Stockwinners Market Radar for April 13, 2020 - Earnings, Upgrades downgrades, option trades, Best Stock Advisory Service

19:36 EDT SPDR Gold Shares holdings rise to 1,009.69MT from 994.19MT - This is the 9th consecutive increase and the highest level of holdings since June of 2013.

19:01 EDT Dean Foods announces termination of agreement for sale of Meadow Gold Hawaii - Dean Foods announced that Industrial Realty Group, LLC has terminated the previously announced agreement in principle to buy Dean Foods' Meadow Gold Hawaii operations, including the assets, rights, interests and properties relating to Dean Foods' Hilo and Honolulu facilities. As a result, the company intends to close operations at its Honolulu facility by April 30, 2020. Following the termination of the agreement with Industrial Realty Group, the company has reached an agreement in principle with an interested party for the sale of Dean Foods' Hilo facility as an ongoing business and related distribution branches on the Big Island, Kauai and Maui, as well as the Meadow Gold Hawaii brand name and related intellectual property. Pursuant to the agreement, which is subject to final approval by the Bankruptcy Court, an interested party will acquire the assets, rights, interests and properties relating to Dean Foods' Meadow Gold Hawaii business with the exception of the Honolulu facility.

18:29 EDT Copa Holdings reports March traffic down 43.4% y/y - Copa Holdings released preliminary passenger traffic statistics for March 2020. Due to the global coronavirus outbreak, the company has temporarily grounded its fleet since March 23, 2020. As a result, Copa Holdings' capacity decreased 35.7% year over year compared to March 2019, while system-wide passenger traffic decreased 43.4% year over year. The load factor for the month was 73.4%, 9.9 percentage points lower than March 2019.

18:07 EDT Verastem's VS-6766 selected for presentation at AACR - Verastem announced that an abstract highlighting preliminary results from the ongoing investigator-initiated clinical study investigating VS-6766, its RAF/MEK inhibitor, in combination with defactinib, its FAK inhibitor, in patients with KRAS mutant advanced solid tumors has been selected for a virtual poster presentation at the upcoming American Association for Cancer Research, or AACR, 2020 Virtual Annual Meeting I, taking place April 27-28, 2020. This ongoing study is an open label, dose escalation and expansion study. The expansion cohorts are currently ongoing in patients with KRAS mutant advanced solid tumors, including low grade serous ovarian cancer, non-small cell lung cancer and colorectal cancer. Following the virtual data presentation, Verastem Oncology will host an investor conference call to discuss the presented data. The exact date and time of the investor conference call will be announced soon. Verastem Oncology plans to initiate discussions with regulatory authorities during the first half of 2020, with the goal of commencing a registration-directed trial investigating the VS-6766/defactinib combination as soon as possible.

17:58 EDT Borr Drilling sees revenue backlog impact of $16M from early terminations - Borr Drilling has been awarded LOAs for work in the Asia Pacific region for two of its premium jack ups, of which one is a newbuild being activated. The contracts' estimated duration, excluding options, will be for 365 days and 200 days respectively. The rigs are expected to commence contracts in Q3. The company has received notices of early termination of contracts from Exxon Mobil for two rigs working in Nigeria under contracts originally committed until April 2021 and May 2021, respectively. The company has also received notice to stop operations for the "Norve", working in Gabon for BW Energy. The rig finished operations in early April, around three months before previously estimated. Borr has also received a notice of early termination for the semi-submersible "MSS1" which finished its contract on 25 March, one month earlier than previously estimated. The rig is entitled to an early termination fee. Borr also received notification from Perenco, electing not to proceed with the contract for the "Prospector 5". The rig is scheduled to commence operation for CNOOC in the North Sea between September and November. The net impact of the new contracts and the early termination of the existing contracts is estimated to affect the total revenue backlog negatively by approximately $16M. Furthermore, the rigs Odin and Galar have commenced operation for Pemex during Q1, and the Njord is expected to commence operations with Pemex shortly. The rig Saga commenced operation in Vietnam for ENI in February. Borr could be subject to further suspension notices in light of market conditions. At this stage the company cannot predict with reasonable accuracy the duration of such suspensions if exercised or the impact on the company. The company has kept a technical utilisation for the fleet in these times of 99.5% YTD.

17:38 EDT Lithia Motors sees March vehicle unit sales down 50% - The company states: "For the first two months of 2020 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, same store new vehicle revenue increased 4%, used vehicle revenues increased 22%, F&I increased 18%, and service, body, and parts increased 6%. These results continued into early March then progressively declined throughout the rest of the month as "stay home" and "shelter in place" policies were established by several states. Those policies created varying levels of business interruption across our locations. In March, since shelter in place policies were enacted, vehicle unit sales declined approximately 50%, with new and used vehicle sales responding similarly. Our stores declined between 15% and 75%, other than our most restricted states, Pennsylvania and Vermont, having virtually no sales. The most stable states were Montana and Texas, with very little year-over-year change. In our vehicle sales departments, we are providing varying levels of service, including normal business hours to complete closures in Pennsylvania and Vermont. Where sales are allowed, we are providing in-store appointments and home delivery through both digital and traditional solutions. We believe that volume recoveries in all departments will be linked to the lifting or modification of shelter in place policies and a recovery will begin as consumers transition back to work and more normal lives. In response to the decline in sales, we have adjusted staffing headcount by 37%, mainly as furloughs, and have implemented marketing, vendor and inventory cost reduction or control strategies. We have not yet realized the associated cost savings and expect to see these benefits early in the second quarter. We expect to be able to have team members return to work as future volume levels recover."

17:34 EDT Chesapeake announces 1-for-200 reverse stock split - Chesapeake Energy Corporation announced that, at a special meeting of shareholders of the company held on April 13, 2020, its shareholders voted to approve: a proposal authorizing the Board of Directors of the Company to effect a reverse stock split of the company's issued and outstanding common stock at a ratio ranging from 1-for-50 to 1-for-200 and a proposal to reduce the total number of authorized shares of the company's common stock as determined by a formula based on two-thirds of the reverse stock split ratio. Following the special meeting of shareholders, the Board of Directors approved a 1-for-200 reverse stock split. A Certificate of Amendment to the company's Restated Certificate of Incorporation that gives effect to the reverse stock split and the authorized shares reduction has been filed with the Oklahoma Secretary of State and will become effective at 5:00 p.m. Central Time on April 14, 2020. The company's common stock will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis on the New York Stock Exchange at the market open on April 15, 2020. The reverse stock split is intended to, among other things, increase the per share trading price of the company's common shares to satisfy the $1.00 minimum bid price requirement for continued listing on the NYSE. As a result of the reverse stock split, each 200 pre-split shares of common stock outstanding will automatically be combined into one issued and outstanding share of common stock without any action on the part of the shareholder. No fractional shares of common stock will be issued as a result of any reverse stock split. Instead, in lieu of any fractional shares to which a shareholder of record would otherwise be entitled as a result of the reverse stock split, the company will pay cash, without interest, to such shareholder. Once effective, the number of outstanding shares of common stock will be reduced from approximately 1.957 billion as of April 10, 2020 to approximately 9.784 million shares. The total number of shares of common stock that the company is authorized to issue will also be reduced from 3,000,000,000 to 22,500,000 shares.

17:23 EDT Yeti to replace LHC Group in S&P 600 at open on 4/17

17:18 EDT Dentsply Sirona senior executives to take temporary pay cuts - In light of the disruption and uncertainty created by the evolving COVID-19 pandemic and its anticipated impact on the company's operations, on April 13, the company announced that each of the members of the company's senior management team, including each of the company's named executive officers, will be taking a temporary reduction in base salary for 90 days. Specifically, Casey will forgo all but that portion of his base salary necessary to fund, on an after-tax basis, his contributions to continue to participate in the company's health benefits plan and meet certain other legal requirements. Messrs. Gomez, Ebling, Newell and Petersohn will forego 25% of base salary for the same 90-day period. These reductions in pay will be effective in April and are generally not intended to reduce any other benefits determined by reference to base salary, except as required by law or the terms of applicable plans. The company has also implemented a 25% wage reduction plan for all salaried employees of the company who are above a certain specified salary level, including members of management, where allowed by law. In addition, each member of the Board of Directors has agreed to waive one quarter of his or her annual cash retainer for 2020.

17:14 EDT DCP Midstream announces 15% workforce reduction - In response to unprecedented market conditions and an uncertain economic outlook caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, DCP Midstream announced a 15% workforce reduction across its nine-state footprint. The company is providing severance packages, subsidized health coverage, and outplacement counseling for impacted employees. The senior executive team also unanimously elected to reduce their base salary and variable compensation by between 15% and 10%. The reduction in force, voluntary reductions in senior executive compensation, and other internal cost savings will result in $40M of incremental retained cash flow. Additionally, DCP has identified $10M of incremental sustaining capital reductions. These actions come three weeks after the company announced a 75% growth capital reduction, a 50% distribution reduction, and over $80M in previously identified cost and sustaining capital savings. Since early February, DCP has created a total of over $900M in expected retained cash flow to reduce leverage and strengthen its balance sheet.

17:05 EDT Cameco extends production suspension at Cigar Lake Mine - Cameco is extending the temporary production suspension at the Cigar Lake uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan as the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic persist. Cameco placed the Cigar Lake operation in safe care and maintenance mode on March 23 for four weeks and has determined that the Cigar Lake workforce will need to remain at its current reduced level for a longer duration. Cameco will therefore keep the facility in safe care and maintenance for an indeterminate period. Cigar Lake ore is processed at Orano Canada Inc.'s McClean Lake mill, which is also presently in care and maintenance. Orano has also decided to extend the temporary production suspension at its McClean Lake mill. The Cigar Lake operation is owned by Cameco - 50.025% -, Orano Canada - 37.1% -, Idemitsu Canada Resources - 7.875% - and TEPCO Resources - 5.0% - and is operated by Cameco.

17:01 EDT Just Energy announces sale of Japanese business - Just Energy announced that it has sold all of the shares of Just Energy Japan KK to Astmax Trading, Inc. The purchase price was "nominal, as the business was still in its start-up phase with more liabilities than assets and had fewer than 1,000 customers."

16:56 EDT Arvinas does not see COVID-19 affecting timing of ARV-110, ARV-471 data releases - Arvinas provided an update regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its overall business continuity, including clinical trials, supply chain, and discovery research. Arvinas continues to monitor the impact of COVID-19 on its ongoing clinical trials. The safety of patients and staff at the sites engaged in ARV-110 and ARV-471 studies remains Arvinas' priority. Arvinas is working closely with the study centers to understand the potential impact of COVID-19 on trial enrollment. Arvinas' clinical trials each utilize four sites for enrollment and the company expects that sites that can safely continue to enroll patients will continue to do so. Recently, Yale-New Haven Hospital (YNHH) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), both sites in Arvinas' ARV-110 study, as well as the University of California - Los Angeles (UCLA), a site in Arvinas' ARV-471 study, all have publicly announced pauses in patient enrollment for clinical trials, including Arvinas' trials. The pause at UCLA has already been lifted and new patients for the ARV-471 trial are permitted to enroll. Arvinas will continue to collaborate with YNHH and MGH to understand the timing of enrollment restarts while maintaining the safety of patients as its top priority. At sites that have paused enrollment, patients already enrolled and who remain on study will continue to receive scheduled doses and be assessed for safety and other clinical endpoints. Arvinas is working with all sites to develop contingency plans that maintain the highest standards for patient care and study data integrity while affording flexibility in study visits during the COVID-19 pandemic, consistent with recent FDA guidance on the management of clinical studies during the pandemic. These contingency plans include the potential use of telemedicine and local testing for laboratory assessments, instituting remote monitoring plans, providing study drug directly to patients, and allowing certain assessments to be completed virtually while maintaining data integrity. The contract research organizations (CROs) Arvinas relies on for the conduct of its clinical trials and the third parties used for monitoring secondary endpoints continue to operate without interruption in services. Arvinas does not expect COVID-19 to have any impact to the planned timing of clinical data releases for ARV-110 (at the 2020 annual meeting of the American Society for Clinical Oncology) and ARV-471 (in the second half of 2020). Arvinas continues to monitor the activities of its suppliers of starting materials, drug substances, and drug products. The Arvinas supply chain is geographically distributed, and while there have been some delays at contract manufacturing organizations (CMOs), Arvinas does not currently anticipate impacts to the clinical supply requirements for ongoing clinical trials of ARV-110 and ARV-471.

16:48 EDT Quest says 800K COVID-19 tests done, preparing to offer antibody blood testing - "The past few weeks have been a time of unprecedented challenges, and we have all seen the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on our families, colleagues, communities, and our business.Thank you for the role you are playing in Quest Diagnostics' efforts to bring more and more life-saving virus testing to the nation. To date Quest has performed nearly 800,000 tests, or about 40% of all testing by commercial labs. We are now preparing to offer antibody blood testing to identify people who have been exposed and built immunity. However, as we reported on March 31, the increase in our COVID-19 testing has not nearly been enough to offset the significant reductions we have seen to Quest's overall testing volumes, which declined by more than 40% in the last two weeks of March. Reducing hours for non-exempt employees where possible and necessary as an opportunity to preserve jobs and maintain income for our colleagues; reducing overtime; freezing virtually all hiring and promotions; and dismissing temporary and contract workers Importantly, none of these changes will impact our ability to deliver critical COVID-19 testing," said the company in a regulatory filing. These are the temporary actions we need to take now to help us through the second quarter. After that time, we will evaluate what we need to do beyond that, if anything. While there's a lot we can't predict, I do know that when the crisis ends we will need our colleagues more than ever. The challenges have brought us closer together, changing the way we work and collaborate, and making us a stronger team. We have become more agile, customer-focused and unified. I'm very proud to be part of this team at this historic time. I know we will get through this together and emerge from the crisis stronger with substantial opportunities in front of us. Thank you for your contributions and the sacrifices you and your teams are making.

