Stockwinners Market Radar for April 07, 2020 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

20:31 EDT Avid Technology sees Q1 revenue 13%-15% below midpoint of prior guidance - The company states: "Avid issued a business update in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The company is still completing its review of its first quarter results, which it will report on May 7, 2020. Based on a preliminary review of results for the quarter, the company expects that its subscription business will experience a record growth quarter in terms of net new cloud-enabled software subscriptions. However, the intensifying COVID-19 crisis during the second half of March negatively impacted product shipments during the first quarter. For Q1, the company now expects its subscription and maintenance revenue will be between $44.5M and $46.0M, slightly above the prior guidance issued on March 7, 2020; its total revenue will be approximately 13% - 15% below the mid-point of the prior guidance; its Adjusted EBITDA will be adversely impacted by the reduced revenue and is expected to be positive, but significantly below the prior guidance, and Free Cash Flow is expected to be approximately negative $7M due to slower collections and reduced billings in the second half of March."

19:00 EDT SPDR Gold Shares holdings rise to 985.71MT from 984.26MT - This is the 6th consecutive increase and the highest level of holdings since June of 2013.

18:24 EDT Prologis CEO: We are playing offense right now - In an interview on CNBC's Mad Money, Hamid Moghadam said Prologis has one of the top two balance sheets in the REIT business. He expects inventory to increase due to COVID-19. When discussing rents, Moghadam said, "We don't have a problem helping customers. We'll help customers with legitimate problems. However, this is not an opportunistic environment and no one should behave that way."

18:03 EDT Ternium sees operating results in line with previous guidance - Ternium announced that in light of the current economic uncertainty originated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Ternium's board of directors has resolved to postpone the company's annual and extraordinary general meetings of shareholders, originally to be held in Luxembourg on April 27. The proxy materials issued by the company on March 20 for such general meetings are withdrawn and canceled for all purposes. The company intends to convene its annual and extraordinary general meetings of shareholders to be held on June 5 and to issue new proxy materials on April 28. Ternium's board of directors will take this time to assess its liquidity needs and review its previously-announced annual dividend proposal for fiscal year 2019, which may be modified if deemed appropriate. Ternium expects for the Q1 to report shipments and operating results roughly in line with the guidance provided in its February 18 results press release, and to continue showing a strong financial position. Given the uncertainty surrounding the development of the COVID-19 pandemic and its implications, Ternium is not in a position to forecast at this time the effect that the pandemic may have on the industry nor its impact on Ternium's operating results, cash flows or financial condition beyond the Q1.

17:52 EDT CytoDyn clinical trial for COVID-19 patients initiated patient enrollment - CytoDyn announced that Novant Health is initiating patient enrollment in CytoDyn's Phase 2 randomized clinical trial for COVID-19 patients with mild-to-moderate indications. Novant Health is the first site in the southeastern United States to initiate this Phase 2 trial. It is the second clinical trial site in the nation. CytoDyn is also initiating a second COVID-19 trial this week. This trial is a Phase 2b/3 for severely ill COVID-19 patients and is for 342 patients, double-blinded with a 2:1 ratio. Patients enrolled in this trial are expected to be administered leronlimab for two weeks, with the primary endpoint being the mortality rate at 28 days and a secondary endpoint of mortality rate at 14 days. The company will perform an interim analysis on the data from 50 patients.

17:38 EDT Allegiant Travel: March capacity down 12.2%, sees April-May capacity down 80-90% - In a regulatory filing, the company said, "With respect to our airline operations: Capacity for March 2020 was down 12.2 percent from March 2019. Revenue for March 2020 will be approximately 40 to 45 percent lower than March 2019. We expect capacity for April - May 2020 will be down 80 to 90 percent from the same period last year. We are also reducing our schedule into the summer season. We have received unprecedented cancellations, and bookings for future periods are well off prior periods. We are continuously reevaluating our flight schedule in light of low demand for future bookings. Losses will result from the pandemic and our return to profitability will be impacted by the duration of the national emergency and the pace of the recovery for the entire airline industry. Last week, we applied for the payroll support funds to the Treasury department. We are pursuing government and other financing alternatives. Our current cash burn is estimated to be $2.0 to $2.5 million per day. Thus far, we estimate we may realize as much as $320 million in cash outlay reductions to our initial 2020 plan (updating the number from our prior press release) through the following initiatives: 1. Renegotiating payment terms and contracts with vendors. 2. Suspending all non-essential capital expenditures, including but not limited to, Sunseeker Resort, Teesnap and Nonstop. 3. Enacting a hiring freeze for all non-essential positions. 4. Suspending stock buybacks. 5. Suspending payment of dividends. 6. Executives have reduced salaries by 50 percent and Board members are foregoing cash compensation. 7. Suspending nearly all contractor positions and subscriptions. 8. Suspending non-essential training and travel (including Board of Director meetings which will be virtual for the remainder of the year). So far, nearly 700 of our team-members have volunteered for a 60-day leave, at half pay."

17:34 EDT Fitch downgrades ArcelorMittal to 'BB+'; Outlook Negative - Fitch Ratings has downgraded ArcelorMitta long-term issuer default rating and senior unsecured ratings to 'BB+' from 'BBB-'. The outlook on the Long-Term IDR remains Negative. The Short-Term IDR has been downgraded to 'B' from 'F3'. " We believe that AM is well-placed to cope with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, with very strong liquidity of USD10.4 billion of cash and committed credit lines against a short-term debt of USD2.6 billion. AM has a proven history of taking decisive action to manage crises, and a business that inherently features a countercyclical working capital cycle, which we believe will allow it to be free cash flow positive in even the most challenged quarters of this year."

17:29 EDT Idera jumps 30% after announcing private placement to fund melanoma study - Idera Pharmaceuticals announced entering into an agreement with a fund affiliated with an institutional investor providing for a private placement exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, pursuant to which Idera has sold shares of common stock together with accompanying warrants to purchase an additional shares of common stock, for aggregate gross proceeds of $5.0M. The price per share paid for the common stock was $1.52 per share. The common stock warrants have an exercise price of $2.28 per share, a term of three years and are exercisable after the Company receives stockholder approval and files a charter amendment to sufficiently increase the Company's authorized shares of common stock to cover the exercise of the common stock warrants issuable under the agreement. Pursuant to the agreement, the investor may, at their option, make a further investment of an additional $5.0 million to purchase shares of common stock , together with accompanying common stock warrants to purchase additional shares of common stock. The common stock purchase will be $1.76 per share. The Company plans to use the proceeds from the financing primarily to fund the completion, of the ongoing ILLUMINATE-301 clinical trial of its lead product, tilsotolimod, for the treatment of anti-PD-1 refractory metastatic melanoma. The Company also plans to use the subsequent proceeds, if exercised, to fund the potential NDA filing and commercial launch of tilsotolimod along with the ongoing ILLUMINATE-206 trial, and for general corporate purposes. Shares of Idera Pharmaceuticals are up 29% or 36c a share to $1.60 in after-hours trading.

17:20 EDT New York Mortgage 'made significant progress in strengthening liquidity' - New York Mortgage Trust announced the following updates with respect to its business. "The Company continues to navigate the difficult financial and economic environment resulting from the global pandemic of the COVID-19 virus," said Steven R. Mumma, the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Since March 30, the date of the Company's last market update, the Company has made significant progress in strengthening its liquidity position. Due to this progress and certain of the portfolio management decisions noted below, the Company is current with its repurchase agreement payment obligations, including margin requirements, and is no longer in a position to need forbearance agreements from its repurchase agreement financing counterparties." The Company announced the following updates as of the close of business on April 7, 2020: The Company has reduced its outstanding repurchase agreement financing with respect to mortgage-backed securities to approximately $150 million with one counterparty. The continued reduction in the Company's MBS repurchase agreement financing exposure was achieved through a combination of the sale of $291 million in MBS since March 27, 2020 and a $250 million increase in repurchase agreement financing with respect to the Company's residential mortgage loan portfolio. The increased financing is collateralized by previously unencumbered residential mortgage loans. The reduction in the Company's repurchase agreement financing for MBS significantly lowers the Company's MBS mark-to-market financing exposure, which was a primary factor in the reduction of liquidity to mortgage REITs in recent weeks.

17:13 EDT United Airlines extends no-cost re-booking flexibility - United announced that customers can make changes to, or cancel, any travel they have booked through the end of the year without fees if they act between now and April 30. Many customers' previous plans for travel, including summer vacations, conferences and events have changed or are uncertain due to the COVID-19 outbreak. To help with the uncertainty around their future travel, customers who wish to change their dates of travel can do so without paying a change fee. Customers who wish to cancel their travel can request an Electronic Travel Certificate for the full value of their ticket. United recently extended the expiration dates for all ETCs to 24 months from their date of issue. This new level of flexibility is in addition to United's existing policy allowing anyone booking travel between March 3 - April 30 for future dates to change their tickets at no cost over the next 12 months.

16:50 EDT Pinterest up 14.2% at $17.20 per share after above-consensus Q1 revenue view

16:46 EDT Pfizer to hold virtual-only 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders - Pfizer announced that its 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders will be held in a virtual-only format due to continued public health concerns related to coronavirus / COVID-19, and to support the health and well-being of our shareholders and other meeting participants. The previously announced date and time of the meeting, April 23 at 9:00 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time, will not change. Shareholders can find additional details regarding participation in the 2020 Annual Meeting at www.meetingcenter.io/2802277443. The password for the meeting is PFE2020.

16:34 EDT Tandy Leather discloses listing deficiency notice from Nasdaq - On April 3, Tandy Leatherreceived a notice from The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC indicating that because the company has not yet filed its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019, the company is not in compliance with the continued listing requirements of Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1). On April 2, 2020, the company attended a hearing before the Nasdaq Hearings Panel, at which hearing the company presented its plan to evidence compliance with the Rule and requested that the Panel allow the company to remain listed and eligible to trade on Nasdaq pending the company's return to compliance with the Rule. The Panel has the discretion to grant the company an extension to evidence compliance with the Rule through no later than August 10, 2020. The company is currently awaiting the Panel's formal determination in response to the company's request for continued listing on Nasdaq.

16:33 EDT iQIYI issues statement in response to Wolfpack Research report - iQIYI issued the following statement in response to allegations made in a report by Wolfpack Research: "The Company has been made aware of and reviewed the short seller report published by Wolfpack Research on April 7, 2020. The Company believes that the report contains numerous errors, unsubstantiated statements and misleading conclusions and interpretations regarding information relating to the Company. The Company emphasizes that it has always been and will remain committed to maintaining high standards of corporate governance and internal control, as well as transparent and timely disclosure in compliance with the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Nasdaq Global Select Market."

16:32 EDT Pinterest withdraws FY20 guidance - Pinterest is withdrawing the revenue and adjusted EBITDA margin guidance for full year 2020 that it initially issued on February 6, 2020. In light of the rapidly evolving and unpredictable effects of COVID-19, Pinterest is currently not in a position to forecast the expected impact of COVID-19 on its financial and operating results for the remainder of 2020. As the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to unfold, it has impacted Pinterest's advertising revenue globally. "The near-term financial impact of this pandemic is rapidly evolving and difficult to measure and quantify. First-quarter revenue performance was consistent with our expectations through the middle of March, when we began to see a sharp deceleration. Fortunately, despite weakness across nearly the entire advertising market, our exposure to some of the most affected segments like travel, automotive, and restaurants has not been significant," said Todd Morgenfeld, CFO, Pinterest. "Based on our current visibility, we expect to evaluate planned expenses while continuing to pursue and prioritize objectives that fuel the long-term growth of the company."

16:22 EDT TAL Education down 28% after reporting employee inflated sales - Shares of TAL Education are sliding in after-hours trading after the company reported that it discovered "certain employee wrongdoing" in the company's routine internal auditing process. TAL discovered irregularities and violations of the company's business conduct and internal control policies and said it suspects that the employee of question "conspired with external vendors to wrongly inflate 'Light Class' sales by forging contracts and other documentations." Following the disclosure, TAL shares declined $15.80, or 28.3%, to $40.01 after the closing bell.

