Stockwinners Market Radar for March 18, 2020 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:42 EDT Uber to host Analyst Call on COVID-19 at 5:30PT on Thursday, March 19th - Uber Technologies to host a conference call with analysts on Thursday, March 19, 2020 at 5:30 a.m. Pacific Time to discuss the state of the business in light of COVID-19, and what the company is doing to respond.

20:19 EDT Targa Resources cuts dividend to 10c from 91c, lowers FY20 capex by 32% - Targa Resources announced today that its board approved a reduction in the Company's quarterly common dividend to $0.10 per share for the quarter ended March 31, 2020 from $0.91 per share in the previous quarter. This reduction provides for approximately $755M of additional annual direct cash flow, resulting in significant free cash flow available to reduce debt. Targa is also reducing its estimated 2020 net growth capital expenditures to approximately $800M to $900M from its previously communicated range of $1.2B to $1.3B, which represents a 32% reduction at the midpoint of both ranges. The vast majority of spending is for major ongoing growth capital projects where the capital is already predominantly spent. Targa is working with customers across both its Gathering and Processing and Logistics and Transportation segments to further refine expectations for 2020, and implications for 2021, in the context of the current fluid and rapidly changing environment. Based on the best available information today and assuming a similar commodity price environment, Targa's preliminary estimate for 2021 net growth capital spending would be on the order of $200M, a 76% reduction on the lowered 2020 net growth capital spending midpoint referenced above, and this will be managed with continued discipline to minimize the absolute level. Targa's current available liquidity is approximately $2.4B, and after issuing approximately $1.0B of senior unsecured notes in November 2019, the Company has no near-term needs to access the capital markets for debt or equity. Additionally, Targa has no near-term maturities of its senior notes or credit facilities, with the earliest maturity in 2023.

20:08 EDT Trade Desk launches new advertising partnership in Asia with TikTok - Trade Desk and TikTok have announced a new advertising partnership covering key Asia Pacific markets. The partnership will allow advertisers to directly access premium TikTok inventory across Asia-Pacific via The Trade Desk platform. TikTok is the first short-form video platform to integrate its ad offerings with The Trade Desk, making this a unique industry-leading development for brands in the region.

19:54 EDT SPDR Gold Shares holdings fall to 923.69MT from 929.84MT - This is the lowest level of holdings since February 13th.

19:42 EDT Caleres withdraws FY20 guidance, to close remaining Famous Footwear stores - Caleres provided an update on its ongoing response to the extensive spread of COVID-19. In addition to the previous steps the Company has taken to temporarily close its branded retail stores and certain Famous Footwear stores located in highly impacted areas, Caleres has elected to close its remaining Famous Footwear locations. These additional closures will begin March 19, with all retail locations, both branded and Famous Footwear, expected to remain closed through April 2, 2020. During this time, Caleres understands the need to balance overall health and safety with the ongoing requirements of our consumers. To that end, consumers can still purchase products online from Famous Footwear, Naturalizer, Allen Edmonds and Sam Edelman for shipment directly to their home during this closure period. As a result, caleres is withdrawing its 2020 financial guidance, which only included estimated impacts from virus-related supply chain disruptions and did not accommodate any virus-related decline in consumer demand. While it remains difficult to quantify the impact on full year financial results, the company will reassess and expects to discuss its outlook on its first quarter 2020 conference call.

19:33 EDT Dollar Tree reduces store hours to close at 20:00 - Dollar Tree has modified its Dollar Tree and Family Dollar store hours. In order to keep its associates safe, provide adequate time to exercise the company's proactive cleaning protocols, and replenish store shelves with essential products, all Dollar Tree and Family Dollar stores are now closing at 8:00 p.m. local time effective today until further notice.

19:19 EDT Nissan temporarily suspends production at U.S. manufacturing facilities - Nissan announced that it will temporarily suspend production of its manufacturing facilities in the U.S. starting March 20 through April 6. The company is taking this action to boost containment efforts where possible around the COVID-19 coronavirus. Currently, there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 coronavirus at any Nissan facility. Areas deemed business-essential will operate with enhanced safety measures.

19:04 EDT UnitedHealth to expand access for COVID-19 testing - UnitedHealthcare announced several updates that provide people and families expanded access to the care, support and resources they need to navigate through this unprecedented time. These actions will expand access to testing and medical care, medication, telehealth services and virtual care including rollout of a personalized digital platform which includes a symptom checker to help members rapidly assess their risk for COVID-19. The company is also expanding its efforts to engage those people with the highest risk of contracting serious illness.

18:54 EDT Alamo Group temporarily closes French operating facilities - Alamo Group announced that it will temporarily close its French operating facilities due to concerns for Alamo's French employees and in response to recent directives issued by the French government outlining strict measures regarding coronavirus containment. This temporary closure includes the following facilities: Alamo's facility in Daumeray, France, which produces vacuum trucks, high pressure cleaning systems and trenchers under the Rivard brand with its approximately 400 employees; Alamo's facility in Neuville, France, which produces hedge and grass cutting equipment under the Rousseau and SMA brands with its approximately 150 employees; and Alamo's facility in Peschadoires, France, which produces replacement parts under the Forges Gorce brand with its approximately 20 employees.The Rivard facility in Daumeray temporarily halted its operations on Tuesday March 17, while the Neuville and Peschadoires locations will temporarily cease operations beginning on Thursday March 19. It is currently anticipated that these plant closures will continue for the later of two weeks or until such time as coronavirus impacts are mitigated to an extent which allow for the commencement of full or partial plant operations. Despite these general closures, there are a limited number of personnel on-site at Alamo's French locations and working remotely in order to maintain security and to meet emergency customer needs for spare parts and to handle urgent customer questions.

18:50 EDT Washington Prime lowers quarterly dividend to 6.25c from 12.5c per share - Washington Prime announced that due to the heightened uncertainty relating to the duration and potential impact of the coronavirus pandemic with respect to consumer facing sectors including our own, the company is taking proactive measures to enhance its overall liquidity position. This includes a further reduction of the company's cash dividend for common shares and operating partnership units.

18:29 EDT Starbucks CEO: China is on the uptick, our strategy is working - In an interview on CNBC's Mad Money, Starbucks CEO Kevin Johnson said, "We have started to re-open stores in China." He added that 95% of stores in China are slated to open by the end of March. Johnson noted, "It gives us great confidence that the strategy we're using in China is working." He mentioned that the "to go" model coupled with closing of stores is working both in China and the U.S. He finished by saying, "We've got a strong balance sheet. We've modeled every possible scenario, even the most extreme. We'll be fine."

18:17 EDT Southwest Gas ceases disconnections indefinitely amid COVID-19 pandemic - "During these unprecedented times, Southwest Gas continues to be an essential part of the communities we serve," Southwest Gas said in a statement. "We remain committed to our two million-plus customers and will continue our normal hours of business operations during the current COVID-19 pandemic. As a cornerstone of the community, the company provides the essential service of delivering energy to our customers, many of who are home-bound and rely on natural gas to cook, heat water and homes, and dry clothes, more now than ever before. That's why we've also ceased disconnections indefinitely, until the COVID-19 situation improves, as we know that many of our customers will be affected by recent closures. In addition, we have adopted enhanced hygiene protocols, including mandating that our technicians wear safety glasses and gloves, as well as exercise social distancing and remain at least six feet away from customers in a home or business. We also want to remind customers that our public offices and payment kiosks remain open for customer business. Per the CDC's recommendation, no more than ten people will be allowed inside the office at once. Customers can still manage their account from the comfort of their homes using our website swgas.com and our mobile app. We also provide assistance programs for income-qualified customers."

18:04 EDT McEwen Mining announces departure of COO Chris Stewart - McEwen Mining announced that Chris Stewart has left his position as President and COO of the company. His responsibilities will be assigned to other members of the management team.

18:02 EDT Abbott receives FDA Emergency Use Authorization for COVID-19 test - Abbott announced that the U.S. FDA has issued Emergency Use Authorization for the company's molecular test for novel coronavirus. Abbott is immediately shipping 150,000 Abbott RealTime SARS-CoV-2 EUA tests to existing customers in the U.S. The tests are used on the company's m2000 RealTime System. Abbott will be working with health systems and government authorities to deploy additional m2000 systems where they are needed.

17:54 EDT CBTX suspends share repurchase program in light of COVID-19 pandemic - CBTX, the bank holding company for CommunityBank of Texas N.A., announced that its Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend in the amount of 10c per share of common stock. The dividend will be payable on April 15, 2020 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on April 1, 2020. In addition, CBTX, Inc. announced that it has temporarily suspended its share repurchase program in light of the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic and surrounding events. CBTX, Inc. believes that it remains strong and well-capitalized, and the company may reinstate the share repurchase program in the future. The company repurchased 240,445 shares of common stock during the first quarter of 2020 for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $5.4M under its repurchase program.

17:50 EDT Air Canada to suspend majority of U.S., international transborder flights - Air Canada said it will gradually suspend the majority of its international and U.S. transborder flights by March 31, 2020 in response to decisions by national governments, including Canada and the United States, to close borders and restrict commercial aviation as a result of the COVID-19 crisis. Subject to further government restrictions, the airline intends to continue to serve a small number of international and U.S. trans-border destinations from select Canadian cities after April 1, 2020. The airline also intends to continue serving all provinces and territories of Canada after that date, albeit with a significantly reduced network. In order to facilitate the continued repatriation of citizens to their home countries, including Canadians back to Canada, and to support the essential movement of needed goods and cargo during the crisis, Air Canada intends to continue to operate a limited number of international "air bridges" between one or more of its Canadian hubs and the cities of London, Paris, Frankfurt, Delhi, Tokyo and Hong Kong from April 1 until at least April 30. This will reduce its international network from 101 airports to six. As to U.S. transborder services, given the decision by the U.S. and Canadian governments today, from April 1, Air Canada will reduce its transborder network from 53 airports to 13, subject to further reductions based on demand or government edicts. The cities with continued service will be: New York (LGA and EWR), Boston, Washington, D.C. (IAD and DCA), Chicago, Houston, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Denver, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale. Air Canada intends to continue to serve all provinces and territories of Canada, reducing its domestic network from 62 airports to 40 through a reduced network during the period April 1 to 30, subject to further reductions based on demand or government edict. The airline will gradually suspend some of its scheduled flights between now and March 31 as demand for Canadians to return to Canada from a number of destinations reduces. Affected customers, including those with Air Canada Vacations packages, whose flights are cancelled will receive a full credit valid for 24 months. There is no requirement to contact Air Canada as customers will be contacted directly. The airline has also put in place temporary, one-way fares to Canada to enable customers abroad to return home.

17:41 EDT Nabors Industries proposes reverse stock split - Nabors Industries announced that its Board of Directors has approved a proposal, to be submitted to shareholders for approval at a special general meeting of shareholders anticipated to be held on April 13, to, among other things, effect a consolidation of Nabors' common shares. The reverse stock split proposal includes a proposed range between 1-for-15 and 1-for-50 common shares. The final ratio will be determined by Nabors' Board of Directors after shareholder approval. If approved by the shareholders, the reverse stock split is expected to become effective on April 16, and the shares to begin trading on the split-adjusted basis on The New York Stock Exchange under Nabors' existing trading symbol "NBR" on April 17. Nabors' Board of Directors anticipates the record date for shareholders entitled to vote at the special meeting to be March 30. The reverse stock split is intended to increase the per share trading price of Nabors' common shares to satisfy the $1.00 minimum bid price requirement for continued listing on the NYSE.

17:34 EDT Cato Corp. temporarily closes retail locations - The Cato Corporation announced the temporary closing of its retail locations. Effective 6:00pm today, March 18, all Cato, It's Fashion, It's Fashion Metro and Versona stores will close from March 19, 2020 through April 1, 2020. "As COVID-19 has dramatically impacted our customers and the communities in which we are located, we have concluded that it is in everyone's best interest to temporarily close our stores," said John Cato, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. The company said it would continue to operate its e-commerce sites catofashions.com and shopversona.com.

17:23 EDT SpartanNash says military resale channel supply chain strong - SpartanNash announced its MDV military distribution operations continue to ship products to Defense Commissary Agency commissaries and Army and Air Force Exchange Service and Navy Exchange Service Command exchanges despite the impact of the coronavirus on communities throughout the world.

17:17 EDT Kirkland Lake Gold doubles dividend to 12.5c per share - A quarterly dividend payment of 12.5c per common share will be paid on April 13 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on March 31. The dividend represents a 100% increase from the previous quarterly dividend of 6c per share, which was paid on January 13, 2020 to shareholders of record on December 31, 2019.

17:17 EDT Afya names Luis Andre Blanco new CFO - Afya Limited, or Afya, announced that it has hired Luis Andre Blanco, who has joined Afya effective as of today, and will assume the position of CFO effective as of April 20, 2020. On January 13, 2020, Afya announced that Luciano Toledo de Campos, its current CFO, had notified Afya of his intention to leave for personal reasons. Luciano will remain as CFO of Afya during a transition period to ensure a smooth and effective transition of his duties to Luis Andre, including through Afya's scheduled full year 2019 financial results announcement.

17:13 EDT ACI Worldwide CEO buys 30.4K shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, ACI Worldwide disclosed that its CEO Odilon Almeida bought 30.4K shares of common stock in a total transaction size of $748.5K.

