Stockwinners Market Radar for March 30, 2020 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:08 EDT PG&E resolves $4M Butte County fine issue - PG&E announced that the satisfaction of the $4 million in fines and expenses associated with the plea agreement with the Butte County District Attorney will not reduce the amount of funds available to satisfy wildfire victim claims under PG&E's Plan of Reorganization. The $4 million amount will be funded to the Fire Victim Trust from income earned on the distribution to be made to the subrogation claimants under the Plan. As a result, there will be no reduction in the amount available for wildfire victims. This resolution ensures that PG&E will remain in full compliance with the funding commitments it has obtained that are critical to its timely and successful emergence from Chapter 11, and, most importantly, to expedite the fair and timely payments to victims.

19:58 EDT Escalade names Scott Sincerbeaux as CEO - Escalade (ESCA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Scott Sincerbeaux as CEO. He will join Escalade on April 27, 2020. Sincerbeaux joins Escalade from Wolverine World Wide (WWW) where he held several positions including President of The Stride Rite Children's Group, President of Direct to Consumer, and President of Global Retail.

19:15 EDT Knoll secures $400M revolving credit facility - Knol announced a partial drawdown on its revolving credit facility and provided an update on its sales, distribution, customer service and manufacturing operations Covid-19 pandemic-related initiatives. The Company stated that it has a Secured Revolving Credit Facility of $400.0M that runs through August 2024. The company expects that approximately $100M of capacity will be available on its Revolving Credit Facility at the end of the first quarter, after the $65M draw on March 30, 2020. As of March 31, 2020, the company expects to have an estimated $120M of cash on hand.

18:32 EDT Penske Automotive postpones $150M in capex, freezes hiring - The company states: "Due to the current environment, the company has implemented proactive measures to help mitigate the financial and operational impact of COVID-19. These include a company-wide hiring freeze, significant expense reductions, staffing-level adjustments, the postponement of an estimated $150 million in capital expenditures, and negotiated rent deferrals for up to 90 days at various locations. The majority of OEMs the company represents, and their respective captive finance companies, have offered significant support during this crisis, including interest payment deferrals. In addition, executive and management compensation has been significantly reduced, including a 100% reduction in salary for the CEO and President for the duration of the crisis and the Board of Directors has waived cash compensation for the next six months. At Penske Automotive Group, we currently have access to liquidity of $1.3 billion, which includes $850 million of cash on hand and availability through non-floor plan credit facilities, and approximately $450 million in potentially financeable real estate."

18:26 EDT Amarin 'strongly disagrees' with ruling in VASCEPA ANDA litigation - Amarin Corporation commented on the United States District Court for the District of Nevada's ruling in favor of the generic companies in the company's patent litigation against two filers of abbreviated new drug applications, or ANDAs, for Amarin's VASCEPA capsule franchise. Based on Amarin's review of U.S. Food and Drug Administration's website, an ANDA for VASCEPA has not been approved, which would be required for launch of a generic product in the United States. The company thus does not believe there is an impending generic launch by the litigants that would compete with VASCEPA at this time. "Amarin strongly disagrees with the ruling and will vigorously pursue all available remedies, including an appeal of the Court's decision and a preliminary injunction pending appeal to, if an ANDA is approved by FDA, prevent launch of generic versions of VASCEPA in the United States," said John F. Thero, president and chief executive officer of Amarin. "At Amarin, we have a strong balance sheet with capacity and flexibility, and we plan to fight to protect our VASCEPA franchise for the benefit of our patients, physicians, the broader healthcare community and our investors. We believe we are favorably situated to obtain an injunction against generic launch pending appeal, subject to our posting a bond to secure generics' lost profits in the event that generics prevail on appeal. As we work to take all legal actions necessary to defend and protect our intellectual property, we will continue to press forward with our educational and promotional efforts for VASCEPA in treating indicated patients at high risk of cardiovascular events, such as heart attack and stroke. After we determine the outcome of our effort to prevent a generic launch (if an ANDA approval is obtained), we expect to provide an update on how we would adjust certain promotional activities for VASCEPA in the United States."

18:01 EDT LyondellBasell to slow consruction on PO / RBA project - LyondellBasell has informed the engineering and construction contractors it will slow construction of its world-scale propylene oxide, or PO, and tertiary butyl alcohol, or TBA, plant. The company is limiting non-essential activities at this time due to ongoing concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including government orders designed to limit human contact. LyondellBasell's PO/TBA project broke ground in August 2018. Currently, the project is more than 30 percent complete with ongoing installation of key equipment and towers.

17:46 EDT Disney chairman Iger, CEO Chapek to take pay cuts amid COVID-19 pandemic - Disney said in a regulatory filing that, as part of a series of measures to better enable the company to weather the extraordinary business challenges occasioned by the current national health crisis, on March 30, 2020, each of the company's named executive officers agreed by irrevocable waiver to effect a temporary reduction in the base salaries otherwise payable under their respective employment agreements, effective with the payroll period commencing April 5, 2020. The company is also effecting reductions in base salary among a broad group of its executive level employees. Iger has agreed to forgo, through the last payroll period in the company's current fiscal year, receipt of all but that portion of his base salary necessary to fund, on an after-tax basis, his contributions to continue to participate in the company's health benefits plan. He is also waiving his right to receive his car allowance payable during the same period the salary waiver is in effect. Mr. Chapek will forego receipt of 50% and each of Mr. Braverman, Ms. McCarthy, Ms. Parker and Ms. Mucha will forego receipt of 30% of the base salary that would otherwise be payable under his or her employment agreement for as long as the company determines to continue in effect salary reductions generally for its executives. The salary waivers will not modify other rights under the applicable employment agreements determined by reference to the officer's base salary; such provisions will continue to be applied based on the stated base salary payable under the applicable agreement. Additionally, except for the amount of compensation for paid time off, the reductions are not intended to reduce any company employee benefit provided to such officers that is determined by reference to the base salary payable, except as may be required at law.

17:41 EDT Honeywell expands N95 face mask production - Honeywell announced that it is adding manufacturing capabilities in Phoenix to produce N95 face masks in support of the U.S. government's response to the novel coronavirus. The company's Phoenix expansion, coupled with previously announced new production in Rhode Island, will allow Honeywell to produce more than 20M N95 disposable masks monthly to combat COVID-19 in the U.S. New manufacturing equipment to support the effort will arrive in Phoenix beginning this week. Honeywell anticipates that the new mask production line in Phoenix will create more than 500 new jobs in Arizona. The company has already begun recruiting, hiring and training manufacturing workers on the site. This announcement brings the total number of U.S. jobs created by Honeywell's new mask manufacturing capabilities to more than 1,000. The N95 face masks will be delivered to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to contribute to the American stockpile for use to support health, safety and emergency response workers. The Phoenix facility will prioritize fulfilling the U.S. government's procurement, but it will also have the capacity to produce face masks for U.S. states and American healthcare and emergency response organizations. Honeywell's production expansion will also support additional American businesses, including industrial equipment providers and raw materials suppliers. The company is collaborating with state and local officials to ramp up production efforts and support hiring and training.

17:30 EDT Raytheon awarded $146.08M Navy contract - Raytheon was awarded a $146.08M firm-fixed-price contract for rolling airframe missile block 2/2A guided missile round pack and spare replacement components. This contract combines purchases for the Navy; Germany and the governments of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Turkey under the Foreign Military Sales, or FMS), program. Work is expected to be complete by June 2025. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $353.3M and is expected to be completed by June 2025. FY20 weapons procurement; 2020 operations and maintenance; Foreign Military Sales and German cooperative funding in the amount of $146.08M will be obligated at time of award, and $969,000 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured under the exception 10 U.S. Code 2304, International Agreement. The Naval Sea Systems Command is the contracting activity.

17:24 EDT Visa: Domestic spending in travel, restaurants declined notably - "Visa continues to actively monitor the COVID-19 situation and its impact globally. Our top priority remains our employees, clients and the communities in which we live and operate. Our leadership team meets frequently to track the latest developments and take actions that allow our team members to be safe and perform their work effectively. Although most of our staff are now working remotely, our network infrastructure and application performance has been unaffected and our business operations have comprehensive and coordinated plans in place to address business continuity and recovery needs around the world. We are also in very close and regular contact with clients, partners and governments globally to help them navigate these challenging times. As the virus has spread in the last few weeks, the impacts we saw in Asia in February are now occurring in the rest of the world, with a rapid deterioration of cross-border travel related spending, both card present and card not present. As countries have imposed social distancing, shelter-in-place or total lock-down orders, domestic spending, most notably in travel, restaurants, entertainment and fuel, has sharply declined week on week with a meaningful deterioration in volume and transaction trends in the second half of March."

17:23 EDT Scientific Games announces cost-reduction measures - Scientific Games is taking essential actions to respond to the global COVID-19 crisis. CEO Barry Cottle said: "Like many others, our industry is facing unprecedented challenges from the widespread impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. Thankfully, we came into this year with a very strong liquidity position, including substantial capacity under our revolver, and also refinanced our debt, extended our major maturities and lowered our interest expense. We have a diverse portfolio of assets, product and services that uniquely position us to weather this crisis. We are taking a variety of actions to help ensure that we meet the demands of this outbreak and are ready when the industry begins to recover. The Company is instituting a number of cost-savings measures to ensure stability for team members and protect the operations of the Company. Some of these measures include workforce hour and pay reductions to preserve as many jobs as possible and furloughs for those support roles that have seen a decrease in industry work. During this challenging time, the executive leadership team has committed to a voluntary 50% salary reduction while Chief Executive Officer Barry Cottle has volunteered a 100% reduction in pay."

17:19 EDT Cato Corp. extends store closures two weeks, furloughs employees - The Cato Corporation announced it will extend its temporary store closure two weeks, through April 16. Given the uncertainty of COVID-19 and subsequent government actions, the company will continue to assess the situation market by market and will provide additional updates as appropriate. As a result of the prolonged store closure, coupled with the state's "Stay-at-Home" Executive Order impacting the Home Office, a smaller workforce is required to execute essential activities of the business during this time. Cato has temporarily furloughed the majority of its distribution center associates, as well a portion of its corporate associates. Those impacted will continue to receive enrolled benefits.

17:05 EDT Maven announces cost containment, including 9% workforce reduction due to virus - Maven Media Brands announced a wide-ranging cost-containment plan to get ahead of the economic tumult triggered by the novel coronavirus pandemic and ensure the ongoing strength of the company. The initiative includes a staff reduction of 31 people, 9% of the 332-person workforce; a 30 percent cut in senior management compensation; and accelerated efficiencies in non-payroll expenses. In addition, the company has secured a $12 million line of credit from B. Riley Financial.

17:02 EDT Performant files for 10-K extension amid COVID-19 outbreak - Performant Financial provided an update with regards to its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and announced the resignation of Jeffrey S. Stein from the Company's Board of Directors. Due to the outbreak of, and local, state and federal governmental responses to, the coronavirus disease pandemic, the Company has filed for an extension for its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, originally due on March 30, 2020. Specifically, the Company is relying on an order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission on March 25, 2020, pursuant to Section 36 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, regarding exemptions granted to certain public companies. The Order allows a registrant up to an additional 45 days after the original due date of certain reports required to be filed with the SEC if a registrant's ability to file such report timely is affected due to COVID-19. Because the Company's operations and business have experienced disruptions due to the conditions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company will be relying on the Order and will be making use of the 45-day grace period provided by the Order to delay filing of its Annual Report. The Company plans to file its Annual Report by no later than May 14, 2020, 45 days after the original due date of its Annual Report. Separately, the Company today also announced the resignation of Jeffrey S. Stein from Performant's Board of Directors and all related committee appointments. Mr. Stein's resignation is not a result of any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to the Company's operations or practices.

16:59 EDT Domino's Pizza borrows remaining $158M under outstanding variable funding notes - Given the market uncertainty arising from COVID-19, subsequent to the end of Q1, the company took a precautionary measure and borrowed the remaining availability of $158M under its outstanding variable funding notes to improve its cash position. These borrowings, along with the company's estimated current unrestricted cash as of the end of Q1, provide the company with more than $300M in cash on hand to provide enhanced financial flexibility.

16:57 EDT Nutrien continues to see solid demand for crop inputs - CEO Chuck Magro states: "Nutrien continues to expect solid demand for crop inputs for the spring season, despite some recent wet weather in the US, which has caused modest delays in field activity in some regions of the country. Our business is deemed essential by governments around the world, which underscores the criticality of the agriculture sector. Our facilities have continued to operate, under enhanced safety protocols, in order to ensure growers globally have the products and solutions they need to maximize crop production. Nutrien has a strong balance sheet, stable dividend and ample access to liquidity as we enter our peak period of demand."

16:51 EDT Domino's Pizza reports Q1 same store sales growth of 3.9% - Domino's Pizza announced preliminary information from Q1 in advance of its Q1 earnings release on Thursday, April 23, in light of the dynamic situation related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Domino's Pizza CEO Ritch Allison said, "We don't typically provide a business update outside our normal quarterly cadence, but we recognize that these are not normal times. We pride ourselves on being transparent with our stakeholders and we believe this information will be instructive, given the unprecedented impact of COVID-19 on our business and the restaurant industry."

16:46 EDT Gulf Resources to delay filing annual report on Form 10-K - Gulf Resources announced that it has filed a Form 12b-25 to the SEC in order to extend the due date of its annual report on Form 10-K for fiscal 2019 for fifteen days, as permitted by Rule 12b-25 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. In its filing the company has advised that the Annual Report could not be filed within the prescribed time period due to the fact that the company was unable to finalize its financial results due to the coronavirus disease pandemic. Specifically, the company's receipt of information from certain third parties related to the completion of its audit has been delayed; in addition, the company's personnel responsible for its financial reporting function had been adversely affected due to the city lockdown measures in China. As a result, the company could not solicit and obtain the necessary review of the Annual Report in a timely fashion prior to the due date of the Annual Report. The company will file the Annual Report on or before the expiration of the fifteen day extension period, or by April 14.

16:45 EDT Helen of Troy taps credit pact as precautionary approach, CEO takes salary cut - As previously reported, Helen of Troy Limited, a Bermuda company, entered into the Amended and Restated Credit Agreement, now by and among the Company, Helen of Troy Texas Corporation, a Texas corporation . On March 24, the Borrower borrowed approximately $200 million under the Credit Agreement as part of a comprehensive precautionary approach to increase the Company's cash position and maximize its financial flexibility in light of the current volatility in the global markets resulting from the coronavirus, COVID-19, outbreak. After giving effect to the borrowing, as of March 24, 2020, the remaining amount available for borrowings under the Credit Agreement was $536.4 million and our cash and cash equivalents on hand was approximately $393.0 million. Covenants in our debt agreements can limit the amount of indebtedness we can incur. Julien Mininberg, the Company's Chief Executive Officer, has agreed to a temporary 30% reduction in his base salary and annual incentive target and threshold levels, which will be based on 200% and 100% of his base salary earned, respectively, during the Company's fiscal year 2021. Brian Grass, the Company's Chief Financial Officer, has also agreed to a temporary 20% reduction in his base salary and annual incentive target, maximum and threshold levels, which are targeted at 75% of his base salary earned during fiscal year 2021.

16:40 EDT Esperion announces commercial availability of Nexletol tablet in the U.S. - Esperion announced that Nexletol tablet, an oral, once-daily, non-statin LDL-Cholesterol, or LDL-C, lowering medicine is now available in U.S. pharmacies. Esperion is committed to respecting the valuable time of healthcare providers in the current environment while also remaining steadfast to the patients awaiting new options to manage their bad cholesterol. Nexletol is indicated as an adjunct to diet and maximally tolerated statin therapy for the treatment of adults with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia or established atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease who require additional lowering of LDL-C. The effect of Nexletol on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality has not been determined.

16:36 EDT Restaurant Brands CEO says ended 2019 with $1.5B in cash - Restaurant Brands CEO Jose CilI said: "I want to wrap up with a few comments on the strength of our business fundamentals and illustrate why we believe we are particularly well-positioned to weather this crisis and come out on the other side even stronger as a company. The QSR industry continues to serve hundreds of millions of people around the world. Across our three brands, we are offering high quality food that is reliably secure from a health standpoint and provides great everyday value to our guests. Our value proposition is clear to our guests in normal times and we believe it is especially compelling during more challenging circumstances like the ones we currently face. On top of that, our business model has allowed us to maintain a strong balance sheet and we ended 2019 with ~$1.5 billion in cash. We have further fortified our balance sheet position by proactively drawing down our full $1 billion revolving credit facility out of an abundance of caution. As a result, we now have approximately $2.5 billion of cash on hand. This has provided us the flexibility to confidently support our restaurant owners and employees throughout this uncertain time and maintain our focus on supporting our brands for the long term."

16:34 EDT Buenaventura announces 13 day extension to COVID-19 restrictions - Buenaventura y advised that the Peruvian Government has extended the current state of emergency by an additional 13 days to curb the COVID-19 pandemic. The quarantine period has therefore currently been extended until April 12, 2020. Production at Buenaventura's direct operations remains on care and maintenance during the state of emergency, but Buenaventura continues to process ore on the leach pads at its Coimolache and La Zanja mines. Mining activities will be limited to those critical activities which ensure functionality of mine pumping systems, water treatment plants, energy supply, hydroelectric substations, health services as well as to ensure essential plant maintenance, managerial oversight, security and safety conditions, including backfill and general support, among others. Buenaventura is prepared to immediately resume normal operations once it has received notice from the authorities that restrictions have been lifted.

16:32 EDT Weyerhaeuser cuts FY20 capex by $70M-$90M - Weyerhaeuser provided an update on actions it is taking in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In response to recent changes in customer sentiment and order flow, Weyerhaeuser is dynamically adjusting operating capacity at certain of its manufacturing facilities. For the month of April, the company expects to reduce operating capacity by approximately 20% for lumber, 15% for oriented strand board, and 15% to 25% for engineered wood products through a combination of temporary mill curtailments and reduced shift postures. The company is taking precautionary steps to further strengthen its balance sheet and maintain financial flexibility and liquidity by: Limiting or deferring non-essential operating expenses; reducing 2020 capital expenditures by approximately $70-90 million; and increasing cash on hand by $550 million through a draw on its revolving credit facility, which expires in January 2025 and has $950 million of capacity remaining.

16:29 EDT Agios Pharmaceuticals receives orphan drug designation for mitapivat from EMA - Agios Pharmaceuticals announced that the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products issued a positive opinion on the company's application for orphan drug designation for its investigational medicine mitapivat as a potential treatment for pyruvate kinase, or PK, deficiency, a rare, debilitating, hemolytic anemia. Mitapivat was previously granted orphan drug designation by the United States FDA. Mitapivat is an investigational, oral, small molecule allosteric activator of wild-type and a variety of mutated pyruvate kinase-R enzymes that directly targets the underlying metabolic defect in PK deficiency.