16:38 EDT Cleveland-Cliffs to temporarily idle production at two mining operations - Cleveland-Cliffs announced that based on current market conditions, the company will be temporarily idling production at two of its iron ore mining operations, Northshore Mining in Minnesota and Tilden Mine in Michigan. Cleveland-Cliffs stated that it will work down current inventory levels from these two operations and will continue to ship iron ore to fulfill its commercial agreements with steel customers. Lourenco Goncalves, chairman, president and CEO said, "We have evaluated market conditions and the extraordinary disruptions in manufacturing and steel production in North America due to the impact of the COVID-19 market shock. As our steel customers rationalize their operations' capacities, we made the decision to adjust our iron ore production during the first half of the year and not continue to build additional iron ore inventory until market conditions improve. Once the North American steel market improves, Cleveland-Cliffs will be able to quickly restart and ramp up production." The company stated that unless business circumstances change, it plans to temporarily idle production at Northshore mine by mid-April with a planned restart by August and Tilden mine will be temporarily idled by the end of April with a planned restart in July.

16:34 EDT VSE Corp. discloses $90M in Defense Department contracts - VSE Corp announced approximately $90 million in contract and delivery order awards with the United States Department of Defense. These awards include the following: A five- and one-half-year contract, commencing in the 2nd Quarter of 2020, to provide procurement and technical support services for the Marine Corps Advanced Amphibious Assault family of vehicles. This award represents an increase in contract value, scope and capabilities for work currently performed by VSE. Delivery orders to provide services under VSE's Foreign Military Sales contract with the Naval Sea Systems Command International Fleet Support Program Office. Under these delivery orders, VSE will provide maritime program support including logistics, planning, repair and maintenance, training and engineering support to allied countries of the United States.

16:33 EDT Reebonz Holding receives noncompliance notification from Nasdaq - Reebonz Holding announced that it has received a notification letter from the Listing Qualifications Department of Nasdaq indicating that the company did not meet the continued listing requirement of maintaining a minimum bid price of $1.00 per share, as set forth in the Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450 because the bid price of the company's publicly held ordinary shares for the last 30 consecutive business days was below the minimum bid price requirement of $1.00 per share. Pursuant to Rule 5810, the company has a compliance period of 180 calendar days, or until October 5, to regain compliance with Nasdaq's minimum bid price requirement. If at any time during the compliance period, the company's bid price closes at or above $1.00 per share or more for a minimum of ten consecutive business days, Nasdaq will provide the company a written confirmation of compliance and the matter will be closed. In the event the company does not regain compliance with Rule 5450 prior to the expiry of the compliance period, the company will receive written notification that its securities are subject to delisting from Nasdaq. At that time, the company may appeal the delisting determination to a hearing's panel of Nasdaq.

16:32 EDT Victory Capital reports total AUM $123.8B on March 31 - Down from $142.43B on February 29.

16:28 EDT Columbus McKinnon reduces capital expenditures, provides update amid COVID-19 - Columbus McKinnon provided an update on the actions taken to address the impact that COVID-19 is having on its business and markets as well as preliminary revenue and backlog for the Q4 which ended March 31. The company has eliminated travel and reduced traffic in and out of factories while mplementing a remote work force wherever possible .Additionally, Columbus McKinnon has staggered shifts in factories and limited access to common areas while maintaining social distancing guidelines where possible. The company announced it is accelerating blueprint for growth strategy operational plans to reduce overhead costs in operations and achieve footprint rationalization. The company is also using furloughs to align administrative and plant staffing with the decline in demand while measurably stepping down inventory levels. Columbus McKinnon is reducing capital expenditures to $5M in the first six months of fiscal 2021 and reducing pension contributions to minimum required levels. Gregory Rustowicz, CFO, commented, "Columbus McKinnon is in a strong position entering this rapid downturn in business. In addition to our strong ability to generate cash even as sales decline, we had total liquidity of $168 million as of December 2019, consisting of $84 million of cash and $84 million available on our revolver net of outstanding letters of credit. We recently drew down $25 million from the revolver for liquidity and working capital purposes, demonstrating that we have a strong, supportive bank group. We are taking additional cash preservation measures in addition to reducing our capital expenditures such as reducing our pension contribution to the minimum requirement and only making required term loan principal payments. These actions alone will protect approximately $35 million in cash in the next six months. Importantly, we have historically demonstrated an ability to generate cash through all cycles."

16:22 EDT Aramark, Leon Black announce philanthropic program 'NYC Healthcare Heroes' - The Debra and Leon Black Family and Aramark announced "NYC Healthcare Heroes," a city-wide philanthropic program to support the heroic efforts of the more than 100,000 New York City healthcare professionals on the front lines combatting the COVID-19 pandemic. The program - launched in partnership with the Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City, Robin Hood, New York City's largest poverty fighting organization, and the American Red Cross - will provide at least 300,000 and up to 500,000 packages of shelf-stable food, household cleaning and personal care products, as well as over-the-counter medicine to staff at hospitals across the five boroughs through June, alleviating the burden of having to shop for themselves and their families.

16:21 EDT Navistar postpones 30% of planned capex, defers up to 30% pay for certain staff - Navistar provided an update on actions it is taking in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. As an essential business critical to supporting our country's increasingly stressed supply chain, Navistar plans to continue manufacturing operations at all plants subject to market conditions, component supplier disruptions and the continued spread and impact of COVID-19. Due to component supplier constraints, the stoppage at Navistar's truck assembly plant in Springfield, Ohio has been extended through early May. A postponement of 30 percent of capital expenditures; A postponement of 30 percent of information technology project spend; A deferral of $162 million in pension contributions until 2021 under provisions of the CARES Act; A deferral of employer payroll tax payments and certain Employee Retention Tax Credits under provisions of the CARES Act as guidance becomes available; A deferral of 35% to the base salary of the CEO and board compensation; A deferral of 10% to 30% to the base salary of U.S.-based, salaried exempt, non-represented employees; A reduced workweek by 20% for contractors.

16:18 EDT Ocwen responds to NYSE non-compliance notice - Ocwen Financial announced that the New York Stock Exchange has notified the Company that the average per share trading price of its common stock was below the NYSE's minimum average share price rule. The NYSE requires the average closing price of a listed company's stock to be at least $1.00 per share over a consecutive 30 trading-day period. Receipt of the NYSE notification does not conflict with or cause an event of default under any of the Company's material debt agreements. Ocwen received written notification from the NYSE on April 8, 2020. In accordance with the NYSE's rules, Ocwen has six months from receipt of the notice to regain compliance with the NYSE's price condition. The Company can regain compliance at any time during the six-month cure period if on the last trading day of any calendar month during the cure period or on the last day of the cure period, Ocwen has a closing share price of at least $1.00 and an average closing share price of at least $1.00 over the 30 trading-day period ending on such date. As previously disclosed, the Company is considering implementing a reverse stock split, which may potentially increase its stock price and therefore could potentially enable the Company to regain compliance with the NYSE's minimum share price requirement. The Company also intends to reduce the number of its authorized shares of common stock by the same proportion as the ratio chosen for the reverse stock split. The Board of Directors of the Company (the "Board") presently intends to request shareholder approval of a reverse stock split, on an advisory basis, at the Company's Annual Meeting of Shareholders, currently scheduled for May 27, 2020. The Board intends to take into account the results of the advisory vote as well as changing market conditions and other developments which may impact the Company's stock price in order to make a determination with respect to the best course of action to pursue in order to regain compliance with the NYSE's minimum share price requirement. If the members of the Board believe, due to changing circumstances or otherwise, that it is in the best interests of the Company and its shareholders to implement the reverse stock split even if not approved on an advisory basis, the Board reserves the discretion to do so. During the cure period, Ocwen's common stock will continue to be listed and trade on the NYSE. The Company is in compliance with all other NYSE continued listing standard rules.

16:16 EDT Everest Re names Alex Poracchia as International Chief Actuary and CFO - Everest Re Group announced that Alex Poracchia has joined the company as its International Chief Actuary and Chief Financial Officer of the organization's Everest Global Markets division. Prior to joining Everest, Alex spent nearly eight years at Deloitte UK as a partner within the firm's Actuarial, Reward and Analytics practice predominantly supporting international clients' Audits, M&A and finance transformation programs.

16:11 EDT D.E. Shaw reports 5.0% passive stake in Yelp - D.E. Shaw disclosed a 5.0% stake in Yelp, which represents over 3.59M shares. The filing does not allow for activism.

16:09 EDT Potbelly announces Steven Cirulis appointed SVP CFO, and Chief Strategy Officer - Potbelly announced that Steven W. Cirulis will be joining the Potbelly executive team as Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Strategy Officer, effective immediately. Mr. Cirulis has been with Potbelly since December 2019, serving in a strategic planning, finance and analytical consulting role. Mr. Cirulis will now lead the Company's financial and strategy functions, including financial planning and analysis, accounting and financial reporting, tax, treasury, investor relations and enterprise procurement. Alan Johnson, President and Chief Executive Officer of Potbelly, commented, "We are pleased to welcome Steve to our executive team. Over the last several months, I've seen Steve's strategic and financial contributions firsthand and believe that he will prove invaluable as we navigate the current environment. Steve has a proven track record of developing and executing growth strategies in the restaurant industry with his extensive time at McDonald's and Panera, including a focus on off-premise channels. He has also played a key role in the design and implementation of our Project Aurora tests. His insights and leadership will be instrumental as we continue to position Potbelly for a return to growth."

16:07 EDT Sterling Construction awarded specialty services projects totaling $100M in Q1 - Sterling Construction announced that Plateau, was awarded significant projects and increases to the scope on existing projects totaling approximately $100M during Q1 of 2020. The site development projects included distribution centers for the e-commerce platform and retail grocers, a major children's hospital expansion and an industrial location. The majority of these awards commenced work during the quarter.

16:06 EDT Sierra Wireless names Samuel Cochrane as CFO - Sierra Wireless (SWIR) announced that Samuel Cochrane will join as CFO starting May 6th. Mr. Cochrane most recently served as a Vice President of Motorola Solutions Inc. (MSI) and before that as the CFO of Avigilon, which was acquired by Motorola in 2018. Mr. Cochrane will report directly to Kent Thexton, President and CEO.

16:04 EDT Five Below announces additional actions in response to COVID-19 - Five Below announced additional measures it is taking in response to the current business environment created by COVID-19. "As we navigate this difficult time, we remain grounded in a set of unshakable values, including 'Hold the Penny Hostage,' which takes on even greater significance in this moment," said CEO Joel Anderson. "We are confident about our capacity to weather this storm and will continue to take strategic measures - including reducing our expenses and tightly managing our cash spend and liquidity - designed to safeguard our future. We look forward to welcoming our crew and customers back to our stores as soon as we can do so safely." As previously announced on March 31, 2020, Five Below extended the temporary closures of its stores and will reopen stores as soon as federal, state and local authorities allow, targeting May 1, 2020. The Company's ecommerce website remains open. A majority of the store and distribution center associates were furloughed in connection with the extended closures. The Company will cover health benefit costs for furloughed employees through April.

16:03 EDT Becton Dickinson: FDA grants EUA for new diagnostic test for COVID-19 - BD announced that the U.S. FDA has granted Emergency Use Authorization for an additional molecular diagnostic test for COVID-19 that can return results in two to three hours. The new test also has been CE marked to the IVD Directive. The test, which is run on the BD MAX System, provides additional testing capacity for COVID-19 in the United States and in countries that recognize the CE Mark to test patients and health care workers. The test is in addition to the other tests already available on the BD MAX System from collaborations with BioGX and CerTest and is based on the CDC assay design. The BD MAX System, a molecular diagnostic platform, is already in use at thousands of laboratories worldwide, and each unit is capable of analyzing hundreds of samples over a 24-hour period.

16:02 EDT Global PC market fell 9.8% in Q1, says IDC - The global traditional PC market, comprised of desktops, notebooks, and workstations, declined 9.8% year over year in the first quarter of 2020, reaching a total of 53.2 million shipments according to preliminary results from the International Data Corporation Worldwide Quarterly Personal Computing Device Tracker. The stark decline after a year of growth in 2019 was the result of reduced supply due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in China, the world's largest supplier of PCs. While production capacity in January was pretty much on par with past years, the extended closure of factories in February and the slow resumption of manufacturing along with difficulties in logistics and labor towards the end of the quarter led to a reduction of supply. Meanwhile, demand rose during the quarter as many employees needed to upgrade their PCs to work from home and consumers sought gaming PCs to keep themselves entertained. Lenovo (LNVGY) once again managed to capture the leading position despite declining 4.3% during the quarter. Excluding the Asia/Pacific region and Japan, the company managed to grow across all the other regions thanks to increased demand stemming from new work from home policies. HP Inc. (HPQ) finished the quarter in second place while declining 13.8% year over year during the quarter. Despite the company's scale and brand recognition, it was unable to secure enough supply during the quarter leading to a slight reduction in share. Dell Technologies (DELL) once again ranked third overall. This was a rather successful quarter for the company as it was one of the few companies that managed to grow during the quarter-up 1.1% year over year-thanks to strong relationships with the supply chain. Acer Group rose to fourth place with close to 3.4 million units shipped in the quarter. By pulling in inventory ahead of the shutdown in February, the company was able to negate some of the ill effects of the supply disruption. A strong gaming portfolio as well as success in the Chromebook market helped the company rise up the ranks. Apple (AAPL) saw its Mac volumes decline by 20.7% year over year, one of the largest drops in recent history as almost all of its manufacturing is based in China and the company was one of the hardest hit by the shutdown of factories. Other companies in the PC space include Micron (MU), Western Digital (WDC), Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOG), Seagate (STX), Qualcomm (QCOM), Intel (INTC), IBM (IBM), and NetApp (NTAP).