16:21 EDT Levi Strauss up 4.4% at $12.49 per share after Q1 earnings beat

16:18 EDT Alamo halts salary increases, says roughly 1,210 staff not working - Alamo Group provided an update on its current business operations as a result of the expanding impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. While most of the company's operations remain open, all are being affected to some extent by the spread of the virus, it said. Previously, the company announced the temporary closure of its facilities in France. During the past week, the company's Rivard plant in Daumeray has reopened on a partial basis and the other two French locations are working on plans to resume operations as well. Alamo's two U.K. locations also remain temporarily closed, though they too are developing plans to reopen. In North America two of the company's four manufacturing plants in Canada are now closed, but as with all closed facilities, they still have limited resources available to make emergency shipments of parts and equipment and staff working remotely to support customer needs and maintain administrative functions. In the U.S., Alamo's Super Products plant near Milwaukee, Wisconsin which was previously announced as closed has now resumed operations. Nearly all other Alamo Group facilities globally are still functioning, though at different levels of capacity due to a combination of softer demand in the market place, supply chain disruptions and employee restrictions. As a result of the various challenges related to COVID-19, Alamo has temporarily furloughed a number of both hourly and salaried employees, with the company's Gradall, Morbark and Rayco facilities experiencing the most significant furlough activity. Out of a total staff of nearly 4,300 workers globally, approximately 1,210 are not working as a result of a temporary plant closure, a temporary furlough or for other reasons relating to the COVID 19 pandemic. This number changes on a daily basis as conditions warrant. In addition, Alamo has nearly 500 members of staff working remotely. Alamo Group has also taken a number of other steps to control costs and manage cash flow in response to the current situation. These measures include reductions in indirect spending, restrictions on travel, limiting capital expenditures, suspension of the Company's share repurchase program and reducing inventory to match current demand levels, among others. As a further step in controlling expenses, Alamo Group has temporarily halted all U.S. salaried staff merit pay increases for the time being and rolled back any that had already taken place this year to 2019 levels. In addition, the company's Board of Directors has temporarily suspended cash compensation for all of its independent Board members until further notice.

16:17 EDT Haynes announces 10% reduction in the base salaries in executive team - Haynes International announced, effective April 6th a temporary 10% reduction in the base salaries of its President and CEO, its Vice Presidents and other members of the executive team, including the Company's named executive officers. Additionally, the Board of Directors temporarily reduced its total cash compensation by 10%. The reductions were agreed upon by management and the Board of Directors as part of the Company's measures to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company's business. Further, the Company extended its two-week outage to three weeks, ending on Sunday, April 12.

16:16 EDT Northwest Pipe ordered to temporarily close plant operations in Mexico - Northwest Pipe announced it has been ordered to close its water infrastructure manufacturing facility in San Luis Rio Colorada, Mexico, through April 30 as a result of mandates made by Mexican authorities that companies that do not carry out essential activities must suspend business operations in order to combat and eradicate the existence and transmission of coronavirus disease 2019. A United States government agency is administering the construction of a major water infrastructure project that relies on steel pressure pipe being produced at the SLRC plant. The company is currently working with that agency to make appeals to State and Federal authorities in Mexico to ensure they consider the importance of this project. The company's goal is to convince the Mexican authorities that the company's manufacturing is essential. "The safety of all our employees has always been our first priority. We are also very aware of our responsibility to provide critical water transmission systems and are disappointed in the Mexican government's stance on the essential nature of our business," said Scott Montross, President and CEO of Northwest Pipe Company. "We hope that our efforts to convey the critical role that our SLRC facility plays will become apparent to the Mexican government and look forward to re-opening the facility as soon as possible. In the meantime, we are fortunate to have other production locations that can be deployed as necessary to satisfy future orders while production is disrupted at SLRC. The company intends to continue to operate our plants in the United States that are producing critical water infrastructure products."

16:15 EDT Levi Strauss withdraws FY20 guidance - Given the substantial uncertainty introduced by the global spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent economic impact, the company has withdrawn all guidance provided on January 30, 2020, and is not providing further guidance at this time.

16:14 EDT Levi Strauss suspending stock buybacks - The company states: "We believe we will have adequate liquidity over the next 12 months to operate our business and to meet our cash requirements. As of February 23, 2020, we had cash and cash equivalents totaling approximately $873.6 million, short-term investments of $84.0 million and unused availability under the credit facility of $819.5 million, resulting in a total liquidity position of approximately $1.8 billion. We are also taking preemptive action to preserve our liquidity and manage our cash flow, such as reducing our discretionary spending, revisiting our investment strategies, suspending our share buyback program until further notice, and reducing payroll costs, including through employee furloughs and pay cuts. In April, 2020, as a precautionary measure to maximize our liquidity and to increase our available cash on hand, we drew down $300 million on our senior secured revolving credit facility. The proceeds will be available to be used for working capital, general corporate or other purposes."

16:13 EDT Organovo terminates merger agreement with Tarveda Therapeutics - Organovo Holdings announced that it has terminated the merger agreement with Tarveda Therapeutics, originally announced on December 16, 2019, and will continue to operate as an independent company. The company had submitted the merger proposal and other related proposals to be voted upon at a Special Meeting of Stockholders, as described in its definitive proxy materials filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 24, 2020. The Special Meeting of Stockholders was held on March 26, 2020 and adjourned until today. At today's reconvened special meeting, Organovo's stockholders did not approve the merger related proposal and Organovo terminated the merger agreement in accordance with its terms. Organovo notes that among other items voted upon through this process, its stockholders have approved the proposal to effect a reverse stock split of 1 share for every 20 to 40 shares of existing common stock, such reverse stock split to be carried out at the Board's discretion.

16:12 EDT TAL says employee conspired with vendors to wrongly inflate 'Light Class' sales - TAL Education announced certain employee wrongdoing discovered in the company's routine internal auditing process. TAL discovered irregularities and violations of the company's business conduct and internal control policies by an employee in the company's newly introduced "Light Class" business. Upon such discovery, TAL immediately reported to the local police. The employee has been taken into custody by the local police. Based upon the company's routine internal audit, the company suspects that the employee of question conspired with external vendors to wrongly inflate "Light Class" sales by forging contracts and other documentations. For the fiscal year 2020 ended February 29, 2020, "Light Class" sales accounted for approximately 3% to 4% of the company's total estimated revenues.

16:11 EDT Greenhill & Co. to hold virtual Annual Shareholder Meeting for 2020 - Greenhill & Co. announced that its 2020 Annual Meeting of Shareholders will be conducted exclusively online by remote communication. The decision to move to a virtual meeting was based on public health concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic and guidance from governmental authorities, including the New York State on PAUSE Executive Order. The meeting will be held Thursday, April 23 at 10:30 a.m. ET. Virtual meeting link: www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/GHL2020.

16:09 EDT Mesa Air says March block hours down 14.8% to 33,464 - Mesa Airlines reported 33,464 block hours in March 2020, a 14.8 percent drop from March 2019 as a result of reduced schedules during the COVID-19 outbreak. The company also reported controllable completion factors of 99.85 percent and 99.99 percent for American and United respectively. Commenting on the results, Mesa Air Group Chairman and CEO Jonathan Ornstein said, "Our industry is in uncharted territory. The drop in departures and block hours reflects the significantly reduced demand our partners are seeing as a result of concerns over COVID-19. I am incredibly proud and thankful for the performance our people have continued to deliver during this turbulent time."

16:08 EDT PTC Therapeutics awarded extension for review of risdiplam by FDA - PTC Therapeutics (PTCT) announced that the FDA has extended the Prescription Drug User Fee Act, or PDUFA, date for its review of the New Drug Application, or NDA, of risdiplam to August 24. Roche (RHHBY) recently submitted additional data including comprehensive data from SUNFISH part 2 to help provide access to risdiplam for a broad range of people living with spinal muscular atrophy, SMA, triggering this extension. The FDA has informed Roche that the review team is working expeditiously to complete their review of the application as quickly as possible. The FDA has also indicated to Roche that no substantive review issues have been identified to date. In order to further support broad, global access to risdiplam for people living with SMA, Roche has submitted applications for approval in Indonesia, Taiwan, Chile, Brazil, South Korea and Russia and the submission of the filing in China is imminent. The submission of a Marketing Authorization Application to the EMA and filings in other international markets remain on track for mid-2020.

16:06 EDT Genentech says FDA extends PDUFA date for risdiplam NDA review - Genentech, a member of the Roche Group, announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has extended the Prescription Drug User Fee Act date for its review of the New Drug Application of risdiplam with a decision expected by August 24, 2020. The extension is a result of the recent submission of additional data by Genentech, including data from the pivotal SUNFISH Part 2 study, in close collaboration with the FDA. These data were recently presented at the 2nd International Scientific and Clinical Congress on Spinal Muscular Atrophy. In November 2019, the FDA granted Priority Review for risdiplam with a decision for approval expected by May 24, 2020. In February 2020, based on discussions with the FDA, Genentech submitted additional data which could help ensure access to risdiplam for a broad range of people living with the condition, if approved. This included 12-month efficacy and safety data from the pivotal SUNFISH Part 2 study (n=180), the only placebo-controlled study ever undertaken in people aged 2-25 years with Type 2 or 3 SMA. Given the volume of additional data submitted, the FDA requires more time for review. "We strongly believe in the potential of risdiplam as a new therapeutic option and recognize that unmet need remains in the treatment of SMA," said Levi Garraway, M.D., Ph.D., chief medical officer and head of Global Product Development. "We are working closely with the FDA to support the review of risdiplam. Our goal is to bring this therapy to infants, children and adults living with SMA as quickly as possible."

16:03 EDT AGNC Investment changes 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to virtual format - AGNC Investment announced that due to the emerging public health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Stay at Home Order issued in the State of Maryland, and to protect the health and wellbeing of its stockholders and employees, the company will hold its 2020 Annual Meeting of Stockholders in a virtual only format conducted by live audio webcast. As previously announced, the Annual Meeting will be held on April 23, at 9:00 a.m. ET. Stockholders will not be able to attend the Annual Meeting in person; however, stockholders of record as of the close of business on February 24 will be able to vote their shares and submit questions during the meeting through the virtual meeting platform.

16:00 EDT BlackRock, Microsoft partner to host Aladdin on Azure - BlackRock (BLK) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) have formed a strategic partnership to host BlackRock's Aladdin infrastructure on the Microsoft Azure cloud platform, bringing enhanced capabilities to BlackRock and its Aladdin clients, which include many of the world's most sophisticated institutional investors and wealth managers. "As both a user and a provider of Aladdin, this decision reflects BlackRock's ongoing commitment to continuous innovation and scalable operating solutions," said Rob Goldstein, Chief Operating Officer of BlackRock. "Aladdin infrastructure deployed on Microsoft Azure's cloud platform will provide BlackRock with enhanced capabilities to deliver the best outcomes for our Aladdin clients."

15:51 EDT Apple publishes fitting guide for new healthcare COVID-19 face shield - Apple CEO Tim Cook announced that company will design and produce face shields for medical workers during the coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic. In an earlier tweet, the Apple CEO said, "Apple is dedicated to supporting the worldwide response to COVID-19. We've now sourced over 20M masks through our supply chain. Our design, engineering, operations and packaging teams are also working with suppliers to design, produce and ship face shields for medical workers." On Tuesday, the company published directions on how to fit the new face shields. Reference Link

13:19 EDT Triumph Group jumps 30% after receiving order for digital electronics from DLA - Triumph Group recently announced that it received the third delivery order from the Defense Logistics Agency for enhanced digital electronic control units, EDECUs, for use in the U.S. Army's UH-60 Black Hawk and AH-64 Apache fleets. The $17.3M order is part of a five-year contract to complete the upgrade of approximately 3,100 digital electronic control units on the two fleets. "As aftermarket support continues to be increasingly important to our military and defense customers, Triumph is pleased to continue upgrading the EDECUs on the critical Black Hawk and Apache fleets," said Bill Kircher, Executive Vice President of Triumph Systems & Support. "This long-term agreement has positioned us to deliver value and reliability over a multi-year period that best meets the DLA's needs, and we are committed to delivering the remaining units with the highest quality in the years ahead." Shares of Triumph Group are up 30.20% or $1.75 to $7.55 per share.