16:27 EDT Milestone Scientific speaking with GPOs about CompuFlo Epidural System - Milestone Scientific Leonard Osser, Interim Chief Executive Officer of Milestone Scientific, commented, "We have made significant strides in 2019 in order to commercialize our CompuFlo Epidural System in 2020. During the year, we successfully trialed our CompuFlo Epidural System in multiple hospitals and medical schools-placing the system with key opinion leaders, continuing important clinical studies and working with anesthesiologists in the U.S. and Europe. We also completed and published nine clinical studies, which further validated the CompuFlo Epidural System's ability to safely and effectively identify the epidural space. Our unique, computer-controlled, real-time pressure-sensing technology provides anesthesiologists an objective and quantifiable technique to build confidence and success." "We have begun speaking with Group Purchasing Organizations in order to obtain approval of the CompuFlo Epidural System within their facilities. The GPOs represent a sizable opportunity since some of these groups have hundreds of hospitals within their network. Once we get an approval, it should shorten the sales cycle and open us up to larger markets. Our studies thus far have shown significant reductions in epidural punctures and complication rates by using the CompuFlo Epidural System. Studies have shown that our technology not only benefits patients but also should lower the cost associated with treating complications such as dural punctures."

16:25 EDT Andersons to hold Annual Meeting of Shareholders in virtual format - The Andersons announced it will hold its Annual Meeting of Shareholders on Friday, May 8, at 8 a.m. Eastern Time in a virtual format only, due to the emerging public health impact of the coronavirus pandemic. This change by the company is to support and protect the health and well-being of its shareholders, employees, and their families. The Annual Meeting will be broadcast via live a webcast, which can be accessed at www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/ANDE2020, by entering the 16-digit control number found on shareholder proxy cards or voting instruction forms that were included with proxy materials

16:21 EDT Washington Water Service gets WUTC approval to acquire Rainier View Water - Washington Water Service has received approval from the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission to acquire Rainier View Water Company's (Rainier View Water) water system assets and provide water utility service to its 18,000 service connections. The transaction is expected to close in June 2020. Rainier View Water serves about 35,000 people in parts of Graham, Spanaway, Puyallup, Gig Harbor, and other nearby areas through its 27 water systems. Washington Water has been working with Rainier View Water's current employees over recent months to complete due diligence and ensure a seamless transition for its customers and employees. Washington Water filed the purchase agreement application in February 2020. "This is an important step in the process, and we appreciate the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission's diligence in reviewing and approving this application, particularly as we are all focused on the coronavirus pandemic," said Group's President and Chief Executive Officer Martin A. Kropelnicki. "We look forward to bringing Rainier View Water's employees into our family and providing its customers and communities the same quality, service, and value that we are committed to

16:20 EDT Helix Energy withdraws 2020 guidance amid COVID-19 crisis - Helix Energy Solutions Group announced that, in light of the current, significant macroeconomic uncertainty resulting from the recent decline in oil prices and the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, it is withdrawing its previously issued financial and operational performance guidance for 2020. Owen Kratz, President and Chief Executive Officer of Helix, stated, "We are withdrawing our previously issued guidance for 2020. While our guidance for 2020 reflected the best information then available to us, at this time we simply are not in a position to provide 2020 guidance given the recent decline in oil prices, COVID-19, and their combined impact on our industry and our company." Kratz continued, "As a company whose priority is and always has been safety, we continue to prioritize the health and safety of our employees, partners, clients and the communities we serve around the world. We have implemented preventative protocols and established contingency plans designed to safeguard our personnel, assets and their operability during this crisis. Thus far we have succeeded in minimizing operational disruptions. We have continued to operate seven well intervention vessels and six robotics and support vessels, in six different countries on four continents. Our supply chains and logistics, like those of many others, have been forced into challenging environments never before experienced. But we are proud that, thus far, we have risen to the occasion." "We do not know what the full impact this current environment will bring, nor how our industry as a whole will react. Our currently contracted work has continued, but we expect the spot market for the remainder of the year to be significantly weaker than previously forecast. We anticipate implementing cost reduction plans consistent with levels of work activity and expect to reduce our 2020 capital expenditures by approximately twenty percent." Kratz concluded, "Nevertheless, we believe Helix will remain Free Cash Flow positive in 2020. These are trying times, but we believe we have the cash and liquidity to manage these current challenges." Helix anticipates providing additional commentary at the time of its earnings release for the first quarter of 2020, currently scheduled at or near the end of April.

16:19 EDT Astronics sees reduction in demand from COVID-19 pandemic - Peter Gundermann, Astronics Chairman and CEO, noted, "This is an unprecedented situation in our industry and we have to take measurable actions. First and foremost is the safety of our team members. We have implemented enhanced cleaning protocols, increased spacing of workstations, work-from-home wherever possible, minimization of visitors, meetings and travel as well as emphasizing the importance of personal hygiene and responsibility." He continued "The aerospace industry has been significantly impacted and airlines are dealing with a precipitous drop in passenger traffic. Accordingly, we are taking swift actions to address the reduction in demand we are likely to see in the aftermarket, which is approximately 25% of our business. These actions will be difficult for our Company and our employees, but they are necessary in the face of the COVID-19 threat."

16:18 EDT Valmont names Avner Applbaum CFO - Valmont Industries announced that Avner Applbaum will join the Company as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective March 30, 2020. In this role, he will develop and implement financial strategy for the Company and have oversight of all financial activities, including accounting and controllership, financial planning and analysis, tax, treasury, audit, and investor relations, as well as the Company's IT function. Mr. Applbaum succeeds Mark Jaksich, who previously announced his plans to retire and will remain with the Company until December 26, 2020 to ensure a smooth transition.

16:17 EDT Bloom Energy names Gregory Cameron CFO - Bloom Energy (BE) announced the appointment of Gregory Cameron as executive vice president and chief financial officer, effective April 1, 2020. Cameron will replace Bloom Energy's current EVP and CFO Randy Furr, who previously announced his intention to retire. Cameron, most recently president and CEO, Global Operations, GE Company (GE), brings nearly three decades of experience as a financial and operational executive, including extensive work in navigating critical transitions with a focus on generating business success, building alignment among internal functionality, and mobilizing people and resources.

16:16 EDT Haemonetics names Anila Lingamneni as EVP, Chief Technology Officer - Haemonetics announced that it has appointed Anila Lingamneni Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, effective April 1. She will report directly to Chris Simon, Haemonetics' President and CEO. Lingamneni will oversee Haemonetics' Innovation Agenda and lead the company's research, development, software, and medical and clinical affairs.

16:15 EDT Alexander & Baldwin to hold Annual Meeting of Shareholders in virtual format - Alexander & Baldwin will host its 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders in a virtual meeting format only, instead of an in-person meeting, due to health and safety concerns around the COVID-19 pandemic. As announced previously, the Annual Meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 28, at 8:00 a.m. Hawaii Standard Time. Shareholders will not be able to attend the 2020 Annual Meeting in person

16:14 EDT Parsons wins seat on $1.2B Army modernization effort - Parsons has been selected for a seat on a utility monitoring and control systems contract through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Engineering and Support Center. The indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract was a multiple award with a $1.2B ceiling; seven companies were selected in the full and open pool. The selection extends Parsons 30-year legacy with the program.

16:11 EDT Textainer increases share repurchase program by $25M - Textainer announced that Textainer's Board of Directors authorized an increase to the company's share repurchase program of up to $25M of the company's outstanding common shares. The authorization is effective immediately and adds to the previous $25M program, which had approximately $1M remaining authorized and available for repurchase as of March 27.

16:10 EDT Aware CFO David Martin to retire - Aware announced that David Martin informed the Aware Board of Directors of his intent to retire from his position as the company's CFO. Martin will retire in 2020 after assisting Aware in hiring his replacement. In addition, Kevin Russell informed the Aware Board of Directors of his intent to resign from his position as the company's Chief Legal and Administrative Officer. Russell has agreed to continue to serve in that position during a transition period. It is anticipated that Russell will continue to serve on Aware's Board of Directors during this transition period, but that he will not stand for re-election to the Board when his current term expires at Aware's 2020 annual meeting of shareholders scheduled to take place on May 20.

16:09 EDT Savara terminates enrollment in CF clinical studies due to COVID-19 - Savara provided an update on the impact COVID-19 has had on two of the Company's clinical studies in cystic fibrosis or CF. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and out of an abundance of caution for people living with CF and clinical study staff, enrollment has been terminated in the Phase 3 AVAIL and the Phase 2a ENCORE studies. With patient safety at the forefront of the decision, and in accordance with guidelines established by the FDA, efforts will be made to allow enrolled patients to continue with study treatments and site visit protocols, where possible. The AVAIL study is evaluating AeroVanc in people living with CF who have methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (ung infection. Total target enrollment was 200 patients. The ENCORE study is evaluating Molgradex in nontuberculous mycobacterial lung infection in people living with CF. Total target enrollment was approximately 30 patients and 14 patients are currently enrolled. The company has not experienced disruptions to the planning of a second Phase 3 study of Molgradex for aPAP and continues conversations with the FDA regarding study design and endpoints. Additionally, while the company has not had any supply chain or manufacturing disruptions due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the situation is being monitored regularly. With a continued and prolonged health crisis, an interruption could occur.

16:08 EDT RTW Retailwinds extends store closures, furloughs all store associates - RTW Retailwinds announced that in light of the continued efforts to slow the transmission of the coronavirus pandemic and in an effort to ensure the safety of its associates, customers and communities, the Company is temporarily extending its previously announced store closures. The Company will continue to monitor this ongoing situation, relying on recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization and government officials to determine when its closed stores will reopen. At the present time, RTW's eCommerce platforms and third party fulfillment center remain operational and continue to serve customers online and through social media. In response to the current challenges, the Company has also announced that it has made the extremely difficult decision to furlough all store associates as well as a significant portion of its corporate home office associates, resulting in an approximately eighty percent reduction in weekly payroll expense. The Company will provide furloughed associates with continued benefits coverage and support to identify potential government assistance during this temporary furlough. "In this time of unprecedented volatility and disruption to the retail sector, we are taking the necessary actions to protect our customers and employees, and preserve our financial liquidity and flexibility," said Traci Inglis, in-coming Chief Executive Officer of RTW Retailwinds. "We are extending our store closures at this time and have made the difficult decision to furlough employees in our field operations and corporate home office. This was not a decision made lightly, but one that was necessary to preserve liquidity in order to manage our business through this challenging time."

16:07 EDT Envestnet names William Crager CEO, James Fox chairman - The board of directors of Envestnet announced the following leadership appointments, effective immediately: William Crager as Chief Executive Officer of Envestnet, Inc.; Stuart DePina as President of Envestnet, Inc.; James Fox as Chairman of the Board of Directors; and Charles Roame as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors. Crager, a co-founder of the company and President since 2002, has served as Interim Chief Executive Officer since the tragic accidental death of Envestnet Founder and CEO Jud Bergman in early October 2019, and was named Chief Executive of Envestnet Wealth Solutions in January 2019. Mr. DePina has served as Chief Executive of Envestnet Data & Analytics since January 2019. He previously was President of Tamarac, a company Envestnet acquired in 2012. Mr. Fox has served as a board member since 2015. He was previously Chairman, CEO and President of FundQuest, a company Envestnet acquired in 2011. Mr. Roame has served as a board member since 2011. He is currently Managing Partner of Tiburon Strategic Advisors, a provider of research, strategy consulting and other related services primarily to financial services firms.

16:05 EDT Titan Pharmaceuticals: Cash sufficient to fund operations into 4Q20 - As at December 31, 2019, Titan had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $5.2M, which the company believes, together with the net cash proceeds of approximately $8M received from the January 2020 offering and exercises of warrants in the first quarter of 2020, are sufficient to fund planned operations into the fourth quarter of 2020.

15:48 EDT PDL Community Bancorp terminates share repurchase program - PDL Community Bancorp announced that its board had terminated, effective on March 27, the company's share repurchase program which was initiated on November 13, 2019. Under the repurchase program, the company could have repurchased up to 878,835 shares of its common stock, or approximately 5% of the then current outstanding shares. The repurchase program was set to expire on May 12, 2020. At the time of the termination of the repurchase program initiated on November 13, 2019, 367,098 shares of the company's common stock had been repurchased, at a weighted-average price of $13.91 per share.

15:36 EDT Harley-Davidson says Michelle Kumbier leaving role of COO - Paul Krause, Assistant General Counsel, has been promoted to Chief Legal Officer, Chief Compliance Officer & Secretary of Harley-Davidson,effective immediately. Krause joined Harley-Davidson in 2016 and has served as interim Chief Legal Officer for the Company since November 2019. Michelle Kumbier will be leaving her role as Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Harley Davidson Motor Company, a subsidiary of Harley-Davidson, effective April 3. Kumbier's former product and operations responsibilities will be assumed by Bryan Niketh, Vice President of Product Development of the Motor Company, who has been promoted to Senior Vice President of Product and Operations. In her role as Chief Operating Officer of the Motor Company, Kumbier was also responsible for global sales. The global sales function will be the interim responsibility of Jochen Zeitz, Acting President and Chief Executive Officer, until a leader is appointed in this area.

14:53 EDT McEwen Mining to notify NYSE of intent to cure listing deficiency - In a regulatory filing, McEwen Mining reported that on March 24, 2020, the company was notified by the New York Stock Exchange that the average closing price of the company's common stock had fallen below $1.00 per share over a period of 30 consecutive trading days, which is the minimum average share price required. In response, the company plans to notify the NYSE of its intent to cure the deficiency and restore its compliance with the listing standards of Section 802.01C. The company has six months following receipt of the notification to regain compliance with the minimum share price requirement. "The notice has no immediate impact on the listing of the company's common stock, which will continue to be listed and traded on the NYSE during this period, subject to the company's compliance with other listing standards. The common stock will continue to trade under the symbol "MUX," but with the added designation of ".BC" to indicate the company's "below compliance" status. In the event that the company fails to restore its compliance with the continued listing standards of Section 802.01C, that section calls for the NYSE to commence procedures for the suspension and delisting of the company's common stock," the filing noted.

14:36 EDT Kohl's suspending share repurchases, evaluating dividend program - As part of its COVID-19 response, Kohl's is taking the following actions to preserve financial liquidity and financial flexibility: Decreasing capital expenditures by approximately $500 million; Managing inventory meaningfully lower to align with anticipated sales; Significantly reducing expenses across the business including marketing, technology and operations while stores remain closed; Temporarily suspending share repurchases and evaluating its dividend program, and fully drawing down its $1B revolving credit facility.

14:03 EDT Second Sight down 56% to $1.01 after announcing wind down plans - Shares of Second Sight Medical are down $1.30, or 56.3%, to $1.01 after the company announced earlier that it has decided to pursue an orderly wind down of the company's operations.

13:45 EDT Second Sight trading resumes

13:24 EDT Second Sight appoints Matthew Pfeffer as acting CEO - Second Sight announced that the board of directors appointed Matthew Pfeffer, a member of the board and Chairman of the audit committee of the board, as acting CEO to guide the company through the transitional wind down period, instead of Gregg Williams, Chairman of the board, as previously announced.

13:16 EDT Second Sight to wind down operations - Against a background of unprecedented economic shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and inability to secure additional financing, the Company's Board of Directors has evaluated strategic alternatives and decided to pursue an orderly wind down of the Company's operations. The Company intends to retain an adviser experienced in winding down operations to guide the board on next steps. Any wind down activity, if implemented, will be subject to uncertainties. Additional layoffs are expected to be made at a later date based on the Company's level of operations.

13:09 EDT Oshkosh announces award of $346.4M in orders from Army - Oshkosh Defense, an Oshkosh company, announced that it has been awarded delivery orders totaling $346.4M from the U.S. Army Contracting Command - Warren to modernize vehicles in the U.S. Army and U.S. Army Reserve Heavy Tactical Vehicle, or FHTV, fleets. Under the delivery orders, Oshkosh will recapitalize Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Trucks and Palletized Load System trucks as well as manufacture new PLS trailers.

13:01 EDT Agilent says annual meeting to be held in virtual format only - Agilent Technologies filed a supplement to its proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission announcing a change of location for its previously adjourned annual meeting of stockholders. The meeting will be reconvened on Friday, April 17, 2020 at 8 a.m., Pacific Time. In light of public health considerations relating to the outbreak of COVID-19 and the need to comply with federal, state and local restrictions on gatherings and movement, the annual meeting will be held in a virtual meeting format only. Stockholders will not be able to attend the annual meeting physically.

12:47 EDT Mesoblast jumps after reporting results of Revascor study in heart failure - Shares of Mesoblast are up 7% after reporting results from a sub-study of 70 patients with end-stage ischemic heart failure and a Left Ventricular Assist Device, LVAD, of 159 randomized patients who received either Mesoblast's allogeneic mesenchymal precursor cell, MPC, product candidate Revascor or saline, were presented on March 28 at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Virtual Scientific Sessions. The full results from these 70 patients will be published in a peer-reviewed journal. When compared to controls, in MPC recipients: the mean proportion of temporary weans from LVAD support was higher, 64% vs 43%; relative risk 1.55; 95% confidence interval 1.01-2.36) the rate of mucosal bleeding was lower, 4.2 vs 28/100 patient-months; RR 0.15; CI 0.05, 0.40;there were fewer serious adverse events. These findings may reflect the effect of MPCs on angiogenesis, inflammation and endothelial dysfunction, and warrant further clinical research.End-stage ischemic heart failure patients with LVADs are older and have co-morbidities such as diabetes, thereby closely resembling the majority of patients in Mesoblast's 566-patient Phase 3 trial for advanced chronic heart failure, planned to readout in mid-2020. Revascor is being developed for use in end-stage ischemic heart failure patients with LVADs under existing FDA Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy and Orphan Drug Designations. Shares of Mesoblast are currently up 7% to $4.33 per share in afternoon trading on Monday.

12:45 EDT Atlas Technical Consultants Inc (Class A Stock) trading resumes

12:40 EDT Atlas Technical Consultants Inc (Class A Stock) trading halted, volatility trading pause

12:00 EDT Granite Point Mortgage falls -16.5% - Granite Point Mortgage is down -16.5%, or -$1.12 to $5.68.

12:00 EDT China Yuchai rises 17.3% - China Yuchai is up 17.3%, or $1.57 to $10.62.

12:00 EDT Owens & Minor rises 32.6% - Owens & Minor is up 32.6%, or $1.79 to $7.30.

11:48 EDT Amarin announces presentation of data from REDUCE-IT study - Amarin Corporation announced that data presented by Deepak L. Bhatt, M.D., M.P.H., Executive Director of Interventional Cardiovascular Programs at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, at the American College of Cardiology's 69th Annual Scientific Session Together With World Congress of Cardiology demonstrated that on-treatment serum EPA levels from VASCEPA, administered at 4 g/day, strongly correlated with reductions in cardiovascular events in the REDUCE-IT study. As part of a prespecified analysis, serum EPA, DHA and other biomarkers were measured at baseline and across several visits. Following administration of VASCEPA, a pure, stable, prescription EPA therapy, serum EPA levels showed an approximately 400% increase across the study from baseline versus placebo, including to year 1. DHA levels were measured and showed a decrease of 2.9%. On-treatment EPA levels in the VASCEPA group were associated strongly with reduced cardiovascular events, including benefits observed in the primary and key secondary endpoints, each component of these endpoints such as cardiovascular death, as well as benefit in heart failure and total mortality with high on-treatment EPA levels. These analyses also suggest that achieved EPA with 4g/day of VASCEPA is a marker for the majority of the relative risk reduction observed in REDUCE-IT. The EPA levels achieved in REDUCE-IT were well above levels that can be achieved with diet or with dietary supplements. Biomarker analyses suggest substantially less contribution of changes in measured lipid, lipoprotein, and inflammatory biomarkers to the cardiovascular benefit observed in REDUCE-IT. Importantly, REDUCE-IT administered an ethyl ester form of EPA. Until the complexities of different chemical forms of EPA are better understood, the benefits of icosapent ethyl in REDUCE-IT cannot be assumed to apply to EPA levels achieved by other chemical compositions.