15:09 EDT 'Suicide Squad' will be released on time, James Gunn says - Before the limitations that the COVID-19 outbreak had imposed on global populations and Hollywood productions,film director James Gunn had been working on The Suicide Squad for Warner Bros. The release date set for The Suicide Squad is set for August 6, 2021.Filming on The Suicide Squad ended in February. Gunn said earlier on Twitter in response to an inquiry: "Right now there's no reason for #TheSuicideSquad release date to move. We are on or ahead of schedule. We were extremely fortunate to wrap shooting & set up editing from our homes (due to a post production team & studio with foresight) before quarantine. " Reference Link

14:59 EDT Valero provides operational update - The recent outbreak of COVID-19 and its development into a pandemic has resulted in significant economic disruption globally, including in North America and Europe, the primary geographic areas where the company operates. There has been a decline in the demand for, and thus also the market prices of, crude oil and certain of Valero's products, particularly refined petroleum products and most notably gasoline and jet fuel. In addition, recent events concerning the dispute over production levels between Russia and the members of OPEC, particularly Saudi Arabia, and the subsequent actions taken by such countries as a result thereof, including Saudi Arabia discounting the price of its crude oil exports, have exacerbated the decline in crude oil prices and have contributed to an increase in crude oil price volatility. The decrease in the demand for refined petroleum products coupled with the decline in the price of crude oil has resulted in a significant decrease in the price of the refined petroleum products manufactured by thee company's refining segment. Because ethanol is primarily blended into gasoline, ethanol demand has declined along with the decline in the demand for gasoline, and the price of the products manufactured by our ethanol segment have also decreased. Essential businesses, including the critical logistics infrastructure to move and transport goods produced by those businesses, continue to operate, blunting the decrease in the demand for diesel. Demand for renewable diesel is consistent with the demand for diesel as a whole; therefore, Valero's renewable diesel segment has not been impacted as significantly as its refining and ethanol segments. The price of refined products the company sells and the feedstocks it purchases impact its revenues, cost of sales, operating income and liquidity. In addition, a decline in the market prices of refined products and feedstocks below the carrying value in its inventory may result in the adjustment of the value of its inventories to the lower market price and a corresponding loss on the value of our inventories. Valero is actively responding to the impacts from these matters on its business. In late March and through early April, Valero started reducing the amount of crude oil processed at most of its refineries in response to the decreased demand for its products, the company temporarily idled various gasoline-making units at certain of our refineries to further limit gasoline production, and it took measures to reduce jet fuel production. Valero also temporarily idled eight of its ethanol plants, and reduced the amount of corn feedstock processed at its remaining six ethanol plants to address the decreased demand for ethanol. In addition to these measures, Valero is addressing itsliquidity as follows: It expects to defer or delay certain capital expenditures which it had expected to make in 2020 related to its refining and ethanol segments; It deferred approximately $100M of direct and indirect tax payments due in Q1, and it plans, to the extent possible, to defer certain other direct and indirect tax payments in 2020. These deferrals have been provided to taxpayers under new legislation, such as the CARES Act in the U.S., and by various taxing authorities under existing legislation; It has not purchased any shares of its common stock since mid-March, and will evaluate the timing of repurchases when appropriate; The company is analyzing various other liquidity options. Many uncertainties remain with respect to COVID-19, but the adverse impact of the economic effects on the company has been and will likely continue to be significant. Valero believes it has proactively addressed many of the known impacts of COVID-19 to the extent possible and will strive to continue to do so, but there can be no guarantee that these measures will be fully effective.

13:37 EDT Ford to produce respirators, masks for COVID-19 protection in Michigan - Ford (F) is expanding its efforts to design and produce urgently needed medical equipment and supplies for health care workers, first responders and patients fighting coronavirus. In addition to the current production of more than 3 million face shields in Plymouth, Mich., Ford-designed powered air-purifying respirator production begins Tuesday, April 14. Ford also is now producing face masks and leading an effort to scale production of reusable gowns for health care workers. Lastly, Ford started providing manufacturing expertise to help scientific instrument provider Thermo Fisher Scientific quickly expand production of COVID-19 collection kits to test for the virus. "We knew that to play our part helping combat coronavirus, we had to go like hell and join forces with experts like 3M (MMM) to expand production of urgently needed medical equipment and supplies," said Jim Baumbick, vice president, Ford Enterprise Product Line Management. "In just three weeks under Project Apollo, we've unleashed our world-class manufacturing, purchasing and design talent to get scrappy and start making personal protection equipment and help increase the availability and production of ventilators." Approximately 90 paid UAW volunteers will assemble PAPRs at Ford's Vreeland facility near Flat Rock, Mich., with the ability to make 100,000 or more. Meanwhile, Ford is now manufacturing face masks for internal use globally and pursuing certification for medical use its Van Dyke Transmission Plant. To help further protect health care workers, Ford is leading efforts to manufacture reusable gowns with airbag supplier Joyson Safety Systems. Production of gowns will reach 75,000 gowns a week by Sunday and scale up to 100,000 gowns for the week of April 19 and beyond. By July 4, Ford-supplier Joyson Safety Systems will cut and sew 1.3 million gowns, which are self-tested to federal standards and are washable up to 50 times. As of April 13, Ford had produced more than 3 million face shields for medical personnel and first responders.

13:02 EDT E.W. Scripps CEO, executives take salary, fee reductions - The senior leadership team and members of the board of directors of The E.W. Scripps Company are taking voluntary salary and fee reductions, effective immediately. The company will donate an amount equal to those cuts to a fund to support its employees affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Scripps President and CEO Adam Symson will take a 15% reduction to his salary. The company's named executive officers will each take a 10% pay cut. This includes CFO Lisa Knutson; Local Media President Brian Lawlor; Executive Vice President, National Media Laura Tomlin; General Counsel Bill Appleton; SVP, Controller and Treasurer Doug Lyons; Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications and Investor Relations Carolyn Micheli; and VP, Benefits and Compensation Julie McGehee. The reductions are calculated based on executives' 2019 salary after their 2020 salary increases were rolled back. The 11 members of Scripps' board of directors will take a 15% reduction in their annual cash compensation, and board chairman Rich Boehne also will forego the remainder of his 2020 chairman fees. The company will make a donation to The Scripps Howard Foundation's COVID-19 Employee Relief Fund equal to the amount saved as a result of the reduction in salaries and director fees. The Foundation created the fund to help Scripps employees who are adversely affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

12:53 EDT Planet Fitness announces streaming partnership with iFit - Planet Fitness announced a partnership with streaming home workouts "leader" iFit, via which the companies have "united to create new in-home workouts for people of all fitness levels and interests that are fun, motivating and judgement free." Planet Fitness said that, beginning today, "the collaboration launches with a series of new streaming workouts to help keep everyone moving while they're at home, available exclusively on the Planet Fitness app, to be used with minimal or no equipment. The workouts are available for free - to both Planet Fitness members and non-members - and span a broad range of fitness and wellness categories, including at home cardio, at home strength-training, stretching and more."

12:19 EDT Graham Holdings trading halted, volatility trading pause

12:00 EDT Century Communities falls -15.2% - Century Communities is down -15.2%, or -$2.88 to $16.08.

12:00 EDT Meredith falls -16.6% - Meredith is down -16.6%, or -$2.87 to $14.39.

12:00 EDT Enable Midstream rises 20.9% - Enable Midstream is up 20.9%, or 57c to $3.28.

11:44 EDT Carnival Cruise Line extends pause In North American operations through June 27 - Carnival Cruise Line, a unit of Carnival Corporation, said that it is notifying guests that it is cancelling more cruises as it extends its pause in North American operations, with plans to resume on June 27, 2020. "Carnival Cruise Line shares the global priorities of health and safety for all. We will use this extended pause to continue to take care of the crew that remains on board and continue to bring non-essential crew home. We are actively engaged with the industry and our stakeholders on additional protocols that we will be implementing when we resume service. We are dedicated to maintaining confidence in our commitment to protecting the health and safety of our guests, crew and the communities we serve. We are communicating directly with our guests and travel agent partners and have worked to minimize the disruption by automating the process so that guests and travel agents can manage their options online. Our offices remain closed at the direction of local government, and while our customer contact center team is now taking calls at home, technology limitations continue to impact productivity and our level of support. We appreciate the patience of our guests and travel advisors during this unprecedented time. And we are touched by the many expressions of support for our cruise line and the genuine concern for our onboard team members whose dedication to our guests is the basis for our loyal fan base," the company stated. Reference Link

11:11 EDT Athene Holding confirms consent order, settlement with NYSDFS - Athene Holding disclosed in a regulatory filing that the company and Athene Annuity and Life Company, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the company, entered into a consent order with the New York State Department of Financial Services, or the NYSDFS. The consent order resolves the NYSDFS's previously disclosed inquiry into AAIA's pension risk transfer operations in New York. Pursuant to the consent order, the company and AAIA are required to pay a fine of $45M. As of December 31, 2019, the company had established an accrued liability in the amount of the fine, which was reflected in the company's consolidated balance sheet as of such date. For management reporting purposes, the amount is considered non-operating, the company said.

10:22 EDT Athene Holding to pay $45M to New York State in settlement - New York Superintendent of Financial Services Linda Lacewell announced that Athene Holding will pay a $45M penalty to New York State for New York Insurance Law violations related to its subsidiary Athene Annuity & Life Company and its pension risk transfer business. "The New York State Department of Financial Services uncovered that Athene solicited and did insurance business in New York without a license," the regulator announced. Reference Link

10:00 EDT Royal Caribbean falls -12.8% - Royal Caribbean is down -12.8%, or -$5.15 to $35.07.

10:00 EDT Phoenix Tree rises 12.0% - Phoenix Tree is up 12.0%, or 73c to $6.83.

10:00 EDT USA Compression rises 13.6% - USA Compression is up 13.6%, or 97c to $8.10.

09:51 EDT Eastman donates material to Purdue for protective lenses, face shields - As part of the world's collective effort to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, Eastman is donating materials to produce protective lenses and face shields for medical personnel. Eastman donated 600 square feet of material to Purdue University. More than 40 volunteer faculty and staff members are using the school's laser cutting system to produce up to 3,000 lenses and 4,000 face shields. The protective equipment will be distributed to hospitals across Indiana. Eastman has also donated material to organizations in Tennessee, Virginia, and Brazil for the production of face shields. In Europe, the company has donated resins to customers that are making hand sanitizer instead of cosmetics.

09:50 EDT Franchise Group Inc trading resumes

09:47 EDT Norwegian Cruise Line falls -15.2% - Norwegian Cruise Line is down -15.2%, or -$1.99 to $11.12.

09:47 EDT Crestwood Equity rises 13.0% - Crestwood Equity is up 13.0%, or 74c to $6.43.

09:47 EDT PlayAGS rises 16.7% - PlayAGS is up 16.7%, or 45c to $3.14.

09:40 EDT International Game trading resumes

09:40 EDT Franchise Group Inc trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:39 EDT New Residential trading resumes

09:36 EDT Ford Credit remained above $25B liquidity target with $28B at end of Q1

09:35 EDT STORE Capital trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:35 EDT International Game trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:35 EDT United Continental trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:33 EDT Ford says remained above $25B liquidity target with $28B at end of Q1

09:30 EDT Phoenix Tree Holdings Limited (Class A ADS) trading halted, volatility trading pause

09:28 EDT Coherus Biosciences expects COVID-19 adverse effects to continue in Q2, 2H20 - The company said, "There are reasons to expect that the adverse effects we are experiencing and expect to continue to experience from COVID-19 in the second quarter and second half of 2020 will be transient and most significant during the period that the COVID-19 pandemic is having its greatest impact on the medical system and personal behaviors. We expect that patients and physicians will balance the need for the administration of drugs, such as pegfilgrastim, which are indicated for curable cancer treatment or other serious diseases against the risks associated with COVID-19. Patients who have already initiated chemotherapy, especially with curative intent, appear to be continuing on therapy, as any dose reduction or delay could have a significant impact on survival. Coherus believes referrals and cancer diagnoses could recover as referring providers determine ways to navigate the new environment and previously delayed treatments are initiated. Declines in referrals and cancer diagnoses are potentially compensated for by revised National Comprehensive Cancer Network treatment guidelines that recommend growth factor use in chemotherapy regimens where there is at least a 10% risk of febrile neutropenia. This new guidance expands the previous guidelines of a greater than 20% risk of febrile neutropenia, thereby potentially increasing overall usage of pegfilgrastim."

09:12 EDT Borqs Technologies receives up to $150M line of credit offer - Borqs Technologies announced that the Company has received a line of credit offer of up to $150M from a financing group for working capital needs for the Company's customer pre-orders forecasted at over $100M. The orders are for mobile and IoT devices with Borqs' embedded software scheduled for delivery beginning in the 2nd quarter of 2020 and extending into the year 2021. The available funds will be primarily used for Borqs development of customized hardware products, integrated with the Company's propriety software, to major international customers. Such products include IoT and mobile terminal devices for the top tier mobile carriers in the world, and other industrial products specially designed for US, European and Asian customers. Some of the customers are Fortune 500 companies and one of them is among the largest electronics and specialty retailer in the US. The products pre-ordered are smartphones, smartwatches, specialty ruggedized smartphone for hazardous environment and other IoT products including a personal safety alert device which is particularly needed due to the current COVID-19 environment. The Company is finalizing the final terms and will disclose details of the above transaction upon its completion.

09:11 EDT Capricor Therapeutics to host KOL on cardiac complications of DMD - Capricor Therapeutics announced that it will host a Key Opinion Leader call on the cardiac complications of DMD on Wednesday, April 15, 2020 at 1:30 pm Eastern Time. The call will feature a presentation by key opinion leader Michael Taylor, M.D., Ph.D. (Cincinnati Children's Hospital), Director of Advanced Imaging Innovation. Dr. Taylor will provide an overview of Duchenne muscular dystrophy, particularly focusing on the cardiac complications of the disease, its progression and current cardiac treatment options. Dr. Taylor will be available to answer questions at the conclusion of the call. Capricor's management team will also provide an overview of the Company's lead candidate, CAP-1002, a cell therapy that is currently in clinical development for the treatment of DMD. The FDA has granted Capricor's CAP-1002 RMAT, Orphan Drug, and Rare Pediatric Disease designations.