13:02 EDT Aeterna Zentaris says EMA accepts modification to PIP for macimorelin - Aeterna Zentaris announced the decision of the European Medicines Agency to accept a modification request by Aeterna Zentaris of the company's Pediatric Investigation Plan for macimorelin as originally approved in March 2017 which covered the conduct of two pediatric studies and defined relevant key elements in the outline of these studies. The company recently announced the positive results and successful completion of the first of these studies, Study P01. The goal of Study P01 was to establish a dose that could both be safely administered to pediatric patients and cause a clear rise in growth hormone concentration in subjects ultimately diagnosed as not having GHD. The second pediatric study, Study P02, is designed to investigate the diagnostic efficacy and safety of macimorelin acetate in pediatric patients from 2 years of age to 18 years of age with suspected growth hormone deficiency.

12:55 EDT TJX CEO, Executive Chairman salaries to be reduced by 30% - TJX's board approved certain base salary adjustments for the period beginning on April 12 and ending on July 4, as follows: the base salary of Ernie Herrman, CEO and President, and Carol Meyrowitz, Executive Chairman, will be reduced by 30%, and the base salary of each other executive officer of the company will be reduced by 20%. The board also approved salary reductions for other senior executives of the company, and agreed to a reduction in its cash retainer fees, in each case, for this same period.

12:21 EDT Golar LNG unit receives force majeure notice from BP Mauritania Investments - Gimi MS Corp., a subsidiary of Golar LNG (GLNG), received written notification of a force majeure claim from BP Mauritania Investments Ltd (BP) under the Lease and Operate Agreement, dated February 26, 2019, between the company and BP, relating to the Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project. The Notice received from BP claims that due to the recent outbreak of the novel coronavirus around the globe, BP is not able to be ready to receive the floating liquefied natural gas facility "GIMI" on the target connection date in 2022. BP estimates at this stage that the consequential delay caused by the claimed force majeure event is in the order of one year and that it is not currently possible to mitigate or shorten this delay. Golar has asked BP to clarify how a force majeure event discovered as recently as the end of March 2020 could immediately impact the schedule by an estimated one year. Based on the information received as of today the company is engaging in clarification and an active dialogue with BP to establish the duration of the delay and the extent to which this has been caused by the claimed force majeure event. However, in anticipation of a potential delay, the company has commenced discussions with its main building contractor, Keppel Shipyard Limited, to re-schedule activities in order to reduce and reprofile its capital spending commitments for 2020 and 2021.

12:19 EDT P A M Transport Services trading halted, volatility trading pause

12:05 EDT Facebook Gaming launches tournaments - Facebook Gaming launches a new feature called tournaments to help people stay connected through games. Facebook said in a posting to its Facebook Gaming blog earlier: "We're excited to open early access to Facebook Gaming tournaments, a feature to help people stay connected through games. Gaming is all about friendly competition, and Facebook Gaming tournaments help bring that experience to everyone wherever they are, whatever game they're playing...Why are we building a tournaments feature on Facebook? We are building a one-stop shop for everything critically important for tournament organizers Offering better discovery and functionality for tournament participants Offering developers and communities an easy way to connect." Reference Link

12:00 EDT VelocityShares 3x Inv Natural Gas ETN falls -14.0% - VelocityShares 3x Inv Natural Gas ETN is down -14.0%, or -$38.10 to $234.00.

12:00 EDT Western Midstream rises 41.3% - Western Midstream is up 41.3%, or $1.61 to $5.51.

12:00 EDT Sasol rises 71.7% - Sasol is up 71.7%, or $1.82 to $4.36.

11:15 EDT Accenture acquires Revolutionary Security; financial terms not disclosed - Accenture has acquired Revolutionary Security, a privately held company specializing in enterprise cybersecurity for information technology and operational technology environments. Financial terms were not disclosed. "The acquisition of Revolutionary Security is another demonstration of our continued commitment to invest in areas to keep our clients safe from cyber threats," said Kelly Bissell, who leads Accenture Security globally. "Revolutionary Security's service offerings are a perfect complement to Accenture's portfolio, and the acquisition furthers our mission of helping clients better protect and defend their organizations across their entire ecosystem."

10:40 EDT iQIYI drops 7% after $15.57 after Wolfpack short report claims fraud

10:31 EDT BioTelemetry appoints Andrei Stoica as CTO - BioTelemetry announced that Dr. Andrei Stoica has been named chief technology officer of the company. Stoica will lead the company's global technology and product development operations, reporting to Joseph H. Capper, President and CEO. Since 2006, Dr. Stoica held various leadership positions at IQVIA, most recently serving as its SVP, IT Systems Development, leading the development of the global data and AI/ML cloud platform.

10:04 EDT Dunkin' offers free delivery with GrubHub through April 19 - Dunkin' (DNKN) said it is offering free Grubhub (GRUB) delivery at select locations and expanding Grubhub service, to soon be available at more than 4,000 total Dunkin' stores nationwide. Now through April 19, Dunkin' will offer free delivery on Grubhub orders of $10 or more at select locations. Dunkin' is expanding delivery service with Grubhub to more than 1,300 additional stores across the U.S. With this expansion - due to be completed by April 16 - Dunkin' will be available for delivery through Grubhub at more than 4,000 total restaurants nationwide.

10:00 EDT Direxion Financial Bear 3x falls -14.0% - Direxion Financial Bear 3x is down -14.0%, or -$4.79 to $29.35.

10:00 EDT Caleres rises 36.8% - Caleres is up 36.8%, or $1.55 to $5.76.

10:00 EDT Sasol rises 44.1% - Sasol is up 44.1%, or $1.12 to $3.66.

09:52 EDT Urstadt Biddle Properties Inc. trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:39 EDT Discovery Communications trading resumes

09:35 EDT Gap trading resumes

09:30 EDT Gap trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:28 EDT Zynex raises Q1 revenue view to $14.9M-$15.4M from $14.0M-$14.5M - Consensus is for Q1 revenue $14.13M. Zynex reports Q1 orders were 126% above the number of orders in the Q1 of FY19 and 3% sequentially above the Q4 of FY9. In the Q4 of FY19, orders grew 129% year-over-year. Due to the solid increase in orders and strong collections the Company has updated its previous estimate for the first quarter of 2020 to between $14.9M-$15.4M compared to the previous estimate of between $14.0M-$14.5M. Q1 Adjusted EBITDA is now expected to come in between $2.8M-$3.3M up half a million from the previous estimate.

09:26 EDT Perspecta wins $36.4M follow-on task order - Perspecta announced that it has received a follow-on task order award to continue work on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Virtual Data Center Prime contract to host and improve efficiency of Medicare Part A and Part B Common Working File claims processing. The task order has a one-year base period plus four option years and is valued at $36.4M. Work on this federal program will be performed in Tulsa, Oklahoma

09:22 EDT DZS appoints Geoff Burke as VP, global marketing - DZS announced that Geoff Burke has been appointed VP, Global Marketing. Prior to DZS, Burke was the Chief Marketing Officer at Broadband Forum, the communications industry's leading organization focused on accelerating broadband innovation, standards, and ecosystem development.

09:18 EDT Motus GI Holdings receives approval for GEN2 Pure-Vu system in Israel - Motus GI Holdings announced it has received approval from the Israeli Ministry of Health, Medical Device Division to initiate commercial sales of the GEN2 Pure-Vu System in Israel. This regulatory clearance gives Motus GI access to the Israeli medical device market - one of the largest in the Middle East. The Pure-Vu System is cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to help facilitate the cleaning of a poorly prepared colon during the colonoscopy procedure. The device integrates with standard and slim colonoscopes to improve visualization during a colonoscopy while preserving established procedural workflow by irrigating the colon and evacuating debris to provide a better-quality exam. Challenges with bowel preparation for inpatient colonoscopy represent a significant area of unmet need that directly affects clinical outcomes and increases the cost of care. Motus GI believes the Pure-Vu System may improve outcomes and lower costs for hospitals by reducing the time to successful colonoscopy, minimizing delayed and incomplete procedures, and improve visualization enhancing the quality of an exam. In multiple clinical studies to date, involving challenging inpatient and outpatient cases, the Pure-Vu System has consistently helped achieve adequate bowel cleanliness rates greater than 95% following a reduced prep regimen.

09:15 EDT Luckin Coffee trading halted, news pending

09:15 EDT Mallinckrodt trading resumes

09:13 EDT Darden reports Olive Garden same-restaurant sales down 34.5% QTD through 4/5

09:12 EDT Usio, eVisit supporting medical professionals combatting COVID-19 - Usio offered an update on its business partnership with eVisit and how Usio's proprietary technology is helping in the battle against COVID-19. Miles Romney, CTO and Co-founder of eVisit, noted, "eVisit's industry-leading telehealth platform is experiencing unprecedented growth as healthcare professionals increasingly employ creative strategies to serve patients in this 'new normal.' With many healthcare offices working with very limited or reduced back office staff, having flexible payment functionality and options on where and how to pay is vitally important. As a critical element of our end-to-end telemedicine technology, Usio's PayFac-in-a-Box solution simplifies the payment process, enabling the professionals we serve to focus on the delivery of outstanding healthcare. Payment volume across our platform has significantly accelerated, not just from increased usage of existing healthcare providers, but from the numerous new users adopting eVisit as their Telemedicine platform. In fact, healthcare practices and physicians using eVisit increased 10,000% in March compared to February. Secondarily, the number of patients using eVisit and the number of completed patient visits (or sessions) increased by 382% and 236%, respectfully, over the same time period. We can rest easy knowing that Usio's payments technology has both the versatility to accept the many different payment types we encounter, as well as to rapidly scale in step with our growth. Furthermore, this affords the healthcare providers we serve ultimate control over the payments experience and gives patients the level of service they expect. Simplicity is paramount, and that is exactly what Usio has provided for eVisit to deliver on our mission of providing healthcare to everyone, everywhere." Vaden Landers, EVP and Chief Revenue Officer at Usio, said, "When we first engaged with eVisit last year, we were excited they chose our PayFac-in-a-Box technology to enable their electronic payments. Now that they are experiencing unprecedented growth from the rapid adoption of Telemedicine strategies across the globe, we are very pleased that the versatility and scalability of our payments platform has enabled them to simply and securely process the accelerating volume of electronic payments now flowing across their system. We expect to see increased levels of customers onboarded in the days and weeks to come. During these very challenging times, we are grateful for the opportunity to work alongside healthcare professionals and the technology providers who serve them as they leverage all available resources to focus on patient care amidst the COVID-19 crisis."

09:09 EDT Comtech receives $9.1M order from U.S. Army - Comtech Telecommunications announced that its Mission-Critical Technologies group, which is part of Comtech's Government Solutions segment, received an order consisting of additional funding of $9.1M, on the previously announced three-year $124.2 million contract to provide ongoing sustainment services for the AN/TSC-198A SNAP and Non-classified Internet Protocol Router, and baseband equipment. SNAP terminals provide quick and mobile satellite communications capabilities to personnel in the field. The contract has been funded $87 million to date.

09:07 EDT Orbit International does not expect 'material' impact to business from COVID-19 - The company said, "On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the novel strain of coronavirus a global pandemic and recommended containment and mitigation measures worldwide. The Company is classified as an essential business by New York State and therefore is exempt from the state's mandate that all non-essential business close their business locations until further notice. In addition, as a member of the Defense Industrial Base, the Company is mandated by the Secretary of Defense to continue working its normal schedule. The Company's customers and direct suppliers, as members of the DIB, share this same responsibility to remain open, although some of the Company's indirect suppliers may not be members of the DIB. The Company remains open while following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control to best protect our employees and does not currently anticipate a material impact to its business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows."

