6:14 pm Pinnacle Finl announces agreement to acquire CapitalMark Bank & Trust in ~$187.0 mln cash and stock transaction (PNFP) : Co and CapitalMark Bank & Trust jointly announced the signing of a definitive agreement for Pinnacle to acquire CapitalMark via merger. The proposed merger of CapitalMark with and into Pinnacle has been approved by each company's Board of Directors and is expected to close late in the third quarter or early in the fourth quarter of 2015. Highlights:

• At the time of closing, the combined companies are projected to have total assets of more than $7 billion, with Pinnacle operating 37 offices in 12 counties, including three high-growth counties new to the Pinnacle footprint.
  
• Accretion to Pinnacle's operating earnings and modest dilution to tangible book value with an approximate earn-back period of 2.5 years.
  

6:07 pm Flamel announces departure of Senior Vice President of Business and Corporate Development, Steve Lisi; reaffirms guidance for FY15 product revs of $170-185 mln (FLML) : The Company will immediately begin a comprehensive search for a permanent replacement and expects to hire a new Vice President of Business and Corporate Development within the next six to eight weeks.

Co is reaffirming its product revenue guidance for 2015 of $170 to $185 million for combined sales of Bloxiverz and Vazculep.

5:57 pm Gilead Sciences submits New Drug Application to FDA for fixed-dos combination of emtricitabine/tenofovir alafenamide for HIV treatment (GILD) : Co announced that it has submitted a New Drug Application (:NDA) to the FDA for two doses of an investigational fixed-dose combination of emtricitabine and tenofovir alafenamide (200/10 mg and 200/25 mg) (F/TAF) for the treatment of HIV-1 infection in adults and pediatric patients age 12 years and older, in combination with other HIV antiretroviral agents. Today's filing is Gilead's second F/TAF-based NDA submitted to the FDA for review. In November 2014, Gilead filed an NDA for an investigational once-daily single tablet regimen containing elvitegravir 150 mg, cobicistat 150 mg, emtricitabine 200 mg and TAF 10 mg (E/C/F/TAF). Under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, the FDA has set a target action date of November 5, 2015. Additionally, a Marketing Authorization Application in the European Union for E/C/F/TAF was fully validated on December 23, 2014. Gilead plans to submit a regulatory application for F/TAF in the European Union in the second quarter of 2015.

5:31 pm Habit Restaurants commences proposed follow-on offering of 5 mln shares of common stock by selling stockholders (HABT) : Co announced that it has commenced a proposed public follow-on offering of its common stock. In the Offering, which is subject to market and other conditions, certain of the Company's stockholders intend to offer 5,000,000 shares of the Company's Class A Common Stock for sale. In connection with the Offering, the Company announced today that Piper Jaffray & Co. and Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated, as the representatives of the underwriters in their initial public offering, are releasing lock-up restrictions with respect to shares of the Company's Class A Common Stock (and certain securities exchangeable for Class A Common Stock) held by certain selling stockholders and to be sold in the Offering, including certain officers and directors of the Company. This release will take effect on Thursday April 9, 2015 and the shares may be sold on or after such date, subject to the terms of such waiver. The Company will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares by the selling stockholders. Piper Jaffray & Co., Robert W. Baird & Co. Incorporated and Wells Fargo Securities, LLC are acting as active joint book-running managers for the Offering.

5:29 pm Habit Restaurants sees Q1 revs of $54.3-54.5 mln vs $50.44 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate, comparable sales +12.4-12.6^ (HABT) :  

5:07 pm Isle of Capri prices private offering of $150 mln of 5.875% senior notes due 2021 (ISLE) : Co announced today the pricing of an additional $150 million of its 5.875% Senior Notes due 2021 of which $350.0 million aggregate principal amount were originally issued on March 5, 2013. The additional 2021 Notes will be issued at an offering price of 102.00% plus accrued and unpaid interest from and including March 15, 2015 to, but excluding, April 14, 2015.

5:06 pm McEwen Mining reports armed robbery at El Gallo 1 min; an estimated 900 kg of gold-bearing concentrate containing ~7000 ounces of gold were stolen (MUX) : Co reports an armed robbery occurred today at our El Gallo 1 mine in Sinaloa, Mexico. An estimated 900 kilograms of gold-bearing concentrate containing approximately 7,000 ounces of gold were stolen from the refinery. The crime is being vigorously investigated by the Mexican authorities. The Company maintains insurance against these types of incidents and is working closely with its insurance carrier to determine the extent of available coverage. However, the Company's policy will not be sufficient to cover the entire expected loss. No employees were seriously injured and there was no material damage to any of the Company's facilities. Mining and processing activities have not been impacted and continue uninterrupted.