09:10 EDT American BriVision announces two transactions to improve working capital - American BriVision announced it had entered into two financial transactions that will improve working capital while reducing debt, and support the funding of drug development programs and ongoing clinical trials. American BriVision said that three holders of convertible promissory notes with a 20% discount, issued on January 21, 2020, and representing an aggregate principal amount of $800,000 plus accrued interest expenses, have entered into exchange agreements with the company on April 5, 2020. Pursuant to the agreements, the holders have exchanged their notes at an exchange price of $1.84 per share for 506,297 shares of ABVC common stock. Additionally, the holders received three-year warrants to purchase 506,297 shares of ABVC common stock at an initial exercise price of $5.00 per share. Separately, the company announced it intends to raise $1,000,000 through the private placement of 444,445 shares of its common stock to qualified U.S. and non-U.S. investors at a purchase price of $2.25 per share. Each investor will also receive a five-year warrant at an initial exercise price of $6.00 per share for each share of ABVC common stock purchased. The note exchange is expected to close on or about April 30, 2020, and the private placement is expected to close on or before May 15, 2020. Upon the closing of both transactions, the total number of outstanding ABVC common shares will increase to 20,438,910 from 19,488,168.

09:08 EDT GrubHub says plans to reinvest most of Q2 profits - The company said, "While we are confident we could generate meaningful profits in the second quarter that would keep us comfortably on the previously announced path to deliver at least $100 million of Adjusted EBITDA in 2020, we are instead planning to reinvest most of the profits we expect to generate during the second quarter into programs that directly drive more business to our restaurant partners. We anticipate this enhanced support will take several forms, including numerous Grubhub-funded diner promotions, reduced or eliminated diner delivery fees, platform improvements and products and procedures to help keep drivers, diners and restaurant workers safe. As a result, we plan to intentionally manage the business to approximately $5 million of Adjusted EBITDA in the second quarter to continue to support our ecosystem. To be clear, this is a completely discretionary short-term business decision designed to support our industry. We are proud that our consistent profitability, highly variable cost structure and strong balance sheet afford us ample liquidity (approximately $600 million as of March 31, including $175 million we added from our revolver) and flexibility during times like these. We are confident that our ability to manage our business profitably while competing aggressively has not changed, but because of the uncertainty surrounding the timing of when and how the COVID-19 outbreak will resolve, we believe it's prudent to withdraw our full year 2020 revenue and EBITDA guidance. When business and social conditions normalize, we expect to return Grubhub to the growth and profit trajectory we were on before COVID-19 - which was at the high end of our expectations laid out over the last couple of quarters. We remain bullish on our industry and our long-term competitive strategy."

09:06 EDT Comtech awarded $6.2M in funding to support BFT-1 program - Comtech announced that its Mission-Critical Technologies group was awarded $6.2M of initial funding for option period three and $300,000 of incremental funding for option period two of a contract. These contract modifications are part of the five-year BFT-1 sustainment support contract for the U.S. Army's Project Manager Mission Command Blue Force Tracking program. Comtech continues to perform engineering services, satellite network operations and program management through a firm fixed price, or FFP, contract with time and materials and cost reimbursement elements. Option period three's performance period begins April 15 and ends April 14, 2021, and the contract provides for one additional twelve-month option period, exercisable by GSA.

09:03 EDT eBay names Jamie Iannone as CEO, effective April 7 - eBay (EBAY) announced that the company's Board of Directors has appointed Jamie Iannone as CEO, effective April 27. He has also been elected to the company's Board of Directors. Most recently Iannone was COO of Walmart (WMT) eCommerce. Before being promoted to COO of Walmart eCommerce, he served as CEO of SamsClub.com. Schenkel will continue as interim CEO until Iannone joins the company on April 27, and will thereafter work with Iannone to ensure a smooth transition of leadership. Andy Cring will continue to serve as interim CFO.

09:00 EDT eBay names Jamie Iannone as CEO, effective April 7

08:56 EDT Scynexis, Aspire Capital enter into $20M common stock purchase agreement - SCYNEXIS announced that it has entered into a Common Stock Purchase Agreement of up to $20M with Aspire Capital Fund. Under the terms of the agreement, SCYNEXIS has the right to sell to Aspire Capital, from time to time and in its sole discretion, up to $20M in shares of SCYNEXIS's common stock over the next 30 months, subject to certain limits. There are no warrants, options, financing swaps, derivatives or other securities associated with this Purchase Agreement. SCYNEXIS will control the timing and amount of sales of common stock to Aspire Capital, if any. There are no limitations on use of proceeds, financial or business covenants, restrictions on future financings, rights of first refusal, participation rights, penalties or liquidated damages in the Purchase Agreement. In addition, the Purchase Agreement may be terminated by SCYNEXIS at any time, at its discretion, without any cost to SCYNEXIS. As consideration for Aspire Capital's obligation under the Purchase Agreement, SCYNEXIS issued 709,103 shares to Aspire Capital as a commitment fee. SCYNEXIS also entered into a registration rights agreement with Aspire Capital in connection with its entry into the Purchase Agreement.

08:42 EDT Groupon adopts limited duration shareholder rights plan - Groupon announced that its board has adopted a limited duration rights plan, effective April 10. In adopting the Rights Plan, the board has taken note of the substantial increase in market volatility and uncertainty as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as its impact on Groupon's stock price. Given the current unprecedented environment and trading levels as well as the importance of maintaining focus on the company's operations, safeguarding the welfare of employees and serving customers, the board believes adopting the Rights Plan is in the best interest of all Groupon stockholders. The Rights Plan has an eleven-month duration, expiring on March 10, 2021. It is similar to plans adopted by other public companies, and is intended to promote the fair and equal treatment of all Groupon stockholders and ensure that no person or group can gain control of Groupon through open market accumulation or other tactics without paying an appropriate control premium. The Rights Plan will also position the company's board to fulfill its fiduciary duties on behalf of all stockholders by ensuring that the board has sufficient time to make informed judgments about any attempts to take over the company. The Rights Plan applies equally to all current and future stockholders and is not intended to deter offers that are fair and otherwise in the best interest of the company's stockholders. The Rights Plan has not been adopted in response to any specific takeover bid or other proposal to acquire control of the company. Under the Rights Plan, Groupon is issuing one right for each share of common stock outstanding at the close of business on April 20, 2020. The rights will become exercisable if a person or group becomes the beneficial owner of 10% or more of the company's outstanding common stock (including in the form of synthetic ownership through derivative positions), or 20% or more in the case of eligible passive investors. In the event that the rights become exercisable due to the triggering ownership threshold being crossed, each right will entitle its holder to purchase, at the right's exercise price, a number of shares of common stock or equivalent securities having a market value at that time of twice the right's exercise price. Rights held by the triggering person or entity will become void and will not be exercisable to purchase shares at the reduced purchase price. The board may, rather than permitting the exercise of the rights, exchange each right (other than rights held by the triggering person or entity) for one share of common stock per right, subject to adjustment. The board will, prior to the rights becoming exercisable, in general be entitled to amend the Rights Plan or to redeem the rights for $0.001 per right.

08:41 EDT Live Nation announces salary reductions, fourloughs and other measures - Live Nation ceased all concerts activity by mid-March. As a result of the stop in show activity, the company's Q1 operating loss is expected to widen versus prior year and adjusted operating income, or AOI, is expected to drop from being in-line with 2019's strong Q1 results to a small loss for the quarter, while revenue for the quarter is expected to be down approximately 20%. Given the uncertainty, the company has launched a number of initiatives to reduce fixed costs and conserve cash. The company will implement salary reductions, with salaries for senior executives reduced by up to 50%, and the company's CEO voluntarily forgoing 100% of his salary for the duration of the salary reduction program. Additional cost reduction efforts include hiring freezes, reduction in the use of contractors, rent re-negotiations, furloughs, and reduction or elimination of other discretionary spending, including, among other things, travel and entertainment, repairs and maintenance, and marketing. The company is also making full use of government support programs globally. The company is reducing advances in both its ticketing and concert businesses, re-assessing all capital expenditure projects and evaluating all other cash deployment activities. As a result of these initiatives and government support programs, the company is targeting $500M in cost reductions in 2020 and the elimination or deferral into 2021 of $800M in cash outflows. The company believes this aggressive cost and cash management program positions Live Nation to manage through the COVID-19 related hold on show activity and provides the flexibility to scale-up quickly when shows restart.

08:37 EDT Granite Construction awarded $11M pavement preservation contract in Texas - Granite announced that Intermountain Slurry Seal, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Granite, has been awarded an $11M pavement preservation contract by the City of Amarillo, Texas. Scope of work includes pavement maintenance for approximately 440 lane miles on both residential and arterial roads throughout the City of Amarillo, equating to approximately 25 percent of the City's road system. Seal coat and microsurfacing treatments will be used to help extend the life of the existing pavement. Construction on the project is expected to begin this spring and is estimated to be complete later this summer.

08:37 EDT La Jolla to provide GIAPREZA for emergency medical program for septic shock - La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company announced that it is providing GIAPREZA for an emergency medical program in patients with septic shock due to COVID-19 at the Centre Hospitalier Interregional Edith Cavell Delta Hospital in Brussels, Belgium. GIAPREZA is being made available for emergency medical use based on a request from Professor Daniel De Backer, M.D., Head, Department of Intensive Care, CHIREC Delta Hospital in Brussels, Belgium. According to Belgian 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.

08:36 EDT Onex appoints Jessica Brennab as head of client, product solutions - Onex Corporation (ONEXF) announced that Jessica Brennan will be joining as Managing Director, Head of Client and Product Solutions. Jessica will be based in Onex' New York office. In this new firm-wide role, Ms. Brennan will oversee new fund formation, investor relations and fundraising and client product solutions across the entire Onex platform. Previously, she was a Partner and Managing Director, in Investor Relations at The Carlyle Group (CG).

08:34 EDT ThermoGenesis acquires intellectual property related to COVID-19 treatment - ThermoGenesis Holdings announced that its joint venture, ImmuneCyte Life Sciences, has completed the acquisition of worldwide intellectual property for developing fully human antibody therapeutics for COVID-19. The acquired intellectual property includes four high-affinity monoclonal antibody drug candidates against SARS-CoV-2 and tools for screening and quantifying efficacy of such neutralizing antibodies. These high-affinity neutralizing monoclonal antibodies were obtained from the screening of enriched B cell libraries from individuals who have recently recovered from COVID-19. The technologies were originally developed by a research team affiliated with East China Normal University, one of the most prestigious universities in China. The acquisition includes an undisclosed upfront cash payment and low double-digit future revenue sharing for the monoclonal antibody drug candidates under development. ThermoGenesis currently holds approximately 19% of the equity of ImmuneCyte.

08:33 EDT 89bio closes enrollment in Phase 1b/2a NASH trial - 89bio announced that it closed enrollment in its Phase 1b/2a trial for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis with 98% of patients enrolled and has delayed initiation of its severe hypertriglyceridemia trial due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. 89bio also reported new preclinical data confirming BIO89-100's mechanism of action via potent FGF receptor agonism. The Phase 1b/2a proof-of-concept trial in NASH is a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multiple ascending dose-ranging trial in patients with NASH or patients with NAFLD and a high risk of NASH. In this trial, 81 patients were randomized to receive weekly or every other week subcutaneous dosing of BIO89-100 or placebo for 12 weeks. The trial is designed to assess the safety, tolerability and PK properties of BIO89-100 as well as absolute change from baseline in hepatic fat fraction measured by magnetic resonance imaging - proton density fat fraction. MRI-PDFF will be assessed at week 7 and at end of the trial along with other key biomarkers that will be evaluated more frequently. 89bio is working closely with its contract research organization partners and clinical sites to mitigate any potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the trial. Topline data is still expected in the second half of 2020 and the Company plans to initiate the Phase 2b trial in the first half of 2021.

08:30 EDT Marker Therapeutics receives EUA from FDA for D2000 Adsorption Cartridge - Terumo BCT and Marker Therapeutics announced that the FDA has issued Emergency Use Authorization, or EUA, for the use of Terumo BCT's Spectra Optia Apheresis System combined with Marker Therapeutics' D2000 Adsorption Cartridge to treat patients 18 years of age or older with confirmed coronavirus admitted to the intensive care unit, or ICU, with confirmed or imminent respiratory failure to reduce pro-inflammatory cytokine levels. The devices work together by reducing the number of cytokines and other inflammatory mediators, i.e., small active proteins in the bloodstream that control a cell's immune response by filtering the blood and returning the filtered blood to the patient. The proteins that are removed are typically elevated during infections and can be associated with a "cytokine storm" that occurs in some COVID-19 patients, leading to severe inflammation, rapidly progressive shock, respiratory failure, organ failure and death.

08:27 EDT Enlivex Therapeutics to receive $1.5M grant to fund COVID-19, sepsis trials - Enlivex Therapeutics announced that the Israel Innovation Authority selected the Company's planned COVID-19 and sepsis clinical programs to receive, in the aggregate, a non-dilutive grant of approximately $1.5M for the period through the first quarter of 2021. To date, Enlivex has received a total of approximately $4.31M in grants from the IIA for its historical clinical trials and development. The IIA is an independent, publicly funded agency charged with fostering the development of industrial R&D within the State of Israel. It provides non-dilutive grants that become repayable only through royalties from future sales of products developed with the support of the IIA, and the repayment, if any, is limited to the original grant amount plus interest. Following the positive results of Enlivex's Phase Ib clinical trial in severe sepsis patients, Enlivex currently plans to initiate this year a Phase IIb/III trial of Allocetra for the treatment of organ dysfunction associated with sepsis, and, subject to regulatory approvals, initiate a clinical trial of Allocetra in COVID-19 patients.