17:08 EDT Canadian Natural cuts FY20 capital spending budget to C$2.96B - Canadian Natural Resources provided a corporate update on its capital flexibility and its continued focus on effective and efficient operations. Canadian Natural said it is well positioned through the current global COVID-19 challenges, due to our significant long life low decline asset base that has 27.8 years of reserve life based on proved reserves and 36.0 years of reserve life based on proved plus probable reserves. Of the proved reserves, 83% is derived from long life low decline assets and 77% of budgeted 2020 liquids production is from the same type of long life low decline assets. Importantly, Canadian Natural's Oil Sands Mining and Upgrading assets have a reserve life in excess of 43 years. These Oil Sands Mining and Upgrading assets have a production capability in the range of 430,000-475,000 bbl/d of Synthetic Crude Oil, with operating costs of approximately US$13/bbl. These assets currently make up approximately 45% of our liquids production and continue to generate substantial free cash flow at current commodity price levels. Canadian Natural's asset base has low sustaining capital and low reservoir risk which allows it to effectively manage through commodity price cycles, with little impact on our near term production levels and net asset value, thereby preserving long term value for our shareholders and creditors. The Company maintains a flexible and disciplined capital allocation strategy, with a focus on maintaining a strong financial position throughout the commodity price cycle. With the continued volatility in commodity pricing, the Company has identified and implemented further opportunities to reduce its 2020 capital spending budget to approximately $2,960 million, a $1,090 million reduction from its original 2020 budget. Notwithstanding this spending reduction, there is no change to our 2020 corporate production guidance volumes of 1,137,000 - 1,207,000 BOE/d; originally issued on December 4, 2019. Canadian Natural's long life low decline asset base and its associated low annual sustaining capital of approximately $3 billion, coupled with the ramp up of production volumes at Kirby North, Primrose and Jackfish production, all where capital for these projects was largely incurred in 2019 and before, results in similar targeted production levels in 2021 and 2022.

17:05 EDT Baytex Energy reduces full-time employee salaries by 10% - During this period, Baytex will remain focused on driving further efficiencies in its operations. As a continued cost control measure, all full-time employee salaries and all annual retainers paid to directors will be reduced by 10% effective April 1. The situation around the COVID-19 virus continues to evolve. To date, the company has had no operational or supply chain impacts from COVID-19.

17:03 EDT Cloudera director buys 719K shares of common stock - In a regulatory filing, Cloudera disclosed that its director Peter Fenton bought 719K shares of common stock. The total transaction size was $5.0M.

17:00 EDT Birks Group announces temporary closure of Maison Birks stores in Canada - Birks Group announced that given the rapidly changing environment due to the novel coronavirus COVID-19, and in order to ensure the health and safety of its employees and the community, it is temporarily closing all of its Maison Birks stores across Canada effective on March 18, 2020 until at least April 1, 2020. This decision will be re-evaluated as new information becomes available regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

16:58 EDT National Vision to temporarily close all retail locations through March 28 - National Vision Holdings announced that as a response to national efforts to help stem the COVID-19 pandemic, it will temporarily close all retail locations through March 28. The company will continue to closely monitor this global health crisis with a view of reopening its retail stores as quickly as possible and will provide impacted associates full base pay through March 28. The company will maintain its e-Commerce services offered through americasbest.com, eyeglassworld.com, as well as discountglasses.com and discountcontacts.com. Additionally, as a precautionary measure to preserve financial flexibility in light of uncertainties surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, the company elected to borrow the remaining $146.3M in available funds under its Revolving Credit Facility. The company noted that it has no meaningful maturities due until 2024. With this recent draw down on the Revolving Credit Facility, the company has over $250M in available cash on hand.

16:55 EDT Johnson & Johnson's Janssen submits NDA to FDA for ponesimod to treat MS - The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson announced the submission of a New Drug Application or NDA to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA for ponesimod for the treatment of adult patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis, MS. "Nearly 1 million people over the age of 18 in the U.S. live with MSii, and approximately 85 percent of people with the condition are initially diagnosed with relapsing MS.iii Despite new advancements and treatments coming to market, a number of unmet needs still remain - leaving patients struggling to manage often-debilitating symptoms," said Mathai Mammen, M.D., Ph.D., Global Head of Janssen Research & Development, LLC. "In the coming months, we'll work closely with the FDA to bring ponesimod one step closer to the MS patient community and remain encouraged by its superior efficacy profile - specifically in reducing new inflammatory lesions and disability accumulation - in comparison to a leading therapy on the market."

16:54 EDT Square gets FDIC approval for deposit insurance related to ILC bank charter - The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Board has voted to conditionally approve Square's application for deposit insurance related to its Industrial Loan Company bank charter. Square has also received charter approval from the Utah Department of Financial Institutions. The bank, Square Financial Services, is expected to launch in 2021. It will operate independently, as a direct subsidiary of Square, Inc. Its primary purpose will be to offer small business loans for Square Capital's commercial lending business, and to offer deposit products.

16:43 EDT ICE says NYSE to move temporarily to fully electronic trading - Intercontinental Exchange announced that the New York Stock Exchange will initiate its business continuity plan and move, on a temporary basis, to fully electronic trading on Monday, March 23. Trading and regulatory oversight of all NYSE-listed securities will continue without interruption. All-electronic trading will begin with Monday's market open. The facilities to be closed comprise the NYSE equities trading floor in New York, NYSE American Options trading floor in New York, and NYSE Arca Options trading floor in San Francisco. The decision to temporarily close the trading floors represents a precautionary step to protect the health and well-being of employees and the floor community in response to COVID-19. "NYSE's trading floors provide unique value to issuers and investors, but our markets are fully capable of operating in an all-electronic fashion to serve all participants, and we will proceed in that manner until we can re-open our trading floors to our members," said Stacey Cunningham, President of the New York Stock Exchange. "While we are taking the precautionary step of closing the trading floors, we continue to firmly believe the markets should remain open and accessible to investors. All NYSE markets will continue to operate under normal trading hours despite the closure of the trading floors."

16:35 EDT DiamondRock withdraws guidance, suspends dividend due to impact of COVID-19 - DiamondRock Hospitality provided an update on the impact of COVID-19 on its operations and announced the proactive steps management is taking to mitigate the financial impact. The Company is withdrawing the guidance it issued on February 20, 2020, due to the uncertainty surrounding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. As of March 14, 2020, the Company's total revenues have been negatively impacted by approximately $23 million of cancelled group business, excluding potential cancellation fees. Other highlights: Nearly 85% of the group cancellations are concentrated in March (55%) and April (30%). At this time, less than 3% of group business cancellations extend beyond June 2020.

16:31 EDT Steel Connect announces board fee deferrals - Steel Connect announced that it is taking proactive steps to minimize the potential impacts of the Coronavirus on the company. In light of the unprecedented circumstances and the rapidly changing situation concerning the Coronavirus, the board unanimously approved the deferral of all Board Fees through Q2 and will review continuing this decision quarterly throughout 2020.

16:30 EDT CarGurus suspends full-year 2020 guidance due to impact of COVID-19 - CarGurus "is squarely focused on the health of our business and acting in the best interest of our long-term operating model. Fortunately, we have the flexibility in our business to weather this environment and emerge well-positioned in the industry. We carry no debt and a strong cash position on our balance sheet, providing a robust foundation for times like these. We also have the ability to dynamically control our largest expenses. We are already enabling certain expense controls and will continue to evaluate our consumer marketing expenses against the economic backdrop in each of our markets. Both our management team and board of directors have deep experience navigating challenging economic environments and business disruptions, and we believe our ongoing actions will yield stronger businesses for both CarGurus and our customers in the long term. While this period is unprecedented, we believe CarGurus is supporting one of the strongest segments of the automotive industry. Few businesses are fully insulated from economic cycles, but over 90% of leads and connections submitted on our marketplaces are for used car listings, and used car sales volumes and profit margins have historically remained resilient even through the most challenging economic environments. We will continue to take actions to help our dealer customers remain resilient through this period as well. While we are not commenting on the impact of these actions on our Q1 outlook, after consideration we have decided to suspend our full-year 2020 guidance for revenue, non-GAAP operating income, and non-GAAP earnings per share. As we gain more clarity on our outlook in a rapidly evolving environment, we expect to broadly communicate an update as appropriate.

16:27 EDT Axon's Partovi acquires 20,000 common shares - In a regulatory filing, Axon Enterprise director Hadi Partovi disclosed the purchase of 20,000 common shares of the company on March 17 at a price of $55.4699 per share.

16:26 EDT Rio Tinto's Kennecott mine impacted by Salt Lake City earthquake - Rio Tinto's Kennecott mine near Salt Lake City, Utah, was today impacted as a result of a 5.7-magnitude earthquake close to the town of Magna. All employees have been safely accounted for and evacuated from the potential risk areas. At this stage we have identified limited damage to the operation or risk to the surrounding community. A detailed inspection of the complex is currently being conducted, in conjunction with the local emergency services and Utah Department of Transportation. As a precaution, all operations have been temporarily halted and, in line with standard procedures pre-agreed with the Utah Department of Transportation, State Road 201 has been temporarily closed while the inactive South tailings storage facility is inspected.

16:22 EDT Stage Stores discloses NYSE listing deficiency notice - Stage Stores announced that it received notification from the New York Stock Exchange on March 12, 2020 that the company is no longer in compliance with the NYSE continued listing criteria that requires listed companies to maintain an average closing share price of at least $1.00 over a consecutive 30 trading-day period.

16:22 EDT Hawkins announces readiness plans amongst 'current business dynamics' - Hawkins announced company readiness plans amongst the current business dynamics. Highlights include: Increased bleach production to meet demand; Redundant plant capabilities to ensure business continuity in critical areas of our Water Treatment group to serve drinking water and wastewater needs of the many municipalities the company supports; Increased inventory positions, where needed, to meet customer demands across all areas of the business, including agriculture, crop production and fertilizers; Working with suppliers to ensure business continuity; Implementation of stringent procedures and practices to minimize potential spread of COVID-19; Providing work from home opportunities where possible, flexibility with our leave policies, and working to do whatever it takes to support our valued employees in these busy times; Daily Management meeting to address any issues that arise. "At Hawkins, employee and customer safety is always a priority, regardless of the situation. We supply businesses with the support or supplies necessary to operate, and we impact millions of people across the United States every day, including through providing the products needed to maintain safe drinking water, and ingredients essential for large-scale food, pharmaceutical and other health product manufacturing and nutrition products needed to support our critical infrastructure," said Patrick Hawkins, Chief Executive Officer and President.

16:21 EDT Chemung Financial announces new 250,000 share stock repurchase program - Chemung Financial announced that the Board of Directors of the corporation approved a new stock repurchase program which replaces the previously authorized repurchase program. Under the new repurchase program, the corporation may repurchase up to 250,000 shares of its common stock, or approximately 5% of its outstanding shares.

16:20 EDT Pfizer reports results from Phase 3 study of 20vPnC candidate - Pfizer announced top-line results from one of its Phase 3 studies which evaluated the safety and immunogenicity of its 20-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine candidate in adults 18 years of age or older not previously vaccinated against pneumococcal disease. The primary immunogenicity objectives of non-inferiority for the 20 serotypes included in 20vPnC in adults 60 years of age and older at one month after vaccination were met for all serotypes in common with licensed Prevnar 13 and six of the seven additional serotypes when compared to a licensed pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine; one of the new seven serotypes missed noninferiority criteria by a small margin. Secondary immunogenicity objectives for adults 18-59 years old compared to those 60-64 years old met non-inferiority for all 20 serotypes. The safety objectives were met in adults 18 years of age or older demonstrating that the safety and tolerability of 20vPnC were comparable to licensed pneumococcal vaccines. Based on prior discussions with regulators, these data are expected to meet licensure criteria.

16:18 EDT Pfizer says Phase 3 JADE COMPARE study met co-primary efficacy endpoints - Pfizer announced that JADE COMPARE met its co-primary efficacy endpoints. The Phase 3 study evaluated the safety and efficacy of abrocitinib, an investigational oral once-daily Janus kinase 1 inhibitor, in adults with moderate to severe atopic dermatitis who were also on background topical therapy. The study also included an active control arm, dupilumab, a biologic treatment administered by subcutaneous injection, compared with placebo. Results showed that the percentage of patients achieving each co-primary efficacy endpoint at Week 12 was statistically superior with both doses of abrocitinib than with placebo. Superiority to placebo with both doses was maintained at Week 16. Dupilumab, the active control on these primary endpoints, demonstrated superiority to placebo at Week 12 and Week 16. As a key secondary endpoint, the percentage of patients who had a clinically significant reduction in itch by Week 2 of treatment was statistically superior for the 200mg abrocitinib dose compared to dupilumab and numerically higher, but not statistically significantly higher, for the 100mg abrocitinib dose compared to dupilumab. The safety profile seen with abrocitinib was consistent with previous studies. Safety results showed that a larger percentage of patients receiving abrocitinib 200mg experienced adverse events (61.9%) than in other treatment arms. The percentages of patients experiencing adverse events were similar for placebo (53.4%), abrocitinib 100mg (50.8%), and dupilumab (50%). The percentage of patients experiencing serious adverse events and adverse events leading to study discontinuation were similar across the placebo (3.8% each), abrocitinib 100mg (2.5% each), abrocitinib 200mg (0.9% and 4.4%, respectively), and dupilumab (0.8% and 3.3%, respectively) treatment arms.

16:13 EDT Acer Therapeutics announces OND denial of CRL appeal for Edsivo NDA - Acer Therapeutics announced that the Office of New Drugs, or OND, of the FDA has denied Acer's appeal of the complete response letter, or CRL, in relation to the new drug application, or NDA, for Edsivo. In its appeal denied letter, the OND describes possible paths forward for Acer to explore that could provide the substantial evidence of effectiveness needed to support a potential resubmission of the Edsivo NDA for the treatment of patients with vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, or vEDS, with a confirmed COL3A1 mutation. "We appreciate the OND's time and attention in thoughtfully considering this FDRR," said Chris Schelling, CEO and founder of Acer. "While neither resubmission nor the prospect of approval of the EDSIVO NDA is assured, we are evaluating our possible next steps with the goal of resubmission of the EDSIVO NDA."

16:11 EDT Nam Tai Property trading resumes

16:09 EDT Kforce increases share repurchase authorization to $100M - Kforce announced its board approved an increase in aggregate remaining share repurchase authorization to $100M, an increase of roughly $70M.

