1.9%), and energy (+1.8%) sectors. Cipla Ltd (+3.8%), Tata Steel (+3.6%), and Hindustan Unilever (+3.3%) led individual winners while Vedanta (-3.3%), Bharat Heavy Electricals (-2.0%), and Tata Power (-1.8%) paced the decliners. Out of the 30 index members, 20 ended higher and 10 finished lower.
- Australia's S&P/ASX 200 jumped 1.1%. The advance was led by the financial (+1.6%), energy (+1.6%), and telecom services (+1.4%) sectors. Individual standouts included Pacific Brands (+9.0%), Sandfire Resources (+8.8%), and Challenger Ltd (+4.5%). Out of the 200 index members, 136 ended higher, 50 finished lower, and 14 were unchanged.
- Regional advancers: South Korea +0.3%, Malaysia +0.3%, Indonesia +1.5%, Thailand +0.9%, Philippines +0.4%
- Regional decliners: Taiwan -0.3%, Vietnam -0.3%
FX
- USD/CNY +0.02% at 6.2096
- USD/INR -0.02% at 64.151
- USD/JPY +0.4% at 123.91
7:02 am Supernus Pharma announces distribution of shares by VC fund New Enterprise Associates to its partners (SUPN) : Co announced that it has received notice that, effective following the close of trading on June 15, 2015, New Enterprise Associates (NEA) distributed an aggregate of 3,921,000 shares of Supernus Pharmaceuticals common stock to its partners.
- "The NEA funds continue to hold approximately 63% of their original holdings, or 6,729,000 shares, and remain the largest stockholder of Supernus."
7:02 am PartnerRe issues a letter to shareholders, urging them to vote for its merger with AXIS Capital (AXS) (PRE) : 7:02 am Medivation and Astellas (ALPMY) announce enrollment of the first patients in advanced prostate cancer outcomes registry (MDVN) : - Co announced that the first patients have been enrolled in Trumpet, an observational patient registry.
- The registry will enroll and evaluate 2,000 patients diagnosed with CRPC from urology and oncology sites across the United States.
7:01 am Hill-Rom will acquire Welch Allyn for ~$2.05 bln in cash and stock; sees deal immediately accretive (HRC) : Hill-Rom will acquire Welch Allyn for ~$2.05 billion in cash and stock. Welch Allyn shareholders will receive $1.625 billion in cash and ~8.1 million newly-issued shares of Hill-Rom common stock. Hill-Rom expects the combined co will have $2.6 billion in revenues and generate over $500 million in adjusted EBITDA.
- Hill-Rom expects the acquisition of Welch Allyn will be immediately accretive to Hill-Rom's adjusted gross and EBITDA margins.
- Hill-Rom also expects the transaction to be more than 10% accretive to adjusted earnings per share in 2016 and meaningfully more accretive thereafter.
- Hill-Rom anticipates that it will achieve annual run-rate cost savings of at least $40 million by 2018, primarily through a combination of facility optimization, procurement efficiencies and general and administrative expense reductions.
- Upon the completion of the transaction, which the companies expect will occur before the end of September 2015, Welch Allyn shareholders, a group that consists of about 75 shareholders, will own ~13% of the combined company
- The co will hold industry-leading positions across the care continuum, including primary and intensive care, hospital patient room, operating room and post-acute care. The transaction will also enable the company to expand its channel access and call points and enhance clinical workflow through EMR connectivity solutions.
- The two cos have nearly two centuries of medical device innovation between them and will combine their unique strengths to develop new technologies that enhance outcomes for patients and their caregivers.
- HRC also reaffirms Q3/FY15 guidance ex-acquisition:
- Q3 EPS $0.58-0.61 reported rev +13-15%
- FY15 EPS $2.50-2.54 reporeted rev +10-11%
7:01 am Agenus appoints C. Evan Ballantyne as CFO, effective immediately (AGEN) : Most recently, Ballantyne served as the Chief Financial Officer at Synthetic Biologics (SYN) from February 2012 to May 2015 7:01 am Prothena presents clinical results from a Phase 1 single ascending dose study of PRX002; meets ascending dose study objectives and was well tolerated among participants (PRTA) : Co presented clinical results from a Phase 1 single ascending dose study of PRX002, a monoclonal antibody for the potential treatment of Parkinson's disease and other related synucleinopathies. data demonstrated that PRX002 was safe and well-tolerated in healthy volunteers, meeting the primary objective of the study. Further, results from this study showed that administration of PRX002 led to a mean reduction of free serum alpha-synuclein levels of up to 96%. These overall results were highly statistically significant (p - Reduction of free serum alpha-synuclein, a protein potentially involved in the onset and progression of Parkinson's disease and the target of PRX002, was shown to be robust, rapid, and dose- and time-dependent after a single dose. No serious adverse events or hypersensitivity reactions were reported. PRX002 demonstrated favorable pharmacokinetic properties, supporting the current dosing frequency in the on-going Phase 1 multiple ascending dose study in patients with Parkinson's disease.