08:24 EDT Select Interior Concepts suspends CapEx, freezes hiring, announces furloughs - Select Interior Concepts provided an update on its proactive measures to safeguard the health and well-being of its team members, strengthen its financial position and safely operate as an essential installer and distributor amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The COVID-19 outbreak continues to rapidly spread and impact all aspects of daily life. To date, nearly all affected states have determined residential construction and supply of residential construction trades to be essential services. Virtually all of the company's locations remain open and operational to serve customers. The company is committed to providing critical services to customers while safeguarding the welfare of its employees, customers and communities. Since February, the company has taken decisive actions and implemented business continuity plans in accordance with the guidelines of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and other local health authorities. These actions to promote a safe work environment include travel bans, remote work policies, enhanced cleaning and hygiene in facilities, among other measures. The company's prior investments in online tools and capabilities, as well as an appointment-only policy at all showrooms has further limited in-person contact. The company continues to closely monitor its operations and will make additional adjustments as necessary to promote safe business practices, as well as adhere to government mandates and local orders. Select Interior Concepts believes its balance sheet will enable it to effectively manage the economic impact of COVID-19. The company and its board have taken the following measures to provide enhanced financial flexibility during the COVID-19 pandemic: Drawn $35 million under its existing ABL facility to increase cash on hand; Amended the term loan agreement to enhance financial flexibility, including the suspension of the net leverage ratio covenant through the end of 2020, among other factors; Suspended capital expenditures, with the exception of safety-related maintenance expenditures; Reduced salaries for management, led by the executive team including a 30% reduction for the CEO; Reduced bonuses and other general and administrative expenses; Frozen hiring, targeted furloughs and reductions of workforce across business units; Eliminated board fees for the remainder of 2020. Cash as of first quarter 2020 was in excess of $35 million and total liquidity was in excess of $70 million, with no term loan or ABL debt maturities until 2023. The company believes that it is well prepared to preserve liquidity with its current capital position, disciplined cost controls and discretionary spending curtailments. Given that the extent and duration of the evolving COVID-19 situation remains uncertain, the company will continue to evaluate additional opportunities to further strengthen its financial flexibility. The company will provide additional updates on its financial performance and capital resources when results for the first quarter are reported in May 2020.

08:19 EDT Ramaco Resources names Jason Fannin as Chief Marketing Officer - Ramaco Resources announced the appointment of Jason Fannin as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. Fannin brings to Ramaco more than two decades of coal sales and marketing experience, and is regarded as one of the top marketing executives in the industry. Prior to joining Ramaco, he had spent the past fifteen years at Contura Energy and its predecessor Alpha Natural Resources, most recently as its Senior Vice President of Metallurgical Coal Sales and Corporate Counsel - Sales.

08:18 EDT Performance Food Group announces cost reduction measures in response to COVID-19 - Performance Food Group announced several updates on actions it has taken during the novel coronavirus pandemic. An update to the actions our company has made to support our customers and communities and to manage our cost base include: Adding agreements with 13 additional new retail partners, bringing the total new retail partners to-date to 23. PFG is now sharing over 1,100 associates to help keep grocery shelves stocked with food; Distributing groceries to approximately 1,000 grocery locations as PFG builds out its distribution capabilities to this channel; Supporting our customers and communities by partnering with Fahrenheit Advisors to produce a webinar series that offers operator insights in the areas of liquidity, employee management and business strategy; Providing online resources and links to assist and guide customers with resources to secure small business loans and access to free safety training courses; Continuing and expanding our partnerships with local foodbanks to meet the growing food insecurity across the country; The company has taken the following measures to protect its long-term financial position: Furloughed or eliminated a total of approximately 3,000 positions across the organization; Deferred 25% of senior management's base compensation and 25% of board of directors' cash fees for the period commencing on April 6, through December 31, or at such time as approved by the Compensation Committee and further reduction in capital expenditure activities.

08:16 EDT Arch Therapeutics receives CE Mark approval for AC5 Topical Hemostat - Arch Therapeutics announced receipt of the CE mark for its wound care product, AC5 Topical Hemostat. The CE mark provides authorization to commercialize AC5 in Europe as a dressing and to control bleeding in skin wounds in both out- and in-patient settings.

08:14 EDT Ocular Therapeutix provides clinical update amid COVID-19 pandemic - Ocular Therapeutix announced its response to the COVID-19 pandemic and related impact on Ocular Therapeutix's business operations. "In the midst of the global COVID-19 pandemic, our first priority is for the safety and well-being of our employees, patients, clinical collaborators and customers," said Antony Mattessich, president and CEO. "While we are doing everything in our power to respond appropriately to the current crisis, we are also preparing Ocular Therapeutix and our community of stakeholders to thrive in the future. The Company is well positioned despite the challenging economic conditions. The first two subjects in the higher-dose cohort of our OTX-TKI Phase I clinical trial have reached the four-and-a-half-month time point and are continuing to show clinically meaningful reductions in intraretinal and/or subretinal fluid with a single implant. If the durability of OTX-TKI is confirmed in larger trials out to this time point or beyond, we believe that it would have the potential to become a new standard of treatment for wet AMD; Our Phase 3 trial of DEXTENZA(R) for the treatment of ocular itching associated with allergic conjunctivitis (AC) is expected to read out this quarter and, if successful, we plan to file an sNDA application for this indication; The first three cohorts of our Phase 1 program for OTX-TIC (travoprost intracameral implant) are fully enrolled and we look forward to providing updates on the results of those patients in the near future; and OTX-CSI (cyclosporine intracanalicular insert) is set to enter the clinic in the middle of 2020, continuing our development of a treatment for dry eye disease. On the revenue side, despite a marked slow-down in cataract and other ophthalmic surgical procedures beginning in the second week of March due to COVID-19, we were able to record DEXTENZA net product revenue in Q1 of an estimated $2.1 million, representing growth of 31% over Q4 2019; and Moving forward, while we anticipate substantial continued weakness in cataract volumes throughout Q2, we expect that, with variable expense reductions and a rebound in cataract volumes in Q3, our cash runway should extend into Q1 2021, consistent with our prior guidance. OTX-TKI is a bioresorbable, hydrogel implant incorporating axitinib, a small molecule tyrosine kinase inhibitor with anti-angiogenic properties delivered by intravitreal injection to the posterior segment of the eye for the potential treatment of wet age-related macular degeneration (wet AMD) and other retinal diseases. Two cohorts of six subjects each, a lower dose cohort of 200 microg and a higher dose cohort of 400 microg have been enrolled in a Phase 1 clinical trial. As of early April 2020, the first two patients in the second or higher-dose cohort have now shown a clinically meaningful reduction in intraretinal and/or subretinal fluid out to four-and-a-half months with a single implant. Other patients in the second cohort are still being followed and have not reached these timepoints yet. As is typical of such early stage trials, visual acuity has not shown consistent improvement across the cohort. Data from both cohorts continue to demonstrate that OTX-TKI has been generally well tolerated and is observed to have a favorable safety profile, with no ocular serious adverse events to date. OTX-TIC is a long-acting travoprost intracameral implant in development for the treatment of patients with primary open angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. The Company presented interim Phase 1 data on OTX-TIC at the Glaucoma 360 Conference held in San Francisco, CA in February 2020 from the first two cohorts enrolled. Data from the first two fully enrolled cohorts (cohort 1 = 5 patients, cohort 2 = 4 patients) continue to indicate a clinically meaningful reduction in mean IOP values in patients receiving OTX-TIC. The data also continue to show that the mean intraocular pressure (IOP) values remained lowered from baseline through and beyond the six-month study period in many patients and, in one patient, over 18 months. Enrollment in the third patient cohort has been completed. Enrollment in the fourth cohort continues, while long-term evaluation remains ongoing in the first two cohorts."

08:13 EDT SCWorx announces first installment of order for 48M COVID-19 testing units - SCWorx announced that it has received a committed purchase order from Rethink My Healthcare, a U.S.-based virtual healthcare network, for two million COVID-19 Rapid Testing Units, with provision for additional weekly orders of 2 million units for 23 weeks, valued at $35M per week. Under the Order, SCWorx will supply Rethink My Healthcare with IgM/IgG Rapid Detection Kits. SCWorx anticipates receiving the first 2 million rapid detection kits within approximately two weeks.

08:09 EDT CNS Pharma announces independent research of 2-DG used against SARS-CoV-2 - CNS Pharmaceuticals announced that independent research by the University of Frankfurt found 2-deoxy-D-glucose, or 2-DG, to reduce replication of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, by 100% in in vitro testing. Researchers at the University of Frankfurt disclosed the findings in their article submitted to NatureResearch on March 11. The authors reported that inhibiting glycolysis with non-toxic concentrations of 2-DG completely prevented SARS-CoV-2 replication in Caco-2 cells. Glycolysis is a process by which cells convert glucose into energy and infected cells are induced by viruses to dramatically increase their dependence on glycolysis. 2-DG inhibits glycolysis because, although it appears to cells to be glucose, it is in fact a decoy that cannot be converted into energy. As previously announced, CNS entered into an agreement with WPD Pharmaceuticals, for the development of several preclinical drug candidates including WP1122. WP1122, which is being tested on a range of viruses including the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Under the CNS Agreement, WPD will receive a portion of the development costs from CNS for WP1122 and other drug candidates for antiviral indications, and CNS will receive certain economic rights. WPD received an upfront cash payment of $225,000 and CNS has committed to a milestone payment of $775,000 upon the successful completion of a Phase 2 study. In return for the funding, CNS is entitled to receive 50% of the net sales, less WPD's license costs, of resulting commercial products in WPD's licensed territories, other than Poland. Those territories include 29 countries in Europe and Asia, including Russia.

08:07 EDT PSEG Nuclear's Salem Unit 2 conducts planned fefueling and maintenance outage - PSEG Nuclear's Salem Unit 2 entered its planned refueling and maintenance outage on April 11, 2020, when operators safely removed the unit from the regional power grid. Salem 2 is one of three nuclear units operated by PSEG in Salem County, New Jersey. Collectively, the three nuclear units produce roughly 40% of the state's electricity and more than 90% of its carbon-free energy. A refueling and maintenance outage is a multi-week, comprehensive procedure during which thousands of inspections, surveillances and maintenance activities are performed.

08:05 EDT Legg Mason reports preliminary AUM $730.8B as of March 31

08:04 EDT Viemed Healthcare supports CMS decision to remove NIVs from competitive bidding - Viemed Healthcare announced that it supports the recent decision by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, due to the novel COVID-19 pandemic, to remove non-invasive ventilators from the next round of the Competitive Bidding Program that was expected to begin in 2021, as the Company believes that the inclusion of this life saving device in the program could have had a negative outcome on patient care that is predicated on frequent and substantial service. The Company had prepared for the CBP over the last year, and had submitted bids in a majority of the areas around the country. The Company will continue its existing expansion plan to provide this critical therapy to as many patients as possible around the country.

08:03 EDT Arcturus Therapeutics announces allowance of IND, approval of CTA for ARCT-810 - Arcturus Therapeutics announced the acceptance of two clinical trials for its flagship asset ARCT-810, also known as LUNAR-OTC, a first-in-class mRNA therapeutic being developed to treat ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency. The Company's Investigational New Drug application for a Phase 1b study in patients with OTC deficiency was allowed to proceed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and an additional Clinical Trial Application for a Phase 1 study in healthy volunteers was approved by the New Zealand Medicines and Medical Devices Safety Authority. OTC deficiency is a life-threatening genetic disease that results in high blood ammonia levels and can cause seizures, coma, and death in untreated patients. Present standard of care, which comprises low protein diet and drugs to remove toxic ammonia from the body, does not effectively prevent life-threatening spikes of ammonia in many patients. There are no disease modifying therapies approved for OTC deficiency. The primary endpoint for both studies includes evaluation of safety and tolerability. Multiple biomarkers, including ureagenesis assay, plasma OTC activity, plasma ammonia and orotic acid in the urine, are being evaluated as exploratory endpoints. The program plans to enroll up to 30 healthy volunteers in the Auckland Clinical Studies site in New Zealand, and up to 12 OTC-deficient patients recruited across several sites in the U.S. The first healthy subjects are expected to be enrolled in New Zealand soon, with the first patients enrolled under the IND in Q3 or Q4, depending on the status of SARS-CoV-2 infections in the U.S. ARCT-810, is a low-dose, systemically administered, investigational mRNA medicine that utilizes Arcturus' novel messenger RNA construct and proprietary LUNAR delivery system to deliver OTC messenger RNA to liver cells. In 2019, the FDA granted Orphan Drug Designation to the drug substance of ARCT-810 for the treatment of the rare disease OTC deficiency supported by the promising results of preclinical studies. Expression of OTC enzyme in the liver can potentially restore urea cycle activity to detoxify ammonia, thereby potentially preventing neurological damage and removing the need for liver transplantation. The GMP manufacturing campaign for ARCT-810 is complete, with drug product amounts sufficient to support early clinical trials. ARCT-810 batches were manufactured utilizing Arcturus' proprietary processes for both mRNA drug substance and LUNAR formulated drug product.

08:01 EDT ShockWave Medical completes enrollment in DISRUPT CAD IV study of IVL - Shockwave Medical announced that the company has completed enrollment in their DISRUPT CAD IV study of IVL in heavily calcified coronary arteries that is intended to support regulatory device approval in Japan. DISRUPT CAD IV is a prospective, multicenter, single-arm confirmatory study that enrolled 64 patients in eight sites across Japan to demonstrate the safety and effectiveness of the Shockwave Coronary IVL System with the Shockwave C2 IVL Catheter in the treatment of de novo, calcified, stenotic, coronary arteries prior to stenting. Similar to the DISRUPT CAD III study protocol, DISRUPT CAD IV assesses the absence of major adverse cardiac events within 30 days of the index procedure as the primary safety endpoint. The primary effectiveness endpoint is procedural success, defined as stent delivery with a residual stenosis of less than 50 percent, and without in-hospital MACE. The enrolled patients will be followed for two years. Shockwave C2 Coronary IVL catheters are commercially available for the treatment of de novo coronary artery disease in Europe and other select countries; in Japan they are limited to investigational use within the DISRUPT CAD IV Study and in the United States they are limited to investigational use within the DISRUPT CAD III Study.