09:06 EDT Orbit International reports Q1 bookings in excess of $6.9M - Orbit International announced that consolidated bookings for the first quarter of 2020 exceeded $6,900,000. In addition, the Company also reported that bookings for its Power Group exceeded $1,200,000 for the month of March 2020. First quarter bookings were highlighted by a previously announced order by our Orbit Electronics Group of approximately $2,300,000 for keyboards used on a major military aviation program. Other orders received during the quarter for the OEG consisted primarily of displays and control panels. In addition, our OPG reported bookings for the month of March 2020 in excess of $1,200,000, which consisted of a more than $400,000 order for VPX power supplies and a more than $300,000 follow-on order for a power supply used on a major military program. Deliveries for certain of these contracts have already commenced. Deliveries for all these contracts are expected to occur through the first quarter of 2022. itchell Binder, President and CEO of Orbit International commented, "This solid consolidated booking quarter in excess of $6,900,000 comes on the heels of similarly solid bookings in our fourth quarter of 2019 that exceeded $7,100,000. This should well position our delivery schedules in 2020, particularly in the second half of the year. In addition, near the end of the first quarter, our newly acquired Q-Vio subsidiary delivered on a relatively significant order to a major prime contractor which we anticipate will result in a series of follow-on orders beginning with an expected order at the end of the current quarter. Our Company, along with other companies and communities continue to be faced with challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic. However, our Company is part of the U.S. Defense Industrial Base which consists of defense and national security-related operations supporting the U.S. Government and its prime contractors. As such, our Company has a responsibility to make every effort to remain open as well as protect the health of our employees. Consequently, while being fully operational, we have made every effort to maximize social distancing, reduce employee density, allowed certain employees to work from home and created a split shift for our manufacturing workforce to best protect our employees. Aside from our defense related work that makes up the majority of our business, we anticipate weakness in the commercial business of our OPG which, although providing power supplies for military, transportation and utility applications, also provides power supplies for oil and gas exploration and test and measurement applications. This part of our business may remain weak until the economy begins to recover. Nevertheless, assuming no unforeseen events from a situation that is rapidly evolving, in particular, a disruption of our supply chain, we expect to meet our deliveries to support our customers. Most important, our strong financial condition should allow us to continue to meet our responsibilities as a member of the DIB."

09:04 EDT Cambrex completes biopharmaceutical expansion at Durham, NC facility - Cambrex announced it has completed an expansion of its biopharmaceutical analysis capabilities at the Durham, North Carolina site. Biopharmaceutical analysis services were initially launched at Durham in 2018 and have since been expanded through the purchase and implementation of various method development, validation, release and stability or endotoxin testing functions. Following this expansion the Durham site now features a range of new instruments, including particle analysis, imaging, qPCR, fluorescent/absorbance plate reader, immunoblotting, mass spectrometry and other compendial testing apparatus. The new capabilities are applicable to a broad variety of biopharmaceuticals, including bacteriophage/bacterial virus and mammalian viral infectious titer assays for intermediates, drug substances, and final drug products. All new capabilities comply with current good manufacturing practice standards, as well as meeting International Conference on Harmonization Q2 and United States Pharmacopeia guidelines for validating biological assays, and ICH Q6B test procedures for biological products. Existing safety and containment practices for BSL1 and BSL2, and some BSL2+, at the Durham site allow support for a wide range of active ingredients. Ongoing assay additions are also planned at Durham, including impedance based orthogonal methods for existing and new cell-based potency assays, and protein-protein interaction/binding assays.

09:02 EDT UPS brokering 25 charter flights in support of Project Airbridge - UPS announced the company is managing and brokering 25 charter flights in support of Project Airbridge, a coordinated effort between the Federal Emergency Management Agency, numerous countries and the private sector designed to expedite the arrival of critical supplies needed in U.S. hospitals. The first charter flights have already arrived, and will continue for the next two weeks. In total, the 25 UPS-managed flights will carry more than three million pounds of materials - the equivalent of 14 full Boeing 747 freighters. Cargo will include masks, surgical gowns, gloves, medical swabs and thermometers. Led by FEMA and the White House Coronavirus Taskforce, Project Airbridge is a partnership between UPS and large U.S. healthcare distributors including Cardinal Health and others, and the U.S. federal government. UPS is providing air freight brokerage services on third-party aircraft, as well as on UPS-owned aircraft. Goods will be distributed at the direction of FEMA to hospitals and COVID-19 hot spots throughout the country. Simultaneously, UPS's Healthcare division opened a new 450,000 square-foot healthcare distribution center on April 4, with dedicated space for FEMA. The facility is located just a few miles from UPS Worldport, the company's automated global air hub, in Louisville, KY. With that proximity, UPS has the ability to quickly fulfill orders for delivery overnight, anywhere in the U.S. The UPS Supply Chain Solutions business unit offers transportation and freight services, logistics and distribution, consulting, and customs brokerage services - and FEMA is taking advantage of almost every aspect of UPS Supply Chain Solutions' capabilities.

09:02 EDT China Rapid Finance appoints Hao Kevin Chen as CFO - China Rapid Finance announced its Vice President of Finance Hao "Kevin" Chen, has completed his planned onboarding and was appointed as CFO of the Company. Chen was also appointed as a Board member of the Company's Board of Directors. Steven Foo, the Company's former CFO, assisted with the onboarding transition as part of the Company's 2019 organizational plans. Foo will redirect his focus to new business development. Kevin Chen joined XRF in 2019 as Vice President of Finance. Prior to XRF, Chen was audit manager at Ernst &Young and participated in various US initial public offerings for Chinese Internet companies. Chen was also senior manager at Qunar.com and CFO at Hong Kong Jingzhengu Holdings.

09:00 EDT Marrone Bio announces Pacesetter available to corn, soybean, wheat growers - Marrone Bio Innovations announced that Pacesetter, a recently approved bio-based plant health product, is now available to corn, soybean and wheat growers in the United States. Pacesetter acts synergistically with conventional fungicides to improve plant health and vigor, increasing yield by up to seven bushels per acre in soybeans and 13 bushels per acre in corn. The active ingredient in Pacesetter is a plant extract from Reynoutria sachalinensis, a compound that delivers multiple modes of action. When used with conventional fungicides, Pacesetter promotes root growth, and increases chlorophyll production in the crop, resulting in yield increases beyond that of a grower's standard fungicide program. This foliar plant health product is the newest addition to MBI's BioUnite portfolio, a science-based integrated pest management program that harnesses the power of biology with the performance of chemistry. Twenty-four corn and soybean field trials were conducted in the Midwest during the 2019 crop year to assess the performance of Pacesetter when added to a grower's standard fungicide program. The results have been positive; notably in soybeans where 82% of the time, when combined with a conventional fungicide, Pacesetter achieved higher yields than the grower's standard fungicide program alone. When Pacesetter's 2019 soybean yield was combined with testing data from prior years, the yield was improved by an average of nearly four percent compared to the grower's standard fungicide program without the use of Pacesetter. These results represent a 71% win rate and a four to one return on investment. In corn, when the 2019 yield of Pacesetter was combined with testing data from prior years, the average yield increase was four bushels per acre versus the grower's standard fungicide program without the use of Pacesetter. The return on investment was particularly significant for corn in yield-challenging environments where results showed a 6.25 bushels per acre increase. Pacesetter, the newest addition to MBI's biological product portfolio, received EPA approval in February 2020 and will be commercially available for the 2020 growing season, pending state approvals.

08:57 EDT La Jolla to provide GIAPREZA for named patient emergency use for septic shock - La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company announced that it is providing GIAPREZA or named patient emergency use in patients with septic shock due to COVID-19 at University Hospital Munster in Germany. GIAPREZA is being made available for named patient emergency use based on a request from Professor Alexander Zarbock, M.D., Chair, Department of Anesthesiology, Intensive Care and Pain Medicine, University Hospital Munster. According to German law, authorized medicines can be made available prior to commercial availability in order to fulfill special patient needs. GIAPREZA has been recently approved by the European Commission but is not yet commercially available in Europe.

08:56 EDT Onex appoints Jason New as co-CEO of Onex Credit - Onex Corporation (ONEXF) announced Jason New has joined Onex Credit as the Co-CEO. He will lead the platform with Stuart Kovensky. Jason will also be responsible for new strategies in opportunistic credit and special situations. Prior to joining Onex, Mr. New was a Senior Managing Director of Blackstone (BX) and Co-Head of Distressed and Special Situation Investing for GSO Capital Partners.

08:51 EDT Ocugen appoints Kirsten Castillo, Prabhavathi Fernandes to board of directors - Ocugen announced the appointment of Kirsten Castillo and Prabhavathi Fernandes, Ph.D. to its board of directors. Additionally, as part of a planned transition, Frank Leo, has resigned from the board. During Castillo's tenure at Logistics Planning Services, a privately held transportation and logistics services company, where she served as CEO, the company achieved aggressive growth plans which ultimately resulted in the sale of the business to GlobalTranz. Fernandes ounded and led four biotechnology and CRO companies as President, CEO and Director of each of these companies. Prior to her retirement in December 2016, she led Cempra, Inc. for 12 years as its founder, CEO and chief scientist.

08:47 EDT Enphase Energy partners with Courant Naturel for solar rooftop solutions - Enphase Energy announced it has collaborated with Courant Naturel, a fast-growing residential solar installer with headquarters in Soual, France, to deliver solar solutions to customers in southwest France. Courant Naturel has served residential solar customers in southwest France since 2007. The company has chosen Enphase as its exclusive inverter supplier, using Enphase IQ 7X microinverters, along with SunPower X-Series, an Enphase Energized AC Module leveraging IQ 7X microinverters. In addition, Courant Naturel's residential solar systems are outfitted with Enphase Envoy communications gateways, which connect the solar system to the Enphase Enlighten monitoring platform and helps make per-panel energy monitoring and insights for operations and maintenance easy.

08:45 EDT Super League Gaming sees 'dramatic' surge in users, hours of gameplay - Super League Gaming has recently experienced a sharp, significant increase in new users, gamer engagement, and gameplay hours across all platforms. "Over the past two months, particularly with all live sports at a standstill, we have seen a major uptick in those seeking a competitive outlet turning to esports and other online gaming communities to fill the void," said Ann Hand, Chairman and CEO of Super League Gaming. "We have seen dramatic increases across the board, not only in registered users, but in the total number of gameplay hours spent across the Super League network of platforms. This tells us what we've known all along - competitive gamers want to connect with each other online. These increases are accelerating our growth plans, are increasing our forms of monetization, and should eventually lead to increases in our revenue. Now, more than ever, gaming is proving itself to be fairly recession-proof. In times of belt-tightening, it is the smaller affordable luxuries that endure." To date, these significant increases include: The number of new registered users grew 20% in March, versus the typical 6% - 7% in the prior months; Minehut, Super League's Minecraft community, saw 550,000 unique players in March, 300,000 of those between March 16-31, and is currently on pace to see over 600,000 in the month of April; There have been roughly nine million hours of gameplay, including five million in March alone, in the first quarter of 2020, compared to 15 million total gameplay hours across Super League's platform in all of 2019; Super League's Instagram and Tik Tok channels saw a record level of viewership in March with over 30 million views across both; Framerate, Super League's social video network had the highest number of views and the highest follower growth rates within the Gaming Media category on Instagram, according to data from Tubular Labs.

08:42 EDT ABM offers EnhancedClean to support COVID-19 efforts - ABM announced its commitment to providing clients with a proprietary EnhancedClean Program to support COVID-19 remediation efforts. Whether or not a client has confirmed cases of COVID-19, ABM offers services to help reduce exposures through the EnhancedClean Program. At this critical time, ABM remains vigilant in monitoring the most up-to-date safety, infection control and cleaning protocols recommended by global experts, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the U.K. National Health Service and others. ABM's services have been deemed by applicable governmental authorities as "essential" to doing business during the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic.