11:16 EDT Six Flags extends park closures until at least mid-May, reduces salaries - Six Flags Entertainment announced that all the company's parks will remain closed until mid-May, or as soon as possible thereafter, reflecting federal and local restrictions in place to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The company will continue to closely monitor the evolving global health crisis and follow the most current guidance from federal, state, and local officials as it assesses when it can reopen some or all of its parks. The company also announced it is reducing salaries for all executive officers and team members in an effort to enhance the company's financial flexibility while it faces the operating and financial impact of COVID-19. Effective April 6, the company is taking the following measures: Reducing base salaries of executive officers by 25%; Reducing salaries of all full-time salaried employees, subject to state and federal minimum thresholds, by 25%; Reducing scheduled hours for full-time hourly employees by 25% to 30 hours per week. These changes allow employees to retain their existing health plan coverage at current premiums, the company said. "The safety and well-being of our guests and team members is our most important priority," said Mike Spanos, President and CEO. "While these actions are difficult for all of us, they will help the company weather the current crisis by reducing expenses. We decided to decrease salaries rather than implement a workforce reduction to ensure our team members have income and health benefits so that Six Flags has an experienced workforce in place when we are in a position to re-open our parks. Our hope is that these measures are only temporary and will help bridge the financial gap the company is facing, in the fairest manner possible, until we can return to normal operations."

10:57 EDT Update on COVID-19 trial using Soliris posted to ClinicalTrials.gov - In the SOLID-C19 study, Alexion's Soliris "will be used to modulate the activity of the distal complement preventing the formation of the membrane attack complex. By modulating this portion of the immune response, mortality can be halted while the patient has time to recover from the virus with supportive medical care," according to a post to the ClinicalTrials.gov website with a "last update posted" date of March 30. The sponsor of the trial is Hudson Medical, the page states. Reference Link

10:54 EDT OpGen announces shareholder approval for business combination with Curetis - OpGen announced that, following its Special Meeting of Shareholders held March 30, 2020, OpGen shareholders overwhelmingly voted to approve the proposed business combination with Curetis N.V. OpGen reported that 95% of the votes cast were voted to approve the business combination. The business combination is expected to close in the coming days. Evan Jones, Chairman & CEO of OpGen, stated, We are excited to announce receipt of formal approval for the business combination with Curetis and thank all our shareholders for the overwhelming support throughout this process. We anticipate this business combination will maximize value for our shareholders through providing a robust product portfolio with proprietary assets for developing and commercializing innovative, data-driven solutions in infectious disease diagnostics. As previously announced, on March 10, 2020, Curetis N.V. shareholders voted to approve the transaction, making todays approval by OpGens shareholders the last major hurdle now successfully cleared to closing the planned business combination. OpGen and Curetis entered into a definitive agreement to combine businesses on September 4, 2019. The closing of the transaction under such definitive agreement is expected in the next several days.

10:53 EDT Carnival's Holland America extends temporary pause of global ship operations - Due to the continued port closures and travel restrictions surrounding global health concerns, Holland America Line has made the decision to extend its pause of global cruise operations for an additional 30 days, cancelling sailings scheduled to depart through May 14, 2020. Guests currently booked on cruises from April 14 through May 14 and their travel advisors will receive notification from Holland America Line in the coming days regarding options for selecting either a Future Cruise Credit for 125% of their booking value plus an additional $250 shipboard credit or a full refund. "As the world addresses global health concerns, travel has come to a temporary standstill as communities take necessary precautions to protect themselves," said Orlando Ashford, president of Holland America Line. "All of us at Holland America Line are wishing everyone the best during this unprecedented time." All bookings will automatically be cancelled through May 14.

10:37 EDT Entergy says Lake Charles power station achieves commercial operation - Entergy Louisiana's Lake Charles Power Station began commercial operation March 28, the company said in a statement. "We are excited to announce Lake Charles Power Station achieved commercial operations well ahead of schedule. It's a huge win for our customers," said Phillip May, president and CEO of Entergy Louisiana. "Not only does the addition of this plant make our generation portfolio, which was already one of the cleanest in the nation, even cleaner, but it also supports system reliability and produces substantial customer savings." Construction began on the Westlake facility in August 2017, and the plant officially reached commercial operation well ahead of its originally scheduled June completion date. At its peak, construction of the plant employed approximately 1,100 people. Ongoing operations of the plant will employ approximately 30 people.

10:35 EDT Benitec Biopharma announces Supreme Court of Queensland approval for redomicile - Benitec Biopharma Limited announced that the Supreme Court of Queensland has approved the scheme of arrangement to redomicile the Benitec group from Australia to the United States of America. Benitec has lodged an official copy of the Court orders with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Once the orders are registered, the scheme will become effective.

10:33 EDT MyoKardia reports MAVERICK-HCM Phase 2 trial results - MyoKardia announced results from the dose-ranging MAVERICK-HCM Phase 2 clinical trial of mavacamten for the treatment of non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or HCM. Data were presented during a late-breaker session at the American College of Cardiology's 69th Annual Scientific Session together with the World Congress of Cardiology. In the MAVERICK-HCM study, mavacamten was generally well tolerated, and statistically significant improvements in key biomarkers of cardiac injury and wall stress were observed. Further, subgroup analyses of study participants with indicators of more advanced disease demonstrated clinical responses across multiple parameters among patients on active treatment versus placebo. "MAVERICK has succeeded in providing us with the important data we needed to proceed in our planned clinical trials in non-obstructive HCM, as well as a targeted subset of patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction, or HFpEF. We gained unique insights into dosing strategies using markers linked to clinical benefit, as well as how to identify patients who may be most likely to benefit from mavacamten. The MAVERICK results also further our confidence in mavacamten's development in obstructive HCM, as we approach our Phase 3 EXPLORER-HCM readout, which is expected in the second quarter," said Jay Edelberg, MyoKardia's Senior Vice President of Development.

10:17 EDT Dow Inc. to expand hand sanitizer production at additional sites - The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have an unprecedented impact around the world and needed medical, health and hygiene products are in short supply. After assessing the company's capability to manufacture hand sanitizer at its facilities around the world, Dow announced that its manufacturing sites in Auburn, Michigan; South Charleston, West Virginia; Seneffe, Belgium; and Hortolandia, Brazil possess the necessary raw material handling, mixing and packaging capabilities and will produce hand sanitizer. These locations join Dow's site in Stade, Germany which already produced hand sanitizer for donation. Dow does not typically produce hand sanitizer, but a large portion of the required raw materials are readily available at company sites. In addition, Dow's asset flexibility allows for a meaningful volume of sanitizer to be produced with little to no impact to normal operations. Dow collaborated with officials in each of the locations to understand their needs and requirements. In the U.S., the company worked with officials in Michigan and West Virginia, as well as the FDA, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, and the Department of Homeland Security. These agencies provided useful, timely guidance as Dow completed the permitting, licensing and raw material procurement processes. Dow's Auburn site has the capacity to produce approximately 15,000 pounds (7 metric tons) of hand sanitizer per week, which equates to nearly 30,000 eight-ounce bottles. Similar or greater volumes are expected to be produced at the other Dow locations. When all of these locations are at full production, Dow's collective output is expected to reach more than 440,000 pounds (200 metric tons), or the equivalent of more than 880,000 eight-ounce bottles. Production of hand sanitizer will occur for approximately four weeks in the four Dow sites announced, after which time Dow will assess extending production based on raw material availability and market need. All of the hand sanitizer that will be produced has been allocated with the majority for donation to health systems and government agencies for distribution. Hand sanitizer will also be distributed to Dow production sites to help protect employees who are on the frontline and ensuring Dow's manufacturing facilities continue to run safely. First deliveries are expected to begin this week.

10:16 EDT Microsoft sees 775% usage jump in cloud services regions with 'shelter in place' - In a blog post yesterday regarding Microsoft's usage increases in services that support health authorities emphasizing the importance of social distancing, Jared Spataro, Corporate Vice President for Microsoft 365, noted that the company has "seen a 775% increase of our cloud services in regions that have enforced social distancing or shelter in place orders" In early Monday trading, Microsoft shares are up $7.05, or 4.7%, to $156.75. Reference Link

10:04 EDT Broadvision voluntarily files for reorganization under Chapter 11 - BroadVision announced that it has taken the next step to implement the "pre-packaged" plan to restructure the business and be acquired by ESW Capital, LLC, under its previously announced Restructuring Support Agreement. As expected, and as contemplated by the RSA, the Company has voluntarily filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The Company's operations are continuing as normal. Upon emergence, the Company will continue to provide customers with exceptional service and product offering. The Company has filed a number of customary motions seeking court authorization to continue to support its operations during the expedited Court-supervised process, and employee wages and benefits will continue to be paid in the ordinary course. Under terms of the pre-packaged plan, which is subject to Court approval, all allowed claims will be paid in full, and holders of the Company's common stock are expected to receive $4.375 per common share, plus their pro rata share of the Company's cash on hand as of the effective date of the Plan after payment of certain case-related claims and expenses.

10:03 EDT Carvana withdraws previous guidance provided on February 26 - In a regulatory filing, Carvana said "COVID-19 is having an impact on retail and consumer lending businesses nationwide, with local governments, businesses, and consumers increasingly limiting commercial activity and capital markets experiencing instability. This is impacting our business and the auto industry as a whole. Prior to the impact of COVID-19, we were on track to meet or exceed our annual guidance on all financial metrics. However, due to the highly uncertain impact of COVID-19 on our company and industry, we are withdrawing our previous guidance provided on February 26, 2020. We are positioning the business today to be lean and flexible in this period of lower demand and higher uncertainty. To this end, we have temporarily paused new market openings and vending machine launches and significantly reduced discretionary growth expenditures on new hiring, travel, facilities, and IT investments. We have also rebalanced our marketing, staffing, and purchasing levels to align with demand, while closely monitoring key metrics to determine when and how quickly to adjust."

10:02 EDT Medtronic reports Onyx ONE Clear Study met primary endpoint - Medtronic announced results of the Onyx ONE Clear Study that evaluated Resolute Onyx DES in high bleeding risk patients with one-month dual antiplatelet therapy in the United States and Japan. The study met its primary endpoint of cardiac death or myocardial infarction by beating a performance goal derived from contemporary one-month DAPT trials at one-year post-procedure. Results from the study were shared virtually at the American College of Cardiology together with the World Congress of Cardiology Scientific Sessions on March 28, 2020.

10:00 EDT Redwood Trust falls -25.3% - Redwood Trust is down -25.3%, or -$1.57 to $4.64.

10:00 EDT Nordic American Tankers rises 16.7% - Nordic American Tankers is up 16.7%, or 68c to $4.72.

10:00 EDT Owens & Minor rises 40.0% - Owens & Minor is up 40.0%, or $2.21 to $7.71.

09:57 EDT Park Hotels & Resorts trading resumes

09:52 EDT Park Hotels & Resorts trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:48 EDT Gaming and Leisure Properties trading resumes

09:47 EDT Ladder Capital falls -13.7% - Ladder Capital is down -13.7%, or -91c to $5.74.

09:47 EDT AG Mortgage falls -23.8% - AG Mortgage is down -23.8%, or -94c to $3.01.

09:47 EDT B2Gold has not seen any incidents of COVID-19 virus at sites to date - B2Gold announces that it is continuing to implement enhanced comprehensive COVID-19 response measures and to date has not experienced any incidents of the COVID-19 virus at its sites or corporate offices. "B2Gold places the safety and wellbeing of its workforce as the highest priority and continues to encourage input from all its stakeholders as the situation continues to evolve. The company continues to monitor public and employee sentiment to ensure that stakeholders are in alignment with the continued operations at its mines. The company has been monitoring the COVID-19 outbreak and the potential impact at B2Gold's operations since mid-February and has implemented several measures and introduced additional precautionary steps to manage and respond to the risks associated with the COVID-19 virus to ensure the safety of B2Gold's employees, contractors, suppliers and surrounding communities where the company works while continuing to operate. These measures include the movement of people and goods, hygiene and cleanliness, social distancing and remote working, isolation procedures at B2Gold sites in the event of higher risk personnel, working with surrounding communities and contingency plans for potential disruptions including increases of supplies. The company is continually updating the plan and response measures based on the safety and wellbeing of its workforce, the severity of the pandemic in areas where it operates, global response measures, government restrictions and extensive community consultation. The company is working closely with national and local authorities and will be monitoring each site's situation closely while ensuring the safe operation of its mines," B2Gold stated.

09:47 EDT Owens & Minor rises 21.1% - Owens & Minor is up 21.1%, or $1.16 to $6.67.

09:45 EDT Chefs Warehouse trading resumes

09:44 EDT Caesars trading resumes

09:44 EDT Eldorado Resorts trading resumes

09:43 EDT Norwegian Cruise Line trading resumes

09:42 EDT Carnival trading resumes

09:41 EDT Oracle's rating downgraded at Moody's to A3 - Moody's Investors Service downgraded Oracle Corporation's senior unsecured rating to A3, from A1, and commercial paper rating to Prime-2, from Prime-1. The ratings outlook is stable. The downgrade was prompted by Oracle's plans to raise new debt and use proceeds for general corporate purposes, including share repurchases, payment of dividends and debt repayments. Moody's also assigned an A3 rating to Oracle's new senior unsecured notes. The total amount of debt issuance is uncertain at this time and will depend upon market conditions, pricing and appetite for Oracle's debt. Moody's analyst Raj Joshi said, "Notwithstanding the amount raised in the current debt offering, which will likely be high, the increase in debt reflects a meaningful shift relative to our expectation that following US tax reform the company will repay maturing obligations such that total debt to EBITDA would decline to the low 2x by fiscal year ending in May '22." Oracle has rapidly transitioned from over $10B in net cash prior to the tax reform to $26B of net debt as a result of outsized levels of share repurchases.

09:40 EDT Carvana trading resumes

09:40 EDT Chefs Warehouse trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:39 EDT Caesars trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:39 EDT Eldorado Resorts trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:38 EDT Gaming and Leisure Properties trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:38 EDT Norwegian Cruise Line trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:37 EDT Carnival trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:37 EDT New Residential trading resumes

09:36 EDT Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte SAB de CV trading resumes

09:35 EDT Targa Resources trading resumes

09:35 EDT Granite Point Mortgage trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:33 EDT Apergy trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:32 EDT New Residential trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:31 EDT Grupo Aeroportuario del Centro Norte SAB de CV trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:30 EDT Shaw Communications makes free digital educational programming available - Shaw Communications announced that it is giving families free access to comprehensive, immersive digital educational programming for children and youth as school facilities are closed and students move to virtual learning modules due to the threat posed by COVID-19. Through a new partnership with EVERFI - an international social impact education innovator - Shaw is making available research-backed online programming designed to give K-12 students access to curriculum aligned topics that are most relevant to young people today, including personal health, financial education, mental health, digital wellness and more.

09:28 EDT ViacomCBS withdraws FY20 guidance, affirms synergy forecast - On Friday, March 27th, ViacomCBS stated: "As a result of COVID-19 and measures to prevent its spread, ViacomCBS is withdrawing its previous guidance as to its 2020 financial results. While ViacomCBS has experienced production delays, the company has seen increased viewership across its broadcast and cable properties, and is utilizing its deep library of content to mitigate in part the impact of those delays. The company is also working proactively to offset a portion of anticipated revenue losses through cost savings initiatives. ViacomCBS is reaffirming its expectation to achieve $750M of full run-rate merger-related cost synergies over the next three years. The company is also reaffirming its expectation to have approximately 16 million domestic streaming subscribers in pay and approximately 30M monthly active users on Pluto TV as it exits 2020. The company this week has also announced multi-year agreements to renew CBS affiliations with local stations across the country. Still, the impact of COVID-19 on ViacomCBS' businesses - including the postponement of theatrical releases domestically and internationally, cancellation or rescheduling of sports events for which the company had broadcast rights, and production delays in television and filmed entertainment programming - could be material to the company's operating results, cash flows and financial position. The magnitude of the impacts will depend on the duration and extent of the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of federal, state, local and foreign governmental actions and consumer behavior in response to the pandemic and such governmental actions."

09:27 EDT HD Supply defers planned business unit separation - HD Supply Holdings announced that materially changing market conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted the company's previously announced timeline to separate its Facilities Maintenance and Construction & Industrial businesses. HD Supply remains committed to the separation of its two businesses and reaffirms that the strategic rationale for the separation is unchanged. The company continues its preparation to ensure that the two companies are ready for the separation when the markets sufficiently recover. Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Salary: In response to market uncertainty related to the COVID-19 pandemic, beginning with the next payroll on April 6, 2020, Joe DeAngelo has voluntarily waived his base salary for the reminder of the year, except for amounts necessary to cover pretax payroll deductions for medical coverage that are irrevocable under the tax rules applicable to cafeteria plans, and payroll deductions for charitable contributions to HD Supply Charitable Fund Inc., a 501(c)(3) disaster relief fund for employees of HD Supply and their families. All other elements of Mr. DeAngelo's compensation remain unchanged. As of March 29, 2020, HD Supply had combined liquidity of approximately $728 million including $104 million in cash and cash equivalents and $624 million of additional available borrowings under HD Supply, Inc.'s senior asset-based lending facility, based on qualifying inventory and receivables. This is an increase of $100 million from HD Supply's previously announced combined liquidity of $628 million, as of February 2, 2020.

09:25 EDT Digerati Technologies integrates UCaaS solutions with Microsoft Teams - Digerati Technologies announced that its operating subsidiary, T3 Communications successfully completed integration with Microsoft Office 365's voice application, to deliver a business class telephony solution to Microsoft Teams' users. T3's cloud Unified Communications platform now integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Teams to deliver business users with an exceptional calling experience that includes superior voice quality and enterprise PBX features on its global carrier-grade network.

09:22 EDT TOP Ships announces completion of ATM, conclusion of sale of 50% owned vessel - TOP Ships announced that its 50% subsidiary, City of Athens Pte., concluded the previously announced sale of its 100% owned vessel, M/T Holmby Hills, and that the cash release to the Company amounts to $10.2 million. Furthermore the Company expects to conclude the sale of its second 50% owned vessel within the second week of April and depending on the exact date that the sale takes place and on prevailing USD Swap rates at the time of closing, the Company estimates that the cash release from that sale will also result in a cash release of about $10 million. The Company also announced that on March 27, 2020 the Equity Distribution Agreement with Maxim Group that the Company entered into on March 11, 2020 was completed.