07:59 EDT Brooge Energy to temporarily delay issuance of first dividend - Brooge Energy issued a letter to its shareholders from its CEO Nicolaas Paardenkooper. The letter said, "2020 is set to be a significant year for Brooge Energy as we expect to increase our storage capacity, accelerate revenue growth and further entrench our position as a leading oil storage provider in the Port of Fujairah, UAE, one of the largest global oil export hubs. Since listing on NASDAQ in late December 2019, we have been working hard toward our goal of more than doubling our oil storage capacity to 1,000,585 m3, which is expected to drive significant revenue growth starting at the end of this year. While we are excited about what this means for the business, we recognize that we are living through historic and extremely volatile times, with the effects being felt across international trade, the oil sector and capital markets, requiring companies across the world to embrace more prudent and conservative approaches to near-term business planning. We are committed to adapting to the extraordinary events of recent weeks to ensure Brooge Energy is well positioned to continue its strategy to build shareholder value over the next several years. We are certainly aware that the terminal industry is seeing strong demand; and other industry leaders have recently made public comments about the renewed search for oil storage. However, due to value at risk shock, the credit market has deteriorated at a time when the Company is in expansion mode. Therefore, as a precautionary measure, and to prudently preserve cash, Brooge Energy has decided to temporarily delay the issuance of dividend. As mentioned in our earlier press release, our existing Phase I facility is currently operating 'business as usual'. Looking ahead, our near-term priority is to complete construction of our Phase II facility, and to conclude the Front End Engineering Design process of our phase 3 expansion with up to 3.5 Million M3 storage capacity in Fujairah. To ensure these plans stay on track, it is vital that we keep a strong financial foundation as we build our leadership position and navigate prudently through the current extremely volatile global economic environment resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic whereby countries around the world are locked down. This is an extremely uncommon situation that most of us have never experienced in our lifetimes. While our business model is extremely resilient and is expected to continue to remain so, we recognize the need for a prudent approach to cash expenditure given the uncertainty in the market. For this reason, the Board of Directors, as fiduciaries of Brooge Energy, has decided to temporarily delay the issuance of the dividend, which was initially planned for Q1 2020, in the best interest of the Company as a result of the global crises that all businesses currently face. We are monitoring the ongoing situation closely and it is the intention of the Board of Directors and management to reinstate our quarterly dividend when this short-term global crisis has subsided. While we are extremely disappointed to delay the issuance of our first dividend, our management team and Board of Directors believe this is the most financially prudent strategy at this time to reduce our exposure to the volatile capital markets and to proactively prepare our Company to remain robust in the long-term. We did not make this decision lightly, and have done so only in light of the significant and still evolving impacts of the global pandemic in order to maintain financial discipline and flexibility as we consider the capital requirements to advance our growth strategy."

07:46 EDT Orgenesis agrees to acquire assets of Tamir Biotechnology for approx. $19M - Orgenesis announces it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Tamir Biotechnology, including ranpirnase, TamirBio's broad spectrum anti-viral platform. The acquisition will be completed for total stock and cash consideration valued at approximately $19M, based on the value of the stock at closing. Orgenesis plans to combine ranpirnase with its co-developed Bioxome technology for enhanced payload delivery directly to cells. TamirBio is a clinical stage anti-viral therapeutics company engaged in the discovery and development of a new class of prophylactic and therapeutic drugs for the treatment of viruses and other pathological conditions. TamirBio's lead asset, ranpirnase, a ribonuclease, is a member of the superfamily of enzymes that catalyze the degradation of RNA, and mediate several essential biological activities, including the regulation of cell proliferation, maturation, differentiation, and cell death. Therefore, it is a potential candidate for the development of therapeutics for life-threatening diseases, including viral and autoimmune diseases, that require anti-proliferative and apoptotic properties. TamirBio's first target is the human papilloma virus, the worldwide leading cause of genital warts. The company's lead asset, topical ranpirnase, was evaluated in a phase I/II clinical trial targeting genital warts. The phase I/II study demonstrated clear clinical effect of ranpirnase. Additional clinical trials are currently being planned. Orgenesis and TamirBio plan to combine ranpirnase with Bioxomes, which have demonstrated the ability to fuse with cell membranes and deliver an intracellular cargo, in a similar manner to natural exosomes. Bioxomes can carry selected therapeutic cargo inside the target cells when loaded with predesignated genetic material, proteins, signaling molecules and drugs, as these mimic the natural membrane fusion capacity of exosomes. Orgenesis and TamirBio believe the combination of the two platforms will result in enhanced efficacy and anti-viral results.

07:34 EDT Aramark redeploys production lines to manufacture PPE - Aramark announced its uniform services division has redeployed production lines in order to manufacture personal protective equipment, or PPE, for the heroes working in hospitals and in other critical roles across the United States. Aramark converted its uniforms manufacturing plants, which ordinarily produce lab coats, work shirts, pants, and coveralls, to produce respirator and medical masks, scrubs and isolation gowns. In just one week, Aramark converted its facilities to design the products, re-engineer and configure the production lines, and train employees on fabricating the new products. Once fully operational, Aramark expects to produce millions of masks, scrubs and isolation gowns. The first shipment of scrubs and isolation gowns was delivered to clients last week. Production of respirator and medical masks is scheduled to begin by mid-July. The garments and gear will be shipped from Aramark manufacturing plants in Mexico to clients across the United States in the healthcare, pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device and other vital industries where employees rely on these supplies to perform their jobs.

07:33 EDT Blackstone, Alnylam enter into $2B financing collaboration for RNAi therapeutics - Blackstone (BX) and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (ALNY) announced the companies have entered into a broad strategic collaboration under which Blackstone will provide up to $2B to support Alnylam's advancement of innovative RNA interference medicines that have the potential to transform the lives of patients suffering from a range of debilitating diseases. The deal is anchored by Blackstone's purchase of 50% of the royalties owed to Alnylam on global sales of inclisiran, an investigational RNAi therapeutic for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia, currently under review by the U.S. FDA. The transaction includes the inclisiran royalty monetization, corporate debt, purchase of Alnylam equity, and funding for certain R&D activities related to the clinical advancement of two Alnylam investigational RNAi therapeutic programs in cardiovascular disease. Specifically, the transaction is comprised of the following components: $1B in committed payments, led by Blackstone Life Sciences, to acquire 50percent of Alnylam's royalties and commercial milestones for inclisiran; Up to $750M in a first lien senior secured term loan led by GSO; Up to $150M from Blackstone Life Sciences for development of Alnylam's cardiometabolic programs vutrisiran and ALN-AGT; $100M purchase of Alnylam common stock. Alnylam, an existing tenant of Blackstone Real Estate company BioMed Realty, is also in discussions with BioMed to expand its footprint in Cambridge, MA.

07:32 EDT Blackstone, Alnylam enter into $2B financing collaboration for RNAi therapeutics

07:27 EDT 58.com appoints new directors to board and Hao Zhou as Chief Strategic Officer - 58.com announced changes to its board of directors and appointment of new Chief Strategic Officer. 58.com has appointed Lily Li Dong and Robert Frank Dodds as independent directors, effective on April 13. The Board reviewed their independence and determined that they satisfied the "independence" requirements under applicable rules and regulations. Dong will serve on the audit committee and nominating and corporate governance committee of the Board, and Dodds on the compensation committee of the Board. Frank Lin has tendered his resignation as a director on the Board and a member of all the committees of the Board. Lily Li Dong is an independent non-executive director, a member of the audit committee, the remuneration committee and the nomination committee of YiXin Group, a company listed on Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Robert Frank Dodds is the founder and managing director of DRP Capital, an investment banking firm that provides cross-border mergers and acquisitions advisory services. Dodds has lived and worked in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong for over 20 years. Xiaohua Chen has resigned as Chief Strategic Officer of 58.com so that he can focus on the business operations of 58 Home in his capacity as the chief executive officer of 58 Home. Hao Zhou has been appointed as the new Chief Strategic Officer, while he continues to serve as the President of International Business of 58.com and head of investor relations.

07:21 EDT Burlington temporarily furloughs most store, distribution center associates - Burlington Stores provided an additional update regarding the impact of COVID-19 on its business operations. Michael O'Sullivan, CEO, stated, "Protecting the health and safety of our associates, customers and the communities that we serve is our top priority. Our stores and distribution centers remain closed temporarily, and will re-open when it is safe to do so. In response to the unprecedented circumstances that we face, we are continuing to take action across our business to best position Burlington for both the short and the long term." The Company provided two weeks of financial support to associates impacted by the previously announced store closures and by the shutdown of the distribution centers. Given the uncertain duration of these closings, the Company has temporarily furloughed most store and distribution center associates. The Company will continue to provide benefits to furloughed associates, including paying 100% of their current health benefit premiums. In addition, the Company has established a hotline to assist impacted associates to help gain access to government assistance programs available from the recently passed fiscal stimulus package. As previously announced, the Company has suspended its share buyback program and continues to carefully reduce inventory receipts, manage working capital prudently including delaying payables, cut capital expenditures, work closely with landlords on the timing of rent payments, and aggressively reduce operating expenses during this period.

07:17 EDT Staar Surgical provides business update amid COVID-19 pandemic - Staar Surgical provided a business update relating to the evolving COVID-19 global health care concern. The company said, "We have a highly specialized work force and will support them effectively throughout the pandemic requirements in their respective geographies. We continue to pay all of our employees' salaries, commissions, wages and benefits during this time while many of our employees effectively work remotely. We suspended most of our production on March 17th with the exception of continuation of critical late-staged processes. We anticipate resuming production this month and achieving full production during Q2. We have shipped to our global packaging and distribution center in Nidau, Switzerland inventory to support all of our expected global requirements with the exception of the U.S. which is serviced out of Monrovia, California. We have shipped to China requested quantities of billable units and several pallets of consignment inventory to support Q2 busy season requirements. We did this out of an abundance of caution to be sure China would be able to meet the demand they are forecasting. We also shipped billable and consignment inventory to Korea which experienced a significant increase in implants over prior year in March. Our business in Japan remains strong and we have stocked our STAAR owned distribution center there to meet demand. Through the third week in March, our Q1 sales posted solid double-digit growth over prior year period. From March 20th through April 3rd, we experienced a substantial slowdown in global geographies characterized as "hot spots" for the COVID-19 virus during that timeframe. We expect this slowdown to continue and, in some markets, expect sales to pause as elective surgeries are discouraged to support COVID-19 related needs. While the global markets in "hot spots" recede or cease ordering, our teams report recovery or continuation of recent strong trends in much of Asia which currently represents over 60% of our business. Our teams in "hot spot" areas are following our successful playbook for engaging in extensive remote customer outreach programs that includes digital training courses during the business slowdown in their markets. Our CRO (Contract Research Organization) has worked individually with each of our implanting sites in the U.S. for the EVO clinical trial. The sites, with the CRO, determined effective plans to continue caring for patients in the trial and determined if or when to suspend implanting EVO lenses in new patients. We will not address impact on the timing of the study at this time. Each of our sites has patients in the queue and we expect to ramp-up as soon as it is acceptable to resume the study with each site determining with the CRO what that timing may be. Our balance sheet is strong with $120 million of cash at January 3, 2020 that we anticipate can support operations if required for the foreseeable future. We continue to receive payments from our largest customers while we expect our AR to grow over these next few months with smaller clinics the most financially impacted by the pandemic."

07:14 EDT Sol-Gel expects cash resources to enable funding into middle of 2021 - "We are extremely pleased to have the continued support from our lead shareholder, Mr. Mori Arkin, as we move towards our NDA filings for Epsolay and Twyneo later this year and commercialization of both drug candidates, if approved, next year," commented Dr. Alon Seri-Levy, CEO of Sol-Gel. "We thank Mori for his additional investment during this tumultuous time, and thanks to this our cash resources are expected to be sufficient to fund our operational and capital expenditure requirements until the middle of 2021."

07:13 EDT Sol-Gel Technologies announces closing of additional $5M investment - Sol-Gel Technologies announced that following the approval by Sol-Gel's shareholders, Sol-Gel's controlling shareholder, M. Arkin Dermatology Ltd., has closed an additional $5M investment in Sol-Gel. This investment brings the total gross proceeds from the February 2020 underwritten offering and the M. Dermatology Ltd. investment to $28M As part of the investment, Sol-Gel issued to M. Arkin Dermatology Ltd. 454,628 ordinary shares and warrants to purchase up to 363,702 ordinary shares in a private placement at a combined price of $11.00 per ordinary share and accompanying warrant to purchase 0.80 of an ordinary share, which is the same price as the public offering price of the ordinary shares and accompanying warrants issued in Sol-Gel's underwritten public offering that closed in February 2020. The warrants issued to M. Dermatology Ltd. have an initial exercise price of $14.00 per share, subject to certain adjustments, and will expire on February 19, 2023, which are on the same terms as the warrants issued in the public offering. M. Arkin Dermatology Ltd. agreed to make this private investment concurrently with the February 2020 underwritten public offering.

07:12 EDT Fennec announces FDA acceptance, Priority Review for NDA for PEDMARK - Fennec Pharmaceuticals announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has accepted for filing and granted Priority Review for the company's New Drug Application for PEDMARK. PEDMARK is an investigational drug for the prevention of ototoxicity induced by cisplatin chemotherapy in patients one month to less than18 years of age with localized, non-metastatic, solid tumors. The FDA grants Priority Review to applications for medicines that treat a serious condition, and, if approved, would demonstrate the potential to be a significant improvement in the safety or effectiveness of the treatment, diagnosis, or prevention of a serious condition. Priority Review designation shortens the review period from the standard ten months to six months from the submission of the NDA. The FDA set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act target action date of August 10, 2020 for the completion of FDA's review.

07:10 EDT NextCure temporarily delays start of NC410 Phase 1/2 trial - NextCure filed an investigational new drug application for its second product candidate, NC410, received FDA clearance for clinical studies and was prepared to start the Phase 1 portion of a Phase 1/2 clinical trial in March. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company has decided to temporarily delay initiating that trial.