08:40 EDT Epic Pharmacy Network renews contract with TRHC's PrescribeWellness - Tabula Rasa HealthCare announced its PrescribeWellness technology solutions will continue its partnership with EPIC Pharmacy Network, renewing their agreement for an additional three years. EPN is one of the largest, independently owned pharmacy services administration organizations and managed care networks for independent pharmacies in the nation. As part of this contract extension, EPN pharmacies now will have the opportunity to conduct in-person Comprehensive Medication Reviews through collaboration with TRHC's SinfoniaRx medication therapy management services, enabling them to enhance care for their patients while benefitting from a new revenue stream. This is part of TRHC's overall strategy to support improved patient outcomes through the addition of face-to-face encounters with patients through their local community pharmacists.

08:33 EDT Jones Soda appoints Jamie Colbourne as interim CEO - Jones Soda Co. has appointed Jamie Colbourne as interim CEO effective April 6, 2020. After eight years at the helm, Jennifer Cue has decided to step down from the position of CEO and spend more time with her family. Cue will be available to assist Colbourne when needed and will remain on the Company's board of directors. Most recently, Colbourne served as CEO and board member for JGC Foods.

08:32 EDT IT Tech Packaging: Tissue paper production lines 'running at full capacity' - IT Tech Packaging announced that its tissue paper production lines are now running at full production capacity to fulfill orders. The average selling price of tissue paper increased 8% from $836 per tonne to $903 per tonne in the first quarter, resulting from growing demand because of Covid-19. Zhenyong Liu, the CEO and Chairman of the company commented, "After a short delay of production due to Covid-19 restrictions, we have experienced increasing market demand and orders for tissue paper products. We anticipate that this trend will carry over to the second quarter and more sales will be generated from our tissue paper products during the first quarter of 2020."

08:26 EDT Immunomedics obtains Fast Track designation for sacituzumab govitecan - Immunomedics announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Fast Track designation for sacituzumab govitecan for the treatment of adult patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial cancer who have previously received a programmed death receptor-1 or programmed death-ligand 1 inhibitor, and a platinum containing chemotherapy in the neoadjuvant/adjuvant, locally advanced or metastatic setting, including patients who are platinum ineligible and have previously received a PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor in the neoadjuvant/adjuvant, locally advanced, or metastatic setting. .Sacituzumab govitecan is currently being evaluated in the Phase 2 TROPHY U-01 study of patients with mUC. Interim results from 35 patients included in the 100-patient cohort of cisplatin-eligible patients who have relapsed or are refractory to PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor and platinum-based chemotherapy were presented at the 2019 European Society for Medical Oncology Annual Congress and showed an overall response rate of 29 percent, consistent with previously reported data in this population. Enrollment for the full cohort of 100 patients with prior platinum-based and PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor therapies has been completed, with topline data expected to be available in the second half of 2020. While enrollment for the second cohort of 40 cisplatin-ineligible patients is expected to be completed later this year, the company has recently broadened the study to include a third cohort of PD-1 or PD-L1 inhibitor-naive patients to assess the combination of sacituzumab govitecan with pembrolizumab.

08:22 EDT Harsco expects to lower 2020 capex by at least $75M - The company said, "Harsco has taken significant and proactive actions to protect all stakeholders and to minimize the operational and financial impacts of COVID-19 on the business. Work safety and flexibility measures have been implemented as the Company strives to keep facilities operational. Harsco is also focused on actions to adjust its cost structure, reduce discretionary capital and operating expenditures, and preserve its financial flexibility and strong liquidity position. The Company anticipates lowering its 2020 capital expenditures by at least $75 million, from earlier expectations, with a goal to maintain positive free cash flow despite business headwinds. Harsco's earlier guidance range for 2020 capital spending was $170 million to $180 million. Additionally, the Company has significant undrawn funds under its $700 million revolving credit facility and no debt maturities until 2024. Harsco also recently entered into an amendment to its existing credit facility that amended certain covenants to provide the Company with increased operating flexibility"

08:21 EDT Harsco operating as essential business in U.S. - Harsco announced that it is currently operating as an essential business in each of its segments in the United States and almost entirely around the world and that internal actions are underway in response to current and anticipated impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. "As we confront COVID-19, we are focusing on the health and safety of our employees, customers and the communities where we operate, while also taking action to protect our business," said Harsco Chairman and CEO Nick Grasberger. "As a provider of certain essential services in the U.S. and in most other countries, we are continuing to work diligently and safely to provide our customers with the services and products they need. We spent the last several years building a strong and resilient business and remain confident in Harsco's long-term strategy. However, during this unprecedented market disruption and uncertainty, we will continue to remain flexible and take further action as needed."

08:18 EDT Pixelworks suspends travel, freezes hiring, reduces salaries - CEO Todd Debonis said, "Given this unprecedented time of uncertainty, I wanted to take the opportunity to update you on the current status of Pixelworks and hopefully shed some light on all that the company has been doing to adjust to our new normal. As we outlined on our last earnings call, the first half of 2020 would be a very busy time for Pixelworks; we anticipated no less than a dozen new phone launches from seven different Mobile customers. Some of these launches are now behind us, including models from Black Shark, OPPO, HMD and TCL. We are still on track to meet our anticipated target, and the Pixelworks team is working hard to continue this momentum through the second half of 2020. In addition, we continue to support our Projector customers with the adoption of our newest SoC solutions, signed a development contract with a new customer for a Video Delivery platform using our advanced 4K transcoder SoC in Japan, and made tangible progress with our TrueCut content mastering and delivery platform...Since the beginning of March, our Shanghai and Shenzhen offices have reopened and are at full staffing. Our offices and supply chain partners in Taiwan are fully functional and have not gone on lock down. As of today, our Japan and North American offices are currently working remotely but are fully operational. In summary - the Pixelworks team has been agile and committed to our mission while adhering to all local and federal safety requirements. The health and well-being of our employees is paramount, and part of that well-being is keeping all of our staff employed and engaged in supporting our customers and new product developments. While the impact of COVID-19 on China has improved, the rest of the world is now struggling. Each country has responded differently with their respective efforts to mitigate the health and economic impacts of this pandemic to their populations. Over the last month, our Board of Directors and executive team has met weekly and focused the company on cost containment and accelerating the execution on new product solutions. The following actions have been taken in order to prepare for a prolonged economic recovery while keeping the organization focused on our customers and strategic initiatives. As of April 1st, 2020, the following actions have been implemented: Both the CEO and the CFO have taken a 10% base salary reduction. The Board of Directors has agreed to take Restricted Stock Units in lieu of their director fees for the full year of 2020. The Executive staff have agreed to reduce their base salary by 10% in exchange for RSUs. The Executive Bonus Program for 2020 has been eliminated. All other bonus and sales incentive programs are still in place. Annual Merit increases for all employees will be delayed by one quarter. With the exception of a few critical hiring requisitions, all hiring has been put on hold. With the exception of critical travel within China, all company travel has been suspended. A program has been offered to senior management to exchange up to 10% of their quarterly base salary for RSUs. We will review the need to continue these actions on a quarterly basis. The combination of a 10% base salary reduction for the CEO/CFO and the elimination of the Executive bonus program will reduce 2020 targeted cash compensation to each of our executives by 33% to 55%. All of the actions listed above will allow Pixelworks to reduce cash operating expenses by at least 10% for the year while retaining 100% of our employees. We will continue to look for ways to reduce operating expenses without impacting productivity of the organization. In addition to these actions, we have managed our cash prudently and have tapped our credit facility for approximately $5.1 million, resulting in a Q1 ending cash balance of approximately $20.4M"

08:13 EDT Seneca Biopharma provided update one non-GCP Phase II trial - Seneca Biopharma provided a status update on the company's non-GCP Phase II trial evaluating the use of its proprietary neural stem cells, NSI-566, for the treatment of chronic ischemic stroke. The trial is being conducted at the BaYi Brain Hospital in Beijing, China. As of March 31 follow-up assessments had been completed on 60% of the subjects in the trial and the company continues to expect data readout to be available during the second half of 2020, as previously disclosed.

08:11 EDT Wingstop borrows $16M under outstanding variable funding notes - The company said, "With uncertainty surrounding COVID-19 events, and as a cautionary measure, the Company borrowed $16 million under its outstanding variable funding notes to improve its cash position, providing the Company with an unrestricted cash balance of approximately $31 million at the end of the first fiscal quarter of 2020 compared to $12.8 million as of December 28, 2019."

08:11 EDT PriceSmart planning for additional cost savings measures - Sherry Bahrambeygui, CEO, commented: "In March 2020, the World Health Organization recognized the novel strain of coronavirus, COVID-19, as a pandemic. This coronavirus outbreak has restricted the level of economic activity in many of our markets. Although overall sales for the month of March 2020 increased significantly, driven by members stocking up primarily on food and essentials ahead of potential 'shelter in place' advisories, sales moderated and later decreased in the second half of the month. Toward the end of March, we experienced a noticeable reduction in traffic that we believe was driven by restrictive government mandates and consumer concerns about potential exposure. Many markets have imposed limitations on access for our members and on our club operations, including temporary club closures, limits on the number of days during the week and hours per day our clubs can be open, restrictions on segments of the population permitted to shop on particular days, and limits on the number of people that can be in a club. These restrictions change day-to-day and market-by-market. In addition, the governments of some of the countries in which we operate have expressed a preference in favor of imports of essential items over discretionary goods. We are working proactively to make best of the situation. To facilitate social distancing, convenience for members and continued sales given the restrictions on our business, we have created alternative means for shopping, including an online catalog that enables our members to see, almost real-time, the availability of products for all clubs as well as curbside pickup and home delivery by us or in coordination with third-party delivery services. We also are launching online ordering and pick-up at club, which we refer to as 'Click and Go.' We continue to believe that PriceSmart is a premier shopping destination for our members, featuring fresh food, a curated collection of excellent merchandise at value prices and a variety of essential goods and services. However, we expect the impact of the pandemic and the related restrictions on our business to adversely affect traffic and sales over the next few months. Additionally, given the uncertainty surrounding the potential impact of the outbreak on our results of operations and cash flows, we are proactively taking steps to increase cash available on-hand, including, but not limited to, drawing funds on our short-term facilities and delaying strategic capital expenditures. We will complete the construction of our warehouse club in Liberia, Costa Rica in May 2020, but we have postponed its opening. Additionally, with respect to our previously announced future warehouse club openings on land that we have acquired in Bogota and Bucaramanga, Colombia and in Jamaica, we have decided, at this time, to suspend or not to initiate the construction of those clubs. We are considering and planning for additional cost savings measures in the U.S. and in the markets where we operate."

08:09 EDT Axcella receives fourth patent covering EMM compositions - Axcella announced the issuance of U.S. Patent 10,596,136. This patent broadly covers the use of the company's initial muscle product candidate, AXA2678, and related EMM compositions for the reduction of fat infiltration in muscle. "This patent is the first to cover key elements of Axcella's muscle program, including an important use of our initial muscle candidate," said Paul Fehlner, senior VP and chief intellectual property officer of Axcella. "This issuance is key for Axcella as it broadens our patent portfolio to cover additional areas and assets outside of the liver space. It also further solidifies Axcella's position as we seek to demonstrate the ability for EMM compositions to address metabolic dysregulations across a wide range of organ systems."

08:09 EDT PriceSmart names Michael McCleary as CFO - The company announced that the Board of Directors of PriceSmart promoted Michael McCleary to Executive Vice President and CFO. McCleary has held the Interim CFO position since December 10, 2019. McCleary joined the company as Vice President and Corporate Controller in 2003 and was subsequently promoted to Senior Vice President and Corporate Controller. McCleary has over 30 years of international finance, tax and accounting experience.

08:08 EDT Wingstop implements team member compensation incentive - The company said, "The health and safety of our team members, brand partners and guests has, and always will be, our top priority. As COVID-19 began to escalate, we reemphasized our robust and frequent cleaning procedures to ensure both guest and team member safety. We moved quickly with our entrepreneurial spirit to establish a COVID-19 task force consisting of cross-functional leadership to facilitate a constant flow of information enabling swift, strategic decision making during this crisis. This included closing our dining rooms and modifying our operating procedures to ensure a clean and safe environment, as well as enacting various safety measures to ensure proper social distancing and the protection of our guests and our team members. We have sourced and will distribute thermometers and protective equipment for each restaurant in our system as additional precautionary measures. In addition, within company-owned restaurants we implemented a restaurant team member compensation incentive extending through April 30, 2020 that could provide as much as an additional $150 to full-time team members each week for their hard work. We have encouraged our brand partners to execute a similar best practice, and they are responding positively. We will continue having open and transparent communication with our team members and brand partners as the situation develops."