09:19 EDT CohBar anticipates delay in completion of CB4211 Phase 1b study - CohBar announced that it is anticipating delays in the completion of its CB4211 Phase 1b study for NASH and obesity. This delay is a result of a pause by some of the company's clinical research organization partners in all of their activities related to the study in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the advice of the CDC and local authorities. Given the uncertainties around this unprecedented pandemic and its impact on the Phase 1b clinical study activities, including enrollment of subjects, the company is unable to provide additional guidance at this time.

09:13 EDT Eve & Co CFO Landon Roedding resigns - Eve & Co announces that Landon Roedding has tendered his resignation as the Company's CFO. The Board has appointed Rory Taylor as Interim CFO, while the Board commences a search for a permanent successor to Mr. Roedding. Mr. Taylor previously served as the Company's Controller and has over 10 years of public company experience in senior financial roles for various international mining companies.

09:12 EDT RenovaCare says study underway of spray-on gene therapy with SkinGun - RenovaCare announced that the Company's novel SkinGun is now being used to apply regenerative cells in a preclinical study of new gene therapies, underway at King's College London. Researchers are using the SkinGun to ultra-gently spray gene-supplemented cells for accelerated wound healing in Recessive Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa, a debilitating skin disease which afflicts young children and leads to premature death. Over 70 patients with various types of second-degree burns have been treated on an experimental basis utilizing the technology underlying the Company's SkinGun, which RenovaCare has developed as a potential alternative to skin grafting and other treatment options. Sprayed with a gentle mist of their own skin cells, many of these patients left the hospital within days, avoiding generally painful skin graft surgeries and potentially prolonged hospitalization. While RenovaCare continues pursuing the regulatory pathway for burns using its own cell isolation, the Company was awarded new patent protections in 2019 expanding the use of its SkinGun to spray all varieties of cells and tissues and enabling the gene therapy study announced today. The preclinical gene therapy study announced is the result of a Research Agreement entered into between RenovaCare and King's College London. King's College funding for this study is provided by DEBRA UK.

09:11 EDT SPX Flow announces authorization for future share repurchases of up to $150M - In line with management's commitment to prioritize the use of divestiture proceeds on debt reduction and a return to shareholders, the company also announced today its intention to reduce total debt by $300M, or more than 40%, to approximately $400M in 2020. Additionally, management intends to return cash to shareholders through share repurchases over time. The company will continue to assess market and business conditions in connection with its capital allocation plans.

09:11 EDT Dyadic International enters nonexclusive research collaboration with WuXi - Dyadic International announced that it has entered into a nonexclusive research collaboration with WuXi Biologics, a global open-access biologics technology platform company. Under the terms of the research license agreement, Dyadic will grant WuXi Biologics restricted access to its proprietary and patented C1 gene expression platform and allow WuXi Biologics to evaluate the C1 technology in a cGMP facility and to perform certain experiments to the C1 cell lines for any other internal noncommercial purpose. WuXi Biologics will invest its own resources to evaluate the C1 platform for their customers worldwide.

09:09 EDT Digital Ally receives multi-year upgrade order for EVO-HD In-Car System - Digital Ally announced it has received a multi-year upgrade order from Box Elder Sheriff's Department for 18 of its highly advanced EVO-HD in-car camera systems paired with 18 FirstVu HD body-worn cameras, built-in patented VuLink auto-activation technology and migration to the VuVault cloud storage solution hosted by Amazon Web Services.

09:08 EDT Fresh Del Monte appoints Elana Gold as CMO - Fresh Del Monte announced Elana Gold as VP and CMO. In this role, Elana will lead Fresh Del Monte's global marketing functions, executing global, regional and local marketing strategies aimed at delivering long-term and sustainable business growth for the brand. Elana will report to Fresh Del Monte Produce's president and COO, Youssef Zakharia. Most recently, Elana served as CCO at Before Brands, a VC-backed start-up, where she helped to develop and launch a new category of the most advanced childhood nutritional products to reduce food allergy development risk in children.

09:07 EDT Farmer Bros. says supply chain is fully operational - Farmer Bros. provided an update on its business and the actions the Company is taking in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Farmer Brothers continues to closely monitor the situation and has established additional procedures and safety measures designed to mitigate risk of exposure to the COVID-19 virus and potential impact on business operations. The Company has enacted business continuity initiatives and its supply chain is fully operational. The Company has continued the rebalancing of volume across its manufacturing network, bringing additional production into its Northlake, Texas facility. Farmer Brothers is meeting ongoing demand from its Direct Ship customers. In addition, the Company has taken steps to accelerate its e-commerce initiatives and better support the surge in demand in the retail grocery store setting while many restaurant and retail locations serviced through its Direct Store Delivery business have experienced temporary government mandated closures or have limited service.

09:04 EDT Energy Focus says fifteen school districts install LED lamps - Energy Focus announced that fifteen school districts in the U.S. have installed more than 200,000 sustainable and flicker-free LED lamps since the beginning of the fourth quarter of 2019. The installations include primarily the company's flagship Series D tubular LEDs and its patented integrated emergency backup LED Tube RedCap. Energy Focus's RedCap is an emergency backup TLED that integrates batteries, along with a charger, discharger and indicator light. As the first integrated Emergency Battery Backup TLED, it allows an 11-watt lamp to illuminate for longer than the general building-code-required 90 minutes, which is critical during emergencies or power outages that schools may encounter. Energy Focus's flicker-free TLEDs have proven to be a superior form factor-in total cost of ownership, sustainability and ease of future upgrades-for lighting retrofit applications in education and healthcare as well as military and government facilities.

09:01 EDT Medtronic shares ventilation design specifications for ventilator production - Medtronic announced it is publicly sharing the design specifications for the Puritan Bennett 560 to enable participants across industries to evaluate options for rapid ventilator manufacturing to help doctors and patients dealing with COVID-19. This decision is consistent with the recent FDA Guidance and in accordance with the public health and medical response of governmental agencies globally. Introduced in 2010, the PB 560 is sold in 35 countries around the world. This ventilator's ability to be used in a range of care settings, as well as its technology and design, make it a solid ventilation solution for manufacturers, inventors, start-ups, and academic institutions seeking to quickly ramp up ventilator design and production. PB 560 product and service manuals, design requirement documents, manufacturing documents, and schematics are now available at Medtronic.com/openventilator. The PB 560 design specifications are available today, software code and other information will follow shortly. The PB 560 ventilator is a compact, lightweight, and portable ventilator that provides airway support for both adults and children. It can be used in clinical settings and at home and provides mobile respiratory support.

08:56 EDT J&J CEO says COVID-19 vaccine work to be done on not-for-profit basis - Johnson & Johnson CEO Alex Gorsky, being interviewed on CNBC, said the company's work on a COVID-19 vaccine will be done on a not-for-profit basis in the interest of public health. Earlier this morning, J&J announced the selection of a lead COVID-19 vaccine candidate from constructs it has been working on since January 2020.

08:55 EDT GTY Technology Holdings appoints TJ Parass as CEO - GTY Technology Holdings announced the appointment of TJ Parass as CEO of GTY, succeeding Stephen Rohleder who is leaving the company. Parass will also become a member of the GTY board. Parass previously served as Founder and CEO of Questica, a business unit of GTY focused on multi-user budgeting, performance measures, transparency and data visualization software for governments, education & healthcare. Bill Green, a current GTY director who is one of GTY's founding sponsors, will become Chairman of the board.

08:53 EDT BeyondSpring initiates NDA rolling submission for plinabulin in China - BeyondSpring announced that the Company has initiated the rolling submission of its New Drug Application with the Company's lead asset, Plinabulin, for the chemotherapy-induced neutropenia indication to China's National Medical Products Administration. If approved, Plinabulin in combination with G-CSFs can potentially be the first superior therapy to the standard of care for chemotherapy-induced neutropenia in 30 years, with a broad label for the prevention of CIN after all chemotherapies in all cancer types in combination with all G-CSFs. The Company expects to submit an NDA for the same indication to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the second half of 2020.

08:51 EDT Heat Biologics provides year-end clinical, operational updates - Heat Biologics provided clinical and operational updates for the year ended December 31, 2019. Jeff Wolf, CEO of Heat Biologics, said, "2019 was an exciting year for Heat, as we advanced our therapeutic pipeline. This past November, we presented additional positive top line Phase 2 data of HS-110 plus BMS checkpoint inhibitor nivolumab (Opdivo(R)) in advanced NSCLC lung cancer patients at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Special Conference on Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy. We are highly encouraged by the data as we advance partnership and collaboration discussions. Earlier this year, we announced dosing the first patient in a Phase 1 clinical trial of our co-stimulatory HS-130, in combination with HS-110, for patients with advanced solid tumors refractory to standard of care, which marks a key milestone for Heat. We recently announced plans to develop a vaccine for preventing infection from the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus that causes COVID-19 utilizing our robust gp-96 vaccine platform in collaboration with the University of Miami. Heat's gp96 platform has undergone rigorous testing as a vaccine against SIV/HIV, malaria, zika and other infectious diseases in numerous National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Department of Defense (DOD)-funded mice and primate trials and has been tested in over 300 patients in multiple NIH and Heat-funded oncology trials. We believe this platform has the potential to provide broad protection against COVID-19, and possible future mutations of COVID-19 or other coronaviruses. We are encouraged by the prospects for this program and are moving forward with our partners to advance this vaccine as quickly as possible. Earlier this month we also announced a collaboration with the University of Miami to develop a proprietary COVID-19 point-of-care diagnostic test. The new paper-based test is being designed to provide a read-out in a fraction of the time required for most other tests, have no technical hardware requirements, have low cost of goods, be easily manufactured at scale, and provide binary readout if the patient is positive for a disease within 30 minutes. Unfortunately, current diagnostic tests, are in short supply and often take days for results. This diagnostic is being designed for early detection to provide critical and time-sensitive information to help curb the spread of the disease. We share our sympathies to those individuals and families impacted by COVID-19 and are committed to helping find solutions to this global pandemic. I'd like to thank all of the Heat and University of Miami professionals that have worked tirelessly to advance our therapeutic and diagnostic platforms. Importantly, we have over $25 million of cash and short-term investments as of March 23, 2020, which should put us on a solid financial footing as we advance our programs. Moreover, we believe that upcoming catalysts and milestones have the potential to drive significant shareholder value."

08:50 EDT Univar guides Q1 adj. EBITDA $150M-$160M, withdraws FY20 guidance - On Thursday March 26th, Univar Solutions provided an update on its business in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For the quarter ending March 31, 2020, Adjusted EBITDA, is expected to be within the company's forecast of $150 million to $160 million, previously communicated on February 25, 2020. The company expects to end the first quarter with approximately $700 million of liquidity, inclusive of over $300 million in cash-on-hand and additional availability under its committed, asset-based credit facilities. The company has no significant debt maturities until 2024 and the Company is in full compliance with its debt covenants. Due to the rapidly evolving environment and continued uncertainties from the impact of COVID-19, the company is withdrawing its previously-issued full year guidance and plans to provide an updated outlook once it has greater clarity regarding the implications of COVID-19 on its business.

08:49 EDT Toro Company provides update, withdraws Q2, FY20 guidance due to COVID-19 - The Toro Company provided a business update on the actions it is taking as a result of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Richard Olson, The Toro Company's chairman and chief executive officer said, "As the events surrounding the coronavirus continue to unfold, we are focused first and foremost on the health, safety and wellbeing of our employees, customers and communities around the world. We have adopted practices and policies to best support our people during this difficult time, while also enabling us to continue operating our businesses which are critical to helping our customers maintain essential infrastructure globally. The Toro Company is in a solid financial position. We have a strong balance sheet and adequate liquidity to navigate the uncertainty of the current situation and to be well-positioned when the health and economic environments improve." The company has preparedness and response plans in place at its facilities and has taken actions to keep employees safe and healthy. In line with guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO) and state and local authorities that are intended to slow the virus spread, the company has asked employees who can work remotely to do so and has implemented enhanced health and safety protocols to further safeguard the majority of our employees who perform jobs that must be done in our facilities. These include, among other things, increased frequency of and additional cleaning measures, suspension of all non-essential visitors and reconfiguration of work spaces and direction to achieve social distancing. The company also adopted a special COVID-19 leave policy that provides two weeks of pay for employees who have the virus, are involuntarily quarantined because of the virus or are without work due to changes in our production schedules as the result of the virus. The company intends to continue operations to the extent possible as an essential critical infrastructure business; however, it is presently temporarily suspending production or reducing levels of production at certain facilities due to the effects of the virus, including anticipated reduced demand for products in certain businesses. The company continues to have a strong balance sheet and liquidity profile, with no significant debt maturities until April 2022. Given the current uncertainties surrounding the economic environment and out of an abundance of caution, the company entered into a three-year term loan agreement for $190 million to refinance revolving credit facility borrowings incurred in connection with the Venture Products, Inc. acquisition and to add incremental liquidity. With the funding of the term loan, the company will have liquidity of approximately $810 million, including cash on hand and unutilized availability under its $600 million revolving credit facility. The company is taking additional prudent measures to further increase financial flexibility and liquidity during this period, including: reviewing all options to reduce discretionary spending; deferring non-essential capital expenditures; optimizing working capital; and continuing curtailment of share repurchases. As a result of the many and evolving COVID-19 related factors, risks and challenges that could negatively impact The Toro Company's business, the company does not have the ability to predict the level of impact on its businesses and financial results for the fiscal 2020 second quarter or for the remainder of fiscal 2020 at this time. Accordingly, The Toro Company is withdrawing its fiscal 2020 second quarter and full year guidance provided in its Form 8-K and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, each filed on March 5. The company is not updating its outlook at this time but plans to share further updates in its second-quarter earnings announcement and conference call expected to be held on June 4.

08:45 EDT Capital City Bank changes annual meeting to virtual format - Capital City Bank Group announced that, due to the emerging public health impact of the coronavirus pandemic, and to protect the health and well-being of our shareowners and employees, our 2020 annual meeting of shareowners will now be held virtually. As previously announced, the annual meeting will be held on Thursday, April 23, 2020 at 10 a.m., Eastern Time. As described in the proxy materials for the annual meeting that we previously distributed, our shareowners are entitled to participate in the annual meeting if they were a shareowner of record as of the close of business on February 26, 2020, which is the record date for the annual meeting.

08:43 EDT Bain Capital Specialty Finance issues letter to shareholders regarding COVID-19 - Bain Capital Specialty Finance announced that it issued an open letter to its shareholders regarding a business update amid COVID-19 pandemic. The letter follows: "The emergence and rapid escalation of COVID-19 has deeply impacted all areas of our lives in ways we never thought possible. While every dislocation is different, our experience successfully navigating through a number of other periods of extreme volatility has shown us the importance of transparency and regular communication both internally and externally. As you turn your focus on the health and wellbeing of you and your loved ones during these uncertain times, Bain Capital remains dedicated to safeguarding your investment in BCSF. We want to provide an update on the steps we are taking to effectively manage the portfolio through this challenging time. We are fully operational, and the global reach and cross-platform dialogue among Bain Capital's business lines is a clear advantage for our Private Credit Group as we all navigate the current environment. We have been in constant dialogue with the management teams of our portfolio companies and the private equity sponsors who own them. These conversations are just a component of our proactive approach to portfolio management. We want to use this opportunity to share our observations, provide an update on portfolio composition, and highlight the steps we are taking, including raising both new equity and debt capital, to position the Company to weather this storm while preparing to pursue new potential investment opportunities... At this stage it is too early to know how effective the containment measures being put in place will prove to be in terms of stalling the spread of the virus and allowing a return to greater economic activity. As a result, we are preparing for the continuation of an uncertain environment in the near-term. Some of the additional measures we have taken include: Frequent communication with our portfolio company management teams and related private equity sponsors in order to understand contemporary and expected financial performance; Re-underwriting each of our 114 portfolio companies in order to understand how they can be expected to perform if economic activity remains suppressed for an extended period of time; and Building an internal watch list so we are poised to quickly engage with these companies and their private equity sponsors... As a further precaution, effective March 27, 2020, we entered into a backup revolver arrangement with our Advisor with a maximum credit limit of $50 million and an expiration date of March 27, 2023. We believe the increased capacity available under this facility will provide us with sufficient liquidity to navigate the current market conditions and dry powder as we consider new investment opportunities. The establishment of this facility is further evidence of the support and conviction our Advisor has in the Company's business objectives, and the broader benefits the Company derives from its relationship to the Bain Capital platform. We are also actively pursuing opportunities for BCSF to benefit from the recently enacted CARES Act that provides a $2 trillion stimulus package for individual taxpayers and U.S. small businesses...In addition to the above steps, following deliberations with our independent board members, we have filed an N-2 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission today to seek to raise additional equity capital through a rights offering to existing investors. We believe raising additional equity now allows us to further strengthen our balance sheet and provide additional flexibility to support our existing portfolio companies over the coming months. We believe this ultimately will also enable us to be creative and forward-leaning at a time when many other middle market companies will be seeking additional financing and other liquidity providers may be retreating... While the COVID-19 pandemic is surely a fast evolving situation with multiple layers of complexity, we believe market conditions should ultimately favor long-term minded, value-oriented, fundamental investors. This has been at the core of Bain Capital Credit's approach since our founding in 1998. Rest assured the Company is well equipped to navigate the current environment as we remain focused on prudently managing the portfolio and our steady stewardship of your capital. We believe our investment, portfolio, and liability construction decisions have been well informed by the experience of the many investment and operating professionals at Bain Capital who have successfully navigated multiple market cycles and disruptions. As a business development company, we take our commitment to lending to middle market companies across the country and around the world seriously. Finally, we would like to thank all of you for your continued support as we navigate through this period together."

08:42 EDT Atossa Genetics CEO announces new COVID-19 HOPE clinical trial - Physician-scientist and inventor Dr. Steven Quay, MD, PhD, is announcing a new combination treatment with the potential to improve pulmonary function and reduce or eliminate mechanical ventilation in patients with the coronavirus infection. The treatment uses two drugs previously approved by the FDA for other conditions: nebulized heparin combined with N-acetylcysteine, termed "H-NAC." Dr. Quay is making this new clinical trial protocol available for use by the worldwide medical community. Starting today, doctors around the world are invited to directly download the protocol free of charge at www.DrQuay.com. At the request of the Division of Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the National Institutes of Health, the protocol has been provided to the Infectious Disease Clinical Research Consortium in the United States. The basis for Dr. Quay's recommendation for this new potential treatment is four-fold: The SARS-CoV-2 virus has a Spike Protein on its surface that potentially interacts with three molecules on the surface of lung cells: heparin sulfate, furin, an enzyme for protein processing, and angiotensin converting enzyme 2, a cell surface receptor. These interactions are needed for the virus to infect cells. Like a vaccine which teaches the immune system to make antibodies to block these same interactions and prevent an infection, Dr. Quay expects H-NAC to also interfere with these interactions, based on an understanding of the genetics of the virus and the biophysics and biochemistry of the Spike Protein, and the surface of cells in the lungs, heart, and other organs which are attacked by this virus. Laboratory experiments with the current coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, and previous human coronaviruses show that both drugs separately can interfere with infection in vitro. Twelve clinical trials in over 780 patients have been conducted with either nebulized heparin alone or in combination with NAC for the treatment of pulmonary damage in burn patients and in patients with Adult Respiratory Destress Syndrome. These trials showed efficacy, as measured by improved lung function and reduced need for mechanical ventilation, and demonstrated safety, with only clinically minor adverse events seen. Both drugs are currently FDA-approved for use by injection, are widely available, and are reasonably priced. NAC is also FDA-approved in an inhalation formulation for a wide range of pulmonary conditions, although not for COVID-19 patients.