5:01 pm Airmedia sells 5% equity interest of its Advertising Business for RMB 150 mln (AMCN) : The co announced that Beijing Shengshi Lianhe Advertising Co., Ltd., a variable interest entity in China, which it currently controls through contractual arrangements, has entered into a share transfer agreement to sell 5% equity interest of AirMedia Group Co., Ltd. to Shenzhen Liantronics Co., Ltd, for a consideration of RMB 150 million in cash, which reflected the total valuation of AM Advertising of RMB3 billion.

5:00 pm Kosmos Energy announced the pricing of its previously announced private offering to eligible purchasers of an additional $225 mln aggregate principal amount of 7.875% senior secured notes due 2021 as a non-fungible add-on to the existing $300 mln aggregate principal amount of such notes currently outstanding (KOS) :

• The notes will have identical terms as the existing notes, other than the date of issue, the initial price, the first interest payment date and the first date from which interest will accrue. The net proceeds from the offering, after deducting discounts, commissions and other expenses, are expected to be ~$203 million.
• The offering is expected to close on April 10, 2015, subject to customary closing conditions.
• Kosmos intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to repay a portion of the outstanding indebtedness under its commercial debt facility and for general corporate purposes.
  

4:58 pm Weingarten Realty announces call for redemption of all oustanding 6.50% Series F Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Shares (WRI) :  

4:58 pm WTI crude oil falls below $53/barrel as losses extend on bearish API data (actually build easily tops estimates of a smaller build); May crude is now +1.6% at $52.99/barrel (:COMDX) :  

4:49 pm Ellington Financial announces that its estimated book value per common share as of March 31, 2015 was $23.30, or $23.01 on a diluted basis (EFC) :  

4:47 pm Brookfield Infrastructure announces $750.5 mln equity offering (BIP) : The co has agreed to issue 8,900,000 L.P. units, on a bought deal basis, to a syndicate of underwriters at a price of $45.00 per L.P. unit for gross proceeds of $400.5 mln In addition, Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) and certain of its related entities will purchase, directly or indirectly, 8,101,850 redeemable partnership units of Brookfield Infrastructure's holding limited partnership at the Offering Price concurrent with the Offering.

• The aggregate gross proceeds of the Offering and the placement of RPUs to Brookfield will be $750,499,920.
  

4:40 pm WTI crude oil sells off about $0.90 to $53.08/barrel following API oil data; The API reported an oil storage build of 12.2 mln barrels (prior week showed a build of 5.2 mln barrels); May crude is now +1.8% at $53.10/barrel (:COMDX) :  

4:37 pm Chubb estimates Q1 catastrophe losses of ~$250 mln before tax, $0.69 per share after tax (CB) : Co announced that it estimates the impact of losses from catastrophes for the first quarter of 2015 to be approximately $250 million before tax ($0.69 per share after tax). Catastrophe losses during the quarter were primarily related to nine severe winter weather and freeze events in the United States.

4:35 pm Mattress Firm announces the proposed sale of 1,505,000 shares of its common stock by certain selling stockholders (MFRM) : Co is not selling any shares of common stock in the proposed offering and will not receive any proceeds from the sale of common stock by the selling stockholders.

4:30 pm Tempur Sealy Int'l: H Partners releases investor presentation outlining the need for immediate change at Tempur Sealy; urges Tempur Sealy shareholders to vote the BLUE proxy card 'AGAINST' the re-election of three directors (TPX) :  

4:30 pm uniQure announces that it has commenced a follow-on public offering of 3,000,000 of its ordinary shares (QURE) : Co announced that it has commenced a follow-on public offering of 3,000,000 of its ordinary shares. All ordinary shares to be sold in the offering will be offered by uniQure. In addition, uniQure intends to grant the underwriters a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 450,000 ordinary shares. Leerink Partners LLC, Cowen and Company, LLC, and Piper Jaffray & Co. are acting as the joint book-running managers for the offering. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. and H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC are acting as co-managers.

4:26 pm Pentair lowers Q1 revenue and EPS guidance below consensus (PNR) : Co provided an update to its earnings guidance for its first quarter ending March 28, 2015. 