16:07 EDT Azure Power trading resumes

16:07 EDT Maximus authorizes expansion of common stock buyback for up to $200M - MAXIMUS announced that its board has authorized the expansion of purchases of MAXIMUS common stock of up to an aggregate of $200M, which includes the remaining balance from the 2018 authorization of $37.2M as of March 17, 2020.

16:06 EDT Vail Resorts closing North American mountain resorts due to COVID-19 - Vail Resorts provided updated commentary on its FY20 results and the evolving impact of COVID-19 on its business and results of operations. CEO Rob Katz said, "(...) we made the difficult decision to suspend the operations at all of our North American mountain resorts and retail stores beginning Sunday, March 15. We determined yesterday that these resorts will remain closed through the remainder of the 2019/2020 North American ski season, and our lodging properties and transportation business will close as well. The company will consider reopening Breckenridge Ski Resort in Colorado, Heavenly Mountain Resort in Lake Tahoe and Whistler Blackcomb in British Columbia in late April/early May, dependent on the situation with COVID-19 as well as weather conditions. (...) Given the closure of our operations as a result of COVID-19, we anticipate that our operating results for March and April will have a negative impact of $180M-$200M compared to the Resort Reported EBITDA expectation we had as of March 1, 2020. If we are able to reopen certain resorts before the end of the season, we believe such a decision will not have a material impact, positive or negative, on our results for FY20. We are currently expecting to be fully operational for the North American summer and Australian ski season for all of our businesses, however that will remain subject to the ongoing situation with COVID-19. Additionally, even if we are fully operational, we expect that our results in Q4 will be negatively impacted by the current economic and travel environment, but we are not able to fully assess that impact at this time. Our primary revenue generating businesses in Q4 are our three ski areas in Australia, the Grand Teton Lodge Company in Wyoming and our summer mountain and lodging operations at our North American resorts. The Company went into this challenging time period with a strong financial position with Net Debt of 2.4 times trailing twelve months Total Reported EBITDA at the end of Q2. We expect to have cushion on all of our financial covenants related to our Eighth Amended and Restated Credit Agreement throughout the remainder of FY20. We also have significant liquidity through our cash on hand, our $500M U.S. revolver and our C$300M Canadian revolver associated with Whistler Blackcomb. While we entered this situation in a strong financial position, we believe the potentially challenging economic environment ahead requires us to review our previously announced calendar year 2020 capital plans and our plans for returning capital to shareholders and will provide updates on those plans as we finalize decisions" (...).

16:06 EDT Herman Miller says not issuing guidance for Q4 - Andi Owen, President and CEO, stated, "Despite the uncertain global economic environment resulting from coronavirus concerns, we delivered adjusted earnings per share that exceeded the expectations that we established at the start of the quarter. While we experienced uneven demand patterns for sales and orders during the quarter, we focused our attention on what we could control - with our first priority to ensure the health and safety of our associates around the globe. We also remained focused on controlling expenses and achieving the savings target we previously set in connection with our profit optimization initiative. Supported by these efforts, we delivered adjusted operating margin expansion in the quarter of 110 basis points over last year. While we cannot determine the precise impact of the coronavirus outbreak on our third quarter results, we do know that the temporary closure of our China facility reduced International sales by approximately $6 million. Given the rapidly changing environment surrounding coronavirus, we are refraining from providing guidance for the upcoming fourth quarter. While this is clearly a time of near-term uncertainty, we remain confident the progress that we are making on our strategic priorities positions us for continued long-term profitable growth."

16:05 EDT CorEnergy trading resumes

16:03 EDT Five Below reports Q4 comparable sales decrease of 2.2%

16:02 EDT Macquarie Infrastructure trading resumes

16:01 EDT Phillips 66 says Q1 conference call to now be held on May 1 at noon EDT - Phillips 66 has changed the date of its conference call to discuss first-quarter earnings due to a change in scheduling. The conference call webcast will now be held on Friday, May 1 at noon EDT. At that time, the company's executive management will discuss first-quarter 2020 financial results, which will be released earlier that day, and provide an update on strategic initiatives.

15:59 EDT Azure Power trading halted, volatility trading pause

15:59 EDT Macquarie Infrastructure trading halted, volatility trading pause

15:58 EDT SYNNEX trading halted, volatility trading pause

15:58 EDT CBTX Inc trading halted, volatility trading pause

15:56 EDT DineEquity trading halted, volatility trading pause

15:52 EDT Spectrum Brands trading halted, volatility trading pause

15:50 EDT Establishment Labs Holdings Inc trading halted, volatility trading pause

15:45 EDT Siebert Financial trading resumes

15:39 EDT Ventas trading resumes

15:38 EDT Childrens Place trading resumes

15:35 EDT G-III Apparel trading halted, volatility trading pause

15:34 EDT Ventas trading halted, volatility trading pause

15:33 EDT ServiceMaster trading halted, volatility trading pause

15:31 EDT Siebert Financial trading halted, volatility trading pause

15:26 EDT Zillow trading resumes

15:21 EDT US Foods trading resumes

15:16 EDT US Foods trading halted, volatility trading pause

15:16 EDT Darden trading resumes

15:11 EDT Big Lots trading halted, volatility trading pause

15:10 EDT GAMCO Investors terminates Modified Dutch Auction tender offer - GAMCO Investors announced that it has terminated its offer to purchase up to $30M in aggregate purchase price of its Class A common stock, $0.001 par value, which was due to expire at 5:00 P.M., Eastern Time, on April 8, as a result of the suspension of trading and market index conditions to the Offer not having been satisfied. As a result of this termination, no shares will be purchased in the Offer and all shares previously tendered and not withdrawn will be promptly returned to tendering holders. On March 11, GAMCO commenced the Offer, pursuant to which, holders of shares were invited to tender some or all of their shares at a price within the range of $15.00-$17.00 per share, which would have enabled GAMCO to purchase for cash up to 2M shares of its Class A common stock.

15:07 EDT BridgeBio Pharma trading resumes

15:03 EDT Texas Capital trading resumes

15:00 EDT Red Rock Resorts trading resumes

14:58 EDT SEI Investments increases stock repurchase program by $250M - The board of SEI Investments Company announced an increase in its stock repurchase program by an additional $250M, increasing the available authorization under the program to approximately $272M. Since the beginning of calendar year 2020, the company repurchased approximately 1.677M shares at a cost of approximately $96M.

14:58 EDT Texas Capital trading halted, volatility trading pause

14:55 EDT Red Rock Resorts trading halted, volatility trading pause

14:51 EDT Ollies Bargain Outlet trading resumes

14:49 EDT LPL Financial trading resumes

14:47 EDT Eli Lilly to accelerate COVID-19 testing using Lilly Laboratories - Eli Lilly and Company announced its scientists are partnering with the Indiana State Department of Health, or ISDH, with support from the FDA, to accelerate testing in Indiana for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Lilly will use its specialized research laboratories to analyze samples taken in Indiana healthcare facilities, including nursing homes and emergency rooms. Assuming the company can continuously access required diagnostic reagents, this should start to expand the state's ability to conduct testing and receive a timely diagnosis of individuals who suspect they may be carrying the virus. As Lilly's testing capacity expands, Lilly and ISDH will work together to maximize the impact of broader testing. In addition, Lilly is piloting drive through testing that may eventually be able to test patients outside of a healthcare facility to avoid spread of the virus. The company hopes to have additional details in the coming days. Lilly will not accept money from government agencies, hospitals, insurance companies or patients for conducting or analyzing tests. "This is one contribution we can make to help slow the spread of coronavirus in our community, and this testing will be entirely free," Lilly CEO David Ricks said.

14:46 EDT Ollies Bargain Outlet trading halted, volatility trading pause

14:44 EDT Allscripts announces updates across EHR solutions in response to COVID-19 - Allscripts announce several steps it is taking to further its commitment to help fight the global spread of COVID-19. "The company is working closely with health agencies and governments around the world to keep abreast of changes and partnering with clients to share and enable their Allscripts solutions to help combat the spread of the virus and manage their patients. Allscripts has made updates across each of its electronic health record solutions; one example is updating clinical decision support tools in its EHRs with the most current screening tools and CDC recommendations. Allscripts also offers specific solutions that can help providers fight the spread of COVID-19, including FollowMyHealth Telehealth, Allscripts Virtual Triage and IT Service staffing to supplement clients' teams." Allscripts also said it has created a specialized plan for clients to swiftly implement telehealth at their organizations through its EHR-agnostic patient engagement platform, FollowMyHealth. "To help protect the health and safety of Allscripts associates, clients and partners, the company has taken action to prevent additional spread of the virus by implementing strict travel restrictions for employees and converting many scheduled client meetings to virtual briefings. All Allscripts-hosted large events and gatherings have been postponed or canceled. In addition, the company has implemented a work-from-home policy for associates, further strengthened our IT infrastructure and taken advanced steps in ensuring our facilities are cleaned and operating in accordance with CDC and WHO guidelines. Essential travel, including travel to client sites, continues when required to ensure the continuity of Allscripts' mission-critical solutions," the company added.

14:42 EDT Sysco trading halted, volatility trading pause

14:39 EDT Franchise Group Inc trading resumes

14:38 EDT L Brands trading halted, volatility trading pause

14:34 EDT EQT Midstream Partners trading resumes

14:34 EDT Seritage Growth Properties trading halted, volatility trading pause

14:33 EDT Mohawk trading resumes

14:29 EDT Wyndham Destinations trading resumes

14:28 EDT MGM Resorts trading resumes

14:27 EDT Simon to close all retail properties until March 29 - Simon Property Group announced that after discussions with federal, state and local officials and in recognition of the need to address the spread of COVID-19, it will close all of its retail properties, including Malls, Premium Outlets and Mills in the U.S. The measure will take effect from 7 p.m. local time today and will end on March 29. "The health and safety of our shoppers, retailers and employees is of paramount importance and we are taking this step to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our communities," said David Simon, Chairman, CEO of Simon.

14:26 EDT Live Nation trading resumes

14:25 EDT Avantor trading resumes

14:23 EDT MGM Resorts trading halted, volatility trading pause

14:20 EDT Avantor trading halted, volatility trading pause

14:17 EDT Qiagen launches QIAstat-Dx test kit for detection of SARS-CoV-2 in Europe - Qiagen announced that it has obtained CE marking for its newly developed QIAstat-Dx Respiratory SARS-CoV-2 Panel test to be sold as an in vitro diagnostic for the detection of SARS-CoV-2. "As the first syndromic testing solution in the European Union for use in the coronavirus epidemic, the QIAstat-Dx test kit can differentiate the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus from 21 other serious respiratory infections in patients who may have similar symptoms in a single testing run of about one hour," the company said.

14:15 EDT Sabre trading resumes

14:10 EDT Sabre trading halted, volatility trading pause

14:08 EDT Starwood Property trading resumes

14:06 EDT United Natural Foods director Ann Torre Bates purchased 24K shares of company st - United Natural Foods director Ann Torre Bates disclosed in a filing that she had purchased 24,000 shares of company stock at an average price of $5.47 per share on March 13. The total transaction value of the purchase was $131,321.

14:02 EDT GM to begin suspension of manufacturing operations in North America - General Motors confirmed it will begin a systematic orderly suspension of manufacturing operations in North America due to market conditions, to deep clean facilities and continue to protect people. The suspension will last until at least March 30. Production status will be reevaluated week-to-week after that. "GM and the UAW have always put the health and safety of the people entering GM plants first, and we have agreed to a systematic, orderly suspension of production to aid in fighting COVID-19/coronavirus," said GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra. "We have been taking extraordinary precautions around the world to keep our plant environments safe and recent developments in North America make it clear this is the right thing to do now. I appreciate the teamwork of UAW President Rory Gamble, UAW Vice President Terry Dittes and local leadership as we take this unprecedented step." "UAW members, their families and our communities will benefit from today's announcement with the certainty that we are doing all that we can to protect our health and safety during this pandemic," said UAW President Rory Gamble. "This will give us time to review best practices and to prevent the spread of this disease. We appreciate General Motors' actions today and will continue to work with them on health and safety plans to be implemented when we resume production." To ensure that production stops in a safe and orderly fashion, plants will suspend operations in a cadence, with each facility receiving specific instructions from manufacturing leadership.

14:00 EDT Capri Holdings trading resumes

13:57 EDT KKR Real Estate Finance trading halted, volatility trading pause

13:55 EDT Pacific Biosciences says verdict in Delaware 'not overall favorable' for company - Pacific Biosciences of California announced that the jury verdict in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware was "not overall favorable for Pacific Biosciences, but mixed in terms of its findings." Pacific Biosciences intends to file post-trial motions with the District Court, seeking to overturn these aspects of the jury verdict and also requesting a new trial if warranted. In addition, if necessary, the company plans to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. The jury's verdict has no effect on the previous settlement between the parties, under which ONT has agreed to refrain from offering "2D" sequencing products in the United Kingdom and Germany through 2023. The company's settlement agreement with ONT and other parties remains in effect notwithstanding the outcome of the U.S. District Court litigation or other legal proceedings between the parties in the U.S. or Europe. "We are disappointed with today's verdict, which appears to be internally inconsistent regarding the validity of our patents. We were especially dismayed at ONT's brazen attempts during trial, in direct violation of the Court's orders, to improperly sway the jury with references to previous legal proceedings between the parties involving different patents and legal questions, and to profit from the current coronavirus pandemic by incorrectly suggesting that if the jury voted in favor of Pacific Biosciences it would be impeding critical efforts to combat the COVID-19 outbreak. We continue to believe that all of our asserted U.S. patent claims are valid and infringed by ONT, and we believe the law and the facts support our positions. Pacific Biosciences remains firm in its resolve to protect its investment and leadership position in the field it has created, and we look forward to the next steps in our litigation against ONT," said CEO Michael Hunkapiller.