- Treatment-emergent adverse events in greater than 5% of subjects were vessel puncture site pain, headache, viral infection, nausea, neutropenia, upper respiratory infection and pruritus. All PRX002-related adverse events were mild and no dose limiting toxicities were observed. No anti-drug antibodies were detected.
7:00 am Kythera Biopharma to be acquired by Allergan (AGN) for $75 per share in cash/equity; AGN sees deal as breakeven in 2016 and accretive thereafter (KYTH) : - Allergan (AGN) has agreed to acquire KYTH in a cash and equity transaction valued at $75 per KYTH share, or approximately $2.1 bln.
- The fixed-value transaction consideration will be payable 80% in cash and 20% in new AGN shares issued to KYTH shareholders.
- Allergan's 2015 earnings-per-share forecast provided on May 11, 2015 is unchanged as a result of the acquisition.
- The acquisition is expected to be breakeven in 2016 and accretive thereafter.
- KYTH's KYBELLA is an approved non-surgical treatment for contouring moderate to severe submental fullness, commonly referred to as double chin.
6:59 am On the Wires (:WIRES) : - eGain (EGAN) announced that CompuCom Systems has implemented eGain for Cisco SolutionsPlus as the technology platform to power outsourced omnichannel/multichannel customer service for its business clients
- China Aircraft Leasing Group Holdings has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to power 18 Airbus A320neo aircraft with Pratt & Whitney PurePower engines. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2017. Pratt & Whitney is a United Technologies (UTX) company
- Descartes Systems Group (DSGX) announced that logistics service provider and customs house broker D.J. Powers BV, has deployed the Descartes OneView Forwarder Enterprise solution to help streamline its European operations.
6:50 am BioCryst Pharm licenses Rapivab to CSL Limited, for a $33.7 mln upfront payment and additional follow-on payments (BCRX) : Under the terms of the agreement, bioCSL obtains worldwide rights to commercialize RAPIVAB, with the exception of Japan, Korea, Taiwan and Israel. BioCryst retains all rights to pursue pandemic stockpiling orders for RAPIVAB from the U.S. government, while bioCSL is responsible for government stockpiling outside the U.S.
- Also under the terms of the agreement, BioCryst will receive an upfront payment of $33.7 million from bioCSL, and may receive up to $12.0 million in additional payments related to the successful achievement of certain regulatory milestones. BioCryst will receive tiered royalties that are contingent upon certain net sales thresholds in the U.S. and the rest of the world, as well as a percentage of proceeds from government stockpiling purchases outside the U.S. In addition, bioCSL will purchase existing and in-process inventory of RAPIVAB for treatment of influenza patients in upcoming flu seasons.
6:41 am Qihoo 360 Tech. receives non-binding proposal to be acquired for $77/share by group including its Chairman and CEO (QIHU) : The co announced that its board of directors has received a preliminary non-binding proposal letter, dated June 17, 2015, from Mr. Hongyi Zhou, chairman and chief executive officer of the Company, CITIC Securities Co. Ltd. or its affiliates, Golden Brick Capital Private Equity Fund I L.P., China Renaissance Holdings Limited or its affiliates and Sequoia Capital China I, L.P. and/or its affiliates, to acquire all of the outstanding Class A and Class B ordinary shares of the Company not owned by them or their affiliates, including Class A ordinary shares represented by American depositary shares, for $51.33 in cash per Class A or Class B ordinary share, or $77.00 in cash per ADS.
- The Board intends to form a special committee consisting of independent directors to consider the proposal. The Board expects that the special committee will retain independent advisors, including independent financial and legal advisors, to assist it in this process.