08:41 EDT AVX trading halted, news pending

08:40 EDT Taoping raises $2M from recent financing - Taoping announced that it has entered into a securities purchase agreement with two investors on March 27, 2020. In this financing, the Company is issuing to the investors an aggregate of 1,714,286 ordinary shares, no par value, convertible notes with principal amount of $1,480,000 and warrants to purchase 320,000 Ordinary Shares at $1.5 per share. The gross proceeds to the Company from the financing are $2.0 million before deducting estimated offering expenses.

08:38 EDT Charles River enters drug discovery, development partnership with Deciphex - Charles River announced that it has entered into a partnership with Deciphex, a preclinical digital pathology software-as-a-service company. By combining digital pathology workflows with artificial intelligence, Deciphex's Patholytix preclinical platform can help maximize pathologist productivity and deliver quality data to clients faster. Deciphex's Patholytix Preclinical, is a technology for developing a workflow that empowers pathologists to generate primary diagnostic or peer review results from their computer workstation faster than would be possible either with traditional microscopy processes or with stand-alone digital pathology software. Through this agreement, in addition to Charles River being the exclusive contract research organization distributing the Patholytix Preclinical solution to clients, the organizations will work together to co-develop deep learning enabled tools to support accelerated pathology analytics.

08:36 EDT Osisko Gold enters agreement with Investissement Quebec - Osisko Gold Royalties announced that it has entered into an agreement with Investissement Quebec, a well known Quebec institution and long-term supporter of Osisko, for a non-brokered private placement of 7,727,273 common shares of the Company at a price of $11.00 per Common Share. After the closing of the Private Placement, Investissement Quebec will hold 5.04% of the issued and outstanding shares of the Company. The net proceeds from the Private Placement will be used for general working capital purposes. The Private Placement is expected to close on or about April 1st, 2020. It is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals including the approval of the Toronto Stock Exchange and the applicable securities regulatory authorities. The Common Shares issued under the Private Placement are subject to a four-month hold period from the date of issuance of the Common Shares under applicable Canadian securities laws.

08:33 EDT Transcat provides update, actions to address COVID-19 pandemic - Transcat provided an update on its operations and actions to address the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the nature of the services and products that Transcat provides, its calibration labs, distribution center and support offices currently remain fully operational. Transcat has implemented a number of actions in accordance with federal, state and local mandates to limit the spread of COVID-19 and to protect the health and safety of its employees, customers and partners. Those actions include enhanced sanitizing procedures, social distancing and remote working, travel and visitor restrictions, and new shipping and receiving protocols. The company will continue to monitor industry conditions and implement appropriate measures to address this fluid situation. Lee Rudow, Transcat's president and CEO, commented, "The safety and well-being of our employees, customers and the communities we serve remain top priorities. I want to thank all of our associates for their tireless efforts in keeping our operations running. Quality calibration and laboratory instrument services are a critical component of our customers' business operations, particularly those in highly-regulated industries, such as life sciences, a market that comprises nearly half of our Service segment business. Among many critical applications, last week we were onboard the USNS Comfort, the world's largest hospital ship, calibrating critical respirator supply systems before that ship set sail to New York City to serve as a floating hospital in that COVID-19 epicenter. We also have medical device customers manufacturing life-saving devices including ventilators and personal protection equipment, and pharmaceutical customers who are actively working on vaccines and COVID-19 test kits to help combat this pandemic. Transcat is committed to responding with actions to ensure that there is continuity of support through this global crisis." Rudow added, "There is little doubt that COVID-19 will negatively impact the global economy. Even Transcat, despite our concentrated focus on the life science market, will likely experience some short-term delay of work from some Service segment customers. That said, we expect to be well positioned for the likely pent up demand when the virus winds down and we also expect acquisition opportunities to be especially attractive at that time. In our Distribution segment, we do not anticipate significant disruptions to our supply chain in the short-term and are working with our partners to minimize any potential delays in the coming months. As we monitor COVID-19 and its potential impact on the economy, we believe our cashflow from current operations and strong balance sheet provides adequate liquidity now and in the foreseeable future." At December 28, 2019, the company had total debt of $19.7M, with $23.4 M available under its credit facility. The company's leverage ratio, as defined in its credit agreement, was 1.07 at December 28, 2019, compared with 1.12 at FY19 year-end. The debt and leverage ratio does not include the $12.3 million in debt used to fund the previously disclosed acquisition of TTE Laboratories, Inc. effective February 21. Transcat plans to provide a more comprehensive financial update as part of its fiscal year-end earnings release in mid-to-late May.

08:32 EDT Newtek Business Services outlines sections of $2T coronavirus stimulus package - Newtek Business Services outlined sections of the recently passed Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, the $2.0 trillion stimulus package, that relate to the efforts of Newtek Small Business Finance, Newtek's nationally licensed U.S. Small Business Administration lender subsidiary, to support American small businesses in these challenging times. Pursuant to the CARES Act, Section 1112, Congress has determined that all existing borrowers under the SBA Section 7(a) program are adversely affected by COVID-19, and are therefore entitled to a subsidy in the form of relief payments. Specifically, the CARES Act provides that the SBA will pay the principal and interest on any existing and current SBA 7(a) loan for a period of six months. These principal and interest payments will be made by the SBA directly to the SBA 7(a) lender and will begin with the next payment due. These payments will not constitute new loans for NSBF, but simply payments of principal and interest on loans that already exist in Newtek's SBA 7(a) loan portfolio and are current on borrower payments. In addition, in an effort to provide cash flexibility to U.S. small businesses impacted by the uncertainty of current economic conditions that make it necessary to borrow funds to support the ongoing operations of the business, by way of Section 1102 and 1106 of the CARES Act, Congress has created, and tasked the SBA and U.S. Treasury with implementing, the Paycheck Protection Program. Barry Sloane, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer said, "We applaud Congress and the President for recognizing the importance of the small- and medium-sized business market in the U.S. with the approval of the CARES Act, as well as recognizing the critical role the U.S. Small Business Administration plays in maintaining and strengthening the U.S. economy. This legislation confirms that our mission to finance and provide business solutions to this vital part of the U.S. economy is not only worthwhile to our shareholders, but is highly relevant to the U.S. economy's overall health and recovery. According to the SBA, 9 out of 10 U.S. businesses are defined as small, with 500 employees or less, and represent approximately 50 percent of non-farm GDP. The funds made available by the CARES Act for SMB's through our SBA 7(a) lending platform, as well as directly from the SBA through their economic injury disaster loans, demonstrate the significance of our client base and the SBA to the U.S. economy, and the lengths which Newtek, in partnership with the SBA, will work to service and support the U.S.-based SMB market. Under one section of the CARES Act, Newtek's existing SBA 7(a) loan portfolio of current borrowers will be supported by the SBA making six-months of principal and interest payments on the borrowers' behalf directly to NSBF. This will assist our current borrower base coming out of March with additional financial flexibility to make loan payments and preserve their cash flow for other working-capital purposes, such as maintaining their employees on payroll, as the economy recovers in their local markets. In a separate section of the CARES Act, the U.S. Treasury is releasing $350 billion in capital through the PPP so SBA 7(a) lenders can originate SBA 7(a) loans for pandemic-affected businesses. With NSBF's unique non-bank SBA 7(a) license with delegated authority to originate SBA 7(a) loans, the PPP will enable us to originate SBA 7(a) loans to businesses with 100% government guarantees. The 100% government guarantee will allow us to finance these loans without long-term capital as these loans will be available for sale into the secondary market. We will receive fee and servicing income for these loans, which is different than the usual SBA 7(a) financing which requires a 25 percent capital investment in the unguaranteed portion of the loan. These newly originated loans will give our existing and new clients 2.5 times their average monthly payroll expense to pay for wages, rent, utilities and other costs, and, if the borrower maintains certain payroll and headcount levels during the eight-week period following the origination of the loan, the principal of the loan used for these costs would be forgiven. In addition, during this period of time, we will continue to focus on our usual offering of SBA 7(a) loans, that carry a 75% government guarantee, and our portfolio company, Newtek Business Lending, will continue to focus on originating SBA 504 loans. Our emphasis during the next two quarters will be on our partnerships with, and provision of capital to, businesses through these government-guaranteed programs. In addition to the need for adequate financing, the coronavirus has also underscored the need for businesses to establish a safe and secure technological platform to conduct their operations and enable their staff to work from home in a safe, efficient and effective manner. Furthermore, the need for restaurants and retailers to expand their ecommerce and home-delivery capabilities has increased dramatically. As a result of these changing and magnified needs, our managed technology solutions portfolio company, Newtek Technology Solutions, based in Phoenix, AZ, has been very busy fulfilling these needs, providing solutions for a multitude of our clients."

08:29 EDT Kayne Anderson closed-end funds announces postponement of annual meeting - KA Fund Advisors, which serves as the adviser to Kayne Anderson MLP/Midstream Investment Company (KYN) and Kayne Anderson Midstream/Energy Fund, Inc. (KMF) announced today that in response to the COVID-19 pandemic it is postponing the combined KYN and KMF 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. The Annual Meeting, originally scheduled to be held on April 2, 2020, will now be held on Thursday, May 7, 2020, at 8:00 a.m. Central Time. The February 14, 2020 record date for determining shareholders entitled to vote at the Annual Meeting remains unchanged. A separate formal notice of the new date and time will be sent to holders of record.

08:28 EDT New America High Income Fund reduces dividend to 5c per share - The New America High Income Fund announced that it will pay a dividend of $0.050 per share on the company's common stock on April 30, 2020 to common shareholders of record as of the close of business on April 16, 2020. The ex-dividend date will be April 15th. The April 2020 Dividend represents a decrease of $0.005 from the Fund's dividend of $0.055 that will be paid on March 31, 2020. In determining to reduce the dividend, the Board of Directors of the Fund considered information regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on, among other things, the Fund's current and projected investment income from its holdings. The recent outbreak of COVID-19 has impacted issuers whose securities the Fund invests in and the market on which the Fund's common stock is traded. The spread of COVID-19 can have a significant negative impact as a result of closed borders, quarantines and disruptions to business operations, supply chains and consumer activity, as well as general concern and uncertainty. Many of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on economies and issuers, globally, are yet to be seen or quantified, and such effects may persist for an extended period of time and result in a substantial economic downturn. Health crises caused by outbreaks, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, may exacerbate other pre-existing political, social and economic risks and disrupt normal market conditions and operations. These factors can affect, among other things, the nature and amount of Fund distributions, Fund performance and trading price, the cost of financing and cash levels necessary to meet coverage requirements under applicable law and the Fund's line of credit, portfolio holdings and realized and projected returns. There can be no guarantee that a change in market conditions or other factors will not result in a change in the nature of the Fund's dividend or the amount of the dividend paid in the future.

08:23 EDT Bellerophon announces first patient treated with INOpulse inhaled therapy - Bellerophon Therapeutics announced that expanded access treatment with the INOpulse inhaled nitric oxide system was initiated for the first time in a patient with a diagnosis of the novel coronavirus disease at the University of Miami School of Medicine. The treatment follows the recent decision by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to grant emergency expanded access that allows INOpulse to immediately be used for the treatment of COVID-19 under the care and supervision of their physician. COVID-19 is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which is approximately 82% identical to the severe acute respiratory syndrome related coronavirus that caused a global outbreak between 2003 and 2004. Prior studies have shown that nitric oxide could provide benefit in treating SARS-CoV by preventing viral replication, improving arterial oxygenation, reducing the need for ventilation support and preventing the proliferation of lung infiltrates. Based on the genetic similarities between the two coronaviruses, the historical data in SARS-CoV support the potential for iNO to provide meaningful benefit for patients infected with COVID-19. Bellerophon is currently developing INOpulse for multiple unmet cardiopulmonary indications. The Company recently announced positive top-line results from its Phase 2 studies for the treatment of pulmonary hypertension associated with pulmonary fibrosis and plans to initiate a pivotal Phase 3 study in PH-PF. Bellerophon's proprietary INOpulse delivery system is portable and designed to deliver NO in a targeted, pulsatile manner that ensures accurate drug delivery and allows for use in outpatient settings outside of the hospital.

08:22 EDT OrthoPediatrics withdraws 2020 revenue guidance - Due to the rapidly evolving environment and continued uncertainties surrounding the impact of COVID-19 and the likelihood that this impact may materially affect the Company's near-term financial performance, OrthoPediatrics is withdrawing its previously announced revenue guidance of growth in the range of 22%-24% and investment in consignment sets in a range of $19-$21 million.

08:20 EDT Kayne Anderson MLP says had $506M of cash on balance sheet as of Mar. 27 - Kayne Anderson MLP/Midstream Investment Company announced an update on its balance sheet and leverage levels. As of March 27, 2020, the Company had $506 million of cash on its balance sheet, including cash it will receive by Tuesday for securities it has recently sold. The Company plans to prudently use its cash balance to reduce leverage levels over the next month in a way that minimizes prepayment penalties and maximizes shareholder value. Currently, the Company has $531 million of unsecured senior notes and $342 million of mandatory redeemable preferred shares outstanding. It is the Company's intention to comply with all applicable 1940 Act leverage tests as well as the covenants on its debt agreements and the terms of its preferred stock. As of March 27th, the Company's asset coverage ratio under the 1940 Act with respect to senior securities representing indebtedness was 267% and the Company's asset coverage ratio under the 1940 Act with respect to total leverage was 162%. The Company is still in the process of determining what portion of its cash balance will be used to redeem debt and what portion will be used to redeem preferred stock. For illustrative purposes, assuming the Company uses all of its cash to repay outstanding indebtedness, the pro forma coverage ratios are estimated to be 2044% for the '40 Act Debt Test and 239% for the '40 Act Leverage Test.

08:19 EDT Kayne Anderson Midstream/Energy Fund says has $146M of cash on balance sheet - Kayne Anderson Midstream/Energy Fund announced an update on its balance sheet and leverage levels. As of March 27, 2020, the Fund had $146 million of cash on its balance sheet, including cash it will receive by Tuesday for securities it has recently sold. The Fund plans to prudently use its cash balance to reduce leverage levels over the next month in a way that minimizes prepayment penalties and maximizes shareholder value. Currently, the Fund has $157 million of unsecured senior notes and $75 million of mandatory redeemable preferred shares outstanding. It is the Fund's intention to comply with all applicable 1940 Act leverage tests as well as the covenants on its debt agreements and the terms of its preferred stock. As of March 27th, the Fund's asset coverage ratio under the 1940 Act with respect to senior securities representing indebtedness was 263% and the Fund's asset coverage ratio under the 1940 Act with respect to total leverage was 178%. The Fund is still in the process of determining what portion of its cash balance will be used to redeem debt and what portion will be used to redeem preferred stock. For illustrative purposes, assuming the Fund uses all of its cash to repay outstanding indebtedness, the pro forma coverage ratios are estimated to be 1880% for the '40 Act Debt Test and 300% for the '40 Act Leverage Test.

08:18 EDT Microlab DCC Series POI solution chosen for Raymond James Stadium - Microlab, a Wireless Telecom Group Company, announces that the DCC Series Point-of-Interface integrated solution was chosen for the wireless system deployment in Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. This new custom solution enables critical network densification initiatives designed to enhance the fan experience by improving carrier coverage, increasing capacity, and allowing multiple carrier and multiple spectrum deployments. For carriers, designers and deployment teams, the encapsulated design of the DCC Series POI provides clean integration from the radio to the antennas for simplified distribution of mid-band and high-band cellular signals, the high-band enabling CBRS, LTE-LAA and 5G New Radio. The DCC Series solution is delivered as an end-to-end tested solution streamlining deployment, reducing on-site installation time, eliminating individual component testing and enhancing overall performance and reliability.

08:15 EDT Chuy's says 92 restaurants have transitioned to off-premise operating model - Chuy's Holdings provided a business update in light of the nationwide effort to contain the spread of COVID-19, including mandated restrictions on in-restaurant dining. At the present time, 92 of the Company's 101 restaurants have transitioned to an off-premise operating model and continue to serve guests through enhanced take-out and delivery. The remaining nine restaurants have closed temporarily. Chuy's guests can continue to order many of their favorite menu items and more through the Company's on-line ordering system and our national delivery partner DoorDash that has waived delivery fees for first time Chuy's customers through the first of April. Additionally, Chuy's continues to partner with Grubhub, BiteSquad, Waitr and other local delivery services in some markets. As a precautionary measure, the Company has increased its cash position by drawing down the $25 million balance under its revolving credit facility. At the end of fiscal 2019, the company had no debt under its current facility. With the draw down and existing cash, the Company has over $28 million of cash and cash equivalents on hand. The Company has also taken steps to place approximately 40% of its corporate and administrative staff on furlough. In addition, we have temporarily suspended all board fees and all necessary corporate and administrative staff, including senior management and other salaried employees, will have their pay temporarily reduced by 25% to 75%. The Company will continuously adjust its response to the pandemic until its threat to the Company's operations fades and it is safe to reopen its restaurants.

08:13 EDT Neos Therapeutics operates under reduction of hours amid COVID-19 - Jerry McLaughlin, President and CEO, made the following statement: We want to share the steps we are taking to ensure healthcare providers and patients continue to receive support from Neos Therapeutics and that we are doing our part to ensure our whole team, and the patients we serve, are safe during the COVID-19 global pandemic. To help slow the spread of COVID-19, most of our employees have been operating under a work from home policy in accordance with guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization and state and local authorities. As such, our sales representatives are not visiting provider offices, which we believe is a necessary step to help protect patient health and facilitate providers' attention to direct patient care during this challenging situation. Effective March 30, 2020, our organization, with the exception of a limited number of essential roles, will be operating under a reduction in hours or, in certain cases, furlough for approximately 4 weeks. We will continue to provide benefits, including medical, to all affected employees during this period. Neos currently markets Adzenys XR-ODT, Cotempla XR-ODT, Adzenys-ER for the treatment of ADHD and Generic Tussionex. All of our products are available to patients, and we have approximately 4 months of inventory on hand to meet market demand. Neos continues to closely monitor supply levels and will work diligently to mitigate disruption to patients, should any arise. Our Neos RxConnect patient support program remains operational and available to all commercially ensured patients. We continue to expect that the Phase 1 ascending dose study of NT0502 will be initiated in the second half of 2020. We will provide an update if this timeline is impacted by COVID-19. We are committed to continuing to implement measures intended to minimize any potential business impact from COVID-19, including implementing cost cutting measures, and we will continue to closely monitor, assess and respond to the situation as it evolves.

08:12 EDT Container Store to reduce workforce, adjust store operations due to COVID-19 - Container Store Group provided an update on its response to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic. Melissa Reiff, CEO, said, "We are making the difficult decisions to adjust our store operations and reduce our workforce in light of the challenges we are facing during this unprecedented time. While these are the most difficult decisions we have made in our Company's history, we have a responsibility to protect the safety of our people, while also preserving our long-term ability to offer jobs and benefits to our employees and product and services for our customers." Ms. Reiff continued, "Our sales performance was tracking to our plans until mid-March; however, we have since seen a significant traffic decline in stores which has been partially offset by a surge in our Online demand. I want to thank all of our teams for executing on behalf of each other and our customers in this challenging environment, and adhering to the strict health and safety protocols we have instituted across our stores, distribution centers and home office. The aggressive actions we are taking in order to tightly manage our costs, working capital and capital expenditures are intended to preserve our financial health while we simultaneously work to ensure we are ready to ramp our operations back up as soon as conditions allow."