• For the first quarter, the company now expects revenue of $1.48 billion (vs $1.59 bln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate) or approximately $120 million lower than it previously expected. The company's revenue expectations have been negatively impacted by the stronger dollar, slower than expected oil and gas industry shipments and orders, broad-based slowing of global capital spending, and customer inventory de-stocking. As a result of the lower revenue expectations, the company now expects first quarter earnings per diluted share from continuing operations (EPS) will be approximately $0.65 (vs $0.77 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate). The company previously expected first quarter EPS would be in the range of $0.75 - $0.77.
• "The year has started even slower than we anticipated," said Randall J. Hogan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "In response to this slower start and the sluggish economic climate we continue to experience, we will be taking necessary cost actions in the second quarter to best position the company for 2015 and beyond. We are taking these actions as we expect continued economic uncertainty and currency volatility for the foreseeable future."
  

4:20 pm Xerium Tech announces that it's Xerium Asia Pacific subsidiary recently qualified to do business as a Regional Operation Center in the China Pilot Free Trade Zone (XRM) :  

4:18 pm Closing Market Summary: Stocks Post Modest Losses Amid Persistent Dollar Strength (:WRAPX) : Equity indices halted their two-day win streak on Tuesday with the S&P 500 shedding 0.2%. The benchmark index surrendered its modest intraday gain during the final hour while the Nasdaq Composite (-0.1%) settled just ahead.

The major averages climbed out of the gate and hit their session highs during the initial 90 minutes; however, relative weakness among influential sectors like consumer discretionary (-0.5%), financials (-0.4%), and consumer staples (-0.4%) prevented the market from eclipsing the early high. Instead, equities spent the afternoon in a sideways drift and slid into negative territory shortly ahead of the close.

Only two sectors finished the day in the green with health care (+0.3%) holding the lead into the afternoon. The countercyclical group underperformed yesterday, but today's strength was fueled by biotechnology. The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB 341.92, +3.07) jumped 0.9% and helped the Nasdaq Composite display relative strength throughout the day.

In addition to receiving support from biotechnology, the tech-heavy Nasdaq benefited from strength among chipmakers. That being said, the PHLX Semiconductor Index ended just above its flat line after being up more than 0.8%. Similarly, the broader technology sector (-0.15%) settled just ahead of the broader market while its largest component-Apple (AAPL 126.01, -1.34)-lost 1.1%.

Elsewhere among cyclical sectors, energy (+0.3%) outperformed, narrowing its 2015 decline to 1.2% as crude oil soared 3.5% to $53.89/bbl. Strikingly, oil spent the day in a steady climb even as the Dollar Index (97.95, +1.18) jumped 1.2%. Most notably, the greenback rallied 1.1% against the euro, sending the single currency to 1.0815.

Also of note, the industrial sector (-0.1%) could not stay out of the red, but that masked relative strength among transport stocks after FedEx (FDX 171.16, +4.49) announced it will acquire TNT Express (TNTEY 8.26, +1.71) for $4.8 billion. The Dow Jones Transportation Average gained 0.5% while FedEx spiked 2.7%, helping the Dow Jones Industrial Average (-0.03%) finish ahead of other indices.

On the downside, the consumer discretionary sector (-0.5%) was the weakest performer among cyclical groups. Homebuilders struggled throughout the day while retail names slumped during the afternoon. The iShares Dow Jones US Home Construction ETF (ITB 28.01, -0.50) lost 1.8% while SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT 100.63, -0.88) settled lower by 0.9%.

Treasuries retreated throughout the morning, but backtracked from their lows throughout the afternoon. The benchmark 10-yr yield ticked down one basis point to 1.89%.

Today's participation was well below average with fewer than 650 million shares changing hands at the NYSE floor.

Economic data was limited to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey and Consumer Credit:

• The February Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed that job openings increased to 5.133 million from a revised rate of 4.965 million (from 4.998 million) 
• The Consumer Credit report for February was showed an increase of $15.50 billion while the Briefing.com consensus expected a reading of $12.50 billion 
  • The prior month's credit growth was revised to $10.80 billion from $11.60 billion 

Tomorrow, the weekly MBA Mortgage Index will be reported at 7:00 ET while the FOMC minutes from the latest policy meeting will be released at 14:00 ET.

• Nasdaq Composite +3.7% YTD 
• Russell 2000 +4.0% YTD 
• S&P 500 +0.9 YTD 
• Dow Jones Industrial Average +0.3% YTD

4:18 pm Thermon Group announces the acquisition of a 75% equity interest in Sumac for $14.25 million Canadian dollars, effective April 1, 2015 (THR) : Sumac generated revenue of approximately $17.6 million Canadian dollars (approximately $14.1 million US dollars at the current exchange rate). Sumac's management team will continue to operate the business following the closing of the Transactions.