13:55 EDT Capri Holdings trading halted, volatility trading pause

13:48 EDT Camping World trading resumes

13:47 EDT Performance Food Group trading resumes

13:45 EDT Invesco Mortgage trading resumes

13:44 EDT New Residential trading resumes

13:42 EDT Granite Point Mortgage trading halted, volatility trading pause

13:42 EDT Norwegian Cruise Line trading resumes

13:40 EDT AGNC Investment Corp. trading halted, volatility trading pause

13:39 EDT New Residential trading halted, volatility trading pause

13:37 EDT Mallinckrodt down 26% after disclosure on credit pact, debtor talks

13:37 EDT Norwegian Cruise Line trading halted, volatility trading pause

13:37 EDT Annaly Capital trading resumes

13:35 EDT Ebix says not aware of any events besides coronavirus to warrant stock action - Ebix announced that it is not aware of any news, events or tariffs, other than the temporary effect arising out of coronavirus, that would negatively impact its financial and insurance exchanges and global operations. The company reiterated that Ebix is not aware of any events, present or future on any front, except for coronavirus that would warrant the stock price action; Ebix continues to have strong relationships with its bankers and is not aware of any present or future road blocks to that relationship; Ebix continues to have a strong balance sheet and a strong business outlook worldwide; the company management has strong faith in the company's fundamentals as reflected in the recent stock buying by insiders; the company has made arrangements on all fronts to address not only the temporary impact of coronavirus on its businesses, but also towards providing high quality business continuity to all its customers worldwide.Ebix's full year 2019 GAAP revenue rose 17% to $580.6M, compared to $497.8M in 2018. Full year GAAP EPPS grew 7% to $3.16 in 2019 as compared to $2.95 in 2018, the company noted.

13:32 EDT OneMain Holdings trading resumes

13:31 EDT Carnival trading halted, volatility trading pause

13:31 EDT Annaly Capital trading halted, volatility trading pause

13:30 EDT Toro Company trading resumes

13:29 EDT Mallinckrodt does not see credit agreement being amended, in talks with debtors - In a regulatory filing, Mallinckrodt said: "As previously disclosed, the company has been seeking to amend its credit agreement and obtain new term loans thereunder. After receiving informal communications from advisors to the Lender Parties to the Support Agreement, each as defined in the company's current report on Form 8-K filed on February 25, 2020, that Lender Parties did not expect to fund the new term loans, the company does not expect that the credit agreement will be amended or the new term loans will be obtained, and is seeking to engage in discussions with certain debt holders of the company regarding potential refinancing alternatives."

13:28 EDT Honda to continue to evaluate conditions, will make adjustments as necessary

13:28 EDT Honda to suspend North America production for six days beginning March 23

13:27 EDT OneMain Holdings trading halted, volatility trading pause

13:25 EDT Hyatt trading resumes

13:25 EDT Bill Miller says Carnival on list to look at after selloff - Bill Miller of Miller Value Partners is speaking on CNBC.

13:24 EDT Bill Miller says Delta, American will survive since Buffett is shareholder - Bill Miller of Miller Value Partners is speaking on CNBC.

13:24 EDT United Continental trading resumes

13:23 EDT Covetrus trading halted, volatility trading pause

13:22 EDT Wynn Resorts trading resumes

13:22 EDT Huaneng Power trading resumes

13:21 EDT Banco de Chile trading halted, volatility trading pause

13:21 EDT 1933 Industries continues operation as essential business in Nevada - 1933 Industries provided an update regarding its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. CEO Chris Rebentisch said, "On behalf of our proprietary Alternative Medicine Associationand Canna Hemp brands as well as our licensing partners, I would like to reiterate our ongoing commitment to quality and safety by joining our communities in solidarity against the spread of COVID-19. Our utmost priority is to ensure the health and well-being of our employees, partners and customers and we are taking the recommended steps to mitigate the risks of spreading the disease. Commencing today, the State of Nevada requires the closing of all nonessential businesses for the next 30 days. The closing mandate does not affect cannabis operators or licensed dispensaries. As such, we will continue our regular operations, with our cultivation and manufacturing facilities in Nevada remaining open, to meet the increased demand for our premium cannabis concentrates. Our second harvest in Nevada is still on schedule for the end of March. However, we will continue to monitor developments related to COVID-19 and assess our operations as the situation evolves. AMA, our cultivation arm, already follows stringent cleanliness, sanitation and hygiene protocols and in addition, the Company will adhere to additional safety measures, including: implementing enhanced cleaning and disinfection measures; Reinforcing standard hygiene practices for employees and disallowing any visitors from the facilities; Monitoring employee health, working in small groups and following all health authority recommendations. These enhanced measures, as well as strict adherence to local, state and national guidance to protect against the disease and its contamination are necessary steps to mitigate risks, create a safe environment and provide the absolute best cannabis products in the market. We are encouraged, comforted and motivated by our strong team, our loyal customers and our close communities as we stand together during the COVID-19 pandemic."

13:20 EDT Genworth can net 35% return in one month if deal closes, Bill Miller says - Bill Miller of Miller Value Partners is speaking on CNBC.

13:19 EDT Calamos Global Dynamic Income Fund trading halted, volatility trading pause

13:19 EDT United Continental trading halted, volatility trading pause

13:18 EDT Toro Company trading halted, volatility trading pause

13:17 EDT Zealand Pharma AS (ADS) trading halted, volatility trading pause

13:14 EDT Ford temporarily suspending production at North America sites through March 30 - Following Thursday evening shifts, Ford (F) is temporarily suspending production at its manufacturing sites in North America through March 30 to thoroughly clean its facilities to protect its workforce and boost containment efforts for the COVID-19 coronavirus. "We're continuing to work closely with union leaders, especially the United Auto Workers, to find ways to help keep our workforce healthy and safe - even as we look at solutions for continuing to provide the vehicles customers really want and need," said Kumar Galhotra, Ford's president of North America. "In these unprecedented times, we're exploring unique and creative solutions to support our workforce, customers, dealers, suppliers and communities." UAW and Ford leaders will work together in the coming weeks on plant restart plans as well as exploring additional protocols and procedures for helping prevent the spread of the virus. Chief among them: finding ways to maximize social distancing among plant workers - both during work hours and at shift change, when large numbers of people typically gather at entry and exit points and maximizing cleaning times between shift changes. Ford temporarily closed Michigan Assembly Plant final assembly building this morning after an employee tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus and is thoroughly cleaning and disinfecting the building, as promised as part of the company's coronavirus emergency response protocol. MAP will halt production through March 30. In addition, the company will instruct people who have had direct contact with that infected employee to self-quarantine and get medical attention. Those who have had close contact to those who have had direct contact are asked watch for symptoms and seek medical attention if they feel unwell. The move to temporarily close plants follows Sunday's news that Ford leaders are forming a Coronavirus Task Force along with UAW, General Motors (GM) and Fiat Chrysler (FCAU) leaders to implement enhanced protections for manufacturing and warehouse employees at all three companies. n addition, Ford vehicle manufacturing sites in Cologne and Saarlouis in Germany, together with the Craiova facility in Romania, will temporarily halt production starting Thursday. Ford's Valencia assembly and engine facility in Spain already temporarily halted production from Monday, after three workers were confirmed with coronavirus over the past weekend.

13:03 EDT Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac to suspend evictions, forclosures for 60 days - FHFA said in a statement that to help borrowers who are at risk of losing their home, the Federal Housing Finance Agency has directed Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FMCC) to suspend foreclosures and evictions for at least 60 days due to the coronavirus national emergency. The foreclosure and eviction suspension applies to homeowners with an Enterprise-backed single-family mortgage. Earlier this month, FHFA announced that the Enterprises would provide payment forbearance to borrowers impacted by the coronavirus. Forbearance allows for a mortgage payment to be suspended for up to 12 months due to hardship caused by the coronavirus. "This foreclosure and eviction suspension allows homeowners with an Enterprise-backed mortgage to stay in their homes during this national emergency," said Director Mark Calabria. "As a reminder, borrowers affected by the coronavirus who are having difficulty paying their mortgage, should reach out to their mortgage servicers as soon as possible. The Enterprises are working with mortgage servicers to ensure that borrowers facing hardship because of the coronavirus can get assistance." FHFA will continue monitor the coronavirus situation and update policies as needed.

12:58 EDT AIkido Pharma says working to move coronavirus technology effort forward - AIkido Pharma provided an update on the coronavirus technology optioned by the company, with AIkido CEO Anthony Hayes stating, "AIkido has been working to move this research forward. AIkido is the only company with this option and we are committed to funding the research in an effort to be part of the solution to this crisis. The exact amounts of the commitment are dependent on the research and work needed, which is not a static figure in the current environment. We understand the need for information in this uncertain time and we are committed to providing it as soon as we have it. However, I am sure that you can understand that the researchers involved are under a tremendous amount of pressure, and patience is important."

12:58 EDT Facebook develops more accurate public time-keeping service - "Almost all of the billions of devices connected to the internet have onboard clocks, which need to be accurate to properly perform their functions. Many clocks contain inaccurate internal oscillators, which can cause seconds of inaccuracy per day and need to be periodically corrected. Incorrect time can lead to issues, such as missing an important reminder or failing a spacecraft launch. Devices all over the world rely on Network Time Protocol, NTP, to stay synchronized to a more accurate clock over packet-switched, variable-latency data networks. As Facebook's infrastructure has grown, time precision in our systems has become more and more important. We need to know the accurate time difference between two random servers in a data center so that datastore writes don't mix up the order of transactions. We need to sync all the servers across many data centers with sub-millisecond precision. For that we tested chrony, a modern NTP server implementation with interesting features. During testing, we found that chrony is significantly more accurate and scalable than the previously used service, ntpd, which made it an easy decision for us to replace ntpd in our infrastructure. Chrony also forms the foundation of our Facebook public NTP service, available from time.facebook.com. In this post, we will share our work to improve accuracy from 10 milliseconds to 100 microseconds and how we verified these results in our timing laboratory," wrote Facebook's Oleg Obleukhov. Reference Link

12:55 EDT Grupo Simec trading halted, volatility trading pause

12:55 EDT Delta Air Lines trading halted, volatility trading pause

12:53 EDT Ackman says stock market 'will take off' if Trump announces 30 day shutdown - Pershing Square's Bill Ackman is speaking on CNBC.

12:43 EDT Hilton trading resumes

12:41 EDT Invitation Homes trading resumes

12:40 EDT Habit Restaurants' stockholders adopt merger pact with Yum! Brands - The Habit Restaurants (HABT) announced that its stockholders voted to adopt the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of January 5, 2020, among Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM) and YEB Newco Inc., Yum's wholly-owned subsidiary, at a special meeting of The Habit Burger Grill's stockholders held earlier today. The Habit Burger Grill's stockholders also approved the proposal to approve, on an advisory basis, specified compensation that may be paid or become payable to The Habit Burger Grill's named executive officers that is based on or otherwise related to the Merger Agreement and the transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement. The final voting results will be disclosed in a Current Report on Form 8-K, in accordance with the rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Habit Burger Grill anticipates that the transaction will close on March 18, 2020.

12:39 EDT Ackman says he's gone from aggressively bearish to bullish - Pershing Square's Bill Ackman is speaking on CNBC.

12:38 EDT Hilton trading halted, volatility trading pause

12:36 EDT Invitation Homes trading halted, volatility trading pause

12:31 EDT Mallinckrodt trading halted, news pending

12:30 EDT Gap trading halted, volatility trading pause

12:22 EDT Wyndham Hotels & Resorts trading resumes

12:19 EDT Pope Resources trading resumes

12:14 EDT Ellington Financial trading resumes

12:14 EDT Pope Resources trading halted, volatility trading pause

12:10 EDT MGIC Investment trading resumes

12:07 EDT Citron says telemedicine 'not a fad,' sets $60 target for Benefytt Technologies - In a report recently published, Andrew Lefts' Citron Research argued that this is "the moment that will make telemedicine mainstream" and sees Benefytt Technologies (BFYT) at "the forefront of this megatrend." Citron sees the stock surpassing $60 by the end of the year. BENEFYTT 'CAN HELP': Noting that Tuesday's White House briefing to the country on the COVID-19 pandemic started and ended with the same them, namely the need for more telemedicine offerings for seniors, Citron Research argued that "this is not a trend or a fad... this is the moment that will make telemedicine mainstream and Benefytt Technologies is at the forefront of this megatrend." In a report recently published, Citron added that "With 10k people turning 65 every day, the importance of Medicare Advantage cannot be overstated and Benefytt Technologies is using a suite of products to become a top 5 nationwide broker for Medicare Advantage." "If we assume that Benefytt Technologies should trade in-line with Medicare Advantage peers at 7 times EV/Sales, this implies a price target of $90. If we apply a discount to its peers and assume the company should trade at 5 times EV/Sales, the stock is at $60," the report added. Citron also contended that "It is rare that investors can invest in a stock that has the ability to go up 300% that captures the most relevant theme of a major shift in healthcare policy. The only reason to be short this name is if you don't like their legacy business. This is like being short Netflix [NFLX] because sending DVD in the mail is a bad idea. There are no bad/good Medicare Advantage policies. They are all CMS approved and they are growing rapidly. Forward Thinking." PRICE ACTION: Earlier in the day, shares of Benefytt were higher by over 3%, but the stock reversed just before noon and is now trading down almost 11% to 19.60.