08:11 EDT Assembly Biosciences appoints Jason Okazaki as chief legal, business officer - Assembly Biosciences (ASMB) announced the appointment of Jason Okazaki as Chief Legal and Business Officer. Okazaki joins Assembly from Gilead where he served as Gilead's (GILD) Senior Vice President, Legal and Assistant Secretary. The appointment was made in conjunction with Assembly's decision to consolidate the executive team at its South San Francisco headquarters. Elizabeth Lacy, who currently serves as General Counsel, Senior Vice President of Legal Operations, and Corporate Secretary, plans to transition from the Company to pursue another professional opportunity.

08:10 EDT Standard General responds to TEGNA'S announcement on acquisition approaches - Standard General L.P., the largest active shareholder of TEGNA, with ownership interest of approximately 9.7% of the Company's outstanding shares, issued the following statement in response to TEGNA's report on acquisition approaches. Soo Kim, Founding Partner of Standard General L.P., said, "We understand that TEGNA's process has stalled because, amid a global emergency and capital markets dislocation, this Board has created arbitrary deadlines and unnecessary preconditions. By their own admission, the company has been unwilling to provide access to information unless suitors first demonstrate certainty of financing. This approach would be off market in any deal environment, and particularly so under current market conditions. The Board's actions appear designed to end this process before it can even begin in earnest. This is just the latest in a troubling pattern of behavior. It should never have come to this, and shareholders need to hold this Board accountable."

08:08 EDT Muscle Maker opens location at U.S. Marine Corps Camp Elmore - Muscle Maker announced that Muscle Maker Grill will open today at MCCS Hampton Roads at Camp Elmore, a Marine Corps base in Norfolk, Virginia, a satellite of the Naval Station. The new healthy eatery is located at 9500 Fechteler Road in Building M225, Norfolk, VA. This restaurant will add to the brand's non-traditional portfolio and will be its sixth military base location with more non-traditional locations set to open throughout this year. This announcement comes on the heels of the brand revealing that it intends to open ten delivery-only kitchens to meet the growing demand of guests, and 'delivery-focused' shift in the marketplace especially in the wake of COVID-19. The first five ghost kitchens are set to open in Chicago.

08:08 EDT Ulta Beauty says all stores to remain temporarily closed until safe to reopen - Ulta Beauty announced updates to its operations in response to the continued efforts to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. "As COVID-19 continues to spread throughout the U.S., Ulta Beauty remains committed to taking responsible actions to safeguard its associates, guests and the communities the company serves. As a precautionary measure, the company has decided that all Ulta Beauty stores will remain temporarily closed until it is safe to reopen. The company will continue to consider available guidance provided by federal, state, and local government and health officials when making decisions to reopen stores. All guests can continue to shop through the Ulta Beauty app or visit ulta.com."

08:05 EDT PhaseBio expects readout of PB1046 clincal trial in 2021 - PB1046, a first-in-class, sustained-release vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) analogue is being evaluated for the treatment of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The company has temporarily paused enrollment of new patients in its Phase 2b study of PB1046 as a precaution to minimize potential exposure of this patient population at high risk of serious illness from COVID-19. However, the company has also informed investigators that they may continue dosing drug and performing assessments for current trial participants if they deem it appropriate and such activities are permitted by their respective institutions. Additionally, the company continues to identify new trial sites for future initiation. Although PhaseBio has been targeting to report results from this trial in the fourth quarter of 2020, the company believes that COVID-19 will temporarily prevent it from being able to initiate new trial sites and enroll new patients, likely pushing the expected readout of the trial into 2021. With patient safety being the top priority, the company will continue to actively monitor the situation, consult with necessary regulatory agencies and provide updates as they become available.

08:03 EDT LightInTheBox adding free packs of medical face masks to parcels shipped - LightInTheBox announced that it is adding packs of medical face masks to parcels shipped via DHL or FedEx to customers in North America and Europe free-of-charge to help those in need as the COVID-19 pandemic accelerates globally. In aggregate, LightInTheBox estimates it will ship one million free medical face masks in the coming week. As soon as COVID-19 started to spread globally, LightinTheBox began working with suppliers and factories across China to secure a sizeable stock of medical face masks, safety goggles and other personal protection and health monitoring devices. With the pandemic accelerating faster than expected globally, many people still face difficulties in obtaining protective medical supplies. LightinTheBox is leveraging its innovative logistics network and strong relationships with suppliers to creatively distribute free masks to those in need across North America and Europe.

08:00 EDT Orgenesis CEO says "well-positioned" to drive long-term shareholder value - Orgenesis provides the following letter to its shareholders from CEO Vered Caplan: "First, I'd like to share my sincere sympathies to those individuals and families affected by the COVID-19 virus. The entire biotech and pharma industries have mobilized around the common mission of finding potential COVID-19 cures and therapies. I am eternally grateful to all of our employees who are working tirelessly towards this mission. We have received approval from the regulators to continue working in our research and development labs during the pandemic, and we are leveraging all our knowledge and expertise in the field of cell and gene therapy, including anti-viral technologies relevant to COVID-19. We look forward to providing further updates on this front in the very near future. In more general Orgenesis news, since the beginning of 2020, we have dramatically transformed the company. This past February, we completed the sale of Masthercell, which generated approximately $127 million in net proceeds to Orgenesis. This sale was an important step in our strategy to leverage our unique capabilities that directly address the key challenges facing the cell and gene therapy industry. Despite the fact that CGT therapies have the potential to solve some of the most challenging diseases in the world, many of these therapies cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per patient, per year. In order to address this barrier to broader market adoption of CGTs, we recently unveiled our CGT Biotech Platform, whose goal is to decentralize the CGT supply chain and coordinate services across the entire product lifecycle from research and licensing, through clinical trials, cell processing and distribution at the point-of-care. Through this integrated approach, our goal is to lower costs, accelerate speed to market, and make CGTs more accessible to patients. Our CGT Biotech Platform is comprised of three core components. First is our broad therapeutic pipeline of proprietary and licensed CGTs, which we refer to as "POCare Therapeutics."Second is our growing suite of proprietary and in-licensed technologies, defined as our "POCare Technologies," which we customize to enable affordable, point of care manufacturing. Last is our "POCare Network," a collaborative, international ecosystem of leading research institutes and hospitals committed to clinical development and supply of CGTs at the point of care. The unification of these three components under one organization will enable expedited development of affordable and accessible therapies. Towards this end, we have been steadily forming key strategic relationships with leading research institutions and hospitals around the world. We are also licensing breakthrough technologies that complement our offering and support our model. As a result, we now have significant expertise and capabilities across a wide range of therapies and supporting technologies, ranging from Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes to CAR-T and CAR-NK, from dendritic cell technologies to exosomes and bioxomes, to viral vectors and much more. These capabilities have enabled us to launch an aggressive push into a wide array of promising new potential therapies. We'll be announcing more on each of these development programs in the near future. In the meantime, we have developed a highly efficient and streamlined organization, whereby we are able to share both costs and revenues with our partners in order to avoid the historically high development costs associated with CGT drug development. We believe we have developed a truly unique model with the ability to cost effectively develop and produce CGTs at scale, which we believe has the potential to transform the CGT industry. I appreciate the patience and support of our shareholders, especially in light of the current pandemic. We are committed to developing innovative solutions to this and other diseases by unlocking the power of cell and gene therapies. It is also important to reiterate that despite the current market turbulence, we have a strong balance sheet and are well positioned to drive long-term shareholder value."

07:57 EDT Oyster Point Pharma experiences impact to trial sites amid COVID-19 - Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Oyster Pharma Point has experienced an impact to select clinical trial sites during the month of March where ophthalmology practices were closed, or subjects were unable to attend protocol specified visits. This impact was limited primarily to Day 28 study visits, with minimal impact to earlier timepoints and data collection. In close cooperation with the excellent staff at the study's clinical centers, Oyster Point Pharma has instituted additional safety measures for ongoing clinic visits and implemented remote collection of data where applicable. Based on the data collected to date for the primary endpoint, and assuming consistency with the effect size seen in the ONSET-1 clinical trial, the study is expected to have approximately 99% power to detect a difference for each dose tested. Similarly, for the secondary endpoints assessing symptoms using the EDS scale, and assuming the effect size seen in the ONSET-1 clinical trial, the study is expected to have approximately 98% power to detect a difference.

07:56 EDT Pluristem treats first three COVID-19 patients in Israel under compassionate use - Pluristem Therapeutics announced that since its last update on COVID-19, it has dosed three patients in two different hospitals in Israel under a compassionate use program for the treatment of COVID-19, as approved by the Israeli Ministry of Health. Pluristem expects to enroll additional patients in Israel in the coming days and anticipates providing updates on clinical outcomes once significant data has been gathered. All three treated patients are in a high-risk group based on age and preexisting conditions, have been experiencing severe respiratory failure, and intubation with a ventilator. Pluristem is closely following the medical condition of these patients in conjunction with the hospitals' medical professionals delivering the care. Pluristem is prepared for immediate ramp-up of PLX cell production with consistent batch-to-batch cell production quality through its GMP certified manufacturing facilities in order to meet potential demand.

07:54 EDT Cytokinetics announces baseline characteristics from GALACTIC-HF - Cytokinetics, Incorporated announced that patient baseline characteristics and demographics from GALACTIC-HF, the Phase 3 event driven cardiovascular outcomes clinical trial of omecamtiv mecarbil, were published during the American College of Cardiology 69th Annual Scientific Session together with the World Congress of Cardiology. GALACTIC-HF is designed to evaluate whether treatment with omecamtiv mecarbil, dosed twice-daily in accordance with a pharmacokinetic-guided dose selection regimen, when added to standard of care, reduces the risk of heart failure events and cardiovascular death in patients with chronic heart failure and reduced ejection fraction. GALACTIC-HF opened to enrollment in late 2016 and was designed to enroll approximately 8,000 heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction who either were hospitalized for a primary reason of heart failure when enrolled or had had a hospitalization or admission to an emergency room for a primary reason of heart failure within one year prior to screening. Patients were also required to have a left ventricular ejection fraction less than or equal to35% and elevated natriuretic peptides. GALACTIC-HF completed enrollment in 2019, having enrolled 8,256 patients in 35 countries.

07:50 EDT Kiniksa highlights analysis from Phase 2 trial of rilonacept - Kiniksa Pharmaceuticals recently highlighted a supplemental analysis from its Phase 2 clinical trial of rilonacept, an IL-1alpha and IL-1beta cytokine trap, in a range of recurrent pericarditis populations. The analysis, which showed the corticosteroid-sparing effect of rilonacept treatment in the Phase 2 trial, was included in a virtual poster at the American College of Cardiology's 69th Annual Scientific Session. Dr. Allan Klein, MD, of Cleveland Clinic and co-principal investigator for the trial, is the lead author of the virtual poster Corticosteroid Tapering and Discontinuation in a Phase 2 Study of Rilonacept in Recurrent Pericarditis. The materials are available through the Science section of Kiniksa's website. Final data from the Phase 2 trial were presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions in November 2019. The data showed that rilonacept treatment in the study improved clinically meaningful outcomes associated with the unmet medical need in recurrent pericarditis, including resolution of pericarditis episodes, tapering and discontinuation of corticosteroids without pericarditis recurrence, reduction in recurrences of pericarditis episodes while on treatment and improved quality of life scores. In the supplemental analysis highlighted at ACC, patients from the Phase 2 clinical trial were divided into groups based on their use of concomitant therapies at baseline: Corticosteroid-failure patients with active pericarditis experienced rapid, sustained and clinically meaningful reductions in pericarditis pain and C-reactive protein, a biomarker of inflammation, and tapered or discontinued corticosteroids without recurrence of disease while on rilonacept treatment. Corticosteroid-dependent patients tapered or discontinued corticosteroids without pericarditis recurrence while on rilonacept treatment. Colchicine-failure patients with active pericarditis experienced rapid, sustained and clinically meaningful reductions in pain and CRP while on rilonacept treatment. Rilonacept was generally well-tolerated in the trial, with adverse events consistent with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration -approved label for the treatment of Cryopyrin-Associated Periodic Syndromes, including Familial Cold Autoinflammatory Syndrome and Muckle-Wells Syndrome. The most common adverse events were mild, transient injection site reactions that did not cause discontinuation. There was one treatment-related serious adverse event which resulted in discontinuation: a skin abscess which responded to medical treatment. Infections are reported in the rilonacept label for CAPS. Kiniksa has completed enrollment in RHAPSODY, a randomized withdrawal design, pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial. The primary efficacy endpoint is time-to-first pericarditis-recurrence in the RW period. Top-line data are expected in the second half of 2020.

07:45 EDT Plus Therapeutics licenses oncology platform, expands pipeline - Plus Therapeutics announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to license multiple rare cancer drug product candidates from private Texas-based radiotherapeutic company NanoTx Therapeutics. The transaction terms include an upfront payment of $400,000 in cash and $300,000 in Plus voting stock. Furthermore, the company may pay up to $136.5 million in development and sales milestone payments and a tiered single-digit royalty on U.S. and European sales. The transaction, subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the second quarter of fiscal 2020. The licensed drug portfolio is anchored around nanoliposome-encapsulated radionuclides for several cancer targets. The lead drug asset is a chelated Rhenium NanoLiposome, initially being developed for recurrent glioblastoma. RNL is infused directly into the brain tumor via precision brain mapping and convection enhanced delivery technology to deliver very high therapeutic doses of radiation to patients whose cancer has recurred following initial surgical resection and treatment with chemotherapy and radiation. The licensed radiolabeled nanoliposome platform was developed by a multi-institutional consortium based in Texas at the Mays Cancer Center / UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center led by Dr. Andrew Brenner, MD, PhD, who is the Kolitz Chair in Neuro-Oncology Research and Co-Leader of the Experimental and Developmental Therapeutics Program. The licensed technology was previously funded by both the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute and the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas. There is an active $3M award from NIH/NCI which will financially support the continued clinical development of RNL for recurrent glioblastoma. Plus Therapeutics is licensing multiple BMEDA-chelated rhenium nanoliposome product candidates as part of this transaction. The lead drug asset is being developed for recurrent glioblastoma, a rare, incurable, and fatal disease. A Phase 1, dose-finding trial is ongoing at the Mays Cancer Center where 13 patients have been enrolled to-date. Thus far, no serious adverse events have occurred, and further dose escalation is planned. A similar product candidate is in preclinical development for several additional indications including breast cancer, head and neck cancer, leptomeningeal carcinomatosis, liver cancer, and ovarian cancers. Additionally, Plus Therapeutics is licensing a second preclinical product candidate, a co-encapsulated doxorubicin and BMEDA-chelated Rhenium NanoLiposome for treating squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. These licensed assets are supported by 19 preclinical publications. Plus Therapeutics' growing pipeline will feature product candidates characterized by previously approved small molecules or widely-used radionuclides, enhanced with delivery and formulation innovations, each potentially eligible for U.S. FDA and European Medicines Agency designations intended to expedite development and application review.

07:41 EDT Cardinal Resources provides corporate update on COVID-19 pandemic - Cardinal Resources providef a corporate update to shareholders and commentary as to how the Company is managing the current COVID-19 pandemic. The Company advises that further to the press release dated 16 March 2020, the Company is working constructively with Nordgold. A confidentiality agreement has been executed with Nordgold and the Company has provided Nordgold with full access to the Cardinal data room to allow Nordgold to complete its due diligence as requested. It should be noted that whilst Nordgold has already acquired a 19.9% interest in the Company's shares, it has not made any formal offer to Cardinal. Cardinal will advise shareholders if a formal offer is received from Nordgold or there are any other material developments. On 27 February 2020, Cardinal announced that it had repaid $8.0 million to Sprott Private Resources Lending. Given the unexpected downturn in global equity markets and uncertainties as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Company has executed an agreement to redraw $5.0 million from Sprott. The $5.0 million may be redrawn by Cardinal in two equal tranches, with funding for the first tranche expected to be received imminently. As consideration for the redraw, Cardinal has agreed to pay a redraw fee as well as apply a 5% redemption premium on all future repayments of the facility. The material terms of the Credit Agreement with Sprott remain otherwise unchanged. Upon completion of the redraw of the entire $5.0 million facility, the loan position will be approximately $24 million. With current cash of AU$3.2 million, and redraw of the entire facility being approximately AU$8.4 million, Cardinal will have approximately A$11.6 million cash and facilities. The Company reasonably expects the Loan Facility will be fully repaid prior to the maturity date of 1 March 2021. Following advice from the World Health Organization and the Australian, Ghanaian and Canadian Governments, Cardinal has enacted changes to its exploration programme primarily focused on the safety and wellbeing of our workforce. All international travel has been suspended, while on the ground in Ghana, the workforce has been reduced to key personnel only. According to WHO Situation Report 68, there had been 138 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ghana, including cases via local transmission. Four deaths from Covid-19 have been recorded in Ghana. While fieldwork has been scaled back for at least the next four weeks, the Namdini project team is still actively working on adding value to the project. In February, the Company was awarded key water extraction permits, while earlier this month, the Government approved our Resettlement Action Plan, which will have significant health and wellbeing benefits for our local community. Further, the company announced the approval of the Namdini Mining Licence expansion from 19km2 to 63km2. First pass limited drilling to test one of the newly identified targets at Ndongo was completed with no mineralisation of economic potential intersected. Even though this very limited scout drilling has not returned economic mineralisation, recognisable altered, silicified, sulphidic zones were intersected and provide confidence in the potential for additional drilling. The first pass scout drilling programme of 23 shallow RC holes with 2 diamond tails was completed to test Target Zone 2 at Ndongo. Drilling comprised 1,960m of RC and 244.07m of core, totaling approximately 2,203.57m. The drilling encountered zones of variable chlorite-silica-carbonate-sericite alteration with sulphides. Results were intermittent including 3m @ 0.7g/t Au in NDRC342, 1m @ 3.2g/t Au in NDRC339, 1m @ 0.7g/t Au in NDRC329 and 1m @ 0.7g/t Au in NDRC334. Geological interpretation is ongoing and this process will incorporate all new assay results, geophysical dataset and geochemical data analysis for further targeting.

07:37 EDT Johnson & Johnson up 5% after announcing lead vaccine candidate for COVID-19 - In pre-market trading, shares are up 5% to $129.32.