•  The cash consideration paid by TCI for a 75% equity interest in TPSI was $14.25 million Canadian dollars in cash at closing, subject to customary working capital adjustments, and a potential contingent cash payment of up to $7.5 million Canadian dollars based on the EBITDA performance of the business for the 12-month period following the closing of the transactions. 
• An entity affiliated with Dwayne Sampson, President of Sumac, will retain a 25% equity interest in TPSI, which TCI will have the right to acquire beginning on the third and fourth anniversaries of the closing of the Transactions
  

4:16 pm Pzena reports March 31, 2015 AUM of $27.9 bln vs $28.6 bln in prior month and $25.4 bln in prior year (PZN) :  

4:16 pm Elli Mae announces that Independent Bank has chosen Ellie Mae's Encompass all-in-one mortgage management solution as its platform for originating mortgages (ELLI) :  

4:16 pm MRC Global's McJunkin Red Man awarded 3-year integrated supply agreement in California; terms not disclosed (MRC) : With assets located exclusively in California, this customer is the state's largest producer of oil and gas on a gross-operated basis with ~2.3 million net acres covering California's four major oil and gas basins. Their Elk Hills Field is one of the largest oil and gas fields in the U.S. and supplies more than 40% of California's gas production and 5% of the state's oil production.

• Agreement covers all project requirements, MRO supplies and the managing of all materials located at the largest oil and gas warehouse facility in the San Joaquin Basin.
  

4:16 pm Fluor announces entrance into a strategic relationship agreement with Goldcorp, to serve as the company's partner-of-choice for studies and engineering and construction services. (FLR) :  

4:15 pm Halliburton announced it will separately market its Drill Bits, Directional Drilling and LWD/MWD businesses for sale; relating to its pending Baker Hughes (BHI) acquisition (HAL) : The final sale of these businesses will not be completed until the co has reached acceptable terms and conditions negotiated by Halliburton, the approval of Halliburton's Board of Directors and final approvals of the Baker Hughes (BHI)  acquisition by competition authorities. Halliburton expects to complete the sale of the businesses in the same timeframe as the closing of the pending Baker Hughes acquisition late in the second half of 2015.

4:11 pm Regulus Therapeutics announces the selection of RG-125 for the treatment of Non Alcoholic Steatohepatitis in patients with type 2 diabetes/pre-diabetes, as a clinical candidate by AstraZeneca (AZN) under the companies' strategic alliance (RGLS) : RG-125 (AZD4076) is the first compound from the alliance to be selected for clinical development by AstraZeneca (AZN).

• In connection with the candidate selection, AstraZeneca will pay Regulus $2.5 million and will assume development of the program following acceptance of an Investigational New Drug application. 
• In the near term, Regulus and AstraZeneca plan to submit key preclinical data on the RG-125 (AZD4076) program to be presented at a scientific meeting later this year and expect to initiate a Phase I study of RG-125 (AZD4076) in humans by the end of 2015.
  

4:09 pm Team reports EPS in-line, misses on revs; reaffirms FY15 EPS guidance (TISI) : Reports Q3 (Feb) earnings of $0.11 per share, excluding non-recurring items, in-line with the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.11; revenues rose 7.0% year/year to $174.6 mln vs the $183.43 mln consensus.

Co reaffirms guidance for FY15, sees EPS of $2.00, excluding non-recurring items, vs. $2.01 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate.

4:08 pm Cepheid announces appointment of Ilan Daskal to EVP and CFO, effective April 9, 2015 (CPHD) : Daskal was most recently Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at International Rectifier Corporation

4:07 pm Dave & Busters beats by $0.05, beats on revs; guides FY16 in-line (PLAY) : Reports Q4 (Jan) earnings of $0.33 per share, $0.05 better than the Capital IQ Consensus of $0.28; revenues rose 20.8% year/year to $207.1 mln vs the $204.25 mln consensus.

• Co preannounced rev $203.8-204.8 mln vs. $190.6 mln consensus on Feb 3.
• Comparable store sales increased 10.5% in the fourth quarter of 2014 compared to a 0.7% increase in the same period last year; driven by a 12.1% increase in walk-in sales and a 3.1% increase in special events sales.