07:10 EDT Cherry Hill Mortgage sees GAAP book value down 25%-30% as of March 31 - Cherry Hill Mortgage provided an operational update on its business. Cherry Hill's priority is to ensure the health and well-being of all of its team members. All team members have been working remotely since early March. The transition has been virtually seamless due to the company's use of a cloud-based solution for its day-to-day operations. As of April 13 the company has: Unrestricted cash of approximately $92 million after giving effect to scheduled settlements; Continued to proactively and prudently manage its RMBS portfolio to reduce leverage to approximately 5.1x for its aggregate portfolio as of March 31, 2020, compared to approximately 6.1x at December 31, 2019; Reduced its position in credit risk transfer bonds to approximately $17 million market value, substantially all of which it owns outright; The recently enacted federal government's Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, or CARES, provides for mortgage loan forbearance programs. Although the level of participation in those programs and the potential size of the resulting servicing advance obligations is unknown, the company believes that it is adequately positioned to utilize its liquidity to manage and meet its advancing obligations over the near-term. Based on initial information regarding servicing costs, servicing income and third-party MSR valuations available, the company preliminarily estimates that its GAAP book value as of March 31, declined between 25% to 30% since December 31, 2019.

07:10 EDT NextCure expects data from Phase 2 of Phase 1/2 NC318 trial to be delayed - Given the enrollment slowdown, initial data reporting from the Phase 2 portion of the Phase 1/2 NC318 monotherapy clinical trial is expected to be delayed.

07:09 EDT Trecora Resources signs multi-year extension with Martin Operating Partnership - Trecora Resources announced it has signed a multi-year extension with Martin Operating Partnership L.P. for the supply of natural gasoline. Pat Quarles, Trecora's President and CEO stated, "The shale gas revolution has resulted in a significant increase in natural gasoline supply in the U.S. that has exceeded demand growth, as midstream companies have increased their fractionation capacity. This has created an opportunity for Trecora to improve its base feedstock supply. The long-term extension of our current agreement with Martin Midstream Partners L.P., allows for more favorable and competitive feedstock costs, as well as an improvement in feed flexibility. Additionally, this extension, as part of Trecora's portfolio of growth projects and initiatives, is expected to capture significant feedstock savings over the life of the agreement."

07:08 EDT Aurora Cannabis reports C$250M in cash - Aurora Cannabis provided an update related to its balance sheet flexibility. As of March 31 the Company had approximately C$205M of cash. This includes all amounts raised under the existing, and now completed, $400M At-the-Market Offering program, or ATM, initially announced in May 2019. Under the ATM, the Company issues common shares at prevailing market prices without any new issue discounts, warrants or other dilutive securities; and to support the strength of the Company's balance sheet and provide continued access to equity capital, the Company today stated that it intends to file a new prospectus supplement for a renewed ATM program, to enable Aurora to raise additional equity capital pursuant to its outstanding base shelf prospectus dated May 14, 2019 under which approximately $350M remains available. The Company intends to use a portion of this available capacity to provide further balance sheet strength and preserve flexibility given macroeconomic uncertainty caused by COVID-19.

07:08 EDT NextCure says COVID-19 put 'significant strain' on clinical trial sites - NextCure provided an update on the company's clinical trial activities due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. "The COVID-19 pandemic has put significant strain on our clinical trial sites, and has raised concerns around monitoring patient safety," said Michael Richman, NextCure's president and CEO. "We, like others in our industry, are working closely with our clinical partners and taking the necessary steps to adjust our protocols and timelines as required during this challenging time. We will continue to support ongoing activities for patients enrolled in the Phase 2 portion of our Phase 1/2 NC318 monotherapy trial and will work with trial sites to enroll new patients as appropriate. We have made the decision to delay initiating our NC318 combination trial and NC410 trial until matters improve and look forward to starting these trials. We would like to thank our employees, investigators and clinical sites, patients, collaborators and vendors, who have been strongly supportive during this difficult period and demonstrated great resiliency in the face of new challenges."

07:06 EDT Yamana Gold to sell Equinox Gold shares, warrants for up to C$201M - YAMANA GOLD announced it has entered into an agreement with Stifel GMP and Cormark Securities to sell 12,000,000 units at a price of C$10.00 per Unit to qualified purchasers, for gross proceeds to Yamana of C$120,000,000, The Dealers have committed to purchase from Yamana any unsold Units at a price of C$10.00 per Unit on closing, subject to customary conditions for "bought deal" financings. Each Unit consists of one common share of Equinox Gold owned by Yamana and one-half of a common share purchase warrant of Yamana. Each Warrant shall entitle the holder thereof to acquire one additional common share of Equinox owned by Yamana at an exercise price of C$13.50 for a term of 9 months from the date of issue. In the event all Warrants are exercised, the total gross proceeds to Yamana would be C$201,000,000. In Canada, the sale of the Unit Shares will be made through block trades on April 13, 2020 and the sale of the Warrants will be made on a private placement basis. In the United States, the sale of both the Unit Shares and the Warrants will be made on a private placement basis. In Canada, the Warrants will be subject to a four month and one day hold period, in accordance with applicable securities laws. The Warrant Shares will not be subject to a hold period under applicable Canadian securities laws. Yamana intends to use the net proceeds of the Sale Transaction for general corporate purposes. The Sale Transaction is scheduled to close on or about April 15, 2020, or such other date as agreed between Yamana and the Dealers. Upon closing of the Sale Transaction, Yamana will dispose of 12,000,000 common shares of Equinox, as a component of the Units under the Sale Transaction, at an attributed value of C$10.00 per Equinox Share, for aggregate gross proceeds to Yamana of C$120 million. The sales of the Equinox Shares will be made by block trades and the sale of the Warrants will be made through private sale agreements with various purchasers. The disposition will result in a 5.56% decrease in Yamana's shareholdings in Equinox, on a non-diluted basis. Upon completion of the Sale Transaction, Yamana will hold 7,236,380 Equinox Shares, representing approximately 3.35% of the issued and outstanding Equinox Shares, on a non-diluted basis. In the event that all of the Warrants forming part of the Units are exercised in full, Yamana will dispose of an additional 6,000,000 Equinox Shares at a value of C$13.50 per Equinox Share, for additional gross proceeds to Yamana of C$81,000,000. This further disposition will result in an additional 82.91% decrease in Yamana's shareholdings in Equinox, on a non-diluted basis, and Yamana would then hold 1,236,380 Equinox Shares, representing approximately 0.49% of the issued and outstanding Equinox Shares, on a non-diluted basis. Yamana also currently holds warrants of Equinox exercisable to acquire an aggregate of 8,345,501 Equinox Shares representing approximately 3.86% of the issued and outstanding Equinox Shares on a non-diluted basis. The Sale Transaction will not result in any change to Yamana's ownership in Equinox Warrants. Each Equinox Warrant entitles the holder thereof to purchase one Equinox Share at a price of C$11.18 until May 24, 2020. If all the Equinox Warrants held by Yamana were exercised, Yamana would hold approximately 7.22% of the issued and outstanding Equinox Shares on a partially-diluted basis, assuming no other convertible securities of Equinox are exercised. Prior to the Sale Transaction, Yamana held 19,236,380 Equinox Shares, representing approximately 8.91% of the issued and outstanding Equinox Shares, and Equinox Warrants to acquire 8,345,501 Equinox Shares, representing approximately 3.86% of the issued and outstanding Equinox Shares, on a non-diluted basis.

07:04 EDT Bausch Health initiates VIRAZOLE study in patients with COVID-19 - Bausch Health announced it has initiated a clinical trial program in Canada evaluating an investigational use of VIRAZOLE in combination with standard of care therapy to treat hospitalized adult patients with respiratory distress due to COVID-19. Because ribavirin is a synthetic nucleoside that works to stop viral replication, VIRAZOLE may be effective in reducing the severity of COVID-19 infection. The initial clinical study has been approved by Health Canada and is expected to begin within the next few weeks. The company is also in discussions with the U.S. FDA and health authorities in multiple countries regarding additional studies to evaluate VIRAZOLE as a treatment for COVID-19 infection. The Bausch Foundation is also continuing to work directly with health authorities in Italy to make VIRAZOLE for inhalation available free of charge in compassionate use in Italian hospitals.

07:02 EDT Cigna launches program to increase social connectivity among MA customers - In alignment with ongoing efforts to raise awareness about loneliness and its impact on health and well-being, Cigna is launching a pilot program to increase social connectivity among its Medicare Advantage customers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the pilot, Cigna is reaching out proactively to many of its Medicare customers to monitor their general health and well-being as well as daily needs during COVID-19, including food, housing and transportation. Customers will be able to opt-in to receive follow-up calls from the same Cigna representative to help cultivate meaningful connections. Cigna will also leverage its comprehensive data and analytics to identify MA customers who may be at higher risk for health issues and complications for additional proactive outreach to help answer questions about COVID-19, conduct regular health checks and triage care to a medical professional, if necessary. The pilot program will initially reach 24,000 customers with plans for rapid expansion. Cigna colleagues are also supporting efforts to connect with residents in senior communities, many of which are unable to accept visitors under COVID-19 containment restrictions. Cigna employees and their families have created nearly 2,500 homemade cards, which will be distributed in partnership with Bring Smiles to Seniors to residents in senior communities across the country. The Cigna Foundation is providing a grant to the organization to support their continued efforts to lift the spirits of seniors during this isolating time.

06:58 EDT Aecom to provide program services for care facilities in Rhode Island - AECOM announced that it will provide program oversight and management services for the assessment, planning, programming and design to convert existing facilities into newly constructed non-acute care facilities for patients with COVID-19 symptoms in Rhode Island. AECOM will work with the State, the Rhode Island National Guard, and other stakeholders to determine suitability and viability of the best development track for the facilities. In addition to overall program management, AECOM's scope of work includes rapidly assessing existing facilities for reuse as non-acute care facilities for patients with COVID-19 symptoms and providing programming, medical planning, design and coordination during construction to rapidly establish temporary hospitals and/or medical care facilities. While providing construction management oversight services, the firm will also work with the State to manage received funding, provide and manage documentation, and provide expert insight to the State.

06:49 EDT NanoViricides provides COVID-19 drug development update in interview - NanoViricides stated that its president, Anil Diwan was interviewed by Christine Corrado of Proactive Investors. In the interview, the company announced it has completed the synthesis of a number of nanoviricide drug candidates for testing in just a few weeks after identification of virus-binding ligands. Additionally, the polymer backbone was previously manufactured in multi-kilogram quantities. The company has acquired and expanded two different, low-threat circulating coronaviruses in its own BSL2 lab, and has already expanded them to enable testing of drug candidates. One of these coronaviruses, namely NL63, uses the same ACE2 receptor on human cells as SARS-CoV-2, although it does not cause a similar severe disease in humans. This makes it a useful model coronavirus strain for testing nanoviricide drug candidates, relevant for SARS-CoV-2. If the company's test candidates are effective against these cell culture studies against coronaviruses, then that would provide a strong rationale that they may be expected to be effective against the current SARS-CoV-2. Presently, the company does not have any collaboration established for further testing of its drug candidates against SARS-CoV-2. The company is working to establish such collaborations, and it has done so successfully in the past, on an as-needed basis. The company has already developed antiviral drug testing assays based on cell culture infection of certain low-threat coronaviruses viruses in its own BSL2 certified virology lab. Development of an assay to test the effectiveness of a drug candidate is an important milestone in the drug development process. The company completed this milestone in just a few weeks because of the experience in medium throughput drug testing antiviral assays development of its senior virologist, who was previously at USAMRIID. Testing of the company's drug candidates against these BSL2 coronavirus strains is expected to begin shortly in its BSL2 virology lab. Initial testing of the company's drug candidates against the BSL2 coronaviruses has been completed, and verification assays are currently in progress. NanoViricides has started scaled up synthesis of certain components, in parallel to further testing, as the company anticipates moving to the next step of drug development.

06:47 EDT Lazard reports preliminary AUM approximately $193B as of March 31 - The month's AUM included market depreciation of $28.6B; foreign exchange depreciation of $2.6B and net outflows of $2.6B.

06:45 EDT U.K.'s CMA blocks Sabre's purchase of Farelogix - Following its in-depth "Phase 2" investigation, the Competition and Markets Authority announced last week that it has found that Sabre's purchase of Farelogix could result in less innovation in their services, leading to fewer new features that may be released more slowly. Following the in-depth investigation, the CMA has blocked Sabre's proposed takeover of Farelogix. Fees for certain products might also go up. As a result, airlines, travel agents and UK passengers would be worse off. The US Department of Justice carried out a separate review and took Sabre and Farelogix to court to block the merger on the basis of concerns in one of the two areas where the CMA has found problems. On April 7, the US District Court of Delaware decided to clear the deal, with the DOJ free to appeal that decision. Reference Link

06:44 EDT Golden Minerals enters into an earn-in agreement with Barrick Gold for El Quevar - Golden Minerals (AUMN) announced that it has entered into an earn-in agreement with Barrick Gold (GOLD) whereby Barrick has acquired an option to earn a 70% interest in Golden's El Quevar project located in the Salta Province of Argentina. As part of the Agreement, Barrick will purchase $1.0M of Golden Minerals shares pursuant to a private placement transaction at a price of 21c per share, which is equal to the 20-day VWAP of the Company's common shares on the NYSE American exchange on the date of the agreement. The shares will be subject to applicable restrictions on transfer under U.S. and Canadian securities laws. In order to earn an undivided 70% interest in the El Quevar project, Barrick must: spend $10M on exploration, deliver an NI 43-101-compliant Pre-Feasibility Study describing a potentially profitable operation with mineral resources of not less than 2 million gold equivalent ounces, and deliver a written notice of exercise to Golden within eight years. Barrick's $10M in defined work expenditures must be incurred over a total of 8 years. Barrick may withdraw from the Agreement at any time after spending $1.0M in work expenditures, upon providing 30 days notice. Golden will form a new entity that will hold the El Quevar properties. Upon earn-in by Barrick, the NewCo will be 70% owned by Barrick and 30% owned by Golden. Funding of NewCo will be split in proportion to ownership of each shareholder, and industry standard dilution mechanisms will apply in the case of funding shortfalls by either shareholder. Dilution below 10% interest will result in conversion to a 1.5% NSR royalty applicable to all recovered products, excluding silver during the term of the Silver Royalty. Golden will retain a 5% NSR Silver Royalty payable on the recovered silver from production from the project, capped at the 29 million total payable silver ounces as estimated in Golden Minerals' 2018 Preliminary Economic Assessment

06:41 EDT AstraZeneca says ADAURA trial unblinded early due to 'overwhelming efficacy' - The ADAURA Phase III trial for Tagrisso in the adjuvant treatment of patients with Stage IB, II and IIIA epidermal growth factor receptor-mutated non-small cell lung cancer with complete tumour resection will be unblinded early following a recommendation from an Independent Data Monitoring Committee based on its determination of overwhelming efficacy, announced AstraZeneca. Jose Baselga, Executive Vice President, Oncology R&D, said: "We are thrilled by the recommendation to unblind the Phase III ADAURA trial much earlier than expected and are incredibly excited with these unprecedented results in patients with early-stage EGFR-mutated non-small cell lung cancer. Lung cancer is a devastating diagnosis and for the first time an EGFR-targeted medicine can now provide the hope of cure." The primary endpoint of the Phase III ADAURA trial is disease-free survival. Tagrisso was assessed against placebo for a treatment duration of up to three years. The trial will continue to assess the secondary endpoint of overall survival. In its communication to AstraZeneca, the IDMC did not raise any new safety concerns. The data will be presented at a forthcoming medical meeting, the company added.