12:04 EDT Net Element CEO provides update on COVID-19 initiatives - Net Element issued the following letter to shareholders from CEO Oleg Firer: "The COVID-19 epidemic is affecting every business across the globe. Over the last three weeks we have taken initiatives to minimize the risks to our business and protect our shareholders... Most of our merchants have contactless payment acceptance capabilities through their point of sale solutions as well as ecommerce and mobile contactless payment acceptance capabilities to eliminate the need for physical payments to help reduce the spread of the virus. The following initiatives including an extensive business continuity plan have been implemented: Enhanced risk controls and safeguards have been put in place for merchants that sell products with an extended delivery time frame, products paid in advance, catering, ticketing, limo and travel related merchants; Onboarding of new merchants in the above categories has been put on hold until further notice; For those employees that will be working from home, we have implemented a "remote work" policy and provided employees with the technology necessary to do so; For those employees that require office attendance, we are taking significant steps to ensure seamless service delivery while safeguarding employees health... Most of our merchants have contactless payment acceptance capabilities through their point of sale devices from equipment manufacturers such as PAX, Poynt and Verifone which are fully integrated into Netevia and Aptito platforms. We launched an initiative to deploy contactless payment acceptance equipment to merchants that don't currently have it. Mobile contactless payment acceptance is available through our Unified mPOS App which can be downloaded from Apple's App Store and Google's Google Play Apps. Online ecommerce payments through shopping carts allow our merchants to sell their products and services to customers that prefer to shop from the convenience of their homes. Moving forward, we will continue proactively managing the situation and providing support for our merchants."

12:00 EDT Britannia Bulk rises 41.0% - Britannia Bulk is up 41.0%, or $9.05 to $31.15.

12:00 EDT Blue Capital rises 639.1% - Blue Capital is up 639.1%, or $5.88 to $6.80.

11:58 EDT Fair Isaac trading resumes

11:47 EDT Coty trading resumes

11:42 EDT W R Grace and Co trading halted, volatility trading pause

11:39 EDT Benefytt Technologies trading halted, volatility trading pause

11:37 EDT Eagle Point Credit trading resumes

11:27 EDT Summit Financial Group trading resumes

11:22 EDT Ally Financial trading resumes

11:20 EDT Rite Aid says all stores currently open to assist with healthcare-related needs - All Rite Aid stores are currently open to assist with healthcare-related needs. All stores and distribution centers are following enhanced cleaning and sanitization protocols designed specifically to prevent the spread of a wide spectrum of viruses, including COVID-19 and influenza. In addition to third-party cleaning providers who professionally clean and sanitize Rite Aid stores, the company has increased the frequency its associates clean high-traffic surfaces throughout the day. Stores located in high-outbreak areas are receiving special disinfectant services daily.

11:19 EDT Rite Aid says current supply of generic medications 'presently sufficient' - Rite Aid's current supply of generic medications is presently sufficient and the company does not anticipate any significant near-term supply chain disruptions that will affect its ability to fill prescriptions. In addition to Rite Aid's internal supply chain monitoring, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is closely monitoring medications that are made outside the U.S., and the agency has reminded more than 180 manufacturers to notify the FDA of any potential supply chain disruptions.

11:17 EDT Ally Financial trading halted, volatility trading pause

11:03 EDT Assured Guaranty trading resumes

10:58 EDT Assured Guaranty trading halted, volatility trading pause

10:50 EDT Transdigm trading resumes

10:45 EDT Transdigm trading halted, volatility trading pause

10:41 EDT Air Lease trading resumes

10:33 EDT Hoegh LNG trading resumes

10:25 EDT Hoegh LNG trading halted, volatility trading pause

10:06 EDT Cedar Fair trading resumes

10:02 EDT Fiserv announces acquisition of Bypass Mobile, terms not disclosed - Fiserv announced the acquisition of Bypass Mobile. The acquisition of Bypass will help power the next generation of omni-commerce capabilities from Fiserv, enabling enterprise businesses to deliver a seamless customer experience that spans physical and digital channels. Bypass provides robust back office management tools and rich insights engines for sports and entertainment venues, food service management providers and national restaurant chains. The acquisition builds on an existing strategic relationship through which Bypass software is integrated into Fiserv technology. More than 50 major stadiums and arenas already leverage the combination of Bypass and Fiserv technology, including Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Clover Park in Port St. Lucie, Florida and Citi Field in New York. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

10:00 EDT Targa Resources falls -23.3% - Targa Resources is down -23.3%, or -$1.68 to $5.53.

10:00 EDT St. Bernard Software falls -27.2% - St. Bernard Software is down -27.2%, or -$1.64 to $4.40.

10:00 EDT Blue Apron rises 35.3% - Blue Apron is up 35.3%, or $2.31 to $8.86.

09:58 EDT Liberty Formula One trading resumes

09:57 EDT Boston Omaha trading resumes

09:55 EDT Popular trading resumes

09:54 EDT Two Harbors trading resumes

09:52 EDT Boston Omaha trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:50 EDT Rayonier trading resumes

09:49 EDT Chimera trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:48 EDT MongoDB trading resumes

09:46 EDT Cinemark trading resumes

09:45 EDT Oportun Financial Corporation trading resumes

09:44 EDT Fortress Transportation trading resumes

09:43 EDT Cimarex Energy trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:43 EDT MongoDB trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:40 EDT Intersect ENT trading resumes

09:40 EDT Cinemark trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:39 EDT Cree trading resumes

09:38 EDT ARAMARK trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:37 EDT Caesars trading resumes

09:35 EDT OUTFRONT Media trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:35 EDT Targa Resources trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:33 EDT Sallie Mae trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:31 EDT Boston Omaha announces $20M share repurchase program - Boston Omaha announced that its Board of Directors approved a share repurchase program under which the company can repurchase up to $20M of its Class A common stock over a one year period ending June 30, 2021 through open market purchases, privately-negotiated transactions, or otherwise in compliance with Rule 10b-18 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Board also authorized the company to establish "Rule 10b5-1 trading plans" for these share repurchases.

09:23 EDT Starbucks to reach national U.S. availability of delivery by the end of April - Starbucks (SBUX) noted it has been moving to a "to go" model across the U.S. and Canada for at least two weeks to encourage social distancing in its cafes. "As the situation with COVID-19 is extremely dynamic customers can now walk up and order at the counter, use the 'order ahead' feature within the Starbucks mobile app, visit a Drive Thru or use Starbucks Delivers to get their daily Starbucks. For the latest information on store hours and closures, customers can access information via the Store Locator or on the Starbucks app." The company also announced that Starbucks Delivers, in partnership with Uber Eats (UBER), will reach national U.S. availability by the end of April, making it available in 48 states where both companies operate. "The expansion of Starbucks Delivers is part of the company's continuous effort to leverage customers' digital preferences and provide another convenient way to enjoy Starbucks wherever they are," the company said.

09:18 EDT Starbucks says 90% of China stores now open - Last week, Starbucks announced it will open a state-of-the-art Coffee Innovation Park in China in 2022, the company noted in conjunction with its annual meeting. "The facility will incorporate a roasting plant, warehouse and distribution center, creating highly-skilled jobs and new career opportunities that will help drive smart and sustainable coffee manufacturing. The $130 million investment in the CIP is Starbucks largest coffee manufacturing investment outside of the United States and the first in Asia. It will serve as a key component of the company's global roasting network, and the bold infrastructure investment further deepens Starbucks multi-decade commitment to strengthen the specialty coffee industry in China, where it aims to have 6,000 stores by 2022," the company stated. The company said it "celebrates continued recovery in China, with 90% of stores now open."

09:17 EDT Pershing's Bill Ackman to Trump: 'Shut down the country' for the next 30 days - Activist investor Bill Ackman said via Twitter: "Mr. President, the only answer is to shut down the country for the next 30 days and close the borders. Tell all Americans that you are putting us on an extended Spring Break at home with family. Keep only essential services open. The government pays wages until we reopen. No one defaults, no one forecloses. A 30-day rent, interest and tax holiday for all. The shutdown is inevitable as it is already happening, but not in a controlled fashion which is extending the economic pain and amplifying the spread of the virus. With exponential compounding, every day we postpone the shutdown costs thousands, and soon hundreds of thousands, and then millions of lives, and destroys the economy. Please send everyone home now. With your leadership, we can end this now. The rest of the world will follow your lead. A global Spring Break will save us all." Reference Link

09:14 EDT UGI Corporation issues response to COVID-19 - In light of the national emergency declaration over the COVID-19 pandemic, UGI Corporation has taken a broad range of preventative measures to help ensure the safety of our employees, customers and the communities we serve. The Company has implemented a COVID-19 Response Plan that follows the guidance and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, the Department of Homeland Security, or DHS, the World Health Organization, or WHO, federal, state and local agencies. Our Response Plan assures that our businesses are staffed for continuous supply of energy to our customers and for emergency calls, that our employees take all necessary measures to keep themselves and our customers safe and that our customer service centers are available to respond to customer calls. We remain positioned to serve the critical needs of our customers in the United States and Europe through our extensive network of natural gas and LPG infrastructure.

09:11 EDT Safe-T says several businesses implement remote access solution amid coronavirus - Safe-T Group announced that several organizations have successfully deployed its Secure Application Access solution to allow work-from-home policies for their employees. This announcement follows the Company's previous announcement on March 9, 2020 regarding offering a three-month free-of-charge remote access service for selected organizations around the globe. Among the organizations that have deployed the solution are one of Israel's leading universities, a world leading fintech company, and a U.S. insurance company. All of the aforementioned organizations were required to send employees to work remotely and were facing the need to provide their employees with access to corporate resources and desktops. By deploying Safe-T's SAA solution, employees can easily and securely connect from their mobile phones, laptops or home computers to corporate resources, without installing any software on their devices and while ensuring the organization's network is not exposed to external threats. Safe-T also announced the expansion of its offering with the addition of four new resellers in North America, enabling more organizations to effectively and efficiently implement secure remote access for their workforce and business requirements. Starting on March 9, 2020, Safe-T has been offering its SAA solution free-of-charge for a period of three months to organizations affected by the Coronavirus. To start using the solution, organizations simply need to deploy a lightweight server on their premises and connect it to their relevant services and to Safe-T's secure access cloud. Safe-T also invites registered Safe-T solutions resellers to inform their customers who may benefit from this offer.

09:09 EDT Starbucks to host virtual Annual Meeting of Shareholders, gives COVID-19 update - Starbucks will hold its Annual Meeting of Shareholders, virtually, with opening remarks from Kevin Johnson, president and CEO. As the company continues to monitor and navigate through the dynamic situation of COVID-19, Johnson will share an update on the company's commitment to its long-term business growth strategy that is grounded in the care of its partners (employees) and customers. "As we are navigating this dynamic global environment together, we will continue to prioritize the health and well-being of our partners and customers while we support local health officials and governments in containing the virus," said Johnson. "We are a resilient and enduring company by staying true to our Mission and Values with a purpose that goes beyond the pursuit of profit." On the cusp of the company's 50th year anniversary, Johnson will also reflect on the company's strong performance in FY19 and preview a vision for Starbucks rooted in caring for people and growing the business in a sustainable and responsible way. Starbucks offers paid sick leave and catastrophe pay; also announces a new mental-health benefit for U.S. partners and their families. Starbucks stores have always been known by customers as their "third place," and as the world continues to navigate COVID-19, the company has continued to respond quickly by modifying its "third place" experience-moving to a "to go" model across the U.S. and Canada for at least two weeks to encourage social distancing in its cafes. As the situation with COVID-19 is extremely dynamic customers can now walk up and order at the counter, use the "order ahead" feature within the Starbucks mobile app, visit a Drive Thru or use Starbucks Delivers to get their daily Starbucks.

09:06 EDT Starbucks authorizes repurchase of up to 40M shares - Starbucks announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to 40M shares of the company's common stock. This authorization is in addition to the approximately 16M shares that remained available as of December 29, 2019 for repurchase under an existing authorization. In fiscal 2019, the company returned $12B to shareholders through a combination of dividends and repurchases of approximately 140M shares. "Starbucks has the financial strength and resilience to manage through this extraordinary time, guided by our Mission and Values," said Johnson. "The increase in our share repurchase program reflects our confidence and optimism about the long-term growth opportunity for our business."

09:03 EDT Intrado, Adobe collaborate to improve campaign visibility, measurement - Intrado announced a long-term relationship with Adobe to integrate Intrado Digital Media products with Adobe Experience Cloud. Marketing and public relations teams will be able to jointly track their efforts and measure campaign results across paid, earned, shared, and owned media. Intrado Digital Media's suite of solutions helps public relations, investor relations, corporate communications, and marketing professionals with key initiatives like brand awareness, product announcements, investor websites, employee town halls, and marketing webinars. The first phase of the partnership will give joint customers of Intrado Digital Media and Adobe Experience Cloud the ability to view marketing and public relations results in a single dashboard within Marketo Engage to facilitate and improve collaboration, visibility, and measurement.

09:00 EDT Vaxart enters pact with Emergent BioSolutions to develop COVID-19 vaccine - Vaxart (VXRT) announced that it has entered into an agreement with Emergent BioSolutions (EBS), whereby Emergent will deploy its molecule-to-market contract development and manufacturing, or CDMO, services to help develop and manufacture Vaxart's experimental oral vaccine candidate for coronavirus disease, or COVID-19. Vaxart's oral recombinant vaccine candidate is based on its proprietary VAAST platform. Under the terms of the agreement, development services will begin immediately, and upon Vaxart's election, Emergent is expected to produce bulk cGMP vaccine allowing Vaxart to initiate a Phase 1 clinical study early in the second half of 2020. Emergent will provide development services out of its Gaithersburg, Maryland location and manufacture drug substance at its Bayview facility in Baltimore, Maryland, designated a Center for Innovation in Advanced Development and Manufacturing by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

08:42 EDT Ehang partners with Lliria of Spain to expand UAM pilot city initiative - EHang Holdings announced that it established a strategic partnership with Lliria in Spain as its fourth urban air mobility pilot city globally following Seville in Spain, Linz in Austria and Guangzhou in China. As a technology pioneer and the first to market in the UAM industry, EHang will collaborate with the Lliria City Council to develop a 3D air mobility solution for smart cities and launch a pilot operation program of passenger-grade AAVs designed to explore different application scenarios including tourism. In addition, EHang and Lliria City Council will work together with the Spanish Aviation Safety and Security Agency to establish relevant systems and standards to support this new transportation ecosystem. Furthermore, EHang and the Lliria City Council expect to co-develop a modernized and integrated AAV command-and-control platform in Lliria for low-altitude airspace and air traffic management, which will integrate the government demands for AAVs in smart city management. EHang also intends to improve logistics delivery efficiency through deploying AAVs and leveraging Lliria geographic advantages of its close proximity to Valencia, one of the important ports in Europe and its location surrounded by sea, islands and mountains. On February 28, 2019, Lliria joined the UAM Initiative Cities Community, one of the European Union's EIP-SCC projects established to promote the transformation of urban three-dimensional transportation.