6:33 am Rubicon Minerals releases results of its Red Lake exploration drilling program (RBY) : Rubicon has completed 9,553 metres in 21 holes of surface exploration drilling that focused on target areas located within one kilometre north of ongoing underground development at the Project. This program revisits the high-grade intercepts discovered from previous drilling on the Carbonate Zone, as well as commencing an initial wide-spaced drilling program to test the northern extension of the F2 deposit. The wide-spaced drill holes that targeted the area north of the F2 Deposit identified several areas of gold mineralization and/or intense alteration that include 9.15 g/t Au over 1.00 m (PR-15-03), 7.55 g/t Au over 1.00 m (PR-15-03), 8.07 g/t Au over 1.00 m (PR-15-10), 7.49 g/t Au over 1.00 m (PR-15-20) and 10.26 g/t Au over 1.18 m (PR-15-20). Drilling intersected anomalous gold mineralization within the F2 Gold System regional trend and confirms the prospectivity of the stratigraphy underlying the Phoenix Gold Project. - The co also announced that its option agreement with West Kirkland Mining Inc. over the Company's 227,000-acre land position located on the emerging Long Canyon gold district in Nevada expired in February 2015. Rubicon acquired the Nevada Claims in 2007 and optioned them to West Kirkland in 2011. Rubicon has begun the process of exploring options to obtain value for its Nevada Claims, and continues to believe the properties are highly prospective.
6:31 am Yingli Green Energy signs a framework agreement with Xi'an LONGi Silicon Materials, to cooperatively manufacture several solar products (YGE) : Co announced that it has signed a framework agreement with Xi'an LONGi Silicon Materials to cooperatively manufacture monocrystalline silicon wafers, and ingots, solar cells and solar panels.
- According to the agreement, the two parties will collaborate to employ their respective manufacturing capacities, technologies and resources across the full monocrystalline value chain. Under the same circumstances, Yingli agrees to preferentially procure LONGi's monocrystalline silicon wafers.
- In the meantime, both parties agreed to develop high-efficiency monocrystalline solar application markets from home and abroad and consider to use monocrystalline modules for their self-developed power plants, further to explore the possibilities to jointly develop monocrystalline silicon ingot plants
6:31 am Univar increases the terms of this weeks planned IPO; total shares offered by the company and selling shareholders now 35 mln, vs. initial plans to offer 20 mln shares (UNVR) : In an amended prospectus, the company disclosed that its IPO had been increased to 35 mln shares, consisting of 20 mln being sold by the company (unchanged) and 15 mln by selling shareholders. In the original prospectus, only shares being offered by the company were expected. The anticipated range remains unchanged at $20.00-$22.00 6:30 am Energen announces an offering of 5.7 mln shares of common stock (EGN) : Co intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to fund a slight increase in drilling activity in the Midland Basin in the second half of 2015 and, more significantly, to begin a multi-year acceleration of development activities in the Permian Basin in 2016, with capital investment in 2016 of $1.0 billion or more; net proceeds also may be used for other general corporate purposes, including the acquisition of proved and unproved leasehold. Co may also use the net proceeds from this offering to repay borrowings outstanding under its credit facility. 6:29 am On the Wires (:WIRES) : - Carpenter Technology Corporation (CRS) announced that a leading European aerospace engine manufacturer has approved the manufacture of a nickel-based high-temperature alloy at its new manufacturing facility in Athens, Alabama.
- International Game Technology PLC (IGT) announced that it will provide the Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville, MA with a selection of new IGT content and cabinets, including 400+ IGT games and the new IGT CrystalDual and S3000 cabinets
- Applied DNA Sciences (APDN) announced it has partnered with the Camden County Police Chiefs Association to launch the DNA Home Asset Marking Program for residents throughout Camden County, NJ
- OvaScience (OVAS) highlighted that physicians continue to report improvements in pregnancy rates and live births with the Augement treatment in women with very poor prognoses, including those with poor egg health and embryo quality
- Gentherm (THRM) announced the launch of it Atmos mattress product
- ZTE (ZTCOF) announced that it expects smartphone sales in Russia to triple this year. The was announced on the same day that China's largest online direct sales company, JD.com, chose ZTE as one of its first partners to sell smartphones on its new e-commerce platform for Russia.