08:07 EDT Wingstop CEO says core values guide COVID-19 response - Charlie Morrison, Chairman and CEO of Wingstop said, "As I reflect on these unprecedented times, I'd like to thank the thousands of team members working in Wingstop restaurants for their continued commitment to serving our guests and our franchisees, whom we affectionately call our brand partners, as we navigate this difficult situation. Several weeks ago, Wingstop, anchored in our core values, began our journey of navigating the ever-changing COVID-19 crisis. Our core values of being authentic, service-minded, and entrepreneurial, or what we refer to as The Wingstop Way, have guided our response these past few weeks and will continue to guide our approach in the future. Authentic - Not only does this speak to our high-quality, cooked-to-order products, but we strive to be transparent and genuine in our decision making. As information becomes available and is rapidly accessed, this is passed on to our stakeholders, including our team members, brand partners, and guests. Service-Minded - The needs of our stakeholders are at the forefront. This translates to a sense of urgency as we aim to be proactive in assessing all stakeholder needs. Entrepreneurial - While these are extraordinary times, we have acted swiftly to make decisions that we believe are the best for our brand and stakeholders."

08:07 EDT Walgreens Boots Alliance to expand drive-thru COVID-19 testing to 15 new sites - Walgreens (WBA) is working to expand drive-thru testing to 15 new sites in seven states, the company announced. The states included are Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Tennessee and Texas. The expansion is a next step building on Walgreens' collaboration with the Administration, federal health agencies, and state and local authorities. The new testing sites will utilize Abbott's (ABT) new ID NOW COVID-19 test, which delivers positive results in as little as five minutes and negative results within 13 minutes. The 15 locations are being finalized in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, or HHS, and are planned for select hot spot markets with escalating rates of COVID-19 cases. Walgreens plans to be able to test up to 3,000 people per day across these additional sites, which are expected to be activated beginning later this week. Walgreens will dedicate temporary space at select locations, outside of the stores, where Walgreens pharmacists will oversee the self-administration of the COVID-19 test. Soon, patients will be directed to testing locations via an online assessment tool that will be available on Walgreens.com and Walgreens mobile app. Testing will be available at no cost to eligible individuals who meet criteria established by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Patients will need to pre-register in advance in order to schedule an appointment for testing.

08:05 EDT CECO Environmental announces cost reduction measures - CECO Environmental announced the implementation of proactive steps designed to support customer commitments while instituting business continuity and cost reduction measures to manage through the COVID-19 pandemic. CECO has undertaken necessary measures in compliance with government directives to remain open across its business and continues to work closely with its global supply chain to proactively support customers during this critical time. As a key supplier to critical infrastructure projects, the company has worked to maintain ongoing essential operations while observing recommended CDC guidelines to minimize the risk of spreading the coronavirus, including implementing, where possible, work-from-home procedures and additional sanitization efforts where facilities remain open to provide necessary services. The Company has also taken several proactive cost reduction measures in response to the economic pressures brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The CECO senior management team has agreed to a temporary salary reduction, certain corporate-level costs have been eliminated or reduced, and the Company has instituted a rolling 2-week furlough of U.S.-based employees during the 6-week period beginning the week of April 6. In addition, as a proactive measure, the Company has elected to drawdown $40M from its revolving credit facility, which supplements the Company's already strong cash position. The Company has maintained a comfortable margin to its covenants and has access to approximately $70M of undrawn funds.

08:02 EDT BIO-key offers outlook for biometric adoption - The company said, "Though change remains a constant in our personal and business lives, we can always be identified by our biometric. As such, biometrics can play a valuable role in traditional work environments and an even greater one in remote environments. Our biometric solutions allow users to move beyond the challenges and limitations of mainstream authentication methods, such as passwords, tokens and pins, while delivering improved ease of use, lower costs, increased worker efficiency and providing critical auditing capabilities. With the growing proliferation of online assets, the new remote workforce model, and hackers and cyberthieves looking to thrive upon vulnerabilities within this new landscape, we believe BIO-key solutions are becoming increasingly recognized as valuable security differentiators for our partners and customers."

08:00 EDT BIO-key transitions to remote work-from-home model - Chairman & CEO Michael DePasquale said, " For many, adjusting to the circumstances caused by the Coronavirus has been overwhelming and, in some cases, catastrophic. None of us could have anticipated that a virus could so quickly affect nearly every aspect of our personal and business lives. All of us are heartbroken for anyone who's been impacted by this pandemic, either directly or indirectly, and our hope is for a speedy recovery. We applaud the healthcare workers on the front lines caring for people who need treatment. During this challenging time, I want to let you know how we are approaching the situation at BIO-key. To ensure the safety for all our employees, BIO-key has transitioned to a nearly 100% remote work-from-home model. To maintain a seamless business operation, we are conducting daily conference calls with our executive team, as well as sales, support and marketing departments. From an execution standpoint, we've made the appropriate adjustments to conduct business as effectively as possible given the circumstances. Our R&D and product development teams remain engaged in their efforts and are in constant communication to keep our innovation moving forward. Our support team is responding to help BIO-key customers make the shift to remote workforces using our biometric MFA technology to make that transition as seamless as possible. To fulfill orders, BIO-key has enough hardware inventory to meet expected demand and we obviously have unlimited software capacity with online download of new orders and updates. The new remote workforce model being adopted across most industries presents a new range of security and authentication challenges that can be cost-effectively addressed by our solutions. Our online biometric single sign-on and enterprise class multi-factor authentication solutions operate equally well in on-premise or remote work environments and provide assurance that only the right user can access sensitive systems remotely. Long before the current crisis, BIO-key solutions have been proven to provide best-in-class remote cybersecurity solutions for government agencies, law enforcement, financial services, education, retail, manufacturing and the Fortune 500."

07:54 EDT Pluristem reports preliminary data from COVID-19 compassionate use program - Pluristem Therapeutics announced preliminary data from its compassionate use program, treating seven patients suffering from acute respiratory failure and inflammatory complications associated with COVID-19 with Pluristem's PLX cells, in three medical centers in Israel. All seven patients approved for treatment under compassionate use program with PLX cells exhibited, prior to treatment, respiratory failure due to ARDS, which is a major cause of mortality and required mechanical ventilation in an ICU. Four of the patients also demonstrated failure of other organ systems, including cardiovascular and kidney failure, indicating critical disease and poor prognosis. Six of the seven patients have completed the seven day follow up period. The seventh patient has not yet completed seven day follow up. While the treated patients are considered high risk for mortality, the preliminary data demonstrated 100% survival rate as of today. Four patients out of Group A demonstrated improvement in respiratory parameters. Three patients out of Group A are in advanced stages of weaning from ventilators. One patient has shown no change in respiratory parameters, is still breathing with the assistance of a ventilator and remains relatively stable. One patient has shown deterioration in respiratory parameters. Two patients out of four in Group A with multi-organ failure prior to treatment, showed clinical recovery in addition to the respiratory improvement. As a next step, the Company plans to apply for initiation of a multinational regulated clinical trial program for the potential use of PLX cells in the treatment of patients suffering from complications associated with COVID-19. In this regard, while Pluristem expects to continue treating patients for complications associated with COVID-19 under the compassionate use program in Israel, Pluristem does not intend to provide further updates on the status of this program and rather update on the status and progress of its contemplated clinical trial program.

07:42 EDT Oramed announces Canadian authorities intention to grant patent to the company - Oramed Pharmaceuticals announced that the Canadian Patent Office has indicated its intent to grant the Company a patent for its invention titled "Methods and Compositions for Oral Administration of Proteins."

07:32 EDT Edison Nation launches Edison Nation Medical - Edison Nation announces that it has launched its new operational division, Edison Nation Medical, for its new line of health and medical products and to address product demand surrounding COVID-19. he Company recently announced the acquisition of HMNRTH Nutraceutical's line of Cannabidiol health and wellness products as well as five proprietary cleaning products developed by Synertech, all of which will be included within Edison Nation Med's pipeline of products. The Company has also entered into a distribution agreement for hand sanitizer through several US factories and has received an initial purchase order of approximately $1.85M. The Company plans on launching Edison Nation Medical's online portal for hospitals, government agencies and distributors in the coming weeks.

07:24 EDT Slack seeing increases in new users and use within existing base, CEO says - Slack Technologies (WORK) CEO Stewart Butterfield is being interviewed on CNBC about the increase in use of its services from both new users and existing users during the COVID-19 pandemic.

07:23 EDT Veeva, Accenture and others announce industry alliances for digital engagement - Veeva (VEEV) announced industry alliances to accelerate the industrywide shift toward digital engagement. Together with Accenture (ACN), Deloitte, and other alliance partners, Veeva is helping life sciences companies design and implement new digital engagement strategies. The digital field engagement offering will help the industry leverage digital channels such as remote meetings, virtual events, and email as the primary way for field reps to connect with healthcare professionals (HCPs). Veeva's digital field engagement solution provides a roadmap for customers to connect with HCPs using digital channels. In the four-week engagement, Veeva defines the roles, responsibilities, tools, data, and training needed for digital engagement. Accenture, Deloitte and other partners will support the execution of the digital engagement strategy.

07:16 EDT Plains All American cuts Q1 distribution by 50%, reduces capital program by 33% - Plains All American (PAA) announced that the company reduced 2020/2021 capital program by $750M, or 33%, decreased PAA common unit / PAGP (PAGP) Class A share distributions payable in May by 50% and completed an additional $165M asset sale. The company continues to pursue capital and cost reductions throughout the organization and supply chain, as well as additional asset sales Total expansion capital for 2020/2021 is now targeted to be approximately $1.55B, or $750M lower than the previously targeted $2.3B capital program, and 47% lower when eliminating $600M of assumed JV project financing for the Red Oak project, which has been deferred. The balance of the capital reductions relate to cancelations, cost savings and scope adjustments to other capital projects. Q1 expansion capital expenditures are estimated to be approximately $350M. The partnership will continue to work closely with customers and industry partners to optimize, defer and potentially further reduce the capital program, subject to producer activity levels on Plains system. Acknowledging the uncertain duration of current and anticipated industry challenges and to further reinforce PAA's commitment to maintaining a solid capital structure and strong liquidity, Plains' board has approved a distribution of 18c per PAA common unit and PAGP Class A share for Q1. These distributions represent a 50% reduction relative to distributions paid in February and equate to an annualized distribution rate of 72c per PAA common unit and corresponding PAGP Class A share. Regarding the asset sales program, the partnership closed an incremental sale on April 1, which generated proceeds of $165M and brings year-to-date proceeds to approximately $245M. An additional $195M asset sale remains under definitive agreement and is expected to close later in the year. Plains is continuing its efforts to advance additional asset sales opportunities.