08:38 EDT General Mills sees demand ebbing from current levels, but remaining elevated

08:36 EDT General Mills: Grocery sales up low double digits in first week of March

08:36 EDT Keysight Technologies announces store closures - Keysight Technologies announced that in order to limit the spread of coronavirus, mitigate the risks to employees, customers and suppliers, and in response to local government directives, it has temporarily closed many of its locations globally until at least the end of March. The temporary closures impact both the company headquarters in Santa Rosa, California and principal order fulfillment and manufacturing operations in Malaysia. These actions may impact the company's ability to meet Q2 financial guidance provided on February 24. This guidance reflected the best information available as of that time. Due to the disruption and uncertainties resulting from this situation, the company is currently unable to quantify the full coronavirus impact and will provide additional information during the next earnings call.

08:35 EDT General Mills has seen increased customer orders, higher takeaway in March

08:34 EDT SuperCom subsidiary wins California project for up to $3.8M - SuperCom's subsidiary Leaders in Community Alternatives, or LCA, has won a new project with a California Central Valley county to provide employment and anger management services, valued at up to $3.8M. The project delivers services to adults with a focus on workforce services, employment readiness, and anger management to reduce recidivism. This new contract is valued at up to $3.8M over a 5-year period, consisting of a 2-year initial term with three optional one-year extensions and is expected to generate annual recurring revenues in excess of $750K. The project is expected to commence in July.

08:33 EDT ConocoPhillips to cut 2020 capex plan by $0.7B, buybacks to $250M per quarter - ConocoPhillips announced that it is taking several actions in response to the recent oil market downturn. The actions the company announced include: 2020 operating plan capital expenditures will be reduced by $0.7B, representing about a 10% decrease from the previously announced guidance. The reduction will be sourced by slowing operated development activity in the Lower 48, expected decreases in non-operated activity in the Lower 48, and deferred drilling in Alaska. These reductions are expected to impact 2020 full-year production guidance by approximately 20 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day. The 2020 planned share repurchase program will be reduced to a quarterly run rate of $250M beginning in the second quarter, from the previous run rate of $750M. On a combined basis, the capital and share repurchase actions represent a reduction in 2020 cash uses of $2.2B, with limited impact to the company's productive capacity. The company continues to review its capital and operating plans and will provide a full 2020 guidance update in conjunction with first-quarter earnings on April 30.

08:33 EDT Sellas announces antigen-specific immune response data for Nelipepimut-S - SELLAS Life Sciences announced preliminary antigen-specific immune response data from a Phase 2 randomized investigator-sponsored trial of nelipepimut-S in combination with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor in women with ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast who are HLA-A2+ or A3+ positive, express HER2 at IHC 1+, 2+, or 3+ levels, and are pre- or post-menopausal. The study enrolled 13 patients, with nine patients receiving NPS plus GM-CSF and four patients receiving GM-CSF only. The relative frequency of NPS-specific CD8 cytotoxic T-lymphocytes as a percentage was twice as large in the NPS-treated patients. The NPS-CLT% was measured in the peripheral blood by a sensitive and specific assay using dextramer staining followed by flow cytometry, both at baseline and at 30 days after surgery. The mean difference in NPS-CTL% increase between the active and control groups was +0.10% vs +0.05%. The relative magnitude of change in NPS-CTL% mean values in NPS-treated patients over time was an 11-fold increase, from 0.01% at baseline to 0.11% after surgery, indicating a continued antigen-specific T-cell response post-NPS vaccination. NPS was generally well-tolerated in the study with no drug-related unexpected serious adverse reactions. The overall adverse event profile was consistent with previous safety data. The final data is being further analyzed by the National Institute of Health, MD Anderson Cancer Center and the study principal investigator, Dr. Elizabeth Mittendorf, MD, PhD of the Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women's Cancer Center, and will be presented at an upcoming medical conference.

08:29 EDT Planet Fitness halting share repurchases for 'time being' - Planet Fitness also announced it is halting share repurchases for the "time being," stating that "this action will help ensure the company can use its strong levels of liquidity to fund ongoing operating expenses." CEO Chris Rondeau said, "We are very focused on managing this evolving situation. Based on our cash positon of $436 million at the end of 2019 combined with cash flow generated from operations year-to-date and availability under our financing facility, we believe we have sufficient liquidity to carry us well beyond the end of this year."

08:16 EDT General Mills: Spread of COVID-19 driving increased NT demand for food at home - In slides being presented on its Q3 earnings conference call, General Mills says the spread of COVID-19 is driving increased near-term demand for food at home and reduced demand for away-from-home food across major markets. Says Q4 expectations assume elevated consumer takeaway for food at home.

08:15 EDT Enlivex Therapeutics announces safety, efficacy data from Allocetra-OTS trial - Enlivex Therapeutics announced positive final safety and efficacy data from the Company's completed Phase Ib clinical trial in patients with severe sepsis. The final analysis compared the clinical data of 10 patients admitted to the intensive care unit with sepsis who were administered off-the-shelf Allocetra upon their admission, with 37 patients who were matched controls who received only the standard of care treatment at the same hospital during 2014-2019 but did not receive Allocetra-OTS. The clinical trial was conducted at Hadassah Medical Center, which is one of the largest and most prestigious hospitals in Israel. The primary aim of the clinical trial was to determine the safety profile and tolerability of . In addition, effects on, mortality, organ dysfunction and number of hospitalization days in general and in the intensive care unit were measured. The Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation score of the Allocetra OTS-treated group was 12.3, and the corresponding probability of mortality of at least one patient in that group was predicted at 85% based on the hospital's ICU staff's clinical assessment of each patient's overall condition at admission. However, none of the Allocetra-OTS-treated patients died during the 28-day study period, as compared to 27% 28-day mortality in the matched controls group. Each of the 10 Allocetra-OTS-treated patients had between 2 to 5 dysfunctional organ systems upon admission to the ICU. All of the Allocetra-OTS-treated patients had rapid and complete recovery from their septic conditions and of any organ dysfunction that was present upon admission to the ICU. Despite the similarity of organ-failure state at entry between the Allocetra-OTS-treated patients and the matched controls group, not a single patient treated with Allocetra-OTS had any increase in organ-failure state post administration of Allocetra-OTS, while the majority of the patients in the matched controls group had an increase in organ-failure state. The average worsening in organ-failure state of patients in the matched controls group was approximately 100% compared with their ICU hospitalization state vs zero percent worsening in organ-failure state of Allocetra-OTS-treated patients post administration of Allocetra-OTS. The ICU length-of-stay for all Allocetra-OTS-treated patients was significantly shorter than those patients who received only the standard of care, with an average of 4 days compared to 11.11 in the matched controls group, a 64% reduction. The slowest ICU discharge of a patient treated with Allocetra-OTS was after 8 days, while approximately 50% of the matched controls group were still at the ICU after 28 days. Allocetra-OTS was shown to be safe and tolerable, with no serious unexpected severe adverse reactions and no serious adverse events.

08:13 EDT CannTrust receives conditional TSX listing extension - CannTrust's current March 25 deadline for satisfying certain disclosure requirements has been extended by the Toronto Stock Exchange, but the TSE is also reviewing CannTrust's eligibility for maintaining its TSX listing. The TSX indicated that the review was a result of the company being in arrears for satisfying certain disclosure requirements, namely the preparation and filing of the company's restated audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2018, its restated interim financial statements for 1Q19, and its interim financial statements for Q2 and Q3, together with the related management's discussion and analysis for the corresponding periods. The TSX advised CannTrust that, in response to the company's request for an extension to the current March 25 deadline, the TSX has determined to defer any delisting decision until no later than April 16. The TSX also advised CannTrust that a meeting of its Listings Committee will be held on April 14 to consider whether to delist the company's securities and whether trading in the securities should be suspended. CannTrust remains in default of its disclosure obligations under securities legislation, has no meaningful revenues, has terminated or laid-off a significant portion of its workforce, is facing a variety of regulatory investigations, and has significant contingent liabilities in both Canada and the United States. As of February 29, CannTrust had a cash balance of approximately $159M.

08:11 EDT Anchiano Therapeutics expects cash, cash equivalents to suffice through 2020 - On December 31, 2019, Anchiano had total cash and cash equivalents of approximately $17.6 million. Financial resources are expected to suffice through the end of 2020.

08:09 EDT ReWalk Robotics' exoskeleton now covered by German health insurers - ReWalk Robotics finalized an agreement with a group of German statutory health insurers to allow any eligible beneficiary with a spinal cord injury in the country to seek procurement of a ReWalk 6.0 exoskeleton system. This agreement, the first in a series of anticipated national policies from German insurers, is expected to have a significant impact for spinal cord injured individuals. Under this agreement, eligible beneficiaries will be able to obtain a ReWalk 6.0 exoskeleton device for use in the home that will enable them to stand and walk again, after successful training and verification by the medical service. As a result of the finalization of this agreement, three SCI beneficiaries from this insurance group have already received ReWalk 6.0 personal systems under the coverage provided by the SHI.

08:07 EDT Chipotle, Uber Eats announce national delivery partnership - Chipotle Mexican Grill and Uber Eats announced a national delivery partnership. For the first time, fans can get the Chipotle food they love delivered through the Uber Eats app and ubereats.com. This month, the Delivery Fee will be waived on any Chipotle order of $10 or more on the Uber Eats app and ubereats.com. Service fee applies.

08:05 EDT Apple unveils new MacBook Air, priced at $999 - Apple updated MacBook Air, the world's most loved notebook, with faster performance, the new Magic Keyboard, twice the storage and a new lower price of $999, and $899 for education.1 The new MacBook Air delivers up to two times faster CPU performance and up to 80 percent faster graphics performance, letting customers breeze through daily activities and play more games. Now starting with 256GB of storage, MacBook Air allows customers to store even more movies, photos and files. With its brilliant 13-inch Retina display for vivid images and sharp text, Touch ID for easy login and secure online purchases, spacious trackpad, and all-day battery life combined with the power of macOS Catalina, it's the best MacBook Air ever made. MacBook Air now features the new Magic Keyboard, first introduced on the 16-inch MacBook Pro. A redesigned scissor mechanism delivers 1mm of key travel for a comfortable and stable key feel, while the new inverted-"T" arrangement for the arrow keys makes them easier to find without looking down.

08:05 EDT iBio announces development of COVID-19 vaccine candidates - iBio announced its progress towards developing vaccine candidates for preventing infection from the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the COVID-19 coronavirus disease. iBio created its SARS-CoV-2 Virus-Like Particle-based constructs in just a few weeks using its FastPharming System to produce the nanoparticles in, and purify them from, plants. The manufacturing platform not only provides for rapid development of research quantities of product, but also high-quality material that is readily scalable for producing doses for clinical trials and commercial use. On March 11, 2020, iBio filed four provisional patent applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in support of the VLP platform, as well as other technologies for treating or preventing infections with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

08:03 EDT Parsley Energy reducing 2020 capital budget to less than $1.0B - Parsley Energy provided a supplementary update on its 2020 development program outlined on March 9. Parsley is reiterating its baseline capital budget assumption of $30-35 WTI oil price for the remainder of 2020. In this context, Parsley is reducing its 2020 capital budget to less than $1.0B, representing a reduction of more than 40% at the midpoint to the company's previous $1.6B-$1.8B budget. Parsley plans to significantly reduce development activity in 2020. During January and February, Parsley operated 15 development rigs and five frac spreads on average. Over the next several weeks, Parsley plans to further reduce its baseline activity pace to four-to-six rigs and two-to-three frac spreads. All of Parsley's executive officers have elected to reduce their respective annual cash compensation by at least 50% when compared to 2019. In the context of $30-$35 WTI oil prices for the remainder of the year, Parsley is now targeting at least $225M of free cash flow, which is an increase of nearly $150M from the company's preliminary target. In this lower commodity price environment, the company has restructured portions of its 2020 hedge position and increased downside protection by adding supplemental hedge positions for 2020 and 2021. Additionally, Parsley's hedge restructuring since March 4, 2020 has brought in $41M of cash as well as lowered future deferred premiums by $47M.

08:02 EDT Rhythm Pharmaceuticals receives orphan drug designation for setmelanotide - Rhythm Pharmaceuticals announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted orphan drug designation to setmelanotide for the treatment Alstrom syndrome. People living with Alstrom syndrome may experience an insatiable hunger, also known as hyperphagia, and severe obesity beginning early in life. Rhythm is currently evaluating setmelanotide's ability to reduce hunger and affect weight loss in an ongoing pivotal Phase 3 trial in patients living with Alstrom and Bardet-Biedl syndromes.

07:57 EDT Just Energy receives shareholder meeting requisition - Just Energy Group confirms that on March 17, 2020 it received a letter from the Robert L. Snyder Trust - 2005 Stream, a shareholder beneficially holding more than 5% of the common shares of Just Energy, requisitioning a Just Energy shareholder meeting. Just Energy is currently reviewing the request and will respond in due course. The Company's previously announced strategic review remains active and Just Energy expects to announce the outcome of the review by June 30, 2020. There is no action for shareholders to take at this time. The Company will update shareholders as appropriate. Given the rapidly evolving COVID-19 pandemic currently spreading across the globe, Just Energy's priority is the safety and well-being of its employees and ensuring the Company's business continuity plans are carefully executed.