6:26 am Platform Specialty Products files a registration statement on Form S-3 for the offering of $350 mln of shares of its common stock in an underwritten public offering (PAH) : Platform currently intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to fund working capital and future acquisitions including, if consummated, a portion of the consideration and related fees payable in connection with the previously-announced acquisition by Platform of the Electronic Chemicals and Photomasks businesses of OM Group (OMG) 6:00 am China Information Tech consolidates strategic business units (CNIT) : Co announced that its Board of Directors authorized its management team to consolidate the Company's strategic business units, to focus all of its resources onto the development and marketing of its standardized cloud-based product offerings, and to close, merge, or sell its non-cloud businesses, including those providing custom-built IT project services, by the end of 2015. 6:00 am Synergy Pharma announces positive results in its first Phase 3 trial of Plecanatide to treat chronic idiopathic constipation (SGYP) : - Preliminary analysis of the data indicates that both plecanatide 3.0 mg and 6.0 mg doses met the study's primary endpoint and demonstrated statistical significance in the proportion of patients in the intention-to-treat population who were durable overall responders compared to placebo during the 12-week treatment period (21.0% in 3.0 mg and 19.5% in 6.0 mg dose groups compared to 10.2% in placebo; p
- Stool consistency was the key secondary endpoint reported with top-line analyses; both 3.0 mg and 6.0 mg plecanatide doses showed statistically significant improvement from baseline in Bristol Stool Form Scale (:BSFS) scores compared to placebo (mean increase of 1.53 in 3.0 mg and 1.52 in 6.0 mg dose groups compared to a mean increase of 0.77 in placebo; p
- 15 patients in the trial (1.1%) experienced serious adverse events but there was no imbalance across treatment groups in either incidences or individual serious adverse events. Overall, the rates of withdrawal from treatment because of an adverse event were low
- No clinically relevant abnormalities were observed in serum chemistries, hematology, urinalysis, ECG or vital signs measurements. Synergy plans to announce top-line data results from the second phase 3 CIC trial with plecanatide in the first half of 3Q 2015.
5:56 am Erin Energy issues response to allegations raised in an article authored by Cannell Capital (ERN) : The Company believes that the Cannell Capital article contains numerous factual errors, misleading speculation and unwarranted inferences. Cannell Capital discloses a short position in its article, and the Company believes the article was designed to undermine confidence in the Company's business, management and operations in order to adversely affect the prevailing market price of the Company's common stock. Erin Energy says it is continuing to evaluate its options in response to Cannell Capital's allegations and market conduct. 5:47 am Nivalis Therapeutics (Nasdaq: NVLS) priced its upsized 5.5 mln share IPO at $14.00/share, the midpoint of the expected $13.00-$15.00 range (NVLS) : The offering was increased from earlier plans to sell 4,285,714 shares 5:47 am S&P futures vs fair value: +7.20. Nasdaq futures vs fair value: +13.10. : 5:47 am European Markets : FTSE...6700.69...-9.40...-0.10%. DAX...11041.57...-2.40...0.00%. 5:47 am Asian Markets : Nikkei...20219.27...-38.70...-0.20%. Hang Seng...26753.79...+187.10...+0.70%. 5:26 am Remy Cointreau beats by EUR0.16; beats on revs; raises dividend (REMYF) : Reports FY15 EPS of EUR1.95 vs EUR1.79 Capital IQ consensus; revs declined 6.4% YoY to EUR965.1 mln vs EUR960.7 mln consensus.
Dividend:Co announces that a dividend of 1.53 per share shall be put to a shareholders' vote at the Shareholders' Meeting.
- This is increased from 1.30 per share last year. Payment will be with an option in cash or in shares for the entire dividend distributed.
Outlook 2015/16
- Confident in its acceleration strategy of moving upmarket, the Rmy Cointreau Group anticipates growth in its current operating profit, at constant exchange rates and scope, over the course of the 2015/16 financial year
4:56 am On The Wires (:WIRES) : - Alcatel-Lucent (ALU) today launched a new device for residential and business use that will allow operators to accelerate the deployment of ultra-broadband access in order to meet ever-growing demand for faster data speeds in homes and the workplace.
- Citi (C) has been appointed by Sodexo, the world leader in quality of life services, as successor depositary bank for its Level 1 American Depositary Receipt programme, which trades in the US over the counter market under symbol "SDXAY".