07:35 EDT Aura Minerals completes acquisition of Gold Road project from Para - Aura Minerals and Para Resources announced that, further to the joint press releases issued by Aura and Para on February 10, 2020 and March 9, 2020, Aura completed the purchase of all of the issued and outstanding shares of Para's wholly-owned subsidiary Z79 Resources on March 27, 2020. Z79 owns through Gold Road Mining, the Gold Road Mine located in Arizona and various options to acquire parcels of land adjacent to the Gold Road Project, among other things. In addition to completing the Share Purchase, Aura has also advanced US$4 million to GRMC for the development and restart of the Gold Road Project. Aura will advance an additional $4 million to GRMC within one month of the date of closing. As a result of the Subscription, Aura, through Z79, now owns substantially all of the equity interests in GRMC. The Share Purchase was completed for nominal cash consideration of $1 and the assumption of liabilities owing to PPG Arizona Holdings, an affiliate of Pandion Mine Finance, LP, under an amended and restated pre-paid forward gold purchase agreement. Pursuant to the terms of the A&R PPF, Z79 and GRMC shall pay to PPG approximately $35 million in cash pursuant to scheduled payments, unless Z79 and GRMC elect to pre-pay the outstanding indebtedness owing under the A&R PPF on or prior to the end of 12 months from the date of closing, in which case Z79 and GRMC shall pay approximately $24 million.

07:32 EDT Hexo management estimates company will require additional capitalization - As at January 31, 2020, the Company held cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $81.4M. Management estimates that the working capital as at January 31, 2020 and forecasted cash flows will require additional capitalization in order to meet the Company's obligations, commitments and budgeted expenditures through January 31, 2021.

07:30 EDT AstraZeneca announces DAPA-CKD trial to be stopped after 'overwhelming' efficacy - AstraZeneca announced the DAPA-CKD Phase 3 trial for Farxiga in patients with chronic kidney disease, or CKD, will be stopped early following a recommendation from an independent data monitoring committee, or DMC, based on its determination of "overwhelming" efficacy. The decision to stop the trial early was made following a routine assessment of efficacy and safety which showed Farxiga's benefits earlier than originally anticipated and AstraZeneca will now initiate closure of the trial. The primary endpoint of DAPA-CKD is a composite of worsening of renal function or death, onset of end stage renal disease or cardiovascular or renal death in patients with CKD irrespective of the presence of type-2 diabetes.

07:29 EDT Biohaven trading halted, news pending

07:28 EDT Johnson & Johnson aims to initiate a Phase 1 study of lead vaccine in September - Johnson & Johnson began efforts in January 2020, as soon as the novel coronavirus sequence became available, to research potential vaccine candidates. Research teams at Janssen, in collaboration with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, part of Harvard Medical School, constructed and tested multiple vaccine candidates using the Janssen AdVac technology. Through collaborations with scientists at multiple academic institutions, the vaccine constructs were then tested to identify those with the most promise in producing an immune response in preclinical testing. Based on this work, Johnson & Johnson has identified a lead COVID-19 vaccine candidate (with two back-ups), which will progress into the first manufacturing steps. Under an accelerated timeline, the company is aiming to initiate a Phase 1 clinical study in September 2020, with clinical data on safety and efficacy expected to be available by the end of the year. This could allow vaccine availability for emergency use in early 2021. For comparison, the typical vaccine development process involves a number of different research stages, spanning 5 to 7 years, before a candidate is even considered for approval. In addition to the vaccine development efforts, BARDA and Johnson & Johnson have also expanded their partnership to accelerate Janssen's ongoing work in screening compound libraries, including compounds from other pharmaceutical companies. The Company's aim is to identify potential treatments against the novel coronavirus. Johnson & Johnson and BARDA are both providing funding as part of this partnership. These antiviral screening efforts are being conducted in partnership with the Rega Institute for Medical Research, in Belgium.

07:25 EDT Can-Fite BioPharma implements interim analysis for Phase 3 Comfort trial - Can-Fite BioPharma announced it is implementing an interim analysis of the Phase 3 Comfort trial designed to evaluate the company's drug candidate, Piclidenoson, in the treatment of moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis. Following the independent data monitoring committee's evaluation of the data, Can-Fite expects to announce interim results in Q4. The Comfort Phase 3 psoriasis study is designed to establish Piclidenoson's superiority compared to placebo and non-inferiority compared to Apremilast in patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. The randomized, double blind study is being conducted in Europe, Israel, and Canada. The study's primary endpoint is the proportion of subjects who achieve a PASI score response of 75% vs. placebo at week 16. The secondary endpoints include non-inferiority to Otezla on weeks 16 and 32. A drug safety update report filed in February with regulatory agencies reported that Piclidenoson, which has been dosed in over 1,400 patients, is well tolerated and has no emerging safety concerns. Additionally, the continued spread of the coronavirus globally, could adversely impact the company's operations and workforce, including the company's research and clinical trials and ability to raise capital, which in turn could have an adverse impact on the company's business, financial condition and results of operation.

07:24 EDT Johnson & Johnson announces lead vaccine candidate for COVID-19 - Johnson & Johnson announced the selection of a lead COVID-19 vaccine candidate from constructs it has been working on since January 2020; the significant expansion of the existing partnership between the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson and the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority; and the rapid scaling of the company's manufacturing capacity with the goal of providing global supply of more than one billion doses of a vaccine. The company expects to initiate human clinical studies of its lead vaccine candidate at the latest by September and anticipates the first batches of a COVID-19 vaccine could be available for emergency use authorization in early 2021, a substantially accelerated timeframe in comparison to the typical vaccine development process. Through a landmark new partnership, BARDA, which is part of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Johnson & Johnson together have committed more than $1B of investment to co-fund vaccine research, development, and clinical testing. Johnson & Johnson will use its validated vaccine platform and is allocating resources, including personnel and infrastructure globally, as needed, to focus on these efforts. Separately, BARDA and the company have provided additional funding that will enable expansion of their ongoing work to identify potential antiviral treatments against the novel coronavirus. As part of its commitment, Johnson & Johnson is also expanding the company's global manufacturing capacity, including through the establishment of new U.S. vaccine manufacturing capabilities and scaling up capacity in other countries. The additional capacity will assist in the rapid production of a vaccine and will enable the supply of more than one billion doses of a safe and effective vaccine globally. The company plans to begin production at risk imminently and is committed to bringing an affordable vaccine to the public on a not-for-profit basis for emergency pandemic use.

07:22 EDT Cabaletta Bio plans to initiate IND-enabling studies of MuSK-CAART in 2020

07:22 EDT Humana to waive medical costs related to coronavirus treatment - Humana has announced it is waiving consumer costs for treatment related to COVID-19-covered services. The company previously announced that it would cover out-of-pocket costs related to coronavirus testing. Now, costs related to subsequent treatment for COVID-19-including inpatient hospital admissions- will be waived for enrollees of Medicare Advantage plans, fully insured commercial members, Medicare Supplement and Medicaid. The waiver applies to all medical costs related to the treatment of COVID-19 as well as FDA-approved medications or vaccines when they become available. There is no current end date. Humana will reassess as circumstances change. Humana will cover the member responsibility under the plan benefits for COVID-19-related services whether treatment is delivered by in-network or out-of-network providers.

07:21 EDT ARLP suspends cash distribution, withdraws guidance due to COVID-19

07:20 EDT Myriad Genetics seeks Japanese regulatory approval for BRACAnalysis system - Myriad Genetics submitted a supplementary application with the Japanese Ministry of Health Labour and Welfare for its BRACAnalysis Diagnostic System to be used as a companion diagnostic to help to identify people with metastatic pancreatic or metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who have germline BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations and may be candidates for targeted therapy with the PARP inhibitor, Lynparza, subject to regulatory approval. Myriad estimates there are more than 78,000 cases of prostate cancer and 40,000 cases of pancreatic per year in Japan. The BRACAnalysis Diagnostic System previously was approved in Japan to identify patients with ovarian or breast cancer who have a germline BRCA mutation and are eligible for Lynparza therapy. BRACAnalysis is the only germline test for BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations to receive regulatory approval in Japan. Myriad has partnered with SRL Inc., a subsidiary of Miraca Group, to commercialize the BRACAnalysis Diagnostic System in Japan.

07:18 EDT BioCryst says EMA validates MAA for oral, once-daily berotralstat - BioCryst Pharmaceuticals announced that the European Medicines Agency has validated its marketing authorization application (MAA) submission for approval of oral, once-daily berotralstat for the prevention of hereditary angioedema attacks. With this validation, the EMA has begun their formal review of the MAA under the centralized procedure for all member states of the European Union, and Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. An opinion from the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use is expected within approximately 12 months. BioCryst expects three regulatory approvals for berotralstat in 2020 and early 2021. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is currently reviewing a new drug application for berotralstat and has set an action date of December 3, 2020 under the Prescription Drug User Fee Act. In Japan, the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency is reviewing a new drug application for berotralstat under the Sakigake timeline, and the company expects Japanese approval in the second half of 2020.

07:15 EDT AstraZeneca announces FDA approval for Imfinzi - AstraZeneca announced that Imfinzi has been approved in the U.S. as a first-line treatment for adult patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer in combination with standard-of-care chemotherapies, etoposide and either carboplatin or cisplatin. The approval by the FDA was based on results from the Phase 3 CASPIAN trial showing Imfinzi in combination with platinum-etoposide demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in overall survival.

07:14 EDT Medipharm Labs says market challenges are expected to persist in near-term - The company said, "The cannabis market challenges experienced in the fourth quarter are expected to persist in the near-term. Additionally, while it remains a rapidly evolving situation, the global COVID-19 pandemic is expected to have various operational impacts in the near term, including potential supply chain challenges, work from home adjustments, and enhanced safety protocols. The Company's manufacturing facility was exempted from the recent provincial mandated workplace closures as an essential service, the extent of the impact on COVID-19 on the Company's operational and financial performance will depend on various developments, including the duration and magnitude of the outbreak, and the impact on customers, employees and vendors. As a result, the Company has taken active steps in the immediate term to manage the business and maintain its liquidity and financial strength enabling management to continue prudently develop and invest in the business for the longer-term. In the immediate term, the Company is executing on the following: Diversifying and Accelerating Growth through: Prioritizing and accelerating new product development opportunities already in the Company's pipeline of 2.0 products and outside the current portfolio - including topicals or R&D for other delivery methods; Launch of in-house MediPharm branded wellness and medical products further diversifying the Company's revenue stream and targeting distribution across multiple patient and adult-use channels; Intensified efforts to supply international medical markets and enhance global distribution, now possible given receipt of first GMP; Entering new contract manufacturing agreements to enhance customer's ability to convert bulk extract inventory into finished goods. Maintaining Liquidity and Financial Strength through: Deferral of non-essential budgeted capital expenditures; Reduced employee base by 10% in Q1 and rebalanced production workforce to meet needs of current environment and future growth; Procurement driven cost savings initiatives whilst continuing to focus on improving operational efficiencies."

07:10 EDT Alio Gold, Argonaut Gold announce at-market merger - Argonaut Gold and Alio Gold announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for an at-market merger whereby Argonaut will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Alio. Under the terms of the Arrangement Agreement, all of the Alio issued and outstanding common shares will be exchanged on the basis of 0.67 of an Argonaut common share per each Alio common share. The Exchange Ratio has been agreed based on the volume-weighted average prices of Argonaut and Alio common shares over the 20 trading days ended on March 27, 2020. Upon completion of the Transaction, existing Argonaut and Alio shareholders will own approximately 76% and 24% of the pro forma company, respectively, on a fully-diluted, in-the-money basis. Benefits to Argonaut Shareholders: Enhanced Size: Elevates Argonaut within its peer group through an expanded asset portfolio and market presence. Improved Life of Mine Profile: Florida Canyon adds immediate growth and then replaces El Castillo, which is scheduled to close in 2022. Diversification: Addition of an operating mine in a market preferred geography. Improved Growth Profile: Provides immediate growth with additional long-term development optionality. Re-rate Potential: Catalyst for a share price re-rate through expanded production base and enlarged corporate size. Benefits to Alio Shareholders: Improved Financial Profile: Removes liquidity restrictions by way of a strengthened pro forma balance sheet, as well as cash flow generation potential from a diversified asset base. Ownership: Meaningful participation in a stronger combined company with a strong technical open pit, heap leach skill set. Diversification: Exposure to a multi-mine portfolio in low-risk geographies with a long history of profitable, cash generating production. Strong Development Pipeline: Enhanced upside potential from a strong suite of growth assets including the Magino project in Ontario, Canada and the Cerro del Gallo project in Guanajuato, Mexico in addition to the Ana Paula project in Mexico. Increased Capital Markets Exposure: Increased analyst coverage and share liquidity. Re-rate Potential: Catalyst for a share price re-rate through expanded production base and enlarged corporate size. Argonaut will continue to be managed by the executive team in Reno, Nevada led by Peter Dougherty as Chief Executive Officer and David Ponczoch as Chief Financial Officer. Argonaut's Board of Directors will continue to be led by Chairman, James Kofman and Argonaut has invited two directors from Alio Gold to join the combined board. Ms. Paula Rogers and Mr. Stephen Lang have been put forward as the Alio Gold members to join Argonaut's Board. Committees are expected to be reconstituted at the first board of directors' meeting following the close of the transaction. The Arrangement Agreement has been unanimously approved by the Boards of Directors of Argonaut and Alio, and each board recommends that their respective shareholders vote in favor of the Transaction. The proposed business combination will be effected by way of a Plan of Arrangement completed under British Columbia law. The Transaction will require approval by 66 2/3 percent of the votes cast by the shareholders of Alio at a special meeting of Alio shareholders. The issuance of Argonaut common shares in connection with the Transaction will require the approval of a simple majority of the shareholders of Argonaut voting at a special meeting. Officers and directors of Alio and Argonaut have entered into voting support agreements, pursuant to which they will vote their common shares held in favour of the Transaction. In addition to shareholder approvals, the Transaction is subject to the receipt of certain regulatory, court and stock exchange approvals and the satisfaction of certain other closing conditions customary in transactions of this nature. The Transaction is also subject to the closing of Alio's previously announced sale of the San Francisco mine to Magna Gold Corp. The Arrangement Agreement includes customary provisions including non-solicitation provisions, a right to match any superior proposal and a $2M termination fee payable to Argonaut under certain circumstances. It is anticipated that both shareholder meetings and the closing of the Transaction will take place in the second quarter of 2020.

07:07 EDT AC Immune announces 2020 research and development outlook - The company said, "The coming years will be transformational for the field of neuroscience and AC Immune is poised to make significant clinical contributions, capturing substantial interest and value in 2020 and beyond. The Company will deliver multiple near-term catalysts, including results from five clinical trials. The Company's sustained growth is driven by its industry-leading Roadmap to Successful Therapies for Neurodegenerative Diseases, and is fueled by its proprietary technology platforms, SupraAntigen and Morphomer, which continue to generate therapeutic antibody, small molecule and vaccine candidates. 2020 Clinical Readouts: Semorinemab, anti-Tau antibody: Phase 2 trial primary completion in prodromal/mild in Q2. ACI-24 anti-Abeta vaccine in DS: Phase 1b full study reporting in H2. ACI-35.030 anti-pTau vaccine: Phase 1b/2a in AD interim analysis in Q2. ACI-3024 small molecule Morphomer Tau aggregation inhibitor: Phase 1 results in healthy volunteers in Q2; data disclosed by partner in H2. ACI-24 in AD: Phase 2, 12-month interim analysis in H2. 2020 Preclinical Milestones: Alpha-synuclein antibody: started investigational new drug-enabling studies for lead candidate in Q1. Anti-TDP-43 antibody: declare clinical lead and start IND-enabling studies in Q2. Alpha-synuclein small molecule: identify first biologically active small molecule in Q2. Alpha-synuclein imaging agent: advance third generation candidate to clinical stage in Q4. Neuroinflammation: declare lead candidates for small molecule and antibody programs in Q4."

07:05 EDT AC Immune expects FY20 cash burn CHF65M-CHF80M - For the full year 2020, the Company expects its total cash burn to range between CHF 65-80 million at constant exchange rates.

07:01 EDT BNY Mellon names Thomas Gibbons as CEO, effective immediately - The Bank of New York Mellon announced that Thomas Gibbons has been appointed CEO, effective immediately. Gibbons has served as interim CEO since September 2019. Joseph Echevarria, a member of BNY Mellon's Board of Directors since February 2015, will continue to serve as Independent Chairman of the Board. Prior to being named interim CEO in September, Gibbons served as Vice Chairman and CEO of Clearing, Markets and Client Management.

06:56 EDT Dollar General announces 10% discount to first responders - Beginning March 30, Dollar General is proud to provide all medical personnel, first responders and activated National Guardsmen with a 10% discount on qualifying purchases. Individuals can present their employment badge or ID at more than 16,300 stores to receive the discount. Dollar General will offer the discount through April 30, and plans to evaluate the possible extension of the offer in the coming weeks, based on the evolution and status of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dollar General also continues to highlight its appreciation to its employees who continue to serve customers and communities through the company's mission of Serving Others. The company plans to invest approximately $35M in bonuses for all eligible store, distribution center and private fleet employees who perform work during a six-week period beginning in mid-March. Dollar General is also providing all employees with an ongoing 30% digital coupon discount on its private brands through May 4.

06:54 EDT SuperCom ships coronavirus quarantine compliance technology for pilot - SuperCom announced that it has shipped equipment designated for an urgent Pilot of its Coronavirus (COVID-19) citizen quarantine compliance technology. The equipment is comprised of products in SuperCom's PureHealth technology suite to include the PureCare smartphone and PureTag ankle bracelet. In addition, the suite offers a web-based SAAS command and control center to monitor and manage quarantine compliance. The pilot will run in two operational modes: smartphone only for low-risk cases on a larger scale, and smartphone with ankle-bracelet for more sensitive cases. These products are designed to assist government efforts in combating the spread of the virus through people location tracking and stay-at-home compliance rules being implemented around the globe. Reports from countries around the world demonstrate restriction of citizen movement is a consensus first step in combating the virus outbreak. SuperCom has a demonstrated commitment to secured boundaries projects which have been used to successfully identify, monitor and validate millions of people in over 30 countries across the globe in North America, Europe, Asia and South America.

06:48 EDT New York Mortgage says 'exploring additional financing options' - New York Mortgage Trust previously announced on March 23, 2020 that, in response to the turmoil in the financial markets resulting from the global pandemic of the COVID-19 virus, the company is engaging in discussions with its repurchase agreement financing counterparties with regard to entering into forbearance agreements pursuant to which each counterparty would agree to forbear from exercising its rights and remedies with respect to an event of default under the applicable financing arrangement for an agreed-upon period. As of March 27, 2020, each of the Company's repurchase agreement counterparties is continuing to engage in these discussions with the Company. The Company is also exploring additional financing options. The company cannot predict whether its financing counterparties will enter into forbearance agreements, the timing of any such agreements, or the terms thereof, nor can the Company predict whether it will receive additional notices of events or alleged events of default under its repurchase agreement financing arrangements or other financing arrangements or the availability of other financing options. The Company also announced that in an effort to manage the Company's portfolio through this unprecedented turmoil in the financial markets and improve its liquidity, since March 16, 2020, the Company has sold mortgage-backed securities receiving proceeds of approximately $1.7 billion and has reduced its outstanding repurchase agreement financing by $1.6 billion since December 31, 2019. In addition, based on information available to the Company as of March 27, 2020, the Company estimates that its book value per common share as of the quarter ending March 31, 2020 will decline by approximately 33% from book value per common share as of December 31, 2019. The Company cautions that persons should not place undue reliance on the Company's preliminary estimate of book value per common share as of the quarter ending March 31, 2020 because it may prove to be materially inaccurate. The preliminary estimate has not been compiled or examined by the Company's independent auditors, and is subject to revision upon completion of the Company's internal closing process and normal review and the preparation of its unaudited consolidated financial statements as of and for the quarter ending March 31, 2020, including all disclosures required by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, and as the Company's independent auditors conduct their review of the Company's financial statements. Additionally, the Company's preliminary estimate is based solely on information available to it as of March 27, 2020. There can be no assurance that the Company's estimated book value per common share as of the quarter ending March 31, 2020 is indicative of what the Company's results are likely to be for the quarter ending March 31, 2020 or in future periods, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise its estimated book value per common share prior to issuance of financial statements for such periods. While the Company believes that such preliminary estimate is based on reasonable assumptions and information available to it as of March 27, 2020, actual results may vary, and such variations may be material. Furthermore, the extreme volatility and turmoil that currently riles the financial markets makes estimates of asset values even less reliable than usual.