07:52 EDT Marathon Petroleum board says will maintain MPC's current midstream structure - Marathon Petroleum (MPC) announced the unanimous decision of its Board of Directors to maintain MPC's current midstream structure, with the company remaining the general partner of MPLX LP (MPLX). "Today's announcement concludes a comprehensive evaluation that included extensive input from multiple external advisors and significant feedback from investors," said J. Mike Stice, chair of the special committee of the Board that led the midstream review process. "Looking forward, we are excited to provide a clear path for our business. We believe in MPLX's strategic focus on free cash flow generation, and distributions from our continued ownership of MPLX will remain an important, through-cycle source of cash for MPC."

07:45 EDT Allied Corp., Radient Technologies announce agreement for CBD products - Allied Corp. and Radient Technologies announced they have signed a definitive agreement as part of a three way agreement with the Dhaliwal Group to manage the supply chain, manufacturing and sale of high quality CBD distillate and isolate. Under the terms of the Agreement, Allied will facilitate the supply and purchase of high quality CBD distillate and isolate between licensed cultivators and licensed buyers. Industrial hemp biomass will be converted by Radient, for a processing fee, into finished premium quality CBD consumer products, and sold into the Canadian market through a purchasing arrangement made by Dhaliwal. Allied will be responsible for full supply chain management, which involves product moving from legal licensed Canadian industrial hemp farmers, to bonded transport, to Radient's Edmonton I processing facility, through to legally licensed buyers who hold a license to buy and sell Cannabis products in Canada. The Agreement is for an initial 12-month term with an annual option to renew. The three parties expect 7,500 kg of biomass to be processed during the first three months of the Agreement, with the amount increasing thereafter. Under the terms of the Agreement, Radient may also elect to be paid a portion of its processing fees in biomass rather than cash.

07:41 EDT Pembina Pipeline reducing 2020 capital spending - Pembina Pipeline is reducing its 2020 capital spending plans by $900M-$1.1B in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent significant decline in global energy prices. Pembina has taken steps to determine the essential staff and critical infrastructure required to ensure uninterrupted service to customers while maintaining safety. In light of the rapid and significant decline in global energy prices and uncertainty as to the duration of this downturn, Pembina has deferred some of its previously announced expansion projects. The following projects will be deferred: Peace Pipeline Phase VII, VIII and IX expansions, representing $1.55B of total capital; Empress Co-generation Facility, representing $120M of capital; Prince Rupert Terminal Expansion, representing $175M of capital; and Pembina's investment in the integrated propane dehydrogenation plant and polypropylene upgrading facility, representing $2.7B of capital, net to Pembina. Additional discretionary capital spending has been removed from Pembina's 2020 capital budget. The impact of these measures results in a reduction of $900M-$1.1B, or approximately 40%-50%, to the company's previously announced 2020 capital budget of $2.3B. Pembina now expects its revised 2020 capital budget to be $1.2B-$1.4B. Pembina still expects to place approximately $1.3B, net to Pembina, of new projects into service during 2020, including the Peace Pipeline Phase VI Expansion, Duvernay III, Empress Fractionation, Hythe Developments and the initial phase of the Prince Rupert Terminal, among others, to support Pembina's growth in 2020 and beyond. The deferred projects were expected to come into service largely in 2021 through 2023 and therefore will not materially impact Pembina's 2020 adjusted EBITDA. The underlying business remains highly contracted, with approximately 85% of 2019 adjusted EBITDA supported by long-term, fee-based contracts, including approximately 62% coming from cost-of-service or take-or-pay contracts with no volume or price risk. Approximately 80% of the company's credit exposure is with investment grade and split-rated counterparties as well as counterparties secured by letters of credit. Pembina is rated BBB with a Stable outlook by Standard & Poor's and BBB with a Stable trend by DBRS Limited. Pembina has $1.5B of available cash and borrowing capacity on its credit facility as of March 17, plus an additional $750M of capacity through an accordion feature and this facility does not mature until 2024. Pembina is continuing to progress work started earlier this year to pursue non-core assets sales in the range of $200M-$500M.

07:37 EDT JetBlue provides update related to coronavirus - JetBlue issued the following message to its 23,000 crewmembers: "It has been a very tough few weeks. We are so proud to see once again how the JetBlue culture brings us together during times of crisis. Thank you for continuing to serve our Customers and deliver the JetBlue experience, particularly when your own lives are being disrupted in so many ways. With safety our #1 value, we continue to take the measures necessary to protect your health. But as it relates to our business, we are not going to sugarcoat it. Demand continues to worsen, and the writing is on the wall that travel will not bounce back quickly. We'd like to give you some color on what we are seeing. Last year on a typical day in March we took in about $22 million from bookings and ancillary fees. Throughout this March, our sales have fallen sharply and in the last several days we have taken in an average of less than $4 million per day while also issuing over $20 million per day of credits to Customers for canceled bookings. This is a stunning shift, which is being driven by fewer new bookings, much lower fares, and a Customer cancel rate more than 10 times the norm. If you do the math, $4 million per day does not come anywhere close to covering our daily expenses. It is hard to predict how long these conditions will last and how much more challenging the environment may become. We are not alone. Virtually every major carrier is taking actions that were almost unthinkable a few weeks ago, making huge schedule reductions and parking significant portions of their fleets. Even though we entered this from a position of strength with a strong balance sheet and cash in the bank, because of the dramatic fall-off in bookings, we need to reduce our spending immediately so that we can continue to fund JetBlue's operations and ensure your jobs are protected. We have already announced an initial capacity reduction, pay cuts for our officers (VPs and above), voluntary time off programs, re-negotiated Business Partners agreements, and other spending reductions. We've taken swift and decisive actions to protect you, but we must do more and do so quickly to weather this storm. Reducing our flying to reflect demand: We are reducing our capacity in the coming months, with a reduction of at least 40% in April and May. We also expect substantial cuts in June and July, and given the unpredictability of this event, we will ground some of our aircraft. We know this is not an easy move - it will impact hours for many frontline Crewmembers, but it is also essential that we reduce capacity in the face of dramatically falling demand. We will be notifying Customers of their specific cancellations in a phased approach so that we do not overwhelm Customer Support as they continue to receive exponentially more calls than they ever have before. Reviewing our fleet plan: One of our most substantial capital expenses is the purchase of new airplanes. In collaboration with Airbus, we are looking at our order book for opportunities to slow deliveries and reduce aircraft pre-delivery payments, or PDPs. We will also defer the four previously used airplanes that we announced earlier this year. Cutting our capital and operational spending: We will reduce spending wherever we can to preserve our cash, and both of us will be taking a 50% pay reduction during this crisis. We entered the year with a list of major initiatives to invest in our infrastructure, technology and real estate. As of today, we have paused or stopped more than 75% of these projects and will continue to stand down work wherever we can. Increasing our cash reserves: The dramatic loss of revenue in recent days means we will have to start dipping into our cash savings. Although we came into this with about $1.2 billion, our expenses total millions of dollars each day. The good news is we have secured a new liquidity facility - an extra credit line - which allowed us to borrow $1 billion. This is not free money - it's a band-aid solution that holds us over and we have to pay it back with interest. Even with these cash reserves we, like the rest of the industry, will need significant government support to help us through these losses. Calling for government intervention: The governmental warnings and actions taken to manage this health crisis have hit both domestic and international travel hard. We have been coordinating with Airlines for America and other U.S. airlines to ensure government leaders understand the threat to our global economy if air travel is not supported. When this pandemic passes - and it will - air travel will play a major role in getting life back to normal and supporting economic recovery. We are going to need significant government help to do that. This is not a position we'd like to be in, but government assistance will help us protect our 23,000 Crewmembers who are our most important priority as we navigate these turbulent times. From the beginning we have faced many challenges and, against all odds, we have thrived through some incredibly difficult events. Now we are faced with what is by far the biggest challenge our company and our industry has ever seen. While we know this is an incredibly difficult time for all of you as you work to juggle your own concerns around coronavirus, we have come through other challenges in our 20 year history and we can - and will - come through this together. The next few months won't be easy, but please know that all the steps we're taking today are focused on protecting the health and safety of our Crewmembers and Customers and ensuring JetBlue remains a great place for you to work well into the future."

07:35 EDT NIO Inc. CEO says 2020 started in 'challenging environment' due to COVID-19 - "We delivered, on a combined basis, 8,224 ES8 and ES6 vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2019, representing a 71.4% sequential increase from the prior quarter. Cumulative deliveries of ES8 and ES6 reached 20,565 in 2019, representing an 81.2% increase from 2018," said William Bin Li, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of NIO. "As a leading premium smart EV brand from China, we are proudly serving over 34,218 NIO users across 296 cities in China as of the end of February 2020. Our ES6 ranked No.1 in electric SUV sales in China for the fifth consecutive month since October 2019. We started 2020 in a challenging environment due to the COVID-19 outbreak. While we keep safety and health of our global employees a top priority, our teams strive to resume productions, expand our traffic channels, integrate our online and offline sales efforts and offer best services possible to bring business and operation back to normal. Looking into year 2020, we are confident that we will produce the most competitive electric SUVs in China, including ES6, all-new ES8 and EC6, together with more comprehensive battery and power solutions. We are pleased to see our growing user community becoming an essential part of our brand and business growth. We have covered 59 cities with 22 NIO Houses and 62 NIO Spaces in China, which efficiently support our branding and sales efforts. We are well prepared to proceed through the headwind and become stronger in 2020," concluded Mr. Li.

07:35 EDT Contura Energy backs 2020 coal shipments guidance of 20.7M-22.7M tons - The company is maintaining its total 2020 coal shipments guidance range of 20.7M-22.7M tons, with CAPP - Met volume remaining at 12M-12.6M tons and CAPP - Thermal volume remaining at 2.7M-3.3M tons. NAPP volumes also remain at the previous range of 6M-6.8M tons.

07:25 EDT Myriad Genetics says NCCN updates professional guidelines for prostate cancer - Myriad Genetics announced that the National Comprehensive Cancer Network updated its professional guidelines for prostate cancer to recommend biomarker-based testing for men with unfavorable intermediate and high-risk disease. Myriad's Prolaris test was one of only two prognostic tests for prostate cancer recommended by NCCN for the new expanded indications and is now broadly recommended for use in low, intermediate and high-risk disease. In a recent study of 718 men presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Genitourinary Cancer Symposium in San Francisco, Myriad demonstrated the ability of Prolaris to predict which prostate cancer patients with unfavorable intermediate or high-risk disease would benefit from additional treatment. In the study, patients above the high-risk threshold saw a statistically significant benefit from multi-modality therapy leading to a reduction in the risk of metastases where patients below the high-risk threshold saw no statistical benefit from additional treatment and could avoid the morbidity associated with increased therapy.

07:23 EDT Alpine Immune Sciences receives two orphan drug designations for ALPN-101 - Alpine Immune Sciences announced the FDA has made two orphan drug designations for ALPN-101, Alpine's first-in-class selective dual T cell costimulation inhibitor, for the prevention and for the treatment of acute GVHD.

07:16 EDT IMV Inc. plans to advance clinical development of COVID-19 vaccine candidate - IMV Inc. announced that it is advancing the clinical development of a DPX-based vaccine candidate against COVID-19. Vaccines against infectious disease have been a core part of IMV's heritage across its DPX platform technology. The goal of this development program will be to establish the clinical safety and immunogenicity of a vaccine candidate based on the Company's DPX delivery technology and incorporating peptides targeting novel epitopes from the coronavirus strain. The Company believes that this peptide-based approach, combined with the portability of the DPX platform, offers the potential for accelerated development and rapid, large-scale production of a vaccine. The company intends to develop its vaccine candidate DPX-COVID-19 in collaboration with lead investigators for the phase 1 clinical study: Joanne Langley, M.D. and Scott Halperin, M.D., of the Canadian Center for Vaccinology, or CCfV, at Dalhousie University, the Izaak Walton Killam Health Center and the Nova Scotia Health Authority and the Canadian Immunization Research Network, or CIRN; along with Dr. Gary Kobinger, Ph.D., Director of the Research Centre on Infectious Diseases at the University Laval in Quebec City and Global Urgent and Advanced Research and Development in Canada. The investigators will assist with preclinical and clinical evaluation and with further development strategy in collaboration with the Canadian government and others.

07:15 EDT Habit Restaurants says special meeting of stockholders will occur as scheduled - The Habit Restaurants, Inc. (HABT) announced that it's previously announced Special Meeting of Stockholders to approve its proposed merger with YUM! Brands, Inc. (YUM) will occur as scheduled, at 9:00 a.m. PST on March 18, 2020 at the Atrium Hotel at 18700 MacArthur Blvd, Irvine, CA 92612. Due to the emerging public health impact of the coronavirus outbreak, and a recent order from the Health Officer of Orange County, CA restricting public and private gatherings of persons, subject to certain exceptions, as well as to support the health and well-being of its stockholders, The Habit Burger Grill is making a provision to allow stockholders who attend the special meeting in person to participate telephonically. The Habit Burger Grill has received proxies supporting its proposed merger with Yum! Brands representing more than 71% of its outstanding common stock, which is well in excess of the required amount to approve the transaction.

07:14 EDT Howard Hughes sells MD Anderson The Woodlands medical building for $115M - Howard Hughes has sold the 208,000-square-foot building in The Woodlands that is home to MD Anderson The Woodlands at a price of $115M. With net proceeds of $64M, the sale marks a gain of $52M on a cash basis and is expected to result in a gain of approximately $39M on a GAAP basis. The company is selling approximately $2B in non-core assets to be reinvested in its core master planned communities. MD Anderson The Woodlands will remain at 100 Fellowship Drive continuing to provide cancer care in The Woodlands and the North Houston region.