- AkzoNobel (AKZOY) announced it is supplying products from its International protective coatings range for the wind turbine foundation transition pieces being made in Denmark by Bladt Industries, and for the monopiles being fabricated in Germany by EEW.
- Smile Communications announced it selected Ericsson (ERIC) for its 4G/LTE managed services across all operations
4:27 am Boeing and Ethiopian Airlines announce order for six 787 Dreamliners; previously attributed to an unidentified customer (BA) : 4:21 am On The Wires (:WIRES) : - The U.S. Navy and Raytheon (RTN) completed operational testing and evaluation live fires of the AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II infrared air-to-air missile.
- China Eastern Airlines has signed a 12-year V-Services Fleet Hour Agreement for its 10 Airbus A320ceo aircraft. The V2500 engine service is offered through IAE International Aero Engines AG, a multinational aero engine consortium whose shareholders comprise Pratt & Whitney (UTX), Pratt & Whitney Aero Engines International GmbH, Japanese Aero Engines Corporation and MTU Aero Engines.
4:04 am Boeing and Volga-Dnepr Group sign MOU to further the Group's fleet expansion with 20 additional 747-8 Freighters, valued at $7.4 bln (BA) : 3:53 am Pluristem Therapeutics awarded ~$2.9 mln grant from the Office of the Chief Scientist of the Israeli Ministry of Economy (PSTI) : The grant will support R&D activities for calendar year 2015. 3:36 am Valley National prices $100 mln of its Subordinated Debentures due June 30, 2025 and 4,600,000 shares of its Fixed-to-Floating Rate Non-Cumulative Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series A (VLY) : 3:12 am On The Wires (:WIRES) : - UTC Aerospace Systems (UTX) introduced the Sensors Unlimited 320CSX, the latest in its line of MicroSWIR high performance short wave infrared video cameras.
- Dassault Systmes (DASTY) announced that its 3DEXPERIENCE platform has been selected by Aeros, a leading aircraft manufacturing company, to aid in the design and production of its flagship Aeroscraft -- the world's first cargo airship.
- Sonic Foundry (SOFO) reports a substantial growth in its Mediasite Cloud video hosting and management service, with a nearly 600% rise in content viewing consumption and a more than 400 percent increase in the amount of storage its customers are using since 2013.
2:43 am AEGON to repurchase 16,279,933 common shares to neutralize the dilutive effect of the 2014 final stock dividend (AEG) : Co announces Shareholders were given the opportunity to choose between receiving the 2014 final dividend of EUR 0.12 per common share in cash or in stock.
- 42% of shareholders elected to receive the stock dividend. Those who elected for a stock dividend will receive one Aegon common share for every 55 common shares held.
- Aegon will repurchase 16,279,933 common shares to neutralize the dilutive effect of the 2014 final stock dividend.
- These transactions will commence on June 17, 2015, and are expected to be completed on or before July 14, 2015.
2:26 am Ocata Therapeutics prices $30 mln offering of common stock and warrants (OCAT) : Co announced the pricing of an underwritten offering of 5,500,000 shares of its common stock together with accompanying warrants to purchase an aggregate of 2,750,000 shares of common stock. The combined offering price of each share of common stock and accompanying warrant was $5.50.
- The warrants will be exercisable at $7.48 per share, will be exercisable beginning on December 22, 2015 and will expire on December 22, 2020.
2:24 am Radian Group increases size of offering by $50 mln and prices $350 million of 5.250% senior unsecured notes due 2020 (RDN) : 2:15 am Keysight to acquire Anite for ~$606 million (KEYS) : Keysight announced a cash acquisition of Anite, a U.K.-based leading supplier of test and measurement solutions to the international wireless market.
- At 126 pence per share, the acquisition values Anite (on a fully diluted basis) at ~388 million ($606 million based upon an exchange rate of 1.56 USD:GBP).
- Efficiently deploys overseas cash; expected to be accretive to adjusted earnings in the first year and generate 15% ROIC within five years
2:03 am On The Wires (:WIRES) : - Titeflex Aerospace and United Technologies (UTX) announced that they have finalized a 10-year supply agreement to support production at UTC's aerospace businesses.
- Sierra Wireless (SWIR) introduced Project mangOH, an open hardware reference design, with an open interface standard developed by Sierra Wireless and adopted by three leading industry partners -- Freescale (FSL), Linear Technologies (LLTC), and Texas Instruments (TXN).