06:43 EDT Ready Capital provides company update amid COVID-19 pandemic - Ready Capital announced a company update related to the continued market volatility due to the novel COVID-19 pandemic and issued an open letter to its shareholders. The text follows: "In light of the increased volatility and market instability caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, we are providing a special supplemental update on our operations and financial position. The Company is focused on increasing liquidity, managing mark-to-market liabilities, book value preservation through pre-emptive asset management and identifying opportunities to leverage our government-backed lending franchises. To increase our cash balances, we continue to implement several measures. First, as announced on March 20, 2020, our board of directors decided to pay 80% of our first quarter dividend in shares of our common stock and 20% in cash. Next, we have focused our lending activities on our federally-backed governmental programs, including our SBA 7(a), Freddie Mac SBL and residential mortgage banking platforms. We have also been more selective in our fixed and bridge loan segments due to their capital-intensive nature. Additionally, we continue to seek to access additional liquidity by pledging unencumbered loans to our warehouse lines and we are continuing to monitor the portfolio for potential asset sales, should the need arise. Lastly, we are preserving cash by reducing cash operating expenses, with a plan to reduce staffing expenditures by 25%. Despite these proactive steps, there can be no assurance that macroeconomic conditions will not worsen, which may negatively impact our liquidity position or our ability to generate additional liquidity. The Company's investment portfolio is financed through a combination of non-recourse securitized debt, market-to-market warehouse facilities and revolving repurchase facilities. As of close of business on March 27, 2020, the Company has $1.1 billion outstanding on our warehouse lines, collateralized by $1.5 billion in principal amount of commercial real estate loans and mortgage servicing rights. We have an additional $284 million of revolving repurchase facilities collateralized by $429 million in principal amount of commercial mortgage backed securities. The Company continues constructive dialogue with our lenders and since March 1, 2020, the Company has paid $63 million of margin calls. In addition to the above liabilities, we have an additional $187 million of outstanding borrowings on our government lending segments, including our Freddie Mac multifamily and residential mortgage banking platforms. Given the governmental-backed sponsorship, we do not consider these assets to be subject to significant mark-to-market risk... The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the commercial real estate loan market and although future performance remains uncertain and may be negatively impacted, we believe there remains significant value in assets underlying our loan portfolio. Ready Capital's asset management team is connecting directly with borrowers to proactively resolve individual challenges. Across all platforms, we are re-purposing lending/underwriting staff to assist us in contacting borrowers, in many cases to discuss forbearance. We also do see significant areas of opportunity in Ready Capital's diversified business model, particularly in our SBA 7(a) segment. The Company's national SBA lender, ReadyCap Lending, is positioned to extend capital as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act ("CARES Act"). The proposal calls for existing SBA lenders to extend up to $350 billion in loans to small business to cover payroll, occupancy and operating expenses through the Paycheck Protection Program ("PPP Program") and more than doubles regular 7(a) lending capacity. The PPP Program includes a 100% guarantee from the federal government for loans up to $10 million and a guaranteed loan purchase from the lender's balance sheet. Ready Capital, by deploying the front-end technology embedded in our fintech lending platform, Knight Capital (which provides working capital advances to small businesses), is uniquely positioned to capture market share in this area as compared to banks who may lack the ability to source and efficiently process small loans. The SBA has designated Ready Capital as one of a handful of non-bank SBA lenders eligible to accept PPP loan applications with the potential for significant volume over the coming months. Additionally, our residential mortgage banking and Freddie Mac SBL segments remain active..."

06:38 EDT Facebook announces $100M investment to support news industry during COVID-19 - Facebook announced an additional $100M investment to support the news industry, $25M in emergency grant funding for local news through the Facebook Journalism Project and $75M in additional marketing spend to move money over to news organizations around the world. Through the COVID-19 Community Network grant program, direct funding is helping journalists cover stories. The company will direct a portion of these funds to publishers most in need in the hardest hit countries. The first round of these grants went to 50 local newsrooms in the U.S. and Canada. The Post and Courier, South Carolina took down its paywall for coronavirus stories. It will use the grant to cover travel costs and remote work capabilities to extend coverage to rural, news desert portions of the state. Southeast Missourian is publishing email newsletters highlighting coronavirus coverage. The newspaper will use its grant to bolster remote work technology and on contingency plans for reaching elderly readers should print distribution be disrupted. El Paso Matters, Texas is an online news organization launched earlier this year by former El Paso Times editor Bob Moore. The team will use their grant to hire freelance reporters and translators to expand coverage of coronavirus in El Paso and across the border in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

06:37 EDT Abbott receives FDA emergency use authorization for ID NOW COVID-19 test - Abbott said Friday that it has received emergency use authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the fastest available molecular point-of-care test for the detection of novel coronavirus, delivering positive results in as little as five minutes and negative results in 13 minutes. The new Abbott ID NOW COVID-19 test runs on Abbott's ID NOW platform. The company said in a statement: "We're ramping up production to deliver 50,000 ID NOW COVID-19 tests per day, beginning next week, to the U.S. healthcare system. This comes on the heels of our announcement last week of the availability of the Abbott RealTime SARS-CoV-2 EUA test under FDA EUA, which runs on m2000 RealTime molecular system for centralized lab environments. Combined with ID NOW, Abbott expects to produce about 5 million tests in April." Reference Link

06:34 EDT Gilead revamps process for emergency requests for remdesivir - Gilead Sciences will stop considering individual emergency requests for its experimental coronavirus drug, except in certain circumstances, as it grapples with overwhelming demand, CEO Daniel O'Day wrote in an open letter posted on the company's website. "Establishing the safety and efficacy of remdesivir, in partnership with regulatory authorities, is essential to potentially enabling the treatment of many more patients in the future. Multiple studies are ongoing, and we are on track to have initial data in the coming weeks. If it is approved, we will work to ensure affordability and access so that remdesivir is available to patients with the greatest need," O'Day said. For severely ill patients who can't get into a study, doctors can make a "compassionate use" request for unapproved drugs, which have to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. "This works well when there is only a limited number of requests-as is normally the case-but the system cannot support and process the overwhelming number of applications we have seen with Covid-19," O'Day said. Reference Link

06:31 EDT NY Knicks say MSG Chairman and CEO Dolan has coronavirus - In a tweet over the weekend, the New York Knicks stated: "The Madison Square Garden Company Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jim Dolan has tested positive for coronavirus. He has been in self-isolation and is experiencing little to no symptoms. He continues to oversee business operations." Reference Link

06:14 EDT Viad adopts short-term stockholder rights plan - The Viad Board of Directors announced that it has adopted a short-term stockholder rights plan, which is scheduled to expire on February 28, 2021. In light of the recent market volatility, our Board believes that the rights plan will help promote the fair and equal treatment of all Viad shareholders and ensure that the Board remains in the best position to discharge its fiduciary duties to the Company and shareholders. The rights plan will guard against efforts to capitalize on recent macroeconomic conditions, including open market accumulations and other coercive tactics, aimed at gaining control of the Company without paying all shareholders a full control premium for their shares. The rights are not being distributed in response to any specific effort to acquire or influence control of the company. Under the plan, one preferred stock purchase right will be distributed for each share of common stock held by shareholders of record on April 13, 2020. Under certain circumstances, each right will entitle shareholders to buy one one-hundredth of a share of Viad's Junior Participating Preferred Stock at an exercise price of $115.00. Our Board will be able to redeem the rights at $0.01 per right at any time before a person or group acquires 10% (20% in the case of a passive institutional investor) or more of the outstanding common stock. The rights will expire on February 28, 2021, subject to Viad's right to extend the date, unless the Company redeems, exchanges, or terminates the rights earlier. Subject to limited exceptions, if a person or group acquires 10% (20% in the case of a passive institutional investor) or more of the Company's common stock (including shares that are synthetically owned pursuant to derivative transactions or ownership of derivative securities) or announces a tender offer, and the consummation of that offer would result in such ownership (we refer to such a person or group as an "acquiring person"), each right will entitle its holder to purchase, at the right's then-current exercise price, a number of shares of common stock having a market value at that time of twice the right's exercise price. Rights held by the acquiring person will become void and will not be exercisable. If the Company is acquired in a merger or other business combination transaction that has not been approved by our Board after the rights become exercisable, each right will entitle its holder to purchase, at the right's then-current exercise price, a number of shares of the acquiring company's common stock having a market value at that time of twice the right's exercise price. The dividend distribution to establish the new rights plan will be payable to shareholders of record on April 13, 2020. The rights distribution is not taxable to shareholders.

06:12 EDT Kraton provides update on COVID-19 impact - Kraton provided a status update related to the COVID-19 pandemic impact on the company. Kraton continues to monitor the progression of the COVID-19 pandemic on a daily, if not hourly basis. While essential plant and laboratory personnel remain on-site, many employees are working remotely. The company continues to follow the orders and guidance of Federal, regional and local governmental agencies, as it maintains protocols in an effort to mitigate the spread of the virus and protect the health of employees, customers and suppliers as well as the communities. The Ccmpany continues to strengthen its balance sheet, most recently through the March 6 sale of its Cariflex business for $530M and the subsequent reduction in amounts outstanding under its senior secured term loan facility. For Q1, the company expects to report Adjusted EBITDA exceeding the current consensus estimate of approximately $46M. The company expects to release full results for Q1 after market close on April 29 and host a call to discuss Q1 results the morning of April 30. "To date, COVID-19 has had a limited impact on our business and results of operations. Our plants have continued to operate at normal capacities, and our supply chain remains intact, with adequate availability of key raw materials. Importantly, under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security guidance issued on March 19, as well as many related regional and local governmental orders, chemical manufacturing sites are considered essential critical infrastructure, and as such, are not currently subject to closure in the locations where we operate. While the European Union issues critical infrastructure orders on a country-by-country basis, thus far they have taken a similar approach to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security guidance," said Kevin Fogarty, Kraton's CEO. "Although there has been some disruption in global logistics channels, we have not experienced significant delays in fulfillment of customer orders. While the future remains uncertain, we believe Kraton's geographic and end market diversification remains a strength, as we serve many customers, including those in medical, adhesive and food packaging industries, whose products remain vital in the current environment," added Fogarty.

06:10 EDT Axsome Therapeutics: AXS-05 met key secondary endpoints in STRIDE-1 trial - Axsome Therapeutics announced that AXS-05, a novel, oral, investigational NMDA receptor antagonist with multimodal activity, met key secondary endpoints in the STRIDE-1 trial by rapidly and statistically significantly improving symptoms of depression on the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale, as early as Week 1 and for the overall 6-week treatment period, as compared to the active comparator bupropion in patients with treatment resistant depression. The STRIDE-1 trial did not reach statistical significance on the Week 6 primary endpoint on MADRS. STRIDE-1 was a randomized, double-blind, active-controlled, multi-center, U.S. trial, in which 312 adult patients with confirmed TRD, who had failed two or three prior treatments, were randomized to treatment with either AXS-05 (45 mg dextromethorphan/105 mg bupropion) or 150 mg bupropion, twice daily for 6 weeks.

06:06 EDT Synlogic provides business, clinical update amid COVID-19 pandemic - Synlogic provided an update on its business operations and expected clinical activities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the interest of patient safety, as well as aligning with the needs of clinical sites, Synlogic expects that enrollment of subjects into its planned Phase 2 clinical study of SYNB1618 in patients with phenylketonuria,or PKU, will be delayed and expects slower enrollment of new subjects into its ongoing Phase 1 clinical trial of SYNB1891. While Synlogic intends to continue to work with sites to complete preparatory work, it does not expect to be able to enroll subjects into its Phase 2 clinical trial of SYNB1618 until it is safe for patients to enter clinical trial sites. The trial is designed to evaluate safety and tolerability of a solid formulation of SYNB1618 as well as its potential to lower blood Phe levels in PKU patients. SYNB1891 is being evaluated as a monotherapy in a Phase 1 open-label, multicenter, dose escalation clinical trial in patients with advanced solid tumors or lymphoma. Four U.S. sites have been activated to enroll patients and subjects in the first two cohorts have been dosed. While the company anticipates the study will remain open and currently enrolled patients will continue on study, Synlogic expects enrollment of new patients to slow which has the potential to impact the availability of data in 2020. After establishing a maximum tolerated dose for SYNB1891, Synlogic plans to initiate a second arm of the trial in which subjects will receive escalating dose levels of SYNB1891 in combination with a fixed dose of the checkpoint inhibitor, atezolizumab, in order to establish a recommended dose for SYNB1891 for the combination regimen. In its enteric hyperoxaluria program, Synlogic expects to move a clinical candidate into IND-enabling studies in 2020. Synlogic transitioned all non-laboratory personnel to work from home. Business-critical laboratory and manufacturing activities are continuing under new guidelines designed to reduce the risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and maximize the safety of employees. Synlogic continues to assess business-critical activities and priorities, company policies and employee support. Synlogic will continue to explore additional business development opportunities and collaborations to maximize the potential of its Synthetic Biotic platform, including through potential application of the platform to the development of therapeutic options for the prevention of COVID-19. Synlogic ended 2019 with $127.1M in cash, cash equivalents and short- and long-term investments and reiterates that it expects this will fund company operations into 2022 under its current plan.

06:03 EDT Cunard announces pause to Voyages until May 15 - As the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve, Cunard has made the decision to take the preventative measure of extending the suspension of all voyages an additional month from April 11 up to and including May 15. Cunard will continue to monitor government guidelines and travel restrictions in ports of call around the world, and this may mean there are further changes to the timing of when each of the ships returns to service. For all guests impacted by this temporary suspension, Cunard will provide a 125% Future Cruise Credit. This Future Cruise Credit will be applied automatically to their guest account for use on a future Cunard voyage. This can be redeemed against any new booking, on any voyage sailing before the end of March 2022, providing the booking is made by the end of December 2021. Cunard is a part of Carnival Corporation.

05:48 EDT ASML updates market on expected Q1 results, primarily related to COVID-19 impact - ASML Holding provides an update on the expected Q1 results, primarily related to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19). ASML President and CEO Peter Wennink: "Until now the COVID-19 outbreak has had limited impact on ASML's manufacturing capability. Also, from a customer point of view, we have not seen a reduction in the demand for our systems this year. However, three COVID-19 related effects have impacted our Q1 financial results. First, we have experienced some delays in DUV shipments to Wuhan, China as well as to other customers due to shipment and travel restrictions regarding COVID-19. Second, we have experienced some issues in our supply chain, which for now have been solved. Combined with longer than initially planned cycle times for the first NXE:3400C models in final configuration, this has resulted in some delays in shipment. Third, due to concerns around the continued ability to ship systems in the current circumstances, some customers have asked us to expedite the delivery of EUV systems by shipping the systems before the normal Factory Acceptance Tests, or FAT. The implication of this is a delay in our revenue recognition as final acceptance will now take place after successful installation at the customer site. We currently expect revenue in the first quarter to be between EUR 2.4B-EUR 2.5B, with a gross margin between 45% and 46%. We expect the revenue that we were not able to recognize for Q1 as a result of the issues listed above, to shift to Q2 and Q3 of this year. "Despite the challenging circumstances, we have been able to continue ASML's operations although we, like many of our peers and customers, are dependent on future developments with respect to measures taken to control the COVID-19 outbreak around the world. Due to the uncertainties regarding COVID-19, ASML has decided not to execute any share buybacks in Q2 2020. This decision follows the pause in the execution of the program in the first quarter, after having already performed share buybacks under the new program for an amount of approximately EUR 507M. "The current coronavirus pandemic affects us all. Our primary goal is to ensure, as best as we can, that our employees and their families stay safe, whether they're on ASML premises or at our customers, suppliers or partners. Our second goal is to ensure the continuity of our business and our customers', suppliers' and partners' businesses, so that we can all continue to serve our end markets. We will continue to monitor the situation closely and we will provide more information in our Q1 2020 earnings report on April 15."

05:33 EDT Regeneron, Sanofi announce first patient outside U.S. treated in Kevzara study - Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (REGN) and Sanofi (SNY) announced the first patient outside of the U.S. has been treated as part of a global clinical program evaluating Kevzara in patients hospitalized with severe COVID-19. The global clinical program has now been initiated in Italy, Spain, Germany, France, Canada, Russia and the United States - all countries that have been impacted by COVID-19. This is the second multi-center, double-blind, Phase 2/3 trial as part of the Kevzara COVID-19 program, and the companies are continuing to work with health authorities around the world to secure initiation at additional sites. This follows Regeneron and Sanofi's announcement earlier this month of the initiation of the first trial, which is U.S.-based. Kevzara is a fully-human monoclonal antibody that inhibits the interleukin-6 (IL-6) pathway by binding and blocking the IL-6 receptor. IL-6 may play a role in driving the overactive inflammatory response in the lungs of patients who are severely or critically ill with COVID-19 infection. The role of IL-6 is supported by preliminary data from a single-arm study in China using another IL-6 receptor antibody. The trial outside of the U.S. will assess the safety and efficacy of adding a single intravenous dose of Kevzara to usual supportive care, compared to supportive care plus placebo. The trial has an adaptive design with two parts and is anticipated to enroll approximately 300 patients. The trial will recruit hospitalized patients from several countries who are severely or critically ill with COVID-19 infection.

05:28 EDT International Paper agrees to sell Brazilian corrugated packaging business - International Paper has entered into an agreement to sell its Brazilian corrugated packaging business to Klabin S.A. for R$330 million, with R$280 million to be paid at closing and R$50 million one year thereafter, subject to certain adjustments. This business includes three containerboard mills and four box plants. This agreement follows International Paper's previously announced strategic review of the Brazil packaging business. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2020. The company will continue to run its Papers and Forestry businesses in Brazil.

05:23 EDT AstraZeneca says FARXIGA reduced incidence of heart failure worsening - New data from a sub-analysis of the landmark Phase III DAPA-HF (Dapagliflozin And Prevention of Adverse-outcomes in Heart Failure) trial showed that AstraZeneca's FARXIGA reduced the incidence of the primary composite endpoint of heart failure, or HF, worsening or cardiovascular, or CV, death compared to placebo, in patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), irrespective of their background therapy. FARXIGA was evaluated in patients who were receiving a broad range of pharmacological treatments, device therapies and cardiac resynchronization therapy for HFrEF. A consistent reduction in the primary outcome was observed across all these treatment subgroups.