07:10 EDT James E Wagner Cultivation announces closing of C$1.2M convertible security - James E. Wagner Cultivation announced that on March 16, 2020, it received C$1.2M from Lind Global Macro Fund, LP, an entity managed by The Lind Partners, pursuant to the convertible security funding agreement dated March 10, 2020 between JWC and Lind. In addition, on the Closing Date, JWC issued Lind 4,616,123 warrants to purchase common shares of JWC, exercisable until March 16, 2022 at an exercise price of CDN$0.13 per common share. The Warrants are subject to a four month hold period in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws. JWC intends to use the proceeds of the Convertible Security for general working capital purposes. As of the Closing Date, JWC granted Lind a security interest in all current and after acquired property of the Corporation and its subsidiaries, subject to certain permitted liens, which security is subordinated to Trichome Financial Corp.'s security interest. James E. Wagner Cultivation Ltd. and GrowthStorm Inc., the Corporation's direct wholly-owned subsidiaries, are guarantors of the obligations of the Corporation under the CSA.

07:06 EDT SiteOne Landscape provides update on COVID-19 - SiteOne Landscape Supply announced how the company is preparing for and responding to the coronavirus (COVID-19). "As we all watch the current global situation with the coronavirus (COVID-19) and see the impact it is having on our daily lives, our communities and our businesses, we at SiteOne are keeping the safety of our associates, customers and suppliers as our top priority while continuing to deliver quality products and exceptional service to our customers and communities," said Doug Black, Chairman and CEO of SiteOne. "We are monitoring developments and following all appropriate recommendations from health and government authorities while proactively facilitating safe behaviors, minimizing potential exposures and maintaining safe and healthy environments in our branches and other facilities."

07:05 EDT Main Street provides business and Coronavirus update - Main Street provided an update regarding its business, recent actions taken and ongoing plans in response to the impacts of Coronavirus. The company implemented remote working arrangements and complete executive and senior management teams continue to operate at full capacity. Main Street has focused portfolio investment team's efforts on proactively engaging with management teams of lower middle market portfolio companies to assess and evaluate the steps that each portfolio company can take in response to the impacts of Coronavirus. Since the U.S. economy began to experience the impacts of Coronavirus, the company completed a detailed evaluation of its current capital structure and overall liquidity position, and presently believes it has ample liquidity to support near-term capital requirements.

07:04 EDT Bio-Techne's Exosome Diagnostics laboratory receives contract from GSA - Bio-Techne announced that the General Services Administration has awarded an unlimited 10-year reimbursement contract to its Exosome Diagnostics laboratory, covering the ExoDx Prostate test for men. The decision is effective immediately and will be available to more than 140 government entities including the VA Healthcare system, military branches such as Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, as well as the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and others. The EPI test is a urine-based, genomic test that helps inform the prostate biopsy decision. This liquid biopsy test recently received FDA Breakthrough Designation and is included in the NCCN guidelines for early detection in men for both initial and repeat biopsy. It is performed by Exosome Diagnostics, a Bio-Techne brand, in its CLIA, ISO, NY certified and CAP-accredited laboratory located in Waltham, Massachusetts. The EPI test is a risk assessment tool that assists physicians and their patients with determining if a prostate biopsy is needed when presented with an ambiguous PSA test result, thereby reducing complications from unnecessary and invasive procedures.

06:57 EDT Encompass Health to construct 40-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital in Texas - Encompass Health announced its plans to build a freestanding, 40-bed inpatient rehabilitation hospital in a suburb of Waco, Texas. The new hospital will be located in Robinson, Texas at the intersection of Texas State Highway Loop 340 and Texas Highway 77. Complementing local acute care services, the hospital, which is expected to open in the summer of 2021, will care for patients recovering from a variety of debilitating illnesses and injuries including strokes and other neurological disorders, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations and complex orthopedic conditions. It will offer 24-hour nursing care as well as physical, occupational and speech therapies that aim to restore functional ability and quality of life.

06:54 EDT Genesco to temporarily close North American stores, withdraws guidance - Genesco provided a business update in response to the continued spread of COVID-19. In consideration of the health and well-being of its employees, customers and communities, and in support of efforts to contain the spread of the virus, Genesco, after initially reducing store hours, will temporarily close its North American stores effective today, March 18 through March 28. At that time, the company will evaluate the timing of reopening. The company's North American e-commerce operations remain open and ready to serve customers. Due to the heightened uncertainty relating to the potential impact of COVID-19 on Genesco's business operations, including its duration and effect on overall customer demand, the company is withdrawing its guidance issued on March 12. Genesco is not providing updated guidance at this time. Mimi Vaughn, Genesco's President and CEO, said, "The safety and well-being of our employees, customers and communities are our top priorities. Over the past few years, we have made strategic investments in our e-commerce operations and IT infrastructure establishing dynamic online businesses that will allow our customers to continue to shop and stay connected with our retail brands through social media during these unprecedented times."

06:49 EDT Nordic American Tankers begins share buy-back program - Nordic American Tankers statd that it is "in an extraordinarily strong tanker market with tanker rates ranging from $65K to $100K for individual contracts. The financial position of NAT is solid. NAT has an increasing cash flow. In view of the above main factors, the NAT Board has decided to establish a share buy-back program". The program will be in place the next 24 months as from March 19.

06:40 EDT Arconic commences 'when issued' trading of Arconic Rolled Products stock - Arconic announced, in connection with its separation into two independent, publicly-traded companies today that Arconic Rolled Products - which will be renamed Arconic Corporation in connection with the separation - is expected to commence trading March 18, 2020, on a "when issued" basis under the symbol "ARNC WI" on the NYSE. At the time of separation, Arconic stockholders are expected to receive one share of Arconic Corporation common stock for every four shares of Arconic common stock held as of the record date. The record date for the distribution of Arconic Corporation common stock is March 19 and the time of the distribution is expected to be 12:01 A.M. on April 1. "Regular-way" trading in Arconic Corporation's common stock is expected to begin on April 1. Beginning on or about March 18, and continuing up to and through the distribution date, two markets are expected for Arconic Inc. common stock: the "regular-way" market and the "ex-distribution" market. Shares that trade in the "regular-way" market will be entitled to shares of Arconic Corporation common stock distributed pursuant to the distribution shares that trade in the "ex-distribution" market will trade under the symbol HWM WI and without an entitlement to shares of Arconic Corporation common stock distributed pursuant to the distribution.

06:36 EDT Sage Therapeutics provides update on zuranolone development program - Sage Therapeutics announced next steps in the Landscape Program, the clinical program evaluating zuranolone for the treatment of postpartum depression - PPD - and major depressive disorder - MDD -, following a Breakthrough Therapy guidance meeting with the FDA. Sage has identified three potential pathways to support a possible filing for approval of zuranolone in the U.S. in two novel indications - PPD and acute treatment of MDD when co-initiated with a new antidepressant - along with the previously disclosed development plan for the treatment of MDD as an episodic therapy. The Landscape Program includes three completed pivotal efficacy studies evaluating zuranolone 30 mg in PPD and MDD, previously reported. Sage plans to initiate three new short-term clinical studies in 2020, with the potential, if successful, for three distinct indications: PPD, acute rapid response therapy in MDD when co-initiated with a new standard antidepressant, and episodic treatment of MDD. Topline data is anticipated in 2021

06:33 EDT Facebook restores posts after wrongly blocking COVID-19 news, Rosen tweets - After Facebook wrongly blocked news articles about the coronavirus pandemic, VP of Integrity Guy Rosen said via Twitter: "We're on this - this is a bug in an anti-spam system, unrelated to any changes in our content moderator workforce. We're in the process of fixing and bringing all these posts back." Rosen later tweeted: "We've restored all the posts that were incorrectly removed, which included posts on all topics - not just those related to COVID-19. This was an issue with an automated system that removes links to abusive websites, but incorrectly removed a lot of other posts too." Reference Link

06:12 EDT Ideaya Biosciences announces IDE196 monotherapy clinical program update - Ideaya Biosciences announces an update for IDE196, a Protein Kinase C, or PKC, inhibitor, in its ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial entitled "A Phase 1/2 Study in Patients with Solid Tumors Harboring GNAQ/11 Mutations or PRKC Fusions." Ideaya is pursuing both a monotherapy and combination approach for IDE196 in Metastatic Uveal Melanoma and GNAQ/GNA11 hotspot mutation solid tumors, including Cutaneous Melanoma and Colorectal Cancer. The company selected a Phase 2 monotherapy dose of 400mg BID (with one-week 200mg BID run-in) and achieved first-patient-in, or FPI, for the GNAQ/GNA11 non-MUM basket trial. IDEAYA also announced plans to evaluate the clinical combination of IDE196 and binimetinib, a MEK inhibitor. IDEAYA anticipates initiating this clinical combination in mid-2020 as part of its ongoing Phase 1/2 clinical trial. "We continue to see robust enrollment of MUM patients in our Phase 1/2 monotherapy study and look forward to providing the interim data update in the second half of 2020," said Julie Hambleton, M.D., Chief Medical Officer and Senior Vice President at IDEAYA Biosciences. "We have made significant progress in the IDE196 clinical program, including selecting the Phase 2 monotherapy dose, initiating Phase 2 monotherapy expansion for the basket trial for non-MUM patients, and introducing the tablet formulation. In addition, we plan to evaluate a combination strategy targeting multiple nodes of the MAP-Kinase pathway, which we believe may inform the optimal registrational path for MUM."

06:07 EDT Boeing asks for $60B in aid for U.S. aerospace industry - Boeing said in a statement late Tuesday: "We appreciate the support of the President and the Administration for the 2.5 million jobs and 17,000 suppliers that Boeing relies on to remain the number one US exporter, and we look forward to working with the Administration and Congress as they consider legislation and the appropriate policies. Boeing supports a minimum of $60B in access to public and private liquidity, including loan guarantees, for the aerospace manufacturing industry. This will be one of the most important ways for airlines, airports, suppliers and manufacturers to bridge to recovery. Funds would support the health of the broader aviation industry, because much of any liquidity support to Boeing will be used for payments to suppliers to maintain the health of the supply chain. The long term outlook for the industry is still strong, but until global passenger traffic resumes to normal levels, these measures are needed to manage the pressure on the aviation sector and the economy as a whole. We're leveraging all our resources to sustain our operations and supply chain. We continue to assess additional levers as we navigate the current challenges and position the industry for the long term. As reported last week, drawing on our delayed draw loan term was a prudent step to increase our liquidity and ease some of the significant near-term pressures on our business."

05:58 EDT Nokia cancels Annual General Meeting due to COVID-19 - Due to the coronavirus epidemic, the Finnish government has issued presidential decrees to commission the Emergency Powers Act on March 17. Furthermore, public gatherings of over 10 people are banned. The health and safety of our employees, shareholders and other stakeholders is our first priority. We take the measures to mitigate the coronavirus seriously and therefore Nokia's board has resolved to cancel the Annual General Meeting initially scheduled to be held on April 8. Nokia will convene the Annual General Meeting at a later stage as soon as it is practically possible to organize the meeting. Furthermore, in line with our mission to create the technology to connect the world and as a forerunner of offering our shareholders an on-line advance voting solution in the Finnish market, Nokia strongly advocates for measures to allow fully virtual general meetings to enable efficient shareholder participation.

05:54 EDT Gap announces temporary closure of stores in North America - Gap announced that, as a result of the escalating COVID-19 pandemic, it will temporarily close its Old Navy, Athleta, Banana Republic, Gap, Janie and Jack and Intermix stores across North America, effective March 19. "To assist the efforts underway to slow the spread of the coronavirus, we are closing all stores in North America for the next two weeks," said Sonia Syngal, incoming CEO, Gap Inc. "Our focus remains on supporting the health and livelihood of our employees, while caring for our customers and communities. We will provide our impacted store employees with pay continuity and benefits during this two-week period. And, together, we look forward to welcoming our customers back in our stores soon."

05:50 EDT Full House Resorts to temporarily suspend operations in Nevada - Full House Resorts announced that, pursuant to state government orders, it is temporarily closing Grand Lodge Casino in Incline Village, Nevada, and Stockman's Casino in Fallon, Nevada, for an estimated 30 days. The company will diligently work to reopen all of its casinos as soon as they are permitted to reopen.

05:47 EDT Caesars announces temporary shutdown of network of properties - Caesars Entertainment announced that it will temporarily shut down its owned properties in North America, consistent with directives from various government bodies. "It has become clear that we must take this extreme action to help contain the virus and protect the safety and well-being of our team members and guests," said Caesars Entertainment CEO Tony Rodio. Caesars is working to ensure a smooth closing process throughout its network and looks forward to welcoming back team members and guests as soon as appropriate. Caesars recognizes the disruption that these property closures will have on team members and is committed to helping employees manage the impact. Caesars has a strong liquidity position with more than $2.8 billion of cash on hand. While the Company believes its current cash position is more than sufficient to fund its obligations, it is also taking appropriate measures to reduce operating and capital expenses, as necessary."

05:25 EDT Eldorado Resorts temporarily suspend operations at Nevada casinos - Eldorado Resorts announced that, in accordance with an order from Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak, it will temporarily suspend operations at Eldorado Resort Casino Reno, Silver Legacy Resort Casino Reno, Circus Circus Hotel Casino Reno, Tropicana Laughlin Hotel and Casino and MontBleu Resort Casino & Spa Lake Tahoe at 11:59 PM PDT on March 17. The company is continuing to monitor developments related to COVID-19 and reinforcing our policies as necessary.

05:21 EDT NCS Multistage says U.S. District Court rules in favor of Repeat Precision - NCS Multistage Holdings announced that the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, Waco Division, has awarded Repeat Precision, a 50 percent owned subsidiary of NCS, an approximately $34.4M decision plus attorneys' fees, in the case of Diamondback Industries, Inc. vs. Repeat Precision, LLC, NCS Multistage LLC, and NCS Multistage Holdings, Inc., No.6:19-CV-00034-ADA. In its ruling, the Court validated the terms of Repeat Precision's exclusive license agreement with respect to the setting tool technology practicing U.S. Patent No. 9,810,035, which Repeat Precision sells on a standalone basis and as the PurpleSeal Express System, combining the setting tool with the PurpleSeal frac plug. This ruling means Diamondback is prevented from selling its infringing SS line of setting tools.