1:48 am Seadrill sells ultra-deepwater drillship the West Polaris to Seadrill Partners (SDLP) (SDRL) : Seadrill (SDRL) announced that it has entered into an agreement with Seadrill Operating LP, the 58% owned subsidiary of Seadrill Partners LLC (SDLP), pursuant to which Seadrill Operating will acquire all of the shares of Seadrill Polaris, the entity that owns and operates the drillship, the West Polaris from Seadrill.
- The West Polaris is expected to carry out operations in Angola until the end of its contract with ExxonMobil (XOM) in March 2018.
- The total consideration for the Polaris Acquisition is comprised of $204 million in cash and $336 million of debt outstanding under the existing facility financing the West Polaris.
- Seadrill Operating will fund the balance of the purchase price with a seller's credit of $50 million due in 2021 that carries an interest rate of 6.5% per annum.
1:32 am On The Wires (:WIRES) : - Realty Income Corporation (O), The Monthly Dividend Company, today announced its Board of Directors has declared an increase in the company's common stock monthly cash dividend to $0.19 per share from $0.1895 per share.
- Cainiao, the logistics affiliate of Alibaba Group (BABA), announced the establishment of three fresh food distribution centers in three major Chinese cities: Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. The three centers are expected to support cold chain delivery of fresh food purchased on Taobao Marketplace and Tmall.com to the doorsteps of Chinese consumers within 24 hours.
1:17 am American Water Works unit California American Water enters into contract to purchase Adams Ranch Mutual Water Company (AWK) : California American Water has entered into a Purchase Agreement to acquire the operating assets from Adams Ranch Mutual Water Company and assume the provision of water service within the Adams Ranch Mutual Water Company service area in Rosemead, Calif.
- The purchase of the water system will add approximately 176 metered customer connections to California American Water's customer base in the Los Angeles region.
1:14 am SunCoke Energy Partners responds to recent news about Haverhill Chemicals; does not impact co's ability to continue producing coke (SXCP) : SunCoke Energy Partners, L.P. (SXCP) issued the following statement regarding recent news about Haverhill Chemicals LLC:
"SunCoke Energy Partners continues to produce and provide its customers with coke. The recent announcement by Haverhill Chemicals LLC to shut down its adjacent facility does not impact our ability to continue producing coke. We have a good relationship with Haverhill Chemicals and expect to work cooperatively with them on contingency plans. Our preliminary estimate for the net impact to 2015 Adjusted EBITDA is approximately $6 million inclusive of lost revenue and initial projections of incremental operating costs. We anticipate this will have no impact on SunCoke Energy Partners' quarterly cash distribution outlook."
1:13 am SunCoke Energy intends to recommend an increase to its quarterly cash dividend to $0.15 per share of common stock, a 100% increase over the previous quarterly rate (SXC) : 1:11 am Extra Space Storage prices offering of 5,500,000 shares of its common stock at a price to the public of $68.15 per share (EXR) : 1:09 am Caesars Entertainment responds to UMB Bank Lawsuit, claims UMB Bank is not a party to the RSA and, therefore, the filing of the lawsuit by UMB Bank does not terminate the RSA, which remains in effect (CZR) : Caesars Entertainment Operating Company, a subsidiary of Caesars Entertainment (CZR), responded to a lawsuit filed in New York by UMB Bank, the indenture trustee for holders of its first lien notes, seeking a determination that CEC is obligated to guarantee the first lien notes. CEOC has acknowledged to the holders of first lien notes who are party to its Restructuring Support Agreement (:RSA) that UMB Bank is not a party to the RSA and, therefore, the filing of the lawsuit by UMB Bank does not terminate the RSA, which remains in effect. CEOC has been advised by the RSA parties that UMB Bank is acting independently as a fiduciary and not at the direction of the noteholders that are party to the RSA.
- CEOC is currently seeking an injunction in the Chicago Bankruptcy Court to stay litigation commenced by other CEOC creditors who contend that CEC is obligated to guarantee CEOC's debt. UMB Bank has agreed that it will be bound by the bankruptcy court's decision to the same extent as if CEOC had requested injunctive relief with respect to the UMB lawsuit.
1:05 am Canadian Pacific announces intent to purchase up to 853,000 common shares through private agreements under its share repurchase program (CP) :
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