Flat open as investors monitor Middle East developments

The markets opened flat with the Dow adding 3 points to 17,059 as investors monitored airstrikes in the Middle East. Nasdaq rose 2 points to 4,511.

On the upside

Lipocine (Nasdaq: LPCN) reported positive results from a Phase 3 clinical study of its testosterone replacement LPCN 1021.

Acorda Therapeutics (Nasdaq: ACOR) will pay approximately $525 million in cash to acquire Civitas Therapeutics.

Baxter International (NYSE: BAX) will market Merrimack Pharmaceuticals' (Nasdaq: MACK) pancreatic cancer treatment MM-398 outside of the U.S. and Taiwan.

On the downside

GrafTech International (NYSE: GTI) lowered its full year earnings outlook and reorganized its management team.

Echo Therapeutics (Nasdaq: ECTE) suspended operations due to liquidity concerns.

The Food and Drug Administration did not clear Atossa Genetics' (Nasdaq: ATOS) ForeCYTE Breast Aspirator for marketing in the U.S.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 7 to 5 on the NYSE while advancers edged out decliners by more than 10 to 9 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 slipped 3 points to 1979. Bitcoin lost $6 to $428.