Co issues in-line guidance for FY16, sees EPS (net income/share count guidance) of ~$0.84-0.92 vs. $0.90 Capital IQ Consensus Estimate; sees FY16 revs of $808-822 mln vs. $817.91 mln Capital IQ Consensus Estimate. Comparable store sales increase of 3.0% to 4.0%

4:07 pm Monsanto announces the pricing of $800 million aggregate principal amount of fixed rate senior notes (MON) : The offering consists of

• $300 million in senior notes that mature in 2025 and bear interest at a rate of 2.850%
• $500 million in senior notes that mature in 2045 and bear interest at a rate of 3.950%
  

4:07 pm Colony Financial announces preferred stock offering; size not disclosed (CLNY) : Co intends to use the proceeds from the offering to repay amounts outstanding under its secured revolving credit facility. These proceeds may be redeployed to acquire its target assets in a manner consistent with its investment strategies and investment guidelines, to fund commitments to private equity funds and vehicles it sponsors and for working capital and general corporate purposes.

4:06 pm Airgas increases quarterly dividend by 9% to $0.60/share (ARG) :  

4:05 pm American Eagle Energy announces Forbearance Agreement (AMZG) :

• The Company entered into a Forbearance Agreement with four holders, who collectively own or manage in excess of 50% (face amount) of the August Notes; 
• The Company tendered the sum of $4.0 million as a partial interest payment to U.S. Bank National Association.
• Co issued the August Notes to the holders thereof, some of whom are members of the Ad Hoc Group, which partial interest payment left the Company in default as to approximately $5.8 million of unpaid interest as of April 1, 2015
• Co received a letter from SunTrust Bank, as control agent, in respect of an August 27, 2015.  SunTrust Bank provided notice of its resignation as control agent under that Intercreditor Agreement, which resignation is to become effective on May 1, 2015, unless SunTrust Bank is replaced in that role earlier; 
• Co received a letter from SunTrust Bank, in which SunTrust Bank gave the Company notice of an Event of Default thereunder -- specifically, the Company's failure to have paid the above-referenced interest payment in full, rather than in part.
  

4:04 pm Interval International announces an extension of its multi-year affiliation agreement with Dawn Beach Club; includes additional exchange benefits and upgraded services for Dawn Beach Club members (IILG) :  

4:04 pm Lions Gate Entertainment announces offering of 10 mln shares of common stock being sold by MHR Fund Management (LGF) : Co announced today that investment funds affiliated with MHR Fund Management LLC expect to sell 10,000,000 common shares of Lionsgate in an underwritten offering. Lionsgate will not sell any shares in the offering and will not receive any proceeds from the offering. J.P. Morgan Securities LLC will act as sole underwriter for the offering.

4:03 pm Capitala Finance announces an offering of 3.5 mln shares of common stock; provides preliminary estimates of results as of April 7, 2015 (CPTA) : Co intends to use the net proceeds from this offering to make new investments in portfolio companies in accordance with its investment objective and strategies and for general working capital purposes.

As of April 7, 2015 co expects that its net investment income per share was between $0.35 and $0.37 for the three months ended March 31, 2015. The Company estimates that as of April 7, 2015 its net asset value per share was between $17.68 and $17.73, which, among other factors impacting its estimate of net asset value per share, is net of the nine remaining $0.05 per share monthly distributions scheduled to be paid over the remainder of 2015 ($0.45 per share in total) and the monthly distributions of $0.1567 per share for April, May and June of 2015 announced on April 2, 2015 ($0.47 per share in total). The sum of these distributions declared, but not yet paid, is $0.92 per share.

4:02 pm ABM Industries announces the appointment of D. Anthony Scaglione as executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective immediately (ABM) : Scaglione has served as ABM's senior vice president, treasurer and mergers and acquisitions since January 2012, after having served as ABM's vice president and treasurer from June 2009 to January 2012.

4:00 pm Align Tech announced an agreement with ClearCorrect regarding its 2006 Orthoclear settlement and consent order (ALGN) : The Termination Agreement includes the following terms:

• In the event of a Final Finding in the Infringement Action in favor of Align, ClearCorrect US will make two payments of $200,000 (:US) to Align within 30 days and 180 days of such Final Finding. 
• Beginning 30 days after any Final Finding in the Infringement Action in favor of Align until the expiration of Align's asserted patents, ClearCorrect US will not employ, engage, contract with, or otherwise utilize any former Align or Orthoclear employees for the design of its aligner products for use in the United States. 
• In the event of a Final Finding in favor of ClearCorrect in the Infringement Action, ClearCorrect US, ClearCorrect Pakistan (Private), Ltd.; Mudassar Rathore; Waqas Wahab; Asim Waheed; and Nadeem Arif would have no obligations and the Remanded Enforcement Action would remain resolved and terminated. 
• The Parties expect the Federal Circuit oral argument in the Infringement Action to take place in July 2015, with a decision by the Federal Circuit six to nine months later.