07:15 EDT Karyopharm to evaluate low dose selinexor as potential treatment for COVID-19 - Karyopharm Therapeutics announced plans to initiate a global randomized clinical trial for low dose oral selinexor in hospitalized patients with severe COVID-19. Selinexor, marketed as XPOVIO, is currently approved at higher doses by the Food and Drug Administration as a treatment for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. Selinexor is an oral, selective inhibitor of nuclear export compound which blocks the cellular protein XPO1. In addition to its roles in cancer, XPO1 also facilitates the transport of several viral proteins from the nucleus of the host cell to the cytoplasm1, and it amplifies the activities of pro-inflammatory transcription factors. SINE compounds have been shown to disrupt the replication of multiple viruses in vitro and in vivo. They have also been shown to mediate anti-inflammatory and anti-viral effects, including respiratory infections, in several animal models. In particular, SINE compounds have recently been identified as having the potential to interfere with key host protein interactions with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.2 Selinexor is currently the only XPO1 inhibitor approved for commercial use by the FDA and has been extensively tested in clinical trials across numerous cancer indications worldwide since 2012. The proposed clinical trial to treat hospitalized patients with COVID-19 would be the first study of an XPO1 inhibitor in patients with severe viral infections. SINE XPO1 inhibitors have demonstrated activity against over 20 different viruses, including the RNA viruses, influenza, respiratory syncytial virus and other common causes of respiratory infection. XPO1 inhibition has been identified in several assays as having potential activity against SARS-CoV-2, although specific animal models have not been available to date. One of the most important aspects of COVID-19 is the marked pulmonary inflammation with high levels of cytokines such as IL6, IL1, IFNg and others. Along these lines, selinexor and other SINE compounds have demonstrated potent anti-inflammatory activity through the inhibition of Nuclear Factor kB, leading to reductions in all of these cytokines in a variety of models, and this may be particularly beneficial to hospitalized patients with COVID-19. Karyopharm's clinical program in COVID-19 is not expected to impact the timing or prioritization of other key Company milestones, including the planned submission of a sNDA for XPOVIO in combination with once-weekly Velcade and low-dose dexamethasone as a new second line treatment for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, which remains on schedule for the second quarter of 2020. Additionally, Karyopharm has sufficient supply of selinexor for current and expected commercial supply for patients with multiple myeloma, for ongoing clinical trials in patients with various cancers, as well as for this proposed study in patients with COVID-19.

07:12 EDT Lexicon to host virtual Annual Meeting of Stockholders - Lexicon Pharmaceuticals will host its 2020 annual meeting of stockholders in a virtual format only due to the public health impact of the coronavirus pandemic and to prioritize the health and well-being of meeting participants. The virtual 2020 annual meeting of stockholders will be held at 8:00 a.m. CT on April 23, 2020.

07:10 EDT Radware selected by global telecom group to provide DDOS protection - Radware announced it has been selected by the global corporate security team of a top-10 global telecom company as the preferred vendor for DDoS mitigation solutions. The first deal based on this selection is with one of the company's European operating units, and deployment on this selection began in the first quarter of 2020. The company purchased Radware's DefensePro and DefenseFlow for DDoS detection and mitigation as well as Radware's Security Update Subscription service for network visibility/analytics. The company will protect its infrastructure with the first phase of deployment while offering managed DDoS-as-a-Service solutions to its customers as part of the second phase of deployment.

07:10 EDT Quorum Health files voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 - Quorum Health announced that it has entered into a Restructuring Support Agreement, or RSA, with a majority of its term loan lenders and noteholders on a "pre-packaged" plan to recapitalize the business and significantly reduce the size and cost of the company's debt. Under the terms of this pre-packaged plan, Quorum Health will reduce its debt by approximately $500 million. To implement the plan, Quorum Health filed a voluntary petition for reorganization under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The operations of Quorum Health and its hospitals are unaffected and all facilities are open and available to provide patient care. The company's subsidiary, Quorum Health Resources, is also continuing to provide the same high quality services to its hospital, health system and healthcare provider clients. Quorum Health-affiliated hospitals are focused on ensuring employees, physicians and providers can continue to provide quality care to the patients and communities they serve. The intent of the plan is to ensure that patients and families experience the same care that exists today. Employees will be paid their wages and benefits in the ordinary course for the work they perform. In addition, the parties to the RSA have agreed and have requested Court authority to pay suppliers in full for goods and services provided before and after filing. "We believe the financial restructuring plan announced today will strengthen our business and enable our community hospitals to continue the important work they are doing in addressing the COVID-19 crisis, as well as serve their patients and communities," said Bob Fish, Quorum Health Corporation President and CEO. "Quorum Health has been transparent about the need to restructure our debt over the past year. We believe the RSA will significantly reduce our debt and annual interest expense and better position our company, our affiliated hospitals, and our hospital management and consulting company, for future growth. The RSA will also build on the significant progress we have made to strengthen our operations. We are grateful for the support of our financial stakeholders, which we believe represents a statement of confidence in our business and enables us to move through this process on an expedited basis," Fish continued. In connection with the RSA and the expected Chapter 11 filing, Quorum Health has received a commitment for debtor-in-possession financing consisting of $100 million, from certain of its existing noteholders. Upon Court approval, the new financing and cash generated from the company's ongoing operations will be used to support the business during the court-supervised process. The company has also received a $200 million equity commitment from certain noteholders that will be funded upon completion of the case and used to pay various costs and reduce debt.

07:08 EDT Bristol-Myers expands patient support programs - Bristol Myers announced an expansion of its existing patient support programs to help eligible unemployed patients in the U.S. who have lost their health insurance due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The expanded program offers access to any branded Bristol Myers Squibb medicine for free, including some of its most widely prescribed products, as well as those prescribed via telehealth services. The program features: Immediate access for patients who have lost their employment and health insurance; A simple, single point of entry; Streamlined enrollment process; and Vouchers to assist with continuity of care for several self-administered BMS medicines, for eligible patients.

07:07 EDT Neptune Wellness appoints Toni Rinow as CFO - Neptune Wellness Solutions announced the appointment of Toni Rinow, MBA as CFO, effective April 7. With a proven track record in international corporate development and sales and financing of companies, she held leadership roles in public and private healthcare organizations up to C$250M in revenue, where she spearheaded acquisitions across Canada, Latin America, Europe and India.

07:06 EDT Exxon Mobil cutting FY20 CapEx by 30%, cash OpEx by 15% due to COVID-19 - ExxonMobil said it is reducing its 2020 capital spending by 30 percent and lowering cash operating expenses by 15 percent in response to low commodity prices resulting from oversupply and demand weakness from the COVID-19 pandemic. Capital investments for 2020 are now expected to be about $23 billion, down from the previously announced $33 billion. The 15 percent decrease in cash operating expenses is driven by deliberate actions to increase efficiencies and reduce costs, and includes expected lower energy costs. "After a thorough evaluation of the impacts of the pandemic and market conditions, we have worked closely with business partners to plan and execute capital adjustments that preserve long-term value, maximize cost efficiency, and put us in the strongest position when market conditions improve," said Darren Woods, chairman and chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil. "The long-term fundamentals that underpin the company's business plans have not changed -- population and energy demand will grow, and the economy will rebound. Our capital allocation priorities also remain unchanged. Our objective is to continue investing in industry-advantaged projects to create value, preserve cash for the dividend and make appropriate and prudent use of our balance sheet." ExxonMobil continues to monitor market developments and can exercise additional reduction options if required. As market conditions evolve, the company will continue evaluating the impacts of decreased demand on its 2020 production levels as well as longer-term production impacts. The largest share of the capital spending reduction will be in the Permian Basin, where short-cycle investments can be more readily adjusted to respond to market conditions, while preserving value over the long term. Reduced activity will affect the pace of drilling and well completions until market conditions improve. Importantly, the reductions will not compromise the scale, functional excellence and cube development advantages that are maximizing resource recovery and value in the Permian. Developing the numerous world-class deepwater discoveries offshore Guyana remains an integral part of ExxonMobil's long-term growth plans. Current operations onboard the Liza Destiny production vessel are unaffected, and startup of the second phase of field development remains on target for 2022, with the Liza Unity production vessel currently under construction. As the company waits for government approval to proceed with a third production vessel for the Payara development, some 2020 activities are now being deferred, creating a potential delay in production startup of six to 12 months. A final investment decision for the Rovuma liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Mozambique, expected later this year, has been delayed. ExxonMobil continues to actively work with its partners and the government to optimize development plans by improving synergies and exploring opportunities related to the current lower-cost environment. The Coral LNG development continues as planned. Globally, ExxonMobil anticipates industry refinery output will decline in line with demand and available storage, and it will maintain the ability to return to normal operations as demand recovers. Timing of expansion plans for select downstream and chemical facilities across the company's portfolio will be adjusted to capture efficiencies, slow spending pace and better align with a return in commodity demand. Despite the reductions, ExxonMobil expects to meet its projected investment of $20 billion on U.S. Gulf Coast manufacturing facilities made in its 2017 Growing the Gulf initiative. The company also expects to reach its proposed U.S. investment of $50 billion over five years announced in 2018. "While COVID-19 has had a significant impact on the global economy, we are confident that trade, transportation and manufacturing will recover," said Woods. "ExxonMobil continues to invest in the projects that will position us to support economic recovery and capture value for our shareholders." To minimize risks presented by COVID-19 and maintain operations, ExxonMobil has implemented enhanced cleaning procedures and modified work practices at sites around the world. The company is maximizing production of products critical to the global response, including isopropyl alcohol, which is used to manufacture hand sanitizer, and polypropylene, which is used to make protective masks, gowns and wipes. ExxonMobil is also supporting efforts to redesign and accelerate production of reusable face masks and shields to help alleviate the shortage for medical workers and first responders.

07:04 EDT AT&T looks forward to continuing to pay quarterly dividend to shareholders

07:04 EDT National Vision temporarily furloughs significant portion of its associates - National Vision Holdings provided an additional COVID-19 related business update regarding its capacity to serve patients and customers with urgent and emergency eye care needs and its continuing focus on expense reduction efforts. While stores remain temporarily closed to the public, associates are available by phone for patients and customers in need. The Company's other e-commerce websites also remain fully operational. In addition to the previously noted organization-wide initiatives to reduce expenses and capital expenditures, the Company has temporarily furloughed a significant portion of its associates. Along with the pause in new store openings and reduced near-term marketing, the Company is working with its base of partners and vendors to extend payment terms and modify existing contracts. As previously stated, the Company intends to begin selectively re-opening retail stores to the public in the coming weeks with increased safety protocols and a focus on serving the most urgent eye care needs of patients and customers.

07:04 EDT Tractor Supply CEO says 'confident' company will 'emerge stronger' from crisis - "During these unprecedented times, I am incredibly proud of how the Tractor Supply team has responded to take care of each other and our customers. As an essential, needs-based retailer, Tractor Supply is committed to supporting our customers' ability to take care of their families, property and animals," said Hal Lawton, Tractor Supply's President and CEO. "As we progressed through the first quarter, our comparable store sales growth tracked in line with our expectations. Beginning in early March as the COVID-19 crisis evolved, we saw a significant increase in our comparable store sales with a focus in our consumable categories such as companion animal food, livestock feed and heating fuel and other core categories like agricultural fencing, safes, generators and sustainable living. With the additional safety measures and acceleration of initiatives like contactless curbside delivery and deliver from store, we are moving fast to take proactive steps to protect the safety of our team members and customers. We are adapting to our customers' changing needs, as they rely on us to be the dependable supplier to provide their everyday essentials. The culture and purpose-driven nature of Tractor Supply have served us well in responding at this critical time. The health and safety of our team members and customers will continue to be of the utmost priority for us. Looking beyond the current crisis, we are confident that we will emerge stronger."

07:03 EDT AT&T announces $5.5B term-loan agreement with 12 banks - As countries and companies around the world respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, AT&T wanted to provide a financial update to investors. The company said it has a strong cash position, including a strong balance sheet and attractive liquidity. AT&T had about $12 billion in cash on hand on Dec. 31, 2019. In February, AT&T received ~$4 billion from preferred stock issuances at rates which were measurably below that of its common dividend. During the first quarter, the company executed a $4 billion Accelerated Share Repurchase agreement which was completed in March 2020. In March, AT&T canceled a $4 billion ASR and stopped all share repurchases. AT&T today announced a $5.5 billion term-loan agreement at competitive rates with 12 banks to provide additional financial flexibility to an already strong cash position. The loans are pre-payable without penalty. Going forward, AT&T expects: The strength and relevance of its core subscription businesses, our continued execution on its business transformation initiatives, and sizing our operations to economic activity will provide cash from operations that will support network investments, dividend payments and debt retirement, as well as the ability to invest in business opportunities that arise as the economies recover. About $2 billion from the expected closing later in 2020 from the previously announced divestiture of CME, as well as additional proceeds from a number of other real estate and tower monetizations. Company expects to close the sale of its Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands operations later this year and intends to use the proceeds to retire an outstanding preferred interest. AT&T's pension trust's funded status is substantially the same as year-end 2019. While the COVID-19 pandemic is subject to rapid change, in general, the company believes its exposure to near-term equipment shortages is limited.