06:35 EDT Eagle Materials: Separation timeline of heavy, light-side businesses 'uncertain' - Market conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have affected the company's previously announced timeline to separate its heavy (cement, aggregates and concrete) and light-side (gypsum wallboard and paperboard) businesses. Eagle Materials remains committed to the separation and reaffirms that the strategic rationale for the separation is unchanged, although the timing for the expected completion of the separation has become uncertain. The company continues its preparation to ensure that the two businesses are well-positioned for the separation when the markets recover.

06:32 EDT Can-Fite receives approval from IRB to begin clinical study of Piclidenoson - Can-Fite BioPharma announced it has received approval from the Institutional Review Board, or IRB, at Rabin Medical Center to initiate a pilot clinical study of its drug candidate Piclidenoson for the treatment of moderate-to-severe symptoms in coronavirus, or COVID-19, infected patients. The pilot trial is a randomized, open-label, 2-arm study of Piclidenoson plus standard supportive care, compared to standard supportive care alone, in 40 hospitalized COVID-19 infected patients with moderate-to-severe symptomatic disease.

06:20 EDT American Homes 4 Rent provides business update relating to COVID-19 impact - American Homes 4 Rent provided a business update relating to the impact of COVID-19. The company has waived late fees and halted evictions for nonpayment of rent for the month of April. The company is also offering zero percent increases on renewal leases signed in April and is extending month-to-month renewal options. To prioritize the health and safety of AMH team members, American Homes 4 Rent has implemented comprehensive remote working policies, company-sponsored telehealth and other employee assistance programs. all aspects of the company's operations remain functional. Notably, the company's proprietary Let Yourself In technology provides full functionality for prospective residents to tour homes, submit applications and execute leases all while following social distancing guidelines. The company also continues to prioritize critical and safety-related maintenance services, while limiting certain other maintenance items to promote the safety of residents and team members. AMH entered the pandemic with Q1 same-home average occupied days percentage in excess of 95% and as of April 9, has collected approximately 86% of April rents, which is in excess of 95% of historic collections for the same timeframe. However, the company believes that given the rapidly evolving nature of the pandemic and the uncertainties around the long-term economic impacts, it is still too early to estimate the impact of the pandemic to the company's 2020 financial results and future resident collections. AMH expects to provide a further update on its Q1 earnings conference call in early May. AMH remains capitalized with its balance sheet, $800M revolving credit facility, retained cash flow profile and portfolio. The company is continuing construction activity, while in compliance with state and local mandates, on its existing pipeline of internally developed built-for-rental homes. However, given the market uncertainty regarding future asset values, the company has temporarily suspended its traditional acquisition channel and National Builder acquisition programs.

06:16 EDT Spirit Realty not in position to provide guidance - The company said, "Given the circumstances, we are not in a position to provide guidance at this time but hope to give more clarity at our regularly scheduled quarterly call."

06:12 EDT DaVita says COVID-19 impact 'could be material' due to lower treatment volumes - DaVita commends the swift and bold action by the federal government through HHS to support healthcare providers, like DaVita, in this time of crisis. While the details of the program have not been announced, the expressed intent of the CARES Act is to help defray the significant healthcare-related expenses and lost revenue attributable to COVID-19. DaVita expects that the short-term financial impact of COVID-19 resulting from its increased costs, lost revenue and its increase in the treatment of the uninsured, may be offset by the CARES Act payment DaVita received of approximately $ 240 million. However, DaVita's ability to utilize and retain the full amount will depend on the magnitude, timing and nature of the impact of COVID-19, as well as on the guidelines and rules of the program, which have not yet been announced. The company also currently estimates increased revenue from the suspension of 2% Medicare sequestration from May 1, 2020, through December 31, 2020 to be approximately $50 million. Because of the uncertainty created by the COVID-19 pandemic, DaVita's future results could vary materially from the guidance we have provided. DaVita believes the long-term impact of COVID-19 will be primarily driven by the severity and duration of the pandemic, the pandemic's impact on the U.S. and global economies and the timing, scope and effectiveness of federal, state and local governmental responses. At this time, the company cannot reasonably estimate the ultimate impact COVID-19 will have on us, but the adverse impact could be material. Among other things, potential impact of the pandemic on DaVita's results includes: The likelihood of higher salary and wage expense resulting from incremental hours and overtime needed to create dedicated care shifts to care for patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. In response to the challenges presented by COVID-19, the company announced programs that both increase pay for overtime hours worked by caregivers as well as provide reimbursement to its workers of estimated costs resulting from COVID-19. DaVita also worked to provide holistic support by ramping up other essential relief programs such as backup child care and modified sick leave policies. The likelihood of increased supply costs due to elevated demand nationwide for PPE because of the current pandemic. Although DaVita has not experienced any shortage of key supplies to date, the effort to procure and associated costs have both increased dramatically. Like other healthcare providers, DaVita appreciates the federal and state governments' efforts to secure the availability of PPE such as masks, shields, and gowns. The likelihood of a negative impact on revenue from COVID-19 due to lower treatment volumes from patient hospitalizations, missed treatments, or deaths. At this time, the company cannot reasonably estimate the magnitude or duration of the impact, but this adverse impact could be material. Because ESRD patients generally have comorbidities, several of which are risk factors for COVID-19, DaVita expects the infection rate and mortality rate of infected patients to be worse in the dialysis population than in age matched cohorts from the general population. The likelihood of a reduced share of DaVita's patients being covered by commercial insurance plans, with more patients being covered by lower-paying government insurance programs or being uninsured, if the United States experiences longer-term, increased unemployment levels, which could materially negatively impact the company's future revenue. The impact of this may be delayed or mitigated as a result of patients accessing COBRA and exchange plans but could have a material impact on the company's longer term earnings. The COVID-19 pandemic is evolving rapidly. To the extent there are material developments over the coming weeks, the company intends to provide additional information on its earnings conference call scheduled for Tuesday, May 5.

06:10 EDT Despegar.com: Cash position sufficient to meet needs for next 12 months - The company believes that its existing cash and cash equivalents, together with expected cash flows generated from operating activities, will be sufficient to meet its currently-anticipated cash needs for the next twelve months. Unrestricted cash and cash equivalents are expected to amount to approximately $221M as of March 31, 2020, compared to $309.2M as of December 31, 2019.

06:08 EDT Despegar.com sees Q1 gross bookings approximately $790M - Gross bookings are expected to amount to approximately $790M for the first quarter of 2020, compared to $1.158B during the first quarter of 2019, down 32% YoY. Gross bookings is an operating measure that represents the aggregate purchase price of all travel products booked by the company's travel customers through its platform during a given period.

06:06 EDT Quintana Energy Services announces cost reduction actions amid COVID-19 pandemic - Quintana Energy Services announced continued cost reduction actions in response to the current market volatility, operational disruption related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the uncertain outlook for the U.S. onshore oil and gas industry. These most recent cost reductions are being implemented in addition to the company's previously announced business segment restructuring. In response to declining customer activity and commodity price instability, the segment restructuring, which began in late 2019, is expected to be completed in Q2 and yield an annual cost savings of $4M-$6M once personnel, systems and facility migrations are fully implemented. Year to date, QES has taken the following actions to reduce its cost structure and protect its balance sheet: CEO voluntary base salary reduction of 20%; Expect all-in executive cash compensation to reduce by 30% to 40%, including voluntary salary reductions of 10% to 20%; Reducing cash Board compensation; Reducing overall operating expenses, overhead and other variable costs to align with the current business activity levels, including an approximate 20% reduction in force in Q1; Reducing segment compensation by up to 20%; Plan to begin a furlough program to minimize cost in balance with activity; Working with vendors to reduce costs for all products and services; Implementing all available cost reductions and deferrals afforded to us under the CARES Act; Negotiating with lessors to reduce and defer fixed cost lease obligations; Idled three additional locations and both active frac spreads and updating guidance for 2020 capital spending to $10M-$15M, which reflects reductions in all non-essential capital spending and a 50% decrease from the mid-point of range of prior guidance.

06:04 EDT Judge grants Steve's request for preliminary injunction in case with Jeld-Wen - On February 14 Steves and Sons filed a second lawsuit against JELD-WEN in federal court in Richmond, Virginia. In the new suit, Steves alleges that JELD-WEN continues to violate federal antitrust laws, that it has tortiously interfered with Steves' current and prospective business relationships and has again breached the parties' long-term doorskin Supply Agreement. In an 81-page opinion issued April 10, Judge Robert E. Payne granted Steves' request for a Preliminary Injunction, ending JELD-WEN's arbitrary "allocation" of doorskins to Steves and ordering JELD-WEN to honor its doorskin Supply Agreement with Steves. Judge Payne also ordered JELD-WEN to deliver more than 1 million doorskins ordered by Steves since November 1, 2019 but which JELD-WEN had refused to deliver. The Preliminary Injunction will remain in effect until the rest of the breach of contract case can be tried by a jury, perhaps as soon as mid to late June. Notably, in his Order implementing the injunction opinion Judge Payne wrote: "There is a substantial likelihood, amounting to a near certainty, that Steves will succeed on the merits" of its breach of contract claims at trial.

05:57 EDT JinkoSolar announces 'favorable' developments in patent litigation - JinkoSolar announced two separate, significant developments in its defense against patent litigation initiated by Hanwha Q CELLS. In March 2019, Hanwha initiated the U.S. International Trade Commission Investigation No. 337-TA-1151 against JinkoSolar, LONGi Solar, and REC Group, asserting that the companies infringe U.S. Patent No. 9,893,215. On April 10, the Administrative Law Judge in the 1151 Investigation ruled that JinkoSolar's products do not infringe the '215 patent. ALJ MaryJoan McNamara issued an initial determination granting JinkoSolar's motion for summary determination of non-infringement. The Commission will now review the ALJ's ruling and issue its opinion on that ruling within 30 days. Separately, on December 10, 2019, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Appeal Board, or PTAB, instituted inter partes review, or IPR, proceedings of the patentability of claims 12-14 of the '215 patent claims in view of prior art. IPR is a trial proceeding conducted at the PTAB to review the patentability of one or more claims in a patent. The PTAB's institution decision states that JinkoSolar and REC Group have "established a reasonable likelihood of prevailing in showing that claims 12-14 of the '215 patent are unpatentable." Based on the schedule provided by the PTAB, JinkoSolar anticipates a final written decision on the issue of patentability by December.

05:33 EDT Elbit Systems reports no material impact due to COVID-19 - Elbit Systems is closely monitoring the evolution of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and its impacts on the company's employees, customers and suppliers, as well as on the global economy. CEO Bezhalel Machlis said, "In these uncertain times, our priorities are to protect the safety of our employees, maintain business continuity to meet the evolving requirements of our customers, support our suppliers and leverage our abilities to assist and protect our communities. I am proud of our employees that are working hard to support their communities as well as providing technological solutions to health care providers. I also salute the efforts of many of our customers who are now on the front line in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic." The company said, "We have implemented a number of safety measures across all our sites, including increasing the number of manufacturing line shifts to enhance social distancing. Where feasible, employees are working from home. We have initiated business continuity plans to meet our commitments to our customers. Where necessary we are working on finding alternative solutions for delivering our products to our customers, including chartering dedicated freighter aircraft to meet delivery schedules.We maintain a regular dialogue with our customers to assess their evolving requirements that have also been impacted by the pandemic. We are closely monitoring and managing our supply chain, particularly as it relates to maintaining adequate inventory of critical components. We are working to leverage our broad portfolio of leading technologies to fight the pandemic. We are leveraging our capabilities to produce thousands of ventilators following a request from the Israeli Government. We have been developing a sensor system to remotely read physiological parameters to protect health workers and have adapted our cellular command and control systems to increase the effectiveness of medical staff, each of which are being rolled out at major Israeli hospitals. We are supporting the efforts of our employees that are volunteering to help distribute food and provide support for those in need in their communities. Our 2019 Year End Financial Results Press Release from March 25, 2020, indicated that the pandemic has not had a material impact on the company. Subsequently some of our businesses have begun to experience disruptions. We are monitoring these businesses closely and plan to update the market in due course. We have initiated a series of cost control measures to help limit the financial impact on the company. Elbit Systems has a healthy balance sheet, adequate levels of cash and access to credit facilities that provide liquidity when necessary. We have used part of our financial resources to fund our suppliers and build buffer stocks of inventory where required."