07:01 EDT D.R. Horton reports increased sales cancellations, decreased orders recently - D.R. Horton said: "The company's results of operations can be affected by changes in economic conditions that negatively impact the housing and financial services markets. Economic fundamentals remained solid in the housing market throughout most of the second quarter of fiscal 2020, as interest rates on mortgage loans remained low, demand was strong and there was a limited supply of homes at affordable prices across most of the Company's markets. During the latter part of March and into April, the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the related widespread reductions in economic activity began to adversely affect the Company's business operations and the demand for its homes. The Company has experienced increases in sales cancellations and decreases in sales orders in late March and early April, compared to the weeks leading up to the pandemic. There is uncertainty regarding the extent and timing of disruption that COVID-19 and related government directives, actions and economic relief efforts will have on the U.S. economy, capital markets, secondary mortgage markets, consumer confidence, demand for the Company's homes and availability of mortgage loans to homebuyers. The extent to which this impacts the Company's operational and financial performance will depend on future developments, including the duration and spread of COVID-19 and the impact on D.R. Horton's customers, trade partners and employees, all of which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted. In almost all municipalities across the U.S. where social distancing and other restrictions have been issued, residential construction and financial services have been designated as essential businesses as part of critical infrastructure. D.R. Horton has continued its homebuilding and financial services operations in those markets where allowed and has implemented operational protocols to comply with social distancing and other health and safety standards as required by federal, state and local government agencies, taking into consideration guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public health authorities. The company believes it is well positioned to operate in this uncertain environment, with experienced operating teams, low leverage and a strong liquidity position. The company intends to maintain its flexible operational and financial position by generating strong cash flows from its homebuilding operations, limiting land acquisition and land development spending and adjusting its product offerings, incentives, home pricing, sales pace and inventory levels to optimize the return on its inventory investments in each of its communities based on local housing market conditions."

06:59 EDT Macy's CFO Paula Price to leave company - Macy's announced that Paula Price, executive vice president and CFO, has made the decision to leave the company as of May 31. She will continue in her current role until that date, and in order to support a well-ordered transition, Price will remain an advisor to the company through November 2020. An external search is underway for Price's replacement.

06:57 EDT SandRidge Energy implements initiatives aimed at increasing shareholder value - The company plans to implement several further initiatives to maximize free cash flow, reduce the company's low debt level, preserve its strong balance sheet and liquidity position and, ultimately, to realize greater shareholder value. The company will continue to right-size both its G&A and operating cost structure for the limited current growth environment given recent oil and gas market dynamics. Planned further actions, including salary and additional personnel reductions, will deepen the savings detailed on the company's recent February earnings call. SandRidge will substantially further reduce its capital expenditures in 2020, limiting spend to that needed for safety or mechanical integrity and to low capex, quick payback, cash flow enhancing "small ball" workovers and other projects to extend the company's production profile. The company plans to defer any material drilling and completion activity until commodity prices and the corresponding economics for new wells improve. The company will continue to evaluate the sale of non-cash flowing assets as well as other sale opportunities that deliver premium value to shareholders. It will also consider strategic combinations that bring cost economies, improve operating margins, extend its reserve life, lower its base production decline and grow its debt-adjusted cash flow per share.

06:53 EDT Coeur Mining withdraws FY20 guidance after suspension in Palmarejo - In light of the temporary suspension at Palmarejo and ongoing uncertainty regarding COVID-19, Coeur has decided to withdraw its FY20 guidance. The Company will continue targeting safe execution of its operating plans and reevaluate instituting FY20 guidance as the year progresses.

06:51 EDT Coeur Mining announces steps toward temporary suspension in Palmarejo - Coeur Mining announced that it has begun taking steps toward the temporary suspension of active mining and processing activities at its Palmarejo gold-silver complex in the State of Chihuahua, Mexico in accordance with a government-mandated decree in response to the 2019 novel coronavirus. The decree, issued by the Federal government of Mexico, restricts all non-essential business activities through April 30. The Mexican government provided additional guidance on the decree on April 6, 2020, clarifying that mining does not qualify as an essential business activity. Since the original decree was issued, Coeur has been working with federal, state and local governments, surrounding communities, industry peers and the Mexican Mining Chamber, or CAMIMEX, as well as its employees and contractors to understand and comply with the decree. The Company is currently in the process of safely and securely ramping down its mining operations at Palmarejo. A reduced workforce will remain onsite during the suspension to maintain key infrastructure, manage environmental compliance and provide requisite security. Coeur expects that operations will be able to expeditiously ramp back up once the decree has been lifted.

06:48 EDT Gannett preserves NOLs through adoption of shareholders rights plan - Gannett announced that on April 6 its Board of Directors acted to preserve and protect the Company's valuable income tax net operating loss carryforwards, or NOLs, and other tax assets through adoption of a shareholder rights plan in the form of a Section 382 Rights Agreemen. Gannett had approximately $435M of NOLs available as of December 31, 2019, which could be used in certain circumstances to offset Gannett's future federal taxable income. Gannett's Rights Agreement is similar to plans adopted by numerous other public companies with significant tax assets. Under the Rights Agreement, the Board declared a non-taxable dividend of one preferred share purchase right for each outstanding share of common stock. The rights will be exercisable only if a person or group acquires 4.99% or more of Gannett's common stock. Gannett's existing stockholders that beneficially own in excess of 4.99% of the common stock will be "grandfathered in" at their current ownership level and the rights then become exercisable if any of those stockholders acquire an additional 0.5% or more of common stock of the Company. If the rights become exercisable, all holders of rights, other than the person or group triggering the rights, will be entitled to purchase Gannett common stock at a 50% discount or Gannett may exchange each right held by such holders for one share of common stock. Rights held by the person or group triggering the rights will become void and will not be exercisable. The rights issued under the Rights Agreement will expire on the day following the certification of the voting results for Gannett's 2021 annual meeting of shareholders, unless Gannett's shareholders ratify the Rights Agreement at or prior to such meeting.

06:46 EDT Merck receives FDA priority review for new sBLA for KEYTRUDA - Merck announced that the U.S. FDA has accepted and granted priority review for a new supplemental Biologics License Application for KEYTRUDA, Merck's anti-PD-1 therapy. The application seeks accelerated approval of KEYTRUDA monotherapy for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with unresectable or metastatic solid tumors with tissue tumor mutational burden-high (TMB-H) greater than or equal to10 mutations/megabase, as determined by an FDA-approved test, who have progressed following prior treatment and who have no satisfactory alternative treatment options. The FDA has set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act, or target action, date of June 16, 2020.

06:36 EDT Continental Resources suspends quarterly dividend due to COVID-19 - In response to the demand destruction attributable to COVID-19, Continental Resources, announced the following: "Continental will continue to take decisive action to maximize cash flow generation, accomplish cost savings initiatives and prioritize the strength of our balance sheet," said Bill Berry, CEO. "Global crude oil and product demand is estimated to have been impacted by 30% due to COVID-19. Accordingly, we are reducing our production for April and May in a similar range." Furthermore, the board has made the decision to suspend the quarterly dividend until further notice. This is part of the company's proactive strategy to manage cash flow in a challenging commodity price environment.

06:34 EDT TeleNav lowers Q3 billings view 2% to $61.5M-$63.5M - Telenav issueda letter to shareholders. Highlights included: "Despite the challenges we face ahead, we believe we will be able to continue to deliver our products to our customers, without compromising our employees' safety." Adn followed, "There are many uncertainties and we expect to see continued impact from the coronavirus pandemic. Our revenue, like most, if not all, automotive-related businesses, depends upon the volume of new vehicles being produced. The recently announced shutdown of manufacturing operations by Ford, GM and other automobile manufacturer partners will negatively impact our revenue and operating results while they continue and until they resume full production. However, despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the auto industry, and the larger global economy, we do not see substantial impact to our financial results for our fiscal Q3 ended March 31. We expect our operating results for the quarter to be within the guidance range we provided on February 12 with the exception of billings which we now estimate for the quarter will be between $61.5M-$63.5M, approximately 2% lower than the prior range of $62.5M-$64.5M."

06:09 EDT BrightView updates details of company's response to COVID-19 outbreak - BrightView Holdings posted details of the Company's response to the COVID-19 outbreak. A presentation outlining the measures BrightView has taken to protect the health and safety of its team members and customers as well as real and potential business impacts resulting from COVID-19, can be found on the Company's investor website. BrightView is monitoring the COVID-19 outbreak closely. During this difficult time, BrightView remains committed to the health and safety of not just our nearly 22,000 team members, but of our many valued customers and the hundreds of communities across America in which we operate. In response to these events we have made significant changes to operations across all of our service lines, following and often exceeding the recommendations of public health authorities. We are committed to helping keep essential services open and best caring for our customers' living assets.

06:04 EDT Smart Sand reduces FT20 Cap EX budget by up to $20M to $5M-$10M - Smart Sand provided an update on the current market environment. The recent decline in oil prices resulting from a combination of oversupply from Russia and Saudi Arabia and reduced demand related to the COVID-19 pandemic has led many exploration and production companies and oilfield service companies to announce plans to slow or stop well completions activity. In response, Smart Sand has reduced its total capital expenditure budget by up to $20M, including a significant reduction in its SmartSystem manufacturing plans. The Company now estimates that FY20 capital expenditures will be approximately $5M-$10M. The Company also put in place several SG&A cost-cutting measures, including salary reductions of its executive management team between 15% and 20% and suspension of its variable cash compensation programs for all employees, which the Company expects will result in a savings of approximately 25% over 2019 levels. Prior to these unexpected events, the Company's Q1 sales volumes were strong at approximately 757,000 tons, an increase of more than 60% over Q4 of FY19 sales volumes of 462,000 tons.

06:01 EDT Allstate to return $600M in auto premiums amid coronavirus pandemic - Allstate said yesterday it is providing a Shelter-in-Place Payback to help its personal auto insurance customers in these challenging times. Allstate is also offering free identity protection to all Americans. "Allstate has been helping customers overcome catastrophes for 89 years since our purpose is to make sure they are in Good Hands. We have learned to move quickly and put people first," said Tom Wilson, Chair, President and CEO. "This crisis is pervasive. Given an unprecedented decline in driving, customers will receive a Shelter-in-Place Payback of more than $600M over the next two months. This is fair because less driving means fewer accidents. We are also providing free identity protection for the rest of the year to all U.S residents who sign up, since our lives have become more digital." Allstate, Esurance and Encompass personal auto insurance customers will receive a Shelter-in-Place Payback. Most customers will receive 15% of their monthly premium in April and May, totaling more than $600M. Customers will receive the money back through a credit to their bank account, credit card or Allstate account. The fastest way for customers to receive this payback is to utilize the Allstate Mobile app. We are working with state insurance regulators to move forward expeditiously.

05:25 EDT NIO Inc. reports 1,533 vehicles delivered in March - NIO Inc. provided its March 2020 delivery results. NIO delivered 1,533 vehicles in March, representing a robust 116.8% month-over-month growth mainly contributed by our recovering production capacity. The deliveries consisted of 1,479 ES6s, the company's 5-seater high-performance premium electric SUV, and 54 ES8s, the company's 7-seater high-performance premium electric SUV and its 6-seater variant. The company plans to commence deliveries of the all-new ES8 with more than 180 improvements in April. As of March 31, cumulative deliveries of the ES8 and the ES6 reached 35,751 vehicles, of which 3,838 vehicles were delivered in Q1, 9.7% higher than the middle point of the company's delivery guidance for Q1.

05:07 EDT Cemex resumes operations in Mexico - Cemex announced that, in accordance with the technical guidelines published today in the official Mexican gazette, the company will resume operations in Mexico to support the development and the economy of the country during the COVID-19 contingency. Cemex will fully comply with all the measures indicated by the Ministry of Health, as well as other best practices to operate in a safe and responsible environment. The health and safety of employees, contractors, suppliers, customers, and communities is a top priority for Cemex, and the company will continue to enforce its health protocols to maintain a safe and clean working environment.